Chapter 7

Lantea

On the mainland, the Athosian settlement was thriving. With the generosity of the Tauri large scale farming on levels never seen before were now possible. Upon the return of Atlantis, massive amounts of building began on the mainland. Hydroponics facilities, orchards, wheat fields, and facilities to raise livestock had only been the start. Timber mills and mining were also now operational. The automated systems the Tauri provided would usher in a golden age of production for the Athosian people. The building program also included schools and clinics.

The Athosian people had always been known as shrewd traders. Taking it to the next level and establishing a trade center off world was the logical step. Originally, Kanaan had wished to have the trade center on the mainland, but Mr. Woolsey had overruled this in view of security for Atlantis. Dr. Zelenka had modified a captured Wraith culling beam to make transportation of trade goods simple. Now lumber, foodstuffs, and other materials would be dematerialized and one person could walk the culling device through the gate.

Kanaan had accepted the role of leadership of his people after Teyla had left the world in the city of the Ancestors.

"Thirty four worlds are participating in the trade center on Otaris. The program is a success Colonel Lorne. A few worlds are still holding off on joining the trade association, most notably the Genii, but we know they are distrusting of our people and the association we have with Atlantis." said Kannan.

"The Genii have other things on their mind for now. Nothing could make us happier than to see your people doing so well. It's the hope of all on Earth to show this galaxy your example of what can be achieved by working together." responded Lorne.

Pluto

After a seemingly endless period without human presence Arkos station was now a hub of activity. Recent increases in available sh.i.p.s capable of making the voyage to Pegasus now made it possible to move forward with an initiative that many felt long overdue. Task Force 190 was deploying to Atlantis. The eight hundred man strong unit was composed of many elements of the United States Special Operations Command. Army Rangers, Navy Seal's, Marine Force Recon, and a small contingent of the elite 1st Special Forces Group also known as Delta filled its ranks. While not a large ground force, nothing Pegasus had currently could compare in terms of ground combat capability. With quiet determination, these men checked and rechecked their stored gear and awaited departure.

Colonel Mitchell was looking forward to his return to Atlantis, even if it would only be a short visit. Having recently taken command of the Athena Class vessel Hermes he was hungry to put his crew and ship into action. Seeing the TF 190 troops had reminded him of his earlier days with SG-1. Remembering many times he and SG-1 had deployed on Prometheus and later 304 class sh.i.p.s and comparing them to his current command he was reminded of how much things had changed. Hermes was a large vessel, yet despite her size, she was filled to capacity with supplies and personnel destined for Atlantis. Cam Mitchell was not sure what they were walking into, but he was glad he would not be around long enough to be a part of it. Enough trouble sprang up in the Milky Way to keep him occupied. Heading to a pre-launch briefing, Cam tried to put these thoughts out of his mind.

Elsewhere aboard the station was Daniel Jackson. Continuing his never-ending quest to research any source of information he sat in conversation with Arkos. His current project was reviewing the stored sh.i.p.s logs of ancient vessels that were in use before Atlantis departed the Milky Way.

"Why are half of these logs incomplete?" asked Daniel.

"I apologize Dr. Jackson. A high probability exists that the logs in question were downloaded during docking with a city ship." replied Arkos.

Mumbling more to himself then anything Daniel replied "Then I can have Atlantis send them to me". Quick to respond Arkos answered.

"That would only be possible if the vessels in question performed the log upload with Atlantis". Slowly Jackson realized what Arkos was telling him. The ancients had built more than one city ship.

Wraith Hive Ship

The Wraith known as Todd found himself impressed with the upsurge in human activity. In recent weeks, four hives had been destroyed. Surely, this must be John Sheppard at work. That was one human that would have made a strong Wraith indeed. In many systems, the humans seemed to appear from nowhere and launch crippling attacks before vanishing. This change in tactics had shifted the initiative to the keepers of Atlantis.

After his release from captivity upon Atlantis's return to Pegasus, Todd had quickly returned to his fleet. His four hives sprinting to a far corner of the galaxy to regroup. It was Todd's intention to keep a very low profile in the near future and let Colonel Sheppard deal with troublesome hives for him. With several ZPM's remaining from his captured Asuran stock fitted to the hives Todd welcomed the lull in activity. The raw power of the ZPM's flowing through the sh.i.p.s would ensure a fleet of incredibly powerful hives. Todd cared nothing about Atlantis, his attention was focused purely on climbing to the top rung of the Wraith leadership ladder. Perhaps it was time to put a bit of Michaels research to good use he thought.