Sister Helena and Major Will Troy entered the Chair Room. Will flipped a switch; the lights came on power monitors came to life showing display status on the chair and tactical displays on the station. The Chair Room was a small room about the size of a bank vault. In the center was the Ancient Controlled Chair, a metallic chair with a high back on a raised platform.

  “That's it?” Sister Helena asked.

  “That's it!” Will replied. “Not exactly the Iron Throne, but it'll do.” He wondered if he should have said that. “A nun watching Game of Thrones? Probably not.”

  “So what do we do now?” Sister Helena asked.

  “We wait.” Will replied. He spoke into his radio. “Cate, this is Will. Come in.”

  “Go ahead, Will,” was Cate’s reply.

  “Sister Helena and I have made it to the chair room.

  “Copy that, Will,” I'm a little busy at the moment.” He could hear weapons fire in the background. “As soon as I can break away I will join you. Tell SG-8 to hold the line until I get there.”

  “Copy that. Troy out.” To Major Braden he said, “SG-8 this is Major Troy. Orders from Commander MacGregor: hold the line until she arrives.”

  “Copy that, Major Troy,” Came the response.

  SG-8 took up new positions in defense of the secret door. They had to be nonchalant about the way they guarded as they didn't want to give away the secret. Major Braden positioned himself behind a large crate with his M4A1 Carbine, Lieutenant Lamb had behind him a pillar with his M27 rifle. Gunny took a position near the front with an M249 SAW and finally Sharps with his Barrett Sniper Rifle found cover in this shadowy alcove.

  From his alcove, Sharps could see another group of Lucian Alliance Rebels heading toward them. He looked through his scope and could see who they were.

  “Sharps to Major Braden.

  “Go ahead, Sharps.”

  “We've got company. Six bandits headed our way. And you won't believe who's the leader is,” said Sharps.

  “Who? Major Braden asked.

  “Loric,” said Sharps. SG-8 had encountered Loric and his cell many times before, that it seemed like that it seemed like they knew each other intimately.

  Loric stopped midway down the corridor. He was of average height, a slim build, dark brown dark brown hair, blue eyes, and a beard. He surveyed the scene and caught Major Braden from the corner of his eye.

  “My dear Major Braden,” said Loric. “We meet again.”

  “My dear Loric, replied Major Braden. He noticed some new faces among the cell members. “I see we have some new members with you!”

  “Oh yes! How rude of me not to introduce them to you! This is Tyra and this is Sorin. Tyra, female with blonde hair wielding a Zat’nik’tel did a mock curtsy to Major Braden. Soren, a Middle Eastern looking man, wielding an alien projectile weapon, gave a curt nod. “My dear Major Braden, we find you guarding a seemingly random corridor. Is there something special about this random corridor? Is this where you keep your secret Cookie stash?”

  “Boys, are we guarding something? Or are we just loitering around?”

  “I thought we were sent to guard the Colonel’s prized coffee stash. You know how grouchy the Colonel can get if he doesn’t have his coffee,” said Sharps.

  “Hey, weren’t we guarding the last donut?” teased Gunny. You know its got chocolate with those little sprinkles on top!”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Mmm…sprinkles!” said Lt. Lamb in his best Homer Simpson voice.

  Major Braden rolled his eyes. “Guarding something? I thought we were waiting for the boss,” he said feigning confusion. Unbeknownst to Loric he had deliberately left his comline open. “But now that you mention cookies, my dear Loric…”

  Up on level 6 Commander MacGregor heard the message. After firing on a Lucian she leaned over to Colonel Larkin.

  “Marcus, Sister Helena and Will have made it to the chair room but SG- 8 is engaged with another Lucian cell. I'm going down there.

  “Alright. Take the service corridor that SG-8 took,” said the Colonel.

  “Got it.”

  “Good luck, Cate,” said Marcus.

  “Same to you, Marcus,” replied Cate. As she left Colonel Larkin motioned for a Sergeant from SG-15, Colquitt, to take Cate's place. With all haste, Cate ran to the service elevator. “If I hurry I might be able to raid that cookie stash,” she thought.

  Back on level 12, Loric could not wait any longer. Silently he began to direct his cell to their positions. Nyssa, a brunette female, took cover behind a metal pillar, her P90 in high ready. Tyra positioned herself opposite Nyssa, her Zat ready to take out members of SG-8. Soren took position behind a reinforced barrier near the rear of the corridor. He wielded a Lucian Assault Rifle. Revak, his twin brother moved to the position to a large crate in the middle of the corridor. He wielded a particle magnum, similar like to the one wielded by Ronan Dex. Finally, Kavos, a tall and slender man with long black hair stood next to Loric wielding a particle blaster.

  “Maybe they’re just lost,” Tyra taunted.

  “Have you run out of tricks, Major?” put in Nyssa.

  “Better lost than were working for a Goa’uld lackey,” Lieutenant Lamb chuckled, his gaze trained on the Luciens. “By the way, how’s that working out for you?”

  Loric, was enraged. “Bah! Watch your tongue, Human! We're here to end this once and for all!

  “Well then take your best shot, Loric,” said Major Braden. He ducked as Loric fired his staff weapon. Major Braden fired a burst of his rifle, injuring Loric. Lamb targeted Revan, dealing significant damage to him. Gunny laid down suppressive, fire injuring Nyssa. Sharps aimed at Soran hitting him hard.

  The Lucians responded. Loric fired his Staff Weapon at Major Braden, hitting him in the shoulder. Nyssa fired her P90 at Gunny but missed. Tyra fired her Zat and missed as well. Both Revek and Soran fired at Gunny with Revek managing to score a hit.

  In the Chair Room Major Troy and Sister Helena heard the weapons fire from outside.

  “I sure hope SG-8's doing well,” Will speculated.

  “Let's give them all the help we can give them,” said Sister Helena. She pulled out her rosary and knelt on down on the metallic deck. She made the Sign of the Cross and after praying the introductory prayers, she began to meditate on the Sorrowful Mysteries. The rosary beads slipped through her fingers with military precision. Her eyes were closed, her lips moving silently as she prayed. Her faith was a beacon of serenity amidst the chaos from the battle that raged outside.

  Outside, Lieutenant Lamb, Gunny and Sharps fired but missed their targets. Loric fired his staff weapon at Major Braden, grazing his leg. The rest of Lorics’s cell missed.

  “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now at the hour now and at the hour of our death. Amen,” Sister Helena whispered as her fingers moved to the next bead. Each word was spoken with an unwavering devotion, a silent plea for protection and strength.

  Out in the corridor of the battle waged on. But things began to turn when the sound of an Aussie accent could be heard coming along the corridor.

  “Loric, the boss has arrived,” she said in a mocking tone.

  “Wing Commander MacGregor, said Loric in a sneer. He pointed to Cate. “Is this your savior?

  “Oorah! We're saved!” exclaimed Lieutenant Lamb.

  “SG-8, hold the line!” cried MacGregor. Using signals in the form of flashes from the laser light of her weapon, Major Braden and Lieutenant Lamb fired on Loric and Reevek, respectively, hitting them. Gunny missed his shot, But Commander MacGregor with her rifle landed a solid hit at Tyra.

  Loric’s cell responded. Loric fired at Major Braden but missed. Nyssa fired at Gunny and hit him, grazing his shoulder. Tyra turned and fired at Cate and missed. Kavos charged and fired at Gunny, but was taken down by Sharps.

  SG-8 and Commander McGregor continued their attacks, coordinating with each other. They focused on key targets. They were able to incapacitate Nyssa and Tyra. The remaining Luciens continued their assault on SG-8 and Commander McGregor but faced overwhelming resistance. Eventually, with some well-placed shots they managed to incapacitate the rest of Loric’s cell.

  “We did it!” Shouted Sharps.

  “Well done, people” exclaimed MacGregor. “You were in fine flying formation!”

  “Oorah!” they cheered.

  “Semper fi, Commander.” said Major Braden. “Major Troy and Sister Helena are inside.”

  “Right. Tend to your injuries and hold the line boys!” Cate said with a grin. "And make sure no one gets into my cookie stash!"

  Gunny raised an eyebrow, “Wait, we have cookies?”

  Cate smirked, “Well, we did. I have a feeling they won’t last long now.”

  The team chuckled, even amidst the tension of the battle.

  And with that, Commander MacGregor entered the Chair Room, ready to teach Sister Helena how to use Ancient technology.