chapter 228

Two hundred thousand miles beyond Earth's moon

Beyond Earth's lone moon, lay nothing but cold and empty space. Without warning, a blinding blossom of intense white light erupts from nothing. Lasting only three seconds, this light went dim just as suddenly as it had appeared. In its wake, it left not the empty space of before, but a far more familiar sight.

Powerful sensors at the SGC detected the abnormal energy anomaly, and the object left in its wake. Oddly, the object was transmitting an Identification Friend or Foe signal. This coded signal was vessel specific. In this case, it identified the object as the USS Daedalus. Normally, this would not be a cause for alarm. The inconvenient fact that at this moment Daedalus was just now entering hyperspace for the return voyage from Pegasus turned curiosity into panic. Before anyone at the SGC could even begin to think of a possible response to this new arrival, an encrypted video message was transmitted to Cheyenne Mountain.

"Star Gate Command, I am Colonel Sobel, commanding officer of the USS Daedalus. We represent no threat, and understand you will take action to intercept. We come with a message of the utmost urgency." Sobel said formally.

Anderson Air Force Base, Guam

Within an hour of the arrival of the alternate Daedalus, the vessel found itself fully contained. Three Athena class vessels, two Improved Daedalus class vessels, and an array of F-302's had surrounded the craft. Following instructions, the alternate Daedalus had kept its offensive and defensive systems fully offline. Taking the vessel under tow, the German Athena class vessel Bismark moved alternate Daedalus to a new location. Placing her in orbit around Saturn's moon Rhea, alternate Daedalus now sat under the watchful eye of several units of the Tauri fleet.

Before alternate Daedalus was relocated, her crew was placed under quarantine in the bowels of the Canadian Athena class vessel Hugh Le Caine. There, the medical team had examined the quarantined crew, taking blood, hair, and saliva samples. These scans confirmed that those under quarantine were indeed human, free of contaminants, and unarmed. A day later, the crew was transferred from their quarantine zone to Jumpers for the flight to Anderson. That was eight days ago.

Genetic samples taken from those in quarantine were rushed to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, to the US Army Central Identification Laboratory. This facility plays a crucial role in the identification of remains suspected to be Americans that have fallen in battle, but never confirmed dead. Forensic anthropologists carefully analyze all remains to determine the sex, race, age at death, and height of the individual remains they are investigating at the time. Lab scientists also are tasked with using a variety of techniques to establish the identification of missing Americans, including the analysis of skeletal and dental remains, and DNA sampling and comparison. Here the samples taken aboard the Hugh Le Caine were compared to genetic profiles of service members on file. While this worked well for service members serving in the armed forces whose alternates had arrived on Daedalus, unfortunately not all the individuals in this reality were members of the military.

The Air Force Office of Special Investigations working around the clock had set out to find genetic samples for comparison. Oddly, in every case the result was the same. Every member of the alternate Daedalus crew should have had a counterpart in this reality. In each case, the counterpart was found to be deceased. This finding explained why those recent arrivals were not experiencing entropic cascade failure, which greatly satisfied the science staff at the SGC. Acting on Presidential authority, the located remains of each individual were exhumed. Once exhumed, samples of genetic material were taken for comparison. In cases where cremation had been used, the nearest living family member was found, and samples taken from them.

Once identities were confirmed, the mood of those guarding the new arrivals relaxed considerably. Though they were still sequestered away, a certain amount of leeway was granted. Enjoying the sunshine, the crew hardly took notice when their commanding officer was escorted elsewhere for consultations. Making their way to a secure meeting room, Colonel Sobel and her escort walked quickly. Entering the room, the Colonel saw a face she recognized well sitting at the conference table.

"Come on in Colonel." General O'Neill began.

"Thank you General." Sobel replies.

"I apologize for having you and your crew sitting here for so many days, but verification took time." Jack says apologetically.

"What can I do for you General?" Sobel asks.

"As you can imagine, your message caused a bit of a stir in Washington. I'm here to discuss that with you, even though I've read the report atleast ten times in the last week." Jack says.

"General, if I could be allowed a question before we begin, I would appreciate it." Sobel states.

"By all means, ask away." Jack replied.

"The Colonel Sobel of this reality, what is she like? Is she happy? Does she have a family?" Colonel Sobel asks.

"Are you sure you want to know the answer to those questions Colonel?" Jack asks.

"I've put a good deal of thought into that question. Yes General, I do." Sobel replies.

"In this reality, Patricia Sobel was never a member of the armed forces. She did work for the SGC and the Air Force though." Jack replies.

"Did?" Sobel asks timidly.

"Dr. Sobel was a researcher at Area 51. When the Wraith attacked Earth with a ZPM powered Hive ship, Area 51 was severely damaged by a kamikaze attack carried out by Darts. She died during the attack. I'm sorry to be the barer of bad news." Jack says regretfully.

"Thank you for your honesty General. If I might ask, what brings you here?" Sobel asks.

"As I've already said, I've read the report on this matter a number of times. I'm here to fill in a few gaps, and find the answers to a few questions I've got." Jack replies.

"I'm happy to answer any questions you have sir." Sobel replies formally.

"Tell me Colonel, just how you came to be aboard the Daedalus when I have a report from several years ago that states you and your crew abandoned ship in a reality alternate from mine and your own?" Jack asks.

"During the first operational deployment of the Daedalus after the alternate reality drive was installed did end with my crew and I abandoning ship in a reality separate from our own. Taking what supplies we could, we opted to remain on a Lantea that was without an Atlantis Expedition. For several days, we sat in our makeshift base camp. Then out of nowhere, Daedalus reappears in orbit. Deciding it was better to take our chances than wait for a rescue, we went back aboard Daedalus. The reality navigation program was locked into a process of following the path through realities it had taken. Arriving back in our original reality, the navigation program found itself out of destinations, and shut itself down. Home, the Odyssey took us under tow and returned us to Earth. Once there, Dr. Lee was able to analyze the path we had taken and ascertain through internal sensors just which reality had sent Daedalus back along its previous path. Were it not for the efforts of your McKay, my crew and I would not have made it home." Sobel explains.

"Ok, that matches up with what my science people told me was likely. Lets move on to what happened that brought you here." Jack urged.

"That is a question that will take more time to answer. The IOA of my reality was greatly expanded after the first failed attempt b the Wraith against Earth. Resources were poured into ship construction, and soon the fleet numbered fifteen vessels. We surged into the Pegasus galaxy, and started taking the fight to the Wraith on their home turf. At first, the war was entirely one sided. All that changed when a new Wraith came on the scene. He called himself the Harbinger." Sobel explained.

"We've had a few run-ins with him also." Jack interjected.

"Then you know how fearsome an enemy he can be. In my reality, the Harbinger managed to reconstitute the Wraith fleet. With this much larger Wraith fleet, he surged across the galaxy. In six months, he had severely culled all human worlds. For a time, he seemed content to return the status quo to the galaxy. Then Colonel Sheppard, our Colonel Sheppard I mean, sent a message to the Harbinger. This message provoked him into action. Minutes after this message, the Wraith fleet set course for Atlantis. For several days, they laid siege to the city. Unable to break through the city's shield, the fleet broke orbit from Lantea and left. Atlantis confirmed they were on their way to the Milky Way. The surviving vessels of our fleet raced to Earth, and we managed to outrun the Wraith." Sobel explained.

"What happened from there?" Jack asked.

"When the Wraith entered our solar system, the twelve remaining vessels in Earth's fleet stood ready to meet them. The battle raged for ninety horrible minutes. Odyssey and Sun Tzu were the first to fall. While we exacted a harsh price on the Wraith fleet, they simply outnumbered us too greatly. As our numbers dwindled, the Ancient weapons platform in Antarctica expended the last of its drone weapons. Despite the drone fire, Wraith ships continued to bombard Earth. In the first twenty minutes, a handful of major cities were ablaze. Our remaining vessels were ordered to depart, regroup, and return after they had affected repairs. Colonel Carter in command of the Phoenix ordered me to activate the alternate reality drive to find help. While the drive powered up, Colonel Carter covered us, but the Wraith kept coming. Seconds before we jumped, Phoenix rammed the Harbingers ship, destroying it and four other Hives. Colonel Carter died a hero. Were it not for her, I wouldn't be here now." Sobel explained soberly.

"Why come here Colonel?" Jack asked softly.

"General, I came to the Earth that saved me once already." Sobel answered honestly.

"I have no intention of letting happen to this Earth what happened to yours. You have done us a great service in bringing this warning, and that will not be forgotten. By order of the President, I am going to give you a bit of information you probably do not have. You are helping our Earth, so we are returning the favor. Here is a data stick that will come in handy. Keep that in a safe place." Jack says as he passes over the device.

"What is this sir?" Sobel asks.

"On that thumb drive is the recognition code you will need to enter and make use of Arkos." Jack explained.

"Arkos sir?" Sobel asked.

"Arkos is an Ancient built shipyard. If it is anything like ours when we discovered it, you will find a handful of Aurora class vessels in various degrees of completion. You will also find an inexhaustible supply of drone weapons and the ability to create ZPM's. That should put you well on your way to liberating your Earth." Jack states.

"When we reenter our reality, we're walking into a solar system teaming with Wraith." Sobel counters.

"We've thought of that, and are going to help with that. As we speak, teams of technicians are fitting a cloak and fresh ZPM to your Daedalus. That should give you the boost you need." Jack says reassuringly.

"Thank you General. You are saving my world; I can only hope that I have helped you save yours. Stop Sheppard from sending that communiqué. The fate of your world hands in the balance." Sobel urged.

Moments later, General O'Neill directed an orbiting vessel to beam him to his next destination.