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: You're welcome. If i took away one of the Zarasians most valuable resources that would make things far too easy. Besides the rescue wasn't so much easy as I find it difficult deciding where to end a chapter, so something dramatic seemed best.
Scourge75: I thought i should expand a little more on those two, and i knew the reunion would be far too important to simply gloss over. So i decided to kill two birds with one stone.
Cdoctor: I'll see what i can do about the Furlings but no promises i'm afraid. Everyone thought they rescued her but apparently not.
Oddliver: And after all that they went through too.
Just a Crazy-Man: Hope you enjoy this one.
stormwolf3710: Glad i could answer your question. I've been planning that little twist for some time now, i finally got to use it.
Naginator: Thank you.
romanhellhound: Indeed it will be.
the brown cow: Oh yes she will, among other things.
AerchAngel: Thabk you very much. I was looking forward to playing that particular card.
vash1914: Rodney is otherwise occupied and as i explained your idea isn't really feasible i'm afraid.
: Indeed.
Andriabow: In my universe it's not always that easy.
Doom Bringer – Hatchery
Echidna's whole body recoiled with her hand snapping away from the forehead of her not daughter as though burned and her breaths came in short desperate pants. Todd's only reaction however was to frown deeply as his anger slipped past his mask of self control before his expression softened and sadness dominated his expression.
"I am sorry I failed you sister," he said. "I could not keep you safe all those years ago and now I have failed to save you once again."
"It does not matter brother, we both knew the risks of our actions," she replied. "I am glad you survived though. I…I just wish I could see you with my own eyes. Tell me, are you well?"
"I am sister, better than I have been since before that dark day when we first encountered the Lanteans."
"And what of mother, how has she fared?"
"I'll let her answer that question."
Taking the hint Echidna hesitantly placed her hand back against her not daughter's temple and re-established the telepathic link. She was far too shaken by the sheer sadness and terror she had felt from her daughter to merge her mind with Todd's again so for now they would speak with separate voices.
"I am well Eurielle. Thanks to you I was able to hide and remain hidden for all these years until your sisters could be vanquished."
A wave of delight surged across the link.
"They are truly gone?"
"They are sister, and they suffered a fate I am sure you would approve of," said Todd as Echidna sent her memories to her. In a flash Eurielle saw the battle against the twin's fleet from her mother's perspective, their subsequent capture and how they became the foundation for the new Wraith Empire.
Eurielle was ecstatic.
"It is about time they got what was coming to them," she said.
"Thanks to the help of your brother's allies we were able to change the image they created of what it means to be Wraith," Echidna assured her. "We need to feed no more."
"The hunger is gone?" Eurielle asked hopefully.
"Our allies found a way to purge of us of that accursed organ in our hands," explained Todd. "We now eat regular food like our mother once did."
"You have made good friends in my absence brother," Eurielle said warmly. "I wish I could be there to experience it with you."
Echidna wilted under her daughter's sadness.
"I will find you sister," Todd stated adamantly. "We will find you. Of that you can be certain."
"Thank you brother."
"Please sister, tell us. What happened to you?" asked Todd.
"You remember that battle brother? Where my ship lost power and plummeted to the planet's surface?"
Todd shuddered.
He remembered all too well. They had both been there that day when they attacked one of the most heavily defended worlds their enemy had possessed short of Atlantis. That short slice of the battle had been seared into his memory. Two mighty fleets of ships clashed together in the space above the planet while jumpers and darts streaked through the atmosphere and debris from above plummeted to the surface. Aurora doubles and smaller cruisers pounded hive ships and cruisers with energy blasts while launching wave after wave of drone weapons that tore through bio armour like it was tissue paper. In retaliation hives and cruisers pounded away at the enemy's advanced shields with a relentless bombardment of energy blasts. From an incredible distance away multiple green beams of pure energy sniped away at Wraith vessels with weapons mounted on defence satellites while Wraith vessels hurriedly moved into range to attack them. Then momentarily the battle had stalled as the ships of the Ancient fleet stopped launching drones and for a few precious seconds the Wraith gained the advantage. Todd had hoped that meant the enemy had finally run out of the accursed weapons that laughed in the face of shields, or at the very least they were running low and had been ordered to conserve them. It was not to be however as pillars of yellow light sprung from the surface to come together in a single shifting pillar rising into orbit. Like a living creature the swarm plunged through the heart of the mass of fighting ships as smaller tendrils split off to pierce through the hull of Wraith vessels as it passed. Seeing the mass of yellow death coming his way Todd had hastily moved his vessel away from the battle and had ordered Eurielle to do the same. Then he had watched in horror as her hive had been engulfed by the swarm, and when it passed her ship was scorched and pitted with holes but still relatively intact despite having both side pods ripped off. Wounded and dying the ship lost power and succumbed to the pull of the planet's gravity, nose diving through the planet's atmosphere before making a spine splitting crash landing into the ocean. The battle had been lost but his sister was the only casualty he cared about.
"I remember Eurielle," he replied.
"You thought me lost but I was fortunate enough to survive. I awoke a captive of our enemy. They did not know it but I could hear them talking amongst themselves, about a plan for the future in case the war faired badly. They were afraid that with the loss of so many worlds recently their chances of victory were diminishing."
Todd consciously suppressed a growl. While he and Eurielle had been risking their lives on a fruitless endeavour his sisters had been leading a very successful sneak attack against multiple currently lightly defended worlds while the enemy forces had been pre-occupied repelling his and Eurielle's assault. In the battles that followed the rest of his siblings had 'heroically' fallen to the enemy while the traitorous twins defied death and continued to endure, eventually leading them to victory after victory until only Atlantis had remained.
Sensing his frustration Eurielle added, "I am not a fool brother. I knew what our sisters had planned for us. My only hope was that they would not find mother and might one day meet a similar fate. Do not feel bad that you could not save me or the others. You tried your best."
"I never could hide anything from you Eurielle," said Todd.
"No you could not," she replied. "As I was saying I expected to be experimented on but instead I was placed in a stasis pod and left alone. When I next awoke I found myself surrounded by humans and looking into the eyes of a man I would come to loath over time."
"Zarin," Echidna spat.
"Yes," said Eurielle, her thoughts etched with contempt. "He took me from my resting place and used my flesh for his twisted experiments. His scientists learned how to create copies of me in a test tube and fed them to me whenever I felt hunger. Over time they were able to mix my DNA with that of humans to create a slave race of hybrids they called reapers. They used my mind as a telepathic control hub to maintain a leash over the reaper's actions. Eventually they even learned how to infuse my doubles and the reapers with cybernetic technology to extend the range of my control over the reapers. He even used the life force of those he fed to achieve a type of immortality."
"I am sorry Eurielle," said Todd, not being able to think of what else to say.
"We…we will find you my daughter," stated Echidna through the horror. "I promise you."
"I know you will mother but you should know…" Eurielle said before suddenly stopping.
"Eurielle, what is wrong?" Todd asked urgently. "Eurielle speak to me!"
"They've discovered the connection," she said, panicked. "They know my double is alive and are trying to block me. I am fighting them but I cannot block them for long. AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Her piercing scream reverberated across the connection and nearly broke the two Wraith's concentration.
"Eurielle!" the two of them shouted back.
"Please, I beg of you be careful," she pleaded, the connection getting weaker with every second that passed. "Zarin, he has been planning this for centuries. He has an army that he has been building for what seems like forever to me. I could not begin to count the number of queen minds I constantly monitor and they in turn control entire hordes of reapers on countless vessels."
Her words spilled out in a rush as she struggled to convey her message before time ran out.
"We will find you sister and make Zarin pay," said Todd firmly. "I swear it."
"Thank you brother but please stop him," pleaded Eurielle.
"We will my daughter we will," Echidna assured her.
"Thank you," she said, her voice now trembling from the effort of maintaining the connection. "Mother, brother and father I know you are there too, I love you all…farewell."
With one last cry of pain from Eurielle the telepathic connection was severed.
Todd and Echidna, who unknown to Eurielle had been fighting to keep the connection intact from their end as well, collapsed to the floor from the psychic backlash as the link was suddenly severed.
The grief that had been threatening to overwhelm her was set free and Echidna was reduced to tears. Todd meanwhile had gone very very still. Typhoeus moved forwards to kneel beside Echidna, once again trying to settle her storm filled mind with the calm of his own but with only limited success. The others just stood around them all with solemn looks on their faces, none of them willing to break the silence.
With a glance from Sovaer the scientists in the room, that had stopped what they were doing to listen to the conversation, quietly gathered their things and left the hatchery.
Sheppard kneeled beside the Wraith Matriarch when the last of her tears had fallen.
"I know you don't want to hear anything from me right now but I'm going to say this anyway," he said. "We're going to find her and make that bastard pay for what he's done."
The others nodded, pledging their support to the mutual goal.
Echidna looked up at him and for the first in what seemed like forever a weak smile appeared on her face.
"Thank you," she said, between sobs. "Thank you all."
Sheppard nodded to her before standing to his feet and started barking out orders.
"Rodney I want you to work with Todd and figure out where that signal was broadcasting to. It's linked to all of this tech so see what you can do. Doc and Eir, I need you to do what you can for the doppelganger here. Make her comfortable and get her healthy again, clone or not she deserves our help. Sovaer, you and the rest of the SPECTRE's are going to be busy eventually so I want you to get up to speed with the latest gear we've issued you all. Oh and one more thing, ISIS?"
"Yes Commander?" said ISIS, appearing in holographic form next to him.
"Tell each member of the science staff onboard to prepare a report on all the technology on this ship by the end of the day," he ordered. "I want you to compile them together and have an overview ready for me."
"I'll make sure you all get a copy of it," he added, speaking to the rest of the gathered allies.
The assembled members of each race didn't say a word and just nodded and set to work. Todd and McKay started tapping away at consoles, trying to isolate the frequency used to link the queens together and trace it back to Eurielle. Beckett and Eir conversed about how best to remove the neural implants so that they could get her out of the chamber and into a proper medical facility. Echidna stormed out of the hatchery with Typhoeus gliding behind her on the way to the hanger bay where her transport was located. Sovaer followed Jakose out to escort him back to his transport, conveniently located in a different hanger bay to Echidna's, with the rest of SPECTRE's in tow.
In the city below a team of engineers were attempting to decompile the data that they had finally been able to download from Sovaer's data chip now that he was able to help them access it. Unfortunately an unpredicted side effect of the black virus interacting with his avatar was that the downloaded data had also fallen prey to its effect. It was proving tricky, since raw data had proven to be incredibly more susceptible to the virus than general subroutines, but with some of the greatest minds of three galaxies working on it progress was being made.
O'Neill
Aboard the Asgard warship Thor was receiving reports from across the whole of Pegasus. When the meeting with the Coalition, and the private one with Larrin, had concluded Woolsey had immediately put in a call to the Supreme Commander informing him that they had a go ahead for their plans. Using his considerable influence Thor had arranged for the fourteen Genii worlds to be visited by an equal number of science ships. With a ship now in orbit of each world and performing a detailed scan, the results of which were being transmitted over subspace to the Asgard flagship for analysis.
The console he was working on gave a beep, that had nothing to do with the data stream, and Thor casually moved a control stone while keeping his attention fixed on the lines of information in front of him. In a flash of light Richard Woolsey appeared next to him.
"Mister Woolsey," said Thor, inclining his head in greeting.
"Supreme Commander," said Woolsey in return, before directing his attention to the data. "I take it your ships are all in position?"
"They are," confirmed Thor. "Each science vessel is currently performing scans of the planetary infrastructure as well as a full biosphere analysis."
"I hope there aren't any dangerous germs in the atmosphere of any of these planets," said Woolsey.
"So far the scans reveal a minor bacterial presence on all worlds," said Thor. "All of which have been noted before on many other Pegasus worlds and should not pose a problem given the regular travel between Coalition worlds."
"We already have vaccines for a majority of the more harmful illnesses we have encountered over the years," said Woolsey. "Our combined medical knowledge should be able to provide an effective treatment for any that might crop up."
"Indeed," said Thor. "However even if we discount that potential danger, and the possible harm that can be caused by normal weather occurrences, there is one problem that we cannot ignore."
"Let me guess," said Woolsey. "The standing infrastructure of the Genii's former habitats."
"Correct," said Thor. "Our scans show that the Genii have made a reclamation effort on these worlds already, as shown by the life sign readings clustered together."
"It makes sense that they would take the best for themselves since they don't have the same level of technology that even Earth has at the moment to perform repairs," said Woolsey.
"That is true," said Thor. "Advanced technologies aside however the current scans show that while these worlds have been developed to the point that they would be capable of holding the current Coalition population they do not meet the current standards needed."
"Please explain," requested Woolsey.
Thor repositioned a control stone and a three dimensional holographic image of one of the Genii worlds appeared in front of the pair, replacing the image of scrolling data.
"This is a world designated as M1G-175" said Thor.
Repositioning another stone the image changed to show a cityscape that had been largely turned to rubble, most likely as a result of orbital fire, and looked a lot like Sateda but in much better condition. There were very few buildings above three stories high but they looked fairly well built, if weathered over time.
"According to our scans this world is in the best condition of all the candidates in terms of existing infrastructure."
"It looks to be in pretty good condition," observed Woolsey.
"Looks can be deceiving," said Thor with a noticeable frown.
The image changed again and became ghostly, showing the underground power lines and various piping. The majority, if not all, of the piping and power lines were flashing red or yellow with only a few green.
"As you can probably tell the majority of the sewage and water piping has been compromised as a result of blockages and fractures," said Thor. "There are also numerous breaks in the subterranean power lines as a result of erosion and collapses."
"Certainly troubling," said Woolsey. "Can they be repaired?"
"It would take time but it can be done with our technology," said Thor. "However that is not the only problem."
Woolsey sighed.
"I'm listening," he said.
"As you know these worlds have been abandoned for several millennia," said Thor. "The subterranean infrastructure is, I am afraid, the tip of the iceberg as you humans say. The actual surface structures are incredibly eroded themselves. By our predictions a number have become dilapidated and are uninhabitable. There are also many that are in danger of collapse without support to the superstructure."
Woolsey's eyes widened as he took all this in.
"This is the best of the worlds?" he asked. "How are the Genii able to reclaim it?"
"The Genii have laid claim to the best buildings on each of these worlds and are presumably planning on repairing the others as the populations increase," explained Thor.
"So can we perform the repairs necessary to make them habitable for the entire Coalition population?" asked Woolsey.
"Given time yes," said Thor. "However I am not going to recommend it."
Woolsey gave the Asgard a look, inviting him to continue.
"To make any one of these worlds habitable and self sustaining once again would require nothing short of a complete demolition of the existing buildings and rebuilding the settlement from the ground up," explained Thor. "This is not something the Asgard High Council will be willing to commit to if after the war is over the world would solely benefit a race we are not allied with."
"I understand," said Woolsey before pausing to think.
"How is construction on Concordia progressing?" he eventually asked.
"Construction is on schedule and will be completed soon," said Thor. "Have the Travellers accepted our offer?"
"Larrin has taken it to their ruling council," answered Woolsey. "She will have an answer eventually but I believe she will say yes."
"So what do you plan to tell the Coalition?" asked Thor.
"You mean what do we plan to tell the Coalition," countered Woolsey.
Thor gave him a look. "Explain."
"When we first came back to this galaxy we needed to show the Coalition just what we offered to this galaxy," explained Woolsey. "To do this we took the entire council with us to see little demonstration of the capabilities of one of our battlecruisers."
"You propose to do the same thing here," surmised Thor.
"It's hard to pass up on something so tempting when it's sitting right under your nose," pointed out Woolsey.
"You make a good point," admitted Thor. "We shall use your plan then."
"I'll arrange another meeting," said Woolsey.
It had only been three days since the last meeting so no doubt he would be looking at a round of grumbling as a result.
Keltona
The Coalition representatives had assembled for this second emergency meeting in three days in record time. It seemed they had all learned the importance of making a prompt appearance when a race fighting for your freedom calls on you to show up.
All them were now seated around the circular council table and had noticed that the chairs had been shifted slightly so that there was a gap large enough to fit another seat. The strange thing was though that there wasn't another seat in place and the space had been left unoccupied.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," began Woolsey.
"I think we all realized the need for promptness after the last emergency meeting you called," said Shiana smoothly.
"Yes well, thank you," said Woolsey, ignoring the subtle jab. "I have asked you all here in order to present a report on our efforts to find a sanctuary world should one be required."
"Mister Woolsey," said Dimas. "It has only been three days since your proposition. That is hardly much time for you to have conducted a survey."
"On the contrary," Woolsey countered. "The survey of the Genii worlds has already been completed."
"How?" asked Ladon.
"Using ships and advanced sensors," answered Woolsey.
"We didn't detect any of your ships in orbit," argued Ladon.
"You wouldn't have," countered Woolsey. "And they weren't our ships."
"Whose were they?" asked Harmony, wisely cutting in to avoid another argument.
"Good question," replied Woolsey, with a small smile.
In a flash of light the gap at the table was suddenly filled.
"Greetings," said Thor, with a small smile of his own at the surprised look of the Coalition members at seeing his species in person for the first time.
Instead of saying anything further he chose to simply sit back and relax in his control throne. The throne had been enlarged to match his enlarged height and was now the standard size for all models.
"Hello," said Harmony, fascinated by the alien in front of her. "You must be a member of the Asgard we have heard about."
"Indeed, I am Thor."
"The Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet?" Ladon asked.
"I see you have heard of me," Thor said.
"What is your purpose for being here?" Dimas asked, overcoming his initial surprise.
"I am here to provide you with the survey report on the viability of the Genii worlds to act as a suitable sanctuary," Thor replied smoothly.
"It was your ships that visited my people's worlds without our knowledge," Ladon realised.
"It was," Thor confirmed.
"Which world would you like to use?" Ladon asked, rather presumptuously as it would turn out.
"Concordia," Thor replied.
Ladon frowned. "I am not familiar with the name but it might be a name we have forgotten."
"It is not one of your worlds," Thor replied.
"I…We believed that the plan was to utilise the standing infrastructure on one of my people's worlds," countered Ladon.
"That was the original plan," said Woolsey. "However we have since determined that that is not a viable option."
"Why not?" Ladon asked.
"Our scans indicate that your worlds lack the capability to support such a large population without significant repair work and upgrades," Thor replied.
"Again, I thought that was the original plan," Ladon argued.
Thor shook his head. "The original plan was to only perform minor repair work to bring a world up to a suitable standard. Our scans reveal however that several millennia of decay have resulted in dilapidation to the point that we would need to completely rebuild the majority of the infrastructure to make one of your worlds habitable. The Asgard High Council is not willing to invest the time and resources necessary for such a task. Especially if after the war that world will only benefit one race."
"Then what world do you suggest as an alternative?" asked Shiana.
"As I said before Concordia," Thor answered.
The Coalition members shared blank looks at the unfamiliar name, except for Larrin and Woolsey.
"None of us are familiar with that world," said Dimas.
"That is also part of the reason for my presence here," Thor explained. "I am going to take you on my ship to Concordia so that you can see it for yourself."
"How long would that take?" Harmony asked.
"About a minute," Thor answered. "My ship, the O'Neill, is very fast."
"Very well then," said Dimas. "You may take us to this world."
In a flash of light the entire Coalition council, along with the table and chairs, vanished.
Concordia
In orbit of this green paradise a hyperspace window opened and deposited the O'Neill back into normal space. From an observation area the Coalition representatives watched in awe as the powerful Asgard vessel emerged in open space before plunging into the atmosphere. As the warship came to a gentle rest barely ten thousand feet above the surface, shimmering in the afternoon sun, the lands below were clear for all to see.
As far as the eye could see were rich green lands covered by a blanket of trees and a web of clear blue rivers. Unbeknownst to the onlookers the entire land had been terra formed to turn this world into a veritable Eden. Floating gently above the surface was the Asgard Beliskner fleet, with their transport arrays powered and at work constructing the buildings that dotted the surface.
The Beliskners were spread out from a single central structure slowly constructing ziggurat like structures that bore a striking resemblance to the Timelinks ziggurat design. The central ziggurat though was very different to the others, with the pointy central spire replaced by a towering skyscraper that reached up into the heavens and would no doubt offer a spectacular view of the surrounding landscape and the ziggurat structure itself enlarged in size. Around this central structure, located at compass points, were four large lakes each capable of comfortably supporting a city ship on its surface. There were no roads linking the structures together that might taint the natural beauty, only green land and rivers.
"It's beautiful," Harmony said gently.
"That it is," agreed Woolsey.
"This is to be our sanctuary?" asked Shiana.
"That was not the original purpose," answered Thor. "However I have given instructions for the construction to be expanded to house your peoples. The ninety smaller ziggurats you now see being constructed will be able to comfortably hold a million people each."
The Coalition representatives took a moment to take that fact in. A million people housed in an area no bigger than two and a half square kilometres was not something that they found easy to imagine, even if the structure was standing right in front of them.
"What about that larger one?" Ladon eventually asked, pointing to the central ziggurat. "What is its purpose?"
"That will be the headquarters of the Alliance of Great Races," said Thor proudly. "Your peoples will have free roam of the other structures but will be denied access to that one."
"Who are the members of this Alliance?" Dimas asked.
"The Asgard, Tau'ri, Nox, Jaffa, Wraith, Averians, Liberum and the Hebridians," Thor answered curtly.
"And the Travellers," Larrin added casually and to the surprise of everyone except Woolsey and Thor, who resisted the urge to chuckle in amusement.
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