Chapter 152

Sun Li Ren

Passing through the highly radioactive energy vortex left in the wake of the now destroyed Ha'tak, the Improved Daedalus class vessel emerged on the other side. Seeing their comrade's death at the hands of the minuet Tauri vessel, the remaining three Ha'tak's opened fire with the weapons not currently pummeling Earth's planetary shield. Lacking the ZPM she would later be equipped with, the Sun Li Ren's shields began to strain under the assault from three mothership's.

Onboard the vessel multiple systems began to short, while internal wiring arced. While this happened, the missiles launched at their next target struck the shields of the Ha'tak. As they were conventional explosive warheads they stood little chance of penetrating, despite the fact that the warheads were naquadah enhanced. On board the Ha'tak Bridge the Jaffa laughed heartily at their attacker's pointless effort to breach their shields with inferior weapons.

"Target that Ha'tak again. This time fire the forward plasma beam battery" ordered the commander.

Once again the deadly plasma beam raced forth from the Sun Li Ren. Covering the distance in a second and a half, this beam too sliced through the shields that opposed them. Once through the shields, the plasma beam burned through the hull of the Ha'tak and incinerated the bridge and its crew. Firing a second volley which struck the power core, this Ha'tak too erupted into a fountain of expanding energy and radiation as the craft tore itself to pieces.

At that moment the majestic form of Destiny emerged from her speed run to the scene unfolding above her crew's home world. Operating at minimum manning levels and with a friendly vessel in the immediate line of fire, Destiny assumed control over the weapons functions already charged and ready. Firing a preciously timed volley of three shots from the main weapon with the weapon targeting the same three meter area of one the nearest Ha'tak's shields, Destiny gave proof to her technological superiority despite her age. The full power main weapon shots overloaded the target's shields and tore through the upper portion of the golden tetrahedron that made up the Ha'tak's main body. Firing one more three round burst before passing over her target, Destiny glided through the now disintegrating wreckage that had once been a frontline warship.

Destiny banked into a steeply angled turn, hoping to once again bring her fearsome main weapon into action against the remaining Jaffa warship. Sun Li Ren went into a similarly steep turn to do the very same thing. Having seen the fates of their brothers aboard the vessels that had begun this attack, the remaining Jaffa opted to run. Engaging their hyper drive, the Ha'tak leaped into hyperspace before another attack could be brought to bear upon them.

Svoriin

"Jack, we've known each other for a long time. Clone or not I think we're well beyond the rank game. Stop calling me sir and just call me Harry." Maybourne said.

"Ok, you win Harry." Lieutenant O'Neill replied with a smirk.

"This really is some city. What was it you called it in your mission report after your first visit?" Maybourne asked.

"I described it as kind of like Coney Island in the winter. Everything is there but no one is around." O'Neill replied.

"A year ago if you had asked me where I would be here would not have been my answer by a long shot." Maybourne explained to his companion.

"Things change Harry; you know that all too well. You think this is change you should see everything that Home World Command has going on." Lieutenant O'Neill hinted.

"I saw that in the brief the other you sent me. Atlantis, Borealis, the knowledge base of several races; it's almost too much to believe. Isn't it strange to know that the person at the top of your overall chain of command is you, well sort of you anyway?" Maybourne asked.

"The other Jack and I worked past that long ago. He and I have our differences, believe that." O'Neill replied with a smile.

"Despite the differences we've had over the years, he's a good man. That means you're also a good man. Remember that." Maybourne said while complimenting the man beside him.

"Thank you Harry, I mean that. How are your former people adjusting?" O'Neill asked.

"It helps that their king is in command. Getting them settled in was the easy part. The hard part will be integrating so many different cultures. My people won't be a problem, but a few of the other cultures might be. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Maybourne sighed with a frustrated look on his face.

"Earth was one of a handful of human cultures that didn't have their hope eroded away by thousands of years of servitude Harry. It's going to be slow going and a work in progress." O'Neill replied.

"We're scheduled to receive our first installment of refugee's day after tomorrow. Something tells me this trickle will turn into a flood shortly." Maybourne mused.

As the two men continued their aimless walking tour of the city, they took in the sights around them. The city reflected technology reminiscent of what could have been built on Earth with the best technologies of the twenty first century not counting those procured by the Stargate Program. Glass encased towers clad in gleaming glass fronts rose into the air. Being built on reclaimed land, a maze of canals ran through the city. All around the city was a calm lake of pure water, lacking the pollutants that an industrial age might have brought.

Originally, Svoriin lacked an indigenous population. That had changed when the Asgard delivered peoples of Scandinavian decent to the world, freeing them from oppression at the hands of Ra during his time on Earth. Falling under the Protected Planets Treaty, Svoriin existed free of fear from Goa'uld attack. That the Goa'uld had never discovered Svoriin allowed the Asgard to devote their efforts to other worlds known to their enemy and the enemy of man. Having only visited the world once, the only piece of Ancient technology present was the lone stargate. Sitting on a platform surrounded by canals, the gate lay before elevated walkways leading to the city before it.

At the height of the worlds now gone civilization, the city was built to contain half of the sizeable population of Svoriin. Facilities existed to house several million people, allowing the cit to rival Chicago in size. One day in the near future, the city would again be home to humanity. These new inhabitants would be cared for and educated by the Tauri and Nox. Once they were judged ready to protect themselves from the many threats in the Milky Way, these many relocated cultures would be moved off world should they choose. Before that was possible their knowledge base would be greatly expanded.

Around the city members of the Red Cross were hard at work. Their assigned task was great, and would require many hours of hard work. Proper housing had already been prepared for the incoming refugees. That effort would soon be redoubled in anticipation of housing many more. In an effort to ease the transition of relocation, efforts were being taken to house the individual cultures amongst themselves. As they arrived through the gate, each refugee would be taken to the large reception center within the city.

Once in the reception center, many separate things would happen. Medical screenings would be performed, to ensure each new member of the city was free from disease and illness. Once cleared by attending medical personnel, each new resident would move on to identification issue, where biometric identifiers would be cataloged in a secure database within the city and shared with the SGC. With identification in hand, each man, woman, and child would receive their individual Red Cross care package. Contained within each care package was clothing, hygiene items, and other assorted pleasantries. From there, the new residents would be ushered into an auditorium for an official briefing of the services available to each civilian.

Working hand in hand, The Tauri personnel and their Nox counterparts faced a daunting task. After abuse, oppression, and mistreatment at the hands of the Goa'uld and those that came after them, the humans of the Milky Way lacked little hope. That hope would slowly be restored through care and hard work. Humanity would be shown that hope was not a fool's errand, but instead a vision of what could be. This task might take years to complete, but humanities future in this galaxy depended upon it.