Universal Journey Chapter 2 Contact
USS Aleppo
1st day
Benjamin was running through the ships corridors, making his way to the bridge to find out what had happened. His first suspicion was that they had been under attack and that was why the ship shook, but it had by now stopped shaking and was silent. Furthermore, Lt. Colonel Callahan weren't ordering battle stations yet. It could have been some kind of anomaly, possible. Any moment now he would find out.
He rushed onto the bridge.
Adriana Callahan sat in the command chair with Major Kevin Marks and Lieutenant Nicole Kyle by her sides. The blonde lieutenant was working on her console with her usual calm demeanor. Doctor Rodney McKay was keying a console along the wall across the bridge.
"No major damage, sir," he heard Marks inform her.
"According to sensors Bra'tac's motherships came through no worse for were," Rodney said.
"What the blazes happened, colonel?" Benjamin asked flat out.
Callahan turned and looked in his direction.
"A wormhole sneaked up on us, major," she gave him a short version. "We didn't pick it up before it was too late. It spit us out-somewhere." She turned to Rodney. "Rodney?"
He grumbled something quietly before responding.
"Readings doesn't make sense," he scratched the back of his head in annoyance. "Supposedly we're right where we were before the wormhole sucked us in."
"It spit us out in the same place?" Callahan asked, feeling a 'but' coming on though.
"No. But the coordinates are the same but only two of the three planets in this system is there. One is a frozen wasteland and the other is so close it is a boll of magma. P7X-2P6 is gone. No Jaffa settlement and no planet at all. The frozen planet is where it should be, but the magma planet has moved twenty-million kilometers."
Benjamin blinked. How was that possible? Callahan asked the question for him.
"How's that possible?"
"Uh-eh, well…" Rodney started hesitantly. "I don't know. But long range sensors acknowledging that Earth-or at least the system-is in the same place at it's supposed to be. Picking up strange activity around Dakara also with the long range sensors."
Great, more mysteries, Callahan thought. "Define strange?"
"A large amount of starships, approximately sixty-four to be precise."
Benjamin stepped further into the bridge, towards Rodney.
"But, Dakara was pretty much obliterated by the Ori years ago. There's nothing there now."
Rodney turned around with an annoyed expression.
"Yeah, therefore my use of the word strange, Major Gate."
What the heck was going on? Callahan thought.
"Contact Bra'tac's Ha'tak."
"Aye, sir," Nicole Kyle affirmed. She keyed her console and the image of Bra'tac appeared on the screen.
"Colonel," he said. "I am glad you are alright. No injuries?"
"Just a few scrapes with bulkheads. Nothing mayor though. You alright?"
Bra'tac nodded in confirmation.
"I am. Do you know where we are?"
"Eh, McKay think we're still in the same system, it just changed a bit." God that sounded so stupid to actual say aloud. She kicked herself mentally. "Just one of the planets moved and the settlement with the Stargate is gone."
Bra'tac looked shocked over that information.
Right now Callahan was happier than ever that her ship was upgraded with four Asgard beam weapons, forty Railguns and twenty VLS launchers. Not to forget a compliment of twenty-five F-302s and two puddle jumpers. The USS Aleppo was equipped with Naquadah enhanced nuclear weapons and a cloaking device. It had been created originally thanks to Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter and Rodney McKay partially with the use of Asgard and Ancient technology.
"Bra'tac," she said before he had time to say anything. "We're picking up starships around Dakara. I think it might be our best chance right now. Sense we have a cloaking device I suggest you keep your five Ha'tak's out of range until we know what we're dealing with."
He thought about it for a moment. He didn't like the idea of sending them in alone. If something went wrong it could take some time before he could assist. But of course, the Aleppo was a strong little ship and was slightly bigger than most Tau'ri starships.
"Very well, colonel," he conceded.
"We're going to send a subspace message to Stargate Command before leaving. General Landry should respond within the hour."
Bra'tac nodded. "I dare admit, I have trouble understanding this. We have not moved, but at the same time, we have."
"I'm with you there," she said smiling. "Maybe the sensors are wrong," she shrugged. "Could be a coincidence and we're in another galaxy. I donno."
"At least if we were in another galaxy, it would make some sense and would be understandable that it was different. But, we can't be somewhere else and in the same position at the same time."
Benjamin turned around.
Two members from his team appeared on the bridge. Fox and Lance Corporal Ian Porter stood in the doorway.
"Major, what's going on?" Fox asked.
Fox didn't have any official rank, in the same manner as Teal'c had not had when he joined SG1 over ten years ago. Fox and her sister, Wolf had both joined the SGC and SG18. The sisters had joined at the fall of the Goa'uld and rise of the Ori. Fox was the younger of the sisters.
Bra'tac disappeared from the screen and Callahan turned to Lieutenant Kyle.
"Inform Mr Woolsey about what happened. I want him on the bridge as soon as possible."
"Aye, sir."
"We took a dive through a wormhole," Gate explain to his team members.
"Oh…fantastic," Fox said sarcastically. Within a moment the Aleppo jumped to hyperspace.
Fox had an athletic built, pale skin and black hair fixed into a ponytail. Her white eyes focused on Gate. She was the teams marksman and she was extremely skilled in that regard. she was also skilled at close combat. She stood at about two heads shorter than Gate. Ian Porter was a man with emerald green eyes and fluffy dark brown hair. His hair wasn't exactly standard military cut.
Supposed Dakara system, twenty minutes later
Aleppo entered the system on the edge by one of the planets moons. Rodney frowned as he looked at the screen of the console. With the cloak active they were on no risk of being seen. Richard Woolsey had made it to the bridge. He stood behind Callahan's chair.
"Oh."
"What?" Callahan asked. "What now?"
"Um…it's to green and flourish to be Dakara." He turned around to her. "Sorry, Callahan. Should have spotted that before on the sensors."
"Sir," Marks interrupted. "We're detecting weapons fire from the planet. Two fleets, blasting at each other."
"Damn," Rodney mumbled. "They're not holding back any punches either. Their giving everything they got."
"Who are they?" Callahan asked, keeping focused. "Lucian Alliance, Jaffa, who?"
Marks shook his head.
"Neither. We can't identify them. But we are scanning human life signs on the, eh…green bulky ships. We can't identify the other life signs of the other faction."
Callahan shifted in the slightly uncomfortable command chair and leaned forward. There wasn't too many advanced human civilizations in there galaxy. And by now, she felt like they should know of them already.
"On screen."
As the ships blockading the passage to the planet was dark green with bulky shapes, as if just slapped together with little thought and with focus on heavy armor instead of shields. The fleet assaulting had more slick and slender shapes with more purple colors. The largest of those ships were four kilometers from aft to stern. What appeared to be a weapons platform was torn to pieces by a barrage of blue plasma fire from them. A frigate sized purple hulled starship got a little too close to the enemy and was torn apart by a missile barrage from six different ships and squadrons of fighters and bombers. Some sort of giant slug was fired straight at it, ripping it to shreds.
"Should we intervene?" Gate asked.
"That hardly seems wise, major," Woolsey stated diplomatically.
"They're human after all, fighting aliens invading their planet," Gate stated. "Who knows what they'll do to them."
Woolsey looked at the tall African-American major.
"We have no idea why they are fighting, or even who they are. For all we know they started the war by slaughtering the other sides civilians."
Gate leaned forward toward Woolsey. "We can't just sit here, waiting."
"Enough," Callahan cut in. "Major, Mr Woolsey's right. We can't just meddle ourselves into every conflict we stumble upon. No reason to piss of another powerful enemy. We've done that so well already in the past. I'm not risking the safety of my crew in the hopes we chose the right side. What if we ally with genocidal maniacs?"
Gate had to agree with her argument. But he didn't like just sitting here. "Shouldn't we contact them?" He asked. Callahan was thinking the scenario over and consequences of any action. "If you do decided to wait, don't tell the winner we watched them get torn up without doing anything, huh."
"Just remember that they can track us if we contact them," Rodney reminded. "They can track the transmission back to our coordinates even if we are cloaked. So we better think this over." He looked directly at Callahan. "No going back."
"Noted," she responded. "Bring us in closer, Marks."
"Aye, sir."
"Not to close. Don't wanna get shot at."
"I'll do my best, sir."
They stopped one-hundred-thousand kilometers from the battlefield. They deactivated the cloak and raised shields to make sure no one could take a shot at them.
"Locate the flagship of both fleets."
A moment went by.
"Given the amount of chatter and tracing it, I have located the lead ships, colonel," Kyle informed.
"Hmm," she leaned back. "Contact the-"
"Sir!" Marks alerted.
"Damn," Rodney exclaimed. "Two ships from the assaulting fleets is heading towards us."
"Fine," Callahan said annoyed. "Contact the lead ship in their fleet than."
Kyle keyed in the command into her console. She shook her head.
"No response."
"Ok, open a channel." She rose from her seat and stepped forward. "This is Lt. Colonel Adriana Callahan of the USS Aleppo. Our intentions are peaceful. However if you continue on your course, you'll see that we can defend ourselves." She decided to return to her seat and looked at Kyle. "Anything?"
She shook her head. "They heard you, but ignored it."
"Power up Asgard weapons and prepare VLS missiles tubes and forward Railguns."
"Aye, sir."
"Shouldn't we leave?" Woolsey asked, worried. "Return to Bra'tac's position."
"Sense we have no idea what's going on or where we actually are, we will need help. My gut says the humans are in the right. They aren't attacking us anyway." She looked over her shoulder at him. "Bra'tac's just twenty minutes away if necessary."
"So call him. Twenty minutes is more than enough time for them to destroy this ship!"
"Sir, they're in firing range," Marks alerted.
"Contact them again, Kyle." The next second a plasma barrage was launched from the two incoming warships. Both were one kilometers in length. She turned to Marks. "Damage report."
"Minimal," he replied. "Shields down to ninety-two percent."
"Huh," Rodney mumbled, slightly surprised. "One of them seem pretty badly damaged already."
The hostile ships both maneuvered around them on opposite sides. They poured plasma onto Aleppo's shields. Aleppo fired its railguns and missiles, holding back the heavier and powerful Asgard beam weapons. The hostile warships shields held against the rain of slugs and missiles. Although the shields were taking a greater pounding then Aleppo's shields did. Callahan tried contacting them and ending the fighting without the destruction of any ships or any loss of lives. Again…there were no response.
"Target one of them and make it go away, Marks."
The four Asgard beam weapons were fired on one of the Cruiser sized ships circling around them. They quickly ripped through the shields and tore into the hull. They sized up the ship and tore it into pieces as it was engulfed in explosions.
"Target the other ships engines and weapons, but keep it intact."
"Aye, sir."
Callahan turned to look at gate over her shoulder.
"Get your team ready. I want to beam you over to see what we're up against."
"My teams will be glad to stretch their legs," Gate responded and smiled. "We'll be ready in five minutes."
