Episode X: Breaking Through Time

"Link the primary power to the secondary and run all of it into the temporal matrix," yelled the younger Thor who stood amidst a debris laden control deck, "make sure the auxiliary actuators don't blow."

Several battle ready TARDISs broke the chain that surrounded the Earth and were attacking the Doctor and the other ships. Atlantis was holding its own, already having destroyed two of the TARDISs that attacked but the other ships were taking heavy damage.

"We need temporal shielding" the Doctor said allowed over the ear piercing sound of the power conduit he was now laying under, "the only way to get that to work is to have a temporal drive." The com link in his ear buzzed for a moment before Sam's voice came through, "We can try to create a new component with the Asgard core…" The Doctor swept over the conduit with his sonic screwdriver finding two breaks which he quickly fixed. "I'm on my way, keep switching frequencies in the shielding, and avoid those temporal warheads at all cost."

The Dedalus maneuvered in and out of different debris, hiding behind large chunks of the obliterated Wraith hive which now hung lifeless in space. The Ori cruiser still battled on as several TARDISs surrounded Atlantis.

"We're receiving a transmission…" Zelenka said, pulling up an image on the main screen.

"Unknown vessel," said the man on the screen, clad in gold robes and a high crest on his forehead. A pointed goatee waggled as he spoke, "I am the Master, and you are interfering with a triage of Galactic Law to put right what has gone wrong. I order you in the name of the Shadow Proclamation to stand down or be destroyed!" Weir looked amused for a moment and smirked at the Master's arrogance.

"Really, haven't we destroyed two of your ships already? And you'd threaten us, under some imaginary proclamation and threaten our home planet as well? Why don't you stand down and we can discuss this."

"Dear lady, dear human lady, you cannot fathom the depths of danger in which this universe faces. If we don't remove Earth from all existence then all of existence will come crumbling down around us."

"We can stop this" said Weir, "our best scientists are working on a solution right now."

"Human scientists, you have not understanding of time travel, none like the Time Lords. Be gone with your or perish." The link went dead and the Master's image disappeared from the screen.

The TARDISs that surrounded Atlantis began to bombard it with more temporal warheads, only for them to blow up just outside of the shielding.

The Doctor finally made his way to the Asgard core where he was met by a younger Thor and an hologram Thor. "What happened?" said the Doctor.

"My ship was destroyed, we were lucky enough to beam aboard the Dedalus and let the auto-pilot take out three of those things that were attacking us."

The Hologram Thor twitched a bit at the human voice that resounded.

Sam came in followed by Daniel and Teal'c,

"Ok I've designed a smaller version of the core temporal drive and we've worked out a plan to create the network you've suggested, Doctor." Sam moved one of the crystalline control nodes from one point on the core to another showing the schematics of the F-302s that were aboard the Dedalus.

"If we outfit each of the F-302s with this drive and connected it to the hyperspace drive here," she pointed to a small juncture, "we can create a temporal net as you've suggested through hyperspace, basically phasing the whole planet out of this time stream like we were originally trying to do with the space station and Merlin's device."

"Brilliant!" said the Doctor, "but we may need more than just the twenty gliders you have."

"You're right, that's why we also have designed a full unit to be installed in the Puddle Jumpers that Atlantis has."

"Alterans, what a waste of time, their technology is nothing" the younger Thor blurted out, "we would be better off blowing up every Stargate than using their puddle jumpers."

"Blow up every Stargate." The Doctor's faced screwed up in thought, "Earth Still has a Stargate, two even right? And Atlantis has one…" The Doctor swung around to the control panel and began to move several of the cursors around, "I know how we can reverse the temporal flow but we'll need more time."

"How much more time?" Daniel asked

"You'll need to implement the plan to save Earth. If I'm right we can reverse this even after the grid finally collapses on Earth specifically."

***

Jack found himself on the floor of the TARDIS it had finally stopped rattling about. "Ok Doctor now what?" As if on cue the Doctor's hologram appeared, "This is emergency recording seventy three. In the event that the TARDIS is repossessed by the Gallifreyan high command, or if the Temporal Chain is put into affect, you must do everything in your power to prevent the chain from working and the high command from getting their hands on the things inside of this vessel. Yes that means you Jack…" the hologram disappeared leaving Jack in a dark eerie control room of the TARDIS.

"Great, guess since no Time Lords are storming through the door it must be the latter of the options he said. So how to stop it?" Jack pulled a leaver, pushed a button, but the TARDIS was non-responsive. "I would have thought by now you'd have disabled such a mechanism, Doctor." Heading into the bowels of the TARDIS Jack began to look for anything he could use. After finding a Squareness Gun and a few other sonic gadgets he assembled a subspace transceiver, much like the ones the Time Agency used. "This better work…" Jack pushed a few buttons, and sent out a signal to what he was hoping was another ship, what he got was Master.

"Hello Jack Harkness" said the Master in a malevolent voice, "where might you be, on Earth, ready to be wiped from existence?"

"We're going to stop you, if I have to I'll destroy the TARDIS and all the others along with it that are tied together."

"You wouldn't dare, the good ole' doc wouldn't forgive you."

"That is not what his hologram just told me to do. He said do anything to stop the chain from being used."

"Hahahaha, you cannot possible stop the chain, not even a mistake like you can pull that off." Moments later the transceiver blew apart, the sonic components fried. "Damn it…"

***

The Ori battle cruiser blasted away at the TARDISs which were finally adapting to its weaponry. After several more moments of exchange and the destruction of another TARDIS five of the TARDISs surrounded the cruiser and sent several volleys of fire at it from all sides. The resulting explosion ripped through the space catching into an even larger explosion's energy wave. Jupiter had finally met the grid that separated the Howling and the normal universe. In the same instance, the TARDIS sent out a wave of energy freezing the others in place.

Jack's voice came over the intercom and then he appeared on the screens of the Dedalus and of Atlantis, "Doctor," he said, his eyes glowing from the energy of the time vortex, "I can stop the other Time Lords but I can't prevent the grid from collapsing around the Earth. I'm holding it back for now but…" his arm faltered and he slipped against the console, "Doctor…it's the Master…"

"Jack," the Doctor frowned, "I don't know if you'll survive this Jack."

"Its fine Doctor, a few thousand years is a good enough time. I'm older than you now. Hurry Doctor…"

The Doctor nodded, and began programming a new sequence into the core. "You get the gliders out there now, surround the Earth in a grid no more than the outer limit of the hyperspace drive's energy field. Go, I'll begin to transport new components over to Atlantis, Thor you and your crew help the Atlantis crew retrofit the components to the Puddle Jumpers."

Weir and McKay, who were on stand by on the com link, nodded, and lowered the shields.

The team broke up as the Doctor beamed the majority of the crew to Atlantis.

It was only he and the Holographic Thor left. "Thor, listen I'm writing a program to copy your consciousness several times over. Though the gliders on this ship can't handle it, the Alteran's ships should have the capacity to. I need you to coordinate their ships in this formation." Thor nodded and his hologram disappeared.

The Doctor piloted the Dedalus to earth and scanned for the second Stargate that had yet to be discovered in the Antarctic, after minutes of scanning he beamed it to the holding bay right next to the SGC's other Stargate.

"Four Stargates from three different time periods, and a temporal rift through Cardiff all have what in common…" he said aloud to no one in particular, ", he opened the 302 bays allowing the four squadrons to fly out. "They all create worm holes, and when that is mixed with hyperspace junctions that are temporally attuned…" Atlantis came into orbit around the earth letting its puddle-jumpers fly out information controlled by Thor, "…creates a temporal patch."

As each of the gliders and puddle-jumpers took position, the TARDISs began to move again trying to form the chain that had been broken earlier.

"Doctor…" Jack's voice came, this time in his mind, "I can't hold this much longer…"

The Doctor winced as the temporal vortex started to leak into his mind, "Jack just hang in there, it's almost over."

The gliders and the puddle-jumpers all engaged their hyper-drives and temporal drives at the same time, dozens of hyperspace windows formed around the Earth, glowing red from the temporal energy. The Howling Grid collapsed down and around them, the Sun its self exploding in an array of color. The blackness lasted for only a moment as the Earth, the TARDIS fleet, Atlantis and the Dedalus tumbled in the void. Then a new starry field emerged, deep reds and greens swarmed in the distance as galaxies formed right before their eyes.

Acalo squirmed "The Howling has returned….the dark times have begun again!"

***

The Ancients on Earth unmasked themselves, fully human and mortal. Their powers were gone. The lives they had taken to try to maintain their ascendance returned to the fallen and they awoke with glassy eyes.

"The Howling has returned" they said in unison, "the Howling has returned" again and again. Minutes later the sun disappeared from view, the moon was gone from the sky and a new star filled sky burned across the heavens in red and green hues.

"Time has been reversed, even our ascension is gone" said one of the ancients.

"Then we are too late!"

***