Author' note: here is the sixth chapter of this book. Writing goes slowly, work even more, but thankfully I wrote this chapter and a few more in advance so no problem publishing them on time.

Nagato: Glad to hear that.

romanhellhound: Not… this Anubis, no ;) This one got what he deserves.

Senrab Nomis: Well, anger never plays well when deadly serious decisions need to be made. The Travelers need help, but it is time for them to do at least something except aimlessly traveling the galaxy. Those ships are the biggest and baddest they can offer if you don't count Liam's ship that's wasn't meant for mass production. The problem when you know the future is that every action you make from that point on changes it, but who's to say that good intentions must always translate into a better outcome ;)

Guest: To tell you the truth, it simply didn't cross my mind to use rings when I wrote the chapter. There are many details in such epic stories and it is very difficult to remember to write them all, all the time. Also, the rings in Pegasus are not very common. So, only the Terrans would be able to benefit from them.

Epi:

The Terrans will send probes to known black holes, and not go search everywhere for the Ori, and I wouldn't categorize black holes as good real estate. I also don't think that it's possible to canvas 300 000 000 000 stars and the space in-between them. They will soon find out that in Pegasus. Again, my last reply, about why sending Earth's countries to colonize other planets, remains the same. The Terrans have colonized Tollana, Terra Nova and Asura, planets that can hold billions of people, and those planets are protected with ground and orbital defenses as well as the right infrastructure for people to live on them comfortably. They also have several mining outposts and military bases around the galaxy and a big asteroid full of Naquadah in the Solar system. They have no reason to send colonist on poorly defended planets, especially with the Ori, Aschen and Lucians lurking around. Besides, what's the gain of such move? They would just have to worry about those planets and their people. As far as China goes, I think they would also get pissed if other Earth countries could colonize other planets. The point is to prevent WWIII and not cause it.

Having more colonies declaring independence is a problem. The idea is to one day unite all countries on Earth, like the Alterrans were united under one name, no matter on how many planets they were spread. And being part of the same alliance is not the same as being the same nation or race, not by a long shot.

My idea when it comes to building stuff is really simple. If you want something that is capable of destroying a Hive ship for example, then it must be big, it must have a big honking space gun, and an adequate power source to power the power hungry beast. And the same goes for the shields. Your idea is to make something cheaper, but still capable of delivering the same or similar amount of destruction as a Lantean satellite. If that was possible, why would then anyone build a Lantean satellite? Also, don't take my comparison of one satellite equaling one battleship literally. I meant to say that if you want to build defensive satellites, you must take resources, shipyard time, manpower and whatnot from another project, currently that project being building more ships. Also, keeping something constantly cloaked, means having a lot of power to spare, since a cloak uses a lot of power to work. Again, the small power source is not helping here.

Maybe in time they will build something, but for now, the station is on its own. Besides, how would then anyone have at least a chance of attacking it? ;)

The Terrans already have the technological superiority over other races in the Pegasus and Milky Way galaxy. If I make them also able to build things in a blink of an eye, then there's no challenge in the story, and without challenge the story becomes boring, does it not?

I didn't write about Woolsey warning about anything, but it's a free market so races can hire someone to teach them, the same as buying and selling stuff. From what I know from the episodes about the Tollans, I'm not sure they wouldn't have warned them. Maybe they didn't say it in the show, but the Tollans were usually very meticulous people, and I think they would have definitely said something, at least in the sense 'Hey! Don't override those security measures on that thing because otherwise it can blow in your face'. Wouldn't any race that gives something to someone to help not give them at least a manual? The problem I think was on the Saritan's end, when they understood what kind of destructive power the generator could deliver, maybe thinking they can control it somehow or set to a lesser yield before using it for the wrong thing.

In my story, shields are just that, something to protect your ships or whatever else that needs to be protected. The only mention of shields capable of absorbing energy in the show was when the Ori encompassed a planet in order to turn it into a singularity, and the Prometheus' crew was very much surprised the Ori shield could do that. If not, they would have never detonated the Mark IX, would they? This also means that their shields cannot do that. Also, the Odyssey, somehow, used the Ori beam's energy to revert time, but in the episode the beam didn't struck the shield. The beam went through the front side of the ship and only then time started reverting back. Also, I always thought it was a little far-fetched that entire 'use of the beam's power to revert time' ordeal. They used up an entire ZPM and the Asgard Core in the fifty years they were stuck in time, but a single Ori beam was enough to revert everything back? Thankfully, that part didn't happen in my story :)

If you have longer questions, you can PM and I can then reply immediately instead of having to wait for the next chapter to be published. I wanted to reply through PM even to these reviews, but you used a guest account so...

So, enough about reviews and let's continue with the story.

Thanks to my beta, and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too.

Pegasus Galaxy – Atlantis
Stardate: 2031.32

"…the Ancients left us the city for safe keeping and that means we are the rightful owners."

"Nice job you've done with the safe keeping part. Leaving the city to slumber on the ocean's floor for ten thousand years," John replied to what Helia said. They had been at it for an hour now, both sides trying to tell the other why the city should belong to them.

"It is irrelevant how we left the city. And there is also the fact that, for us, only two years had passed, not ten thousand."

"You spending two years in a time dilation field doesn't change the fact that for the rest of the universe, Atlantis included, it has been ten thousand years. And you would take the city from us to do what exactly? There are a hundred of you at the most. You can barely operate the city and we also need it to fight the war against the Wraith."

"Again what we intend to do or not is irrelevant. We are the rightful owners of this city," the woman barked back.

"Actually, you are not," Liam's voice was heard coming from the entrance door of the conference room.

The woman turned to face the man who spoke those words. She wanted to bark something back, but when she saw what the man was wearing, she paused. She got the feeling this man wasn't a Terran, "Who are you?"

"The rightful owner of this city," Liam replied simply, while walking in the room and taking a seat, "I apologize for my tardiness. My staying on Kheb lasted much longer than I had anticipated."

"And who are you?" the woman asked again, puzzled on how one man could be the owner.

"I'm Liam, and I am the only living Alterran. Well, now there is another one actually, but that is not important right now," Liam replied.

"Alterran? The Alterrans have ascended a long time ago. How can you be an Alterran then?" the woman asked, skeptical about his claim.

"It's simple really. I descended," Liam answered her question.

Again, the woman was still skeptical about his explanation, but as she watched the other in the room not even flinch at such news, at least news to her, she started to sense how it must be true. 'Crap!'

Before she could say anything though, Liam continued, "Anyway, let's get this thing solved. As much as I was able to understand, the problem is the ownership of Atlantis and the claim of the Lanteans found on the Tria traveling to the Milky Way galaxy for the last ten thousand years, or as they said, for two years inside the time distortion. Is that about right?"

"Yes," Weir replied.

"Alright then. From what I can tell there are two possibilities here. The first one is that Atlantis belongs to me, since I represent the race that built it, or the second option is that the city doesn't belong to the Alterrans anymore in which case we should decide who between the Terrans and the Lanteans is the rightful owner."

The Lantean woman picked up the second option immediately, "The Ancients left us the city when they ascended. That means we are the true owners."

"I'm not sure if the city was given to you or if it was given to you for safe keeping. There is a difference here. Also, in the case the city was given to you, we also need to define if the city was abandoned by the Lanteans ten thousand years ago. If that is true, then whoever finds it is the rightful owner."

This part the Lantean woman didn't like. "We always planned to return, so, technically it wasn't abandoned."

Liam smiled, "Ten thousand years is a lot of time, and you didn't return, although, maybe not you, but other Lanteans for certain had ample opportunity to do so."

"I cannot speak for other Lanteans," The woman replied.

"That's true, but let's imagine that your ship's hyperdrive didn't break down. You would have continued your voyage to the Milky Way galaxy and in a year you would have reached Earth and those Lanteans that went back through the gate. Do you believe that, if that scenario played out, you would have returned to Atlantis? Even when your people didn't?" Liam asked.

Another thing the Lantean didn't like. She also knew she shouldn't lie, "I suppose we wouldn't."

"Then I believe that we can safely say the city was in fact abandoned by the Lanteans with no intention of returning. This means that the only two parties that can claim ownership of the city are me or the Terrans because they found the city," Liam said, briefly noticing the thoughtful look on Weir. "And you, don't get your hopes up. You know what our deal was and it will continue to be."

"So we are left with nothing. Are you going to take our ship too?" the Lantean woman replied, clearly disappointed.

Liam turned back to face the woman, "So pessimistic. What happened to you?"

"The Wraith happened."

"That is actually understandable," Liam replied thoughtfully. Spending hundreds of years fighting a losing war tends to leave you bitter. "The Tria is being towed here as we speak. The ship's hyperdrive will then be replaced by an intergalactic one. After that, you can do with it whatever you please. May I now ask what your plans are?"

"Without the city, I really don't know."

"What were your plans when you thought you had the city?" Liam asked.

"I don't know exactly. Start over I guess."

"Why don't you start over somewhere else then? Like, on Eden Prime for example."

"Eden Prime?"

Liam turned to face Weir, "You didn't tell them about Eden Prime?"

"No, we waited for you."

Liam turned back to face the Lantean woman, "Eden Prime is a planet in the Andromeda galaxy. The Edenians are a race of advanced humans not unlike you that I've advanced ten thousand years ago."

"You mean similar to what you did with us, the Lanteans?" the woman said, now curious, "How many?"

"Yes and around fifty millions," Liam said, answering both questions.

"That… is actually something we would like to consider," the woman replied with hope.

Liam sighed. He was happy he had managed to come to a satisfactory solution. He could have easily said that Atlantis belongs to him and end the dispute immediately, but he wanted to point out that the Lanteans actually abandoned the city. The reason why he did it was because now they couldn't lay claim on Borealis either.

Pegasus Galaxy – Babylon One
Stardate: 2052.11

Quickly moving down, the central elevator deposited Woolsey on the main floor of the Common Area. As he exited quickly, rushing to the Station's security room, he thought how this wasn't exactly what he had signed up for. When he decided it would be a good change for him to take such a posting, Woolsey never thought he would have so much trouble to deal with. He now admired the likes of Dr. Weir even more, thinking how, if she had even a tenth of the troubles on Atlantis as he was having here, she was really a great leader. The problem was that he thought he would have spent most of his time on the station doing routine administration in the interim between brokering diplomatic deals with other races; what was his true passion. Instead, he found himself having to work closely with the security on the station in an attempt to solve the never ending number of various infractions threatening to grow with each passing day.

The first day he came on the station, everybody assured him the station was completely monitored with a myriad of different sensors and cameras, watching every inch of the place. He had been glad to hear such news since it meant crime on the station would be at minimal levels. Soon though, as more and more aliens started pouring into the station, reports started coming in stating how several cameras and sensors had been deliberately destroyed by unknowns. The problem hadn't looked that bad as it was only a matter of replacing the damaged devices with new ones, but as time had progressed, more and more reports reached his desk with more equipment listed as having been destroyed. Soon, he realized the problem wasn't so small after all and that if it continued at this pace, soon, the number of broken monitoring equipment would be greater than the number they could repair in time.

The lack of proper security on the station meant that illegal deals were being made all the time. Today, the chief security officer had sent him a report stating that this was a losing battle and that something needed to change if they wanted to get ahead of the rising number of crimes. It was this reason why Woolsey was now strolling towards the chief's office. He needed to discuss what he meant exactly and if he actually had any ideas on how to solve their problems.

Entering the chief's office without being bothered by the several wannabe criminals cuffed to the bench or by those currently being interrogated in the adjacent room, he noticed the chief's desk looked much the same as his own. There was too much paperwork on it. Apparently, the chief had his hands full in reports from all over the station.

"Chief O'Bannon, is this a bad time?" Woolsey asked politely as it was usual for him to do.

The chief raised his head from one of the opened folders he was just reading, "Not at all. What can I do for you mister Woolsey?"

"I'm here regarding the last memo you sent me. Although I understand why you think we need to do something to better our situation, I fail to find any reference on how you intend to actually accomplish that task."

"This is because I didn't write it in the memo. I just wanted to inform you that the situation is bad and that changes are necessary if we want to fix it. I have hoped you would come to me or asked me to come to you so that we might discuss this issue at length. Something I don't believe could have been done through mere exchange of e-mails."

"I see. Well, I have time now, if you do."

"I do. Please, take a seat," O'Bannon said, pointing at the chair on the opposite side of the desk. Once Woolsey was seated, O'Bannon continued, "The situation is bad and it's our fault we got to this point. We have become too reliant on technology Mr. Woolsey."

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I follow," Woolsey replied.

"Mr. Woolsey, I'm not sure if you know that, but I was a police officer for over fifteen years before joining the Terrans, and in all that time we never had even a trickle of the technology we have here. And yet, we caught bad guys on a daily basis. The difference here is that everything works perfectly like a well-oiled machine, but only as long as we can rely on our sensors, scanners, cameras and so forth. Once we lose some of these toys, we are suddenly lost, with our ability to catch the bad guys going down the drain."

"I understand what you are saying, but, please, tell me what the solution is."

"We need real police work Mister Woolsey. We need detectives, we need to infiltrate the various criminal organizations on the station with undercover cops who'll get us the information we need to make arrests. We need the whole shebang Mr. Woolsey. Only then will we be able to put a stop to crimes committed on the station or at least severely diminish them."

"And do you have the manpower to do it?"

"No, I don't. And that's precisely what I need from you."

"You need more men, is that it?"

"Yes, but not just any men. I need experienced officers and I need new faces. Our security officers are too well-known to be able to infiltrate any criminal organization here without being recognized."

Woolsey nodded in understanding, "How many?"

"For starter, twenty will suffice, but eventually we'll need more."

"I don't even know if the entire Terran organization has that number of people who could be construed as experienced police officers. You are one of the few that I know who have decided to join the Terrans and that has a police background, but I'll see what I can do. If there isn't that many, I'm sure we can find someone equally qualified from the military." Woolsey said, thinking on how the Terrans mostly recruited scientist, doctors, engineers and people from the military, with maybe some members of their close families also joining that weren't directly in those specialties, but cops were never the primary target group. Even O'Bannon was here only because his daughter was a scientist on Asura, and he and his wife wanted to join her on this adventure. If they didn't, they would probably never see her. Galactic distances were still somewhat of an obstacle for relationships of any kind.

"If there is no other choice, then someone from the military police or somebody who worked as a spy or black ops, but if there is any chance, I would rather have real police officers. The military types tend to try to solve things too quickly and… too messy. They usually don't work well within the law and that can be a problem here," O'Bannon said, not liking the idea of getting some trigger happy black op guy who would shoot first and ask questions later.

"As I said, I'll do what I can, but let's discuss the camera problem we're having."

"There is nothing more we can do that we are not already doing Mr. Woolsey. It's always easier to break something than to repair it, and there will always be blind spots on the station where the people here can make deals without us seeing them."

Woolsey didn't like it. There was also the fact that their attempts to force the various embassies to choose who's allowed to come on the station and who wasn't, apparently hadn't paid off. Even threats of sanctions, followed shortly after by real sanctions, didn't change anything. The embassies would usually explain that they didn't have the ability to check everybody so thoroughly or sometimes even by stating how it would be discrimination to allow only some people while others would be left outside just because there was some indication they were criminals. Plus, criminals would always find a way to fool the system, if necessary even by sending somebody who, on paper, was clean as a whistle, but he was actually working for some well-known criminals.

After having discussed a few more points on how to improve their situation, Woolsey ended the meeting, quickly stepping outside the chief's office. While he was walking back towards the elevator, the only thing on his mind was hope that indeed the chief's plan would somehow work. Still, Woolsey managed to smile as he thought how not everything that was going on right now on the station looked as bleak. Businesses, legal businesses were booming on the station. There were more than ten thousand registered companies at the moment from so many different races. Woolsey could also say that diplomatic relations between the many races were also going well. Although, he really didn't won't to say it out loud because he didn't want to jinx it like he had done so the first day when, after a simple statement that he was certain everything would go smoothly on the station, a brawl had ensued just in front of him and, of course, Jack standing just beside him. Not a high point in his carrier he thought.

Furling Galaxy – Aboard the Intrepid
Stardate: 2065.62

Atan, the captain of the first Edenian ship that had been built in the remote Furling galaxy, was watching on the main display the stars pass by his ship at incredible speed. It was strange to watch stars while traveling through space. He was accustomed to watch the swirling blue void of hyperspace and not space.

Almost a week ago, the construction of the first interstellar ship capable of using a different form of FTL drive had been completed. The ship, an exploration vessel, was only two hundred meters in length and it had a crew of almost a hundred and fifty people on board. The ship had to be designed from the grounds up because the different power generation units and the FTL drive had greatly influenced how the ship needed to be built. Having a fusion instead of a Naquadah reactor meant the ship had almost ten times less power to work with. It meant that sensors, weapons, shields, as well as the FTL drive had to be designed with that in mind. Soren had gone through the vast Alterran database in search for what he thought would be the perfect compromise between the various components the ship would use.

The first thing he had done was to find a shield the Alterran had used somewhere in the distant past and that had the lowest coefficient, which meant the lowest consumption of the limited amount of power the new type of ship produced. He had found the desired designs and tried to upgrade them as best as he knew how in the short time he had. He had been moderately satisfied with the results.

The shields indeed had the lowest coefficient any of the modern Alterran ships used. It did have a coefficient of only 1.09, but that wasn't the only parameter you looked in a shield. The current designs could not compare to the modern Alterran or Asgard shields in matters of what they could stop, both in matter of strength and various types of weapons that could be blocked. The modern shields the Alterran and the Asgard used were so advanced that the only way to bypass the shields was by brute force. These shields were far from that and he knew of at least several types of weapons that could bypass them with ease. For example, the Tollan ion cannons would go through the shields without too much trouble and that was also true for the weapons the Asgard used. The Asgard energy weapons used a form of phase shifting that allowed the weapon's energy to pass through most shields and this new design wasn't any exception. And the same could of course be said for the Alterrans drones. Still, Soren knew that in this galaxy there weren't any races that had that type of weapons at their disposal since they as well were limited by the lack of materials in this galaxy.

The weapons as well had to be modified as the lack of Neutronium meant they couldn't build their usual energy weapons that would create a sustained beam of baryon particles, and the lack of a Naquadah reactor meant the power of the weapons also had to be dialed down. In a similar way, Soren had found something the Alterran had called phase cannons that they could build with what they had here. The sensors also had to be dialed down from what the Alterrans used. There just wasn't enough power to go around and Soren didn't like that fact.

On the other hand, the thing Captain Atan disliked the most was the speed at which the ship was crawling through space. A week ago, he had given the order to leave dry-dock in order to begin their mission of exploration and today, he was still traveling the less than ten thousand light-years long journey to their destination, something their most powerful hyperdrive would have taken only minutes to accomplish. When the Edenian had first arrived in this galaxy and settled in a region where the message they had found about the Furlings was telling them they had gone, the only two cruisers they had, had started canvasing the area in search for more clues. On one of those missions, one cruiser had stumbled upon another ship and he was able to scan the ship's computer before the ship could leave, probably as a result of having noticed the scanning of their database. From the database, the Edenian had learned about many races in this region of the galaxy, not one of them being human. They had learned about several factions being at war with each other and even something about their history. The vessel the cruiser had intercepted was from a race called the N'gati and from what they could determine from the database, they would be the perfect candidate to make first contact. The N'gati were, by the most part, a peaceful race, only using force when it was necessary, and they also weren't the expansionistic type. The thing that had caught Soren's eye the most was the reference in the database in which the N'gati had revered some other alien race. They thought of them as being gods, probably because to the N'gati they looked as if they were, that is, more than twenty thousand years ago. At that time, the N'gati were still in the stone age and any race that possessed advanced technology would have looked as gods to the primitive N'gati. There was also a vague description about the race and from that description Soren believed they were the Furlings. There had been no names mentioned in the database and clearly no modern pictures, but the description of the aliens was close enough to think they were indeed the Furlings.

"Sir, the sensors are detecting a ship only two light-years from our current location," one of the crew said, in the process snapping the captain from his thoughts.

"Do we have more data on the vessel?"

"No sir, the ship is stationary in space," the crewman replied as the sensors refused to give anything more than a small blip on his display. Having less powerful sensors really sucked.

"Helm, change course to intercept," the captain ordered.

The pilot did as he was ordered and the ship changed course. It took the ship almost five minutes to reach the location, only two-light years away, something a hyperdrive would have crossed even before the captain could have given the order. If they had a hyperdrive, they would actually have had to turn back.

As the FTL drive's field collapsed, the ship decelerated almost instantly to sublight speed, only seven light-seconds from the unknown vessel. The vessel didn't stay unknown as now the sensors were more than capable of identifying the type as being an N'gati cruiser. The ship was a little over a hundred and fifty meters in length, one of the smallest interstellar ships in the N'Gati fleet.

"Send our first contact message and let's hope our new translation matrix is working properly," the captain ordered referring to the new device the Edenian needed to use if they wanted to communicate with other aliens. The database they had found contained the blueprints of a device all races in this galaxy used to communicate with each other. In the beginning, when the races of this galaxy didn't have the translation matrix, wars were very common since not understanding each other was a very risky thing. Then, one race, more than five hundred years ago had developed a device that could learn and translate languages almost instantaneously. It was a great discovery as now first contact usually didn't end up in a firefight as it was a frequent occurrence in the past. At least now, when one race would say 'sorry, we are leaving', the other wouldn't reply 'You have just insulted my family. Fire!'

"Sir, I am picking up some strange readings."

"Can, you be more specific lieutenant?"

The Lt. worked on his console for a few second before replying, "There are two distinct locations near the alien vessel that are scattering our active sensors sir."

The captain thought about it for a moment, "Could those be cloaked ships lieutenant?"

"It's possible sir. Actually, I don't know what else it could be."

"Send our telemetry to the N'Gati ship and make it a tight beam. I don't want to let those cloaked ships know we know they are here. Also, send a message asking if they know what those readings are."

Using a focused radio signal that only the N'Gati ship would detect, the crewman sent the message. It took some time, but when the N'Gati ship raised its shields and started what appeared to be some kind of complex evasive maneuver, it was enough to confirm what those anomalies were. The two anomalies suddenly stopped being as such as the two ships decloaked, also raising their shields and powering weapons. The ships were almost identical in size to the N'Gati ship and they were clearly not friendly.

"Sir, the N'Gati are broadcasting a distress signal. The two unknown vessels are on intercept course with the N'Gati cruiser," the same crewman said.

"Why are the N'Gati not engaging their FTL drive to leave? They have no chance of winning against those two ships?" the pilot asked, not understanding what the N'Gati were trying to do.

"They don't have a hyperdrive Lieutenant. Here, using the FTL drive to escape is not a good idea. The enemy can follow and fire at you even during FTL travel and using precious energy to power the engines means you have a lot less for your shields." It was true. Not having the ability to escape in hyperspace where nobody could fire at you was a problem.

"Sir, I'm detecting several more ships less than five light-years from here. By their energy signature they are N'Gati and they are coming here at full speed."

The distress signal had probably been picked up by other ships and they were coming to help, but the point was, would they reach them in time. The captain had a big problem now as he watched the N'Gati ship getting hit, knowing full well that reinforcements would need at least ten more minutes to reach the battle, and he knew the ship wouldn't survive for that long.

"Bring the shields to full power and bring our weapons online. Broadcast a message telling those two ships to stop their attack if they don't want to be destroyed."

While the comm. officer was sending the message, the firefight was continuing. Both sides were not pulling any punches, but the N'Gati ship was clearly having difficulties fighting two opponents at once. As the two ships didn't stop their attack, Captain Atan ordered to target the closest enemy vessel. He didn't like the fact that his last order also meant they had just started a war with an unknown race, but he could not with a clear conscience stand by and do nothing while the N'Gati ship gets hammered.

The Intrepid class ship lurched forward, toward the closest enemy vessel. It reached weapons range, opening fire from its two phase cannons hitting the alien vessel. The alien vessel must have understood they now had another problem to deal with, since it stopped chasing the N'Gati ship and turned towards the new threat. The nimble ship made a tight turn in order to face the starboard side of the Intrepid. The ship fired its weapons, making the Intrepid's shield glow on impact. The Intrepid didn't wait for any invitation as it fired again, hitting the enemy ship again and again with its golden beams.

"Report!" the captain said while the ship was shaking from another hit.

"Shield at 74%. So far, no damage to the hull. I'm also detecting their shields have dropped down considerably after our second attack."

"Continue firing. How is the N'Gati ship ferrying?"

"Not good. If the readings are correct, their shield's collapse is imminent. Maybe one or two more hits."

The captain didn't like it. Maybe he waited for too long and there was a good chance the N'Gati ship would not survive. As he thought about the battle, the officer manning the sensor informed him the enemy ship's shields had just dropped. The captain ordered the ship disabled, focusing their fire on the ship's sublight engines and its weapons. The next two hits took care of that and the enemy ship began drifting sideways. The last two hits must have done even more damage than they thought as the ship now looked as if it was without power.

As the intrepid turned toward the second ship, the N'Gati vessel got hit and this time its shields weren't enough to block the enemy weapon. The captain watched a large explosion on the left side of the ship. The ship was a sitting duck, barely capable of moving, but now the second enemy ship had other things to worry about. The second ship, the same way as the first one, must have understood the Intrepid was on its tail as they stopped firing at the N'Gati and began turning to face the new enemy.

The intrepid fired hitting the enemy vessel only to be hit by the same in return. The firefight continued this way with both sides doing whatever they could to damage the other while evading to being hit.

"Status of our shields?"

"34% percent. Our power reserves are all depleted. We can't take much more of this," the captain's second in command answered.

"Let's hope they can't either. They must be at their limits as well."

Thankfully, the Captain didn't have to find out whose shields would collapse first as two much larger N'Gati battleships joined the battle. The enemy vessel must have understood the situation went from bad to worse since it engaged its FTL drive with extreme haste. The problem was, the ship activated its cloak too, making it difficult to detect and follow.

One of the battleships went near the damaged N'Gati cruisers, clearly shielding it, while the second turned in chase of the fleeing ship. Captain Atan ordered to take the weapons offline as the battle was clearly over. He was grateful the N'Gati ship hadn't been destroyed, but he didn't like how the battleship that just arrived was still keeping its weapons ready to fire at them.

The cruiser must have sent a message to the larger ship since it had finally taken its weapons offline as well. They had probably informed of who the enemy was and who wasn't.

It had taken some more waiting before the N'gati decided to contact the newcomers and thank them for their help. If the Intrepid hadn't informed them of the two cloaked ships and later helped them fend off the attack, the cruiser would have most certainly been destroyed. The N'Gati were a strange looking race, not like humans, but more like a much taller version of an Asgard. There was also another difference. While the Asgard were almost expressionless while talking, the N'gati were very expressive with their hands and facial expressions. The positive side was that the translation matrix was working perfectly, which meant misunderstandings would be rare. The N'Gati informed them how the Edenians had found a friend among the stars, but also an enemy. The Saranians were not a race that would forgive and forget so easily, and since one of the two ships was able to escape, there was no chance the Saranians wouldn't learn about what happened here today.

The N'Gati had been at war with the Saranians in one way or another for almost a century now, and firefights like the one that had just happened were very common. The N'Gati explained how the Saranians preferred ambushes using their cloaking technology to their advantage, allowing them to attack with more ships previously unseen by their prey. The N'Gati also liked the idea of the Edenians being able to detect the Saranian ships even while cloaked. It would be of great advantage to the them since they had lost countless fights because of it. The captain liked the idea they had something the N'Gati were interested in, but he also knew Soren wouldn't be very happy if he shared such technology with a race they barely knew. Atan explained the Edenians were not against the exchange of technology, but that they would usually need to learn more about the race with whom they would do the exchanging. The N'Gati were a little disappointed, but they reasoned there was still a way to gain such technology. They would just have to befriend the Edenians and show them they were a peaceful race who only wanted to be able to protect what was theirs.

The N'Gati informed the captain how the Saranians were a problem, but that there were other races as well that were even worse, but they were lucky their territory was relatively far away and that except for a few skirmishes, those races weren't interested in this region of space. Now it was time for the captain to give his story. The problem was that Soren gave clear instructions to not tell any race in this galaxy that they were from another galaxy. Instead, he had to lie, telling how they had traveled to this region of the galaxy after their home planet's star had started expanding, making life on their planet impossible. He told them how they had traveled for years to first reach and then establish a colony five thousand light-years from their current position. The colony was small, with less than a hundred thousand souls in it and that he had also lost contact with the rest of their race. Soren thought how telling other races they were from another galaxy would incite fear in them as nobody here even knew such a thing was possible. It would also bring many questions that they wouldn't want to answer. A small lie about their true origin was the best way to go, at least in Soren's opinion.

The N'Gati told the captain they would send a ship with a delegation to their new home if they would allow it, also informing the captain they would be pleased if they did the same. The N'Gati gave the location of one of their planets where they would be more than welcome and the captain promised as soon as a ship would be free they would come for a visit. In the end, their first contact with the N'Gati had gone even better than they could have hoped for. The only problem now were the Saranians, the enemy of the N'Gati and now also the enemy of the Edenians.

While the captain was talking to the N'Gati on the large display, the crew of the Intrepid had made a complete system check, also having to repair a few conduits that had blown up during the battle. As the conversation with the N'Gati ended and the ship was certified to continue its voyage, the captain ordered to leave toward their next destination. The database had a large list of races and the ship's mission was to visit as many as it could before returning home.

Milky Way Galaxy – Hyperspace
Stardate: 2085.84

The Apollo, the fourth built Daedalus class BC-304 battlecruiser commanded by Colonel Abraham Ellis, sailed calmly through hyperspace at a tenth of its maximum speed. He was patrolling the Perseus arm in the Milky Way Galaxy and there was no need for rush. Still, even with a tenth of its top speed, the ship was traveling at almost a thousand light-years every hour, a speed unimaginable by any other race native to the Milky Way galaxy that wasn't one of the four great races.

The life of a sailor can be a dull one, especially when tasked with patrol duty, but all crew members including their captain were professionals and they would never complain, always performing their duties as it was expected of them. As it was, the Apollo was performing at peak efficiency, the only way a ship commanded by Ellis could ever be. His crew never thought of him as their friend. They never went for drinks together or played jokes, but one thing was certain, all members of the ship respected their captain. Ellis also didn't complain. He thought a captain should never be friend with his crew. He firmly believed a military commander above all must be professional.

As the ship continued gliding through the endless tunnel known as hyperspace, one of the crew, the one manning the sensors, noticed something, "Sir, I've just picked up a hyperspace window opening up only seventeen light-years from our current position."

Ellis thought about it, thinking of where they were and where the hyperspace window could have opened, and he realized there was no star system with inhabited planets anywhere in the vicinity, "Can you find out what kind of ship made that window?"

"No sir. The emissions we picked up suggest a large vessel created the hyperspace window."

"Can you be more specific?"

"Uh… yes sir. The ship must be approximately a mile long."

"Could it be the Ori?" Ellis said, thinking how the Ori ships were of that approximate size.

"No sir, it was a completely different pattern."

Ellis relaxed a little. The Ori ships were powerful, his ship hadn't been upgraded with the latest in weapons, he didn't have a micro-ZPM to boost his power and he knew the Ori had sensors capable of scanning for ships in hyperspace. "Set on an intercept course and engage our stealth system. Be ready to raise shields the moment we revert to normal space."

The pilot complied, changing the ship's course. For a ship that can travel a thousand light-years with the engines at a tenth of their capacity, the 17 light-years were a trinket the ship could cross in a blink of an eye.

The ship tore the fabric of space, spewing out of the rapture into normal space. In front of them, a ship of the said size was standing motionless.

"Sir, they haven't raised their shields and I'm not detecting any active weapons."

This was good news. At least it was for the captain, "What else can you tell me about the ship?"

The crew member worked a little more, using the ship's powerful sensors to probe the unknown vessel in the hope of finding something more about it, "The ship's hyperdrive looks damaged sir, and the ship is working at minimal power."

Another good news,"Hail them."

It took a moment, but eventually an image formed on the main display. What Ellis and the rest of the crew saw, startled them. They all have read the mission reports of the SG-1 and of the people they had met in their long career, and even though Ellis had never met the Tollans, he could recognize the man on the display, "Narim?"

"How do you know who I am?" Narim replied.

"I'm sorry, I was just startled by seeing you since we thought you were dead. We thought all Tollans were dead", Ellis said, taking some time to compose. "Let me introduce myself. I am Colonel Abraham Ellis, commander of the Terran battlecruiser Apollo. I have seen your picture from the SG-1 reports I've read."

"Terran battlecruiser? You are from Earth?" Narim had never heard the humans from Earth call themselves Terrans, but he knew the meaning of the word 'Terra' very well.

"We are Narim. We thought the Goa'uld wiped you out?"

Narim sighed, with thousand questions popping in his mind, "They almost did. This ship is all that remains. We used this ship when we had to relocate our people from Tollan to Tollana, when our first home was destroyed and we were able to use it when the attack on Tollana started. I'm sorry, but I still don't understand how humans from Earth can have a spaceship. Your technology was so far behind that you could have never built one by yourself."

"Actually, our first ship was built a year after your apparent demise. We had some help though."

"Help? From whom?"

"From the Asgard. They supplied our first functioning hyperdrive after we lost ours and after we helped them with a little replicator problem."

"Ah, that explains a few things."

"Narim, what happened to you?" Ellis asked with a worried tone. The display clearly showed Narim had seen better days.

"We fled our planet and we decided to go as far as we could so that the Goa'uld could not find us. We are fleeing ever since," Narim said, continuing with a more somber tone. "Our people still haven't recovered from the horror of that day."

"I know how you feel. Almost five years ago our planet was attacked by the Goa'uld Ba'al. More than twenty million people died that day."

Narim's eyes widened in shock. Even though he knew the people from Earth numbered in billions, such a loss must have been felt by everyone, "I am sorry to hear that, I really am. Are you still fighting the Goa'uld?"

"No Narim, the Goa'uld are no more. We and the Jaffa have taken care of them."

"The Goa'uld are dead? All of them?"

"Not all, but those that still live have fled far away and we and the Jaffa are still chasing them."

"How long ago was that?"

"Two and a half years after you disappeared."

Narim bit his lips in frustration. They had been on the run for more than six years, "It would have been a good thing if we knew that."

Ellis thought how Narim was dead on, but he refrained from saying anything. Those years spent in space must have been awful for them, "Look Narim, is there something we can do for you. My scans are telling me your ship is in bad shape."

"You are right; our hyperdrive has just stopped working. Our engineers are trying to repair it, but this is the third time it happened and I'm not certain they can repair it this time, not out here at least."

"Tell us what you need and we will provide it for you. Or if you want, a lift can be arranged too."

"I don't think your ship can accommodate ten thousand people."

"I mean, our ship can tow your ship though hyperspace."

"Your ship is more than five times smaller. You can't possibly tow us?"

"Our ship may be smaller, but when the Asgard make a hyperdrive, they make it the right way."

"If the war is over, then maybe you could tow us back home."

'Crap!' Ellis thought, "Um… about that, there is a slight problem."

"Which is?"

"Tollana has been our first colony for more than three years now. There are more than a million Terrans on the planet. After we had the means to come to your planet by ship we decided to look for any survivors. We found none, so we decided to use the planet as our first colony. I'm sorry Narim."

"And you call that a slight problem. Not that I look forward to see that planet ever again, but there is nowhere else we can go."

"Don't worry about that Narim. You have somewhere to go. We can tow you to Terra Nova, our second colony. There we can provide you with whatever you need. We can help you Narim, we have the means now."

"That sounds reasonable."

"Let your people know you are about to be towed."

The connection ended and the Apollo took position above the much larger vessel. Slowly the ship pushed forward, opening a much larger hyperspace window and speeding inside it with the Tollan ship in tow.

Milky Way Galaxy –Terra Nova
Stardate: 2085.91

It had taken less than thirty minutes to reach Terra Nova. The voyage was uneventful and had lasted a lot longer since the ship had to push their engines to their limit with the Tollan ship in tow. Once they reached orbit over Terra Nova, the Tollan ship had quickly descended into the planet's atmosphere and, per instructions, landed on a clearing near the colony. Both the colony and their HQ had been already informed of the discovery and it didn't take long for the Enterprise to show up.

Jack and Sam were quickly beamed down to the surface in order to meet with the Tollans. They waited patiently as the Tollans started pouring out of their ship. Other Terrans also reached the landing site in order to provide help whenever needed, with their first concern being the Tollans' health. A voyage of several years is not an easy feat and they could already predict the state in which the surviving Tollans must be right now.

As Narim descended the ramp, Jack and Sam smiled at their friend. Although, their smile didn't last long because they quickly saw who was behind him. Descending the ramp was also Travell, a person neither Jack nor Sam wanted to see.

"Narim! It is good to see you are alive," Sam said, really happy to see him.

"It is also good to know the words of your demise were only bad propaganda. We are happy to see you have survived, at least for the most of you," Jack said, looking at Travell and not being able to leave that part out. He really didn't like her and he knew she would only make more problems for them.

"It is good to see you too," Narim said, looking intently at Sam and completely ignoring Jack.

Jack understood. The man must have gone through hell and just came back, and the last thing he needed right now was his sarcasm.

"How is this possible?" the voice of Travell was heard.

"Hello Councilor Travell. Is something wrong?" Jack said in his chirpy voice.

"I do not understand. How could you have built a colony such as this in such a short time?" Travell said looking at the city in the distance. It was much more than what she expected to find.

Jack moved closer to Travell, wanting to leave some alone time for Sam and Narim. The two must have picked up immediately because they moved away quickly, leaving Jack to deal with Travell. "Well Councilor, as you can see, we apparently can."

"Is it true what Narim said? You have spaceships?"

"That we have, and lots of them. My personal one is just above us."

"Your personal ship? You were a Colonel in your military. How could a colonel have a personal ship?"

"I'm not a colonel anymore. Now I pretty much have the same title you had among your people, High Councilor Travell."

"Oh, I see. Many things have changed since our departure. What is this I've heard Tollana is one of your colonies?"

"It's true. Tollana was the first planet we have colonized. We have more than a million people there."

"But Tollana is our world."

Jack sighed, "Tollana was your world Councilor Travell. It isn't anymore."

"This is preposterous! Tollana is our planet."

"Councilor Travell, you must understand you were gone for almost seven years and we now have a large colony there that can not be moved. I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do about that, but we can help you in other ways."

"Such as?"

"Such as finding you a suitable planet and helping you rebuild. After all, Tollana was completely destroyed by the Goa'uld, and you'll need our help to rebuild your infrastructure. If you want, I can show you the planet we have in mind for you."

"You already have a planet for us?" This was going too fast for her.

"We do. We wanted to make the planet our next colony, but I think it would be good for you too. The planet is rich in Trinium and other precious materials and I'm sure that we, with the help of the three other great races, can help you build whatever you need in a very short time," Jack explained.

Travell looked puzzled for a moment, not understanding one thing in Jack's sentence, "The other great races?"

"Yes, well, you know how it goes. You help others and sooner or later you get your reward, sometimes at least. The Nox, the Asgard, the Edenians and the Terrans of course have formed the Second Great Alliance exactly two years ago."

"The Edenians? Who are they?"

"They are a race of very advanced humans in the Andromeda galaxy led by an Alterran."

"Alterran?" Travell was starting to feel dizzy. More answers she got more questions she had.

"Maybe you know them as the Ancients, or the Gatebuilders."

"The Gatebuilders are still alive?"

"One is, or there are rumors there are two of them now. I'm not sure," Jack said, having heard rumors of Liam having turned Soren into one. How, he didn't know.

"Oh, when I said a lot has changed, I didn't know how much."

"And you don't know half of it, but we will fill you in later, you don't have to worry about that. Just promise me one thing."

"And what would that be?" Travell asked dreading what the request would be.

"Promise me you'll start making real defenses for your next world please. I would really hate for you to have survived Tanith's attack, only to perish seven years later."

"Why? Narim told me most of the Goa'uld are dead and the others are on the run."

"Well, let just say we have a few loose ends lurking around. I will fill you in with the details after you eat a nice meal and at least one good night of sleep. Deal?"

Travell stopped for a moment before replying, "Deal."

Jack was glad. Their conversation had gone better than he could have hoped for. She didn't push the problem with the ownership of Tollana, which was a good thing since he really didn't want to have to fight her on the matter. She probably had realized that if they were willing to help them rebuild on another planet, it was better than having to do it alone, even if it wasn't on Tollana. From the way she didn't force the issue, Jack also understood she probably didn't want to go back to that planet either. After all, Tollana wasn't the planet where she was born or where she grew up, Tollan was. Also, putting in the little information they were now one of the four great races must have helped a lot. She was also the one who had ordered the attack on Earth and she was guilty of that, but Jack thought the issue could be raised on a later time, if at all. Having spent seven years on a spaceship in the void of space was punishment enough; at least that was in Jackćs book.

The Tollans were receiving the help they desperately needed. There were a lot of them in a very bad shape. On their ship, the food and the variety of it had been very limited and many were malnourished or having some deficiency that had resulted from their diet, with some to the point where they had to be placed in the hospital under constant watch. There were also the psychological effects from the attack and from the long isolation that most of them were feeling. A few shrinks informed Jack that a lot of Tollans were suffering from PTSD and that now that they had finally stopped running, the symptoms would surface even more. They would need help, and lots of it, of that Jack was certain.

Senari Galaxy – Liam's ship
Stardate: 2091.47

For the first time Liam found himself traveling in hyperspace through the Senari galaxy. He and Mial were on an important mission to meet with the rebels and start planning the deployment of the nanites that should theoretically be able to stop the neural implant's subliminal control over the Senari people. Although Liam was confident what he had developed would work, only real testing on live subjects could prove that.

As the ship jumped out of hyperspace, the main screen displayed a blue world in front of them. Liam immediately began scanning the planet in order to find the Senari settlement. To his dismay, the sensors found none.

"Mial, the sensors are not detecting any settlement on the planet," Liam said puzzled.

"Do not trust the sensors. The settlement is there."

"You are saying you have a cloak capable of hiding your people?"

"Not cloak. Cloak uses too much energy. Cloak too complicated to hide only Senari on the planet, but not plants and trees."

That was true. Making a cloak that would hide only the Senari, but leave trees and anything else that would usually be on a planet was difficult to achieve. On the other hand, technology that could fool Alterran's sensors was rare, Nox rare in fact, "Then how?"

"Mial does not know specifics. Rebels needed way to fool Vargas from being found. Sensors simply don't see what the eyes could see," Mial replied cryptically.

Liam thought the Senari and the Nox should never meet. Those two together would make conversations horrible, "Is it time to send the message you gave me?"

"It is."

Liam sent the message Mial had prerecorded and then waited, and waited a little more. Suddenly the sensors started picking up large numbers of life signs on the planet in pockets of thousands. The rebels were not after all, such a small community. The final count reached two hundred thousands of them on the planet below. Liam looked at the console in front of him as it beeped, "They are sending us coordinates where to meet."

"As expected," Niam said.

Liam instructed the ship to beam them on the surface, and the next second, they were inside a large building. Around them, a group of puzzled Senari was intently looking at the two newcomers.

One of them approached Mial, "Mial? You are alive!"

"I am Nala," Mial replied with a smile, clearly happy to see her. The two of them got closer, touching their foreheads with their eyes closed.

Once they broke apart, Nala asked, "Where have you been for more than two years? We thought you died when your ship never returned."

"It was fortune I survived the battle at the anomaly and even a greater fortune I found friends that can help us," Mial said, looking at Liam.

Nala scrutinized Liam from head to toe, "Is his race the one that stopped our people?"

"It is, and more."

"More?"

"He found a cure Nala. This is why it took us so much to come here. He was working on a cure."

"A cure?"

Liam decided it was a good time to say something, "Hi Nala, I'm Liam. What Mial is saying is true, I have found a cure, but it needs testing."

"What kind of cure? And what kind of testing?" this was all going too fast.

"I have created nanites that can stop the impulses the neural interface is sending in order to control your people, but I need to test it on a large number of subjects to be sure it works."

"A large number of subjects is not a problem. How do you intend to administer the cure?" Nala asked, but she would clearly rather spend some time talking to Mial than discussing this.

"Through the air. The nanite can be released in the atmosphere and they can be absorbed through the air you breathe or through your skin. The nanites will then find their way into the subject's brain and attach to the neural implant."

"Will the nanites block the other impulses the neural implant is sending, the one that regulate other important functions?" Nala asked. Apparently she was very well versed on the subject.

"No, but testing is the only way to be certain."

"If you need a large number of subjects, we know of a new colony where there are already thousands of my people living there."

"That would be the perfect testing ground Nala."

"Once you spread the nanites, how long until results can be noticed?"

"I don't know. The nanites should start working almost immediately, but there is still the problem of having lived their entire lives with the subliminal messages telling your people what to do that needs to be overcome. Even without the subliminal messages it will take time for them to understand that what they have been doing for so long is not what they really want. How long it will take, I think it will vary from subject to subject."

"Can the nanites be detected, or neutralized?"

"Not easily, but it's possible if you know what to look for. But even then there is no way to disable them without killing the subject, not with the technology at your disposal. Can we go immediately to try the nanites?"

After thinking for a while, and after having seen the encouraging nod given by Mial, she replied, "We can, and we will. Let me talk first with Mial and the others in private and then we will go."

Liam nodded in understanding, knowing this wasn't an easy decision and things were really moving fast. When Mial told him that, if he was able to convince Nala of the viability of the plan, the others would follow her recommendation, Liam wasn't sure. After all, trusting a stranger with such a delicate matter wasn't easy, but when Nala and Mial returned half an hour later with the others having already agreed, he had to change his mind. Apparently Mial knew his people well, and the futile attempts to save their race for the past countless years, must have also made the rebels come to such decision much easier.

The three of them beamed back aboard Liam's ship, quickly entering hyperspace directed to the coordinates where the testing would take place, a newly established small Senari colony, the perfect place for their testing.

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