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.
Chapter Ten
SDF-1
Ensign Vanessa Leeds blinked, then frowned, as a new report from the main sensor operations room on the deck below appeared on her screens. The sensors were detecting something, a faint gravitational disturbance coming towards them from the direction of the Goa'uld ship. She entered a few commands into her console and the disturbance resolved into three smaller, almost imperceptible, disturbances in the background gravitational field. If the SDF-1 didn't have sensors designed specifically to look for such things, as such things were the telltale signature of an approaching or passing space fold, they wouldn't have detected them at all. As it was they were hard to pin down with any real accuracy.
What are you I wonder, she thought as she manipulated the sensors and, on a hunch more than anything else, turned the subspace sensors that both the Tok'ra and the Serrakin had shown them how to make - in exchange for being given gravitic sensor technology themselves - on the disturbances. She sat up straighter in her chair when the disturbances resolved into three small objects travelling at high sublight speed under cloak. She sent an interrogative command to the computer to identify them even as she spoke up.
"Captain Gloval," she called out.
"What is it," Gloval asked looking over from his command station where he was busily liaising with their ground forces, as well as the forces station on the asteroid that was once Macross Island, and working out just how they were going to get an entire city's worth of civilians transported to the battlefortress. So far the leading idea was to send all their Gannet spaceplanes down to the city and use their onboard ring transporters to teleport people to the various ring rooms on the SDF-1.
"Sir sensors indicate three cloaked objects heading our way from the direction of the Goa'uld mothership," she reported as a new window opened on her display showing the computers findings on their nature based on both their own knowledge and information shared with Earth by their alien allies. "War book identifies them as Al'kesh mid-range bombers."
"Just three of them Vanessa?" Gloval queried, knowing that even if they were carrying naquada bombs - which was unlikely as according to the Tok'ra the Goa'uld were currently experiencing a shortage of those due to their ongoing civil war, the biggest single conflict in the empire for fifteen centuries, depleting their stockpiles - three Al'kesh were not much if any threat to the SDF-1. Their weapons both the plasma cannons and the bombs - be they naquada bombs or the more common plasma charges - were not powerful enough to breach their shields. While they could easily shoot the Al'kesh out of the sky with their secondary beam cannons or even their defensive plasma pulse cannons.
"Yes sir," Vanessa confirmed as her hands flew across her console, "I am extrapolating their course now… it looks like they intend to do a close fly-by. It could be they're attempting to gather some intelligence on us as we've picked up numerous scans sent our way by the mothership though none has more than partially penetrated our countermeasures."
"Makes sense," Gloval replied, frowning thoughtfully. Whichever parasite/self-proclaimed god was in charge on that Ha'tak they were not an idiot and were clearly hoping that a closer range scan from the Al'kesh - which did have quite sophisticated sensors for such small craft - would be able to gain whatever information he or she was after. Of course now that he knew what they were likely planning he had to put a stop to it. The UEG and UEDF High Command were after all adamant that the Goa'uld never learn anything about robotechnology, especially how they had been able to use naquada to enhance its already incredible potency. If the parasites learned of it they would go all out to acquire it - convinced that that power belonged in their hands alone - for themselves.
"Can we target them," he asked after a moment, knowing the best way to deal with this would be to scare the Al'kesh off. Hopefully just targeting them, if possible through their cloaks, would be the quickest and most effective way to do that.
Vanessa checked her screens. "Yes sir we can," she reported after a few moments. "Tracking systems indicate a probability rating of hitting them if we have to fire eighty-three percent with beam weapons."
"Send the coordinates to tactical. Claudia lock onto the Goa'uld location but don't fire yet, let's see what they do."
"Aye sir," Claudia acknowledged as the coordinates from Vanessa appeared on her console. She immediately relayed them to one of the gunnery control rooms spread throughout the ship. After a moment new information appeared on her console. "Al'kesh targeted sir."
"Sir they've stopped," Vanessa added a second later noting that the Al'kesh had come to a sudden and complete halt as their onboard threat analysis systems screamed warnings of being targeted. For several long moments nothing else happened, then they turned around and began heading back towards the mothership. "Al'kesh returning to their mothership sir."
"Then I think we've made our point," Gloval answered with a slight, relieved smile. While he would have had the Al'kesh shot down if he'd had to, he was just as happy to let them leave. Especially given firing on them would have certainly prompted the Ha'tak to close and engage and while a Ha'tak was no threat to the SDF-1 - he had far superior weapons at his disposal - it would have been a distraction he could have done without. "Disengage targeting lock."
"Aye sir," Claudia acknowledged and gave the command. "Target lock disengaged."
"Good. Vanessa keep an eye on them and on that mothership. Let me know if they do anything else untoward."
"Aye sir," Vanessa replied a moment before her console came alive with a new warning. "Captain sensors are detecting a hyperspace window forming on a bearing of one three seven by zero two four. Distance four hundred megametres."
"More Goa'uld?"
"Negative sir, the emission spectrum of the hyperspace vortex is completely different to that produced by a Goa'uld hyperdrive. One ship emerging… exact configuration unknown but it bears some resemblance to Asgard ship design styles and construction methods at least according to both the Serakin and the classified database."
Gloval blinked in surprise at that. The Asgard! They had heard of them from the Serakin when the reptilian humanoids had been briefing them on the state of the galaxy and the wider powers that were in play within and immediately around it. The Asgard had been one of the most important; a technologically very advanced species capable of intergalactic hyperspace travel being able to cross between galaxies in hours at most using incredibly advanced hyperdrives. They had been at war with the Goa'uld on occasion and maintained a group of twenty-six worlds with humans, and other, developing sentient species on them safe from the Goa'uld. The System Lord's didn't dare violate any of these protected worlds as to do so would garner swift and deadly retaliation upon the offending System Lord from the Asgard.
There had also been a mention of them in the SDF-1's databases, especially the one they'd found in the lab section after the removal of the ships original sublight engines deactivated the phase displacement field that had been concealing the protoculture matrix, greenhouses for its flowery raw material and a lab. Entries that had confirmed that the Asgard were incredibly powerful and that even the Robotech Masters treaded lightly in their presence.
Contacting the Asgard had always been a plan. They just hadn't expected it to happen this soon.
"Show me," he said after a few moments.
"Aye sir," Vanessa acknowledged and gave a command. Immediately a photonic projection field powered up and a holographic screen pixelated into existence in front of Gloval. There hanging in space was an immense silver-grey shape that was vaguely reminiscent of a Viking war hammer. Which wasn't surprising since everything they knew indicated that the Asgard were behind a great deal of Norse mythology.
Additional information from the sensors scrawled down the side of the screen. The Asgard vessel was an impressive two kilometres long and nearly thirteen hundred meters wide on its aft section, with the forward hammerhead section being five hundred meters wide. It was armed to the teeth with multiple batteries of heavy particle and plasma beam weapons, torpedo tubes and protected by a very powerful energy shield.
"Sir we're picking up a transmission between the Goa'uld ship and the Asgard vessel," Sammy reported from her station.
"Can we listen in?"
"Negative sir," Sammy replied.
"Sir the Goa'uld ship is powering up its hyperdrive," Vanessa reported as her scanners showed the Goa'uld ship moving away heading for a newly opened hyperspace window, "they're leaving."
"Not surprising since they don't have the best relationship with the Asgard," Gloval replied as on the holographic screen he saw the Asgard vessel begin moving, slowly turning to face the SDF-1 but doing so in a very cautious fashion.
"We are being scanned by the Asgard," Vanessa reported after a moment, "Their sensors are penetrating our countermeasures. Should we try to remodulate to counter?"
"No let them scan us," Gloval replied knowing how important this was, especially as unlike the rest of the bridge crew he was fully aware of the Cold War between the Tirolian Empire and the Asgard Federation. The last thing they wanted was for the Asgard to believe that they were hiding something as at the end of the day the SDF-1 was a fully refitted Tirolian ship. One that their use of naquada had augmented far beyond its original capabilities, which themselves had been downright terrifying.
"Scans have stopped sir," Vanessa replied after a moment, just beating Sammy to the punch with a report.
"Sir we are being hailed."
"Put it through Sammy."
"Aye sir."
Goa'uld Ha'tak
A Few Minutes Earlier
Still sitting comfortably on his pel'tac throne Hermes watched the tactical holographic display as the three Al'kesh drew ever closer to the unknown, but clearly advanced, alien warship. They still were not getting a great deal of information on the vessel as its countermeasures against scanning were very sophisticated indeed. Which in itself was quite telling as it meant that the ship came from a civilisation with a very worrying level of technology - certainly they had far more advanced technology than what the Goa'uld would ever allow a civilisation in this galaxy to develop if they could do anything about it.
Especially as a civilisation with this level of technology was a very severe threat to them and their eons old dominion over the galaxy. Such a threat could not be tolerated but in order to eliminate the problem they first had to know where the ship came from, who built it and what their intentions were towards the Goa'uld. Not that it would matter as they will be made to serve us as their gods as all beings should, Hermes thought, and if they refuse they will be eliminated.
"My lord," By'ric called out a note of alarm in his tone that immediately caught Hermes attention. It was not like his First Prime to be alarmed. "The Al'kesh report that they are being targeted by the unknown warship."
Hermes blinked. "They have detected them through their cloaks?" he asked.
"So it would seem my lord," By'ric answered. "The pilots have stopped their approach to the alien warship and are requesting instructions."
"Tell them to withdraw to the ship," Hermes ordered. He wasn't one to waste anything, even the lives of the Jaffa under his command even though they lived to serve. To fight and die at the whims of their gods and wouldn't have it any other way. Thus he wasn't about to tell them to resume their approach to the alien warship, which would certainly only see them shot down by whatever its weapons systems were.
Jaffa were, after all, currently a scarce resource due to all the casualties sustained in this damned war with Sokar. Indeed he knew his own master, Cronus, was starting to entertain the rarely used idea of raising a slave army from the multitude of humans inhabiting his worlds to bolster his infantry forces, allowing more Jaffa to be diverted to ship operations.
"Yes my lord. The Al'kesh are returning now, they should be back within their bays within the next five minutes."
"Excellent. As soon as they are docked, have them upload any scan data they were able to acquire to the computer for analysis."
"As you wish my lord," By'ric confirmed a few moments before the sensors began emitting urgent crystalline chimes. Now what, he thought before checking to see what was causing the alert - had the alien ship fired upon the Al'kesh? Had they not moved away from it fast enough for the crew to decide to spare the Jaffa's lives?
When he saw what was causing the alert he frowned in concern. A hyperspace window was opening, one that was on a different subspace frequency band to those produced by Goa'uld hyperdrives. The vortex pulsed and what emerged sent a shiver of sheer terror through him.
Asgard.
"My lord, an Asgard vessel has just emerged from a hyperspace window on a bearing of two, two one by one zero four. Distance twenty-seven thousand kilometres."
"WHAT!" Hermes yelled leaping to his feet in a combination of shock, horror and sheer mortal terror as he was well aware of how the Asgard could really ruin his - or any other Goa'uld's - day. And indeed could end his entire existence in a few seconds with a few bolts from one of their ion cannons.
"My lord we are being hailed by the Asgard," By'ric reported.
Maybe they're not going to kill me today, Hermes thought, sitting back on his throne. "Very well I will hear what they have to say," he said.
The tactical hologram disappeared, replaced by the grey, naked form of an Asgard. The diminutive alien was sitting in one of those odd, sweeping chairs that they liked and was backdropped by the glowing column of energy that was such an unusual feature of the bridge of every Asgard starship that the Goa'uld had ever encountered.
"Greetings," the Asgard said in that odd androgynous and yet not at the same time voice of theirs. "I am Tyr commanding the Moldof."
"Commander Tyr, I am Lord Hermes, ship lord in service to Lord Cronus," Hermes answered, "I assume you are here because of the unknown alien ship."
"It is not so unknown to the Asgard," Tyr replied, surprising Hermes. "Though we were surprised to discover that one had ended up in this galaxy."
"There may be more here. Sensors on my masters outpost on Ta'kora have been detecting disturbances like the one that occured here for the last several months. Though this latest one was by far the largest and allowed us to located the source."
"Several months? That is concerning."
"Why?"
"It means that the situation in this galaxy is more serious than the High Council believed," Tyr answered, "but you need not worry, now that we are aware of the situation we will deal with it. The High Council of the System Lords will be informed of all pertinent information once the situation has been resolved."
Hermes frowned and considered pressing for more information from Commander Tyr about the ship. Especially as the Asgard actually seemed to be genuinely concerned by whatever the ship and the strange energy readings they'd been picking up for months could mean. Clearly it was a threat not just to the Goa'uld Empire but the entire galaxy and he wanted to know more about it…
…but at the same time he realised that Commander Tyr would not reveal anything more. Not to a mere ship lord like him.
"I will inform my master," he replied after a few more moments of silence. "No doubt the High Council and the Supreme System Lord will contact you with questions on the nature of this apparent threat. In the meantime I will send you all the data on the disturbances that we currently have."
"That would be appreciated."
Hermes looked over at By'ric and nodded. The First Prime nodded back and began sending a copy of all the information on the spatial disturbances recorded by the sensor arrays on the Ta'kora outpost to the Moldof.
"We are sending you the data now," he said.
Tyr looked to one side, looking at another of his crew no doubt. "We have the information," he said looking back at Hermes. "Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated Lord Hermes. Now I suggest that you leave this area."
"As you wish." Hermes made a hand gesture and By'ric closed the communications link with the Asgard warship. "Are the Al'kesh docked now?"
"Yes my lord."
"Very well set course back to base and engage the hyperdrive. As soon as we're in hyperspace contact Lord Cronus."
"As you command my lord."
Asgard Vessel Moldof
Sitting in his command throne Commander Tyr watched the Goa'uld vessel disappear into hyperspace. He had been somewhat surprised that the Goa'uld had been reasonable about leaving the system, especially given how potentially dangerous this situation was. The fact that the Goa'uld had voluntarily sent them sensor records of space folds taking place in their space - though naturally they did not know that which could only be a good thing - also pointed to that fact.
He observed his holographic screens as the helmsman turned the ship to face the battlefortress hanging near a very large rock and ice asteroid. While it was still clearly a Sian Macross-class ship the design had clearly been heavily modified, the ship reconfigured in a way that the Asgard had never seen before as the quasi-organic look that the Tirolians preferred for their ships had gone completely replaced by a sleek geometry of lines and angles. The colouration was also very different, gone were the greens, browns and blues - all colours that the Tirolians could see better than others, seeing shades and patterns that no one else could, because of how their visual acuity had adapted to both their worlds parent stars light and the reflected light of the giant planet Fantoma of which Tirol was a moon - replaced by silver, white and a much lighter blue.
"Scan the battlefortress," he ordered after a moment.
"Yes commander."
While he waited for the sensor officer to complete the scans Tyr mused on what the drastic changes to the battlefortress could mean. It had been known for a number of years that the personal battlefortress of the Robotech Master Zor Deralda had vanished, disappearing into the subspace domain known as foldspace to parts unknown after Zor himself had apparently been killed in a confrontation with the Invid. Was this that vessel? Had it crossed the great void between galaxies and ended up here in this galaxy where someone had recovered and refitted it? It was a possibility given what Loki had done to the reporting system on the sentry station that coordinated and collated all reports for the satellites that monitored this galaxy. Sabotage that Thor had since corrected.
"Scan complete commander," the sensor officer reported.
"Analysis."
"Sensors confirm that the vessel has been very heavily modified and redesigned. The vessel is surrounded by a powerful energy shield that comprises elements of Tirolian, Goa'uld and Serakin shield technology."
"Interesting," Tyr muttered as the sensor officer continued speaking, information appearing on various holographic displays as he spoke. Tyr immediately noted just how strong the energy shield around the battlefortress was, it easily rivalled the shields of his own Gungnir-class battleship for strength and certainly wouldn't be easy for even the heavy ion beamers to penetrate should they come to blows.
"The weapons and power systems have been extensively overhauled," sensors continued. "All are showing extensive use of naquada to enhance both power generation and system efficiency. Computer analysis estimates a hundred percent increase in both power generation and system efficiency. The weapons systems appear to have also been supplemented by a number of plasma pulse turrets that show evidence of both Serakin and Goa'uld design elements while also being distinct from both. From the positioning computer believes that most of the cannons are defensive in nature.
"The sublight engine arrays and antigravity systems have been completely replaced. We are now picking up the presence of both gravitic ion engines and anti-gravity wave generators in place of the original Tirolian systems. Both are of Serakin design though not construction. Life signs… commander the life signs on board are not Tirolian or Zentraedi."
"So some other race obviously recovered and refitted the ship. Someone who obviously has trading links with the Serakin Commonwealth," Tyr muttered. Which meant it could be just about anyone as the Serakin Commonwealth - especially the member world of Hebridan - traded with many other worlds in this galaxy. The only ones they wouldn't trade with were naturally the Goa'uld with home the Commonwealth had a very adversarial relationship, though it had been over three hundred years since they and the Goa'uld Empire last came to blows. "Can you identify the life signs?"
"Life signs are human commander and match the human baseline for most worlds in this galaxy."
Not much help there then, Tyr thought studying the data on the holographic displays. Data that was only raising more and more questions. Which human race had acquired the battlefortress and how had they done it? They were obviously advanced and capable and while that narrowed down the suspect pool somewhat it was still quite large and deep as numerous human-inhabited worlds had been abandoned by the Goa'uld - usually when wanted or needed resources had dried up or become impossible to mine without overt technological assistance - over the course of their reign over the galaxy. Anyone of which could be behind this refit and upgrade, the changes to the weapons systems were especially concerning as not only was the computer analysis projecting that the particle beam cannons would be far more powerful than before but so would the quantum reflex energy cannon.
"We need to know more," he said softly knowing full well that they needed answers. And he really saw only one way to actually get them. "Communications hail the battlefortress."
"Yes commander," communications acknowledged and gave the command to their control interface. "Hail acknowledged the response coming in."
A new holographic screen blinked into existence in front of Tyr showing the image of the commander of the battlefortress. Tyr wasn't surprised to find himself looking at a human, a human wearing an unknown blue uniform and some kind of head covering that he believed was called a cap by those human worlds who used such things. The human was looking at him curiously and Tyr got the distinct impression that whoever he was - and the person was definitely a male - he had never actually seen an Asgard before.
"Greetings," Tyr said, deciding on a far more diplomatic approach to this conversation than he had used with the Goa'uld Hermes. But then the Goa'uld ship had been no threat to the Moldof unlike the battlefortress which - even if it just used its conventional particle beam cannons - definitely was. "I am Commander Tyr of the Asgard, commanding the battleship Moldof."
"Greetings Commander Tyr," the human said, speaking with a powerful voice that held curiosity about him and his people but no fear. The human likely knew that if it came to a fight between their two ships he would have the advantage especially if he used his quantum cannon, a type of weapon that no Asgard ship could withstand being hit with. "I am Captain Henry Gloval of the United Earth Defence Forces, commanding the SDF-1."
Tyr blinked in surprise at that. Earth! The last assessment of the planet that they had done a few decades ago had shown that the planet had just entered the atomic age. They should not have been advanced enough to recover and refit a vessel as advanced as a Tirolian Sian Macross-class battlefortress for at least another hundred years. What had happened since the last time they had visited Earth - back in the year that they had referred to as 1948 AD - to have changed them and their world to the level that would be necessary for them to begin to analyse the Tirolian ship let alone learn anything from it.
"Commander," Gloval promptedfrom the screen and Tyr felt a momentary pulse of shame for letting himself get distracted by his surprise at this turn of events.
"I apologise your naming of your homeworld surprised me," Tyr said apologetically, "our last survey of your planet indicated that you were in an early atomic age of development. How is it that you have advanced so far in less than a century?"
"I am not surprised that you know of Earth since your people's names are prominent in the mythology of the Nordic regions," Gloval answered, "including your own as a god of both war and justice."
"That is how your people know me just as you know my colleague and the supreme commander of our fleet Thor as the god of thunder and storms," Tyr admitted. "Now would you care to answer my question?"
"I would like to do so, however it is a very long story and I do not have time to get into that right now," Gloval replied looking concerned. "I am sure that your sensors have detected the city on the nearby asteroid."
Tyr glanced at the sensor display and noted that indeed there was a city - and what looked like an entire island - on the asteroid that was primarily composed of salt water ice and rock, specifically volcanic rocks like basalt and those formed from various eruptive products and events like pyroclastic flows and surges. The city was surrounded by a powerful, but slowly weakening energy shield that again showed evidence of being based in an odd but obviously very capable hybrid of Tirolian, Goa'uld and Serakin force field technology and there were many thousands of life signs in what appeared to be underground shelters. The asteroid was also surrounded by a fading echo of phased gravitons and tachyons all indicative of something that had been caught up in a space fold.
"We have detected the city and the life signs beneath it, yes," he replied. "We have also detected that the force field around the city is slowly weakening. How did it come to be out here?"
"That is part of the long story that I do not have time to get into," Gloval answered, "our tactical systems estimate that the cities energy shield will lose power within the next twelve hours and the shelters themselves will lose backup power in at most two days. I need to get everyone out of there before that happens."
Tyr immediately knew what needed to be done. It was a choice that any Asgard would have made and was one of the reasons why the Ancients had included them in the Alliance of Four even though they were millions of years younger than any of the other three had been.
"Then we will assist you," he said. "Not only can I make the resources of my own ship available for your rescue operation but I can summon some additional ships to assist us."
Gloval looked relieved. "That is generous and kind of you," he replied, "I accept your assistance in this matter."
"There is no imposition," Tyr answered, "but after we have completed rescue operations we will need to speak as a matter of urgency."
Gloval nodded in both understanding and acceptance. "When we are done," he agreed, "Gloval out."
The holographic communication screen blinked out of existence as Gloval closed down the communications link from his end. For a moment Tyr studied where it had been before snapping into action.
"All personnel to search and rescue stations immediately," he ordered, "communications contact both the High Council and Supreme Commander Thor. Tell them I need to speak with them as a matter of urgency."
"Yes commander."
Author's Note: Well another chapter bites the metaphorical dust, I hope you all enjoyed it. Sorry it's taken me so long to get around to doing this chapter but I have been distracted by plot bunny attacks for an upcoming purely robotech fanfic that will cover my interpretation of the Fourth Robotech War. If anyone is curious Tyr is indeed a Norse god with his domain being war, justice and law. I thought using him would be a nice change from Thor - who is currently busy with other matters including towing the Tria through hyperspace back to Hala. Hopefully the next chapter won't be quite so long in coming. Until next time.