Once everyone was assembled for the briefing, Alexander took his place at the front of the room.
"Attention, please. For those of you that don't know me, I'm Captain Alexander of the Altimah, that fancy little ship parked outside. But before I was the Captain of the Altimah, I was the Captain of a warship, known as the Congeria and we were at war. I am Alteran, the people Dr. Jackson calls the Ancients and no I did not Ascend or descend. In point of fact I was born over 10,000 years ago in the galaxy you call Pegasus. I and my wife, Commander Corda, first officer of the Congeria, were pulled against our will, by someone playing with something he didn't understand. Now we're trapped here and doing our best to make the best of the situation we're in. You've been hearing about the Altimah Project, a company that has reverse engineering Alteran tech. We founded it, as a means of surviving in this world we found ourselves in. Now, we're helping Earth understand the technology. We've been chosen as the military commanders of this expedition. We have experience you don't, experience that will come in very handy in Pegasus."
"What does Dr. Weir have to say about military commanders? I understand she didn't want many military involved in the Project." One of the scientists asked.
"Dr. Weir is no longer in charge of the Project, nor will she be a part of the planning or the leadership of the expedition. She made several missteps, but then she's a negotiator, not a trained leader, so it's understandable that she was out of her depth. Another will be chosen. Dr. McKay is also no longer Chief Scientist, he will not be leading any department."
"Oh, thank God." Someone muttered.
Alexander ignored it, as long as it didn't get out of hand, a comment or two wasn't an issue.
"I'm going to get straight to the main part of this briefing. Pegasus may still be in a state of war."
"After 10,000 years?" Someone questioned.
"The Gou'ald have ruled this galaxy for 5,000 years. It's not outside the realm of possibility, especially given the nature of the enemy. When our people first arrived in Pegasus, we seeded the worlds of Pegasus with the potential for human life and life flourished. Once we had reestablished our civilization and began exploring, we found life everywhere. Then about a century before our people returned to Terra, what you call Earth, they stepped onto a world where things had gone very wrong. There was a creature there we named araitis. Araitis are large insects. Think a very large tick and like ticks, they attach themselves to a host and drained it, but of more then just blood, they drain it of almost all the fluids in a body. At some point, they began to feed on the humans that developed on that world. Somehow they succeeded in incorporating human DNA into their genome. What resulted was a human form araitis. Insect minded with human form. Like most insect species, they're led by a Queen, she has a few males and all the rest are drones. Alterans developed a very long life span, 1,000 years. These human form araitis, which humans dubbed Wraith, did too. They easily live 1,000 years, but they can extend that by utilizing extended periods of hybernation. There's a chance that not only did they survive as a race, but that ones I fought against could still be alive."
"Why weren't we told about this sooner?" Someone called out.
"Earth has only known for about two weeks at this point, they were trying to decide if they should go forward with the expedition. The threat of the Goa'uld means they need what Atlantis can offer. Already built equipment, more knowledge then is available in this little outpost. But you will not be going until the Altimah Project has completed manufacturing several items that can help safeguard the expedition. Personal energy shields, pulse pistols, communicators. Hopefully, within six months, we'll be in a viable position to go. But something else was discussed as well. What is Earth going to do if the Wraith are still active and feeding on humans? Answer, help them. Just like Earth is helping the people the Goa'uld took from Earth. They are as human as we are. My people abandoned their responsibility to the humans they brought into existence. Earth will not abandon its responsibility to fellow humans in need. If the knowledge of the Wraith makes you hesitate to be included in the expedition, you can still be apart of the study of this outpost. The choice is yours. No one will force you."
"Does that mean more military will be involved as well?" Someone else questioned.
"Yes, it is the job of a soldier to protect those who can not protect themselves. We will keep you safe while you learn what is needed to help the people of two galaxies. I will be the one choosing who goes, but if you want to be included, let me know and I will consider it. We need scientists, we need engineers and we need soldiers. You have six months to make up your mind."
"Are you going to be in charge of the expedition too?" Someone else questioned.
"No, there will not be any military in over all command. A civilian will be chosen to be over all leader, but that individual is someone I will chose as well. After reading the SGC reports, I have a good idea who that leader will be. It's just a matter of asking him. Any other questions?"
At that point there weren't, but he was sure that was just because they were feeling a little overwhelmed. Alexander headed out to the Altimah, he had a report to make to the President and someone to invite to lead an expedition to another galaxy.