SG1-25 Hostile Ground(71)

At that, Hammond rose to his feet, leaning forward and bracing himself on his desk. The lacquered walnut felt sturdy and solid beneath his knuckles. Maybourne met his eyes, but Hammond could see the unease there; you didn’t get two stars on your shoulder without knowing how to intimidate. “I could have you arrested, Maybourne. One call and they’d bury you so deep you’d never see daylight again.”

He feigned unconcern, but Hammond could see a shimmer of sweat on his forehead. “On what evidence?”

“You just confessed.”

“Your word against mine, General. Besides, right now, I’d say your word doesn’t stack up to a whole lot.” Maybourne gave a serpent’s smile. “You need to face facts, sir. SG-1 isn’t coming back and you’ll have to look elsewhere for salvation. That’s exactly what I’m here to offer.”

There was truth in what Maybourne had to say, of course. Hammond wasn’t fool enough to deny the predicament they were in. There was a storm coming, a howling blue-norther ready to rip the very ground from beneath their feet. But Hammond would not allow a snake like Maybourne to have the upper hand. “Let me tell you a few things, Maybourne,” he said. “First of all, I’d rather jump in a hand basket and ride it straight to hell than accept any help from you. Secondly, you may accept that the end of the world is a foregone conclusion, but I like to think that the human race has something left to fight for, and I sure as hell won’t be giving up any time soon.” He rounded the desk and picked up Maybourne’s hat. “And lastly, I don’t care if God has opened the heavens and unleashed the seven plagues of Egypt upon these lands; I am still a general in the United States Air Force while you’re nothing but a pissant colonel. So when you enter my office you stand to attention until I say the words ‘at ease’. Forget that again, Colonel, and I’ll haul you up for insubordination and make sure you spend your last hours on this earth cleaning the filthiest toilet in Leavenworth.”

Maybourne stood up as Hammond spoke, keeping the chair as a barrier between them. “You couldn’t,” he said.

“That phone doesn’t dial Pizza Hut, son.” Hammond held out the hat. “Now get the hell out of my office and off my base.”

Maybourne took his hat, clearly struggling not to snatch it. “You hide behind this good ol’ boy bluster all you want, General,” he said, “but sooner or later you’ll realize that I’m your last hope.”

“Get out, Maybourne.” He nodded to the two airmen waiting outside his office. “Make sure the colonel leaves the base without incident.”

As Mayborne stomped out the door, he shouldered past Harriman, who’d just come running up from the control room. One glance at the sergeant’s face and Maybourne was forgotten.

“What is it, Walter?”

“It’s not good, sir. At just after 0900, a ship came out of hyperspace, just beyond the Kuiper belt. And then another and then —” He shook his head and swallowed. “General, Apophis’s fleet has entered the solar system.”





CHAPTER NINETEEN




Teal’c took the rear as they made their retreat, Hunter leading them on a frenzied sprint through the ship’s winding corridors. There appeared to be no direction to their flight, but there was no time to question it. He must trust their new ally.

Teal’c laid down a series of covering blasts, a few of them finding their target, but their pursuers were strong and difficult to kill. Just when he thought he had felled the last of them, he heard quick footsteps echoing along the corridor down which they had just fled. They were far from safe.

Major Carter drew to a halt suddenly, causing Teal’c to collide with her, back to back. “Major Carter, we must keep moving!” But when he looked over his shoulder in the direction they were running, he saw why she had stopped. The door ahead was sealed.

“Hunter?” she hissed. “Now what?”

“We gotta get through that door.”

But at that moment three Amam rounded the corner behind them, no more than twenty meters away.

“Major Carter,” Teal’c said, warning her.

She turned. “Damn it.”

The Amam stopped and assessed the situation, sniffing the air. Hunters, with their prey cornered. Teal’c could sense their triumph. He raised his weapon, Daniel Jackson and Major Carter doing likewise. Prey, or not, they would not succumb without a fight.

As one, the Amam lifted their weapons and began to stalk toward them.

“On my mark,” Major Carter said. Her voice was tense but steady. “Three of them, three of us.”