A/N: Just curious, from those who read the original version, how does this one compare to the old version? I am trying to make sure I do not repeat the same mistakes I made before.
Guest: I think you may want to check your tech levels as well. I am not nerfing SG tech OR SW tech. Yes the ZPM can destroy most of a solar system, if it overloads. But it can only safely provide so much power at once before that overload occurs. It was done in Star Wars as well when the star to Caridia was destroyed by a single torpedo from a one man ship. Also have to count secondary reactions caused by the ZPM. A ZPM contains more potential energy than what is actually usable. In addition to the energy that can be pulled from a ZPM, you have to also count the energy used in the CREATION of the ZPM, and from what few sources we do have on the subject, it took massive amounts that only became worth it when looking at the possible returns on that energy. Cannot forget SG1 almost caused a supernova by accident with a MALP. And all it took to fix it was a small rocket.
As for comparing a ZPM against a reactor from SW, yes there is a large tech difference, hence the reactors sometimes being hundreds of meters or even dozens of kilometers across vs a ZPM being about a foot long. When it comes to miniaturization, yes the Ancients were more advanced than SW tech, that does not mean anything the Ancients did cannot be accomplished by anyone else using different methods.
Fifty million years of tech progression for the Ancients, cool. That doesn't make them peak of all technology. They did a lot of cool things, but they also made a lot of mistakes (Replicators, Wraith, Ori, the Attero device, ETC). Just because the Ancients couldn't do it, does not mean it isn't possible. Their tech progression stopped when they ascended, they probably could have done more if that had not occurred. Never heard anywhere in the SG1 or SGA series about the Ancients creating an entire solar system by pulling multiple planets through hyperspace.
The SW galaxy has had intergalactic travel for over 60k years. All evidence points to a fairly small population of Ancients, maybe a few billion at peak. The SW civilization spanning at least twelve million inhabited star systems and 20 million intelligent species totaling over 100 quadrillion sentients, means that while SW did not have fifty million years of advancement, they had far more resources and people able to do research. There are probably more people researching ONE TOPIC in the SW verse than the entire population of the Ancients at their peak.
Also remember, the SW verse has valued military tech advancement over non-military tech due to nearly 80k years of galactic warfare. The Ancients valued quality over quantity, and frequently abandoned militaristic research on moral grounds, while the SW galaxy embraced it.
I have no problem with feedback, but if you are going to leave it, get your facts straight, and be polite.
Chapter Twenty
Unnamed inhabited planet (Year 6, Day 47, 1520 hours)
The first combat deployment of the Castle class Mobile Fortresses was underway. Three of them touched down in perfect unison in a triangle with each ship being two kilometers outside the settlement of humans. At the same time, sixty Plinths landed in a ring creating a complete defensive ring around the settlement. Almost immediately, several actions began to happen. The first was the unleashing of vast quantities of firepower from the now grounded Castles and Plinths. The second was the deployment of fifteen hundred combat droids.
The combat droids sped through the brush that gave little cover to human or Wraith. Using a pre-programmed deployment pattern, the droids began removing the Wraith presence that was too close to humans for the turbolasers to handle. Five hundred fixed positions consisting of three combat droids each gave the Wraith soldiers no place to hide or run. When combined with the support fire from the Plinths and Castles, the combat droids had eliminated all Wraith troops on the ground within a few minutes.
The outgoing weapons fire accomplished several goals. The first was the elimination of the Wraith fighters within thirty kilometers by concussion missiles and quad laser canons. The second removed groups of Wraith that had not yet approached the village. The final effect of the torrent of energy streaking away from the dorsal mounted V-90b was that several Wraith capital ships in orbit were now suffering under the effects of Ion Cannon bombardment.
The impact of the sheer volume and accuracy of the weapons fire had a significant impact on Wraith activities. The two cruisers in orbit began behaving erratically, which could best be described as seizures. While not suffering significant apparent physical damage, the two ships were no longer able to be controlled. Between the electrical surges playing over the interior and exterior surfaces, random engine pulses and weapons fire, as well as communications failures, they were now virtually useless.
The Wraith fighters, now lacking any coordination from their carriers, hesitated in their actions, and that was their undoing. Before they could react en mass, Admiral Nera's fleet dropped out of hyperspace. Within moments, tens of thousands of emerald and azure bolts of destruction smashed into the Wraith capital ships and fighters alike. In only fifteen seconds, the two larger Wraith ships ceased to exist, and with them, most of the fighters as well. Less than two minutes after exiting hyperspace, no Wraith capital ships, fighters, or soldiers were left alive in the system. The total losses of the fleet and ground forces were six combat droids and one Lancer frigate.
ISD III Stalwart (Year 6, Day 47, 1525 hours)
Admiral Nera was surprised. She had expected higher losses from this tactic than what had occurred. General Koth would be glad his idea had worked so well. The Wraith fleet had been caught completely by surprise, and only a last ditch suicide run by a small group of their fighters had caused any damage to her fleet. New tactics needed more than one actual test before they could be considered effective, though from this test, the results were impressive.
Opening a channel to General Koth on the ground, Admiral Nera spoke. "General, congratulations on your battle planning. How is the situation planet side?"
"I think we scared the hell out of the locals. I have already ordered all combat droids to return to their ships. They were already frightened and on the run due to the Wraith attacking. At this point, I would think they dug holes in the ground and jumped in, pulling the ground over them. We will be lifting off as soon as they are recovered. Within half an hour I should have all the Plinths recovered as well. The only issue I have is the six droids we lost down here. We need a way to recover them so nothing is left behind. They are far enough outside the village and humans on sensors that I can hit destroy them with a couple turbolaser shots, but that wont always be the case."
Admiral Nera replied. "Understood. I wish we had a suitable refugee planet to use, but without one, there is no reason for us to make contact with the locals. And we cannot leave a force here long term. "
"Sad but true. Once we exit atmo, we will join up with the fleet for the trip home. I want to begin an evaluation of the after-action reports as soon as I can to see if we need any changes to the battle plan for next time."
"I think we should invite the other two ground commanders along as well. It would be a good idea to get their input. They may have ideas you and I do not." Nera added.
"Good point. Lets set it up for tomorrow after we have rested and had time to think on how this played out." Koth noted.
Same unknown planet (Year 6, Day 47, 1620 hours)
A unremarkable man verified he was alone as he pulled a small communications device from the bag he had with him. After turning a dial, he began to speak. "Team thirty seven to relay station four. I have urgent information. Wraith attacked two hours ago, and were destroyed by unknown force composed of metal machines using energy weapons. Force also included multiple ships with highly advanced defenses. Once Wraith presence at my location was removed, they departed in the same ships, then destroyed several inoperable metal machines they left behind. Salvage impossible. Please confirm receipt of message."
The reply came a few seconds later. "Message received. Expect reply within twelve hours."
Atlantis (Year 6, Day 48, 0630 hours)
Tayla Emmagan entered Dr Weir's office after knocking. "Do you have a moment Dr Weir. Halling would like to speak with you concerning something he heard on his trip trading for supplies."
"Please show him in." Dr Weir responded.
After a small motion from Tayla, the older man named Halling entered the office. "Thank you for speaking with me Dr Weir. I hope the information I have heard is of use to you."
"It is not a problem Halling. Since your people have decided to stay here, that makes you a part of us now. Anything of concern to your people is also of concern to ours. So tell me, what is on your mind that is causing you trouble?"
Halling thought a moment before proceeding. "I would not say it is causing trouble, however, it may concern what happened on Sateda several years ago. From what Tayla told us of her meeting with several of the survivors of the Wraith when they culled that planet, she mentioned metal machines attacking the Wraith with powerful energy weapons. When I was trading for supplies with one of our usual trade partners, there were several others there who I had not seen before also on a trading run. They were telling a tale of the Wraith attacking them then being defeated by metal machines coming out of strange ships. They said the ships landed, then sent out red lightning that killed the Wraith. They also sent blue lightning up into the sky. Would that not be a decent description of energy weapons?"
Dr Weir replied. "If someone had never seen energy weapons before, then yes. It does sound like it could be the same group of people that drove the Wraith away from Sateda. Did they take any of the villagers with them?"
The response from Halling was slow as he thought about what he had heard. "Not that I am aware of. The group did not mention anyone being taken except by the Wraith before the strangers with the machines arrived. If they did then I was not present when they spoke of it."
Tayla spoke before Dr Weir could inquire further. "It seems these people are very secretive. They do not make their presence known often. And so far they have harmed no humans, only the Wraith. I wonder why they would take the Satedans and not the villagers?"
"You have valid concerns Tayla, and you as well Halling. I appreciate you sharing the information you have heard. Could you keep us informed if you hear any further information on these strangers?"
Halling replied quickly. "Yes. Any group that is able to defeat the Wraith is something everyone would pay attention to."
Genii home world (Year 6, Day 48, 0630 hours)
The impressive figure of Cowen, leader of the Genii, sat at his desk when the chief scientist Ladon Radim entered the office. Ladon was smaller in stature, yet possessed an intelligence that was far beyond that of his physical form. Cowen stood shortly after Ladon had come in and walked over to him gesturing to several small metal boxes.
Cowen spoke. "Ladon, I have a gift for you. These boxes hold some of the destroyed remains of some machines that were able to kill the Wraith. What is needed is to find out what they are made of. I dont expect you to be able to build one from what is left, but anything learned could help the Genii"
Ladon glanced over at the crates. "Machines to fight the Wraith? Is it connected to the samples we studied from Sateda three years ago?"
Cowen smiled. "Possibly. We do not know for sure. That is one of the things I need you to determine."
Thinking for a moment, he went to one of the crates and opened the lid to observe the contents. "This will take a while. Everything is melted beyond recognition. It will take days, maybe weeks to do a complete analysis."
"I want a report in two days." Cowen corrected the younger man. "We need the information quickly. Get whoever you need to help you."
"I understand." Ladon replied as he stood, picking up the first crate. "I will have the rest of the crates brought to the lab shortly."
As Ladon left the office, Cowen smiled to himself. It was too easy to manipulate simple minds of people like Ladon. Left on his own Ladon would be studying the samples for weeks or months before any results would be reported. By giving him a time limit, Cowen knew he would be much more effective.
Praesidium (Year 6, Day 49, 0930 hours)
Feth Te'vos was again in the data center, examining the new information being relayed in by the recon droids and AutEx fleet. His search program for possible refugee worlds was still running, and he trusted it to fulfill its purpose. He was instead looking at other data from the systems being explored. The reason for his investigation was simple. From what he had learned from the Satedans about the Ancestors, he knew they had great technology. They had fought the Wraith for centuries before ultimately failing. He wanted to look at what they had built and used to combat the Wraith.
Before he could do that, however, there was a complication. First, they had not found any direct evidence of the Ancestors or their technology other than the Ring of the Ancestors. They had seen many of them scattered both on the surface of a planet or in orbit over it. It had been decided not to take it apart as they did not yet understand how they functioned. Yet nothing else had been left behind proving their existence outside of rumors and stories, at least not any they had been able to find thus far.
In less than a week, a small science expedition was heading to a nearby planet that had one of the rings down on the surface. It was uninhabited, with no signs of any sentient life for thousands of years. It was also a planet that was barely within the range of supporting life, and thus one the Wraith would likely not bother visiting. While he was not going with the expedition, the scientists that were participating in the trip were the five who had spent the most time examining the ring in the cave to the south. It was hoped that examining a working Ring would allow them to determine how it functioned as well as what was wrong with the one on Praesidium. If they could, it would mean they may be able to repair the ring they had, and use it to make contact with other human civilizations around the galaxy.
That created it's own issues though. Using the ring for exploration would open themselves up for possible attack through the ring as well. Feth knew that the full council would have to decide if it should even be done once they knew how. For now, he returned to his examination of the reports that began flooding in once the recon droids and AutEx ships had begun operations.