"Normal speech"
"Gothic around non-Imperials."
"Mental Links."
"Ship Names."
Hi everybody. We're finally back, with the longest chapter ever just to make up for the delay. Sorry about that but long story short my computer was out of commission for about half a month and, well Uni has priority over this. Enjoy!
Skipper 1337: Thanks. 'Modern military equipment' as in Terran? Mostly its the ease of acess to the plans for the equipment. Imperial stuff is easier to build in the post Goa'uld galaxy than the stuff the Tau'ri wave around. One of the resons they could kick so much ass. Hate enriches us.
AngelForm: Thank you for the comments. I aim to entertain. Taste the fear of your enemy as he dies.
'The Benevolent Scriber': All will be seen soon. The Replicons don't ecactly think. Their Link is a hive mind of sorts. Only the humanoid Replicators and the Harbinger can truly think as seperate beings. In the Emperor Works in Weird Ways I said that it is a base of thier programming that they obey the C'tan. Its to hardwired into Necrons for the Replicators to remove, the ones that did were purged by the ones that didn't. In theory McKay, with help, should be able to give them basic orders but I never let things smoothly do I? The future is trivia.
Goner1: Thanks and sorry for the delay. Kill the mutant.
Lord of Murder: Yep they are and thanks for the support. My armour is contempt.
Huitt1989: That is one of the nicest things any one has ever said. Deus Imperator Vult! (The God Emperor wills it!). Excuses are the refuge of the weak.
Some101: I thank you for such kind words. It really means a lot that people seem to find this so intresting and fun. The Sons of Sol? I never really thought about it. I would say they are a mixture of Imperial Fist and Blood Angel (My two favourite chapters). But you can give them any heritage you want. Life is not measured in years, but in the deeds of men.
Title: The Joker and The Thief
The main problem with fighting the Tyranid Hive Fleets for the first time was their organic nature. The Furling race had suffered horrendously in their first engagements by assuming that what their sensors said was unpowered organic matter was harmless. This went doubly so when dealing with their Mycetic spores. They rarely, if ever, were detected before they found their targets or at least were on a ramming course. They gave off no telltale power signature, no blaring sings of their approach or launch, they were so small and fast they were mostly mistaken for the void entombed dead. So it was with no surprise that the Zerfàrim, who were mostly concerned with the Wraith fleet unerringly bearing down on them, missed what they assumed to be the remnants of a Hive floating towards them. The Imperials on the other hand knew exactly who they were facing. The moment a large mass of organic material moved towards them every single weapon at their disposal unleashed its fury.
The Captain of the Jaun'Àstar grimaced as the Wraith's disturbingly accurate fire almost blew his ship apart. The Frigate pirouetted in space, dodging a full broadside from a Hive, before its three prow mounted Pulse-Lances tore out several important power nodes in rapid succession. The Hives port side lights and engines spluttered helplessly before they died. A second later the much larger and orders of magnitude more powerful beams of the Giirathar`Jetai's Sunlances cleanly penetrated the Hive's power cores. The ship began to drift a lifeless hulk. The Captain allowed himself a small smile as he noticed more of the Wraith peeling off and heading towards the Imperial ships. Both of which were unleashing a torrent of firepower at almost everything that moved. He had a brief moment to wonder why before a series of powerful hits sent him flying.
Àsthar blinked in surprise as the three Hives that had cornered the Jaun`Àstar just flew past it to engage the Shia`Akhas and Haumathii. A well honed military mind began calculating reasons each worse than the last. It didn't help that the Wraith were acting differently. No longer were the Cruisers and Darts acting as shields instead they were constantly manoeuvring her Frigates into crossfire or trying to run them down. If it wasn't for their inherent mobility her attack fleet would be space dust by now. Her eyes narrowed as a shadow of something dark and round on the Jaun`Àstar's hull caught her attention. The thought was lost though when that accursed relativistic weapon of the Imperials detonated near the Giirathar`Jetai. The Capital ship shuddered under the force of the explosion but its shields shrugged off the blast wave while it took the life of a Hive that had lost its engines to the same inferno.
The energy field had slowed but not stopped them. The womb in its heart had already started its contraction pushing against the thick membrane that held back the deadly hunters. As soon as the required pressure hit the neurons a deluge of almost ridiculously corrosive acid poured forth. The hull of the Jaun`Àstar could deflect almost of full barrage from a Wraith Cruiser but the Lanteans had never even considered its need to resist acids. The metal reacted in a flash, the moment those same neurons detected the rushing of atmosphere they unleashed their second chemical. A substance that looked like saliva poured through the wound in the hull. Enzymes bred from the best of the best from a thousand species jumped into action. The acid was neutralised and the metals returned to a solid state. As quickly as it was formed the breach was sealed only with the inclusion of the Mycetic spore. A breaching pod as secure as anything any race could make attached in under a second. Finally the thick purple membrane deforming as claws pushed against it cleaved its self. In a rush of something like amniotic fluid white forms were born into the artificial gravity of Jaun`Àstar. And they were so very hungry.
Defence teams scrambled into position. Thankfully they were no longer under attack but that meant whatever had boarded them was important to the enemy. Pulse rifles whined as their charges built. The first six man team to reach one of the many breaches stared in thinly veiled disgust at the organic construct. They only heard a low growl before they died in a hurricane of blood and claws. The nine creatures waved their heads rhythmically from side to side. The network of ionised particles held in their oversized craniums shifted slightly as they moved through the ambient magnetic fields produced by the flow of power through the Frigate. It was a remarkable simply way to locate and track the source of their enemies deadly abilities. The white muscular creatures lunged down the brightly lit corridors spreading out into the Frigate; as one they found the dozens of power conduits that laced that section of the Frigate's interior. The small mental link shared by the Tyranid infiltrators flooded with the knowledge that they had located all of their targets. Then the lights flickered once before fading away.
Torch beams stabbed out into the near pitch darkness of the Frigate. The Zerfàrim huddled together as hissing echoed through the superstructure of their ship. A shadow flittered across the corner of the hall and that entire area exploded into blue. They were rewarded with a pained yelp and the sound of something heavy landing hard. The Zerfàrim felt terror well up in them as they observed the dead beast before them. Long black talons and claws with still fresh blood dripping from them, wickedly sharp teeth and a bladed tail.
The squad leader signalled for his soldiers to fan out; the twenty Zerfàrim strong Guard squad nodded in reply. "Captain we have an unconfirmed number of hostiles ab..." He was cut off as a pair of incredibly strong arms burst through the floor and grabbed his ankles. The Zerfàrim let out a scream of terror and pain as he was dragged into the floor while simultaneously being disembowelled.
The now nineteen strong squad whirled around only to see the jagged hole and a single discarded Pulse rifle. They quickly fell into well drilled firing positions creating a near impassable line of defence. A flash of blue and something spiky landed in their midst. Lights frantically tracked the fist sized blue crystal ball as it rolled. Something in the darkness chimed like a crystal glass being struck and the blue ball exploded into shards. The crystal was copied from the body pattern of a Furling and so had some of their characteristics; the living mineral sensing the warmth of its new environment began to grow. The Zerfàrim screamed in total agony as the shards of crystal in their bodies started to worm their way deeper while sending out tendrils in all directions.
Those that were not incapacitated by the initial strike began to claw at their wounds attempting to dig out the murderous crystals. They couldn't have done a worse thing. The living crystal registered the attempts to harm it and reacted the only way it knew how. All its energy was gathered together and released in a mighty pulse. The few Zerfàrim still awake but unable or unwilling to attack their wounds looked on in horror as their friends and comrades were electrocuted from the inside out. From the shadows lithe white forms melted with all the grace of death. Their menacing hisses were the last thing those Zerfàrim every heard.
In space the remaining Frigates went into evasive patterns when the Jaun`Àstar fell silent and then went dark. Mycetic spores made manoeuvring even more difficult as they looped and twisted in huge arcs, bladders of gas propelling them through the void. Àsthar's teeth grated together as the Frigate floated dead in space. She dared not launch any form of rescue attempt; the fighter screen they had launched was woefully outnumbered as it was already.
Angelus was not patient, that much everyone who had ever met him knew. Ghen'Hòar's frantic pleading into the Eldar communication device was beginning to annoy him. The Eldar woman was almost in hysterics and Levi's monotonous commentary on how the Wraith were slowly winning didn't help her composure. The mighty Space Marine Captain gave a huff of aggravation as the Eldar slammed her fist into the machine and whirled around to face him.
"It's no use!" Ghen'Hòar screamed at the Astarte. Her long trial by fire had taken its toll on the inexperienced Captain. Either the Giirathar`Jetai was too busy to listen, they thought she had been compromised, which was true in a way, or that parasite had damaged the transmitter. Whatever had happened the terrible nightmare she had see was clawing its way closer.
Angelus was a little taken aback by the desperation in the Eldar's voice. He could almost empathise with her; he was saved from that path to heresy and damnation as Levi counted out the Ragnarok's newest kill. His eye slid over the few crewmen left to Ghen'Hòar's command, they all seemed confused and afraid.
"Quiet." The Eldar almost flinched at the tone but complied all the same. By the Emperor how he wished he had just blown this Warp cursed Frigate up from orbit. "Levi."
The Librarian nodded slightly. The blue armoured man extended his hand upwards, the crewmen tensed for a fight but were waved down by Ghen'Hòar. Sparks arced from his Psychic Hood all across his head as he fought to penetrate the Shadow in the Warp. Luckily for them the Hive Mind was currently incredibly weakened and Levi was able to gather the powers of the Warp. A beam of pure light, shifting through every colour known to humanity and some that threatened to drive men insane, burst from the Librarian's outstretched hand and tore through the ceiling of the command centre. It screamed upwards in a pillar of energy that could be seen half a world away. Levi face wrinkled as it became harder to control the Warp, the Hive Mind had noticed him and it was pouring its might down on him. The blue armoured Marine felt his control slip has the clawing wall of pure blankness tore at the edges of his mind. Angelus felt the cold fingers tracing his soul before the pink mist even began to form. Faster than the Zerfàrim could comprehend the Space Marines were in a tumbling mess. Angelus clobbered Levi over the head with the hilt of his Force Sword. The blow snapped Levi back to reality and the torrent of Warp power that had started to form a deadly tear died away.
Ghen'Hòar was about to scream at the two for wasting time when she felt a weight on her shoulder. A very familiar voice that filled her heart with unrelenting dread followed swiftly after. "You rang?"
McKay sighed internally as the woman he was leaning on started to physically tremble. He enjoyed a little fear every now and then, it was fun seeing people jump when he did stupid things like this, but watching the Eldar as she fought the urge to flee was a bitter reminder of the things his C'tan self had done.
"Progress?" Angelus demanded, channelling his anger into authority. He spared a tiny glare to get McKay to remove his arm from the Eldar. She was still needed; more or less lucid.
McKay's grin turned manic as he removed his arm from Ghen'Hoar's shoulder. He was going to have so much fun teasing the great and might Angelus for caring about an enemy Xeno's feelings. "All humans removed from the planet. I even found Kevl!" By the look on Levi's face Angelus assumed it was someone they knew. "Thor said something about Nidhogg and Tyranids." He added as an afterthought.
Angelus's and Levi's eyes widened before a cool and calculating glint settled into them. "McKay." The man-god dropped his grin at the tone, things were serious now. "Transport me, O'Neill, Samuel, the prisoner and yourself to the Eldar Capital ship. The bridge would be best. Move the other Eldar to their ships. The Ragnarok is to proceed to Vis Toanas and take anything they can. The Fenrir is to head back to Atlantis for repairs." Angelus's eyes flickered towards the Eldar computer core as he finished.
"By your command." McKay intoned. Every sentient being left on the planet vanished into darkness a moment later. Turning to the Zerfàrim computers he smiled happily. "Have at you!" He shouted as Necrodermis burrowed into the machines and began to download everything they contained.
Tears threatened to overwhelm her eyes as the screaming finally stopped. At least the poison that now pumped through her veins allowed to her close her eyes to the horrors that surrounded her. She lay there motionless as the creature, smaller than the rest, unfolded from the ruins of her commander's stomach. Her squad's scattered lights gave her a profile of the creature. Its skin seemed to be darker – more blue – than the others, the head was less bulbous, spines now ran the length of its back and its tail was longer. The creature hissed and whined into the air. Her eyes widened when something landed near her feet. It was another of her squad; the male's eyes darted back and forth between her and the creature.
They were in the main armoury, the shredded remains of the Domìnar-Suits and the Angry Stars that had tried to hold it littered the deck. The creatures that had torn through them had floated away soon after a small group of things with blades for forearms following them. There were at least twelve of the pods attached all over the Frigate and each one seemed to hold some new and more terrible monstrosity. The Tyranids had torn through the ship using tactics honed by over a thousand years of war with the Alliance. While the layout was different, the metals in the hull a different mixture and the flimsy crystals different one thing remained the same; once power was cut the prey were easier kills.
The newborn thing moved over another two bodies that had looks of agony etched on their faces. It stopped near the male; it kept flexing its hands in a strange manner. She could only whimper when something landed next to her head with only the click of keratin on metal. With a screech and a hiss the small beast launched itself onto the male. Its powerful legs slammed into the Zerfàrim's side rolling him over. The male groaned as the talons tore into him but his eyes widened when the little thing reared back its hands. It was eerily similar to a motion they had seen many times before. She caught a flash of pink on the things hands before they slammed into the male's chest; right above his heart. He began to scream.
The female forgot all about her comrade when a muscular and clawed arm reached over her and tore open the front of her uniform.
"Please." She whispered as more tears fell. She tried to thrash, to move, to get up and run. The most she managed was to shiver slightly.
The creature above her head seemed to find this displeasing, with a small hiss its bladed tail slammed down into the Zerfàrim's leg. She screamed in pain and fear as she received another dose of the powerful paralysing toxin. Satisfied that she could no longer move the creature began to make hacking noises. The Zerfàrim watched in terror as a bulge slowly worked its way up the creature's throat. With one last splutter a large purple tongue fell out of its mouth. Unable to scream she could only watch when a small claw like thing slowly slid out of the end, the creature gripped her torso with its arms; with a powerful thrust from its tongue it drove the claw into her abdomen. The last thing she saw before passing out was the newborn standing over the desiccated corpse of the male. It was far larger than the older one now.
The Captain of the Jaun`Àstar growled at the bestial creature he had just sliced apart. He and the four Solemn Reapers left alive were cutting a path towards engineering. They had met up with a few rag-tag groups of Guards along the way. Many of them had been dragged away screaming by the white bodied predators or fallen prey to flying shards of crystal. It seemed most of the Elites and Aspect warriors had met their ends at the hands of things that were being described as huge floating brains or they had simply vanished. The aged Zerfàrim spat at the white bodied beast at his feet. A lot of good people had died in extremely hideous ways; the shear brutality of it all made his blood boil.
"Thaèn!" The shout was the only alert as a pulse of light blew through the group. Three charred and horribly disfigured bodies clattered to the floor.
The Captain whirled round only to catch a glimpse of a huge thing floating in the air surrounded by a fading halo of chartreuse light. Seventeen beasts each with blades for arms were racing down the corridor towards them. Hisses and short barks echoed down the corridor as the Hormagaunts found themselves in a frenzy. The four Solemn Reapers shared a glance.
"Go. They must not have this Frigate." One said as he and another stepped towards the charging Hormogaunts. Their curved Power Swords flared into life as they met the bladed creatures head on. By the time ichor flew the Captain and his soldiers were long gone. As they danced through the melee limbs, black ichor and chunks of flesh arced through the air accompanied by the screams of dying Hormogaunts; soon it was joined by blood.
The Captain allowed a grim smile to flash across his face when the door to the engine room and its sole remaining defender came into sight. The Guard waved them over firing her Pulse rifle behind them. The two thumps and a pained screech spurred them to go even faster.
"Good work. Is the self destruct still working?" He asked the Guard. Her face had gone pale and her expression vacant.
"Run." She whispered as a small trickle of blood fell from her mouth.
"Wh..." The question died as the female exploded into a shower of gore.
The two Solemn Reapers leapt back. One's head crumpled as if it was struck by something and the body was sent careering back down the corridor. The two Guards with the group sprayed the doorway with shuriken. Both of their chests were suddenly torn open; they screamed in agony as they were flung away by an invisible force. The Captain rolled to the side just in time to avoid a strike if the miraculous hole in the wall was an indication. Something punted him in the chest sending him sprawling on the floor holding his now floating rib. The last Solemn Reaper lunged forward his blade reared back. He ducked under an invisible blow and the Power Sword flashed upwards. An ear splitting screech filled the corridor. Both Zerfàrim stared as a huge creature seemed to flicker into existence. Two massive and spiked arms extended from its shoulder, the tip of one was missing and translucent green blood pulsed from the wound. Wiry arms ended in massive claws and a face of tentacles writhed and wriggled underneath a set of golden eyes filled with malicious intelligence. The Solemn Reaper slashed at the creatures face. In a show of flexibility the huge thing twisted around the strike and brought its still intact spiked arm down on the Reaper's exposed flank. The force of the blow crumbled the Aspect Warrior to the ground and a claw severed his spine a second later.
"Why won't you die?" The Captain shouted at the creature as he levelled his pistol at its face.
Cruel yellow eyes regarded the weapon. Powerful muscles spasmed along its torso, and the Hive Mind allowed its pleasure to be known to the Lictor. The Captain sucked in a painful breathe as his pistol fell from suddenly limp hands. He looked down to the six strands of thick muscle that protruded from his chest and legs. He stumbled forward as they gave a mighty tug, he glared up to the thing that had killed him and his soldiers as it embraced him. The last thing he felt was the powerful muscles of the tentacles' pushing against his head.
The Lictor shook its head as it dropped the shell that was once the Captain of the Jaun`Àstar. The deadly hunter reeled in its flesh hooks and rippled out of existence in a manner reminiscent of a Nox. The Hive Mind examined the information gained from the prey's mind. This galaxy was scattered and malnourished. Her half-breed children had been culling the populace of sentient beings regularly and that had damaged the ecosystems of most worlds. The humans were like her old Alteran and Asgard enemies but they were weak and easily consumed unable to even fend off her disgustingly weak children. This confirmed what she had learned from the Wraith minds. But these prey were dangerous; this one held thoughts of Lanteans and their gifts to them. The technologies were similar but different to the Alteran's own; she had battled them before and knew of their potency. That made them dangerous. These ones viewed themselves as the only major force outside Her new kin. The others, the ones in the vessels that had so far resisted Her attempts to board, were, according to this one's mind, powerful but not beyond them. And that made them a threat. The Hive Mind shifted slightly as it comprehended its options. The ones that were the offspring of her foes would be consumed first. They posed the greatest threat to her and her kind in their weakened state. It would take time to gather and subdue the remnants of her children. It would take longer still to make them worthy enough to travel through the realms of energy She used to traverse the stars. She picked a system that held a simple sphere of life to nourish Her and commanded the Wraith to travel in all directions and bring the rest of their race to Her. Then the Hive Mind then began amassing power to form a Warp tear.
Thor growled; a thing he had not done in nearly two thousand years. The Fenrir was leaking atmosphere from several glowing gashes along its side, weapon fire was sporadic at best and their power readings were nearly non-existent. The Ragnarok beamed away another wave of Mycetic spores before their two functional Lances gutted one of the few remaining Hives. Odin's voice filtered over the crackling Vox as a trio of Darts rammed into the Fenrir.
"Personnel transfer complete. Good Luck." The old Asgard sounded a little displeased to be leaving the battle. He was one of the tiny minority that still held the fire that they had passed onto their Nordic wards.
"We will meet again." Thor replied a small smile on his normally blank face.
The Fenrir shuddered as a Cruiser got in a lucky broadside before succumbing to the Imperial reply. A hyperspace window flashed into existence and the beaten and battered Battleship vanished into it. The Ragnarok shook violently as its failing Void shield let through several purple blasts of energy.
"We are aboard. O'Neill says go." McKay's voice resonated from every surface. It was a cheap trick the Goa'uld used but it served its purposes.
"Full speed to Vis Toanas!" The Captain bellowed. The Nova cannon flashed one last time, the explosion ripping into the side of the Progenitor Hive, before they slipped into hyperspace.
O'Neill vaguely registered the two Imperial ships leave and the slight ripple as time returned to normal. He regarded his three companions. Samuel was worried but he hid it well as he kept the unconscious Goa'uld in his grasp, Angelus was holding onto their ex-captive and glaring defiantly at everything, McKay seemed to be in some discomfort probably due to this Hive Mind thingy. He was beginning to loath any form of mental power. All it seemed to do make his life harder and in all honesty he really, really didn't need that.
Time to put on a show. "Yo." He said cheerfully as the time stasis that McKay had created finally cleared.
The Eldar's eyes on whose console he was sitting widened almost comically. O'Neill would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. McKay and Angelus's impromptu briefing 'big alien space bugs were bad' had drilled the need for professionalism into him. Still, he could probably whip out his sarcastic wit if the situation called for it or he felt like it. Probably the later.
"Intruders!" The man bellowed before back flipping out of his seat in an impressive display of acrobatics. Of course in the amount of time O'Neill, to him at least, had been sitting there he could have murdered half the bridge crew with his bare hands.
Àsthar almost choked on her own tongue when the group of, what she assumed to be Imperials, appeared from thin air. Her eyes flickered over them. Two armoured humans; they were large and dangerous looking with multiple weapons. A single aged human, he seemed comfortable and at ease but she could tell it was a front. And another male, he was different; something just didn't sit right about him. There was a bloodied and beaten Zerfàrim male in the clutches of the white armoured one; was he a hostage or a casualty? She stopped when the tattered and dirty form of a Ghen'Hòar stepped forward. She remembered that the Captain of the Kaerathaì Baermon was the youngest of the Ghen'Hòar family; her brow creased as the silver haired woman glanced back at the humans. What was she doing with the Imperials?
Twin blue lights raced passed her head. Àsthar didn't have time to gasp before they froze in midair. The Zerfàrim Lord Commander stared in wonder as the Pulse blast hung in the air like decorations. She noted that the dark haired human had moved his hand. With a flick of his wrist the two glowing shots screamed back in the opposite direction. Àsthat registered the cries of pain as the two security personnel at the door received their own Pulse blasts to the chest but she didn't dare take her eyes off the strange little group.
"Lord Commander we have been misled. We must leave this place." She didn't shout but Àsthar could hear the desperation in the young Captain's voice. She noticed that the Imperial Battleships were gone and the Wraith were massing again for what she assumed was an attack. Even that monstrously large thing was beginning to move.
"And where pray tell should we go? We can't return to any of our rendezvous points because of them." Àsthar gestured at the Imperials. "And the Jaun`Àstar has been boarded." She added. Said Frigate was spinning towards the planet totally dead.
"You didn't think that part through. Did you?" O'Neill muttered to Angelus. The Space Marine frowned in response.
"Fighting the Tyranids is our main concern. They are more dangerous than you know." He said while trying hard to keep his loathing for the Xenos out of his voice. He would ally himself with these Eldar. No matter how much it pained him. The loss of a single human life because of his own desire to settle scores would be an affront to the Emperor. After all he could purge their filth from his soul and body with pain and prayer later.
"Replicons." O'Neill countered breaking the Space Marine from his pious thoughts.
"We have a solution for that." Angelus growled glancing at McKay. If everything when to plan then the Replcions would be defeated within the week.
"I do not know Lord Commander but we must leave." Ghen'Hòar said with conviction, she had long overstepped her bounds but they could have her executed for treason at the moment so a little insubordination was the least of her worries.
The older Zerfàrim grunted before her eyes flickered to the Imperials. "We need a place to regroup and repair. Maybe your new friends" She stressed the word heavily. "can oblige us?" Outside, the five remaining Frigates fell back into a defensive formation around the Giirathar`Jetai. The Huma`Khe and Dhaa`Shae were both venting air from deep wounds. The Haumathii and Shia`Akhas were relatively intact save for a few scorch marks but the Umath Juhuur had a plume of fire escaping from its rear sections.
"These Tyranid things. We can't beat them?" O'Neill whispered to Angelus. His eyes were firmly fixed upon the Eldar commander and his finger was gently ghosting over the trigger of his P-90.
"Not if they have time to multiply." Angelus growled in reply. His hand was firmly on his Bolt Pistol, he gave no illusions that he was afraid to use it.
"Fuck." O'Neill murmured. "Hey lady. I've got an offer." He said to the woman on the raised chair.
"Speak human." Àsthar hid the anger in her voice well. A lot of Zerfàrim had fallen to these humans and her heart cried for vengeance but that little display from the dark haired one curbed her aggression. For now.
"We'll take you back to Atlantis but you've got to help us fight them." The Supreme Commander of the Second Imperium of Man jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the huge dark shape of the Progenitor Hive.
Àsthar thought it over. While an alliance with the Imperials would be beneficial it seemed unlikely to work; both sides had suffered because of this little skirmish. The thing Ghen'Hòar had said about being tricked itched at her mind. She had felt that this had escalated far too fast, however no one could argue with the evidence. But the Zerfàrim had been created to fight the Wraith and it seemed their ten thousand year long war was about to go into a higher gear. The Imperials were dangerous but she felt the Council would agree that a meaningless war avoided was a war won.
"Very well human. We shall go to your Atlantis. But first we need to recover or destroy the Jaun`Àstar." Àsthar said with a sharp glare, she kept a hawk like eye on the dark haired one.
O'Neill glanced at McKay and nodded ever so slightly; a display of power would make their rather weak bargaining position better. The demi-Star God smiled slightly. Slowly and purposefully he raised his hand. Many of the Zerfàrim around the Imperials slid into defensive stances and prepared for a fight while Ghen'Hòar imposed Angelus and O'Neill between the madman and herself. Enjoying the fear and confusion pouring off the Zerfàrim he waved his hand at the Frigate. He didn't show it but it had taken a lot of power to simultaneously all of the safety precautions in the Frigate's hyperdrives. Had he not just taken part in a massive battle and then absorbed a Wraith Cruiser he would have found the task mildly taxing. The Frigate vanished in a flash of white light a moment later.
"What is this?" Àsthar hissed. If that had been a display of power they now had her full attention. Understanding filtered through her mind as she looked at the way Ghen'Hòar had reacted to the man. He was powerful and if the Imperium commanded more people like him then if there was a war the Zerfàrim would lose, and lose badly.
"Everyone on that ship was dead." Angelus growled. He hated his own plan but they needed the Eldar to fight the Tyranids while they dealt with the Replcions.
Àsthar frowned down at the Imperials for a moment; she knew it was true but the casualness with which they destroyed the Frigate didn't sit right with her. "We leave." She announced gesturing O'Neill towards the navigation consol. "Now tell me Charr. How have we been tricked? Your answer will decide whether you return a heroine or a traitor." The Lord Commander's tone was like ice and her gaze threatened to reduce Ghen'Hòar to a whimpering wreck.
"Even damnation is tainted with rainbows." Tror ignored the Furling, far more interested in staring at the diminutive thing before him claiming to be Thor.
Himself, Tulinen and the Furling Belshanior had refused to be transferred to the Fenrir. Both Asgard were confused by the names of the ships. Fenrir was an Asgard world but held no significance to them. It wouldn't be until the advent of Loki and his dangerous experiments that the name Fenrir would become infamous. The term Ragnarok would later, to them at least, be used to describe the Nidhogg war; its true meaning would fade with the passage of time but the memory of a great war would remain. The Alterans were too shell-shocked to do much resisting; they had come from certain death to being treated for their wounds on a Battleship full of their own. So it was understandable that they just went with the flow.
"In the name of Othala who are you!" Tulinen was being his usually diplomatic self.
"I am Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard Remnant." Tror felt his back straighten against his will at mention of the title. Supreme Commanders were rare; the position was only appointed to the best the Asgard race produced. "And who are you?" If the situation wasn't so surreal Tror would have laughed at the thought of being ordered around by a stick thin being of slightly below half his size.
"We are Riddari. Asgard." Tror answered with pride. He added the last part hesitantly; if it wasn't for those strange Alterans and their ramblings then he would have dismissed this entire situation. Thor's eyes swept over the two before drifting over to the Furling. He knew without looking that the two guards at the door had their weapons trained on it.
Thor frowned the Riddari class of warrior had been disbanded before he was even born when the Asgard race lost the need for elite ground-based soldiers. "Do you still wish to serve the Empire?" Thor asked his posture altering slightly into Asgard body language for dominance. Depending on what their answers were would dictate whether or not the genetic samples were taken peacefully.
"Yes." Both Riddari answered immediately.
"Good. And you? Will you help us?" Thor asked the large mechanised suit.
"The Wind shifts and the taste of privilege died in dreaming. World burning yonder abandon. Lightning searches for wisdom. Yes." Was the answer. Thor's brow creased further for a second before he turned to the guards at the door.
"Bring them every historical file on this Battleship. They have a lot of catching up to do." Thor ordered; the two I.G.L. riflemen shared a glance before one left and the other moved into a more favourable position.
"What do you mean?" Tror asked it had only been a short time since they had activated the Furling dooms day device. Something that he was severely disappointed in.
Thor who was half way out the door turned to face them again. "It has been over forty million years since the defeat of the Nidhogg by the Alliance of Four Great Races." With that said the modern Asgard left them.
"The impracticalities of the Sea. Time follows. Children of Iron, do you know? The Wind can erase everything." The Furling asked as its spindly legs propelling it from the table it had been beamed to toward the Asgard.
"I wonder what he meant by Remnant?" Tulinen wondered out loud, as always they chose to ignore the Furling's babblings. The Asgard glanced over towards the guard to see if he was going to be forthcoming with information. The Alteran sneered distastefully before he re-trained his strange rifle on them. The three turned towards each other; the two Asgard shared a shrug before settling into the hard metal seats. The Furling simply stood in place and let the Universe flow.
She had doubted it. She had doubted the fantastic story that Ghen'Hòar had spun. It seemed more appropriate for a child's tale or a heroic epic. She had almost had the Captain shot and the Imperials imprisoned but the oldest of them had a tongue of silver in his head. And now looking down at the thrashing thing held down by force fields; she knew. She knew the truth.
The parasite's voice changed again and it began ranting in a language that she or any other Zerfàrim had never ever heard before. "Shol'va kree! Kel'cha Ke'i! Ke'i Tum'cma'le Suen! (Listen up/pay attention traitors! You will kneel! Kneel before the great Suen!)" The thing let out a burst of hysterical laughter as it strained harder against its bonds. "Jaffa! Sha'lokma'kor! Shor'wai'e! Yas! Yas! Yas! (Jaffa! Kill them! Hurry! Now! Now! Now!)" It was crying now; crying and screaming incoherently.
"So that is a Goa'uld?" Àsthar asked as an image of the serpent panned slowly on a screen.
"Yes." Angelus muttered. He was growing tired of listening to the insane Xeno rant and rave. He longed to end its misery.
"What an insidious creature." Àsthar mumbled to herself as she scrutinised the scan of the parasite. Almost subconsciously she was glad that they weren't her galaxy's problem. There was something about the Goa'uld that she found wholly unnatural. She straightened back up and turned to face the Imperials. "These Tyranids you speak of, why would it interest us to ally against them."
"They are a threat your weak Xeno mind can barely comprehend." Angelus nearly spat at the Lord Commander. The female Zerfàrim didn't rise to the insult, Ghen'Hòar had already informed her that the armoured humans were extremely xenophobic and anything short of outright violence was a good display of restraint.
O'Neill sighed. Angelus was making this far harder than it needed to be. Granted he a nearly ten thousand years of tradition, law and dogma bearing down on him but his open hostility was beginning to wear upon everyone. And this was his stupid plan in the first place! O'Neill raged in his mind but kept his face pleasantly blank all the time.
"Enlighten me." Àsthar said in just the right way that it soured Angelus's mood even further.
Samuel moved forward slightly taking attention off of Angelus. "The Tyranids are a collection of super predators working under the directive of a Hive Mind. They have stripped entire worlds, entire galaxies of life. Once that Hive begins to multiply this entire galaxy is as good as lost." The Apothecary said plainly.
"And you know this how? Have you battled them before?" Àsthar demanded. She was sceptical but the silhouette of that massive creature would not leave her mind.
McKay coughed loudly as Samuel went to answer. The last thing they needed was to make their tale even more unbelievable by adding in dimension jumping. "Not us but the Alliance of Four Great Races did." He said smoothly.
Àsthar rummaged through her memories trying to find where she had heard that name before. Some of their records spoke of the Lanteans having extra-galactic allies that their damnable pride had excluded as sources of help in the war with the Wraith. "So how do you know of them?" The dangerously powerful one had answered part but not all of her question.
"We are the Fifth Race." O'Neill said with a faint hint of pride.
Àsthar snorted at the statement. These humans were far too arrogant for their own good. To think they actually considered themselves on par with the Lanteans. Not even her people had reached the level of their creators; and the Zerfàrim were superior to humans. She snorted again at the thought.
"Hey! We earned that title." O'Neill nearly hissed in anger. He had personally nearly gotten killed doing it on more than one occasion.
"Oh from who? The graves you robbed or the people you beat into submission." The Lord Commander replied with bitter mirth.
"The Asgard." O'Neill stated with finality. In the Milky Way that would shut most beings up. But they were no longer in the Milky Way.
"Never heard of them." Àsthar retorted. Somehow she had been drawn into this pointless argument, but she still had no intention of losing to these barbarous humans.
"We are straying from the point. Will you help us or not?" Angelus demanded. He moved into Àsthar's personal space and glared down at her.
Àsthar returned the glare at the taller Marine. She supposed this was some form of intimidation, and she was certain that if they weren't on her ship surrounded by the best the Zerfàrim had to offer she would have been slightly intimidated. "I will consider it." She said levelly not retreating from the glaring match until the Space Marine had withdrawn.
"Ma'am we are approaching the Lantea system." A communication station whispered. Àsthar gave the humans a cold look. It spoke of their tendencies to steal if they had inhabited the abandoned Lantean city.
"You are to remain under guard until I decide otherwise. If these Tyranids are the threat you claim they are we will need to return to Zerfàron. Your Emperor or at least a high ranking official will need to accompany us." Àsthar dictated to the Imperials as she briskly swept out the room. She missed the near apocalyptic rage that flashed across Angelus's face and the small twitch Samuel's eye suddenly developed when she mentioned the Emperor 'going' anywhere.
Angelus rounded on Ghen'Hòar, who at the moment was being treated as something of a traitor by her kind, and fixed her with a fierce stare. "Will she accept?" The Space Marine Captain demanded. If she wasn't going to agree he was fully prepared to kill the guards, have McKay take what they needed from the computer and then blow every last worthless Eldar to atoms.
"I don't know. If you can supply her with enough evidence that these things are a bigger threat than you then she should agree. But my people don't like direct conflict, if we can avoid it we normally do." Ghen'Hòar answered she was filled with a kind of dread when a smile broke across McKay's face.
"The Fenrir or the Yggdrasill, if it's online again, should have enough tactical and strategic data." McKay said, it was true but it was mainly combat doctrines and a phenotype recognition program. If that was not enough then he had already started to compile a more comprehensive report about the Tyranids from everything the Marines had told him. If worse came to worse he could dump that into a data stream and hand it off to the Zerfàrim.
"We can only hope." Samuel whispered. Memories of the Sons of Sol's six month campaign of pure hell against a splinter fleet from Leviathan filled his mind as the stealthy Zerfàrim hyperdrives slipped them deep into the Lantea system.
Beckett muttered a small prayer as he covered the bloodied mess that had once been Captain Alex Millar. Beckett had never really interacted with the man but no one deserved to slowly bleed to death from a series of lacerations to vital arteries. It had been a slow and painful execution. Dozens of other bodies were awaiting identification and more were being beamed down all the time from the Fenrir. His medical staff were being stretched to the limit, if it wasn't for the upgraded Sarcophagus style healing device the Yggdrasill Core had created he knew more would have died. A flash of light alerted him to the new arrivals. Without a second thought he dove back into the fray.
Elizabeth Weir wove through the portrait of human misery and pain looking for someone that could give her a solid report. What she knew of so far was sketchy and filled with bias. Apparently they had engaged a species known as the Eldar destroying two ships, grounding another while a fourth escaped. Angelus had ordered a massive ground assault that had quickly degraded into a war of attrition. Then he, O'Neill and most of the higher ranking Terran officers vanished for two days. During which the Imperials broke the Eldar forces and, depending on whom you talked to; either took the ship, were forced to retreat by Eldar reinforcements, unleashed some demonic entity in the form of a silver man or struck an alliance with the Xenos to fight the Wraith.
"Elizabeth!" Weir turned at the sound of her name. Teyla was weaving through the crowds waving at her with her good arm.
"Teyla. I'm glad you're safe. Can you tell me what's happened to General O'Neill? And Angelus, McKay and the Ragnarok?" Weir asked with a stern but kind voice.
The Athosian leader seemed to slump slightly at the question before her eyes rolled upwards. "No one knows. But some strange things happened on that world." She supplied wincing slightly as she readjusted her sling.
The Atlantis Expedition leader raised an eyebrow at the statement. Her question was silenced by the Vox caster blasting out warnings in Gothic a moment later. Seems they had intruders.
Àsthar sent a glance that could have blown through a Void shield at O'Neill. In return he simply smiled. The Giirathar`Jetai and its attendant escorts had been observing the Imperial position for a short time. And the things they saw had filled her with more anxiousness, almost outright fear, than she cared to admit. There was a third Battleship in orbit, it looked like someone had taken a hammer to it but that wasn't what worried her. No. One of the things that weighed on her mind was that it was repairing itself. Flashes of white light would twinkle for a moment and then a piece of armour that had been non-existent or mangled beyond recognition was suddenly there. Its energy weapons were already active and a power source far too reminiscent to a ZPM was running the ship. Then there was the abandoned Lantean city. Her scan's had detected at least three ZPMs and enough humans to subjugate a small world. The problem at the moment was the Imperial Battleship charging towards them. The Dhaa`Shae had strayed too far from the asteroid field they were in, thereby weakening their collective stealth field, and the scanners on the City Ship had detected the Battleship's echo.
"This is the Imperial Battleship Fenrir to any ships in this system. You are trespassing in territory claimed by the Second Imperium of Man. Identify yourself immediately or you will be fired upon." The sheer arrogance. The utter confidence with which this human spoke. It irked the Zerfàrim Lord Commander to hear it.
Àsthar gestured at her communications officer. She prepared all the anger and authority in her being so she could tear a long bloody strip out of this upstart human who dared to order her people around. She was beaten to the punch by a sight that would further reinforce her belief that these humans were dangerous. The one that always seemed to be smiling lit up in the most unnatural green she had ever seen. Markings that she didn't recognise swirled down his chest. Two of her crew moved to grab him but they suddenly froze in place. Àsthar made to rise and scream betrayal at the Imperials when her world vanished in a swirl of darkness. The next thing she knew she was standing in the middle of a very large, unfamiliar, bridge surrounded by startled humans and an equally confused Ghen'Hòar.
"General Hammond!" Shouted the human delegation leader. He was smiling but it froze and turned to a visage of near murderous intent. Everyone in the room followed his line of sight to a human who was leaning against the far wall seemingly disinterested in the world.
"You!" Angelus and O'Neill roared together. Both were raising their weapons with the single purpose of turning Ba'al into a bloody smear on the walls. The former System Lord actually seemed amused by the action.
A rocket propelled mass reactive explosive round bounced of his shield with enough force to shatter rocks before it imbedded itself in the ceiling and detonated. A burst of P-90 fire was a second behind it. The spray of bullets bounced off the flickering wall of golden light and ricocheted around the room for a second. Ba'al smirked behind his personal shield; after a rather vicious attack by a gang of Jaffa that had seen nearly every major bone in his body broken Weir had decided that he needed some form of protection. Seeing as no one was willing to defend the Xeno they, reluctantly, gave him an old Goa'uld shield. The ex-god stepped forward with the intent of taunting the Tau'ri a little. He never saw the Combat blade until it was buried up to the hilt in his shoulder.
"Die parasite!" Angelus bellowed as he followed his knife towards the Goa'uld.
"Stop!" Hammond roared with such force that Angelus paused in his charge. "He has important information." The General's voice could have frozen helium and it wasn't helped by the smirk Ba'al threw at the room.
Deciding to take charge Àsthar stepped forward. "What is going on here?" She demanded, she didn't miss the powerful one move ever so slightly as she moved. She knew he was trying to be subtle but she had been a warrior longer than he had been alive. He had angled his body towards her so that his arm was aimed at her and Ghen'Hòar. Whatever he was planning it would probably incapacitate or kill them both.
The one called Hammond looked her over. It was a cold and calculating gaze that she returned in full. Seemingly satisfied with what he found he turned to his compatriots and gestured at the human man who still had a knife buried in his shoulder. She wasn't about to ask when it was obvious there was history between several of the humans. "In return for sanctuary Ba'al has come forward with information about a Goa'uld in our ranks."
"We know. It's on the Eldar ship." Angelus growled. Both O'Neill and Hammond's faces developed small malicious smirks.
"Really?" Hammond asked; his hand was already reaching for the small white ring that would trigger the Void shield wrapped around Ba'al's neck.
"We must attend to the matters at hand." Ghen'Hòar said inadvertently stopping Ba'al's rather bloody execution. She quickly regretted it when Àsthar glanced back at her. The Captain hung her head and tried to make herself as small as possible.
"The Charr is correct." Àsthar said punctuating the statement with another anger filled glare at Ghen'Hòar. Things were going to be difficult already without the inexperienced Captain projecting disorganisation and insubordination within the Zerfàrim ranks. What she didn't know was that the interruption had stopped what would have quickly degraded into lots of shouting and waving of guns.
"Matters at hand?" Hammond asked he frowned in concern at O'Neill. Sure it was strange that six ships of unknown origin had just turned up on their doorstep, one of almost as large as an Orillia class Battleship. But he and his people dealt with inter-dimensional superhumans, extragalactic aliens and giant spaceships on a daily basis; so they coped with weird rather well.
"Long story. For now please supply our friends here" O'Neill chose to tactfully ignore Angelus's small snort. "with all our data on a race known as the Tyranids." Àsthar nodded her head ever so slightly at O'Neill. "Anything else?" The Supreme Commander demanded. It had been a long time since he had seen a decent bed and he could feel his calling to him.
"We would ask that we be allowed access to more data as it become necessary. It would speed my decision if I could corroborate this 'information' with other sources." Àsthar said, and it was partially true. She also wanted to see just who her enemies/allies were.
"Make it so." O'Neill nodded to Hammond as he left the bridge the other 'negotiators' in tow.
"As you will Supreme Commander." Hammond replied jokingly, he had heard that O'Neill didn't like his title and the pomp that came with it. If the small growl was any indication he had hit the nail right on the head.
The Zerfàrim just stared. The Supreme Commander of the Second Imperium of Man had offered himself up on a platter and they had let him go without a moment's hesitation. Any war could have been avoided. The Imperials would be begging at their feet to make up for the horrible crimes they had committed. Her people could force these humans to slaughter the Wraith at their whim. And that chance had just walked out the door smiling like an idiot. It wasn't fair! Àsthar raged silently in her mind. Ghen'Hòar was having similar thoughts except they ended in her quietly mourning the Universe. If that was the leader of a galactic empire then they were all doomed.
"What's wrong with them?" O'Neill asked as he glanced back at the two Eldar.
"One should not try and understand the Xeno." Angelus replied sagely.
"I hope they're serving chicken tonight. I'm starving." McKay cut in holding his stomach. Samuel shook his head at the comment.
"Chicken and beer." Angelus corrected. Really all he wanted was to forget the last few days had ever happened.
"Yeah." O'Neill agreed. And so the three most powerful men in a radius of a billion light years left the ship.
"Transmitting codes." Carter held her breath as the sub-space message raced towards the five large Ancient space stations.
The computer inside the mighty defence platform took its time analyzing the ship that had just appeared. It had a seventy percent match to the vessel that had attempted to penetrate its defence's almost five planetary rotations ago. However the Rho level Ortus Veriumas command and identification codes were genuine. The machine consulted its data, a Sigma or Tau level would have been better, but Rho permitted access. With no other course of action allowable the five stations powered down.
"All stations have gone dark." Carter whispered, a flight plan had appeared on her screen directing them towards the instillation on the planet below.
"Move us in closer." The Captain ordered. He pressed the small button that activated the ship wide Vox. "All hands prepare for battle. Would a Marine insertion force, all SGC personnel and two squads of engineers report to the teleport pads." His voice rang through the ship and instantly the men and woman of the Ragnarok sprang into action.
Sheppard re-checked his spare clips before looking over his team. Teal'c had a Plasma rifle in one hand and in the other he was spinning a Marine issue Combat knife. Davidenko was seemingly in deep contemplation staring at a display the world below. Sheppard shifted slightly; he recognised that look from before. His fears were abated when the Russian turned from the screen and re-checked her own P-90. Fisher was standing to the side sending unwary glances at the teleport pads. Beside them Titov was lazily leaning against a wall passively observing his own team. Mitchell and Carter were talking amicably while Macdonald was stuffing as many Las power packs as he could into his pockets. The Tactical Squad Fury was lined up perfectly against the wall. From what Sheppard could tell most of them were newly promoted while their Sergeant, Shraik, was almost as old as Nestor. Two more squads of Marines, Devastators and Assault squads Sword and Fear respectively, were getting ready as well as most of the I.G.L. on the ship. The Imperial Ragnarok class Battleship slid into orbit and peppered the Ancient instillation with high power scans. Anti-surveillance devices subtly misdirected many of the deeper ones but the Imperial sensors still dredged up some details.
"Okay. The plan is we scout out the landing site, squad Fury secures it while we locate the C'tan and then the engineers and Tech-Marines move in." Titov drawled, his eyes however were as intense as Sheppard had ever seen them. "Any questions?"
"How will we know when we reach the target?" Mitchell asked, it wouldn't do to over look something.
Titov's eyes slid towards Davidenko, she was only allowed to go because she hadn't freaked out around Necrodermis since the first time, and then his eyes moved to the screen that showed the huge beam reaching up to the planet's sun. "You'll know." He replied quietly.
"Terra patior (Earth endures)." Titov said to Shraik. The Space Marine Sergeant nodded in return.
The seven Terrans and one Jaffa curled themselves up as small as possible on the teleporter pads. There was the sensation of falling then cold and suddenly, as if the cold had never happened, they were crouched in a dimly lit hallway panting for breath as steam rose from their bodies.
"Perimeter." Titov ordered shifting himself into a grove in the wall. The others swiftly moved into positions that offered the most cover from any possible attack.
"Clear." Everyone chorused after a second of scanning the hallways. A moment later a small sphere flew into their vision. Everyone tensed and trained their weapons on it.
A beam of orange light flashed out and washed over them. The little sphere bobbed slightly in the air before it soared off into the darkness seemingly happy that its task was complete. Suddenly the lights flickered on just as the Tactical Squad appeared in a flash of lightening.
"Security?" Mitchell half concluded half asked. Carter just shrugged in response.
"Sir, we should move." Fisher uttered, gesturing down the corridors with her shotgun.
"Da. Team One with me. We're going to the concentration of power we detected from orbit. Team Two try and find the computer core or some form of workstation. Squad Fury scout the base but stay within Vox range of both teams." Titov ordered as he pulled an Ancient scanner from his vest. Sheppard nodded as he and his team moved off. Shraik silently gestured to two Marines they leapt forward and began jogging down a corridor; two more followed a moment later.
They threaded down the corridor. Security emplacements dotted the walls: mini-Drone launchers, plasma cannons, particle cannons and some kind of energy projector that superficially looked like a bulked up Wraith Stunner. Teal'c shifted slightly as another of those spheres raced by his head. A small device hung inside some invisible field underneath the machine. The device paused to observe them for a second before it raced away again.
"So what actually happened to you?" Fisher asked attempting to start some form of conversation. The silence was making her edgy.
Davidenko and Sheppard shared a small glance. They both knew that the Asgard and Furling from their little trip had somehow ended up on the Ragnarok. The problem was that if they were here then so was that Hive ship. And that meant trouble. "Nothing much." Sheppard replied with a casual air. Something he dearly wished was true.
"Oh." Fisher felt slightly embarrassed now but she didn't want the unnerving silence to return. "So who was that silver guy?" She wondered. Her team had been following the trail their wayward companion team had left when they found the bleeding and broken body of Lieutenant Colonel Stuart. She was lying in a clearing with a strange man standing over her and the shredded bodies of several enemies strewn around. Before any questions could be asked they had been smothered in darkness only to find themselves on the Ragnarok surrounded by equally confused I.G.L.
Both Sheppard and Davidenko straitened at that. Once again they shared a knowing glance, something that was beginning to aggravate Fisher and confuse Teal'c. "It was McKay." Sheppard answered quickly.
Fisher didn't get to question that before Teal'c roughly shoved her aside. Three bolts of plasma passed through were her torso had been a second ago. The two turrets in question fired again, one blew a large hole in the wall next to Teal'c's head and the other vaporised the floor at Sheppard's feet. Teal'c's Plasma rifle flashed and one of the turrets had its barrel melted off. The remaining one re-acquired the diving Jaffa and a plasma blast clipped his leg. The turret was silenced a moment later by a concentrated bursts from two P-90s.
"Defences are hostile, be careful!" Sheppard almost shouted into his Vox. His answer was the echo of Bolters.
Titov sighed when they encountered yet another sealed doorway. None of the weapon emplacements had opened fire on them, yet, but he was wary of them none the less.
What his mind was mostly focused on was the layout of the base. It seemed more inclined towards containing something rather than keeping people out. That filled him with hope and terror at the same time. The Russian Colonel knew just how much damage a shadow of a C'tan had done through McKay so he dreaded what a full fledged Star God could do.
"Titov!" Mitchell shout echoed through the Ancient base. Titov launched into a sprint towards the source of the voice hope and fear building up inside him at equal rates.
Mitchell and MacDonald were standing in-between meter thick doors. Before them sprawled a huge circular room. Walkways worked their way up the walls towards the ceiling. Each one seemed to lead from a darkened room, rooms probably filled with every diagnostic tool known to Lantean science. However it was the centre piece of the room that held everyone's gaze. Inside a shield that had a resemblance to Atlantis's main defence a silver body writhed and thrashed as it was held aloft in midair. Long chains of a glowing material were attached to each of the C'tan's spindly arms, these were hung from huge floating devices that received bursts of light from a strange machine in the roof. The floor beneath the silver creature was covered in metallic antenna that constantly sparked with power, littered among them were hundreds of burnt and melted spheres. The C'tan itself was different to how anyone had imagined it. There were no legs instead a long and thing extension of its spine whipped through the air in blurs of sliver and green. Its torso was classic Necron just slightly thinner and elongated. Its arms were held just above its head and they thrashed constantly. The head itself was not the blank death mask nor was it a mockery of a humanoid. Instead the visage of a demon glared back with insane hatred. The mouth was huge and misshapen; it covered over half the things face in a constant snarl. Large jagged teeth resided within the huge maw and they were constantly bared at the humans. The eyes were tiny pin pricks of green light that shone with indescribable malice. Tiny filaments of Necrodermis hung from its head in a strange mockery of hair, these strands swirled in an unnatural wind as the creature struggled against its bonds. It was none of these that truly drew the eyes of the four Terrans. It was the strange ghostly images that followed or preceded each of the C'tan's wild movements. After and before images of the Star Vampire's struggle floated gently in front or behind of its limbs each one showing things that had just happened or things that were about to be. The tiny spheres that had scanned the teams when they landed floated in and out of the shield instrument at the ready.
"My God." Mitchell whispered. It was a sentiment everyone agreed with.
The energy creature's head whipped down to face the four, a ghostly trail of snarling and screaming faces followed it. Those tiny green eyes filled with countless years of suffering and anger glared down at them. All the time the small sphere pressed their devices against the suddenly still C'tan. Bolts of energy flashed from them, laser sheered away chunks of Necrodermis for analysis all this went unheeded by the Star God. It observed them for what Titov thought was an epoch, then as suddenly as it had turned to them the creature reared back its head and let lose a screech. The spheres were covered in halos of electricity as they died, inside the shield a maelstrom burst into life and the four Terrans were forced to cover their ears from the deafening sound.
"What's going on?" Macdonald demanded as the creature stopped its wailing and vigorously returned to its struggle.
"I don't know."Titov muttered, for a moment he had been sure they were all about to die. "Sheppard have you located the computer core?"
"No." Was the grumbled reply. "We've found six rooms already that were filled with Ancient lad equipment but nothing like a computer core. I don't even know if this base has one."
Titov pondered on that for a moment. If it was true then they would have to lift every single piece of equipment from the base. Such an operation would take a long time and the glitches in the defence systems seemed to be getting worse the longer they were active.
"Shraik, report." The Colonel demanded. His eyes watched the C'tan as its thrashing lessened for a moment before returning full fold.
"We have cleared the corridors of defences around our insertion point. Two brothers have been wounded by those small Drones. Brother-Devastator Squad Sword are moving towards your location." The Astarte Sergeant informed the Terran. "It seems that more of these emplacements are becoming hostile." Shraik continued, in the background the unmistakable bark of Bolters roared into life.
"Ragnarok, beam in the engineers. Send down an Asgard beaming module." Titov ordered. Almost immediately a team of six Imperial engineers appeared in flashed of white light.
"A transporter?" Mitchell looked confused at the strange request. All around him the engineers were setting up every known scanning device in the hope that it would complete the wave pattern they needed to fool the Replcions.
"You want to dematerialize the C'tan." Carter muttered looking up at the energy being.
"Yes. We can then study it in an inert form." Titov replied casually as Vanem appeared holding the device in question.
"But it's an energy creature. Dematerializing it will only set it free." Mitchell argued, Macdonald nodded his head in agreement.
"Not necessarily." Carter mumbled, her brow was furrowed in deep thought. "They seem attached to their Necrodermis. If it's dematerialised then the C'tan should follow." She reasoned. "Even then if it can escape the transporter will have a perfect record of it."
"Exactly. We will then have enough data to forge a C'tan's existence." Titov concluded as Vanem began setting up the large and bulk emitter of the Asgard transporter.
The C'tan raged against its bonds. Its attempts to keep its murderers away by re-writing the security programs had failed, as it knew they would. It had looked through all the currents of time and every permutation led to death or near destruction. The process to make a C'tan inhabit a Necrodermis body was long and delicate. It involved compressing a being almost as large as a star into something the size of a human. This compression was nearly undoable; when a C'tan became sentient and needed to inhabit a body it was almost certainly a one way trip. Expanding out to its natural size again could result in anything from the C'tan blowing itself and most of the local solar system apart, the complex matrix of interlaced energy patterns simply falling apart as its structure ruptured or it could return to its natural form severely diminished in power but alive. The C'tan turned its insane mind to the currents of time even as more and more outcomes were sealed away. One option offered the best chance. It felt out towards the small blot of nothingness. A strange lump of carbon, never before had it seen one that could bring forth such an odd field of energy. The shield dampened most of its powers but enough could get through to affect her. With a snarl of pain the C'tan threw power towards the one who would react in the most usable way.
Sheppard knew something was wrong when Davidenko went as stiff as a board. He was positive that they were all screwed when red sparks began to jump from her body. And he was certain he should have never joined the military when said Russian blew a hole through the nearest wall with a bolt of red lightening. Teal'c raised an eyebrow at the back of the rapidly fading pillar of red.
"It seems we have found the computer core." The Jaffa observed lightly as he limped through the newly made hole.
"Yeah for us." Fisher offered weakly, she was still rather shaken from the display of power. Teal'c was already calling in their engineers so they could download every single piece of information the Ancients had amassed on the C'tan.
Sheppard groaned as he opened his Vox. "Titov. Davidenko's gone berserk and she's heading your way."
"I know. It seems the C'tan is trying to escape us." Titov replied, every scanner in the room had registered the massive power spike and the C'tan was now staring in the general direction of Sheppard's team.
It didn't care what the foolish little balls of atoms knew or did. It knew the entirety of time, what could they do to interfere? The one that radiated that screaming nothingness that seemed to tear at its existence was nearing. Once she arrived one of two things could happen either the burning ball of a human threw herself at the shield, killing herself and most of the others in the room but freeing its trapped body. Or she would falter and the C'tan would be destroyed by the device that even now was being prepared.
Vanem shielded the delicate Asgard device as the wall closest to him exploded. He turned to see the sorry state of Davidenko as she forced herself into the C'tan's chamber. The normally cheerful woman was bleeding from her pores as the Replicon cells in her body went into overdrive to find the C'tan that was calling to them; a field of blood red sparks surrounded her like a halo of flames as her sub-conscious tried to batter away the mind crushing aura of the same Star Vampire. She took a wobbly step forward, panting heavily as unfocused eyes fell on her target.
"Colonel stop her!" Vanem shouted. Titov fired a burst at the feet of his former teammate; Davidenko didn't even blink as ricocheting bullets and pieces of Ancient building whipped past her. She simply flicked her hand in response. Titov was knocked off his feet but he had bought enough time for Vanem to get in close even as Davidenko charged more and more power into her hand.
The C'tan watched all this with the detached amusement only the truly insane can enjoy. At that moment it sealed its own fate. The C'tan so focused on the future of its escape and assuming its victory, stopped the extremely taxing flow of power. Having any sort of connection with a being that radiated that clawing darkness was dangerous in the extreme for the C'tan and only its future knowledge had saved it from destroying itself a hundred times over.
Davidenko blinked as her world returned to normal. No longer did her body rebel or her thoughts wander on their own. The halo of red faded from around the Russian female as the injuries the Replicon cells had inflicted caught up with her. She coughed of a lungful of blood and collapsed right into the arms of Vanem.
"Do it!" The Space Marine roared as he gently lowered Davidenko to the ground.
Two engineers activated the Asgard beaming device. The white light washed over the C'tan, the shield around it prevented its escape but had been built to allow the C'tan to be beamed away if it broke free. The energy being screamed in terror and rage as it slowly vanished into the light. And then it was gone. Inside the machine the C'tan unfolded, no longer tied to its body of metal the great being of energy began to die. The two engineers next to the machine were blown away as a great pulse of energy tore its way free of the device. The energy hung in the air as a cloud of blackness and crackling electricity before it dissipated into its surroundings. Mitchell would swear for the rest of his days that a face had screamed in agony for a moment before it faded completely.
"Did we get it?" Titov asked, he did a good job in hiding the anxiety in his voice. He only sounded like someone had told him his entire family had been hospitalised by a rabid pack of bears.
Carter straitened up from hovering over the device. The Ancient scanner in her hand gave a satisfied bleep. "We got it." She whispered.
There was much celebrating.
Mad. That's what these humans were. Their entire social system was a so insanely convoluted it was a wonder they hadn't collapsed in to anarchy after a day or so. These Adeptus Astartes had a treaty with a military branch known as the SGC. This SGC ran the Imperium through a series of conquests and treaties; they were in turn controlled by the planet or nation America. However the Imperium was loyal to the SGC, not this America, and a place called Terra. This Terra seemed to be the centre of their religion and government. And at the head of it all was Supreme Commander Jonathan O'Neill.
Their military was as bizarre as everything else. It ranged from daring guerrilla strikes that could cripple an empire in a month to waves of cannon fodder supported by tanks. The sparse information was enough to tell her about their supposed enemy and the basics of the Imperium but she wanted more. Her technicians had managed to gain access to several coded files beyond the heavily censored tactical and strategic information they had supplied. The Imperial response had been magnificently choreographed. A rock only the size of a fist and as cold as the void had snapped into existence right above the communication station. Then a few moments later the human General Hammond had contacted them apologising that their 'experimental' teleport device had missed its target. No one believed that for a moment but it was a reminder not to push them. Next time it could easily be a bomb or a squad of troops.
Àsthar pushed the holographic projector away from her. She was tired of reading about slaughter and fire. And such fire there was, this 'Exterminatus' was something so horribly brutal and wasteful that even the Wraith had never attempted it. For a moment she wished her curiosity hadn't prompted her to look up the term in the files they had unofficially 'borrowed'. Any race that would burn an entire world to a sterile husk was insane. But then she had looked at the aftermath of a Tyranid attack. It was a choice between certain death; she held no illusion that the Zerfàrim even with all their technology and cunning could best the killing machine that was the Tyranid race. A race she reminded herself that their all their highly valued stealth seemed meaningless too; they didn't have supply lines, garrisons or any form of conventional weakness that the Zerfàrim's highly specialised military could strike at. Or an unstable peace with a xenophobic superpower that, if she had calculated their forces correctly, could overwhelm Zerfàron within a year of fighting. And that was only assuming they didn't know where it was. She had read small references to virus bombs and other such horrors. She rubbed her temples as thoughts of billion strong armies, fleets that could block out the stars and all the bizarre and insane technologies she had seen floated through her mind.
Oddly enough she mused this Second Imperium, and she dreaded the thought of them calling in their mother empire, seemed far more lenient than the First. She had noted the small grey aliens on the Imperial bridge. From what she had read all aliens or 'Xenos' as they called them were to be terminated with extreme vehemence. The reasons behind such extreme hate were not mentioned in anything she read and it was really a mute point at the moment. But it was a point in the favour of an alliance. If some of them were tolerant then there was hope they wouldn't try and exterminate her people.
Ghen'Hòar had been a goldmine of information about the Supreme Commander and the black armoured man that seemed to be more or less equal in rank. And more importantly the one with the strange powers. The normal human was quick witted and seemed to enjoy peace more than anything. But Ghen'Hòar had said that there was an undercurrent of wrath that was unleashed when the things he protected were threatened. That was good for her; if the man wasn't a warmonger then the Imperium would abide by its treaties. The larger armoured human was an enigma wrapped inside a puzzle. The silver haired Zerfàrim had recounted the numerous times he had threatened her life and the few times he had extended what they both supposed was kindness. Apparently a race called 'Eldar' had become a target of near fanatical hatred and the Zerfàrim's likeness to this race had prompted the brutal follow up to the parasite's provocation. He was a member of a sub-set of the humans that were tougher, better trained and armed than the norm. That meant he was some kind of elite within the Imperium and may be able to act independently from the rest of them. Finally the conversation had moved onto the last human, if that was what he was, of interest. Ghen'Hòar had simply stated that he was extremely dangerous and left it at that. Àsthar knew from the Captain's tale of time travel that this human could only be brought down by something known as a 'Psyker'. She had looked it up after Ghen'Hòar had left and been stunned by what she found. The data on Psykers they had managed to steal was sketchy at best and full of terms that no Zerfàrim could even begin to understand but the gist of it was clear. Psykers and their strange abilities were viewed as living weapons of mass destruction. Such abilities had never appeared in the Zerfàrim genome and that left them at the mercy of this man. Or whatever he was.
In the end it was a rather painfully quick decision. She couldn't, wouldn't, risk and lose Zerfàrim lives if it could be avoided. The Imperium for all its peculiarities and problems was the better option than seeing Zerfàron burn. She wondered a moment about these Replicons Ghen'Hòar had said the Imperium was fighting. But the thought passed, the larger of their ships had vanished. She assumed it was taking whatever they had needed to pillage back to their territories.
The Lord Commander reached for her communicator. "Get me the Imperial General." She ordered the communication officer. The male nodded once and his image was replaced with the stern visage of General Hammond. "I accept." She said and cut the channel. Now all that remained was the not so easy task of convincing the Council. It had definitely been one of those days.