okay, so i know i promised to upload this some time ago but life got in between so it had to wait until now.
TFS Newton
Pegasus galaxy
January 17
The Newton was one of the Tau'ri's best research vessels. It was equipped to do dangerous research in the middle of nowhere, to investigate black holes, dark matter, strange phenomena and conduct the most dangerous of experiments. In addition to the usual crew of about 75 it currently carried a dozen scientists. They were all well versed in medical or nano tech sciences. Their mission was to monitor the developments involved with using nanites to rebuild bodies. Their current position was kept secret from the public, feelings were very divided on the subject of nanites. If something were to go wrong with the experiment, the ship would eject the entire research module into space, the black hole they were near would take care of the rest.
Two scientists were looking through the glass window into the isolation room. Their attention was to the woman sitting there. She was seated on a bed with her back to them while reading files. She had been the main test subject for the entire duration of the mission.
"Doctor Weir, we would like to commence the scan, would you please stand in the scanner?" one of the scientists asked.
Weir looked up from the files and laid them down beside her before walking over to one of the corners where a scanner was located. Once she had stepped in some lights activated and the device moved up and down to scan her. Once the scan was done the scientists thanked her and she went back to the bed where she continued reading the files.
A couple of minutes later the door opened and a man walked in.
"Doctor Weir." He said to get her attention.
Weir on her part stood up and greeted the man. "Commander Franks, what brings you here?"
"Your final scan. You're completely clear of nanites for three months now."
"Really! That long already, I thought you were going to keep me here indefinitely." Weir said relieved.
"Nope, just got the word from PEGCOM, once that scan cleares we are allowed to return to midway."
"I'm looking forward to seeing the new midway station, it sounds so much grander than the old one."
"It most certainly is. I've never actually seen the old station but the new one is massive, defence platforms, several squadrons of fighters, plasma turrets, Atlantis strength shields and the works."
"Commander Franks, we've cleared the gravitational pull of the black hole and are ready to enter hyperspace." Someone reported over the intercom.
"Thank you, lock coordinates for Midway station and engage hyperdrive whenever you're ready." Seconds later the TFS Newton entered hyperspace en-route to the Midway station.
CIC, TFS Saturn
Earth orbit, milky way galaxy
January 16
"Sir, the rest of the passengers are aboard, we're ready for departure." A lieutenant reported. Today was the start of a week of downtime for the crew, though this time they had been given the option to take their families on a cruise, nearly half the crew had agreed and brought their families aboard. the other half had debarked and was spending the week with their families on the planet. It wasn't very common for a battleship to give a so called family cruise but the Saturn and her crew had been continuously deployed for the last 22 months and had had few moments to spend with their families.
"Very good. Prepare to tow the Xeros." The commander said. The Xeros was the Colonial frigate that they would escort to the Colonial refugee planet Bravo, it had recently lost its jump drives and was towed to Earth by tugs.
The Xeros moved on subspace power to a position behind and below the Saturn.
"Sir, the Xeros has formed up behind us, she's ready."
"Very well. Power up hyper drives, plot the course to the new Colonial system. Extend hyperspace field to encompass both ships." Torris ordered. The orders were quickly executed and soon enough the two ship convoy was ready.
"All stations report ready, both ships report ready, hyperspace drive is ready."
"Send a message to Atlantis, inform them of our status and request permission to depart."
The message was quickly sent and a reply was received within seconds.
"Sir, we're a go."
"Thank you. Major, get this show on the road please." Torris ordered the officer occupying the navigation console.
Hyperspace, approaching destination
January 17
"Status." Torris asked as he walked into the CIC.
"We're two hours away from our destination."
"Nothing unusual?"
"No sir, should there be any?"
"Well, call me paranoid, but when I was back in my quarters just a few minutes ago, I could swear that I felt a slight tremble going through the ship."
"I'll check the computers sir." The officer of the watch said.
It took a few minutes for the officer of the watch to check all the logs for the hyperdrive and several other systems before something came up. "Oh shit."
"What is it!"
"I don't know yet sir, but something went wrong with the hyperdrive."
Torris opened an internal com channel. "All personnel, this is a condition three alert, I repeat this is a condition three alert. This is not a drill. All the civilians are to remain in their quarters or go there immediately."
A minute later the first of the full watch entered the CIC, among them the chief engineer.
"Sir, something went very wrong, the hyperdrive somehow made a jump, we're not where we're supposed to be."
"Then where are we?" Torris demanded
"The void between the milky way galaxy and the Sculptor Dwarf galaxy."
"Wait a minute, the hyperdrive worked perfectly, that power surge didn't cause this, not on its own anyways." The Chief said.
"What are you talking about?"
"Sir, the surge couldn't have cause this, but it did coincide with the jump from our supposed course to our new one. Something else cause the jump."
"A jump drive?"
"The Xeros lost its drives to damage. Not a chance they did it."
"Sir," an ensign said as she walked up to them, a tablet in hand, "According to our sensor scans we would have been destroyed by a black hole if we hadn't made that jump."
All officers turned away from the ensign, assuming she was done. "And sirs, we may very well have changed chronologically as well."
"Come again?" Torris asked as all heads turned back to the ensign.
"We are not in 2025 anymore. Stellar scans confirm, we're probably in 1701."
"Okay, so we travelled through time and space, while magically evading a black hole which might very well have destroyed us." Torris surmised. "What the fuck happened?"
One by one the officers shook their heads, none could come up with a reasonable response. Eventually Torris looked over at the ensign. She appeared to be staring off into the distance. "Ensign, do you also happen to have a reason on why we are this far from Earth?"
"Oma." She just said.
"What?" Torris asked as he followed her gaze but didn't find any.
"You mean Oma Desala, the ancient?" a lieutenant asked.
"Can't you see her?" the ensign asked as she raised her finger and pointed to someplace in the CIC. She sounded terrified, afraid she was going crazy.
"Ensign, are you okay?" Torris asked as he walked up to her to face her.
"Yes, yes sir, but why can't you see her? Don't you hear her?"
"It wouldn't be the first time an ancient was picky on who to show him or herself to." Someone offered.
"Yeah, but it isn't very common, especially in public." Someone else said.
"That we know of." Torris added. "Let's just for a moment assume that the ensign is really seeing Oma Desala, and lets just assume that the Ancients brought us back 324 years and far off course. Why?"
"Only option? Perhaps this was the only option available."
"But why 324 years back? I can understand the distance, but the time? No, they would have had a special reason for the time they sent us back, otherwise they might as well have sent us back ten million years." Torris said.
"Perhaps Oma wants us to return to earth and help them?" Someone suggested after a few seconds.
"Grandfather paradox." The XO said. "I doubt we could go back to Earth now, we might somehow change the timeline and screw stuff up."
"I agree. I think we should not return to the Milky Way galaxy, we might risk contaminating the timeline, and especially Earths history and its rise to power." Torris said.
"Just like that, we decide not to return to Earth?" a lieutenant asked.
"No lieutenant, I decide that. In order to protect Earth and the timeline, god knows what could happen if we'd intervene now." Torris said, it was one of the few times he made his authority be known.
"So what do we do now?"
"I want all the information on the Sculptor Dwarf galaxy. I also want to reduce hyperspace speed to ten percent until we find a new home." Torris said. "I want the command staff to join me in my cabin, we'll make our decision there. Also, stand down from alert three, but have the hyperdrive crew run tests on the systems, see if anything broke."
Together with most of the command staff Torris made his way over to his cabin, along the way he was joined by the ship's doctor and the command staff was complete. Once they got seated and the doctor was brought up to speed they started.
"Okay, fortunately in 2021 a Tau'ri exploration ship started exploring the new galaxy so we've got some high grade intel on some of the planets which should make our current job much easier. We need to find a new planet to colonise."
"Sir, I assume none of those planets were found with a stranded population?"
"That is correct. But, there is a reasonable explanation for that." Torris said. "I assume none of you have heard of a code thirteen sensor event."
Everyone shook their heads.
"Code thirteen sensor events are sensor hits that are Tau'ri or friendly in origin, but have to remain unidentified, specifically created for a thing like this."
"What do you mean?"
"A code thirteen was created to be broadcast by a group of survivors that travelled through time and for whatever reason they deem necessary needs to remain undetected either for an unlimited time, or for a limited time period. We could for example set our code thirteen for a week after we disappeared, this means that our 'future' colony would not be 'found' until after that date, it would give the commander of the space forces a heads up and he could take action at that point. This is all to prevent a time paradox. We cannot be discovered before we have gone missing."
"Sir, considering we went back in time 300 years, we won't be around, so there wouldn't be a grandfather paradox to worry about, we'd all be dead by the time this planet is explored." The Doctor observed.
"But they may warn the future crew of the Saturn and prevent this somehow and thereby creating a paradox."
"So we create a new colony, what do we do? Do we focus on just survival or do we actually try to get something useful going for Earth?" the XO asked.
"Ladies and Gentlemen." Someone said. It was however, not someone in the room. As everyone was looking around trying to identify the origin a white being came up through the table they were all seated around. "You are correct in assuming I am guilty of your travels."
"Oma, why?" Torris asked, assuming it was Oma Desala.
"Because as it was, we could not be certain about Earth's survival. I was among the ancients who insisted that all your vessels be equipped with the code thirteen protocol. Though still a large gamble, you represented the greatest hope the alliance had."
"I understand that you see things better than we do. All I ask is that you be honest with us, what do you want 2100 people to do that can change the course of time?"
"A lot. It is difficult to tell you your exact mission, namely because of the paradox you referred to earlier. What the ancients want you to do is to prepare help to send to Earth when they deserve it. You will gather as much strength as you can and you will arrive at Earth, on 21st of march, 2030. Your code thirteen message will also be dated for that exact day, at noon." Oma said. Before anyone could ask a question Oma disappeared again leaving them all stunned.
It took a minute for everyone to get their act back together.
"Okay, so we do what the ancient said." Torris said.
"Sir, how are we going to explain this to the rest?" Someone asked.
"As it is. We tell the people that we have all been given an task by the ancestors, to safe the friends and families that we left behind. We're going to need all the help we can get." Torris said. "Now, we should go find a planet which will suit our needs."
They started going through the planets that were found by the exploration team. They were already selected on habitability for humans and long term survival.
"Okay, we've got over a hundred possible planets. We need to refine our needs. What do we need to complete the task given to us by Oma?" Torris asked.
"How are we going to help Earth? What can we do to help them?" someone asked first. "Build ZPM's? ready supplies? Mine mountains of resources? Build ships?"
"Build ships, remember what Oma said, 'you will gather as much strength as you can and you will arrive at Earth'." The XO said.
"Resources and supplies will only help on the long run, ships can help directly." Torris said. "Okay, so what will we need for shipbuilding? Chief?" Torris asked the chief engineer.
"Oh boy, that's a lot of stuff really sir. The basic raw materials for the hull, the advanced alloys for the armour, the materials for the crystals to run the systems, naquadriah for the hyperdrives, depending on the type of ship we'd need either naquadah generators or ZPM's for power, or another kind of power generator. But as it is, we can't build ZPM's and other generators simply don't provide the amount of power necessary for a battleship. We'd be left to build battle cruisers, not something Earth's going to need if it's going to be as desperate as Oma suggested." The chief said.
"We've got three hundred years and change to solve that problem, perhaps we could just increase the amount of naquadriah generators aboard the ships, I know they are dangerous, but if it's all we'll have…" the XO said.
"Sir, with all due respect, these days, our battle cruisers all use a ZPM for power. This battleship runs of off three ZPM's, and over a dozen backup naquadriah generators, and all those do is keep the lights on if the ZPM's would fail so to say."
"Captain Alexander, what is your opinion? Will we be able to find a power source that can run a battleship and which we can develop on a new colony?" Torris asked the chief science officer.
"I agree that we won't be able to create a ZPM, we'd need very specialized equipment for that. We might be able to increase the output of the naquadriah generators, it would take a while but it is doable." Captain Alexander said. "There may be another option though."
"Such as?" Torris asked. As he saw Alexander's face grow dark he already understood. "How dangerous?"
"Very. During the second of third year of the Atlantis expedition doctor McKay was playing with a generator called the Arcturus generator. It proved to be too dangerous but it did work for a while. Unfortunately there were some problems with an overload and exotic particles."
"McKay blew up 5/6th of a solar system." Someone stated.
"3/4th actually. Anyways, since the Odyssey brought those living ancients to the midway station, McKay and Janus and some others have been working on it from time to time and they have made some improvements. I might be able to continue his research and get it to work safely." Captain Alexander explained.
"With all due respect Captain, but if McKay and Janus aren't able to make it work in years, why are you so confident that you will be able to make it work under these circumstances?"
"Because the Ancients definitely want us to succeed. Look, if there is another way, they won't help me and I will fail and we'll still have three hundred years to make enough naquadriah generators to run an entire fleet off. But if this is the only way, they will make sure I am successful." Alexander said.
"That's quite an egoistic stance Captain." The XO said. "Aren't you afraid that Oma will now deliberately keep that information from you?"
"Not really, they aren't gods and they don't act like it, especially now. They have already taken a big enough risk to get us here and they won't screw it up because of an egoistic science officer."
"Oma!" Torris asked to no one in particular. "What should I do? Follow the egoistical scientist or take the safer route?"
The answer did not come.
"Crap." Torris said as he stood up. He walked over to a cabinet. He sought around in it and eventually produced a small glass and a bottle of whiskey. "This is a real Johnnie Walker black label from 2000, officially it doesn't exist yet." Torris said as he poured the glass almost completely full. He left the bottle on the cabinet and moved back to the table. "Let's see if Oma can give us a clue in another way." He said as he placed the glass on the edge of the table. "If this glass falls, we're going with the Arcturus generator, if it remains standing we'll go with the naquadriah generators." Torris said as he tried to balance the glass on the edge. Suddenly something crashed behind him. He immediately froze, the glass still in his hands on the edge. As he slowly turned around he noticed that the bottle had fallen to the ground and scattered. "That was my last bottle." Torris said.
After a second everyone burst out in laughter. "That better be a clear sign!" Alexander said.
"Yeah, we should be very careful with this glass and savour the last drops of black label we're ever going to get." Torris said as he took a small sip before he passed the glass on to the next person. "Captain, it might not have been what I had hoped for but you have a go for the Arcturus project. Do your best and get us something usable."
"Yes sir, thank you sir."
"Okay, so let's continue the search for a new home world. Let's add shipbuilding resources to the list of requirements, the computer can fill out the exact needs." Torris said as he selected the requirements. The computer did its work and returned the hits. "And that leaves us with just one, how convenient." Torris said after he looked over the information present. "Chief, do you think it's a good one?"
The chief engineer looked it over, especially the deposits of resources and their locations. "It's got some potential, I give you that. The most resources are close to the surface, even the naquadriah veins, I think we can make a real colony out of this one sir."
"Alright, let's see if there are some more, perhaps the criteria are too harsh, but if we don't find any better we'll take this one." Torris said.
They searched around for another hour or so but weren't able to find any good match.
"Alright, let's go back to the best match." Torris said and he called an end to the search. The holographic image of the planet returned with all the necessary information listed. "It all seems good, a bit of a harsh climate perhaps, cold winters and warm summers." Torris said as he referred to the average of -12 to +39 degrees centigrade temperatures at the most likely place of colonization. "So what do we need from the start?" Torris said as he relayed the coordinates to the CIC with the message to make best speed.
"We need to start preparing farmlands. We've got a load of supplies, but even so, it will only last us two to three years. We need to build houses capable of resisting the climate and any natural dangers such as hurricanes."
"We also need to get working on a suitable water supply, we could dam this river up here." Someone suggested as he indicated a place a couple clicks from the proposed colony.
"A dam would cost us considerable resources, we might be better off building a desalination facility here, and building a pipeline to the colony." Someone else said as he indicated the coastline of the continent, about two hundred kilometres away from the colony.
"Wouldn't the water freeze in the winter?" the XO asked.
"Not open sea, it's usually a few degrees above zero because of the warmer currents. But the pipes might freeze." Alexander said.
"We could work on that. How much fresh water could the Saturn carry in her holds?" Torris asked.
Alexander did some calculations. "if we were to supply the entire colony with water for say four months, during the winter, we would probably manage, though people might be required to give up a daily shower."
"Okay so we can manage on water. How about that agriculture, I assume we've got some good farmland nearby?"
"Yes sir, the entire river delta will prove to be fertile land, though we do need to worry about a flood." Alexander said. "But do we have any seeds aboard to grow new crops?"
"Yeah, about a ton, we were supposed to drop them off at the Colonial refugee planet Bravo, mostly earth stuff, and some Tava beans. At least we'll have coffee." Someone said.
"So food and water done. How about housing?"
"We could scrap the Xeros for useful materials. We might also just as well start giving people comfortable houses, we should work out a plan of an amount of square meters living space per person, especially in case of children. People will need kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms etcetera. Perhaps we could give the people the chance to arrange their own houses. Give them a set amount of square meters which they can arrange to their wishes. Some might want a large bathroom while others might prefer an open kitchen. The XO suggested.
Everyone nodded in approval.
"Sir, what do we do with the Saturn?"
"We set her down, we use her as a central hub, the workforce that will work on the initial infrastructure can camp aboard and we will provide power for as long as necessary until we can build new power stations. Other vital services such as healthcare can also be performed by the Saturn until we can set up a dedicated infrastructure for it. All in all, the Saturn has to become a central hub for the colony."
"When do we start working on shipbuilding facilities?"
"Chief? When can we start on such an endeavour?"
"Well we'll need to build a shipyard first, we'd need some foundries, but we could start slow, say aim to have a yard ready in five to seven years, and the first ship ready eight years later. One very important thing is that we need to keep the knowledge of shipbuilding alive, as well as operating space ships."
"That's true, we won't be around for the last 250 years of the journey so we do need to spread our knowledge around. But on the other hand, we can't stretch resources for building vital infrastructure just to start construction on a ship."
"There's another problem, we've got about 1100 people aboard, and another 1000 aboard the Xeros. Can we even grow our population large enough to even maintain a number of warships in 325 years?" Captain Alexander asked.
"Doc?" Torris referred the question to the doctor.
"Well, there are a lot of factors involved, but if you look at the population groups represented by both the crews, each couple will have approximately 1.8 children in their lifespan, which means that the 2200 people we have now, will die out. There are ways of influencing things, a lot of people settle on a number of kids because these days the biggest influence is money, kids cost a lot to raise, put through school etcetera, we now have the chance to remove that factor, we might even promote having more children."
"If that's the case, how are we going to crew the ships? Even if we manage to grow our population over time." The XO asked.
"Automation? A lot of combat functions could in theory be done by computers, for long term operations you'll still need humans but just a short hyperspace flight, and a couple of hours of combat could be done by as few as fifty people. Downside is that combat damage won't be repaired, unless we use some sort of nanites repair system." The Chief suggested.
"Sir, we are about to exit hyperspace. Do you have any specific orders?" a bridge officer asked through a feed between the commander's cabin and the bridge.
"Negative, follow regular procedures." Torris replied. He turned to the rest. "What else?"
"Some sort of civilian leadership?" a lieutenant suggested.
"Okay, how about it? Do we use a historic model? Do we create a new one?" Torris asked.
"Best thing is to create something that would eventually be compatible with the Tau'ri leadership, assuming that once we get to 2027 we'll re-join the Federation."
"Let's assume we will, so we'll need what? A governor, a planetary Senate, a cabinet, plus some positions unique to our situation, ministers mostly."
"We should also incorporate some sort of bicameral system for the planetary congress, just a Senate like most states won't work, we're cut off, this level is also the highest and therefore must be divided into two houses." Someone suggested.
"Sir, with all due respect, with the current situation and amount of people, it would be much better if you'd become the military governor, you are the senior commander present. Over time we can start incorporating a sort of representation for everyone." The XO suggested.
"Exiting hyperspace in five, four, three, two, one, mark." The low hum of the hyperdrive changed and abruptly ended once the ship was out of hyperspace and the engines were turned off.
Torris activated the com line to the CIC. "Send a call to the Xeros, tell her commander that I want him over here ASAP, I've got some stuff to explain."
"Sir, you've got to get up here! We've got a contact. It's Tau'ri!"
"On my way." Torris replied. He and the rest of the crew jogged out towards the CIC where they arrived a little bit later.
"Report." Torris ordered.
"Sir, we've got a Tau'ri modified 306 class, a research variant, the TFS Newton."
"Hail them. Search the database for its status and latest mission."
"Sir, they aren't responding to our hails, the database reports that at the time of our jump it was still active, but its mission was top secret."
"Any lifesigns?"
"Yes sir, a full complement, but none seem to be moving nor to be conscious."
"Prepare rescue parties and beam them over." Torris ordered. "Is there any sign of damage?"
"No sir, the ship seems pristine except for some burnt out power conduits."
"Rescue teams are away."
A couple minutes went by as they waited for the rescue teams to check back to them.
"Sir, we've reached the bridge, everyone is unconscious. They do not appear to be in danger, do you want me to lower the shields so you can beam them over to the sickbay?"
"Yes please. XO prepare to beam over and take temporary command of the Newton, prepare a command crew."
A few minutes later the entire crew of the Newton was relocated to the sick bay and the XO had established a temporary command crew aboard the Newton.
"Commander Torris, this is sick bay, Commander Franks is about to regain consciousness, he'll be responsive in about five minutes."
"Thank you doctor." Torris replied. "Where is the commander of the Xeros?"
"He just landed in the hanger bay and is now being escorted to the CIC."
"Redirect him to the sick bay, I'll meet him there. I've got to explain the situation to both commanders, might as well do it once." Torris said as he stood up and walked out the CIC.
Four minutes later Torris arrived at the sick bay, the walls were lined with beds occupied by the crew of the Newton, a few were already regaining consciousness.
"Doc, how's he doing?" Torris asked as he spotted the doctor near whom he assumed to be the Newton's commander.
"Sir, he's ready to talk, but keep it brief will 'ya. They've all got some sort of brain trauma, I'm not sure what it is, but I've already giving them some meds to get them back to this world."
"Thank you doc."
"Commander Torris!" someone he didn't recognise called out.
Torris turned around and saw a man in colonial fatigues.
"Commander, glad you could join us." He said as he shook hands with the commander.
"Hi I'm commander Mastageus of the Xeros."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. As you might have noticed we've gotten ourselves into a bit of a problem, but I'd like to tell the story just once, so we're waiting for commander Franks to become responsive, which should be now." Torris said.
"Commander Torris, ten minutes." The doctor said as he was done checking up on commander Franks.
"Thanks doc."
Both commanders took a seat beside the bed commander Franks was in.
"Commander Franks, I'm commander Torris, TFS Saturn, and this is commander Mastageus, colonial frigate Xeros." Torris said. "We found your ship adrift and I've got to tell both of you something."
"Such as?" Franks asked, Mastageus also straightened up.
"Well, it seems that all three of our ships have somehow been transported back 329 years back in time, the year is now 1701, Earth time."
"What?" both commanders asked.
"Yes, that was my response too." Torris said. "It seems that the Ancients had a hand in our time travel, and possible in yours too. A couple of hours ago we got a call from Oma Desala, the ancient. She told me and my staff that we have to build up a force to help Earth at a specific time and date. Apparently Earth will need it at that exact time, not earlier, not later."
"How?" Mastageus asked.
"Well, I've been looking at our options with my staff and we've agreed on a couple of things. First, the planet we're currently orbiting will become our new home. The presence of the Newton here only confirms it. Furthermore we will commence construction on the infrastructure for a military outpost, mining and shipbuilding operations. Our plan is to build up a fleet of battleships and send it to Earth once the time is there."
"Do you really think we'll be able to gather the resources we'll need for this?" Franks asked.
"And the people?" Mastageus added.
"That's going to be our biggest concern. According to the Doc our combined crews will not produce enough offspring assuming the current growth figures." Torris said.
"Well, I wouldn't consider those calculations probable. Our entire situation has changed it. Those figures probably come from earth and the situation is entirely different now." Franks said.
"Clone troopers." Mastageus said.
"What?" Torris asked.
"George Lucas' Star Wars series featured clone troopers to fight the war for the Republic against the separatists and later the rebel alliance, can't we use the same means to create an army?" Mastageus said.
"That's science fiction. Besides, the Asgard are the only ones who can clone bodies. We don't even have that technology." Torris said.
"Well, that's not entirely true. We do have the ability to recreate bodies using nanites, that was part of the Newton's mission. But even so, wouldn't it be more likely that we'd need a fleet instead of ground forces?" Franks said.
"Oma wasn't clear on the type of support, except the location and the date." Torris said as he thought about. "But, our soldiers can easily beat those of the Dominion, we don't really need more soldiers, especially at Earth. The Colonies, perhaps. What we always seem to need is warships, 305's to take out the Dominion motherships."
"Why don't we hold off on this topic until later? We should first scan the planet, prepare a landing party and make an inventory of our resources and people." Franks suggested.
"That may be a good idea commander." Torris said. He looked for the doc, when he found him he waved him over. "Doc, can the commander be released from the sic bay?"
"Eh, If he promises to keep it slow, whatever hit you guys is wearing off pretty fast."
"Thanks doc." Torris said. "We'll meet you in my cabin once you're done here."
Both Torris and Mastageus walked out of the sic bay while Franks was getting discharged.
While they walked towards Torris' cabin they passed a number of civilians including a bunch of kids playing hide and seek.
"Commander, what's up with all the children and civvies?" Mastageus asked.
"We were on a family cruise, it just started and all we needed to do was drop you off before having some time with our families. It's been 22 months since we've had some time off. About half the crew stayed and brought their families aboard, the other half elected to stay home with their families."
"That's nice for your crew, at least they have their loved ones nearby. Unfortunately my crew doesn't have that luxury."
"I'm sorry, it'll probably be a lot harder for them to move on. You have got to impress on them the gravity of the situation, if Earth's future depends on it, you can bet your ass that the Colonies' future depends on it as well."
"I guess it helps that most are still teenagers, I believe the average age of the crew, officers not included, is about 19.5 years. Most of them haven't had the chance to settle down and start a family."
"That's good I suppose." Meanwhile they had reached the commander's cabin where a few officers were carrying out various tasks.
"Sir, we've carried out a preliminary scan of the planet, and we've found something disturbing."
"Such as?" Torris asked as he and commander Mastageus stood around the table. A hologram of the planet appeared and it outlined the three major continents. Some smaller continents were also on the map, but none seemed highlighted.
"This continent is where we wish to set up our new colony." An ensign said as she pointed at the continent. "These two continents are located close together and at its smallest point only separated by a few miles of water. These two continents are where we found the problem."
"Go on Ensign, I don't have all day."
"Sir, there are people living there."
"Ah crap. Are there any signs of people on the third continent?"
"We've found some signs of an old settlement all the way up north, there, it seems that it was annihilated because of the weather. They may have been shipwrecked there."
"How advanced are they?" Mastageus asked.
"They seem to be around the sixteenth or perhaps even seventeenth century Europe, technological wise. Not that many nations, about twenty to thirty independent states, and another dozen or so dependent puppet regimes."
"What's the chance of them discovering our proposed colony?"
"If they stay on their side of the ocean, none, but once they start traveling they may very well discover us. If the suggestions made earlier are still valid they would be most likely to detect the desalination plant once it's built."
"Okay, we should keep an eye on it. Perhaps we should introduce ourselves to them after a while. Perhaps we could establish diplomatic relations." Torris suggested.
"I've got someone who can help with that." Commander Franks said as he walked in.
"Who?" Mastageus asked.
"Elizabeth Weir, she was our secret mission."
"I was meaning to ask you about that." Torris said. "What was al that top secret stuff about?"
"We were testing the possibility of cloning new body parts by cloning a new body for Doctor Weir. I think both of you know her background, what happened to her. Therefore she was the perfect test subject. We succeeded, the body was perfect, and nearly all nanites have removed themselves from her body, only a few remain for minor repair work. Beyond that, she's her old self again."
"Well, her expertise on diplomacy will help us with making contact, I agree."
"Perhaps we should make contact as soon as possible." Mastageus suggested.
"Please explain."
"Well, we could use them to provide us with basic resources, easy to produce stuff, perhaps even food, it would make it easier for us. Over time, they could also be integrated in our society, help us grow more numerous. And it would be better for us to find out straight away if they might be hostile to us. That way we can prepare protective measures for when they travel across the ocean to our colony."
"How 'bout we get Weir in here?" Franks suggested
"Is she ready for this?" Torris asked.
"Yeah, she's no worse off than I am."
"Okay do it."
Ten minutes later Doctor Weir was in the commanders cabin and was briefed on the situation and Mastageus' proposal.
"I agree with Commander Mastageus. As it is, they won't pose a threat to us, nevertheless, at least once, did they make it across the ocean, they are sure to do so again. Think of Earth around that time, the European powers were exploring and colonizing many areas, if they are the same, they will expand, and once it happens, it will happen quickly. They already colonized this island group here." She said as she indicated a group of islands about 200 clicks away from the main continents.
"So how do you want to do this?" Torris asked.
Weir thought about it for a moment. "We need to approach them at an equal level, technologically speaking. By that I mean that we shouldn't approach them by beaming in the middle of their parliament or whatever they use." Weir couldn't help but crack a smile. "These ships can float, right?"
The three commanders looked at each other for a moment. "Yes, you want to turn them into cruise ships?" Torris asked.
"No, but the best way to approach them is by introducing us as travellers from far away, and we'd need a ship for that. We're not going to be able to completely hide our technology for them, but we could put a ship in the sea out of view from the coast and then approach a busy port for initial contact."
"Which ship do you want to use? The Saturn or the Newton? The Xeros is out, she's too heavy and would sink immediately." Mastageus asked.
"Well, appearance is everything, could you pull up some photographs of both ships?" Weir asked. She had never seen any ship other than the Prometheus and the Deadelus class ships. The pictures quickly appeared on a screen. The Newton was small and smooth with some antennas and a few railguns. The Saturn's bow was filled with weapons and antennas for the many sensors. It was definitely a warship.
"Let's use the Newton, the Saturn would scare them off. In case they appear hostile and we need something to threaten them we could bring in the Saturn, but let's start friendly."
"Who do you want to be part of your diplomatic team?" Franks asked.
"My team?"
"You are the most experience person here when it comes to diplomacy."
"Okay, well, I don't know who's here so I wouldn't know who'd be any good. I could use a couple more people trained in diplomacy, there must be some people aboard your ships with training in such areas. Also, a doctor to build up some goodwill by curing some easy to fix diseases. A scientist who can explain all our technology we can't hide, or which is better to reveal from the get go. We don't want them to think we're gods or something. Perhaps a couple of guards for protection. On Earth, diplomats might be respected and protected, but that doesn't mean it is also so here. It'd also be good if someone with rank would be there, preferable one of you three. Perhaps enough to fill one of your space hawks, I believe they are called. Could that be arranged?"
"Sure, I'll come along, we've got some great people here so we'll be able to make that team for you. The Newton can easily fit a space hawk, we'll transfer one from the Saturn. It doesn't look like a ship though, only a jumper might be good enough for that, but we don't have any." Torris said.
"How 'bout raptors?" Franks asked.
"No, the thrusters can't handle water, not like that anyways. We tried, and failed." Mastageus said.
"And the Space Hawk can?" Weir asked.
"It can for a short period of time. The engines at the wings were built to perform under difficult circumstances, mostly thicker atmospheres and such, but water should work as well. On Earth they managed to get one all the way down to the Titanic, after the windows were fitted with better glass." Franks said.
"Very well, I'll take it. When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow nine o'clock?" Torris suggested.
"Fine by me commander." Weir said.
"Commander Torris, we've got three object moving towards us in hyperspace, ETA four minutes." Someone from the bridge announced.
"Copy that, we'll be there in a couple of minutes." Torris said as he walked out of the room, the others in tow.
They arrived in time for the sensors to get a better read on the inbound objects.
"Commander, we've got three, equally sized objects moving in formation, they are massive."
"What does the computer say?"
"Nothing sir, its malfunctioning, it should be back up in a couple of minutes. Tech support's already on it." The lieutenant said as he indicated a person laying halfway under his seat and console.
"Fine, if we know it we'd probably recognise it anyways."
"They're exiting hyperspace!" a lieutenant reported. The screen showed the hyperspace window forming and three objects exited.
"Damn."
"Fuck yeah!" Someone said in the background.
"Are those…" Weir started.
"Asgard O'Neill II warships." Torris finished. "Hail them."
Torris waited for a line to be established. "Asgard vessels, I am commander Torris of the TFS Saturn, it's a pleasure to see you out here."
For a moment the Asgard on the other side talked to each other in Asgard and appeared to be confused.
"What is the meaning of this?" The Asgard at the main station asked.
"You don't know what happened?"
"Would I be asking if I did?"
"This is the Earth year 1701, we were transferred back in time and through space from 2025 to hyperspace just outside this galaxy. I assume the same has happened to you?"
"It must have. Even though it is impossible the Asgard high council has proven that time travel within the same universe is impossible."
"It is possible, if the Ancients are involved, also, Ancient technology can be used in such a way that it allows you to travel through time. This time however, the ancients are involved."
"How do you know?"
"Because they confessed it to us. Why don't you beam over and I'll fill you in on the details."
"Very well."
January 18
0900 hours
TFS Newton
The Newton was still in orbit but ready to descend to the planet's surface. Aboard her, doctor Weir's diplomatic team was on the bridge while Commander Franks was issuing orders from his chair. His forehead had turned purple, according to the doc it was a side effect of whatever knocked them out.
To the side of the bridge, commander Torris was telling doctor Weir and several others on his meeting with the Asgard. He, or she, was named Sverge and was one of the newer generation of Asgard. Aboard the three Asgard warships there were approximately two hundred Asgard and for now they were content with the plans that Torris and the other CO's had made.
Weir's team consisted of herself, commander Torris as senior representative, Torris' XO who had received advanced training in diplomacy and had been in the field with the SGC earlier. Another officer from the Xeros was the second diplomat on the team. Furthermore, Captain Alexander would tag along in case some technical stuff needed to be explained and a doctor from the Newton would serve as medical officer. The Saturn supplied two marines, and two pilots for the security detail.
"Everyone grab onto something, we're going to enter the atmosphere, it might get bumpy." Franks warned. Immediately everyone grabbed on to something nearby, mostly beams running along the ceiling.
It took only a couple of minutes before they were approaching the main continents. Only a couple miles out of visual range the Newton slowed down and lowered itself into the water. To everyone's relief the ship stayed afloat.
"Doctor Weir, Let's get this party started." Torris said.
"Yes, let's." Weir replied.
The entire team walked the way to the hanger bay. Before the ship had entered the atmosphere they had already changed into formal dress. Meanwhile the Newton moved closer to shore until they were reasonably sure they were sighted by merchant vessels coming and going from the harbour they would visit. They had chosen this particular harbour because it had the largest amount of ships coming and going daily. Also there seemed to be a lot of smaller ships ferrying the cargo farther land inwards through a system of rivers and canals.
Once they reached the hanger bay they loaded in and waited for commander Franks to give them the go ahead. This launch was going the be something new for them all. The pilot, who didn't know the particulars of the mission at the time, had landed the space hawk in hanger bay no.2. The hanger bay located on the bottom of the ship. So they would launch into the water from the start. To the side of the hanger bay, a couple people were waiting in wetsuits and were wearing diving equipment, just in case they needed to pull people out of the water who couldn't be beamed out.
After waiting for ten minutes commander Franks told them they had the go-ahead. The ships slowed down to 5 KPH and they were receiving light signals from the shore. The space hawk lifted off a few feet above the deck while the deck itself opened to allow them to exit. It gave them an unique sight into the depths of the ocean. Once the doors were opened the space hawk dived into the water. The first few seconds everyone was looking around waiting for something bad to happen. It didn't.
Half a minute later they appeared next to the ship and started on their way to the harbour.
Within ten minutes they were nearing the entrance to the harbour. A small rowing ship approached them and someone was waving to them. The pilot slowed down and the co-pilot waved back at the person once they were close enough. The man quickly made it clear that they should follow his ship and they changed course for the ship.
While they were approaching the ship, it was turning around. They followed it at a short distance until they neared a pier. A problem arose, the bottom of the doors were under the waterline. When they were about twenty feet away from the pier the engine pods were turned vertically and the space hawk quickly lifted out of the water. It made its way over to the pier and settled down there. Fortunately the wooden pier held out though the wood did groan in protest to the 20 tons of aircraft landing on it. The people working on the pier and those in the rowing boat looked up at the space hawk in surprise and some even in fear. For a minute the space hawk just stood there, water dripping from its hull. Several people came closer as the engines powered down. A squad of what appeared to be soldiers came running from their barracks.
Inside, everyone waited for Doctor Weir to say the word. Once she did, one of the side hatches was opened by a marine and they all piled out.
The local soldiers came to a stop just a few meters ahead of them. They positioned themselves so that they blocked the way off the pier. Their long rifles were beside them, not aimed at the group, but ready to be aimed quickly.
"These guys look like the Swiss guard, except for the rifles." Torris whispered as he leaned over to Weir.
"Back in their time, the Swiss guard weren't so different from other regiments throughout Europe. This is probably standard clothing for militaries here." Weir responded.
One soldier stepped forwards, his leather hat showed larger feathers that the others, possibly making him a superior to the others.
"Wie zijn jullie, waar komen jullie vandaan, wat doen jullie hier?" The man asked in a language none, but one understood.
"Anyone got that?" Weir asked.
Everyone shook their heads, except for the XO of the Saturn. "That might be Dutch."
"Your wife's Dutch right?" Torris asked. "Do you know any?"
"My wife's Dutch, yes. We live in Germany on a military base there, near the border, we regularly visit family and friends in Holland. My Dutch isn't that great, he asked who we were and where we are from and what we are doing here. I'll give it a try."
"Wij zijn van verre landen. We zijn reizigers en verkenners, wij willen contact maken." The XO explained in Dutch. (We're from faraway lands, we're travelers and explorers and want to make contact.)
"Ik ben kolonel Paul Wilson, dit zijn mijn vrienden." The XO introduced himself. (I'm colonel Paul Wilson, these are my friends.)
"Welkom in de haven van Driel, ik ben overste Bosch, eerste offcier van het haven garnizoen." The officer replied. (Welcome in Driel harbor, I'm Lieutenant Colonel Bosch, first officer of the harbor garrison.) "Uw Nederlands heeft een vreemde klank." (Your Dutch has a strange sound to it.)
"Dat klopt, Nederlands is niet mijn moedertaal, mijn moedertaal is Engels." The XO replied. (That's right, Dutch isn't my native tongue, English is.) "Met uw toestemming zou ik graag met mijn meerderen overleggen." (With your permission I would like to confer with my superiors.)
"Ga uw gang." The soldier said as he stood back. (Go ahead.)
The XO turned to Torris and Weir. "Sir, ma'am, my wife's a much better speaker and with your permission I'd like to bring her in on this."
"Please do." Weir said. Torris just nodded.
Wilson entered the space hawk and tapped the pilot on his shoulder. He asked and got a transmission to the Saturn and a couple minutes later his wife was already underway to them in a space hawk launched from the Saturn.
It took about twenty minutes for his wife to make it down. In the meantime he chatted a bit with the first officer and everyone relaxed a bit. Eventually the space hawk arrived, and at the advice of the pilot of the landed space hawk it hovered a few inch above the pier to unload Mrs. Wilson before moving off again. She immediately introduced herself to the first officer and got things rolling. Within minutes he allowed them access to the port and the city, albeit under escort by a squad of his soldiers.
Before they made it off the pier they were contacted by a messenger from the stadholder, their form of a governor. They were requested to attend a meeting with the stadholder later that day. It would be a couple of hours since the stadholder wasn't in town yet. To kill some time they got a tour through the city. They saw the massive merchant warehouses, the river that was used to transport tons of goods land inwards, the large churches, memorials and numerous other sights. The first officer, who accompanied them, was quite proud of the city and explained much of its history and rise to power.
Somewhere in the afternoon the stadholder arrived. They were escorted to city hall, where the stadholder held his office. They met in a large hall, numerous banners were hung from the ceiling. The stadholder and two dozen other dignitaries, soldiers, friends, noblemen and servants were seated, or standing to the side. The stadholder himself sat in a chair richly decorated with jewelry.
The first officer introduced the party as explorers, diplomats on a mission of friendship and trade.
Laura Wilson, the wife of the Saturn's XO, introduced herself and the party, and also asked for permission to act as a translator between the two parties, something she was recommended to do by the first officer.
The Stadholder started by introducing himself, Cornelis van Zanten, talking about his family history, his position within the kingdom he was serving. A placeholder for the king, to act in his name while the king was in the capital or in the field. Driel was the capital of the south western province, one of the wealthiest provinces in the United Provinces.
Once the stadholder was finished Laura Wilson introduced herself once again, and also the team. She expressed their wish for peaceful dialogue and trade. She hinted at some of the advanced technologies available to the team, of which they might be willing to share some. After she explained a bit about their background and, while she wasn't supposed to, their situation. She didn't receive the same instructions as the rest, therefore she didn't know she wasn't to tell.
The Stadholder had been told about the craft they had arrived in and was intrigued. His first demand was the exchange of two of these craft, as tribute to him and the king.
Once Laura had translated it to doctor Weir and commander Torris they immediately rejected it. They had a finite amount of space hawks and they were too difficult to operate and maintain by any of the Stadholder's men. At any rate, an exchange of advanced technology like the space hawk was prohibited by law and common sense. Selling or trading weapons, even transport craft, to technological inferior powers would almost always lead to destabilization of the entire region and on occasion cause total destruction.
The Stadholder wasn't happy with the news. He didn't think his people were so inferior, his weapons could kill at long distance. He surmised by the short barrels of the Tau'ri weapons, that they were short range. In his eyes land power was everything, a navy was nice, flying machines were great, but they would not win the battle, troops, guns and discipline would. He also insisted that he would only use the craft for peaceful missions, like traveling to the capital, as would the king, they would promise.
Torris still couldn't agree to such trade. However, he was willing to put the effectiveness of their weapons to a test.
The Stadholder eagerly agreed to the test and said that if his men's weapons proved more effective, he would drop the demand for the space hawks, but if his own men's weapons proved more effective he would get two, no questions asked.
Torris, after, having had a short deliberation with Weir and Captain Alexander agreed.
The Stadholder was happy, he had the first officer prepare a detail with a variety of the best weapons available, including those in his private collection. In secret, he had the flagship of the warfleet in the harbor set sail, in case all else failed. After dinner they would walk to the firing range outside the city where they would test their weapons. Commander Torris had a number of weapons and marines brought down from the Saturn and start preparations.
Several hours later, around 1930 hours they were finally done with the extensive dinner. It was summer and the sun was still up, it wouldn't settle for another few hours so they had time enough. After a march of twenty minutes, they reached the firing range. Several of Saturn's marines were already there, they were wearing their normal service uniforms with soft caps. They had placed a number of weapons on a table they had brought with them. Several local soldiers were standing around the table wondering how effective those weapons could be. The Stadholder looked at them and said that by the evening he would be flying.
The Stadholder had his best marksmen line up. Their uniforms were neat and clean, unlike those of the Tau'ri marines who also counted a woman among them, which raised an eyebrow with the locals, though they didn't say a thing.
"How do you want to start?" Torris asked.
"He suggests we start out with sidearms." Laura said after she translated Torris question. Torris nodded in approval. "Twenty paces to start with, five shots, at least one must be within the inner circle, it's about ten centimeters wide. As long as each side keeps hitting within the circle, we will increase the distance with five paces until someone misses." Their paces appeared to be nearly a meter long so the start would be at about twenty meters.
"Very well." He said and as Laura translated it to the Stadholder Torris told one of the marines to prepare a sidearm, the M9 Beretta.
The local soldier was the first to fire. He scored four out of five, the fifth being just outside the target.
The marine walked up to the firing line, aimed the Beretta and fired five shots in quick succession. All five were within two centimeters of the center of the target.
The Stadholder snarled and exclaimed "Geluksvogel!". (Lucky bastard!)
The target was moved back five paces and the process repeated. This time both teams fired five shots hitting within the circle. The target was moved another five paces, and again another five paces. Eventually it was moved to 45 paces, this time the local soldier missed five times. The marine did not. So the Tau'ri were declared winner for the pistol competition.
After a demonstration of several other handguns they moved on to rifles. The locals had a rifle that was about a meter in length. When they saw the, relatively, old M4 they laughed at it for its short barrel.
Again the locals were proved wrong. The M4 easily outperformed the local's rifle on range and accuracy as well as any other criteria they could think of.
The Stadholder brought in a collection of various rifles and all were tested, the same for the Tau'ri weapons. The locals were introduced to automatic weapons in the form of some P-90's, UMP's, MP-5's and a number of other weapons. They also showed the benefit of the various sights attached to the weapons. It all greatly impressed the locals.
After a while, Torris asked the stadholder to have some of his men post a target board nearly two thousand paces. He laughed at him, hitting a few hundred paces he could believe, now that he had seen the wonders of Tau'ri weaponry, but a target at two thousand paces seemed impossible. Nevertheless, he had some men ride out to place the target. Once they were back Torris reached for his radio.
"Barret Five-Zero, this is Saturn-Six. Target, two thousand yards, you're cleared to engage, one shot, fire when ready."
The call was returned by two clicks on the radio.
About a minute passed, before just a few meters away, a seemingly massive explosion surprised them all. A dot of light sped towards the target and hit it dead on. The locals were all yelling and pointing and in a state of general fear and confusion. They looked around trying to find what had caused what they had just seen but after a few minutes they concluded there was no one.
Eventually Torris called out to the sniper. "Barret Five-Zero, present yourself!" a couple of seconds passed but right behind him some leaves cracked as someone disturbed them. A tall person covered in a ghillie suit stood up and next to him a second person also rose, holding a M82 sniper rifle.
Their closeness surprised the locals who had actually searched the exact area where the sniper team had been hiding. The sniper and his spotter showed how they had been able to remain unseen so well. They also explained some of the tactics and uses of a sniper.
Considering that they had been shooting all kinds of weapons for nearly two hours they had attracted some attention from the citizens. They were watching in awe at a respectable distance. Suddenly one ran forwards to commander Torris. "You, you, you speak the tongue of the old! How is that possible?" he said as he dropped to his knees in front of Torris. Torris for his part looked surprised and stunned as did the others.
"You speak English?" Torris eventually asked.
"Yes milord. It is an old and rare language, long ago having been replaced by their language as the main language." He said as he looked warily at the stadholder and his men.
"Sir, the stadholder says that there is indeed an old language which is rarely spoken in these parts of the land. He's heard tales of remote lands that still speak this old language." Laura Wilson said after she had a short conversation with the stadholder.
"That's very interesting. I'd like to know more about this. Unfortunately it is getting late." Torris said. He looked at Weir for a moment.
"We should retire sometime soon. We've got a day of talks with the stadholder ahead of us. We could squeeze in some time to have a talk with this man, and perhaps some others that also speak English. It might help us getting to know our new friends better." Weir said. Torris agreed and Laura translated it to the stadholder. He suggested they retire to their ship and return in the morning.
So after another half hour of saying goodbye and walking back to their space hawks they were on their way back to the Newton. The next day they would return and more friendships would be made. And the trust of the locals would be won.
thanks to the beta's for their help.