Fic: Chase the Morning {31/37}

[scarlet_gryphon]

Chapter Two: Reconnaissance



Date: January 27, 8 A.I. [2008]

Location: Outer Space, Sol System


A cloaked Tel’tak waited by the dark side of Earth’s moon, observing the movements of the Wraith fleet while staying out of range of the Wraith sensors. Its occupants had come out of hyperspace on the far side of the solar system, cloaking as soon as they’d reappeared in normal space near Pluto. It was being piloted by Teal’c, and the rest of SG-1 were there as well. Jolinar was sitting up front with Teal’c, while Daniel and Cam were in the back, idly playing a game of cards.

‘Anything yet?’ Cam asked, looking up from the game of poker he was currently losing against Daniel. They were playing for the near-chocolate from M3J-241, which had become quite the commodity over the past year at both the SGC and in Atlantis. Jolinar turned in her seat, breaking off from an internal discussion with Sam as she did so; Cam saw her gaze snap back into focus as she opened her mouth to speak.

‘Not yet, unfortunately.’ Jolinar said, shaking her head. ‘They’ve remained stationary.’

‘And we’ve got how long until we switch off with SG-13?’

‘Three hours, Colonel Mitchell.’ Teal’c replied, keeping his gaze focused towards the ships. ‘I do not believe that…’

Teal’c trailed off, leaning forwards. Cam got to his feet, Daniel following after him. ‘What’s going on?’ Cam asked, coming to a halt behind Teal’c’s chair.

‘The Wraith look like they’re moving.’ Daniel murmured.

‘Yeah, they do.’ Sam said, coming to the fore. ‘I wonder why.’

‘Looks like we’re going to find out real soon.’

The premiere Gate team watched two of the five Hive Ships slowly move away from the stationary orbital position they’d been in since the initial invasion. They flew past the moon and into the void between Mars and Earth, where, to SG-1’s astonishment, they began firing on one another.

‘What the hell?’ Cam was in shock. The Wraith didn’t just fire on one another. Sure, they had their disagreements, and it wasn’t uncommon for a Wraith to fight another over a particularly prime food source, but he’d never heard of two Hive Ships going at one another like cats and dogs.

Teal’c maneuvered the cloaked Tel’tak closer to the battle, keeping well out of range of the Wraith’s sensors, endeavoring to better see what was going on. The two Wraith ships kept firing at one another, trading blows back and forth. Eventually, one gained supremacy over the other and struck a critical blow, wounding the other ship greatly. A squadron of Darts continued the attack, making sure that their enemy was completely destroyed. The Dart battle continued as SG-1 watched, various Darts exploding or crashing into one another in kamikaze runs.

‘Well, now what?’ Daniel asked. ‘Not that, you know, I’m not enjoying seeing the Wraith blow one another up and everything, but we’ve got to at least report this back to the SGC.’

‘Which necessitates us leaving our post in order to get to a point where the Wraith won’t detect our hyperspace window.’ Teal’c replied.

‘Well, for right now, I suggest we stay put,’ Sam said. ‘We might be able to gather some more intel on what’s going on.’

‘Good idea.’

Teal’c returned the ship to its previous position, deftly maneuvering it back into the shadow of the Moon. The wounded Hive Ship limped back into its customary orbit, listing gently to one side as it did so. Scores of Darts swarmed around it, protecting it from any other attack as it stabilized itself.

‘Think we’ve seen enough?’

‘Perhaps. None of the other Hive Ships seem to be attacking it, even though it’d be an easy victory.’ Jolinar said, coming to the fore. ‘We should probably return and report what we’ve seen.’

‘Alright, let’s go.’ Cam said, slapping the back of Teal’c’s chair.


SG-1 sat in the briefing room of the SGC, having just got back from the Beta Site, where they’d handed off the Tel’tak they had used for scouting out the Wraith’s movements to SG-13. General Hammond was currently speaking with Doctor Weir over a Goa’uld communication stone, but soon concluded his conversation and exited his office.

‘Alright, let’s begin.’ He said, taking his customary seat at the head of the table.

‘Well, sir, about three hours before SG-13 was due to relieve us, two of the Wraith Hive Ships broke orbit and then started fighting one another.’ Sam said, folding her hands on top of the table. ‘When one lost, the other Hive returned to orbit. The odd thing is, none of the other Hive Ships attacked it, even when they had ample chance to.’

‘That is strange.’ George leaned back in his chair, a contemplative look on his face. ‘If the Wraith are starting to fight amongst themselves, now may be our best chance to attack.’

‘True, but we’re going to have to coordinate with the other members of the Alliance, as discussed.’ Daniel pointed out. ‘Otherwise, I doubt we’ll have any chance of winning even a short battle. ‘Cause even if we take out all of the Hive Ships and associated Darts, we’ve still got to deal with the Wraith on the ground.’

‘Which is why we’re going to honor our agreement and work with the Sanctuary Network and Atlantis.’ George said, getting to his feet. ‘I’ve got some calls to make. If that’s everything, then you’re dismissed.’

‘Thank you, sir.’ Cam said as he and the other members of SG-1 got to their feet as well.

‘Go get your post-mission checkup done. I’ve got a conference call to get together.’

‘Of course, sir.’ SG-1 trooped out of the briefing room, heading towards the infirmary, and Janet’s care.


Nikola listened to the babble of arguments flowing around him, one hand going to his temple as he leaned back in his chair. He had taken to using one some time ago, having tired of being on his feet all the time. The video monitors had been rearranged to accommodate the new arrangement, lined up on a table set in front of the desk that had once belonged to Helen. The Heads of the Sanctuaries had been debating with those of the SGC and Atlantis for the past three hours, ever since General Hammond had called Nikola with the news of the Wraith attacking one another. Some had proposed for an outright attack, while others wanted to err on the side of caution and wait to see what would happen next.

‘After all,’ Doctor Roberts said, leaning forwards to emphasize his point. ‘The Wraith might just destroy one another if these battles continue on.’

‘Or they could be consolidating power so only one Queen and her Hive will rule Earth while the others move on and conquer other worlds.’ General Hammond pointed out. ‘They’ve only stayed here because of the large amount of humans, slaves and food alike that are available, even after the genocides of the Three Waves.’

‘Yes, but-’

Nikola sighed and then cleared his throat, catching the attention of the others. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, this debate is pointless.’ He said, striving to keep his voice calm and collected, though some of his irritation crept through in his words. ‘Continuing to argue amongst ourselves does nothing but waste precious time and energy. While I agree that there is a time and place for prudence and caution, we do have an unparalleled opportunity to move against the Wraith. We’ve made various contingency plans to account for different scenarios in attacking the Wraith, and it’s high time we put the appropriate one to use. That was one of the reasons I returned here, to the Old City Sanctuary.

‘We may have to modify a few of our plans, but if we do this correctly, we might just be able to weaken the Wraith even further than they’ve already weakened themselves. We won’t win this war in one day, but we sure as hell can do our best to wound them as severely as possible. If we can take out as many Hive Ships as we can, clearing out the Wraith on the ground will be far more easier than with them. Doing a simultaneous strike both in space and on the ground will further the goal of wiping out the Wraith once and for all even faster than we originally thought. I propose that we take the best of both paths- we continue to gather intel over the next few days, and then we move when the time is right.’

Nikola settled back into his chair, content in having made his position known to the rest of the Council of the Alliance. The others began debating once more, though now there was a definite sense of purpose to the conversation, unlike before. He smiled to himself, hiding the satisfaction he felt by taking a drink from a nearby wine glass, letting the words of rebellion and freedom wash over him.