Part I
"Yes sir. Okay sir. Thank you sir!"
Major General Hank Landry hung up the phone as Lt. Colonel Mitchell crossed the briefing room and approached his office.
"Oh Col. Mitchell, I just got off the phone with Col. Carter. She says they've almost completed the transfer of the Asgard database to a computer stationed at Area 51. I didn't think they were ever going to get it done. How long has she been down there now?"
" Three months, sir."
"Ah I see you've been keeping track."
"Always do…"
At that same moment the sound of a siren pierced the room, shortly followed by the voice of Sergeant Harriman: "Unscheduled off world activation".
With only a mere sideward glance to spare for Mitchell, the general took off with quick strides toward the gate room. Landry despised these "unscheduled" activations. The sound of the siren itself was sufficient to churn his gut, as there had been too many incidents where he had to decide over the lives of men. "Unscheduled" almost always meant a team coming in hot or a message from some alien luring them into a trap. Let it be on purpose or by ignorance. He praised those rare occasions when a team came back with problems that needed little or no attention on his part.
"Receiving Col. Prudinski's IDC, sir!"
To Landry's surprise, the commander of SG-3, Col. Prudinski stepped out of the gate, closely followed by Lya. Unable to restrain his excitement, the words "We found'em" left his lips causing the face of the general to freeze up in astonishment. He managed only to stammer, " Debrief in 30…"
Cam didn't know how to react he had never seen this woman before, although he vaguely remembered a passage of a mission report by General O'Neill describing the indigenous people of one of Apophis' hunting grounds as "a mystical and analy peaceful people that are seemingly one with nature itself". And that is just what came to his mind as he saw this woman. He was just starting to remember the whole context of the report as the General interrupted his train of thought.
"Col. Mitchell! I want Carter here yesterday!"
Part II
It took Carter a month to connect the Asgard core with the system at Area 51. The knowledge of the Asgard was even vaster than she had imagined. Sam had known that it was important that they manage to the data from the core to the Tau'ri computer and make an effort to understand the technology in itself. This was of course easier said then done, because of course, a race such as the Asgard were way beyond regular binaries and computer systems.
After a month the transfer was complete. The amount of knowledge transferred was so immense, had it not been for the combination of a Tau'ri control interface and several other alien devices, there would have been no possible way of getting all the information into the earth-version of the Asgard core. Sam was reluctant to take any credit for what she had managed to do. She believes had it not been for the Thor-Hologram telling her what to do, she would have taken years to finish…if she ever finished.
During and after the completion of the transfer, Sam, Dr. Lee and many other scientists set to work on equipping all other spacecraft with the newly obtained technology. Thankfully, the Asgard core and the core Carter had built are able to download their information onto several other cores simultaneously.
After three months of tedious work, all spacecraft including the X-304s were equipped and ready to go. Carter knew she should feel relieved, she remained uneasy however.
She started thinking about everything that had happened since the Asgard committed mass suicide. She missed Thor. Even though he was a highly intellectual alien and there were never more feelings between them than friendship, it had always been a comfort to know there was someone smarter than herself to rely upon, should it be necessary.
The destruction of the Asgard had been a surprise to everyone. Though they themselves might have anticipating their destruction, no one in the SGC actually wanted to realize what had happened. An entire race…gone. Vanished from all plains of existence, as their genetic experiments had produced not only a fatal disease but also made them unable to ascend. Sam even thought he might have seen O'Neill shed a tear or two. That impressed her the most. She hadn't realised that the Asgard had had such an immense impact on him.
Their destruction set forth a chain of events that impacted the universe greatly. The president had decided that they must destroy the Ori in the Milky Way and in their own galaxy, for as many as 20 Ori ships were seen leaving the super gate. He left this task to general Landry who immediately realized that the only way they were going to achieve this was by finding some very powerful allies. The Ancients weren't about to break their rules for the sake of a few lousy billion souls. The Goa'uld obviously didn't make the cut either thanks to their uncanny knack of betraying their allies. The Tollan civilization was presumed dead and the Asgard weren't even worth mentioning anymore. Daniel managed to contact Chaka, who in turn rallied thousands of claw-wielding Unas and even more K'kaan, a divergent more domestic breed of the Unas, to challenge the Ori army.
Part III
"Your visit caught us off-guard. I did not think we were going to see you again. But might you tell us why you've made this trip to visit us?"
General Landry had finally managed to succumb his surprise and invite his visitor into the briefing room.
"I am sure it did and I must apologize for arriving so unannounced. It was necessary however to contact you immediately. The Nox need your help."
The enchanting figure rose out of her seat to wander offer to plant sitting in a corner of the room. To hear visible displeasure she realized it was a fake and discontinued the stroking of the plant.
"Several days ago, a man who called himself a prior, stepped through our gate. He preached to us about his beliefs. Origin, as he called it, holds all answers to life. As our ways permitted him to speak we endured all of his preaching. Naturally we accepted his opinion of the universe, however we were not willing to convert. He soon left us with the Book of Origin. He said to read and study the book and that he will be back in three days to hear our answer."
"Let me guess, three days later a disease fell upon your people?"
"Yes Dr. Jackson. Though we were able to heal ourselves the prior returned yet again wishing to save us. Seeing that there was no one to be saved, he returned with a ship and a grand army. Many Nox passed before we were able to conceal ourselves again and force the invaders back into orbit."
"Wait a minute, I thought the Nox were able to bring people back from the dead?"
"You are correct yet again Dr. Jackson. The Nox do posses the ability to return breath to a body, however this need be done soon after damage was inflicted and before the soul leaves the body. As you know, the process of reviving consumes time and a great deal of energy. Many Nox souls were lost only so few suns ago."
"And how do you expect us to help you? You once told us that there other ways that don't include violence?"
"In the little time we have been together you seem to have learned a great deal about our culture already Daniel Jackson. Indeed we Nox dislike violence and none one is willing inflict pain or damage to anyone or anything. We don't fight wars, but one has been declared on us. Thankfully the Nox believe that we can help each other. Seeing that the Asgard have entrusted you with their knowledge, we are willing to teach a selected few of the Tau'ri our way."
After hearing this grand offer by the noxian female, General Landry immediately responded by inquiring which Tau'ri Lya had in mind.
"Only those true of spirit are able to learn our way. They will not manage to master any skills we will teach them by the time they are needed, but our people are willing to aid you in battle by healing your wounded and helping in any other way possible to the Nox. Also, the Tollans would like to support you. One named Narim was especially candid to offer the Tollans help."
"No way! How did they manage to survive?"
This was all that Daniel could bring forth.
"Tollana was but one of quite a few planets the Tollans occupied and with the help of the Nox these colonies were able to flourish and even challenge the size of Tollana itself. However the Tollans themselves were still being largely suppressed by Anubis' Jaffa until he was destroyed as well. They are only now ready to fight alongside you against the many Ori warriors."
After many more questions, stories and phone calls General Landry was happy to announce the cooperation of the Tau'ri with the Tollans and the Nox.
A few hours later Col. Carter arrived at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex and reported the spectacular news of the new Tau'ri fleet. And since things would not stop going well for them, Landry received a call that General O'Neill was coming down from Washington to join them in the fight against the supporters of the false gods…whose condition remains unknown.
