Inter-agency Nightmare 10/?
Staying low in the underbrush, Daniel split his attention between a little boy near the edge of the cave and the drones flying overhead. He'd seen that look of fear before and knew the kid would likely bolt before long. Firing at one of the drones, Daniel started to edge closer to the child. Teal'c saw what he was doing and turned to fire at the same drone, helping to bring it down quicker and to provide cover fire for when Daniel moved. It was only a few moments later when the frightened child panicked and bolted from his secure spot. Teal'c stood, providing himself as a target. Daniel ran for the child, scooping him up and continuing to run for the cave, the blasts from the drone coming dangerously close to his feet as he made it to safety.
Sobbing in relief, the mother of the boy gratefully took him back to where her baby was sleeping and Daniel returned to the entrance of the cave. Before he could rejoin the others, the High Priest of the village, Ka-hel, waved him over. Taking one last look at Jack and the others, Daniel joined him.
"Thank you for saving my grandson. The demon's weapons killed my son at the beginning of the harvest."
Grateful, as always, that the local language hadn't veered off from its base language that Daniel knew, he bowed. "It is an honor to save one that is so young and has so much potential. He will follow in your footsteps?"
"If the demon allows our people to survive that long, yes." The elderly man stared at Daniel and the team's archeologist and linguist expected him to ask if the battle outside could be won. Instead, he waved Daniel further into the cave. "Come, my son, you have earned the right to enter the Holy Cavern."
Daniel looked over his shoulder as he followed the other man. He was worried about the team, but if he could learn something about the history of these people and the supposed demon that controlled them, that knowledge could tip the fight in their favor.
---NCIS---
For every one drone that the team brought down, three more seemed to appear. The ground around the team was littered with the smoking remains of the various airborne weapons shot down by the humans most recently from Earth.
Changing the magazine of his weapon once again, Gibbs looked over at McGee. In all the years they'd worked together, he'd never seen the other man's fingers flying so fast across a keyboard. Two drones were targeting their group and Gibbs picked one and started firing. On the other side of the master control, Jack looked over his shoulder at McGee and Carter. "Hurry up, you two."
Firing at the one drone, Gibbs didn't notice immediately when another one broke off and changed direction towards him. One of the Marines opened fire on it, but it managed to clip Gibbs with a last shot as it became unstable. Gibbs was spun around by the impact and fell to the ground, leaving McGee and Carter wide open on that side.
"We've got incoming." Carter lifted her sidearm and started firing, one-handed, as did McGee while he continued to type commands into the tablet.
The multiple hits from their combined weapons brought the drone down before Jack could adjust his aim to the new threat. He watched it hit the ground and then turned to look at the two scientists, shooting arms still extended as they continued to work. Jack couldn't help but grin as he helped Gibbs back up onto his feet. "Yeah, okay, that worked."
Tim allowed himself a quick glance at the man he loved. "You all right?"
"Yeah, I'll live." Gibbs opted not to look too closely at the burned streak on his upper arm, instead looking at Jack. "How many more of these things are there?"
"Hell if I know."
---NCIS---
Daniel bent down to walk through the low entryway that led to the Holy Cavern. Once there, he straightened up and gasped. Large chunks of a naturally glowing stone lit up the cavern with large paintings filling the wall space in between. Looking closer he could tell he was looking at the entire history of the native people, dating back to before the arrival of the 'demon' and his flying weapons. Pulling out his notebook and a pencil, Daniel went straight to the oldest looking of the murals and started to translate what he could.
Nodding in approval, the High Priest began to speak. "Our people once lived in a great city covered in shining jewels. The demon came and demanded his share of our wealth. The leaders refused and to punish us for our selfishness, we were cast out of our homes and left to live in this valley."
"Has the demon ever returned since that day?"
"Not directly, but he watches us from his machines, which is why we must be ever vigilant. The King does not understand the dangers he has put upon us for demanding that you cut off the demon's eye."
Daniel was beginning to feel that he was getting to the heart of the matter. "Does the demon have a name?"
The High Priest bowed his head. "It was forbidden to say his name out loud. That knowledge has been lost to the passage of time."
So close, so close. "What about a picture, is there an image? Do one of these murals show him casting the people out?"
Wearing the long robes of his station, the priest slowly walked across the large cavern as Daniel followed behind, willing him to move faster. Just as he was about to start screaming at him to run, they stopped in front of a small image, tucked away in the corner.
Holding his breath, Daniel studied the painting. It depicted what appeared to be a human, possibly a little taller than the humans currently living on Earth. There was nothing to show the symbolism of a System Lord, no army of Jaffa behind him. Only his slight height advantage and a glow emanating from his raised hand showed him to be anything beyond a normal man.
Daniel stepped closer, his nose almost touching the painted wall, looking for the tell-tale signs of a ribbon device wrapped around the man's hand and wrist. Instead, it was a device worn like a ring and Daniel knew exactly what they were up against.
---NCIS---
Outside, the battle continued, but Gibbs thought the number of drones was finally starting to drop, so maybe they were finally gaining the upper hand. In his head he heard DiNozzo yelling not to jinx it and, sure enough, a new sound could be heard coming closer. Jack heard it, too, and moved to stand next to Gibbs as they watched for what was coming over the hill.
"Crap." Jack's eyes widened as the sight of the new wave of drones, significantly larger than what they'd been fighting. He yelled over his shoulder at McGee and Carter. "Now would be a good time."
Tim didn't look up as his fingers continued to fly. "Working on it."
Jack watched as much larger firing ports rolled open across the bottom of these new threats. "Work faster, please."
The 'please' got Carter's attention and she finally looked up. "Oh, shit." Taking a deep breath, she turned back to McGee. "Do it."
He was shaking his head even as he prepared what he hoped was the final sequence. "We haven't tested it yet. If I'm wrong..."
A third type of drone came over the ridge, the weapon ports on this one were the size of the entirety of the first drones. Seeing this, McGee keyed in the final command.
The entire column started to softly glow while the touch pad lit up bright enough that it hurt their eyes to look at it. As the brightness increased, a beeping tone began to emanate from the device, becoming faster and higher pitched with every cycle. One by one, the active drones began making the same sound, until it could be heard throughout the entire valley.
Gun raised, Jack didn't know which one to shoot first. "Are they supposed to do that?"
Gibbs spared a quick glance back at McGee. "Tim?"
Before Tim could tell them anything, the column and touch pad went dark and it was suddenly silent, the drones dropping to the ground, powerless. O'Neill grinned as he walked over and poked at one. "I'll take that as a yes."
A short cheer went up and then they immediately got to work, making sure everyone was accounted for and treating the injured.
---NCIS---
The caves were in chaos as the fight outside suddenly ended. Daniel tried to understand all that was being said around him as he was pushed out into the open and large rocks were rolled into place, sealing the caves shut behind him. He looked around at the various sized drones littering the ground as he made his way to the center of the battle.
Jack looked up and smiled at him. "Hey, what's happening? Is it over?"
"Hopefully." Daniel pulled Jack into a brief hug before returning to business. "If the demon doesn't return tomorrow, they will return the hostages."
"Oooookaaay." Jack had expected a little more enthused reaction from the locals. "So, what's the problem? We did what they wanted."
"Apparently, the High Priest has always been opposed to the taking of the hostages and the demand that we destroy the weapons. He's convinced that we've called the wrath of the demon down onto the valley. The compromise was that if the demon doesn't arrive tomorrow..."
"They'll release the hostages then. Yeah, I got it. Should we be worried?"
Daniel hesitated before he spoke, which was always a bad sign. "I believe their demon is actually an Ashrak. Possibly a rogue one."
"Well, crap."
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