Dragon of Eclipsing Moon: Imagine the effect, when they are finally reunited.
Jyggilag: The Scots are an Irish tribe from present-day Ulster who conquered part of the kingdom of Alba (Picts) to found the kingdom of Dál Riata. The arrival of the Vikings prompted the merging of the kingdom of Alba and Dál Riata into one kingdom: Scotland. This is why the language spoken in Scotland is Scottish Gaelic, a variant of the Gaelic spoken in Ireland. At the time Scathach lived, Scotland did not yet exist. She lived in the Hebrides isles which were part of the Dál Riata kingdom so she was considered Irish. Saying she was Scottish makes as much sense as saying Gilgamesh was Iraqi.
brayanamaya: I doubt that Hakuno can control a god... even a mechanical one.
Gacin: I didn't take your answer wrong. I'm sorry if I seemed aggressive, that wasn't my intention.
Boyzilla: As I said, the hardest part of riding a tiger is getting off the saddle... For Ba'al's sake, I hope Anubis' computer gives the exact location of Atlantis. Otherwise, Gilgamesh might want to blow off steam on the first Goa'uld he sees.
Author's note: again I thank all the comments and kind words of the readers. Thank you for your support.
Wraith Invasion
Lantea, Pegasus Galaxy, the City of Atlantis.
The high city floated over one of the oceans of Lantea. Seen from the sky, it looked a bit like a snowflake. But on that peaceful night, the sea reflected the lights of its gigantic futuristic towers clustered around the Control Tower, a skyscraper with dizzying dimensions.
Somewhere in the central tower, a room was plunged into darkness. The windows were veiled by bead-colored gauze drapes. This bedroom was furnished with low furniture made of waxed wood. Copper vases and candles were placed on the tables and dressers.
The queen-size bed right next to one of Atlantis' typical pillar lamps was unmade.
A body moved weakly under the sheets...
Teyla Emmagan was dreaming, but it was more of a nightmare. Her skin was covered in sweat and her head was moving on one side and then on the other.
Teyla was a Wraithkin, meaning that - although human - the young woman had Wraith DNA. This gave her the ability to detect the presence of nearby Wraiths and also to connect to the Wraiths' telepathic network.
In fact, the young Athosian wasn't really dreaming...
Her mind saw a terrifying spectacle but she recognized Wraith architecture, hence her feeling of anguish.
Teyla felt like she was wandering through hallways... or was it the inside of pulsating, wet viscera?
No, they were passageways... or more precisely, corridors of a Wraith spaceship. The alien ship was a biotech creation closer to a living being than a machine.
The young Athosian saw Wraiths dressed in long black leather coats, she recognized their very pale green face, their white hair and goatee, their yellow eyes. They walked in the passageways where a thick mist that went up to the calf stagnated.
In addition to the Wraith officers with their own personalities, Teyla also distinguished warriors, muscular giants but with faces hidden by hideous masks without slits for the eyes or mouth. They were merely insect soldiers. They had no significance in the Wraith society because they didn't think for themselves.
But the young Athosian did not wander freely inside the immense Hive Ship. In fact, she came on board because her sensitive mind had received a message... a message that was not meant for her but that attracted her like a magnet attracts iron.
Finally, the young woman arrived in a vast almost empty room except a throne against the wall facing the entrance. Surrounded by several warriors and a commander, Teyla recognized... a Wraith Queen!
Her face was almost human if one forgot the yellow eyes, the nostrils a little too wide, and the slits on the cheeks. Her smooth hair was as purple as her lips.
Sensing the presence of Teyla, the queen raised, her mouth open in a defiant cry revealing sharp teeth.
In her bed, Teyla awoke with a start, her eyes repulsed by terror.
Almost an hour later, the Gate room.
Located almost at the top of the command tower, the room was especially important because it hosted the Stargate of Atlantis standing against one of the walls, and the Center was located on a balcony in a cornice and occupied by many ancient control panels.
Normally, at night, only a minimum crew kept watch. But the situation was no longer normal, all the control stations were occupied and even Elisabeth Weir's office was illuminated.
Leaning against the door frame, John Sheppard was listening to Teyla tell Dr. Weir about her 'dream'. Sitting in the second guest chair, his legs crossed, Ronon Dex was for once silent, very attentive.
Finally, the young Athosian ended her report by giving her impressions.
"I've never felt such a strong call! I think this queen has called all the leaders of the Wraith confederations."
"The 28 Sovereign Queen" replied Weir in disbelief.
Teyla simply nodded.
Behind her, Major Sheppard seemed pensive.
"The Wraiths are extremely territorial. The relationships between the queens who lead the various confederations are at best... sensitive. Open war is rare, but so is cooperation. It would take an event that would jeopardize the Wraith's domination of Pegasus for them all to unite together."
Elisabeth Weir turned to the other alien in the room.
"Ronon, what's your opinion? You know more about the Wraith than any of us."
"I think like Sheppard, I believe they hit a snag. The really big kind."
"Yes but what? Or who?"
McKay who came from the control room took that question for him. Without looking up from the tablet he was working on, he entered the office with his finger raised like a triumphant.
"Well, that's exactly the answer I'm giving you. Remember the hyperspace detector?"
"The one whose function you never understood? And whom you had left for months until one of the last living Lanteans explained to us its role and functioning," intervened John Sheppard with a mocking smile.
Stung, Rodney finally looked up from his tablet and turned to the major.
"First of all, it's not my fault. I go with the rest of the team two to three times a week, and then I have other research. It is Zelenka who is to blame, he had all the time he needed, and he..."
Elizabeth Weir intervened in a dry and firm tone.
"McKay! What did you find out?"
Rodney remained for a moment with his mouth open, as if frozen in the middle of his explanation, and then he turned to the director of the Atlantis expedition, again working on his tablet.
"This detector is used to locate hyperspace windows. Wraiths ships are alive. Also, they tolerate radiation from hyperspace only for a few hours. They therefore frequently return to Einsteinian space to rest."
Connecting his tablet to a holographic projector, Dr. MacKay brought out a 3D map of Pegasus. Points gradually appeared while a timer counts the passage of time at a greatly accelerated pace.
"These are the windows that have appeared in the last three hours... Except when we pulled them out of their hibernation, the Wraiths have never been so agitated. Given the timing, several hyperspatial windows must have been caused by the same vessel during its trip. With a bit of logic and a lot of calculations, I'll pass you the details. It's too complicated for you, besides my genius dazzles me once again... So, I've isolated three trajectories here, here, and there."
On the hologram, three lines appeared connecting points on the map.
"By extending these trajectories to where they intersect, I extrapolated their destination."
A red circle appeared on the hologram.
Lifting his eyes from his tablet, Rodney stopped, visibly looking for congratulations. But Dr. Weir seemed rather exasperated.
"Doctor McKay, am I to understand that the Wraith are headed for a planet that we have already visited?"
"Yes, of course."
"I have to guess? Rodney, where are the Wraiths going?"
Looking at the hologram the unbearable Canadian flinched and corrected the 3D projection. Numbers and letters appeared in the circle indicating the destination star.
"Oh, I forgot this... um, uh, they're heading for M7R-227."
Teyla and Ronon did not know by heart the coordinate system used by the Tau'ri. On the contrary, Elizabeth and John blanched by understanding the implications.
"Asuras" they exclaimed simultaneously.
"I don't understand what the Replicators did but what is clear is that the Wraith now consider them a priority danger, and it's a chance for us," Rodney replied.
Still lying in his chair, Ronon smiled blissfully.
"Yeah, either the Replicators smash the Wraiths or the other way around. In both cases, the winner is weakened and one of our enemies has disappeared. It's all good for us! Maybe we should prepare a big bag of popcorn and watch the battle from a distance."
But Teyla Emmagan did not share the enthusiasm of her friends. She even seemed rather worried and uncomfortable. She certainly wasn't the most intelligent member of AR-1... but she was the most intuitive.
"All this happened because of Hakuno Kishinami."
"I don't see why you say that. A Replicator more or less, I don't see what it changes!"
But all the other persons present turned to Ronon, staring at him. The Satedan seemed surprised by this reaction.
"What? I'm right, don't I? This toaster hasn't changed the history of this galaxy, as far as I know!"
Pegasus Galaxy, Asuras (M7R-227), 50,000 light-years from Lantea.
The room with its black plasticized floor was brilliantly illuminated by shojis-like wall panels and the kind of huge blue gems inlaid on top of the black stone pillars that supported the ceiling. Aligned along the walls, guards were frozen like statues. They were easily recognizable by their two-tone jumpsuits and the holster of their pulse pistol to the belt.
Three slightly spaced tables formed a crescent moon.
The table in the middle had only one occupant: Oberoth, while the other members of the Asuran Council were seated at the other tables.
Asuras was run by a democratic government consisting of two factions, on one side the traditionalist current (4 elected) was installed to the left of Oberoth. Members of that party believed that the Pegasus Replicators should continue to behave as they had always done, imitating the Ancients, behaving like them, and using their technology.
The Niam Faction, also 4 members, was installed on the right of Oberoth. Contrary to the traditionalists, this group believed that the Replicators could reach Ascension... which would prove that they were more than machines and equal to their creators.
As Oberoth, the High Councilor, himself belonged to the traditionalist faction, the Niam Faction was in a clear minority.
At that moment, all the members of the council were listening to Thena who was finishing her report.
"... once the Wraith spaceship was destroyed, we sent a boarding party aboard the Sirius. They met some Wraiths but easily eliminated them."
Thena touched the light panel built into her work table and virtual screens appeared floating in front of all the councilors. These screens showed Sirius' bridge.
"As you can see, the Wraiths were busy examining the wreckage."
A man dressed in light grey pointed at the strange 'machine' which looked more like an insect, placed in front of one of the consoles.
"Yes, the Wraiths seem even especially interested in the main computer core. You see the access panels are open and wired to this living machine."
"That's right," Thena confirmed. "But the Wraiths couldn't break into the computer. Moreover, we also failed... Sirius uses unknown software based on an unknown programming language. But Hakuno understands this language and can give orders to Sirius... In fact, I think she alone can give orders to the Sirius now."
"You brought back the Sirius," asked a man with short hair.
"Yes, Ormaz, it was the orders of the High Councilor. We had to bring the Sirius back to Asuras so that it would be carefully examined, looking for information about the Moon Cell Automaton. '
Oberroth took the floor.
"Thena, Liem, I am aware that you have brilliantly accomplished the mission I set for you... despite the unexpected presence of the Wraiths. But you must also be aware that the situation has changed... because of Hakuno Kishinami."
The two Asurans exchanged a glance and it was Liem who spoke.
"I guess it's related to what we called the 'Hakuno Upgrade'?"
Oberoth nodded.
"Apart from you, all our brothers who participated in the operation are logged on board their ships or at the orbital shipyard where the Sirius is examined."
"I see," replied Thena. "You suspect that we are carrying a dangerous virus."
Somewhat surprised by the anger of his political ally, Obertoth fleeced her with a cold and arrogant expression.
"Don't take this precautionary measure personally. But this change in your nanite program has not been approved by the Council. It is my duty as High Councilor to verify the safety of such a modification of your operating program. And it is my privilege to order any emergency measures that the situation requires. Also, until you have undergone a full examination to verify that a Trojan horse malware has not been added to your programming, you will be kept in safe isolation."
Oberoth was about to say something else, but a priority message came through the subspatial link connecting all the nanines together.
A Wraith fleet had set a course for Asuras!
Dakara System, Milky Way
Five Ha'taks had just left Hyperspace. Two of them were 600-metre Transports Ha'taks, whose rounded superstructures made them easily identifiable. Three others were Combat Ha'taks with angular superstructures, reaching more than 700m in diameter. In fact, three of them were non-modified versions of the millennia-old Combat Ha'tak model... the fourth was Ba'al's flagship. Her shields, armament, hyperdrive, and other key systems had been upgraded using Ancients technology.
As soon as they returned to normal space, the Ha'tak fleet began to deploy the parasitic units they were carrying, squadrons of Death Gliders, Tel'tak, and Al'Kesh heavy bombers.
The Pel'tak (bridge) of Ba'al's flagship was a gilded room covered with Goa'uld hieroglyphs. Between the two doors leading to the Ha'tak's bridge, there was a black partition adorned with the logo of Ba'al. This Goa'uld was standing in front of his own symbol, seated on a golden throne whose armrests were adorned with push-buttons and light indicators.
The flames of two braziers revealed the appearance of the 'god' leading this fleet.
The bearded Mediterranean-type man seemed perfectly in control of the situation, majestic and dignified... even if he had a mocking half-smile that proved to those who knew him well, that he did not take himself entirely seriously.
It must be said that a few weeks earlier he had met the son of a real goddess... a demigod who hates the gods.
Bal'al turned aside in the direction of a gold throne far more majestic than his own. Sitting between scarlet drapes, Gilgamesh was dressed in his golden armor, too heavy, too splendid for a mortal to clothe himself with. With his chin resting on his palm, humanity's first hero looked with boredom towards the porthole in the shape of a parallelogram which was the only opening to see outside.
This window was also a viewscreen and a HUD that displayed information about the situation. In addition to the Allied ships that were rapidly deploying around Ba'al's Ha'tak, other points appeared in red at long distances and the term 'danger' flashed on the screen.
The pilot in front of the kind of altar used to control the Ha'tak turned aside.
"My Lord, the enemy is changing formation. Sensors identify a Transport Ha'tak and at least twelve Death Gliders squadrons. There are also other artificial objects on the move, but they are too far away to be identified."
Ba'al punched his armrest.
"They really want to fight! They are not afraid of damnation and dare to rebel against their masters!"
This reply made the king of Uruk laugh.
"They dare to doubt your divinity, my friend? But it is incredible, even unimaginable. How could such a crazy idea come to their mind? Maybe you should do a miracle or two to discourage them from having such a stupid idea again. Maybe adding a second sun into the system, for example. It should surely greatly impress the rebels and bring them back to worship you as the god that you are."
With his face briefly distorted by annoyance, Ba'al acted as if he had heard nothing. Turning to another Jaffa standing behind a crescent-shaped desk, he called him.
"Hail our enemies. I want to speak to their leader!"
"Yes, My Lord!"
The Jaffa passed his hand on the touch keyboard and repeated a message several times. At the fourth iteration, the window of the Pel'tak seemed to cover itself with mercury. An image formed, undulating slightly.
It was the face of a Jaffa with a metal skullcap. He had a goatee and dark skin. But on his forehead - where the symbol of his god should have appeared- there was only an acid burn.
Ba'al stood up in his throne and his eyes lit up briefly with a yellow light.
"Kree tal shal mak, shol'va (identify yourself traitor/ heretic)! How dare you rise up against your gods?"
"I am Rak'nor of Chulak, son of Dell'nor. Very weak are these so-called 'gods'. Imhotep died before my eyes. I also witnessed the cruelty of Apophis and the treachery of Heruur! You are not immortal creatures; your only power comes from the sacrifice of millions of Jaffa that form your armies. And how have you rewarded us in return? You have tortured us and betrayed us! You deserve no loyalty, no dedication. We will show all Jaffa that the masters they serve have no power!"
Ba'al became pale.
"Don't you care about your immortal soul!? Benna! Ya wan ya duru! (Kneel before your masters!)"
"You have no power over my soul, Na'onak (Not a god)" interrupted Rak'nor with a furious voice." You are just a filthy parasite capable only of cunning and lying. Your tongue is your most powerful weapon. But no one here listens to the poison of your voice!"
This time Ba'al was really angry.
"Kal kek m'al shol'va (Ready to die, traitor)?
"I doubt that you are, Na'onak! But ready or not, today is the end of your long tyranny."
The Free Jaffa had adopted a rather passive attitude. Encouraged, Ba'al had deployed his forces widely. Each Ha'tak had to attack Dakara on a different trajectory with her fighter escort. The Tel'tak and Al'kesh were grouped into squadrons that also went on their own vectors. Onboard his own Ha'tak the so-called god was now advancing on a path passing between the fourth and fifth planet of the planetary system.
Briefly, a Death Gliders patrol of the Free Jaffa had approached the Mothership but Ba'al immediately ordered to open fire.
The Jaffa behind the firing altar put his hands on the two blue half-spheres and concentrated. Immediately, the Staff Weapons started shooting, tracking the enemy space fighters. Several Death Gliders disintegrated, and the others changed course before fleeing, sending distress calls.
After this first skirmish, the Ha'tak resumed her advance slightly altering her trajectory in case reinforcements arrive, drawn by the calls of the first patrol.
A few minutes later, they spotted several enemy Ha'taks surrounded by fighter patrols. The Free Jaffa were deployed in a standard research formation. Benefiting from improved sensors, Ba'al's flagship spotted them long before they did.
Obeying his god's orders, the helmsman changed course to avoid the enemy. Quickly, the divergent trajectories of the two formations drove them away and the Jaffa became a simple echo that faded in the distance.
Through coded and over-condensed messages, Ba'al communicated with the rest of his forces without the risk that these messages would betray his position. Until then, everything had gone according to his plan. His forces were advancing without encountering any more opposition than he encountered himself. This was not surprising in fact. A planetary system represents a truly gigantic space. Even "neighboring" planets are several million kilometers apart. So spotting an object as small as a Ha'tak... well small on the scale of a planetary system... was a challenge. It was actually easier to spot the energy releases from shields, explosions, or weapons fire. Nevertheless, there was a difference between perceiving a release of energy and being able to pinpoint it precisely. A planetary system was filled with many natural energy sources that jammed long-range sensors. In particular, the Dakara sun projected at any given time several coronal mass emissions. Each of these solar flares released as much energy as several million H-bombs.
Despite this, they could not avoid all patrols. The Jaffa were too numerous, and they coordinated their search. Only a few minutes after spotting the Ha'taks' fleet, as they approached Dakara's orbit, three Al'kesh of the Free Jaffa spotted them.
As soon as they saw Ba'al's flagship, they positioned themselves into attack formation.
The gunner was not surprised and opened fire as soon as the heavy bombers arrived in range. The shots of golden plasma streaked the void, while the Al'kesh dodged attacks by brief lateral skids. But Bal'al's chief gunner was very competent, he focused on one opponent. A first strike hit home, and the shield of the Al'kesh materialized in the form of a half-sphere of golden light. On the third shot, the Al'kesh went out of control and exploded.
There were two enemies left.
The Jaffa bombers were already too close for Ba'al's helmsman to avoid the attack. Diving rapidly toward the Mothership's hull, the two surviving spaceships dropped plasma charges. This Staff Weapon-like but with brighter projectiles did not even shake the shields of Ba'al's ship.
Certain not to be in danger, Gilgamesh had watched the attack with an annoyed detachment. On the other hand, the Goa'uld was furious.
"What are the fighters doing?"
Four squadrons of Death Gliders remained with Ba'al's Ha'tak to protect her. But they had been unable to intercept the Al'kesh. In fact, they deliberately placed themselves behind the Mothership... so as not to interfere with flack fire.
Even as Ba'al was making his bad mood known, the pilots accelerated catching the bombers and starting to fire.
Of course, the Free Jaffa responded with the Staff Weapon turrets under the belly of their Al'kesh. But their opponents were elite pilots, and they knew how to protect themselves. As soon as a Death Glider drew to it the fire of an Al'kesh, it quickly deviated to make an avoidance trajectory.
Simultaneously his comrades opened fire, attacking en masse from above, or on the other side.
Under intense bombardment, the shields of the two Al'kesh collapsed and were quickly finished. As the second bomber turned into a burning gas ball, the fighters returned to the flagship, without having lost any of their own.
Ba'al laughed at full lung when he saw the space station floating above Dakara. It was not a fortress, but a simple commercial relay, around the bronze wheel surmounted by a pyramid of the same alloy, orbited two squadrons of fighters and some Tel'taks. A very weak defense force...
"Well, Ba'al's ruse must not be underestimated, where is the mighty fleet of this... Rak'nor of Chulak? Busy tracking ghosts all over the planetary system? What is the point of numerical superiority if one does not concentrate its forces where it is really necessary"?
About to give the order to attack, Bal'al held his hand to his ear, his face tense with pain. In fact, everyone on the Pel'tak had the same reflex.
The Jaffa in chainmail, grey cape, and skullcap standing in front of the communication console turned off the alarm sirens.
"My lord?"
"Speak!"
"We have just received a priority message, immediate order to stop the attack!"
Ba'al squared his eyes, both astonished and offended. Who could have the impudence to give orders to a god?!
"An order?! An order from whom?"
The Jaffa continued to read the message that appeared on a virtual window above his console.
"My Lord... this is an order from Anubis AND the Council of System Lords."
Ba'al frowned... it was impossible... Certainly, he was currently allied with Anubis, but the latter was at war with the System Lords.
"What exactly does this message say?"
"I quote, My Lord,: 'Unknown aliens have just burst into the galaxy. They are mechanical creatures. They attack all the ships and all the planets on their way and seem to feed on metal. Our weapons are almost ineffective. They are heading towards Dakara. You must defend the planetary system.' The message is collectively signed by Amaterasu, Anubis, Bastet, Camulus, Kali, Morrigan, Olokun, Svarog, and Yu-Huang Shang Ti, My Lord."
As the Jaffa spoke, his console continued to ring, and he opened the messages one by one.
'We have received other communications, and we have also picked up the communications that the Shol'va received, My Lord... The Tok'ra, the Tau'ri, and even the Asgards are issuing warnings that are very similar to the message of the System Lords. The Tau'ri and Asgards call the mechanical creatures 'Replicators'. They even say that the Replicators are looking for an Ancients' superweapon that would be on Dakara. If they find it, they will destroy all living beings in this galaxy!"
Lying on his throne, Ba'al took a few moments to recover from the shock.
"Hail Rak'nor of Chulak, ask him to contact me immediately. We no longer have time to fight among ourselves... we must prepare to receive these... these Replicators!"
Gilgamesh frowned. Mechanical creatures? Interesting...