"Normal speech."

"Gothic."

"Telepathy."

"Ship names or written works."


'The Benevolent Scriber': No we are not. I wanted to establish fairly early (if eight chapters in is considered early) that people can die. Hopefully it will add to the realism and tension of the Last Great Heresy.

The Sons of Sol have begun recruiting. In fact they started shortly after signing their first treaty with Earth. But it takes a several years to create a Neophyte never mind an Initiate. Helios was one of the first children found in this reality and passed through the implantation procedure very quickly thanks to a little help from the Second Imperium's Genetors. Like it says in That Long Black Cloud he's the first they could safely let out. Numbers will be a big problem for the Sons of Sol throughout the entire conflict; especially when faced with their Ascendancy counterparts, who will very quickly reach Chapter strength.

Space Marines stick hard with tradition. The six years since the end of the Replicon War is barley a blink of an eye to them. The original three teams of 'Warhammer' Neophytes are still Scouts because they are still needed as Scouts. When enough 'Stargate' Neophytes are ready then they will become full Battle Brothers. Quality is the hallmark of an Astarte. Trying to rapidly produce Marines can have disastrous effects that can cripple or destroy entire Chapters. After all: Know the Mutant Kill the Mutant. Gene-Seed is fairly abundant amongst the three Companies, who still number about three hundred. Before their transplantation the Sons of Sol were not facing a shortage of Battle Brothers so most of them still hold their Progenoids. It takes a decade for the organ to mature so they won't have them until long after the war is over. On this note they only let the Mechanicus confirm the purity of their genome; Angelus has categorically banned any attempts to replicate the Emperor's Divine Works. Nestor being some six hundred years old had long returned his Progenoids to the Chapter. Ignorance is a virtue. .

Starspawn07: I thank you. The show had such potential with the Ori but all they did was rehash the Jaffa. Which was a bit of a shame. That's the feels I was going for with the Blessed Paladins; they're supposed to be this universes version of Chaos Space Marines just under the thrall of the Ori.

Again thank you. The curbstomp actually stopped round about the introduction of the Replicons because I decided to bring in some newer ideas I had. And look where we are now, some half a million words later. It was only recently when I was going over my notes that I discovered I had written a small thesis marrying the fluff of both universes. Then there are all the weapons, ships, backstories and vehicles I've made for both sides. It's nice someone noticed. The deaths of main characters may still happen, but just like this time it'll come right out of left field, however it won't happen again for a while.

I hope you enjoy. The Sons of Sol, being a "conglomerate" successor Chapter of the Blood Angels and Imperial Fists, don't really have a singular Primarch like other Chapters. They look to both Sanguinius and Dorn as father figures and saints, with a lesser emphasis placed on the other Primarchs as well. Thought begets Heresy; Heresy begets Retribution.

GBscientist: Behold my evil and despair! I warned everyone at the very beginning that anything could happen. Anyone can die and anyone can win. Just like real life.

Thanks and I hope you continue to enjoy. Death is only the beginning.

Andy-025: Thank you for the support. As I said in the PM feel free to begin a TV Tropes page, I would be most honoured.

I actually had something similar planned for that but not for O'Neill. But I can adapt. Pain cleanses the Body, Prayer the Mind.

God: Just wait and see. Everything ends.


Heresy Through The Wormhole Part 1: This Impure World – And Hell Followed With Him


"Some of the ships are half the Segmentum away now." The Navy Colonel withered under Teal'c's glare. "Local Taskforces are already moving to intercept and destroy." He quickly amended, widening the Hololith to show the fleeing red dots being run down by the pursuing Imperials.

"As the largest fleet in the area, T-33 is going into the Kelkean System first under the O'Neill Protocols." Hailey said, nodding to the holographic Teal'c. "The Walha Sector Fleet has already instigated the MIDNIGHT Contingency. We've locked down the entire Sector and accounted for all of the traffic leaving the Kelkean System in the last week." The Terran Representative nodded towards the holo-tank, the system reacted to her commands and zoomed in on Kelkean.

"Over the last two hours we've determined that Pattern Green…" Haley stopped when the Moon Reader's Bridge officers all straightened and saluted the door behind her.

"Did someone say Pattern Green?" Haley spun, a gasp escaping her lips when she saw O'Neill limping further into the Bridge. DeWyman was behind him, the clone looking torn between helping and dragging his boss kicking and screaming back to the Sick Bay. "Well?" O'Neill snapped, glaring down at the entire Bridge. Gone was the goofy young man she had come to know and in his place stood a cold, merciless, killer.

"Yes sir!" The Moon Reader's Colonel yelped. "We've…" She was cut off by a swift hand motion from O'Neill.

"The MIDNIGHT Contingency?" Haley nodded as O'Neill finally reached the Hololith. "Casualties?" Haley was too busy staring at the red, rawness, of his exposed skin to answer. Luckily one of the Bridge officers stepped in.

"Six Free Traders resisted attempts to board them… they were all destroyed. Four are still under pursuit." He flinched when a, too, pink hand slammed into the Hololith, making all the images flicker.

"Not good enough!" O'Neill spat. "Teal'c I want to go in first." He growled, levelling a dark stare at the Sector Commander. No one even bother to comment on the Representative's overly familiar address to their commanding officer.

The Jaffa didn't move for a moment. He regarded the glowering clone; the, almost, erratic spasms of his muscles and the deep hatred that ran through his eyes were disturbing. Another second passed before he nodded. "Very well. The Moon Reader Squadron shall lead the offensive." A round of agreement echoed from the other holographic officers. None of them dared to meet the eyes of seething clone.

O'Neill sagged the moment the Hololith deactivated. "Sir!" Hailey squeaked when he all but fainted over it. DeWyman clicked his tongue and leapt forward to O'Neill's aid.

"Leave me." He muttered. Pushing himself up, he turned toward the Lantean Control Chair. "Colonel, take us in." He sagged into the chair, letting his mind drift upon the currents of solar wind should dull the pain for a while. Hyperspace enveloped him like a comforting blanket a moment latter.


The Moon Reader and its Squadron dropped back into realspace almost at the very edge of the Kelkean System. "Collision alert!" The Machine Spirit of the Moon Reader boomed the instant they exited hyperspace. The Destroyer dove hard to avoid a massive asteroid, the entire crew gasped when the lump of rock finally cleared their line of sight. A storm of debris, stretching as far as the eye could see, was hurtling towards them.

Haley tensed every single one of her muscles as a chunk of rock, still molten on one side, went screaming past the ship. The Destroyer rolled over another fragment, barely dodging the molten lump. Again a piece of debris, this time the size of a small moon, came hurtling towards them. A flash of light to their port saw another chunk being vaporised by a Plasma Lance. The shields slowly turned opaque as more and more micrometeorites slammed into them. With a lurch the Destroyer flipped over another chunk of rock, barley dodging its molten tail.

"Where the hell are we?" The Colonel screamed. The navigation system was going haywire and their Machine Spirit seemed caught in some logic loop. The entire ship lurched as their powerful engines suddenly threw them sideways.

"Unknown!" Someone yelled over the scream of the inertial dampeners, with a groan of metal they we're all flung in the other direction. "But I want to leave."

"Auspexes!" The Colonel shouted, she was almost flung form her seat when a lump of asteroid slammed into the Moon Reader's shields. With a start the Destroyer was send tumbling for a moment before it realigned itself. "Somebody tell me what the yotz is going on! I'd rather not get fragged by a bit of wriphen rock!"

There was a moments silence as the crew adjusted to their Colonel's unusually… colorful orders. "No transmissions or energy patterns." The officer made a strange gurgling noise before he continues. "Kelkean is gone! I'm reading a major shift in solar luminosity. We're getting no contacts from ANY celestial bodies. No planets… no asteroid belts… no gas giants… no anything. I'm seeing nothing but the outbound wave of debris." Even the wailing dampeners seemed to shut up as the sheer scale of destruction began became apparent.

"Get me a read out on the star! Did it go nova?" The Colonel ordered, the larger pieces of rock were slowly being replaced with smaller chunks that their shields could actually handle.

"Unknown… I, I just can't account for this." The helmsman replied. Several officers were having a hushed conversation; they were all hunched over a terminal pointing at something on its readout.

"Report." The Colonel barked. The four officers leapt in place, a sheepish look on their faces.

"We've detected the residual Energy Pattern. It's Green but with interference similar to Gold or Yellow, but with a few substantial differences."

"The Zerfàrim? Here?" Walha or Halcyon were much closer and bigger targets; and, as far as they knew, the Zerfàrim didn't have anything on such a strategic scale. Nor the inclination to build it. Another tremor rocked the Moon Reader; the lights flickered for a moment as power was diverted to the Void Shields.

"No ma'am, it's definitely Zero Point… but not like anything we've seen before." One of them gave a shrug. "We can't seem to localise the source."

So embroiled in the discussion Hailey flinched when O'Neill snapped upright, an intense look on his face. "There." He muttered, instantly the Machine Spirit complied by throwing up a holographic image of seemingly empty space. Before anyone could comment the image jumped. In its place was a perfect silver sphere, hanging roughly where Kelkean had been. "We've just found our Pattern Green." O'Neill gave a defeated sigh; he fell back into his chair with a groan. At least it wasn't Replicons; he managed to stop himself muttering. Suddenly Haley was acutely aware of how haggard and unwell he looked. The frantic, murderous, energy had left him and now he was just a seriously injured man.

"But the System…" The Colonel started, turning to face the Representative.

"We'll ask McKay about it when we pick him up." O'Neill replied with a grunt. He had been there at the Battle of Mars; he had seen just what that 'man' could do. But whatever had happened, he was sure it was going to bite him in the ass. Soon. "And he better have a fucking good reason for eradicating this system." O'Neill growled. It was only now that they were able to see the small, ruby red, orb that replaced Kelkean's deadly sun. What had sent McKay so far off the deep end that he zapped the entire System, and blew enough mass off the star to change its colour?

"Sir!" O'Neill's attention was dragged back to the present. The silver Necrodermis orb was twisting violently; against the red star you could see a black fog beginning to engulf it. Suddenly the entire thing vanished as if it had never been there.

There was a crack like braking glass. And suddenly a darkness, more like the utter absence of energy, erupted in the middle of the Bridge. It flooded outwards carrying a distinct cold edge that seeped into the deepest, darkest, parts of the mind. Just as the oppressive wave swept over the heads of the crew, plunging them into a nightmarish hell void of all their senses, it vanished as if had never existed. Several startled cries or pitiful whines floated through the air as the crew found they could see and smell and hear and touch again. It was then that they saw the pair that had teleported onto their ship.

He was just as he remembered him. Atlantis uniform, burning green eyes, aura of death, half naked woman in his arms…well actually that part was new. At least the naked part. Several gasps escaped from the crew when it finally registered the amount of blood that covered the two of them. At least now they knew what set McKay off.

O'Neill blinked stupidly. It wasn't every day that two blood soaked people, one half naked, just teleported onto the Bridge of a shielded ship. "Oh." He quickly regretted making a sound when McKay's bionic eyes snapped to him.

"Atlantis." He hissed, his voice more like rubbing metal than actual words. "NOW!" The entire Bridge shook violently. Conduits exploded, lights died, main systems failed and someone fainted.

And then he was gone. A garbled report from their Apothecarion about darkness and lightning filtered in a moment latter. O'Neill pinched his nose, severely regretting it a moment later when his face felt like it was on fire again, and turned to face the Colonel.

"Set course for the Lantea System. I'll go clear it with Sector Commander Teal'c." O'Neill ordered, carefully climbing out of the Control Chair. Better to do what the man who just blew up a System said.

Haley leapt from her seat and grabbed a hold of O'Neill's arm. "What about Doctor McKay?" She demanded. O'Neill turned back to regard her, he himself wasn't too sure how to handle the good Doctor. What he the frak were you supposed to DO to a man-god-thing?

He sighed, shooting the Colonel a glance that sent the woman scrambling to get their Squadron moving. "Well take him back to Atlantis and… do something sciencey to him." He shrugged, he was sure some egghead would have some shiny doohikey that could contain McKay. Then they would figure out just what in the name of the Emperor actually happened.

Haley seemed dumbstruck for a moment before she puffed herself up. "But they were innocents down there!" She yelled, unable to reconcile the idea of genocide with O'Neill's apparent indifference.

O'Neill sized her up for a moment. They needed more information before they did anything drastic to McKay; but for now he would settle for being flippant. Because that 'always' worked. "Haley. You know the Space Marines have a saying?" He didn't give her time to answer before turning away. "There is no such thing as innocence, only varying degrees of guilt."


"I'm telling you to let me go!" Vala screamed, thrashing against the Jaffa that practically held her off the ground.

"Just stop already." Anise muttered. "We all saw. The MIDNIGHT Contingency is in effect. We're just lucky that they didn't blow us out of space." The Tok'Shek made a whimpering noise and let her head fall into her hands.

The Jaffa dropped the Free Trader on the Plasteel bench. He turned, without a word, and left the cell. Vala glared spitefully at his back before giving up with a huff and a childish pout.

"I must say, this is kind of nostalgic." Nioskop muttered, patting the Armaplas walls almost fondly. "Just like Hel." Chaka made an amused rumbling noise before returning to… whatever involved him trying to start a fire.

"Emperor dammed clones." Vala growled. Now was not the time for her little makeshift crew to go all crazy on her. Although that was debatable with Nioskop and Chaka didn't speak so much as growl and hiss. She missed her usual bunch of backstabbing idiots damn it!

Teal'c would never admit it to anyone, but he had felt rather ill when he first read the information on Section 10. Imperial Interplanetary Peacekeepers' Anti-Immaterium Incursion and Human Weapon Development – Section 10 – Codename: Horus. To be the Imperium's secret sword and shield against the denizens of the Warp they had dove into the darkest depths of insanity. The entire Section was devoted to studying and developing ways to combat, what the Marines termed, the Ruinous Powers; at the expense of all else. Ritualistic suicide was endemic throughout the Section; for when they felt they had fallen too far from His Grace they destroyed themselves before succumbing to the temptations of their namesake. Above and beyond everyone not on the Imperial Senate, knowledge of their existence was only kept in a few hard-copies on Revanna. Everything and everyone else was erased.

Marshal Jacob Carter and Selmak had created Section 10 after reading the reports surrounding the NID's disastrous abduction of Cerberus. To this day Teal'c still felt that he didn't fully understand just how close to eternal torment he had come. In the opinion of the former First Prime the things that they had done in pursuit of their goals were beyond barbaric. But then how else did you fight a being, literally, born of hatred and pain? Arriving at the door, he tried to fix the knowledge that the child he was here to order to his, probable, death was nothing more than a living weapon. Somehow, every time he tried, the image of Rya'c as a Serpent Guard dying on some forgotten planet popped into his head.

Sector Commander Teal'c entered the room with a nod to the guard. He ignored Vala's bombardment of questions, Anise's pleading looks and the crisp salutes of Chaka and Nioskop. Instead he focused on the dark bundle of shredded robes in the corner. "Cain Inthema." The blob of cloth shifted and a pale faced teen appeared from within. "You are hereby ordered, under the authority of the Supreme Commander and the Marshal, to report to the Flower of Carnage where you will be taken, under escort, to the Lantea System." Turning to 'their' Free Trader, he inclined his head ever so slightly. "Vala Mal Doran, congratulations. You've just volunteered for the Navy. Good Luck." With his piece said, Teal'c strode from the room without a backwards glance.

"Hey wait! I never...!" Vala screamed indignantly at the Jaffa's back until the Plasteel door slammed shut "Hey! I want more money!" She stamped her foot when no one answered. After trying to burn a hole in the wall with her glare she returned to pouting.

"Yay! I outrank you!" Nioskop shouted happily.

"Shut up." Vala snapped; she would be dammed before someone could outrank her on her own ship. Anise made a small whimpering noise from within her hands but no one was paying that much attention to her.

Less than a standard hour later they had been practically kicked off the Battleship that had picked them up. The Flower of Carnage made the return journey to Kelkean in silence. Vala was too busy brooding to start a conversation and no one else on the crew cared to break the unnatural hush. The newly conscripted Free Trader and her Chariot had been given an Imperial Navy IFF that allowed them to bypass the patrols without delay. Cain had locked himself in a room for some reason or another, but since this was all for him everyone just assumed it was important. With nothing to slow them down they hit the edge of the Kelkean System forty minutes later.

The Flower dropped back into realspace under the guns of what appeared to be an entire Sector Fleet. Vala swore she saw a Dreadnought floating at the edge of the formation. The face of a young woman flashed into existence on the largest screen. The Navy officer scowled at the sight of the Free Trader but continued regardless. "EN Flower of Carnage.This is SNI Moon Reader. Hold station and prepare to receive passengers." The woman made a move to cut the channel.

"Who's coming over?" Vala asked quickly. Mostly out of curiosity, but also just to annoy the Navy.

The Moon Reader's Colonel took a deep breath. It was unusual to be questioned so directly. "Rodney and Lillia McKay. Representative O'Neill will be joining you to ensure that Arx Inthema is properly briefed." Once again moving to cut the Vox channel she was interrupted by Vala.

"Why's that little boy… what do you mean McKay? As in the Left Hand of the Emperor?" Vala squeaked at the very idea of that killing machine being on her ship. Before the Colonel could answer Vala held up her hand to stop her. "Wait, wait. Did you say O'Neill, as in THE O'Neill?" The Imperial on the other end of the Vox nodded, slowly. "That's it, I give up." She dusted herself off with a regal air and turned, striding form the Bridge chin held high. She was not dealing with the 'Hero' of the Imperium and his pet monster. "Nioskop… no Chaka you're in charge. I'm going to bed." She called over her shoulder. The utterly confused look on the Imperials' faces was worth putting up with them.

"Sucks to be her, I guess." O'Neill muttered from behind the Colonel. Loading McKay onto a Chariot that, if the need took him, he could blow up without too much hassle for the Imperium was not one of his brighter ideas. But having a Psyker on the same ship meant the two could slug it out without vaporising the Moon Reader or her Squadron. Six hours to Lantea, assuming nothing happened, and then McKay would be all Weir's problem. Again.

Now. How to coax McKay into a Beaming station?


The Vox crackled and the voice of Captain Yamato hissed from the small box. "Atlantis. This is ODG Hotel. Emergency medical convoy voidside. Request permission to reactivate Sub-Space Distortion Field. Over."

Since Teal'c's rather rushed Vox she had been waiting with baited breath for this call. "ODG Hotel. Atlantis here." Weir stood from her desk, this was a moment she had long been dreading. "Go ahead and thank you. Over." With a deep breath to steel herself, she headed towards the Beam-in point for the Infirmary.

The small alcove had the standard protection like those in Stargate Command; but just in case there was a double line of Legionnaires, holding every single weapon known to Imperial science, standing between Weir and the Armaplas doors. Sheppard and Zelenka were standing by with something the Czech had created. Most of it was not even vaguely understood, even by her, but they had altered the device used to capture energy creatures to affect a C'tan. Hopefully incapacitating or at least distracting McKay. Somewhere in the background Beckett was hovering at the entrance to Infirmary, a full crash team arrayed around him.

The signature hum and flash of light deposited the little group in the Adamantium and Armaplas box. After a moment the security system allowed them to pass into Atlantis proper. McKay strode out first green eyes ablaze with a deep, seething anger. Behind him was O'Neill, a small Pacis Arx and a handful of Legionnaires that looked very uncomfortable. Weir suppressed a gasp when she saw Lillia. She was cradled in McKay's arms; an I.G.L. jacket had been slung over her shoulders but no one had dared try and remove her from him.

"Weir." O'Neill nodded at the Governess, motioning for the defence teams to stand down. A few relieved sighs escaped the Atlantis Legionnaires before they holstered their weapons.

"Colonel." She was interrupted as Beckett came rushing forward using a gurney as a makeshift battering ram.

"Oh my God! What happened?" Beckett surged forward a hand already waving to his nurses. "Can you tell me what happened?" He asked, gingerly trying to take the unconscious and half naked woman from McKay's arms. A little to everyone's relief he let Lillia be taken from his arms. The medic that tried on the Moon Reader was still in the Regenerator.

Placing the unresponsive woman on the gurney he began ordering his staff around as they wheeled her into the Infirmary. McKay followed after them with Sheppard and Teyla flanking him.

"So what actually happened?" Zalenka asked O'Neill as the corridor cleared, Weir hung back to hear the clone's answer.

"Not a clue. Not Replicons, so I'm happy." O'Neill replied with a shrug. He had a feeling he would be deflecting questions for a while. Weir internalised her groan, how could one man be so aggravating? With a huff she drifted into the Infirmary to watch Beckett fly around the room shouting at people.

"I see." Zelenka murmured, wandering into the Infirmary muttering to himself he managed to walk straight into a bed. Thankfully no one was watching.

Beckett slowly came to a stop. The crash team that he had been hollering at were all standing around looking sheepish. Finally slowing down enough to recognise that Lillia wasn't in any sort of immediate danger, just unconscious, he relaxed. Given all the hoo-ha he had expected her to be on Death's door. Strange, but good. Checking one more time that all her vitals were perfectly normal, he decided to look at rest of the rag-tag group.

"Alright… she seems stable. Now…" He turned away from Lillia's bedside intent on examining Rodney and then the young Arx.

The hand was around his neck before he could blink. With a snarl McKay lifted him off his feet, easily holding him above his head. "Fix her." The hybrid hissed at Beckett, his voice a mismatch of pitches and tones.

"Rodney…" Teyla began, only to receive a deadly glare in return. Beckett continued to squirm, desperately trying to detach himself from the metal limb.

There was a click and a ruffling of cloth. Suddenly the wounded little Pacis Arx was in front of Teyla, a small block of Plasteel held in his hand. Cain didn't miss the way those ringed eyes instantly dropped to regard his Immaterium Blade. Good he thought, that meant the hybrid might be aware of his abilities without the need to vocalise them. "Release the good Doctor so he can get to work." Cain allowed himself a mental pat on the back when the hybrid did as he was told. Tension flowed out of Section 10 Arx and he powered down his cybernetics before they gave him away.

McKay watched Beckett struggle to regain his breath. "Help her, Carson." He turned away from his friend. "Please." Then he vanished in a flash of darkness.

"Come on." Sheppard growled rushing to look for McKay. Several of the others followed after him; either in concern for McKay or to make sure he didn't do anything he would regret. No one noticed Cain slip across the Infirmary and leave through the other end.

With the drama, and threats on his life, over Beckett returned to his task of treating his patient. His staff had already had every kind of diagnostic tool at their disposal hovering over the Russian. He sat down at a terminal and began the laborious process of discovering just what was actually wrong with Lillia. A shrill exclamation from somewhere around chest height brought his attention over to the two Asgard in the room.

The female one was working at a holo-tank her webbed hands manipulating a rune stone rather than a normal interface. "Doctor. These readings are most anomalous." Eoster, the Aesir Asgard of the base, chirped. Her body was much smaller and thinner than Ullr's. The male Vanir roughly pushed her away from the Hololith and hunched his grey body over the controls.

Beckett looked over the Vanir's head, ignoring the way the little grey alien seemed to resent him being taller. Information flashed across the holo-tank at speeds only an Asgard could comprehend but he managed to pick out something very worrying. "This ain't right. This ain't right at all!" Eoster gently activated the Auspexes while Beckett was still frantically wrestling with Ullr over the holo-tank's controls. No matter how strong the Fifth Race had become; they were still a little slow.

"Calm yourself Human." Ullr commanded, as a Generation II clone he still had to crane his neck to deliver his glare. He did not like being touched by Humans. "We have experiments to prepare." The almost gleeful tone in the Asgard's voice was slightly disconcerting. His evil little chuckle even more so.


Night had fallen over Atlantis and most of the senior staff had managed to corner McKay two levels above the Infirmary. Beckett stepped out of the transport alcove and clasped his hands uncomfortably as he approached his friends. He shot Weir a nervous glance and rubbed at his throat absently. "You should… come and see. You should all come and see." He turned, leading the group back to his Infirmary.

Shooing out a nurse, and making sure Ullr was long gone, Beckett grabbed hold of Lillia's chart, mainly just to have something to hold, and began his evaluation. "Her body is perfectly fine, fit as a fiddle, not even a hint of scar tissue. There's just no brain activity beyond her midbrain." From the corner of his eye he watched Rodney slump into a chair. The utterly defeated look in his face was heart wrenching. Unsure what to do Beckett just kept talking. "Those Replicon cells are tenacious little buggers; they're still working away even now. In all my life I've never seen anything like it."

"Carson, what is so important you needed all of us here?" Weir asked; not that she minded taking the time to help her people, but comforting McKay didn't require the top four people in Atlantis.

Beckett cleared his throat again and nearly managed to suppress the squeak in his voice. "Rodney… you do know she was just over a month pregnant?" The dull, green tinted stare, of near comprehension was all he got in return. Well they say a picture was worth a thousand words, sliding a hand over several crystals he managed to make the wall mounted holo-tank activate. "Well… say hello to your baby girl."

McKay's eyes came back to life and immediately snapped to the hologram. He leaned forward staring at the foetus. "My…" It was a little worrying to see someone go so still, but at least he still blinked every now and then.

"Congratulations… I guess." Sheppard offered weakly, Teyla elbowed him hard in the ribs in response. "What?" He hissed, only for the Athosian to give him an exasperated glare.

"It's bigger than I thought it'd be." Weir said, a little unsure what the hell they were doing here. Zelenka looked ever worse; he seemed ready to bolt at the earliest opportunity.

Beckett nodded glancing at his office. "I know, we've detected a much higher than normal metabolic level. She'll mature much faster than a normal child." Patting the unresponsive McKay on the shoulder Beckett gave a rather obvious sign to follow him. "Rodney if you need anything I'll be over there." He got a vague grunt.

The moment they were all backed into the office Weir rounded on Beckett, a protective gleam in her eyes. "Carson? Is there something wrong with the child?"

"No, no, of course not." Beckett held up his hands as if to ward off Weir. "Our main concern is this." Gingerly activating his Hololith, he quickly brought up an extensive set of case notes.

"And for us simple folk, what is that?" Sheppard muttered sarcastically, it was times like this he missed the simplicity of shooting things.

"You see this?" Beckett said hurriedly, the holo-tank that replaced his old computer reacted to his hand motions. Two very familiar waveforms jumped up from the streams of pictures and graphs rushing across the Hololith. "That's exactly the same as Necrodermis host to a C'tan." He said pointing to a large jagged graph. "And that is a powerful monopolar field interlaced with Kiron particles." The second picture was of a low, but constant, sine wave.

Teyla blinked owlishly, it took a moment for her mind to catch up with the jargon. "And how is this important Doctor? One would assume that Lillia's and Rodney's child would inherit some of their… more unique characteristics." She said, the others nodded in agreement and Beckett seemed to calm down slightly.

"Aye, I suppose, but this is the kicker." Beckett hunched over the Hololith, his finger blurred as they flew through the air manipulating the holographic interface. "We took a wee foetal DNA sample to check for anomalies and the like. What I found was this." Again a few more hand motions beneath the hologram brought up another confusingly long sequence of information. Wasting no time Beckett explained his findings. "This is basically pure Ancient DNA."

"But I thought our ATA gene was nowhere near the genome of a proper Lantean." Weir interrupted. Everyone was well aware McKay had the ATA gene, he had bragged about it for weeks when they found out, and Lillia was obviously in possession of something a lot like it. Current theory put Psykers as a step on the path towards Ascension.

Beckett seemed to be getting exited again. "It ain't! But see here, it's mutating even as we speak. We've run all sorts of tests." He coughed slightly to cover his embarrassment. Ullr's enthusiasm was a little infectious. "We've always known Necrontyr medical technology was eons beyond our own. But I never guessed just how much it would account for." Seeing the confused looks he was getting he brought up a recording he had made using the Lantean scanners. The fuzzy picture showed a thin, utterly black, strand attacking what looked like the vague outline of a chromosome at several points. "The Necrodermis is cutting out all sorts of genetic abnormalities and replacing them with sequences I've only seen in Ancients."

"That would make sense." All eyes turned to Zelenka, they had practically forgotten he was there. The Czech looked slightly embarrassed but continued anyway. "We are the second evolution, logically, our evolutionary end point is the same as the Ancients."

Weir pursed her lips before confirming what Radek and Carson were getting at. "You mean Ascension?"

The dead silence in the room was broken by Sheppard. "Whoa, whoa. Like turning into balls of glowy light Ascension?" The idea of a baby doing what had taken the Lanteans millions of years was rather hard to swallow.

"Aye. Since the Necrodermis has no input, it's defaulted to its basic programming. Which is to improve itself." Getting a nod from the group that they were following he tried to summarise their problem. "It's, basically, trying to build the Better Human."

"This could be a problem." Again everyone turned to look at Zelenka. The balding man was deep in thought, worrying at his finger with his teeth. "Rodney was always limited in his abilities…" He shot Sheppard an annoyed look when he muttered something like 'planet' and 'explosion'. "By the fact he still thought like a Human. If this child is born with ability to perceive the universe like a C'tan, she could very well have no such problems." He actually looked rather distressed at the idea. "I can't even begin to speculate what throwing increased mental prowess into that mixture will do." Weir glanced between Carson and Radek, the both of them had very unsure looks on their faces. If it was as bad as they said, they might just need some heavier fire-power.

"I think it's about time we called in someone who knows a thing or two about Psykers." Sheppard suggested, his face was pulled into a deep scowl at the thought of an upgraded-mini-McKay running around blasting holes into reality.

Weir hummed in thought; when it rained it poured. "The Emperor's Light won't arrive for another few days. But I'll make a call; Levi still owes me a favour or two." As the only being to have defeated McKay in open combat the Librarian would be more than welcome.

"And what of Rodney?" Teyla asked. They all glanced back into the Infirmary where he was still staring at the picture of his unborn child.

"I'll have Heightmeyer take a look at him. Other than that, just try and be there for him. God knows he'll need it." Weir said. If they couldn't bring him back then they might just be forced to terminate him. Better Rodney now, when they could make it as painless as possible, than more billions slaughtered later.


Morning broken over Atlantis with the usual morning sortie of the City's I-301 Squadrons. But Heightmeyer was too busy preparing for what could be the most important session of her life. Just as she finished arranging the room in the most non-threatening way she could McKay walked in.

"Rodney. Please come in." She smiled at him, trying to convey friendship and understanding. She knew however that he could taste, for the lack of a better word, her unease. "This is my assistant." She gestured to the small, unassuming, woman in the corner frantically scribbling on a data slate. "Do you mind if she stays with us?"

McKay gave the woman a once over. His eyes tracked every single muscle that tensed the moment he focused on her. "I didn't know you had an assistant." If he didn't know that Elizabeth and Sheppard were only looking out for him he would never have come. "And I don't mind."

"Oh yes!" Heightmeyer exclaimed seemingly embarrassed. "She was stationed here… you know, I forgot." She chuckled happily and the assistant gave a long suffering sigh from behind her data slate. McKay offered them a smile but it was forced, to cover it he poured himself a drink from the jug on the table.

"Now what's this I hear about a baby?" Heightmeyer asked. She was leaning forward and the same glint was in her eye that Jeanie got when she was gossiping.

"Well… you know… it's a baby." He offered rather flatly. The whole thing was too painful to think about.

"Boy? Girl?" Heightmeyer questioned. Beckett was being tight lipped and the Asgard referred to it as a 'thing', which everyone had attributed to their hatred of Replicons.

"A girl." McKay muttered, his mind flashed back to the tiny clump of pale flesh growing inside his wife. He was acutely aware that it was generating an energy field similar to his own.

"A girl! That's wonderful; do you have any thoughts on names?" Heightmeyer gushed. It was important that Rodney saw her as non-threatening as possible.

"No." McKay replied sharply.

"Really? Because a name is a very important thing." Heightmeyer wasn't to be put off by his tone and carried on regardless.

"I said NO!" He snapped. The walls shuddered and several pieces of furniture were slammed against the walls. The assistant stilled completely, even her heart seemed to skip a beat, and then she was writing again like nothing had happened.

Heightmeyer quickly back-pedalled before anything too dangerous transpired. "Okay, okay. Let's talk about something else then. How about your last mission?"

"You know what happened." McKay muttered, trying to distract himself he froze all the water in the jug.

Swallowing heavily at the display of powers beyond her comprehension Heightmeyer continued a little more warily. "I read the reports but I want to hear you talk about it."

McKay sighed but began regardless. "It was okay at first. Nothing that I hadn't done before. Then we went there." He stopped the green in his bionic eyes fading as he drifted away from the present.

"To Kelkean?" Heightmeyer asked both to clarify and bring McKay back to their conversation.

"Yes, Lillia and I went to collect information on the Covenant." McKay nodded as the faint memories, of what seemed an eternity ago, floated back. "The Governor, I suppose he was one of them, sent me to this old woman. She shot me." He managed to hind the embarrassment in his voice at the admission.

"An old woman?" The assistant spoke for the first time. Her musical voice sounded deeply sceptical.

"Why would I make that up?" He snapped back making the woman flinch and sink into her seat. Refocusing on Heightmeyer he continued. "Anyway, I persuaded her to talk about what the hell was going on and found out about their ritual. Then I discovered that our ride had fled and Lillia was missing. You don't have to be as smart as me to figure out what happened."

Heightmeyer resisted the urge to roll her eyes. At least they could say his ego was intact. "And?"

"I went after her. I tore apart anyone that got in my way." McKay said it so absentmindedly it took a moment for her to register that he was probably talking about thousands of deaths. Mckay shuddered in his seat a half memory of a strange new energy field and a sword sticking through his torso flickered through his mind. "But these things attacked me… I don't know what they were but I couldn't hurt them. I remember falling into darkness; my last sight was this ziggurat thing and then there was a sudden surge of energy." He shrugged helplessly; it was at this point that everything dissolved into a fuzzy memory of anger and hunger.

"Yes" Heightmeyer pressed. It was important that he talked about what actually triggered the destruction of Kelkean.

"Then… I… I… killed them… I killed them all. The men, the women, the children, the young and the old." McKay hung his head, pressing the heels of his palms into his bionic eyes until his vision was plagued by static. Memories floated to the surface like half-forgotten dreams. The hatred he felt for those sword wielding animal-things and the cattle that summoned them. A voice that gave him power over their existence. The pleasure of feasting upon a million Humans at once. The sight of his wife chained to a rock, a bleeding hole torn into her chest.

Heightmeyer nodded, a little confusion was understandable when the true scale of his actions was beginning to sink in. "And I enjoyed it." McKay hissed with such hatred that Heightmeyer's assistant flinched in her seat. The psychologist, herself, swallowed heavily and shot a glance to the door. And the armed men beyond.

"I want to kill more of them. I want all of them to suffer and die by my hands!" McKay turned the table over, sending it half way through a wall. A pliable sense of dread and hatred began to leak off him, while the lights started to flicker. Necrontyr hieroglyphics winked into life, floating across the surface of his Necrodermis as his rage built.

"I'll kill ALL of them!" He roared, jumping to his feet he let loose a metallic screech. The walls twisted and warped, sending cracks racing through the Lantean metal. Several bits of furniture burst into ash and lights finally exploded into showers of spark. The feeling of utter despair that permeated the air deepened, until all the Humans nearby considered suicide just to escape.

"Rodney!" Heightmeyer screamed, fighting her own hand as it tried to bury the biro into her neck. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the pall of dread lifted. Heightmeyer sucked down a grateful breath, too afraid to move she just stared at the floor. The assistant, however, fled from the room barley holding back her sobs.

"I think… that will be all for today." Heightmeyer wheezed, still not able to look at McKay.

Watching the hybrid sulk from the mutilated room the assistant skulked into a shadowy alcove. Hiding her face behind her data slate, she had to fight to hold down the smirk. "And so the Ygnir is Ours." All according to plan.


Weir sighed as she looked out over the Lantean ocean. They had three billion dead and a mentally unstable man-god; and it was only Wednesday. Somehow things seemed to be going from bad to worse. She felt tired, drained of all her energy, and it was a weariness that was almost bone deep. Sometimes running a city in the middle of nowhere, with no backup and no support, was easier than running a galaxy. God alone knew how O'Neill managed as Supreme Commander. Weir rolled her eyes at the thought of the O'Neills' dislike for authority. Such a strange, strange man; and his clone was no better. Fortifying herself with a generous gulp of coffee she entered Stargate Operations again.

She hadn't gotten more than a few feet when an explosion rocked the entire Control Tower, people were thrown form their feet as the shock wave passed through the room. The Vox-network exploded into panicked reports and frantic calls for aid. "What was that?" Weir demanded, pulling herself up a railing.

Lorne looked out one of the huge windows. His eyes instantly tracked to the large plume of smoke that was beginning to rise from one of the piers. "I don't know Governess…" He was cut off by a large and angry electronic screech from the Muninn terminal.

Curator Chuck was at the side of the terminal instantly. "Nuclear detonation on Genii!" The stillness that engulfed the room was suffocating.

"Riots on Whisper!" Another Curator, Banks, called out from across Atlantis's Stargate Operations room. Her voice cracked when she delivered the next punishing blow. "The Halcyon Sector has just declared independence!"

"The Olesia Sector Commander and his Legions have just mutinied!" Chuck yelled at the room in general, frantically trying to make sense of the Muninn's huge information stream. The chamber had been engulfed in a low buzz as the people began to talk again.

Someone activated a Vox and Bank's next information dump echoed through the suddenly quiet City Ship. "Our forces on Homestead have come under attack from local militia!"

"Santhal Sector Fleet has denounced the Imperium!" Chuck shouted. He flew back from the Muninn terminal and activated the large Hololith at the rear of the Operations Centre. The map sprang into life showing Olesia, Halycon and Santhal Sectors, on opposite sides of the Elysium Segmentum, highlighted in red. The pin pricks of the Homestead, Genii and Whisper were tiny in comparison.

People were pushing to get better views of the holo-tank; the chattering had reached a level where people were shouting to be heard. "Tracker, Versall, Remnant and Stronghold have just closed their starports!" Weir swallowed heavily as more of the holographic starmap flashed to red. "The entire Battlefleet Elysium is collapsing on itself!" The insignias of Taskforces, Battlegroups and Squadrons began flashing out of existence as Traitor and Loyalist engaged one another.

Bank's gasped; the sound resounded forebodingly through the corridors of Atlantis. "The Governors on Latira and Riva have just been executed." She all but whispered, the comm-bead still picking up her words loud and clear. The two major worlds turned red an instant later.

"Fighting has erupted between the Covenant and Imperial Cult! Thousands are already dead!" Chuck shouted, spinning in his chair to yet another Muninn terminal, miniature casualty lists were appearing beside the effected Systems. There was a collective intake of breath before the gathered crowd exploded into angry shouts and demands for answers. "Ordo Pacis Arx stations have been attacked across the entire Segmentum Titanicus!" Weir had trouble following the flickering red lights as they spread from one side of the Segmentum to the other, covering more than half Segmentum Titanicus like an angry rash.

"Reports of Federation vessels blockading shipping lanes!" Banks reported, but it was mostly lost in the gathering anger of the crowd. "Unknown silhouette and energy pattern detected in Segmentum Calu!" That drew Weir's attention as the unknown drifted into Covenant influenced – correction, Covenant HELD – space.

"We've just lost contact with all Covenant-aligned worlds!" The unknown blinked out of existence the moment the words left Chuck's mouth. A blob of space covering about a third of the Elysium Segmentum and spreading over into the border Sectors of Segmentum Calu turned red.

"Bombings at the Hoffan Clone Legion plants, Sadeta High Command and New Athos Shipyards! Detonations in major civilian areas on Edowin, Vedeena, Common, Sari Sur, Ratira and Whitehorse!" Bank's sounded almost on the verge of tears as the lists of the dead and wounded flooded in through the Muninn. Once again a silence descended on Stargate Operations as the sheer scale of the betrayal began to sink in. They had known it was coming for some time, but so much at once was a horrible shock.

Weir paused to take in the sheer scale of the damage. Practically three Segmentums were highlighted in red, but the actual Traitors only covered about three quarters of the Elysium Segmentum and a few scattered systems in Titanicus and Calu. Still; it was the largest non-Imperial force since the Replicon War. Her eyes were instantly drawn to a flashing insignia right at the heart of the Traitors' space. T-33, being a Milky Way fleet, was the only reliable force within two hundred light-years. Looked like Teal'c was going to have his work cut out for him.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and sprang into action. "Threat Level Critical!" She snapped brining everyone's attention to her and her alone. Turning to Chuck she issued her orders. "I am authorising the deployment of Battlefeets Atlantis, Calu and Titanicus. Get every single Legion you can find to Action Stations. Mobilise the H.M.I. to the rebelling Sectors and affect the NOONDAY Stratagem." With that already underway she turned to Banks. "Inform all remaining Loyalist forces to hold their positions. We have to hold before the situation warrants the BLACK DUSK Contingency." The woman nodded before she began relaying the commands. Weir turned to enter her office, but before she did she called over her shoulder. "Someone set up a Vox-link to Battlegroup T-33, and get me a secure line to Sector Commander Teal'c. Then… contact Supreme Commander O'Neill." She was NOT looking forward to that conversation. The Stargate Operations room had returned mostly to normal; people were still gawking at the holo-tank but they were at least doing their jobs.

Chuck's confused voice crackled over the city-wide Vox. "Incoming Vox-transmission… on all frequencies."

A man appeared, replacing the starmap, a buried code activating every Hololith it could. He was shrouded mostly in shadows but you could make out the faint contours of his face and his shoulders. But the thing that drew the eyes was the glowing silvery purple orbs that stared unblinkingly out of the holo-tank. "I… am the Cardinal of the Covenant."

Once again the City Ship Atlantis ground to a halt. The shadowy figure took a deep breath before he began the most important speech of his life. "My fellow Citizens. I will not be found wanting in respect for the men that fought and died to free us from the Wraith. They were all brave men, men who ushered in a new age for our galaxy. But these same men now bind us in chains. Every day I hear the mournful wailing of our countless billions! We are subjected to laws of neither our own design nor our own choosing. We are subject to the fancies of a singular tyrant who rules, unassailably, from Terra. We are subject to a new horror, far more insidious than the Wraith; but every bit as deadly." The image was replaced with a picture of Kelkean. Weir hissed in agitation, she already knew where this was going. A perfect, blindingly white, orb appeared on the surface rapidly expanding to engulf the shielded city, the planet, its moons, the Halos and Crows in orbit and finally the ship that was recording the video.

The image froze on a scene of a Crow and a few fleeing ships being swallowed by the terrifying, unnatural, boundary of unreality. "Kelkean, like Tsunchien before it, was only another in a long line of atrocities. Stretching all the way back to the very first Imperials, who awakened the Wraith to cull us once again. See here my fellow Citizens. See the true face of the Imperium. See how, when they are denied their every whim, they unleash their pet monster; without regard for the Citizens they are sworn to protect. Three billion dead, all because the Supreme Commander decreed that our Covenant was wrong." The scene of celestial destruction was replaced with the Cardinal; even his shrouded features and inhuman eyes somehow conveying a bone deep sorrow.

He sighed again and straightened, an illusion of profound resolve replacing the sorrow in his features. "Now; what does this day of tragedy mean to us, the people of Pegasus? I answer you; a day that reveals to us, more than all other days in our history, the gross injustice and cruelty to which we are the constant victim. To us, their boast of liberty, are an unholy pretence; their Imperial greatness, a swelling vanity; their denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; their shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; their pretence of religious freedom, with all their solemnity and aloofness; masking for their sermons and thanksgivings to their God-Emperor; mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy – a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages."

The fervour was gone replaced, once again, by sadness but at the same time a hint of pride drifted into the Cardinal's mannerism. "And so, it is with a heavy heart that I call for: the formation of a new and independent state. We – the Covenant of the Sleeping God – appeal to all those who are beleaguered by their Imperial masters to rise up. Throw off their bonds of misplaced loyalty and join us in forging a new destiny. A destiny for Pegasus – NOT the Milky Way! Join us in freedom, my friends, do not continue to accept slavery!" A smile that revealed far too many teeth was the last thing anyone saw before the Cardinal blinked out of existence. For a moment Weir thought she saw sharp points on those teeth but she was distracted when O'Neill came striding up to her.

The two of then looked at each other for a moment before O'Neill turned to watch the activating Stargate. The wailing klaxon had faded to a brass rumbling in the background and the clone slumped defeated against the railing. Then he summed up the entire day for the both of them.

"Well… fuck."