This was the second time Nova's ever really been on a starship in hyperspace before. When she served on Atlantis she got there via Midway. Typhon's trip back to Millennium was her first time. And this was her second. So standing in front of the window, staring at the aurora of various shades of blue streak past like an azure rainbow, she could not help but be awed. She actually wondered what would happen if a person stuck their hand out. Ok, maybe not wondered. Considering they were moving at faster-than-light speeds in subspace, the hand would probably be torn to shreds. But what if it didn't? What would that blue rainbow outside feel like?
That beautiful visage was torn away when the ship suddenly exited hyperspace, the rainbow pallet disappearing and replaced with the dull black.
Nova turned away from the window. She was told Samantha Carter had devised away to have the Typhon travel between the two galaxies with ease. Now she wanted to know what it was.
The bridge of the Typhon was located in the center of the ship. It didn't have any windows of any sort to view out of. Instead, they relied on a series of monitors all along the walls to display what was happening. When she got to the bridge, she could see a sun on many of the ship's monitors.
"Connor," Nova said when she stepped onto the bridge. The old man was standing on the elevated platform in the center, gripping the railing.
"Major," Connor greeted. "Come to see the magic happen?"
"In a way," Nova said, walking up to the base of the platform. She wasn't sure if she was permitted to stand on it. But Connors held out a hand, inviting her on. She stepped onto the elevated platform, immediately noting a strange sense of power standing over everyone sitting around her.
"General Mercer mentioned that General Carter had devised a way to travel between Caldwell 70 and Milky Way. I'm wondering what that way is."
"Well, I'm no scientist," Connor sighed, rolling his shoulders. "But I can do my best to explain everything. What do you know about the mission code named Exodus?"
"It was the mission to kill Apophis and wipe out his fleet," Nova recited. "It's basic SGC history. SG-1 lured Apophis and his fleet to the Vorash system where they blew up its sun."
"And when they attempted to hyperjump away, they were launched to another galaxy in a matter of seconds," Connors added. "Carter theorized the supernova they triggered affected the hyperspace window created. Research into replicating this was done but consistently concluded that such a thing was too unpredictable to perform. However, using Alliance technology, she specially designed the Typhon's hyperdrive to take advantage of these massive energy spurts. They've dubbed this method zeta jumping."
"So, we can get back to Milky Way if we can find a supernova?" Nova asked.
"Even better. We can do it from a CME."
"A coronal mass ejection?!"
"Well, it can't be any CME. In order to make a zeta jump, the CME must be of a certain magnitude. And then calculations must be completed as to how far we must launch from and when. Even then, it's not precise. When we made the jump to NGC 300, we accidentally overshot and needed to make a two-day course correction."
"And if you're way off?" Nova asked curiously. If she recalled, the mothership that got launched went so far that, if she remembered correctly, it would've taken several hundred years to get back. Now, Goa'uld hyperdrives were nothing compared to Alliance hyperdrives. But, she rather not get stranded in space.
"At worst, we need a course correction of a few days," Connor said. "But I have been reassured that this is unlikely."
"Colonel," a technician called out. "Calculations are complete."
"Move us into position," Connor ordered. "Put me on intercom."
Another technician nodded, complying with the order, turning on the intercom throughout the ship.
"Attention," Connor boomed. "All hands, prepare for zeta jump." Connor looked at Nova. "You may want to hold onto something."
Nova gripped the railing at the edge of the platform. The inertial dampeners peak when entering hyperspace. The fact she still needs to hold on means that this launch was going to be pretty fast.
Nova watched the sun on the monitor rotate, her vantage point as the Typhon flew around it. Finally, she could see what looked like a fountain of golden light shooting out of the sun. Though fountain was a severe understatement. The sun was massive, the largest body in the solar system. And the ejection completely dwarfed the sun to the point it almost made it look like the handle of a baby rattle.
"Commencing zeta run," a technician announced. "Hyperspace runway plotted." Nova watched as the Typhon swooped near the ejection, the entire ship rocking as it neared the stream of solar mass shooting out.
"Zeta jump in three…two…one…"
A hyperspace window formed in front of the ship, and the blackness of space was washed away in a tumult of color. The entire ship was shaking like it was struggling to stay together.
"Zeta jump successful," one of the technicians said, voice raised to be heard over the rattling of the ship. "ETA: fifteen minutes."
-.-
Hailey stared at her plate of now cold and still untouched food. Mercer had let Hailey have a few more days off so she could grieve for Grogan. Couldn't exactly send a depressed soldier out on mission.
So here she sat in the mess hall, wallowing in her misery. She kept replaying the events of a few days ago in her head, thinking of all the ways she could've done things differently. Maybe if she hadn't been so careless, she wouldn't have gotten in that shield trap. Maybe if she had just said things a bit differently, she could've talked Grogan down. Maybe she could've found him sooner if she had better utilized her life signs scanner. Maybe she could've saved Grogan if she went with him to the ship. Maybe she could've avoided it entirely if she simply didn't let him go.
She sighed and stood up. Mercer had a thing about binning good food but there wasn't much she could do with her food. She wasn't hungry. She straightened her blue letterman jacket. But when she looked toward the door of the cafeteria, she froze in her tracks. She could see two men at the far table, talking to each other.
It couldn't be…
"Carl…" Hailey breathed. "Kevin?"
It was impossible. Yet there they were. Carl Grogan and Kevin Elliot talking to each other. Her legs felt numb as she hobbled forwards, her mind in a fog. They were there. Her friends were right there alive and well. They weren't dead. All she had to do was reach them.
That fog was abruptly ripped away when she felt something collide with her.
She looked up. It was one of the plumbers, still in their work uniform and clearly on break.
"Sorry about that," Hailey managed to choke out as the plumber managed to not drop his carton of milk.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "It's not your fault."
Hailey didn't know why but that statement cut deep. She looked toward where she saw Grogan and Elliot. But all she saw were two men who bore absolutely no resemblance to her absent friends.
Of course, it wasn't them. Why did she even for a moment think it was?
She needed a nap or something. Something to clear her mind. She ended up hobbling out of the cafeteria. Her mind was in such a haze she didn't even remember the walk back to her room.
She walked inside.
Time was supposed to help her recover. But, if anything, time was making it worse. She felt even more stupefied than before.
-.-
In the Milky Way a hyperspace window formed, a tear in the fabric of space time that looked like shimmering clouds of dust. But this wasn't the usual hyperspace window. It was golden with streaks of purple clouds.
From the cloud came the Typhon, bursting through the cloud like it was a wall of mist. Small glimmering particles came floating off the ship, propelled by the momentum and sprayed forth like water droplets off a wet surface.
The frigate slowed to a halt, getting its bearings.
From within, technicians were reporting the success of the jump.
"Calculating coordinates," one of them announced to the captain. "Confirmed, we are in the Milky Way."
"We are approximately fifty-six light years from our target destination," another added.
"Still working out the kinks?" Nova asked.
"We were actually surprisingly accurate," Connor said. "I feared we would either stop short or overshoot the galaxy."
Nova looked at the screens. They showed nothing but the blackness of space. She didn't know why she expected anything else.
"So what now?" she asked.
"I'm afraid we are ordered to make a pit stop at the Reetou new homeworld."
Nova had to do a double take.
"Wait…reetou?!" she stuttered. How much had changed while she was away?
"Yeah, we sat down with them to talk about forming an alliance with them," Connor explained. "We're dropping you and two teams on a nearby planet. The gate is located next to the village. Trade relations have been established with the locals so they should just let you use it. We're dropping you five kilometers away so you'll have to walk your way there."
"And why can't you just drop us at the village?" Nova asked.
"New SGC policy. Capital ships can't come within certain distances of primitive settlements depending on their size. Wrecks farmland and scares livestock."
This whole conspiracy was really getting to her. Part of her began to wonder if Connor was a part of it, or of this mission was part of the IOA's plan for her. A lot could happen in a five kilometer walk.
"Reeds, prepare to take us back to hyperspace," Connor ordered.
Nova watched the monitors along the walls. The blackness of space was soon replaced with azure streaks as the ship went into hyperspace.
"Major," Connor said. "I advise you ready yourself for disembarkation."
Nova nodded, walking away. She had to get dressed and ready. First place she went was the locker rooms. She was so used to the black BDU's on Millennium it felt almost odd for her to put on a green one.
Her next stop was the armory where she picked up her AR-57. She looked at the carbine. Times were changing way faster than she was ready for. The P90 was the standard issue weapon when she joined with the MP7A1 slowly replacing it. Now, the AR-57 was working its way up the ranks.
Picking up a few magazines, she noticed that that the ship was carrying more plasma-tipped rounds too.
'Ground team, we're approaching the planet. ETA: five minutes. Prepare for disembarkation."
Nova sighed. She couldn't stay there forever. She was already ready for disembarkation.
Now all that was left was to go to the ring platform.
Typhon was a small ship. Ok, it wasn't small. But it was smaller than most capital ships. It was made for stealth and hit-and-run rather than direct combat. So reaching the ring room didn't take long.
Like the corridors, the ring room wasn't inviting at all. The rooms on the 304 had some effort put into comfort. But the 305 did not get the same treatment. It was built for utility and nothing more, dull gray walls and a darker gray floor. The room was tight and even with the small squad it was packed.
Nova stepped through the door, her boots hitting the ground with a thump.
"Gentlemen," she announced. "The Typhon won't be making it to Earth. We're to make a rendezvous at a human village before gating back to the SGC. "Any questions?"
Nova scanned the room, looking at the squad of a dozen soldiers. No one spoke up.
"Lieutenant," Nova called out. One of the soldiers stepped forward, a rather lanky man with messy blonde hair. "Any more preparations?"
"No, ma'am," the Lieutenant said. Nova nodded. Nothing more needed to be said.
"Roll out!"
-.-
Hailey looked at Chen. She wasn't sure what to do about him right now. She needed to speak to him. But she also knew he'd been really busy lately. She didn't want to wake him up. He had fallen asleep in his lab, leaning back in his chair with his head just dangling backwards. His computer had his screensaver playing, images of him and Doctor Osborn fading in and out. Even though those two had broken up years ago, he still kept that as his screen saver.
Hailey stared at Steven for another moment. She had decided. She was going to wake him up. The question is: how? Chen tended to be in a bad mood when you woke him up and she needed him to be happy if she wanted to ask him for this favor.
She looked around, spotting a plastic water bottle next to him. She picked up the bottle and unscrewed the cap. She dipped her finger in the water before holding her wet finger above Chen's head. The water on her finger slowly gathered at the tip before finally dropping down onto Chen's forehead.
Chen flinched at the water droplet hitting his head. After a moment, another droplet hit his forehead.
At that moment, Chen bolted to his feet. His motion was so violent the chair was sent flying backwards and hitting the ground with a loud clatter. Hailey jumped back, rather terrified by how violent Chen was at that moment. Chen now stood up, hands in the air and ready for a fight, looking around for his foe.
A beat later and he realized there was no foe. It was just Hailey waking him up.
"Seriously…" Chen muttered in annoyance, putting his hands down. He went over the picked the chair off the ground. It crashing over had made such a ruckus he wouldn't be surprised if someone from an adjacent lab came over just to find out what the noise was.
"Have you ever thought about talking to someone about that?" Hailey asked, capping the bottle and putting it back on the desk.
"What? My obnoxious coworkers?"
"No, your paranoia and violent tendencies."
"Violent tendencies?" Chen repeated, shaking his computer mouse to awake it up.
"I know Doc Osborn always said not to wake you up but…" Hailey whistled.
"So why didn't you take Kara's advice?" Chen asked gruffly. He pulled the chair under him and scooted up to the desk, ready to get back to work.
"Steven, hold up…" Hailey said.
"Sorry, Jen, I got work," Chen huffed. "Transport from the SGC means new projects to look over. I don't have time for…" Chen's voice trailed off. "Are you here about Carl?"
"W-what?" Hailey stuttered, caught off guard by this question. "No. No. Steven…thank you for…everything. But I just want to…move on."
Chen looked at Hailey, not sure what to say for a moment. She was clearly still affected.
"I guess I could use a break…" Chen said, closing his laptop. He pushed himself away from the table and turned to look at Hailey. "What do you need?"
Jennifer froze for a moment, not sure what to say.
"How's Corin?" she asked awkwardly. It was very apparent she was just trying to find a talking point that wasn't about what she really wanted to talk about.
"Locked in his room," Chen sighed. "Charles and I can't get him out. He's not taking the idea of an alliance with the Ror'char all too well."
Jennifer couldn't blame him. The Ror'char government was a dictatorship that silenced dissent with the excuse that opposing opinion was dangerous. Corin's wife was among the killed. On their wedding day of all times too. Hailey could only imagine how he felt. Actually, she had an idea how he felt losing someone he cared about. Maybe not to the same degree but she had an idea.
Hailey opened her mouth but realized she didn't know what to say.
She leaned against the counter, clasping her hand in front of her. She took in a shuddering breath.
"Actually…" she said. "This is about Grogan."
Chen sighed, putting his hand to his face. He's faced some pretty hard loss in the past. He did witness the murder of his family. So, he knew lingering on it would not help. But he also knew saying it was easier than doing it.
"Look, Jen," Chen said, rubbing his forehead. "If you need something to distract yourself, just ask."
"I've been thinking what happened and…" Hailey said, ignoring Chen's remarks. "It doesn't make sense. We assumed the IOA and the conspiracy silenced Grogan. But…they told Terra and Terra told us."
"And here we are talking about it…" Chen said, nodding his head.
"I don't trust the IOA, but silencing someone…I don't know, I don't buy it."
Chen stared at Hailey, not sure how to respond. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was still grieving. Soldiers were still people. No matter how many battles they see, how much death they witness, they never become immune to the horror. Well, most of them anyways. Grogan may not have died on the battlefield but he did shoot himself right before her eyes.
And thus he had no idea how to respond. If Hailey had a point, then it did deserve being looked into. And it was also possible Hailey was just clinging onto something to help her grieve.
Chen took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then slowly let it out. Humoring her may be the best option. If Hailey was right and it wasn't the IOA, then investigating it was the best course of action. And even if it wasn't, this may have been a good distraction.
"Ok, so the IOA didn't silence Grogan," Chen said hypothetically. "So, what could it be? Could it actually be an accident?"
"That's option two," Hailey said, brushing her hair aside. "But, there is a third option. I think there's something else, something other than the conspiracy, something that Grogan came close to uncovering. And I want you to help me find it, Steven."
And suddenly the idea of humoring Hailey seemed like a bad idea. Could she be so grief-stricken that she is making things up in her mind?
"Ok…what makes you think that?" Chen asked.
Hailey sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Carl's face flashed before her eyes. She wanted Chen's help. But she was afraid of what that meant. She and Steven have fought side by side before. But this…this scared her. This wasn't an enemy she could face down on a battlefield, employ squad tactics against. She really had no idea what she was up against.
The walls had ears; the shadows had eyes. They could be watched at any moment, and anything could leap out at any time to get them.
She had walked into Chen's lab, hellbent on discovering the truth. Now, she was questioning what she was even thinking dragging him into this. Whatever had killed Grogan knew he was onto something. What if Chen gets involved and they find out?
"Never mind," Hailey said, backing up. "This was a bad idea anyways." Hailey was about to leave but Chen bolted to his feet and grabbed her by the shoulder.
"What're you hiding?" he asked suspiciously. He could see the fear in Hailey's face. And considering how calm and collected she is under fire, if something could scare Hailey then it was something to be worried about.
Hailey sighed, finally relenting.
"Grogan was showing me something he found in the SGC's transmission," she said in a hushed tone. "Some sort of modulation in the background of the carrier."
Chen paused when he heard this. Hailey specialized in physics and Chen specialized in engineering. But there was crossover.
"And that didn't seem odd to you?" Chen asked.
"Well…no," Hailey said. "These were scheduled transmissions between the SGC and our allies. Hell, some of them were from Atlantis to the SGC. It could be anything. It could be from the equipment. It could even be sending some of the more classified documents. Some of the more advanced pieces of Alliance technology…when we sent our research back to the SGC, we would encrypt the data and attach it as a subtle modulation wave. It could've just been that. Carl didn't exactly have the credentials." Hailey ran her fingers through her hair, suddenly kicking herself for not realizing earlier. "I guess it's also possible a spy was sending transmissions."
"Which doesn't bode well for your 'it's someone else' theory," Chen muttered. "Alright, so let's retrace his steps. Show me the stuff he showed you."
Chen could see the hesitation written all over Hailey's face.
"Oh, c'mon, Jenny," Chen sighed. "You're a soldier. What're you so scared of?"
Hailey resisted the urge to slap Chen with that little sentence. Sure it seemed like she had nothing to be scared of. She's been in firefights, faced down enemy jaffa, every time she's stepped through the gate it was a calculated risk that she or one of her friends wasn't going to return.
But this was different. This wasn't an enemy she could face. She didn't know if it was an enemy she could comprehend. She didn't know the risks at all. For all she knew, getting Chen involved was a death sentence.
"What am I scared of?" Hailey scoffed. "I don't know! And that's the problem! It might be the Tok'ra that killed Carl. It might be something else entirely! I don't know what we're up against, how to fight it or anything!"
Chen looked at Hailey sadly. He could tell she was still in shock watching her own friend kill himself before her eyes. Mercer had granted Hailey time off to recover, but it seemed she wanted to bury herself in her work.
Chen sighed, rolling his eyes. He made his way to the door, not even bothering to say anything to Hailey
"Wait, where you going?!" Hailey asked in panic.
"Well, you're on the fence," Chen said, walking out the door with Hailey in tow. "So, I've made the decision for you. I'm going to investigate this. Now the only question is whether you are going to help me. You can't order me since I'm not military and you aren't team leader so…." Chen held his arms out to mock her position.
Hailey sighed. She couldn't stay on the fence. She had to make a choice, and Steven had made his.
"Alright," she said. "I'll show you what he got."
-.-
A third ring transport later and the entire squad from the Typhon was on the ground. Nova quickly counted the squadmates, making sure everyone had been transported.
Yup, they were all here. All the supplies were tied to a MULE. The six-wheeled vehicle even had a cart attached to it to carry more supplies.
"Lieutenant," Nova said, scanning the landscape. "Do we know where the village is in relation to us?"
"About five klicks south," the Lieutenant explained. Nova reran the mission in her mind. Deliver the supplies then head to the gate. Simple mission.
It would be a nice way to get reacquainted with the Milky Way.
"Alright, boys," Nova announced. "Roll out!"
And so the walk began. She and her troops made their way through the forest, stepping over logs and foliage. The MULE was guided around obstacles.
Five klicks, five kilometers, a little over three miles. The walk was simply mildly annoying. And she wasn't doing a recon mission so she had a pretty big pack of supplies on her back as well.
After about forty minutes of walking, Nova was getting impatient. As she stepped to the top of a hill and looked ahead. Village was in sight. Wouldn't be long now.
She looked behind her. She was almost admiring the distance she had traversed when she noticed something.
"Hold up," she ordered, holding up a fist. On command, her men stopped, immediately assessing their surroundings.
Something behind them had caught her attention. They were going through a thick forest so she couldn't see that far. But she could see some shapes in the distance. Large black shapes moving through the trees.
Nova squinted at the black shape in the distance, trying to figure out what it is. She was already missing her team. She could just ask Martin to look at it through his scope. But he wasn't here right now.
She fumbled to take the binoculars out of her vest pocket, looking out across the forest. Her naked eye could only see a gray shape moving through the trees. So she brought her binoculars up, adjusting the focus to get a clearer image of the thing in the distance.
For a moment, she thought she was looking at an al'kesh. But it was too small. This thing was tiny. Well, it was large compared to her. But al'kesh were massive ships. This thing was slightly larger than a truck. And it floated just above the ground. She could only guess that the two massive glowing rails connected to the sides near the bottom was holding it up with its strange blue glow.
At the very least, she could identify the massive staff cannon resting atop the thing, connected to a dome. There seemed to be two smaller staff cannons on either side as well. Judging from its size, the two smaller staff cannons were artillery cannons jaffa often have mounted on tripods. Considering the destructive power of those staff cannons, Nova dreaded to see the capability of the center one, which was even bigger.
"Major?" the lieutenant asked. "What is it?"
The rest of the group had stopped to look at the thing as well, some of them taking up defensive positions.
"I don't know," she said. She was trying to piece together what she could be looking at. The village she was going to was...well...a village. The natives were primitive. This thing was clearly of Goa'uld design. Or at least Goa'uld technology. And considering entire stockpiles were left behind after the downfall of the System Lords, that thing could have been built by anyone. Lucian Alliance? Jaffa? Or maybe some other aliens who got their hands on Goa'uld technology.
The thing hovered for a bit, strafing to the side to readjust itself. Suddenly, six glowing orbs seemed to fly out the back of it and into the air.
"And what the hell is that?" the Lieutenant asked.
Nova felt her shoulders tense.
"Look, I'll tell you when I figure it out, ok!" she snapped. Nova cursed under her breath at her outburst. That was the reaction of a hormonal teenage girl, not a military officer. Still, the Lieutenant immediately backed down as Nova looked back through the binoculars, still fixated on the orange orbs in the air.
With how similar to the al'kesh the thing in the distance was, those orbs reminded her of…
Nova's eyes widened.
"Incoming!' she cried out. Everyone around her dove for cover as the orange orbs finally came down.
Nova wanted to slap herself for not recognizing them before. They were plasma charges, the same ones used by al'kesh during bombing runs.
The charges came crashing down, hitting the trees above them, the balls of energy exploding on impact. Flames burst like bubbles of fire, liquid inferno raining from the sky. The trees were splintered before coming crashing down upon the troupe below. Splinters and debris fell from above, flaming logs crashing to the floor.
"Major!" the Lieutenant yelled. "We need to head to the village. We'll have better cover there."
"Wait," another soldier yelled. "If we go to the village, we'll be putting them in danger."
Major put her hand to her head. She had to pick one. Face the thing in the distance exposed? Or endanger the village? Fighting that thing in the forest was suicide. Even the missed shots were deadly since they could bring down the trees around them. But if she used the village for cover, every shot would potentially kill an innocent civilian who happened to be in the wrong place.
"Look out!' one of her squadmates screamed as an orange bolt of energy tore through the trees. It was a bolt from the main gun. It tore through the trees hitting the ground, the dirt bursting like a bubble as a massive wall of fire erupted from the impact, a thick haze rising into the air. The blast was nowhere near her but it was so intense that she could feel the shockwave ripple across her skin. The tree next to the blast toppled over, several of her squadmates diving out of the way.
She didn't have time to ponder.
"Village!" she ordered. "Everyone, head to the village!"
The village was the closest clearing to them. They couldn't remain in the forest or even missed shots would be dangerous.
The entire squad sprinted in the direction of the village. The MULE's quickly followed. They must have been upgraded since they could now move at the same speed as a running man, managing to keep up.
She joined her squad and took off through the forest. Plasma charges continued raining upon them, everyone having to dodge left and right to avoid the trees falling on top of them. Cannon bolts of various sizes streaked past. The world before her had shrunk to a narrow window as adrenaline closed her peripheral vision. She couldn't tell the exact details of the chaos unfolding around her, only that death was literally raining from the sky.
It took what felt like years but, finally, they emerged from the woods. Sunlight poured upon the squad as they escaped the shadow of the forest and headed back to the village.
She could already see villagers with the M16's and P90's given to them running to find positions to shoot from.
"Lennox, Briggs, cover the rear!" Nova ordered as they reached the buildings. "Baston, find a vantage point. Lieutenant!"
The Lieutenant immediately answered the call, rushing up beside Nova as they both leapt over a stone wall and behind cover.
"Yes, Major," he responded, ready for her commands. Nova could see the gate on the far side of the village. They needed to call for help and they needed to do it now.
"Get in contact with the SGC and request backup," Nova ordered, pointing at the stargate.
The Lieutenant immediately complied, rushing for the DHD.
Nova peeked over cover and sprayed a volley of bullets at the target, watching as it emerged from the tree line, the front row of trees toppling over like dominoes in a cloud of dirt and splinters as the thing burst forward. The thing was now opening fire with all weapons. Plasma charges were launched from its rear, flying into the air before coming back down. The two staff cannons were both raining hell on the houses.
The artillery cannons tore through walls like they were tissue paper and the whole house would go up in flame from the explosion inside. The blast from the main cannon would go through multiple houses before stopping.
They sprayed their weapons in the direction of the war machine, watching as an orange shield formed in front of it, blocking the bullets then vanishing again. Several grenades were tossed, landing underneath. But the explosions and shrapnel were stopped by the same shield.
"Baston," Nova said through the radio. "Any visual on other hostiles?"
"Negative, ma'am," Baston replied. "It's just us and that thing."
Nova covered her face as the ground on the other side from the wall exploded. She couldn't see the blast but she could feel the pressure wave across her skin, see the sky directly above her darken for moment as debris came raining down before brightening again as the dirt cleared.
"Lennox" Nova yelled to the man in the distance. "Help get the women and children away from the combat zone!'
"Yes, ma'am," he answered, rushing out from behind cover to help the villagers as they desperately ran for cover.
-.-
"Give me a status update."
This was Landry's order as he came down the spiral staircase to the control room.
"General," Walter said, his hands flying across the keyboard. "We're getting a call from a team on P7F-521. They're saying they're under fire from an unknown hostile. IDC matches the team the Typhon was supposed to bring in."
"Unidentified attack craft!" a voice yelled through the radio. "Under fire from goa'uld weapons. Request immediate assistance."
The situation was established. The question was now: what was the response?
"Walter, I want a UAV on the floor and ready to go five minutes ago," Landry ordered. Walter didn't even give a response, immediately going straight for his microphone as the gate shut off.
-.-
The thing was now attacking full bore. Nova could see it was still hovering just outside the village, probably to avoid getting surrounded if it got too close. Still, nothing they had was damaging it.
A grenade went through the shield and got lodged on one of the corners of the machine before exploding, its sleek gray surface getting scratched by the blast and shrapnel. But it remained unphased.
The massive staff cannon turret that served as its primary weapon rotated to target the next house. The heat of the orange bolt was so intense that when the cannon fired, a sphere seemed to explode from the barrel of the cannon, the heat and blast wave so intense that the air and particles immediately around it being forced away.
The attack craft drifted back a bit, pushed by the recoil of the shot, before floating forwards once more to maintain its position.
Nova let out a startled cry as one of the smaller staff cannons aimed at her and fired. She jumped out of the way just in time, the plasma bolt streaking past and hitting the ground behind her. The blast wave wasn't enough to kill her but it was enough to cause her to fall over. All sound vanished from the air except for a painful whistling.
-.-
The SGC gateroom filled with smoke as the UAV took off from its platform and through the shimmering wormhole.
"UAV away," Walter reported, the video telemetry appearing on several monitors above his and Landry's heads.
It wasn't Walter but another technician beside him that was controlling the UAV. But several people had their eyes on the monitors to see what was happening. The unmanned drone was clear of the gate by the time telemetry came in so it had to be steered back.
The gate on P7F-521 was in a forest so there was nothing but an endless field of trees across rolling hills in view. But as the UAV completed its 360 degree turn, the chaos could be seen. The battle had left a field of scorch earth, a swath of the forest burned away and creating a path straight to the village.
The clearing containing the village came into view. And, so did the thing.
Several of the technicians stood up in shock when they spotted the attack craft. An endless stream of destruction spewed from its weapons.
"I'll be damned," Landry muttered to himself.
"Sir?" Walter questioned, clearly not understanding Landry's reaction.
"I believe it's called a te'kar," Landry said. "A Jaffa Nation war carriage."
"But why would the Jaffa Nation attack a human village?"
"The jaffa reported that a transport ship full of these went missing a few months back."
"By who?"
"I'll be damn sure to find out. But for now, our people need orbital support." Landry's tone grew grave as he gave the new orders for all to hear. "Contact Homeworld Command. Roll out fire package on unknown target. Roll out the 306."
-.-
And with that command, the gears started clicking. Orders were sent and people were moving. Commands were sent down the pipe, received, and executed.
At Homeworld Command, the technicians passed the orders to their superiors, who then relayed it to the necessary personnel.
"Attention spacecraft, this is to be a danger close-fire mission."
"I just got a call from the Homeworld Command. Which 306 is closer to P7F-521?"
"We have two 306's on standby at the Beta Site."
"Alright. Roll out a 306 to P7F-521. It's going to be a danger close fire mission."
"This is FA-306 Virgil. Confirming fire mission. Splash in two minutes."
"Roger that, Virgil. You are permitted to fire at will."
"Repeat, this will be a danger close fire mission. Danger close."
-.-
In orbit around the planet, a hyperspace window opened as the FA-306 emerged. It was a dull gray, vaguely wedge shaped with four engines in the back. It was even smaller than the 305. But what it lacked in strength it made up for in cost effectiveness and versatility.
"This is Virgil in orbit around the planet. We have a lock on the target. Commencing bombing run."
Rail cannons, pulse cannons, the 306 opened fire on the planet. Whereas a 304 or 305 could not perform such a thing without wiping out their own troops, the 306 hit the target with pinpoint accuracy. It wasn't the fastest stream of weapons fire but it was steady. And it was all aimed at one thing.
-.-
On the planet, the ground around the te'kar exploded. Dirt and flames burst forth from the ground like some sort of bubble popping. The vehicle swerved and strafed, knocked off balance by the explosions. Within moments, the te'kar vanished behind the cloud of dirt and destruction. The sound of thunder rocked the landscape, the ground coughing up dirt and destruction. Each blast sent shockwaves in all directions that rippled the skin and rocked the fluids. All-consuming clouds of dirty engulfed the area, threatening to swallow all who get too close and never have them seen again.
And just as quickly as it began, it stopped. Hell had stopped raining from the heavens. The ground stopped spraying dirt and flames.
Nova peered out from her cover, a splotch of brown lingering in the air. He could see the black silhouette of the te'kar within. As the brown began to fade away, its gray surface faded in. The blurry became clear. At the center of its carnage was a massive scrap of burnt metal. The ground was completely torn asunder.
"You think they got him?" the Lieutenant asked.
-.-
"This is it?" Chen asked, looking at the readings. "A few hidden waveforms hidden on the carrier? Have you ever considered that someone above our pay grade ordered it to be put there?"
"Believe me, Steven, you aren't telling me anything I haven't already thought of," Hailey snapped in exasperation.
"So what makes you think these signals are from our mystery bad guy? I mean, all these are authorized signals between the SGC and its outposts."
"Maybe, but could we have been infiltrated? And all these communications are the spies passing information to each other? Is that possible?"
"Why you asking me?!" Chen snapped. Hailey had to acknowledge Chen had a point. He wouldn't know more about espionage than she would. "If you want an unprofessional opinion, if we have that many spies in our ranks that they can have secret phone calls with each other, we have way bigger issues."
Hailey had to also agree with that. Normally one or two spies would be a problem. But she had just suggested that the SGC's network had so many spies that they were conversing with each other. And while countries would establish spy networks, that's one or two spies in a branch, not dozens in one branch.
"Alright, let's say theoretically there were. Could this be an effective means of communication?"
"I guess. I mean, hiding signals on a carrier wave isn't anything new. With this method of communication, they'd be hiding all their transmissions in plain sight. We encrypt our signals but we don't really bother seeing if someone's piggybacking a message on them. We tend to rely on other security measure. But like I said, I'm the wrong person to ask."
Hailey sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She had no idea what to do next. Somebody wanted to keep this signal hidden.
"Steven, can you record the pattern on the hidden signal?" Hailey asked. "I'm going to bring back a file and I want you to compare it to see if it has the same hidden pattern?"
Chen stared at Hailey in confusion.
"You don't want me to come with you?" he asked.
"I need to do this part by myself," Hailey said, swiftly leaving the room. The moment she got outside, she closed the door behind her, putting her hand up to her mouth. Talking with Chen about the signals like that, talking about getting the Typhon's files, it reminded her of Grogan. It reminded her of Elliot. At the very end of their conversation, an image of Chen's corpse flashed in her mind. She had already lost two people she cared about, one a few days ago before her very eyes.
She was already regretting bringing him in. She didn't know what she was up against. What was she thinking bringing him in? Whatever this was, she was going to have to figure it out by herself.
-.-
Nova stared at the defense condition on the wall of the SGC. Five colored blocks, each with a number inside, each block representing a defense condition. Normally the bottom blue block, DEFCON 5, would be lit. But it wasn't.
Not anymore.
The middle yellow block, DEFCON 3, was lit up. The entire US military was ready to deploy. Every branch was working around the clock to gather intel. And from what she's heard, it's been in DEFCON 3 for a while now.
For most, DEFCON whatever didn't mean much. But as a military officer, the fact that it got so close to DEFCON 1 was chilling. If DEFCON 1 hits, you better have said your goodbyes because nuclear war is imminent.
There was a TV in the SGC conference room playing the news reports.
'Already five states have declared state of emergency. However, the sight of armed forces on the street seems to have simply increased unrest. At least two local police officers were killed after a hit and run. A standoff this morning turned into a shootout leaving twelve dead.''
Nova couldn't take it anymore. She walked over to the TV and began searching the cart for the remote. The news reporter's voice was soon replaced as a video of someone getting arrested was pulled.
'We aren't ready for the stargate! Want proof?! Just look at how all the morons around the world are reacting!'
'That was all we could get out of Tim Jarvis after he ran over three protesters in an anti-SGC protest.'
Forget the remote. She just pressed a button on the TV and flipped the channel.
'I'm just saying, we don't know what could be out there. We've been lucky so far and the SGC could use some more supervision or at least time to review its protocol.'
'I know what this is.'
'What?'
'You're a xenophobe, aren't you?'
'What? No! I just think we need to be more careful if we want to go around exploring the galaxy.'
'You're a xenophobe! Admit it!'
Nope. Nova flipped the channel again.
'We will not be fooled. We know the Earth is and has always been flat. We demand the government retract the hoax that is the Stargate Program.'
Click…
'ET, stay home! ET, stay home! ET, Stay home!'
Were there only news channels on this thing?!
Click…
Nova looked up as silence fell upon the room. What just happened? The TV had turned black. She looked up to see a familiar man standing behind the screen, a finger on the power button.
"Five hundred channels and nothing to watch, am I right?" the man remarked. "No point wasting your time on that."
"Colonel Mitchell!" Nova stuttered in surprise. She felt rather embarrassed that it never crossed her mind to simply turn off the TV. Even the thought that something like that slipped her mind made her feel painfully stupid.
"Colonel, it's me, Major Nova," she said. "We worked a raid against the Lucian Alliance once back when I was Captain."
"Actually, I might remember you…" Mitchell said, snapping his fingers. "You were on Harding's team, weren't you?"
"Yeah, that's me! I just got back from Millennium."
"Well, I guess we got you to thank for all the cool new toys. The techs are going crazy over it."
"You should see all the stuff we couldn't bring over," Nova chuckled. "Hey, out of curiosity, you know what happened to O'Neill or Carter? I couldn't get a hold of them."
"Jack and Sam? Retired. Don't know where. Can't blame them. Their names are so big no way they can live normal lives anymore."
Nova felt rather sad by that. Anyone who was a part of the Stargate Program knew the members of SG-1 were heroes. They've saved Earth on multiple occasions. Now they couldn't even retire in peace.
"What about everyone else?" she asked.
"Well, Jackson's over at the UN, still trying to save the world. Last I heard from Teal'c, he was talking about starting a farm with Ishta."
"What about you?" Nova asked. "Why haven't you retired yet?"
"Well, even without the Ori, there are still more bad guys out there that Earth needs protection from."
"If they even deserve saving by this point…" Nova muttered. She looked up when she realized she said that a bit too loudly. But Mitchell didn't act like she was insane.
"Look, I know Earth's in a bit of a bad spot now," he said. "But you just have to have hope that this'll it'll all turn out ok."
"The night is darkest before the dawn," another voice said. Nova whipped around, spotting Landry standing at the door to his office.
"General!" she gasped, standing at attention.
"At ease, Major," Landry chuckled, walking in with a stack of papers under his arm. "Just got off a lengthy phone call with the IOA. Apparently, you're the woman of the hour."
Nova had to stifle a laugh at the irony of that statement. Woman of the hour? More like the IOA's pet. She still believed in what the conspiracy claimed to be doing. It was whether or not they were actually being honest with her.
"Any word on the village?" Nova asked.
"The village is fine, Major," Landry insisted. "You can't keep beating yourself up over your decision."
"With all due respect, sir, I ordered my troops to take cover in that village. I put noncombatants in the crossfire."
"You relocated your troops from a disadvantageous position," Landry corrected. "If your squad got wiped out, that village would've been next."
"Well, I hope the mothers who had to watch their sons get blown up feel the same… General, if you don't' mind me asking, what was that that was called in?"
"Oh that?" Landry asked. "That would be our FA 306 Damocles class ships. We've actually been pumping out quite a few of them to fill out our fleet."
"I didn't think we could ever pull off a danger-close fire mission from orbit," Nova added.
"Well, you did miss a lot while you were gone, Major," Landry remarked, sliding her a folder. Nova took a moment to look at the files within. It was all the changes to Earth's fleet while she was away. She had already seen the 305. And she got a demonstration of the 306. From the files, it looked like the F-302's also had some modifications.
As she flipped to the end, she spotted a familiar hovering tank.
"Jaffa war chariot," Landry explained. "Basically, the jaffa equivalent of a battle tank. A few months ago they warned us a ship full of them vanished."
"Do we have word on who was driving the tank, sir?" Mitchell asked, still hovering behind Nova.
"Techs pulled two humans out of the tank," Landry explained, setting down the folders on the table. There were plenty of pictures of the demolished thank in the photos but none of the drivers. Considering the intensity of the explosions, she was grateful for that.
"Lucian Loyalists?" Mitchell asked.
"That's the guess. The village had turned down the offer to join them."
"Lucian Loyalists…" Nova repeated. "What are you two talking about?"
Landry gestured at the chairs, signaling Nova to sit. She did so, opening another one of the folders as Landry took his seat.
"Recently, the Lucian Alliance has been literally split in two," Landry said. "It was one of the things you missed while you were away. According to the Tok'ra, a civil war has broken out between Lucian Loyalists who want wage a full-scale war against Earth, and Lucian Rebels who want nothing to do with us."
"So what does this mean for us?" Nova asked, flipping through the papers.
"Well, the Rebels have done a pretty good job avoiding us. And, frankly, we have bigger fish to fry."
"So we're ignoring the Lucian Rebels?"
"For now. It's the Lucian Loyalists we need to worry about. They've continued their war against us. And lately they've gotten more aggressive. Their operations have doubled in size and they've launched several more attacks against our outposts. Even a few hit-and-runs against Earth. They've made two attacks against Langara to access their stargate, even taking their facility once. Funny enough, the Lucian Loyalists have actually been more of a threat than the original Lucian Alliance!"
Nova flipped through her papers, expecting a document talking about whoever was leading the Lucian Loyalists, but she found nothing.
"Doubled in size…" Nova sighed, shaking her head. "Who's leading the Loyalists that can pull that off?"
-.-
On a distant world, a tel'tak came swooping from the sky. The planet was a barren wasteland and the mountains where the base was set up did not help. The skies were covered with dense gray clouds. Thanks to them, the trees barely got to see any sunlight and were left large but leafless. Chilled winds swept across the landscape, burying the bones of the countless who have died there. Most from hundreds of years ago. Others, not so long ago.
At the peak of each mountain were ha'tak, a massive fleet docked on the planet. Several more floated in the skies. Al'kesh were docked in each valley. There were stretches of flat ground where legions of gliders were parked, crews checking on them every moment.
Built into the mountains were a network of buildings that stuck out of the landscape as if they were half buried. The full scope of the buildings could not be seen but what could be seen bore the familiar golden Goa'uld structure with symbols engraved into it. These structures made towers that jutted out of the ground or saucers that extended from the mountainside.
A few smaller towers had staff cannons attached to the top. The staff cannons turned to look at the cargo ship as it flew past. The average tel'tak was not armed. And even if it was, their staff cannons would not measure up to the staff cannons of static defenses. But this tel'tak carried something even the staff towers feared.
The cargo ship flew down to massive balcony, one large enough to hold the cargo ship and a handful of humans waiting for its arrival. Dust filled the air as the cargo ship neared the floor, flying up in everyone's faces. Finally, it touched down with a loud thud. Everyone standing on the landing pad could feel the ground beneath them tremble slightly at the ship's landing as its entire weight was set down.
The hum of the engines died, the dust dying down with it. After a moment, the doors slid open. Standing inside were three men. The man in the front was a tall tanned man, his long face marred by scars. Short black hair matted his head and ran down to the goatee on his chin.
His brown leather vest reached his thighs, but it still showed the Lucian Alliance uniform underneath. Behind him was a man in a long black coat, a hood pulled over his head, and a white mask covering his entire face. And next to him was a Lucian pirate wearing the standard gray uniform and a rod of anguish on his back.
The Lucian Alliance pirates on the platform all shirked away in fear. The man who stood in the center was clearly upset. Several of them even took a step back as if he was some sort of vicious animal and were afraid he would lash out at them.
The three men stepped off the cargo ship before marching into the building. The pirates all cleared out of the way, making sure there is good distance between them and him.
They marched through several winding corridors. Since the structure was built inside a mountain, most of the corridors looked like they were part of a cave network, the walls and floor made of rock. Pipes ran through the ceiling and walls, signs at every corner
The three men walked past a line of cells. They were once prison cells. Now, they were just storage closets.
But it wasn't these rooms the men were interested in. They marched to the end of the hall, where a Lucian pirate was waiting.
"Kabal," he said. "Kabal, you have to understand. I-"
The tanned man simply held up a hand, silencing the man.
"Wait outside," Kabal said to the Lucian pirate who had followed him from the cargo ship.
The Lucian guard nodded, stepping to the side. The door opened and allowed Kabal inside along with his two men, the third waiting outside.
"Now, then, Vosh," Kabal said as he stepped into his office. The golden office was well lit thanks to the massive window at the back. A throne sat behind a desk. A bookshelf against the wall had no books but it did have a rack with three human skulls on it. In the corner of the room was a cage containing what looked like a rabid wolf, or rather a massive wolf-like beast. The alien canine bared its fangs, snarling at the newcomers.
"I believe I put in you in charge of our operations on Langara," Kabal said. "I gave you a strategy and made it your job to procure Destiny. Well, I see you before me, so I assume Langara is under our control."
Kabal spoke softly, almost a whisper. His voice was steady. But it was clear that, in spite of his words, Kabal knew that Vosh's mission was not a success.
"No," Vosh said nervously.
"Oh? Then I assume Destiny is now under our control."
Vosh swallowed anxiously.
"No," he whimpered.
"Then, tell me, why are you here?"
The masked man walked around Vosh, eyeing him in amusement.
"The Langarans discovered our operations," Vosh said. "We tried to flee but the Earth ship Hammond was in orbit."
"And how much did you lose?"
"Forty two men, three al'kesh…and the entire warehouse of kassa."
Vosh flinched, clearly expecting some violent reaction from Kabal. But Kabal had no reaction.
"Mister Mobius?" Kabal asked the masked man.
"This will be a major setback," Mobius said. "That kassa is an integral part of the plan to take the Langaran stargate."
"We can still salvage our operations," Vosh stuttered out. "Just let me…" Vosh's voice trailed off as Kabal slowly walked up to him.
"No need to be afraid, Vosh," Kabal said soothingly. "You don't have to be afraid of me killing you. In fact, I'm willing to show you mercy."
Vosh looked up hopefully.
"Really?" he stuttered.
"Really."
Kabal reached up and removed the ranking insignia off his uniform. The Lucian Alliance wasn't a real military but they did form what could be considered a ranking system. Removing that badge was just a demotion.
"You may go," Kabal said, gesturing toward the door. "Please leave the door open on your way out." Vosh looked at Kabal graciously before standing up and straightening his uniform and walking out. The moment Vosh was out of sight, Kabal walked over to the cage and held the insignia in front of it. The wolf-like animal sniffed it a few times before snarling and baring its fangs, its hairs standing on end as it puffed itself up.
Kabal stepped back, unlocking the cage and opening the door.
The beast burst out of the cage with a crash so loud it almost sounded like a gunshot. The cage door flung opened, bouncing at the apex of its rotation before swinging freely as the beast lunged out. It sniffed the air for a bit before it took off down the hall. A moment later, a blood curling scream came from down the hallway.
The guard standing outside the door peeked in, fear and confusion all over his face.
"Clean up the mess," Kabal ordered. The guard nodded and walked toward the screams. The sound of shouting men could be heard form Kabal's office, even the shock of a rod of anguish being used followed by the pained yelps of the wolf-like beast. After a moment, it died down.
Mobius stepped toward the center of the office while Kabal took a seat at his throne.
"You don't seem to approve of my methods," Kabal said, looking at the papers on his desk.
"Vosh has served you well in the past," Mobius pointed out.
"Failure has no place in my army," Kabal stated. "The bar must remain at its highest. This will discourage failure."
As if on cue, the wolf-like beast came walking back in, dragging looked like a bloody pair of pants in its jaws. It went back to its cage with its new chew toy, laying down to rest.
"Or it will promote dishonesty. Why admit failure when death is what awaits them?"
"You're here simply to act as a consultant," Kabal pointed out. "I advise you remember your place."
Mobius simply held his arms out and bowed as if to say 'as you wish'.
"I've heard reports that you've been sighted on other human worlds," Kabal said. "That you've been rallying humans and arming them."
"You said you need help fighting the Jaffa Nation. These humans hold no love for you, but they will fight the jaffa and the Tau'ri willingly."
"And it'll help cover up our kassa," Kabal added. "Many of our buyers are unhappy with the new wait time between shipment."
"Your kassa trains may have been quick but they also presented very vulnerable targets. Using larger numbers of cargo ships with smaller shipments have made it harder for the tau'ri to track down. And by rigging several fake transport trains, we've discouraged them from going after your kassa."
"So you have no solution?"
"None that will bring good results. It is a fundamental rule of the universe: you can take no action without some form of consequence. You may not like the advice I have given you but it is my guidance that has allowed the Lucian Alliance to grow in spite of the civil war and for you to take all the credit."
Kabal growled in annoyance. It was true the safer kassa transport was saving their sales. He looked at the skulls on the bookshelf. Those were all that remained of his predecessors. One of those skulls was Netan, the first leader, a man who had failed the Lucian Alliance enough times that three of his seconds had placed bounties on his head.
The Lucian Alliance had split in half and Kabal had managed to swoop in and bring the entire organization under his command.
"Very well," Kabal said. "So what is the next step in our plan?"