The Ascension War; New Birth
Chapter 19; Ticking Clocks
"OK so, let me get this straight." John said when he got to Weirs office, Rodney had been trying to tell him about a new plan to try and strike down this new power group with the Bane. Thankfully that ship had the firepower to take on those weird looking ships. "This race is robotical, nothing human whatsoever. How did they know of that planet anyhow? Where did they come from?"
"I'm still trying to figure that out. But for now we can safely assume that whatever was down there is long gone now thanks to that bomb you set off." Rodney replied.
"So now what?" John asked, he didn't like where this was going, with his luck they might as well go park over the planet with the robots living on it as it was.
"We see what they're after, maybe even figure out how to fight them without resorting to the plasma cannons the Furlings gave us." Rodney said, yeah, just his luck, he was ready to go to the Bane anyhow.
"You mean those feline people? We have a few of them onboard the Bane already" Mentioning of those feline people made John thoughtful, maybe this was a good plan after all
"Yes and one of them wants to join the SGC" Rodney said. Well, that was not part of the plan.
"I remember that, Hank said to try over here, no go either huh?" John said, recalling that Hank had turned down the request mostly because the President didn't know enough about the feline people and if they could be trusted.
"Apparently so." Rodney replied, he too had read the report, and had also spoken with the feline in question, a feline woman named Snowmane. Known by her solid white head of hair, not to mention ash white skin or fur or whatever they had that covered their bodies.
"Continue Rodney, What else do we know?" John said, trying to get his mind on the matter at hand rather then focused on a rather beautiful feline woman that was not his wife
"Not very much, this race, like I said, so that means they this race relies on computers for most of their needs." Rodney said.
"Meaning more Replicators, or what?" John asked, now he really disliked this idea. For a while Rodney was doing well on the way to a smooth ride. Then he hit the pothole stretch of the roadway.
"Well, I'd hope not. But the Furlings mentioned something they called OP's, Original Programs." Rodney explained. "Basically these programs can attack the base code for certain things, basically they're weapons against things that rely on computers."
"And we can use them?" John asked, It was two am, and he had yet to go to bed. So at this point he was ready to do just about anything to get the job done. But the clock was ticking, and what they had to figure out was who this new group was, and what they wanted. John was pretty sure that whatever this group wanted, he had blown up. So for all he knew, they wanted him. So how could they fight against a group they knew nothing about? Simple answer, ask Rodney to think up something that involoved using another races base codes. Which John knew would lead to unwanted trouble.
"Well, yes, we can use the programs, as long as there is a compremise." Rodney said, apparently even Weir was able to do so much.
John feared the worst, he was afraid to ask, but he asked anyway. "A compremise?"
"Yes." Rodney replied
"And that would be what exactly?" So far his life had gotten turned upside down, he had gone from major to being a general inside of four years.
"Well, the Furlings said we could use the programs they provide, as long as we let them have one of their race here to run them for us, as they are complex systems, even for the Ancients themselves." Rodney replied. Well, it was not as bad as John thought.
"Weir said yes?"
"Yes, she did."
Well, that was that. "OK, lets move on, when does our guest arrive?"
"She's already on the Bane" Rodney said, he meant Snowmane herself. After Carson had helped get her back on her feet after the Genii battle six months before.
"She? The furlings a she?" John asked.
"Mhm, why? Does that surprise you?" Rodney asked.
"Sort of." John replied, he was thinking of looking for his sunglasses. Either that or asking to go totally blind as to not stray from his wife.
"Thinking of Teyla huh?" Rodney said, sometimes he hit the mark solidly
"Yep" John said, he had a dreamy look to his face. Yeah he was thinking about his wife. "So, who's our feline guest?"
"Well, aside from Teyilia already aboard the Bane, its Snowmane, remember her?" Rodney said.
"You mean the white feline that the Genii had as a prisoner, we took her in, Carson did his medical miracle, that Snowmane?" John said.
"Yup, that Snowmane. Why? Something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong. Nothing's wrong." John said trying to focus his mind that he was married, and that Snowmane was a totally different race compared to his own.
"Sheppard, what is on your mind?" Rodney asked. Something was wrong if John was asking who their Programs user was. Why was he acting this way when it was six months ago when it all went about? Oh well, sometimes it was best to not know.
"Nothing!, Nothing is on my mind." John said, partly true, mostly on his mind was how he was going to explain to Teyla why there was a pair of seven foot tall feline women on the bridge of the Bane. "You say she's already on the ship?"
Rodney nodded, "Yes, Teyilia was showing her around." Ok that was a bad idea, one John didn't want to think about either. But it was too late, he was already thinking about it. "Why?"
"No matter, I was just wondering why she wasn't being shown around here. Tell me about these combat programs, how do they work, will they be trusted enough to put our lives on the line?" John said leaving Weirs office and heading for the controlroom of Stargate Operations. A new team was to arrive. A Starship Team apparently. SS1 they were called. Far as Sheppard knew, it consisted of Teyilia, and three others, and they originated on the Bane.
"Well, according to Snowmane, Maff and Weir, they're worth it because the Asurans avoid that pocket of space." Rodney said.
"Pocket of space?" John asked.
"Basically where the Furlings are from, their solar system consists of thousands upon hundreds of starships, weapon platforms, and otherwise, all in one star system alone at that." Rodney said, "The combat programs they use is also sometimes ingrained into their footsoldiers too. Which are a scary sight." He explained.
John knew firsthand of a Furlings skill in combat, one he was not wanting to test again. He learned that the hard way when he first met Teyilia's friend Snowmane herself six months before. He learned at the time not to scorn a cat, muchless try and hide her food. After all, he reasoned tohimself at the time, a cat, even a female, was just another lady to learn to get used to... as long as it was not intimately.
"So, now what?" John asked, should they head for the Bane, or wait for a few hours until everyone wakes up? John was hoping one or the other, sooner the better. And the sooner he could see Snowmane and tell her he was married.
"I'd say to make a plan of attack. My plan is simple, I want to find out more of these programs the Furlings are letting us use. So, I'll be busy. They're on the Bane with Dr Rush" Rodney said before going off to a computer, typing in his code, which logged him into his mainframe of the city, Leaving John on his own
That boiled it down easy, the clock already started ticking a long time ago. As far as John was concerned, it might have started ticking the instant he was conceived. As far as he cared, it didn't matter much if at all