Caldwell strolled about the control room as they prepared for Atlantis's departure. The last batch of nonessential personnel had been evacuated the hour before to Midway station, and supplies had been transferred to the alpha site for Ambassador Weir. At the moment, Caldwell was waiting for Dr. Zalenka to return from the power room, where he had been preparing the ZPM's. Suddenly, the gate began dialing.
"We have incoming wormhole," said Chuck as he activated the iris.
"Who is it," asked Caldwell as he moved over to where Chuck was sitting.
Chuck looked over the string of numbers that came through the gate. "I'm reading Ronon's IDC."
"Let him in." Caldwell headed down to the gate room to meet Ronon.
The iris faded away and Ronon Dex stepped through the horizon into Atlantis. He was rough, fashioned during his time as a Runner. He sported numerous scars from his fights with the Wraith, such as the long diagonal slash down the left side of his face, which he got during the final battle with Michael. His hair was in a tight crew cut, which he had given himself ever since the unfortunate incident with Tyre. He carried two swords on his back, and his traditional laser pistol in a holster on his left side.
"Hello Ronon," said Caldwell as he walked up to the warrior. "It's good to see you again, but it's a bad time. You see, we're about to depart the Pegasus galaxy."
"I know," replied Ronon brusquely. "I'm going with you."
As he tried to move further into the city, he was stopped by Caldwell. "Like hell you are. This is our fight, not yours. I'm not going to risk your life in a fight that you don't need to be involved in."
Ronon fixed his iron gaze on Caldwell. "I want to kill Wraith. The Wraith are going where you are going. I'm going with you."
Caldwell mentally straightened himself and stared back at Ronon. "Alright, but I can't promise that you'll be back in Pegasus any time soon.
"Fine. Long as you don't get between me and the battle."
"Well, I'm not in charge of that, but I'm glad to have you with us," said Caldwell as he moved out of Ronons way.
They walked up the stairs and into the control room, where Doctor Zalenka was waiting for them. He glanced up from the computer he was typing on as Ronon moved to stand in a corner of the control room. "Oh, hello Ronon," said Zalenka. Ronon merely grunted in response, not very interested in a discussion with the scientist.
"We ready to go," asked Caldwell as he moved to look over Zalenka's shoulder at the computer screen.
"Uh, yes we are," replied Zalenka as he looked over the readings that he was getting from the power room.
"Alright. Put me on citywide."
Chuck pushed the intercom button and nodded to Caldwell."Attention all base personnel. This is Commander Caldwell. We are about to initiate the cities stardrive, so you should brace for some turbulence."
Zalenka activated his communications earpiece. "Rodney, you have a go."
Down in the chair room, McKay closed his eyes and visualized the city of Atlantis as he sat in the control chair. Seeing the city in his mind, he thought about the mechanisms the city contained that were necessary for it to undertake space travel. Concentrating, he willed them to activate. A rumbling ran throughout the city as Atlantis's stardrive activated, and the city rose slowly off the planet's surface, cocooned in it's protective shield. After the city passed through the lower layers of the planet's atmosphere and was established in orbit around the planet, McKay activated the city's hyperdrive, and they flew into subspace.
McKay deactivated the control chair with a smile on his face. He had only flown the city once before, and that was when the Replicators had tried to destroy the city. I was nice to be able to enjoy the experience, even with the thought of the Wraith headed toward the Milky Way in the back of his mind. "Earth, here we come," he said as he left the room.
In the gate room of Cheyenne Mountain, a group of people had gathered, and they were conversing as they waited for the gate to dial. Most of them were marines, while an IOA official conversed with General O'Neill.
"Look Agent Bates. As much as I appreciate the concern that the IOA is showing for me all of a sudden, the Lucian alliance won't be dumb enough to try and kidnap me.," said O'Neill with a sigh.
"With all due respect sir, I bet SG-1 thought the same thing, and look where that got them. The IOA wants me to make sure that nothing happens to you, and I plan on doing just that," replied Bates as he glanced back at the dialing gate.
"Alright." O'Neill turned his attention to the dialing gate as well. "Just try not to fall behind."
"Yes sir."
The gate finished the dialing sequence, and the event horizon flared into existence as a connection was established with Lucia's stargate. The marine escort shouldered their weapons and moved up the ramp as they prepared to go through. O'Neill looked back up to the control room where General Landry was watching. Landry gave a slight nod, and O'Neill walked confidently through the event horizon, along with the marine escort and Agent Bates.
The event horizon of the wormhole that had connected with Lucia's gate disgorged the marine escort, who were confronted by a group of armed Lucians. Standing behind the armed group was an important looking Lucian, who was not very pleased with his task. He planned on making it as unpleasant for General O'Neill as possible. The marines spread out in a protective semicircle around the gate as O'Neill and Bates stepped through.
"Ah. General Jack O'Neill. It is a pleasure," said the representative as he stepped forward, ignoring Bates entirely.
O'Neill stepped forward, but did not shake the representative's outstretched hand. "Hello... Millic, isn't it? Kefflin couldn't be bothered to come meet us in person?"
"Kefflin is very busy at the moment, and he regrets not being able to meet you . I will escort you to his citadel, where you will meet him." With that said, Millic gestured to the armed Lucian escort, who turned around and began tramping into the city, while accompanying each Marine one for one. O'Neill and Bates stayed in the circle, while Millic led the way.
"By the way," asked O'Neill as they walked, "Is Kefflin still mad about the whole "impersonation" thing? Cause I'd hate to think that we caused him any undue stress."
Millic glanced back with an evil grin on his face. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough."
Bates gave O'Neill a concerned glance. O'Neill just shrugged and continued walking. The group entered the catacombs that ran beneath the capitol city. After fifteen minutes in the dimly lit underground tunnels, they emerged up a ramp into a small courtyard.
Millic turned around and faced O'Neill. ""Wait here. I shall inform Kefflin of your arrival."
As he turned to walk away, O'Neill fired off a parting shot. "Darn. I was planning on getting some shopping done while I was here. Maybe check out the local cuisine."
Millic ignored his response and walked through the solitary doorway in the wall. The armed Lucians took up positions paralleling the wall, while the marines stood opposite their Lucian counterparts. O'Neill sat down on the solitary desk, and Bates paced about the sparsely decorated courtyard.
Another fifteen minutes passed, and Bates was starting to get fidgety. "Sir, I don't like this."
O'Neill glanced up at Bates with a severe lack of interest. "Relax Agent,. They're probably just rolling out the red carpet for us."
"I doubt it sir. Since when have the Lucians been that nice?"
O'Neill frowned. "Maybe they've had a change of heart."
Bates shook his head in disagreement. "I doubt it sir. Nothing we have done would make the Lucians like us any more, unless they've been brainwashed."
Before the conversation could continue, the door in the wall opened up. Millic walked through. "Kefflin will see you now." As O'Neill began walking forward, he raised his hand in a stop gesture. "Your guards will have to stay outside."
"Like hell they will," said Bates angrily. "We can't trust you. How do we know you won't try to kidnap us?"
"Bates," warned O'Neill
Millic gave Bates an angry look. "You're quite right, but we have no reason to trust you either. You may try to take Kefflin hostage and then where would we be?"
"Better off than we are now," muttered Bates.
"I'm afraid you just don't have the right attitude towards this Mr..."
"Bates. Agent Bates."
"Now, Agent Bates, as much as I would love to continue this discussion over possibilities, Kefflin will be very displeased if we stand here much longer. Come now, your guards stay outside."
With that, Millic walked through the door that he had come in through earlier with O'Neill and Bates following behind him. They walked through the indoor corridors until they arrived in a sparsely decorated room. The room had a table in the middle of it, with four chairs sitting around it. Kefflin was already in the room as they arrived.
"Ah, General O'Neill, Agent Bates. Welcome. I am glad to see that you are not here to try and take me hostage," said Kefflin as Millic walked to stand beside him.
"I'm glad you haven't tried to take us hostage yet as well," replied O'Neill as he and Bates sat down.
"It seems this is a day for surprises," countered Jefflin as he and Millic sat down. "So, what do the great and powerful Tau'ri want this time?"
"As much as I hate to say it, again, we need your help."
"And what makes you think we will help you, considering the activities you have engaged in that were directed against us in the past few years?"
"Because, believe it or not, we can't do everything by ourselves. We need your ships to help us fight, since we only have three of our own."
"Maybe if you would reveal the existence of the Stargate to the people of y0our world, then you wouldn't need to keep asking us for help."
"We're getting to that. Until then, we're asking you."
"So what great enemy have the Tau'ri awakened this time," asked Millic.
Bates pulled out a piece of paper and slid it over the table as O'Neill talked. "About five years ago, we managed to locate the lost city of the Ancients, called Atlantis. Turns out, the Ancients had taken the city to another galaxy. For the past years, we've had a scientific and military presence there."
Kefflin thought on that for a second. "And you are telling me this because the thing you need help with is there? Because I cannot send the majority of my people to another galaxy for nothing in return."
"Actually, the threat is coming here. You see, in this galaxy we found these things called Wraith. They have organic based technology, and can suck the life out of you through their palms. Turns out, they even managed to beat the Ancients. And now they're headed here."
"And why are they headed here, and how did they learn you came from here," asked Kefflin.
"They're coming here because they believe Earth is their new feeding ground. You see, they think a million humans is a lot, and we've got almost 7 billion. As for how they found out we're here, a few months ago a Wraith Hive Ship showed up in Earth orbit. We blew it up, but a few of them managed to get down to the surface. We rounded most of them up, but one managed to get off a subspace signal before he could get killed, and now they're headed here."
"Why should we help you then? This is your mess like last time, and it sounds like that they will leave us alone if we don't bother them."
"Sorry to burst your happy little bubble, but the Wraith aren't going to be able to tell us from you, and when they finish with us, you'll be next on their kill list. The Wraith don't like any competition in their galaxy."
"What competition. You seriously think we would try to contest them? No, we've had enough of fighting your wars for you, like with the Ori."
"You don't get it. The Wraith have a problem with anyone being on the same technological level as them. They'll kill us, then they'll go and beat you down to the medieval ages."
"I think we shall take our chances. We have no with to repeat the disastrous battles against the Ori."
"Fortunately for everyone involved, the Wraith aren't the Ori. Their ships don't have shields and their weapons can't compare to Ori beam weapons."
"So how many ships do you anticipate we will have to deal with?"
"Around one hundred and fifty."
Kefflin was astounded. "One hundred and fifty? Even if they are not as strong as the Ori, that is too many ships to defeat in open battle. That is, unless you are willing to give us some assistance? Say, giving us those weapons the Asgard gave you before they vanished"
Bates entered the conversation angrily. "No. Asgard beam weapons would be too dangerous in your hands. That'd be like giving you a Mark 9 Gatebuster. The IOA will never sign off on it."
O'Neill glanced at Bates with a look of annoyance. "Sorry. Apparently advanced weapons are off the table. Besides, the weapons you have should be fine, seeing as we fought them with railguns for close to three years, and we managed to survive."
Kefflin shook his head. "I disagree. It's only fitting compensation for the services we have provided you over the years."
"What services? You've tried to destroy our ships, seized the Odyssey, took SG-1 hostage, and did almost nothing against the Ori except in that initial battle. If anything, you should owe us for saving your asses."
"Bates," interjected O'Neill. "Shut up."
"It's quite alright General. This discussion is over anyway. Unless you give me what I ask for, then you shall receive no assistance in any form whatsoever. Go now."
As they were escorted from the meeting room, O'Neill talked with Bates. "Excellent job Agent."
"I'm sorry sir. But it's perfectly true what I said. The IOA would never have let us give that technology to the Lucians."
"I know that and you know that, but you didn't have to tell him. I was about to get him to agree when you chimed in."
'I'm sure you were sir. I also bet that you were going to tell this to the IOA when you got back. That's why I wasn't sent to watch you to make sure you didn't promise anything we couldn't deliver, of course."
O'Neill grunted as they entered into the courtyard they had been in before. They started heading back towards the gate with their marine escort. O'Neill started walking ahead of Bates, and he walked he shot a glance at Bates. "I wouldn't quit my day job Agent."
Bates looked a bit confused. "This is my day job, sir."
"That might be a problem."
The diplomatic team walked through the gate into Cheyenne Mountain, and were greeted by general Landry. They walked up to the conference room for the debriefing.
"So Jack, how did it go?"
O'Neill looked ruefully at Landry. "Well, we did come back."
"That bad huh?"
"They didn't exactly greet us with roses."
"So what went wrong?"
"They're still angry about the whole Ori thing, and they wanted us to give them Asgard beam weapons. Fortunately, Agent Bates here intervened and got us shut down by Kefflin."
Bates spoke up in his own defense, "With all due respect, they weren't ever planning on helping us. They don't know the Wraith like we do. They would have just taken what we had given them, and then waited for us to take the fall so th4ey could come save the day and look like hero's to the universe. Giving them beam weapons would just be shooting ourselves in the foot"
Landry looked over to Agent Bates, who sat defiantly in the chair to his right. "Thank you Agent. You're dismissed. You might want to let the IOA know why this whole negotiation went off the rails."
"Yes sir," said Bates coldly, and he stood up and exited the conference room.
"So now what," asked O'Neill after Bates had left.
"Fortunately for us, the Jaffa have agreed to send some ships to help, and Atlantis is on it's way back from Pegasus. And since the Wraith transmission had the location of the Ancient weapons platform in Area 51, we're moving it to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base."
"So we've got four ships, since the Brits launched the Churchill, Atlantis, and whatever the Jaffa can bring." O'Neill shook his head and gave a small laugh. "Whatever happened to fair odds?"
Landry looked at O'Neill with a twinkle in his eye. "Jack, you don't get paid to fight with fair odds." He and O'Neill stood up. "Besides, you'll be plenty busy soon enough. The Presidents making his address about the Stargate in two days, and I expect there won't be a lack of excitement."
O'Neill grinned a little as he thought about it. "Well, this should be fun," he said sarcastically.
Tamion're sat contentedly in her throne chair as the might Wraith armada prepared to depart for Earth. The time had been spent repairing battle damage and smoothing over the relations between some of the more intractable Hives. Soon though, they would depart this galaxy, and nothing would stand in the way of their new feeding ground, and a glorious future for the Wraith.
Her second, Moraq'se, approached her throne and bowed. "My Queen. The fleet is ready to depart."
"Very good," said Tamion'e as she rose from her throne. "I shall go to the bridge to watch the departure of our great fleet."
"Yes my Queen," replied Moraq'se as he fell into a flanking position beside Tamion're. Together, they proceeded to the bridge of the Hive Ship. However, before they could reach it alarms started hissing throughout the Hive. With her telepathic connection to the bridge crew, Tamion're could tell that something had happened to the fleet in general. The two of them hurried to the bridge and were just in time to see two Hive Ships vanish from their scanners.
"Who is attacking us," asked Moraq'se.
Tamion're's eyes widened. "We are not under attack Those Hives have abandoned us."
Moraq'se was stunned. "Why would they do such a thing? We are about to seize our new feeding ground."
"They doubt the inevitability of our success. They do not share our sense of certainty, and they remember how the Lanteans have hurt us here. They also believe that they will be able to adequately feed themselves with so many other Hives off crushing the Lantean homeworld."
"My Queen, how many Hives have left us?"
"Eight of them."
"We should destroy them for betraying their supreme leader."
"No. That would take too much time. Do not fear, they will soon learn the error of their ways. Contact the fleet. It is time to depart."
"Yes my Queen," replied Moraq'se as he bowed.
In a scattered order, the assembled Wraith fleet began jumping into hyperspace, the first of a series of jumps that would take them beyond the edge of their own galaxy and into one quite unknown to them.
A/N: I edited the earlier chapters a bit to fill in where the Odyssey was. Nothing too major. As for the Phoenix/George Hammond, you'll find out what happened to that soon enough.
And yes, I feel no shame about having a ship called the Churchill. So sue me.