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]

4. Of Plan and Consequences

Of Plan and Consequences

Sol System

Lunar Base

March 15th

Year: 136 ME29

Stargate room

It has been nearly six months since the First Contact Incident. Since then, the Stargate had fallen out of disuse following the failure of First Contact. The writing was on the wall, since the fiasco of First Contact. Any future planned expedition through the Stargate had been placed on hold, with the discovery that hostile aliens exist not only through the Stargate but were present in this very galaxy. Naturally, the public became weary of any future expeditions. As such, all excursions were put on hold, with rumors flying about it being canceled altogether.

It was natural after all, nobody wanted a repeat of the First Contact Incident. Moreover, with the threat of an imminent alien retaliation, nobody wanted to "accidentally" piss off even more aliens. One that may be more advanced than the aliens they were currently dealing with. Therefore, the Stargate was decommissioned and left alone in the Gate room. Guarded by a few personnel and several Marines that were stationed there, the gate itself was left abandoned for the foreseeable future.

Despite the abandoned state of the Stargate Embarkation room. It provided another use, namely being a perfect spot for a couple of SolForce personnel to spend their free time playing poker in the deserted room. Away from the prying eyes of their strict superior officers. Joining the usual personnel for a game of poker was Senior Airman Carol Weterings of the SolForce Colonal Guard air wing, along with Staff Sergeant McAtee and Airman First Class Fryatt, along with another Sergeant and another Airman. It was one of the many usual games played by many SolForce personnel during their off-duty time.

For the countless military personnel of SolForce, where the lack of any form of modern entertainment or games is due to the force's strict rules to enforce discipline and professionalism. Games such as pokers, or the ancient board and card games of the 21st century have offered to relieve the stress of their duties within the military and submit a form of entertainment. While not compromising the overall integrity and discipline, along with fostering camaraderie amongst their fellow servicemen and women. It was an old tradition within SolForce and it was a tradition that these men and women gladly followed.

However, today was anything but. Senior Airman Carol Weterings was nervous and unsettled, mainly because they were playing poker within the embarkation room in full view of the inactive Stargate. The same Stargate that resulted in mankind's First Contact with a hostile alien civilization. By now, everyone had heard about the disaster, even the public had some idea of what had happened. For Carol Weterings, playing poker in the same room with a device that can travel to other worlds in an instant gave her bad vibes. One she had shared with her fellow airmen.

"Is something wrong, Carol?" asked Staff Sergeant McAtee.

"A...No i-it nothing," she replied.

Staff Sergeant McAtee furrowed his eyebrows in response, "Are you sure? Because for the last couple of minutes now, you kept glancing every once in a while at the Stargate. If there is something wrong you can tell us you know."

"I know that it's just unusual that we will be playing here," she admitted.

"What's wrong with playing here?" asked Airman First Class Fryatt. "The Embarkation room was always seldom visited by officers ever since the First Contact Incident. Moreover, enlisted airmen like us would go there to play poker since it was all nice and quiet compared to the noisy cafeteria. And if you're worried about the Gate activating, rest assured the gate has been severed from all external power. It can't turn on until we apply power to it. So relaxed Carol, it's not going to turn on all of a sudden by itself."

"I suppose you're right, then again it doesn't feel right to be playing here right in full view of the gate itself," said Carol.

"Well if you feel that way, then suit yourself we're continuing the game anyways," said Airman First Class Fryatt who gestured to Staff Sergeant McAtee to continue the game. Ignoring her overall concerns.

With a sigh, Airman Carol Weterings cleared her thoughts as she tried to bring her focus back toward the game. But just as she had refocused her attention back on the game. She heard a strange metallic thump that came from the direction of the Stargate. She quickly glanced back but saw nothing. The Stargate was exactly where she had seen it previously. Once again, Carol Weterings turns her attention back to the game at hand. Only to be interrupted again, this time with a soft metallic beeping sound that emitted in the direction of the gate. This time, she couldn't help but ask.

"H-hey guys, doesn't anyone hear that?"

"Hear what, I didn't hear shit," said Airman First Class Fryatt annoyed that he was being interrupted.

"Did you guys hear that, the beeping sound in the direction of the Stargate," she said frantically.

Airman First Class Fryatt looked at his fellow Airman with annoyance and an incredulous expression.

"The fuck are you talking about," he called out, "The Stargate is inactive, it doesn't have power, Carol! There is no way it can be active."

"Then what about the beeping sound I heard then," asked Carol.

Airman First Class Fryatt sighed, "Look perhaps you're just hearing things, or someone is playing a prank on you. But I assure you...The GATE is not ACTIVE! It has no power for god's sake! There is no way it can or will activate by itself."

"Unless someone or something dials our gate," she retorted.

"Well yes, but as far as we can tell the aliens have yet to find the dialing sequences for this gate right here. Even if they do, the gate doesn't have power anyways, therefore, it can't be turned on and will not permit a stable wormhole passage between us to wherever these aliens are in the galaxy," explained Airman First Class Fryatt. "I hope this address your concerns, Carol."

"Uh...Fryatt?"

"What?!" Airman First Class Fryatt asked, already irritated by Carol's concerns.

"Lights are emitting from the Gate," said Carol.

"I'm sorry what?!"

"Okay Carol, What the hell are you talking about..." Whatever words Staff Sergeant McAtee was about to say died the moment he took a good look at the Stargate. Too much to his surprise, Senior Airman Carol Weterings was right. The Stargate's lights were indeed lit up.

Without a word, Airman First Class Fryatt quickly glanced at the control room to see who was messing with the Stargate. To much of his horror, there was no one in the control room, as evident since the control room was dark with nobody present. By this point, the other Airman and Staff Sergeant had completely paused their game to glance at the unfolding situation.

"What the hell?! I thought this thing was deactivated," said one of the airmen.

"Same," Nodded the Staff Sergeant, "Wasn't this disconnected from all power sources?"

Staff Sergeant McAtee stared at the Gate with complete disbelief at what was happening, "Hey Fryatt, is there anyone in the control room?"

"No there was no one there," said Fryatt as he ran towards the emergency communication systems to get in touch with security.

"What do we do?" asked Staff Sergeant McAtee frantically as the Stargate began showing signs that it was active.

"I'm informing security and getting the base up and alert," said Fryatt, "Quickly we need to build a barrier around the Gate!"

Snapping out of it, Carol Weterings quickly replied, "You heard the man, quickly!"

Nodding, the four SolForce personnel quickly ran around the room finding whatever they could to make a makeshift barricade around the Stargate. While others, quickly broke into one of the weapons lockers and armed their fellow servicemen for combat. In the meantime, Airman First Class Fryatt quickly went to one of the base's many emergency communication systems to directly contact the base's main security operations room.

"Heya...Uh security, this is Airman First Class Fryatt calling from the Embarkation room."

"This is security, what is the problem?"

"The...Uh Stargate is activating right before our eyes," replied Airman First Class Fryatt.

"I'm sorry...what?" said the voice on the other end. "What do you mean the Stargate is activating!?"

"I'm saying that something is coming through. Send in a security team, NOW!" yelled Fryatt.

"What on earth are you talking about...Wait this can't be right...Wha-What no...It can't be...Holy Shi-This is the Security office in Sector 10! All security units, head down to the Embarkation room immediately. This is a code red alert to all security teams! Code red, Hostile incursion on Lunar base. We need all units to head down to the Embarkation room immediately!"

"You," Fryatt called to the Airman and Staff Sergeant, "We need to build a barricade against whatever is coming through, Quickly!" he said, as the rings of the Stargate had now begun turning.

Immediately, the five panicked SolForce Personnel quickly built a makeshift barricade in front of the device, made out of unused boxes and crates scattered throughout the Embarkation room. As this was going on, all across the Lunar base, alarms, and alerts were going off as countless security teams quickly geared up and made their way to the Embarkation room joining the five personnel in their efforts to build makeshift defenses around the Stargate.

At the same time as everything that was going on, the acting commander of the Lunar Base, Major General George S. Hammond was being briefed on the situation by his frantic staff. The situation had occurred so suddenly that he was having trouble trying to follow what was going on.

"Is the Embarkation room secured?" he asked one of his aides.

"Yes general, we're sending security teams and the Marines down there now," replied the aide.

Major General Hammond sighed, "What the hell, why of all ways are they attacking through the Stargate?"

"We aren't sure general, perhaps it's probably because they don't know where we are?" suggested the Aide.

"Impossible," retorted Hammond, "They should have an exact idea of where our frontier territories are, and besides how the hell is the Stargate powering up without being connected to the power grid?"

"I...I don't know, sir," replied the aide nervously.

Before the general could respond, Suddenly the door to his office burst open as a frantic staff member quickly barged into the office.

"General, we have positive contact, a wormhole has formed and people are coming out of it!" replied the Staff who had just burst into the room.

"What!?" exclaimed General Hammond, "how many?"

"T-Too many, I believe there firefight going on sir," replied the staff.

General Hammond quickly opened a comms channel to Sol High Command. "This is Major General George S. Hammond to Sol Command, We are under attack. I repeat we are under attack by enemies from the Stargate. We need immediate reinforcements!"

After broadcasting his message, the General quickly got out his service pistol and began heading for the door.

The aides and the staff looked puzzled by the General's actions, "Uh...General where exactly are you going?" asked one of the aides.

"To see the situation for myself," replied the General as he disappeared from the doorway and began making his way toward the Embarkation room.

As he slowly made his way to the room, the general could hear the unfolding chaos as he slowly made his way towards the room. As the screams and the shouts got louder the General quicken his pace as he approached the room. As soon as he entered, what greeted him would ensure it to be the most unsettling scene in his entire career from that point.

There was so much red, as he recalled the scene on that day. Bodies everywhere, both theirs and alien, mostly alien bodies, the entire room was just filled with corpses so much for the eye could see. It took the Major General moments to register what he was seeing. As he viewed the horror show in front of him, he spotted a single moving hand from the area. Without thinking the General came to the man's aide, attempting to administer basic first aid to the wounded man. But it was in vain, his wounds were too much. Taking the opportunity to ask the soldier, in his last moments of living, the general began to question him. Hammond needed to know what exactly had happened before he arrived at the scene. As he know, that knowledge would be crucial later to investigate what had caused this attack.

"Talk to me soldier, what happened here?" he asked.

"G...G-General?" stammered the soldier,

"I'm right here, talk to me, what happened?" asked Hammond.

"T-they," the soldier coughed, "They came...through...the...Gate...Sir. There...were so many."

"So many who?" Hammond pressed.

"Alien's...in Silver...Serpents in silver," the soldier replied still struggling to speak due to his wounds. "They...were led by...This figure...in Gold."

"Did they attack?'" asked Hammond.

"Y-yes," he replied, "There...S-shots got her first. I-it got C-Carol first. It got her...So...we retaliated. I-i'm sorry G-general...W-we couldn't stop them...There were just too...many f-for u-us to handle. The B-battle took out everyone...The f-five of us, the s-security team, a-and the M...M-marines as well. I...I think I was the...Only ones who...Survived the B-battle."

"I know...there easy there son, you're injured don't try to force yourself," reassured General Hammond. "Stay with me, don't die on me yet, we have a medic team heading our way they'll save you!"

The soldier shook his head, "I-its already...Too late for me...general. I...I'm already dead. T-tell my m-mother that...That I-i'm s-sorry p-please."

Major General George S. Hammond nodded in response, "I will soldier, you can die a hero," the soldier smiled at his response.

As soon as he said that, the general felt the soldier's body go limp. Signaling to him that he had passed. The general could only sigh in response as he grieved for the fallen soldier he had just met. Died in the line of duty fighting against an unknown hostile force. As he grieved, the general soon heard a slight rustling behind him. Slowly turning he soon saw what was making that noise, his eyes widened.

Previously, he had thought that another one of the defenders had survived the encounter with the aliens. Too much of his surprise and horror, it was one of the aliens. The only difference was that it was brandished in gold oversize armor rather than the silver armor worn by the alien troops. As he observed what it was doing, he realized that the alien wasn't aiming for him. No, it was heading towards another alien, this time dressed in white. He observed as the gold alien caressed the white alien in an almost gentle, lovely, and sad manner. Before it slowly got up and began limping its way toward the Stargate and pulled out a tablet-like device.

It was here, that the general knew what it was attempting to do as the Stargate began to activate and begin the all-to-familiar dialing sequence of the machine. With quick thinking Major General George S. Hammond quickly whipped out his service pistol and stealthily made his way to the alien as it was too busy on getting out of here alive. For the general, he was not going to allow this alien to leave. Especially considering the aftermath of the carnage it had inflicted upon his men and this base.

"Freeze Asshole!" shouted the general as he aim his service pistol at the alien. Threatening the alien at gunpoint to get it to surrender, "Step away from the Stargate." said Hammond, only for him to dodge as the alien quickly opened fire on him with his concealed beam weapon.

General Hammond gladly retaliated by firing a burst of five shots, it was three out of five shots of which struck the alien. One struck it in the shoulder, one in the legs, and the other in the arm. The alien staggered as it was hit by the attack, struggling to maintain its balance. As the alien finally managed to steady itself, it gave General Hammond what he believed was a glare of anger, disdain, and defiance.

"Don't move this is your final warning," said General Hammond to the alien. To much of his surprise, the alien merely laughed as it retracted its serpent-like helmet to reveal a human face, albeit with glowing eyes and a deep booming voice.

"Surrender," it asked mockingly, "I Supreme System Lord Apophis will never surrender to the likes of you, Human." It sneered. "One day we, the Goa'uld will bring down divine retribution against your kind for this travesty."

"It was your kind who started!" yelled General Hammond as he was soon joined by reinforcement consisting of security guards and Marines who quickly filled the Embarkation room and pointed their weapons at the newly named Apophis. "Make no mistake, it was your lord Ra that started this whole mess and we retaliated accordingly. So enough of your supposed 'superiority' over the 'mortals' you deemed, you have no power here."

"And yet it was your kind who destroyed the unity of our great empire," it growled with disdain, "Tens of thousands of years of work, culture, and progress were all gone within the hour. After all these years, all it took was for your foul kind that will eventually destroy our great empire and now we see fit to retaliate according like you said before. This isn't over human, you may have won this battle but you have not won the war just yet. And we will be back, this time to enact our vengeance! Mark my words, Human! We are coming for you!"

"What are you...?"

"This will be the last thing we will meet Human face to face until we are once again in the combat of the void, this is our final warning," said Apophis as he slowly lean back as if he was falling. Just before he hit the ground, the wormhole burst into existence, engulfing him as he fell. Before the general and his men could do anything, the wormhole swallowed him up, and just like that he was gone. The stargate was inactive and they were left to scavenge in the aftermath.

Despite this setback, General Hammond wasted no time cleaning up and sorting out this mess before it can get even worse.

"I need teams here, medical and intelligence," ordered Hammond, "I want every corpse checked and any survivors human or alien in our custody. We need to find out how this happened."

"Yes sir!" saluted the reinforcement personnel as they quickly got to work sorting out the mess.

As the general stood in the aftermath of the attack. One of the aides quickly walked up to him, "General, what is going to happen from now?" said the aide unsurely.

"I don't know," he replied, as the pair stood amid the chaos all around them, "I don't know at all."

...

Sol System

Olympus Station

March 20th

Year: 136 ME29

Prime Minister Office

In the halls of Olympus Station, the main capital of the Solar Government and all of humanity. There was tension in the air, as the common citizenry was once again treated to the news of the latest alien attack. This time in the very heart of human civilization itself. Naturally, everyone was on edge since then. What was once a busy place, the center of humanity's political, economic, industrial, cultural, and military capital and a vibrant place was now nearly a dark and depressing place to be. The common citizenry, moves about to their daily lives, not talking or mentioning the events of the last few days. It was almost as if a dark foreboding blanket had been placed across the nation.

The enthusiasm following the Stargate's discovery had quietly vanished away and was now followed by cynicism and paranoia of the unknown. As the people of Sol-Gov now feared the unknown and what lay beyond their borders. But what also followed since the two alien attacks, was anger and frustration. Anger that the First aliens they met could be so cruel. And the frustration that the aliens were allowed to get away with these attacks and continue attacking without impunity. Moreover, it was also frustrating that there was nothing that can be done about it.

For Prime Minister Elizabeth Levy, who sat in her office in the Prime Minister's palace on Olympus Station the frustration, anger, and fury was apocalyptic. For months now, the aliens were allowed to get away with their attacks. For months now they have been powerless against their attacks. Nobody knew where these aliens would strike next following the Incident. It appears that nobody had even expected the aliens to directly strike against them through the Stargate itself. It represents a major failure of intelligence on their part and Prime Minister Levy wasn't going to let the aliens savor this victory for long.

As such, the Prime Minister in her office conducted a meeting about the attack with her cabinet, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and her top advisors. It was here that they will decide their next move and their response to the alien threats. The mood of the meeting itself could be considered sobre and tense. The attack caught everyone off guard and the Prime Minister herself was furious that the attack could even occur.

"Can someone tell me, What the fuck just happened?" she asked sternly at the assembled men and women in front of her. "A few months ago you promised me that the aliens were incapable of launching such attacks through the Stargate. Just a few months ago you informed me that the next alien attack would be at the borders of our frontier. We were lucky that they didn't send a bomb through the gate. Otherwise, we would have had no idea what the hell had happened anyways. So in that case, can anyone explain to me how the hell this attack even occurred anyways?"

"It would appear there were still many things we have yet to learn about the Stargate, Prime Minister," said Director Myron Faulke.

"Really," said Prime Minister Levy sarcastically, "I was told that the Stargate was inactive. So explain to me how it suddenly gained the power to generate a wormhole to and out of our territory. I assumed that the Stargate was disconnected from the power grid, is that correct or did someone forget to unplug the power?"

Director Faulke sighed, "It was neither of those, Prime Minister, what happened that day was due to a hidden feature of the Stargate which we were just beginning to find out now."

"So then, what is this 'feature' anyways? Does this device have the ability to create energy out of nowhere?"

"Yes and no," Director Faulked shook his head, "Since the alien attack, we discovered that the Stargate had other ways of providing power and activating. One of the first was that if a gate, supposedly located somewhere in the galaxy were to dial ours. The origin gate will not only transfer people across vast distances but also energy. The energy would then feeds into the gate of destination giving it the power to activate and form a stable wormhole for the point of origin to transport matter to the point of destination. The other discovery we made, is that regardless if we connect the Stargate to an external power source or the power grid, it will still be capable of providing it with power."

"How exactly?" asked Prime Minister Levy intriguingly.

"Through two components, Prime Minister," explained Director Faulke, "One is a hidden Zero-point energy generator that provides power to the Stargate indefinitely. The other is a series of capacitors that stores energy from the generators allowing the Stargate to maintain an opened wormhole passage independently from any external power source for at least thirty-eight minutes until its power reserves are drained and the capacitors recharged again or we provide it with external power to keep it running as long as possible. So in this case, regardless if we give it power or not. The Stargate will still be operational and vulnerable to being dialed in unless we destroyed it of course."

The room was silent as all those present in the room took some time to process the implications of that discovery.

"But wait," replied the Minister of Defense, "How the hell did we even miss this aspect of the Stargate? I assumed that the Stargate had been properly analyzed before the expedition. So why is it that we are beginning to discover this feature now?" He asked, causing a murmur to break out amongst the people in the room as they realized this point.

"That's a good question, I so do want an explanation. So can you care to explain this discrepancy, Director Faulke," asked Prime Minister Levy, "I would much like to know how the hell this aspect of the Stargate got missed to the point that we only now are beginning to find out?"

Director Faulke sighed in response, "Well for one, the Stargate's in-built zero-point energy generator was dormant when we first dug it up. Because it was dormant at the time our initial energy scans on the Gate revealed it to be inactive and with no power. Causing us to misread the Gate as requiring an external power source to function. This was also compounded by the fact that due to the Gate's materials, it was made from. It proved difficult for our scanners to read through therefore further the missed before we even knew it was there. It wasn't active until we applied external power to it which kinda jumpstarted the generators back to life. But by that point, because of our usage of Zero-point energy, these energy signatures overlapped one another which caused us to miss that feature again. By the time the Stargate was abandoned and decommissioned the energy signatures that were detected after the gate had been disconnected were assumed to be residue energy from our external power. Therefore, by the time we would discover this fact, it was already too late."

"I see," replied the Prime Minister, "So it was just down to the lack of knowledge again huh?"

"I'm afraid so, Prime Minister," nodded Director Faulke. "It was these factors that worked against us this time."

"Okay, anyways moving on from this topic, I have already seen the footage and it is my understanding that the Stargate also possessed a wireless interface capability?" asked Prime Minister Levy.

"That's right, Prime Minister," nodded Director Faulke, "We had looked over the security footage of the event on that day. It was from there that we discovered the alien utilized a tablet-like device to manually activate and dial the Stargate in its attempt to escape. While we haven't caught the escaping alien yet. But we have recovered their tablet devices in hopes of finding out how it works and how it could be wirelessly linked to the Stargate. However, the research on this device would take some time."

"Do as you can, we need to find out how their technology works so that we may no more about them," said Prime Minister Levy.

"It will be done, Prime Minister," replied Director Faulke.

"Now then, moving on, it has come to my attention that despite losing the alien Lord Commander, I am told that we have captured his second in command and his...Wife I'm being informed?" said Prime Minister Levy.

Major General George S. Hammond nodded in response, "Yes Prime Minister, her name is Amaunet, the mate of the Goa'uld System Lord Apophis to be precise. It took us a while to get the information from her. But her interrogation allowed us to understand what her species is and what type of government they are under. From what she can tell us, our enemy seemed to be weaker and more disunited than we have thought."

"Can we trust that information," asked Levy, "After all, for all we know she could be lying to us."

"Your concern is understandable, Prime Minister. However, Sol's Intelligence has its way to make sure that she's telling the truth. It took some time, especially considering she was sprouting nothing but pure nonsense for the last several hours since her capture about trying to 'put us in our place' or 'fear us their gods'. But Sol Intelligence feels confident that they have broken her enough to tell us about her kind. So I suppose the intel is accurate." replied General Hammond.

"I-I see," said Prime Minister Levy with unease. Her reaction was shared by the civilian staff and her cabinet. They had known the backwater methods, and unhanded tactics and strategies Sol Intelligence used to force a confession over their interrogated victims. Using these methods on a human is one thing. But for these methods to work effectively on an alien. The unease was evident as both Levy and her cabinet wondered what kind of method did Sol Intelligence use to coerce such a confession from the bombastic, arrogant, and cruel alien.

"General you may please continue," Prime Minister Levy gestured to the general to continue with the briefing.

Alright then, moving on we thanks to Amaunet we have gathered a large amount of intel on their race more so in the last six months. They are called the Goa'uld, which is the name of their species and the name System Lord is the title of nobility for a powerful Goa'uld who has authority, control, or power with lesser Goa'uld, the Jaffa their modified human servants and warriors, and the common human slaves in their service. The Goa'uld are organized in a feudal society and as a result of this 'feudal' arrangement the Goa'uld constantly found themselves in dispute with one another for control, power, and influence. Some of these disputes are notable for escalating to full-scale war with one another. However, the powerful of them all, Ra, and the sadistic System Lord called Sokar had once ruled over all of them as Supreme System Lord. Until around twenty thousand years ago Supreme System Lord Ra defeated Sokar and sent him into exile while consolidating his power over the lesser System Lords. Over the millennia Supreme System Lord Ra managed to slowly but surely unite all the Goa'uld lords and clans under one banner ensuring for the first time peace amongst themselves for tens of thousands of years. By forming a centralized system that allowed the Goa'uld to form a governing body. This ensured their race will be free from the once previous feudal system they were under. A system that had created disunity for millennia. It was a remarkable achievement and from there it would appear the Goa'uld would rule forever. That is until very recently." Explained General Hammond.

"That is most impressive," remarked Prime Minister Levy. "Can't imagine what it must have taken to build such an empire. This begs the question. What happened then? Why did their empire suddenly collapse?"

"Well Amaunet, wasn't really in the mood to tell us," admitted General Hammond, "But she did give us an overall idea of what was going on. From there we began to piece together a full picture which allowed us to understand the overall situation and explain some of their 'unusual' actions during the First Contact incident."

"By all means enlighten us, General."

"To put it simply, they are dying," answered the General. "Not in the way we would think."

"They're dying? How?" asked Levy.

"To explain further, we need to understand what they are and what kind of species are they," said General Hammond as he brought up a holographic display of an MRI scan of a person's brain for those in the room to see.

"As you can see, this is the MRI scan we conducted on Amaunet. It was standard procedure for a biologist to find out how different she is from a human being from a biological standpoint. As you can see here, she looks remarkably human apart from this area near the brain and the brain stem." explained General Hammond as he pointed to the area in question. It was here that everyone noted the unusual shape structure that was coiled around the nervous system in this area. For most in the room, this strange coil shape looked almost like a serpent coiled up on a branch.

"What is that?' asked Prime Minister Levy.

"That Prime Minister, is our alien," explained General Hammond. "To put it simply, the Goa'uld are a race of snake-like parasites who take humans as a host to survive. That is what they truly are."

Prime Minister Levy gave a Horrified look, "Wait then that means that woman is...?"

"That right, Prime Minister," nodded General Hammond, "The woman we see, is just the host. This right snake-like parasite coiled around the brain stem and the nervous system here is, in fact, Amaunet herself! That has taken control of the body you see in front of us. We don't know if what's left of the host remains. But all we know is that the Goa'uld has full control of the body. This is what they are ladies and gentlemen, a race of control-freak parasites!"

A murmur broke out across the room as the individuals in the room took in and processed this latest revelation.

"They're monsters!" remarked one of the Admirals.

"As if not already content with enslaving our kind. They have taken it upon themselves to enslave us within our bodies!" growled the Minister of the Interior.

"Alright, that's enough people," ordered Prime Minister as she brought the meeting to order, "Now general, how does this fit as to why they are dying?"

"According to Amaunet, the situation they are facing is truly dire as they said it was from both a medical examination and through the autopsy of corpses recovered during the First Contact incident," explained General Hammond, "Their kind is suffering, what is only describe as an apocalyptic situation. They as a species can no longer reproduce because of a massive infection that sterilized their queens, making them unable to spawn numerous larval Goa'uld - called Prim'ta -for the last hundred cycles. While this isn't exactly a big issue, considering the Goa'uld are known to utilize a device known as the Sarcophagus. Which is a device the Goa'uld use to rapidly heal injuries and extend their lifespans from basic testing and observations, we also found out the device is fully capable of bringing the recently deceased back to life. Using this, the Goa'uld can 'technically" live forever. That's where the other issue comes in."

"And that is what I assumed is what is truly the main issue for them, general?" Levy inquired.

"That's right, Prime Minister," nodded the General. "The main problem that they are now facing is that their hosts are rejecting them. They are being slowly killed by the bodies they choose to inhabit. And that's not all, we are not exactly sure what this is. But what we do know is that it has infected not only their host but also the entire human population under their rule. So in this case, even if they did change the host, it won't even matter because their new host could just be as deadly as their old one. For the last few centuries, the Goa'uld have been in a frenzy trying to solve the ongoing crisis. So far, as of the time of this report, they still haven't found a replacement for humans to be their new hosts. Moreover, looking back at what we have seen on the first planet we visited via the Stargate and the interview with the settlement chieftain Kasuf. The taking of so many people during each visit must have been a desperate attempt by the Goa'uld to survive. Based on the rate of their decline, we estimated that the Goa'uld as a species will be extinct by the end of the century, if not by the mid-next century from now."

"I can only begin to imagine how desperate they must be if they were willing to harvest entire populations of primitive human worlds just to survive one more day," remarked Prime Minister Levy. "In that case, what does this information give to us?"

"A golden opportunity, Prime Minister," replied John Krulak, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. "With the Goa'uld in decline and their centralized government in disarray. It is guaranteed that the countless system lords across the galaxy will be fighting against one another just to take whatever scraps of power that are left remaining over their crumbling domain. This gives us a perfect opportunity to exert our influence and our eventual control over this galaxy."

"What you're suggesting then is imperial conquest," Prime Minister Levy deadpanned, "And a point that I would like to mention. Are we even up for the task to begin with? It is a valid question to know beforehand before suggesting such ideas Mr. Krulak, Minister of Foreign Affairs."

"Well I just would like to point out the opportunity is there, Prime Minister," said Minister John Krulak. "It would be foolish of us not to consider immediately. Because for all we know there could be other alien civilizations out there waiting to seize upon the opportunity of the crumbling empire."

"Your concern is well-warranted," nodded Prime Minister Levy. "However, at the same time, I would like to point out the potential challenges we face if we are going to pursue this plan. First of all, do we have enough ships and manpower to hold all of our potentially new holdings under our possession? As far as I can tell, conquering territory is one thing. Holding it is another, it would do no good if these new holdings will be hotbeds for a never-ending insurrection movement. The second question is investment if we do conquer these territories. We do need to consider how much money can we pump into these new star systems. Money doesn't grow from trees, it would take years if not centuries to build up the necessary infrastructure, educate their relatively primitive citizenry, etc. Before we could expect returns from that investment and if we get this wrong, then all we will be doing is holding on to territory that will be a constant drain on our economy. And lastly, the third and final concern is the potential for alien influence and sabotage. With a low educated population, this makes them easily susceptible to alien influence which would undermine our strategic goals and national interest. How can we ensure that these new holdings will not come under this kind of danger? If you have any suggestion I'm all ears."

"The first concern won't be that much of a major issue to deal with, Prime Minister," replied the Minister of Defense. "Since the disastrous First Contact with the Goa'uld, recruitments into SolForce has been at an all-time high. It is to note that we haven't had this many people enter the military since the time of the Sundering. The increase in manpower is also followed by the expansion of our current military forces. I have been in talks with Fleet Admiral David Terrance and together we have drafted the plan for this year's yearly budget and subsequent plans for the expansion of the navy. We have planned for the creation of twenty-three new fleets, that will include the newest lines of warship classes to replace the older and more legacy systems of the Sundering. We have even entered talks about bringing back some old legacy designs such as the Titan and Juggernaut-type ships to be redesigned from the ground up to fit into the more modern battlefield setting."

"I see and may I ask, what is the progress on this development so far?" asked Prime Minister Levy.

"We are still in the preliminary talks at the current moment, madam Prime Minister, "Replied the Minister of Defense. "However, we do expect the first models of the newest Juggernaut-type ships to be in service by the end of spring. If you are wondering, why do we already have a ship already ready to be in service? That is because the hulls were originally pre-made during the Great War of the Sundering so that ships that size could be constructed quickly. Especially during the war when ships were being lost left and right. When the war ended these pre-made hulls were left in storage to be used for other purposes. We have merely taken these pre-maid hulls and begun working on them to create the first model of Juggernaut to be ready for service. The idea at the time was gunboat diplomacy, to show the Goa'uld that they are not the bigger fish in this galaxy."

"I see," answered Levy as she read the report compiled by the Minister of Defense, "In that case, continue as you do. If I am reading this right about the Juggernauts, then they would be very useful for the upcoming task at hand."

"They would be, Prime Minister," said the Minister of Defense, "The Juggernaut is essentially a mobile center of operations for an entire battlefleet, equipped with shipyards that can construct, repair, and upgrade ships the same way a starbase or a shipyard can. Each Juggernaut-type ship can have two or more shipyards and can thus build or upgrade up to two or more ships at a time. Ships like these will be useful for operating in areas with little to no infrastructure to support massive deep fleet operations into the galaxy. Especially in the territories of the crumbling Goa'uld empire, where their facilities may be incompatible with ours. We plan to at least have seven to nine ships of this type within the next few years and decades to come."

"Do it, we need all the assets we can bring to the table if we were to ever encounter an alien race more advanced than the Goa'uld," replied Prime Minister Levy.

"It will be done," nodded the Minister of Defense.

"Good, now onto the second issue, do we have a solution for this problem?"

"Well plans on dealing with these worlds are in talks, Prime Minister," said the Minister of Labor. "We are treating these cases as a lost colony-type IIC case, the most extreme. However, the main crux of the problem is the fact that there could be thousands if not millions of worlds similar to the ones found during the First Contact incident out there. Knowing the Goa'uld modus operandi when dealing with their subjects. These people have been kept so profoundly ignorant, that anything we show to them is essentially magic in their eyes. The effort and time needed to educate these people and bring their technological level to the standards of colonies within our interstellar empire would be immense. I can already imagine the cost and investment that would be needed for this endeavor. This is not counting the other cost of infrastructure and the start-up cost for nascent industries. It won't be as much of a drain on the economy as you feared. However, we will still feel the pain of this effort."

"I see, is there anything we could do to expedite this process?" asked Levy.

"Unfortunately, there is none, Prime Minister," said the Minister of Labor shaking her head. "I have considered all avenues and none prove to be successful. One of those options was giving them a Standard Template Computer and Constructor to work with. We would give them the STC and provide them with limited information on how to use it and work from there. Unfortunately, while it sounds like a great idea on paper, truthfully it is an idea comparable to giving cavemen nuclear weaponry. The STC system while great at allowing our colonies to maintain the latest advanced technologies to the rest of humanity. There have regrettably been incidents in the past where colonies who lost so much technical knowledge found these systems and used the knowledge stored within them for war not to rebuild themselves into a proper civilization and prosper. The same situation could occur to these people if we ever give them the technology. The other is helping them, while not as bad as giving them STCs and saying 'You're on your own.' The problem here is that we will be stunting their ability to grow and prosper. This will cause them to rely on us and as a result, they will be so reliant on us, that they will begin draining our economy in the process. As our resources are constantly being shifted to their aid which could be used somewhere else. This is the main argument we have when ensuring the sustainability of interstellar colonization in an era where FTL travel was still limited. Then we have the last option, which is to erase the current population and supplement them with our colonists. And as you know is not an option we can take lightly. So unfortunately Prime Minister, there are no great options."

"I see," said the Prime Minister in deep thought, "And the last concern?"

"Well, I'm afraid I have to disappoint, Prime Minister. But the concern in this area is purely speculative at this point," replied Director Myron Faulke. "We know for a fact the Goa'uld isn't the only alien civilization out there for a fact. After all, the Goa'uld stated that they 'salvaged' the technology they could acquire from an even more ancient and powerful group of aliens known as the Ancients, otherwise known as the gate builders. The problem standing with us right now is that we have absolutely no idea, apart from the Goa'uld of what is truly out there. Without knowing what's truly out there, we can't prepare for it if we don't know what they are capable of. We could prepare of course, but hypothetically our preparation could result in nothing or incapable of stopping our enemies. So in truth, we can't exactly prepare ourselves if we don't know what's out there. Take the First Contact disaster for example, we didn't tell anyone about the Krasnikov Tubes network because of the fear these aliens can utilize these tubes against us. What we got was that our assumption regarding the preparation did nothing to prevent that disaster from unfolding. So in truth, if we are going to prepare for this threat. We need to go out there and see for ourselves."

"And I suppose you're right?" said Levy, "In this case, who do we send through the Gate then? After what happened last time, I don't think the public would be thrilled to know that we are continuing the Gate exploration missions."

"A newly reformed Stargate Command under the control of Sol Intelligence," Director Faulke answered. "While Sol Intelligence will manage all forms of gate travel from here on out. The mission of Stargate Command will remain the same. After all, Stargate Command is the military, scientific, and exploratory arm of SolForce within the realm of gate exploration missions. Their mission will be to scout out the Stargate network and their distant worlds beyond our territory and gather information on new alien civilizations, establish first contact and diplomatic relations as soon as possible. We must establish friendly relations as there are only so many enemies we could face without stretching ourselves thin. Therefore, I place the search for a peaceful civilization as our top priority."

"And what if they aren't peaceful?" asked Levy.

"Then Prime Minister, we will destroy them," Director Faulke said with absolute certainty. "We cannot allow ourselves to be attacked in a way by the like of the Goa'uld ever again. If these aliens prove themselves hostile, then they will know the fury of our spirit. That is a final."

"Alright then, do as you must. I expect results, Director, your agency has failed us once now, do ensure to wipe the stain of that shame off Director or we will take action against you. Failure is not an option." Levy warned the Director.

"Understood, Prime Minister I'll see to the initiative's success," replied Director Faulke.

"Good, is there anything else anyone would like to mention," asked Levy, a hand soon raised which Levy accepted. "General Hammond, what is it that you would like to say?"

"What should we do with Amaunet?" the General asked.

The Prime Minister gave a brief thought on what to do with their Goa'uld Prisoner, "Is she suffering from the same issue plaguing the other system lords?"

"That is right, Prime Minister, we estimated she could live within the host for only a couple more weeks before she is expelled from the body itself. The host's body has been in use byAmaunet for roughly two years at this point," said General Hammond.

"Then have her removed from the body," replied Levy without hesitation. "And then terminate her, we no longer have use for that thing."

"Understood, Prime Minister," replied Hammond.

"Well then, people we have a long task ahead of us. I expect good news within the next few years. So let us enter the new age and ensure our prosperity for ten thousand years. For Sol and her colonies!" said Levy.

"For Sol and her colonies!" cried out the cabinet members, officers, and staff in the room.

The plan was now in place and Sol-Gov was on the move. To ensure their control and to bring prosperity across the known galaxy. For better or worse, the galaxy will never be the same ever again.

...

Tollana system

Planet: Tollana

The Capital City of Tollana

In the dead of night on the Planet of Tollana, the capital of the Tollan People. A battle was taking place in the Plaza of Ministries and the Office of the Curia. Both of these places represented the highest symbols of government for the Tollan people. The Plaza of Ministries was the location of most government offices across the planet and was home to four divisions of the government that took care of all issues on the Tollana. These four branches were named after their functions: the Ministry of Health, Justice, Science, and the Ministry of Space. While the Office of the Curia was the headquarters of the Curia, their main legislative body, on the planet Tollana and was in the central part of Tollana's capital city. The office was also the planet's highest decision-making organization. It is here the High Chancellor had his or her office located within the office building.

The battle that was taking place was a fight for freedom for not only Tollana but for the Tollan people against their Goa'uld oppressors. Centuries ago, the Tollan people had nothing to fear even from the rising unified Goa'uld Empire under Ra. After all, they had nothing to fear. For defense of their planet, the Tollans employed a series of orbital defense batteries which were located at strategic points across the surface of the planet. These giant ion cannons were able to fire charged ion particle blasts into space from their location on the surface of the planet with deadly accuracy and were able to destroy most spaceships. The targeting ranges of these ion cannons had slightly overlapping fields but were designed that way so that they could provide additional protection just in case a single cannon was disabled or destroyed. The Tollans themselves kept the location of these ion cannons a heavily guarded secret from even their closest allies.

It was thanks to these cannons that the Tollans were able to remain independent for countless millennia, until now. While the Tollan are not a militaristic people, they are also not pacifists and will destroy any vessel that poses a threat to their planet. Combined with their stubborn isolationist ideology and staunch resistance against giving away their advanced technologies to "primitives" and even going as far as to refuse trade and diplomatic contact. The Tollans eventually became complacent, which was a mistake that they would soon regret later on. Because of their overconfidence in their advanced technologies, the Tollans became stagnant culturally, economically, and technologically. They would soon become vulnerable when the former exiled Goa'uld System Lord Anubis was able to tune his shields, making them impervious to the ion cannons and effective to similar particle beam technology, rendering the Tollans vaulted Ion cannons useless.

With no other choice, the Tollan surrendered to the Goa'uld, and the System Lord, whose emissary Tanith had ordered them to construct Phase-shifting weapons to penetrate any potential Stargate with a shielded iris or other forms of the defensive system, similar or equal to so that they can begin the conquest of worlds with such defensive systems in place. One member of the Curia, Omoc, opposed this collaboration. In return, the Curia chose to murder Omoc to silence him to protect their people from any form of Goa'uld retribution. However, unbeknownst to the Goa'uld emissary this was a carefully planned ruse. A ruse, to ensure Omoc would live and build a resistance force with the hopes of one day freeing Tollana from the Goa'uld grasp. With the aid of his trusty subordinate Narim, along with the help of a few allies. One was the ancient race called the Nox, another was the remnants of an alien race that once originate in their home system called the Saritan, and the other was a small faction of Goa'uld rebels calling themselves the Tok'ra.

This alliance of rebels would base themselves on the ruined world of Tollan, the original home, and origin of the Tollan people. The world and its sister world of Sarita were slowly brought back from ruin to their former habitable self, thanks to the advanced planetary engineering and terraforming technologies of the Nox. With the two worlds now restored, the alliance got to work on defeating the Goa'uld. The Tollan first slowly build a great army to face the Goa'uld by first rebuilding their shattered homeworld and increasing their overall population. While the Nox provided technological and moral support, being the pacifist they are. The Nox were notorious for being pacifist to the extreme as such the Tollan knew that they cannot expect any form of military support from them. While for the Tok'ra, it was a different case for the Tollans. Thanks to the Tok'ra's covert networks of spies and clandestine intelligence network. The Tok'ra was able to provide the Tollans with everything about the Goa'uld from their main base of operation to their vast industrial areas and their many weaknesses.

Using this knowledge, the Tollans planned for the inevitable uprising against their Goa'uld oppressors. With their population in the billions and combined with the development of newer, heavier, and more advanced versions of ion cannons and the development of other forms of military equipment. The Tollans were ready for war, all they need was a golden opportunity to act. And that golden opportunity would come to the Tollan, with the sudden collapse of the Goa'uld Empire in the form of the destruction of their centralized government, caused by an unknown player in the galaxy. With this act, the rebellion was on, the Tollans struck everywhere. From their colonies down to the planet of Tollana itself. The Goa'uld was caught flat-footed by the sudden insurrection and they struggled to put it down. With the destruction of their centralized government and subsequent chain of command. The Goa'uld couldn't react quickly enough to crush the revolt. As such, System Lord Anubis, realizing the situation was untenable soon retreated from the planet leaving behind his army and his emissary Tanith, in which whom the Tollan captured.

Now after so many years, they were finally free. Tollana was theirs again and they were finally a free people, no longer hiding in the shadows or fear of any alien oppressors. And now they were going to savor it, starting with what they had in store for the unfortunate Goa'uld emissary who got left behind by his lord. As the Goa'uld emissary, Tanith was dragged out by the victorious Tollan. He could be heard screaming insults and yelling threats at the Tollan.

"Let me go!" he screamed, "Unhanded me, filthy mortals! Do you know who I am?!"

"Oh yes we do," said Narim menacing, "Tanith, emissary to Goa'uld System Lord Anubis, our enslaver."

"Then you would know what will happen next, especially considering your little rebellion," Tanith sneered.

Narim and the other Tollan gave a hearty laugh in response. Too much of his apparent confusion.

"What happened next?" laughed Narim, "Your lord abandoned you and your empire is no more. Where is this so-called retribution then?"

Tanith only slumped in realization as the nature of the situation finally hits him. He had lost, no, the Goa'uld has lost, not only this rebellion but their entire empire as well. Seeing the defeated Goa'uld, Narim gave the order to take him away.

Joining him were the members of the Curia, who looked for the first time relaxed and happy.

"It would appear that Omoc's work has finally paid off," remarked High Chancellor Travell, "We are finally free from the clutches of these foul beasts, once and for all."

"It would indeed appear to be so, High Chancellor," said Narim, "I wish my master Omoc could be with us to savor this very moment. However, he has other businesses to attend to I'm afraid."

"Shame, well I guess we can't for more," nodded High Chancellor Travell, "He was instrumental in freeing our-, no, you all have been instrumental in freeing us from the Goa'uld. You are all heroes and you shall be remembered for your contribution to the Tollan people as a whole."

"You bless us with your thanks, High Chancellor," said Narim as he kneeled as a sign of respect. "But, I feel I am not worthy of such rewards."

"No one is," smiled High Chancellor Travell, "Your action here today is more than what our ancestors had done since the founding of Tollana so please take this thanks on behalf of not us but by the people of this planet."

"I see, why thank you, High Chancellor," nodded Narim.

"While we may have won this battle, the war is still far from over," said one of the Curia, "The Goa'uld are still out there, divided but still a threat. Until they are whipped from the stars, the war continues."

"Agreed," replied Travell, "What's the plan from here on out?"

"Are the weapons secure?" asked Narim.

"They are," nodded Travell, "We managed to secure all Phased-through warheads with plans to destroy most, but keep one for ourselves, as insurance of course,"

"Understood, and what do we do with Tanith?" asked another from the Curia,

"The Tok'ra will handle that," replied Martouf, ambassador of the Tok'ra. "We shall deal with him and the host. As per our agreement, the next sets of intel on the Goa'uld will be sent, of course."

"Note, and as part of our end of the deal. I ensure you, the Tok'ra will receive the next shipment of ion cannons and other military equipment," said Narim, whom the Tok'ra nodded in response.

"Now with that out of the way. And what of the Nox, what is their plan after this?" asked one of the Curia.

"We have opted to investigate," said Lya, ambassador of the Nox. "This rebellion would not have been possible if it wasn't for the entity that destroyed the Goa'uld Unity. As such, we demand answers as to who they are and what their intentions are."

"Understood, can we determine that they could be potential allies?" asked High Chancellor Travell. "It would be nice to have more allies to our great cause."

"I'm afraid we are unsure at this moment," replied Lya. "We are currently in talks with one of our allies, the Asgard, to establish First Contact with this mysterious civilization. It is only then, we shall know where they stand in the galaxy."

"So it is said then," said Travell, "Let us join with you to meet these people."

"Um...High Chancellor, are you sure about this?" asked one member of the Curia, "I think we may be a bit too hasty here."

"I understood your concerns, but right now we won't have been in this position if it weren't for them," she explained. "We owe them a much-needed thanks than we do. If it wasn't for them, the golden opportunity may or may never come."

"I see if that is your decision we will not stop you," said Lya. "Feel free to join us then, High Chancellor."

"We the Tok'ra too want to join," replied Martouf. "We too would like to know who these people are as well. As you said before, they could be valuable allies against the Goa'uld."

"So it is decided then," announced Travell, "We shall head out and meet this new people or new race at once! They could either be the start of a new age or the start of this era's downfall. Until then, they need to be contacted. We are moving out within the month."

"Yes, High Chancellor!" acknowledged the loyal citizen of Tollan.

The die has been cast. For too long the Tollan had lived in ignorance over their pretenses and overconfidence. And now things are different, never again will the Tollan be forced into that situation ever again. Never again will the Tollans be made slaves for oppressive alien overlords. Now, the people of the Tollan will forge their path, free from suffering and free from any threats. Only time will tell if they will be successful.

...

Ascension Realm

In the realms beyond the plane of mortal existence. Three powerful beings watched in interest as they watched the developing situation in the galaxy which they referred to as Avalon, once a place they call home and the site of their greatest works. It's been tens of millions of years, since their ascension into the higher planes of existence. Despite this, the situation and the ever more changing development of the lower planes have always captivated these beings into watching the lower plane with anticipation. Here they were watching the fall of the unified Goa'uld Empire under the hands of their future successors. Watching with pleasure as they saw that their years of investment and work had finally paid off.

"It would appear that the Humans of Terra at long last are ready to take up the mantle of the fifth race." said one of the Ascendants.

"So it would seem," replied another, "Though I have to ask, did we...go a bit overboard in this regard?"

"Whatever do you mean?" asked the third, "Wasn't this part of the plan anyways to modify them?"

"No," said the first shaking his head. "There was no plan to modify them, to begin with."

"Then how do you explain their sudden technological advancement then?" stated the second Ascendant, "Because they did; what it took us several million years to reach that level of technological sophistication. And if you were to compare their civilization to the others. Then they look too out of place here compared to the other civilization around the Avalon sector, including the Nox and the Asgard! It almost feels like we are looking at another version of us or even another faction of our race, such as the Confederation of Three, the Ori, or the Militesi."

"Your concerns are well warranted," replied the First, "However, what we see in front of us is just the byproduct of the environment they were raised in."

"How?" questioned the Third, "Why does the nature of how they are raised lead to this result we see in front of us?"

"Because the environment they live in forced them to advance, adapt, and developed," explained the First. "While they have access to the vast amount of resources in the large territories they control. As you can see, none of the star systems within their space contains a world amenable to life. A regrettable byproduct of our attempt to preserve Terra's natural biodiversity from outside foreign contamination by creating a massive quarantine barrier to make colonizing the space near Terra inaccessible or to create a form of disinterest to any alien power to conceal Terra's existence. This resulted in a massive amount of space within the Avalon galaxy with fields of plentiful and exploitable natural resources, but no habitable world to inhabit and exploit those resources with ease."

"But that hasn't stopped the Goa'uld, namely Ra himself from discovering Terra and taking the Humans there," the Second pointed out.

"True, but he didn't exactly come back to check on Terra didn't he?" remarked the First.

"I guess you're right on that part, so you were saying?"

"Right, because of the lack of habitable worlds and easy colonization. This forced the humans of Terra to advance if they were going to survive and thrive as a civilization. And as you can all see, the results of that hard work just to survive and thrive have finally paid off in the long run for them." explained First.

"But as a result, their civilization is dangerously concentrated to the extreme," remarked the Third, "Their Sol system, or the Sol sphere as they call it officially, contains roughly eighty-six percent of the entire population of their civilization. All spread out across the once former single star solar system within a sphere with a radius of less than four light years. Nearly all of them live in this bubble across one hundred and sixteen solar systems of different forms and types, that were either brought in or artificially created, these star systems are then centered around nine capital star systems, which include the original star system. This area contains various megastructures to artificial planets built for or to aid the purpose of habitation. Just beyond that, we have another bubble with a radius of just sixteen light years containing mostly artificially created stars of the red dwarf category. There are only sixteen truly habitable star systems in this sector. This sector also contains the other massive megastructures that they have built. From massive networks of space farms to feed their absurdly large population. And the massive, and in my opinion ridiculous effort, to construct thousands of Dyson sphere-type structures ranging from large energy production plants, Matryoshka and Jupiter's brain for computer science and their attempt at "Digital Ascension", to the massive livable spheres just to contain living space or experimental habitats for biodiversity or genetic experimentation. Of course, there are other Megastructures as well but I won't get into that, because it is just too ridiculous to think about it. Then there are the two equally massive buffer zones each ranging from a hundred light years in radius; that are completely dedicated to defense or the mining and extraction industry to planetary engineering. And all of this orbits a massive black hole they created artificially to hold it all together. This is impressive I am not going to lie, as for the rest of their population, they are just spread out across Terraformed worlds and outposts across a sphere with a radius of twenty-nine thousand light years, and whose population on these colonies barely even surpasses two billion. This should give you an indicator of how much the Sol system is to the Humans on Terra. If for any reason they lose the Sol System, then their civilization is somewhat screwed."

"An understandable concern of course," replied the First. "However, with the discovery of the Stargate and Hyperspace travel then perhaps this trend might change. Despite the Sol system is heavily protected. Adding to this, I believe that the humans of Earth are indeed aware of this issue and are looking to rectify it in the short term. They are still quite young compared to us. Therefore, we were expecting them to make mistakes along the way and learn from them to grow and thrive."

"I see," nodded the Third, "And speaking of mistakes, it would appear that their mistakes from their last great war are about to create a whole lot of new problems not only for them but for others as well." Said the Third Ascendant as he directed the attention of his peers to a series of galaxies that are known to the Humans of Earth as the Pegasus, Andromeda, and Triangulum. Where their reaction was mixed as they saw what was happening.

"Oh dear, that is an unfortunate problem indeed," said the Second Ascendant with much distress.

"I believe the Humans would refer to it as one hell of a problem," remarked the First, "Though, I didn't expect it to spread and become an intergalactic issue, to begin with."

"Well it can't be helped, that 'thing' was created by them to be the ultimate weapon of destruction and annihilation during the Sundering," explained the Third, "With the ability to breed quickly in large numbers, added with their resilience and ability to adapt and undergo evolution at will, combined with a hivemind with unparallel thinking and computational power. Trying to destroy it would have been near impossible, to begin with, and added with their ability to utilize and create unique biotechnology to emulate non-organic mechanical technologies used by most races in the known universe. The uniqueness was its strength and it used this quite well and effectively. Adding to the fact that they are using Interspace drives and have hulls designed to withstand long voyages lasting centuries. It won't even matter anyways because they would have spread uncontrollably in all directions. Even if it had taken centuries for them to reach other galaxies, just to begin wreaking havoc there. The thing will still go regardless of how far away their next meal is."

"I suppose you're correct then," admitted the First, "I guess we'll just going to leave the Humans of Terra to sort out the mess they created then."

"But look on the bright side," said the Second as he pointed to the large foreboding mass approaching the confines of the Pegasus Galaxy, "At least the Wraith will be in for a massive shock."

"I would concur, the Wraith are in for one hell of a nasty surprise that is for sure," said the First. "It is nice to know that the nightmare that has given our Lantean Brothers and Sisters hell in Pegasus all those years ago is about to face their retribution. Or as the Humans would say, face the music."

"However, I must bring up a point, I don't believe our brethren in Andromeda or Triangulum and their Confederation of Three would appreciate this threat coming straight at them though. Hell, I don't think they would be too happy about this." Stated Third.

"Heh, I suppose there's nothing we can do about it," said First, "What I think, is that this threat would finally get them out of their isolationist period and get them to explore Avalon. Hell, even meet the Humans of Terra. I'm sure that they will be excited to know that a race on par with them technologically exists. I can already see the fruit of that relationship brewing."

"I suppose you're right," said Second, "Anyways, what I am more excited about is seeing the Asgard and the Nox meet the Humans of Terra."

"That would be interesting to see for sure," replied First, "We never really showed the extent of what we were capable of to the Asgard and the Nox. Hell, even during the time of the Alliance of Four Great Races. They only saw a fraction of what we were capable of as a people and as a race, from the little interaction they had with our brethren of the Confederation."

"Adding to that, what they also don't know is that we can be as militaristic as we want by choice," said Third, "We didn't because our fraction wasn't really into the realm of warfare, only exploration and scientific discovery was our only goal. Anything else or other was considered secondary."

"And combined with their general lack of interaction with fractions of our people, such as the Ori and the Militesi. They will be in for one hell of a surprise if they ever met these people, that is to say for sure," said Second. "Now that I think about it. We never really told our allies the full story of our kind during the time of the alliance, didn't we?"

"No we didn't," said First, "And it was for a good reason too. If they had known we were a divided people, it could have brought more trouble than we would have liked. The Nox especially would have been extremely troubled by the existence of a militaristic fraction of our race. And considering the nature of the situation which has brought them into the path of pacifism in the first place. Then I suspect that they would have been angry about our 'hypocrisy', along with other issues relating to our other allies. So as a result, we never really delved into the explanation of our society and culture and the other races naturally assumed that we as a people were all united."

"I suppose that makes perfect sense," said Second shaking his head, then again he did recall that countless races within the alliance, most notably the Asgard have always said much the same thing about their people in general. Their people had been around for millions of years before the Asgard emerged and frankly didn't have a fraction as much to show for it as they really should have. At the very least the universe should have been teeming with what the humans would refer to as Dyson Spheres by now, but their people were the poster children for a society in extreme technological stasis. At least that's what they think, truthfully the situation is much...much more complex than that. They would rather not have the other races find out and begin to meddle in this affair for the sake of not only their sanity but also the sanity of others. Because the overall situation involving the various factions within their race was just too complicated and in general just a big mess to deal with. To the point, it was just not worth trying to do something about it.

At the same time, they had predicted that many races like the Asgard would begin to idly wonder on occasion whether or not the humans their people created in their image on this world were prone to such frenetic advancement as they had exhibited lately because their predecessors realized their weakness in this area and "fixed" it in the genetic code of their experiment. If only they knew the truth of their actual situation. Then they would begin to understand why that is the case.

"Anyways, you know how everything is progressing. They will inevitably find out the truth about our people, you know that right?" Second, warned his peers.

"I do and we have intended for them to find out," said First, "It was only natural course of action for us to take, after all."

Second, gaped as he slowly understood the implication of what First had said.

"You mean, that this decision has already been decided before?" asked Second. "Like with them finding out about the fractions and whatnot?"

"That's right," nodded Third, "With how advanced the Humans of Terra are, we have concluded that they would eventually meet the rest of our kind sooner or later. It was only a matter of time before that will occur, thus we have made the decision not to hide any further. We will let them learn about us and then allow them to judge whether or not we were right or we were wrong. Good or evil, bad or worse, they will be the ones to judge our actions, nothing more."

"I see, so if that case, what do we do from here on out," asked Second. "Do we intervene or do we leave clues for them to find and piece together a picture?"

"We observe and see, my friend. We wait and see where this situation would lead to. Then we shall know the final results, once and for all." said First as the three Ascendants continue to watch the affairs of the mortal plane with curiosity and interest. They were satisfied with how things were progressing, for now.

...

Aschen Prime

In the pitch darkness of the meeting room. The highest-ranking members of the Aschen Confederation had gathered here today to discuss the ongoing developing situation occurring through the known galaxy. Gathered here were to eight most powerful members of the Confederation, these were the eight representatives of the Confederation elected by the people to lead the Aschen on the path of prosperity for the great good of their society. Chairing the meeting and the debate to follow was the Administrator. A title bestowed upon those with the task of administrating the Aschen Confederation's federal council. Which was their federal cabinet of the Confederation and also serves as their collective head of state and government.

While the Administrator chairs the council, it is a position that exercises no particular authority; rather, the position is one of a first among equals and rotates among the eight Councillors annually. Acting as a speaker for the council as a whole, taking part in the position of neutrality.

"My fellow councilors," began Councilor Mollem starting the council meeting. "It has come to our attention that our plans for the wider galaxy have hit a snag. The Goa'uld has fallen, their empire destroyed by an all too familiar enemy to our people."

"Indeed, it would appear our former brethren of the most hated Solar Government have finally discovered the Stargate," added Councilor Mirris. "And as a result, came into contact with the Goa'uld Empire and their leader Ra. This resulted in a predictable series of events that would see Ra killed and the empire he had worked hard on building collapse within the year. Because of this unexpected series of events, our original plans for conquering the Goa'uld and the wider galaxy are now in question."

"As such, Councilor Mirris and I have convened this emergency council meeting here today to discuss our next course of action as a result of the event. We all know that with the discovery of the Stargate and the wider galaxy. It is only a matter of time before Sol-Gov would venture out and take over the galaxy once they realized how powerful they are compared to the primitives that inhabit it. And we all know that it is only a matter of time before they know we exist and I don't need to remind everyone here of the consequences of that potential scenario." said Councilor Mollem.

A grim nod was acknowledged by the rest of the Councilors as they now realized the nature of the situation that had befallen the galaxy.

"In that case, what do you suggest we do then?" asked the Administrator.

"We need to ready and prepare ourselves to go on the offensive," Councilor Mollen suggested, "As you all know, our original plan for dealing with the Goa'uld was to launch a direct series of specialized bioweapons attacks with the sole purpose of weakening their empire so that we can take over from the ashes. The plan came in two phases, phase one was the launch of the sterilization virus. A special virus we designed to sterilize the Goa'uld population making them unable to reproduce and further their numbers. The second phase was designed to target their host. As we all know, thanks to a device known as the Sarcophagus, allows the Goa'uld use to rapidly heal injuries and extend their lifespans, and can also bring the recently deceased back to life. Because of this, we needed to target the Goa'uld in a way that will ensure that their extinction is set and stone. Therefore, Phase 2 of the plan calls for the usage of a specially engineered evolution virus that would infect a human, host or not, and trigger a response in their bodies to begin rejecting Goa'uld symbiote. In this way, not only the Goa'uld will be killed by their hosts but they will also be unable to inhabit human bodies no longer. With this in mind, the Goa'uld would slowly die out, left to whiter in the vines as we come to take their place and ensure our dominance over the galaxy. A plan worthy of what we Aschen are capable of, a plan worthy of our time and patience. But alas, due to recent events, the plan has been regrettably derailed as we speak."

"Indeed, the Goa'uld First Contact with the Solar Government has resulted in the premature end of their empire, civilization, and society," added Councilor Mirris. "With this in mind, it has become absolutely clear that we can no longer continue this plan. Therefore, we need to establish plans for a new one. Both Mollen and I have concluded that in the aftermath of First Contact, the Solar Government will be looking to expand its power across the galaxy. It's only a matter of time before they begin their crusade across the galaxy. Therefore, we both suggested that the Aschen must take a more direct aggressive offensive action against the galaxy."

"But, Councilor Mirris, while your suggestion is interesting. But you have to understand that, considering the state of our military we are nowhere near capable enough to challenge the forces of the Solar Government," said Councilor Valorana. "We are only eighty-seven thousand ships strong and with a poor below-average standing military ground force that is just barely capable of fighting in the way SolForce is capable of. I'm afraid you're asking the impossible Councilor Mirris"

"Not only that, don't forget the fact that we are heavily outnumbered by SolForce," added Councilor Coplann. "Eighty-seven thousand ships still pales in comparison to the hundreds of millions of ships that the SolForce navy is capable of fielding. This is not counting their truly massive ship classes like the Titan and Juggernauts class. Which is a whole other beast to consider about. As for our ground forces, they are for lack of a better word, laughable. The Confederation has always used combat robots, and drones, as fighters on the ground and in space. As much as I hate to admit it. We are pitiful soldiers and bad fighters, sadly a byproduct of countless genetic population editing programs designed to suppress all our emotions, and at the same time, we have never employed violence between ourselves since the founding of the Confederation and the start of the gene editing program launched by our founder. Overall our lack of a strong professional military is mainly because we as a people are generally unaccustomed to fighting as soldiers. We are, after all, patient conquerers not militaristic imperialists."

"Then we come to the industrial side of things," stated Councilor Tha'malen. "As you know, we are only trillions strong spread out across a small region of space less than five thousand light years. It pales in comparison to the countless quintillions of Sol-Gov citizens living in Sol and the other colonies. A larger population means a larger human capital they can pull from. This means a larger industrial base, a larger economy, and a larger manpower pool to choose from. While we could supplement these with our robotics drones. We have control of fewer resources compared to the Solar Government if this becomes a protracted fight I hate to say. Sol-Gov will beat us in the long run it's just a matter of fact."

"And don't forget about our former allies during the Sundering, even if we did once again reestablish contact with the secessionist group dotted around their frontier colonies. What is to say they will trust us again?" stated Valorana. "Ever since the disaster with the swarm, no one is willing to trust us again after that incident. I hate to say it, we are all alone. It's just us against the might of SolForce, this isn't the time of the Sundering Councilor Mirris. This is more akin to a massive insurrection group or a band of traitors and terrorists."

"And we cannot also forget the idea of using bioweapons," replied Councilor Coplann. "While tempting for sure, it's never going to work anyways. Sol-Gov and the rest of humanity have access to some of the best medical technologies out there. They can and will create a cure for such bioweapons in a short amount of time. Knowing that it would be retarded to even try and attempt a bioweapons attack. It's not going to be worth the effort anyways."

"So, in that case, from what I am hearing. You're saying that we can't do anything at all," Mirris gave the three councilors a hard stare. "Especially considering for all these years we have been preparing for our retribution? Are you saying that all our efforts have been for nothing!?"

"Well, Yes and no," replied Councilor Korra, "We could defeat them if we planned this right. If we play our cards right. We know for a fact that Sol-Gov is a lot stronger than us. In this case, why don't we try and gain that strength and power?"

"What do you have in mind?" asked Councilor Mollen.

"A few suggestions and some bright and radical ideas from a private conversation I had with Admiral Moran," said Councilor Korra. "Our proposal consisted of plans for invading and taking over the smaller factions first. By harnessing the manpower and resources of these primitive we will invest all our efforts to building our military-industrial complex. While at the same time, our teams will search the galaxy for any relics of these mysterious 'ancients' the plan being we take what relics and artifacts we have. To reverse engineer them for our use. There must be a weapon out there that can help us defeat Sol-Gov once and for all. For the good of all mankind, under the banner of our clean Confederation."

"An interesting proposal, one that is worth looking into," replied the Administrator, "So, does anyone agree with this plan?"

"I hate to say it, but it's our only option at this point," replied Councilor Valorana, "In that case, I agree,"

"I agree as well," said Councilor Coplann, "It's only a matter of time before we are found and dealt with by Sol-Gov."

"I agree, I don't see any good options for our predicament," nodded Councilor Tha'malen casting his vote.

"Mollen and I also too cast our vote, we voted for a go-ahead," replied Councilor Mirris.

The Administrator watched as the council debated and voted on the proposal. He nodded as one by one the councilors cast their votes. The proposal was a go, and a unanimous vote was the deciding factor.

"So I guess we all agree then?" said the Administrator, the councilors nodded in response to his question. "Excellent, we have a long task at hand people. We must ensure the security and the continuation of our way of life. I will not allow our great nation to fall under these circumstances no matter the cost! I will not see our people placed under the jackboot of the corrupt institution known as the Solar Government. For the unity of our people, Long Live the Aschen Confederation!"

"Long Live the Aschen Confederation!" shouted the councilors in patriotic fever. The time was now ripe for conquest and chaos and the Aschen were now moving out into the galaxy to seize whatever they could get their hands on. And there was nothing the Solar Government or SolForce can do to stop them. They were now loose across the galaxy bidding their time for the long-awaited vengeance against their people for what they had suffered during the Sundering and the persecutions before that. Time will tell, eventually whether or not will they would be successful in the long run.

The hope is...is that they will fail in the end as the universe does not need a kind like them running around amok in the galaxy. For they are an evil force who wishes to enslave the galaxy under their version of their rule. They wish to breed new lines of humans to create the ultimate superior race and cleanse the galaxy of the impure. Only to be stopped by the forces of Sol-Gov. And now that darkness once thought destroyed was once again rising. Slowly rising to finally consume all those around it in the fires of war. The Aschen like the phoenix will rise once again to show the galaxy why they were correct and why others...were wrong, once and for all.

...

A/N:

Anyways, this chapter is finally done.

Man, that took a long time to write this, it was just I had so many POVs I wanted to introduce.

We have the humans of Sol finally going out into the galaxy after the Disastrous First Contact with the Goa'uld and after Apophis failed attack on Stargate Command. We also have the Goa'uld and their ongoing situation caused by the Ashcen Confederation. I change the Aschen here in this AU. They are not a human nation originally beginning as a Goa'uld colony. No, these are humans from the early days of the Millennium 10s colonization era. Those who are under this belief that their race is genetically superior to any baseline humans. As you see from my notes in the previous chapter, they will play the part of the final antagonist of this AU.

Moving on we have the Tollan rebellion against the Goa'uld. Their isolationism and overreliance on their superiors have effectively backfired upon them. Which forced them into an occupation. Now they have liberated themselves, with the help of the Nox, Sartians, and Tok'ra. They are now planning a visit to meet the Humans of Sol along with their allies and the Asgard. Stay tuned for that, as the next chapter will cover that meeting.

And now we move on to the Ancients and the Ascendant brethren. We are finally introduced to the name of the two newly revealed Ancient factions that I plan to include in this AU, my OCs. Their names are the Confederation of Three, and the Holy Militesi Empire, or Militesi for short. In the original Stargate show, I was kinda disappointed in how they portrayed the Ancients. I assumed as a people who have been space-faring for millions of years they would have been a civilization on par with the Forerunners in the Halo Series right? Well apparently not, other than their technology was built to last to insane death-defying medical technology. Everything else was a bit too bland for my liking like I want to see SG-1 discover a Stargate to a ringworld, etc. So I decided to spice it up a bit, considering this is an AU, to begin with.

The various factions here will be in many ways somewhat similar to how the Fallen Empires behave in Stellaris. We have the Militant Isolationists in the form of the Militesi Empire. The Confederation of Three will be somewhat of a mix between the Keepers of Knowledge and the Enigmatic Observers, but with a Forerunner-like society and civilization. The Ori will be the Holy Guardians, while the main baseline Ancients that we all know...Will be just the nomadic group of Alterran scientists who dedicate themselves to travel across the universe to expand their ever-growing knowledge of the mysteries of the universe.

In the meantime, while humanity is young, they can still make mistakes like how the Ancient did in the original series in the form of what I would refer to as a "Nightmare swarm". I won't get into too much detail about what they might be. But do know that the Wraith and everyone living in Pegasus galaxy will be in for a really bad day. As for the other Ancient factions, well annoyance and anger will be their reaction.

But anyways, this chapter is finally complete and I will see you all in the next chapter. Have a nice day.