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: You are very good at reading between the lines my friend and have a remarkable amount of foresight. Still it keeps me on my toes because if i can surprise you then i think i can surprise anyone.
Shadows-of-Realm: Dang, now i want to include a scene in a volcano. Bear with my loyal reader, bear with.
Hydroplatypus: Hey it takes time to get to a big war, expecially when there are another two going on in two different galaxies. Just be patient.
jackpotdante: You won't have to wait long.
Arima – Bridge
"I send you to our allies banging the war drum and instead of soldiers answering the call to arms you come back with an olive branch?" Echidna yelled in disbelief.
Todd could only cringe at his mother, and Matriarch's, anger fuelled tirade. The bridge was completely empty except for the two of them, and his father's holographic avatar. No one wanted to be in her way right now, she was furious enough as it was and it didn't help that she was exhausted from a lack of sleep since the attack. She claimed she had too much to do and could not waste time on sleep.
He had tried to explain the situation but that hadn't done anything to appeal to her, not with the anger she currently possessed at the loss of so many Wraith lives. He could understand her anger, her connection to the Wraith hive mind was the strongest of any of them. She had felt the candles of their lives be snuffed out in an instant of terror and panic and she wanted blood in return. But their allies had a point. They knew next to nothing about their enemy's strengths, weaknesses, if they had any, or even where they were. They needed to find them and find out about them and loath as he was to admit it talking would buy them time to find out this information. If they could at least know where to go to talk to them then at least they would have a vague idea of where to look to find them.
"I am sorry Matriarch," said Todd apologetically. "But we cannot force our allies to fight a war they don't want to."
"We have a mutual defence treaty!" Echidna spat, before returning to pacing in front of the control chair, muttering under her breath.
"And they have assured me they will defend our worlds," Todd argued. "The Tau'ri have already dispatched a large fleet of ships to this galaxy for that purpose. The first wave of ships should be here in three days with the rest in a week."
"How many ships?" she asked irritably.
"I am not certain of the exact numbers but I understand the Tau'ri have been building ships in great numbers for the past two years," Todd explained. "General O'Neill assured me it was a very large fleet of ships which means we can expect great numbers."
"But no assurances of just how large a fleet it is," Echidna stated, not asked.
"No but Tau'ri ships are very powerful given their small size," argued Todd. "Even a few of their ships are capable of inflicting great damage on a sizeable fleet of our own vessels."
"What of the others?" Echidna asked this time, her anger having faded slightly.
"The Averians and Asgard will honour their treaties with us," Todd assured her. "The Travellers have even offered what assistance they can in the coming days."
"The Travellers are not a threat to anyone," Echidna spat. "Least of all the enemy we face."
"That is true Matriarch," Todd admitted. "But they do have an extensive web of contacts within the galaxy and they are experienced in operating under the radar as the Tau'ri would say. They may provide information that will prove vital in the coming days."
"What we need are warriors to fight this battle alongside us," Echidna stated factly. "I want the Zarinites to pay for their crimes against our people."
"As do I," agreed Todd. "But we need to find them first."
"Then find them!" yelled Echidna coming to face her son.
"Echidna," warned Typhoeus. "Calm down."
Echidna visibly reacted to the soothing influence of her loves voice.
"Sit down and take a breath," he said gently while sending calming sensations over the mental link the two shared.
Echidna obediently sat on the control chair allowing Typhoeus to link with her through the chairs interface system. Slowly he strengthened the connection between them, allowing his greater pool of calm to wash over her.
"It's alright my love," he said. "Our allies are with us. They will help us find them and then they will apologise for their actions and swear to never attack us again."
Echidna's eyes lowered as she finally succumbed to her exhaustion and felt the embrace of sleep begin to take hold.
"But what if they do not," she murmured drowsily. "What then?"
"Then they will feel our wrath," Typhoeus whispered, waving Todd out of the room. "And our allies will stand beside us as the fires of justice rain down upon them."
"Rest now my love," he whispered as she gently drifted off to his words.
Once he was confident Echidna was soundly asleep he searched the ship for Todd, knowing that no craft had left the ships hangers. It didn't take long to find him in one of the terminal interface rooms.
"Hard at work my son?" he asked, appearing in holographic form.
"Just waiting for a message from the Tau'ri father," said Todd, not looking up from the console. "I want to know how many ships they are sending so that I can give mother some good news. How is she?"
Typhoeus sighed. "She's resting for now, and if I have anything to say about it she'll stay that way for a good many hours to come."
He noticed the expression of guilt on Todd's face and added, "It's not your fault Todd. You know what she is like. She cares about all of her people, perhaps too much."
"I should have given her news that would make her happy," Todd said guiltily. "She gave me a task to accomplish and I failed to see it through."
"And then what?" asked Typhoeus doubtfully. "She would have placed even more of a burden on herself and would still be in that state. No what you gave her was the best news possible. Our allies are right, we need information and we need the time that diplomacy will give us to get that information. At the very least we can focus on preparing our defences in case of another attack and our allies will be by our side should it come. Oh and incidentally I moved that message to the security vault given the sensitive nature of the information it contains."
Todd actually looked up from the screen. "You read it then?"
Typhoeus shook his head. "No it's encrypted and I haven't decrypted it yet."
"Then how…oh," said Todd as realisation dawned. After all, his father was the ship. "You read the message I sent before I encrypted it for transmission."
Typhoeus smiled. "Your mother isn't the only who can multi task. Now why don't we take a look at that message?"
Todd turned back to the terminal and accessed the data vault, quickly finding the file he sought. Accessing it he decrypted the file allowing both him and Typhoeus to read the message.
Todd had requested the exact numbers of the fleet the Tau'ri would be sending to this galaxy. They had kindly sent him the information he requested via a heavily encrypted subspace data burst.
"What do you know about the 305 Achilles and 307 Night Fury classes?" Typhoeus asked.
"I believe the Achilles-class is a more heavily armed version of one of their battlecruisers," said Todd staring at the holographic screen. "The other is a type of destroyer so most likely function as escorts to their larger craft much in the same way our own cruisers do."
"If it's a Tau'ri design though then they will most likely be suitably well armed as well," reasoned Typhoeus.
"I agree," said Todd. "They certainly seem to prefer quality when it comes to their ships."
"24 306's and 96 307's to arrive in three days, with 28 304's and 56 305's arriving to support them in a week," said Typhoeus. "That is certainly a much larger number than they have utilised in the past in this galaxy from what you have told me."
"What's impressive is that they were able to build such a large number in such a short period of time," said Todd, clearly impressed by the fleet numbers.
"They did not have such a large fleet back?" Typhoeus asked puzzled.
"No," said Todd. "From my time amongst them I was able to learn that they had only a handful of vessels in their possession. It was obvious from the fear I could sense from them when they were facing against a ZPM powered hive ship. If they had these ships back then they would not have needed to resort to using Atlantis against it."
"They must have a large industrial capability to build such a fleet in just two years," reasoned Typhoeus.
"That and some very powerful technology at their disposal," added Todd.
"You were certainly right to ally yourself with them," said Typhoeus.
"It is a good thing I did," admitted Todd. "If they had turned this might against us the Wraith would have been exterminated before long."
"I can't help but agree. The humans are far more skilled at war than my people were."
"They have had a lot of experience over the years from what I understand."
"They fight to protect what they care for," said Typhoeus. "The fact that they are so good at it means that they care a lot about what they want to protect."
Todd chuckled. "Humans, anyone even, wanting to protect Wraith, I never thought I'd see that day."
Typhoeus chuckled himself. "And to think we only had to wait ten thousand years for it to happen."
Ida Galaxy – New Orilla
The Asgard city was a sight to behold, the dream of any architect to be able to create and a dream the Asgard had accomplished. A forest of towering spires made of glass and metal that shone under the yellow sun overhead. It had taken years, even with the seemingly miraculous technology of the Asgard but finally the Asgard had been able to reconstruct their home to the glory of its namesake. Built from the ground up the city was, for lack of a better word, perfection in its design. Unlike the cities of Earth that expand from small settlements into colossal cityscapes, that expand for miles in either direction as needs for new areas arise, this city had been designed to meet every need the Asgard would have right from the start. Housing areas, industrial zones, power generation facilities and shipyards, all bases were covered when the plans were drawn up for this monumental construction.
Throughout Ida the Asgard had spent the last two years rebuilding their civilisation to the point they had been at before the replicator threat had emerged, only this time they didn't have to worry about their DNA unravelling at the molecular level. Android bodies meant they could take their time to slowly restore their DNA to what it had once been without exasperating the problem by constantly cloning themselves. Their new forms even allowed them to download their minds into a central data hub in the event their new bodies were damaged or destroyed. The process was not fool proof but with periodic copies of their minds being made before they travelled into battle having been introduced as standard practise during their war with the replicators the risk was greatly minimised. The download technology was actually a process that the Asgard had gained from their Vanir brethren, who had taken extensive measures to preserve their numbers during their time in Pegasus hiding from the Wraith.
The new height their civilisation had reached had even spilled over to their fleet. The ageing Beliskner's that had long been the front line vessel of the Asgard fleet was relegated to a supporting role, having been replaced by the O'Neill-class. The O'Neill-class was a dedicated warship that was capable of delivering more firepower in a single volley than even the Pegasus-class, with the next volley following mere seconds after. The Beliskner-class offered substantially less firepower but was still a very capable ship, the powerful transport array making it perfect for the construction role it now occupied. The abilities of the ship were being well demonstrated in the construction of the new Tau'ri station. With the priority being expanding their combat capabilities though, the O'Neill-class was the favoured ship to be built with their numbers having greatly increased in the past two years beyond the mere twenty they had started off with.
In the Asgard High Council chambers a meeting was occurring to determine the steps the Asgard would take in Pegasus with the re-emergence of the Zarinites on the galactic stage.
"Supreme Commander Thor," said the Asgard known only as the Chief Archon, a role of such importance that by tradition no names were used to denote the Asgard holding the position. "What is your assessment of the situation?"
"From what information we have gathered Archon the Zarinites could offer a sizeable threat to the Pegasus galaxy natives since they utilise technology developed by the Alterans," stated Thor.
"I am given to understand that said technology includes only the most basic of what the Alterans developed in their time," said Penegal.
"That is true," admitted Thor. "While the majority of the Alteran legacy left behind was theoretical work this alone opened the way for much more advanced versions of the technology. The Averians have clearly demonstrated this fact, as have the Zarinites when they were able to force the Averians to withdraw or lose Hope."
"It is also important to note that the majority of the Pegasus inhabitants lack the means to defend themselves should the Zarinites continue the doctrine of their name sake," added Freyr.
"The Averian-Tau'ri-Wraith alliance should be capable of dealing with any threat they offer if your reports are anything to go by," asked Archon. "I am given to understand the Tau'ri and Wraith have been building their forces for the past two years and the Averians even longer."
"While I do not doubt the capabilities of the humans or Wraith Archon," said Thor. "I must remind you that we are also a member of that alliance. Also we must take into consideration that the Zarinites have been preparing an army capable of conquering the galaxy for centuries."
"How large an army do you believe them to have?" asked Archon.
"That is currently unknown," admitted Thor. "However it is for that reason that the Tau'ri are adopting their current strategy. With the enemy's size and location unknown the best option they have is to solidify their position and attempt to gather more intelligence."
"What do you expect them to have at a minimum Supreme Commander?" asked Archon.
"If I found myself placed in such a position then I would build a large fleet of ships that utilised upgradable capabilities that could be incorporated as more advanced technologies were developed," said Thor. "Their actual army however is a different matter entirely."
"How so?" asked Penegal.
"The Zarinites utilise genetically engineered soldiers, most likely to multiply their forces beyond the limited population they started off with," said Thor. "Normally a human army is somewhat limited if being developed over centuries because of the limited life span of the race it is composed of. An army of lab grown super soldiers however can be produced both quickly and in large numbers."
"You believe the Zarinites will possess large numbers of these troops," Archon stated, not asked.
Thor nodded. "It is what I would do if I intended to occupy a galaxy and keep control of it."
"Then I assume you think we should deploy our forces to assist those currently in Pegasus," said Archon.
"For now I am not suggesting anything drastic like deploying Valhalla," said Thor. "However I feel we should attempt to match what our allies have put forward, say twenty warships."
"The O'Neill-class is powerful, even more so with the new upgrades," said Archon. "To send such a powerful force before war is even openly declared is unprecedented for our people, and I hope that the suggestion of deploying Valhalla was simply a turn of phrase on your part."
"Unprecedented but necessary," said Thor. "Our allies are aware of the forces we most likely have at our disposal, especially given the force the Tau'ri have built in a mere two years. That number is identical to the force we would have used if the Ori were still running rampant about the Milky Way. As for deploying Valhalla, that is a talk for later."
The Archon, and in fact everyone else in the room stared at Thor. They knew that the Supreme Commander was a force to be reckoned with but this was something they had not seen in a while, something he had usually saved for the Goa'uld. The replicators were just machines performing the same command directives over and over again, and while they were something to hate they did not invoke the pure anger that the Zarinites seemed to have awoken.
"That number will send a message of our intentions to support our allies," continued Thor. "It will also make clear to the Zarinites the can of worms, as the humans would say, they will be opening if they push for war instead of peace."
"Twenty ships including your flagship Supreme Commander," stated Archon. "And I trust you to make sure that war is not the path of necessity for the Zarinites."
"Thank you Archon," said Thor politely.
A week can pass quite quickly when you know you know you are going to enjoy it, in this case though the powers of Pegasus were dreading the coming days and so the week that went by was agonisingly long. But pass it did, and surprisingly without further incident, presumably the Zarinite attack had been a pre-emptive strike to weaken the Wraith infrastructure and test their defences. The hit and run nature of the attack against the Wraith shipyard made this seem plausible given that in realistic circumstances the Wraith would not know who had attacked them or the forces they possessed. It also had the added benefit of forcing the Wraith to reveal their forces as they put them to work acting as defences for their worlds. Essentially it had forced the Wraith to reveal their cards while the Zarinites remained shrouded in the shadows but nonetheless in the game.
The new Tau'ri space station was almost completed and would soon be fully loaded with both crew and equipment, thanks to the Asgard. The fleet that the Asgard had sent to support their allies had been carrying the pre-fabricated components needed to finish the station so quickly. Miles and miles of power conduits, weapons, power generators, shield generators, computer cores, the list went on, had been ferried there to finish the job. The Asgard had even temporarily turned over their entire industrial might to producing the defence drones that would fill the stations fighter hangers, the same amount as Hope held in terms of fighters, only doubled. This coincided with the arrival of the combat groups of Tau'ri fleet later that day, giving the fleet somewhere to call home while they were operating in this galaxy. They had even decided on a name for the station Celestia, and since the AI was of a different nature to the ISIS variety they would be calling it Celeste.
The Tau'ri themselves had not been idle while waiting for the remainder of their fleet to arrive or their new station to be completed. The fleet of Pegasus-class ships had been busy placing sensor platforms around the Wraith worlds in order to give them an early warning system for when an attack would be imminent. Arguably though this was nothing more than a stop gap since they had no idea how fast the Zarinites ships were. Now it seemed this move was going to pay off as the sensor net revealed the approach of a large fleet of ships heading towards a major Wraith world.
The allies were quick to react to the move and called upon their forces to intercept the fleet as it arrived in the system.
Wraith controlled world
A few years ago this was just another planet that happened to have a small Wraith presence, now it was so much more. The world had grown from a single small outpost to a thriving colony home to thousands of Wraith and a pillar of their industry. Here ships were grown, crops were harvested and wild animals hunted. Across the surface of this world were towering spires of stark white bone and web like domes of bio matter. This world was what a symbol of the new incarnation of the Wraith Empire and it was this way they intended it to stay. To this end the Wraith had a sizeable fleet sitting in orbit around the planet. Ten upgraded hive ships, thirty upgraded cruisers and five carrier ships were standing by to defend the world from any attack. As part of the treaty between their worlds the Averians had also deployed ships to the planet after the first attack and ten of their warships were sitting amongst the Wraith defence fleet. In response to the Tau'ri warning though a new addition to the defence fleet was sitting around the planet, the Arima and her now thirty sentinels.
Across from space a single massive hyperspace window tore open and deposited a fleet of arrow shaped ships. The ships were identical to those that had attacked the Wraith shipyard a week ago, except for one ship that was much larger than the others and was most likely fulfilling the role of the fleet's flagship. Including the flagship there were a hundred ships as part of the fleet and they were all descending upon this world and the fleet that guarded it.
If this turned into a shooting match then it could arguably go either way. Both fleets were quite powerful and with the capabilities of the other side unclear to either neither could confidently say they had the advantage. The situation could effectively be described as a powder keg, one spark and things would end up going down hill real fast.
The Zarinite fleet inched closer and closer to the combined Wraith and Averian forces. Both sides had their shields powered and their weapons ready to fire at a moments notice, but they were both waiting for the other to make the first move and present an opportunity that could be exploited. If the Zarinite fleet continued to move forwards though then they would be too close to miss and that would undoubtedly be the absent spark.
That situation was made unlikely to occur with the forming of forty five hyperspace windows in the gulf between the two fleets, causing the Zarinites to slam on the breaks as they found themselves facing the broadsides of a strange fleet of ships, some of which were even deploying smaller ships from a hanger on their underbelly. It was no surprise that the Zarinites suddenly paused in their charge towards the Wraith controlled world, they suddenly found themselves facing down every warship the Asgard and Tau'ri had in the galaxy. A total of 20 O'Neill-class, 25 Pegasus-class and 96 Night Fury-class vessels were sitting between the two fleets, shields powered and weapons ready, but showing favour to neither side. It seemed that were trying to make a point with their presence here. The initial impressions mostly consisted of surprise and shock. Not surprising considering the Tau'ri escorts alone numbered nearly the same as the Zarinites own warships.
On an open subspace channel for all to hear came a clear calm voice.
"This is Colonel John Sheppard of the Weir speaking on behalf the Tau'ri and Asgard fleet. Why don't we all take things easy and try and talk about this before someone gets killed?"
In response came a transmission from the flagships of both fleets. Representing the Wraith was Echidna, while the Zarinites were represented by a young man with close cropped brown hair and piercing dark eyes.
"What do you imagine there is to talk about?" he asked, his expression boring into the camera.
"Well first of all the fact that there is no need for fighting anymore," insisted Sheppard.
"The Wraith still live, do they not?" stated the Zarinite. "Some would say that was more than enough of a reason to fight."
"If it is a fight you want then a fight you shall get," snarled Echidna. "You shall pay for the death of my children."
"Your children," said the Zarinite, slightly amused. "Am I to believe that you are the mother to these demon spawn?"
"I am Echidna," she growled. "I am Matriarch to all Wraith. Who are you to attack my progeny?"
"I am Etere Zarin of the Zarasian Empire," he spat back. "And I will oppose all those that would offer my people harm. Your kind would feed on humans for nourishment and for that you will be exterminated."
"And that's enough of that," said Sheppard in a raised voice. "Now that the introductions have been made let's continue where we left off, the Wraith are no longer a threat to your people or anyone else."
"What madness is this," Zarin scoffed. "The Wraith feed on humans, how can they not be a threat? What deluded thinking makes you believe they would do you no harm?"
"The Wraith no longer feed on humans," Sheppard stated calmly.
Zarin snorted. "Preposterous."
Sheppard sighed. "Show him Echidna."
Echidna slowly raised her open hands for Zarin to see. They were completely unmarked and lacking the feeding slit.
Zarin frowned. "This is a trick."
"It is no trick," said Echidna. "My kind no longer feeds on humans. We now consume food the same as you do."
"How is this possible?" asked Zarin, stunned at what he was being shown.
"Our scientists were able to develop a way to remove the Wraiths need to feed," explained Sheppard. "We reactivated their repressed digestive system and they can now eat regular food."
Zarin rubbed his eyes.
"If what you say is true, then this changes everything," he admitted still rubbing his eyes. "My people would not need to go to war."
"I do not want any more of my people to die," stated Echidna. "I am willing to see it end here."
"Peace is possible," added Sheppard.
Zarin groaned and held his head in hands. "I need time to think about this but it would certainly seem so. Yes, peace would be best for all our peoples."
Zarin signalled and the transmission was severed.
"Well that went well," said Sheppard. "It looks like we can end the fighting here."
"So it would seem," said Echidna before she cut the link.
"To peace," said Janus.
"To peace," chorused Oma and Morgan.
Yes i know what you are thinking. Trust me and read all of the next chapter, you will not be disappointed. Please review.