"Normal speech"
"Gothic around non-Imperials."
"Mental Links."
"Ship Names."
"#Ancient to everyone#."
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Anonymus: True but the manufacturing of a single Drone weapon with all its constituent mechanics is decades even centuries beyond the current level of Imperial science. The semi-intelligent tracking systems and energy transfer is an example of this. The Imperials at the moment could manufacture a Drone variant replacing the weapon's energy component with a destructive field (from a power sword) ect. but this would be extremely time consuming and expensive to construct. ZPMs are even further beyond that, messing around with zero-point energy isn't to be taken lightly; a large ZPM explosion annihilated an entire solar system in a few seconds. The Imperium uses plasma reactor while far larger they can produce a large and continues stream of energy unlike the ZPM which runs down giving the plasma reactor a few advantages. In a Matter of Fact only three or four powers exist that could challenge them: Wraith, Ori, Replicons and a couple of other scattered races. All other races would be drowned under a tide of men and machines. Thank you for the idea and keep reading.
The13thDoctor: Why thank you. Now onwards, one Progenoid is situated in the neck while the other resides in the chest cavity. The one situated in the neck is removed on maturity about five years after implantation and the second one in the chest cavity is removed after about ten. If they were to remove before the implantation of the Black Carapace then there would be no new gene seed for it and no more space marines. Vanem just hasn't had his removed yet. The Sons of Sol were not in any crisis before the Thirteenth Black Crusade.
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"Okay Rodney, try moving your arm now." Doctor Beckett said for the hundredth time, as he watched his friend struggle to control the deceptively simple looking silver arm.
McKay groaned as his shoulder strained to move the metallic limb before he collapsed back into his chair. "This isn't working." he growled at Beckett, gently pushing the arm back into its sling.
"Give it a chance now. You got the hang of your eye in a few hours and the holographic projection Vultis activated looks perfect." Beckett said with a gentle smile.
"I know." McKay mumbled glaring at his false hand only for the index finger to sporadically twitch.
"Still, don't let yourself down. Samuel said that it can take months for a person to learn how to use a bionic implant." Beckett said cheerfully.
"I don't have months Carson." McKay muttered reflexively scratching the three deep pink lines running down his face, from just above his eye to the middle of his cheek.
"I've told you not to do that!" Beckett ordered sternly, stopping McKay from scratching at his scars. "How's the rest of you?" He asked, cautiously watching the Necrodermis arm ripple like water.
"Its weird, this thing has covered most of my torso and has implanted hundreds of sensors into me, yet it doesn't hurt a bit. Though it gets really itchy whenever I go near one of the ZPMs or a plasma generator." McKay said, running his flesh and blood hand over one of the thin lines of Necrodermis that ran across his chest.
"Interesting. My other patient was asking after you." Beckett said, glancing towards the isolation bay.
"Is it really necessary to keep her in there?" McKay questioned, following Beckett's line of sight.
"Elizabeth decided it was for the best until we can figure out why she reacted to that piece of Necrodermis." Beckett explained, as he quickly began typing on one of the many computers in the room.
"It's kind of obvious, she's part Replicon and it was a piece of Necrodermis. If she came into contact with it she'd probably become a full fledged Pariah. But nothing happened when she was near me on the trip back." McKay mumbled thoughtfully.
"Indeed, so we need to find out what the difference is." Beckett said still focused on the computer.
"Just ask Sheppard's little helper. It seems to have quite a database regarding this stuff." McKay said gesturing at his arm.
"I tried that. Bloody thing just listed off some numbers and percentages. Total useless without some form of context. Then, when I asked it for more information, it said I wasn't cleared for that level of access and flew away out the door. Last I saw of it Baltus was trying to catch it." Beckett stated sadly.
"Just get Sheppard to make it tell you." McKay suggested shrugging with his one working arm.
"They aren't on speaking terms." Beckett said with a sigh. "Apparently John and Teyla were sparring in the training halls. From what I hear Teyla was winning and the AI thought that John was in danger so it tried to 'nullify the threat'. The training room was completely destroyed by what one of the spectators described as 'flying bricks of death'." Beckett continued, rubbing the back of his neck. "Speaking of Teyla, she told me that she has an idea on how you could get your arm working." He added.
"Really?" McKay asked enthusiastically.
"Aye, she said to meet her in the mess hall at nine o'clock." Beckett replied returning to his typing.
"Thanks Carson." McKay said, instantly leaving the medical bay.
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"Thaèn, we have an incoming sub-space transmission." One of the bridge officers stated as the Kaerathaì Baermon flew faster than light to another world that apparently had made contact with the newcomers.
"Put it on my monitor." Ghen'Hòar said, looking down at the small blank screen.
The face of a Middle-aged looking man appeared on the screen. He had raven black coloured hair and light green eyes that were at the same time friendly and full of a stern kind of radiance. He was Rear Admiral Malekar Làmesh, the second in command of the Shagath'Hòar (Moon-Slayer), the Zerfàrim's flagship, and thereby one of the most senior officers. His face was set in the definition of indifference only achievable by people who had seen nearly everything the world could produce but a slight narrowing of his eyes revealed something was amiss.
"Thaèn-Làmesh! How may I be of assistance?" Ghen'Hòar asked, nervously straightening her back a bit.
"Charr-Ghen'Hòar; you were tasked with investigating the disturbances recently, yes?" Làmesh asked, his voice smooth and cold.
"Yes Thaèn." Ghen'Hòar answered quickly.
"Very well, seeing as you are one of the few ships we have in that sector. Have you heard of the Lantean outpost of Vis Taonas?" Làmesh asked, placing his hands on a data pad that lay on his desk
"No, why? Is it important?" Ghen'Hòar asked leaning slightly towards the small screen.
"As I expected. It's a tri-planetary system in an erratic orbit around two black holes. Even we don't know its exact location. Whatever the Lanteans were doing there, they wanted it to stay secret, even before us. However six hours ago we received a short burst transmission with Vis Taonas's identification code. It seems your quarry is very dangerous indeed." Làmesh said pausing to look Ghen'Hòar straight in the eye. "It contained pieces of data files and a threat evaluation." He continued, glancing down at the data pad in front of him.
"Thaèn, we are prepared to go, whatever the risk may be." Ghen'Hòar stated, her voice full of confidence.
"I hoped so. The Lantean computer evaluated their ship to be an extreme threat, meaning it would take several Lantean Standard Warships to bring it down." Làmesh said, leaning forward in his seat. "You understand that it would take a far more significant fleet deployment than a Frigate to match that?" Làmesh said, with a very serious undertone in his voice.
"Yes Thaèn." Ghen'Hòar answered promptly.
"Don't be hasty. The list of its port armaments alone is massive. Particle cannons, plasma launchers, solid round launchers, large calibre laser cannons, rail guns, a small number of high power fusion guns, even some anti-matter weapons, the list goes on. Most of it in massive quantity." Làmesh listed off the data pad.
"Our shields won't defend us very well against some of those weapons." Ghen'Hòar replied, catching Sàdo'Kel's small twitch out the corner of her eye.
"I am glad to hear you realize the risks. After we received this message we activated our deep space sensor drones in the area. We caught the tail end of a large non-Wraith ship in sector Zero. All deep scanners have been activated in that region but we haven't seen anything yet. You will meet with the Sehashi'Trayne's (Reconciled Reverie) and await your new orders there. This is of the utmost importance. Failure is not an option." Làmesh said sternly.
"Thaèn, we've received co-ordinates." One of the bridge officers said.
"Set course at top speed." Ghen'Hòar commanded lying back in her chair.
"One more thing Charr, we now have a name for this mysterious force. The Second Imperium of Man." Làmesh said, slowly lifting an eyebrow.
"Interesting. Thank you Thaèn." Ghen'Hòar said as Làmesh cut the connection.
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Beckett scribbled down another series of notes as he looked over the report of Davidenko's actions on Ego Asorda. The medical exam that General O'Neill had demanded had revealed slightly elevated dopamine levels but little else, all other attempts at producing a similar effect had failed. A gentle whoosh heralded someone entrance into his lab and Beckett spun around to face them.
"Hey Doc. How's the patient?" O'Neill asked.
"General, may I ask why you're here?" Beckett questioned sleepily.
"Me I'm checking on the woman who smacked me around like a rag doll, what else?" O'Neill answered sarcastically.
"Never mind. She's fine; I can't find any reason to keep her in any longer." Beckett replied rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.
"How about the aforementioned beating?" O'Neill quipped.
"She seems fine now. The Replicon cells that caused that have become dormant again, but…" Beckett said trailing off as he returned to his computer.
"But…, spill it, Doctor!" O'Neill demanded walking up behind Beckett to peer over his shoulder.
"You remember that certain parts of her brain were damaged when, according to the report, she shot lightning from her hands and demolished a wall?" Beckett said, looking questioningly at O'Neill.
"Yeah, that wasn't such a good day. Especially for Samuel." O'Neill declared happily.
"Right, well when we did a deep scan we found that these areas were being regenerated with highly specialised Replicon cells." Beckett said slowly to make sure O'Neill was following.
"And that's bad because?" O'Neill asked with a shrug.
"As you know we haven't evolved enough to handle all of the Ancient knowledge yet or use Phsyker abilities." Beckett paused until O'Neill nodded. "But the Replicon cells aren't limited to our evolution. Since she last used these powers they have been replicating millions upon millions of times to produce units capable of using them." Beckett finished turning back to the computer.
"So she won't erase years of her life if Levi tries anything again?" O'Neill asked sceptically.
"As far as I can tell, no. But I really have no idea how the cells would react to that. Short of having Levi or Cerberus blasting her I can't really test." Beckett answered shrugging lightly as he became more engrossed in his work.
"Okay, did you ever find out what happened?" O'Neil asked curiously.
"I have a theory. When the Replicon cells detected active Necrodermis they tried to make her absorb it. As far as we can tell that would complete her transformation into a Pariah. They seemed to release a massive dose of artificial dopamine which produced the aforementioned reaction." Beckett paused after seeing O'Neill's slightly lost look.
"Dopamine controls desire, pleasure and reward based impulses. Basically she wanted it, no needed it. At that moment getting to the Necrodermis would have been the most enjoyable experience ever. However McKay's arm doesn't cause the same reaction." Beckett finished.
"So she's fine." O'Neill stated and then walked off.
"I hang around with some odd people." Beckett muttered as he returned to his work on growing organs in tubes of green liquid.
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Even in the dim light of the single candle that sat between the two of them, the multitude of lights that shone from the city and the glint of the stars McKay could make out every feature of the room his false eye picking out the minor details effortlessly. He could instantly watch nearly every part of the room at once, it was a strange sensation.
"Now Rodney, focus on the flame." Teyla said from across the table as she took a deep breath trying to coax the stubborn physicist into cooperating.
McKay stared at the flickering stalk of heated air and concentrated, hard. A moment passed in silence before he sighed and hung his head. "Teyla this isn't working. All this meditation stuff just isn't for me." He said, getting ready to leave.
"You're not focusing on the fire. Clear your mind and listen to the beat of your heart." Teyla replied gently, taking another deep breath.
McKay glared down at the flame for a second before sighing again and began focusing on his own heart beat. The loud thumping in his ears did little to clear his mind but slowly he began to empty his cluttered mind.
"Ro…y" A voice floated through his empty mind.
"Did you say something Teyla?" McKay asked.
"No Rodney." Teyla answered swiftly, taking his interruption as another attempt to leave.
Taking another deep breath McKay focused his eyes on the orange flame and felt a shiver run through him. The joint of his Necrodermis arm was starting to itch and he rotated his shoulder to try and fix it. The metallic substance began to ripple gently like water in the wind but at the same time it gave off the sense of imminent danger.
"Rod…ey" The voice whispered again.
McKay frowned, using his false eye he scanned every corner of the room quickly, finding nothing out of the ordinary. He gave his shoulder one last rotation. Shaking his head he tried to think of nothing and let more of his mind float away until he was hardly aware of anything else other than the flame. He closed his eyes and listened more carefully in attempt to catch more of the voice, imaginary or not it could be important.
"Rodney!" The voice shouted.
McKay snapped his eyes open and was greeted by total darkness. The candle was gone, the light of the city was gone and even the stars no longer shone. Even his bionic eye showed him only darkness. Darkness in which he was not alone.
"Who's there?" McKay shouted into the void, his voice echoing for eternity.
"Rodney." The voice came back almost in a singsong manner, making him break out in a cold sweat as he spun around and around in a vain attempt to find the voices source.
"What do you want?" McKay shouted again turning around rapidly, or at least he thought he was.
"Rodney." The voice whispered in his ear, like it was just behind McKay and the void around him began to fill with a green mist that twisted and turned randomly while offering a pitiful amount of light.
"Where am I?" McKay shouted into the mist-filled darkness.
"Rodney." The voice whispered almost below his threshold of hearing. The green shades in front of him started to swirl faster and faster.
"Teyla are you there!?" McKay shouted, trying to block out the voice in his head.
"You are… mine!" The voice screamed. The faint outline of a giant skull formed out of the green mist, its mouth and eyes black pits of emptiness. The image lunged forward to swallow him into its infinite depths. All McKay could do was stare on it terror.
The green apparition passed over him, through him, chilling him to the very bone. McKay spun around to find the darkness without the green mist again
"Anyone! This isn't funny!" McKay shouted into the darkness.
Suddenly he felt something loom over him spinning around he caught something big and silver in the corner of his vision before the void he was in vanished.
"Rodney!" Teyla's scream cut through McKay's dream world and dragged him back into reality.
McKay's eyes flew open to find tendrils of paper-thin silver flowing through the air, slowly floating around as if they were silk in a gentle breeze. The tapering strands lead back to his upper arm which had the shredded remains of his shirt hanging from it. A thin stream of red running across the table drew him towards Teyla's seat. She was pinned to the table by one of the thin strips which had pierced her shoulder. Another hung millimetres above her head, its tip formed into a deadly point. A flicker of emerald green caught the corner of McKay's eye and he looked down to see his forearm gently spread over the table, seemingly merging with it, a faint green line glowing at the edge of the Necrodermis.
"Rodney, just relax and breathe." Teyla said with a gentle tone, rolling her head to look at the surprisingly calm Doctor.
"I know." McKay said, as a feeling of warmth and comfort spread from his shoulder, as the overwhelming urge to sleep began to take him.
"McKay! Teyla! Can you hear me?" Sheppard's voice shouted from behind the dining hall's door.
"Yes John! We're in here!" Teyla shouted back quickly.
"Can you open the door?" Sheppard asked cautiously.
"It's open." McKay said mockingly, turning his head to find one of the silver tendrils buried in the wall at the door panel. "Ah." He muttered to himself.
"Okay, then stand back." Sheppard shouted. A muffled conversation was quickly followed by a very loud metallic bang. A second later a servo-arm ripped the doors open, its marine operator, Vanem, looking slightly disgruntled to be there before he registered the room full of gently swaying Necrodermis tendrils.
"By the Emperor." Vanem muttered as Sheppard and an I.G.L. soldier ducked under his red armoured arms.
"Teyla!" Sheppard said making a large step towards her.
"Stay there." Teyla said, forcefully twisting to face Sheppard, ignoring the shallow cut she got from the hovering tendril. "These appendages may be dangerous." She finished watching as several tendrils floated towards the new group.
"McKay?" Sheppard questioned as he suspiciously watched the dancing silver vines.
"Still here." McKay answered, anxiety finally beginning to seep into his voice as more of the table disappeared under the spreading pool of Necrodermis and the unnatural urge to sleep grew stronger.
"Emperor protect." The soldier whispered holding his Las rifle loosely in his hands.
"Rodney concentrate on moving theses… things." Teyla said gently, glancing up at the one above her head as it hung there steady as a rock.
McKay took a deep breath and glared down at the extinguished candle even as he felt exhaustion pull at his mind. Nothing happened for a moment. Then suddenly the tendril in Teyla's shoulder tore itself free in a spout of blood. Sheppard tried to move towards her but a tendril buried itself in the floor at his feet. The soldier began to panic as three threads of Necrodermis began to gently float towards him.
In the blink of an eye he raised his rifle and fired at McKay. The bolt of red light shot across the room only to be intercepted by one of the fragile looking tendrils. It hissed for a second as the scorching around the impact simply melted away. A second later the Lasgun clattered to the floor neatly sliced in half. A low humming began to fill the room emanating from McKay.
"McKay!" Sheppard shouted, as more tendrils reared up seemingly preparing to attack the soldier.
Everything stopped for a second before the Necrodermis returned to its normal shape and McKay let out a strained breath.
"I think I'm going to lie down for a while." McKay said, shakily getting to his feet, oblivious to the way his arm reacted.
"Then get go… ing." Sheppard said trailing off as he looked over McKay's side of the table. A large chunk had been seamlessly removed from it and for the life of him he didn't know where it had gone.
"Fascinating." Vanem muttered looking at the destroyed table and then at the retreating McKay.
"Terrifying." The soldier whispered picking up the two halves of his Las rifle. The cut was perfect and it sent a shiver down his spine, the Emperor knew what that could do against armour.
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Beckett watched the small circle of dark brown tissue gently floating up and down in the tube of green liquid. For some reason he had a small urge to laugh manically and scream 'it is alive'.
"All progresses well?" Skuld demanded from behind him.
"Aye, quite simple when you get down to it." Beckett answered, turning away from the floating organ.
"Hardly. Many of these organs are centuries ahead of anything we have encountered before. This Sus-an membrane alone is an astonishing feat of biological engineering." Thor said his webbed hand gesturing at the slowly spinning computer image of the Progenoid.
"All that matters is: will it work?" Ve inquired.
"Of course. The Biscopea's hormonal excretions were relatively easy to alter. If the Wraith's genetic inhibitors react like they do in the tests then its digestive process should be restarted." Skuld stated confidently.
"But what if we missed one of the enzymes? That would render all this pointless." Ve asked, as he began to nervously fiddle with a pen.
"We'll find out after the surgery. The changes should come into effect quickly." Beckett replied, trying to cheer the Asgard up a little. "Whatever may happen, he'll at least be the strongest Wraith ever." He added.
"Doctor, the patient is finally sedated." A nurse said from behind the door.
"About time. Alright, I'll go wash up and you three move the organ into the surgery." Beckett commanded, striding out of the room.
"I dislike his assumption that we are his subordinates." Skuld said, folding her arms across her chest.
"Skuld, just do as he asks." Thor said disconnecting the cloning machine from the Naqahdah generator.
"Yes sir." Skuld muttered and began to help Ve move the large machine.
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Ommarin would have chewed nervously on her nails if her sharpened teeth wouldn't have shredded her fingers. Her keen eyes watched the throng of men and women wearing masks and blue overalls shuffle around the metal slab that Levis lay on. His green skin was extremely pale and his scars had turned a strange grey colour. Beside her Titov was watching the proceedings with mild interest. While on her other side the massive black armoured form of Angelus glared down on the surgery. She stole a quick glance at the marine, her mind automatically calculating the pitifully few ways she could attack him.
"They are beginning." Angelus growled.
"Making the first incision." Beckett's voice whispered over the PA.
"Peeling back cutaneous and muscular layers." Beckett continued while a gentle sucking sound hung in the back ground.
Beckett took a deep breath and looked down into the blue tinted organs of the Wraith. He glanced up at the observation booth before putting the scalpel down.
"Organ will now be inserted below the Cardia (joint of oesophagus and stomach) region of the stomach." Beckett said looking over the shrunken digestive organ.
One of the attendants carried over the cloned organ on a metal tray as if it were some holy relic. Beckett gingerly picked up the brown lump, making sure not to apply any more force than absolutely necessary. He placed the small organ beside the Wraith's stomach and then clamped the left gastric artery that led to the stomach.
"Organ inserted and target artery clamped." Beckett said, slowly moving his hands away from the clamps so not to disturb them.
"Doctor, his heart rate has increased." One of the assistants said as the ECG began to beep faster.
"That's okay…" Becket mumbled as he watched a new layer of muscle begin to spread, albeit very slowly, across the open wound.
"Doctor!" The assistant shouted as the heart rate jumped up again.
"Bloody hell. Alright I'm going to attach the blood supply as fast as possible, just keep suction around the organ and keep him under sedation." Beckett instructed while he selected a clean scalpel from the tray at his side.
Beckett took the clamped artery and cut the sealed area in half. Moving quickly he placed one end of the organ and the second half at the other end. He quickly moved aside and a Doctor with dissolvable stitches moved into his place.
"Beginning connection of organ to circulatory system." The Doctor said in a heavy German accent.
"Better do it quickly, man." Beckett said as Levis's heart rate jumped up again.
"Connection complete, removing the clamps." The German Doctor said, gently removing the metal devices.
Beckett watched in astonishment as almost invisible capillaries branched out from each end of the artery. With a swift nod another two doctors gently replaced the muscle and skin flaps over Levis's abdomen and rapidly stitched them together.
"Heart rate steady, blood pressure steady, breathing nominal. Everything looks good." The assistant said quietly as if his voice would cause everything to collapse around him.
"Congratulations on… anyone got a name for what we just did?" Beckett asked.
"Doctor, report." Angelus's voice boomed over the intercom.
"Everything seems to be normal; we'll see what happens when he awakes." Beckett said up to the booth.
"Keep me informed on his progress." Angelus ordered Beckett before cutting off the intercom.
"I suppose you're relieved?" Titov asked Ommarin.
"Yes!" Ommarin shouted hugging Titov then turning to face Angelus. "Thank you for your help." She said bowing her head to the marine.
"Don't mistake me woman. The one you should thank is Dr. Weir." Angelus replied sternly then began to walk away. "And if you or the Xeno ever step out of line I will not hesitate to purge you both." He said over his shoulder.
"Don't worry about him, they're like that." Titov said patting the slightly crestfallen Ommarin on the back.
"I know but I thought they would trust me by now." Ommarin mumbled, turning back to the slowly emptying operation theatre.
"They will in time. When they first came to the SGC they almost took it over now we're best of friends. Also it took the near destruction of the Asgard for them to be accepted." Titov added with a dry smile.
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Morning gently broke over the floating city and the denizens of Atlantis began to move.
"Rodney." Teyla said, smiling happily at the nervous doctor.
"How are you?" McKay asked nodding at her bandaged arm.
"Carson says that it should be fine in a day or so. The wound is very small." Teyla answered.
"That's good, because if there was anything wrong then I could go annoy Carson to help." McKay said reflexively scratching at his scars.
"Rodney we need to talk." Weir's voice demanded from the doorway.
"Yes ma'am." McKay mumbled following her out the room.
"Rodney, is everything fine?" Weir asked. "I heard about your, uh, episode last night."
"I'm fine. In fact better than I was before, see." McKay answered holding up his false hand and flexing the fingers.
"And about the 'blades' you apparently sprouted?" Weir continued.
"I don't know what happened but I have complete control now." McKay answered holding his hand palm up. The Necrodermis twisted and rippled and a small square rose up out of his palm and then sank back down.
"That's impressive Rodney. Just be carful." Weir said turning to walk away. "You stayed up all night practicing that didn't you?" She asked while spinning around.
"Of course not. Why would a genius like me need to?" McKay replied smugly.
"Of course Rodney, don't push yourself. The last thing we need is you shredding the city." Weir jokingly said before disappearing into one of the transporter booths.
"Yeah that would be good." McKay mumbled to him self as his false index finger elongated into a sharp point. The image of the misty green skull flashed into his head followed by the vague image of the silver object, for some reason it filled him with dread to think about them.
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The Fenrir floated gently above the world of Lantea, its massive armaments ready to tear any intruder apart in a micro-second. Teal'c was looking down on the ocean world, his mind drifting to thoughts of his son and how he was coping in the Replicon War. The jaffa was tore from his daydream when a loud siren began to whine from behind him. Turning swiftly he moved to investigate, his thoughts of a moment ago laid aside but not forgotten.
"Report." Teal'c ordered a passing crewman.
"Sir, there is an incoming ship in normal space. It's not transmitting any identification or messages." The crewman answered before rushing off down a corridor into the labyrinth that was the Orillia class battleship.
"Interesting." Teal'c muttered to him self as he strode onto the bridge.
"Scrambling I-301s! All stations report ready!" The Fenrir's second in command shouted over the wailing alarms.
"Sir, still no transmissions of any kind from the ship." A crewman shouted even as the servitor with a vox caster for a chest continued to spit static into the air.
"Sensors detecting minimal power readings." The crewman stationed at the helm said, as the screen in front of him displayed massive raw data.
"I-301s reporting. It's the... It's the Yggdrasill! All visuals confirmed it's definatly the Yggdrasill. Signalling the Ragnarok to stand down!"The communications crewman shouted while typing with impressive speed.
"Move us to intercept and instruct the Tel'taks to start running search and rescue." The Fenrir's captain ordered from his command throne.
Teal'c was already jogging down the corridors to the fighter bay by the time the captain had issued his orders. The ex-first prime pushed his way onto the first Tel'tak leaving the battleship, no one dared appose him.
"What in the name of the Emperor could do that to one of our ships?" The first officer asked himself as the sensors began to show the Yggdrasill's mangled form.
"I don't know, but there will be hell to pay." The captain replied solemnly as the first wave of Tel'taks raced out towards the stricken ship.
A loud low pitched humming filled the air as the group of rings sprang out from their hole in the decking. In a flash of light they spat out several medics and one heavily armed jaffa.
"Spread out and begin prepping the crew for transport to the city." Teal'c commanded swinging the P-90 up into firing position.
"Yes sir." The I.G.L. medics answered before stepping forward only to bounce off a shimmering golden wall.
Teal'c poked the shield with the end of his rifle. A cylinder of gold light shimmered around them for a second before fading away again. Almost immediately shouts of protest and alarm squawked from the radios, apparently they weren't the only ones having trouble.
"Fenrir, approximated time until rendezvous?" Teal'c spoke into the radio all the while watching every direction as only a veteran warrior could.
"ETA one minute. What's the problem? We've got reports of self-sealing doors, shield barriers and emergency beam outs." The Fenrir's coms officer replied, in the background shouts of confusion could be heard.
"Upon arrival extract all teams." Teal'c demanded before cutting the off the channel.
A high pitched whine made Teal'c spin round inside his shielded prison to see a ball of light hanging in the air. Two bodies were abruptly dumped by the transporter onto the floor. At first everything seemed to be looking up for Teal'c and his medical team until one of the bodies exploded spraying blood, pieces of skin and organ everywhere. The jaffa looked over at the other body to find it deformed almost beyond any recognition, with pieces on the outside that he knew for certain sure should be inside.
"By the Emperor, what's going on here?" A medic whispered as he started to curl up at the edge of the ring.
"It seems that the transporter has malfunctioned aboard this vessel." Teal'c replied once again examining the twisted body on the ground.
"I don't want to die like that." The curled up medic whispered staring at the remains of the exploded corpse.
"We will be rescued soon and the situation will be rectified." Teal'c stated calmly.
The room suddenly got brighter around Teal'c and he braced himself for the gruesome death that surely awaited him. The next thing he knew he was standing in a large hall surrounded by the joyous, hysterical and angry shouting in gothic. Opening his eyes he found him self surrounded by I.G.L. soldiers most of whom looked very frightened.
"Move the wounded into the centre for transport to Atlantis. Begin teleport of engineers to the main sections of the Yggdrasill." A voice boomed from a large vox caster on the wall.
Teal'c made his way towards the exit of the hall to find one of the teleportation pads. When he arrived the chief engineer was lecturing his team as he handed out back packs containing all their equipment.
"The Yggdrasill has started to broadcast a jammer that is preventing us from beaming out any of the survivors. It started immediately after the medical teams were retrieved. As you know a unknown malfunction in the Yggdrasill's transporters has caused at least nine deaths and several serious injuries, so we can't use that system to get the survivors out. Our job is to take amplification equipment in and install it. Once that is done we should be able to cut through the interference with the Fenrir's sensors. I want no heroics just a nice, clean job. I'm looking at you Kals'ry. The Emperor protects." The chief engineer said pacing in front of the eight men.
"The Emperor protects." The other engineers replied saluting the chief.
"Sir, I take it you'll be joining us?" The chief engineer asked turning to face Teal'c.
"If you have no objections." Teal'c replied as he took one of the tool bags.
"My life to serve." The chief engineer stated calmly.
"One-way ticket to hell coming up." The teleportation officer muttered sarcastically as he primed the devices.
The teleportation pads were clearly of Imperial origin, the massive machines looked ready to give up at any moment but they had proven on countless occasions that they were reliable. Stepping onto the pad with the nine other men all carrying different assortments of tools rather than medical supplies Teal'c crouched down into a tight ball to reduce as much surface area as possible. A cold feeling ran across his skin followed by a horrible itch that was like hundreds of bugs running all over him as massive amounts of power flowed around him. There was a moment of total darkness and cold so deep it threatened to swallow him but before his senses could truly register it he appeared in a flash on the bridge of the Yggdrasill steam rising gently from his crouched body.
"This one's alive!" One of the engineers shouted from the helm consol before gently moving the female officer to the ground and taking her place.
"Set up the transporter amplifiers in a fifty meter radius from here." The chief engineer explained while planted what looked like a small radio dish on the deck.
Suddenly a bright flash appeared in the centre of the room and a red blob was deposited on the floor. Teal'c instantly recognised the small of burnt flesh.
"By the Emperor. That's just not right." One of the engineers whispered as he stared at the blacked body.
The body's legs had lumps of bone jutting out at odd angles, the chest had turned into a spiked plate with the ribs coming through the skin. The skull had been shrunk so much that the brains were forcing there way through the bone, the face was twisted beyond all recognition and the forearms were split cleanly into two separate pieces. All of the body was burned to a charred crisp.
"Shit, someone cover him up and let's get moving. The faster were done, the better!" The chief engineer said turning away from the body.
"Yes sir." The other seven engineers replied, spreading one of their jackets over the body before spreading out through the door.
"You come with me." Teal'c ordered the chief engineer. "You try and regain control." He said to the engineer at the helm.
"Where we going?" The chief engineer asked as he followed after the jogging jaffa.
"Engineering." Teal'c answered gruffly.
"That's twenty decks down." The engineer whined.
"Feel free to take the transporter or rings." Teal'c said plainly.
"Right. Jogging faster." The engineer muttered.
"Indeed." Teal'c replied.
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The jog to engineering from the bridge was one of the more interesting journeys Teal'c had experienced. Though not clearly visible from the outside the ship had suffered massive damage. Whole sections were missing or sealed off and what few "arteries" remained were speckled with randomly appearing shields or self-sealing doors.
The reports from the teams were that almost all of the survivors the scanners detected had been beamed off with the exception of most of the readings in the tail sections and in the torpedo bays, the one person forefront in the Jaffa's mind was Daniel Jackson who was yet to be located.
"There!" The chief engineer shouted as he pried the large metal doors open.
Teal'c strode into engineering to find the Asgard Nana unconscious on the floor and Daniel Jackson sprawled across one of the main consoles. On the screen he caught a glimpse of a deformed image of a metal and bone skull that Teal'c roughly recognised from somewhere, but it disappeared immediately.
He dismissed the strange symbol and moved to check his friend. Half of Daniel Jacksons's face was covered in bandages and his arm was in a sling but he was still breathing, albeit shallowly, and his heart was still beating. Behind the Jaffa the chief engineer set up the final transporter amplifier. Teal'c nodded to the man as everything was bathed in white light for the fourth time that day.
The deformed symbol of the Adeptus Mechanicus flashed onto the monitor again and the vox spat cruel shrieks for a second and then all was quiet aboard the deserted ship.
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"Damm them to the Warp!" Angelus shouted his armoured fist sending fissures along he entire table.
"It's too late for that now. What have we learned?" Weir asked trying to keep the marine captain on track.
"Ancient security around the planet is insanely tight. From what the survivors tell us there were at least five large automated stations, each with an impressive armament of drones and probably close range plasma weapons. Also, according to the bridge crew, laser and plasma cannons hidden on Asteroids throughout the system." Nestor replied calmly.
"And considering the weird sun beam… um… thing that Dagr described. I'm pretty sure that's the place." Sheppard said, leaning forward in his seat.
"General, do you think we could get through that with our ships?" Weir asked tentatively.
"Probably, but even at the best of times one if not both would be as damaged as the Yggdrasill." O'Neil answered picking at one of the cracks in the table.
"The Ancients were not called the greatest of the four without reason. If we attack there again it will be a harder battle." Thor said his large black eyes sweeping the room's occupants.
"So then we can't get in with the codes we have but we could fight our way in with heavy casualties." Weir surmised.
"It would be worth it. Any price to defeat the Replicons." Angelus stated confidently.
"We don't know that for certain. Who knows what kind of booby traps and automated defences the Ancients installed. In fact the space stations could just be the tip of the proverbial ice burg." Carter said, derailing Angelus's plan.
"That leaves only one option remaining. I believe Dr. Weir suggested it before." Thor said gently.
"Ortus Veriumas it is then." Sheppard muttered.
"We don't have room for failure this time. Deploy the entire fleet and all of the regiments. Take everyone that can shoot or fight." Weir said sternly.
"But that would leave Atlantis defenceless." Carter pointed out.
"No Wraith ships have even come near us in two months. Besides we have some weapons leftover. The bigger picture is important right now." Weir stated un-folding her arms as a sign the conversation was over.
"Gather the Brothers Nestor. Make ready for war." Angelus declared a cruel grin plastered on his face.
"This is going to be one hell of a trip." Sheppard muttered as the conference room emptied.
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"Thaèn, we have reached the rendezvous point." Suen said, narrowing his eyes at the rapidly changing display.
On the main screen the far larger form of the Sehashi'Trayne's hung in space. The roughly 750m long Cruiser was shaped much like the far smaller Frigate, with a powerful aquatic feel to it but it was more streamlined. All along its length large weapons merged seamlessly with its dark green skin. From the keel a large crescent-shaped bulge merged with the Hull, the missile pods were retraced into the ship for now. Two gold lines ran along the ships dorsal, one was solid from the bridge to engines the other was broken into three the longest running from the bridge to halfway point and the other two making up the remaining distance.
"Prepare a transport and signal the Sehashi'Trayne's that I wish to come aboard." Ghen'Hòar said, getting up from her seat followed by Suen and two additional
officers.
"Request denied. A transport is already enroute from the Sehashi'Trayne's." One of the remaining officers said after a seconds pause.
"Very well. You have the bridge." Ghen'Hòar said, purposefully striding out of the door.
The dark green landing craft soared through the vacuum of space with ease and docked with the Kaerathaì Baermon moments after GhenHòar arrived at the main air lock. The seamless door retracted into the wall and out stepped Deshao Gen'Hòar. He was a tall and skinny man with the same silver hair as his sister but in a shaggy lump on his head. His face was welcoming and open but his pale blue eyes were like hardened steel and scanned over every tiny detail meticulously. His uniform on the other hand was immaculate and so were the two officers behind him.
"Welcome Thaèn, aboard the Kaerathaì Baermon. How may we be of assistance?" Ghen'Hòar asked, bowing her head.
"Come on, Saghaè (sister) don't be so formal." Deshao said, throwing an arm around Ghen'Hòar's shoulder and turning her to face down the corridor. "Show me your first ship!", he commanded with an almost cheery voice, as he forced her to start walking.
"Kealas Jan'Mèlor, second in command of the Sehashi'Trayne's." The older of the two accompanying officers said nodding at Suen.
"Hayn Sàdo'Kel, second of the Kaerathaì Baermon." Suen returned as he watched Ghen'Hòar being dragged away by her brother.
"Shall we?" Jan'Mèlor asked gesturing after the two siblings.
"Of course." Suen replied politely.
"And then, once the Wraith cruiser had followed us into the magnetic storm we unleashed the full force of the Sehashi'Trayne's Fusion batteries, thus saving the human settlement. It was a good battle; you should never underestimate the Wraith. As barbaric as they are, we are still no closer to defeating them after ten thousand years of War." Deshao declared, sounding almost happy at the fact.
"As fascinating as your tales are, what about my orders?" Ghen'Hòar asked finally managing to get her brother to a table followed by the group of officers they had both brought.
"Ah, yes." Deshao said with a smile even as his eyes hardened. "Captain Thieri Ghen'Hòar of the Kaerathaì Baermon High Command has decided that this new threat, this Second Imperium, is extremely dangerous. After reading your reports and the reports of your senior officers." Deshao paused to look over Ghen'Hòar's shoulder at Sàdo'Kel who was staring right back at him with an expression he couldn't quite place. "It has been decided that we need more intel on their ships, forces and intentions. You, the Cruiser Nirhaal Adraj (Silent Wanderer) and the Frigates Riless'Hoar (Searching Moon)and Dharùn Agathì (Haunter of Dark Places) are to be reassigned to the Flaxis Nebula. The sensor drones have been left running in sector Zero. It is your task to wait there until another one of their ships is detected; at that point you are to intercept and observe. Under no circumstances are you to make contact of any kind. The First Strike Fleet under the Giirathar'Jetai (Skycutting Sword) will be on stand by, but it's a three day journey to most of sector Zero from their Hunting Ground." He paused again and took a quick glance at Sàdo'Kel, who was still staring back at him blankly there seemed something off about the Zerfàrim Veteran.
"What if the enemy fires first?" Suen asked, the Goa'uld's years of controlling the host body's memory and speech being used to its fullest.
"They're not an enemy, not yet anyway. If that happens you are to retreat." Deshao replied calmly looking over Sàdo'Kel one last time only to find the supposedly calm man's muscles completely tensed from head to foot. For the first time since they met, Sàdo'Kel broke his stare with Deshao to look down the corridor away from everyone else.
Inside his hosts body the Goa'uld Suen was furious, just when he was getting close to his goal of embroiling the Imperium in a war with these Zerfàrim the accursed body he had taken started to act up again. With a flash of gold behind his host's eyes the symbiote was in full control again. Turning back to face other people Suen smiled politely.
"Sir we must get going soon. Since the Wraith civil war started they have begun to go after targets that we've been protecting." Jan'Mèlor said while checking a display on his forearm.
"Thaèn, why don't you return to the bridge? I'll escort the Commodore to his shuttle." Suen offered, trying to bury the memory of his host body's behaviour.
"How nice. Wouldn't you agree Kealas?" Deshao exclaimed happily.
"Indeed." Jan'Mèlor agreed smiling gently.
"Goodbye Saghaè." Deshao said hugging Ghen'Hòar. "Not everything is as it seems." He whispered into Ghen'Hòar's ear.
Suen led Jan'Mèlor and Deshao from the room towards their shuttle. Just as they were about to reach the airlock Deshao tapped Sàdo'Kel on the back.
"Good luck; you shouldn't worry so much, it'll age you." Deshao said with carefree smile.
The two left through the airlock into their shuttle leaving a disgruntled Goa'uld.
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The metal doors hissed shut behind the human; the displaced air ruffled his silver hair. O'Neill walked over to the bed of Daniel Jackson. His long time friend and colleague was reading some old notebook and scribbling on a scrap of paper in his lap.
"Jack." Daniel said happily.
"Hi Daniel, how's the face." O'Neill asked scratching his cheek.
"Better, Dr. Beckett is pretty good at stitching people up." Daniel replied happily.
"Well it's definitely an improvement." O'Neill quipped.
"Very funny Jack. What can I help you with?" Daniel asked, gently closing the note book.
"I'm here to say goodbye for a while." O'Neill replied seriously.
"Okay, you're not going to get teary on me?" Daniel questioned, jokingly holding up a box of tissues from his bedside table.
"Don't be such a wiseass. I was just letting you have the pleasure of my company. All you'll have for the next few days is Dr. Weir and some technicians." O'Neill retorted, shaking his head in pity.
"So you're taking everyone?" Daniel asked.
"Yep, speaking of which." O'Neill paused to look at his watch. "See ya around." He said as he was engulfed in a pillar of white light.
"For the Emperor!" was the first sound that met O'Neill's ears when he re-materialised in the mustering ground of the Ragnarok.
"Shut up rookie." Followed soon after.
"I dislike such loud soldiers." Teal'c said from behind O'Neill.
"Let 'em be. It's good for moral." O'Neill muttered strolling off towards the mess hall to score some jelly.
"Well Rodney, you ready?" Sheppard asked as his team looked out the observation window at the blue planet below them.
"Yes." McKay replied confidently.
"As am I." Teyla added.
"Plus let's make sure no one dies." McKay said quickly.
"McKay!" Sheppard almost shouted.
"What I mean is that…" McKay tried to correct him self.
"McKay." Sheppard muttered shaking his head.
"What Rodney is trying to say is that he hopes we all return safely." Teyla said with a sigh.
"You know I have a weird feeling I'm never going to see this place again." Sheppard said quietly staring down at the Lantean Ocean.
"Why do you get to say stuff like that?" McKay moaned.
"Stop you whining." Sheppard muttered.
The Fenrir and Ragnarok both blasted out of the Lantean orbit, their hulls filled with battle ready warriors. They tore into hyperspace seconds later, their courses set for Ortus Veriumas.
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The Frigate Kaerathaì Baermon soared back into real space about one thousand kilometres away from the Flaxis Nebula. The large roughly bird shaped cloud of deep brown gas was lit up by several proto-stars and bright newly born suns. Floating around the birds head were the Dharùn Agathì, Riless'Hoar and Nirhaal Adraj. The two Frigates looked almost exactly like the Kaerathaì Baermon except the Dharùn Agathì had a second bronze stripe running from its bridge to stern. The Cruiser Nirhaal Adraj was over 780m long but very flat. It was the normal dark green of Zerfàrim ships but along its back from bridge to engine pods a single sky blue line ran. Its hull undulated like the shell of a clam on both sides giving the ship a somewhat serrated appearance. All along its keel and dorsal strangely bluish Lines and Circles ran, making it clear that this was a Deep Space Command Cruiser. Its comparatively few weapons, if compared to the Sehashi'Trayne's, were mounted at the crests of its oscillating hull.
"Thaèn! Commodore Zkìr'Dan is welcoming us to her fleet." The officer that had replaced Sàdo'Kel said.
Suen at that moment was rummaging through the weapons and equipment they had taken from the I.G.L. soldiers the Goa'uld had originally come onboard with. A small plastic box in his pocket already contained the deactivated sub-cutaneous transponder chip that had been recovered from his ex-host. Somewhere in the pile of military gear was what Suen was looking for. A small bag caught his attention, inside were three C4 detonators. Smiling the Goa'uld pushed the small metal devices into a pocket and continued to search for the all-important explosives.
"Thaèn, we have taken our place in the fleet. May we open the ship?" The communication officer asked looking at Ghen'Hòar.
"If the other ships agree I see no problem." Ghen'Hòar said dismissively.
Almost immediately the officer pushed one of the runes on his consol and the two landing craft of the Kaerathaì Baermon shot away, one towards the larger Nirhaal Adraj and the other towards the Riless'Hoar. Suen sat aboard the ship bound for the Riless'Hoar a small grey pouch clipped to his waste filled with three blocks of C4.
The shuttle touched down in the hangar bay after a flight lasting a mere minute. The crew of the Kaerathaì Baermon hadn't had any form of rest in several weeks and was therefore looking forward to relaxation, even if it was only for a day.
"Commander, how long do you think we'll have before we're deployed again?" One of the Kaerathaì Baermon's crewmen asked Suen as they walked into the corridors of the Riless'Hoar.
"I don't know. Just enjoy yourself while you can." Suen replied warmly before strolling away in the opposite direction from the crowd.
The Goa'uld didn't take long in finding a small and deserted cloaking relay in one of the outer sections of the ship with one of its walls being part of the hull. Its destruction wouldn't be catastrophic but the cloak would falter for a period. It took seconds to prime the remote detonator and the explosive block. The training he had undertaken as Tarion Sem'rak was put to good use as he stuck the explosive far out of sight. Moving swiftly on and making sure to avoid any crowds he found his way to a supply room right below the main crew quarters tucking the second block of primed C4 behind a rather large Air and Water Supply pipe hanging from the ceiling the Goa'uld contemplated were to place the last device.
Just as Suen was about to leave the room his entire body seized up. His muscles spasmed and twisted in unnatural ways sending him crashing down to the uncaring floor. He lay there twitching erratically and one of his hands started to slowly reach for the last C4 block. The Goa'uld tried to suppress its host again and again as the Zerfàrim desperately tried to destroy the last detonator. SàdoKel's large hand closed around the detonator and began to crush it when his body stopped twitching and his muscles relaxed. A long burst of gold light illuminated his eyes and Suen ruled his fleshy kingdom again. Veins bulged all along SàdoKel's face and body as it was slowly forced to return to normal parameters.
"The war between your people and the Shol'va will be your punishment." Suen whispered in the bass voice Goa'uld used and with a final blast of golden light behind his eyes Suen slowly got to his feet and walked unsteadily towards his final target.
The final C4 block was neatly placed on a secondary life support system tucked away in the outer section of the ship. Taking the transponder chip from its plastic case Suen used a small tool he had covertly borrowed from an engineer on the Kaerathaì Baermon to reactivate the sub-space transmission. Gently holding the chip he pressed it into the C4 block until it stuck. The Riless'Hoar's cloak would hide the weak transmission until it was at least within fighter range of an Imperial ship. Nodding to himself at the simple clarity of his plan he made for the more populated areas of the ship. All the time playing with the small radio detonator in his pocket.
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Several people watched on in alarm and concern as Major Sheppard appeared to be taunting the Wraith, Levis, with several different kinds of food.
"Okay Levis this is a potato." Sheppard said sarcastically, holding up the steaming starch ball and poking it.
"A what?" The Wraith demanded, as he became tired of Sheppard's goading.
"A potato. Its good, go on eat." Sheppard replied pushing the plate across the table.
"Why are you so persistent that I consume this?" Levis asked pushing the plate away.
"No reason." Sheppard said innocently as he pushed the plate back.
"What does it taste like?" Levis asked, examining the food like it was a lab specimen.
"It tastes like, like… potato. It's kind of hard to describe." Sheppard said with a shrug.
"How reassuring." Levis mutter holding up the potato and taking a large bite out of it.
"Well?" Sheppard asked leaning forward expectantly.
"I still don't see the point of this." Levis said swallowing. "How do you know this even works?" He demanded pointing at his chest.
"Stop you bitching. You're not grey anymore for one and you're not dead either." Sheppard answered, ticking things off on his fingers.
"And what if I have lost my regenerative abilities? What if I can age now?" Levis questioned before eating the rest of the potato.
"Well about that, I could just shoot you, if you'd prefer that." Sheppard replied, smiling happily.
"You seem far too eager." Levis muttered.
"You think I'm eager. McKay needs someone to practice slicing apart, you could volunteer." Sheppard said, waving a fork around.
"Why would he need to slice someone apart?" Levis asked as he grabbed the fork out of Sheppard's hand.
"Long story, sufficient to say McKay's new arm is a bit more dangerous than Vultis originally said." Sheppard answered a note of annoyance in his voice.
"That would be the floating ball of light that follows you around. How interesting." Levis inquired, smiling viciously when Sheppard sighed.
"Yeah I'm sure it is. Colonel Carter is giving it an exam or something now." Sheppard said dispassionately.
"You sound like you dislike it. What if it turns on you?" Levis asked still smiling.
"I'm not the one who should worry. Who knows what that crazy little thing would do if it saw you." Sheppard said finally returning Levis's smile.
"Meaning what?" Levis demanded folding his arms.
"You know I could take bets on who would win." Sheppard muttered turning slightly away from Levis as he nodded his head slowly.
"I do not find your jokes amusing." Levis stated leaning forward in his chair.
"Who's joking? I could get McKay to work the numbers and O'Neill to be an announcer, he'd love that. I'm sure Teyla could get me some brinks for a bar." Sheppard continued happily aggravating the Wraith.
"Human I asked you a question." Levis growled threateningly.
"Easy, maybe the food has gone to your head." Sheppard said, feigning concern.
"I knew it. You are plotting something." Levis whispered across the table.
"Nothing of the sort, anyway, if I did anything where's the proof?" Sheppard asked with mocking politeness.
"Now answer me. Why would that computer program dislike me?" Levis asked while watching Sheppard suspiciously.
"Let's just say if it had a motto it would be 'Death to All Wraith'." Sheppard exclaimed happily.
"Sounds charming." Levis said sarcastically.
"You have no idea." Sheppard muttered.
"Greetings." O'Neill said sitting down next to Sheppard holding a bowl full of jelly, paying no attention to his surroundings.
"General, anything interesting happening?" Sheppard asked getting tired of antagonising the Wraith.
"Nah, I'm just trying to get away from all the weird people in this place. Teal'c is sparring with Teyla, Carter and McKay are talking something about something and Daniel isn't here. So that just leaves you and… god damm it." O'Neill muttered finally looking over the table at Levis.
"Pleasure to see you again as well." The Wraith uttered sarcastically.
"We're experimenting with food." Sheppard stated gesturing at the small pile of empty bowls.
"You're not getting my jelly." O'Neill said defensively moving the bowl away from the two.
"Of course not General." Sheppard replied acting surprised at the accusation.
"It's not like taking that strange green blob would cause the thin veil of your sanity to come crashing down. Forcing every moment of your continued existence to be a horrible agony. Making you lust after the sweet embrace of death." Levis stated confidently.
"Shows what you know." O'Neill answered leaving to get another bowl.
"That was really cheery." Sheppard said with a sigh.
"Now, what is jelly?" Levis asked seriously.
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Suen sat down in the command chair with a sigh he watched the plot of the sensor drones. After almost a day not even a peep from the Imperials. Thoughts of the Imperials having defeated the Replicons flew through his head. If that had happened, all he had done was for nothing; if the cleansing was stopped then he could not make the world anew. Suen's hand tightened on the arm rest as his deranged mind ran amok; what if the Zerfàrim knew about him, what if they we're plotting against him. Suen shrank back into the chair as mass paranoia set in. All that stopped when two massive ships travelling at speeds no Wraith could even dream off came barrelling away from Atlantis.
"Two unidentified ships detected. Calculate their trajectory." Suen commanded as he vacated the chair for Ghen'Hòar.
"Five estimated targets lie in targets pathway. Probability of landing is highest in third system." A crewman answered after the computers spat out an answer.
"Contact the Nirhaal Adraj for our orders." Ghen'Hòar ordered as she strode onto the bridge,
"Thaèn, Commodore Zkìr'Dan has ordered us to the third system." The communication officer replied.
"Ortus Veriumas it is then." Ghen'Hòar muttered tacking her seat in the centre of the bridge.
"Engaging hyper drive. ETA is two hours, an hour ahead of the targets." Suen said as he rapidly aligned the Kaerathaì Baermon up with the rest of the fleet.
All four ships vanished in flashes of light seconds latter.