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: The Liberum and Zarasians have never properly fought an enemy. Oh sure they've planned everything, they've learned strategies and tactics but they've never had the experience of a we want to keep our boys alive attitude. Now both sides are having to rethink their positions. Unfortunately both are.
Oddliver: You've hit the nail on the head there. You're absolutely right and it is that kind of thinking that is going to influence the coming conflicts.
Just A Crazy-Man: Thank you.
BIG Z1776: It's not so much the lack of Ori support but the lack of others Priors to support them, although that does play a factor. Basically priors aren't invulnerable, like the kull if you hit them hard enough they will go down.
Cdoctor: If you like that then you'll love this.
romanhellhound: We'll see. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.
:
Higher Plain
"Andose, what are you doing here?" a familiar voice coming from behind him asked.
Andose reopened his eyes and looked around. He was standing on the plains of Celestia surrounded by hundreds of his fellow Liberum. He spun around on the spot and found himself face to face with Caius, who wearing a cocky grin.
"I'm pretty sure I sacrificed myself to save you," Caius went on. "Not so that you could only go and die after less than two minutes."
"Where are we?" Andose asked. "Is this really Celestia?"
"No I think it's just an image of Celestia taken from our minds," Caius replied. "Apparently we consider this place important so it's what we see when we have the decision to make. Personally I like to think of this place as important because it's where the final battle for our freedom from the Ori took place so I'm sticking with that thought."
"So we are dead then and we have to decide whether we ascend or go back," Andose summarised.
"No prizes for guessing which one every man here will pick," Caius remarked.
"So why are we all hanging around here then?" Andose asked. "If the choice is so obvious why haven't you and the others gone back to the fleet already? Just get the ascended to ascend you and you can descend again."
"There's the catch," Caius said. "It seems the ascended are having a little disagreement about sending us back."
Caius pointed over his shoulder, drawing Andose's attention to a gathering of four beings in robes.
"What do you mean this isn't allowed?" Janus asked angrily.
"As I have said before Janus," Vejovis said calmly. "This counts as interference and will not be allowed to happen."
"We are simply giving them the choice once only," Oma argued. "Whether they choose to stay ascended or go back is up to them."
"Not if it means you are putting an entire army back into the fight when it should be wiped out," Vejovis pointed out. "That alters the balance significantly."
"Is that so?" Morgan asked sarcastically.
"Yes it is," Vejovis said.
"And what if we go ahead and ascend them without your approval?" Janus asked. "What are you going to do then?"
"That will not happen," Vejovis said. "The others and I are in agreement over this."
"You'll stop us?" Janus asked.
Vejovis said nothing.
"By yourself?" Janus pressed, but only receiving silence in return.
"So what are we going to do now?"
"They will be given a choice," Vejovis said. "They can ascend and stay ascended, they can ascend and then descend but will not be allowed to take part in this fight or they can die."
"That isn't much of a choice," Oma said grimly.
"It is the only one being offered," Vejovis said. "They have already died once so dying twice would not be preferable."
"That only leaves them with the choice of standing back and watching this play out, not being able to take part," Morgan argued.
"But they will survive," Vejovis reasoned.
"For now," Janus shot back. "If they choose mortality then they choose an eventual death. If they choose immortality they face an eternity of knowing they turned their back on their people."
Vejovis shrugged. "I didn't say it was an easy choice to make."
"When did you become so cold Vejovis?" Janus asked angrily. "What happened to you? You used to be a healer. You supported my creation of the Attero device but made sure I deactivated it when we learned the cost."
"If I were truly cold then I wouldn't be offering them the chance to live," Vejovis argued, his temper flaring slightly. "This way they can survive, live long and happy lives and end their days with their families around them."
"And forget about the war happening in another galaxy that they aren't allowed to take part in even though they want to," Morgan pointed out.
"It is their choice," Vejovis simply said. "Those are their options."
"Might I suggest a fourth?" a new voice added.
"Who are you?" Janus asked.
"My name is Andose and my young companion here is Caius," Andose said while Caius waved. "And who might you four be?"
Behind them stood several hundred Liberum soldiers, all intently listening on the conversation.
"I'm Janus and this is Morgan and Oma," Janus said. "And that pain over there is Vejovis."
Andose turned to study Morgan.
"Morgan, as in Morgan Le Fay? Also known as Ganos Lal" Andose asked. "The one who brought down Adria, last of the Ori?"
"Umm…yes," Morgan said hesitantly, noting the wide eyed looks of the Liberum.
"It is an honour," Andose said as he and Caius kneeled, with the rest of the Liberum soldiers following suit and causing Morgan to blush.
Janus snorted at her embarrassment, earning a glare from Morgan.
"You have fans Morgan," he said with a wry grin and earning another death glare.
"Please get up," Morgan requested, embarrassed by the display.
"As I was saying," Andose said. "I have a fourth option I would like you to consider."
"What option?" Janus asked.
"You can send us all back," Andose said. "Right here, right now to where we lay dead on the ground."
"You cannot be serious," Janus said in disbelief.
"Oh I think you'll find he is," Caius said. "And personally I'm all for that option. Anyone else?"
The response was a cheer from the Liberum soldiers.
"Well there you have it," Caius said. "We've come to a decision."
"But it is not an option you have been given," Vejovis said.
"No but it's the choice we've made," Andose retorted. "You were worried about us coming back to fight another day. Well why not make that day today and let us fight for our survival. We will not run away while others fight on."
"If we die then we die," Caius added. "If we live then we die another day."
"Sounds good to me," Janus said.
"I'm not so sure," Oma said hesitantly.
"Neither am I," Morgan said.
"We are," a random soldier shouted.
"We are," the others chorused, taking up the chant. "We are. We are. We are."
"Now what do you say?" Andose asked Vejovis.
"Very well," Vejovis said. "I will send you all back to exactly where you lay down to die. Be ready."
"We're ready," Caius answered.
"By yourself?" Janus asked Vejovis. "Is that even possible?"
"It is for me," Vejovis replied
"What are we going to do?" Caius asked.
Andose placed his palm on his friends head and established a direct mental link, sharing a series of images detailing his plan.
"You're mad," Caius said when the images stopped.
Andose snorted. "So says Pyro Caius, self proclaimed master of the flames."
"I think I'm going to earn that title in a little while," Caius retorted.
"I'm counting on it," Andose replied.
"Let's ready the men," Caius said. "It looks like the last of them have appeared. The rest should be back on the ship by now."
"I hope so," Andose said.
Calium – Liberum Base
Tomin was really beginning to worry. The base was breaking up around them as the Zarasians continued their bombardment, threatening to fall apart completely at any moment. Nearly a thousand of his soldiers had failed to arrive back on the ship yet, which meant that either they were dead or lagging behind. He had also lost contact with Caius and Andose which meant they were probably dead too. There were also hundreds, if not thousands by now, of reapers marching through the corridors heading for the central area and he couldn't do anything about it.
"Caius! Andose! Where are you? Answer me!"
He telepathically shouted at them again and again but received no reply from either of them. Then just as he was about to give up he heard a response.
"We're here," Andose said.
"Where were you?"
"Dead," Caius replied nonchalantly. "But don't worry we're back now and we plan on keeping that way. Well, hopefully anyway."
"What does that mean?" Tomin asked, confused.
"It means stay out of the corridors and get everyone ready to channel their strength to me," Caius answered. "I'm going to need for what I'm about to pull off."
"What are you going to do?"
"Believe me you do not want to know," Caius said with feeling. "And for the record this was not my idea. The blame lies solely with Andose for this one."
"Alright, just…just be careful."
"I will," Caius said. "Now all of you start channelling your power. And I mean all of it!"
"It's coming now."
Elsewhere in the base the crystal on Caius' breastplate began to glow an ethereal blue as the other priors channelled their power through it and into him. Beside him Andose's did the same as he sent significant stores of his own power to aid his friend.
"You can do this Caius," Andose said encouragingly. "Fire is your element."
Caius simply nodded, his eyes fixed tightly shot.
"It's time," he said, sending a telepathic message to everyone he could reach.
Throughout the base those soldiers that had returned to the lower plain from the higher one gathered together I groups as they had been instructed to, while fighting against the reapers that stood before them. That would make it easier for Caius in the moments to come.
Caius' face twisted in concentration as he sent his senses outwards and drew on his pyrokinesis. He reached out with both hands and squeezed tightly, his face going red with the effort and as a result the flame in every burning lamp in every corridor was suddenly extinguished. Caius breathed in deeply panting for air, steeling himself for what was to come.
Throughout the corridors the fighting stopped as both sides suddenly found themselves in pitch darkness. For just a precious little while silence reigned and no weapons were fired.
"Do it," Caius said softly, his breathing having returned to normal and his hands now firmly on his temple.
Andose focused his mind and recalled that feeling he had experienced when he channelled the electric current through his body. In that brief time he had done something he had never thought possible, he had added his own energy to the lightning he created. Raising his hands and recalling that feeling he once again released his internal energy, as lightning. Twin bolts sprang from his palms travelling the length of the long corridor until suddenly they stopped and the corridor was lit up, by fire.
The flames in the lamps had been extinguished but the hydrogen gas that had fuelled them was still flowing freely. In the time that no one had taken a step, fired a shot or made a sound, hydrogen had been pouring into the corridors just waiting for a single spark. That spark had come in the form of Andose's lightning bolts and the chain reaction spread throughout every corridor of the base as the explosion travelled and the hydrogen pockets ignited.
Once again Caius drew upon his pyrokinesis as well as the power of every other prior present in the galaxy. Manipulating the fire he gently controlled it, steering it away from the familiar minds of Liberum and allowing it to surround and engulf the rigid, conformal and alien minds of the reapers. With every last ounce of his strength and control he worked to protect his brothers and slay his enemies. Then as quickly as it had begun it ended and the last of the explosions flickered and died out, putting a halt to the inevitable chain reaction. The inside of the base was now a burnt out wreck that would be all but impossible to salvage, let alone repair but his task had been accomplished. Realising he could finally rest Caius lowered his hands and slumped to the ground utterly exhausted by what he had just done.
"Pyro Caius indeed," Andose muttered as he slung his friend over his soldier and carried him through the scorched beyond recognition corridors, the odd fire of a burning reaper lighting his path.
"Time to go boys," he said telepathically to soldiers. "Before more reapers turn up."
"You wrecked the base," Tomin complained.
"You're planning on detonating the generator anyway so the Zarasians won't get their hands on it," Andose pointed out. "I'm pretty sure that would have wrecked it more."
"Just don't do anything that stupid again."
"Oh this one was all him," Andose said proudly. "We just gave him the strength to keep going. It was entirely down to his skill."
"Pyro Caius," Tomin said in wonder.
"I know," Andose said, shaking his head as he jogged through the base. "There will be no living with him after this."
"Never underestimate human ingenuity," Janus noted.
"I certainly never have," Morgan said. "Give them a prod and they'll go light years."
Oma frowned. "I'm worried about what the others will make of this."
Janus shrugged. "They can't do anything since the rules weren't broken. I hardly think they will allow themselves to be unhappy with the fact that everyone didn't get slaughtered."
"No but they won't be happy that they were manipulated," Oma argued.
"Some won't be happy, but not all," Morgan countered. "They won't all hate the fact that good people weren't killed."
"They got lucky this time," Janus said. "But that won't last."
"No it won't," Morgan agreed. "But if Zarin makes a move we can make our move against him."
"Remember the warning Vejovis gave us," Oma said.
"What will happen will happen," Janus said. "All we can do is carry on as we intend to and see what will happen."
"Is everyone onboard?" Tomin asked from his command chair.
"We are now," Caius said, as he and Andose walked onto the bridge, moving to stand by the other priors.
"Then it's time to go," Tomin said. "The moment we're in hyperspace I want you all to go tend to the wounded. For now I need your help getting us out of here."
The other priors nodded.
"Then lend me your strength brothers," Tomin requested.
The priors closed their eyes and concentrated, the crystals on their breast plates beginning to glow as they channelled their strength to Tomin in order to boost his control of the ship.
The Liberum warship slowly rose up from the confines of the base hanger, having parked there to allow for faster boarding and to avoid the Zarasian bombardment after the shield started to fail. Rocks impacted the shield as the base started to crumble but they had no effect on the powerful shield. The massive warship easily left the confines of the hanger bay, passed through the shield and into the atmosphere, but not before firing off a shot from one its pulse cannons as an afterthought. The carefully aimed shot hit the area around the stargate pounding the rock and causing the stargate to tip forward. The weight of the stargate did the rest and the sixty four thousand pound technological wonder careened forwards, hitting the already weakened rock and causing it to shatter completely. The sheer pressure being exerted on the weakened spot meant that the gate was able to break all the way through the crust and plummeted to the ground below.
Picking up speed the Liberatus moved quickly, before the Zarasians could target her, and rose up through the atmosphere. With a thought Tomin initiated the self destruct. As power built and built in the neutrino-ion generator the entire piece of machinery began to shake as the generated power found it had no where to go until finally it detonated. The floating base shattered into a million fragments as it was destroyed from the inside, consumed by a fiery explosion that marked the largest unintentional funeral pyre this world had ever witnessed. In an instant hundreds, probably even thousands, of dead reapers and a number of living ones were incinerated.
The warship continued, onwards and upwards, until it broke through the final atmospheric layer and out into open space and into a torrential downpour of weapons fire. Plasma bolt after plasma bolt came at them in a wave but most fizzled out before they could come into contact with the ship. To minimise damage done to the planet the Liberatus had made sure to come out of atmosphere as far from the enemy fleet as possible, using the planets overpowered magnetic field to her until the very last moment. With the Zarasian fleet closing fast Tomin did the only thing he could do in his fatigued state and opened a hyperspace window. On the bridge of the Liberatus he finally relinquished control of the vessel to her crew and sunk back in his chair, his eyes too heavy to open for the moment.
If he had drawn on more of his brothers strength then he would not feel so exhausted but he had used a mere trickle of what they had offered him, relying almost entirely on his own power. He knew that their strength would be needed to heal all the wounded they had and that some already beyond help. This one battle had cost them, and the war had only just begun. They had done what they could here. The rest was up to the official members of the allied forces.
Unknown Location
"So things are progressing nicely on this new world," Zarin mused.
"The Liberum forces have been routed but the exact number of casualties they took is unknown," a Zarasian officer explained. "They triggered a self destruct protocol and destroyed their base making an exact count impossible."
"What were the losses sustained to our forces?"
"We lost six small craft and another two were crippled. One of our troop transports was also destroyed with all hands. Those troops not aboard were killed during the assault on their base."
"How did the new weapons perform?"
"They were most effective. The Liberum employed a barrier shield that was able to withstand our plasma cannons but not our heavier beam weapons."
Zarin frowned. "Hmm, that is not good news. Only a few of our ship types have the larger version of the beam weapon. No matter, we don't want to destroy our targets anyway when we can easily subjugate them."
"Yes Etere."
"Have an additional transport sent to support our invasion force," Zarin ordered. "I want the local populace brought to heel as quickly as possible. Send down scout forces and determine the major population centres then land our ground forces there. I want minimal casualties to be sustained on both sides, no need to kill all our new subjects. Before that though I want the main hydrogen production facility that Tomin so kindly pointed out to us secured and under our control. Once they see they we have control of it and are still willing to provide them with the resource produced resistance should be minimal."
"At once Etere," said the officer, bowing before leaving.
Zarin pressed a button on his desk. A wall mounted screen activated and displayed the face of Cyber Lord Azamoth.
"What can I do for you today Etere?"
"What is the status of the controller project?"
"The assault deployment platform is fully operational and ready for use," Azamoth with his trademark maniacal grin.
"Good, we may have use for them soon. The other powers seem to make a habit of interfering with our plans for expansion." Zarin gave a predatory grin. "They will certainly be in for a surprise when they experience first hand what we still have."
Azamoth smiled. "My new creations will finally get to prove what they are capable of doing. They will not disappoint you Etere."
"See that they do not," Zarin said. "I want the latest hybrid models ready to be shipped for the troop transport about to be deployed. They will either have a full combat test or minor pacification duties on the latest world in the Empire."
"They will be ready Etere, and everything I have promised. They will grind your enemies into dust and scatter them to the winds."
"I sincerely hope so Cyber Lord. I sincerely hope so."
Calium
With the Liberum now gone the Zarasians could finally set about completing their primary objective in regards to this world, assimilating it into the Zarasian Empire. There was however still two obstacles that needed to be overcome before this mission could be completed. The first was the planets local populace who, while not being a threat to the technological and military might of the Zarasians could still offer them some resistance. The second was the planets powerful magnetic field which affected their sensors enough to render them close to inoperable at any reasonable distance. This second obstacle only served to further compound the first. The Zarasians response to this was to send in fighters as scout craft and use their sensors to map the planet.
The one advantage they did have though was that Tomin had, as a sign of trust, informed them of a way to bring the local populace to heel almost immediately. The Calium people did not use fossil fuels or even rely on wood burning, like a lot of civilisations at their tech level, but on hydrogen gas. Long ago the Calium had discovered that a certain type of fungus produces hydrogen gas naturally and they had quickly set out to exploit that fact. They had erected massive green houses where the fungus could grow and produce hydrogen, which would then be extracted, stored and transported for use as the fuel of their industry and more importantly their airship defence craft. If the Zarasians were able to take control of the production facility then they could force the population to capitulate. Of course they were not simply going to use the same tactic as the Liberum as that would require having a ship in orbit. By stationing their troops in the facility they could control the flow of hydrogen depending on how the locals behaved. More importantly it meant they could make sure the locals only got what they needed to survive and not fuel their military airships.
Fighters were quickly deployed from the warships. Numbering nearly a thousand they approached the planet as a mass and quickly spread out to perform reconnaissance duties. It was arguably a risky gambit, sending their fighters into the unknown, but to the Zarasians the potential cost was nothing compared to what could be gained. Reapers after all, even a few thousand of them, could always be replaced relatively quickly and so were not highly valued, but information that could decide the course of a battle was invaluable. The troop transports deployed their own craft, with their own specialised purpose. From the four surviving ships thirty two drop pods were launched at high speeds, gently slowing as they tore through the atmosphere and landed near the hydrogen production facility. Following came forty large craft the size and shape of a Goa'uld landing craft. These ships were yet another one of the Zarasians secret weapons and they quickly joined the drop pods on the ground.
In space the warships took up a defensive formation around the troop transports, wary of any attempt to destroy them before they could deploy their precious cargo. As it turned out their paranoia proved to be prudent.
Space momentarily hazed as forty five massive ships dropped cloaks and appeared in front of the Zarasian fleet. Suddenly the Zarasians found themselves facing the entire might of the allied offensive fleet consisting of Pegasus, O'Neill and, as they were launched, Night Fury class ships. The warships immediately moved to intercept the vessels but the Zarasian fighters stayed in the atmosphere, possibly they saw the fruitlessness of joining the fight since they would not be able to offer even the scantest resistance against such a large and powerful fleet of ships. The Zarasians apparently realised, as did the allies, that they could wreak havoc hiding amongst the floating rocks until they could all be hunted down.
Anyone who was paying attention to subspace communications would note a mocking transmission coming from the Tau'ri flagship.
"Hey there Zarin, if you're listening then thanks for getting rid of the Liberum. Now all we need to do is mope up your forces."
The two fleets quickly came into contact with one another. Space was filled with plasma bolts, ion bolts, railgun rounds and plasma beams as a brutal, but brief, battle was fought for supremacy. Night Fury's hunted in packs, chasing down their strike craft counterparts with ease and viciously destroying them in a torrent of weapons fire. Capital ships exchanged blows but once again the Zarasians found themselves outmatched and outnumbered. The Tau'ri and Asgard had built their ships for battle and they were easily capable of withstanding several volleys from the Zarasian ships. As it turned out they only needed to survive one as the Zarasian vessels were double teamed and succumbed after a single volley of plasma beam fire. Even the powerful Zarasian battleship didn't last long as it found itself earning the attention of several Asgard and Tau'ri ships. It was a well known concept of warfare that if you take the air then you can determine the course of any modern battle. In the space age that meant that you needed to control both space and the skies. The Zarasians knew that they couldn't control space with what they had but they still had a chance of holding the ground and the skies.
With the warships dead or dying the allied fleet converged at full speed towards the troop transports, but their sacrifice had not been in vain. Just before the allied fleet could make it into weapons range the troop transports revealed their party piece. A large cylinder shaped craft deployed from the base of the ships and shot towards the surface before the transports were swarmed and destroyed.
They had not been idly sitting by and waiting for destruction however. The forty large craft they had deployed had been spitting out half track vehicles like an illusionist pulling rabbits out of their hat. Somehow twelve hundred vehicles of varying shapes and purposes were now on the ground, despite the fact that the craft that spat them out could not possibly have held so many. They were joined by the twenty thousand reapers that had deployed via the ring platforms in the drop pods.
Onboard the Weir Colonel Sheppard fumed as he received that particular report. They always knew the Zarasians had to something in the way of a standing army but they hadn't suspected they would have armoured vehicles of such variety, even if they were apparently designed off the same basic chassis. The Zarasians practically had their own version of the Stryker for crying out loud and that still didn't explain how they had managed to get so many in ships that shouldn't be able to hold them. It was times like he wished he had the SPECTRE's here to sneak into the enemy lines and sow some carnage but they were off on a scouting mission since the fleet was otherwise occupied with this debacle.
He also had another pressing matter to deal with in the form of all the Zarasian fighters zipping through the atmosphere. No doubt those things would play havoc with any attempt made to take out the invasion force, not to mention slaughter any of the locals they encountered.
"Get a target lock on the Zarasians and starting beaming them out of there."
"We can't sir, there is wide spread interference in the area that is prevent our transport beams from operating."
"Then target the Zarasian forces for orbital bombardment," Sheppard ordered.
"Sir they have raised a theatre shield."
"How powerful?"
"Sensors indicate if we focused our firepower we could break through it. But the resulting blast wave would spread to encompass the Calium infrastructure as well as cause atmospheric pollution and possibly even damage the planets crust."
So offensive beaming and orbital bombardment were both out. Sheppard was very rapidly running out of options.
"How many Zarasian fighters did we count entering the atmosphere?" he asked.
"Eight hundred and eighty eight sir."
"I did hear that right didn't I? You did just say eight eight eight?"
"Yes sir."
"Well that's weird. So we have nearly nine hundred enemy fighters littering the sky. If anyone has any good news I would really like to hear it."
"The fleet is reporting UAVs are ready for launch and the Sagittarius has just uncloaked and is awaiting orders sir."
The Sagittarius was their branding spanking new fresh off the production line carrier class ship. Similar in shape to the Pegasus class her elongated hangers could hold at least five hundred 302's and eighty transport shuttles. But birds weren't the only thing she carried.
"Thank you. Order all UAV's launched and on hunter killer duties. I want those birds out of my sky yesterday. Order the full compliment on the Sagittarius launched and on escort duty. She is to enter the atmosphere and begin deploying troops and vehicles."
"Yes sir."
"Also launch recon drones and have them scout the enemy forces. I do not want the Zarasians pulling a fast one on us."
"Yes sir."
"And get Thor on the line."
It looked like they would need the Titans and their new weapon packages for this one. The bridge was filled with a flurry of activity as the crew carried out his list of orders. Efficiency would be instrumental here as the Zarasians were already on the move, with their shield moving along with them. The battle for Calium had only just begun.
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