Hello. I'm Simon Cross.

First I will apologize for having taken one year to update. It's been a busy year, and many times I just forgot about this under my other obligations. Thankfully enough of you kept reminding me how horrible it is to leave the story unfinished, so I spent the last month and a half working on this; it's a monster. It was fun to write, and incredibly challenging at the same time. At the same time I was giving heavy thought about where I want to take the show on this half season, so everything has been planned carefully. I honestly can't wait to write a few of the episodes I have in mind.

Episode eleven! I had so much that I needed to put into this episode to close up some arcs and give good coverage to events in it. I tried to blend in my usual assortment of elements, but it's possible this one is a bit heavy handed on the dialogue; you can be the judges of that. Anyways, some parts of this were really incredible to write and it looks like it turned out really solid. Forgive me for making it so long; at 36000 words this far surpasses anything I've written. Unless you like stuff like that, in which case I'm not sorry but happy. Please review this episode! I need to know what I'm doing right and where I'm slipping! I write for the fans so I wanna make sure I'm pleasing the fans!

As I've proven, I am not very reliable at meeting deadlines, so the next episode will be out whenever I have time to write it. As such, I've been considering getting a Facebook account under this pen name. That way I could occasionally update where I am on an episode and have conversations with some of you guys if you have ideas or questions. Send me a PM if you want that, and I'll post an update on my profile if I make one.

Well, that's it. Enjoy!

NOTE: I do not own Stargate Universe and all of these ideas are mine and not taken from anything the original writers of SGU had intended or from other fandom to the best of my knowledge. The opening statements in quotes are from SGU episodes and are not my words, except for quotes from my episode, "Reboot", "Worship", and "Signal". The episodes "The Greater Good", "Deliverance", and "Twin Destinies" are sources for the quotes and they were obtained from the transcripts available on the Gateworld website.

311: Launch

"It's not a game, Colonel. Destiny's mission requires a level of commitment I doubt anyone in that ship's prepared to make.

Everyone on this ship is useful, not just those that are capable of F.T.L. calculations. We all belong here.

So everything happens for a reason.

Yeah, well, if you'd have said that to me a couple of years ago, I'd have dismissed it as superstition - a classic weak-minded response to the overwhelming complexity of the universe.

A message, perhaps, or a sign of intelligence from the beginning of time.

There is no mission other than getting these people home.

It was never about going home. It's about getting us to where we're going. That is the mission.

Who knows how close we are to finding it; how close we are to learning ... in the Ancients' words ... "the destiny of all things"?

This is what the Seed Ship database sent to Destiny about this planet. It would seem that the Seed Ship did more than just leave a Stargate on this world. It actually created life, and left behind Ancient technology, including a Neural Interface Chair. The only question is, why here?

Just promise me one thing. When the time comes, don't be afraid to let go. Do you promise me?

Yes.

Once I'd broken the code, I had access to the ship's complete archive. There are thousands of pages devoted to this: scientific research, philosophical debate.

Well, you all know that when the Ancients discovered the signal embedded in the microwave background radiation, they built Destiny to try and reconstruct the signal, uncover who sent it and what it contained. What you don't know, is that it almost wasn't launched. A large sect of Ancients believed the construct was hidden and broken apart for a reason. After Destiny had been completed, the mission was abandoned; it wasn't launched. The lead architect of the mission, Palos, also the scientist who first discovered the construct, continued to petition that the mission had to be undertaken.

So, what's the big deal?

Apparently, Palos had a plan the entire time; one to ensure the launch of Destiny. He knew without a doubt that the mission was important and would have stunning results. So he took two communication stones and modified them. He linked them so they could only communicate with each other.

But that's…

That's my handwriting.

Shields are falling! The main weapon is running hot!

Maintain fire. I'd rather we blow ourselves up before we give let those bastards do it.

What the… I'm reading multiple hyperspace windows, right off our bow.

The fighters are concentrating their attack on the nearby peak; they're bringing it down! Lieutenant Scott!

Dr. Rush, I presume?"

The dry desert wind blew across the lower levels of the building, washing the pristine hull of the Destiny with fine grains of sand. The sun was high in the sky and brighter than Rush had ever seen it in the present. He could feel the heat on his skin and it was refreshing for him. The wind was the only sound in the area, a slow whoosh across the land. Closing his eyes, he felt perfect peace and calm around him. Usually in moments of such calm, Rush preferred to think and plan about the next stage of his life. This time, he just stood at the balcony with his eyes closed, and did nothing but feel the heat and sand prick his skin, and listen to the wind sing him a tranquil song.

"Enjoy it while you can," the man said from behind Rush, his voice yanking him back from his reverie. He slowly tore his gaze away from the vista and looked back into the room. The strange man was now standing within the room. Rush stood in the breeze for a moment before he left the balcony and joined the man there. "There wouldn't be much time for pleasantries while you are here."

Many questions were dashing through Rush's mind, and at the same time so were many possible answers. He walked over to the large stone table the dominated the room and stared inquisitively at the man. In the end, after having stared for a while, he decided it would be better to just ask. "I know why I am here. The question is who are you, and why are you here?"

The old man furrowed his brow in mild disappointment. "I know you spent a lot of your time studying the scientific facts of the case, but I think you know the answer to at least one of your questions."

Rush looked harder at the man's face; it did admittedly look familiar to him. After a few seconds of silence he spoke in silent shock. "You're Palos," he said dumbfounded, earning a smile from the man. "But that can't be. The stones put me in your consciousness, and even if you're telling the truth, there is no way you could know who I am."

Keeping his small, friendly smile, Palos meekly stumbled around the table and stopped in front of the communication stone terminal. "It's amazing what one can do with a piece of technology, especially if they made it." He patted one of the empty slots of the terminal, admiring the power of the device. "Or modified it, I suppose I should say."

Following his indications, Rush tried to fill in some of the pieces. "I know that you were… are the Ancient responsible for discovering the signal left in the microwave background radiation. More than that you were the scientist who proposed launching Destiny to travel the universe and put the pieces together, but you failed. Your opposition proved stronger so you needed help, help from those who would later become Destiny's crew."

"And I never doubted that she would have a crew one day." Palos seemed exhausted as he collected his thoughts. "Yes… I proved to be too weak in this regard. Nothing I could do or say was enough for the council, but someone that had seen Destiny's glory firsthand would clearly have no difficulty."

While it was stunning to be speaking with Palos, Rush was slightly annoyed at being told what he already knew. "Yes, yes my own research revealed that much. I am aware that this stone has had its quantum signature locked to this time, allowing someone to swap consciousness with you from the future. We found the paired stone and I used it to come here. I'm more surprised to see you here."

The Ancient looked apologetically to Rush before moving on. "Of course, I am just personally thrilled to be speaking with a person who has embarked on the journey that I worked hard to bring to life." Palos took a moment to calm himself and proceeded to gesture at the terminal once more. "I modified this terminal in more ways than one. It still allows your consciousness to inhabit my body, but it left my imprint stored here in this terminal."

"Is it safe to use the stones that way?" Rush inquired, visibly uncomfortable at the thought that his body was subject to untested technology.

Palos hesitated, turning to gaze out the balcony. Then he snapped back to look at Rush. "Yes, for you the process is harmless. Your mind would be inactive, but all of your basic body operations would continue. When you return you will likely be dehydrated and fatigued but otherwise intact." It was then that Palos slowed down and looked around the room solemnly, taking a moment to observe all the trinkets and data pads lying around.

The obvious omission made Rush hesitate asking the next question. "And what about yourself?" he asked fearing the answer.

This time Palos answered quickly, turning his attention to Rush. "I realized that speaking with you, giving you some vital information would be invaluable. This stone is in a state of feedback with my consciousness. It allows me to have access to your thoughts and memories while they are in my mind so I can know what you know and project myself to you. At the time… I deemed it to be a necessary sacrifice."

"What are you saying? What will happen to you?" Rush insisted.

"The process is a costly one on the nervous system. While I won't observe the damage immediately, the neurological effect of this feedback process will be degenerative. Within a year I imagine I won't be able to understand my work anymore, and within a decade I will most likely be reduced to a shell of my former self," he spoke slowly and quietly, but without any remorse in his voice.

For a short moment Rush looked on quietly, letting the information settle. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Palos waved a hand at Rush, dismissing the issue. "I willingly accepted this fate; I took all the steps to this outcome. Still," he paused gazing at the output in the closest monitor, "losing myself bit by bit is not an end I find palatable."

Against his better judgment he felt that there was one thing that could be done to bring some peace to this man. "I… I probably shouldn't tell you this, but some records from this time have survived. A short time from now you will be killed by a member of your opposition. You never suffer that fate, if it is any consolation to you."

After he heard the news Palos took in a sharp breath and looked in stunned surprise at Rush. It was about a half-minute before he brought himself to speak again. "To be perfectly candid, that is good news. Why prolong my suffering? My best days in this form would be in my past. I yearn to complete my portion of this venture, for the reward is beckoning me."

His words confused Rush, made apparent by his quizzical countenance. "Reward? What do you mean?"

Palos took a moment to consider his words; a wide smile crept onto his face. "Go to that terminal there," he said pointing to a terminal on the other side of the stone table. Rush complied, finding the terminal to be virtually identical to any terminal found on Destiny. "Now open this data package." Standing next to Rush he indicated the precise package. Obeying the command he activated the system, bringing a holo-display online. It showed various sensory outputs, all energy readings of the same thing. "You recognize this, yes?"

Mesmerized by the lively patterns in the energy field, Rush nodded his head slowly. "It's the signal."

"Yes, exactly. Now look closer at it; compare it to what you have seen in your time," Palos said quickly, anxious to lead Rush to a revelation. "What do you notice about it?"

He stared at it intently trying to see what Palos wanted him to find, but nothing came to mind. "It looks exactly the same, I don't know you are…" Rush stopped mid-sentence as he suddenly understood. "It's the same. Exactly the same," he repeated quietly in surprise earning an excited nod from Palos. "But that's not possible. Any radiation source or structure embedded in the cosmic background radiation would change over time. It would degrade over the millennia or fluctuate in some manner." He turned to look at Palos who seemed like he had a lot to say. "What do you know?"

"I have devoted twenty years of my life to the study of this structure. The things I have learned pale in comparison to the whole, but they are important nonetheless," he said as he watched the signal flow across the display. "The nature of its origin has been the focus of my most recent work. My research and the evidence I found pointed to one answer. The beings that made this structure exist beyond our form. They are some type of energy that is not confined by space or time; something beyond that which we can perceive or come to understand. Similarly they cannot fully realize us, because their existence is different. Unable to physically make contact, they created this structure that resounds resolute through time and in all of the far corners of space."

"While your theory could serve to answer some questions," Rush yielded, intrigued by this proposition, "it doesn't seem a logical method to make contact. It took your people thousands if not millions of years to find the structure. It's impractical to communicate in such a way it is nearly impossible to be heard."

Palos grinned at him as he spoke. "I remember thinking the same thing at first, but then I realized that I was still thinking in terms of a linear existence. Enduring the passage of time for this message to be received is not a burden these higher beings experience. And in the same effort they have ensured that only the most capable of races and dedicated of individuals will receive their knowledge. I am convinced that putting all the fragments together will yield the most comprehensive understanding of our universe imaginable." Palos stopped and looked inquisitively at Rush. "They realize the mission is too much for any one person to accomplish, so they used their ability to manipulate our energy to acknowledge the contributions of all along the journey. You've witnessed this, more often than once."

The statement didn't surprise Rush nearly as much as some of Palos' other realizations. In fact it was something that he already suspected. "Amanda," he managed to utter, gazing at the communication stone terminal. Thinking back he remembered another one. "Franklin."

"Yes, people who worked to fulfill Destiny's mission and did their part. And after that they were raised to a grander state," Palos said in near reverence. "A state with no bounds of space or time, and yet a complete understanding of our universe. I can think of no greater reward than that of being allowed to join them."

Taking a long deep breath Rush slowly walked around the room, letting all of this information settle. "I speculated as much, that the structure contained vast knowledge from a powerful source."

"The council fears not knowledge, but power. They have been convinced that this venture would grant someone power to do evil." His manner was heavily frustrated as he spoke of the council and his opponents. "While knowledge is needed for power, the structure carefully selects those who may discover it. Only noble minds can be rewarded. You believe, don't you? I know to you this all seems like pure speculation but I know it is all very true; I feel it in my blood. This was my task, to realize this journey and the mind behind it." He looked to Rush, his countenance now tranquil that he had spoken his knowledge. "Your task is just beginning."

Rush stopped pacing. He stood at the balcony again, his gaze glued to Destiny. "Thank you," he finally said not turning around. "I know that I would continue on the mission no matter what, but it is reassuring to be told me effort isn't wasted. That our losses had meaning." Rush thought of Amanda, and for the first time since she had left him on Destiny he felt happy for her, at what she had become. A single tear streamed down his cheek.

"I do not doubt that in your future journeys you will see amazing wonders and face perilous dangers," Palos said from Rush's side, "but right now you have a more pressing concern. I stayed behind so I could tell you of my revelation and to help you in the here and now."

Nodding lightly Rush returned his focus on the Ancient scientist. "Of course, any information you can give me would be appreciated."

"I thought as much; it was unlikely detailed records of today would survive intact. I had to make sure you were well prepared for your meeting," Palos explained in a much calmer manner. Since they concluded their important conversation he was less anxious. "Now, where to begin?"

"Alright, listen up!" Sergeant Greer shouted to the soldiers in the antechamber. He walked out of the room housing the communication stones and Rush. The moment the devices had activated the scientist collapsed to the floor and no one had dared to move him, unsure if it might affect the signal. Once Greer was out of the room the door slid back into position and locked itself. "This position is secure for the moment, but you can bet that we'll be having company before too long. Dunning, keep an eye on Chu. Patch him up. Richmond, I want you to head back up to the mouth of this cave. The moment you see enemy backup, you radio in and get your ass back here. The rest of us will hold back here. Move!"

After his orders were barked out, all the men under his command sent their affirmative and moved out to their positions. Airman Richmond ran out of the antechamber and followed the corridor out of the cave. Dunning helped Chu relocated into an alcove where he could be protected, and Atienza stood at the entrance to the antechamber.

The Sergeant paced around for a brief moment. He glanced at the pile of weapons they had stashed. "Too bad we can't use them until Kalin can unlock the failsafe," Varro said, walking up to Greer.

"I guess we'll just find out how powerful a battery these things have," Greer returned. He let his rifle hang from the strap and leaned against the wall. "This is a defensible position. Though, we all saw that ship. I think we might need to wait longer than we wanted to for reinforcements." The Sergeant shrugged off the negative news he delivered.

Varro took a step up to him, holding onto his rifle. "You don't seem concerned about any of that at all."

"I could say the same for you."

Looking up at the arching ceiling, Varro grinned lightly. "I don't think we have anything to worry about." He spoke very calmly, his attitude showing he truly believed what he was saying.

Greer gave him a humored look. "Oh really? If that's how you feel, you want to relieve Richmond and just take on the Nati army yourself?" he said with a hint of sincerity in his voice.

"That's not really what I meant." Varro paced around a bit, and looked back at the room where Rush was. He hesitated a little bit, as if though he didn't really want to speak his mind. "Something he told me when we were gearing up. He was talking about time travel and all the theories behind it."

The Sergeant half-closed his eyes and moaned in annoyance. "Fun stuff."

"One of the things he mentioned was that he knew we would succeed. He knew that we would protect him and that the mission would turn out all right; said that if it didn't, this timeline would have already collapsed." He chuckled and slung his rifle over his back. "Somehow that takes the pressure off; even if I'm not sure I totally understand it."

Greer stared for a moment, casting a dark look on Varro. "Just because he succeeds," the Sergeant said softly, pointing a finger at the sealed door, "doesn't mean we survive the next attack." Varro was visibly taken aback by this idea. Clearly he never thought about it that way. Slowly he lumbered off, taking an easily defendable position in one of the alcoves. Inwardly Greer had mixed emotions; he was partly satisfied to have knocked Varro out of his overconfidence; and he was partly frightened by the truth his words held.

The hull of the battered shuttle complained loudly, the roof creaking as it struggled to support the tons of rock that had pinned it to the bottom of the ravine. The front window was smashed in and a large chunk of rock was sticking through it, crushing the forward control console. Only a few lights were still flickering with some light in the aft compartment, but if it wasn't for them, then entire interior of the shuttle would be in darkness. Other than the creaking of the hull and the thud of small rocks sliding through the rubble, it was incredibly quiet. There was almost no power coming from the shuttle's generator, and even if almost every system was destroyed, there were no sparks flying or fires raging.

Scott groaned as he woke up, sprawled across the floor in the middle of the shuttle. He clutched his head as he started to rise, feeling it throb. There was blood on his hand when he pulled it down to look. He closed his eyes in pain, and after a moment of struggling he finally sat himself up. Taking a moment to fully regain his senses, he looked around to survey the damage. He grimaced at the total annihilation of the front of the shuttle. Panning to his right he saw Corporal Barnes still unconscious at her station.

"Corporal," he managed to mumble. There was no answer. Slowly, he got himself to rise, using the small columns and railings as support. He felt very dizzy and held his position for a moment, allowing his body to stabilize. Then he walked up to Barnes and lightly shook her body. "Corporal, wake up." Inwardly he hoped she was just knocked out.

To his relief, she gasped awake and sat up immediately. He sighed and took a step back, leaning on the console for support. "Sir… what happened?"

"The last thing I can remember is the mountain falling on top of the shuttle. I'd guess by that," he said, lightly gesturing to the rock protruding into the shuttle, "that we are buried under a lot of rock right now." The hull creaked as he spoke, almost as if to agree with him. "A whole lot of rock." He held his head again and winced in pain.

"Are you alright, sir?" Barnes asked in concern. She rose from her seat easily and didn't seem to be injured seriously. Grabbing Scott's arm she helped to move him to the long seats in the aft section.

He complied with her assistance and mumbled a response. "I must've hit my head hard; maybe on the rock or something. I don't feel too good."

Barnes sighed and sat him down near one of the functional lights. She looked at the bloody wound on the top of his forehead. "It looks pretty bad. You probably have a concussion." The Corporal moved to get the first aid kit that had fallen to the floor. Scott slumped down on the seat as she returned to him and started to pat at the wound with a cloth. "We need to get you out of here soon."

Scott mildly nodded in agreement. "Do we have comms?"

Unsure of the answer, Barnes left him for a moment to go back to her station. She fiddled with the dead console for a little, and then looked at the circuitry in the panels beneath it. "No, I'm not getting any power to these systems. And it looks like the communication terminal is pretty beaten up."

"Damn," Scott swore quietly. Barnes returned to him and sat on the chair for a moment. After a moment, he sat up a little and pointed to the door at the end of the shuttle. "How deep do you think we are?"

"You want to try opening the door?" she asked him in surprise. Scott nodded in return. "We could just let more rubble into the shuttle that way. It's not a safe idea."

"Well neither is waiting here for the roof to collapse and crush us both," he countered with as much force as he had, which in his current condition was minimal. "There should be enough power to open the door, or just to unlock it so you can force it open manually."

Barnes clearly did not like this idea, but inwardly she agreed that it seemed better to do something than just sit around. She rose and walked over to the door panel which still had a little bit of light. Taking a deep breath, she squeezed herself into the corner in case rubble poured in and slammed the control console. The door lock jerked and slowly spun to life, successfully unlocking the door. After that the door itself did not move. It creaked and grinded at first and then a moment later is slid open. A few small rocks dropped into the shuttle, but for the most part nothing happened.

"There," Scott said, pointing at the bottom of the rock on the other side of the door. There was a reasonable gap between a few large chunks of the collapsed rock. A sliver of light was seen coming from it. "You could probably fit through there, get out of here."

Barnes looked back at the Lieutenant in slight shock. "What about you? I can't just leave you sir. Not in your condition; you need someone to keep an eye on you," she insisted, fighting against his request.

The Lieutenant was preparing a response in which he was going to make it into an order, but he was cut off as the shuttle trembled slightly. Some dust shook loose from the rocks around the shuttle and settled down onto the ground. Barnes looked up in silence at the rocks right as a boom was heard followed by a much greater trembling. This time some small rocks slid down into the shuttle, and the hull creaked loudly again. She moved away from the door and closer to Scott.

"It must be the Nati fighters," Scott reasoned as another explosion could be heard and felt but further away than the last one. "They're probably trying to make sure they got us."

There was yet another explosion, this time very close, and the shuttle shook violently from the shift of the rocks. Some large pieces that were wedged in the cockpit slid deeper into the shuttle, and the small glimpse of light coming from the aft section flickered as rocks tumbled down through the opening. Once the shaking subsided Barnes turned to Scott. "Guess I'm not going anywhere," she said as the remaining light began to flicker, casting them further into darkness.

Thick, choking smoke swarmed through the Bridge, clouding up the room. It was hard to breathe and hard to see. Sparks flew through the smoke and the dozens of flickering lights in the room could be seen through the haze of the smoke. Everything was in a daze, the room felt far away. Young felt his head swelling and the pressure was getting to be too much.

Volker ran from his station to the large fire currently raging by the right side of the bridge. Eli threw him a pressure based fire extinguisher that he had rigged up a few months ago. Using it, Volker put of the large fire, and quickly moved to put out some of the smaller flames in other areas of the room. With the fires out, the smoke started to fade. The environmental systems kicked in and sucked the remaining haze out of the bridge.

The view was clearer, but Young almost wished it was still smoke filled. The bridge was in ruin, debris covering the floor and sparks flying from exposed systems all over the room. Kalin's charred body was in an immobile heap in the corner of the room. Young didn't even know if he was still alive. The light recesses were flickering adding to the appearance of dysfunction. A not so gentle shaking of the deck plates brought the Colonel back to the actual battle. He gazed out the window and saw hull breaches riddling the ship, and areas where the shields were beginning to flare out of existence. Dozens of small energy bolts continued to lash out against their aggressor, the massive Nati capital ship that for the most part seemed unscathed. Their shields briefly shimmered to stop Destiny's attacks, and then their lateral weapons charged to full power and prepared to fire.

Volker quickly dashed back to his station and checked the current tactical situation, grimacing heavily as he read the various outputs from the ship's systems.

"Colonel, shield emitters across the ship are failing. Our hull integrity is heavily compromised." Brody informed in a panicked voice. A small part of Young just wanted the scientist to shut up if he couldn't deliver any good information, but that part of him died very quickly. "I'm maintaining fire, but I highly doubt we can take another barrage!"

"Hyperspace weapons opening!" Volker shouted out. "Reading a total of twelve distinct signatures: Nati warships!" he said in a panic, turning to look at the Colonel in fear, not knowing what he could do to save them from a hopeless situation.

"The capital ship is firing!" Brody announced as well. "I'm diverting power from weapons to shields." He quickly made the power transfer, hoping the moderate increase in shield power could help them withstand another barrage. All weapon fire from Destiny immediately ceased.

The statements came back to back, and neither pleased the Colonel. He took a few steps and sat in the commander's chair, taking a deep breath as he braced himself. The capital ship had moved away in the last few minutes, forcing their weapons to travel a greater distance than before. It was maddening to watch the massive bolts of ionized energy slowly make their way to Destiny. At nearly the same moment as the bolts left the capital ship, a dozen points of lights came into life, just visible in the corner of the window. One by one they burst into massive clouds of billowing energy, and one by one powerful and undamaged Nati warships flashed into existence, filling the space between the capital ship and Destiny. Only they didn't turn on Destiny.

"What the hell are they doing?" Volker asked aloud. He had turned now to just stare out of the viewport, fully ignoring the swarm of data on his console.

Three of the newcomers positioned themselves directly in the path of the weapons from the capital ship. The remaining ships formed what looked like a barricade between the two ships and immediately began firing on the capital ship. Young leaped out of his chair and made his way to Volker's station.

"They're… they're firing on their own ship," Brody said in disbelief.

As he said it, the ships in the barricade formation launched a simultaneous first strike against the capital ship. These energy bolts were smaller in size than their counterparts from the capital ship, but they were also slightly faster. Young watched as the some of the smaller blasts merged with the larger bolts from the capital ship. As the opposed weapons hit, the smaller ones merely vanished as the larger ones passed through them, maintaining their course for the three warships. The remaining onslaught of weapons from the Nati warships passed swiftly through the capital ship's barrage and slammed into the shields of Vesari's ship. Individually those weapons did little damage, but combined they caused the capital ship's shields to brightly flare up as the sustained a punishing blow.

Right at that moment, the three ships positioned in the path of the weapons' fire were hit. One ship was struck by half a dozen powerful bolts and immediately reeled out of control. The shields stayed alive for a moment and then started to flicker slightly. That ship succeeded in stabilizing itself rather soon. The other two ships weren't hit as hard and didn't show any sign of being damaged. In a few seconds, all twelve warships proceeded to open fire on the capital ship on their own accord.

The Colonel stared agape out of the viewport at the dozen ships that were viciously attacking the capital ship. Clearly Vesari was as surprised by this as the crew of Destiny because his ship had yet to return fire. It was just sitting in space taking punishing hits. Finally he managed to pull himself away from the port and direct his attention to Volker. "What's the condition of the capital ship?"

Volker took a brief moment to tear his eyes from the scene unfolding before the Destiny and shift to the console in front of him. "Can't tell for certain, but it definitely looks like their shields are starting to be strained. That level of fire may be enough to punch through them," Volker announced, struggling to speak through the shock.

A quick triple beep sounded from Brody's station, drawing the Colonel's attention. He moved back closer to the central chair so he could have a better line of sight to all the various stations. "Colonel, the capital ship is opening fire again!" It was a second before he gave more information. "Looks like they're ignoring us completely; they're focusing on the Nati warships."

The lateral trench on the capital ship lit up brightly as the weapon platforms charged up, and quickly discharged a dozen bolts of powerful energy. They quickly traversed across the empty space and converged on the ship that had already taken a heavy barrage earlier. Young watched as the ship tried to navigate out of the way of the weapons fire and failed miserably. Every bolt collided with their shields and all the kinetic energy that was transferred to the ship caused it to spin out of formation. From what could be seen at this distance, the shields were quickly overpowered and the weapons managed to deliver significant damage directly to the ship. Massive plumes of fire erupted from the ship and quickly evaporated in the vacuum of space. The hull breaches spewed twisted chunks of metal and crew members as the ship continued to spin further from the formation. Running lights dimmed and flickered, indicating the ship had lost main power. In a moment all the lights on the ship died and the engines went from bright blue to dark and cold. As the ship rotated, the damaged side came into view from Destiny's perspective. Young flinched as he saw craters lining that entire side of the ship. There was clearly no way that ship could still be operational.

"Holy crap," Eli muttered from the aft station, just as taken aback by the carnage as the Colonel was. "They don't stand a chance."

Young wasn't about to let pessimism back onto this bridge; not when a chance to salvation had just arrived. "Then let's help them even the odds," he said taking his seat in the central chair, ready to get back into the fight. "Mr. Brody, divert all power you have to the main weapon."

"Colonel, the shields are barely holding as things are," Brody said, objecting to the Colonel's order.

"I'm aware of that. Now power up the main weapon," he said quickly, not happy to repeat himself in such a crucial moment.

Brody capitulated and easily reallocated the power. "Main weapon fully charged and coming online now," he informed.

While this discussion had been taking place, the capital ship had easily dispatched yet another Nati warship. Now two crippled ships were drifting aimlessly through space. Vesari's behemoth of a ship showed signs of weariness on her shields, but it was still coming on strong to the opposing fleet. Young didn't take his eyes off of the battle as he gave his command. "Fire."

A flurry of orange jets flew from the bow of Destiny and zipped right between the remaining Nati warships. They mixed with the blue energy bolts heading for the capital ship and clearly stood out from the Nati weapons fire. Very quickly they slammed into the capital ship. The shields flared to life brightly, taking heavy punishment from its eleven attackers. The main weapon seemed to be stronger than the average Nati turret, and now that Destiny had joined this fight the capital ship seemed to be struggling to survive.

"Their shields are under tremendous strain!" Eli chirped from his station, having to project as a weak pipe that was behind him suddenly sprung a leak, flooding the room with more gas. He quickly typed in a command to shut off that pipe and the gas stopped flowing. "We're still falling apart even if they're not firing at us," he complained loudly. A bright light from the viewport informed everyone that another warship had just been eliminated.

Young nodded in agreement as he saw several spots on the bridge that were shooting out sparks and lights that flickered. "We'll worry about that later. Just keep up the heat, Brody."

"Colonel, they're on the move!" Volker announced excitedly. He stared at his screen in disbelief. "I… I think they're retreating."

Everyone gazed up to watch the massive ship angle away from the fleet and begin to sluggishly move off. The giant engines were brought to face the attacking force and they glowed brightly as they pushed the behemoth away from danger.

"I'm reading a hyperspace window forming on their bow," Volker added. As he said this, a large billowing cloud of energy popped into existence, and with a flash of light the capital ship was gone.

Beyond the viewport everything was still. Three wrecks were drifting away from the battle site leaving a trail of debris in their wake. One showed signs of some life; running lights seemed to be partly functional and maneuvering thrusters burst to life every few seconds indicating the crew was trying to stabilize their craft. The other nine ships were undamaged, since Vesari only attacked one ship at a time, and remaining motionless in the space above the planet.

The Colonel let out a breath that he had been holding for the last half a minute and let his face fall into the palms of his hands. He remained like that for a moment before allowing himself to sit up. Once in his chair again he was professional. "Brody, give me a damage report," he asked in a mild voice.

Brody clearly did not want to look at the display of Destiny's status, but managed to pull it up and read the Ancient symbols that drifted across the panel. "Oh God," he muttered as he saw all the sections of the ship coated in red. "Umm, we've got eight large hull breaches across the ship. Emergency shields are deployed around the occupied areas, but a lot of them are leaking atmosphere. All the shield emitters along the center of the ship are down; any functional emitters are operating at minimal sustainability. We've lost a lot of our reserves from that battle; I don't think we can power our weapons for more than a few shots."

"Not that we could do anything useful with a few shots," Volker complained to himself.

Before anyone could remark on that the communication console in the aft beeped. Eli turned away from the science station that he was at and quickly strode over to the comm console. He wasn't too surprised by what he saw. "The lead ship is sending us an audio and video feed," Eli informed. "Can't we just send them a postcard? 'Thanks for your help, enjoy your trip'. Or, we could offer to pay for their gas and they'll just move along."

"It's alright Eli. Put them through," Young ordered. He found the translator tossed on the floor beside the chair. After quickly retrieving it he sat in his chair again. By the time he had it attached to his head the monitors and kino were deployed. The picture was similar to last time; only the commanding officer now was not as senior as Vesari, both in age and rank. He appeared much more amiable though from his mild countenance which made Young hope for the best. "I'm Colonel Young, commanding officer of the Destiny. I suppose we owe you our gratitude," he said trying to come off as peacefully as possible.

The commanding officer of the Nati warship gave Young a warm smile, which shook him even more. "I am Commander Yvsan of the warship Rotundi. My crew is pleased that we arrived in time to be able to render assistance."

"So am I," Young started, taking a brief moment to carefully select his next words, "but if you don't mind me asking, why are you helping us?"

"Perhaps it would be best if I came aboard your ship," Yvsan offered, seemingly genuine in his desire to explain everything. "My ship has a great quantity of supplies that I imagine you could use at the moment to begin repairs. We could launch several shuttles to provide assistance, and I could come aboard in one of those shuttles."

Young's silence most likely betrayed his extreme discomfort at this offer. "While I appreciate the gesture, I think that…" was all he could saw before Yvsan interrupted him.

"Colonel Young, I understand your concern. As a ship's commander you must always be on the alert for dangers to your ship and crew," Yvsan said, appealing to Young. "However, we do not pose a danger to you. If we did, do you really thing that you would still be alive?"

His argument was valid; Young had to agree to that much. "I see your point," he conceded. Nodding, he took a moment to look around the bridge, seeing everyone giving him blank stares as they didn't know what was going on.

"Colonel, we've scanned your ship. We know that you are badly damaged. You ship is crippled and your likely have many wounded. We are willing to help you," he insisted. Young really wanted to believe him and to take him at his word, and so far Yvsan had given the Colonel no reason to doubt him.

Young turned to look at Kalin's body. He was still lying on the floor in a twisted, burnt position. Clearly there was no one available in the infirmary to come and get him. That only told him that things were very bad down there. Finally he settled his gaze back on Yvsan. "Until I know more about your intentions here, I'd like to keep it down to just one shuttle."

"Very well," Yvsan answered, not too surprised at the modified arrangement. "I will come alone. Our shuttles should be able to dock with your ship. Your port docking bay seems to be undamaged."

"We'll be waiting," Young replied. The transmission cut off immediately. He turned in the chair to face Eli. "I want you to prepare the port docking bay for an arrival."

Eli's face was in a state of confusion even before Young spoke. Clearly the snippets of the conversation that he could understand made him very worried. "I'm sorry, but are we actually going to let them get on board Destiny?"

"Yes, we are," he said, rising from his chair and preparing to leave the ruined bridge. Before he left he grabbed his radio which had also fallen to the floor in the battle. "Have that docking port ready." Young was ready to leave, but stopped over Kalin's crumpled body. He gingerly put his arms under the crew member and picked him up. The Colonel urgently walked out of the bridge, leaving the three remaining scientists in the room still shaken from the battle.

A short beep came from one of the front stations indicating that a ship was approaching. Gazing out of the window a small craft could be seen departing the closest Nati warship. It quickly flew away from its mother ship and headed right for Destiny. Eli sighed and leaned on the railings at the back of the room, watching the ship swiftly close the distance between ships. "Guess who's coming to dinner," he mumbled staring uncomfortably out of the viewport.

A panel in the corridor flew off violently as a covered console overloaded. The panel flew across the cross the corridor and slammed into the opposite side with a loud thud. Even if it was incredibly loud and distracting, TJ didn't pay any mind to it as all her attention was focused on the Infirmary. The room was filled with injured and more were coming in all the time. TJ was moving around to the newcomers, figuring out who was in need of critical attention and who could wait.

She walked over to Corporal Baras who was currently sitting on the floor because all the beds were full, except the scanner bed which she kept clear for an emergency. TJ inspected the gash across his arm. "It's not too bad. The wound looks mostly superficial; we just need to stop the bleeding," she determined. She was going to take a minute to disinfect the wound and wrap up his arm, but as soon as Colonel Young walked through with Kalin in his arms she stopped. "Wray, help bandage the Corporal," TJ said immediately moving on to a more seriously wounded patient. Camille walked up from the back of the Infirmary to help the Corporal and gasped in shock as she saw Kalin's burned and bloodied body. She tried to recover and focus on treating Baras.

"My God, what happened to him?" TJ asked, helping Young put him down on the scanner bed. As soon as he was on it she activated the scanning device. With a whir the machine activated and began running over his body, a digital image of his damaged body appearing on the laptop that was plugged into the device.

"He was caught in an explosion," Young said recalling the event painfully.

"I meant to send someone to come get him but more people just kept arriving and I couldn't coordinate anything. If I'd know I would've…" she started, feeling horribly guilty as she watched the display give her all the vital information about Kalin's condition.

"TJ, don't blame yourself, just do what you can for him," he said, stopping her from putting anymore guilt on herself. Then he paused and looked at the display on the laptop, which for him was incomprehensible. "Is there any chance for him?"

She stared at the data and just put her hands up in uncertainty. "I don't know, maybe. He's alive for the moment, and it seems most of the damage is external with a few broken bones. He might have a concussion, I'm not certain. But he's been burned badly over eighty percent of his body. Even if I could do something right now to save him, he would never fully recover."

Young nodded, understanding how bad his condition was. He took a rough breath and looked around the rest of the infirmary. It seemed liked half the crew was in here, either hurt or trying to help out the injured. The image frightened him. "How bad is it?" he had to ask.

Glumly she instinctively looked to the two body bags on the floor at the back of the infirmary. "Weber and Lougheed got trapped in a section of corridor with a hull breach. By the time the shields sealed the breach and help could arrive they had already asphyxiated," she said slowly. "There are some broken bones from heavy equipment being thrown into people, but most of the injuries are lacerations or burns."

The radio on Young's belt squawked to life. "Colonel Young, this is Brody."

He quickly retrieved the radio and brought it up. "This is Young, go ahead."

"The shuttle just docked with us," he informed. "I'm reading one life sign inside, but I'm keeping the door locked for now."

"Roger that, I'll open it from my end," Young said. "Young out." He put the radio back on his belt and looked to TJ who had been working on Kalin as he talked. "I have to go."

She gazed up at him for a moment. "I'll do what I can for these people."

Young nodded confidently to her. "I know you will." Taking another few seconds, he looked around the infirmary and then marched out. Airman Mackie had been waiting outside the infirmary for the Colonel and followed at his heels as soon as he left for the docking port.

The lock on the large door to the shuttle spun around after Young had pushed the button on the side of the door. The light above quickly switched to green and the door slid open. Yvsan was waiting on the other side of the door patiently. Airmen Mackie tensed and raised his rifle a bit, but Young immediately put his arm on the barrel of the weapon and lowered it. The interior of the shuttle was different in design from Destiny's shuttles even if it had similar dimensions. It had a cleaner and smoother appearance in the metal, and was illuminated much more than one of their shuttles. In the front there was only a port and starboard station right at the viewport, making the command section much more compact and opening room for storage. Two containers sat on the seat to the left of Yvsan; they were just simple metal boxes with a lid and control pad on the top.

Once the door was fully open, Yvsan gave Young a warm smile. "Colonel Young," he said in a professional though slightly shaky voice, "it is a pleasure to meet you in person."

"Commander," he said in response very tersely. It seemed to upset Yvsan so the Colonel expanded a bit. "Welcome onboard the Destiny. I would like to say again how much we appreciated your help."

He nodded respectfully in response. "Not all of us wish you and your crew harm."

"I'll admit, I am curious what motivated you to help us in the first place," Young asked pointedly, trying not to let suspicion appear in his tone.

"I would be glad to explain everything to you," Yvsan said, "but perhaps it would be best if I were to explain it to your entire command staff at once, to help accelerate the dissemination of information."

Mackie was standing awkwardly this whole time, only able to partially follow the exchange from what Young had said. The awkwardness was apparent to Yvsan who was gazing at the two men. "I took the liberty of bringing something with me that might be able to help solve one problem between our people," he said. Carefully he took a step to the containers nearest him and keyed in a short command on the pad. The lid opened and revealed trays of the translator devices. "It is unnerving when one relies on others to give you the information that they deem worthy to pass on. With these your whole crew will be able to understand us. Maybe once our two people are able to talk to each other easily, we can start to work together."

Young looked uncomfortably at the containers, but gave a short nod in agreement. "Airmen, secure those boxes," he said. Mackie acknowledged his order by walking into the shuttle. Yvsan closed the container and stepped back allowing Mackie to stack them and pick them up. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the bridge." He nodded to the Airmen, gesturing down the hallway in the direction of the nearest elevator. Mackie immediately went walking down the hallway. As he cleared the shuttle Young stepped back and indicated for Yvsan to follow after them.

The three men didn't have very far to go to reach the elevator, but the trip seemed to take a while. They moved in silence the entire time. Many of the pipes that lined the ceiling and walls were busted and leaking. The flickering lights in the corridor also added to the dysfunction that this ship was suffering at the current moment. To Young's extreme satisfaction they did not encounter any crew members on the way; he was not interested in having to deal with anyone's reaction to seeing a stranger on Destiny. The trip in the elevator was quick, but filled with a very uncomfortable silence. Clearly Yvsan was fascinated by the ship as he was look intently down every corridor and at every mechanism that riddles the corridors, but also chose to avoid the small talk.

A moment after the painful elevator trip ended, they all entered the bridge. Young noticed that the scenery had not changed in any drastic way since his departure. The three scientists looked up from their various stations and stared hard at the Nati Commander. Most likely since he realized his words would be falling on deaf ears, Yvsan chose sustain his silence, turning to look at Young.

"Eli," Young said, taking the two boxes and placing them on the small table housing the communications station, "these containers have more translators that might come in handy. Can you check them to make sure they are safe?" he asked quietly, tapping the same buttons he had seen Yvsan press to open it earlier. He was rewarded when it opened, revealing the rows of translators.

"Forgive me, but I assure you those devices have not been tampered with in any way," Yvsan said quickly in a mildly defensive way. "I've made it clear that if we had any wish to harm your crew we would not need to resort to such creative means to do so."

"And I'd really like to just take everyone in the universe at their word, but I've learned the hard way that erring on the side of caution from time to time isn't a bad idea," Young replied roughly, trying to stay patient with the Commander. Not particularly happy with how he was being treated, Yvsan glowered at Young but took a step back and let the Colonel proceed.

Eli's eyes darted quickly from Young to Yvsan as he tried to follow the conversation to the best of his ability. Finally he swallowed hard and addressed Young. "Umm, sir, I don't really know what I would even be looking for. We tried to study the one translator that we already had but we didn't learn too much, and… well we didn't crack it open because we figured we might need it for future use. The only way to test it is to actually try it out." He grinned apologetically as he delivered the news.

Young stared at Yvsan for a moment, trying to figure him out as best he could. He had to admit to himself repetitively that all the facts seemed to prove that this man was genuine in his desire to help. Or maybe in all the troubles they were in now he just wanted to believe that there might be someone out there willing to help. Regardless, he felt that Yvsan was right; at this moment he was in no position to refuse any kind of help. He turned to Eli, now fully committed to seeing this through as his mind was made up. "Put it on," he ordered. "We need their help and to do that we need to communicate with them."

"Right," Eli said, gingerly taking one of the small devices out from the container. He stared at it for a good long moment before raising it up a little bit. "If this thing assimilates me, you both better save me from becoming a drone," he said gesturing to Brody and Volker. They had both walked up closer to the communication station but kept a respectful distance. Smirking at his own comment, he quickly put the device to his head without allowing himself to over think it. Everyone waited for a second before he shrugged and looked to the Colonel. "I feel normal, human, in control of my individuality, and best of all, no messages in my inbox from the collective."

"Good." The Colonel picked three more devices from the box and gave one to Brody, Volker, and Mackie. "You guys as well." Mackie took it quickly and put it on without more than a moment's hesitation.

Brody wasn't quite sold on this idea. "Colonel, we barely know anything about this technology. It was originally an interrogation device developed by a hostile alien…"

"Mr. Brody, I am not making this decision lightly," Young snapped. "I understand the risks; believe me I do. But right now we don't have another choice. Tell me I'm wrong."

He looked at Young in momentary defiance, but couldn't find anything to say. He unwillingly took the two translators and gave one to Volker. They put them on together, and after a moment of discomfort looked to Young.

"Now that that's over with," Young said, moving to sit in the central chair in an attempt to move the conversation towards the front of the room, "you promised me that explanation."

Volker and Brody both moved to their respective stations from the front, and Eli walked up there as well and leaned on the wall. Airman Mackie kept a position by the railing on the raised platform in the rear of the room. Yvsan walked to a position to the left of Colonel Young where the deck plates were not ruined that allowed him to address all of the senior officers.

"I suppose proper introductions are now in order, since you all can understand me," he started.

Young decided to go first. "These are the head scientists on our crew, and our primary command crew. Doctors Adam Brody and Dale Volker, and Eli Wallace," Young said, pointing at the three men as he introduced them. Yvsan nodded politely to each of them.

"My name is Yvsan, a Commander… or I should say former Commander of the Nati Imperial Defense Force." He stressed the latter half of that statement, catching everyone's attention. "I gather that in your time within Nati space, you have witnessed the rather aggressive policies of the Defense Force."

"If by that you mean the total annihilation of any competing species that seems to pose even the smallest threat to the preservation of relics from the 'Lords of the Rings', AND relentless pursuit of our ship because they think we're heretics… then yeah, we've witnessed those policies," Eli snapped quickly and sarcastically, earning a dark sidelong glance from the Colonel.

"Eli, not right now," he said.

"No, Colonel Young… he's right," Yvsan remarked in a downcast voice. "It was that exact attitude by our leaders that forced these ships to split from our people. As much as we wanted to protect and honor the relics given to us by our Lords, we did not see that giving us the right to be executioner to so many across our space. Who we had become as a people disgusted us, but we only felt this in silence for a long time. It was because of your arrival in our territory that we were given a chance to split away and begin to push for a change. Our actions saved us, as the Great Slaughter seemed to happen almost immediately afterwards."

"Great Slaughter?" Volker asked, frowning in confusion from his seat. "What was that?"

Yvsan looked to address him, willing to explain everything. "Shortly after your attack on our home world, a massive and unidentified force attacked all of our temple-worlds simultaneously. As the majority of our fleet is designated with defending those worlds, our Defense Force was crippled."

"Yeah, we found that out when we passed through one of your solar systems," Eli chipped in, having mostly lost any hostility with the man. "We never did find out who… or what was responsible."

"It is still a mystery to us. All we do know is that on that day our civilization was brought to its knees. Whole colonies and fleets were obliterated with no survivors or records of the attack. Millions of soldiers… and civilians were gone," Yvsan lamented, shuffling around the port side of the room as he recalled the events painfully. He turned to stare at the remains of his fleet from the viewport. "Those ships were saved because we ran… because we left our people."

Young was taken aback by this speech. It never occurred to him how much this man and his crew might have gone through, how many difficult decisions they had made. "You know it's not your fault, in any way. If you had stayed, you would have died an empty death; you wouldn't have been able to save your people."

"It doesn't change the fact that to our people we are rebels, traitors; heretics worse than you," Yvsan said earnestly to the bridge crew. "Our enemy is the same, and that is why you have no reason to fear us."

"If that's all true," Young said after taking a moment to let this information absorb, "then I don't think I need to say how much we could use an ally out here. We're alone, far from home, and everywhere we've gone we've just met more obstacles."

Yvsan looked straight at Young. "Then it pleases me to say that you have found an ally. As a gesture of good faith, I would like to extend my original offer once more. My ships have supplies that could be of great use to you. Some of my crew are engineers and could assist in repairs."

"We could use the raw materials and components," Brody admitted to Young. "As far as we can tell a lot of our systems were shot to hell; we need new pieces to fix them."

"And with a lot of the crew in the infirmary or repairing critical damage, we could use the extra manpower," Eli said from the back. Young grimaced as he recalled the scene in the crowded infirmary.

"While our design may differ from yours," Yvsan said, "I am confident that the actual components will be compatible with your ship."

"There's really no way I can say no right now," Young conceded. "But before we organize this repair effort, I'd like to know how you found us. If there's a way to track Destiny then I need to know about it."

Yvsan looked surprised at the question at first. "We didn't know you were here," he said. "Our fleet was hiding not too far from here when we received a powerful transmission containing the coordinates of this planet. We also had access to the deployment of Defense Force vessels and discovered that the Vindictio was already here. Her commander, Admiral Vesari, is one of the most brutal officers in the Defense Force. In our judgment, we realized that removing him from power would be a worthy goal. Once we arrived and found you here, we realized how important it would be to contact you."

"For the record, your timing was good, but ten minutes earlier wouldn't have been bad either," Eli quipped.

"I think we're just happy you showed up at all," Young remarked quickly, overriding Eli. "Vesari nearly destroyed us. We didn't stand a chance against that kind of firepower. If it wasn't for our combined power, he wouldn't have left."

At this the Nati commander grew much more serious. "Unfortunately, you can expect him to return very shortly, and with more warships," he said gravely.

"He's right," Brody said suddenly. Young snapped his head to him in surprise. "Just before you got back to the bridge I noticed that the signal on Vesari's ship came to a dead stop two light-years away from him. I didn't really get a chance to mention that with everything going on."

"Vesari will take the time to make any necessary repairs and to request assistance. We can expect a powerful fleet to be here before the day is over, and I do not see how we can defend ourselves against that force," he warned. "I would recommend that we make all emergency repairs and depart from this system immediately."

Young shook his head at the mention of leaving. "I'm afraid that's impossible. Destiny operates on an auto-pilot which controls our FTL jumps. Also we have people on the surface of the planet. They are completing a critical and time-sensitive mission. Until they are done, we can't go anywhere. I'm not sure how your people operate, but we don't leave our people behind."

Taking a beat, Yvsan walked up to the window and stood alongside Young. He turned to look to the planet and his ships orbiting the planet. Shuttles could be seen flying back and forth between the intact ships and the crippled ones. "Responsibility and loyalty are things I understand." He looked to Young. "We will stand by you, and help you defend your crew, and in the process I know this is the best course of action for my crew. Our scans of the planet showed that there were still several short-range attack ships within the atmosphere. We can bring one of our ships into the atmosphere and quickly remove then with anti-air fire. Once we have secured the region I will deploy shuttles to search for your crew."

"And I'll go with you," Young interjected quickly. "The structure my team is at is interfering with our communications. If you go in alone without any advance warning, my people will simply open fire on you. I can go ahead of your people and alert them."

"A logical precaution," the Commander said, not indicating any problem with the request. "I will take you to the surface myself if you wish. When would you like to proceed?"

"Now, if that's not a problem," the Colonel replied briskly. "Eli, I want you to get in touch with the Rotundi. Give them a list of any materials we need to make repairs and meet them at the docking bays." He started to walk off the bridge, gesturing for Yvsan to follow him. "I want you to distribute these translators to all personnel that will be working with the Nati engineers. I don't want to hear that there were any issues working with their crew when I get back, just keep a close eye on them. Does anyone have a problem with those orders?" he asked from the doorway, standing still as he waited for an answer from everyone in the room.

Eli answered first, moving to the communications station. "I'll be good."

Both Volker and Brody nodded their affirmative, turning in their seats to return to work. Young walked up to the Airmen who had picked up the two boxes of translators. "Pass the message on to the crew as you hand those out. Explain to them that cooperation is essential."

"Yes, sir," Mackie said before he walked out of the bridge ahead of the Colonel.

Young turned to reach Yvsan who was standing patiently in the hallway outside the bridge. He was looking around with interest at everything. "If we have some more time later Colonel, I would love a chance to tour this ship," he said excitedly. "The lore surrounding this craft is told to every child; being here is a dream come true."

"Commander, if we survive this day, I will personally give you that tour," Young offered as he led Yvsan down to the elevator.

The Colonel sat in the co-pilot's seat as Yvsan pulled the shuttle away from Destiny smoothly. Taking a moment to observe the controls Young noticed that the interface was somewhat similar to that of the Destiny shuttle, but did show the influence of several thousand years of streamlining and innovation. Young watched the shuttle quickly glide across the length of the hull and proceed to move on to the planet. Two shuttles popped into view and passed right overhead.

"They should be bringing over essential materials on these shuttles," Yvsan commented, tapping away at the controls. "One of my ships will move in closer to Destiny soon to begin external repairs. Our cruisers are equipped with sophisticated platforms that will be able to easily seal your hull breaches."

Right on cue, the closest warship moved away from the task force and moved towards Destiny. As it began to pass over the shuttle, Young could see several bays opening on the underside of the ship. From a quick glance he saw what looked like robotic arms and various equipment meant to facilitate repairs. "You guys sure come prepared."

Yvsan chuckled at the comment. "Each cruiser, while not overpowered, is capable of operating independently and providing for its crew and maintaining itself indefinitely. It is quite useful for deep space operations."

A second cruiser broke off from the ranks and began to fly parallel with the shuttle to the planet. Several more shuttles flew out from a port side bay and surrounded them. "Don't be concerned Colonel. They're escorting us to the surface. Our ships are also capable of operating within an atmosphere and can be invaluable in suppressing small enemy forces." At that moment the shuttle began to shake mildly and a heat wave formed across the nose of the craft. "We've entered the atmosphere. From here it's less than a minute to reach the structure." As advertised, the shaking grew stronger for a few seconds and quickly dissipated. Several shuttles sped ahead of them, quickly passing through the clouds and disappearing from sight. The cruiser did the same, casting a massive shadow on the clouds as it descended. A moment later Yvsan passed the shuttle through the clouds as well. The vapors wisped around the nose for a few seconds and quickly thinned out. Finally they passed through and encountered a stunning vista. A lush green valley sat right at the base of a tall mountain range. There was a waterfall cutting through the mountains that ran through the valley and emptied out into what seemed to be a large sea. The mountains went on for quite a while. Yvsan's cruiser positioned itself right atop the tallest mountain peak, which was the source of the power signal.

"I haven't been on the surface of a planet in at least three years," Yvsan commented as he gazed at the scenery. "I almost forgot how beautiful it can look."

Young nodded in agreement as he read the output on his terminal. He noticed something that caught his eye. "What are they doing?" he asked to himself.

"What are you referring to?" Yvsan asked, taking a moment to look away from his own console.

"Here," the Colonel said pointing to the screen, "about 113 kilometers northeast of this location," he said struggling to interpret the somewhat familiar information display. "It looks like a dozen enemy fighters hovering over a ravine."

The Commander took a moment to check the sensor readings himself. "Yes I see it. They're on a standard search pattern." A few small dots of blue energy flew away from the fighters and into a ravine. "I wonder what they're firing at."

"Have you found any sign of our shuttle?" Young asked, having looked for any sign of it on the sensors.

Yvsan sighed as he positioned the shuttle right below the cruiser. "I don't see them, but it looks like those attack craft are looking for something. Sensors show what seems to be a rock slide at the bottom of the ravine; it's possible your shuttle is down there."

"If that's true, then we need to get to them before those fighters do," Young said urgently. "Why aren't they going after us?"

"The attack craft sensors operate on a very short range," Yvsan explained. "They won't know anything about the engagement in orbit; as far as they are aware we are just reinforcements."

Young nodded at this and look at Yvsan with some hope. "That means we have the element of surprise."

The commander turned to look at Young with a crafty smile. "I like your thinking." He tapped a few buttons on his console and activated a communication line to his cruiser. "Rotundi, target the attack craft over these coordinates with suppression fire set to proximity detonation. Fire when ready."

"Understood Commander," was the response that came from his executive officer. Nothing happened for about ten seconds, but after that the turrets on the starboard side of the cruiser deployed and aimed at the cluster of fighters. One at a time the weapon placements fired a blue burst of energy right at the group. The first shot traveled right to the center of the group and detonated, splashing three nearby fighters with heat and energy. Their burning hulks went spinning away from the group and crashed into the mountainside. A dozen more pulses flew into the remaining fighters and detonated in the air, quickly destroying all of the fighters before they could react. In just a few seconds all of the enemy craft were destroying, their smoldering remains lying all across the mountains.

"I'll move us in closer to that ravine," Yvsan informed as he began to pilot the craft. "If there is something down there we'll detect it."

"What in the hell was that?" Barnes asked. The small explosions in the rock had stopped a moment ago. They were replaced by loud explosions that seemed to come from far away, and finally everything went silent.

Scott fidgeted as he was trying to stay awake, but he had somewhat zoned out in the last minute. "What did you say?" he asked in a weak voice.

She looked around the shuttle interior and then to the rock filled ravine right outside the opened door. "They've stopped firing. I wonder why." The Corporal sighed as she slumped in her seat. "I wish we still had sensors."

"Maybe they left," Scott speculated. A moment after he said that a powerful quaking hit the shuttle. "Or not." A loud explosion and smashing of rocks could be heard from directly behind the shuttle. A bright white light shone through the small gaps in the rocks, illuminating the interior of the shuttle. The shuttle was filled with a massive heat wave at the same time. The metal surfaces of the shuttle pinged loudly as small chunks of rock were thrown into the shuttle, pelting both Scott and Barnes. This lasted for about six seconds and then the tremors quickly subsided, the light and heat dissipating as well.

The rock that was propped up against the aft hatch cracked and fell backwards, opening the shuttle to the air. All of the tumbling rock fell into a burning trench that lay behind the shuttle. Barnes got up and stood at the foot of the shuttle hatch and stared at the one hundred meter trench. Rock from the sides kept falling into it, flattening it out and covering the burning earth at the bottom of it. "What the…" she mumbled, completely confused about what had happened.

As she was staring outside a dark shadow began to pass over and cover the ravine in darkness. It was followed with a low rumble that echoed deeply through the ravine. She looked up from the inside and stared in fear at what she saw. "Lieutenant…" Barnes said in a panic, "I think I know why they stopped."

A massive Nati warship just parked itself a few hundred meters above the crash site of the shuttle. From her vantage point she thought she could make out a platform on the bottom of the hull that was glowing bright blue and resembled a weapon. As the glowing dulled she reasoned that was some drill or beam weapon that had just cut through the rubble to expose the shuttle.

"Guess they found an easier way to get to us," Scott remarked. "They must be interested in us or this ship… or they would've just blown us up."

In the distance Barnes could see a small craft descent towards their location. "Sir, looks like we've got some friends who want to pay a visit," she said announcing their arrival. Scott couldn't see much from his position, but tried to arc his head regardless. When it caused him too much discomfort to move he gave up and moved back into his previous position.

"You should get out of here, try to find your way back to the mountain," Scott said with half opened eyes. "Maybe you could find Sergeant Greer."

Barnes turned back to him and put on a confounded countenance. "First of all, I already said I'm not going to just leave you. Secondly, there's no way I could get away." She pressed the locking mechanism on the door, but was disappointed as it refused to close. With no other choice, she grabbed the rifle off of the opposite seat and checked the magazine. She moved to Scott and handed him her handgun.

Scott smirked as she squatted in front of him and readied her weapon. "Let's give them hell." He cocked his pistol and used both arms to steady to weapon as he aimed it at the aft hatch.

The craft quickly completed its descent and landed right behind the shuttle, its powerful engines kicking up massive amounts of dust. Nothing could be seen, and the only way that Scott could tell that the craft had landed was by listening to the engines hum growing weaker. The dust flew into the shuttle through the open hatch and stung both of their eyes. It took a moment before the dust began to slightly settle. At that point, the sound from the engine was completely gone, letting the entire ravine settle in an eerie silence. Finally a crunching of small rocks could be heard, informing Scott and Barnes that someone was approaching the shuttle. The thinning dust allowed Barnes to see better, and she could start to see the outline of a single person. She was about to pull the trigger when he started to speak.

"Lieutenant Scott!" Young shouted into the shuttle. "Is anyone in there?"

The Corporal let her rifle drop down a little as she waited for the dust to continue to settle. It took a couple of moments but it thinned out enough that she could clearly see Colonel Young standing in front of a landed craft. He took a few steps forward to see into the darkened shuttle interior. Once a little bit closer he could make out Barnes and Scott. He remarked to Barnes. "I hope you aren't planning on using that rifle on me Corporal," he said.

She looked at him speechless for a long moment before she snapped back into reality. "No sir, I just… I didn't expect to see you," she said, lowering her weapon and moving to help support Scott. Young walked into the crippled shuttle and helped support him from the other side.

"I can understand that. You alright Lieutenant?" he asked.

Scott chuckled as they stood him tall. He placed the pistol back in his holster. "Sure am doing better now that you're here sir."

"Glad to hear that, but I still think a doctor would be better for you," he said, remarking on his still bleeding head wound.

"I can agree to that," Scott returned. Young and Barnes slowly guided him out of the shuttle and onto the uneven rock-covered ground. "Colonel Young, if I might ask, just what are you doing here? What ship is this?"

"I'll answer that in a minute," he replied as he guided them around the side of the Nati shuttle towards the aft hatch. They took it slow so it took a little while for them to reach the hatch. Once inside, Young hopped into the shuttle's deck which was about a meter off the ground. From there he helped pull Scott up. Then Barnes got up and they both sat Scott on the nearest seat.

"Sir," Barnes warned, drawing her rifle as Yvsan rose from the pilot's seat to inspect the new arrivals. He stopped and raised his hands to show he was unarmed.

Young moved quickly to pull her arm down so she couldn't fire. "At ease, Corporal; he's with us," he explained. Her incredulous expression prompted him to further explain. "Commander Yvsan and his fleet arrived here a short while ago and repelled the enemy capital ship. If it wasn't for them we'd be dead right now. They are rebels fighting against the Nati, and they've have offered to protect us."

"This might be the concussion talking," Scott said from his seat, "but I like the idea of having friends."

"So do I, Lieutenant," Young returned. He looked at Barnes intently until she lowered her weapon. Then he moved to Yvsan. "I think it would be helpful if you had any more translators."

The commander nodded in agreement and moved to the cockpit. He pushed a small button underneath the co-pilots console which extended a tray. Inside were a few translators. Yvsan took one and closed the tray. He walked up and gave it to Young.

Young passed it on to Barnes, ordering her to put it on. She complied and mildly winced as the device attached itself to her head. Then he looked inquisitively to Yvsan. "Why only one?"

"Your other officer has sustained a serious head injury," Yvsan explained; already back in the pilot's seat he closed the aft hatch and started the engines. "There is a chance it could cause brain damage; until he is cared for I would not recommend him wearing this device."

"Thanks for the consideration," Young said. Barnes sat next to Scott and helped to hold him steady as the shuttle began to rock and lift-off.

"I am taking us to my ship. The medical facilities there will be sufficient to care for him. Our anatomies do not seem to be dissimilar, and right now I would imagine your ship's doctor is busy enough," Yvsan said. A dust cloud rose to cover the shuttle as the engines roared to life. In a brief moment the shuttle rose far above the cloud and proceeded to the cruiser hovering right above it.

Young didn't seem completely happy with the idea of his crew being treated on an alien ship, but he realized the argument was valid. "That's fine. Lieutenant, where's the rest of the team? We haven't been able to reach them on the radio."

Scott groaned and strained to hold his head up. "We dropped them off at the base of the mountain. I… I think they went into the mountain."

"I can show you the coordinates where we last saw them," Barnes offered. Young nodded and walked her up to the cockpit. At this point, the shuttle was already inside the landing bay of the cruiser. It was slowing down to land on an empty platform. Barnes looked to the co-pilot's terminal which displayed the ground below them. She only needed a few seconds to adjust to the layout and recall where they had dropped off Rush and soldiers. "Here sir, this is where we left them. I remember seeing them head in this direction into a forest. From there, it only makes sense if they were going towards the mountain." Yvsan glanced at the console and bunch in the coordinates on his console.

The shuttle landed with a mild thump and the engines quickly quieted. The aft hatch slid open and two Nati officers entered. They were dressed in bright white tunics and trousers; to Young's best guess they were doctors. "Alright Corporal, we'll go after them. You stay here with Scott."

Barnes saluted and walked back to help Scott up. She directed him off the shuttle and onto a hovering gurney the doctors had brought. With that Young sat down in the co-pilot's seat. "I wouldn't mind it if we could have some back-up, just in case we run into a firefight on the surface," Young said as the door closed.

"I've already ordered two troop transports to follow us down," Yvsan said. "I have the coordinates here; we'll arrive in a minute." He could see Young staring absently out the viewport, clearly still focusing on his injured officer. "My crew will take good care of your people. Once he's stable I will have them brought to Destiny if that makes you feel better."

Young sighed and rested his head in the palm of his hand. "It never gets easier seeing someone under your command injured… possibly fatally."

"It's not supposed to be easy," Yvsan said downcast as he looked up to space. "I know that at the end of this day I will have to bury hundreds of men because they followed my orders, and the mere thought of that almost makes me want to just give up. But I know I can't." He looked reassuringly to Young. "I suppose that's why we are the commanders; because we've learned how to make the difficult decisions and still go on."

The Colonel lifted his head up and briefly glanced to Yvsan. "Thank you… for everything. I realize my crew and I have been… less than receptive to you, but we're just not used to having allies. I don't know how we could every repay you for all you've done."

Yvsan laughed heartily at Young. "Colonel Young, I think the only payment any of us can hope for is being alive tomorrow."

As they spoke, the forest came into focus in front of them. They were not far away from the mountain. "This is pretty close to where we need to be. I doubt we can put this shuttle down any closer to the mountain; not with all that tree cover."

"Then we can walk a bit," Yvsan said as he piloted the shuttle to the ground at the edge of the tree line. The two transports came into sight as well and landed directly in front of the shuttle. The doors on the transport opened immediately and over two dozen soldiers poured out of each ship. With a jostle the shuttle landed. Turning the engines off, Yvsan got up from his chair and retrieved a small box of translators from a tray at his station. "I suppose you'll want to lead the way, in case we run into any of your people."

Nodding, Young walked to the now open hatch and stepped down onto the tall grass.

Greer stood motionless in front of the sealed room contained Rush. Everyone else in the room was similarly still, not having anything to do other than wait for trouble to come pouring out of the small entrance they were all focused on. Varro was squatting within an alcove close to the Sergeant, protecting himself from a direct line of sight to the opening.

"You sure you wouldn't rather stand somewhere less in the open?" he remarked to Greer for about the tenth time.

"I'm good right here," Greer replied, not taking his eyes off of the corridor beyond the entrance. It curved left almost immediately, so there was not much that he could see. Atienza was standing right at the curve of the corridor, allowing him to see further down the passage.

Varro sighed and finally stood up, taking a couple of short steps closer to Greer. "It's been over an hour since we've heard for anyone."

"We're under a mountain for the moment," Greer replied coolly, "and right next to a pretty big power source. They probably can't get a radio signal down here."

"Or, maybe there's no one left to send a signal," he said quietly to the Sergeant, not wanting to get anyone's attention even though everyone was probably thinking the same thing.

Greer looked away from the entrance and began to glare darkly at Varro. "I don't want to hear talk like that, you get me?"

Ready to continue talking, Varro was stopped as Airman Richmond came running down the corridor and into the large antechamber. He paused for a moment to catch his breath. As he did everyone in the room raised their weapons and prepared for a Nati squad to come running in after him. "What is it, Airman?" Greer asked.

Richmond shook his head and walked up calmly to Greer. "It's Colonel Young, sir. He's… um… he has a Nati officer and a squad of soldiers with him; he says they're here to help."

Greer frowned at the news, as did Varro. "I'm not sure if I like the sound of that," he said.

"Maybe we should let the Colonel explain the situation first," Varro suggested.

"Fine, but I want all of you to keep a close eye on our company," Greer ordered, turning his weapon to a medium setting. "You wanna bring them down here?" he asked Richmond after a moment.

The Airman nodded and ran down the corridor out of sight. He returned a few seconds with Young and one Nati officer right behind him. Greer tensed slightly but tried not to show his apprehension to Young.

"Sergeant, I'm glad to see you're alive," Young said as he stopped in front of Greer. He took a moment to look around the room. After a moment he turned his attention to the Sergeant. "This is probably going to be a little sudden for you, and a lot to take in, but this man is on our side," he said gesturing to Yvsan. "He's the commander of an insurgent Nati force that has already helped us to fight off the enemy."

"Is that so?" Greer said with distrust lining his voice.

"I realize it's hard to believe, but they are our allies right now, and I don't need to tell you that we need allies," Young said loud enough that everyone in the antechamber could hear him. "He's put a squad of Nati guards at the mouth of this cave to keep any enemy from getting in here." Young pulled out six translators from his shirt pocket. "These will allow you to communicate." He gave one to Greer and the rest to Varro, gesturing to the other men in the room. Varro quickly put the device on and walked around the room to hand out the other four. "Working with them won't be a problem, will it Sergeant?"

Greer stood quietly for a few seconds before unhappily accepting the translator and applying it his forehead. "No, sir; there'll be no problem."

"Glad to hear that," Young said, satisfied for the moment that he had managed to bring everyone up to speed on this matter. "Commander Yvsan, this is Sergeant Greer. I'd like all your men to coordinate their defense efforts for this site with him."

"Very well Colonel Young. I hope that having our soldiers working together might help relieve some tension and build trust," he said to Young and Greer. The Sergeant showed no reaction to the words as he stared blankly at Yvsan.

Breaking the awkward silence that had just begun, Young spoke up. "Where's Rush?"

Greer took a moment before he peeled his attention away from Yvsan. He glanced to Young and then turned to gesture at the door behind him. "He went in there, sir. There was a communication terminal in the room. The door sealed itself after he activated the device."

Young nodded as he looked the door up and down. "I suppose that's a safe place for him to be in." He turned back to face the entrance and walked up and down the room, surveying the features of the room. He noticed the tall ceiling and many alcoves in which his Airmen were standing in. Varro had given all the men translators and they had all put the devices on their heads. He saw Chu against the wall holding his wound. "How is he?" Young asked the Sergeant.

"He's holding together sir; at least for the moment. He probably needs to get back to TJ ASAP though," he replied, directing all of his attention to the Nati Commander.

"Right," Young said taking uncomfortable notice of Greer's attitude. He realized that Greer had good reason to act that way, and he couldn't order him to change his perceptions of these people. Maybe Yvsan was right and things would improve with time and cooperation. He turned to the Commander. "Do you think you could bring one of our shuttles in to bring our wounded to Destiny?"

Yvsan nodded in reply. "Of course, that won't be an issue." With that he walked away and quickly relayed some orders onto is wrist communicator.

With one issue taken care of, Young took another look around the chamber. "There's not much to see here, is there?"

"Actually, we did find something worth seeing," Varro said as he joined Young and Greer. He gained the Colonel's attention as he spoke. "We scouted out the other path at the split in the cave."

"What did you find?" Young asked in interest.

Varro hesitated for a moment and look to Greer who gave him the same ambivalent look. "Maybe it's just best if you saw it for yourself." He started to walk to the entrance. Young followed after him taking Yvsan with him. The three walked back up to the three-way intersection in the corridor and proceeded down the path on the right. It was a longer walk than the other side, and it opened into a much larger antechamber.

This room must have been located right in the center of the mountain because the ceiling seemed to go on for a long distance, possibly to the top of the mountain. The floor plan for the room was circular, with no columns or outstanding architectural features. Terminals lined the walls and from what Young could tell their design was definitely Ancient, from the same time period as Destiny. As impressive as all this was, what really caught Young's attention was the ten meter wide hole in the center of the room. A brilliant blue glow came from the hole and filled the lower level of the room with light. Young saw ladders on either end of the opening and several large consoles right by the edge.

"What is this place?" he asked, walking up to the edge of the hole.

"I don't know. We wanted to secure the rest of this area, make sure there weren't more Nati soldiers hiding and we found this," Varro explained. He followed Young up to the opening and leaned against the railing that stood at the edge. "Whatever it is, it must be important."

"I'll bet," Young said in a quiet voice as he peered over the edge. The hole went down for a long way, quite possibly all the way to the planet's core. A metal conduit ran up the whole way, the occasional transparent area of the conduit casting the blue glow he noticed earlier. The conduit stopped right below the lip of the hole and branched off in opposing horizontal direction. The ladders led to a large platform that ran along the conduits in either direction. "Makes you wish Rush was here."

Varro chuckled lightly. "I went down to that platform to see how far those tubes go. From what I can tell, they just go on and on either way."

"This could be a power source of some kind," Yvsan reasoned, looking at the large terminal and monitor nearest the edge. "But it seems to be too large just to power your communication station. I imagine there must be more on this planet that we have already seen."

"It's definitely possible," Young said. He stepped away from the railing and looked at the some terminal. "From what we know of the Ancients, they never did things small. Maybe once everything is all done with we might have a chance to find out what else is down here."

"Might I recommend that I post some of my troops in this chamber?" Yvsan said after a moment of thought. "From what I can tell this room is probably integral to the success of your mission. It would be wise to protect it. I can also deploy a squad to the stone room so all the areas of interest are protected."

Young considered it quickly. "That sounds like a good precaution. When you're done with that you should take some time to look around the systems. Destiny can go without us for a few hours."

Yvsan smiled at the offer and stepped away from the two of them. He walked across the room, surveying the various terminals. As he did that he raised his left arm and activated the communicator on his wrist. He continued to look across the room while he was giving orders on the device.

Since he was out of earshot for the moment, Varro walked up to Young. "I hope you know what you're doing, sir."

Young didn't answer immediately. He watched as Yvsan observed the room in keen interest, stopping at a terminal every now and then to read its output. "So far they've given us no reason not to trust them. Everything they've done has helped us out greatly." Young sighed and moved back to the railing. He looked down, trying to see how far down he could see. "I just hope everything is going alright on Rush's end."

Rush strode down the long hall that led to the main chamber of the Ancient facility. The same assistant who had given him documents upon his arrival was now escorting Rush through the semi-crowded forum. From what Palos told him and what he had gathered in the short time that he had been following this young man, he was a huge supporter of Palos' work. His name was Syno and even though he seemed too young to be of any use in Rush's opinion, he was preeminently qualified to assist in Palos' work.

As they walked the hall they passed dozens of scientists and researchers, all of whom watched and whispered as Rush walked onward. Some glanced up from their work on what looked similar to Kino remotes as he passed them. Most gave him a small encouraging look, but Rush could sense a shadow of futility on their faces as well.

"Don't pay attention to them," Syno said as they passed a group of five Ancients giving him an awkward stare. "They're just not used to seeing someone fight for what they believe in."

"Then how does anything ever get done?" Rush said aloud, mostly to himself.

Syno gave Rush a confused side-long glance. "Well you have been here a lot longer than I have, so you know more about these projects than I do, but it seems that you've been a special case. I've never heard of a research project with as much heated opposition as the Destiny proposal. I'll admit, it's made working for you a fascinating experience." He spoke energetically, almost excited that there was a challenge for him at this position. Rush didn't have his youth to appreciate it in this way; he just had to complete his mission here. "Oh no," he mumbled as a mid-aged scientist with a grim face walked up, blocking Rush and his assistant from proceeding.

The man looked weary and bitter as he glared at Rush, the wrinkles becoming prominent across his face. "Palos, you know that I have nothing but utmost respect for your work and genius, but in this case you should do everyone a favor. Turn around and leave this matter alone."

Rush stood perplexed in front of the man, unsure what to do or say. Thankfully Syno spoke up almost immediately. "Let us move on Cass. We have a meeting with the council." Rush knew the name; Palos had spent a good amount of time talking about this man. He was one of the foremost opponents to the launch, and had drawn support from the council through fear-mongering. From what Palos said, he was a very unlikable man, an assessment that Rush agreed with from only these few words.

"I'm aware of that, and I'm just trying to save you time. This debate is over, the council has listened to us," Cass sneered as he spoke in his harsh voice. "What makes you believe that after all this time they'll suddenly decide to listen to you?"

He stared at this brutish scientist quietly for a few seconds, trying to size him up, find out if Palos might have missed something about his character. Finally he decided that this man wasn't worth his time or effort; there were far more important tasks to focus on. "I was under the impression that I was going to speak to the council and an audience of mature and curious researchers. Not a spoiled child that's angry he can't have things happen his way."

Cass' face flushed a hot red with anger. He looked as if he were going to reply to the insulting remark when Rush grabbed Syno by the elbow and pulled him in the direction of the council's chamber. His assistant seemed equally as stunned as Cass at Rush's handling of the situation. "What's the matter with you? You can't talk to one of your colleagues like that."

"Yeah, well he'll get over it," Rush said tersely, releasing Syno as they made their way down the rest of the long and lavish hallway. Much like Palos' lab, the rest of the structures were cut into stone. The presence of light sconces and monitors placed throughout the hall were the only items that set this place apart from an ancient Greek temple. Rush could see a large, ornate door at the end of the hallway roughly fifty meters from their current position. He took that to be their destination.

"Is something wrong?" Syno asked with grave concern. "I've never seen you treat someone so… aggressively before." The stunned assistant managed to turn around for a quick glance, prompting Rush to look over his shoulder as well. Cass stood fuming night where Rush had left him. After a brief moment of glaring menacingly at Rush he turned sharply and stormed off into one of the many side passages that lined the main hall.

Rush turned to look forward again, picking up his pace as he did so. "This meeting is too important for me to worry about him. Too much is at stake, and I'm running out of time," Rush responded, making the last part too quiet to be heard. He had spent nearly fifteen hours in Palos' lab waiting for his appointment with the council. Palos had given him a great deal of information to prepare him for the meeting with the council, information that Rush was sure would help him. Beyond that, he was thrilled to have been able to speak with such a respectable Ancient; Cass' attitude admittedly soured Rush's opinion of the Ancients. Regardless, he was aware that he had a limited amount of time here and was anxious after waiting for so long.

After he spoke his assistant stopped in front of him, holding Rush back. "What's going on with you?" Syno asked intently. "You're not acting like yourself. Are you ill? Maybe it's best you don't speak to the council until you feel better."

Sighing impatiently Rush tried to maintain his composure. Having an ally in this place and time could prove to be an invaluable resource; he had no plans to make this mission more difficult than it needed to be. He put on his mildest face and tried to look apologetically to Syno. "Thank you for your concern Syno. I do appreciate it, but it's not needed. I'm feeling fine; it's just this project is important; more important than anyone here seems capable of realizing. They just need to realize that I'm not willing to sit on the side and let them take it away from me. I will fight them for this."

Clearly Syno was still startled by Rush's resolve, but he moved aside and let them continue onward to the council chamber. Rush remembered reading the reports on Destiny about how Palos acted differently; until this moment when he saw the surprised stares from Palos' colleagues he never thought much about what that really entailed. "I'm sorry. Don't doubt me; I won't leave your side. It's just… strange seeing you so passionate about this. You've never been so eloquent."

"Some things require a little extra dedication," Rush said as they continued to walk on. They both continued in silence as they quickly made their way up to the door.

An attendant stood at the side of the door with a data tablet in her hand. She looked from it to Rush and nodded at him. "Council Master Sobin is waiting for you inside, Palos," she said politely after she looked some information on the tablet. "You may go in now." With that she sent a message from her device and palmed the door lock behind her. The large door groaned and slid open, letting them walk into the chamber.

As the door opened Rush looked inside at the incredible room. His first thought after gazing into the room took him back to his days teaching at Berkeley. The door led to a walkway that ended at a large podium. There were two semicircle stone tables at either side of the podium. The one on the left was populated by three Ancients. All of them were clad in dusty colored tunics with somewhat decorative bronze adornments on their shoulders. The one in the center was by far the oldest and had a blank but mild face; this was likely Sobin. He seemed much more reasonable than Cass and it was a relief to see him heading up the council. The two other council members were middle-aged and seemed surprisingly inattentive. Most likely this issue had been debated very often and so they were tired of it. Still, there seemed to be something hostile in the eyes of the woman on the left. As Rush made his way to the central podium he caught a glimpse of her cold eyes dart up from the table to give him a cold glare. Palos had warned that some members of the council were close minded on the issue and supporters of Cass.

What was slightly more captivating were the rows of seats that dominated the chamber, sitting in front of the podium. All of them seemed to be filled with people. "I think this might be your biggest audience yet," Syno said as he walked up to the podium at Rush's side. After he dropped off a tablet as the podium Syno gave Rush a supportive look and retreated to the sidelines of the massive chamber.

The most startling difference Rush noticed about this chamber and a lecture hall at Berkeley was the silence. Everyone was quiet and patiently watching Rush as he prepared himself. Finally after what felt like a long and arduous journey down the aisle, Rush situated himself at the podium, hundreds of eyes watching him.

With that Sobin stirred, activating a microphone system. As he did so, Rush could see a half dozen Kinos begin to fly through the chamber, getting angles on all the council members as well as Rush. "Before we begin with these proceedings," he started in a dry, raspy voice which echoed through the chamber, "we have representatives from the other races that asked to be present and involved in this decision." At that moment a door at the other end of the room opened and a humanoid in a purple-green ragged dress walked into the room. His hair was bushy with a brown tint to it. "The Nox ambassador Pharaes," he announced as the earth–clad man made his way to the semicircular table to the right of Rush.

Next a tall, grey humanoid walked out of the door, lacking any clothing. It looked very human-like; much different than the contemporary appearance of this species, but Rush could still tell what it was from the visual records he had seen. "The Asgard ambassador Odin." This person sauntered in and sat next to Pharaes. They exchanged pleasant greetings as he sat down.

After that the final member of Alliance of the Four Races walked in. "The Furling ambassador Choor'mak." Rush looked at him with silent amazement. Long had members of the SGC been aware of this fourth race, but this was the first time anyone had laid eyes upon them. The name was not quite fitting, was the first impression Rush had. At almost two meters tall, the Furling was not as small and cute as the name suggested. He was however a very furry creature, his fur similar in texture to that of a bear. Rush mentally likened this species to the rumors of the Yeti or Sasquatch. Perhaps just like the Asgard were the inspiration for the Roswell aliens, this species visited Earth before their disappearance and created the myth of Bigfoot. The Furling ambassador walked through the chamber with a long stride and an air of curiosity. Choor'mak's animalistic appearance made it hard to believe he could be a member of an enlightened and advanced civilization. Of course the same could be said of the Nox and Rush was aware of their intellect.

While these three aliens were being seated, Rush's mind was buzzing. He recognized the significance of this moment to furthering knowledge of the Alliance of the Four Races. Of course at the same time Rush maintained a neutral expression so as not to reveal his infiltration. He was also painfully aware of how this might make matters more complicated. While he had learned the prevailing Ancient opinion on the matter from Palos, he didn't know what any of the other races thought. He figured if the Asgard were anything like the contemporary ones that the SGC had dealt with they might be inclined to support a mission of this nature. The Nox would most likely need convincing, but Rush knew nothing about Furling philosophy. So as not to panic he quickly put those thoughts out of his mind; as long as he delivered his message properly he would succeed. He knew that in his heart.

Once all three ambassadors were seated and comfortable the lead councilman spoke again. "Thank you for being here ambassadors. This council has been called from a direct petition on the behalf of researcher Palos to once more discuss the Destiny proposal. The ambassadors, along with myself, Councilwoman Castima," he said gesturing to the woman whom continued to glare at Rush, "and Councilman Tanliz," now pointing to the man on the right, "will listen and cast a final vote on the matter." The audience murmured lightly for a few moments about the topic of the meeting and quickly quieted themselves. "Dr. Palos, we have already heard the opposition earlier this day, so now all of our attention is on you."

Rush hesitated for a moment, still taking in the entirety of this situation. He composed himself and thought hard about every word before he said it. "I thank the council and our esteemed ambassadors for being here today," he said giving a polite nod to both of the semicircular tables. "Hopefully I will not take much time to convince you of the importance of this venture and we can move on to other matters."

"Begging your pardon," Castima interjected with mild annoyance, "but this council did move on. It was through your insistence that this proposal has been reopened." There was a small murmur through the audience that suggested some did support her opinion that this debate was closed.

"Councilwoman," Odin said politely, his voice powerfully booming through the chamber, "we thank you for your opinion, but the Asgard, Nox, and Furlings were never involved in your earlier deliberations. As such we are most interested in listening to this proposal firsthand." He had an emotion within his words that seems to be absent from the videos Rush had seen of the contemporary Asgard. Odin was less mechanical in his speech, indicating that the changes to the Asgard over the millennium were more than just on the surface.

Castima seemed slightly upset that members of the other races were curious about Palos' research, but realized she could not silence the ambassadors. "Of course, my apologies."

"The testimony from your opponent, researcher Cass, was fundamentally founded in the idea that this undertaking would present us here with too much power," Odin continued now uninterrupted. "He likened your goals and ambitions to that of the Ori. Now while my people never dealt with them, we are aware of their actions. How do you respond?"

Taking a deep breath, Rush gathered all his thoughts together. He started out speaking slow and maintaining a deliberately mild attitude. "I would say that accusation is not only inaccurate but also quite offensive. The Ori wanted to gods, to be worshiped and revered. I am not pursuing this knowledge out of vanity or a desire to control."

"Do you speak for those that might stumble upon your research, or use your knowledge?" Choor'mak said, his deep voice resonating through the hall.

Slightly taken aback by the shock of hearing his voice for the first time, Rush froze as he collected himself. "What must be understood, above all else, is the singular purpose behind this endeavor. Someone or something put this structure out in the universe to be found. Its sole reason for existing is to educate those with the will to uncover it; having studied only one small fragment that much is plainly obvious. On the grand scale of existence, we are nothing more than just children. Here we have an opportunity to learn." He looked to the audience, filled with young scholars. "And even with this chance to learn so much, this mission isn't for us. It is a venture that will span millions of years and take its goal into reaches of space far beyond anything any of us has ever considered feasible. And it is only through this culmination of work from across generations and galaxies…" he said powerfully, keeping his voice steady, "that we will learn the destiny of all things."

Yvsan's shuttle pushed itself out of the atmosphere and back into space. Seven Nati cruisers were sitting very close to the planet in a defense pattern. Yvsan's cruiser was still holding position within the planet's atmosphere. Young looked past the blockade to gaze at Destiny. She was farther away from the planet than Young had remembered; the ship must have drifted from the attack. The cruiser making the repairs was right on top of Destiny but from about three hundred kilometers he couldn't see any details.

"We spent hours in that power complex, and I was still only able to scratch the surface as to its full potential. I could've spent days down there and never gotten bored," Yvsan commented as he glided his shuttle through the ranks of his cruisers. "My original posting when I joined the defense force was engineering. I loved the work, but I was eventually pushed up into a command position."

Young leaned back in his seat, having nothing to do until they could reach Destiny. "Unfortunately right now our priorities need to be elsewhere. What's the status of your ships that were attacked?"

The commander was made visibly tense at the subject, but he checked his sensors anyways. "One of the cruisers has reinitialized their primary core. It looks like they've sealed their hull breaches and rerouted power around damaged areas. They should be able to fight, though they should stay clear from the heavy fighting." He continued to read his output and grew slightly downcast. "The two other cruisers sustained heavy damage. We'd need weeks to repair them with the resources we have right now. For the moment they've been towed to a safe distance and the surviving crew has been moved to other ships."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Young said sincerely. "Hopefully… given enough time they can be salvaged."

Yvsan was not as optimistic as Young. "Unfortunately, that won't matter. We're a dying group most likely. With so much of our civilization destroyed, very few are thinking about trying to change our society; they just want to rebuild. They won't pay attention to our message. And… if we can't bring more of our people to join us… well it's only a matter of time before they deal us enough small blows that there will be nothing left."

"I get the feeling that you and your people have too much fight in you to let that happen," Young said. As they were passing the last cruiser in the blockade Young sat up straight and looked carefully at the ship. "Solid ships with solid crews."

"While I appreciate the sentiment…" Yvsan was cut off by a loud bleeping alarm from his console. The lights in the shuttle immediately dimmed and the co-pilot's display changed from sensors to offensive systems. At that moment a cloud of energy popped into existence right beside the blockade and immediately spat a small ship out. The design was Nati, but it was about a fifth the size of a cruiser. It looked like a cylinder that had been squeezed on the top and the bottom which gave it a slightly flattened look, with a short nose that protruded from the front. The engine section was large for a ship that size and made it incredibly fast and maneuverable because the ship sped away quickly.

"What is that?" Young asked as he stiffened and began to pay attention to his control console.

Yvsan mumbled a curse before he pushed the shuttles engines to maximum and pursued the craft. "It's a scout ship; Vesari probably sent it to determine the status of our ships." He activated the communication system on his shuttle and sent a message to all his ships. "This is Commander Yvsan. All ships pursue the enemy at your own discretion." A series of affirmatives flooded his channel before he turned it off.

The scout ship was currently moving off towards Destiny and was moving in an erratic pattern. It almost immediately turned back around and headed back to the planet. Yvsan's shuttle was a direct course for the ship which was about one hundred kilometers away right now and closing very fast.

"Commander…" Young said very worriedly as the two ships came ever closer. His own console gave a short buzz and when he looked down it indicated a target lock. Without waiting he opened fire. Two cannons on either side of the shuttle opened fire, hot bolts of energy making their way to the scout ship. The craft quickly rolled to its port on its axis and continued on its way. The ship missed the shuttle only by a dozen meters which made Young's heart race as he watched the ship quickly disappear from sight.

"Hold on," Yvsan warned. He expertly piloted the ship into a sharp turn to starboard. Young felt the strain only a little bit, speaking volumes of the inertial dampeners on this shuttle. Within a few seconds, they were on the tail of the scout ship which was heading right for the blockade.

Two cruisers fired a couple of volleys at the scout ship, but they all were fruitless as the ship rapidly dodged each shot. Then, it made a sharp turn to port and jumped into hyperspace as quickly as it had arrived.

Yvsan let out a long, harsh breathe. He brought the shuttle down from tactical alert and brought her back to bear on Destiny.

Young sat uncomfortably, waiting for his heart rate to come back down to normal. "I take it that is bad news," he finally managed to say.

"Very bad," Yvsan said. "We should get to Destiny quickly. I don't think we have much time." As they approached Destiny, Young could begin to make out the dozens of robotic arms that had extended out from the Nati cruiser. They were dancing along the battered hull of the ship and were welding new plates of metal to seal breaches and fixing ruptured conduits and weapon stations. Interestingly enough, all of the new equipment blended perfectly with the textures and patterns of the surrounding hull, making it impossible to tell what was new and what was old. Young looked on the ship as Yvsan brought the shuttle in to dock.

"Give an update on the repairs," Young said as he walked into the Control Interface Room. As was now his habit, Yvsan followed closely behind Young. Eli was sitting at the main console with Park at another one on the other side of the room. They both looked up at Young and Yvsan without beating an eye at seeing the Nati commander. Judging by the several Nati engineers Young had seen on their way here, the crew had probably adjusted to seeing Nati on Destiny. Inwardly that pleased the Colonel.

"Better than I had hoped," Eli confessed. He stopped what he was working on and brought up a holographic display of Destiny. "That cruiser has been working non-stop to seal hull breaches. They even got some of the old breaches that we've had since before we got onboard."

"And most of the power transfer systems along the hull have been repaired," Park added from her station. "Even if we had all the raw materials, it would've taken us weeks to do this with space suits and robots."

"Yeah, I'm really happy not to have to crawl into a suit for a while," Eli commented. "Anyways, most of the weapon platforms are repaired, and shield generators have been fixed. We had to replace many parts to get those systems fixed, but the Nati cannibalized the systems from the damaged cruisers which gave us plenty of equipment."

"How are the engines?"

Eli shrugged the question off as non-important. "Since Vesari was in front of us we didn't take much engine damage. The few damaged power conduits were repaired quickly. Power however, was the main issue. We don't have the time to go refuel in the star; repairs are too important. So Park and I worked with the Nati engineers and found a way to make our power sources compatible. We got that working about an hour ago. It's slower than refueling with solar collectors, but we've got the reserves up to seventy-nine percent right now."

Young walked up to Eli's terminal and stared approvingly at the display; the amount of red was significantly decreased from when he had left fifteen hours ago. "This is good progress; really good." He turned to Yvsan. "Thank you the help you've given us."

"We really do appreciate it," Park chirped. "The amount of manpower you provided made a huge difference."

Yvsan bowed his head slightly in return. "Believe me when I say we were happy to help."

The Colonel looked around the room now that the report was done. "Where are Brody and Volker?"

"They're supervising the Nati engineering team with their repairs on the bridge," Eli said. "It's been about twelve hours since they started so I imagine some progress has been made. For now we're coordinating everything through here."

"Good. Eli, would you say that we're battle-ready?" Young asked pointedly.

At that question to young scientist groaned and shoved his face into his console. It was a moment before he looked back up. "If by that you mean: is this ship at a condition in which it can put up a fight only to have everything we just fixed get broken again then yeah… we're battle-ready. That being said, I would really love not to get in a fight right now."

"So would I Eli, but I don't know if we're being given a choice," Young said, stepping aside to give Yvsan a chance to speak.

Accepting the attention, Yvsan walked up to Eli's station. "May I?" he asked. Eli furrowed his brow but stepped aside without an argument. Yvsan took the seat and looked to the console, very quickly adjusting to the controls. He changed the hologram to display sensor records of the scout ship. It pointed out several key features, including its large engine assembly and the many dishes and radio towers along the hull. "It is a typical strategy to send in this ship before an attack to scout out the enemy's power and fortifications. The ship has virtually no offensive capability; the design instead focuses on incredibly precise sensors capable of scanning the entire electromagnetic spectrum, and overpowered engines to allow it to enter and exit quickly."

"It's not exactly subtle," Eli pointed out, leaning against the core.

Nodding in agreement, Yvsan focused the display on the power core of the ship. "That is quite true. In most cases, this vessel would operate in a stealth mode. If you'll note the power emissions on this ship; they register at one/fortieth of what you would expect from a ship this size. If this ship had exited hyperspace where our sensors could not reach, say beyond one of this planet's moons or another nearby planet, we would not know of its presence. It would take longer to scan us effectively though."

"They did this on purpose, to intimidate us," Young interjected.

"Precisely; in this situation we are aware of the incoming attack. The stealth would only be employed in the case of a surprise attack," Yvsan elaborated, now turning off the display. "In this case, they wanted to remind us that they can attack whenever they choose; fear was as important a goal as was information gathering."

Young paced around the core for a moment, listening to the calming hum of Destiny's engines. It sounded healthier to him than when he left. Like the ship had been complaining earlier and now that it had been repaired was no longer in pain. He shook the thought off and went back to the conversation. "How long do we have until they attack?"

Yvsan took a moment to ponder, staring at the core and all the various components on it. He turned to Young with an uncertain shrug. "Most likely they will launch soon after the scout ship returns with the information."

"Based on the time it took the capital ship to reach its current position," Eli said, "the trip to meet with their friends should take about twenty minutes. So that's forty minutes minimum until we see them and maybe more if they wait for more ships."

"Can we see how many ships are already there?" Young asked Eli.

He walked to another station and activated the controls for the holographic display. After a second he accessed the communication systems and looked for the Nati ships. The display showed Destiny and the insurgent ships all represented as blue dots. Then it zoomed out and swung to a point two light years from the blue dots. At that location there was a cluster of red dots, with a few more on the way. "Oh boy… I'm counting ten ships already there, and about five more on the way. Based on the distance of the farthest out ship, and assuming they'll wait for them," Eli said, pausing to do some quick mental arithmetic, "we have about four hours before they launch. Regardless, we'll have a twenty warning after they launch."

"I suppose we'll have to make that work. I'd like to be able to reconvene later and get a plan of attack. Yvsan, since you are the expert on their capabilities it would be helpful if you could present some ideas." Young said, getting an immediate nod from the commander. "I'm going to go check on TJ, see how everyone's doing."

Eli spoke up before Young could move. "You'll want to go look for her in the port side cargo bay. The Nati brought over some big medical equipment and left it there; it helped to reduce the crowding in the infirmary."

The Colonel nodded in response as he turned to leave, but stopped at the mouth of the corridor. "I imagine following me is going to get very bored," he said to Yvsan.

"If you don't mind Colonel," Yvsan said rising from his console, "I'd like to go talk to my people aboard your ship; inform them of the situation."

"That shouldn't be a problem. Eli, would you show him around?" Young asked.

"I'm a bit busy here," he apologized, bringing back up the work he was doing before Young arrived. "All the damaged weapon platforms need to be recalibrated. Ginn is helping out," he said looking to the empty air to his right, "but it's still taking a while."

Yvsan looked to the Colonel. "It's alright, I'll just walk back the way we came; I saw some of my crew there. I can manage on my own."

In all honesty, Young was somewhat tired of watching over this one man, so getting a chance to let him go on his own was somewhat tempting, but didn't seem like a great idea. "I wouldn't want you getting turned around. Park, show him to one of our repair teams and let them guide him after that."

Park lightly nodded and rose from her chair. She walked up to Yvsan and pointed down the hallway. "This way." She walked down with him by her side.

As they turned at the end of the hall Young let out a long sigh and started to walk down to the cargo hold. "Long day, huh?" Eli called out from his station.

"No kidding," he said as he walked out of the Control Interface Room.

Two Airmen stood in the hallway outside the cargo hold. One had a sling holding his left arm up and the other had a bandage wrapped around his lower right leg. Small dabs of blood could be seen as they soaked through the bandage, but neither of them seemed to be in immediate pain. Young surmised they had been taken care of and had left the room to keep from crowding. They both saluted as he passed; he returned the gesture and walked into the infirmary.

Several large pieces of medical technology cluttered the room, all with beds attached to them. To Young's satisfaction, most of them were empty. There were only a few patients in the room and two Nati doctors helping out. He saw TJ standing by one of the empty beds, looking over the various components.

TJ didn't notice him until he was standing right next to her at the machine. She looked much more uplifted than she had before he left. "How is everyone?" he asked.

"Not bad; no more fatalities at least," she said with a grin. "I guess I shouldn't ask for more than that."

"Did Scott come back aboard?" he asked.

"Yeah, a shuttle brought him about seven hours ago," she said nodding. "I checked him out just to make sure everything was alright; he seemed to be pretty good for a man with a head injury. I think he went to his quarters to sleep off the sedatives they gave him."

Young was satisfied by her answers and was uplifted by her attitude. "What is all this stuff?" he asked, turned to look at the different medical stations.

She turned with him and looked around the room as well. "Some… really amazing technology; this scanning technology works on the same basic principles as Destiny's equipment, only it's quite a bit more advanced. They've done everything though; I don't know how to operate any of this stuff," she said pointing to the two doctors standing over Dr. Inman. It looked like she might have a broken arm which the doctors were quickly healing with their technology. TJ stood looking somewhat useless next to Young. "I have to admit, they really helped out. I'd still be patching up cuts and setting bones right now; instead pretty much everyone has been taken care of."

He had hoped to not have to force this question, but there was really no delicate way to bring up the subject. "How's Kalin?" he asked since he had not seen the man at all.

"He's stable; for the moment," she said, trying to interpret the information being displayed on the nearest device's monitors. "They've got impressive technology that can help burn victims, but it's not portable unfortunately. So they moved him over to their ship to administer the treatment." As she said that, Young could see her lose her confidence slightly; she didn't like being removed from her patient. It passed quickly. "I'd love it if we could keep this stuff." She chuckled as she took a few steps away from the bed and continued to look around the room.

"I'll make sure to ask before we leave," Young said tiredly, walking around the room with her. "How are you holding up?" he asked, realizing that he had not given her any chance to express her feelings.

"A lot better than I usually am after a big fight like that," she admitted. Stopping in the center of the room, she glanced back at the doctors who were discharging Inman. "I'm still processing the fact that we have someone here to help us. It's weird, you know?"

Young sighed and ran his hand through his hair, slightly distraught. "When did we become like this?" he asked suddenly, catching TJ off guard. "We don't trust anyone; we have to worry about every trip through the 'Gate. Hell, every time we drop from F.T.L. I just have to hope there isn't a new threat to this ship and crew. And now that we get someone here helping us…" he drifted off.

"… It's hard to believe that we might have friends all the way out here," she finished, "especially after everything we've been through."

He remained motionless for a long moment. Overall he felt relieved that he had finally managed to say what had been bothering him this whole day. Finally he lifted his head and looked to TJ who was giving him a very supportive look. "I think I'll head to my quarters. This has just been a ridiculous day and even ten minutes in bed would be a good thing."

"We'll do fine, Colonel," she reassured him as he started to leave. "I know we will."

With the bulbous Nati cruiser sitting atop of Destiny there wasn't too much of a sight from the Observation Deck. Regardless, there was still a good amount of Destiny itself that remained visible, and that was enough to captivate Yvsan for a good long time. He was alone in the room at the moment, since the crew of Destiny was busy finishing repairs and there was no one to escort him. All of the textures and features that lined the hull of the ship were enough to keep him preoccupied.

After what must've been ten minutes alone just leaning against the railing, he heard footsteps walk into the room and stop. He turned around to see Wray standing by the door, her translator glowing dimly on her forehead.

"This is probably the best condition Destiny has been in for quite a while; thanks to your repairs. You're also the first to get a chance to admire it," she said quietly, taking a moment before walking up and joining him at the railing.

Yvsan looked at her before turning his gaze back to the ship. "You must be Camille Wray," he said, returning his attention to her. "During your… detention on our home world, Tarym created detailed files on the captured members of Destiny. I managed to access a copy of your files before my fleet left," he added somewhat sheepishly.

She gave him a quiet 'ah' of understanding, uncomfortably recalling the event. "That was a… a regrettable day. If Tarym hadn't overreacted to our true origins, none of this fighting would have happened. Our two people could have been really good friends I think."

"I would have liked that, perhaps more than you can imagine," Yvsan confessed, leaning on the railing and gazing pensively to the stars. "While my people did manage a vast empire, we didn't have… friends as you would say. Any race we deemed a threat to the Lords we conquered and expelled from our space. Those left behind were left destitute and thrown into forced labor. I can't say that I'm proud of who we were."

"From what I can see, you are a good person. You've tried to change things; right the wrongs," Wray said, looking earnestly at him. "In my book, that's something to be proud of."

He showed a small smile before turning back to look at Wray. "Thank you."

A second later the radio at her belt came to life. "This is Eli in the Control Interface Room. I think everyone should get back down here."

Wray grabbed the radio and tapped it. "I'm on my way with Yvsan," she said, returning the radio to her belt. "We shouldn't keep them waiting."

Yvsan nodded and pulled himself away from the captivating vista offered on the observation deck. A dull rumble echoed through the ship as the cruiser detached the repair arms from Destiny's hull and began to move off. As it veered away from Destiny, it let the bright light from the star to shine across the bow of the ship. The radiant light bounced off the hull and its newly installed panels. It was a wonderful sight, the red-orange light pouring into the observation deck and illuminated the bow of the massive ship. "It is remarkable."

She gave him agreeing nod and led him out of the room.

"Talk to me Eli," Young said as he ran into the Control Interface Room, Wray and Yvsan walking in from the other side of the room. They all gathered around the core, watching Eli at the console.

He took a second before answering, taking that time to activate the holo-display. It showed the mass of red dots representing the Nati fleet, and a small group of red dots moving away from it. "I'm reading four Nati ships that have broken ranks; they're on their way here right now."

Young looked to Yvsan. "Do you have any idea why they would do that?"

The Nati commander shook his head. "It's not a typical strategy that I am familiar with. Nati warships regularly use superior numbers to defeat their enemies. Splitting up like this is very strange."

"Maybe they don't want to throw all their forces at as in one shot," Wray suggested. "They could try to attack in waves, each successive wave damaging us a bit only to have a fresh wave hit us again."

Yvsan sighed in uncertainty. "It's a possibility, but not one I would think likely."

"I'm gonna agree with Mr. Alien Commander," Eli said, pointing at the display. The rest of the red dots started to move along the same vector as the four other dots. "They sure didn't wait long to launch a second wave; this doesn't make any sense." Yvsan nodded in agreement, though frowned at Eli's title for him.

"Regardless, it looks like we've just run out of time," Young announced, stepping up to the holo-display. "What's the status of Destiny and the task force?"

Eli quickly tapped away and shifted the focus of the display to Destiny. "We're actually doing surprisingly well considering we are mostly patched up with spares. For something that took less than twenty hours, I don't think I could ask for more. Score one for having friends," he said with a small grin in Yvsan's direction. "The rest of the Nati task force is in good condition; but those two crippled ships are beyond repair."

"Eleven to fifteen," Young lamented, pacing across a small space in front of the display. "Those aren't the best odds. At least your soldiers are planet-side. That should help protect our team down there."

"Don't forget that Vesari will still be commanding his flagship in the battle," Yvsan reminded. "It would require all of our effort to disable his vessel. Worrying about fourteen escorts in addition to that will make this an even more difficult engagement. I fear this is a hopeless situation for us."

"Tell me that you have some ideas, or at least some tactical knowledge that can be of use," Young asked, trying not to sound desperate.

Yvsan shuffled uncomfortably for a moment looking from Young to the display. "Forgive me, but just a short time ago that information was a closely guarded secret." He took a sharp breath and looked to Young. "I'll contact my ship and have my tactical officer transmit all available information we have on the design of the flagship. Also we may have some spies within Vesari's crew. I'll try to communicate with them."

"Thank you," Young said earnestly. "I understand that must have been a difficult decision."

He nodded in return. "Difficult yes, but at least this time it is for a noble purpose. Maybe it can atone for the difficult orders in the past I chose to follow." Yvsan paused as he reflected on his part before his focus returned. "I should go communicate with my ship. If you'll excuse me." He gave a short, formal bow and began to walk out of the Contract Interface Room. The Commander activated the communicator on his wrist and spoke to his crew, his voice disappearing down the corridor.

"Eli," Young started, "I want you to look that data over with Yvsan when it gets here. Find anything that might be able to give us an edge."

"Don't worry, I'll keep my eyes opened for any exposed thermal exhaust ports conveniently placed at the end of one of their trenches," Eli said grinning.

Young wanted to tell him to be more serious, but he understood that it was just a coping mechanism. "Is the bridge accessible?"

"Yeah, the last repair crew left Destiny about ten minutes ago. Brody and Volker should be up there running system checks," Eli said.

Acknowledging the info the Colonel turned to leave the room. "I'll go make a quick round to check on the crew. I want everyone at their stations before that fleet arrives. We've got a short window to prepare and make sure we're ready for this fight. Let's make the most of it."

Walking down the hall to the bridge Young was impressed to observe no damage. The conduit that had ruptured a bulkhead outside was completely repaired and the bulkhead had been replaced as well. He had seen similar repairs across the ship, and in each case if he hadn't seen the damage firsthand he wouldn't have known how badly hurt this ship had been. The Colonel tapped the keypad to open the bridge, waiting a moment as the doors slid open. Inside Brody and Volker were moving from station to station checking all the systems. Just like in the hallway all the physical damage had been perfectly repaired.

At this point neither of the scientists had taken notice of him. Volker was standing at the right station while Brody was working the console at the commander's chair. "Weapon platform three is misaligned; targeting sensors are off by two point six three degrees," Volker noted.

"Compensating," Brody said as he began to tap away at the console on the armrest of the command chain. "Cheek the midship-portside shield generator. Field attenuation has been fluctuating."

"On it," Volker responded, turning to acknowledge Brody. He paused when he saw Young. "Colonel, I didn't see you come in."

"I just got here," Young said walking down the stairs. "This place looks a lot better than I remember," he commented.

Brody nodded in agreement, quickly rising from the command chair. "The Nati engineering teams did a real good job putting everything back together."

"I think they even gave us a fresh coat of paint," Volker said with a grin, noting the incredible sheen the room had to it.

Young walked up to his chair and promptly sat down. "Apparently they screwed up one or two things."

"Just a few maintenance and calibration issues," Brody reassured sitting himself at the center station. "Our offensive and defensive systems are mostly operational, we're just weeding out the gremlins. Don't worry Colonel, she'll hold together."

"Glad to hear it, because we should be having company soon," Young said grimly. "I'd hate it if we gave them a sub par performance."

"We'd have finished all of this already if we weren't so shorthanded," Volker complained as he realigned the targeting sensors. "Rush and Kalin would've been really helpful." He paused after he spoke and lightly rubbed the console which had been replaced from the explosion. "How is he?"

"He'll live," Young answered without thought. He hoped for the best and didn't need his crew getting distracted right now.

"Good, and I'm glad we got Lieutenant Scott back from the planet; no one can fly this ship like him," Brody said as he continued to work. "I just wish we had Greer to man the weapons."

As if on cue footsteps were heard walking onto the bridge followed by aloud yawn. Young turned to see a well-rested Scott walk down the stairs and to his post. Apparently healed up enough he now had a translator stuck to his forehead. "Sorry I'm late sir; those drugs they gave me knocked me out like a light. I think I might ask TJ to get her hands on a bottle or two for the occasional sleepless night."

"Amen to that," Volker mumbled.

"How are you feeling lieutenant?" Young asked as Scott sat down and began checking the helm systems.

"Just fine sir, though I can't wait for this day to be over," he replied enthusiastically. By his manner Young couldn't believe that this man had a concussion only a half-day ago.

Young was going to continue talking when he heard running in the hall. Turning around again he saw Eli burst into the bridge panting. Yvsan was right behind him completely untroubled by his running. "They're almost here," he warned urgently as he took his post at the science station.

The room went silent for a few seconds from the announcement. Young took a look around the bridge. He looked at each crew member for a moment, having an extra pause as he looked at what was Kalin's station. Finally he ended on Yvsan, the ally out of nowhere. "Commander, I'd appreciate it if you would take the communication station and coordinate our offensive with your task force."

"Of course," he answered quickly moving to the console. Yvsan took a moment to look at the laptop and frowned at it. He ignored it and focused on the Ancient terminal.

"Did you manage to find any useful tactical information?" Young asked.

"Nothing that will give us a huge advantage," Eli noted in a downcast manner. "There were a couple of structural weak points and some areas of the ship that might create secondary explosions. I've uploaded all we could find to the targeting matrix."

Volker quickly tapped at his console. "I see it here. All weapon platforms are active and powering up; deploying the main weapon."

"Shields are at eighty-six percent strength," Brody said. "All the emitters are functional but our reserves are a bit low."

"We'll just have to make do with what we have," Young reasoned.

"Sublight engines and thrusters are online," Scott said.

"I am in direct contact with my officers aboard the Rotundi. They will convey my orders to the fleet. All of my ships report ready for battle, Colonel Young," Yvsan reported from the rear. "They will follow your lead."

Everyone was staring at the center of the room, right at Young. The hiss of steam and the calm, healthy hum of the ship were the only sounds for a few seconds. Young finally spoke. "You've all performed remarkably this day, just as I've come to expect from you. I want you to know that I am honored to have each and every one of you under my command. And I am grateful to our allies; we wouldn't be here without them." He gave a nod in Yvsan's direction who reciprocated the gesture. "Now, let's tell these bastards one last time to leave us alone. Lieutenant, bring us closer to the task force; we're going to win this fight by standing together."

"Yes sir," Scott answered, operating the controls expertly. The ship rumbled slightly as the powerful engines began to propel the ship forward. "Engines at full power; we'll be alongside the task force in twenty seconds." As Destiny accelerated through space the planet slowly grew in size in the forward viewpoints. The rich green landmasses became more prominent, beautifully juxtaposed to the light blue oceans. Nine shapes in orbit could easily be seen as they reflected the light from the star. Very quickly they morphed into giant Nati warships standing guard above the Ancient complex on the surface. Destiny slowed down and put herself near the other ships, coming to full stop.

A quick trio of beeps sounded at Eli's terminal. "Subspace distortions one hundred twenty kilometers to port. I'm reading four hyperspace windows forming."

"That's too far out for a reliable targeting lock," Volker noted as Scott turned the ship to face the distortions.

"We'll just let them come to us then," Young replied. "Tell you ships to hold their fire until I give the order," he said to Yvsan. The Commander quickly relayed the message.

There was another alarming sound from the science station. "Here they come."

Now everyone's attention was focused outside, at the four pinpricks of bright white light. They each flashed powerfully and quickly vanished leaving four warships within a couple hundred kilometers from the task force.

"Prepare to open fire on the closest ship as soon as they enter weapons range," Young started as everyone began to work quickly at their posts.

"Colonel Young, I am receiving a short transmission from the lead vessel," Yvsan said, taking a moment to read the text. Upon reading it his eyes widened and he began to smile slightly. His continued silence aggravated Young.

"What is it Commander?" Young asked, turning to look at Yvsan.

"They are insurgent-controlled ships," he announced gleefully. "I knew we had some intelligence operatives within their fleet, but I had no idea we had so many sympathizers."

Scott spun around in his chair at the news. "Sir, with all due respect, this sounds like a trap to me."

"They transmitted the message on a frequency that only the insurgents use, and they supplied a proper authentication code from six of our operatives," Yvsan returned defensively. "I assure you that this is not a trap." Another beep came from the communication terminal. Yvsan looked down and read the new message. "They are offering to maintain their current position and flank the enemy fleet."

Young took a deep breath and looked at the Commander's confident expression. He turned back to face the front of the bridge. "I guess we'll find out for sure whose side they're on soon enough."

"Yes sir," Scott said immediately turning back to his post.

"The rest of the fleet is coming through now, only twenty-five kilometers off our bow!" Eli shouted from his station over a dozen alarms.

In the space between the task force and the four newcomers a flurry of clouds began to form. About ten flashes appeared, depositing ten Nati warships very close to the task force. A second later a massive cloud of energy burst to life, and Vesari's massive capital ship emerged, dwarfing the rest of his fleet. Eli audibly groaned as he looked at the behemoth.

The Colonel snapped to action immediately. "Get a lock on the nearest warship Mr. Volker. The less escorts that capital ship has the better. Commander, prepare to coordinate our attacks with your ships."

Yvsan acknowledged the order and only had a second before his station beeped. "Colonel Young, the Vindictio is signaling us."

"He's a surprisingly talkative admiral," Eli said.

Young thought for a moment, watching the menacing fleet sit out in front of Destiny. "The longer we can keep them talking, the more time Rush has. Patch them through Commander," he ordered.

Quickly figuring out the controls, Yvsan deployed the Kino and the monitors. The floating camera took its standard position as the monitors changed from status reports to the grim figure of Admiral Vesari.

"Colonel Young, I see you are not as beaten as I left you," he said with disappointment.

"Admiral Vesari, I see you needed to run and get help to fight us," Young retorted, playing the same game. Judging by the Admiral's reddened face, he had hit a nerve. "Is there something we can help you with?"

He took a moment to compose himself before speaking again. "Someone wishes to speak to you… and these traitors," he said with repugnance at Yvsan.

Taking a step to the side he let another man walk into frame. Young jumped out of his chair immediately as he saw the middle-aged man appear on the screen sporting a smug countenance. "Tarym," he spat out in surprise.

The Nati leader grinned widely, enjoying the shock in his enemy's face. "Colonel Young, I had hoped we'd seen the last of each other."

Young collected his emotions and slowly sat back down into his chair. "I was under the impression that no one would be seeing any more of you, after we destroyed your hunter ship."

Tarym scoffed as he continued to revel in Young's surprise. "My saving grace in that encounter was also my mistake. I chose to command from a distance, holding the crew of that ship in high esteem. The officers aboard that ship were incompetent and failed me. This time I will directly lead the attack and make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Listen, we're not looking for a fight," Young said attempting a diplomatic approach he knew Wray would appreciate. "We just need to recover a few crew members from the planet and we'll be on our way. There's no need for more bloodshed."

At that Tarym's smile widened. "Fortunately, there is. These insurgents have brought our people to civil war in an already trying time. And you made the fortuitous decision of allying yourself with them, making you a more dangerous enemy than ever." He paused for a brief moment letting his threat settle. "Of course I am not unreasonable. I understand that this cause of rebellion appeals to the young and brash, which is why I wish to propose an arrangement."

"I can only imagine what that 'arrangement' will entail," Yvsan said sarcastically walking up to the side of the command chair.

With a sour look at the Commander, Tarym continued. "If you surrender yourselves and your illegally confiscated vessels, I will spare all of your lives. The command officers of each vessel will be tried for treason and desertion in the battlefield. Destiny's crew will be sent to a penal colony for life. The remainder of your personnel will serve five years hard labor and rehabilitation after which they will be returned to service in the Defense Force. The alternative is certain death." He spoke with a calm demeanor as he delivered his harsh terms.

Yvsan chuckled at the screen incredulously. "Maybe you don't fully understand our position here. We don't want to do anything to help you rebuild your way of life. We don't want to give you more ships or labor to rebuild your fleets. We would all rather die than serve you," he spat at the screen.

"I had hoped you would say something like that," Tarym said with a malevolent grin. The connection immediately terminated.

A flurry of alarms went off across the bridge as the Kino dropped back into the floor and the monitors began to display tactical data. Yvsan quickly moved back to his post.

"Enemy ships are moving Colonel, looks like they're getting into some formation," Brody announced, the display above his head revealing the same information.

"Diamond formation; it's a standard tactic," Yvsan informed from the rear. The designation was simple and fitting. Every ship in enemy fleet had turned so their port faced Destiny and the surrounding task force and their starboard weapons were focused on the four flanking ships. The Vindictio took up the center of the formation, her massive features dominating the space behind her. Two warships positioned themselves in a line off of her bow, and two more did the same off her stern. There was a warship both above and below her, and the four remaining ships took positions in the diagonal gaps. The formation indeed took the shape of a diamond, with the most of the firepower focused on the plane of the solar system. It allowed each ship a wide firing arc without having another shin getting in the way. While simple, it looked quite formidable.

"They're powering up weapons," Brody warned.

"My ships have taken up a battle position. They are awaiting orders," the Commander said.

"Have your ships fire in conjunction with Destiny; maybe our combined fire can overwhelm one of the cruisers' shields before they can react," Young ordered. "Tell the flanking ships to close and pick targets of opportunity."

He waited a moment as the message was being sent. "All ships are ready."

Young took a quick breath and gazed at the enemy formation. The ships sat still in space, pinpricks of light indicating their weapons were close to discharging. For a moment, Young saw the fleet as old wooden sailboats on a vast black sea. They poised their lateral cannons, ready to bring carnage to their adversaries. It felt almost peaceful right now, in the last breath before battle. Young wished he could hold that breath and keep the battle away, but there was no avoiding the exhale. He selected a target on his armrest console, the warship to the aft of the Vindictio. "Mr. Volker, fire the main weapon."

As soon as the command was given, a series of orange energy bolts flew out from Destiny's underside and quickly burned across space to their target. Before they had traveled half the distance a massive blue hue filled the bridge. A hundred powerful blue pulses filled the viewports as the task force opened fire. The targeted warship did not move out of dangers way, possibly because the formation did not allow for individual flexibility by a commanding officer.

The weapons from Destiny hit the ship first, the brunt of the attack being focused in the aft-engineering quarter. Her shields flared to life but no serious damage was noticeable. Before the shields could fade away the massive insurgent barrage slammed into the ship. The first two dozen impacts strained the shields to capacity. Then another to dozen bolts hit and the shields flickered and died. Vulnerable, the ship's commander finally launched a retaliatory strike. A few pulses lashed out to an insurgent cruiser, but it was a fruitless effort.

Without shields, the remaining energy bolts ripped into the ship, tearing her apart. Massive explosions registered across all section of the ship and she began to shift back out of formation. The last few shots struck her badly exposed engineering section and dealt the fatal blow. Her core exploded, shredding the ship into half a dozen large chunks and a million tiny ones. The largest segment was from the bow and the force from the explosion sent it hurtling at the Vindictio. It slammed into the massive ship setting her shield aglow as the debris bounced off.

"That's a confirmed kill," Brody said reading his terminal closely. "They're returning fire!"

The enemy fleet discharged their weapons, releasing a similar amount of firepower as the insurgents had. Space was strewn with blue bolts of energy, only the enemy seemed less coordinated. Every insurgent ship was targeted, each vessel taking similar damage. A handful of shots struck Destiny's bow, the shields faintly glowing in response.

"No damage reported," Eli informed. "Shields holding."

"Volker, begin firing on this target," Young ordered, this time selecting the ship directly in front of the capital ship. "Commander, tell your ships they are free to use their own discretion in selecting targets, but I want them to operate in pairs for greater firepower."

"Understood Colonel," he responded. As he delivered the order to his ships he referred to strange sounding battle formations.

"Incoming fire from the capital ship!" Brody yelled, gripping his stator tightly. A dozen large energy shots splashed across the hull, this time dealing heavy punishment to the shields. The deck shook slightly from the heavy impact. "Shields at seventy-one percent, minor damage to the mid-ship sensor array."

"Two friendlies have taken heavy fire," Eli said from his post, making sense of the jumble of sensor data. "Shields are weakened but holding for the moment."

Another volley of weapons fire hit Destiny without much effect. In return dozens of orange bolts went flying from the many turrets located all over Destiny's hull, all smashing into one cruiser.

It was in that moment of relative calm that Yvsan approached Young. "Colonel Young, may I make a suggestion?"

Young was admittedly open to ideas. "What do you have in mind?"

"So far, we've been fighting just like Nati warships would," he said quickly, not taking the momentary lull for granted, "each fleet lined up trading blow after blow. But Destiny is not a Nati ship, so there is no reason we should limit her in this fight."

The floor shook as a volley struck close to the bridge. Yvsan stood his ground looking firmly at Young. He thought for a moment and nodded. "It just might give us a small advantage to fight them differently. Good idea." With a satisfactory smile the Commander made his way back to his station. The Colonel rose from his seat and walked up to Scott, gazing at his terminal from over his shoulder. "Lieutenant, prepare a flight plan that will take us under the diamond and then up and over in a loop. I want you to keep our top to the enemy. Come as close to them as you can."

"Yes sir," Scott answered enthusiastically, calculating the path at once.

Satisfied with one part of the plan, Young moved to Volker. He held onto Brody's chair for support as another barrage slammed into the ship sending a few sparks flying overhead. "Mr. Volker I want to hit them close and hard with all the dorsal cannons. Target the bottom ship when we go under, then the capital ship when we go up, and the top when we go over. I want all platforms at full power; take it from the shields if you have to."

"Understood," the scientist responded somewhat shakily. He was horribly out of his league for an intense military operation.

Returning to the command chair he checked the displays to make sure everyone was ready. He turned to Yvsan once more. "Make sure your ships watch their fire when we close on the fleet. Have them focus fire on the ships we hit." The Commander acknowledged the order and Young turned to face the viewports. "Do it."

"Going to one-half sublight," Scott said. The ship rumbled lightly as it accelerated forward and began to pitch down. The upper half of the diamond was out of sight, as was much of the fighting. The bottom warship quickly grew in size until it was the only vessel that could be seen floating above Destiny's bow.

"Fire!" Young shouted. Every turret with a good dorsal arc opened fire as Destiny quickly passed underneath the stationary and surprised cruiser. Dozens of bolts left the barrels of the turrets and almost immediately slammed into the cruiser. Her shields flared brightly as she was struck all over her hull and was then subjected to increased fire from the task force. The cruiser managed to fire a barrage at Destiny, but she moved so fast only a few glancing blows hit their mark.

From her vertical orientation, with respect to the rest of the battle field, Destiny was looking at the bottom of the Vindictio as she unleashed a powerful barrage at the task force. With incredible speed she passed across the starboard side of the capital ship and unleashed a brutal assault which didn't seem to strain the shields at all. In a proper retaliatory manner, the Vindictio fired her starboard turrets right as Destiny passed over them. Having only a split second to make the shot, most of them missed. Still, a handful smashed into Destiny, rocking the ship and sending sparks flying from a circuit in the ceiling.

Now past the worst, Destiny calmly sailed over the top cruiser, firing and heavily draining her shields before drifting back to the planet and the task force upside down relative to the plane of battle. "Report," Young ordered as he gazed at the nine ships in the task force, three of which had visible hull damage.

"Shields are holding at sixty-three percent," Brody said. "Mid-ship emitters took the worst of the punch. I'm diverting power to compensate."

"Two weapon platforms overheated from the rapid fire," Volker lamented, unhappily gazing at the red indicators on his console. "We took some light damage, but I'd say we're doing pretty well." Again the deck shook from a hit and the same circuit sent a shower of sparks into the room, quelling Volker's optimism.

"Three of my ships have minimal shields," Yvsan noted calmly from his station, his professional attitude keeping his emotions subdued. "They have suffered moderate to heavy damage. I do not believe they will not last much longer under the current situation."

Young sighed dejectedly and turned to Eli. "Tell me we hurt them."

"Oh yeah," he said joyfully. "We knocked a hole in the shields of both cruisers. Barrages from our guys finished them off."

"What about the capital ship?" Young asked, fearing the answer.

Eli checked the sensors, his downcast expression answer enough for Young. "Their shields look like they're being strained, but are still holding steady."

"That ship has to be our priority. Mr. Volker if you have a shot I want you to take it," Young said, verbalizing his thoughts. "Lieutenant, get us back in line with the task force."

Scott acknowledged the order and pulled the ship up, returning Destiny to the same plane and orientation as the rest of the fleet. Vesari's diamond was crumbling one piece at a time, but the center was holding on strong, refusing to break.

Alarms sounded from several stations. Eli spoke up quickly. "The enemy fleet is launching fighters and troop transports." He stared at the telemetry in awe. "My God, I'm reading over two hundred fighters and fifty troop transports."

Staring out of the viewport, Young wished he could say that Eli was exaggerating. The surviving cruisers each launched a couple dozen fighters followed by the bulkier transports. The capital ship in turn launched a swarm of innumerable fighters. "Transports are heading to the planet," Brody warned. Indeed, the small, fat craft immediately turned to the planet. They formed a staggered line that for some reason looked like ants as they moved with the planet behind them. As they tried to descend into the atmosphere at a point some beyond the task force, the swarm of fighters flew into the midst of the group and began firing at all the ships. Destiny's shields flared as dozens of fighters narrowed in on her.

"Do what you can to take out those transports!" Young shouted as a circuit exploded on the side wall. A few shots lashed from Destiny and impacted a transport, damaging its hull enough that it turned into a fireball in the atmosphere and blew up. "Commander, contact your people guarding the complex on the surface. Tell them to expect company."

"Understood, and Colonel," he said while he had Young's attention, "I believe it would be prudent to launch our own attack craft. They can help take the pressure off our ships."

Young hesitated before answering, long enough for a series of fighters to fire across Destiny's command structure. "Won't that cause confusion about who is who?"

"No, we already modified the identification protocols of our attack craft," he explained. "Please Colonel, to be effective I must launch them now."

"Alright, do it," Young said without a second thought. Yvsan relayed the command to his ships. In a few moments, a hundred more fighters joined the battle, this time flying out of the fighter bays of the insurgent ships. The already crowded space was now alive with fighters flying in every direction and firing all across space. Young watched a squadron of fighters fly up to Destiny and open fire on her attackers. A dogfight ensued above her bow, the fighters spinning around her in pursuit of enemy fighters. They danced around the ship, waiting for a lined up target. An explosion registered above the dome as the last enemy fighter was destroyed. With that the friendly fighters left to help another ship.

As fighters continued to fly all about in the space around Destiny, Volker did not stop firing. He managed to bring down a few more transports and had the main weapon firing relentlessly at the Vindictio. Her shields flared from the punishment but showed no sign of failing. Young stared grimly at the battle scene and shifted his attention to the planet. "Come on Rush," he whispered.

The council chamber was wrapped in silence after Rush had concluded his speech. Now all the attention was focused on the council. Sobin sat still in contemplation, finally stirring after a moment. "If that will be all, I move the matter be voted upon." He looked to the other members of the council and representatives of the Alliance for any objection. Receiving none, he moved on. "Very well, I remind you that a two-thirds majority is required to affirm the vote. Ambassadors, what say you?"

All three aliens exchanged glances before proceeding. Pharaes spoke first. "Dr. Palos speaks well about his proposal. On our part, we sense no ill intention or malevolence, only pure curiosity and desire to learn. The features of the mission are also fascinating. As such, the Nox will cast their vote in support."

He turned to his side and gestured for Odin to speak. "I must confess that I find this to be a bold and noble goal. The Asgard vote for the mission and are very interested in providing any assistance we can."

Choor'mak was the center of attention now. He looked passively to Rush as he spoke. "We see this venture as immense in scale and risky in purpose," he said gruffly. "But at the same time the chance to explore so much of the universe and possibly answer this mystery is an intriguing proposition. Good science requires risk, or the journey to accomplish it was not worthwhile. In this matter I must concur with my colleagues."

While the whole of the audience was calm and attentive, Rush was starting to sweat under the pressure of the situation. He regulated his breathes and tried to keep from looking too nervous in front of the Ancient scientific community.

Once the Furling ambassador spoke, Castima did not wait a second to make her position heard. "I will maintain as I always have, that this mission is simply reckless and pointless. Conventional research and experimentation to yield answers to any questions we have. Not only is this venture a waste of resources, it is orchestrated by the selfish desires of one man. I vote against the launch of Destiny." She spoke quickly with obvious disdain towards the mission, but not so much as too seem unprofessional.

Sobin turned to the Councilman on his right and awaited his vote. Tanliz had a very uncomfortable manner about him. He almost seemed more nervous than Rush was. Glancing to Castima, Rush could see her glaring at the Councilman out of the corner of her eyes. Tanliz caught a glimpse of her severe countenance and immediately turned his attention back to Rush. He took a few deep breaths and started. "In my best judgment… this proposal is based on a flawed premise. This venture would require the use of all our seed ships which would set back the production of Stargates. I simply see the costs as greater than the benefits. Therefore I must vote against the launch."

The Councilwoman had a satisfied grin as she sat back in her chair. Sobin glanced around to all the delegates and ended on Rush. "As the final decision seems to rest with me, I will simply cast my support for the mission." The audience murmured excitedly for a brief moment on the decision and Rush let out a breath he'd been holding for a long time. Sobin had a very casual demeanor as he delivered the verdict, very different to Castima's deadly glare in her eyes. She regained her composure immediately before anyone other Rush noticed. "According to the latest reports," Sobin said, reading data off of his console, "Destiny's navigational program is active and all her system are fully operational. Since this was your mission Palos, I feel it is only fitting that you launch Destiny. The command controls can be accessed in your office." He took a look to the now energetic crowd. "This council is adjourned."

All of the council members and ambassadors rose from their seats and departed through the large side doors. The spectators erupted into lively conversations as soon as the council left. They began to move around the chamber turning the once quiet and orderly hall into a noisy and bustling convention. Rush had yet to leave his podium, still in a small bit of shock over everything that had just transpired. Out of the crowd of scholars Syno walked up and grabbed Rush's arm, congratulating him on his victory. He proceeded to lead him out of the chamber.

"I still can't believe what happened," Syno remarked for probably the fourth time. He was excitedly walking around Rush as they made their way to Palos' lab, showing his youth and energy. In the meantime Rush had fully recovered from the incredible experience and was Starting to get annoyed. "Not that I doubted your conviction, I just was sure the result couldn't change. I suppose if Sobin hadn't requested the ambassadors to join, we would have failed."

He continued to ramble all the way down the hall to the lab. Outside the door Rush stopped and turned to Syno, managing to silence him for a moment. "Thank you for everything you've done to help, I truly do appreciate it. But it's been a long day for me, and I'd like a little time to be alone and reflect on everything."

Syno stopped pacing around anxiously and settled down in front of Rush. His face flushed red slightly from embarrassment as he realized how unprofessional he had been. "I'm sorry, I realize how tired you must be. I'll go work on the diagnostic of the seed ship communication link like you asked." He turned to leave when Rush quickly stopped him.

"That can wait for the moment," Rush said in a more patient and kind manner. "You can do that later; right now you deserve a break as well. Why don't you go to the plaza to watch the launch? I'll initiate the launch command in a few minutes."

Smiling at his instructor, Syno graciously thanked him and walked out of the hall down to the plaza. Letting out a sigh of relief, Rush opened the door to the lab and walked in, happy to be finally alone. He walked up and leaned against the stone table, but he only remained alone for a minute.

"Perhaps I can share with you how impressed I am," Palos said, appearing in front of Rush on the other side of the table. Just like all the scientists who had come up to congratulate Rush on his victory, Palos had a wide smile across his face. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help at the council; I didn't want you to look suspicious, talking to an invisible man beside you." He chuckled at himself and then quickly gave Rush a content look. "You managed to achieve in one day what I have struggled to do for months."

Rush gazed up at the Ancient, allowing his weariness to show. "Yeah well I'm just glad this is all over."

"As I recall, you still have a few small tasks to complete," he said, nodding towards a console on the opposite end of the room next to the balcony. Rush stood straight and sauntered over to the console. It had a display of Destiny in the center of it, with various status reports around the ship. He saw a command on the side of the console which controlled the launch protocols. For a few seconds he stood frozen, just staring at the display, overcome from weariness and mental fatigue. Then stretched out his hand and tapped the button.

First the console beeped, acknowledging the command. Then a moment later a powerful klaxon sounded from outside. It immediately got Rush's attention and he walked to the balcony to investigate. The plaza below the tower was crowded with people. From his elevation it was difficult to be sure, but it looked as if members of all the species from the Alliance of the Four Great Races were present in the plaza. They were all gathered to watch the launch. Several small floating Kinos gleamed in the sunlight, catching his attention for a fleeting second. The klaxon sounded for a second time, warning the attendants in the plaza of the upcoming launch.

A powerful hum began to resonate through the air as Destiny powered up her systems. Her running lights came on one by one until the ship was aglow and alive across the desert plain. A loud thud was heard as the docking clamps released the ship from her tether to Earth. Then half a dozen atmospheric rockets that were placed on the underbelly of the ship activated with a great roar, sending a massive dust cloud into the air. A force field protected the tower and the plaza from becoming filled with the suffocating dust, and Destiny disappearing from sight. The roar did not recede in strength, but the source was still obscured by the dust cloud. Then with a deafening boom the rockets propelled Destiny out of the cloud, her tall command structure becoming visible first. Following right behind, her massive body passed through the dust and the rockets continued to burn powerfully, leaving a trail behind as Destiny rose up into the sky. Now high above the tower, Destiny's own sublight engines activated and she immediately went speeding off to space, disappearing from view in a matter of seconds. All of the rockets had separated from the ship and harmlessly fell into the desert.

With that everything was silent. The hum from Destiny was gone, the roar of the engines silenced. The dust cloud was thick and covered a significant portion on the plain, but the wind was slowly dispersing it. Rush could see the plaza already emptying. With nothing to look at, he turned back to looked at Palos, his face beaming. "Now that is a moment that I wish I could never forget. Unfortunately another side effect of my using the stones in this manner is a failed transference of short term memory, the first blow in my debilitating condition."

Rush nodded sympathetically to him, realizing how terrible it must be to lose yourself. "I suppose I'll just have to remember for the both of us."

Palos smiled and nodded. "Thank you, I appreciate the gesture." Looking around the room one last time, Rush caught sight of a stack of notebooks in the corner of the room. He inhaled sharply and walked over to the small stone shelf supporting them. Palos followed with his eyes, frowning at Rush's fascination with them. "Some of my journals from my earliest days in research," he explained as Rush picked up the top notebook and began to flip through the crisp papers covering in Ancient scribbles. "In my youth I loved handwriting, but as I grew busier, I found I simply could not work as efficiently."

He read a page from the journal and then flipped all the way to the end. Rush ripped out a blank page and returned the notebook to its shelf. Next the notebooks there was a fine-tipped stylus which he quickly grabbed. Taking these items, he walked to the stone table and put the paper down. Quickly he wrote one word on the paper and shoved it into the pocket of Palos' tunic. "Now I can go," he finally said, looking sadly around the room. He spent a moment taking in the contents and features of the room one more time. "There's so much here, so many things I could learn. This may be one of the most revealing encounters of Ancient society. I could answer so many questions we've had."

"That's not why you came here though," Palos said softly, looking intently at Rush. "You knew your mission and you did it remarkably well. I also know that you are aware that anything beyond your actions here today will adversely affect the timeline." Rush sighed and nodded in agreement. "You have to return to your people, and soon."

Still nodding, Rush gave the room one final inspection, burning it into his mind. He ended on the balcony, admiring the suns' rays that shone through the gaps in the settling dust cloud. "Of course." He rubbed his hand across the cool stone table and slowly walked to the stone terminal. "What will happen with Amanda?" he asked looking at the device.

"Once the connection is terminated, her program will be sent to a seed ship already far along its path," Palos explained. "One of them was equipped with a stone terminal so we could monitor its progress by uploading programs and receiving status reports. I suppose no one ever considered just how I might use that. When her program arrives, it will upload to the seed ship and she will assume control, taking the proper course of action to deploy and defend this stone terminal for you to find."

"She did do that very well, but you still took a big gamble that this plan would even work," Rush noted giving the Ancient a sidelong glance. "So many things could have gone wrong."

"Sometimes, a little faith isn't a bad thing," he said in turn, giving Rush a crooked smile.

Rush chuckled in response and looked earnestly to Palos. "It was an honor to meet you."

Palos bowed slightly to Rush. "The honor is mine, knowing that someone as dedicated as you is keeping Destiny alive." He furrowed his brow and gave Rush a grave look. "You've helped me today in an unimaginable way. Let me attempt to help you now."

Greer fired a trio of shots from his energy rifle and brought down a Nati soldier. He collapsed onto another dead soldier and Greer returned to the cover of his alcove. Varro was on the other side of the room with the insurgent troops surrounding him, while all of the airmen were close to Greer. Two surviving enemy troops continued to fire from around the lip of the entrance, but they could not get a clear shot without being shot themselves. As such most of their shots were clean misses.

Hanging in cover, Greer pulled a grenade from his vest. He peered out from cover, yanked the pin and lobbed the explosive across the hall and right into the mouth of the entrance. "Fire in the hole!" he shouted. A second later a bright flash and cacophonous boom signaled the end of the enemy attackers. Chunks of rubble flew across the room and the shooting stopped. "All clear."

All of the soldiers left their cover and spread throughout the room, suddenly making it seem full of people. Greer was looking around the room, surveying the damage when he saw Richmond lying facedown three meters away from the edge of the entrance. The airman had a huge burn across his back where the pursuing Nati had shot him before he could reach cover. "Damn," he said, running up to the soldier to confirm what he already knew. He could find no pulse on his neck. Angrily, Greer rose and turned to the commanding insurgent soldier. "I thought I heard you tell me you reinforced the entrance," he barked.

The soldier maintained his composure as he replied. "We deployed a squad out there, but the enemy attacked in large numbers."

"Well just don't let it happen again," Greer returned. "Get that entrance secured again."

He sighed in an aggravated manner, but nodded. Getting on his communicator he ordered more transports to land and defend the entrance to the complex.

Greer had a moment to think before Varro shouted from the far end of the room. "Sergeant!" He turned around, weapon raised anticipating something dangerous. Instead he saw the door to the communication terminal room begin to open. Rush slowly lumbered out and stumbled over. Varro caught him and helped to support him as Greer ran over to him. "Doc', good timing. I don't know how much longer we could defend this position. Let's get moving."

Panting heavily, Rush simply waved his hand in contradiction to Greer's order. "No," he managed to blurt out in raspy, tired voice. "No, there… there's one more… thing I have to do," he said weakly, straining for each breathe.

The Sergeant gave him a confused look. "What the hell are you talking about? We are under attack. We need to go, now!"

Starting to get some of his energy back, Rush spoke more clearly. "I'm aware of that Sergeant, and I'm trying to help. Did you find another room in this complex?" he asked urgently, shoving off from Varro and supporting himself against a wall. "It would look like some kind of a command center."

"Yeah, there's a place like that on the other side of this tunnel," Varro said pointing through the hallway. "We haven't been able to figure anything out about what it does though."

"Good, I need you to take me there," Rush insisted, starting to walk slowly towards the hall only to stumble from a dizzy spell. Again Varro caught him and this time Rush didn't fight the help.

"I'm sorry Doc', but we've probably got a lot of bad guys on their way here right now. We need to get everyone back to Destiny. It's not gonna be safe here for long."

Rush gave him a pointed look. "Do you really think the Ancients would build a facility out here with no way to defend it?" he asked snidely. "Get me to that room, please."

Understanding what he was suggesting, Greer got onto Rush's other side and with Varro's help began to move him to the other chamber. He yelled to all of the soldiers in the room. "Cover us as we move through the tunnels. There might be some more of them out here." Immediately the insurgents piled in front of them and the remaining Airmen took up the rear. Finally noticing their presence, Rush stared blankly at the insurgent troops. He turned to Greer and took conscious note of the translator. Greer saw the scientist's inquisitive stare. "It's a long story."

Luckily for all of them, there were no surviving Nati troops left. Greer ordered all of the insurgent forces to guard the entrance until back-up could arrive. Dunning and Atienza led the way into the control center which still had its squad of defending insurgent forces. Rush looked around the expansive room in mild amazement. Then he directed his attention to the console of the edge of the hole in the center of the room. He pointed to it urgently. "Over there."

Varro and Greer immediately moved over to the console and let go of Rush. He supported himself in the edge of the console and began to tap away at the screen. "I'm still not sure what you can do," Varro quipped, turning to train his weapon on the door in case any enemy forces came down the tunnel. "We spent hours here with no success. There's a code restricting access to most of the systems."

"Well then, I guess it's a good thing that I happen to know the code," Rush said, quickly unlocking control of the systems. The display surged to life, the main lines of data disappearing and being replaced by a three-dimensional representation of the planet. Dozens of dots were located above the Ancient complex. Destiny was at the center of one cluster of dots and the computer seemed to have extrapolated battle data to identify which ships were enemies and which were allies.

"Doesn't look like things are going too well up there," Greer said as one of the blue dots around Destiny flashed and disappeared. "If you're going to do something Rush, I'd suggest you don't wait."

Rush nodded agreeably and set to work on the terminal.

From their position in the insurgent fleet, Young could easily see the allied cruiser's systems flicker and die only to watch the ship get ripped in two when her core overloaded. The deck shook violently as an enemy cruiser shifted fire to the Destiny. At the same time the two surviving flanking cruisers managed to destroy the foremost cruiser in the diamond, heavily crippling the integrity of the enemy formation. Only a handful of fighters were still flying; a great number had been destroyed but the enemy attackers were repelled. The allied fighters were currently returning to their respective ships.

"I'm receiving heavy damage reports from several of my ships," Yvsan informed as a flurry of sparks shot out from the ceiling.

"Shields are starting to buckle," Brody said in a similarly dire manner. "They're down to twenty-seven percent."

"I want to keep the pressure on the capital ship. How are they doing?" Young asked.

Eli took a brief second to shift his focus to the Vindictio. "I'm reading light damage to some of her systems, but her shields are still around seventy percent. We're hurting them but we need more firepower," he reported. An urgent alarm came from his station as soon as he finished speaking. He stared at it in confusion. "What the…?"

Young had no patience with his silence at this moment. "What is it, Eli?"

"I'm reading a massive power build up from the Ancient complex, significantly more than it had before," he said as he tried to make sense of what he was reading. "Now I'm seeing seismic disturbances in a two hundred kilometer radius around the Ancient complex. It looks like some kind of silos or something. There are over two dozen separate occurrences along the circle."

A powerful explosion went off in the hallway and sparks flew across the bridge. From the viewport it was clear Destiny and the insurgents were putting up a powerful fight, but so was the enemy. "Can you give me anything more than that?!" Young shouted as a pipe burst and a gas began to fill the room with a loud hiss. Brody quickly sealed and rerouted the gas flow in a moment.

Eli continued to look at his display for a few seconds and after that his eyes opened wide and he looked somewhat panicked. "Okay, now I see it. Weapon platforms around the complex; they're fully powered up and are discharging!"

"Lieutenant, get us out of here now!" Young shouted.

"No no no!" Eli yelled in response, rising from his chair and walking down the stairs. "Don't do anything, stay right where you are. Tell your ships to hold position," he said to Yvsan as well. The commander gave a startled look to Young, whom gave him a nod to obey.

"You better be right about this Eli," Young shouted, holding onto the armrest of his chair. Nothing happened for a few moments and then dozens of swift orange bursts went flying right past Destiny and the insurgent task force. They clearly were coming from the planet surface, behind the fleet, and the shots went through the fleet, only narrowly missing Destiny and her allies. Instead, they lashed across space and slammed into the ships of the enemy fleet. The powerful shots brought the shields to life on all the ships.

"Colonel, those weapons are powerful," Eli said after he had returned to his station. "They're really straining their shields. I think we've got a good chance of getting through them."

As he spoke the myriad of weapons fire managed to penetrate the shields on one of the cruisers. Unprotected, the heavy weapons burned through the hull, leaving giant craters in the side of the ship. When the fighter bay was hit huge explosions resonated through the underbelly of the ship. With a few more shots across her engineering section the ship went dark and began to drift away from the formation, powerless.

"I get the feeling that we won't need to worry about those cruisers," Young commented. "Volker, focus all your fire on the capital ship. Commander, tell your ships to do the same."

The planet side weapons fire in conjunction with the insurgent task force proved to be too much for the enemy fleet. The already battered shields of the cruisers flared and popped out of existence very quickly allowing the planetary weapons to tear through their hull. The Vindictio was tougher and tried to hold out longer. Still, there was no hiding the struggle the shields were having in trying to keep up with the assault. After trying to hold on for a while, she stopped firing.

"Eli, talk to me!" the Colonel shouted.

"It looks like they've diverted power to shields," Eli reported. "I'm reading a power buildup from her main core."

Yvsan ran over to the terminal and quickly looked at the power levels. "They're preparing to go to hyperspace!"

"No, we're not letting them run," Young said resolute. "I want this to end now."

"Their shields are buckling. I don't think they can jump in time." Right as he said that, a powerful energy vortex formed in front of the Vindictio. The tendrils of energy swirled around it in an unstable, irregular manner. As the engines powered up the shields faltered long enough for a volley of shots to slam into her massive engines. The capital ship accelerated into the hyperspace window, but the damage to the engines threw off the course, sending the ship careening to port. Instead of a normal approach, the window began to fizzle out of existence and the starboard side of the ship slammed into the destabilized packet of energy. Collapsing completely, the hyperspace window released all of the unstable energy and let it splash across the lateral shields of the capital ship. It took only a moment for the shields around the ship to sparkle brightly and fade into oblivion.

While now devoid of any shielding, the vessel still had significant armor to defend itself. Even though the physical damage seemed to be light, the ship did not stabilize itself as it continued to drift in space. "Eli," Young chirped again wanting answers.

"Yeah yeah I'm on it," he replied briskly, looking over the incoming sensor data with Yvsan looking over his shoulder.

"Their main core destabilized when the subspace window collapsed," the Commander said, more familiar with the data than Eli. "They have temporarily lost primary power." He turned to look at Young. "I hate to sound overly optimistic, but I don't believe they can survive any longer."

"Let's hope so," Young returned, gazing back to the windows. The ship was still and relatively calm for the moment as nothing was being fired at Destiny. Things looked very different for the Nati fleet. With a heavy barrage, the last warship exploded in a brilliant fireball, spewing debris across space. A few decent sized chunks smashed into the capital ship, bouncing off but causing some damage regardless. With no remaining targets, the combined firepower of the planetary defense grid, Destiny, and the insurgent ships was entirely focused on the Vindictio. Explosions rippled across her hull and sent metallic fragments flying into space. Her inner compartments became exposed, even if they resided in what seemed to be about two meters of armor. The thick hull was incapable of withstanding the massive bombardment, and breaches formed all over her. In a brilliant flash of light, one of her large engines completely exploded when the internal fuel reserves detonated from a relentless barrage. It split a section of the hull and sent a large crack of sorts that ran through the structural weaknesses imposed by hull breaches.

Watching the carnage, Young was snapped back to the bridge. "Colonel, I'm getting an odd reading from the capital ship," Brody said. "It looks like they're launching some kind of ship."

Yvsan proceeded to check to telemetry from the science station. "He's right. It's the scout ship we encountered earlier. The Vindictio must have been its mothership."

As they spoke, a small craft separated from the bottom side of the capital ship, its shape consistent with the scout ship that had scanned the task force a few hours ago. Before he could order Volker to shift fire to the new target, the ship's engines burst to life and she sped far away from the Vindictio. Within a few seconds she was over two dozen kilometers away. Once safely out of the line of fire she jumped to hyperspace.

"Can we track it?" Young asked.

"No, the scout ship doesn't follow communication protocols the same way," Yvsan said. "It's gone."

Young sat back and rested his head against the back of the chair for a moment, watching the capital ship take fire for a while more. Then suddenly the attack from the planet stopped. He sat up again and once more turned to Eli.

Anticipating the question, he was already looking through his sensor data. "Weapons on the surface are still active; I'm not reading any problem down there. It looks like they decided to give them a break."

Reading the telemetry on the capital ship, Yvsan contributed. "The Vindictio has completely lost main power. Weapons, shields, engines, and life support are all off-line. The ship and her crew won't be bothering us ever again," he said coolly as he turned to face Young.

Nodding, he turned to look at the wreck. "Cease fire, all ships." The flurry of weapons fire quickly died down and space was dark again. Young stared at the remains of the once glorious ship. It was surprisingly whole, even if it was pockmarked with craters and spewing debris and oxygen from exposed compartments. "I suppose you could get a lot of resources from her husk," Young postulated. Surrounding the capital ship was a massive debris field formed from all of the other eviscerated cruisers. Only a few had exploded entirely onto a billion tiny fragments. Most of them were ripped into a few pieces, with a couple still mostly in one piece, drifting without power in the field.

"It's possible, but right now I'm just glad that I have the chance to even make the decision," he said. Slowly he walked up to Young and stood to the side of his chair humbly. "I'll confess that I was sure we would all die by the end of today. Supporting you always felt like the right choice to make, even if I doubted the outcome. Thank you… for giving me faith in our future."

Young looked at the Commander for a long few seconds. He them rose from his chair and walked right up to him. "Thank you for giving me faith in friends," he said with genuine gratitude, extending his hand. Yvsan frowned and meekly extended his own, shaking Young's hand. "Now," he said releasing Yvsan and moving to the viewport, taking a quick glance at the battle field, "let's finish our original mission. Commander, try to raise your troops on the surface. I have a feeling I know who to thank for the assistance."

"I really am fine. No don't worry about me," Rush insisted for the third time, now getting somewhat annoyed. "Go take care of your other patients. This'll help me." He held up a cup with water and pointed to the plate of tubers on the table next to his bed.

TJ sighed and gazed to her four other patients. There were fewer casualties from this battle, but the unavoidable burns and lacerations still found their way to the infirmary. Rush sat up in his bed without any wounds, although he did look quite exhausted. "Fine," she assented, "but if you start to feel bad let me know."

"I will, thank you," he replied, taking a big gulp of water and shoving a forkful of the tuber into his mouth. TJ nodded and walked away to Dr. Fisher who had a nasty gash across her forearm. Rush sighed and leaned back in his bed, resting for a moment and reflecting on everything that he had gone through in the last day.

It was in that moment that a loud stomping of boots yanked Rush from his reflections. He opened his eyes to see Young and the Nati Commander walk up to his bed. Tiredly he greeted the Colonel. "I didn't expect you to check up on me already. Or maybe you really did miss me."

Young smirked at him and Rush returned the gesture. "Sergeant Greer's report on what you did was pretty thorough, at least on how you made him drag you across the complex so you could save all of our asses."

"That actually covers it rather well. I may need a while to compile my report on my encounter with the Ancients. As you can imagine, it was a rather mind-numbing experience."

"Of course," he replied, turning to look at Yvsan. He grabbed a translator from his pocket and handed it to Rush. "If you have a moment, the Commander wanted to say something."

Rush gingerly took the device and looked at Yvsan. "Does he?" he said drily. He twirled the translator between his fingers for a moment and then attached it to his temple with a heavy breathe.

Now that everyone could communicate, Young stepped aside and let the Commander stand forward. "Doctor Rush, this is Commander Yvsan. He is the leader of the Nati insurgent movement. Though after today I'd say you're pretty much in charge," he remarked.

Yvsan gave the Colonel an amused face. "That would be taking our current situation to an extreme. While this was a definite victory, we were heavily beaten as well," he said meekly. "We have a lot of damage to repair, and we need to establish a permanent base of operations. I sent some men in space suits to examine the wreck of the Vindictio. They found Vesari dead on the bridge from asphyxiation; he stayed with his ship to the last moment. Tarym hasn't been found, and while it is a large ship, I believe it quite likely he escaped on the scout ship. His forces might be heavily crippled, but as their leader he would be able to coordinate some offensive against us." He shook off the formal attitude and military thinking and turned to Rush, giving him a gracious smile. "Thank you, for helping to make this victory possible."

Ignoring the gratitude, Rush stared blankly at him. "Well that's good to hear. I can't help you with all of your issues, but I might be able to give you one piece of good news. The complex on the planet surface is well defended, as you've already seen, and has nearly unlimited power from its geothermal core. Establishing a colony here would be incredibly simple and you would be safe here."

Yvsan stared agape for a moment. "That actually is a perfect solution. I suppose I was so wrapped up in the heat of battle and positive we would perish, I never considered it as an option." He looked excitedly from Rush to Young. "The chance to reside in such a place and to study the technology of our Lords; it is an incredible opportunity."

"Yeah, it would probably be an amazing experience," Rush said tiredly, his eyes drooping in disappointment.

"Then you'll be glad to hear that you can help study the complex," Young said. "Right after you disconnected the stones the countdown clock reset for eight days. There'll be plenty of time for you to go planet side."

The news seemed to lighten Rush's temperament immensely. "I'll have to take you up on that offer. Assuming repairs on Destiny won't take too much of my time."

"Don't worry about that. We sustained only moderate damage in the attack," Young reassured. "Brody assures me that with a few supplies from the Commander we can make all crucial repairs on a couple days."

"In that case, I'll return to the complex as soon as Lieutenant Johansson decides to release me," Rush said loud enough for TJ to hear him. She gave him a quick sidelong glance and chuckled, returning to Fisher.

Yvsan was positively beaming at the news. "Excellent! With your help, we could most likely uncover the full operational potential of the site." Then he mellowed and looked to Young. "It's only unfortunate that you have to leave so soon. Not only have you proven to be invaluable allies and friends, we could benefit from your experience with this technology. While my people have many talented engineers among them, they will undoubtedly be hard at work repairing our fleet for a long time. We don't have many scientists to study the site."

It was at that moment that a distinct hum began to reverberate through the hallway and into the infirmary. A Nati doctor turned the corner pushing a hovering medical bed, the anti-grav unit producing the sound. On the bed was Kalin. He was heavily wrapped up so most of his body was obscured, but his head was exposed. His flesh looked burned in patches across his face, and his hair was black and short. Overall he did not look good, but he was awake and seemed to somehow be able to carry a small smile on his face. He had a translator on his temple, which told Young that he couldn't have any brain injury which was a relief. Several tubes from the side of the bed were stuck into his arm delivered measured amounts of various colored liquids into his body.

Maintaining his composure, Young walked a few steps to stop in front of the bed. "Kalin, it's good to see you're alright."

"I could say the same for you," he answered, speaking slowly with a strained voice. "I was in and out of consciousness for a while, so I feared the worst. But the doctors there have taken good care of me."

"We've started to treat his burns, but it is a slow process," the doctor controlling the bed explained. "He needed a break from the therapy, so we thought it would be healthy to expose him to a familiar environment."

"Thank you for that; it is good to be here again." He stopped and breathed in slowly, looking somewhat uncomfortably to Young. "That was actually something I would like to speak to you about."

"What is it?" Young said softly after Kalin didn't speak for a moment.

"Well, this therapy will take me a long time," he started. "I have been told the technology is not portable, so the only way for me to continue my treatment is to stay with the Nati. Once I've recovered enough, I can begin to be active again and work on the planet. You know that I'm well studied in Ancient technology. I could make a difference for these people." He spoke with determination, not trying to evoke any pity. "Being here, on Destiny, has been a memorable experience. But here I'm just another scientist adding to an already talented group. With them, I could help in a bigger way."

Surprisingly, Rush spoke first. "Don't dismiss yourself as an asset to this ship so easily. You've been invaluable, and played a large part of our continued survival. You're as much a part of Destiny as any of us."

Kalin froze for a second and bobbed his head meekly to him. "Thank you; it means a lot to hear you say that."

"And he's right," Young said, chipping into the conversation. "We've all gotten better because of you. You added to this crew."

"And I would love to stay here, but there's no room for an invalid here," he remarked. "At least with the Nati I can recover and put my knowledge to good use once more."

The Colonel slowly stepped up and rested his hand on Kalin's arm, the cast feeling very soft and warm to the touch. "I know you'll do your best for them."

He gave Young a small appreciative smile. "I'll represent our people with honor, and I'll keep in communication as long as you are in range." His eyes surveyed the rest of the room, taking on the features once more. "It's too early for good-bye right now. You'll be around for a little longer. Maybe I'll just go have a look around the ship."

"Sounds like a good idea," Young said stepping back to give the bed room to move. "I'm sure there are plenty of people who would like to see you."

The doctor moved backwards, pulling the bed into the hallway and starting to walk away. "He's a good kid," Young said to the Commander. "You'd be foolish not to accept his help."

"I've seen how your crew regards him. He will be well respected among my people."

"It's funny," Rush started slowly, getting Young's attention, "to see someone leave this ship and not be in a body bag."

Young thought on the remark and nodded. "I guess he's the lucky one."

Within a heartbeat, Eli came bursting into the infirmary, a laptop tucked under his arm and a surprised look as he pointed down the hall where Kalin went. "Did you guys see Kalin?" he asked, getting a nod from Young. "He looks like crap, but I guess being alive is good enough for him right now." He proceeded to shake his head and move on to another topic. "Anyways, that's not why I'm here."

"What've you got for us?" Young asked, moving aside as Eli stormed through and put his laptop on the table to the side of Rush's bed so everyone could see the screen.

"Well the Commander was kind enough to give us access to the sensor records of his ships from the battle," he started, typing furiously on his laptop. "I wanted to compare notes on the battle, try to see if our sensors might have missed something that could be a tactical advantage against a Nati cruiser should we ever come across a hostile one on the future."

"And I take it you found something we could use?"

This was when Eli paused and gave Young and Rush a grim look. "Not exactly. I was checking over the long-range sensors when I saw this." He clicked open a data file, which showed a still image of the battle. In addition to a static image, it had information about radiation spanning multiple wavelengths and other physical properties that a picture just couldn't tell. The capital ship was in the center of the frame, under heavy attack, weapons fire frozen as they were flying towards to behemoth, technical data crowding the screen. A moon was partly obscured by the massive ship, orbiting the planet far away from the battle field.

Young stared at the frame, but couldn't find anything. Rush sat up in interest and stared at the moon. "What's that?" he said pointing to a tiny red dot perched right behind the moon, almost unnoticeable if one didn't know how to interpret the heat emissions which the telemetry displayed.

"That was my first question," Eli said ominously. He zoomed in the image and focused solely on the object hiding behind the moon.

"Oh no," Rush mumbled as he stared at the silhouette of the sizable craft that had taken refuge in the moon's shadow. The shape of the craft was unmistakable, with its bulbous aft section flanked on either side by large pods and its trapezoidal configuration. Sitting still and dark in space, the Nakai mother ship managed to provoke a dreadful response.

"How did they find us?" Young asked pointedly, now incredibly concerned for the ship's wellbeing once more.

"It's possible they found this place the same way we did," Yvsan postulated. "They detected the transmission and came to investigate."

"There's a good chance that is what happened," Eli said, agreeing with him. "They're obsessed with Ancient technology, and the signal would've definitely piqued their curiosity."

"If they exited hyperspace behind the moon, it is possible we wouldn't have seen them," Rush added. "Once they saw the battle they must have decided the safest course of action would be to watch from a distance, gather intelligence."

"I take it they left?" Young asked.

Eli nodded in response. "I can't see them anymore after the battle was over."

"Perhaps I should send one of my cruisers to the area," Yvsan offered, "to ensure they left no surveillance equipment."

The Colonel immediately nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea. You probably need to get back to your ship anyways to begin coordinating your repair effort."

"That would be a prudent decision," he responded. Nodding his head to everyone individually, he turned to leave but Young stopped him.

"Oh and Commander, when things calm down I'll give you that tour I promised," Young said cordially. Yvsan smiled and walked out.

As soon as the Commander was out of the room, Eli ripped the translator off of his head with a huge sigh of relief. "Oh thank God. These things itch so badly!" He scratched his temple vigorously. "I've got a rash, haven't I?"

Rush removed his as well, slipping it into his pocket. "Well, things can only get harder from here. This encounter couldn't have come at a worse moment. They undoubtedly saw us and know we made it to this galaxy."

"They'll come for us," Young said quietly.

"Without a question and we'll be leaving the safety of Nati space soon," he said, getting a quizzical look from Eli. "Saw what you will about our encounter with these people, but they have managed to maintain dominance and protect their border from the Nakai and other space faring races. Once we enter open space, we'll need to be very careful."

Eli groaned aloud, closing his laptop and shoving his translator into the pouch of his hoodie. "I am going to go and take a nap, and not worry about another set of aliens that want to kill us." He walked out briskly, his footsteps quickly receding down the hall.

"They've all been through a lot today," Young remarked as he gazed down the hall. "Maybe we'll take a day off, and just relax." He took a breath and started to walk out.

"So much sacrifice," Rush said suddenly, the influx of emotions from the whole day finally hitting him, stopping Young in his tracks, "from so many."

Frowning, Young turned back and sat next to Rush. "What do you mean?"

"To keep this ship moving towards its goal, how many died?" Rush asked, staring weakly at Young. "So many of our own people died; how many of the Commander's people died defending this ship and myself? Palos shortened his life by using the stones and pushing his agenda against the Ancient community. While I know this mission will have an end… I can't tell you when it will be. I have to wonder, when will you and me need to make that sacrifice?"

Staring back at the scientist, Young just shook his head. "I don't know. When it is time, I'll do what I have to, but I don't know when it'll be." He rose, and began to walk away. Once more, he turned around. "It won't be today, I promise you that." With that he walked out of the room.

Rush continued to stare at the spot where Young had stood, and finally budged after a moment. He leaned back in his bed and looked to the ceiling, closing his eyes and drifting back to the desert all those millions of years ago.

On the next all new episode of Stargate Universe. The crew finds the ruins of a civilization full of impressive technology. But when two members of the crew are suddenly caught in one of the strange devices, a dangerous series of events will unfold.