Episode IX: Chains of Time Unleashed
"This is Janice O'Brien reporting on the scene of what is being called a miracle. People started gathering in the National Assembly for Wale's Plaza where a group of white robed, faceless beings have been reported to have appeared out of no where." Janice and her cameraman began to push through the crowd. "We're approaching the center of the plaza, the light is brilliant, what is this?" Janice finally reached the inner limit of the group of people who now stood dazed and swaying. A bright light radiated from the robed beings in the center of the square. "I don't know what we are witnessing, what ever these creatures are, they seem to be affecting the rest of the crowd." Janice turned back to the robed beings before she too began to sway. Her hand loosened and the microphone she was holding fell to the ground crackling profusely as the cameraman, too, began to sway.
In unison the group began chanting, "Ion vicisum dis postulum , nost'es equatarus , ecc vestria vita nost'mos locan quis'nefas'ut vox." As each word was spoken, in the swaying of the camera, one by one the people began to fall. The camera swayed a few more seconds capturing the figures turn from the fallen to the cameraman who then fell too. The camera hit the ground, capturing only a few more images as the beings disappeared in a flash of light.
"What are they?" Daniel asked as he looked at the monitor.
"We don't know, but it seems this is just one of many of these incursions all over the world." General Landry said over the com. "We are receiving several reports that all around the world similar beings are appearing in urban centers. They cause some sort of trance before the group says what you just heard. Our best guess at what it means is 'In times of danger…"
"…we take from you to put right what was wrong…" Daniel finished Landry's sentence, "it's an odd form of Ancient. But the Ascended can't interfere with the lower plain."
"We're well aware of that, but they seem to be doing so as we speak. I'm assuming that the Dedalus has discovered the incoming ships?"
"We're aware and making preparations as we speak. Sam thinks she has found away to set time back to normal and is working with the Doctor to find away to bring the rift back in."
" Rift?" Landry looked puzzled, "What rift?"
"Apparently the British Government failed to inform us of a temporal rift that is now currently running through Cardiff Wales. The Doctor's Tardis has also disappeared into what seems to be a temporal net around the Earth, made up of several other Tardises."
"Tardises? What…wait no I got that report" Landry looked back over the console, "A time machine correct? We haven't seen any sign of this net however."
"As they are outside of your time, it is possible you can't detect them. We'll keep you informed as much as we can." Daniel looked to his left to see Teal'c gesturing to him. "Alright Daniel, we're counting on SG-1."
Daniel clicked the monitor off and followed Teal'c out of the main control room.
"Daniel, it would seem that Thor has detected something else beyond the ships which are now with in our solar system and passing Mars."
"What is it?"
"A hoard, as he described it" Teal'c looked perplexed, "he is wanting your expertise."
Moments later they reached the Asgard control room where Thor and Samantha were now looking over several holographic images. The Doctor was at another console inputting several commands to the computer's core, and Martha Jones stood looking over an arguably disgruntled Cameron.
"Cameron, you're back?"
"Yep, I escaped this crazy spider's ship as it began to disintegrate and was rescued by Thor. They teleported me here with the help of the Doctor, apparently time has become 'unstable' and is 'unraveling'."
"Daniel Jackson," spoke the hologram Thor, "please view the monitor."
"What is that?" Daniel looked carefully. A grey black hoard of an immeasurable mass was racing towards them. The monitor also demarked Atlantis and two other ships, one of Wraith design and another of Ori design.
"We don't know what it is either Daniel." Carter said as she moved the crystal controller to another spot. "We thought you might have heard of such a thing, some history, or memory. It is several million light years in size which makes it appear to be so close. We only just detected it with some temporal sweeps that the Doctor performed after reconfiguring the sensory array."
"I can't say I have any recollection of this sort of event."
The Doctor pressed one last button before turning to the rest of them. "It is something far more dangerous than I though could be possible. It is one thing for time to revert, which is fixable. But this, this is a temporal matrix, the beings that existed before the dawn of our time have erected a temporal cage made up of the living energy in this universe. The ancient ones are coming back out of the Howling."
**
Captain Jack Harkness awoke to a dark control room, lit only by the now silent center console. An emergency hologram appeared in an upper corner as he stood, the familiar face of the Doctor began to speak a recorded message, "Emergency protocol seven. Tardis encapsulation field activated, Temporal War protocols are active. Active order 6792: Acting controller, Jack Harkness. In case of this order activation, do everything in your power to get the Tardis out of this field." The hologram looked to Jack as the message ended.
Jack, bewildered, approached the console which activated with his touch. "And how am I supposed to do that?"
Another hologram appeared in the opposing corner. "Jack, you are the only one other than myself who can do this. The field is a last resort weapon that the Timelords created. It literally removes something out of time and space completely and rewrites the history of the whole universe. It is used only when there is no other choice. If you do not get the Tardis out of this field then the chain will be completed and Earth, all of its people, and its whole history will cease to exist. Time will be rewritten, and you and the entire human race will be obliterated."
"And what am I supposed to do?"
"Overload the extrapolation shielding and break the temporal bond that the other Tardises have created."
"And how do I do that?"
The Hologram faltered and disappeared.
"Great…"
**
Atlantis's hyperdrive powered down just outside of Earth's atmosphere, taking a lower orbit, followed closely by an Ori ship and that of a Wraith ship. Almost instantly the three ships hailed each other. Rodney connected all three signals and fed them into a main monitor on the control center of Atlantis. The grey skinned Michael appeared on the left and the tentacled face of an evolved Ori Dalek appeared on the other side.
"I see that you're still alive, Michael." Said Weir.
"No doubt you know I followed Atlantis' energy signature here." Returned Michael.
"Or it was just that you realized that this was the only unaffected area of space. The epicenter of the temporal distortion."
"Humans," said the Dalek, "there is far more grievous matters to consider at the moment."
Michael sneered, "What is that, another one of your futile experiments, Weir?"
"We don't have time for this we need to contact the SGC and find out what is happening."
"Small minded creatures," the Dalek squirmed with irritation, "be silent. The grid is coming to us. It wiped out the entire Ori fleet, except for us."
"It destroyed the majority of the Wraith as well" said Michael who drummed his fingers.
McKay twisted around quickly from his console, "I'm detecting a strange energy reading it seems two other ships are here. The Dedalus and an Asgardian ship, they are both hailing us."
"Put them up on another screen."
A young, humanistic Thor appeared on one half, and Samantha on the other.
"I'm patching the other two to you as well."
"What do you know, Carter?" said Weir.
"We have several problems…" Samantha filled in the group of what they had discovered. "…it would seem that this 'pre-universe' universe known as the Howling is now taking over the universe as time continues to revert. The edge of which is a Temporal Matrix. As the Howling, as the Doctor calls it, spreads, it destroys anything in its path. Further the Timelords from an earlier period have seemingly constructed a last resort weapon to completely erase Earth from existence, thus preventing the incident from occurring."
"What are our options people?" Weir asked looking at the different monitors.
"The only reason why we survived was because of temporal shielding" said Michael.
"We converted the shielding on Atlantis as well" McKay replied.
Sam nodded to the statement as did the younger Thor and the Dalek, but it was the Doctor who said behind Samantha, "The only way we can break through the temporal grid which separates the Howling and this Universe is to create a stronger anti-energy barrier. The only way to do that is to some how link these ships and create a temporal veil over the Earth. When that grid reaches Earth it will destroy it, unless we can protect it."