Union of Stars
DISCLAIMER: This is my first foray into fanfiction so I'll try to add my own spin to it (or at least try to!). It will encompass more than a few universes out there and I am certainly no expert on any of them, so any errors in timeframe, technology, history or characters can be attributed to…oh, I don't know…parallel universes. Yeah, that'll work.
Episode 1: Unwanted Visitor
Stargate Command
Col. Jack O'Neill entered the Control Room amidst the blare of warning alarms and sirens. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Jack rocked back on his heels and asked, "What's up?"
"I'm not quite sure, sir," Sam replied, "the computers detected a massive build-up of energy within the Stargate but there is no incoming wormhole."
"Ah," he said, eyebrows raised. Looking over at the Sergeant, he asked, "Shouldn't you be saying 'unscheduled off world activation' or something like that?"
"No sir," the Sergeant, returning to his keyboard and pressing keys. On the other side of the large window, Jack could see the Gate Room filling up with soldiers.
"What exactly do you type into that thing, anyway?" Jack asked, just as Dr. Jackson arrived.
"What's going on?" Daniel asked, looking around.
"Oh, just another routine day at the SGC," Jack responded.
"There is a large build up of energy in the Stargate, but it's not coming from anywhere internally. It has to be external but I can't pinpoint exactly where," Sam said, perplexed, "Sergeant, increase the Gate sensor sensitivity one-hundred and fifty percent."
"Sensor sensitivity…that's kinda hard to say", Jack said as he nodded to the arriving General Hammond, stepping out of the General's way and standing next to Daniel, looking thoroughly bored. Sam quickly filled the General in just as the Gate filled with red energy, oscillating like an active wormhole.
"What the hell is that?" Hammond blurted.
"It looks like a wormhole," Daniel observed, "but it didn't open like a wormhole."
"Yeah, no 'whoosh'," Jack said, " and the colour is a little…"
"Red," Daniel finished. The red glow from the Gate painted their surroundings in an eerie shade, the walls now appearing as if they ran with blood. Hammond quickly ordered the iris closed, watching as the metal covering slid into place.
"I'm losing my appetite here," Jack said, patting his stomach and looking at the walls, "the cafeteria is supposed to have cake today, too."
"Sirs," Sam interjected, "the energy readings now appear similar to a wormhole, but the amount of energy is off the scale. We are also getting a communication signal emanating from beyond the event horizon."
"Can you tell where this wormhole came from?" Hammond asked.
"Negative sir. From our end it almost as if no one dialled in. The Gate just…filled with that energy."
"Well that's just not right," Jack said.
Just as he said that Sam and the Sergeant's monitors flared brightly for a moment and then began to roll their screens up and down. Sam jumped up and checked another terminal, shouting, "Sirs, that communication signal is hacking into our system. A link has been established and our database is being downloaded."
"Shut them out, Major," Hammond ordered.
"I can't sir. Our security protocols aren't effective. Our encryptions are being opened faster than I can put in new ones," she pressed more keys and then turned around to face the men, "my keyboard doesn't work. I'm locked out."
"So am I," the Sergeant said. Looking into the Gate Room, he said in a rush, "General, the iris is opening!"
In the Gate Room the metallic iris slowly slid away, once again revealing the strange wavering red energy currents, contained by the boundaries of the Stargate. Then, they watched as the water-like surface of the event horizon began to become agitated, churning faster and faster.
"Something is coming through the wormhole," Daniel said. Jack turned and left the Control Room, clapping his hands at a passing airman and catching the P90 the soldier tossed him.
"Oh boy," Daniel said, as a massive metal leg erupted from the red wormhole and landed on the metal ramp. Another soon followed, and the event horizon filled with what appeared to be a gigantic metal construct. Fully emerging from the within the Stargate, it pulled itself to its full height, completely obscuring the Gate behind it. The metal ramp crumpled under the machine's enormous weight.
"The is General Hammond," came a voice over the intercom, "release our computers or we will be forced to open fire."
A metallic voice emanated from within the construct, its 'head' swivelling around, covering the room in a slow pass, "CONDUIT 1088 COMPLETE. HUMANS PRESENT. TECHNOLOGY CONSISTENT WITH LATE TWENTIETH-CENTURY TIMEFRAME. STANDARD PROJECTILE WEAPONRY. THREAT ASSESSMENT: MINIMAL. PRESENT HUMANS POSE NO THREAT AND WILL BE ELIMINATED."
"Colonel," Sam said over the intercom, "whatever that thing is it's going to have our entire database downloaded in a few minutes and I can't stop it."
Jack nodded, raised his weapon and yelled to the metal being, "Minimize this!" and opened fire. The P90 jumped a little in his hand as it discharged its ammo, the other airmen around Jack opening fire as well. The Gate Room echoed with the sound of various firearms, all of the soldiers finding their marks. The floor around the metal creation was soon littered with flattened bullets. Jack lowered his empty weapon, his eyes wide.
"DAMAGE MINIMAL AND COSMETIC," the construct stated.
"Airmen!" Jack yelled over the din, and reloading his weapon "continue firing! Keep that M2 on it!"
On the other side of the room Teal'c charged in, bearing his Staff weapon. Tucking the long weapon under his arm he took aim. The construct's head snapped around to his direction, what appeared to be eyes focusing in on the big man.
"ENERGY BASED WEAPON DETECTED, INCONSISTENT WITH PRESENT LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY."
Teal'c fired three times in quick succession, hitting the construct twice in the chest and once in the head. Smoke and sparks obscured the metallic being for a moment, then it stepped forward, its metal exoskeleton only slightly blackened by the impact.
"DETECTION OF ALIEN TECHNOLOGY. RAISING THREAT LEVEL ASSESSMENT. DEPLOYING COUNTERMEASURES."
The construct left arm swivelled outwards, the metal sleeve sliding away and a glowing tube emerging into view. Jack ordered the soldiers to withdraw just as the construct began to fire at the airmen.
"Lower the blast shield!" Hammond ordered from within the Control Room.
The first blast struck an airman, the man's screams quickly ending as he was consumed in a torrent of fiery energy. The soldier's clothes and weapons fell to the ground, the owner completely consumed. Jack grabbed a shocked airman and dragged him out of the Gate Room, yelling for the doors to close and Teal'c to withdraw. The former Jaffa had already turned and ran out of the room once he realized his own weapon was ineffective and the construct's armament was turning in his direction. Seeing that it would miss, it proceeded to fire on the remaining soldiers, the energy cannon making swift work of them, dissolving the humans but leaving their clothing and equipment. Around it the heavy blast doors dropped into place.
"Dammit," Jack said, breathing quickly in the hallway and composing himself. The sight of the consumed airman filled his mind's eye, "what the hell was that?" Above him he could hear voices in the Control Room.
"Are the video cameras still operational, Major?" Hammond asked.
"Yes…yes sir. I think so."
"Let's have a look."
On the monitor above them they could see the construct stomping over to the Jaffa weapon and studying it for a moment, while over the audio feed they could hear its cold musings, "PRIMITIVE ENERGY WEAPON. DOWNLOAD OF DATABASES COMPLETE." The construct then turned and entered the blazing red energy wave, the wormhole collapsing as it exited the Gate Room.
"Major," Hammond said in a somewhat shaky voice, "find out everything you can about that thing in case it comes back."
