Reconciliation (New Beginnings, part 2)

[Akren Garkos]

“Unscheduled off-world activation!” Master Sargent Walter Harriman cried, slamming his hand down on the palm scanner which activated the iris, watching as the metal barrier swirled into place over the incoming wormhole; General Hank Landry walking into the Gate Room from his a-joining office, SG-1 fast behind him, having only just finished a briefing from their most recent mission to PXJ-4Y2X9.

“What is it Walter?” General Landry asked, coming to stand beside the Gate Technician as SG-1 crowded round the dialling computer, everyone anxious to find out what the hell was going on.

“In-coming IDC, it’s from SG-16, Sir” Walter replied, “Teal’c is with them”

“They weren’t due to check in until 0800 tomorrow” Lieutenant Colonel Cameron “Cam” Mitchell said.

“Aren’t they helping Teal’c re-settle a bunch of Jaffa on some of the more remote worlds on the outer edge of our galaxy?” Vala replied, “The Jaffa High Council wanted to show them it still cared about all Jaffa that suffered under the Orii during the invasion last year?”

“That’s right” Daniel replied, looking over her shoulder to the Embarkation Area, the light from the active Stargate shimmering in the Gate Room, “Help bind the Free Jaffa together again & re-assert the Council’s dominance as the central authority amongst the Free Jaffa”

“Open the iris” Landry said, Walter carrying out the order & opening the iris, the protective barrier retracting as SG-16 stepped through the gate, followed closely behind by Teal’c, dressed in the following brown & beige robes, marking his station as a member of the Free Jaffa High Council.

SG-1 & General Landry walked down the short flight of stairs & through the security doors as they entered the embarkation area & into the gate room to greet SG-16 & Teal’c as they descended the ramp from the Stargate, the incoming worm hole de-activating behind them.

“Greetings Teal’c” Landry said, nodding to Teal’c whom nodded back by way of acknowledgement, then looking at SG-16, said : “Report”

“We just got cross-confirmation with a cloaked Jaffa scout ship in the area, Sir” Major John Jefferies, leader of SG-16 replied, “The Supergate is active”

“Walter, have the Apollo do a sweep, I want re-confirmation on our end as well”

“Yes Sir” Walter replied, patching into Earth’s sub-space relay & sending a message to Captain Abe Ellis of the Apollo, whom relayed a message back, confirming recent activity of the Supergate.

“The Orii army is coming back through the Supergate”

“Have our ships on stand by & inform our off world allies, but do not[/i][/u] engage any ships that come through. We don’t know what their intentions are, & the last thin we need to re-kindle another war wit the Orii” General Landry said, before turning to SG-1. “Gear up, you leave aboard the Odyssey within the hour”

“I should like to go with SG-1, General Landry” Teal’c said. “I shall also need to inform the High Council of this development as well”

“Even though you spend more time with the Jaffa now than with us here, you are, & always will be, a member of SG-1, Teal’c : permission granted”

An hour later, Teal’c & SG-1 were aboard the Odyssey as she dropped out of hyperspace near the Supergate, two Ha’tak-class motherships already in orbit near the Supergate, along with the Apollo.

After hailing the Apollo & the two Free Jaffa Ha’taks, the Odyssey took up a flanking position next to her sister ships as the Orii ships finally came through the Supergate, emerging from the event horizon of the Orii-created Stargate capable of sending ships instantaneously from the Orii home galaxy & the Milkyway Galaxy (& vice versa); arranging themselves in a row between the active Supergate & the Earth & Jaffa vessels as a Tollan science vessel dropped out of hyperspace to take up position next to the Jaffa Ha’taks, hailing their fellows & stating their intention to help if required, a Tok’Ra observer aboard as well, the Tollan having stopped off at a nearby Tok’Ra base to pick up an assigned mediator from the Tok’Ra should they be needed for this historic event.

Looking out from the bridge of the Odyssey, Mitchell felt a chill run up & down his spine as the scene before him reminded him of the first battle with the Orii following the first four ships to come through the Supergate the first time around. That engagement had been utterly devastating for the Milkyway defenders, & even with more advanced weapons, better shielding & better tactics, Mitchell was still reluctant to go up against several Orii motherships, let alone the seven[/i] he saw sitting in front of him.

“Sir, the lead ship is hailing us” The comm. officer stated, turning to the captian of the Odyssey.

“On screen”

Mitchell felt surprise at seeing both Tomin and[/b] the Doci on screen in front of him. Vala looked even more surprised than he felt, whilst Daniel surveyed the scene with mixed interest as Teal’c looked on impassively.

“Greetings” Tomin said, smiling as he saw his old friends from SG-1, “Daniel Jackson, Teal’c, Cameron Mitchell, Vala”

“Tomin” Mitchell replied, “What brings you to this neck of the woods? You & your friends planning another party?”

“We’ve come to check on the followers of Origin in this galaxy, to offer our guidance to them & our help, should they require it” The Doci replied, addressing Mitchell directly.

“How’d I know that was his[/b] idea?” Vala shot back at Daniel, whispering quietly so the Doci would not hear her over the audio link between their two vessels.

“We have also come to negotiate an official truce between your factions & ours, as well as to negotiate trade & the exchange of knowledge & ideas” Tomin replied, “I have made my flagship, the Enlightenment’s Fire[/i], & a small fleet of ships available to the Doci & the High Council for this purpose”

At that, eyebrows were raised all round as SG-1 & their allies – whom were no doubt listening in to this little exchange – considered the possibilities of what an official peace treaty between the Orii followers & the peaceable nations of the Milkyway Galaxy could mean.

“Commander Tomin” The captain of the Odyssey replied, before being ubruptly stopped by Tomin himself.

“That’s Supreme[/i] Commander Tomin of the Alterran Imperial Armed Forces, thankyou” Tomin interjected, everyone’s eyebrows raising even further at the lofty title of office Tomin had been assigned.

“My apologises, Supreme Commander Tomin” The captain replied, “But with all due respect, what assurances can you give us that this is not a precursor to another invasion?”

“My word as Supreme Commander, & on my honour as a warrior” Tomin replied, “Besides which, we are well aware that your Earth ships have the capability of damaging ours. I would not risk bringing the entire High Council, as well as myself, & the Doci, our most senior spiritual leader, through the Supergate aboard my personal flagship into potentially hostile enemy territory if I did not think we could successfully negotiate a peace between our two great peoples”

“He has a point” Daniel replied, looking at the captain, whom looked at Tomin.

“Very well” He replied, “Can you guarantee the conduct & good will of your men & the other ships in your flee?”

“You have my word that they shall behave in the utmost fashion becoming of those of the enlightened & we shall do no harm to others whilst we are here unless they are intent on harming us” Tomin replied, not having to remind everyone present that the Earth vessels Odyssey 7 Apollo were perhaps the only ships capable of taking on the Orii & winning at this point in time. “We agree to provide you with updates on all of our movements & activities if you will provide us safe passage to those worlds which we seek to make contact with, & guarantee safe passage of my personal vessel to Earth to formally begin negotiations with your people”

“Agreed” The captain of the Odyssey replied, signalling to the other vessels in the area. “I cannot say the same of our allies”

The Tok’Ra & the Tollan both signalled their agreement, the Jaffa were more hesitant, understandably since they were the ones whom had suffered most at the hands of the Orii & their followers during the war.

“The remaining ships in our fleet shall remain here by the Supergate, & no more ships shall come through, nor shall the fleet move unless I give the order to do so” Tomin replied, “My ship shall accompany you to Earth under your escort, as per our agreement”

So saying the connection was terminated & arrangements made as the Odyssey escorted the Enlightenment’s Fire[/i] to Earth, the Apollo & the other vessels of the Free Jaffa, Tollan & Tok’Ra remaining with the Orii fleet near the Supergate to monitor the situation as Tomin’s flagship exiting hyperspace, the Earth ship leading the way.

“Supreme Commander? Alterran Imperial Armed Forces? High Council?” Vala said bewilderedly, looking about her at the other members of SG-1, “Looks like we have a lot of catching up to do!”

“It does seem that Tomin & the others have been bus” Daniel replied, “I wonder how the Doci & the Priors all fit into this new order they seem to have going? Could be interesting to see how this all plays out”

“Indeed” Teal’c added, “The negotiations will be most interesting”

Several hours later, in the briefing room, on Level 28 in Stargate Command. . . .

Mitchell, Daniel, Vala, Jonas & General Hank Landry sat across from the table in the briefing room from Tomin, several other Orii worshippers, 4 Priors of the Orii, & the Doci; Teal’c, Bra’tac & another member from the Jaffa High Council sitting nearby, along with Egeria, Queen of the Tok’Ra, Olaf, the Tollan Ambassador from Atlantis & representatives from the Gadmeer & various other allied worlds & races as the negotiations between the Orii followers & the various peoples of the Milkyway Galaxy they had once tried to conquer formally took shape; an anti-Prior device gleaming on the table top, it’s spinning blue light a stark reminder to all present what the Priors, let alone the Doci, were capable of if pushed.

“I am Supreme Commander Tomin of the Alterran Holy Armed Forces” Tomin said, standing & introducing himself by way of introduction, “May I present the esteemed members of the Alterran High Council”

So saying, he gestured to each member in turn, addressing them by name, rank & place of birth – the others noting most were administrators of large villages in their own right, some representing entire worlds, or sections of the Orii home galaxy, others scholars of the Origin religion, & still one what many would call a scientist (probably a former member of the anti-Orii underground, if one had to guess) – as well as several Priors, saving the final introduction for the Doci, the religious & spiritual leader of Origin.

“As I said before” Tomin stated, “We have ventured back through the Supergate to make contact with those worlds in this galaxy converted during the war which may still wish to follow the path of Origin, to ensure their safety & continued right to worship Origin as they see fit; & to establish a dialogue between our two peoples, to seek trade of goods, knowledge & wisdom, & to foster a lasting peace between our galaxy & yours”

“We welcome the opportunity for trade & the possibility of lasting peace between your people & ours” Daniel replied, “But the people of Earth cannot speak for our friends & allies, for each nation must make their own decision & as I am sure you are aware that friends do not always agree”

“We understand” Tomin replied, “It was such disagreement & blind fervour which led to our Holy Crusade to convert your galaxy, & for that, we are sincerely, deeply sorry. We can never repay you, nor bring back those whom are now long dead – not even our Priors have that ability – but we can make amends & learn from the mistakes of the past to ensure that they are never repeated”

“Indeed” Teal’c nodded, seeing that the conversation he had had with Tomin on their way to find the Ark of Truth almost a year earlier had not lost their power, nor their meaning, upon the commander & war-weary leader.

“What guarantees can you give us you will not invade with force again?” Egeria asked, “Many Tok’Ra operatives died aboard Orii vessels during the war, as well as on the battlefield. My sons & daughters accompanied the Jaffa into battle within their symbiont pouches. Scores of Jaffa & Tok’Ra died defending our rights to freedom against the oppression of the Orii”

“And for that, most noble Queen, we are sorry” Tomin relied, bowing his head, the others from the Orii contingent following suit; all expressing their deep anguish over the losses they had caused – either deliberately or inadvertently – during the two long years the war had raged throughout the galaxy. “As your scanners & other technology could attest, we have withheld our end of the bargain: our fleet remains at the Supergate, which itself remains inactive, awaiting the outcome of this summit, & we shall uphold our end of any agreement we come to during this time, as we trust each of you to uphold yours”

“Have we not let you neutralize our gods-given abilities by means of that device there on the table top?” The Doci added, pointing to the anti Prior device, “Had we wished it, we could of combined our powers to overwhelm both the device & you” Gesturing about the table to the four other Priors seating nearby, “But we did not. Since the Ark of Truth opened our eyes & showed us the error of our ways, we have used our new-found wisdom & knowledge only for the benefit of our people. We have come here today to help right a terrible wrong & to ensure the peaceful co-existence between our peoples & to foster trade relations between our galaxy & yours. We do not want to start another war any more that you wish to fight one. To do so would to be to contravene the Book of Origin & would be detrimental to one’s path to salvation & enlightenment”

“Then you still believe in Origin?” Jonas asked, “Even after all that has happened?”
“We know now that the Orii are gone & that they are not gods; but this does not stop our belief in them as such – faith in something is faith nonetheless, no matter how misguided others may think you are - & it gives us solace, comfort, guidance. As for the Book of Origin, we will admit that there have been. . .some substantial revisions since the end of the war”

“Our laws have also been amended & changed – in some cases being re-written completely – as well as new ones introduced; to compensate for this fact” Another member of the Orii delegation added, “At great initial cost & confusion to many of our people”

“No more burning people alive for not believing in Origin?” Vala quipped up hopefully.

Tomin smiled warmly at his wife, a look of affection that was not lost on the others on her side of the room.

“No” He replied, “The Ara is strictly used for ceremonial purposes now, no more burning people alive for not believing as we do”

“OK, now that’s a big step just there all by itself” Vala replied, giving Tomin a thumbs up, “Well done you guys!”

“Thankyou” Tomin replied, smiling sheepishly, the others nodding in acceptance of Vala’s compliment.

Over the next several days, the two groups of delegates meet as a group & as individuals, the Orii contingent hammering out agreements with the major Milkyway governments, giving & taking individual concessions as well as collectively bargaining on all sides.

Amongst those concessions conceded by the Orii contingent were monitored access to, use of, the Supergate from both sides – as well as the construction of two neutrally-aligned space stations (one on either side of the Supergate) to monitor all incoming & outgoing activity therewith, as well as visitation & colonization rights on worlds both in the Alterran & Milkyway galaxies – something which both sides hoped would foster further understanding & trade between the two galaxies as time went on – as well as the signing of no-aggression pacts & peace treaties between all present, to mention a few of the significant breakthroughs achieved at the summit.

To the Jaffa, the Orii contingent offered their help in rebuilding their shattered worlds, in exchange for the building of temples & non-persecution of those worlds & Jaffa whom still wished to pursue Origin as a religion; which Bra’tac & Teal’c readily accepted, but which other members of the High Council still had some reservations; even if they agreed in principle.

To the Tok’Ra, they agreed to the supply of hosts & the provision of a Queen symbiont, to help foster relations between the Alterran government & the Tok’Ra; although all present agreed that no Prior should ever be allowed to blend with a symbiont; the resulting symbiont-host combination would be akin to giving a Goa’uuld access to a Hok’Taur – something all sides wished to avoid.

The Orii contingent, for their part, got access to, & monitoring rights to, converted worlds still loyal to Origin & the Orii; with a limited number of Orii motherships – one per world – to protect & check up on their followers from time to time; as well a Prior to preach on those worlds as they saw fit & to spread the word of Origin – peaceably this time – as well as access to trade, technology & other forms of knowledge – such as medicinal training from worlds such as Earth. For its’ part, Earth, would share their anti-prior technology with the Jaffa & other worlds to ensure the priors complied with their end of the bargain.

Having hammered out the particulars of the non-aggression pact & the individual peace treaties with the various major Milkyway powers, Tomin ordered the ships still waiting by the Supergate to disperse & check on those worlds still loyal to the Orii; with one ship left behind to monitor the Supergate. The Apollo & other allied ships went their own way, all having been appraised of the developments on Earth.

Later, when all the delegates had retired for the evening, Vala got a knock on the door to her quarters

“Come in” Vala called, “It’s open!”

Vala turned around as the door opened, Tomin standing in the doorway, having changed from his full warrior’s regalia into a simple pale blue tunic, the symbol of the Origin faith emboldened over the right breast.

"Tomin" Vala stated, alittle shocked, but noneless pleased to see him; adjusting her nightgown as she stood up to greet her estranged husband. "I thought you left with the others?"

"The main fleet has dispersed to check on those worlds & communities still loyal to Origin, & report on their progress. I, as well as the Doci & a few Priors have chosen to stay here for a while whilst we continue to settle the last details on our new-found treaty. My ship is in Earth orbit with the Apollo; but I am told it is leaving soon on a mission of great import to your people"
Tomin replied, smiling.

"So, h-how have you been?" Vala asked.

"Busy. There have been a lot of changes back home" Tomin replied, still grinning as sheepishly as ever; just like on their wedding day.

"I can see that" Vala replied.

"You?" Tomin asked politely.

"Tomin, I - " Vala started.

"SG-1 & I have been running missions through the gate, the usual stuff. The Team & the SGC have bee most kind to me" Vlaa replied.

"I can see that' Tomin replied, echoing her own words back to her.

"Vala..." Tomin started, the two jumbling their words & getting caught up in the awkwardness of it all.

"You first" Vala said, nodding to Tomin; letting him go first.

"Vala, even though a lot has changed, I still think about you every day. I still love you & want you to be my wife; if thats what you want?" He paused, letting that sink in. "I also understand if you don't"

"Tomin" Vala said, her face going soft; her eyes filling with tears; "I do care about you a lot & I hope we can be friends; but as I said before when we found the Ark of Truth, my place is here, with SG-1 & the SGC"

Tomin looked at her, his heart sinking, his eyes also welling up with tears of his own, before replying"

"I-I-I understand, Vala. If that's what you truely want?"

Vala nodded, wiping away tears.

"It is"

"Then I shall arrange with the Priors to anull our marriage. It is uncommon back home, but not unheard of. Provided both parties agree, all it takes it a Prior to officially void the marriage & an administrator to sign the documents. It will be done before we leave Earth orbit"

"Tomin.." Vala said, wiping back still more tears as he turned to go. "I still care about you. Friends?"

Turnign back to his now former wife, Tomin nodded, wiping back tears of his own that flown freely as he replied:

"Yes, firends is it. I would like that"

"Besides, I can come visit you, & vice versa; it's a just a sort trip through the Supergate you know; now that your galaxy & ours are at peace & all" Vala replied, getting a smile from Tomin.

"That it is, Vala; that it is" TOmin replied, unable to stop smiling himself. Even though he knew that this would most likely be the outcome of their meeting, he was sad; yet happy & oddly at peace with how things had worked out between them. The Doci had been right all along, he thought.

"And I was right" Vala said, "You do make an excellent leader"

Laughing at that comment, Tomin smiled, as Vala said:

"Come here you, give me a hug!"

As they embraced as husband & wife one last time, Vala put her arm around him & turned ot the door, gesturing to the hallway outside.

"You want to get something to eat?"

"Sure" Tomin replied, "I remember talking to Colonel Carter & Teal'c about something called blue jello & a root vegetable called 'tatter tots' before. I heard it's apparently a delicacy on this planet?"

"I wouldn't call it that" Vala replied, "Ibut they are good. I guess you're about ot find out!"

Laughing the former husband & wife, now friends, wandered down the hallway to the mess hall; unaware that their lives, that of SG-1, the SGC & the Milkyway Galaxy; was once again about to be turned upside down yet again. . . .

[Akren Garkos]

"Argh!"

The scream echoed down the hall as the battle-cry reverberated around Training Room of Sub-Level 24 as warrior advanced on the Prior before him, the Doci & another Prior standing nearby as Tomin, Vala & the rest of SG-1 entered into the Training Room; standing off to one side as they watched the sparing session unfold.

"So what is he doing again, exactly?" Vala asked, pointing to the youth advancing on the Prior, his red-orange eyes & dark hair reminding her very much of her & Daniel's first meeting with an adult Adria aboard an Orii mothership almost a year & a half before.

"He is an agent of the Infernus Infinatus" Tomin replied, never taking his eyes off the youth before him, watching as both he & the Prior sparred back& forth in a complex series of maneuvers, the Prior branishing his staff before him like a polearm.

"It means 'Order of the Eternal Flame', loosely translated from Ancient" Daniel interjected, "It's like their secret service"

"A spy network, like the Tok'Ra?" Sam asked.

"Sort of" Tomin replied, inclining his head her way & smiling. "Although it is much more than that. The Order was established so nafter our new systems of government by the High Council to protect the Empire against threats to itself & our people - both external & internal - as well as to ensure that both Believers & Non-Believers alike adhere to the tennants of Origin & our mutual agreements; since we have signed our ne peace accord with you & your allies"

"They're your allies now too" Mitchell pipped up, wincing as the Prior buffed the youth with the business-end of his staff, the bejeweled end of the staff wacking around the back of the head, then lower, to the thighs & legs; knocking the youth to the floor, only to have him jump up again as the Prior attempted to the youth down & win the fight. "Man that guy's fast. And he takes a good beating too"

"Indeed" Teal'c nodded, admiring the warrior's stamina & skill, if not his persistence, as he watched the fight with great interest.

"Kind of like someone I know" Sam added, smiling at Mitchell; whom had a penance for getting himself into fights & beaten up whenever a skirmish occurred; whether it be with friends or enemies off world; such as his most recent fight with a Replicator-enhanced Marrick aboard Odyssey the when they were searching for the Ark of Truth nearly a year & A bit before.

"Marcos is one of the most highly-trained, intensely passion & skilled agents within the Order" Tomin replied, "He has been trained in the various skills & techniques needed by agents in the Order & has only recently been enhanced with special abilities"

"Do all your agents possess Prior-like abilities, like Marcos?"

"No" Tomin replied, "Like becoming a Prior, the gift of enhancement & the granting of - what do you cal them Hauk'Tauri? - abilities is a very serious affair & is strictly monitored & controlled by the High Council, the Doci, & the Priors. To do so without their consent is one of the few laws we do have that still merits the death penalty & public burning at the Ara"

"Makes a great determinant I suppose" Vala replied. "What are the other one's?"

"Murder, & killing a Prior or the Doci" Tomin replied, looking at Mitchell & adding "Don't worry, you won't be held responsible for that one; you did what you thought was right in the line of duty, I would of done the same in a war-time situation"

Mitchell nodded his thanks, remembering the Prior he had killed when Tomin had defected, leading them to the Ark of Truth which had helped end the war between galaxies.

"Begin Phase 2" Tomin instructed, everyone's attention turning back to the parring match between Marcos, the Hauk'Taur & the the Prior; as both the Priors & the Doci concentrated, the jewels of their staffs & the Doci's robes glowing with power as they were activated; their bright light filling the room with a warm glow.

Marcos began to stumble & shake, sweating uncontrollably as he continued to advance on the Prior before him, their fight continuing as before.

Daniel felt a cold shiver run down his spin as he relived memories of being tortured by the Priors in Celestsis; just as MArcos was before him now.

"Why are they torturing him?" Daniel asked.

"Agents of the Order are trained to be able to withstand mental probes as well as the advanced abilities of other enhanced Humans, such as Priors as well as physical, emotional & spiritual pain. Their ability to fight & defend themselves lends itself to further success in completing their missions where their own abilities - if they possess them - would be impaired or in case they should ever come acorss such an enemy with such powers or abilities"

"Like the mental abilities used by the Wraith" Sam said, nodding as she & the others continued to watch as Marcos struggled with the Prior, the fighting having slowed down a bit but not stopped.

The look on Marcos' face was of pure concentration as sweat crept down his brow; obviously in excruciating pain as continued to fight; the Prior & he using their advanced mental abilities upon one another in a telepathic & telekentic struggle of wills which was both morbid & fascinating to watch.

Finally, let out a yell of frsutration, MArcos broek the Prior's mental hold & reached out with one hand; the Prior's Staff flying out of his hand & into Marcos with astonishing speed; Marcos stretching out his other hand to obtain the staff of the other nearby Prior standing next to the Doci as well. Realizing his folly, the Prior before launched a telekentic attack, intending to shove Marcos against the wall with a mind-push, Marcos leaping up & out of the Prior's direct like of sight in a spinning twist before landing behind him & gesturing with the Prior's straff; sending him hurtling towards the other wall with such speed that Prior had ot shield himself lest he get hurt as he slammed into the far wall; MArcos turning on the Prior next to the Doci, crossing both staffs at the neck, bring the two jeweled ended across each & together in a sweeping X-motion as he unleashed a barrage of white-hot energy from the twin staffs which sent the Prior flying against the wall, knocking him unconscious as he advanced on the Doci.

Teal'c & Mitchel went to assit the Doci, but were held back by Tomin.

"Stay back. This is apart of his training. To interfer now would void the training exercise & bring shame to Marcos; let them continue" He said, "Begin Phase 3"

So saying, Marcos nodded to the Doci, the Doci nodding back; addressing his spiritual leader & mentor as they circled one another.

"Marcos" The Doci acknowledged.

"Doci" Marcos replied back; bowing deeply in reverence, but never taking his eyes off the Doci, nor putting the staffs down.

So saying Marcos launched himself at the Doci suddenly & without warning; the Doci using an open-palmed gesture to send MArcos flying backward as the crystal on his robes glowed brightly; wrencing the pair of staffs out of both of MArcos hand with the slighted gesture ; sending them clattering ot the floor as Marcos was raised in the air & began to choke & sweat; held in the grip of the Doci's powerful mind.

"Tomin...." Vala implored; He's killing him!'

"Wait" TOmin replied, holding a hand up; "Just wait for it..."

A few tense moments went by as MArcos struggled & seemed to go limp, his eyes closed & his face & demanor taking ona totally different charcgter as he surrendered to the Doci's power before suddenly open his eyes & bringing his right hand up from his side, sending a burst of green-blue energy at his mentor which wasdhed over the Doci; by-passing his personal shield & bring him to his knees; although not knocking him unconscious as Daniel had done to Adria before him.

Upon loosing his grip over Marcos, Marcos fell to the floor; landing with a thud - but immediately getting back up again - as he helped first the Doci up off his knees & then attended to the Priors.

"Wow" Vala replied, "He's very, very good"

"You don't earn the title of hardest-trained & most-highly skilled agent in the Order for nothing you know" Tomin replied, going up & shaking Marcos' hand & congratulating him on a great training session.

"Indeed" Teal'c added, as he & Mitchell also offered their congratulations.

After proper introductions, MArcos excused himself; as he had ot go shower & get cleaned up ready for the big ceremony in an hour's time.

"What ceremony is that again?" Mitchell asked, forgetting.

"Illaic Renen & the Free Jaffa are sending representatives to meet with the Doci & the High Council" Daniel replied, "They're going to under go a test, & if all goes well; they'll become the first Jaffa Priors for the Free Jaffa Nation since Gerak"

"oh" Mitchell replied, forgetting how big this ceremony was going to be. "That ceremony"


An hour later....[/i]

The assembly of official delegates from the various worlds & species of the galaxy which formed the Earth/Jaffa/Tok'Ra alliance, their friends & allies was impressive. Representatives from various worlds & factions, including the Tau'ri - consisting of Sg-1, the President of the United States & representatives from the IOA - the High Councils of the Free Jaffa Nation, Tok'Ra & Tollan, as well as Ambassidors from the Gadmeer, Langara, Orban & Galar, filled the Embarkation Room to bursting point. Even Nim of the Ohnes had the trip especially from the depths of his watery homeworld, as an official envoy of his race to witness the comming ceremony & the cementation of the official peace treaty between the many species, cultures & factions of the Milkyway & the Alterran Empire.

"In the name of the Orii, most Hallowed, & of the Ascended, & in the prescence of our new-found friends & allies; we gather here today to officially mark the union of our great peoples in the spirit of enlightenment, knowledge & peace" The Doci intoned, all eyes on the Alterran contingent as the Doci, the Priors & Tomin began the proceedings; all eyes glued to the Alterrans in the centre of the room as they stood upon the ramp which led up to the Stargate.

"The path to peace & understanding, to true enlightenment, has not, & is not, an easy one" The Doci proclaimed, "Many things have been done in the name of the gods - terrible things - of which we are not proud. We officially & unreservedly offer our sincerest apologies & heart-felt regrete at the devistation & destruction we have wrought in their name, & officially acknowledge the end of the Holy Crusade to convert this galaxy by forces of arms; this galaxy of Believers & Non-Believers alike - once enemies - now stead-fast friends, allies & teachers"

Several of those assembled nodded their agreement, whilst others, such as Jonas & the Serrakin contingent from Hebradan, had tears in their eyes, fighting back emotions at this publc display of contrition & admittence of past wrongs.

"Today marks the beginning of a new era of peace & prosperity between our great nation, our gloreous & most Holy Empire, & the myraid peoples, cultures & species of the Milk-key-way" - the Doci sturggled with the pronouncation of the unfamaliar word, continuing nonetheless - "& what we hope will be a lasting friendship & enduring peace between the people of four galaxies" - referring to the Mikyway, Ida, Pegasus, & Alterran galaxies - "To cement that friendship, we seek ambassidors to become Priors, beacons upon the road to Engligtenment, to act as peace-makers, law-givers & emissaries to the faithful : whom of you will step forward?"

This is the part of the proceedings all had been waiting for. At the Doci's urging, a Jaffa - almost as old as Bra'tac & without a symbiont - stepped forward from the rank of the Illaic Renum.

"I, Dem'a'tolc, Jaffa of the Illiac Renum, breft of family & without symbiont, user of tretonin, free Jaffa, who follows The Path, shall answer your call" So saying, Dem'a'tolc stepped forward.

"Do you, Dem'a'tolc, Free Jaffa of the Illiac Renum, solemnly swear to follow The Path, as given to us by the one true gods, the Orii, to accept their teachings as set out in the Book of Origin, & to uphold their legacy in their name?" The Doci asked.

"I do, mighty Doci" Dem'a'tolc responded, bowing his head in reverence.

"Do you proclaim to believe in Origin, in the Orii, & their teachings, to uphod those teachings, to be a beacon on the road to Enlightenment, to guide others in accordance with their scriptures unto your dying days?"

"I do, Doci"

"And do you agree to use your prowess, knowledge & wisdom for good, respecting the Holy word of the Orii as set out in the Book of Origin, to adhere to the will of this, the High Council of the Alterra, & to guide, teach & preach to the followers of Origin in this, & other galaxies, in their creation; to obey & abide by the laws of the land & of the governments under which you find yourself, during the execution of your duties?"

This, Daniel tought, had been a major sticking point during their negotiations & formed a large basis of the non-agression & rights of sovergnity which had been hammered out in the peace accord between the Alterran Empire, the followers of Origin, & the various races, factions & governments of the Milkyway. Daniel turned is thoughts outward, as the ceremony continued:

"I do, most venerable Doci" Dem'a'tolc replied, bowing once again.

"Then step forward, Dema't'olc, Free Jaffa of the Illiac Renum, & let us examine your mind, to know that your intentions are true & your heart is pure" The Doci intoned, Dem'a'tolc stepping further forward as he allowed the Doci & the Prior to examine his mind, his memories & his heart, in order to prove his worth for conversion into a Prior.

At a signal from General Landry, the Anti-Prior Devices, which had until now ensured that the Doci & the Priors coud not use their ehanced abiities outside the confined of certain rooms within the base, were shut down, allowing the Doci & his minions to reach out with their Orii-given powers to examine the mind of the Jaffa before them. In spite of his willing consent & his preperations beforehand, Dem'a'tolc flinced as he felt an unyeilding pressure, some unseen force, clamp down upon his will, invading his mind & seeking out long-forgotten memories, re-living emotions & probing his most secret places as the Doci tested his worth. This, everyone knew, was the tipping point. Their coud be not doubt or hesitation in Drem'a'toc's mind, nor evil in his heart, else the Doci would not grant him the right to become a Prior & am emissary to the followers of Origin in this galaxy. Once the Doci has examined every facet of his being, Dem'a'tolc felt the prescence withdraw, & he was again alone with his thoughts, the sensation lingering like a ripple in a pond. It was a disconcerning feeling.

"Congratulations Dem'a'tolc" The Doci intoned, "We have exmained the hidden centres of your being, laid bear by the majesty & power of the Orii, & have deamed you to be of sound character, good judgement, true of spirit, & steadfast in your belief"

Dema''tolc relief, & that of the assembled multitudes, was evident.

"Kneel, in the prescence of the Orii & of your friends & allies, so that you may receive the gift that they bestow upon you"

So saying, Dem'a'tolc kneeled, &, surrouding him in a semi-circle with the Doci at their centre, the Priors brandished their staffs, point to Dem'a'tolc, the Prior opening his hand in benediction; as one, closed their eyes & began to concentrate. The air felt like it had a static charge to it, & the hairs on the back of is neck stood up as a siver ran down Danie's spine as he remembered his own conversion into a Prior at the hands of Adria, the Orici, not a year earlier. The white jewes in th staff of the Priors & the rose coloured crystal on the Doci's robes began to glow, brighter & brighter, as the light enveloped first themselves, then Dem'a'tolc, & then the entire room, blinding all those assembed in an intense glare for a few brief moments before subsiding, receeding as quickly as it had begun. The fact that the Doci, as well as the Priors whom had performed the conversion process upon Dem'a'tolc, were visibly drained, was not lost on those present.

As the light faded & the Doci & the Priors open their eyes & his vision started to slowly return, Daniel - along with the others - could not help but gasp as they beheld Dem'a'tolc; his forehead tattoo - once a symbol of ownership of the Goa'uuld he had formery served, melted away, the molten metal having streamed down his face & fused to his cheeks, his eyes having taken on the milky-white glaze famailar of the Priors of the Orii. Standing with new purpose & with the aura of a changed man, Dem'a'tolc rose of one knee & bowed deeply to the Doci, the Priors & the Aterran contingent before intoning:

"I pledge to uphod the teachings of Origin, & to spread the word of the Orii through the darkest corners of their creation, so that a may come to know the truth path to Englightenment. Hallowed are the Orii"

"Hallowed are the Orii" The Doci, the Priors & the other followers of Origin intoned as one, bowing their heads to the once-Ascended beings - now since long dead- they still nonetheless turned to for guidence & reverence.

Taking a staff from a nearby Prior, Dema'tolc turned to face the multitude before him.

"I give you the first willing servant, the first true Prior, of both the Jaffa & the peoples of this galaxy!" The Doci intoned, to cheers, nodding & murmers of approval from several of those assembled. "Whom else besides Prior Dem'a'tolc would answer the call of Origin?"

So saying, five more individuals stepped forward, three Jaffa - two male & one female - & two Humans - one, surprisingly to Jonas, from Langara - each taking the oaths of office, each willing submitting to the mind probe from the Doci, each taking to bended knee before being transformed into a Prior of the Orii & a priest or preistess of the faith, each given a staff of their own & assignments from the Doci himself & the Alterran High Council to preach & spread the word of Origin on those worlds upon which they lived. And each time a Jaffa or Human was converted, Daniel noticed the Doci & the Priors got alittle weaker, alitte more fatigued, looking that much more drained.

"That's interesting" Noted General Landry, moving up to whisper in Daniel's ear, "Each time they convert someone into a Prior, it seems to drain them more & more"

"I noticed" Danie replied, never taking his eyes off the ceremony, his voice equally low, "It seems that without Adria or the Orii to do it for them, it takes some effort for them to convert others into Priors. I'm impressed, the Doci is still lucid & olding his own, even if he looks like he is about to faint"

"Agreed. I have noted this for next time, this is handy to know if ever our new Prior friends decide to rekindle old religious habits" Landry replied, Daniel knowing what those words meant shoud any of the newly Priorised Jaffa or Humans become agressive or decide to take to presecuting others as they did during the Orii's Holy Crusade 2 years before.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the anti-Prior devices were re-activated & the assembed guests gathered for a feat to formerly celebrate the conversion of the new Priors & cement the alliance with the followers of Origin in which they now found themselves. After the meal was done & copies of the historic peace accord between galaxies had been copied & disseminated to the various member species of the alliance & their friends & allies, the various delegates from the various species & word began to file out; saying their goodbyes & hammering out last minute trade deals & forging new diplomatic ties before returning to their respective worlds via either Stargate or spaceship.

It was sometime later, when all was peaceful & quite, & most of the base was asleep, when the knock at the door to Daniel's qaurters came early in the wee hours of the moring. At first Daniel ignored it, but as it became more insistant, he sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Getting dressed & walking to the door, he opened it to find a young Airman standing in the hallway, his face pale, his expression grim under the harsh neon lights of the passageway.

"What is Airman?" Daniel asked, yawning.

"Supreme Commander Tomin of the Alterran Armed forces & retinue have asked you to meet him & the rest of SG-1, in the de-briefing room at once, it's a matter of some urgency"

"Oh. wow. OK, I'll be there in a minute" Daniel replied, hurried getting dressed & racing to the de-briefing room to find the rest of SG-1, Tomin, the Doci & his retainers waiting for him. General Landry was already fully dressed & sitting in his usual chair at the head of the table. It looked like he had not slept in some time.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Daniel asked, noticing the grave look on their faces, the grim look on Landry's face & the hard lines around his mouth telling him all was not as it should be.

"We just got word from one of the Priors on an Orii mothership orbiting P54-889-Y" Landry replied, "One of the other Priors on another Orii mothership has gone postal & decimated settlement on one of the planets on the outter edge of the galaxy"

Daniel's face dropped. It was happening again. Not now, not so soon, not after how far they had all come, with so much still at stake.

"Has it been confirmed?" He asked.

Tomin nodded, his face ashen.

"We have confirmed it by ong-range sensors aboard one of our other ships, as well as eye-witness reports corroberated from refugees fleeing through the Stargate"

"Has the Doci tried to contact him using the long-range communication jewel-stone-thingy in his robes, you know, like the jewels in the staffs the Priors use communicate with one another over vast distances?"

The Doci nodded.

"All attempts to contact this rogue Prior have faied. I will try again, with your permission?" He asked, looking at Landry, whom nodded, an Airman - the same one whom had awoken him only minutes before, Daniel noticed - switched off the Anti-Prior device nearby so the Doci coud try & communicate with his wayward brethen.

Closing his eyes, the Doci concentrated, his eyes closed & the jewel on his robes glowing faintly in the dim light as he tried to contact the rouge Prior.

"He hears me" The Doci said, through closed eyes, "but does not obey. Somehow he is blocking my thoughts, preventing m from disabing him from here. We must find him, & quickly, for he does any more damage & jeapordises all we have strived so hard for"

Opening his his, he nodded to Landry, whom re-actived the device.

"Please understand that this was not our doing. This Prior managed to hide his thoughts even from the Doci. We woud ave not bought him hre with through the Supergate if we had know he woud be this unstable"

"I believe you Tomin" Landry replied, "but I don't know how the people of that world whom had their homes destoryed - or our other allies - are going to believe you after this, not so soon after the Crusade"

"I undertsand General Landry. What happened is regretable, & I promise we shal do all we can to assist those whom have lost their homes, once we have dealt with this Prior"

"He is no Prior of the Orii" The Doci intoned, glaring from across the table "I renounce him from the order of Priors, & condemn him to burn in the Fires of eternal d**nation for this low & mostly cowardly of acts"

That, thought Daniel, was perhaps one of the harshest statements he had evr heard the Doci make, & was, without a doubt. a condemnation of the strongest possible terms.

"We shall leave at once" Tomin said, rising.

"SG-1 will accompany you on this mission, to ensure it's success" Landry said, the others nodding their agreement. "Besides, if people see us working together on this, maybe we can go into damage control & limit the fallout from this"

"Agreed" Tomin replied.

"I shall send Marcos with you" The Doci intoned, "You will need his expertise if you are to bring this fugative Prior to justice"

Landry ooked at Tomin, whom both nodded thir agreement, along with the consent of SG-1, as Tomin addressed the Doci & Landry.

"I will have the Doci rejoin the flet & have our other ships journey back through the Supergate so as to not cause any more offcence. One rouge Prior with an Orrii mothership is enough to worry about" Landry nodded his agreement, as Tomin turned to the Doci & said "Venerable Doci, please ensure all the other Priors are exmained thoroughly for any signs of this madness, we cannot afford it to spread. Go back to Celestis & await my return to the City of the Gods, we shall discuss this further when I return"

"As you wish, Supreme Commander. May the Orii watch over you" The Doci intoned, rising to leave.

"And you, Doci" Tomin replied, before joining SG-1 aboard the Enlightenment's Fire, escourting the other Orii motherships back to the Supergate - making sure all were accounted for - before they passed back through the Supergate into the Alterran galaxy & the safty of the Empire.

"Alright team" Mitchell said, looking about him as Daniel, Vala, Teal'c, Sam & Tomin stood wathcing him, Marcos sitting in the command chair on the bridge nearby as he concntrated & forced the ship to enter into hyperspace after the roue motherhsip & it's deluded Prior. "Let's go bag ourselves a rouge Prior. . . ."

[Akren Garkos]

Fire rained from the sky as the wraith of the Orii rained down from on high. Villagers screamed, babies cried & diaster reigned as Ga'laed, Prior of the Orii & instrument of their divine will, wrought bloody venegence on the hapless populace below.

"The Light, it comes again!" Screamed a villager, as yet another beam of bright yellow-white energy stream from the heavens, watching in horror as a nearby village was wiped out in an instant by the wraith wrough to them by on high.

He had had friends in that village - but no more. None of them stood a chance, wiped out of existence in an instant. Closing his eyes, tears welling up in them as he did so, he turned & ran with the others, headed for the Stargate & their one source of freedom of theis cursed world, unloved by the gods. His last vision as he looked back befor entering the stargate would haunt him in his nightmares & stay with him unto the end of his days, as he watched as yet another beam of deadly Orii weapons fire obliterated his village in the blink of an eye. Turning, unable to control the tears which freely flowed down his face, he entered into the event horizion of the active gate, leaving his home - which had since become Hell - for the last & final time.

"In the name of the Orii, I smote thee" Ga'laed intoned as he looked on as he fired volley after destructive volley onto the world below. "May you burn in the Fires of Eternal d**nation & Everlasting Torment"

Commander Vale, the military leader of the Orii mothership which Ga'laed commanded, watched on in horror as the mad Prior continued to destroy the helpless people of the unnamed planet below.

"Forgive me Prior" He said, bowing to Gal'aed, "but should we not try to convert the people of the planet below, to show them the error of theirs ways, so they may embrace Origin through the willingness of their own hearts, rather than wipe them out like vermin? They are defenseless & cannot resist"

"They are UnBelievers, kept in the darkness & shadow, sheltered by evil. All those whom do not believe in the Orii are evil & must be destroyed" Ga'laed replied, not turning to look at his Commander. "It is the will of the Orii"

"Is it the will of the Orii to murder innocence sentients?"

At that remark, Ga'laed turned to look at Commander Vale & glared at his sideways.

"You dare question the will of the Orii?!?" He asked threatening.

"Only those whom claim to do evil as righteousness in their name" Vale replied.

"Then you shall perish & burn with the UnBelievers below!" Ga'laed bellowed, whirling on Commander Vale & branishing his staff, watching with twisted, grim satisifcation as he rose of the floor, eyes wide as the life drained out of him, choked to death by Ga'laed's Orii-given powers.

"Arvis!" He cried, the gaurd at the door to the control room comming in, his eyes widening almost as much as Vale's unblinking orbs as he beheld the dead Commander on the floor, looking first at the corpse of his former Commander & then at the Prior, then back again.

"Y-y-Yes, Prior?" He stammered.

"Commander Vale has abandoned the Path, & has been punished by the divine will of the Orii. You are now promoted to the rank of Commander"

"Y-yes Prior"

"And Avris?" Ga'laed said, as Avris & two other gaurds dragged out Commander Vale's lifeless body, Avris turning to look at him with fear in his eyes, "Do not make the same mistake as the late Commander Vale here; I would hate to have to make an example of you, as well"

"Y-yes, Prior, I Understand completely Prior" Commander Avris replied, taking his leave as he helped him men carry the dead body of their former Commander to be disposed by the ring platform, to be dumped into the cold reaches of space.

"Commander?" One of lutentients asked as they moved the body into position on the ring platform & pressed the necessary seqeuence of buttons, Avris pressing the final button to active the rings & dispose of the body himself, "May I speak frankly, without fear of repraisal?"

"You may" Avris replied.

"If I may so Commander, methinks - & this is a veiw held by many aboard this vessel - that the Prior has gone mad"

If Ga'laed had been there at that very moment, the lieutenant would o been executed on the spot for heresy, or at the wrose, flogged for blaspheming against an ordained representative of the Gods. Lucky for him, the Prior was not there. Lucky for both of them.

"It is worse" Avris replied grimly, as they made their way down the hallway of the ship to tend to other duties, his face contorting in a look of despair & disgust, trying not to think about the masacare that was unfolding on the planet below, "He is utterly insane. . . "

Meanwhile, Camron Mitchell & the rest of SG-1 watched aboard the Odyessy as the last of the Orii motherships retreated through the Supergate, Tomin looking on with them as he signal the Prior on his mothership, the Enlighten's Fire, to shut down the Supergate.

"Lock the dialing sequence" Tomin said into a radio, the Prior acknowledging the command back, as the Supergate grew dark.

"What did you do?" Vala asked him curiously, "what does 'locking the dailing sequence' do?"

"It locks the Supergate in place & stops anyone from dialing in or out, or establishing a stable wormhole between the Supergate connecting our two galaxies & prevents th activation code we use to dial the gate from being accepted by the command crystals embedded in the gate itself until an override command is given. Only members of the High Council, the Doci, myself & a select few of the Order Infernus Infinitus know of it's existence, let alone the code to unlock it. Until that happens, the Supergate - as you call it - will remain dormaint" Tomin replied.

"You can do that?!?" Daniel asked.

"Of course we can" Tomin replied smugly, giving him a lop-sided grin. "Do you not think the Orii woud of bequeathed us all this advanced technology & Ascended knowledge without giving us the means to use it? Especially given the curcumstances from whence we originally came to your galaxy for?"

"He has a point" Carter relied, "So what do we do about this rogue Prior"

"I will go back to my flagship, & accompany you via hyperspace to see that he is bought to justice. He will be brought before the Alterran High Council, as well as the people of this galaxy & the world on which he has wrought so much destruction, & shall be made to pay of his terrible crimes. This I swear to you & promise not just Supreme Commander & a devotee of Origin, but as a friend"

Nodding to Tomin, SG-1 saw him leave as he ringed over to his ship, the Orii mothership & the Earth deep space carrier jumping to hyperspace a few moments later, heading towards the outter edge of tge galaxy to confront the rogue Prior.

Meanwhile, Ga'laed has ceased his bombardment of the planet before him - it was decimated & was virtualy uninhabitable now anyway - as the jewel in his staff glowed, eyes closed & deep in concentration as his mind was invaded by the powerful prescence of the Doci. Ga'laed resisted - the Doci was the religious head of state of Origin, a brilliant orator & a powerful enhancd Human - more so than he himself or othr Priors - & yet he somehow resisted his influence. Perhaps it was the distance between them, or the changes that wretched Ark of Truth had wrought in his mind following the UnBelievers defeat of the Orii & the end of the Holy Crusade in their most glorious name, but he resisted nonetheless.

He smiled silently to himself, pleased with this turn of events. The gods were all-knowing, wise, & merciful beyond measure. Praising their hallowed existence & giving thanks for this fortunately turn of events, he turned to the newly-appointed Commander Avris & stated : "Bring in the prisioner"

So saying, Avris signalled two gaurds whom draged in a battered & bloodied man in the distinctive uniform of an SGC field solider whom had be found amongst the scant survivors of the world below which had been cast into ruin & fire at Ga'laed hands by the will of the one true gods.

Dumping is bruised & bloodied body at the feet of the Prior, the battered SGC soldier looked up at the Prior & sat on the floor at his feet, blood mixing with spittle, leaving a stain on the otherwise pristine floor.

"So much for the end to the Holy Crusade" He said mockingly.

"The Holy Crusade was ended when the Ark of Truth exposed us to your lies" Ga'laed retorted, "The High Council chose to believe the lies you programmed into that infernal device. I however, did not. I know the truth of the matter"

"And what, or should I say which[/b] truth is that?" The solider spat back, blood dribbling down his chin.

"You claim to have destroyed the Orii, to denounce their divine might. Yet the Orici - may her divine light never fade - ascended to become as one with Gods themselves. You claim, through your infernal devices, that the Orii are not gods, yet they have brought about the divine punishment I have delivered unto the people of this world. The Holy Crusade shalll begin anew, & I, Ga'laed, Prior of the Orii, shall lead it in their most Hallowed name"

"The Ark of Truth has made you insane" The solider replied, "Stargate Command & her allies will not stand for this. The people of this galaxy will not stand for it. They have seen more opression at the hands of the Goa'uuld & the Replicators & the Lucian Alliance than you will ever know, & they wil fight back & we wil be victorious, as we always have been"

"Perhaps" Ga'laed replied, "But not today. What makes you think you canresist the will of the Orii?"

"Because it's what's right"

"And whom are you, an UnBeliever, born in darkness & sheltered by evil, to say what is right & just & true?" Ga'laed replied, "Only the Orii, in their infinite wisdom & majesty, can kow such things"

"I will tell you nothing more" The solider replied, "The SGC doesn't negotiate with terrorists, let alone extremist mass murderers, not matter what their species or beliefs"

Ga'laed smiled, replying: "Ah, but you will, for you have knowledge I seek, & if it is the one thing the Orii have taught us; it is that knowledge is power. Hold him!"

So saying, two gaurds held the solider in place as Ga'laed closd his eyes & concentrated, his staff glowing with power as he invaded the man's consciousness.

"You have a strong mind" Ga'laed remarked, surprised, "But you will not prevail. All, eventually, bow to will of the Orii or are made unto dust"

The solider began to sweat & tremble as Ga'Laed probed deper, harder, more forcefully into his mind, invading his very being in his quest for knowledge.

"Your name is Matheson" Ga'laed said, smiling, the knowledge slowing comming to him like water trickling from a rock, "You are a Major at Stargate Command. You have a wife, & two children, Mark & Sally. You came to this world at the beheast of your leaders to conduct a survey of it's people & their ways"

Ga'laed gasped as new knowledge entred his mind from that of Major Matheson, feeling more resistance, he pressed even harder, shattered the man's defences as he exposed knowledge he tried to kep secert.

"You were stationed in a city of the Ancients - the descendants of the evil spirits cast out by the Orii at Ord Mallum - it was a place far away, not as far as we are from our home galaxy, but far away enough. In a place, a galaxy, called Pegasus; in a city to rival to that of Celestis. Atlantis[/i]."

Opening his eyes, Ga'laed smiled in triumph as ripped the location of Altantis from his mind, the soliders releasing Major Matheson as they saw the feral look in his eyes.

"You have been most helpful, Major Matheson; the Orii be praised"

"The Orii are dead, may you rot in Hell with them!" Matheson spat back.

"You first" Ga'laed replied, gesturing with his staff & watching in satisfaction as his head twisted almost 360 degrees, snapping with a loud crack that echoed throughout the control room.

"Depose of this...refuse" Ga'laed commanded the soliders, gesuring to the now-dead body on the floor, "& prepare the men, we leave at once, for the Lost City of Atlantis, in the galaxy of Pegasus"

"There they are!" Cameron Mitchell cried as both the Odyessy & the Enlightenmnent's Fire dropped out of hyperspace, the Orii mothership dead a head of them, hanging over a now-dead world.

"Any response to our hails?" The captain asked.

"None, Sir" The comm officer replied.

"And Supreme Commander Tommin?"

"No answer from them either"

"Sir, the enemy mothership is powering weapons!"

"Evasive action - SG-1?"

"We're on it Sir, we'll ring over to Tommin's ship now" Sam replied, SG-1 going to join Tommin's flagship as the enemy Orii shp starting fire it's deadly main cannon at each ship in turn, performing evasive manuevers of it's own.

"So you have found me" Ga'laed said, whispering faintly to himself as to make himself nearly unheard to all but himself & his beloved Gods, watching from the bridge as his ship returned fire on the enemy vessels; sadden to be attacked by one of his own as the Supreme Commander's flagship & the hated Earth vessel bore down upon him. "But you shall not have me"

The three ships traded blows back & forth, but Ga'laed was outnumbered, his ship taking fire form the Earth vessel as well as the other Orii mothership. He was lucky in that that we only trying to disable, not kill, him; whilst he could fire shots at them with inpututity. Even so, it was a battle he knew he could not win.

"I do not have time for these games" He cursed, "I have a date with destiny!"

"Sir, enemy ship is engaging hyperdrive!" The comm officer cried.

"Supreme Commander Tommin, SG-1, did you read that?"

"Copy that, we're with Tomin now" Sam replied, watching as the Orii mothership engaged it's hyperdrive, speed away to a pinpoint as it entered hyperspace, beyond the reach of the Odyssey[/i/] & the [iEnlighten's Fire's weapons.

"D**n!" Mitchell cried, "We lost them!"

"No quite, Colonel Mitchell" Tomin replied, gesturing to Marcus standing nearby, the viens on his neck standing out, his face a pallid white colour, eyes screwed together in a look of deep concentration. "Observe"

"What is he doing?" Vala asked curiously, going over to wave a hand in front of his face, Marcus aware of his presence, ignoring her, eliciting sour looks from the rest of SG-1.

"He is attempting to penetrate the Prior's mind to discern his plans" Tomin replied.

"He can do that?" Daniel asked, "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Extremely so" Tomin replied, "Invading the mind of another is a risky business requiring extreme concentration. It is far eaiser if the subject doesn't resist, or better yet, is willing & aware of the process. To do so on another, as I am sure you are aware from personal experience with the Orici, Doctor Jackson, is a risky business at best. To do so an enhanced being - what do you & your Jaffa friends call them? 'Hauk'Taur's'? - to do so to a Prior, especially someone as unstable as this one...."

His voice trailed off as Daniel looked at Marcus, his face going almost as pale as the enhanced spy's.

"I am trying" Marcus satted his eyes closed, "He is so strong" His eyes crinkled even more & sweat beaded his forehead, "So chaotic, confused, so full of hated & malice"

"It's Ga'laed" he said, a slight smile touching his lips as his mind made contact with that of his quarry, his face quickly resuming the hardened look of concentration as his victory was short lived. "His mind fades the further away he travels from us, but I am certain is it he"

"Ga'laed was a Prior of Gallicia, one of the more conservative & fanatical worlds still loyal to the memory of the Orii"

"That doesn't sound good" Cam replied.

"They are one of the major trade centres of our Empire & a source of many viable Stargate addresses in our home galaxy, located just a few short hours travel by darkspace - what you call hyperspace - from the Astra Portal Megalingus" Tomin admitted, using the Alterran terms for hyperspace & the Ancient word for the Supergate respectively, "They tolerate outsiders but adhere to their local customs & traditions fiercely. And they broach no disrespect of Origin or the Orii. Some of the High Council's edicts regarding revisions of the Book of Origin have been...unpopular with the local Administrators. If we were not so reliant upon for trade...."

"It seems our respective governments have more in common than we at first thought" Cam replied, nodding.

Suddenly, Marcus' eyes flew open, a small gasp escaping his lips.

"Atlantis" He said.

"What?" Daniel said, "You can't be serious?!?"

"What is it?" Vala asked, looking concerned.

Ga'laed has ripped the information of the strong hold of those whom were cast out from the mind of one of your companions on the planet" Marcus said, "Beyond that I can glean no further, he is too far away for me to maintain contact any longer"

"Oh for crying out loud..." Cam intoned, expariated.

"If they're headed for Atlantis...." Sam shuddered to think of Atlantis, with it's sole ZPM, under attack from a crazed Prior wielding the full fury of an Orii mothership, could withstand.

"Someone has to warn them" Vala stated.

"We have no way of getting to Atlantis fast enough in an 404, their hyperdrives aren't fas enough, it takes 3 weeks for us to get there" Sam said.

"Then we will use the Enlightenment's Fire" Tomin replied, "I put my vessel & it's crew at your disposal"

"And what of Marcus & the Doci?" Daniel asked.

"I cannot order them to accompany us" Tomin replied, frowning; obviously having to consider their respective positions with the scheme of the Alterran Empire.

"The Doci is the spiritual head of our Order & the leader of Origin on the lower planes of existence" Marcus stated matter-of-factly, "I am not willing to risk his safety in a foreign galaxy we have little to no knowledge of. He can best serve the purpose here with the new Priors of this galaxy. I will go in stead"

Looking at the Doci, whom nodded his approval, Cam nodded back, asking: "You are sure you wanna come with us?"

"Ga'laed has soil the name of the Orii, done a disservice to the servants of Origin & could destroy all we have worked so hard to build since the end of the Crusade. We cannot allow him to continue his rampage unchecked & shatter the fragile peace we have all worked so hard to create. Besides, he is a Prior of the Orii - & an insane one at that - whom better to help bring him in to face justice than a member of the Order of the Sacred Flame?"

"Ok, you're in" Cam said, nodding.

Quickly hammering out details of their plan, they ringing the Doci over to the Odyssey to be escorted back to Earth as SG-1, with Tomin & Marcus in tow, made a bee line for the Pegasus Galaxy & the Lost City of Atlantis, racing against time to stop the mad Prior Ga'laed before he could cause any more damage to innocents across the galaxies & the stars. . .

[Akren Garkos]

Unfamiliar stars in an unfamiliar galaxy whirled about them as the mothership reverted back to normal space, a silver teardrop against a cavalcade of suns, each a pinprick of light in the inky blackness; forming a stunning vista out the front viewport of the bridge as Avris – newly promoted to the rank of Commander – walked through the orinate stain-glassed doors & took a step onto the dais, a Prior of the Orii seated in the ship's command chair, etched in the symbol of the Origin faith, his pale features almost serene, eyes closed in concentration as the ship continued to drift through the void.

“We have come out of dark space early” Avris observed, more a statement than a question.

“Our travels to this new galaxy have taxed the hyperdrive, & it requires time to cool before we may resume our journey” Ga'laed replied from the chair, his eyes opening to regard the Commander with milky orbs of omniscience which seemed to pierce the veil of his very soul. His tone was even, matter-of-fact, his eyes steady, belaying no hint of the madness that lay behind them. “We should be able to resume our journey to the Lost City within a few hours”

“At-lant-is” Avris said, his tongue stumbling over the unfamiliar word.

“Alantis” Ga'laed replied. “The last bastion of Those Whom Were Cast Out” - referring to the Ancients whom had fled the Milkyway for the Pegasus Galaxy when The Plague (which had rightly been smote upon them by the Orii) has swept through their former Empire - decimating their holdings in Earth's home galaxy - the place they themselves had once named Avalon.

“The Orii laid the Old Spirits low & cast them out, whence they fled to paradise[/b]” - mockingly using the English translation of the Ancient word Avalon for the Milkyway - “But even there they were not safe, & when the Orii in their infinite wisdom & power cast their wroth upon those whom had abandoned the Path in their new home, even then they fled to this, the Pegasus Galaxy. And now, by their divine will, we are here. We shall lay low this remnant of the Old & make way for the new. In this far-off, far-flung destination, we shall bring light to this place, this galaxy: this, the most furtherest reach of the Orii's creation”

“As you say & as the Orii will it, Prior” Avris replied evenly, keeping his thoughts keenly to himself, well aware of the fate that awaited any whom challenged Ga'laed & his twisted version of the Origin faith, as had been the provence of the man he had replaced.

“Ready the troops” Ga'laed ordered, “As soon as we come out of dark space we shall strike with the element of surprise & lay low the interlopers whom dwell within this 'lost city' & make them unto dust. We will resume our journey to Atlantis once the So will the Orii”

“Hallowed are the Orii” Avris replied, bowing, his face pale under his hidden features.

“Hallowed are the Orii” Ga'laed replied, Avris leaving him to his madness, seeing to the troops his insane Prior in his madness would soon send to their deaths, or worse, in this galaxy far from home.

Meanwhile, aboard the Enlightenment's Fire, SG-1 – Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell, Colonel Samantha Carter, the Jaffa warrior Teal'c, Dr. Daneil Jackson, Vala Mal Doran & Jonas Quinn – along with Supreme Commnder Tomin of the Alterran High Council – Vala's former husband - & Marcus, Hauk'Taur & agent of the Order of the Infinite Flame – the Alterran's spy & information network – were discussing strategy & playing out scenarios even as the Orii mothership hurtled through hyperspace, speeding through the massive distance between galaxies on it's way to the Pegasus Galaxy in a desperate race against the mothership of Ga'laed to reach the Lost City of the Ancients, Atlantis, ahead of the insane Prior of the Orii before he could destroy it.

“We know that the Orii gave you Ascended technology on par with those of the Ancients at the height of prowess” Daniel said, “And we know that the city's drones are capable of penetrating orii shields, as will those of your own motherships”

“So will the Asgard beam weapons on our Daedalus-class cruisers” Mitchell added, “Even if we don't have any to spare after the Battle of Area 51 with that blasted super-Hive”

“Truth” Tomin replied nodding, acknowledging the Tau'ri's technological assertiveness, they had a back for finding ways to defeat their enemies, even when outmatched & outclassed, whether it be by sheer numbers or in technology. Indeed, the people of Earth – SG-1 & Team Sheppard of Atlantis in particular – having a reputation across four galaxies for being able to pull victory from the very jaws of defeat.

“Can you hack into their systems with the information & knowledge I shared about Orii systems when I was a Prior?” Daniel asked, looking at Colonel Carter.

“I suppose so” replied Sam, “but I would need a direct interface aboard Ga'laed's mothership”

“I can ring you aboard once we are in range” Tomin replied, “but you'll need help taking out the warriors once your aboard, we still don't know if they are serving Ga'laed willingly or not”

“I shall assist you Colonel Carter” Teal'c said, Sam glad to have Teal'c at her back.

“I'll go too” Daniel said, “Maybe I can talk some sense into them”

“Count me in” Vala said, giving everyone a mischievous look, “You could use a thief”

Everyone smiled at that comment, the group well aware of her days as a thief, smuggler & con-artist prior to her days joining SG-1.

“That leaves me & Jonas to help co-ordinate the defences on Atlantis in conjunction with Sheppard & the rest of the Atlantis personnel” Mitchell said, Jonas nodding to him teammate in approval.

“There is still the problem of Ga'laed” Daniel frowned, “Insane & mad as he is, he is still a Prior & wields all the powers of an Advanced Human. Even without his Orii-given powers, from what you have told us he would still be a viable threat”

“Leave that murderous traitor Ga'laed to me” Marcus said, silent up until now, his ember eyes burning with an intensity all their own, “I shall deal with him or die trying, by the Orii & all that is Hallowed, I swear it”

“What about the anti-Prior device we bought?” Mitchell suggested.

Sam shook her head, & replied “It would neutralize Marcus's powers as well”

“The way I understand it, your device interrupts the brainwaves & higher-thought patterns of enhanced individuals so thy cannot access the higher brain functions required to use such abilities as what you call telekenesis” – Marcus spelt out the unfamiliar word - “Rendering them normal, yes?”

Sam nodded, impressed with his explanation.

“Whatever 'normal' is” Mitchell stated, gandering a snort or two from Vala & looks from Daniel shot her way.

Marcus ignored them.

“Is it not also true that with suffice study & effort that one such as I could overcome the limitations of such a device?” Marcus asked.

Sam eyed her collogues as Marcus waited for an answer, not willing to admit the limitations of the anti-Prior device & give Marcus & Tomin any more intel than they had to, allies or not, the information was valuable & not to shard lightly, especially with an individual whom could smap your neck and kill you just by thinking about it.

“I shall take your silence to mean that it is possible” Marcus said matter-of-factly

“The frequency varies & changes every time you turn on the device” Sam stated, as if that were some measure of comfort.

“Activate the device & leave it with me” Marcus stated, “It shall give me time to circumvent it's effects & may yet prove useful when we confront Ga'laed aboard his mothership”

“I don't see any other way way around it Sam” Daniel said.

“We can always reset it later” Mitchell replied, “Do it”

“OK” Sam said, getting out the anti-Prior device from her field bag, activating it & handing it to Marcus.

He frowned as it activated, as if aware he been disconnected from an integral part of his being for the first time. The look on his face told how well the knowledge he couldn't access his Orii-given powers effected him. The look wasn't lost on Tomin or SG-1. They didn't envy him. The look passing from his face, Marcus re-arranged his features into one of serene composure, settled down cross-legged on the floor, setting the device in front of him in his lap & began to concentrate on circumventing the anti-Prior device's effects by finding the correct frequency with which it was blocking his powers by continually attacking the device with his mind.

The rest of SG-1 went to prepare as best they could whilst they waited for the journey for Atlantis to be over, hoping against hope that they had beaten Ga'laed there first...

It was night time on Atlantis when the call came through. At first Sheppard didn't believe it, not until Mitchell & Carter got on the horn & gave their authentication codes & had given him the full story.

“An Orii mothership, on it's way here?” Woolsey said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, having been roused from slumber only moments before.

“That's right, Sir” Sheppard replied, filling Woosley & the rest of his team – as well as Major Lorne whom had just arrived – in on the situation.

“Are we sure the threat is credable?” Lorne asked, “It's not a trick?”

“Not a trick” Sheppard replied, “We have confirmation from SG-1 as well as one of their own that a rogue Prior broke off from the main Orii delegation & is headed our way”

“So much for peace” Lorne snorted.

“We understand that this Prior has gone rogue & is acting on his own & is not[/i] representative of the newly-formed government from the Orii home galaxy” Woosley stated, “At least thats the impression I got from what you've told me, Colonel Sheppard”

“That's right, Sir” Sheppard replied, wincing under the upturned eyebrow & piercing gaze of his senior officer. Superior Commander or not, Woosley was a politician through & through. Politics had never suited him. That was Woosley & Weir's speciality.

Speaking of the devil, John smiled as a somewhat sleep deprived Elizabeth Weir entered into the briefing room. Apologising for her lateness, she sat quietly as John, Woosley & the rest of the team got her up to speed. Her face paled when he mentioned the fact that a crazed Prior piloting a rogue Orii mothership was headed straight for Atlantis.

“Well we know that ZPM-enhanced Asgard shields & beam weapons can pierce their shields, & we know that Ancient drone weapons can be equally as effective against their motherships, according to intel shared with us from the combat logs & mission reports from the Odyssey & the SGC obtained during our last briefing with Earth” Elizabeth stated, sounding more confident that she felt.

"What about the shield?" Woolsely asked.

"A vast majority of Orii technology is constructed using Ascended knowledge" MacKay replied, "I am guessing its at least on par with, if not equal to, the latest Ancient tech here in Atlantis; & Ancient shields have never had to put up with bombardment from Orii weapons fire before, so there's no telling now long we could protect the city with just the one ZedPM"

"Can we not communicate with this Prior, convince him of his wrong-doing, or at least make him see reason?" Tayla asked.
"From what SG-1 and the Alterran delegation have been able to acern, this Prior went rogue after SG-1 used the Ark of Truth to de-program the Priors in this galaxy"

"Are you saying that we[/i] did this?" Woosely replied incredulously.

"Our best guess is that this Prior - Galaed is his name - couldn't reconcile his religious conditioning with the de-programming beam emitted from the Ark of Truth when it was communicated to the Priors in this galaxy via that telepathic network which apparently links all their staff's together & went over the deep end"

"Oh your kidding me?!!" Rodney retorted, rolling his eyes. "Just what we need, an insane Prior with a mothership holding a grudge against the Ancients"

"How did he even find out about us in the first place?!?" Woosely asked.

"Apparently he waited until the Orii delegation came back through the the Supergate & the Priors aboard their motherships were given their assignments to check up on worlds in the Milkyway they converted during the war & then showed his true colors by raising the population of a world on the outer edge of the galaxy before ripping the information from the mind of a former Atlantis staffer stationed in the settlement & then making his way here"

"Charming" Woosely replied, disliking this Prior the more he heard of him.

"What are we going to do to defend Atlantis?" Ronnon asked.

"I'd like Ronon, Teyla & Lorne on security and defense detail, if that's Ok?" Shepard asked, looking at Woosely.

"Done" Woosely replied, "Doctor MacKay, I want you and your team to devise a way to extend all the power we can muster from the ZPM to bolster the city's shield."

"Got it!" Rodney replied, activating his headset to speak to Zalenka & gathering up his
Portable tablet PC as he rushed from the room, calculating already running through his head as he are his way to the main science lab.

"Elizabeth, I'd be grateful if you'd rouse the civilian contractors & prep them on the coming Orii threat"

"Of course" Weir replied, nodding in agreement, her ability to lead & inspire well known. A lot of the Expedition knew, respected & trusted her. It was one of the reasons that Woosely had made her is 2IC & Atlantis' chief diplomat.

"Thankyou" Wosely replied, smiling warmly at her.

The issue of resolving command of Atlantis following her rescue from the Asurans had been a rocky one, as had her recovery, but her deference to him as Expdition leader & her reintegration into the expeditions command structure had been a lot less painless & far more seemless than he could of hoped for. He was glad that he still had her & Sheppards Team on his side, & that head, in time, become a capable & effective leader in his own right. Leadership he would now have to demonstrate Under yet more trying circumstances as those he now found himself in.

"Sheppard, I want you & everyone else we have with the ATA gene in a puddle jumper and in the sky, cloaked and combat-ready in the next 20 minutes"

"Who's gonna sit in the Chair?" Shepard asked.

"Doctor Beckett" Wosely replied. "Doctor Keller will be in the infirmary ready to take casualties should the need arise. I'll have comms do long-range scans and have shields on standby, we don't want the Orii catching us with our pants down & I don't want to wait until SG-1 & Supreme Commander Tomin to get here to find us on the scrap-heap: get to it people"

So saying, everyone left to forefill their respective assignments in preparation for the Orii assault, Atlantis buzzing with a hive of activity as they awaited the inevitable confrontation with the rogue Orii mothership that was even now hurtling through hyperspace to greet them, intent on settling a vendetta over a billion years in the making. . . .

[Akren Garkos]

"Again!" Galaed, Prior of the Orii cried, "Send another wave of fighters to intercept theirs. It will not be long now..."

Looking out the window into the void, he spotted the strange, alien vessel which hung before him, looking not unlike a giant water-born shellfish which had somehow its way into space and had learnt to traverse the void between stars under power not its own.

His own mothership, whilst larger than any of the ships of their enemies back in the Milkyway, was nonetheless dwarfed by the massive alien starship between them and the planet below they had discovered when they had dropped out of darkspace to prepare their forces for the final trip to attack the Lost City of Atlantis in a few hours time. What made it even more confusing than its configuration and mammoth size was type fact that, according to his ships sensors, the vessel was almost entirely organic in nature, as we're the smaller, needle-nosed fighters swarming about the length and breadth of the Orii mothership.

"Yes, Prior" Avris replied, singalling his warrior to launch another squad of starfighters from the motherships' fighter bay closest to the enemy vessel.

Bracing himself, he grabbed a nearby console as another wave of blue-hot plasma bolts streaked from the alien vessel to slam against the ship's shields.

"Our technology is clearly superior to theirs - their ship appears to have no shields in the conventional sense, although I am reading that the organic parts of the ship see, to re-generating themselves by some means - nor do their fighters, and they cannot harm us in the slightest: then why do they persist in fighting us?" Avris said, noting the enemy ship had taken significant damage from the combined firepower of their starfighters and the motherships omni-directional energy cannons.

"We are new to this galaxy, it is obvious they have not encountered the glory of the Orii before" Galaed replied matter of factly from his seat of the Dias, his lips curling into a curl smile as caressed the control chair lovingly. "We must teach them"

So saying, he raised himself up to his full height and grabbed his staff, standing to look at the alien vessel before him. "And those whom will not bow, shall be laid low and made unto dust..."

Thus quoting the Book of Origin, he interfaced his mind with the metal link that formed apart of the special bond between Prior and mothership, and let fly with a blast from the the motherships main weapon, the powerful golden beam slicing through the enemy ship like a fist through wet paper, watching in satisfaction as the Hive ship before was obliterated in a single shot.

"Have our warriors pick off their remaining fighters at their leisure and return to the ship. This battle should serve to have heightened their senses. It is an opportunity I do not want to waste, the Orii-willing, we will make for Atlantis once the last starfighter is docked"

"As you will it, Prior, so shall it be" Avris replied, frowning a moment later a blow rocked the ship, the deck vibrating under their feat. "What in the name of the Gods...."

"Report?!" Galaed snapped, not bother to look at his Commander.

"According to these readings, there was a momentary fluctuation in our shields. Seems like one of their fighters got through and slammed directly into the hull, there's a breach in corridor 6, level 39"

Reaching out with his mind, Galaed sealed the breach with an emergency force field to contain the damage and sealed off the section.

"I have fixed the breach, take a squad of your best warriors and investigate, then repair the damage. We will resume course once the breach is fixed"

"Yes Prior" Avris said, moving toward the door, the Prior following him.

"I go to preach to those we have liberated below" Galaed said, "Make sure the repaired are fixed by the time I get back, I don't want to keep the usurpers on Atlantis waiting"

"As you will it, Prior, so shall it be done" Avris replied, doubling his steps as he gathered a contingent of warriors to accompany him to the damaged section, leaving Galaed to his own devices.

"What is it, Commander?" One of his lieutenants asked, as they reached deck 39 and made their way to corridor 6.

"There was a momentary fluctuations in our shields, and an enemy fighter got through. The Prior" - like all Alterrans whom followed Origin, he referred to Galaed by his rank and title, not his name (not that he would ever call the demeaned Prior by his name in any case. He hated and feared the man too much) - "managed to seal off the damaged section but wishes us to investigate"

"More madness" another warrior said allowed.

"Be grateful he is not here to hear you tout such blasphemy, else you will wind up dead" Avris said, not bothering to debate whether or not Ga'laed was mad or not. That he was insane was without doubt. Doubt or not, he still had command of this ship and the power - thanks to his enhanced Prior abilities - to back it up. Until such time he was weakened and on the defensive (& then Avris doubted they could best a Prior of the Orii, such a thing had only been done once by SG-1 of Earth, and only then through one of their ingenious machines they had constructed with the help of an Ascended Ancient), there was no use arguing with his commands.

Rounding a corner, Avirs readied his staff weapon, the others doing likewise, gauntlet stunners at the ready.

"Steady men" he said as he signaled one of his team to open the door which automatically seale doff he damaged section, bracing for the worst.

The door slid open near-silently - another testimony to the engineering and Ascend genius of the Gods - to reveals scene of utter devastation. A good portion of the section had been vaporized by the impact of the alien vessel, the enemy fighter having left a tapping hole into space through which the stars were clearly visible. If not for the shield holding both atmosphere and the decking in place, they all would of been sucked out into the depths of cold space beyound. The body of an Orii warrior and that of a hand Maiden floated nearby outside, slowly drifting away for the ship. Avris frowned and said a quick prayer to the Orii, asking that they accompany this souls to be with them in paradise. They deserved no less.

"In the name of the Gods...." Someone behind Avris gasped.

Avris swept aside the devastation & dismissed the carnage with the glance of a seasoned warrior. It old take many hours of solid work around the clock to fix the damage.

Turning to the rear guard, he issued orders for a clean up crew to follow them once hey signaled the all clear in order to begin reconstruction efforts without delay. The officer bolted back down the corridor whence he had come to forefill his orders. Avid couldn't help but smile. As bad as Galaeds crazed orders may be and the more insane and fanatical he was becoming, Avris still commanded the loyalty of his men.

"Come" he said, making his way into the damaged section, followed closely by his men. "Let us make what we can of mess, shall we?"

So saying, he lead his men through the damage corridor - which incidentally ran the curve of the ships main deflector disc - thanking the Gods the enemy vessel had hit where it had. Had the shields fluctuated like they did when firing the main beam weapon and the ship had hit a little lower and to the right, then the damage could of been far worse than what it was.

As he and his men made their way through the corridor, inspecting the damage and securing the room on the port side of the ship - which were thankfully mostly enact - he couldn't he,p but feel uneasy, as if they were being watched.

"Did you hear something?" His second in command said aloud, a chill running down his spine.

"No, but I thought I saw movement up ahead, but it was fleeting and it is dark" another replied,unsure of what he had seen.

"What the -?!?" A third said, pointing, all of them gasping as something in the corridor ahead of the swirled in the air, looking like a mirage or heat wave that seemed it move with a will of is own.

"Steady as she goes men..." Avris said, his senses heighten, everyone on alert as they made their way to the apparition.

When the attack came. It was not from the front, where they were expecting, but behind. The apparition they were chasing sudd let disolvex and Avirs' men cried out as a spindly, lethe figure dropped like a spider from above to attack his men form behind. Turning, watched as the thing that looked like a man but was not a man rose to its full height, pale skin glistening in the dark, dressed form the neck down in what appeared to black leather, long white hair hanging loosely about its face, reptilian eyes gleaming in the darkness, it's feral smile exposing the canine, pointed teeth of a predator.

"Attack" yelled Avris, the alien sending the rear guard - now the lead - flying back into his fellows with what seemed like a touch.

Firing his gauntlet device, Avris watched as the creature took the blast full on, staggering back a few steps, only to snarl at him before answering with a handheld weapon of its own.

The blaster - or was it a gun - he couldn't tell, he had don't heard tell of such weapons from his dealings with other warriors whom had fought the Humans of the Tau'ri on the front lines during the Crusade - seemed to organic, to be grown somehow, a lime greenish brown ending in a golden bulb which reminded him more of fruit than anything else, emitted a bright blue spark of energy which slammed into the neck of the solider nearest him, seeming to pass through him, rather than hurt him, the spiders eyes going wide as he lost control of his lady functions, crashing to the deck, paralyzed.

The creature snarled again as it continued its attack, seemingly to have the strength of many men, as it fought his team, snapping the neck of a nearby solider and knocking unconscous another. Avris himself found his body slamming into nearby wall, the wind knocked out of him as he watched yet anther warrior flying into the shield protecting the corridor from space,instantly knocked unconscous by the impact, the stench of burning flesh adding to the maelstrom as he fell to the deck. He would require careful ministrations form the healers aboard in order to live - even if his back wouldn't be prevented for scarring judging by the view he had of the soldiers still-smoking back - if any of them survived this battle at all.

"Argh!" Avris' attention was brought back to the present as he saw the creature reach around and snap the arm of a nearby solider, the sound of braking bone clearly audible in the enclosed space, dropping the am to the floor,smiling as it stood over him. Confused, Avirs watched as, rather than kill the man, The alien - he was still not convinced it wasn't a demon related to the Old Slirits he had read about in the Book of origin that his parents had used to frighten him into behaving as a child -knelt down to remove his armor, raising its right arm - was that a wound, or some kind of mouth on its palm?!?! - and slamming it down on his now-exposed chest, roaring in triumph, a feral grin on its face, as it did so.

WHat happened next would haunt Avris until his dying day, watching transfixed in horror,saying a silent prayer for the mans soul as the vile creature before him literally sucked the life out of one of his soldiers, the man aging decades. Enforce his very eyes until he was little,ore than withered, dead husk.

Smiling in pleasure,the creature rose, its smile even biggest than before as it made its way solely, deliberately, to Avris. The creature seemed un-injuried - he swore its wounds had healed, as if feeding upon the life force his comrade had replenished its own some how - and was confident in its approach. It therefore didn't see last of his warriors - whom had up until now been unconscious on the deck - rise up silently behind it and aim their staff and Gauntlett welcomes at it, pumping it full of energy discharges as the creature snarled and turned or face this newest attack, Avirs taking the opportunity to grab a knife form is belt and swing with all is might, the creature roaring in pain as he severed the right arm at just below the elbow, cutting off the hated hand that could suck the living essence out of one of his trusted warriors. The rest crash-tackled the creature, taking all their strength to subdue it as Avris sealed a nearby staff weapon and smashed the blunt end of his staff clean across the creature's face, dislocating its Japan's sending it into unconsciousness.


gasping for air, Avris surveyed the damage. Addressing his men, he rallied his troops no commended the survivors on a job well done. Organizing healers for the wounded, he sig alled the reconstruction teams to begin their repairs as his soldiers verified there were no more monsters aboard his ship. This alien had, thankfully, been the only one.

"Signal the Prior on the planet below, he will want to interrogate the alien" Avris said, picking up the severed arm and shuddering at the sight of the bizarre palm mouth-wound, sealing it in a bag to examine later. "Have the reclamation team prepare funeral rights for the dead and then jettison the bodies, we don't have time for. Traditional funeral this far from home"

"And the prisoner?" A slider asked, indicating the alien.

"Bind it - tightly - and then escort it to a secure holding area - I want it monitored around the clock until the Prior gets back" Avris said, spitting at it in disgust, "then we shall see what we an make of this thing[/b]"

Several hours later, when the Prior returned, Avris showed him the previously damaged section before escorting him to see their strange, frightening prisoner.

"It is good to see that you have heeded my commands" Galaed commented to Avris as they walked down the hall to the secure holding area, the increased security presence evident by the high number of heavily armed Warriors in the hall leading up and surrounding the holding cell.

"Judging by the repair schedule, we should be ready to depart within the hour, esteemed Prior" Avris replied, composing himself as they finally reached their destination.

"Stand aside" Galaed instructed, the warriors doing as commanded, the Prior brandishing his Staff, the doors opening at his mental command to reveal their bizarre prisoner.

"I am Galaed, Prior of the the Orii, the One True Gods and creators of all creation" Ga,and said, approaching the pale-skinned alien.

If he felt fear, he did not show it, Avris thought, perhaps the only endearing quality head shown before his troops since going rogue and separating the mothership from the primary fleet back in the Milkyway. For its part, the alien just hissed, baring its pointed, feral teeth in defiance.

"You should know we have destroyed your ship with all hands aboard, you are the only one left" Galaed continued, only serving to elicit more hisses from the alien before him. "We have liberated the world you sought to conquer and claimed it the name of the Orii. Even now, the populace below have begun construction of monuments to their glory and prepare to journey through the ring to spread the word of Origin to all the unbelievers on all the worlds of this far-flung galaxy"

"Then we shall find them whence they hide, and feed upon them until they are naught but dust, and once we have conquered this galaxy, we shall move on to your precious Earth" the alien replied, its voice tinged with a metallic twang that made it all the much sinister, the first words it had spoken since they had encountered it many hours before.

"I am a Prior of the Orii, and my warriors and I are not of Earth or their galaxy" Galaed replied, the alien actually seeming surprised at his news, even if it composed itself back to a visage of pure menace a second later.

"The once we have feasted on the last living thing on Earth, we shall make our way to place from wence you have come, Prior, and shall feast on you, your men and your women, until you beg your Gods for mercy, then we shall feast upon your Gods themselves until they[\i] worship us, as so many of this galaxy do"

"You blaspheme!" Galaed roared, brandishing his staff, the alien challenging him with a defiant hiss. "I know what the unbelievers of this galaxy call you, Wraith, for the villagers below have related tales of your scourge - you will be laid low and made unto dust like so many before you"

"We shall see...." The Wraith replied, grinning.

Galaed did not reply, but brandished his staff before him, eyes closed in concentration, the jewel in staff glowing. At first, morning seemed to happen, then the Wraith frowned as it hada headache, suddenly acutely aware of another prescience in it's psyche.

"You have a powerful mind" Galaed said, not opening his eyes, "but the will of the Orri is stronger still. You will die, just as you caused one of my warriors to die, but unlike him, you shall never taste the wonders that ascension offers, nor the paradise or peace the Orii bring"

Still struggling, the Wraith fiddled with its bonds, and with a roar, snapped the as easily as a strings lurching unsteadily towards Galaed as his warriors scrambled to protect their Prior. There was, however, no need, as it's skin began to twitch, then flake, as it was burnt from within, raising its feeding arm in one final act of defiance less than a hands-breathe away from Galaed before bursting into flames, immolated from the inside out.

"Dispose of this creature" Galaed commanded as the still-smoking body of the wraith crashed the floor, "we make for Atlantis!"

meanwhile, on Atlantis itself...

Doctor Beckett reclined in the control chair, his eyes closing as the chair lit up, acknowledging the presence of the Ancient gene within the operator which now sat upon it.

"I dunno about this..." Beckett said, frowning, not opening his eyes. "Maybe Colonel Sheppard should..."

"Colonel Sheppard is co-ordinating the Jumper pilots defending Atlantis" Teyala replied, "I have faith in you Carson"

"Thankyou Teyla" Beckett replied, smiling. Reaching up to touch the ear piece in his right ear, he asked: "Colonel Sheppard, do you read?"

"Rodger that Carson, I hear you" Sheppard replied, sitting in his puddle jumper, just one of many in a defensive formation between Atlantis the upper atmosphere of the planet. "This is jumper 1 to all pilots, I want 5 jumpers cloaked in the upper atmosphere ready for a pincer movement the moment the Orii drop out of hyperspace. Try and aim for the mothership if you can, else go for their fighters if they launch any. Our job is to make it as hard for them to get to Atlantis as possible. Any that slip through will be taken care of buy our boys city-side with rail guns. Carson will provide support with drone fire from Atlantis itself"

Heres hoping that intel from Sam from that alternate Earth fending off the Orii with Ancient drones is accurate, or this going to be one really short battle... he thought.

Down in the control room, Weir and Woosely were coordinating control spire staff as Ronon and Teyla worked with Lorne to led military sweeps of each sector of the city.

"Mr. Woosely, sir, I am detecting a massive hyperspace disturbance just outside the atmosphere of the planet, bearing nor-northeast, mark 5989.055" Banks cried from the primary technicians station.

"Origin?" Woosely asked.

"Unknown" came the reply. "Long range scanner show the nearest Wraith Hive ship to be over 10 light away in the opposite direction"

"I'd think it'd be safe to say its the Orii" Weir stated.

"Colonel Sheppard" Woosely said, activating his ear communicator.

"Yeah, we know" Sheppard replied, watching on his holographic sensor screen as the teardrop shaped blip representing the Orri mothership appeared on screen, his ships sensors screaming at him, spewing forth reams of data across the holographic interface at a frightening pace. "They're here"

"Jumper 1, this is Jumper 2" came a voice over the radio. That would be lieutenant Vickers. "Sir, the mothership is launching fighters"

"Atlantis, do you confirm?"

"Confirmed, Jumper 1" came the dreaded reply.

"Alright kids" Sheppard said,,addressing the other jumper pilots. "Now’s not the time to play nice. Time to show the Orii whom they're messing with. Pick your targets and engage at will"

So saying Sheppard had his jumper a mental prodding, the jumper zooming forward at his command as a steady stream of Orii starfighters descended upon the planet like a screaming plague of angry hornets, intent on making for Atlantis even as his sensors confirmed it as he watched Atlantis' mighty shield rise steadily over the city out his viewport, depleting precious power from their already dangerously-low ZPM in order to protect it’s occupants from the coming Orri assault.

Sheppard cursed as several Orii fighters came dangerously close to his cloaked jumper, swearing as he executed evasive manoeuvres, de-cloaking just long enough to let fly with some of his jumpers preciously short supply of drones before doing a barrel roll over the nearest Orii fightercraft and cloaking back again into invisibility.

He smirked as the first fighter ploughed into a pair of drones head-on, pilot and fighter vaporised instantly in the ensuing inferno as it was engulfed in a massive fireball. His smirk faded a second later as he mentally directed a drone to target the second nearby fighter, only to have it bounce off a pearl-white bubble of translucent energy less than a meter from the starcraft itself.

"Son of...!" He exclaimed out loud, de-cloaking again to fire another salvo at the rogue fighter, mentally directing the drones at his command whilst slapping his ship-to-ship intercom with the other on the Ancient control panel in front of him.

"This Jumper 1 to all Atlantis defenders, the Orii fighters have shields - similar to their mothership I am guessing - they are resistant to singular done fire, but multiple shots of two or more will pick them off"

"This is Jumper 6, acknowledged" Came the reply as his squad sounded off, acknowledging his advice and engaging the enemy with fierce abandon, giving as good as they got.

"WOW" Sheppard cried, as a stream of drones shot dangerously close past his jumper - not having bothered to re-cloak anymore considering how many fighters - Puddle Jumpers and Orii starcraft alike - were buzzing about the sky, "Watch it, will you Carson?"

"Sorry" Came the reply, the heavily thick Scottish accent tense, the strain evident in his voice. "Trying to hit the Orii, not you guys. Theres so many of you up there!"

"No kidding!" Sheappard replied, as he dodged several Orii fighters on his tail.

Down in Atlantis below, the core Expedition team watched with bated breath as the scene unfolded on the holo-screen before them, the battle above played out in dots and sensor readouts.

"Theres so many of them!" Weir cried, her breathe caught in her throat. Not since the Wraith had invaded the Lantian system in full force to obliterate Atlantis in the Expedition's first year on Atlantis had they faced some powerful and numerous a foe on their very doorstep.

"The Orii mothership is powering their main weapon!" Came a cry from ops below, the terror in the voice evident.

Weir forgot whom had issued the warning as Woolsely sent a city-wide alert to brace for impact as the Orii mothership tilted 45 degrees on it;s axis to align itself with Atlantis to get a better shot at blasting the city into oblivion. At it's current angle, if the blast made it through the shields it would tear the city asunder and rent it in two. Weir made a quick pray to the Ascended knew whom before closing her eyes, awaiting the inevitable; only to be knocked off her feet and the wind knocked out of her as she slammed - hard - against the deck; Woosely in a similar state nearby. Not since she had her consciousness downloaded into the cloned flesh and blood body of her former self had she experienced such pain, as a Replicator copy of herself, she had always been able to choose to ingore such input and was built to outlast it.

Not anymore! she thought to herself, smiling in spite of her injury and the pain she felt. It was good to be whole, to be Human[/u][/b] again.

"Shields holding - just!" Dr. Mackay replied from a nearby console, blood pouring form a gash in temple; ignoring the obvious (for now). "That beam weapon of theirs is nasty: one more hit from their main weapon - two max - and we're toast"

Weir let that little bit of information sink in as she wondered how Ronon & Teyala were doing....

Ronon & Teyala were, in fact, helping teams of Atlantis security personnel and military men, women and aliens (what alien members of Atlantis from the Milkyway had Warrior backgrounds or military training) to sweep Atlantis floor by floor, pier by pier, for any sign of Orii incursion. Thusfar, thankfully, they had had little lucky; even if Ronon was itching (as always) for fight. Making their way past the ZPM room - which was, thankfully Teyala thought, heavily gaurded, they caught a glimps of Olaf - the Tollan scientist's fighers flyiung over a nearby Ancient console; trying to keep up with the equations flowing on a holographic interface before him.

"Are you OK, Olaf?" Teyala asked, raising an eyebrow as the Tollan prodigy didnt even look up, concentrating on the task at hand.

"I am coordinating with Dr. Mackay from the control tower trying to manually adjust the shield emitters to cope with the oncomming Orii onslaught so the next hit from their main energy weapon doesnt vaporise us into atoms" Came the strained and acidic, if somewhat polite reply, "I appreciate your concern but I must return to my calculations, unless you want to try and ascend in the next 5 minutes as the Orii finish charging their main weapon?"

"Point taken" Teyala replied, not at all offended. They each had their unique skills ot contirbute to this fight. Ronon and she had heers, Olaf and the other personnel, theirs.

Nodding to the security team assembled aroudn the ZPM room, they moved on, ever vilgient for signs of Warriors of the Orii...

Up in orbit, just above the planet atmosphere and outside the influence of the planets gravitational pull, Galead glared down at the city of the Atlantis as the first shot from his motherships main weapon was absorbed by Atlantis' mighty shield.

"By the Gods, will they not die already?!?!" He cursed, greatly annoyed that the city still even existed. He knew that Atlantis was made from similar technology to that given to him and the followers of the Orii - false mockery and pretense, close as it was - but even he was surprised at the resilience of the city and its inhabitants. Did they not know that all would bow to the Orii in the end?

Cursing, he ordered even more fighters to engaged the enemy as he fired yet another salvo off towards the city, the energy beam from his ships main wepaon hurtling through space like a venegeful lance from the Gods themselves. He smiled as it impacted the city shield, the shield fizzling and dying before his eyes and his ship's sensors, the city naked and exposed; laid before him.

"And those whom shall not bow, shall be laid low and made unto dust.." He smirked as he fired off one last discharge form his ship's main weapon, only to have it impact upon the shields of another Orii mothership as it leapt out of hyperspace directly into the path of the beam, taking the full impact of the blow meant for Atlantis on it's own Orii-given shields.

Gil'aed glared at the the newcommer, furious that he would be denied his prize. Although all Orii motherships looked the same and were or virtually the same design -as the Orii had intended when they had imparted their Ascend knowledge on to their followers so they could construct the intruments of doom with with The Faithful would smite The Wicked, the Impure and Unworthy - he recognised this particular ship as belonging to Supreme Commander Tommin of the Alterran High Council. No other ship would be so bold as to follow him, so far into uncharted space which was so consumed with wickedness.

"And those whom refuse to bow, shall be laid low and made unto dust.." He murmured, almost to himself, as he let fly with another salvo from is hips main weapon, intent on crippling the challenger before him before finishing off Altantis itself & completing the Orii's noble work they had started when they first cast out the old spirits - the Ancients - from his home galaxy so very, very, very long ago.

Sam felt the bridge of the Enlightenment's Fire rock beneath her as the mothership took the full brunt of the balst meant for Atlantis.

"looks like we got here just in time!" She cried, holding on to a nearby console.

"NO kidding, this party is wild!" Cam replied, looking at the holographic display that Marcos had brought up in front of them, his eyes fixed and staring into space as he sat in the command chair of the mighty mothership, directing it with his mind to intercept the blast that would of rent the Lost City in two.

"Deploying fighters" Tommin said, his fingers flying over the buttons of a neraby console, "You might want to tell Atlantis to accept our comunication beacons so they tell friend from foe; I am well aware of the Ancient drone wepaons being able to penetrate our shields - and between them and Gal'ead's ship, I dont want to face two battlefronts - I for one would like to live past today!"

"Agreed!" Sam replied, feeding the data into an enrpted burst to the Atlantis, Woolsey and Weir both relieved when half the 'enemy' dots on their screen - swarming about like ants around an ant hive - turn from red to green for their own Puddle Jumpers, amber for the friendly Orii forces, red for Gal'aed's incomming assault force.

"Now the odds are more in our favour" Someone cried.

"It's not over yet, Airman' Woosely replied, tight lipped, watching the battle unfolded on the scren before him.

Back aboard the Enlightenment's Fire, Marcos suddenly sat up, punching controls on the armrest in front of him and spring out of the chair as if bitten by some phantom insect.

"I have re-assigned manual control of the ship to your consoles" He indicated the stations that Sam, Tomin and the others were at. "you have fully control until I, or another such as myself, supersedes it with mental commands"

He didnt miss a beat as he walked off the dias and around to SG-1 field packs to scoop up one particular oval-looking bag containing their sole Anti-Prior device.

"Where are you going?" Vala called after him as he left the command deck.

"To the starfighter bays to take a starfighter over there to confront Gal'aed" He replied, the rest of the crew suddering at the thought of the battle that lay ahead.

"Good luck!" Vala called as the doots closed behind him.

"He's gonna need it..." Jonas replied, focusing back to the task at hand as SG-1 and Tomin fought to keep the battle on their side.

[\b]Meanwhile, aboard The Orii mothership....[\b][\i]

Marcos walked quickly with purpose, keeping his pace steady as he made his way form the starfighter bay through the bowlers of the ship, navigating deck by deck, keeping his mind masked as he had been trained to avoid being sensed by Gi'lead as he made a beeline for the command deck and the pilots chamber; where he knew Gi'leadwluld be directing the attack on Altantis besieged on the planet below.

"Where is the Commander?" He asked a nearby Warrior as he rushed past to the starfighter bays below, "I have an urgent report toe deliver about a fatal flaw in the enemy defenses that will ensure us a swift victory"


"Commander Avris is overseeing the battle from the command deck with the Prior" came the reply, the Warrior not even giving Marcos a 2nd glance.

My holographic disguise works well, then.[\i] Marcos thought with a slight smile.

"Thank you" Marcos replied, letting the warrior get back to his duties.

With any, luck this would all be over by the time the warrior made it to the starfighter bays.


Keeping his pace, Marcos ascended three more levels before finally making it to the command deck, walking up to the pilots chamber effort standing at the threshold, preparing himself for the battle that's as about to come. In spite of their awe-inspiring abilities, Proors and other enhanced beings - Hauk'Taur's the Milkyway peoples (like the Earthlings, Tok'Ra and Jaffa) called them - were not invulnerable, and doing battle with another enhanced individual was both taxing and tiring, if it dragged on too long.

Marcos said a quick prayer to the Orii and the Ascended as he stepped over the threshold into the pilots chamber proper, getting a quizzical look from the man before him - Commander Avris, he assumed - the Prior with his back to him, concentrating on the battle ragging non through the viewport outside. He readied a mental attack and prepped an energy blast with which to disable his foe.

"You can drop the disguise, Marcos" Came the cold voice from the Dias, a tinge of madness undercurrenting the words.

So saying, Gi'ilead turned to face his foe, the air shimmering around Marcos, the holographic disguise of a common warrior dissolving like a mirage, rev.ealing his true form.

Commander Avris gasped as he recognized Marcos.

"Agent" he said, bowing, as was proper given Marcos status and station.

Marcos tilted his head in a barely perceivable nod, acknowledging the commander, never taking his eyes off the crazed prior before him.

"commander" Marcos intoned, smiling.

"It's over Gi'lead, surrender to me now, and swear by the Orii, the Ascended and on the Book. Of Origin that I shall petition the High Council and the Doci for legacy during your sentencing"

"Surrender?" Gi'lead laughed bitterly, showing just how mâché truly was, "When I am on the verge of victory and am about to rid the universe of Those Who Were Cast Out and finally purge their Creation of the UnHoly for the Orii?: I think not"

"The only thing that needs to be purged is your evil" Marcos replied coldly, "The Ark of Truth opened our eyes - showed us there is a better way to convert people to The Path without the need to shed blood in their name. Think of it G'ilead: Would the Orii, with all their power and wisdom and Ascended knowledge, make all of Creation and have us seek The Path to Enlightenment if they were so intent on their followers destroying it? It defeats the very purpose of creation in the first place, and contravenes the teachings of Origin"

"Do not speak to me of the teachings of Origin!" Gi'Lead roared back, spittle dribbling down his chin, his milky-white flashing with fury, "It is the likes of you and the High Council and your Human friends and their allies of the Avalon who have twisted the Orii's trust words and the scared purity of the Book of Origin!!"

"Maybe I should leave..." Commander Avris stated, making for the exit, a look of extreme concern on his face.

"No Avris" Marcos intoned calmly, "Stay and bare witness, so that others may know the truth of what transpires here today"

"Yes, Commander" Gi'lead adjoined mockeingly, his voice dripping with venom, "Stay, and witness the Orii's final triumph over their enemies, and me mine. For better or worse, one of us will taste victory here soon enough"


"How about right now?" Marcos asked, his face impassive as he bought a hand forward, green-blue energy rushing forth form his palm , hurtling towards Gi'lead, whilst at the same time attacking his mind, probing his defences, battering his psychic defences, looking for the slightest opening with which ti pry open his mind and seize control of his thoughts.

Gi'lead bellowed a challenge as he branched his staff, the jewel in the hilt glowing brightly as pointed to Marcos, deflecting the attack - no mean feat considering the amount of energy Marcos has put behind it - the attack dissipating in mid air like mist on a hot summer's day.

Marcos did not wait: he launched himself physically at the Prior, grappling with the crazed man as the two wrestled back and forth, Gi'lead's staff bran shied between them length-wise as the two fought physically and mentally, sweat pouring down their faces as the two enhanced beings were locked in physical struggle dominated by an unseen battle of wills.

Commander Avris stood watching by the sideline, hesitant to intervene. Scared and fascinated at the same time, he watched as GI'lead slowly gained the upper hand; bringing Marcos literally to his knees; the latter never letting go of the staff, nor giving up his mental struggles. Finally, Avris could stand no more. He mad a split decision, weighed up against his faith, his teachings and conscious. He acted for the good of himself, his men, and the innocents below being slaughtered in the name of a mad man drunk on power. Lifting his arm, he clenched his fist as the crystals built into his gauntlet issued for the, the arc of metal above them swinging about to firm the symbol of the Origin faith.

The Orii forgive me... He thought as he took aim and fired....straight at Gi'lead.

Gi'lead looked over at his Commander in surprise, and then rage, his face twisted with a look of pure hatred.

"Beytrayer!" he cried, "You will both burn in the Fires of Eternal d**nation!"

Avris ignored his rantings and fired again, twice, thrice, four times, as Gi'lead staggered under the barrage of energy blasts, finally loosing enough control for Macros to wrench the staff out of his hands.

"Atlantis will still fall: if not by the hands of the Orii, than of their enemy in this galaxy called The Wraith" Gi'lead prophesied, spitting at Marcos feet. "That I swear by the Orii, the Book of Origin and all that is Hallowed in their name!"

"Do you surrender now?" Marcos asked sternly, branching Gi'leads own staff at him: Gi'lead was beaten, and he knew it.

"Hallowed are the Ori!" Intoned Gi'lead solemnly, a grim smile on his face as he began to laugh hysertically - a manic's laugh - as he burst into flames, self-immolating in one last act of defiance.

Commander Avris and Marcos could only stand and watch as Gi'lead literally burned himself to death, leaving naught even ashes in his wake.

Marcos frowned deeply, saddened by the days events.

"Commander, recall the star fighters and cease the attack: it's over" He said.

'Finally!" Avris cried, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank you"

"Thank you, Commander" Marcos replied, smiling, "It was your bravery that saved the day. I shall note that in my report to the High Council and recommend you be promoted for your actions: you saved many lives this day"

The two classed hands, brothers-in-arms, before Commander Avris went over to the main control console and issued the orders to cease fire. Marcos watched out the view port as the star fighters retreated to the fighter bays: there would be no more bloodshed this day.

Later, on Atlantis...

[Akren Garkos]

jaffa bomb the Supergate/kill people on aterran worlds.

Mat'tok sat calmly, patiently waiting, gazing out the viewport of his cloaked tel'tak, the vista of space before him imposed by the mighty Chappa'Ko - the Orii Supergate - forming a ring of blue-grey metal, each segment joined by powerful triple rings of sheer plasma energy. The Supergate was, for now, blissfully dormant, but that did not account for the immediate danger it posed; for he could see the gleaming pearl-grey, tear-drop shape of an Orii mothership drifting close nearby.

"Status?" He asked, turning to the Jaffa next to him, baring the forehead tattoo that marked him as a former warrior of Ba'al, last - & most cunning - of the Goa'uuld System Lords to evade capture, recently executed by the Tok'Ra some 8 months prior on their newly-established homeworld in the presence of SG-1 & General Jack O'Neill of the Tau'ri, allies of the Free Jaffa Nation.

Only they were not free.

First, the predations of their former Goa'uuld masters had reduced their ranks during the Great Rebellion - a bloody conflict which had seen brother turn against brother, sister against sister - even now, there were still some Jaffa whom remained loyal to the False Gods, worshipping the memory of their Goa'uuld masters & serving the few Goa'uuld whom remained, striking from the shadows, trying to regain their former might (with not much success, he smugly thought) - then against the Tok'Ra (even thought the offer for those Jafaa whom could not use tretonin, the symbiote-derived drug which had freed them form slavery to the Goa'uuld, to carry the Tok'Ra Queen Egeria's newly spawned young instead of larval Goa'uuld to prevent them from taking unwilling hosts had been somewhat of success and a reconciliation between the two former enemies) - & now the troublesome Lucian Alliance (rogue misfits and smugglers that they were): none had done more damage and caused more chaos amongst the Jaffa & their fledgling interstellar empire than the Orii.


Whilst it was true that the Orii had garnered some support; amassing many followers and converts ('true believers' he reminded himself) amongst the Orii - the Illac Renin being the most notable - their followers had still done massive damage as they cut a path through the Milkyway on their 'Holy Crusade'; devistating Dakar - only now being rebuilt by a massive joint effort from the Free Jaffa Nation and it's many allies - to massacring whole Jaffa settlements on worlds throughout the galaxy. That was why he and his fellows had volunteered for this mission. It was why they were seeking vengeance & justice for pasy wrongs.

"Sir?" Mat'tok snapped out of his reveree to regard the young Jaffa - no more than 80 years old, still in his prime of youth - before him. "You asked for a status update?"

"My apologises, Brim'men: continue" Mat'tok replied, awaiting the report he had originally requested.

[Akren Garkos]

final reconcilliation between orii & milkyway