Stargate Trilogy
Part Two:
Chapter One:
Another Betrayal
Four years had past since the teams of the Atlantis Expedition and Stargate Command left the ancient city named by Stargate Command as 'Olympus' named after he mythical home of the Greek gods of ancient Earth. Since that fateful day, it had become clear that Stargate Command that relations between the two increasing powers had turned icy cold as Earth began a program of building more of her deadly and powerful BC-304 cruisers under the guise of exploration yet everyone knew that the real reason was in defence of Earth and her growing allies within the Galaxy itself.
On occasion, several Tau'ri cruisers had encountered Olympus vessels in deep space as tensions raised between the two powers almost to the point of a full blown conflict.
On the Ancient City itself, the command Staff under now General Juliana Tate had discovered a way to block any and all unauthorised gate activity as their understanding of the Stargate network grew beyond anything they could have imagined while new technology was discovered in the great city itself, technology such as personal shields and cloaking systems, capable of hiding a person from sight or even sensors such as the so called 'Life-signs detectors' used by Atlantis, Stargate Command and themselves. However, all was not lost with between the two distant cousins whom like most of the galaxy, descended from Earth itself as on occasion, a secret meeting between General Tate and Colonels Carter or Mitchell may hold a faint glimmer of hope for thawing tensions between them.
Now at the age of twenty-two, Jennifer Tate; the brilliant Chief Scientist and Chief Engineer on the city had continued with her research as her ever growing intellect was surpassed only by her beauty. Since helping to thwart the invasion by Tau'ri forces and being captured by Major Wallace, she had trained hard in the city's facilities in self defence to the point of becoming as deadly an opponent as those whom once held her captive and forced her to repair the city as the small teams attempted to slow them down before retaking their city itself.
Once again stood on the bridge of their flagship Sentinel, Jennifer had finally checked over the new upgrades of the vessel, technology which had been based on what they had discovered in their ancient city. With permission given to leave orbit by the flight control officer on the planet below, Jennifer sat at the side of the Commanding officer of the vessel. One of the best and brightest young minds the city had to offer, a young man she had come to know well in the past four years and grow ever closer too, her fiancé Lieutenant Colonel Jack Bourne. Holding his hand gently, she looked up into his eyes as she nodded with a smile of pride on her face as he give the order to leave orbit and test the new engine design. More of a complete engine redesign then an upgrade, it was designed to be much faster and with a far greater range then what the vessel originally operated with.
"Full power to the main engines" He ordered with pride.
"Engines at… 100% Sirs, sub-light engines on standby. We are green across the board. Waiting for your command Jack" replied the helm officer.
"Oh no. This is your design Jenny, you have the honour"
Smiling widely, Jennifer stood and walked towards the helm of the powerful new redesigned vessel as she took a deep breath and gave the order that everyone had been waiting so long for. Seconds later, a powerful vortex of swirling white energy appeared before the Sentinel as it seemed to stretch slightly before leaping into the energy field before it as it snapped closed, sealing the vessel inside. Looking down at the control station before her, she smiled with pride as she read the reports displayed while the helm officer gave her report to her superior officer and long time friend.
"Approaching original speed limit for this ship Jack, speed increasing by 10%, 20%… 50% and holding. Congratulations Doctor, you've done it" She said as she looked up at Jennifer and smiled.
"We're not out of the woods yet Frankie. Alright, lets run a full engine diagnostic before we continue. From what I can see, this new beauty has lots more in waiting. It may be possible we could push as far as 75% of the original design Jack"
"As projected. Nice work Jenny" Jack said as he walked to her side.
For four days, the Sentinel performed beyond expectations as she continued on a vast circle, close to their home city. Performing tests on all new systems such as the new weapons, shields, sensors and every other new system they had installed, she was finally ready to renter their fleet of ten highly powerful cruisers and several smaller support ships. Slipping back into normal space, the Sentinel once again entered her home system as celebrations turned into fear and shock as the viewscreen before them, wreckage of many of their own ships orbited their home planet. Instantly leaping from his chair, Jack looked up at the screen and instantly ordered Battle Conditions. Leaping into action, the vessel's shields where raised as the new powerful weapons systems activated as the slowed to avoid the debris.
"What the hell happened?" Jennifer said with shock.
"Looks like one hell of a battle. Life signs?" He replied.
"Scattered throughout the wreckage, looks like pockets of atmosphere in the wreckage" Replied Jennifer after she ran towards the science console. "Jack, we should beam them onboard. Frankie, alert the Med-Bay to receiving the injured"
"Let's hope your new shield grid works" Replied Frankie, the Helm Officer.
"It worked in the tests, transporting through the shields is tricky… activating all transporters now"
For a brief moment, silence fell over the command deck of the upgraded ship as Jennifer continued with her reports while transporting over the injured survivors of their fleet before she looked back at the sensors with fear, anger and shock as she reported something which astonished the crew itself.
"What? Jack the city… it's gone"
"Destroyed?" He said with fear.
"No Jack, it's just gone! Not picking up any of the usual signs it's cloaked. I can see the Beta-Station below the city, it appears to have been torn apart"
"What the hell is going on" He growled.
"Those bastards!" Jennifer yelled as tears flowed from her eyes. "They couldn't capture the city, so they simply flew the damned thing away. Judging by the damage of Beta-Station, I'd say they powered up the main engines, it tore the station apart. Reading only bodies down there Jack"
Remaining at full Battle-Stations, the vessel maintained a geographically locked orbit over the planet below, an orbit which placed them directly over the former resting place of their once great city as they continued to asses what had happened, why their powerful fleet was attacked and destroyed and more importantly, who attacked them. It had been six hours since they returned, the medical staff had declared over half of those they rescued as dead or severely injured, including one of the most important members of their defence force, the commander of the deep space forces, General William Tate Jennifer's own father.
Her own anger had begun to boil out of control since the loss of their fleet, their home and the death of her father especially since there had been no word on the location of their home city, a city commanded by her older sister and now her only living relative. Once again stood on the bridge, she continued to identify who had attacked their home, even though she knew that the only people capable of mounting such an attack was the Tau'ri themselves. Reports had come from the Med-Bay from one of the survivors that a vast fleet of ships suddenly appeared over their planet and attacked the fleet before anything could be done. A cowardly and devastating attack which had wiped out the majority of their fleet in one swift move before they stole the city itself and possibly even killing the inhabitants.
After sending out a message on all Sub-Space frequencies, as Chief Scientist and the only surviving member of the City Council possibly left alive, she ordered all ships to return to the home system. Finally, the ships arrived as she looked at the remains of the once powerful fleet, one aging cruiser and three Corvette support ships. Assembling the commanders and first officers of the five remaining vessels on the bridge of the Sentinel, she stood before them with her eyes burning as looked at each of them in unison and released her anger. All she now wanted to do was take her remaining fleet, set course for Earth and level her cities in retaliation, but that wasn't her way. Attacking civilians was a crime against humanity, even though the Tau'ri had apparently declared open war against them, against her. The commanders of the surviving vessels had agreed on the next course of action, retaliation was not the answer. With a dark smile on her face, she ordered the vessels to assemble in formation with the Sentinel as now the search would begin for the two members Tau'ri she could hopefully trust, Colonels Carter and Mitchell.
For two days, the small fleet had patrolled established Tau'ri shipping lanes as they dispatched word to all of their allies to be on the look out for either SG-1, or the Earth Vessel Gen G. Hammond as finally word of the one ship they had been looking for was located in orbit of an uninhabited planet, making repairs.
On the bridge of her ship, Colonel Samantha Carter worked with a team of engineers as they repaired the systems which had been all but destroyed during an attack by the Lucian Alliance cruisers, out numbered and out gunned, they had little choice but to retreat to make repairs. Suddenly, the ship began to shake violently as the Colonel looked up at the large windows before them as a vast vortex of energy opened up directly before them and several hyperspace windows screamed into existence while five vessels appeared before her ship. Standing slowly, she looked up with shock at a vessel she instantly recognised as a voice echoed over the bridge.
"Tau'ri vessel, this is the Sentinel. Colonel Carter, we need to talk"
Walking towards the large window before her, she looked up in shock as one person materialised on her bridge with a weapon aimed directly between her eyes as security officers raised their weapons at her.
"Jennifer?" She said with shock.
"Lower your weapons. I have five highly powerful vessels with their weapons aimed directly at my location"
"Jennifer, What the hell are you doing?" Carter said with shock.
"We need to talk Carter. NOW! Everyone, get out" Jennifer growled.
"It's okay. Lower your weapons everyone… give us a moment"
"Colonel?"
"Mister Johnson, I gave you an order" Carter said firmly.
Nodding slightly, the security officer backed away as Jennifer circled Samantha Carter with her weapon aimed directly at her. Finally left alone on the bridge, Jennifer grabbed Carter by her jacket and threw her into a chair as she spoke with a deep hatred.
"What the HELL are you people doing?"
"What are you talking about?" Carter said firmly.
"My fleet was attacked and destroyed by Tau'ri weapons and the city? Gone!"
"What?" She said with disbelief.
"1'000 of my people are dead, I don't even know about those in the city…"
"Jennifer, that was not us. I give you my word" Carter pleaded.
"We have visual records that prove your ships attacked my unsuspecting fleet. Afterwards, your people boarded the city, activated the main engines and tore it from its base on the planet killing a further thirty who where in the Beta-Station" Jennifer yelled.
"That's not possible Jennifer"
Reaching into her jacket pocket, Jennifer pulled out a small silver box and pushed it into Carter's face as sensor image taken from one of the destroyed vessels clearly displayed a Tau'ri BC-304 cruiser attacking a Corvette class vessel with her main weapons before turning on the ship which recorded the sensor readings.
"That's not possible. That can't be one of ours" Carter said with disgust.
"This sensor data confirms YOUR VESSEL'S ENERGY SIGNATURE. Your ships have declared war on us" Jennifer yelled.
"I swear I had nothing to do with this. We where making progress between us, Juliana had discussed the possibility of joint operations in the near future"
"Juliana… is probably dead by now. Along with my father and the rest of my family. If I find out that you knew about this, I'll take your head off Carter"
"I give you my word Jennifer, I knew nothing about this. Now let me go, I can help you" Carter pleaded once more.
"Why would I need your help Colonel! I have five heavily armed and armoured vessels at my command. I have I have done everything I can and it is not enough to stop them from jumping into Earth orbit and levelling your cities" Jennifer said as she leaned closer with a dark smile.
"You came to me… you found me Jennifer. You must know that you can trust me. Besides, any action taken against Earth will result in a devastating war, one you can't win with just five ships"
"Then we die trying Samantha. There is one other person that I know I can trust, I do need your help in contacting him though. Come with me Carter, leave this quaint little ship of yours. Help me discover just what the hell is going on around here… after all, this now concerns your Earth" Jennifer smiled.
"I can't leave my ship, she's defenceless. Since an attack by the Lucian Alliance…"
"The Sentinel is the only ship I need right now, she's faster and far more powerful then the others. I'll order them to remain behind for… protection detail, Carter… I'll save your little ship if you help me find my city. That is the only deal on the table. Take it, or I'll have your vessel blown out of the stars as repayment for your people's betrayal after which, I will take down every Tau'ri ship in the galaxy with deadly force"
Looking deep into the eyes of the young girl she once knew, she noticed that the innocence she once saw in her had been replaced with a dark and twisted variation of the girl she once knew. Carter had also known the full potential of the Starship Sentinel since facing off against one of their similar vessels during on a mock war game situation several weeks earlier as a part of rebuilding relations with the people of what they called 'Olympus City'. And now, what she could see, the ship had been severely upgraded since it had been pulled from service two years ago and the gods themselves only knew the capabilities of this new design. Thinking quickly, Carter nodded as Jennifer stood up and smiled slightly as she tapped the communicator on her collar before she spoke.
"Sentinel, Tate. Standby to transport myself and Colonel Carter onboard, she'll have the coordinates we need"
"Understood Doctor Tate. Standing by for your next contact" Jack replied firmly.
"I'll have to let my crew know where I am going" Carter said slowly.
"No! not yet… tell them you're helping out with something importance to the Earth and my People, it wouldn't be far from the truth…"
For a moment, Carter explained her case to the young woman with the weapon almost pointed into her chest, before Jennifer nodded slightly and holstered her weapon as Carter stood and nodded slightly. With a look in her eye that explained almost everything, Jennifer spoke firmly the words that almost made Carter shiver at her darkness as she spoke.
"The only reason you are still alive Carter is that I now need you and I like you, my sister liked you and more importantly, she trusted you"
"Do you, trust me?" Carter said.
"The truth is, no I don't. Julia and I fought many times over whether to allow the Tau'ri back in our lives, but as military commander AND a member of the city council, she had the deciding vote. I was over ruled by my father and Julia… now, they are dead and I am all that is left of my family, so as you can see Carter, I have no love for the Tau'ri… I just need your help"
Agreeing to the terms laid out before her by the woman more then half her age, Carter informed her crew of the new situation and against the objections of her first officer, she left the ship with Jennifer as the four cruisers surrounded the USS Hammond in a defensive perimeter as the Sentinel once again disappeared from view.
Standing on the bridge of the highly sophisticated vessel, Carter could see exactly why the class of ship had always out performed the BC-304 class if the main bridge was any indication of that. The sleek design was reminiscent of something from a Science-Fiction show beloved by millions on Earth. Walking towards who appeared to be the commander of the vessel, he saluted her as he turned towards Jennifer and spoke aloud.
"Jenny, it's dangerous having her here… she's Tau'ri"
"I know Jack, but Julia trusted her… and she also put her neck on the line several years ago for us. I don't trust her, but we need her help if we are to find him" Jennifer said with a soft smile on her face that made Carter watch them both.
"And what makes you think you can trust him?" He said with caution.
"I know him, I looked into his soul and saw the truth"
"Who are you talking about?" Carter interrupted quickly. "Who are we finding?"
"You didn't tell her Jenny?" Jack smiled.
Slowly turning her head, she pointed towards an empty chair as she nodded before replying as she sat next to the Commander of the vessel.
"Take a seat. Where is Atlantis, Carter?"
"You've done all this for Atlantis? Why?" Carter said slowly. "Ohh don't tell me, Rodney McKay?"
"Yes Carter, Rodney. And it would go a lot smoother if you would tell me where Atlantis currently is located"
"It wouldn't matter Jennifer, it would take weeks to get there. By that time, your city could be gone…" Carter said slowly, cautiously.
"You don't know what this ship is capable of sister. In one hour, we will pass the outer rim of the Milkyway galaxy and on course for Pegasus. It would be a lot smoother if we had the exact location. I'd hate to spend a couple of days looking for your city" Jennifer bragged.
"One hour, That's impossible!" Carter said in awe.
"With hyper-drive yes. Frankie, activate the new systems" Jennifer smiled.
"Of course. Activating the new… Trans-Dimensional Drive, transferring power to the forward emitters… now!"
With a burst of energy from the forward navigational deflector array, the standard 'Hyperspace' seemed to dissolve as an almost endless tunnel of white swirling energy appeared before the ship as a with a burst of energy, the Sentinel was thrown forwards at seemingly incredible speeds while Jennifer looked at Carter with a cocky grin on her face as she spoke.
"Your, Hyperspace-Drive is only the beginning of what is really possible Carter. Even though the so called 'Wormhole-Drive' is difficult to maintain due to power constraints, this ship… is the most advanced in existence. Give me the current location of Atlantis City"
Nodding slightly, Carter marked down the coordinates on what appeared to be a highly sophisticated tablet computer which was linked directly into the vessels computer core and slowly, the Sentinel changed course for Atlantis City itself. Which shock, Carter looked at Jennifer for any reaction as the helm officer reported the status of 'ETA Atlantis, 58.05 hours'.
Yet another morning of correcting the many mistakes made by the team who maintained the city itself, he well knew that any and all repairs would eventually fall upon him as he sat on the floor, half inside the wall of a long corridor as he moaned continuously with the dissatisfaction at the work of those whom had left the city only three days earlier after being called back to Earth for some other assignment. 'Pain in the ass, idiotic…' He mumbled to himself as he once again repaired the inept maintenance work. As the power in the system he was repairing once again started flowing through the city, he fell out of the wall with exhaustion before looking around, to make sure no one saw him before he sealed the panel closed and took a deep sigh of relief until a voice called out over the internal communications channels calling himself and Colonel Sheppard to the command centre. Laughing at the walls like a mad man, he picked up the equipment he had been working with before he made his way towards the command centre as he stopped by the side of the Civilian Commander of the facility, Richard Woolsey as Colonel Shepard stepped at his side.
"What is it now?" Rodney yawned.
"A vessel has just appeared out of… I don't know, it wasn't Hyperspace. It came to a full stop six inches from the central tower" Replied Woolsey.
"What? That's impossible" McKay grumbled.
"Because of it's location, we can not raise the city shields nor fire weapons without damaging the city itself. Moments ago, we received a text message that whom ever is onboard wants to speak with you Rodney"
Sighing with almost exhaustion, McKay leaned towards the console before him as he activated the transmitters and spoke with a tired voice.
"This Doctor Rodney McKay of Atlantis, please back your ship away to a safe distance and identify yourselves"
Slowly, the monitors in Atlantis command centre shut down one by one until seemingly out of no where, a transporter beam activated as the officers in the command centre instantly raised their weapons as a beautiful young woman materialised inside what appeared too be a force field, projected from within the city itself. Recognising her instantly, Rodney McKay walked down the steps as she looked around the much large command centre with a smile as Shepard ordered his men to lower their weapons.
"Jennifer?" McKay said with a smile.
"Hello Rodney, it's been a long time. Colonel Shepard, and you must be Richard Woolsey. IT is a pleasure sir… forgive the intrusion into your impressive city, but I need your help once again"