"One Small Step for Man..." - TGG/ADN Multiverse S

[Steve]

If anyone's still paying attention (given the lack of response to my update), I'm open to suggestions for a good name for Zeus' First Prime.

[Gerald Tarrant]

KRATOS maybe? He was part of Zeus's entourage classically.

[Argosh]

Ares? It is a big multi-verse after all.

[Steve]

Ares? It is a big multi-verse after all.

Ares is a System Lord, remember?

Besides, I don't think Jaffa live that long.

[Vehrec]

How about Alexandros if this Jaffa culture has served under Zeus for a long time? Kal'vek also sounds good to me if they are more 'traditional random sylabic named' Jaffa.

[Coalition]

Here are some demigods that had Zeus as a father:

Hercules
Kastor & Polyduekes
Kratos
Aeacus
Amphion
Zethus
Arcas
Dardanus
Epaphus
Iasion/Iasus
Lacedaemon
Minos
Rhadamanthus
Sarpedon
Tityos

Other:
Orion was placed among the stars (First Prime placed in charge of the System Lord's fleets?).

[Themightytom]

How about trelack?(Played by Wayne brady :-p) he was the first prime of Ares. in It's Good to Be King. this takes place before that episode in the OT, so Trelack could be serving Zeus only to be recruited alter by Ares to defeat Zeus and become his first prime as a reward.

[fb111a]

If anyone's still paying attention (given the lack of response to my update), I'm open to suggestions for a good name for Zeus' First Prime.

Ganymede.

[dragon]

Minor spell check

The woman's eyes flashed and her hand came up. The hand device triggered and a wave of energy sent Jack, Sam, and Sakura flying.
The others began opening up on her right away, blue bursts of energy and the blasts from Teal'c's staff dissiptating against the gold of her energy shield. "Pathetic," her unnatural voice hissed before she sent another wave that knocked Maya, Wilson, and Teal'c down.
By that moment Jack and Sakura had recovered enough to begin pouring fire at the Goa'uld. To Jack's pleasant surprise, the golden field began to shimmer a little.
Suddenly it was gun. Multiple bursts of particle fire ripped through the Goa'uld before she could use her hand device again. Sam fired a burst into the back of her head and the figure collapsed, both host and symbiote fatally wounded.

It should be gone and not gun, but other than that very nice.

I thought the still used projectile weapons in the multiverse, or is that only the one military.

[Steve]

It should be gone and not gun, but other than that very nice.

Sometimes I make minor errors like that. Another minor one is that I forgot which Sergeant was with which SPT-14 squad and so Dalton is in two places at once. *smirk*

I thought the still used projectile weapons in the multiverse, or is that only the one military.

All sorts of weapons are used. The MP-10 line is the favored personal rifle of ADN light infantry in the Marine Corps and a number of national services (the ADN Army has probably moved on to something else). However, some services still use less-sophisticated weapons, or at least did; as of twenty years prior to this story Russian Spetsnaz still preferred the chem-propellant AK-90, which was also provided in mass bulk to the Bajoran Resistance.

And of course a whole host of weapons, including old-fashioned gunpowder-using ones, are to be found in some of the lesser-advanced areas of the Multiverse, such as the massive arsenals that the Primitivist Statelets on Gilead amassed when they planned war on the central government (as seen in "55 Days in Kalunda").

[Steve]

Nate didn't remain unconscious for long. In fact, in the long run it might have been for all of twenty seconds. His muscles were aching in protest when he moved. He felt the ache begin to subside as he got to his feet.
He was not the only one stirring, but he was not the first to have completely recovered. Zaria was already on her feet and huddling over a badly burned figure that Nate almost didn't recognize as Cadmilis thanks to his appearance and the near destruction of his face. The shattered Tok'ra was missing his right arm below the elbow on top of the burns that covered his body. There was also a large black mark on the ground, the only indication of Axerus' death. "What happened?"
"Cadmilis set off a grenade," Zaria explained, remaining by Cadmilis. "He somehow reached into the Goa'uld's force shield so most of the grenade's energy was focused within it. But I'm afraid he's not going to make it."
Realizing their position was exposed, Nate brought his weapon up and began to look at the others as they roused. Tang went directly to Cadmilis' side and began reaching for medical equipment. A quivering hand came up, motioning at Tang. "Don't.... bother," Castox wheezed. "I'm dead.... complete the mission...."
Tang looked to Nate. Nate was already certain that Castox/Cadmilis was dead and shook his head, wordlessly ordering Tang to get back to business. They began to attach explosives to the ZPC while Cyrzanski removed the Straczynskium core. Farrell and Reynolds kept watch at the doors.

"D...Doctor...." Castox looked at Zaria, his face contorted with pain. As he spoke, sounds and words became almost incomprehensible due to his lack of air. "Cadmi..lis... is doing every...thing he can.... to keep me alive... to help.... there is.... virus.... have to.... activate it.... don't know.... much time...."
Particle fire began to erupt. Jaffa were moving through both entrances to the lab, Nate and Reynolds covering one entrance while Farrell and Tang watched the other, giving Dalton, Cyrzanski, and Parker time to set charges.
"Too... too weak...." Castox's eyes flashed, a warning from Cadmilis that he was losing the strength to keep his battered host alive. Looking down at him, Zaria knew she couldn't get this all done in time before he died. That left just one possibility.
Zaria swallowed and lowered her head toward Castox.

Nate finished off a Jaffa wave and allowed for Dalton to take over while he placed a new charge clip into his MP-10. He turned to Zaria and shouted, "Doc, get that computer scrubbed ASAP, we gotta go!"
Zaria seemed wobbly on her feet. She held her head and balanced herself against one of the consoles in the lab. "Ooooh.... that's... I wasn't ready for...."
"Doc?"
"Just give me a moment!", she cried out.
"We don't have a moment, dammit!"
At that moment Nate saw her eyes flash. He pointed his gun toward her and Zaria raised her hands. At least, her body did, but when she spoke it was with the deep unnatural tone of a Goa'uld or Tok'ra symbiote in control. "I apologize, Colonel, but it is taking us a moment to blend."
"What?"
Her head lowered again, it was with a normal voice that Zaria spoke. "Colonel, I... I allowed Cadmilis to take me as a host. It was the only way to save him... her... whatever." Zaria moved over to the console. "He's still trying to get settled in because of the difference between Human and Trill physiology. But he is telling me what to do." She began moving her hands over the computer system. "Cadmilis created a computer virus... or rather, adapted one that Hefetus had already made as an emergency measure. It'll not only destroy all the data in the lab computers but it will also move along the network and disable the systems in the palace and on Zeus' personal Ha'tak for several hours, giving us time to escape."

Zaria continued to operate the computers for several moments. "Ready to use the virus.... Colonel!" Zaria looked to where Nate was helping suppress a Jaffa unit from their entry point. "According to this, Colonel O'Neill's group has been captured."
"Oh swell," Nate muttered, spraying more particle fire that brought a Jaffa down before he could use his staff weapon. Another managed to do so, sending a red bolt that Nate barely dodged before Parker's MP-10 brought down the attacker. "Do you know where they are?"
"The throne chamber," Zaria answered. "I'm... Cadmilis isn't sure why..."
"Okay then. Doctor, get that virus going, we'll get out to the hall and set off the charges." Nate checked his charge clip and nodded to Tang and Parker to begin moving out into the hall, providing them several moments of suppression fire. "Looks like we have a rescue to perform."




The lone occupant of a forceshielded cell one level down from the lab was an aching, agonized Kaetis, her head still throbbing from the use of Heb's hand device on her during her interrogation, accompanied as it was by the use of a pain stick. She remained huddled in the corner, knowing that the fate of Tok'ra operatives was rarely better than death during interrogation or whatever method an outraged Goa'uld ruler might conjure up dependent upon his or her sadism... in the event she wouldn't just be killed with a Zat.
There was little hope for escape save the operation proceeding successfully and Kaetis' hopes were raised when the alarms went off. But time passed and nothing seemed to happen. She began to despair that Cadmilis, Castox, would be unable to come for her. It was not unexpected, of course, as her rescue was at best a minor objective compared to the rest of the operation. But she was not so fanatical as to not care about her fate and very much wanted to see her husband again.
Having only partially recovered, Kaetis was amazed to see the field suddenly collapse. There were no Jaffa guarding her now, allowing Kaetis to simply walk out of the cell. She had no weapons for the moment,but as the lights began to dim in and out and displays flickered, she realized something had happened. Cadmilis has done something, she reasoned. Recalling her own experiences with the palace's layout, Kaetis took off for the armory.




A pile of MP-10s and Teal'c's staff weapon were in the corner of Zeus' grand throne room when Jack felt himself coming to. There was a loud, agonized howling that almost immediately came to his senses, giving him a splitting headache.
He opened his eyes and saw Worf was already awake, forced on his knees and with a Goa'uld pain stick pressed against the back of his neck by a Jaffa. The figure standing before him was immediately identifiable as a Goa'uld from his choice of wardrobe and, a moment later. the tone of his voice. "Now, creature, do you understand the price for defying gods?"
"Even if you were a god, it would not matter," Worf rumbled angrily in response. "Klingons do not bow to gods."
"In time, you will bow to me," the Goa'uld answered.
Jack looked around to see the others coming to. The Goa'uld had not bothered to place restraints on them. Looking up, he asked, "So, you would be?"
"I am Zeus, King of the Gods of Olympos," the Goa'uld answered. "I have been expecting you, Tau'ri."
"Really? I hope we didn't keep you waiting too long," Jack answered nonchalantly. "Is it true what they say about you? I hear you've got quite a way with the ladies, if you know what I'm saying..."
Zeus snarled and his hand came up. The ribbon device he was wearing came on and the wide beam of gold light it created enveloped O'Neill's forehead. He cried out for a moment as intense pain filled his head. "I have heard many stories of your peoples' insolence to their Gods," Zeus said haughtily, "but I did not think it would be so blatant."

"Yeah, we kinda wrote you off a couple millennia ago,' Daniel remarked.
"Besides, a bunch of us are atheists anyways," Maya chipped in. "We don't believe in any Gods, especially snake-shaped parasites that live in someone's head."
Zeus' hand moved over and his device lashed out at Maya next. After he was content that she had suffered enough he moved further on to where Teal'c was, flanked by two other Jaffa. "The shol'va," he grumbled. "I look forward to giving you the same fate that my father gave to your's."
Teal'c answered him with a scowl. "If I die here, you will soon be joining me. Cronus will come for you now that you cannot run to the protection of Apophis or Ra."
"Not with the secrets of the device in my possession." Zeus gestured to the projector Hefetus had built sitting in the corner of the room. "I can leave this universe behind and find another in which to rebuild my empire. As for you..." He looked around at the lot of them. "You have killed my daughter Heb. For that crime there is no execution painful enough! Of course, I have other daughters and consorts looking for hosts..." He walked around, casting his eyes on Maya first, then Sam, and finally Sakura. "I think I will let Eura take you as a new host," he said in a low tone to her, the look in his eyes saying just what Eura was to Zeus. "Kal'vek, take the females to Euluthya. Have the others save for the shol'va killed immediately. I will take the shol'va's life myself when it suits me."

One of the Jaffa in the room nodded. The golden coloring of his forehead tattoo made his position of First Prime clear. Six Jaffa grabbed the three women and pulled them away while the others leveled their staff weapons on the others. Jack tensed up and was prepared to jump up and try to fight.
The Jaffa at the entrance to the room cried out, drawing attention in that direction. Without waiting to find the source of the distraction Sakura struck out next, yanking the staff weapon from one of the Jaffa standing around her and pulling it free. Her boot came up and the Jaffa got the steel toe of the combat boot right in the neck. She twirled the staff around and drove the butt into the other Jaffa beside her.
Almost an instant later Worf was on his feet, tackling the nearest Jaffa, while Maya was tripping another with a low sweep-kick. Not to be outdone Sam drove her hand into the windpipe of one Jaffa and kicked low on the other, getting him in the knee. Teal'c got to his feet and tackled Kal'vek, trying to wrest his staff weapon away.

Zeus looked on in anger and bewilderment as the door to his throne room flew open, barely bringing his shield up before the fighting began. Nate Mackensen and Frank Parker were the first two to enter, their MP-10s blazing and striking the Jaffa closest to them. The SG-1 and SPT-14 members in the room went for their weapons as the rest of SPT-14 poured in, striking down Jaffa. They turned to open fire, one staff blast striking Dalton on the left shoulder before he could get to cover and another hitting Cyrzanski's right ankle as he leapt for cover.
"Shol'va!" Kal'vek shouted angrily, striking Teal'c in the face. He drove a knee into Teal'c's symbiote pouch and temporarily got the upper hand on his former counterpart. "Jaffa Kree! Protect Lord Zeus!" He brought up his staff weapon and fired, almost hitting Sakura before she deftly dodged. Kal'vek slipped behind a column and avoided a barrage of MP-10 fire.

Zeus was, for his part, moving toward the rear of the throne room for his private escape route. As he came toward it a symbiote voice called out, "Zeus!", not one he'd heard before. He turned to face whomever it was.
The instant he saw Zaharia in her SPT fatigues, he brought up his hand device to attack her. "This is for Castox and Kaetis," she said with the altered voice of Cadmilis.
"Cadmilis," Zeus said in recognition before bringing up his hand device.
Though it was Cadmilis who had called out to him, Zaharia was in control when her hand whipped forward.
A split second later the knife she had thrown went right through Zeus' personal field and through his left hand. His device crackled with golden energy and dimmed, the energy field around him dissipating.

He might have still escaped, but as he turned to do so, Zeus felt a sharp pain in his gut. The warm blood of his host spilled out of the wound as he faced his attacker. Snarling, Worf pulled his mek'leth out of Zeus' stomach, his face showing a spine-chilling (for Zeus at least) cold anger. "I told you that Klingons do not bow to gods," he growled in an almost matter-of-fact tone as Zeus tried to help fortify his host's body from the deadly belly wound. "We slay them!"
Zeus was too weak to resist when Worf promptly forced him down and, with a single movement, drove his blade into the back of Zeus' head and neck. Steel sundered flesh and bone, then brain matter and the reptilian flesh of the Goa'uld symbiote within. The eyes of Zeus, the former System Lord and ruler of Olympos, lit up one last time before the light faded and the symbiote within died along with his host.

A bolt of staff energy struck Worf in the side at that moment. Growling and in pain, he moved to face his attacker and was confronted by the snarling, enraged Kal'vek. Zeus' First Prime shouted a curse at him that Worf did not understand and pointed the business end of his staff at Worf's head.
Another staff bolt lashed out and impacted on Kal'vek's head, sending him flying to the ground, very dead. Worf looked over and up as Teal'c lowered his recovered weapon and went up to Worf, a hand extended. "Thank you," Worf said.
"You are, as the Tau'ri say, most welcome," Teal'c answered with a very pleased grin on his face, helping Worf to his feet.
The room had been cleared of Jaffa. Tang was moving to check injuries to the others as Sam and Zaria/Cadmilis were checking the projector and setting explosives to it. "I take it you got the lab," Jack asked Nate.
"It's handled," he answered.
"What happened to Cadmilis?"
Nate gestured to Zaria. "Host was killed blowing up a Goa'uld waiting for us in the lab. Since the symbiote knew how to activate some virus that's supposed to help us escape, Zaria volunteered to save him."
"Huh." Jack checked the charge on his MP-10. "So, mission accomplished?"
"All that's left is the escape."

Having attached a final explosive to Hefetus' wormhole projector Zaria turned. "Colonel, before we go, I'd like to see if we can use our life sign sensors to find Kaetis."
"Kaetis?"
"Castox's wife. Cadmilis says that the virus shut down the force shields in the dungeon areas, she's probably escaped already. And with the virus having shut down their security systems...."
Nate looked to Jack. "Now that the mission's done... we don't leave anybody behind, right?"
"Right," Jack replied.
"Okay, here's what we're going to do. Major," he looked to Parker, "your team takes the wounded to the rings and return to Selmak's cargo ship. Major Azakusho, Doctor, you're with me and SG-1. Now let's set these charges off and go."




Kaetis felt a second explosion, weaker than the first, rumble through the structure as she slipped through, keeping herself pressed up against the wall with a Zat ready to use on any attackers.
She was on the lower level, not far from the hanger bay and much further from the main ring transporters. Rounding a corner, she spied two Jaffa on the far end moving away from her, on patrol, and remained hidden for a second.
Kaetis moved to the next corner and brought up the earring she had removed, using it as a small, barely capable mirror to look around corners. She spied a couple of Jaffa watching a room. Before she could move out and Zat them, the door they were guarding opened and Hefetus stepped out, followed by the group of Jaffa.
Remaining quiet, Kaetis tracked the Goa'uld scientist as he walked to the cargo bay. She overheard him talking to one of the Jaffa, his personal Prime Tel'nor. She was stunned when she heard him say that both Zeus and Heb were dead, as was Axerus. Tel'nor informed his master that the security network was still down and that the mothership docked to the palace could not launch.
"I shall take a Tel'tak to my mothership," he said. "Find the Tau'ri and take as many prisoner as possible. Lord Zeus may be dead, but Olympos will have its empire so long as I am alive."
"Yes, my lord," Tel'nor said.
Seeing this, Kaetis remained at the corner as long as possible before moving on. She had to get to the rings and hopefully meet the others....
There was sound behind her as she cleared the door to the hanger bay. Jaffa emerged, intending to resume their watch, and spotted her almost immediately. She was slightly faster, a pair of Zat bolts putting them down, but the other Jaffa in the launch bay saw this and were coming out.

Firing a couple shots and managing to hit one, Kaetis ran toward the stairwell that would take her to the rings. She only managed to get about one section further when she ran into Jaffa ahead of her. This time she had barely enough time to duck into a doorway before staff blasts lashed out at her. She fired the Zat blindly, hoping to hit something. The volume of fire only seemed to increase.
A sharp and fiery pain went through her hand, accompanied by an overwhelming force that knocked the Zat out of her hand. It flew, half-melted, to the nearby floor as a result of the direct hit of a staff blast.
This is it, then. I shall never see Castox again, Kaetis thought sadly, waiting for the Jaffa to come, knowing they would kill her with numbers and strength no matter how well she fought.

Instead there was the sudden cries of battle and a peculiar weapon sound, a series of faint thundercracks, which were plentiful. After silence began Kaetis poked her head out of the room and saw that the Jaffa around her were dead. Seven figures were coming from the other floor wearing battle uniforms in Tau'ri fashion, guns in their arms. 'You are the Tau'ri," she said.
"Kaetis." The Tok'ra spy did not recognize the red-haired woman with strange spots on her hairline who stepped out from amongst the Tau'ri. But she could tell the woman was host to a symbiote. "Kaetis, I am sorry."
Kaetis easily put two and two together. "Castox...?" she asked, her eyes welling with tears.
"He died nobly, taking a Goa'uld with him," Cadmilis replied from within Zaria. "He asked me to let this woman be my new host so that the mission could be completed and you could be saved."
"Kaetis?" Nate gestured upward. "We've got to get back to the ring room, now."
"No, there's no time. Hefetus just left on a Tel'tak," Kaetis answered. "He's going to get his mothership. We don't have time to fight through the Jaffa to get there."
"Well, what do we do now?", Jack asked.
"We can get back to the hanger and take our own ship," she answered. "I hope you are good pilots, Hefetus will probably be sending out all the Death Gliders."
Zaria resumed control from Cadmilis and turned to Sam. "Sam, what do you think about getting to another Tel'tak and using its rings to beam over to your father's ship?"
"It's worth a shot."
"Okay, Plan B then." Nate brought up his radio as they moved on. "Parker, you there?"
"Here sir," Major Parker replied on the other end.
"How is everything going?"
"Wounded are ringed up, Sir, I'm here with Farrell, Colette, Calgar, and Valentino waiting for you."
"New plans, Major. Ring up and tell Selmak that we're going to have to use another Tel'tak to ring up to him."
"Roger."

Ahead they ran into a gaggle of Jaffa that had been dispatched to pursue Kaetis, but the Jaffa had been expecting a sole woman with a Zat, not seven heavily-armed humans. A hail of MP-10 fire brought them down before they could get an accurate shot off. "We may have to fly the ship out of the hanger bay, Colonels," Cadmilis said, "to guarantee that Selmak's vessel can lock onto us."
"Swell," Jack answered. "Teal'c, up to that?"
"I am."
They arrived at the hanger bay with a spray of fire, Zaria keeping Kaetis behind her and out of harm's way. The Jaffa guarding the bay were plentiful, in part because so many were starting to get into gliders. It didn't take any time for them to spot a remaining Tel'tak and fight their way over to it. Nate and Jack took it upon themselves to give covering fire to the others as they started to get toward the opening Nate's MP-10 beeped and showed an empty charge. "My last clip's out!" he shouted.
Jack reached into his vest and tossed his last clip over, which Nate snatched and put into his MP-10 with no delay at all. Sam and Sakura stood at the door, firing steadily, Sakura calling out, "Colonels, let's go! We've got you covered!"
The two men slipped into the ship and the door was closed, Teal'c bringing the shields up while Zaria got to work on the rings and Daniel helped balance the wounded Kaetis, who's bare left thigh was showing what looked to be a grazing hit from a staff weapon. "Daniel with a scantily-clad woman in his arms," Jack joked from the entrance to the cargo area. "That's not something you see every day."
"Jack," Daniel gave Jack a little glare as he set Kaetis down over the rings and began rifling his vest looking for his first aid equipment, "a little less funny and a little more help would be nice."

The ship lifted off and shot out of the hanger bay. Nate got on his radio, watching the sky grow darker as they accelerated up toward the atmosphere. Nate was about to go for his radio when he felt the ship lurch. "What was that?"
"Gliders," Teal'c answered. "I will attempt to get us into orbit so we can begin to maneuver away."
"Colonel Mackensen, this is Parker, do you read?"
"We're here, Major. Sitrep?"
"We all ringed back aboard without further incident, sir. Selmak says that you're going to have to match the trajectory of his ship for you to ring out of there."
"No can do, not under these conditions, we've got gliders coming in." Nate held onto the central station of the cockpit to brace himself against a further hit. "We'll hyper back to the rendezvous point together."
"Actually, sir..." Zaria looked up from the station she was investigating. "We don't have hyperdrive. That was the first thing they hit."
"Can you fix it?"
Zaria shook her head. "Not unless we land. We have to ring out, it's the only way."

Sam took her radio mic. "Major Parker, can you put my Dad on?"
A moment later it was Jacob Carter's voice over the radio. "You have an idea, Sam?"
"You can buy us some time. Let Teal'c get the gliders to bunch up, then ring one of the explosives into their formation," she suggested.
"I'll see what I can do," Jacob answered.
"I am trying to boost power to our shields, but we will not last long against those gliders," Cadmilis said, having taken over for Zaria due to his superior understanding of Goa'uld technology.
"I am attempting to maneuver them together," Teal'c added from the pilot seat. He sent the Tel'tak into a series of loops and half-turns.
He completed one particular maneuver and that ended up having to be enough. A set of rings appeared out of nowhere ahead of the gliders and one of the naquadah-explosive containers appeared from the matter stream. The instant the rings pulled back upwards the ship rippled into appearance, Jacob needing every bit of energy he could get for the sublight engines and the shields.
The Jaffa gliders tried to maneuver away but it was too late. The explosives were triggered and created a massive burst of energy in what had been the center of their formation. The shields on both Tel'taks held though they were rocked rather strongly. "The attacking craft are no longer a threat," Teal'c reported.
Sam nodded and waited for Teal'c to nod before triggering the rings. They descended around Sakura, Daniel, and Kaetis, spiriting them away to the other Tel'tak. "More gliders approach," Teal'c warned them. "I am currently matching velocities with Selmak. You should ring out now and then we will try another mine."
Nate nodded and looked to Zaria, who was still watching the other console. "If it's all the same, Teal'c, we'll wait for you," he said, beating Jack to a similar remark by a fair bit.




Jacob pulled his Tel'tak away from Teal'c's and began to come around. Parker and Farrell helped Daniel get Kaetis off the rings while Valentino and Tang moved another explosive container into place to be ringed into space. Valentino began attaching a detonator charge while Sakura moved into the cockpit area, standing beside Worf. "Let's not give them too much..."
"We're in trouble," Jacob remarked. "They've brought an Al'kesh."
Behind the two cargo ships the large Goa'uld bomber craft flew behind a wing of fighters. Three broke off to pursue Jacob while the Al'kesh and the other fighters went after Teal'c. "New plan," they heard Jack say over the radio. "You hyper out while we get their attention."
"Colonel!" Sakura held onto her radio tightly. "Sir, we won't leave..."
"That's a direct order, Major, get out of...."
Nate was cut off by the sound of battle damage. Energy bolts began to slam into the Tel'tak. The cargo ship's battered shields came down... just as the Al'kesh fired a massive bolt of plasma.
The bolt raced across the distance and slammed into the small and now unprotected cargo ship. It was shattered by the impact and erupted in flame. Jacob's heart almost stopped at the sight as he called out "Sam!", Selmak's voice in his head trying to comfort him at having seen his daughter and her comrades blown apart before his very eyes.

[Themightytom]

well done so far! Although obviously I hope SG-1 hasn't bought it because you know... Whats the point of doing a crossover if you never get to see any of the interactions you hoped for because your characters bought it in round 1 ;-p

[Vehrec]

*takes one Internet cookie for naming the First Prime* Thank you sir Steve. Awaiting the next bit, and remember that no news is good news.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

It should be gone and not gun, but other than that very nice.

Sometimes I make minor errors like that. Another minor one is that I forgot which Sergeant was with which SPT-14 squad and so Dalton is in two places at once. *smirk*

I thought the still used projectile weapons in the multiverse, or is that only the one military.

All sorts of weapons are used. The MP-10 line is the favored personal rifle of ADN light infantry in the Marine Corps and a number of national services (the ADN Army has probably moved on to something else). However, some services still use less-sophisticated weapons, or at least did; as of twenty years prior to this story Russian Spetsnaz still preferred the chem-propellant AK-90, which was also provided in mass bulk to the Bajoran Resistance.

And of course a whole host of weapons, including old-fashioned gunpowder-using ones, are to be found in some of the lesser-advanced areas of the Multiverse, such as the massive arsenals that the Primitivist Statelets on Gilead amassed when they planned war on the central government (as seen in "55 Days in Kalunda").

Talorans use the REQ-49 and REQ-49B (shortened droptrooper model, also for tankers), which are "Railgun Automatic Carbines" with helical magazines and 4.7mm tungsten penetrators fired at high-mach velocities using a simple anti-grav system which also handles most of the recoil. Total capacity is about 200 rounds per magazine. The longer versions of the tungsten penetrator used with their heavy squad support weapons actually have enough velocity that they can set a person they're fired through on fire, literally, from the friction of passage.

[Steve]

It should be gone and not gun, but other than that very nice.

Sometimes I make minor errors like that. Another minor one is that I forgot which Sergeant was with which SPT-14 squad and so Dalton is in two places at once. *smirk*

I thought the still used projectile weapons in the multiverse, or is that only the one military.

All sorts of weapons are used. The MP-10 line is the favored personal rifle of ADN light infantry in the Marine Corps and a number of national services (the ADN Army has probably moved on to something else). However, some services still use less-sophisticated weapons, or at least did; as of twenty years prior to this story Russian Spetsnaz still preferred the chem-propellant AK-90, which was also provided in mass bulk to the Bajoran Resistance.

And of course a whole host of weapons, including old-fashioned gunpowder-using ones, are to be found in some of the lesser-advanced areas of the Multiverse, such as the massive arsenals that the Primitivist Statelets on Gilead amassed when they planned war on the central government (as seen in "55 Days in Kalunda").

Talorans use the REQ-49 and REQ-49B (shortened droptrooper model, also for tankers), which are "Railgun Automatic Carbines" with helical magazines and 4.7mm tungsten penetrators fired at high-mach velocities using a simple anti-grav system which also handles most of the recoil. Total capacity is about 200 rounds per magazine. The longer versions of the tungsten penetrator used with their heavy squad support weapons actually have enough velocity that they can set a person they're fired through on fire, literally, from the friction of passage.

That was one of the cooler moments from "55 Days", when Trajan fired it and set that Gorean on fire. Well, what was left of him anyway.

[Steve]

Just seconds after the destruction of the other Tel'tak, Sakura's radio squawked again. "Azakusho, this is Mackensen," they heard Nate's voice say. "Begin evasive maneuvers and standby."
Her mouth hung open in mute surprise. The ship banked with Selmak at the controls, the elder Tok'ra having taken control for Jacob as he tried to recover from the shock of Sam's apparent death. "There is another ship appearing," he said.
"Colonel, we saw your ship blow...." Sakura watched another vessel, about twice the size of their Tel'tak if not more, swoop overhead and pass by the cockpit. "...up?"
"I have never seen a vessel like that before," Selmak said from the helm. "Is it one of your's?"
"Yes." The voice was that of Worf. Sakura looked at him and was almost amused to see what appeared to be a pleased twinkle in his eye even as the vessel ahead of them opened up, her powerful bow weapons ripping through a flight of Gliders. "The Defiant."




U.S.S. Defiant NX-74205 twisted in space away from the small cargo vessel, her forward phaser cannons lashing out once again while her dorsal phaser array speared a Goa'uld glider. Upon her bridge Admiral Benjamin Sisko looked to all the world like he was having the time of his life. "Mister Olis, target the main enemy vessel, full quantum torpedo spread. Old Man..."
"On it, Benjamin," Dax answered from the helm. She maneuvered the Defiant to permit a plasma discharge from the Al'kesh to only graze the ventral shields.
"Shields holding," Chief O'Brien - Master Chief O'Brien that was - reported from his old station. "Nog reports that we got them all, Sir," he added.
"Remind me to thank Mister Nog later," Sisko replied. "Mister Olis, fire!"
The Lieutenant at Tactical pressed a key and sent out two pairs of torpedoes, their propulsion fields glowing white as they crossed the distance and smashed into the Al'kesh. The pilot aboard the craft tried to bank away as the bomber's shields failed. A burst of phaser fire put an end to that maneuver.
The door at the rear opened and Lt. Commander Nog entered, followed by Nate, Zaria, and SG-1. "Woh, this is cool," Jack said, looking around.
"Colonel, good to see we got here just in time," Sisko said from his chair. "If you'll give me a moment..."

"Benjamin, we're picking up another ship." Dax looked back at him. "This one is big..." She brought it up on the viewscreen, revealing the arrival of a Ha'tak-class Goa'uld ship.
"Hefetus' mothership," Cadmilis said from within Zaria. "From what Zaharia knows of this vessel, it is no match for a Goa'uld mothership. You must retreat immediately."
"Colonel." Their radios came on, Sakura's voice crackling over the line. "Selmak isn't sure if his cargo vessel's hyperspace window can accomodate the Defiant's as well."
"Inform Mister Selmak that it won't be necessary. In fact, ask him to take up our trajectory and standby." Sisko looked to O'Brien. "Ready Chief?"
O'Brien began his work. "Re-routing power now..." The lights seemed to dim just a bit. "Bringing weapons offline, cloak, shields..."
"We might need those shields in a couple seconds," was Jack's reply to that.
"Goa'uld vessel is locking on," Dax warned. "And Selmak's ship is matching our trajectory."
"We're ready, Sir," O'Brien reported.
"Old Man, get us out of here."
Dax nodded. "Here we go. Activating hyperdrive... now."
The assembled on the bridge watched a flickering blue field open in space ahead of them. The Defiant and Selmak's Tel'tak crossed the threshold of the hyperspace window within seconds.




"Preparing to fire, Lord Hefetus," Tel'nor remarked from his place on the pel'tac of Hefetus' Mothership, Hefetus watching the action from his throne. The screen showed the surviving cargo vessel and the unknown ship that had come to its aid loom closer.
Just as Tel'nor went to fire, the two ships disappeared into hyperspace. Hefetus scowled deeply. "My Lord, I am sorry..."
"Can we track them?"
"I am trying, Lord..."
"Do not try, do so! Find their course and report to me their possible destinations." Hefetus leaned forward in his throne. "We will catch them yet."




The bridge monitor on the Defiant showed the cylindrical shape of hyperspace around them. "Stand down from Red Alert," Sisko ordered, standing from his chair. He turned to face Nate and the others. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the Defiant."
Jack was the first to answer. "Thanks for the rescue. I thought our goose was about cooked."
"Admiral Sisko." Nate gave a brief salute. "Colonel..."
"Nathan Mackensen." Sisko offered his hand. "Your reputation preceeds you, Colonel. And Doctor Zaharia Herzela, I presume?" He turned his attention to Zaria.
She nodded, grinning slightly. "Well, yes, plus a new... passenger, you could say." She lowered her head and raised it again, speaking with her symbiote's tone now. "Admiral Benjamin Sisko, I am Cadmilis of the Tok'ra. A pleasure to make your acquaitance."
The rest of the bridge leveled looks at her. "Well, my Mom always wanted me to become a host," Zaria said, her voice back to normal and grinning sheepishly toward Dax. "Just that this one wasn't in the plan, I think..."
"Cadmilis was our inside contact," Nate explained. "His host was fatally wounded saving our asses."
There was a loud sound, a very obvious and overt clearing of the throat by Jack.

Looking back at Jack and smiling slightly, Nate went on to add, "Admiral, allow me to introduce Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, and Teal'c of SG-1."
Sisko nodded toward them. Behind them the door to the bridge opened and Doctor Michaels made it out. "Zaria, you made it!" he said happily, coming up and hugging his junior fellow. "I really must show you how this has worked, my dear!"
"How what worked?", Zaria asked.
Sam nodded. "Yeah, that's what I'm wondering too. I thought your ships used matter/antimatter reactions to provide power?"
"They do," O'Brien said from where he was seated.
"Yes, but even though they provide a lot of power, I don't see how one small enough to fit into a ship this size can power a hyperdrive."
"Normally, you'd be right," O'Brien agreed. "But we've got an extra power source now."
"Yes," Michaels said. "The Tok'ra provided us with a hyperdrive and a pair of Guyverite reactors to help power it. Of course, to open a window to the level of hyperspace this ship now occupies requires so much power, even for a vessel of this mass, that we have to shut down most of the ship's extra systems just to achieve hyperspace entry and exit."

"I thought that because of that treaty you weren't allowed to send ships to our universe?", Jack asked Nate.
"Ah, not quite my good Colonel," Michaels said, smiling widely. "We cannot use a GateShip or any Jump Gate Assemblies to open wormholes to SRC-19. But this ship is neither."
"If we don't have a GateShip here, Doctor, how do we intend to get home?", Nate asked.
"I have attached a device to the ship's navigational deflector," Michaels explained. "It acts like a ZPC, charging the deflector array with enough 'Zynski particles so that it can create its own wormholes."
Zaria blinked. "But the kind of power that would require..."
"Again, that's where the Guyverite reactors the Tok'ra provided us come into play, they give us plenty of extra power," Michaels said triumphantly. "Of course, there's still the matter of the components..."
"You mean the fact that our jump nearly fried the deflector array?", O'Brien asked in the all-too-familiar tone of an engineer irritated at the causing of damage he had to fix. "We'll probably have to replace the entire array when we get back."

"Defiant, this is Jacob Carter." It was Nate's radio again. "Colonel Mackensen, did everyone..."
Nate looked to Sam. She nodded and took her radio, replying, "I'm here, Dad. We all made it."
"Oh, thank God. Listen, does your ship have any medical facilities? It might help the wounded better if we can dock with you and..."
"I'm afraid, Mister Carter, that our shuttle bay will be unable to take your ship in," Sisko answered. He looked over to O'Brien. "Chief, could we use the transporter?"
"Probably wouldn't be advisable, Sir," O'Brien answered. "I'm reading all sorts of radiation that can distort a beam."
"I'm afraid you're going to have to sit tight, Mister Carter," Sisko said. "We'll be at Tarus in about two hours."
"Understood."
"The ship's not that big, Admiral, it might be a tight fit but..." Realization dawned on Zaria. "The reactors, the hyperdrive, and the Stargate, right?"
"Yes," Sisko answered. "Now, can you tell me anything else I might need to know before we get there?"
"Knowing Goa'uld, Admiral, they're not going to give up easily," Jack remarked. "They'll probably come after us."
"Yes. Cadmilis says that Hefetus' ship could have determined our course and tracked us for a time. Also..." Zaria sighed. "As much as I hate to purvey more bad news, Cadmilis is of the opinion that Hefetus knows far more about us than he's let on. He knew to dial Bowie - Tarus - after all. He may think we're returning there to jump back home. And his hyperdrive..."
"...would be faster than our own," Teal'c answered for Zaria. "We may yet have to fight."
"Then we'll fight," Sisko answered calmly.
"Admiral, I don't think you understand," Zaria said. "Through Cadmilis I have knowledge of Goa'uld capability. You would need a dreadnought to have a hope of fighting him. If we fight we're going to lose."

"Your ship has cloaking technology, right?" Sam looked to O'Brien with an expression that, to Jack, might as well have written 'I have an idea!" on her forehead. "What if we come out of hyperspace at the outer edge of the system first and cloak?"
"It would take about five seconds to re-route power back to the cloaking device after we emerge from hyperspace, but it is do-able. Commander?" O'Brien looked to Dax.
"I'll have to reset the navigation computer," Dax replied. "The margin of error is pretty big, and I'm still in the process of rewriting the navigational software to accomodate hyperspace travel. But I'll see what I can do."
"Commander, I can be of help with that," Zaria said. "Or rather Cadmilis can."
Dax nodded in acceptance and returned to the helm, Zaria heading to the auxiliary computer station on the starboard side of the bridge. "Looks like we have a plan then," Sisko remarked. "Do you have any other suggestions?"
"Even if he's not there when we get there, if the Snakehead shows up he's not going to leave easily," Nate remarked. "I'd feel a lot better if I thought we could win a fight."
"Maybe..." Sam had another "I have an idea!" look on her face. "What weapons do you have again?"
"Pulse phaser cannons for forward firing, a dorsal phaser array, and fore and aft torpedo tubes," Sisko answered her. "What's your plan, Major?"
"Your torpedoes, are they fission or fusion warheads?"
"Anti-matter with quantum fields for directing the charge."
Sam shook her head. "I, I don't know if it'll work then. The particular characteristics of naquadah allow it to amplify energy and improve the yield of an atomic device. But I'm not sure what will happen if we use a matter/anti-matter charge."
"The results would be devastating," Michaels answered.
"Has it been done before, then?", Sam asked.

Michaels nodded stiffly. "Yes. The Alliance developed Guyverite-boosted M/AM warheads over ten years ago. We used them on the Dominion Inner Core to end the war in the Gamma Quadrant of ST-3. I... was one of the scientists attached to the project. It's how I first learned about the Stargate we had."
Sisko's jaw was clenched tightly. "I remember that attack," he said hoarsely. "Trillions dead."
"I am not proud of my part in it," Michaels said defensively. "Even small warheads, capable of use in MIRV missiles, were capable of yields approaching one hundred and fifty gigatons. I can only imagine what one of your quantum torpedoes would be capable of if it were outfitted with a Guyverite booster."
"We would have to make room in the torpedo for such a booster, and we have no Guyverite aboard."
"On the contrary, yes we do," Sam replied. "You have two naquadah reactors, right?"
"Yes, but..." O'Brien suddenly chuckled aloud. "Oh, I get it. You want to take Guyverite out of one of the reactors to use as booster material."
Sam nodded. "How much margin for error do we have in power consumption?"
"A bit." O'Brien crossed his arms and looked deep in thought. "If I shut down most of the ship's systems and kicked the warp core up past max output, we could possibly take as much as one quarter of the material out of one of the reactors and still be able to exit hyperspace."
"That should give us enough to get a few shots at him."
"Chief, take Commander Nog and help Major Carter and Doctor Michaels work on this," Sisko ordered. "If we have to fight I want to have a decent chance at winning."

When they left Sisko was facing Nate, Jack, and Teal'c. "As for you gentlemen, anything in mind?"
"Spaceships aren't really in my league," Jack admitted. "I'll leave the techie stuff to the people who understand it all."
Sisko chuckled and nodded. "Well then, I'll have Ensign Roitel show you to the mess hall so you can get something to eat. I'll let you know when we're getting ready to come out of hyperspace."
"Thanks, Admiral." Nate gave a final salute before following Jack and Teal'c off the bridge, accompanied as they were by the young Centauran officer Sisko had just verbally assigned them.




Zaria finished going over a line of code in the navigation software. "Cadmilis has done all he can," Zaria told Dax from the computer console. "Anything more would require writing a completely new program."
"We'll have to make due." Dax double-checked the lines of code to make sure the program was working. "So, how are you holding up as a host?"
"Oh, heh, well..." Zaria rubbed her head. "It's weird having another voice inside me. Though the Tok'ra don't go to the level our symbiotes and hosts do. We don't merge personalities and memories fully, at least not this early on, it's more like we're sharing this body."
"And you get to use that creepy deep voice," Dax added with a slight grin.
"Yeah, the Tok'ra do that as much as the Goa'uld. Mostly to show that it's the symbiote talking." Zaria giggled slightly. "It's so weird to hear my voice like that, actually."
"So, what is your new symbiote doing? Is he using the cavity or..."
"Oh, no, they don't look for a torso cavity like our's do, they connect directly to the brain and upper spine," Zaria explained. "And aside from communicating with me Cadmilis is basically dormant right now. Keeping his host alive after he about blew himself up weakened him a lot, then trying to adjust to Trill physiology was a further strain."

"Do they keep the memories of their previous hosts?"
"A fair bit, I'd say." Zaria frowned slightly when looking over at Dax. "But I'm afraid it's not very happy. Some happy moments, yes, but.... a lot of it is terror and suffering. Tok'ra spend their lives alternating between hiding and spying, knowing that getting captured by the Goa'uld will usually result in being tortured to death or something like that."
There was no immediate reply from Dax at that. Finally she seemed to shift the subject, asking, "How's Worf feeling? I... haven't had the time to call him yet."
"Wounded but fine. He'll probably be a bit puffy chested and all. He killed the Goa'uld Zeus." Zaria giggled. "You should've seen him." Lowering her voice to approximate Worf's bass voice, Zaria repeated Worf's "Klingons do not bow to gods, we slay them!" with gusto and then added, back to normal speaking, "and boom, sword to the back of the neck."
Dax broke out laughing. "That is so like him."
"And hey, a lifetime of holo-RPGing came into use. I disabled Zeus' defensive device by throwing a knife through his hand." Zaria smiled widely. "To think that Colonel Mackensen was upset that I was allowed to use the simulators for my sessions."
"Sounds like you got to have all the fun," Dax remarked whimsically. A light on her console brought Dax's attention. "Can you double-check the calculation coding, the computer's giving me trouble in confirming our exit time."
"Sure."



"You call this a chicken sandwhich?" Jack put the replicated sandwhich down onto the plate. "A lot of things may taste like chicken, but chicken is not supposed to taste like that."
Nate shrugged and took another bite out of his own roast beef sandwhich. "Eh, replicator food is always horrible. How are you holding up, Teal'c?"
Teal'c seemed to be glaring at his own chicken sandwhich. "I would have preferred if chips were available."
Jack nodded in agreement. "Yes, I mean, what's up with that? How can someone have a chicken sandwhich with no chips? That's like having a hamburger with no french fries."
"About a thousand alien snacks in the system and not one good potato chip flavor," Nate muttered in agreement.
After they'd eaten a little more, Jack spoke up again. "So, I guess this is going to be it. You'll drop the Stargate off and then head back and cut our universe off again?"
"I'm not sure."
"I guess you'll get reassignment."
"Probably back to Camp Wilcox and Recon training," Nate answered. "To be honest I was looking forward to a field command again. Even if I thought our team setup was pretty silly. Biologists and officers as medics..."
Jack shrugged, grinning slightly. "Well, things are different in this line of work."
"So I've seen." Nate put the last bit of his sandwhich down. "Of course, you're going to be out here alone again. We won't be here to help you. To be frank you'd probably have been better off if you'd never found the Stargate."
"Maybe," Jack answered. "But we're out here now. And we've made friends. Maybe we've even given the galaxy a little hope that the Goa'uld won't be sticking around forever."

Teal'c nodded and added, "Indeed you have."
"I just wish I knew what my higher-ups were thinking, going through all the trouble of setting this project up and abandoning it so quickly. It wasn't quite fair to your world to snatch the hope of having some help right after giving it to you."
"Well, at least we got some rayguns out of the deal." Jack took another small bite and resumed talking when he finished it. "I hate this part."
"Oh?"
"The fact that we do not have the skills or knowledge to help our comrades prepare us for battle with Hefetus," Teal'c said. "All we can do is sit and wait."
"That part," Jack said in agreement.
"Oh, yeah, that part." Nate sighed. "Yeah, I know the feeling. Stuck on a ship, having to remain helpless while other people try to make sure you'll survive it. I usually prefer the actual ground combat over the trip."
"Well, having a spaceship can be cool," Jack said, "even if this one is a bit... small." He took his final bite and, after forcing it down, added, "I just hope your other ships have actual chicken sandwhiches."




Carrying containers of Guyverite/naquadah taken from one of the Tok'ra generators, Michaels arrived in the torpedo magazine where Sam and O'Brien were hunched over one of many open torpedo casings. "How's it going?"
"We're having to remove the quantum projectors to make room for the Guyverite," O'Brien said. "So no directed force explosions to help with shield or hull penetration."
"But odds are the fields would be overwhelmed anyway by the force of the blast the naquadah booster is going to create, so it's not a big loss," Sam pointed out. Taking a portion of the field projector O'Brien was removing from the torpedo, she held it up. "I'd love to get more access to your technology."
"I have to admit I'm interested in that Guyverite power source the Tok'ra brought aboard. They handle a lot better than our warp cores, matter-antimatter reactors I mean."
"Well, if circumstances were better, it'd be great if we could exchange technology." Sam accepted a container from Michaels. "Just enough for one container per torpedo, I'd say. How much more naquadah can we get?"
"I didn't dare remove any more Guyverite, we might not have been able to exit hyperspace," Michaels answered. "Commander Nog is busy preparing the ship's main power systems to increase the reactor output to make up for any power drains. We're almost there."

"You know, we're going to have to do something about this whole 'Guyverite/naquadah' thing," O'Brien commented before removing the final piece of the torpedo's field generator. He accepted the container of naquadah from Sam and began fitting it onto the torpedo.
"I'm afraid it'll always be Guyverite to me, Mister O'Brien," Michaels said. "I worked with Doctor Guyver himself, after all."
"I was wondering where you got that name for it," Sam remarked.
O'Brien finished attaching the container. He looked over to Michaels and said, "I understand, Doctor. But please remember, I am not an officer and I don't go by 'Sir' or 'Mister'. I work for a living." Smirking, he looked to Sam and added, "No offense meant, Sir."
The enlisted humor was answered by an unoffended, amused grin by Sam.
Michaels went to set the containers down and to work on fitting another torpedo. O'Brien resumed his work with Sam providing him technical details to ensure the naquadah booster would boost the power of the warhead. They were working on the second one when O'Brien's comm badge went off. He tapped it, "O'Brien here."
"Chief, we're about to come out of hyperspace. How goes the work?"
"We're making progress, Admiral. I can give you one torpedo right now, we'll be getting a second one done in moments."
"Keep me posted, Chief. Sisko out."
"Deadlines, deadlines," O'Brien muttered. "Now if you can hand me the torpedo master key we can get this one loaded...."




Jack was the first to step back onto Defiant's bridge, responding to Sisko's call that they were about to come out of hyperspace. Nog had taken O'Brien's place at the ship's operations station while Dax was at the helm and Zaria still at an auxiliary station. Sisko nodded to them and returned to his seat as Dax made the countdown to the exit from hyperspace.
Nog confirmed the transfer of power. The lights dimmed and and the ship emerged from hyperspace with the Tel'tak still beside them.
Almost immediately there was a flicker through the ship. "Benjamin, we're losing main power," Dax said.
Sisko turned to Nog. "Sir, the power draw from the warp core overloaded our port primary power conduit. Main power is down to sixty percent and we will be unable to cloak."
"Secondaries?"
"I'm assigning the engineering crew to it now, but we're short-handed, Sir..."
Sisko pressed a key on his command console. "Sisko to Cargo Vessel. How injured is Commander Worf?"
Several moments later Worf was the one to give the answer, "Barely, Sir. I am fine."
"We're beaming you over, Commander, we need an extra pair of hands." Sisko turned to Olin. "Mister Olin, beam Commander Worf aboard and then get down to Main Engineering."
"Admiral, I'll join him," Zaria said, standing up.
"Very well, Doctor, get to work."
"And you'd better do it soon," Dax said. "We've got a ship on sensors heading toward us at a high sublight velocity."
The press of a key magnified the viewscreen before Sisko could ask for it. He sat and frowned grimly at the sight of the Goa'uld mothership looming ahead. "Red Alert!", he barked.




"Lord, a pair of vessels have just left hyperspace," Tel'nor said. He brought the screen up to show Hefetus the sight of the unknown vessel from before and the Tel'tak it had saved. "I am detecting power failures in the larger ship. It will not be capable of escaping us."
"Excellent. Launch our gliders and target weapons, aim for all engines." Hefetus' expression betrayed his delight. "I want that ship taken intact."
"Immediately, Lord Hefetus. Completing attack preperations. We will reach weapons range shortly."
Moments later, with his eyes flashing, Hefetus gave the order.
"Attack!"

[Coalition]

Just as Tel'nor went to fire, the two ships disappeared into hyperspace. Hefetus scowled deeply. "My Lord, I am sorry..."
"Can we track them?"
"I am trying, Lord..."
"Do not try, do so! Find their course and report to me their possible destinations." Hefetus leaned forward in his throne. "We will catch them yet."

This iss why you always change course, if you can. Still, you pointed out the power and system troubles, so that does help.

Keep up the good work.

[dragon]

deleated

[dragon]

It should be gone and not gun, but other than that very nice.

Sometimes I make minor errors like that. Another minor one is that I forgot which Sergeant was with which SPT-14 squad and so Dalton is in two places at once. *smirk*

Ahhh you cloned Dalton, run for the hills

Hum a ST Trill with a Tok'ra symboiate, lots of possibilites there.

Are the Tollans still around as their claims of not dealing with less advanced societies won't apply to the ST folks and the Tollans have lots of goodies.

Hell even if they aren't around scavaging their planent would turn up some nice stuff.

[Coalition]

Hum a ST Trill with a Tok'ra symboiate, lots of possibilites there.

Are the Tollans still around as their claims of not dealing with less advanced societies won't apply to the ST folks and the Tollans have lots of goodies.

Hell even if they aren't around scavaging their planent would turn up some nice stuff.

How about the fact that the Tok'Ra need hosts? Let the Tok'Ra know that there is an entire planet full of people who are used to symbiotes with multiple lifetimes of information, and training programs people go through to better bond with the symbiotes.

The Tok'Ra will be very eager to get access to that population base.

[Steve]

Jacob's hand moved over the cloak control to shield the small, defenseless cargo vessel from detection. "I've got the cloak back up," he told the others. "Going to give us some distance."
"Isn't there anything we can do?", Parker asked. "I don't like just sitting here."
"This ship's unarmed and with their shields up I can't ring you over for any sabotage," Jacob answered.
"But what about these?" Valentino put a hand on the remaining containers of naquadah explosives. "Don't we have a port or something we can chuck 'em out through?"
"Not unless you want to depressurize the entire ship." Jacob shook his head. "Besides, even that's not enough to get through the mothership's shielding. I'm sorry, but for the moment we're sitting this one out."




"They're launching fighters and I'm detecting at least two of the medium-sized ships from before."
"Evasive maneuvers." Sisko turned his head and saw Worf settling into tactical, favoring his right side. "Welcome back, Commander. I hope you're not too rusty."
"Thank you, Sir." Worf took a moment to get settled. "Phasers and torpedoes are ready, but phaser power has been reduced to eighty percent effectiveness."
Sisko nodded stiffly. "Should be more than enough for those fighters, but we're going to need more punch for the other craft."
The ship rocked slightly from a blast by one of the Al'kesh bombers. "Shields down to seventy percent."
Sisko keyed the ship's internal comm system. "Mister Olin, I could really use main power back to full."
"Understood, sir, Doctor Herzela and I are working on it.."
"Main Goa'uld vessel is firing!"
Bursts of energy erupted from the Ha'tak toward Defiant as it turned sharply in space, maneuvering itself to pound an Al'kesh with pulse phaser fire. The stream of bursts missed but were close enough to give Dax some sorry. "I won't be able to keep this up for long, Benjamin."
"Sisko to O'Brien, Chief, we could really use those torpedoes right about now..."
Suddenly the ship rocked hard. An electrical fire erupted from the rear of the bridge. Teal'c grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and began spraying suppressant on it. Nate picked up his own should another fire break out. "What the hell was that?!"
"The main ship landed a hit. Our cloaking emitters are fried and the port nacelle housing is fractured!", Nog shouted. The ship slightly rocked again from a lighter hit by an Al'kesh. "We've lost warp power, slight damage to impulse drive."
From her station Dax added, "Shields down to thirty percent!"



O'Brien was knocked to the floor by the hard rocking, sparks erupting from one of the display screens in the torpedo room. Sam was lucky enough to grab onto the torpedo casing she was working on and not fall down completely while Michaels was brought to a knee with only one arm to brace himself against a torpedo rack. O'Brien began picking himself up off the floor, responding to Sisko a moment later. "Sir, we've got three torpedoes rigged so far. But we only have enough Guyverite for two more."
"Get them loaded, Chief!"
"Yes Sir!" O'Brien finished closing the torpedo he'd been rigging and went to the loading mechanism. It allowed a rigged torpedo to slide into the launcher's feeding tube and a second key press began the process of sliding it into the launcher. He began loading the second one a moment later, bracing himself when the ship shook again.

"This one's ready!" Sam shouted at him.
"Help Michaels with the last! I'll get them loaded," O'Brien replied while working the mechanism. The second one slid in behind the first, the launcher shifting it over to the other bow launcher. As he prepared the third O'Brien hit his comm badge. "Sir, you've got two ready!"




The news was welcome to Sisko, another hit sending them rocking while one of the Al'keshs erupted into flames on the viewscreen from Worf's sustained fire. "Mister Worf, lock torpedoes on the main ship! Old Man, get us in."
Defiant made a half turn and roll in space, avoiding another flurry of fire from the Goa'uld vessel. As its weapon batteries cooled for a moment the Defiant hit a burst of speed, everything Dax could get out of the engines. The distance between the two vessels closed. "Fire!"
Two torpedoes erupted from the launched and closed the distance in seconds. Two bright flashes erupted against the shields of the ship.
When it faded there was initially no sign of any damage on the ship. Any fears of ineffectiveness were quashed when Worf's report bellowed across the bridge. "Enemy vessel has lost all shields. I am also detecting minor hull damage!"
"Take us in for a...."
Sisko's order was cut off by another hard rocking of the ship. Sparks flew from several consoles and the electrical wiring within. "Benjamin, impulse drives aren't responding to full, we're down to half impulse!"
"We've lost shields," Nog added. "Armor damage on all decks."
"Bring us about!" Sisko keyed the internal comms. "Chief, I need more torpedoes!"
"You've got two more, Sir."
"Mister Worf, fire when ready!"
Worf began inserting commands into his station. Suddenly his fist slammed against the rim of the console. "Sir, forward torpedo launchers are not responding!"
"What?!"
"It's the internal power grid," Nog said. "We've taken too much damage..." As if to punctuate that, the ship rocked again, this time from fire by the remaining Al'kesh. "Torpedoes are offline and the phasers are down to forty percent."
At that time more bad news arrived through the internal comms. "Admiral, this is Olin! Doctor Herzela and I have had to abandon the port compartments with the power conduit, it's venting atmosphere into space."
"Understood, Mister Olin," Sisko grumbled.
"We're getting a signal from the main ship. They're demanding we surrender."
At that Sisko leveled a look at Dax. "Like hell. Bring us about. Mister Worf, use whatever weapons you can. If we go down, we're going down fighting."




The powerful detonations had rocked the Ha'tak quite fiercely. Hefetus was forced to hold on for dear life to avoid being tossed from his chair. "What was that?"
"The vessel fired two small projectiles that have completely demolished our shields," Tel'nor reported. "Our hull remains intact and all systems are still responding." There was a flash on his screen that made Tel'nor smile widely. "Our main weapon has scored another direct hit. Their shields are also depleted and I am reading extensive damage to their ship."
Hefetus smiled at that. "The gliders and Al'kesh shall finish disabling their vessel, I do not wish to have our main guns accidentally destroy them. Signal a demand for their surrender."
Tel'nor implemented his lord's orders succinctly. The vessel opposing them was wounded prey now, unable to flee and badly hurt, but the beast still had claws as she struggled against her tormentors, lashing out with her energy weapons at Gliders and the lone Al'kesh. "They are refusing surrender," Tel'nor remarked while the enemy ship moved toward them for a moment, lashing out with their energy weapons. The Ha'tak had only the slightest rumble. "Their weapon fire is ineffective."
"Then let them fire. I want that ship intact, Tel'nor. Of course..." Hefetus grinned cruelly. "I don't care if the crew is intact."




The second severe rocking smacked around the trio in the torpedo room even worse. Sam was the one to hit the floor this time, impacting on her right shoulder. Michaels was lucky to hold onto the final torpedo they were rigging.
O'Brien was not so lucky. He was at the internals of the torpedo system, trying to re-route power to restore the launchers. The sudden rocking was accompanied by a shower of sparks. The older man cried out and fell back, his hands covered with burns.
Sam was picking herself up off the floor when she heard a loud whistling sound, almost like a train whistle. "Hull breach!" O'Brien cried out while she reached for him to pull him out. "The emergency forcefields must have gone down, we've got to get out of here!"
Michaels was the first to the door. It began to slide closed right behind him. O'Brien slipped through, after which Sam literally squeezed through, barely making it. She fell as she forced herself through, the door sealing in front of them. Sam reached down and pressed the comm badge on O'Brien's chest. "Bridge, this is Major Carter. We've got a hull breach in the torpedo room."




Sam's report sounded like a death knell on the Defiant bridge. Among all the grim faces, Sisko's seemed the most oddly serene. "Mister Worf, phaser fire is not having an effect?"
"No sir."
"Very well." Sisko nodded to Dax. "Commander, I want every bit of impulse you can give me from the drive. Set our course directly for that Goa'uld ship."
He didn't need to explicitly say what he was planning. Virtually everyone on the bridge understood. "Colonel O'Neill..." Sisko turned his chair as far as he could and looked back to Jack, Teal'c, and Nate. "Colonel Mackensen. You and Mr. Teal'c are free to use the escape pods. I'll have Major Carter and Docor Michaels directed to them as well."
"It would not be right to abandon you, Admiral Sisko," Teal'c answered for them.
"My people knew what they were signing up for and this was our fight, not your's."
Jack shook his head. "Any fight against the Goa'uld is our fight too, Admiral. And we all knew the risks as well."
There was a nod of agreement from Nate. "Looks like we're...."
"Defiant, this is Jacob Carter. You might want to hold on for a few seconds," Jacob's voice said over Nate's radio. "We've got a plan here.."




A short time before the occupants of the cloaked Tel'tak were watching the battle earnestly and saw the twists that had led to Defiant's bad position. "I don't bloody get this, there's got to be something we can do!", Calgar shouted in frustration.
"Mister Carter..." Sakura leaned forward beside Jacob. "Was it just me, or did that Goa'uld ship's shields fail?"
"Give me a moment to check." Jacob started to move them closer and go over what sensor readings the Tel'tak was capable of.
Confirmation of a different sort came when Defiant's forward phasers fired and made clear impact on the hull. "Looks like they are down," Jacob remarked. He looked back. "Get the naquadah on the rings and set the charges! I'm going to get us into ringing range."
SPT-14 was quick in doing so, Valentino and Farrell attaching their own remaining charges to the devices to improve their effect. "Let us know when you're ringing, we'll set the charges to five seconds," Valentino called out.
After warning Defiant off her clear suicide run, Jacob weaved through the small field of fire, avoiding stray shots from the gliders and Al'kesh pursuing the Defiant. "Coming up on ring range, you ready?"
There were nods from the others, Daniel's hands on the ring controls.
Drawing closer, Jacob had to turn sharply to avoid a burst of fire from Defiant that had missed a glider. They came in a little too close to the Ha'tak, the Tel'tak nearly brushing against its pyramid hull as Jacob pulled it away. "Set the charges now!"
Valentino nodded and hit the activation key on his detonator in the same motion that Daniel hit the ring activation. The rings popped out from the ground and light enveloped the explosives.
Jacob hit the engines at full burn the instant the rings had finished, racing away from the mothership.




Hefetus was observing, with satisfaction, the gradual wearing down of the unknown extrauniversal Tau'ri vessel. Even if its crew died and the ship was heavily damaged, he was certain that by examining it he could uncover new technological secrets, including perhaps another device to allow the creation of interuniversal wormholes or some other way of completing the research that the Tau'ri sabotage had destroyed.
The Goa'uld was starting to get bored, even angry, with the continued survival of the small ship when Tel'nor's head came up and he turned to his lord. "My Lord, the rings are activating!"
"What?" Hefetus thought for a second. It had to be the now-cloaked Tok'ra vessel, perhaps trying to slip a combat team aboard to try and sabotage his ship. "Send all available Jaffa, destroy the intruders!"
Before Tel'nor could respond, the ship shook so violently that Hefetus was actually thrown from his chair. "What was that?!"
His Lord's demand prompted Tel'nor to begin frantically checking his station... which was barely functioning. "There was a major explosion on board. They must have ringed explosives in! We are venting atmosphere on several levels, weapons are down and we will not be able to regain shields!"
Hefetus howled in rage. "Get us out of here, then! Engage the hyperdrive!"
"My Lord, the damage...."
"DO IT!"
Tel'nor did so. And it was the last thing he would ever do.

The Ha'tak opened a hyperspace window and began to surge forward to enter it. Just as it began crossing the threshold of the window the weakened power grid of the mothership was overloaded by the draw of power into the hyperdrive. The power failed and the hyperdrive disengaged.
Had it done so a half second earlier, everything would have been relatively fine; the window would have collapsed and the Goa'uld ship stuck in realspace. But the extra half second was completely fatal. The ship, partially through the window, was torn apart by its sudden collapse. Half the vessel disappeared into hyperspace, half did not, but both were doomed by the sundering of the ship's main power plants. Torn apart, their internal naquadah subjected to the energies of the failed transferance, both halves suffered a devastating explosion that atomized them.




The sight was over in seconds. The damaged, torn up Goa'uld ship attempted its jump to hyperspace and seemed on the verge of making it when the hyperspace window collapsed, or visually at least, seemed to dissipate suddenly and without much violence. Not even a second later the remaining portion of the Ha'tak was vaporized by an intense explosion.
The sight of the ship's destruction, and with it Hefetus, the self-proclaimed ruler of Olympos, caused the remaining gliders and Al'kesh to pause for a fatal few seconds, in which Defiant's phasers lashed out once more. Even at partial power the damaged shields of the Al'kesh surrendered to their force finally, the vessel being blown apart. Lances of phaser fire lashed at the gliders "above" Defiant, wiping them out instantly.
Worf finished the work of eliminating the last enemy forces swiftly enough while the rest of the Defiant bridge crew began celebrating. "Carter to Defiant," Jacob's voice crackled over the comm speakers, "looks like the good guys win today."
"So it does, Mister Carter," Sisko answered cheerfully. "And this means our mission is accomplished. We'll meet you at Tarus." Sisko looked on to Dax. "Stand down from Red Alert. Old Man?"
"I'm setting a sublight course for Tarus. We're at about half impulse so it'll take us ten hours to get there." Dax confirmed the course.
The door at the rear of the bridge opened and Sam came through it, looking a little battered with her disheveled blonde hair. "I take it the lack of flashing red lights is a good sign?", she asked.

"Your father saved our bacon," Jack noted. "And we've added another Snakehead to our kill count."
"Mister Nog..." Sisko turned toward his Ferengi engineer. "Do you think you could shave some time off of that ten hour estimate?"
"I'll go see, Sir."
Sisko nodded and looked back to where Nate and three-quarters of SG-1 were standing. His eyes had a slight mischievous twinkle to them when he asked, "Major Carter, if you're up to it, would you like to assist in the repairs? I'm sure Mister Nog and Chief O'Brien will be up to giving you some on-the-job training?"
Sisko had cleverly read the interest the younger woman had in the technology and workings of his ship, given Sam Carter's reaction of slightly widened eyes and her reply of, "Well, I'd love to, Sir. Though I don't think the Chief will be joining us immediately, he had some pretty bad electrical burns on his hands."
"I'm sure Doctor Herzela will make up for that until our medics get to the Chief," Sisko answered. "Though I suppose it wouldn't hurt if you had a little extra help." He looked to Nate. "Colonel Mackensen, I know this isn't in your job description, but would you mind watching the bridge for me while I join the repair crews?"
Nate looked at Sisko in bewilderment. "Well, I suppose...."
"Excellent. Commander Nog, go get Doctor Herzela, Major Carter, you're with me." When Sam's expression betrayed even more bewilderment than Nate had, Sisko grinned and added, "Who better to show you how she works, Major, than the man who designed the Defiant and oversaw her construction?" With that said, he led them off the bridge.



Tarus, Open Territory
Universe Designate SRC-19
10 July 2173 AST


Seven hours after Hefetus, Lord of Olympos, was atomized in a flash of light, U.S.S. Defiant was loitering peacefully in orbit, proudly bearing the scars of damage upon her hull. Repairs to the impulse drive were mostly complete and attention was turned to the ship's power distribution system so that they could make the return jump to FHI-8.
Within the halls of the Defiant Sisko was walking with Sam beside him, the two having just finished re-routing power to a secondary conduit. Just seven hours of working beside the older admiral and starship engineer had given Sam more education about potential starship design and layout than years of theory might have provided.
"I tried to minimize the reliance on Jeffries tubes," Sisko was explaining to her, "though in the end the sizes of the ship and the component systems forced me to have a few more than I wanted. Of course, Defiant was never built to be pretty."
"Well, she is a tough little ship," Sam remarked. "I didn't think any ship this size could take a beating like that from a Goa'uld mothership."
"She is admittedly a bit too small for what she was meant to do, but I was given strict limits on dimensions and mass. So I did the best I could do."
"Since we're here to talk about it, I'd say you did pretty well."
"Carter!"
Sisko and Sam looked over to face Jack walking down from the mess hall. "Enjoy yourself?"
"Yes, Colonel, I think I did."
Jack nodded. "Admiral, Teal'c radioed from the surface. Selmak and Cadmilis have finished restoring the Stargate. We're about to head down and get ready to gate home."
"Very well." Sisko extended a hand. "Good luck out there, Colonel. I've enjoyed meeting you."
"Same from me, Sir. You did save our asses." Jack accepted the gesture and the two men shook hands. "Hopefully we'll get to build ships like these one day."
"I imagine you will, Colonel. I'll show you to the transporter room."




Back in proper place after an exile of eighty years, the Tarus Stargate lit up and performed its familiar "kawoosh". Seconds later figures emerged from the event horizon clad in Tok'ra style, having come to reclaim the long dormant cache of materials that the Tok'ra now intended to put to use. Selmak was issuing orders to them while Zaria rejoined SG-1 and SPT-14 as they stood in the large Gate chamber within the old pyramid palace of Ra. Resuming control of her body from Cadmilis, Zaria remarked, "Well, all's well that ends well. We actually won."
"Indeed," Teal'c said cherrfully... or rather what was cheerful for Teal'c.
Frank Parker nodded as well. "We did pretty well together. And we get to claim the joint kill on that Goa'uld."
"Yes, we do." Jack's head turned slightly to look at Zaria. "So, Zaharia, I guess you're hanging around now that you're a Tok'ra."
"No, actually, I'll be going home on the Defiant," Zaria said. "Kaetis is coming with us as well to help me and Nural."
"Help you do what?", Nate asked.
"It should be obvious, Colonel," Selmak said, approaching them. He nodded toward Zaria. "Why else do you think your President agreed to return the Stargate to Tarus? The deal was that in exchange for the Stargate, Nural would remain in your universes to provide technological information to the Alliance. Under the initial deal it was only him, of course, but the High Council will not object to Cadmilis joining him."
"So that's the plan? We return your Stargate and you send us technical advisors?"
"It was the opinion of the High Council that we all benefit from such an arrangement, in more ways than one. After all..." Selmak grinned slightly, as much as most Tok'ra did anyway. "...our help may help speed the process of when your Alliance would be capable of equaling the Goa'uld technologically as well as materially. Once this happens, what reason would your people have to avoid our universe? The Goa'uld would no longer pose such a threat to you. Under such circumstances, your return will spell the beginning of the fall of the System Lords."

"Well, hard to argue with that," Jack agreed. "Though I think they can be plenty of help now. All they need is a different Stargate."
"We do not oppose the Alliance seeking a presence in this universe right now," Selmak said, "but it is apparently their decision not to."
"Don't look at me," Nate said. "I didn't make that decision."

Two shimmering shafts of light appeared nearby, coalescing into the forms of Worf and Dax. The two stepped up toward the large group. "I see we're just in time," Dax remarked. "I asked Benjamin if we could see you all off."
"Right on time," Jack said, looking at his watch and then to the Stargate. "We were just about to call up Earth."
"Right." Dax reached into her jacket and revealed two objects. They were black boxes of a sort with lights on the end and a very obvious hookup port on the front. "It took some work, but I made these for you. They use standard data ports available to your era's computers." She handed one to Sam and the other to Daniel, each box having one of their names on the top in gold lettering. "A gift from Doctor Herzela and I."
Daniel looked his over. "What's in them?"
Zaria smiled gleefully. "For you, Doctor Jackson, a complete download from the University of New Chatman Xenoarcheology database. All those years of data for you to sift through at your leisure."
While Daniel looked down at the box and seemed to be holding it as if it were now a precious artifact, Dax and Zaria giggled before Dax looked to Sam. "As for you, Sam, that drive contains every bit of data that our Stargate Project Command has gathered on wormholes, Stargate-created ones and other types, in addition to a few technical schematics, technology explainations, that kind of thing." The Trill women exchanged a mischievous look. "We could probably get in trouble for it, but we decided it was a fitting parting gift."
"I... I don't know what to say," Sam remarked, looking over the box carefully.
"You did help rig those torpedoes and thus saved all our lives," Zaria said. "Consider us even."
"...Okay." Sam tucked the drive under an arm and her attention, and everyone else's, was drawn by Jack whistling by the DHD. "Ready, Sir?"
"The sooner we get back, the sooner we get debriefed, and the sooner I get back home and watch all the shows I've had to record," Jack answered.

Sam nodded, an amused look on her face, and went to the DHD to begin dialing Earth, Daniel moving beside her and cradling his own gift.
As Teal'c walked to join his comrades, Worf called out to him. The two warriors looked at each other for a moment. "Thank you for saving my life earlier," Worf commented.
"The thanks go to you, Worf. I look forward to sharing with many of my fellow Jaffa your slaying of Zeus. I hope to instill a similar spirit in my people when it comes to those who claim to be gods."
"I am honored that you consider me so highly." Worf reached around his back and took out the mek'leth he had used to kill Zeus. "I believe you might like to have this, as a token of our common success."
"I would not take your weapon from you."
"Consider it... a symbol," Worf said, not relenting in holding it out to Teal'c. "Something to show those Jaffa who are uncertain in their desire for freedom. A reminder that your foes are not gods and that even the most simple of weapons can slay them, so long as it is used by a warrior with a strong heart."
A smile crept across Teal'c's face. He bowed and accepted the Klingon blade from Worf. "Then, in that spirit, I am honored to accept." He clasped hands with Worf. "I wish you well, Worf."
"And I you, Teal'c. I look forward to the day we can return to this universe," Worf's grin turned predatory, "and drink to the destruction of the Goa'uld."
"As do I."

Behind them the Stargate activated. Sam pulled out their IDC and keyed in SG-1's ID code. She and Daniel stepped around the DHD while Nate walked up beside Jack. "It was good working with you, Jack."
"Same here, Nate." Jack accepted the offered handshake. "Maybe one day you can come back to this universe and come by. We can throw back a couple of cold ones, watch some 'Simpsons'... but no more spoilers!"
"I'd enjoy that," Nate answered.
Those final remarks said, Jack joined the rest of his team in heading to the Stargate. Before they could get up the final step and to the event horizon, Nate's voice called out, "Attention! Salute!"
SG-1 turned around and found SPT-14, Sakura, and Nate standing at military attention, giving off salutes. With slight, appreciative grins on their faces, Jack and Sam returned the salutes while Teal'c bowed his head and Daniel nodded in acceptance. "Take care of yourselves out there, SG-1," Nate said. "Hopefully we'll run into each other again some day."
"Yeah." Jack brought his hand back down. "Same to you, everyone. Have fun."
"Good luck," Parker called out.
Having heard him, SG-1 nodded as a whole. "SGC, this is Colonel O'Neill," Jack said into his radio. "SG-1 is coming home."
It was Hammond who answered, "We hear you, SG-1, the iris is open. Glad to have you back.."
"We're glad to be back, Sir." Jack exchanged one last friendly nod with Nate while his team entered the event horizon before stepping through himself.

SPT-14 stood at ease as the wormhole flashed out of existance. "Well, everyone, we're done here," Nate said. "Time for us to go home."
Dax pressed her comm badge. "Dax to Defiant, we're ready to beam up."
In two groups, the assembled disappeared, heading back home as well.

[Steve]

Epilogue One


Brownsville SPT Facility, Brownsville, Bowie
Republic of Texas, Alliance of Democratic Nations
Universe Designate FHI-8
14 July 2173 AST


There was a knock on the door of General Thompson's office. He put a photo of his family in the box and looked up. "Come on in."
The door opened and Nate entered, back in normal duty uniform with the SPT patch removed. He saluted and waited for Thompson to return it and allow him to relax from attention. "They're packing you up too, Sir?"
"I've been called to Washington," Thompson answered. "The President is having me give a full debriefing on the SPC's activities and discoveries to the Security Committee. After that, well, off to the Reserves I guess."
"Really?" Nate shook his head. "I figured they'd put you in charge of whatever R&D projects that our new Tok'ra advisors put together."
"The President's putting a slight hold on that for now, don't ask me why." Thompson shrugged. "Lord knows I don't know what goes on in that man's head sometimes. You're right, y'know."
"General?"
"We could have picked up another Stargate from SRC-19 and resumed operations," Thompson said. "But the President ordered the SPC to 'inactive status'."
"But not simply closed down?" Nate crossed his arms. "Sounds to me like the President and the Pentagon are up to something."
"Or maybe just him." Thompson leaned back in his chair. "So, how about you? Returning to New Appalachia and Camp Wilcox?"
Nate shook his head. "Nah, they replaced me already." He looked to a seat and took it when Thompson gestured to it. "I might be taking some leave time actually while the Corps decides on where they want me."
"Off to see family?"
"Yeah. I have grandkids to spoil and a college-going son who I should be spending more time with." Nate sighed. "Plus a few other things I want to wrap up."
Thompson gave a nod. "Well, good luck out there Colonel," he said warmly, extending his hand. "You might not have spent a lot of time here, but it's been an honor serving with you."
"The same here, General." Nate accepted the hand. The two men shook on their short service together and went their seperate ways.




Parker knocked on the door for a few moments before it was finally answered by the room's occupant. Sakura appeared at the door in a red kimono, her hair slightly disheveled. "Ah, Major Parker. How are you?"
"Just coming by to say it was an honor serving with you, Ma'am," he replied, clad as he was in normal duty uniform. "Already gave my goodbyes to my team and to the General and Colonel Mackensen."
"That's good." Sakura gestured toward her quarters. "Want to come in for a moment, get out of the hall?"
"Sure ma'am." He followed her into the room and let her close the door behind him. Her room was spartan enough and a lot of things were already packed up, save a beautiful pair of Japanese swords still hanging on wall mantles. "I'm being assigned to be second-in-command of the 24th Recon."
"Colonel Mackensen's old unit?" Sakura smiled at him. "Did he have a hand in it?"
"Yeah." Parker returned the smile. "I guess the Colonel was impressed with how SPT-14 performed and figured I was cut out for the job."
"That's good. What about everyone else?"
"They're all returning to their services as well for various postings," Parker remarked, "though I've heard Lt. Colette is going to be allowed to accept early assignment to the Department of Colony Settlement for the Interior Ministry, she'll probably be leaving the service altogether in a couple of years."
"That's nice."
"And what about you?" Parker asked.

"Oh, back to the Magistracy," Sakura remarked. "The Magestrix has apparently asked for me, personally, to be her intelligence advisor and liaison to AID."
"Spook work, then?" Smirking at that, Parker added, "You don't seem much the type."
"Well, not by Canopian standards anyway. But if I told you anything more I'd have to kill you," Sakura answered with a sly, mischievous expression. "So, good luck, Major. Hopefully you'll be made Colonel yourself one day."
"Good luck, Major," Parker answered, leaving afterward.



Nate was done packing and about to head up to the bus taking him back to Brownsville when a knock sounded on his door. He went over and opened it, admitting Zaria. She was wearing fully-civilian clothing now, a red sleeveless blouse and slightly-less red slacks. "I wanted to come by and say goodbye," she said. "Even without Cadmilis wanting me to anyway so he could thank you."
"Thank me for?"
"For saving Kaetis," she answered. "Castox may have been the one in love with her, but Cadmilis has some... sentiments toward her too."
"Well, he's welcome," Nate answered, making one final check of the room as Zaria spoke. "I hear that the President's put everything on hold?"
"Somewhat. Frank and I will be going with General Thompson to Washington to see what the President has in mind."
"Calling him Frank now?"
Zaria chuckled at that. "Yes, it seems to be a thing, except for senior Tok'ra, for hosts to use host names and symbiotes to use symbiote names."
"Hrm." Confident he'd gotten everything, Nate finally looked at Zaria. "So staying here until you leave?"
"Actually, I'm taking a hotel room in Brownsville," she answered. "What about you?"
"Same thing. Military's offering me a flight back home, I leave tomorrow evening."
"Ah, well then..." Zaria's smiled impishly. "How would you like dinner on me, Colonel?"
"Another offer for a date?" Nate answered the smile with one of his own. "I thought I wasn't your type?"
"Generally not," she admitted, "but Cadmilis thinks I might be wrong."
That caused Nate to laugh. "Okay, sure, a dinner date tonight. But first..." He nodded slightly at her. "You can call me Nate now."
"And you may call me Zaria," she replied.



Harrisburg Military Cemetary, Harrisburg, New Cascadia
United States of America, Alliance of Democratic Nations
Universe Designate LRC-19
18 July 2173 AST



For most purposes the military cemetary at Harrisburg, placed near the joint Marine/Navy Pfeizer Base, was meant solely to intern military veterans who desired to consign their remains to the area, in sight of the snow-capped Clark Mountain Range that stretched to the west of the coastal city. But exceptions were sometimes made for the dependents and families of veterans, especially in light of tragedy.
Wearing military duty uniform, Nate Mackensen stood over a tombstone that stood alone in its lot. The granite marker bore a child-like angel sculpture on top and was quite well-preserved.
Nate's eyes lowered to the inscription on the tombstone.

GEORGE SIMON MACKENSEN
b. 8 MAY 2693
d. 19 SEPTEMBER 2703
BELOVED SON OF NATHAN AND SARAH

Grass rustled behind Nate while he looked at the tombstone. His eyes were already starting to well with tears. Just looking at his son's grave reopened the terrible wound within him. It was an agonizing experience, agonizing enough that Nate could barely bring himself to visit his son's grave simply from the pain it brought.
"I'm surprised you're here." Sarah had moved up to stand beside Nate, clad completely in black with a small bouquet of flowers in her left hand.
"I couldn't stay away any longer," Nate answered. "It wasn't fair to him. How's Jim?"
"Waiting for me in the car," Sarah answered. "He saw you and didn't think he should come up."
"Ah." Nate sighed deeply. "I hope you two have a happy life together, Sarah. God knows I didn't deserve it, not after how I acted."
"Nate..." Sarah shook her head sadly. "I know you've always blamed yourself for George."
"Like you have."
"No!", Sarah denied hotly. "I blamed you for how you reacted to it! I blamed you for wanting to adopt the children and then leaving me to raise them while your buried yourself in your career! You weren't being fair to anyone, not to me, not to the kids, and not to yourself! Certainly not to George." Sarah took in a breath while tears came down her eyes. "He adored you, Nathan. By all rights he should have been bitter that his father spent so much time away from him, but to George it just made you that much greater. Everything he did in school, every plan he had for when he grew up, was so that you'd be proud of him."

Nate rubbed his eyes, allowing him to wipe the tears out in the process. "I should have been there that day, Sarah. I'll never forgive myself for that."
"You'll come around one day," she insisted. "So, would you like to come with us to dinner? Furel is coming by."
"You and me, with Jim, at dinner?" Nate gave his ex-wife a look. "Are you sure that'll work? That he won't find work to do at home to avoid me?"
She smiled slightly. "I'll go make it clear to him that I expect him there, or he's going to be in a great deal of marital trouble."
That made Nate chuckle. He let out a whistle. "Oh, I remember marital troubles. Well, if you insist Sarah..."
"I do." She took Nate's hand. "Could I do anything less for our son's birthday?"
At that Nate could only nod. She turned back to the grave and laid her flowers upon it. She gently kissed the granite tombstone and whispered something to the spirit of their son before walking off to go to her new husband.
Nate stood there for a few moments. Finally he dropped to one knee before his son's grave and reached into his jacket pocket. The framed picture that came out was a copy of one of his favorites from George's last birthday party, showing his son trying out a "junior Marine" uniform with private stripes - while Nate wore the real thing with Sergeant chevrons - and opening a birthday present beside Nate.
Gently, reverently, he laid it upon the ground in front of the tombstone. "I miss you, George," Nate sighed. "I miss you very much. I hope you're not alone, wherever you are." Thinking of something and smiling sadly. "And if you happen to run into a kid named Charlie O'Neill, take care of each other, would you?"
With his peace said, Nate stood up and walked toward his gesturing ex-wife and her sedan, ready to move on to the next stage of his life.

[Steve]

Epilogue Two




The White House, Washington D.C, Earth
Earth Union, Alliance of Democratic Nations
Universe Designate HE-1
21 July 2173 AST


General Thompson was brought in to the conference room to find it mostly vacant save, of course, for the Alliance President. In person Dale struck him as reserved with a straight back and posture from military training not too different from Thompson if, of course, one considered their different services. "General, thank you for the debriefing these past couple of days," Dale remarked, cordially extending a hand to Thompson. "I hope the Committee wasn't too much of a bother."
"It was quite alright, Mister President," Thompson answered. He took the offered seat and watched Dale retake his seat at the head of the table. "Is there anything else you wished to ask me?"
"Not about the final report, no. At least not what's in it." Dale leaned forward in his chair. "General, I've made a decision that, I suspect, will be highly unpopular in the circles of the Pentagon aware of the Stargate Project. And I would prefer having you on board for this than not."
Thompson nodded slowly, possibilities beginning to shift through his mind. He knew enough of the Alliance military command's attitudes toward his former posting that he suspected it wasn't about the decision to not seek another Stargate from SRC-19. "What decision is this, Mister President?"
Dale crossed his hands on the table. "I'm going to present the final report on the Stargate Project Command to a secret session of the Interuniversal Commerce and Exploration Committee."

Thompson nodded stiffly at that and let out a sigh. "Yeah, I can imagine how the Pentagon will respond to that."
"This whole thing with our Tok'ra advisors is, frankly, too big for the Alliance to go on alone about," Dale continued. "It represents a potential shift in the balance of power that would be dangerous to the Multiverse and to our relations with other powers, not to mention our rather flagrant violation of the spirit of the Treaty of New Brasilia. Now, if we openly admit what we've done and offer to place the SPC under IUCEC oversight and to make R&D efforts with the Tok'ra advisors an IUCEC project, the fruits of which to be enjoyed by all signatory states, the damage would be limited. If we try to hide it and leave it to some future administration to confess to after we've suddenly started fielding advanced technology.... I don't even want to think of the damage that would do."
"I can already imagine what the Brits will do over this," Thompson remarked, referring to the powerful and standoffish British Empire from his own home universe. Like their CON-5 counterparts they were the most powerful individual state in FHI-8 and, while not overtly hostile to the ADN, they had charted a fiercely individual course in the Multiverse and as IUCEC signatories that was often at odds with ADN desires or interests.
"Exactly," Dale remarked. "And when the time comes, General, I'd like you to be present when the report is presented and to provide answers to Committee members with further curiosity."
Thompson considered the request for a moment. All parts of the man - his sense of duty, his patriotism for Texas, his admitted self-interest in his career - conflicted for a time until he relented with a nod. "I'd be happy to, Mister President."
"Thank you," Dale said. "I'll arrange for transport for you to the meeting when the time comes. Is there anything you'd like to ask?"
"No sir," Thompson answered. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to go? I have a flight to catch so I can get home and catch up with the great-grandkids."
"Go right ahead, General," Dale said, watching Thompson leave. With that settled, he had one last thing to do for these arrangements, the timing of which would be critical....




The Alliance Embassy, Valeria, Grenya Colenta
Talora Prime, Taloran Star Empire
Universe Designate VS-5
30 July 2173 AST


It was not often that Jhastimia Rulandh, the Archduchess Leluno, visited the Alliance Embassy, at least not in the private manner as requested by the Ambassador. Dressed as a high-ranking naval officer in a way that completely obscured her true role - that of close friend and confidant of the Empress Saverana II herself - she waited patiently for admittance to the banquet hall where the Ambassador awaited her.
Once assignment to the Embassy had been a long-range job, with the trip home measuring over a month. But the success of the Wells-Intuit Accords and Taloran accession to the IUCEC had brought with it, these past eight years, the arrival of IU Jump Gate Assemblies, from which goods and persons flowed to and from the Taloran Empire to the rest of the Multiverse. That had probably helped keep Princess Elizabeth Windsor in the post she'd now held for a decade as Alliance Ambassador to the Court of the Sword.
"Your Highness," Elizabeth greeted her guest, using the utmost politeness and a fairly good approximation of Taloran, a language she'd carefully studied these past ten years. "Thank you for coming."
"Your Highness, it is always a pleasure to be your guest." It was not the first time that the Archduchess and the Princess-Ambassador had dined together in such privacy. Their dining engagements, though not often, were enjoyable in more ways than one, as they usually signaled close and personal communications being directed from their respective Heads of State. "I see you have served Truvalia again?"
"I have acquired a taste for it," Elizabeth admitted.

The two women sat and ate for a short while. "Your HIghness, President Dale has entrusted me with a communication of the utmost importance," Elizabeth said carefully. "Something he desires to be taken directly to the eyes of Her Serene Majesty."
Jhastimia's ears moved in a way signaling her interest.
Elizabeth revealed, from the folds of her jacket, a data disc. "The President is going to have this presented to the IUCEC in the classifed meeting planned for next month. He wants the Empress to have an advance look at it as a gesture of goodwill and respect."
Jhastimia took the data disc and noticed the cover on it.
Stargate Project Final Report.




InterStellar Alliance Complex, Tuzanor, Minbar
Minbari Federation, InterStellar Alliance
Universe Designate EM-5


President Delenn looked closely at the object that Ambassador Ichiro Kagawa had handed her. "Ambassador Kagawa, I am a little... confused. Just what is this 'Stargate' being referred to and what does it have to do with the IUCEC?"
"A great deal, I think," Kagawa answered. "The President doesn't want to let this be a surprise to you or the Minbari government, Madame President. He wants you to know what we intend to put forth in the upcoming secret session of the IUCEC."
"Yes, I see." Delenn considered the disc carefully. "I suppose that depending on what I read here, I may very well go to Babylon-5 to attend that meeting in person."
"I think that President Dale would appreciate having you there, Madame President," Kagawa remarked.




The Triad, Tharkad City, Tharkad
District of Donegal, Lyran Commonwealth
Universe Designate MWB-32


"I can see why President Dale sent this notification first." Data from the final report of the Stargate Project was playing over the noteputer on the ornate desk of Archon Victor Ian Steiner-Davion, ruler of the Lyran Commonwealth. He still maintained himself in distinctly military style though he had, years before, began committing himself to the causes his deceased mother Melissa and first wife Anne had embraced, his contribution to their memories.
It would take a practiced eye, certainly not the ones on Ambassador Guy Francois, to notice the markings on Victor's limbs where all four had been restored by implantation of cloned tissue. Some scars still lingered from the terrible blast that had claimed the lives of so many - including Melissa Steiner, Anne Windsor-Steiner-Davion, Salome Kell, and very nearly his own - eighteen years before. The Frenchman ceased considering that matter and remarked, "I believe he is concerned about the reaction if this information were to be suddenly foisted upon the IUCEC signatories. I believe you are not the only signatory Head of State to receive this."
"What I am reading here, Mister Ambassador, could be seen as a grievous breach in the spirit of the New Brasilia Treaty. Something the IUCEC would not, could not, take lightly." Victor put his hands together on the desk. "President Dale is seeking to avoid trouble should he and his successor attempt to hide it."
"The President obviously felt the gains to be had were great," Francois said. "And the technology to be gained now, he does not want just the Alliance to hold it. He knows how dangerous that would be for all of us. If the IUCEC were to direct its development and implementation evenly among all signatories, however...."
"The President's gesture is certainly in good faith, I'll say that." Victor turned the noteputer off. "I'll have appropriate instructions delivered to Baron Freiburg. Extend my thanks to His Excellency for his actions in this manner."
"I will, Your Highness."

[Steve]

Epilogue Three


Stargate Command, Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado
United States of America, Earth
Universe Designate SRC-19
Sometime in 2000 Local Time/2174 AST


Daniel was busily staring at his computer screen when a knock on his door made him turn. The door was already open, as he typically left it, though he still turned to see who was there. Sam was standing in the doorway, hands folded in front of her. "General Hammond has finished going over our reports on what happened in Egypt," she explained. "I'm sorry, Daniel."
He nodded slowly. They had just returned with Dr. Frasier from a mission to Egypt that had seen the Goa'uld Osiris, freed from a stasis container after thousands of years in slumber, escape from them in the body of Sarah Gardner, someone whom Daniel still had quite a few happy memories and feelings for. That another person close to him had been forcibly taken as a Goa'uld host was rubbing salt on the wound left by Sha're's abduction and eventual death. "I guess Jack and Teal'c are still up in Minnesota?"
"They should be coming back soon," Sam answered. She smiled slightly. "Probably would be better for Teal'c if they did. Of course I could be wrong and he might be enjoying himself. He's not even answering his phone anymore."
Daniel smirked. "Well, knowing Jack, he probably did something like throw the battery in the lake after I called."
"So, what are you doing?" Sam stepped closer, looking at what was on Daniel's screen.
"Oh, just looking through more of the material on my gift last year." Daniel put a hand on the black data drive box that had his name on it. "It's just... amazing. We haven't discovered many genuinely alien species out there yet, nothing like what's in here. I'm hoping they eventually return just so I can get a chance to actually visit some of these sites one day."

"Ah." Sam nodded, thinking of how her own gift had helped her own research immensely. Some of the applications from that drive, as well as what she carefully remembered of participating in repair work on the Defiant, was proving especially useful in the Prometheus Project. "Which alien ruin is that?"
"Oh, it's from a world identified as being in the Bajoran Republic, situated in the outskirts of the 'Badlands', whatever that is." Daniel tapped his pen at the edge of the screen, showing a rudimentary starmap. "Ten years ago they discovered it and began excavating it. According to the archeologists who studied the site, it corresponds with an ancient group of races called 'the Furies' who ruled an empire in that section of the galaxy thousands of years ago."
"That's kind of a strange name for a race."
"Well, the material here says that the local civilizations have already encountered them about twelve decades ago. They sent a scout ship back into Earth's quadrant of the galaxy from the other end using some kind of short-term stable wormhole, well, if you don't count the fact that it virtually destroyed an entire solar system on our end in the process. The ship was eventually deemed hostile and had to be destroyed by a Klingon armada provisionally led by Captain Kirk of the Enterprise..." Daniel looked up at Sam and added, "...and no, I really don't think we should tell Jack that part."
"My lips are sealed," Sam promised.

"Anyway, not a lot is known about them save for the scope of their old empire. There's still discoveries here and there, some indications that they tried another invasion and were thwarted again, but this appears to be the most substantial find on the Furies." Daniel was flipping through images. "I'm just curious as to the name and its possible relation to the Erinyes, the beings of Greco-Roman myth who performed acts of vengeance for the dead." He changed images and brought up one showing a control surface of the old ruin. Suddenly Daniel's attention was fully upon the screen, his mouth dropping a bit from surprise. "What... Sam, look at this."
"What?" Sam leaned over Daniel's shoulder while he brought up the picture, a close shot of a control surface and the characters upon it. She blinked at the screen and began to look slowly and carefully at them. "They're familiar. Should they be?"
"Yes." Daniel turned his head and looked up at her. "It's... if I'm looking at that and reading it correctly, the language is.... it's an altered form of Ancient, Sam."
"Ancient?" The look of surprise she gave was rather strong. "Are you sure, Daniel?"
"Oh, about eighty to ninety percent positive. The characters and how they're arranged are just too similar." Daniel tapped his pen on the monitor screen. "The ancient Furies' language was Ancient. Do you know what this means?"
Sam nodded slowly. "You'd better make a report on this. If you're right, then the Ancients..."
"....were capable of interuniversal travel," Daniel finished for her. "Maybe that's why the Alliance was able to turn a normal Stargate's wormhole into an interuniversal one. The Stargates might very well have been only the first step in a technology that eventually allowed travel between universes."
Sam began to look intently at the image on Daniel's screen. "So, somewhere out there in the Multiverse, there could be other Ancient libraries or outposts, just waiting to be discovered."




Alnitak System, Undisclosed Region
Holy Roman Empire
Universe Designate Habsburg-1 (non-IUCEC universe designation)
2175 AST


The crystalline architecture of the ancient facility reminded Vizadmiraal Erich Müller that he was not in an Imperial base of fortress. The builders, whoever they were, had vacated the premises an unimaginable period of time ago, with the jumpsuited technicians that swarmed the premises mere interlopers. As he entered what the boffins assured him was some kind of control room, beside the main hall and its puzzling terminals, one of the techs rudely pushed by him.

He suppressed a scowl and the desire to berate the lower-ranking technician. Kommodore Thomas Pranchit, the commander of the facility, stood inside the room and looked apologetic. Another Bureau of Naval Intelligence man, he was wearing the light blue uniform of the Imperial and Royal and so stood out from the other two men in the room, both civilians and dressed in nondescript black business suits.

“We are about to begin, sir.” Pranchit tugged at his stand-up collar nervously, an old habit he had never quite kicked. And the damned things were stiff. “The addition of a solar energy satellite system to the fusion reactor output should provide enough energy to activate the... artifact.” He gestured to a table and chairs, waiting over by the “window” overlooking the hall. “If you’d like to take a seat?”

Müller nodded, and slid out the nearest steel-pressed folding chair. History was going to be made here, but the accountants were just as anal with the secret budget as with the regular. “How secure is the room?” He looked behind him, at the rows of technicians seated besides various terminals, controlling the allocation of power to the artifact and interfacing with the reconstructed computer core. They would all be cleared, of course...

“Ah, them.” Pranchit shrugged. “We had to use a powerful AI under DNI control to reconstruct the core programming for this artifact. Naval Intelligence has found it convenient to extend that interface to all computer functions involving the recovered technology. They are all quite out of it, and I have issued orders for no one else to be admitted to the room without my express authorization.”

One of the men in black nodded, not in agreement but as though he was acknowledging the data. Müller himself had not been introduced to them, and from his expression neither had Pranchit. The Evidenzbüro moved in mysterious ways...

It was the other man in black that spoke first, in flawless (too flawless) Standard German. “These men are quite absorbed. We know that you have thirty four psychics on hand to monitor the DNI interfaces, and a kill-switch on your person to erase the AI and all Imperial programming in the core. Wise precautions, Kommodore Pranchit.”

Pranchit was surprised, and brought his hand up to tug on his collar again. “Erm, yes. We can’t be too careful where security is concerned. If it had not been for several lapses on the part of the Alliance, we would never have begun this present project.”

“The Alliance lacks our more sophisticated understanding of physics and the advantage of our interfaces,” the one talkative civilian began. “They needed to allow the scientists they brought in to publish some of what they uncovered. To proliferate important but not classified discovered through their academic establishment, and to draw in talented researchers who might have otherwise lost tenure or standing for not publishing. We would have done the same if we had not already cracked the computer core three hundred years ago.”

The facility was located on a rocky planetoid in a suspiciously stable orbit around a massive gas giant just far enough from the massively energetic Type O star to avoid the worst radiation effects. After being discovered in the rush of conquest that accompanied the Imperial Restoration it had been combed for secrets and technology, and had mostly disappointed. The computer systems could be cracked but not replicated, despite furious effort, and provided little help for development lines of existing systems. The power requirements for simply booting up the facility’s computer core had been incredible by the standards of the time, and it had failed to deliver schematics or blueprints.

It had however contained a lot of useful information on mathematics and some intriguing assumptions about hyperspace physics that Imperial academics were still unraveling. The IU portal program, for all that it had brought about, owed its success to the very basic principles gleaned from the computer core or inspired by cryptic formulas that had baffled the original discoverers. And it had contained an enormous library of systems that had been visited and catalogued by the builders. One file had contained the coordinates of a hellish world where proto-Ssi;Rissan had been stalking prey, and had paved the way for the destruction of the perennial foe’s homeworld during the Sixth War. Others had provided clues to habitable worlds for settlement out on the fringe, and some other files had given evolutionary scientists and planetary geologists the fits.

And now the facility would yield another prize.

As the collection of spooks looked on, technicians began the process of feeding enormous amounts of power into the facility, into the artifact. Others began the delicate process of coaxing the computer core to restore control over the artifact’s functions. Fortunately, it appeared to have only two real commands, open and close. The language of the builders was imperfectly translated, but the universal mathematical language which their programming had been based on was rather easier to unravel. After spurts, and stops, the programming hidden deep in the computer core sputtered to life.

In the central hall, an iron ring awoke.



FINIS

(Note: Second epilogue was written by Chris aka Cavalier.)

[fb111a]

The Holy Roman Empire playing with a Stargate... is that good or bad?