0932 Hours, October 16, 2183 (Council Calendar)
Atlantis, Novus, Milky Way Galaxy
Jack took a sip of his instant coffee, forcing down the bitter black liquid as he needed all the caffeine he could get. It had been a busy week since the disaster of a first mission to offload some of their surplus materials. When Ellis and Sheppard had contacted them via a subspace a day after they'd arrived, Jack had nearly taken a ship to New Rivers himself to tear both Colonels a new one. Carter had managed to talk him down enough for him to see that Ellis and Sheppard really had no choice in what they did. He figured he was more upset with the situation than the men themselves. It was supposed to be a simple drop off and pick up at the mailroom, in and out. Getting into a battle was not what he had been hoping for. Not to mention the fact they'd exposed some of their advanced weapons and technology.
According to his men, they'd managed to deflect most of the questions surrounding their technology by simply claiming it was experimental, even alluding that they'd found some Prothean technology out in the Terminus Systems. Sheppard didn't think that this Administrator Rollin bought it, but for some reason he didn't raise any objections and simply let them finish offloading and leave without any further questions. Sheppard had noticed that there was some… odd things about the Administrator and some of things he noticed during the Batarian raid. He suspected that there was something else going on with the internal politics of New Rivers, and because of the amount of materials Atlantis could provide and the help they gave Rollin was willing to let his questions go to the wayside. Either way, they had a strong ally now with the Administrator on New Rivers, as well as the security forces on the planet. And they'd gotten a large sum for the materials they sold to them, so Jack felt they'd come out ahead for the most part. He just hoped whatever politics were being played there wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass.
'But they probably will' Jack mentally sighed.
His office door chimed and slid open, and Colonel Mitchell walked in alongside his… mini-me. The two stood in front of his desk and stood at attention and waited for the General to finish going over a supply report that had found its way across his desk. Completing the reading, he rubbed his eyes and tossed the datapad across his desk and reached for his coffee again, taking another large gulp.
He nodded to SG-1's current CO and SG-42's CO, "Mitchell, Jon, to what do I owe the pleasure and interruption to my morning reports?"
The young Captain snorted as he rolled his eyes, "Come on, old man. It's not like you were really reading those reports, I would know."
Jack glared up at his clone in annoyance. Having the kid around was a constant point of contention for him. He knew everything that the General knew, and thus knew exactly where and what buttons to push to make the older man want to tear his hair out. When he had heard that Jon had joined the Airforce, and then Stargate Command's academy, he had been… apprehensive to say the least. He thought the kid was going to stay away from the military, but eventually came to realize that in Jon's place he wouldn't have been able to stay away from the Gate for long either. When the time came to beam up as many people from the Earth as they could before the Ori wiped them all out, he knew that the young man would be among those saved. And while he still wasn't all that comfortable with the smartass Captain, something that made him cringe knowing that they were same person, he was thankful to have such a skilled and capable officer leading one of their SG teams.
'Jeez, does that count as narcissism?' he questioned himself.
Mitchell cleared his throat before another insult-laced shouting match started, "Sir, you wanted to know when the first batch of prototypes were ready for testing. We just got word that the Tok'ra and the Jaffa weapons masters are waiting to show you."
At that, Jack jumped up from his seat with a smile on his face, thankful to have an excuse to get out of his office and away from those reports, "Great! I've been waiting forever to see what kind of fancy space guns they've trying to come up with! Let's get down there."
The General walked past the pair of officers and through the door of his office. Mitchell and Jon shared a smirk before following quickly after the older man. They walked through Stargate Operations, past a few techs manning the sensor control and power monitoring stations before heading down the stairs. Walking past the Stargate and through the doors leading to the hall, they continued walking until they reached the transporter closet. The three stepped inside and Mitchell tapped the point on the map of the city that led to their outdoor shooting range. There closet whirled for moment before the doors opened again, and the trio stepped out again and walked down the hall.
"You know, Sheppard told me that the weapons we got from the Quarians worked better than we'd hoped. He said it was like using an automatic sniper rifle with the weight of a SMG," Mitchell commented as they walked, recalling what his fellow team leader told him of the battle on New Rivers, "I wish we'd had them back in our own universe. Could have helped out a lot over the years."
"Yeah, sniping someone from a few kilometers away sounds pretty sweet," Jon agreed, "But if these new weapons actually work, we'll have an even bigger advantage over the infantry of this galaxy."
All three of them liked the sound of that. The weapons, barriers, and Omni-tools they'd received from the Quarians had evened the odds and made sure that their ground forces wouldn't be severely outmatched if, when, they got drawn into conflicts. But they only had enough to outfit about a dozen of their SG teams. For the rest of their forces, they'd need to get back out there and buy shipping containers worth of the stuff. Unless their scientists could get their own weapons program and manufacturing up and running. Still, even if the tests were successful today, they were months away from being able to outfit all their forces. If not longer.
A few minutes later they exited the tower they were in and walked outside into the warm sun. A few meters beyond the exit the shooting range was waiting. There were numerous Jaffa, Airmen, and Marines getting target practice in, even a few Quarian Marines were with them showing them various kinds of eezo propelled weaponry. Further down was a larger group that had gathered around a metal table with several exotic looking rifles and pistols. Walking closer, Jack could see Bra'tac, Teal'c, Sheppard, Carter, and a few other SG team leaders and Jaffa standing around. Admiral Zorah was accompanying them as well, waiting patiently alongside the rest as they continued to conversate.
"I told you already it's alright, after hearing you apologize for the twentieth time…" Sheppard stated with an exasperated sigh as he faced the Admiral.
"I know, but I can't help but feel the need to express both mine and my people's most sincere apology. We had no idea that New Rivers was about to come under attack when we told you to go there," Zorah stated as he wringed his hands over each other.
"Seriously, it's alright sir. I mean, I'll admit I definitely had a suspicion when those pirates came down," Sheppard chuckled, but after seeing the pointed looks from his colleagues and friends he back peddled, "But it was just for a second! I mean, it wouldn't make much sense for you guys to try and deliberately send us into an ambush."
Carter shook her head and stepped in, "I think what Colonel Sheppard is trying to say is that we're theorizing that the pirate ship that got away when we rescued Rola and Jal must have reported us to other raiders in the Terminus Systems. Maybe they had contacts on New Rivers and sent word for them to attack because of us."
"Or perhaps it was all merely coincidence, and we were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. I doubt we shall ever really know," Teal'c interjected.
Before Zorah could respond, Jack walked up to the group with Mitchell and Jon behind him, "Howdy folks, I'm glad to see everyone up bright and early. Though I see I got my invitation to the party last," he commented as he looked over at the Colonel and Captain beside him.
Jon shrugged as he rocked back and forth on his heels, "Oh yeah… sorry about that, they sent me to go get you about an hour ago, but I got distracted by the pancake buffet they got going on in the mess. Mitchell here got sent to find me, then to find you."
Carter rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Well, we'll make sure to send a more reliable runner next time sir," smirking when she saw the Captain raise his arms in mock protest, "But if you all make your way over here, we can begin the demonstration."
With that, everyone walked over to the table and observed the weapons resting on it. Carter nodded at the Jaffa weapons master and Tok'ra scientist standing there, who smiled and nodded in return. She reached for the rifle and hefted it into her arms. The rifle was a mess of wires, crystals, polymers, and welding keeping the whole thing together. In the core there was a liquid Naquadah power cell the powered the whole thing. The power modulation control system that kept the weapon from blowing up every time the liquid Naquadah was drawn on was based on the Staff weapons and Zat guns. There was a simple iron sight on it.
"We've incorporated the same plasma repeating technology that Anubis used for his Kull warriors, but we've refined it using the more powerful modulation system from the staff weapons. What has resulted is an automatic plasma rifle with a much higher level of accuracy than either weapon. Thanks to the liquid Naquadah, ammo will never be an issue for it either," Carter explained as she turned and faced a target down range.
About twenty meters away was a dummy wearing the chest piece from a hard suit that they'd received from the Quarians. Its kinetic barrier was online and active. It wasn't the best armor or barriers that credits could buy in the galaxy, but it was meant to show the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of these new weapons. The Colonel raised the rifle to her shoulder but frowned as a wire started to stick into her cheek. She reached over and tucked the wire down and away from her face before readjusting and aimed down the sights. Exhaling, she squeezed the trigger and a burst of golden plasma burst from the barrel. The bolts were long and narrow, almost like glow sticks, accelerating far faster than a standard bolt fired from a Staff weapon. A dozen bolts slammed into the chest piece of the dummy, the kinetic barriers not even registering the energy discharge as smoke erupted from the point of impact. As the smoke cleared, the chest piece had several glowing red golf ball sized holes that were still steaming as the heat began to dissipate away.
Nodding in satisfaction, Carter put the safety on the weapon and turned and set the rifle back on the table, "Well, I'd say that was a successful test."
Jack stepped forward to get a better look at the practice dummy down the field, "Nice! So, when can I get one?"
The Jaffa weapons master stepped forward, "We must still preform stress tests, both environmental and combat related before they will be ready for use in battle. But it is our hope that we can begin to outfit our warriors with them in several months."
Carter concurred with the old Jaffa's statement, "There's a few more kinks we also need to work out, namely compacting the design and creating a stable casing for it to hold all of these wires and circuitry. We've also been working on side arms using both plasma and Zat technology," she pointed out the pistols sitting on the desk next to the rifle.
"We tore out the inner workings of the Zat'nik'tel and put them into more a standard pistol design," a Tok'ra stated as she picked up one of the pistols that had a blue energy shining through parts of it, "It's more accurate, but maintains the same power as before: one shot stuns, two shots kill."
Mitchell nodded in appreciation, "Good, I love the Zat gun don't get me wrong, but it'd be nice having some sights on the damn things."
Admiral Zorah looked at the weapons with keen interest, "Incredible… I've seen the demonstration of your Staff weapons, but to have these kinds of guns at your disposal…" he trailed off as his scientific mind thought of various scenarios where these weapons could be used.
Teal'c nodded in agreement, "Indeed, these new weapons will make our warriors a force to be reckoned with in this galaxy."
"In that we are in agreement, old friend. I do believe I speak for everyone on the senior staff that we should make the development of these weapons a priority. While I am appreciative of our Quarian allies for the weapons they provided," Bra'tac nodded to the Admiral, "We need to be able to develop our own weapons as well. Colonel, how goes the development of our own Element Zero weapons?"
At that, Carter shook her head in frustration, "That's been a tougher nut to crack. Creating the weapons themselves isn't as much of an issue as actually having enough Eezo to make the number of weapons we want. Plus… well, to be frank with the number of weapons manufacturers there are in this galaxy, whatever weapons we'd be able to slap together with Eezo wouldn't be even close to comparable in quality to theirs," she explained, noting the looks of disappointment from her friends and superior, "It makes more sense to buy what we need from professional weapons developers, some of whom have had literally thousands of years to perfect their craft."
"And I'm guessing that using the Asgard synthesizer is still out of the question?" Jon asked.
Carter shook her head, "I'm afraid so. It's not a matter of understanding the scans of the weapons or equipment, but rather power. We need to be careful about our power expenditures, and I'm afraid that using the synthesizer to produce everything we want is just going to be wasting that power. Especially when we can get everything we need and want out there without sacrificing it."
Bra'tac nodded in understanding, "Then it is well that we focus our efforts on creating what we cannot get elsewhere. Besides, we should have more than enough funds after Colonel Sheppard's mission, correct?"
Mitchell nodded, "Oh yeah, we've got more than a penny and dime. Plus, if we keep selling to New Rivers, we're gonna have plenty of funds to use for other resources: food, medical supplies, maybe a few new couches to put in the lounge."
Jack smirked at his replacement, glad to see that the man had loosened up a bit in the time since his taking command of SG-1. He had a point though; the amount they'd gotten from the materials they'd dropped off on that colony gave the enough to not only pay back the Quarians for fronting them for the Apollo's IFF but more than enough to do what Bra'tac and Mitchell were suggesting. Money had never really mattered to him all that much, but without the US government and the IOA giving the Stargate Program all the funds they needed, well, he was starting to appreciate having Miss Mal Doran here to give suggestions like she did.
"Alright, let's put our R&D efforts into this project. In the meantime, I'll have a list put together for Ellis the next time we send the Apollo out to New Rivers. Hopefully they'll have mostly recovered by then and we can get what we need from them," Jack stated as he started to mentally think of what exactly they needed.
"I'll talk to Elizabeth as see what she can think of on the civilian side of things, I'm sure there's more than a few," Sheppard offered, reaching over and grabbing one of the new Zat pistols, "Hell, I wouldn't mind getting some new drafts and bottles for Remembrance. I'm already missing that little place we stopped at… and those burgers…"
"Mmmm, speaking of which," Jon said as his stomach started to growl, "If there's nothing else to be done here, I'm gonna head back to mess, I'm starving."
Jack turned and gave the Captain and a look, "I thought you said you got pancakes already?"
Jon shrugged in response and rubbed his belly, "I'm a growing clone, so I gotta eat. Not that you'd understand that, you know, with your slowed down metabolism."
There were a few chuckles at that, but before the General could formulate a proper and witty response the young man sent of a quick salute and jogged for the entrance to the building. Sighing, he turned back to everyone else who had quickly looked away or coughed in an attempt to cover their amusement. All except Bra'tac who continued to smile and chuckle at the General's expense, being one of the few who didn't feel the need to censure himself for the sake of the chain of command.
Jack just rolled his eyes and turned towards the rest of them, "Alright, everyone dismissed. Teal'c, Bra'tac," he nodded at his two friends who followed him as they started walking away from the testing range.
Carter turned back to converse with the Jaffa weapons master, Tok'ra scientist, and Admiral Zorah. Within seconds the conversation had gone far over the heads of those remaining. Mitchell motioned for his fellow SG team leaders to follow him towards the range, commenting that Sheppard should show them in person the tactical experience he'd picked up on New Rivers in person.
Jack and the two Jaffa leaders continued their walk away from the range towards the pier. Feeling the sun beating down on him, the General pulled out his sunglasses and rolled up the sleeves on his green BDU's. He looked over at the other two, noting in jealousy that despite their heavy robes they looked as if they were taking a stroll in the middle of fall. They kept walking until they reached the edge of the ground where the deck broke and allowed an inlet of water in between.
"So, I've been meaning to ask you guys what you thought of the New Rivers mission?" he asked the pair as they slowed to a stop.
"I am unsure as to what insight we could provide O'Neill that you have not already thought of yourself. It is unfortunate that our first venture into the galaxy at large ended as it did, but I believe our people did what was right and honorable in repelling the slavers," Teal'c replied.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm not saying what Ellis and Sheppard did was wrong. Even if I was mostly ticked that we almost got burned again… but it's got me thinking that maybe we should pull back on trying to get out there so soon…"
It was a fair thought. Jack's primary focus was the safety and security of his people, especially those who were going to be representing them out in the galaxy. And while he knew that his people were the best of the best, they couldn't afford to lose even a single person.
Bra'tac shook his head, "Our people are safe here, and we are able to take care of ourselves now without help from the Quarians if we so wished. But… I do not believe that means that we should simply hide ourselves from the rest of the galaxy. Your people are explorers, and ours are warriors. I have read much about this new galaxy we find ourselves in, and I believe that there is much we can offer each other."
"And many atrocities that we can prevent," Teal'c added, his gaze narrowing as he thought of the raid on New Rivers.
Jack sighed and leaned back on his heels, "Easy big fella, let's try not getting ahead of ourselves just yet," he replied, though he'd be lying if said he wasn't thinking the same thing.
It was another thing that he'd been wrestling with ever since they'd arrived. Hearing about how the Batarian Hegemony not only used slaves extensively in their own society but bought slaves that were captured in raids from colonies throughout the Traverse and Terminus Systems. He and everyone else in the Stargate Program had spent the better part of a decade fighting to rid their galaxy of slavery. The idea that this Citadel Council let it go on baffled him. They obviously had the capability to do so. He couldn't help but make comparisons to the IOA. At least the Systems Alliance were willing to strike back at the Batarians, albeit in limited fashion.
And he wasn't the only one who was thinking this; ever since the Apollo had returned, news had spread throughout the city of the battle that had taken place on New Rivers. And once the news that SG-2 and the Apollo had prevented the raiders from taking thousands of slaves became widespread information, the reaction was… divisive, to say the least. A lot of the civilians were, understandably, nervous at the prospect of being drawn into another conflict with an alien race. But most of them, the military personnel, and the Jaffa were also outraged at the thought of innocents being forced into slavery. Already talks were going around various circles of sending their ships out into the Traverse and even Terminus to root out pirates and slavers. Not that any of the senior staff could blame them really, but even so they wanted to try and keep the number of conflicts they participated in to a minimum if they could help it.
"So, we keep going as we've been doing?" Jack asked.
"I believe it to be our best course of action, for the moment. At the very least, we will continue to build up our supplies and acquire the means to obtain more equipment for our warriors," Bra'tac replied.
Teal'c hummed in agreement, "Indeed. If we continue to stay away from Council space, it is likely we will run into more pirates and slavers. We will need to be prepared."
"Can't argue with that," Jack replied, letting out a deep breath and deciding to table the conversation for another time, "In the meantime, I was hoping you guys heard from Rak'nor. He was checking out a possible new mining site we got from the Quarians…"
Teyla stepped out of the Jumper and onto the soft grass of the mainland, taking a moment to breathe in the fresh air and smell the salty aroma of the ocean as the breeze blew towards them. She turned towards the water and took in the sight of Atlantis as it glimmered in the sun just offshore. There wasn't a cloud in the sky today, and the air was warm, causing a slight sweat to begin to break out on her forehead. Thankfully, she was wearing loose garments; a purple sleeveless tunic, a pair of tan hiking shorts, and velcroid sandals. The planet was still in its summer season, but would soon begin to turn to a very short fall before winter settled in. As such, the Athosians and other Pegasus societies were working around the clock to harvest all the crops and sow the soil before the weather changed.
"Ahh… I needed this," a voice spoke behind her, "Fresh air, hot sun! Maybe we can head down to the beach if there's time after this!"
Teyla smiled and turned to see Eleni Kateson, Dr Jackson's protégé, who was dressed in similar fashion to her, except she had on a large sun hat and glasses. The girl had become one of Teyla's favorite new additions to the civilians that had been helping throughout the city. She was inquisitive, charming, and had a positive outlook on her life that Teyla very much appreciated. She'd been helping Dr. Jackson, Mr. Woolsey, and Elizabeth research the different races and cultures of the new galaxy alongside side other volunteers in order to create First Contact packages.
Today, however, she wanted to accompany Teyla to the mainland to see how the harvest was going. And so that she could get a break and get out into some nature since she had not had a chance to see the mainland since they'd landed on Novus, given her busy schedule of classes and research.
"Ehh, I hope not… I don't do so good in the sun," another voice commented.
Eli Wallace, the boy genius as many had taken to calling him, stepped out from the shade of the Jumper as well. He had traded his usual sweats and signature red shirt for a large Hawaiian flower-shirt, a pair of white swim trunks, and some sandals. His face was white from the heavy lathering of sunscreen he'd put on. Squinting his eyes, he looked around before reaching into his bag and pulling out a pair of aviators and putting them over his eyes.
Teyla glanced at the glasses in recognition, "Are those John's"
Eli smiled and nodded happily, "Yeah! Colonel Sheppard overheard me saying that I didn't have any, so he leant me these! Pretty sweet right?"
"Yes, they make you look quite dashing," Teyla replied with some teasing and a chuckle, "Though I do believe that you almost have Rodney beat when it comes to applying sunscreen."
Eli's face went slightly red at that, and not from the heat, "Oh, really? Is it that noticeable? I wasn't sure how much to put on… I mean I haven't been to the beach since I was a kid with my mom, and she was usually the one who did it. I can wipe it off if-"
"Keelah, it's hardly even noticeable. You're pale enough as it is, it looks the same to me," a light, slightly mechanized voice called out as a suited figure walked just behind the young man, staying within the passenger compartment of the Jumper.
Rola was the final member of their little group, though a willing one wouldn't be the best way to describe her. She'd been taking a break from training Taur'i marines and Jaffa in the use of Omni-tools and combat tech when Eleni and Eli came bursting into the mess. Before she could even have a chance to protest, the pair grabbed her and dragged her to the Jumper bay and tossed her in. The whole ride over she was complaining that she had a ton of reports to write still, reports that she'd been putting off for almost a week. But before she could ask Teyla to take her back, the pilot reported that they had landed.
Rola was still standing in the Jumper as she stared at the grass covered ground, and then the ocean beyond and the city before turning back to her friends, "…I've never set foot on solid ground before."
Teyla raised her eyebrows at that, "Really? You've never been to a planet before?"
"I've been in orbit sure, maybe in flew in atmosphere once or twice. And I suppose living on Atlantis technically counts… but standing on grass and dirt? No, I've never done that," she replied as she stood still on the ramp.
The three humans watched, curious and a little amused that the Quarian seemed to be frozen stiff by the, for lack of a better term, alien environment. When Teyla thought about, she could understand why Rola was so apprehensive about stepping foot on the mainland. The Quarians lived their entire lives in space, in cramped quarters without ever getting a chance to leave their ships to explore forests or plains. She remembered times living on Atlantis back in their home galaxy where she went several days without leaving the city to travel to another planet for a mission or even visit her people on the mainland. She felt the desire to want to get out and stretch her legs after only a short time, so she couldn't imagine living her whole life like that.
Teyla nodded and stepped onto the ramp and towards the young Quarian, "I understand. This must be a… new and confusing experience for you," she softly stated as she placed her hand on Rola's arm.
Rola nodded as she took a moment, inhaled deeply, and stepped off the ramp with the Athosian. The sunlight took over the shadows that covered her, and her mask tinted to compensate for the bright light. She looked down at her feet and felt them sink slightly as she stepped over dirt and blades of grass. She rubbed her feet around in it, watching as the ground moved and deformed around her. She crouched down and picked up a handful, letting it fall through her fingertips. She tilted her head in interest, watching the dust fall to the ground.
Eleni crouched down next to her, "A little different than the immaculate halls of Atlantis, right?"
Rola glanced at the girl and nodded, "Some of our older ships accumulate dust, but I've never seen this much organic material in person…" she stood back up and faced the group, "Quarians who leave on their pilgrimage are able to go wherever they feel they need to in order to find a gift to bring back. Some head to worlds like Illium, others go to stations like Omega like me and Jal. I just didn't think I'd ever get the chance to see a garden world like this."
Eli stood back up, "Well, you're here now! So, do we all wanna get going?"
Teyla motioned for everyone to follow her. The Puddle Jumper had landed just outside of the settlement that her people and others from Pegasus had set up, so it wasn't a terribly long walk for the three. As they approached, they could see a variety of tents and wooden homes forming a large town of sorts. The senior staff had offered to construct homes, and even some prefabricated ones that they'd acquired from the Migrant Fleet that was the norm in this galaxy. But most of the societies that had escaped the Pegasus galaxy on Atlantis were agrarian, and thus were more comfortable in building their own homes from materials they could find in nature. The only non-wood building in the whole town was the medical building at the center; a large prefab building that held everything from a pediatrics clinic to a full-blown surgical operations center for emergencies.
As they walked down the main street, many people stopped and smiled and sent words of greeting to Teyla, which she graciously returned. Ever since they'd all come to Atlantis, she'd become something of hero and unofficial leader of the Pegasus people. She was the one who'd convinced them to help the Taur'i and Jaffa set up farms on the mainland. While they weren't exactly comfortable with living in the hard walls and angles of Atlantis, many of them were still afraid to leave the safety of the city of the Ancestors. But since they needed to get crops going as their population was more than their hydroponics could handle, Elizabeth had asked Teyla to see if she could get some of her people to help them. But to her surprise, when she asked, everyone from Pegasus stepped forward. When she'd asked Halling about it, he explained to her the stature she was looked at now by them all since it was her relationship with the Atlantis Expedition that helped convince General O'Neill to allow them to be brought aboard. It filled her with a great deal of discomfort as the last thing she wanted was to be looked at as better than anyone else. She had been made the leader of her people, but the thought of being the leader of all the remaining peoples of Pegasus… it was a great burden that she had not been expecting.
As they came to the edge of the town, they could see the grass and dirt give way to tall stalks and rows of various vegetables and fruits from both the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies. Large, small, and various shapes and colors, the produce they were tending went on for acres and acres and was more than enough to sustain the population of Atlantis that now numbered several thousand. To their right, they could see several large barns and stables that housed the livestock they had brought with them from Pegasus. Some looked not unlike those found on Earth, with fur and paws and looks that could be described as cute. Others, however, were truly alien in every sense of the word: lizards the size of donkeys, armadillo-like creatures that seemed to behave almost like pigs. Some were used to produce milk; others were to be used for meat and eggs. It had taken the Earth-born civilians of Atlantis some time to get used to all the new kinds of foods, much to the amusement of Teyla and the Pegasus residents.
"Teyla!" a voice called out from behind them.
Turning, she saw Halling swiftly walking up to her with a bright smile on his face. She returned it and walked over to meet him. The pair grabbed each other's arms, closed their eyes, and put their foreheads together in the greeting of their people. A moment passed, and the two broke allowing Teyla to raise a hand the other three figures standing behind her.
"Allow me to introduce Eli Wallace, Eleni Kateson, and Rola'Jaram vas Nuvo. Everyone, this is Halling Treeko. One of my oldest and dearest friends," Teyla introduced everyone to each other.
Halling smiled and walked down the line and offered greetings to the two humans before stopping at Rola, bowing his head in respect, "Welcome Rola'Jaram, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the mainland. In fact, you're the first one of your kind to visit us."
Rola nodded in thanks, "Thank you, Halling. And I would like to apologize for that. Quarians are simply… more comfortable in confined spaces. And given how few of us are there in our Embassy, we do not find ourselves with much time to take to ourselves."
"I understand. Still, we are happy to have you here. We owe your people a debt of gratitude," Halling bowed his head, appreciation clear in his voice.
"A debt of gratitude? For what?" Rola asked.
Halling stood back up straight, "When we first arrived in this universe, we were already going to bed many nights with empty bellies in order to keep our food supply going as long as possible. Thanks to your people, we were able to change that until we could grow our own food again. And," he pointed a finger at the medical center, "The medicine you brought us… Medi-gel, you call it, has helped many of from being forced to spend weeks recovering from injuries that would have slowed us down during the harvest."
Rola was silent for a moment, trying to think of a response to being thanked, something that neither she nor Quarians in general were used to, "I see... well, then on behalf of my people, you're welcome," she stated, a small smile behind her mask that no one else could see.
Teyla stepped forward, "I came to see how the harvest was proceeding. As well as show Eli, Eleni, and Rola some of the settlement."
Halling nodded, "Come, I will show you."
The five started walking down the fields as Halling explained some of different farming techniques that were used on Novus. Dozens of different tribes and cultures had joined the Atlanteans before they left the Pegasus galaxy, from a variety of different planet types. All their collective knowledge allowed them to adapt to Novus's environment and get their farms up and running much faster than the senior staff had anticipated. Combined with more modern techniques from their Earth counterparts who'd managed to get to Atlantis, Halling explained that it wouldn't be long before they had more food than they knew what to do with, which was a first for everyone from Pegasus. Unfortunately, this also meant that the harvest was going to be quite large, and they had no heavy machinery that was common use on Earth. Which meant they had to do it all by hand.
Eli's eyes widened, "Uhh, that's a lot of food to pick by hand…"
Halling nodded, "We have most of our people here participating in the harvest, but my fear is that we will not be able to get all of it before it begins to turn."
"Why don't you see if we can get volunteers from the city?" Eleni asked, drawing attention to her, "There's plenty of people who aren't really doing anything on a day-to-day basis. I think it would be good for them to get out and do something useful."
Teyla smiled at the thoughtful young lady, "I think that is a wonderful idea, Eleni. I will bring it up with Dr Weir and General O'Neill. I'm sure they will agree that those who do not already have duties on Atlantis should help gather the food that they will be eating."
"I'm still surprised you have people just… well, sitting around everyday not contributing," Rola commented, only realizing a second later how that sounded based on the looks the humans were giving her, "I mean- that's not- what I meant to say was… I'm sorry, I'm not very good at talking to humans still…"
Teyla shook her head and waived her off, "It is alright, Rola. I understand what you mean."
Eli looked at the SG-2 member, "You do?"
"I'm sure she meant non offense… but understand that those who were born in the Pegasus galaxy lived hard lives. In our societies, everyone helped with the planting and harvesting, or with hunting, maintaining shelter. Not to mention the threat of a Wraith culling that was constantly on our minds. Like the Quarians, we all had to contribute for our people to stay alive," Teyla explained.
The young man rubbed the back of his head in admonishment, "Right… and people from Earth have had it easier than anyone else here…" he replied, looking down at his belly in slight shame.
Rola reached out and grabbed his hand, "Hey, you've been through a lot as well. Escaping your homeworld before it could burn to ash, fleeing to another galaxy… then to another universe? Your people have come a long way."
"Huh, I thought you still didn't buy that we were from another universe?" he asked with a smirk.
Rola's glowing eyes rolled behind her helmet, "Well… maybe I'm starting to come around to it."
A throat clearing caused the pair to look over to see Eleni with her arms folded over her chest, an eyebrow raised, and her mouth scrunched as she tried to hold back a laugh that was no doubt building. They followed her eyes which were looking down towards their feet until they reached their own hands holding on to each other. They looked back up at each other, their eyes widening as they broke contact so fast one would swear that they had just been told the other was infected with a deadly virus. Eli suddenly found the sky far more interesting while Rola folded her arms across her chest and turned to watch some farmers tending to their crops. Eleni shook her head and gave a pointed look at Teyla, who in turn smiled but didn't say anything.
Their tour ended with Halling saying that he had other matters to attend to; something about a dispute with another of the villages established further down the coast. Having seen most of the main settlement, the four decided to head down to the beach like Eleni wanted and spend some time relaxing in the sand. As they walked down, they could see dozens of other people laying on towels and swimming in the calm ocean water. Teyla spotted a familiar face standing just beyond the tide. The man was wearing a fishing cap and vest, holding a large rod that whose line was cast out. There were several others alongside him, spread out so their lines wouldn't tangle.
Teyla waved over to him as they approached, "Carson!"
The Scotsman turned towards the call, smiling as he realized who it was, "Ah, Teyla! Good to see you, love! Come to join us on this wonderful day?"
Teyla chuckled and shook her head. Once Atlantis had landed on Novus and they'd established themselves, Dr Beckett had tried to get many of the senior staff to join him on weekend fishing trips. Most had declined, coming up with one excuse or another. General O'Neill on the other hand loudly voiced his desire to join, and equally voiced his displeasure at not having the time to do so. But word got around the city and eventually others from the civilian population and enlisted ranks had decided to join, and soon enough they had themselves a fishing club. And whatever fish they caught was brought to the markets and mess halls so that they could be cooked and served for others.
"I'm afraid not. We were touring the settlement and decided to enjoy some free time here," Teyla replied as she motioned to the younger three behind her.
Carson looked behind her, his smile widening as he noticed them, "Ladies, lad! Good to see you out of the city! It's a perfect day for the beach, isn't it? I don't suppose any of you would be interested in trying to catch that huge crappie?"
The three looked at each other for a moment before coughing and trying to find a way out of doing just that. Carson sighed and shared a knowing look with his friend before turning and sticking his pole down in the sand.
"That's alright, I know it's not as exciting as learning about new cultures or exploring alien worlds," he chuckled, noting the looks of relief on Eli and Eleni's faces that they hadn't offended him, "Though I hear that you two are well on your way to joining some of our SG teams in the near future!"
Eleni beamed at that, "I hope so! I've been wanting to get out and explore space since we arrived here!"
"Same! I can't wait to meet some of these new races," Eli added, before a cough drew his attention to his right, "Not that meeting you guys hasn't been amazing!"
Rola chuckled and waved him off, "I can understand your excitement. I felt the same way when I left for my pilgrimage. There's a whole galaxy of civilizations out there; trillions of people to meet… of course, my first time out was on Omega. I don't recommend it."
Carson nodded and grimaced, "Right… Suni mentioned that place to me while I was with the Fleet. Can't say I'm particularly fond of the idea of going to such a place."
Changing the subject, Teyla turned back to her friend, "I'm surprised to see you out of the medical ward, Carson."
"Aye, I have been up to my nose in it lately. But Dr Keller and Dr Lam are more than capable of running things without me… and Dr Weir suggested that I take some time for myself. So, here I am," he replied with a smile, "But, don't let me keep you four from enjoying your day. Have fun!"
"And you as well Carson," she replied, bowing her head, "Come on everyone."
With that, the four moved their way down the beach. Along the sand line, they could see a variety of people from off-duty marines to families whose kids were running in and out of the water. Some were simply relaxing on their towels catching as much sun as they could, others were enjoying whatever food they packed up. Moving further down the beach, they came to an open area where the three humans went about unpacking their stuff. Laying down towels and unpacking their water and food, they began to take off their shirts and get comfortable on the soft sand. As Eleni sat and leaned back on her hands, she noticed Rola standing awkwardly off to the side of them.
Looking up at her suited friend, she patted the towel next to her, "Come on Rola! Lay down and get your tan on!"
Rola rolled her glowing eyes, "My suit protects me from UV radiation. I can't 'get my tan on'."
"It's the principle of the matter: it's all about relaxing and enjoy doing nothing," Eleni replied with an even bigger smile, patting the towel again.
Staring at the human girl, the Quarian sighed and sat down on the towel beside her, pulling her legs close to her chest as she tried to get comfortable. Eleni nodded and laid fully down on her back, sticking a pair of headphones in her ears and playing her iPod. Eli pulled out a book from his bag and started reading. Teyla simply sat on her towel and observed the three. She smiled at the youth before her, at the role that she knew they would play in the future. Looking back out at the rest of the beach, she smiled even brighter as she watched children of her own people and those of the Taur'i and Jaffa playing in the sand.
Sighing in satisfaction, she closed her eyes and let the sounds of the children playing, the people talking, and the ocean waves crashing against the beach fill her ears.
1382 Hours, October 18, 2183 (Council Calendar)
Enoch System, Rosetta Nebula, Terminus Systems, Milky Way Galaxy
Rak'nor sat in the command chair in the Pel'tak of Apophis's Bane, one of the four Ha'tak that had made the journey to this new universe. Rak'nor was one of the most experienced Jaffa in Atlantis, a veteran of the Goa'uld war. As such, he had been given command of a Ha'tak and a company of soldiers consisting of both Taur'i and Jaffa. Over the last few months, the Bane, alongside the other hyperspace capable ships of the Atlantean fleet, had been tasked with searching for raw materials that their people could use. And now that they were trading with New Rivers, the need to keep a steady supply of materials flowing was even more important. So, he and his crew were tasked to explore this system and search for a new vein of ore that they could begin to mine. He leaned back in his chair as he waited patiently for the bridge technicians to finish their system wide sweep. Just as he was thinking of ending the sweep and ordering them to jump to a new system to try again, an alert rang out on the bridge speakers.
"Report," he ordered firmly as he stood up and walked towards the main console.
One of his Jaffa sisters stood and ran her hands over the neural interface, causing the holoscreen in front of the view port to change to show a representation of the system, "Scans are detecting an artificial structure on the surface of the third planet from the system's sun. Low level power readings seem to suggest that a high level of technological advancement."
Rak'nor frowned, "Take us into orbit."
A few minutes passed, and before long the ship was orbiting a brown and green orb. Staring out at the planet, Rak'nor couldn't help but feel a little homesick for their lost homeworld back in their own universe. Clearing his mind, he ordered his crew to scan the planet for life signs. A moment later, the scans came back with no detectable life signs of humans or other aliens.
"How large is the structure?" he asked as he stared out the viewport.
"It is difficult to say… it appears that the structure is underground with a single access tunnel to the surface… the majority of the structure has collapsed, leaving a small chamber from which the power source is emanating from," the sensor controller replied as her hands danced across the golden console.
Rak'nor found himself wondering what his next step should be. Up until now, they'd been sent to uninhabited systems and managed to get in and out without any sort of complications. But detecting an abandoned structure on a habitable world? He wasn't sure if this system had owners, or if they were the remains of an ancient civilization. He suddenly was wishing that SG-1 was with them, given their abundant experience with this kind of find.
"Have first squad prepare for deployment. I will lead the scouting party myself," he ordered, leaving the bridge to return to his private quarters and gather his equipment.
On the planet's surface, there was a large opening in a mountain valley in the north. Surrounded on all sides by high mountain walls and vines growing, one could almost describe the area as tranquil if a bit claustrophobic. Seven pillars of light appeared on the ground with a harmonic whistle before depositing four large, silver armored Jaffa and three hard suit armored humans. The group took in their immediate surroundings, they cleared the area before lowering their rifles and staff weapons.
Rak'nor took a step forward, noticing a cave entrance just ahead of them. He raised his left arm and opened his Omni-tool, swiping through the screens before pulling up his sensor suite and scanning for the energy pulse they had detected in orbit.
"It appears that the energy source is coming from within that cave. Hord'il, Corporal Bernard, you two hold the entrance. Everyone else, on me," Rak'nor ordered as he walked towards the cave.
The Jaffa and human marine took up positions on either side of the entrance as the other five individuals made their way down the cave. As the light from the entrance began to fade, the Jaffa activated the lights on their Omni-tools while the other two marines turned on the lights on their rifles. They kept a steady pace as they continued down the tunnel, but as they progressed, they began to see scuffed but silver walls gaping through the stone and rock.
"Clearly some advanced civilization used to be here. Not a very large place though, maybe an outpost of some kind?" Sergeant Rothberg commented as she observed the walls.
Rak'nor nodded in agreement, "Hmm, that would seem to make the most logical sense. Or perhaps the civilization was buried in some kind of cataclysm. It must have happened thousands of years ago. They must have been quite advanced, if this power source is still active after all this time."
"Perhaps we should contact Atlantis for Dr Jackson's assistance," one of the Jaffa behind him suggested.
"I concur. Which is why I sent a subspace communication before we beamed down. Hopefully, they will be able to send an Al'kesh with SG-1 as soon as possible. Until then, we will secure the site and ensure that there is no danger."
The group continued, making their way deeper into the cavern and through have buried walls and doors from whatever civilization called this world home. As they continued, they passed through a large opened that must have been a warehouse sized door at one point. Moving inside, they found themselves in large chamber. Inside, there seemed to be a bright, neon green glow that perforated the entire chamber. The group could see the source of light came from the far side of the chamber. They walked their way towards the end, slowly and surely making sure they didn't make any missteps. As they neared the far side, they stopped a few meters away from an object that both fascinated and unnerved them.
A large, obsidian pyramid stood over a dozen feet high from the ground. In between the pieces of metal that made up the device were lines that resembled translucent circuitry that glowed the same earie emerald as the miasma that glowed all around the device. A low hum that seemed to burrow into the heads of the Jaffa and humans observing the device echoed throughout the chamber. In front of the pyramid was waist-high column. The other human marine seemed entranced by it, her hand raising and reach out towards it before Rak'nor's hand shot out at lightning speed to stop her. A moment later, a green holographic interface appeared over the column, causing everyone to take a step back.
"No one approach… this… whatever this is. Sergeant, you and two others shall remain at the cavern entrance. The rest of us shall return to the surface and await reinforcements from Atlantis," he ordered as he too felt himself entranced by the device, and not liking it.
Quickly the group retreated from the device and out of the chamber. Before long, Rak'nor and the others not guarding the entrance reached the surface and reported back to the ship what they had found. He ordered the Bane to send another message to Atlantis, insisting that they send SG-1 and a science team as soon as possible in order to discover what the device actually was. Rak'nor was not sure what it was, but he felt an immense feeling of dread when he thought about the noise and energy the device was giving off. What he did know, was that they had found something. Something that they should not have, something that should have been left alone.
He prayed to his ancestors that it would not bring ill to his people and city.
