How far should one go to end all conflict? How far should a society go to stop bad people? These thoughts plagued Professor Corin Nevec as he drove home. People held different opinions about this…at least people outside the Ror'char Empire. Inside, everyone held the exact same opinion about everything: the opinion they were told to have. The Ror'char told people what to believe and how to think. Was that really necessary? Are people so incapable of accepting each other's beliefs and opinions that they must be told what to believe and think to stop them from ripping each other apart?
Corin flipped on his radio in the hopes of getting his mind off of it.
"Police were called in to handle rioters yesterday as they continued their campaign of terror in the small town of Locksyale," a female radio host broadcasted.
Corin squeezed the steering wheel in anger. One thing he learned was to take all political news from the Ror'char with a grain of salt. Anyone who questioned the will of their leader and their laws were branded as psychotic, violent, even evil. Peaceful protests where people did nothing but sit in the grass with signs in their hands were branded as violent riots bringing terror to their towns. He had begun to feel sick about his job. As a teacher, his job was to tell students all about how great the Ror'char were. When he taught history, he had to label everyone who questioned Ror'char ruling as evil and violent. Now, every time he preached that propaganda, he felt like he was forcing himself to swallow soap.
"Thanks to the swift action of the black-watch guards, the rioters have been moved to the reeducation camps and minimal damage was done to the neighborhoods."
There was a click as Corin changed station but this one wasn't any better.
"A man was seen flying the Patriarch flag outside his house. As our listeners are aware, the Patriarchs have repeatedly voiced their disagreement with President Vosk's policies. The man was told that the flag was offensive to others and must either be removed or he will be arrested."
Corin flipped to another station, one that played music. He gave a slow sigh as he eyed the fuel station he was looking for. Carefully weaving through traffic past the sleek and shiny cars, Corin maneuvered his small vehicle beside one of the marble white fuel pumps. Driving from the university to his house wasn't that far a drive but he still felt like he had to stretch his legs. Walking up to the pump, Corin removed the fuel nozzle. He could feel the camera above his head staring at him to make sure he doesn't try to cheat the system. He opened the fuel port on the side of his car and slid the nozzle in. With a press of the button, his vehicle began refueling.
Corin headed inside the store. Maybe there was something he could buy. It was mid spring and the temperatures had begun to climb so the cool air inside the store was a relief. He didn't look at the facemask of the black-watch guard at the door as he walked inside. Corin didn't want to buy much. A simple refrigerated drink would be good enough. He picked up his drink and headed for the register. The store wasn't full per se but there were several people walking around and there were at a guy in line and Corin took the next spot behind him. Corin didn't' know how long he was going to wait but it might be a while. The person in front of him was getting rowdy with the cashier.
"I do not want a trouble, sir," the cashier said calmly. "But, I need to ask that you don't do that again."
"Look, it's none you're business what I do," the man in front snapped.
"You threw your cigarette stub on the store shelf and tossed the empty box into the-"
"Look! You just stay out of my way and let me live my life!" the man yelled. The fuss, the 'chaos' attracted the attention of the guard. Without a single word, the guard grabbed the man by the throat, his throat collapsing in the guard's hand like a straw. He gasped desperately for air, thrashing and kicking in a desperate attempt to get a breath. Feeling the subject resist, the guard slammed the man's head into the counter with a dull crack, the items that lined the counter jumping up into the air from the shockwave. The man fell to the ground limp, afraid that if he tried to get up the guard would interpret that as resistance.
The guard bent down and picked the man back up by the throat. Cold and unforgiving, the guard used his boot to rub the blood stain in a vain attempt to wipe away before dragging the man's limp body out the door.
"Sorry 'bout that," the cashier said cheerfully as they heard a single loud thud and a pained cry coming from outside. "Some people just deserve to get hurt in the worst way possible."
"Yeah," Corin said, feigning a smile and a life.
"Like that riot of violent lunatics in Locksyale! Burn them all alive. Don't even bother reeducating them; just kill them and get them out of our society. Idiots."
"Well, you can't rid the galaxy of all the morons," Corin forced himself to say, taking his drink and scurrying out of the store. All he could do was pray Andrea wasn't anywhere near those protests. He knew that Andrea has been subtly voicing opposition against Ror'char absolute rule which would make her a target.
Corin thought about this as he watched the holographic TV screen.
"So it begins," he muttered.
-.-
25 Days Until Judgment
-.-
Corin laid back on the couch, setting aside the book he's been reading. Corin has been catching up on the history of Elora to better understand its politics. Out of the five of them, he was the only one who understood or even cared about the tiny details.
"First batch of food away!" Martin exclaimed triumphantly as he and Nova walked in through the door. Corin looked behind him. It was obvious how happy Martin was. Nova remained calm and composed but even she showed signs of enthusiasm.
"He said yes?" Corin asked, standing up.
"Chief Bronston originally said he wasn't going to trade until after the talks were done," Nova said. "But, I was able to convince him to send a shipment of food and a list of edible foods we can find on other planets."
"Didn't the blokes in the bio-dome say something about starting a green house?" Martin asked.
"Well, at least we won't have to trade or go off-world to get our food," Corin pointed out.
"General Mercer checked in yesterday," Nova added. "He said he might create an official hunting team for the expedition to get meat. He wanted to you if you were interested, Martin."
Martin looked up, unable to hide his excitement. He loved hunting. He remembered all the hunting trips he had on Earth all over the world.
Before any of them could say another word, the computer began beeping. Nova walked over and answered. The screen filled with static but then cleared as Chen's face appeared.
"You guys look happy," he remarked bluntly as the rest of Wolf Pack gathered around the computer.
"We managed to convince Chief Bronston to send over a shipment of food to Millennium," Nova explained.
"Well, that's some good news," Chen said. "Get this. The Valorous is their first ship!"
"That's cool," Martin said in a rather unenthusiastic tone.
"Not really," Chen replied. "That means what they're showing us is their outdated stuff!"
"We'd do the exact same thing if it was Earth," Nova said empathetically. She understood how fragile forming an alliance is. The race you view as a potential ally could simply be a hostile race waiting to strike. If they just met an alien race interested in being allies they wouldn't give their new 'friends' a tour of Odyssey or Daedalus.
"Well, is there any other good news?" Chen asked, looking straight at Corin. It took a moment before Corin realized that Chen was actually asking about the status of the negotiations.
"I take it from the blank stare that there isn't any," Chen said. Nova and Martin both looked at Corin in interest.
"Corin?" Nova asked when it became obvious he didn't want to reply.
"There's been a few bumps," Corin said slowly.
"Bumps?" Chen repeated with a scoff. Corin opened his mouth but only sighed in frustration.
"The deal was to unite all the countries on the planet," Corin explained. "They've all agreed that the stargate should be moved to a neutral location where all the countries can send soldiers and scientists to participate. But, there's been a disagreement over what is and isn't a country."
"You're gonna need to be clearer than that, mate," Martin remarked, not wanting to have to listen to historical babble.
"There's a couple places that call themselves countries. Some countries think that these places are countries but others think they're just a rebellious state," Corin explained as clearly as he could think of.
"I know Earth also has this problem," Nova said. "There's always a question of whether or not a location is a country."
"But Earth didn't know about the stargate," Corin pointed out. "This is usually a conflict that takes decades to resolve. By revealing the stargate, we told them to solve it now. Whether or not it's a country will affect its usage of the stargate. I'm sure it's nothing; nothing that can't be solved with a few more rounds of negotiations."
Nova looked at Chen, satisfied with the answer.
"Continue working up there," Nova ordered. "General Mercer's going to check in on negotiations in an hour. Bronston said that, next week, he'll take us on a tour of the city. Maybe the faces of 'friendly aliens' might be reassuring to the public."
"Alright," Chen said gruffly. "I'll see you guys tonight then." There was a click as the monitor went black.
-.-
With the communications cut, Chen returned to looking at the shield schematics while Hailey worked with the engine schematics at a computer behind him. A handful of engineers walked by, continuing their duties.
"These engines are amazing!" Hailey remarked, flipping through the schematics. "The Elorans have designed multiple sublight engines units instead of twin engine modules which accelerate the ship quickly through space when working in conjunction but it also allows tight knit maneuvers when activated in a systematic sequence."
It was then Hailey realized that Chen was ignoring her.
"Chen, I know you can hear me," she said bluntly but Chen continued staring at monitor.
"Chen, taekwondo's overrated," she said, trying to push his buttons. But, Chen continued working, not reacting to what she said.
"Theoretical Astrophysics is an applicable real-world science," she called out. Chen looked over at another monitor as if to compare readings.
"Jay Felger's a brilliant scientist!" Hailey said. At that mention, Chen gave a twitch so violent he nearly fell of his chair. He immediately pulled himself up and straightened his uniform.
"I know you weren't serious so I'm going to forgive you for that one," he said gruffly, straightening himself out.
"People said you had a problem with him," Hailey chuckled with a smile.
"Yes, the other person Carter personally recommended in her career," Chen remarked, returning to work. Hailey and Felger were the two people Carter recommended to work at the SGC.
"And you're here because of O'Neill," Hailey reminded him. O'Neill did not have the best name in the scientific community.
"You two still fighting?" Commander Galligan asked humorously as he walked in with a box in either hand. "You've been here for five days already and you two still can't get along."
"What's in the box?" Chen asked, trying to change the subject. Galligan set down one box and held the other in front of him.
"Took the liberty of stopping by the galley," he said, lifting the top off, revealing several platters of sandwiches and drinks. "Thought you might be hungry from working."
"Thanks!" Hailey said eagerly, going for a sandwich.
"What's in the other box?" Chen asked bluntly. Galligan opened the other container and pulled out a small device that fit in the palm of his hand.
"Technically, I'm still not supposed to show you weapons technology," he explained. "But, this isn't a weapon." Hailey stopped eating for a moment to take a look at the device.
"We use laser weaponry," Galligan explained. "Just about all our armaments use the same principle."
"You use a stimulated medium to release high energy level particles?" Hailey asked with interest. "You must introduce energy into the medium which releases particles in order to reach equilibrium."
Galligan just stared at her in confusion, not sure what to say. He didn't even understand what she said.
"She means, do your guns use some sort of medium that releases your particles of death," Chen translated.
"Can't say for sure," Galligan said with a shrug. "I just know we use laser lances."
"This looks like some sort of heat sink," Hailey suddenly exclaimed. "Laser weapons like that will generate enormous heat and this is what prevents the barrel from overheating."
"That's exactly what it is," Galligan said. "This is attached to all our weapons so we can repeatedly use them without it overheating."
"Imagine what we could do with this on our weapons," Chen said, taking a look at the contraption. One of the problems about firearms was how prone they are to overheating. Soldiers are taught to fire in bursts for accuracy, to conserve ammunition, and to make sure the barrel doesn't overheat after prolonged use.
"Didn't we bring a GAU-17?" Hailey asked, remembering they packed a minigun with them for gate defense.
"Doesn't have to be the GAU, we brought a lot of mounted weapons and they could all use something like this," Chen remarked.
"Commander Vikus Galligan," a voice suddenly said over the intercom. "President Amobo is reporting a problem. You're needed on the bridge."
"On my way," Galligan said loudly. Galligan smiled at the two of them. "Take care of yourselves. Apparently I'm needed elsewhere."
20 Days Until Judgment
The sleek black limo cruised down the street of the capital. Even during the day, the city was beautiful as light reflected off the towers, the windows looking like crystals in the light. Massive holographic advertisement flickered from the windows of several buildings. Jumbled masses of cars and other vehicles drove by.
"Quite a sight," Bronston remarked, glancing at the driver beside him. Corin, Martin, and Nova were in the back of the vehicle, staring at the buildings though the window.
"It does make you wonder," Nova said with a smile. "If our planet continues for another two hundred years will it look like this?" She looked at the roads suspiciously. She remembered flying over these streets over a week ago. There was something different now. People still bustled down the sidewalks. Cars raised in either direction down the street. But, there were more police vehicles than normal…a lot more.
"You say you're far from your home planet?" Bronston asked.
"Several million light years from home," Martin remarked.
"We're an expeditionary force," Nova explained. "We don't know if we can make it home. Militarily, we're fine and more than capable of fending ourselves but we still have a need for food."
"Once these talks are over, we can do a lot more than just food," Bronston said proudly.
"Chief Bronston," Corin suddenly said as something caught his eye. "Mind if we stop here?" Bronston gave a single nod.
"Pull over," he told the driver. The gleaming black vehicle found an open spot on the side of the road and pulled over. Nova and Martin took their time climbing out of the car but Corin practically flew out the door. It was in the middle of summer so the air outside was a lot hotter and more humid, the wall of heat hitting him like a wall of water.
Nova looked around, her eyes adjusting to the light. It take her long to realize what Corin was so excited for.
"A church?" she asked when she saw a large red brick building standing before her, massive ornate wooden doors sealed the entrance, polished marble statues lining the building. The door was also a rather odd shape, more in the shape of a mushroom.
"We call them vatriums," Bronston explained. "Elora has plenty of different religions all across the planet. Vatriums are just some of the religious buildings around here belonging to one of I don't know how many different faiths."
Corin began walking up the steps, taking in the sight. Whoever was in charge of this holy site took good care of the lawn and garden around it, a row of colorful flowers leading up to the front door.
"Mind if I take a peek inside?" Corin asked. He's only seen pictures of these buildings in books. He wanted to see what they looked like up close.
"I don't really go to vatrium," Bronston said. "I don't know if the monks will appreciate being barged in on."
Corin was going to protest. He wanted to see this building. Seeing and learning all about alien cultures and religions was exciting for him. He knew that a lot of civilizations had been affected by the presence of the Alliance but he never got a chance to go into detail about it. But, he never got the chance.
Corin didn't know what happened. He only knew that a wall of pressure shot out of the religious building and hit him in the back, sending him flying forward. It was as if the air had been ripped apart. His ears were ringing as he hit the ground, flaming bricks bouncing past. The world was rocking back and forth, teetering like it was trying to balance on a stick.
"Corin!"
Corin looked around wearily, trying to find who was calling him. Whoever it was sounded far away but he could be wrong because of how badly his ears were ringing.
"Corin!" Nova called, rushing up beside him. It was obvious he wasn't hurt; just dazed from the explosion. Nova looked up where the vatrium was standing a few moments ago. The explosion had rushed out of the building through any gap it could find and tearing apart whatever was in its way. The walls had collapsed, the wood supports ablaze. People all around them were panicking, fleeing from the scene. Cars immediately drove off full speed, slamming into other vehicles and even people who got in their way.
"Tour's over," Bronston said, helping Nova pick Corin up. "We're heading back to the ADH." As he slid a half conscious Corin into the car, he glanced back and watched as the massive masses of black smoke billowed into the sky.
-.-
"This was just one of several terrorist attacks over the past week claiming several hundred lives in this short period of time. While many religious groups say the existence of the stargate does not affect their beliefs, others say that the mere concept is insulting. Many religious extremist groups have launched a campaign of attacks against on buildings and monuments of other religions as well as government infrastructures as well."
"This so called stargate is pure blasphemy, an attempt by the heretics to undermine our belief. But know this, our faith will not be shaken! Continue insulting us and this message will be the first of many."
"To compliment this, an equal number of anti-religious have taken arms."
"We all know that their ridiculous beliefs about miracles and higher powers is pure nonsense. If the stargate doesn't prove it to these indoctrinated idiots then they don't even deserve to live. We're doing society a favor; we're just saving the demolition crew time and money. And the people inside: having a couple less nuts on this planet will do it some good."
"I'm not religious by choice but blowing up buildings is not the answer. Say it yourself: blowing up buildings. Does that sound moral to you? You want to talk about not unleashing certain people on the galaxy? I don't want the galaxy to have to deal with people who would do this."
"I am ashamed to think that people who share my religious beliefs would resort to such brutality. I can spend an hour reciting religious texts to say why this is wrong, but I rather tell them to yank their heads out of their rears and see this themselves."
Nova turned off the television, tired of seeing the same stories broadcasted on nearly every channel.
"You sure you're ok?" she asked Corin, who pressed a pack of ice against his head. He gave a nod and a thumbs up.
"Well, this went bad fast," Nova said, shaking her head. "Will this affect our deal with Krell?"
Corin shrugged.
"Right now the violence is from the people and not the governments," Corin said. "Krell only wanted the countries united. He might let this slide."
"Is he even trustworthy?" Martin asked suspiciously. He remembered the Goa'uld and Wraith would regularly break the deals they make and that was assuming the deal wasn't simply a front for another plan.
Corin hesitated to answer. He hated the Ror'char, he hated being a citizen of their empire. Saying anything that would put them under a good light made it feel like he swallowed a brick.
"If a Ror'char leader breaks his agreement, he loses his rep among the others," Corin explained, the familiar feeling of soap in his mouth coming back. "He'll try to find loopholes he can exploit but he won't break his deal."
"So the issue is making sure Elora stops blowing the piss out of itself," Martin said.
"Another question is," Nova pointed out. "Now that the public knows about the stargate, will this violence get better over time or will it just escalate?"
-.-
Hailey and Chen rushed to the bridge of the Valorous.
"Galligan," Chen said as he gazed around the grid of chairs and gleaming black panels that held the ship's controls. The massive display at the front showed the endless space in front of them, several other triangular ships drifting in orbit around the planet.
"Doctors," Galligan greeted, standing up from the captain's chair. "Welcome to the bridge."
"Commander, we need to talk," Chen said darkly.
"What is it?" Galligan asked, sensing his concern.
"Commander, we have reason to believe that the Ror'char fleet has arrived," Hailey explained. Galligan stared at her in shock.
"That's impossible," he said as the crew around him exchanged worried glances. "Our sensors aren't detecting anything."
"You're going to have to trust us on this," Hailey said in a lot friendlier tone. "Asgard ships were able to orbit our planet for years without being detected and the Ror'char use Alliance technology."
"Alliance?" Galligan repeated. "As in Alliance of Four Great Races?"
"And if the Asgard can hide their ships in plain sight, so can the Ror'char," Chen snapped. Galligan's jaw dropped, unsure what to say. They had grown a little too confident about their technology.
"What can we do about it?" he finally asked. Chen and Hailey both exchanged glances. They wanted to get a better look at Eloran ships but they wished it was under better circumstances.
"I've studied Asgard sensors from the data core they gave us," Hailey babbled. "I can make adjustments to the sensors to see if there are ships out there."
"I can program the computer to be compatible with the new input," Chen said.
Galligan didn't know what they said but it was clear they knew what they were doing.
"Do it then," he said. Chen and Hailey both rushed to one of the computer stations, working as fast as they could to make the proper adjustment.
-.-
15 Days Until Judgment
Corin rushed past the several hundred workers as the Amestrian Defense Headquarters. Everyone was panicked. But, Corin ignored the frightened faces of the crowd around him. He sprinted for the negotiation room, bursting through the ornate doors.
"Chief Bronston," Corin yelled, pushing past several people in the crowd. Bronston was at the talking to one of the fancy suited politicians in front of the empty conference table.
"Excuse me," the politician said, rather offended that Corin was interrupting them.
"Sorry, Mr. President," Bronston said with a bow. "This is Corin Nevec of Millennium."
Hearing that this was one of the aliens on their planet, the politician's demeanor completely changed.
"So you're one of our esteemed guests," he said with a smile.
"President Amobo," Corin said with a slight bow before turning back to Bronston. "Tell me it isn't true," he said. "Tell me the talks haven't stopped!" Bronston wished he could but he knew it was true.
"Several countries have withdrawn from the talks," Bronston said. "Upper and Lower Quaria have armed missiles aimed at each other; they once fought for control of the peninsula and while that war ended now they both want to take it back for themselves before coming back to the negotiations. Several countries are threatening to attack Amestris, saying we're trying to take over the world with the technology we acquired from the stargate. And, we just heard that Pavalin is preparing for a full scale invasion of Azral. They've been fighting for centuries. We hoped that this might've put an end to the violence."
Corin put his hand to his face and groaned in frustration.
"I don't understand why all this violence suddenly popped up," he stuttered. "I thought the stargate show people what really mattered."
"I hoped so too," Bronston sighed, his face actually sagging from the exhaustion of all the talks and negotiations. "But, it looks like every tension between countries and states have resurfaced and we told them all to resolve it as quickly as possible. Pavalin sees Azral as thieves and occupiers on their land and Azral sees Pavalin as terrorists invading them. Upper and Lower Quaria formed after a disagreement in government systems but both of them want the Quarian Peninsula for themselves. Upon that, every extremist group has kicked their efforts into high gear."
"Don't they know that the Ror'char will invade this planet if these talks don't work?!" Corin yelled. "If the planet unites the invasion will be called off. If you guys don't stop fighting, you aren't going to get a choice in anything."
"They won't listen," Bronston snarled. He understood Corin's frustration he was equally helpless. "This conflict over the land is why there's so much violence between them."
"Is that also why there's so much violence between Amestrian citizens too?" Corin demanded to know. "Anti-Azralin protestors attacked a pro-Azralin demonstration yesterday. A family that voiced support of Azral was found hanged from a building! People are attacking each other for holding different beliefs. People are demanding you bomb Azral and Pavalin and end their conflict before the deadline is up."
"Who do you think should hold that land then?" Amobo asked calmly.
"It doesn't matter what I think," Corin said angrily. "It shouldn't matter what anyone thinks! You let people have their own opinions, they'll form different opinions! People shouldn't attack each other just because they believe something different."
Amobo smiled at this statement.
"I'm glad there are people who still believe this," he said. "I've been making speeches all week that we need to put aside our differences and unite."
"And people are also fighting each other for different things too," Corin said. "Your interview has put an even bigger schism in your own people!"
Amobo gave Corin an unamused glare, clearly offended by what he just said.
"I've been telling the Amestrian people to unite, to see what's really important and work together!"
"Yet, in an interview, you blamed the violence all across your country on the opposite party," Corin snapped. "You said that they're promoting the usage violence, that if the Ror'char attack because Elora was unable to unite it would be their fault. Do you truly believe what you are telling people?"
Amobo immediately went to defense, taken back by what Corin was saying.
"Everyone knows that their basic policy is motivated by racial prejudice and a passion for violence," Amobo argued.
"Spare me the political propaganda," Corin suddenly yelled, Amobo's bodyguards almost instantly getting ready to protect the president. "You say that people should work together, then you brand the people who disagree with your policies as violent and dangerous. I'm not an Amestrian citizen. I'm not even an Eloran citizen! I'm never going be a part of your elections. Just answer my question honestly: do you really believe what you're telling people?"
Amobo glared at Corin, his face turning red with anger from Corin's accusations.
"Does it really matter?" the president finally asked as calmly as he could. Corin felt liked an anvil was dropped on his head. "If Elora is going to start expanding to other planets, we can't let them spread those ideals."
"Here we are trying to unite a planet," Corin said with a stifled laugh. "And you're trying to break apart your own country."
-.-
Corin returned to the room, every ounce of energy drained. He practically collapsed on the couch, putting his hand on his face in frustration. It was a lost cause but he flicked on the television with some desperate hope of hearing good news.
"There have been protests all across Amestris. Many feel that while Elora's current situation is stable, the president's administration and its usage of the stargate has brought the planet close to destruction a few too many times. However, protests in the capital city met an abrupt end when a man drove his car through the demonstrators. An estimated ten were killed and another thirteen have been sent to the hospital. The driver was promptly arrested but we did get a few words before he was taken away."
"They freakin deserve it! I did the galaxy a favor! Can you imagine what would happen if they got to use that stargate thing?!" This is proof Elora isn't ready to know about the stargate; we have lunatics like them running around!"
Corin turned off the television and looked away. He had prayed the planet could unite with the knowledge of the stargate. Luckily, his thoughts were interrupted by the beeping of the computer. He walked up to it, one step away from just curling up on the floor and sleeping.
"Corin?" Chen called as his faced appeared on the monitor. "Corin…you look like crap."
"What is it, Steven?" Corin asked. Chen glanced behind him as if to make sure something was still working.
"By tweaking with their ship's sensors, we were able to detect the Ror'char fleet," Chen said.
"Flotilla," Hailey called from the back.
"Whatever!" Chen called back before refocusing on the camera.
"How many ships?" Corin asked, adrenaline flowing into his blood, waking him back up.
"Seven," Galligan said, shoving himself into camera view. "Six small ones and one big one. Seven ships versus our seventeen."
"Don't get too cocky," Corin warned. "With their technology, only a handful of Ror'char ships or soldiers can slaughter larger forces."
"Their ships are tiny," Galligan laughed. "Six of them are only about a hundred fifty meters in length; our ships are five hundred."
Corin took a moment to think about this.
"Sounds like one of their frigates," he said, thinking about the textbooks that talked about historical battles between the Ror'char factions. "They're the most common ships the Ror'char use. Just about every battle and action the books talk about have frigates in it."
"Well, the last one isn't small," Chen said. "It's some sort of saucer and it's measuring one and a half kilometers in diameter."
"Sounds like a vidact," Corin said. "One ship that can act in the stead of an entire fleet. The books I taught didn't mention them in it very often but they always left a mark when they were."
"And the only one we have to worry about," Galligan added.
"NO!" Corin said loudly. "Don't start underestimating the Ror'char fleet. If Elora doesn't stop fighting itself then those ships WILL attack."
"Why only seven though?" Chen asked. "I thought you said the Ror'char had hundreds of ships."
"The Ror'char are more concerned about their civil war. They do have hundreds of ships but most of them are sent to fight the other factions. They can only spare a few ships to do other things. Still, even one ship is dangerous."
Hailey finally walked over, interested in what they were talking about.
"What about on the ground?" Galligan asked. "How will our troops do against theirs?"
"No offense, but your troops aren't going to last long against Ror'char troopers," Chen said flatly.
"The biggest thing is their armor," Hailey broke in. "I've been studying their armor. It's designed to give the wearer maximum mobility and protection.
"To put it in comprehensible terms: it hardens when it detects a certain level of energy," Chen explained, cutting Hailey off before she could go into any scientific babble. "Slow moving things like swords or arrows won't activate the armor but our bullets and energy weapons will."
"What, I have arm my troops with crossbows?" Galligan scoffed, stunned by what he was hearing. "Besides, our weapons are capable of going through armor."
"Not Ror'char armor," Hailey said. "If the armor activates, it actually absorbs a portion of the weapon fire's energy and uses it to further strengthen the armor; its protective capability is directly proportional to the amount of energy being directed at it. While its energy absorption capability is not infallible it will reduce the effectiveness of any weapon."
Galligan gave Hailey the same confused stare.
"She means the harder you hit it the stronger it becomes," Chen clarified. "Once that armor activates, all weapons are equally ineffective; you have to hit them with about three, four, I've seen even five times as many shots then usual. The only ones that aren't are explosives, which has so much power it just overwhelms the armor, and Ror'char weapons."
"Wait, why do only Ror'char weapons work?" Galligan asked.
"'Cause it's technically an explosive weapon." Chen said. "Skipping the technical terms, on intermediate yield it's the power of a grenade directed into an area the size of your palm. We suspect all Ror'char weapons use some sort of gimmick like this to penetrate their armor."
Galligan took a moment to think about what he heard.
"What about you?" he asked. "You've dealt with the Ror'char." Chen wanted to slap his own face when he heard this.
"We avoid fighting the Ror'char; we spend most of the time running and hiding from them."
"And when we do fight them," Hailey added. "We use a combination of their own technology and a tactical advantage: ambush, superior numbers."
"You can't stand up against the Ror'char," Corin finished. "Elora's only hope is to actually stand together. We have to stop the fighting."
-.-
7 Days Until Judgment
Krell stared out the window of his quarters. Smoke was rising from the city as an army of law enforcement just to calm the raging crowd. Buildings were burning from the riots from tiny fires started atop small shops to massive blazes that are out of control.
"Get your gear," he told his two guards who stood near the doorway. As they left to grab their equipment, the radio on Krell's wrist came to life.
"Major Nova has returned to see you," a voice said.
"Send her in," Krell ordered. There was a gentle click as the doors opened and Terra Nova stepped inside. She glanced around the room, somewhat surprised that there wasn't a large squad of troopers getting ready to attack. Her attention was caught by the two Ror'char troopers exiting the back room, their ion rifles hanging off their hips like swords, its grip facing upward so it could be drawn more easily.
"Major," Krell greeted as he stood up, getting ready for departure. "Have you heard? Two of the planet's superpowers have just turned on Amestris; these were the original countries Amestris chose to reveal the existence of the stargate to. Their different ideologies created different ideas on how to resolve the conflicts between other countries and states and now Prussica and Shin-sa have both withdrawn from the negotiation table and are considering to help Upper Quaria take the whole peninsula with a complete bombing of Lower Quaria. They might try to speed up the process with the usage of nuclear weapons, but we'll have to wait and see. The stargate: what was supposed to unite the planet may be the catalyst for a nuclear war that'll destroy it."
"Krell, I'm not here to discuss politics," Nova said bluntly. "I've come to try to convince you to call off the invasion."
"Are you going against our original agreement?" Krell asked curiously.
"You know I couldn't do that," Nova answered. "If you decided to attack, there's no way I could stop you. I only want to try to convince you not to."
Krell gave an amused scoff as the massive antenok guard walked in.
"The stargate is a lot of things," Nova said. "But, it can be what brings people together. Yes, there's going to be violence and hard times until then, but people can unite. Now that they know there's an entire galaxy of benefits for them to reap, they can come together to amazing things if you let them."
Krell stared at her from the corner of his eye. He rolled up the sleeve to his black trench coat and slowly slid off the gauntlet on his left hand.
"Or tear each other apart," Krell said, revealing, to Nova's surprise, a mechanical left hand. His right hand gestured to not only his prosthetic hand but his entire left arm. Nova knew what it meant: something happened and Krell lost his entire left arm. "You see," Krell hissed, pacing around Nova. "Ever since I was a child, I knew what it mean to live in fear. The tyrannical government I was born into executed my parents for questioning their decisions and their inept decisions lead to a famine that claimed the life of my two brothers. A neighboring nation eventually overthrew the ruler and replaced it with a democracy. Then, I lost my friends and my arm as criminals ran rampant. I watched as politicians and leaders took advantage of these incidents to simply gain and keep their power. It wasn't until the Ror'char took over the planet did I understand what it took to achieve peace."
Krell walked up to the windows and stared at the smoke clouds rising into the sky. He reattached his gauntlet and slid his sleeve back down.
"So long as people are given the ability to choose, they will choose violence," he said, folding his hands behind his back. "They cannot make these decisions themselves and the stargate will not help resolve their conflict. We must tell them what to do, what to believe, and what to think. Elora is a perfect example of what will happen if we don't." Krell turned around to look at Nova one more time.
"Seven days," he said as the troopers carried several stacks of crates into the room. "This planet has seven days to choose to put aside their petty differences or we will force them."
Without another word, there was a brilliant flash of green light that engulfed Krell and his men and they were gone.
"Asgard transporter," Nova muttered. Krell had simply left. Time was running out.
Judgment Day
Amestrian Defense Headquarters was abuzz. All sorts of negotiators, ambassadors, and anyone who could talk were brought in in a desperate attempt to bring everyone back to the negotiating table. A control center in the ADH was the busiest. The hundreds of screens that lined the walls were all full. Some of them broadcasted the news which showed hordes of rioters tearing and burning down buildings, ironically angry that other countries were fighting even after learning about the stargate. Others showed the complete economic plunge that has resulted of the violence. Some screens even held the faces of foreign ambassadors and representatives while an Amestrian ambassador pleaded them to stop fighting and return to the negotiating table.
"Mr. Ambassador, I am begging you to advise your leader to call off your forces."
"I am sorry, but we are about to be attacked by five neighboring countries. We cannot call down or forces or we will be slaughtered. I'm afraid we can't return to the table either unless this threat has ended. You're begging me to end this conflict, but you can end this as well."
"We are not using any of the technology we procured to affect the balance of power!"
"Then I'm afraid this conversation is over."
-.-
"We're supposed to be trying to end the fighting, not help it!"
"Upper Quaria is going to attack Lower Quaria no matter what. We obviously can't stop the fighting; we can only make the victor come out sooner. The sooner Upper Quaria has retaken its peninsula the sooner the fighting will end."
"Last time Upper and Lower Quaria went to war and your nation supported Upper Quaria, Amestris supported Lower Quaria and we entered a Cold War that could've destroyed our planet. PLEASE don't let history repeat itself."
"Easy way to do that: don't help Lower Quaria. Let Upper Quaria take the peninsula and Elora will have one less war to worry about."
Bronston hung his head in defeat. Martin watched as everything seemed to spiral out of control around him. Everyone was at each other's throats. This was the day they had to finish uniting the planet or be invaded.
"Is there anything left that we can do?" Martin asked. Bronston just shook his head. His planet, his home, was about to be attacked because people could not put aside their differences.
"Only two other superpowers are standing with Amestris," he said. "The president is actually considering using a quarium nuke to get everyone back to the table."
Martin's eyes widened in horror when he heard this. Caldwell 70 didn't have any naquadah. Instead, the Ancients used quarium to build its stargates and, like naquadah, it could make horrifying weapons of mass destruction.
"This planet's already buggered!" Martin yelled. "How does nuking it help?!"
"People are hoping that if we threaten to drop quarium bombs they would return to the table and maybe we can convince the Ror'char we're about to stop fighting," Bronston said.
"Or, they could first destroy Amestris then go back to fighting," Martin said. "If you want to use a quarium bomb, use it on the Ror'char."
"That would not be very pleasant, Lieutenant Martin," a voice hissed. Everyone in the room whipped around, startled by the sudden voice. The ambassadors on the screens around the room looked up in shock and horror. Standing in the middle of the chamber, watching the chaos unfold, was Exodan Krell.
Chief Bronston walked up to the hologram of Krell.
"Your time is up," Krell hissed. "You've had thirty days to bring this planet together…and you have failed."
"Thirty days wasn't enough time!" Bronston begged. "We need more time to find a solution to all the conflicts."
"Look around; I could give you a decade and your planet still won't come together," Krell chuckled in amusement.
"We can still do this, mate," Martin said, stepping forward. "It may be chaotic now but it's just the first step to peace."
Krell stared at Martin, not convinced by this.
"You have until my ships arrive," Krell announced to everyone. "Once in orbit, they will perform one last scan of the planet. If you still haven't united the planet by then, we will accept nothing but complete and unconditional surrender."
Krell's image began to distort as the hologram faded away.
-.-
"They're on the move!" a technician aboard the Valorous announced as he read his scans. "Ror'char ships have just entered hyperspace."
Everyone on the Valorous was dead silent. They all knew that this meant. The invasion was on its way.
"Tell all ships to enter high alert!" Galligan ordered. "Have shields and weapons on standby. The moment those ships exit hyperspace we give them everything we got."
Chen clicked on the communicator in the control panel in front of him.
"Terra, you get this?" he asked.
"I heard that," Nova said as she and Corin quickly packed their stuff in their quarters. "I've already told Martin to get a ride to the spaceport and gate back to Millennium. I want you and Major Hailey to ring down and head back. We'll be right behind you."
There was a click as Chen ended communications.
"Patch me through to the ship," Commander Galligan ordered, walking up to the front. The technicians nodded and quickly obeyed. Galligan turned and faced the entire bridge, the intercom for the whole ship turned on. He looked at his crewmates and friends one last time.
"This is Commander Galligan. It has been confirmed: the Ror'char are on their way here. Elora has come a long way since we first uncovered the stargate. This planet has seen its fair share of history and this ship has seen its fair share of battle. But, if this is the Valorous' last battle, then we will carve its success into stone so that all historians will look back upon this moment and remember how this ship and crew stood up against the forces of the universe, that if we were to be struck down we will break every bone in the hand that does it, that our last stand will burn a memory that shall be remembered forever."
-.-
Nova and Corin were geared up and ready to leave. They were looking out across the city from their quarters one last time. It was once quite a beautiful sight. Now, it was scorched with fire and streaked with ash and washed with blood.
"C'mon," Nova said, turning to leave. She was surprised to see Chief Bronston at the door.
"Leaving?" Bronston asked, his frustration and exhaustion obvious on his face. "Lieutenant Martin has already been transported to the Valorous. They'll send you to stargate headquarters where you can gate home."
Bronston hung his head. Nova wasn't sure if it was because of the imminent invasion or how their planet reacted to the knowledge of the stargate. Maybe even both.
"It isn't too late to evacuate," Nova said. "Get people off-world, start over if things don't go well here."
"Things won't go well here," Bronston said. "We called an emergency meeting for all the countries around the world to try to mount a defense. Only two are going to show up. This is going to be it for Elora. I'm going to try one last time to get the leaders of the planet to listen."
"TERRA!" a voice suddenly yelled through her radio.
"What's up, Chen?" she asked.
"OUR TIME!" Chen yelled. A cold chill of fear crawled down her spine as she, Corin, and Bronston all exchanged fearful glances. The room began to shake, the glass rattling as if the whole planet was trembling in fear. Nova and Corin walked to the rattling window, looking through the shaking glass.
"My god," Nova breathed as she stared at the black clouds that hung over the city. The clouds then parted like curtains to a horror movie as enormous towers emerged, four spindly legs unfolding and extending forth as the ships landed.
"MOVE!" Nova yelled as she and Corin turned and ran from the window. It was just in time. A massive beam of green light shot out of the side of the ship and combed across the city like a search light, a massive explosion bursting out of the area the light had just shone over. Another beam of light shot out and tore across the buildings, including the one Nova and Corin were in.
A massive wall of fire surged from the window, the pressure launching forward everything that wasn't anchored including the couch. Corin and Nova were thrown to the ground as the couch flew over their heads, the shockwave making their ears ring as everything went to black.
