In the Face of True Power

by tom476ty18

A mission into the Stargate goes terribly wrong for the Solar Government. After more than twenty thousand years of space exploration they have finally encountered alien life, but not as they expected. Now the highly advanced Tau'ri must somehow navigate their way around an ever more chaotic galaxy. This is their story. [AU]

3. On the Aftermath of the First Expedition

On the Aftermath of the First Stargate Expedition

September 10th

Year: 135 ME29

Debriefing transcript of Doctor Catherine Langford.

Project Giza Expedition Director

1st Stargate Exploration mission

[Following the disastrous event of the 1st Stargate Expedition. Sol Intelligence must investigate what happened during the first contact with humanity's encounter with a newly undiscovered alien civilization. This interview aims to figure out why it happened and how we could prevent a similar occurrence. Joining here today for this debriefing is Doctor Catherine Langford, Project Giza Expedition Director 1st Stargate Exploration mission. Who will give us the first detailed account starting from the beginning of the Expedition and the start of the alien arrival and subsequent first contact between us and them.]

Doctor, Thank you for joining us today. Your testimony will help us in our investigation of the incident.

I am happy to help, so where do you want to start first?

How about from the beginning doctor? From the start, after your expedition transited the Stargate. Let's start from there and work our way from the alien's contact.

Sure, let's see.

[Doctor Catherine Langford, was silent for a few minutes before speaking again]

After we transited the Stargate, the Marine team led by Colonel O'Neil went on ahead as the majority of the civilian aspect of the expedition stayed behind to regroup and make sure that all our equipment and personnel transited safely. It was all clockwork, Doctor Daniel Jackson left ahead with Colonel O'Neil of course. Considering he is the expedition's leading expert on the alien language or in this case Ancient Egyptian. His expertise was needed during the scouting mission conducted by Colonel O'Neil.

So doctor, What exactly did this scouting mission find?

It allowed us to discover where we arrived at. We the expedition found ourselves within a pyramid major complex with architecture and design reminiscence to that of ancient Egyptian architecture. One of the archaeologist experts, Professor James Ralston hypothesized that our so-called aliens were the ones responsible for influencing Ancient Egyptian society. Not only that, the complex we found ourselves in was in perfectly good condition. In a bit of hindsight, this should have been a key indicator if not a warning to us about the fact that these aliens were still around. Which we didn't take notice of, and thus we paid the price as a result.

Intriguing, please continue.

Well, after the scouting mission our team slowly but surely exited the complex; where we set up camp beside the complex. It took us a while to fully exited the complex, mainly because the exit doors were too small for us to bring our vehicle through. We had to use a variety of different tools and methods to get our vehicles out without bringing the entire complex down upon us. From there we got to work. The camp was set up, we had tents out and our vehicles parked. Then came our equipment, we unpacked everything with each specialized piece of equipment going to designated tents for our research, diplomat, archaeology, and military teams. A communications center was also set up, as soon as that was done. We then made our report back to Stargate Command, our center and expedition coordination center to inform them that the gate transit was successful and that we have established camp.

From there, for the next few days and two weeks onwards, we began what this expedition was designed to do, explore and so we did. For the first few days after our arrival, the complex in which we arrived became the first target of our study. Almost immediately after we arrived, our archaeology team, including myself soon scoured the alien complex for any artifacts and information that could tell us about them. It took a while of course to get the data, and it took us a while to decipher it. While that was going on, our scientists and researchers began conducting tests on the planet. From soil composition to atmospheric analysis and stellar cartography, we needed to know if this planet could be sustainable for future colonization efforts. If the aliens were believed to be extinct we could then colonize this planet and use it as a stepping stone for future missions into the undiscovered portions of our galaxy. Thus explaining this aspect of the expedition.

Apart from that, we also had another task for Colonel O'Neil and his team. The military contingent of the expedition was given the task of not only ensuring our protection but also conducting scouting missions for resources and a good place for an outpost. We needed to find key resources for our printers if we are going to expand our operation on this planet. We also needed an outpost so that we could also expand our reach and also serve as a listening station for any signs of an advanced alien civilization on this planet. Therefore, the Marine contingent was given the task of exploration and discovery. This was our goal for the first few weeks of the expedition to expand and explore gradually. In concurrent to that, also gave brief comms check with Stargate Command. Updating them on our status and the progress of the expedition so far. After a month or so after our arrival. We have expanded up to thirteen outposts and made countless discoveries about this alien culture.

Interesting, and if I am reading this correctly, it is only after a month into the expedition is when your expedition made First Contact with the aliens.

Yes and no, a month and a half after we arrived, on our latest established series of outposts. Doctor Daniel Jackson came across what could be described as a native alien creature originating from this planet.

A native creature, you say?

[Doctor Catherine Langford nodded in response]

Yes, a native creature. One that is not from our home planet. To say at least, it was a shock to the rest of the expedition when the details of the encounter were filtered right to us. After all, since the tens of thousands of years since we left our cradle, Earth, to explore the wider galaxy. We have only come across many worlds and moons barely sustainable for life, to those in need of extensive terraforming necessary to sustain life, and to those that are considered toxic, wasteland, and dead. Incapable of supporting life unless extensive planetary engineering is applied. Even then, none of the more habitable worlds within our expansive territory had any forms of what we could consider as life present on it. Therefore, this forced us to bring life to these worlds, which was a result of us planting life already in existence or has been cloned back into existence on Mother Earth into these worlds to make it more "liveable" or "bearable" for our colonists. It is because of this fact, that why many back home didn't believe in the existence of alien life until the discovery of the Stargate. Since they believed most of the galaxy contains worlds in need of extensive terraforming. As such, believed life on Earth was a fluke.

It was because of this is why the main reason why we initially felt nothing but a shock when we encountered something that wasn't natural or something we had become so accustomed to. Therefore, there was a series of disbelieving until the first proof of evidence came back which resulted in us finally believing.

I see, and if the reports are true. How this led the expedition to enter First Contact?

That's right, it is Doctor Jackson's encounter with this creature that set off the motion which would lead to first contact.

Doctor, please specify the sequence of events that lead to this moment.

So, where to begin? I guess it all started from a little mishap by Doctor Daniels which led to him getting dragged off by the creature.

Dragged off? How did this happen?

Well, it began when Colonel O'Neil and Doctor Jackson were at our latest established outpost. They were surveying the surrounding area of the outpost when they came across the said alien creature.

It must have been quite a surprise for them to see such a creature I presumed.

Yes indeed, as they describe it, it came as a complete shock. As neither of them had expected to find such a creature. But not at all, one thing that came into the interest of both men at the time. Was the presence of what they initially described as a harness, pouches, along with many others. Which is a piece of common equipment found on horses, donkeys, and other forms of pack animals. Doctor Jackson, with his endless curiosity, wanted to figure out what the equipment found on the creature was used for and who could be using it. But once he approached the creature and explored the equipment found on it. He...somehow found himself entangled within the straps and harness of the creature. To make matters worse, the creature quickly moved away to a destination unknown, dragging an entangled Doctor Jackson with it.

This forced Colonel O'Neil and his team that was present at the new outpost, consisting of Reilly, Porro, Freeman, Brown, Ferretti, and Kawalsky to give chase. After a few miles of chasing after Doctor Jackson, the creature suddenly slowed down, enough for the pursuit teams to catch up with it. It was here that the pursuit team was led to a settlement where we met them.

I assumed this is where you met the aliens correct?

[Doctor Catherine Langford shook her head]

The team came across a settlement of humans, more specifically primitive humans.

Primitive Humans?

Yes, primitive humans, seem to speak a dialect of ancient Egyptian which Doctor Jackson was barely able to translate. Our current theory is that whoever these aliens are, took some of our ancestors to this world from ancient Egypt. Which explains how these people are here.

An intriguing theory, this would suggest that there could be humans on other worlds out there.

We also came to that same conclusion as well. It intrigues and frightens me as to what these aliens had their true intentions for us. After our disastrous First Contact, I can't help but feel afraid.

Acknowledge, however, let's not delve into that just yet. I want to know what were your initial interactions with the "natives".

Reasonably standard as to how we would deal with lost colonies, that were severed, due to various circumstances, during the early days of the 2nd and 3rd colonization eras. The Lost Contact protocol was immediately in effect here. We had to treat these people not only as a lost colony but also as people who had lost significant amounts of technology to the point that any basic modern technology was going to look like magic to them. Of course, once word got out that there was a settlement of primitive humans. There was a lot of disbelieving that occurred. It took Doctor Jackson and Colonel O'Neil time to convince the rest of the expedition that this was real. And after the confirmation of the overall situation, we immediately dispatched our diplomats to the settlements to begin relations between us and them.

I see, was there anything else that happened?

Well yes, there was also the language barrier we had to deal with. Thankfully Doctor Jackson did most of the work translating their language for us, which was like I said before a Dialect of Ancient Egyptian. Doctor Jackson was able to successfully if not partially allow us to communicate with these people.

And what did they tell you, doctor?

About their lives really, and some aspects of their culture, rituals, and beliefs.

[Dr. Catherine shrugged]

Because of our advanced technology, they believed in us as their gods. Not hard to blame considering the technological disparity between us and them.

Did they ever tell you about their gods?

Yes, they did explain to us about their "supposed" gods and deities.

Explain

They were essentially the deities from the myths of Ancient Egypt, with Ra the main god, along with Osiris and many other ancient Egyptian deities to name a few. They also explained to us the situation of what they would do, and what rituals would be conducted when these so-called "deities" would return.

How so?

Firstly, they would demand a tribute followed by a festival granted by the "deities" to celebrate their arrival. The tributes as explained by the settlements chieftain Kasuf, would normally be goods found in this world. Namely, the mysterious ore that they are mining for these gods. Other than that, sometimes they will offer sacrifices ranging from men, women, and children. The reason why he is explaining this fact to us is that he believed our arrival to be the emissaries of their god Ra. Thus, explained to us what tribute they were planning to give us.

Intriguing and that Tribute is?

The mysterious ore that they have been tasked with mining for their god Ra, an ore which they call Naquadah. We have identified this material as Mineral 98.6389 (2). Which we utilized as a key material for the basis for many of our advanced technologies and the construction of some of our greatest megastructures and superweapons. All thanks to the mineral's unique properties and superconductive ability.

Interesting did they ever say how long until these so-called "gods" return for the next tribute?

Well, it's a yes and a no. Originally, the "gods" would use visit once every one hundred years or a century. Nowadays, things have changed. The so-called "gods" are appearing almost constantly, it was fifty years then down to twenty-five years to now just every year, they would come. Just six months ago Kasuf told us, how the gods had arrived to take his two children away. Since then he hasn't heard from them ever since. But each visit took more and more of his people. With them having no idea what the "gods" really wanted from these people. But people were disappearing and now the Kasuf tribe has barely a fraction of what it once was before the "gods" came and continued to reap his people with impunity. Before we knew it, it was at that moment that general concern for our safety started spreading amongst the expedition members.

I take it that everyone was unsettled by the "gods" then.

Yes, and you're right everyone, including my father was unsettled. Colonel O'Neil the most was the most vocal of them all. Not surprising considering that he was the one responsible for our safety. He advocated launching an emergency rescue mission at a moment's notice following this revelation. Of course, some were skeptical to say at least. They didn't exactly believe Kasuf's stories and account specifically mainly due to the idea that there could have been a mistranslation somewhere. But in the end, the order was given to launch an immediate emergency evacuation of the expedition from the planet. As Colonel O'Neil would put it, "It was better to stay safe than be sorry."

But of course, the evacuation wasn't immediate as we would like it to be. After all, we were limited by our own FTL system. The fastest Interspace system we have could only reach speeds up to less than fourteen light years per day. The planet we were on was hundreds of light years away from the frontier border of our space. Without a direct Krasnikov Tube link between this world and our frontier. We were stuck for weeks having to wait for evac.

I assumed the wait was excruciating for the expedition.

It was, and don't get me wrong. I wish our FTL drive technology were faster. But unfortunately for us, we were forced into an unfavorable position from the start. Even to this very day, my mind keeps rolling the countless what-ifs. But none of these scenarios give me any form of satisfaction. To make matters worse is the revelation that the Sol Intelligence Bureau had sent numerous probes into the Kaliam region to create a network of Krasnikov Tubes to link the Kaliam region with our frontier borders beforehand in the months before the expedition. And all because of "concerns" about potential discovery by the aliens, they hadn't bothered to tell anyone about it. If they had informed the Navy about its existence. Then all of this...This disaster could have been avoided beforehand.

You couldn't have known about the Sol Intelligence probe director. They were operating on operational secrecy which would have prevented such information be getting out.

But that doesn't make it better to know the fact we could have avoided a direct conflict with these aliens and prevented the incident from occurring.

You don't know that director, for all, we know we could be delaying the inevitable. The testimonies by Doctor Jackson and Colonel Jack O'Neill so far have indicated to us that full-scale hostilities and confrontation with the aliens would have broken out anyways. We would be delaying the inevitable.

Which doesn't bring me peace, and with all due respect. People died during this incident because of our delayed action in the evacuation, are we seriously going to forget about that fact? Like ignoring it? Buried it for good? How am I supposed to face those who have died waiting for evac when parts of the military have effectively stymied our efforts? Care to explain that!?

[silence]

Look here what has happened has happened. We can't change the events of the past, but we can control the events of the future, Director. What has occurred is a regrettable tragedy for us all. We did not anticipate the aliens would move so quickly. Yet even worse, we didn't anticipate the aliens to begin hostilities after the start of First Contact from the get-go. Our initial assumption was that the aliens would have been more willing to talk to us if they have seen the fact that we were an advanced spacefaring race like them. Which we had incorrectly believed would force them to think again rather than start shooting first right from the start. It appears we have been greatly mistaken in their thinking. No one could have prepared for it, Director. After all, this was our first encounter with the aliens. There was nothing we do to predict what these things would do upon First Contact.

I know that, but it doesn't make it better. There is still a part of me that states we could have easily prevented this. While other parts say it was inevitable. I don't know which one is the right one.

I understand Director, but all of us too within the Solar Government don't know what was the right decision. But all we could do now is to understand the overall situation and learn from our mistakes. And I promise you, director, we will learn and we will ensure that this will never happen again!

Yeah, we will learn that's right. But what now!? The aliens are still out there and I don't think they will be happy at the fact that we blew up not only their planet but their entire star system in that incident. What do the Government and the military intend to do now to deal with this apparent clusterfuck!?

SolForce will handle that. But right now, we need to understand the sequence of events that lead to this event. Your cooperation would be helpful to allow us to understand the sequence of events.

Well, I'm sorry to disappoint that is all I can tell you for now. The events of the First Contact and its sequence were mainly on Colonel O'Neil and Doctor Jackson. They can tell you more about what occurred. As for me, I mostly stayed behind back at the main camp with whatever surviving Marines and personnel we had before Colonel O'Neil decided to embark on a one-man army mission to rescue the taken. Maybe they can tell you more about the sequence of events leading up to the end.

Well then, I guess I'll have to look forward to his debriefing then Director. But anyways, thank you for your time. Your testimony was helpful to our investigation.

I better hope that it was helpful so because I don't want to see another disaster on that scale ever again. For better or worse.

[End of transcript]

...

Debriefing transcript of Colonel Jack O'Neil.

Project Giza Expedition Security Chief

1st Stargate Exploration mission

Colonel O'Neil, it's a pleasure to meet you. Your testimony today will very much help us in our investigation of the events of the incident.

Glad to help, so what do you want to know?

First things first colonel, it is my understanding that it was your call to immediately put a halt to the expedition and call for an emergency evacuation.

[Colonel O'Neil nodded]

Yes, that is right. After hearing the testimonies and stories by the settlements chieftain Kasuf. After realizing that these so-called "gods" were the aliens we were after I concluded that these things were still very much alive and kicking from what I can tell. And not only that, but they were also taking, by the hundreds, primitive humans, more specifically human beings, for an unspecified unknown purpose. This got me worried for the safety of not only my men but also the personnel of the expedition. Therefore, I concluded that it was necessary to return to our space and re-think our next moves. We didn't exactly know how these aliens would react to us. Therefore, in my mind, I believed it was better for us to stay safe and observe these aliens from a safe distance.

A highly contested decision, Colonel. Your final decision is still being debated to this very day. However, what I can tell you is that many agreed with your assessment.

Ah...Thank you.

Anyways moving on, what did you and your team do, while waiting for the evacuation/relief fleet to arrive?

My team conducted the Standard evacuation procedures. Everything was packed up, from the advanced 3d printers and constructors to the various scientific equipment. All was packed up and ready to go and a moment's notice. This was necessary, because as part of the expedition's emergency directives. The evacuation was a quick extraction everything had to be prepared to leave as soon as possible. We didn't know how long until the aliens would return or respond. Therefore, we needed to be ready to get out as soon as possible. When that was done all we had to do was wait for the fleet to arrive and pick us up. I could tell you the wait was excruciatingly slow. If only things were a bit faster then we could have avoided the incident.

Understandable reasoning, Colonel. However, this still leaves us with one thing we want to know. What did you do on the day the aliens arrive?

When they arrived? Well...If I have to admit everything was so chaotic on that day. I mean everything was fairly normal until they came at the dead of night. It was there that all hell broke loose. We didn't even know that they were going to come back that day. As such, we didn't even prepare ourselves for that event. After all, on that very day, in only just a few hours we would be gone as if we had never been there in the first place. In my opinion, it was a combination of bad luck and somewhat negligence that resulted in the incident occurring.

I see, well then, what I want to know more is what did the aliens do when they first arrived?

They started attacking of course before there was any chance of talks between us and them being made, that is what I can tell you. First, they started with the outpost we established close to Kasuf's Settlement. Landing their massive pyramid-looking ships above the settlements in the dead of night. Then the soldiers came and captured Ferretti and Freeman while killing Porro and Reilly in the process. Doctor Jackson, Lt. Brown, Lt. Kawalsky, and I were away from the outpost at the time, back at the main camp sorting things out for tomorrow's evacuation. We were just returning when we found ourselves under fire and engaging in a firefight with these soldiers.

During the firefight, I manage to quickly send the word back to the main camp that we were under attack by the aliens and quickly advised Doctor Langford to begin the procedures to hide from the aliens. As the firefight continued, amid the combat taking place, Doctor Jackson and I became separated from Lt. Brown and Lt. Kawalsky. Where we found ourselves captured by the aliens.

The aliens captured you?

[Colonel O'Neil nodded]

That is right, the soldiers stripped us of our weapons and brought us to their leader. The alien entity they call "Ra" as in the name of the ancient Egyptian supreme god. It is here it is finally revealed to us that the aliens are humanoids when they retract their armored head-pieces, Ra especially took the form of a young human male of Middle Eastern descent.

Interesting and what happened next?

Well, after they brought us to meet Ra himself. Another firefight ensures as Lt. Brown and Lt. Kawalsky tried to mount a daring rescue to free us. But alas, it was hopeless considering that we were outnumbered at the time. Thus, the pair was captured, but not until Doctor Jackson was killed in the crossfire.

But wait...Hold on for a second...You said Doctor Jackson was...killed in the process?

That's right, and he was brought back to life.

What? how could that be!?

As impossible as it is, they have this coffin-like technology that can bring people back from the dead. It almost resembles one of those cellar regeneration cradles in our possession, found mainly in one of those expensive hospitals and health care facilities. But through a process unknown to us, they brought back Doctor Jackson, who was fatally wounded during the crossfire.

So what happened next?

From here things, Ra took Doctor Jackson to have a little "chat". I don't know what they discussed but apparently, they found the nuclear device that we secretly brought along for emergencies.

What was this device intended for anyways?

A final F you kind of thing. It was brought along in the event the expedition wasn't going to survive. Initially, the device was brought to Kasuf's settlement as it was believed that it was here that first contact was highly likely going to take place here. Apparently after assaulting the outpost, Ra found the device and enhanced its explosive power a hundred-fold, threatening to send it back through the Stargate to our home.

A disturbing plan, with disastrous implications, if it has gone through.

Yes indeed, it was a threat we cannot have ignored or take lightly. Not only would the bomb wipe out a quarter of Lunar, but it will also kill billions. As such, my men and I came to one conclusion. We had to stop him.

Indeed, considering that this threat is now gone. I want to know how did you manage to escape and then stop this immediate threat to Earth and Sol?

Well, it's a long story.

I'm all ears, colonel. Please take your time.

Alright then, where do I begin?

How about starting from where you made your escape?

Ah yes, we have Kasuf to thank for that. He and his friends were able to create a diversion that allows Jackson, Kawalsky, Ferretti, and me to escape. Unfortunately, we lost Lt. Freeman, who was killed during the attempt. We managed to flee to nearby caves to hide from Ra and his troops. However, upon hearing of our escape, decided to retaliate against us by attempting to destroy the members of the expeditions stationed at base camp. Unfortunately for him, having foreseen such an attack would occur I purposely moved most of the expedition members to an outpost far out of reach from the complex in which we arrived and Kasuf's settlement. However, to maintain the cover that the base camp was occupied. I had to make the tough decision to leave some of my men and some expedition personnel behind to maintain the masquerade. I was informed in the hours since the incident that they didn't survive.

Yes indeed, a highly controversial decision. There are those within the military demanding your head on the platter for such an act. While others believed it was the right call and a necessary sacrifice.

Which doesn't make it better, I'm afraid.

Agreed, moving on what did you do next?

After the retaliation by Ra. I decided with the remaining men I had to aid Kasuf and his people in overthrowing the remaining overseers and then launch an attack on Ra. However, we were stymied by Ra himself. Decided to send out his force of fighter ships against the apparent human insurrection, while he orders his ship to depart. However, we soon realized that we were running out of ammunition. Before we knew it we were forced to surrender to the fighter ships' pilots. But luckily for us, the rest of the tribe, seeing that their false gods are only humanoid, decided to join Kasuf and rebel against the pilots, and soldiers of Ra, and they were able to overthrow them with the help of the rest expedition, including the rest of the Marine detachment teams.

It was also around this time that the evacuation force led by Rear Admiral Joseph Riley finally arrived at the star system where the planet was located. As soon as they got wind of the overall situation, began an attack upon the small flotilla of ships that Ra brought along with him. Realizing that the situation was untenable. Ra soon retreated from the planet, not before taking Doctor Jackson with him. By the time Rear Admiral Joseph Riley, in command of Battlegroup India arrived to liberate the planet. Ra was long gone, and now we were left to deal with the aftermath.

I see well then, thank you for your testimony, Colonel O'Neil. It has been an enlightening account we have of the events of that day. Your testimony will most surely aid us in our investigation. In light of what you have revealed to me today, your actions have been instrumental in ensuring the survival of many members of the expedition. Not only have you managed to beat an alien force with limited supplies. But you also managed to allow us a foothold into the Kaliam region which would be instrumental for the next sequence of events for the overall incident to come.

I sure hope so. While I may have "won" the battle on that planet. It still was a bitter victory in the end. Out of the ninety-seven members of the expedition, we lost twenty-three from Ra's retaliatory attacks. Kasuf especially, lost hundreds of his people during the insurrection. It was a bitter victory, and we all didn't come out of the incident unscathed.

And it was an incident that affected this all, Colonel. We back at Sol High Command could have never imagined our first contact with intelligent alien life to be so...Violent. It was the failure of what we were dealing with that caused this incident to occur.

And I agree, let's hope this will be the last time something like this would occur.

Don't we all, Colonel? Don't we all...

[End of transcript]

...

Debriefing transcript of Rear Admiral Joseph Riley.

Commander of SolForce Navy Battle Group India

1st Stargate Exploration mission

Rear Admiral, thank you for coming today. The testimony of your part in the incident will very much help us in our investigation of the events of that very day.

Glad to help, what do you want to know?

Right then, first things first. let's go over your involvement with the expedition's evacuation mission. It was my understanding that it was your Battlegroup that was responsible for the expedition's Evacuation.

[The rear admiral nodded]

That is right, my Battlegroup was explicitly chosen to conduct this rescue mission. The planning for it all had been in the works months before the expedition was launched.

And it is my understanding that there was a specific order and protocol necessary to activate this rescue operation.

Yes, that is right. I was given the order to act when the expedition's security chief, Colonel Jack O'Neil would send a high-level distress message back to Stargate Command. Who would then inform the navy, they would then order my Battlegroup to set sail at high speed to their location. From there we were to begin extraction, erasing all evidence that we were even here, to begin with, and then quickly make our escape from the system.

But obviously, you never got the chance to do so.

Indeed, the alien's sudden arrival in the planet's solar system caught us all by surprise. We were close but yet too far to do anything. By the time we arrived, Colonel O'Neil was already leading a full-on insurrection against the aliens. All we could do was give him as much support as he needed. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to prevent the capture and subsequent abduction of Doctor Jackson.

I see, now onto a different topic. If you could go back in time and have been a little faster. Do you think this incident could have been prevented?

Yes absolutely, if we were only a little faster we could have prevented the incident from occurring. As for the hostilities though, based on what I heard about these aliens. It was unlikely we would ever be at peace with them. The one thing that frustrated me about this whole state of affairs was that we weren't fast enough. The aliens seem to possess some kind of alternative FTL drive system technology which was way faster than us. When Doctor Jackson was captured, we tried giving pursuit until we lost track of him. Once that ship, exited our scanning and pursuit range. We knew we couldn't follow them any further, thus I gave the order for those ships to turn back and regroup with the rest of the Battlegroup.

An understandable conclusion, even now with the wreckage of their ships in our possession. We still have much to learn about their alternative FTL technology.

On the topic of FTL technology, I may add. Sol Intelligence, really screwed us over when it was revealed in the weeks and months before the Expedition. They had sent numerous stealth probes to scout out the alien space for key targets, points of interest, etc. Not only that, but they have also built a series of Krasnikov Tube networks to facilitate a future stealth mission into their territory without having to go the usual long way. Had we known about the tube's existence, then this whole state of affairs could have been prevented!

I understand your frustration, admiral. You are not the only one with similar complaints about the deception caused by Sol Intelligence. Now moving on from that topic, let us go over your mission to rescue Doctor Jackson shall we?

Alright then, after driving back the enemy fleet. I had our Marines land and secure the planet. This was imperative as we needed to know the amount of damage that was done by the alien fleet to the expedition. Thus, expected to find the worse. Fortunately, as we quickly discovered, most of the expedition members survived the encounter. Unfortunately for us, there were casualties, knowing that nothing could be done. We retrieve the bodies to give them back to their families. It was the least we could do to give these families closure.

I see...Please continue

After retrieving the bodies, we immediately offered everything to help the native humans of this planet. We gave them everything from food, to clean drinking water, etc. At least to say, I suspect thanks to our efforts, they will be valuable allies shortly. And considering the strategic position of the planet, we immediately build basic infrastructure with the intent of supporting future fleet actions within the Kaliam region. It was this order I gave which will be instrumental in saving Doctor Jackson. With a base of operations now established on the Planet. Sol Naval Command in cooperation with High Command began drafting an operation to retrieve the doctor.

I presume this must have been quite a task.

Quite so, we were, after all, operating in the unknown here. We had no idea what to expect on this rescue mission. But I had my fleet prepared for the worse. Thankfully, it was not completely unknown as we thought, thanks to the numerous probes sent deep into their space by Sol Intelligence. It provided us with some idea of the enemy and the force composition that we were potentially going to face. Even better it was still tracking Doctor Jackson's locater and eventually the beacon lead us to what we presumed was one of the core planets of their civilization. Since Doctor Jackson hadn't moved for a few days from this planet. Our main goal was to launch a direct assault on it to finally rescue the Doctor and bring him back.

There must have been many challenges before you could pursue this endeavor, I presumed.

We faced many challenges at first. One was the issue with our supply lines, and the second was the issue of getting the right information to successfully pull this off. Third was the unknown nature of the alien's technology. We had no idea how advanced they were, for all we know they could be more advanced than us.

I see, but I assumed that these issues were solved.

[The rear admiral shook his head]

Most, not all of them. We managed to solve the issue of supply thanks to the combination of infrastructure built within the Kaliam region and the recently built Krasnikov Tube network. These key assets, help solved the first hurdle. The second issue was mostly solved, thanks to the scavenged wreckage of the alien's ships my Battlegroup destroyed during their assault on the aliens. The wreckage gave us a brief idea of their technological level with some degree of error. But in my eyes, it was better than nothing. As for the third issue, we have never really been able to solve that. With the limited time we had, we were almost operating in the darkness about these aliens.

We had no information on the alien's planets, except for one target. Which we know Doctor Jackson was taken to. We didn't know the exact size of their military and naval force. For all we know it could be overwhelming for us to handle. We didn't even know how big their empire was. As such, we could be touching the tip of the iceberg here. So in a sense, what Sol High Command was asking for was impossible. All we had to do was pray that our mission was a success.

Understandable, what happened next after the preparations?

Well, after more than two weeks of preparing my Battlegroup was ready to go. I had one thousand six hundred ships at my disposal, consisting of my flagship, the Horn of Plenty. Which was a supercarrier, some smaller fleet carriers, several dreadnoughts along with several battleships, hundreds of cruisers and battlecruisers type capital ships, Destroyers, frigates, and corvettes. I also had along was another auxiliary fleet consisting of civilian cargo and tanker ships, along with military-built auxiliary craft, and Marine troop transport carriers. This fleet was not only to aid our forces and conduct a planetary invasion to raid the aliens and get back Doctor Jackson but to also ensure the smooth logistical supply lines for the duration of this operation.

It was the largest known fleet ever to have assembled since the time of the Sundering. But unlike the fleets of the past, sent against human insurrectionists. This fleet was being sent against hostile aliens who have betrayed our trust and had now declared their malicious intent. The task given to me was necessary, one that I aim to see its success.

I see, after that?

The fleet set sail at once. A few flotillas from the frontier stayed behind, of course, to ensure the security of our newly acquired territories of the Kaliam region. We needed to secure our logistics supply line of course, and the region was essential for this operation's success.

Okay then, moving on, with curiosity how long did it take your fleet to arrive at Doctor Jackson's location?

A little over two days, if not less than that. Thanks to the Krasnikov Tubes already in place due to the numerous probes sent out by Sol Intelligence. We were able to reach our destination within hours, not weeks. At some points during the journey, we had to stop our advance of course, as we faced no resistance as we approach the planet. My officers and I were suspicious of this lack of activity of course. It was unusual for this alien empire to allow a force as large as ours to enter their space and operate freely. eventually, we soon found out the reason for that lack of activity.

Oh? What was it then?

It turns out they knew we were coming. As such, they were waiting for our arrival on the target planet. What was waiting for us of course, was a gargantuan naval fleet of over a hundred of thousand ships. It was ambushed and we were severally outnumbered by the enemy. At the time, it would appear that we weren't going to make out of this alive. Moreover, it also appeared that the mission was destined to fail right there and right then. The odds were against us.

I see then, how did you manage to get out of this predicament then?

Well, it's a long story. But when we first arrived at the star system of our target planet. What greeted us was, of course, the massive enemy fleet. Before we could do anything, we received a communication request from what we believed was the alien flagship.

Hmm, what did they say?

Oh...well, just the obvious rhetoric being the "surrender and accept our rule or know your place," let's just say it was somewhere down the lines of surrendering unconditionally and accepting their rule as their slaves. I won't go into the details, as the damn alien kept ranting about their supposed "superiority" for hours on end before we began the battle.

Apart from that, I take it that you refused their demands.

Of course, we did. I mean seriously, who did this alien think he was? The alien was arrogant, I give him that. But yes, I did refuse its demands because I was loyal to my military and I had a mission. I had the intent to finish that mission no matter the cost. Therefore, I rejected its demand and so the battle begin.

So how was the battle? If you could describe in detail.

Well, the battle was for lack of a better word, a slaughter. The battle with our "alien" friends, was a one-sided slaughter, mainly for them. It would appear we have overestimated their technological and naval capabilities. their boast about their advanced technology was merely a gross exaggeration of rhetoric by them to bring fear and terror to our forces. In truth, the aliens came nowhere close to effectively destroying our capital ships. Their weapons systems and technology were nothing compared to our advanced energy shielding systems. But that doesn't mean we didn't take any losses. We did, however, suffered several losses from our corvettes, cargo vessels, troop transports, and other auxiliary naval craft. But apart from that, the enemy was slowly being slaughtered. By the time, we reach the planet in time for planetfall. The alien's grand armada was only a fraction of its original number before the battle began.

I see, so then explain to me how could such an easy battle as you have described ended in such a clusterfuck, to begin with? If the reports are correct, not only was the planet destroyed. But I am getting word that the entire star system was annihilated as well. Care to explain how this could have happened?

[The rear admiral was uncharacteristically silent after the question was made]

You see, what happened was that a series of unfortunate events caused the clusterfuck you are seeing here. After securing total dominance over the target planet, planetfall was to commence at once with the sole goal of causing as much damage as they can and searching and finding Doctor Jackson at all costs. The Marines had many targets to hit. From key infrastructure to what we believe from initial orbit scans to be military bases and another the facility where Doctor Jackson was held at. Colonel Jack O'Neil, as you may know, led the assault to rescue Doctor Jackson. On the way there he came across a few snags along the way.

What kind of snags are you referring to here?

The bad kind, you see the alien leader Ra just happened to be at the facility, or should I say temple where Doctor Jackson was held in. Because Ra was there, Colonel O'Neil and his Marine forces had to go through hundreds if not thousands of guards just to get to Doctor Jackson. As far as I can tell, he lost a lot of men trying to storm through that heavily defended area. The aliens, through a combination of guerilla warfare, asymmetric warfare, and urban combat led to the death of so many marines during the attempt.

I see, so what happened when Colonel O'Neil did reach the temple to Doctor Jackson?

The reports are sketchy at best. But what he and other marines reported at the time was that Ra was attempting...And I quote..."A ritual to rejuvenate his body and soul." I interpreted this report as using either consuming life force or biomatter quite literally to live longer via some kind of vampiric-like ritual. We couldn't allow that to happen, for obvious reasons, and the Marines did everything they could to save him.

And it was...Successful?

Yes, it was...at a cost.

How so?

You see, Ra still had in possession the Nuclear device that Colonel O'Neil brought along with him during the expedition.

Ahh yes, the device in which he had enhanced, am I correct?

Yes that, well...Apparently, Ra had the liberty of enhancing it even more. It happened after we forced his ship to retreat from the planet to rescue the expedition. As a result of this defeat, Ra didn't exactly have the chance to use the device. As such, he took the device and began enhancing it even further as a last-resort weapon to take his enemies with him, which he did after the Marines secured the Doctor. Colonel O'Neil and his Marines barely teleported out before the bomb blew. But the same can't be said for the thousands of Marines still on the planet.

I see, we all heard the reports of the losses from this incident.

We lost nearly the entire Marine contingent we brought along. Thousands dead, countless men and women, fathers and mothers, and brothers and sisters would never return home to their friends and families ever again. Not only that, billions of inhabitants of the planet, consisting of mostly humans slave killed in an instant. The planet cracked as a result of the bomb. I swear, I thought I was hallucinating the event at the time. Since I had thought we accidentally set off one of those Cyclonic torpedoes in use during the darkest days of the Sundering.

I can't forget that scene on that day. Imagine not hearing the screams of the Marines as they died when the planet cracked but seeing a perfectly habitable world slowly turn into thousands of pieces within minutes to hours. Just like that, an entire world had ended.

But this itself, rear-admiral, doesn't explain how the said star system when Nova just moments after. Care to explain why that is the case?

[The rear admiral took a moment to take a deep breath before explaining]

It was a reactionary response from us. We didn't know exactly at the time what caused the explosion. In the minds of many officers and I, we had thought the aliens had in possession an undiscovered superweapon. Which was ready to strike at us at a moment's notice, not a last-ditch attempt to use our stolen nuclear device. Therefore, combined with the near-complete loss of our Marine contingent on the now-destroyed planet. I gave the order to enact the scourge of the star system. At once, we fired a single Cyclonic torpedo munition into the system's star which destabilized it and caused it to go Nova.

It was a decision that I didn't make lightly, no matter how different the circumstances could be. I wish it could have been better but you must understand that we were operating completely in the unknown here. As a result of that uncertainty, I wasn't going to take any chances with these aliens. So I gave the order. We had Doctor Jackson, and as such it could be said the main purpose of the mission was already complete. And so under the cover of the exploding star system, we made the slow retreat back to human space. The mission was both a success and a disaster, in the end, though it is mainly up to those who look back at the events of that very day to judge. I made my choice when I decided the star system must go and I am going live with my decision.

I see, well then, thank you for your time Rear-admiral your testimony will most surely aid us in our investigation. Sol High Command and the Government will now investigate whether or not your actions are ethical. Before I leave, do you have anything else you want to mention?

[Rear Admiral Joseph Riley shook his head]

No, I already said my piece.

Well then, thank you for your time Rear Admiral I hope that we'll meet again shortly, on better terms next time.

Agreed, it's been a pleasure talking to you. I hope my testimony will help with the investigation and hopefully ensure this event must never come to pass ever again.

I hope so too Rear Admiral, I hope so too.

[End of transcript]

...

Transcript of Congressional hearing.

Congressional Hearing on Sol Intelligence disclosure and secrecy.

1st Stargate Exploration mission

Director Myron Faulke, thank you for being here today.

[The director nodded in response]

The pleasure is mine, senator.

Now then onto the topic at hand. It is our understanding that your agency had established a series of Krasnikov Tube networks not only across the Kaliam region. But also we are being informed, deep into the alien's territory, built in the months before the expedition. Care to explain why you failed to disclose their existence in the first place. Which could have, not only saved lives but also prevented the First Contact Incident from ever occurring, to begin with.

I understand that everyone is upset. But you have to understand that we had to consider the risk and the consequences associated with revealing the existence of the network before the incident.

And that is...?

The potential for the newly built network to be exploited by the aliens. There was a concern within Sol Intelligence that the aliens could exploit the tubes, follow us back, and begin attacking colonies across the frontier of our space. We couldn't allow that to happen and combined with the uncertainty of what we were about to get into. We deemed it necessary to keep the network's existence a secret as long as possible.

And yet it was a choice that led to this disaster in the first place.

I understand that senator. Between you and I, we both know that there were no real options. The dilemma was we either risk the aliens exploiting our technology and using it against us. Or we risk a small civilian expedition, these aren't exactly good choices to consider senator. We had to pick one or the other. It wasn't an easy choice, and I accept full responsibility for causing the incident.

I see, but even then, what the incident has shown us was that the choice you made on that day won't have even mattered. It is our understanding that the aliens possess an alternative FTL system, a system entirely different from our Interspace drive technology. Is that correct?

[Director Faulke nodded]

That is indeed correct senator.

Now, it is also our understanding. That your agency has taken hold of this technology under their possession, in hopes to study and reverse-engineer it. So we ask, what can you tell us about the alien's FTL technology so far, How does it work, and can we hope to use it in the short term?

Yes, in the past few weeks following the First Contact incident. My agency had been hard at work trying to decipher the unique technology. Alternative FTL technology had been explored before. But because of the reliability of Interspace drives technologies, we never really delved further to explore other alternatives. Therefore, the alien FTL tech came as a complete surprise to us. Considering, Sol Intelligence was operating under the pure assumption that the aliens would have similar drive technology to us. We erroneously believed that our Krasnikov Tubes could be exploited. Which led to the First Contact incident occurring. We couldn't have known beforehand that the aliens possess different FTL technology. As such, it was the lack of information on that day that led to that event occurring. I would argue, was just down to pure bad luck.

Apart from that, moving on to the main topic at hand. Upon the retrieval of the alien wrecks over the planet on which the expedition found themselves. The science team across Sol Intelligence had spent the last few weeks dissecting everything that was recoverable to be studied. Their FTL technology was one of those main concerns. From what the science teams could understand. Is that it functions by taking the vessel into, what the science teams dubbed as hyperspace, where normal physical laws that would prevent faster-than-light travel do not apply. By using this "alternate dimension" faster-than-light travel is accessible.

How the scientist would describe the mechanism of how it works in detail. That entry into hyperspace is achieved when a vessel opens a stable hyperspace window. This allows a vessel to enter subspace and achieve faster-than-light velocities relative to real space while traveling at sublight speeds within its layer of subspace. In this state, they can fly from one point to another in a relatively straight line. However, Hyperspace gives off high levels of radiation, which is compensated by the shielding system found on the alien ships.

Fascinating, with curiosity could we hypothetically track ships that are using Hyperspace technology?

[Director Faulke was silent for a few minutes, before shaking his head and responding to the question at hand]

Unfortunately no, Ships in hyperspace are undetectable to all, even the most sensitive sensors at our disposal. However, we can somewhat detect ships via the formation of a hyperspace exit window moments before it becomes visible to the naked eye and a ship emerges. We are only beginning to grasp the nature of how Hyperspace works. What we have discovered could be the tip of the iceberg. I fear it would be years before we could fully understand the inner workings of Hyperspace and its physical properties.

I see, now onto the next question. How fast do you think Hyperspace could allow?

It's a tough question, that I can say for sure. Like I said before we are only at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding the physics of Hyperspace in general. However, if you want my honest opinion. Then I would say, there is the potential for it to have limitless speeds. Take our Interspace drives as an example. Theoretically, the Interspace drives could have limitless speeds. The only reason why we haven't reached that point yet is due to factors, such as the existence of the Krasnikov Tube. As you know are constructs of bending space that allows us near-instantaneous travel across our vast territories. They offer us speeds that are beyond our conventional Interspace drives. Capable of reaching speeds up to 10000 to 12000 light-years per day in a single tube. These networks of tubes have allowed us to connect our vast colonies into a single polity.

Now, of course, the same can't be said with Hyperspace. We found no evidence that Hyperspace could allow for the creation of something similar to a Krasnikov Tube. Which is fortunate for us. But it makes up for, according to my scientist in its ability to easily allow for the development of record-breaking speeds compared to our Interspace drives. Now considering that we are only reaching the tip of the iceberg here. Consequently, we don't yet have a large enough sample to make a definitive conclusion. But from the limited understanding of the wrecks we acquired. I say it is a lot faster than what we currently have in our hands.

How fast to be precise?

Well if we are going by the aliens we have encountered, assuming that there aren't other aliens using the same technology out there. Then I would say, their drive systems are a hell of a lot faster than ours. One of the science teams had rigged the Hyperdrive to an outdated exploration probe in hopes of actually clocking the speed the device can achieve. The plan was to send the probe between two nearby star systems to see how fast it could go. During the experiment, we clocked the alien drive system to be capable of reaching speeds of up to 32,000 times the speed of light, or 0.001 light-years per second, or in layman's terms 87.6130965 light years per day. It is way far faster than the 13.70294 light-years per day speeds of even the fastest Interspace Drive models at our disposal.

The only saving grace is that the Hyperdrive appears to be less flexible than we had previously theorized. One thing we found out is that the Hyperdrive consumed a lot of power to function properly. While our Zero-point energy technologies would help mitigate the issue. We also found out as a result that the more power is applied the faster the hyperdrive will move the ship. The other thing is that Hyperdrives can't exactly be used for straight long-distance travel like how Interspace drives can normally go. Unlike Interspace drives which can point to a direction and enter FTL for the duration of the journey until it reaches its target. Hyperdrives for long distances travel have to take scheduled stops at intervals along the way. Due to power consumption and the nature of Hyperspace travel itself. Ships can't exactly remain in Hyperspace for a long time without proper measures taken.

But even then, the need for scheduled stops at intervals would remain. Just not having to take that many. Henceforth, it would explain why the alien travel method is the way it is. Attempting to go beyond the limit and you'll risk potentially losing your ship during Hyperspace transit. The only thing it makes up for the disadvantages is how easily it is to increase the FTL speed compared to how we deal with it via Interspace drive technologies. In the end, the effectiveness of a hyperdrive depends on two factors: design and power input. Given enough power, a hyperdrive can be made to go far faster than it would normally be capable. Increasing overall ship mass does reduce top speed and flight endurance if the ship is more massive than the drive is designed to handle. So end the end, it depends on trying to balance these factors to create an optimized drives system that will be put into use for our service.

I see, so even their drives have their advantages and disadvantages like ours. Then it could be concluded that no FTL drive technology is superior to one another as each one has pros and cons. However, on that note, do you think it will be possible to replicate their drive system and have it put into use for our ships in the short term?

It is very possible, senator. We have studied the hyperdrive enough to begin the process of building a prototype that will soon be tested and then put into mass production. However, I must warn you that the Drive quality might potentially be lower if not higher than the aliens. Do remember that we are still new to the concept of Hyperspace. As such, it could be years before we could develop something better.

Agreed, have the science to see to it and have it done. I presumed the military especially would be delighted to find the drive system of interest to be put out into service as soon as possible. Apart from that, let's go over the real concern at hand. How the aliens would respond after the incident. I can't imagine the aliens would let this go and I can't see how this conflict would end other than a complete annihilation of one of the two sides. So, therefore, we ask for your input on the overall situation. What do you think the aliens will do next?

[Director Faulke hmm quietly as he pondered over the question]

It's hard to predict what they will do next senators, I'm afraid. The first few communications with them, have shown to us that they are not exactly rational people to talk with. Completely fools or megalomaniacs is how I would describe them. They are completely delusional and think they are the center of their fantasies, despite the contrary to the actual situation. While they are delusional, that makes them a while and as such dangerous. As such, we can't exactly predict what they will do next and we can't exactly plan for someone who can just think one thing and then suddenly change to another.

The planning would need to require years of study, observation, and general psychological analysis before we could paint a proper picture or a profile of them. To conclude, we don't exactly know what they will do exactly. However, what we can work with is the limited information from our encounters. One thing I can say for certain is that we can expect an upcoming retaliation strike shortly. When that will occur, is unknown but all I can say is. We need to prepare our borders and our frontier for a possible attack by these aliens. That is all I can tell you with certainty.

I see, then there is not much we can do then. But wait until they strike at us. Couldn't we launch another strike at them or have another go?

We could, senator, then comes the question of how effective will that be. Because for all we know, the strike could be less effective or more effective than before. Mainly thanks to our previous attack against them. However, I believe it will be more in line with the former. The aliens know what we are capable of, period. Therefore, it can be said that they will take the necessary precautions if they were to ever face us again. If so, who knows what could happen because for all we know the strikes will be ineffective. So, it's debatable if or if not we go through with the idea, senators. It's not an easy choice I say.

Yet it doesn't sit well for me and my colleagues just to leave our frontier territories defenseless like that. I would rather have us take action against the aliens, not the other way around.

But then again, we still don't know how big their forces are or how far their territorial extent reaches. This is not counting any potential industry and potentially civilian capital they can muster.

But Director Faulke, they were defeated during the incident. Surely they can't be that strong can't they?

Defeated yes, but then again, that star system that went up during the incident could be a small minor colony. If not the fleet stationed there could be their fleet of old outdated ships that they brought into service just to see how strong we were. For all we know, they could possess even more advanced warships at their disposal. The lack of information we have about them is one of our major weaknesses so far. Until we know more, I suggest we play it safe for now. Who knows what's out there waiting for us? We could be walking right into a trap with a nasty surprise they have in store for us. Therefore, shoring up our borders and waiting for them to make the next moves is my honest recommendation, senator. We still don't know what's out there, after all.

Well then, if that is the case. Then I suppose it can't be helped. As you said before, we have limited information on these aliens. In that case, have your agency gather more intel about this civilization then. Along with continuing to try and learn about the aliens and their technologies. These will be our greatest assets for the coming war.

Understood senator, I'll have my agency see to these tasks at once. While it is our fault that the First Contact Incident occurred in the wake of our mistakes. I do hope from here on out. We shall make due and atone for this failure. I assure you senators that we will ensure that never again shall we be caught off-guard again.

And make it so, Director, ensure that this "mistake" must never happen again. Failure is not an option, Director. The coming weeks, months, or years will determine whether or not Sol Intelligence has learned from this mistake. We will be watching, do not disappoint us.

Understood, Director Faulke out.

[End of transcript]

...

A/N:

And this chapter is done.

Took me a while to retell the story of Stargate the Movie in this AU. I had to consider the differences between this AU to the canon story. As seen here, the situation with First Contact kinda went haywire for all parties involved. Which ended in not only a planet destroyed but the entire star system along with it. We will begin to see the ramification of this act in the next chapter in which the main story will begin. I look forward to sharing that with you all.

After thinking about it hard again, I decided to somewhat include the story of SGC Universe as part of the story. I'll have them come in around the mid-to-late Alteran/Ancient/Ori Arc. Occurring concurrently with the main story arc. But it will be in a limited fashion.

Moving on, I also took the "liberty" to modify how FTL in this AU will work. As you know, there are two types of FTL Interspace and Hyperspace. The Interspace drives system is the real-space FTL method used by the Ancient ship Destiny, in SGC Universe. I had it in a way that would explain why Destiny would use such a drive system. Being, for its long endurance and a lower power requirement to maintain the FTL transit. The FTL Drive system is being used to aid the Ancients on their long quest to explore the known universe. As they would need something rugged, with endurance and with minimum power to use during extremely long voyages.

For Hyperspace, I had the idea that it was built for speed and speed alone. Designed by the Ancients, to travel between galaxies or star systems that they have discovered during their millions-year of countless exploration missions. I had a feeling that these were built to connect these discoveries and colonies. As a way to facilitate their prosperity and grow their empire by providing a safe, fast, and reliable method of FTL for interstellar or intergalactic travel. Henceforth why it is so easy to increase FTL speed via Hyperspace, however, lacked the necessary endurance for extremely long distances exploration missions.

As you can see here, there are pros and cons for both FTL systems. None is more advantages than the other. Since their pros and cons are equal if not similar to one another. Which is something the Tau'ri, will eventually find out.

Anyways enough of my explanation, this chapter is complete and I'll see you all in the next one.