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...

Six

Enerina shot awake with a start, hand already raising defensively, the hand device glowing as energy was channelled through it as her door slid open unannounced.

"My Lady"

"Enerist" Enerina saw the worried frown on her first primes face, and refrained carefully from asking her why she had interrupted her whilst she was resting, something her hosts empathic abilities forced her to do far more often then a normal Goa'uld would.

"The hyper barrier, it is shrinking"

"What?" Enerina asked startled, "how? Why?"

Enerist frowned; she hated to give her God an incomplete report but…

"I only noticed it because I was away from command, it shrinks so slowly that anyone watching would miss it but it has shrunk by at least a twelve kilometres width on this side alone since we arrived and a check of the sensor logs shows the decrease in size is increasingly exponentially.

It's estimated the barrier will be gone within three days"

It was, Enerina thought as she strode into her command centre, unusual to find so many of the Tau'ri members of her crew awake and working at this time of the day but with a discovery this significant they wouldn't wait till 'daytime' to investigate.

Indeed, she frowned; seeing an unfamiliar figure standing amongst the humans and Jaffa, it appeared even the Minbari had heard and couldn't resist seeing for themselves. They should have warned her first before bringing an unknown aboard her ship though; she would have to have words about that.

"Report!" she snapped, not bothering to mask her irritation.

"sensors have began to penetrate the barrier Milady" De'elc answered, "not only does the barrier appear to be shrinking but it is dissipating too and rapidly, we should be able to cross it at hyper in just 20 hours but not without damage"

"It explains the prophecy" the strange female said, walking across to her, "the Vorlons would have known when the barrier was to disappear, after all they most likely created it"

Enerina frowned, "I was told it was natural"

"Do not mistake naturally powered, natural maintained for natural origin. I am Delenn, are you their leader?"

Enerina nodded, recognising the name of their liaison with the Minbari, "I am Enerina, and I command this ship and the Jaffa aboard her. The humans are allies and under my command only whilst placed under my authority"

"Does your race fight the shadows too?"

Enerina laughed, "My race fights the shadows? The shadows are my race, in a manner of speaking"

Delenn shivered, but steeped forward cautiously, "what do you mean?"

"Anubis" Enerina noted Delenn's wince, "is an Ancient who ascended whilst host to a Goa'uld, helped by a hopefully lost technology.

I am a Goa'uld, we are a race of parasites that for the most part, are egomaniacs, megalomaniacs, have a God Complex bigger than most Gas Giants and have the total inability to believe we could ever be wrong.

There are generally two types of us, for the most part we believe everything is inferior to us and is therefore cattle to be used, killed or tortured at will. The second type, the so called 'Tok'ra' have a use any means mentality in order to achieve their goals but claim to have morals and respect the individuals rights"

Delenn frowned, disturbed, "and you, which category do you fall under?"

Enerina just shrugged, "I am me, I am unique"

"And how many 'unique' shadows are there?"

Enerina frowned, "there are just three who might be considered unique. Me, Anubis as he is an ascendant and Maktenos who is driven by some insane force… He cares for his people but he is driven to destroy anyone that might oppose him, the Goa'uld are sociopathic yes but Maktenos, he is insane"

Delenn shivered, she could see the truth in the shadows words but his was a conversation she had never dreamed of having, she had never dreamed of a productive conversation with a willing, helpful shadow.

Enerina shrugged her dark thoughts off, and turned to face Delenn again, "the question of the hour is, what makes you so sure the shadow, Anubis will chose now to return, yes the barrier is dissipating but Anubis is weakened, being driven out by Maktenos, why would he move here?"

"because" Delenn hesitated, noting quickly how everyone had stopped any pretence of work and was now listening very closely, "because he left… certain things behind, things that could change the course of his war with you and Maktenos.

The Vorlons were specific about this, he was forced to abandon an entire fleet when he left but it was hidden so that even they could not find it"

Enerina's eyes widened slowly as Delenn spoke, fear slowly etching into her expression. An entire fleet, Anubis would certainly return for that, especially now he was being defeated.

"Exactly how many ships are we talking about?"

"Unknown, they weren't specific but…" Delenn trailed off, but Enerina knew what she meant;

"It's a lot, isn't it?"

Delenn nodded.

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