Let My Confessions be Forgotten

The Failed Raid on Asuras (Summary)
Full Episode can be found here.

The beginning of Universal Sin, we pick up in "Be All My Sins Remembered" moments before the combined Earth, Wraith, Traveler fleet makes the final jump to Asuras.

Ronon has a quick word with Fran, still not sure about the replicator weapon. McKay reassures Ronon and Fran shows her dissapointment that Ronon doesn't like her. Ronon asks her what she thinks of the Wraith and Fran answer amounts to kill them as quickly as possible. Ronon now likes Fran.

On the Traveler Aurora, Larrin continues to tease Sheppard, ignoring it, Sheppard makes the final jump to Asuras.

The battle begins well, and Apollo is able to drop McKay and Ronon's team down to Asuras, Fran begins to search for more Asurans, and eventually finds them as she engages her nanite blob subroutine. To Fran's shock though, the Asurans are able to counter the virus before the nanite blob grows to dangerous levels.

Up in space, the tide of battle begins to shift, the Asuran Auroras are regrouping into a phalanx position. The Wraith are getting the brunt of the punishment, and on board the Daedalus, Samantha Carter realizes that Fran has been neutralized. Rodney McKay realizes this as well, and with the Auroras fighting back, Apollo is too far away to beam the team back up.

It's at this moment that the Wraith turn on the Earth ships and Travelers, quickly surrounding Apollo and swarming it with fire. On board, Colonel Ellis is enraged and realizes that his ship is too damaged to escape.

Two Traveler ships are destroyed by the Asurans, and Larrin calls for a retreat. With the Daedalus now alone, and Apollo too damaged to escape, Caldwell and Carter have to make the hard decision to fall back despite not having recovered their people on Asuras or all their F-302 Starfightters.

On teh ground, Ronon and McKay struggle to stay ahead of the Asurans, Rodney decides to detonate as many ZPMs as possible, but before he can, he's shot in the leg with an Asuran energy pistol. Ronon then has to take Rodney's PDA and try and detonate the ZPMs. The entire strike team is killed, except for Rodney whom the Asurans take alive, and Ronon who moments before he could detonate the ZPM, is caught by a Wraith culling beam taht was aimed towards the ZPM. Ronon is captured by Todd and shackled to be his "pet."

In orbit, Colonel Ellis gives the final order to ram the nearest hive ship. Apollo goes down in a blaze of glory, destroying 2 Wraith hives and badly damaging several Asuran Auroras with it's final reactor detonation.

Daedalus is forced to retreat, and when Samantha Carter dials back to report the catastrophe to the IOA, Richard Woolsey gives her the ominous news that the IOA is going to reconsider their position in Pegasus. Colonel Sheppard is kidnapped by Larrin once more and put in teh brig of the Aurora. His fate is uncertain.

Meanwhile, Rodney McKay wakes up from his injury, the Asurans have kept him alive and plan to interrogate him. To their surprise, his brain chemistry has a natural defense left over from his experience with teh Ascending Machine on Atlantis. They'll have to reactivate every neuron that the machine did in order to access his memories.

Full Episode
Stargate Atlantis – Universal Sin

Alternate Season 4 of Atlantis

Episode 1 - Let my Confessions be Forgotten.

Disclaimer: They tell me I don't own this stuff, and I believe them. But it's fun to play with so :D I'll put em back! I promise!

Premise: AU from Be All My Sins Forgotten and on. When the combined force of 3 factions is not enough to stop the Asurans, how will events in the Galaxy unfold? Atlantis is the last best hope for survival, and the burdens of heroes will change the outcome of an entire galaxy… and perhaps the universe.

A/N: Universal Sin was originally a 10k One-Shot written in a single night of mad typing. Who knew a whole series would spawn out of it?

Addendum: Universal Sin is now the Prequel to Stargate: Dark Frontier which takes place after the events of UniSin. This episode has since been reedited to more closely match the quality level of the latest episodes of DF. No retcons have taken place, this is purely grammar and punctuation fixing. Many many thanks to IceMenace for the double check beta :D

Calm before the storm
The smile on the Replicators face was by far the most disturbing thing Rodney had ever seen. Despite being a pretty cute Replicator, it had been purely coincidental that she had turned out that way… at least that's what Rodney kept telling himself.

At least she wasn't blond. "So…uhh… How are you feeling FRAN?"

In the main armory of the USS Daedalus, Rodney armed up with the rest of the twelve man Marine escort for their mission to Asuras. Fran turned to Rodney and nodded gently with a smile. "I am ready, Doctor McKay. I am quite glad to be accomplishing such an important mission."

To the side, Ronon Dex growled softly and fingered his Traveler Particle Magnum. "You creep the hell out of me, you know that?"

FRAN shrugged apologetically and continued smiling. "I am sorry. I will attempt to rectify this for the few minutes we have left. I am nothing if not a friend of yours, Ronon Dex."

Even the Marines nearby in Daedalus's cargo hold were unsettled, each was armed with grenade launchers and Anti-Replicator Guns, Rodney couldn't help but notice how they all ended up pointing closer and closer to FRAN with each passing word. "See? She's trying, Ronon. Gruff doesn't work when you're dealing with a machine."

Ronon took a step forward and faced off with FRAN, his intimidating pose did nothing to ebb her smile. "What would you do if a Wraith was here? Right now."

FRAN nodded, and replied instantly. "Without a weapon, hand to hand combat is my only resort. Destruction of Wraith Brain Matter via blunt force would be the easiest and most effective method to deal with it given its considerable healing power."

If Rodney ever felt frightened by this Replicator, now was the moment. Ronon smiled back deviously, seemingly reassured.

Sitting in the operations console next to the Captain's chair on the USS Daedalus Colonel Samantha Carter knew it wouldn't be much longer till the ships dropped out of hyperspace. Even more, she knew it was going to be a tough fight.

The Daedalus and Apollo were armed to the teeth with Asgard Weaponry, but the beams were slow firing, and even with the advanced shields, they wouldn't be able to hold off the Asuran drone weapons indefinitely.

The Wraith Hives were in worse shape. Their plasma cannons were strong, but as far as damage per second, they could only fire half of what Daedalus was able to put out. The Hives would be able to spread the return fire, and under their combined strength, disable some Auroras.

What worried Sam the most though was the Travelers. Six ships… and their own Aurora. The Aurora would be a prime target. She almost regretted her decision to allow Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard to pilot the ship for them. The relatively small generational craft were built tough, but scans had revealed they were actually quite brittle without shielding. Their weaponry was impressive. A pair of heavy particle cannons mounted on the front, enough to take out even an Aurora under combined fire.

If there was ever going to be a Battle of Endor in her life, Sam knew this would be it. She couldn't help but question, was she part of the Rebellion or the Galactic Empire?

Captain Anthony Razor Pierce watched the countdown in his HUD. eight seconds. Eight seconds and the fight of his life would commence.

Everything he'd done before now was just training, preparation for this day. War games with Jaffa in Death Gliders, high gravity training using a centrifuge, even weapons and materials training so he understood how much power the weapons his fighter was armed with would cause. It was all just practice.

Now as the countdown reached zero, he heard his CAG, Major Jason Big Mac McCrea bark into the radio. "Kick the tires an' light the fires!"

With no hesitation, Razor flicked the switch on his afterburners and felt the ramjets along the stern of the craft propel him out into space, and into the newly created firestorm. Somewhere in his mind he heard his wing mate make a weak Battlestar Galactica reference… something about fraking toasters, but he paid no mind to it and instead engaged his thrusters. The moment he'd been trained to handle was here and Razor had every intention to perform admirably.

Sitting in the control chair of the Traveler Aurora, John dropped the craft out of hyperspace in orbit of Asuras and instantly raised the shields. He could feel Larrin standing beside him watching on the HUD. "Alright, Sheppard, if you ever wanted to impress me now's the time."

Rolling his eyes, John targeted the nearest Aurora with a dozen drones, sufficient to knock out its aft shielding and let the fighters deal with the hyperdrive. The drones spat out quickly and John felt the ship rock slightly from a hit. He quickly diverted his attention to the aggressor and saw it come under combined fire from two Wraith Hives and a Traveler ship. He fired another dozen drones and changed targets.

The initial moments of battle were going well, and Daedalus had just punched through the orbital defenses to deposit its package. "Come on, Sheppard! Tear em up!"

All things aside, Larrin was surprisingly excited by combat; the thought disturbed John ever so slightly.

The Storm
Appearing out of nowhere in an Asuran Control Center, Ronon quickly spat fire orders to the dozen Marines with them. "Go! Cover the entrances! You two, back them up! Move!"

Rodney paid little attention to Ronon's barking of orders, instead focusing on the control console in front of him. The plan he'd come up with was bold, and it all rested now on getting the ZPM's to detonate… well… and FRAN of course, but knowing her designer quite well, Hardy har har! He knew that she wouldn't let anything but the gravest of situations hold her back.

FRAN moved forward at a decent pace, not running, not jogging, but not exactly walking. Having appeared in a seemingly random hallway, she knew where to go. It was likely to be populated but that was the plan. As strange as it might sound to a human, FRAN was quite pleased with the prospect of becoming the core of what would essentially become a nuclear fusion reaction.

She stepped into the room with a delightful smile, the replicators in the room turning to look at such an odd presence. "Hello."

The Asurans mimicked human body language, their eyebrows furrowing and heads turned in surprise. It didn't come as much of a shock to FRAN that they tried to pull back as she activated her programming and the individual nanite cells that made up her body raised the attraction level of those around her beginning to form the core of her new existence.

FRAN could feel them all, all their memories, all their feelings, all their goals. But it was all pointless. Nothing would stop her mission, nothing.

On the bridge of the Daedalus, Major Kevin Marks barked out the ship's status as he brought it around for another pass on an Asuran Aurora. "Another Aurora down, sir! Shields at 83%!"

Colonel Steven Caldwell held onto his chair as he watched Drones impact against the powerful Asgard Shields surrounding his craft. Only a few drones actually attacked his ship though, as the Auroras concentrated on attacking the Wraith. He guessed that the attack codes really worked wonders. "Keep firing, Major… and tell Titan wing to stick close, no telling what that blob might end up doing." He turned to Sam and smiled tersely. "Speaking of which…"

Sam resisted rolling her eyes and looked down at the screen where sensors had begun to detect the emissions she was looking for. "It's begun, the attraction field has been activated and it's growing exponentially. I estimate about four minutes and…"

Sam's console began to beep loudly, and her brow furrowed in confusion. Caldwell noted immediately and got rightly worried. "What? What is it?"

The face of stunned horror that now covered Sam's face said more than her words ever could. "The… the field, it's shrinking."

FRAN only had a meager understanding of human emotions and reactions to various for instance. To FRAN, pain was the equivalent of data being analyzed when one's being was under attack or being damaged.

If that was really all pain was, then FRAN was in an excruciating amount of pain. "What… What have you done?"

The voice that came back was imposing, deep voiced and… almost as if multiple voices were saying it. "We have interfaced with you. Don't you feel us?"

FRAN could feel it… it felt… wrong. This was not what she was supposed to be doing. "We are not compatible… your… my… programming is…"

The data that registered through her sensors now was different. But… "Your programming is inferior. We are perfecting you."

FRAN could feel it, parts of her were being… subverted, rearranged. They weren't part of her anymore. "No… you must stop. My mission is…"

The last attack, a full penetrative move that completely disarmed any resistance she had. FRAN contemplated screaming, the only reaction possible a human could have done to their individual cells being spread along the mass surrounding her. "Your mission… is a failure."

Your mission is a failure
"What…? No…oh no no no! Crap! Oh god! CRAP-CRAP-CRAP!"

Rodney's screaming brought Ronon back from his supervising of the Marines as they watched the entrances to the ZPM room. "What, what's wrong!?"

His expression one of terror, Rodney clicked his radio. "This is McKay to Daedalus… They got to FRAN! I don't know how but the blob has stopped growing!"

From outside, Ronon heard a Marine scream 'Contact!' and looked to Rodney with finality. The plan was failing, and now they were under imminent threat.

Holding onto his chair on the bridge of the USS Apollo, Colonel Abraham Ellis barked out orders as his ship rocked from weapons impacts. "Status!"

Ellis's scream made it to the helmsman's ears, but the reply wasn't something he liked. "Shields down to 35%! Nanite mass has stopped growing and Asuran's are regrouping!"

Abraham Ellis was ready for anything, but actually having to watch the battle fall apart before his eyes was something he'd hoped never to see. "Keep firing, Major! Try and get us…"

The explosion that took out the console to the right was impressive, but only to those who didn't want the Atlanteans to win.

Taking John's shoulder in her hand, Larrin pointed to the viewscreen ahead of them in the Traveler Aurora's control room. "Sheppard! Look!"

John could see the issue, and he could feel the rage boiling inside him. "I know, I know!"

John summed it up succinctly. Four immediate problems; Apollo was caught in a maelstrom of fire; three Auroras and two Wraith Hives were bearing down on the Atlantean craft and even with its superior shields, it wouldn't last much longer.

That led into problem number two, the Wraith. John could only assume that the Wraith had detected that the nanite blob plan had failed and now were targeting Apollo and Daedalus in order to lessen the strength of Atlantis.

Problem three was more personal to the Travelers. two of the other Traveler generational ships had been damaged severely and were now under attack from both Wraith and Replicator.

And it all culminated with problem four, Daedalus was nowhere near close enough to extract their strike team from the planet and that meant Rodney and Ronon were on their own.

"Fall back! Defensive positions!"

Ronon fired his blaster twice, knocking the Asuran off his feet impressively, but seeing one of the Marines nearby take fire and drop to the ground without even a scream as his lungs had been carbonized told him this wasn't working.

Rodney was furiously typing, almost pounding his tablet for some kind of solution to the problem they were facing. Ronon crawled over as the Asurans were now pouring harsh suppressive fire into the room, holding the marines back even as they tried to stand their ground, "McKay! Do something!"

Rodney's ire was misplaced but his heart was in the right place as he said. "I can't! The Replicators got to Fran and Daedalus is too far away! We're trapped!"

A shot came in from the entrance, shattereing Rodney's tablet as it sat on the console. Ronon growled furiously and fired whatever he could to hold them back. "So blow the ZPMs! Take 'em with us!"

Rodney ducked and pulled Ronon along with him. The screams of dying Marines made the moment all the more terrifying. "I can't! I needed my Tablet! I'd have to manually get to each ZPM!"

Ronon leaned out from beside cover, saw a Marine take fire even as he vaporized the Asuran that killed him and fired a few more shots just for effect. "Where!?"

If ever Rodney wished he could have kept his mouth shut, now was the time.

"Oh my God…"

Sam made no attempt to hide her horror as she saw one of the Traveler Warships unleash a barrage of red plasma, only to get torn to shreds by a dozen drones that eviscerated the decks of the older craft. She didn't know how many people were on that ship, but definitely more than a few lives had been lost.

Major Marks pulled the ship into a nosedive and scraped the nimble craft's shields against an aggressive Aurora. He called out the casualty. "Traveler three is down! Repeat, Traveler three is down! Other ships are bugging out!"

Caldwell fought the curse and opened his com frequencies with a slap of his fist on his arm console. "All Earth craft! Abort mission! I repeat, All Earth craft, we are aborting the mission! All pilots RTB!"

Sam's face became impassive. There was no way Apollo was going to be able to get out of the firestorm it was in and of the thirty two F-302's the pair of Earth BattleCarriers had launched, only fifteen remained.

The nail in the coffin of the mission was seeing another Traveler warship try and enter hyperspace, but taking fire from the Wraith, only charred scraps of debris made it through into the aperture.

"Goddamn roaches!"

Razor fired his last anti-fighter missile and drew only mild satisfaction that the Dart he'd hit expanded into a silent explosive blossom. So many lives lost, another Wraith didn't make him feel any better.

"You heard the Colonel! All pilots RTB! Abort mission, abort mission!"

Big Mac's orders filtered through and Razor knew the mission was FUBAR. The Travelers were gone, and…

"Oh bloody hell…"

Razor had seen many heroic things in his life as a pilot, but what he was seeing now made him question everything he once defined as noble.

Abraham Ellis was dying.

Granted, everybody dies… sooner or later, but few got to see the exact moment when they were going to die, and even fewer willingly flew into it.

He was seated on his command chair, gladly moving towards the Wraith Hive that he assumed the lead Wraith was on. The Wraith son of a bitch was going to die and Abraham Ellis was going to be the one to kill him. "All remaining power to shields. Let our inertia carry us."

The Major at the helm knew it was the only thing left. He'd signed onto Apollo to explore new cultures, seek out new life, and all that Star Trekkie goodness. Little did he or any of his crewmates figure that they'd get to go out the Klingon way.

The last thing Sheppard saw as he pushed the craft into hyperspace was Apollo pushing against the tide of Wraith fire. He knew Ellis was psychotic, but to actually do what he was doing…?

The hit was different, so unlike a Wraith stunner shot. It didn't paralyze, leaving one a few seconds to see who it was who'd shot him. The Traveler blaster was humane, and John slumped out of the chair sideways, Larrin holding the smoking gun. "Take him to the brig. Get our casualties to the infirmary."

Larrin was a hard woman, and instead of tears from the outcome, all she could feel was wrath.

There was still so much for him to do, still too many Nobel prizes to win. What would happen to the Nobel Prize for world peace and physics when he finally created human built zero point energy? And the look of jealousy on Sheppard's face when some ridiculously hot science bimbo gave him a huge hug and kiss while in front of millions of people? Perhaps not Sam Carter, but who knew?

The Marine that pushed him out of the way and took the Asuran energy bolt for him said it all. It wasn't going to happen. The way his face drained of blood, and the words that didn't make it to his mouth went to his eyes instead, begging for Rodney to keep running.

Death was an enigma to Rodney; he still didn't know what lay beyond. But from the looks of it, he just might find out today.

Ronon was different. Death was something to be welcomed, but avoided. The passing itself was no enigma, you get shot, stabbed, have the life drained out of you and you die. The only afterlife was ascension, and only the best were able to achieve it.

Dragging Rodney along kicking and screaming told him neither would be ascending anytime soon, although Rodney had had his chance the year before. But like him, the scientist was unwilling to leave this life without finishing what he was set out to do. And all that was left was to detonate the ZPM in the room 50 feet away…

"Aggh! Urggh!!"

Ronon came to a halt, and the three marines left instantly had the same thought. Rodney was down, his left calf now burned to a crisp amidst his shrieks of agony, time was running out.

"McKay!"

Rodney's tears were flowing freely, his lungs screeching in anguish. The small backup PDA he had was cradled in his arms as he flopped around on the floor like a fish on dry land. At that moment, Rodney realized he was going to die. "Mmrrrgh… Ronon… you have to… ARGHH… take this.. .plug it in…!" he repressed another stabbing squeal of anguish, even as more plasma bolts flew overhead. Ronon ducked and weaved, stunning yet another Asuran with his Traveler Blaster. "…Do it Ronon! It'll blow the ZPM!"

Shoving the PDA into Ronon's hands, Rodney allowed himself to fall back and wail in torment. His leg was gone, Rodney knew that much about weaponry. Even if he survived it was more than likely he'd need a prosthetic for the rest of his life… that is if he survived.

Ronon hesitated. Leaving Rodney behind was tantamount to betrayal. But seeing the four remaining Marines dig in and load the last of their clips, Ronon realized that he had to do this. This was Rodney's last wish and he'd be a cruel monster to say no.

The screams coming in through the radio were muffled by static, but to Sam's ears they were perfectly legible.

Apollo had gone in, guns blazing, with what few guns it had left. Wraith Plasma and Drone fire washed in, buckling the shields that should have long ago been depleted. Ellis must had diverted all power to them in a last ditch effort to get close.

The Asgard reactors that powered Daedalus and Apollo were the stable equivalent of a Mark 9 Naquadria Enhanced Thermonuclear Device. Even more, the Apollo was carrying quite a few nukes as part of its regular armament. If they'd taken the safeties off…

"Mother of God." Caldwell's words were the only sound other than screaming and static… and now the sight of Apollo… or rather the charred husk of what remained of Apollo rammed nose first into the gut of the Wraith hive.

As it rushed in, chunks of the Trinium/Carbon/Naquadah alloy shattered off, spinning around like debris around a comet. Smoke and trails of fire twisted behind the craft cutting a swath across the Asuran-held space.

The Apollo dug deep into the Wraith Hive, metal twisting around organic armor. Even as the two ships ground into each other, they still fired any weapons they had. At such close range, the sudden and eerily silent detonation of the Asgard Reactor gave the final point to the Battle of Asuras. Sam fought down her stunned shock and said. "Colonel Caldwell… we need to go, Now!"

Caldwell turned a pained expression to Sam, and realized that she was making the right call. As feminine as Sam could be sometimes, Soldier Sam was ultimately who wore the pants. Caldwell stiffened his britches and huffed once before giving his orders. "Agreed. Major, get us into hyperspace."

Marks hesitated, there were still four 302s trying to land. But even he knew the harsh reality of war and of a battle lost. "…Yes, sir."

Sam watched impassively, her emotions shoved down deep as the broken and burning wrecks of the Apollo and Wraith Hive spread out along the nuclear firestorm, taking out another Wraith Hive and two Auroras that had been chasing Apollo down.

Pointless. Sam realized it was all so…pointless.

Ronon was almost to the ZPM room. Death welcomed him into its arms as he looked inside; explosions outside and a chariot of zero point energy explosive firepower before him.

The crystalline object glowed almost unnaturally, a type of life that Ronon both loved and hated. He knew nothing of what Zero Point Energy was, and if he was honest, he really didn't care. Nothing really mattered much at this point. All that was left was finding a connection that would accept this doohickey plug on this Tablet.

He rushed forward, firing his gun blindly now assured that it was almost over. Ronon crouched behind the console and fired into the hallway even as he searched for the input plug.

The last Marine defending Rodney screamed, his chest turned into a charred brick from multiple plasma hits. Rodney tried to crawl away but was instead spewed his stomach contents on the floor. All he wanted was for it to be over, for this almost minute of torment to end.

But it didn't, and instead of shooting him, the lead Asuran took a hold of his good leg and began to drag him away. "Ronon! Do it! Blow them to hell!"

The crisis tore Ronon apart. Rodney wasn't dead… the goddamn nanite bastards hadn't killed him! But… The ZPM… Ronon had to detonate it. Finally finding the plug where he thought the connection fit, Ronon resisted screaming as he fired off the last of his clip then jammed the plug towards the input.

It never made it. Instead a familiar feeling, one that made Ronon wish he could scream in horror.

But he couldn't. As the Wraith culling beam that had been directed at the ZPM also beamed up Specialist Ronon Dex, leaving Doctor Rodney McKay alone on the Asuran planet. "Ronon! Blow it! Ronon!? RONON!"

Aftermath
The shock still hadn't worn off, and Sam lethargically moved through the corridors of the ship trying to find… something. She didn't know what she was looking for. The Infirmary on the Daedalus was designed to handle ten to thirty people with mild to moderate injuries. Now though, as fully fifty-five people from all over the ship were being treated, the medics on board were stressed almost beyond their limits.

Sam tried to take some solace that they were at least alive, that through some sheer dumb luck they had survived the battle. Apollo wasn't nearly as lucky, and preliminary estimates put the total at some 200+ casualties.

Ronon and Rodney were counted as part of those 200… Rodney as a USAF Civilian Contractor… and Ronon as a Foreign Dignitary.

"Excuse me Ma'am… this corridor is offline for repairs. You'll have to go around."

Sam looked at the Lieutenant manning the bulkhead door and wondered what could have happened to seal a whole corridor off. "Repairs? What happened?"

The Lieutenant gulped, and he couldn't meet her gaze as he replied. "Drone Weapon, Ma'am. Took out the hull. This corridor's exposed to space now."

Sam fell back on her training, emotions were cast aside and knowledge and Intel was all that mattered. "Casualties?"

The Lieutenant couldn't hold back everything and his face trembled. "Yes Ma'am, 3 technicians and…"

Someone important… someone that everybody on the ship knew had been deemed a casualty. Sam had been reluctant to look at the list out of simple fear, but now she wished she had so the pain of what was about to happen would be lessened. "…Who Lieutenant?

"Chief Engineer Novak, sir… as far as I know she's in the infirmary with decompres…"

Without bothering to wait for more, Sam quickly rushed off and ran through the detour to the infirmary. So many people had died, so many were wounded… the saying was right, war is hell.

Caldwell looked over the damage report from Acting Chief Engineer Thompson. The Daedalus was lucky to still be in one relative piece from the looks of it. Major Marks worked on a console opposite him tallying casualties and repair wait times. "Any word from the Travelers?"

Marks shook his head gravely. They'd been waiting for hours at the rendezvous point and nothing. "No, sir… right before we jumped out we had two confirmed KIA's on their end. Two to six hundred estimated dead."

Caldwell tried not to think of the ironclad fact that 213 people on Apollo were certainly dead, and taking out a pair of Hives and Aurora's each with that final spiteful move was only marginally comforting. "Estimated?"

The Major nodded, and took a moment to rub the bridge of his nose. "Yeah… they didn't want to give us any inventory or personnel list… so I'm guessing, sir."

It was with a heavy heart that Caldwell wished that the Major was overestimating, but knowing that the Travelers only lived on ships… it was unlikely. "Wraith?"

Marks tried not to smile, but knowing that Hives were manned by thousands, drew more than just a little comfort knowing so many Wraith Lives had ended. "Five KIA ships. Only two Hives bugged out as far as we know."

Narrowing his eyes, and hoping for even more retribution for the betrayal, Caldwell asked softly. "The head Wraith's hive?"

Marks pumped his fists. He'd hoped it as well, but alas… "One of the two that got away."

Caldwell sighed and muttered softly. Major Marks was someone he talked to frequently, and one of the only subordinate officers he felt he could trust implicitly. "God, I wish that son of a bitch was dead."

Marks tugged on his nose, stretching the tight tired skin of his face. Letting his nose go, but feeling every bit of tension and anguish a man could feel after losing a battle, Marks nodded his head once. "Let's hope he pops up again once we get the ship back in fighting shape."

Caldwell tossed the padded tablet onto the table in front of him and sighed. "Well, that'll be awhile… Thompson's exact damage report is pretty sure the only thing holding this ship together is the collective will of every soldier on board..." He took a second to flex his fists and rubbed his mouth where stubble had begun to grow.

It was too frustrating. The battle had only lasted fifteen minutes and they'd suffered so many losses. Granted everyone went in knowing it was a hopeless battle to win under normal circumstances, but nobody made mention that Rodney had probably died trying to implement his plan.

Kevin nodded and sighed. "I'm one of those, sir… speaking of which… have you heard anything about Lindsay?"

Caldwell knew the Major was close with his Chief Engineer. Granted he knew damn well they'd never break any frat rules, but he had nothing against friendship and neither did the USAF. "Lieutenant Novak is pretty banged up, Major. Doctor Breslin put her in an induced coma until we get back to Atlantis… said she might not make it past the night but to pray."

Very rarely did any soldier in the SGC become emotional, only the best soldiers were selected for the program. But Major Marks caught the wording, and couldn't help but wonder. "Pray to who, sir?"

The question caught Caldwell off guard, and he himself began to wonder. There really was only one way he could answer the question. He turned slowly towards Marks and sighed softly. "…Anyone who'll listen, Major."

Stepping into the curtained area where the orderly had told Sam to look, she gasped.  "Oh God… Lindsay…" Sam resisted actually saying those words, but seeing the dozens of wounded technicians, crewmen, and even Marines being tended to by the understaffed medical wing, it all culminated with seeing her old friend on the infirmary bed.

Lieutenant Novak's face was swollen and red, her uniform torn and shredded. A BVM was attached to her and forced her lungs to breathe the oxygenated air. Her EKG and EEG were very slow… all signs of a coma.

Sam moved forward and stood by the bed. She looked down at the normally nervous young woman who lay before her. It wasn't right! Lindsay was a gentle person, a good person… how could this have happened? How could any of this happen?

A Marine Captain came up beside Sam and saluted, but it was a resigned salute. "Sir… Colonel Caldwell's finished going over the casualty report… he said you might want to go over it too."

The Marine handed the tablet to Sam, which was the last thing she could have possibly wanted. "Thank you, Captain… Dismissed."

With a curt nod, the Captain fell back into the shadows.

Sam took another look at Lindsay, prayed to God that the nervous Lieutenant was a fighter then looked down at the report.

Two Hundred and Fifty-Two confirmed KIA. – Apollo's entire crew, twenty eight F-302 pilots, and another fifteen on Daedalus.

Twelve unconfirmed KIA on Asuras… Ronon's strike team along with Rodney… Sam knew the Asurans would have likely killed them… but the thought of any of those men being tortured as only a replicator can torture a human was unbearable.

One MIA… That was the worst thing imaginable and Sam hated herself for thinking what she now thought. John had become a good friend to her… and now he was gone. John could be dead, he could be alive… but wherever he was, he wasn't likely to be in a good position. Sam selfishly almost wished John had been killed just so her heart wouldn't have to agonize over what might be happening to him.

Almost… almost didn't mean she did though. John was a fighter, a warrior at heart. And Sam knew that if he had any say in the matter, Atlantis would always be his ultimate destination… no matter how badly he'd been hurt. With so much lost already, Sam sorely wished to take at least one name off the Grim Reaper's list.

John closed his eyes and braced himself. This reproduction of his first meeting with Larrin was getting a little too out of hand. He hoped that the woman came to her senses soon. The slap that jarred his head to the side was sharp, as was the pain on John's left temple. "Dammit, Larrin. You think I wanted this to happen!?"

John struggled against his bonds, but Larrin apparently was a sailor in a former life and the knots only tightened as John fought. Larrin was in the worst mood he'd ever seen her and John seriously considered that she might kill him out of pure spite. "Of course not, but it was your plan and it failed. How the hell am I supposed to go tell my people we've lost two ships and these Replicators are pretty much unstoppable?"

John didn't have an answer, and instead of a slap, this time her knuckles cracked against his cheekbone breaking the skin. Somehow, he had to convince her. Through some sheer force of will, John Sheppard had to convince Larrin to spare his life and rethink their plans. Not only because John didn't want to die, but now he had the distinct feeling that the Travelers might be the only ones capable of surviving the onslaught that was sure to come.

Rodney opened his eyes and instantly shut them again. The face before him was one he'd wished never to see again but there was little he could do about it. Restraints were on him, but for some strange reason his leg wasn't screaming in agony.

He tried to move his leg and was surprised when he felt the fluid wash past only mildly stinging. Had it all been a horrible dream?

No… no, it was real… and as he opened his eyes again, the look of the imposing man standing before him made Rodney want to scream. "Hello, Doctor McKay, I am quite glad you could join us."

Oberoth was intrigued with the specimen before him. The last time he had probed his mind it had been… fascinating. But now, when the semi-conscious Doctor McKay was brought before him badly wounded, mere moments from death, something extraordinary had happened.

McKay resisted and he did so effectively. The doctor's brain was much more advanced than the previous time and it was impossible to read more than just a glimpse into his thoughts and knowledge.

Something had forced his brain to undergo a staggering evolution and back and the remnants of that evolution had remained. It was not an invincible force. Oberoth could tell instantly that, with time and patience, he would crack the Doctor's brain and reap the knowledge within.

It had been sheer genius to attempt to force the Nanite attraction fields to overload; the entire Asuran race had very nearly been extinguished. Perhaps Oberoth could learn more from this specific human. Most importantly, the location of any feeding grounds the Wraith may flee to.

To Oberoth the galaxy was known as Avalona, the adopted home of his creators… its location lost to the ages… but to those that mattered… It was known as the Milky Way Galaxy, and Oberoth would do absolutely anything to ensure the Wraith never fed on the people that lived there, even if it meant destroying it.

Ronon breathed heavily, and wished the Wraith would just kill him. It was a more fitting fate for him than to be tied to the goddamn floor! He would never break… Never. "Cowards."

Todd growled softly in front of Ronon. The way things had worked out so well with Ronon accidentally being right there when the Dart beamed up the ZPM indicated to him that the plan he'd created might indeed be useful. "Perhaps for the moment, but with our spoils of war, our bravery shall outshine this day in history."

Struggling vainly against his restraints, taking no mind as to how they cut into his skin, Ronon made a frenzied howl of wrath and despair.

Reassessment
As the wormhole stabalized, Sam rubbed eyes gritty from lack of sleep. To say she wasn't looking forward to this moment was an understatement. The entire control room staff was on edge. With only Daedalus having made it back, the events of the battle of Asuras were being kept very secret… at least until now. "Open video uplink… get me the SGC."

Chuck nodded and tried to keep the shock that only Sam had returned off his face. "Uplink established, General Landry and the IOA council on the line."

Sam moved over to the screen where the screen showed General Landry, Mr. Woolsey, along with representatives from several IOA nations all seated at the conference table at the SGC. Before taking her place, she looked to the control room staff. "Everyone, clear the control room, please."

No one said a word. They just silently got up out of their seats and moved towards the exits. General Landry's face drained of blood as he realized what was about to happen, with the IOA members more confused than anything. "Colonel Carter… Report."

Waiting till she was alone, Sam input the information that she, Colonel Caldwell, and Major Marks had gathered on the battle. "I'm sending all pertinent information. It is my sad duty to inform you that the mission was a disaster. Our plan failed, the Wraith turned on us. Apollo is… gone, all crewmen lost. The strike force we sent planet side is lost as well, as is Colonel Sheppard who is MIA on the Traveler Aurora. Daedalus is crippled and barely limped back to Atlantis. Repairs are estimated at a month and a half given our resources and staffing."

The information scrolling on the screens at the SGC made the IOA council member's blood freeze over. When they had approved the first strike months ago, and again this all out assault, this was the last thing they had expected. They began to argue amongst themselves, with only Woolsey taking the time to go back to the camera where Landry was uncharacteristically silent.

The politician's words were somber and Sam knew it was the closest he would ever get to an emotion other than fear. His words still cut deep though, and it was a task in and of itself not to wince at their implication. "Colonel Carter… I believe that the IOA may have to… reassess our mission in Pegasus."

The last five words were a dagger to Sam's heart.

Confirmed Killed in Action

 * 209 KIA on Apollo including Colonel Abraham Ellis
 * 28 KIA F-302 Starfighter Pilots
 * 15 KIA on Daedalus
 * 392 KIA Travelers

Unconfirmed Killed in Action

 * 12 Marines + Rodney and Ronon, presumed KIA on Asuras

Missing in Action

 * John Sheppard

Earth/Atlantis

 * 1 BC-304 lost - USS Apollo
 * 28 F-302 Starfighters lost

Trevelers

 * 2 Generational ships lost
 * 31 Generational ships remaining
 * 1 Aurora Class Warship remaining.

Wraith

 * 5 Hives Destroyed
 * 22 Hives remaining
 * 5 ZPMs Stolen from Asuras.

Asurans

 * 9 Auroras Destroyed
 * 26 Auroras Remain