Chapter 289;
Hallowed be thy name.
Jack fidgeted nervously in the SGC, the message had gone out and few if any could deny the significance of it. Contact with the Ion Crown had been sparse, instead centred around Maethrillian. Several weeks ago the supergate had been built and triggered that allowed four of the Ori ships into the Milky Way, and though they had managed to destroy one using the Supergate itself as a weapon, they had little other option. The...
The gate activated. The incoming wormhole alarms going off and everyone preparing for the worst. But as the chevrons locked he knew that he doubted that it was an attack, the timing was too precise. As the gate engaged he sighed in relief as the correct codes were received and the Thor and the Tollan representatives stepped through, nearly seven feet tall their 'fixed' bodies still freaked Jack out a little. It was easy not to get intimidated when they only came up to your waist.
He waited for the Gate to disengage and was more surprised when the bright blue pool of the wormhole was replaced, a deep green bleeding into it in moments before the Ion Crown representatives came through. And O'Neill felt both terror... and giddy excitement. The first figure of the Ion Crown to emerge was Ronin, with Moira, Aisling and Helena, but behind them...
Three figures stepped through. The first looked like Delta Imperator... but massive. And clad in far more advanced armour than anything he had seen before. Eyes blazing like magenta suns. But it was the men emerging behind him that stole his breath away. For Jack was a military man, and knew of 40k. And if those weren't Roboute Guilliman, and ... and....
He felt an involuntary twitch commanding him to kneel. Not a command, not a psychic imperative, but an instinctual reaction the Goa'uld could only wish they possessed. Enough so that he didn't even notice Red. The Emperor of Mankind himself. And behind them... something that looked like Necrons.
"Welcome to Earth and Stargate Command. I am grateful that you have answered our call for help." Thor nodded as O'neill spoke. "I admit, I didn't expect the Ion Crown to send such a large party." He began to head from the gateroom before wondering to himself how the three massive men would even fit into many areas of the SGC.
His skin crawled as he saw the wall ripple as they got close as they used a Tollan phase-shifter to pass through the unyielding matter. The Imperator spoke up. "Subject matter experts. Alexander and Guilliman have experience in dealing with extradimensional entities that gain power from worship, Phaeron Trazyn and his people have shattered so-called Gods before, and Red of the Continuum is the closest thing to a contemporary to your Ascended or the Ori."
They moved through the corridors to the guest quarters, and finally they were escorted to the room overlooking the Stargate.
...
Jack sat in the office looking at the security monitor footage. He felt the weight of his new role press down on him like a ton weight as he studied the figures on the screen. Delta looked older somehow. His eyes had a haunted caste he didn't remember from his last personal visitation. The Ion Crown had maintained their presence in the galaxy, but kept to themselves only engaging with the Asgard and Tollan in any regular capacity. But as Elizabeth Weir stepped into the room he too had to cease hiding away in the office.
"Sorry about calling you here Delt, but this situation has become problematic. The Ori invaded the galaxy with just four capital ships, and the combined efforts of the Asgard, Jaffa Rebellion and ourselves were unable to prevent them from advancing. And now they have begun sending these so-called Priors to preach something called Origin, those who refuse them are victims of a bioweapon. And..."
Carter spoke up. "It's bad, and our options are... few. Asgard weapons proved insufficient to pose a significant threat to these Ori ships. We were forced to withdraw or face destruction."
Delta's eyes flashed. "Ah yes, the
Kohler class
Bowlcruiser."
"You know of it!?" Jack snapped accusing.
Delta dropped a device onto the table creating a hologram. "It's probably not what they call them, but we are familiar with the basic design. Thor, what does the Asgard High Council say of it?"
The Asgard nodded. "Their vessels are powered by an unknown energy source, potentially connected to these hostile ascended, the 'Ori', unfortunately, they are exceptionally advanced. The so-called Kohler class utilises energy weapons capable of overwhelming even our own most advanced vessels shields with a few strikes. And their energy weapons are capable of penetrating our own shields. We have as yet been able to mount an effective offence, it can take a dozen or more shots to effectively damage an Ori vessel."
"What is the yield of your weapons when translated into Earth TNT explosive equivalents?" Delta asked plainly.
"The raw damage dealt is approximately, one hundred and fifty gigatons. Though various tuning of the weapon allows significant shield penetration compared to most." Thor said plainly.
Delta nodded. "Are you aware of the location of one of the Kohler's at the moment?"
"We are."
"I will be dispatching a vessel to meet your own, I want to face one of these Kohlers, the vessel will be under the command of Admiral William Adama. I need to take a measure of these Ori before I can act. But, I will be dispatching humanitarian aid immediately to deal with the plague. We need to measure them from all fronts. Oh. Jack..." The Emperor looked at him.
"What's up Delt?"
"I know you're a military man, for a laugh, show Alexander Warhammer 40'000."
