View of the Ancient outpost on the planet Taranis.
"Cheerful sight," Kirik commented without restraint, looking at the view from the control room. "If the Wraiths come, they won't survive. Their gate is a beachhead for invasion."
"Not so loud," Teyla, who had approached, reminded him gently of the rules of politeness. "We're guests. Remember?"
"No." The Runner cast another glance at Taranis's landscape, then looked at the Athosian. "But that doesn't change the fact that these people will die the moment the Wraiths decide to show up here. Too much open space near the gate. A whole squadron of Darts could get through."
View of the Ancient outpost control room on Taranis.
Teyla, feeling the weight of his stare, looked at the nearest guard. He had undoubtedly heard what the former Runner had said. You didn't even need to exert any mental effort to read his expression — this guy would now be watching them twice as keenly.
"When I was a child, I heard many stories about Runners," Teyla said quietly. "The people who shared them always portrayed you as heroes, fighters for human freedom, hunters of Wraiths…"
"And they weren't lying," Kirik said.
"True." Teyla gave him a reproachful look. "Too bad the fairy tales never mentioned that you don't have an ounce of tact."
"Just look at what they've done to the control room." The former Runner nodded toward the numerous Taranian mechanisms bolted to the walls and crammed into every corner of the room. "I saw the shock on Chaya's face when she saw what they'd done to the Ancestors' instruments."
Outpost control room on Taranis.
"A little more respect for someone else's home," Teyla advised. "These people were just trying to understand the Ancestors' technology. That can happen in any corner of the galaxy. And it doesn't make them any less intelligent or capable than us."
Kirik shook his head.
"It's not about respect." He pointed out the window. "This is basic tactics. Their gate is placed in the open. Too much open space and undefended structures. If the Darts…"
"Lower your voice," Teyla said with a "stern glare." "We came here to negotiate with these people, not to scare them."
"And Mikhail asked me to assess the situation and make recommendations for protecting these people," the former Runner reminded her. "Which is precisely what I'm doing. One hit through the gate and these people become Wraith food…"
Teyla was embarrassed by how loudly he'd said it. The people in the outpost's control room were no longer shy about throwing distinctly irritated and suspicious glances their way.
"If you want to help, don't do it out loud," Teyla advised. "The negotiations aren't easy as it is…"
"I don't see any negotiations here at all," Kirik snorted. "These people have what we need. And they can't use it. What the hell are they keeping it for?"
"I think that's exactly what Chaya and Mikhail are trying to prove to them," Emmagan said quietly, looking at the control panels the Taranians had ruthlessly pried open. The abundance of wires and local devices connected to Ancestor technology commanded respect for the Taranians' inquiring minds. But here's the thing… According to Chaya, they'd only made things worse.
* * *
"Chancellor Leikos," Chaya said, trying to maintain courtesy. "I'm not trying to intimidate you or pressure you…"
"But that's exactly what you're doing by pointing out that we're ruining your technology." The gray-haired man sitting across the table looked her straight in the eye without fear. "You know, my people had a different opinion of the Ancestors. And now you show up, saying we've brought the outpost to a desperate state…"
Chancellor Leikos's apartments.
Chaya used breathing exercises to calm herself down. It didn't help much.
"Let me explain something to you," she said with a strained smile.
"Go ahead." The Chancellor leaned back in his chair and exchanged a quick glance with the guard.
"You have rather austere lighting in this room," Chaya observed. "Doesn't that bother you?"
"Yes, the builders of this place didn't bother with better lighting," the leader of Taranis acknowledged, pointing to a vertical lamp in the corner of the room. The pillar glowing with white light was draped in a red curtain. There was generally too much red decor here. "We had to install additional lamps." He spread his hands, indicating two distinctive floor lamps against the wall behind him. "Plus, we keep the entrance door open."
"Let's assume you keep the door open because when you broke into this room, you damaged the locking mechanism," Chaya explained, pointing to the crystals on the side panel that weren't lit from within. "And the lighting problem is related to the fact that when you hung this beautiful curtain," she indicated the fabric behind the Chancellor's back, "to keep the light of Taranis's star from interfering with your work, you damaged the power cables for the internal lighting of this storage room hidden in the walls. The wall panels you mistook for decorative elements — those are decorative covers for cable conduits, providing easy access to the power buses running through the room. According to electrification standards for such facilities, the lighting wiring runs alongside them — and that's exactly where your technicians drilled in. I think this happened before you managed to start the geothermal generator from the control room. Otherwise, it would have led to the technicians' deaths and a fire."
"A storage room?" the Chancellor echoed.
"Yes, this room is a storage room," Chaya explained. "That's why there's only one main source," she pointed to the vertical column of light, "and a few additional ones. When they're working, that's enough to see everything you need in here."
"And… the window behind my back? Do you put a window in every storage room?" the Chancellor pressed.
"There are half as many additional light sources here as there should be for this area," Chaya explained. "That was done out of simple economy. The Taranis outpost was built in the final years of the war, when we were short on resources. Taranis is rich in minerals, which my people extracted from the caldera of the supervolcano in which this outpost was built."
"There you go again." Leikos spoke irritably. "We've been living in this place for a long time! And we know nothing about any volcanoes!"
"You would know if you understood what's written on the monitors in the control room!" Chaya said emphatically. "This entire complex was built on a supervolcano only because the ultra-hard rock that sealed the vent after the last eruption is dense and stable enough for tunneling and construction. Plus, extracting the needed materials directly from the mantle made building mines unnecessary."
"Mines." The Chancellor chuckled. "My dear Chaya, we have several mines in settlements far from here. And they're quite deep and extensive. Which proves the absence of any supervolcanoes. And yes, we know what volcanoes are. There are several on the planet. The outpost is located in a mountain, not a volcano. So don't try to confuse us."
She desperately wanted to hit this man, blissful in his blindness. But the Proculucian woman understood that wasn't the way out. Not now, at least.
"Your mines are located more than two hundred kilometers from the outpost, outside the supervolcano. The rock there is thicker and the magma isn't as close to the crust. That's why you never encountered…"
"You want to impress me with things you supposedly can't know?" the Chancellor grinned. "My chief scientist, Norina Pyro, has already informed me that you connected to our instruments. That's where you got the information."
"I connected to the outpost's equipment," Chaya corrected.
"And did so without permission," the Chancellor reminded her.
"Because I saw a warning about increasing pressure in the magma chamber," the girl said.
"Ah, those flickering symbols on the screens," the Chancellor chuckled. "Our scientists have already determined that's nothing more than a screensaver on non-functional monitors."
Inside, the girl wanted to scream. Very badly, very loudly…
"All the outpost's systems are working," she said softly.
"You said literally half an hour ago that they weren't," the Chancellor continued smiling. "Something about an emergency system and all that…"
Chaya closed her eyes, summoning the last of her patience. One part of her soul very much wanted the agreement to be reached after all. The other, larger part, insisted that the deal fall through and this place blow to all ori.
"When you managed to start the outpost's systems…" she began.
"Ah, so now we're not so primitive that we can't handle the Ancestor systems we inherited?" the Chancellor taunted her.
"Turning on even the most complex equipment is no big deal," Chaya said irritably. "Especially since the right buttons were probably just lit up or blinking. And since there was no genetic imprint access control system installed here, even the Wraiths — or even animals — could have done it!"
A shadow passed over the Chancellor's face.
"You're insulting us, Chaya!" he said in a warning tone.
"You're ruining technology that's over ten thousand years old!" the girl hissed. "And if you keep treating the inheritance you received so carelessly, your planet will simply become uninhabitable! Is that what you want?!"
A threat flickered in the Chancellor's eyes.
"You and your friends won't like what I want," he warned.
* * *
"The complex extends many levels downward," a young blonde woman reported, touching a side panel. The elevator doors slid open, and she made an inviting gesture.
Young… No, "trying to look young" fits better. Because the tons of makeup on her face and the ill-suited tight evening dress were far more appropriate for a restaurant or a party. Not for visiting the hidden corners of an ancient outpost.
"Ladies first," I painted a smile on my face.
"You're so gallant, Mikhail." She favored me with a smile. "We really should chat alone. I so want to learn more about your world and your customs. And," she tried to make eyes at me. I nearly threw up. "About you personally."
The two guards standing by the far wall of the elevator exchanged meaningful glances as Norina Pyro stepped out of the cabin first.
The lady didn't forget to sway her hips, drawing attention to her figure.
"God, kill me now," flashed through my mind.
Taranis's leading scientist, Norana Pyro.
I'm not a sexist, not a chauvinist, and I don't have a membership card for the Blue Oyster bar. I love women. But for crying out loud! How old is this Norana? Forty? Fifty?!
Even makeup can't save her from expression lines and all that. Madame is clearly trying to flirt and come on to me. And I don't think she has a problem getting attention from the opposite sex. But… I'm no gerontophile, not at all!
Yes, I'm in a young body, and my brain is far from puberty. But I have absolutely no desire to court her. And it's not even that she's older… Okay, I'm exaggerating — she doesn't even look over forty. That is, roughly my age in my past life. But even then, I wasn't one to tie myself to anything more than a working relationship with women who, at their supposed forty, try to act like teenagers.
How this woman became Taranis's leading scientist is known only to the Ascended. But there are only two options: either through the bedroom (which would explain the barbaric approach to studying Lantean technology), or she's trying to play dumb. Well, it's a well-known feminine trick: I can open a jar of pickles myself, but I'll pretend I can't, let the man do it — that way he'll feel strong and therefore more agreeable to what I actually want.
Been there, seen that. Even Marina didn't shy away from those tricks. Though she only did it when she didn't feel like taking the car to the shop herself or dusting the cabinets.
We walked through the corridors for about five minutes, the silence broken only by the click of heels (heels, for crying out loud!!!) from Norana and her vapid chatter about how the complex was discovered, how much time was spent settling it, and how great it was that we'd come because we could teach them everything… and other blah-blah-blah.
From what she said, I could glean the following: the Taranians found the complex some time ago through a network of tunnels they'd stumbled upon. Their society is fairly advanced — I'd say early twentieth-century level with adjustments for the realities of a space-faring universe. Previously, they hadn't used the Stargate because it was set up on the platform in front of the outpost and the Taranians knew nothing about it. However, among this people were entire villages of those who had come through the gate to Taranis, fleeing the Wraiths. For a long time, the locals thought the Wraiths were on their planet, but after discovering the outpost, everything fell into place.
The Wraiths don't come here, but that obviously can't last forever. Especially after the Taranians activated the outpost's systems.
"Some time ago, we detected a Wraith hive ship flying nearby," Norana was saying. "By that time, we'd figured out how to control the energy shield, and the Chancellor ordered it activated. We haven't heard anything about them since."
"Well, well," I said with a tight smile. "You discovered it yourselves?"
"We saw the markings on one of the screens," Norana explained, pointing to a passage at the corridor junction. "We need to go right."
Chaya had already determined that the locals had activated the outpost and all its systems, including the long-range sensors like those on Atlantis. And they'd shown them a single Wraith hive ship. Which was supposedly flying toward them.
In reality, it seems that was the same hive that visited Ermen and destroyed everything there. Then it headed to Sudaria and other planets where they hunted Runners. As it happened, those planets were within the long-range scanners' range. But it was enough for the locals that it simply flew by. The stories of refugees from distant planets played perfectly on the local government's fear.
And Chancellor Leikos ordered the shields strengthened.
The power source for this outpost is a geothermal generator, just like on Athos. It draws energy from the planet's depths. In theory, it's simply inexhaustible — as long as the mantle and core haven't cooled, the generator will keep receiving energy.
But the shields have been strengthened. More energy is needed. And the generator is working itself to the bone. Which is affecting the pressure in the magma chamber…
Something similar happened in the known events with the members of the Atlantis expedition. Except they encountered the Taranians a year after they'd activated the shields. I suspect the circumstances are the same for both the series events and us. It's just that the Earthlings in their "universe" didn't run into Alvar, Ermen, and all that. The causal chain of events is simply broken.
But that's just for emphasis. I just need to understand that it's unlikely the events from the series will play out for us the same way they did for the Earthlings. Some places we'll manage to "snatch the prize," and others we'll face failure.
However, the current situation on Taranis isn't as dire as it was when they met the Earthlings. The latter came to Taranis in the second year of the expedition, when the Taranians had already been living under a reinforced shield for a long time. Eventually, it triggered the supervolcano's eruption, the outpost's destruction, and the Taranians' evacuation.
We've come long before that. And there's a chance to fix everything. But I have a suspicion it might not work out for us. Because in the known events, only the supervolcano's eruption convinced the paranoid Chancellor that they weren't being tricked and robbed…
"And here's the hangar," Norana smiled, running her hand over the entrance door's control panel. "I'm sure you'll appreciate what's in there."
"I don't doubt it," I assured her, following her inside.
We ended up on an observation platform, from which a simple stepped staircase descended to the left, disappearing into the darkness of the vast room opening before us.
As Chaya had told me when she found the records in the database, the Ancients had discovered Taranis near the end of the war. Their resources were running out. She assumed — and now I could confirm it in practice — that the Ancients, while not building this complex out of crap and sticks, had constructed it with minimal technical saturation. High technology only where necessary, nothing more. And everything that could be replaced with much simpler things — like an ordinary elevator instead of a transporter, stairs instead of a transporter, and so on — was replaced. Most likely, they no longer had enough resources for high-tech facilities. After all, the Taranian outpost was built at the end of the war.
The girl, as the most obvious representative of the Ancients who could bamboozle the local ruler — after all, the Taranians respected the Ancients (like most humans in the galaxy) — went to negotiate. I, on the other hand, began inspecting the surroundings.
I needed to understand what else was noteworthy in the outpost besides what I already knew. And at the negotiations… I think Chaya, being more experienced in such matters, could handle it better.
Lighting fixtures began to turn on in the ceiling and walls. So powerful that they could dispel the darkness in the enormous room we were now looking at.
And at what was inside it.
"We believe this," Norana said, her face showing indescribable joy, "is an Ancestor warship."
View of the Ancient battleship from the hangar.
I looked at the battle-worn Ancient battleship, then smiled politely.
Suddenly, one of the guards' radios crackled. He quickly brought it to his ear like a cell phone, listened to something, and, looking at us, said:
"The Chancellor demands that you leave Taranis. Immediately."
Norana looked at me with a surprised expression.
As for me… I really, really wanted to talk to Chaya and find out the details of her meeting with Chancellor Leikos.