Here is the next chapter of Humanity's Resurgence.
I never would have expected this much feedback in such little time to the first chapter. So, here is the second chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
The bleak expanse of nothing spread out in all directions, save for the ember glow of a singular star surrounded by a plethora of small celestial bodies. However, suddenly and violently, the fabric of space was torn asunder.
A massive clear portal came bursting into existence, giant white lines that look like cracks in glass stretching forth like the branches of a tree in all directions for countless miles.
From this massive portal came a massive artificial structure that looks like an eight sided star with the arms curing slightly inwards. The Ark has arrived.
Once the Ark cleared the portal, the portal suddenly shrunk down as the power being supplied to it was cut off, causing the portal to cease to exist in a matter of moments.
In the control center for the Ark, Lord Admiral Hood and General Jack O'Neill stood together as numerous control personal began calling off their status reports.
"Ark sensor modules are online. We are beginning to scan the surrounding space."
"Shield generators are at 100%."
"Weapons are charged and ready to go."
"All civilian sectors report no damage whatsoever."
"Arcturus reactors are online and functioning at 100%."
"Shipyards survived the trip unharmed and are sending out the fleets to begin patrols."
"Ark has suffered no damage."
Lord Hood let out a deep breath of relief as he heard nothing had gone wrong. He had been extremely apprehensive about the cross into the new reality, but it seems like the Tau'ri did their research well.
"Understood. Have all stations change into green alert. However, the moment something new appears on the sensors immediately switch to red alert. We are taking no chances here." Hood ordered.
Everyone nodded and quickly went back to work.
Admiral Jacob Keyes, veteran of the Covenant-Human war and casualty of the first recorded interaction between the Flood and the UNSC, was currently walking along the edge of the massive shipyards as he watched the Forward Unto Dawn as well as two other Charon class light frigates leave their massive berths to head on out onto their first series of patrols around the Ark. It has been three months since the Ark arrived in this new reality and so far, nothing has happened. No signs of alien life so far thankfully since the UNSC and Tau'ri are still trying to rebuild their forces back up.
Keyes wishes he could go and join them, however he as well as the cloned Spartan's were still under medical observation. Even though the Asgard cloning technology is very advanced, it is not perfect. High Command is unwilling to lose him as well as the Spartans, so until they are satisfied they are in no danger, everyone who was cloned is grounded.
It is perfectly logical, but that doesn't mean that Keyes has to like it. He is a soldier and more then that, he has another lease on life. He was brought back from the dead and he wants to live his life, not sit around everyday as doctors look at his every waking move, waiting for any sign that he is anything less then 100% stable.
After no less then almost seven months of this, Keyes has grown sick of this routine. At least he is now allowed to start exploring the Ark instead of being kept in the med center.
The Ark's stunning view of the stars is beyond anything Keyes has ever seen and the technological majesty of the Ark as well as Atlantis is something he still isn't used to.
Atlantis, hyperdrives, Stargates, and so much more has come into his life now that he is still having trouble taking it all in.
Keyes just shook his head as he gave out a deep sigh as he say an Epoch class Heavy carrier detaching from it's berth and igniting it's engines as it too left.
Keyes wondered what ship he will captain next. He commanded not only the Iroquois, but also the Pillar of Autumn in his career. However, thanks to all the new technology, a new breed of warships will be developed and built soon. Whatever he commands next will be far beyond anything he has ever seen before.
Keyes then left the shipyard and went to one of the few teleportation booths created for the Ark.
Considering the massive size of the Ark, a large number of the Sentinels have been programmed to build an interconnecting system of teleportation booths to allow for quicker travel across the massive structure. However, due to the massive size of the Ark, only the most critical locations on the Ark have teleportation booths and even then, only a few. It will be a long time before instantaneous travel to any location on the Ark is achieved.
Clicking the small icon, the doors for the teleportation booth closed and a second later, Keyes was now near a series of labs in the main facility of the Ark.
After arriving at the Ark, the UNSC took control of the main control room as quickly as possible and have built around it, creating barracks, labs, and other facilities around it.
Stepping out of the teleportation booth, Keyes heard the sounds of scientific experimentation all around him. As he walked through the mass of labs and white coats, he saw many experiments going on all far too complex for him to understand. By no means is he dumb, but he has no hope of understand the intricacies of hyperdrives or energy shields.
As he walked through into one of the labs, he saw rows upon rows of guns. Ranging from familiar shapes like the BR55 Service Rifle, but he also saw unfamiliar shapes. Some were long staff like weapons, while others were strange serpentine shaped things and many other such strange objects.
He turned and saw a familiar face, Dr. Catherine Halsey hard at work as she took some notes as she observed the experiment along with Dr. Samantha Carter.
John-117 was holding a long rifle looking gun that has a white color scheme on it. The rifle is thickly built and has a large open barrel that is a quarter of the weapons total width.
Numerous holographic targets appeared, ranging from crimson armored Elites to Wraith Drones. John-117 took aim at one of the holographic targets and pulled the trigger, causing the rifle to shoot out something that instantly destroyed the Grunt in a single shot.
John quickly snapped his rifle to position as he took aim at another target and fired once more, this time an Elite and likewise destroyed them instantly.
That got Keyes attention. To be able to destroy a Elite's shield with only one shot is something not easily done.
Keyes watched on as Master Chief quickly destroyed all the target's using only one shot per each of them from the rifle.
Once the targets were all gone, Master Chief shouldered his rifle and then turned back towards Carter and Halsey.
"Hm. It appears the prototype works perfectly." Carter said as she went over the data.
"Indeed. Heat build up was low, rounds fired quickly, no complications in the rolouding process. Everything appears to be working." Halsey agreed as she then turned towards Master Chief. "You can put the rifle back on its case John. We are done for now."
Master Chief nodded and then moved and placed the gun in a special case that opened up as John approached. Once the rifle was back in its case, the case closed quickly.
Master Chief then left the room, leaving Keyes with both Carter and Halsey.
"So, are you going to talk to us, or just and there silently?" Halsey asked, not turning her attention away from the pad in her hands.
Keyes walked over and said, "Sorry, I just didn't want to interrupt the experiment."
Halsey nodded and then asked, "So, what can I do for you Admiral?"
"Mind if I ask about the strange rifle John-117 was just using?" Keyes asked.
Halsey brought up a schematic of the gun and said, "What John was just using is a prototype for the next generation of firearms and weapons for use by humanity's soldiers. Dr. Carter has had extensive experience with the Ancient Drone weapons used by Atlantis and now we have the data regarding the hard light weapons of the Forerunners, so Dr. Carter came to me with an interesting idea."
"What if we combined the energy fields of the Drones with the Hard Light energy of the Forerunners into a new weapon?" Carter said.
"Such a weapon would be easily capable of piercing through energy shields and hull plating, however I wanted to take it a step further. Instead of simply covering our ballistic rounds in Hard Light energy and then have them produce an energy field, what if we also hollowed out the cores of each round and inserted a large amount of liquid Naquadria?" Halsey asked.
Keyes wasn't the foremost expert on Naquada and it's notoriously unstable and dangerous cousin, Naquadria, however even he knows that a small amount of Naquadria can create a large explosion.
"If I am understanding this correctly, you two have tried to create a weapon that shoots rounds that can pierce energy shields and hull plating with ease and then explode inside of the target with immense force." Keyes hazarded a guess.
"Not tried. Succeeded. The rifle John was using is the fully operational prototype of this new weapon type. And from what we just witnessed, the weapon appears to work perfectly. If it seems as if everything is working properly, we will then adapt this technology to our MAC cannons, missiles, nukes, riles and other ballistic weapons so that they are now more useful then ever. We have already drawn up plans for a MAC cannon to use this technology. We have also found a way to increase or decrease the energy fields and Hard Light energy of the rounds, which therefore increases or decreases the penetrating power of the rounds. With this technology, you can fire a MAC round quicker as the rounds will be smaller and lighter then regular MAC rounds due to the fact they are not solid slugs anymore." Halsey said to Keyes, several other holograms appearing.
"With this, we could lower the power per MAC shot and allow the rounds to just barely pierce our targets and then detonate inside the targets hull. Or increase the power along with the energy field to completely puncture an enemy's shields." Keyes said, finally understanding how useful these new MACs would be.
"Now you are getting it. Imagine how different the war with the Covenant would have gone if we had ships capable of firing MAC rounds that simply tore threw their shields and then detonated with the force of a small nuclear bomb inside their ships? We would have inflicted countless casualties and possibly halted the Covenant advance." Halsey said.
Keyes nodded and then asked, "So, how soon until this is mass produced?"
Halsey shook her head and said, "We don't have enough Trinium, Naquada or Naquadria to outfit our planned fleet with these weapons. We need a lot more."
Keyes narrowed his eyes and said, "You don't give up that easy. You have a plan don't you?"
Halsey smirked and said, "You know me far too well. There is a way to get the resources we need. Carter has shown me a most fascinating Ancient device, called the Exogenesis device."
Keyes turned towards Carter wh brought up a hologram of said device.
"The Exogenesis device uses nanites to terraform entire worlds into ones capable of holding human life. However, Carter and I have found a way to alter the programming of the Exogenesis device so that it will terraform a world into one made almost entirely of any element we want, like Trinium, Naquadria, etc. Using these repurposed Exogenesis devices, we can quickly gain the resources needed to repurpose all human ships with the new ballistic technology, as well as giving us more resources to use in rebuilding humanity." Halsey said.
Keyes nodded and said, "The commanders will definitely approve of this."
Halsey smirked and said, "Naturally."
"So good Doctor, what else have you been working on?" Keyes asked.
"We have been working on combining the Asgard Plasma Beams with the Asgard Ion Cannons to try and create a new secondary weapon type. Actually, it was a lot easier then one would think since the SGC had been working on such a project since they first got the Asgard Beam technology. Add in Forerunner technology as well as Ancient technology with some help from Mendicant Bias and we have fully functional prototypes already tested and ready for mass production." Halsey said.
"Really?" Keyes asked.
"Of course. Wish for proof?" Halsey asked, looking Keyes in the eye.
"I would like to see what these weapons are capable of." Keyes said. After knowing Halsey for so long, Keyes knew how to navigate the minefield that was that loaded question.
Halsey said nothing as she showed Keyes a new holographic screen.
On it there was a large double barreled cannon, each of the barreled shaped not cylindrically like most UNSC cannons, but more square shaped like some of the Tollan Ion cannon pictures Keyes has seen. Being locked in the med center for so long gave him a lot of time to read over as many of the SGC's files as he could.
A large piece of armor plating was placed in front of the cannon while a layer of hard light energy was put in front of the armor plating, while another layer of Asgard/Ancient shielding was added around the armor plating as well while a final layer of energy shielding wrapped around the shape of the armor.
With the test finally ready, the cannon was primed. Energy coalesced inside the barrels of the cannon quicker then Keyes could see and within a moment, the cannon fired.
Twin beams of blindingly bright baby blue energy lanced outwards from the barrels and struck the hard light first. For a few seconds the hard light held and then fell. After that, the beams struck the Asgard/Ancient energy shield; however even the powerful Asgard/Ancient energy shield could hold the energy beams back and fell apart. The final energy field was finally struck by the twin beams of blue and was swiftly broken as well, leaving the armor alone to face the energy beams. The moment the beams struck the armor, the slab of metal flash melted, bright glowing orange metal running like lava as the beam effortlessly carved through the thick metal plate with ease. After the beam came out the back end of the armor, the beam dissipated as it struck the energy at the back of the area set up for the experiment, a bright blue-green glowing shield stopping the energy from passing through.
Keyes was impressed by the power of the cannon, being capable of carving through three different energy shield systems and then having enough energy to carve through armor plating and still be capable of hitting the energy shield on the other side.
"The cannon, which has been dubbed the "Ion Beam Cannon" is a beam type directed energy weapon system capable of destroying any kind of space fighter or space bomber while also dealing extreme damage to ships near Anubis upgraded Goa'uld Ha'tak class vessels with ease. As it is a secondary weapon, it is mainly meant to quickly wittle energy shields down quickly. Moderate firepower with quick recharge time, it will make any enemy commander weary about getting into knife fighting range with any human warship. Damage can be increased as more energy is pumped into the weapons, however you will run the risk of overheating the cannons if you pump too much energy into them." Halsey said, obviously proud of her work.
"Very impressive Doctor. I am sure these will be useful." Keyes said.
"Of course it is good work. I would not allow anything less." Halsey said with a smile.
Keyes nodded, knowing well how meticulous and determined Halsey can be when she is working on things.
"Well, I better be going. Have a good day." Keyes said as he excused himself and left the lab, leaving Carter and Halsey to continue their work.
Keyes left the lab and went back towards the teleporter booth, intent on heading back to the med lab to get his mandatory examination over with. If there is one thing this little excursion of his has taught him, it is that the future is in good hands.
Two Months later...
In the main command center of the Ark, the top leaders of both the UNSC, the Tau'ri, Tok'ra, Jaffa and Athosians are all gathered together once more.
"I would like to bring up the revisions Dr. McKay has made to the Infinity's original design. I believe that this is the design we should go with moving forwards. The civilians need a sign that we have the power to keep them safe, a symbol that they can rally behind. This variation of the Infinity will be the thing they need." Admiral Cutter said as several holographic screens appeared before the members around the table.
Rodney had really done his absolute best when creating a better, stronger version of the Infinity. He had tapped into all the resources he could, talking to Mendicant Bias as well as Carter and Halsey as well as a few other scientists.
With their help, Rodney managed to create a new type of hull plating that has been dubbed Titanium A-5. By combining Titanium A-3 with highly refined Trinium, Naquada, Carbon and then adding Forerunner alloys into the mix and then molecularly increasing the toughness of the material to a degree never before imagined by the UNSC or the Tau'ri. The resulting metal plating is an astonishing 450 times stronger then Titanium A-3 while being only a fifth the weight of Titanium. The Infinity was then designed to have 5.7 meters of the armor plating with a honeycomb design similar to the Pillar of Autumn or other Halcyon-class Light Cruiser to increase her ability to absorb damage.
After that, Rodney then began working on the Infinity's sensor's and communication equipment. He placed Hail Mary class sensor modules and communication equipment onto the design, allowing the Infinity to detect objects from 36,000 light years away even while in Hyperspace and can communicate from 2,000,000 light years away.
Next came the hyperdrive. The Infinity was designed with the most advanced Asgard/Ancient hybrid hyperdrive which is a fusion of the drives from the O'Neill class ships as well as the Star Drives on Atlantis, creating a hyperdrive which can cross the distance between galaxies in minutes with ease.
The main power source for the Infinity is a Gen. 2 Arcturus Reactor. The Gen. 2 reactor is a smaller version of the 100 foot in diameter reactors that are found on all Tau'ri vessels. This reactor provides 25 ZPM's worth of power and is only 45 feet in diameter. The 2 secondary reactors are Mk.13 Naquada Cold Fusion Reactors which can provide 7 ZPM's worth of power in an emergency and the 4 tertiary reactors are Mk.11 Naquada Cold Fusion Reactors which can provide approximately 3 ZPM's worth of power.
The ship has extremely advanced inertia dampeners that can stop the vibrations of enemy firepower so that the delicate crystal technology onboard the ship isn't damaged. The Infinity has artificial gravity, however she also has anti-gravity drives as well, a first for the UNSC which will allow her to fight in atmosphere while also being capable of leaving a planet's atmosphere under her own power.
The shields of the Infinity are the strongest ever designed by the Tau'ri or the UNSC, with only Ori motherships having shields of equal strength and Atlantis is the only thing that has even stronger shields. The Infinity's main shield is a hybrid Ancient/Asgard energy shield that has Forerunner Hard Light shields augmenting them even further in strength. As a backup they also have the form hugging energy shield that the UNSC developed for the Infinity originally, however it has gone through a number of upgrades and refits that has turned the form hugging energy shield into a defensive barrier of around half the strength of the Hail Mary's main shield.
The sublight engines of the Infinity are again, Atlantis in origin, having a singular massive sublight engines directly in the middle of the stern, with six smaller sublight engines arranged in a ring around the main engine.
The Infinity also has a cloaking device that is of the same league of the one found on the Odyssey, allowing her to remain undetected for long periods of time. she also has teleportation booths for ease in traversing the massive warship as well as Asgard Beaming technology, allowing her to beam massive amounts of troops and vehicles down to a planet's surface without the need for massive amounts of drop ships.
When it comes to weapons for the Infinity, McKay went to Carter and Dr. Halsey since he had heard of their new weapons they were working on and asked them to help him design the weapon compliment for the Infinity.
To start off her weapon complement, Infinity has no less than four CR-03C Series Nine MAC's, two on the top of the bow with two more next to the original two. These are the first of the new breed of MAC's using the new ballistic weapon technology that Carter and Halsey managed to finish and then perfect.
Each MAC cannon will now coat the shells in specially energized Hard Light as they enter the barrel before being fired. The Hard Light energy has been specially designed to mimic the energy field that Lantean Drone weapons emit that allow them to cut through energy shields and hull plating. The Series Nine MAC of the Infinity will accelerate 150 ton hollowed out rounds that are made from Naquada, Trinium, Titanium that have been molecularly altered to be tougher that also have Naquadria cores for increased explosive power. The rounds will be accelerated up to speeds of around 125, 000 mps and can reload and fire a shell in 5 seconds. The MAC's charge can be altered to lower the shell's speed and the energy field of each individual shell so that the rounds can pierce and then detonate once inside their target.
The Infinity also has 36 Asgard Plasma Beam emitters spread around her hull for omni-directional firing arcs.
She has 20,000 x M80 Rapier missile boxes with each having thirty missiles with an additional 25,000 x M100 Howler missile boxes that have twenty missiles in each box. The Rapier and Howler missiles have undergone a massive increase in effectiveness since all the new technologies became available. Each missile is constructed of Trinium and Naquada as well as Forerunner alloys and again has Naquadria as the core, dramatically increasing their explosive power. Each missile also has Hard Light energy applied to their outer hull as they leave their missile tubes to increase their penetrating power.
The Infinity also has 18 of the new EA class nuclear weapons. The EA is basically the love child of a Mk.15 with a Nova, creating the strongest and most deadly nuclear weapon ever created. With the Hard Light covering as well as improvements in nuclear weaponry thanks to the UNSC, the EA is a weapon of almost unparalleled destructive capabilities.
She also has 48,000 x M982 Dauntless 75mm Twin Rail Guns. These rail guns are basically bigger, faster and stronger versions of those found on the Daedalus class warships. Having eight barrels, these guns accelerate their slugs to 10,000 mps and can fire around 40,000 rounds per minute. Each slug is a much smaller version of the MAC slugs, each round have a Naquadria Core and being constructed of Naquad/Trinium and Forerunner alloys and after each round is fired, it is covered in Hard Light energy.
Furthermore, the Infinity has a massive supply of golden Aggressor style Sentinel beam turrets which have been enlarged to serve as fast firing Anti-Aircraft and Anti ballistic weaponry.
Additionally, there are 60 x Mark 3000 MAC's on the ship. The Mark 3000 MAC is a small MAC cannon that shoots a 25 ton shell that is exactly the same as the MAC shells for the main MACs. These "Mini MACs" are on all sides of the hull so that the Infinity will always have at least some Mark 3000's firing at a target.
After that, there are 4,500 x Destiny style Energy bolt Anti-Aircraft cannons just like those found on the Hail Mary, Atlantis or Destiny all over the ship.
Finally, there are 1,000 x Ion Beam Cannons to round off the truly impressive offensive arsenal of the Infinity.
In addition, the Infinity will also be capable of carrying at least 30 light class frigates in her main hull, allowing her to deploy a small battlegroup wherever she goes.
With all these weapons, Infinity needed a much larger frame and so Infinity was buffed from her original size of 5,694.2 meters. After her redesign, the Infinity is now a massive 21,500 meters in length while being 4,500 meters in width and 5,100 meters in height. Infinity, once she is completed will be the strongest, fastest, toughest warship in the AHSC.
"I like the design. Large, has a stunning amount of firepower and shield strength, she would be capable of holding off any threat that comes her way. However, the design would take an astronomical amount of Trinium, Naquada and other resources we could spend somewhere else." Lord Admiral Hood said.
"Carter and Halsey have put forth a means to get additional resources via using Exogenesis devices to terraform the many moons and planets that are in the solar system we now reside in. We could have those planets terraformed in days and then get mining operations commended even quicker and then we will have a surplus of materials to work with. We already have billions of tons of raw material right now since we decommissioned the Halo Array and then turned them into raw material. Most pessimistic reports state it will take at least a few centuries to blow through those resources, so I say we can afford to blow a couple hundred million tons of resources building a single Infinity class warship. And as for personal, thanks to advancements into AI's, the crew size for such a ship is a lot smaller then one would think, with the crew only needing to be around 100,000 with around another 10,000 Marines, 3,000 ODST, 2,000 Air Force and a couple hundred more." Jack O'Neill said as he looked over the requirements of the Infinity.
"That is a large amount of our limited military power to waste on a single warship that can be in only one place at a time. I think we would be better off with having a large amount of Autumn class Cruisers or other such warships instead of putting it all into a single warship." Admiral Keyes said.
"On the contrary, since we only have the Ark to protect, having a single massive warship isn't as wasteful as it would be if we had hundreds of worlds to protect. Such a vessel would not have to patrol a massive area, only the area around the Ark. She would be a most unstoppable warship, serving as an immovable object to any would be attackers. When we move beyond the Ark, then it would be best to field a number of smaller vessels in order to increase the number of warships we have. But as it stands right now, creating this vessel is not that big a drain on resources." Teal'c said stoically.
"I would have to agree with my old pupil. This vessel would serve as a good way to increase the moral of our people, all of our people. We have all lost our homes, our friends, everything these previous decades. So, by showing them such a vessel, it will show them that we can in fact keep them safe from harm. We need to reassure them we can keep them safe. Their trust in our ability to do so is at an all time low. Descent is not happening now, but it might happen soon. We need this ship to rebuild the trust we lost." Master Bra'tac said.
"I have to agree with Bra'tac and Teal'c. We need the Infinity, if nothing else then as a moral booster. We can't function as a military if everyone refuses to work with us. Even if we can create our own supplies now, we still need the people's support to function. Rebuilding that trust and increasing moral is what we should be focused on right now." Carter said.
"Perhaps, but it is a lot of resources and personal to assign to only one ship. We could probably equal that amount of firepower with twenty Daedalus class warships or more and we would be using a lot less personal on them as well." Admiral Caldwell said.
"I have to agree. Building fleets of other, smaller warships instead of just one single ship is a better use of our time and resources. We don't know what is lurking in this universe nor do we know when we might be attacked. Having large fleets is a better option then just having such a large ship." Rear-Admiral Ellis said, commander of the Apollo.
"We need to come to a decision now. Please vote whether to build the Infinity as Dr. McKay has suggested to us or to building more, smaller ships instead. The vote starts now, it will end in ten minutes. Choose wisely." Hood said as the holograms in front of everyone changed to a screen with a "Aye" or "Nay" button on either side.
The voting took place, the Admirals and other important staff quickly voting after reviewing the plans and weighing the pros and cons against one another.
Ten minutes later, the votes were tallied and shown.
"The votes are in. There is a grand total of twenty "Nays" to twenty-one "Ayes." Therefore, the Infinity will be built as Dr. McKay's plans have described." Hood announced.
"Now with that out of the way, we need to talk about whether or not to terraform the moons and terrestrial planets surrounding the Ark. Like I said before, we don't need any more resources at this point and creating and then manning those outposts with the personal would be a far greater waste of manpower in my opinion." O'Neill said.
"Actually, we could simply put a few AI's in control of the facility have them using autonomous robotic exoskeletons for them to mine the resources. No need for humans to be onsight. And with those resources we could begin creating shipyards away from the Ark as a backup means to continue production should the Ark become unusable for some reason. We could create a defense fleet of warships under the control of Mendicant so that the Ark will always at least have a single fleet to keep her safe. I think we should definitely terraform a least a few of the moons." Carter said.
"Hm, not a bad idea. The Ark can handle the rebuilding of the fleet, but having more shipyards will increase are ability to field warships as well as making sure we aren't putting all of our eggs in one basket." Hood commented, liking the idea.
"As has been stated many times in this meeting, we need more warships. Creating new shipyards will be of much aid in that endeavour. I say we should follow Dr. Carter's plan." Bra'tac said.
"Are we all in agreement?" Hood asked, looking around the meeting hall. As he received nods from nearly everyone assembled there, he then said, "It is decided. Now which moons do you recommend we terraform first Dr. Carter?"
Carter brought up a holographic screen and highlighted seven of the many moons in the solar system surrounding them and said, "These seven are the closest moons to the Ark and are around the size of the Earth's moon back home. Terraforming these moons will provide us a plethora of resources as well as being very close to the Ark. Me and Halsey discussed this at length and we believe these to be the best moons to start off with."
Hood looked over their recommendations and nodded at them. Solid picks each and every single one of them. Just another reason why Halsey and Carter are two of the three chief scientists.
"Alright, start terraforming these moons as soon as you can. Onc the moons are terraformed, we'll start construction on the mines immediately. Now, where to put the shipyards we'll be using these resources on?" Hood asked.
"We already have suggestions for where best to start the shipyards as well sir." Carter said, highlighting some more areas of the hologram of the solar system.
Hood nodded and said, "I see no reason to dismiss these locations, however me and O'Neill will talk about this later. Next time we meet, we will have selected the locations. Now, General Stacker, I believe you have a proposal for me?"
General Stacker Pentecost, veteran of the Human-Covenant war. One of the most highly decorated surviving generals in the UNSC, he is also one of the most well respected.
The slightly aging general stood up and cleared his throat before he said, "As you all know, when we arrived on the Ark we found a number of data files containing detailed examples of Forerunner technology. As we have continued our stay here on the Ark, we have been able to decrypt and learn more about Forerunner technology. A few weeks back one of my subordinates stumbled across some very intriguing data files regarding two pieces of Forerunner technology; one called a War Sphinx and the other called a Seeker."
Two holograms appeared, one having a ship like construction that has two limbs on the front connected to a command center which is designed to resemble a Forerunner's face with two viewports acting as eyes. Connected to the torso of the machine was a elongated tail at the back. The second hologram had a machine greatly resembling a War Sphinx, yet it was longer and more streamlined while also lacking the "face" that the War Sphinx had.
"The War Sphinx, from we have been able to find out, was a very versatile war machine that allowed the user to seamlessly operate in space, air or on planetary surfaces. Theirs roles varied, acting as escorts for larger warships via swarming enemy warships in large numbers or acting as long range artillery since they had enough firepower to level entire cities by themselves. Since they were equipped with arms and legs, they were capable of operating as bipedal combat vehicles so as to aid ground operations. However, despite all their power, the War Sphinxes were eventually replaced by the superior Seekers." Pentecost said.
Everyone was listening intently on Pentecost's words, just as he wanted.
"The Seekers that replaced the War Sphinxes were given more powerful weaponry, movement and defensive capabilities. In a one of one fight, a Seeker will beat and destroy a War Sphinx almost every time." Pentecost concluded, the holograms disappearing.
"This is all very interesting, but what does it have to do with your proposal Pentecost?" Jack asked.
"Because sir, I would like permission to gather together a team of engineers and scientists to design a new fight craft that takes the best of the War Sphinx, the Seeker and the Puddle Jumpers and combines them together. I called it, "Project Jaeger."
Pentecost handed over two tablets to O'neill and Hood, who looked them over in silence for a few moments.
Everyone watched on as the two powerful military leaders looked over the proposal of Pentecost.
The two continued silently discussing whether or not to green light the project for another minute or so before O'Neill looked at Pentecost and said, "Well, me and Hood have talked it out and we have decided to approve of the project. Take anyone you want save for Carter, Halsey and McKay, we need them for much bigger problems. If they want to lend their hand in their free time, they are free to do so, but you will have to make due with everyone else."
Pentecost nodded and said, "Thank you sir. I will get started right away. Where is the Project going to take place?"
"In the next meeting, we will let you know. We will clear out a space for you guys to get to work." O'Neill replied.
Pentecost nodded once again and was handed back his tablets.
"Alright and the next big thing on the agenda. The Spartan IV program." O'Neill said.
This caused everyone at the table to slightly wince. The Fourth iteration of the Spartan Program was not going anywhere near as well as the previous three had gone.
"Halsey, you thoughts?" Hood asked.
"The Spartan IV's are children running around in armor far too powerful and dangerous for their tiny minds to comprehend. When we trained the Spartan II's, we installed discipline and honor into them. The Spartan IV's, despite being veterans, are too free. Their emotions are too well exposed, they feel too much. They are arrogant and full of themselves. I felt this might be the case. We made the Spartans into legends in order to keep morale up, however not that more people are getting the training and power of the Spartan's, they are losing respect for that power. We need to find a way to better weed out the bad apples." Halsey said.
"I agree. Having trained a few of the Spartan IV's, I can tell you they lack the discipline and respect for authority that the Spartan II's and III's have. Almost all of the Spartan IV's seem to think of themselves as invincible after receiving their armor. They lose their ability to work as a team, preferring to fight as individuals instead of as a team. Something must be done." Teal'c said.
"Okay, so the Spartan IV's are getting full of themselves. That is bad, especially since they have been augmented. So, ideas?" O'Neill asked.
"Perhaps removing the augmentations of the Spartan IV's that fail to reach to pass a stricter psych evaluation? If they cannot work together and don't listen to authority all that well, take away their abilities. Simple as that." Ellis said.
"Not a bad idea. Short and simple. I propose that we take the top 1% of all candidates to become Spartan IV's and make them take the psych eval. Those that pass the test and also personal evaluation by the Master Chief, Halsey as well as Sergeant Major Johnson will be allowed to become Spartan IV's." O'Neill suggested.
"I would like to add onto that. Of those found to be capable of becoming Spartan IV's, we could continue to monitor and evaluate. If we find them exceptional amongst their peers, we could increase their augmentation and make them Spartan III's and II's." Caldwell said.
"But wouldn't that disrupt the flow and synergy between the II's and III's? The Spartan II's and III's work so well together because they trust one another due to the fact they have trained, fought and died alongside one another. Having new people come into their ranks might make them reject the new Spartans, leaving them by themselves or not working together." Cutter argued.
"My Spartans are more professional then that. They would be hesitant at first, but would make sure that they work with their new team mates to the best of their abilities and I am positive that the Spartan III's would do the same." Halsey vehemently claimed.
"Even so, I would suggest we don't start introducing more Spartan II's or III's for right now. We have a large number of Spartans as it is and they won't be going anywhere soon. We should focus more on getting the MJOLNIR Mk. VII produced. Speaking of, how far along are the Mk. VII's?" Hood asked.
"It is going well. The integration of all the Forerunner, Asgard and Ancient technologies onto the Mjolnir's frame has been a challenge, but we are finally making progress. I estimate we should have a prototype ready in around five more months." Halsey said.
"Very good. One last thing. Just yesterday the President of the UNSC along with the President for the Tau'ri as well as the leaders of the Jaffa, Tokra and Athosians have informed me that in around two months from now, the UNSC, Tau'ri, Jaffa, Tokra and Athosians will unite underneath one banner, one government and one military." Hood announced to the shock of everyone.
It wasn't the merge that shocked everyone, it was how soon it was happening. It has been almost a year since the UNSC and the Tau'ri met and the two groups have been working very closely together, so everyone knew a merge of both groups was an eventuality, but they never expected the merge to occur within five years.
"How will the government be organized? What will the army look like? How will the navy change?" Carter asked rapidly before Halsey gave her a nudge to shut her up.
"Thank you. As for your questions Dr. Carter, the government will be a democratic one, much like how the UEG was, with a few changes to the charter. I have not been informed on the changes to the charter, so I cannot tell you of that. The army will be mostly left alone, with only a few minor changes here and there, same with the navy. I will also be releasing the emergency powers granted to me during the Covenant-Human war." Hood said, not that it was shocking to everyone who knew the man. He was not one to yearn for more power and only wished to help humanity. He only took up those emergency powers because the situation demanded that he do so and now that the situation has been resolved, he was giving up those powers for humanity once again.
"Same here. Now that we no longer have the Wraith after us, I am no longer needed." O'Neill added in. Just like Hood, he stepped forth and took up the reins to aid humanity in their fight against the Wraith. However, the Wraith are no longer a threat and so the man can finally step down and let someone else take his place.
"Sir, are you saying that you are retiring?" Carter asked, causing O'Neill to start laughing.
"Nope. I am actually going to take control of our first diplomatic class vessel." O'Neill happily replied.
"Diplomatic class?" Carter asked, her confusion shared with everyone in the room.
"Me and Hood talked about the need for a diplomatic class of vessel, a ship that can go into the universe and make peaceful first contact with the native alien civilizations. We then asked Rodney to design said ship and he agreed to help. A few weeks later and a design as finally chosen. The first of these diplomatic vessels will be completed in two months, same date as the merge." O'Neill said, sounding suspiciously happy.
"So, what is the design?" Caldwell asked.
O'Neill then said, "I am glad you asked." as he pulled up the design for the diplomatic class of ships.
Everyone who has served with O'Neill during the time of the SGC finally understood why O'Neill was so happy about becoming the captain of the ship as they all mentally sighed.
The design before them was a sleeker, more elegant version of the Enterprise-E from Star Trek that O'Neill likes so much. Her hull was light grey in coloring, lighter then the gunmetal grey all UNSC and Tau'ri vessels are colored in. She has a long overular main dish section at the front of her hull, while having a rounded underside with a large blue glowing core at the front of the rounded underside. She has two large naceles at the back of the hull that connect to a small ject coming out of the back of the front part of the hull. The top of the dorsal hull has a large black V that connects to the back of the main dish and wraps around to the mid of the dish.
"The Enterprise will be the first of the Archer class of spaceships. They are designed to be less intimidating then regular warships so that we can try and peaceful first contact. The ship is very well armed with 16 Asgard Plasma Beam weapons, 12 Howler and 12 Rapier launchers, a plethora of golden Aggressor AA batteries, four EA launcher tubes, two on the bow and two of the aft as well as a single series Nine MAC cannon hidden in the bow. She may not have a huge assortment of weapons, but what few she does pack a punch. She has stronger shields, powerful sensors, a quick hyperdrive as well as tractor beam, transport beams, teleporter booths, all that jazz. At a length of only 975 meters, she is a lot smaller then the Infinity as well as a large amount of the other planned warships, however she can still fight with the best of them." O'Neill said, clearly happy he was finally getting a ship not only named Enterprise, but also having it look like the Enterprise and he is going to command her.
Carter nodded as she looked over the specks of the Archer class. Not the fastest, nor the toughest or the most well armed, but she is no slouch in a fight and her main goal is peaceful existence, so world cracking firepower is not a major factor in her mission profile.
"With that out of the way, I officially end this meeting." Hood said as he and the rest of those gathered all left the room.
Carter and O'Neill walked out together as they talked about the Enterprise.
"So, you finally did it. You finally got your own starship Enterprise to command." Carter said.
O'Neill smiled and said, "Yeah, its awesome. I was planning on having the "These are the voyages of the starship enterprise" speech as we leave the shipyards."
Carter rolled her eyes and said, "You are going to have a field day on that ship."
O'Neill nodded and said, "You know me."
Carter just gave him a look and said, "Yes I do. I pity the poor crewmembers who will have to put up with your shenanigans."
Jack just stuck his tongue out at her and said, "Your just jealous you don't have your own."
"I got a much better ship. The General Hammond is a hundred times better then the Enterprise. Onc her upgrades are complete, she will have better shields, firepower and speeds compared to your ship." Carter argued.
"My ships has the looks and that is all that matters. While my ship has an elegant grace to her appearance, yours looks like a trash can got spray painted and then flattened into a brick that was then shot into outer space." Jack said.
Carter gasped and playfully smacked his right arm, "You take that back Jack O'Neill."
"Never! Enterprise is best ship!" Jack said as he tried to block her assault.
"Oh that's it!" Carter said as she wrapped her arms around Jack's neck as she smiled victoriously.
"C'mon Carter I just got my back repaired, I can't afford to have a replacement so soon!" Jack said as he tried to dislodge Carter to no success.
"I don't know sir. You did insult my ship." Carter practically sang with smug satisfaction.
"Alright, I take back what I said about the Hammond. She is a very nice looking ship." Jack yielded.
Carter got off of Jack, just as Jack took off saying, "The Hammond is the worst looking ship ever!"
Carter chased after Jack yelling, "I will get you for that one!"
"You'll have to catch me first Carter!" Jack yelled back at her.
Carter narrowed her eyes at the challenge so blatantly thrown down at her feet and increased her speed, intent on catching O'Neill.
As the two old friends chased one another, the Ark continued its orbit around the sun, another day soon to draw to a close as humanity rebuilt itself from the fires of defeat.
With the powers of Ancient races long since gone at their disposal, humanity will rise far higher then ever before and ensure they will be remembered for all eternity.
And that is the end of chapter two!
I am so sorry for the long ait on the update, I just lost my drive to type this story for a while, sorry about that.
Updates on this story, as well as Robotech War as well as Devils, Dragons and Fairies will continue on, so just hang in there.
And so if you have any comments, criticisms or concerns, leave a review or send me a P.M., always appreciated.
Until next time, this is StrikeFreedom10, signing off.
Farewell for now!
PLUS ULTRA!