The Birth of Iconia

Chapter 20

The Commander noticed that one of the ships was holding back, as if it were coordinating the attack. "He's there, on that ship," he said, almost too quiet for anyone to hear.

"You're right, Sir," Janus agreed. "He has made himself the Doci, the most loyal of the Priors. He is leading this attack on the Avalon galaxy."

A movement elsewhere on the screen made them divert their attention towards the planet's surface. A magnificent city ship was raising into the atmosphere, it's screens flaring with every hit they took. They were starting to flare red, and seemed in imminent danger of collapsing altogether, when Atropos placed herself directly above the city, taking the punishment from the Ori weaponry on her own, up till now, untouched shields. Both ships continued to rise through the atmosphere, picking up speed. Atropos shields were growing deeper and deeper red as they continued to lift, finally collapsing completely as the city reached altitude and made the jump to hyperspace. The next moment, the carrier took a shot directly through it's reactor and exploded spectacularly.

There was a gasp in the room as the wreck of Atropos tilted, then started falling towards the surface. Very quietly, Janus spoke. "General Young ordered all but the bare minimum crew to the planet's surface before he took his ship in to protect the city. The crew that was transported to the surface took shelter in a cave, and were well when the battle ended." He paused for a moment before saying, "General Young and the rest of the people aboard Atropos did not survive."

The group was glad to hear that the remains of Atropos crew were safe, but the battle on the screen was continuing. The Iconinan ships had placed themselves in between the Ori and the cities on the planet's surface, firing continuously. The Ori hardly paused. They shifted their barrage from the surface to the ships. It took very little time before the Iconian ships were reduced to flaming wreckage. The Ori then returned to the task of leaving the cities below to the same fate.

After a few more minutes, the Ori vessels regrouped around the Doci's ship. Then, as one, they leaped to hyperspace.

The screen continued showing the scene of Vis Uban, floating in space much the same way as before, except for the red spots of huge fires that could be seen on the night side, moving eastward as the planet slowly turned.

It took several seconds for The Commander to announce, "Screen off," in a trembling voice, and even longer for the communications officer to comply. The lights automatically came up slightly as the screen went off.

Merlin turned to his son and asked, "Where were they going when they left Vis Uban?"

Janus had still been staring at the screen, and he visibly shook himself out of his shock when he heard his father's voice. "I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't stay around to find out. I knew you needed to know as soon as possible that thirty-five million people had been killed."

Merlin nodded his acknowledgement. He did understand.

"They're heading to Earth," Jack Carter announced.

"Vis Uban is quite close to Earth, Jack Carter. That would be a good supposition," Teal'c said.

Carter looked surprised at Teal'c. "It's not a supposition, Teal'c," he said, "it's the truth."

"Now, Jack," O'Neill chided, "I know they just…" O'Neill stopped. He was looking at Merlin, who shook his head at him. The Commander looked grim, and Janus was completely white.

"He's right, Jack," Jackson said. "They're really headed towards Earth."

O'Neill's voice was barely above a whisper as he agreed. "I know, Daniel. I don't know how I know, but I do. We've got to get there to warn people."