Chapter 3

Mike stood in a shooter's stance, his face calm, aiming at his target with the calculating precision of a trained sniper. He pressed the trigger, bracing mentally for the sound of the shot, and the recoil. However instead of the usual explosive report of a gun, there was the electrical whine of this strange alien zat gun he was learning.

The weapon discharged a precise lightning bolt type strike to the standard silhouette target, which was swirling with electrical energy after the hit. He fired again, and the energy hit the target, this time the target was blasted apart, as if hit by a cannon shot.

Mike put the weapon down on the shelf in front of him, and removed his safety goggles and hearing protection. "Wow, that little thing kicks some butt. I like it!" He smiled, and stepped away from the shooting line, gesturing to Sarah. "Your turn."

Sarah laughed a bit, then forced herself to a more serious posture, as she approached the shooting line, pulled her safety gear back on, and picked up the weapon, feeling the weight in her hands.

"This weighs pretty close to a Beretta 92. Interesting isn't it?" She smiled slightly, took aim, and fired two shots in rapid succession at the next target, completely destroying it.

Daniel smiled at Mike, and Mike was looking at Sarah with a half-smirk.

Mike chuckled slightly and said, "OK now you're just showing off."

Sarah put the zat down on the table with a bigger grin and turned around to look at Daniel.

"So Daniel, any chance we get trained on those staff weapons too?"

Daniel looked towards the door, which lead back to the main sections of the base, tapping a pencil on his clipboard. "Well, General Landry didn't specify any training on the staff weapons, but he didn't specifically say no training on them either." He tapped his pencil some more.

Mike crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked from Daniel, to Sarah, and to the door. He then uncrossed his arms, and went to the weapons locker. "Sounds good enough to me. Let's get to more shooting, hmm?" He smiled big, as he took a staff weapon out of the locker, and carefully held it out in front of him, bringing it over to Daniel so he could show them its controls.

Daniel showed them how to aim with a staff, since it is not as intuitive as a regular pistol or rifle, and where its controls are located. "Always remember to open the arrowhead before firing, if you don't the results are, well let's just say they aren't pretty." He showed the control to open the arrowhead at the top, which separates the four petal like sections slightly, and exposes the energy emitter. He then handed the staff back to Mike, who took position on the firing line.

He took aim on a fresh heavier grade target, and fired an energy burst, which flashed down the length of the shooting range rather quickly, and burned out a very large hole in the steel plate backed target.

"Wow! Now this thing is nuts!" Mike said, grinning wildly, and handed the staff to Sarah for a practice shot.

Sarah carefully took the staff, testing the weight of it, and the balance. She looked over the controls, and positioned her hands correctly. She tested the arrowhead opening and closing controls, making sure it was opened again, before taking aim at the next target. She fired three blasts in quick succession, making a slightly larger hole in the target, as all three hits were tightly clustered together.

She hit the control to close the arrowhead, and handed the staff to Daniel.

"Impressive. I wonder though, how far off we are from making stuff like this… perhaps best not to think about it."

Daniel took the staff, and regarded the targets.

"Nice grouping there. Are you sure you haven't fired alien energy weapons before today?" he said, with a bit of a smirk.

Sarah smiled at Mike, then at Daniel.

"Not that I know of, at least" she said with a small chuckle.

Daniel smiled back.

"Well then, I can certify you for field use of both the zats and the staff weapons, though at this time we are only going to loan you zats. From what I understand our techs are already in contact with your techs, to see if we can install one or two of them on your vehicle. We will also be issuing you some secure comm equipment so you can keep us informed of your progress, and in case you need it, request backup. That about does it for here, shall we return to the General's office then?"

He gestured to the door.

Sarah and Mike returned the safety gear to the proper spots, and followed Daniel back to General Landry's office.

General Landry was waiting for them in his office, with yet more paperwork for them to fill out.

He gestured to the desk with several more file folders.

"Here is the paperwork we need you to fill out for this mission. This will include your invoice information so we can pay you, equipment loan documents, contractor protocols for working with the SGC, and so on. Once all this is done we will issue your equipment."

He pulled out another much larger file folder, and put it on the desk.

"This, is a general psychological profile on Ba'al, since his clones will be essentially the same. Also all the intel we have so far on the operations in California and Oregon. From what we have gathered, these two clones do not have ships, and we didn't see any Jaffa, at least not out in the open wearing their standard armor and weapons. One or both of them may still have a contingent of Jaffa warriors going incognito. Be on the lookout for them."

Sarah and Mike sat down in the chairs facing the General's desk, and filled out the forms, then Sarah took the large folder with the profile information. Once they finished, Landry collected the forms, and shook each of their hands.

"Walter will be here shortly to take you to the armory. Let me just say again we are grateful for your help in apprehending these Ba'al clones. If you get in a tight spot do not hesitate to call us for backup. We would much prefer to wait until an SG team can get to you, than have your team rush in and get killed, or worse taken as hosts for Goa'uld. Be careful out there, and good luck."

Mike smiled after shaking the General's hand.

"Thank you General. We won't let you down."

Sarah smiled as well.

"Quite right General. We will contact you once we are in position near the first target."

Sarah and Mike didn't have long to wait, Sgt. Harriman came in the door just after they finished shaking the General's hand.

"Sarah, Mike, if you will follow me, we will get you all setup for the mission."

He led them out of the office, down several halls and passages, to a non-descript looking door

that looked almost identical to all the others along the hall, with the exception of the label by the door that read "ARMORY".

He led them into the room, and pulled out three holstered sidearms.

"Three Zats, the third one we understand will be fitted on your AI vehicle."

Mike took them, and smiled.

"I think KITT will have some fun with this when we get home."

Sgt. Harriman then took out 2 hand-held radios with their earpieces and holsters.

"These are set to our secured frequencies, if you need help don't hesitate to holler."

Mike took the equipment and put it all in a satchel case.

"Thank you, Walter, we won't."

Sgt. Harriman checked the list on his clipboard to make sure they had all they needed.

"Oh and one other thing, for the purposes of communication while you are in the field, your radio designation will be SG-27. We only have 25 actual SG teams, the rest are used for outside help such as yourselves. I know General Landry probably said this already, but I'll add mine in for what it is worth: good luck."

"Thanks Walter," Mike said with a smile.

Sgt. Harriman then guided them through the labyrinthine corridors to the exit, where Cpl. Anderson was waiting with the vehicle to take them back to the airport.