Chapter 2
Dancing To A New Tune



10:00 ZULU
October 11th, 2009
Hall of Meeting, Fortress of Bast, Sohag

Hek'at stood immobile behind the throne of his Queen and secret lover, Bast, as she argued heatedly with some of the more 'independent minded' System Lords in the Union they had forged. Not for the first time, he wondered if there was something in the blood of the symbiotes that made them petty, arrogant, argumentative and selfish. Even Bast, who he loved beyond all else, was not completely above these deficiencies in character.

"And I tell you again, Lord Yu is within months of taking most of my frontier territories, if I don't get more support to them soon, they will fall!" This scream came from Lord Kiptakanae, a massive man dressed in tribal finery akin to that of recently deceased Lord Zipakna.

Bast frowned as his statement caused a lull in the six-way argument. Of the eight System Lords in the Hall of Meeting, they each represented a number of System Lords they had managed to unite under their banner in the same way Bast had united all them together. Altogether, the System Lord Union comprised of forty-two System Lords. The Separatist faction of System Lords, nominally led by Lord Yu, consisted of almost eighty. It was fortunate that by their very nature the Separatists won't put aside their personal differences and unite for that could finish the Union once and for all.

"Yu still believes we are responsible for the attacks on his assets?" Bast asked tiredly. She was fighting a war on two fronts and trying to hold a fragile Union together and it was taking its toll. The fact that she was doing all of this successfully proved just how skilled she was but that didn't prevent her from carrying a bone deep weariness from the constant demands on her mind, body and spirit.

She looked up at Kiptakanae to see him nodding grimly at her question. "The damn Tok'ra and Jaffa play agent provocateur very well. Any proof I give to Yu on the subject is regarded as lies and propaganda." He finished with a helpless shrug. "I need more ships and more Jaffa."

Hek'at frowned as Bast took a deep breath. "Jaffa we can spare. Hek'at will dispatch three Legions immediately but as for ships..." She gave a gentle shake of her head. "We are stretched too thin as it is. I cannot spare you any."

Another System Lord, Lady Amun'Sul, leaned forward. "What of the latest batch of Mothership construction?" She asked suspiciously. "Is it not true your shipyard is near completion of at least three Motherships?"

Bast managed to refrain from glancing at Hek'at and instead smiled gently at her fellow Goa'uld. "As a matter of fact they have just completed five Motherships and I am finding crews for them as we speak."

Kiptakanae studied Bast and Hek'at intently. "And I cannot have any of these vessels?" It was phrased as a question but everyone in the room seemed to know that it was a statement.

"No." Bast confirmed gently but firmly. "We have been pressed onto the defensive for far too long. As we fight the Separatists and get weaker, the Tau'ri continue to find allies and grow stronger. We must alter this flow of events into something more to our advantage."

"What do you suggest?" One of the other System Lords asked.

Bast glanced at her First Prime, who took a step forward. Although still unaware of the exact nature of the relationship between Bast and her First Prime, the various System Lords, in close contact with Bast had noticed the increased standing of Hek'at in her regard and although not overly pleased by his constant presence and prominent role in the Union, none chose to make an issue of it. Yet.

Hek'at met the stares of the System Lords evenly and began to speak unhesitatingly. "My Lords, our intelligence assets have learned of a new world the Tau'ri have brought into their Alliance. A world previously unknown to us, called Gryphon by the natives. It is ruled by a peasant monarchy but has a population of three billion and a technological level on a par with the Tau'ri themselves. It appears they have been actively trading technologies."

Several of the System Lords muttered nervously.

Hek'at ignored it and pressed on. "We have superior technology to that of the Tau'ri but they are advancing quickly thanks to unofficial help from the Asgard and the rest of their Alliance. They now build ships in large numbers, enough to make even our Union hesitant in battle. We cannot allow this state of affair to continue."

Kiptakanae cursed suddenly. "Yes...yes! We've heard this before but we could never attack Earth and the others because of the cursed Asgard and they thrice damned Protected Planets Treaty."

Hek'at stepped back as Bast rose from her throne and stepped into the center of the circle. "You come straight to the point, Kiptakanae. This world of Gryphon, it may have joined the Alliance forged by the Tau'ri, they are reaping the benefits of that union but you see, they also share the risks and need to be protected by the Tau'ri as well."

"You mean...?" The other Goa'uld asked as realization dawned.

Bast nodded. "We've never known of Gryphon before, but neither has the Asgard. Gryphon isn't protected by the Treaty."

* * * * * * * * * *

"Well, I think that went well for a change." Hek'at remarked, trying to sound positive. The meeting had finished a short time ago and they were now taking a well-deserved break from everything in order to relax. Things were coming to head and the pressure upon them both was increasing exponentially. They were all alone in her private chambers and Hek'at was gently massaging her shoulders, his massive hands tenderly trying to work some of the tense muscles looser.

Bast sighed deeply at his ministrations and shook her head. "As well as anyone could expect but far from well...we're our own worst enemy, Hek'at."

Hek'at snorted softly. "Who isn't?" He replied. "I know what your saying but you have achieved something only Lord Ra managed to do, united the System Lords under one banner. And Ra used overwhelming force and the constant threat of annihilation to do it. We, on the other hand, lack the firepower to force the other System Lords to do anything which makes your 'diplomatic' accomplishments all the more impressive."

Nodding, Bast consciously suppressed her muscles from tightening up again in rising tension. "It doesn't mean I don't wish for the System Lords to stop fighting each other."

Gesturing for him to stop his impromptu massage, he stepped back and, rising from her chair, she moved towards the holographic console, displaying an overview of the Galaxy.

"Do you have anything new to report, my love?"

Sighing resignedly, he moved beside her and began to manipulate the console. "The Asgard are behaving strangely."

Bast leveled a glare at the giant Jaffa. "The Asgard do nothing without a reason, strange or not. What precisely are they doing?"

"Nothing." Hek'at replied with a grunt. Noting the rising anger on Bast's face he hurried to explain. "Peace, my love, all I meant is that within the past week or so, Asgard activity within the Galaxy has steadily dropped to almost nothing."

The holographic display in front of them flickered and showed the spot reports of Asgard activity over the past year and a graph showing the sudden sharp drop-off in activity among their outposts and protectorate worlds. The Asgard routinely flew their ships all over the Galaxy, keeping their eye on events, even if they did nothing to interfere. The Goa'uld had put up with their incessant curiosity and general nosiness for millennia without being able to do a thing about it.

"No ship activity at all?" Bast asked.

"None." Hek'at replied. "It's like they've suddenly all gone home. I cannot find an instance in the historical archives when this has occurred before."

"You won't." The Goa'uld Queen replied. "It's never happened before, even when the damned machines threatened their homeworld, a fair number of vessels still remained in our Galaxy."

Bast studied the sparse information intently as Hek'at watched on silently but after several minutes, she sighed. "There's not enough data to deduce their motives or intent. I shall have to consult other sources of information."

"The Tau'ri?" Hek'at guessed.

Bast nodded. "I was thinking more along the lines of the Tok'ra. Tau'ri technology may be comparatively primitive but it is based on wholly different principles to our own, thus making their signals traffic more secure than the Tok'ra's whose technology, I'm glad to say, is the same as ours and thus, no matter how altered or improved can be cracked with enough sheer effort."

"Its only a shame that the Tau'ri don't trust the Tok'ra with sensitive information more often." Hek'at added with a small smile.

Bast responded with a wry grin. "Yes, that would be rather more convenient, though I find it amusing that even the Tau'ri's lack of trust in their allies works in their favor."

Hek'at shook his head. "You clearly have lost all decent sense of humor." He looked up at the holographic display of the Galaxy musingly. "I find few things about the Tau'ri amusing anymore. They are far too dangerous."

Sobering slightly, Bast decided it was time to get down to business and manipulated the console once more. "Since the loss of the Pra'kesh construction facility on Nataal and the destruction of Lord Ak'em and his Mothership, the Tau'ri have increased their strikes against our outlying worlds. While most of our assets are tied down fighting Lord Yu and the thrice-damned Separatists, the Tau'ri raids are beginning to hurt us. They have the momentum and we need to change that fast. What is the status of your strike force?" She asked as she manipulated the console controls, zooming in on the region of the Galaxy around the planet Gryphon.

Hek'at moved away from her and activated a separate console, displaying the relevant information on a new holographic window, even as he recited it from memory. "All five vessels have completed initial construction and are currently going through final testing. That should be complete in less than a fortnight. By that time, the crews will be ready and my troops will be assembled."

"What about their Chappa'ai?" She asked.

"It is a primary objective. I need to secure the Chappa'ai as quickly as possible for the Shal'kra Motherships carry an impressive number of troops, they are but a drop in the ocean of what we can bring through from Sohag. Once I have destroyed their fleet, I can attack the planet from orbit and capture the Chappa'ai, allowing us to bring in the rest of the Legions to take their largest cities and destroy any and all defensive forces."

Bast nodded in agreement. "My probes have revealed one Tau'ri carrier, two of their battleships, one of which was damaged in the Nataal fight, and a handful of destroyers. Their fighter strength, complimented by ground based fighters is likely to be impressive."

Hek'at looked grim. "That is the only part of this that worries me. The Motherships can handle the carrier, the battleships and the destroyers. We might lose a ship, but they have nothing that can truly stop us. No, it's the Tau'ri fighters that I fear will cause untold damage to the udajeets and the Jaffa on the ground. I have ordered additional squadrons to be stripped from Sohag and assigned to the invasion fleet. We will need them."

Silently, Bast cursed the fates that gave the Tau'ri such animal cunning and technical inventiveness. Her scientific people were still trying to come up with a counter to the homing projectiles that their fighters utilize to such devastating effect. "Remember, your force is the assault wave, I will send you more ships as soon as I can free them from their duties. I have several diplomatic missions ongoing at the minute that, if they bear fruit, will give us enough ships to crush the Tau'ri Alliance entirely."

"That, however, is in the future." She continued after a moment. "We will attack Gryphon and force them into a confrontation, allowing us to destroy a good portion of their fleet. If they do the smart thing and refuse to defend Gryphon, we simply walk in and take the planet and they send a signal to the rest of their Alliance that they won't defend you if it becomes too hard. We win, either way."

* * * * * * *

Somewhere in Union space...

The System Lord strode swiftly to the communication device and waved his hand across the head-sized globe. A white ripple of energy passed over the globe and the face of an elderly, oriental man appeared, his expression arrogant and superior. "I knew you would call."

"It is as you say..." The other man spat out, gritting his teeth in frustration.

The image of Lord Yu smiled mockingly. "Of course it is. Any reasonable being would have seen the situation for what it is...an abomination!"

Gripping his hands in anger, the System Lord spat out, "Your way is still wrong, and would leads us all to destruction!"

"Ahh," Yu replied, unruffled, "...so you say, but what you think matters little, that is the essence of our Separatist movement, Gods should be free to pursue our own agendas and whims, unhindered by others, unhindered by Bast and her 'leadership'!"

Frowning, the System Lord felt a bitter taste in his mouth. "She cannot be allowed to continue, and yet she alone, among us, has the ability to defeat the Tau'ri..."

At this, the placid expression Yu wore melted away to be replaced by anger. "Fek'shoa! Rubbish! The Tau'ri are no threat to Gods! We shall go about our business and if the Tau'ri interfere, we shall crush them. Until then, they are as nothing!"

Shaking his head, the System Lord summoned his own anger. "Regardless...I shall do as you have suggested."

The face in the globe smiled once more. "A wise decision. The abomination must be destroyed. There is no other way."


09:42 ZULU
October 15th, 2009
Arlington National Cemetery

O'Neill walked somberly among the numerous graves of fallen heroes. It had been two weeks since the fight on PX529 and it was a cold, autumn morning and a thin, damp fog drifted over the hillsides. Several bodyguards moved unobtrusively through the cemetery as the Supreme Allied Commander of Stargate Command made his way, alone, to see and old friend and mentor.

He came to a halt in front of a small, unassuming cross. The engraved stone plinth embedded in the earth read:

Lieutenant General George S. Hammond.
1938 - 2006

"Husband, Father, Soldier, Friend..."

"Never to be forgotten."

O'Neill just gazed silently at the grave for several minutes before expelling a deep sigh. "Damn it, sir..." He spoke softly. "I wish you were still here. I need someone to talk to..."

Shaking his head as the wind blew in silently reply, O'Neill knelt down and brushed a few leaves away from the plinth. "We talked about going on the offensive against the Goa'uld...We created Spearhead as the first step in the plan but Jesus, sir, I figured you'd still be around to help me out, even if you had retired..."

Not really young when the SGC was first created, O'Neill had looked at himself in the mirror this morning and really took notice of the silver hair and salt and pepper goatee, wondering when he had gotten old.

"We doing pretty good so far, George, far better that we had any right to expect but I'm getting bad vibes...we haven't heard anything from the Asgard lately and Bast has been keeping a pretty low profile since we bloodied her nose two weeks ago, hell, since before that. She's up to something and I think it's gonna bite us on the ass, sir."

He missed Daniel badly. Hadn't spoken to him for a while either, for he was buried on Abydos with his wife, Sha're and it was damned near impossible for the Supreme Commander to get off-world nowadays unless it was on official business.

"Hell, Its probably nothing but...I just wish you were still around, is all, old friend."

Sam was busy as hell running the SGC and the Science Divisions simultaneously and making it look easy. Regardless of rank, she'd always be Sam or 'Carter' to him. General Carter was her father, always would be...

"We've come a long way since SG-1..."

Teal'c was in his element running the Stargate Training Command with Chief Master Sgt Booth. The two of them were cranking out troops trained to fight Jaffa with increasing speed and he was turning into Master Bra'tac more and more each day.

"I know what you'd say if you were still here, sir, and you're right of course...I always did enjoy a joke."

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and O'Neill turned slightly to see his aide hesitantly approaching but not wanting to intrude in any way.

"Duty calls, sir." O'Neill came to attention and saluted sharply.

Stepping away from the grave, he walked swiftly towards his aide, Colonel Katherine Krupskaya. "What's up, Kathy?" He asked wryly, wondering if the world had gone to shit while he took an hour away from the office.

"General Stuart would like to meet with you, sir." She replied concisely.

O'Neill frowned. "The old warhorse say why?"

She shook her head. "But I made a couple of calls, it seems the Admiral of the Fleet and Ambassador Shiv will be there as well. They've been talking since nine this morning."

If Sir Patterson was involved, then it was obviously something to do with the Fleet, yet O'Neill couldn't recall anything noteworthy in the morning's strategic briefing that would involve Gryphon as well, since that was Ambassador Shiv main tasking lately.

"Ours is not to reason why, Colonel..." O'Neill responded sagely as he walked towards his car, the driver already standing beside it with the door open. O'Neill had tried to get them to stop doing that but they simply nodded, smiled and continued to open each and every door for him.

Krupskaya snorted softly at the General's obviously faked air of disinterest.

* * * * * * * * * *

Thirty minutes later, O'Neill was at the Pentagon and was making his way into the Chairman of The Joint Chiefs office. O'Neill smiled as the nervous looking Major out in the front office saw him coming, rose and knocked on the door to General Orin Stuart's office. A gravelly voice boomed out and the Major visibly winced. Smiling weakly, he stepped aside and O'Neill walked straight in.

Inside the surprisingly austere office, the hulking figure of Ambassador Shiv sat in a red leather sofa against the far wall, the reed thin British knight and Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Sir Henry Patterson was sat opposite him in a slightly worn easy chair and behind his desk sat the iron gray figure of General Stuart.

"Get your ass in here, Jack, we've got things to talk about." Stuart called out.

O'Neill smiled as he sat in another easy chair beside Admiral Patterson and Colonel Krupskaya sat gingerly on the sofa next to the massive bulk of Ambassador Shiv. "Didn't recognize your aide on the way in, Orin. That makes it what? Your fifth this year?"

"His fourth, I believe, Jack." Patterson joined in; always ready to bait the old soldier.

Stuart glared at them both as he left his desk and sat down in the remaining high back, leather chair across the small table from O'Neill. "Bite your tongues, the both of you. It's not my fault if I can't find an aide who's issued with an actual spine."

Shiv snorted, the sound more reminiscent of an explosion than of amusement. "Ha! The ones with spines generally come with attitude to match and anybody with half a brain would avoid working directly under you day in and day out like the plague."

"Too damned true." Stuart stated resignedly. "To business...Jack, Gryphon needs some reassurance. It seems that the Goa'uld have finally found them."

O'Neill leaned forward slightly. "Is that confirmed?"

Shiv nodded. "Since we gave them the F-401's, they've been flying long range patrols throughout their solar system. Earlier this week, a Goa'uld energy signature was detected at the very edge of their system, too far away to get a positive ID. Last night, an Al'kesh hyperspaced into the inner system and got a good look at Gryphon, jumping out before the patrols could intercept it."

"Damn." O'Neill replied bitterly. Everyone knew that the Protected Planets Treaty didn't cover Gryphon and all attempts to contact the Asgard for the past four months had failed. Even the military team sent to assist the Asgard had not been heard from, which meant the Asgard must be having their own problems. The result of all this meant that Earth had to take on the burden of providing interstellar security for the Gryphon until they got up to speed on their own defensive fleet. It was something the World Council was intent on doing for Gryphon improved the overall strength of the Alliance enormously but the actual chances of fending off a serious Goa'uld attack were chancy.

"I've been getting some rumblings from the Tok'ra." Stuart announced. "Bast's shipyards at PX8-112 are nearing their latest batch of construction. Five Shal'kra Class, the biggest of the Motherships, not counting the Command ships."

"Bloody hell." Patterson cursed. "That'll let them replace almost all their losses among their bigger ships we've inflicted to date. And those buggers are too big and powerful for pacification duty over some backwater world. Waste of assets. You can guarantee they'll use the damned things to attack some poor sod with." He finished glumly.

"The Gryphonese, no doubt." O'Neill replied. "All the cards are falling in Bast's favor and there's not a damn thing we can do about it."

"Not quite." General Stuart replied. "I'm going before the World Council and I'm going to ask for their blessing for a gamble I'm about to make."

The other men in the room studied the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs in curiosity.

"I'm going to send as much of the fleet as I can to Gryphon, that includes the ships protecting Earth." Stuart finished.

O'Neill frowned as he considered the options, Ambassador Shiv paled slightly at the apparent risk the General was taking and Admiral Patterson was thinking furiously.

"The Goa'uld can't touch Earth so it's not so much of a risk leaving ourselves uncovered. Especially with the new planetary defenses being deployed." The Admiral of the Fleet added.

Stuart nodded. "I should be able to sell it to the politicians."

Shiv smiled slightly. "It may be militarily sound but it actually make a powerful political gesture as well. We are basically telling our allies that Earth with go to great lengths to ensure their security."

"I'm not unaware of that potential effect, Ambassador." Stuart replied, managing to sound both pleased and disgusted at being so deft at the political aspects of fighting a war.

He turned to O'Neill. "Prime Minister Grant was supposed to go to Gryphon and meet the Monarchy but I've upgraded Gryphon's threat level to Condition 1 in light of recent events. That means you're going in her place, Jack, as per the original plan."

O'Neill nodded as if he had expected it. "I'll take a tour of their defensive facilities as well, see if I can offer any help preparing them for the Goa'uld. For what good it'll do..."

Stuart smiled darkly. "Let's show Bast and her friends that Earth is no longer someone with whom they can just mess with."

"Here, here." Admiral Patterson replied. "I'd best be off. I have some fleet captains to talk to."

Everyone nodded in agreement and rose from their chairs. After saying their goodbyes, Ambassador Shiv and Admiral Patterson walked out together, leaving Stuart and O'Neill alone.

"Hold on a minute, Jack, will ya?" Stuart asked quietly. He had noted something in O'Neill's eyes when he had been informed he'd be going to Gryphon after all. Having heard the rumors about Jack after his son had accidentally killed himself with Jack's gun, Stuart needed to avert a possible tragedy.

O'Neill looked at the Chairman's face and then glanced at Krupskaya. His aide got the silent message and she swiftly withdrew from the room.

"What's up, sir?" He asked.

Stuart moved over to his desk and half sat on its edge. "I'm worried, Jack."

"Who isn't?" O'Neill half snorted.

Stuart smiled slightly but shook his head. "That's not what I mean. Jack, we've been using a lot of our people to set up shipyards on the five largest worlds in the Alliance, Earth, Polaris, Entrica, Sintesia and now Gryphon. This has cut into our ability to build large numbers of ships but its imperative we get as much construction capacity as possible. We're going to need it for Operation Spring Clean."

O'Neill inclined his head slightly, unsure where the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was going. He knew perfectly well that O'Neill had played a large part in determining their war strategies and policies.

"Jack, Gryphon's going to fall, you know that." Stuart announced bluntly.

O'Neill frowned. "We have a chance..."

Shaking his head, Stuart cut him off. "Jack, Third Fleet will do their best but even they can't hold off five Shal'kra Motherships without more support than we can give them. First and Second Fleet is scattered across the Alliance and it will take time for them to assemble at Gryphon, The 'Prometheus' in now attached to Third Fleet for the duration since the 'Montana took a pounding and is still undergoing repairs but that gives Admiral Kent one carrier, three battleships and eight destroyers, fourteen if the closest ones get there before the Goa'uld do. Now, five Hat'ak's, I'd give Third Fleet damn good odds but against five Shal'kra's? I rather bet on the other side."

"Okay, granted the situation in space is desperate but I guarantee that on the ground, we'll take on the Jaffa and win." O'Neill replied, defiantly. "The Sintesian planetary defense cannons will make sure the skies above Gryphon are clear and the city shields will protect most of the population from orbital strikes. If Bast's wants to take Gryphon, she's gonna have to put Jaffa on the ground."

(note - Sintesia is an original signatory member of the Alliance who had a fairly effective ground-to-space cannon that they used as part of a continental missile defense system. Sintesian engineers took the relatively primitive ion cannon technology the SGC had and improved on it considerably. Used in conjunction with the large-scale shields developed for cities, this planetary defense system denies any invading ship the ability to blithely bomb a planet from orbit.)

Raising his hands, Stuart acknowledged the point. "I have no doubt that the troops on Gryphon will give a good accounting of themselves but what I'm saying is that fighting on the ground is half the battle lost. At some point, we're gong to have to take the orbitals and the Gryphon system back. That will be the first step, your first step, in Operation Spring Clean."

"What are you saying?" O'Neill asked, guardedly.

Stuart sighed. "Jack, you're going to Gryphon soon and I know you, your gonna find every excuse you can to stick around until the Goa'uld invade, just so you can pick up a rifle and join in the defense."

"Your point?" Jack replied, not denying the accusation.

"I need you alive, Jack!" Stuart roared. "Goddamit, man! I know you've lost people but now is not the time to go all gung ho on some suicidal guilt trip."

Jack winced in half-amusement and half-annoyance. "Jeez, sir, I hope you never decide to become a therapist..."

Stuart snorted with mirth but quickly fell serious again. "Look Jack, you and I both know how it works. I've been there too, you know. I've lost friends too and I miss George as well but you know he'd be kicking your butt right about now if he could."

O'Neill was silent for several minutes but eventually he nodded, understanding the request implicit in the other man's words. "I'll come back alive."

"That's all I ask, Jack." Stuart replied, feeling somewhat relieved. "Do what you can for Gryphon, Jack, let them know we'll be there for them, and when it's time to leave, let them know, we'll be back for them."

O'Neill stood as Stuart rose from the table and saluted.

Stuart returned the salute and O'Neill departed without another word.










Chapter 3
A Horse, a Horse, my Kingdom for a Horse!




( Historical Index - 0025-8401 Gryphon Unification War.
The planet Gryphon is roughly equal to Earth in terms of size, mass and climate, the only real difference being a thirty-hour day and a single landmass that is a super-continent covering close to sixty percent of the surface. No one is sure who brought humans from Earth to Gryphon but whoever did appears to have long forgotten about them. For hundreds of years, the people of Gryphon were united under a single ruler, a King. Unfortunately, the Monarchy eventually became oppressive towards certain elements of its society and as a result, rebellion grew, the Monarchy was overthrown and Gryphon split into two nation states; the larger, democratic but politically fractured Edo and the smaller but dictatorial, monolithic war machine of Manticore. The forty-year Unification War had left Edo the nominal victor after a series of tremendous battles but overall, the war had left both sides devastated. Their governments and their infrastructure, specifically targeted, were effectively wiped out. Over then next ten long, hard years, the two highest ranking officers in the Gryphon Army had managed to use their surviving military forces to bring order back to the battered but surviving cities and the shattered societies of both nation states. Without realizing it, they had become a government unto themselves and their even-handedness in dealing with the people of Edo and Manticore without any regard to their past actions lead to a deep core of admiration and loyalty being forged.
It was almost fifteen years after the final battle of the Unification War that the united people of Gryphon called for General Paul of the Sword and General Elizabeth of the Shield to ascend to the long-defunct throne of Gryphon. And so the Monarchy of Gryphon was reborn.)

Imperial Palace, Edo City, Gryphon
14:25 ZULU
October 22nd, 2009

Golden sunlight shone down upon the Imperial Palace, the massive white marble edifice reflecting the light in a dazzling display that could be seen for many miles around. Of course, this was exactly the sort of effect the architects had been trying to achieve.
A sprawling complex of buildings surrounded the Palace for miles in every direction, the architecture of the buildings varied yet similar in design and decoration so as to create a vision of unity. People who visit Edo, capital of Gryphon, for the first time are sometimes moved to tears by the majestic sight of tall white buildings, glittering golden rooftops and lush green parks and gardens.

High up in the Imperial Palace, Anne of the Sword, Queen of Gryphon, looked out from the balcony of her 'office' and sighed deeply.

"That's the third time this week, Tadeshi." She replied to the gruff looking man behind her, sitting patiently in front of her desk.

Wearing a military uniform of thick, dark green material, with stiff pale green shoulder boards, each carrying five black triangles. A series of gold hash marks, twenty-eight in all, rested on his left chest

General Tadeshi Roberts of the Fist, Supreme Commander of the Troops, nodded slowly. "They're planning on making a move soon, my Queen. When they first found us two weeks ago, I figured they'd come after us eventually but never this quickly...I think they somehow learned that we're not protected by the Asgard and that, combined with the new ships coming off their assembly lines..." He left the conclusion unsaid.

"You're most likely right." Queen Anne turned from the balcony and moved back inside. "And when they attack?"

It was the General's turn to sigh. "I doubt we'll be able to prevent them landing, regardless of Admiral Patterson's optimism. Our defense fleet is nowhere near strong enough to take on the Goa'uld and the rest of the Earth Navy is scattered among the rest of the Alliance. The recall went out to them last week, but it'd take them anywhere from nine to thirty days to get here. Each day brings one or two ships from the rest of the Fleet in but in effect, we have only their Third Fleet to support us at the moment and the Goa'uld know this. If they're considering attacking us, then they must be bringing enough ships to deal with them."

The Royal Guards at the door on the far side of the room stiffened to attention and seconds later, the door opened. The General and the Queen looked up in surprise only to relax when they saw that it was Anne's husband, King Yamato of the Shield.

"Sorry I'm late, my dear, General O'Neill and I had more to talk about than we first thought." He announced, gesturing for the Royal Guards to relax their stance.

Anne raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Yamato grinned and sat down in the empty chair beside General Robert. "Yes, it seems that the Goa'uld Motherships everyone's worried about have gone missing."

Roberts and Anne glanced at each other and then stared at Yamato. "Missing?" Robert asked for the both of them, the pieces of the jigsaw forming a picture that didn't bode well for Gryphon.

Nodding seriously, he pulled a data-pad out from his trouser pocket and placed it on Anne's desk. "That's the full report from Tok'ra Intelligence. As you may know, they track Mothership movements as a matter of course...well, it seems that the five Motherships that just finished final workups at the Shipyards on PX8-112 have disappeared. They left the yards three days ago and haven't been spotted anywhere else since. I think it's safe to say that they're on their way here."

"Did you ask about the reinforcements?" General Roberts asked. "PX8-112 is practically on the other side of the Galaxy. It'll take them at least six more days to arrive, at worst. That's enough time to prepare a reception for them."

The King winced. "Admiral Patterson informed me that they've already stripped Earth to the bone in order to send us the battleship 'Prometheus' and it's squadrons of fighters. The skirmish at PX529 put the 'Montana' from Third Fleet in our repair docks and might be ready in time but the latest capital ship construction across the Alliance is still many months from completion. The Earth Fleet isn't all that big to begin with and all they're literally the only members of the Alliance with any heavy ships. Their putting everything on the line for us but it still might not be enough."

Roberts turned away, thinking furiously. Another four destroyers and Admiral Kent's task force would improve the situation by a considerable margin but they'd always known that if the Goa'uld got serious about taking a planet, nothing short of a Asgard vessel would stop them.

Yamato spoke softly in the sudden silence. "Understanding the tense situation in space, I asked General O'Neill for additional ground troops to augment our forces."

Anne smiled grimly. "Good thinking, my love. What was his response?"

"He said he could offer us one division of infantry and light armored units. That's all there is available at such short notice." Yamato replied. "The good news is that the division is a reaction force, ready for a rapid Stargate transit. They can start to move within twelve hours and be ready to fight in less than thirty. He did say there might be an additional unit of some kind but here didn't say of what. I gathered he's scraping the barrel for whatever he can find. They'll start arriving tomorrow, along with O'Neill himself. He still wants to go ahead with the meeting and the inspection of our military."

General Roberts was glad for O'Neill's presence but he was even more cheered by the thought of such battle-hardened veterans filling the ranks of the Gryphon Army regulars. Though the Gryphon Army was by no means 'green' thanks to the hard-core Neo-Manticore raiders that prey on the various land-trains that ply the continental trade routes, but the Army hadn't fought in any significant battle since the Unification War almost two hundred years ago.

"I'll get my staff dusting off the old Edo and Manticore defense plans and begin expanding them to include a planet-wide defensive action. But I can tell you now, Bast has probably gathered enough electronic and observational intelligence to work out our political and military structure and the fight for the planet and though our twenty largest cities have been turned in planetary defense centers with large scale shield generators and an array of Sintesian defense cannons, the fight is going to fall around three main locations." Robert stated calmly and began ticking points off his fingers. "The first location will be Edo City or more specifically, the Imperial Palace in an attempt to capture you two; the second key point will be the Wakazi military base, which is our largest and best defended military installation and not to mention the location of the Stargate. The final key point of attack will likely be the Yards and industrial plants of Manticore City."

"Each of these key points will be massively defended, the civilians are being sent to the old shelters or moved to the other shielded cities. We've been upgrading them steadily since we learned of the Goa'uld and we have plenty of room for those leaving the smaller cities." Roberts finished.

"What about the smaller cites, the towns and villages?" Anne asked softly. "The people that can't or won't leave their homes?"

Yamato shook his head. "We'll advise them to take shelter wherever they can find it. We can't hide three billion people, Anne, and we certainly can't evacuate...No, we'll just have to keep the Goa'uld focused on the leadership, on the three main points of defense."

General Roberts tried to reassure his Queen. "Ma'am, we'll have local defense nodes all throughout the country. We've had civilians turning up, asking for weapons so as to defend their homes. We've been running them through accelerated training course with the Special Forces who are teaching them basic guerilla tactics. The countryside will be a dangerous place for Jaffa for a long time to come, Ma'am. No, they'll focus on taking the capital, Wakazi and the Manticore Yards. The Goa'uld will have to spend years digging us out."

Nodding sadly, Anne looked out the window, beyond the balcony, at the golden city of Edo wondering what would be left of her beautiful world.

* * * * * * * * *

Stargate Chamber, Wakazi Base, Gryphon
20:05 ZULU
October 23rd, 2009

"STAND TO! GATE TRANSIT IN PROGRESS!"

Brigadier Scott adjusted his seemingly ill-fitting dress uniform and winced slightly as the trooper at the end of the microphone called the alert just a little too loudly. Suddenly the Gryphon Stargate burst into life. The swirling plasma stream never failed to capture the attention of those nearby and Scott tore his attention away from the majestic sight long enough to see his Gryphon military liaison, Commander Helen of the Axe staring at the Stargate with eyes that were still fresh to the sight of that ring of naquada and its ancient workings.

The event horizon rippled slightly and two large soldiers in full combat gear stepped through easily, alert eyes scanning the Chamber, frowning at the sight of Gryphon Army regulars and their guns but stepping to one side nevertheless.

The soldier on the left, a Marine Sergeant Major, assumed a parade stance and spoke firmly but with deceptive power so that it carried to all ears in the chamber. "Supreme Allied Commander, Stargate Command, arriving!"

Practically on cue, the event horizon rippled once more and a tall figure in full dress uniform stepped through. Lieutenant General O'Neill smiled slightly, more than a little self conscious at the display he and his men were putting on.

Moving steadily down the ramp, O'Neill headed towards Brigadier Scott and the Gryphon Commander, his aide, Colonel Krupskaya and his Marine bodyguards in tow. "Good evening, Brigadier." O'Neill greeted.

Scott nodded respectfully. "And to you, sir. May I present Commander Helen Yuriko of the Axe, 8th Queen's Cavalry and my liaison here on Gryphon."

"Ma'am." O'Neill acknowledged with a small smile.

"General. It's an honor." She replied with a salute.

O'Neill returned the salute and frowned mockingly at Scott. "What the hell have you been saying about me, Scott?"

"Oh, I've filled them in on all of your exploits, included P3X595..." The junior General replied with unwholesome glee.

Jack winced slightly and mentally promised swift retribution towards Scott if his little joke actually turned out to be true and he had shared that not so secret-secret. "Your boys and girls are ready, Scott...let's get this show on the road."

Scott nodded in agreement and turned to his Gryphonese counterpart. "Commander, permission to transfer my forces to your planet." Brigadier General Scott requested formally.

With equal formality, Helen nodded. "Permission granted, sir."

O'Neill, with little fanfare, half-turned to his aide. "Bring them over, Kathy."

"Yes, sir." Krupskaya replied and pressed a button on her GDO, sending the signal through the still open Stargate, back to the SGC.

Almost immediately, the wormhole rippled and, line abreast, four soldiers in full gear and large backpacks stepped out of the Stargate. Straight on their heels were another four soldiers similarly equipped...and another...and another, in a seemingly endless stream. Gryphon soldiers stood at several points in the Chamber, forming a path and directing the Earth troopers towards a massive open doorway that led to another large chamber built specifically for assembling large formation of soldiers.

O'Neill stood silently with pride as Brigadier General Scott's 23rd Heavy Infantry Division, the SGC's 'Rapid Reaction Force', men and women from twenty different militaries across Earth marched in unison out of the Stargate.

"General O'Neill? Her Majesty, Queen Anne, awaits you upstairs, in the Strategic Operations Center, along with King Yamato and General Roberts." Commander Helen informed him.

Smiling slightly, O'Neill glanced at the arriving troops one last time before turning towards the commander. "Then by all means, Commander, let's not keep them waiting."

* * * * * * * * *

Deep Space staging point, 500 light years from Gryphon
21:39 ZULU

Hek'at moved through his flagship, 'Fist of the Gods', deep in thought. He was a proud man, confident in his abilities and those of his Jaffa and yet, the Tau'ri had defeated him and his army on many occasions. Oh, he had had several impressive victories but as a whole, the Tau'ri had taught him more about warfare than his old Master ever had. Chief among these lessons was caution. This was why his ships were sitting in the middle of deep space, four days from Gryphon, waiting for his scouts to return and allowing his men to perform general maintenance on these new and untried vessels.

Yes, he would approach with caution this time. The Tau'ri fighters would pose serious problems but his new ships had a simple if inelegant solution to their fighters...the bombers would have to be kept at arms length...their heavier warships would need to be dispatched quickly, allowing them to mop up the rest at leisure...Intelligence reported rumors of a new planetary defense system being deployed to Tau'ri Alliance worlds, would it be at Gryphon, a fairly recent member?

The multitude of thoughts running though his mind was evident by the blank, distracted look on his face. His Second smiled internally as he approached Hek'at unnoticed, almost walking into him before the First Prime brought his attention back to the present.

"Dre'tec?" Hek'at asked in surprise, cursing his lack of focus.

The Second held out a slate. "The scout has returned and this is their report."

Hek'at took the slate and began to scroll through the comprehensive information. "Summarize." He ordered.

"Three more destroyers have arrived, bringing their number to fourteen. One battleship remains in dry-dock, leaving two battleships and one carrier in orbit. There are no accurate counts on fighters but we are estimating at least eight squadrons of fighters, four of bombers and two of transports. Chappa'ai activity has been heavy."

"Planetary defenses?"

Dre'tec shrugged. "There are some relatively new energy signatures on the planet that are consistent with multiple naquada generators but we have no idea what they may be powering. Could be cannons, could be reading lamps."

Hek'at snorted at Dre'tec's idea of humor and then frowned, making a mental note to approach the planet carefully. Taking a deep breath he looked at his Second and smiled. "Very well, my friend. Recall the patrols. It is time."


The handful of patrolling udajeets quickly returned to their respective Motherships and the massive vessels fell into formation. When all Jaffa were aboard, one by one, the Motherships, led by 'Fist of the Gods' made the jump to hyperspace, heading directly for Gryphon.

* * * * * * * * *

Strategic Operations Center, Wakazi Base, Gryphon
23:05 ZULU

"What do you think then, Jack?" General Roberts asked quietly.

They had just spent the past three hours going over the basic deployments of ships and troops in the Gryphon system, desperately trying to bolster the defenses.

"It's gonna be tough, Tadeshi." O'Neill replied slowly. "We don't have enough firepower to stop them. Hurt them, yes, but stop them completely, no. We'd only waste the fleet if we tried."

Yamato smiled grimly. "I'm not stupid, Jack, and neither is Anne or Roberts. We knew when we joined the Alliance that we'd be vulnerable and we gambled that we could keep our presence from the Goa'uld. We were wrong."

"Your Highness..." O'Neill started.

"No, Jack." Anne interrupted. "We have a saying, 'to turn from the dark path is an invitation to get lost but to stay on the dark path is an invitation to get robbed.' We knew that alone, the Goa'uld would wipe us out but as a member of the Alliance, well, let's just say, you're not going to leave us, how do you say, 'swinging in the wind'?"

"Absolutely not, Ma'am. We will be back. You just have to hold out for a short while..." Jack finished forcefully.

General Roberts nodded. "Two years, Jack. Two years. If all goes reasonably well, I can hold Edo City, Wakazi Base and the Manticore Yards for two years, at most. If the Alliance doesn't come back for us by then, I wouldn't bother coming back at all."

O'Neill gripped his fists in frustration. "We'll be back. I promise you that."

Anne smiled in satisfaction. "I know you will, Jack."

Jack was saved from replying when his aide, Colonel Krupskaya cleared he throat slightly to catch her boss's attention. "Sir, SG-Omega is due in fifteen minutes."

At the raised eyebrows of the native Gryphonese, O'Neill smiled. "A little something extra I managed to scrape from the bottom of the barrel. I think we should head down to the Stargate and greet SG-Omega."

Yamato and Roberts looked towards the Queen who simply shrugged and said nothing as she rose from her chair.

The Royal Guards, who were stood against the wall of the Operations Center, communicated to the rest of the Guards that the King and Queen were on their way back to the Stargate.

* * * * * * * * *

The Royal party arrived with near perfect timing as the last chevron locked into position and the wormhole exploded into existence.

O'Neill glanced around the Chamber and saw that the last of the CAV's had arrived and were being moved onto a massive freight elevator, for transport to the surface. Through the massive side door, he could see the hundreds of soldiers from the 23rd Heavy Infantry, prepping their equipment, eating their rations and catching up on their sleep, oblivious to their surroundings.

"So what's the big surprise then, Jack?" Roberts asked, unable to restrain his curiosity any longer.

O'Neill nodded his head in the direction of the Stargate. "Watch, Tadeshi..."

Roberts frowned but watched the Stargate, along with Anne and Yamato who were smiling in anticipation of a surprise.

The silver surface of the wormhole rippled and a large figure stepped through the Stargate, onto the platform. Almost two meters tall, the figure was covered head to toe in metallic gray armor and carrying an impressively large rifle. The figure moved down the ramp as identically armored soldiers started to arrive behind him. Stepping up to O'Neill and the Gryphonese Monarchy, the Royal Guards started forward nervously but Anne raised her hands to stop them, confident of her safety and immensely curious about this SG-Omega.

The armored soldier halted in front of O'Neill and gave a sharp salute, a strip of blue tinted, semi-transparent armor across the helmet barely revealed eyes that twinkled in humor even as a commanding voice issuing forth from a helmet speaker. "Colonel Kerr Avon, SG-Omega, reporting for duty, General."

"Stand easy, Colonel." O'Neill replied as Queen Anne, King Yamato and General Roberts studied Colonel Avon with undisguised curiosity.

The armor was a matt slate gray but was covered in engravings, uncomfortably like the Jaffa armor but whereas those engravings were circular and flowing, Colonel Avon's was rectangular, giving it a very mechanical look and feel, rather than organic. Aware of the comparisons being made in the minds of the Gryphon bystanders, Colonel Avon delivered the coup-de-grace and raised his hand to his neck and pressed a small button embedded under the jaw and behind the ear of the helmet.

The helmet hissed in relieved pressure and starting from the mouth, retracted in on itself, falling back towards the back of the neck to reveal the craggy, tanned face of Colonel Avon who wore the look of a man suppressing a grin.

O'Neill turned to the stunned expressions of the Gryphonese and smiled. "Neat, huh?"

General Roberts reached out a hand to touch the armor but stopped, looking up at Colonel Avon, unconsciously seeking permission from the massive soldier. At the respectful nod from Colonel Avon, Roberts stroked the armor almost reverently. "It's absolutely amazing." He breathed out in wonder.

This hiss of escaping attracted everyone's attention as a second solder stepped up to the group and de-activated his helmet. The amused face of Jonas Quinn smiled at everyone. "Actually, it's an tritium-beryllium-steel composite with a nano-matrix skin, allowing for active stealth camouflage in addition to being rated for three hits from a heavy Goa'uld cannon."

"Welcome to Gryphon, Jonas." O'Neill added in the resulting stunned silence. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Jonas opened his mouth to reply but stopped himself and looked to Colonel Avon.

Avon nodded in approval at the other man, turned and smiled at O'Neill. "That would be Captain Jonas Quinn, General, and he's a member of my unit."

O'Neill raised an eyebrow and Avon chuckled, gesturing for Jonas to explain.

"I'm SG-Omega's Chief Technical Officer." Jonas explained. "This is the Mod 1 Combat Armour's first front-line deployment and we're likely to be cut off from the SGC for some time...Colonel Avon felt he needed someone with the knowledge to keep these 'suits' in top condition with little support. That appeared to be me."

Queen Anne stepped forward and touched the armor with wide eyes. "Amazing. I wish we had about two hundred thousand of these suits, though."

Jonas smiled tightly. "Give it time, Your Highness, give it time. It is my hope that these will be standard issue to all frontline troops in the near future."

General Roberts frowned slightly. "They're not combat-tested yet?"

Avon shrugged. "We've used them in a couple of small skirmishes with the Jaffa and they performed beyond expectations but we need to know how they hold up in extended combat. General O'Neill thought we could be of some assistance here on Gryphon and so, here we are."

O'Neill shook his head. "The damned things are also expensive as hell. Almost $10 million a suit last time I checked."

"Worth every penny." Brigadier Scott added.

Colonel Avon looked around as the rest of his troops finished coming out of the Stargate and began to get settled amongst the Rapid Reaction Force in the assembly chamber. "What's the current situation, sir?"

O'Neill shrugged slightly. "Our preparations are almost complete. Third Fleet is assembled in orbit and all the planetary defense centers are on-line; the 23rd is being deployed to Edo and Manticore City while your unit will remain here at Wakazi."

"Understood, sir." Colonel Avon replied. "Though you have to understand, we're a tactical strike unit, not line holders."

General Roberts smiled with almost devilish glee. "Relax, Colonel, I have several operations that have been shelved due to lack of the appropriate assets but for which you and your team are exquisitely perfect for." The General's gaze turned almost dreamy as he survey the ferried ranks of armored troopers of SG-Omega. "Oh yes, I have some tasks that are right up your alley."

As Queen Anne and King Yamato began to confer with Brigadier Scott and General Roberts, Colonel Avon moved quietly to one side with General O'Neill. "How long till the balloon goes up, sir?" Avon asked quietly.

"Any day now." O'Neill replied, equally quietly.

"Do these people stand a chance?" Avon asked darkly. Most worlds tend to crumble pretty quickly under a Goa'uld attack.

O'Neill shook his head. "At holding off Hek'at?" He asked, knowing for a certainty that Bast's First Prime would be leading the attack. "Doubtful. Officially, Third Fleet is to stand in the defense of Gryphon at all costs but in reality, Admiral Kent has orders to inflict as much damage as he can without suffering too many casualties and then withdraw to Earth. The Alliance is in it for the long haul and we can't afford to lose too many ships at this point. Especially if we plan to re-take Gryphon later on."

"So why are we here?" The armored trooper asked bluntly. He didn't like the idea of being expendable for political reasons.

O'Neill took a deep breath. "When Third Fleet pulls out, Hek'at is going to have to perform a ground assault to take any significant portion of Gryphon. The Sintesian planetary defense grid will deny him the ability to perform an orbital bombardment but they can't stop him landing troops elsewhere and making a ground attack. A good portion of the Goa'uld assault fleet strength and Jaffa army has gone into this attack and we can stop it entirely, but we can tie them down for months, maybe years, allowing us to expand the fleet as much as possible in preparation for a counter-attack."

Avon nodded in understanding. "So now we wait."



continued in part 3