A/N - Chapter that sets the foundation for a lot of events that will have a huge impact on few groups. Read and enjoy and review.
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The USS Daedalus followed the fleet, her sensors set to maximum sensitivity. They collected immense amounts of data that, via subspace links, was shared with the rest of her group and sent to Earth. Even if those ships had so far been peaceful, their intentions weren't known. Caution was necessary: the weapons were online, their buffers charged and ready. At a moment they could channel their contents into the firing mechanism that would change the energy into lethal beams of plasma.
Colonel Caldwell stood and walked to the massive window that made up the front of the bridge. Seeing so many ships in one place was a rare event. The past few hours were exhausting as they crawled across the system, keeping a safe distance from their unexpected guests.
"The SGC sent a message that the Athena, Ares, Phoenix, and Richelieu are coming to join us," Lt Colonel Marks said. "The Odyssey, Sun Tzu, and Hammond will meet us above Mars."
"Update our targeting solutions," Caldwell said. "Target their engines and weapon mounts."
He saw nods of understanding and brought up a holographic display that showed the whole solar system with the position of every planet and astronomical feature marked, along with their orbits and the sizes of their gravity wells. On top of that were the positions of the ships, their vectors and, in the case of the unknown ships, any data that could be obtained from sensors and intelligence gathering.
Looking at the display he frowned. The course of those ships was a peculiar one. He quickly inputted a few commands and a thin line was added onto the display, one that connected the whole group of ships and Mars. He mused quietly about the course and then glanced at his staff. "Open channels to the Apollo and Nikolai."
Moments later the faces of the other two commanders appeared on a display in front of him. "Colonel, why did you call us?" Asked Captain Second Class Sokolov, according to the Russians he was a rising star of their Navy.
"Our guests," Caldwell said and glanced at the display to his side. "Did you learn anything about them?"
"No," Colonel Ellis said and Sokolov nodded in agreement. "Did Earth send any data concerning them?"
"No," Caldwell said. "Other than that some help is coming, a bigger part of the fleet and they should meet us as we cross Jupiter's orbit and get into the inner system. Colonel Carter will take the rest to Mars."
"So they know something," Sokolov said, "but won't share it with us."
"Not the first time in the history of the Programme," Caldwell said and switched his gaze to the plot that occupied most of the display. "Over forty Auroras, eighty smaller warships, fifteen transport ships, sixteen city-ships, and that's just the ships in the Alteran group."
"We have twelve O'Neills and six that are much bigger," Ellis added and glanced off-screen. "If what my sensors are reading is true they each have twenty plasma beams mounted in turrets of four each and over sixty ion cannons mounts, though those won't do much to a ship with shields."
"But they will rip open any that lost them," Sokolov finished. "Or for that matter a fighter or anything of similar size that wanders too close, reminds me of your Phalanx system."
"So it will most likely have a very limited range," Caldwell said and looked at the ship's heading. "Thirty minutes and reinforcements should be here and after that an hour or so before we are above Mars."
They nodded and ended the talk as they focused on their own ships and making sure everything worked smoothly.
o-0-o
Colonel Carter saw a great deal of wonderful and cutting edge technology, but even she was baffled by the advancement of the ships the Hammond waited to greet. Even if on the outside they looked like the ships they already had seen, they were more powerful and the readings their sensors were getting were above everything they learned from the Atlantis database.
hat was nothing, however, compared to the ship at the centre of formation. It was over three kilometers tall and over nine kilometers wide at the base, easily making it the single biggest spacefaring structure she had ever seen. The power readings from inside of it made even the insane capabilities of Atlantis look rather small While Atlantis was still a powerful ship, an obvious fact was that this ship was her bigger and much better sister.
"Carter, what can you tell me about them?" O'Neill's voice cut through her musing and made her look in his direction.
"They are much better than everything we have seen," she said and tapped one of the buttons placed in the armrest of her chair, making a holographic display appear. "The Apollo and Daedalus destroyed several Auroras in Pegasus, but here they wouldn't even stand a chance against one. The shape is the same, but we can tell that everything else is new. Also if the images we have from the Apollo are correct they discarded most of their drones for other weapons."
"Carter..."
She rolled her eyes and sighed. "In short, they will kill most of our fleet without noticing our attacks."
"Ah, that makes much more sense," he said and looked at her. "How long till they are here?"
She looked at the plot and then at the speed that was slowly, but steadily decreasing and finally looked at him. "Should be in a couple of minutes."
He nodded and stood to her side like a sculpture of some great general or admiral from the times long gone, while allowing her to prepare for the arrival of their guests. She licked her lips in nervousness as the armada approached them, with the remaining ships belonging to Earth shadowing it from behind. The moment they entered a geosynchronous orbit around Mars a message appeared on the display, the sight she saw surprised her.
She could see a man, maybe in his late fifties, with hair as black as night with several large streaks of white in it, and keen dark green eyes and a regal bearing. He was dressed in a white uniform with a high collar that was covered in golden stitching showing five stars, most likely a sign of his rank, on the shoulders of his uniform were visible lines of purple. Behind him she could see a bridge with several more crewmen working, if until this point she had any doubts about whom he was, they were gone when she recognized the characteristic smooth lines of Alteran technology.
"We come in peace," he said. "We do not wish you any harm and we want to co-exist with you in peace. My name is Agrippa Lantios and I'm the commander of this fleet. I would like to invite you to my ship to discuss our coexistence and cooperation. The other members of the Alliance will be there, and Asgard is guaranteeing that you will not be harmed aboard my ship. The exact place where you should arrive is being sent now, I expect your arrival within the next hours."
She nodded and the moment the channel was cut she heard a report from one of the officers saying that they received data. "Well, we're alive and they didn't try to shoot us out of the sky," she said and looked at Jack. "Where's Daniel?"
"Last time I saw him, he was digging through his books," Jack said.
She nodded and the two of them walked to find their friend that could be their only source of reliable data about the Alterans and how to approach them.
o-0-o
"So the Alterans," Daniel said and they nodded.
"Yes," Sam said looking at him. "That's what we saw and while he didn't say who he represents, his name sounds awfully similar to their names."
"Right," he said and looked at them. "From what I learned from the database of Atlantis their government is a weird one. The government is formed by a seven person Council, six members and a chairman. Each of the members is responsible for one field, science and research, diplomacy, internal affairs, infrastructure, treasury, and naval affairs."
"Seems pretty straightforward," Jack said.
"On the surface, yes, however below it is something we don't have. The members are chosen not because of their age, wealth, or connections, but because of their merits," Daniel said and they looked at him. "I think we know where Plato had the idea for his philosopher's state and Confucius for meritocracy."
"So all of them will be experts and won't buy a single lie," Carter said.
"Pretty much yes," Daniel agreed. "But going back to their political system, from what I found, this council answers to a larger body composed out of the heads of the hundred oldest and most powerful families. If I have to guess, we will meet the Council, not their Senate, as the Council is the one responsible for day-to-day running of the government. Question is, who should go."
"All of us," Jack said. "We managed to negotiate deals with Asgard, we should be able to do the same thing with them."
o-0-o
Thor looked around the chamber and couldn't believe how much the technology of their allies advanced. When they last met they were already extremely advanced, but this was something more. It wasn't visible in the design, as that was nearly the same as the one with which he was familiar, but the materials used to make it were completely different and much more perfect. That was not the thing that was the main focus of Thor's attention, however. He was focused on a large table and fifteen comfortable seats, twelve of which were filled by the representatives of each of the Great Races, leaving the last free seats for the Tau'ri.
"Will they come?" Penegal asked.
"They will," Thor said. "They didn't break a single promise to us and always answered our call, they will be surprised and shocked by our presence, but they will come."
"They received my message," Agrippa said. "Their ships seem more sophisticated than we thought they would be. While they are outdated by our standards, they show an impressive amount of ingenuity in the design and can be easily upgraded."
"They will treat any offer of technology with suspicion and caution," Thor said. "We weren't very generous with it, and they met the Aschen who tried to trick them into taking drugs that would also sterilize them and their whole population."
"I take that the issue with them was solved?" Janus asked, the outlines of his body glowing gold.
"It was," Thor nodded, slight amounts of glee, a trait very unusual for his race, visible in his voice. "In return the Tau'ri gifted them a list of addresses for Stargate that led to black holes, neutron stars, and few places that were much worse than that."
"A cruel and underhanded tactic, but also an efficient one," Agrippa said. "I would have handled it differently, but after a few millenia of combat you have nearly an infinite amount of ideas and possibilities."
"The Tau'ri rarely follow the same rules we do, they tend not to follow logic, yet they achieve results we thought were impossible," Penegall said and Thor nodded in agreement.
"Are they always so violent?" Opher asked. "We, prefer races that are benevolent and kind, not warmongering and attacking others."
"They prefer peaceful solutions and want to avoid bloodshed, but don't have any qualms with using violence when forced to or when they deem it a necessary solution," Thor said. "Also they tend to target only those that directly harmed them, attempting to keep out of danger innocent ones."
"They're coming," Agrippa said, cutting in and moments later a bright flash of light appeared in the middle of the room.
o-0-o
Daniel looked around and saw that they had appeared in a large meeting room, filled with representatives of the Four Great Races. His eyes swept over their faces and his times amongst the ascended beings told him that there were several of those lurking in the room, he didn't know how he could feel their presence, but he knew they were there and if he was right they were one of those that were the oldest and the most powerful ones. Even if those beings weren't a hint of how important this meeting was, the ones that were visible on the material plane were enough. He could see Thor and two more Asgardians, both of which according to what they knew were a part of the government of Asgard. The only other beings he could identify were Nox, the rest was unknown to him.
"Welcome aboard the Adaris," said the one that was obviously an Alteran and, according to Carter, was named Agrippa Lantios. "My name is Agrippa Lantios and I, Janus and Melia are the representatives of the Alterans."
Several more moments passed on introductions and when it came to Nox and Asgard delegations there weren't many surprises and all of them were familiar to Tau'ri. The only surprise were the Furlings, whose names reminded Daniel of Celtic myths from Earth. Nuada, Lug and Dagda were names he remembered from the myths of Celts and they were names of their mythological deities, Tuatha Dé Danann.
"You probably are wondering why we returned after so many years," Agrippa said and Daniel nodded. "The Plague that almost killed us in this galaxy also took a toll on our numbers elsewhere and it took us time to regain the numbers we once had. We also feared that if we fully returned, the Ori would be able to see through the veils weaved by us around this galaxy and the inhabitants of it."
"So your extinction was faked?"
"Indeed," Janus nodded. "Now our numbers have grown and we can reclaim our rightful place."
"Before you ask, we don't want to reclaim anything that was taken by you or any of our allies," Agrippa said. "Terra was our capital, but now we will settle on the planet you call Mars."
"Which is unable to support life," Carter pointed out.
"For now," Agrippa said. "We brought technology that allows us to make any world a hospitable place, but that's not the reason why we are here with our allies."
"It is because of the Alliance that we once formed," Thor said and they focused on him. "We discussed if you should be treated as the Fifth member and the consensus is no, we won't invite you, at least not quite yet. However we will give you full access to our technology and science."
"Why?" Jack asked. "We saved you from the replicators and we were the ones that defeated the Goa'uld."
"Yes, you were," Thor agreed. "However all of the races that are in the Alliance have certain achievements and level of power, one you cannot quite achieve with your resources. While you are advanced for your age in certain fields, it needs to become more widespread and your technology needs to get onto a level comparable to us."
"Also, a few people have doubts about you," Janus added. "However the main issue is your knowledge and lack of ability to be able to fully support us when it comes to possible conflicts. You have twelve ships, while we have hundreds of them. We want to see you in the Alliance, but you need to grow first."
"So you want to help us grow and develop before you let us join the Alliance?" Daniel asked. "So that you are sure that we can be trusted and that we can be members of it."
"Indeed," Agrippa said and tapped a band on his wrist. "If you come with me you can see the fleet prepare for the terraforming of the planet."
They nodded and followed Agrippa down a short corridor before stopping onto a terrace shielded by a power field, it was then that they realized that they were aboard the giant city ship.
o-0-o
A single Aurora accompanied by a pair of cruisers lowered their orbit and released several dozen octahedra shaped devices Upon leaving the ship they immediately pointed towards the planet below and small streaks of gases leaving them could be seen as they accelerated and lowered their orbits until the point when they wouldn't be able escape the gravity well of the planet and were doomed to slam into its surface. As they passed through the outer layer of the atmosphere they discarded their outer shell and each released over two hundred smaller containers that flew towards the surface which promptly impacted and released their content. Billions of nanites whose sole purpose was to take whatever material was available and turn the planet into an environment able to sustain life and make it possible to live without a need for heavy and bulky suits swarmed forth. The whole process would take months to fully finish, but in mere moments changes happening inside of the planet's crust and atmosphere were visible on the sensors of the ships in orbit.
o-0-o
"Impossible," Carter murmured as she looked at the holographic display that appeared out of thin air. "It's happening."
"Indeed," Janus said as he appeared to her side. "We will show you how to make such devices, but first I suggest that you make the Stargate common knowledge among your people, and we can sign agreements about the Alliance and technology sharing."
"Disclosure won't be an easy task," she said and grimaced. "My government and many more will fight it as strongly as they can, and we don't know how people will react to such a bomb being dropped on them."
Janus paused for a moment and his form glowed gold for a brief second. "It won't be as big of a problem as you think," he said. "Especially the part about the reaction of the people, they will be mostly angry that you hid knowledge from them, but other than that they will accept it. I also believe that your governments, or at least some of them will accept the fact that it is time, and the rest can be convinced."
"We will need to contact our superiors and have their confirmation before we do anything," Carter said and looked at Janus. "You want to travel with us to Earth so that you can convince them?"
"Indeed," Janus said with a sly smile. "It will take me mere seconds to get them to agree to what we want to happen. I survived amongst the Council of Atlantis and before that in the forest of our politics and now I'm an ascended being, one that knows almost anything and can be in many places at the same time."
"We can travel now," she said and tapped her earpiece and then looked at Janus. "We will take my ship, but the rest of the fleet will stand guard, just in case."
"Of course," he nodded and moments later an Asgard beam latched onto them taking them to the bridge of the USS Hammond.
o-0-o
A trio of Aurora battleships slipped out of hyperspace several million light years away from Terra, their forms slipping through an uninhabited solar system. Their navigation computers worked on matching their vectors with the vector of a ship sent from Terra millions of years ago Once they were matched, tractor beams were activated and they leaped towards their target. Once it was secure a ripple in the fabric of space opened and they slipped back in, their mission realized as the long lost ship started its return voyage. It would take months, but it would finally return home.
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A/N:
If Daedalus took three weeks to get to Pegasus under its own power and without any ZPMs, a trio of Aurora give or take ten thousand years of technology development will take several weeks to cross distance to Destiny. Return will take longer as they have cargo attached to them, but it still will be quite fast and manageable. Besides, in the show it was never stated what kinds of galaxies it visited as 34 galaxies might mean just Milky Way, it's satellites and Andromeda or something more.
Reviews:
Chloe - would they waste drones? Ha'tak is a nice, slow, fat target that will cause danger only in huge numbers.
Better Aurora? It works, it is fine and until they meet Hives it is more than enough, so no update for it. Also it's the least of their worries.
Shipyard, any shipyard will make you anything you want as long as it has large enough docks and equipment necessary for it, satellites not really, not that cost effective, at least now. Fighters, maybe. But the truth is that you need big ships that can exchange blows with other capital ships and fighters don't fall into that category.
Disclosure? Soon.
WhiteElfElder - something else might happen.