Skylines by Slybrarian
Title: Skylines (Gods and Monsters Challenge)
Author: slybrarian
Rating: Teen
Pairings: Mostly gen, with a mention of Sheppard/Mitchell
Series: Acceleration (Various points in the timeline)
Words: 5,500
Summary: Any city looks different depending on who you are and where you see it from. Twelve points of view of Atlantis, from expedition members, visitors, and outsiders.
0 - Atlantis
[Status check - System Time 289,597,000]
Structural check in progress... complete. No critical faults, minor water damage in some areas.
Power: Module Alpha 67.3%, Module Beta off-line, Module Gamma off-line, auxiliary power active
Life support: 100%, running on external air and water supply
Defensive systems: standing by
Sensors: online
Stargate: standing by
Support infrastructure: operating at 87.3% efficiency
Medical systems: standing by
All primary systems functioning within parameters.
Current population: 523 (230 citizens, 293 resident humans)
Beginning personnel safety check by priority level...
Supreme Commander John Sheppard... GREEN
Chief Scientist Rodney McKay... GREEN
Torren Emmagen [Minor]... GREEN
Command Adjutant Teyla Emmagen [Citizen-Designate]... GREEN
Chief Medical Officer Jennifer Keller... GREEN
Vice Commander Evan Lorne... GREEN
Specialist Ronon Dex [Citizen-Designate]... GREEN
...
...
Administrative Assistant Richard Woolsey [Human]... GREEN
[Status check complete. Next system check scheduled for 289,598,000]
1 - The Expedition
1a - Richard Woolsey, International Oversight Advisory - Expedition Leader
Richard had a routine in the mornings. Thankfully, even in Atlantis most mornings were quiet, mostly because even the scientists had to sleep sometime and after about three in the morning they stopped poking at dangerous Ancient devices. The off-world teams were usually home by then, assuming they hadn't run into some trouble. There was also the simply statistical reality that the vast majority of days were absolutely routine and not full of near-disasters, so long as one ignored rambunctious marines and minor technical malfunctions.
At precisely 0820, Richard's alarm clock would go off and he would hit the snooze button. At his actual wakeup time of 0830, it would sound again and his computer would begin playing soft music. He would stumble to the shower and take a shower that lasted between ten and twenty minutes, depending on how stressful his previous day had been. Afterwards he would dress, go to the mess for breakfast, and arrive in the control room at 0920. Charles or Amelia would give him a quick rundown of any schedule changes or important events that had come up since he had gone off-duty, and he would then retreat to his office to begin his work day. (It seemed odd to start on the half-hour, but such was life on a planet where the day had twenty-six hours and a seventeen-minute midnight.)
He liked the early mornings. They were orderly. They reminded him of old life, when the day began at nine o'clock and usually ended at five; when his life revolved around laws and rule and standardized practices, when every activity could be neatly fit into a category and the outliers were few and far between. Even as a presidential and IOA auditor things had been that way.
Now his life never seemed to have any regularity to it, other than the old adage of 'expecting the unexpected'. It was a sure thing that something would go wrong every week, the question was simply how bad it would be. Every rule had some sort of exception that had to be added on the fly and even the laws of physics were not sacrosanct. The latest misadventure of Colonel Lorne's team was a prime example of both of those occurring, with a person transformed and the rule about keeping animals confined to the zoology lab thrown out the window.
The job had its bright moments. It was immensely satisfying about knowing what you were doing was making a difference to the entire world, and there was something uplifting about proving to yourself that you could handle danger with courage and resolve. It was also terrifying, though, and if he could he wouldn't mind at all going back to his pleasant, routine-filled life.
It wasn't going to happen anytime soon, though. The IOA wasn't likely to ever agree on a replacement for him unless forced to do so. He could resign, but he couldn't do that in good conscience without knowing there was someone qualified to take his place. He knew that he wasn't the best man for the job, but there were far worse people. For now he was stuck.
On the bright side, with the new fleet under construction back home, at least the responsibility for defeating the Wraith might soon be out of his hands. That would leave just dealing with whatever latest problem the scientists or off-world teams had turned up.
1b - First Sergeant Adam Stackhouse, United States Exploratory Corps - Senior NCO
Adam Stackhouse loved his job. He had loved it from the day he had stepped through the gate after Colonel Sumner and hadn't stopped since. He loved exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new civilizations. He loved working with a bunch of geeks. He loved seeing what new antics his men would get up to next. He loved serving with the best damned men and women in two galaxies and under officers second to none. He loved making a difference to his country, his planet, and an entire galaxy.
Sure, there were downsides. Being the first sergeant meant handling a gateload of shit and ungodly amounts of paperwork. But hey, that was just the price of success. And Wraith? Please. No Marine was scared of life-sucking vampires. He wasn't a zoomie, after all.
If Adam had any choice, he'd be in Atlantis until the day he died.
2 - The New Guys
2a - Corporal Timothy Hendricks, United States Exploratory Corps - Space Marine
Tim felt like he was going to faint any second. He was dizzy with excitement as he tried to take in every last detail of the city around him. Even out on the landing field there was so much to see, from the ocean past the ship to the towers rising thousands of feet into the air to the two moons just coming over the horizon. He had never seen anything like it in his life. He knew he had to be gawking like a farm boy setting foot in a big city for the first time - which, to be fair, he was - but he couldn't bring himself to care. How could he? He had only just made corporal and been told he had a special gene five weeks ago. Now he was on his first overseas assignment in an alien city and had gotten there on a genuine starship.
This was going to be so completely awesome that words couldn't even describe it.
2b - Doctor Neill Jackson, United States - Astronautical Engineer
Neill had been through a lot of things during his life, and while sitting on a spaceship for three weeks wasn't quite the most boring experience ever, it was pretty damned close. Leave it to the Air Force and its spin-off to make interstellar travel completely dull. Novak hadn't even let him look at the engines and the in-flight movies had all sucked.
At least he was finally in Atlantis. It was certainly shiny-looking, although he had been expecting something a little... bigger. More grand, perhaps. Neill was pretty sure he'd seen cities that had been a lot more impressive - i.e. larger and/or permanently flying - back in the Milky Way. On the bright side, it wasn't a bunch of dusty ruins, the people were supposedly nice, the chances of random death weren't that bad, and he'd be able to build spaceships. The place would have to be pretty bad to offset all that. Even space vampires didn't quite --
Neill's train of thought was derailed when stepped out of his new quarters just in time to be knocked over by a gigantic dog. After several confused moments and much flailing, he found himself on his back with a brown Lab of Unusual Size standing over him. It barked happily and started to lick his face.
"Gah!" Neill said, trying vainly to push it away. "Off, off!"
"Sammy! No! No, bad dog! Bad!"
Neill and 'Sammy' both looked down the corridor to an intersection, where there was a man in military BDUs holding a leash. The dog barked again and took off the opposite direction. The marine sprinted down the corridor after him, not even pausing as he rushed past shouting, "Sorry about that!"
While Neill was still sputtering and wiping drool off his face, Major Lorne came around the corner at a leisurely jog. He stopped next to Neill and offered him a hand up.
"Hi there. I take it you just met Sam?"
"I guess so," Neill replied. "Dr. Neill Jackson, by the way."
"Lieutenant Colonel Evan Lorne. Nice to meet you."
"Lieutenant colonel, eh?" Neill said. "Congratulations."
Lorne raised an eyebrow. "Thank you?"
Neill waved towards where the marine and his dog had disappeared down a set of stairs. "I didn't know people were allowed to have pets. Or is he some alien space-dog being studied?"
Lorne winced. "That's actually Captain Winchester's brother. There was an... accident on our last mission."
"Brother." Neill sighed. "Alien temple?"
"Yep."
"Of course it was."
Same shit, different galaxy.
3 - The Visitors
3a - Jeannie Miller, Canada - Genius and Sister
"... so I think that this should solve your problem with the second-stage containment system," Jeannie said into the webcam on her laptop. "You were close already, I think you might have been working with a faulty translation of some of the math. Or maybe you were just wrong. Anyways, feel free to email me again if you have more problems - but before you ask, no, I still won't come and help out in person. I'm sorry, but I'm busy."
She wanted to go badly. It would be nice to see Meredith again, especially under circumstances that didn't involve near-death experiences. It would also be great to get some hands-on involvement with something that would probably be one of the biggest and most important breakthroughs in the history of science, especially if she could see Meredith's face when they turned the ZPM machine on for the first time. She couldn't do it, though. Maybe if Atlantis was a little bit safer, she might have considered it, but the risks were too high. There was always a chance that an accident could occur, that the Wraith could attack, or that Atlantis could somehow be cut off from Earth for an extended period. There was probably a one in a million chance of something happening while she was there, but that was still too high. Maybe in a few years, when things had settled down and the kids were older, she might visit again. Until then, she was happy helping by email and consulting with Samantha's team at Area 51. There were more important things than fame and glory, after all.
"Say goodbye to your uncle, Malcolm." Jeannie held up Malcolm's chubby little arm and waved it. He grinned and burbled happily. "Bye, Meredith. I love you."
3b - Colonel Cameron Mitchell, United States Exploratory Corps - CO USS Daedalus and Boyfriend
Cam got up from his chair, stretched, and took a few steps towards the bridge window. It looked like a beautiful day and he was already itching to get out there. He loved his ship to death, he really did, but he wasn't made to spend three weeks cooped up with little to do besides watching hyperspace blur past.
He turned around. "Major, is there anything you need me to do right now?"
Marks' lips quirked upwards. "Not really, sir. I've been doing this for five years, I think I can manage to get everything taken care of."
"Good man. I'll be..." Cam waved vaguely out the window. "Somewhere. Call me if something comes up."
"Will do, sir."
Ten minutes later Cam was striding down the forward gangway. He couldn't help the grin that split his face when he saw John leaning against the railing at the bottom with his hands in his pockets. He had a few more wrinkles, a few more pounds, and a bit of grey in his hair here and there, but other than that he could have been the same relaxed and slinky man Cam had met twenty years before.
John caught sight of him as he drew close and stood a little straighter. "Colonel Mitchell."
"Colonel Sheppard. Good to see you again."
They shook hands and momentarily embraced. It wasn't anything unusual for long-time comrades to do, certainly nothing that would indicate they were also lovers who hadn't seen each other except on recorded videos for two months, three days, and about sixteen hours. Of course, that wouldn't stop every gossip in the city and on Daedalus - and given the tiny size of the two groups, that meant everyone - from speculating on what they'd be up to that evening.
"So," John said as the started walking into the main part of the city, close enough that their hands just happened to occasionally brush, "you can swim pretty well, right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"You ever go surfing?"
"No, I haven't," Cam replied slowly.
"I guess I'll have to teach you, then," John said with a grin. "There's this beautiful beach we found on the mainland with perfect waves. It's city-wide holiday on Tuesday and me, Ronon, and and a bunch of other guys were planning on heading over there. You can come with us. Think about it - sunny day, a nice breeze, a barbecue, it'll be great."
Cam looked at John skeptically. "Yeah, right up until an alien shark bites someone's leg off."
John shook his head. "Naw, the sharks in that area are harmless and we've got sonic gizmos to ward them off anyways. Of course, you can't go too far into the jungle because of the giant snakes, but the beach is perfectly safe."
"Okay, maybe I can tag along, but I don't know if -"
"I even had Rodney fabricate a board and swim trunks for you," John said.
"I'm not getting out of this without nearly drowning, am I?"
"Nope!"
Cam found himself grinning. "I guess I can try anything once."
"Funny you should say that. I was thinking it'd be nice to get you some flight hours in a jumper, and if the gravity just happened to turn off while we were up there..."
John waggled his eyebrows. He looked incredibly dorky and the message probably would have been lost on anyone else. Fortunately, Cam was good at decoding John's expressions and received it loud and clear.
That didn't stop him from laughing.
4 - The 'Allies'
4a - Ladon Radim, Genii Confederacy - Supreme Chief
Ladon was not sure what exactly made him uneasy about the meeting. They were in the back room of the tavern in the surface village, with numerous guards in the building and a full company laying low in the village. Sheppard had only brought his oversized Satedan plus two other soldiers who were waiting outside. It was possible they had an invisible ship as well, but according the gate watchers the wormhole had not been open long enough that one could have come through easily. That was one thing that set Ladon on edge - it spoke of a high level of confidence of Sheppard's part. More important was that neither Doctor McKay, Sheppard's constant companion, nor Teyla Emmagen, who always took the lead in negotiations, were present. Perhaps worst of all was that Sheppard was smiling. In Ladon's experience, it was rarely a good sign for his people.
"It's good to see you again, Colonel," Ladon said with a small smile of his own. "I must say, this visit is rather unexpected."
"I happened to be in the area and thought I'd drop by and have a quick chat," Sheppard said easily. He was slouching in his chair; behind him, the Satedan leaned against the wall and stared at Ladon in silence. "We are allies, after all. Communication's important."
"Indeed it is," Ladon said, unsure of where Sheppard was going with the conversation. "I think we can both agree that our current trade relationship is mutually beneficial."
"Yeah. Of course, sometimes it seems like we're getting our wires cross, like with that little trial the coalition conducted a while ago."
Ladon frowned. "I want to assure you, Colonel, we had nothing to do with that. We knew there was talk of grievances against your people, but if we had known they would go so far as to abduct you, we would have alerted you at once."
Receiving news of what had transpired had been unsettling, to say the least. His agents had done their best to encourage resentment against the Lanteans and even fostered the idea that they needed to be chastised for their lack of accountability, but he had never imagined they would be so rash as to outright attack them at this stage of the game. Trade sanctions were one thing, kidnapping quite another. He supposed he should be glad they hadn't done something utterly foolish like execute them, but the fact that they had been found innocent had left the Genii in a decidedly unsatisfactory position.
"That's good to hear," Sheppard replied. "There were some rumors that you had been instigators behind it, and to be honest, some of us were inclined to believe it. I mean, there was that nasty incident where you tried to stage a coup on another ally's planet and I got caught in the crossfire."
"That was an independent operation by one of our mercenary groups, not an officially sanctioned action," Ladon quickly said. "I assure you, we've since given all of our troops strict instructions to avoid harming your people, and in fact aide you when possible."
At least, that was the case when it didn't conflict with other, more important priorities and couldn't be easily concealed.
"I'm really glad to know that." Sheppard suddenly sat up and clasped his hands on the table, his smile disappearing in an instant."See, there's been a small change in management back home and some policy changes to go along with it. We're going to be taking a much more aggressive stance in fighting the Wraith. Obviously, this is going to take a lot of our attention and we'd like to keep any, ah, distractions to a minimum."
"I see. That sounds very interesting."
"Oh, believe me, it is. We'll probably be needing more resources than before, and while the fight may take a few years I can assure you that we'll remember who were our friends afterwards." Sheppard's grin suddenly returned, more feral than ever. "And we'll remember who wasn't. In fact, given how important this fight is, we won't be quite as forgiving to anyone who hurts us. We might even have to take steps to assure that any threats are permanently removed if they prove too intractable."
Ladon swallowed. "Well, if you like, I can pass that along to other worlds. I can assure you, we'll be completely cooperative, as always. After all, the Wraith are everyone's enemies."
Sheppard nodded. "Exactly. I'm glad we understand each other."
Perhaps a change in strategy was called for.
4b - Larrin, the Travelers - Senior Captain
Larrin and Sheppard were leaning against the railing of a long balcony that overlooked one of Atlantis' landing pads. Unlike many in the galaxy, she didn't hold the 'Ancestors' in any particular awe, but she still had to admit their city was fairly impressive. Far more important, though, was what it could offer her: the ship sitting on the pad and others like it that would follow.
It wasn't a particularly pretty ship. In fact, it was little more than a four hundred meter brick with engines at one end and various hatches, antennae, and gun turrets stuck onto the hull. None of that mattered, though. What was important was that it was new, the first completely original-build ship her people had acquired since the last mobile shipyard had been destroyed a thousand years before. It had the room and life-support capacity to hold a thousand people comfortably, enough to start making up for the loss of older ships as they stopped working. The ship was a far cry for the two-kilometer Lantean battleship they had won and then lost to bad luck, and they had needed to provide the raw materials to construct it. It was still one of the best things that had happened for the Travellers in a long time and a sure sign that allying with the Lanteans had been the right decision to make.
Larrin glanced down the balcony to where a handsome man in uniform who looked about their age was standing. She didn't recognize him, but from the way he had his arms crossed and was glaring at her she suspected he knew of her. She nudged Sheppard with an elbow and nodded towards the man.
"What's his problem?"
Sheppard looked that way and rolled his eyes. "Cam's been listening to Rodney too much and has probably picked up some weird ideas about our relationship."
"Oh really." Larrin grinned, put her hand on Sheppard's shoulder, and leaned in closer. "And exactly what sort of relationship are we supposed to have?"
Sheppard very carefully grasped her wrist and moved her hand. "One that involves me being tied up and beaten regularly, among other things. I can't imagine where Rodney could have gotten that impression. I told him that I'm sure that's all behind us."
"Too bad. We could have tried expanding our repertoire a little." She looked at the officer and waved. "Maybe he'd like to join in?"
"He doesn't share well."
Larrin sighed. "I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with my new ship, then."
A pity, that.
5 - The People of Pegasus
5a - Perse Edona, Taorush - Councilor and Mother
Perse had never been so terrified in her life. Even when she had been only fourteen years old and the Wraith had raided her village she had not been this frightened. A short time earlier, she had been with the rest of the council, meeting with Teyla Emmagen and other leaders from Atlantis. Then the screaming had begun. They had all rushed across the square to the mill. Perse didn't know what had happened, what explanation the other boys had given for the accident, because all the sight of her beautiful son laying on the floor, his arm crushed and mangled, had left her deaf and unable to see anything else.
Ronon Dex had taken one look at Terke, lifted him up, and ran for the Ring with the speed of a deer. Teyla and the other men had all but needed to carry Perse along after him. By the time they reached the Ring themselves and passed through - to the city of the Ancestors! - her son had already been taken away by the Lantean doctors. For all their great skill, Perse had little hope. Even they could not save his arm, and she had seen enough men with similar injuries succumb to infection or bleed out that as she sat in a small waiting room she had little hope. She could only pray she would get to see her boy one last time.
"Ms. Edona?"
Perse looked up to see a young woman standing before her. "Yes?"
"I'm Doctor Jennifer Keller, the city's chief of medicine."
Perse leaped to her feet and desperately asked, "My son - please, is he alive?"
"Your son is fine," Keller said gently. "He'll make a full recovery."
"But... his arm?"
"Let me show you." Keller lead Perse down a hall to a large room with several beds. Terke lay on the nearest one, sleeping peacefully. There wasn't a mark on him. Quietly Keller said, "We managed to regenerate his arm completely. He'll probably sleep at least until dinner, it tends to take a lot out of people. I'd like to keep him here overnight to make sure there's no complications, but he should be fine."
"It's a miracle," Perse said, glancing back and forth between her son and the doctor with wide eyes. "I... you truly are the Ancestors returned, aren't you?"
Keller flushed. "No, we're not. I barely understand how it works myself, we just use the technology. I basically just press a few buttons."
"Of course you would say that, the Ancestral healers are said to have been modest," Perse murmured. As relief poured through her, she did the only thing she could do - she dropped to her knees, bent her head, and began to say the prayers of thanks.
"Ma'am, please, get up. I mean what I said, it really wasn't any work at all, I'm not anyone special... I'm just a doctor."
Perse continued to pray.
5b - Autokrator Leop IX, Leoptires - Overlord
Leop was growing increasingly impatient. Early that morning his guards had discovered four women trespassing upon his world. They had passed through the Ring of the Ancestors and gone beyond the trade market without permission or the proper blessings. It was likely an unintentional violation and under normal circumstances he would simply have had them whipped and sent back to their world. Their technology had been advanced, however, and the one named Sergeant had been most rude to him. For that reason, he had decided to send back the youngest woman with a demand that one of their leaders appear before him to negotiate a suitable ransom.
Now it was late afternoon, and there was still no reply. The captives had seemed confident that someone would come for them, and surely no society that sent its women out to explore would leave them to languish in a dungeon. Perhaps they were simply trying to gather enough goods or valuables to pay for their release.
Finally, word came that a negotiator had arrived. Leop had him sent to the garden terrace, which had a particularly impressive view of the city and the mountains in the distance. When he himself arrived he found a man in the same uniform as the women waiting for him. The man had the most peculiar hair and a strange, glowing green amulet on his chest. It was rather nice looking - perhaps Leop could demand something similar as part of the payment.
"Leop IX, ruler by the grace of the Ancestors of all Leoptires!" the herald announced as Leop entered the terrace.
"Hi there," the man said. "Colonel John Sheppard, military commander of Atlantis."
"Atlantis?" Leop said. He had heard that over the last few years there had been a new and powerful nation that claimed to live in the city of the Ancestors. Exactly who they were was unclear and their reputation was murky - some said they freely gave out medicine and fought the Wraith, others said they stole from the helpless, like the peaceful farming world of the Genii. In any case, they were certainly rich, and he was confident his guards could deal with any hostility from them.
"Yep. I understand you're holding three of our people captive because they broke some law?"
"Indeed. They were trespassing upon our sacred soil without permission or blessings. You will pay recompense for this affront!"
Sheppard nodded. "Okay, pay a fine, right. Just out of curiosity, what happens if we don't pay?"
Leop sucked in a breath. "Then they shall pay the penalty themselves! I shall have them stripped naked and whipped through the streets of the city and the gate-market, so that all shall see their shame and be warned against breaking the law! You shall take the place of the fourth criminal... or perhaps we shall keep you and see if your people are more willing to pay to keep their commander from an even worse fate."
Sheppard's eyes narrowed and he pressed his lips together. "I kinda thought it was something like that. Listen - we're willing to pay a bit, but no matter what, Major Teldy's and I team will be going back to Atlantis tonight, safe and unhurt."
"Only if I am satisfied with what ransom you offer."
Sheppard shook his head. "Are you familiar with the doctrine of massive retaliation?"
"No," Leop said.
"I kinda thought not." Sheppard turned towards the edge of the terrace and pointed at Mount Erestus, one of the nearer peaks. "Is that mountain sacred or anything? There's no one living there, but I'd rather not make a theological misstep here."
"No," Leop said again with an impatient huff. "Is there a point to these questions?"
"You'll see." Sheppard drew a pair of dark glasses from a pocket and put them on his face, completely covering his eyes. He then tapped his ear. "Falcon, Sheppard. Lorne, you can fire at will."
A second later, the peak of Erestus disappeared with a terrible flash of light. It was as bright as the sun and even many miles away he could feel it's heat on the side of his face. He was half-blinded for several long moments, and when he could see again there was an immense mushroom-like cloud rising above mountain. A distant roar of thunder was heard seconds later and the very foundations of the palace seemed to shake.
Sheppard turned and grinned at Leop. "I love the feel of gamma rays in the afternoon. They feel like... victory."
"What was that?" Leop asked, still staring at mountain in horror. It's peak was missing, like some giant had cut it off with an axe.
"A ten-kiloton tactical nuke, barely even a firecracker. The ones that'll be dropped on your city and villages if you kill us will be a thousand times larger." Sheppard was still grinning at him. "I'm sure it won't come to that, though. So - how do you feel about tava beans?"
6 - The Aliens
6a - Thrym, Supreme Commander of the Jotunn Fleet
"The final ark will be operational within ten days," Thrym told the assembled High Council, "and we have already selected several worlds on which we might settle. The primary questions at this point is when we shall depart and whether it is wiser to split ourselves among many worlds, increasing survival chances if discovered, or go to a single one and thus decrease the chance of detection."
"Is there reason to delay further?" asked the scientist Bergelmir. "The longer we wait, the more likely that this planet's continued deterioration will cause catastrophic failures of our protective systems."
"We have received intelligence from one of our scout ships," Thrym replied. "There appears to be a military buildup in progress in Atlantis. Several warships are under construction, and there has been an increase in visits by Traveler vessels."
"For what purpose?"
"We have also seen several gateships placing sensor satellites near major Wraith feeding grounds. I believe they intend to take a more proactive stance against the Wraith."
Angrboda tilted her head. "The Alterran Lanteans had little success against the Wraith and had more resources. Can the humans hope to defeat them?"
"Unknown," Thrym replied. "Lantean technology is formidable even in limited quantities. In addition, the vessel sighted over Atterro incorporated highly advanced Aesir technology, far beyond what we possessed when contact with Halla was lost. It is possible they could do significant damage, especially given that the Wraith have much smaller numbers than they did during the war."
"Fascinating."
"More important is that the Wraith may soon be preoccupied by the Lanteans, allowing us to relocate with far less risk. For that reason I suggest that we delay as long as possible."
Hraesvelgr asked, "Do the Lanteans pose a threat to us?"
"Possibly, but only if they can locate us. It is unlikely they will seek us out as long as we do not trouble them. Even if they do, the one named Daniel Jackson seemed most reasonable. Negotiations should be possible." Thrym blinked. "Defensive and offensive contingency plans are being made, of course."
6b - [Untranslatable Audio-Pheromone Combination] 'Todd', Hiveship Ichneumonidae - Commander
[Todd] found himself troubled. He should not have been, under the circumstances. His hive and its alliance was finding itself increasingly powerful as of late, and his position as one of its highest leaders was firmly solidified. This was in no small part due to his alliance with the Lanteans. His own hive's drone had long since been given the treatment to remove their need to feed, and while this had caused a few minor issues over providing sustenance, it had so dramatically decreased their supply problem that his hive was in a far superior position. Soon other hives of the alliance would be using the treatment as well. Even if the other alliances banded together against them, it was likely they would emerge dominant over the rest. All was well.
And yet... even he had not used the treatment on himself, and it was unlikely others would do so anytime soon. There were too many unanswered questions about its affect on their regenerative abilities and longevity. Beyond that, their entire culture revolved around feeding. What would they be without it? But even if only commanders and queens fed, he knew the Lanteans would be unlikely to allow them to continue without resistance. Perhaps some arrangement could be made to feed only on the ill or old, but he suspected his fellows would never agree. The Lanteans might not either, and if it came to open war once more, he was unsure of what would happen. Their resources were few and limited compared to what the old Lanteans had possessed, but then, the Wraith were weakened as well. He remember the first War well and had been one of the foremost leaders of the original hive. The new Lanteans possessed a fire and drive that few of their predecessors had ever had. Combine that with Lantean technology and the outcome could not be assured.
He hoped it would not come to warfare between him and the Lanteans. He rather liked most of them, odd as it was, and John-Sheppard was his brother-in-life. He would have to make preparations to insure a swift victory that would leave him and no other in control of Atlantis if it came to that. It would be most undesirable for his allies to die without need.
Author: slybrarian
Rating: Teen
Pairings: Mostly gen, with a mention of Sheppard/Mitchell
Series: Acceleration (Various points in the timeline)
Words: 5,500
Summary: Any city looks different depending on who you are and where you see it from. Twelve points of view of Atlantis, from expedition members, visitors, and outsiders.
0 - Atlantis
[Status check - System Time 289,597,000]
Structural check in progress... complete. No critical faults, minor water damage in some areas.
Power: Module Alpha 67.3%, Module Beta off-line, Module Gamma off-line, auxiliary power active
Life support: 100%, running on external air and water supply
Defensive systems: standing by
Sensors: online
Stargate: standing by
Support infrastructure: operating at 87.3% efficiency
Medical systems: standing by
All primary systems functioning within parameters.
Current population: 523 (230 citizens, 293 resident humans)
Beginning personnel safety check by priority level...
Supreme Commander John Sheppard... GREEN
Chief Scientist Rodney McKay... GREEN
Torren Emmagen [Minor]... GREEN
Command Adjutant Teyla Emmagen [Citizen-Designate]... GREEN
Chief Medical Officer Jennifer Keller... GREEN
Vice Commander Evan Lorne... GREEN
Specialist Ronon Dex [Citizen-Designate]... GREEN
...
...
Administrative Assistant Richard Woolsey [Human]... GREEN
[Status check complete. Next system check scheduled for 289,598,000]
1 - The Expedition
1a - Richard Woolsey, International Oversight Advisory - Expedition Leader
Richard had a routine in the mornings. Thankfully, even in Atlantis most mornings were quiet, mostly because even the scientists had to sleep sometime and after about three in the morning they stopped poking at dangerous Ancient devices. The off-world teams were usually home by then, assuming they hadn't run into some trouble. There was also the simply statistical reality that the vast majority of days were absolutely routine and not full of near-disasters, so long as one ignored rambunctious marines and minor technical malfunctions.
At precisely 0820, Richard's alarm clock would go off and he would hit the snooze button. At his actual wakeup time of 0830, it would sound again and his computer would begin playing soft music. He would stumble to the shower and take a shower that lasted between ten and twenty minutes, depending on how stressful his previous day had been. Afterwards he would dress, go to the mess for breakfast, and arrive in the control room at 0920. Charles or Amelia would give him a quick rundown of any schedule changes or important events that had come up since he had gone off-duty, and he would then retreat to his office to begin his work day. (It seemed odd to start on the half-hour, but such was life on a planet where the day had twenty-six hours and a seventeen-minute midnight.)
He liked the early mornings. They were orderly. They reminded him of old life, when the day began at nine o'clock and usually ended at five; when his life revolved around laws and rule and standardized practices, when every activity could be neatly fit into a category and the outliers were few and far between. Even as a presidential and IOA auditor things had been that way.
Now his life never seemed to have any regularity to it, other than the old adage of 'expecting the unexpected'. It was a sure thing that something would go wrong every week, the question was simply how bad it would be. Every rule had some sort of exception that had to be added on the fly and even the laws of physics were not sacrosanct. The latest misadventure of Colonel Lorne's team was a prime example of both of those occurring, with a person transformed and the rule about keeping animals confined to the zoology lab thrown out the window.
The job had its bright moments. It was immensely satisfying about knowing what you were doing was making a difference to the entire world, and there was something uplifting about proving to yourself that you could handle danger with courage and resolve. It was also terrifying, though, and if he could he wouldn't mind at all going back to his pleasant, routine-filled life.
It wasn't going to happen anytime soon, though. The IOA wasn't likely to ever agree on a replacement for him unless forced to do so. He could resign, but he couldn't do that in good conscience without knowing there was someone qualified to take his place. He knew that he wasn't the best man for the job, but there were far worse people. For now he was stuck.
On the bright side, with the new fleet under construction back home, at least the responsibility for defeating the Wraith might soon be out of his hands. That would leave just dealing with whatever latest problem the scientists or off-world teams had turned up.
1b - First Sergeant Adam Stackhouse, United States Exploratory Corps - Senior NCO
Adam Stackhouse loved his job. He had loved it from the day he had stepped through the gate after Colonel Sumner and hadn't stopped since. He loved exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new civilizations. He loved working with a bunch of geeks. He loved seeing what new antics his men would get up to next. He loved serving with the best damned men and women in two galaxies and under officers second to none. He loved making a difference to his country, his planet, and an entire galaxy.
Sure, there were downsides. Being the first sergeant meant handling a gateload of shit and ungodly amounts of paperwork. But hey, that was just the price of success. And Wraith? Please. No Marine was scared of life-sucking vampires. He wasn't a zoomie, after all.
If Adam had any choice, he'd be in Atlantis until the day he died.
2 - The New Guys
2a - Corporal Timothy Hendricks, United States Exploratory Corps - Space Marine
Tim felt like he was going to faint any second. He was dizzy with excitement as he tried to take in every last detail of the city around him. Even out on the landing field there was so much to see, from the ocean past the ship to the towers rising thousands of feet into the air to the two moons just coming over the horizon. He had never seen anything like it in his life. He knew he had to be gawking like a farm boy setting foot in a big city for the first time - which, to be fair, he was - but he couldn't bring himself to care. How could he? He had only just made corporal and been told he had a special gene five weeks ago. Now he was on his first overseas assignment in an alien city and had gotten there on a genuine starship.
This was going to be so completely awesome that words couldn't even describe it.
2b - Doctor Neill Jackson, United States - Astronautical Engineer
Neill had been through a lot of things during his life, and while sitting on a spaceship for three weeks wasn't quite the most boring experience ever, it was pretty damned close. Leave it to the Air Force and its spin-off to make interstellar travel completely dull. Novak hadn't even let him look at the engines and the in-flight movies had all sucked.
At least he was finally in Atlantis. It was certainly shiny-looking, although he had been expecting something a little... bigger. More grand, perhaps. Neill was pretty sure he'd seen cities that had been a lot more impressive - i.e. larger and/or permanently flying - back in the Milky Way. On the bright side, it wasn't a bunch of dusty ruins, the people were supposedly nice, the chances of random death weren't that bad, and he'd be able to build spaceships. The place would have to be pretty bad to offset all that. Even space vampires didn't quite --
Neill's train of thought was derailed when stepped out of his new quarters just in time to be knocked over by a gigantic dog. After several confused moments and much flailing, he found himself on his back with a brown Lab of Unusual Size standing over him. It barked happily and started to lick his face.
"Gah!" Neill said, trying vainly to push it away. "Off, off!"
"Sammy! No! No, bad dog! Bad!"
Neill and 'Sammy' both looked down the corridor to an intersection, where there was a man in military BDUs holding a leash. The dog barked again and took off the opposite direction. The marine sprinted down the corridor after him, not even pausing as he rushed past shouting, "Sorry about that!"
While Neill was still sputtering and wiping drool off his face, Major Lorne came around the corner at a leisurely jog. He stopped next to Neill and offered him a hand up.
"Hi there. I take it you just met Sam?"
"I guess so," Neill replied. "Dr. Neill Jackson, by the way."
"Lieutenant Colonel Evan Lorne. Nice to meet you."
"Lieutenant colonel, eh?" Neill said. "Congratulations."
Lorne raised an eyebrow. "Thank you?"
Neill waved towards where the marine and his dog had disappeared down a set of stairs. "I didn't know people were allowed to have pets. Or is he some alien space-dog being studied?"
Lorne winced. "That's actually Captain Winchester's brother. There was an... accident on our last mission."
"Brother." Neill sighed. "Alien temple?"
"Yep."
"Of course it was."
Same shit, different galaxy.
3 - The Visitors
3a - Jeannie Miller, Canada - Genius and Sister
"... so I think that this should solve your problem with the second-stage containment system," Jeannie said into the webcam on her laptop. "You were close already, I think you might have been working with a faulty translation of some of the math. Or maybe you were just wrong. Anyways, feel free to email me again if you have more problems - but before you ask, no, I still won't come and help out in person. I'm sorry, but I'm busy."
She wanted to go badly. It would be nice to see Meredith again, especially under circumstances that didn't involve near-death experiences. It would also be great to get some hands-on involvement with something that would probably be one of the biggest and most important breakthroughs in the history of science, especially if she could see Meredith's face when they turned the ZPM machine on for the first time. She couldn't do it, though. Maybe if Atlantis was a little bit safer, she might have considered it, but the risks were too high. There was always a chance that an accident could occur, that the Wraith could attack, or that Atlantis could somehow be cut off from Earth for an extended period. There was probably a one in a million chance of something happening while she was there, but that was still too high. Maybe in a few years, when things had settled down and the kids were older, she might visit again. Until then, she was happy helping by email and consulting with Samantha's team at Area 51. There were more important things than fame and glory, after all.
"Say goodbye to your uncle, Malcolm." Jeannie held up Malcolm's chubby little arm and waved it. He grinned and burbled happily. "Bye, Meredith. I love you."
3b - Colonel Cameron Mitchell, United States Exploratory Corps - CO USS Daedalus and Boyfriend
Cam got up from his chair, stretched, and took a few steps towards the bridge window. It looked like a beautiful day and he was already itching to get out there. He loved his ship to death, he really did, but he wasn't made to spend three weeks cooped up with little to do besides watching hyperspace blur past.
He turned around. "Major, is there anything you need me to do right now?"
Marks' lips quirked upwards. "Not really, sir. I've been doing this for five years, I think I can manage to get everything taken care of."
"Good man. I'll be..." Cam waved vaguely out the window. "Somewhere. Call me if something comes up."
"Will do, sir."
Ten minutes later Cam was striding down the forward gangway. He couldn't help the grin that split his face when he saw John leaning against the railing at the bottom with his hands in his pockets. He had a few more wrinkles, a few more pounds, and a bit of grey in his hair here and there, but other than that he could have been the same relaxed and slinky man Cam had met twenty years before.
John caught sight of him as he drew close and stood a little straighter. "Colonel Mitchell."
"Colonel Sheppard. Good to see you again."
They shook hands and momentarily embraced. It wasn't anything unusual for long-time comrades to do, certainly nothing that would indicate they were also lovers who hadn't seen each other except on recorded videos for two months, three days, and about sixteen hours. Of course, that wouldn't stop every gossip in the city and on Daedalus - and given the tiny size of the two groups, that meant everyone - from speculating on what they'd be up to that evening.
"So," John said as the started walking into the main part of the city, close enough that their hands just happened to occasionally brush, "you can swim pretty well, right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"You ever go surfing?"
"No, I haven't," Cam replied slowly.
"I guess I'll have to teach you, then," John said with a grin. "There's this beautiful beach we found on the mainland with perfect waves. It's city-wide holiday on Tuesday and me, Ronon, and and a bunch of other guys were planning on heading over there. You can come with us. Think about it - sunny day, a nice breeze, a barbecue, it'll be great."
Cam looked at John skeptically. "Yeah, right up until an alien shark bites someone's leg off."
John shook his head. "Naw, the sharks in that area are harmless and we've got sonic gizmos to ward them off anyways. Of course, you can't go too far into the jungle because of the giant snakes, but the beach is perfectly safe."
"Okay, maybe I can tag along, but I don't know if -"
"I even had Rodney fabricate a board and swim trunks for you," John said.
"I'm not getting out of this without nearly drowning, am I?"
"Nope!"
Cam found himself grinning. "I guess I can try anything once."
"Funny you should say that. I was thinking it'd be nice to get you some flight hours in a jumper, and if the gravity just happened to turn off while we were up there..."
John waggled his eyebrows. He looked incredibly dorky and the message probably would have been lost on anyone else. Fortunately, Cam was good at decoding John's expressions and received it loud and clear.
That didn't stop him from laughing.
4 - The 'Allies'
4a - Ladon Radim, Genii Confederacy - Supreme Chief
Ladon was not sure what exactly made him uneasy about the meeting. They were in the back room of the tavern in the surface village, with numerous guards in the building and a full company laying low in the village. Sheppard had only brought his oversized Satedan plus two other soldiers who were waiting outside. It was possible they had an invisible ship as well, but according the gate watchers the wormhole had not been open long enough that one could have come through easily. That was one thing that set Ladon on edge - it spoke of a high level of confidence of Sheppard's part. More important was that neither Doctor McKay, Sheppard's constant companion, nor Teyla Emmagen, who always took the lead in negotiations, were present. Perhaps worst of all was that Sheppard was smiling. In Ladon's experience, it was rarely a good sign for his people.
"It's good to see you again, Colonel," Ladon said with a small smile of his own. "I must say, this visit is rather unexpected."
"I happened to be in the area and thought I'd drop by and have a quick chat," Sheppard said easily. He was slouching in his chair; behind him, the Satedan leaned against the wall and stared at Ladon in silence. "We are allies, after all. Communication's important."
"Indeed it is," Ladon said, unsure of where Sheppard was going with the conversation. "I think we can both agree that our current trade relationship is mutually beneficial."
"Yeah. Of course, sometimes it seems like we're getting our wires cross, like with that little trial the coalition conducted a while ago."
Ladon frowned. "I want to assure you, Colonel, we had nothing to do with that. We knew there was talk of grievances against your people, but if we had known they would go so far as to abduct you, we would have alerted you at once."
Receiving news of what had transpired had been unsettling, to say the least. His agents had done their best to encourage resentment against the Lanteans and even fostered the idea that they needed to be chastised for their lack of accountability, but he had never imagined they would be so rash as to outright attack them at this stage of the game. Trade sanctions were one thing, kidnapping quite another. He supposed he should be glad they hadn't done something utterly foolish like execute them, but the fact that they had been found innocent had left the Genii in a decidedly unsatisfactory position.
"That's good to hear," Sheppard replied. "There were some rumors that you had been instigators behind it, and to be honest, some of us were inclined to believe it. I mean, there was that nasty incident where you tried to stage a coup on another ally's planet and I got caught in the crossfire."
"That was an independent operation by one of our mercenary groups, not an officially sanctioned action," Ladon quickly said. "I assure you, we've since given all of our troops strict instructions to avoid harming your people, and in fact aide you when possible."
At least, that was the case when it didn't conflict with other, more important priorities and couldn't be easily concealed.
"I'm really glad to know that." Sheppard suddenly sat up and clasped his hands on the table, his smile disappearing in an instant."See, there's been a small change in management back home and some policy changes to go along with it. We're going to be taking a much more aggressive stance in fighting the Wraith. Obviously, this is going to take a lot of our attention and we'd like to keep any, ah, distractions to a minimum."
"I see. That sounds very interesting."
"Oh, believe me, it is. We'll probably be needing more resources than before, and while the fight may take a few years I can assure you that we'll remember who were our friends afterwards." Sheppard's grin suddenly returned, more feral than ever. "And we'll remember who wasn't. In fact, given how important this fight is, we won't be quite as forgiving to anyone who hurts us. We might even have to take steps to assure that any threats are permanently removed if they prove too intractable."
Ladon swallowed. "Well, if you like, I can pass that along to other worlds. I can assure you, we'll be completely cooperative, as always. After all, the Wraith are everyone's enemies."
Sheppard nodded. "Exactly. I'm glad we understand each other."
Perhaps a change in strategy was called for.
4b - Larrin, the Travelers - Senior Captain
Larrin and Sheppard were leaning against the railing of a long balcony that overlooked one of Atlantis' landing pads. Unlike many in the galaxy, she didn't hold the 'Ancestors' in any particular awe, but she still had to admit their city was fairly impressive. Far more important, though, was what it could offer her: the ship sitting on the pad and others like it that would follow.
It wasn't a particularly pretty ship. In fact, it was little more than a four hundred meter brick with engines at one end and various hatches, antennae, and gun turrets stuck onto the hull. None of that mattered, though. What was important was that it was new, the first completely original-build ship her people had acquired since the last mobile shipyard had been destroyed a thousand years before. It had the room and life-support capacity to hold a thousand people comfortably, enough to start making up for the loss of older ships as they stopped working. The ship was a far cry for the two-kilometer Lantean battleship they had won and then lost to bad luck, and they had needed to provide the raw materials to construct it. It was still one of the best things that had happened for the Travellers in a long time and a sure sign that allying with the Lanteans had been the right decision to make.
Larrin glanced down the balcony to where a handsome man in uniform who looked about their age was standing. She didn't recognize him, but from the way he had his arms crossed and was glaring at her she suspected he knew of her. She nudged Sheppard with an elbow and nodded towards the man.
"What's his problem?"
Sheppard looked that way and rolled his eyes. "Cam's been listening to Rodney too much and has probably picked up some weird ideas about our relationship."
"Oh really." Larrin grinned, put her hand on Sheppard's shoulder, and leaned in closer. "And exactly what sort of relationship are we supposed to have?"
Sheppard very carefully grasped her wrist and moved her hand. "One that involves me being tied up and beaten regularly, among other things. I can't imagine where Rodney could have gotten that impression. I told him that I'm sure that's all behind us."
"Too bad. We could have tried expanding our repertoire a little." She looked at the officer and waved. "Maybe he'd like to join in?"
"He doesn't share well."
Larrin sighed. "I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with my new ship, then."
A pity, that.
5 - The People of Pegasus
5a - Perse Edona, Taorush - Councilor and Mother
Perse had never been so terrified in her life. Even when she had been only fourteen years old and the Wraith had raided her village she had not been this frightened. A short time earlier, she had been with the rest of the council, meeting with Teyla Emmagen and other leaders from Atlantis. Then the screaming had begun. They had all rushed across the square to the mill. Perse didn't know what had happened, what explanation the other boys had given for the accident, because all the sight of her beautiful son laying on the floor, his arm crushed and mangled, had left her deaf and unable to see anything else.
Ronon Dex had taken one look at Terke, lifted him up, and ran for the Ring with the speed of a deer. Teyla and the other men had all but needed to carry Perse along after him. By the time they reached the Ring themselves and passed through - to the city of the Ancestors! - her son had already been taken away by the Lantean doctors. For all their great skill, Perse had little hope. Even they could not save his arm, and she had seen enough men with similar injuries succumb to infection or bleed out that as she sat in a small waiting room she had little hope. She could only pray she would get to see her boy one last time.
"Ms. Edona?"
Perse looked up to see a young woman standing before her. "Yes?"
"I'm Doctor Jennifer Keller, the city's chief of medicine."
Perse leaped to her feet and desperately asked, "My son - please, is he alive?"
"Your son is fine," Keller said gently. "He'll make a full recovery."
"But... his arm?"
"Let me show you." Keller lead Perse down a hall to a large room with several beds. Terke lay on the nearest one, sleeping peacefully. There wasn't a mark on him. Quietly Keller said, "We managed to regenerate his arm completely. He'll probably sleep at least until dinner, it tends to take a lot out of people. I'd like to keep him here overnight to make sure there's no complications, but he should be fine."
"It's a miracle," Perse said, glancing back and forth between her son and the doctor with wide eyes. "I... you truly are the Ancestors returned, aren't you?"
Keller flushed. "No, we're not. I barely understand how it works myself, we just use the technology. I basically just press a few buttons."
"Of course you would say that, the Ancestral healers are said to have been modest," Perse murmured. As relief poured through her, she did the only thing she could do - she dropped to her knees, bent her head, and began to say the prayers of thanks.
"Ma'am, please, get up. I mean what I said, it really wasn't any work at all, I'm not anyone special... I'm just a doctor."
Perse continued to pray.
5b - Autokrator Leop IX, Leoptires - Overlord
Leop was growing increasingly impatient. Early that morning his guards had discovered four women trespassing upon his world. They had passed through the Ring of the Ancestors and gone beyond the trade market without permission or the proper blessings. It was likely an unintentional violation and under normal circumstances he would simply have had them whipped and sent back to their world. Their technology had been advanced, however, and the one named Sergeant had been most rude to him. For that reason, he had decided to send back the youngest woman with a demand that one of their leaders appear before him to negotiate a suitable ransom.
Now it was late afternoon, and there was still no reply. The captives had seemed confident that someone would come for them, and surely no society that sent its women out to explore would leave them to languish in a dungeon. Perhaps they were simply trying to gather enough goods or valuables to pay for their release.
Finally, word came that a negotiator had arrived. Leop had him sent to the garden terrace, which had a particularly impressive view of the city and the mountains in the distance. When he himself arrived he found a man in the same uniform as the women waiting for him. The man had the most peculiar hair and a strange, glowing green amulet on his chest. It was rather nice looking - perhaps Leop could demand something similar as part of the payment.
"Leop IX, ruler by the grace of the Ancestors of all Leoptires!" the herald announced as Leop entered the terrace.
"Hi there," the man said. "Colonel John Sheppard, military commander of Atlantis."
"Atlantis?" Leop said. He had heard that over the last few years there had been a new and powerful nation that claimed to live in the city of the Ancestors. Exactly who they were was unclear and their reputation was murky - some said they freely gave out medicine and fought the Wraith, others said they stole from the helpless, like the peaceful farming world of the Genii. In any case, they were certainly rich, and he was confident his guards could deal with any hostility from them.
"Yep. I understand you're holding three of our people captive because they broke some law?"
"Indeed. They were trespassing upon our sacred soil without permission or blessings. You will pay recompense for this affront!"
Sheppard nodded. "Okay, pay a fine, right. Just out of curiosity, what happens if we don't pay?"
Leop sucked in a breath. "Then they shall pay the penalty themselves! I shall have them stripped naked and whipped through the streets of the city and the gate-market, so that all shall see their shame and be warned against breaking the law! You shall take the place of the fourth criminal... or perhaps we shall keep you and see if your people are more willing to pay to keep their commander from an even worse fate."
Sheppard's eyes narrowed and he pressed his lips together. "I kinda thought it was something like that. Listen - we're willing to pay a bit, but no matter what, Major Teldy's and I team will be going back to Atlantis tonight, safe and unhurt."
"Only if I am satisfied with what ransom you offer."
Sheppard shook his head. "Are you familiar with the doctrine of massive retaliation?"
"No," Leop said.
"I kinda thought not." Sheppard turned towards the edge of the terrace and pointed at Mount Erestus, one of the nearer peaks. "Is that mountain sacred or anything? There's no one living there, but I'd rather not make a theological misstep here."
"No," Leop said again with an impatient huff. "Is there a point to these questions?"
"You'll see." Sheppard drew a pair of dark glasses from a pocket and put them on his face, completely covering his eyes. He then tapped his ear. "Falcon, Sheppard. Lorne, you can fire at will."
A second later, the peak of Erestus disappeared with a terrible flash of light. It was as bright as the sun and even many miles away he could feel it's heat on the side of his face. He was half-blinded for several long moments, and when he could see again there was an immense mushroom-like cloud rising above mountain. A distant roar of thunder was heard seconds later and the very foundations of the palace seemed to shake.
Sheppard turned and grinned at Leop. "I love the feel of gamma rays in the afternoon. They feel like... victory."
"What was that?" Leop asked, still staring at mountain in horror. It's peak was missing, like some giant had cut it off with an axe.
"A ten-kiloton tactical nuke, barely even a firecracker. The ones that'll be dropped on your city and villages if you kill us will be a thousand times larger." Sheppard was still grinning at him. "I'm sure it won't come to that, though. So - how do you feel about tava beans?"
6 - The Aliens
6a - Thrym, Supreme Commander of the Jotunn Fleet
"The final ark will be operational within ten days," Thrym told the assembled High Council, "and we have already selected several worlds on which we might settle. The primary questions at this point is when we shall depart and whether it is wiser to split ourselves among many worlds, increasing survival chances if discovered, or go to a single one and thus decrease the chance of detection."
"Is there reason to delay further?" asked the scientist Bergelmir. "The longer we wait, the more likely that this planet's continued deterioration will cause catastrophic failures of our protective systems."
"We have received intelligence from one of our scout ships," Thrym replied. "There appears to be a military buildup in progress in Atlantis. Several warships are under construction, and there has been an increase in visits by Traveler vessels."
"For what purpose?"
"We have also seen several gateships placing sensor satellites near major Wraith feeding grounds. I believe they intend to take a more proactive stance against the Wraith."
Angrboda tilted her head. "The Alterran Lanteans had little success against the Wraith and had more resources. Can the humans hope to defeat them?"
"Unknown," Thrym replied. "Lantean technology is formidable even in limited quantities. In addition, the vessel sighted over Atterro incorporated highly advanced Aesir technology, far beyond what we possessed when contact with Halla was lost. It is possible they could do significant damage, especially given that the Wraith have much smaller numbers than they did during the war."
"Fascinating."
"More important is that the Wraith may soon be preoccupied by the Lanteans, allowing us to relocate with far less risk. For that reason I suggest that we delay as long as possible."
Hraesvelgr asked, "Do the Lanteans pose a threat to us?"
"Possibly, but only if they can locate us. It is unlikely they will seek us out as long as we do not trouble them. Even if they do, the one named Daniel Jackson seemed most reasonable. Negotiations should be possible." Thrym blinked. "Defensive and offensive contingency plans are being made, of course."
6b - [Untranslatable Audio-Pheromone Combination] 'Todd', Hiveship Ichneumonidae - Commander
[Todd] found himself troubled. He should not have been, under the circumstances. His hive and its alliance was finding itself increasingly powerful as of late, and his position as one of its highest leaders was firmly solidified. This was in no small part due to his alliance with the Lanteans. His own hive's drone had long since been given the treatment to remove their need to feed, and while this had caused a few minor issues over providing sustenance, it had so dramatically decreased their supply problem that his hive was in a far superior position. Soon other hives of the alliance would be using the treatment as well. Even if the other alliances banded together against them, it was likely they would emerge dominant over the rest. All was well.
And yet... even he had not used the treatment on himself, and it was unlikely others would do so anytime soon. There were too many unanswered questions about its affect on their regenerative abilities and longevity. Beyond that, their entire culture revolved around feeding. What would they be without it? But even if only commanders and queens fed, he knew the Lanteans would be unlikely to allow them to continue without resistance. Perhaps some arrangement could be made to feed only on the ill or old, but he suspected his fellows would never agree. The Lanteans might not either, and if it came to open war once more, he was unsure of what would happen. Their resources were few and limited compared to what the old Lanteans had possessed, but then, the Wraith were weakened as well. He remember the first War well and had been one of the foremost leaders of the original hive. The new Lanteans possessed a fire and drive that few of their predecessors had ever had. Combine that with Lantean technology and the outcome could not be assured.
He hoped it would not come to warfare between him and the Lanteans. He rather liked most of them, odd as it was, and John-Sheppard was his brother-in-life. He would have to make preparations to insure a swift victory that would leave him and no other in control of Atlantis if it came to that. It would be most undesirable for his allies to die without need.