Chapter 146

Talus

Long ago, the planet of Talus was an Ancient occupied world. Pieces of their technology remained in their wake, namely the Shrine of Talus used by humans throughout Pegasus to combat the effects of the parasite induced Second Childhood that Rodney McKay had once suffered. The onset of the Tauri/Wraith/Asuran War had brought about reutilization of this planet.

Talus was now home to one of the larger Wraith garrisons within the Pegasus galaxy. At any given time upwards of ten thousand Wraith were present, along with several Hive sh.i.p.s. Having extinguished the human population of Talus long ago little interfered with the day to day goings on of the Wraith on this mountainous world. It was for this reason when factored in with the number of Wraith present at any one time that was the driving factor for Talus's selection as a target.

What had started as a hypothetical discussion between Colonel Carter and Thor had quickly scaled up into operational planning and preparation. Several years earlier, Colonel Carter had born witness to the effectiveness of the Asgard time dilation device. At that time it had been employed in the hopes of containing the replicator threat then rampaging through the Ida galaxy. In this instance it was being used to remove a large chunk of Wraith manpower from the field of play in one fell swoop, while also allowing for future options which were being developed.

Creating the device had been done with ease aboard the Iskr, utilizing the matter creation technology aboard all vessels of the Asgard and Tauri fleet. The completed device now rested in one of the cavernous holds of the Iskr, awaiting its deployment against the enemy of the Five Great Races. Thor was highly aware of how necessary the mission to deliver the device truly was. That mission was one he refused to see fail.

Being a mission of great importance to the anti Wraith war effort, a number of vessels were currently speeding towards the world of Talus through hyperspace. The Iskr, Hammond, and Hermes closed in on the world, along with one of the recently arrived Ori mothership's. Lacking the ability to cloak, the Ori mothership was participating simply as a baptism by fire for the newly arrived vessel. Left unsaid about their participation was the fact that the effectiveness of the Ori main weapon would be judged by both the Asgard and Tauri. That information would play a large role in generating deployment orders to the new contingent among the allied fleet in the future.

The order of arrival of the four sh.i.p.s was highly choreographed. First to arrive was both the Hermes and Hammond. Engaging their cloaks, the two Tauri vessels began to immediately scan the planet and Hives in orbit of Talus while also forwarding their findings to the approaching Ori mothership as well as the Iskr. Opening a subspace channel between their two sh.i.p.s, Mitchell and Carter spoke while their sensors peered into the darkness for any unforeseen danger that might be lurking in the darkness.

"Ok Sam, this is more your show than mine. What are you thinking" asked Cam.

"Nothing pointing towards the Wraith having detected us so far, but that's to be expected. Keep in mind that we are just here to standby and stand guard over the Iskr while she approaches the planet. The two Hives are the responsibility of the Ori vessel" pointed out Carter.

"Grandma didn't really have a saying for this one. Ok, we'll keep our sensors peeled while the Ori deal with the Hives. I'm thinking that big gun of theirs is going to make a mess of anything the Wraith throw at them" replied Cam.

"Remember to keep your vessel clear of the planet. When the time dilation device goes active you don't want to be caught in the field" advised Sam.

"This thing slows time down how much exactly" asked Cam.

"It's on the order of ten to the forth power" replied Sam.

"English carter" protested Cam.

"It works out to an hour inside the field equals a year outside of the field, so for every year someone is inside the field ten thousand would pass outside of it" replied Sam with a smile.

"Ori vessel is exiting hyperspace in twenty seconds, followed by Thor. Its show time" said Cam, finishing off the conversation.

Seconds later the imposing mass of the Ori mothership exited hyperspace. Detecting the intruder automatically, the two Hives began to maneuver to meet the unknown threat. Having never encountered an Ori vessel before, the Wraith had little fear of the vessel but were impressed with the size as it dwarfed even the massive Hives. Knowing they faced an enemy to all humanity in the universe, the Ori sparred little time in combating the threat directly.

Firing from a distance as they closed in on the intruder, the two Hives hurled bolts of blue energy at the gargantuan vessel before them. Like the many races that had followed in the Wraith's current footsteps, they too saw that their weapons impacted the ultra powerful shields to little effect. Blossoming from the impact, the mothership's shields held firm under the assault.

On the curving face of the Ori vessel, energy began to build in the power conduits leading to the inwardly curving weapons bowl. Two tenths of a second later the building flow of energy passed through the resonance chamber and into the energy exciter before discharging. Belching forth a vicious and highly lethal beam of destructive energy, the mothership unleashed it's most potent weapon at the first of the approaching Hives.

As the beam lanced out towards the mothership the Wraith had little fear, knowing their vessel could regenerate from any damage sustained. Impacting four meters from the pointed nose of the Hive, the main weapon tore into the biopolymer armor. Tearing through level after level and bulkhead after bulkhead, the destructive energy of the beam was unexpectedly channeled into the organic power conduits of the doomed vessel. Throughout the Hive the living tissue of the ship surrounding the internal power conduits disintegrated and died. As this happened, the Hive snapped in two at its midpoint.

Seeing the fate of their comrades, the second Hive began to maneuver away from the predator in their midst. Accelerating with their sublight engines, the Hive banked in a sixty degree turn away from their assailant. Enacting a minor course correction of their own, the Ori mothership easily countered the Wraith move.

Discharging the main weapon once again, the fearsome Ori weapon lanced towards its target. A small collection of Dart's deployed before the destruction of the first hive attempted sacrifice themselves to the terrifying beam weapon in place of their Hive. The efforts of the Darts while heroic did little to alter the inevitable outcome. Since the Hive was attempting to maneuver away from its pursuer, the juggernaut of dynamic energy sliced through the belly of the Hive. Slicing through the organic armor, the beam punched through deck after deck. The bridge crew of the Hive dematerialized as the beam eviscerated the compartment around them before erupting back into space as it exited the domed roof above the bridge, rendering the Hive helpless.

"Now that's what I'm talking about" exclaimed Mitchell more to himself than anything.

As this battle was transpiring, the Iskr exited hyperspace close to the atmosphere of Talus. The deceleration drive activated, bringing the O'Neill class vessel into a controlled decent. Repeating a tactic much used against the Goa'uld, dense black clouds boiling over with lightning began to form around the enormous mass of the Iskr. To Wraith on the planets surface it looked as if the weather patterns building might rip anything in its path apart. Coming in low over a towering snow capped peak, Thor activated his onboard transport beaming system to deposit the time dilation device in a location difficult to access by any that might attempt to make the trek.

Having accomplished his given mission and fully aware of the unique time constraints he faced, Thor piloted the Iskr back into the heavens with the ease of moving a control stone four inches to the left.

On the ground below within a Wraith command and control center, urgent messages were being sent. As subspace messages flew in multiple directions, Wraith telepathy also came into play. The Wraith Hive mind was alive with surprise and panic from those aboard the stricken Hive beyond the planet, while thoughts of incredulous wonder emanated from those on the ground. In distant corners of the Pegasus galaxy the panicked shrieks of the gathered collection of Wraith minds on Talus was heard.

Hearing these cries from their fellow Wraith, distant Hives began to communicate amongst themselves to coordinate a relief effort. For several minutes these pleas were heard, until they ceased altogether without warning. Unknown to the distant Wraith, the time dilation device had activated, entombing the Wraith on Talus in a prison they could neither see nor feel nor touch.