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: Evil cliffhangers are fun, but i will never simply leave you hanging on the same cliff. You're right Travell will always be present, if there is one person that is going to survive its her. One can only guess as to what might actually kill her.
romanhellhound: Triad requires some form of governmental body to hold the Triad so at the moment its going to be difficult for them to pull off. However the Tollan lack a statute of limitations so it is possible to hold it later on.
BIG Z1776: I told you O'Neill can be funny, it just requires the right scenario for him to cut loose. I'll keep an eye out for your piece.
PathKeeper: I hope i answered your questions to your satisfaction. Enjoy the latest chapter.
Ruby Pena: Glad you enjoyed it.
ferivera: I know i would like to see for real as well. Ah well.
Oddliver: Taking her down a notch just never gets old no matter how many times you read about it.
StargateFFWriter: That certainly sounds interesting. I'll keep an eye for it. Enjoy the latest chapter.
New Lucia
In orbit of the world a hyperspace window opened and the Tollan rescue task force emerged to conclude their very short trip. On board the Nightingale were the nearly four thousand survivors of the Tollan race.
To accommodate them all on the ship cargo areas had been stripped of their contents and filled with portable beds and benches where they could sit and rest. Given that they had been crammed into a small bunker every night for the past ten years actually having somewhere comfortable to sit meant this wasn't much of an issue for them.
What was causing them some grievance was having to turn over their well being to virtual strangers. Admittedly the Tau'ri had been known to them for some time now but this current incarnation made them something else entirely in a lot of people's eyes. When they had last had an encounter with the Tau'ri they had lacked a single craft capable of escaping their own atmosphere under its own power. Now though they had crossed the distance between their worlds to come to their rescue and then planned on taking them to another world in a journey time of mere minutes. Such a dramatic shift in the status quo was not something a lot of them could readily accept. While the PJ's were attempting to get people aboard the waiting transports fights had broken out on more than one occasion which both the Tau'ri and the Tollan had made efforts to break up. Usually the cause of the fights was simple paranoia at the intentions of their supposed saviours. In some cases it was the unwillingness to relinquish their acquired weapons. Since the majority of these weapons had been taken from Jaffa the wielders of them had personally killed they were not only disinclined to hand them over but were very good at keeping hold of them. In others the cause was the same mindset that Travell possessed, that the Tau'ri were a primitive race incapable of providing them with assistance and thus this must be a deception. Narim had been forced to step in on more than one occasion to persuade these particular Tollan that they were not in danger and that the Tau'ri had indeed come to aid them.
Several techniques were being employed to not only help the Tollan but to convince them to accept help. Making MRE's readily available in large numbers so that the malnourished Tollan could eat their fill was certainly proving effective. The more distrusting members of the Tollan were unwilling to accept the food if it was simply handed to them. Instead a large pile of MRE's were placed in easy reach of gathered groups of Tollan allowing them to take them as they wished. The more trusting simply helped themselves and this in turned encouraged the others to try the food. As the barriers of mistrust started to break down the piles of food became considerably smaller as the hungry Tollan ate their fill. Another technique was not arming any members of the crew that interacted with the Tollan, security personnel were doing their best to stay out of sight but were nevertheless present. The most crucial technique being employed was that the Nightingale didn't even leave the atmosphere of Tollana without first providing every one of the Tollan with some form of medical care. Even if in the interests of hygiene this only consisted of a shower and a set of clean clothes it was still provided. Once the Tollan were all settled and those required an extended stay in a medical facility were safely tucked in the ship had finally departed for New Lucia. Even with just the two neutrino ion generators onboard the Nightingale setting the pace the journey to the planet had been completed in less than six minutes.
Now though the ships had arrived at the planet and were in the process of transporting the Tollan to their new home. The Asgard had purpose built a settlement similar to those provided for the Lucians only on a larger scale. The base technology being incorporated was at a level that the Tollan were more accustomed to before their fall. The new city also contained a number of buildings that would normally be spread amongst those of the Lucian settlements, government buildings, a hospital, a dedicated computer core facility and several other buildings were all present. The actual government for the Tollan was still a matter of debate, although it was being suggested that Travell was looking at early retirement in recognition for her many years of service to the Tollan people during the difficult times. Whether or not this would prove true was yet to be seen but it was noted that their new hosts certainly seemed to be dealing with Narim more often than the Chancellor. Numerous supplies were also included in the new city, waiting to be used by the Tollan. Food, water and medical supplies were amongst the basic necessities included but there was also a large supply of what could be considered unnecessary for survival items, something the Tollan had not seen for a decade. The most important item included though was a gift from the Tau'ri for public use, although safeguards had been included to prevent tampering, and that was a matter synthesiser. Anything from the database of basic items could be produced using the miraculous technology, something which was met with mixed responses from the Tollan when they learned this was something the Tau'ri now regularly utilised. Still no matter how they felt about the Tau'ri and their current standing in the universe the benefits of being able to use such a device whenever they needed to could not be denied. The device would soon prove to be so popular that an ordering system would eventually need to be introduced until the buzz died down.
The Tollan data core had been safely delivered and was waiting for them upon their arrival, untouched by the Tau'ri as promised. But what they did not know was that a single piece of technical data had been removed from the data core, the design plans for the Tollan stargate. The Tollan stargate had been constructed by them with the assistance of the Nox, who had provided them with the basic design plans to allow for them to be reunited with their lost people and maintain a place on the galactic stage. Taking Chancellor Travell's words to heart about reclaiming knowledge from those who were not ready for it Lya had requested the help of the Asgard to reclaim their knowledge from the Tollan. The reason for this was two fold. Firstly this would mean the Tollan would not have sole possession of gate travel by building their own which might override the other stargate and also allowed their off world travel to be monitored. Secondly this meant that the Tollan would be made aware of just what their current standing in the eyes of the Nox was with regards to their previous actions and attempted attack on the Tau'ri. When a check of the data core was performed and the actions of the Nox, who had even left a recorded note to prove it was them who did the deed, was discovered rumours would begin to sweep amongst the Tollan populace about the possible implications. Most were worried that this meant that their political standing as well as their general standing had taken a hit, but there were always going to be those who believed this proved the Tau'ri should lose their new technology as well. If they were apparently not ready for the advanced technology then the more primitive Tau'ri certainly weren't. Unsurprisingly most of these people were firm supporters of Travell.
Shortly after her arrival on the planet Travell had descended on the Asgard watchtower in the Tollan settlement with what she thought was righteous fury. Before she made her move though she took the time to clean up her appearance, donning a clean set of Chancellors robes after having bathed she finally resembled her old self. Feeling ready she immediately went to see Freyr, the Asgard who had been charged as protector of this world, intent on seeing the issues that plagued her resolved. When she arrived and found Lya of the Nox also present she thought that fortune must be smiling on her.
"Chancellor Travell," said Freyr. "What can we do for you?"
"I wish to know why our data core was tampered with," Travell demanded.
"I assume you are referring to the removal of the stargate schematics that my people gave you," stated Lya. "As was explained in the recording I left for you that knowledge is no longer necessary for your people to possess and so we have reclaimed it, as you implied was our right."
"My people still have use for those plans," Travell protested.
"No you do not," said Lya. "Those plans were to allow you to reunite with your lost people. Since you have no need to build your own stargate while you have access to the one on this world then you do not require the plans."
"I still object to you accessing our data core without our permission," Travell complained. "If you have breached the safe guards preventing tampering what is to say that others who wish for examples of our technology have not also done so."
"Chancellor," said Freyr calmly. "From the moment that data core arrived here it was under our care. It was we who broke through its firewall, at the request of the Nox, and we made sure that no one else was allowed access to it. However I suspect your concern is that the Tau'ri have had access to your technology."
"You seem to have no problem with sharing your technology with races that are not ready for such advancements," Travell accused. "How do I know you did not decide that the Tau'ri would benefit from ours?"
"Because Chancellor," said Freyr in a steely tone. "We do not steal other races knowledge. The Tau'ri were entrusted with our knowledge so that they could save this galaxy from enslavement or annihilation and because they were named the Fifth Race and deemed worthy of such knowledge. My people believed them capable of utilising what we gave them to the benefit of both themselves and others and it seems we have been proven right.
"The Tau'ri are a warlike people," protested Travell. "They would arm a hospital ship. Surely that proves they are more likely to do more harm than good."
"My people also arm our science ships," stated Freyr. "And the fact that you yourself owe them a debt for rescuing you from your world when you would just as soon see them destroyed shows that they will not abuse what we have given them."
"Just because they have used the technology well thus far does not mean they always will," argued Travell. "They still lack the knowledge to use it effectively."
"That is why we are helping them by teaching them about what we have given them at their own request," stated Freyr. "The Tau'ri have already displayed that they are capable of learning by themselves and we have high hopes for them."
"But in the mean time they are still unprepared when there are other races out there that are prepared for what you have to offer," Travell reasoned. "You need only to offer it and they would accept it out of duty."
"You are referring to your own race," stated Freyr.
"I am," confirmed Travell.
"Then you are mistaken," Freyr argued. "What technology of ours the Tau'ri have was gifted to them, not offered. They did not ask for our technology they earned it."
"Then tell me what tasks my people must complete to also earn such a gift," Travell requested.
"Chancellor, you misunderstand," said Lya. "The Tau'ri earned this gift because of the actions they performed out of a sense of duty, not because they hoped to gain a reward."
"My people feel no obligation to gift your people with any technology," stated Freyr. "We are providing you with sanctuary here at the request of our allies and because of our own sense of duty to help those in need but you will not be receiving any of our technology."
"I request that we be given our own world," requested Travell. "My people would do better if we are provided with the same level of technology as we are used to instead of being constricted to this primitive level."
"The level of technology we have provided you with is more than capable of sustaining your people," argued Freyr. "It is a great improvement over your previous conditions before you came here. The Tau'ri have also given you use of a matter synthesiser while you are here so that you can produce anything that you might need."
"Nevertheless my people would be better off without having to stand in the shadow of a race that not long ago we were easily superior to," stated Travell. "My people still have their pride. We want to stand on our own."
"Chancellor your people currently lack the numbers to survive on your own," stated Lya. "Your people as it stands are still greatly weakened from the last decade. It will be some time before you have healed and you are able to stand on your own two feet, without the assistance we would provide."
"To put it simply Chancellor," said Freyr. "You are stuck with the assistance of the Tau'ri for the time being whether you personally like it or not. That is what is best for your people."
Travell looked visibly ill at that and Freyr knew he had seen right through her.
On board the Enterprise Jack was making a phone call to Atlantis using the holographic subspace long range communication device. Sheppard was not so happy about that fact because it meant he had to answer his boss's questions face to face.
"Start talking Colonel because I want some answers," Jack said with feeling. "Who the hell kidnapped our allies and how the hell did they do it?"
Sheppard winced. "We never even saw them coming and before we knew what was happening they were already on top of us. They used some sort of drop craft we've never seen before to land a large number of troops on the planet and attacked the delegation. We fought them off and managed to neutralise some of them in order to make our escape but in the attempt Etere Zarin was wounded while Minister Jakose and his bodyguard Sovaer were taken captive. When they had the Minister the enemy pulled back and somehow managed to escape from the area without us being able to track them."
"That still doesn't explain why he allowed this sort of situation to even occur," Jack continued angrily. "Now how about you explain how the hell this happened under your watch?"
"Well sir," said Sheppard sheepishly. "We're honestly still trying to figure that one out ourselves."
"Please do not be too hard on him O'Neill," requested Thor. "Our sensors were unable to detect neither the appearance of the landing craft nor their method of escape. The planet possessed a series of ion clouds that the enemy were able to hide in to escape detection."
"Why did you allow the talks to take place on this planet anyway?" Jack demanded.
"The Zarasians requested neutral ground sir," answered Sheppard. "This planet was a suggested by them and we made sure to check it out before hand. We believed that any attack on the planet could be prepared for because we would detect the approach or in the worse case departure of any hostile ships. When we got there there were no indications that there was a hostile force present at the time."
Jack sighed. "So what you're telling me is that there is someone out there that has a form of FTL that we can't track and could pop up at any moment, fantastic. Who would know about the peace talks in the first place?"
"Only the parties that were supposed to be there," said Thor. "And yet someone else must have managed to find out about it, possibly by intercepting our transmissions."
"How do we know one of the races that were at the talks wasn't behind this?" asked Jack. "I notice from the report you sent that there were conveniently no bodies left behind to examine. It sounds to me like someone wanted to keep their identity secret."
"We're not discounting that sir," Sheppard assured him. "But it is possible it is another alien race that wishes to keep their existence a secret since we saw similar tactics employed by the Vanir."
"Or one of our so called friends betrayed us and don't want us to know about it," Jack stated.
"Unfortunately that is indeed possible," said Thor. "We need more information though before we can come any particular conclusion."
"What can we deduce from what we know?" asked Jack.
"That the attackers had either had something against the Averians or it was a kidnapping of opportunity," said Sheppard.
"They also seemed to have no interest in taking Etere Zarin hostage since they happily shot at him," continued Thor. "This implies that they are either unaware of the Zarasians existence or that he was not of importance to them."
"But there is always the possibility that that was accidental or even intentional to throw us off the scent," argued Sheppard.
"The same however could be said for the Averians," Thor argued back.
"And if it's not them then the Wraith are the only ones who could be responsible," said Jack. "Not that I don't doubt the cunning and ingenuity of your people Thor but I just don't see it happening."
"Thank you O'Neill," said Thor politely. "I also doubt it was your people that were responsible for this as well."
"Wish I could say the same," admitted Jack. "Somehow I can just see this being a plot by the IOA or some other snake that science claims is definitely human."
Thor blinked. "Is something wrong O'Neill? I sense that there is something else bothering you."
Jack sighed. "Sorry Thor I just finished the Tollan rescue mission."
"I see," said Thor, in that emotionless way the Asgard had gotten so good at over the millennia. "Did you fail to find any survivors?"
"No that's just it, there were survivors," said Jack. "There were less than five thousand of them and they've been there for ten years and we didn't do anything about it until now."
"Do not blame yourself O'Neill," said Thor comfortingly. "Even the Nox believed them to be extinct. You went looking for them because you hoped there might be some survivors. It seems your instincts were correct."
"Yeah Thor I know," said Jack sounding more than a little depressed. "You know of all the people to survive Travell was one of them."
"I presume you two had words," said Thor. His friend had more than a few choice words for the good Chancellor and her previous command decisions.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh she had plenty to say, especially about your decision to entrust a primitive race with your legacy."
Sheppard winced. "Sorry sir."
"If you would like O'Neill," suggested Thor. "I can see that she is put in her place."
Jack actually cracked a smile. "Thanks buddy but that's really not necessary. Lya decided to pay a visit when she found out that the Tollan were alive, she gave Travell a piece of her mind and so did I as it happens."
Sheppard grinned. "Good for you sir."
"Watch it Sheppard, it's still your ass on the line for this little incident," Jack scolded.
"Sorry sir," said Sheppard, duly chastened.
"Get me some answers," ordered Jack. "We need to find them quickly or this whole thing is going to come back and bite us on the ass. You're lucky you were able to get as far as you did in the peace talks before it all went to hell."
Sheppard tapped his ear piece. "This is Sheppard, what have you got?"
Sheppard's eyes widened in horror as he listened to the information being conveyed to him.
"Sir we just got a message from the battlecruiser fleet," Sheppard said in a low voice. "They've arrived at Celestia."
"And?" Jack asked, sensing he wasn't going to like what was coming.
Sheppard told him. He was right, he didn't like it.
"Oh crap."
Celestia
So far things were not going as Telford would have liked. Despite their best attempts at dealing with the situation the invaders were still making their way deeper and deeper into the station and were breaking through every barrier they put up to stop them. When they had realised what was happening the station had been put into lockdown. Every single door that could be closed had been closed, then locked and as an extra measure emergency force fields had been activated. And yet despite this the invaders had been blasting away at the force fields until the emitters failed and then forced the doors open by hand when they proved resistant to anything short of high explosives. Thankfully the heavier doors around the armoury and vital areas appeared to be holding out, for now anyway. The force fields would eventually fail it was true but the armoured doors certainly weren't going to be forced open.
At this point in the siege the defending forces had finally been able to gather together and arm themselves. Now they were kitted out with the latest tempest battle armour and armed with as much weaponry they could carry on them without compromising their fighting effectiveness. Nevertheless that didn't change the fact that there were only forty two military trained personnel against an invading force that was at least as strong as a full battalion. So far the only real attempt at fighting back had been to perform hit and run strikes on the enemy using their access to the internal cameras to their advantage. Using these methods they had killed a number of the enemy that had been separated from the rest by the lockdown as well as several scouting parties. Operating in packs and lining up at least a dozen barrels on the door before having Celeste open it for them they had been able to eliminate nearly a hundred unsuspecting enemy soldiers. With the need to move quickly though they had been forced to leave behind the enemy soldiers and get out of dodge as there were always a lot more about to bear down on them. It was rather frustrating for Telford and everyone else because it meant that they were running away just as much as they were attacking. Later on they would could back and search the bodies but for now they had another group to ambush. As time went on however more and more doors were being forced open and the enemy were making their way deeper into the station. Originally they had tried venting the atmosphere in the sealed areas, but apparently the helmets the enemy wore though were air tight and it hadn't proved an effective strategy.
The one good piece of news they did have was that they had been able to recover a number of their own people that had been rendered unconscious by the stun wave. Once the last of them awoke they would have another hundred civilians and another fifty six combat troops.
In the control room Telford finished adjusting the last piece of his own suit of tempest battle armour. One of the teams had dropped it off for him along with an assortment of weaponry should they need it.
"What's our status," he ordered.
"So far we count eighty six dead enemy soldiers," said Perkins. "None wounded."
"Dead is better than wounded as far as the enemy are concerned," commented Telford. It had been that kind of day.
"Sir," yelled Jones. "They've breached the secondary control room blast doors."
"How the hell did they do that?" demanded Telford.
"They brought in some kind of heavy plasma cannon sir," said Jones. "The doors weren't forced they were blown to pieces."
"Shut down all power to that room," ordered Telford. "I don't want a single volt going to those consoles."
"Already on it Colonel," said Celeste, appearing in holographic form beside him.
"Good to know," said Telford. "What else?"
"No response yet from the distress call we sent out but from what I can tell the drone is still on route," said Chen. "We're on the outskirts of the system so it will take a while to arrive."
Telford scowled. The station had been constructed on the outskirts of the system so that it wouldn't be affected by the suns gravity beyond what they could compensate for with their thrusters. That fact was now working against them since it meant the drone would take well over a day to reach the planet and no one knew how big the jamming field actually was. They just had to hold out for as long as they could.
"I have managed to localise the source of the communication jamming field though sir," Chen added hesitantly.
"Where is it?" asked Telford, sensing he may not want to know.
"In one of the large boxes sitting in the gate room," Chen answered.
"Somehow I knew it would be," said a frustrated Telford.
The gate room was ground zero for the enemy incursion and the most difficult to get to. If they were going to shut it down it would most likely be after they killed the enemy in the gate room and the surrounding area.
"Colonel," said Perkins. "We have the fleet on sensors. They just exited hyperspace."
Alongside the station a massive hyperspace window tore open and deposited the fleet of 304's and 305's. Forming up they made their approach to the station where they were due to dock and resupply while waiting for further instructions. It took them a while to notice but eventually they registered the drone flying towards the mining world and its transmission, Celestia was under attack from within. But before those that noticed could react quickly enough to pass this information to the rest of the fleet the unthinkable happened. Every ion cannon on Celestia fired one salvo after another without even aiming before suddenly stopping at the fifth and the result was devastating. Even though the individual ships had not been targeted the mass of firepower meant they still took enough hits to heavily damage nearly a quarter of the fleet.
In the cold vacuum of space once proud ships were covered in scorch marks. Hull fragments floated alongside the ships they had come from while inside the crews were desperately trying to stabilise the ship and account for the damage. Meanwhile their comrades were moving into position to shield them from another volley and attempting to drag them out of weapons range in case another salvo was forthcoming. They could only assume the worse. That the forces invading Celestia had somehow managed to gain control of the weapons for a short period. As it turned out another salvo was not forthcoming and the station shields instead came online. It seemed they would not be able to get close enough to attempt a boarding action.
"How the hell did they get control of our weapons?" Telford yelled. He couldn't believe what he had just seen happen. He couldn't understand how what just happened had even happened.
"Logs indicate fire order was given from the secondary control room sir," said Chen.
"That place was supposed to be shut down!" Telford yelled.
"They seem to have rigged a power source to one of the consoles sir," said Jones.
"I have initiated overrides Colonel," said Celeste before her hologram started flickering. "From what I gather they got lucky and hit the fire control…"
"Celeste what's wrong?"
"Hacking…attempt in…progress," said Celeste, her form now flickering faster. "Core program… being…deleted. Attempting…to block."
"Do whatever it takes Celeste," ordered Telford. "Lock them out of the computer core. Do not allow them access to our systems."
"Isolating…command…pathways," Celeste managed. "Entering…lockdown…mode…sorry…Colonel."
With those final words her hologram vanished and the room was left silent.
"What did she do?" demanded Telford.
"They attempted to delete Celeste's core program and she went into lockdown mode," answered Perkins. "Fail safes dictate we no longer have control of any critical systems from here or the secondary control room until the all clear protocol is initiated. We can still open the doors remotely and talk to our people but that's it."
"Damn it!" Telford swore.
Please Review.