Here's the next chapter for you all, questions will be answered and others will be asked. Note: I only own what characters i create, the names and places i invent and the ships and vehicles i seem to be designing in droves for this single story.

I would like to thank AlexanderD for all his help and i strongly recomend reading his story New Dawn. I hope he likes the character named after him Admiral Alec Xander.

For those of you interested in what some of the ships featured in this story look like here are a few sketches on photobucket: .com/albums/ae166/Senrab_Nomis/

Please review and i will respond. Or alternatively post in the thread for this story in my forum. .net/topic/84023/35075481/1/

Review Responses

AlexanderD: Well we'll see about Alec won't we. This story will never go unfinished, i may have to put it on the back burner when i am busy or have writers block but i will always strive to update it.

Shadows-of-Realm: A good mystery serves to keep the tension running high.

blocky: The ascended work as a great plot device and one i intend to use.

mwbib: Glad i've caught your attention. Hopefully you'll review the next as well.

DaRoHa: I couldn't possibly do that, i know someone who already has and is doing a fantastic job with it. Technically they could make stargates using the Asgard database, they just wouldn't have the advanced safety protocols which would make things very risky. As for ZPM's, well they already have a number of those on recharge.

GYY: Indeed he is, and he brought people with him.

stark40763: So far they are sticking to the non-interference rule, so far.

MalSer: Answers are forthcoming very soon, well some answers. The ascended give me a chance to show off the interesting events that are happening in the background.

Weir – Genetics Lab

Sheppard strode into the well equipped genetics lab, the very same lab where they had given Todd and Echidna the cure. So it was no surprise when he saw the two glowing disks and the figure locked in place between them. It was a good thing the device rendered anything immovable as the figure would have been unable to stand on its own, since it was one of the dead aliens from the fighter the scout team had recovered. Studying the strange creature were Doctors Keller and Beckett.

"So what have we got Doc's?" Sheppard asked hopefully. He was in a much better mood now that he received confirmation that the initial stages of the mining worlds defence grid were now operational.

"Well we have some good news and some bad news," said Carson apprehensively. "The good news is that despite appearances this guy is definitely not a Wraith. The lack of a feeding slit being our first clue."

"Well that definitely sounds good," agreed Sheppard. "So what's the bad news, you don't have a clue what he actually is?"

"No," said Jennifer. "We know for certain he's a hybrid."

Sheppard froze for a moment before practically yelling "WHAT!" causing both doctors to flinch.

"Aye," said Carson. "Comparisons with our genetics library confirm it. But one thing I can say for sure is that he isn't one of Michaels."

"How do you know that?" asked John.

"Michael's hybrids were all humans that had been given Wraith DNA to make them stronger, faster and a much longer life span while still retaining some individuality so that their minds were intact," Carson explained. "This guy however is the complete opposite. He possesses the base line DNA of your typical Wraith drone with some human DNA strands in place of others. Instead of having the normal feeding DNA he has a human digestive system and he lacks any part of the brain that we even thinks has something to do with Wraith telepathy."

"From what we can tell this thing was grown in a lab," said Jennifer.

"Let me guess, no belly button?" Sheppard asked jokingly.

"Actually this guy shows none of the connection points that would link a Wraith to a hibernation pod aboard one of their facilities or ships," said Jennifer. "Those same pods also act as artificial wombs; they are what the Wraith grow in. These things were changed so they didn't need them."

"So explain to me why this means this guy is grown in a lab and not the result of some science experiment?" asked Sheppard.

"Because they are just missing, they were never there," said Carson. "When we altered the DNA of the Wraith to remove the feeding organ we effectively removed it but there is still the gap where it once was. There internals have long since bypassed the gap but it's still obvious it used to be there. These guys lack both the connection points for the pods and these feeding organs. But their bodies grew as if they didn't have to leave a gap for them because as far as they were concerned they never existed."

"So the Queen Wraith couldn't also be altered as well because without these connection points she couldn't make the kids anyway," surmised Sheppard.

"Aye," said Carson. "Isn't Wraith genetics fascinating? But now we get to the interesting part."

"Okay I'll bite what's the interesting part?"

"You see these lights," said Carson. Indicating the three dead red lights on the creatures left cranium. "They aren't lights."

"Then what are they?" asked Sheppard curiously.

"From what we can tell these are the surface parts of an implant wired directly into the creature's brain," explained Carson. "A normal drone would almost constantly receive commands telepathically from its leaders, but this chap doesn't have the ability to communicate telepathically because of the alterations. Instead the device acts as a relay for it to receive remote commands from whoever is controlling them. We also suspect the device acts as an interface with the creature's brain allowing for instructions to be pre-programmed, but we won't know more until we complete a proper autopsy on the others."

"So someone could send out an army of these things and just sit back and give them instructions from a distance," realized Sheppard. "Which means that whoever is controlling them could be anywhere."

"It's possible," agreed Jennifer. "But I think it's unlikely. The actual grey matter of this creature is very limited, most likely to ensure obedience, but that still means that it would have difficulty functioning independently rather like the drones themselves since the neural block is still in place. They would have to be receiving regular control updates to function fully."

"Well that's some good news at least," said Sheppard. "Let me know when the autopsy is complete and send one of those neural implants to Rodney to look at."

"Will do Colonel," said Carson before turning back to the console. "Now let's see what other secrets this chaps hiding."

Wraith Homeworld

The world where it had all started, the world where the first Wraith had been unintentionally created, the world that started it all and now the world where everything would begin to change. On this world, surrounded by rings of rock and ice, the Wraith as a society would be reborn. Echidna had deemed that this world would become the capital that would form the heart of the new Wraith Empire. An empire that was hoped for survive for countless years to come, far longer than their previous stagnant society had lasted.

The first steps of this grand undertaking were already well under way on many other worlds. The infrastructure that would support the Wraith was already coming along quite nicely. What had once been mere outposts were flowering into colonies that would become self sufficient once the various farms and industrial areas came online. On the homeworld small areas of jungle were being cleared in preparation for what was to come. Using the research that the treacherous twins had accumulated over the years so much more was now possible for the Wraith, during the war the possibilities for bio technology had not been explored as fully as the twins had liked and they had taken great strides over the years. Millennia of failed experiments had led to numerous designs for structures that could be grown into being, several of which had been noted during the attack and it was these structures which would aid the new empire. The punishment for the twins had already been decided and as planned they would allow the growth of two very important structures for the homeworld but their research would allow for important structures to be built across the empire.

One design that had been discovered, buried and discarded in favour of something better suited to war, was a structure rather similar to a skyscraper in shape. The twins had not seen this as being of much use and through trial and error had radically altered the design. Removing the viewing ports in the side and hollowing out the interior and therefore leaving the hardened carapace intact they had instead created a large surface based energy cannon. The empire would have use for such a design now though, as they wished to create vast cityscapes across their worlds in a bid to rival the exploits of the Tau'ri.

Further more it had been discovered that by combining different pathogens and implementing them in stages the interior design of buildings could be altered, whilst still maintaining the sturdy structural design needed to keep it standing. This would allow them to create a whole range of different designs as they wished, many of which were still being pondered by the Wraith collective, with ideas being submitted for consideration.

While many ideas on what to build were being considered the construction projects already ordered were well under way. On jungle worlds more and more land was being turned into farmland every day so that the Wraith population would be able to provide for themselves and not have to rely on hand outs. The more barren worlds however had been deemed unsuitable for farmland. Since even the toughest shrubs that grew there were already struggling for survival and the earth clearly lacked the necessary nutrients it was deemed to be not worth the hassle. Instead these worlds would house shipyards of a much smaller scale than the massive shipyard that would be built around the facility created from one of the twins. A recent addition to these particular worlds was the inclusion of the power generation and defensive emplacement facilities. The power generation buildings were considered of the upmost importance since these would greatly speed up the process of growing the facilities.

Before any of these could be built however the cloning facility would need to be completed and that would once again take time, time which could be shortened with just a little boost of power. In one jungle clearing a mass of tendrils was slowly stretching outwards, absorbing the bio matter from the jungle and using it to speed up its own growth. This mass had once been one of the twins but soon it would be a massive facility for producing blank clones that would act as neural hubs for the buildings they planned to grow. Echidna was adamant that a conscious life would never be sacrificed again for the sake of Wraith advancement. This facility would take much time to grow if left on its own so steps were being taken to ensure it was completed as soon as possible. As a token of friendship to the Matriarch the Asgard were putting several neutrino ion generators on the surface around both the cloning facility and the shipyard hub that was also steadily growing nearby. With these generators adding their power the growth time for the two buildings would be greatly reduced and the Wraith could begin production that much faster. Of course the Asgard could have assisted the Wraith by providing the blank clones right away but it was decided this would be more beneficial to the Wraith, as it meant they would advance at their own pace.

While these two facilities were growing on the planet below one the arguably most important events of them all was taking place aboard the Arima, the reuniting of mother and son. It was a meeting that Todd had been waiting for ever since Sheppard had paid him a visit.

Flashback – Weir Infirmary

Todd lay reclined on one of the infirmary beds. The Weir had long since moved Hope to its new permanent location but the medical staff had refused to release him. His wounds suffered at the hands of his insidious sisters may have long since healed, courtesy of his regenerative abilities and large amounts of food, but they still remained unwilling to even allow him out of bed. Their argument was that his body may be physically healed but he still required rest if he was going to fully recover quickly. Wounds may heal but weariness was not a physical wound that you can rely on to close itself while you get on with other things. Weariness is like a disease that thrives on the strong will of people and grows stronger as you push yourself harder and harder just to keep going.

Todd may have suffered little in the way of physical torture aside from the obvious signs of beatings but the twins had been far more insidious. Keeping him awake, denying him the ability to sleep, forcing him to continually perform menial repetitive physical tasks that only escalated in their difficulty each time he completed them. For someone with a Wraith physiology these had been annoyances to overcome and that phase of torture had quickly ended. But what had drained him of strength, with horrific literalness, were the feedings. Repeatedly his sisters had come to him and whispered to him, tempting him with promises of power and prestige, all the while a Wraith drone had its hand clamped to his chest. He had been drained and then returning it all. The experience was horrific, losing your life force and then having it replaced is not the issue but the feeding process itself had left him feeling weaker and weaker the longer it happened, and the twins saw to it that each time he refused their gracious offer the lengths of the feedings increased. Naturally he refused every time so by the time his rescue had come he had already passed out.

Sheppard's unexpected arrival in the infirmary had surprised the Wraith out his brooding, and for a moment he forgot how bored he was alone.

"What do you want Sheppard?" Todd asked grumpily.

"Oh just doing my rounds, checking up on things," he replied with a cheer that grated on Todd's nerves. "So how are we today?"

"You know you're the second human to ask me that today," Todd replied, with a barely concealed smirk.

"Ah so the psychologist decided to drop by, how did that go?" Sheppard asked curiously.

"He seemed to decide it was best that I be left alone to rest," Todd replied smoothly. All it had taken was one glare from him to send the human on his way.

"Ah," said Sheppard in understanding. "Well he usually makes the same call with Ronon when he's stuck in the infirmary so I suppose that's a good sign."

"Why are you really here Sheppard?" Todd asked bluntly.

Sheppard straightened his features into a more serious expression, the time for games was over.

"I have a question and I would like a straight answer," he said.

"Ask and we shall see."

"All right, why now? Why did you wait ten thousand years to bring your mother out of stasis?"

"That is a harsh question to be directed at someone who has been told he must have constant rest," Todd observed.

"Yeah well it's a question I want an answer to and it just so happens you aren't going anywhere for the time being. You don't anything on a whim Todd, you waited ten thousand years when surely the best time to bring her out would have been ten thousand years ago when the Wraith won the war. So tell me, why?"

"Why do you think?" Todd asked.

"You know that's an interesting question and it took me a while to figure it out. First of all I thought it was because you couldn't risk it back then. The traitors had just smashed apart an enemy that had been kicking your collective asses with a vengeance before sending in the clones. If you had tried that same trick again the Wraith would have just rallied against her and wouldn't have a thing to fear. If the Lanteans couldn't deal with them then what chance did she have right?"

Todd stayed silent, his gaze fixed on the human sitting in the chair next to his bed.

"Then I thought, hey he had no choice right? We were threatening to turn his kind into an endangered species so why not try to save as many as possible. With Echidna backing us, the rightful Matriarch all for the cure, how many Wraith would turn to begin with? How many more after that? And it would go on from there. After all that was why you gave me that rant about us killing Wraith."

Once again Todd remained silent, so Sheppard continued uninterrupted.

"But then I thought, maybe he just got tired. Maybe after ten thousand years he just got sick of waiting. Maybe he just missed her. Maybe it was down to a whim after all."

And again Todd remained silent.

"Then I figured it out. When you rammed a cruiser into that hive so she could get away I figured it out. You were afraid. All this time you were afraid for her safety."

Still nothing, still silence from the Wraith in the bed.

"You didn't care about the timing for taking back control of the Wraith hierarchy you only wanted to keep her safe. But to do that you would either have to leave her in stasis for a very long time or…find some way to protect her when she was alive. You tried that with that special hive ship of yours, that thing was damn near unbeatable with ZPM's backing it. But that plan went badly because you just can't trust other Wraith, can you? You probably had your doubts from the beginning but that clinched it, you couldn't protect her if your own kind would betray you so you thought to hell with them. You got angry because you thought we had gone back on our word but when you realised that we were willing to destroy those that refused the treatment you figured this was perfect. We could protect her for you. We had the ability to beat the Wraith that might come after her and if necessary we could even take her out of the galaxy to where the others couldn't follow." By the end Sheppard was almost laughing. "You know I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out. You didn't care about the Wraith, you just wanted to protect your mother and until recently I would never have thought of that."

Todd finally found his voice and with a low long chuckle he said, "I told you Sheppard that there is much about Wraith that you do not understand. But your certainly beginning to understand this one."

Todd strode cheerfully in to the command area where his mother, and matriarch, was seated in her command chair. Echidna smiled at seeing her son again, even though it had been several days since his rescue he had only recently had the chance to get off the Weir and make his way home. Home, that word now held new meaning in the old Wraiths heart. He had never thought he would have somewhere to call home again, but being on the Arima it seemed appropriate. Being on the Arima and being by his matriarch's side. Yes, he was home alright.

"Welcome back," said Echidna, as she warmly embraced her son.

"It is good to be back mother," replied Todd as he released the hug. "How are things progressing?"

Echidna chuckled. "You've been back for five minutes and you're already asking about the state of this would be empire?"

"It will be an empire," Todd stated firmly. "A great and powerful empire that will stretch across the stars and stand strong for countless years to come."

"And I'm sure you will see to it that this is so."

"No mother. I shall merely assist you in realising this dream."

Echidna smiled. "I won't be around forever my son."

"We'll see."

"Hmmph, but your right if we can make this empire strong then it will be able to stand on its own. But to do that will require a lot of hard work, for all Wraith."

"Then we will all work hard," Todd stated. "What have you learned from my sister's archives?"

Echidna frowned. "They have discovered some remarkable things over the years, but I shudder to think of the means employed to learn them."

Todd shrugged. "We cannot undo what has been done. We can only learn from the mistakes of the past and put what they have discovered to a better use."

"You are right," said Echidna, before sighing. "I just wish that it wasn't so."

"As do I mother, as do I."

The pair spent a few moments in silent contemplation before moving on.

"I have found several designs which will suit our needs but I would like you to take a look at the databases recovered before we proceed further."

"I saw that you have begun construction on the planet below, I presume that is why there is an Asgard vessel in orbit?" Todd enquired.

"Yes," she confirmed. "Your sisters are being turned into something useful, a blank clone production facility and a shipyard hub."

"I see, and the Asgard are assisting?"

"They are providing additional power to speed up the growth of the facilities. The sooner the cloning facility is online the sooner we can begin construction projects on other worlds."

"Yes, about that. I have an idea for future ship construction projects."

"Oh?"

"I want to alter the hulls of any ships we produce to make the ships stronger. Our lack of shields puts us at a disadvantage and our hulls have proven to be highly susceptible to even the weaker weapons of most races."

"I agree, we will need stronger ships for the safety of our race. I assume you wish to use the hull configuration of that super hive you designed?"

Todd shook his head. "No that design would be impractical for our ships as it relied on hull armour that was almost constantly regenerating in battle thanks to the power from the ZPM's. The armour itself was a weaker version of the Arima's own armour which is far more effective. Even a relatively thin layer of that armour will make our ships that much stronger."

"I see. You should know that your sisters were also using a modified hive design as their flagship, it utilised additional power generators that gave it a distinct advantage over other hives."

"Intriguing, a simple but clever solution to the problem our ships face. Until we can trade for some more efficient power generator designs that will certainly go a long way to improving our ships."

"I believe we would do better to improve our own technology rather than rely on that of others. I want the Wraith to be able to stand independently as a race, and we cannot do that if we are forced to rely on others."

"I understand Matriarch. The additional generators will greatly improve the strength of our hives, and now that we are united as a people we can focus our efforts more successfully."

"I want you to begin organising a research division under your command," Echidna ordered. "You will take the best scientists we have to offer and task them with researching improvements to all Wraith systems with power generation being the priority."

"Yes Matriarch," said Todd.

"Once that is done I will require your assistance with planning the layout for our new capital and colonies."

"Yes Matriarch," responded Todd with a smirk.

"Then begin your service to the Empire," she commanded. Adding "My son."

Hope Station

Despite being designed as a military fall back Hope had numerous observation areas dotted across its monolithic structure, small areas where the crew could sit and look out into the vast depths of space. In a usually vacant area of the station stood Sovaer, leaning against the reinforced window and staring at the distant stars.

"You know Aerin I'm sure the Vanir haven't given you a heat vision upgrade yet," said Jakose, striding forwards to stand next to his friend. "But I really wish you wouldn't stare at the window so hard."

Aerin continued to look out of the window, unwilling to even acknowledge the other mans presence.

Javin sighed. "You know old friend its times like this I wish I had left you in stasis. At least then I knew you weren't talking to me because you couldn't."

Still silence.

"Okay what's wrong?" he asked, trying the direct approach.

Aerin sighed. "What are we going to do now?"

"Well we have a meeting with the Tau'ri soon but I can tell that's not what you mean. I would have thought you would be happy, we finally defeated the Wraith. This is a moment you dreamed of, it was the reason you got involved in the weapons development program. Or is this about her?"

Aerin's expression remained stony. "You know my feelings about that. What I did was for the best, for me and her."

"So you don't regret that you let her think you had died?" was the equally cold reply.

"You were the one who made my 'recovery' a secret, and we both knew the chances of it succeeding were slim," he replied, glaring at his oldest friend. "It was years before the treatment was even available. I…I couldn't put her through that."

He looked down dejected. "I am not the man I once was, I don't even look like me anymore. She wouldn't recognise me and besides she's happy now, she moved on."

"You can't hide your feelings from me old friend," said Aerin, placing a hand on his friends shoulder. "I know you wish you were the one to make her happy and not someone else. And I know you wonder what you are supposed to do now that you defeated the enemy you dedicated your life to fighting to protect the one you love."

"How is it we just defeat one enemy only to come across another? How can we fight them when they seem to know everything about us and yet we know nothing about them?"

Javin grimaced. "We can fight, as we always have, for the reasons we always have. To protect our people from those who would destroy us. We've already beaten one enemy with minimal losses it could be much worse."

Aerin sighed and straightened up. "You know I wish those speeches of yours didn't work on me."

"How do you think I got elected?"

"I have no idea. I was in stasis, remember?" he replied with a grin. "But I wish we knew something about them instead of nothing."

"We may not have facts but we have suspicions," Javin replied cryptically. "Come on the Tau'ri are waiting for us."

In a flash of light the Sovaer and Jakose appeared on the observation deck of the Weir with their backs to the window, and were startled by the sight of their welcome party. Standing before them, forming a horse shoe that left them completely surrounded was Colonel Sheppard and a dozen marines, each of which had an assault rifle aimed at them.

"Now that you're here gentlemen I was hoping you could answer a question for me," said Sheppard gravely. "Care to explain why the people who supposedly attacked you were using Averian technology?"

Sovaer's expression was a mixture of shock and disbelief, but that quickly turned to horror as he saw his friend's features twist into a grimace.

Please review.