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"The longer we wait, the worse it's going to be. We have a choice, we can either tell the public now when Earth is safe or we can put it off until the next Hive Ship lands in our attic." The faces in the room were grim as they all considered what would likely be the single most important decision in human history.
"Mr. Woolsey, are you finished?" Asked a woman sitting in front of the flag of the United Kingdom. When he nodded, she continued. "Very well then. Now that everyone has made their case, I believe it is time we voted." The other delegates nodded to the woman and Woolsey returned to his seat.
The first to speak was the Russian Delegate. "The Russian government has decided to support Disclosure." He scribbled on a notepad and looked to the woman beside him.
Her voice was full of authority and flavored with the slightest hint of a French accent. "France also supports this proposition."
The approvals continued through the American, German, Australian, Canadian, Indian, and British Delegates, all gaining approval. When the time came for the Chinese Delegate to speak everyone held their breath.
"The People's Republic of China," The Chinese Delegate paused intentionally, she was renowned for her taste in the dramatic, "supports Disclosure." Those gathered began to breath again. Three years of hard work, back room deals, trades, and negotiations had finally paid off.
The Delegates stood and exited the meeting room. They politely nodded and shook each others hands while they exited. Richard Woolsey immediately made his way to his room down the hall. When he closed and locked the door behind him he picked up a red phone and hit his Speed dial.
After two rings the voice of the American President was heard on the other side. His voice was tense and eager. "Woolsey, tell me you have good news." He said hopefully.
"Yes, sir. Mr. President, the International Oversight Advisory has approved our proposition. Disclosure has been approved." In the background of the other side Woolsey could hear cheering. He smiled slightly and waited for the President to speak.
In the Oval Office, far away from the IOA Council, the President and his advisors were celebrating. Finally the entire planet would be devoted to defending itself and the Galaxy. With a quick goodbye President Hayes ended his conversation with Woolsey.
Immediately, he grabbed a champagne glass and raised a toast. "To the men and women who've died to make this moment happen." Everyone settled down and raised their glasses. Before the President had even taken a sip, his phone rang again.
While the rest of the men and women present were still talking, Hayes quietly excused himself into the next room. He picked up the red phone that read 'HWC'.
Seconds after picking up the phone, the still-full champagne glass fell from the President's hand and shattered on the floor.
There is an Ancient proverb that says 'There is only one truth; the Universe in Infinite." While there are deeper meanings, this is commonly understood to mean the Universe is big. Really, really big. As a result, almost everything physically possible can be seen at some place or another. Binary black holes, living interstellar gas clouds, and beings made out of pure energy. Then, there are things that, though common, are much more tragic. Among these monuments to suffering are Dead worlds. Unlike their lifeless brethren, Dead worlds once bore the fruit of the stars; life itself. These planets and moons were blessed with something so few things ever get to experience. But, through cruel twists of fate, they have been stripped of what made them unique and are left to float for all eternity to mourn their loss.
In the Milky Way galaxy, there are many Dead Worlds. Some lack life because their own people became determined to destroy themselves under the guise of security. Others have been reduced to ashes by oppressors, such as the Goa'uld or the Ori. There are also planets destroyed by mere bad luck; a stray comet, rogue asteroid, or some other horrible cosmological disaster.
There is one world that is none of the above. There is one world that was the victim of the creation of others. There is one world that was killed by the children of humanity. That world was the destination of the U.S.S. George Hammond.
On the bridge of that ship, Colonel Samantha Carter finished her mental checklist of things to do before her ship dropped out of Hyperspace. Her crew were at their battle stations, the F302 squadron was fueled, armed, and ready to launch, and the Asgard Beams were charged. With a nod her Navigator brought the ship out of Hyperspace.
The Earth colony Victoria stood out against the blackness of space. Its vast southern ocean filled the view screen of the battlecruiser as the Tactical Officer scanned the planet. Several seconds the console beeped and Captain Fredrick's face paled. He immediately scanned the planet again. The console once again beeped with the same response.
Colonel Carter noticed his distress and tapped him on the shoulder while she leaned over to look at the readings.
"Colonel Carter, there are zero life signs on the planet." His voice was strained. Carter turned her gaze to his face in confusion.
"What? Are you sure?" He nodded silently.
"I scanned the entire planet three times. I'm detecting nothing, not even the Stargate." Carter sat back in her seat and sighed. She was afraid of this, but she needed to confirm it.
"Scan for radiation and try to raise Victoria Control on subspace and radio." Captain Fredrick nodded and did as ordered. On his screen a map of the surface popped into view. Red and orange covered large areas of the island where the colony resided.
"Detecting massive amounts of radiation consistent with Stargate detonation. Sensors indicate time since detonation to be roughly two to three hours." Carter sighed. If the Stargate was destroyed then the entire colony was gone. The Stargate exploding would have destroyed every building, person, tree, and blade of grass within fifty miles and made the entire planet uninhabitable.
"Alright, cancel landing parties. Begin full scan of the system and keep shields and weapons ready. I'm going to make a call." The Captain nodded and Sam left the Bridge to head to the separate communications room.
When she arrived it was almost deserted. The only people inside were the Communications technician and a pair of crew members attempting to fix something at the secondary subspace terminal.
Without looking at them she began going through the list of contacts they kept on hand for convenient use. As she had helped design most of the ship and its systems Sam didn't need the tech's help with the subspace communications.
Seconds later the connection was made and she was staring into the face of the Commander of Homeworld Command; Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill.
"Colonel, judging by the look on your face I'm guessing that Victoria's transmitter wasn't just on the fritz?" Colonel Carter gave a sad smile and shook her head.
"No, sir. Victoria Colony has been completely destroyed. We're reading no life signs and sensors indicate the Stargate exploded." Jack looked down at something on his desk for a moment before returning his eyes to the screen.
"Damn it. Do you have any idea who did it? Lucian Alliance?" He asked. Sam shook her head.
"No, we don't know who did it. Any evidence on the planet would have been vaporized by the explosion. I have my crew scanning the system; hopefully we'll find something. Though doesn't this sound a bit out of character for the Lucian Alliance? They attacked Icarus, yes, but they should know we won't let this go unpunished." Jack's eyes glazed over for a moment and he nodded.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I don't know, but I'll contact our agents and the Tok'ra who've infiltrated the Alliance and see if they've heard anything. Continue with your investigation, Colonel. I've got to make a call. O'Neill out."
The screen went black and Sam smiled at Jack's mimicry of her earlier words.
Homeworld Command was a mess of activity as everyone attempted to confirm the status of their remaining colonies and bases. Air Force, Marine, Army, and Navy personnel from half a dozen countries ran wildly about dozens of consoles and terminals in various rooms under the Pentagon while they traded data and orders.
In the Information Room General O'Neill sat behind a table staring at the distraught faces of half a dozen IOA heads of state. The American President and the Chinese, British, French, Russian, and Indian Prime Ministers.
"Gentlemen, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I've just received word from the George Hammond that our colony on Victoria has been destroyed." The faces on the wall screens opened in shock as a number of gasps were heard.
Almost immediately the faces of the British and French Prime Ministers turned to anger. The British PM was the first to speak.
"How did this happen? Are not our colonies protected by Asgard shields and satellite-mounted Beam Weapons?" The other ministers nodded in agreement, but O'Neill shook his head.
"Victoria's defenses were going to be shipped by the Thor during its shakedown cruise but it was delayed when the ship's power conduits overloaded and fried the shield emitters. The repairs aren't due to be completed for another week." This explanation didn't calm them down, in fact it seemed to make them angrier.
"We have other ships General! And why couldn't any of it be sent by Stargate?" The French Minister demanded. O'Neill forced himself to remain calm.
"The Asgard Defense Network is too big to be shipped through he Gate unless its broken down and reassembled on the other side which, by the way, takes twice as long as it would to wait for the Thor to be repaired." Jack paused and looked each official in the eye, with the exception of the President who was maintaining his calm.
"As for your other question; we only have two other ships in the galaxy. One of which, the Hammond, was immediately dispatched to Victoria and the other, the Odyssey, was on the other side of the galaxy in orbit of one of the Protected Planets trying to discourage a Lucian Alliance battle group. The rest are in Pegasus." The French minister scoffed.
"Once again you insist on protecting other human worlds at the expense of our own. As I've said time and time again we cannot afford to-" The Minister's angry rant was cut off by an increasingly annoyed O'Neill.
"We cannot afford to let the Lucian Alliance to run over every human planet in the galaxy. Not only does it make us look weak, but the Asgard entrusted us this task. We can't protect every planet but we can protect those in the Protected Planets Treaty and a few more. Not only that, but as long as I am in command of our Fleet, I will never allow the Lucian Alliance to become the new Goa'uld and I know for a fact the Tok'ra and the Jaffa Confederation fully supports me; unlike the IOA which they show an open distaste for."
Jack sat back in his seat and smirked. The French Minister glared at him but said nothing more. Instead the Russian Prime Minister spoke in a sad voice.
"General, how many people were on Victoria?" The French and British PM's did a double take and glanced down when they realized what they had done. The smirk disappeared at once from Jack's face and he straightened.
"Two hundred and eleven humans and two Jaffa. I've sent word to the Jaffa Confederation about theirs already. They promised a trio of Al'kesh and a Ha'tak to assist in the investigation." The Russian Minister nodded his head gratefully.
President Hayes finally began to speak when O'Neill had finished giving his report. "Thank you General. I'm sure you'll do whatever you can to find those responsible. If it does turn out to be the Lucian Alliance again we won't hesitate to declare open war on them. Make sure they hear this."
General O'Neill nodded in acknowledgment. He was already thinking of who should be the one to 'accidentally' let the Lucian Alliance get that particular piece of intel; it might give Earth some breathing room. Before he could make his decision, Hayes spoke again.
"There is one other matter that we need to discuss. The plan for Phased Disclosure has been approved. We will make the announcement on December 1st. That is how long you have to find out who did this. Four months, General. We don't want our people's first impressions to be tainted by the thought that we can't protect our own people." General O'Neill sensed the meeting was over and rose to his feet.
"Yes sir, I've already got all my people working on it." Hayes gave a small smile and looked to to what must have been screens displaying the other world leaders.
"Good. Well, does anyone have anything else of importance to say?" He asked. When everyone remained silent he finished. "Okay, well, we'll let you get back to work, General."
Before Jack could reply the screens went black. Without a moment's hesitation he collapsed back into his chair with a loud sigh.
His job just got a lot more complicated.
Okay, there it is. Please Review and tell me what you think.