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Stargate: Do Over
Previously:
"Hello-ooo, is this thing on?" Said someone loudly enough to cut through the jabber. "Hi! Just wanted to come in and say that, I wouldn't worry too much..." He paused and looked around, "Will someone call him back?" He pointed at the door, "Anyone?... Anyone?"
Chapter 02, Galactic Politics.
The staff finally snapped out of it. Pandemonium followed. Two guards rushed the intruder, but... they went right through him!
The holographic Jack O'Neill rolled his eyes. "It's a hologram! Gosh, you guys have never seen a hologram before?" He asked with a smirk on his face.
"So... The president?"
"Who are you?" Someone asked.
"The name is Bond, James Bond. Now could you get the president back here or... Oh, they're rushing him off to the bunker aren't they?" Another pause, no one was forthcoming with any answer, other than the secret service communicating with each other about the 'intruder'.
"I see, if you want something done... Right." He gestured and walked off out of the room.
He strolled out, casually. Secret service agents tried to tackle him several times. Someone even fired a few shots at him. At some point a second hologram appeared right next to him. "Having fun?"
"Yeah."
"Quit harassing the poor secret service people James. You're giving them a heart attack."
"Just having some fun here Socrates." He answered to the Daniel Jackson hologram.
"It's not the appropriate time for fun. Some of the Russian silos are preparing for launch you know. Are you sure you want to be the one to do this one?"
"Yeah."
"Well why are you 'walking' then?"
"Fine!" He said and winked out. The other hologram winked out also.
SGSGSGSGSG
He reappeared a second later in the underground bunker under the white house. Right in front of the president and what few staff and aides had managed to get there before the pandemonium.
"Hi!" He said to one of the aides, "Take me to your leader." He grinned. "Oh never mind he's right here."
And again another few agents tried to rush him.
He sighed and face-palmed himself. "Don't you learn? I'm a hologram! See? Not. Solid."
After a while, and after a staring contest with one of the secret service agents that hadn't rushed him. The president spoke. "You seem to have me at a disadvantage. You know who I am but I have no idea who you are."
"The name is Bond, James Bond, sir."
"Quite the comedian." He was definitely not amused.
"Indeed, but actually that is my name. That's what happens when there's several thousand copies of you. You get to pick cool names!"
The president's only response was raised eyebrows.
"I came to tell you... I wouldn't worry too much about that Nabidabadi guy."
"It's hard not to, considering he claims to be in command of the Soviet Union and he has nuclear missiles primed and ready to go!"
"It'll sort itself out. Gorbachev will kick his ass in a few minutes." He appeared very relaxed and even picked up a box and started eating pop-corn, of all things, while casually waving the president's concern down.
"And if it doesn't?"
His only response was a shrug.
"Where has Mister Gorbachev been?"
"Oh I got bad news for you!" He paused for dramatic effect, "He got you beat! He's the first world leader to make it into orbit!" He smirked. "See, there was a coup and he got killed, along with most of his staff..."
"Killed!? Bloody hell!" Yelled the president.
"Eh, we patched him up. He's already briefed and ready to go back down there, he's just waiting for some of his troops to mobilize."
"But you just said he got killed!" The president said angrily, he didn't like the double talk, "Is your definition of dead different than ours? Who are you anyway?"
"The details are boring. All that matters is, he was dead. Now he's not. And the name is Asuran, not replicator like Hammond said. Those replicators really lack a sense of humor."
"How can he be dead and then not?" Asked the president, agitated.
James pursed his lips. "The human body is easy to fix. Listen, can we move on to your briefing? The reason why I am here in the first place?"
"Briefing on what?"
He kept a straight face on, "The reason why we are here in the first place."
"Which is?" He asked agitated.
"To save your collective butts, Sir."
"Quite the diplomat." The president smirked. He was annoyed, 'This guy must be a career diplomat, answers every question and yet answers nothing!' he thought. 'And he's not below throwing a non-insulting insult. This may get tricky.'
"I try."
"Let me guess, we nuke ourselves to oblivion and, sometime in the future we send you back here to stop that from happening. I think I've seen that movie."
James frowned at the president, "What? Ahm. Yeah, Hollywood does it again." He shook his head, "But, no. The good thing is that no one is stupid enough to push the big red button; Except that Nabadibadi guy, but... Anyways, it's much more complicated than that."
The president kept quiet, he was trying to think ahead but came up blank.
"As you've probably already surmised, you're not alone in the universe."
'OK, that's reasonable, but horrifying too.' The president thought, 'It could turn out like Colombo and the Indians all over again, only we'd be the Indians.' But he had to press for more information. "So what are you saying? Are little green men from Mars going to come and take over the planet? And then we send you back to fix it?" He hadn't denied that point and the president was curious about these visitors; and whether what Hammond had hinted at was true.
"Oh they're gray; and they're not from Mars; and they're actually friendly. No, those guys are cool, you don't have to worry about them. But... there are others." He answered.
"Others?"
"The Goa'uld, the Aschen, the Wraith, the replicators, the Ori..." He shivered, "Those are all baddies. Big bad baddies. There are many more. The ones to worry about right now are the Goa'uld, the rest can wait in line."
The president had to bring on his A-game, getting information out of him was like pulling teeth! He was annoyed, but he kept his resolve. "So, what are you saying? That these Gooauld come here and take over the planet?" He repeated the main question, and added, "And then we sent you back here to fix it?" He still hadn't denied that last part, and if it was true... it would mean...
"Nope. We beat those guys. Although at the moment they are still your major concern."
"Then who?" The president was hoping to get an answer into the question he really wanted answered.
"The replicators." He shrugged, "We thought we had them beat, But... Well, some escaped; and they replicated; Then they replicated some more... That's what they do, you see, they're like a virus, they make more and more of themselves."
"General Hammond said something about you being replicators."
"Not quite. Close, but no cigar. It's complicated. We call ourselves Asurans"
"So, then these replicators got here, took over the planet... and then we sent you back to warn us." It wasn't stated as a question, he had repeatedly said the same and had not been corrected, nor gotten an answer on it. He really would like this point to be as he guessed it to be, it would make things easier.
"Again, not quite. I died, you died, everyone died. We lost the galaxy, all galaxies nearby actually."
'How could they be sent back in time if they had died? There must be something else. What is it he's not saying?' The president pondered.
"That's not important right now. Let's cut to the chase, I came here to give you some challenges." He said, "You are going to have to earn your place in the galactic chessboard and we're going to help you with that but you're going to have to help yourselves first. I am going to give you four challenges, whether or not you choose to have at 'em is your choice.
"The biggest challenge of all is to not blow the planet up... You break it you buy it! And we're not fixing it for you." This was not quite true, it had already been decided they would intervene if they had to, to keep them from blowing themselves up. "Actually that's not a challenge; although it is some very good advice. And I have to tell you we will intervene if you're about to blow yourselves up." He paused and threw away the box of pop-corn, "So, anyways, ready? Here's the pitch.
"Challenge number 1, is a multi-part challenge but with a singular logic. It's also the basis of all the other challenges. Make a treaty or treaties, or otherwise formal agreements or whatever you want, with nations that represent at least two thirds of the global population to accomplish the following... Define a body that will administer any and all defensive and offensive military actions of Earth in respect to extraterrestrial threats. Define a body that has full authority to represent Earth in a galactic and intergalactic arena, for diplomatic and any other purposes. Define a body that can and will administer the full disclosure of all knowledge and all technologies to all nations; That's past, present and future knowledge and technologies. I'll let you look at the details on all that at your leisure. The grander picture is that once you manage all three of these, they will open the door for you for the rest and even win you a small prize of knowledge. Knowledge and technologies on medicine, agriculture, metallurgy, energy generation and many other things. No free big honking space guns at this challenge though. We think these goals might take a while to achieve. So we're giving you a very long time limit. Five years. If you haven't managed that within five years you lose the prize.
"Challenge number 2, figure out how to use the Stargate, travel to ten planets and help at least one civilization in a significant fashion, yeah vague I know. You have to figure out the Stargate without outside help. I already know you know about Carter, Jackson and O'Neill. Either of those three could help you figure out how the Stargate works in thirty seconds flat, now that their memories have been transferred to them. So, they count as outside help. Do it without them. If you succeed, we'll give you a better gate, with all the bells and whistles. Its own power source, dialing computer, a much better one than anyone else has, even a few defenses against uninvited guests. We'll also give you a better understanding of how the gates work. But if you try to cheat and get helped by SG-1, you only get to keep your gate." And he added, "This challenge has a one year time limit to it. After that, no bonus. The short time limit is because, frankly, this one's quite easy. There's some more details about this one you'll have to read about later. Also, the bonus will be delayed if you haven't yet achieved the first challenge until after you do.
"Challenge number 3 and this is my favorite; Use the gate to go to Abydos, make friends with the natives, yadda yadda yadda... And then wait for Ra to show up. You get to choose which way you want to go from there. For instance, you could kill Ra by nuking his ship from the inside, that's the easy way; that's what we did the first time around by the way. Or... You could take over his ship. Now, that is trickier than you might think. You'd need to make your way in, stop any Jaffa that shoot at you, stop any nasty surprises... you get the gist. But the spoils would include your first interstellar ship, with hyperdrive, shields and... other toys. You'll see why that is important in a minute. But, if you decide to blow it up, you'll still get all the toys Ra has hidden on that planet. If you succeed in killing Ra, we will teach you about the periodic table of elements. From Hydrogen to Naquadah and beyond. The stuff you already know about the elements are cool, but we know more. This one has no real time limit but after five years you'll have to do it entirely on your own without any support or tactical assistance from us. Of course, the prize will only be given if you have achieved the first challenge.
"Now for the fourth and final challenge! Do what you have to, to get rid of at least half the major Goa'uld System Lords out there; AND free the human slaves and the Jaffa in their domain; and you get... a brand spankin' new capital city-ship; With all the bells and whistles, fully fueled and even upgraded in some respects; with a full copy of the Ancients' database. Some of the knowledge in there is pretty impressive I gotta say. It will take you many, many, many generations to assimilate and understand even a tiny fraction of it. You should of course aim to free the rest of the galaxy from the tyrannical hold the Goa'uld have on it. But frankly, by that time, it's going to be an easier task than it sounds. Now, this challenge does not have a time limit, but we highly recommend you achieve it within twenty five years, because after that our intel sharing is off the table. And again, you have to achieve the first challenge in order to get the city-ship.
"At one point sooner or later, even if you do blow up Ra's ship, you will hopefully manage to acquire or make your first interstellar ship. When that happens we'll give you a better understanding of the technologies in it; like the power generators, hyperdrive, shields, weapons. But, you'll have to beat the first challenge first and get your hands on working examples of such technologies. Call it a rite of passage if you will. Same goes for pretty much any other technology you come about, we'll teach you how they work, et cetera... To put this in perspective, if you were to start researching hyperdrive technology on your own and without a working example to reverse engineer; even with Carter's full help; it would still take you about a century or so before you figure out all the details.
"And then the real fight begins... You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned the Aschen, the Ori, the Replicators or the Wraith so far.
"So, the Wraith, they are a long term goal. These baddies are in the Pegasus galaxy. You may eventually be able to deal with them on your own standing. But that will be after you have secured this galaxy. After you have made many friends and allies here. After you have built a lot of ships; And after you come to the understanding that defeating those guys will come with a cost. A great cost
"The Aschen? Hmm, if they decide to show their ugly heads... too bad for them. You should avoid them for now. But if you accidentally bump into them before you are ready, we'll help. Later on, you will most likely be able to defend yourselves against them on your own and they should not be a serious threat. You might still want to take them out or otherwise intervene to stop their traipsing of the galaxy.
"The replicators should not be a problem. We'll deal with them shortly."
"The Ori?... Seriously, do NOT poke that bear. Leave it alone for the foreseeable future. Big honking danger of intergalactic proportions comes from those guys. Last time, we barely beat them, and things could have turned out differently, very very differently. Especially if we hadn't had help at the eleventh hour. We've already taken measures to ensure that what accidentally happened the last time to awaken that beast, does not happen again. Even with all the technology we are willing to give you, the Ori are not to be taken lightly...
"Any questions?" He asked with a smirk after a pause.
Everyone in the room just stood there looking baffled, the president included.
After several attempts at opening his mouth to speak and then closing it, the president spoke, "You do realize I have no context to understand any of what you just said, right?"
"Oh, right. Well that was the condensed version, here's the detailed one." He snapped his fingers and the table got covered in a veil of blue-white sparkly light, several piles of books along with what looked like a pair of big boxy 1990's computer towers materialized on top of it when the light cleared.
"Son of a bitch!" Yelled the president, startled, he had jumped back. He wasn't the only one.
"There's all the details you will want."
"Well..."
"If there's nothing else...?"
"Actually you still haven't answered one of my questions. You haven't answered many of my questions for that matter, but... You look like a United States Air Force Colonel by the name of Jack O'Neill, correct?"
"Yes." Answered James, with a raised eyebrow.
"Is it accurate to say that you are Jack O'Neill?"
"Mmmm, in a way, yes. So?"
He suspected this would be a bit of a wild claim, but he thought he should at least try it. "So? You are an American. A member of the United States military, a Colonel in the United States Air Force, and consequentially under my command!" He took a breath and straightened himself, "Thus I order you to surrender your ships and technology and everything to us!"
The holographic image of Jack O'Neill smiled a toothy smile and said, "Julius owes me ten bucks!"
A moment of staring passed.
"Gutsy move Mr. President. I knew you had it in you, but to do that while keeping a straight face... That took guts!"
The president sighed, "Well it is true is it not?"
"Perhaps. But it is irrelevant. You think we came up with all this overnight?" He said waving at the table. "We debated how and when to approach you for over a decade. There are plans within plans to make sure you safely assimilate any technology given or found. To keep you from shooting yourselves in the foot, as the saying goes. And to make sure you don't blow up this planet in the process.
"We didn't foresee there would be a coup in Moscow... that was unfortunate. It forced us to intervene more than we intended to at this point." He sighed.
"What exactly did you do to O'Neill, Carter and Uh, Jackson, is it?" The President asked."
"Like I said, their memories have been downloaded to them, memories from several years in the future. Right before the Replicators wiped us out. Don't you worry they're not otherwise changed, modified or anything, they just remember things that haven't happened, yet. Or actually won't happen any more either. Listen to those three, they'll help. Especially Carter, she could give you a hand in a lot of things.
"Now, I really should be going... Oh, somewhere in there," He said pointing at the pile of books, "you will find several ready made speeches for you to choose from. Look them up, there are many different versions of them, even ones that make us look bad. Pick one, and don't delay too long. I'm sure some wackos out there will use our visit as an excuse to make a mess. That and I bet many people are genuinely scared right now... Go do your job Mr. President."
And with that the hologram winked out.
SGSGSGSGSG
Same day, in a galaxy far away.
Bridge of the Santa Maria.
A control console gave a bleep, "Ah, we got their attention. Finally."
"Bring it up." Said Colombo, a Daniel Jackson copy and Commander of this vessel. Though he didn't really have to see it in any display since the information was already being relayed to his mind.
The swirling lights of hyperspace on the front viewer were replaced by a sensor display of this area of the galaxy. It showed two contacts in an intercept course.
"Time to intercept, five minutes." Said another.
"Let's find a nice quiet place to drop out of hyperspace." Colombo said.
The screen changed, showing a map of the area. It was overlaid with known information of the surrounding systems.
"There," he said while controlling the console. "Blue Giant, 250 light years from Othalla. No planets with life. And there's a satellite there. Let them get a good look at us."
Minutes later they dropped out of hyperspace a quarter of a light year away from the Asgard satellite. Scans showed a barren system. It had no habitable planets and apart from the Asgard satellite, nothing else of interest... yet.
Two hyperspace windows opened ahead of them introducing the Asgard vessels into the system. The Bilskirnir-class vessels stopped and raised their shields. The Asgard seemed to give pause at the view of the ship.
SGSGSGSGSG
The computer registered the ship as an Aurora-class battleship, although it was obvious that it had a few... upgrades from the last known configuration of such vessel. The Asgard was stunned to see the ship. The Ancients had not shown any indication they still exist, not for many millennia. The ship had not raised its shields, or powered any weapons. Perhaps as a show that they are not hostile. 'This is going to be interesting.' thought Thor.
He activated a communication link to send a transmission. "Greetings I am..."
"Greetings Thor." A video transmission cut in. The man sitting on the bridge of the other vessel spoke. "We were hoping to find you and introduce ourselves. I am Colombo, Commander of this vessel." The language he used for the greeting was Asgard, that alone was peculiar. It was difficult for other species to pronounce the language properly. Thor blinked, stunned again by the display of the bridge of an Aurora ship. Something no Asgard had laid eyes on in millennia.
"You are Alteran?" Thor asked.
"Uhm, no. Not quite. We are, originally, from Avalon. A planet you call Midgard." He said switching to another language, which Thor also understood.
'So, these are the children of the Ancients?' Thor thought. 'But, how could they have advanced this far, in such a short time?'
"What can the Asgard do for you, people of Midgard?" Thor asked.
"It is what we can do for you that we are here to discuss." Was the answer, "In the next few minutes, with your permission, many of our vessels are going to enter this galaxy and take care of the mechanical bug problem you have. Hopefully, after today, the replicators will not bother any of the species in this galaxy any more."
"The Asgard have been fighting the replicators for a long time. How is it that you can defeat them all in one day as you claim?"
"Accurate information has been lost in the eons. However, to a high degree of certainty, we believe we have discovered their origin. We think they were created by an android, by the name of Reese, that had flawed programming. They were supposed to be... a toy. But they were programmed to replicate; and they did. I am transmitting all relevant information now." Colombo said.
Thor blinked, this would certainly be a revelation. If they were able to learn more about this android, they might be able to ascertain a method to defeat them. He started looking through the data that was transmitted. 'But still, how could they defeat them all in one day?' He thought, he got his answer before asking it.
"Destroying them all, one by one, is impossible. They will always make more of themselves. Destroying them all at the same time has been attempted. And it failed. The few that survived, later returned, stronger than before, even immune to the weapon previously used on them." Colombo paused, "The only way to stop them is by reprogramming them."
"We have tried that approach. Unsuccessfully." Thor pointed out.
"You did not have the original android's information. We... know how to reprogram them. What we are uncertain of, is how they got to this galaxy, and how many other galaxies they may be in." Actually, that was a lie, they knew exactly what had happened, but it would have been a reasonable question if they did not known; and they didn't want to reveal that information, yet. Besides, there might be some information they were never told about before.
"That was our doing."
"I see." Colombo nodded, "Can you tell me what happened?"
"Eons ago, they were found in your home galaxy, Avalon. We brought a few aboard one of our vessels. They were being brought here for study. During that time we realized they were a threat and we destroyed them... Or we thought we had. They resurfaced many years later."
"Were there any left on Avalon?" Colombo asked with a frown.
"No, those I destroyed." Thor blinked, "I think."
Colombo held back a laugh, but a smile showed. "Could you transmit the relevant details to me? In particular, where they were found; So we can make sure."
"Indeed." And he did just that.
"What about other galaxies? Do you know if they have gone anywhere else?"
"Not to my knowledge."
He sighed, "Alright, we will have to search around in a radius of a few million light years' distance anyway, to make certain."
Thor blinked and did not comment, the resources it would take and logistical nightmare of such an endeavor would be enormous.
"So," Colombo paused for effect, "do we have your permission?"
Thor took a moment to reply, "Why are you asking for our permission?" He left out, 'It is a big galaxy.'
"You are the dominant civilization in this galaxy. We are asking, so that you are aware of whose warships are in your neighborhood. I am transmitting the plan of action for this venture, along with some other information. We don't want any misunderstandings. And we certainly mean you no harm."
"I will consult with the High Council." He said after a moment and ended transmission.
SGSGSGSGSG
It took several minutes, the council had probably reviewed the entire conversation during that time, along with much of the information given. Eventually a communication channel opened.
"The High Council has agreed to your request, but asks that I accompany you to observe your progress."
"That is agreeable. I will inform the fleet."
He turned slightly to the right, facing a secondary display screen. Pressed a few buttons on his console and waited for the connection.
"Pest control central, this is Luke, how may I help you?" Answered 'Luke Skywalker', an O'Neill copy, with a huge grin.
"Bug Spay is a go." Answered Colombo with a smile, "Thor would like to ride shotgun and have a look-see."
"Alright, I'll be there in a jiff."
SGSGSGSGSG
Thor, Supreme commander of the Asgard fleet was perplexed. Across the Galaxy, their sensor satellites were detecting something. Many somethings. They were small, quickly entering and exiting each satellite's limited short range sensors nearly instantaneously. Only the short range sensors were able to register the contacts. The long range sensors were focused on longer distances and thus had lower resolution. He surmised that whatever stealth technology those ships were using must be at least on par with their own, probably better.
There! A much larger massed ship was clearly registering. It traveled much slower than the others. This one seemed to not utilize any stealth technology at all. Nevertheless, its mere size impressed even Thor.
When it crossed into the detection radius of the shorter range sensors of a satellite, he got a better look. It was big. Twice the size of the Auroras. And it was escorted by two much smaller ships. He got a better look at the smaller ones too. They were too small for the long range sensors to even register! 'That is a tactical error we must remedy,' he thought.
His own ship's sensors then informed him of a vessel detected at the edge of its range, traveling through hyperspace towards his position. Before he could blink, a hyperspace window opened and it came out of it.
"That was fast!" He uttered to himself.
It was a small, glossy white colored ship; with an aesthetically pleasing design with long lines and curvy hull. It opened a transmission.
"Thor, buddy! How's it going?" Luke asked.
"Going?" he asked.
"Never mind." He waved his hand. "So, are you gonna tag along with your ship, or do you want us to give you a ride?"
Thor blinked, these idioms the man used were unfamiliar to him. He guessed the man was asking if he wanted to join the endeavor with his own ship, or be aboard their ship for it. 'It is safer for me to stay with my ship.' He thought, 'But, it would be foolish to pass up an opportunity to take a closer look at their vessel.'
"I will join you aboard your vessel for this endeavor."
"OK, transmitting coordinates where you can beam in."
SGSGSGSGSG
Thor, with his command chair, beamed in to the flight deck. He was greeted by a Human woman, a copy of Carter.
"Hello Thor." She said. Before Thor could speak, the room's doors withdrew.
"Thor! Welcome aboard the Hermes, I am Luke Skywalker, overall commander of this task force and I'll be your guide this evening." The man said. He was wearing a uniform Thor was sure he had seen before, but he could not place it.
"Greetings."
"Well then, let's go to the bridge and start this party." The man said pointing behind his back.
Thor hovered his command chair and moved forward.
The man turned and asked the woman in the room. "Is that thing gonna fit through the doors?"
She raised an eyebrow, "Oh!" She frowned, "Thor, that chair will probably not fit into the elevators, you will have to walk, or..." She went to a console and searched for something. "You could use another model." She said pointing to the display that covered the entire wall. "Well, one that would fit anyway. Let me... see which ones are small enough..." She spoke while looking at the dimensions of each chair.
The screen showed a wide selection of Asgard hover chairs. The model he was currently using, a medic's version, a scientist's version, an ambassador's version... and on and on... even models used for heavy construction!
"How is it you know so much about the Asgard and yet we know so little about you?"
"Chloe..." The Commander gave the woman a pointed look and she looked apologetic.
"All in good time Thor." He said turning towards him.
Thor had questions... but held them back, for now.
"I think this one should be satisfactory." Chloe said hesitantly. "Should I construct one?"
The screen focused on a more compact version designed for hazardous exploration. A version with stronger defenses and sensors. It was scarcely used, only when necessary, due to it being less comfortable.
"That will not be necessary." Answered Thor, "I will bring my own." He got up and walked a few steps. He had this chair beamed out, and one of the other model beamed in. Then he swiftly sat on it.
'Curious.' Thought Thor, but did not comment.
After that they quickly made their way to the bridge, while Thor's questions grew exponentially. When they got to the bridge, his curiosity finally won over and he had to have answers.
"I have many questions to ask. I want them answered." Thor demanded.
_-+o+-_
A/N: According to the Stargate wiki: Thor's old ship was named Biliskner. It is a Bilskirnir-class ship.. Rough spelling I know.
Also according to the stargate wiki, the Ancients' name for the milky way galaxy was 'Avalon'.
Christopher Columbus' (Cristoforo Colombo) ship was named the Santa Maria, full name: La Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción.
Regarding the glossy white ships they use: Think something of a cross between the 304 from Stargate, the Defiant-class from Star Trek and the Marauder-class from Star Wars. Sized smaller than the 304 and bigger than the Defiant.
Please review to feed my muse.
Thanks to my beta readers for their help.
Posted on 2012-09-02