HI... Sorry it took a while for this, life has been a bit hectic; hope you enjoy...
SGU s04 e03
Forward
Time had passed on the Ancient ship for everyone onboard; it had been three months since a man called Decca Traise had destroyed the unique calm, of Destiny's inhabitants. Dr Rush, Eli and others had found a way to lock out his genetic profile from crossing through Destiny's gate. The injured had made full recovery in body; the emotional turmoil of having their home ambushed still needed work for some.
Things had changed in Eli and Ginn's relationship; Ginn held onto so much guilt that she only kept her secret another week after Eli's stress attack. She had sat with her best friend Te'arly who encouraged her to open up and trust in the strength of her and Eli's love for each other; Ginn broke down as she explained to Eli about her stolen teenage years. At first he reacted with anger, but saw the pain she was in and calmed down; it hurt to hear, all the time knowing she had kept this deep dark secret. By the end of it, he was more upset over Ginn's pain than his own...
That night, Lady Destiny had visited both of them to help soothe the hurt; she showed them a glimpse of their future together, at a birthday party for their daughter aged around five years old. She gave them the wisdom to see and feel a higher understanding of unconditional love and forgiveness, leaving them with the beautiful memory of what was to come. Once again, she used her power to help heal the hearts of the crew aboard her ship...
Eli sat steely eyed, staring at Nick "Go on, I dare you!"
Nick looked back keeping a straight face "Not this time Eli...call."
Eli laid them down "Read 'em and weep sucker...three Kings and nines! Full house my friend."
Rush looked at the cards "And you call yourself Mathboy..." he laid down four Jacks; "Nice try Eli..."
Nick reached over and dragged the chips from the pot in front of him; "Always a pleasure Eli..."
Eli watched as $3 Million worth of his chips now belonged to Nick; "Damn it..." he said quietly.
Nick smiled in jest; "Lucky these aren't real chips Eli, I could buy a condo with what I've taken from you tonight."
Sgt. John Wallace looked at the dismal pile of chips in front of him, and then to Ronald's opposite him; "We shouldn't play poker against two mathematicians..."
Ron laughed "Yeah, we've been less wounded in battle; here we get our asses kicked every time!"
The four of them laughed at their comments; life had returned normal aboard the Ancient ship...
In Everett's quarters, he lay beside Te'arly running his fingers softly over her very pregnant belly; her little boy was making his presence noticed with the occasional kick.
"Opps, there he goes again..." she said with a giggle.
Everett was content in the moment, just happy to be; "He's going to be a strong little man by that..." as he joined her gentle laughter. Stopping to look in Te'arly's eyes Everett said; "I love you; I don't know where I'd be without you..."
Te'arly smiled; speaking from her heart she said; "I don't intend on leaving Honey; you are my man, and this is our home...so you're kinda stuck with me!"
Everett cuddled her...
Chloe and Matt were having an intimate dinner together on the observation deck, discussing plans for their wedding. Adam was tending the bar with Amanda and Ginn cooking and serving the food; several other couples were also seated in the now "make shift" restaurant with the best view in the universe. Along with Hawaiian Day, once a week the crew would convert the observation deck into the "Galactic View" restaurant; everyone was welcome, provided you returned the favour and assisted as staff the next time. It was a co-operation within the crew that gave every participant more "normality" in their lives so far from home.
Matt asked Chloe; "I know you love me, but are you certain you want to have the wedding out here? You sure you don't want to return to Earth and have it there?"
Chloe eye's glistened as she smiled at the man she adored; "I would never deny our family here or Destiny the chance to experience this either; after all, she is a big part of our lives too. And besides, where would we find a view like this?" Chloe waved her hand toward the windows.
Matt smiled at her; "Is your mom still coming?"
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, she wouldn't miss it for the world." Chloe's eyes softened as she asked; "Have you managed to get in touch with your son yet?"
Matt sighed. "When I visited Earth last week the number was disconnected. I got a member of the I.O.A to try and track them down; they said they'll send a subspace message to me if or when they're located."
Chloe could see the hurt in Matt; she was concerned for his happiness and wanted him to at least meet his son. As she sat there with him, what really mattered was Matt's love for her; Chloe had plans for their own family one day...
A couple of hours later, the observation deck had been returned to normal. Adam had closed the bar and ventured back tiredly to his quarters. Opening the door, he heard a voice come from inside his room.
"It's about time you got here..." the sexy female voice said.
As the door closed behind him, the dim glow of the emergency lights showed the stunning figure of a woman; her white skin shinning against her dark lacy lingerie, and shoulder length brownish hair.
Adam smiled; "Don't forget it's your turn on the bar next week..." as Adam made his way to the bathroom.
"Don't take too long baby, you don't want me to fall asleep" she cooed.
It didn't take long for Adam to get into bed and caress her soft skin. "I'm so glad they let you stay," he said.
She quickly threw him over and climbed on top; "Enough talk Mr Brody, time for action..." as she slid down his body, kissing and gently dragging her fingernails all the way increasing his arousal.
"Oh God Tez, damn you're so hot" said Adam; she moaned an answer...
Franklin was at the controls of Destiny quietly watching the universe going by. In the past few months, they had stopped at many different planets and were now just over halfway through the giant Valeyian Galaxy. Franklin mused to himself that it had been a fairly uneventful journey for some time now, but he was wise enough to know that could change at any moment, and this was it.
Lady Destiny appeared as a hologram to him in the bridge. "Dr Franklin, my long range sensors are detecting a disturbance sixty Parsecs to port from our current position. We will reach the area within seven hours and twelve minutes at our current speed; shall I change course for investigation?"
Franklin mulled it over for a moment before asking; "How far off our original course will that take us?"
Destiny answered; "Approximately seventeen Parsecs to port at a twenty two degree angle from the galactic horizon; only several Earth hours from our current course in a straight line."
Franklin made some notes in the ships log before saying with a smile; "Ok, let's take a peek, shall we?"
Lady Destiny's hologram smiled back; "I do enjoy your Earth sayings..." as she automatically changed course.
Franklin lay back in Kirk's chair while Lady Destiny watched him; "It's ok..." she said "I don't mind if you rest for a while" and with that she vanished.
"Hey Dr Franklin; wakie, wakie!" said Chloe in a gentle voice as she walked around to find him sound asleep.
Franklin stretched and yawned; "Oh, Chloe...I must have dozed off" he said sleepily. "What time is it?" he asked.
"It's..." Chloe smiled; "well I don't really think it matters out here, but your shift ends in an hour. I just came up to see where we are at...and it seems we have changed course toward three different star systems; what gives?" She asked, wanting to know immediately.
Franklin cleared his throat and said; "Destiny picked up a disturbance and wanted to know if we would like to investigate; I said yes, it's all in the log. We should arrive in a couple of hours."
Chloe smiled after reading the log entry saying; "Now that you're awake, maybe we should do some more scans and see what turns up..."
Franklin smiled back; "Yeah, I better have something to show for my midnight decision..."
The two of them started to run more comprehensive scans and ran them through the V-bank. After half an hour passed, they were able to construct a rough picture of what was happening; low grade energy weapons were being discharged, and several bursts of high energy outputs were also detected.
Chloe and Franklin looked at each other with the findings; Franklin said: "General Young needs to see this; I think this may be a war happening..."
Several minutes later, a yawning Everett was on the bridge asking what had happened. Franklin brought him up to speed.
Franklin told Everett: "If it is a battle, and we believe it is; the two sides could fire everything they have at Destiny, and still not scratch the surface. The blast weapons we're detecting would be a slightly lesser equivalent of early Goa'uld technology; don't get me wrong...we're not invincible, but it is highly unlikely their technology is any threat to us while onboard Destiny. Outside of the ship, we would be just as vulnerable as they are."
Everett nodded his understanding; "Chloe, keep our distance; I don't want to spook whatever is happening out there, I just want to get close enough to snoop around..."
Chloe replied, sitting back in Kirks chair; "Yes, General...by the way, how is Te'arly doing?" She asked with genuine interest.
Everett smiled "Um, she's doing fine, although I think she feels a little awkward in her own body..."
Chloe looked over her shoulder at him; "I'll drop in and see her later..."
"Yeah, she'd like that Chloe, thanks" replied Everett.
For some reason, Chloe and Te'arly had become closer in the last few months. Everett had put it down to Chloe feeling able to open up to her; Te'arly had that effect on people as she was a good listener, amongst other things. Chloe had returned the favour by teaching Te'arly to fly Destiny, from the ship's own perspective; there was a little bit of jealousy going around over this too, mainly from Nick and Adam.
They were soon joined by Eli, Nick, Amanda, and Camille on the bridge; all of them giving suggestions at once until Everett finally put up his hands and called timeout.
"Ok! Enough!" He yelled holding his head. "We have no idea what is going on; so until we do, keep the discussion, and noise to a minimum. If it is a war, it is not our war; we are only bystanders in someone else's argument, and will not take sides. We could only be the referee if you like, unless it is the Ori or General Traise, we do not get involved." Everett leaned hard on his next words "Does everyone here understand that?"
There was a chorus of "Yes Sir" in apologetic voices.
"Good. Chloe, how long to we reach a safe distance?" Everett asked more considerately.
"About fifteen minutes General; but they may be able to detect us as well, at that distance" she replied.
Everett smiled. "I think they might be concerned with other issues first."
The time passed slowly with barely a word spoken on the bridge as Destiny finally dropped from FTL. In the vast distance, they could see small explosions that looked like sparks from a fire; as Chloe closed in at full sublight speed, they became more prominent.
Eli watching out the bridge windows broke the silence; "Holy fuck, there are thousands of them..."
Chloe stopped Destiny only a stone's throw from the fight at five thousand kilometres, increasing the shields to maximum. Destiny was suddenly struck by several stray blasts that harmlessly dissipated into her shields.
Nick looked at Everett and said sarcastically; "So...where're just going to sit here and be spectators while these people kill each other?"
Everett fired back; "It's not our war Rush, what do you want to do; go in the middle and call a truce until we find out who's right and wrong?"
Nick shook his head aware that he should have made his point more appropriately: "I'm sorry Everett, but really; shouldn't we try and help them sort it out. Isn't that what Castell and his people wanted us to do?"
While they questioned themselves, Eli butted in; "Um, guys; I think we may get to plead our case..." as he watched three ships break off and head directly at them, firing endlessly at Destiny.
Everett gave an order to Chloe "Don't fire back; we are not their enemy..."
The three flat arrow head looking ships fired at Destiny from all sides with everything they had; Chloe could feel Destiny almost laughing at them, as the Valeyian shields didn't even show any power increase at all.
Everett looked at Nick, who gestured toward the com; Everett conceded. "Ok." He opened the com on hailing frequencies.
"Attention, attacking vessels." He took a quick look at everyone watching, winked and smiled. "This is Commander Everett Young of the starship Destiny. We are not your enemy, and this is not our fight; we are explorers from another galaxy, far, far away." Eli could barely contain his laughter.
No one had ever heard Everett speak in this manner; it was like he wasn't being serious. Eli twigged that something was a little off, with his laughter replaced by more serious concern as he asked:
"Um, General Young...are you sure you're feeling alright?"
"I'm fine Eli, if I told them I was a General, there is a good chance more would attack; eventually we would have to intervene, and no one here deserves to be killed by us..."
They were interrupted as a communication came from the ships, who had now given up wasting their energy on Destiny's shields.
"Who are you...what do you want with us?" said the angry vocal reply.
Everett answered; "I told you who I was; we want to know what this fight is over?"
There was silence for a few moments before the angry voice gave an answer: "Surrender your ship or prepare to be boarded!"
Nick chuckled and Eli laughed; Everett told them to pipe down, waving his hands at them before replying: "You haven't a chance of either of those demands; the only way you would get on this ship is in our custody...now, why all the fighting?"
Again there was a long silence before the answer "How can you be from another galaxy, that is impossible! Intergalactic flight is not possible in a life time; our galaxy is over two hundred thousand years of lightspeed across!"
Eli smiled at Nick and said; "They may not have any means of FTL or hyperspace" he turned to Everett, "Let them know it is possible, but not how..."
Everett was about to answer when the bridge lit up with warnings; the stargate began to spin. The gate room guard radioed Everett:
"General Young, it's the Valeyian's I.D.C..."
Castell stepped through the gate and smiled at 1st Sgt Greer waiting to greet him; they grabbed hands and pulled toward each other with a slap on the back.
Castell said in a laid back tone; "My man, Greer; what sup..." he paused for a moment and went back to normal, "Did I get that right?"
Ronald laughed; "Yeah man, we cool!" Ron nodded as he smiled; "What brings you back to Destiny today?"
Castell laughed as always before saying; "I see you have found some interesting inhabitants of our galaxy; I just wanted to tag along and see how this plays out first hand this time. Would it be too much trouble to ask if I could go to the bridge and join in?"
"Like I could stop you anyway... I'll let my boss know you're on the way" said Greer still smiling.
Castell looked warmly at Ronald; "Let him know I'll visit Te'arly first, then come up..."
Back on the bridge Everett answered carefully to the alien ship: "Maybe your technology doesn't allow for that, but ours does. Again, why are you fighting; surly there is nothing worth this many lives?"
The return message was blunt; "As you have said, this is not your fight; leave now!" the massage cut off.
Chloe got Everett's attention; "General Young, two ships and three fighters are headed our way; they appear to be from the other side, and they're using Destiny as cover from these guys." With that, the first ships departed back to the fight.
The more rounded and winged conventional rocket shaped ships, came to a halt some hundred kilometres from the rear and starboard side of the ancient ship. They had been party to the open communication from "Commander" Young and wanted help; the message came though:
"Please help us, they are attacking our world!" This time the voice on the other end was in pain, spoken by a man with desperation and broken spirit.
Everett looked at everyone on the bridge. "If anyone has something to say, now's the time."
They all stood there silent, except for Chloe who said; "General; go with your instincts..."
He opened the com; "This is Commander Young; your enemies seem less anxious to speak to us. Not to mention we came under fire from them; if you're not willing to tell us what this is about, we will turn and leave."
A single word came back over the open channel: "Aqua"
Rush said it first "Water? They're fighting over water?"
Eli looked at him; "One planet must be running out..." he said trying to make sense of the cryptic answer.
Everett answered the voice; "So this is about water; who has it and who is running out?" he asked...
The voice came back saying: "We have it, and they want ours and theirs! I beg you...please help us!"
Everett again opened the question to everyone there; "Do we trust them?" he asked.
Nick replied; "Everett, as this is not our war; we don't know who is telling the truth, no matter what they sound like. Either party could be acting; I know that sounds harsh, but things are never as they seem, especially out here."
Eli spoke for everyone there; "Dr Rush is right General; we don't know who is who..."
Everett thought for a moment, as Eli's brain fired an answer;
"General... we get Destiny to hack their ships computer for any info we can, and see what gives..."
Castell knocked on Te'arly's door; "It's your strange uncle my dear, can I come in?"
Te'arly launched herself at the door as fast as an eight month pregnant woman can; she almost jumped on him with a hug fit for a long lost friend.
"Oh, I've missed you so much..." she said lovingly.
Castell hugged her back tenderly "And I have missed the two of you... How are things going Sweetheart?" he asked in a fatherly way.
Te'arly smiled with sadness behind her eyes; "All is well with the three of us..."
She couldn't put it past Castell who knew there was much more to this; he sat on the bed with her holding Te'arly's hand between his and said:
"Go on Sweetie, spill it... what's wrong, tell Daddy Castell why my girl is so sad inside?"
Te'arly's tears beat her words; "You really are the father I never had..." she said quietly.
Castell knew this was from her very being, and put his arms around her shoulder; Te'arly snuggled into him, like daughter and father.
"I'm so scared..." she whispered through her tears.
"About what Darling?" he asked gently.
Te'arly looked Castell in the eyes; "My age..."
Castell had to think for a moment until he realised her problem; it was somewhat similar to his own planet. "Oh...that's right; your home world is slower than his. Have you worked it out yet, in Earth years?"
"Yes; a year on my world is about 657 Earth days; it's almost one of my years to two of his. In my home I'm thirty five; in Earth years I am sixty three. I'm worried because I age slower than Everett; and so will my son. He also doesn't know that our pregnancy period is faster than theirs."
Castell could see why it upset her so much; "You will live much longer than him, wont you..."
"Yes, most of my people live into their seventies or early eighties; that could make me one hundred and forty four Earth years old. My soul partner would be gone...and, and..."Te'arly sniffled and cried "and I'll be left alone..." she cuddled into Castell's chest as he held her tightly, softly caressing her long hair.
Castell could feel her pain; he knew this had torn many ascended beings back to worlds too; Yes, love was the bond that held people together above all else. For all their reason and science, the Valeyians knew what really mattered in life; and it all came down to one nine letter word:
Happiness
As Castell held his "adopted" daughter in his arms, he was reminded of an old saying from his world; "Love today, for tomorrow is no one's" he said to Te'arly.
She turned her head toward him asking: "What do you mean?"
Castell replied; "It is an old saying we have on our world; it means you should enjoy the moment because we don't know what may happen next. Enjoy the time you have with him Sweetheart, here and now; no one knows what tomorrow may bring." He gave her a big cuddle; "I will always be here for the both of you; especially you..." Castell kissed her on the forehead, and stood up; "I need to see how Everett is going with this "war"..." he chuckled.
Te'arly smiled, wiping a tear from her cheek "Thank you...Daddy" she said with heart warming thanks, and cheeky smile.
"Good bye Sweetie..." smiling, he disappeared out the door...
"General... we get Destiny to hack their ships computer for any info we can, and see what gives..."
As Eli finished his sentence, Castell appeared from nowhere on the bridge; with an impeccable English accent he said: "Afternoon Chaps, what's happening?"
Everett looked around at him and smiled; Castell had a way of turning the tensest situation into a comedy show every time. "You do realise its morning don't you?" said Everett still smiling.
Nick rolled his eyes at the sight of Castell; incredible technology, but he always acted like the village idiot. The truth was, Nick was jealous of what Castell and his people were capable of, and understood; in return, Castell knew Nick wasn't ready to see the truth of the universe yet, and not even slightly concerned about Dr Rush's opinion of him.
Again a message came over the com channel. "Are you there? Please help us..."
Everett poised his finger above the talk button; Castell gave him an approving nod.
He pushed the button. "Ok, we will meet with you; I will send some coordinates for a meeting place away from here and somewhere safe. Tell me how long it will take for your ship to reach it" Everett looked at Rush.
"Sending now General..." said Nick.
Amanda spoke; "Destiny is accessing their computer now; downloading data. General, I think they will know we hacked their systems; Destiny is good, but they will know the files have been accessed."
The answer came back "It will take us ten moments to arrive there, at maximum speed."
Everett looked at Eli asking; "How long is a moment?" He shook his head, "What is our E.T.A Eli?"
Eli shrugged; "At full sublight, maybe a minute or two. I assume they mean ten minutes; man they have slow ships."
Everett nodded; "Ok..." he opened the com: "We will remain here to cover your exit, and meet you there shortly."
One ship and a fighter turned and left, headed toward the rendezvous point; the others returned to the battle, with one of the fighters being taken out within moments of leaving.
Chloe turned Destiny to leave; several blasts hit her shields in the process. Watching on screen, five smaller arrow ships continued to follow and fire at Destiny.
Everett said; "Damn it, I don't want them to follow us. Dr Franklin, can you target their engines only; I don't want to destroy their ships, just disable them..."
Franklin smiled "On it General; firing side guns." Within seconds, all five vessels were disabled in one form or another; Destiny's scanners detected no loss of life on the primitive ships, as Chloe increased to full sublight speed.
Castell put his hand affectionately on Everett's shoulder; "Good job Ev, clever decision... This war has been escalating over a couple of their years now, which is about one and a half of your years."
Everett asked the obvious question; "Why haven't you intervened before then?"
"The same reasons you decided not to; it isn't our war. One day you will understand that you can't fix everything; just remember if you try too, don't make matters worse. This is one of the reasons the Ancients don't like to interfere with humans and others." Castell always made a good point.
Everyone on the bridge understood what Castell had just said; Everett made the comment: "I'm starting to see why now."
Chloe interrupted "Ten seconds General..." She closed in on the two vessels and brought Destiny to a halt.
The ancient ship dwarfed the alien craft; Everett got on the radio to Matt with an order for two X302's to keep watch, then the com with a message.
"This is Commander Young; I have sent out two of our fighter ships to control the area, do you have a shuttle vessel available to commute to us?"
The reply made Everett lift an eyebrow. "No, our ship only carries fighter craft...but there is room for one of your shuttles we saw on the top deck of your ship."
Nick smiled at Everett; "I told you, nothing is as it seems..."
Everett made it clear, "I'm well aware of that Dr Rush!"
Eli had a thought. "Why don't we just fly the shuttle remotely; that way, if anything goes wrong none of us are in danger? At worst case you could turn off the air, or if we had no other choice, self destruct it. Either way, the shuttle's shields are no match for the X302's new firepower..."
Everett smiled again at Eli saying, "Well let's hope it doesn't come to that; make it happen Eli."
Sgt Greer got the call from Everett; "Have a heavily armed team on standby in the dock area, out of sight."
"Rodger that Sir; on my way" replied Greer.
Eli played with the CI screen for a few minutes before saying; "The shuttle is ready General, we can control it from here; I have also activated the onboard camera to keep watch. I have programmed a complex algorithm security lock on the shuttle controls; they'll just be passengers Sir."
"Good work Eli, I'll let them know where coming." Everett opened communications to the alien vessel. "This is Commander Young of Destiny; our shuttle has departed and will arrive to collect no more than two of your crew."
A reply came straight back; "Thank you Commander Young."
First Sergeant Greer was ready with his men in position, expecting the worst while hoping for the best.
Sgt Wallace called him on the radio; "Sir, our men are in position..."
Greer responded; "Good work Sergeant; no one fire until I give the order, unless you're fired upon. If that happens, take them both out."
Everyone on the bridge watched as two human people got onto the pilotless shuttle, and sat down in the pilot and co-pilot seats.
Eli smiled at Castell saying; "I would too..."
The two men didn't dare touch anything as Eli gently guided the shuttle to Destiny's hidden hanger bay. Sgt Greer and Cpl Stevens greeted the men as the doors to the shuttle opened; the two men carefully stepped out trying to take in the alien surroundings they now found themselves in.
Ronald spoke; "Hello; I am 1st Sergeant Greer, and this is Corporal Stevens. Welcome aboard Destiny...If you would like to follow me please." Ron kept his remarks to the point.
The two men stopped in their tracks at the sight of the readied Gen III X302; "Wow, we could probably win the war with just one of these; they're amazing, and so fast!"
Stevens raised an eyebrow to Greer, who gave him a discreet shake of his head "no" before saying to the men; "They are very fast, and manoeuvrable too; they're called a Generation III X302, please follow me." That was more than enough information for them he thought.
The whole time the men were in the hanger and on the way to the observation deck, two snipers discreetly followed; a sentry guard was placed outside of the doors, as Greer silently directed the men inside following behind.
Everett was standing at the window watching the stars as he heard the men enter the room; turning to face them he said very clearly;
"I am Commander Everett Young; our ship has fully automated defences both inside and out so be warned: do not attempt anything foolish. Now if you are here to ask us to fight on your side, this will not happen; it is not our war. We are only here to observe and show you the technological possibilities that await your people, if you can come to an understanding with your enemy. Normally I wouldn't lecture another race in these matters, but I believe under the circumstances here it is duly warranted."
The older and more decorated of the two men spoke up; "Commander Young; I can understand the position we have place you in but please, we are not here to make another enemy; especially one far more powerful than we have ever encountered. I apologise if we have given reason not to trust us, we simply seek another solution to our problem other than senseless killing." He bowed his head slightly and continued;
"Forgive me; I am General Tuk'Tak of the Ma'gers Army..." he held out his hand with an overturned clenched fist.
Now it was Everett's time to make an apology; looking at the upturned fist he said: "I'm sorry, I don't understand your greeting custom..."
Tuk'Tak gestured politely to Everett with his other hand, opposing his first; placing one on top of the other, only connecting wrist to wrist.
Everett got the hint and mimicked the movement with him; Tuk'Tak smiled as Everett said warm heartedly:
"Greetings General Tuk'Tak; welcome aboard Destiny..."