(New York City, Apartment Building – Seventh Floor –
15 March 2016)
Major Marc Vale stepped into his apartment and put his groceries in the kitchen. For nearly five years, Marcus Valerius had spent his time catching up to the modern world. He had begun by learning to read and write English. Then he had spent a lot of time updating his military training and his knowledge of history. But in his mind, his greatest achievement was learning to fly. Much to his own amazement, he had turned out to be a natural talent. He had begun flying small propeller planes, but had quickly advanced to bigger models. (And even fighter jets, including the F-302 space fighter.)
It was this skill that led him away from the Beta Site and the Stargate program. In July of 2015, he had been put on loan to the Air National Guard and the 103rd Rescue Squadron. His job was to fly the squadron’s HC-130 Hercules transport aircraft. But his training had included parachuting out of the plane. The first time he had done it, Marc had considered it insane. But now he considered one of the most normal things in the world.
He was unpacking his groceries when the bell rang. Marc frowned and went to open the door. It was somebody he never expected to see standing on his doorstep.
“Mister President ?” The President of the United States of America was standing outside his door. To Marc, it was like having the Emperor of Rome coming to see you in person. In the old days, there was a good chance of you being dead when he left. “What brings you to my humble home ?” He stepped aside to let the man inside.
“A job offer, Major.”
The President stepped inside. His name was Robert Mackenzie. His predecessor had been called Henry Hayes. Hayes had become President in 2004, with a man called Robert Kinsey as his Vice-President. Shortly after, Kinsey had resigned. Mackenzie had been picked to take over the position. It was at that point that Mackenzie learned about the Stargate Program. And he had become a solid supporter of it. He had also helped Hayes land re-election in 2008. In 2012 – after eight years as Vice-President – Mackenzie had landed in the hot seat himself. At the moment, he was busy running for re-election. Which was another reason Vale had not expected him.
“Will you have a seat, sir ?” Marc said, while gesturing towards his small living room.
“Thank you, Major.”
Vale followed Mackenzie, closing the door and locking it. Mackenzie was fifty-five years old, with green eyes and black hair. He was fit and had a sharp mind. Before entering the world of politics at the age of thirty-five, he had served in the US Navy. He had enlisted at the age of seventeen. Between these two careers, he had made a lot of friends. And it was very likely for him to get re-elected. But none of that was on Vale’s mind as the President sat on his couch.
“Can I get you anything, sir ?”
“Got any cold beer ? It’s been one of those days…”
“Yes, sir.” Vale walked into the kitchen and quickly grabbed two beers from the fridge and two clean glasses from one of the cabinets above the sink. Then he made his way back to the living room. He sat down in a chair across from the President, while opening the beers. He put the glasses down and filled the President’s glass. “So, what kind of job are we talking about here, sir ?”
“A command.” Mackenzie sipped his beer. “We’ve figured out how to dial the ninth chevron, major.”
“Why do I have a feeling there’s a but coming, sir ?”
“That’s one of the reasons why I want you for this job, major.” Mackenzie began. “You’re sharp. And there is indeed a but, Major. Have you ever heard of P2X-110 ?” Vale nodded no. He had never heard about this planet. “It’s a planet that used to be on the border between Ra and Apophis’ territories. And they both wanted it, resulting in multiple battles. I believe it was nicknamed Yo-yo Prime, because it kept going back and forth between the two System Lords.”
It clicked in Marc’s head. “I heard about Yo-yo Prime. It was the planet surrounded by a massive debris field. But I never heard where the field came from. I presume the debris was caused by the battles, sir. So what happened after the Goa’uld Empire fell, sir ? Who lives there now ?”
“Nobody.” Mackenzie leaned back. “Which is why we moved the Beta Site over there and began using the debris to build a power source capable of dialing the ninth chevron. We finished it three days ago and are now running tests. The problem is that there are some who have reservations….” Mackenzie took another sip of beer. “….and that they might be right. This project is experimental and uses alien technology. Our best scientists – including Doctor Aranov and Mister Colson - estimated there’s a twenty percent chance the whole thing might – literally – blow up on us. We need a Plan B. And that’s where you come in.”
Mackenzie reached into his chest pocket and took out a folded piece of paper, which he gave to Vale. Marc opened it to find a schematic of an Ancient tower.
“Is this the Ancient tower they found me in ?”
“No, we’re calling it Nova Roma.” Mackenzie said. “After you left, we discovered why these Atlantis prototypes never made it into the final product. The metal doesn’t age well. It has become extremely brittle. One touch and it falls apart. Which is why the Ancients introduced the nanites. Eventually, the Ancients decided the nanites were too difficult to program. So, they figured out how to make a material that didn’t need them.”
“But we can’t make this material.”
“No, but it turned out the nanites could. So we merged all the towers together. The result is Nova Roma. A tower sized escape pod.” Mackenzie paused. “Before we start dialing, we’ll evacuate all non-essential personnel to Nova Roma. Only Colonel Telford and his team will remain.” Colonel David Telford had been the planned commander of Destiny, a long time ago. But things had not gone as planned. “And I want you to be in command of the tower.”
“I’m still not entirely clear why you picked me, sir.” Vale began. “And what about Major Anders ? Or Captain Hailey ?”
“Claus Anders has recently been promoted to Full Bird Colonel. He’s been reassigned to command of Deep Space Carrier construction. Major Hailey has been reassigned to Nellis Air Force Base. She is assigned to the development of the X-305.” Mackenzie paused. “So, are you onboard ?”
“Yes, sir. But I still do not know why you want me in command.”
“Because you skipped over two-thousand years of civilization and history without going insane. A command in the Stargate Program takes a special breed of leader. And a hop like that proves to me that you are a leader like that.” Mackenzie stood up, as did Vale. He took out another piece of paper, which he also handed to Vale. “These are the details. And show up in dress uniform, Lieutenant-Colonel. We’ll have to do the promotion ceremony to make it official.”
Marc opened the front door. But there was still one question on his mind. “One last question, sir. Why did you come to ask me in person ? I thought one of the perks of being the President was that you had people to this sort of thing for you ?”
“True, but I was in town for a whole list of meetings. I needed a break.” Mackenzie said. “Thank you for the beer.”
“You’re welcome, sir.”
Mackenzie walked out and Vale closed the door behind him. He had a lot of work to do. But he had no intention of doing so on an empty stomach. So he went into the kitchen and set about making dinner.
(P2X-110 / Beta Site – Power Generation Room – 21 March 2016, 0639 Hours)
Vale had done his homework, so he already knew what the Beta Site looked like. But it was nevertheless an impressive sight. The George Hammond – one of Earth’s warships - had just teleported him down to the surface. There were eight Goa’uld hyper-drive cores connected to a control section. The power conduits were laced with naquadah. This element was the material the Stargates were made off. It increased the power as it moved down the line. This was also the reason Nova Roma existed. If something went wrong, the naquadah could grow instable and explode with enough of a bang to wipe the base and anything within one-seventy-five kilometers off the map. And that was presuming the Stargate itself didn’t detonate as well. If it did, the explosion would be many times more massive. Which was why Nova Roma was placed on the far side of the planet. As he studied the power room, he noticed Colonel Telford approaching.
“Colonel Telford.”
“Colonel Vale.”
“Very impressive place you’ve got here.” Vale gestured towards the installation. “I can see why they put Nova Roma so far away. This really is a power house. How much power do you have to play with ?”
“We’re not entirely sure. But at least eighty-five Goa’uld hyper-drive cores worth.” Telford paused. “We’ve already dialed the Pegasus Galaxy twice. So the range is good enough for inter-galactic dialing.”
The door to the room opened and Major Jennifer Hailey walked in. She was here to take a closer look at Nova Roma, hoping to learn things that could be put into the X-305. Seconds later, she was followed by Nikita Aranov and Alec Colson. Aranov and Colson were the two ranking scientists for Nova Roma. Colson and Hailey were discussing what appeared to be a rough outline of the X-305. (The 305 was nowhere near construction ready. But the first drawings were already being made.) Aranov was reading a book, while eating a sandwich. When they got close, Hailey closed the folder. She and Colson turned their attention to the colonels.
“Colonels.” Hailey said with a salute.
“Marc, Colonel Telford.” Colson said.
“Alec, Major.” Vale said.
Telford simply gave the two of them a nod in reply. It was only then that Aranov realized what was going on. He quickly put away his book and finished his sandwich.
“This is not the mess hall.”
“No, it’s not.” Vale began with a snicker. “So, everybody ready to get this show on the road ?”
“The technicians are running the final diagnostics now.” Telford began. “Base evac will begin in twenty minutes, people. So make sure all your essential gear is packed and everything else is secured. Get to it.”
“Yes, sir.” Hailey said.
Hailey left, followed by Colson and Aranov. Vale and Telford also walked out of the room. Marc gave Telford a nod and ran to catch up with Aranov.
“Nikita, got a minute ?”
“Sure, what’s up ?”
“Not here.” Vale said. “We need some place private. Your office should do.”
Aranov nodded and led the way.
(Beta Site – Aranov’s Office – 21 March 2016, 0645 Hours)
On any other day, Aranov’s office would have been a mess. The place was home to a large collection of books and artifacts. There were also several maps mounted on the walls. But except for the maps, all of that was tucked out of view now. Nikita sat at the side of his desk which the computer faced, while Marc sat across from him.
“So, what’s bothering you, boss ?”
“They’ve been testing the power source for nine days now.” Vale began. “I’ve read your reports on this rodeo. But that report is now nine days old, so I was wondering if you wanted to add something.”
“Look, I’m no engineer…” Aranov took a deep breath. “…but I do know that Goa’uld math is a pain to translate. As are instructions manuals. All it takes, is one decimal in the wrong place and it all goes off the rails. And Alec IS an engineer. A very good one, as we both know.” He paused. “Without him, there is no way we could have completed Nova Roma. I trust his judgement, boss.”
“So do I. Was there anything off during the tests ? Anything that didn’t make it into the official paperwork ?”
“No.” Aranov began. “Telford was on top of any trouble.”
“Okay, let’s run through the plan one last time.”
Aranov nodded and they got to work.
