A loud sigh shook the air, and now the holographic projectors began to play, addressing every Jaffa warrior gathered in the clearing.
"Jaffa! We are coming to gain glory in battle against superior foes, we will crush them with our might, and they will be utterly destroyed. Bara!!!"
"Bara!!!" A soldier's cry echoed across the clearing, and then the Jaffa, his fingers quick as dragonflies, danced across the gate's pedestal keyboard. "I'm going to war, for the freedom of the first planet of my career," the thought flashed. "Even if this planet is ideologically loyal to Indra, I don't need to conquer it. It's enough that it becomes our market, and the local miners who dug this unknown shaft will be able to extract naquadah on Heliopolis or Icarus, receiving a decent salary in return. I needed labor to stockpile naquadah for future projects. And Icarus has reserves of naquadah untouched by naquadria. Convenient! I'll move the gate there, and the problem is solved."
But the time for dreams was over. It was time for action. I stepped through the gate, and the world distorted, after which I retreated, making way for the steel monsters whose gliders rolled out, headlights blazing in the night. The attack was planned under cover of darkness. Under the glow of the lanterns, the Jaffa, like robots, habitually attached wings to the gliders. And then more vehicles appeared, carrying a monstrous payload—cluster bombs. One with stun canisters, the other a two-ton monster, ready to unleash hell.
I pulled out my radio, its signal protected by secure encryption. A code phrase—and Operation Valkyrie began. "I'm bad with names," I chuckled. "But the whole point is in the air component, so let's do it. All that's left is to explain to the Jaffa what the Valkyries are, and to the Asgard why I'm naming operations after their military units."
I'm one of two glider pilots. Pre-launch checks. Why me? Because, despite the Jaffa's bombing training, mistakes are unacceptable here. And a quick escape route is always a good idea. While a hundred Jaffa were setting up rings for rapid deployment to the airfield after the Teltak landed, I readied my weapons. The night was chosen for a reason: I have night vision systems, and the enemy Vritras do not.
We took off in pairs, even though the gliders were two-seaters. We were short-staffed, so we flew individually. At the designated point, a Teltak joined us.
"Plan 1," I broadcast. "My wingman and I are separating from the Teltak and diving on two buildings housing the airfield garrison. According to our cameras, placed by the agent, they were supposed to be resting."
We dropped our bombs and immediately turned away. No time to watch the explosions; the cockpit would be shrouded in darkness anyway. After gaining altitude, we made our second pass. When the glow of the explosions lit up the night and the thunderous sound probably woke the entire city, we soared high and dropped the cluster bombs. They were designed to open at a hundred meters and fire upon impact. The target was the entire airfield.
"Brood Squad has taken action," the Teltak reported. "He's landed and taken up a defensive position, while my wingman and I circle, targeting threats."
On the ground, ten Jaffa from the Teltak rushed to the nearest gliders, climbing into the cockpits for takeoff. Glider control is usually reserved for a select class of Jaffa, but mine had been trained. They even had special lightweight gear: just a helmet, a Z-band, and super-fast legs. Useim Bolt, with his 9.58 seconds in the hundred-meter dash, nervously smoked on the sidelines. Jaffa are supersoldiers, backed by a Goa'uld. With proper training, they completed the task in two seconds faster than I expected, and immediately began pre-flight preparations. The next squad of six, having barely managed to warp through the rings, was already beginning to take off. The enemy Jaffa seemed unaware of what was happening. Less than 30 seconds had passed since the attack began, and the airfield base was destroyed. The scanner flashed blips rapidly approaching the airfield. My wingman and I moved around, shooting at the infantry. You can't imagine how much I spent fiddling with targeting systems!
I used short bursts to cut through the disorganized Jaffa units, pinning them down with fire. This gave me a reprieve.
"Phaeron, all Jaffa in the city are on alert," reports the squad that has been monitoring the enemy and coordinating reconnaissance forces for six months. "They have little understanding of what's going on, but they're converging on the sites of the explosions."
There are fifty thousand Jaffa in the city. That's a formidable force. But night is our ally, and they'll have a hard time finding their way. Still, fifty thousand is fifty thousand. We need to hurry. That's why my Jaffa ran so fast.
"Two minutes," commands Krel, overseeing the operation. "According to our calculations, forty vehicles should be airborne within two minutes. An ideal result, but unachievable in a combat situation. Teltak is already firing its retractable cannons at the ground, powerful explosions tearing apart the flimsy flesh. Teal'c has vaporized the cockpit of Tanith's alkesh. In four minutes, the third glider we brought here will strike the airfield with a cluster munition containing naquadah-potassium grenades. Increasing the time risks losing the Teltak, who is supposed to drag the gate to safety. Otherwise, we'll have to resort to Plan D.
Plan D—a static defense if the gate can't be moved. The defensive perimeter is 300 kilometers long. We'll have to withdraw tanks and armored vehicles, which isn't good. The Teltak was vitally needed. Therefore, at the slightest threat of losing it, the pilot must take off. I'll be satisfied with any number of captured gliders.
There are 35 of them now. They're all heading to the designated point—a cliff similar to the Megiddo fortress. From there, they'll be evacuated to the base once we move the gate. Technical teams will install modifications similar to those on my gliders. And my gliders will methodically destroy enemy forces.
Seeing a large detachment of asuras rushing toward the airfield, I attack, scattering several with shots. They form a battle formation and fire back with their staves. I avoid their attacks. On the Teltak, the stationary cannons hit harder, hitting the hull. Hundreds of asuras arrive at the airfield.
By half past three, 68 gliders had departed. It was increasingly clear to me that we'd taken all we could. It was time to take stock and get going.
— We're retreating.
The last batch of six vehicles took off. Behind them, a glider, lashed by plasma bolts. The armor is still holding up.
— Shadow-3, strike the glider bases.
- Yes, Phaeron.
We were rushing at full speed because no one knew when this thing would explode. Even the pilot dropped it from a great height and went into space. I was afraid of this bomb. I assembled every sub-piripas, the bomb itself, myself, checked every screw. Because if this thing had exploded in the wrong place, everyone would have been in trouble.
A flash of light flashed behind me, illuminating the city. By my calculations, it was comparable to a light nuclear strike. Most likely, the airfield ceased to exist, along with hundreds of asuras.
"Report," I order Krel, who is monitoring the operation via computer and satellite.
— The airfield was completely destroyed.
"We're continuing with the plan." Teltak must fly to the defense site. Discard all useless equipment: the standard guns, the rings. Lighten the ship as much as possible so it can raise the gate and move it two hundred kilometers. As well as the small number of pilots who didn't make it in time. There are no casualties. Now, we need to organize logistics and flight control so no one crashes into anyone else.
By the time we returned to the gate, all the maintenance personnel had already left. The gate was being prepared for loading. In 15 minutes, everything was ready, and we flew off to the Megiddo fortress (I thought the name was appropriate, even though it's just a rock). There, on the plateau, all the captured gliders were gathered.
Night is a strange time to deploy on the cliff. It's flat, but strange nonetheless. The preparatory teams were the first to leave the gate. Three aircraft were reloaded with new bombs. While construction, camp plans, and route markings were underway, the asuras weren't relaxing. I exited the glider, handed it over to the pilot, and calmly sipped coffee in the command vehicle, observing the situation. Eight-ton bombs were being attached to the gliders, ready to drop on the asura strongholds that controlled the countryside. Let them have as much fun as their comrades who were hit by cluster munitions loaded with naquadah-potassium explosives. These bombs used regular human explosives, so if anyone decided to investigate, they would be less suspicious than the constant use of naquadah-potassium explosives. Plus, the latter is extremely dangerous.
At the same time, keeping the gates constantly active is a key objective. The enemy command doesn't yet know what forces are fighting against them and may well request reinforcements, which can only arrive quickly through the gates. Therefore, any reinforcement opportunity must be blocked.