Record keeping time: NOTIFICATIONS ARE BACK! AT LEAST FOR A WHILE. I can answer a few comments before it dies again. Here the name is William Morgan Clark. In the WW series it is Morgan William clark. Both will use Morgan as this is his perferned name of choice to use.

Unname123:, the Minoan class battlestars were first described in the worldwar series: Discovering the Balance. I mentioned it in more detail in the story Establishing the Balance. These ships are updated versions of the Columbia class battlestars like the original Galactica. The size was about the same with enhanced everything and they were networked. Now you will notice that in almost every single one of my stories I avoid doing SPECS. I really hate describing any kind of specifications in stories because it is a trap. I have seen several authors so wrapped up in describing ships weapons, capability, strengths, etc., that the actually burn out as the specs become more important than the story itself. I do give the basics and let the reader's imagination work it out for themselves. Some may not like this approach, but this is the way I choose to approach it.

Just a Crazy-Man: I am sorry, but I cannot divulge anything about the upcoming situation with the Colonials. And earth has its defenses which will be seen shortly so I am keeping that a secret. Your mobile space dock ideas are close but, at this point, the Terrans are not going to use it. In fact the diplomatic fleet may have to use it on their own. As the gift was rejected by Earth. Now, the Cloud 'c dome might have been damaged, but at the same time, said dome would be small since this ship was configured for a long-distance mission. Certain things would be mitigated to ensure safety of said ships. The black hole, did some damage to all of the colonial ships and he damage is being worked on. Still the colonials were hoping for the drydock and that isn't happening, unless they go to another system and set it up independently.

This chapter was planned for lae next week but I have to strike now before FFN falls apart again. Please enjoy. AlbertG

Roads Paved in Shadows

CHAPTER 39

Unknown world

Six thousand light years from Sol System

Mister Morden, one of a handful of valued agents, wrapped his best winter coat as tight as he could around him. It was only a little help as the cold penetrated his best garments. The built-in heating unit offered some protection, but that protection against the unending cold was limited.

This world was abandoned a thousand years ago by the goa'uld system lord who once controlled this set of star systems. The system's star was dying, and life was unsustainable. Most native organisms were dead, unable to survive the increasingly harsh conditions. The ones that could, wouldn't live much longer.

Ker'kan, a minor goa'uld under the authority of the system lord Heru'ur, left the world and the slaves to their fate. The naquada mines had long played out and the world served no strategic purpose. For the system lord. The slaves left, numbered only a few thousand, not enough to consider worth saving. Heru'ur intended to return and collect the stargate, but never did.

Most likely he forgot about it. Morden thought.

The goa'uld were interesting creatures. So wrapped up in their own petty interests, more often than not, forgot about, or dismissed anything not directly involved with the accumulation of power of comfort. The man shrugged.

Their own self-interests were their greatest strengths and their greatest weakness. The Ashtorath were becoming powerful, but they were easy to manipulate by his masters. So much power and no ability to use it properly. Catagia and those parasites would have loved each other, he thought. If his masters would have allowed it, he would have enjoyed instigating the chaos that would have been generated between those two. But those were dreams for another time.

His masters had brought him here to this barren world to witness the beginning of the destruction of this universe's Earth. This cold, barren world was perfect for that purpose and oddly fitting. He looked around once more through his protective mask. There was nothing but mountains and ice as far as his eyes could see, not that he could see that much. The planet was shrouded in perpetual twilight. The sun didn't give out enough heat to warm the planet nor did it emit enough light.. this was a perfect place to deposit enemies you wanted to remain alive to suffer. At least they would have a beautiful view of the stars before they froze to death.

His masters other servants, the Drakh, were here, setting up the missile system that would destroy the Earth's stargate. They moved swiftly and with confidence as they set up the necessary components for launch. The twin missiles were long, thin and, according to their specifications, extremely fast. Each one possessed a four-gigaton warhead. It was the largest warhead available. It was the same type used in their planet-killers. It was calculated to vaporize the stargate as well as a significant portion of that part of the world when combined with the naquada comprising the gate. The resulting catastrophe would certainly cause major confusion and a weakening of planetary defenses. The Drakh armada would have a much easier time fighting a weakened and demoralized enemy.

One of the Shadows next to him became visible. After two or more decades of living among them, Morden still felt a shiver of fear when one of them appeared next to him.

"Our vengeance will begin when the missiles launch. The Tau'ri will be punished for their interference in the great debate. In chaos, there is strength. The Vorlons did not learn this truth. The great debate was interrupted. The Asgard are dead," the creature intoned. "The Earth humans of this universe still live." The Shadow's eyes glowed brightly. "Their punishment will be indeed most severe."

Morden was frightened. This was the first time he felt such hatred emanating from one of the masters. "The cursed Vorlons will never know the depths of their despair for their defeat. The humans here did that. They took that victory from us. We will punish them."

Morden had no doubt about that. But the Tau'ri had some sort of shield protecting their gate. Some type of titanium shield. The shadow seemed to know what he was thinking.

No surprise there.

"Their shield will not protect them," the Shadow assured him. "The Tok'ra co under our controller's thrall told us about the shield and the gate hidden underneath the mountains. It will not resist our missiles. They will suffer."

Morden shivered, not just from the cold. "How long before we fire?" he asked.

"Not long."

The elongated missiles gleamed in the twilight.

Lemuria City

Earth

Senator David Sheridan, seated between his son John and Senator Mander, sat up and folded his hands as he prepared to speak. The man looked haggard, but resolute. What he was about to tell them would shake the very foundations of the planet, and could spell this world's doom. But he had to tell them the truth, and there was no way to sugarcoat it. He spared a quick glance at the Colonials and then closed his eyes for a moment, as if in prayer. Taking a deep breath, he started.

"To the president of this United States, and to the representatives of the IOA, the UCW, members of various Jaffa nations, the leadership of the Race, and to the various militaries of Earth, collectively known as the Tau'ri. My people and I extend our most heartfelt thanks for you taking us in doing is difficult times when you didn't have to. I also want to thank those who helped to bring us to your world. Without their help, we would have never made it here and we would have most likely died in the depths of space, alone, with no hope of rescue or survival. You treated us with kindness, helped us with our medical needs, and provided comfort and aid to myself and my people. We shall not forget this." He sighed and was momentarily silent before continuing. The niceties were observed. Now, the seriousness of this meeting was about to shift to a whole new level.

"Although we have escaped our enemies, we, the refugees of Earth Alliance, have come here bringing disturbing news that will affect this world and those of your allies. Although we have escaped from the hands of our leader, President William Morgan Clark, the danger is not yet over. We have information and confirmation of proof that military elements of Earth Alliance have discovered the location of your world and are coming here, out of vengeance, to destroy it. I use the word vengeance, because that is what President Clark and other members of his cabinet have used as the official reason they are coming here. He wants your technology and resources. He wants vengeance. The president has condemned you as traitors to humanity, permantly contaminated by aliens who usurped your world. That's the excuse he is using to invade your world. You ruined his plans, almost sent him to prison for the rest of his life. He hasn't forgotten."

"We members of the resistance attempted to stop what has become an Earth empire, and restore the Constitution. We failed, and now many of the governments in our… sector of space are suffering the consequences of our failure. For those who are unfamiliar with the events to have led us all to this point, I will allude to you a short history of how and why we have gotten to this point." He stared directly at the uncomprehending, but very interested Colonials.

"Approximately fifteen years ago, as measured by this world, my world was embroiled in a bitter war with the species called the Minbari. To put it simply, we were losing the war. The entire conflict started by accident when one of our vessels fired on the Minbari flagship and killed their leader. These aliens were incensed, and thus began a genocidal war against us. Because of the death of a single leader, the Minbari intentions were to destroy every last human being in the galaxy. Earth Alliance was unable to stop them. They were more advanced, more powerful, and possessed more ships. We tried to come to terms, even offered an unconditional surrender, but they refused to accept any of our entreaties. The only thing that we could do was fight back in any way possible. We constantly lost territory to them. Any humans that encounter them died. Our best warships could do nothing against them because of the Minbari stealth field. That field was powerful enough to skew our sensors so that we could not accurately target them unless we were at point blank range. Being so close was tantamount to suicide. We were losing hope. Then everything changed.

"A Tau'ri ship from Earth, your Earth, changed the tide of the battle. The technology that you possessed allowed us to defend ourselves. We were able to target them and destroy more ships than we had imagined possible. But there were other technologies that we also wanted to acquire but were denied. The officers and crew of Achilles, because of their own military commitments, refused to share with us technologies that could have enabled us not only to defend ourselves more effectively, but to win the war. But enough technology was shared with us to allow us to create a balance, and with that balance, we hoped that we would be able to strike a cease-fire with our enemies. General O'Neill, who arrived later on, will remember that we tried to negotiate with him to acquire more advanced technologies that your ship possessed. I will admit that we approached the situation more aggressively than we should have." The senator looked suitably chagrined. "As a result, negotiations broke down."

Hearing this, the Colonials did not approve. They were enraptured by what they were hearing, listening to a history completely unknown to them. The Earth Alliance was a human society (lost colony, really) in desperate need of help against an alien–another one!–power.

The Tau'ri should have immediately rendered full aid to the humans without reservation. It seemed that Earther arrogance played a role with the EA as well. This did not bode well for their own mission. Kunningham couldn't help but be curious about what those technologies were, although he and the ambassador already suspected what those technologies might be. The admiral didn't like what he saw. The Tau'ri were willing to let a world of humans die from alien attack because they were too arrogant to share their secrets for the greater good.

"Some in our government were not satisfied with the responses that were given to us by General O'Neill and his negotiating team. I'm sorry to say that some of the Senators in EarthGov had contingency plans already in place for just this sort of scenario. The same officials wanted all of the Achilles, and Prometheus is technologies. Without the consent of then P president Levy, the forces under the command of those organizations, and other clandestine forces attempted to hijack the ship and use enhanced interrogation techniques on the crew to acquire all data pertaining to the ship and their sciences, and locations and availability of resources.:

General O'Neill's eyes turned towards Admiral Kunningham. He mouthed the words, "sound familiar?"

The admiral didn't understand, as the words were not in Colonial standard. But the message was gotten across.

The admiral's eyes twitch, then he turned away to continue listening to the senator.

"You have to understand that many in our government believed that this was absolutely necessary for the survival of our people.

"However, there were those who looked at your ships, and saw the power within them and wanted it for themselves. Then-Senator Clark was one of them. The hijacking failed, the plan exposed, and the entire Earth government was plunged into political chaos. Clark's crimes were exposed, and he was effectively ruined. The Tau'ri, after applying pressure to the government, was able to escape. The battle that everyone fear did not take place. But the damage had been done. Clark and several other senators as well as the CEOs of several mega-corporations, were ruined."

David Sheridan didn't bother to mention how the Tau'ri were able to escape. He didn't want to tell everyone that O'Neill threatened to nuke the seat of Earth Alliance power if Earthforce attacked them. The warships backed off. The Colonials didn't need to know that, unless the Tau'ri decided to tell them.

"Although slowed by our new technological advances, the Minbari continued their attempts to destroy us," the senator continued. "Desperate. We developed a biological weapon designed specifically for this species. With that weapon, we were able to destroy the Minbari war machine. We estimate that ninety-nine point three percent of their population died. How we defeated them has been a closely guarded secret until just recently. The revelation of that secret has cost us severely politically. None of the other local racists and governments trust us now. As for our enemies, we moved the few that survived to a reservation planet. They were already suffering from a reproductive condition that was slowly rendering them sterile. Their technology was stripped from them and are no longer capable of traveling in space. We estimate that within two hundred years, this species will be extinct. We offer no apology for what we did to them," he defiantly stated to the crowd, listening to him. "They tried to exterminate us, and we responded in kind."

To those listening, they were in shock, but others understood the situation. There would be no recriminations against these people. They did what they needed to do to survive against the cruel and supremely dangerous enemy. The events occurred outside of Earth's jurisdiction and although there were signs of disgust plastered on the faces of many of the people, none of them were in a position to judge.

"Clark and a few of those with him were able to escape the full brunt of the disaster and, in Clark's case, it took every bit of his wealth and influence to escape prosecution and incarceration. He never forgot what was done to him. Somehow the Man still had influence and with others helping him, he was able to achieve the vice presidency. But he was not satisfied. We now know that he had the president assassinated years later. With that, he ascended to the presidency. Over two years, he instituted several organizations which assisted him in a complete takeover of Earth Alliance. He created the ministry a piece, the Ministry of Justice, and an organization called Nightwatch. His association with Psi-Corps assisted him in a complete takeover of the government. Clark is ruled with an iron hand and thousands of Alliance people have been rounded up, jailed, and killed if they were found to be in defiance of his edicts and commands."

"President Clark has a long memory, and he has never forgotten what was done to him. General O'Neill, you frightened him in a way that no one has frightened him since. You ruined his plans and, more importantly you made him feel impotent. He's always feared the Tau'ri and what you have, and he's always feared that one day you will come and do what you did to him again. He is a small and very insecure man backed by the forces of an entire military force, augmented with technology, which we took as prizes. Earth alliance is the strongest military force in our sector of space, and Clark has made use of that power to intimidate and threaten every government that is in our sphere of influence. Only the Vree have any real autonomy at this point."

"Recently, Earth force research and development discovered a way to gain easier access to your area space. Three years ago, Earth Alliance deep space survey vessels discovered the twelve Colonies of Kobol and the presence of another species existing in contention with the Kobollians."

The man looked flushed, staring at a surprised Kobollian compliment as he prepared to tear their world apart.

"President Clark and his governing cabal have always wanted access to the secrets of the source that powers your society. Before we met you, we used nuclear fuels as power sources. Quantium 40 has been the most energetic element we have discovered. It's also supremely toxic and enormously expensive. But the source you use was found to be a derivative of Q40, a mineral to be exact, that was estimated to be fifteen to twenty times more efficient, stable, able to be used in a variety of ways, and nontoxic. It could also be used to enrich the explosive ability of our nuclear weapons tenfold. Our studies of your mineral allowed us to enrich our nuclear weapons using Q40, but the mineral is very rare in our area of space. Clark was obsessed with obtaining a constant supply of the mineral, and he found a way to get here. Our first contact was with the Colonials. Earthforce captured several vessels which supplied valuable detailed information."

"The Colonial prisoners didn't know about the mineral substance used by the Tau'ri, or the location of the Sol system, whom most considered a myth until recently. They did have information about the Colonies, supply depots, and equipment Clark found useful for his own growing empire. Earthforce gathered intel on your worlds and a month ago, he had three fleets attack the Colonies."

Two seconds passed before the Colonials went ballistic.

Genyne Isahan, in a move completely uncharacteristic of her normally calm, controlled nature, slammed both hands on the desk, demanding to be heard.

"Senator Sinclair!" she yelled, her voice carrying over the increasing din. "Are you saying your government, Earth Alliance, attacked the Colonies? Explain yourself!"

"Do it now," growled a very intense Admiral Kunningham.

Quietly, Lemurian security tensed and moved closer, prepared to quell any physical antagonisms that could likely erupt. Colonial security retained their weapons, but these weapons were inactive. Unknown to them, the Tollanian neutralizers rendered their guns useless the moment they stepped foot into the city. Colonial security looked tense, ready to defend their people in case hostilities broke out.

Halima Cain appeared ready to physically attack the senator and any other EA personnel she could get her hands on. Everyone froze when General O'Neill screamed out as loud as he could, gathering everyone's attention.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled a second time as the first didn't have the desired effect. "If we want to find out what happened, let the man speak. That means stop acting like children! Close your mouths and listen like adults!" He was facing the ambassador, but he was glaring directly at Admiral Kunningham and Lieutenant General Cain. "There will be no fighting unless you want to wind up in our detention center. I don't care who it is. I don't care what your status is. You will end up in jail. Don't try me. We need to find out what has happened and if you Colonials and Earth Alliance start fighting in the middle of this room, the UCW will be unhappy and all of our peaceful negotiations' will fall into the toilet. Now let's everybody come down so that we can hear Senator Sinclair's explanation."

Kunningham was barely coherent, but he controlled himself. This was another test he recognized. Every action since they'd arrived culminated at this point. How his people reacted now would set the tone for Colonial and Tau'ri relations for decades, if not more. If he wanted to represent the senior tribes, then he had to act like it, although he wanted to kill these people with his bare hands, right here, right now. He forced himself to calm down so that he could hear what these people had to say.

The senator gratefully nodded towards O'Neil. Telling everyone about his government's failings was hard enough, and he had no desire to make matters worse than they already were.

"Ambassador," he spoke directly to Isahan. "Our transmission intercepts indicated that Colonial forces were caught completely off guard. Your capital world was subjected to nuclear bombardment. We are aware of at least two of your worlds are now nuclear wastelands, which ones, I don't know. I do know that every Kobollian world was attacked. How bad the damage is, we don't have that information. The Kobollian defense forces were decimated, but they're still resisting as of our last transmission intercept. These intercepts were archived over a two-day period. Therefore, they are woefully incomplete."

"That's impossible," Kunningham roared. "Your fleets couldn't stand against the full might of the CDF," by which he meant the Colonial Defense Force. "I don't know what your so-called Earth Alliance fleet is, but your forces couldn't survive a battle against us. And when we find out where the location of your world is, do not think the Tau'ri will be able to save you." He speared the senator with his eyes, a habit that most people in the room were becoming used to. "For your sake, I hope this is some sort of jest on your part."

"How long did it take for you to reach this star system?" asked Cain, interrupting the incoming tirade from the admiral.

Her eyes narrowed as she awaited the answer. The time it took for them to get here was critical, if he was telling the truth.

This time, John Sheridan answered. "From the time we arrived near the Cyrannus system to arriving here, approximately three hours."

The woman actually laughed in his face. "It took us a year to get here," she hissed. "Three hours? What do you take us for?"

John straitened and contemptuously gazed at the woman. "We were pulled by an unknown race connected to the UCW. We never saw the ship, but it had to be more advanced than anything I've ever imagined."

Cain and Kunningham glared at the young captain.

"I have no reason to lie about something like this. Traveling this far would have taken us four months."

Halima called him a liar to his face. John responded with a couple of choice words of his own before Kunningham stopped them both. Unlike Cain, he saw O'Neill's face.

He saw it in the man's eyes.

The Earthforce captain was telling the truth.

TBC

Next:Things goes from bad to worse...