Stargate Omniverse
Sheppard, leaning against the wall in the conference room of the SGC, was about ready to walk out. The room was full of IOA and military leaders from around the world, all screaming at each other over the super hive that had attacked just two days ago. This meeting was to decide the fate of Atlantis. The room was divided, the military personnel wanted to take the offensive and strike back at the Wraith. The IOA wanted to keep the city on Earth as protection. Coolidge had not said a word yet waiting for everyone to wear out, before standing and holding up a folder.
"This is a proposal from Colonel Sheppard that I believe everyone will be happy with. He outlines a detailed plan to protect Earth and attack the Wraith."
Everyone glanced at Sheppard then looked back to Coolidge. When he was sure he had everyone's undivided attention, he continued.
"The city will stay until repairs and upgrades are completed, which could take six months to a year, during this time copies of the Ancient database will be made to keep on earth for study. We will also be keeping most of the city's drones here on earth."
"Wait, wasn't the chair that controls those weapons destroyed at area 51?" The Chinese General asked.
"We are not sure yet, they are still assessing the damage. In any case it won't matter, Dr. McKay reported that the Lantean warship Tria's hyper-drive is irreparably damaged, so the control chair and any remaining drones will be brought to earth.
"We can't wait that long, we need to attack before they can create any more super hives!" The Russian General interrupted.
"They would need Zed-PM's to do that." Rodney said.
"And you are certain that they don't have anymore?" The General countered.
"Ye…..um. No." Rodney admitted.
"If I could continue!" Coolidge said and waited for the General to sit back down. "Once the Daedalus, Apollo, and the Sun Tzu return to Earth they will be repaired and equipped with the latest advancements, and a new weapon that Sheppard and his team have come up with, I'm at a loss, as to why we didn't think of this sooner…" Rodney hung his head in embarrassment. "…And then they'll be sent back to Pegasus to strike back at the enemy. We will make the Wraith regret the day they heard the name Earth!"
One month later on the bridge of the Daedalus, John, Ronon, Rodney, and Teyla were there to witness the test of the newest weapon of mass destruction created by man. A new missile code named the Reaper, a pair of Mk IX's packed in a warhead, propelled by a sub-light engine, so as not to leave a smoke trail, and equipped with a cloaking generator, reverse engineered from a goa'uld design.
The Daedalus emerged from hyperspace and cloaked.
"There is nothing on sensors sir, it looks like we beat them." Major Marks said.
"Good, prepare the weapon for launch." Caldwell ordered.
"Yes, sir." Marks answered then they waited.
"Rodney it's been ten minutes, are you sure we are at the right location?" John asked.
"Yeah, they'll be here any second."
Just then there was a beeping at Marks's station.
"Colonel Caldwell, we are picking up three contacts, a hive and two cruisers." Marks said.
"Lock on to the hive and fire when ready." Caldwell ordered.
"What about the cruisers?" Ronon asked.
"We don't have many of these missiles yet, so we have to save them for the hives. Once the hive is out of the way we'll use conventional weapons on the cruisers." Sheppard said.
"Target acquired, firing." Marks said.
They watched on the main display screen, a flashing dot leave the image of the Daedalus moving toward the image of the hive.
"As long as they don't detect it, it should strike the very center of the hive." Rodney said.
"Are there any indications that they can see it coming?" Caldwell asked.
"No sir, impact in five, four, three, two, one, impact." Marks said.
They shielded their eyes from the flash of light that seemed like a new star, before fading to black again.
"Report." Caldwell ordered.
"The radiation is interfering with sensors, but it looks like the hive and the cruisers have been vaporized." Marks said.
Everyone on the bridge was silent for few seconds, then burst into cheering and laughter with the unbelievable success of the test. Caldwell let his crew have the moment before putting them back to work.
"Ok, send a subspace burst to Earth informing them of our success."
"Yes sir." The communications officer answered.
"Colonel, will you be coming with us?" Caldwell asked Sheppard.
"No, as much as we would love to watch you destroy more hives, we have other things to do." Sheppard replied.
"Very well." Caldwell said as he pushed the comm button on his arm rest to the port fighter bay. "Gate controller." He called.
"Capt. Timms here sir." A voice called back.
"Is the Stargate calibrated?" Caldwell asked.
"Yes sir, as soon as we came out of hyperspace." Timms answered.
"Thank you Capt." Caldwell replied before releasing the comm button.
"Looks like you're good to go Sheppard, we should be joining you at the alpha site in about a week." Caldwell said.
"Good hunting Colonel." Sheppard said before he and his team left the bridge.
Ronon growled as he took his seat in the jumper.
"What's wrong with him?" Rodney asked John.
John looked at Ronon then back to Rodney. "He wants to stay and go Wraith hunting with Caldwell."
"Ah, I see." Rodney said.
"Dial the alpha site." Sheppard ordered as he moved the jumper in to position.
As Rodney punched the symbols to the alpha-site on the Puddle-jumpers D.H.D., the Stargate, a Pegasus model retrieved from what remained of the intergalactic gate bridge, was lowered by a great robotic arm. Pivoting ninety degrees from its place along the ceiling. Coming to a stop just inside the bay door.
"Don't worry Ronon there are plenty of Wraith out there." Sheppard said before taking the jumper through the gate.
A few days later Sheppard could barely contain his excitement as he and his team had finally gotten back to the work he loved, exploring new worlds. Cruising over one such world a few hundred meters above the ground, in a cloaked jumper. The Sun shining brightly over an area of small rolling hills with patches of trees and a lot of farms, he could see another primitive village. They were all small and separated by great distances. This is when he noticed something a little odd. "Rodney, how many people are down there?" Sheppard asked.
Rodney tapped a button on the dash to bring up the heads up display, which showed an image of the surface of the planet, as Rodney thought about the information he wanted to bring up, the image zoomed in to the continent they were over and lights popped up in the locations of the human villages with the status displayed in Ancient next to them. "Well, they are spread out all over this continent, but it looks to be approximately twenty thousand." Rodney answered.
"Okay, how many in the immediate area?" Sheppard asked as he turned the jumper into a circling pattern.
"Oh, um." Rodney focused on the H.U.D., the image zoomed in tighter to the village below them. "About fifteen hundred in this village." Rodney answered. "Why do you ask? Rodney asked wondering what he had missed that had gotten John curious.
"Well, I am no farmer but it seems like they are growing an awful lot of food for such a small village." Sheppard answered.
Rodney looked out the window and indeed saw that there was farmland as far as the eye could see, but he knew even less about farming. "I have no idea." He said.
"Teyla, you've done some farming, what do you think?" Sheppard asked.
She came forward to get a better look before answering. "Yes, I agree, that is far more than a village of fifteen hundred would need, perhaps they trade it to the other villages." She said.
Rodney thought this made sense and started to put it out of his mind.
"I thought that at first too, but every village we have flown over has had just as much." Sheppard said.
Teyla thought for a moment. "Well, maybe this planet has a very short growing season." She said.
Rodney focused on the H.U.D. again, the image changed to that of the solar system with information about the planets, displayed in Ancient, next to them. Rodney studied this for a minute, expecting to confirm Teyla's suspicion, but the mystery got even bigger. "No, according to this the planet would have a very long growing season, and a mild winter." He said.
"In that case they would be growing many times what they themselves would need." Teyla said with a look surprise and confusion on her face. "If they are trading with other worlds I would have expected to have heard of them before now."
"No kidding." Sheppard said." Look there." He pointed out a dirt road that they were coming upon. On the road there were three wooden wagons, over loaded with vegetables from a recent harvest, each wagon was being drawn by a pair of oxen-like creatures with a man to the side of each pair to keep them moving. "I think that must be it, those guys are headed towards the gate." Sheppard said as he turned the jumper in the direction of the village closest to the gate. "Let's find someone in charge and see if they will trade with us." He said.
Sheppard landed the jumper behind a small patch of trees that was about a kilometer from the village, to keep it out of sight so as not to alarm the natives. "Let's go." He said as he hit the button to open the rear hatch, then grabbing his P-90 before following Ronon, and Teyla out the back.
"Why do you insist on parking so far away?" Rodney whined as he drug his feet after Sheppard.
"Come on Rodney." John said faking irritation.
Sheppard and his team did their best to appear friendly, but as usual when they got closer to the village and were spotted by the inhabitants the reactions ranged from mild curiosity to running away in fear.
They walked to the center of town and waited for someone in charge to find them, and again as usual they didn't have to wait long. From a building that looked like it could be the town hall came a tall, skinny, white haired man. He was dressed in finer clothes then the rest of the villagers, signifying that he was a leader.
"Hello friends, I am Al' Lon, the town magistrate, how can I help you?" He asked in a soft cheerful voice as he approached them.
"Hello, I am Lt. Colonel Sheppard. This is Dr. McKay, Teyla, and Ronon." Sheppard said pointing to each in turn. "We're explorers, we travel through the Stargate to meet new people, exchange knowledge, and to establish trade."
"We are a simple people, I'm not sure what we have to offer travelers from another world." Al' Lon replied politely but with a hint of nervousness at them being there.
"We are sure you have what we need." Sheppard said confidently. "You see, we have friends all over this galaxy that live on worlds that have been hit hard by the Wraith, and are facing some tough winters. Well let's just say they could use some more food."
"Oh, I see." Al' Lon said with sympathy in his voice. "Um, we could probably spare a few wagon loads."
Sheppard and Teyla exchanged looks of confusion. Then Teyla had a thought.
"Surely you could do better than that." She said thinking that he was just trying to get a better deal, not realizing that they already knew of this world's abundance.
"No, I'm sorry, that is all we can give you." Al' Lon said with sincere regret in his eyes.
John, Teyla, and Ronon saw the concern on his face and knew that he was not bargaining. Rodney on the other hand.
"Don't be ridiculous, we have seen this world from the sky, we know you have mountains of food that you couldn't possibly use yourselves!" Rodney snapped.
"Rodney!" Teyla chided.
With a look, Sheppard ordered Ronon to reign Rodney in. Ronon nodded understanding then grabbed Rodney by the arm and pulled him back a step. Sheppard then looked back to Al' Lon. "I'm sorry about that, but he's right we know you have more than you need. Are you saying that it's all been spoken for by other worlds you trade with?" He asked.
Rodney tried to hide his embarrassment that he didn't consider this possibility.
"It's all right, I understand his feelings." Al' Lon said in a gentle tone. "It's true that we have bountiful crops, and we do trade with a few worlds, but most of it is for the Guardians."
"The Guardians?" Sheppard asked very curious now.
"The Guardians protect this world from the Wraith." Al' Lon said with a bit of hesitation that seemed to be out of place concerning that statement.
Teyla was the first to respond. "This whole world is safe from the Wraith?" She asked.
"Yes." Al' Lon said shortly. All cheeriness was gone now. He seemed to be very nervous now but there was something more they couldn't quite make out.
"How do these Guardians protect you from the Wraith?" Sheppard asked, thinking he knew the answer. Al' Lons behavior reminded him of another world they had visited. Where a group of humans, possessing the A.T.A. gene, lived high on the hog, in the central spire of what remained of an Ancient city. They used a control chair and drones to not only defend the planet from the Wraith, but to subjugate the working class.
"I don't know." Al' Lon said still reluctant to discuss it with them.
"Do they make life difficult for you, if you don't meet your quota, is that it?" Rodney asked as he looked around at the villagers. They all seemed to be happy and well fed.
"Oh no, they have never mistreated us." Al' Lon replied.
"Do the Guardians see all?" Rodney asked also remembering the other world, and thinking Al' Lon was afraid of offending the so called protectors.
Al' Lon, seeing that their curiosity was too great to drop the matter, decided to explain. "Why don't we go inside and get out of this hot sun." He offered as he led them to the building he had come out of a moment ago. They followed him up a couple stairs to the porch and through the double door. Once inside he led them to a large rectangular room with a long table running lengthwise through the space.
"This is the council chamber." Al' Lon said. "Have a seat." He offered indicating the chairs on the opposite side of the table from him.
"Thank you." Sheppard said as he and his team relaxed into their seats. He too thought that the old man was worried about who might be listening out on the street.
Al' Lon waited for them to be seated before taking his own. He took a deep breath before starting. "Like all worlds in this galaxy, this one too was preyed upon by the Wraith." He began. "Then the Guardians came, a little over three years ago, through the Stargate. They said they could stop the Wraith from ever culling this world again. All they asked for in return was that we provide them with food." Al' Lon said
"If they came through the gate how do you know they can keep their word?" Rodney asked thinking that these fools were just being duped.
"We didn't know for certain, not at first, and there were many of us that thought it might be a trick. But most thought it was too good to pass up, given that this world is so fertile and easy to farm, so we agreed to the deal. Then about two years ago a hive came, it appeared high in the sky one day. But, before it could do anything, flashes of light appeared around it, and then it burst into a great fireball. It flared like a new star for a few seconds then it was gone. After that, no one doubted their power." Al' Lon answered.
"So, no yellow lights that rise up out of the ground?" Sheppard asked a little disappointed.
"I don't understand." Al' Lon said confused.
"Never mind." Sheppard said.
"This is huge, it sounds like these Guardians have ships. Very powerful ships if they can destroy Wraith hives!" Rodney said excitedly.
"What I don't get, is why you didn't want to tell us this." Teyla said. "Do you not want to share the safety of this world with the rest of the humans in this galaxy?" She asked.
"No, that's not it." Al' Lon replied. He took another deep breath and started to say something more, but the words caught in his throat.
"What aren't you telling us?" Sheppard asked patiently.
Al' Lon looked to a type of grandfather clock against the wall at the end of the room. "Perhaps, it would be easier to show you?" He said as he stood. "They will be here soon to receive today's shipment." He added.
Al' Lon led them to the Stargate, stopping every so often to speak with his fellow villagers about a wide range of subjects ranging from the weather to preparations for an upcoming surprise party. After Thirty eight minutes of wandering the streets, they finally made it to the gate. As they drew near they saw the shipment that he had mentioned. Twenty wagons lined up for transport through the gate. They came to a stop at least a hundred meters from the gate. On the side of a hill, that allowed everyone in the gathered crowd an unobstructed view. Standing in the center of the group, Sheppard and his team noticed the villagers glancing at them nervously.
Luckily they only had to wait a few minutes, before the gate activated. When the event horizon settled, two men emerged from the puddle, walking side by side they continued away from the gate. They had only made two steps when another pair of men appeared, following the first two, and then another pair, and another, this continued until each column had twenty men in it, marching toward the wagons. They all wore the same black leather vest, black canvas pants, and tall black boots. Each man carried two silver, disk shaped objects, about ten centimeters across. The columns split going to either side of the train of wagons. When the first two men reached the end of the train, they placed their disks on the underside of wagon, one on each corner. Once the disks were activated they produced an anti-gravity field, causing the wagons rise up off the ground, a few inches.
Moments after the last two men had left the gate, another man appeared. The new man also had tall leather boots, but the rest of his clothing was very different, his pants were an elaborately decorated leather, his shirt a very fine silk, over this he wore a highly embroidered leather coat with a very tall collar. The fancy clothes were not the only thing to set this man apart, from those that came ahead of him. What really stood out was his snow-white hair, pulled back into a ponytail, and his greenish-white skin.
Sheppard and his team had barely seconds to see the Wraith step through the gate and look their way before…..something hit them from behind, a shock over loading their nervous systems, causing every muscle in their bodies to spasm for an instant, before their brains shutdown and everything went dark.
As consciousness returned, Sheppard could feel the familiar, pins-and-needles sensation, throughout his body. He opened his eyes to find himself, and the rest of his team, completely disarmed, and tied to chairs. They were back in the council room surrounded by villagers. Some of them were holding Wraith stun pistols. Sheppard grinned slightly when he noticed a couple of the men near Ronon, one had a freshly broken nose, and arm, and another man had a black eye swollen completely shut. Apparently they realized too late that one stun blast wouldn't take Ronon down. Which would explain why Ronon had been nearly cocooned to his chair with rope. Al' Lon was there, sitting in the same chair as earlier, on the opposite side of the table from them, and to his right sat the Wraith.
"Oh good, your awake." Al' Lon said when he saw Sheppard look his way. "How are you feeling?" He asked with true concern in his voice.
"You know, I could be better." Sheppard answered sardonically.
"Aaahhh." Just then Ronon, shot awake darting looks around the room, and straining against his bonds. He stopped his thrashing instantly, when the man with the broken nose tried to stun him again. He had been so startled by Ronon's sudden activity that he missed, and instead hit another man standing behind him. Everyone in the room looked down, at the stunned man, who had collapsed in a heap to the floor, then back to the man, shakily holding the stunner on Ronon. The room was silent for a few seconds, before the man next to him, gently took the stunner away, and escorted the skittish man from the room.
"I'm sorry about this Colonel, we had to make sure we could explain before you over reacted." Al' Lon said glancing at their weapons, and gear, sitting against the wall at the far end of the room.
"You're Wraith worshipers, what's there to explain?" Ronon said glaring at the Wraith.
"I assure you that is not the case" Al' Lon said calmly.
"Yeah, you could've fooled me." Ronon said still glaring at the Wraith.
"Colonel Sheppard, are you willing to listen?" Al' Lon asked ignoring Ronon.
Sheppard and Teyla exchanged a look before he responded. "It would seem that we don't have much of a choice." He replied, wiggling his arms, and pulling against the ropes, holding his wrists to the chair.
"Ah, yes." Al' Lon said as he looked to the unusual Wraith beside him, who then gave a slight nod. "If you promise to keep an open mind, I will have your bindings removed." He added.
"O—kay." Sheppard said very confused at this point, but knowing that even without their weapons these farmers would be no match for them.
"Good." Al' Lon said as he signaled the guards to release them.
Moments later Sheppard, Teyla, and Ronon were standing, and even though they had released Rodney, he was still fast asleep. His head leaning back, mouth open, and drool running down his cheek.
"It's all right, we don't have to wait for him." Sheppard said.
"Very well." Al' Lon started. "First of all, everything I told you earlier was true. I only left out one thing, for obvious reasons. The Wraith have been a scourge, on the humans of this galaxy, for countless generations. Telling people that there is a new group, which would be our saviors, isn't the easiest thing in the world." He added with a small grin, trying to ease their tension.
"He's a lying Wraith worshiper." Ronon spat, now glaring at Al' Lon.
"I am not a Wraith worshiper!" Al' Lon screamed vehemently, jumping to his feet, and slamming his fist on the table. He stood there a moment, breathing heavily, blood rushing to his face, and tears welling up in his eyes.
Ronon's face softened then, for the fierce rage with which he exploded at the accusation, showed them that, Al' Lon truly hated Wraith, even more than himself. "Who did you lose?" Ronon asked.
Al' Lon relaxed at the question, standing upright, and smoothing his shirt. "My wife and daughter, about fifteen years ago. A scouting party, they sent to remind us of their power." He answered, the tears now running down his face. He collapsed back into his chair, the grief stealing away his strength.
"Could somebody explain a couple things to me?" Rodney asked, having been woke by Al' Lon's outburst.
"Hey sleeping beauty, what do you want to know?" Sheppard cheerily trying to lighten the mood.
"Well, one, who is that guy sleeping on the floor, and two, why is there a Wraith here?" Rodney asked.
Seeing that Al' Lon was still too upset to speak, the Wraith stood up to take over. "I can answer that for you Dr. McKay, I am one of the Guardians that protects this world." He answered.
"What?" Ronon said incredulously.
The Wraith grinned slightly. "I will try to explain. As you know all the Wraith came out of hibernation a little over five years ago. Thinking that we had a new feeding ground, capable of sustaining us indefinitely, without the need to hibernate, but we failed to capture the city of the Ancients. Because of our early awakening, it wasn't long before we were fighting each other over feeding ground. We saw the end of our reign coming, we soon realized that to survive we needed an alternative. We put all our efforts into finding a way to allow us to eat regular food, and a little over three and half years ago, we succeeded." The Wraith paused allowing them time to absorb the revelation.
"You're telling us you can't feed on humans anymore?" Sheppard asked suspiciously.
"Not exactly, we still have the ability to feed on humans." The Wraith said holding up his feeding hand to show the feeding aperture. "But we don't feed on humans anymore." He added.
"How can we be sure of that?" Ronon asked.
"I can answer that." Al' Lon said having regained his composure. "We too, had a hard time believing their story. So, we had this one stay with us, for two years. We kept him under guard at all times, and gave him regular food. I can assure you that he did not feed on anyone or hibernate during that time."
Sheppard and his team exchanged looks with each other for a few seconds. Although they doubted what they were hearing, they could not figure out what the Wraith had to gain with this ruse.
Then Rodney had a thought. "If you made this discovery over three years ago, why haven't you shared it with all Wraith?" He asked.
"That's not as easy as it sounds." The Wraith started. "For most Wraith like their current feeding process, believing that without it they would be weaker, some are afraid that they would have no purpose, some feel that we should put more effort into finding earth." He paused a moment, to see if they understood, before continuing.
"We are trying, and we have converted some, but I fear, that until they are facing their end, and see that there's no other way, they won't accept the change. For now we keep ourselves hidden, and protect those that we can, while we increase our numbers."
"Maybe we can help speed up the process." Sheppard said, though he was far from convinced of their good intentions.
"How do you mean?" The Wraith asked.
"Well, we will need to speak to our people first, then we'll see." Sheppard replied, looking around at the guards still holding the stunners."
"Of course, you are free to go." The Wraith said, signaling the guards to stand down.
"Let me see if I have this straight, they stunned you, tied you up, told you a fairytale, and then just let you go?" Caldwell asked, sitting at the head of long plain table in the conference room of the alpha-site. The Daedalus had arrived a few hours earlier for resupply. They had destroyed another two hives and five cruisers.
"Pretty much." Sheppard answered.
"I take it, that you don't believe their story?" Caldwell asked.
"Well, we all agree that Al' Lon believed in what he was telling us, but we got the feeling, the Wraith was holding back. We asked for the address to the world they came from, and a blood sample, to confirm that they could survive on normal food, he said he would have to discuss it with his superiors." Sheppard answered.
"And so, you want to use the Daedalus, to try to find their home world?" Caldwell asked.
"Yes sir." Sheppard answered.
"Do have any idea of where this world is?" Caldwell asked.
"We think it has to be close to FP3-738, that's Al' Lon's world, we don't think they would want to spread themselves out to much." McKay said.
"It sounds like a guess." Caldwell said.
"Yeah, but it's a good guess." Sheppard said with a grin.
Caldwell thought for a moment before making a decision. "Okay, he said, I will take you along, but I have orders, any hives we come across will take priority. Caldwell said.
"We wouldn't have it any other way Colonel." Sheppard replied.
After two weeks, Caldwell was ready to throw them off his ship. He had orders to destroy hives, and McKay wanted to investigate every habitable world in their path.
"I'll give it until the end of the day." Caldwell said to Sheppard as he walked onto the bridge.
"What, that's not enough time." Rodney cried, as he turned from the computer terminal he was working at.
"I'm sorry Doctor, but they could be anywhere in this galaxy, I'll admit it was a good idea to check this area." Caldwell said.
"But." Rodney started. "It's fine." Sheppard interrupted. Rodney wasn't happy, but he agreed.
"Colonel Caldwell, long range scanners have just picked up a hive, approximately ten lightyears off our present course." Major Marks reported.
"Change course to intercept, drop us out of hyperspace before we get within their detection range." Caldwell ordered.
"Yes sir" Marks replied, and a minute later. "Reentering normal space, sir" He added.
"Activate cloak, and bring us to within weapons range." Caldwell ordered.
"Yes sir." Marks replied.
They had just about gotten to weapons range when. "Sir three ships have just uncloaked, and have begun firing on the hive." Marks reported.
Rodney ran back to the terminal he was using earlier. "Oh, this is weird, they look like Wraith cruisers, but they're about ten percent larger, they have a significantly higher energy output, and their weapons are three times more powerful than standard cruisers." He said.
"The hive is powering weapons, and returning fire." Marks said.
By now the Daedalus had gotten close enough for them to see the battle. They watched as the energy blasts from the hive were stopped short of their target.
"They have shields too?" Caldwell asked.
"Apparently." Rodney replied, in a stunned voice.
"Sir the hive is not going to last much longer." Marks said.
"Reverse course, take us out of range of the blast." Caldwell ordered.
They barely made it to a safe distance before the hive exploded. After the shock wave had passed, the three mystery ships opened hyperspace windows and were gone.
Everyone on the bridge was silent, not knowing what think of these new ships. Most of the younger crew members were looking to their commander for the answers. He could feel their eyes on him, they wanted to see that he wasn't afraid, but he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he had an idea of who those ships belonged to. He rubbed the back of his neck unconsciously. "Dr. McKay was it Wraith on those ships?" Caldwell asked.
Rodney had been busy going over the sensor readings of the three ships, specifically the life signs. He knew what Caldwell was concerned about. When he had his answer, he looked at the commander, and with sympathy in his voice. "Yes, it was Wraith, but there was something else too." He answered.
Caldwell just closed his eyes, and hung his head, for he knew what the something was.
"What is it?" Sheppard asked.
Rodney looked at him and said. "Goa'uld."
