Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or Battlestar Galactica: 2003.
A Different Path Taken
Chapter14: Starlight
February 2004
Sector A47
Basestar-348
Command Center
The war had reached a bit of a stalemate as of late due to those blasted parasites and their new superweapon and flagship. The accursed thing along with a dozen or so escort motherstars had almost wiped out the fleet node in Sector A47, the so called 'frontline' by the despicable Thirteeners. It had gotten to the point where he was forced to redeploy fleet nodes Zero-Eight and Zero-Nine to reinforce their presence there leaving the Aschen human faction to deal with later. He knew that the parasites were becoming bolder with every victory but hopefully once the new Type-V Basestars and antimatter cannons were put into production it would turn the tide once again.
Cavil inwardly cursed as he skimmed the latest reports on the various human factions that were still resisting, especially the Tollan and Hebridian groups. Both were technologically advanced and were putting up stiff resistance though the main concern was actually the Terrans themselves. The Thirteeners were resilient-he'd give them that-but the way they seemed to outmanoeuvre anything that the Cylons could come up with. They would have to be dealt with sooner rather than later...
Perhaps...
No, he couldn't risk a large enough fleet to pull it off...
Not yet at least...
He was resting his human body when the sirens started and he got up from his bed. Cavil walked out of the room and down the hallway passing a pair of running Centurions and stepped into the command center. The others were already there interfacing with the main systems, operating them all with thoughts.
"What is it?" Cavil asked the question.
"Take a look for yourself," a Five replied.
He looked at him in confusion for a moment before placing his hand on the console and linked with the systems starting with the sensors. The universe exploded into his mind as he saw it, taking shape and showing him what he needed to see. A fleet had just jumped in made up of familiar-looking vessels, each one giving off similar readings to Terran ships only different. Fighters swarmed out from the larger vessels, again of an all-to familiar design.
The Colonials...
"Impossible," Cavil spoke in disbelief.
It would have taken them decades to reach this galaxy because of their terrible nav-computers and even then he was certain that they had no way of tracking the Cylons after they left the Cyrannus System. There were also the readings he was picking up from them, namely the fact that the Colonial ships had energy shields raised and what seemed to be energy projectile launchers on their hulls similar to the ones that the Terrans used.
It was then that they received the transmission...
"This is Admiral Helena Cain of the Battlestar Pegasus to Cylon fleet," a woman's voice spoke through the comm. "This system is now under our jurisdiction, withdraw from the area immediately or you will be fired upon."
Cavil didn't even need to think...
"Destroy them!"
Aboard the Battlestar Pegasus, Admiral Cain watched as Cylon Raiders launched in waves from the Basestars and their escorts but were clearly evenly matched by the equal number of Vipers moving to intercept them. Missiles launched from the Basestars first only to be shot down when the heavy gun batteries of the Colonial Battlestars opened fire. Idly she noted the appearance of the modern Basestar compared to those that fought in the first Colonial-Cylon War.
When she'd first heard that the Cylons had attacked Earth after the war and were now attempting to exterminate the human race, she wasn't surprised at all when the President pushed for war with the machines that once tried to wipe them out. No one was under any illusions that once the Cylons were finished with the Terrans and their allies that they wouldn't turn back to the Colonies. Using their advanced technology they acquired in the Terran home galaxy they would easily crush the Colonies and no one wanted that. Soon enough the order was given and her fleet was sent out alongside several others upgraded by the Terrans. While she personally saw the Terrans as arrogant upstarts for the way they acted, seemingly trying to be everyone's best friend yet thinking they were the leading force against the monsters in the universe despite being only one lone colony.
She and many others refused to believe that Earth was the original homeworld of humanity no matter what the Terrans and their allies said but even she had to admit they had inherited a lot from the Lords of Kobol and it showed in their technology. Then there were the aliens like the Asgard who her people distrusted because of Loki and his cohorts. Aliens existed and she knew that they would have to adapt but only with Colonial supremacy. The Colonies had one of the largest human populations in the known universe second only to the Aschen Confederation whom had eighty billion people across dozens of planets. It was time that the Colonials set an example for the rest of humanity to follow and it started here with their greatest mistake, the Cylons.
"Forward batteries open fire," Cain gave the order.
The new Tollan-supplied ion cannons installed on the massive Battlestars glowed bright blue for a second before lobbing concentrated spheres of energy at the Cylon ships. Each shot smashed down their shields and ripped the vessels apart in seconds as Colonial Vipers clashed with the Cylon Raiders. In response antimatter missiles from the remaining Basestars launched from their turrets and shot towards the Colonial warships.
"Incoming missiles," Colonel Fisk reported. "Intercepting now."
The gun batteries on the Battlestars and their escorts opened fire then, spewing shot after shot at the rapidly approaching missiles. Most were shot down however a few managed to make it through and struck the Terran-supplied energy shields. Cain was thrown to the ground as the Pegasus was struck by no more than five warheads, its shield buckling under the assault and her outer armour vaporising as the energy bled through. A now bleeding Cain climbed back to her feet, snarling wildly at the tenacious of the Cylons as she slammed her fist down in the table.
"Fire everything!" Cain roared. "Get those frakkers!" the remaining Colonial ships that survived the counterattack fired again, this time tearing through the remaining Basestars and their escorts before they could fire off another salvo of missiles. Seeing what had happened to the rest of their fleet, the remaining Cylon jumped out a few seconds later opting to retreat while they analysed this new development in the war.
Their creators had returned...
March 2004
Uncharted System
Raptor-Delta-One
Cockpit
Colonel Jack O'Neill sat back and yawned as he rechecked his rifle, making sure the mag-rails were aligned. Sam was a few feet away putting her rocket launcher back together now that she'd cleaned it. They weren't expecting heavy combat but considering where they were going and why it was understandable that she wanted to take it with her, especially since they would be fighting Cylon Centurions and probably armour too. Though from what she'd told him, she would rather have been taking part in the Hebridan space race again considering she had just recently won the last one.
In recent months they had been busy almost nonstop making contact with dozens of more inhabited worlds including the planet Ardena, the new homeworld of a human population called the Talthuns. Their original homeworld was lost and they migrated to Ardena in sub-light transports. They were nice enough folks but negotiations were still ongoing. As for the war the recent assault by the Colonial forces on the Cylon border with the Aschen Confederation had pushed the plate heads back several sectors and continued to do so at a steady pace. At the same time the Jaffa had launched a campaign against the System Lord Moloc and had crushed the bulk of his fleet over the planet Hak'tyl. It seemed that Anubis had pulled back his forces to regroup while the other System Lords covered for him presenting a united front, at least for now until they were in a better position overall to the point where they didn't need him anymore.
The Tok'ra had informed them of a large military build-up of Cylon forces on the outer rim and the Terrans had assembled a fleet to investigate. Stealth fighters dispatched to the area had reported a Cylon presence concentrated around a habitable planet in an uncharted star system. Rumours had also circulated that they had found an Ancient outpost like the ones on Taonas and Earth. No matter what the Cylons could not gain access to that kind of technology. Doing so would make it nearly impossible to stop them given the only real edge that the Terrans and their allies had was the technology they had at their disposal.
"Jumping in...three...two...one..." Kawalsky spoke clearly.
The Raptor's FTL activated in a flash of light, transporting the craft to its intended destination. Upon arrival the craft shook and seemed to scream a bit as it suddenly found itself within the atmosphere of a planet. Beside it hundreds more small Terran ships appeared in flashes of light, Vultures, Vipers, Raptors and Falcons mixed together in formation on course for the Cylon excavation site.
"How we doing Kawalsky?" Jack called from the back.
"All ships accounted for sir," Kawalsky replied. "Coming up on the LZ, its going to be a little hot."
That was an understatement if there ever was one because the moment he finished speaking he pushed down on the controls, dodging a barrage of anti-air rounds shot at the from the perimeter of the site. Other Terran craft weren't so lucky and were hit. Several plummeted down to the ground in flames, their shields barely doing anything against the new antimatter shells that the Cylons used, while others crashed, their crews jumping out of the back before they hit the ground and using anti-grav generators to cushion their landings. In response the Vipers and Vultures unleashed volleys of air-to-surface missiles at the gun emplacements, bombarding them in a series of explosions clearing the way for the Raptors and Falcons.
So much for no heavy combat...
"Set us down here!" Jack yelled. "We'll head in on foot."
"Yes sir!" Kawalsky shouted back.
The Raptor descended among others and landed on the flat ground below. Almost as one the Terran ground teams disembarked, most of them on foot though there were seven combat jeeps and a pair of Tiger-class Main Battle Tanks. Said tanks didn't take long to roll on through and take aim at the remaining Cylon gun emplacements. The resounding bang as the two tanks opened fire, the shells exploding from the chambers and tearing through the Cylons gun batteries. Jack, Daniel and Sam were right behind them as they tore into he Cylon defenders. The Terran jeeps literally ran right over dozens of Centurions and gunned down others as the Terran infantry swarmed over the area.
Jack vaulted over a Cylon-built fence and gunned down a Centurion using it as cover. Daniel was right behind him, his own rifle in up and firing a round through the chest of another Centurion that had appeared from the side. They were about to move forward when they heard more than saw Sam rush passed them both and drop to one knee with her rocket launcher over her shoulder. A second later she pressed down on the trigger and the rocket exploded from it, zooming across the battlefield. It struck a Cylon tank and exploded in a burst of flames leaving nothing but a wrecked hulk in its wake.
As more rockets and rounds were fired at the defending Centurions and their armour support, the Terran forces quickly reached the site, gunning down any lingering resistance they found. It was then that they heard it, loud footsteps echoing across the battlefield. Jack looked over towards where the sounds were originating from and saw what looked like a large hangar at the far end of the Cylon perimeter. Its doors slowly opened and 'it' walked out, its 'feet' hitting the ground with loud thuds. For a moment Jack could only stare as did many others at the much larger than average robot.
From what he could see it looked like an old first-gen Cylon Raider welded to a pair of mechanical legs. For a brief moment Jack couldn't help but hum the 'Imperial March' as he continued to stare at the thing. It turned and fired at the assembled Terran soldiers, its side mounted guns glaring as it spewed shot after shot at them. Some of the soldiers were hit and fell, others tried to return fire with their rifles but the rounds didn't even seem to hit the thing. Several people even threw grenades at the thing only for them to detonate against what appeared to be an orange barrier.
The thing had a god damn energy shield too!
"Carter?!" Jack yelled over the sound of gunfire. Sam's response was to fire a rocket at it which seemed to at least stagger it for a second before others joined in. As if they didn't have enough to deal with the Cylons were still building new crap to throw at them. After a few more seconds of fire the Walker unleashed a volley of missiles from its dorsal hatches and bombarded a pair of Tiger Tanks. Damn it, they were being slaughtered here! "Carter?!"
"Ion charge!" Sam suddenly yelled back as she passed him a small circular device from her back. "We need to get in close!"
Jack nodded and ran out of cover towards the waking monstrosity. Dozens of others were right behind shooting at it and trying to draw its fire. For a moment he thought that he was back on Earth playing football with him carrying the ball because that was certainly what it felt like to hold the blasted thing. After narrowly dodging a dozen rounds from one of the Walker's turrets he hurled the ion charge right at the thing's head. It struck the shield and flashed a bright white for a moment before going out as its shield flickered and died. This time when Sam and the others fired their rockets they all hit the Walker's 'head' and detonate, reducing it to a smouldering wreck.
"Have everyone fall back and regroup," Jack spoke into the comm. "Carter, Daniel, you two with me."
As the rest of the troops secured the area they'd come from, the three of them approached the centre of the excavation site passing the still burning wreckage of Centurions and tanks. Finally after walking for several minutes they reached it, a large structure of some kind buried in the ground, one that the recognised immediately.
"That's not Ancient," Daniel commented plainly.
"Carter, wasn't this supposed to be an Ancient outpost?" Jack inquired.
"Yes sir," Sam confirmed.
"Then why does that look like something built out of Replicator blocks?" Jack asked the question.
Replicators...
This was a Replicator outpost...
"So you've come," a familiar voice spoke from the structure. "But you're too late."
The side of the structure seemed to retract and a lone humanoid figure stepped out. Their weapons came up as one and aimed at the 'Cylon' that appeared. It was a One like any other but this version seemed to be covered in Replicator blocks. 'Cavil' he called himself, or at least that's what those of his line called themselves whenever they'd been captured.
"And I thought you couldn't get any worse," Jack commented. "Is this where you say 'resistance is futile' or something?"
"Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter and Doctor Daniel Jackson," Cavil spoke clearly. "You think of yourselves as the heroes of your race but you are nothing, just dust in the wind. We will be here long after your kind have gone and your worlds burned to ash."
"Yeah...no way in hell is that going to happen," Jack countered.
"What do you hope to gain from this?" Daniel asked suddenly. "Are you trying to forge an alliance with the Replicators? They'll consume you like they've done with countless other worlds."
"You are mistaken Doctor Jackson," Cavil responded simply. "The Replicators are advanced yes but also simpleminded, perfect for one such as I to integrate with."
Cylon and Replicator...
A merging of the two...
"Great," Jack said sarcastically. "A Lego-Cylon."
As if the damn Techno-bugs weren't bad enough...
"The names you give us are irrelevant," Cavil declares. "We simply are."
Jack's response was to raise his rifle and open fire. An orange energy shield sprang to life around Cavil and deflected the rounds shot at him as Jack switched to fully automatic. The moment his gun clicked empty Daniel opened fire with his own, forcing Cavil back a few steps under the assault. He returned fire with a pair of wrist-mounted plasma turrets similar to those used by the Kull Warriors of Anubis forcing them both to dodge out of the way. Jack wasn't lucky enough to get out of the way in time however and caught a plasma bolt to the shoulder and arm sending him to the ground. As Daniel returned fire, Sam quickly threw another ion charge at the One which sizzled for a moment before bringing down his personal shield. Daniel didn't let up as this was happening and eventually pierced the bio-Cylon's body causing him to fall back into the ground. Once he was down and it was clear that he wasn't going to get back up again they immediately rushed over to Jack who was lying face down on the ground.
And the blood...
So much blood...
"Jack!" Daniel shouted at him as he knelt down beside him and checked his pulse. "He's alive."
"Carter to Prometheus?!" Sam yelled into the comm. "I need an emergency beam out now, we have injured."
"Negative Major," Hammond responded. "We are currently bogged down by Cylon forces up here, can't risk dropping the shields to ring you out."
Damn it...
"This is Raptor-Delta-One," spoke the familiar voice of Kawalsky. "I am inbound on yours position, ETA damn quick."
Sam swore to herself that she owed him a beer after this was over, after all he'd always come through for them when they'd found themselves in a bad situation. A groaning noise from behind her reinforced the thought as the Replicator structure seemed to shake and start to rise. Daniel cursed beside her as the structure seemed to retract in on itself and reconfigure into a different form. Long metallic legs emerged from the central body, six of them unpacking the ground and lifting it up to a standing position.
A giant Replicator...
"Coming in hot!" Kawalsky shouted through the comm.
Raptor-Delta-One seemed to appear from above along with two others and unleashed a barrage of missiles into the beast's side. It staggered under the assault for a second before lifting one of its legs upwards and firing a bolt of energy, shooting down one of the attacking Raptors. Kawalsky landed beside the team whom quickly hurried inside with Daniel and Sam setting Jack down on the deck while the other Raptor drew the the giant Replicator's attention. The second Raptor was shot down as Kawalsky cursed and hit the thrusters propelling them skywards. A warning sound blared and he hit the emergency thrusters, narrowly avoiding a bolt of energy from the giant Replicator. The monstrosity itself wasn't going to let them go however and quickly launched itself upwards with its legs. It flew, its antigravity systems pushing it higher and higher as it chased after the fleeing Raptor.
"What's going on?!" Sam asked as she climbed into the cockpit.
"That thing is chasing us!" Kawalsky yelled back.
"Can we jump?!" Sam questioned as he narrowing avoided another energy bolt.
"Twenty seconds!" Kawalsky answered hurriedly.
Twenty seconds...
They'd be dead by then...
Just as another bolt came at them from the giant Replicator a flash of light signified the arrival of the Prometheus, its shields flaring as it took the attack amidships. Volleys of drones and missiles launched from the Terran battlecruiser in retaliation and struck giant Replicator, tearing into it and detonating, seemingly blowing off several arms only for them to reconstruct a few seconds later. Sam looked over the readings and couldn't help but wonder how the Asgard ever won a battle with the Replicator fleet of these were the kind of ships they were fielding.
"Raptor-Delta-One, bay two is open," Hammond spoke through the comm. "Get aboard now while we hold it off."
"Yes sir," Kawalsky responded as he vectored the Raptor towards the designated bay.
On the bridge of the Terran battlecruiser Hammond clutched the arms of his chair as another energy bolt slammed into the shields. It was a risky move making the jump from one side of the planet to the other leaving the rest of the fleet to engage the Cylon forces there however the presence of what was essentially a Replicator warship in the area forced him to make the decision to engage it and rescue his away team.
"Raptor-Delta-One is aboard," Ronson reported. "Shields are nearly depleted sir."
"Come about and give me maximum thrust from the sublight engines," Hammond ordered.
"Course sir?" Ronson inquired as he input the command.
"The sun," Hammond answered.
Ronson wordlessly finished entering the command though the silence on the bridge that followed his CO's words was deafening. A second later the main engines of the Prometheus came to life and the battlecruiser turned towards the local star itself. It accelerated towards it, the inertial dampeners nearly burning themselves out as the ship accelerated to half the speed of light. The giant Replicator followed after it, its much larger frame still firing off bolts of energy at the fleeing Terran warship.
"Shields are down to eight percent," Ronson informed.
"Evasive action," Hammond gave the order. "Transfer all power to the engines and aft shield array," emergency thrusters fired allowing the battlecruiser to dodge several energy bolts, the now reinforced rear shields absorbing the ones that struck. Minutes passed by before they reached the star and decelerated rapidly. The giant Replicator was right behind them, its arms stretching out to finish off the cornered Terran battlecruiser. "Divert all remaining power to the drones," Hammond ordered. "Target their engines and fire."
The last of the drones launched from the Prometheus and shot towards the Replicator, striking its blocking armoured hide and digging in before detonating where the energy core was located. Crippled by the sudden assault the Replicator lurched slightly before the gravity of the star took hold of it. They tumbled and fell towards the surface of the star, its lower sections melting as it did so just from the sheer heat. For a moment George was afraid that it would recover like it had done previously but by the time it did, it was already disappearing beneath the surface.
"The Replicator ship has been destroyed," Ronson reported. "Sir, we're caught in the star's gravity well and main engines are starting to strain to maintain our position."
"Sublight?" Hammond questioned.
"Main engines are at twenty-four percent and falling," Ronson replies. "We can't break free of the gravity well sir."
"...Engage the FTL," Hammond gave the order.
"Sir?" Ronson asked in surprise.
"You heard me," Hammond told him. "Execute FTL jump."
To date no one had attempted a space fold while in orbit of a star before, especially without entering any coordinates like now. There was no time to calculate a proper jump and if they didn't do it now they were all dead anyways. Ronson quickly entered the command and shunted all of the ship's remaining power to the FTL drive. The Prometheus disappeared in a flash of light later, reappearing in the middle of deep space. It drifted for a few seconds before the lights flickered and died. Before anyone could say anything the emergency power kicked in and illuminated the bridge once again.
"Status?" Hammond inquired.
"We're dead in the water sir," Ronson reported. "Emergency power only."
"Position?" Hammond questioned.
"Unknown sir," Ronson replied. "No contacts detected."
"Have Major Carter start repairs as soon as possible."