10: Dawning Alliance
by Chaoseternus

When Enerina is sent to investigate why every gate in an area of space will not establish a wormhole, she finds something totally unexpected...

One

Enerina sighed as the gate closed behind her.

They were now on the very border of the 'dead' sector, at the very last StarGate before steeping into unknown territory.

Now their mission would truly begin.

With a flick of the wrist, she signalled the Jaffa around her to grab the last of the supplies that had been sent through the gate and head back to the ship.

Her mission had just become more complicated, by far.

Her face carefully neutral, hiding her thoughts from her crew she sat down in the command chair as the Ha'tak rose swiftly from the planets surface.

No longer was this just a simple investigate and report, now she had to search for resources and for industrial civilisations that would be willing to help the Tau'ri in their war.

She personally considered that a no-hoper. The Aschen at least should have taught the Tau'ri of being extremely wary of industrial or advanced civilisations that were willing to aid her. They usually just turned out to be interested only in their own agenda.

More often than not, industrial or advanced either meant unwilling to help or unable too or even worse, just painted a target on their heads which somebody, usually a snake would quickly come and shoot.

A slight hum filled the room as the ship went into hyper, but Enerina, deep in her thoughts, barely noticed it.

No, she had little hope, but she would try.

Her allies had placed too much faith, too much trust in her for her not to try, after all they were at war with the Goa'uld and technically she was a Goa'uld, what reason did they truly have to trust her?

But they did, they had from day one. That kind of faith she always felt the drive to repay, to prove herself worthy. Enerina was willing to admit to herself that that was just an extension of her own insecurity.

Enerina looked up startled as around her the ship rumbled and shook, the erratic manoeuvres almost becoming violent as the low level hum of the hyper drives rose to a painful screech.

"Report!" she snapped, falling easily into the Tau'ri militaries way of speaking.

"Unknown Milady…" the tall, vaguely American Indian Jaffa at the main controls responded, "it's almost as if we were entering a region of hyperspace instability"

Enerina frowned, such areas were rare and usually known to all but it would explain why so few returned from this area…

"Drop us out of hyper, and run a full check on the engines"

"Yes, Milady" the Jaffa responded, his hands rapidly but surely manipulating the controls in front of him.

Enerina frowned as the rumbling faded, there had been an odd note in the engines just as they left hyper…

"De'elc," she added, speaking to the Jaffa at the controls "make sure they run a full check on the engines, I don't want to be stranded this far from friendly territory"

"Yes, Milady," De'elc hesitated, "should I ask the Tau'ri science team to look over the sensor logs?"

Enerina sent him an approving glance, "yes, see to it"

Enerina sat shocked as the report slowly settled into her mind.

It wasn't just hyperspace instability which had caused the main drives problems, it was a hyperspace barrier. They had quite literally stopped short of the barrier itself, the unstable movements the ship had suffered was the result of energy bleeding off from the barrier itself.

And the barrier stretched as far as their sensors could see.

Considering she knew the ancients had operated in this area, had gates active in this area at the time of their fall she just had to wonder where the barrier had come, from, her hereditary memories were quite specific that the barrier hadn't always been here, that when the Unas were still the primary hosts of the Goa'uld, their ships had passed through this area with little trouble except from the retreating Ancients themselves.

So where did this come from?

Was it natural?

How was it powered?

And what was on the other side?

Enerina snorted, it explained why they couldn't connect to gates in this sector though. If it surrounded the whole area, no signals especially those of the gate network would get through.

It was suggestive though that the barrier appeared apparently after the Ancients were supposed to have left.

Very suggestive indeed.

"How far does the barrier appear to extend?" she asked, gazing at the irksome Tau'ri scientist beside her.

"Well," Doctor Rodney McKay replied, his hands gesturing, "we don't know. You see the barrier blocks subspace and the sensors are subspace based so they can't pass through the barrier. However, that did allow us to determine exactly where the barrier was and…"

"Do we have any way of determining its thickness or even what's on the other side?" Enerina interrupted, hoping to stop him before he got into full flow.

"None whatsoever"

Enerina quirked at eyebrow at the suddenly quiet scientist, "not even" she continued with heavy irony, gesturing at the window in front of her, "visually?"

"Well… that would work" Rodney stuttered, a little surprised, "wouldn't tell you much though…"

Enerina shot him a wry glance, and turned to De'elc, "take us ahead slowly De'elc"

"Yes Milady"