Prologue 1 – Sixty-Four Suns
Notes: This story is a sequel to Hidden Memories, Sleeping Serpent. Read it first!
This is the first part of the prologue, and is in a sense a prequel to HMSS.
Disclaimer: I don't own it or earn money from it and all that, yadda yadda yadda.
Somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy, many years in the future, well after the fall of the Ori and removal of the 'last Ba'al'…
"Will this truly work?" asked the pilot of the other ship.
"I have run the simulation multiple times. I am certain. So is Ben'ak," David replied from his own ship.
"I should hope so. We only have once chance at this. Our lives are 'in your hands'."
"I know. The fate of the universe rests on this." He sighed. "This is the way it has to be. We'll die sooner, but if we can so some good, it will be worth it all. And that part relies on your research," he hinted.
"I am as certain as you are," she replied, sounding a little insulted. "The records I uncovered from Ra's hidden archive clearly state that Melinar learned Cha'lal's resting place before she escaped. They also document the route she took, and the position at which she was overtaken, and perished in the destruction of the ship she stole."
"And Cha'lal will make a difference?" David had heard all this before, but he wanted to hear it again. He needed to hear that this crazy quest would achieve something concrete.
"Cha'lal is key. Critical. Exposing her in time will change everything."
"Then we do it," declared the scientist.
"Yes. We are in agreement with you. How much longer?"
"The final pieces are nearly in position. We have under two hours until we proceed."
"Perhaps you should check your calculations again," she teased.
"And perhaps you should read your dusty scrolls and engravings again."
"They are digitised copies," she corrected.
"I know."
The four fell silent and watched the incredible sight before them. It was a grid, or very nearly. Eight wide, and eight high. Several points were missing, and they would appear to be so until the ships ventured much closer, thanks to the finite speed of light. Once each ball of energy was in place, the array would activate, forming a square energy field. The exact purpose was unknown. The components, however, were sickeningly familiar.
The points in the grid were stars.
The grid was one of millions. Not counting any in other galaxies. How much of the universe had been rearranged was unknown. It looked untouched, but that was what it looked like when the light left. There was no way to know what it looked like now, apart from a voyage through hyperspace, but knowing wouldn't change anything.
Travelling back in time, on the other hand…
"Prepare for initial hyper-jump," David instructed.
"Ready."
"Automatic hyperlaunch sequence start in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…" David read off the control console. As he finished, twin windows opened, and the two ships were launched into faster than light travel. A few minutes later, they exited side-by-side. "Jump was successful. We are in position. Star-grid is… wow!" David and Ben'ak had never been so close to one of the monstrosities before. An array of sixty-four suns, somehow sitting stationary. They might have been considered beautiful, but knowing where they had come from could only lead to one conclusion: this was an abomination. Unnatural, and deadly to untold billions of humans and other races.
"Even after all my years fighting the Goa'uld, I never though I would see such a thing," radioed the second occupant of the other ship. "This is an utter atrocity."
"Though I am young, I agree that I could never have conceived of such a foul thing," Ben'ak replied.
"Enough chatter. Grid activation begins in under two minutes. Hyperdrives are reconfiguring."
"Are you clear on your mission?" So much for stopping the chatter.
"Extremely," David replied wearily. "I ensure that your mission was successful and if not, ensure attention is drawn to the location. In under three hours," he recited. "You have the same time limitation, so you'd better avoid running into any complications during the initial rescue."
"I know what I'm doing. I don't spend all my time in the labs and archives. I really don't need you to 'check up on me'."
"I feel more confident with a backup plan in case something unforseen occurs, that is all," David explained. "The field activation process is about to begin. Complete activation will take just over fifteen minutes, so we will see most of it before we jump."
Silence fell as the enormity of the situation became strikingly apparent. The travellers watched in anticipation. At the predicted moment, flares began to shoot between the outer two squares of stars. Slowly, a coherent energy field formed between the outer forty-eight stars. The process then began between the second and third rings, and continued inwards, until the only hole was between the central four stars. However, the watchers did not see the process reach that stage, as the light had not yet reached them.
"Second-to-last stage is forming," David reported. "The wait is nearly over."
"Farewell, Ben'ak and David."
"Goodbye and good luck, Anise and Freya. Our windows will open momentarily. I would say 'ladies first', except that we have to leave at the same instant."
"Tau'ri humour?"
"You know it is. Here we go!" At these words, two more hyperspace windows were opened, directly in front of the star grid. Once in the very centre, and David/Benak's one slightly offset. The two craft vanished from regular spatial dimensions as flares shot between the central four stars in the anticipated pattern. Their paths through hyperspace were appropriately thrown backwards to two separate points in space in time. A new timeline began.