Monster King: Thank you
naufalrakha0104: She was contaminated by the bad luck of Nameless.
Boyzilla: In short, an ordinary day for Hakuno. Don't worry. In two weeks, she will sit in Oberoth's chair as head of the Asurans' Counselors.
sawtooth: The answer in this episode (but I congratulate you on point 2, it's almost that).
Akashic Silhouette: Unfortunately, the situation will continue to deteriorate in future episodes.
Ultimate Warrior of Zera: I take that as a compliment.
Brayanamaya: Mabye.
End5: Very badly!
AMTT94: The dialogue between Dr. Weir and Hakuno uses a literary device called 'elision' which consists of summarizing a conversation in a few lines rather than transcribing the entire dialogue. Since Hakuno often answers with a single word ('yes' or 'no' most often), for Weir to get answers to her questions literally takes hours of 'talk'... oddly I thought readers would be grateful if I didn't impose the whole conversation on them.
I assure you, I've thought about interaction between Nasuverse Magecraft and Servants-related stuff and Stargate's technology... in particular: "Can Stargate weapons hurt a Servant? And, if so, which ones?" The answer is that weapons that can endanger an Ascended Being (like the Sangreal) can kill a Servant... since they are both purely spiritual creatures. In fact, the Servants (and Anubis) are even more vulnerable to weapons of this type because they are materialized in the physical world and therefore they are somehow 'closer' to us. So... for the very same reason... Gilgamesh can be killed by being like the Ascended Ancients or the Ori. And vice-versa.
The Battle of Asdad
Lantea, Pegasus Galaxy
Dr. Weir was looking at the room below. Several maintenance crew members were busy cleaning up the rubble that was cluttering the Observation Room. The director of the Atlantis project was in a very bad mood, several members of her team had been killed and there were about ten injured.
Dr. Carlson Becket thought he could save one of the Marines who was shot with a plasma gun... The fact that the armor of the soldiers stationed at Atlantis used ceramic plates capable of dispersing heat, a technology developed to stop the firing of Jaffa spears, had saved him an immediate death. But the vital prognosis was engaged. In fact, even if the soldier survived, he would probably remain disabled.
Looking at the crystalline panel that served as access terminal to Atlantis' computer, Elizabeth Weir looked again at the recording of the Asurans attack: The explosion, the Replicator entering the room and looking at Kisinami... probably talking to her through a sub-spatial link. The recording ended with the arrival of the guards and the ensuing gunfight.
Weir stopped the film and looked again from the beginning, seeking a new detail she hadn't noticed until then.
Hakuno's reaction after the explosion was very interesting, obviously, she was surprised. No matter how the Asurans learned of her presence in Atlantis, it was certainly not she who called them.
Hearing the door open, Elizabeth Weir turned to see Rodney McKay enter. Without worrying that she was doing something important, he immediately started talking. With his eyes glued to the screen of his tablet which he held with one hand, Rodney had not even greeted her... Elizabeth would have immediately called to order any other member of the Atlantis Expedition... but with this unbearable arrogant genius, it was a waste of time.
Frowning, Weir tried to understand what the astrophysicist was trying to explain. But it was some kind of barely comprehensible techno blah-blah that Dr. MacKay used to talk, interspersed with compliments on his own intelligence... you're never better served than you are, are you?
"Rodney stop!"
The unbearable Canadian stopped and raised his eyes from his tablet, his mouth open, visibly offended.
"Are you trying to tell me that you understand why Hakuno is immune to the Anti-Replicator Gun?"
"Yes, that's it, Elizabeth."
" Repeat your explanation, more slowly, and in English, if possible... at least not in a jargon that requires having spent ten years studying physics."
Rodney closed his eyes and sighed... He seemed about to stumble on the spot like a spoiled child to whom ion would have refused candy...
"Well, for starters, you know what Pegasus Replicators are?"
"Nano-robots?"
"It's almost that. To be more exact, each Asuran is a collective organism made up of undifferentiated nanites. Individually, each nanite is... let's say stupid, to simplify, a microscopic robot only capable of performing very simple tasks. The Lanteans created them to defeat the Wraith by attacking them from within, thinking that an enemy one couldn't see could succeed where the big spaceships failed. In fact, the Lanteans simply used their technology to create an equivalent of the plague that drove them out of the Milky Way. Only... the nanites didn't react as the Lanteans imagined. Designed to communicate with each other and work together, the nano-robots have come together in billions to take a humanoid form (based on the Lanteans) and proclaim themselves as intelligent beings. Frightened, the Lanteans sought to annihilate the Replicators by bombing Asuras from space... but some nanites survived and reproduced... giving birth to the civilization of machines we know.
Weir nodded.
"I know all this."
"At a fundamental level, the Pegasus Replicators function like those SG-1 encountered in the Othala galaxy. The... let's say personality of each Replicator is not physically stored in the nanites. It is rather a kind of murmur emitted collectively by the nano-robots that exist only in the sub-space. The ARG interrupts this murmur... which erases the joint programming and brings the Replicator back to the state of a bunch of harmless and stupid nanites."
Rodney raised his eyes from his tablet and waited with the expression of a schoolmaster repeating for the tenth time a lesson for a particularly stupid student. Elizabeth - although exasperated - felt compelled to reply: "I was there when Liam explained all this to us"
"Good, but we've all forgotten something very important... "Rodney interrupted himself before resuming his speech with a visible repugnance."Even I haven't thought about it. Hakuno Kishinami is not an ordinary Replicator. Her thought was not born from the nanites. Her thought, therefore, exists on external support to the sub-spatial murmur formed by permanent communication between the nanites."
Rodney MacKay touched the screen of his tablet. It showed a pattern of Kishinami's figure. A red circle surrounded a point in Hakuno's chest. Rodney manipulated the computer mouse and zoomed in. A microscopic crystal cube appeared, surrounded by much smaller nanites.
'It's only ten times bigger than a nano-robot, so small that I didn't immediately discover it. It is a photonic crystal, a structure of dielectric materials capable of modifying the propagation of electromagnetic waves. A photonic crystal is formed by a multilayer pile of materials that form what one calls a Bragg mirror. Such a structure works a bit like a semiconductor, allowing the creation of authorized and prohibited band-gaps."
"Authorized and prohibited band-gaps " interrupted Weir in a questioning tone.
Rodney raised his eyes to the sky, not even trying to hide his annoyance.
"Prohibited band-gaps are frequency ranges or wavelengths in which the propagation of an electromagnetic wave is impossible. As I said, two-dimensional photonic crystals are similar to semiconductors and are already used on Earth in laser technology and in optical and microwave communication systems, for example, to make antennas or relays. This is a three-dimensional crystal in an unknown material. On Earth, 3D phononic crystals were used to modify the propagation of sound waves and create a tunnel effect."
"A tunnel effect?"
"Since you don't want me to explain with 'techno-blah-blah' that you can only understand after ten years of learning physics, let's just say that when light or sound passes through a screen of a few atoms thick the crossing is instantaneous (no measurable travel time). It is a quantum phenomenon that is a less-known application of the Schrödinger wave function, according to which a particle exists simultaneously in two random states... You know the cat that's both dead and alive.
Dr. McKay paused briefly to reflect before finishing his explanation.
"In other words, Miss Kishinami has a crystal brain that allows her to be independent of the nanites that form the rest of her body... a quantum computer where information circulates at superlight speed." (1)
Asuras, Pegasus galaxy
The Asuran bomber emerged from space in orbit of Asura. The planet was similar to the Earth if it had only larger land masses and therefore a drier climate. Much of the planet was covered with huge cities that joined.
Around the planet floated several space cities quite similar to Atlantis, but smaller. Unlike the original, they were not surrounded by energy shields enclosing a breathable atmosphere, not designed to land on the surface of a planet. In the center, a triangular structure was occupied by a dozen buildings grouped around a command tower a little smaller than that of Atlantis. Three arms extended from the triangular structure. Two ended with pressurized domes transformed into a garden, the third was a landing strip. One could see at its end a drone launcher.
As the bomber passed near the space city, it entered a space road used by Puddle Jumpers circulating between the planet and other orbiting stations. The traffic was as important as on Earth's metropolis at the time of exit of the offices.
In the small cockpit of the bomber, the pilot and first officer communicated without speaking, acting with the skill and precision of machines. They were supervised by the commander of the small ship, seated behind them on a seat that resembled the control chair of Atlantis.
Diving into the atmosphere, the ship crossed the cloud layer and made a wide turn, heading towards a huge city covering almost half of a continent. Everywhere there were skyscrapers of various shapes, most often in metal and silver stone. Airways connected between buildings and there were also parks and other green areas.
Reducing his altitude and speed, the bomber entered between the buildings mingling with the flow of vehicles. Heading towards a huge dome-shaped structure, more tall than any other building and covering the equivalent of a city block, the bomber maneuvered delicately and landed on a starport between several small spaceships.
Hakuno Kishinami had spent the whole trip in a small cabin three meters off a side which included a toilet and shower... useless for the Asurans (2).
As the cabin had no window, Hakuno could only rely on the vibrations passing through the vessel to know what was happening. When the bomber was shaken by a shock followed by the gradual shutdown of the thrusters, Hakuno realized that she had arrived.
She got up peacefully and waited.
The door opened and two Asurans guards showed up, dressed in their usual brown jumpsuits. Each of them had an energy pulse pistol on their belt, but they made no aggressive gestures.
"Follow us, Hakuno Kishinami," said one of them.
Without trying to resist, the Last Master of the Moon obeys.
The trio followed several passageways down a ramp leading to the tarmac. A vehicle floating above the ground picked them up and drove them inside the huge building.
The entrance hall was a large room with orange metal walls on several levels decorated with trees, some escalators led to balconies surrounded by glass railings. On the first floor, several counters were occupied by administrative staff who welcomed visitors.
Everywhere, small groups of Asurans were talking peacefully. Most of them - men or women- were dressed in dresses in light colors, unbleached linen or brown. When she comes in, they shut up and watch her go by with curiosity.
One of the guards showed Hakuno a door.
"This way, please."
The door opened on what looked like an elevator cab, but it was not. One of the guards pressed a button and the panel at the back of the small room revealed a screen showing a 3D image of the huge building. Several red dots appeared on the building plan. The guard pressed on one of them and...
A white light spread through the small room.
The second guard reopened the door and... Hakuno winked a little puzzled. This time they were in a corridor that embraced the contours of the dome. The outer windows showed the city for miles. They were almost at the top of the building. Kishinami agreed... teleportation cab. There were identical means of transportation in the city of Atlantis.
Following the corridor, the Japanese teen and her escort arrived at a guarded door. She was immediately allowed to enter.
Hakuno looked around her. The room was not very large two C-shaped desks occupied by four people were on either side of an individual desk above. The walls of the room were like Shojji, these rice paper panels that formed the walls of Japanese houses... but it was only an appearance, they were in fact luminous panels separated by triangular columns of black materials surmounted by huge blue gems.
The occupants did not immediately pay attention to Hakuno. They were looking at a hologram that appeared in the center of the circular free space bounded by the arc of the desks.
Hakuno blinked briefly, recognizing a Lantean Shipyard. This dock was floating above the ground and had the shape of an elongated U. The closed end of the U was occupied by a command tower identical to that of Atlantis, while the arms were occupied by landing grounds for small cargo ships, workshops, and hangars. Floating between the arms, there was an Aurora-class Battleship under construction.
The Asurans had begun the creation of a war fleet!
The Last Master could not know which opponent they were preparing to attack, the board members were chatting through a sub-spatial link to which she had no access!
Then one of the counselors pressed a button and the hologram disappeared.
The replicator sitting on the central desk had the appearance of an old man with a white beard and baldness that left the top of his skull bare. He spoke, turning to Hakuno.
"Welcome to Asuras, my sister. I'm the High Counselor Oberoth. Please come forward."
Hakuno nodded and advanced as requested.
Oberoth turned to one of the two guards. The conversation went on without words, the guard and the High Counselor again using a sub-spatial link, the guard 'telling' about the attack on Atlantis and the rescue of Hakuno. The 'discussion' was much more than that, in fact, the guard uploaded to Oberoth the totality of his experience, as well as that of his comrades.
Oberoth frowned in a very human and probably unintentional expression of surprise... He turned to Hakuno again.
"How did you counteract the effect of the Anti-Replicator weapon?"
Kishinami answered with a Head Tilt.
"I don't know."
Several of the Counselors were surprised by Hakuno's cuteness...
Hakuno's great Asuras conquest plan (completely unintentional) had just begun. Even the Pegasus Replicator was not immune to her Ex-rank Head Tilt Noble Phantasm...
Asdad (Ba'al Kingdom, Milky Way)
The floor of the room looked like black marble veined with white, the walls were black and decorated with gilded hieroglyphs. A sort of altar stood in front of a trapezoidal window where the dusty planet Asdad appeared. This room was not in a building on the ground, it was the Pel'tak (the bridge) of a Goa'ul Ha'tak.
The Jaffa standing in front of the strange black-and-gold altar quivers when he sees a red icon flashing on the window.
He passed his hand on the tactile surface between the two golden studs of the altar.
Immediately a holographic map appeared floating in mid-air. One could see red dots appearing one after the other.
The Jaffa turned to his god seated on his throne, set back from the Pel'tak altar.
"My Lord, an enemy fleet has just emerged from hyperspace. According to the computer, there are 19 Ha'tak and Apophis' flagship."
The Levantine bearded man to whom the Jaffa had just spoken was dressed in a rich brown dress adorned with golden threads. Immediately attentive, he stood up and his eyes began to shine with a yellow light. When he spoke, his voice was that of a Goa'uld.
"Immediately alert the ground garrison that the Nekheru (3) and Al'kesh are taking off and preparing to intercept the enemy. Also, alert the guards defending the Chappa'ail (stargate), it is likely that the enemy will attack simultaneously by this means."
It was indeed a common tactic among the Goa'uld to coordinate a simultaneous attack by a Stargate with a space assault. On the one hand, it prevented the enemy from fleeing through the gate, on the other it allowed an attack on two fronts.
"Drop our own fighters and raise the shields!"
"Yes, my Lord."
As the voice of the computer called for the Jaffa to fight, an expression of anger passed over Ba'al's face. He had only three Ha'tak with him. The balance of power was not in his favor at all.
"What are our nearest ships?"
The Jaffa interrogated the computer and responded by reading the information that appeared in the holographic window.
"Berythos is an hour's drive from Asdad. Leviathan, Dor, and Sidon can be here in three hours, my Lord."
Three hours... he would not survive three hours of battle with such a disadvantage. Ba'al's face turned into an inexpressive mask, hiding his anger.
"Contact the fortress, immediately evacuate Gilgamesh to my flagship."
"Yes, my lord."
Apophis war fleet consisted of Transport Ha'tak and Apophis' Ha'tak (4). In the bowels of the ships, the Jaffa crowded into the passageways.
Huge cavern of golden metal, the hangar of the Death Gliders was lighted by braziers arranged near the doors, Necropolis Serpent Guard in red Jaffa chainmail and helmet snake defended the doors.
Suddenly, they opened to let in the pilot and co-pilots who separated on the metallic catwalks. Once the technical and assistance teams had finished harnessing them in the seats of the Death Gliders, the seats were raised into the belly of the space fighters and the heads of the Jaffa appeared behind the cockpit canopy.
A moment later, the pliers that held the Death Gliders in their cradles opened and the starfighters took flight.
In a few moments, each Ha'tak dropped between three and five squadrons, as well as Tel'tak and Al'keshs.
"My Lord?"
Ba 'al turned for a moment from the screens to look at the Jaffa in front of the control altar.
"What is the matter?"
"The enemy hails us, shall I answer?"
"Give me the call!"
The pentagonal window of the Pel'tak was covered by a mercury wave and the image of Aslad's orbit was replaced by a view of the Pel'tak of Apophis' flagship. In red armor, the king-serpent sat on a throne, and several young women almost naked surrounded him. Some stroked his hair, others sat at his feet.
"Chel hol, shree Ba 'al."
"Chel hol, shree Apophis. What brings me the... pleasure of your visit?"
Apophis had a mocking smile.
"I just wanted to know how you felt, Ba'al... I also wanted to see if I could do something for you."
"That's so sweet of you, Apophis. You should not be."
Ba 'al's ironic tone did not seem to affect Apophis, the Goa'uld smiled with a mocking, self-confident look.
"Avidan (The gods are righteous), it is normal to listen to the last desire of a condemned person."
Ba 'al clenched his teeth but refused to be impressed.
"You haven't won this battle yet, Apophis!"
"Bet (surrender) Ba 'al. I know to show mercy!"
"Rin nok ha'taaka! (Shut up child slayer!)
A smile of contempt appeared on the face of Apophis
"Lazzla kel" (You chose death!)
As the screen resumed the consistency of mercury, Ba 'al turned to the Jaffa that kept him company.
"You still haven't found Gilgamesh?"
"No, my Lord."
"Shor'wai'e! (Hurry up!)
"Tel kol, satak Ba 'al (My apologies, great and powerful Ba 'al!)
Aboard Apophis' flagship.
The Jaffa behind the altar of command turned to the serpent king.
"Enemy in range, your orders, my Lord?"
"Kree! Mol Kek" (My order is to kill them all!)
Two swarms of furious bees rushed towards each other, hundreds of Death Gliders... The first shots of Staff's weapons and the first explosions preceded the fusion of the two groups of space fighters into a furious melee, the fighters crossing, chasing, and shooting at each other, circling in a reduced space where plasma shots crossed in all directions.
The clash was like a whirlwind of starfighters, streaked with plasma and explosions signaling the end of a Death Glider. At times, small groups of fighters broke away from the fray, chasing an enemy, but they quickly returned.
Other fighters, but also Tel'taks and Al'kesh from the planet converged towards the fleet of Apophis, the Death Gliders who accompanied the Goa'uld motherships sought to intercept the bombers while the Ha'taks fired to stop them.
Explosions multiplied as the battle grew more and more violent.
Ba 'al's Ha'tak violently veered, accelerated, then slowed down before changing direction. The two Apophis' Ha'tak who were chasing him passed in front of him and changed direction... more slowly.
The space between the three ships was crossed with plasma fire... Because of sudden changes of direction, most attacks were lost in the cosmic void. Despite this, the shields of the three ships were flowing under the impact of the energy discharges.
Touched for the fifth time by the main cannon of the flagship of Ba 'al, the shield of one of the Apophis Ha'tak flickered and collapsed.
Sitting on his throne, Ba'al struck his armrest.
"Kree, Jaffa! Focus your fire on this ship!"
"Yes, my Lord."
The Ha'tak tried to maneuver to avoid shooting, but a rain of gilded plasma projectiles was already hammering its hull, causing explosions and leaving burnt impacts.
Suddenly, the ship seemed to swell, and then the central pyramid disintegrated, the metal plates thrown in all directions by a sun that was inflating inside the ship. The gigantic explosion spread into the superstructures, completing the dismantling of the enormous warship.
Ba 'al was smiling. He turned to the Jaffa, who used the Pel'tak firing altar.
"Good job. The other mothership, now."
At this moment an alert icon appeared on the main screen. The Jaffa at the controls manipulated the touch plate.
"My lord, the Tyr just exploded."
Ba' al briefly closed his eyes and turned to the tactical map.
A dozen Apophis' motherships were already orbiting Asdad, three others were chasing the Sarepta. The ship had already sustained substantial damage...
"Where is Gilgamesh?!"
Ba'al's immense fortress had powerful shields and anti-orbital artillery that outpaced that of any ship... unfortunately, it was also a stationary target, unable to dodge attacks.
The shield was constantly vibrating under intense bombardment.
In orbit, a dozen Ha'taks exchanged fire with the fortress... They too were affected, but they were constantly changing places to divert Asdad's fire computers.
In a plain north of the fortress, a blurred, translucent, and fluorescent form appeared briefly before solidifying, a Hok Al'kesh (5). Other landing ships appeared around the first one.
They had taken advantage of the diversion caused by the attack of the fortress to cross the planetary defenses using the invisibility offered by their Cloak.
The ramps unfolded and whole battalions came out, grouped in rectangles, marching.
Two armies faced each other in the plain. Square battalions of Jaffa warriors marched in two lines moving toward each other. Even from the sky, the two armies could be easily differentiated. Apophis' troops had red chainmail and some battalions were made up of Necropolis Serpent Guards, while Ba 'al's troops had silver chainmail.
Like the soldiers of the Napoleonic Wars, the Jaffa formed lines of fire boldly advancing shoulder to shoulder and praying to their gods to be spared...
Nevertheless, the Jaffa advanced under the protection of tanks floating above the ground by antigravitation and protected by shields, while Al'kesh and Teltaks dropped plasma bombs on the troops' squares, pursued by Death Gliders and Flak's shooting.
The battles between Jaffa were short and bloody... the most numerous almost always won, simply because they crushed their opponent under the number.
Behind the battlefront, the Hok Al'kesh, and the Transports Ha'tak continued to land bringing reinforcements to Apophis' army.
On board Ba'al's Flagship.
"My Lord, an unknown spaceship has just left the planet... it is heading towards us!"
On the screen appeared an object difficult to identify, it seemed only made of golden light and the details were indistinguishable.
While Ba 'al was still wondering what order he should give, a kind of holographic window appeared in the Pel'tak. The Goa'uld System Lord recognized Gilgamesh on the 3D screen. The king of Uruk was dressed in magnificent golden armor.
"Don't just stand there waiting for me, leave!"
"Wait, Gilgamesh... Where should we meet?"
The Sumerian King had a warmthless smile.
"I will find you without trouble, do not fear."
The holographic window disappeared. Avoiding several Ha'taks shooting at it, the ship of light accelerated in a dizzying way and... Disappeared... leaving behind only a luminous wake.
Ba 'al refused to show the slightest weakness in front of his Jaffa and swallowed the swearing he was about to say.
"Let's get out of here, now!"
"Yes, my Lord!"
The Jaffa transmitted the orders of his god to the computer. The mothership accelerated as a hyperspatial window was formed beyond the ship. The Sarepta wanted to follow the flagship, but the three Apophis' Ha'taks were chasing it and firing all their weapons. The damaged ship exploded.
The fighting on the ground continued because, for the glory of their false gods, the Jaffa of Ba 'al would fight to the last. But it was already certain that Apophis would be the victor.
(1) You now know why Hakuno is able to see a Servant's movements (transmission of the information at superlight speed). Moreover, a photonic crystal is a computer operating not on a binary model (where the information is stored in the form of 0 and 1) but in the quantum form... that is to say, each piece of information is not fixed, but has several simultaneous values (like Schrödinger's cat which is both dead and alive). The main advantage of a photonic crystal computer is its size. A photonic computer the size of a desktop computer would have more computing power than a binary computer as large as... the entire observable universe! The main advantage of photonic computers is their ability to predict the future based on known data... That's why Hakuno is able to predict the next actions of a Servant based on the observed movements.
(2) The Asuran bomber is an exact copy, down to the last detail, of a Lantean ship. There are 8 cabins, a hall mess, and an infirmary... totally useless for Asurans.
(3) Two-seater spacecraft called 'Death Glider' by the Tau'ri.
(4) The experimental vessel destroyed by SG-1 in episode 3, season 4 ("Upgrades") of the Stargate SG-1 series. Although the prototype of this new Ha'tak model was destroyed under the same circumstances in the Time Line of "SG Universe at War"; the survival of Apophis allowed to mass produce the ship... despite a delay due to the loss of the prototype. Unlike the classic Ha'taks, the Apophis' Ha'taks resemble a kind of bronze bowl with, in the middle of the 'bowl', a pyramid also of the color of bronze.
(5) Goa'uld landing craft based on the smaller Al'kesh bomber. The Hok Al'kesh does not have a bomb bay but a cargo bay capable of hosting many Jaffa warriors. It is also armed with 6 turrets of two gun staffs (2 below, and 2 on each flank).