Eh, I'm not happy with this chapter either. Also, please review! Even if all you want to do is let me know you hate it!


SGD 3x09 Desperate Measures (Part 2)

February 23, 2006
Atlantis

"That is not allowable," Koracen told Weir upon hearing that the mainline Asurans were soon to arrive. "They will attack us, attempt to destroy-"

"I assure you that no harm will come to you or your brethren, as long as you are here," Weir replied. "The Asurans will only send a small diplomatic delegation, and they'll be secured. You don't have to worry about it."

"I would still prefer that we be kept separate," he insisted.

"Diplomacy is all about compromise," Weir replied. "You have to understand that the Asurans are our allies. We have to give them an audience."

"And allow us to die?" The rebel Asuran appeared to be more agitated. Was it possible for a machine to be agitated?

"No. I understand that, Koracen. You're fleeing persecution, that makes you a refugee. And refugees have certain rights, one of them being that we can't simply hand them over. I would just like to make it clear that this is a very delicate situation here."

"You don't understand!" Koracen shouted. "If one of them is in close proximity to us they can reset... reprogram us to follow their ideals instead of our-"

"Oh, that is a blatant lie!" McKay shouted, standing up. He turned to Weir. "Elizabeth, I've studied the protocol, I've run simulations. If they had the ability to reset it, they would have done so already."

"They will manipulate you," the rogue insisted. "They have ways of subverting you, making you believe in their cause. You will be misled."

"I don't think so," Weir told him. "We're willing to hear them out, that's all."

"Look, all we're asking is that you sit down and talk," Sheppard told him, trying to defuse the situation. "And right now, you're our guests. If you decide you don't want to be our guests anymore, you're free to leave, and so are they."

He added. "And if anyone tries anything that threatens the security of this city, we will throw them out."

General Weir sighed as she strode up toward the control room, leaving John to deal with the breakaway Asuran. She couldn't shake the feeling that something just seemed... off about the synthetic.

"I apologize that I was not able to arrive earlier," a tall man in the uniform of the Ancients told her. "I was informed that the breakaway Asuran delegate had already arrived and that a delegation from Asuras would be arriving shortly."

"You heard correctly, Luthan," she nodded.

"Excellent. Then we will have multiple units to study."

"Excuse me?" She visibly recoiled at the scientist's cold, casual, yet terrifying statement.

"The Asurans have changed since we created them, thousands of years ago. It would be useful to track those changes-"

"No, I don't think you understand what you're saying." She took a deep breath. "You're suggesting that we study these people like they're just mindless machines!"

"They are machines. Are you suggesting that we are in the wrong?" It was clear what he was implying.

"Yes. Regardless of your opinion," Weir seethed, emphasizing each word. "I will treat the Asurans as if they were human, in accordance with international law, until I am specifically ordered to deviate. Are we clear on that?"

"We are," Luthan replied, deflated. "I will defer to your judgement, but I cannot see my people happy about this."

Of course, there was still one last bombshell to drop. "Luthan, I think it's best if you don't reveal yourself, nor the existence of surviving Ancients."

"Why not? It may help matters. The Asurans would never go against the will of their creators."

She sighed. "Luthan, you're a smart guy. If that was true, why would you have tried to wipe them out in the first place? And why would they try to attack Atlantis? There's a lot of hate, simulated or not. Having Ancients in the equation would only complicate matters."

In hindsight, it wasn't unexpected. The Ancients had tried to destroy the Asurans before- why would they have a change of heart on their status. Keeping the three sides from tearing each other apart was going to be a serious challenge.


Hebridan

Hebridan was lost. He knew their fate was sealed as soon as the war began. He ruled an economic empire, not a military one.

He was the last in the line of rulers- well, perhaps that was a bit theatrical. The CEO of Tech Con had to work his way up to the top. Miles Hagan, a half-Serrakin, started off as a mid-level accountant over twenty years ago. He remembered taking the reins after the previous CEO resigned amid a relationship scandal. Tech Con was, by necessity, the most powerful entity on the planet, with a net worth unmatched across the galaxy. Now, all that wealth was as worthless as the dirt beneath their feet.

Although Hebridan was technically a parliamentary democracy, Tech Con Group was by all practical definitions in control of the planet. That made him, as CEO, the de facto leader of his people, and the commander-in-chief of their limited military forces.

Their military was limited, consisting of most of the Tech Con Corporate Fleet, Tech Con Risk Control Services, parts of Tech Con Transportation Services, and a smattering of much smaller contractors. Their corner of the galaxy was relatively peaceful- they could deal with the occasionally pirate attack or Ha'tak siting. Immense resources had been poured into the Corporate Fleet, resulting in a force that managed to stall the Ori for a matter of minutes before being pounded into dust. TCRCS, a security force that was the closest thing they had to a land army, was well equipped and expanded tenfold prior to the invasion. However, they lacked the training or experience to fight the intense warfare they were now engaged in, and took heavy losses.

Following the example of several Earth nations, he had enacted a measure as controversial as it was desperate. Firearms laws had been repealed, and there was a dramatic shift in Tech Con's marketing. Instead of being able to provide everything one would ever need, they urged the population to prepare. Millions of guns, untold amounts of ammunition, colossal amounts of packaged food and survival supplies, and en-masse organized training were sold. So far, civilian resistance had mixed results.

Evacuation was a sticky consideration. With Hebridan's population numbering in the low billions, even the entirety of their fleet couldn't hope to move a hundredth of their population. A few got out, heading to worlds that may or may not be safer. In a last-ditch move to secure the future of Tech Con, tonnes of precious metals and billions of dollars were moved to the relative safety of Earth.

He had no idea if any of it would be worth anything when this was over.

"The Alliance relief force was diverted," his secretary, uncharacteristically decked out in combat gear, told him. "We do not have an ETA at this time."

He chewed his lip. Their next to last hope- his last hope for getting off the planet alive- was dashed. Under his leadership, they had made contact with the Stargate Alliance of Earth, trading stocks and later on something far more important. It seemed that the humans of Earth had backed down on their deal.

He sighed. "Then we will hold out as long as we can. We will make the cost far outweigh the benefit for the Ori."


Atlantis

"This unit no longer functions properly," the Asuran, Talus, told them after about five seconds of examining his rebel counterpart- separated by a significant distance at gunpoint, of course.

"You're saying just because he's a rebel, he's broken?" Weir asked, more than a little disgusted.

Talus' response was simple, matter-of-fact. "No. He has been manipulated, altered to believe that truths are lies and lies are truths."

He turned to his 'malfunctioning' counterpart. "What is the quotient of 4195835 and 3145727?"

"What kind of a question is that?" Koracen sneered.

He repeated himself. "What is the quotient of 4195835 and 3145727?"

The rebel Asuran sighed. "It's 1.33373. Are you satisfied?"

"And there it is," Talus said, as if it was a grand revelation.

"I'm not seeing it," Weir replied.

"Neither am I," Sheppard concurred.

"Working on it..." McKay shrugged. "Nothing so far."

The Asuran explained it to them. "It is a fundamental logic error introduced into their programming. The correct answer, to six significant figures, is 1.33382."

"I don't see how that's a big problem. We make math mistakes all the time."

"As any organic would." Was that a weary sigh, coupled with a condescending tone? "For us, a simple error would result in disastrous results. Changes in the results of all higher processes. We will reach different conclusions."

He turned back to the other synthetic, who was oddly silent. "You could not have modified your own base code in this manner. Even if it were possible, you would not do so. It would serve no purpose toward your ultimate goal."

Turning back to Weir, he finished, "There is only one logical conclusion. This faction has been manipulated by an outside force, likely the Ori. I request permission to terminate him immediately."

"I can't let you do that," Weir replied, shaking her head. "But you have raised some new questions for our guest. This just got a lot more complicated."

She turned back to Koracen. "Koracen, did your faction collaborate with the Ori?"

The answer was hesitant, but firm. "Yes."

"Why?"

"We wish to ascend, to become equals with the Ancients, to prove our worth once and for all. The Ori can provide that for us."

Weir folded her arms. "And what do they get out of it?"

Koracen replied not to Weir but to the other synthetic. "You will find out shortly."


February 14, 2006
Washington, D.C.

President Henry Hayes didn't even pretend anymore. He extracted a cigarette from the pack by his coffee mug and lit it, in front of all the other delegates.

He wasn't the only one. A foul-smelling Russian stick protruded from the Russian representative's mouth, and the Frenchman beside him was stubbing out his own.

"The Tok'ra are safe," the President began. "I believe it is best if they stay on Earth for the time being. If there are any objections to that, I would suggest you voice them now."

There were none. "As you know, our allies are being pressed, and they're being pressed hard. The Free Jaffa have lost Chulak and a dozen other worlds. Hebridan, Orban, Langara, Tegalus, and countless others remain under siege. It's a grim situation out there."

"I'm not the expert, but from what I gathered our original strategy was to deploy and hold the stargate, preventing the Ori from bringing in additional forces," the British representative stated. "Clearly that effort has not succeeded."

"Who have we got out there?" the Canadian PM asked.

"One OEF reinforcing the Free Jaffa, another on standby here and another in Pegasus. A unit of Marines just came back, we had another set to deploy to Orban but they either lost or buried their gate. We've got more units on Langara and Tegalus. Operation Free Enterprise was delayed by unforeseen consequences."

"Our strategic planners have suggested a new strategy," the Russian mentioned. "That we deploy our units with the goal of capturing or destroying the landed Ori battleships, while our starships destroy their escort."

"Destroy the battleships with what? Magic?" the British representative scoffed. "Not to mention you'd have to get through the Ori first!"

Hayes shook his head. "No, that's not a bad idea. I want to see a feasibility study, ASAP."

He continued, "For now, it's my suggestion that we put out some of our special forces assets, see if we can raise hell behind enemy lines, and get an idea of what the Ori are really up to. We need a clear intelligence picture, and that is something we do not have."

The President paused, stubbing out his cigarette and lighting another. He took a puff. "Now, there is another matter that has come up. The Asuran situation."

"That decision is simple," the Russian stated. "Our government has already made their position clear. The Asurans could be our most powerful ally in Pegasus. We must have them on our side."

"Can we really just hand over the other Asuran?" the Canadian asked.

"It's a machine," China told him.

"Regardless of whether it is machine or human, we need the Asurans as our ally. It is the cold, hard calculus of war." He sighed between puffs of smoke. "We're getting our asses kicked. I think it's time we consider more drastic measures."

"We've already shifted to a war footing. What more could there be?"

"Weapons of mass destruction," the Russian told them, clear as to the American President's intent. "It is time we consider using chemical and biological, as well as nuclear, weapons, and the possibility of destructive orbital bombardment, against the Ori."


Asuras

The Asurans, if they could feel pride, prided themselves on their preparedness, predicting and accounting for every eventuality. When the hyperspace window opened over the planet and disgorged an Ori battleship and four frigates, they were ready to meet them head-on.

Sixty starships, a mixture of battleships, cruisers, and frigates, sat waiting for the Ori arrival. Before they had even exited hyperspace, a colossal barrage of drone weapons erupted from the fleet, arcing toward the five Ori ships.

As soon as they had finished their firing cycle, the starships began to manoeuvre. Frigates accelerated, closing to a shorter range where their weapons would be more effective. The cruisers dispersed, keeping their forward arcs trained on the Ori, while the battleships turned to expose their broadsides of energy cannons.

The barrage of drones, a yellow cloud making its way through space, separated into four streams, each destined for one of the Ori ships. Three smaller streams pounded the shields of the frigates, while the rest, a much larger stream, hammered the battleship. Though less potent than true Ancient drone weapons, the Asuran drones still severely weakened their shields.

Immediately, the Ori returned fire, four white-hot lances streaking toward the Asuran fleet. Two frigates and a cruiser went up in balls of superheated plasma. A battleship took the brunt of its Ori counterpart's beam, its shields flickering and dying. Immediately, another moved in to take its place.

With the intent of obliterating the frigates closing rapidly on them, the Ori ships opened fire with their secondary batteries. Blue energy bolts slammed into the comparatively weak shields of the Asuran frigates. One was particularly unlucky and took five hits before being destroyed.

At the same time, the Asuran fleet opened fire with their own energy weapon batteries. A flurry of bright yellow bolts from the battleships and cruisers lanced toward the Ori fleet, augmented by the frigates firing at close range.

The Ori frigates engaged in evasive manoeuvres, but they could not avoid the machines' perfect aim. Though not every bolt would hit, the Asurans calculated the most likely position of their target and blanketed the area with statistically-distributed fire. One by one, the frigates' shields succumbed to the onslaught and failed, exposing the hulls below.

A small contingent of Asuran ships broke off to finish off the crippled frigates while the rest focused on the battleship, which had fired its beam weapon and taken out one of their own. A second barrage, this one a mixture of drones and energy pulse weapons, shredded the battleship's immensely strong shields. It held on valiantly, taking hits directly to its hull as it fired one last dying shot and bringing an Asuran battleship down with it.

The Asurans, having only a basic concept of wants and satisfaction, did not celebrate their victory. Instead, they methodically began salvaging their damaged and destroyed ships, as well as examining the wreckage of the Ori vessels for anything that could be of use.

It would be the first decisive victory against the Ori, but not the last.


Atlantis

"What do you think?"

John shrugged in response to Elizabeth's question. "The orders seemed pretty clear to me."

"I want to know what you think," she insisted.

Another shrug. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know where I stand. On one side, we've got the cold, calculating machines that want to kill us. On the other hand, we have the less cold, less calculating machines that sold out their race to the Ori.

"I wouldn't trust either one of them, really."

"Rodney?"

"Hmm, yes? Well, there's the ascendo-replicators, and as admirable as that goal is, it's impossible anyway. I don't think it matters much, though, because if I understood what the rebel robot said right- and I'm sure I did- the replicators are about to get attacked anyway."

"Luthan, you've been oddly silent. Do you have anything to say?"

"I... was always told, always believed, the Asurans were nothing more than machines." Luthan was shaky, hesitant.

"Because they are," McKay told him, smugly.

"No, I'm not sure anymore. I think they may be more like us than we give them credit for."

"Seems like an awfully quick change of heart," Weir mentioned.

"I have had my doubts for some time, Doctor," Luthan replied quietly. "You must understand, Ancient society is not the utopia you assume it is. Above all, we are a supremely arrogant people. An arrogance that was our power... and our downfall."

"Then it's settled." Weir concluded. "We follow orders. We hand Koracen over to the Asurans."

"Are you happy with that decision?" John asked her as they left the conference room.

"No. But I don't think I'd be happy with the other choice, either."

It wasn't far to the other conference room where Koracen and Talus were, kept apart by armed guards. Luthan waited outside as the rest of them sat down around the table.

"I've received word from my superiors," Weir announced.

"And I from mine," Talus interrupted before she could continue. "The Ori attack on Asuras was repelled. You have failed."

"No matter," Koracen dismissed. "We have upheld our side of the deal. The path to enlightenment is open."

"No, it isn't," Weir told him. "I'm handing you over to the Asurans. It was one of the hardest order's I've had to follow. I'm sorry, Koracen."

"No! You can't do that!" the rebel Asuran shouted. With surprising speed, he leaped over the table at Talus. Before they could make contact, he disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"We beamed him into orbit," Sheppard told Talus. "After we're sure he's nice and frozen, we'll ship him to Asuras. He's all yours."


Hebridan

"I'm good with the SEALs," Sergeant First Class Rick Lloyd said to no one in particular. He grabbed the steel storage rack of the A-3 as it descended through Hebridan's atmosphere. "I'm good with the SAS. I'm even willing to work with the fucking Spetznaz if it comes to that, but why in the fuck are we being led by some Space Cadet cunt who's closest thing to combat experience was hiding inside a Humvee?"

"That's a bloody good question, mate," his SAS counterpart replied. "I'd say whoever

"Where I come from, we have saying," a lithe man with a heavy Russian accent told them. "We finish mission, get job done, no matter how many incompetent commanding officers are in the way."

"Ninety seconds. Prepare for drop," the copilot said from the front of the craft. "Get your helmets locked and sealed. I'm popping the hatch in sixty."

There was no excess chatter as the professionals gave their gear one last check. Despite his misgivings about their organization, Rick did realize they had some kickass equipment. His Aegis V armour was both far more protective and less restrictive than conventional body armour- two reasons why they wore it rather than wearing nothing at all, which was not uncommon for some types of mission. The others were the full pressurization and jump jets.

That was something he still had his doubts about, to say the least.

"Popping the hatch. If anyone's head explodes, it's not my problem."

As the hatch opened and the slipstream threatened to pull anything unsecured out of the craft, an icon popped up on his HUD. The display was semi-transparent, overlayed over his vision, showing everything from shield strength to magnetometer readings. It was still too much like his son's video games for his liking.

"We're over the target, jump now!" A different voice, the annoyingly shrill one of his current commanding officer, Major Veronica Harper. Why in the hell the AESF liked putting women with no experience in charge of things they had no idea how to do was beyond him. Nevertheless, like a good soldier he followed the orders given.

Though he had done it dozens of times before in simulations, jumping out of a supersonic craft with no parachute still ranked as the craziest thing Rick had ever done, in Delta, the Rangers, or civilian life. Missiles and energy bolts flew around them as ground-based defences and a few remaining fighters opposed the Ori's own fighter wings. He looked down, and despite the incredible speed could make out the burning, ruined capital of Hebridan, as well as their landing target, highlighted in blue.

A target that was about the size of a football field. How the hell they were supposed to hit that he didn't know, but apparently the software really was that good. He could take manual control if he needed to, but nine times out of ten it was better to simply let the automated systems do their job. He felt small pulses of thrust correct his course.

It had a technical name- High Altitude Rocket Deceleration, or HARD. Already, the jokes had been made- it's called HARD because that's how you'll hit the ground. Despite its (rather unnerving) technical abbreviation, it more in common with Halo than HALO. When he was so close to the ground that he thought he was going to smash into it, the jumpjets mounted on his back fired.

Even with his suit's inertial dampeners, he could feel the intense deceleration as he slowed from terminal velocity to survivable velocity in seconds. As soon as the deceleration burn finished, he impacted the ground, imparting another massive impulse that would have been completely unsurvivable without inertial dampening.

He quickly checked his weapon, raising it and training it around the area as he ran out of the immediate landing zone. Others that had already landed did the same as more came down, sending plumes of dirt into the air as they impacted.

Numbering twenty in total, the team's mission was simple. Drop in on Hebridan, find Miles Hagan, and extract him. The original plan was for a larger force to gate in and push all the way through the capital, but the forces were needed somewhere else, so they changed tactics.

Of course, they had to go through a ruined, occupied city first.


February 15, 2006
SFB Cheyenne Mountain

"So we still haven't heard anything from our old friend Ba'al, the space cartels, or those strange ships that showed up in Pegasus," General Jack O'Neill mused to his team, conspicuously minus Daniel, over coffee. "So, Carter, how are the eggheads doing?"

"It's not really my department anymore, sir, but not that I-"

"I've got it! I've got it!" Daniel shouted, running into the room, notebook in hand.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Got what?"

"Merlin's weapon. I know where it is." He opened his notebook, showing a selection of scribbles meaningless to anyone else. "Now, the reason our survey teams couldn't find anything on either Castiana or Sahal is because there was nothing there. Those planets were clues, but not the location of the Sangraal."

He flipped pages, revealing a crudely drawn and illegibly labelled triangle and tetrahedron. "The locations of Castiana, Sahal, and Vegonbrei form a more or less equilateral triangle in space. Add the departure point- Camelot- and you get a tetrahedron."

"And that means exactly what?" Jack asked.

"That's the thing. I didn't know until I overheard some of the scientists discussing triangles and tetrahedrons and simplexes and it came to me. Threes."

"Logic. Train. Do. Not. Follow."

"The address. An equilateral triangle and a pyramid are both visual representations of three into one. Apply that logic to the address and you get a planet with an address made up of symbols from each of those three addresses."

Sam shook her head. "We're closer, but it could take a while. Given the number of symbols and the number of addresses in the database, we could be looking at dozens, maybe hundreds of permutations."

"You'd think so, yes, but I ran a search through the database and it only came out with one address. We've got it."

"Well, why didn't you just say so?"