The continuation of Battlestar group 16, Under Siege and TFS Ticonderoga. Takes place immediately after the end of Under Siege. This story is a general continuation of the storyline, dealing with several things.
Standard disclaimer, I don't own anything, and I don't make any money from this fic.
Many thanks to Rudy Pena for the beta.
Well, that's it for all the notes, please R&R.
Bridge, TFS Deadelus
18:00 hours, January 20
Pegasus Galaxy
"Colonel Caldwell, I Have General O'Neill on the line for you." A lieutenant reported from her station to the side of the bridge.
"Put him on." Caldwell replied.
The screen changed to the face of General O'Neill in the Atlantis control room with an active wormhole in the background. "Colonel Caldwell, as you know, this morning we successfully defeated the hostile forces laying siege on Earth. During the liberation we discovered the Wraith are in league with the Pegasus Asgard, now identified as Vanir. We have sustained heavy losses to our space fleet and have millions of casualties on the planet. Your new orders are to link up with the Apollo and start gathering intelligence and attack targets of opportunity. We are now engaged in an unlimited war against the Wraith and Vanir forces. I have also assigned a new commander for the Pegasus Galaxy." O'Neill said.
Up until this time Caldwell had been silently listening to O'Neill. "Sheppard?"
"That is correct Colonel; he has been promoted to the rank of Brigadier General effective immediately. He will arrive at the Midway station within a few days. The Pegasus Asgard might be after the cure for their cloning problem, you are to delete it if it might fall into enemy hands, the same goes for the Apollo. Colonel, I wish you the best of luck out there and I promise to send you reinforcements as soon as possible and also additional information about the state of Earth."
"Yes General, thank you. Tell the people back home we'll kick some major Wraith and Vanir ass out here." Caldwell said.
"That's the spirit Colonel. Atlantis out." O'Neill said just before the connection was cut.
"Helmsmen, How soon can we link up with the Apollo?" Caldwell asked.
"Two hours if both ships head towards each other at maximum hyperdrive." The helmsmen replied.
"Okay, send the coordinates to the Apollo and after we have received a confirmation set course for the coordinates." Caldwell ordered. "Tell the crew to get some shut eye, we're going to be busy for quite a while."
Contact was made with the Apollo and minutes later the Deadelus was in hyperspace en-route to the rendezvous point. Most of the crew took the possibility to take a quick nap.
Two hours later
"The ship has returned to regular rotation sir." An officer reported.
"Very well, drop us out of hyperspace when we have reached the rendezvous." Caldwell ordered.
"Dropping out of hyperspace now." The helmsmen announced.
"We've got a contact, it's the Apollo. They are hailing us." The tactical officer reported.
"On screen." Caldwell ordered.
The screen changed to the bridge of the Apollo with Colonel Ellis in his chair. "Colonel Caldwell, nice to see you again, though I wish it were under better circumstances." Ellis said.
"So do I. We've got our new orders. We are to start gathering intelligence and attack targets of opportunity. The enemies include the Wraith and the Vanir, the Pegasus Asgard. I would also like to make a small announcement to both our crews. If you'll allow me." Caldwell said.
"Sure fine by me." Ellis responded. "I'll have you patched into our PA system."
"Crews of the Deadelus and Apollo, mere hours ago I received word from General O'Neill himself. Earth has been liberated. In the liberation however the planet suffered severe damage and millions of lives have been lost. As predicted a large portion of the fleet was either destroyed or damaged in such a way it would take a while to get back to full strength. Our orders are to gather intelligence on Wraith and Pegasus Asgard -also known as Vanir- forces. And if possible engage them. Colonel Shepherd has been promoted to Brigadier General and was appointed Commander PEGCOM –Pegasus Command-. I understand all of you want to know if you're families back home are safe, all I can tell you is that General O'Neill will have additional information sent as soon as it is available. For now I ask any and all of you to set your mind on finding and destroying the Wraith and Vanir. That's all."
"So what's our next target?" Ellis asked.
"First we're going to make a visit to Todd, we see if he knows anything about the attack or if he was responsible for it. We know several of his hideouts so we're going to visit them all until we have him."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Ellis said.
Five minutes later both ships entered hyperspace en route to the first possible hide out of Todd.
Bridge, TFS Deadelus
January 22
6:28 hours
One of Todd's hideouts
Both battle cruisers exited hyperspace over a brown planet. Not much could be seen from space, only land and little water. In the far of distance the remains of a hive was floating harmless.
"Looks like the jackpot. That hive matches the last one known to be in Todd's possession. It's been shot up to hell months ago." The Tactical officer said.
"Scan the planet and remains for any life signs." Caldwell ordered.
"One life sign detected, its Wraith. It is located not far from the remains of a crashed dart."
"Assemble a dozen marines, have them prepare to beam down and take that Wraith into custody. Tell them to prefer stun weapons over lethal ones but to not be afraid to use lethal weapons if necessary." Caldwell ordered.
Five minutes later twelve marines were readied and loaded with Wraith stunners and M-4's. They were beamed down to the planet around the Wraith. They quickly secured him and within a minute they were all back on the ship again. The Wraith was put into restraints and the brig where Caldwell paid him a visit.
"Colonel Caldwell, what a pleasure to see you again, I had expected Colonel Sheppard to be here as well. I trust you are fine?" Todd asked as Caldwell walked in.
"I am fine, Earth however is not."
"What? What happened?" Todd asked innocently.
"Your palls attacked earth with dozens of hives and about twelve super hives. You happen to know anything about that?"
"I'm afraid not. See, several months ago, I was attacked by a rivaling clan; they possessed superior weaponry and armor. They boarded my hive and took all the data before destroying it. I was only able to get out by using a dart. On my way down I took some fire and was unable to get through the stargate. I've been stuck here ever since." Todd explained.
"That's a very touching story. Anyways, I don't care about you, what I want to know is if that clan that attacked you was the same as the one that attacked Earth and is now in league with the Vanir."
"Tell me again, why did you want to know that?" Todd asked.
"Vengeance, they crippled our fleet and killed millions of humans across the Milky Way galaxy. I have orders to gather Intel on any and all Wraith and Vanir forces so that when the reinforcements arrive we can kick their asses up one side of the galaxy down the other."
"I see. And what would you offer me in return for the information you seek?"
"You're life. With the help of some of our allies we might even be able to –in time- help you with your feeding problem."
"As you might be able to understand, my life is not so long anymore, I haven't had a decent feeding in months." Todd said.
"Perhaps we can find a few stray Wraith drones that will make for a delicious snack for you?" Caldwell said.
"Though not as tasty as a real human, especially one with an ancient gene, a drone once a while would suffice to still my hunger."
"So we have a deal. You give us as much as possible information about Wraith and perhaps even Vanir strongholds, and in return we kidnap a few drones for you to feast upon." Caldwell summarized.
"Deal." Todd replied as he held out his feeding hand.
Bridge
1821 hours
Near a minor Wraith shipyard
"Drop us out of hyperspace." Caldwell ordered. The Deadelus and Apollo quickly exited hyperspace just outside the system where, according to Todd, the Wraith had a minor shipyard. "Initiate scans of the system."
"Scans show several cruisers and one hive." The tactical officer said. After a while a more detailed scan came back. "there are four cruisers under construction on the planet itself, and two of the defending cruisers are not yet complete."
"But the other three cruisers and that hive are?" Caldwell asked.
"Yes sir."
"Alright, get me Ellis."
"On the line." The navigational officer said. He also handled comm. When he wasn't too busy with other things.
"Colonel Ellis, How about we go in, draw their attention, wear them down a bit, and you come in from behind to finish whatever is still standing?" Caldwell asked.
"Sounds like a plan to me; I'll give you one minute head start before we'll go in." Ellis said.
"Copy, we'll commence hyperdrive jump in one minute. Deadelus out." Caldwell said. The connection was cut and the Deadelus was made battle ready.
"Okay guys, get us in." Caldwell ordered. The crew already knew what to do so saying more was unnecessary.
The Deadelus entered hyperspace only to reappear within kilometers away from the hive and its cruisers.
"Fire at will."
The Deadelus opened up with its beam weapons on the hive since it is the biggest threat. The hive quickly tries to launch darts but is destroyed before even a dozen darts make it off. The darts are quickly dispatched by the railguns. The next target of the Deadelus was the nearest cruiser. Unfortunately the attack on the hive had put the Deadelus in the wrong position, while the cruisers were able to blast away at the underside of the Deadelus. Fortunately the Apollo exited hyperspace from the other side, destroying two of the uncompleted cruisers within moments after exiting hyperspace. Minutes later all remaining Wraith forces in orbit were destroyed.
The two battle cruisers positioned themselves over the shipyards and beamed down Special Forces to gather a Wraith data recorder that was bound to be near the unfinished cruisers.
Bridge
"Colonel, Lieutenant Speirs reports that they've found a lead to the recorder." Major Pat Meyers reported. Pat Meyers was one of the original bridge officers aboard the Deadelus; she had been there since the siege of Atlantis in 2005 and over time promoted from Captain to Major.
"Good, keep a constant lock on their signals and make sure we can destroy those ships the moment our people are clear." Caldwell replied.
"Yes sir." Meyers replied.
The Deadelus waited a few more minutes for the Special Forces before they received the signal to beam the team up.
"The teams are on board sir." Meyers replied.
"Okay, fire at will, destroy everything down there." Caldwell ordered.
"Incoming ships." a lieutenant reported.
"What kind?" Caldwell asked.
"Unknown, power vaguely matches Asgard vessels." The lieutenant said.
"They are firing!" Meyers reported moments before the ship was rocked by orange plasma bolts.
"Vanir ships. It has to be. Can we handle them?" Caldwell asked.
"At the current rate, no chance! We're outnumbered seven to one. And even though these ships aren't worth much, combined they pack a hell of a punch." Meyers replied.
"Alright, try to get some shots off at the shipyards, then bug out and copy to the Apollo." Caldwell ordered.
"Yes sir."
The Deadelus and Apollo each fired several beams at surface targets and even launched a few missiles before they entered hyperspace for a safe destination.
Conference room
Atlantis
January 28
1000 hours
The president and his war cabinet were assembled in the new conference room. Mere hours ago the Wraith database had been cracked and even now scientists were going over the raw data stored in it. What they'd already found was scaring.
"So General O'Neill, what did your scientists found out already?" Hayes asked.
"What we can conclude so far is that the Wraith have been working with the Vanir ever since our first encounter with them. The Vanir and their cloning program allow the Wraith to not need normal humans to feed on. It's why we weren't aware of such a large force being assembled for an attack on the Milky Way galaxy." O'Neill said.
"And how large are their forces right now?" the Secretary of Defense asked.
"Our guess is nearly 100 hives and four times that many cruisers. We also know about fourteen shipyards for hives and twenty eight for cruisers. We don't yet have a number on the amount of Vanir ships but since they were willing to commit 14 ships against our two ships for only a cruiser shipyard, they might have much more of them."
"All that against our two battle cruisers! How the hell are we supposed to win that? Our shipbuilding capacity is limited to only four 304's and hopefully one 305 a year while they have ten times our capacity." The Secretary of Defense said.
"Well, for starters, we are currently repairing most of our fleet from the liberation of Earth. We're nine months away from having our first 305 ready. And thanks to the data we recovered from the Wraith storage device we've determined exact fleet positions, comm. Frequencies and plans for nearly all Wraith forces. In addition we've already located four prime Vanir worlds and several colonies." O'Neill said.
"And it's about time my marines get some action, how long until you have some targets for platoon strength attacks?" General Conway of the Marines asked.
"Soon, we are currently trying to find out how many wraith strongholds are without orbital guard." O'Neill said.
"Why are you looking for planets without orbital guard? I am sure you could manage going through the stargate." The Secretary of Defense asked.
"If the Wraith have ships in orbit it would be easy for them to destroy the gate and either capture or kill us with an orbital bombardment." General Conway explained.
"And we wouldn't want that to happen and we can't always have a ship everywhere. At this time we only have two ships capable of combat operations in the Pegasus Galaxy. The first one to be ready is the Odyssey, she'll be ready in about two weeks and then has to make a travel of four days with the ZPM integrated in her systems. The other ships will take much longer to be repaired, and have a 3 week trip before they reach Pegasus." O'Neill said.
"General O'Neill, What can we do to improve this situation?" Hayes asked.
"We already have a few outposts, but with the increasing needs of our fleet we need more, we need naquadah and trinium for ship construction. The Colonials and Jaffa are already helping us but in the long run we need our own sources. What I suggest is that we buy older Jaffa and colonial ships for use in this galaxy. There are still a lot of undeveloped and unclaimed planets with loads of resources. Also, there are asteroids sometimes completely made up out of Naquadah or Trinium. Like the one that nearly hit Earth after Anubis set it on a collision course to circumvent the Asgard treaty. If we could put those asteroids in a safe orbit or course we could very well mine it without the troubles of environment, gravity or claims by other nations." O'Neill said.
The Secretary of Defense continued. "Ever since the disclosure of the program the DOD (Department of Defense) has made plans to colonize over two dozen planets in five years. These colonies would serve multiple purposes. Initially, they should have the capacity to build ships, mine the materials and support a population of over five million after the first year, with an increase of one million each year for the next five years. From then on, we think the infrastructure should be good enough to support an increase of two point five million people a year. We already have a list of possible candidates, all our allies have no interest in these planets and they are all uninhabited."
"Why haven't we started this earlier?" Hayes asked.
"The IOA didn't want to hear anything about it. They didn't want too many of our people out there fearing they couldn't control them all. We all know how difficult it was to allow the construction of the Pegasus base, let alone the Midway station after the first ones fate." O'Neill said.
"How about Naquadriah General O'Neill, don't we need that to power our hyperdrives?" Admiral Sir Stanhope of the Navy asked.
"In return for protection and civilian technology the Kelownans have agreed to supply us with as much Naquadriah as we need."
"Really, I thought all the Kelownans were interested in was military tech." Hayes said.
"Well, we stationed several squadrons of fighters and bombers with enough ammunition to fight an entire war in case the other states declare war. That solved their problem of military needs. It's not like they have any use for naquadriah anyways. Naquadriah is too unstable for a civilian power source, and if they would use it on their own planet they might crack the planet in half, considering how much naquadah and naquadriah it has." O'Neill said.
"Okay. General O'Neill, I want you to do a last check on those potential colonies, searching for local population, other powers that might have claims on it and potential threats to Earth, like diseases and such. If there are none found you may begin colonization within the month." Hayes said.
"Yes sir." O'Neill said.
"Alright, if there is nothing more I wish to conclude this meeting." While seeing no responses he dismissed everyone.
February 2
P83-329
Deadelus
The flagship of the Tau'ri fleet, the Deadelus sped through space heading for a hive. When the ship was close enough it opened fire with its plasma weapons quickly destroying the hive. While doing so, another hive emerged behind the ship and unleashed a full barrage on the Deadelus. The Deadelus took the punishment on its Asgard shields.
As the Deadelus turned around to face the second hive a swarm of Vanir ships dropped out of hyperspace. These small and fast attack vessels only had moderate shielding and weaponry, but for its size quite lethal. The ships quickly split up to harass the Deadelus from every angle possible.
Inside the Deadelus, on the bridge the commander issued target orders and contacted the commander of the marines they were sent to protect.
"Eagle six, get your ass through that gate stat, we're getting pounded up here." Caldwell said.
"Just give us five more minutes. We're just haulin' back the cloning pod we captured, the thing's as heavy as an elephant and doesn't walk on itself." Eagle six responded.
"Then by the time you're through the gate we'll be a slowly expanding field of scrap metal." Caldwell responded.
"Why don't you come back to the planet and we'll tag the pod with a locator beacon so you can beam it up."
"Roger that, we'll be in range in a minute or so." Caldwell said to Eagle six before issuing additional orders to the crew. "Swing back towards the planet and beam that damn pod up."
The battle cruiser turned around and came closer to the planet. When the ship was within range a white beam picked up the clone pod.
"Deadelus, this is Eagle six, we're going through the gate now, thanks for the backup, good luck up there."
"Copy, we're leaving." Caldwell said before the turned to the major beside him. "Get us into hyperspace, Midway station maximum safe speed."
The ship entered hyperspace leaving the Vanir and Wraith forces behind them.
Several hours later
The ship had calmed down after the short but furious battle with the Wraith and Vanir forces. The damage was minimal. The ship had racked up quite a kill count, one hive and three-quarter of its dart complement and three Vanir ships. To the side of the bridge, where the plaque of the Deadelus was placed, a crewmember was adding the four kills to the long list. The price of the battle was a clone pod used by the Wraith to create humans as food or Wraith drones. The thing would be taken back to the midway station where a team of Asgard, Nox and Tau'ri scientists would examine the thing for anything useful.
"Colonel, I have the midway station on the line."
"Put it on the screen." Caldwell ordered. The screen changed into General Sheppard on board the midway station. "General Sheppard. To what do I owe you the pleasure?"
"I heard you had a present for the scientists here. Just a few minutes ago McKay arrived and he is on the brink of driving me insane. I have no idea why he would be so interested in a cloning pod." Sheppard said.
"I don't have a clue either. We'll arrive at midway in about four days, if you really want me to I can send the pod through the gate, at least it'll give Rodney something to do."
"No, that's not necessary, I heard you racked up a good count, how much do you have now?"
"Nearly too much, if we keep this up we'll have to extend the bridge with a few feet by the end of the year."
"I don't think the shipyards have the time to do so. Anyways, get here asap, we'll have the supplies you'll need for an extended stay in the Pegasus galaxy ready for you. Cherish what you'll get, Earth's been hit hard and won't be able to give you all you want so expect military rations for the following supply runs."
"Copy, Deadelus out." Caldwell said before ending the connection.
February 7
Vanir outpost
Charlie company, 1st battalion, 7th marine regiment, first marine division
This small Vanir outpost was the first to be attacked by Earth land forces. Two days earlier the Apollo had cleared the ships in orbit and was now standing guard over the planet, ready to give fire support if needed. Because the strength of a Vanir soldier was unknown but by the experience of Sheppard years earlier they didn't want to take any chances, so they sent an entire company instead of a platoon. The soldiers loaded up on extra grenades, grenade launchers and rpg's.
According to the information gathered this outpost was experimenting on humans to solve their cloning problem. The station was an easy mark as the communication systems of this station seemed to be old and unreliable, the Vanir wouldn't notice it if the outpost was silent for a few days. By the time the Vanir would care to send a ship or expedition, the marines would be long gone.
The complex consisted of four buildings, placed around a landing pad for their warships, connected with each other by tubes. The plan was that the marines would close in as much as possible, breach the tubes and clear the complex with room by room searches. Any Vanir that could be taken alive was to be taken as a pow, so far they had little success with that. If they'd find any humans for studies they would be freed and taken back to Midway.
As the marines closed in on their designated entry points they were not detected. Probably because the Vanir did not fear any attack on their secret outpost. When the marines had reached their entry points they placed high charged shaped explosives to create an entrance. On cue the four charges detonated. The walls however did not fall inwards, a final kick was required, loosing several important seconds.
As the marines entered the facility they encountered nearly no opposition, just one or two scientists who were traveling between the buildings. One was quickly captured while the other was shot as it tried to alert the others, both didn't wear their battle suits. The marines quickly pushed forwards, knowing that they'd be sitting ducks in the long hallways.
The first real hostile contact was made when two Vanir in battle suits entered through the door leading into one of the buildings. One raised an orange force field, while the other took his pistol and started shooting. The marines quickly went to the walls and floor for cover and opened fire. As they noticed that their bullets didn't have any effect they tried grenade launchers. When the grenade launchers failed to bring them down, an AT-4 to the side of the corridor, circumventing the shields finally brought the Vanir down.
In the other hallways, the marines did not immediately encounter Vanir soldiers but eventually did run into them. When they did, they could not always use an AT-4 because of the power of the blast would also kill the one firing it. A combination of grenades, flash bangs, grenade launchers and a whole lot of bullets did eventually manage to take them down one by one.
Within half an hour the entire complex was cleared of Vanir soldiers. In total two Vanir were taken prisoner, while twenty four humans were freed. After an hour of searching for intelligence the marines left through the stargate to the midway station. This did require them to upload a macro to connect the current gate to the rest of the gates stationed in the void. The only thing left was for the Apollo to destroy the station with a single nuclear warhead.
February 12
Midway station command center
Newly appointed commander of the Earth forces in the Pegasus Galaxy CINCPEGCOM General Sheppard was going over the regular status reports from the two battle cruisers under his command. Both ships had gone on a rampage throughout the Pegasus galaxy. Now however the Wraith were recovering. On its last run the Apollo had sustained moderate damage to its sensor and weapons array. Currently the primary problem was the lack of ships. The Apollo just took a beating and would need a few days to repair, the Deadelus so far was still nearly undamaged, and soon the Odyssey would arrive at the midway station.
"General." Someone said.
No response.
"General Sheppard?" Lorne asked.
"Huh, oh Lorne, what's up?" Sheppard asked.
"The Odyssey just called in, they'll be here in about half an hour." Lorne said.
"Okay, great." Sheppard said. When Lorne didn't leave Sheppard continued. "Anything else Colonel?"
"Ehm, Why do you want the Odyssey to come by the station, and not just head on to the Pegasus Galaxy?"
"Because I'm gonna hitch a ride and use the Odyssey to gain us some more friends with ships."
"And who might that be?"
"The Travelers, Colonel."
"You do know we've tried the last month but without result, right?"
"Yeah, but I think I know a way to reach them." Sheppard said.
"Well, good luck sir."
Well, that's chapter one for now, I hope you liked it and please leave a review.