The Thirteenth Tribe (nBSG/SG Crossover)

[Eternal_Freedom]

This is very much the case. It's also worth remembering that this is Wallace's 4th space combat engagement, the Battle of Terra, where he was injured and evac'd, breaking the Siege of Atlantis, which lasted forty seconds, the assault on the large Wraith reinforcement fleet, which was a close call, and this one, which was also his first time in command of a combat situation.

This is an important point. In the last year (in-universe) the TCN has gone from a half-dozen destroyers and a bunch of gun platforms and Cobra squadrons, to a force that is at least ten times larger (1 Warstar, 4 Battlestars with 5 building, 24 destroyers and 16 explorers). Finding trained crew is a problem. In many ways the Colonial Fleet have it easier, their three crews are all trained, experienced people, and even the crew they're pulling together for Eridanus is primarily composed of recalled reservists and/or new recruits who can learn from the best, as well as a seasoned, experienced Commander. The TCN just doesn't have that.

Combine that with what training and experience they do have being against Cylons, not Wraith, and you have the makings of a major problem.

[fnord]

I thought the relationship between the two navies more closely mirrored, say, the RN and RAN, especially pre-Vietnam War (which ultimately pushed AU to get its own naval ensign). From what I understood, officers and ratings both got seconded regularly - to point that there was at least one RN officer aboard HMAS Melbourne (along with a prior landlord of mine) when she clobbered HMAS Voyager (thanks to, as my landlord put it, "Drunken Duncan"). Idea being to have veterans more closely intermingled with rookies, below single-ship granularity.

Ob13T, following that idea, the core of a ship's complement, especially among the senior NCOs (them wot keep the tribal knowledge), would be Colonial veterans tasked with learning these Terran rookies, whether commissioned or not (would also help knock a small dent in that OMGHEUG loan). Politics would dictate ship captains would be from their respective navies, but the need for knowledge transfer is far more urgent than I realised.

[Eternal_Freedom]

The Colonial Fleet doesn't have enough experienced NCO's to trade off with the TCN. They just about have three full crews, and that's with a large bunch of Terran crew who stayed with the new Galactica. There are some transfers/exchanges, but nothing on a large scale. The problem isn't NCO's anyways.

The TCN is well-trained, even the crews on the new ships (Nemesis, Victorious, Republic) given their long work-up and cruise out to Pegasus. They know the job, they jut lack much in the way of combat experience. This is more a problem for COs/XOs than non-coms, since the non-coms are deep inside the ship and don't actually see the battle, from some it's just a particularly convincing drill. The commanders, however, have to make decisions and stick with them. You can train competent enlisted crew in a few months, they've had 15 months to get worked up. What you can't do in 15 months is train up Captains and Commanders and expect them to compare favourably with officers with 10+ years of experience.

[Eternal_Freedom]

We're back baby

A Spanner in the Works
Atlantis

The various elements of the Task Force arrived back over Atlantis within minutes of each other. For the first time in this war, damage was evident on several ships: Victorious showed the hits she’d taken on her starboard side; the damage and debris on her landing deck had been cleared and patched, but the large section blown out of the midships pylon and the wrecked pair of launch tubes were visible to a keen eye.

Warspite too had taken a beating. Her bow section showed several deep rents in the armour, courtesy of a volley of shots from a Hive ship that slipped through when the shields momentarily dropped. The outer-port megalaser was damaged beyond repair, and three turbolaser turrets had likewise been destroyed.

It was the moderate, but very visible damage to the Warstar that occupied most people’s attention. The idea that the mighty ship could in fact be blooded was a sobering one for the pilots and spacers of the Task Force; even the most optimistic were now sure they’d take losses in the war that showed no signs of abating.

In the main conference room in the city below, Jellicoe was updating the other assembled leaders; O’Neill, Thor, Weir and Caldwell. He tried to end on a hopeful note, but everyone present could tell it was forced:

“….so despite some minor damage, we have killed another eight Hive ships and escorts. Sensor sweeps indicate this brings total Wraith forces massed at their assembly point to eighty-one Hive ships and three hundred seventy five cruisers. We’ve inflicted massively disproportionate damage to far, twenty-one Hive ships, twenty percent of their fleet, for moderate damage to three ships. But those Wraith ships are now massed for a single annihilating strike, one that our Task Force simply cannot stop or even meaningfully delay.”

O’Neill nodded and began to move the conversation onwards. “That’s where our plan comes in. Doctor, Colonel, you haven’t been briefed on this yet so listen up. This plan comes courtesy of a collection of officers and scientists the Admiral put together to dream up plans crazy enough to work.” The General stood and activated a holographic display, showing Atlantis’ position on the surface and the ships in orbit above.

“About a year ago, we at the SGC were given a sabotaged ZPM by the System Lord Camulus. Luckily we tested it first, had we plugged it in it would have overloaded and the blast would have vaporised Earth and most of the solar system. “ Weir looked slightly green at that idea. “We’re having it brought here via the fastest available Asgard vessel, along with some needed support equipment from Terra, it will arrive in four days.”

“We will use the city’s stardrive to move Atlantis to a new location. The Asgard will be installing a cloaking device in the city to minimise any possible detection. The Task Force will remain in orbit. The rigged ZPM will remain behind on a small platform containing Mark IX Gatebuster nuke, a power generator, a hologram generator, some sensor jammers and a Terran theatre shield. A hologram of the city will be generated to fool the Wraith, along with the sensor jammers and the shield they will hopefully not realise the real city has gone until it’s too late. The Task Force will fight a delaying action in orbit to lend credence to the deception, they will pull out and the ZPM will detonate, taking out the entire Wraith fleet in one go.”

The audaciousness, not to mention the lunacy of the plan was stunning. Weir however had to ask.

“If you’re setting off this ZPM, why the nuke as well?”

O’Neill looked slightly uncomfortable at that. “Well, while we’re confident the ZPM will blow, we’re not certain. So we put the Gatebuster in the plan as a backup; it won’t kill the Wraith fleet but it should thoroughly convince them that Atlantis is destroyed and the Task Force is retreating back home. Best case scenario then is that the Wraith break back into factions and start killing each other instead of coming after us. We can then work in secret and come up with a new plan.”

Caldwell nodded, accepting the reasoning, before asking something himself. “Why can’t we just drop this rigged ZPM on the Wraith fleet in deep space? Saves us moving the city, which sounds iffy if we’ve only got one ZPM instead of three.”

O’Neill looked at Jellicoe with an embarrassed look. “Why didn’t we think of that?”

“Because the officers who dreamed up this plan were all sleep-deprived and then went straight off on this raid. This is why we have briefings to catch things like this.”

Jack knew that was true; despite his General’s star, and his long and distinguished career before that, he’d never really had a taste for the administrative side of the job, he preferred to focus on the actual job. Good thing he had Walter on had back at the SGC to help out. Jellicoe continued, breaking Jack from his musings.

“You make an excellent point Colonel. We’ll treat that as plan A once the equipment arrives on the George Hammond. It’s not like we can’t use the equipment, having a redundant power generator and spare set of shields for the city is always a good idea, same with the cloaking device and the sensor jammers. You make a good point about the ZPM’s however. Supreme Commander, have your recon sweeps detected any? I remember you saying you’d be able to scan for them.”

“Indeed so Admiral Jellicoe. We have detected three more at abandoned Ancient outposts elsewhere in this quarter of the galaxy. I have dispatched the Daniel Jackson to take several Atlantis Expedition teams, including Doctor McKay and Colonels Sheppard and Carter, to retrieve them. This will allow you to bring the city to full power and also activate the drone production facilities in the lower levels.”

This was news to Weir. “I didn’t even know we had those in the city.”

“They are in the lower, submerged levels. Our scans indicate they are sealed off unless sufficient power is available to activate the production and resource-gathering systems.”

Jack smiled. “Be good to have a full load of drones just in case.”

Jellicoe agreed. “Yes it would. Ok then, once the gear arrives from Terra we’ll get it installed and, if possible, send out the ZPM on an unmanned platform to take out the Wraith fleet. In the meantime, we’ll continue shoring up the damage on our ships. Supreme Commander, can I ask that your battleships search out a suitable world to move the city to as a fallback position?” The little grey being nodded in agreement.

“Right, if you’ll all excuse me I need to get back to my flagship and see what the situation is…”

He trailed off as the PA system spoke up.

”Senior Commanders report to the Control Room, repeat Senior Commanders to the Control Room.”

Weir looked around. “I guess that’s us. Thor, can we get a ride?”

The Asgard didn’t answer, instead he moved some control stones and the group of five were beamed to the Control Room, where they met a grim-faced Zelenka. Jellicoe sighed, here was the proverbial other shoe dropping. The scientist got straight to the point.

“Long-range sensors show the Wraith fleet are on the move. They’re heading here at maximum speed, they’ll be here in seven days.”

O’Neill groaned. “Oh for crying out loud.” He turned away briefly, suppressed the urge to break or shoot something, then turned back to the group. “Well at least the gear for the crazy plan will get here in plenty of time.”

Caldwell looked at the projected course track. “Can we still use the ZPM to catch them in deep space?”

Jellicoe zoomed in on the display, and instantly saw what the Wraith were doing. “No…look at these clever bastards. They’re split into four groups on parallel courses.”

Weir looked confused. “Which means…”

“Which means that we can’t expend the ZPM like the Colonel suggested, we’d only get a quarter of them. Each group has twenty or so Hives, enough ships to overwhelm the entire Task Force on their own, but not a completely crippling loss for the Wraith if we somehow take a group out. They’re really playing this smart; the courses are about a light-year apart from each other, close enough that they can support each other in a few minutes but far enough part to avoid getting caught in any ambush. Plus when they get here they’ll be spread out to surround us completely.”

Caldwell swore under his breath. “It’d be easier if the enemy weren’t competent. Damnit, looks like we’re back to the crazy plan. No offence General.”

Jack waved it off. “Ok, worst-case scenario, we can’t move the city in time. How long can the city-shield hold up against eighty Hives with three ZPM’s?”

Thor ran some quick computations. “Six weeks General O’Neill.”

Jellicoe nodded. “So if everything goes to hell we have time to come up with a new plan. Ok, Supreme Commander, please contact the Daniel Jackson and the George Hammond and tell them to put the hammer down, I want them here as soon as possible. As soon as we get the ZPM’s get them installed and fire up those drone production lines, get the theatre shield, the cloaking device and the jammers installed. We’re in the home stretch everyone, let’s finish this.”

===========

Welp, we're approaching the grand finale. I'm gonna end the story once the Wraith arc is dealt with, leaving Ba'al, the Furlings and (maybe) the Ori for a possible sequel.
Part of this is to address the point Sky Captain made about hitting the Wraith with the rigged ZPM away from Atlantis.
The ZPMs being found is a stretch, sure, but the Asgard have been out mapping and deploying sensor buoys, makes sense they'd look for them. Drone production facilities in Atlantis makes sense to me; the original Siege lasted fifty years, unless the drone magazines fill up the entire city they had to have some production capacity if they still had some left for the Expedition to find later on.
I may have another part written up later today, giving another look at whats going on back on Terra, but no promises.

[Burak Gazan]

*Waves hand from way in back
"S'cuse me; if the ancients had drone production lines, then where are the ZPM production lines. For than matter, where are the instructions on HOW to build ZPMs??...."

[Eternal_Freedom]

See, that's something I have been wondering since about midway through first watching Atlantis season 1.

My current running theory is that the actual ZPM production site was somewhere odd/exotic since it needed insane amounts of power, like in close orbit above the relativistic jets of a good-size black hole or something to gather energy, and it got hit early on in the war, forcing the Ancients to rely on the stockpile they had, which is why they had to keep withdrawing, and why they eventually withdrew from Atlantis - they'd run down to only 3 available ZPM's in the city and decided to leave as the war had become untenable, but thanks to Janus/Prometheus and the time-jumper they knew they'd need all three ZPM's to keep the city intact under the ocean.

The instructions on how to build ZPMs are in the database, but doing so requires other technology that they can't produce yet either. Like how I could give someone from, oh, 1700 a complete set of designs and instructions on how to build a CANDU-type nuclear power plant, but unless they also have the technology to make stuff like concrete, never mind the computer controls, they can't do anything with it.

[Burak Gazan]

They must have had one motherfrakker of a stockpile then, considering how long the siege was. Plus, you have several Asgard standing right here. Their time for weaseling around things is long past. I'm fairly confident THEY know the ins and outs of it. We're in the realm of blowing up stars again. PLUS, Janus and his exotic/power source ideas is on file.. Even if it blows up only 5/6 of a star system.... I submit that would be sufficient to the cause. And. Janus couldn't make it work. See what the Asgard have to say

[Eternal_Freedom]

That begs the question of "If the Asgard knew of the tech, why don't they use it themselves?" The answer to which is, I think, they don't need to. Consider that most of the time in the series when ZPM's become an issue, they looking for them in order to power Ancient tech specifically designed to be powered by ZPM's - Atlantis, the Antarctic Weapons Platform, the identical one on Proclarush Taonas, and so on. The only time I can recall them using ZPM's on non-Ancient tech was when they used a couple to supercharge the Daedalus and the Odyssey, and that required some considerable workarounds IIRC.

ZPM's allow a lot of power in a small device, something the Asgard don't have much call for. So they never bothered with the idea, instead working on improving their neutrino-ion generators (and given that those can push a big warship much faster than Ancient drives, are arguably superior except in size/portability).

[Burak Gazan]

Stepping back, the entire "mustuseZPMONLY!" thing is a colossal writer McGuffin for the series. Not only is it scientifically STUPID, it makes, at some point , ''ancient'' technology utterly worthless. It's like at some point, some retard in the ministry of assholery decided to stop making AA batteries. Now, wouldn't THAT be a bit of a bind on oh, maybe 90%+ of portable devices? Sure , you can comfort yourself with the 'we can build ZPMs in 2000 years, when we invent the materiels technology..." bullshit but in the Real World (tm) , you are screwed. Like, now
Move the damn city. That should be plan A. Blowing stuff up? if you can get it to work, dandy. Otherwise, you have an entire galaxy to fade back into. Time and space are their ally. Use it


And mentioning the Asgard drives; didn't Thor fly from Othala to EARTH in his ship in a matter of minutes , if not SECONDS a couple times?

[Eternal_Freedom]

Exactly my point about the Asgard drives, they are what Spaceballs term ludicrous speed.

As for the retreat vs blowing stuff up plan, note that the "make them think we're dead and hide for a while" idea is why there's a Mk IX Gatebuster included in the list of gear.

[Sky Captain]

If you think about it, ZPM is much more energetic if used as bomb than energy source. It was said ZPM blowing up could wipe out a star system. That is comparable to star going nova, maybe worth centuries of normal energy production from Sun like star. Compared to that ZPM as shipboard energy source is fairly unimpressive. One ZPM is struggling to lift Atlantis off the planet and would get depleted relatively quickly if it has to sustain a shield against bombardment from Wraith fleet. If ZPM had stellar energy reserves accessible during normal operation then powering a shield against nowhere near stellar level firepower of Wraith ships or flying Atlantis would be pretty much nothing.

[Eternal_Freedom]

I think the nature of a ZPM as a power source means that a catastrophic overload causes a lot more damage than using it as a power source. It's a self-contained region of space-time, suddenly releasing that is bound to be more destructive that draining it as a battery.

[Sky Captain]

It is kind of similar to laptop battery that can power a laptop for five hours during normal operation, but if short circuited/punctured produces an explosion that wipe out a city block. ZPM has more potential as a bomb than power source. I could see ZPM very useful if you want to build small, but very powerful destroyer type warship or strategic missile that upon reaching target star system overloads ZPM. But in case of large ships like Battlestars and Warstar extreme energy density of ZPM is less of an advantage since there is enough space to put Naquadah reactors or Asgard Neutrino reactors to rival or surpass output from a ZPM and if you just threw more power into weapons you would quickly start to have overheating problems like it already happens with superlaser.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Oh absolutely, the amount of energy contained in a ZPM is decidedly inconsistent. Three of them overloading in the Asuran's first episode took out the Replicator city-ship in orbit above Atlantis with no damage to the planet (or the escaping jumper). I think the Camulus-sabotaged one is a definite exceptional case, and the damage probably comes from the self-contained region of spacetime suddenly popping into realspace rather than the actual energy it contains. A localised false vacuum collapse if you like.

Certainly ZPM's have a very specific niche in where and when they are useful, unfortunately, powering Atlantis is one of them (though that may get changed in future with Asgard help).

[fnord]

And I guess the scale of ZPM-kaboomage would depend on exactly how fond of a good banger you are.

How do the Kobolian mob's battlestar power sources (naquada burning, iirc) stack up against Asgard neutrino-ion generators? Are tylium (raw naquada, from what you've said) and the main event sufficiently different that you can't run a ship designed for one (eg pre-upgrade Warspite) on the other?

[Eternal_Freedom]

The Terran naquada reactors are very advanced, and about as efficient/potent as possible when using naquada. They're not in the same league as neutrino-ion generators but they aren't far off (hence why Nemesis uses both, and the Battlestars all have backup neutrino-ion generators where possible).

Tylium and naquada are very different so you can't run one kind of fuel in another. It's like the difference between, say, natural-uranium fission reactors and nuclear sub reactors (the latter use highly enriched fuel, 20-25% or so IIRC). Tylium is basically just naquada ore, but the Colonials didn't have the need or the tech to refine it into actual naquada (they didn't use the energy-intensive systems like shields, turbolasers and supercharged sublight/FTL drives).

[fnord]

Are there any Kobolian diplomatic efforts towards Earth under way, or is it for moment concentrated in "hang together or hang separately" punch-up in Pegasus?

[Eternal_Freedom]

I imaine that there are diplomatic efforts underway in the background, what with the whole Alliance thing, but they aren't really relevant to the story I'm telling.

[fnord]

OK, fair cop. Given the remarks made so far on accents, it sort of leads into "A Terran, a Virgonian and a Brit walk into a bar....".

Anything need pre-reading?

[Eternal_Freedom]

Nothing needing pre-reading at present. I have got another chapter in the works but Xmas and family is taking up my time right now.

[U.P. Cinnabar]

OK, fair cop. Given the remarks made so far on accents, it sort of leads into "A Terran, a Virgonian and a Brit walk into a bar....".

Anything need pre-reading?

And take the tracking place apart the moment a Yank disparages soccer.

[Eternal_Freedom]

It's back:

Interlude: Rebuilding the Fleet
Olympus Base Observation Deck Six

The huge panoramic windows provided a truly spectacular sight for the small collection of people gathered on the Observation Deck. Admirals Adama and Lethbridge-Stewart, Commander Kirov and the two Presidents had gathered for a meeting and since the progress of the new ships was a subject of discussion, it had been decided to hold the meeting here.

The view in question was the shipyard’s Number Six Berth, which had until recently housed the repaired wreck of the old Galactica as she underwent her final refit as a museum. Now though the old Battlestar had been moved to a standard docking port for final fitting out while a new, bigger vessel took her place.

The Eridanus had been partially restored by Kirov and Commander Garrett’s technical teams and jumped back to Terra. There, every tug available had moved the 2,200 metre monster into the berth where she could be restored, upgraded and made even more deadly. Before the Fall, she had been the ultimate expression of the Colonial shipbuilder’s art, one of the two most powerful ships in the twelve worlds – the other being her older sister and class namesake, the Constellation, that had managed to shrug off the Cylon hacking and fought bitterly to defend Picon before finally being overwhelmed.

In a few months her refits would be complete and she would once again be the second most powerful warship in known space. Only the Nemesis herself would be able to outgun the heavyweight Battlestar. The Terran engineers had been extremely impressed with both the advancement and the strength of the new class, this was clearly a ship designed to trade apocalyptic blows with adversaries and come out on top.

But that was for the future. Now, the Eridanus looked much worse for wear. The refits were extremely extensive, many systems were being pulled out completely and replaced. Even with the newly installed Asgard beaming systems for moving components it was still a massive job. For example, even as the assembled leaders watched, one of the huge spinal-mounted main guns was being removed and floated clear, to make way for a new megalaser that would be part of the upgraded main armament. Out of sight, two and a half kilometres away, similarly drastic work was being done on the ship’s eight sublight drives, bringing them up to Terran standard.

Mikhail Kirov stood slightly apart from the Admirals and the Presidents, partly because he was still uncomfortable being in the presence of such exulted individuals but mostly because he was drinking in every detail of his new ship. It was truly his now. He had been involved in her design and construction and now he would command her. The fulfilment of his entire career was right in front of him and he could hardly wait to get the Battlestar out of the berth and take her for a spin.

Adama noticed this slight distance and correctly guessed the reasoning. He was just glad that his own ship wasn’t in sight. While the Galactica’s hull had been made whole again, he knew full well it was just a façade, enough to hold an atmosphere and maintain a stable orbit. Enough for a museum but not a Battlestar. Even looking at the repaired ship made his guts clench and twist, the memories returning of those final moments falling towards Lemuria, the desperate jump away and those first seconds of total silence.

He shook his head slightly, dispelling those memories. There were more important things to focus on. Alistair was just finishing explaining to the Presidents about the other five new ships that were nearing completion.

“…as for why we’ve got them built so fast, well sir that’s down to several factors. Not least of which is that these are the third batch of Lionheart’s the yard crews have built, so we know what we’re doing. Combine that with the ramped-up production of components on the surface, especially those new factories that have opened up in New Delphi, and we didn’t have to wait for components like we did with the original ships. The Asgard beaming helps, as does one of their other tricks.”

President Matthews looked curious. “What trick might that be Admiral?”

Alistair grinned. He still couldn’t believe this himself, but it was impressive news. “With the beaming systems able to put components into place instantly, we’ve been able to use a much larger workforce and build more of the ship at once. That and the Asgard installed a time dilation field around the construction berths. Time runs faster inside the field, so the ships are built quicker. One hour on this observation deck is the same as two hours in the construction berth, so stuff is done in half the time. The crews like it too, they can get paid for a full days’ work and still have half the day off.”

Matthews and Roslin were baffled that such a thing was even possible. Alistair just shrugged. “It’s difficult to wrap your head around. I have no clue how it works, but our little grey friends know what they’re doing and it works and will give me my five new Battlestars in half the time.”

Matthews still looked confused, but the man shook his head, dismissing the details as irrelevant. “So when will these six ships be ready Admiral?”

“The Vanguard, Ark Royal, Illustrious, Indomitable and Temeraire will be ready for launching in another month. The Eridanus will take another week beyond that. After launching, another month of fitting out and shakedown tests, then they’ll all be ready to join the Fleet. That will give us the Nemesis, ten Lionhearts, two Warspites and one Constellation, plus twenty four destroyers and sixteen Explorers. That’s our limit I’m afraid, we just don’t have the budget or the manpower to support any more capital ships. We’re struggling with trained officers as it is.”

And that was the crux of the problem, Adama knew. You could take someone and put them through four months of intensive training and you would have a perfectly competent gunner or technician or deckhand. What you couldn’t provide in months of training was command experience and leadership for the officer cadre. The Terran Navy had expanded beyond all recognition in just a year and a half, going from a small planetary defence force of a half dozen destroyers to a force a hundred times as powerful. The number of personnel had ballooned, and whilst they had a lot of very capable men and women, skilled commanders were in short supply, which was yet another reason Adama had to be thankful to Jellicoe; finding and rescuing Commander Kirov and his compatriots had been a gift from the Gods.

As the conversation continued, Adama and Kirov spotted a flash of light out past the defence perimeter, showing a ship dropping out of hyperspace. While it was different from the FTL jumps they were used to, both Admiral and Commander could recognise the advantages and disadvantages of the different systems. Hyperspace entries and exits had become a common occurrence since the meeting with the SGC and the Asgard.

This time the vessel was an Asgard ship, one of their O’Neill class battleships. Adama mentally reviewed the list of planned arrivals before realising it was the George Hammond, here to collect more heavy equipment and ferry it to Atlantis. Adama frowned briefly, he had never expected to have the role he now did. It wasn’t the new allies, the alien beings or the advanced technology that stunned him sometimes, but rather his job. He was officially the Commanding Admiral of the Colonial Fleet, a heady height he never thought he’d reach. He was also the Chief of Operations for the Combined Fleet and Alistair’s deputy, though the Combined Fleet at the moment consisted of just the Lionheart and the destroyers so there wasn’t much work involved yet.

The others soon noticed the big, alien ship cruising in towards Olympus Base. Matthews thought for a moment before turning to the Admirals once again.

“While I think of it Admiral, what do you think of this plan the Task Force has come up with?”

Alistair considered his answer carefully. “I think it’s an audacious plan sir, and one that has a good chance of success, but there a lot of things that can go wrong with it. Luckily Admiral Jellicoe and his staff have developed a number of contingencies so we should have everything covered. What really bothers me is that no-one from the SGC mentioned that they could destroy stars before now.”

Both Roslin and Matthews blanched at the thought. Having not one but two methods for obliterating entire solar systems was so completely different from what any of them were used to. The scale of the destruction the SGC was capable of was simply astounding. The old adage was proved true; beware the quiet ones.

Adama too was disconcerted by such power. It made him yearn for the days before the Fall, when the greatest problem facing him was what to do after retirement. No alien allies, no vampires from another galaxy, no weird conversations with humans that weren’t from Kobol. Even the days after the Fall were, for all their chaos and peril, in many ways simpler; when the most dangerous thing to worry about was a megaton-range nuke, and not the gigaton-range devices the SGC were apparently capable of building.

Kirov finally entered the conversation; his distinctive Scorpia accent added a certain gravitas to his words.

“It is a bold plan; one I think has a good chance of success. Part of me wishes the fight drags on longer though, I have spent my entire life training and preparing to fight a war from the deck of a Battlestar, it would seem a pity to never use those skills.”

The two Presidents and Lethbridge-Stewart looked at him strangely, though Adama appeared to understand. The venerable Admiral chuckled.

“I know what you mean Commander, but take it from me, fighting battles from a Battlestar’s CIC is a terrifying experience. Every time I’ve stood at the plot table and called Action Stations I’ve hoped it would be the last time.” He spoke quietly, but everyone present knew this was the honest truth of the man. Arguably the greatest Colonial Commander since the legendary Rodney Tolan of the original Pegasus who had gone down fighting over Libran at the end of the First War, Adama wanted nothing more than peace. This was the reason he had stayed on Terra rather than taking the Task Force to Atlantis. He’d seen the smoke and felt the fire and he’d done enough for twenty men.

Out past the window, the George Hammond came to a halt directly above the Number Six Berth to begin transferring equipment. A discrete cough came from behind the group, which turned to see a smartly-dressed man. He was of average height, he had a kind face and eyes that danced with intelligence, but his most striking features were his old-fashioned suit, complete with waistcoat, tails and top hat, and his rather impressive mustache and muttonchops.

The man spoke, softly but with authority. “Mr and Madame President, Admirals, Commander, we are loading aboard the last of the equipment now. I just wanted to say farewell and to thank you for the opportunity to go on such a voyage. I’m sure it will be a splendid trip.” Evidently his suit was not the only outdated aspect of this man; his vocal mannerisms, while definitely Terran-standard, were rather more formal than was the norm; someone from Earth would recognise it as a mid-Victorian British dialect.

President Matthews smiled. “You’re very welcome Professor. You’ve certainly earned the opportunity and you know those systems better than anyone. Oh, excuse me, introductions. Everyone, this is Professor Joseph Bazelgette of the Lemurian Academy; he’s the man who designed and oversaw the construction of our city-shields on Terra.”

Adama smiled and reached out to shake the Professor’s hand. “A pleasure to meet you Professor. Those shields are very impressive devices; I can only guess how many lives they saved when the Cylons attacked Lemuria.”

The man smiled, and looked down briefly in embarrassment. “Why thank you Admiral Adama, though I really can’t take the credit for saving Lemuria, especially given your own actions.”

Adama looked momentarily surprised and was about to reply when Lethbridge-Stewart, recognising that this would lead to an endless cycle of “no you did more,” stepped in.

“He also had a hand in designing the shield generators aboard our warships and contributed more than a few ideas towards the ship’s design, especially the Nemesis. If any one person can be said to have built the Terran Commonwealth Navy, it’s Professor Bazelgette here.”

Now the man looked really embarrassed at the praise. “Oh really Admiral you are far too kind. Though I must say I have had a few ideas after examining the Eridanus there. The ship’s skeleton is much more heavily reinforced than any other ship we have. Commander Kirov, I believe you were involved in the design?”

The Commander smiled, like any proud parents he was always happy to talk about his child. “Yes Professor. We built the skeleton much stronger than normal because she was designed for direct combat against multiple opponents and we didn’t have the luxury of shield generators and superconducting armour to protect the ship. Our design brief was a structure that could handle a contact detonation from a megaton-range nuclear warhead.”

“You certainly achieved that Commander. That ship, once the upgrades are completed, will be able to survive any weapon we know of, save for the superlaser aboard Nemesis, but then that weapon is so far beyond anything else we have it really isn’t a fair comparison.”

Before the two could get embroiled in a further technical discussion, the Professor’s comm set beeped, demanding his attention. He smiled apologetically at the group before answering.

”Professor, Olympus Fight Control here, all the supplies are aboard the Asgard ship, are you ready to beam over?”

“Yes yes, give a minute would you?”

”Of course Professor. Flight Control out.”

The man sighed then looked around at the assembled leaders. “Well ladies and gentleman I am afraid I must go. Thank you again for the opportunity and the trust. Commander Kirov, I would very much like to see your ship once she is ready for action.”

“I would be delighted to give you a tour myself Professor.”

Bazelgette nodded in thanks and then pressed his comm set again. “Farewell!” He vanished in a flash of light from the Asgard beaming system.

Laura looked at Bill and muttered just loud enough for him to hear. “What an odd man.”

Bill smiled at her. “Boffins usually are.”

Outside, the George Hammond spun on her axis and headed out past the perimeter at full speed before vanishing into a hyperspace window, beginning her four day flight to Atlantis and the culmination of Operation Retribution.

=========

So it's back. Things are progressing, the Combined Fleet is getting some major reinforcements soon, but not soon enough to participate in the Wraith War. More's the pity, pitting Kirov against the Wraith would have been fun.

Joseph Bazelgette is present as a tribute to what might be one of the most underappreciated engineers in history, the man who built the London Metropolitan Sewer System in the 1860's, which effectively eliminated cholera, typhus and so on from the city. As one documentary put it, and a line I paraphrased, we can only guess how many lives he saved.

[U.P. Cinnabar]

What good does it do the dockyard workers to get a half day off, when they're aging quicker?

Oh, well, that means they can start drawing their pensions sooner.

Nice reference to Cain's 2ic from "The Living Legend. "

[Eternal_Freedom]

The dockyard workers are aging quicker, but not by a huge amount, and given that this is the last batch of ships to be built (unless any are lost and need replacing) no one minds too much.

[fnord]

Mikhail Kirov stood slightly apart from the Admirals and the Presidents, partly because he was still uncomfortable being in the presence of such exulted individuals but mostly because he was drinking in every detail of his new ship.

Typo?

What really bothers me is that no-one from the SGC mentioned that they could destroy stars before now.

Between buggering around with time (that would give the poor sods auditing the battlestar builds some ... fun ... times, I bet), and ka-fricking-boom on a scale that would definitely make Shtarker envious ("that star system had it coming"), I get the impression that humaniti has not yet begun to really party.

“Yes yes, give a minute would you?”

Missing "me" in there?