A/N We don't own any of the franchises represented herein.
We're just fans.
AlexanderD is responsible for the name Borealis.
Chapter 14
A Wraith commander strode through the corridors of his Queen's hive. Had he had any less control of his emotions he would have been trembling, whether in fear or anger he was not sure. The queen that he was approaching was known for controlling her emotions, but was also known for her brutality.
"Speak!" The queen said after he arrived in the room.
"My Queen. We have just received word. The Lanteans are back in the galaxy."
"Where are they?"
"They are on the planet Australis. They are rebuilding the Lantean City ship Borealis." The commander remained kneeling, his head bowed.
"How close are they to completing the repairs?" She asked him, and he winced internally.
"I do not know, my Queen. The humans have built a wall in front of the stargate. Any dart we send through crashes into the wall. They have learned from the mistakes of the past."
The commander remained kneeling. He knew that if he said this to any other queen he would have been killed instantly. But this queen was different. She was the youngest and therefore the lowest in prestige. But she was powerful. She was one of the most powerful queens among the wraith and she was patient. She had spent centuries working among the shadows, collecting power while working with her father.
Quickly analyzing the situation, and coming up with a plan to bring about her father's long term goals, she smiled to herself.
The queen, Jardis, stood from her throne and walked to a data terminal. Because she was so young, she had never fought in a war of true equals. However, she was brilliant, and that was how she had survived during the civil war. She was one of the last queens still alive.
It was this brilliance that allowed her to temper her arrogance and rule her emotions. The queen placed her hand on the terminal and brought the telepathic amplifiers online to full power. "My Sisters. The Lanteans are back. They are rebuilding Borealis. This gives us the advantage, as we know where they are and what they are doing. But most importantly, they have anchored themselves to Australis. Meet me at our home world in 2 weeks time. We will strike at the humans before Borealis is ready to take flight."
Jardis closed the mental link and closed her eyes. She and her father were not yet ready to take over the Wraith, but they were close. The data they gained from the humans was valuable, and it allowed for the hives her Father was building to be far more powerful than a traditional hive. The actions of a traitorous commander that her Father had assigned to incorporate the Assuran Zero Point Module into a hive, had set back their plans. Her father had to give the Humans two more ZPMs to destroy the traitor.
It galled her to let the humans kill the traitor. Her father had spent some time on Earth and read the minds of the people with whom he had come into contact. There was a population of seven billion on Earth alone! Her feeding hand would have itched had she still needed to feed.
"Set a course for the home world." Jardis told the commander, not even bothering to look at him.
"At once my queen." The wraith turned and walked out, leaving Jardis to her thoughts. 'High Queen Jardis' she thought, smiling to herself.
On Altair
Dr. Henry Deacon looked down into the two slips where two Valhalla Class Battleships were being built. Jack Carter called them a mini Star Destroyer, and indeed, with their wedge shape, they did look much like the ships from Star Wars. The additional room added to the ship was used for Zane Donovan's Terran Starfighters, Fighter Drones, and (GD built) Alteran Drones. The Valhalla, the first of the class, was nearly complete. All that was left was for the Naquadria fuel rods to be placed into the reactor for final systems check. Then she would be jumped into orbit using Fargo's Jump Drive. Henry stared at the ships feeling a sense of pride mixed with regret. He hated having to use science for war, yet his ships were an advancement of science in the truest sense of the word.
Movement near the engines caught his eye and Henry watched as the Naquadria core was moved into position and maneuvered into the ship. A few minutes later Henry saw the umbilical line detach and the lights ofValhalla turn on as the power systems began to work on their own.
He watched as the seventy-five triple barreled Asgard plasma beam turrets, ninety GD molecular bond disruptors, forty anti-matter core railguns, and two hundred hybrid kinetic energy plasma pulse cannons started moving, testing their range of motion. Then, the Alteran drone launcher doors opened and closed. Henry knew that military hardware was necessary. After all, even if Terrans were purely pacifists, like the Nox, they would need defenses. The Valhalla was meant to destroy its enemies. There was no question about that. To add to it's power, the ship had two GD built Aurora inspired power plants and a ZPM for power. As well, there was the Asgard hyperdrive, the jumpdrive, and six gravity drives for propulsion.
Suddenly, the two massive doors on either side of the ship opened into the single hanger bay. Once they were opened, Henry saw Zane's newly designed starfighters flying on autopilot into the hanger. Seventy fighters flew silently into the hanger followed by two hundred eighty fighter drones.
Henry had quite a laugh when he first saw the design of the starfighters. Zane based their look on the Terran Starfighters from the TV show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. While they looked very similar, there were some external differences. At the back, where the engines would have been, there was an enclosed space for the storage of mini drones. The starfighter was propelled by two gravity drives replacing the ion drives of the TV show. The passenger compartment was now forward facing and was used for a gunner. As well, it was armed with three types of guns. Of the eight forward facing weapons, the four upper and lower cannons were hybrid kinetic energy plasma pulses. The four horizontal weapons were railguns.
The railguns were powered by two modified gravity drives, to cut down on space. Each drive fired its two cannons simultaneously every quarter second. The cannon used depleted uranium core, trinium ball bearings the size of a pea, as ammunition. The railgun fired the ball bearings at three quarters the speed of light.
Henry sighed again as he watched the starfighters fly in and land on the hanger deck. It was humbling to see everything that had been accomplished. With a final look at the ship Henry shook his head and headed to the stargate. A beer sounded good right now.
On the planet Australis
Rodney Mckay was arguing, as usual, with Zane Donovan. They were discussing the best way to optimize the power distribution system for the stardrive. Rodney wanted to copy the setup on Atlantis, while Zane wanted to completely redesign the power grid from scratch.
Apart from the power grid, the rest of the city was finished. The city had been rearmed with forty thousand fighter drones (though they were still being loaded), Asgard plasma beams, heavy plasma cannons, molecular disruption beams, and twenty jumpers. One of the rebuilt towers was a launch platform for the newly designed Terran starfighters. The entire tower was dedicated to the storage and maintenance of them. The tower could hold four hundred fifty of them, fifteen on each of it's thirty floors. In war time, that number could be doubled.
Borealis was to finish off the war with the Wraith, then move to Avalon to help in the coming conflict with the Ori. While Atlantis was only slightly modified by the Terrans, and left as a legacy to the Ancients, Borealis was almost totally rebuilt. She looked the same on the outside, yet on the inside she was an entirely new city. Her interior architecture even appeared to be Terran. Her stardrive was the same, however. There was little that could be done to improve upon an ancient city ship's stardrive.
Borealis had three ZPMs for power along with seven Asgard neutrino ion generators, and four naquadria reactors. The final power system was an experimental system that used Ida replicator technology to convert solar radiation to run the city's systems during peacetime.
The city was also covered in a dome of aluminium oxynitride, or transparent aluminum. This meant that the shields did not need to be continuously active as Borealis was intended to remain in space for extended periods of time. When on a planet, the transparent aluminum could be dematerialized into a pattern buffer for long term storage.
In the control room of Borealis, the deep space sensors detected a massive Wraith fleet collecting above the Wraith homeworld. While it was noted, no one was unduly concerned, until it entered hyperspace a week later heading straight at Borealis
At Altair...
Eli Wallace was excited. He had just tried his hand at piloting an Asgard ship. Thor had let him pilot the O'Neill on the return trip from the Novus Galaxy, as they were now referring to it. It was exciting for him. The feeling of piloting such a massive ship with just his thoughts was an incredibly bizarre feeling, but it was fun, especially while towing another very large ship.
While in Novus, they encountered several of the berserker drones, and when they did, Thor actually cursed long and loud. Duncan and Eli, who had never heard such a thing from Thor, were shocked. Quickly, Thor used his transporter beam to rip vital components out of the drones as they prepared to attack. These components were beamed into a secure location on board O'Neill and Thor said very little for some time as he thought about the situation they now found themselves in.
The Novus ship had sustained much damage from the berserker drones before it met up with the O'Neill. This single ship represented the only People of Novus who remained alive. The others had been killed either in the titanic stresses on their planet as a black hole passed through their system, or by berserker drones. In all, two thousand people remained in stasis, while a crew of forty-seven had been awake and piloting the ship.
They left the ship at Altair for repairs while Eli, Thor, Duncan, and Reger Wallace returned to Earth and Atlantis. Wallace was impressed by the city, and it was explained to him that while several Earth cities were being built in the image of Atlantis, certainly not all resembled it.
They met with Chancellor Jackson, Jack Carter, and General O'Neill in the chancellor's office, which was spacious enough to hold seven people very comfortably. Jackson pulled a chair up in front of his desk, so there wasn't anything between him and his guests. "Commander Wallace," he said, " I'm Chancellor Jackson, head of the Terran government. I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance."
Wallace was looking around the office. He was close to Jackson's age and had seen much, but he couldn't quite reconcile his mind to the luxury he had seen on Earth. When Jackson spoke, he had to force himself to concentrate on what he was saying. "I'm glad to meet you too, Chancellor."
Jackson gestured to O'Neill and Carter, seated on either side of him. "This is General O'Neill, head of homeworld security on Earth, and this is Jack Carter, my chief of staff. Thor, Eli, and Duncan have explained that we are willing to give you safe harbor here in Avalon." Wallace nodded at that. "The problem is that your people have no first hand knowledge of Earth, even though they are directly descended from Terrans."
Wallace was listening intently now, and he thought he understood where Jackson was coming from. "We have developed our own culture and national identity. I believe that is what you are saying, correct?"
Jackson nodded. "That is correct. Your people developed an incredible society, from what I've seen in pictures and in data. That's something to be proud of, and I for one, do not want you to lose that heritage. Here on Earth, we have problems from a recent battle that your people should not be exposed to. We can inoculate your people against it so you can come and go on Earth as you please, but living here right now, is not a good idea. There are several planets where your people can settle and become self sufficient very quickly. As well as your own resourcefulness, we are willing to give assistance wherever it is needed."
"That is very generous, Chancellor, and it is very much appreciated. What can we do to repay Earth for this opportunity?"
Jackson shook his head. "There are no strings to this offer, Commander. We are asking for nothing in return. You are our descendents, and the nations of Earth recognize that family is important."
Shortly afterward, Wallace was escorted to meet with Sam O'Neill, Narim of the Tollen, and Anteaus of the Nox. They would search through databases to find the best planet on which to settle the People of Novus.
Once Wallace had left and the door was shut, Eli looked at Jackson who motioned him to go ahead. "Ok, Thor, what gives?"
"I beg your pardon, Eli?" Thor asked, clearly confused by the question.
"Thor, we've become pretty good friends, all three of us," Eli said, indicating Thor, Duncan, and himself.
"Only once, have we heard you swear, Thor," Duncan said. "When you saw those berserker drones. You knew something about them that you weren't saying."
O'Neill nodded. "They told me about this right before you reached Altair. I've gotta admit, I'm pretty curious."
"We all are," Carter agreed.
Thor looked at the one person who hadn't said anything yet, Jackson, and saw him nod in agreement with the rest. Thor slumped in his chair, then he threw his head back and covered his face with his hands. He shook his head and groaned, then looked at the men. "Eli, you remember that Dr. Rush said the berserker drones had programming in Goa'uld?"
Eli nodded, not at all liking where this was going. Neither was O'Neill or Jackson.
"Wait a minute!" O'Neill exploded. "Those things aren't Goa'uld?"
"No, O'Neill," Thor said. "Many millennia ago, one of those drones drifted into Avalon, and the Goa'uld found it. They reverse engineered the thing, and gained much technology from it, even going so far as to incorporate it's symbols into their language." He looked around the room at each of the men. "You know that the Goa'uld are scavengers, taking technology from other races and using it to further their own power."
"Yeah," O'Neill said. "We know."
"That berserker drone gave them the edge in Avalon to be able to start the Age of the System Lords. Without that drone, they would never have come to power."
O'Neill was outraged. "And you didn't think to tell us about this?"
Thor remained calm. "No, O'Neill, I really didn't. I didn't think much about it because I was able to dispatch the drones with my transporter. When the Goa'uld came to power, they were able to beat us back at first. We countered with more advanced technology, and were able to quickly tip power in our favor again. We then had to deal with the replicators in the Ida Galaxy, and we gained more technology through that war. From what I can tell of the berserker drones in the Novus Galaxy, they aren't a threat to us."
"They sure did a number on Destiny," Eli observed.
"Yes," Thor agreed. "But Destiny is millions of years old, Eli. Had she been in her prime, and been able to repair after attacks, she would have fared much better."
O'Neill sat down, and fumed for a few minutes, not looking at Thor. Finally, he looked at the Blonde Norseman, and said, "Ok, Buddy. I can understand what you're saying. Just next time, tell us, ok?"
Thor thought for a moment, then said, "Alright, O'Neill. I will"
O'Neill smiled, then, "Ok, I'm good then."
As they left the room, O'Neill commented on the fact that Thor hadn't shaved on his excursion to the Novus Galaxy. "Nice beard, buddy. You gonna keep it?"
In Atlantis that night...
Jack and Allison were relaxing in their apartment. It had been a long day for both of them, and it felt good to be home. Jack was leaning back in the sofa, his arm around Allison. Their newly born baby, a boy, was asleep in a playpen near the sofa. He was leaning over to kiss his wife, when the door chime sounded. "Oh… Come in," he called and the door opened.
Merlin walked into the apartment, followed by one of the last people either Jack or Allison expected to see. Callister Raynes.
For a long moment, Jack sat and stared, his mouth agape. Allison wasn't able to speak any easier.
"Hello, Sheriff. Dr. Blake," Callister said politely. "But I guess you're not sheriff anymore. And my grandfather tells me that you two are married, so it's Mr. and Dr. Carter now."
Finally, Allison found her voice. "How…?," was all she managed though. Then, "Your grandfather? Who?" The reality finally hit her and Jack about the same time.
"You're saying," Jack said carefully, "that Merlin is your grandfather?"
"Sure," Callister said, shrugging. "Dr. Stark was my father after all. Can we sit down?" he asked, indicating another sofa.
"By all means," Jack said.
"So Merlin is your grandfather because Nathan was your father? Is that what you're saying?" Allison asked, shocked.
"That is correct," Merlin affirmed.
"That would make Nathan my uncle!" Jack exclaimed.
"That is also correct, Jack," Merlin said.
"So I married my aunt?" Jack asked. "You've got to be kidding me!"
"I guess that makes the baby your cousin," Callister said, sounding for all the world, perfectly serious.
"No," Jack said forcefully. "No, No, No! This is just wrong on so many levels! I cannot be Nathan Stark's nephew!"
Merlin sat on the sofa beside Callister, watching Jack's histrionics impassively. Finally, during a lull in his tirade, Merlin said, "If you'll let me explain a few things, Jack."
"No! I don't want to know how I could possibly be Nathan's nephew!"
"Well I'd like to know, Jack," Allison said firmly enough that Jack's head snapped around and he looked at his wife.
"I'm sorry, Ally," he said more calmly. "I just…"
"I know, Jack," she said smiling. "But no matter what we hear tonight, nothing between us is going to change."
"I think perhaps Samantha, Jack, and Jade should be here. Actually, this concerns all of your siblings, Jack," Merlin said before he began.
"Lexi and Samantha are at Eureka. Mark lived in San Diego," Allison protested.
Merlin nodded. "Can you call Sam and tell her to prepare to come here?" he asked.
Allison nodded and placed a call to Samantha. "Hi Sam," she said into her phone. "Merlin is asking that you, Jack, and Jade prepare to come here." She paused as she listened for a moment, then turned to Merlin. "They can be here in a couple of hours. There are no ships in Earth orbit with transport capability right now, so they'll have to take a jumper."
"That's quite alright," Merlin answered. "I can get them here if you'll just tell them to prepare for the unexpected."
Allison looked at Merlin strangely, but told Samantha, "Merlin says to expect the unexpected." Again, she listened then turned to Merlin. "She says 'ok.'"
Merlin then snapped his fingers and there was a flash of light. When it dimmed, Sam, O'Neill, and Jade were all standing in the room. Samantha still had her cell phone to her ear, but rather than react, she simply lowered it and shut it off. "That was definitely unexpected," she said.
Allison then called Lexi, and the same thing happened, except that Allison wasn't speechless when her sister-in-law and family appeared in the room.
"What about Mark?" Jack asked his grandfather. Merlin closed his eyes and bowed his head for a few moments. When he opened them, he shook his head. "I can't find Mark, Jack."
Jack nodded, as neither he, Sam, or Lexi had expected Mark to make it through the carnage of Southern California, especially since they hadn't heard anything from him. They had kept some hope, but now that Merlin couldn't find him, it seemed somehow to seal his fate.
Once everyone sat down, Merlin began, "Well, it's certainly gratifying to see how you have all grown and matured. As you know, Jack, Sam, and Lexi, your mother, Debra, was my daughter. What you haven't known, however, is that Nathan Stark was my son."
"I'm sorry," Lexi interrupted. "I've heard Jack and Allison talk about Nathan Stark, and how he was married to Ally. You're telling us that he was also our uncle?"
"That is correct, Lexi."
"From what I understand, Nathan was near Jack's age."
"He was just a year older than Jack," Allison said. "But I knew Jenna Stark, Nathan's mother. She was not old enough to be Debra Carter's mother."
"And Mom's maiden name was not Stark," Lexi added.
Merlin held up his hand. "Please, Wait a moment. Allison, the woman you knew as Jenna Stark, was indeed Jack's grandmother." He sighed as he said, "This will certainly take some time to explain. First, however, let me introduce Nathan's son, Callister Raynes."
Callister held up his hand, said a quiet but polite, "Hi," and smiled.
Sam had heard of Callister, but until now, had no idea who he was. Her eyes widened in amazement. "You're THE Callister Raynes? The basis for all androids in GD?"
"That's right," he said," but I'd prefer if people didn't know about that if we can help it."
Allison nodded. "Most of the people in GD don't know the whole story. They just know that you came back to Eureka."
Her husband nodded. "Stark, Jo, and I did a pretty good job of damage control after you 'died'. Besides Ally, Zoe, and me, I think the only people who know your secret are Henry, Jo, and Fargo."
Duncan had been quietly sitting beside his wife. He was somewhat surprised by what he was hearing, but he had learned to take things about Merlin in stride. While Callister being an android and having been dead was not strictly about the Wizard, it was in his family, so he figured it counted. Now he said, "We haven't been introduced, Callister. I'm Duncan Glennallen, Lexi's husband. I've got a question for you. What do you want to do with your life?"
"I'm really good with computers, but I always give them a virus, so I guess working with them is out of the question."
"No, it's not, Callister," Merlin disagreed. "I've fixed that problem. You won't harm any computers anymore."
"Really?" Callister asked. "Thank you, Grandfather," he said, obviously grateful. He turned back to Duncan. "That being the case, I'd like to work with computers again."
Sam said, "I can't offer a job with computers right now, but there is a job with Douglas Fargo on the Nathan Stark as assistant engineer. I can't guarantee you the job, Callister. We have to avoid nepotism, but I'll bet you'd be good at it," she explained. "At least you could interview for the job."
"That would be great!" Callister exclaimed.
"We have to avoid nepotism?" O'Neill asked. "Look at how many people are related to each other, in command areas right now! One more is hardly gonna matter!"
Lexi started listing them off on her fingers. "Let's see, you're in charge of home world security. Your best friend is high chancellor of Earth. Your wife is head of R and D involving extraterrestrial technologies. Your brother-in-law, your wife's twin, decides what extraterrestrial technologies common people get to see…"
"We get the point, Lexi," both Sam and Carter chorused together, then they looked at each other and laughed.
The conversation went long into the night with reminisces about Debra Carter and Nathan Stark. There were both laughing and tears along with the surprise of Nathan being an uncle. By the time Merlin returned the O'Neills and Glennallens to their homes, everyone was exhausted, but happy for the time they had had to get to know Callister and Merlin.