Continuing Stargate

[bradly08]

"when it's ready".

I know that, I'm just asking for a date or somthing.

[s09119]

It will be out when it's done haha, hate to confirm that, but it's true. I've spent the last two weeks with the flu and strep throat, but I'm about 1/2 way done with the episode now.

[Dark lord me]

Hope you get better soon and im not just saying that because I want the next episode ASAP

[altimasmitty]

Man that sucks...I hope you get better soon, and like Dark Lord it is not just so we get our next ep.

[bradly08]

Knowing that take as long as you need

[s09119]

14x19 "Divided We Fall" (Part 2 of 2)
Synopsis: Political upheaval on Earth fractures the Alliance, leaving Dakara open to devastation by the Der'kal. Teal'c leads a desperate defense for his people while SG-1 tries to prevent humanity from spiraling out of control.

Spoiler:

((30 second recap of "United We Stand"))

High above Dakara, an epic battle is raging, though we cannot see it. A few blasts of plasma fly past the screen, but for the most part all that can be seen is a massive field of debris from destroyed Nox motherships, ha'tak, al'kesh, death gliders, and other small Goa'uld craft. Thousands of dead bodies float in the wreckage... and then a rogue burst of plasma (probably Der'kal judging by the emerald color) slams into the field, and everything scatters, flashing red-hot with the heat...

Meanwhile, in a lab at the ISGC, General O'Neill is giving a rundown of the situation at Dakara to Dr. Talbot. Using an advanced tabletop monitor system with small table-bound holograms, he explains how the Der'kal made their approach using state-of-the-art stealth and jamming technologies. By the time the ships on patrol saw the danger, the enemy was already on top of them, having wiped out any reinforcements in the rest of the system. The alien fleet utilized long-range energy cannons that allowed them to rip open several ha'tak before the battle itself even began, and they are also finding new uses for their hyperspace interdictors, keeping them in a ring around the planet to prevent Alliance ships from nearby sectors from jumping in to assist.

Looking at the display, Talbot sucks in a breath, asking how in the world this happened. But O'Neill honestly doesn't know; no one does. The liberation of Galar was supposed to be a turning point, a chance to gain a foothold in enemy space and launch a campaign to drive the aliens back to the galactic rim. Instead, it prompted them to lay siege to one of the most vital star systems in the galaxy. Either way, they need to mobilize the 304s immediately, and Jack flips on the lights and turns off the projector.

As he moves to the door, though, Danielle grabs at his sleeve, telling him to wait. She asks if he knows just how many people have died on the Milky Way side of the war thus far, with all these massive engagements seeming to come one after another. Grimacing, Jack tells the commander that she doesn't want to hear it, and tries to leave. But Talbot grabs tighter, forcing him to meet her gaze and give her a straight answer before she lets go. With a pained look in his eyes, O'Neill informs her that some 11 billion denizens of the galaxy have died so far, mostly Serrakin from the utter annihilation of Hebridan and Jaffa from the razing of Ankgor. Without another word, Talbot lets him leave.

As he walks though the largely-deserted hallways of the ISGC, Jack fails to notice someone keeping pace with him above and little behind on an adjacent, railed walkway that leads into nearby labs. After a moment, though, he frowns and turns, calling out for whoever it is to show themselves... and a sadly-smiling Samantha Carter jumps down into the main hallway, coming over and taking Jack in her arms. Curious, O'Neill asks what she's doing in this area of the base given the amount of tension right now; most officers and workers are staying at their posts with their eyes glued to the television screen for the latest updates. Sam explains that she couldn't stand the look on Daniel's face every time they showed the battle, so she decided to go for a walk and happened to glimpse her former-CO on the way back.

Reaching down, Jack feels the sparkling ring on Sam's hand and whispers something inaudible. Confused, Carter asks what he said, but O'Neill merely smiles at her and kisses her on the cheek, saying he'll see her at the meeting in a little bit, then walks off.

On the other side of the facility, Vala, Mitchell, and Daniel are in a common room with several other ISGC officers, flipping between CNN and MSNBC's coverage of the battle over Dakara. Glancing away in disgust, Vala asks Cameron why Earth hasn't rushed to join the action, a question the Colonel himself has no answer to. Leaning in, Daniel whispers that ever since control of the Stargate Program was transferred to the United Nations, the UN Security Council has to authorize any offworld action, including the use of their ships. Neither the Pentagon nor the base commander have the authority to do that anymore, and right now it looks as though China is blocking any sort of action to help the Jaffa. Changing the nearest television to a channel with a broadcast on the situation in New York, Mitchell wonders why...

Inside the Security Council's closed-door chamber, the respective ambassadors from the Big Five (USA, UK, France, Russia, and China) sit arguing about the Der'kal surprise attack. The Americans, British and French are pushing for reinforcements for the Jaffa, citing that if Dakara falls it will only be a matter of time before Earth is hit. The Russians are offering no opinion on the matter, and have declared their abstination from any vote. Unfortunately, the Chinese are complicating matters by insisting they stay out of the affairs of the Jaffa, offering to instead extend humanitarian aid to any survivors. Enraged, the French ambassador points out that by the terms of the Alliance charter, they have a responsibility to assist any member race, as the Tok'ra and Nox are doing at this very moment. Regardless, the Chinese ambassador refuses to bend, and the arguing goes on.

In Washington, President Hayes has placed a call to Shen Xiaoyi, the Chinese diplomat who was a member of the now-dismantled IOA, who is currently serving as China's ambassador to the United States. When she finally does answer, Hayes demands to know why her government is refusing to cooperate with what they obviously need to do. Inside her country's embassy, Shen explains that even she is unaware of her leaders' reasoning, but she promises the President that once she gets to the bottom of it, she will inform him. Then she hangs up on him, turning to someone offscreen and stating (while looking exceedingly uncomfortable and ashamed of herself) that the Americans will be stalled as long as is necessary. Then the camera pans to reveal a Der'kal te'kal standing in her office, smirking evilly and thanking her on behalf of their supreme leader, the Exarch. With Earth tied up like this, the alien victory of the Free Jaffa world will be quick and easy... and they could not have done it without China. As he turns to leave, Shen looks out the window at the Washington Monument, no doubt wondering what she has done in the name of nationalism.

Back in the White House, President Hayes looks at the dead receiver in his hand for a long moment before finally hanging it up. After a pause he tells someone offscreen to enter the Oval Office, and General Hank Landry enters (he has recently been promoted to head of American Fleet Affairs, under Jack O'Neill). Sighing, Hayes says that that he's decided to act unilaterally, without authorization from the Security Council. He won't stand by and let the Jaffa be slaughtered when he has the means to strike back. Straightening his stance, he tells Hank to go ahead (since Jack is at the ISGC and cannot do it himself) and alert their 303s and 304s for immediate action. They're moving out.

At the ISGC, Dr. Talbot is in the control room facing an open stargate, talking via radio to Teal'c on Dakara. She has apparently explained the political situation to the Jaffa leader, as he is in the process of saying that he understands what is going on and accepts it. Just then, though, an urgent phone call comes in from the Pentagon, and Danielle has to cut the connection, wishing Teal'c good luck, which he promises to pass on to Lya, who is in command of the Nox ships. Grabbing the phone, Talbot asks what the problem is, then her eyes widen and she calls for someone to get General O'Neill immediately.

A few minutes later, Jack is on the phone in Talbot's office, arguing with someone. In the briefing room, SG-1 and Talbot herself look on, worried about what could be happening to cause him to look so angry. When O'Neill finally does emerge, he is visibly shaking with frustration. Upon Vala asking him what's going on, Jack explains that President Hayes ordered the American ships to make a jump to Dakara to help the Jaffa without Security Council approval. At first, it seemed they could get away with it, and they began breaking orbit. But then the Chinese ships (mostly 303s but with five or six 304s) moved to block them, and now a standoff has ensued in orbit. Since both sides are equipped with Asgard weaponry, any sort of battle would be catastrophic, despite the American numerical superiority. No one wants to fire the first shot, but they simply cannot wait much longer.

(First part of "Divided We Fall," see next two posts for more.)

[s09119]

(Middle part of "Divided We Fall," see previous post for start and next post for end.)

Spoiler:

In space, Col. Via Sanders of the Aurora is staring angrily out the forward window at two Chinese 303s blocking her passage. As commander of the flagship transport of SG-1 (or so her vessel has come to be known, given the frequency the team is on it and her friendship with them), she is the de facto leader of the American ship captains, and the others are looking to her for what to do next. Sliding into her command chair, she taps her radio to talk to Col. Choi Liu (formerly the commander of the Chinese BC-303 Ming Yun which SG-1 used to locate a Furling warship in "The Relic"), who has been promoted to captain-ship of a Chinese DSC-304 and is leading the opposition to America's actions today. Even with a connection, though, he doesn't say anything, and Via begs an empty headset to let them pass without trouble. Unfortunately, she receives no response.

Meanwhile, the situation planetside is heating up. As F-302s fly over Washington, Ambassador Xiaoyi is escorted out of the Chinese embassy by armed guards to a motorcade waiting in the driveway. Outside, a throng of protesters holding signs calling for China to stop blocking aid to the Jaffa is shouting and clamoring, and Shen briefly pauses, as if to call out and address them. But then one of her guards catches her eye and shakes his head, an unvocalized suggestion that saying anything will only get them all killed back home. Seeing no other choice, the ambassador ducks into her car and it takes off. Inside the embassy, the te'kal watches from a tinted window, smiling and opening a hologram projector.

President Hayes has gone on international television to condemn the Chinese government's actions and is calling for all "supporters of liberty" to do whatever they can to force China's hand. The British, French, Canadian, German, and Australian Prime Ministers are expected to do the same within twenty-four hours, and the European Union is threatening to assist the United States in breaking China's self-imposed blockade in orbit. Watching it all unfold in the ISGC, SG-1 is helpless, but Carter affirms that they're doing everything they can. She just hopes they'll have enough time to make it matter.

On Dakara, Teal'c, dressed in Jaffa politician robes, has temporarily abandoned his role as Chancellor to lead the planet's defense, and is in an improvised war room within the rebuilt-Temple (finished shortly after the Alliance's founding, it is a synthetic copy of the mountain that existed before, keeping an Ancient design but clearly man-made; "Equilibrium"). He, an invigorated-looking Bra'tac, and several First Primes are going over possible ways to break the attackers' morale and punch through to the interdictors blocking reinforcements. Suddenly, though, the Temple shakes, and the entire room shudders as various objects fall to the ground and shatter. Wondering what's happening, Teal'c rushes to a balcony overlooking the stargate plaza in time to see a stream of plasma blasts slam into the outer edges of the surrounding cityscape; apparently, some of the Der'kal ships in orbit have gotten close enough to take potshots at the surface.

Just then, one of the warriors guarding the 'gate shouts out a warning, which even Teal'c can hear so far up the Temple. Looking to the sky, he sees the clouds swirl apart to reveal several squadrons of alien starfighters, clearing a path for gunships and troop transports to descend. Patrolling death gliders break formation and move to engage the enemy, and ground-based staff cannons open up, blowing several of the starfighters apart and seriously damaging a gunship. Unfortunately, the sheer number of craft makes stopping them all impossible, and the transports are able to touch down outside the Temple ring (the circle of governmental buildings that surround the mountain itself), unloading troops and new, sleek, deadly-looking hovertanks. Staring in shock, Teal'c shouts for the First Primes in the war room to rally what soldiers they can, then makes for the nearest staircase so he can get down to ground level.

Outside, the newly-arrived Der'kal warriors begin firing on the Jaffa soldiers protecting the Temple, using their hovertanks to blow chunks out of the ancient walls keeping them out. Luckily, the Jaffa have many staff cannons set up for perimeter defense, and their combined fire is enough to force the tanks to stay at their maximum firing distance. As gliders and alien fighters dogfight in the sky, pieces of destroyed craft burst into flame and spiral into the city, crashing and exploding brilliantly in the fading sunlight.

Having arrived at the bottom of the Temple, Teal'c steps out into the stargate plaza in Jaffa warrior armor, clearly having changed sometime on the way down. Picking up a staff weapon and zat gun from a stack brought in to supply the garrison troops, he shouts for the nearest several soldiers to follow him, then turns to the perimeter wall, intending to go reinforce his men. Before he moves, though, someone spots a gunship hovering near one of the upper floors; several Der'kal are getting off and infiltrating the upper levels, bypassing the defenses completely. At once, nearby staff cannons take aim and blow the gunship apart, but its passengers are already off. Teal'c knows he can't afford to let the enemy run rampant in areas with sensitive intelligence data, and tells the makeshift squad he's gathered to follow him up there.

Back on Earth, Daniel Jackson's cell phone is ringing, prompting him to excuse himself from his team and step into the hallway to talk. To his surprise, Ambassador Xiaoyi is the one calling him, and she asks if he can go someplace where they can talk in private. Concerned for a woman he, regardless of recent events, holds in high regard, Daniel says that he'll head to his lab. Once he gets there, he asks Shen to explain what this is all about, and the Chinese diplomat chokes up. She begs Jackson to understand that she had no choice, that Beijing was determined to secure a future for China, one that would make them the supreme human power and finally bring America to its knees. Confused, Daniel asks her what's going on, but then sounds of a struggle can be heard, and Shen only manages to cry out "Forgive us, Daniel!" before the connection goes dead.

Meanwhile, Teal'c and his men are advancing up a staircase leading to the levels of the Temple that the Der'kal infiltrated. Several alien warriors are mounted on the steps, though, and fire down at the Jaffa as they advance. Determined not to be caught up, Teal'c single-handedly takes them out, even in his old age spinning and leaping to find cover and avoid enemy fire as he knocks the warriors down one-by-one. When the last one is killed, he signals for his squad to continue, though they are down to only six now.

At the top of the stair, they come to a long hallway, with three Der'kal warriors positioned along it. A shootout ensues, in which all but two of Teal'c's men are killed, but the Jaffa keep going. After a few more twists and turns, they come to an open room, square-shaped but quite large, and empty except for the beautiful, Ancient-designed windows that are streaming in the remaining sunlight. Inside stands a sole Der'kal, holding nothing but what appears to be a small double-bladed knife. As soon as the alien hears Teal'c approach, though, it turns, pulling out a hidden energy pistol and shooting his two escorts dead. Now it is revealed to be a Der'kal female, no doubt one of the elite warriors Lor'al swore to place in positions of command throughout the armada ("United We Stand"). She asks Teal'c if he would like to surrender now, but the Chancellor angrily replies that she won't be coming out of this room alive. Snarling happily at such a challenge, the alien extends her weapon into a six-foot-long double-bladed staff and charges.

In the ISGC common room, Daniel comes in the door looking very confused. Mitchell asks him who called, and he explains the strange conversation he and Shen Xiaoyi had, and wonders what she could have meant. Vala, thinking from a criminal perspective, guesses she feels guilty about something, but it has to be something big. Really big. And by the sounds of the scuffle, Chinese soldiers caught her, indicating they didn't want her talking to anyone, least of all a member of SG-1. Whatever the case, it can't be good, and given her words, China's definitely up to something. Carter goes over to an inter-base phone and calls the control room, asking for General O'Neill to get down here at once. They need to know what the Chinese are doing.

On Dakara, Teal'c and the Der'kal have moved to full-blown brawl. As the female leaps from wall to wall, Teal'c attempts to shoot her with his staff, but she's just too fast and agile, able to bend or twist out of the way at the last second. Then she comes straight at him again, hammering him with the sword as he parries and counters with the butt of his staff. He's finally sliced across the leg, bringing him to one knee, but he swipes his foe across the face, knocking her to the ground. He stands and moves to deliver the killing blow, but the female rolls aside and kicks up, pushing Teal'c back. Then she goes into a series of quick attacks, using one side of her sword, then the other, giving him no time to do anything but block. Declaring that this "infidel" cannot win, she brings her sword down on the shooting end of the staff weapon, slicing it clean off, then uses the other side to snap the Goa'uld device in two. With Teal'c defenseless, she spins and kicks him in the head, leaving him reeling, then does the unthinkable; she brings up her staff and stabs the Jaffa leader right in the chest. She yanks the sword out and watches as the Chancellor falls to the ground, clutching at his wound and gushing blood.

Then she raises her sword high and prepares to finish the job, but a golden plasma blast catches her right arm and mangles it, causing her to scream out in agony. Her light robes bloodied and burnt, the female turns to see Bra'tac standing there, the staff weapon of one of Teal'c's fallen escorts in hand. He tells the alien that she has two choices; leave now or be killed. Clutching her destroyed arm, she snarls that she was about to say the same thing to him, then picks up her staff with her one remaining hand and prepares to fight again. Teal'c lies unmoving on the ground.

[s09119]

(End of "Divided We Fall," see previous two posts for start and middle.)

Spoiler:

In the meantime, the te'kal in the Chinese embassy has finished setting his hologram projector, and activates it. In the Oval Office, a holographic image of him appears, startling a meeting of President Hayes and the Joint Chiefs. The Der'kal elite proceeds to inform Hayes that the Chinese have been working with them for the better part of a year now, slipping them vital information to thwart Alliance attacks and bypass their defenses. When SG-1 went to recover a lost Furling armada ("Lost and Found"), it was the Chinese that gave the aliens to coordinates to give chase. And all this was in exchange for a promise that when the Der'kal finally came for Earth, they would utterly wipe the United States and Europe off the face of the planet, but spare China, leaving them as the dominant power and the face of the Tau'ri. But now, the te'kal explains, their usefulness has expired, and he only wished for Hayes to know. Smiling, the alien wishes the President a good day, then the hologram flashes out. Back in the embassy, the Der'kal is unaware of two Chinese soldiers standing behind him, having heard the whole thing. As he turns to leave, he sees them, and his eyes widen. He doesn't even have time to say a word before they open fire.

In space, Col. Sanders is receiving a message from the White House. She has it put through to her radio directly, and gets her next set of orders; she and the other ships are to destroy the Chinese opposition immediately. They will not then commence to Dakara, and instead will take up position over mainland China from orbit, prepared to do whatever is necessary to prevent any hostile action the country may take. Shocked, Sanders asks if that's really what needs to be done, pointing out that this could lead to all-out war on the planet, but Hayes himself replies then, saying that the Chinese have betrayed them all. The time for diplomacy is over. With shock in her eyes, Sanders relays the orders to the other American and European 303s and 304s, and they open up with their Asgard weapons and missiles on the Chinese ships, who immediately return fire. It has begun.

On Dakara itself, Bra'tac and the female Der'kal are in the thick of fighting, the latter doing surprisingly well with only one arm to use. Bra'tac, despite his age, lands several major blows, but then the alien comes at him with renewed vigor, pushing him toward a wall. Bra'tac parries again and again, but his weapon is finally knocked from his hands. Determined not to go down, he pulls out a zat and fires, but his opponent catches the energy beam on her staff, dissipating it across its metallic surface before slicing the pistol in half. Pausing, she asks Bra'tac if he believes in any higher power, to which he quietly replies, "I... I die free." Then the alien twirls her staff around and slices, cutting a deep gash into Bra'tac's stomach and chest. As he falls to the ground, she takes one final look at the still-frozen Teal'c, then retracts her sword and limps from the room. As she vanishes down the hall, the sound of Jaffa footsteps can be heard; more warriors coming to assist their beloved leaders. Little do they know, the fight is over.

In orbit above Earth, the Chinese ships are being blown apart one-by-one, and all effort is being made to contain them. In the heat of the conflict, no one notices a hyperspace window open over the southern pole, and a Der'kal corvette exit. Without slowing down, it speeds toward the atmosphere, completely unhindered now that the world has been frenzied by the revelation of the Chinese betrayal; all part of the plan. The ship enters the upper cloud layer with ease, but someone in the Atlantus outpost has detected the approach. Sounding a warning, one of the technicians there grabs a phone to call Washington, the fleet, anyone, while another jumps into the control chair and powers up the defense systems. As drones begin exiting their storage bays and heading skyward, the corvette breaks through the clouds and approaches. The Ancient energy missiles start to tear into its hull, but it's simply too big and too close... it slams into the outpost, exploding in a brilliant fireball that lights up the darkened Antarctic.

At the ISGC, SG-1, Talbot, and General O'Neill are in the control room, listening to a battle report from Dakara via stargate. The attack on the Temple has been pushed back, but then the voice of their correspondant changes, and a startled, frightened-sounding Jaffa takes over. He sounds as if he's crying as he informs them that a group of soldiers just located Chancellor Teal'c and Bra'tac; Bra'tac is dead, killed by a Der'kal, and Teal'c is in critical condition with a serious and possibly fatal wound. Everyone in the room is stunned, with Jack shouting that that's simply not possible.

Then another report comes in, this one from the Pentagon; a Der'kal corvette managed to sneak past the fleet during the fighting with the Chinese (all their ships have now been destroyed). The technicians at the Atlantus outpost tried to take it down with drones, but it was just too close... and sensor data confirms that the entire place has been leveled. The Ancient defense platform is gone, Earth's ace-in-the-hole savior is no more.

Faced with two such terrifying realizations at once, no one knows what to do. And that's when the Jaffa, confused and afraid, inform them that something else is happening; the Der'kal are breaking off their attack. They're even pulling out all but their interdictors and a few guard ships and moving to jump into hyperspace... as the first ships start to depart, Talbot manages to squeak out a question; where are they headed? After a suitable pause, the Jaffa says that their bearing is unmistakable, given the direction. The attack on Dakara was a feint, a trick to pull all the Alliance fleet into one place and trap them.

They're coming for Earth.

((To Be Continued))

[Lt. Col. Mcoy]

Oh, man...that was the best episode you've ever written.

One thing, though....CNN? MSNBC? Can you say "advertising"? Please, this is the military. No matter your personal preference, you can have no claim on non-partisan writing if you only include those two stations; out of all the news stations, those are the worst for partisanship.


But still...awesome...

[Jeffala]

*Anxious*

[s09119]

Oh, man...that was the best episode you've ever written.

Why thank you

One thing, though....CNN? MSNBC? Can you say "advertising"? Please, this is the military. No matter your personal preference, you can have no claim on non-partisan writing if you only include those two stations; out of all the news stations, those are the worst for partisanship.

Many television shows only show characters watching certain news stations. Besides, Daniel strikes me as a liberal...

[Lt. Col. Mcoy]

Ah well, I believe you are correct. Still...I personally felt cheesed.

[s09119]

Ah well, I believe you are correct. Still...I personally felt cheesed.

Just enjoy the massive plot-move-forward-ness of the episode

[Lt. Col. Mcoy]

Oh, believe me...I did.

Remember the "your best episode ever" comment? Let's focus on that. It was awesome.

It's like you've been reading the SGCF group page.

[s09119]

Oh, believe me...I did.

Remember the "your best episode ever" comment? Let's focus on that. It was awesome.

It's like you've been reading the SGCF group page.

Really? What have you guys been discussing on there?