Stargate

Cracks in the Plan

General Caldwell entered the UN building, knowing this was going to be an interesting meeting. Over the last 2 months more of the Nations had a chance to review the mission files, and finally realized just how close they had come to being annihilated several times. The grillings had become intense as more of the religious groups that wished to be isolated realized they could leave Earth and not be interfered with, and the Nations realized they could lose significant portions of their populations.

He took a seat at the witness stamd and waited for the 2 dozen delegates that had been selected for todays grilling. It was generally just hours upon hours of demands to verify that what theybwere reading was accurate. He didn't generally do this as he had more inportant work, but he had been specifically requested to attend today.

It did not take long for them to enter, and he noticed that the news cameras were already recording.

"This hearing is hereby called to order, and we welcome Tau'ri Defense Force General Caldwell today. General we would like a report on the status of the new forces." President Storm said as it had been decided that the current administration would continue for 2 years as the trained the personnel that would eventually replace them.

"Very well sir, if you do not mind we will begin with the Atlantis Expeditionary Forces. I am glad to report that the rescue mission of Destiny was a success, and is currently traveling through the Pegasus Galaxy to return home. General O'Neill has contacted both Allies in Pegasus, and the Wraith and begun negotiations to arrive at a peaceful resolution of that conflict. So far 200 million doses and 50 drone missions have been deployed of the Hoffan d**g that will immunize the human population from Wraith feeding." he began before one of the delegates stopped him.

"General, what would it take to deploy that therapy on Earth?" Ambassador Norvick of Russia asked.

"It has actually already occurred due to an accidental release. The Hoffan d**g bound to a test subject that was suffering from a cold induced by the Coronavirus. As a result the two bound together and was distributed worldwide. The contagion was actually covered under the Covid19 Pandemic." Gendral Caldwell answered as a flurry of activity occurred. "As such, a majority of the population has already been immunized against Wraith feeding."

"General, why is that not included in the files that were delivered to us, and furthermore why have we not been briefed on this issue yet?" Ambassador Christensen of the UK demanded.

"It was included with the current mission reports, and it was decided that the need to inform of the historical aspects of the program first. It was not a decision I was a part of, as it predates the creation of the Tau'ri Defense Forces. I have been in this position for 2 weeks, and had intended to reveal that today regardless. Fortunately it was a modified version that Dr. Keller was testing, and did not have the 37 percent fatality rate it did prior to its accidental release." Caldwell said as there was a collective gasp throughout the chamber.

"What was the fatality rate of this therapy prior to the combination with the Coronavirus?" President Storm asked as he himself had not been informed of this.

"According to projections, it was 2.7 percent of those exposed." Caldwell answered.

"So the Coronavirus mutation increased the mortality rate of the gene therapy?" Storm asked bluntly.

"Actually it reduced it, however the coronavirus had its own mortality rate that had to be accounted for that was between 5 and 7 percent. You will be happy to know that the vaccine produces the same immunity against the Wraith feeding, and because of it we reduced the mortality rate to nearly 0 percent. It is being used in the Pegasus Galaxy as a weapon against the Wraith effectively. As terrible as it was, it could have been far worse if we had not done extensive research prior to its release. Our scientists worked extensively with the civilian manufacturers to develop these vaccines to reduce the mortality rate. As much as I would love to hash out these details, we did release a brief this morning as this hearing started about this very issue. As we have many subjects to discuss besides rhis one it may be prudent for us to continue onto another topic of concern at this moment." General Steven Caldwell said closing the file and shifting to another one.

President Storm and the other delegates were a little surprised at this attitude. "General, you have just told us that a multiyear global pandemic was the result of military testing into gene therapies to immunize a population against Wraith feeding, and that there are more important topics to discuss?" Ambassador Movarin of France demanded sternly.

"Yes ma'am, I am saying there are more pressing matters. As shocking a revelation as that may be, it is one that is in the past. As deadly as it was, it was an accident that could not have been foreseen. The Lucian Alliance was dealt 2 very significant blows in recent weeks, and if we push our advantage now they will never be able to recover. We are requesting authorization to offer them peace or to destroy them." he replied.

The delegates had been supplied with the latest intelligence files, and they opened them now. The Jaffa Council attack had taken out an additional 25 of the Ha'taq controlled by the Lucian Alliance. It was suspected they only had 2 dozen ships left to protect their vast borders.

"What is it you are requesting General?" President Storm asked.

"Only the Council can authorize peace or destruction. As it stands we are now at the point that the Lucian Alliance is vulnerable, and we could destroy them easily. I am requesting authorization to deal with them in the manner they decide. Peace or Destruction shall be their offer, and it will require them to form an actual government. One that does not e*****e and use fear and t*****e to rule what territory they hold. If they will not agree to becoming what a true government is, I am suggesting they be destroyed so the people of those planets can rule themselves as they see fit." General Caldwell stated.

This statement began several hours of planning and questioning by the delegates before they would hold a vote on the issue. They did indeed vote 14-10 to authorize him to proceed with his plan to negotiate with the Lucian Alliance. He was glad when it was finally over, and that they had agreed to review the releases of that morning before they would continue with questioning the representative that was sent.

Caldwell was beamed up as soon as he activated the beacon when they closed the hearing. It shocked a few of the delegates as they had never been exposed to the advanced technology that they actually possessed.

Caldwell set course for the planet that the Lucian Alliance used as their base of operations. There were 7 of their 2 dozen Ha'taq there, as all of the surviving leaders were meeting to discuss their dire situation.

The 3 ships of the Milky Way fleet dropped out of hyperspace within range of the Ha'taq and locked weapons onto them as they opened communications channels.

"This is General Caldwell of the Tau'ri Defense Forces, we are here to discuss the terms of a treatise to include succession of hostilities. We are prepared to engage and destroy you if that is what you wish, otherwise please respond." he said harshly as they stopped broadcasting waiting for a response. They were locked onto several targets each, and all 7 ships would be destroyed nearly instantly. Just as they had dropped out Earth had dialed their Stargate, to prevent the escape of the leadership through it. With the ZPM they could sustain the gate forever, and with the Asgard weapons they could destroy the Stargate with a single blast.

"This is Tagan, leader of the Lucian Alliance. You are either brave or foolish to come here with so few ships. Why should I not just destroy you and end this pointless charade?" they responded after a few minutes.

"You may try, but you dhall quickly find our ships have a bigger bite than what you are used to. The Milky Way Defense Force is not the same ships you faced under our predecessor. We are gathering the free peoples of this Galaxy to band together for the betterment of all. If you are prepared to transition into a legitimate democratic government, we can make a path forward in peace. Otherwise you shall quickly learn the consequences of your continued tyranny as we will destroy you once and for all." he said as they were bombarded wirh requests for reinforcements. Every one of their ships was under attack, and 50 Jaffa Council Ha'taq dropped out of hyperspace and locked on to the ships in orbit. "As you can see you have only 2 options, as we have banded together to end your tyranny one way or the other."

Tagan heard the pleas of the last of their forces, and knew they had no hope of surviving this onslaught. "So be it General." he said closing the channel just before the Ha'taq fired at the ships.

As soon as they did the 3 ships fired their beam weapons, and destroyed all 7 of the ships with a single shot. "Send a general transmission to the Jaffa, abandon this system as we will be targeting the Stargate. They have 30 seconds or they will face utter destruction." he ordered. "Order our other ships to evacuate as well. Contact Earth and warn them we will be firing as soon as they disconnect the Stargate." he continued.

It took only moments for the crew to send the various messages and warnings to the various people that he had ordered. "Done sir. Weapon is charged to full power and locked onto the Stargate." his weapons officer reported.

"As soon as the Stargate shuts down fire." he ordered knowing they could detect it.

"Actually sir I think it is safe to assume they will attempt to escape. If we hit it just as the dialing sequence completes it will amplify the explosion." Dr. Corday said from the science station.

"Cannot take that risk Doctor. Fire as soon as it disconnects." Caldwell reiterated for his command staff. "As soon as the cascade begins get us out of her helm."

"Copy that sir." she replied with her usual calmness.

As soon as the Daedalus and Orion departed the area, most of the Jaffa ships took the hint and jumped into hyperspace just before the Stargate disconnected and the Hunter opened fire.

The Asgard beam hit the Stargate directly, amd the power of the weapon destabilized the Naquadah it was made of instantly. It happened to coincide with the dialing of the Stargate, and the resulting blast split the planet with a debris cloud beginning to split apart as the sensors began registering secondary explosions about to occur.

They jumped into hyperspace just before the planet exploded sending debris throughout the system. This particular planet had large Naquadah deposits that aligned with the star, and were flung into it.

The sudden destabilization of the suns makeup forced another explosion that turned the star supernova quickly destroying the entire system of planets. The debris cloud stretched across 5 lightyears, and the ship barely managed to stay in front of it as they fled the unintended magnitude.

A day later they arrived back to Earth, and General Caldwell had been informed of the consequences as the Jaffa Council and Tau'ri began contacting the individual systems that had been subjugated during the Lucian Alliance tyranny.

Most of them decided to remain neutral towards both groups, as they wanted nothing more to rebuild and go back to their ways of life. Several of them even buried their Stargate so that they could not be used in such a manner again. Out of 200 planets only 25 decided to join one or the other, and many did not know how or if they would recover. Their populations had been decimated during their occupation, and a dozen of them essentially abandoned their homes as their was not enough left.

Caldwell was beamed down to the new Srargate Operations site, and was surprised at how quickly the construction had progressed. He looked over everything and it was apparent that most of the engineering corp was using their most advanced technology to build what they needed first.

The quick progress meant they were far ahead of schedule, and the Stargate Embarkation area would be completed very soon. The rest of the support building would take a little more time to finish, and the new projections put it operational within 3 months instead of 6. It would also be the most state of the art facility, incorporating the most advanced technology they had, all adapted to work for them.

General Caldwell had left out one very important part of the Covid mutation that had been released. It had also bound itself to the ATA gene therapy that the soldier had just received, and 75 percent of those exposed would have varying degrees of the gene now. It was also now spreading throughout Pegasus as well, and the result would be very interesting as more and more humans possessed the ability to control Ancient technology.

Those that already had the gene when exposed grew stronger, and those that had not mostly gained the ability. They had decided to use it as part of the controls for the most sensitive technology here, as it had not been disbursed in the Milky Way yet. The boost in their tech level already was becoming apparent as he saw the shield emitters embedded into the construction, and he was informed that the cloaking technology would soon be deployable in new and refitted ships.

"Sir, construction is well ahead of schedule. Would you like tonsee what we will begin working on within the next few days?" the construction manager asked him eagerly.

"I see that you will begin the administration section shortly, combined foundations?" he asked.

"It will increase the conductivity and connectivity of the shield generators. Also the power conduits for the weapons platforms, and control chair necessitated the changes." the Foreman replied knowing the work of the scientists was beyond him.

"Carry on Colonel, I trust that when we are finished with the project all will be better than required. How long do you estimate for completing the complex?" Caldwell asked him.

"About 18 months sir, 15 if we can get the teleportation apparatus between here and the mainland operational in the next few weeks." Colonel Stevens replied reviewing the plans. "The teams on the other island are reporting it will be a year before they can begin manufacturing, and 2 before they are completed."

Caldwell nodded knowing that both projects were far ahead of schedule. "Continue your excellent work Colonel, with any luck we won't have any issues." he said as he headed towards his temporary office here. They had already established secured communications with the various departments, and his quarters as well. They had set it up in one of the many buildings that came with the island, even though they would be kept as original as possible for historical accuracy. The small village would be left intact, and most people would be brought by ferry even though they had the transporters.

He powered up the computer, and began reading the reports from the active teams and became worried as he read about reports of villages attacked and missing to the last man, woman and child. He dispatched teams to evaluate the sites, and hoped beyond hope that what he feared had not become a reality.