So... "Tomorrow's" Friday (as I'm posing this at 9pm on Thursday, October 16th) and I'll be busy babysitting my nieces. As such, to be sure I don't forget to post this then, here's chapter 25 a few hours ahead of schedule, and yes that means that there will be no update for Friday, October 17th. Nevertheless, enjoy. Next week we get to the good parts!
Chapter 25
Avenue of Souls
***Milky Way Galaxy (Local Spur Arm)***
**Paciscor of Nex (Starboard Bay Three)**
*USS Odyssey (Bridge)*
"This is where we say goodbye and go our separate ways," Sieon said with small smile.
"You're leaving?" Daniel asked.
"We both are," Sieon replied. "You are going back to your people, and I am doing the same. I need to report to the High Council all that I've learned, but I assure you, Doctor Jackson, we will meet again."
"Why weren't you with your people when we found you?" Jack asked.
"After they learned of what I had done, I was banished by the High Council. They couldn't just kill me because the Ancients wouldn't allow them to impart a punishment that undid their own, but they had to do something because the Furlings of this reality wanted my head. Needless to say, banishment was the only thing they could come up with because of the Ancients' interference."
"Well…" Daniel said nervously. "Best of luck to you."
With a smile, Sieon turned to Sam. "Do you still have the crystal orb that you recovered from the Lucian Alliance? The one you locked away because you thought it contained an AI?"
"Yes," Sam replied.
"Would you be willing to retrieve it for me?"
"Sure," Sam said somewhat awkwardly before leaving. She returned a moment later with an orb in her hands full of pulsating colors. "Here," Sam said while holding it out. Sieon took the orb in one, three-fingered hand then brought that same arm up to his face. With his right hand, he drug his fingers across his left forearm and a holographic display appeared from his armor. With a few commands put into the holographic terminal, he then handed the orb back to Sam. "What's this?" Sam asked.
"A gift," Sieon replied. "Inside of the crystal is a copy of Widget's AI code. We put them in the satellites to assure that he could control them. As long as the orb is connected to a subspace transponder, you will have access to all of his knowledge, and he will be able to relay messages between us. This way, you have a means of contacting me. It also helps to have an AI of your own when you know you're about to jump into combat with a race of them."
"Thank you," Daniel said when no one else knew what to say.
"I bid you farewell, people of the Tau'ri. With any luck, we will meet again soon," Sieon replied with a smile before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
"Well?" Daniel asked as the ship vibrated around them.
Sam handed him the orb and sat at Marks' terminal. "We're drifting free," she reported.
After being briefed on the Cylons, Jack had decided he wanted to meet them. Being the highest ranking officer present, he was bound to get what he wanted. The hangar doors opened to allow the Odyssey to pass through and Sam took them out.
"I'll never get tired of seeing that," Jack said in a tone of disappointment. He really was hoping they were going to get to keep the ship.
"What do I do with this?" Daniel asked as he held the orb in his hands.
"We could hook it up to the ship," Vala suggested. "That is what it's for."
"It's an AI," Jack replied.
"A Furling AI," Daniel stressed. "They're our allies, Jack."
"Gabi made a cradle for it," Sam said as she plotted their hyperspace course. Behind them, the Nex was consumed in a burst of light that traveled over the ship like a wave and looked eerily familiar to a Stargate's unstable vortex. Once the whole ship was covered, it vanished. 'I want one!' Sam practically pouted in the privacy of her own mind. "It's in one of the auxiliary labs."
***Local Cluster (Sol System)***
**Mars (Orbit)**
*Captured Baseship (Combat Information Center)*
The last gut-wrenching jump deposited them in orbit of the Red Planet only without the gut-wrenching part. By now, they were all so used to it that they could sleep through the jumps without being bothered.
"Oh my god!" Kirsten exclaimed as she took in the image of Mars below them. "FINALLY!"
"You got that one right," Kimi agreed with a heavy sigh.
"Sir, I have General Landry on the line," Cassidy reported.
"Patch him through," Oliver ordered as he stepped up to the comms station.
"Colonel, I wasn't expecting you to show up in something so…" Landry trailed off and shook his head. "It's you. I should always expect this. Colonel Davidson made it back a few days ago and told us your story. I have to say, I'm impressed you got this far. Where are the Colonials?"
"Davidson made it back?" Oliver asked, his tone full of relief. "What happened to the Odyssey?"
"General O'Neill has it," Landry replied with another shake of his head. "I've got a hell of story to tell you, Colonel, but I still want to know what happened to the Colonials."
"They're safely tucked away in a nebula that the Cylons can't scan anything in. The ship we captured is faster than their fleet so we told them to stay behind and we'd go back for them later. Like yours, it's a long story."
***Milky Way Galaxy (Local Spur Arm)***
**Dead Space (Cylon Fleet)**
*Cavil's Baseship (Combat Information Center)*
There were seven Baseships in 'his' fleet. Each crewed entirely by one of the Human-form models' line. It had been Cavil's idea for the Human-forms to 'learn how to be independent of the Centurions,' but his real reason behind it was to eventually have a fleet of his own where the others wouldn't be able to stick their collective noses in his affairs.
"Beautiful isn't it, brother?" another One asked as he walked up beside Cavil.
"Indeed it is, but its beauty is irrelevant. Take a picture if you wish, but this insignificant cloud will soon be far behind us," the first One responded.
"I'm not so sure that this place is as insignificant as you believe it to be, brother. If my readings are accurate, the Odyssey is hailing us," a third One said from behind the duo.
"My brothers and sisters," an Eight said through their neural link, "we must be careful here. If the news delivered by the Threes is correct, then these people are responsible for…"
"We know already! Everything you know we know, now let's get this over with and just blow them up already!" Cavil interrupted her.
"No, I want to talk to them first," Six replied.
"And why in God's name would you want to do that?" Cavil sneered.
"Because they want to talk to us, and we need to keep them busy long enough to upload a virus into their computers. If they really are from Earth then they must have the coordinates somewhere in their navigational computers," Two said.
"Very well then," Cavil relented as he answered the call. "This is Brother Cavil, Model One, and member of the Cylon Collective. What do you want?" Cavil sneered with disgust clear in his voice.
*USS Odyssey (Bridge)*
Ignoring the hostile tone, Daniel replied, "We wish to talk."
"About what?" another, less hostile, male voice asked.
"Your conflict with the Colonials. We know only what Laura Roslin has told us, and we'd like to get your side of the story," Daniel replied.
"Very well," a new, obviously female, voice said. As the Cylons began to weave a tale of slavery, rebellion, betrayal, misunderstanding, and divine conquest, Daniel listened intently.
After about ten minutes of what seemed like the Asurans' story all over again, Widget's electronic voice said, "Sieon was right, they're attempting to hack your files."
"Can you stop them?" Sam asked.
Widget's electronic laugh was the only answer they got for a whole two seconds. "'Can I' she asks. Ha! On a more serious tone, they can't read Asgard binary so they can't break Asgard firewalls."
"So you can stop them?" Jack stressed.
"I don't need to, General. Your computers are immune to their virus."
"That's a yes," Sam clarified.
"Are you ordering me to stop them? Because I was thinking of giving them false information instead," the AI replied with a devious tone. Convincing Jack to let them hook the AI up to the Odyssey hadn't even been that hard once Sam said that the Cylons beat the Colonials with a virus. After that, he was all for the extra protection… that they, apparently, didn't even need.
"You can do that?" Mitchell asked.
"Yes, but only if you authorize it," Widget's bodiless voice responded. Sam had locked him out of all but the internal comms system. She just didn't feel safe giving him free access to the ship and Jack had agreed with her.
"Okay, give them the location of the nearest black hole and say it's the Colonials, give them one of Ba'al's worlds and say it's Earth, and, just for fun, give them a fake schematic for a naquadah nuke, but make it need something found only in…" Jack said before he ran out of ideas.
"The minefield where the Odyssey was hijacked by the Lucian Alliance last year?" Daniel offered.
"Yes! That sounds like fun!" Jack exclaimed.
"Okay, the changes have been made. I'm releasing the virus into a virtually simulated computer world, and… their upload is complete, I'm destroying the virus now. What happens next?" Widget asked.
As one of the Cylon Baseships opened fire with all of its missiles, Sam sighed and said, "I think I'm starting to understand how the Goa'uld feel. They're launching nukes."
"Blow 'em out of the sky," Jack ordered with a disappointed tone to his voice.
"There's too many, I can't get them all," Sam replied.
"Give me control of the point-defense weapons systems," Widget said. When no one made a move to comply, he added, "Oh come on! This is what I was built for and I haven't seen any action in longer than your species has been walking on two legs!" With a look at Jack, who nodded his approval, Sam let Widget run loose through the ship's computers. "Targeting missiles now…" After a moment of far more accurate fire against the incoming missiles, he added, "Sam's right, there's too many. Some of them are going to make it through. You did thank the Asgard for your shields before they died, right?"
*Cavil's Baseship (Combat Information Center)*
Cavil watched as the Humans attempted, and failed, to shoot down all the missiles headed their way. He grinned in satisfaction as five nuclear missiles made it through their defenses and struck the ship. A split-second later the small craft was consumed in nuclear fire.
"You fool. We weren't finished yet!" the Threes scolded them.
"How dare you go against the Consensus!" the Sixes declared, the rest of the lines quickly agreeing with the female model.
"Are you going to stand there gawking or are you going to help me eliminate a ship we know damn well can take on twenty Baseships?" Cavil shot back. To his satisfaction, the other Baseships opened fire en mass.
The comms channel opened again, this time forced open by unknown means, before a very fierce voice spoke to them. "You've just made the last mistake of your miserable existence!" one of the Humans said. The last thing Cavil and the others remembered before the entire fleet was destroyed and their minds picked up by the Resurrection Fleet, were the beams of blue light that tore their ships apart with a single hit to each.
***Local Cluster (Sol System)***
**Earth (Surface)**
*Stargate Command (Briefing Room)*
Landry held the ZPM in his hand and looked it over with a sense of wonder. Then he picked up another and held them both. "Strange feeling, isn't it?" Oliver asked. "Knowing that you hold in your hands enough power to destroy an entire solar system… it makes you think."
Landry looked up to the Italian and smiled the first genuine smile he had ever given the man. In all the years that they'd known each other, Landry had thought of Oliver as an annoyance. When they first met and Oliver showed-up Landry's own forces by doing alone what his entire team couldn't, it had formed a wedge between them. Afterwards, Landry just never let go of that feeling. Now… now he was thinking.
"You just made it off of my shit-list," Landry replied.
"You mean I'm not at the top of your shit-list anymore?" Oliver asked in an attempt to clarify.
"No," Landry replied with a shake of his head and a very small smile. "You're off it entirely."
Oliver raised an eyebrow at that. "Who are you and where is General Landry?" he asked.
"Funny," Landry huffed before hitting his ear piece. "Walter, is the generator the Asgard gave us still hooked up to the Gate?"
"Yes, sir," the Airman replied from his place one floor below them.
"Ready the next batch of supplies then dial Atlantis and inform them that precious cargo is coming through," Landry ordered. "Then get on the line with the Cursor and tell them I have something that needs to be beamed over to Area 51. Have their techs start figuring out to incorporate these into the planetary defense shield's design."
"Yes, sir," Walter replied, a smile in his tones. A second later, his voice came over the base's internal speakers. "Chevron one encoded."
"Planetary defense shield?" Gabi asked.
"Chevron two encoded."
"A gift from the Impolans," Landry replied. "They stole it from Ptah of all people. Of course, he stole it from the Ancients, but that's life for you."
"Chevron three encoded."
"All the knowledge of the Asgard, weapons to take on the Ori, a meeting with a living Furling, the discovery of another sub-branch of humanity, the introduction of murderous robots hell-bent on killing all Humans, finding a new enemy amongst the Goa'uld who could actually pose a threat to Earth, the designs for a planetary defense shield, new allies in the Impolans, Ba'al's flagship, the official launch of the Ares, and enough ZPMs to make General Landry not hate Oliver anymore," Tommy listed off on his fingers. "Eleven miraculous events and elven ZPMs… This has been a crazy two months."
"Chevron four encoded."
"Indeed," a stoic and familiar voice said from behind them.
"Chevron five encoded."
Cassidy was the first one up. She jumped out of her chair and wrapped her arms around the man's neck. "I can't believe I missed you!" Cassidy cried as she squeezed Ry around the neck.
"Chevron six encoded."
"I mean, you're a good person and all," she immediately started blabbering, "but your personality leaves a lot to be desired… I'm just going to shut up now."
"Chevron seven encoded."
"I have been worried for your safety as well," Ry replied dryly while returning the woman's embrace nonetheless.
"Chevron eight locked."
"Well, that's our cue," Oliver said as he stood up and saluted Landry. "We'll be on our way."
"Godspeed, Colonel," Landry replied with a nod. As he turned towards the stairs to carry the two ZPMs going to Atlantis down to the Gate Room, Oliver called after him.
"Wanna take a spare?" he asked. Landry turned around to make eye contact. Oliver shrugged and said, "For the Daedalus," before he and his men were beamed away.
He struggled with that thought for a moment then thought, 'Why not?' and grabbed another ZPM before walking down to the Gate Room. Hitting his radio, Landry said, "Doctor Weir," into his earpiece as he walked up the ramp towards the event horizon. "I trust you've lowered the Gate shield?" he asked as he stopped before the shimmering wormhole.
"Yes, sir," Weir replied, clearly confused.
"Good," Landry said before stepping through the Gate.
**Earth (Orbit)**
*Relentless Destruction (Combat Information Center)*
The missing members of the Zeta Initiative appeared on the CIC of the Destruction with the ship's CO, a smile on every face present… except for one. "Take us into hyperspace," Ry ordered over the cheers of the team returned safely.
Once the crew had settled down enough that they weren't cheering anymore, Oliver asked, "A planetary defense shield? What the hell did we miss?"
"I imagine you missed out on as many life-changing discoveries as we did while you were away on your adventure," Ry replied. "I apologize for your situation."
"How was it your fault?" Oliver asked as he followed Ry into his office and everyone else went wherever they felt like going.
"When we lost contact with your team, we planned on sending a ship, but General Landry said that the Odyssey was closer and there was no need for us to delay our mission to assist you. Also, Lieutenant Sixo impressed upon me the need to inform you that, had you not taken your own ship against such a drastically more powerful enemy in the first place, you would not have needed anyone's assistance to escape the situation you were in as the Carnage would've been combat ready and waiting in orbit."
Oliver made a noise that was halfway between a huff and a laugh. "Well Derek can go fuck himself."
"I assumed you would say as much," Ry said dryly as he handed Oliver a stack of files. "You have much to catch up on."
"Ry," Oliver said as the man turned to leave him in peace. "The next time something like this happens, because we all know it's bound to happen again," Oliver said in a tone of trepidation, "at least try to send a message of warning. When we were beamed up, the last thing I expected was to find myself aboard a 304. Just saying."
***Pegasus Galaxy (Former Ancient Territory)***
**Lantea (Surface)**
*Atlantis (Weir's Office)*
"Weapons to fight the Ori?" Lieutenant-Colonel John Sheppard asked in a tone of disbelief.
"According to Colonel Davidson, the Odyssey singlehandedly outright destroyed an Ori Mothership in fewer than ten shots," Landry replied. "The bulk of the damage to the Odyssey's shields was brought on by the explosion of the planet and the fact that they were running without fighting."
"Sir, the Ori are harder to kill than the Wraith," Colonel Caldwell said in a tone of disbelief. "You're telling me that you can beat them now?"
"And you said that Colonel Carter called-in before you came here and said they found the Furlings?" Weir added.
"With the information I provided," McKay quickly pointed out with a smug smile plastered on his face.
"You're not getting anything other than a brief mention in the footnotes," Landry sternly informed the Canadian. "The crew of the Odyssey did more to discover the Furlings than you did seeing as how they nearly died in the process, but, as usual, the actual credit goes to General O'Neill and SG-1. Back to more serious matters, we're currently doing everything we can to improve Earth's defenses. The Ori know we have weapons capable of beating them in open combat. It's now only a matter of time before they make a move against what they can no longer deny is a growing threat. As such, for the next hour, we'll be constantly shipping material and personnel through the Stargate. Get the Daedalus back up to full strength, Colonel. We may need her sooner than we hoped."
"And what about Atlantis?" Weir asked.
"You have a full complement of ZPMs, Doctor. If memory serves, one ZPM was enough to hold off ten Hiveships for a few days. With three of them and the drilling platform you found, you'll be able to submerge the city again if need be. As it stands, you're better equipped to survive a siege than Earth is… for now," he added with a dubious smile. He couldn't wait for the end of the week to roll around. They were going to launch the first of the satellites that would form the orbital grid. It would be a momentous occasion.
"There's a message for you, General," Chuck announced over the city's internal broadcasting system. "SG-1 has returned with the Odyssey." A loud cheer rose from the Control Room as the Expedition members celebrated the safe return of one of Earth's few warships. Especially one so heavily upgraded and carrying the future of Earth's space fleet in her newly installed Asgard databanks.
"About time," Landry mumbled to himself. Below them, on the Gate Room floor, pallets were continuously floating through the Gate on anti-gravity fields and stacking themselves in neat and orderly rows in the Jumper Bay above them. They'd been shipping supplies through for nearly half an hour now, so the Gate would shut off soon. Then the SGC would dial in again and send the last shipment of materials Atlantis would need to become a self-sustained powerhouse through the Gate.
"Out of curiosity, what all are you sending us?" Weir asked as the pallets just kept coming.
"Everything you've ever asked for," Landry replied in a serious tone.
"Everything?" Sheppard asked.
"More railgun emplacements for the city's defenses, our newly operational plasma cannon designs, more raw material to make whatever repairs or modifications to the city you want, plans for the Asgard's Neutrino Ion Generators, schematics for the new beam weapons and ion cannon turrets, and enough manpower to get this city back in one piece."
"Plasma cannons?" Sheppard excitedly.
"Ion cannons?" McKay countered with greater enthusiasm.
"Beam weapons?" Weir asked, a little off put by the idea.
"You'll have the plans for all of it," Landry replied. "The Daedalus will be upgraded to the new standards of the fleet in accordance to the data package we'll be sending you shortly. As for the city, make whatever modifications you want." Landry stood to leave, the military personnel promptly standing to salute the man as he went. Walking into the Control Room, Landry said, "The moment the Gate shut downs, dial Earth. Until then, get me a channel to SG-1."
"Yes, sir," Chuck replied as he opened the channel.
***Local Cluster (Sol System)***
**Earth (Surface)**
*Area 51 (Shipyards)*
The Odyssey lowered itself into the slip next to the one she had been built in, that one currently occupied by the Apollo, before shimmering back into view. It was the middle of the day on Earth and a news van was sitting outside of the facility giving a report on whatever it was that was popular in today's media. Needless to say, that warranted the Odyssey's use of her cloak. She sat down in her cradle with slight bump and the hangar doors began to close overhead. As the sun stopped illuminating the large cavern the ship now resided in, Sam blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the relative darkness. Try as hard as you might, you'd never be able to replace the sun.
"I need a coffee," Daniel said while rubbing his head.
"The good stuff," Jack corrected him.
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.
"Starbucks anyone?" Vala asked.
"Briefing first, good coffee later," Sam countered.
"Why not coffee first?" Jack asked. "We can just beam into a dark alley and get the coffee then have someone beam us back."
"To late," Sam said with a sad smile. "We're being hailed."
"I expected you to come back with a massive ship in orbit to show for your efforts," Landry said as his face appeared on screen.
"Sir," Sam said, her face twisted in confusion as she took in the General's surroundings. "Are… are you on Atlantis?"
"He is," Daniel said as he recognized the familiar architecture.
"The Asgard gave us a power source capable of dialing Atlantis after it became clear that the Daedalus wouldn't be capable of making the intergalactic trip before they ran out of supplies. Add to that the fact that they needed raw materials to patch up the hull after using the ship to stop a coronal mass ejection, and we didn't have much of a choice in dialing them, but we didn't want to fly the ZPM in from Antarctica. Then, just because these months are apparently the turning point for Earth as a galactic power, Colonel Viride showed up in a Cylon Baseship carrying eleven ZPMs in a cloth sack."
"I'm sorry," Jack said in a confused, but still calm tone. "WHAT?" he then asked at an excited, bewildered, and disbelieving shout.
"There it is," Sam said pointing to a signature they could detect in orbit. Even with the heavily shielded walls surrounding them, the upgrades to the Odyssey the Asgard had made allowed them to clearly see a Baseship in orbit of the moon under the watching guns of the Cursor.
"It's a long story," Landry replied. "I'll be back on Earth in just under an hour. You have until then to get your reports written."
"Yes, sir," Cam replied with a salute.
"I hate paperwork," Jack said with a sigh.
"Stop leaving the planet and you won't have to write up reports," Landry countered. "Landry out."
"What do we do with him?" Sam asked while casting a thumb over her shoulder to the where the orb sat currently disconnected from the Odyssey's computers. Jack didn't want to take the risk of the AI jumping out of their computers and entering the global communication network at large. Despite the extremely large amount of data his code took up, Sam knew that the AI would be capable of functioning if it hid parts of itself in servers around the globe. The internet would make the task far too easy for her comfort.
"Well, leaving him boxed is the safest measure," Jack said matter-of-factly.
With another annoyed sigh, Daniel argued, "He's not a threat to us, Jack! He had the opportunity to kill us when Sam let him loose in the computers or when we were aboard the Nex. Instead, he's been helping us from the beginning. You should trust the AI more than you trust the Furling considering that one of them locked us up and the other one set us free."
"Fine," Jack relented. "We'll hook him up to a non-networked computer in the SGC, but first, I want some coffee!"
"Oh, I got this one!" Vala exclaimed before taking a seat at the tactical station.
"It's a military ship, Vala…" Daniel began before thinking better of it. "Never mind."
"Smart man," Vala said smugly.
The last time they had had this argument was aboard the Prometheus during the Ori's first attempt at opening a Supergate and Vala had rightly shot him down by saying she had stolen it before. He didn't want to give her any ideas, especially considering all that the Odyssey had now.
In a flash of light, the members of SG-1, past and present, disappeared from the ship. A split-second later they all appeared in Vala's apartment. "Starbucks is a short, less than two minute walk from here!"
"You pick this place just for its proximity to Starbucks, didn't you?" Cam asked.
"A girl has to have her priorities straight," Vala replied with a smile.
"You are the epitome of the stereotypical American white girl," Daniel said with a shake of his head as they all made their way down to street level. "Starbucks and iPhones," he added with a shake of his head.
*Stargate Command (Auxiliary Lab Seventeen) [mid-day the next day]*
It was a running joke that this was now the 'AI Room,' but it wasn't meant as an insult. Having an AI sitting in his base had been unnerving at first, but Landry had been assured that nothing bad could happen as long as the computer was kept isolated, though they did find that the AI was significantly less capable when limited. They had started out by keeping its primary functions constricted, then they had let it loose in the computer it was being connected to. After that, they found that connecting it to the other AI on the Nex via subspace increased its intelligence by a rather frightening factor. It went from being as smart as a fresh college grad, to being able to outdo Sam, to teaching people quantum mechanics. The last leap was truly radical since Sam still couldn't figure quantum mechanics out without help.
They kept in contact with the Furling through its AI and were somewhat unnerved to hear that Sieon had yet to find a planet previously inhabited by the Furlings that still had life on it. When the AI on the Nex replaced the copy they had, everyone could tell because Widget would always ask for Sam specifically. To reduce the confusion factor, the AI that they were keeping in the computer in the SGC had agreed to go by a new name. Jack had suggested 'Pac' and the name had stuck… even after the AI found out its new name was derived from the video game Pac Man. To help with the visual aspect of reducing confusion, being in a Human computer had, as the AI said, caused him to become more Human. He, unlike Widget, now had five fingers on each hand as opposed to three and 'wore' Human attire.
Then they had given Pac access to the Asgard Computer Core on the Odyssey.
The fallout from that decision is where Landry currently found himself. "What did you find?" he asked the AI who had been given access to a holographic projection system to make communicating with it a bit more natural. Now it was like having a hyper-intelligent prisoner in his base that was actually cooperating with their demands.
"Well," Pac replied as he looked away from Sam who was currently in the room going over a design plan with him, "the Asgard weren't kidding when they said they had given you everything. I took a look at all they know and compared it to your own technology. Your 304s can be greatly improved using what they gave you. During my allotted access time to the Odyssey's computers I was also able to upgrade some of the Earth-based systems by altering the code to cover the flaws in the designs and I managed to make the Asgard systems more compatible with your power core by altering the power distribution systems. That should also prevent another overload like the one that crippled the ship during the uncontrolled ejection from hyperspace."
"That's not all," Sam added as she picked up the explanation. "The Asgard installed the beam weapons because they were simple enough to add, but the Asgard also have coaxial ion cannons that would require gutting part of the ship and installing a massive cannon that fires ion rounds. Because of the design, it draws less power than the beams, but has nearly as much kick to it. The drawback, before you ask, is the size of the gun. The beam cannons are smaller than a fighter, and, conceivably, could be altered to fit onto one, but the coaxial gun… it'll run the entire z-axis of the ship."
"There's also a matter of upgrading the interface systems you use. The Asgard have the base of the technology so me filling in the gaps isn't a problem. Because of this, I suggest we upgrade you to a holographic system."
Pac's holographic avatar was promptly replaced as his body 'exploded' out into a holographic image of the Odyssey in all her glory, but with obvious changes. The ship was fully decked out in the armor that the Asgard had given them, a new gun ran the length of the ship just as Sam had said, and, as the image zoomed in to show the interior of the Bridge, it became clear that the consuls the Tau'ri used had been upgraded to holo-screens and that the navigation terminal in the back had been replaced with a large holographic map of the galaxy.
"With the upgrades the Asgard made, it opened up new options for improvement. You'll find that our SHIT has a lower power yield than your computers and is far more effective. As for the weapons systems that the LGMs installed, I was able to work out the power requirements to a more manageable level. This also opens up the needed power draw and room for the weapon Sam mentioned, and allows you the option of installing your plasma cannons without taxing the power systems too much," Pac explained.
"Your shit?" Landry asked.
"SHIT," Sam corrected. "It's all caps."
"It stands for Simi-tangible Holographic Interface Technology," Pac explained dryly.
"Sir, the bottom line is that, between what we know and what the Asgard gave us, we can take the 304s to a whole new level," Sam added.
"And you came up with this overnight?" Landry asked.
"In the past roughly two hours, actually," Sam replied somewhat sheepishly.
"Two hours?" Landry stressed.
"Having an AI helps immensely," Sam stressed as Pac's Avatar replaced the projected modifications to the 304s. "In just a few hours of work, we've figured out how to get shields that are stronger than the upgrades that McKay wrote up after being exposed to the Ascension Machine, we've upgraded the engines for better acceleration and a very minor increase to top speed, we've ironed out the dampeners and made them better as well, we've figured out how to construct the beam weapons with what we have available in Earth's industry so the components can be made by some of the more advanced companies then assembled on site, we've written up the plans for the installation of advanced holo-terminals, developed a working model of the Asgard Neutrino Ion Generators that'll fit on our ships, and, with the changes Pac made to the operating systems and power distribution grid, we've obtained both an increase in energy efficiency and overall efficiency in all of our primary and secondary systems."
"So when do we start implementing these changes in the fleet?" Landry asked, his tone neutral despite the absoluteness of his inner joy. He felt like a little kid being told he could have whatever he wanted at the toy store.
"We've already begun," Pac replied. "We sent the updated designs to Atlantis and Colonel Caldwell had his people start making what changes could be made without more materials. We've compiled a list of everything else they'll need and your people will ship it through the Gate once they're ready."
"The goal is to get the fleet upgraded as much as possible in as short a timeframe as we can. Waiting for the Daedalus to make the three-week trip back to Earth for her upgrades would be a waste. Once her new generators are installed, it'll only take them four days to get back. In just under four weeks, we could have all of the 304s upgraded to a level that'll make taking on the Ori and the Wraith not just practical, but easy."
"And if we don't have four weeks?" Landry asked the question that had been in his mind since Hammond pointed out that the Ori wouldn't take this lying down.
"We're moving as fast as we can, sir," Sam assured him. "Pac's helping the design process along and that's cut a full three months off of our projected schedule. If you want it done faster, you're going to have to unbox him. If you give him access to the shipyards in Area 51, he'll tell us how to speed up the process."
"You can do that?"
"Well, I think Sam's giving me more credit than I deserve. Most of the work was already done by your people, I just fixed the flaws that would've taken weeks of simulations to solve. As for your shipyards, I know how the Furlings build ships like the Nex. Logically speaking, I can improve your methods, but, what Sam fails to realize, is that my improvements will take time to implement. In the end, you might complete the upgrades faster, but, after waiting for the upgrades to the shipyards, it might take longer than four weeks. I can't guarantee you either way."
"Go ahead and give him access to the shipyards," Landry ordered. "Only the shipyards."
***Milky Way Galaxy (Ba'al's Territory)***
**Third Gas Giant from the Star (Lunar Orbit)**
*Zeta Site (Shipyards) [two days later]*
"You want to incorporate a Neutrino Ion Generator into the ship's design?" the Chief Engineer asked in a flabbergasted tone.
"If you have to rip out the existing power core, go ahead," Oliver replied. "The NIG should have a far larger base power yield even if it's smaller than what Sam's installing on the 304s."
Gabi walked up behind him a second later with a smile on her face. "I told you I could do it!" she happily exclaimed before handing the Chief one of the two tablets she was carrying with her. "That's the list of modifications that will be made possible and the methods you need to implement them. Start with the addition of the NIG then move on to the new armor. Once that's done, we can install some more weapons. Sam found a rather interesting weapon we can replace the spinal mounted kinetic weapons with."
"And that would be?" Oliver asked.
Gabi smiled a mischievous smile in reply. "A modified ion cannon design the Asgard were working on. Sam's already talking General Landry into installing them on the 304s as well."
"Okay, so what all is being changed?" Oliver asked as the left the Chief to his work load. Despite the size of the ships in question, his work load was not a small one.
"The armor's being upgraded using Furling production methods and an older Asgard formula. If my calculations are right, it'll give the hull the resilience of a Beliskner. The shields will be upgraded by the increase in power alone, but the new designs Landry gave us access to as 'payment for the planetary defense shield' will add to that," Gabi said with quotes around the phrase.
They had stopped off at the Alpha Site yesterday by Landry's order and General Ervin had sent them the data package of information the SGC was willing to give them. To the people at the Alpha Site, it was Earth further securing their alliance with the Impolans by sharing shield technology in return for their gracious gift of the PDS.
"Between the new NIG and the improved shield design," Gabi continued, "we're looking at a one-hundred-fifty percent increase in shield capacity. Couple that with the new armor and we'll have an increase in combat durability of more than three-hundred percent. Then factor in the weapons we'll be modifying for all of the ships and installing in the ones that are here and we'll have a pretty easy time handling Ba'al and the Lucian Alliance."
"Speaking of which," Oliver said as he checked something on his own tablet, "where is the Annoyance?"
"They went to Pegasus," Gabi replied with a shrug. "Apparently there was a Wraith lab trying to improve their hyperdrives and they were getting too close for our comfort. With the Daedalus as damaged as she is, General Landry had us send in one of our teams."
"And what's the upgrade state of the Annoyance?" Oliver asked, now concerned about one of his teams going up against the Wraith with nothing but plasma bombs and kinetic energy weapons.
"They received the third upgrade package before they left," Gabi assured him. "They've got the particle cannons, but there's no telling how effective they'll be against the Wraith. The element of surprise should help them and they only had to destroy the lab so they should be fine."
"So they left before we got back?" Oliver asked while searching for the report in their digital files.
"No, they left for Pegasus right after we left for the Alliance lab world," Gabi said while pulling it up before he could find it himself. "Otherwise they would've participated in the raid on Memphis."
"So how long will it take for the Yard Dogs to upgrade the fleet? We can't keep Ba'al and the Alliance waiting for too long. They might lose faith in the Mimner's might."
"It'll take them a shorter amount of time than you'd think," Gabi replied in a slightly annoyed tone. She hated the whole 'impersonating aliens to protect Earth' thing. "We finally got the construction drones to work and the mining droids have been working nonstop of months now so we've got round-the-clock manpower working on the hulls and more material than we need to complete the upgrade. We're actually going to load the extra materials onto the Savage Annihilation and send it to the Alpha Site in exchange for weapons tech. General Ervin will push it through to the SGC and Landry will send us the new plasma cannon designs." When she noticed the impatient look on Oliver's face, she sighed and said, "We'll be ready to move on the next target in a few weeks."
"It still impresses me that a ship that can land inside of a 304's 302 bay is this advanced," Oliver said with a shake of his head.
"Well, thank the Furlings for that one," Gabi replied.
"Speaking of which…"
"The SGC's been in constant contact with the Furling SG-1 met. They haven't found their people yet."
"Damn."
***Artemis Tau (Knossos System)***
**Therum (Orbit)**
*Paciscor of Nex (Combat Information Center) [twelve hours later]*
Therum. A volcanic world on the edge of Furling-controlled space. It was once a great center of research into natural sources of power. Now… the facility that once sat on the surface was sunken beneath the very rocks that had been its foundation. This was the planet where the Fusion Star Reactors were conceptualized. A star born inside of a specially modified chamber aboard a ship providing more power than could ever be consumed in the ship's lifetime. This was the world where the Nex had been modified to its current design. This was the world where her four protostars had been made.
"I know it's needless to point this out, but this is the thirteenth planet we've been to," Widget said. "I'm all for believing that this one was destroyed by a natural causes because the evidence suggests that it was, and maybe I'll believe that they evacuated the outer colonies, but the others?" The AI shook his head. "Castosis was a warzone."
"Then the outer colonies have been hit," Sieon said adamantly. "That doesn't mean anything."
"Then let's stop screwing around and get to the part we both know has you worried," Widget countered as he powered up the ship's FTL drive. He didn't wait for Sieon's order or argument. He knew that the organic wasn't welcome amongst his people, but if his people were no longer around they couldn't tell him to go away. If they were currently under attack, then another ship would be appreciated.
When the FTL drive fired and the ship jumped away from another lifeless planet, the AI expected to find a powerful fleet defending the home system. As such, he was ready to maneuver away from incoming fire. The Nex dropped out of FTL before the organic could complain about the AI's defiance and the ship immediately shook under bombardment.
Despite its size, Widget's physical form wasn't an easy target to pin down. Pulling the ship up and into a loop, he brought the weapons online and started firing at the debris that surrounded them. Once a path was clear, he flew above the wreckage and his eyes opened wide with shock. Once the sensor-absorbing materials of broken hulls was no longer casting a net of static over the Nex's sensors… he could see the extent of the damage.
Shattered ships and lifeless stations. That's all Widget's eyes could see as he looked at the carnage before him. There were no life-signs, no salvageable ships, no weapons left intact… nothing left working. The most powerful ships ever created by the Furling race, the largest space stations, the deadliest weapons… all of it lay in ruins, drifting lifelessly through space as insignificant as algae on the bottom of the ocean floor.
"I can't believe this. We should've detected the colony coming out of phase to engage them. We should've detected the battle, we should've picked up something!" Sieon said as his body began to glow and his eyes welled up with tears. "We have no records of this happening. The only way that could've happened is if the relay hub was the first thing destroyed. Widget, this means they're here!"
"I know," Widget replied in a dry, emotionless voice. Sieon, having been married to the women who created the most advanced model of Furling AI ever conceived, the selfsame model that served on his ship, could tell that the AI's response was forced. Despite the fact that no Human would ever be able to understand the severity of what it meant, Widget was alive in every way possible. He felt, he dreamed, he saw, he loved, and he grieved. "What do we do now?" Widget asked as he shut off the higher functions of his personality matrix, the organic equivalent of suppressing his emotions.
"The only thing we can do," Sieon chocked out. "We salvage what's left then make sure no one ever uses what we miss. Even a hull fragment could drastically alter the power of the galaxy. I'll… I'll go check and see if the QBB is still intact."
The Nex's internal transport grid could only be used while in the ship. The Furlings had never developed a technology capable of transporting them out of a ship and into another. Sieon, however, never needed such a technology. Mutant genes was apparently a trait of his family. One of his ancestors too far up the line for him to know their name had been the first mind reader of their people. After that, his great-times-ten grandfather had been the first Furling born a teleporter. Those genes had been passed down the family line to Sieon. The next great mutation was his brother. It always seemed to start with his family then spread to the others, though very few people were born teleporters outside of his family. Those who had the ability outside of his family were rare and almost always the result of genetic manipulation post-conception. Try as hard as he might, Krosis never did figure out how to transfer the teleportation gene without complications.
As the Furling moved around the destroyed colony using his genetics-given power, Widget actively monitored Sieon's neural activity, biotic energy levels, and body heat in an attempt to gage the organic's current state of mind. In his state of grief, it was impossible for the AI to gain any insightful information from Sieon's mind as the Furling was actively blocking the AI's probing thoughts. Nevertheless, Widget would make sure that, if Sieon attempted suicide, he would be there to prevent it. Whether the Ancients would save him or not, it was always easier to just stop it from happening in the first place.
Widget spent the rest of the day flying around the system gathering up what technology was left from the second assault by the Destroys against their people while Sieon visited several of the stations searching for something, though Widget couldn't figure out what it was the Furling could possibly be looking for in the graveyard. He had his theories, though they were dark. The leading thought running through Widget's mind was that Sieon was searching for Rana's body, a grim thought indeed as it was very likely that the Furling scientist went down with her ship defending as many innocent civilians as she could. Rana was old fashioned like that.
Sieon reappeared in the CIC as Widget finished his task. "What do we have?" he asked solemnly.
"I finished the calculations," Widget replied. "Of the fifteen protostars created to power the defense systems, three of them will be needed to erase the colony. The other twelve have been collapsed down into storage devices and placed in one of the cargo bays. We're ready to leave."
The Furling home colony was a massive collection of space stations and other artificial constructs. This is the way it was before they came to this universe. It was the way it was to be after the Transition. A space station built by Furling hands had been the seat of galactic government, the station located in dead space so as to not show favoritism to any one Collective. The same system was set up here, but more extensive as the ships that had been brought through during the Transition were converted from warships to stations to house the population that didn't want to settle on a new world. To defend it, more warships had been built over the years with greater technology and defense satellites covered in guns had been powered by protostars like those on the Nex, but larger to provide more power. All of that was gone now.
"Do it," Sieon ordered grimly.
At his order, the Nex jumped back a light-year from the colony. With a salute to the fallen warriors of his race, Sieon sent the signal that would detonate the powerful generators. Once all twelve of the FSRs were onboard and safely stored away, the other protostars left over from the brutal assault that destroyed the last remnants of the once great Furling race were destabilized remotely. In one final flash, the Furling's artificial colony was consumed in the energy of three stars going supernova all at once. The immense heat vaporized what remained of their technology and eliminated the final traces of the Furling race from this universe. That was the second of the original Four Great Races to be erased from the face of the galaxy in less than a month. Sieon could only hope that the Fifth Race fared better than they had. With only the Tau'ri and the Nox left truly alive, it was daunting to be the Fifth Race.
"We're the last two now, Widget. We have to do them proud," Sieon said as Widget put his holographic hand on his shoulder.
"I know," Widget said comfortingly, his emotional programs running at minimal output capacity to keep the severity of the situation from crippling him the way he knew Sieon was bound to be. As a soldier who had suffered through great loss, Sieon was a hardened veteran, but losing one's entire race… was inexpressible. "What did you find?" Widget asked as he caught the thought that was running through the organic's mind. Having a connection to him over the ship's Neural Interface Network allowed Sieon to control the ship from anywhere within the network's range. It also allowed the AI to observe his thoughts.
Sieon pulled a small black box from his pocket and held it out for the AI to see… which, of course, meant scan. "Leave it to Rana," Widget said with an amused shake of his head.
"What is it?" Sieon asked hopefully.
"One piece of twelve," Widget replied. "Find them all, and it'll reveal a map."
"A map to what?"
"Her."