The former. If O'Neil can score a victory I figure they could inflict some casualties and turn the tide of battle. Meanwhile, reducing a -3 to a -1 just means that, by the odds, SG-3 will lose slower.
The point on Teal'c is just hedging the odds he survives.
O'Neill sat with his back to the rock wall, one eye on the path upward to make sure the guards didn't ruin the surprise, and one to the sky looking at Apophis theatrics. The Goa'uld sure knew how to layer it on thick, that much he knew even without understanding the words. Now he just needed a good moment. Some grand announcements or some such was made and the Major was expecting it to rile up the Abydonians and thus give him some distraction to start the fight. Instead, there came a long silence. "Awkward. But let's ruin his day even further," he spoke into the radio and then tossed the first grenade onto the plateau right above their position.
Three explosions rang out from above them and a blanket of dust fell down on SG-1. In the distance, there were more explosions, but what Jack cared more about was the cry of pain from above. "Advance, double file," he yelled over the sound of Hartman machine gun firing into the cloud above to cover them. It was not enough though. Bolts of plasma came down from above. Most went wide, but one hit Specialist Tenant from SG-2 straight in the face.
They returned fire as good as they could, sending bursts of 5.56 NATO in return. At least one was hit and tumbled over the edge, thankfully not hitting anyone from the SG-Team on the long way to the ground. "Ferreti, Atkins, more eggs," he called behind himself while advancing. Not much further. One more ramp and they were up there.
Spent 1 Luck for SG-1. Luck now 0. Misfortune now 1.
Jaffa Losses: 1d6 => 4 => 1 additional loss from successes => 5
Who? 5d10 => (8 5 7 6 10) => 5 Serpent Guard down
SG-1 advances to the rim of the plateau.
More explosions and this time they were close enough that O'Neill could feel some flying gravel graze his helmet. Ahead of him, two Jaffa came out of the cloud of dust to bar them from taking the ramp. They took fire the second they showed themselves, each only getting off one wild shot in return before going down. And then they were already at the rim. Ferreti took the lead, sprinting up the ramp and dropping behind some boulders, while O'Neill crouched down, taking cover behind the ridge and scanning the plateau as the rest of the team advanced.
SG-1 breaks through
Jaffa falling back and regrouping.
The Jaffa still weren't ready to give up though. Chaotic staff fire filled the air, forcing the SG-Team to keep cover. One last grenade sailed over the rim, Jack wasn't sure who threw it, but it went wide. It landed not far from Ferreti, who hastily had to run for another boulder and nearly got hit by a plasma blast. But in that time, the Jaffa had lost another of theirs to rifle fire and O'Neill drew a bead on their leader. The bullets did not penetrate, getting stuck in the armour and taking out one of the eyes of the snake helmet. It was enough though. The Serpent Guard leader began crying out something and the remaining Jaffa began falling back.
On the other side of the spire, Sergeant Yi was obsessively checking his gear as the seconds stretched into eternity. Clip was full. Carbine in good condition. Two reloads, one in the left and one in the right pocket of his robe. Three grenades, front of his vest. A fine squad leader he was, nearly freaking out before the bullets were even flying. His second real firefight. His first one being at the Stargate on Abydos. He wanted to be a pilot, maybe an astronaut, not a grunt. He doubted that a radar lock on warning was half as terrifying as aliens pointing plasma blasters at him.
His radio crackled and he could see Walt and Foster tense up ahead of him. "Awkward. But let's ruin his day even further," he heard the distinct voice of O'Neill. No more time to fret. He gripped the grenade from his rigging and tossed it upwards over the rim of the plateau. It was not far, maybe four meters if had climbed and about twenty by walking along the path, and yet he felt as if he was about to tackle the Everest.
SG-3: (1 +0 -1 +0) + 11 (Combat) + 2 (Grenades) = 13
Jaffa: (0 +0 -1 -1) + 16 (Combat) + 2 (Defensive Terrain) – 2 (Disorganized) = 14
Result: 13 vs 14 => one degree of success for the Jaffa
Things went wrong immediately. Three grenades went out and all three landed roughly were they were supposed to. One came back down, likely kicked by the guards. Yi didn't even have time to call out a warning. The grenade exploded in the air, right above Walt and Foster. The Master Sergeant was tossed into the rock wall by the explosion, her neck bending on impact in a way that left no doubt of her death. Foster went the other way, dropping to the ground from the shrapnel hits and tumbling down the spire. Somewhere behind Yi, someone else was crying out in pain.
In a heartbeat, they had lost their two senior NCOs. There were now only a few Specialists, one of them wounded, and one Sergeant.
Sergeant Yi - Trying to establish order (DC 5): (1 -1 +1 +1) + 3 (Combat) = 5
Success. SG-3 remains organized.
"I'm in command," Yi bellowed over the ringing in his ears. He did not think about a single word. Neither did he think about the second grenade he drew. "Keep advancing. If they pin us, we are dead." Somehow, it worked. The team moved. They grenades were not very coordinated. Their suppression fire was abysmal. But they kept moving. And somehow, the Jaffa were worse.
When they had planned this, they knew the worst would be the aliens firing down from the rim onto the thin path. But they didn't. There was shouting above in the alien language. A few shots came down and a brief salvo by the SG Team later the Jaffa was dead. No one else tried to stop them as they stormed to the last ramp. Somehow, the Sergeant was the first. He dove for cover behind a small stack of stones, firing one burst after another at the Jaffa, barely registering how one of them went down before aiming at the next.
SG-3 breaks through
Jaffa falling back and regrouping.
The team followed their Sergeant, one after another coming up towards the ridge. The Jaffa had already begun to walk backwards, but they weren't giving up. Shot after shot they took stoically, the MP5s being next to useless and the larger HK416 often not penetrating either. Or the aliens were just that good at taking a hit.
And yet it was clear which way the battle was going. Yi bellowed out who would move and who would cover, so that even the green Specialists started fighting like a true unit. The Jaffa just fired wildly, mostly hitting cover or having to duck out of the way of suppression fire. And the SG Team didn't let up the pressure. One of the Serpent Guard turned and ran. Another glanced backwards and took a bullet to the head for giving the Sergeant such a golden opportunity. The rest did not look first, they just ran too.
I have failed. The thought rang through Teal'c's head as he watched the tip of his staff weapon getting shattered. All these years. All these sacrifices. For nothing. The glowing eyes of Apophis turned to him. No. He had not yet failed. As long as he drew breath, there was still a chance.
Spent 1 Luck for Teal'c. Luck now 0. Misfortune now 2.
Twisting his wrist, Teal'c let the now useless staff swing around, sending the weighted end straight towards Apophis face. The Goa'uld had no choice but to have his other serpent fire at it too, sending metal shrapnel everywhere. It was enough. Teal'c shield went up in the split second the attack had bought him. The much larger, deadlier blast of energy from Apophis hand crashed into the amber barrier. The shield bulged, but it held and as Teal'c dropped the now fully useless staff, the false god activated his own.
It had a weakness though, like all Goa'uld shields. If an object was too slow, the shield would just slow it down further instead of stopping it entirely. Drawing his khopesh from his back, Teal'c charged in, the shield bubbles throwing sparks as they clashed against each other. Apophis tried to step back out of reach, but the Jaffa was fast than even a Goa'uld host. The blade lashed out towards his neck, Teal'c strength battling against the shield. He was not fast enough. In the last moment, one of the serpents had risen and stopped the blade. Metal was grinding uselessly on metal instead of bisecting the parasite wearing human flesh.
"You dare!?" Apophis cried out in fury, both serpents and his hand lashing out with force bolts towards Teal'c. The former First Prime took the serpents blast, but barely avoided that of the hand device, his shield shining brightly and obscuring the Goa'ulds vision for a fraction of a moment. The Jaffa took one step forward, then twist his entire body to put all his strength into his strike. The khopesh flew towards Apophis hand device on his left arm, the System Lords shield coating the blade in sparks as it tried to slow down the blow. Blood fell on the sand. At the last moment, Apophis managed to jerk his hand device away, but the strike still claimed two of his fingers.
In the distance, Teal'c could see the Tau'ri warriors storm onto the plateau from two side, beating back the chaotically retreating Jaffa. And a few times, they also shot at Apophis back. The shield blocked the attacks easily, but it distracted the System Lord. Angered him even further. The serpent heads kept snapping backwards. He needed to press on. Strike while the Goa'uld still seethed over the injury. The khopesh flew through the air and then gave off a keening sound again as it became emerged din the shield.
Though this time, Apophis saw the strike for his injured hand coming. Instead of flinching back again, he turned his hand and through the power of his hand device, a heavy force gripped Teal'c's blade and threatened to tear it from his grip. He had to change his stance, even bring in his other hand to not have his last weapon fly away. And then the force was gone and the Jaffa was left overextended. Force bolts rained down on his shield and another blast from the hand device followed. The shield wavered for a moment and then the amber barrier disappeared, smoke rising from the projector on Teal'c's arm.
SG Teams: (1 +1 +1 -1) + 11 (Combat) - 2 (Pot-shots at Apophis) = 11
Jaffa: (1 +0 -1 -1) + 7 (Combat) – 4 (Completely Disorganized) – 2 (Unorganized Retreat) = 0
Result: 11 vs 0 => 11 degrees of success for SG Teams
The Goa'uld smirked instead of pressing his advantage immediately. "And now, you will pay the price for your treason." He did not have to. The serpents took aim for Teal'c and he knew that he was not fast enough to dodge their attacks.
"No," the Jaffa spoke in turn and took a heavy breath. There was still a chance.
He turned into a side-ways stance, giving himself as small a profile as he could and pointing his khopesh straight at his former master. "Death!" His shout startled Apophis and the serpents head wavered ever so slightly as he stepped forwards. He could barely see it. The eyes glowing. The force forming in it's maw. Teal'c turned mid step, barely evading the first bolt and bringing his left shoulder forwards. The second bolt hit true, shattering his arm.
One more step. He turned again. The blade flew out one final time, one way or another. It dove into the shield without slowing down. Another bolt hit him straight into the head, tearing his helmet apart. "To the false gods!" He cried through the pain, his eyes focused on nothing but the System Lords neck. The place where the true Apophis was hiding.
The blade cut through Apophis skin.
But it was not enough. The blade only grazed his throat, as the force of a hand device blast threw Teal'c back. He could feel the trashing of his wounded symbiont. And then he felt nothing anymore.
O'Neill was running as fast as he could. They were getting away. All of this, all of the dead and the wounded, and the bastards were getting away. Apepi already stood on the flying barge, trying to talk Apophis into leaving and now that the battle against the golden Jaffa was over, he finally did so. Bullets bounced against his shield, but they were not enough to punch through and as the wounded 'god' was stepping onto the ramp of his barge, an even larger shield covered the whole vehicle.
He emptied his entire clip as the ramp was drawn in and Apophis took position at the front. Jack just dropped his rifle and began firing his backup pistol. When that too ran dry, he would have thrown it after them, but by then they were too far away. They were flying to the gate and there was nothing he could do to stop them.
As he turned, he just saw the weary faces of the other soldiers. They had won, but they had paid for it. Three dead. More wounded and it wasn't sure if they would all make it. And their ally… He stepped closer to the body of the former First Prime where he lay, having been launched a good ten meters through the air from the last blast. That had to have killed him. But he was still breathing. "You are one tough bastard," O'Neill muttered as he got out his first aid kit.
AN: First aid rolls after the battle went about as well as expected when you don't have a dedicated medic along, but at least nobody died from their wounds. Next up is the second turn-vote, which might get delayed by one day due to real-world obligations of mine.
Against superior numbers, with barely any real prep, with a rushed plan, id call that a good overall result. We took absorbable casualties, and we hold the field. We are doing alot better than cannon, so im happy.
Against superior numbers, with barely any real prep, with a rushed plan, id call that a good overall result. We took absorbable casualties, and we hold the field. We are doing alot better than cannon, so im happy.
Your kidding right? We are doing far worse then canon. We don't have the abydos cartouch, tons of people are dead, abydos has been directedly connected with a revolt against the current head honcho wannabe. I'm honestly not sure this is recoverable. We are so far off the golden path, and the given reaction of a goauld to this sort of rebellion is so obvious... we are going to very shortly have abydos flooded with forces from a pissed of goauld.
I don't think we can recover from this guys. Rather then being an embarrassment for the head honcho to try and play off this is now something they can come down on with overwhelming force and to be in character they should do that within 6 hours at the latest to be honest. This planet is kind of fucked.
Okay a research project we need to do is to get plates of a bunch of different materials and start shooting them with staff weapons to see the effects. We might be able to find a material that can resist plasma blasts we can use for body armor and slather on L-ATVs.