WARNING: This is a new spin off which means new characters and new setting. If you are new then I recommend you read the first episode so you know what's happening. Otherwise, please review and enjoy.
A/N: Second episode. I appreciate any and all support and constructive criticism is always welcome. Please tell me what you think of my story. What did I do well? What can I do better? Enjoy.
-.-
PROLOGUE
It has been twenty years; it's been twenty years since the first team of humans was sent to Abydos. Thanks to the massive stone ring known as the stargate, Earth has made enormous leaps technology. They have a fleet of ships ready to defend their planet. They unlocked the secret of the lost city of Atlantis and the mysterious ninth chevron that led to Destiny. But, they had barely scratched the surface of the Alliance of Four Great Races. To this end, Earth has launched a new expedition to the fabled city Millennium, built by all four races. It's a new expedition in a new galaxy, and these are their adventures...
-.-
The Millennium: the crown jewel of the Alliance of the Four Great Races. In their quest to unlock the universe in the early days of their alliance, they built this massive city in space as a symbol of their new-found alliance and to explore the universe together. A massive space station that dwarfs Atlantis; the four races resided in the Millennium's four massive cities that resided inside the station's four arms while they worked together in the central city, the heart of the station. In the galaxy known to humans as NGC 300, further than any galaxy the tau'ri have reached before, the Millennium has long since been abandoned. The Millennium lay forgotten in space for thousands of years until its name and gate address was discovered in the Atlantis database. The opportunity travel to a city built not only by the Ancients but by the other three races of the Alliance was too much for the Earth governments to pass up. Over the course of several months they gathered a new expedition team composed of the best the Earth had to offer in order to discover this new realm. However, its distance is greater than any they have traveled before; they need three zero-point modules in order to make the trip there and the same amount if they ever hope to return. Until that time, the human expedition will explore their new home in a new galaxy.
It had been nearly a week since they arrived on the Millennium and everything was beginning to fall into place. The halls that were once clogged with stacks of crates and equipment had begun to clear. There were still a handful of stacks of crates but most of the equipment was already unpacked. In the infirmary, cabinets of medicine and equipment were set up with stretchers and hospital beds lining the sides. They found what looks like a firing range and had begun using it as an armory, racks of firearms and weapons lining the walls. There was a gym and the nearby closet was already full of recreational equipment.
The control room had been completely transformed. Without the mess of crates everywhere, people were able to move around easily. Computers and laptops were now set up on nearly every clear tabletop in the control room. Alien and human computers worked in conjunction to monitor control of the whole station. Dozens of people scurried about the control room while others sat at computers, quietly working.
"What are you doing?" Air Force Major Terra Nova asked as she walked into the Millennium control room fully geared up in her black uniform, a P90 cradled in her arms. Her long brown hair hung in a ponytail behind her head. Their alien ally, Corin Nevec, was at one of the laptops quietly typing away.
"Oh, General Mercer just wants me to make a list of the gate addresses that lead to Ror'char controlled planets," Corin paused to explain, gently brushing his short spiky hair. Corin spun around in his swivel chair to face her. "Steve said he's gonna cross reference my addresses with the Millennium database and blacklist them. Talk about him, where is he?"
When Corin said 'Steve', he meant Steven Chen, their cranky head of their technical department and specialist in interfacing alien technology with human technology.
"Steven's getting ready with Lieutenant Martin," Nova explained. "You better gear up too. We leave in twenty." With that, she turned and left down the hall. She didn't show it but she was giddy with excitement. It took all her effort not to act unprofessional. This wasn't the first time she's led a team but this was a brand new team in a new galaxy. She could only hope she does well.
Hearing this, Corin jumped to his feet and took off down the hall, nearly knocking the laptop off the table and running over several people. He loved exploring alien worlds.
"So, what do we know about this one?" Corin asked eagerly as he rushed to catch up with Terra.
"The MALP sent ended up in what looks like a warehouse," Nova explained as she walked down the hall. "So, there's probably intelligent life."
-.-
The stargate on the alien planet came to life as the wave shot forth from the stargate before settling into its event horizon. The shimmering blue wall of water rippled Nova stepped out, her P90 in hand, followed by Corin, whose only weapon was a Beretta holstered at his waist. Steven Chen stepped out, his MP5 slung over his shoulder, his stiff black hair hanging over his forehead like a hood. Charles Martin happily strolled out with a smile across his square face, his head covered by a carpet of brown hair, with a P90 in his right hand.
"Corin, what do you think?" Nova asked as she gazed around the massive chamber which was filled with stacks of boxes and crates. It almost reminded her of when they first boarded the Millennium, how they had to fill the halls like this. The only source of light came through the skylight in the ceiling, especially after the gate shut down, the wall of shimmering water vanishing behind the team.
"What's there to think?" Corin asked as he carefully looked around. "It's a warehouse. I don't think anyone's been here for a while." He dragged his finger across the surface of one of the crates, wiping off a fine layer of dust. Corin looked at the crate and began fumbling with the lock, trying to get it open. Martin was doing the same, fiddling with the clips that held the crates closed.
Chen was less interested in the crates and more interested in the DHD, knowing it was their only way back.
"You sure it's a good idea to start opening random boxes?" Chen asked as he made his way to the pedestal in front of the gate. "And, they don't listen," he grumbled as Martin and Corin continued fumbling with crates in an attempt to get them open. Chen reached over and yanked off the tarp covering the pedestal, dust flying into his eyes. He gazed upon the shiny metallic circular console. A large milky-white opal dome that sat in the center was surrounded by two rings of silvery tiles, each one with a symbol engraved in it. It didn't look damaged.
"What do you think?" Nova asked. "Storing this for a museum?" She remembered SG reports where civilizations put the stargate on display in a museum or as a monument, oblivious to what it could do.
"I don't know about that, mate," Martin said in his usual Australian accent as he opened one of the crates, a cloud of dust springing in the air. "These look like guns." He looked into the crate which was filled to the brim with firearms. He picked up one of them, closely analyzing it. There was something about the way it was built that made it seem like something that shoots bullets instead of an energy weapon.
Before any of them could say anything, a voice rang through the air: "That's because they are."
The four of them spun around and faced the doorway. Corin put his hands in front of him, as if he was gesturing that he was unarmed and friendly. Nova and Martin instinctively raised their weapons. It may not look friendly but if whoever was talking was hostile, fractions of a second would matter. Steven raised his weapon a second after Nova and Martin; not being military, he didn't have the same instincts as Charles and Terra.
At first, they thought they were staring at a line of statues when they saw a row of figures standing in front of the door. It only took a moment for them to realize that they were actually alien soldiers. They were covered head to toe in armor, a dark combat vest on their chest almost similar to their own, thick shoulder pads and guantlets covering their arms, rigid cloth-like material creating faulds that covered their thighs, and all of their heads were covered by what looked like a peaked metal helmet. All of the helmets had spectacles around the eyes, some of them even having a full mask that covered the rest of the face.
Nova felt the adrenaline leak into her veins as she got ready for the worst, her finger stroking the trigger of her gun. A fight hasn't broken out yet, so she didn't get the tunnel vision that she usually got during a fight.
Corin looked from his team to the alien soldiers in front of them, hoping that this did not have to end with a firefight.
"We're not here looking for trouble," Corin said steadily, noting that they obviously knew English.
"You have weapons pointed at us," the alien soldier standing behind the line said. He must have been the leader, putting himself behind the line where he was safe and could give out orders. "Ours are only a response to yours."
"Then you can appreciate the irony of our situation," Nova said, gesturing toward the guns aimed at them. The alien commander paused as he thought about that. Just as they had their weapons in response to the ones pointed at them, these aliens only had weapons aimed in response to theirs.
"Then, we shall both lower our weapons at the same time," he finally said. Martin and Nova exchanged glances. She gave them a nod of agreement. They both froze for a moment, waiting for the other to move. If one side lowered their weapons and the other fired, it would be a slaughter and neither of them wanted to risk it.
Finally, Martin, realizing both sides were still stiff, lowered his P90 a fraction of an inch. The alien soldiers did the same, only lowering their rifles a fraction of an inch as well. With that, he lowered his weapon a little more until it was pointing at the alien soldiers' feet. Nova, Chen, and the aliens did the same.
Seeing all the guns lowered, Corin put his hands down and gave a sigh of relief.
"Well then," Martin said, his gun now completely lowered. "That's much better." The tension in the air did seem to lessen with their weapons down, but they were still in a warehouse with alien soldiers whose intentions could be to secretly kill them.
The alien commander walked up front, stopping between the humans and his troops, looking around. He slowly placed his hands to his, grasping the helmet. There was almost a small pop as he lifted his helmet from his head, revealing his face to the team.
"Look familiar?" Nova asked Corin as they gazed upon the brown alien figure. Nova knew that these people were humanoid. She figured they weren't human but she didn't expect something this drastically different. The man's figure already seemed strange hunched but with the helmet off it seemed as if the proportions of his body were all wrong. All the aliens stood slightly shorter than an average human but their shoulders and arms were disproportionately large. And their head seemed fused to their body as if they had no neck.
Corin just shook his head as he coughed, "People aren't exactly allowed to leave the Empire so I don't know many races outside the ones in the Empire."
"Tell me then," the alien said as he put the helmet under his arm. "If you are not here to attack, then why are you here?"
Corin took a step forward as he began to explain, "We're just explorers. We came through the stargate."
The alien soldiers began whispering among themselves when they heard this. What exactly they were saying was hard to hear but Chen could tell by their tone that they were both surprised and skeptical.
"I'm Corin," Nevec said, gesturing toward himself. "That's Doctor Steven Chen." Chen gave an unenthusiastic wave. "Lieutenant Charles Martin and Major Terra Nova."
"My name is Crux of the Royal Guard," the alien commander said. He looked at Nova, carefully scanning her with his eyes.
"You're the leader," he concluded. Nova opened her mouth to speak but Crux cut her off. "I can see it in your eyes. You take responsibility for the lives of the other three." Nova felt complimented by Crux's comments and gave him a nod of gratitude.
"Major Terra Nova," she introduced.
"I think you should take a step forward," Corin suggested, noticing that Crux stood directly between them and his troops. "You have the leaders stand between two forces; it's like negotiating on neutral ground. It's a sign of trust and good faith."
"Corin," Chen suddenly spoke out. "You sure it's a good idea."
"Crux is standing between us and his men," Corin pointed out. "He's vulnerable. If we want to become allies we need to show that we aren't going to do anything."
"Charles," Chen called out, looking for some support.
"I think she'll be fine," Martin said. When Martin said this, Crux's expression changed.
"She?" he repeated in confusion. "You're a woman." Nova paused when she heard this as the soldiers behind Crux began whispering among themselves.
"Yes," she said cautiously. She felt her hands drift back to her gun. She didn't know what role women played in this culture but she's remembered reading an SG mission report about a culture that treated women as property and a team member, Captain Carter, was kidnapped as a result.
"Yes," Corin said, stepping in. He read the same mission report and was praying that this was not a similar case. "In their…our culture, women can rise to leadership positions."
Corin kept his eyes on the line of soldiers behind Crux. Their hands weren't at their weapons. They weren't getting ready for a fight. They looked like a small crowd watching a magic show. They weren't offended by the presence of a female. They were amazed.
"Apologies," Crux finally said. "You're just the first woman we've ever seen."
Nova gave a dry cough when she heard this, unsure how to react. Chen raised a confused eye brow. Corin found himself staring at Crux in disbelief at that statement while Charles had to stop himself from laughing.
"In fact," Crux added. "You are the first woman on this planet in over fifty years."
STARGATE
MILLENNIUM
Forming a new alliance with any race was not something that could happen overnight. There is always paranoia when forming an alliance with an alien race, always the chance that the aliens they were negotiating with are not as friendly as they claim. However, the possibility of an alliance outweighed the risks and Major Nova's team found themselves moving back and forth between the planet and Millennium to discuss everything with the leader of the whole expedition: General William Mercer. Corin and Steven had stayed behind in the hopes of learning more about this new race: their culture or technology.
Nova and Martin returned and were in Millennium's conference room, a silvery room with a balcony where people can look out over the stargate. A large U-shaped table sat in the center of the room with Terra Nova and Charles Martin sat on one side. General Mercer sat on the other, his hands folded in front of him as he listened attentively to the debriefing.
"An all-male society?" General Mercer repeated once Nova and Martin were done talking.
"Yes, sir," Nova answered simply. "They call themselves fierri. According to Crux, they don't know why but the female birth rates of fierri plummeted over a hundred years ago and eventually hit zero. No one knew why and couldn't fix it."
"What about reoriented surgery?" the old man asked curiously.
"According to them it became fatal. Which they don't understand because before it wasn't an issue at all."
"After that, their women all eventually passed from old age," Martin added. "They also have a naturally shorter life expectancy, average of sixty instead of the human average of eighty."
"How exactly do they maintain a civilization like this?" Mercer asked. A world without women may sound silly, an argument a child would have over whether or not the world needed girls, but it would also mean that the birthrate would be zero and everyone would eventually pass away.
"Cloning," Terra answered. "At the end of their life, they transfer their minds into clone bodies."
"Their problem is like the Asgard's," Martin explained. "The Asgard had no way of…well…" Martin's voice trailed off as he tried to find an appropriate, and subtle, word for it.
"Reproducing," Nova answered for him.
"I was getting there."
"You were taking too long."
"The Asgard's solution was cloning to extend their lifespan while they attempted to find a solution," Mercer said, remembering their old alien ally. "However, repeated cloning resulted in genetic degradation. I assume they are also suffering from the same affects."
"That and more," Nova continued. "Their cloning isn't anywhere near as good as the Asgard and their clone bodies are degrading even faster. They can't transfer their conscious as efficiently either. They can only do it so many times. Their problem is also their population size. The Asgard still numbered in billions. Their population is already only a couple thousand. Every time one of them dies, they're gone for good; natural disaster, diseases. If they don't fix whatever happened to them, they're going to go extinct within a few decades."
"General, I think a couple of our doctors or geneticists could figure this out for them," Charles suggested. "If we can figure out what happened to them, we might be able save their race."
"As much as I sympathize with their condition, we are in no position to help them," Mercer said. Martin froze when he heard this, stunned that they were refusing to help a race that could go extinct.
"General," Martin protested.
"Lieutenant," Mercer interrupted. "I understand your desire to help them, but it not our duty to solve every problem in this galaxy."
"General, the SGC and Atlantis did help solve many of the problems that plagued the galaxy they were in," Nova argued. She wanted to help the fierri as much as Martin did, but she knew that getting all worked up would not help.
"I am well aware, Major," Mercer said calmly. "As I am aware that they did so under specific circumstances."
"Circumstances?" Charles repeated, eye brows raised. He was always told that General Mercer was a great man, and now the General was denying help to a group of people in need.
"Yes," Mercer said bluntly, closing his eyes as if he was going to meditate. "For one: they only helped those in need once they were properly established. This is something we are definitely not."
Charles gave an annoyed groan when he heard this. Mercer didn't seem pleased by Martin's agitation. The General's eyes opened but only a crack, his facing turning into a menacing glare.
"Power fluctuations have been affecting refrigeration and much of our food has begun to spoil," Mercer explained, his voice darkening. "And, we still lack a source of clean water."
"What about the ocean planet, P58-JY9?" Nova asked.
"The ocean water on that planet is contaminated by microorganisms that we have been, thus far, unable to exterminate," Mercer said gruffly. "Remember why I sent you on this mission: we need additional power to power up the factories and the green houses that lie on the station's arms. If we can power those up, we can at least maintain a stable food supply. Our resources are taxed the way it is. The only reason we're seeking allies right now is because we need help. I understand that you want to prevent the extinction of the fierri, but if we continue on the course we are on, we will die long before they do."
Martin threw his hands up in defeat. There was no changing the General's mind.
"Now," General said firmly, getting back on topic. "Judging from the reaction of the fierri, we are not the first alien race that they've encountered."
"No, they actually used to have their own stargate program," Nova said. "They said it was a couple years ago."
"They were hoping to find an alien race that could help them find a cure," Martin added forcefully.
"They shut the program down because of the Ror'char. They were afraid that they might provoke an attack. So, we're the first friendly alien race they actually met."
Nova remembered the Ror'char: the first alien civilization they ran into when they reached the Millennium, an empire that believes in peace through absolute control and will subjugate every civilization to achieve that 'peace'.
"Then, are they willing to establish an alliance and trade relations?" Mercer asked.
"We're not sure," Nova said. Mercer raised a confused eyebrow. "Crux took us to the Prime Minister of their people. They say that they're willing to negotiate with us but they've refused to give us any of the things we asked for, including a power source."
"Obtaining a power source is our top priority," Mercer stressed.
"Yes, sir. They're open to the idea of negotiating an alliance but they're still reluctant to trust us. They let Corin view this historical archives as a gesture of good faith but refused to let Chen study their technology."
"And you haven't been able to convince them otherwise?"
"We were able to convince them to give us a week's worth of food, given our current condition," Nova said. "But, they said they want something in return for things like a power source."
"Such as?" Mercer asked. Nova and Martin exchanged glances, almost as if they were arguing who was going to tell him.
"Help solving their problem," Martin finally answered. Martin hoped that this new information would convince the general to send help. Mercer opened his mouth to speak but Martin immediately cut him off. "I know, our resources are a little stretched. But, if we help them, they might be a little more willing to help us."
Mercer was silent when he heard this and gave a slow sigh. He didn't think that they should help the fierri, and still doesn't. But, it might be the only way to get what they need.
"Very well," Mercer finally conceded. "I can spare Doctor Osborn but that's all."
"Thank you, sir," Nova said with a nod.
"Dismissed."
With that word, Terra and Charles rose to their feet and prepared to leave.
"One moment, Lieutenant Martin," Mercer called out as he slowly stood up, folding his arms behind his back. Nova looked back over her shoulder to see what was happening but Martin then said, "Go on ahead, I'll catch up." Nova gave a nod and walked off.
Martin turned and faced his boss.
"Yes?" Martin asked indignantly. Mercer slowly made his way around the table, taking his time with each step.
"I understand your frustration, Lieutenant," he said calmly. "I understand that you want to help the fierri. However, I also want you to understand my position. I am the leader of this expedition; I am in charge of every individual and, as a result, I am responsible for what happens to every individual. The people in this station are my first and only concern. We may help alien races in need as we come across them, but only if it will not be at the cost of everyone under me. Do you understand?" Martin was quiet for a moment before answering.
"I do," he said, but Mercer could not tell if he was being sincere or not.
"Dismissed."
-.-
The fierri government library looked like a small palace. Wooden bookshelves lined the white marble walls of the main hall, which amplified almost every sound made. Even Corin's and Steven's footsteps echoed for everyone to hear; it was a good thing the only ones here were a few government aides. Even from the ground, they could see the second floor bookshelves that were by the balcony. Massive glowing orbs floated in the middle of the chamber like chandeliers, filling the room with light.
The fierri seemed to have some universal traits. The average fierri seemed slightly shorter than the average human. Chen and Nova were the two shortest members of the team and the fierri only reached their shoulders. They didn't know if the women were different but the fierri they had seen had hair growing on the top and back of their heads. Many of them had thick facial hairs, mostly large beards and sometimes mustaches. Their skin came in a variety of shades of brown.
"Over here," Crux said as he led Steven and Corin to a room at the back. Being the captain of the squad that first met the humans, the fierri government assigned Crux to give the humans whatever they want…within certain limits.
The wooden doors that led to the back room squeaked open as the three of them entered a small marble room. It looked like a private study with a wooden table and chair sitting in the center. A large lamp hung over the table and a stack of thick books.
"Holy…crap," Chen muttered when he saw the stack of books. Each one was the size of a visual encyclopedia or atlas and was as thick as dictionary.
"This is our planetary diary," Crux explained. "Every month, our leaders must fill a diary of what has transpired. Though, the same information can be found on our computers. I know you requested physical copies but you can just as easily access this information from our data scrolls." Crux guested toward what looked like glass tablets sitting on a nearby table.
"Nah," Corin said eagerly as he plopped down on the chair. He shoved the stack of books to the side, letting him slide the top one in front of him. "Computer records can be changed. There one day, gone the next. Never trust computers. Paper, however, can't just be changed. You have to destroy what's already down."
"Yes yes yes," Chen said dismissively. "And you can't show me any of your tech?" he asked Crux.
"Prime Minster Pavell does not wish for you to view our technology just yet," Crux answered.
"You could help me read this," Corin suggested as he opened the book.
"Pass," Chen immediately answered.
"C'mon. Best weapons in the world." Corin looked up but noticed Chen was just giving him a blank stare.
"It's a joke," Corin explained with a slight laugh. "A man visits an alien planet and says I need to buy weapons. He's lead to the book store and the aliens tell him 'best weapons in the world'." Corin smiled to keep back his laugh but Steven was still not amused. -_-
"Steven, Corin, you there?" Nova's voice suddenly came through the radio, words echoing through the whole library, the volume amplified by the solid marble walls. The library may have been mostly empty but the few government aides there gave him some very annoyed hushes.
"Corin, Steven, we've brought some help. Can you hear me?" Nova asked again, followed by more hushing. Chen groaned in annoyance as the fierri librarians kept hushing him.
"Radio silence requested for a moment," Chen grumbled. He knew he wasn't technically supposed to 'request radio silence' since it was a term he was only supposed to use when he was surrounded by enemy forces and risked getting heard, but did not care for the semantics of it nor did he want to keep being hushed by everyone in the library.
"Corin, you gonna be fine without me?" Steven asked Nevec, who already had buried his face in the book.
"Yeah, I got this," Corin said so absentmindedly that Chen wondered if his alien friend actually heard him.
"Stay here then. I'm going to meet up with Terra."
"If your colleague is staying here then I have to come with you," Crux said.
"Whatever," Chen scoffed, shaking his head in annoyance as he left.
Crux and Steven barely left the room for a second before Steven's head popped back in.
"You have your gun, right?" he asked Corin.
"Yeah, it's right here," Corin said, patting his holstered Beretta. "Not like I know how to use it," he muttered as Chen closed the door behind him.
-.-
The massive wall of shimmering water that was the event horizon of the stargate shut down the moment the travelers were through.
"Man, it's nice to have a change in scenery," Doctor Osborn said cheerfully the moment she stepped through, her sleek brown hair, which became wavy at the very end, bouncing by her shoulders. Massive black cases of medical equipment hung in her hands and bounced off the side of legs as she made her way down the ramp. She wore a black uniform similar to Martin and Nova's but lacked the packs of military equipment; instead, she wore a large backpack. She looked up at Martin and Nova, who stood on either side of her.
"Hey, wait till you see the blokes you're gonna be working with," Martin joked. "They're a race of potato heads. You know what, that's what I'm gonna call them: the potato heads."
"I think they might find that insulting," Nova said as the three of them made their way down the ramp from the gate.
"I don't think they'll know what a potato is," Osborn pointed out. "Alien planet, doubt they have the same foods as us."
As the three of them approached the door at the side they could hear muffled talking behind it.
"Reception party?" Nova wondered aloud. This was the second alien society they met, and the first friendly one. She was hoping that they could just walk about without having to worry about guns pointed at them.
The door suddenly squeaked open as Steven Chen suddenly walked in.
"Crux," Nova greeted as she, Martin, and Osborn reached the door. Chen looked at the three of them, but his eyes fell on Osborn. "This is our Chief Medical Officer, Doctor-"
"NO," Chen suddenly said, immediately slamming the door shut.
"Oi," Charles called out indignantly, not appreciating a door slammed in his face.
"What was that?" Nova wondered out loud, staring at the door in disblief.
"Oh, it's nothing," Osborn answered, rolling up her sleeve and looking at her watch. "He's always like that. He'll be back in…3…2…1…" There was an awkward silence when Chen didn't come back through the door once Osborn's countdown ended.
"Think your watch might be a bit fast there, Doc" Martin whispered when the door didn't open. The moment he said that, the door burst back open, revealing Steven Chen and a confused Crux behind him.
"Kara," Chen said to Osborn. "What…are you doing here?"
"Helping an alien civilization," Kara answered with a cheerful shrug.
"No! I mean here; like…this galaxy 'here'," Chen yelled in disbelief.
"I volunteered for this."
"I told you to stay on Earth."
"I didn't listen."
"You do that a lot."
Nova loudly cleared her throat.
"As much as I would love to see this drama unfold," Nova said, amused by the banter between Steven and Kara. "We have work to do." Crux looked at her for an answer. "General Mercer has granted your request for help in finding a cure. This is our Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Osborn."
"Hey," Kara said as she set down one of her suitcases and extended her hand for a shake. Crux just looked at her in confusion.
"We appreciate the assistance," Crux said. Kara put her hand down when Crux didn't shake it. "There is an old lab set up not far from here. One of our scientists used to work on a solution there."
"Yeah, you pointed it out on our way down here," Chen commented.
"So you know where the lab is?" Nova asked. "Then you can escort Doctor Osborn to where it is."
Steven felt his jaw drop at this. He opened his mouth to protest but Nova cut him off.
"That is an order, Chen," Nova said firmly. "Crux and I will go speak with Prime Minister Pavell and Martin will watch over Corin. That leaves you to escort Osborn."
"You're getting a kick out of this, aren't you?" Chen asked, unamused. Nova didn't say anything but Chen could see a small smile on her face.
"My research can go a lot faster if I can see what research you already have," Kara Osborn suggested.
"There is a computer in the laboratory," Crux explained. "It should have all the relevant data."
"Cool," Kara said enthusiastically. "C'mon Steven." Chen had the most annoyed look on his face as he led Kara down the street.
"Don't have her out past twelve!" Charles called out as they left.
"Shut up," Chen barked back.
"You know where the library is?" Nova asked Martin, who was still snickering. He could still see Chen's agitated face in his mind.
"Yeah, just five buildings down from 'ere," he said, holding back a laugh.
"Good. Meet up with Corin. See if he's found anything."
"Yes ma'am," Martin said as he walked off with a smile.
"Crux," Nova said, turning to face him. "I'd like to speak to Prime Minister Pavell again."
-.-
"Did I ever mention my undying hatred for you?" Chen asked in agitation as he looked at the table piled with medical equipment.
"You probably have and I didn't pay attention," Kara said as she passed a sample in a petri dish under a microscope. "Quiet for sec, I need to see something." Kara rushed back and forth between the medical equipment and the fierri computer. It was surprisingly similar to a human laptop. The positioning of the letters on the keyboard was slightly different but it used the same letters. Still, Kara preferred using her own laptop and only used the fierri laptop to read notes from previous doctors and researchers.
"Onto something?" Chen asked.
"Just checking what these people already have," Osborn said as she typed at the computer. When she looked up she noticed Steven was still staring at her for an answer.
"These people are plagued by a multitude of problems," Kara explained. "But, all these problems stem from having an all-male society, which the mere notion is scary."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Steven barked when he realized she was insinuating something.
"Oh, nothing," she said with a shrug, brushing her hair back over her shoulder. "Anyways, this all started as a result of the female birthrate hitting zero. I'm more likely to figure that out than trying to solve the cloning issue."
"Find anything then?"
"Well," Kara said, taking a kit out of one of the suitcases. "I found out what's the problem, just need to find the solution."
"Cool," Chen said, unenthused. "What's the problem?"
"Sex-determination."
"What?"
"It's just something that every person uses," she explained as she walked back to the laptop and brought up a zoomed image of the cells in the petri dish.
"I work with machines, Kara," Steven pointed out. "I'm not good with anything that involves people."
"Yeah, tell me about it," she muttered, rolling her eyes.
"What'd you say?!"
"It seems their biology has been altered to be like this," Kara quickly said, changing the topic. "There's something wrong with the sex-determination."
"The x and y chromosomes," Chen said, partially catching on.
"Yup. Double x for female and xy for male."
"Ok…then what's the problem?" Steven asked impatiently. Kara stopped working and turned to look at him.
"For some reason, their biology is rejecting the second x chromosome. In fact, their body is actually rejecting any female characteristics. It's even fatal. Whatever this is...it's infected every cell of their body."
Steven Chen was not even going to pretend he knew what Kara was doing as she made her way to the back of the room. He noticed that the wall of the lap was covered in cabinet doors but he had no clue what was in them.
Chen groaned in disgust as Kara opened the door of one of the cabinets, revealing the body of a dead fierri, a white cloth covering most of his body. It was obvious from the lack of odor that it was well preserved.
"That's mess up," Steven muttered.
"He's still alive," Kara said as she grabbed a surgical mask. "They transferred his mind to a clone body and he donated this one so researchers could find a cure."
Chen still didn't like it. He knew autopsies were necessary but, to him, it still felt like desecrating the dead. Even if he didn't know who it was, he still wanted to give them respect.
"Well then," Kara said as she slipped on a pair of gloves. "Let's get started."
-.-
Night had begun to fall by the time Martin reached the library, filling the hall with an eerie silence. Most of the government aides had left, so he didn't need to worry about disturbing anyone, and the only light came from the orbs in the air.
"Corin," Martin called, his voice echoing through the hall. "Corin, little lost here."
"Back here," a voice called from behind a book shelf. Martin peaked around the shelf and saw Corin walk out with a stack of small books.
"What're you doing?" Charles asked, eyeing the small stack of books.
"Just extra research," Corin said as he walked past him and toward the private study room.
"You're able to read that?" Martin asked as Corin opened the study room doors with his shoulder.
"Of course, it's in English," Corin said as he set the books down.
"Yeah, but don't you find it weird that nearly every alien race we've encountered can speak English?" Martin asked as he closed the door behind them.
"We think it's the proto-human language," Corin said as he flipped a book open. He took an energy bar from his sack and started munching on it. "We speculate that all the races in this galaxy originated from the four races that built the Millennium; humans came from the Ancients, the sireens came from the Asgard, and so on and so forth. We think that they also passed on their languages, the proto-human language, the original language, and that the languages then followed the same evolutionary pathways. It starts the same and changes the same way. Since your people are human that means that you came from one of the races of the Alliance which means you probably inherited your language form them too and it followed the same pathways into the language we speak now. Pretty cool, huh?"
Corin looked up from his book but found that Martin had picked up a magnifying glass, used to read the books with the really small letters, and was making faces through it.
"I'm sorry, what you say?" he said, realizing Corin had stopped talking. Corin opened his mouth to explain again but didn't feel like repeating the whole statement.
"Expect to find more English-speaking aliens," Corin said promptly before going back to his book.
-.-
Nova stepped into the massive white stone chamber with Crux coming in right behind her. A grid of seats was laid out in front of a massive stone stand that rose high above the floor. A wall of guards were standing right in front of the stone stand; body guards to the prime minister. Terra did insist that they be allowed to keep their weapons and the fierri weren't just going to let aliens with guns talk to the prime minister without some protection.
The seats around the stone stand may have been empty but at the stand, wearing a black suit, was fierri Prime Minister Pavell.
"Major Terra Nova," he said slowly in a mechanical, almost monotone voice. Nova remembered Martin's reaction when they first met the Prime Minster, he made a comparison to Star Wars; Martin said the fierri Prime Minister was a male Amidala, whatever that meant. "Welcome back."
"It is an honor to be granted this audience," Nova said formally with a small bow.
"Will your associates not be joining us?" The fierrie Prime Minister's voice was so monotone it was almost painful to listen to.
"Not this time," Nova said. "I believe that I am adequate in negotiating an alliance." Nova thought about how things would go if they were still back on Earth. A proper ambassador would have been sent to negotiate. However, they didn't bring anything like that with them to the Millennium so the team leaders were to act as ambassadors when negotiating.
"We've granted your request for help in finding a cure," she continued.
"Yes, so I have been told."
"I am hoping that we can negotiate for a trade for some technology, perhaps even a power source."
Pavell was silent for a long moment, as if he didn't want to say the unchanged answer.
"I am sorry, but nothing has changed since you last asked," he droned. "We appreciate the assistance you are providing but assistance is not the same as a cure. You still have not given us adequate reason for neither a trade nor an alliance."
Nova groaned in annoyance. This might take longer than she thought.
-.-
"Why were you wandering the library?" Charles asked as he quickly began to get bored.
"Was just looking up something," Corin said as he took a bite of his energy bar and kept reading. Martin could not help but notice Corin was a lot tenser than before.
"Looking up what? I thought they gave you all material on their history."
"Yeah, they didn't."
"What's that mean?" Martin asked as he looked out the window, looking at the moon…and the moon's moon. "Corin?" Martin asked when he didn't get a response.
"Where's Terra?" Corin asked, shocked by what he just read. He put his energy bar down as he read the page again to make sure he wasn't misinterpreting anything.
"Capital building," Martin answered, turning to face him. "What's going on?"
"I'll explain on the way," Corin said, standing up so fast that the chair was knocked over.
-.-
"With all due respect, Prime Minister Pavell, if we don't receive supplies or a power source, we may not survive long enough to find a cure," Nova argued. "We are the first civilization that's helping you."
"So, the only reason you've rendered any assistance convince me to give you some of our technology," Pavell concluded. Nova wanted to deny it but he was right.
The discussion didn't continue. At that moment, the doors behind them burst open as Corin Nevec and Charles Martin rushed in, followed by a small army of guards that didn't like the fact that a pair of armed aliens just rushed into the capital building.
Nova could tell from the looks of both Corin and Charles that there was something wrong.
"When were you going to tell us?" Corin blurted as he walked in.
"Corin, what are you doing?" Nova asked, knowing this would not look good for negotiating an alliance.
"We're trying to find the truth, Major" Martin said firmly, his hands on his weapon.
"Truth?" Pavell repeated, almost offended by their tone. "Truth about what?"
"THE NEW GENESIS WAR!" Corin shouted. That name must have meant something; Pavell twitched uncomfortably in his seat, realizing that their visitors have discovered the truth. Several of the guards began whispering to each other, wondering what to do. Even Crux looked disturbed.
"Corin, you want to explain?" Nova asked, her hands flying to her weapon at the reactions of everyone in the room.
"You tried to hide it from me," Corin said accusingly. "I was reading the planetary diaries but realized there were pages missing, just ripped out; something that you didn't want others to see. You hid a lot of it but you weren't able to hide all the books; I was finally able to find some that told me what I needed to know."
Corin began angrily pacing the room as he explained.
"It started about a hundred years ago. Your civilization was divided into a multitude of countries throughout the planet. Sure they had different cultures, traditions, and beliefs, but they were all fierri. But you guys didn't see them that way. So, a hundred years ago, your little country declared war on the rest of the world. But, you weren't aiming to force them to surrender, or to give up land or resources; you aimed at mass genocide. Even in your own country, you arrested and executed hundreds of people because they were foreign."
Nova stared wide eyed at the Prime Minister, realizing who they nearly allied themselves with.
"You had a pretty big advantage," Corin continued. "You stockpiled an arsenal of nuclear, biological, and chemical that would crush the other superpower countries in one surprise attack. While it evened the odds for you, you were caught off guard by how quickly they recovered. For almost two decades, the rest of the world threw everything they had at you while you slowly and systematically destroyed the rest of the world. They couldn't use big drastic weapons, you always found a way to counter that. They launch nukes, you improve your missile defense capabilities. They had to hit you with something subtle, something you wouldn't notice until it was too late. They tried a bio-chemical weapon that would cause mass sterility but it was still too drastic; your government realized what was happening when birthrates just turned to zero and you 'purified' area it was spreading from. They had to use something more subtle. So, they made a bio-chemical weapon that would permanently change your physiology, make it impossible for a female fierri to exist; a slow and subtle destruction. You finally won, but they had already unleashed their weapon."
"So this whole situation…" Nova said.
"Is a result of their genocide," Martin finished. "They brought this on themselves."
