Record keeping time:
Tyler Hoechlin: Yes, the Colonials have just received a boatload of information about the galaxy and themselves. Their questions would be what is truth and what are lies and the Colonials are going to have to figure it out. Plus, they will have to answer what they want to believe.
Earth, as mentioned before IS game playing with them and on a constant basis. Think of Rodney Dangerfield in 'Caddyshack'. You couldn't do anything with him because he was rich – and hd a big mouth. The secret is not to overdo it. Stay tuned.
Norjc: Hahaha. No, they don't. There is actually a lot that the goa'uld don't know and they have been trying hard to find out. One thing they did get was information on the old SGC mission reports which they got from Ba'al who got it from the Trust. But that's dried up now.
Crys: You are right. enough said. These goa'uld are not as feudal as their predecessors, but they are still goa'uld and they have not grown up far from the tree.
Thank you, everyone for your kind and instructive comments. They gave me a few ideas to play with in my sick mind…
This is a little longer than I planned. Lots of stuff here. But I do promise that I will delve into the Colonial Goa'uld connection. Of course, it will not be what it seems. And, I have not forgotten about the Race… Ha. Ha. Ha.
Now, on with the story.
Chapter Nineteen
'When Visitors Come A'Callin'
Planet: Caprica:
Colonial Capital residence
How many?" demanded the President
"Last count, forty-one capitals. Four of them are one and a half times larger than the standard sized one," Corman stated. "One of them has to be the command ship. It's no doubt they intend to hit us hard. Horton started ordering battlestar groups to prepare to heavily reinforce the strike force already about to engage the enemy. "We'll do all we can to make them pay in blood for invading our space."
"You saw that I tried to keep this war from happening," Goesel said, looking at Corman and Horton. "This is not what I hoped for"
"You did at what the leader of the Colonies was supposed to do, try to preserve the peace," said General Horton. "They aren't interested listening. Mister President, we've sent a request for aid to the Terrans, but our signals won't reach them for three days. The signal was in the clear. No evidence of jamming, yet."
"Ask the Terran Consulate to send our request as well. Their system is much faster." Goesel was very much aware that the Colonial fleet, as it was, was no match for Goa'uld warships. The Terrans had the ability to boost communications to real-time using the Colonial system. How they did this he had no idea. But he intended let them know everything that happened and plead for help. They might not be able to do much, they might be too late in coming, or worse, they might choose not to get involved. Honestly, he was unsure what they would do, but he knew he would humble himself and ask for help from his cousins for the sake of his people. For a moment though, he was stunned by the change in his attitude. Was it three years ago he tried to subvert the Earthers to his will and now he was begging for their help? Of course, the people would crucify him politically for doing so. "Every edge we can get, General."
"Yes, sir. We're contacting them even as we speak. I strongly suspect they have already sent a request for aid. I'm sure they don't want their embassy vaporized if the Goa'uld break through our defenses. And they won't," he added without a hint of doubt. "We don't have any idea how fast the Terrans are when it comes to mobilizing a strike force. But if they're on their game, they should get the request through channels in about four hours. I added another six hours to prepare a preliminary strike force and another eight, to get here." The General was frowning now as he continued his analysis. "We really have no idea how fast their ships are, but judging by High Admiral Cain's trip, I think we should see them in about two days at the most and that's adding some leeway for unforeseen problems that might crop up."
"Can we hold out that long?"
"We have to," Horton answered. All of the Chiefs of Staff and read the reports and analyses numerous times. The battle summaries still gave them nightmares, so he knew better than most how serious this battle would be. He was estimating a casualty rate of possibly eighty- ninety-five percent materiel and seventy-five percent personnel. The population could see a death toll of perhaps ten billion if the CDF couldn't hold before the Terrans could get here–if they came at all. There was no promise that they would come at all, which meant that the Colonies couldn't depend on them getting here. In the final analysis, the Colonials were on their own. "We will hold them," he said loud enough for everyone to hear. He'd done that for those listening, not for the President who knew exactly what the stakes were.
The Colonial leader nodded dumbly as he was rushed out of the room along with his wife and his senior aides and some of the military officers that was with him to the tram that would take them safely to the highly secretive and well-protected Athena command and Control Complex.
Location: CDF Base Athena One
Location: Gracean Mountain Range
The Presidential entourage exited the WRB railway system and literally ran through the re-enforced armored double doors that allowed them access to the heart of the most heavily defended underground military base located in the Twelve Colonies. Three hundred military personnel quietly acknowledged their leader's presence before focusing back on their jobs. Around the main control centers dozens of screens showing tactical information and real-time images of battlestar groups and defense stations either active or coming online.
Data streams appeared and disappeared as various personnel typed in information on keyboards while everyone prepared for war. On one screen there was an impressive view of over one hundred nuclear missile-carrying raptors preparing to jump to the targeted area, prepared to lay waste to any Goa'uld ship daring to cross the line into Colonial territory. Another screen showed more Ha'taks of various configurations easing into view. Smaller ships accompanied them, no doubt their version of raptors or bombers of some kind.
Goesel was horrified by the prospect going to war with an empire that could trace its bloody origins back ten thousand years. Terra's version of the history of the Goa'uld wasn't kind to them and many of his own advisors openly expressed their skeptical at the report, assuming the Terrans were bias against the Goa'uld and were trying to inflate their own importance. In spite of the evidence, most of the experts didn't really believe in the severity threat of the Goa'uld. On paper, it seemed a high-level threat, but everyone subconsciously believed that they could handle the threat. It was perhaps a foolish believe but the magnitude of the danger really hadn't connected.
.
Every single one of those doubts disappeared the moment Goesel met the Goa'uld leader Astartea. Her attempts at diplomacy were terrifying, every word she said indicated exactly what she was. Every word spoken by here was laced with threat and inuendo. She showed the same respect that someone would show a neighbor's dog they had to tolerate. He wasn't sure if the reports were true; now he was. The Colonies were next in line of a long list of worlds destroyed or enslaved by the Goa'uld. They claimed an enlightened society, but one thing that hadn't changed was that they were predators and could not tolerate competition or threats from any other civilization or species that might arise to stand against them. The Colonies would not be allowed to survive independently in any form as long as the Goa'uld empire existed. The Colonials were effectively at war with a ruthless enemy and had been for a long time. They just didn't know it.
Sir, we're almost ready," a communications specialist told the President. It took a few seconds for the communications system position itself. "Powers at one hundred percent," the same CS said as he handed the President the microphone.
The last call ended rather abruptly, and he had little hope that this attempt would be any better, but he was obligated to try. The third time was always the charm as the old Kobollian saying went. If nothing else, he needed to stall. "This is President Antonius Goesel, who speaks for the United Colonies of Kobol. I have listened to your response to my speech and I respectfully request that we reopen our lines of dialogue so that we can avoid any misunderstandings that might have been caused by what was said. The Colonies have no interest or desire to go to war with the Ashtorath Empire. On the contrary, in my speech I clearly defined that we wish to open a dialogue with you so that we would avoid conflict with one another. Are you willing to speak to me and open a dialogue that could prevent needless deaths on both sides?"
Goesel was honestly surprised that he got a response. He couldn't tell whose voice it was. "We do not listen to Kobollian Sho'va. Kree!"
The President looked around, confused by the answer. "That was the second time someone used the word Sho'va. I have no idea what that means." At least they responded, he thought. He needed to keep them talking. Lifting the mic once more the President was about to speak and ask for clarification of the two words. "I am afraid that I am unfamiliar with the words sho'va and Kree. Could you explain these terms?" he asked.
Frantically, the comms officers called for his attention. he urgently whispered that that the transmission was opened, despite the fact that they were on a closed, secured channel. The Goa'uld had re-broadcasted in the open so that everyone could hear, effectively bypassing the security measures and allowing everyone in the Colonies to hear.
General Horton and others were all but demanding that he close the channel immediately. Goesel gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected this now was too late. The Colonies had heard exactly what he is said. Terminating the transmission now would make the overall situation worse. "Continue transmissions," he ordered as he turned to the others to understand his reasoning. "There will be panic all across the worlds," he quickly explained. "It's too late. There is nothing we can do about it now. Better that the people hear what I say rather than keep it quiet. Ladies and gentlemen, we're trying to prevent a bloodbath. He turned to Horton was the Senior officer in charge. "We're on a hair trigger now. We can't afford to trigger the very war I'm trying to avoid. If they're hearing me, then our commanders might not start launching nuke first," he said carefully. "Speaking of which, is Admiral Cain out there?"
"Yes, sir. She'll hold the line."
"She's a good officer but place someone else in charge," he demanded. "Pull her back to secondary defensive, now. That's an order. We'll need her if things fall apart, but she is not to be at the front line! I want her on the primary defensive line around our worlds, so she can plug the holes in close order combat. I want her in the middle of the battle, not be the instigator of it."
"Yes, sir. It'll take a few minutes to relay the order."
"Do it ASAP and make sure she follows orders. I do not want a repeat of the Earth debacle."
"I want constant updates on how many ships they have coming into our system. I want to see how serious they are in pursuing a conflict with us. we need updates on the situation and I want an estimate of the time they may actually attack."
"Yes, sir, Mister President," said Admiral Corman as he walked into the room escorted by three more of his senior aides. "We're constantly updating the data. As of now, we see forty-one capital ships. All data indicates that this will be a dedicated assault. We should expect more if they plan to take on a dedicated assault."
"I don't believe they need any more ships." Goesel swallowed. "Will we be able to hold them off?"
"Sir, if they're serious…I'm not sure. We'll do all we can. As far as we know they are at least as powerful as the Terrans. The good news is since we encountered Earth's military, we have continually upgraded our ships," Corman continued. "But we haven't tested our newest weapons against shielded ships. According to the Terrans, they've destroyed worlds more advanced than we are." Corman looked shaken. His gray hair was in a mess and everyone could see how very worried the man was. The look on his face reflected the same sense of worry Goesel already felt. "If what we know is true then their beam weapons will hit us in the multi-gigaton range. I cannot begin to imagine what that's going to do to our planets if they get through our defenses."
"I wish the Junis had gotten back sooner…" Horton grumbled.
Goesel had the same thought. Those discoveries would have made a difference if that crew had made it home even a few months earlier. As it was, those new technologies were barely into the planning stages. He also would bet that those aliens the Junis crew ran into were this 'enemy' everyone kept talking about but never officially acknowledged to the general population.
"Then we have to make sure that they won't get through our defenses," snapped the President. "We can't allow them to dictate terms to us every time they're upset about something that they don't agree with. We'll never be free of them. We will not lay down and die without a fight. Now, I understand why they hate the Terrans so much." He turned to the communications officer and ordered him to transmit once more. We can't stop their transmissions so add the video component. Maybe they'll respond face to face." The CS nodded. "Repeat your message. We did not understand your response." He was in no mood to be polite, but he was still in control of himself enough to remain somewhat respectful. Can you clarify?"
This time, Myrana appeared on the main screen glared and all but smirking at them. To her left stood one of the four supreme System Lords of the Ashtorath Empire. Both women exuded extreme anger and arrogance strong enough to be felt through the screen. "I am Myrana, humble servant of my Lord and god Astartea, ruler of the Ashtorath Empire. For clarification I speak to you in the hated Tau'ri language of the Americana Englisa that you may understand why you have doomed your world. Next to her, Astartea begin to speak. Her eyes were glowing almost white and her speech was guttural enough to make her sound more like an animal rather than living intelligent being. Those looking at her involuntarily took a step back at the menacing feature of this woman who looked human but was obviously not.
"My Lord says that your platitudes mean nothing to me," Myrana translated. "We came to you and peace and goodwill, even though you are primitive barbaric society. We offered you gifts which you rejected. We offered to our friendship which you rejected. Instead you aligned yourself with the Tau'ri. We lowered ourselves to you believing that you were reasonable people. We know that you know what is coming. You should have joined us in the struggle against our common threat. You threw our entreaties into the wind and instead embraced our enemies. You have made your decision. There is no more conversation. You are Sho'va, betrayers of your god. "You are, using the Terrans phrase, Tau'ri wannabes. Lord Astartea, will destroy your worlds rather than allow you to join the Tau'ri." Without another word, the Goa'uld Lord moved away from screen and sat down in her very gold encrusted chair, leaving Myrana to finish the conversation. There was a coldness in her very normal-looking eyes that sent shivers down everyone who looked at them. "Pray that your god is merciful and allows a remnant of your people survive to serve her."
The Goa'uld cut communications leaving a dumbstruck and very furious President Goesel glaring at a now blank screen.
There was little doubt that the entirety of the Colonies was in an uproar right now. He already imagined the panic that this conversation had just incited. People were probably rioting in the streets, grabbing their firearms, or trying to desperately seek shelter somewhere. Fortunately, the shelters provided on the different planets in case of Cylon attack were well-maintained and numerous. It was quite possible that a large majority of the people would be able to get into the shelters before the Goa'uld could break through and start attacking the planets.
He hoped that the worst-case scenarios replaying over and over in his mind was unfounded. At least the Chiefs of Staff were somewhat confident they could successfully defend the Colonies against a dedicated attack; however. Goesel had read the reports from the Terrans about how the Goa'uld operated and he was worried. Civilizations more advanced than the Colonies were wiped out despite their defensive capabilities. His gut-wrenching fear was that his people were going to be driven to extinction by established megalomaniacs who hated their cousins so much that they were willing to commit genocide rather than allow the Colonies to even partially ally with Tau'ri. They hated them so much that they couldn't even use the name 'Terran'. The irony of that situation, which he couldn't help but to internally sigh at was that the Colonies had expected the Terrans to join them, not the other way around. Today, however was a day that pride had to be kicked into the wind because the Colonies' were far more important than his mere political aspiration.
Ambassador Cheney is at Caprica city. I want the other ambassador here as soon as possible. We need our intermediary with Earth here with us. Make sure the usual security precautions are implemented. I don't want him to know where this complex is."
"Yes, sir."
Ashtorath Command ship
Astartea, one of the four Ashtorath System Lords was furious–and humiliated. It was she who devised the plan to bring the Kobollians into the empire with the infrastructure intact. She was the one who insisted that using their population as a buffer against the enemy would not only protect the empire but keep the Tau'ri from allying themselves with the Colonials. It was she who believed that the Colonial's general mistrust of the Tau'ri could be 6used to the Empire's advantage. The Colonials were somewhat advanced but not enough to be a real threat to the Empire therefore they could become useful tools. They could have been guided and become proper servants.
Her brothers and sister however argued against her proposal. The Kobollians were too much like the Tau'ri and now that they were exposed to the greater galaxy they would turn into Tau'ri themselves, primitive but developing a technology at a pace that would threaten the heart of the empire if not properly culled.
She sighed at her failure, which caused Myrana to wince in sympathy. Her predecessors had a predilection of destroying any civilization that might have arisen to stand against them. Hundreds, maybe thousands of worlds who had civilizations that began any form of industrialization were eliminated by Ra's decree. He kept the Goa'uld in control and their power base intact and his laws had served them well for thousands of years. But it had its weaknesses, too. That very policy kept the Goa'uld Empire in a feudal state with very little advances.
Ra was no fool. He did that to maintain the status quo. Slaves were rarely allowed to learn to read and write, and in most cases, it was outlawed completely. There is no opportunity for growth. This was just one of dozens of reasons why the Tau'ri were able to not only grow strong but defeat the Goa'uld Empire of old. The old fool allowed the Tau'ri to grow and prosper. In their arrogance, the Tau'ri were dismissed as a real threat and that dismissal cost them dearly. Her father, Ba'al understood this weakness and that was why he created his children. He knew the Tau'ri and their weaknesses. His interactions with the Trust and the information on the SGC and their mission logs proved invaluable. But he was steeped in the ways of the old System Lords who needed to die so that the children could become the rightful rulers of the galaxy.
The throne chair, one she designed for herself personally, offered her no comfort this day. Her plan should've worked if only it were not for constant Tau'ri interference. Their mere presence destroyed everything. The Kobollians would not be allowed to follow in the footsteps of their cousins. She hated to have failed to secure such opportunity. She hated using her precious military resources to remove this pestilence when they could be used to destroy the true threat instead. That enemy was slowly but steadily advancing into Goa'uld claimed space. The Goa'uld were fighting back but it was slowly losing ground. The Tau'ri and their allies struck against the same entities and had some success she conceded. But they were content to let the Empire do most of the fighting while they sat back and watched. She and her brothers and sister hated their tactic, but this was exactly what they would have done if they had had the opportunity to do it first. The fact that the Tau'ri were able to do it first simply added to the overall humiliation.
Yes, she made a mistake, one which she was about to rectify right now. She would drown the Kobollians in an ocean of blood. "Enlightened diplomacy no longer amuses me," she said in a cold, cold voice. "Myrana, I wish to make a statement to these Kobollians," the Goa'uld said. "They have offended their god and must be punished for their defiance. Order the fleet to crush their defenses and destroyed their most populated world first. Her fellow lord, Ashtoreth wasn't the only blood thirsty lord of the Ashtorath. "I want to hear their agonized screams over their communications' as they beg for their lives."
Myrana hid her smile. the Jaffa and servants need not to know how she was feeling the moment. The System Lords of old were correct. It was good to primitives their place in the universe. She and her sister-god were in one accord. "Yes, my Lord."
Battlestar Themis
Commander Hordann's mouth was dry. Less than twenty thousand klicks distance were delete forty-one alien warships and several hundred fighters and gunships all pointed in his direction. Those ships were not Cylon but Goa'uld and they were faster, stronger and didn't rely on layers of armor to protect them. Instead, they had energy shields like the Earthers. They had energy weapons, plasma-based beam weapons that could melt through armor like a hot knife through butter. He and his squadron would be the first to engage. They were still forming up, but this was definitely a prelude to attack on the Colonies. His small border fleet was now supplemented by no less than three battlestar fleets with more coming, and it still wasn't enough.
He already sent an email to his wife and his parents.
The Themis, one of the newer Ares Class battlestars, was the latest variant of the Mercury class. The only thing more powerful than it was the warstar, but even then, its size was deceptive. The Ares class proved is effectiveness in the final battles of the Cylon Colonial War where it proved itself one of the most effective weapons platforms built. Originally, only four were planned to be built and after the war only two were completed. With the Cylon menace eliminated, there is really no need for such an aggressive battlestar platform since there were no real enemies that the Colonials had to concern themselves with. Between the Ares and the new Minoan battlestars, the public had no interest in an increased military budget when there was no need.
That complacency abruptly changed after that disastrous conflict with Earth, where it was conclusively proven that the Colonial war machine was woefully inadequate against the powerful believed to be Thirteenth Tribe. Scientists and engineers alike, stunned by the technological capabilities of the Earthers, scrambled to upgrade offensive and defensive weapons systems as much and as fast as possible. Because of the disastrous defeat, elements of the CDF, the politicians, and the religious enclaves for myriad numbers of reasons, were deathly afraid of what the Earth could do. Furthermore, Earth's existence proved that there were other forces out there that the Colonials had to beware of. The suspicions and fears proved true when evidence of the Lucian alliance as well as the Goa'uld were uncovered.
The political figures (the ones in the know), in the Colonies were absolutely mortified when they discovered that the only reason why they were probably hidden for so long was because they were so isolated and shut away from the main sectors of civilization. The Cyrannus nebula and the remnants of the supernova some three thousand light years away have kept the Colonials isolated. Scientists thanked the gods and fate that the nebula screened the Cyrannus system from the hard radiation still being thrown out by the novas leftovers. Then there was the dead zone, or the so-called dark region that extent for thousands of parsecs in all directions that intimidated explorers, especially the Goa'uld who had no interests in exploring such a deserted region. No one expected life much less viable worlds could exist in such desolate conditions. It was a foregone conclusion that that was the only thing that really saved them from the Goa'uld who didn't want to be bothered with what was obviously a barren desert.
It was a fact that the Goa'uld were unaware of the Colonial's existence until the Colonial-Earth conflict. They claimed that they were always aware of the Kobollians but didn't wish to bother them. It was an outright lie, and everybody knew it because if they had known about the Kobollians, they would have enslaved them a long time ago.
"Commander, the bogies are confirmed at forty-one capital ships with approximately four hundred fighters. The gunships are forming up in the front of the force. They are forming into battle formation, wedge-shaped."
"And our buoys never detected them before they into normal space?"
"Negative Sir. We were unable to detect anything. They used the same type of FTL that the Terrans use. Our buoys just can't pick up any signals unless they are right on top of us. I think that the Earther IFF signals from their civilian ships allow us to track them. But these are invisible to our detection probes."
The commander nodded once. The ship was set at Condition One. Every single one of his vipers and raptors were out and prepare for battle. Behind him were thirty-four battlestars and just as many cruisers not to mentioning the destroyers and support ships. There were more arriving every second and they would need every single resource that they had. Reinforcements were standing by at a moment's notice. What disturbed him more than anything else were the actions, or rather inactions of the Goa'uld ships. They were just waiting, daring the CDF do start something. They could've easily used the hyperspace FTL to bypass most of the defenses before his forces could react properly. They could hit any target they so wished. In the pit of his stomach he had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly what you plan to do. This was a show of force and he believed that they would attempt to burn through the Colonial defenses, destroy everything before they moved on to the other targets–his worlds, his people. They weren't attacking not because they were afraid, but because they were that confident of victory.
Maybe they were confident. That didn't mean that they would pay for every step they took towards his home.
"Another Goa'uld FLT event, Commander! Twenty-five thousand kilometers out. A new group of contacts!"
Commander felt his stomach drop. "How many?"
"Another ten, including two big ones, sir."
"Let Command know we need more reinforcements…"
Athena Complex
Central Command and Communications Center
"Are our forces in position?"
It took a few seconds as the admiral rapidly conferred with the officers and intelligence operatives manning communications and receiving updates. Hundreds of people were rushing, gathering updates and issuing last minute orders. "We have three fleets in position," growled. The situation was as bad as he could have imagined. "We have fleets protecting the planets and we don't dare have them move from position. If they do and the enemy bypasses our positions, our worlds won't have protection."
"What about all of that money we've spent on orbital defenses?" Goesel asked. "Surely they could stop them from hitting us."
"Some of them," Corman said flatly. "But the fact is that the Goa'uld are far more advanced than we are." The look on his face said it all. He as well as the President knew that the newest weapons systems were at best a stopgap measure, used more as a show of strength for the people rather than an actual viable deterrent. The fear of the gods had been placed on the military after the Terrans showed their capabilities. To avoid mass panic, the new orbital defense platforms were rushed into place. Against the now non-existent Cylon forces, they were more than sufficient. Against the Terrans, it just window dressing. That were reasons why the discoveries the Battlestar Junis brought back were some vitally important. Those weapons and defenses would give the Colonies parity. "We needed more time."
"Time's up. I want the subspace transceiver set on a comm channel to Earth now," Goesel demanded with the slightest hint of desperation reflected in his voice. "I am putting in a second direct request for assistance." The silence that followed surprised everyone. To those who didn't know the magnitude of the incoming enemy threat, those words brought home in a way that nothing else could have done. "They should at least know what's happening here."
"I think we can use the stargate to send a message to Earth," Corman said a few seconds later. The Terran gate was protected like theirs, but it was possible to communicate through the gate using radio. "We have to get a message to our gate site."
"Do it."
"Corman moved off quietly issuing orders to several of the long-ranged DRADIS specialists. One of the soldiers nodded while the others began rapidly pinching commands into the mainframe computer system.
Goesel found himself doing the worst job in the world–waiting. With very little to do at the moment, he began staring at the more than dozen large television wall screen in from of him dedicated to the civilian channels of the Colonies. Some of the images were in real-time transmissions, the others were delayed by as much as fifteen minutes. The Colonial satellite system was good as the scientists and corporations were experimenting with faster-than –light communications, but it was still in its infancy stage and the lag time was still significant. But still…
The images on the screens represented all of the Cyrannus worlds and the and together, they gave a capsulized version of what was happening in the Colonies. On several screens panicked people were frantically trying to get to underground bomb shelters.
On the Tauron screen, the masses were obviously frightened. He could see it in their eyes, but they were also a resolute and determined people. Men, women, and children were heading for shelters carrying weapons and many more streaming towards military installations, demanding to help in the war effort. They had done this during the Cylon war and they were doing the same thing now.
The people on Libran were more frightened and unorganized. The reporters were stationed in areas where were some limited rioting was being observed. But it wasn't as much as many would have assumed. The Librans were far less prone to rioting as compared to some of the other worlds. Most people were besieging the reporters demanding detailed information about what was going on.
On Picon, the people seemed relatively calm and most seemed assured that the Colonial defense forces would handle anything the Goa'uld could throw at them. "After all," said one man being interviewed. "We handled the Cylons and we kept the Earthers from attacking us. I think the reason was that they knew that they'd be in the fight of their lives and they knew they didn't have the power to beat us, advanced tech or not. We on home ground. No one can beat us here," one gray-haired man-on-the-street finished with the look of total conviction.
On Caprica, things were generally quiet and the people wary. Many were heading for shelters but their seemed to be no rush to do so. CBN's Caprica Tonight was in extended overtime with news anchors Elissa Kanmi and Petre Suba. Both were grilling the Terran Ambassador–something he had every intention of doing himself before the nightmare began–about that little speech Astartea, or rather Myrana, had spouted. Ambassador Cheney was being pressed hard for answers about the Goa'uld and the threat factor level. Goesel wanted to know those details as well. He needed all of the information they could get. On Sagittaron, there was some rioting but as with Gemenon and Leonis, people were defiant, literally daring the Goa'uld to attack.
On Scorpia…
"Mister President," The Admiral had pulled him out of his observations. "On the large main screen, sir…"
Goesel eyes locked onto the face of the enemy appearing on the largest of the main screen monitors. It was a ship, or rather at least twenty of them that he could see. However, it was the one filling the screen that caught his attention.
"A Ha'tak mothership." Corman confirmed. He had almost spit the word out and it had taken strength to keep from doing so. "One of the bigger ones we've seen, probably the command ship." The ship was almost twice the size of a standard Ha'tak. "Astartea will be on that one," he said thoughtfully and began issuing more orders."
"Can we take that ship out?"
"Get through the shields, then yes," was Corman's answer. That answer didn't help Goesel's mood. "If those shields are anything like the Terran shields then it would take almost all of the firepower our forces have to get through."
President Goesel didn't like the sound of that, not at all. "We hit Terran ships with over two gigatons and those shields shrugged it off."
"Correct, and we learned from it. Our shells and missiles were designed to focus their power in a small section of the shield to stress it so that we have a chance of penetration. It should give us a better chance of success."
"These are bigger," the President said.
"Yes, sir. They are. And we have a lot more firepower to throw at them."
Goesel wished he felt convinced by those words because looking at those ships filled him with dread. At first glance the Goa'uld Ha'tak, the most common warship of the Goa'uld and most common design in the galaxy, with its ridiculous looking pyramid command center, almost looked like drunk designers' prank. When he first saw images of the Ha'tak–which literally meant pyramid ship in the goa'uld language–presented to him by the Terrans a couple of years ago, he was unsure how the thing could even fly. Now, looking at it on the screen he realized that his opinion had dramatically changed. The ship looked a lot more menacing. It appeared shrouded in darkness. Carefully scrutinizing the live image, he could see weapons ports all along the length of the vessel, and to the right of the screen he could see the power ratings of this particular vessel and what he saw shocked him. The image in front of his was far more terrifying than just reading the specs on paper or simply looking at a still image. The smaller Ha'taks and the two Cheops class combat vessels filled him with terror not for himself, but for his people. It also filled his heart with a broiling hatred for these aliens daring to attack his people.
Another alarm sounded throughout the complex. By now the President knew what the new warnings meant.
"Sir, we have another FTL event!" said one of the lieutenants operating the long-term DRADIS sensor array. "A non-Colonial jump repeat non-Colonial jump point."
The majority the people in the complex close enough to see the main screen, their eyes automatically flickered towards. "FLT event coincides with Goa'uld hyperspace vessels entering normal space, sir."
The same DRADIS officer switched a secondary screen to show the latest contacts, from a distance, the new ships looked like little dots surrounded by a sea of stars.
"We are really going to do this!" Goesel whispered.
Several of the officers including Corman began quietly cursing. Some of the others were heard praying.
"What are their coordinates in relation to our forces?" demanded Corman. "We'll need to shift our forces to make sure that we're not flanked. Switch over to the target area of the new FTL event, max resolution!" Corman squinted trying to make out the still blurry images.
"Can you get a closer image on them," Horton ordered.
"We can piggyback our signal on one the forward battlestar visual cameras, sir."
"Do it, soldier."
The seconds passed by, and then there was a quiet gasp heard throughout the room. It was quite unprofessional but Corman would forgive them their lapse. Goesel's eyes went wide. What he saw stunned him and slowly, he began to smile. "Reinforcements," was all he needed to say.
"The entire command center erupted in cheers, the President among them.
UCW Mashantucket
Commanding a starship was one of the culminations of Colonel Samantha Carter's dream. It wasn't her only dream; however, it was one of a long list of things that had already been achieved. Her career literally spanned the stars. She was on her second tour of the ship that was first prefixed Earth Ship. Now that name changed from Earth Ship to UCW, the fledging organization that started from the union of several worlds including the Tollanians, Hebrans, Langarans, the still living but hidden for now Asgard, and the Orbanian. The organization was young and messy like any newborn. It was also full of energy and youth. The combined scientific community were making technological breakthroughs that twenty years earlier wouldn't have been thought possible for another century. All of the worlds were the caught up in the technological upheaval but the UCW was stabilizing quickly, learning how to unify as a single unit rather than individual worlds. Years would pass before it was stable and that was acceptable. The very young took time to develop, as the Nox would say. Surprisingly, even the pacifist Nox were interested in the new alliance to a certain extent. They acted more as guides, which as far as Carter was more than acceptable. Their wisdom would certainly come in handy.
As far as command went, Carter would have been happy with one of the second generation 304 Terran battlecruisers. The Daedalus' were powerful ships and became the workhorse of the Terran fleet. The newer generation Block D variants were coming out of the docks now with several generations of improvements, the results of collaborations from several different worlds. The S-405 Mako class battlecruisers were just starting trials. Samantha would have been happy to command any of those ships but because of her service and dedication to the defense and protection of Earth, not to mention a dozen other accolades, she was offered command of the first rebuilt Aurora, one of three found in the Pegasus galaxy. The vessel in question was towed to Earth where it was stripped down to its frame and rebuilt. The Lantean tech was extremely advanced but their weapons systems were sorely lacking. The Earthers, Tollanians and Langarans were agreed on this one point: the ships required better and more robust weapons systems.
The Lanteans would be shocked at the number of weapons their 'children' managed to stuff into the Mashantucket. The vessel wasn't powered by a ZPM, but it did have a first-generation neutrino ion power core. It was the size of a Greyhound bus and gave the combined worlds scientists designing and building it no end of grief. It was achieved only with the limited help of the Asgard AI, that for some reason wouldn't give them details and schematics, only hints. The AI did yell at them once, an action one knew was possible, when the ion-converter flow distributer was designed in reverse. The AI actually cursed in Asgard. The word 'fools' was mentioned several times in the diatribe. Needless to say, it was a humbling experience.
It was huge and ungainly, but it worked. And it was built by Coalition scientific and technical experts who gained invaluable, first-hand experience. Carter agreed completely. Knowledge was great, understand was better along with the wisdom to go with it. Knowing how to build was just as important as having automation. In her opinion, the last thing Earth and their allies needed was all of these technological advances and having no clue as to how they were built. That was a recipe for disaster.
All of those thoughts filled her mind (along with theorizing about non-linear equations as related to transporter buffer configurations) while she sat in the Captain's chair. The main viewscreen offered the bridge crew the of the swirling view of blue and white hyperspace/ the crew was used to it now and barely even notice one of the true wonders of the universe. On the smaller monitor on the right showed the relative positions of the squadron. Four of the battle cruisers were in relatively close formation acting as a screen for the Auroras Mashantucket and Arikara. The Auroras were test beds for the new Magnum class warships being built around the basic design of the Auroras. The first would be completed in three years and until then the Auroras would carry the workloads as they were doing now.
Her XO, Donald Copland just finished speaking to the Sensors Officer. "They've upped the number to forty-one capitals, support vessels and about their newer death gliders."
"So many," Carter answered. "The Colonials wouldn't survive against a dozen Ha'taks. Twelve's more than enough firepower to lay waste to all of their worlds." She thought for a moment. The Goa'uld hate being insulted," she mused. "I think they want to hurry and destroy the Colonies before help can arrive. The Empire can't track our ships and may be worried that we might interfere before they can destroy those worlds."
"Well," Donald shrugged. "That is their SOP."
"True." Smiling mischievously, "I wonder if the Colonials remember that we monitor their communications?"
Copeland smiled back. "I'm sure they do. They need the help. I remember what it was like when Anubis' fleet surrounded Earth. If it wasn't for you and your people, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"The UCW authorized this action and our primary mission. Two birds with one stone."
"Yes, ma'am. Exiting in two minutes."
"All ships, battle stations. Hold your fire until my command."
Exiting in one minute…fifty-nine…fifty-eight…"
On the main speakers, the radio crackled to life. The transmission cut through all standard communications including secure military frequencies.
"This is Colonel Samantha Carter of the United Coalition of Worlds battleship Mashantucket. To all Goa'uld forces, you will stand down yourself from this and leave this system and its territories. The Cyrannus star system is under the protection of the United Coalition of Worlds. If you attempt any aggressive actions against the Cyrannus Colonials, we will consider this a declaration of war against the UCW and act accordingly."
President Goesel, microphone already in hand even though he didn't remember grabbed it opened his mouth to speak. Before he could, a second transmission occurred. This was also in Americana Englisa, so the translation was almost instantaneous. The voice was recognizable it was Myrana.
"Insolence, Tau'ri kel ma filth! I speak for the glory of the Ashtorath Empire and the great god Astartea. You dare dictate terms to your god? We will burn these worlds and then burn your precious coalition if you interfere."
On the screen. Corman and Goesel were dumbfounded as they watched two huge Terran ships slowly closing in the distance. One they had seen before. Goesel was being virtually being ignored and he didn't like it, but he was content to see how this played out. Instead, he chose to stare at the image of the Terran vessels closing in. All of the ships types were recognizable. One he knew. It was the same ship that ferried former President Adar, his wife, Admiral Cain and some missionaries to Earth. It was a huge ship, slightly larger than a battlestar and now, there were two of them along with eight of their standard battlecruisers.
The Colonials had no idea what classification those two particular ships were. What they were looking at were two Auroras. The Colonials classified the ship as a heavybattleship type I. the other Aurora, slightly smaller and more streamlined would be eventually classified as a Type II heavy battleship capability unknown.
These warships supplemented Lantean drones with Tollanian ion beam and Asgard plasma cannons. Terran railguns complimented the CIWS. The ship was a heavy missile carrier supplemented with one Gen-one neutrino ion power core and eight naquadria reactors, giving it all of the power it would possibly need.
The Goa'uld had never seen such a ship before and the Tau'ri had went out of their way to make sure that the snakes hadn't. They were not pleased and the threat potential of the Tau'ri had just increased by an order of magnitude.
"We just lost the video portion," one of the comms officers yelled, getting everyone's attention. "The audio is still function. Repeat, we still have audio."
"Keep it opened," Corman ordered. "Try to re-establish the video feed."
A feminine voice was heard coming from the main speakers. The accent was unusual but the President, Corman, and Horton immediately knew who it was. "We will not allow the destruction Colonies of Kobol Your claims of being more enlightened when compared to the Goa'uld System Lords of old doesn't hold up in the light the current situation. I remember the things that Ba'al did quite well and I see that you're no better than he was."
"Onak arik kree. You dare to defy us over these 'Sho'va' when you know of those that threaten both of us? We know that you don't trust them. We know that they tried to conquer your world. Why would you trust these primitives you should be allying yourselves with us against a common enemy?"
Colonel Carter went silent for a moment as if contemplating Myrana's none too subtle hint of a possible alliance. What was more surprising though was that Astartea was allowing her to speak for her, without interference. No Lotar was allowed to even consider such a position of authority. The Tok'ra had mentioned these sets of twins that seemed to hold such power. This was the first time Carter or the UCW had seen one of them. It was…interesting.
Colonel Carter responded. "The Kobollians are not 'Sho'va'. They are not traitors to your Empire nor are they part of your Empire. They are an independent government living the way they want to without your influence. Your plans to destroy them isn't because they've insulted and rejected you, but because you are afraid that they might join us and thus become a greater threat to your Empire. You know that together we're stronger than we are separated from one another. But we have something that we can offer them that you can't. A choice. I understand you lowered yourselves and asked a primitive society to join you instead of butchering them and taking what you wanted which is your normal pattern. Very political of you. Well, the UCW must disappoint you. We will not allow you to do this. If you want to start a war then by all means fire on the Colonials, then we will see what happens. End transmission."
Thousands had died for daring to utter such defiance to a god. Astartea was seething. If she wasn't a goa'uld, she would have had a stroke. Her loyal Jaffa and servants were frightened but angry as well. An angry god was a vengeful one but the Ashtorath didn't kill their servants needlessly. Punished them, yes but not mindlessly. That little action made their servants even more loyal to them.
Myrana and Astartea faced each other. Each seemed frozen for a minute both wrapped in silent communication. No, Myrana wasn't lotar. She was something else entirely.
UCW Mashantucket
"End transmission," Carter ordered. "Weapons lock onto the Command ship. Asgard plasma and ion cannons at full power. I don't want her getting away. I want that ship to be the first one destroyed."
"Yes, ma'am. Locking on. Weapons at one hundred percent."
"Fire at my command only," she ordered. "Let's see what they'll do first."
For more than a minute there was absolute silence. Then, a transmission.
There will be another time, Tau'ri beast," Myrana said. Her words and dripped with venom. "It would be a waste of resources to destroy you now. You are needed to help destroy the enemy. But when it is over…. when it is over, my Lord's will watch you die a thousand deaths before you join your world in oblivion. This, the Ashtorath Lords decree. We will remember you, Samantha Carter of the Tau'ri. you and all of SG-1 would die screaming a thousand deaths for your defiance of the Ashtorath Empire."
Carter couldn't help us all she had to say one last thing. "Better goa'uld than you have tried. You'll have to get in line which isn't that long these days, is it?"
Tau'ri filth. Ona rak ja'do," Myrana snarled. The transmission cut off.
Because those communications between the two were audio only, the Colonials were unable to see the looks of utter hatred that both Astartea and Myrana sent to Carter. What they did see were the Goa'uld ships slowly turning around and transitioning to hyperspace without a shot fired.
In the Athena Complex the applause and congratulations and screaming was deafening. Corman allowed the celebration to continue for a couple of moments before he silenced everyone. Goesel pressed the transmit button on the microphone, completely forgetting that the transmission was still live throughout the Colonies.
"Colonel Carter I want to personally thank you and those under your command, the United Coalition of Worlds, and the Terran government, for assisting us in avoid a catastrophic war. But I must ask how, did you get here so quickly?"
"We were in the area," she said simply. "We were aware of your speech and we strongly suspected how the Goa'uld would respond. We have no intentions of allowing people to be wiped out we had anything to do with it. we are responsible for the Protective Planets Treaty. You are not part of the PPT, however that does not mean that we are not concerned for your health and welfare. We have our differences, but we have no intentions of having you fall to the Goa'uld. It is in our interests that your people continue and remain free of goa'uld domination."
What does this mean that your government is considering allowing us to join your coalition?"
"Mr. President, sir. I'm not the one to speak to concerning those political decisions. But the Goa'uld are right. There is a situation developing and I have been authorized to discuss this with your government. We've also come here bringing a diplomatic envoy to meet with you. This envoy wishes to speak to you personally so that the problems you two have can be resolved."
Goesel was extremely curious as to who it might be. "Who is this envoy that you're speaking of?" What else could happen today, he wondered. "I ask this due to our circumstances. It would be better to delay this meeting," he suggested.
"It may be in your best interests to meet with him, sir."
Goesel didn't like her tone. Was this some kind of veiled threat? "Who is this envoy?" he asked. He had a long day and trying to remain civil was becoming increasingly difficult. He hated the way Earth threw its weight around just because they could. He had also concluded that they were doing it on purpose and there was little he could do about it. Earth had what the Colonies needed, and they knew it, and they knew he knew it.
"The envoy is Emperor Risson, First Male of the Race, also called the Lizardians by the wider galaxy, 37th of that name, Supreme Emperor of Home, Home II, Hallessi and Rabotev, and potential future member of the UCW. He has come personally to mediate with your people to avoid war between your people and his. Shall I return him back to Home?"
"The Race"? someone muttered. "The aliens?"
Corman's were wide eyed. He was trying not to yell. "Sir," he hissed. "We are still live across the Colonies!"
Crap! This day kept going on and on. Goesel struggled not to begin hyperventilating. "I will be glad to meet the Emperor," he said with a jubilation he didn't feel.
What else could happen" he muttered–after he made sure the microphone was off.
TBC
And back to 'Roads Paved in Shadow'