And what, pray tell, did I hope for when I forbade Chaya to work during her recovery? Logically, that the Ancient would obey, rest, and not get into trouble.
I realized how wrong I was on the tenth trip from Ermen in the next 24 hours. As soon as I emerged from the "puddle" of Atlantis's stargate, I immediately saw the Proculucian standing on the balcony of the command center.
If Alvar had been with me, he would have undoubtedly said something ironic about it. But the Ermen remained on his homeworld – coordinating the Athosians' actions in the matter of plundering the Capital.
And I, for now, was performing courier duties, transporting stolen goods honestly from one planet to another.
My index finger rested on a small black "drop," going into my ear canal, I inquired:
"I should have guessed you'd sabotage the order."
"That's just my nature," the girl repeated the movement, activating her wireless headset.
It was little different from what was used on Earth in my time. However, it was produced on Ermen. And yes, it came with an amplifier radio, with a built-in charging port for the communication device.
In fact, it's a wireless earbud paired with a microphone, and with tactile control. Nothing new for me, but for Alfar, it was one of the latest technologies. For the Athosians, it was a gift from the gods.
But Chaya, having received one, only lamented that it would take some time to improve it and integrate it into the city's general communication system. Simply so that the material from which Atlantis was built would not reduce the reception and transmission radius of information. But these are technical details.
"And aren't you afraid that our prisoners will find a way to escape?"
"Even if they are smart enough to get out of the cells, I've re-coded the lock in each individual box in the brig," the Proculucian informed. "If the cells open, but there is no confirmation by scanning the genes of the Ancients, then the life support system will suck out all the air from there in ten seconds. Well, and a warning signal from Atlantis's central computer will appear on my and your scanners."
Recalling the thickness of the walls in the prison section, I considered the solution acceptable. And I also thought about how we lack trusted people to populate the city. For the umpteenth time, I was considering searching for any ancient ships that could fly, but then I remembered that I had no idea how to get to each of them.
And yes, the only suitable vessel for these purposes was on a planet whose name (surprise, surprise) did not match any in the database. To keep Chaya busy with something truly useful in her condition, I shared with her some of my thoughts on how to find the planet we needed.
And while we were transporting the necessary items, she was busy sifting through the database. However, searching by categories like "supervolcanoes," "outpost," "geothermal energy" turned out to be not very useful. The city's computer simply gave two thousand addresses. Which needed to be checked. Even if we act one by one, it will take a lot of time.
And besides, I can imagine what the repair of that single ship, which we can find with minimal problems, will cost us. Of course, if they are still alive...
"Then, go up to the hangar," I suggested. "We'll take another 'jumper' and go."
The delivery mechanism for honestly plundered property remained the same: thanks to Alvar, the Athosians found and carried it out, but already to the surface of the planet. There we loaded them into the jumper, stuffing it with everything necessary (and nothing else was here). Then followed a flight to Atlantis, a change of "jumper," a new loading, and so on indefinitely.
Well, not indefinitely – until all the "jumpers" were loaded. Then it was time for unloading.
Usually, Teyla would go with me on the second-to-last loaded ship to Atlantis. I would take the sixth "jumper," and she would unload at least half of one of the occupied ones. Yes, we could have called someone from the Athosians to help her, but the sobering encounter with the Jenai reminded me that among any people there can be their spies.
Bringing them here, only for them to reveal the location and everything they saw, was not something I particularly wanted. These bastards could have come up with something worse.
However, in any case, the idea of populating Atlantis needed to be accelerated. I had several options, but... They all boiled down to searching for the right ship. And there aren't many of them around us. Yes, there's a Wraith cruiser, right nearby. I think it can be raised and repaired. But only a Wraith can control it, like many other high-tech life-suckers. Or a human with Wraith genes. That's why I decided to contact the Athosians – there are several such individuals among them.
So far, the most optimal way to replenish our ranks is to rely on Teyla, who promised to select the most loyal Athosians. At least a small security staff in the city is still needed. I would even say it's vital. But turning Athosians into soldiers is... Well, it won't work out with bullets. At least not in the near future.
"Are there Jenai on the planet?" Chaya asked.
"Yes," I admitted reluctantly, launching a new ship. "From the 'jumper', I detected several groups near the Capital, they probably came after Tyrus's group disappeared. We killed a couple of them. And took back what they stole."
"Information carriers?"
"Unfortunately not. Only weapons. Not to mention that the enemy blew up several storage facilities when they realized we would soon capture them."
"I see," Chaya said.
The girl moved away from her dresses and now wore an Ermen uniform. Even with protective elements. Now we look more like a team. Even Teyla and Alvar got dressed up. In fact, that's what we're plundering for.
"So, I suppose you weren't lying under healing radiation, meditating and enjoying peace," I lowered the "jumper" to the gate level and launched the ship into the waiting "puddle."
"No," Chaya replied just as calmly from the other side. "I was working on our gate problem," she demonstrated a small box studded with transparent crystals inside. "And I made an exception to set up just two addresses from Ermen—Atlantis and New Athos. Any incoming wormholes, as we agreed, will lead to the orbit of Proculus for now."
"In that case, it's time we set up our decoy," I suggested, lowering the "jumper" not far from the gate.
The gate to Chaya's home planet was in space. If anyone were to become interested in Ermen, the most they would get would be a lungful of vacuum and interstellar emptiness as far as the eye could see. The Jenai (and I think they are the only ones interested in the planet besides us) have no spaceships. It's another matter with the Wraiths... But for that, we always have the Athosian sentinels at the gate and in the ruins, who will warn us of the enemy's approach.
"What is that?" Chaya asked, stepping out of the ship, referring to the pile of barrels and numerous crates with unfamiliar markings near the gate.
"Fuel," I explained. "As well as generators, some equipment, weapons, and ammunition. We're sifting it out for the Athosians right away. We don't need the fuel generators and dynamo machines, but the Athosians will find them useful for improving their new settlement."
"There's quite a lot of it here," Chaya looked at me.
"While some are loading the 'jumper' for us, others are preparing a net of cargo for the Athosians," I explained. "Before flying through the gate to Atlantis, I'll unload what our allies need, and then I'll leave. While I'm gone, and especially while unloading, the Athosians will open the gate to their new homeland and send useful cargo there."
"We need more pilots," the girl sighed, approaching the gate's dialing device.
"You understand the risk involved," I said. "And it's not just about pilots. We're lacking absolutely everyone. Including defense for Atlantis. Not just inside, but outside as well. We can only guess when the Wraiths will decide to visit Atlantis. It would be best if our 'Satellite' were already functioning by then. Or even better—a dozen of them."
Chaya opened the control panel, paying no attention to the dozen Athosians watching her actions with interest. They guarded the passage to the gate and monitored the surroundings. All of them, dressed in Ermen uniforms, were our last line of defense in the central square. Several more patrol squads and "pickets" were located in the ruins.
"I've gathered some spare parts from dismantled 'jumpers'," she reported. "I think they'll be suitable for repairing the detected external damage to the satellite. However, without an energy source, repairing it is a waste of time."
"It seems rest is a strange word not only in the Athosian language," said Tayla, who had approached us with a smile. I must say, the uniform suited her like no one else from her people.
"I feel better when I'm working," Chaya reported, replacing a few crystals inside the "mushroom." Well, I thought she was just going to connect the whole box. "It's ready. Now, only the coordinates of New Athos and Atlantis can be dialed from here. And, of course, you can only get here from there."
"Mikhail," Tayla addressed me. "If you don't mind, I'd like to take care of sending cargo to Athos. Besides, we need medicine—many of my people are sick."
"Something serious?" Chaya worried.
"Take what you need," I allowed. The medicine we delivered to Atlantis and plan to deliver is enough for hundreds of years. True, a significant portion of the medicine left is more related to field medicine. But there are also quite a few "general" medicines in stock. "But Chaya is right, if it's something serious."
"No more than a bad cold," Tayla said. "While we were settling into the new place, many got sick in the cold. I think a little medicine and warmth in the new houses will quickly get everyone back on their feet."
"New... houses?" I asked.
"Yes," Tayla pointed to two dozen large crates. "These are inflatable houses. Alvar said they used them for field camps. Inside each small house, several dozen people can live warmly, and inside the large ones—from a hundred to two. There are panels that heat up when powered by the generators we've already delivered."
"Something like quickly erected structures with heating systems," Chaya understood. "I suspect there are more than just minimal amenities." "Yes, we could use some of those too. We could set up field camps or laboratories for planetary research in them. Like miner camps, for example."
"Alvar allowed us to take everything from two warehouses," Tayla became dejected. Although she didn't show it much, Chaya's words puzzled her. It seemed she had counted heavily on these "houses." And she couldn't be blamed for it—on the new planet, the Athosians had yet to get acquainted with the new climate. It's good that there are no different tyrannosaurs there.
"And he did absolutely the right thing," I assured her. "We've already relocated you to a new planet. So, we should make sure that your life in the new place is no worse than it was in the old one."
"Thank you," Tayla smiled, heading towards another group of arriving Athosians. They were carrying more luxury items of the perished race in huge sacks and bags. I don't know what was inside, and I don't intend to inspect them. After all, we are allies. So, we need to share what we have. We can't "swallow" it all anyway.
"I was thinking about organizing several laboratories outside of Atlantis," Chaya explained her words as we returned to the "jumper." "Experiments with naquadah are not the safest."
"But on the other hand, we have the abandoned Athos," I reminded her. "And the Ancients' outpost on the planet. With a geothermal energy source."
"I thought we would use it for our own drilling rig," the Ancient frowned.
"If we manage to revive the Ermen technologies and build their naquadah generators, then in the short term, we simply won't need to build our own drilling platform," I preferred not to mention how much effort and resources this construction would take. "Especially since one already exists. We just need to resolve the issue with the queen and the ship. And also with the fact that the former can blow up the latter."
"It's very difficult to resist the Wraiths mentally," Chaya said quietly. "Only the Lantians were developed enough for that. And even then, the first generation of Wraiths brought them to their knees. That's why the war immediately went off track—they were able to draw a lot from the Lantians' minds that they used against us."
"It is for this very reason that I am not eager to go to the second planet of the Lanti system," I had to admit. "The Wraith that might still be alive there is clearly one of those that attacked Atlantis. And, therefore, it could be stronger than anything we can handle."
"Wraith commanders are much weaker mentally than queens," the girl said as we approached a huge funnel. At its bottom, people were bustling, piling up the achievements of the dead civilization found in the tunnels. "Their matriarchal social structure is largely built on this."
"And they can exchange telepathic commands with each other," I recalled, landing the ship. "We could get into trouble if that Wraith and the queen contact each other and figure out how to trick us. Only four intelligent beings in a huge city—that's not enough to counter a bloodthirsty monster in terms of strength. Because, if we set up a prison for him somewhere outside Atlantis, there's no guarantee he won't escape."
"The only prison you're sure of is Atlantis's brig?" the Ancient clarified.
"Exactly," I confirmed. "Wherever we turn, it's like we're carrying a suitcase without a handle. We lack people, resources, ships... And without one, you can't get the other... And so on."
"And we're back to the idea that we need more people at least to start with," Chaya sighed. "And we can't get the Lantians, because your plan to bring them back to life involves the Wraith's participation, doesn't it?"
"Yes," I admitted, following the girl out of the ship. "You know, I have an idea how to increase the number of our soldiers. Among those who, in one way or another, hate Wraiths and will never cooperate with them."
"Really?" Chaya became interested. "Unexpectedly. Not even that you came up with such an idea, but that you wanted to share it."
"We agreed to start with a clean slate, didn't you forget?" I clarified, noticing Jensen approaching us. "How are things progressing?"
"Some good, some bad," he admitted. "The Athosians and I have quickly inspected all the small storage facilities in the tunnel network under the Capital."
"Already?" I was surprised.
"I had time," Alvar shrugged. "We encountered Jenai a few times, but we drove them out, and then finished them off. In three places, the bombardment destroyed the tunnels—that's how they got inside."
"So, what about the knowledge repositories?" Chaya asked. "I'd like to examine them."
"Well, follow me," Jensen grinned. "Leave the ship here. Let the Athosians rest at least, they've been working like cursed ones."
"Reasonable."
"What do you think?" Jensen asked after Chaya finished scanning the server rack. For the last ten minutes, she had been examining the structure visually, but there was no sign of enlightenment on her face.
"It's just scrap metal," she sighed. "I'm afraid the Jenai didn't immediately understand what information storage devices of your people looked like. And besides, their method of extracting computer components..."
"Method?" I was surprised. "They just broke out the parts!"
"Well, that's a method too," Jensen reasonably remarked. "Under the capital, almost all storage facilities are in such a state."
"Almost?" Chaya asked.
"In some, everything has been removed quite safely—either the boards were cut at the soldering points, or the fasteners were cut."
The Proculucian took a thin microchip, similar to an Earth one, with two fingers. True, it was just a fragment, but... As soon as Chaya pressed a small plate on the contact group, the element popped out of its slots and was in her hand. The girl looked at us with a skeptical gaze.
"Fifteen seconds," she said. "That's exactly how long it took me to figure out how your ancestors secured the boards. It's not difficult if you've ever removed the system unit cover and seen what's inside."
"Probably soldiers did it," Alvar suggested. "That bunch isn't the smartest."
"I agree," Chaya, reaching her hand inside the server, began to pull something back and forth, then showed us a crumpled piece of metal. A very characteristic piece. "I'm afraid you're mistaken, Alvar. They didn't extract the devices and data. They destroyed them."
After that, she handed the Ermen a flattened, unjacketed bullet.
"An eight-millimeter bullet," he examined the remnants of the ammunition. "Jenai caliber."
"So, if the Jenai were interested in information, why destroy the servers?" Chaya asked aloud.
"Did they have information they didn't need on them?" Alvar suggested.
"I think not for that reason," I replied after thinking. "I think they simply didn't understand what they were dealing with. But at the same time, they saw what we were doing. I suspect the destruction was deliberate."
"Stupid," Chaya said. "Why destroy information if you don't know what's on the server?"
"Because they sent people here, but couldn't contact them," Alvar figured out. "They sent new ones, they saw the bodies, started investigating, reached the tunnels. And then they met us. Yes, that's how we found out they were here—there were shootouts in the tunnels, but then they retreated—we drove them away from the storage facilities."
"And then we started hunting them, and the Jenai decided to take revenge," I summarized. "They realized they couldn't get off the planet and went all out."
"This isn't an army, it's some kind of rabble," Jensen grimaced. "Not defenders, but saboteurs."
"And it's also a great way to cover your tracks," Chaya said. "We can't know what exactly they took from here in terms of information. And we don't know what exactly they destroyed. Therefore, all we know is no more than Tyras's words. And he might not have been the only commander here."
"We can't rule out various options," I said. "There are other cities, other storage facilities."
"And Jenai squads that have surely been there before or are on their way there," Alvar suggested. "I don't think the Jenai wasted their time here after our destruction."
"It's strange that you didn't encounter them after your return," I said. "However, these guys know how to hide."
"We can't rule out the possibility that some of the disks might be with the fleeing squads," Chaya said.
"Yes, and you yourself said that the data might not survive so much time in preservation," Jensen waved his hand. "It seems we're chasing ghosts. It would be completely foolish to spend a lot of time and distract people from unloading to chase Jenai all over the planet, and then find out that they have information about grandma's pie recipes or how to filter water in a river."
"Strange words for someone who recently wanted to kill all the Jenai," I remarked.
"Yes, kill them," Alvar blurted out. "But not chase them like Wraiths after fugitives! How much time will we spend on that? Days? Weeks? I can spend years trying to teach the Athosians to be soldiers. But only a few of them will become so. We had more than forty firefights in the Capital alone. And about a hundred wounded Athosians. Six died from their wounds before we could get them out of here. They are not soldiers. Yes, a militia that knows which way the rifle barrel should be pointed, but certainly not today or tomorrow will they become soldiers. I simply can't be torn between training Athosians and providing assistance here. And, as I understand it, due to the lack of military force, we cannot move forward."
"I think about a month," Chaya said. Seeing our bewilderment, she turned the screen of her scanner to us and explained:
"It will take about that long to scan the planet and find the Jenai," the girl looked sad. "During my last visit, I didn't even think to look at the planet's data. But even if I reconfigure the 'jumper' sensors, increasing their coverage area, even if Mikhail and I are in the air around the clock, it will be very difficult to search a planet like Ermen, which is three times larger than Lantea. Not to mention that improving the systems will lead to a slight increase in energy consumption."
And we're back to the point where our poor ZPM will be giving out energy faster than MMM vouchers were issued. This is an unacceptable cost to track even a thousand Jenai. After all, when we leave here, they simply won't be able to return to their home planet. Whatever they have stolen with them.
"Let's assume we stop tracking them, since we'll take everything necessary from here," I said. "But the fact remains—we need the Ermen research to learn how to make generators ourselves."
"Actually, we just need naquadah," Chaya corrected. "I think I can assemble a few generators myself. But it will be Lantiian technology, so..."
"It's unlikely we'll use them outside the city," I figured out. "But... Do we even need it? At least now."
After a few minutes of silence, we came to the conclusion that was on the surface. What the Jenai took, we can't get back—at least with our current forces. Of course, we could arm all the Athosian males and send them to storm the Jenai homeland, but there's a certain problem. Their philosophy.
If Tayla doesn't understand why people should fight each other when there's a more dangerous enemy who wants to exterminate humanity for their sustenance, how can this be explained to other Athosians? Yes, they understand self-defense—when the Jenai attacked, they defended themselves. Moreover, they first tried to negotiate—those who died were precisely among the lovers of talk. Fighting against Wraiths—no problem. Against humans—only defense.
The most we can get from the Athosians is food and information that they occasionally bring from other planets after negotiations. And, perhaps, they won't mind working in the mines, extracting minerals for us. Yes... It's easier to build an army of robots. But Chaya is categorically against it—she's afraid of anything related to autonomous devices that even remotely perform human-like functions.
It's also impossible to understand exactly what the Jenai took. The bastards made sure that we got only a little of what was in the storage. According to Chaya, it's unlikely anything can be obtained from the fragments—at least if we're not talking about complete knowledge.
And, therefore, we can't just start producing weapons, grenades, mines, ammunition, and so on. We'll have to disassemble samples and recreate their copies through trial and error. It's long, of course, but... We have time.
Besides, we've only just begun to deplete the Capital's reserves, and there are also reserves in other cities. But we haven't gotten to them yet. And we're unlikely to be able to. Alfar knew nothing about the location of storage facilities in other cities, so our only way to find surviving knowledge is to search the ruins there.
However, the need for this disappeared as soon as we flew to these cities. The destruction in the Capital was nothing compared to what we saw in the other two cities. The Wraiths didn't just raze them to the ground—even voids under the ruins couldn't be found. No corridors, no rooms. Only a few basements or miraculously preserved sections of corridors.
"But... why aren't the tunnels under the capital destroyed?" Alvar asked, recovering from the shock of what he saw.
"The stargate," Chaya suggested. "The naquadah contained within, upon detonation, could have damaged the Wraith's starship itself. Therefore, they were more cautious."
No words, only emotions.
Ermen, which seemed to me to be the very "piano" thanks to which we could significantly improve our affairs, turned out to be no more than an aftertaste of a tempting aroma. In reality, we have no knowledge passed down from the Sekkari race, no technologies, no production specifications. There are only reserves, which are valuable, but they can only be replenished by spending a lot of resources on reverse engineering experiments and precious energy.
It wasn't comforting that from the air we were able to detect several more groups of Jenai. Three shells were enough to disperse them, and Mikhail and I participated in tracking and destroying them. But they only had weapons and some Jenai technology with them. Compared to what we received from the Ermen, it's just a joke.
However, we shouldn't despair either.
The goal was initially to get at least something—at least weapons. Now all the available large premises of the central spire on Atlantis are filled with the acquired goods. And it's only a shame that the volumes will only decrease. So, in essence, we should rejoice.
Athosians on a new planet unknown to the Wraiths. We have obtained a large amount of resources, weapons, and much more that will allow us not to spend Lantiian technologies on ordinary needs.
We have obtained the coordinates of naquadah mines and there are realistic possibilities of obtaining energy sources that we so desperately needed. Yes, we didn't get the maximum, we made enemies in the form of Jenai (but this is a prospect for the distant future, as it's unlikely the people of that nation know about our involvement in what happened), but we are still alive, we have become stronger... In a few weeks, we will finish studying the tunnels completely, take everything from the planet that can be useful for studying Ermen technologies, and then we will think about what to do next.
However, I already had one thought about this.
I decided to voice it after all four of us returned to Atlantis. Interestingly, our prisoners didn't even starve during our two days of absence. Tough bastards.
"My people are grateful to you for all that you have done and are doing for us," Chaya assured. "New, albeit temporary, houses, generators, energy, lighting, water desalination plants, weapons, clothing, ammunition, medicine... I don't even know how to thank you. We have never been so sure of the future. Finally, we have stopped fearing the Wraiths and considering ourselves doomed in advance. There is still a lot of work to be done in searching for technologies in the ruins, of course, but more and more of my people, men and even children, are interested in it. We know how to be grateful. As soon as the first harvest ripens on the new planet, you will all be our most welcome guests."
"I am glad that the legacy of my people can help you in some way," Alvar said. "As soon as we sort out our affairs here, I think I will return to training them. From the last storage, we retrieved fifty rocket launchers and a lot of ammunition for them. I think the Wraith 'arrows' will not be so comfortable flying in the sky now."
Yes, MANPADS are a great find. It seems they remembered them as a last resort, because instead of the usual "a little bit of everything," the storage found in the Capital was filled with ammunition and installations for repelling enemy attacks. Judging by the fact that on the surface we found only large fragments of "arrows" and no large nodes or units, the enemy had nothing to "catch" upon impact.
However, there were still a few more storage rooms that Alvar wanted to report on later – they were blocked by passwords and well-armored doors. Not like the one that blocked access to the main vault's servers, but not as simple as the others. There was clearly something valuable there. But, Theyla, who brought this news, would surely be disappointed if we interrupted our traditional evening debriefing and went to profit from what we found. Oh, how I hope it will be a server storage room. Or, for example, generators… Just not uniforms, please. We have so many of them now that we would gladly share them with the Athosians. The three-layered suits with membranes were a "hit" with them. They are certainly better than what they had before.
"There is at least one well-preserved mine on Ermen," I said. "If your people don't mind helping us there, then as soon as we check everything and make sure it's safe, we can invite them to work there."
"Naquadah in the form of ore, and even separated from impurities, enriched, does not emit radiation," Chaya corrected me. "Without directed detonation, it is safe."
"All the better," I sighed. "Well, we've solved some problems. But we've come to the point where we don't have enough soldiers to act on several tasks simultaneously."
"Do you have a suggestion?" Alvar became interested.
"Do you want to poach Sora and Tyrus to your side?" Emagan became interested.
"Say that you don't want to recreate servant replicators again," Chaya implored.
"No," at least not for now. "However, thanks to Alvar, we know that there are soldiers in this galaxy who fight excellently against the wraiths… And they will pay dearly to get rid of the pursuit, get blood, food, and a place where they will always be welcomed with open arms."
"M?" Chaya became interested.
"Nothing even comes to mind."
"You're joking, right?" Jensen clarified. "The vast majority of them are sociopaths and loners."
"That's precisely why I intend to find them," I had to explain. "At least they have no reason to cooperate with the wraiths or any of our other enemies. For example, the Jenai."
"I'd like to know who you're talking about," Chaya admitted.
"Fugitives," I explained. "Since we need soldiers against the wraiths, we won't find anyone better than them."