Robotech Stargate Saga: Otherworld

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and universes that I am about to mangle around and mash together for my own amusement – sadly all Stargate and Robotech characters and concepts remain the property of MGM, Amazon and Harmony Gold respectively – I am merely borrowing them and make absolutely no profit from their use. As a result, please keep the legal attack dogs – also known as lawyers – firmly muzzled and on a leash as I have no profit to give to anyone.

Interlude

Intergalactic Space

The station floated serenely in the eternal void between galaxies. It was one of many such structures that had been constructed over the last five hundred years by the Asgard. All of them with the same purposes to act as sentinels and observers of the galaxies where the diminutive grey skinned aliens had interest. To keep a watchful eye on not just the developing sentient species of said galaxies but on those who would seek to conquer or exploit them. Races like the parasitic Goa'uld and the Robotech Masters.

Near the station space suddenly distorted as the barrier between the normal universe and the infinite realms of subspace came under sudden attack from within. The folds of space-time parted and the glowing white-green vortex of a hyperspace window burst into existence with a silent scream of power. For a moment more nothing happened beyond the great glowing rent in the space-time continuum spewing light and exotic particles into normal space. Then it pulsed and a ship appeared emerging from the heart of the rift crossing into the great void of intergalactic space.

It was an advanced vessel one that perfectly combined both an alien grace and a fierceness that was downright predatory. Over two and a half kilometres long and shaped like a more elegantly curved version of an ancient Viking war hammer to anyone who saw it – and like the Goa'uld or the Zentraedi – and knew who it belonged to would have been filled with a mixture of awe and mortal terror knowing that if they wished the diminutive beings within the shining chrome-like hull could obliterate them with little effort.

The Asgard warship, specifically one of the new Gungnir-class battleships, closed on the solitary space station coming to a halt a few thousand kilometres from its hull. Invisible beams reached out from the battleships sensor arrays and began probing the station searching for an answer to the puzzle that had brought them here.

It didn't me long for the mystery to deepen.

"Preliminary scans complete commander."

Sitting in his command chair on the bridge of his new flagship Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet, turned his head slightly, expectantly at the sensor station. "What have you found," he asked curious.

"Sensors confirm no damage to the hull and primary systems are functioning normally. However, the stations primary and secondary transmission arrays are not powered."

"Strange," Thor commented with a subtle Asgardian equivalent of a frown that was both confused and concerned. He believed that he had very good reason to be as the unmanned sentry station ahead of them was one of dozens of such stations and thousands of smaller satellites that the Asgard had built and deployed in the great void over the last few centuries. They were an essential part in keeping the galaxies safe from expansionistic, imperialistic powers like the Tirolian Empire as the Robotech Masters had an endless greed, a need to expand and control more and more territory that rivalled the Goa'uld. And they backed it up with a level of technology that the Goa'uld could only dream of, a technology who through power and sophistication rivalled his own peoples in numerous areas.

The stations and their satellites had already enabled them to stop several attempts by the Robotech Masters to expand their Empire beyond the Andromeda Galaxy and its immediate satellites over the last few centuries. Between the satellites, the stations that were network hubs for the satellites, and random patrols they'd engaged Imperial Expeditionary Forces launched by the Robotech Masters on several occasions. They had never been easy battles as the Zentraedi were dangerous and powerful opponents – even by their standards – especially as the Zentraedi always had the numerical advantage in terms of ships and smaller attack craft, though that advantage had been somewhat offset by the introduction of the Seax-class combat drones, but they'd ultimately always been able to defeat them and send the survivors fleeing back to Tirolian space.

The fact that one of the hub stations – especially the one that coordinated both the satellites observing the galaxy that the Asgard knew by its original Alteran name as Avalon and the most likely approaches to it through the subspace domain that the Masters and Zentraedi alike referred to as foldspace – had apparently malfunctioned in this way was thus deeply concerning.

"Is there any indication as to why they are not working," he asked.

"Negative commander. According to the sensors the arrays are perfectly fine and should be transmitting but they're not, they are however still receiving signals."

"I see," Thor replied a thoughtful but at the same time concerned frown on his face. Not that it would have been visible or understandable to anyone but another Asgard or perhaps the Nox and the Ancients if any of them had still been on this plane of existence. "Prepare a technical team to board the station. They're to find out just why the transmission arrays are not working and attempt to repair them."

"Yes commander," one of the other bridge crew replied and relayed the command. After a few moments his readings changed. "We are transporting an engineering team now."

"Excellent," Thor replied a moment before the long-range sensors chirped. "Report."

"Commander our long-range sensors have detected a vessel moving at extremely high speed several light hours away," sensors reported, "the vessel is travelling at approximately ninety percent of the speed of light."

"Unusual," Thor commented, surprise in his tone. While accelerating a vessel to such a high speed was an incredible technological feat it wasn't one that was that practical for even basic interstellar travel let alone intergalactic travel. It would after all take centuries, millennia and even longer to get anywhere travelling at just shy of light speed. "Can you identify it?"

"One moment commander we are having to compensate for relativistic distortions," sensors reported before emitting a sound of surprise. "Commander the vessel is a Lantean Aurora-class battleship. Commander they're slowing down rapidly, they must have detected us."

Thor blinked. He was not unaware of the fact that towards the end of their reign, during the last few centuries of their existence on this plane, the Ancients had referred to themselves as Lanteans based on the planet that the Ancients greatest cityship, their capital Atlantis had moved to after a great plague force them to leave Avalon. Well not before using technology beyond Asgard understanding to reset and reseed life that said plague had devastated. They had thrived there until the war with the Wraith began, a war that the Ancients had somehow lost despite having far superior technology.

It was at that moment that the hologram of an Ancient appeared on the bridge. She was female with long blond hair and wearing the cream and brown uniform with the insignia of a fleet captain. She spoke immediately.

"Unknown Asgard vessel," she said, "I am Helia of the Lantean warship Tria. Our ship has suffered damage during our evacuation from Pegasus. We have begun deceleration manoeuvres, are you willing to assist us?"

"Open a communication link with them," Thor ordered.

"Yes commander. We're ready, transmitting your hologram now."

"Captain Helia I am Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard Fleet commanding the Gungnir. We are more than willing to assist you. However, there is much you need to know. A great deal has changed in the ten thousand years that have passed since the end of your war with the Wraith."

Helia looked relieved and concerned. "I imagine it has," she admitted, "very well we will rendezvous with you and with your permission I will transport to your ship. We clearly have a great deal to talk about."

"Indeed," Thor confirmed, knowing that the Ancient was probably not going to like everything that he had to tell her. The rise of powers like the Goa'uld and Tirolian Empires was something that the Ancients had always worked extremely hard to prevent during their long stewardship over this part of the universe. The Asgard had tried their best to do the same in their place but well the Ancients had a few extra million years of being spacefaring over them and as such had had resources and technology that the Asgard race to this day could only dream of. "I look forward to our meeting, Captain Helia."

"As do I Commander Thor," Helia replied, "our deceleration manoeuvre is complete. We will be within transport range of your ship within fifteen minutes, I will join you then."

Thor nodded in agreement, gaining a warm friendly smile from the Ancient in response then her hologram shimmered and evaporated as she closed the communication from her end. Thor was about to issue a new order to communications; to contact the High Council so he could inform them of this most unanticipated but quite welcome development, but before he could do so another of the bridge crew spoke.

"Commander, we have the report from the engineering team. They report that someone disabled the transmitters but did so in such a way that the stations automated repair protocols wouldn't notice and correct. They have reset the systems, and they are now working normally."

"Do we know who tampered with the systems?" Thor asked.

"According to the stations logs a science vessel, identified as the Jotun, approached and docked with the station. The systems were altered at that time."

"Loki," Thor growled knowing that the Jotun was the science vessel that his perennially wayward brother owned. What is he up to this time, he wondered with a mental groan knowing that it could be nothing good if he had sabotaged the sentries in such a way. He didn't doubt that Loki was off doing some unsanctioned, unethical experiment – again – despite having spent a century in a prison the High Council had caught him up to mischief.

"Indeed, commander unfortunately that's not all."

Thor felt the Asgardian equivalent of a chill go down his spine at that. "Go on."

"Commander sensor transmissions show very concerning sensor readings from Avalon dating back a decade. Subspace distortions in an alpha and delta frequency band along with phased graviton and beta-phase tachyon pulses."

"Space folds?"

"Indeed commander."

"Where are they and how many," Thor demanded in concern. Space folds in Avalon could really only mean one thing, that the Robotech Masters had learned of the gap in their sensor coverage created by Loki and sent a Zentraedi force to begin annexing the new galaxy. Though how they had done that without bumping into the Goa'uld - who would never allow the Zentraedi to annex any of their territory and as his kind had learned long ago the Goa'uld, while much less technologically advanced than they were, were certainly no pushovers in space combat – he didn't know.

"We read the echos of over six hundred space folds near Earth," sensors reported, "there are echos of a much larger space fold of eight hundred vessels as well as a fold equal in mass to a mobile supply station several thousand light years core ward of Sol. And one space fold to a system at the very edge of one of the spiral arms. That one is the most recent and only took place approximately one hour ago."

Not a big force by Zentraedi standards, Thor thought knowing that the Zentraedi forces in Avalon were more likely a recon in force, the Robotech Masters wanting to learn the galactic lay of the land in Avalon so to speak before sending a larger invasion force like one of the Imperial-class Zentraedi fleets. Even one of which would be more than enough to overwhelm the Goa'uld especially as every Imperial-class fleet had at least one squadron's worth of the quantum energy weapon armed Rineunadou Lojmeuean-class monitors with them. A class of warship whose main weapon even his kind feared as it would penetrate even their strongest shields in moments and destroy anything it encountered.

"Forward the information to the High Council," he ordered at last. "Also advise them of the situation with the Ancients and the Tria. I will join their discussion on the matter as soon as my meeting with Captain Helia is concluded." He didn't add that he fully expected that Helia to join the conversation as soon as he was finished briefing her on the state of the galaxies and everything that had happened to lead up to the current situation.

"Yes commander."

As the communications officer began to carry out his instructions Thor leaned back in his command throne and frowned thoughtfully. When he had brought the ship out here to investigate a long delayed, as even as species as advanced as his had to put up with that most frequently annoying creature called the bureaucrat, report of one of the sentry stations not relaying reports he had been expecting to deal with a malfunction. He had certainly not anticipated running into first an entire battleship full of Ancients left over from the devastating conflict that had been the Lantean-Wraith War or 0find out that Loki was clearly up to mischief somewhere again and been responsible for the sentry station not working in the first place no doubt to inhibit them tracking him. To learning that the Zentraedi were at large in Avalon.

That last part was especially concerning especially as once they learned of the material it wouldn't take even the weakest of the Robotech Masters science triumvirates long to realise just what naquada could do when it was added to robotechnology. The power that could be unleashed when naquada and protoculture were combined was staggering and certainly not something the Asgard would like to see in the hands of the ever power, ever conquest hungry Robotech Masters. Nowhere in the universe would be safe if they got their hands on that technology.

Thankfully with Helia and the Ancients here, and assuming the High Council could persuade them to assist them, the tide of their long sometimes hot, sometimes cold war with the Robotech Masters and their Zentraedi servants could finally be about to change in the favour of the Asgard. Which was quite something to look forward to.

Authors Note: Well, this short interlude chapter comes to an end, I hope you all enjoyed it. Before anyone says anything about the length interlude chapters like this one are generally in my works at least shorter than main chapters though that doesn't in anyway diminish their importance to the story going forward. The reappearance of Ancients in the form of the crew of the Tria – who honestly didn't get the best rep in the two part Stargate Atlantis episode where they were discovered by the Daedalus – and them linking up with their old Asgardian allies is going to have a big impact going forward though not immediately as Helia and co will a) need to get their bearings and b) reclaim Atlantis before they can do anything major to help their old friends with the many problems facing them. Until next time.