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: albums/ae166/Senrab_Nomis/

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

Review Responses

AlexanderD: Well if you like that then you should approve of the opening to this chapter. I'm pleased i managed to pull that off okay, its a lot different when its being read rather than heard and seen.

BIG Z1776: They need to have a world somewhere since they would need to base their starting infrastructure on a planet after they were exiled. I have many rules when it comes to the Asgard, an important one is don't mess with Thor.

Shadows of Realm: They haven't won the battle yet, just a few small skirmishes. Remember there are a lot more reapers present that they have yet to even encounter let alone beat.

Cdoctor: Thank you very much.

QP: Well i am happy to provide you with this one and many more after.

Osced: Well, that group of guys got rescued.

romanhellhound: The troops needed something to give them a boost. The enemy coming down on them being blown to hell seemed appropriate.

Ruby Pena: Thank you.

SkywalkerT-65: Glad i could inspire. The Titans are one of my favourite creations and one of the funnest toys to play with.

Hope

In the space between two docking arms rested a single vessel. Or rather a single vessel occupied the space between two docking arms. At 1500 metres long, 350 metres wide and 300 metres high the ship was incapable of docking inside the station she had been constructed at. This ship was under the sole command of Admiral Xander and he had overseen its completion since the initial design plans were first drawn up.

Being a high ranking officer having taken part in numerous projects over the years Alec knew a masterpiece when he saw one. He had been lucky enough to be given a look at the new weapons options that the Tau'ri had designed for their F-302's and they were certainly very impressive. The F-302's bomb bay had been retrofitted to hold two rotating launchers for the Tau'ri equivalent of drone weapons which featured two drones every ninety degrees for a total of sixteen, nicknamed naquadah potassium drones or NPD's for short. The hard points now carried LAU-61C/A rocket pods, with each one containing Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System missiles modified with drone guidance and propulsion systems and fitted with naquadah-potassium warheads, nicknamed fireflies. Or alternatively they could be fitted with saber missiles, which were just much larger versions of the fireflies and packed a much bigger bang. All of these were optional though and the only permanently mounted new weapon on the craft was the free electron laser mounted on the crafts underbelly in a capsule, similar to the RAH-66 Comanche. One thing that was going to be fitted on all past and future fighter craft though was the modified tempest battle armour suits the flight crew were equipped with, minus the heavy armour but retaining the hazardous environment protection the suits offered. They had even had the rather cunning idea of linking the suits HUD to the fighter's onboard sensor and targeting systems. But even given these advancements he would still rather have this one ship design than all of those new weapons and system upgrades.

In a word the ship was a monster, in another word it was a warship and a dedicated one at that. Unlike every other combat vessel the Averians had designed this particular ship didn't carry a single fighter craft, in fact it was limited to four small hanger bays dedicated to holding shuttle craft. The ship was the product of years of design work towards a singe aim, creating a vessel that would hit an enemy hard and fast. This Averian combat philosophy originated from the years spent planning to take on the Wraith. They knew they faced an enemy that liked to field overwhelming numbers to eventually pound an opponent into submission when they were forced to stick around to fight. The only counter to this would be to create vessels capable of delivering amounts of firepower in a single volley to dispatch an enemy as quickly as possible. Working towards that aim they had created their modular combat and transport vessels as well and finally the Aror class. Even given the less advanced technology being utilised by the Averians the ship was arguably tougher ton for ton than the Tau'ri Pegasus class since her shield strength was on par with the Pegasus class. This however wasn't what made the ship conform to the initial design aim, what did that was the sheer number of weapons mounted on her hull. Mounted on the nose of the ship were four plasma beams and a single heavy plasma beam, which was twice the size and yield of the smaller versions, and in support of these were six heavy plasma cannons which lowered into the hull.

But the true strength of the ship though came from the devastating broadsides that she was capable of unleashing on an enemy fleet. Each side of the warship featured a huge number of weapons dedicated to a single facing. Along the top and bottom of the ship were another twenty heavy plasma cannons divided into two sets of five by two. Also split into two groups of two by four were sixteen weapon nests similar to those featured on the other Averian ships, with each one consisting of four plasma cannons and fourteen missile launchers. Each weapon nest retracted into the hull when not in use and would be covered in thick armour plating, which also meant that they could be charged while hidden beneath the armour for a potential surprise attack. The ability to hide the majority of its weapons out of sight actually made the ship seem relatively harmless when it wasn't in a combat situation. But that image would quickly vanish when the ship opened up with a broadside of twenty heavy plasma cannons, forty eight plasma cannons and two hundred and twenty four missiles firing in a single volley. The words plasma storm have never seemed more appropriate.

The ship was named the Kalen Aror, and had been nicknamed the Aror class by their Tau'ri allies. Alec couldn't help but smile at that, this ship could certainly roar alright. The name came from a leading figure in Averian history. Kalen Aror had been the Averians very first Minister once the form of a united planetary government had been established and had been instrumental in shaping the Averian government into what it now was. Fighting against those who doubted that unity was best for the people he had striven night and day to prove them wrong and forge a political regime that would weather the test of time long after he departed from office, not to mention the world of the living, and he had succeeded. It was strongly argued by many that if it were not for the tireless efforts of this one man Averia might be a very different world entirely.

The lack of fighter's aside the ship even had a completely different layout to the rest of the Averian fleet. The ships bridge doubled as a CIC and was located in the very heart of the ship to protect it from harm. In this room filled with monitoring equipment and dominated by a massive holographic generating table in the centre of the room Alec could watch an entire battle play out before him in high definition and co-ordinate an entire armada of ships. Currently displayed across on the holographic table was a star chart displaying the region where the emergency beacon had been detected, their present location and the location of the joint Tau'ri and Asgard fleet. Thanks to the tip off their allies were now altering their course to head to the location of the beacon. By pushing the engines a little they should be able to arrive at about the same time as their allies. What they would find when they arrived though was questionable, but that question could not be answered here.

"Helm, take us out," he ordered.

"Aye sir."

The umbilical's linking her to the station having been severed the Aror powered her large sublight engines and slowly coasted out from between the two station arms. As she slowly gained momentum her velocity eventually rapidly increased and in less than a minute the ship was clear of the arms altogether and soaring through open space. Her body banked gracefully with an ease that defied her speed as she set her heading. Bringing her powerful hyperdrive online a hyperspace window burst into existence and in a flash of light to indicate its closure the mighty warship was on her way.

He would have liked to take an entire battle group with him but Alec knew that he couldn't uncover the stations defences when they had already been reduced in order to guard the Wraith worlds. Besides the combat variants lacked the speed of the Aror and would only slow him down.

"That was lucky wasn't it," said Oma.

"Indeed it was," said Morgan while looking pointedly at Janus who was looking the other way.

"What are the odds of a freak power surge boosting the signal just enough for the sensors on Hope to pick it up?" she went on.

"Not very high certainly," said Oma.

"Oh I don't know," said Janus, still not looking at either of them. "Bouncing around in that vent could have caused any amount of damage to the inner workings."

"Is that right?" asked Morgan sarcastically.

"Indeed," said Janus. "It's truly amazing what the effects of random chance can lead to. Of course that power surge probably drained a fair amount of the power cells energy but it looks like that won't be something to worry about."

Morgan glared at him.

"Random chance?"

"Random chance," he asserted causing Morgan to up the intensity of her glare.

Janus turned to look at her, an expression of pure innocence lining his features.

"Is there something you wish to say Morgan? I only ask because I could feel your gaze burning a hole in the back of my head."

"You know exactly what I want to say," she replied indignantly.

"You think I had something to do with this?" he asked, his face still the perfect picture of innocence.

She snorted. "No, I think you had everything to do with this. You know we are not allowed to interfere."

"You would be expert on that," he shot back.

"That was different and you know it," she argued.

"No helping them find the sangraal was different and you know it," he countered. "Showing them the location of the arc of truth was interfering."

"And I paid for that by being willing to spend eternity battling Adria," she protested. "What price are you going to pay?"

"And why would I need to pay a price? You can't prove I did anything."

"But I know you did it."

"You think I did it."

"No I know. I just can't prove it."

Janus sighed. "Why are you of all people getting angry about this?"

"You know why," she said moodily.

"Oh yes because you think we shouldn't interfere unless it will count, right?"

Morgan stayed silent this time.

"This counts Morgan," Janus all but yelled. "Helping them get back their friends and their leaders counts."

"Not that you had anything to do with it," interjected Oma.

Janus took a breath to calm himself. "Not that I had anything to do with it."

He walked over to Morgan and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I know you are worried Morgan but they aren't going to do anything. They have no proof I did anything and even if they try it I won't bring you down with me."

"You're such a fool Janus," she muttered. "Just like Merlin."

Janus chuckled. "I can think of worse role models."

Zarasian Flagship

It had been a while since Sovaer had last contacted him. In fact it had been more than a while, it had been ages. The last time Sovaer had contacted him was to show that video and then to say he was going deeper into the computer core to try and find more information or better yet a way for them to get out of this mess alive so they could pass on the information.

Jakose knew he had to patient and let his friend work but his patience had long since run out and his worry for his friend's safety finally got the better of him.

"Aerin, have you found anything yet?"

"Aerin?"

"Aerin, will you please answer me?"

"Aerin!"

"AERIN!"

"I'm here JJ."

"Finally. Have you found anything?"

"I'm making progress but I need you do something very important for me."

"Name it."

"Please shut up and let me work…sir."

"…"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"…"

"Sorry."

"…"

"…"

":)"

Celestia

With their foothold in the middle of enemy territory established, and being rather well held with five Titans standing guard in front of the only door to the gate room, the next priority had been extending their control zone. The first thing they had done was to assist the SF's that had been pinned down after their assault on the forces guarding the control room.

Arguably charging head long into the depths of the station without slowing down whenever they encountered enemy forces wasn't the best idea. Luckily they hadn't encountered much in the way of opposition until they reached their end destination since all the reapers in the area had been converging on the SF's in a bid to overwhelm them. Of course even if they had encountered opposition three hundred heavily armoured Tau'ri soldiers wearing tempest armour rushing to assist their comrades is not a tide that can be stopped by a few reapers. But when they impacted the combat zone at first it was like a flood hitting a burning town. The SF's suddenly found themselves surrounded not by enemy soldiers ready to strike them down but by comrades ready to tend to their wounds. The reapers were caught off guard by this momentary loss of momentum against the enemy and found themselves being overwhelmed on their flank as they wheeled to face this new threat. Moments earlier they had been the aggressors and at the far end of the line they still were, mercilessly cutting down the SF's they faced, but at the other end of the line they were being forced to defend the territory they had previously been able to take simply by walking into it. Unfortunately the Tau'ri weren't having it all there own way, if the situation had been as simple as them moving up to support besieged troops on the front line then it probably would have been easier for them. However in this case the situation forced them to flank the enemy forces while the enemy continued to punish the SF's and for that they were costs. True by flanking the reapers they were causing disarray and inflicting heavy casualties against the enemy, but they were also unable to support the SF's at the other end of the line and that lack of support was costing the SF's greatly. Much like the SF's at the other end of the line had, before Sheppard and the reinforcements had turned up, the SF's positioned at this end found themselves being overwhelmed by the reapers as wave after wave of enemy soldiers crashed into them.

It wasn't long before the order was given for the SF's to pull back, or rather pull sideways, in an attempt to survive as the oppressive weight of the reapers. Once again the battle lines were redrawn as the reapers attempted to chase down the retreating SF's while the marines hastily moved up to meet them. The result when the two sides met was absolute carnage. The corridors of the station rang with the sound of explosions as air burst grenades exploded, the deep thud of shot after shot being fired from projectile weapons and plasma rifles and the gentle clatter as spent rounds hit the deck plating. The fighting was intense but with the odds in one sides favour the battle could eventually only go one way. Years of intense training in the harshest of conditions, time spent in actual combat and superior equipment won the fight for the Tau'ri against the reapers they faced. Outmatched and outnumbered the reapers slowly but surely fell to the hardened veterans they faced. The skirmish had not been without its costs though. These reapers had been wiped out and admittedly they easily replaceable lab grown creatures but they had represented a big chunk of the forces present and the Tau'ri had had almost two hundred men taken out of the fight due to injuries ranging to mild to severe and even the odd death. Worse still the rest of the reapers on the station had been alerted to their presence and were moving to meet them on equal terms. If that tide of enemy forces hit them the playing field may be equal but the forces involved would definitely not be. The Tau'ri only had one option for now and that was to fall back as quickly as possible and take their wounded with them.

Luckily for the wounded though the Wraith forces had not only fully deployed through the stargate but had begun to shore up lines of defence around the gate room. This meant they were on hand to cover their retreat as well as carry the wounded to the gate room where a temporary triage centre had been established with Doctors Keller and Beckett heading up the treatment efforts.

Following the departure of the marines to assist the SF's Todd and McKay along with a troupe of Wraith soldiers had quickly moved to retake the gate control room. Once the enemy forces around the gate control room had been eliminated, and another pair of Zarasian techs had been captured, Todd had then moved on leaving McKay behind in the now reactivated gate control room. Todd had a mission of his own and he felt quite honoured that Sheppard trusted him to carry it out. It was truly amazing that after all those years of mistrust he was now being tasked with rescuing the Tau'ri prisoners and getting them safely back to the gate room to either be equipped for deployment with the other forces or simply evacuated. What really made it worth it, he reflected, was that after he and his soldiers had eliminated the last of those pesky hybrids he had been treated to a truly wonderful expression of shock on the faces of the Tau'ri after the door opened and they saw him and his men standing their. But what had been more wonderful was the look of disbelief on their faces when he had announced that the Wraith were here to save them. He had made sure to share that particular memory with the rest of the hive mind since it was far too good to keep to himself. On reflection he realised that their reaction had probably been due to his people's isolationist attitude in the past two years. They had been working tireless so that when they did re-emerge on the galactic stage they would be a completely different people from the Wraith that Pegasus once knew and fear. As it stood the majority of people only knew of the stories about the Wraith and had never met one in person, so it must have come as quite a shock to suddenly find that you were being rescued by one.

The humans, after a little encouragement, were quickly relocated to the gate room. There the soldiers were given tempest battle armour and suitable amounts of firepower while those with any medical training were assigned to triage for the duration of the siege. Any civilian personnel that wouldn't be useful in this conflict were eventually evacuated through the stargate since beaming out still wasn't possible with the jamming field still in effect. They had thus been unable to locate the device that was generating the field. Admittedly it really shouldn't be that hard to find but since they didn't know what the thing actually looked like it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. To make matters worse they didn't know if they were after one big device or a number of smaller devices. For now though it seemed they were stuck fighting a ground battle and would have to leave the beaming away the enemy option off the table.

So far the score board was looking interesting. In terms of active forces the reapers had a minimal of seven hundred and fifty in their corner while the allies now had over three hundred marines, thanks to liberating the hostages, and a thousand Wraith warriors. It certainly appeared as if the odds were in the allies favour from a numbers point of view but as a wise general knows the situation never just boils down to just the numbers until the very end. While the reapers were outnumbered, they were also fearless. It wasn't just that they were cut off from their method of escape and unconcerned about losses they might endure in the future. It was the fact that they had been hard wired, quite literally given the cybernetic implants, to know no fear or any other emotion for that matter. The reapers would charge right at them with no fear for their lives because they were mere tools that could be replaced, or in this case more could be grown. Even when they were fighting the Wraith they didn't have this sort of problem. Even the most vindictive of Wraith Commanders would not simply throw away his soldiers. Soldiers made up the core part of a hives strength and could not afford to be wasted, that type of thinking could leave a hive vulnerable to destruction or domination by their rivals. Not to mention that the Wraith were a hive mind and it certainly isn't enjoyable to feel hundreds of minds suddenly vanish from the link as the sparks of their lives flickered and died. But the Zarasian reapers were tools, mere means to an end and were only valued for the power and the opportunities they offered their masters. Right now as far as the Zarasians aboard the station were concerned that purpose was keeping them alive and dealing with the threat to them. Not to mention that the reapers were pre-programmed with orders to eliminate any resistance they encounter on the station. In other words wiping out the humans, Wraith and the odd Asgard was priority number one for them with their own lives coming in last place every time.

As it happened accomplishing these goals benefited not only the reapers programming but the Zarasians will to live. The reapers would be hurling themselves at the allied forces, which were all focused around the gate room and this would provide the Zarasians with an opportunity to escape. Knowing that time would only grant the enemy they faced more time to further fortify their position the reapers swarmed towards the gate room, intent on exterminating the enemy.

Meanwhile though an attack was already going on in the corridors around the secondary control room and the valkyries had there hands full holding them back. It was certainly entertaining to watch from an outside perspective. Freyr and her three subordinates had formed a perimeter in the corridors around the entrance and were fighting tooth and nail, or in this case claw, to hold them back. Nevertheless fifty reapers do not go easy, even with the equivalent of five heavily armed terminators standing in their way. Eir had even been forced to leave the confines of the room to take down any reapers that bypassed the perimeter they had created in order to prevent them from storming the control room. It was a good thing that she was a combat medic and it certainly helped she took an interest in humanoid physiology. It meant she knew exactly where to hit them to make it hurt the most. In the mean time Thor had been busy accessing what systems he could. The lockdown still hadn't been permanently lifted, and wouldn't until the station was secure and all the intruders dealt with as part of the lockdown protocols. What he found made him frown.

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Supreme Commander Thor please come in."

"This is Sheppard, what's up Thor?"

"I have been accessing internal sensors in an attempt to monitor the enemy's movements and I have found something."

"I'm not going to like what you found am I?"

"Doubtful. It would appear that the enemy forces are on the move."

"Go on."

"They appear to be converging on the gate room."

"Damn! All of them?"

"Except for the fifty that are attempting to retake the secondary control room and the valkyries are currently battling all reapers are heading your way."

"Can the girls handle fifty of these…what did you call them…reapers by themselves? I'm not questioning their capabilities but they are outnumbered ten to one."

"Remember that they are significantly stronger and faster than a human and are much more heavily armed any of your soldiers."

"I'll be sure to remember that. What's the head count of the forces coming at us?"

"It is difficult to get a full count however sensors put them at over seven hundred."

"We can handle seven hundred in a fair fight."

"Be careful Colonel the reapers are not like any enemy you have ever faced. They know no fear and will attack you relentlessly with no consequence for their own well being."

"I'll bear it in mind. Let me know if you find anything else."

"I will."

"You know you're doomed right?" said the bolder Zarasian captive.

Thor said nothing.

"You think you know what you up against but you haven't got a clue," the Zarasian went on.

"Genetic hybrids created utilising Wraith and Zarasian DNA armed with plasma rifles with plasma pistols as a side arm," Thor stated without turning round. "Numbering at around the seven hundred total mark."

The human snorted. "There are far more of them than that."

"Not anymore."

"You could not have eliminated so many so quickly."

"No we did not," confirmed Thor. "Our allies did however."

"Impossible," he spat.

"You would be surprised what the fifth great race is capable of doing when they set their minds to it," said Thor with the hint of a smile.

"They'll lose. No race is greater than the Zarasians."

"Soon you will learn that there are many races greater than the Zarasians. The Alterans were and they considered my own to be one, and we know our allies are as well," said Thor. "It would be more beneficial for your people though if you were to learn this sooner rather than later."

In the gate room Sheppard was mustering the troops for what was going to be the fight of their lives. Picking up his XM-25 he clipped another magazine into place and he also slung a P90 across his back for a little versatility when it came to available firepower while stocking up on extra ammo.

All around him the rest of the task force were gearing up, replacing power cells and loading full magazines into their weapons. The Titans were standing guard over the door. Amongst the sea of stretchers medics were busy treating the wounded, both Wraith and human alike receiving treatment for various minor injuries and every one of them insisting they would be alright and their buddies needed help the most. The more serious patients were being shipped back through the stargate to receive more extensive treatment.

Glancing to his side he shared a look with Todd and nodded at the Wraith. On his other side Ronon was putting a fresh power cell into his particle magnum and fidgeting slightly as he grew used to the feel of the tempest battle armour he had been given. It was going to be a tough fight for them and they knew it, but they were damned if they were going to make it a easy one for the enemy.

"Oh shit!"

"What is it?"

"Anti-viral programs!"

"Can you fight them off?"

"Can't talk right now. Busy surviving."

In a subsection of the computer core Sovaer dodged a bolt of energy that had been aimed at his head. If those hit him part of his avatar projection would be erased and he would have to reload that section, which would take time and multiple hits before he could regenerate would leave him vulnerable. Worse he would have to reload from where he was which the computer cores automated defences might be able to trace the more often he had to reload. Worse still he could be deleted entirely which that could have severe ramifications for his mind. The loss of the projection could potentially corrupt his neural makeup as he was forcibly ejected from the computer core. Not to mention the fact that getting shot in here hurt like hell. He was looking at a tough fight.

He was forced to roll to narrowly avoid taking a full on blast from another bolt that had been aimed at him. Okay, he thought to himself as a shot clipped him and caused him to grit his teeth in pain, it was time to start fighting back.

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