A/N We do not own any of the franchises represented herein. We are just fans.
Chapter 18
On the other side of the Avalon galaxy, the Ori had also been building up their forces. Twelve years had been devoted to building this fleet, and now, with close to seventy attack ships, it was time to strike. They jumped to hyperspace, and were moving quickly so that the unbelievers had very little time to prepare.
Twenty of the ships jumped out of hyperspace in orbit of Vis Uban, a number which the Ori assumed would be able to take the planet very quickly. However, the defenses at Vis Uban were somewhat more sophisticated than the Ori had expected.
When the Ori vessels dropped from hyperspace, they found themselves facing a dozen Astraeus class battleships, a Valhalla, and ten BC-304/C ships. They squared off with the Terran ships, but when destruction came, it was from an unexpected direction. As well as the ships, there were ten satellites in orbit, which recognized the Ori ships as not belonging in orbit, and began to pepper them with weaponry. Three of the Ori ships simply vaporized as they were hit in critical areas, and the rest decided that sitting motionless in orbit was not a good idea. They started moving, but they had waited longer than was prudent. Valhalla, a carrier, had launched it's starfighters which took the Ori vessels by surprise.
Next, the highly nimble Astraeus class ships began to fire and launch waves of fighter drones. The drones joined with the starfighters and together, they started strafing the surfaces of the Ori ships.
The BC-304s had their own jobs to do. They darted in and out between the Ori ships, inflicting damage, and drawing the Ori guns toward them rather than the more heavily armed Astraeus ships. They, in turn, targeted and fired, taking out a few more of the Ori vessels.
The Ori crews were perhaps fanatical when it came to their belief in their gods. Many were even uneducated, but they were not stupid. They saw that they were outclassed when they lost the eighth of their ships, they decided that living to fight another day was probably the better course of action. As one, they jumped into hyperspace and retreated the way they had come.
While these twenty ships were fighting above Vis Uban, another twenty dropped out of hyperspace above Chulak. There, they met up with a fleet of three dozen Ha'tak. These latest in the class originally designed by the Goa'uld were not the primitive ships that they once were, nor were the crews untrained and kept in the dark about so much of their ship. These new Jaffa were extremely well trained, and they were fully aware of what needed to be done on board their ships to fight effectively.
As soon as the Ori vessels dropped into normal space, the Jaffa ships whirled on them, and started firing. No one in the Iconian fleet would wait for communication to be established with these Ori ships. They knew exactly who they were and why they were present. News of the death of Morgan LeFay had been broadcast to all of the fleet commanders, and as a result the Ori would not be given a chance to get the first shot. Morgan LeFay had been instrumental in combining the technologies of the Iconain Alliance. She had worked with the twins, Scotty and LaForge, as well as several other engineers, and had often blended the technologies into a single working ship. As well, she had been loved by all the the people she worked with, being personable and able to discern people's wants and likes.
LeFay had also set up education and advanced medical systems on Chulak, improving life for the Jaffa. Now they had a chance to avenge her death, and if the Ori were to advance, the Jaffa were certainly going to make them feel every inch of ground they obtained.
Today, however, was not the Ori's day. The Jaffa lost two ships, one of which was rather spectacular as it did a kamikaze run, taking out two Ori ships in the process. In all, the Ori lost ten.
As the Ori ships limped away, Bra'tac was heard to transmit toward them, "Run! Maybe Adria will be merciful if you lose no more ships."
But the worst defeat that the Ori suffered on this day, by far, was when thirty ships dropped out of hyperspace to try to take the planet of Heliopolis. Fortuitously, every ship in the Alteran fleet was orbiting their adopted home planet, including the immense Avalon. As soon as the Ori ships scanned the space surrounding their ships, they began moving as far away from Avalon as they could. However, that was not to be. Ten Alteran battleships boxed in the Ori vessels, setting up such a crossfire that they couldn't escape. Then the massive doors on Avalon opened, and wave after wave of starfighters flew out of the station. These were Alteran Starfighters, and they were considerably stronger than the Terran version, something that became apparent when they started strafing the Ori ships. Massive explosions rocked the giant warships as the little fighters pounded away at them.
One starfighter, in particular, was leading attacks, jumping from one warship to another, followed by nine fighters determined to stay on his tail. They were hard pressed to keep up, however, as the pilot seemed to care not for the Ori shots that were continually chasing and missing his ship. He was known as Ca Rel, and had handpicked each of the members of his squadron and trained them mercilessly. He was known as one of the best pilots in the Alteran fleet, and in fact was the only person who had ever flown the city ship, Camelot. Matching his daring was another squadron of ten fighters led by his sister, Ca Ra. The two had placed wagers on which of them could inflict the most damage to Ori ships during this defense campaign, and aboard Avalon, computers were recording every shot made by each starfighter.
Ca Rel's ship dove in towards the engine section of one of the warships, and he released a phasing drone. It was similar to the Alteran drones used by the city ships, except it was programed to be autonomous. Once inside the shields, it would target the largest power source it could scan and destroy it. Then, if it was still viable, it would find the next largest power source, and so on. Ca Rel's drone phased itself out of sync, passed through the shields as though they weren't there, and then came into sync with the rest of the Ori ship. It found the reactor powering the ship and went to work. Once it destroyed the ships' reactor, it zeroed in on those weapon's systems which had reserve power left. The drone took the shortest route, which happened to be through the most densely populated part of the ship, to the forward weapons array. The shields were now down, and debris started drifting out of the hole left by the drone as it entered the hull. Suddenly, the forward part of the hull exploded outward as the drone shot through, leaving a gaping hole where the weapons array used to be.
Ca Ra watched as the remaining guns of the warship fired wildly as their systems shorted, neatly blasting a hole through a neighboring Ori warship's bridge. She had to swing her fighter crazily to miss being hit by a couple of explosions herself. Unfortunately, another one of the guns hit an Alteran cruiser, blasting it completely in two. Ca Rel saw the carnage as well, but he wasn't sure if it was a chain reaction from the damage his drone had inflicted, or just a lucky shot by the people manning the weapon. Regardless, he vowed he'd not send a drone through the shields until they discovered what had happened.
Elsewhere, Avalon was using her torpedoes and phasers, but the weapon with the greatest effect was the phasing railgun. It fired a slug the size of a watermelon, made of neutronium, which was phased to pass through shields, just as Ca Rel's drone had done. A simple sensor trigger brought the slug back into phase as soon as it detected the absence of shield energy around it. Avalon was targeting the Ori reactors with the railgun, and it was having devastating effects on the fleet. Finally, after eighteen of the ships had been either destroyed or completely incapacitated, the remaining Ori retreated. They were starting to enter hyperspace just as Avalon hit the reactor of one. The resulting explosion of the accelerating ship had impressive results. Nine made it into hyperspace, but the window was disrupted, and as the last two ships tried to enter it, it collapsed. They plowed through the debris of the exploding ship, and left burning streaks spreading out in the direction the rest of the fleet had taken.
At the Supergate…
Another ten Ori warships were staked out in a one hundred kilometer radius of the gate, waiting, and when the wormhole opened, they began spiraling outward, as one hundred more warships emerged. Once the gate shut down, each ship came to a halt relative to it. On board Adria's flagship, the fiftieth ship to come through, the Doci stood looking at the viewer. Adria herself stood behind him, and she demanded that her face be broadcast to each ship now poised ready to strike at her command.
"Followers of Origin," she began, "this is our time. We will take this universe for the Ori! They will not be able to stand in our way. In the past, you were dependent on the Ori for your victories, but now, you have been trained in battle tactics. You are no longer uneducated. We can grab hold of victory and take it! Follow the orders of your priors, for they hear from the Doci who hears from me! We will overcome!"
With that, the broadcast ended, and they entered hyperspace, headed for their stronghold in Avalon for final preparation of the attack. The Doci wore a superior smile as he thought of the revenge he would take on the one called 'The Commander'.
In Atlantis…
Merlin had arrived at Jack and Allison's apartment earlier in the day. The apartment was a spacious set of rooms, near the top of one of the residential towers. The living area had windows that opened onto a balcony on two sides of the apartment. The balcony overlooked much of the city and from it you could see the landing areas. Merlin was sitting at a table drinking a cup of tea talking with his grandson. Even though he was chancellor of the Alliance, Merlin refused to have a contingent of guards. An honor guard at official functions was one thing, but as a Q, bodyguards for his protection, especially at his grandson's home, were completely unnecessary.
"So when do I get to meet my grandmother?" The question took Merlin completely by surprise. He could very often read Jack, but this time, there hadn't been a hint of what he was thinking about.
"I beg your pardon?" he asked, stalling.
"My grandmother. You know, Mom's mom. Your wife. I haven't met her, or even seen her in all the time I've known you."
Merlin smiled slightly. His grandson's personality was a contrast to his own. Where Jack had a quirky sense of humor, and a personality that seemed representative of 'everyman', Merlin's was the type that inspired people to follow him. People would gladly follow him into a burning building with no hope of escape. He had the air of a great Shakespearean actor. Indeed, people could easily see him playing Macbeth, or delivering Marc Antony's speech. But no matter their differences, both men would do anything for the protection of those people they were sworn to protect.
Merlin looked at his grandson over his cup. "In time, Jack, I will introduce her to you."
"Where is she? How come she's not on Heliopolis with you?"
Merlin set down his cup. "What makes you think she's not on Heliopolis?"
"Well… I just… I don't know. I've never seen her there."
"Well, Jack, you're absolutely right. She's actually doing recon work for us, on the other side of Avalon, like Ganos Lal was doing."
"Uh… Grandpa. Ganos Lal was recently killed."
Merlin glanced at his grandson, then back to where he was staring out at the ocean. "Yes, Jack, I know."
Carter shook his head, "And you're ok with your wife being away doing the same work?"
The wizard smiled as he looked back at Carter. "Yes, Jack. Keep in mind, she's Q, while Ganos Lal was simply ascended."
Jack shook his head. He had learned one thing anyway. His grandmother was Q, not merely an ascended. He knew his mother had to have been Q as well, and because of that, he was still a bit shaky on how she could have died in a car accident, given the obvious power of the Q. "Grandpa," he asked, "how did my mother die?"
Merlin stopped smiling and turned to gaze at his grandson with compassion. "Jack, my daughter was being disciplined when she was your mother. She was fobbed."
"Like Nathan?"
"Your mother and Nathan both rebelled when they were young. They were fobbed to teach them a sense of responsibility."
"You said that Nathan was dead, but your son was still alive," Jack observed, "so is the same true about Mom?"
Merlin shifted uncomfortably in his chair, but he nodded in the affirmative.
"So Mom is still alive somewhere?"
"You must understand Jack," Merlin said, "that when a fobbed Q 'dies' that personality is merged into the whole. Your mother is now part of the whole of my daughter. Nathan has been unfobbed, and my son knows that he is Q again. My daughter has not been."
"So she hasn't learned responsibility? It seems to me that Mom was very responsible. Who makes the determination that she hasn't learned her lesson? Who fobbed her?" Jack was understandably upset as he defended his mother, and his questions were coming rapidfire.
"The rest of the Q made that determination when she was placed on trial. As for who fobbed her, that was your grandmothers' and my responsibility as her parents. It was a very difficult thing to do. Then a few years later, we had to fob Jan… er... Nathan."
Jack looked shocked at Merlin. "Nathan is Janus?" Several times, his grandfather had mentioned Janus, and several times he had mentioned Nathan, but he had never indicated that they were the same person.
As if reading Jack's thoughts, as he probably was, Merlin answered, "Jack, I have told you that you will learn things when it is the proper time." Jack nodded and Merlin continued. "Well if I'm not mistaken," there was a flash of light and another chair and person were suddenly at the table, "we're about to have a visitor," Merlin finished.
"Hello, Father," the newcomer said to Merlin. He had dark hair, a friendly face, and a ready smile. He looked to Jack to be roughly his age, although since Jack assumed this was Janus, he knew that his estimate had to be off by a considerable amount of time. Janus turned to him, and if he had doubted that this was Nathan, that was quickly gone when the newcomer said, "Hiya, Jack. I hear you're no longer chasin' the bad guys, huh?" He turned serious and continued, "But you're still taking care of Ally. Thank you."
Jack simply nodded. Surprisingly, he felt a lump in his throat as he remembered the last time he had seen this man and the words they had shared.
The door from the apartment slid open and Allison came out carrying a tray with two cups of tea. She stopped abruptly as she saw Janus. "I'm sorry," she said to Jack, "I wasn't aware there was someone else here." She didn't ask the obvious question of how he had gotten onto the balcony without coming through the apartment. She had seen enough comings and goings by various Q that such a question wasn't necessary.
"Hello, Ally," Janus said. Allison had been looking at her husband, but the way Janus said those two words, made her turn, startled, toward him. She almost dropped her tray and the color drained from her face.
"This is Janus, Ally," Jack said. "and yeah, he was Nathan," he finished lamely.
Above Heliopolis…
A fleet was gathering to counterattack the Ori. Merlin's wife, Che Ryl, was delivering valuable information from the section of the Avalon Galaxy that the Ori had already subjugated. Thus, the Ori stronghold was known. The Iconians simply called it, Origin, as there was no official name for the planet.
The fleet was comprised of twelve Astraeus, ten of the 304s, two Valhallas, twelve O'Neills, and five Auroras. They were given instructions to not necessarily take the planet, but to concentrate on inflicting as much damage as possible.
They made the jump into hyperspace for the trip across the galaxy. On their arrival at Origin, the 304s started making strafing runs on the massive Ori fleet. The Valhallas opened their hangers and several wings of starfighters poured out, joining the 304s.
On board one of the Auroras, the Cursus, Captain Sha Non Odan El was keeping a close eye on her viewscreen, watching for openings that the phasers and photon torpedoes could pass through. This wasn't nearly the chore it once was, however. The weapons systems on Cursus were designed to avoid hitting certain ships. In fact, were one of those ships to be hijacked, it would take considerable effort to be able to do more than disable it with an Alteran vessel. The phasers were designed to not fire at a friendly ship, and torpedoes were programmed to go around one. Thus, for the most part, Cursus simply had to fire towards the Ori fleet. Since the battle was sublight, there was little danger of a lightspeed weapon like phasers hitting something they shouldn't.
Another of the Auroras, the Titan, was under the command of Riker. The fleet of Auroras was technically under Sha Non Oden El's command, but she had seen Riker's skill more than once, and had given him free reign in this battle. She observed as Titan began dancing this way and that, never staying still long enough to be targeted. The Auroras tied their navigation systems together so the ships were in no danger of colliding, then she had her best helmsman imitate the flight style of Titan. Her helmsman was even better than Riker's and soon Cursus would have been impossible to predict even by the most seasoned pilot.
The Ori were completely consumed with their defense against the Iconians when a hyperspace window opened and ten ha'taks emerged. They took up positions below the Ori and started bombarding the planet below. The ha'tak was entirely suited to the task as the Goa'uld had designed it to be able to subdue a planet from orbit. The Jaffa controlling them were still furious over the death of Ganos Lal, and they were not in the mood to be merciful to the Ori. Their lower weapons were picking off targets on the planet's surface, and the upper were joining in the fray with the rest of the Iconian fleet. It looked like the Iconians would prevail until another window opened and twenty Ori attack vessels emerged along with five of the largest Ori ships the Iconians had ever seen. They were mammoth: at least three times the size of the traditional Ori ship. When they opened fire, it became apparent that their size was indicative of their firepower as well.
On board the 304, Daedalus, one of the newest ZPM powered 304s, a shot from one of the new Ori ships hit it right on the spine. The shields held, but the lights dimmed and several circuits blew. While backups kicked on, the engineer noted that the power levels, previously at seventy-five percent, were now down to fifty. He called his commander as another bolt hit, lowering the shields to twenty percent. "Sir! We've got to get out of here! Our shields are down to twenty percent and still falling!"
Colonel Robert Johnson, commander of the Daedalus, ordered his ship out of the fray and for his engineer to make repairs, but it was too late. Another blast hit the ship, ripping a hole through the spine. The ship was not broken in two pieces. At least not until it collided with one of the smaller Ori ships in a glancing blow. This left the Ori none the worse for wear, but broke Daedalus into several pieces of scrap.
Riker saw the punishment the ships in the fray were taking and called for an immediate withdrawal. Sha Non Oden El took in the situation and added her voice to his. Thor, in command of the group as a whole, agreed. He beamed aboard his ship whatever sensitive pieces of Iconian technology he could, as did the other O'Neills, and then they entered hyperspace for the trip back to Heliopolis.
Once they dropped out of hyperspace, they took stock of the damage. They had lost three 304s, one Astraeus, one O'Neill and seven starfighters. The key components of those ships had been beamed aboard the remaining O'Neills as they prepared to retreat, but by far, the worst news from a technological standpoint was that only nine ha'taks had returned, and no O'Neill had any debris from a ha'tak aboard.