Record keeping time: hello everyone. I hope you are doing well.
First, I have not forgotten the Tollanian situation on their world. It is coming up.
Travine: we have to remember that the colonials and cylons relate everything to one another. This is because that is the only experience they have had. So for the majority of them, every standard they have to go by is either human of Cylon based. This chapter and the next two gives insight into the colonials and their attitudes and mission statement. How they respond to what they are seeing will be examined from various points of view. And you are correct, the Terrans have a lot to do dealing with Shadows, Drakh, and Earth Alliance, the cylons and Colonials and Goa'uld. It's not their job to police the galaxy as some reviewer so stupidly claimed, but to clear up matters that directly relate to them and hopefully give a little aid to some others. Let's not forget the Goa'uld-Ashtorath. You can see what is about to go down on Caprica in a day or so when the UCW comes a'callin.
SamuraiCatFan: Oh, yes. There is a failure to communicate but that is to be expected. So, O'Neill isn't going off fully. He has to keep some decorum befitting his station. This is a true contact between two similar but completely different cultures. There is bound to be some differences and miscommunications.
Trevayne: you are touching on an important point about the Colonials not having up to date available information. However, the fact is the Colonials never met the Race or had any further contact with the Tau'ri. The delegation fleet made an accurate but totally inaccurate conclusion about their own government. The President and Quorum were honest about coming to Earth and getting that so-called colony to reunite with their brethren. They had ulterior motives, naturally but they did give all available material to Kunningham and Isahan, but they underestimated everything. The Terrans have responded to the attitudes of the Colonials. Demands from the Kobollians are not appreciated that kind of attitude will not force them to do anything. This is discussed in the upcoming chapters as attitudes change. The Twelve colonies are not the center of the universe. Their demands are not necessarily fulfilled. This will be discussed. If someone comes to your home as a visitor and then star making demands…some people don't like that at all.
The Shadows are pissed because they expect things to go the way they want them to. But they are cautious (and don't have up to date information) of the Tau'ri. Remember, one ship took on a Shadow mothership or three. It lost but the Shadows remember.
More on the Shadows later. For now it is time to continue elsewhere. Take care people and be well.
Roads Paved in Shadows
Chapter Forty-Seven
CDF Radiance
Admiral Kunningham knew that any rest now to alleviate his headache was impossible at the moment.
There were the issues of the Earth Alliance. One of his commanders had developed the beginnings of a conversational relationship with one of the Alliance captains and the admiral approved.
Any information about them was considered a plus. The more information, the better. They appeared to be an offshoot of the Tau'ri, but information was sparse, and he didn't want to start an argument with the Tau'ri by following standard Colonial protocols for such an issue. The Earthers claimed authority here, and to keep from starting an unnecessary battle, he was obligated to follow their dictates concerning this issue.
What little he knew about the Earth Alliance confirmed to him that those people were the same as the Tau'ri, in language, culture, and attitude. Honestly, he had trouble telling them apart. Both of them denied being the Thirteenth Colony, and that thought almost made him laugh. The EA might well be the true Thirteenth. The EA and Terrans knew of the gods, and both denied their existence equally. And both claimed to be the original Earth, although that was clearly impossible. Both were advanced in different ways.
The hints that the Alliance was larger than the Terran government and had more resources were numerous. But they were also acting like pirates, raiding the Colonies for resources and, according to them, planning to attack his world.
Well, once the colonies discovered where they were located, then they would understand the concept of colonial retribution. The thoughts of retribution weren't his priority now.
His people in the fleet were adding to his grief. The fleet was enraged and frightened. They were demanding that the Earthforce refugees be properly interrogated by Colonial authorities to get to the truth, and they were demanding an immediate plan to return home as soon as possible. But a nine months rushed trip was not advisable, and everyone knew it. There was war coming here, already started, and they all needed to focus on the here and now.
Gods! The bomb's impact on the stargate (or the gate of the gods, as some of his fellow Colonials were calling it) had practically made him wet his pants. The impact of two heavy nukes striking the energy shield–which was amazing in and of itself–shook the room. Instinct told him that it had to be some kind of nuclear detonation. Being blocked only by some little energy shielding gave him more evidence of Terran power.
That little incident happened only a short time after they arrived back at Lemuria. For a moment, he believed it was a setup, something to impress his people. But the Earther's reactions and the fear and anger in their eyes pushed those doubts away almost immediately. He and his people were in this.
A part of him wanted to take command of the Tau'ri-UCW fleet, as was his right. However, that would cause problems. Their tactics and capabilities were not known to him, and he didn't have time to research them.
Walking into Command and Control, he was immediately met by his XO. His report was extensive, beginning with the near battle with the Tau'ri and ending with the Earthforce and the UCW ship firing missiles into an Alliance created vortex completely unknown to colonial science.
The Admiral listened carefully to the report detailing the reasons why those nukes were fired. The Earthforce captain, Lockley-Sheridan, she had to be a relative of Senator Sheridan, explained about a beacon near Earth's moon, being used to guide the incoming fleet.
He grimaced. The fleet was too close. When the war fleet came out of whatever FTL drives they used, they'd be right on top of the diplomatic fleet. Quickly, he contacted Earth Command and explained the situation. They agreed and were in the process of providing new coordinates closer to Earth.
The admiral was surprised that they had no objection. They didn't argue. That was something new and disturbing. It brought home the seriousness of the circumstances. They were asked to wait one hour as the Earth fleet was arriving soon.
"Understood. Acknowledge their request and pass the new coordinates to the fleet commanders. We will move as soon as we get the final okay. Any sign of their fleet?"
"No sir. Not yet."
The admiral expected the answer he received. The UCW ship's unique drive system was undetectable until they actually entered normal space. However, they had to transition far enough away to avoid space traffic and objects that might be in the way. Unlike colonial jumps, the UCw ships were moving when they entered normal space. He wondered how they managed to slow down without the stress factors damaging their ships and crews. It was another one of their little technical achievements the Colonials needed to look into. That would be most useful in the future.
He was pulled abruptly out of his musing by DRADIS control team calling for his attention.
"DRADIS Alert," the officer on watch yelled out. "Twelve contacts on a standard vector to Earth orbit."
XO Colonel Clifton Ramsies was already on it. "It's the Jaffa pyramid ships. Warbook classification, Ha'tak variant. They are definitely warships. They're emitting significant power rating." He paused, listening to additional info while Kunningham hovered just behind him. "The lead ship is the Nun'yan, Aryania commanding. She sends her greetings to you, Admiral," the CXO said, trying and failing not to smirk.
The admiral glared daggers at him. And yes. The woman was gorgeous and had caught his attention, but he had no time for that now. internally, he cursed. Was he that obvious?
He didn't have time for this, but Aryania was well. She just was. She was also not fully human. How could that possibly work out? Because he hadn't really talked to her outside of a few words. Frowning, he realized the obvious. Did everyone know about his interest in her? Was he that transparent? Gods, he was an admiral! He had to be able to keep his body language in check better than that!
His perceived lack of control would be seen as a weakness. everyone in the Colonial military looked to him for his strength of dedication and character. It was the reason why he was chosen for this mission and not Helena Cain. People followed him because of his alpha dominance. Officers and politicians alike gravitated towards his strength of presence. All of his years of careful crafting worked well at home. Here in this world, it was a joke.
"Sir, twenty-four more ships are in DRADIS range. Ha'taks, different configuration, these are larger."
The more Kunningham stared at the ships, the more intimidating they looked.
"The UCW is gathering their fleet around Earth," the CO said. "I wonder how effective these ships are in combat?"
Kunningham didn't have an answer. They looked for the weapons systems to try to get data, but the Colonials had no idea of their weapons' capabilities.
"They are another tribe of the Jaffa nation. Ambassador Teal'c commanding."
"That's only thirty-six ships," Frankus murmured. "We estimated that Earth could field about fifty ships at max. With the Earth fleet arriving, looks like we got the estimates correct."
The DRADIS officer froze for an instant. "Five more incoming."
Colonel Ramsies' face tightened while he studied the readings. "Admiral, you better have a look at this."
He moved aside to allow the admiral a better view. "Put it on the big screen."
Five ships, unlike anything they had yet encountered, eased into the Jaffa formation. The Jaffa ships deferred to the newcomers and moved out of the way. The ships were bigger than the Ha'taks. In fact, they were a little bigger than the Mercury. The front section of the vessels was odd-shaped, widened. The ships were light grey and exuded a power and presence that was at once awe-inspiring and frightening at the same time. They had to be aliens. Nothing about the ship appeared to be of human designed.
"Who are they? Demanded Kunningham.
"No IFF identification, sir."
"Get them on comms. I want to know who they are."
The communications officer tried using all frequencies. "No response. They can hear us. They're just not responding."
"Keep trying," the admiral briskly ordered. He wanted to know exactly who and what those ships were. He hated being ignored, and needed to know if these were aliens, or yet another newly identified tribe.
Having a complete unknown squadron of ships, so close to his, didn't sit well with him. He was tempted to order a fly-by, but stopped himself at the last moment, remembering the earlier incident. The last thing he needed to do was create another diplomatic incident. But this aggravated him to no end and re-enforced his feelings of impotence.
In the next hour, several other ships from the members of the UCW arrived, including Race, Langara, and the Tollanians. except the Tollanian's three representative ships and the unknowns, the other vessels appeared either to be the pyramid-like vessels or variants of the Earther warships.
The Tollanian warships were Earth variants, but they were clearly different offshoots. They were larger and more flattened. Their energy emissions were different, and the coloration was darker. Kunningham reflected on those ships and the people. They were supposedly more advanced and were almost wiped out by the Goa'uld.
They were an isolated colony world, with their original colonized planet destroyed by natural disasters. They encountered Earth less than thirty standard years earlier. After the fall of their second world, they were attacked by the Lucian Alliance, whom he had his people busy gathering data on. Pirates were always a danger and protecting people from them and wiping them out was his mantra.
For the surviving Tollanians, the Lucians were a constant menace. The Tollanian isolationism contributed to them almost being exterminated and only Earth, whom they considered too primitive, whatever that meant, offered to and then helped them. Now they were part of the UCW.
As Ms. Isahan noted, the Earther should learn from the Tollanian's mistake concerning isolation. If his crew's calculations were correct, the UCW was still very small — the human portion, that is. He wholeheartedly agreed on this one point with the Earth Alliance rebels. Humanity needed to come together to stand on their own. Friendly aliens were optional. That very reasoning was why he didn't like the unknowns floating some twenty thousand kilometers away from his relocated fleet. Those ships looked alien in a way he couldn't explain.
He couldn't deny that the little fleet of UCW ships was imposing, but still, there were less than fifty of them. Not enough, in his opinion. He was privy to what was coming and the numbers here weren't very impressive, no matter what their power emissions were showing him. The civilians would be away from the fighting, with contingency plans of their own should the worst happened. This was going to be a brutal fight and a lot of people were going to die before this was over.
Lemuria
Shiplord Straha's tail thumped in amusement and exasperation. "Your brain is addled as I always thought it was, General O'Neill," shiplord Straha hissed in displeasure. "I am a senior shiplord. I do not perform errands for Big Uglies like you."
That was a lie, since the Race was part of the UCW, and these were orders. But this was the beginning of negotiations between him and O'Neill, a longstanding tradition.
O'Neill was smiling broadly. "You're still mad because of the stargate incident. I thought you got over that."
"It is in the past," the Lizardian hissed again. "But I am still angry at your antics that day."
"Hey," protested the general. "You got a planet out of it."
"That is true," Straha grumbled. "The Emperor, both of them," and here he lowered his eye turrets in respect, as he had done for the last seventy Terran years. "But why use my ship for this mission?"
"The President of the UCW spoke to the emperor and asked for a favor, and he agreed. We need to find out what is happening in Colonial space. Earth Alliance is human and if we go there, the Colonials will not believe us, probably won't even talk to us before they start shooting. Every word we say will be suspect. You've seen how they reacted with us and you. There is also the fact that if the EF detects us, they will automatically know we're onto them and we do not want that yet."
"They are a fearful group of not-Tosevites. But that does not answer my inquiry. Why must a member of the Race accomplish this mission for the UCW?"
"The Colonials have never seen intelligent, non-humans in ships. It will shock them and that is what we want. We hope that the shock will be so much, they will listen just to prove you are lying or don't exist. If the reports are correct, and we have no reason to believe that they aren't, these people need something totally outside of their experience to get them to start thinking about the bigger picture. If we sent the Delegation representatives back, the leadership would assume they were under duress. First contact specialist Nignxe is perfect for the job for both Humans and cylons. The holographic transmission will keep him from being hurt, and he can offer them hope from a completely different point of view. General Carter and two of her Squad will accompany you. If everything works out, we can communicate with the Kobollians and give them hope. Let them know we are coming without revealing its us, which they do not need to know at this time. All four ships will be cloaked from any Earthforce ships, and we will gather intel of the area."
"I will perform this duty for the UCW and the Emperor," Straha said. "Nignxe will accomplish his mission in the manner that he excels in. but you owe me, general O'Neill, for recommending me to the emperor."
"Okay," Jonathan surrendered. "What do you want this time?"
"Four cases of Vodka," Straha immediately announced. Lizardians hated bourbon, but loved Vodka, to the point that there was a very brisk trade going on between the two worlds. "I demand the good stuff, not the off brand I received last time. And I want one case of the Morgan sea salt. The earth seasoning is very pleasing to the members of the Race."
"But that vodka was good stuff," O'Neill protested.
"You know the brand I prefer."
"But it costs so much."
"That is not my concern. My concern is obtaining good quality vodka for my estate. It increases my status among the other members of the Race."
"Speaking of which, why hasn't First Contact Specialist Nignxe not been given a command of his own?" Jack asked his friend. "He's very good at his job and it would help both the Race and the UCW if there were more like him. I am sure he could find others who have his gift with ease with humans. I know yoru young ones are already starting to, but he could get matured males and females and really start everything rolling along."
"By using the words 'rolling along', you suggest better and quicker communication between members of the empire and the human factions." Straha clarified. "I agree with you, General O'Neill. But there exist problems that cannot be easily solved."
"Like what?"
"Many superior males hate him. He excels in interacting with your kind. He is accepted by the Nox and the Asgard. They like him." The shiplord explained. "Many scholars and experts envy his ability to be at ease among you big uglies. Those superior males studied for many years in preparation. It was their right to be the first to uncover the differences of the humans. Contact Specialist Nignxe humiliated them with his ease at communicating with your males and females. He is popular. So, he is hated. Many superiors wish he would go back to Home and never show his snout in daylight again. The fleetlord of the Colonization fleet despises him. Fleetlord Atvar protects him as does the Emperor," he said as his eye turrets lowered in respect to his emperor. "If he were ascended to a higher status, many specialists would be very angry. That male does not even try to he excels. If he were to gather more like him, then I fear that many superior males would try to discredit him. A few might even try to hurt him out of spite."
"So, it is political."
"He is uneducated by Race standards in first contact training and he excels," Straha hissed. "He excels without trying. But it is something that would benefit the Race."
"Maybe you could suggest this to the emperor?"
"Fleetlord Atvar and I can suggest it. We will be hated as well for suggesting such a thing," he hissed in amusement. "It may be good to humble the males who hate him because he is good at his job."
The two friends bickered for another five minutes before Straha transported to his ship. In another hour, all four vessels would depart. The journey would take four days, round trip.
CDF Radiance
"The Central Command's subspace array isn't strong enough to receive our transmission, no matter how much power we use," Major Ferhis, chief engineer of the Radiance, said. "The carrier wave we produce is too weak and the carrier beacons can't do the job as long as that black hole is between us and the Cyrannus system. We don't know what affects to subspace the collapsed star has." He straightened up. "It's a completely new science and we cannot assume anything about subspace properties and what may or may not affect it. Black holes may affect subspace in ways we do not understand, as well as normal space. That is something our scientists theorized, and I can understand their reasonings. I believe anything we broadcast that can get past will certainly be picked up by the Cylons. The only way I can think of to get a transmission to the Colonies would be to use a raptor with a subspace transmitter large enough, to travel three months from our present location to have a chance for the Colonies to hear and that will not work, sir."
Kunningham already knew that. Colonial transmitters were still first generation and short ranged and huge. A raptor would never be able to supply the power. His crew could never fit the transmitter into a raptor. Something the size of a battlestar would have to carry the transmitter and he couldn't afford to lose one, not now.
If the Earth Alliance report were true, and as much as he hated to admit it, he believed it to have weight, then the Colonies were in the battle of their lives. They needed a fallback if things got worse. As his XO pointed out, the delegation fleet didn't know how many Cylon interceptor fleets were sent. Just because one was eliminated, that didn't make his fleet or Earth any safer. Cylons were efficient at killing and wouldn't have trusted their own mission by sending just one fleet. Therefore, they were still a threat in his eyes.
What he needed to do was to 'interview' those machines and get the intelligence he required to keep his people and the UCW safe. The ships he observed proved that Earth could take care of itself, provided they knew if the Cylons were coming or not.
But if an armada was coming, he still doubted they would have the firepower to repel such an attack. The fleet heading towards Earth was an unknown. UCW's capabilities were unknown. O'Neill and the effectiveness of his military was an unknown, and he didn't like it. They might be strong, but tactics were supremely important, and he wasn't sure if they could cut it.
"We'll put it on the back burner for now. Could the Cylons detect the beacons?"
"Only if they know about them, sir. They're inactive now and will stay that way until we transmit the activation codes. As of now, they are just rocks in space."
"Contact UCW Command."
"Yes sir."
"I want to speak to UCW advisor Woosley about setting up a video conference with the Cylons."
Oh, how he hated to say that. To talk to them, he had to play nicely with the walking circuits. They probably would choose not to speak to him, but he would make the effort and try to get something out of them.
"Sir, another hyperspace opening sixty thousand kilometers from our position. It's another group of UCW ships. IFF matches…" the woman froze. Her mouth had dropped to the floor. She and her staff immediately began recording the DRADIS contact. "Admiral! I… you have to see this. Admiral! She yelled, not aware that he was already behind her.
"I see it," he whispered, which made her jump. "I see it."
Twenty-Five of the larger standard designed Terran battlecruisers erupted from the tear in space and were slowing down quickly enough that the inertia would have incapacitated the crews onboard from the stress. Behind them were two dozen larger vessels, warships never seen by the delegation fleet. They were twice the size of the UCw battleships. They would be known to the Colonials as the Corona Borealis class pocket battleships, based on the Ancient designs and now heavily modified and its weapons systems upgraded.
Those were followed by a half dozen Aurora Borealis class heavy battleships, twice the size of the Coronas. The original Ancient Auroras were built and designed to defend against Wraith. These Earth designed ships were built to fight the Wraith.
Another two dozen of the regular UCW ships followed. Most of them began to move towards their assigned areas while others began patrolling the inner and outer reaches of the solar system.
"Well, look at that," the XO said to the admiral. "Our intimidating fleet we weren't supposed to send, might have not been intimidating enough for the locals." He was being sarcastic, but beneath the words, Frankus could see the almost fear, permeating the man.
Again, Earth had shown they were more than it appeared to be. And for the life of him, he wanted to know why Earth had so many warships available to call on?
Next: Atlantis and the second fleet…