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    Originally posted by s09119 View Post
    hmmm... What's this i'm typing up on the forum? Something about enemies and gates? I wonder if something special is coming out before the weekend...
    YAY!

    EDIT: Why is it transforming all uppercase into lowercase? That's really odd...

    EDIT #2: Nevermind... that was weird..

    Proud supporter of His holy BAGness!

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      ((And now, the season finale of Stargate: Atlantis!))

      5x20 "Enemy at the Gate" (90 minute episode)
      Synopsis: Atlantis faces its darkest hour when a one-time ally arrives near death to beg for assistance... and warning that a rogue Wraith has command of an armada headed for Earth.
      Spoiler:
      ((45 second recap of "Rising," "Spoils of War," and "Vegas"))

      It's a peaceful day on Atlantis, with clear skies and bright sunshine, and in the control room, the stargate has just connected to Earth. Woolsey has gathered his primary offworld team--Col. John Sheppard, Dr. Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, and Ronon Dex--as well as a few other notable personnel, to receive an important communique from home, but they are all a bit confused when an unfamiliar woman appears on the viewscreen instead of General Landry. This is civilian Dr. Danielle Talbot, a diplomat on the payroll of the United Nations, and in light of last year's revelation of the Stargate Program (SG-1: "Coming Clean"), she has been placed in charge of the the International Stargate Command to foster more global cooperation.

      Smiling, Teyla mentions that it's nice to see someone in the mold of their lost friend Elizabeth Weir being put in a position of authority, but Sheppard isn't sure that such an important post should just be taken away from the military. Nonetheless, this isn't the purpose of Talbot's call, and she gets straight down to business, new as she is at this job; as they may or may not be aware, Earth and the new Alliance of Great Races have spent the better part of the past twelve months fighting off a resurgent Lucian Alliance, an organization of surprisingly-organized pirates and smugglers, under the command of a cunning leader known only as Garrin. But their offworld allies believe they've finally located his base of operations just beyond the edge of the Milky Way, and they're mobilizing just about everything they have available to strike at the heart of his operation and cripple him once and for all. In light of this, Atlantis will be on its own temporarily, and she wanted them to be aware of the situation.

      Woolsey affirms that he understands how important this is, and promises to do his best to hold the fort while Earth handles its own problems. Talbot thanks him for understanding, and wishes the team the best of luck until they can speak again. With that, she cuts the connection, and the stargate deactivates... but apparently, people are still wondering what this means. McKay immediately voices his concerns over their own vulnerabilities, given that the Apollo is still in the intergalactic void and the Daedalus is undergoing emergency repairs after returning from a particularly-nasty confrontation with a Wraith culling fleet. Ronon thinks he's just exaggerating their problems, but everyone in the room grows quiet when the gate suddenly begins dialing again. At a loss, Chuck checks the logs for any scheduled arrivals, but finds none for at least another three hours. Mystified as to who could be paying them a visit, Woolsey orders the shield raised and has the defense team put on stand-by just in case they're needed.

      Simultaneously, on some distant planet in Pegasus, a Wraith dart is streaking through the atmosphere, gunning its engines as it dives toward the active stargate below. In the cockpit, Todd punches in the frequency for human radios and shouts who he is, begging the Atlanteans to let him in now, or else he won't have much longer to live. And sure enough, over three dozen darts come blasting through the cloud layer after him, peppering his fighter with plasma and threatening to blow him to pieces before he has a chance to explain further. Desperate, the ever-conniving alien insists that both his fate and that of humanity is at stake, and asks for sanctuary one last time before recklessly diving for the gate, assured of safety or not.

      Back on Atlantis, Sheppard coolly suggests they just leave the shield up and listen to the nice sound of a bug hitting the windshield, so-to-speak, a sentiment Ronon gleefully echoes, but Teyla points out that there is real fear in Todd's voice, and that perhaps it would be in their best interests to hear him out. At once, John starts to say that this is a bad idea, but Woolsey has already taken the diplomatic approach, telling Chuck to lower their energy barrier but for the defense team to shoot on sight if there's any hint of aggression from their guest. Tapping his radio, he tells Todd to come on through.

      There's a long pause while they wait to see what happens next, and then a dart comes crashing through the puddle, its front half completely blasted off as it skids across the floor, stopping just before the stairs. The cockpit bubble retracts, and a battered Todd practically screams for them to raise their shield at once. Woolsey confirms the order, and they get it up just in time to save themselves, as a few dozen thuds quickly back up their newly arrived friend's claim that his life depended on them letting him in. Just as quickly, though, the defense team surrounds the crashed dart, keeping their guns trained on the Wraith inside as he slowly pulls himself out and is led down the stairs for transit to a cell. Just before disappearing down a hallway, though, he cranes his neck back to stare up at Sheppard and shouts that time is of the essence if he wants his people to survive the next few days, lending a final ominous tone to this seemingly-perfect day.

      A short time later, Woolsey is leading Sheppard and Teyla down a hall to the cell where Todd is being held. He reminds John that they don't have the resources to help him with any big projects, and further reminds him that the last few times they've helped this particular Wraith, it's ended very badly for them ("First Contact"/"The Lost Tribe" and "Infection"). Sheppard counters by saying he brought Teyla for just this reason; she can use her latent abilities to connect with their old vampiric friend and ensure he's telling the truth, and if absolutely necessary, they can call in Ronon for pure intimidation factor. Richard assures him that won't be needed, but Teyla does admit it would certainly be fun to watch, if nothing else.

      The trio turn a corner into the appropriate detention center, and find Todd pacing angrily in his cell, slamming his fists into the walls of energy around him and shouting at the nearby SFs to call down someone of importance. Grinning, Sheppard says that his wish is their command, and nods to the guards that they can take a break. Seemingly angry, Todd shouts that this is no time for joking and messing around, not when all of their lives are in jeopardy. Sighing, Woolsey asks what it is that was so urgent it couldn't have been communicated from a safe planet, and the annoyed Wraith replies that he had to come in person because he no longer has any safe worlds to speak from. As the humans look on in surprise, he explains that his alliance of Queens has been co-opted out from under him, and even now, they're preparing their forces for something big.

      Allowing himself a small laugh, Sheppard asks how he managed to screw this up so bad, especially after they practically secured his leadership for him ("The Queen"). Todd starts to claim that a rival faction discovered him and attacked, but Teyla holds up a hand, closing her eyes and saying that he's lying about something. The Wraith yells that he is being honest, but one agitated look from Woolsey has him backpedaling to what really happened; during their joint attack on Asuras a year ago ("Be All My Sins Remember'd"), he stole several zero-point modules from the Replicators, as he confessed to them shortly after. However, he lied about the exact number, and truthfully, he made off with over a dozen, six of which were lost in two separate attempts to restart the cloning of warriors for wars against his rivals. The remaining ones were put to work on a project of his own design, using Lantean technology to perfect that of the Wraith. And the single-greatest product of this was the reintroduction of a tactic his people used in their war against the Ancients ten-thousand years ago, when they tied captured ZPMs into the power grids of their hiveships to grow them into flying, impenetrable fortresses.

      Stunned, Woolsey asks how many of these ships they were able to roll out in that war, and Todd nonchalantly explains that it was relatively easy once they figured out how to properly ambush Lantean fleets, but towards the end of the conflict, the Ancients employed a number of incredibly-destructive holding actions, wiping out their "superhives" and the ZPMs that powered them, leaving the Wraith with only their ordinary craft to engage in the final push to Lantea. That was largely what turned the war in their favor, as even the most-powerful weaponry was next to useless against the defenses of a hive ship with limitless energy at its disposal. Those vast fleets of indestructible death have been sorely missed since those days, but Todd's plan was to reintroduce them for his own purposes, allowing him to crush his enemies and any who challenged him without breaking a sweat. Unfortunately, though, one of his more-brilliant scientists betrayed him, possessing a charisma that was able to sway many of his trusted underlings against him. When he took a dart out from the prototype superhive to pay a visit to one of his alliance's Queens, said underling made his move, and so he ended up in his current position as warlord-in-exile.

      After Teyla confirms that everything he said is true, John says he's sorry that all this happened, but asks what, exactly, this has to do with them. After all, Wraith power squabbles aren't really a concern to the Expedition or its leaders back in the Milky Way. But then Todd drops the bombshell; this traitorous subordinate of his is rallying his alliance in Todd's name, with the superhive at its head, for a concerted assault on Earth. In a fit of laughter, Sheppard just brushes it off, pointing out that the Wraith have no idea where their home galaxy is, let alone where in it the Atlanteans make their living. But the continued silence from within the cell slowly kills his merriment, and, pausing, he asks for verification that that's true. And now comes the second bombshell, and the reason this could truly be catastrophic; Todd hacked the Daedalus's databank when he had it under his control ("The Lost Tribe"), and, among other things, downloaded the hyperspace coordinates of Earth. The alliance has all the information they need to find and devastate the planet, and unless they move quickly, it'll be far too late to stop them.


      ("Enemy at the Gate," Part 1/5)
      Last edited by s09119; 24 June 2011, 09:55 PM.
      Click the banner or episode links to visit the virtual continuations of Stargate!
      Previous Episode: 11x03 "Shore Leave" | Previous Episode: 6x04 "Nightfall" | Now Airing: 3x06 "Eldest"

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        ("Enemy at the Gate," Part 2/5)

        Spoiler:
        Immediately after, Woolsey calls for an emergency meeting in the conference room, with Sheppard's entire team, Colonel Steven Caldwell, and a number of other important support staff. He explains the situation to everyone, bringing them all up to speed, and says that they've tried to contact Earth to apprise them of their dilemma and failed. Todd has suggested that his former allies may have used a version of the "Avenger" virus (SG-1: "Avenger 2.0") stored on the Daedalus for analysis to paralyze the Pegasus gate network, precisely for the purpose of preventing them from warning those back home about what's coming. From the back of the room, Dr. Radek Zelenka mutters that it was a really moronic idea to leave that virus just lying around, and Caldwell snaps that they were conducting an ongoing test of it in a non-Milky Way gate at the behest of the ISGC. Before the argument can escalate further, though, McKay snaps that they have much bigger things to worry about than this, reminding everyone that even with all the brilliant minds they have here (himself included), they may not have what it takes to win this time.

        To that end, Woolsey says that he's sent out a message to the Travelers, asking for assistance in any way possible, and has also broadcast a continuous signal to the Apollo in the hope that Colonel Ellis will pick it up and prepare themselves for deployment against the Wraith. But since they don't have the luxury of being able to wait for responses, he's decided to send out the Daedalus immediately, even if it's not fully up to 100% efficiency, to do as much damage as they can to the enemy fleet. Todd has given them the coordinates of a rendezvous point he has always given his Queens for preparation for major battles, and he's almost-certain this is where they'll be waiting. If they depart at once, with Todd's knowledge and their own brute force, they may have a shot at ending this before it begins, and before the prototype superhive has time to fully develop its superarmor. With that set, he tells everyone to move out; scientists to their labs to try and get the stargate working and military personnel to their stations for departure, including Sheppard and his team.

        Before getting beamed up, though, John pays one last visit to Todd, this time alone, asking the Wraith why he's so desperate to help them. Laughing humorlessly, the alien replies that he was working primarily so he could unite his people and end the civil war, using his new ships to crush all opposition and finally restore order. For once looking more contemplative than aggressive, he says that many Wraith are weary of the endless cycles of culling, yet they cannot fight what they are. No humans would simply give themselves up to be fed upon, and Dr. Keller's gene therapy, though promising, would strip them of what makes them a distinct race. Then going back to his old demeanor, he promises Sheppard that when this is all over, they'll be back to enemies, as always, even if the Lt. Colonel is adamant that Todd is never again leaving an Atlantis jail cell.

        A few minutes later, the team is ready to go and assembled in offworld gear in the control room. Wishing them good luck and godspeed, Woolsey tells them to do their best, then radios the ship in orbit that their past passengers are ready to go. The four of them then proceed to vanish in a flash of light, and Richard sighs, asking Chuck (finally getting his name right), if they really have a shot at success. The gate technician, though, can only reply that for once, he's not sure.

        Aboard the Daedalus some time afterwards, the team is on the bridge with Col. Caldwell, preparing for their imminent drop-out from hyperspace. Sliding into his command chair, the vessel's captain orders all weapons primed for firing and the shields set to automatically raise the millisecond the generators kick in. As a further precaution, he asks Teyla to try and get inside the minds of the Queens and discern what they're telling their followers to do in terms of attack patterns, but also tells her that if she even suspects one of the Wraith of trying to turn the tables on her, to get out at once. The Athosian, although a little surprised by his concern, promises to do what she can.

        As the seconds count down, the view shifts to deep space in the Pegasus Galaxy, where an armada of Wraith ships await. In total, there are thirteen regular hive ships, almost twenty cruisers, several smaller, new types of craft, and, of course, countless thousands of darts. It's an enormous gathering of resources, and yet the so-called superhive is missing from the formation, either not yet arrived or proven to be a made-up part of the equation by Todd to sweeten the deal. Either way, though, a hyperspace window soon forms on top of the fleet, and the Daedalus rockets out, blasting off with its Asgard beams, railguns, and full armament of missiles at once. As it swoops between two hive ships, its blue energy weapons rip apart a full three cruisers, and a complement of naquadriah-enhanced nukes rip several large chunks out of the nearest hive. Caldwell hasn't bothered to launch his fighters since he knows they'd be hopelessly outnumbered by the enemy, and sure enough, whole swaths of darts start pelting at them from all directions, some even getting smashed against the 304's shields as they get caught in front of it.

        While Teyla directs the ship's fire for maximum effect against incoming targets, Sheppard comments that this is going better than he though, watching as the Daedalus's sudden upward evasive maneuver causes one hive's plasma bursts to rip open the mid-section of another. McKay starts to relax, as well, joking that Todd really overestimated his faction's strength, but Ronon doesn't like this; he thinks that surprise is helping them in this first minute or so, but any time now, that advantage will evaporate. And just as he predicted, it's just then that the Wraith start sending waves of darts to intercept Asgard plasma beams before they can reach the vessels they're fired at. It's wiping out a lot of fightercraft, but it's also working, as they have more than enough darts to keep the humans from actually punching through to what they want to, and that has Caldwell worried. If their primary weapon is about to be nullified, they could very easily lose momentum.

        And, as always, things then go from bad to worse, as another hyperspace window opens up from behind, ejecting the superhive into space. It's clear that this craft has been modified, as its significantly larger than a normal hive ship and its hull is a more-subdued color, but that's not the only difference. It's shaped somewhat different, being bulkier but more-streamlined at the same time, and it immediately angles towards the ongoing battle. On the bridge, the sensors officer shouts that they're being targeted, and, wanting to see just what their adversary has up its sleeve, Caldwell orders the ship to come about and make an attack run. As the rest of the Wraith fleet pulls back to avoid the crossfire, the Daedalus fires off a few blasts from the Asgard turrets into the enemy warship... but the only damage seems to be a few small dents in the hull armor. With this revelation, Caldwell suddenly isn't so sure about this, and starts to order an evasive maneuver, but is cut off when the superhive launches its own salvo of larger- and brighter-than-normal plasma blasts, which slam headfirst into the DSC-304.

        The entire bridge erupts into sparks and flashing lights as the shields absorb the barrage, then flicker out as the generator overloads. Someone shouts that the sublight engines are on the verge of collapsing as well, and artificial gravity briefly flickers off, causing the crew to float for a second or two. As the superhive prepares for a second round of attacks and the rest of its fleet closes in for the kill, Caldwell decides that he's been outfoxed, and reluctantly orders a jump into hyperspace for Atlantis immediately. With no other alternatives, the ship manages to slip into a window and escape just as blue plasma converges on where they had been moments before. They got out alive, but only barely.

        Racing back to their base as quickly as they can, the team is still a little amazed at how soundly even their Asgard systems were beaten. McKay, a little humbled, says that he can see why the Ancients lost the war now, especially if they were going up against a few of those monstrous things at a time, a thought everyone else agrees with. Sheppard, though, only has one question; why aren't the Wraith wiping out Atlantis first, before heading to Earth? It doesn't seem to make sense to just leave them here, especially since Todd must have gotten that location from the Daedalus, too. No one really knows, but Ronon guesses that they've decided that Atlantis doesn't pose any real threat, and if they were on the fence about that before, they know it for sure now. They can't do anything to stop the rogue Wraith from this end.

        Just then, Caldwell comes and joins them, saying that he's just come from the bridge with some even more-distressing news. Just as they were jumping away, they picked up a transmission coming into the area, strangely laced with an unknown type of radiation. McKay takes a look at the data they collected and, puzzled, says that he recognizes the energy signature, as it's identical to the radiation generated by their alternate-reality experiments ("McKay and Mrs. Miller"). If he's right, that would mean that this message came from another, parallel universe, and as he hacks into the weak Wraith encoding and translates it, he reads off a disturbing message; a complete readout of Earth's defenses, from the Antarctic weapons platform to the Asgard satellites installed several months before (in SG-1). Apparently, their homeworld's defensive capabilities were the same in this other reality, and if they picked this up, the superhive probably did, too, meaning they now have more-or-less everything they could ever need to bypass any real opposition from Earth and crush humanity with ease. It really is game over.

        When the Daedalus arrives over M35-117 (Atlantis's new homeworld following "First Strike"), the team immediately radios the city, informing Woolsey of their disastrous attempt to stop the Wraith and that they've played all the cards they can. Their commander, however, replies that while they were gone, some unexpected help arrived from an old friend, and a pair of Traveler generational ships slide out from behind the nearby moon, escorting, unbelievably, an Aurora-class warship!

        At once, the Ancient vessel hails the 304, and Caldwell has the transmission put onscreen, revealing Larrin's grinning face when she sees Sheppard and his team completely floored by her arrival. Trying to figure this out, McKay asks how they have a Lantean warship when theirs was destroyed in the Attero Device incident ("First Contact"). Shrugging, Larrin explains that she instructed Katana to exaggerate a bit about their losses; they really did lose a colony and a few ships, but the part about their biggest and most-powerful craft going down was a lie. At the time, she figured that there was nothing wrong with ensuring that she had an ace in the hole if she ever needed to go up against Atlantis, but now, given the gravity of the situation as relayed by Woolsey, she's decided that this is more important.
        Last edited by s09119; 08 July 2010, 01:26 PM.
        Click the banner or episode links to visit the virtual continuations of Stargate!
        Previous Episode: 11x03 "Shore Leave" | Previous Episode: 6x04 "Nightfall" | Now Airing: 3x06 "Eldest"

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          ("Enemy at the Gate," Part 3/5)

          Spoiler:
          Richard tells Sheppard and his team to beam over the Larrin's vessel, as the Daedalus is officially out of the fight, as she has graciously agreed to take her small flotilla and head out after the Wraith, using her ship's slightly-faster speed to beat their enemies to the intergalactic void. There, they can hook up with the Apollo and try a second attack, where they can catch the Wraith offguard and finish what they started before. According to Todd, they have roughly a week before the superhive will have completely finished adapting to the ZPM, after which it will be nigh-indestructible, so their window of opportunity is small. Although he doesn't like trusting Earth's fate to the Travelers, allies though they are, there's little doubt that they now hold the best chance of stopping a massacre back home. Cutting the transmission, Caldwell tells Sheppard to take care of himself, then beams his team over to the waiting Aurora-class ship.

          A second later, the materialize onto Larrin's bridge, where the ever-scrupulous Traveler captain is waiting for them. She tells her guests to buckle up, then gets her three ships into formation and opens a hyperspace window, welcoming Woolsey for the eleventh hour assist and promising to do her very best, then leaving Atlantis far behind as she orders the jump to FTL speeds.

          Watching them go, Caldwell slides back into his chair and asks Woolsey if they've been able to unlock the stargate yet. Grimacing, the former IOA member replies that Zelenka and his men are still working on the problem, but it's not looking very promising. This new strain of the computer virus clears the dialing cache every few hours and resets the gate's coordinates, making it almost impossible to get anything done; it's a great weapon, but not when used against them. There is some good news, though, in that Todd says the superhive, though much faster than normal hive ships, will have to stay with its fleet for the lengthy trip to the Milky Way in order to tow them along at a reasonable speed. They'll reach Earth in one week's time, and he just hopes that the battle against this Lucian Alliance doesn't cost the planet too much of its defenders, or else they won't stand a chance when it finally comes to the big showdown.

          Back on Larrin's ship, renamed the Pegasus in honor of the Atlantean name for the Traveler home galaxy, Sheppard is asking how they intend to beat the significantly-faster superhive to the galactic void, given that Aurora-class ships were designed for firepower and defenses, not speed. Smiling, Larrin says that Mr. Woolsey was kind enough to lend them one of the city's ZPMs to boost their hyperdrive and shields, allowing them to get there first and stand a real chance in the fight. Ronon is incredulous that they'd give up such a valuable piece of technology when they need it most, but Teyla points out that even having a hundred of the modules won't do the Expedition any good if Earth is culled. And besides, the Travelers are risking a lot for a conflict that won't affect them in the short-term, but, of course, if these Wraith are allowed to conquer the Milky Way, they'll have more power than they need to come back and finish off their native galaxy.

          While they wait, Larrin calls in one of her own technicians, who is going over some raw data Woolsey gave them before departure; according to Todd, the superhive is powered by four ZPMs, though most of the energy is channeled into weapons and engines, with only about 25% being applied to grow new armor. There is also one tactical weakness, that being the sublight drive systems, which are now carrying insane amounts of power in large, vulnerable engine modules. If they can get a salvo of drones to rip through the engines, they may be able to set off a chain reaction, but this is all just guesswork and may not pay off in battle. Regardless, though, both Larrin and Sheppard agree that some kind of plan is better than no plan at all, especially with the stakes this high.

          Light-years away, the superhive is leading the rest of its armada through hyperspace, still growing and making itself even more impossible to defeat. In one of the personal quarters on the mammoth vessel, a single Wraith is at a computer terminal, going over some information that is, oddly enough, in English. After a moment, it becomes clear that this is part of the Daedalus's database which Todd stole, although instead of technical schematics, this particular Wraith is looking through the cultural omnipedia, seeming to be scanning over the history of empires on Earth.

          Concurrent with this, back on Atlantis, Woolsey is arriving at Todd's cell, wanting to know what kind of data he stole and what other surprises the superhive may have for them in light of it. Trying to make a meal of some chicken he was brought, the imprisoned alien finally spits it out and says that he didn't have time to modify much of anything, as the unfortunate contamination of his primary research hive ("Infection") set him back months of progress. However, he admits that he was able to isolate the exact wavelength and power level of the new Asgard beam weapons, and he calibrated the prototype superhive's hull regeneration systems to be doubly effective at protecting against them. That was probably why the Daedalus found itself unable to inflict any damage earlier, even while the ZPM had yet to fully grow its layer of uber-armor.

          While the two continue to discuss the issue, the lone Wraith back on the superhive has come across something interesting; an article on the largest contiguous empire in human history, that of the Mongols in the Middle Ages. Satisfied, the Wraith rises and turns, revealing a face with unique and somewhat scarred-looking markings and a head devoid of the traditional mane of white hair. This is the rogue scientist who usurped his former ally's entire alliance, and he has decided on a new name for himself with which he will strike fear into the heart's of all the pathetic humans who will soon fall to his new armada; Khan.

          Then he makes his way to his flagship's bridge, arriving just as his pilot is announcing that they have reached the point midway between the Pegasus and Milky Way galaxies, and where they must drop out of hyperspace to allow the other hives to recover from the effects of subspace radiation. Khan, unspeaking, nods in affirmation, and watches calmly as his massive fleet begins appearing in the dead of space around him. He walks to the very front of the bridge and recalibrates the viewscreen to show only what is directly in front of them, and as soon as the yellow-white spiral of the Milky Way comes into view, he just smiles, savoring the victory to come in this rich new feeding ground.

          Not too far off now, on the rechristened Pegasus, Sheppard is staring at a starmap showing their exact location in the intergalactic void. He's somewhere in the bowels of the Lantean cruiser, in a chamber similar to the holo-room on Atlantis, and for the first time, he seems legitimately frightened by the possibility to defeat. But then he hears the door open behind him, and he quickly regains his composure before turning to see Larrin standing there, her eyes likewise affixed to the glowing map hovering overhead. Speaking softly, she says that the Travelers thought about fleeing their home galaxy once, to try and find some better place to call home, one where they did not have to flee through the stars like rats while vampires hunted their species to extinction. In the end, though, they decided that the Ancestors would return one day and vanquish their enemy, but the day never came. When they still lived on planets, ten-thousand years ago, the Travelers were one of the most-powerful human allies of the Lanteans in the war against the Wraith. And at times, Larrin admits that she wants to weep for their civilization, now so buried and forgotten that they can no longer even remember what world they called home.

          The two share a long moment of silence, realizing that their mutual foe has cost them both so much, before Sheppard finally speaks, promising that if they save Earth, he won't rest until there's a day when Pegasus is safe once more. Nodding, Larrin replies that she knows he will, but in any event, she came to tell him that they're about to drop out of hyperspace for combat with the superhive's fleet. If the calculations the people on Atlantis made were right, and everything was relayed appropriately to the Apollo, they should arrive within seconds of the DSC-304, allowing them to catch the enemy from both sides and, with luck, cripple them beyond repair.

          Leaving the holo-room, they rush back to the bridge, where the skeleton crew Larrin brought along is readying all their primary systems for battle. Upon seeing John enter, McKay claps his hands together and says that he and a few of the Traveler mechanics have managed to tweak power output from the ZPM to boost their shields a bit more, and Teyla says that the few tendrils of Wraith thought she can hear suggest the enemy armada is just sitting there, not expecting any trouble this far from either galaxy. If they do this right, they may actually be able to finish this at last. But whatever happens, Larrin says that they only have seconds left, and tells everyone to hold on tight as she takes a seat in her command chair.

          In the void, the Wraith armada is still floating in formation while the hives heal themselves from radiation sickness, their darts not even launched in a fighter screen, as they don't anticipate any problems now. A little ways behind them, a hyperspace window opens, and the Pegasus roars out, dragging the two small Traveler vessels with it and launching a first salvo of drones immediately. The craft's secondary batteries also start bombarding the opposing forces, along with the energy cannons on the generational ships, and they manage to score an early pair of kills, ripping apart a cruiser and a yet-unidentified smaller support ship. The drones, meanwhile, break into two main streams, one bashing into the regular hive ships trying to come about to attack, and the other making straight for the superhive's engines.

          The superhive, though, isn't quite as defenseless as its escorts. Its own plasma cannons swivel to target the inbound mass of golden missiles and start blasting away, blowing up whole clumps of drones right away. Thankfully, roughly two-thirds evade the point-defense action and dig into the sublight drives... but the explosion that this produces is miniscule at best. Cursing, McKay guesses that the Wraith must have figured out their structural weakness and directed the ship to concentrate its armor-growing in the stern. Seeing that their sneak attack failed to get the results they wanted, Larrin isn't sure what to do now, saying that she'll launch as many drones as needed, but if they're going to be useless, what's the point?
          Last edited by s09119; 01 January 2011, 11:15 PM.
          Click the banner or episode links to visit the virtual continuations of Stargate!
          Previous Episode: 11x03 "Shore Leave" | Previous Episode: 6x04 "Nightfall" | Now Airing: 3x06 "Eldest"

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            ("Enemy at the Gate," Part 4/5)

            Spoiler:
            A small bit of hope rises back up a moment later, however, when the Apollo arrives, charging out of hyperspace right on top of the superhive and scoring half a dozen direct hits with its Asgard weapons. From his own command, Colonel Ellis greets Sheppard and his team, saying that it's good to see some friendly faces out here, even if the situation is less than ideal. For a few more moments, the humans continue to inflict some pretty good damage on the Wraith fleet, but they're getting organized now, and start shooting back. A full six hives target the Pegasus, and it seems like they may be able to take it and keep going until the superhive also targets the Aurora-class vessel, and then the shields begin taking severe damage.

            The Apollo helps some drones finish off a hive ship by blasting apart its hyperdrive, then Ellis seems to notice the insane amount of punishment his Traveler allies are taking, as one of their generational ships is destroyed and the other is forced to break off an attack to avoid the same fate. Turning to his helmsmen, he orders the 304 to get in between the superhive and the Pegasus to buy them some more time to launch their drones. The small ship comes about and dives toward the steady stream of blue plasma being hurled toward Sheppard's position, and slips in front of it, holding steady just long enough for Larrin to get another salvo out and into a pair of hive ships and their cruisers. Its own shields are completely exhausted in the effort, though, and Ellis says that the Apollo can't take any more without being taken out itself.

            Thinking, Sheppard tells him to pull back out of range, then asks Larrin how much she's willing to sacrifice for this mission. When she responds at once with "anything," John tells her to order hew crew to prepare for evacuation; they can have everyone beamed out to the Apollo, then ram the Pegasus into the superhive, setting its engines to overload in the process. The resulting explosion may be enough to punch through the weakened hull and finish the job, but they'd need to move now before their own shields give out and they're destroyed, as well. Larrin stares at him for a second, trying to decide if giving up the ship that has secured her people safety from the Wraith is worth it, then seems to decide that it is, and tells her men and women to get ready to abandon the cruiser. She begins directing the ship toward the superhive, setting the controls for auto-pilot, and McKay runs over to a power-control panel and starts the process to force the engines to self-destruct.

            Picking up his radio, Sheppard tells Ellis to beam the Travelers out and get them to safety, but not him and his team. While Teyla and Ronon look on in confusion, John explains that they'll be going to the Pegasus's jumper bay. In case this doesn't work, he has a backup plan, although it will likely end up being a one-way trip. The Apollo commander starts to protest, understanding what he intends to do, but finally gives up, knowing that every other action they'd undertaken has failed, and that this is their last shot. He wishes Sheppard luck, then transports the Travelers away, Larrin apologizing for not being able to do more before she's whisked away by a transport beam.

            Outside, the Apollo and the other surviving generational ship open a hyperspace window and escape, leaving the Wraith armada to focus all its firepower on the quickly-dying Pegasus. The Lantean cruiser plunges headlong toward the superhive, though, and inside, Sheppard and his team are frantically sprinting for the hanger, trying to beat the clock. Just before they reach it, McKay shouts that he'll be right back and breaks off, ignoring Ronon's calls for him to stay with them. Not seeing any choice, John pulls him and Teyla to the bay and into a jumper, powering it up and opening the hanger doors. He's about to close the rear hatch and gun the engines when Rodney suddenly leaps inside, shouting to "Go, go, go, go, go!" Happy to oblige, Sheppard lifts the small craft off the deck and darts out into space just in time.

            The Pegasus slams into the side of the superhive an instant later, its nose crumpling against the hull and its internal systems exploding from the strain. As more and more of the Lantean vessel is disintegrated on impact, the sublights go critical, and a blinding white flash blinds the team for a moment. Praying that it worked, Teyla mutters for the Ancestors to help them this one time and let the enemy ship be destroyed, but it looks like that would be too good to be true. The light dies down to show that, while a small chunk of the superhive is now missing, the ship itself is largely intact, and the rest of the Wraith fleet forms up around it defensively. Out of the original armada, less than half of it now remains, with only five hives and eleven cruisers left to surround the prototype flagship. But that's still probably enough to beat Earth, and they're already lining up for a jump into hyperspace.

            Knowing that they need to keep trying, even if it kills them, Sheppard pilots the jumper into a half-destroyed dart bay on the superhive just as it opens a window and disappears, and the team settles in to try and figure out one last plan before the Apocalypse is realized.

            On Atlantis, Woolsey, Chuck, Amelia Banks, and Caldwell are standing in the control room, listening to a subspace report from Colonel Ellis about their failed attempt to destroy the superhive. The mood in the chamber is somber, with everyone thinking that this really is the end, and that there's no hope of stopping the Wraith before they reach Earth now. They have no more ships to send out to try and slow the enemy down, and even if they did, they couldn't hope to catch them. But that reminds Amelia of something, and she tells Woolsey that that's not entirely true; they have one more ship at their disposal, and they may even have the means to get it to the Milky Way before the Wraith if they can get their guest in detention to give them a few extra gifts.

            A moment later, Woolsey is again at Todd's cell, pointing out that he said he stole roughly a dozen ZPMs from the Asurans--six were wasted on cloning facilities that were destroyed and four are on the superhive, but that only makes ten. There are others that he's not bringing in to the equation, and the Expedition needs them if they're to have any chance at cleaning up this mess. Todd begins to claim that he has no idea where the others may be, but Woolsey slams his fists into the cell wall and shouts that they don't have time for games anymore, and he tells Todd that he can either give them a location where there are power modules hidden, or he'll just be shot right now.

            Not surprisingly, the Daedalus returns a few hours later with four more ZPMs, immediately beamed down to the city. Taking into account the one they gave to Larrin, that gives the city a total of five to power the stardrive with; three to get full power back to all of it's systems and two to boost the engines and shields as high as they'll go. Zelenka is rerouting the city's conduits to handle the increased power flow, while at the same time shunting every available watt of energy into the engines. Since they're already quite a bit behind the Wraith, they'll need to push the drives way past their maximum speed to make up for lost time, and it's a dangerous thing at best. After all, Radek reminds everyone that Atlantis was designed as a city first and a starship second, and it's not designed for speedy travel, merely defense.

            But nevertheless, they manage to hook up the ZPMs and get the juices flowing, and the entire Expedition prepares for what may very well be their final act. While Carson Beckett, finally finding something useful to do in the crisis, heads to the chair room to fly the city, Woolsey taps into the PA system and asks for everyone's attention. Across Atlantis, people pause in their tasks and listen as their commander tells them that he's not certain that they'll be coming back from this trip, and that if necessary, they will make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure Earth's survival. He knows how difficult the next few days will be for them all, as they speed back to the Milky Way on what could easily end up as a suicide mission, but he asks for all those who have served under him this past year, who he has come to know and respect, to not fear what is coming. Humanity is facing its darkest hour, and their outpost is the only thing left in the fight, so this is it. They'll tow the Daedalus, and later, when they cross its path, the Apollo to Earth, and the three ships will do whatever is necessary to fight off the Wraith. And just maybe, they'll win.

            With that said, he switches off the PA and radios Beckett, telling the doctor to take them into the skies. Carson, much more confident in himself than the first time he sat in an Ancient control chair, closes his eyes and powers up the stardrive, and as the cityshield envelops them, Atlantis slowly rises from the ocean, then blasts off through the clouds, emerging in low orbit to greet the Daedalus. Watching from his bridge, Caldwell can only stare in wonder at the beautiful metropolis floating before him, and he happily informs Woolsey that he's ready to escort their Lost City home. A hyperspace window opens, and the two vessels disappear into it, leaving M35-117 in the same condition they found it, quiet and alone in the night.

            Far closer to home, on the superhive, Sheppard and his team have spent a day hiding in their jumper, trying to get some rest after being awake for almost three days straight so they can think clearly and form a plan. Now that they've all had a chance to sleep and recover a bit, they're sitting in the cockpit, wondering if they have any shot at destroying the Wraith fleet before it's too late now. Ronon says that they could always storm the bridge and kill whoever's in charge, but Teyla doubts they'd get that far, given the sheer number of warriors she can sense around them. Sheppard asks McKay if he could overload a few systems, and Rodney says he could try, but there's something else he wants them to be aware of. Going over to one of the bunks in the rear compartment, he retrieves the reason he had ran off on the Pegasus before it exploded, and pulls out its ZPM. He knew the power room was close by to the hanger, and figured there was no point in leaving it to be vaporized, and now, he has an idea.

            A montage of scenes shows the passing of the next few days, with Sheppard's team deliberating in their jumper, Woolsey and the men and women on Atlantis readying themselves for battle, the crew of the Apollo cheering when they see the city arrive to tow them to the Milky Way, and, back in the Pegasus Galaxy, Larrin arriving back at the Traveler fleet thinking over Sheppard's promise to return and free people from their oppression by the Wraith. And at last, the clock ticks down to zero, and the final hour arrives.
            Last edited by s09119; 01 January 2011, 11:20 PM.
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              ("Enemy at the Gate," Part 5/5)

              Spoiler:
              On the superhive, Khan is on the bridge, smiling at a map that says they are moments away from the Sol system, where seven billion humans await on the third planet. As the fleet approaches Pluto, though, he nods to his pilot, who immediately drops them out of hyperspace. As the armada forms up behind his flagship, Khan glances at a display screen, as the hive's sensors scan Earth's defenses from afar to confirm the intelligence they received in the databusrt from an alternate reality. When it appears they are just as the transmission said, he again nods to one of his crew, and half the remaining ships, two hives and six cruisers in all, jump into hyperspace, acting as the first wave to test Wraith technology against humanity's last line of defense.

              In the ISGC, Danielle Talbot is in the control room watching as the stargate shuts down, having just sent an SG team out, when a nearby terminal beeps urgently. Gate technician Walter Harriman checks it, and his jaw drops, turning to shout that they're picking up an fleet of Wraith ships near Pluto, and, even more-frightening, another one dropping out of hyperspace in orbit around Earth! Talbot grabs the phone at once and gets a direct line to the Pentagon, shouting that they have company.

              And indeed, in orbit, the Wraith advance force is already trading shots with the Asgard satellite grid, concentrating their fire to blow the small, floating turrets out of the sky one by one. Thousands of darts stream from their hangers and swoop past the screen, soaring into the atmosphere and making for predetermined targets of opportunity across the globe, namely the ISGC, Area 51, and the Atlantus outpost in Antarctica. Caught completely unprepared, with all their ships away fighting a mysterious enemy that appeared just a week before (SG-1: "Shatterpoint"), Earth has very little to fight back with, and international governments are scrambling their own fighters as quickly as possible to counter the incoming darts. Even so, it may not be enough, as they just weren't prepared for a full-scale assault like this.

              In the Pentagon, General Jack O'Neill is trying to coordinate a worldwide response to the sudden attack by the Wraith, and is trying to get a handle on what ships are where; the Aurora, Thor, and Sun Tzu are engaging their new alien enemy on the edge of the galaxy, and the Phoenix (aka the George Hammond), under the temporary command of Colonel Samantha Carter, is still trying to locate missing dignitaries from their now-destroyed Icarus Base (SGU: "Air, Part 1"). Nothing is close enough to recall, though, and with their offworld allies likewise preoccupied, there's simply no one else to help. And near Pluto, Khan is watching with relish as his task force eliminates a large section of the orbital defenses, and nods to confirm a previously-issued order for one of his cruisers to embark on a "special mission." At the same time, the superhive and the rest of the Wraith armada enters hyperspace, arriving at Earth a few seconds later and joining in the fight.

              While darts slam into F-302s and F-22s in the skies above America, sparking panic in every country on the planet, the scientists at the outpost in Antarctica are mobilizing to stop the Wraith in their tracks. One of the researchers there jumps into the control chair, and a column of golden drones immediately shoots up from the ice, heading into space and right toward the enemy fleet. In the ISGC, the staff cheers as they watch the monitors, relieved to see the Ancient weapons platform coming online just in time to save the day, but then Walter picks up another strange anomaly on the sensors. For in the frigid South Pole, the cruiser Khan dispatched through the satellites is now approaching its target, braving the harsh snow-filled winds as it gets within range of the blue glass dome of the Atlantus outpost. With the drones still arching into the sky, the cruiser fires, blowing huge chunks of permafrost out of the ground.

              In space, the drones keep on going, closing fast on the superhive and its escorts, but then, terrifyingly, they all freeze. The thousands of them all stop glowing at once, and tumble uselessly in space, their control chair either destroyed outright or buried under tons of falling ice. And with even more of the Asgard defense grid being blasted apart, it looks like this is it; there's nothing left to fight with. Earth has been utterly defeated, and they're all out of saving graces. The end of the world is at hand.

              Or it looks that way, at least, until a hyperspace window opens behind the Wraith fleet, and amazingly, Atlantis and its two DSC-304 companions drop out. In the city's control room, Woolsey shouts for Beckett to launch everything they have, and the city's last few hundred drones are expended in a salvo that rips two hive ships and a few cruisers to shreds instantly, giving the Apollo and Daedalus the opening they need to get inside the enemy formation and start blasting left and right with their beam weapons. A cry of salvation goes up from those on the planet in the Pentagon and ISGC, as those who believed their time was up see a possible second chance to pull out of this. O'Neill and Talbot both radio the city and tell them that the Antarctic outpost is gone, and that the three new arrivals represent all that they have left to fight with.

              While the battle continues to rage outside, Sheppard and his team make their move from within, emerging from their jumper armed to the teeth with P90s, stunners, and grenades, and barreling down hallways toward the power generation chamber where the ZPMs are tied into the superhive. They come up against dozens of Wraith soldiers, but Ronon's pure savagery and the other's covering fire prove enough to blast through anything in their path. On the bridge, reports of intruders come in from the generator level, and Khan, incredulous that his plans, so close to fruition, are actually being threatened, grabs a stunner and leads a battalion of his own men to deal with this unforeseen nuisance.

              Down below, though, the humans manage to reach the room they need to, and McKay's heart seems to sink upon seeing the power grid. The four ZPMs already onboard are hidden under thick armor, and there's no way they're going to be able to extract them to take with them. And he can't risk overloading four ZPMs at once this close to Earth. The only thing they're going to be able to do is tie in the Pegasus module and cause a partial overload. Unlike with a normal overload, however, he's calibrating the ZPM to implode, not explode, with the hope that the energy will cause a micro-singularity that will obliterate the entire ship, instead of an explosion that would destroy the entire solar system. Hopefully, the vessel's new armor will contain any blast, so that even if things get out of hand, Earth itself won't be threatened.

              As he's rerouting power to force the overloads, though, McKay notices something; one of the ZPMs isn't connected to the ship itself, but to a stargate onboard, allowing it to dial Pegasus. At first, he doesn't understand why the Wraith would bother with that considering the Avenger virus shut down that gate system, but then he guesses that they probably isolated a few worlds of their own from the main grid, allowing their addresses to still correlate properly. Whatever the case, he's all finished, and Sheppard tells everyone to move out now and make a run for the jumper so they can get out of here. A few hallways away, Khan is furiously getting ready to storm the ZPM chamber when an alarm starts to blare, warning that an overload is imminent. Eyes widening in shock, the Wraith turns and rushes back the way he came.

              Outside, Atlantis has exhausted its supply of drones, and the city is taking incredible punishment from the Wraith armada. Then, Woolsey remembers what O'Neill and Talbot told him about the Antarctic outpost, and radios Carson with a reminder that there are thousands of drones sitting in orbit unused. Realizing what he means, Beckett closes his eyes and takes control of the derelict missiles, bringing them back online and slamming them into the superhive and its surrounding ships. Even without the control chair on the planet, they can still use the stores of drones in Antarctica, and combined with the two 304s continuing their own attack runs, the enemy fleet is really starting to fall apart, but the superhive's hull remains unbreached, and Atlantis's shields, strong as they are, aren't far from collapse under the strain.

              Unfortunately, though, a few drones punch through the damaged hanger bay on the superhive at just the wrong time, and the cloaked jumper inside is blown apart just as Sheppard and his team arrive. With explosive decompression threatening to tear the entire section out into space, Teyla shouts that they need to find another way off the vessel, and fast, as they only have moments to go before the overload. With no other options, Rodney says he can try to rewire the stargate onboard to dial Milky Way addresses, and they can escape to the Alpha Site and then gate to Earth from there. Hoping they'll make it in time, the team sprints back down the hall.

              And just as the superhive turns its weapons on Earth's surface, Atlantis's best efforts not enough to destroy it in time, the Pegasus ZPM reaches critical mass and implodes. The entire hull of the ship cracks and fractures, and crushes inward for a brief moment before the entire vessel, seemingly unstoppable, is vaporized in an enormous explosion, taking out nearby cruisers and whole squadrons of darts. With their own shields on the verge of failing, though, Carson focuses all his might on driving the Antarctic drones into the rest of the Wraith fleet, and in a series of brilliant blasts, the last few hive ships and their escorts are destroyed. It's finally over.

              A few hours later, Atlantis is slowly lowering itself into the Pacific Ocean, far from any landmasses, so it can finally rest its power reserves. They depleted two of their ZPMs in the entire crisis, but all in all, it was worth it. In the gate room, Woolsey, Chuck, Amelia, Zelenka, Carson, Dr. Jennifer Keller and a host of other members of the Expedition stand watching as an incoming wormhole connects, and they all erupt into applause when Sheppard's team emerges through the puddle. Woolsey shakes John's hand, congratulating him on an amazing job under incredible circumstances, Keller embraces an overjoyed McKay, Ronon and Amelia share a tender look at one another, and Teyla goes over and hugs Carson.

              And as the sun sets on the mythical Lost City, returned home after millions of years in Pegasus, humanity again looks to the future... and it has never looked brighter.
              Last edited by s09119; 01 January 2011, 11:27 PM.
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                Ok, that was about one billion times better than the original. It is very greenworthy. I'm not going to write a long review, or something like, because I'm tired, and I really need to continue working on my math homework (I hate math!).
                Last edited by EvilSpaceAlien; 08 October 2009, 12:17 PM.
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                  That was very,very good; i loved the way you encourperated SGU!

                  While the two continue to discuss the issue, the lone Wraith back on the superhive has come across something interesting; an article on the largest contiguous empire in human history, that of the Mongols in the Middle Ages
                  Quick Question: Would the Wraith not be more interested in the British empire? Britian ruled the largest empire through its unmached navy, and the Wraith controled the peagasus through its unbeatable (Until the expidation arrived) hives. See the similarity?

                  "Oddly, this is familiar to you, as if it were from an old dream, but you can't exactly remember..."

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                    Originally posted by bradly08 View Post
                    That was very,very good; i loved the way you encourperated SGU!



                    Quick Question: Would the Wraith not be more interested in the British empire? Britian ruled the largest empire through its unmached navy, and the Wraith controled the peagasus through its unbeatable (Until the expidation arrived) hives. See the similarity?
                    Perhaps, but the British were not feared across the civilized world. The Mongols were regarded as a "Horde" that swept across Eurasia laying waste to everything in their path. If you want to terrify your opponents, you would be hard-pressed to reference a more-brutal and brilliant adversary than Genghis Khan.
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                      Very well done. Much better than the original.

                      Will Khan be returning in your Season 6? I got the impression that he might have headed to the Stargate and escaped the Hive? And I take it the Avenger virus is still crippling the Pegasus Gate Network.

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                        FREAKING EPIC! That was a great treat s09. Thanks- it was easily 10x better than the original.

                        Only a couple questions/comments.

                        *Why was the Wraith so interested in the history? Did I just miss something?

                        *It would have made me crack up sooo hard if you had put in a line from, say, McKay saying how great it would be to have something like a wormhole drive in a situation like that.

                        Then, of course, immediately following that, everyone would just shake their heads as if saying "Ugh. You idiot you.", along with various sarcastic comments. That would have been so great.

                        IMO, this may very well pass up SbS as my favorite. It's certainly close.

                        Proud supporter of His holy BAGness!

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                          Originally posted by AVFan View Post
                          FREAKING EPIC! That was a great treat s09. Thanks- it was easily 10x better than the original.
                          Haha, glad you liked it =]

                          *Why was the Wraith so interested in the history? Did I just miss something?
                          Just passing time by reading up on his enemy, really. It's a week-long trip to the Milky Way, after all.

                          *It would have made me crack up sooo hard if you had put in a line from, say, McKay saying how great it would be to have something like a wormhole drive in a situation like that.
                          I might add a line in, now that you mention it haha, that would be priceless, wouldn't it?

                          IMO, this may very well pass up SbS as my favorite. It's certainly close.
                          It also has much-happier ending xD
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                            Yeah, wormhole drive fail refrence. can haz it? (it's late, forgive my writing)
                            Originally posted by Craig Charles
                            "And the 'replicator' has just entered Sir Killalot's corner and Killalot is...urm...wait a minute... Sir Killalot has just been eaten by the 'replicator' and now there's two of them..."

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                              Another question-

                              Are you planning to eventually go back and update your SG-1 expansion with this new info? Satellites getting knocked out, Antarctic weapon gone, etc?

                              I'm also curious as to how you're going to fit in the Atlantis expansion with the SG-1 one. If I remember correctly, Atlantis was hardly (if at all) mentioned in seasons 11-15.

                              Proud supporter of His holy BAGness!

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                                Honestly honestly fantastic now if only the real EATG was like that!!

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