Alarm klaxons sounded as the Anubis Drone raised its arm and pointed its wrist-mounted blaster towards the group Jack had lead to the Gateroom.
More specifically, he pointed it at Nanoha.
No other thought crossed his mind. Years of training kicked in as Jack acted.
Nanoha grasped onto Raising Heart and uttered the first syllable of its name as Jack wrapped one arm around the girl and hefted her off the ground. He turned his back to the Kull Warrior, placing himself between the horror and the girl, fully expecting to hear the repeating electrical crack of the repeating blaster amidst the storm of bullets.
Instead he heard the distinct sound of energy weapons being deflected off an energy barrier—something akin to a lit fuse in tone.
The bolts arced themselves towards
Hyppolita’s crooked arms, they burned off the forearms of her suit, revealing metallic bracers which let loose sparks as the bolts struck and dissipated against them.
“Everyone out!” she commanded. The turret guns were abandoned almost instantly as the room evacuated. They had managed to destroy one of the machines and damage the other, but the third had disappeared shortly after it had traced a line of light across the Kull Warrior’s back.
Hyppolita covered the exit as the last soldier left the room, the bolts all attracted to her forearms where they dissipated harmlessly. She then dove out of the room as the heavy metal doors of the Gateroom slammed shut. The odd group continued to move down the hall as Daniel’s suggestion. The door wouldn’t hold the Kull Warrior for very long.
In Jack’s arm, Nanoha squirmed slightly and said, “Th-thank you Colonel O’Neill, but could you put me down please?”
Before Jack could respond, Raising Heart sparked again. “Warning, dimensional rift unstable. Subject of transfer suffered severe genetic damage. Approximate time for violent mutation to manifest: three minutes.”
“Alright,” Jack said “Director Trevor, there’s a safe-room two floors up. Get the President and Nanoha up there.”
“It’s your show,” she said as Jack put Nanoha down.
Raising Heart then announced: “
Standby Read. Set Up.”
In a pink flash, Nanoha’s outfit changes suddenly. It remained white, but blue highlights, frills and a red bow now adorned the ensemble. Her sleeves ended in blue highlights and black, fingerless gloves were now on her hands. She also held a white staff with pink endpoints and a large red jewel inside a golden crescent atop it.
It then stated “Shooting Mode” and the crescent turned into an elongated “U” shape.
“No,” Nanoha did not stomp a foot on the ground like an angry child, arms and body giving their full weight to frustrations, she simply stepped forward with such firmness and power that it sounded like she put her full weight into it-- if she had weighed 300 pounds. “I’m going to help stop it.”
“What-NO!” Jack shouted. “I’m not sending a 10 year old girl into combat!”
“You’re not. I’m just going.” Nanoha answered.
“Don’t get smart--”
“Please let me help!”
As they argued, a red tentacle bore its way through the steel door and began to reach for the nearest electronic interface.
Director Trevor boomed, “We don’t have time for this. I’m getting the President out of there. Stall the attacker as long as you can.”
Lt. Tsurugi opened his briefcase and pulled out a large, orange-highlighted pistol with a thick revolver-like cylinder where an automatic pistol would discharge spent shells.
“I have a few tricks for that,” He said, turned the cylinder until a blue light shown on the top. He aimed the pistol in front of the armored door fired a blue flare-like projectile.
The projectile reached the start of the door before it expanded into an octagonal blue cage that blocked the hall completely.
“The point is simple,” Director Trevor asked, “Who here has weapons?” She then turned with Xanatos in hand and headed for the safe room at what Jack guessed to be 30 miles an hour from a standing position. Xanatos did not realize he was being carried until they already rounded a corner.
Jack would have looked down for a moment had
Teal’c not rushed into his frame of reference carrying a P-90 and a Staff Weapon.
“O’Neill,” he said, handing the earth weapon to his comrade before asking “why is there a little girl here?”
Jack made a few quick hand motions and said, “Daniel, get her out of here.”
Before Daniel began to move, Raising Heart stated “Root” accompanied with a minor flash of pink from Nanoha’s feet as Tetsuya, Teal’c and Jack took defensive cover. When Daniel tried to move her, she was as immobile as granite.
“Um, Jack.” Daniel said, “She’s stuck.”
“Stuck?” Jack said.
“I’m sorry, Colonel O’Neill, but you can’t stop me from helping you.” Nanoha’s voice had no hint of anger in it, but was as hard and cold as solid steel.
“At least take cover!” Jack yelled.
“Do not worry,” Raising Heart answered, “I will protect her.”
O’Neill grimaced and focused his attention to the Gateroom door where he saw the tentacle working the control lock.
“Don’t shoot unless the Capture Cube barrier falls,” Lt. Tsurugi said, “it’s designed to reflect both incoming and outgoing attacks to their source.”
“Okay, good to know. How long will it remain up?” Jack took the safety off the P-90.
“One minute or less depending stress,” Lt. Tsurugi answered.
Jack grimaced but didn’t have time to argue as the Gateroom door opened. The surviving drone and Kull Warrior stepped through the doorway. A pair of soldiers covered Daniel’s exist as the others hugged the wall, leaving Nanoha open in the hall.
“This enemy,” Nanoha asked, “What does it want?”
“The Kull Warriors follows Anubis’ orders unerringly,” Teal’c answered, “Whatever Anubis orders them to do, and they will follow.”
Nanoha blinked, “They—they don’t have free will?”
“They do not.”
Jack cursed himself for being unable to get this kid out of the battlefield. ‘For crying out loud,’ he thought, ‘she’s ten years old! She shouldn’t even be in here!’
Nanoha took a stabilizing breath before calling out, “Warrior! Tell me what you want! Why are you attacking us?”
The Warrior did not respond.
“If you do not stop and explain yourself,” Nanoha continued, “I will stop you.”
The drone brought two tentacles to the barrier field, tested it a few times before firing a shot at it. The blue bolt bounced off the barrier and struck the drone, destroying its face. It fell to the ground with barely a twitch.
The Kull Warrior simply walked through the field, causing it to shatter and break apart.
Jack, Tetsuya and the others opened fire for what good it did. It stepped forward and raised its arm as Teal’c opened fire, though not at the Kull Warrior, but at the ground in front of it. The blast created a small crater in the cement floor just below where the Kull Warrior’s foot. The armor and shielding of the super soldier absorbed the heat and force of the blast, as well as deflecting the shrapnel.
It did not compensate for the change in elevation. The Kull Warrior right foot twisted as it tripped and fell on its face. Depending on the severity of the injury, the Warrior would only be hampered by it for a precious few seconds at most. But in such a confrontation, every second counted.
“Restrict Lock” Raising Heart announced as pink cords wrapped themselves around the wrist blasters and held the warrior’s arms in place. It pulled against the bindings, but to no avail.
From the corner of Jack’s eye he saw another pink glow as Nanoha raised her voice, “Divine…”
The Kull Warrior attempted to stand up, but the leg it tripped on would not straighten fully without it cringing.
“BUSTER!” Nanoha shouted as a pink beam of energy thicker than a telephone pole lanced out and struck the Kull Warrior with such force that it was picked up and slammed against the end of the hall. Jack and the others stopped firing at the strange sight and just watched as the Kull Warrior was pushed into the wall, cracking the reinforced cement behind it.
When the stream of power ended, the Kull Warrior fell forward, leaving a noticeable fracture in the wall.
“Warning, target still functions,” Raising Heart announced just before the Kull Warrior moved its arms, “Let’s do it:
Starlight Breaker.”
“Okay, Raising Heart,” Nanoha turned to Jack and said, “Pin him down for 10 seconds, please!”
Jack, Tsurugi, Teal’c and the remaining soldiers again opened fire. Jack kept his shots in short controlled bursts between the blasts of energy that Tsurugi and Teal’c launched. Keeping his shots close to the central mass of the Kull warrior as it stood up, one arm passed over its body. The other soldiers had taken to ‘spray and pray’ responses to the Kull Warriors in a mild panic, but Jack remained sharp.
A three round burst struck the blaster on the left arm as it rose, deforming the weapon and launching sparks into the air. Jack wondered if Nanoha’s blast had damaged the Warrior’s shielding. Its body armor remained intact, but parts of their collective shots were getting through.
The light from Nanoha’s staff grabbed Jack’s attention for just an instant. In the glimpse he gave her, he saw a sphere of pink energy gathered before her, held within a spinning circle in front of Nanoha that was bigger around that she was tall that soon filled the entire hallway, calling an end to the barrage.
“STAR LIGHT,” Nanoha shouted as she raised her staff into the air, “BREAKER!”
Nanoha brought the staff down on the sphere with all her might as it launched towards the Kull Warrior as it used its remaining strength to look up to its doom.
The hallway was enveloped in pink light for a good 13 seconds before the light dissipated. An acrid burning smell filled the hall.
When it did, the devastation was astounding. The entire hallway had been burned wider by almost 3 inches, while the hallway itself had been extended another hundred feet.
Two ports opened on Raising Heart and let out twin jets of steam.
“Target Neutralized.” Raising heart said.
At the end of the hallway, the blackened husk of the Kull Warrior dropped from the far rear of the hall almost a foot off the ground, leaving a near-person shaped mark of protected space where he once was.
Jack lowered his P-90, switching the safety back on, “Well, I guess that concludes our tour.”
{{Battle Mastery Earned}}
When the alarm ended, Xanatos turned to Director Trevor and said “I guess our theory proved itself viable, Director.”
“Did you need further verification?” Director said.
“No, but it’s always nice to be proven right. As a bonus it will help convince the last few holdouts the benefits of interaction,” Xanatos smiled, “Less people to replace that way.”
“Still, you had best be careful. Some of these people don’t take well to change.”
Xanatos’s smile grew darker as he answered, “In some cases, I’m counting on that.”
“May I ask about the bracers?” Daniel Jackson turned to Director Trevor as he guided her back to the surface, long after the others had left in an effort to prepare the team for the oncoming international assistance the other major nations had asked for upon being briefed on the Stargate program.
“Certainly,” She answered, “whether I can answer or not depends on what you ask about.”
“Okay. Judging from the effects it displayed, I assume it’s some sort of shield device.”
“Last time I heard it explained it was an electromagnetically attractive force field.”
“Okay, its design appears to be a smoother that a race called the Akonieks used.”
“Nowhere as potent, but longer lasting.”
“…Okay, may I ask where you got it.”
“Themyscira.”
“…you’re kidding right?”
“Disinformation is a wonderful tool, don’t you think?” Director Trevor chuckled slightly, “the added revenue doesn’t hurt either.”
“So, this ‘Themyscira’--”
“It’s off world. I have the gate coordinates if you want them, though I wouldn’t contact them without contacting me first.”
Daniel slowed down as the elevator drew nearer. “Okay, that’s a loaded response. You have a Stargate?”
“Sort of. It was a dedicated system, could only dial my mother’s home world. It was destroyed in the early 80s. We’ve had to use a Mulian Shuttlecraft to get there since then,” she sighed, “finally let my daughter see the homeland I suppose.”
“Muli—oh, right”
“You call them Ancients, right?”
“Force of habit mostly.”
Director Trevor nodded slightly as Daniel continued, “But what I mean is your people were seeded by the Anc—er, the Mu?”
“No.” Director Trevor looked down, “A single Mu calling himself Zeus created my people to be his own personal army and harem. My family was to be the chosen warriors of the society, mimicking the legendary hunter from Earth mythology called Slayer.”
“Ah, yes, the Slayer myth. Second only to dragons and vampires in terms of global proliferation. Still, that doesn’t sound like the Mu I’m familiar with.”
“Then consider yourself lucky so far. Japan has fended off at least three invasion attempts by remnant Mulian populations wielding super weapons of one sort or another.”
“Odd, the Mu I’m familiar with are usually Ascended.”
“Oh,” Director Trevor paused, “you really are lucky—or not, given their level of cooperation.”
“Yeah, they do like their non-interference. So why shouldn’t we contact the, er, Themyscirans?”
“Amazons.”
“Okay, so why shouldn’t we contact the Amazons?”
“Well, they haven’t heard from us in about 8 years now, and after liberating themselves from Zeus, the Goa’uld Ares tried to take over Themyscira. They buried their gate to prevent further incursions.”
At which point the pair arrived at the elevator.
“Yeah, that would pose a problem,” Daniel placed his hands in his pockets, “so are you really--?”
“No.” Director Trevor responded sharply, but her voice then softened, “I was. So was my mother. My daughter does it now.” She smiled slyly and added “Like I said, it runs in the family.”
The elevator door opened and Director Trevor stepped in, “She’ll be stopping by to help out in a few weeks as part of Xanatos’ effort for better communication amongst our various groups.”
“Let’s just hope that those visits are less eventful than yours,” Daniel said as he waved goodbye and the doors closed.
Before they finally closed, Director Trevor waved back and added “I doubt the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense representatives would mind.”
When General Hammond returned, he brought SG-1 for a briefing regarding the recent incursion. Thankfully, there was good news on all fronts. The Japanese had agreed to expand their technological assistance in exchange for the SGC aiding in the refitting of the Gotengo into a (much needed) starship. Xanatos’ move to connect the various formerly “Beyond Top Secret” organizations let them benefit from the others advances. Direct energy weapons were being installed in Prometheus that could extend the fighting time of the ship; the formerly fabled “Project Mechagodzilla” would be run on several Naquadah reactors; security had been beefed up all around and other changes.
All announced nearing Hammond’s last day as commander of the SGC. The new head, Dr Elizabeth Weir, would be arriving tomorrow. This would be one of their last debriefings together.
“It appears that Anubis is looking into a form of gate-travel that doesn’t rely directly on the gate. Possibly experimenting in the same technology that the Time-Space Administration Bureau uses,” Major Cater said.
Jack turned his head slightly to her, “You mean ‘Magic’, right?”
“Yes,” Cater sighed, “magic. However, it appears that he jumped the gun in its development. The machines and equipment passed through the rift unharmed. The organic matter of the Super Soldier was badly damaged. If Nanoha hadn’t blasted it, it would have died within another minutes. I mean—the body dissolved by the time it was taken into autopsy.”
“And the machines?” General Hammond asked.
“They were actually in the TSAB’s files,” Daniel answered, “They are called Gadget Drones. A rather common type of Mulian remote or AI weapons platform.”
“The drones survived the transport easily enough, which if likely why they were sent with the Super Soldier,” Carter said, “to report back on the success or failure of the mission. I’d be guessing it was a failure given what happened.”
“So why isn’t Anubis overrunning the base with his troops?” Hammond asked.
“Well, there are two reasons. One of which being that TSAB liaison Nanoha Takamachi placed what she called a Dimensional Barrier around the mountain which should prevent any future attempts at dimensional crossing on base. Still, that only protects the mountain, not the rest of the planet,” As Carter explained this Jack scowled slightly, “Secondly, the technology failed. It should be a while before Anubis tries it again.”
“Alright, is there anything else that needs to be talked about?” General Hammond asked.
Jack rubbed a hand at his temple, “How ‘bout Child Labor Laws?”
“I looked into that a bit,” Daniel said, “Apparently, they operate with a much faster education system and thus end up starting military recruitment age is 16—”
“For cryin’ out loud, Nanoha is a 10 year old from Earth!”
“As I was saying, apparently in cases with extremely talented mages in their forces they tend to fast-track their training if it is requested. Though it’s not a very common practice; the files they gave us indicate that there have only been a dozen in their entire history.” Daniel paused for a second before adding “and, including Nanoha, three of them will be stationed on or near earth in the coming months.”
Jack let out an annoyed grunt as he through his head back.
“When the time came,” Teal’c added, “She handled herself well in combat. We would not have stopped the Anubis Warrior without her assistance.”
Jack waved a hand dismissively, “I know—I just don’t like it.”
“Neither do I,” Carter said, “there’s no doubting her power or intelligence, but I’m not sure what effect this could have on her emotionally.”
“She seemed well aware of the power she wields,” Teal’c added, “She apparently does not like combat, but will act when needed. If she feels she can help, she will try.”
“Great,” Jack scowled.
General Hammond nodded, “For the time being we’re just going to have to accept their assistance. I don’t like it much myself, so I’d like it if you tried your best to keep those kids out of combat situations.”
“Done,” Jack answered.
“Gutten Tag” The man with glasses in the view screen aboard Anubis’ mother ship waved casually to the System Lord, “Might I inquire as to the conclusion of the mission?”
“A failure,” Anubis growled. His hood shifted slightly with his statement as he added, “the rift proved unstable, and the warrior I sent through was destabilized. Unless reports have surfaced of the demise of one of our targets, the Magic will need further refinement.”
“That is a shame,” The man’s demeanor did not change in the slightest, keeping an eerie grin upon his face, “as the President of the United States and the Director of Unit are, sad to say, alive and well. What of the drones I sent you?”
“Two were destroyed. The third provided me with data to refine the spell for future endeavors.”
“At least it was not a total loss, mein freund.”
“Indeed. Within a month, the final bugs should be removed allowing our troops to move unhindered.”
“Excellent. Then we will truly have a War to remember. Until then, System Lord.”
“Until then,
Major.”
)