Post by Akren Garkos on Jul 7, 2007 20:31:33 GMT -5
N.B.: This post takes place between the Season 10 episodes Momento Mori & Company of Thieves.
Jonas rubbed his hands together in glee as SG-1 suited up & made their way to the gate room for yet another mission. Then again, this mission was so secret, not even SG-1 - the S.G.C.’s first ever off world team, flagship of Stargate Program - knew where they were going until the gate would be dialled : all of SG-1, that was, except Lieutenant Colonel Samantha ‘Sam’ Carter. As a leader in the fields of astrophysics, everything to do with the Stargate Program & advanced alien technologies encountered off world; she was one of the few people on Earth that did know where they were going.
“So Sam, can we know where we’re going yet?” Jonas asked, eager to get stuck into their next mission following the recent debacle with the Trust.
“Not yet Jonas, it’s kind of a secret’ Sam smiled back, giving her old friend a pat on the back; glad to have Jonas back on the team.
“Are you sure this is a top, top secret mission; or can you fill a girl in?” Vala Mal Doran, ex-thief, con artist, mother to the Orici & newest member of SG-1 asked; running to catch up to the rest of the team as they made their way down the final hall which would give them access to the embarkation room itself.
“I told you, once we get to where we’re going; you’ll find out. Until then, you’ll just have to wait” Sam replied, looking at Daniel, whom smiled back; shaking his head. Vala was going to take some getting used to; even if she had proven herself to the S.G.C. & the team as a whole.
As they entered the gate room & the Stargate dialled it’s destination; Vala tried once more to pry the information she sought out of her team-mate.
“Sweet baby Jesus; does that woman know what the words ‘top secret’ mean?” Cameron Mitchell, Sg-1 commanding officer, asked; raising an eyebrow at the rest of the team.
Sam just gave Cam a ‘told you so’ look, Daniel shrugged & Teal’c merely raised an eyebrow back at Cam in typical Teal’c fashion. Jonas wisely chose to remain silent. As the Stargate activated & kwooshed! into life; the team checked their gear one last time before they were cleared to depart by Chief master Sargent Walter & General Landry personally saw them off on what might very well be their most important mission to date.
“Finally!” Vala cried forlornly, expressing her frustrations - as she often did - aloud; as the team made their way up the ramp & towards to event horizon of the out-going wormhole. “I swear, if we don’t get told what’s going on when we there I’ll -”
Her words were cut off as they entered into the event horizon itself, being sped by wormhole through the Stargate network to their destination; emerging in a darkened room; the lights coming on all around them as they surveyed their surroundings.
“Where are we?” Jonas asked, looking around. “The design looks Goa’uuld, pre-2nd Dynasty; but I have never seen a structure like this before”
“It does indeed seem familiar” Teal’c replied, at a loss to explain where they were.
“If I am not mistaken, this looks like a space station” Vala stated, walking around the empty room & searching for a way out - besides the Stargate from which they had emerged - turning up little in the way of escape routes, bare a door which had no internal opening mechanic typically found in Goa’uuld installations of this type.
“Are you sure we‘re on a space station?” Cam asked, “The gravity feels normal in here to me”
“Oh look, a control panel!” Vala cried, delighted she had found something useful to fiddle with. “I wonder if it can lead us to anything else of value in this otherwise empty place?”
“I wonder what it does” Daniel replied, rolling his eyes at Vala; old habits were still hard to shake, it seemed.
“It must open something” Jonas stated, going over to the control panel where stood, “Do you mind?”
“Go right ahead” Vala replied, making a sweeping gesture at the control panel; “Just remember that anything we find is half mine; & if anything bad happens, I told you so in advance, OK?”
“Um, OK” Jonas replied, getting Vala to move aside as he examined the controls.
“It‘s in an early form of the Goa‘uuld written dialect” Jonas replied to the others; “So, if I am reading this right, pressing here should open something; hopefully the door”
Depressing a panel on the control interface; Jonas winced as he heard a clanking sound, which quickly turned into amazement as the walls either side of them started to spilt in two - the door remained tightly sealed - revealing a startling fantastic visage through the glass - or whatever the Goa’uuld used for their version of transparent material back then - confirming that they were, indeed, on a space station.
“OK, so we know it doesn’t open the door” Vala replied, looking out at the stunning view laid out before them through the space station windows; an impressive nebula spanning on either side of the station as far as the eye could eye.
“Guess not” Daniel replied, looking at Sam & asking : “Where are we?”
“I think I can answer that question, Dr. Jackson” A voice came from the direction of the doorway; the door itself sliding open to reveal a Tok’Ra operative standing the doorway.
“Oh! A Tok’Ra, I just love those guys!’ Vala replied; the others not sure what to make of her reaction; considering the Tok’Ra were the ones whom convinced her people to rise up against Quetesh - the Goa’uuld whom once inhabited her body - & the people whom freed her from her control : after her own people spat on her, threw stones at her & beat her up for the trouble. . .
“I am Kallem” The Tok’Ra operative replied, “We wondered how long it would take you to figure the controls for the viewing platform out”
“You were monitoring us?” Mitchell asked.
“Yes, the entire time” Kallem replied, “We had to make sure you were the real SG-1”
“This is a viewing platform?” Jonas asked.
“Yes, the Stargate is located in the aft section of the space station, away from the main body of the station proper. It restricts access to the rest of the station, & can be separated from the main complex at any time; which is part of the reason we chose it when we were scouting for suitable locations for our joint project with Earth & our other allies”
“Construction project?” Vala asked, interest peaked.
“With Earth & it’s other allies; including the Jaffa & Tok’Ra?” Jonas asked.
“That is correct” Kallem replied.
“Indeed” Teal’c replied, that single comment holding more weight than a thousand words; if not for the fact that Earth & it’s allies were all finally working together on something at all, than for the fact they were getting along so well in such troubled times.
“But why all the need for secrecy? And why a space station in the middle of the Ascended knows where?” Vala asked, reading everyone else’s minds. “What could be so important as to go to all this trouble to hide from the rest of the galaxy? And don’t tell me it’s the Sangraal, we’re still looking for Merlin’s anti-Orii weapon, & Daniel has turned up zip in that department!”
“Thanks Vala” Daniel replied sourly.
“You’re welcome Daniel” Vala replied, smiling cutely.
“I am helping him with that!” Jonas replied, getting looks from both his fellow team mates.
Turning their attention to Kallem, whom was waiting in the nearby doorway patiently for the three to finish their little repartee; the Tok’Ra cleared his throat & said :
“You will find out why very shortly. Please, come with me” Turning to Sam, he said : “Colonel Carter, perhaps you would like to explain to your team mates the etiquette we abide by here on the station whilst we make our way to the main station complex?”
At that snub, Kallem turned & starting walking a brisk pace; SG-1 having to race to catch up, forced to walked the Tok’Ra’s fast-paced speed in order to keep up with their guide.
After about 40 minutes of walking - during which Vala complained several times, each more vocally than the next - they finally entered into the main complex of the space station proper.
“About time” Vala stated, sighing as she stepped through the door which Kallem had just cycled open for them; leaning against a wall as Sam, Daniel, Teal’c, Jonas & Cam all followed after her, Kallem cycling the door closed again behind them. “That was quite a walk if I do say so myself”
“C’Mon Vala, alittle exercise never killed anyone” Cam replied in all seriousness.
“Says you” Vala shot back, Kallem clearing his throat again & indicating that they should once again follow his lead.
Jonas rolled his eyes at the typical Tok’Ra jauntiness displayed by Kallem as they continued on their gruelling tour of allied space station.
“You know I am getting sick of seeing wall after wall” Vala said as they rounded the next corner, “When the hell are we gonna see something. . .” Her voice trailing off as she - along with the rest of SG-1 - caught sight of view of the nebula outside through the nearby wall-to-ceiling transparent panel.
“Different?’ Jonas finished for her; also taken aback by the void - or rather, what was suspended in the void nearby.
“Is that - ?” Daniel asked.
“ - a ship?” Kallem finished his question for him, “Yes, Dr. Jackson, it is”
“This vessel would be at least as big a Ha’tak[/]-class mothership, if current construction is anything to go by” Teal’c stated, “And the vessel before us is anything but completed”
“No kidding” Cam adjoined, looking out on the massive construct before them :
Floating in space some several million miles away - close enough to access via a small space-faring vessel, Asgard beams or ring transporter - was the beginning of a ship. Massive in it’s size & scope, the support frame alone was a gargantuan feat of engineering, let alone the construction of the as-yet uncompleted ship ensconced within the frame itself.
Roughly tear-dropped in shape, the vessel - clearly designed to be a mothership of some kind - was less than half completed; with some sections still open to the vacuum of space, whilst still others were being worked on even as the team watched.
“What is it?” Jonas asked, walking up to the ‘glass’ & stretching out a hand, as if almost to touch the ship from where he stood; so awed was he by it’s beauty; even in this early phase of development.
“Hopefully, what will help us turn the tide against the Orii war machine” Kallem replied, “This way please?”
So saying he led SG-1 into the main control room just down the corridor, entering into the room amidst stares from several Human, Jaffa, Tok’Ra, Tollan, Asgard & Gadmeer scientists.
“Sweet baby Jesus” Cam said out loud.
“You said it” Daniel replied, the team surveying the hustle & bustle going on about them.
“This is why we had to keep the project top secret” Sam replied, moving to a nearby monitor & bringing up a holographic representation of what the others assumed would be the final design of the completed ship, as well as a 2-D schematic of the current ship already under construction on a nearby computer monitor brought from Earth. “Only the highest levels of Earth’s governments & our allied worlds know about this”
“And that would be?” Jonas asked, pointing to the impressive-looking hologram floating before them.
“It‘s called the Titan” Sam replied, “After the original deities of Greek myth”
“Whom came before the Olympian gods of ancient Greece, yes I know” Daniel replied, “But what does it do?”
“The Titan, once completed; will be the most advanced mothership in the galaxy - or so we hope - & will incorporate the latest cutting-edge technologies & scientific improvements from Earth & it’s allies” Sam replied, “It’s soul purpose : to combat the Orii & hopefully withstand whatever the Orii can throw at us”
“You want to send that ship up against a fleet of Orii motherships?” Vala asked, looking at Sam as if she were crazy.
“Hopefully the Titan can go head-to-head with the Orii ships in a fire-fight; or at least, we hope it will”
“And how long has this little joint project being going on?” Cam asked.
“Ever since the Ancient monument on Dakara was destroyed; taking the seat of the Free Jaffa Nation along with it” Sam replied, Teal’c wincing at the reminder of just how thoroughly & effectively Adria had used an Orii mothership’s weapons on the former capital world of his people’s fledgling interstellar empire.
“Negotiations were already underway to spearhead a joint project to combat the growing Orii threat : Project Shadow & the Titan are the result of that concordance” Sam replied.
“How long until she’s finished?” Cam asked.
“At least another couple of months, probably until the end of the year; at least” Sam replied, “No one has undertaken a project of such a massive scale before; & integrating the myriad alien systems & differing technologies is proving to be more difficult than we anticipated”
“What about weapons & shields?” Teal’c asked, “Will they be able to stand up against the weapons of the Orii? As we have seen, their military prowess are quite formidable”
“We won‘t know that one until the Titan is actually tested in battle against an Orii ship; but the Titan is equipped with some of the most cutting-edge advancements in science & technology Earth & our allies have come up with in recent years”
“Like?” Daniel asked.
“Well, the outer hull is composed of the same carbon-trinium-naqaudah alloy the Asgard use in the construction of their O‘Neill-class ships, as well as boasting re-enforced hull-plating, adaptive artificial intelligence to handle the more complex or mundane stuff, as well as Asgard shielding, hyper drive & beaming technology; in addition to the standard Goa‘uuld transport rings & a cargo bay capable of storing several compliments of fighters”
“What about weapons?” Jonas asked, not sure whether or not the ship - impressive & beautiful though it was - could stand up against the might of the Orii war machine.
“Rail guns, Goa’uuld energy weapons - similar to those found on a Goa‘uuld mothership - Asgard weapons, Tollan ion cannons & a full compliment of Mark IX gate-buster naqaudrah-enhanced war heads for starters” Sam replied, smiling. “She also comes equipped with Hebridan ion drives for sub-light propulsion, & the most advanced sensors & medical technology our allies could provide; including Tollan weapons-disablement technology & more : we have even used a few bits of information gleaned from the Atlantis database to help give us that extra little edge”
“But why here, in the middle of nowhere?” Vala asked, “Surely some place more secured would be better than here? What if the Orii find or the Lucian Alliance drop out of hyperspace & find all this just sitting here? They’ll have a field day!?!”
“Which is precisely why we chose this location” Kallem replied, “This space station was abandoned by the System Lords at the end of the 2nd Dynasty, & has been left to it‘s own devices ever since. It‘s at the edge of the galaxy, & appears in only a few reference materials scattered here & there - which we have rounded up & erased as best we can, by the way - so no-one knows we‘re here. What better place to construct what might well be the last great hope of sentient life in his galaxy than in the one place no one else knows about?”
“We still have to find Merlin’s weapon” Daniel replied back, reminding everyone of their quest to search for the legendary Sangraal.
“Well, just in case you cannot - & even if you do - the Titan will be there to help defend us from the threat of Orii invasion” Kallem replied, nodding to Dr. Jackson in respect, but still confident in the technological prowess of his new toy to offer up a glimmer of hope for them all in the dark, turbulent times they all seemed to find themselves in.
“I take it then, that we are planning another combined assault on the Orii?” Jonas asked, remembering the failed assault on the four Orii warships that had emerged through the Supergate; leading to the Battle of .
Since the establishment of a second Supergate & a successful beachhead from which to launch their ‘Holy Crusade’ to convert & conquer the Milkyway, the Priors of the Orii & their leader - Vala Mal Doran’s daughter, Adria, the Orici - had been promising re-enforcements. Jonas guessed that by the looks of the Titan - along with the amalgam of advanced technologies & ideas it represented - Earth & her allies weren’t just going to sit around & wait for any more Orii warships to come through the Supergate. The Ascended knew they certainly were having enough trouble dealing with the three remaining Orii motherships currently invading the galaxy as it were!
“You would be correct, Jonas Quinn” Kallem replied, “Since Colonel Carter & Dr. McKay successfully managed to make the jump from a Milkyway Galaxy Stargate near a blackhole in the Pegasus Galaxy to the Supergate here in our own; we have been preparing our forces to the ultimate end of combating the overwhelming force of the Orii war machine. Although we have prevented them from sending more ships through the Supergate; it is only a matter of time before they send more”
“You think they could circumvent our attempts to block the Supergate?” Vala asked, “It is an in-coming wormhole; the only vessels capable of coming through the Supergate from the other end is a Puddle Jumper or Wraith Dart; anything else is too big to fit through your standard Stargate”
“You are forgetting that the Milkyway gate we used to make the wormhole jump from the nearby space gate to the Supergate is at the edge of a black hole in the Pegasus Galaxy” Carter replied, by way of explanation. “Eventually that gate will be pulled in by the black hole‘s gravitational force & be crushed in the resulting singularity; rendering our plan useless”
“Because the gate will be destroyed & there’s a chance the in-coming wormhole could cease to exist if the gate is destroyed?” Vala asked; trying to grasp the complex science behind something she was necessarily used to thinking about.
“There is a possibility of that happening, yes” Carter replied. “Not to mention we don’t know what kind of knowledge the Orii posses. As Ascended beings, they very well may know of a way, or find a way, to re-establish a connection from their end”
“So we’re back to square one, heh?” Mitchell replied; walking up to the nearby view-screen to look out at the Titan as the various volunteers continued to work on it outside in the cold vacuum of space; even as the scientists inside the space station continued their work; making sure everything ran smoothly & all system were integrated & working as completely & properly as they could make them. “Let’s hope she is ready in time to help stop the Orii; before we’re all forced to worship the Orii. . .”
Jonas rubbed his hands together in glee as SG-1 suited up & made their way to the gate room for yet another mission. Then again, this mission was so secret, not even SG-1 - the S.G.C.’s first ever off world team, flagship of Stargate Program - knew where they were going until the gate would be dialled : all of SG-1, that was, except Lieutenant Colonel Samantha ‘Sam’ Carter. As a leader in the fields of astrophysics, everything to do with the Stargate Program & advanced alien technologies encountered off world; she was one of the few people on Earth that did know where they were going.
“So Sam, can we know where we’re going yet?” Jonas asked, eager to get stuck into their next mission following the recent debacle with the Trust.
“Not yet Jonas, it’s kind of a secret’ Sam smiled back, giving her old friend a pat on the back; glad to have Jonas back on the team.
“Are you sure this is a top, top secret mission; or can you fill a girl in?” Vala Mal Doran, ex-thief, con artist, mother to the Orici & newest member of SG-1 asked; running to catch up to the rest of the team as they made their way down the final hall which would give them access to the embarkation room itself.
“I told you, once we get to where we’re going; you’ll find out. Until then, you’ll just have to wait” Sam replied, looking at Daniel, whom smiled back; shaking his head. Vala was going to take some getting used to; even if she had proven herself to the S.G.C. & the team as a whole.
As they entered the gate room & the Stargate dialled it’s destination; Vala tried once more to pry the information she sought out of her team-mate.
“Sweet baby Jesus; does that woman know what the words ‘top secret’ mean?” Cameron Mitchell, Sg-1 commanding officer, asked; raising an eyebrow at the rest of the team.
Sam just gave Cam a ‘told you so’ look, Daniel shrugged & Teal’c merely raised an eyebrow back at Cam in typical Teal’c fashion. Jonas wisely chose to remain silent. As the Stargate activated & kwooshed! into life; the team checked their gear one last time before they were cleared to depart by Chief master Sargent Walter & General Landry personally saw them off on what might very well be their most important mission to date.
“Finally!” Vala cried forlornly, expressing her frustrations - as she often did - aloud; as the team made their way up the ramp & towards to event horizon of the out-going wormhole. “I swear, if we don’t get told what’s going on when we there I’ll -”
Her words were cut off as they entered into the event horizon itself, being sped by wormhole through the Stargate network to their destination; emerging in a darkened room; the lights coming on all around them as they surveyed their surroundings.
“Where are we?” Jonas asked, looking around. “The design looks Goa’uuld, pre-2nd Dynasty; but I have never seen a structure like this before”
“It does indeed seem familiar” Teal’c replied, at a loss to explain where they were.
“If I am not mistaken, this looks like a space station” Vala stated, walking around the empty room & searching for a way out - besides the Stargate from which they had emerged - turning up little in the way of escape routes, bare a door which had no internal opening mechanic typically found in Goa’uuld installations of this type.
“Are you sure we‘re on a space station?” Cam asked, “The gravity feels normal in here to me”
“Oh look, a control panel!” Vala cried, delighted she had found something useful to fiddle with. “I wonder if it can lead us to anything else of value in this otherwise empty place?”
“I wonder what it does” Daniel replied, rolling his eyes at Vala; old habits were still hard to shake, it seemed.
“It must open something” Jonas stated, going over to the control panel where stood, “Do you mind?”
“Go right ahead” Vala replied, making a sweeping gesture at the control panel; “Just remember that anything we find is half mine; & if anything bad happens, I told you so in advance, OK?”
“Um, OK” Jonas replied, getting Vala to move aside as he examined the controls.
“It‘s in an early form of the Goa‘uuld written dialect” Jonas replied to the others; “So, if I am reading this right, pressing here should open something; hopefully the door”
Depressing a panel on the control interface; Jonas winced as he heard a clanking sound, which quickly turned into amazement as the walls either side of them started to spilt in two - the door remained tightly sealed - revealing a startling fantastic visage through the glass - or whatever the Goa’uuld used for their version of transparent material back then - confirming that they were, indeed, on a space station.
“OK, so we know it doesn’t open the door” Vala replied, looking out at the stunning view laid out before them through the space station windows; an impressive nebula spanning on either side of the station as far as the eye could eye.
“Guess not” Daniel replied, looking at Sam & asking : “Where are we?”
“I think I can answer that question, Dr. Jackson” A voice came from the direction of the doorway; the door itself sliding open to reveal a Tok’Ra operative standing the doorway.
“Oh! A Tok’Ra, I just love those guys!’ Vala replied; the others not sure what to make of her reaction; considering the Tok’Ra were the ones whom convinced her people to rise up against Quetesh - the Goa’uuld whom once inhabited her body - & the people whom freed her from her control : after her own people spat on her, threw stones at her & beat her up for the trouble. . .
“I am Kallem” The Tok’Ra operative replied, “We wondered how long it would take you to figure the controls for the viewing platform out”
“You were monitoring us?” Mitchell asked.
“Yes, the entire time” Kallem replied, “We had to make sure you were the real SG-1”
“This is a viewing platform?” Jonas asked.
“Yes, the Stargate is located in the aft section of the space station, away from the main body of the station proper. It restricts access to the rest of the station, & can be separated from the main complex at any time; which is part of the reason we chose it when we were scouting for suitable locations for our joint project with Earth & our other allies”
“Construction project?” Vala asked, interest peaked.
“With Earth & it’s other allies; including the Jaffa & Tok’Ra?” Jonas asked.
“That is correct” Kallem replied.
“Indeed” Teal’c replied, that single comment holding more weight than a thousand words; if not for the fact that Earth & it’s allies were all finally working together on something at all, than for the fact they were getting along so well in such troubled times.
“But why all the need for secrecy? And why a space station in the middle of the Ascended knows where?” Vala asked, reading everyone else’s minds. “What could be so important as to go to all this trouble to hide from the rest of the galaxy? And don’t tell me it’s the Sangraal, we’re still looking for Merlin’s anti-Orii weapon, & Daniel has turned up zip in that department!”
“Thanks Vala” Daniel replied sourly.
“You’re welcome Daniel” Vala replied, smiling cutely.
“I am helping him with that!” Jonas replied, getting looks from both his fellow team mates.
Turning their attention to Kallem, whom was waiting in the nearby doorway patiently for the three to finish their little repartee; the Tok’Ra cleared his throat & said :
“You will find out why very shortly. Please, come with me” Turning to Sam, he said : “Colonel Carter, perhaps you would like to explain to your team mates the etiquette we abide by here on the station whilst we make our way to the main station complex?”
At that snub, Kallem turned & starting walking a brisk pace; SG-1 having to race to catch up, forced to walked the Tok’Ra’s fast-paced speed in order to keep up with their guide.
After about 40 minutes of walking - during which Vala complained several times, each more vocally than the next - they finally entered into the main complex of the space station proper.
“About time” Vala stated, sighing as she stepped through the door which Kallem had just cycled open for them; leaning against a wall as Sam, Daniel, Teal’c, Jonas & Cam all followed after her, Kallem cycling the door closed again behind them. “That was quite a walk if I do say so myself”
“C’Mon Vala, alittle exercise never killed anyone” Cam replied in all seriousness.
“Says you” Vala shot back, Kallem clearing his throat again & indicating that they should once again follow his lead.
Jonas rolled his eyes at the typical Tok’Ra jauntiness displayed by Kallem as they continued on their gruelling tour of allied space station.
“You know I am getting sick of seeing wall after wall” Vala said as they rounded the next corner, “When the hell are we gonna see something. . .” Her voice trailing off as she - along with the rest of SG-1 - caught sight of view of the nebula outside through the nearby wall-to-ceiling transparent panel.
“Different?’ Jonas finished for her; also taken aback by the void - or rather, what was suspended in the void nearby.
“Is that - ?” Daniel asked.
“ - a ship?” Kallem finished his question for him, “Yes, Dr. Jackson, it is”
“This vessel would be at least as big a Ha’tak[/]-class mothership, if current construction is anything to go by” Teal’c stated, “And the vessel before us is anything but completed”
“No kidding” Cam adjoined, looking out on the massive construct before them :
Floating in space some several million miles away - close enough to access via a small space-faring vessel, Asgard beams or ring transporter - was the beginning of a ship. Massive in it’s size & scope, the support frame alone was a gargantuan feat of engineering, let alone the construction of the as-yet uncompleted ship ensconced within the frame itself.
Roughly tear-dropped in shape, the vessel - clearly designed to be a mothership of some kind - was less than half completed; with some sections still open to the vacuum of space, whilst still others were being worked on even as the team watched.
“What is it?” Jonas asked, walking up to the ‘glass’ & stretching out a hand, as if almost to touch the ship from where he stood; so awed was he by it’s beauty; even in this early phase of development.
“Hopefully, what will help us turn the tide against the Orii war machine” Kallem replied, “This way please?”
So saying he led SG-1 into the main control room just down the corridor, entering into the room amidst stares from several Human, Jaffa, Tok’Ra, Tollan, Asgard & Gadmeer scientists.
“Sweet baby Jesus” Cam said out loud.
“You said it” Daniel replied, the team surveying the hustle & bustle going on about them.
“This is why we had to keep the project top secret” Sam replied, moving to a nearby monitor & bringing up a holographic representation of what the others assumed would be the final design of the completed ship, as well as a 2-D schematic of the current ship already under construction on a nearby computer monitor brought from Earth. “Only the highest levels of Earth’s governments & our allied worlds know about this”
“And that would be?” Jonas asked, pointing to the impressive-looking hologram floating before them.
“It‘s called the Titan” Sam replied, “After the original deities of Greek myth”
“Whom came before the Olympian gods of ancient Greece, yes I know” Daniel replied, “But what does it do?”
“The Titan, once completed; will be the most advanced mothership in the galaxy - or so we hope - & will incorporate the latest cutting-edge technologies & scientific improvements from Earth & it’s allies” Sam replied, “It’s soul purpose : to combat the Orii & hopefully withstand whatever the Orii can throw at us”
“You want to send that ship up against a fleet of Orii motherships?” Vala asked, looking at Sam as if she were crazy.
“Hopefully the Titan can go head-to-head with the Orii ships in a fire-fight; or at least, we hope it will”
“And how long has this little joint project being going on?” Cam asked.
“Ever since the Ancient monument on Dakara was destroyed; taking the seat of the Free Jaffa Nation along with it” Sam replied, Teal’c wincing at the reminder of just how thoroughly & effectively Adria had used an Orii mothership’s weapons on the former capital world of his people’s fledgling interstellar empire.
“Negotiations were already underway to spearhead a joint project to combat the growing Orii threat : Project Shadow & the Titan are the result of that concordance” Sam replied.
“How long until she’s finished?” Cam asked.
“At least another couple of months, probably until the end of the year; at least” Sam replied, “No one has undertaken a project of such a massive scale before; & integrating the myriad alien systems & differing technologies is proving to be more difficult than we anticipated”
“What about weapons & shields?” Teal’c asked, “Will they be able to stand up against the weapons of the Orii? As we have seen, their military prowess are quite formidable”
“We won‘t know that one until the Titan is actually tested in battle against an Orii ship; but the Titan is equipped with some of the most cutting-edge advancements in science & technology Earth & our allies have come up with in recent years”
“Like?” Daniel asked.
“Well, the outer hull is composed of the same carbon-trinium-naqaudah alloy the Asgard use in the construction of their O‘Neill-class ships, as well as boasting re-enforced hull-plating, adaptive artificial intelligence to handle the more complex or mundane stuff, as well as Asgard shielding, hyper drive & beaming technology; in addition to the standard Goa‘uuld transport rings & a cargo bay capable of storing several compliments of fighters”
“What about weapons?” Jonas asked, not sure whether or not the ship - impressive & beautiful though it was - could stand up against the might of the Orii war machine.
“Rail guns, Goa’uuld energy weapons - similar to those found on a Goa‘uuld mothership - Asgard weapons, Tollan ion cannons & a full compliment of Mark IX gate-buster naqaudrah-enhanced war heads for starters” Sam replied, smiling. “She also comes equipped with Hebridan ion drives for sub-light propulsion, & the most advanced sensors & medical technology our allies could provide; including Tollan weapons-disablement technology & more : we have even used a few bits of information gleaned from the Atlantis database to help give us that extra little edge”
“But why here, in the middle of nowhere?” Vala asked, “Surely some place more secured would be better than here? What if the Orii find or the Lucian Alliance drop out of hyperspace & find all this just sitting here? They’ll have a field day!?!”
“Which is precisely why we chose this location” Kallem replied, “This space station was abandoned by the System Lords at the end of the 2nd Dynasty, & has been left to it‘s own devices ever since. It‘s at the edge of the galaxy, & appears in only a few reference materials scattered here & there - which we have rounded up & erased as best we can, by the way - so no-one knows we‘re here. What better place to construct what might well be the last great hope of sentient life in his galaxy than in the one place no one else knows about?”
“We still have to find Merlin’s weapon” Daniel replied back, reminding everyone of their quest to search for the legendary Sangraal.
“Well, just in case you cannot - & even if you do - the Titan will be there to help defend us from the threat of Orii invasion” Kallem replied, nodding to Dr. Jackson in respect, but still confident in the technological prowess of his new toy to offer up a glimmer of hope for them all in the dark, turbulent times they all seemed to find themselves in.
“I take it then, that we are planning another combined assault on the Orii?” Jonas asked, remembering the failed assault on the four Orii warships that had emerged through the Supergate; leading to the Battle of .
Since the establishment of a second Supergate & a successful beachhead from which to launch their ‘Holy Crusade’ to convert & conquer the Milkyway, the Priors of the Orii & their leader - Vala Mal Doran’s daughter, Adria, the Orici - had been promising re-enforcements. Jonas guessed that by the looks of the Titan - along with the amalgam of advanced technologies & ideas it represented - Earth & her allies weren’t just going to sit around & wait for any more Orii warships to come through the Supergate. The Ascended knew they certainly were having enough trouble dealing with the three remaining Orii motherships currently invading the galaxy as it were!
“You would be correct, Jonas Quinn” Kallem replied, “Since Colonel Carter & Dr. McKay successfully managed to make the jump from a Milkyway Galaxy Stargate near a blackhole in the Pegasus Galaxy to the Supergate here in our own; we have been preparing our forces to the ultimate end of combating the overwhelming force of the Orii war machine. Although we have prevented them from sending more ships through the Supergate; it is only a matter of time before they send more”
“You think they could circumvent our attempts to block the Supergate?” Vala asked, “It is an in-coming wormhole; the only vessels capable of coming through the Supergate from the other end is a Puddle Jumper or Wraith Dart; anything else is too big to fit through your standard Stargate”
“You are forgetting that the Milkyway gate we used to make the wormhole jump from the nearby space gate to the Supergate is at the edge of a black hole in the Pegasus Galaxy” Carter replied, by way of explanation. “Eventually that gate will be pulled in by the black hole‘s gravitational force & be crushed in the resulting singularity; rendering our plan useless”
“Because the gate will be destroyed & there’s a chance the in-coming wormhole could cease to exist if the gate is destroyed?” Vala asked; trying to grasp the complex science behind something she was necessarily used to thinking about.
“There is a possibility of that happening, yes” Carter replied. “Not to mention we don’t know what kind of knowledge the Orii posses. As Ascended beings, they very well may know of a way, or find a way, to re-establish a connection from their end”
“So we’re back to square one, heh?” Mitchell replied; walking up to the nearby view-screen to look out at the Titan as the various volunteers continued to work on it outside in the cold vacuum of space; even as the scientists inside the space station continued their work; making sure everything ran smoothly & all system were integrated & working as completely & properly as they could make them. “Let’s hope she is ready in time to help stop the Orii; before we’re all forced to worship the Orii. . .”
