[i]Collaborative post between Tonak and Aeryn Thorde[/I]

Aeryn eyed Tonak suspiciously,  the last time they had met Tonak had been desperate to get his hands on the information regarding the Ancestral Lab. Perhaps this was another ploy designed to get information from him. He'd play along see where this went, it couldn't possibly make his situation any worse. "What would be involved in fulfilling this 'job'?" He asked slowly, what could Aeryn give the Lucien Alliance that they couldn't merely take?

Tonak leaned on a nearby stump. “Well it is all pretty easy. I’m pretty sure you still want to know what is going on with the Ancestral lab. Why did your Goa’uld care for it so much? What secrets could it possibly hold? Well I’m pretty sure you at least know the Ancestors were a major power in the Galaxy and even in other galaxies. Whatever this lab or facility is for it could benefit everyone. The only issue is, no-one on this planet can use it.” He put his knife back in its sheath and instead took out a flask and took a sip from it. “A ship will have just entered orbit, the Tau’ri and I am sure you remember who they are. Many of them possess the ability to use Ancestral technology and are the foremost experts of it, sadly. We need them to find out what you know about the facility, and you can be an inside man. All you need to do is assist them, and they will get you off this planet. They will take you in and give you new purpose.”

Aeryn cursed silently, the Lab had been one of Amenthes obsession which he’d been kind enough to imprint on Aeryn during the blending. The Lab fascinated Aeryn and Tonak knew that full well. Tonak didn’t know however how much Aeryn actually knew about the Lab. Amenthes had studied it for five years while Aeryn hosted him and many before that. It was as far as Aeryn could tell a Lab devoted to finding a power source for the Mythic City of the Ancients which according to the stories that his father has whispered to him in secret had flown to another galaxy many millennia ago. Aeryn had always thought it was just a story until the blending. Of course knowing that it existed and knowing it was a success were two completely different things. Building a ship of that magnitude would require immense resource, genious, time and skill. Even with all the immense power the Ancients wielded there was a decent chance that Atlantis had never made it off the ground. 

“And how do you know that I don’t already have the secrets of that Lab.” Of course he didn’t. Amenthes had used a workout interface utilizing human genetic material that had been modified with certain characteristics of the Ancient genetic code but it had only allowed Amenthes to initialize the main control systems. Much of the lab had been inaccessible to the Goa’uld and Aeryn knew just how much it frustrated him.

“If you had the secrets of that lab, he would of had the secrets of that lab and he wouldn’t have been taken down by a rag tag group of Jaffa radicals and humans who started out using nothing other than swords and bows. No, I’ve been in the facility and while it has definitely been occupied recently I’d say it hasn’t been running since the Ancestors inhabited the galaxy.” Tonak checked a small device on his wrist and sighed. “I can always make the choice easy for you, if you really want. I don’t have to ask nicely you know. I can make it a lot harder.”Tonak moved over behind a stump and pulled out a Goa’uld torture device before sitting back down on top of it. “I can make this intensely painful for you, I’m fed up of asking nicely.” He sparked the device. “Either you can do this, or I will make you do it. It makes absolutely no difference to me.”

---
[I]Collaborative Post between Adam Williams and Halion Drennon[/I]

Williams had been listening in and had just been about to takeover when the call had been routed through to him. He composed himself even though there wasn’t a visual before he started to speak after clearing his throat. “Greetings Halion Drennon. I am Mr. Adam Williams leader of the crew of the [i]Catherine Langford[/i] and its Captain. I am a representative of Earth or the Tau’ri collaborative governments and my job is to meet with vetted leaders of other planet’s governments. I can understand where you are coming from in blaming the people of the Tau’ri for the mistakes that have been made. However the Goa’uld were always present in the Galaxy and had we not intervened would likely still be in power and at the same time while yes you could perhaps blame us for the Ori incursion we were on the frontlines and in the end we were the ones who defeated them.”

He paused for a minute. “We have made errors in judgement, as have many people on many different worlds and off several different species. However now we are aiming to repair that, and build a better galaxy for everyone. If we stand down will you allow for a peaceful delegation to be sent to the planet?”

As the ship got closer to the planet Halion was able to do an in depth scan, the results were not encouraging. The shield output he was detecting was now clear enough for him to realize that his ships weapons would not penetrate. He also discovered that if his readings were correct these shields were not Goa'uld/Asgard hybrids but purely designed by the race almost as old as the Ancients. Amenthes while in the service of several different System Lords had encountered the Asgard a half dozen times. Amenthes had meticulously recorded scans, tactics and capabilities using them to build a profile of what he thought the ships were capable of. He had hoped to find a way to out do the Asgard. It had been another project that Amenthes obsessed over before letting it fall to the wayside after he was granted control over the Ancient Lab. The scans he was receiving were different than that of those recorded in Amenthes notes but they were still very similar and surely the difference could only be resulted from the improvements to the Asgard technology since Amenthes last encountered them. His Tel'taks might have some success with their self destruct but he could not be certain. This level of technology had kept the Goa’uld in there place under the Protected Planets Treaty for a very long time.

When this Captain Black cut off communication abruptly Halion thought over what she'd said and his mind clasped onto one important detail: the pilot of the recon ship survived. Halion had personally review the sensor readings from the explosion, the craft had been torn into hundreds of pieces leaving only chunks of twisted metal lying in space, there was no possible way that pilot could have lived without beaming out and the Langford had yet to enter beaming range at the time of the ship’s destruction.

There must have been a failsafe installed on the ship, perhaps a personal shield or a portable stasis pod that protected the pilot till he could be beamed on ship. Halion had never seen such technology, it was not in the Goa’uld repertoire when Amenthes had fallen and as far as he knew still wasn’t but with the strange new technology he was faced with anything was a possibility. Halion suddenly had a theory and he went back over the telemetry from just after the Langford arrived. There was a weak energy trail leading from the debris to the ship, as Halion had suspected something protected the pilot till it was possible to beam him to safety but as Tolia’s leader went over the data that the Ha’tak had recorded he realized something. The energy signature was too weak to have converted an entire person, in fact Halion would have missed it all together had he not been looking for it. There was a possibility that at the last minute the pilot had been stored in some sort of buffer and then his pattern was transferred to the ship upon its arrival. That would explain the readings that the Ha’tak sensors had recorded.

Halion had never seen such technology and he found himself wondering where the Tau’ri could have retrieved it from. This [i]Catherine Langford[/i] wielded a great deal of power scavenged from the Asgard, the Goa’uld possibly even the Ancients themselves. For the first time Halion began to fear that this was a battle he could not win.

When communications opened again between the Langford and Halion’s console Halion knew grudgingly that he would have to take the diplomatic route. The strong arm tactic only operated effectively if you knew you could win or your enemy thought you could. Neither of these were true.

As the transmission came through Halion found himself impressed with the skill and tact with which Adam Williams spoke. He admitted his people’s mistakes and acknowledged Halion’s argument in an apology that never reached the point of apologizing. He had clearly been doing this for many years unlike this [i]Captain Black[/i] who seemed to enjoy blowing stuff up far more than talking. He couldn’t however switch between confrontational and diplomatic immediately without it looked strange.“Adam Williams, your people have been headstrong and reckless which has brought great damage to the peoples of this galaxy but I can at least say that for your shortcomings and mistakes you have always been a friend to human worlds and carried the best intentions in your hearts.”

Perhaps he’d laid it on more strongly than was necessary but Halion was confident that they would find an explanation for this. Perhaps there clear military superiority.

Now he had to consider Adam Williams proposal. If they were to disarm their weapons he could consent to a peaceful delegation. Of course he knew they were after the Ancestral lab and the secrets it held. Besides with a peaceful delegation on the surface he could use their lives as a shield. Of course the important areas of his world were shielded such as the storage space for the Goa’uld’s remaining technology, the burial ground of the Stargate and of course this space. The Alliance was kind enough to provide beam jammers to protect the vital areas in case of an invasion. Any Tau’ri strike force that came would have to beam in at a distance from anything important.“Disarm your ships weapons and move into a stable orbit at these coordinates.” He said sending a set of coordinates that would place the Langford not far from the Ha’tak. I will permit a four person delegation carrying no weapons to beam to this location.” Halion sent the location not far from the West River on the other side from the Ancient Facility and near one of the twelve towns scattered over Tolia’s surface. All of which were close to the main city.

Williams smiled slightly. “We both know Mr. Drennon that I am no more likely to beam down an unarmed delegation than you are likely to come up to my ship with an unarmed delegation.” He pondered for a moment. “What if I were to meet you, face to face with a delegation of four military and one scientist. We want to see the Ancient Facility and try to gather more information about it, and find out what it is for the benefit of both our peoples and the rest of the people in the galaxy.”

He paused for just a moment. “What I am proposing is that while we all meet at the site with one scientist and four guards each. Then while our scientist takes a look at the facility, kept in check by your own scientist and their three guards, you and I can speak together to initiate peace talks."