Stargate Trilogy
Part Two:
Chapter Two:
Shades of Grey
Sat in the large briefing room overlooking the command centre of the much larger city, Jennifer was in almost awe of the city in which she sat without her personal guard, however her powerful vessel maintained a weapons lock on the central tower along with an emergency transporter lock and an open channel. Sat at the head of the large wooden table, Richard Woolsey, the commander of the city itself kept an open mind as she spoke with a soft tone yet a hint of mistrust for him and the Tau'ri.
"… So finally, after completing a shakedown of the Sentinel, we returned home and that is when we saw this…"
Picking a small silver box from the pocket on her jacket sleeve, Jennifer slid it across the table. As it stopped in the centre, a large holographic display appeared in the room revealing sensor data taken from her command ship itself as the command staff of Atlantis looked on with shock at the destruction of a powerful fleet around them.
"What happened?" Woolsey said sternly.
"They where ambushed by several of your… 304 Class cruisers along with several Goa'uld designed motherships"
"I thought your fleet was powerful" Said a husky voice from the far end of the table.
"It was, apparently Ronan the Tau'ri have a new class of vessel they don't want anyone to know about. From what we could ascertain… that ship leapt in last…"
Standing slowly, Jennifer seemed to almost touch the holograms before them and zoom into a certain section by stretching out the images before her as a hyperspace window appeared followed by what seemed to be a new variant of BC-304 class ship. Stunned by what he saw, Rodney stood and looked closer at the image as he spoke the words everyone in the room was apparently thinking.
"What the hell is that? It looks like Wraith technology"
"We analysed the sensor data and came to the same conclusion, it is. That is why we are here…"
Slowly, Woolsey looked away from the sensor data as Jennifer walked to his side as she spoke.
"But then, you already knew that… didn't you Woolsey?"
"I was… under the impression that this vessel was not yet active" He said slowly, with regret.
"I know Woolsey, we know more then you think"
"So how the hell did you get your hands on Wraith tech, enough to upgrade a 304?"
"Several years ago, Earth herself came under attack from a new class of Wraith Hive ships, powered by a Z.P.M, my sister dispatched several of our cruisers to assist Earth… as once told you, but as you know Shepard, Atlantis arrived first and with your help, it was destroyed. Very quickly, your military moved in and salvaged what they could. Large portions of the ship survived, enough to back-engineer and learn how to adapt their tech with your own… that ship is the culmination of that tech. tech which was used in the attack on my fleet and capture my city"
"What?" Woolsey barked.
"Olympus, has fallen Mister Woolsey. It is now in the possession of the Tau'ri after it was moved to an unknown location"
"If Olympus was taken, why are you here, really Miss Tate, why are you here now?" Woolsey said harshly.
"I have lots of experience with Starship operations and combat, I even managed to get a hold of some of your reports on the Wraith and their tactics, but a BC-304 upgraded with Z.P.M powered Hive-Ship technology is beyond not only my knowledge, but that of my crew. Who ever designed that ship is undoubtedly in control of my home city right now…"
"Jennifer, where is your sister?" Tayla said with concern.
Her head lowered slightly as she took a deep breath and let out a slight sigh as she spoke.
"She was in the City when it was taken Tayla, I do not know, she is strong and would not give up without a fight. My guess, she is dead by now along with the City Council and anyone who put up a fight. You have too understand, there was over 5'000 people in that city including children, many more where killed when your… fleet attacked mine. I gathered together all the ships we had left and searched for the only ones that my sister could trust. Several days ago, the Sentinel encountered the USS Hammond…"
"Carter's ship" Replied Woolsey. "Did you attack them?"
"I thought about it! Many of my crew wanted to vaporise that ship. But she was badly damaged in an attack by the Lucian Alliance, almost dead in space. My four remaining ships set up a defensive perimeter around her while the crew made repairs, Colonel Carter is… my guest onboard the Sentinel. She led us here… willingly"
"You mean Carter is your prisoner!" Ronan said harshly.
"No Dex, she isn't. She is safe and will remain that way. Once we have my City back Carter will be free to leave, her choice not mine" Jennifer said sternly.
"And if your City has been destroyed?"
"RODNEY!" Shepard barked.
"It is a fare question Colonel Shepard. Carter is free too return to her ship unharmed. We will then gather up our forces… and move on. But know this, if any more of my people are harmed… I guarantee you this, I will not be able to control my people's anger and calls for retribution against Earth" Jennifer said darkly.
"If Earth is attacked, what remains of your fleet will be hunted down and brought to justice Miss Tate" Woolsey said.
"I know, let's hope it doesn't come to that. Please, help me put an end to this war before it begins. Help me find my City and reclaim it, after which we will move to a new location and you will not hear from us again, I give you my word" Jennifer said politely.
"Wait a minute, you said 'Several Days Ago' you encountered the Hammond, how the hell did you get out here so fast?" Rodney said quickly.
"I was just about to say that!" Shepard smiled.
"Let's just say, the Sentinel is a lot faster then anything you have, with the exception of Atlantis and her… 'Wormhole-Drive' of course. It is a very long story people and my time is short. Mister Woolsey, in the interest of peace between us, I request the assistance of Colonel Shepard and his team too be assigned to my vessel for the purpose of locating and the recovery my missing home city"
"And if I say no?" Woolsey sighed.
"Then I will leave you and Atlantis in peace. But what you may be unaware of Mister Woolsey, several months ago… my sister contacted both Colonels Carter and Mitchell, she began negotiations with them, negotiations that if successful… would one day result in the Alliance we once put forward. You can not even begin to imagine what we can offer you Richard, if I may called you Richard?"
"Of course. And I was not made aware of this" He said with shock.
"It was classified beyond top-secret. Some of my people have… family back on Earth, family that we wish to connect with as we have with the other worlds of our Allies, Allies who are now demanding answers on what happened to our City. That war I spoke of Woolsey, our Alliance is vast and formed with species who are as powerful as we once where… Earth, Earth could not fend off an attack if our Alliance decides to walk down that path"
For hours, they continued with their delicate talks, talks which could either led to war with the powerful Alliance or the possibility of forming a new and much larger Alliance until finally it was agreed that Atlantis Recon Team One would join the crew of the Sentinel in the search for the lost City itself and more importantly for Atlantis, the possibility of forming a new friendship with a not so distant ancestor.
Equipping themselves with the standard weapons for an away mission, Colonel Shepard, Doctor Rodney McKay, Tayla, Ronan and Richard Woolsey materialised on the bridge of the Sentinel, much to the shock of Colonel Carter as she stood and walked towards them with as mile on her face.
"John, Rodney, Tayla, Ronan…"She said in turn. "Richard, what are you doing here?"
"We have new information Carter. Helm, set course for the Milkyway Galaxy, maximum speed. Our City has been spotted" Jennifer said with a look of shock in her eyes.
"Where?" Replied Bourne.
"Who is he?" Rodney said quickly.
"I am Colonel Jack Bourne, Commander of the Sentinel" He said with anger towards the visitors. "Need I remind you people. This is not my idea, I would have taken Atlantis as payment, but Jenny has a way of… getting through to me"
"Jenny?" Rodney smile.
"Jack is… my fiancé Rodney" Jennifer said with a smile.
"So you're the one!" He laughed. "She's not stopped talking about you for a long time"
"Him?" Shepard said, almost moaning.
"Yes sir, and that makes you Shepard, Tayla and the big fellow, you must be Ronan Dex. Juliana has also mentioned you sir" Jack said with a slight smile.
Nodding slightly, Ronan looked around as twelve heavily armed security officers walked towards them with their weapons raised as for a moment, they looked at Jennifer in shock as she spoke firmly.
"Relinquish your weapons, I give you my word you will not be harmed"
"Not a chance in hell!" Shepard said harshly as they raised their weapons.
"John, you really have no choice in this matter. My people have twelve highly powerful energy rifles aimed at each of you, although set to stun… it will hurt if like hell if you are shot. I trust you, now you trust me. Relinquish your weapons, I'll escort you to some quarters we set up where you can read up on what has happened since. Carter, follow us please. Jack, assume command"
Nodding slightly, Jack sat back down in his command chair as Colonel Carter stepped at her side while Shepard and his team relinquished their weapons however reluctantly, it was made clear that their weapons would be returned when they needed them and for their own safety, they would continue to obey the rules laid out for them. They would be allowed a certain freedom within the ship however, only within certain areas of the vessel and always with a guard, something they all agreed on. Entering the large quarters, the security team remained outside as Jennifer stepped in the room with the team of six Tau'ri, walking towards a window, McKay and Carter looked stunned as they saw for the first time the swirling white tunnel of energy. Quickly, McKay turned towards Jennifer as he remained silent.
"No Rodney, you are not seeing things… this vessel has been equipped with a new type of propulsion system. The standard Hyperspace generators have been… upgraded with a new technology"
"W-W-What… umm… what is it? How is this even possible?" McKay said, almost lost for words.
"I've never seen that before, Rodney lost for words. It's refreshing!" Shepard laughed.
"We call it… Trans-Dimensional Drive. It will… take far to long to explain, but we should reach the last known position of the City in two days. I suggest you all read up on what has happened, if you need any help understanding the equations, I'm sure my assistant will be willing to help" Jennifer laughed as she looked at McKay and Carter.
"Assistant?" McKay said with a deep sigh.
The last time they met, Jennifer was a young woman of barely 18 years old and her growing intellect was almost beyond his own as he know knew that she could have even surpassed his own intellect, although slightly angered by the possibility of no longer being the most intelligent person onboard the ship he could not help but feel a slight hint of pride in the young woman who stood before him and for the first time, he looked at her as a woman and not the girl he once knew.
Slowly stepped towards the door, it slid open as a young girl entered, barely sixteen years old and dressed in the same uniform as the rest of the crew as she approached McKay and held out her hand with a respectful handshake as she spoke.
"You have got to be Rodney McKay, Doctor Tate has described you perfectly" She said with a smile.
"Doctor?" McKay said with shock.
"I got my forth PhD two months ago Rodney, I'm working on my next two… Charlie here is one of our brightest young minds and who knows, she may even surpass me one day" Jennifer said with pride in her young assistant.
"She sounds like Rodney" Ronan whispered to Shepard.
"Well, people I should be in Engineering I still have lots of work. If you need anything do not be afraid to ask Charlie. Oh, Charlie… go easy on them" Jennifer said with a wink as she left the room.
"Okay, where to be begin…" She said as she folded her arms and looked up at McKay almost mocking him as he stood before her.
For a brief moment, Carter, Ronan and Shepard looked at the two of them before they looked at each other with a laughter in their eyes as they all saw the sae thing, she was basically looking at McKay as he looked at Zelenka.
The hours past slowly as they scoured the small section of the Sentinel database they had been granted access too. Much to Charlie's amusement, she could see the look of frustration in McKay's eyes as he seemed to be having some difficulty with the database itself until finally a breakthrough was made. Combined with the sample of the database taken from Atlantis, they where able to correlate the information and discover a possible truth about what was happening in their home galaxy as Shepard and Ronan seemed to have fallen asleep many hours ago.
Taking a break from his studies, McKay decided that he would take a walk through the areas of the ship he was allowed to enter with a large Sentinel security officer monitoring his every step as he finally entered what appeared to be the ship's mess-hall. Walking towards a shelf, he poured himself a cup of coffee before he turned and saw Jennifer sat in the furthest corner with her Fiancé Jack. Smiling slightly to himself, he walked towards them as the security guard took a seat next to the door and placed his weapon on the table as McKay stood at their side.
"Am I interrupting anything?"
"Not at all Doctor McKay" Jack Bourne said politely.
It seemed strange to the Atlantis scientist as he knew that some of the people from the sister city of his own had originally descended from Earth and more specifically the United Kingdom, a large trace of their English heritage could be heard in their voices yet it seemed to have evolved separately and incorporated inflections from the many species they had encountered and lived with however, even during this time, they where as polite as he could imagine.
"May I sit?"
"Actually, I should be on the bridge. Good to meet you Doctor, Jenny I'll catch up with you later"
"Of course" Jennifer said with an amazing smile which lit up the room with a warm glow as he Fiancé left the mess-hall.
Sitting in the chair before Jennifer, McKay took another look around the room as he spoke politely.
"This ship, it is amazing. And I do not say that often Jennifer, Charlie says that you helped design it?"
"Designed the upgrades. Weapons, shields, transporters… new engines. We've been working on her for years" She said with pride.
"You know Jennifer, my offer still stands. Once this is over, come back with me to Atlantis, we could really use someone like you back there"
"Don't you mean 'YOO' could? I spoke with Carter a few times on the way out to Atlantis… you need too cut Zelenka some slack Rodney, he seems like a good man"
"I know Jennifer. He needs more focus, speaking of assistants… Charlie is incredibly brilliant" McKay said quickly before he sipped his coffee.
"I know" She said with pride once more. "I've known her for her entire life. She is amazingly intelligent. Two years ago, I was working on the new inner-mix ratio for the new engine design and when I presented it to Julia, Charlie must have seen it. Instantly, she tore holes in my equations due too a mistake that no one saw. Publicly, a thirteen year old girl called me out and embarrassed me in front of everyone. It had never happened before, I was very embarrassed. But I looked it over and she was right, two days later I spoke with her parents as I recognised her for she could be and they allowed her to work with me, part time of course…"
"Of course" McKay laughed as he leaned backwards in his chair and folded his arms.
"… After about a week, she her parents pulled her from her schooling at her request and she was allowed to work with me even longer. She has an amazing mind Rodney, she is one in a generation and her intellect is growing on a daily basis. She already holds one PhD…"
Laughing slightly, McKay sipped his coffee as she gave him a questioning look.
"What is it?"
"Nothing" He smiled.
"I said something that obviously made you laugh Rodney, what is it?"
"Juliana said the same thing to me almost five years ago, about you"
"I did not know that. But, Charlie is much brighter. In two years time, she'll be after my job… I can actually see that day coming. She still has a lot she needs to learn though. I can see her becoming one of the leaders of our people"
"You're proud of her I can see that. Who are her parents?" He said with interest.
"Her mother is our Chief Medical Officer, she sits on the Civilian Council. Her father is one of our most prominent Engineers who help design this ship in her original configuration, before the upgrade"
"Civilian Council?" He said slowly.
"Our Council is divided into two categories, Military which Julia heads, and the Civilian Council. When in session, both Councils act as one however when separate… you get the idea" She smiled.
"Sounds familiar. Isn't there ever a conflict between the two?"
"Only once, making contact with your people. As decedents of Earth, the civilian council wanted to make contact with earth, but Julia disagreed and was eventually overturned buy the civilian council whom outnumbers the military side. Something that we all instantly regretted" She said with sadness. "Point of interest, I was for the Alliance with earth. Being part Tau'ri, I believe that I have family on earth, family that I wished to know. You and your people are only here now because we need your help. I know what I said earlier Rodney, but I believe that having Tau'ri on this ship is a mistake. As commander of this ship, Jack overruled me"
"I thought you where on the council, don't you have a major say in the way things run?" He replied, slowly choosing his words.
"Yes, but I sit on the Civilian Council, the youngest member to date. In the absence of my sister and as commander of our Flagship Ship, Jack is head of the military council…" She said with regret.
"I thought your father was a General?"
"He was. His ship was destroyed during the attack on our fleet, he died in the Med-bay, in my arms two days ago. Let me get one thing straight Rodney, if my sister and the council has been killed by your people… I won't be able to control the military aspect of this vessel or her crew…" Slowly, she leaned towards him and whispered so the guard could not hear her. "My authority is limited on this ship, Jack has backed me up on everything so far. If I make the wrong mistake…"
"I understand" He whispered.
"No, you don't Rodney. Your people are in danger if I fail. Who do you think they will take it out on? We lost twelve people during the attack on our city, many of them our most respected civilians… it is one of those deaths that put me on the council in the first place. You MUST warn your people Rodney, go and warn them now"
His face turned pale as he looked at the honesty and a hint of fear in her eyes. When she first met him, she had almost fallen in love with him at first sight perhaps because of his towering intellect or as she once put it to Juliana, 'He was like a lost puppy who craved attention'. Nodding slightly, he picked up his cup of coffee from the table before him and walked towards the pot on the far side as he refilled the coffee before rejoining the large guard as he told them he was going back to rejoin his people while she stood with a nervous smile on her face, uncertain about the future especially as everyone seemed to look at her for the answers, answers she did not and could not have.