Battle of Tegalus

The Battle of Tegalus was the culmination of an attempt by Stargate Command to disable a satellite weapons platform provided to the Rand Protectorate by Ori Priors. It also proved to be the last mission of the USAF Prometheus.

Prelude
Some months after losing contact with the Rand Protectorate, the SGC was visited by Jarrod Kane, who had traveled to Earth without his superiors' knowledge in order to seek aid in preventing the Rand leadership from using the weapon to destroy the Caledonian Federation. He subsequently returned to Tegalus with Doctor Daniel Jackson in order to seek a diplomatic alternative; though the threat of the Ori satellite was deemed sufficient that Prometheus was dispatched to destroy it if negotiations failed.

The negotiations never took place, as both Jackson and Kane were immediately imprisoned upon their arrival on Tegalus; the Rand leadership was convinced that Kane was a Caledonian agent, and that the SGC had now allied with the Caledonians as well. Jackson's attempts to convince them otherwise were unsuccessful.

The Battle
Immediately after the Prometheus came out of hyperspace, Colonel Lionel Pendergast attempted to beam Jackson on board the ship, but as he had been separated from his locater beacon, this attempt failed. The ship's weapons then targeted the satellite, but Pendergast deferred to SG-1 as an attack would likely end any chance of negotiating for Jackson's release.

On the surface, Nadal shows no such hesitation, ordering an immediate attack on the satellite. When the weapon begins to power up, the Prometheus opens fire with its missiles; but the weapons impact a shield, causing no damage to the satellite. The satellite then fires a beam weapon that penetrates the Prometheus' shield, severely damaging the ship.

As Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter and Captain Marks attempt to repair the ship's engines, Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell and Teal'c launch along with the ship's the F-302s, attempting to overwhelm the satellite's shields. Despite repeated missile strikes, however, the satellite is unaffected. A second shot leaves Prometheus crippled, and the engines prove too badly damaged to be repaired in time.

Pendergast orders the crew to evacuate, having them beamed to the surface of Tegalus within Caledonian territory. In order to buy for time, he contacts the Rand command center and offers to surrender. Nedal refuses, however, and orders the ship destroyed. A third shot from the satellite split Prometheus at the neck, and both sections of the ship subsequently exploded. Col. Pendergast was apparently the only surviving crew member still on board, having executed the final transport commands personally; about two-thirds of the crew, or 75 personnel, were successfully evacuated.

The F-302 pilots landed in Caledonian territory as well, where they and the evacuees were recovered by the Caledonians and brought to a command center in the Caledonian capital. There, SG-1 devised a new plan to destroy the satellite by disabling its link to the Rand command center. After this was accomplished, using an inertial stabilizer and stealth technology from an F-302 onto a Caledonian missile so as to generate an electromagnetic pulse, Mitchell and Teal'c took another F-302 to destroy the satellite.

While the operation did leave the satellite unshielded and gave Mitchell an opportunity to destroy it, Jackson was then able to negotiate a deal with the Rand leadership, whereby the Caledonians were given the planet's Stargate and the Rand agreed to dismantle the satellite. Under protest, Mitchell agreed to call off the attack after the Caledonian leader, Minister Chaska, agreed to the terms. Nedal nonetheless ordered an attack on Caledonia as soon as the communications link with the satellite was reestablished; but his military chief, Commander Pernaux, refused, ultimately shooting Nadal. Though he himself was killed as well, the deal held, ending the hostilities.

Aftermath
The agreement lasted long enough for the Prometheus crew to depart from Tegalus, but not much longer. Soon, the Caledonians chose to launch a missile strike against the Rand, and the resulting exchange apparently buried the Stargate. The Daedalus visited the planet once more, but apparently found there was little left.