"So," Ihaar said, entering the bridge, clapping his hands. "You could say, everything is done."
"And the maneuvering thrusters?" I asked, spinning in the command chair towards the Ancient.
"Um... No," he replied, flustered. "They've fused. So without access to the workshops, I can't do anything."
"The drone launch shaft?"
"Is this some kind of joke?" the senior engineer got angry. "We haven't even started that work! It's pointless in the current circumstances. It requires dismantling half the shaft..."
"All right, all right," I said placatingly, raising my hands. "I just asked, just in case..."
"For what other case?" the senior engineer looked around, puzzled. Noticing smiles on the faces of Teila, Kirik, and Alvar, he threw up his hands.
"Are you mocking me? Was I supposed to fix the consequences of damage in an hour and a quarter that even in a dry dock with a fully trained crew would take a week to fix?"
"Don't react so strongly," Trebal advised him, entering the bridge. "This is what Mikhail calls humor."
"Humor?" Ihaar grimaced. "It doesn't even come close! Humor is..." he paused for a moment. "Tell me: what can't you get from contact with a star's corona, the core of a neutrino generator, and in the tidal current zone of a black hole?"
Alvar, Kirik, and I exchanged glances. Only the trio of Ancients, busy adjusting systems at the consoles, remained indifferent to the question.
"Baked game?" the guardian of Seliza suggested.
"Your entire body cells!" Ihaar looked at us like we were ignoramuses. And not just him...
From the Ancients and even Trebal, there were chuckles.
"Or how about this!" the senior engineer got into a frenzy. "What happens if you keep three Wraiths under microwave radiation?"
"A cold Wraith in burning clothes?" I clarified. "We're familiar with microwaves, after all..."
"No," Ihaar waved his hand. "That's only for the first couple of hours. Then it will die, and by the third day, even the protoplasm from the destroyed cell membranes will evaporate. What are you even taught on your planets?"
"To love good books and be polite," I replied.
"And you, apparently, skipped those classes," Trebal couldn't resist adding her remark. Ihaar smiled.
From the Ancient specialists, barely suppressed "hee-hees" were heard at the level of dying grunts.
"Kirik," I said, deliberately loudly, "remind me next time we find an Ancient ship with a crew in stasis to shoot their giggling gland first, and then resurrect them. Or even better, go to the armory, get a stunner."
"Why?" Teila asked.
"We'll feed these to Koschei, and revive those who respect the person who saved them from a terrible death."
The giggles stopped. Like they were swept away by a gust of wind. Only Trebal hummed meaningfully. Well, you can't easily get to this madam.
"Well, that's great," I smiled, looking at the pain of my carefree days. The senior assistant commander was working with the navigation database. "So, have we finished with the setup, or are we going to wait until another hive, but a super-class one, arrives here?"
"No," Ihaar assured, approaching the engineering console. "I want to get away from here. So, sub-light power?"
"Normal," the first Ancient replied. "Secondary circuit is stable, generators are giving steady readings."
"Excellent," Ihaar clicked the switches. "So-o-o, energy is flowing into the network, it's being received by the emitters... Everything looks great, we can start."
"Start," Trebal replied. "At thirty percent. We'll test the circuit, then increase the power. After that, we'll set course for Atlantis. Are you sure the hyperdrive won't need testing?"
"No, it won't need it," Ihaar repeated. "Everything is fine with it. We've laid a suitable power bus, so the ship is practically in order in this regard. In the worst case, the emergency system will activate, and we'll be ejected into real space along the course."
Alvar and Kirik glanced at me. What about me? I'm just sitting here, waiting for my turn.
Now, repair crews are on duty in the ship's internal compartments, ready to react instantly to changes in the wiring. Their task is not so much to fix possible breakdowns that will be revealed when the engines start, but to manually disconnect the power circuits so as not to allow everything we already have to melt.
"Starting," Ihaar replied. He pressed a few keys, and the ship shuddered. It wasn't that we accelerated instantly, but the tangible effect of the working sub-light engines should have already been felt. "I don't understand..."
"The reactors are working, the circuits are withstanding the voltage, energy is reaching the engine emitters, but..." Ihaar tore himself away from his console, walked over to the first Ancient, looked at some readings on his monitor, then did the same at the second. "I don't understand anything," he muttered. "Power should be going to the engines, but instead, it's going to the shields! There's an energy transfer between systems!"
"The hyperdrive is also not receiving power," Trebal replied. "The ship has received jump coordinates, but it's still not even trying..."
The girl froze, then turned around, looking at me.
"Is this your doing?" she asked accusingly.
"What?" Ihaar emerged from his thoughts. "No, I didn't do the energy transfer, these are command protocols in action... Oh!"
He also looked at me. As did the other Ancients on the bridge.
"Thank you for paying attention to me," I said with a completely stony expression.
"It's hard to do that when the Wraiths are about to arrive, and we're here without engines," Ihaar complained.
"Then it's time to talk about the main thing," I noted, looking directly into Trebal's eyes. "I don't know why you decided you have the right to command my ship, but I advise you to forget about it forever. The fact that you are now breathing my air, walking on my ship, and flying to my city should at least make you think that you've done something wrong in this life..."
"For example – not obeying a Lantiian," Teila said.
"He's not a real Lantiian," Trebal objected, looking at me. She naturally ignored my warning shake of the head. "The shell, yes, but the knowledge and past..."
"Yeah. This is not how I imagined a 'disciplinary moment'."
The Athosian woman cast an interested glance at me. As did Kirik and Alvar.
So we've come to the most interesting conversation since my arrival in this universe.
"What is she talking about, Mikhail?" the Ermen asked.
"So you don't know," Trebal squinted. "It would be interesting to know what story Mikhail made up for you to earn your trust. But in reality, he is not a descendant of Lantians. His consciousness was transferred from another universe, where they know what is happening here, with us. One of the Ascended gave him the body of a Lantiian. That's all. He is no more Ancient than any of you."
"Is that true?" Teila asked. "Mikhail, you are not a descendant of the Ancestors?"
"If you want to know if my parents are those you call Ancients, then no," I replied. "In my universe, I died, and my consciousness was transferred to this body by one of the Ascended. General Hippaphoralkus, after whom this ship was named."
"Which seems even more absurd than you pretending to be an Ancient," Trebal said. "The General would never have violated the rules!"
"You can clarify this with the Ascended," I suggested, unequivocally placing my hand with the pulse pistol on the armrest. "I'm sure that Melia or Ganos Lal, even if with gritted teeth, will confirm it."
"You mean to say that the Ascended communicated with you and allowed you to live?" Trebal smirked.
"Other universes, consciousness transfers..." Kirik muttered. "It's too complicated for me."
"As it is for me," Teila admitted.
"Was my rescue part of what you knew from your universe?" Alvar asked. And as if by chance, he placed his hand on his pistol holster.
"I arrived on Sudaria for the MNT that was stored there," I had to explain. "I knew nothing about you, your people, or your planet until the moment we met at that sinkhole. That's where I got the MNT. Well, then we went to your place, and it all started..."
"Why did you save me?" he asked.
"Similar question," I replied, looking at him. "You helped me, I helped you. It's mutual aid."
"And the two of you needed soldiers," Kirik said. "That's why you saved me and Selise."
"I knew about you and the girl from my universe," I confirmed. "But finding you specifically among the fugitive data was impossible. The fact that we saved you and not someone else is just a lucky coincidence, nothing more."
Kirik nodded after thinking.
"Is the alliance with my people also part of your memories?" Tayla asked.
"In the events known to me, the Athosians were extremely kind and honest allies," I explained. "But at the same time, cooperation with members of the expedition that was supposed to arrive from Earth led to great losses for your people. You were attacked, kidnapped, experimented on... For this reason, since we encountered each other and found our relationship worthwhile, we relocated you to another world. A place where there were no Wraiths, a place where you would be safe."
"Is that why Chaya was talking about a supervolcano?" Tayla asked. "Is that a fabrication? You wanted us to leave Athos so that what happened in your universe wouldn't happen to us?"
"Actually, the supervolcano on Athos isn't a fabrication," Ihaari said. "I helped build the geothermal generator there. So... Wait a minute! What Chaya are you talking about?!"
"Chaya Sar," Kirik said. "She's Mikhail's assistant. Probably from his universe too..."
Ihaari and Trebal exchanged glances. There was something on both their faces...
How irritating the name of the Proculucian was becoming.
"Chaya Sar is not from another universe," Trebal rasped. "She's an Ancient, exiled from our society because she violated the rules and instructions given by the Lantians. A willful, selfish, impatient, ambitious bitch, responsible for some of the biggest failures in the war with the Wraiths! I hoped they executed her!"
"You won't believe it, but she Ascended," I said, forcing a smile. "And then, when the Ascended didn't want to help me, she regained her human form and fought for the survival of Atlantis with me. By the way, she also repaired the ship. And she made sure that the stasis pods on this ship had something to connect to."
"Now it's clear why there were only a hundred connectors for the pods," Ihaari muttered. "She calculated how many pods could be transferred in case Protocol 'Rebellion' was activated."
"Did Chaya know that I would let Koschei take the helm of the ship?" Alvar asked, surprised.
"She suspected he might pull something like that," I said. Trebal's words, if true, explain the real reason why Chaya was so reluctant to associate with other Ancients. "So she created a backup just in case."
"She should be arrested and tried as soon as we return to Atlantis!" Trebal declared.
"That's why we're chatting now," I smiled. "We're not threatened by Wraiths at all, so we can discuss the accumulated issues. And the first one is very simple: the old state and order of the Lantians are gone and will not return."
"Oh, really!" Trebal snorted, signaling the Ancients.
They grabbed their stun weapons...
"Don't even think about it!" Alvar said, aiming two pistols directly at the heads of both technicians.
Tayla kept the frightened Ihaari at bay, while Kirik aimed his weapon at Trebal.
"Calm down, girl," the guardian of Selise advised, indicating with his gaze that she should remove her hand from her holster. "You might be able to kick, but you can't outrun bullets."
"And you serve him, after he deceived you?" Trebal asked, surprised.
"It doesn't paint him in a good light, of course," Tayla said, glancing at me. "But I've suspected for a long time that something wasn't right here."
"At least because there are only two of them," Alvar added. "They don't send a pair to scout from another galaxy, one of whom knows nothing about their own people's technology."
"And I honestly don't care who he is or what he is," Kirik admitted. "He's not a Wraith, he helped get rid of the tracking device in my back, he gave us a place where we can live without fear of Wraiths. That's worth a lot."
"That means nothing at all," Trebal grimaced. "Any of us could have done that upon returning to Atlantis."
"Are you sure you would have returned?" Alvar asked. "Because I'm thinking that without him, you all would still be stuck on that ship, frozen like fish in a glacier."
"That changes nothing!" Trebal replied. "He's not a Lantian!"
"But the chair doesn't think so," I reminded her. "That's why you sat me in it, wasn't it? You wanted to make sure I was as simple as I seemed, didn't you? You were convinced and decided I could be ignored..."
"Senior Engineer, what's happening?" Ihaari's transmitter brooch asked. "Energy is being redirected from the engines to the shields. And the time until the Wraiths arrive is shrinking."
"It's dangerous to constantly divert energy to damaged shield projectors," one of the Ancients on the bridge said. "The emitters could burn out, and then we won't be able to protect the hull at all..."
And that's exactly what needs to be done for my plan to complete the journey of the "Hippaphoralkus" not to end in tragedy.
The fact is that all races that have shields to protect their ships use them as ovoids with a three-dimensional coating. An ovode, if my memory serves me correctly.
Inside such an ovode is the ship or any other object that needs protection.
The Ancients' ship shields on combat vessels, however, do not have a simple and uniform geometric shape. On the contrary, they envelop the hull at a distance of up to fifty meters from the plating. Inefficient on one hand, because it consumes more energy.
But there's a nuance.
The shields of the Ancients' combat ships not only reflect external attacks – they also prevent the hull inside the shield from experiencing overloads caused by gravitational distortions. Considering that the Ancients' starships often surpass all others, it's not surprising that it was simply disadvantageous for them to make the shields even larger.
This does not apply to city-ships, as they have a standard (almost) shield shape. But the Ancients have their own reasons for this, actually... A voluminous shield cannot hold air, gravity, or the hull from destruction, as it is far enough from the hull and a possible breach in it.
But the Ancients' shields can do all of this.
Yes, there are some inaccuracies and loopholes in the logic of all this, but I'm sure they can be easily closed if one studies energy, physics, shipbuilding, and a hundred other sciences from the Ancients' textbooks a little.
"So, time is ticking," I summarized. "Here and now, Trebal, we must decide one simple question: do you submit to me, or do you go your own way? I will not give you the ship, nor Atlantis, nor anything else from the Lantian legacy. You yourself know – genetically, I have more in common with the Lantians than any member of your team. And the structures won't care what knowledge I have in my head – only the presence of Lantian genetics matters. And I have it. Unlike you."
"Is this an ultimatum?" she asked.
"Yes," I simply replied. "Either you submit to me, or..."
"You'll feed us to the Wraiths?" Trebal clarified.
"I have enough problems without having to look over my shoulder, waiting for you to stab me in the back," I explained. "Honestly, you should be thrown in the brig or killed as the instigator of the rebellion. Without a leader, I think Ihaari and the rest of the crew won't behave so brazenly, ignoring me..."
The girl flinched. Barely noticeably, but still.
"However," I continued, "before throwing me out of the virtual environment, the captain asked me to take care of you. And I intend to fulfill his request."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because I respect him," I explained. "He clearly didn't sacrifice himself for us to tear each other's throats out. I think he understood that even if the entire crew came back to life, it wouldn't make your fate any easier. You yourself said – without a Lantian, the technology won't work at its planned maximum. I think the captain understood this better than anyone. Why you, a human who served alongside him for so long, haven't adopted his habits and point of view is a mystery to me."
"How do you know how long we served with him?" Trebal asked.
"In the events known to me, the expedition from Earth, which arrived at Atlantis after obtaining the ZPM, found the 'Aurora' in sleep mode," I explained. "This would have happened a year later than what I did. And the 'Aurora' transmitted its coordinates for almost half a year until people found the right button and understood what was going on. When they arrived, it turned out that the Wraiths had killed you," Trebal darkened. "They pulled you out of the pod, drained you, and then interfered with the virtual reality, making the crew forget it even existed. And they were extracting information from the captain through your copy on how to modernize the hyperdrive. The crew did this to reach Atlantis faster and deliver a message about the Wraiths' technological weaknesses. In reality, the Wraiths were gaining Lantian knowledge on how to improve their hyperdrives. In the events known to me, the captain had to blow up the 'Aurora' with the entire crew, as there was no chance of saving the crew, and the Wraiths were approaching."
"And why would the Wraiths need that?" Trebal asked. "To learn how to modernize the hyperdrive."
"Because the Earthlings revealed to the Wraiths that they came from another galaxy," I replied. "They revealed that there are billions of people on Earth. And in the Milky Way – thousands upon thousands of planets with equally dense populations. Can you imagine how the Wraiths' mouths watered?"
"That would make sense if the Wraiths weren't in hibernation, as they are now," Tayla said.
"And the Earthlings woke them up," I said. "Athos was the first planet the Earthlings came to when they found themselves in this galaxy. This should have happened about six months ago."
"Just during the Great Gathering," Tayla realized.
"Some Earthlings were captured by the Wraiths, just like you, Tayla," I continued. "The Wraith Queen learned about Earth, the Milky Way, and so on from the Earthlings. Later, when the Earthlings killed the queen, she awakened all the Wraiths in the galaxy."
"A massacre would have begun," the Athosian shivered.
"And it did begin," I continued. "The Earthlings tried to fight the Wraiths. They created a retrovirus that could suppress everything in the Wraiths except human genes, but it didn't work..."
"And it couldn't have worked!" Ihaari declared. "Their genetic structure is very resistant to change..."
"As a result, hybrids of humans and Wraiths appeared," I narrated, looking into Trebal's eyes. "Stronger than humans, but no longer needing to feed on humans. And, as the basis of their army, the hybrid leader used your people, Tayla."
"Oh, Ancestors," the shocked Athosian whispered.
"Why them specifically?" Trebal asked. "Why not other human races?"
"There must be something special about the Athosians, for them to be chosen," Ihaari muttered, looking at Tayla. "But you have degenerated... The genetic code couldn't have evolved so quickly under Wraith attacks..."
"What do you and Kanan have in common, Tayla?" I asked.
The girl blushed.
"We both lost loved ones during the Wraith selections..."
"And you can also sense the approach of Wraiths," I added.
"How did you know?" she asked, becoming wary. "That's our secret, and we don't talk about it."
"Knowledge of his universe," Trebal stated. "You could have guessed, if you weren't so primitive!"
Ihaari and the other Ancients gave her disapproving glances. It's interesting... She's not such an indisputable authority for her own people. Excellent.
"Commander," Kirik addressed me. "Can I shoot this bitch in both knees?"
"A little later," I said. "Perhaps it will teach her to show more respect to people who crossed half the galaxy to save her."
Trebal may have messed up my plans, but in fact, her behavior only turned even her own people against her.
I need to continue in the same vein.
"Why can they sense the approach of Wraiths?" Ihaari asked quietly, glancing at Tayla. "The Lantians developed complex scanners for this, but it's impossible to instill such a trait in a human without..."
He stopped, looking at the girl with a surprised gaze. And he backed away as if she might pounce on him.
It seems he, and the other Ancients, understood what was going on.
"It's not my secret," I interrupted their race to be smart. "If Tayla wants to, she'll tell us..."
"There's a legend that some Athosian ancestors came from another world and brought this ability with them," she said. "It made them useful so others could hide... But they were unsociable, so they were feared, and sometimes even killed."
"I won't go to the Athosians to build anything anymore," Ihaari muttered. "They might consider me unsociable and slaughter me like livestock!"
"And there's a reason for that!" Trebal said. "You clearly have Wraith DNA!"
"What?" Tayla asked, confused.
"Otherwise, it's impossible to achieve," the senior assistant cut off, looking at me. "Her ancestors were genetically modified, turned into Wraith detectors? Perhaps one of the younger races..."
"Wraiths," I said, seeing the panic in the Athosian's eyes. "The Wraiths did it. They wanted to implant genes in humans so they would be more 'tasty' for feeding. Only, other Wraiths didn't like it, and they killed the experimenters. And the humans were able to spread out."
"And passed on their updated genetic makeup to subsequent generations," Trebal mused.
"And..." Alvar looked at the Athosian. "Tayla, you don't want to put your hand on someone's chest and... well, you know..."
"What?" Emagan gave her comrade a murderous look. "I'd rather kill myself than feed on any human!"
"She won't turn into a Wraith on her own," I said, dispelling the Ermen's fears. "But with proper development of her gift, she might even connect to the Wraiths' mental communication channels, take control of them..."
"On her own," Trebal seemed to come alive. "You said 'on her own.' Does that mean she can become a Wraith?"
"In the events known to me, genetic therapy was used for this," I explained. "In some cases, it was even beneficial..."
"We can use this!" Ihaari exclaimed. "We'll make her our own Wraith instead of Koschei. And she'll revive the crew..."
"I will not become a Wraith!" Tayla shouted back. "Among my people, they kill for even thinking about cooperating with Wraiths!"
"Enough," I commanded, raising my voice. "No one is going to turn anyone into a Wraith. The knowledge of the future is given to avoid the mistakes made by the Earth expedition..."
"By the way, where is she?" Alvar asked. "You said she came to Atlantis. But we didn't see anyone there except you and Chaya."
"That's why I'm here. The expedition was supposed to reach the city, but it didn't happen. Something is happening in the Milky Way. Something that destroyed the Ascended there. And this something is very similar to a weapon created by an Ascended, Moros," the Ancients exchanged glances again, "to fight the Ancients' very ancient enemies."
"Orai," Ihaari whispered. "Have they finally found their way here?"
"No one knows," I said. "All the Ascended who went to the galaxy didn't return. Either they died, or they decided not to return... In any case, it's a mystery shrouded in darkness. And the Ascended asked me to deal with it. But it's very difficult to do on a malfunctioning Atlantis, a crudely repaired starship, or without additional ZPMs..."
"You can't reach Earth on any ship from the Lantian fleet," Trebal said. "Even the newest hyperdrives used on the latest models are not intergalactic. They'll burn out faster than they can cross interstellar emptiness..."
"But they can be modified," I reminded her of what I had said.
"Yes, if we had an educated Lantian," Trebal countered. "Possessing the relevant knowledge..."
"Or if there was a team of specialists capable of repairing Atlantis, which definitely has such an engine," I continued.
"I'm not going to fly to the Milky Way," Trebal cut off. "And I won't allow anyone from my people to break the rules! The Lantians clearly stated that the road there is forbidden to us. To us, and to them, and to our descendants."
"Why?" Tayla asked, interested.
"Before the Ancients came to Pegasus, they fled from a plague that was killing them in the Milky Way," I explained. "Apparently, for this reason, they are afraid to return. However, I'm not in a hurry to go there either. I like it here, the city suits me, and I intend to regain control of the Ancients' technology. Therefore, listen to me carefully, dearie," our gazes met. "This is the last time I'll repeat myself twice. Either you are with me – and serve me unconditionally, or upon arrival home, you try your luck in another part of the galaxy. Without Atlantis's help, without its technology, without data, and so on..."
"I don't want to rush the answer, but in a minute the Wraiths will be here," Ihaari said, looking at Trebal. "Maybe we should get out of here first, and then decide who's in charge?"
"No," I cut off. "We decide here and now. I won't drag those I can't trust into my city."
"Forty-five seconds," one of the Ancient technicians whispered.
"Think, Trebal," I said. "What's more important to you – indulging your own ego, or taking care of our people? After all, just a couple of hours ago, you were ready to kill me to save the captain... Only him, though. The other nineteen members of the bridge watch weren't mentioned as often in your speeches..."
The girl glared at me. She clearly didn't like the idea of submitting to someone who was better than her solely based on genetics. And it wasn't even my own merit...
"Just lock her in the brig already!" Ihaari exploded. "Twenty seconds and there will be a super-hive here! I am responsible for my people and their safety! If Trebal's ego prevents her from thinking about everyone, then I'm removing her from command of the crew, as the next in rank among those conscious! I can guarantee that the rest will serve you, Mikhail! For us, saving our lives means a lot, considering that your beloved Lantians, Trebal, abandoned us to die! Mikhail, you and I are on the same side! We all," he gestured to the Ancients present on the bridge. "Everyone you saved."
"Is that so?" I looked at the other Ancients. They silently nodded in agreement. "Well, I'll believe you about the rest..."
But it doesn't mean I won't keep an eye on you.
Canceling the energy redistribution command, I heard a sigh of relief from Ihaari and the other Ancients.
"Energy is going to the engines, Senior Engineer," they reported from the transmitter brooch. "We're accelerating, the hyperdrive is working..."
An energy cloud appeared in front of the "Hippaphoralkus," and the starship plunged into it, heading home.
"Let's say," Alvar said, lowering his weapon from the other Ancients. He nodded towards Trebal. "What do we do with her?"
With one hand, the senior assistant touched the buckle on the left side of her waist. The belt with the holster and weapon fell to the deck.
"Can I ask for a private conversation?" she asked me.
"Crazy bitch," Ihaari grumbled, fixing his gaze on one of the monitors. That's how he avoided Trebal's angry glare.
"Shall I just shoot her?" Kirik suggested.
"A little later," I said, stepping down from the command chair. "First, we'll talk with her alone."
Approaching Trebal, I took the Ancient by the elbow. Leaning slightly towards her head, I whispered:
"Just try to pull any tricks..."
The girl looked at me intently, then replied in the same whisper:
"Would I have provoked all this if I wanted to wring your neck, primitive?"
Ah.
You.
Bitch.