Fic: Chase the Morning {30/37}
Part Three: War Zone
Chapter One: Fleet
Date: October 16, 7 A.I. [2007]
Location: Phoenix Project, Beta Site, MJ4-329
Peter Grodin was helping Miko Kusanagi with finishing the preliminary diagnostics of the Daedalus’ propulsion systems when Nikola, Sam, and Rodney came into the engine room, all talking rapidly with one another. Miko glanced up from her computer, a smile passing across her face as she watched the trio come to a halt, Rodney and Nikola debating about something she couldn’t quite catch.
‘Look who’s finally decided to join us, Doctor Grodin.’ She murmured amusedly.
Peter blinked and then turned his head. When he caught sight of the three newcomers, he shook his head gently. ‘Ah, good.’ He replied. ‘I was wondering when they’d show up.’
He got to his feet, having been sitting on a chair in front of one of the main consoles, and wandered over to where Nikola, Rodney, and Sam were.
‘Hello, Doctor O’Neill, Doctor McKay. It’s good to see you again. How are things back home?’ he asked after politely waiting to be noticed.
‘They’re good as can be,’ Rodney replied, sounding distracted. ‘How’re things going here?’
‘We’re just about two-thirds of the way through the diagnostics for the sub-light engines, and then we’re going to start on the hyperdrive.’ Miko said as she rose to her feet. ‘But I think we might take a short break in between, since we’ve been going at this for nearly six hours now.’
‘That’s probably a good idea,’ Sam said. ‘By the way, Miko, Peter, this is Doctor Tesla. He’s one of the technical advisors for the Sanctuary Network, among other things, so we’re giving him a tour of our fleet.’
‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Tesla.’ Miko said with a polite nod. ‘If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.’
‘Thanks.’ Nikola nodded briefly, and then turned to Sam. ‘Now that I’ve seen the what the Daedalus can offer, would it be possible to see some of the other ships you’ve managed to collect?’
‘Sure.’ Sam led Nikola out, Rodney staying behind to see what Miko and Peter’s progress was so far. Once they’d left the Daedalus, Sam took Nikola to where the bulk of their fleet was. Over the years, they’d managed to collect fifteen Alkesh, seven Ha’taks, some Tel’taks and a few other smaller ships of various designs. Nikola was impressed with the amount of ships; even though the Wraith had Hive ships, the Ha’taks alone seemed like they would be able to do quite a lot of damage, not to mention the fact that they had been retrofitted to accommodate both Goa’uld gliders and F-302s alike, giving the fleet a much better chance against the Wraith Darts.
The three entirely Earth-made battleships were capable of holding F-302s as well, though there were far more gliders than F-302s, since the supplies needed for the construction of the F-302s were highly sought-after by others, and it was hard enough getting them as it was. Nikola ran a hand over one of the gliders that had been parked near an Alkesh, marveling at its design. It was sleek, far more pleasing to the eye than the sharp angles of the Wraith’s Darts. He wanted to see its inner workings, but figured he’d be able to do so relatively soon.
‘So, how long before this all is ready to move against the Wraith?’ he asked Sam, looking up from his examination of the glider. ‘It’s an impressive sight, but I’m sure it’ll be even more so in action.’
Sam shrugged. ‘Well, we’re just waiting on the last few tests for the Daedalus, but once that’s done, we’re going to have to draw up a battle plan. Getting everything coordinated on both land and in space is going to be tricky; we’re going to have to hit the Continental Wraith Strongholds at the same time as the Hive ships in orbit in order to maximize the damage we can do.’ She said, leading Nikola away from the glider and towards the small grouping of buildings at the center of the shipyard. ‘Now, do you know how the Sanctuary Network is going to be assisting us in the attacks?’
Nikola nodded. ‘From what we’ve seen, the Wraith tend to leave the Abnormals alone. No idea why; maybe it’s something to do with how we taste.’ He saw Sam smile and then continued on. ‘Anyways, if we can get at least two Abnormals per strike team on Earth, I think we’ll have a greater chance of actually getting this to work. There are so many talents out there, not to mention Abnormals who aren’t near-humans. We’ve got some pretty dangerous allies, most of which the Sanctuaries would’ve probably either captured or neutralized before the time of the Wraith. It’s kind of ironic, using one monster to defeat another, but it’s also one of the most viable ideas we’ve got.’ Nikola grinned. ‘Let’s just hope our monsters are the stronger of the two.’
‘Yeah,’ Sam said as they reached the command post. She led the way, opening the door and ushering Nikola within. The few personnel not out working on the ships looked up from their work when the two newcomers entered and then returned to their tasks, talking quietly among one another. Nikola saw a small group of people standing near a whiteboard, Radek Zelenka and Peter Kavanagh among them. One of the scientists, who Nikola didn’t recognize, was arguing with Peter, who looked as if he would rather be anywhere other than where he was was. Nikola could sympathize; even though he wasn’t a receiving empath like Peter, he could feel the beginnings of a headache starting to form even from just listening to the arguing man’s voice. It was nasal and grating to the ears. Nikola walked over, quietly joining the people on the outskirts of the group.
‘What’s going on?’ he asked in a low voice to the person standing nearest to him. The scientist didn’t look away from the argument, but answered him in a distracted tone.
‘Well, Doctor Whitcomb and Doctor Kavanagh got into it because Kavanagh said that Robert’s equations were off, and Robert said that they weren’t. It kind of went downhill from there.’ She told him.
‘Hmm. I see.’ Nikola scanned the lines of equations, recognizing them as power distribution equations, most likely to be used on the warships, searching for anything that might be erroneous within them. A few items jumped out at him, so he stepped forwards, tapping Whitcomb on the shoulder. ‘Excuse me?’ he said, stepping back so that the other man wouldn’t feel overcrowded.
Whitcomb turned around, and Nikola caught the thankful look on Peter’s face before he refocused on the task at hand. ‘What?’ Whitcomb snapped, transferring his attention to Nikola.
‘Your calculations are, indeed, off. The coefficients here, here and here-’ Nikola pointed them out with a quick motion of one hand. ‘Are wrong, and arguing about it is clearly pointless.’
‘Really. And just who do you think you are, anyways?’ Whitcomb scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
‘Doctor Nikola Tesla, pro tem leader of the Old City Sanctuary and chief technical advisor for the Tau’ri Alliance. Pleasure to meet you.’
‘Yeah, and he invented the radio.’ Peter said dryly. ‘I’d listen to him, even if you don’t want to listen to me.’
Whitcomb blinked, startled. ‘I get that reaction a lot.’ Nikola said in amusement to Sam, who had been watching the short interchange with interest once she’d returned from talking with one of the supervisors of the Beta Site. She hadn’t spoken, preferring to see what would happen, so long as it didn’t turn violent. Given the high emotions in the room, that was entirely an option, but she didn’t think it would get that far.
‘Anyways, once you fix those, you should be able to continue on with your work.’ Nikola told Whitcomb. ‘To be fair, you weren’t far off, but if you had tried to put these formulas into your programs, it probably would’ve overloaded and shorted out at the very least.’
‘I- uh, thanks.’ Whitcomb stuttered, and Nikola nodded, one side of his mouth quirking in a brief smile.
‘Don’t worry about it.’ He said. ‘Well, I’m taking up your time, as well as Doctor O’Neill’s, so we should probably be moving on.’
‘Yeah, you’re probably right.’ Sam said. ‘Cam and Daniel are waiting for us at the ‘Gate, and we’re a little behind schedule as it is.’
‘Then by all means, let’s go. Peter, it was nice seeing you again. I’m sure you and Sasha are doing well.’ Nikola commented as he passed by his fellow Abnormal, who looked far more relaxed now that the tension and anger that had been thick in the air previously had dissolved.
‘Yes, we are. Thanks for asking.’ Peter said with a grin. ‘She’s on Atlantis at the moment, safe and sound. She’s working with Doctor Heightmeyer as a psychologist again.’
‘Good, good. Well, I’ve got to run. Say hi to her for me.’
‘Sure.’
Nikola hurried after Sam, catching up with her after a few hundred feet. They continued on, making their way towards the Gate where Cam and Daniel were to meet them, Nikola feeling far more confident then he had in a while. After over seven years of oppression and hiding from the Wraith, it looked the peoples of Earth might actually have a fighting chance to free their home once and for all.