It's hard to pick words to convey passing through the gate... Possibly the fact that I saw this multiple times on screen, that I knew about the device's reliability, that... Possibly that some-no kind of but experience allowed me not to scream with joy at how before my eyes the bluish puddle of Atlantis Stargate turned into a green field flooded with light of a distant planet.
Out of the corner of my eye I managed to notice standing at a distance and slightly to the side from the gate the standard dialing device "mushroom"... But the jumper, moving straight, at mad speed rushed into the distance.
Stargate on planets of the Pegasus galaxy.
Having slightly pulled the steering wheel towards myself, I felt how the ship vibrated, raising its front part up. Through the windshield I could see approaching snow-white clouds, as well as the welcoming sky...
Having prayed that nothing happens and no one sees my appearance from the gate, I closed my eyes to concentrate.
First thought to fly around the planet in orbit so that the sensors could search everything much better. But then realized that I have neither time nor desire to get into space simply.
And yes, I was afraid that the technology lying ten thousand years without maintenance will still decide to present itself to its technical god. Falling from a height of a couple hundred meters is still more pleasant than from thirty-forty kilometers. It will hurt, but in the first case the chances to survive seemed greater.
I would now become invisible and learn more about this planet... Would be quite good, honestly.
The jumper is really extremely tolerant to human stupidity machine. If you think about it, reacting to my thoughts excited by the flight and being on a new planet, the ship could do anything. Turn off engines, for example, or shoot from onboard weapons...
Either way, nothing out of the ordinary happened.
The jumper activated the camouflage field that hid it both from various sensors and from curious eyes. I understood this by some sixth sense and looked straight ahead.
Projections on the windshield, you say? Yeah how far automakers are from what I see now.
The virtual screen unfolded from the inside of the ship porthole was dotted with numerous marks.
This is how the pilot's cabin in a jumper looks and the virtual screen.
In one part of the projection I could see a schematic image of the planet on which I ended up. Cute planet.
Slightly larger than mother Earth in size, it nevertheless had a vast ocean washing two continents. One — the size of earthly Australia, and judging by the sandy landscape — just as desert as its prototype.
But the second continent...
Eurasia compared to it — just a child's toy. Massive, it covered the entire northern hemisphere of the planet, crowning it with a giant ice cap. And only much south, in seven-eight thousand kilometers from the equator, the landscape changed to vast plains interspersed with low rocks and hills. Full-flowing rivers, at the sight of which any native of the once union state would immediately dub them Dnieper-1, Dnieper-2 and so on by list, carried their waters through the entire earth's firmament, flooding numerous lakes, compared to some Baikal or Caspian nervously smoke aside.
But in the second... This I really didn't like.
"Hive ship," coughing, I pronounced, staring at the image on the left part of the virtual screen.
Having wandered my gaze over the screen, I saw a multitude of points scurrying over the planet's surface. This, I suppose, are Wraith fighters nicknamed Darts.
Things... I don't like what's happening.
"They should be in hibernation," I muttered, directing the ship farther from the cluster of Darts. And it's not easy to choose such a spot — the planet literally swarms with Wraith.
I suppose a gathering is happening.
While the masked jumper was getting farther away, I could only rejoice that the camouflage system, like the other parts of the ship, functions as it should. If the Wraith detected me... It would be very and very bad.
But the man-eating beings' ship was on the opposite side of the planet. And I'll hope that their technologies are not so perfect to detect me right after exiting the gate.
Strange that the gate work at all... I remember the Wraith activated them during their attack on people to not let the attacked world's population escape. No matter how wonderful the Ancients' technology is, you can't go back and forth through the gate when activated. You can set either outgoing or incoming hyper tunnel — in any case travels are possible during activation only from point A to point B. Otherwise it doesn't work.
As far as I remember, at the time of the expedition's appearance in the galaxy, the Wraith should have slept for many more years. Earthlings became the reason they woke up. And an incredible multitude of thirsting human "food" aliens pounced on planets throughout the galaxy.
And until now I thought that the phrase "Wraith in hibernation" meant that their ships are on planets, and all gatherings happening are carried out through the gate exclusively by Darts. Turns out I was wrong.
"And this is completely not good," I muttered, seeing that towards the gate a good dozen fast red marks are heading. Seems today I'm unlucky — the Wraith detected me and sent Darts to find out what's what. Bad, very bad.
Through the camouflage field they can't see or detect me, but I have no time to land somewhere and wait until they get tired of searching for something. Good if the Wraith just saw a mark on scanners. Very bad if they determined that it was an Ancient ship.
For ten thousand years in this galaxy Ancient ships don't move freely. And the Wraith know this perfectly — they contributed to this. Direct participation, so to speak.
The jumper has weapons — drones, self-guided "missiles" of Ancient production. But first, there are only about ten of them, maybe a dozen. Enough to destroy maximum similar number of Darts. And that if I'm a damn good shooter and pilot too. Second, even with all desire I can't destroy the main threat with such arsenal — the Hive ship.
Or can I?
Had to rummage in memory to recall everything I know about Wraith flagship ships.
Hive ship. Not an imperial star destroyer, of course, but it can deliver so many problems, oh mama..
If speaking simplified, the Hive ship is a synthesis of a space aircraft carrier on board which a huge number of fighters and other small ships like Wraith shuttles or something similar. The Wraith live and fly on these ships. As well as feed.
Wraith starships have no shields like the one saving Atlantis from flooding. But their ships. Like all technology have organic nature. Essentially this is a huge flying capable of interstellar jumps in hyperspace and flights in normal space ecosystem. Only with a huge crew — I think under a thousand Wraith of all stripes on Hives still are, energy cannons and unified view on any human. Food. We for the Wraith are no more than food.
But not in the classic sense, meat-bones-fat. The Wraith feed on something like human life force. Such anti-scientific parasites that in one "sitting" can age a nineteen-year-old youth to a mummy state. Thanks to such "feeding" method the Wraith possess incredible regeneration and longevity. In the series, despite ten thousand years passed since the war with the Ancients, many Wraith remembered those times.
Despite their size, Hive ships can enter the planet's atmosphere and land. Actually, I thought that during hibernation they land on secret planets where no one bothers them. And the Wraith sleep with one goal — allow their human herd to multiply. Everyone loves to eat...
On Hive boards there are special chambers in which prisoners captured on planets are kept. Naturally, they are kept until the Wraith on ships decide to snack on "provisions for afternoon tea." And then comes the turn of those not "sucked" immediately.
The jumper, following my thoughts, highlighted on the Hive ship scheme gun ports, marching engines, hyperdrive, sensors... And the longer I looked at all this, the more clearly I understood: nothing shines for me here.
"The most adequate idea would be to get out of here," I suggested the idea to myself. And cautiously directed the jumper back to the gate.
Already in ten seconds I understood that this is completely not the best of options to resolve the situation. Seems the Wraith decided to eliminate the gap in their tactics — the gate are open for passage from Sudaria... somewhere. To other gate on orbit of some planet, to a planet swarming with Wraith, to a trap from which can't escape or in principle to the Hive ship board (in the series there was such) — any of the options is disgusting.
But already in a second I understood that I was wrong in my assumptions. Not an outgoing but an incoming tunnel is open.
Through which one after another into the sky of Sudaria slipped another five Darts, wedge rushing into the sky. Ugu, the camp goes to the sky, and my plans fly under the tail of the cat.
Dart is a very fast, maneuverable and armed with energy weapon biotecnological small Wraith ship. Essentially — a copy of the jumper, but due to Wraith backwardness not so perfect. No shields, no camouflage, but excellent aerodynamics allowing it to act both in space and atmosphere equally effectively.
On board there is a dialing device like on the jumper, and means any of the "Darts" is able to open the gate and prevent me from flying away from here.
Besides on board each "Dart" there is a device allowing to penetrate through walls and ceilings dematerializing or vice versa materializing objects and organics. Thus the Wraith collect people — fly over them on "Darts" and turn into pure energy stored in special buffers on board. After which on their Hive or base dematerialize the cargo and get people back. Usually due to technology impact unconscious and unable to defend.
Very convenient and devilishly thought out.
Wraith Darts.
I suppose the Wraith called for reinforcements. Because these five "Darts" don't hunt people — they don't fly to villages that I notice on my scanners. They land soldiers and officers right next to the place over which I activated my camouflage.
And okay only these five...
A good dozen "Darts" returned to the Hive ship after which returned and landed next to the gate more and more new Wraith. I think there are already a couple of companies of them here.
And means problems only increase exponentially. Need to think realistically — if I fall into Wraith hands, they'll first interrogate me in the best traditions of mental mages from fantasy books, then coming to Atlantis eat me. After which can only envy everyone around.
And if conditional "all" didn't worry me much, then about my own skin I wanted to take care so that it stayed with me until deep old age. Consequently, better not commit rash actions. Including attacks on the "Hive," "Darts" and Wraith in particular are postponed.
Lovers to feast on human life were tightly connected to each other by telepathy and could easily transmit mental messages to each other at short distances. I know for sure that queens standing at the head of any Wraith group in the Hive and officers could do so — by the way, so I dubbed the male Wraith who don't wear face masks. They are something like commanders, scientists, advisors to queens... In any case I extremely didn't want to get acquainted with any of them.
Yes, I have weapons, have a personal shield, but... One against several hundred? Sure I can finish off some Wraith. But others will come after them. And the shield, weapon will discharge sooner or later. When exactly I don't know, no time to study technologies properly — all thoughts occupied ideas how to get here.
And now on the contrary how to get away. Desirably — with ZPM. It will be completely ideal if I don't drag Wraith to Atlantis with me and don't become the reason they all wake up. If of course haven't woken up yet.
Need a good plan.
Wraith officer — in the center. Wraith soldiers... Started wearing face masks even before it became mandatory.
The original plan seemed ideal to me.
No, I didn't intend to do as it happened in the series: arrive on the planet, get to know the locals, study their legends about the "Treasure of Quindozium," he is ZPM, break my head over riddles, after which get to the dungeon and find it. Well, and then blunder, get into trouble, almost lose the device, recapture it, rejoice... And still lose it.
I adhered to another philosophy.
Find a settlement similar to a fortress in which the plot developed, after which scan its surroundings to find the underground storage in which the ZPM was hidden. Yes, there was a probability that the dungeon would be hidden from scanners, otherwise the Wraith would have found it over all this time. But recalling that they rarely paid attention to what is hidden underground if no energy traces come from there, this is unlikely. The ZPM, let it be a battery with a huge power reserve for various devices, but it was here ten thousand years. And the Wraith visited the planet but found nothing. Means there's a chance.
More precisely was. Because I planned to blow up with drones the upper part of the dungeon, descend there, take the ZPM and get away before the locals react to the explosion roar or something else.
The plan was good... But I didn't assume the appearance of Wraith here in principle. Yes, should have thought that since some time passed since the supposed appearance of the expedition, the situation on planets changed, but... Hive ship⁈ A bunch of Wraith on the planet⁈
No, life didn't prepare me for this.
I led the "jumper" farther from the Wraith cluster and began observing them. Doesn't look like they're looking specifically for the ship.
The infantry spread through the forest, advancing in small detachments of four-five Wraith led by a commander. Most "Darts" continued hunting for people, while the rest patrolled over the forest...
As if looking for something.
A bad premonition stirred in me.
Something or someone? Possibly someone from locals managed to escape to the forests, and now the Wraith hunt for them. But... Several companies of soldiers against local peasants who haven't heard of machine guns? Doesn't add up...
And then on the jumper's virtual screen one "Dart" mark disappeared, then the second...
***
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