The San Remo Building
New York City, Earth
Milky Way
The addresses of one forty five and one forty six Central Park West had long been one of the most prestigious addresses in New York. Twenty-seven floors in height, two ornate towers climbed from the buildings large base. The overall aesthetic of the building remained, even after conversion with the rest of the city into a form similar to the replicator built city on Asuras. Known for its captivating views of Central Park, each luxury apartment within the San Remo was highly sought after my wealthy New Yorkers. Famous tenants such as Steven Spielberg, Bono, and Donna Karan at one time called this building home. Very recently, this building had come into new ownership. Along with their more notable purchase of Lockheed Martin, Farrow Marshall Aeronautics now also owned the San Remo in its entirety.
Coming up Central Park West, a midnight emerald metallic green Bentley Continental Flying Spur glided to a silent stop at the front door of the San Remo. From under the buildings entryway awning, the uniformed valet attendant quickly stepped to the curb. Opening the door, the valet graciously welcomed the man in the expensively tailored three-piece suit as he exited the rear of the luxurious vehicle. The man walked briskly towards the gleaming polished twin doors of the building, where another attendant opened them while nodding politely at the new arrival.
Walking through the open door, the suited man entered the buildings opulent lobby. Clad in terrazzo floors, with soft toned marble walls, the lobby was decorated with frosted glass and polished bronze light fixtures. Everything about the lobby spoke of wealth and power. If it had been intended to be a remarkable sight, the designers had succeeded. In the center of the lobby, a member of the buildings extremely fit security team rose, and led the new arrival to one of the elevators.
Stepping into the walnut paneled elevator, the elevator attendant listened to his radio earpiece. From the lobby security desk, the elevator attendant learned his new passenger's destination was the penthouse. Inputting a ten-digit security code into a number pad on the elevators controls, the doors closed. Climbing quickly, the elevator traveled towards the penthouse above. After a forty second trip, the elevator doors opened. Standing there, two muscular and armed security personnel motioned the new arrival out.
Trained and efficient; the two security agents searched the man for weapons. As they did this, anything that could be potentially used as a weapon was taken from him, to include a fountain pen. His cell phone and other electronic devices were also removed. As this transpired, a third guard watched over the process. In the corner of the room, an unseen camera transmitted the process in video to other security officers unseen.
A reason existed for the security precautions that not even the new arrival knew of. As their power declined, two powerful Goa'uld knew that hiding places from the Tau'ri and Tok'ra were rare. During his time on Earth, the pleasures and luxuries of this world had won Ba'al over. Unknowingly, the First World had become a retirement refuge of sorts for former System Lords.
The many clones of Ba'al had indeed been a diversion. One of those clones, in a fit of hunger for power fitting his namesake, had attempted to alter history. That he had failed was the stuff of legend and rumor within the SGC. Instead, Ba'al, the real Ba'al, had been on Earth all along. He knew that in the face of hostile forces charging into the galaxy, he was safest here. In this way, his enemy fought to protect him, which amused Ba'al greatly. Athena, along with Ba'al moved to gather power on this world. At their invitation, Amaterasu secreted herself here aboard a cloaked Tel'tak. In exchange for refuge, she pledged her allegiance to Ba'al. Both Ba'al and Athena dumped their hosts, all too aware that they would eventually be recognized.
Cleared by the outer security checkpoint, the man from the elevator was shown into the penthouse. Stepping through the door, his eyes adjusted to the sunlight coming through the solid wall of windows. Seated in comfortable chairs, two men and a woman took note of the new arrival. Setting down their drinks, only the seated man rose to his feet.
"My dear Senator Strom, always a pleasure." Ba'al began.
"Mr. Ballston, I came as quick as I could." Senator Strom replied.
"You both have other things you could be doing. If you are confused, that means leave, now." Ba'al/Ballston said to the two seated women.
Obediently, the two women stood, and made their way out of the sitting room. Athena said little. Amaterasu did so with a look of annoyance on her face.
"Have you learned what you need yet?" Senator Strom asked.
"No, I have not. In time though, he will become more agreeable. Of that I am certain." Ballston answered.
"If he has not given you the information you require yet, he may not at all." Strom stated.
"Let me worry about that Senator. Has his brother Colonel Sheppard been charged yet?" Ballston asked lightly.
"No." Strom answered simply.
"Why is that?" Ballston asked in annoyance.
"You know who he works for. He is being protected by General O'Neill." Strom replied uncomfortably.
"Ah, O'Neill. A worthy adversary." Ballston said with an amused grin.
"As I am sure you are aware, O'Neill has considerable political connections." Strom expanded.
"Colonel Sheppard must be taken out of play. That is what we need from you." Ballston said plainly.
"I shut down the investigation into his brother's abduction. Just give me more time, and it will be done." Strom said defensively.
"Would O'Neill ask for more time?" Ballston asked softly.
"It will be done. Be patient." Strom urged.
"If you wish to be President, you need to start thinking presidential." Ballston hinted.
"I have the designs you requested. Getting them carried with it considerable risk." Strom explained in his defense.
"Yes, but they mean little without the power source. We need the Arcturus device. For now, I will settle for control of Earth's. David Sheppard can give me the access I need for that control." Ballston explained.
"The lengths you are willing to go for domination of the defense and energy markets is admirable." Strom said, unsure of what else to say.
"If you cannot do as you are told, and deliver as expected, I will be forced to find another Senator." Ballston threatened in friendly tones.
"I will do everything you require. Just remember your end of this arraignment." Strom goaded.
"The presidency. Yes, I know. Now go. I have other matters to attend. Enjoy your flight back to DC." Ballston said in dismissal.
Like an obedient pet, Strom made his way to the elevator. His frustration had flying here for two minutes of conversation was palpable. Swallowing his pride, Strom instead concentrated on his climb towards the presidency and the power he would find there. Ba'al, amused with himself at having subverted a sitting Senator and former head of the IOA, took a sip from his drink. Yes, he did love it here on Earth. Rising to his feet, he walked towards the penthouse library. Stepping through the door, into the room filled with rare first editions, he cast his gaze towards Athena and Amaterasu. As he did so, his eyes flashed gold for a brief moment.
"I assume you listened in." Ba'al stated.
"Humanity is so easy to mold and shape." Amaterasu replied.
"What do you think the former head of the IOA would do were he to find out you were a System Lord once?" Athena asked with mirth.
"Nothing! On this world, greed conquers all." Ba'al replied with a laugh.
The Pentagon, Earth
Milky Way
The within knew the outermost ring of the Pentagon as the E ring. Occupied by senior defense officials, political appointees, and those of considerable rank; E ring offices were coveted for their outward facing windows, views, and larger size. Largest among these coveted office suites was that occupied by the Secretary of Defense. Secretary Landry found the views a pleasant change, after so many years in the hallways of the underground facility of the SGC.
Longtime friends, Secretary Landry and General Jack O'Neill had a long history. Were it not for the efforts of O'Neill, Landry might never have become involved with the Gate Program, instead opting for retirement. That conversation with O'Neill where he made mention of a new and exciting job opportunity had forever changed Landry as an officer, and as a man. Had someone told him ten years ago that one day he would be Secretary of Defense, with O'Neill serving as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs; he would have thought them delusional.
Brought into their positions to overhaul the American military machine, Landry and O'Neill worked tirelessly. At times, their friendship was the only thing preventing temper fueled flare-ups. Though much had been accomplished, much remained to be done. Despite political and budgetary backing for their task, the two men found time was their primary foe. Both doubted an entire revamping of military training, equipment, and tactics could be accomplished during their tenure. Hope springs eternal though.
As they did atleast once per week, Landry and O'Neill were seated in the Secretary's office. Conversation about Landry's efforts to rekindle his relationship with his ex-wife filled the men's ears over lunch. After a Navy steward cleared away their lunch plates, the two men settled in for shoptalk over a drink.
"I was looking over the after action reviews of the exercise on Langara. It looks like everything works as advertised." Landry said.
"Seems that way, but you and I both know an exercise is one thing, while real world is another thing altogether." Jack offered.
"Can we say this was an honest exercise?" Landry asked.
"As honest as validation exercises can be. Without having a full up ShootEX, it is all theoretical." Jack admitted.
"As long as it works when it is supposed to. Now my days are filled with justifying next year's budget." Landry fumed.
"Budget planning is so fun, isn't it?" Jack asked with a chuckle.
"Oh, it sure is, especially when I have one of our favorite people calling to grill me about military spending." Landry grimaced.
"My guess is Strom." Jack frowned.
"That's the one! He went off on a tirade about proliferate military spending now and in the past. I had to explain the facts of life to him." Landry said, shaking his head as he spoke.
"Oh, this should be good." Jack laughed.
"I started with explaining the economic impact of defense spending, on a research and development basis alone. When I explained to him that for every dollar spent on research and development, fourteen dollars were returned to the economy, he argued with me. Pointing put that this return came in the form of innovation, engineering, trade, and discovery, he quickly went quiet." Landry explained.
"I am going to guess that he shifted the focus of his argument to project costs." Jack mused.
"For having headed the IOA, the good Senator is blissfully ignorant. He tossed out the two hundred million dollar price tag for an F-22 Raptor as one of his examples of military procurement failure. He had several other examples, but this was his most pointed." Landry continued.
"A certain someone who sat in your seat a few years ago felt the same way about the F-22." Jack added.
"I was forced to educate Strom in matters he is already well versed in. Yes, the F-22 had a price tag of two hundred million a copy, but half of that was for other purposes. We have used procurement and unit cost as a shield to hide black project development for decades. You and I both know the extra one hundred million per F-22 was used to fund development of the F-302. " Landry said.
"They always seem to overlook things like that. Did he try to argue that point?" Jack asked.
"To my surprise, he did. I finally stopped him cold when I asked him if he believed the military would really be silly enough to spend several hundred dollars on a hammer. That shut him down finally." Landry said, with a smug look on his face.
Jack reached into his pants pocket, and removed a small glass vial. Holding the vial between his thumb and forefinger, he imagined sticking Strom in the vial. Oddly, inside the vial at the moment was a dead grasshopper. A quizzical look came over Landry's face, as he wondered just what his friend was looking at.
"What do you have there?" Landry asked.
"A means to a end for the Kassa problem." Jack replied.
"I of all people know sometimes it is better not to ask." Landry said.
"That is probably a good idea in this case." Jack replied.
"That brings me to a concern I have Jack." Landry hinted.
"What about?" Jack asked.
"Shadow wars are a dangerous game Jack. Eventually you will need to come clean." Landry said blandly.
"According to the Intelligence Authorization Act, I am not required to report this to the House oversight committee until sixty days after the termination of the operation." Jack replied.
"That is a slippery slope you are walking on." Landry warned.
"Not as slippery as you think. The White House Legal Council signed off on the overall operational concept. It is not like the ISA is going to tell a soul." Jack argued.
"If congress or Strom get hold of this, it could mean your career Jack." Landry again warned.
"I have that base covered too. The Lucian Alliance attacked Earth a few times, and that makes them a clear and present danger to national security." Jack said in reply.
"Do you really think that will be enough to satisfy a Senator on the warpath? A Senator who happens to have it in for you?" Landry asked honestly.
"Well, no. Let him try that, and I will lay both Presidential Findings on the table. I can see the headline now, 'Senator from New York attempts to criminalize defense of Earth'. It will make him popular with the voters I am sure." Jack laughed.
"I hope you are right." Landry said hopefully.
"You and I both know we need to deal with the Lucian Alliance. If we can't get them to fight, we just nudge them in the right direction. These guys aren't rocket scientists, their thugs with spaceships. They will take the bait." Jack said assuredly.
"Bait? Nudge?" Landry asked with an arched eyebrow.
Looking at his watch, Jack did a few calculations in his head.
"In fact, they should be taking the bait right about now." Jack said seriously.
MyCn 18, Engraved Hourglass Nebula
Milky Way
The Hourglass Nebula is a young planetary nebula, located in the constellation Musca, eight thousand light years from Earth. It's blue inner core is surrounded by upward and downward rising rings of energetic gas, a rich orange in color. The unique shapes of these rings are produced by the expansion of a swift stellar wind within a slowly expanding cloud of differing densities at the inner cores poles. In short, this galactic landmark was beautiful to behold.
Twenty-six light years from the Nebula sat a lone cargo vessel of Earth's expanding commercial fleet. The SS Henry J. Kaiser was among the most recent of additions. Built by the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Henry J. Kaiser dwarfed in size vessels of the Improved Daedalus Class. Normally, she would be crewed by a union member staff from the Merchant Marine. As a vessel financed with government guarantees, she fell under the Civilian Defense Reserve Fleet. Instead of her normal union crew, today she was crewed by a cadre selected by the Department of Defense.
Arriving four hours earlier, Kaiser sat motionless in empty space. Inside the passageways of her considerable length, crewmembers tended to the variety of tasks familiar to those aboard interstellar vessels. Built around three incredibly large cargo holds, Henry J. Kaiser possessed the ability to carry incredible amounts of cargo. This day, two of her holds were empty. The third was filled with sealed containers, taking up less than half of one percent of the holds total footprint. Each of these containers were stencil marked, with numeric identifiers. To the trained eye, these were clearly weapons crates. Separate cases containing power sources sat beside these.
Inside of these crates, were new additions to the United States arsenal of handheld weaponry. Taking the Traveler Particle Magnum as the starting point for the new design, the Department of Defense had handed over the weapons design to Heckler and Koch. Working together, the internal workings of the Particle Magnum were copied, and in some cases improved. This energy pulse delivery mechanism was then mounted on a more familiar pistol frame. Replacing the M-9 Beretta, this new firearm was now the standard sidearm for US military personnel, and standard issue for all making use of the exoskeleton combat system.
Local area sensors affixed to the Henry J. Kaiser scanned space around the stationary vessel. While useful for the purposes needed aboard a cargo vessel, these sensors lacked the sheer detection ability of sensors found on warships of Earth. Undetected, a cloaked vessel approached. Had this vessel been detected, the cargo vessel could have sprinted away through hyperspace. As it stood, an unseen predator approached.
Circling the Henry J. Kaiser, the cloaked Al'kesh stalked its prey like a shark through dark waters. Onboard the Al'kesh, Goa'uld designed sensors scanned the vessel of the Tau'ri. Crew aboard the Al'kesh took note of the fact that this vessel was unarmed. Fears of a trap were laid to rest for the low level Lucian Alliance soldiers. Moving in closer, the Al'kesh examined the outer hull from top to bottom. Following instructions from those above them in the Alliance command structure before their departure, the Al'kesh moved to the rear quarter of the Kaiser.
Lining up the retrofitted outer door of the Al'kesh with that of the Kaiser, the Lucian Alliance vessel came to a stop. Men onboard the Al'kesh checked their weapons, and stood near the outer door of their craft. Each was ready for the evolution of events necessary to seize control of their target. In the cockpit of the Al'kesh, the crafts copilot activated his ship-to-ship communications system, on the frequency provided by his commander. Thankfully, for this he also had a script to follow.
"Kaiser, this is Air Force Transport." The copilot said into the communications array.
"Air Force Transport, this is Henry J. Kaiser. A good day to you sir! We are ready to cross deck your cargo. Advice when ready." A Kaiser crewmember said in reply.
"Kaiser, we are uncloaking beside you. We will be extending a hard seal access point." The copilot warned.
"Extend when ready Air Force. Our door is always open for you." The crewmember replied.
The Al'kesh cloak powers down, bringing the vessel into full view. Exterior panels bordering the side access point of the Al'kesh recessed five inches into the craft, before sliding out of view. From this now open framework, square metal frames attached to unfurling extension arms extended towards the airlock door of the Kaiser. From each framework, thin sheets of metallic fabric sealed the six-foot gap between each of the sixteen frames. From the bottom of each framework, metal plating unfolded, giving the newly established inter-ship passageway flooring. Atmosphere began to pump into the passageway from the Al'kesh.
"Kaiser, open your outer door and prepare to be boarded." The Al'kesh copilot said.
"Door is opening now." Came the reply.
The exterior airlock door of the Al'kesh opened. Through this doorway, leather-clad men, armed with automatic weapons, sprinted across the newly established passageway. Open already, not even the airlock door of the Henry J. Kaiser stood between her and these modern-day pirates. Approaching the airlock onboard the Kaiser, a crewmember walked up as the first of the Lucian Alliance soldiers ran through the door. Seeing the Tau'ri, the third Alliance soldier through the airlock charged into the crewmember, viciously bringing a pistol butt down on the man's forehead. The crewmember collapsed where he stood.
Divided into five teams of three, the Alliance soldiers spread out throughout the Kaiser. The first team through raced towards the Kaiser's bridge. The second team sprinted towards engineering. The remaining teams made their way towards other points of interest. The Kaiser's onboard dining area, crew quarters, and the cargo area soon fell under their control.
On the bridge of the Henry J. Kaiser, the bridge crew sat unaware of just what was transpiring and heading their way. Hearing the trampling of boots approaching at the run in the corridor leading towards the bridge, Kaiser's captain turned his head towards the doorway. Instead of the Air Force crew the radio had led him to suspect, these leather-clad and heavily armed men were something far different. One of the Alliance soldiers stepped towards the captain, recognizing the man's rank from his captain's chair.
"Who is in command here?" The Alliance soldier demanded.
The bridge crew sat mute, as if in shock. The captain, coming to his wits, stood up fully to face the man speaking.
"I am." The captain replied.
A malicious grin took hold across the Alliance soldier's face. His hands free of an automatic weapon, his right hand reached down to the pistol holstered to his thigh. In one smooth motion, he withdrew and leveled the weapon. Before the captain could utter a single word, the Alliance soldier fired two rounds into the man's chest. Blood began to flow from the two holes torn in the man's coveralls. Grasping his chest, the captain crumpled to the deck.
Seeing this, bloodlust flowed through the Alliance soldier's eyes. Magicians liked to say seeing is believing, and in this case, it neatly summed up the order of events. What the Alliance soldier did not know was that the captain was not Tau'ri, nor was he human. In fact, not a single Tau'ri was onboard. The crew was composed of human-form replicators, posing as a human crew at Elizabeth Weir's request. It had been realized the Alliance would execute some, if not all, of the Kaiser's crew. To further the illusion, vials of stage blood rested within the nanite slurry of each replicator's body. Upon being shot and hit, the nanite slurry hardened, breaking open these vials. The result was realistic bleeding from a new bullet wound.
Seeing the captain shot, the helmsman dropped to his knees, pleading for his life. A look of disgust towards the man's cowardice washed over the Alliance soldiers present. The Tau'ri are so weak!
"Don't kill me! I beg you!" The helmsman pleaded.
"Why should I spare your life, coward?" The Alliance soldier asked with contempt.
"Take the cargo! I will lock down the ship, and you can carry the cargo to your vessels. I will not tell anyone who did this. I swear!" The helmsman pleaded.
"Do it now or you die." The Alliance soldier snarled.
Inputting a number of quick commands into the terminal before him, the helmsman did as promised. Across the vessel, compartment doors began to seal. Compartments containing Alliance members remained open. Raising his radio, the Alliance soldier on the bridge instructed the other teams aboard to make their way to the cargo area. This order they performed dutifully.
Before boarding the Kaiser, the Alliance soldiers had expected a long and very drawn-out effort of sifting through packed cargo holds to reach what they were after. Interestingly, the men found the vessel empty of all except their prize. That the Alliance soldiers did not question this was typical of the draconian disciplinary measures found in the Lucian Alliance. Ask the wrong question and you might end up dead.
Making use of palletized cargo transfer trolleys, the Alliance teams moved the crates to the airlock. Those still aboard the Al'kesh brought the cargo into their craft. The entire process took twenty long minutes. A sense of urgency heightened the anxiety of the Lucian Alliance team. At any moment, a Tau'ri battle cruiser could arrive. Against such a vessel, the odds of surviving were far worse than minimal.
Their prize in the palms of their hands, the Lucian Alliance boarding party returned to their vessel. Unexpectedly, they did not execute the remaining crew of the Kaiser, not that it would have done them any good. Retracting their docking platform, the Al'kesh cloaked once again, and accelerated away. Learning from past mistakes when up against the Tau'ri, the Al'kesh first distanced itself from the Kaiser before jumping to hyperspace.
On the bridge of Henry J. Kaiser, the captain rose to his feet. Rare for a replicator, he wore an amused expression on his face.
"Where did you learn to act so believably?" The captain asked.
"I used something from Earth as the example to follow. They call it daytime TV." The helmsman replied.
"Send the signal to Tartarus. Use the cipher we were provided with." The captain instructed.
The Alliance would count this as a victory. Little did they know, they had been maneuvered into a trap. That trap was one with vicious teeth and an insatiable hunger.