1 Chapter 3

The hastily arranged meeting was about to begin. The representatives of each of the races preparing to launch the assault on the new Goa'uld were nervously awaiting the beginning of the Alliance that could decide the fate of the galaxy.

Two members of the Tollan contingent, who were both unknown to Sam, were arranging a piece of machinery in the centre of the large pentagonal desk. Flanking their two seats at the head of the table were four very familiar members of the Tok'ra. The scientist Anise and the Tok'ra spy Aldwin sat to the left, whilst facing them was High Councillor Persus himself, accompanied by Sam Carters own father Jacob Carter, a.k.a Selmac. They were deep in conversation, and from the little the humans of Earth could understand, it was concerning the sudden re-appearance of Ptah.

The planet of Tollana had been chosen for the meeting because of the high defences surrounding them. It was also practically hidden from the Goa'uld, as before the Tollan arrived here, there was no Stargate. Then, the High Chancellor Travell of the Tollan entered, flanked by guards.

'We are here today,' began Travell 'to cement our previous verbal agreement. Due too recent, and very unfortunate incidents,' she now glanced at the humans. 'We are all now under threat from the Goa'uld more than ever before. The knowledge possessed by Colonel O'Neill has fallen into the wrong hands.'

'But Jack doesn't have the knowledge of technologies for Ptah to steal. There's nothing in his head that Ptah won't already know.' Daniel butted in. 'It seems illogical that he would take Jack as a host.'

'At first we agreed, Dr Jackson' added Anise. But now we fear that taking the Colonel could be the most important thing the Goa'uld could have done. There might not be the specifics of creating a world destroying cannon in his head, but he does have information regarding all the races you have met on your travels through the Stargate.'

Of course. The answer hit him and Sam hard. Ptah now had all the data he needed on the locations of the Tollan, the Tok'ra, and the Nox, even the Asgard. Even earth wasn't safe. Sure, they had changed the iris codes and passwords throughout the base. But would that be enough in their current predicament?

'If we can return to the discussion,' Travell said 'we must hastily agree a first course of battle. Our first issue must be addressing the lack of labour we have available to us. Both Tollans and Tok'ra are limited in supply, and ability.' With this, she looked first at Daniel, then at Hammond.

'You can rest assured Chancellor, I have full authority from the President of the United States that any manpower we need will be given.' It was Hammond who spoke now, taking up his role as leader of a people.

'I have also been told to bring with me plans which our people have been developing. It concerns the construction and availability of a new permanent base, originally for Earths use. But, it has been adapted to suit us all. We're hoping that with your help, we can defend this base from attack, as well as launch our assaults from there.'

The expressions on the faces of the other races at the table looked pleasantly surprised. Maybe they had underestimated the usefulness of the Tau'ri? 'Of course, we shall make our contribution to this project. Major Carter, would it be possible for you to persuade any of your other allies to aid us in battle?'

'Well, most of our off-world relations have been with less advanced human cultures. And I doubt that they would be of much use.' She noticed the disappointing look falling around the room. 'But, we do have a lot of information that could be used. Such as alien races that could inflict damage unwittingly on the Goa'uld.'

'Excellent.' It was the deep voice of Persus that spoke now. 'Before any further battle strategies are discussed, we must all know of what we are facing. I believe that Dr. Jackson has some information we require.'

'Er…yes, I do actually.' The next five minutes were spent watching the young man organising hundreds of sheets of paper that were strewn in front of him. Finally, he cleared his throat, and began to address the audience.

'Ptah was the creator God of ancient Egypt. Without boring you with details, after a massive row between the System Lords, who requested that Ptah share his more advanced technology with them, Ptah formed a great alliance with the two other most powerful Goa'uld of the time.

'This alliance was called Ptah-Seker-Osiris, so it's safe to assume that these other Goa'uld were Osiris and Sokar. As we all know, Seth trapped Osiris on Earth, and Sokar was banished by the System Lords. Ptah was never mentioned in any of these ancient texts. So it's most likely that he just fled and moved to a distant part of space.'

'That could possibly explain how he has all this new technology. Using his own ingenuity and whatever he learned from the aliens, he could form new weapons and defences.' Selmac added his input. Daniel noticed Sam wince a little. He knew that she found it hard hearing Selmac speak through her own father.

'But without knowing what aliens he has blended with and learnt from, we haven't got a clue of assuming what we are up against. He may have a technology that could turn the tide of a war in a second, and we would be powerless to stop it.' A member of the Tollan unfamiliar to the General spoke up.

'I agree.' Persus said. He spoke in Goa'uld to Aldwin, who silently nodded, before bowing his head and departing. 'I have sent him to arrange a scouting party to the planet on which the Tau'ri encountered Ptah's forces. Hopefully, we can capture a Jaffa warrior, or at the least intercept some information.'

'Excellent' nodded Travell. 'It is good to see that both of you are already honouring our alliance. Now, I believe it is our turn to show that we intend to help out fully.' She leaned into the middle of the table, and activated the small device that had been set up earlier. A silver image was projected about a foot off of the table, illustrating a large cannon. As they were watching it, the cannons triple barrel retracted, before emitting a holographic ball of plasma into the ceiling, where it disappeared. The barrel then returned to its original shape, before repeating the process.

'Wow,' Sam and Daniel said at the same time. 'Looks powerful.' General Hammond remained silent, although his eyes lit up at what he was seeing.

'Can I assume that these are the weapons that you will be providing us?' he finally said, refraining from clasping his hands in glee.

'Yes initially. They are in the final stages of development now, and the designs will be shipped to Earth as soon as they are ready. They are the same design and contain the same energy source as a standard Ion cannon, but with the help of Anise, we have managed to enhance its destructive capabilities by focusing the blast through a Naquaada crystal.'

'Wow,' Sam said again. A crystal made from pure Naquaada had the potential to increase a nuclear bombs destructive capability a hundred fold, so she dreaded imagining how much it would increase the damage of an Ion cannon.

'We have calculated that it would take around 30 Ion cannons to sufficiently protect the Earth from Goa'uld attack. After the SGC becomes public knowledge in twenty-four hours, it should be a matter of days setting them up. Then, hopefully, we can focus on defending our new base. Would you care to see it now?' the General said.

'It would be a pleasure, General Hammond. We will wait for you at the Stargate.' Travell said. She rose from her seat, accompanied by the two Tollan, and left the room.

Persus also nodded, and said 'we would also like to accompany you General. If that is alright with you I mean.'

'Of course High Councillor, we will be honoured if you joined us. Let us accompany you to the Stargate.' He also rose to his feet, and walked alongside Persus and Anise, in conversation about the new base, leaving only Sam, Daniel and Jacob Carter at the table, along with the still firing hologram.

'Well kids,' Jacob said, in his human voice. 'Ya really screwed up this time, didn't you?' he rose with a smile, before turning and leaving the room.

'Excuse me?' Sam and Daniel chorused, following him hurriedly, casting disbelieving glances at each other and the retreating Tok'ra.

Chapter 3 done now, thanks for the reviews of chapter one people. All two of you. It might seem sad to you, but it made my day…Anyway, I'm sorry for so much plot and so little action, but I'm hoping that as soon as this is all sorted and the Alliance is up and running, it will more than make up for the boring bits here. Please, I need more reviews to survive people!