SG Nova Roma, Chapter 3.09

9 – A Tale of Two Starships

(Slave Dump – Doorway Base Hangar – Day 173 / 30 January 2018, 0920)

The ship was called Exodus One and was in horrible condition. Telford could see that the locals had done the best they could, but there were holes in the hull and that the windows were not properly sealed. He could also see several patches of scorching. Next to him, Gy’Has appeared to be well aware of the ship’s condition. Then she nodded and led the way towards a room on the other side of the Gate Room. This was where the data from telescopes was collected and processed by a computer that reminded Telford of the dialing computer back on Earth. There were several people working the computer. Gy’Has dismissed them and then sat at the computer.

“Have a seat, Colonel,” She began. “There’s something I need to show you.”

Telford sat down behind one of the work stations, while Gy’Has entered several commands into her station. When she was done, the screen in front of him changed to show a star chart. Two of the stars had a red circle around them.

“Has it occurred to you how convenient all of this is ? Destiny just happens to be parked in orbit of Slave Dump. Conveniently in the range of our teleporter ? And we just happen to have the means to send a device back in time ? One that can affect the wormhole the way we needed it to ?”

“Yes, it has.” Telford said.

“Well, Destiny was not always here…” She worked the controls and one the stars with a circle around it blinked. “…It was originally in that solar system. Until a nearby star suddenly became a pulsar.” Now the other star with a circle blinked. “Something that, based on all the data we have on that star, should not have happened. It send out radiation bursts that forced whoever is on that ship to relocate it here. And there’s more…”

Gy’Has stood up and made her way to a nearby filing cabinet. She opened one of the drawer and took out two boxes. “…because our attempts to build a time portal for the device we used to divert the wormhole, were not going well. And then these appeared.” She put the two boxes on a nearby table so that Telford could see them. Both boxes were made out of metal and covered in alien writing. And that writing was something he had read about in Destiny’s reports. ~Eden. This is the same language that was on the obelisk.~ “One contained the key component for the time portal. And the other had what we needed to make the diverter work.”

“How did the diverter work ?”

“It created a pulse of gravity that changed the course of the wormhole.”

Telford nodded. Then he began explaining about the expedition finding Eden, the alien obelisk that had been there and what had happened when the people who had stayed there, had returned to Destiny. After he was done, there was a moment of a silence. Then Gy’Has looked at a large reel-to-reel tape recorder next to filing cabinet.

“Perhaps life is like the tape in this recorder. With death being the end of the tape. And these..,” She paused, looking for the right words. “…Planet Builders managed to rewind the tape, thus restoring the people who died on Eden to life. But then the tape started going forward again. And eventually….”

“Yes, it would. So this time they changed their approach. And instead of rewinding the tape, they edited the narrative recorded on it.”

“Allowing the story to continue. So what do we…”

It was at this point that one of the guards came rushing in. He handed Gy’Has a note, which she read right away. She then handed the note to Telford. It was written in Nakai, but the translator behind his ear projected an English translation. Whoever had Destiny, had recovered the bodies of the people they had spaced. And they had realized that numbers were not adding up. So now, they were scanning the planet. And it was only a matter of time before they found the people of Slave Dump and attacked. There were seventeen inhabited mine shafts, with each being home to several thousand people.

“We need to go on the offensive.” Gy’Has began. “Or Destiny will wipe out everybody on this planet.”

                                                 

“Yes, we do. Show me what information you have on the ship.”

Gy’Has sat down behind the computer again and began inputting commands. Soon, data began scrolling across the screens in front of them.

(Spera – Gate Room – Day 174, 1205)

Cinara was the first through the Doorway. And found herself facing a species she had never seen before. They were a lot like the Xivolo, but their skin color was different. ~And it comes in different shades.~ Besides this, she also noted that they were all wearing the same clothing. ~A uniform ?~ The aliens were pointing what looked like projectile weapons at her. Then the Guards came through the Doorway. They reached for their weapons, but Cinara gave them hand signal not to. The aliens spoke to them, but the translator she had behind her left ear, did not work.

“I do not understand you.” Cinara said.

One of the aliens said something, but she still could still not understand. The alien – who she thought was male – kept talking. And then her translator began to beep. ~It’s forming a translation matrix.~ She gestured towards the alien, who got the idea and kept talking. Then there was a beep.

“….Understand me ?”

“Yes, I can understand you. Can you understand me ?” Now the alien was gesturing. “Do you already have a translation matrix ? Is this working ? I’m Princess Cinara of the Xivolo Empire.” The alien gestured again, so she kept talking. “These are three of my Palace Guards, Hazor, Lexa and Victor.” Now the aliens translator beeped. “And how we got here. Well, it’s a long story.”

The male alien nodded and the others lowered their weapons. “I am Doctor Nikita Aranov and this is the Spera. Who are you and why are you here ?”

Cinara nodded and then began explaining about the Empire and everything that had led them here.

(Slave Dump – Doorway Base Computer Room – Day 173, 0935)

Valerie Watson was the ranking survivor of the Lucian Alliance force. Of the thirty-one remaining people, fifteen were soldiers and sixteen were scientists. The soldiers had been experienced troops, but even they had been very rattled by what had happened. ~If it had not been for these aliens, we would all have been dead.~ Now, she was being led towards the local Stargate facility. She was being escorted by a local official, who took her to the computer room of the small complex. Gy’Has and Colonel Telford were waiting there for her.

“Captain Watson,” Gy’Has began. “Please sit behind this monitor.”

~Something is happening and it is not good news.~ She sat down behind the monitors, while Gy’Has pressed a button. There was a pause and then a scan of Destiny appeared.

“We have a problem,” Telford began. “..whoever has Destiny, they have begun scanning the planet. They know we are here and its only a matter of time before they attack.”

“Then we need to go on the offensive.”

“That’s why I need your help,” He hit several buttons and the screen changed to show red dots all over the ship. “There are over a thousand people on board that ship. So there is no way that we can secure it. But if we work together, we can give them a major headache.”

“What do you have in mind ?”

Telford began inputting commands into the computer and explaining his plan.

(Spera – Bridge – Day 174, 1317)

All four Xivolo were in the Mess Hall. They were being guarded, while Colson and Hailey were trying to get more information on their species. But from what Vale had heard so far, they were in major trouble. Not only was it merely a matter of time before they attacked with ships, these people used the Stargates.

The Asurans had refitted Spera with a Stargate shield, but that had not on-line until now. But the real problem was that they dropped out of FTL every time somebody dialed in. ~And if the Xivolo figure that out, we’ll never make it across their space.~ Of course, they did have Cinara aboard. But Vale couldn’t help thinking that if something sounded to good to be true, it usually was. He was about to head to the Mess Hall to talk their visitors when the long-range sensors detected three alien vessels.

“How long until they get here ?”

“Three minutes, sir,” Carl Grogan said from the Tactical console. “Shields are up and weapons are fully charged.”

“T’Zalo, drop us out of FTL and divert the power to the shields.”

“Yes, sir,” Spera dropped out of FTL and T’Zalo diverted the power. “Power diverted. Forty seconds to intercept.”

The alarm began blaring, but Grogan quickly silenced it. Then the Xivolo ships can into view. They were triangles, with a round nose and sub-light engines on one side. The forward section had several gun emplacements and there was a dome that was clearly the command center in the middle. Finally, an iris-like door sat in the exact center of the underside. It opened and one-man fighters began dropping out.

“These things are the same size as us,” Grogan said.

“Open fire.”

Grogan opened fired, while T’Zalo threw the ship into a turn to dodge the enemy fire. The warships returned fired and – despite T’Zalo’s best efforts - hit Spera twice.

“Shields down to eighty percent,” Grogan said. “Minimal damage to enemy vessels.”

They hit the nearest Xivolo warship four times, doing some more damage. But it was not enough. The aliens hit them and their shields came down to fifty-five percent. ~We need a plan. Right now.~ He checked the sensors, but there was nothing in range. They had dropped out of FTL between two solar systems. Grogan hit the warship again as Cinara walked onto the bridge. She made it to the command chair before Major Teldy grabbed her arm.

“You can’t be here,” She said.

“I can get them to stand down !” She reached into her pocket, taking out a small cylinder with a button on top of it. The device was pulsing with green light. “This is my emergency beacon. Every member of the Royal Family has to carry one of these,” She gestured towards the bridge consoles. “and each has a unique code. Connect this to the main transmitter and they will stop shooting.”

“We can’t trust her,” Teldy said as the Xivolo hit them again.

“Shields are down to thirty-three percent !” Grogan said. “And we’re still not doing any damage to them.”

Vale snatched the beacon from Cinara’s hand and bolted to Science Station Two. He understood what Teldy was thinking and why she was thinking it. ~What we know about the Xivolo doesn’t give us much reason to trust them.~ But if he didn’t take a risk, there was a good chance that Spera would be destroyed right here and now. He connected the beacon to Science Station Two, using a special adaptive cable. There was a loud click as the device connected. ~Score two for the New Asuran refit.~

“It’s working,” Jennifer Hailey said. She was manning the console. “we’re transmitting some kind of code.”

The result was instant, but not exactly what he had expected. One of the warships turned and fired on the ship nearest to Spera. That ship threw itself into a wild turn and returned fire. The third ship was caught between them and took several hits, causing a section of its shields to collapse. Grogan and T’Zalo saw their chance and soon Spera hit exposed section of the vessel with everything she had. It exploded, starting a chain reaction that destroyed the entire ship. The others two ships were still shooting at one another, until two massive explosions broke the black of space for a second.

“Any survivors ?”

“No,” Hailey said. “No escape pods, no teleports, sir.”

He disconnected the beacon and turned it off. Then he made his way back to Cinara and gave the device back to her.

“Thank you,” He turned to the bridge crew. “T’Zalo, take us back into FTL. Hailey, get our repairs going.” Both acknowledged the order, while Vale turned his attention to Cinara again. “Now, I think you and I need to have a conversation.”

“Yes,” Cinara said as Teldy let go of her arm and she put the beacon away. “Yes, we do.”

The two of them walked out, leaving the bridge crew to oversee the repairs. They had just escaped from destruction and to Vale it was crystal clear that unless they came up with a major plan, they were not getting through Xivolo space alive. ~And for that, I need all the information I can get.~ So he and Cinara had to have a long conversation.

(Exodus One – Cockpit – Day 173, 1100)

Exodus One looked horrible on the outside, but the inside was pristine. As soon as she had seen it, Watson had asked them why they were building this ship. Yes, the cities were slums. But they were free from the Xivolo and there was beauty here as well. The answer had surprised here. It turned out that the Xivolo had rigged the life-support systems with machines that released acid. That acid slowly ate away the rest of the equipment. In the early days, the locals had managed to sabotage the machines by messing with the computers. Then they had built pipes to divert the acid. But now that trick had stopped working. In three years, Slave Dump would be uninhabitable. So they had built Exodus One, hoping to find a way off the planet. The only thing that was missing, was the hyperdrive. But there was a good chance that they would not need it. Slave Dump was a gas giant and both Watson and Telford believed that it was not where the Stargate had been placed by the Seed Ship. ~The Stargate was probably from another planet in the solar system. ~All they have to do, is to find it.~

But for now, Exodus One had another mission. She and Telford would fly the ship to Destiny and they would launch an attack. Their goals were to get their hands on the Ancient Communications Stones and the ships supply of shuttles. There was one Ancient shuttle and two alien ships, which – based on the scans – appeared to be an alien version of what the Tau’ri called Puddle Jumpers. ~Ships designed to move through the Gate.~ But the main goal was to disable the program that was keeping Destiny in place. If Destiny did a FTL-jump, the aliens would not be able to attack Slave Dump.

As she sat down behind the controls and began the pre-launch checklist, Watson’s mind wandered to Colonel Young and his crew. Based on the scans, they were still in stasis. The problem was that the shuttles didn’t have enough space to get Young’s crew and the twenty-four member assault team back. Even if they added Exodus One to the mix. And thawing them and leaving them behind was not an option. So they would leave Young and company in stasis. This was left them with one loose end. ~Eli Wallace.~ There was no way to know what had happened to him. Nor would they be able to look for him.

They finished the checklist and Telford fired up the thrusters. As he did that, Watson opened the hangar doors. Then they fired the sub-light engines and Exodus One made her way into the atmosphere. The assault on Destiny had begun.