Disclaimer: Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Gate SG-1 (Atlantis by extension). Belong to their respective owners. I am not making any proceeds from this story, or the use of characters or concepts. I'm simply borrowing them for a bit.
Please don't sue me.
Wednesday March 4th, 1998. 7:00 AM System Lord Hera's Mothership.
Sam Carter could hardly believe what she was hearing. A part of her wanted to believe, but another part of her just wanted to shoot the Goa'uld standing before her, just in case.
"We screwed up your plan?" she asked.
"Yes, you see I was more than prepared to lead Hera's Jaffa against both Apophis and Klorel, in my Lady's name. Whether or not they actually die, it would be enough to pit Apophis against Hera. Each will believe the other wanted the glory of conquering Earth for themselves" She explained.
"What's in it for you?" Sam couldn't help but ask.
Eris smiled "Hera is not as strong as she presents herself. Apophis does not know this. Thus, any conflict would quickly strain her forces. Allowing for me to sweep in and depose Hera, take her place on the council and establish a tentative truce with Apophis. Assuming he survived that is".
"And if he didn't?" Sam pressed, having a good idea already.
"I take the holdings of Apophis and crush Hera" she confirmed.
"And you were going to just give earth two Ha'tak Motherships?" Sam asked, more than a little sceptical.
"Yes, either the two Apophis and Klorel command now. Or two others from whatever force I rise to command. It would buy your world time to develop an effective defence from further Goa'uld aggression, most would think twice about attacking. You see, most Motherships in use amongst the System Lords are not as advanced as these three. It was how Ra managed to establish the position of Supreme System Lord. Being able to outrun and out gun any of the other Lords. Upon his death, the entire fleet scattered, lured into service amongst many different Goa'uld, Apophis, Heru'ur and Sokar possessing the largest of the Upgraded vessels" she explained.
"What about Heru'ur and Sokar. What would stop them from attacking?".
"Both are currently engaged in expanding their territories closer to their primary worlds. Earth is too far away to effectively support any invasion or assault effectively. In fact, most Goa'uld are too far away to risk such a thing. Apophis is an exception, your world defeated his greatest enemy, for this he seeks revenge for effectively stealing his revenge" Eris added.
"And what would stop you from attacking?".
Eris nodded "A wise question. All I can give is my word. A Pledge to consider Earth and it's people, allies. Friends".
A distant chime echoed throughout the room, and a tall Jaffa. Powerfully built with obvious Greek or Roman ancestry entered. His armour was similar to that worn by many other Jaffa Sam had encountered over the last year. But different enough, reminding her more of the Armour worn by the Gladiators in the old movie Spartacus.
"Lady Eris, the Chappa'ai has been activated. It is most likely Apophis and Klorel" he said quickly.
Eris stared at the tall Jaffa for a moment before turning to Sam "An unfortunate necessity. Apophis first prime was the one who informed me of your peoples capture. Believe me, if I could have avoided this I would have".
Oddly enough there was no anger in her voice or body language, only minor irritation "Inform Apophis command crew that I shall contact him shortly, to give him a full report. Ensure that none of his Jaffa attempt to board this ship" she commanded
The tall Jaffa bowed "As you command my Lady".
"Why don't you just take over now?. Apophis thinks you're his ally" Sam asked, the rifle still aimed steadily.
Eris looked back to her askance "Apophis still has twice as many troops as I have. The risk is too great. However, upon reaching Earth most of his forces will be committed to the invasion. Udajeet fighters and Al'kesh will be somewhat of a problem, but the bulk of his forces will be in troop transports. They'll wait behind the Motherships, and only move forward after the planet has been suitably bombarded. I won't let them get close enough to do so, I promise. However, with the fighters and bombers too far away to stop us, I'll give the orders to attack the troop transports".
"Why is Hera working with Apophis anyway?. If he wants revenge for killing Ra, why share the destruction of Earth?".
"Hera approached Apophis with a pledge of support, in exchange for non-aggression and mutual defence from other System Lords. Apophis agreed because he had no choice. It was a great risk to commit to this attack, he has committed the majority of his troops to this endeavour. Should it become known to his enemies that his worlds are weak, they would strike without hesitation " she smiled.
"So, Hera's offer of support solved that problem" Sam said to herself "So what do you need from us?".
Eris smiled.
Wednesday March 4th. 1998, Hera's Mothership.
Daniel typed away furiously, glancing over his shoulder every five to ten seconds to see if anyone was approaching. This was taking too long. The command access within the software was far more complicated than he had seen on either of the other two ships. Far more advanced most Jaffa were able to handle, entirely from a cultural view point it didn't make sense.
"This isn't right" he muttered, stopping to think things through for a moment.
"Okay. The language is unchanged. Syntax is correct. File system is nearly identical but the system access is code based. Which the other two systems weren't" he spoke aloud, trying to work out the problem.
Frustrated he stepped back, pulling the communicator "Columbia, we've got a problem. The computer systems on Hera's ship is far too advanced. On a level that no Goa'uld would bother with".
Columbia here. I'm not following you Doctor. Replied Captain Hernandez.
"Goa'uld limit education amongst their subjects. Simple reading and writing at most, even for Jaffa. Actually, especially for Jaffa. They can operate the systems but they'd naturally need to be very simple for them to operate. These systems aren't. Command access requirements alone indicate the Jaffa on this ship are Educated more than most" he explained "That's just not very Goa'uld like".
Can you access the internal hardware of the system your working on?. If you can, take a scan with the hand scanner and transmit it to us. We'll take a look and see if we can create a quick patch for you to bypass the access lockouts.
Daniel was already moving around the pillar to try and find a panel he could remove "Just a second Columbia" he said. And smiled a moment later upon finding one.
Feeling around the panel for a few seconds he struggled to pull it free. Only it wouldn't budge. He was about to give up when he heard a click.
"Odd" he whispered. An odd thought popped into his head. He tried simply pushing on the panel. Another click was heard, and the panel slid towards him.
It was actually a tray. Like a CD-Rom tray, only far larger and not for CD's.
"Columbia, I've got access…but….this is so wrong" he muttered, glancing back towards the door.
Doctor?. What's wrong?.
"This computer system, the hardware within the pillar. It's nothing like any Goa'uld technology I've ever seen. It should be crystal based, geared for information storage and processing. This looks like a large panel with nearly a thousand plastic rectangular circuit boards, each fitted within precise slots" he explained "Scanning now. Try not to take too long with that analysis".
The hand scanner beeped a moment later. He checked the data, it automatically compressed for transmit, all he had to do was press the button in the corner.
The sound of a staff weapon charging to his left reached his ears. He stopped moving instantly.
"Do not move Tau'ri" a deep voice said quietly.
Daniel sighed "Okily dokily…not moving" silently he hoped Columbia was still getting his transmission.
"Turn to face me, slowly" the voice ordered.
Naturally he complied, and saw the slightly different armoured Jaffa standing in the narrow access corridor "Hi, nice day for a stroll isn't it?".
The Jaffa smirked at the bad joke.
Daniel blinked, he smirked!.
An odd sound echoed in the corridor behind the Jaffa, a rapid discharge of energy. The Jaffa's eyes rolled up and he collapsed to the floor. And two grey and silver clad MACO's moved quickly into view. Pulse Rifles up and at the ready.
Daniel sighed in relief at the sight "Thanks guys".
The lead MACO, a very large and rather mean looking man nodded "We've got you covered".
He nodded "Columbia, transmitting now".
Understood. It might take a few minutes. Best if you find someplace to hole up.
Daniel looked around, then at the two soldiers guarding the corridor "Sure, we'll get right on that".
Both men tossed him wry smiles.
Wednesday March 4th. 1998, NX-01 Enterprise.
Jon had barely sat in his command chair when Ensign Marian Sinclair turned in Hoshi's seat "Incoming communications from Deneva sir, we're quite a ways away from the beacons we dropped. So it's not very clear".
"Patch it through" he nodded.
No visual appeared on the view screen, only audio, and it sounded horrible En…prise, this ….Den…va. Be Advi….Hostiles……Route.
Nothing more came through, it ended there.
"That's all we got?" he asked.
Sinclair shook her head "No sir, that's all we got. Transmission was cut on their end".
This wasn't good, it would still take the better part of a day to reach Denava. Even with the increase to Warp speeds in this reality "Keep scanning for any further signals, and clean up that first transmission. I want to know what was being said" he headed for the lift "I'll be in sick bay".
Soon enough he was approaching the room in question, just as Hoshi was leaving. Dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. Her arm in a sling, likely to keep her shoulder from moving to much while it finished healing.
She smiled as he approached "Captain" she nodded.
"How are you Hoshi?".
"Good, all things considering" she said "Glad you made it sir".
He smiled "So am I".
"I'm going to hit my bunk sir. The pain meds are making it hard to stay awake" she added quickly "Doc says I should be able to resume my duties by tomorrow".
"Then get some rest Lieutenant, the bridge isn't the same without you" he nodded, resting a hand gently on her uninjured shoulder.
She nodded and headed off down the corridor.
He watched her leave for a moment before turning towards the double glass doors before him, took a deep breath and walked on through.
Phlox was a miracle worker, the room was as pristine as always. No sign of the medical emergency could be seen. Just four beds tucked in the corner with patients. Xander and Willow side by side, close enough for the now conscious young man to reach out and hold Willow's hand. And the two Air Force personnel separated a few feet away, both unconscious but obviously alive.
Phlox moved from his desk "Captain" he greeted quietly "Come for a report?".
"For the most part, also wanted to check on our guests. If it wasn't for us they'd never have been put in this situation" he added.
Phlox sighed lightly "Nonsense Captain, what's happened was meant to be. If it wasn't it wouldn't have happened".
Jon looked at his CMO oddly "All this time serving together, and I never knew you believed in fate".
"Perhaps I've spent too much time amongst humans?" he smiled, not a full Denobulan smile thankfully.
Jon smiled weakly, he was exhausted and just didn't have the strength to truly give the effort "I don't see Buffy" he observed.
"She was released a short while ago. I believe she went to find her mother and sister. Though she did say she would return to check in on Alexander and Willow" Phlox explained "but, if you'll excuse me, I should finish my reports. We might not have a Command to report too, but it's always good to be thorough".
Jon nodded just as Xander looked over. Jon nodded to the young man, and rushed forward as he started to climb out of his bed. Only to stop at the look on the boys face.
Even pale and in obvious pain, the absolute clarity in the boys body language told Jon that he would get out of bed, and only a phase pistol set on stun could likely stop him.
Jon spotted a wheel chair tucked into the corner, and quickly retrieved it. Levelling a proper Captains glare at the boy who snorted upon seeing it. No words were exchanged, but it was a conversation no less.
Jon apparently won after only a few seconds, as Xander carefully slid from the bed to the chair.
With a quick glance to Phlox, and a hesitant nod of okay. Jon wheeled the chair towards the door. Not a word was said until they were in the corridor.
"Your too stubborn Xander" Jon sighed.
"So I've been told" he snorted "But I need caffeine".
Jon smiled "Alright, Mess hall it is, but only one cup. Then I'm wheeling you back to Sick bay".
"Aye Aye Captain" he saluted.
The trip through the corridors was quick, Xander it seemed paid just enough attention to his surroundings in order to memorize the route. Jon shook his head, no kid should be as wary of trouble as he and his friends were, it just didn't sit right with him.
They were nearly at the doors to the mess hall when Xander put the brakes on "Captain, I…just wanted to say thank you. For everything you've done".
Jon nodded, even though the teen couldn't see it "Your welcome Xander".
The boy nodded stiffly, then released the brakes "Alright, coffee now".
Entering the hall, the few crew within stopped only briefly to asses who was entering. Jon did spot Captain Amanda Cole and the young Cordelia Chase. So he wheeled Xander over to their table.
Cole spotted them coming and tapped Cordelia on the arm, the look of surprise on her face apparently had Xander lightly chuckling in amusement.
"You look like you've seen a ghost Cordy" he said quietly.
The brunette huffed "You look like crap Dork-boy".
"And you look…good" he replied, the look on her face was almost priceless.
"You really did loose a lot of blood didn't you" she rolled her eyes.
Jon smiled, catching Amanda's gaze and pointed towards the food dispenser. The MACO nodded and turned back to the conversation between the two teens.
Jon quickly retreated to grab two coffees. And grabbed both sugar and cream just in case the kid used them. Returning to the table he stopped upon seeing Cordelia quickly hug the boy, and then dart quickly back to her chair.
Amanda was smiling ear to ear. He could only imagine the look on Xander's face. It was obvious the two kids had an odd Love hate relationship.
He reached the table just as Xander noticed the sight streaking by just outside the view ports "Damn…I must be kind of out of it. I've been sitting here for several minutes and I just noticed the light show".
Jon smiled as he sat down "We're at Warp speed. We should reach earth in a little over two hours".
"How fast are we travelling?" Xander asked.
"Well, back in our own reality. Warp 5, the speed were at is about One hundred and twenty times the speed of light. Here, the laws of warp physics seem to be a bit different. Where moving about twenty five thousand times the speed of light" he explained, seeing no harm in it.
"Great scott!" Xander gasped.
"I had a similar reaction when we first found out" Jon nodded as he pushed a cup in front of him.
Like a crow spotting something shiny, his attention had been quickly averted. The kid didn't even bother with fixings. He just swallowed a large gulp of the beverage, then sighed in happiness.
"Oh caffeine, how do I love thee" he sighed.
"Dork" Cordelia tossed out.
"Hussy" he replied, still smiling as he held his cup.
"Seriously, who uses words like that anymore?" she spun, not truly offended it seemed.
"Don't knock the usefulness of classic insults Cordy".
Jon truly couldn't help but smile at the two of them "So, Miss Chase. How are you feeling?".
The teen looked over briefly "Feeling?. Like I need several hours in a salon to repair the damage done to my nails, skin and hair" she quickly replied, though Jon could see she truly wasn't all that bothered by her current state.
"I think you look good Cordy, you look human. Better than your normal Mannequin like visage" Xander pointed out.
Cordelia just shook her head, deciding not to get into what was apparently an old argument.
Amanda looked up a moment later, drawing Jon's gaze, just as Buffy Summers entered the Mess hall. She spotted the table and quickly moved to join them, grabbing a cup of coffee along the way.
"Free coffee when ever I want, I could get use to this" she smiled as she slid into a chair.
"You and me both" Xander smiled.
Buffy levelled a light glare at her friend "You shouldn't be up Xander".
"Doc didn't protest, so I'm guessing it won't kill me" he winked.
She opened her mouth to retort, but quickly closed it. Xander nodded at the same moment, another unspoken conversation seemed to take place. It was truly interesting to watch them. Not many could develop such a rapport.
"So why are you up Buffy?. I'm surprised Phlox let you out of Sickbay" Jon asked.
"I heal fast. Add Phlox's medical miracles and I'll be one hundred percent by tomorrow" she replied.
Buffy turned to him "Captain, what's happening with Colonel O'niell and his people. He can't give me any answers based on all that classified crap. And I'm tired of surprises".
Jon sighed, "Honestly Buffy. As much as I'd like to answer that. O'niell made me promise to let him explain. Right now a lot is happening that's not exactly by the book, and for diplomatic reasons. It was decided that we should at least try to follow proper procedure when we can. I do know he wanted to explain everything to you personally though".
Her shoulders slumped slightly "Figures".
Xander sat forward slightly "Sorry to change the subject…okay, not really. But how's everyone else Buff?. Mom and Sis?".
"And Giles" Cordy added.
Buffy looked up "Mom and Dawn are sleeping now. Finally. The shot Phlox gave everyone finally knocked them out, or maybe the stress of everything caught up with them. Not sure about Giles, I do know he had some kind of confrontation with Colonel O'niell though".
Amanda and Cordelia nodded "Giles wasn't happy about something. But the Colonel guy didn't let it get out of hand, he apologized to your mother and left before it went to far".
Buffy took a sip of her coffee "Good, last thing I want to deal with is a grumpy Giles".
"Can he even get Grumpy?. Indignant I think fits him better" Xander winked.
Cordelia shook her head "He was more of a raging bull seeing a Matador".
Both Buffy and Xander looked at their friend odd "Giles?".
She just nodded "Wasn't pretty".
Xander finished his coffee and clapped his hands "Well, this was fun. I should head back to sick bay before Phlox sends out security though".
Buffy stood "I'll take you, I wanna check on Willow and Sergeant Nellis anyway".
Amanda nudged Cordelia "Feel up to the Gym now?".
The girl nodded "Sure, might help with this itchy feeling in my limbs".
Jon stood as everyone else, minus Xander did "Then I'll head back to the bridge. If any of you need anything. Just let me know".
"Will do Captain" Buffy smiled "And thank you, for everything".
He nodded and headed for the door.
Three days Earlier, Deneva Colony….
Jonathan Archer allowed the woman materializing on the platform a minute to collect herself before stepping forward "Administrator Vasquez, welcome to the Enterprise".
She smiled and stepped down "Captain, forgive me for this. I know it's unorthodox. But I didn't want news of the problem to get out".
"I'm not following" he replied.
She sighed "Your news, that we've gone back in time".
"Is that why you wanted me to meet with you?. We could have discussed this without meeting" he pointed out.
"No, I wanted to meet you in person. Because I've kept that bit of news a secret. No one except my Cabinet is aware, and security is currently isolating them" she explained "In light of this time travel issue, we need help. Resources and anything else we can get. So as the ranking Civilian member of Earth's Government, I'm ordering you and the Columbia to Earth".
He blinked "I'm not sure that's a good idea. If we're detected we could seriously damage the time line".
"Simply being here damages the timeline Captain. How long before the Vulcans or Andorians of this time period stumble upon us. Not long I'm sure" she countered.
He stared at her for a good ten seconds before speaking "Alright Administrator..".
"Governor" she clarified "Emergency Protocols are in effect Captain".
"Alright, Governor. We'll head for earth, see what we can see. And then we'll make our way back, system surveys might give us an idea of what we can salvage for colony use" he added.
Vasquez nodded and stepped back onto the transporter platform "You have your orders Captain, good luck".
"Why am I getting a real bad feeling about this?" Trip said once the Governor had vanished.
Jon looked to his old friend and sighed "Probably the same reason I am, she's right though. We'll need resources if the colony is to survive".
Trip nodded "Alright, well I'm sure there's more work to do in Engineering. So if you need me".
"I'll call" Jon smirked.
Trip headed down the corridor for Engineering, leaving Jon next to the Transporter platform "A bad feeling alright" he sighed, then headed in the opposite direction.