Chapter 188

Arkos

Onboard the ancient fleet construction and anchorage point, the normal operations of a large intergalactic fleet carried on. Since the construction of Arkos, the cycle of construction, repair, refit, and resupply had been repeated countless times. After coming into use by the Tauri this cycle of events within Arkos had reached a pace far in excess of anything the Ancients had ever maintained. Despite the marked increase in operational tempo, the stations systems were far from achieving their maximum sustainable output.

Throughout the age of man, the process of creation had taken many forms. Before the dawn of the age of reason and invention, creation had come in the form of stone tools and sharpened spears. Gradually, as mans intellect expanded, processes for faster production came about. This gave rise to standardization and mass production. In each of the numerous iterations of mans evolution, the age of industry gave rise to the attainment of ever more efficient means to accomplishing any given task. The penultimate expression of this process of development lay at the core of the construction systems found aboard Arkos.

Fueled by a power source surpassing the energy output of most stars, Arkos carried out its task with ease. Within the bowels of the station, a seemingly endless stream of Puddle Jumpers took shape. In certain areas drive pods sat ready for instillation to the metallic shells of the interplanetary shuttles. Other areas tasked with construction of navigation and control systems stood ready to add their wares to the vehicles as they neared completion. As each jumper was completed, internal systems were powered up for the first time.

Receiving the finished products, a number of two man flight crews verified operational readiness of all the myriad of systems aboard. Exiting and entering Arkos in a steady stream, the acceptance flights took place around the clock. Once certified as ready for delivery, the completed Jumpers were transferred to the designated storage bay. In due time, these vehicles would make their way to the many nations of Earth for uses designated by the individual governments and militaries.

Jumpers were not the only small craft taking shape. In other designated construction bays, F-302's came into being. Infinitely less complicated in their form but not their function, these lethal hunter killers came about at an expeditious clip. Like their more advanced sister sh.i.p.s, these two were received by teams of aviators who stood ready to test their new steeds. At the current rate of production, the Air Forces of the NATO nations would be fully reequipped with the design pioneered by the United States.

In the fleet docking and construction bays, the sleek forms of vessels came into being. Three new nations were being brought into the fold of the Tauri fleet. Australia stood ready to take possession of the Athena class vessel Sir Robert Menzies, along with the Daedalus class vessels Sydney and Perth. Canada too would take ownership of the Athena class vessel Hugh Le Caine, and the Daedalus class units bearing the names Halifax and St. Laurent. Germany too was being similarly equipped. The Athena's Bismark and Gneisenau in addition to the Daedalus class Scharnhorst and Prinz Eugen would fly the German flag. Following in the footsteps of their European allies, Israel too was being equipped in a similar manner. The Athena's Ben Gurion and Yitzhak Rabin plus the Daedalus class vessels Menachem Begin, Levi Eshkol, Benjamin Netanyahu and the Chaim Weizmann would all fly the Israeli flag.

The nations of Earth were sorely aware of their new responsibilities in the Milky Way galaxy and others. Fleet numbers would continue to grow due to this fact. As nations were approved for receipt of examples of extremely high technology, construction would be scheduled. Waiting in the wings, the governments of Spain, Sweden, Norway, and Italy eagerly anticipated taking delivery of their requested vessels. These, operating in conjunction with the F-302's and Jumpers already being delivered, would take their place out among the stars.

Three levels below the progressing ship construction, eight joint teams of Tauri and Asgard engineers could be found. In this heavily shielded and sequestered portion of Arkos could be found the captured forms of an Ori mothership and the Drone mothership, both brought back by the Tauri flagship. After their combat actions against the Tauri juggernaut, these vessels had been heavily damaged. Upon arrival, the alien designs were first studied which greatly assisted in repairs. To fully unlock the secrets these vessels held, all systems must function. It was for this reason that they were brought back to full working order.

Both vessels represented a treasure trove of technological secrets. Slowly, Ori weapons and shield designs were unlocked from the main ship. Also being studied were the small and highly agile fighters the mothership carried. Many lessons stood to be learned from the captured craft. Some of these lessons could very well find their way into the design of future generations of vessels for both the Tauri and the Asgard.

In the coming days, the Asgard along with a select group of Tauri scientific and military minds would make their way to the open spaces of the Andromeda galaxy. There, the full capabilities of the powerful Ori mothership would be explored. Experimental systems in development along with tactics would be employed against the vessel. In this way the secrets she held would be revealed until all was known. Although the former followers of the Ori were now counted among the numbers of the allied races, the opportunity to acquire the ascended led design cues was simply too much to pass up.

The Drone mothership sequestered in quarantine sat fully repaired but rendered inoperative. The fully autonomous nature of the vessel made the task of unlocking her secrets far simpler. A simple computer download of all files within the onboard computer, along with a thorough examination of the specific technology had accomplished this task. From the database engineering specifics, preprogrammed offensive tactics, and other operational protocols were learned.

Unlike the Ori mothership, the Drone mothership would not remain the sole example of her kind in the possession of the allied races. One month earlier, three neighboring construction and docking bays had been added to the secure sequestration zone. On a theoretical level, the offensive abilities and tactics of these sh.i.p.s was already known. Knowledge of the threat sh.i.p.s such as these posed to the upcoming redeployment of the Destiny expedition necessitated further real world experience against them. For this reason, three copies of the alien vessel were being constructed. Once complete, these would be moved to a test area where they would square off in real world combat against the best and brightest of the Tauri fleet.