Excerpt: Stargate Destiny

PROLOGUE

The atmosphere was quiet. Nothing stirred other than the grass around the Stargate. It seemed to be a perfectly normal day until gunshots killed the silence. Beyond the Stargate, about ten miles to be exact, a village was on fire. A group of four people were running away from the burning village, their weapons in hand. “Get to the ‘Gate now and inform the General of the situation!” yelled one of the four.

“There’s no time. They are gaining on us!” yelled a second.

“Don’t give me lip, Lieutenant,” barked the first person. A third person bolted away from the group, leaving the other three behind to shot at whatever was chasing them.

“Colonel, I don’t see them anymore,” said the fourth person, a female voice echoing over the male ones. The first one, the Colonel, stopped in his tracks and gazed around the grasslands that surrounded the area.

“That doesn’t make sense,” he muttered under his breath. “Lieutenant, I want you to go through the gate when Major Saunders dials Earth. Don’t give me that look,” he said, staring at the woman sternly. She had shot him a look that had said ‘are-you-insane?’ “I know what I am doing. Those…creatures killed the entire village and the General needs to know about it.”

The woman nodded her head and bolted towards the ‘Gate which was a few miles away. Major Tom Saunders had already made it there and had started dialing the address for Earth. He had gotten the third chevron locked in when the Lieutenant made it to the ‘Gate.

“This is crazy,” she said to Tom. “He intends on staying behind while I tell the General about the situation here.” She gazed back at where the Colonel was and slowly spun on the spot.

“Where is the Colonel?” she asked, turning her attention to Tom. Tom snickered slightly and looked back, opening his mouth to say something but he closed it when he saw that the Colonel was nowhere to be seen.

“He was right there, right? And where is Captain Bailey? I had thought that he was lagging behind but I don’t see him in sight.” The two of them looked at each other and then at the burning village.

“I think it is time to finish dialing the gate,” the female Major said, her body and voice shaking slightly. Tom nodded his head and turned his attention to finish dialing the ‘Gate. They wouldn’t make it through the ‘Gate after it had finished activating.
Several hours later, and a few dialings of the ‘Gate later, General Carpenter paced back and forth in the ‘Gate room, his hands folded behind his back. It had been almost four hours since the ‘Gate had been activated but no IDC was received nor did anyone come through the gate. They had the iris closed in case any enemy alien had gotten to any of the away teams that were off-world. He knew that SG-13 was supposed to be checking in with SGC in an hour. He was worried about the team that had supposedly dialed Earth and never sent their IDC.

He had sent a team through to the planet that he had sent SG-13 to but there has been no word from them yet. He wondered if whatever had gotten SG-13 also got the rescue team. Only time would tell if the same fate that happened to SG-13 happened to the rescue team.

It didn’t take the General very long to find out the answer to his unspoken question. At that very moment the ‘Gate activated, causing the General to flinch. He cursed under his breath as the iris closed and a voice droned over the intercom “Unscheduled activation.” He quickly made his way to the Control Room. A few moments later, the General positioned himself behind one of the Control Room workers and gazed at the ‘Gate. “Sir,” said a man on his right. “This is SG-18’s IDC code.” The General frowned slightly.

“It has been less than an hour since they went through the ‘Gate,” he said but sighed and nodded his head. “Open the iris.”

“Yes, sir,” said the man and entered a command in the computer. A few moments later the iris opened up and SG-18 walked through the event horizon, each pair of them carrying a home-made gurney, blankets covering the occupants. The General frowned at that sight. He wondered where the other two were. Then again, how did the entire team get killed? The team was gone for at least nineteen hours. What the hell happened on the planet they were sent to? It was unfortunate that none of SG-13 was alive…at least not to the General’s knowledge.

“Tell SG-18 to meet me in the Conference room,” General Carpenter said to one of the men in the room and he strode out of the Control Room, many questions buzzing in his mind. He knew he wasn’t going to get very many answers but at least he might be able to get some. At least that’s what he hoped.
An hour after SG-18 got back from the planet that half of SG-13 was found dead on, the team was dismissed. General Carpenter remained sitting in the Conference Room, his hands clasped together on the table. The two dead bodies that SG-18 had recovered from the planet were Major Tom Saunders and Lt. Phoebe Todd. Captain Gilberto Bailey and Colonel Kris Newman’s bodies weren’t found. Also, the village had been burned for reason unknown. General Carpenter wondered what the hell had happened to the entire SG-13 team.

There was a soft knock on the Conference Room door and the General sat back in his chair. “Enter,” he said somberly. A man in his mid-thirties opened the door and entered the room. “Sir, I’d hate to ask this but…what are we going to do about the incident on PX5-954?” he asked, closing the door. He sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the long table and stared at the General with a blank look on his face.

“At this moment, Mr. Devereaux, I have no clue. If the old SG-1 team was still in commission I would have them go to that planet and find out what the hell happened but they all retired less than a month ago. It wouldn’t be a good idea to pull them out of retirement just for this.”

John Devereaux stared at the General with the same blank look on his face. “General O’Neil got pulled out of retirement. Why not ask the other SG-1 members to do the same?”

General Carpenter shook his head. “That was because General O’Neil pretty much didn’t have a choice in the matter. This time, however, they won’t be recalled back into duty. They have families to take care of. Besides…I think it is time to form a new SG-1 team-one that will rival the old one. I already know who I want to bring into this program. Within forty-eight hours, the new SG-1 team will be here and will be debriefed on everything that they need to know and on their first mission that they are going to do. I don’t care what the hell the IOA says about my actions. For all I care they can take their objections and shove it up their stuck-up asses.”

That comment made John wince slightly. “Yes, sir,” he said, his voice shaking slightly.

“Good. You are dismissed,” General Carpenter said and he spun his chair around, indicating that he didn’t want to talk to the IOA agent anymore. John Devereaux reluctantly obeyed the General, got out of his chair, and left the Conference Room, closing the door behind him. General Carpenter stared out of the window in front of him towards the ‘Gate Room. “I hope I am doing the right thing,” he muttered under his breath before getting up and heading into his office.

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