Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or Battlestar Galactica: 2003.
Another Road not Taken
Chapter17: Armageddon
January 18th 2009
Sol System
Earth
Stargate Command / Cheyenne Mountain
Gate-Room
"Colonel Sheppard," Carter greeted as he stepped through the gate.
"Colonel Carter," Sheppard returned as the gate shut down behind him.
"It's good to see you again John," a woman's voice spoke from the side.
"Elizabeth?" he would recognize that voice anywhere. "How's life with the Colonials treating you?" he smiled.
"I'd prefer to be back on Atlantis," Weir admitted.
"Come on," Carter waved him forward. "We'll get you up to speed," she continued as they walked.
"So you're in command here?" Sheppard asked.
"Only until General Landry gets back," Carter replied. "He's heading up a taskforce in Washington; my next position is to take command of our new Daedalus-class ship."
"The Phoenix?" Sheppard asked having heard about it in another timeline.
"...Actually we're renaming it the George Hammond," Carter answered as they reached the elevator.
"Oh...yeah...I heard about that," Sheppard said awkward. "I'm sorry...it was kind of sudden."
"Heart attack," Carter nodded sadly. "I was off-world at the time."
"He was a good man," Sheppard commented.
"He really was," Carter nodded.
"I've never actually met General Hammond," Weir admitted.
"I don't think you'll find anyone as good as him," Carter smiled sadly.
"So err...what's next? A C-130 to McMurdo?" Sheppard asked as they stepped into the lift.
"Not exactly," Carter responded warily as the door closed.
"We've ran into a little problem," Weir added as the doors opened and they made their way into the briefing room which was now filled with screens and people working frantically.
"Problem?" Sheppard asked.
"Colonel Sheppard," Carter gestured to the man standing in front of the larger screen at the end of the room. "This is Major Davis, Homeworld Security."
"You're the Major Disaster Davis I've heard so much about?" Sheppard as they shook hands.
"I think that name is the only thing keeping me from being promoted," Davis responded with a smile at the nickname. "Welcome back to Earth Colonel Sheppard," he added with a nod.
"What are we looking at exactly?" Sheppard asked nodding towards the screen which showed two spheres and a red dot next to the smaller one.
"It's the Hive-ship," Davis replied. "It dropped out of hyperspace and entered stationary orbit around the moon just before you arrived."
"You've got to be kidding me," Sheppard muttered. "It's not supposed to be here for another week," he added louder so they could hear him.
"Evidently this is no ordinary Hive-ship," Carter stated.
"Well that much I know," Sheppard nodded in agreement. "What's it doing?" he asked.
"For the moment...nothing," Davis replied as he gestured towards the image.
"The best we can guess is that it's completing its ZPM upgrades before launching an attack," Carter explained.
"Then we've got to make our move first," Sheppard said.
"General O'Neill has taken personal command of the defence fleet," Carter informed. "They're about to engage the Wraith anytime now."
January 18th 2009
Sol System
In orbit above Earth
EFS Orion
Main Bridge
The Orion sat in orbit of the Human homeworld flanked by the BC303s Astrea, Icarus and Achilles. The smaller Artemis-class destroyers took up position around the capital ships however everyone involved knew that they wouldn't be able to do much in a fight like this.
"Sir, the Hive-ship is launching Darts...they're on an attack vector," Susan reported.
"Have all Vipers move to intercept those Darts," Jack ordered. "And ready the Vultures for FTL jumps...I hope to god this works."
"Destination sir?" Susan inquired.
"Right behind the Hive-ship," Jack replied.
The Tau'ri Vipers moved into a dogfight against the swarm of Wraith Darts sent at them as the F302-V Vultures quickly jumped from the formation of human fighters to the rear of the massive Wraith hive in a series of flashes. Missiles streaked out of the tubes on the Vultures' underbellies and struck the dense armour of the Super-hive.
A blinding light engulfed the hive as the missiles detonated against its hull. When the blasts died down the Hive-ship was still intact though several large holes now littered its hull however admittedly they were slowly closing.
"Move us into weapons' range and open fire. Let's throw everything we've got at this thing," Jack ordered.
"Firing drones," Susan said as she entered in the final command.
The Orion bore down on the damaged Super-hive and unleashed a volley of plasma drones. The drones struck the side of the Hive-ship and riddled sections of the massive beast with explosions however it quickly became clear that they weren't doing enough damage. The Astrea, Icarus and Achilles opened fire a moment later with their own drones in order to pull their weight in this fight. Small explosions riddled the side of the Hive-ship as its hull was bombarded by dozens, hundreds of plasma drones however the damage it was sustaining merely 'healed' within seconds.
"What the hell does it take to kill one of these things?" Jack muttered as he looked out of the viewport.
"Sir, we're detecting an energy spike...they're returning fire," Susan reported.
The side of the Super-hive lit up as several large bolts of energy shot out towards the Tau'ri defence fleet and slammed into their shields. The bolts tore through the space frame of the Icarus and reduced it to scorched debris while two bolts struck the Orion's hull sending Jack to the floor.
"Report?" Jack demanded as he climbed back into his chair.
"Shields are down and we've lost the Hyperdrive. There's heavy damage to exterior sections along the starboard side," Susan responded.
"And the rest of the fleet?" Jack questioned further.
"We lost the Icarus and the other two ships have taken heavy damage. The destroyers seem to be okay though," Susan finished.
"Have the Astrea and the Achilles withdraw to a safe distance. What's the status of that Hive-ship?" Jack ordered.
"The Hive-ship appears to have sustained heavy damage to its superstructure however the damage is regenerating. I'd estimate it will take seven minutes before it is fully restored," Susan informed.
"Set a collision course," Jack gave the order.
"Sir?" Susan asked unsure.
"You heard me," Jack told her. "Signal all hands to abandon ship and have Artemis destroyersstart beaming everyone off of the Orion.
"...Yes sir," Susan confirmed the order and quickly moved to carry it out.
The Orion quickly accelerated towards the massive Wraith vessel as it continued to launch drones into the side of the Super-hive. Jack stared out of the viewport as the crewman around him started to be beamed away to the E305s that were escorting the Lantean battleship.
"Sir?" Susan asked at the door.
"Give me a minute," Jack told her as he stood and approached the door. She quickly left and he turned towards the main bridge. "Thank you," he whispered and left the room, closing the door behind him.
The Orion continued on course and kept firing even as the Super-hive fired again. Several shots missed but two struck Orion's dorsal armour and melted through including the Bridge. That didn't stop it however and the Orion quickly rammed the Hive-ship where there was a hole in its armour and its reactor exploded, obliterating the two extragalactic warships.
January 19th 2009
Sol System
In orbit above Earth
Atlantis
Control Tower
The space above the Tau'ri homeworld tore open in a cloud of subspace as the Lost City of Atlantis dropped into normal space. The city-ship angled and turned to face away from the planet as it descended into a more stable orbit.
"Any sign of the Hive-ship?" Richard Woolsey, the current administrator of the city asked.
"I'm just detecting debris in orbit," Rodney replied. "It looks like we managed to stop that thing before it attacked Earth after all."
"Thank whatever god you believe in for that," Woolsey muttered. "Patch me through to Stargate Command and have Doctor Beckett ready to lower us into the atmosphere.
"...You're on," Rodney told him.
"Stargate Command, this is Atlantis. Please respond," Woolsey said into the comm.
"Atlantis, this is Stargate Command. It is good to hear from you," Carter's voice responded.
"Thank you Colonel Carter however I wouldn't pull out the champagne just yet," Woolsey told her. "We're still bleeding power the longer we stay up here...requesting permission to land the city."
"There's already a spot in the Atlantic designated as a landing site," Carter explained. "The navy have already sealed off the area...land at your own discretion."
"Understood, Atlantis out," Woolsey sighed in relief. "Doctor Beckett, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear," Carson replied.
"Take us down," Woolsey gave the order.
The city-ship slowly descended into the atmosphere and down towards the Atlantic Ocean. It struck the water with an echoing splash and began to float on the ocean surface soon after. A few minutes later once it had stopped listing its shield lowered and the city continued to float as the sun started to rise over the horizon.
Author's Notes:
The Orion has finally been destroyed and took the Super-Hive with it. I thought this would be a more fitting end to the Ancient warship then what happened in canon. Now that Atlantis is back the next phase of the Cylon war can finally being...or should I say Cylon Civil War.
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