A/N: I am aware that several books take place after the end of Season 5 of Atlantis but for the purposes of this story, the events in several of them will be moved with two or three years.
Mystery Solved
Disclaimer: The characters of the Stargate Universe belong to MGM. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own.
AU/SGU/FO: A powerful being from another universe appears on the Destiny just as Eli's time had run out. Stranded on the ship he has to figure out how to go home and the best way is to help the crew of Destiny.
Season Six – 'Hidden Treasures'
Premise:
The crew of Destiny exited stasis only to discover two new passengers from another universe, which have spent their time fixing the ship. After some deliberations, they choose to keep them onboard as their newest allies.
Not long after, an Ancient seed ship nearly killed them all challenging their beliefs of everything they knew about the Ancients. So, they started exploring the reason for that.
Having tasked the SGC to assist, Diablo hopes for results but their lack of progress forces him to leave the ship and return to the Milky Way Galaxy to expedite matters.
A year later, he is back on Earth. Using a base of a race as old as the Ancients, he begins to fill in the gaps. Deciding not to reveal his newest resources just yet, he joins the SGC a year later. In the meantime, the crew of Destiny makes interesting and painful discoveries, and experiences the joy that comes with it.
On Earth, Diablo had to silence temporarily Colonel Carter as she had come close to some of his secrets but revealed to her that he had discovered the proper location of Clava Thessara Infinitas.
Chapter 1
General O'Neill was in his office pacing. The alliance they made with Diablo was not exactly what they had hoped for. After another confrontation where he explained once more what an alliance is, the IOA had ceded and recanted their methods. Nothing can be obtained through intimidation especially if your target is not only extremely powerful but utterly unwilling to cooperate.
O'Neill got to think about the things Diablo had said about their previous alliances and reluctantly had to agree. They had pushed their allies though the circumstances at the time had forced the SGC to be more aggressive. If all had been shared, they could have kicked the collective Goa'uld's asses a lot sooner. Instead all desire for alliance had backfired.
In the end, they did succeed in triumphing but it had been costly. Now the biggest issue they had was the Lucian Alliance. They were human warlords that scoured and scared the human populous in the galaxy. Request for dealing with this threat has been made several times but the IOA was somewhat reluctant to devote more resources.
Destiny was the other problem, well, not the ship or the crew but rather the marriage of Sgt. Vanessa James to the transdimensional being –Viz. That has brought a new side of Diablo and it was not pleasant for anyone. The entirety of the state of Nevada was under a constant dark storm that no meteorologist on the planet could explain. The area around the hanger where Diablo worked was especially volatile and so far several airmen have paid the price of curiosity.
The root of the problem lay with the groom's decision not to wait for Diablo. And as they understood it, there was a possibility Diablo's return could have taken eternity. That argument however did not fly well with him. He had been disappointed in the lack of faith in his... – O'Neill was not certain how to define their relationship. He knew only that something has to be done and soon before there are more accidental curiosities that end up in the hospital.
For that, he needed Viz here. That has turned out to be more complicated. They apparently needed a recently deceased person or one that has quit his brain and remained on automatic bodily functions. Unfortunately these conditions did not occur every day. And so far it did not look like they were going to be one. O'Neill had proposed Diablo to visit Destiny and was nearly barbecued for even suggesting it.
"How many times do I have to explain this, General O'Neill?" Diablo had said after calming down. "Anyone that bears the misfortune of carrying my consciousness will meet his maker as none of you can hold it. That is the very reason I came to Earth as the messenger service on your end was unable to deliver."
Sometimes the angry metaphors brought a chuckle to O'Neill. "There must be another way for you two to make contact."
"There was before the holy matrimony shit occurred. "
"Viz said that he can manage..." O'Neill did not get the opportunity to complete the sentence as he had suddenly found himself very far away from the hangar. As Diablo had explained, politely using the modern sci-fi metaphors, he did not use his powers as Q but there were times when that can happen. O'Neill figured this was one of these times.
"Are you alright, sir?" An airman asked as he pulled over.
"Yes," O'Neill nodded. "I just had another unpleasant conversation with our guest. No worries. Take me back the command centre."
"Yes, sir,"
Upon return he found Colonel Carter and NID Agent Malcolm Barrett. This did not bear to anything good.
"What now?"
"We have some bad news." Malcolm replied.
"Figures, on top of every other problem we have."
"Sir, weren't you supposed to be with Diablo?" Sam asked.
"Yes, I was." O'Neill confirmed. "But then the conversation went to the root of our current climatic problems and I ended up on the other side of the base."
"Again,"
"Yes, apparently he's not in a mood to discuss that until we get the transdimensional fella here."
"Yeah, that's not happening any time soon."
"So, back to my original question, what now?"
"Yeah, the Trust is back."
"Back, you say – oh how lovely," O'Neill exclaimed sarcastically. "How did you catch scent of them?"
"Anonymous tip," Malcolm answered.
"Really, how sure are you of it?"
"We had to check it out..."
"And?"
"And, it is legitimate. Apparently, we had not taken out all their members. They have regrouped after the Goa'uld had infiltrated them. From what we can gather, they have laid low..."
"What changed?"
"The arrival of Atlantis had been the catalyst. Also, we have managed to intercept communication between them and the Lucians."
"It is getting better."
"Sir, a possible alliance with the Lucians could have..."
"I got it, Carter." The thought was not pleasant. One former opponent and the current one getting together to work against the SGC, it was definitively not pleasant. "Any plans to blow us up?"
"No," Sam shook head. "Malcolm has a theory."
"Has he now? Oh, please, share."
Malcolm had followed the newly resurrected Trust up close. Their previous tactic of taking control over the Stargate was still on the table but their aspirations have gone in a different direction than expected. He suspected the talks with the Lucians were nothing but smoke and mirrors.
"I believe they will attempt to take over the IOA."
"And thus have a direct opportunity to take over the reins of everything Stargate." Sam added.
"I trust the NID has a plan on how to deal with that?"
"We do but it is slow taking. Members of the IOA have already expressed the need for more direct control over the Stargate program. Now that Atlantis is back, they were even more convinced that Atlantis should be under their control rather than any other single country."
"Yeah, we will see about that." O'Neill did not enjoy that news. He had to speak with the President for this. "Maintain your surveillance over the Trust and the IOA, and keep me apprised of any developments. In the meantime, Carter, find me a body that Viz can occupy. I really do not care how but do."
"Yes, sir,"
Several weeks later, in the hangar in Area 51, Diablo had received an update over the mission on which he had sent the Apollo. Colonel Ellis had proven less confrontational than the other commanders.
The data collected by the Apollo filled in a gap for the sector they had been exploring. The Ancients settlements in the area had been confirmed. They had occupied the area nearly a million years ago. Colonel Ellis had left an archaeology team there to continue the study of the settlement.
"Would there be anything else for the time being?" He asked.
"No, thank you, Colonel Ellis," Diablo replied. "The Apollo has been more than accommodating. I will let you know if your services will be required in the foreseeable future. Please thank, General Landry and O'Neill for lending you to my crazy research."
"We'll do. Ellis out."
Diablo added the information in the general cloud where he kept all the data concerning the Ancients at the time. He was still missing the original mines for naquadah, the research centres for the Destiny project, the Destiny and the seed ships' shipyard (or shipyards, the real ones as he had discovered two planets before that where he thought they were but it turned out they were not), the first planet on which a gate was placed (after the first one), the first ship that brought the Ancients from their galaxy to the Milky Way, and others.
He has not forgotten about the time eternal and the first meeting with the Herald. He doubted the alliance was signed on Earth. Also there was the war with the Venkrat. The Ancients had been quite busy.
There was still much to do and much to uncover. The time eternal and the heralded four were on his top priority list but so far he was yet to find any reference to them. This was very frustrating. He had sent teams to Planet Destiny that was uncovered via the Ashlar database but they have not reported yet and he was not expecting them, just yet. Investigating several million years is not a quick process.
There was much discrepancy in Jackson's recollection of the Ancients movement and the actual evidence. On top of that list was the Plague left by the priests of the ORI. It suggested that it happened millions of years ago when the Ancients left for the Pegasus and yet they launched Destiny about a million years ago and a few hundred thousand years prior to that they were in war with the Venkrat.
All that suggested that the process of restoring life in the galaxy had taken less time and the Ancients returned to the Milky Way earlier than known. They had spent their time developing their philosophies and building the dream – Destiny and the seed ships. In the middle of that excitement they had met with the Herald that provided them with the necessary means to propel the ship with the appropriate power source.
"Milord," Avatar appeared.
"Yes,"
"Lieutenant Mar'ah is here to report."
"Send her in,"
Mar'ah entered. Diablo and Avatar nearly fell on the floor laughing. Her attire was the perfect business woman of the Earth but it was so strange seeing her that way as her race usually dealt with change of uniform.
"It is not funny." She protested.
The reason was not exactly the look of a business woman but the fact that some of the clothes did not match with each other.
"Did not have the time to visit the store properly?" Avatar teased.
"I came as soon as I could..."
"Yes, would have sufficed, Lieutenant," Diablo chuckled.
"Yes, sir, I did not have the time."
"Perhaps, I should assign a permanent dress coordinator."
"I know how to dress Earth wise." Lt. Mar'ah said firmly.
"Ok," Diablo said. "Now, what do you have for me?"
Her report included all she had learnt so far about the government structures around the SGC and its relationship with the IOA. It also contained information for the private contractors and how they are vetted before entrusted to study or built anything obtained via the Stargate operations.
Her report continued with the dark side of things. It covered the many organizations who in the past have wanted a piece of the pie regardless of how it is obtained and how the SGC had to combat them in order to protect the program.
"Even the once vice president of this country was their member."
"That's very interesting."
She continued with the recent purchases and material acquisitions ordered by the SGC and their allies. Particular interest was the British. The materials acquired were most peculiar and by Mar'ah's point of view they were building something separate of their allies.
Diablo reviewed the components as Avatar had noted them down. "Hm, interesting," It appeared that the British had a few secrets of their own that predated their agreement with the others.
"I am sure it is not Stargate related." Mar'ah completed her report on them.
"I agree." Diablo said. "On our end, the British had already found a few fallen starships that they were studying on for the past few centuries. It would appear their counterparts here aren't that far behind."
"From...?"
Diablo smiled. "You two do remember that our British friends were at one point the de facto masters of the world? " The two nodded. They were both familiar with the world's history.
"Yeah, so,"
"So, they have found more treasures than any other country in the world. Some of the weirdest treasures have been transported to secret sites all over the world to be studied either right away or further in time when technology and understanding has advanced sufficiently."
"Smart asses," Avatar observed.
"Yes, they are. So the materials here seem to relate more to aerial propulsion than to space."
"Aerial?"Avatar asked.
"Yes, these components will aid in the building of what today would be called heli-paths or aerial platforms suspended permanently in the air."
"Like carriers?"
"Yes, they would be either somewhat stationary or slow moving disguised as clouds or using inverted images and be essentially part of the sky, completely invisible, and untraceable by any radar system be that human or alien."
"It sounds like you have dealt with such technology before." Mar'ah said.
"Yes, I have but in a different universe. I had 16 such platforms forming the perfect aerial defence for a country. Each platform housed four squadron legions of fighter/interceptors that could take off in mere minutes and be where they needed to be in even less time than any other you would have on a ground base."
"That is a lot of crafts."
"Yes," Diablo reminisced. "Keep an eye on the British."
"I will find a way."
"Good, is there anything else?"
Mar'ah voiced another concern she had and it was in the form of an organization called the Trust. It was one the dark ones. They had recently been resurrected and they had turned their eyes toward the IOA as there were less governmental hoops to overcome.
"Now, that presents a problem." Diablo said pensively.
"Also, the IOA itself has been pressuring the president of this country to release control over Atlantis to them so they can become a sovereign state. Given the current economic difficulties, he is likely to say yes unless presented with another option. Maintaining Atlantis is far more costly than any other asset they have."
"That is not good." Avatar shared.
"I agree. Such a move would make them the first government of the world and if anyone defies them it could get a lot worse."
"Not necessarily," Diablo had a thought. "I will speak to O'Neill about that and it will be handled. Besides, Atlantis may prove to be of further use to us."
"If the president cedes then the IOA will be calling the shots." Avatar said.
"True, but for the moment, the city is still in American waters and not international and that is a usable leverage."
"For what?"
"There is only one possible action – to leave Earth and return to the Pegasus."
"The President can afford only a small team operating the city in such contingency." Mar'ah added. Apparently, the man had thought about it.
"We will see about that too." Diablo said. Given the circumstances, he had a few ideas of his own about the city's future. "Excellent work, Lieutenant,"
"Thank you, milord." Mar'ah bowed. "I would like to request permission to return to the Balkan's base."
"I keep telling you that you are your own manager, Lieutenant. You do not need my permission when you are homesick. But if you would make you feel better, then, permission granted."
The next day, Diablo decided to visit O'Neill (unannounced of course). It was always pleasure to observe the good general scolding his subordinates when he did that as they were assigned to watch his every move. That part has always amused Diablo.
General O'Neill was again in his office. Carter and Barrett were also there. They were discussing strategies after the increased pressure from the IOA and probably the Trust. It was unnerving mostly because the President could not help much. He was close to ceding and that was unacceptable.
"I am open to suggestions." O'Neill said.
Barrett and Carter had nothing to contribute at this time. The USA could hold to the city but its maintenance was very costly. They had no way of providing a bottomless financial hand without divulging the Stargate program to the public.
"Well, I have one." Diablo spoke appearing out of nowhere.
"Jesus, stop doing that," O'Neill has never gotten used to his sudden appearances.
"My apologies, mon generale,"
"You said you have something. I am all ears."
"Where is Atlantis parked currently?" He asked.
"In San Francisco's bay and it is surrounded by the Navy to ensure no one goes through the invisibility shield accidentally." Carter answered.
"I see. So, it is still in American waters, right?" Diablo said and looked at O'Neill.
"Yeah, but the IOA..." Barrett exclaimed.
"They can't claim control over something that is not in International waters."
"Oh, that's genius." O'Neill slapped himself.
"It is my pleasure to help." Diablo smiled and bowed, though sarcastically.
"Sir?" Carter looked at the general.
"We can have Atlantis leave for the Pegasus."
"We tried that they refused."
"Yes, but that was before they wanted to be a sovereign state." O'Neill was already bouncing around with excitement. "That is the perfect compromise."
"Even if they and the president agree, Atlantis will not have much of a contingent. We can't afford it. The president said so, in the last briefing." Carter noted.
"True, but it will be back under the command of Richard, with Sheppard, McKay and the rest of the expedition members. They have never had any problems with them."
"That might work." Barrett said.
"And in the meantime, mon generale, while they decide, stockpiled it." Diablo added.
"That's what we will do but quietly under the radar."
"Whatever suits you," Diablo said and vanished leaving them to contemplate their next move.
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Lordheaven