Chapter 207

White House

On the second floor of the White House, adjacent to the official Presidential quarters, lay the Treaty Room. Before construction of the West Wing, working offices for the President and his staff were located on the east side of the second floor. The Treaty room has been used as an official waiting room, a Presidential study, the President's office, and as the meeting place for the cabinet members. President's Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant had decided American policy in this room during their time in office. Treaties such as the one bringing an end to the Spanish-American War and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty had been signed within these hallowed walls.

The walls were adorned in a palette of deep greens, burgundy and gold. This, along with the other fixtures present in the room, was there to pay tribute to a horrific day in American history. This tribute came in a close recreation of the room Abraham Lincoln was taken to and died in, in a house opposite Ford's Theater.

Seated comfortably in the room, a collection of leaders was once again hard at work hammering out the future of a Treaty already enforced, but not existing on paper. President Hayes, Penegal of the Asgard, Dorin of the Furling, Opher of the Nox, and Melia of the Ancient's were busy at work discussing amendments to the Protected Planets treaty. As the others present in the room were members of the Five Races, the Secret Service detail had been ushered into the hall.

"So we're in agreement on the addition of Unas occupied worlds to the Treaty?" Hayes asked.

"I believe we are Mr. President." Dorin replied.

"As a species that shows promise of further development, we are all in agreement." Penegal answered.

"We are pleased to see the worlds of the Pegasus Galaxy also being added. While these planets are already being protected by the forces of Earth and of the Asgard, the symbolic gesture of adding them to this agreement is one my people welcome." Melia explained.

"Though vessels stand guard over the many worlds in Pegasus, a threat still exists that must be overcome." Dorin added.

"Through combined fleet efforts, we have pushed the Wraith to a distant corner of the galaxy. Despite this, more is required for a final victory. Worlds that refused the introduction of safe harbor with the aid of Furling technology even now continue to be culled with catastrophic results." Penegal continued.

"When we first began collecting intelligence from the nanites introduced to the Wraith, we had promising results. Sadly, that information source is not continuing to pan out as we had hoped. My experts are not really sure as to the why." Hayes stated.

"We have gone over the nanite performance logs in great detail, and believe we can answer that question. Information continues to flow from low-level soldiers up to Wraith commanders. The Queen that was infected is the first obstacle. Wraith Queen physiology differs from that of a soldier or commander." Melia explained

"Doctors McKay and Zelenka theorized that might be the case. Our Wraith friend Todd also suggested as much. The unknown variable in that is that for a few short hours, the nanites infecting the Queen did seem to gain a bit of traction within." Hayes countered.

"That is because she was weakened. We believe that the vital sign information transmitted from those nanites suggests the Queen was being fed upon by another Wraith. Only one exists with the strength to overpower and feed from a Queen." Melia continued.

"The Harbinger." Dorin stated.

"My question to that is how was he not infected as well? It is my understanding that the Queen was infected after feeding upon an infected Wraith. Is it a safe bet that he would have been infected in this manner? We're showing no information from any nanites that might have been transferred to him though." Hayes stated.

"His physical makeup is hardier than even a Queen. Ten thousand years ago, we managed to introduce nanites to the Harbinger to no avail. It was then that our scientists discovered that infection of he and those like him was not just unlikely, but impossible utilizing the nanites as designed. His regenerative abilities far outweigh those of a Queen, meaning that event direct large scale trauma upon him will have little effect." Melia expanded.

"Did your scientists have any theories about how these abilities came about?" Penegal asked.

"They did, and they will not lend much in the way of assistance in defeating him. Several of our geneticists and biologists theorized that these three unique Wraith were the result of Iratus DNA and RNA integration with the genetic code of a Lantean near ascension. Computer simulation suggested that this could lead to the types of abilities the Harbinger and his kin posses." Melia explained.

"This isn't to say he is unbeatable, just more difficult to defeat." Dorin interjected.

"General O'Neill along with the Joint Chiefs feel that the most logical course of action is to not focus on the Harbinger alone, but to continue our efforts to diminish the overall Wraith fleet. I'm inclined to agree with them." Hayes stated.

"As is Supreme Commander Thor. We feel that continued fleet interdiction and harassment will continue to pay great dividends." Penegal replied.

"Then we stay the course. It has worked so far, and worked well. If it isn't broken, why fix it?" Hayes asked rhetorically.

"In combat actions against both the Goa'uld and Ori, small teams from the SGC worked to great effect. Might I suggest adding that ingredient to our efforts recipe?" Penegal suggested.

"The Joint Chiefs feel the same way. Orders for that have already gone out." Hayes replied.

The conversation continued for another hour as plans for the coming weeks and months were laid out. When all was in agreement, Hayes picked up a phone to notify his Chief of Staff that they were ready for the signing ceremony. Moments later, functionaries from the State Department, along with the official White House photographer entered the room. Putting pen to parchment, the representatives of the Five Races signed and brought into being the newly expanded Protected Planets Treaty. Capturing the event in photo format, the photographer smiled in the knowledge that someday these pictures would grace a Presidential Library.