The Thirteenth Tribe (nBSG/SG Crossover)

[Eternal_Freedom]

Ghetto Edit:

To elaborate, based on some very rough scaling (from the display screen in "Allies" which shows the Daedalus in comparison to a Hive Ship) Hives are about 8 times longer than a 304 (which are 200-225m long depending on scaling) giving a Hive a rough length of 1,800m. In other words, bigger than a Battlestar and considerably more massive, and in my mind close to but not quite as powerful (worse power generation, weaker hull, no shields etc). But, at this point the Terrans and Colonials have 1 Warstar, 7 Battlestars and 24 Destroyers, versus about 60 Hive Ships and possibly hundreds of cruisers.

Still think the big beastie is overkill?

[Darth Lucifer]

Oh this is great stuff, I like it...the anticipation just builds and builds.

Yes, Wraith Hive ships are pretty frickin' big, the Alliance will need all the firepower they can get. I can't wait to see the inevitable clash of Titans.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Hmm...some more checking reveals Ha'taks aren't as big as I'd thought. So I'm tweaking things somewhat.

In this version, Ha'taks are the same size as Battlestars, give or take a little. Hive Ships are in the 2.5km range and cruisers are...oh, 600 or so metre (in other words, comparable in size to a Terran destroyer).

[fnord]

One of the many bits of paperwork flying around post-BoT: (E_F OKed me posting this last night - placeholders are there because worldbuilding hasn't gotten that far)

{$date}


Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart
Admiralty House
{$TCN HQ}


Angela Blank
{$street address}
Faslane
{$other address bits}

Dear Mrs Blank,
It is with real sorrow that I am writing to inform you of the death of your husband, Captain Franklin Xavier North, during the recent Battle of Terra.

We faced an enemy, having already proven themselves gleefully capable of genocide, bent on nothing less than our utter annihilation - all of us were to be wheat before their scythe.

The Colonials who reached Terra four short months ago were the survivors of the Cylons' first attempt - as William Adama, my Colonial counterpart, put it to me shortly after his arrival,
"Behind each one of us - man, woman... child - stand six hundred thousand ghosts".

Captain North played an integral part in the battle's opening phases, masterminding two separate counter-strikes that gave us - the rest of the Fleet - the chance to save Terra and her teeming billions. Had the Fleet faced the original odds - the heavy ships outnumbered nearly ten to one - this letter would lack existence, author and recipient.

The first counter-strike, SCREAMING FIST, caught the Cylon fleet completely unawares, destroying approximately one third of the Cylon capital starships assigned to our annihilation.

SCREAMING FIST convinced the Cylon commanders to move their plan forwards and proceed to the Terran system more quickly and less cautiously than they otherwise would have.

None of us were idle while waiting for the hammer to drop, least of all Captain North.

While Admiral Adama and I put together a minefield trap that worked beyond expectations, FRANKIE'S WILD RIDE took shape.

From what I understand, some of the personal qualities that attracted you to then-Sublieutenant North in the first place combined to convince Captain North that three ships had a chance against an armada. As he conceived it, FRANKIE'S WILD RIDE called for the three Lionheart-class battlestars (Lionheart herself, Excalibur, and your husband's command, Barham) to redline their main engines just after the mines initiated, charge the very heart of the Cylon armada, and cause at least three kinds of havoc. Once their momentum had carried them through the Cylon ships, they were to jump back to the Fleet and join the battle line.

I was one of many aboard those three ships as they charged the Cylon armada. Whether fleet admiral or spacer recruit, force captain or marine, starman or bootie, we were all along for a very wild ride, which destroyed another seven Cylon ships.

No battle plan survives contact with the enemy unscathed, and this was no exception. Lionheart and Excalibur made it through the Cylon fleet and jumped away as planned, but Barham suffered a heavy missile strike to her engineering section, stranding her. Barham made a big impression, as the Cylons sent another seven ships after her as she hurtled away, leaving eighteen surviving ships to face the rest of the Fleet. A far, far cry from the fifty-four that had massed hours earlier.

In the face of that threat, Captain North calmly ordered non-essential crew to evacuate Barham and led his remaining crew to make what repairs they could in the time they had before their pursuers closed the gap. I ordered three destroyers forward to cover the evacuation and if at all possible, get Barham out. Cover the evacuation they did, but getting Barham out proved impossible.

From what we have been able to determine, Captain North died at his post when the first Cylon missile strike launched during the pursuit hit his crippled ship. I do not know if he was killed instantly or died an agonising death - but I refuse to insult your intelligence by not mentioning an unpleasant possibility merely because it is unpleasant.

As his body was aboard Barham when the ship exploded, I am grieved to tell you that you will have nothing of him to bury.

You may find one, small, comfort at least - your husband's death was in defence of all he knew and held dear, and he, many times in my hearing, placed you and your daughters at the very top of that list. Captain North will not be quickly forgotten - FRANKIE'S WILD RIDE will echo down the Fleet's history, for as long as it exists.


Signed,

{ scribble }

Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart,
Flag Officer Commanding,
Terran Commonwealth Navy

[LadyTevar]

While nice, this is NOT the way "I'm sorry your husband died" letters are written.

BTW: I corrected the list of Star of Kobol honorees as you requested.

[fnord]

Thanks for the feedback. I had hoped it would improve the story - I cribbed from a few such letters form WWI - but I obviously missed something.

[Sky Captain]

Ghetto Edit:

To elaborate, based on some very rough scaling (from the display screen in "Allies" which shows the Daedalus in comparison to a Hive Ship) Hives are about 8 times longer than a 304 (which are 200-225m long depending on scaling) giving a Hive a rough length of 1,800m. In other words, bigger than a Battlestar and considerably more massive, and in my mind close to but not quite as powerful (worse power generation, weaker hull, no shields etc). But, at this point the Terrans and Colonials have 1 Warstar, 7 Battlestars and 24 Destroyers, versus about 60 Hive Ships and possibly hundreds of cruisers.

Still think the big beastie is overkill?

Hmm, yes if you bring Wraith into the eqution it evens things out, although to have a chance against Terran fleet Wraith would have to gather at least 1/3 of their fleet. I no longer remember clearly, but weren't Wraith FTL really slow, making it difficult to gather large fleet quickly.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Wraith hyperdrive is slower than Asgard hyperdrive, but I'm not sure if it averages out as slower than FTL jumps...especially when the Combined Fleet does not have accurate charts of the Pegasus Galaxy yet, and won't for a while, and nav charts/claculations are the big limiter on FTL jumps.

As for numbers, as per the series there are currently 3 Hives plus cruiser escort approaching Atlantis, with 12 more Hives plus escort coming soon after. Plus I may play with the "60 hive ships" thing, since IIRC that was an "at least" estimate, not an actual count.

[Eternal_Freedom]

News: the next chapter, the end of Part 2, is written up and I'll be posting it either later today or tomorrow morning. After that, Part 3: The War in Heaven kicks off.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Commencement
Two Weeks Later

Warstar Nemesis CIC

It was a tense situation. The Action Stations klaxons were sounding. The crew, so recently arrived on board, manned their myriad posts throughout the huge warship. Damage control teams stood ready, the flight decks were a hive of activity as pilots dropped into their cockpits, preflight checklists already begun. The assorted weapons crews activated their fire control systems and warmed up the guns. The engineering crews opened up the power feeds from the redundant generators and made ready to divert more power to engines, weapons or shields as necessary.

At the centre of the cavernous CIC stood the ship’s new commander, Captain Wayne Davies, the Commonwealth Navy’s most senior and most experienced and respected line officer. In a compartment just aft of this one was the Fleet Operations Centre, where Admirals Lethbridge-Stewart and Adama were on hand to oversee the situation and command the fleet.

The ship’s XO, also a new arrival, reported to the Captain that all posts were manned and ready. Commander Wallace had taken up the position once his recovery was completed; the injuries that had forced him to evacuate from the Barham months ago having been more severe than first thought. It was not mere pity or seniority that had brought him this plum assignment though, the man had been heavily involved in working up procedures and tactical ideas for the massive ship almost from the beginning.

The Captain nodded and examined the large holographic sensor display at the central table. It was imposing indeed, even for a veteran of the Battle of Terra. One huge contact was almost dead ahead, with three smaller (but still massive) hostiles in a screen formation, appearing to be ahead and port and starboard bow from the Warstar’s perspective. A number of smaller contacts were hovering around the main contact, moving in erratic patterns as if to evade weapons lock.

Captain Davies called out to one of his officers, his voice strong and calm despite the situation. “Helm, roll ship twenty degrees to starboard. Weapons, get me firing solutions for the dorsal and ventral main batteries on contacts Bravo-Two and Bravo-Three respectively. Forward main battery on contact Bravo-One. Secondary batteries and point-defence may engage targets of opportunity. Flight Ops, hold our birds in the tubes for now.”

The Weapons Officer nodded in acknowledgement before passing the orders on. A brief span of seconds passed as the ship continued to close on the contacts, now deemed targets. Then the Helm officer called out.

“Roll complete sir!”

“Very well. Weapons?” Still, Davies had a calm tone, despite the tension and rising excitement.

“Main battery has a firing solution on contacts Bravo One through Three.”

“Fire at will!”

In the ship’s bow section were four large talon-like protrusions, each of which held three mega-lasers. From these twelve weapons emerged brilliant red beams of fiery death. Four similar beams emerged from the large dorsal turrets and a final four from the ventral turrets. The beams all aimed for a single point on their respective targets and the effect was dramatic.

The targets exploded in an instant. If one were capable of perceiving events on very short timescales (as the ship’s sensors were) they would have seen the material at the point of impact flash to vapour, whilst matter further away melted and ran like water over a stone. As the beams penetrated deeper more and more of the targets became superheated until finally the bonds holding them together were broken and the clouds of superheated gas and debris fragments ere hurled outwards.

In a moment the three large contacts were shattered, the larger fragments that were thrown outwards did, in a few cases, strike some of the smaller contacts, breaking them into pieces as well and filling the sky with debris.

From the Warstar’s flanks, bow and stern came a hail of smaller turbolaser bolts as the ship’s secondary battery tore into the cloud of smaller contacts. It was a veritable slaughter as the gunners went to work with a vengeance. None of the contacts could be allowed to get too close to the ship.

Back in CIC, Davies nodded in approval at the performance of the mega-laser gunners. There was still the large target ahead though, and the ship still had one weapon left to fire.

“Weapons, superlaser status?”

“Capacitors at 95% sir, ready to fire in thirty seconds, firing solution ready.”

“Send target coordinates to the Helm. Helm, orient the ship to firing position.”

The officers nodded in reply and went to work. The ship’s thrusters flared in carefully controlled bursts as her bulk moved around onto a slightly different heading. The superlaser had no traverse or elevation and required an exact position to hit it’s target.

“Superlaser fully charged, firing solution readied for contact Alpha-One. Ship is aligned sir.”

“Fire superlaser!” Here, finally, the Captain’s voice showed a hint of excitement.

In the bowels of the ship, the firing sequence began. The superlaser ran nearly half the length of the ship, and was in fact almost exactly as long as a Lionheart class Battlestar. Sixteen hundred metres of capacitors, focusing elements, power amplifiers and cooling systems formed the single most powerful weapon ever mounted on a Terran warship. Even naquada enhanced nuclear weapons paled in comparison to the awesome destructive potential of this weapon.

The power built and built, channeled further and further forward. The main emitter began to glow an electric blue. The primary focusing elements activated and then, from the centre of the dish, a brilliant blue beam erupted. It flew forwards at nearly lightspeed, covering the gap between the Warstar and the target in a fraction of a second. For a moment the ship and the target were linked by the blue strand. Then, for a nanosecond, the entire target glowed the same vivid blue before it shattered into a trillion pieces, each no larger than a finger.

The ship’s sensors were blinded for a few seconds by the flash of the weapon’s discharge. When the sensor picture cleared, there was nothing but dust and debris. The CIC crew, and most especially the Weapons crew, released a breath they had subconsciously held from the moment the fire order had been given.

The Captain and the XO also sighed in relief. The sensor display showed no further contacts. Then, he heard the CIC doors open and turned to see the two Admirals walk in. He stood to attention as the Marine guards did likewise as they called out “Admiral on Deck!”

The crew joined the Captain and XO in standing. The two Admirals nodded appreciatively before Lethbridge-Stewart spoke up.

“A very impressive weapons test Captain, Commander, especially the superlaser. Weapons, describe the target for us please.”

The officer nodded before speaking. “The target was a large asteroid, approximately five kilometres by four by three and a half. Mass was approximately twenty times our own, primarily comprised of a nickel-iron alloy with trace amounts of other elements, most prominently silver and platinum.” He took a breath. “The superlaser reduced the target to an expanding cloud of fragments no larger than a few centimetres in diameter.”

That was certainly an impressive result, and the Terran Admiral’s expression clearly said so.

“Excellent. Captain Davies, what is the next test in the series?”

“Admiral, next up is testing Flight Ops and the missile batteries.”

“Then by all means proceed.”

Davies nodded and turned back to his CIC crew. “Flight Ops, squadron status.”

The Warstar’s Air Operations Officer spoke up. Lieutenant Commander Williams had been a squadron commander in the recent battle and had distinguished himself by bringing every one of his twenty pilots through the battle alive.

“All Cobra and Scythe squadrons are ready in the tubes sir. All Scimitar squadrons are spotted for rapid launch from the forward flight decks. All planes can be launched in sixty seconds sir.”

“Very well. Scramble launch, all birds.”

The order went out. Down in the launch bays, six hundred and forty Cobra fighters were launched off the catapults in rapid succession. Further forwards, the eighty Scythe gunships similarly launched. These were larger planes with a crew of four, mounting six twin laser cannon turrets evenly spread around its hull and a single turbolaser in a fixed forwards mount. They carried shields sufficient to withstand several volleys of fighter weapons and a short range FTL drive, were almost as fast as a Cobra and carried an electronic warfare and sensors suite similar to a Raptor. They were designed for defensive actions around larger ships, especially when facing enemies with large numbers of fighters and to serve as airborne early warning and control units.

From the forward apertures on each flight pod came the Scimitar bombers. The same craft that had dealt so much damage to the Cylon fleet, these had yet to prove themselves beyond the surprise attack, what was now known as jump-shoot-jump by the bomber crews. They could carry a dozen heavy anti-ship missiles, two external racks each holding a dozen anti-fighter missiles and also mounted a pair of twin laser turrets for self-defence. Like the Scythes, they carried shields, an FTL drive and a powerful sensor suite.

In just fifty five seconds the ships full 800-strong Air Wing was deployed and forming up. A veritable cloud of contacts appeared on the sensor displays. Captain Davies nodded as the Flight Ops Officer called out the results of the launch.

“Very good. All planes will assume air-defence formation and clear our fire lanes. Weapons, have we acquired the target for the missile test?”

“Yes sir, target Delta-One is just entering our missile envelope. Tubes one through eighty loaded with test rounds, ready for salvo launch sir.”

“Ready firing solution for target Delta-One, all tubes.”

A short amount of time passed before Weaps spoke again. “Target locked and firing solution ready sir. All tubes ready.”

Davies nodded. “Salvo launch, all tubes.”

In the ship’s bow section, four armoured panels had retracted, one each on the upper port, upper starboard, lower port and lower starboard sectors. From each recessed panel came twenty large anti-ship missiles, propelled outwards from the launch cells by inert gasses before turning and igniting their engines. As one they flew towards another large asteroid a considerable distance from the ship.

“All missiles launched sir, running hot and on course. Target is now actively jamming the missiles, ECCM active.”

The missiles were following their programming. Their ECCM gear tried to burn through the jamming while they executed a rapid series of twists and turns, jumping up, down and sideways to avoid enemy point defence fire. This time of course the target wasn’t shooting back. These were test missiles, identical to the real item in every respect save one – they didn’t carry a live warhead. Even the TCN frowned at expending eighty high-yield nuclear weapons in a single test launch.

The missiles closed the range, before impacting on the large rock. Several managed to actual hit and destroy the jammers by impact alone, whilst the rest impacted the rock in such a way that if they did have live warheads the target would be vaporised.

The missile test was completed satisfactorily. But before the next test could begin, the Comms officer called out.

“Sir, priority-one message from Fleet Command. All senior officers to report to Olympus Base briefing room ASAP, code blue.”

Davies looked at the Admirals, a question in his eyes. He quickly saw that the two senior officers were just as surprised by this as he was. He told Comms to acknowledge the signal and was about to order Flight Ops to ready a shuttle when Commander Wallace spoke quietly enough that only he could hear.

“Sir, this would be an excellent opportunity to test emergency landings and escape jumps.”

Davies considered that for half a second before nodding. “Good thinking. It’s your idea Phill, you give the orders.”

The XO nodded and turned to the CIC crew. “Flight Ops, signal all birds; emergency recall. Combat landings authorised, all decks. Nav, prepare immediate FTL escape jump to Terra orbit.”

The officers in question looked briefly surprised before complying. Outside, the assorted squadrons received the recall signal and turned tail, racing for the ship’s eight landing decks. The bombers and gunships landed first, followed by the fighters. Meanwhile, the Nav team frantically readied the required jump. Far aft, the engineers quick-charged the four FTL drives. Three minutes later, the last plane thudded into the upper port pod’s emergency landing deck and Flight Ops reported all birds secure.

“Start the jump clock.”

“Aye sir, jumping in five…four…three…two…one…jump!”

The ship twisted and vanished, reappearing over Terra two hundred kilometres from the Olympus Base perimeter. The two Admirals, the Captain and the XO left for their shuttle to the base. On the way they could see a handful of other shuttles making the same trip from the assorted Battlestars.

The four officers strode with purpose into the main briefing room, having gathered up several other Captains and XO’s on the way. They were all somewhat surprised to see the two Presidents, Supreme Commander Thor, General O’Neill and Daniel Jackson waiting for them.

The Terran Admiral was the first to break the silence. “What’s happened?”

Jack and Daniel shared a look before the archaeologist-turned-Ambassador spoke, it was his job after all.

“We received a burst transmission through the Earth Stargate three hours ago. It’s from Atlantis.”

==========

-End of Part 2
-Part 3 - The War in Heaven will start soon (as in sometime this week depending on when I get time to write) and yes, Adama, Jellicoe and co are off to Pegasus to fight the Wraith. After all, the Wraith are the devils who drove the Lords from Heaven ten thousand years ago...time for the Children of Kobol to take up the torch and finish the fight.

-We get some hints of the Nemesis' abilities here, plus a more detailed look at the Scimitar bombers and the new Scythe gunships - and yes the Scythe gunships are created with fighting Wraith darts in mind (out of universe anyway, in-universe they're a way to even the odds against Raider swarms).


-Finally, a bone to those who've said I'm too nuke-happy...see, they don't light off the giant firecrackers all the time!

[fnord]

Cool Ship ... check

Wave Motion Gun ... check

Episode V - Wallop Strikes Back ... check

More (nuclear) Dakka - Um...

With Davies now driving Nemesis, who's driving Lionheart after the panel beating is finished?

[Eternal_Freedom]

Lionheart is now under Captain David von Erich, callsign...um, I forget what I chose, but Grappler will do, he was the ship's XO at the Battle of Terra.

Also, I need a callsign/codename for Wallace. Given the family history, I'm leaning towards Braveheart but I'd need some in-universe justification. Alternatively there is Fireman/Firefighter, as my grandfather was a firefighter in East London during the Blitz.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Part 3: The War In Heaven
A Cry for Help
Olympus Base Flag Briefing Room

There was a great deal of confused muttering going on in the room. The various Terran officers were amazed at the news that the SGC had sent an expedition to Atlantis, the legendary Home of the Gods from their ancient histories. The place that had been the capital of a great empire that had withstood a decades-long siege before finally being abandoned and left to sleep beneath the oceans of that world.

Before the muttering got out of hand, President Matthews asked if they could view the message. First up was the video recording of Dr. Weir, explaining the situation – how they had found the city beneath the waves and running low on power, how they had desperately tried to save it, only for the city to triumphantly save itself by surfacing in a rather dramatic fashion.

And then she explained the mission to Athos and how they had inadvertently woken the Wraith.

That name drew a sharp intake of breath from the Terrans. The name was written in the Book of the Word, the name of the demons who had laid siege to Atlantis after being made a dangerous enemy by the Lord’s own mistakes.

Privately, Laura Roslin wondered if this was another cycle like the ones spoken of in the Scroll of Pythia – a race destroyed by their arrogance and hubris in accidentally creating life that then turned on them with catastrophic effect. The words ran through her mind, over and over, ”all of this has happened before, all of this will happen again.” It seemed Pythia had been right about a great many things.

Then there was a summary of their encounters with other races, most notably the Genii and their daring raid on the city. And finally, a summary of their present situation: three huge Hive Ships and a dozen or more cruisers heading for Atlantis, only three weeks away.

There was, however, some good news from the Tau’ri contingent. Thanks to the Asgard scans of Earth, and apparently some incredibly bizarre time-travel efforts, they had located a Zero-Point Module that could be used to power Atlantis and its shields and weapon systems if they could get it there.

This would prove to be a difficult point – they couldn’t send the ZPM through the Stargate, so their current best plan was to use the ZPM to send supplies and reinforcements through to Atlantis and then use the module to supercharge the hyperdrive on their battlecruiser Daedalus and transport it the slow way.
Once that had been explained, Daniel turned to Thor and the two Presidents, his face grim and solemn.

“Supreme Commander, Mr President, Madam President, the Tau’ri formally calls on its allies to aid us in this effort. Should we succeed, we shall make available every piece of information or technology we gain from the mission.”

The collected leaders exchanged glances. Thor spoke first: “We will gladly help our friends, but at present we have only a handful of ships available, we are still hunting down the handful of remaining Goa’uld and the Lucian Alliance that seems determined to replace them. I can offer you the Science Vessel Daniel Jackson and the battleships Samantha Carter and Teal’c of Chu’lak.”

Jack and Daniel exchanged amused glances at that. The Asgard really did appreciate everything the SGC had done for them over the years, so now all of SG1, as well as General Hammond, had powerful Asgard vessels named in their honour. It was a thought both amusing and humbling really.

The two Kobolian Presidents had a quiet discussion before Matthews spoke for both of them: “We too will aid you. We will have to keep some of our ships here of course, but unless Admiral Lethbridge-Stewart objects, I see no reason why at least part of our Combined Fleet cannot go to Atlantis. This…this would be something akin to a holy crusade for us Terrans. The Wraith are the demons in our scriptures, the ones that drove the Lords from Paradise. If we can help reclaim that Paradise, then we will.”

With that agreement, they moved on to a more detailed discussion of the problem. A large hologram appeared, showing the city of Atlantis in detail. The sheer scale of the construction impressed everyone present, except Thor who had seen the city itself millennia ago. When the central tower, Stargate Operations and the Jumper Bay were highlighted, an idea began forming in the mind of Captain Davies, who began quietly discussing it with his neighbour, Captain Pendragon. A related idea occurred to Saul Tigh who also began furiously analysing it.

The main problem was distance. The Pegasus Galaxy was three and a half million light years from either Earth or Terra, and even further from Ida, the Asgard home galaxy. The Asgard ships could reach Atlantis in about five days, whilst the Tau’ri battlecruisers which used slower versions of Asgard engines could make the flight in about eighteen days, leaving them a very narrow window to assemble their forces.

The Terran and Colonial vessels were a complete unknown however. Their jump drives needed precise coordinates and exact calculations to function, and no one had sufficiently accurate charts of the Pegasus Galaxy. Worse, trying to use the jump drives in intergalactic space was theoretically impossible – there were no astronomical objects that could be used as waypoints and navigational fixes, at least none that could be used accurately enough.

Luckily, Commander Jellicoe had an idea. He had been mulling over a number of pieces of information they’d learned from the Asgard during the various refits and suddenly everything fell into place.

“Sirs, I think I have a solution.” When he received an approving nod from the various leaders, he moved down to the holographic display and called up a chart showing the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies and the gulf between them. He turned back, looking for the XO of the Pegasus.

“Commander Fischer, you know the FTL systems better than the rest of us. What’s the theoretical maximum distance we can jump, if we had accurate coordinate?”

The thin officer looked thoughtful for a moment, computing numbers in his head. “With the new Asgard generators, maximum possible jump distance is 25,000 light-years, though we’ve never tested them at max range. We’d need a while for the drives to cool down and recharge, but I believe we could manage one jump every three hours.”

Jellicoe nodded. “So 140 jumps, taking about seventeen and a half days?”

“Yes sir.”

Jellicoe turned to Thor. “Supreme Commander, would your ships be able to provide navigational beacons for our FTL systems to lock on to?”

The small Asgard nodded thoughtfully. “I believe we can. It would need to be tested of course. We would also be able to two the Daedalus through hyperspace, considerably reducing the strain on that ship’s engines. It would slow us down as well, but acceptably so, especially if we are dropping out of hyperspace to provide beacons for your ships.”

Jellicoe turned back to the Tau’ri and the Presidents. “There we go then. The Asgard will leapfrog ahead to provide us with jump coordinates. We jump to the new position and recharge our drives while the Asgard move on to the next waypoint.”

Everyone in the room nodded at that. The plan would see them arrive at Atlantis with about a day to spare before the Wraith fleet arrived. Then, Captain Davies spoke up, having concluded his brief discussion with his fellow Captain.

“I believe we can also send reinforcements to Atlantis via the Stargate. Supreme Commander, I recall from the briefings from Ambassador Jackson that you are able to open intergalactic wormholes without a ZPM?”

Thor nodded. “This is correct.”

Jack and Daniel exchanged another look, this one saying ”Why didn’t we think of that?”

Davies continued. “Then we can send Atlantis the ZPM to power their shields, in case the Wraith arrive earlier than we expected. We can send troops and supplies as well. We’ll have the First Marine Division aboard Nemesis, but elements of Second Division can go. That will give the Atlantis Expedition a boost in manpower and weaponry, especially if we send along air defence teams.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Then Saul Tigh spoke up, partly because he had an idea but mostly because he still felt the need to prove to Bill and Roslin that he was worthy of the Commander’s stars they had promoted him to.

“This jumper bay above Stargate Operations, it appears to have doors that lead both to the gateroom and to the outside of the city, is that right?”

Daniel and Jack consulted the schematics that had been sent before agreeing with Saul.

“Then we can do more than send them air-defence teams. If I remember right, the Stargates are just about wide enough that we could fit a Viper or a Cobra through the wormhole.”

Everyone present was stunned at the audaciousness of the plan. Flying Vipers through a Stargate was insane, but it was crazy enough to work.

Admiral Adama smiled approvingly at his old friend. “Excellent thinking Saul. We can send a full squadron through to provide them with air cover until the Fleet arrives.”

It was at this point that Daniel remember a small detail. “We’d have to send them through the Earth gate. Dr Weir explained that when they left, the Ancients…excuse me, the Lords, locked down the Atlantis Gate so only Earth could dial in from this galaxy. I’ve no idea how we’d get twenty Vipers into the SGC without it being noticed.”

Thor raised a hand. “That won’t be necessary Doctor Jackson. Locking down Stargates was common practice by the Ancients but they always included override codes for the other races in the Alliance. If we are going to open the wormhole, we can include those codes from any Stargate in this galaxy.”

The plan was coming together. It was now just a question of what ships the Combined Fleet would send. Lethbridge-Stewart spoke on that:

“As much as I’d like to take every available ship, the President was right. Some vessels have to remain. We wouldn’t be able to take any of the destroyers or explorers with us at any rate, they simply don’t have the fuel endurance for a trip of this magnitude. I propose that we keep the destroyers and the Lionheart here at Terra, while sending the Nemesis, Excalibur, Victorious, Republic, Pegasus, Warspite and Galactica. That gives us a very strong force. The only question left is who should command this task force.”

There was an unstated assumption that the Terran Admiral would not be going. He had to remain at Terra as the duties of Commanding Admiral required him to stay. He looked at his fellow Admiral, who shook his head.

“Honestly Alistair I would prefer to stay here. We’ve had a lot of new recruits for the Colonial Fleet in the last few months, mostly from the civilian ship crews who are no longer needed. We’ve got enough to crew another Battlestar when the next batch is completed. Someone needs to train them.”

There was another unspoken admission there – Bill Adama had seen enough of war. No one present could begrudge him that, the man had seen more combat than even Thor had done.

Alistair nodded. “Then one of the Captains or Commanders will have to take command of the task force.”

Before he could speak further, Captain Davies stood.

“Admirals, with respect, if one of us is going to take command, it should be Commander Jellicoe. He is the senior line officer and has the most experience, both as a vessel commander and as a fleet commander.”

The other Terran Captains nodded in agreement, as did Lee Adama and Saul Tigh. Jellicoe himself was somewhat surprised, but in his heart he knew that Davies made a good point. With no false modesty, John Jellicoe was the best available choice.

Lethbridge-Stewart, Adama senior and the two Presidents held a quick and quiet discussion before reaching an agreement. The protocol issues that had come up regarding the Old Man’s promotion months ago were not present here – Adama represented the Colonial Admiralty and as such could make such appointments with the President’s approval. Admiral Adama stood.

“Attention to Orders!” The officers stood to attention. “Commander Jellicoe, front and centre.”

The man in question moved down to stand before his Admiral and President.

“Commander John Jellicoe, by order of the Admiralty and with approval of the President, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral and directed to assume command of the Task Force. You will carry out all necessary preparations and then take your force to Atlantis to render assistance to the Tau’ri expedition there. You are free to engage the Wraith and any other hostiles as you deem fit. Congratulations, Admiral Jellicoe.”

The newly-minted flag officer shook first Adama’s hand and then the President’s with a vaguely stunned expression on his face. This was everything he had ever aspired to being presented to him; his own Admiral’s flag and a powerful Task Force on a vitally important mission. He had thought his career goals were scuppered by the Fall and the Exodus, but now he had reached those heights.

The assembled officers broke out into applause. Jellicoe smiled appreciatively at his fellows before raising his hand.

“Ok then. I want all ships in the Task Force assembled and fully loaded with supplies. Supreme Commander, would you please dispatch one of your ships to a suitable location so we can test the FTL nav beacons?”

Thor nodded and moved a few stones on his throne/chair/console. “It is done. The Daniel Jackson is leaving orbit as we speak to a position 25,000 light years from Terra.”

Jellicoe smiled in thanks. “Commander Adama, Commander Fischer, Pegasus will carry out the jump drive test. Coordinate with the Asgard and get it done as soon as possible. Everyone else, assemble the ground troops, the fighter squadron and the supplies to be sent via Stargate. Make sure you include a field hospital, we may well need it. General O’Neill, please have the Daedalus and any personnel you wish to send report to Terra as soon as possible. I want the Task Force ready to leave in 24 hours.”

There was a collective intake of breath as the enormity of the mission sunk in. Jellicoe felt it too, with the added pressure of knowing he would be in command of this operation, one so new it didn’t even have a name yet.

“Atlantis awaits. Let’s move!”

==========

The third act begins, and we learn who is taking command of the Task Force. This is also why Davies has taken over Nemesis - I want to keep the character around, same with Capt. Pendragon, but I need a Battlestar to stay behind. Hence, von Erich takes over Lionheart and will stay at Terra.

The thing with the ASgard being able to open intergalactic wormholes is present in the show. In "Small Victories" Thor opens a wormhole from Earth to Orilla (in the galaxy of Ida) with a device on the back of his hand. THe Alliance override codes are a way around that "only Earth can dial Atlantis" thing.

To address any concerns that I'm making FTL drives too long-range, in this story they are a watered-down and less power hungry version of the wormhole drive seen in Atlantis' series finale, hich took the city from the edge of the Milky Way to Earth in a moment. They had 3 ZPM's for power however, so Colonial/Terran ships won't be managing quite that far.

Incidentally, the max ranges I've worked out means that Kobolian FTL drives average out to be about as fast as a 304 with Asgard engines. Yay for consistency!

[fnord]

As for callsigns for Commander "Wallop" (as in, proper shoeing) Wallace, what's wrong with riffing on his name, as I've been doing for a while?

If not, a few ideas:
Spinner (involves a wonky roll stabiliser, a pinnace, and a Noodle Incident)
Starburst
Nugget
Crosswind
Mullet (especially if he's extremely follicularly challenged - eg Stewart, P.)

[fnord]

As for the overall Pegasus (galaxy, not ship) expedition name, in light of the "holy crusade" comments, how about Storming Heaven? (or is that tempting fate too much?)

Where are the flight II refits/builds up to?

[Eternal_Freedom]

I think I'm gonna go with Firefighter for Wallace's codename. It's nice to work something of my grandpa in (those of who who read/participated in the last two SDNW games may recall John P. Wallace coming up a few times).

As for the operation name, dunno yet. The force going out is Task Force Nemesis, based on the flagship.

The Flight II's are all along for the ride except Lionheart herself

[LadyTevar]

I can't wait to see this work out
Especially the Vipers/Cobra through the StarGate.

[B5B7]

An idea that sprang to my mind was Operation Retribution (that also fits with the task force designation Nemesis), as being avenging angels against the wraith.

[fnord]

I was asking if all extant Lionheart hulls have either been built new to flight II standard, or refitted thereto, and applicable process (build/refit) is complete enough to rock out with? From your answer, it looks like yes, with possible exception of Lionheart herself - she needed both significant repairs from BoT battle damage and then get refitted to flight II standard.

Does TCN Close Orbit & Aerospace Command (ie, the air wings) function as a Fleet Air Arm analogue, or more like the RAF along for the ride?

In light of that, how about swiping Operation Corporate? (in both cases, a somewhat-cramped-for-style naval power projects military force a surprisingly long way away - the Old Dart to the Falklands, and the TC to Pegasus galaxy).

[Eternal_Freedom]

Ah, estranged readers have returned

LadyTevar: Originally I was just going to have them send supplies, troops and air-defence gear, but then I happened to re-watch "Into the Fire" where Teal'c and Hammond fly the old glider through the gate, figured Vipers/Cobras were just small enough (you can fit a number of armoured vehicles through, and Darts, so a long, narrow fighter should fit) and thought "hey cool." I let Saul have the idea because, well I haven't done much with him, and he does seem the type to come up with insane-yet-brilliant ideas. And like he thinks, he has something to prove.

B5B7: Operation Retribution. I like it

Fnord: Yeah, all five Lionhearts are now Flight-II standard, but Lionheart herself needs to stay - they've no idea how long the Task Force will be gone for, they may even need the original Terran ship on hand to train crews for the next batch of five ships.

Yes, the Air Wings, including the independent squadrons defending Terra, fall under the TCN a la the Fleet Air Arm. So do the Marines actually, Terra has been unified for long enough that a regular Army/Air Force isn't necessary.

[fnord]

So starmen, booties and the mutant strain of the former, flyboys. Booties keep their feet firmly on deck/ground?

Can TCN flight crews be noncommissioned (petty officers and up), a la the RAF during WW2? (which had, iirc, sergeants and up).

[Eternal_Freedom]

Damn yo're really pressing me on worldbuilding that isn't directly related. Um, TCN flight crews can be noncoms, but the pilots are all commissioned officers - so Scythe/Scimitar crews are mostly noncoms. In order to prevent Cobra/Viper pilots not having any officer-related duties, and to encourage them to be supportive to the enlisted crews, they're officially in charge of the crew that services and maintains their plane.

[Sky Captain]

That is extremely powerful force going to Pegasus, especially considering two Asgard battleships and Nemesis. Are hiveships more powerful in this wersion? From what I remember of Stargate Atlantis, hiveships weren't particulary impressive given their size. A single nuke or well targeted sustained railgun fire from BC 304 could disable one. Terran and Asgard ships pack far greater firepower than BC 304.

[Eternal_Freedom]

The Hive Ships are bigger in this version, around 2.5 km rather than the roughly 1800m they are in the series. My main reasoning is that while they had numbers on their side, they still need to be powerful ships to have fought the Ancients for as long as they did and win.

Thing is, we get very little sense of how powerful they are ship to ship. One nuke beamed inside will kill a Hive, though that's hardly a surprise. Sustained railgun fire, at the Dart bays while they were launching did cause substantial damage, again to no real surprise. Mostly we see them up against other Hives, or against Ancient ships one-on-one or at near-even odds, which definitely doesn't show them at there best.

But still, they do have a lot of ships, like the Cylons, but unlike the Cylons their capital ships are designed to fight other warships head to head.

[Sky Captain]

IIRC in one occasion Hive was disabled by contact or near contact detonation of a single nuke that darts failed to intercept. At least some parts of it was still habitable, but it no longer could fire back. Their main weakness is lack of shielding. Under fire they will immediatly start to get damage reducing combat effectivness (destroyed weapons, engines, sensors) while shielded ships get no damage and are 100 % combat capable as long as shields hold.