The head disappears. Through the ringing in his ears O'Neill hears more yells coming through the hole. As the colonel struggles to stand, he sees the head reappear, followed by a hand holding a pistol. The barrel swings forward just as the colonel points his weapon and fires a short burst that sprays the hole near the pistol. The head jerks back out of the hole and the pistol falls to the floor. More shouts and yells can be heard. O'Neill stands, spitting dust out of his mouth. Lorenzo and Davis still haven't moved, but he can hear moaning. O'Neill watches the hole, keeping his weapon aimed.
"Colonel!"
Sergeant Sullivan reaches him first, the rest of the team arrives within a few seconds. An object the size and shape of a basketball, trailing a thin wire, drops through the hole. It hits the floor, bounces a few times, and then rolls in front of the blast debris. Three legs pop out of the bottom to stabilize the spherical object. The upper half of the ball begins to rotate. Gren yells as a dark hole in the top moves into view.
Dr. Jackson yells, "It's a camera! They use it to scan a corridor before an assault team drops through!"
O'Neill lowers his gun, aiming at the sphere. Before he can pull his trigger the ball shatters, both Sullivan and Bundy firing quick bursts at the camera. The two men raise their weapons and point them back at the hole.
As O'Neill directs his attention back to the hole he calls out.
"Martinez, Sully, grab Lorenzo and Davis. Bundy, set up a controlled retreat. The rest of you, find the nearest stairs. Go!"
Lorenzo moans and Davis struggles to get up. Martinez and Sully grab the men's weapons and toss them to Carter. They then bend down and grab the two men, throwing them over their shoulders in a fireman's carry. Martinez and Sully turn and quick walk down the corridor.
O'Neill backs down the corridor, watching the hole. He keeps his weapon aimed at the hole, waiting to see what comes through next. Another head, followed by an arm and a weapon, appears, this time on the opposite side of the hole. O'Neill fires another short burst. The head disappears.
O'Neill turns and runs down the hall. He hasn't gone more than a half a dozen steps when he hears something hit the floor. Risking a quick glance he sees it isn't another sphere but something smaller. He yells "GRENADE" and drops to the floor. Almost immediately there is a flash as the grenade detonates. The blast wave rolls over him and shrapnel strikes the wall and ceiling. Unharmed, O'Neill jumps up. Several ropes drop through the hole. He removes a grenade from his harness as he begins to back rapidly away from the hole. He pulls the pin and releases the safety. He lets the grenade cook for a second and then gives the grenade a quick underhanded throw toward the hole. O'Neill turns and runs, yelling, "FRAG OUT!" The grenade bounces and skids across the floor toward the ceiling debris. It hits the edge of the debris and rolls against the wall.
O'Neill runs for a short distance then throws himself to the floor. A split second later his grenade detonates. The sound reverberates up and down the corridor. He jumps up, fires a quick burst toward the hole and runs as fast as he can. He hears faint yells and screams from behind.
"That might slow them down a bit," he thinks.
He hears faint 'metal on metal' sounds behind him. There is an explosion, followed a few seconds later by another. "Must be clearing the way before dropping down," he thinks.
Someone standing above the hole fires a short burst into the corridor. The sound of ricochets echoes down the corridor. He grabs another grenade and throws it down the corridor. He follows the grenade with another gunfire burst. A flash lights up the corridor as his second grenade explodes.
Concerned that the Federation might punch a hole between him and the rest of the team he runs even faster. Thirty meters ahead he sees half a dozen pipes running vertically from ceiling to floor, partially blocking the way. He can also see Bundy kneeling just past the pipes, holding one hand close to the floor.
As he nears the pipes Bundy whispers out a warning. "Careful, Colonel, watch your step." O'Neill slows and looks at the captain's hand, held just a few inches above the floor. A thin, barely visible wire stretches across the opening. His eyes follow the wire to the right where it has been wrapped around one of the pipes. The wire disappears to the left into a small mound of debris. "An armed claymore mine, good idea." He carefully steps over.
Bundy stands. "Carter thought it might help slow them down. She should've found stairs by now."
The sound of bullets striking the walls and nearby pipes interrupts any further discussion. The two men drop to the floor and roll to the sides. They return fire, shooting low and being sure to cover both sides of the corridor. A few more bullets come their way, some striking the emergency light near the pipes. There is no explosion or shower of sparks, it just goes out, throwing that part of the corridor into darkness. The absence of light hides the tripwire.
They stay on the floor another minute, hoping to give the team more time to find a way down. More bullets strike the pipes.
"They are starting to tick me off," O'Neill snarls.
"Starting? I'd say they're way past that point by now."
Bundy rolls over as does O'Neill and fires a short burst before rising. Staying low the two men fire a few more bursts then turn and run down the corridor. Fifteen meters ahead they see Lorenzo waving at them. They fire another burst back along the corridor, aiming down the center.
Lorenzo stands next to a slightly open door.
"Over here. Captain Carter said she'd go down two floors, then start searching for a major stairwell."
O'Neill sees another vertical stand of pipes twenty feet down the hall. He aims at the nearest light and fires. The corridor goes dark. He repeats his action for the emergency light further down the corridor.
A surprised Lorenzo asks, "what was that for?"
Bundy answers for the colonel, "to make them think twice."
They step through the doorway and Lorenzo gently closes the door behind them.
"You doing okay, Tony?" Bundy whispers.
"Yes, Sir. Just had the wind knocked out of me."
Lorenzo turns and carefully walks down the stairs. O'Neill and Bundy follow, trying to be as quiet as possible. Even so, it seems as if their steps echo up and down the stairwell.
0
For five minutes O'Neill and Bundy jog after Lorenzo, down stairs and along corridors, twisting and turning to throw off any pursuit. Along the way Captain Carter had left small signs to show the way. It might be a small object or a mark left on the wall, something that someone under normal circumstances would overlook. However, the sharp eyes of Lorenzo always spotted them. As they passed the spot, he would pick up the object or gently rub out the mark to be sure no one could follow. It was during this time they felt rather than heard a muffled explosion.
"What the hell was that?" Lorenzo had exclaimed.
"Claymore more than likely." Bundy chuckles. "If they weren't pissed off before, I bet they are now."
Finally, after twisting and turning through corridors and jogging down stairs they finally find the maintenance shaft that the two men from Dah'lek had mentioned. They step into the shaft, gently closing the double doors behind them. There is just enough light for the men to see stairs running up and down the sides of the wide shaft. In the center of the shaft, supported by a web of thick support beams, are the vertical railings for an industrial-sized magnetic levitation elevator, easily three or four times the size of the one O'Neill had seen before. O'Neill guesses that since Carter isn't using it it is not working, like just about everything else in the city.
As they pause O'Neill speaks softly into the radio. "Carter, do you read, over."
After a short wait he hears Carter's voice in his earpiece. "Yes, Sir, loud and clear."
"Where are you?" O'Neill asks.
"Well, if you were able to follow my trail you are probably standing in the maintenance shaft about five levels above me."
"That's where we are. Where's the rest of the team?"
"I had Sergeant Sullivan take them down to the bottom to check it out. So far we haven't seen any signs of anyone being here."
"Okay. Hang loose, we're on our way down."
They meet Captain Carter exactly where she said she would be. She turns and leads the men down the stairs, which wind around the vertical railings for the non-working elevator. Without warning the walls surrounding the stairs disappear into the gloom as the maintenance shaft expands greatly in size. To O'Neill's eyes the stairs appear to be suspended in space, with nothing but the stair railings there to keep them from falling to the bottom of the shaft. Even for O'Neill, the feeling of vertigo is a little too strong. He can't understand why, after just a few minutes, his hand starts to cramp. He realizes how strongly he has been gripping the railing.
After walking down several levels O'Neill forces himself to look over the railing. There is just enough light at the bottom for him to see that the maintenance shaft columns are resting on top of a single, massive concrete column. O'Neill swears that half a football field could fit on top of the column. As they reach the bottom of the stairs Sergeant Sullivan walks over to greet them. The rest of the team stand in the center of the column, awed into silence, overwhelmed by the size of what they see.
O'Neill does a quick 360-degree view. Each support column for the maintenance shaft has been welded to a massive circular plate several feet thick. A dozen bolts, each at least a meter in diameter, pierce the plate, with equally massive nuts holding the plate tight to the concrete. An endless array of beams and columns, pipes and other objects extend far into the distance in every direction.
Sergeant Sullivan comes to attention. "Sir, we did a quick reconnoiter of the area. Looks clear. No sign that anyone has been here for a long time. Other than the crane there's nothing up here. There are two sets of stairs."
He points to one side. A small platform with railings extends from the column top. A large crane, its rotating base bolted to the main column, sits next to the platform.
"That's one of them. The other one's on the opposite side." He points. "They wrap around the column for three more levels. Two levels don't have any floors, just support beams and lots of pipes running everywhere. There is a floor at the bottom, with a large hatch, directly under the crane. Also, lots of pipes, storage tanks, and machines of some kind down there as well."
"Will we be able to make it through them?" Colonel O'Neill asks?
"I don't think so, Sir. Won't know for sure until we get a closer look. There's just enough light for me to see lots of ladders, cat walks, and narrow passages. Looks like a mess. No clear way through that I could see. Jenz and Gren are more familiar with this, though they aren't happy about being here. Dr. Jackson says they don't think we can get through either. We might be able to make it, but I don't think the corporal would be able to."
"Did you check it out?"
"No, Sir. Thought we should wait until you got here."
"Daniel, what do our friends think about going down further?"
Both Dah'lekians have been showing signs of anxiety since arriving. Glancing nervously around the top of the column, at any moment they expect something to jump, crawl or slither over the edge. Dr. Jackson speaks to them. Their expressions show a certain amount of apprehension. Jenz hesitantly responds.
Dr. Jackson provides a translation, leaving out most of the complaints. "Uh, he's not sure what's below. Could be swamp, water, ground, anything. He says they avoid going down that far. There are lots of stories about monsters and other creatures living below the city. Stories of men driven mad by the lack of light. Only the bravest or most foolish go there. Certain death awaits."
O'Neill stares at Daniel as if to say, "are you kidding?"
Dr. Jackson just shrugs his shoulders. O'Neill rolls his eyes.
"Oh for ... I don't think we have any choice. We can't hide here. Given time the Federation will probably find our trail. After Carter's claymore I don't think they'll give up easily."
Captain Bundy adds, "maybe the Federation has the same stories. They may not think anyone's crazy enough to go below."
O'Neill answers, "Yeah, maybe." He pauses for a moment to think, weighing the pros and cons of continuing down. "Okay, we'll at least take a look. Can't hurt. Everyone, head down the stairs, quietly. We'll regroup at the bottom."
There is a stifled groan from Jenz and Gren as Dr. Jackson translates O'Neill's orders.
The team members move toward the nearest set of steps and start the long walk down. The stairs spiral around the immense column. Halfway down they notice the other set of stairs spiraling above them. They pass massive metal I-beams set deeply into the side of the column, four beams to a level. The beams extend as far as they can see. Further out are more support beams, almost as large, crossing from one main beam to the other. They too disappear into the dark. As they near the bottom they can more easily make out the numerous tanks and vessels of all sizes, connected by massive pipes. The objects cast dark shadows over the bottom floor. Thick cables run overhead, draped from one beam to the other. A number of large lights are mounted on the sides of the column and hang from the beams. Unfortunately, all of them are dark. The only sources of light are a few of the emergency lights, placed at wide intervals around the column.
The warm and humid air feels heavy and oppressive at the bottom of the shaft. There is even a strong metallic taste in the air. However, there is no lingering odor of decay like that at the site of the fallen stargate.
Carter notices how different this area is compared to where the stargate's had fallen.
"Interesting," she observes.
"What is?"
"Well, Sir, notice how crowded this floor is, with all of this equipment. This massive column. We didn't see any of this around the hole where the stargate fell."
"Yeah, maybe it was because of the swamp. The supports there could barely support the stargate. They sure couldn't support all of this equipment."
They finally reach the bottom and step onto the metal floor. It extends outward for about thirty meters before disappearing under the maze of pipes. Seen from the column top the vessels and tanks did not appear to be very large. Up close these objects are immense. Several team members comment on the technical skills of the city engineers. As the sergeant said, there is a plethora of ladders and catwalks among the objects at this level. Even though it is difficult to see in the dim light, O'Neill can't see a clear way through the maze.
Near the stairs, and directly below the crane, lies the hatch Sully had mentioned. O'Neill thinks it is large enough to drop their now destroyed transport through. A set of handholds has been welded to the front edge of the hatch. A large wheel has been set into the hatch just a meter or so from the front. Near the back a set of counterweights has been added to make raising and lowering the hatch more manageable. Two pairs of large hinges at the back complete the setup.
They gather around the hatch. O'Neill turns to the sergeant. "Sergeant, you have the honors."
"Thank you, Sir."
Sullivan walks to the hatch and kneels. He grabs the wheel and tries to turn it. It doesn't move. He shifts his weight and repositions his hands. He strains and after a moment they notice a slight movement. Shifting his hands he continues rotating the wheel. As he does they hear something sliding on the bottom side of the hatch. After a few turns the wheel stops. Sullivan stands. Bending his knees he grabs a handhold and lifts. It doesn't move. He tries again, straining to raise the hatch, but it still doesn't move.
The sergeant stands up straight. He takes a deep breath before exclaiming, "man, I think I broke my spleen on that last try."
Teal'c turns to Martinez. "Martinez".
After Martinez takes the staff from the outstretched hand of the Jaffa, Teal'c moves to the hatch and kneels next to the sergeant. Grasping the other handle he nods to Sully. The sergeant kneels and grabs his handle. Together they strain to lift the hatch. There is a slight squeak. The squeak turns into a loud squeal as the hatch moves. They stop lifting, alarmed at how loud the squealing seems.
"Dammit!" the sergeant mutters. He turns to O'Neill.
"That's not going to work. It will probably bring the Federation down on top of us."
Several of the men look up, almost expecting to see grenades raining down on top of them.
Sully stands and walks to the back of the hatch and kneels. He rubs his hands over the hinges.
"We need something to lubricate them."
Someone suggests, "Well, you could pee on them. The uric acid in the urine might help."
The sergeant asks, "You volunteering?"
Captain Carter speaks up. "Uh, how about using the oil from a gun cleaning kit instead. That might be better."
Bundy laughs. "Ah, that's no fun. Good idea, but no fun."
The sergeant breaks out his gun cleaning kit. He takes the small brass brush and cleans off as much rust from the hinges as he can. He then dribbles the cleaning oil over the hinge. After the hinges have been thoroughly lubricated the sergeant returns to the handles.
"You ready, Teal'c?"
Teal'c nods. "Indeed."
Once again they strain to open the hatch. Slowly, with barely a squeak, it surrenders a fraction of an inch at a time. A wave of heat washes over the two men as the hatch is raised. They step back in surprise.
The sergeant mutters, "whew, they weren't kidding about the 'hell' part."
They are able to lift the hatch maybe a meter. Even with their combined strength they cannot raise the hatch any further.
"Little help here."
Lorenzo and Davis step to the hatch and grab the edge. The rusty hinges let out a few minor squeaks in protest as the hatch rises under the assault. After another meter the hatch stops moving. They struggle but it won't move any further.
"That should do it," O'Neill says, silently wondering if their Federation pursuers heard anything. The men step aside. The hatch slowly drops an inch or two before it stops.
O'Neill turns to see what the men from Dah'lek have to say. They had inched toward the hatch as it was being lifted, nervously pointing their weapons at the revealed hole. They notice the team looking at them. They lean over to take a look through the hole. After a brief pause they shrug and say a few words. Dr. Jackson doesn't bother translating.
Heat still radiates from the hatchway. The air has a musty smell, but it is much more pleasant than the dank, rotten egg smell of the swamp. A dim glow comes from below.
O'Neill moves to the edge and looks down. The rungs of a wide ladder start just below the edge of the hatch and end almost ten meters below on a large platform. He clips his weapon to his harness and steps to the ladder.
"Cover me."
He bends down and carefully places his foot onto the first rung. The team spreads around the hole, keeping an eye on the ladder and platform. As they do, the two Dah'lekians watch for anything sneaking up from behind. Carefully, O'Neill climbs down the ladder, checking each rung to be sure it will support his weight. Once his head is level with the opening he stops and bends over, looking at the platform below. There is an emergency light on the column, providing just enough light for O'Neill to see the platform. The platform itself extends out from the column about five meters, extending ten meters on either side of the ladder. A sturdy rail lines the platform's edge. In the light he can just make out what looks like a set of steps which he assumes leads to the ground. He also sees the beginning of a meter-wide catwalk starting at both ends of the platform. He assumes it circles the column. Most importantly, he doesn't see anything waiting on the platform.
O'Neill continues down the ladder. The scale of what he sees below the metal floor is hard to comprehend. The floor rests on a massive I-beam, at least twice as tall as a man and set deeply into the side of the massive column. The other end of the beam disappears into the darkness. He continues down the ladder. Carefully stepping onto the platform he gives it a couple of bounces to be sure it is stable. He walks to the edge and looks down. He sees what appears to be dry ground fifteen or twenty meters below. He can see the edge of another platform at ground level.
A strong, warm breeze blows across the platform, creating a humming sound as it moves around the column and the beams. Anyplace else a breeze like this would bring welcome relief. Here it does not, it just brings more heat. He looks out from the platform. Infinite lines of widely spaced lights extend so far into the distance that they eventually blur together. It takes a moment for him to realize he is looking at the emergency lights on thousands of support columns, all arranged in a perfect grid under the city.
Though emergency lights appear at the top and bottom of each of the columns, they provide just a small amount of light, like bright stars on a clear night. Only the platforms and the areas immediately surrounding them receive any light. The area between the columns is as dark as night. O'Neill sees no sign of life below.
He walks back to the ladder and motions for the team to start moving down to the platform. Sergeant Sullivan and Martinez are the first down the ladder. He walks the two over to the stairs, directing them to head to the bottom and check it out.
O'Neill cautions them to be careful. "Our escorts may be exaggerating but play it safe, just in case."
O'Neill hears a low whistle. He turns to see Captain Carter standing near the platform's edge, staring into the distance.
"Carter?"
The captain just shakes her head. She says. "This is unbelievable. This really is an incredible feat of engineering. There are probably hundreds of thousands of these columns, all arranged in what looks like a perfect grid, each column roughly three hundred meters from the next one. That most of them have been standing for well over a hundred years without any maintenance is impressive in itself."
O'Neill watches Randall climb down the ladder one leg at a time. Randall gingerly lowers his injured leg to a rung and then uses the splint for support as he brings his other leg down. Since Randall can only use one arm, Watkins moves down the ladder next to him, ready to provide support. The edge of the cart appears above the two men, ready to be lowered.
As Randall reaches the platform, O'Neill asks. "You okay, Corporal?"
"Yes, Sir." His breathing is heavy. "I'm hobbling along okay."
"Think you can make it down the stairs?"
"We'll see. I made it down the stairs above. I should be okay on these. Just a little slower than the rest of you."
Randall limps toward the steps. Lorenzo lowers the cart through the hatch using a short piece of rope. Watkins takes it and moves the cart to the side so the rest of the team can come down.
"Colonel, how far down is it?"
"I don't know, maybe fifteen or twenty meters. Why?"
"I was thinking maybe we can lower the cart. It might be a bit safer than trying to carry it down the steps."
O'Neill nods in agreement. "Makes sense. Wait until Sullivan and Martinez finish checking out the bottom."
The rest of the team moves across the platform and starts down the steps. O'Neill directs Carter to work with Sullivan and Martinez to setup a perimeter. Soon only Watkins, Bundy, and O'Neill remain on the platform.
Watkins speaks into his radio. "Sergeant, you read me?"
"Loud and clear, Lieutenant."
"I'm going to lower the cart. Please make sure no one is standing under the platform while it's coming down, just in case it slips."
"Understood. Give me a sec to get into position."
Watkins takes a coil of rope from his backpack. He wraps the rope around the railing once and then ties the end to the cart's handle. Pulling the cart to the platform's edge he speaks into the radio, calling for the sergeant.
"Hey, Sully, you in position yet?"
"Yep, let 'er go."
"It's on the way." He holds tightly onto the rope. He looks at Bundy. "Sir, if you wouldn't mind."
Bundy walks to the cart and carefully rolls it over the edge. Watkins slowly plays out the rope, giving the cart a slow descent.
"Thanks, Sir."
While Watkins gently lowers the cart Bundy walks back to O'Neill. "Think we should close the hatch?"
O'Neill looks up at the partially opened hatch and nods. The captain climbs the ladder and reaches for one of the handles on the hatch's underside. He pulls, but the hatch doesn't move. He grabs the handle with both hands and tries again. The hatch does not budge. Testing the handle to be sure it won't break he steps off the ladder, bringing his full weight onto the hatch. It still does not move.
"Been losing weight, Captain?"
"Very funny, Sir," Bundy states, hanging from the hatch. "Care to lend a hand?"
O'Neill climbs the ladder and grabs the other handle. He carefully pulls. The hatch drops maybe an inch. He takes his feet from the ladder and hangs next to the captain. The extra weight causes the hatch to close in slow motion, a slight squeak coming from the hinges. The two men swing back to the ladder, letting go of the handles. They notice that the wheel on the underside of the hatch is missing.
"Uh, you think we ought to lock the door behind us?" Bundy asks. "Just in case they find our trail. Might slow them down a bit."
"Couldn't hurt."
About that time Sergeant Sullivan announces over the radio that the cart has landed and has been untied.
"Watkins, can you give us a four-meter length of your rope?"
"Sure, Captain. Hold on." Watkins pulls the rope up. Taking his bayonet from its scabbard he cuts off the requested length. He walks to the ladder and tosses the rope up to the captain.
"Thanks."
"No problem," Watkins answers. He coils the remaining rope. "If it's alright with you I'll head on down."
"Go ahead, Lieutenant. We'll catch up."
Watkins heads to the stairs and disappears.
Bundy wraps an arm around the ladder. He pulls out his bayonet, cuts the rope in half, and hands one piece to the colonel. Putting his bayonet back into its scabbard, Bundy climbs until the handle is within easy reach. Wrapping a leg around the side of the ladder to provide support, he reaches up and ties one end of the rope to the handle. He takes the other end and loops it around one of the ladder rungs. He pulls the rope, stretching it tight, and then wraps it around the rung. He finishes with a sturdy knot. O'Neill has done the same with the handle on the other side.
"That ought to do it," Bundy states.
Bundy and O'Neill climb down to the platform and walk to the stairs. They keep a good grip on the handrails as they walk down the stairs. Unlike in the stairwells above there are no lights on these stairs. Once out of sight of the platform they have to slow down to be sure they do not miss a step.
The lights on the surrounding columns create an eerie, unearthly glow. As the two men move down the steps, holding tightly onto the rails, their eyes take in the almost hypnotic view of row after row of dim lights. Tearing his eyes away from the hypnotic scene O'Neill glances down to see movement at the base of the column.
After what seems to be an eternity of steps they finally reach the bottom. The ground-level platform is much larger than the one at the top, but it too is easily overwhelmed by the immense size of the column. Two lights, one above either end of the platform, provide just enough light for the platform as well as a circular area extending a dozen or so paces beyond the platform. In the middle of the platform's front edge stands a ladder, the only way to reach the ground. Carter leans over the railing near the ladder, talking to someone on the ground.
O'Neill and Bundy step off the stairs and onto the platform. Carter can fee l their footsteps on the platform as the two men walk toward her. She turns to face them, "Welcome to hell, Sir."