Dragon Of The Eclipsing Moon: Let's just say Hakuno behaves like Hakuno and Gilgamesh behaves like Gilgamesh... I don't know about you, but I'd rather accompany Hakuno on her adventures.
Akashic Silhouette: That's your opinion. You're not the majority.
Ultimate Warrior of Zera: She uses cuteness like Napoleon used the Grand Armée!
Boyzilla: I can WRITE whole stories of Hakuno accidentally resolving entire's Alien species' problems of Virtue of being absolutely adorable. Correction: I already make such stories *laugh*
Fyr RedNight + End 5: First of all, thank you for your support. I answer you together because you are both interested in the Asurans and you wonder what will happen with the arrival of Hakuno.
First of all, you have to understand that sending Hakuno to the Pegasus Replicators was my original idea. Why? I have always preferred Stargate SG-1 to Stargate Atlantis, but there is one point on which the spin-off is better. In the original series, the Tau'ri are always the good guys, but if you understand Atlantis... the Tau'ri are often the real cause of cosmic-scale disasters. This is especially the case with the Asurans. The Lanteans have created intelligent, sensitive beings with emotions... unintentionally. When the Asuran begged them to be free from the hate program that forced them to attack the Wraiths, the Lanteans classify them as a failed experiment. Not using the smart method (they had the basic Replicator codes, they could have created a computer virus) the Lanteans bombed the planet. And of course, some nanobots survived and recreate all the other nanites...
After the initial attack of the Asurans against Atlantis, while some Pegasus Replicators are opposed to the use of violence, the Tau'ri have continued to use more and more violence. Like the orbital bombardment of Asuras by the Apollo... as vain as the attack of the Lanteans or McKay's two attempts to alter Asurans' programming. Each time, in the end, the interventions of the Tau'ri made things worse.
So I asked myself a simple question. What would have happened to the Asurans if they got rid of the hate program? Like they begged since the start...
Abydos in Fire
Asuras, Pegasus Galaxy
The sprawling planetary megapolis looked like a huge puddle of mercury that would have been frozen in the form of a myriad of skyscrapers of all shapes and sizes, but also of less high buildings shaped like domes or cone sections.
Some of the buildings were connected by transparent cylinders through which conveyor belts passed.
Many Jumpers were on the move to cities on orbits or to distant buildings. Despite this, there were few vehicles or pedestrian traffic. Some of the passenger movement was invisible. Transporters beamed-out passengers from a closet-like room to another from one end of the planet to the other.
Inside one of the largest buildings, three tables in an arc of a circle were brought together to form a crescent moon. Behind the smallest of the tables, his back against the bulkhead at the back, Oberoth sat on a small platform and his armchair dominated the assembly.
The other two tables were occupied by two groups of four counselors.
A human present at the Asuran Council meeting would have been surprised by the silence in the room. All Concelors were frozen, staring into space without moving a muscle... until they suddenly restart all at the same exact instant.
One of the women, dressed in a light brown dress, stood up slightly and turned to her neighbor, a man with blond hair and wearing a beige and white jumpsuit.
"This is amazing!"
The young blond man nodded.
"Indeed!"
Sitting in one of the chairs in the arc of a circle facing them, another woman with long brown hair frowned.
"I have no doubt that you are ready to believe this without any evidence."
"Lyra, I'm not ready to believe without proof. But perhaps you should ask yourself whether you are the ones who are overly suspicious in this case. "
"I don't need lessons on mistrust. Do not forget that the members of the Niam faction caused the destruction of one of our City-ships by their naivety, or perhaps I should say by their betrayal."
The blond young man, the Asuran who had replaced Niam after his destruction, seemed outraged.
"Lyra I remind you that I was elected by the votes of the Asurans. The Council is a democracy and I am charged to make known the opinions of those of our brethren whom you insult with your insinuations. It may be an easy summary to say that half the population - the one that you disagree with, of course - is made up of traitors."
Before Lyra could answer, Oberoth intervened.
"Councilors, stop behaving like humans."
The reprimand might seem light, but Oberoth's face was dominated by an expression of disgust.
Liem (the young blond man) and Lyra (the long-haired woman) lowered their heads looking ashamed and uncomfortable.
The High Councilor nodded slightly, approving the end of this childish display. He pressed a button and a hologram materialized in the middle of the arc of a circle formed by the tables. It was the image of Hakuno.
"Let's go back to the question that led to the Council meeting. Hakuno Kishinami a Replicator of Lantean design was released from Atlantis, where she was a prisoner of the Tau'ri. After interviewing Hakuno and studying her, we discovered that she was created by a photonic computer called the Moon Cell Automaton and that her programming was the work of this same supercomputer. In addition to the presence of a photonic crystal connected to her nanobots, the researchers who studied Hakuno discovered that her programming differed from ours in several ways. Essentially, she doesn't feel the hatred for the Wraiths doesn't have a ban on attacking the Lanteans, and can alter her own programming."
The other Councilors agreed, Oberoth had just summed up the intense debate they had just had through the transmission of thoughts via the subspace link shared by all the nanites. Of course, it was redundant, but always anxious to behave like real Lanteans, the Asurans always made important decisions out loud.
"All right, now I'd like you to listen to Thena."
Oberoth was addressing a Mediterranean woman sitting at the same table as Lyra. Thena got up and nodded politely to the audience.
"High Councilor, honorable members of the High Council, we are finally fortunate to be purged of the hate program that the Lanteans have instilled in us. This has been the goal of all our brothers for ten thousand years and for the first time, we can succeed. I suggest we ask Hakuno to reprogram us!"
A man asked to speak. He was dressed in a jumpsuit, the upper part of which was separated in two, grey on the right, and brown on the left.
"Yes, but what proves that this... Hakuno is not a kind of trap designed by the Tau'ri? I remind you that they can be very cunning. Maybe they wanted us to capture her, bring her back to Asuras, for her to connect to the Server Central, and remove us from a single cyber-attack."
Several Councils nodded in approval.
Liem asked for the floor.
"I understand your caution, and I agree with what you say about the Tau'ri ruse. Nevertheless, I remind you that it was not the Tau'ri who created Hakuno."
"I support Liem," said Thena. "Hakuno's photonic crystal microcomputer is of a higher level of technology than the Lanteans themselves. The Tau'ri couldn't have conceived something so advanced."
Ormaz, the man in a two-colored tunic, nevertheless pursued his idea.
"I grant you this point. But maybe this Moon Cell still made Hakuno Kishinami to harm us!"
Thena shook her head with an ironic smile.
"And the Moon Cell would have sent Hakuno to Atlantis for the sole pleasure of exacerbating our distrust of her?"
There were several laughs as Ormaz blushed in a very human way.
Oberoth intervened to calm the debate.
"It is likely that the wreck of the Sirius, the ship where Hakuno Kishinami first appeared, will provide us with valuable information capable of revealing the exact origin of our new sister, and confirm that she poses no threat to us... or the contrary."
The voice of the High Councilor had become tougher on the last words. He then looked at the members of the assembly, one after the other, as if to challenge them to contradict him.
"Liem, Thena, although you belong to opposing factions, you are capable of working in good intelligence. Liem, I charge you with the command of this mission with Thena as deputy. Take the Persephone, and find the Sirius."
The two Replicators agreed.
"Well, we'll be back as soon as we have studied the computer of the Sirius and the labs."
"You will take Hakuno Kishinami."
"Sorry?"
Oberoth looked at them without showing any emotion except for the irritated crease of his little eyes. He hated repeating himself.
"Isn't it obvious that you will need her help to find the ship and access the computer?"
The huge U-shaped shipyard was floating several hundred meters above the ground with the lightness... of a soap bubble. Yet it was a massive structure. The side arms housed a succession of equipment depots, while inner bays allowed robots to work on vessels under construction or under repair.
At the end of the shipyard, on the closed side, a succession of skyscrapers surrounded an almost exact replica of the Atlantis control tower.
Yet sitting in the co-pilot's chair of a Jumper flying above the shipyard, Hakuno barely paid attention to the details.
On the inside surface of the canopy, a translucent showed a wire-frame 3D model of an Aurora-class Battleship. It was the Persephone, the most recent adjunction to the Asuran's battle Fleet.
Members of the Council had come to see Hakuno two days earlier to prepare her for a trip she would have to make. But the teenager was still worried, not understanding why she had to return to the Sirius. At the thought of getting back aboard the old deregulated ship, she shuddered... The Last Master of the Moon thought that, with a bit of bad luck, she could have been trapped in the wreck until the end of time... or destroyed by the Wraiths.
The Jumper veered, passed between the shipyard and the Persephone, and entered a side bay of the Aurora-class Battleship.
With the grace of a feather, the Jumper flipped into the mooring bay and landed on the ground, the rear facing the front door.
When the ramp opened, Hakuno went down followed by four Asurans. The color of their jumpsuits, upper torso, and arms were dark brown, the rest of the outfit was light beige, allowing them to be identified as guards at first glance.
Two members of the Council were waiting for Hakuno, of course, Thena and Liem. They smiled at her and walked towards her.
"We're glad you're on board, sister."
The teenager nodded nervously, glancing around her. Most of the Asurans present were dressed in the guards' uniform. They were tall, with short hair, and muscular. Although one of them had black skin, they all seemed as interchangeable as dangerous.
Seeing that the Last Master seemed uncomfortable, Thena turned to her.
"Don't worry, it's a short trip, we'll be here in a few days."
"Why?"
"Why do we have to visit the Sirius? Well, we want to learn more about the Moon Cell Automaton... it's important to us, you know?"
"Important why?"
Thena and Liem looked at each other, uncertain of the answer. The young man with blond hair spoke.
"Long to explain, but I think it will allow us to better understand ourselves. You know the purpose of our creation."
"Kill the Wraith."
Somewhat surprised that she responded so brutally, the two Asurans hesitated. Liem spoke again.
"Yes, and we are full of hatred for them..."
"Oh..." Hakuno nodded. "It's not good!"
Her reaction made Thena smile.
"Not good at all!"
Liem spoke again.
"That's why we need your help. Will you help us?"
Hakuno seemed uncomfortable again but for another reason.
"I'm a 16-year-old teenager, don't speak to me like I was a little girl. I get it... I'll help you."
It was a long sentence for the Last Master but she was quite upset.
Except that Thena and Liem's behavior was logical, there had never been any children on Asuras... they were obviously unable to judge the maturity of human children.
They smiled at each other, a little embarrassed, without really knowing how to react. Finally, the young woman understood that it was better to speak normally to Kishinami.
"All right, I'll show you your cabin. Departure is in about an hour."
Thena waved to Hakuno's bodyguards, communicating the location of the cabin by subspace link. Each of them carried several bags, filled with everything that Hakuno's neighbors had given her to face the vagaries of her 'long' journey.
One can bet she wouldn't even have time to open them all.
Now you know where to look for the most spoiled teenager in the universe.
Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Earth, Milky Way
In the concrete corridors, the alarms sounded as the lights turned.
At the lowest level of the concrete maze, Marines were running towards the Stargate.
The SGC looked like an anthill that had just been kicked.
"Chevron Seven Engaged"
The armored cabin overlooking the Stargate was illuminated by a kind of geyser that fell into the Naqadah ring and formed the Event Horizont.
Bending over the shoulder of Chief Master Sergeant Walter Harriman, General Hammond turned on the intercom.
"Send the MALP!"
The Mobile Analytic Laboratory Probe, a six-wheeled remote-controlled machine with a robotic arm on its back, advanced swiftly, passed through the door of watery light and... disappeared.
In front of a monitor, Sergeant Harriman checked some data.
"MALP dematerialized, sir."
A moment later, the first images appeared on the screen.
The MALP on-board camera revealed the Chappa'ai room buried under the pyramid of Ra. One of the braziers was still burning. In the flickering clarity, no human figure appeared as the probe explored the surroundings of the Abydos' Stargate. The infrared sensors captured no suspicious heat in the shadow of the pillars supporting the vault of the room.
Mechanically shaking his head, Hammond bent over again to engage the intercom.
"Major Reynolds, start the operation."
"Sir Yes Sir!"
Major Reynold of the US Marines turned to his men, the first six were already on the boarding ramp.
"Go! Go! Go!"
Repeating the order, the men threw themselves, pointing their M16A3 Rifles. They were all in desert camouflage, with flak jackets, Kevlar helmets, ballistic glasses, rangers, and enough ammunition for a long and violent fight.
The first group of Marines was followed by another and another. Hundreds of soldiers were waiting in the two corridors leading to the Stargate.
The soldiers had been briefed by Daniel Jackson. The archaeologist had drawn a plan of the pyramid and each squad had to secure a room or guard a door, the objective was to defend the ancient monument against enemies.
In the Gateroom, SG-1 members had just entered. Jack O'Neill was worried. For the fifth time, he checked the G36K he had chosen as a weapon in place of his usual FN P90.
His nervousness was at least equal to Jackson's, both of whom had friends on Abydos.
Teal'c spoke.
"Fear not, Skaara and Asuf must be alive."
"How can you be sure," asked Sam in a startled tone.
"Jaffa's standard tactic is to leave the dead of their enemies in front of the Chappa'ai. When reinforcements arrive, the discovery of their killed friends is supposed to demoralize them."
"Terrorism, so Goa'uld-like, they certainly invented the concept," replied O'Neill.
Teal'c bowed but only slightly, raising an eyebrow.
"Indeed."
Samantha Carter turned to the archaeologist.
"But where are the people of Abydos if Apophis didn't kill them or capture them?"
"Should the Stargate be taken, Arsuf and I had agreed to retreat to the Naqadah's mines." He smiled but with no humor." Sam, I'm not going to tell you what would happen if a Jaffa fired with a Staff weapon into the mines."
The astrophysicist nodded. She had no difficulty in imagining the result. The first property of the Naqadah, the easiest to exploit, was the ability of this ore to amplify energy... from close to close. The explosion would be gigantic.
"I'm impressed that you thought of using the mines this way, Daniel."
Jackson shrugged his shoulders, his expression was gloomy.
"Ra taught me about the properties of Naqadah and he wasn't a particularly patient teacher, It was better if I learned my lesson the first time. So I assimilated everything very quickly. In short, as the mine is a maze on several levels, Apophis will have trouble coming to get them. Especially since the young Abydonians formed a militia armed with firearms. They can certainly resist a few days. However, I don't understand how the Abydonians escaped the Apophis' Infiltrators."
O'Neill gave a slap on Jackson's shoulder.
"Daniel, Skaara was the host of Klorel. If anyone is able to understand at first glance an Apophis's approved Machiavellian plan, it's him!"
As they advanced on the ramp following a platoon of Marines, they heard the voice of General George Hammond coming out of the speakers.
"The Prometheus is on its way to Abydos, it should arrive very soon."
Since the Asgard had installed one of their best hyperdrives aboard the Prometheus, the BC-303 was now a very fast spaceship of intergalactic radius. The trip to Abydos was only a short walk for her.
"Let's hope Pendergast doesn't pick mushrooms on the way."
Sam smiled as she heard Jack's line. The Colonel turned to the glass cabin to wave before crossing the Stargate.
"Keep the house safe while we while we are out, sir!"
"We'll keep that in mind, colonel," replied Hammond in a serious tone.
Ra's Pyramid, Abydos, Milky Way
As soon as SG-1 emerged from the Stargate, the noise of an intense shooting greeted them. They could hear the assault rifles responding to the Jaffa Ma'Tok Staff fire.
As they hurried towards the entrance, they also heard a very recognizable dismal roar.
"Death Gliders."
The space fighter had to pass so close to the pyramid, that despite the tons of limestone separating SG-1 from the outside, they could hear the sinister roar distinctly.
O'Neill shook his head exasperated.
"I will fill a complaint, Daniel. We have already fought and won the battle of the Ra's Pyramid. I refuse to do it again!"
Turning his gaze towards the ceiling, the colonel raised an accusing finger towards... the invisible gentleman?
"It's a mere remake! I think someone here is devoid of imagination!" (1)
Teal'c remained impassive, raising only one inquiring eyebrow. But Sam looked at Daniel with bewilderment. It was beyond the usual antics of her superior officer.
The archaeologist chooses to play along.
"Well, since it's a remake, we already know the final result. And we won against Ra, right?"
"Oh yeah... it's true... we're the good guys and the good guys win in the end."
While a Marine armed with a Minimi machine-gun was lying on the porch of the entrance temple, firing short bursts toward the assailants. Two other soldiers stood up throwing grenades.
The double explosion shook the ancient entrance platform, projecting shrapnel in all directions.
Three Jaffa had fallen at the foot of the ramp, but this had not even slowed their assault. A Jaffa firing line was advancing slowly, as in the parade. The gilded plasma projectiles fired by their Staffs were hitting the obelisks, and the walls near the entrance, leaving smoking impacts.
A Marine stood up, ran to an obelisk, dodged two shots, and caught his breath behind the stone pillar before using his M16 against the closest Jaffa. The first burst hit the enemy in the chest. Shaken by the sparks created by the bullets bouncing on his chainmail, the alien seemed for a moment to dance on the spot and then swung backward, staining the sand with his blood.
Behind the corpse, two Serpent Guards -also in red chainmail- were already following. Before the Marine could take refuge behind the obelisk they fired.
The soldier was hit in the shoulder and stomach and fell backward.
One of his comrades stood up, shooting a brief burst while screaming.
"Medic!"
Two soldiers began to run, grasping the wounded each by one arm to pull him back. But the Jaffa wouldn't let them do it and golden plasma balls whistled around them.
The soldier hidden behind the other obelisk charged is under-barrel M203 launcher.
The 50mm grenade described a curved trajectory, marked by a smoke trail, and fell between the two Serpent Guards. The explosion tore them apart.
While the wounded man was finally led to the nurse who had settled at the entrance of the pyramid, the Jaffa hesitated to attack again the ramp leading to the platform where Ra once did 'justice' to his slaves.
But the Goa'uld did not rely solely on their foot soldiers. With a sinister howl a Death Glider plunged towards the ground and two sets of sand and smoke geysers converged towards the ramp.
Luckily, the attacks framed the ramp without doing any damage, but already the space fighter returned to them.
A man ran out of the pyramid, called by Reynolds. Without worrying about the shots hitting the wall next to him, he stood up to support the long tube of an FIM-92 Stinger Launcher.
The Infrared missile gained altitude followed by a trail of grey smoke. The Death Glider made a sudden change of direction to avoid the missile... in vain. The explosion ripped off a wing, and the fighter began to describe aerial figures worthy of a flying circus before crashing into the desert.
One of the fighters had been shot down, but the second one was still circling in the sky, looming.
And it was not alone.
Floating much higher, a Ha'tak flew above Abydos. Its superstructures extended far around the central pyramid, forming an immense shadow on the desert sand. The Mothership kept sending its Transports Rings to the ground. Surrounded by the rings of Naqadah, one group of Jaffa appeared after another in a burst of light. As soon as the rings returned on board, the warriors deployed to join their brothers who encircled the pyramid.
There were already hundreds, and the rings tirelessly brought reinforcements.
With his eye glued to his monocular, Jack had an impressed whistle looking at the disciplined clouds of Jaffa in red armor advancing towards the pyramid.
"They look like red ants storming another anthill."
Putting his cap back on, he approached Reynolds, who distributed his orders to his men.
"How are you so far?"
The major straightened out.
"We've only had six dead and 27 wounded so far. The enemy has far greater losses."
O'Neill nodded.
"Yet seen from here it looks like Alamo."
The officer wanted to continue but stopped to look with an upset expression towards two soldiers who had just fired. It must be said that they used a rather powerful weapon.
The Brandt M327 mortar had just spewed a 120mm shell and the explosion violently shook the positions of the Jaffa lifting a titanic geyser of smoke nearly 4 kilometers from the pyramid.
"Ah yes... in fact the remake benefits from a bigger explosion budget than the original."
Reynolds looked at his superior with an expression of incomprehension. Jack answered with a vague hand sign.
"Forget what I just said, a joke between me and Daniel. How does the enemy leader behave?"
"He is dead."
As O'Neill looked at Reynolds with surprise, the latter smiled and showed two soldiers on the platform. One of them was observing the surrounding terrain with binoculars, pointing at the targets. Right next to it, the second Marine was reloading an M40A3 sniper rifle.
"The Jaffa fight like in the eighteenth century. Their officers love showy outfits. They are easy to spot... and eliminate."
"Oh, I see... uh... keep going? I feel like it's bothering them."
Jackson, who had just come out of the pyramid, had heard the last words and he replied with a quote.
"A troop without officers is no more an army than a pile of building materials is a house" Seeing the surprised air of the two officers, he said: "This is from Socrates."
"A friend of yours," O'Neill asked.
Daniel shook his head and looked up.
"I've come to tell you that the Stargate is open again. We probably surprised Apophis because he hasn't tried to open a wormhole to Abydos yet."
Establishing a bridgehead on the other side of a Stargate was always a risky operation. The gate closed regularly and was cut to allow time for the superconductors to cool down. But there was no guarantee that the allies would be the first to dial the address... and with each reopening of the gate, one could fear a surprise attack from the enemy.
Over the next two hours, the battle became increasingly violent. The Tau'ri were slowly pushing back the Jaffa, but losses were beginning to increase.
"Watch out!"
The two soldiers fired their M16s, a paltry weapon against the two Death Gliders who were diving toward the Tau'ri lines of defense. The Staffs Weapons fired, digging craters in the sand, and projecting columns of black smoke into the sky.
Two of the shots fell into a sandbag nest occupied by Marines.
The bodies were shredded and thrown away by the violence of the explosion. While some soldiers were pulling the wounded to safety, the others grabbed their weapons aimed at the fighters who were coming towards them, turning into the stunning blue high above.
Suddenly, the leading Death Glider seemed to hit an obstacle and disintegrated in a violent explosion.
The soldiers had time to see a missile catch the second enemy fighter before it was destroyed. Two shadows flew over the positions defended by the humans before leaning on a wing and back towards them.
They were F-302s.
Six other Tau'ri fighters had just appeared, attacking the Death Gliders and Al'kesh who were spinning above them.
The Marines raised their arms to the sky and shouted for joy.
Jack O'Neill stood up and saw the arrows of white light hitting the Ha'tak floating above the battlefield, drawing its shield in the form of a hemisphere of golden light. He recognized railgun fire.
"Well, Colonel Pendergast, you almost missed the party."
In the sky, the Mothership was now fighting back and maneuvering, taking altitude to reach the Prometheus in orbit.
(1) Sorry to have no imagination, Jack...