Record keeping: To all, a Merry Christmas, and a happy new year! As Robo Reader 21 has intoned, President Clark as been paring for a long time. Years, in fact. This has been his little pet project. Truthfully, he never really believed that he could pull the invasion to another universe off. Then they found the rift, and did so only by mistake. Originally in COA the SGC had made a deal for several of their EA war ships which they planned to modify according to their specifications. The coordinates for the transfer were known by Earth Alliance. But the exact spot was not known. They discovered it when the Vorlons retreated from a very pissed off Asgard and tiny but very deadly Tau'ri space force. Clark's dream could now become a reality. For years Earthforce was building up, [preparing to fight a now wary Centauri Republic. Plus he had Minbari technology at his disposal. Then he took Abbai shielding which IPX had time to study the design using the scans of the Achilles to help modify and improve those shields.

Earthforce was already feared by just about everyone as it turned into a true empire. With the Shadows helping Earth Alliance by using the Drakh, and the scientific gains from the Minbari and a few others, Earth was the dominant force in that part of space. It promised safety and peace for Earth. It also guaranteed total war, which was the Shadows aim in the first place.

Clark believes he has the edge. All of the calculations pointed to the fact that with additional SGC force and ships, he could still overwhelm them and achieve victor. If EF failed, then he could blockade the rift and the junction point and continue to prepare for the war to come. But he is confident he will succeed. The lure of victory and its prizes are too great to ignore. If he has to pay the [rice with the blood of his people, so be it.

As for Kunningham and company, this is culture shock and techno-shock, and they have not seen anything-yet. In their hearts, this is still the lonely colony of legend. Not all of the Colonials have the same attitudes as we shall see.

Everyone, please enjoy the season. AlbertG

Roads Paved in Shadows

Chapter forty-one

Earth: Lemuria City

"Guards, place Admiral Kunningham under arrest," General O'Neill ordered, to the astonishment of the admiral and the other Colonials. Two guards stepped up, weapons drawn. Colonial security found themselves surrounded, before they could react, and relieved their nonfunctioning weapons. "People never listen to me when I threaten them."

Isahan looked aghast. The entire mission, in her mind, was effectively over. The Tau'ri would never trust the Admiral and, by extension, the entire diplomatic fleet. The entire UCW diplomatic ensemble hadn't said a word. Most looked embarrassed for the Colonials, others looked at the Admiral with pity and a couple of them, glared at the admiral with eyes filled with contempt. This breech of diplomatic protocol was unforgivable.

The only thing she could think of to do to salvage the situation was to profusely apologize to everyone before they were ordered to leave the planet for acting like uncouth savages. She couldn't imagine the Tau'ri allowing them to remain. The Quorum would not have allowed such disrespect by a Tau'ri Military Officer trying to order them about.

"Admiral," O'Neill said before the woman could humiliate herself by apologizing for the admiral. "Admiral, We're in this situation because you think you're in control. It's been the problem since you got here. The information you needed was freely available to you, but you just had to assert your authority in some kind of show of strength. Your ships are on alert, awaiting your orders. The Earthforce ships are under our protection. If you try to take them, we will consider it an act of war, and respond accordingly. Contrary to your beliefs, your ships will not survive our response if they fire at us or the EF ships. The last thing we want to do is to kill ships from a diplomatic delegation fleet, but we will defend those under our protection."

Admiral Kunningham straightened as if he was slapped by the Earther. He had completely forgotten about the guards at his side, prepared to escort him to detention.

"You would start a war with your brethren over these traitors and insurrectionists?" he asked. "I don't understand you people! We have to find out the truth. If the Colonies were attacked, we need to know as soon as possible. You rejected our 'requests' for the cylon prisoners for the same reasons. You're protecting these people now. Are you so afraid of us that you're willing to let the cylons continue to infiltrate my worlds? If what these people are saying is true, then the Colonies, your brethren," he added, "are dying." The man looked completely frustrated as his anger died. "Everything you've done here indicated your lack of empathy for your fellow colonists. You've gone out of your way to set yourselves apart from us at every opportunity."

"Your ships' weapons are active," O'Neill reminded him. "Your people will die for nothing if you continue this pissing contest. You know what happened when one small Earth vessel took out a squadron of your oversized ships. We told you what happened to the Cylon fleet, whether you saw the evidence or not. Do you want to take a chance of losing everything as well as failing in your mission? Do you wonder why we said that you should come back in a few decades?""

Before anyone could answer, O'Neill turned to the refugees. "Don't fire on the Colonials. You're under our protection. We will deal with this situation if it comes to that." He turned back to the trembling Colonial. "What's your decision, Admiral?"

Frankus Kunningham still couldn't believe that the Apellai would fire on his ships over a group of self-proclaimed rebels. Colonial SOP dictated that they were designated no better than pirates until proven otherwise. Frankus Kunningham wouldn't have hesitated to take them by force, if he had the resources, but he wasn't sure, not anymore. Too many small things were adding up and he didn't like what he saw. Starting a fight with the very people he wanted to establish peace talks with and not fulfilling his mandated mission weighed too much on his mind. The Colonies were too far away, and his fleet couldn't make a difference if they were being attacked. Like it or not, he was trapped here, and being at war with the Tau'ri even with their meager forces would put his civilians who relied on him at risk. He hadn't felt this powerless in a long time.

Senator Sinclair continued after a few moments. He hoped his interruption would alleviate some of the tension and avert a fight. "Clark's forces have estimated the numbers of ships you could have defending your people, judging from the information you gave us sixteen years ago. Even if you had the Jaffa aiding you, it was estimated that you couldn't field more than sixty capital ships combined. Granted your ships were tough, but Earth Alliance has acquired shields which we have improved and it's believed that the Q40 nukes are sufficient to overwhelm your defense shield. The fleet Clark has gathered, we estimate, is approximately four hundred capitals, including our latest Warlock class battleships." He paused for a second. "This doesn't include the forces already in the Colonial Cyrannus star system, estimated at two hundred heavy capitals and support ships. Once they start, it will take four months for them to get here. There may not be much you can do, but We wanted to let you know so that you could prepare. We hope that it will give you some time to evacuate whom you can."

President Boyd acknowledged the Earthforce's vital information. "Admiral Kunningham. You haven't stood down. I assume that you have decided to return home, to avoid any misunderstandings, your mission being completed. Am I correct, Admiral, Ambassador Isahan?"

The man was trapped. Emotions varied from rage to embarrassment, and fear thundered across his face. He was paralyzed, and his own inaction further infuriated him.

Boyd allowed him a few seconds, however the man remained frozen. Boyd looked at O'Neill. "Place him in detention. Have our defenses lock onto the delegation fleet. If they fire on the Earth Alliance refugees, you are authorized by the President of the United States, and the UCW to respond accordingly, and contain the threat."

"Guards, you heard the President," O'Neill ordered. The guards moved towards the frozen but now wide-eyed admiral.

Lieutenant General Cain looked horrified, helpless to do anything, not with the Earther guards eyeing her every movement. She didn't have her personal weapons with her, hadn't thought there was no need for them.

Isahan looked as if she were about to pass out. "Admiral!" she pleaded.

"Colonial fleet, set Condition Three," he said, his voice choked. "All ships return to standard station keeping. All vipers return to your battlestars."

Isahan looked stone-faced, but everyone could tell she was relieved.

Everyone was relieved. No one wanted a fight.

"I… respectfully… request that the earth Alliance refugees send my crew, any and all information they have about the attack on the Colonies of Kobol," he said through gritted teeth. "I apologize for my… rash actions to everyone in this room." He turned towards O'Neill while glaring at the Screen with Boyd's transmission plastered on it.

"Guards, stand down," O'Neill ordered.

The Kobollian supreme commander was furious, but managed to hold his tongue in check.

Jack glared back with stone cold eyes. "Have the Colonials gong back to station keeping?" he demanded through his comms. It was confirmed. They were backing off. He asked the same of the Earth Alliance fleet. Those ships were powering down and returning to their original orbital position. He turned back to Kunningham. "Do you want to remain here and allow us to continue this meeting or do you wish to leave and come back later, after the meeting is over?"

Kunningham stared daggers at this arrogant Earther. He was pushing it. "I will remain here and listen to what these people have to say," he muttered.

General O'Neill noticed the man's eye twitching and hoped he didn't have a heart attack. "Glad to hear it."

"We will provide the necessary information to the Colonial officials as we promised," said a much colder Senator Sheridan. The looks he gave the Colonials spoke volumes.

"Excellent, Senator," Boyd stated. "General Brindley noted that Clark may have allies covertly assisting him. We detected a force of several hundred ships headed in the direction of Earth. They are using your form of hyperspace travel. Can you identify these ships?"

The main screen changed from the view of the participants to a visual of a horde of unknown ships filling the screen. The entire room gasped at the sight.

"By all the gods," whispered Genyne. And she wasn't the only one.

Kunningham looked unmoved as his professional training of thirty years took over. "How many?"

"Four hundred and two, at last count. The smallest are these fighter gunboats that look like arrowheads. They are approximately two hundred fifteen to two hundred twenty meters long. The largest ones are fourteen kilometers long vessels designated as carriers, with those extensions jutting from the front."

"How can they build something so large?" Cain hissed. She could hardly believe her eyes. This had to be a fake. "It should be impossible." But there it was, bigger than anything she had ever seen.

Brindley shook his head slowly as he stared at the image. "No, I haven't seen those ships before."

Then the man's eyes widened. It couldn't be! But it had to be. His heart started pounding as his nurse attempted to calm him down. His heart rate was spiking. "It's them!" he said. Pointing towards the horrific image of a black arachnid-type nightmare close to one of the larger carriers. "I've seen that thing before!" He had tried to forget that image, but even after more than a decade, the monstrous thing burned itself into his mind.

"What is it?" asked O'Neill. Spiders!

He hated spiders. If those aliens made space ships that looked like spiders, he could only imagine what those aliens looked like. Irreverently, he thought of massive cans of nuclear-tipped Raid being shot at them to get rid of some sick infestation.

"I don't know," Oliver hissed. "I remember the top-secret report of a ship located on Mars. The report told of another one of those things unearthing an identical, damaged vessel. There were only two vids of them, both of which were sequestered, in Clark's private vault." He hesitated, trying to decide whether to add more information. The UCW members noticed his hesitation, and he cursed himself for his weakness. What he was about to say, none of the senators or crew knew and it would cause ripples through this gathering. It was possible that the refugees would be ejected from Earth's territory, or worse. But something like this always came out sooner or later, although more than a decade and a half had passed.

"General O'Neill, one of Earth Alliance's closest secrets is related to the Achilles and your ship the Prometheus. During the later years, I was given access to critical information kept secluded for a decade. The Earth Alliance has four distinct organizations that serve the President, five if you add the Home Guard, Clark's personal Praetorian military elite. These organizations are the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Justice, Nightwatch, and a very strong association with Psi-Corps, which is the organization that manages and controls the telepaths of my world. It was never confirmed to me, but Psi-Corps were involved with the attempted hijacking of your ships. The reason why they were involved was not just because they wanted the secrets, but because they wanted you and your people. They couldn't simply strip the information and memories from your minds as they could do with my people. It was because they couldn't. You are different. They are unable to read your minds. You and your crews were effectively resistant to every scan they attempted. A simple scan made them sick, nauseous. Two of their people suffered long-term symptoms. You are not telepathic, but you are best described as anti telepathic. Your minds actively resist their probes, literally attacking them like antibodies against bacteria. The Corps cannot stand the idea of normal humans resistant to their telepathy."

Again, he paused to catch his breath. Next to him were a doctor and nurse. Carefully monitoring is vital. Earth had made startling advances in medicine, but Brindley was still recovering from two broken ribs. It took strength to talk.

There was no way to sugarcoat his next words, and he wasn't a man to try. "My people captured one of your pilots from the Achilles. He wasn't lost in the fight with the alien ship. We now know was Vorlon. Earthforce captured his damaged ship and Psi-Corps took him, with the blessings of Clark, his cronies, several high-level officials in the government and Earth Alliance. We have a covert organization called Bureau Thirteen, and I am sure they were involved. Psi-Corps wanted to find out why he was resistant to their telepathic scans. All of the organizations wanted to uncover your secrets of your technology, your military capabilities, the number of your ships, and possible allies of the time. Despite your advances, the military and many of the senators," he said, looking at a frowning, but quiet once Senator Peterson, of the Netherlands conglomerate, "Would have bled you dry of your technology, especially during those tumultuous times. But the Alliance was looking towards the future."

"You were indulging your imperialistic tendencies, even though you were losing the war against the Minbari," Boyd told him, not mincing his words. "Interesting that you refer to your ex-government as 'they', and 'Earth Alliance', instead of 'I', and 'we'."

"'I' and 'we' are not part of the Earth Alliance anymore," was his flat response. "I would love for the Constitution to be re-established. But that most likely won't happen in my lifetime. The Colonials are in shambles and your world is next on the list. The others saw the truth before me. It took me a while to accept reality, and the price I paid is higher than you will ever know. My family, my people are gone, and we have a neo-Hitler in charge of earth Alliance which should now be called a Terran Empire. The others didn't know, and I could have kept the truth to myself. I didn't. it wasn't the right thing to do." He shrugged gently. "I don't like John Sheridan, and he certainly doesn't like me, but I agree with what he and the others stand for. This is not the time to dance around each other if we want to survive. We screwed up. I screwed up, and hundreds of people were killed because of my actions. I can't change any of that. Our actions have consequences, but I will do what I can to keep this world and your people from suffering any more than they already have. Admiral Kunningham, I will give you all of the information you wish. I will do so freely, but I will not be coerced or ordered by you or your people. This is a time to work together and solve these problems, not get into a pissing contest you can't win. The price isn't worth it."

"Earth Alliance wanted information on your government and, most of all, where you were and how to get here. I know they performed experiments to try to find out why you were telepathically resistant. They wanted everything. Everything. He was Lieutenant Silverton of the Achilles. He didn't survive. Clark was planning an attack, years before he even became President." Now, his attention turned towards the Colonials. "Admiral, your people are resistant as well. But not to the degree of the Tau'ri. I am sure that Earthforce, with the aid of Psi-Corps, is experimenting on your people to find the genetic keys that protect you from their telepathy." Still looking defiant but also sympathetic, he continued. "I thought you should know."

The Tau'ri was absolutely incensed. Everything said all but guaranteed war with Earth Alliance in the future, when the current crisis played itself out. The Tollanian ambassador looked upset as she listened to the barbarity of earth Alliance. The UCW contingent was unhappy. The members of the Race were terrified and fascinated, watching the humans converse and argue with each other. What was heard concerning the Earth Alliance horrified them. Their idea of an empire was completely different when compared to what the EA appeared to be. The Race had conquered two worlds, but nothing in their history compared the brutality and violence of this human empire. Yes, an empire needed to be strong, and the neighbors needed to be reminded who was I charge. But the small glimpses of the history of this Earth Alliance frightened them. They required more information. The Human's idea of an empire differed from theirs and they needed to understand.

The Kobollians and refugees were subdued, confused, and concerned. The Tau'ri obviously didn't have the firepower to withstand whatever was coming for them. And even if they did, then Clark's forces would finish the job. Neither group could return home. The Kobollians, if they burned out their drives, would take nine months to reach home and then they would be in no condition to fight, as their ships would need major overhauls. They would be in no condition to fight. As much as they hated it, they were stuck on Earth.

Kunningham looked at the president of earth and then the rest of those in the room, sparing a momentary, baleful glare at O'Neill. "We cannot go home in time to make a difference to our home worlds," he gritted. "I repeat my pledge to help Earth with everything we have. But I expect reciprocation. When your war is over, I expect help from you to find out what has really happened to the colonies. I also repeat my request to obtain as much information as the EA has so that we know what is happening at home."

"I also request that, as you have rejected our gift, that we set up the mobile space dock in your system, to be used to maintenance and repair our vessels," intoned Ambassador Isahan. "If you choose not to utilize it, we would use it for our own ships."

"We will bring your request to the Council of Earth and consider it after we deal with this incoming enemy," Boyd answered.

A surprised and pleased Kunningham nodded to his ambassador. He hadn't thought of that. Ruefully, he reminded himself to work on controlling his temper with these people. He was missing too many little things that could inadvertently destroy his command.

An hour later, the meeting was adjourned. The Tollanian ambassador and others were prepared to return to their home worlds. Curious, the Kobollians wanted to get a view of the ships they came in, as they couldn't get a DRADIS read on any of them that had arrived and landed on Earth. Admiral appeared clamer but there was no denying that he was chaffing because of his treatment. He decided, from a personal standpoint, that he hated O'Neill more than he disliked Doctor Jackson. Admiral Frankus Kunningham, Supreme Commander of this sector, hadn't felt this level of humiliation since he was a cadet in the Picon Military Academy. The only reason why he hadn't already left was because he wanted to see the Coalition ships. One could learn a lot about someone by looking at their designs. Also, the DRADIS did not penetrate Earth ECM enough to get a good picture of the civilian infrastructure, let alone the military bases and strategic sites. DRADIS couldn't even see this city unless one of his ships was literally less ha three kilometers from it! Unless his ships went active DRADIS, they couldn't see anything. He wasn't sure if his Mercury sensors on full power could burn through their ECM, and he didn't dare try. The last thing the diplomatic fleet could stand was another incident with these people, or the Coalition.

It took every bit of strength Kunningham possessed to request that he see the departure of the delegates. The orbiting craft that they used to get to Earth. The landing pads had to be on the other side of the city, away from the Earth shuttles where the Earth Alliance and his raptors were. It was a practical security concern his own people would be comfortable with, as his people did the same. Isahan, Cain, and the others went with him. For some reason, the general did not complain and almost seemed to encourage the little outing.

Again, the elevator was unnaturally quick, and the group found themselves on the main floor in another section of the city. It took another five minutes to reach what the admiral knew to be the command center of the city. The area was massive, about twice the size of his ship's command center. The area was bright and the technology present appeared extremely advanced. Cain muttered to him, that she believed this was the heart of the UCW command center for Earth. He thought so, too.

Surprisingly, almost all of the UCW delegates were there. They appeared to be waiting in front of some strange circular piece of art in the center of a smaller room. It seemed oddly out of place, but he couldn't deny that it had a certain charm, with all of its symbols carved into its metal structure. He wasn't sure what the device was, but he suspected that it was another version of the medical device he and his people had gone through.

But he had another motivation for coming here. He wanted to talk to the woman, Jaffa Captain.

Standing next to him, Arynia. Simply put, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Her poise, strength and grace had captivated him since he saw her on the vid screen. He was not interested, not really. He convinced himself. She was a self-proclaimed alien, but that wasn't going to stop him from… talking to her. It was a nice diversion he desperately needed. The Apellai-Earthers were bad enough, and he was sure that his physical health had been shortened by a few years. But it wasn't just them, but his own people as well.

The Gemenon priests and priestesses were screaming at him at every single opportunity. It was to the point that he actively avoided them. Those tribal reps wanted to visit Earth. But they refused to undergo the required medical screening the Earthers required. It was a small thing to acquiesce to, but they refused over religious grounds. The earth government and the entire UCW refused to allow them on any of their worlds. They were the only ones not allowed to step foot on the planet. The rest of the diplomatic fleet didn't have that restriction.

The Gemenon contingent was furious and made that fact known at every given opportunity. Kunningham explained that the impasse could easily be rectified if they went through the non-invasive, two-minute process. They refused. So, he restricted them to the fleet. And thought about increasing his own security, just in case. The Gemenons did complain directly to the Earth government. Isahan allowed it with his permission.

Earth refused, and the Gemenons were even more unhappy. Kunningham shook his head. It was their own fault. Too bad.

Frankus stood six-foot three, and he still felt puny compared to the male Jaffa surrounding the woman. She was not quite six-foot herself and looked beautifully exotic as all Hades. She stared at him with her intense brownish green eyes as he approached her, and her smile seemed to brighten the room. He couldn't believe she wasn't human, as he understood the term. Ambassador Isahan lifted her head slightly as she evaluated the man's actions. This was a side of him she had never seen before.

Cain merely raised her eyebrows as she watched him swagger over. His antics weren't important to her. Her interest lay in the city.

Frankus barely had time to reintroduce himself when the internal circular ring on the artifact began glowing and the pieces, the chevrons, began locking the outer ring to the inner one in a very specific sequence. There were seven of them and an instant later, a blue energy wave exploded from the center of the artifact. The energy wave recessed back into the center of the artifact and for the life of him, it looked like an ocean contained within the circle.

The Tollanian ambassador and her people glanced at a stunned Ambassador, Isahan, and an equally shocked Kunningham. The Tollanian group waited a few seconds for clearance. One by one, the delegation went through with the ambassador going last. Before she did, she smirked at the flabbergasted Colonial and Earth Alliance group, nodded and stepped into the energy vortex. A moment later, the vortex disappeared, as if it had never been there.

Kunningham was completely confused. He had no idea what he'd just seen.

Behind him, O'Neill was standing there. Frankus never even noticed.

"The first time is always the best," Jack whispered. "Welcome to the world of the Tau'ri."

Standing next to him, Arynia bowed. "The Tau'ri have a saying. "Be careful what you wish for., you may get it. now what was it you wished to say to me?"

The admiral just stared at the device, totally confused. The others, seeing it for the first time, gaped at the piece of art with new eyes.

"I don't understand," Isahan said.

General O'Neill smirked. "This is a device that allows us to explore the universe, just like opening a door and stepping into another room. All UCW worlds have one. It's called a stargate."

The ambassador went pale and looked as though she was about to pass out. "It's… It can't be real. Is this some sort of trick?" she demanded. To know.

"Nope. It s real," Jack told her and the group.

The woman's mind struggled to understand. "It's the doorway of the gods?"

"It's not the doorway of the gods. It's a stargate, and gods had nothing to do with this," he corrected in all seriousness. "With this little gem, we have traveled the galaxy and beyond."

The ambassador fainted. Fortunately, the admiral caught her before she hit the floor.

Senators Sinclair and Peterson were still staring at the stargate in wonder. "You told us about this all those years ago," Peterman said. "It's all true?" he asked, not quite believing it.

General Jack O'Neill just shook his head. "Would we lie about something like this?"

TBC