Chapter 10 – The Wraith Homeworld

Disclaimer – I own nothing but my OC.

Ten chapters in now! That went by quicker than some of my previous projects but it's to be expected. Hope you are all keeping safe! Rate, review and enjoy!

The small crew boarded the stealth ship early that morning to make all of the necessary preparations. Helena was overseeing the personnel in the Bridge, moving from one member to the other and checking for updates on their status. David was sat in the captain's chair, with James sat on the console directly in front of him. The scientist was confident in his ability to read Ancient and so was using a holographic screen rather than one of the laptops the other crew members brought on board.

"James? You good?"

"Sensors are calibrated...I've re-routed non-essential power to give them a boost."

"Alright then..." She said and he gave a small smile.

"Helena...we're as ready as we are going to be." He reassured and she nodded before sitting at the console to the right of the captain's chair. She typed several commands into the laptop and she turned to David.

"Weapons are operational...let's hope we won't need to use them. Has the course been plotted?"

"Dr. Morrison has already plotted the course into the navigational computer. All I have to do is jump us there. It will put us just out of their sensor range." David reported and she nodded, before turning to James. "Ready when you are, Colonel."

"Engage hyperdrive on my mark." She said and the crew swivelled in their seats to look out the window. "3... 2... 1... Mark!" She said and David closed his eyes, arm on the control pad. The hyperspace window appeared before them and the ship entered seamlessly, the stars replaced by the blue of the vortex generated when in hyperspace.

"Current course and speed should put us at the destination within the hour." James reported. "Standing by to commence sensor sweeps."

"Got it. Will the shields be active the moment we drop out?"

"Unlike the Asgard shielding system, Ancient shields are active throughout FTL travel. Something they carried over from the Destiny, which relied on shield protection for their unique drive." James explained and she gave a nod.

"What do you think we'll find, Croft?" David asked and James looked grim.

"Nothing good. Part of me is content with not knowing."

"We won't be able to bury our heads in the sand with this one..." Helena noted as she turned to face them. "I don't want to face the reality of it all, but this is information we need to know. Our duty is not only in the field of research but in keeping the Wraith here. They must never get the opportunity to reach Earth again."

"It was a close battle..." David noted. "I didn't partake, but we were all glued to our screens in the SGC. It was a gutsy move Colonel Sheppard pulled off...and in the end it saved us all."

"For a long time, gutsy moves have been our speciality, but we're facing a unified nation now. We're going to need a lot more than that if we're to have any chance of defending against them." Helena said.

"We will do what we must." James said. "This is just a scouting mission...all simulations show that the stealth systems function and will keep us safe whilst we conduct our scans. Let's worry about conflict should we ever come to cross that bridge."

"With luck, we won't be crossing it today." Helena noted.

"I share the same hope, Colonel..."

The ship dropped out within the hour as James predicted and they could see the planet dead ahead. It was a hauntingly beautiful world, bearing rings similar to Saturn but teeming with vegetation much like Earth. They knew what lurked on the planet's surface, however. Even without the Wraith, their prehistoric cousins called it home. It almost made the scientist shudder to think that such insects could exist. It was needless to say the expedition would never visit this planet, even with the Wraith gone.

"Heat sinks are operational..." One of the crewmembers said.

"Beginning sensor sweep of the immediate area." James reported, a visual representation of where the ship was in front of them. Eight red dots appeared in the planet's orbit before refining themselves into images of ships.

"What have we got?" Helena asked.

"Two Hive Ships with six Cruisers for escorts...holding position above the planet."

"A standard battle group would consist of one Hive and three Cruisers, right?" David asked and James gave a small nod.

"They haven't located us." James said, turning to Helena, who sighed and turned to David.

"Head towards the planets South Pole...any other ships?"

"Looks like the Spacegate is guarded by a squadron of Darts." James said, several of the small craft appearing in a formation. "No other craft in the immediate vicinity at this time."

"The second one of those things moves so much as an inch, I want to know about it." Helena said, nodding as the stealth ship moved towards the planet. David kept it out of their effective sensor range and James started to notice additional ships.

"Roving fleet...one Hive, three Cruisers. They are out of sensor range..."

"The Director was right...they're patrolling the perimeter." Helena said. "That gives us a limited window until they decide to move towards the poles. Bring us as close as you can." She said to David. "James, I want scans on the surface...I want ship placements, life-signs readings, visual images..."

"Preparing biometric sensors and planetary imaging." James tapped some commands onto the console.

"Approaching the planet's orbit...this is as close as I dare go if they've settled in the vicinity below us." David said after a brief pause.

"Alright..." She turned to the crew. "Begin analysing the data as it comes from the sensors." She instructed, all of them nodding.

"Beginning planetary sweep..."

On the holographic screen before him, a segment of the planet appeared and he noticed several structures in the vicinity of a large crater. They were familiar in shape, so he focused the sensors on them and the sensors soon identified them as ships, appearing as small images like the defence fleets around the planet. They were all clustered together, Cruiser and Hive Ship alike. Removing their visual representation showed that it looked almost like a crude city.

"Dear God..." Helena stood behind him. "All ships?"

"During the course of Atlantis' war, Dr. Peter Grodin ascertained that over sixty hive ships were in operation in the galaxy. Through various means, we cut that number down to thirty. But I count thirty-five..."

"That includes the two defence fleets we saw on the way in?" Helena asked and he nodded. "They're starting to rebuild..."

"A Hive Ship can be controlled by a minimum of one person...they can afford to split the crews."

"Bloody hell..."

"Life sign readings indicate hundreds of thousands of Wraith on the surface...I'm detecting a large amount of humans too..."

"I've spoken with both Larrin and Coran...both of them have indicated that they have heard no news of mass cullings." The Colonel rose a brow as they looked at the signs.

"We know that the Wraith took on worshippers. Some of the life signs appear to be on their own." James was confused for a moment before his eyes widened in horror. "I'm detecting cellular growth on the solitary signs. It's the Wraith pathogen..."

"Wraith pathogen?" David asked.

"It starts out as a viscous slime that seeps into the skin...using a human as a source of energy, matter begins to grow from them, seeking out raw materials and forming into specific shapes...in this case, ships."

"They're turning humans into ships?" The Corporal asked, sounding genuinely disgusted.

"Wraith technology is organic...it's alive...humans serve as the basis." James shook his head. "I'm detecting no noticeable power signature from any of the ships...though I am seeing cellular growth. If I had to guess, they appear to be allowing their ships to heal." James sighed. "This is not good."

"It's worse than we thought..." Helena muttered as James continued to scan.

"No other discernable structures on the planet."

"So they've consolidated their power into one unified society and have begun to rebuild their fleet." She said and James nodded. "We may have the technology but they have the numbers..."

"The one benefit we have is that they've grounded the bulk of their fleet. With them waiting for their ships to heal, they're unlikely to make any big moves at this point." James pointed out, looking up at the Colonel from where he sat. "Even with the combined resources of the Earth fleet, this ship and the Travellers..."

"We'd take extremely heavy losses..." Helena finished and he nodded.

"With the threat of the Lucian Alliance back in the Milky Way, we'd only be able to draft the Daedalus and the Endurance to fight for us as well. A combined fleet would just barely pass a third of their numbers. And again, that's just talking Hive Ships. Including the fleets above the planet, their Cruisers number at almost a hundred and they pack a mean punch."

"Bugger..." Helena sat in her seat. "This is beyond grim..."

"Even with our tech?" David asked.

"Even with superior tactics and technology, Asgard shields will begin to wane under sustained bombardment and Ancient shields would fall eventually. We'd give them a good kicking...but we'd still lose." James said. "As it stands, waging a war with these guys is beyond a logistical nightmare. We have only a few hundred people, most of whom are civilians, we have just over a dozen sophisticated ships and two cities which would not be able to turn the tide with the limited power we have."

"We need to report back to Director Chapman..." Helena said as she sat back at her console.

"Agreed..."

David brought the ship about and began to move off from the planet surface, preparing to jump just as lights dimmed and an alarm sounded. The Corporal could not contain his surprise when a hyperspace window then opened before them and he manoeuvred just as a Hive Ship emerged. A different, deeper alarm immediately sounded then.

"What the hell is that?"

"Battle lighting. Ship's just put out an alarm for action stations." James said, his console beeping then. "They have a weapons lock on us!"

"Corporal, jump us out of here now!" Helena commanded.

"I'm trying, Colonel."

"We're detecting a localised EM field emitting from the Hive Ship, ma'am." Dr. Morrison spoke up. "Until we can get away from the ship, we can't jump."

"Bugger me..." Helena said just as the ship jolted twice.

"Weapons fire...shields are holding." James reported.

"Corporal Lancaster, put your bloody foot down and get us away from that ship!"

"Yes, Colonel..." He said, closing his eyes, face scrunched up in concentration as the ship began to speed away from the planet, jolting several times as they took more fire.

"Shields are down to ninety percent..." James reported. "Patrol fleets are moving to block us in, Colonel. All of them are emitting an identical EM field..."

"I intend to be gone by the time they're even in range." Helena said, all of them holding onto the consoles as more weapons fire struck the shields. "Dr. Morrison, are we out of range yet?" She called and the scientist looked over.

"Just a little more, ma'am." He said as the lights flickered, the shields holding under the bombardment.

"Shields are at eighty five percent..." James said.

"Corporal..." Helena turned.

"Jumping!" David said and the hyperspace window opened, the ship entering before the next shots hit them. "I think I need a drink...scratch that, I think I need several."

"You and me both, Corporal. What the bloody hell just happened?"

"It seems the three year respite from us has been kind to Wraith scientists...an EM field that can disrupt our capability to jump..." James shook his head. "It seems the Wraith are developing some tactics of their own..."

"You as frightened as I am?" Helena asked grimly.

"More than a little..."

The atmosphere in the Conference Room was grim. The assembled staff and delegates from the Travellers all sat there in sheer silence, the reality of the situation sinking in. James shut the hologram down, the images a grim reminder of what they were facing. Russell cleared his throat, took a sip of his water and stood up with a sigh.

"Unfortunate..." He said, all of them agreeing it was an understatement. "A unified Wraith empire beginning a process of reconstruction..."

"Developing new technology and tactics..." James added. "The hidden nature of this system is our defence. It doesn't matter how much of our combined force we bring to bear on them..."

"It's not gonna be enough..." Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard spoke up.

"No, sir..." James agreed.

"Coran...please tell us you have some good news at least...your people have evacuated?" Russell asked.

"They have, Director...they've already begun work on building new villages..." Coran said, but he too was grim in his tone. "Let us hope that we all go unnoticed..."

"Have we made contact with the Coalition of Planets?" Russell turned to Richard, whose expression darkened immediately.

"We're persona non grata..." Woolsey said. "They refused to accept the fact we had to return to Earth so that we can defend our people. They wouldn't accept you as stand-ins because you're the same people as us. As it stands, our allies are very few."

"Even if we had allies, the majority of them don't even have firearms technology." Helena said. "And the ones that do are hidden for their own safety or come in the form of pseudo-farmers who live in a bunker and have killed several of our people. We need to reach out to home, make them aware of the threat and see if they're able to help in anyway."

"Fighting a war in another galaxy is the last thing on their minds..." Russell muttered.

"It should be considering they made it to Earth before." John said and James nodded in agreement.

"The Wraith are developing new technology. Who knows what else they've developed in the last three years since we've been gone? Who knows what they've come across to help them in that development? They are all aware of Earth and at some point, what is currently our problem could very well become their problem at some point in time."

"Mr. Woolsey and I will work together to try and persuade the IOA and British Government into providing aid however they can."

"And what if they order us to retreat to Earth?" Rodney McKay spoke up. "They'll order us to pack and bring the cities with us so they can plunder them for all their worth. I did not spend a considerable amount of my time bringing that city back to its former glory just for a bunch of pencil-pushers to force me out again. The work I do there is too important."

"What McKay means is..." John was about to finish when Russell cut him off.

"I have to intention of abandoning this galaxy to the Wraith. I will not allow them to present a threat to Earth or her interests either."

"Seconded." Richard said after a while, the other staff nodding in agreement.

"As it stands, our priority should be to fortify our position here."

"Our people have specialised satellites we can place around the system...an early warning system." All eyes in the room turned to Larrin. "Should give us time to prepare a defence if necessary."

"You'd be willing to grant us use of these satellites?" Russell asked and she nodded.

"A couple of our ships are already functioning. We can begin deployment immediately."

"Alright. I will put in a request to BAE Systems to create a series of weapons emplacements so we can defend the city if necessary." Russell added. "Colonel Sheppard, Colonel Crewe...when you have time between Gate missions, I would like you to take stock of our combined military assets and determine defensive strategies. I want to be able to give these guys a bloody good hammering if they come for us."

"Yes, Director." Helena said.

"Got it." Sheppard said casually.

"Dr. Croft, Dr. McKay...I want you both to figure out ways to maximise and refine our power consumption and also find a way to calibrate the shields on our ships to better withstand Wraith weaponry. Again, this will be between missions."

"Yes, Director." James nodded as McKay muttered an affirmative as well as a complaint under his breath.

"In particular, you must find a way to counteract that EM field you encountered. In a losing battle, we need a chance to escape. Let's not have the Wraith rob us of that." Russell said, both of them nodding.

"Please tell me you took sensor readings." Rodney pleaded.

"I did, Dr. McKay."

"Well at least you're not incompetent..."

"I know this situation seems grim and it is. However, Atlantis has managed to knock those parasites back on many occasions. I'm sure we can manage it again. Any questions?" Russell said and no one said anything. "This meeting is adjourned..."

The combined staff and delegates from all parties filtered out of the room, some speaking with one another, others with their heads buried within their tablets. James was just shutting down his laptop when Sheppard walked over and he gave the Colonel a polite smile.

"Hell of a discovery to make, Doc." He said easily and James chuckled a little.

"Not my favourite since I've been here...but I suppose one way or another, we'd have found out."

"Yeah. Sorry you got stuck with McKay. He's not exactly the easiest person to get along with." He said as the two of them walked out. "He could probably piss of even the Ancients if he made a concerted effort to."

"It's alright...I've dealt with people like him before and I can do it again. I hear he does well under the threat of impending death though, so perhaps that should focus him." The British scientist said as they went down the steps.

"Well if he does get on your nerves, just break out a citrus fruit...he's allergic to it."

"Duly noted." James laughed.

"You busy at the moment?"

"Actually, I was just heading off to meet Corporal Lancaster. Apparently he managed to convince one of the civilians to actually cook a home-made meal using an Ancient cooker." He said and John looked impressed.

"Actual cooking...sounds nice. Well when you have some time, I'll drop by. Colonel Crewe tells me that you are looking to learn how to shoot and your Corporal is currently busy with the other civilians. Given she and I will be working together, I'd figured I'd help."

"You don't have to, sir." He smiled politely. "I can fire a Glock just fine."

"Glock's not gonna protect you in a prolonged firefight, Doc."

"Well if you're sure..."

"You'll be glad you did. We'll have you shooting with the best of them." He grinned and went to walk off. "By the way, your Colonel noted you liked learning about other cultures. Teyla would like to meet you some day. I'll see if I can set up a little play date."

"Tell her I'd be glad to meet to learn." He chuckled.

"And don't forget. Citrus. For the love of God, citrus."

James was quite surprised to see David looking so thoughtful as he sat at a table on the balcony. It was quiet in the Mess Hall that night, with most staff having eaten a couple of hours ago. The scientist sat down in front of the other, almost startling him but the Corporal smiled when he saw him. James returned the smile and he joined the other in gazing up at the stars.

"Peaceful..." David said and James hummed in agreement. "You'd never even think there was a threat..."

"We all thought the same on Earth before we began using the Stargate..."

"Very true..." David said, before tearing his gaze away from the stars to look at James. "Do you think we'll get help from Earth?"

"I'd be surprised if we get much. They've underestimated the Wraith threat on the basis of them lacking the technology to get to Earth...in all cases the Wraith have presented a threat, it's because they managed to get access to Ancient technology."

"Which this galaxy is swimming in." David pointed out James smiled ruefully.

"Exactly so. I just hope the Director and Mr. Woolsey are able to convince them."

"Well it looked pretty grim from where we were sitting. Not to mention our little skirmish with them. If they could see what we see..."

"They probably still wouldn't care if there was no immediate threat to them. The Director's refusal to leave Pegasus could present a problem, however, especially if we're ordered to retreat. It sounded seditious."

"I don't think the Director wants to lead an independence movement. He's just willing to accept our role in dealing with the Wraith." David chuckled. "Then again, we do have a Senate." He chuckled as James rolled his eyes.

"I do like the idea of us having a Senate, but I'm not actually a Senator." He chuckled.

"You're diplomatic enough." David said.

"It's not an official government. We're just given powers to potentially form agreements with other human cultures off-world. We're senior staff. Nothing more." He smiled. "There are some issues that we just cannot control. All we can do is prepare and whatever happens will happen."

"You're perhaps one of the most zen scientists I have ever met." David said.

"Panicking won't get us anywhere. We have to approach this one issue at a time." He stood up. "We've done well so far..." He put his hand on David's shoulder, the Corporal squeezing it softly. "I mean you managed to dodge an incoming Wraith Hive Ship in a stealth ship that is considerably bigger than a Puddle Jumper."

"He was in the wrong lane." David said with a grin.

"You went there...why am I even slightly surprised?"

"You really should expect me to make jokes like this." He laughed, standing and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Well...our intrusion is us essentially declaring war on the Wraith Dominion."

"Well if it was gonna be anyone, it would be us." James said as they started walking. "We're going to be fine. I know we're going to be fine."

"Yeah..." He kissed his temple softly. "You're right. We will be just fine..."