Stargate: Genesis
Written By: The Ascended Ancient
Chapter X: "The Ongoing Conflict"

3 Months Later...

In orbit over P2A-115, seven BC-303s fought a desperate battle to hold back three Zetharian Cruisers. It wasn't easy. Even after three months, Earth hadn't developed any way to counteract the Zetharian's incredible regeneration capability, and as such the Zetharian had suffered no casualties.

Oh, there were the fighters. For some reason, they could be destroyed. And it wasn't just for the purpose of releasing the bomb debris. The S.G.C. had developed miniature shield generators for the 302s, protecting them from these tiny explosives. So why did the Zetharian, which had shown incredible regenerative capabilities so far, not have their fighters show the same invincibility as the rest of their forces?

That was the question that the S.G.C.'s top scientists, under the direction of Doctors McKay and Jackson, were studying. So far, they hadn't accomplished much, but that didn't stop them from trying.

Meanwhile, General Carter was busy repositioning Earth's fleet of 303s throughout the galaxy, fighting to slow the expansion of the Zetharian. Because it was expanding. Each world that the Zetharian came to fell, and the people were slaughtered. The S.G.C. was focusing primarily on evacuating those in harm's way, but it was a desperate attempt at best. Casualties amongst the refugees were still incredibly high, and the work was only a temporary effort at best. Sooner or later, if the Zetharian couldn't be stopped, the planets these people had been evacuated to would be overrun.

Now, on P2A-115, the primitive human inhabitants were being evacuated through the Stargate by S.G.C. ground troops under the command of Captain Reynolds.

But in orbit, the fight between the BC-303s and the Zetharian Cruisers started to heat up. 302s and Zetharian Fighters zigged and zagged amongst the cruisers, their weapons blazing. The warships themselves lashed out with varying barrages of blue railgun and orange plasma fire. While the Zetharian ships took minimal damage, the 303s were taking some pretty serious damage. One ship had already been forced to withdraw from the battle, and the rest were rotating from the front to the back, making sure that ships with fully charged shields were in the line of fire.

On the bridge of the Valkyrie, the flagship of this battle group, Colonel Mathew Carrington re-arranged his ships once more as the front-line vessels started to take heavy damage. He was a seasoned veteran, but he was also used to fighting battles that he had at least a chance of winning. This particular battle was all about keeping the ships from attacking the people on the surface as they were evacuated through the Stargate. Unfortunately, several fighters had managed to slip past the cruisers, and were currently dogfighting with 302s in the atmosphere. No matter what happened, Mathew knew that in a matter of minutes, this would all be over, one way or another.

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P2A-115. A lush, tropical paradise. At least, that was how the first S.G. team to go there described it. Now, however, it was quite different. The lush forests were either burned or burning. The wild fields were scorched and pockmarked with craters. And the hill where the Stargate was located was the sight of a fierce battle. Holding position on top of the hill were the S.G.C. soldiers, fighting valiantly to hold the line as they covered the refugees escape. The biggest concern they had was the gate shutting down. The thirty-minute time span of an open wormhole was almost up, and the DHD was back behind the line of Zetharian soldiers that were approaching them.

Crouched behind a barricade, Daryl Reynolds and Donald O'Connor were the first line of defense. They were the only two members of S.G.-1 available for active duty. Major Hailey was working with Doctor McKay and Doctor Jackson on developing some kind of anti-Zetharian weapon, and Lieutenant Banks was still in the infirmary from getting shot in the back three months ago.

But even the lack of their comrades didn't stop them. They unleashed as much fire as they could at the enemy, but, of course, bullets did practically no damage, and grenades only slowed the enemy down.

Overhead, the 302s and Zetharian fighters continued to fight. Blue and orange energy flew across the sky, many times striking the ground, triggering several large explosions, which only served to further frighten the fleeing inhabitants of this world.

"Carrington, Harding, reinforce the east flank!" Daryl shouted into his radio as another man fell to the overwhelming onslaught of enemy troops. We're not gonna be able to hold much longer, he thought. And as if some evil power was reading his mind, the Stargate chose that moment to shut down. Daryl grimaced. There was no other way around it. The cruisers' job was to keep the enemy away from the planet; they couldn't come back to pick up the ground team. The only way off of this planet was through that gate, and that meant reaching the DHD.

"Rocket men!" Daryl shouted into his radio. "Clear a path to the DHD on my mark!" He crouched down and removed the empty clip of his M-4-GL, replacing it with a new one. He turned to Donald, who was doing the same.

"When they clear a path," the captain said, "we run for the DHD. Hopefully, we can dial the gate in time." Donald nodded, not saying a word. Once again, Daryl was struck by the professionalism of this man. For an army sergeant who hadn't served in years, he remembered just about everything he'd been taught. He shouldn't have chosen politics over the military, and even after all this was over, he was inclined request that Donald stay over at the S.G.C. Not on S.G.-1, of course, because they had Leslie to think about.

Daryl grimaced as he thought about their wounded commanding officer. Despite what the doctors said, he hadn't given up hope for a recovery. He couldn't give up.

Reaching down, he pressed the talk button on his radio. "Fire!" he ordered. Immediately, the air above his head was filled with seven streaks. Each was a rocket, and each was headed for the enemy troops.

"Go!" Daryl shouted as the rockets hit their marks with a deafening explosion.

The two men leapt from their hiding place and ran down the hill towards the DHD. All around them, the damaged Zetharian troops were pulling themselves back together. They were too slow. Daryl and Donald reach the DHD without difficulty. In a few seconds, they had dialed the address and reactivated the gate.

Then it was the race back. Already, one of the Zetharian troops was on its feet again. Aiming his M-4 at it, he launched a grenade in its direction. The grenade hit its target with a large explosion, knocking the soldier back on its ass. However, the others were all starting to get up as well. Gunfire came from the soldiers guarding the gate, but it barely slowed them down. The two men raced for the nearest barricade. They were nearly there when the enemy began to fire.

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In orbit, Colonel Carrington grimaced as yet another one of his ships was forced to withdraw permanently from the fight. The meant two down, and five to go.

"Sir," the comm officer said. "We're receiving a signal from the planet. They say that everyone's gotten away." Mathew nodded, knowing the rest of the plan, and the difficult nature of it.

"Helm," he ordered, "set a course for this system's sun at best possible speed."

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Just beyond the coronasphere of P2A-115's sun was a lone Tel'tac. Like all Goa'uld vessels, it was now part of the Jaffa Nation, though they had loaned it to the Tau'ri several weeks ago for this mission. So when the High Council requested that a delegation be present on this mission to observe the Zetharian and determine how much of a threat it posed, Stargate Command decided to place the observers on this ship, which was cloaked and out of harm's way.

In the cockpit of the Tel'tac, an Air Force sergeant sat at the helm. Next to him was one of the Jaffa representatives, Lok'nar. In the cargo compartment, General Samantha Carter and several S.G.C. scientists worked frantically to make the final preparations for this plan. Watching them were two other Jaffa, Serna and Ry'ac. The mood was very tense, for this plan they were working on was not only extreme, it was desperate. If this didn't work, they were truly doomed.

Finally satisfied with the preparations, Carter left the cargo bay and went into the cockpit.

"So, what do you think?" she asked Lok'nar. "Is this a big enough threat for you?"

"I must say, the fact that your weapons appear to be useless against them is a concern," Lok'nar replied. "But I fail to see how Jaffa military assistance will help?"

"Because we should fight, Lok'nar," Ry'ac said as he strode out of the cargo bay. "We may not be able to beat them, but we shouldn't give them the chance to come after us."

"Commander Ry'ac," Lok'nar said with a chuckle, "you are your father's son."

"A fact I am quite proud of, Lok'nar," Ry'ac told him coldly.

"Regardless of how it turns out," Serna interrupted, stepping between the two men, "you can't deny that the Zetharian is a threat, Lok'nar."

"A threat to the Tau'ri," Lok'nar told her arrogantly. "Not to the new, peaceful Jaffa nation."

"Then how about the people on that planet?" Ry'ac asked, pointing at the distant light that was P2A-115. "They did nothing. They didn't even know the Zetharian existed. Neither did the thousands of other humans on worlds the Zetharian has conquered. Do you really think it cares about our peacefulness? It has shown a desire to expand, regardless of who or what are in its path. Do you really think it'll be any different with us?" Lok'nar was silent for a moment.

Before anyone could speak again, General Carter's radio crackled to life. "General, this is the Valkyrie," Colonel Carrington said. "We are almost in position."

"Understood, Valkyrie," Carter replied. "We'll be ready." She walked over and motioned for Lok'nar to give up his seat. He did, and she sat down.

"Arm the weapon," she ordered. "Get ready for deployment."

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In space, the five remaining BC-303s raced towards the planet at their top speed. All fighters had been returned to the fighter bays, and the ships' hyperdrives were running hot. Right on their tail were the three Zetharian warships, weapons bombarding the fleeing 303s. All power had been diverted to the rear shields, but Colonel Carrington feared it wouldn't be enough.

"One minute until we reach the coronasphere, sir," the helm officer said. Carrington just nodded, not bothering to reply.

This is it, he thought. If this doesn't work...

The 303s changed course as they reached the coronasphere, pulling sharply away from the sun. Before the Zetharian ships could change course to follow them, the 303s jumped into hyperspace.

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Aboard the Tel'tac, Carter activated the ring transporter, beaming the prototype weapon they'd brought aboard into space. Pressing a button on a remote, she activated the autopilot on the device, sending it flying into the sun.

"The Mark-12 is away," she announced. "Get us out of here before it blows." As everyone aboard knew, the Mark-12 was a brand-new, naquadah-enhanced nuclear weapon. It was nicknamed the Star Killer by many Air Force personnel, because that was exactly what it did. It flew into the heart of a star, using powerful shields and a thick trinium hull to avoid being destroyed. When it reached the center of the star, after just seven seconds, it would explode, triggering a supernova.

Through the forward viewport, Carter watched as the Tel'tac jumped into hyperspace. Silently, she prayed that this would work. If the Zetharian ships could survive a supernova, then they really didn't stand a chance.

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Still in orbit around P2A-115's sun, the three Zetharian ships were unaware of the danger approaching them until the sun slowly darkened. Then, with an incredibly bright flash, the star exploded, unleashing a powerful shockwave that destroyed all three vessels and every other Zetharian creation in the solar system.

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On P4X-337, Jeremy Spalding felt a wave of pain slam into him. His ships... they'd been destroyed. The humans had blown up a sun! There was no defense against that, not against that powerful of an explosion.

Just then, Jeremy decided that he had to destroy Earth. The humans were too dangerous. They may not be the Alterans, but they were their descendants, and that made them just as much of a threat. Of course, Earth was still out of range. His signal wouldn't reach it, and therefore he couldn't direct his ships. He'd still have to take over quite a few worlds in his path. But he would take Earth. It would happen. He would destroy them.

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Back in the S.G.C., Major Jennifer Hailey walked over to Daryl Reynolds' bed in the infirmary. She smiled when she saw that he was more or less unhurt.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"It's just a mild concussion," he replied, putting down the book he was reading. "The doctors want me to spend the night here for observation, but other than that, I'll be back to work tomorrow."

"Good," Jennifer said with a smile. "So, any change in the battle?"

"Same as usual," Daryl told her. "No enemy casualties, at least, none that we caused." He paused for a moment. "So, how's the research coming?"

"We think we may know how you're able to destroy the enemy fighters," she told him. "It's not much, but it may be the beginning of figuring out a way to stop this thing."

"Good," Daryl said. "And... once you're done building a weapon, you'll focus on Leslie, right?" The look in his eyes was desperate, and Jennifer felt a wave of pity for him.

"We'll look into it," she replied. "But Daryl... Doctor Jackson's information is pretty conclusive. She may not be able to be saved." Daryl shut his eyes, fighting back the tears that were welling up. "I'm sorry," Jennifer continued, genuinely saddened by Daryl's reaction. We'll need to kill her eventually, she thought to herself. She's too great a threat to allow to live. I only hope he can accept that when the time comes.

End of Chapter X

A/N: I love the amount of feedback I'm getting. Remember, the more you review, the quicker I'll churn out more chapters. And the reviews don't have to be all positive. If you feel I'm doing something bad, tell me, and I'll look into it.