The Star Gate Program (Hetalia/Stargate SG1 X-Over)
Author: Ashynarr
Summary: It was the discovery of the century. A devise older than human civilization, capable of transporting people across the galaxy in an instant. But things have a way of quickly becoming complicated, pushing America and others to their limits as they find themselves embroiled in galactic politics and intrigue throughout the stars.
Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine. Stargate isn't mine.
Warning: Alterations of the Stargate timeline/canon and Hetalia canon
[Inspired by Stargate Reopened; I recommend reading it if you have the time.]
[Chapter 38]
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Dark dark pain trapped someone help please Sam anyone
Light motion running its distracted have to fight back no no dark dark so cold have to get back
No no not more move move move MOVE rubble have to run have to stop-
Alfred jolted awake, fingers digging into the small cot of the ship and leaving furrows in the mattress he or Tony would have to fix later. With a flight estimated at several hours, he'd been told to get some rest since the upcoming meeting would, in his words, 'take a long while and require all your wits about you'.
When he'd finally regathered himself from the surprise abduction and demanded who they were going to meet, Tony had just replied with a simple, "The Council", like that had been all the information he'd required. Which, to be fair, was at least something of an answer, having once asked who was in charge of decision making for his race, but he really didn't know much else about them, not even their names.
With a groan, the Nation pushed himself up into a seated position, rubbing at his eyes to get the sleep out while patting around the nightstand for his glasses. It hadn't exactly been restful - dreaming about an ongoing crisis tended not to be - but he would work with it until whatever new mess he'd gotten himself caught up in was cleared up so he could get home and investigate.
On instinct he reached out to home, to feel his people and reassure himself that they were okay, but the long distance and the speed at which they were travelling even now distorted his senses, giving him little else but the knowledge that they and his States were all alive. As the crisis he'd dreamed about hadn't felt widespread enough, he for now would have to assume it was contained for the moment, and possibly even be dealt with by the time he touched back down.
(He only hoped people wouldn't be too angry with him for being missing, but it wasn't like he'd had a choice in the matter.)
As if summoned by the brief flare of irritation in his direction - or more likely whatever monitoring systems were online right now - the doorway opened to Tony's signature, looking somewhat less frantic than he had a few hours ago. "I've managed to get a message through to the council - they should be convening within a few of your hours, which should provide us enough time to put together a report."
"Okay, great," The American grumbled. "You still haven't explained why exactly it's such a big deal I killed this Ra dude."
The alien hesitated, fingers twitching in the way that Alfred had long associated with an extremely careful consideration of words. "Ra is- I suppose was- the Supreme System Lord of the goa'uld over the past few thousand years. He commanded all the lower System Lords, and through them large swathes of the Milky Way galaxy. It was he the Asgard once fought with in respect to our lost allies, and he who signed the non-aggression treaty between us at the end of the war.
"You must understand, their race is power hungry, and he more so than the rest. At the same time, however, his own ambitions kept the others checked, focusing them on each other instead of threatening his own reign, and thus maintaining the balance of power in the galaxy for the past eight thousand years."
"Oh, so like the old monarchies in Europe?" Alfred asked, straightening in his seat with a frown.
"I suppose. However, with Ra dead, there is a power vacuum in place. He had no desire to pass on his power, and with how long-lived his species can be thanks to their technology, no need to establish a line of inheritance."
The American caught on quick. "So they're going to start fighting each other for the throne once they realize he's gone. But isn't that good - they'll be too busy to worry about us."
"It would be, if not for the fact that they'll be scrambling to take over his former worlds, and then expand to yet more in an arms race for resources and workers. And, unlike Ra, none of them are directly bound to the treaty unless the Asgard directly confront them or one emerges victorious, meaning that worlds formerly protected might soon be in grave danger."
Alfred paled, straightening up entirely. "Can't you guys just step in and like, keep them contained or something?"
"We are not fond of combat, and the council must unanimously agree to such a move before we could do anything. The only way I could see such a motion pass is if the goa'uld started destroying the worlds in question - even if the people there are doomed to slavery, we cannot risk the goa'uld returning to their former scorched earth tactics and making our efforts futile."
The American had been set to protest the lack of helpfulness until those words, and instead leaned back, unable to believe there were such vile beings in the galaxy that would go so far just to keep their control. "So you just have to let all those humans and whatever other species are out there become slaves to these guys? You can't even evacuate them or something?"
"Would the people of Earth appreciate being told they have to abandon their homeworld, even for their own safety?"
Alfred grimaced and wrapped arms around himself, knowing he and his people would bleed well before they chose to give up and run. And, he knew, many other Nations with any sort of combat capability would want to do the same, no matter how futile, just on the off chance it worked.
"Don't think we are completely heartless, Alfred - we long figured that something might upset the balance of the goa'uld, or else encourage them to test their boundaries. The defensive systems we have in place on many worlds will prevent any sort of invasion through the stargate, and Earth itself will not be approached unless proof of your incursions reaches their ears, which is unlikely to happen unless you happen to dial onto one of their worlds."
The blond exhaled, some of the tension in his stomach loosening at that. "That's - that's good. I'm sorry for-"
Tony moved forward to rest a hand on his friend's. "Do not apologize - I should have been there when you started testing the gate, and warned you of the dangers so you could decide what to do. I will more than likely be in trouble with the council for negligence, but that is not your concern either."
While Alfred was rather certain it was his concern, Tony being his friend, he allowed the subject to slide in favor of more important matters. "What can you tell me of the rest of the goa'uld in power?"
The Asgard frowned at him in question.
"I started off a galaxy-wide civil war - if there's any chance my people and I can help stop it or at least start working to save as many innocents as possible from it, I'm going to do it. It's the only thing I can really do to make up for this sort of fuck-up, even if I didn't know about it at the time, and if I'm gonna get other Nations on board with this, I'll have to be able to line out as much of the current politics as I can."
"Alfred, it would be dangerous to get too many people involved-"
"And it'd be more dangerous to leave most of the planet ignorant to the fact that there might be a war heading our way!" The American snapped. "Depending on what happens, Matt and I will have to accelerate the declassification of the Stargate to other countries, convince our bosses that it's in our best interests to get people involved before they hear about how much the military fucked up, and get ourselves prepared for a possible invasion that might or might not even come depending on our luck and how far we are from goa'uld territory."
The Asgardian looked tired then, all of the years of his life on his small frame, and Alfred knew he'd struck home with his concerns.
"I do not know how much I'll be able to get through before the Council convenes, so I will have to gloss over some smaller details right now."
"It's fine, just let me have the full reports once we get back to Earth, alright?"
"That will be acceptable."
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AN: Should be only two or three chapters after this, I think? It's not the cleanest of endings I guess, but it'll clear up a few headcanons I've had since about midway through the fic, provide setup for a sequel, and also get in some last stuff with the Hetalia side of things since I sort of neglected that for the last arc. Whoops.