Chapter 12
10 Years Ago- Hyperspace
Sekhmet Heavy Cruiser Firesword of Omelos
As darkness quickly gave way to dim light, the tall Warmaster opened her eyes "Warmaster!...…Warmaster wake up!" Warmaster Yu'dun groggily tried to process the voice that was echoing in her mind. She looked around confused, has the cryosleep been this long? Slowly her memories began to come back as she woke from his dreamless long sleep. This was normal after waking up from a cryogenic induced sleep so she took the time to take in everything. She recognized the voice as her executive officer, Battlemaster Tul'nas. Like many others she hated cryosleep and hated how it made her feel. The recovery process was a short but grueling one for sure.
"How long was I out?" She asked, taking a drinking pouch from her XO. It was a specialized energy drink with ingredients designed to help the body and mind recover from cryosleep faster.
"You have been under for several months along with everyone else." The slightly shorter officer mentioned. She wondered if it had been this long. It felt like she had slept for days!
Ever since the Dilgar found out about the impending nova of their sun, it was determined to utilize several backup plans in case the war was lost. Once it was clear the war was turning against them, such a plan got activated. This plan was to utilize hundreds of ships, retrofit them with cryopods and send them to settle new worlds. Freighters, mothballed military ships, and many others were converted into such ships to carry several million Dilgar to carry their blood and spirit towards new planets to call home. This fleet was not the only evacuation fleet. There were other smaller ones that were sent out. Many toward the antispinwards portion of the galaxy and others skirting rimward past the outermost League worlds. These fleets were the last hopes for Dilgar survival.
Of all the fleets, hers was the largest. Many of the ships in the fleet included mining, refinery, construction, and even science vessels to assist in the restarting of civilization and a new interstellar empire. One of the ships was even a mobile shipyard designed to construct small vessels. Several other ships were large hauling vessels that contained enough food, water, and other supplies to last over a decade. The only supplies that wouldn't last that was the Quantium-40 which would only last them a year, maybe two if they got lucky. It was one of their best shots at keeping the blood and spirit of the Dilgar alive.
Warmaster Yu'dun was previously on the War Council and in charge of communications and signals intelligence. She created an expert intelligence division intercepting various communication and streams coming from the League, Centauri, Narn and even Earth towards the end of the war. She also had a knack for quickly learning alien languages which made her extremely valuable to the war effort in assessing accurate League strength. However, in private, she wanted a different focus to saving her race rather than the killing of billions hence her more vocal support for the Sleeper Fleet plans. As the tide of war turned against the Dilgar, the Supreme Warmaster had given her a fleet consisting of veteran ships and their captains along with crews while the families of those crews were chosen to be placed in cryosleep. Many top scientists, engineers, educators, farmers, and others deemed beneficial to restart society were among them. Even animals and plants native to Omelos were taken so they could be used for farming on the new world. She got the fleet into hyperspace and ran a previously mapped route that would take the fleet to rendezvous system would skirted past and around the isolationist, xenophobic and advanced Tal'kona'sha. In order to conserve supplies, she ran a skeleton crew and put herself in cryosleep with orders to wake her up if something was found.
The Warmaster downed the pouch of blue liquid once again. The grogginess faded a lot more quickly and the Warmaster pushed herself out of the pod. She quickly got up so she could reacclimate her muscles and get used to movement as crysosleep negatively affected muscle mass. She put on her uniform and headed towards the command center. Those on ships not having artificial gravity would be worse off and thus need either an artificial or natural gravity field soon before adverse health conditions affected the remaining Dilgar. The new Sekhmet Cruisers and newer versions of the Mishakur were the only ships to have artificial gravity in addition to advanced sensors and weapons systems.
"What is our status?" She asked, passing more crew as they headed towards their stations. Some appear to be newly awakened out of cryosleep like herself.
"Our scouts were running ahead of us to chart potential systems for Quantium 40 and to monitor tachyon traffic. We have found something." He handed the Warmaster the datapad.
She examined the report closely. The scouts did find a system which had a few moons orbiting gas giants that had good amounts of Quantium-40. But the big find was a blue-green world the advanced telescopic and sensor equipment picked up from a distance.
'Warmaster our scans indicate that this world is habitable!" Battlemaster Tul'nas yelled with excitement. "However, we have found two things concerning." He pulled up the data. "We have detected indications of unusual energy emissions from the planet. Small but enough to be noticed. The second is evidence of primitive civilizations on the planet's surface plus possible advanced ruins on an uninhabited continent." Tul'nas stated, with some concern over the news.
Warmaster Yu'dun considered the situation. This was the first habitable world they discovered and the unusual mix of primitives along with signs of advanced ruins presented opportunities for further studies, this could also be a boon to the fleet as well. She wanted to be certain that it was not a colonization attempt by another race, or an advanced race that used and abandoned this world like the Centauri have done to others. The last thing they needed was an advanced race to piss off. She gave the order for scouts to get a much closer look.
A couple of Protra Scout ships ran ahead what was likely the last Sekhmet Heavy Cruiser in the galaxy after the remaining fleet was destroyed in the war. The rest of the fleet positioned behind the shadow of a moon that orbited a gas giant at the edge of the system to remain hidden. Other scouts were running scans of the system, searching for signatures of ships, tachyons, and other signs of advanced civilizations along with ruins. They detected neither besides the faint readings from the planet.
The two ships transmitted survey data that Warmaster Yu'dun read over. On the holographic display, the planet appeared in clarity. It was just close to Omelos in size and atmospheric composition along with being dominated by four continents a good distance apart. Ice caps were prominent on the poles and multitudes of islands large and small dotted the vast oceans. Each continent held forests, deserts, rivers, lakes, and mountains. On two of the continents, there were clear signs of civilization. Primitive civilization that appeared to be in the age of sail given by the photos of wooden and stone buildings and people wandering about, unaware that orbiting their world were massive ships that to them would traverse the stars like gods. Two of the continents were uninhabited and one held ruins of an advanced civilization which was also the source for unusual energy readings and trace tachyon emissions. Buildings looking like metallic pyramids and domes were covered in vegetation and overgrowth. No way these could have been built by the primitive civilization below.
Warmaster Yu'dun ordered observation teams to watch the primitives below in addition to an archeological team to study the ruins on the uninhabited continent. Many civilizations either conquered, observed, or experimented with primitive civilizations they encountered. The Dilgar were known for the conquest of Roth which held a primitive bronze age civilization that was previously being passively studied by the Abbai. The Centauri conquered several other primitive civilizations namely the known Narn and Brakiri along with other primitive civilizations in the middle of theirterritoy. A group of Drazi did the same to one other civilization as well and the Narn were known for conquering the Tacnuq. The Vree observed civilizations rather aggressively, not being afraid to land on worlds, abduct inhabitants and return them along with buzzing military aircraft and bases of more industrialized worlds. The Earth Alliance were known to contact two early space age civilizations and were both known to be given protectorate status after being given jump gate technology. Given the circumstances of primitive civilization being near the ruins of more advanced one raised more questions than answers. There were no signs of the primitives being more advanced and bombing themselves back into a more primitive state, nor were there signs this was a separate colonization attempt by another power that decided to use the primitives. At least none they were aware of.
Hours turned into days and Warmaster Yu'dun took the time to rest and catch up on everything that happened over the past several months. There were no signs of anyone trying to pursue the fleet in hyperspace, and they were away from the now deactivated beacons that allowed them to skirt Tal'kona'sha space. That would leave any pursuers effectively blind and having a very difficult time trying to track them. A few older ships broke down and had to be scuttled and their crews and equipment already transferred to other ships. Thankfully the other ships were old freighters and not the important ships needed for colonization. Otherwise, the rest of the trip was rather dull up until they came across this planet. The tall and older Warmaster heard a chime at her quarters. It was her Executive Officer, Battlemaster Tul'nas
"Warmaster, the observation teams have arrived and want to brief you in person. This is something you need to see." The Battlemaster stated, with some shock present in his voice. She knew from his tone that this was very important.
"Very well then. Let's meet in my briefing room." She sat the datapad down and put her uniform on.
She knew something was wrong, especially if the crews wanted to bring their findings in person rather than simply transmit them. Battlemaster Tul'nas followed beside her and she knew he was shocked by the information. Two Dilgar officers walked in, all giving the Warmaster a sharp salute. They were recognized as Combat Captain Juh'pur and Rul'tan. Both were captains of the scouting vessels and previously served with her in reconnaissance flights and a few combat engagements against the Drazi.
"Captain Juh'pur, glad to see you here again. We are quite eager to hear your discoveries so please begin." The Warmaster asked eagerly.
Juh'pur wasted no time in starting her briefing "My teams scouted both continents. To say we found something interesting is a bit of an understatement. I….I did not believe it at first but my crew knows better than to play games." She uploaded a data crystal into the computer. A closer view of the landmasses showed up alongside other images clearly of primitive towns of wood and stone construction.
"We were able to determine that two of the continents were inhabited. But that's not the part we are concerned about." She pushed a button and the images switched to large ones on two screens. These then switched to a series of other videos and images. Warmaster Yu'dun stepped up to look closer, a look of shock clear on her face.
"This…this is impossible." She stated in pure disbelief.
"We thought so too but we confirmed it once we sent in our drones. The next makes our situation even stranger" They zoomed in on each of the villages. "These are two separate continents both holding civilizations equivalent to our Age of Sail. One is Dilgar and the other is Human. Captain Juh'pur explained.
To say she felt unsettled by the news was an understatement. She was well versed in history and scientific studies of primitive civilizations and never heard of multiple primitives existing on a planet before. If it was a lost Dilgar or Human colony certainly there would be technological remnants of some kind.. But seeing both primitive civilizations on a world was impossible and bordered on the absurd. She was smart enough to know that there was much stranger things out there and often truth was indeed stranger than fiction.
"What do we know about them?" Battlemaster Tul'nas asked, focused on the image of the Dilgar village.
"Far as we know, neither civilization has contacted the other. Both have no signs of any advanced technologies and there are no signs of advanced ruins on either continent besides the northernmost one." Rul'tan stepped in.
"Some alien race far older and more advanced had to place them here. There is no other explanation." Warmaster Yu'dun stated. There was very likely no other answer she could get.
"Agreed. This brings me to the next subject." Rul'tan continued and switched the images to the ruins on the northern continent. A mixture of sand-colored metallic pyramids, spires, and domes all covered in vegetation. The inhabitants clearly abandoned this place long ago but clearly the technology allowed the ruins to stand the tests of time.
"Our teams managed to study a group of buildings on the northern continent. The ruins certainly were advanced and there were old cryotubes containing many bodies in a building we believe may have been used as a laboratory or medical center. They match Dilgar, Abbai, Centauri, Humans and others we know of and don't. This is the strangest part…some of the bodies in initial tests show traits of more than one race. We also found evidence of past mining sites where Quantium-40 was mined extensively but since abandoned. What's interesting is that the mining was done by primitive tools and not advanced equipment!"
The image switched to writings coming from what was considered educational and religious centers in both continents. Hidden observation drones observed many Dilgar wearing primitive garb walking down dirt streets. Others pulled carts full of food and other goods. He recognized some of the food as being crops, fruits, vegetables grown on Omelos. No sign of advanced technologies of any kind. Hell, he even spotted guards wearing sheathed swords. The most interesting sign of all was the presence of two Dilgar subraces. The Dark Dilgar, Tall Dilgar and those that were born of race mixing. Something their people condoned as they drove the other two to near extinction back on Omelos during the race cleansings. Everyone in the room was getting more visibly uncomfortable... The images from the human inhabitants were similar.
Rul'tan grabbed a couple of books and placed them on the table. "These were recovered from a temple." The Warmaster's face turned to one of shock and awe. He recognized that symbol on the cover along with the rest. "Warmaster I remember you having a fascination with ancient history."
"Very much so." She examined the book and the sharp blue flower symbol closely her widening again in shock. "I studied it at the Warriors Academy. This is the symbol of Nefr'tum. One of the warrior gods of the Sekhmet tribe. The same tribe that also vanished a few thousand years ago." She turned and faced the other officers in the room. "I remember there being rumors a flower discovered around a temple that was not even native to Omelos. It caused a major stir in the scientific community long time ago before the news faded." Everyone in the room heard the stories and theories that aliens visited Omelos long ago and have taken Dilgar. Even centuries ago, this was the case with the Vree and the Abbai who mostly passively observed their world with the Vree doing some abductions. However even longer ago, stories were in every culture of flying pyramids that took people. Now she was staring at that evidence right in the face. "This world… is an experiment….they enslaved populations and did genetic experiments for whatever purpose." She concluded out loud. Someone did Jha'dur's mad work and turned our population and others into lab rats! The conclusions were more than shocking to everyone in the room These aliens were even more advanced than the fabled Minbari and likely had enslaved many others "We need a closer look. We need to learn more about these people! I surely hope that the aliens that brought them here are long gone. You did say they appear to have not been here in a long time?" She looked over at Battlemaster Tul'nas. "I want you to get every archeologist and scientist down there to find out anything you can. We need to figure out what happened here and how long these aliens have been gone and what, if any chance they have of returning." She knew of a few civilizations tell similar stories of a "Great Maker" and similar stories about flying ships that would take people. Hells, someone even transported Brakiri to at least one other world before they got conquered by the Centauri. She wondered if these were the same aliens or different one that operated long ago. "Rul'tan, what is your confidence level of this alien race not having returned in a long time?"
"High confidence Warmaster The buildings date back to more than several thousand years old. The technology to keep them standing this long is astounding. They likely have not been here in likely a few millennium." Rul'tan stated confidently. "However we need more information. Warmaster, I suggest we bring one of the natives onboard." He suggested.
"I agree. It can help us learn more about them." The Warmaster's XO stated and nodded in agreement.
"You have my approval." The Warmaster responded.
The new discoveries did make the Warmaster uneasy so she spent her time studying the ancient Sekhmet language. The Sekhmet… her thoughts drifted to them. It was obvious that the ancient warrior tribes were transplanted elsewhere. Where are they now? Where are the aliens that posed as Dilgar gods? She had her XO ordered more patrols to observe and have scouts find anything relating to technological signatures throughout the system. Nothing, no signs of mining on the other moons and nothing that could even be ship debris. Sensitive tachyon receivers did pick up faint clusters which signified tachyon communications but they were far off and it could still be natural reasons for them. If a massive empire was nearby, it would have been picked up. The days turned into a few weeks and they did feel some relief that no other ships showed up and no Earth ships came to retrieve the humans. As time went on she became more confident in the assessment that these aliens were likely to not return. However it was not time to get complacent.
Meanwhile on the planet, the abduction teams managed to get very lucky. While heading toward the sparsely populated regions of the primitive Dilgar continent, they came across a moderate sized sailing vessel caught in a storm and in danger of sinking near a few small islands. They were able to get an additional shuttle in there to capture the sailing vessel now broken on the rocks. The two shuttle teams managed to get the crew onboard and even took the primitive sailing vessel in its cargo hold for study. While onboard, the captive primitive Dilgar were knocked out with sleeping gas while medical personnel in protective suits ran tests on them. The last thing they needed to do was to expose the primitives to native sicknesses they had no defense against. Warmaster Yu'dun saw more uses of a living civilization rather than one destroyed by plague. She did not want to inadvertently become Warmaster Jha'dur.
Time passed and the Warmaster went through her routine, briefings, meetings and updates. The captive primitives surprisingly didn't get sick on board the ship and they were able to eat the food supplied with no problems. She looked over at the additional reports and the progress of colonization which she ordered after being certain there were no threats nearby. Many ships began to set down on the uninhabited continent towards the planet's northern hemisphere and some on the continent containing ruins. Within weeks, foundations for homes, government centers, farming districts and manufacturing centers began to take shape. Many of the ships were equipped with tools to restart civilization so they made sure to make best use of them.
The Warmaster eventually appointed Val'sern as Supreme Governor of the colony. Over the course of time Dilgar began to awaken and step foot on the world. Crops were easily grown in the soil and the animals plentiful. They found that most of the animals and fish to be edible and they made sure to harvest them.
Mining ships established a presence in some of the mineral rich asteroids. Larger manufacturing ships were consolidated into mobile factories and a couple of shipyards where ores could be easily processed into new ship hulls and products for expansion of space industry. Many ships in the fleet were repaired, and smaller ones such as fighters, freighters and small frigates were being built. Both the Supreme Governor and Warmaster agreed that establishing a space presence again was crucial due to the unknowns of what was around them. However they knew it would be decades and maybe even a full century before they get anywhere close to fielding large fleets.
Warmaster Yu'dun again sat in her personal briefing room overseeing reports and progress on the colony. She eagerly awaited the arrival of Juh'pur and Rul'tan who stepped into the office along with a Dilgar scientist that he recognized as Doctor Zir'shun. She had reviewed their reports beforehand and was glad to receive updates from their studies on the surface. She had read the report from Doctor Zir'shun first.
"Are you telling me both of these groups have been genetically modified somehow?" She sat the datapad down.
"Yes Warmaster. We ran tests on both the living and the ones that perished when their ship sank. The genetic markers show highly enhanced immune systems and slightly stronger muscle-skeletal structure. We will not have to worry about infecting the population with anything. I'd say whoever modified them had that scenario in mind in addition to building them for manual labor." He explained further.
Warmaster Yu'dun considered the possibilities of more Dilgar there along with other transplanted races. "These people have no knowledge of Omelos? Or even how they were brought here?"
"No. Many of the crew made references to a Bashtet and Nefr'tum. Two of the gods the Sekhmet worshipped. They mentioned legends saying thousands of years ago those gods had glowing eyes and could make gold pyramids fly. What's disturbing is the legends of them creating the equivalent of animal-Dilgar hybrids."
"What of the humans?"
"We managed to disguise a team and talk to them. None of them have even heard of an Earth or an Earth Alliance! They also have the same two gods. Bashtet and Nefr'tum. Both civilizations have stories of being created by those gods.
"The next discoveries were those of the laboratories. My team identified some of the rooms as cryo-sleep chambers. The experiments….are disturbing. Not only did the precursors conduct hybridization of Dilgar with other species they even tried to create new species from multiple species."
The color visibly drained from the Warmaster's face.
"This world was set up as an experiment. Something like one of Jha'dur's mad experiments." The realization hit the Warmaster like a sledgehammer. She made a silent prayer that whoever was out there was truly long gone. She paused then looked over at the two officers.
"Take me there, I want to see this." She ordered
The trip to the planet was uneventful. She already visited the surface several times along with some of the ruins during initial briefings. She was already familiar with the local scenery, the woods, an unusual stone ramp where an object likely once stood but was long since removed.
The shuttle landed near a small cluster of buildings. An odd mix of stone and metal designed to last for thousands of years. The builders made sure their equipment was built to stand the tests of time. She followed the officers into the building already being surrounded by prefabricated structures where other scientists worked to study the ruins.
"We dated the ruins to well over four thousand years old." The Dilgar scientist explained "Which may be the time whatever civilization doing the experiments had left." They entered the chamber where scientists studied the pods, and other technological artifacts. On a table were crystals both tall, small, and varying colors. The scientists stood and saluted her and she told them to please continue their work. "There are crystals left behind which are very similar to our data crystals." He picked up a green crystal and placed it in the computer. Soon a holographic display appeared on the table. It showed a Dilgar male with a long primitive tunic operating advanced computer and holographic displays. Suddenly a taller Dilgar with dark hair wearing a golden vest of armor with a flowing cape adorned in gold and silver. The male bowed to the other man who spoke in what was identified as the ancient Sekhmet dialect."
"The man in the armor…that's Nefr'tum? He's a Dilgar…how is that possible?"
"This is where it gets interesting."
The video panned to a large muscular alien in the room unlike anything they ever seen. He was obviously aquatic with skin that held both blue and green skin and scales. A bumpy ridge ran from where the nose would be all the way to the back of the head. What looked like gills covered the nose area and small tendrils dangled down from the lower jaw. The image panned to show tubes of this race along with those of Abbai origin. The alien wore a skintight blue suit of some kind that seemed be metallic.
"That alien is Belus. Our teams were able to figure out this was a lab where him and Nefr'tum worked together to create better slave races and better hosts."
"Hosts?"
The doctor pushed another button on the console switching it to images then a video of a worm like creature. Sharp fangs and fins ran along the vicious creature. She realized a mummified version of this creature was inside a jar.
"This creature was genetically modified as well. In fact we recognize the species it was engineered from as the Kor symbiotes. The most preserved ones had extensive neural networks that would override the brain and personality of the host. We know they are called Goa'uld. These creatures reside in both Nefr'tum and Belus as well as other System Lords". The thought of these parasites taking over anyone drove her blood cold.
"Someone far older made these as well? Are any alive on this planet? I want full security protocols designed to find these creatures. Last thing we need is for one to infest any of our colonists!"
"We have not found any Warmaster but teams are on the lookout. Protocols are in place to detect any creatures."
The Warmaster examined the other images. In the cryotubes were Narn, Centauri, Hyach and Hyach-Do and a brutish looking race the data called an Unas. There were also other unknown races and animals in these tubes. She thought the experiments being conducted here made Warmaster Jha'dur look tame in comparison.
"Do the rest of the colonists know this?"
"No, Warmaster."
"Good, keep it hidden. I do not want a panic spreading among the people. If these aliens have been gone thousands of years then its likely they wont come back… At least we can hope they wont be back. Continue digging and report to me of all information you can find."
"Yes, Warmaster. What should we do about the natives? Should we prepare slave collars?"
"No…"
"We're not going to take them as slaves Warmaster?"
"Did you not hear me the first time Doctor!?" The Warmaster got close to the Doctor putting her finger into his chest. The Doctor backed away not wishing to be part of the Warmasters wrath. "We enslaved worlds and destroyed civilizations to build a better future for our people and where did it get us? A scattered people barely clinging to life. Not only do we have salvation but we have unknowns doctor. We do not know if these creatures are still out there. We do not know if there are advanced Dilgar or Humans or anything else among the stars and we definitely don't know what their intentions could be towards us. If there are more of these Goa'uld out there then we need to be ready or Dilgar civilization will be snuffed out for good." The doctor took a step back and lowered his head. "In fact doctor, I want you up uplift these peoples and educate them in the sciences. We will not pose as gods to them but we will make them like us, carrying the blood and spirit of the Dilgar to them. A truly civilized people is worth a lot more than an enslaved race that can rise back up and fight us. Can you do that doctor or do I need to find someone else more willing to follow orders?"
The doctor lowered his head. "Yes Warmaster I can do that."
"Good. Let's get started."
Over the next few years, the colony steadily grew. Smaller towns were established outside the main city while in space, mining outposts formed on asteroids and moons orbiting the gas giants. Mining and refinery ships took in the quantium-40 while factory ships began to build the first shipyards. Small but easily buildable frigates were constructed including a few destroyers. As the years went on and nothing was detected entering or leaving the system it was decided that a jumpgate was placed in orbit around a gas giant and larger scout frigates were sent out to slowly map routes to nearby systems. They found no other traces of advanced civilization. The Warmaster was content with the idea they were alone in this region of space…for now…
Sekhmet Heavy Cruiser Firesword of Omelos
Battlemaster Tul'nas was actually glad to be bored for once. The anxiety over discoveries of the ancient advanced alien race had died down. Over the years, they had uncovered more ruins and even remnants of Death Gliders long buried under vegetation. Uplifting the locals was steadily getting easier as many started work in the factories, farms, and ships. The locals were surprisingly easy to educate in the sciences and to their surprise, they got along with the humans on the other continent. The kings, queens and tribal leaders knew to get along with the much more advanced people from the stars though it took a while to get it through that their advanced cousins were not gods or supernatural beings. With minimal bloodshed, both continents were becoming unified under capable rulers appointed by the Dilgar. It would still take a while before both civilizations were acclimated with advanced technology. He browsed reports of training, shipbuilding and other mundane reports coming from the surface.
"Battlemaster! Automated outposts are picking up hyperspace vortexes near the outermost gas giant!" The ships Tactical Officer Combat Captain Arn'rel shouted. The noise from the alarms startled him from his thoughts and made him spring into action.
"Wake the Warmaster immediately and get the fleet ready. Do we have a visual?" The thoughts raced through his head quickly and it was at least something he was prepared for. He had hoped it was maybe a nearby expanding civilization that would be somewhat friendly. His worst fears was that the aliens who brought Dilgar and human here would come back after thousands of years. Even then he was ready to fight them if need be.
Outposts in the area quickly locked on the targets and tracked them. The ships reminded him of early destroyer designs. Dilgar warships were compared to the shapes of beetles known on their homeworld and this was similar. The front end was like a sharp pincer with a yellow and almost gold paint on the hull with various tribal markings. Some of the markings resembled that currently on the Sekhmet Cruiser. There two sets of wings that curved forward, giving the ship a similar menacing appearance to the advanced cruisers fielded in the last years of the war that the Dilgar named in honor of the great warrior tribe. Several minutes later the ship entered the hyperspace vortex and left the area. It was only hours before a larger number of ships arrived and positioned themselves by the planet.
Warmaster Yu'dun ordered up all of the new ships plus old destroyers and anything else with guns and missiles to meet the intruders. They positioned themselves just at the 6th planet in the system, a large gas giant. No ships made any moves towards the colony and just sat in an extreme orbit. They identified the largest vessel which she was certain was their flagship. It was now time to make contact.
"Unknown vessels this is Warmaster Yu'dun of the Firesword of Omelos representing the Dilgar Imperium. We come in peace and hope you do the same. Please identify yourselves and state your intentions. Any aggressive actions will be met with deadly force. Hopefully it will not come to that as we would rather have you as friends of the Dilgar rather than enemies."
She heard a brief pause on the other end. "This is Warmaster Sela'phan representing the Sekhmet Empire…. Are…are you from Omelos?"
"Yes, we are from Omelos. Are you descended from the Sekhmet tribes?" She and the crew was more surprised the transmission came back in Dilgar.
"We are. Omelos is our ancestral land. The land was the great desert Thrazakan." The accented voice stated.
Warmaster Yu'dun knew that was what the Sehkmet used to call their lands as they lived in a near desert environment. She looked at her executive officer and gave the hand signal to mute the feed.
"She claims to be a Warmaster herself?" A junior officer asked
"The Sekhmet tribes were the first to use the Warmaster ranks. They were the first to conquer Thraza millenia ago." Her XO stated.
"Do you think they are Goa'uld?"
"I dont think so. We need to meet them in person, figure out who they are. Our shuttle bays can still be sealed off from the rest of the ship right?"
"Yes Warmaster."
"Good. I know the medical scanners are there too. If they have anything in them or bring anything they will be picked up. Put me through to them."
"Warmaster Sela'phan we have as many questions for you as you do for us as our journey here is a long story. I feel like this will go a lot easier if we meet in person. I suggest meeting here on my flagship."
There was a pause on the other end before Sela'phan responded. "Agreed."
"Sekhmet shuttle on approach"
Warmaster Yu'dun and her XO watched as the sleek elongated pyramid shaped shuttle made its way into the bay. Both noticed it did not use thrusters like their shuttles which told them they utilized gravitic technology. As the bay doors closed, her and the ceremony team went down.
All of the crew watching was now shocked. Instead of a human or other alien, the crew in the ship were definitely Dilgar. A taller female Dilgar walked out first. Her skin was darker than the rest and she wore a dark uniform with a few pieces of gold colored insignia. Sleeves covered her arms but they could see tribal tattoo markings on her neck extending up to the lower jaw area. The male that walked behind her was one of the Dark Dilgar, he examined the surroundings and looked over at the ceremonial guard.
"Here stands a Warmaster!" Yu'dun's executive officer shouted. The military honor guard presented their swords outward, up in the air, down, then back in their sheath in a smooth motion. It was customary in Dilgar Military whenever a Warmaster stepped on a ship. Even if another Warmaster was present. Warmaster Sela'phan had a surprised a momentary look of confusion on her face.
"Forgive my executive officer. He is more accustomed to the drill and ceremony. It is customary that we welcome Warmasters with an honor ceremony when they board a ship." Yu'dun explained
Warmaster Sela'phan turned from one of slight shock to an impressed look. "I thank you for it." She said with a smile. "I would like to introduce you to my executive officer, Shipmaster Keph'pren." The tall and darker Dilgar saluted. "Welcome to the Firesword of Omelos."
The small group walked through the corridors to the meeting room by the shuttle bay, passing through the medical scanner which brought on looks of curiosity. Several of the crew exhibited shock and confusion at the Sekhmet Dilgar. Warmaster Yu'dun gave the history of the vessel, the Thorun fighters she was proud of and the crew which she was also proud of. They entered the conference room and sat down. Both accepted glasses of fine drink from the Warmaster's collection. They also gazed at the large reproduction of the ancient map of Omelos from seagoing days.
"Warmaster Sela'phan I would like to welcome our new friends from the Sekhmet Empire, I hope this meeting is good and fruitful. Your disappearance from Thraza was a subject of great debate among our historians for many generations." Battlemaster Tul'nas poured everyone drinks from the collection. Warmaster Yu'dun felt something, a slight chill and shiver that ran from her brain to her spine as Shipmaster Keph'pren looked at her briefly before nodding slightly to Sela'phan.
"This is the newest vessel our empire built. A Sekhmet Class, named after the great warrior tribes that you are descended from. They are still greatly revered to this day." Warmaster Yu'dun smiled.
"I am both impressed and flattered. I hope there are many like this one." Sela'phan stated.
"We were unfortunately able to construct a few of these warships however there are plans to construct more based off of this one." She decided it was best to not discuss the war, and the fact that the rest were destroyed.
"Many of the officers and I recognized some of the ancient symbols on your vessel. It is quite honorable for ancient history to be remembered. I recognized most of the clans sigils including. The Clans of the Mountains and the Moon. Many still carried their traditions and beliefs across the void." Shipmaster Keph'pren interjected. "I thank you for inviting us here. Stories and tales were passed through the generations of Omelos being our old ancestor's home. I am quite happy that we finally discovered our sister civilization; we had plans for extended expeditions but sadly those had to get cancelled due to present circumstances." Keph'pren explained. Yu'dun had some ideas of those 'circumstances' but kept those to herself for now. "I am even more curious about the history of Omelos since our forced departure."
"I am glad that we got to meet finally, and this answers at least one of our long-awaited questions. I will authorize a full transfer of our historical files in exchange of yours of course. I am sure you have as many for us as we do for you. First, how were you able to translate our language so quickly? Language drift would have made it almost unrecognizable." Yu'dun asked.
"We utilize translators. It makes everything much easier."Sela'phan briefly looked towards the door. "I am curious, what was that device we passed through in the shuttle bay?"
"Simple medical scanner. We take medical protocol seriously." She paused to tell of the discoveries without revealing sensitive information. "We recently discovered a species…." She paused to set her glass back on the table and to gather the correct words. "…..of parasite that is not native to the colony below. It may have been brought there by other alien explorers and likely is on other worlds nearby. I installed protocols to make sure none infect our colonists." Warmaster Yu'dun explained. She noticed both paused sipping their drinks and exchanged a look when she mentioned the parasites. The body language alone told her they must know what she was talking about.
"Understandable. We are aware of similar parasites as well and take active measures." Sela'phan stated giving a slight grin.
Warmaster Yu'dun again felt the tingle and chill in her head and spine. She quickly tried to brush it off.
"You mentioned this is the 'New Omelos' colony. How does our old homeworld fare?" Sela'phan asked. Implying that something could have happened to the old Omelos.
"You cannot travel to the old homeworld. It is no more I am afraid." Yu'dun stated sadly and simply.
"What happened to it? Is Omelos besieged by enemies?" She heard the concern in Sela'phan's voice.
"No…." She trailed off knowing by now the nova would have happened well after the Earth Alliance and the League took the system. "Omelos was destroyed by our star going nova, hence our evacuation fleet coming here. We are all that's left I am afraid." She decided not to mention other sleeper fleets nor the Earth Alliance and League taking the system.
"A nova? So the prophecy is true after all…" Warmaster Sela'phan eyes widened in shock along with her XO. Warmaster Yu'dun was more confused now.
"What prophecy? What is this about?" Yu'dun and her XO were both clearly confused by the statement.
"Bashtet had a vision…one of which she saw a time in which the fires of the very star would touch Omelos in truth, cleansing it of all life. So, she would take the Children of Omelos and spread them to many worlds."
She realized she remembered this prophecy just vaguely. It was largely forgotten in history, and she only remembered it during studies on ancient wars and civilizations at the Academy. No one ever brought it up publicly as information on the nova was kept from the Dilgar and rumors were quashed quickly as conspiracy. She actually did remember the Ministry of Information scrubbing the legends of the prophecy and anything similar from records. Only the Warmasters and select trusted officers knew the truth. She noticed the tingle and chill again. That's when she quickly realized…
…..Shipmaster Keph'pren is a telepath, and he was scanning her, prying into her mind. Quickly her training kicked in and she made sure to block him quickly. Her and Tul'nas noticed him tell Sela'phan that he was blocked in their native language.
"Yes I blocked you." She responded to them in ancient Sekhmet herself. She knew they would recognize it. "Please do not enter my thoughts." She switched to regular Dilgar. Tul'nas was about to get up to alert security when she raised her hand to stop him. She did not want this important meeting to go awry. "So explain yourselves. Why are you here? What gives you the right to come on my ship and start scanning me?" Warmaster Yu'dun barked. She knew with the way they spoke that there was much more going on and this was more than a simple exploration mission.
"My executive officer is a telepath, all we wanted to do was verify you were telling us the truth and making sure that you have not been compromised but we didn't need to worry about that once you mentioned the parasites'." Sela'phan explained calmly also trying to also ensure that this meeting did not turn rash.
Warmaster Yu'dun sat back down. That told her that Sela'phan knew a lot more and was certain to get to the bottom of it. Ultimately, she decided that providing more information would help. "We know they were called Goa'uld and that this world was ruled by Nefr'tum. There was already a Dilgar population present on the planet when we found it however, we have found no living symbiotes. None are present in the native population far as we know." She explained.
"We overthrew Nefr'tum and Bashtet a few thousand years ago. They seemed to have made a retreat from their region of space, many worlds we visited reported no visitations after the rebellion. However their underlords remain along with other System Lords nearby. We have expanded since, uniting other worlds under our protection. Neither of them has come back which honestly has been a mystery to us for a long time." Keph'pren's words seemed to put the other Dilgar at ease.
"Why did you want to know if I was telling the truth about our exodus? I am no telepath but I can tell you know a lot more than you are letting on."
"We encountered another one of your colonization fleets…." Warmaster Sela'phan stated simply. That statement alone made Warmaster Yu'dun pause. She somehow knew that Sela'phan was telling the truth about it.
"Its why we needed to find you quickly. One of the fleets led by a Warmaster Erol'khin blundered on a fringe mining world in the Domain of Belus…" Keph'pren began to explain
"Belus!" Hes an aquatic type Goa'uld isn't he, allied with Nefr'tum?" Warmaster Yu'dun interrupted.
"Yes, how do you know this? Surely if you encountered him you would be dead, or enslaved as most who come across him."
Warmaster Yu'dun looked over to Battlemaster Tul'nas. "Show them." He typed a few commands into the table and soon enough, a holographic video showed of the genetic experiments to create an enhanced host for Belus.
Battlemaster Tul'nas began to speak. "We discovered this world was inhabited by an advanced civilization that brought Dilgar and another race here then abandoned the place. It was use for scientific experiments of a disturbing nature, Nefr'tum has used this place for hybridization and testing on populations likely elsewhere."
"We are aware of that. There have been other worlds with evidence of similar experimentation." Keph'pren stated. "Please tell me more about Warmaster Erol'khin."
She knew Warmaster Erol'khin quite well and gave what she knew. He was more of a protégé of Deathwalker than the other Warmasters and one of her most trusted subordinates and just as ruthless. Honestly, he would have continued her idea of 'science' on this very planet if he found it. She knew he led another fleet but did not maintain contact in case he was compromised or followed by enemies. The League and Earth would certainly search for him and other Dilgar fleets as they were the only two Warmasters to survive the war. She sat her drink back down. She did notice her explanation gave some disturbed looks from them. She particularly did not like him either. "What happened to the fleet and Erol'khin?"
"Some were unfortunately captured and killed when they tried to take over a fringe mining world. However many did escape and are safe with us. We did also discover about the war your people fought as well."
Warmaster Yu'dun looked downward briefly. "I am not exactly proud of the war and what was done I am not in the business of enslaving worlds and the people down there are certainly not enslaved. You are free to look and even scan me for confirmation. If you have our people, I would like to see them."
"I believe you but precautions had to be made. We can arrange for survivors to be brought here and placed under your command."
"That sounds reasonable. Is Belus close by?" Both her and Tul'nas expressed concern about a hostile power. An enemy that advanced would steamroll them easily.
"His domain is quite far from here. However, when Erol'khin came into his territory, he figured that there were worlds ripe for the taking and now he is expanding. Several of our worlds have come under attack and we are currently at war. My emperor has given orders for any remaining Dilgar fleets and colonies to be brought under our protection."
"We are not interested in giving up our sovereignty. My people will not go for that." Warmaster Yu'dun stated sternly.
"For you we can make an exception. You can expand freely, we give no limits. You have established yourselves quite well here given the state of your colony and its fleets."
"Understand that we are not in a position where we can trust easily. Our trust has to be earned and that might take a while given what we have been through."
"I understand perfectly We will guarantee your status as an independent nation. Other than that, we will leave you to your own devices and not interfere in your affairs. We will also provide intelligence, and protection in case Belus expands this way. We are willing to trade and work on diplomatic relationships through cultural exchanges. Would you be willing to accept that?"
Present time
Tirrith- League Meeting Chambers
David Sheridan listened as the rains poured outside the League Building near Tirrith's capital. The previous building was destroyed along with most of the capital during the Dilgar war and rebuilding efforts were still being undertaken more than a decade later across the planet and across the League. The meeting chambers were one of the first buildings to be rebuilt. It had offices for ambassadors, flags of each civilization, guards, reporters, and other workers.
As if the new threat of the Goa'uld and the loss of almost half of Earth's fleet wasn't enough, the return of the Dilgar was something to keep everyone on edge even more. League military leaders kept all of their fleets on high alert in case of hostilities, none of which ever came and many of them were still ramping up conscription and whatever shipbuilding capacity they had. Only a few militaries such as the Drazi were able to maintain most of their arms production capacity. On his way to the planet he did take note of a few new ships in orbit around Tirrith. The newer Abbai Miliani Carrier and their squadrons of Kotha Fighters. He had heard some reports of the Abbai utilizing a couple of the mobile shipyards Earth had sold them including a facility formerly owned by the Drazi. Another symbol of the alliance between the two races.
He glanced at the Tok'ra 'Ambassador' Sakif/Tannis. The Tok'ra didn't have anyone that could really function as an ambassador but he was one of the few agents versed in diplomatic matters, having negotiated with renegade Jaffa, and civilian populations in resisting the Goa'uld for centuries now. He did maintain contacts briefly with the Sekhmet Dilgar and he confirmed who they were along with other Tok'ra. Still, it was prudent to be cautious.
The arrival of Sekhmet Dilgar confirmed two things for him, one being they had Goa'uld influence in the past and the second being the presence of another System Lord expanding. They both watched as members of the League walked in. Before the Dilgar War, many would not even bother to attend League meetings. Now this was different and all members wanted to know if these new Dilgar were friends or foes. Now it was time to turn this into a diplomatically productive meeting. He watched the Abbai representative, Alikie step up.
"Delegates of the League, I know by now you heard the news. A new enemy appeared who has swept nearly half of Earth's great might and now we face the return of the Dilgar, the enemies who burned many of our worlds. I come to gather a unified response to both, to ensure that we all survive should the Dilgar once again return for vengeance. Our civilization and the Hyach are facing attacks on
"We are certainly not your enemies nor and we would rather not be..." A voice echoed from another side of the chamber. Approaching from another hall into the center, a tall figure stepped towards the table. Audible gasps and surprise were noticed from the other members of the League. She was a Dilgar, though looking somewhat different than those they fought against over a decade ago. She stood taller and held the noticeable tribal markings on her arms, and neck extending nearly to her face. Even her complexion was different, as those who recognized her darker skin tone and taller stature which suggested her lineage was from a mix of the Dilgar races that originated from Omelos. Her uniform was different too, sporting medals and symbols foreign to the League and everyone else present in the chamber. Following behind her was another Dilgar, wearing the usual Warmaster's uniform.
"I knew they were invited to speak but I did not think you would allow them to show up!" One of the League ambassadors, a Llort shouted. Others began to shout curses, insults, and chants of murderer in League languages at the Dilgar.
"We shall have order today in the chamber. I remind you all that Earth still stands by its League members." David Sheridan stood up and spoke aloud. "As you all know these are trying, fearful and unusual times for us all. The representative from the Dilgar sister civilization approached Omelos as we were conducting a scientific mission. Our forces were not engaged, and they were more than willing to send diplomatic representatives. We should hear her speak."
"How do you know this isn't a Dilgar trick?" The Llort ambassador asked.
"Our best intelligence have suggested these Dilgar are telling the truth about their origins. As you can see by the man sitting beside me, there are 'lost worlds' of other races long transplanted by Goa'uld and other advanced aliens." He glanced over at the Tok'ra standing next to him.
"Ambassador Sheridan speaks the truth!" The Tokati delegate stood up and shouted. "We have run into these lost humans. At first we thought they were a lost colony until they gave their origins. With the Goa'uld threat we understood they were telling the truth!" He continued, referring to the contact with the Tagrean Union.
"You would let these monsters speak given what they have done!" Another shouted.
"I would like to remind you, that they have spoken here after the war and up until their star went nova. So far they have shown no hostilities and have kept to their original homeworld." Sheridan stated factually.
"I can also guarantee you that the Sekhmet Empire has no record of hostilities against other civilizations other than the System Lords." The Tok'ra stepped forward to the podium and spoke in the deep bass voice as the symbiote switched over. "I am Tannis of the Tok'ra. We are a symbiote species that requires compatible and willing hosts similar to one of you in this room that I can sense." He glanced over at the Kor-Lyan ambassador Kerutin.
The large ape-like being stood up. "We met with ambassador Sheridan and Earth representatives after their contact with the Goa'uld and Tok'ra. We know there is an ancestral relationship as stories from the Great Linkage tell of a darkness that took many Kor symbiotes over ten-thousand years ago. It is believed an ancient race modified us which became the Tok'ra and Goa'uld that now threaten everyone here. This Tok'ra is speaking much truth." The bulky looking ambassador stated.
"Thank you, Ambassadors." The Warmaster stepped to the middle by the large table placing a data crystal on the table. "My name is Warmaster Sela'phan of the Sekhmet Empire. You know us as Dilgar though we are a separate civilization, torn from our homeworld thousands of years ago. I recognize some of your races here though your nations I have not met." She glanced over at the Abbai, Drazi and Narn. "Others I have not seen before however we are open to diplomacy." She looked over at the others. Before this meeting she made sure to read up on the local powers and brief history of the region. She glanced at the Vree ambassador and noted how similar he looked to an Asgard. She almost thought she was staring at one until she saw him utilize a translator unit on his throat. Perhaps later she could try to find out if they were related somehow.
"Murderers!" One of the delegates shouted. Other delegates began to talk amongst themselves.
"Order!" David shouted. "We know the pain and suffering of the Dilgar War but now this is not the time to fight the war again." His words were able to drive the chamber back into a quiet state. "Go ahead Warmaster.
"We are not your murderers. We are not the Dilgar Imperium and if we knew our sister civilization was out there committing unspeakable atrocities, we would have stopped them. However, the remnants are under our protection and I will guarantee they will not be a threat to you. There are other threats most notably the Goa'uld that should be concerning to you."
"Like those ships that have raided Abbai and Hyach expansion! They don't match the ships that Earth fought!" Alikie shouted, almost accusing the Warmaster of being behind those attacks.
"Please show me those ships." The Warmaster requested.
Alikie placed a data crystal into her console and a large holographic imaged flared up. A tubular vessel, with many large and small sharp fins lined across all areas of the structure. Other ships were beside it with appearances more like nightmarish fish of deep-sea trenches of Earth and other worlds. These ships fired many energy weapons and missiles which destroyed Abbai exploration ships including some Hyach.
Warmaster Sela'phan had the computer zoom in on a symbol seen on the ships. It shows two stairways converging together in a triangle with an oval overhead. Alikie looked a bit shocked by the symbol as she had seen it before. The Warmaster looked over at the Abbai ambassador. "Did your people ever worship or have stories about a being called Belus or Belhuss?" She had the hologram switch to an image of the Ohne being. David Sheridan wondered and figured this was the same Belus that the Tok'ra mentioned having visited Earth long ago.
"Belhuss…. He was an ancient water god who warred against Oludhun. That also matches his depiction. Some of our archeologists suggest he might have been an alien who visited our homeworld long ago..." She paused briefly to recall some ancient stories. "Our legends say they warred against each other. Many ancient religions say Belhuss was an evil water god that enslaved Abbai and that Oludhun rescued and enlightened us. Are you saying both are real?"
"Your people have sister civilizations as well. See we met them around a few centuries ago. Both Belhuss and Oludhun are very alive and well. Occasionally warring against each other, but they exist. Your people fare better under Oludhun I would say." Sela'phan stated simply.
"There…" Alikie froze on the realization of what she was hearing. "There are Abbai out there that are enslaved?"
"Yes. Belus has taken your people from your homeworld long ago and from Oludhun's Domain for slavery. Oludhun is a System Lord as well but somewhat more reasonable than the majority and has not enslaved others nor expanded borders in pursuit of an empire. Unless you have a chappa'ai you would have to cross or go around Belhuss's domain." She pulled up a holographic map, many ships were already close to League borders mostly of the Abbai and Hyach. This was enough to cause alarm among many members. "Oludhun's Abbai are much like you. They typically don't interfere unless attacked and generally stick to their own affairs. Like you they have never conquered another world for the sake of expansion. I believe though they would be very interested in learning how their sister civilization has developed. Ambassador, your people once tried to unite these members among a common threat?"
"Several…. It has failed enough sadly." Ambassador Alikie looked down briefly. Over centuries, the Abbai tried and failed to bring the League together into a more unified one. Initially the Abbai desired the League to be more unified against the Centauri but it She was certain they would not make the same mistake this time around.
"It is not too late to listen to her calls for unification and cooperation. The Goa'uld are far worse than the Dilgar you faced previously, and their acts are much more horrific."
"The Drazi ambassador, Warleader Tirrak stood up. We still stand by our Abbai allies. We also have stood by Earth as they stand by us. Already our factories are producing warships by the hundreds and our military budget has increased greatly!" The Drazi Ambassador proudly announced.
"Our government has done the same though we are still focused on rebuilding efforts." The Brakiri ambassador, Tumak Lucit responded. The Brakiri did buy a mobile shipyard from Earth which has helped rebuild. It would take another several years before fleet numbers were at pre-war levels and already some companies have succeeded in purchasing old hulls from Earth and Narn for retrofitting.
"As I have stated, Earth has agreed to ramp up efforts in assisting the League in reconstruction efforts." Ambassador Sheridan announced. He knew the Cascor were on their way to rebuilding their fleets thanks to some Avenger hulls purchased from Earth. The Cascor made quick work to retrofit them into both factories and some carriers along with some cruisers. Surprisingly they made faster attempts at rebuilding which surprised many of the analysts.
"Good, as a token gesture, we will provide our intelligence to you of Belhuss and his forces. Right now, our forces are currently fighting Belus and his underlords far from here. He is slowly moving towards this region of space as he searches for remaining Ohne hideouts. We will also provide escorts for any scouting missions you propose."
"What about her?" The Llort ambassador shouted pointing to Warmaster Yu'dun who quickly stood up. "She needs to be put on trial for war crimes!"
"You want me for war crimes?" She spat. "I didn't lead the fleets that bombed worlds into rubble nor did I murder fleeing civilians. You got your justice when Earth beat us back and our sun cleansed our world of most of our race. I will not be part of your joke of a trial. The fleets I did lead only fought the Drazi and I am sure even they can verify that I have not destroyed any civilian ships!"
"Yes but the Dilgar still live!"
"You would condemn an entire race to extinction? Would you really consider an entire race forfeit?" David Sheridan spoke up. "Our intelligence that we shared with all of you shows the Sekhmet ships have not expanded into anyone's borders and have only stationed at the Omelos system and a couple of former Dilgar colonies. Even as we recover from our fights against Ra and Apophis, we will still stand by our friends in the League and are ready to defend them against any aggression. My government has authorized military escorts to border and exploratory regions the Abbai and Hyach patrol. Earth will continue to deliver on its promises." David Sheridan's words quieted the room. Eventually, many agreed to take a stance of non-aggression with the new Dilgar as long as Earth backed their allies. Others took stances of neutrality while the League members with significant militaries would be sending their support to the Hyach and Abbai. Other Ambassadors began to leave the room and Sheridan caught the two Warmasters leaving.
"Warmaster Yu'dun and Warmaster Sela'phan!" He shouted to get her attention. "Can we have a word in private?" He noticed Warmater Sela'phan nod to her in agreement and both went into a private conference room.
"Ambassador Sheridan." She acknowledged.
"My government has authorized me to give you this." He handed her a data crystal. "It is coordinates, to a world that has a surviving Dilgar population."
"You..you rescued them?"
"In secret. We recovered a few sleeper ships plus families from Omelos. There are over a million Dilgar on this world, I am sure they would like to see you and be glad more of their brethren have survived. Believe me we tried to save as many as possible. I believe it's in both our best interests to secure as positive relations as possible as Earth does not consider the Dilgar as enemies."
"That is honorable Ambassador Sheridan." Warmaster Sela'phan mentioned. "Not many would have taken the gestures given what has happened."
"As I said, we are always open to establishing relationships with other governments. With the discovery of the Goa'uld, it is in everyone's best interests that they should be stopped. I recall you mentioned the Ohne and Oludhun. What else do you know about them?"
Fort Irwin- Mojave Desert, Earth
September, 2244
"Congrats on making Colonel." Major Kowalski brought her a bottle of fine champagne as he approached her on the patio near the almost empty Officers Club. He noticed her look at the constellations above as he rested his arms on the wooden fence.
"Thanks." She smiled "I wasn't really looking for a promotion, but I'll take it." She resumed looking back up at Orion's Belt. She could see some of the stars which held Earth's colonies and others that held Centauri, Narn, and League worlds. In places with no light pollution, more of them could be picked out.
"You said that last couple times; but they find you anyway. No telescope tonight?"
"It's back home in Colorado Springs; I managed to stop there for several days. Gregg took care of the house and I finally got to fish in the lake." It was well known that she would take her telescope on some deployments.
"Didn't your great grandfather own that house?"
"Longer than that actually. My great-great-great-GREAT grandfather owned it. I feel winded saying that." She laughed. "Six whole generations of my family lived in that house. It survived Civil War Two and World War 3. Oh, that lake there? It started as a pond. Still has plenty of fish too. It's a family tradition for the father to fill it up once he has a kid for the first time. Something started all the way from the 1990s. Story goes that Jack got tired of his son Charlie complaining about no fish in the pond, so he went and got it loaded up, so they been there ever since. Its gotten a hell of a lot bigger over the years."
"Sounds like the place to be. My aunt has a place like that by Morgantown near the river. Its been cleaned up a lot so fisherman flock to it. Speaking of which, you should check out some of the lakes in Old East Germany."
"I went there for some training years back. I quite liked the area, visited some of the Cold War Museums. They still got portions of the Berlin Wall and a bunch of old tanks from then to World War 3"
"Colonel O'Neill and Major Kowalski?" A slightly shorter and buff bald man in dress uniform asked in a clear dialect indicating he was from the Texas area. They recognized him as a General and jumped to salute him. "Congratulations on the promotion Colonel." He spoke.
"General Hammond!" Both reached out and shook his hand "We were told you were going to meet us soon." Colonel O'Neill
"We will have a lot to discuss but first I need to hand you these."
He handed out a couple of folders both labeled "Stargate Command". Both knew this must be the new project Earth Force kept talking about. "We will talk more about this tomorrow but in the meantime, I want you to look at the personnel section and selecting members of your team. We will be rolling out in the next month."
"Are we going back to Abydos sir?"
"Yes we are and I want you to select the most best teams you can find…"