Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or Battlestar Galactica: 2003.
Another Road not Taken
Chapter8: Childhood's End
July 15th 2006
Sol System
Earth
Washington D.C. / White House
Conference Room
"May I have your attention please," spoke General Francis Maynard to the room. "The president will now make an announcement," he said as he stepped aside and allowed the US president to take the stand.
"My fellow Americans," President Henry Hayes spoke to the room and those watching on news nationwide. "What I am about to disclose is perhaps the most well kept secret in Earth's history. As you know at approximately 4:35 PM Eastern Standard Time yesterday evening there was a number of large nuclear detonations in orbit over the west coast; I have called this conference to explain what exactly happened." He waited for the reports to become silent once again, "at approximately 4PM yesterday evening a fleet of alien warships launched a direct attack on Earth."
He wasn't expecting the silence that followed that statement...suddenly one of the reports raised their hand and he nodded towards the woman.
"Clare Blake, CNN, Mister President you just said alien warships correct?" Clare asked in disbelief.
"That is correct," Hayes confirmed. "Already the rest of the nations that know are making announcements to their peoples in order to explain the situation."
"What is the situation Mister President?" Clare inquired.
"I suppose I should start from the beginning," Hayes sighed and explained. "For nine years now the United States has been operating an alien device called the Stargate in order to travel to other planets in this galaxy and beyond. During that time we have acquired allies but also dangerous enemies such as the Cylons. In order to defend ourselves against these threats whom would gladly wipe us out if given the chance, the Stargate Program has spent their time recovering technology for us to directly combat our enemies and safeguard Earth...something that we've done quite spectacularly I might add."
"Technology?" Clare asked.
"I believe Colonel Carter would be a better person to answer that question," Hayes spoke and gestured for the blond Colonel to come up to the stand.
"Thank you mister president," Carter nodded in respect as he stepped to the side. Carter then turned to the press and began, "Earth currently operates a small but highly advanced fleet of interstellar warships created using technology gained from our time in the galaxy. The universe isn't a safe place and Earth has come under attack on more than one occasion which has always ended in the destruction of the invaders."
"Who attacked us?" Clare further questioned.
"A race called the Cylons," Carter replied. "They're a machine race whom considers it the will of their god to destroy all human life. The ships that attacked us were space-age aircraft carriers however their technology isn't much more advanced than our own so we are able to fight them on relatively even ground despite being vastly outnumbered."
"Thank you Colonel Carter," Hayes spoke from the side and moments later the president took the stand once again. "Are there any further questions?"
"Yes, what actions are being taken to ensure that these Cylons do not attack us again?" Clare inquired.
"The Cylons sustained heavy casualties during the battle," Hayes replied. "Practically their entire fleet was destroyed and our allies are working to locate what's left of them as well as their homeworlds."
"You said 'our allies' Mister President," Clare brought up. "What allies are you referring too?"
"First and foremost are a race called the Asgard," Hayes answered. "Let me start from the beginning...eight thousand years ago a parasitic race called the Goa'uld came to Earth and enslaved humanity. They posed as gods from different religions and used the Stargate to spread humans across the galaxy as a labour force. We rebelled against the Goa'uld leader at the time and were left alone until nine years ago when we first stepped through the Stargate and shoved a nuclear device in the Goa'uld leader's face. We have been fighting a war against them ever since and last year we and our allies won a decisive victory which collapsed the Goa'uld Empire in on itself."
"Who are these allies?" Clare asked him.
"When the Goa'uld first came to Earth they took humans as their hosts to control and reign over their followers. They took a number of humans and genetically engineered them into a slave race known as the Jaffa. The Cylons have been nuking their worlds for several months now and their government is falling apart," Hayes explained.
"Were they fighting with us during the battle?" Clare questioned further.
"No, unfortunately their fleet is in tatters after the recent Cylon assaults on their territory," Hayes responded. "The Tok'ra are another one of our allies and have been tracking the Cylons progress for last few months for us."
"Are there any other 'allies' we should know about?" Clare asked.
"The Twelve Colonies of Kobol were destroyed by the Cylons approximately three years ago and what remained of their civilization fled on whatever ships they had available. They were being hunted down by the Cylons when we discovered them near one of our outposts which the Colonials have now colonized. The Colonials and the Cylons believe Earth is a 'Thirteenth Colony of Kobol' that was colonized three thousand years ago and the Colonials sent their two remaining warships to help defend Earth during the battle. Naturally human life evolved here on Earth however the Cylons believe that Earth is merely another colony and will stop at nothing to destroy us and the rest of humanity in this galaxy," Hayes continued.
"...What can we do?" Clare asked the question. A sudden column of light signalled the appearance of the Asgard known as Thor sitting in his command chair beside the stand. "W-what was-" she stammered in surprise.
"Your timing is perfect as always, Thor," Hayes nodded with a smile.
"Greets, I am Thor, Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard Fleet," Thor introduced himself to the surprised assembly. "The Asgard have been watching your world for many long years now and in recent times you have shown yourselves to push yourselves beyond your limits. For that as well as aiding us in our fight against an enemy which threatened both our world and yours we have acknowledged you all as true friends."
"I'm sorry but did you say your was Thor? As in the Norse god?" Clare asked confused.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I am," Thor confirmed. "During the reign of the Goa'uld Empire we Asgard created what is known as the Protected Planets' Treaty identifying planets under our protection which Earth was a once a member before you gained the ability to defend yourselves."
"And your ships during the battle?" Clare asked.
"Four of our ships took part in defence your world, two of which were destroyed and another, the Sigurd was forced to return to my homeworld for repairs. My person flagship remains in orbit to defend your world," Thor replied. "Sadly we are still rebuilding from a war we fought with a machine race called the Replicators; I'm afraid we do not have any other ships to spare at this time."
"We had eight ships at the battle and the Cylons had roughly forty," Hayes continued. "We smashed their fleet but not before two Asgard battleships and our battlecruiser, Prometheus were destroyed. If it wasn't for their noble sacrifice it is quite possible that the Cylons would have been able to drop nuclear weapons on Earth."
"Can't we negotiate with these things?" Clare inquired.
"We've tried...but their 'god' demands that they destroy their 'parents' namely the human race as a whole. They won't stop until we're dead or they are," Hayes replied.
July 21st 2006
Sol System
Earth
Stargate Command / Cheyenne Mountain
Briefing Room
"How are things going exactly?" Cam asked the question.
"Pretty badly," Landry as he sat down. "Currently the President and the Joint Chiefs are discussing where to go from here...personally I think the President might be forced to declare martial law before things settle down."
"We aren't there yet," Daniel denied. "That can't be the only way things can turn out...I mean I can understand where the public is coming from and yes, it was a shock. Finding out we're not alone in the universe as we first thought but the people have to understand that if we are going to survive then we can't keep bickering about something like this."
"The President and the IOA would seem to agree with you," Landry nodded. "That's why he doesn't want to declare martial law...he will if he has too but he doesn't want to do it unless it's absolutely necessary."
"What about the Colonials and Thor?" Carter asked.
"The Galactica and the Pegasus are remaining on station in orbit of Earth with the Astrea until the Odyssey and the Korolev return. As for the Asgard...the only ship that seems to have come out with the least amount of damage is the Daniel Jackson," Landry replied. "Thor seemed disappointed that the Cylons were able to bypass their shields and technology in order to attack them directly."
"I'm guessing the fact that the Cylons had to actually work themselves in order to deal with one of our ships than one of theirs annoyed him?" Vala quipped.
"Vala," Daniel admonished.
"She's right though," Landry nodded. "Thor seemed upset that the Cylons had more trouble with our ships than his and openly said that he will not underestimate the Cylons again. The Daniel Jackson will be remaining in orbit for the time being however the Sigurd is returning to Orilla for repairs."
"What about the Antarctic weapon?" Cam questioned.
"Like we expected we depleted the last of our drones," Carter answered. "It will be several days before we've shipped enough drones from the outpost on New Caprica to Earth in order to resupply the chair."
"...It's been a bad week," Cam sighed.
"Yes it has," Landry nodded.
"I'm surprised President Hayes didn't tell everyone about Atlantis," Daniel brought up.
"Let the public get used to the existence of aliens before springing that we've discovered the lost city of Atlantis, will you?" Cam joked.
July 22nd 2006
Sol System
Earth
Homeworld Command
O'Neill's Office
In the days that followed the Cylon attack on Earth things began getting worse between national disputes and several public riots. Conspiracy theories were running wild through the public's mind and everyone was afraid that the Cylon might come back at any moment. What everyone agreed on however is that the Cylons must not get another shot at Earth.
He'd already discussed it with the IOA and the President and they'd both gave him the go ahead. General Hammond offered his support in the plan he had thought up and they would be able to begin as soon as Admiral Adama agreed. If this plan worked...then the Cylons would be crippled and it might just buy them the time they needed to sort out everything at home.
"You wanted to speak with me General?" Adama inquired as he was escorted into the room.
"Take a look at this," Jack said and placed a single photo on the table in front of him.
Adama sat down in front of the desk and picked up the photo. "This is a Cylon Resurrection Ship" he trailed off. "When was this taken? And is it still there?"
"When the Cylons attacked Earth we detected several subspace transmissions being sent to a set of coordinates about thirty light-years away," Carter replied from the side. "The Tok'ra sent a ship to investigate and found that, along with several Baseships in the area. They've made several jumps since then but we've tracked them and the Tok'ra are keeping tabs on them."
"The Cylons we killed during the battle were sent to it?" Adama suggested.
"That seems to be our guess," Carter nodded. "However we also detected another set of transmissions being broadcast to a set of coordinates a lot further away...Carter tells me that the Resurrection ship ran out of room and had to send a large number of them to what she believes is the Cylon homeworld."
"The Cylon homeworld?" Adama narrowed his eyes at the words. "You mean you've located their homeworld?"
"Yes and the Tok'ra have already scouted it out. There are two inhabited planets in the system and several inhabited moons. The fourth planet in the system appears to be their homeworld," Carter continued. "We've also identified a large structure in orbit of the planet...we don't know what it is," she finished as Jack handed over another set of photos.
"I'll have Athena take a look at them," Adama said as he looked over the images. "Did you have something in mind or is this all?"
"...I've spoke with my government, Thor and the IOA. They've authorised the deployment of the fleet to the location where the Cylon Resurrection fleet is," Jack explained. "Currently the Astrea, the Odyssey, the Korolev and the Daniel Jackson are preparing to go."
"And you want my ships to join you?" Adama mused.
"...Not exactly," Jack sank back into his chair. "If you'll allow the Pegasus to join the fleet at the battle then that would be great however the Galactica would have different mission entirely since her weapons are still burnt out."
"...What kind of mission?" Adama asked slowly.
"A surgical strike on the Cylon homeworld."
July 21st 2006
Sol System
In orbit above Earth
Battlestar Galactica
Adama's Cabin
"With all due respect sir they're crazy," Helo said simply. "No offense but the entire plan is suicide," he said to the members of SG1.
"I'm with them," Starbuck snorted. "I can see where your coming from and I'd love a shot at these bastards too but we're stretched pretty thin these days...we don't exactly have much to fight with."
"The rest of the fleet should at least be able to destroy the Resurrection ship," Carter spoke up. "The Galactica wouldn't even have to fight; the raptors and our FTL-capable F302-Vs should be enough to do the job. The most the Galactica would have to do would be to resupply any raptor or F302-V that returns."
"What she said," Cam agreed. "Look, we know the Cylons are building ships on the planet surface and as soon as they're ready they're going to attack us again and next time we might not be able to stop them. We need to hit them before their new Baseships are ready and able to launch."
"...Well when you put it that way," Starbuck muttered.
"We also have something that we're sure will make the Cylons rethink their strategy," Carter added. "We have a nuclear device that we call a Gate-Buster ready for use however we currently have no way to deliver it."
"Gate-Buster?" Sharon 'Athena' Agathon asked.
"It's a Mark-IX Naquadria-enhanced nuclear weapon designed solely to destroy Stargates," Carter explained. "Our standard Mark-VIII Naquadah-enhanced nuclear missiles have a yield of one point two gigatons. The Mark-IX is capable to unleashing over twenty gigatons of nuclear force upon detonation."
"It has one hell of a bang," Cam smiled.
"It can crack open small moons," Carter wasn't joking.
"...I think I'm starting to like this plan," Tigh smirked at the thought of what something like that could do to the Cylon homeworld.
"How long until you can get it ready?" Adama questioned.
"There is a problem," Carter admitted. "Because of the nature of this particular weapon we can't risk using it in a missile or anything...it would have to be delivered manually to its target."
"...So you're saying..." Athena started.
"It would have to flown in by raptor and dropped off on the surface. It would then have to be armed and the timer set. After that the raptor would need to jump out immediately," Carter explained.
"So basically a more dangerous plan than when Boomer blew up that Basestar over Kobol three years ago?" Starbuck mused. "Sounds like fun...when do we leave?"
"I haven't approved the mission yet," Roslin spoke up. "However since it's a military matter the final decision falls to the Admiral...and judging by the fact that you called me here I guess you've already made up your mind."
"...Get your ship resupplied Commander," Adama said to his son.
"...Yes sir," Lee acknowledged.
Author's Notes:
The alliance counterattack starts now with the fleet being redeployed against the Cylon menace. I'd estimate that it would take roughly two years to recover from disclosure with an enemy hanging over our heads and Earth's current level of technology judging by the episode 'Road not Taken.'
As for nuclear explosions above Earth in the series going unnoticed I'd like to point out that the ships a part of Apophis' attack at the end of season 1 were destroyed from within by extensive use of C4 explosives. There were no nukes aboard those ships and the 'Goa'uld Buster' nuclear missiles launched from Earth were destroyed before detonating by hitting the motherships' shields.
Season 6 when the Stargate explodes it is far away from Earth since the X-302 jumped it into deep space using its Hyperdrive. Thus nobody actually saw it with the naked eyes from the surface of Earth and those that were looking through telescopes probably wrote it off as them seeing things.
There were no nukes used in episode 'Lost City' where the Anubis' attack on Earth takes place thus no one noticed the battle...well no one but Alec Colson and that was only because of the footage he acquired from his company's satellites.
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