Chapter 200

Idavoll, Asgard Home World

Four days earlier, a vessel far different than those found in the Asgard fleet had arrived on Idavoll. Rarely in recorded memory had a vessel more advanced than their own arrived among the Asgard. Now was one of those times. Carrying personnel from Earth, along with genetic samples long held in cryogenic storage, the Videum came to rest in the bay outside of the Asgard capital city.

Personnel from Earth aboard Videum were soon transferred into the city via puddle jumper. Not members of the SGC, this team of humans belonged instead to the United States Department of State. Assigned to the recently completed embassy on Idavoll, this cadre of diplomatic personnel would form the first point of contact for the two races. Elsewhere in other galaxies, embassies were coming online or nearing completion. These hubs of diplomacy would foster trade, growth, and security for many worlds and races.

Reflecting architectural cues from the Ancient's, each embassy spoke of technological superiority and strength. Fully assuming the mantle the Ancient's had left for them, these buildings spoke of the might possessed by the Tauri. At the sight of these buildings, some would be awed, while others would be enveloped in a sense of security knowing they had such advanced allies. Others still would harbor a nagging sense of envy.

Videum's arrival was not a simple show the flag exercise. She had been tasked to fulfill a promise made to the Asgard in the days before disclosure. The powerful city ship and her crew would establish a permanent Tauri presence in the Andromeda Galaxy. Functioning much like the Atlantis expedition in its early days, the Videum outpost would open up an entirely new galaxy to Earth. Acting as home base for SG teams and sh.i.p.s alike, humans would head out on missions of discovery.

Videum was not destined to remain on Idavoll. Instead, another location had been selected. Seven hundred light years away, a lush Earth like world had been located. Unpopulated, and having large oceans, the outpost would take shape. Future plans called for the construction of a city much like Shambhala, along with the other accoutrements of a civilized world. From there, humanity would spread out and begin to take hold in this galaxy.

Having never been endowed with a gate network of its own, the Videum expedition required certain workaround's to function properly. Though it continued to grow, the Tauri fleet was not yet large enough to support constant operations in this new galaxy. To that end, Asgard vessels loaded with reclaimed Milky Way model gates rendered obsolete by the ongoing Pegasus model upgrade set out. By months end, fifty habitable worlds of potential interest would be equipped with these gates. This made possible Videum to deploy her embarked SG teams at will. Once seeder sh.i.p.s arrived in Andromeda, the Milky Way gates would be recovered and replaced with Pegasus model's, with the older gates being placed in inert storage for potential later use elsewhere.

Hours after coming to rest in the bay, the cryogenically stored genetic material aboard had been delivered into Asgard hands via transport beam. On arrival in the cloning facility, the sample had been handled with the utmost care. Valuable beyond comparison, this sample embodied the hope and future of the Tok'ra. Taken from residue in medical equipment on Pangar, this sample was the genetic code of the creator of the Tok'ra, The Queen Egeria. Research into refining Tritonin to free the Jaffa from dependence on symbiotes had allowed SGC geneticists to isolate the DNA of the dead queen.

Aware of the importance of their task, Asgard cloning technicians maintained constant vigil on the modified chamber that held the maturing symbiote. Eight days from now, the now juvenile symbiote would reach maturity and be transferred into stasis. Symbiote genetic memory transfer made concern of Egeria's personality a nonissue, as all memories of the dead queen would be retained by the clone. All that was left after being placed in stasis was finding a host. That question had already been answered, and that answer would arrive in ten days.

Having no family or children, a beautiful nurse from the SGC medical department had always wished to bring life into this world. Hearing of the need to locate a host for the mother of the Tok'ra and aware that the future of that race would be built upon this host's gift; the nurse had leaped at the chance. Finally, she would get the chance to see the universe for herself. She would have a family, and be part of something bigger than herself. It was a dream come true in her eyes.

Resting in the Asgard ship building facility, the Hala and the next four vessels in her class sat. Fully repaired from her losing combat action against the Athena, Hala was prepared to emerge from the shipyard stronger than before. Making use of the shipboard Arcturus device the Tauri had provided, Hala and her sisters were the most powerful vessels ever constructed by the Asgard. The four sh.i.p.s currently under construction would not be ready for several months. That was not true for the Hala though. Outfitted, armed, and provisioned; Hala was destined for the Pegasus Galaxy. Taking her place as the fleet flagship, Hala would be joined with her new commander. Exchanging his O'Neill class for the new vessel, Thor was certain he would be able to better prosecute the Wraith threat. Once complete, her four sisters would join her.

Free from her bonds, Hala rose higher into the atmosphere. Gaining speed as she transitioned from atmospheric flight to interstellar flight, Hala broke loose from Idavoll's gravitational pull. Seconds later, she entered the large hyperspace window tearing open and began her journey towards the commander that would take her bravely into the fight ahead.