Chapter.4: - Rescue – Part.1.
Sumner: - Go to hell.
Wraith: - Earth first.
Excerpt from Stargate Atlantis 1X02 – Rising
Omak'Arai's Attack Ship
En route to Tritana Prime
Seconds before Athos's Destruction
Third Omak'arai stood to attention as he received a response and opened the channel from Commander Harris at Tritana Prime. As soon as his ship had left the Athosian system, Omak'arai had sent a subspace message to Tritana C&C and had reported on what occurred on the planet's surface. "… The Wraith had begun attacking the Athosian settlement as soon as they had defeated our forces…"
He was cut off when Xander had raised his hand to silence his subordinate. He knew what had happened, he didn't need reminding. "I'm well aware of what happened to our forces, Third. Continue."
The warrior had seen the grim look Xander expressed as he thought back to the destruction he had seen in the C&C, Omak'arai continued to recant what had happened during the Wraith attack. "We were observing a group of Human soldiers that had arrived through the Ring prior to the attack; First Talak'zilzak had ordered our platoon to split into two to continue surveillance. When the human soldiers split into two groups, I was instructed to follow a group of them to the Athosian encampment when an Athosian offered to take them to their leader. First Talak'zilzak remained at the Stargate and continued to observe the humans that had been instructed to stand guard at the gate."
As Omak told one of the four Founders of the Jem'Hadar race his report, Xander listened as his subordinate described how the human soldiers had defended the Athosian's and themselves when the Wraith attacked, he had really been surprised when Janus had told him that human's from Earth were going to be the help that he and the others were waiting for. Could Earth have advanced that far in the eight years that he and his friends had been gone? Did Earth have access to Starships of their own design? And allies? Had they made an enemy of an alien species in the Milky Way? These were the questions that ran through Xander's head when he was informed that they had arrived. But more importantly, he asked himself if they would actually be willing to help him and his people in their war against the Wraith.
He continued to listen to Omak'arai as he continued with his report. "… and when Colonel Sumner pushed me out of the way of the culling beam and was taken in my place along with the rest of my men, myself, Major Shepard and the three Athosian's observed as three Wraith cruisers descended into the atmosphere and fired on the old city. It was at that moment that I had ordered the Incursion Protocol's to be implemented, Sir." Omak'arai finished as he observed Xander digest the information.
It was a few moments later that Xander spoke. "And the protocols were followed exactly? The facility and the Listening Post were destroyed? The intel is secure?"
"Yes, Sir."
Xander nodded. While he regretted the destruction of the Athosian planet, he knew that by overloading the reactor core of the ZPM production facility would cause a chain reaction that could potentially destroy Athos. He knew now that the planet was now nothing more than a cloud of space dust and debris, but at least the Wraith fleet was caught in the explosion and destroyed as well, but it was small consolidation considering the lives of many Athosians and Jem'Hadar that didn't escape the planet's destruction.
The subspace beacons in the system had registered the destruction of the enemy fleet and Xander had a feral grin as he watched the sensor readings wink out of existence. Seeing the enemy get wiped out gave him a happy.
Now, he had to find his abducted Jem'Hadar, think of a way to get his people back from the Wraith and rescue some human's as well. "Third, didn't this human Major say that he had a Lieutenant observe the symbols the Wraith fighter activated on the Stargate before escaping?"
Omak'arai nodded as he repeated that section of his report to his Commander. Harris grinned. He had an address, now he needed Atlantis. 'Perhaps it's time for me to meet the new neighbours.'
"Omak'arai, I'm promoting you to Second. Report to the C&C when you arrive at Tritana; we're getting our people back."
"Yes, Sir." The newly promoted Jem'Hadar warrior grinned on the monitor; Xander nodded at him and then cut the communication, he had some planning to do and a fleet to put together.
'Warren should be on his way back shortly…'
Atlantis
The Gate room
A Few Seconds after Shepard's Return
"Major, the shield is about to fail and the ocean is about to come crashing in on us. Do you have another place that we can go to?" Dr. Weir asked as she looked at the Air Force Major and then towards the Athosian's; Shepard turned towards Teyla and Jinto, an idea forming. Now if he was quick enough…
"Teyla, you know any planet that we can gate to?" Shepard quickly asked.
The Athosian woman looked up at him as he made his way over to her. She passed Jinto off to another Athosian as Shepard neared her. "Yes, I know of many worlds that we can gate to."
Shepard helped her up and as the city began shaking more violently, they stumbled briefly before Shepard righted them both and hurried her over to the stairs leading to the control room. "Major! Who is she?"
Instead of Shepard answering, Teyla spoke. "I am Teyla Emmagan, daughter of Tagan. I speak for the Athosian's."
"She's pleased to meet you." Shepard replied; just as the two were about to climb the steps, the shaking became more violent and the two of them and Dr. Weir stumbled and hit the floor, Shepard and Teyla braced themselves against the steps as Weir held herself close to the floor.
The entire city shook harder as an all too brief flash of light could be seen through the tinted windows of the Gate room's tower the city's shield had finally collapsed. Everyone feared the worst. From the Athosian's who had just escaped from one dire situation only to seemingly walk into another to the Atlantis personnel who wanted to leave, but were now unable to do so.
"The shield's gone!" McKay shouted as another jolt shook the city hard, everyone tried to hold onto something… anything to steady themselves as the city continued to shake violently causing boxes and crates to fall and crash around.
"I'm dialling an address." Grodin shouts out as he turned and moved toward the Atlantis DHD, but Weir immediately told him to wait as did Rodney when they and then everyone felt the city beginning to move.
The Ancient city began to pick up speed as it rose from the depths of the ocean, everyone, both Atlantis personnel and Athosian refugee dared not move as they waited to see if they would live through the next tense few moments. Shortly, the city then broke through the surface, its towers first followed by the rest of the city. Sunlight poured in through the windows of the control tower, bathing the room and the people in light as the city settled into its new position on the surface.
The internal power comes back on as the lights and sconces within the Gate Room and the rest of the city light up. Shepard, Teyla and Dr. Weir all stand followed by everyone else, relief on all of their faces that they have all made it through the potential catastrophe that could've been.
With the sunlight coming through the windows, Weir and the others walk to the nearest one and look out in awe over the city. The sight they saw was breath – taking… Atlantis, the greatest bastion of an advanced civilisation, had risen to once again bring hope to the people of the Pegasus Galaxy.
Shortly, after everyone had quickly gotten used to their new situation, both the SGA people and the Athosian's had started to organise the Gate room. Ford had quickly gotten everyone moving while Dr's McKay, Weir and Major Shepard where convening upstairs in the control room. "OK, the last ZPM is completely depleted, but we've still got limited power. Atlantis must have redundancy back – up generators. Enough to provide power to life support and some systems, which are working by the way and the planet's atmosphere's breathable, but the generators are not going to be holding back an entire ocean anytime soon." McKay stated as he began checking the Atlantis and the Laptops to see what systems where accessible.
Elizabeth spoke as she stood near Shepard. "Can our Naquadah Generators supply enough power to the shield for defensive purposes?"
Shepard looked at McKay, looking for a positive answer. The Major's mind was still playing over what had happened back on Athos and he was eager to get his people back from what appeared to be a fearsome enemy, but his mind also considered the Jem'Hadar he had met on the planet as well. Where they a possible ally or another enemy to contend with as well as the Wraith? And why did that name sound familiar?
He and Ford hadn't even debriefed Weir about what had happened back on Athos yet and given what they had stepped into when coming to this Galaxy; he knew that they needed help and every advantage they could get. But in response to Weir, Rodney replied to her question and dashed Shepherd's hopes and hers in the process. "Not even close."
"On the surface without a shield? We're target practice. Especially with what happened back on Athos." The Major said as he brought attention to the fact that some of their people had been abducted. Rodney regarded Shepard with sarcasm, as if he wasn't aware of that little fact.
Weir looked at him as she wanted him to debrief her on what happened on the Planet. "What did happen, Major?"
"We were attacked by a hostile alien race the indigenous population call the Wraith. Colonel Sumner and Sergeant Bates were taken along with some of the Athosian's and… others." He replied as he began his report while McKay carried on checking the computers.
He looked up and glanced at the Major. "Others? What others?"
"Well as soon as the Wraith started attacking, we defended ourselves as best we could. The Wraith had some kind of fighter; it looked like a Dart, but definitely deadly. One of them had made our position and was coming in for an attack run when a group of alien soldiers appeared from the forest and opened fire on the… Dart alongside Sergeant Bates and his
Marines."
By now McKay and Weir looked at Shepard, nervous at what they had just been told. "What did they call themselves, Major?" She asked, filled with curiosity. She did not like the fact that she and her people had apparently been thrusted into a conflict between two alien races.
"They called themselves the Jem'Hadar." He said.
"What!?" McKay shouted startled as he dropped the Laptop he was holding in his hands; luckily it didn't break as it landed flat on the console. Looking up at the Major, he spoke with a raised voice. "What was that?"
"He said they called themselves Jem'Hadar."
Weir looked at the scientist, a questioning look in her eyes; Rodney's gaze flittered between hers and Shepard's. "Rodney?"
Thinking it to be a joke… or possibly an amazing coincidence, Rodney figured but mentioning a fictional alien race from a TV series despite the seriousness of the situation, he looked at the Major and saw the serious look in his eyes; he knew that Shepard was serious about what he saw and heard. Of that McKay had no doubt, but still, if he was right, a fictional race of alien soldiers from TV? "Describe them please, Major."
"Well, it was night on the planet, but from what I could see, they were grey skinned, wore dark military uniforms, carried some kind of energy rifles and they appeared out of nowhere. They just shimmered and appeared. And from the look on your face, McKay, I take it you know something, don't you?"
"What?" McKay asked suddenly. "How could I possibly…" He trailed off thinking that it had to be a coincidence; it just had to be! "… well… no! No, I'm sure it's just a coincidence. Has to be."
Shepard didn't believe him for one second. "You're sure?" Shepard asked as he took in the look on the Canadian's face before the scientist schooled his features once again.
"Yes I'm sure, Major. I think that we have more important things to be concerned about now anyway, wouldn't you agree?" The scientist reminded them before he checked a reading on his Laptop and then confirmed it on one of the Ancient consoles.
Shepard and Weir looked at the scientist again for another moment before they decided that he was right. Shepard knew that the scientist was sure that he knew that name as well as he did, but he had to concede the Canadian's point, they did have other things to worry about right now.
"Major, continue please." Requested Weir as she dismissed McKay and looked at the Air Force Major.
"OK, but I think I had better get Ford and Teyla up here as well." Shepard said; Weir understood the need of having Lt. Ford in the debriefing; but the Athosian? She was about to say something, but Shepard saw the look she was giving and quickly elaborated. "She knows about the Wraith and she's probably heard about this other race of aliens. We should find out what she knows." He elaborated.
Quickly seeing the Major's point after he had explained his reasoning, Elizabeth nodded at him while Rodney scoffed and muttered something she could barely make out. Shaking her head and trying her very best to ignore the muttering Canadian as he still went about trying to access the city's systems, Weir agreed and understood his reasoning; Teyla was a native of this Galaxy after all; she could provide them with valuable intelligence. And from what she had just been told about what had happened on Athos, she just knew that this report was going to be very interesting.
"Major Shepard, please bring Lt. Ford and..." She trailed off.
"Teyla." Shepard quickly filled in for her.
"… Teyla up here, please." She ordered before she started looking around the control room. Shepard nodded and quickly departed, knowing that Ford and Teyla were helping the Athosians settle in. As she moved about the control room, Elizabeth spotted a deserted office that overlooked the Gate room.
Wraith Hive Ship
Unknown Location
He didn't how long he had been out for, but as he was starting to come to; he could hear hushed voices close by. As consciousness returned to him, Col. Sumner vaguely remembered what had happened back on Athos: The attack, people running, screaming and the Wraith fighters and the Jem'Hadar.
He opened his eyes slowly; he noticed that he and the rest of his men were in a cell. It was dark and gloomy and it didn't inspire any warm and fuzzy feelings in him at all. He looked around and saw that they were not alone as well. Some of the Athosian's that had been taken were with them as well; one of them, Halling he remembered, turned, looking at him as he heard him coming around, the other Athosian who he saw back in the tent on the planet looked down at him as well but dismissed him just as quickly.
"Colonel Sumner." Halling said garnering the attention of Sergeant Bates and the rest of the Marines as they saw that he was finally waking up, they went over to help their CO stand. Bates and Halling helped him up as Sumner quickly took stock of the situation. He took another quick look around the cell and noticed that it was just human's inside, so he was wondering where the Wraith had taken the Jem'Hadar.
Halling seemed to pick up on his line of thought. "The… Jem'Hadar, I believe your men called them, were separated from us, Colonel. When I awoke earlier, it was only us in the cell. I do not know where they would be."
Sumner frowned but nodded, he shook off Bates' and the Athosian's help with a nod of thanks as he found his strength returning to his legs. Stepping away from the two of them, he walked over to the cell door, he noted that it looked like a metallic spiderweb, but when he touched it, it felt warm and fleshy. It was organic he surmised; he applied pressure onto it to see if it would budge but just as quickly found that he couldn't move it at all.
'Strong. Damn it.' Moving away from the door of the cell, Sumner then turned and moved back towards Halling. He needed answers and now was the time to get them. Before they didn't have any time left to them at all. "What do you know about the Jem'Hadar? What have we gotten ourselves into here?"
Halling looked back to his people; he had told them what he and Teyla had suspected about the strange looking aliens for a while now; it was only fair that Sumner and his people knew as well. "Teyla and I first started to hear rumours about them ten of our seasons ago from our trading partners; it was said that they had appeared on a world that was being culled by the Wraith. When they appeared, it was said that they had appeared out thin air."
Sumner nodded at that. Having seen the effect himself it was… impressive. He idly wondered if it was a natural ability the Jem'Hadar possessed or if their ability to disappear and reappear utilised a technological means. He gestured for Halling to continue as Bates and the rest of the Marines listened, but went back to watching from the cell door.
"When we had first heard about them, we had thought that they were the Ancestors themselves. Returning to defeat the Wraith and finally free the people of this Galaxy from their oppression, but after we had heard more about them from many other survivors of culled worlds, we began to believe otherwise."
Sumner looked at him when the tall Athosian mentioned the Ancestors. It was obvious that he was talking about the Ancients, but Sumner wondered if the Jem'Hadar had been created by the Ancients to fight the Wraith. It was a pertinent question and he had more running through his head and he wanted to ask Halling about what else he knew.
"I do not know anything more about them. It is only that by fighting the Wraith, they have brought hope to my people and hope to many others throughout the Galaxy. This is the first time I have been told that they had made an appearance on Athos, but considering what happened there…" He trailed off for a moment as everyone inside heard footsteps coming down the hallway; it appeared they didn't have long left. "…I believe you have inadvertently brought your people into a war between the Wraith and the Jem'Hadar."
The footsteps were becoming louder now; a few of the Marines could hear three distinct sets of footsteps. Sumner ordered his people away from the door, turning one last time towards Halling, he spoke with resignation. "Any idea what to expect?" Halling looked grimly at him. The expression told Sumner that he was not expecting anything good.
"Someone comes." Toran called out as he heard the footsteps getting louder now as the footfalls echoed down the corridor. Sumner took a look at the Athosian's and he saw that a few of them were nervous and scared, he felt for them. Being held captive by the enemy was unpleasant.
He turned towards Bates and the Marines, they were faring slightly better but he could see signs of nervousness on them as well. They didn't know the Wraith; they didn't know what to expect from the enemy. Only time would tell.
A Wraith turned the corner and strode down the hallway towards their cell; the Marines and Athosian's saw what it looked like. It was male, tall and thin with long white hair going down its back and wearing a long black floor length robe or coat. It was a humanoid, but it was clearly not human; they could see that it had a lot of teeth, green skin and clawed hands.
As it moved closer toward their cell, they could make out its eyes: Two yellow slit like eyes full of malicious intent and evil. It was accompanied by two guards, they were taller and more burly looking than the one in the coat and the others could make out that they were different from him. The guards had their faces obscured by coral like masks… well they thought that it was coral.
When the three had approached the cell, the door opened and they walked inside. Sumner was standing when they got near and approached them. "I'm Colonel Marshall Sum…"
Thrusting its arm out, the lead Wraith struck Sumner in the chest, throwing the Colonel back across the cell with such force he crashed into the wall and fell to the floor, the Marines tensed, prepared for anything that the Wraith would do next, but the lead Wraith looked at Toran and gestured at the Athosian with a look of anticipation.
Toran looked frightened as the lead Wraith smiled wide, showing it's ghastly looking teeth as if he could sense the fear that its mere presence instilled within the humans. One of the Wraith guards stalked toward him.
"No, please." Toran begged.
The guard grabbed the Athosian by the throat and lifted him off the floor effortlessly; carrying the frightened human in one hand as if it wasn't even a strain for him to do so the guard turned and walked out of the cell with the scared Athosian clinging to the Wraith's arm.
"Please, take me in his place." Halling called out, but Sumner's voice cut through his as he spoke.
"No, take me!" Sumner stood up as he addressed the lead Wraith. "We're the ones you're after, right? We fought back when you attacked these people. I'm their Leader."
The Wraith looked at him dismissively for a moment then turned to leave with the other guard. The door sealed behind them.
"Thank you Colonel, but they have no need to explain themselves to anyone." Halling said as they watched the retreating forms of the Wraith and the guard.
"Yeah, I got that."
Atlantis Control Room
Dr. Weir's Newfound Office
Twenty Minutes Later
After Ford and Shepard had given their report about what happened on the planet, Elizabeth truly wished that she could dial Earth right now, call General O'Neill and tell him to stick the job where the sun don't shine. She wanted to be an explorer, discover the lost city of the Ancients and learn their history, discover their secrets; not be drawn into a galaxy wide conflict between two alien races.
Elizabeth listened as Teyla begun speaking about the Wraith. "They are evil. I would leave it at that, but you want to know what I know about them?" She asked the woman.
"Yes, please. If there is any way we can find for us to try and coexist with them…" Elizabeth started to say, but Teyla cut her off. Neither of them missed the wide – eyed look that Major Shepherd shot Dr. Weir.
"Coexist? You are mistaken, Doctor. The Wraith allows our kind to grow in number, and when that number reaches a certain point, they return to cull their human herd. Do you understand? We are their food supply."
Rodney and Elizabeth stared at her with wide eyes. Rodney went pale at the thought that an alien race used humans as livestock and Elizabeth wasn't soon far off either. Shepard and Ford didn't take the information lightly either, but they were more composed than the other two.
Teyla gave them a moment before she continued. "My people believed that it happens again and again. We are allowed to grow in number. Sometimes a few hundred years will pass before they awaken, sometimes sooner, but they always return. We have visited many worlds, but I know of none that were ever left untouched by the Wraith. The last great culling was five generations ago. Many people were taken from many, many worlds, but they still return in smaller numbers. To remind us of their power. Until…"
"Until the Jem'Hadar. Still it must've been a hell of a way to live." Shepard said.
"Yes." Teyla said, turning back and nodding at him.
"Cannibalistic aliens, oh please…!" McKay scoffed before he muttered something else under his breath that the others couldn't hear.
"You don't believe me, Dr. McKay?" Teyla asked as she and the others heard the Canadian's rebuttal.
Suddenly on the spot, Rodney coughed, and then responded. "Well, I, um, I – I believe what you think you saw, but…" He trailed off as he saw the Athosian's gaze narrowing at him.
Was it suddenly getting hotter in here? Rodney idly thought as he shifted in his seat under the Athosian's heated gaze, he looked around at the faces of the others and saw Shepard and Ford smirking at his discomfort, while Weir scowled at him.
Right, no help from them then, he figured. He was going to continue, but Teyla spoke first.
"It does not matter what you believe I thought I saw. Major Shepard was there and he saw them as well. And in regards to the Jem'Hadar, you have heard when he had reported to you of their advanced weaponry and apparent use of… beaming technology?" She turned to look at him, wondering if she got the term correct.
Shepard looked at her and nodded in return; Teyla turned back to the Canadian and continued. "Whoever they are, Dr. McKay the Jem'Hadar are a highly advanced people and are in conflict with the Wraith. They fought alongside your people in defence of mine. I am grateful to them for that. And it was Omak'arai who helped me, Jinto, Wex and Major Shepard to escape the attack."
Rodney went to retort, but Elizabeth interrupted. "I think we can all agree that the discovery of the Wraith and the Jem'Hadar merit further discussion for later." She stated, she then turned to look at Teyla and smiled at her. "Thank you Teyla. You and your people are welcome to stay here for as long as necessary. I offer my condolences to you for the people that were taken; if you'd like, Lieutenant Ford will escort you to your people."
Teyla nodded her head at Elizabeth in gratitude before rising from her chair. As she was about to leave, she turned to Shepard and spoke. "Thank you, Major."
Shepard told her that is was no problem and smiled at her; the Athosian Leader placed her hands on both sides of his head and brought their forehead's together. Everyone looked at the two of them for a moment. Weir smirked at the scene, as did Ford before he looked down at the floor to hide his grin. McKay rolled his eyes and mumbled something along the lines that to Elizabeth sounded like 'God, he's a Kirk.' before he looked away scowling.
Teyla soon pulled away from Shepard and lowered her hands before she smiled and nodded again before Ford escorted her to where the Athosian's were. Shepard watched her go, and then turned to glare at McKay. "I heard that."
Tritana Prime Command & Control
Thirty Minutes Later
Fresh from his battle hours earlier in the Lantean sector, First Mears had returned to Tritana and made his way towards the C&C to see Xander. The former Sunnydalian had been contacted by his friend while he was on his way back to the planet and had been told to report to him as soon as he beamed down to the surface. If Warren had any issue with Xander giving him commands, he didn't show it. It was a by – product from Halloween when they had dressed as Jem'Hadar. Considering that it was Xander's idea in the first place that the four of them dress as Dominion foot soldiers at the last minute since their plan to initially dress as four Starfleet Captains had fallen through.
He had postulated that the spell that had changed them in the first place must have taken that into account as Xander was made the First when the change occurred. With Xander being made the First, Warren had been made the Second while Jono was changed into the Third and Andrew, the Fourth.
It was meritocratic democracy at its finest, Warren posited as he thought back to that night; he would've liked it if he was made the First, but he supposed that Xander was probably the best qualified person for it. It was like an instinct that had been ingrained within him to accept Xander as the First.
When he and the others had been told about the truth of Sunnydale by Xander when the spell had been broken, he, Jono and Andrew were initially surprised, but the more they thought about all of the strange occurrences that had happened in the town, especially when Buffy Summers had arrived and the rumours about her had started about her, Willow and Xander and that British Librarian… Giles he idly remembered of the man's name, then the more that everything had eventually made sense to him and the others.
The PCP gang members that in fact turned out to be Vampires. The supposedly accidental deaths by BBQ forks and wild dog attacks to the neck actually turned out to be vampire attacks. It was crazy, but even he and Andrew couldn't deny the evidence once they had seen it.
After banishing the thoughts of a home long since gone from his mind, Warren focused more about the Galaxy that had been his home for eight years. He had soon neared the C&C and quickly made his way inside. It was a bustle of activity as many Jem'Hadar were at their posts monitoring the war effort; Warren looked around for Xander and saw his friend standing near one of the main operations control stations waiting.
Warren walked over to the station were a few Jem'Hadar had quickly stood to attention as soon as he walked past before they went back to work. Warren nodded briefly before he carried on and greeted Xander. "Xand, you wanted to see me?"
Xander turned and Warren could immediately tell that his friend was all business. "War, you remember when you registered that gravimetric distortion coming from Lantea earlier?" He asked as he gestured for Warren to come and see what he was looking at. It was fleet deployments from the frontlines.
What was Xander thinking? Was Warrens' main thought as he looked at the layout; from his viewpoint, it looked like Xander wanted to… "Xander, why are you pulling ships from the Frontlines near Sateda, Thenora and Dalera? They haven't been secured from the Wraith yet."
Xander continued to sort through the fleet deployments as he spoke. "Those sectors are as good as ours already. Our forces have either pushed back or destroyed over eighty – five percent of the Wraith fleets in those sectors. And besides I'm only pulling sixteen percent of our ships back temporarily."
Warren boggled; out of all those ships in the three Sectors that Xander mentioned, there was over two hundred fifty attack ships, battlecruisers and battleships spread out over the three sectors of space. "But why do you need forty ships?"
Sighing, Xander told Warren what had happened at Athos. "The Wraith took the Athosian sector. I think they were after the listening post we had stationed there; somehow they found about it and launched a second offensive to take the planet; they attacked the Athosian settlement and culled some of the humans and some of our people. They also took some humans… from Earth apparently."
Warren did a double take. Humans from Earth had been on Athos at the time of the attack? He idly thought. "How the hell did humans from Earth…" He asked before he worked the answer out himself. "Lantea! So that's why you want the ships. You're hoping to form an alliance with the people on Lantea. But what's down there? I know that my ship detected the gravimetric distortion, so I know that there's a Stargate down there, but what else is down there?"
Xander told him. "Atlantis."
"The lost city? Earth found the lost city of the Ancients!?" The implications of that were staggering to Warren; it meant that Earth knew about the Stargates and the Ancients themselves. He tried to wrap his head around the fact that in the eight years that they have been here, possibly longer, Earth had begun exploring alien worlds. "OK, so you're going on a rescue op, right? But it's going to be at least a day before those ships get here…" He started to say.
"No, we're going to rendezvous en route to Lantea. Its' gonna be close but time is going to be a factor on this one." Xander said as he finalised the order for the ship redeployments. Once he was done, he handed the orders to an officer and told him to contact those ships' Captains and inform them to head to Lantea; the officer nodded and soon began relaying his Commander's orders to the ships in question.
Xander turned back towards Warren. "I need you here at the C&C for the time being, War. I've been to see Andrew for a status update on Project Basestar. I'm impressed with the work he's managed to do in such short a time…"
Warren grinned at the news. Project Basestar had certainly been an ambitious idea when he and Andrew had initially come up with the project.
"… but, I've asked him to remove the Wraith systems he was going to incorporate into the Attack Raider's design and install our tech." Xander told him.
"What? But Xan…" Warren began.
"Hear me out, man." Xander said raising his hand up to forestall his friend's complaint. Warren quieted down and Xander continued. "I know you and Andy wanted to test out the insertion system, but the time it would've taken to solve the problem just isn't worth the wait." Xander reasoned. "He said that it would only take a week for him to finish the installation with our tech base; I want you to help him; get the Attack Raider prototype tested and into production ASAP… I want those birds and the Basestars up and flying, Warren. We need them now."
Warren sighed but nodded at his friend's order; understanding Xander's need for the fighters. He knew that the Defence Force needed the fighters to contend with the Wraith fighters. With them, the Wraith certainly had the numbers in any of their ship to ship engagements; the fighters that Andrew was working on would even the odds out greatly.
"Alright, I'll get right on it." He said to his friend, getting a grateful nod in return. "Just out of curiosity, what's the problem he's having with the Wraith systems?"
"He said that he can't get our systems to integrate with the Wraith tech he incorporated into the design… something about the EPS flow rate distribution affecting the other systems." Xander repeated.
Mears nodded at the explanation. Ever the resident tech genius alongside Andrew, his mind was already coming up with several ideas that could've possibly solved the problem, but as Xander had already ordered him to help Andrew remove the Wraith tech from the Attack Raider, it was a moot point now.
"I'll see what I can do. When are you leaving?" Warren asked; Xander looked behind him as he looked at the time on one of the monitors; he was expecting Omak'arai's ship to arrive momentarily. He had a detachment of Jem'Hadar soldiers waiting for him when the ship arrived. They were going to help rescue the humans that were taken.
"As soon as Omak'arai's' ship gets here; I'll be taking it back out. I've got a detachment from the Sixth platoon waiting on standby. I'm taking them with me." Xander answered.
"Do you know where they were taken to?" Warren asked as Xander hadn't told him if he knew the location they were taken to.
"No, that's why I'm heading to Lantea first. Omak'arai heard that one of the soldiers from Atlantis saw the symbols on the dialling device when the Wraith fighter that took our people was escaping. I'm going there to request they give me the symbols. You know that the symbols on the Stargates are matches for the constellations in Pegasus. Our computers can extrapolate where they were taken to from the symbols and I can go get our people and the humans." Xander finished as he walked back to the operations console.
Warren looked down at the display of ships and saw that the vessel's Xander had requested were already moving away from the various fronts and were heading towards Lantea as other ships moved to fill those vacant positions on the various Frontlines. At the speed they were going in Hyperspace, they would be there under three hours. He noticed another ship that was travelling in Hyperspace towards Tritana. Omak'arai's ship he mused as he spotted the IFF reading, it wasn't that far out now; just four light years away.
Warren assumed that that Xander was waiting until the ship was in range of their long range transports before leaving. The four of them all knew that Dominion technology in the show was highly advanced than even Starfleet's. They were able to transport over vast distances at a maximum of three light years thanks to the transponders fitted into the transport systems.
It was just a few minutes later when the C&C had received a message from Omak'arai saying that he had reached the co – ordinates for transport. Xander nodded as he read the message and turned to his friend.
"It's time. Watch the place for me." He said to his friend with a smirk as he turned towards the doors to the C&C and left. Xander made his way over to where the detachment of Jem'Hadar were waiting for him; when they saw him, the platoon of soldiers stood to attention as Xander walked over to a nearby weapons rack and picked up a polaron rifle, fitted the bayonet attachment to the weapon and then proceeded to place two Phasers into the holsters on his uniform.
When he had finished loading up, he turned around and saw that his warriors were similarly armed and a few were fitted with grenade belts as well and a few of them wielding the Kar'takin blade for hand to hand fighting.
Good he'd thought; better to have them than to not have them and want them. After taking in the readiness of his men, Xander addressed them.
"The Wraith have taken many of our brother's and human's from Athos prisoner and are no doubt, at this moment attempting to find out everything they know about us. I find this unacceptable, as should you. This is a rescue operation gentlemen; pure and simple." He said as he began walking left and right, addressing the detachment of warriors. We've received intel that a group of humans from Atlantis…" There were some murmurs from the group as Xander listened. "…arrived through the Stargate and made contact with the indigenous people just before the Wraith attacked." Xander stopped walking and stood in the middle of the floor as he continued the briefing, the murmurs had stopped soon after. "We believe that the Wraith had discovered the location of the listening post stationed there, and shortly after our forces that were left defending the sector were destroyed, the Wraith attacked the old city. As per standard procedure, the Incursion Protocols were implemented, but as you know there was a Lantean ZPM production facility there; we assume that the Wraith attack had damaged some or most of the systems there and a chain reaction occurred. Athos is gone."
There was more murmuring and Xander could hear some of his soldiers growling in anger as they processed the news. "We're heading to the planet Lantea to make contact with the group of humans from Atlantis; they had some of their people taken along with some of the natives when Athos was attacked. We know at least one of the human soldiers saw which symbols on the Stargate the Wraith fighter dialled when escaping so we're going to make contact."
He waited for a moment as he looked at his men, when he mentioned that Jem'Hadar had been taken, he saw a few of them tense up and more started growling. He knew now that his warriors were now baying for Wraith blood; which was just what he wanted. He grinned ferally before he continued. "Make no mistake; we will make the Wraith pay for taking our brother's and the lives of those lost to us! We will not stop until our brothers have been freed and the Wraith has been made to pay for their actions!"
He stopped as the warriors cheered out at the thought of making the Wraith pay in blood for the many atrocities they had committed; Xander waited until they had gotten it out of their system before he finished. "The rescue of the prisoner's is the priority, here gentlemen. Everything else is secondary. Elements of the Second, Fifth, Twelfth and Twenty – First fleets at Sateda, Thenora and Dalera are en route to rendezvous with us at Lantea. From there, once we have secured the Stargate symbols from the humans, we will be going in fast and going in hard. Understood?"
"YES, SIR." They all shouted. And Xander believed them.
Reaching for his communicator, Xander contacted the C&C and told them to patch his communicator through to Omak'arai's ship. "Acknowledged Sir. Standby…"
A moment passed until Omak'arai's voice sounded over the communicator. "This is Second Omak'arai. Go ahead Sir."
"Omak, we're ready for transport. Beam us up, and then set a course for Lantea, best speed." Xander ordered.
"Acknowledged Commander. Standby."
Just as the line went dead, Xander and everyone were enveloped in the transporter effect and were shortly beamed away.
They were going to get their people back.
Seconds later, the C&C registered the IFF of Omak'arai's attack ship entering Hyperspace on course for Lantea.
Wraith Hive Ship
Unknown Location
Sumner and the others waited inside the cell trying to think of a plan of escape. Everyone inside had no idea how much time had passed since they were taken, but Sumner knew that his people would be looking for him. He listened as his Marines suggested that they jump the Wraith when they return, they had the numbers, but no weapons. He stood next to the Athosian's as Bates and a few of the Marines were waiting on either side of the door as they heard three sets of footsteps coming down the corridor once more.
"Get ready." Bates said as the Marines waited. Soon the Wraith from before and the two guards had returned and as the cell opened they stepped through.
"NOW!" Bates shouted as he jumped at the leading Wraith and like Sumner before, the Wraith acted quickly with sharp, superior reflexes as he dodged to the side of the Marines' attack and grabbed the man and threw him head first into the wall. Sumner watched as he saw the man fall and crumple to the floor. Sumner charged the Wraith but again he was pushed back, he looked to the Athosian's and saw that apart from Halling, they were too fearful to help, but not even Halling moved to help him.
The rest of the Marines weren't faring any better themselves; some of them had been thrown against the cell walls like Bates had while the two guards held three others by the throat and held them off the floor. Sumner had to do a double take again at the show of strength the two guards exhibited. Shaking his head as he got up, he shouted. "ENOUGH! YOU WIN, YOU BASTARDS. LET THEM GO."
The lead Wraith sneered at him before he tilted his head to the side. Sumner watched as the guard holding up the two Marines dropped them to the floor, but the remaining guard still held one other Marine.
"Let him go; you've proven we can't beat you. Release him." Sumner stated calmly, Bates had recovered enough to stand and glare with hate filled eyes at the three aliens. Inside, the Marine was kicking himself because the plan had backfired; the Wraith looked at Bates and sneered in his direction, showing the Marine a rictus grin before he turned and walked out of the cell. The guard carrying the Marine walked out behind him as the man struggled futilely in the tall alien's vice – like grip.
The cell door closed behind the guard as Sumner and Bates rushed to the metal like spiderweb. "GET BACK HERE! I'M HIS COMMANDING OFFICER; BRING HIM BACK. DO YOU HEAR ME? BRING HIM BACK!" He shouted out to the retreating alien's form as the malicious being ignored his plea. He watched with ever increasing despair as the alien guard walked down the corridor with the Marine before he disappeared from view.
Sumner turned and went to check up on the Marines that had been knocked out while Bates checked on the two men the other alien guard had released, when they saw that they were alright, everyone startled when they suddenly heard faint screaming coming down the corridor. Sumner took note that the Athosian's turned away from the noise as he stood and went over to the cell door.
After a few moments, Sumner could tell that the screams were a mixture of human and… something else. "What the hell is that?" He asked aloud.
It was Halling that replied as he forced himself to look directly at the Colonel. As memories from long ago replayed in the back of his mind as it did with the other Athosian's. "It is the Wraith. Feeding." He replied to the Colonel.
Author's Note: -
Hey everyone, here's Chapter four for you. Like the previous chapters this has been rewritten and differs from the original on TTH, hopefully for the best. This is now up to date with this posting; I started working on Chapter five a while ago but stopped when I had the idea to write the Prideful. In other words, my muse decided to leave me high and dry on it and I had to hire a new one! However with the posting of this story on this site, my muse has resurrected the story.
Chapter five should be up soon. Read and review.
Peace