The Tok'ra base beneath the scorched surface of the desert planet was a maze of tunnels and chambers, each meticulously formed by crystals that glowed softly with the power of naquadah. Colonel Jack O'Neill moved through the hallways with his usual sceptical scowl, followed by Major Samantha Carter, Teal'c, Daniel Jackson and two Tok'ra operatives, Anise and Lantash.
They had found the spy amongst the Tok'ra, but it was too late. The enemy had undoubtedly received the spy's message and was en route.
Despite the familiar humming of the shield generators and the calm of the underground base, something gnawed at O'Neill's instincts.
"I don't like it," Jack muttered, his P-90 resting against his chest as he looked up at the vaulted crystal ceiling. "It's too quiet."
Samantha Carter checked her radio and the rest of the gear before they made their way to the Stargate. It was now imperative to use the gate and leave the planet as fast as possible before the planet was overrun by Goa'uld forces.
"Nothing so far. We might have time to return." Carter said. "I should check on my dad."
Lantash's voice was calm as he addressed the Tau'ri.
"We are shielded by layers of sand and rock. Cronus cannot detect this base that easily."
"I wouldn't be too sure," Teal'c said, his deep voice echoing off the walls. "Cronus is cunning. He may have tracked your gate activity if the spy has already revealed the address. It is not unlike him to strike pre-emptively."
Lantash opened his mouth to reply, but the distant tremble of the ground silenced everyone.
A second passed.
Then a third.
The entire base suddenly shook with a deafening rumble. The crystal walls flickered, and a section of the ceiling toward the entrance tunnel caved in. A concussive boom followed, as if the gods themselves were pounding against the crust of the planet.
"Death gliders!" Anise shouted. "Our surface assets are being bombarded!"
"Looks like we've got company," Jack said grimly. "Carter, Teal'c, let's move!"
They sprinted toward the command chamber. Red lights flared in the hallways, and Tok'ra soldiers—sleek in their brownish-grey uniforms—rushed to designated defence positions. The vibrations intensified. High-pitched screams of Death Glider engines penetrated even this far underground.
In the control room, holographic projections showed six Death Gliders streaking across the sky, each releasing plasma bolts that exploded into the ground above the Tok'ra base.
"They're not just bombarding," Carter said, eyes narrowing. "They're trying to collapse the base. If we wait long, we'll be buried under the desert."
"We need to leave now." Garshaw said, running to their position and out of breath.
"That's what we said earlier, but you were not listening." O'Neill complained.
"Some of our High Council members were out on an important mission. We couldn't abandon them." Garshaw defended.
"This is not the time to argue. We must leave." Daniel said, rubbing the sweat from his face.
"I cannot leave my dad here." Carter said.
"No. You're leaving." Jack said firmly.
"Sorry, sir. That is one order I cannot follow." Carter said stubbornly before running toward where her father was resting after Selmak had taken him as a host.
"I'll stay with her and help move Selmak." Lantash said before following Carter into the base.
"We must secure the gate before it's too late. Take as many as we can to safety." Grashaw said urgently.
Jack looked in the direction where Carter had run off to.
"O'Neill." Teal'c said in warning as the base shook once more.
"Damn you, Sam." Jack muttered before deciding to do the best in the worst situation by saving as many.
They followed Garshaw and used the transport rings to exit the base and enter the desert overhead quickly.
"Daniel, dial the gate." Jack ordered, seeing the swarm of Death Gliders in the sky.
But just as Daniel was about to run towards the stargate, he saw that the gate was already active.
"Oh, no. Thalan and the others." Garshaw muttered.
But their eyes widened when a ship shot out of the stargate, blowing off sand and whistling past their head at high speed. The ship was sleek-looking, and its engines roared as it soared into the sky and engaged the Death Gliders.
"Yours?" Jack asked the Tok'ra, impressed by how easily the ship was manoeuvring around the Death Gliders.
"No." Garshaw answered as she too stared at the spectacle in the sky.
Three yellow lights shot out of the ship and surrounded the sky until they smashed into three Death Gliders. The Goa'uld ships exploded in fiery explosions that lit up the sky.
More Death Gliders began arriving, but some of them opted for a low vector, choosing to target the ground position. But their unknown ally was busy chasing down the ships in the sky.
"Take cover!" Jack shouted before throwing himself to the ground.
The others followed while Teal'c used his staff weapon to return fire at the Death Gliders.
Somehow, they managed to survive. But they were far from out of danger.
"They're coming back." Garshaw warned.
Sure enough, when Jack looked at the sky, he saw the Death Gliders turning around and ready to make another pass on their position.
But suddenly, a brilliant white streak of energy flew down from the sky and hovered right above their heads in mid-air.
"Is that?" Jack gasped, staring at a person inside the brilliantly white light.
Jack shook his head, but the scene before him didn't change. When the Death Gliders attacked with their plasma weapons, a blue shimmering energy shield surrounded them protectively. The plasma bolts slammed into the energy barrier, but the barrier absorbed them.
The barrier suddenly exploded outwards when the glowing man jerked his hand, and two Death Gliders were suddenly knocked off course as if they were caught up in a storm. The Goa'uld ships slammed into the desert in a shower of sand, shaking the ground under their feet. The remaining Death Gliders positioned themselves on another attack vector, but they were promptly dispatched by the relentless drone attack by the Jumper.
"Jack! Look at the underside of that ship." Daniel suddenly yelled.
"Huh!" Jack looked more closely, and his eyes widened at the familiar symbol painted on the ship that saved their hides.
It was a familiar eight-pointed star, the symbol of the Elysian Federation.
Suddenly, the man bathed in the strange white light dimmed, allowing Jack and the others to see clearly.
"Marshal Potter." Garshaw gasped.
"Councillor Garshaw." Harry nodded, slowly floating down until his feet touched the desert floor.
"How did you…?" Garshaw stared at the miracle before her.
The Tok'ra councillor was not the only one to be at a loss for words. It was not every day that a seemingly human being in appearance could easily defy the natural laws of the universe.
"Your representatives are safe in Elysium, though they came under attack when they tried to return to this planet. They were lucky our gates are primed for two-way travel under emergency situations and our sensors picked up on the danger in time. Otherwise, they'd have simply disintegrated when they fell into the event horizon." said Harry.
"Are they safe?" Garshaw asked, worried for the safety of her comrades.
"They are not injured. They will fill you in on the essential details and our understanding for future cooperation," said Harry with a brisk nod.
Suddenly, transport rings appeared from beneath the desert and transported Captain Carter, Lantash and Selmak.
"What happened to the Goa'uld ships attacking us?" Sam asked, looking around for the enemy.
"They got blown up." Daniel said with a note of disbelief, even though he watched it all happen.
"Really!" Sam was taken aback.
"Hey!" Jack waved his hands to get Harry's attention. "What was all that light show, and how come those Goa'uld ships crashed with a wave of your hand?"
"Wouldn't you rather say 'thank you' for saving your lives?" Harry asked without missing a beat while staring at Jack with a bemused look.
"Thank you for saving our lives." Daniel hastily said, worrying that Jack would say something sassy.
"You're welcome, Dr Jackson." Harry said with a nod.
"So, about that light show." Jack prodded.
But his attempt to prod failed when the ship that saved them hovered above them in the sky.
"We shall await your response, Councillor Garshaw." Harry said before dissolving into white light and flying into the Jumper.
"Oh, come on!" Jack said with a huff.
The stargate came alive again, startling Jack and everyone else. The Jumper flew through the gate with a low hum of its engine, never to be seen again. But before the gate closed, the three Tok'ra diplomats sent to negotiate with the Elysians came out of the gate. They were followed by the three Tok'ra spies, prisoners taken by the Elysians.
"Garshaw, we have much to talk about." Thalan said once he reached his fellow councillor with a serious look.
"Indeed. But first, we must leave this planet. We cannot linger here any longer." said Garshaw, pointing to the fact that their base was compromised.
"Then I suggest we travel to Earth before arranging for a new base. There are certain things my host must do before we depart." Selmak suggested, earning broad agreement from everyone.
*******
The hover car rose from the Potter home like a silver petal caught in an updraft, its anti-gravity enchantments thrumming through the metallic surface in slow pulses. Wind coiled around the vehicle as it passed the tree line, the forest shrinking beneath them into a singular canopy of green and gold.
Harry leaned back in the pilot's seat, letting the machine fly itself for a while. The sky was vast here—brighter, wilder. The spells that normally shielded their home shimmered faintly above if he looked closely enough.
Daphne sat quietly beside him, wrapped in a charcoal-coloured cloak, her eyes shining like the bright blue sky.
Soon, they left the city behind and entered the wild, untamed lands of their planet. Now, the world below was untouched, its beauty wholly its own, though enhanced by the addition of magical flora and fauna.
To the north, the Spine of Morgana rose in jagged indigo lines—mountains so ancient even the Dwarves left them alone. Sharp-toothed peaks cut into the cloudbanks, each one capped with ice that never melted, not even under dragonfire. As the hover car passed over one narrow ridge, a group of Skyhorns leapt effortlessly from rock to rock below, their silver spiral horns catching the light.
"Look," Harry murmured. "They're one of the indigenous magical creatures of this planet. We call it Skyhorn. It has the body of a bison with a massive horn like a rhino."
Daphne followed his gaze, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.
"How're they flying?" Daphne asked, not seeing any wings on the creature.
"Magic. We've yet to study them or domesticate one. They seem to prefer living in these mountains. So far, we have left them alone."
Beyond the mountains, the world unfurled in breathtaking scale. A valley of mirrors opened beneath them—hundreds of lakes scattered like shards of glass, each reflecting a different part of the sky. Most of the lakes were at least partially frozen, and they could see huge blocks of ice sometimes floating by. Storm clouds brooded above one. Another rippled with starlight, though it was only late afternoon. In the farthest lake, a shadow moved beneath the surface—massive but slow.
"What is that?" Daphne asked, noticing the great shadow moving beneath the lake. "Is that a whale in a lake?"
"Could be a massive snake," Harry replied with a low hum.
"A snake that big!" Daphne breathed in deeply. "Is that a basilisk?"
"No idea." Harry shrugged his shoulders. "As I said, we have not explored these lands."
Forests blanketed the landscape ahead, not the tidy kind with clearings and deer paths, but primaeval, moss-laden wilderness. Trees here were broader than towers, their branches knotted with hanging lantern-vines that glowed faintly violet even in daylight. Massive birds the size of sheep and cows wheeled between trunks, their massive wings producing gales of wind that made the trees swing like a drunkard.
"I didn't know places like this still existed," Daphne said quietly, her eyes drinking in the sheer beauty of the planet.
"They don't. Not for most people."
Harry banked the hover car lower, letting it drift near the canopy. He could see movement in the trees—creatures half-glimpsed, shy or wary or both. There were catamounts with six eyes, their fur changing colour with each breath. Flocks of skystalkers glided just above them—enormous birds with translucent wings like stained glass, their eyes bright with knowing.
Some of these parts remained off-limits to the public. They had yet to open them up for the people to travel, respecting the delicate balance these indigenous creatures enjoyed before their arrival.
But that didn't stop him from taking Daphne for a picnic in the area. After all, the laws rarely applied to those in power, and he was quite unapologetic in using his position to his advantage.
The sunlight filtered through the tall trees like golden ribbons as the sound of flowing water filled the air. Harry spread out a soft tartan blanket over a grassy knoll beside a glistening river that wound its way along the edge of a thick forest. Birds chirped merrily overhead, and a warm breeze rustled the leaves. The hover car gleamed under the sun as it rested against the green forest floor by the riverside.
Everything was still. Peaceful.
Daphne stood a few paces away, hands folded behind her back, a gentle smile tugging at her lips as she watched Harry.
"You've gotten better at planning these things," she said teasingly.
He grinned without looking up.
"I had help. Dobby insisted I bring that chocolate butterbeer. Swore it brings 'refinement' to rustic endeavours."
Daphne gave a small laugh and watched Harry arrange more chocolates on the blanket. It was well known to everyone that her weakness was sweats.
"You bribed Dobby into being your date coach?"
"Of course not," Harry said with mock offence. "I simply told him I was trying to impress you and give you a good time. He took pity on me and helped out."
She walked over, her pale blue dress swishing at her ankles, and settled onto the blanket beside him.
"Well, consider me impressed," she murmured, reaching for a strawberry from the basket he had brought.
They shared a quiet meal—cheeses from Frankie's Hut, fresh bread from Baker Street, charmed to stay warm, vintage butterbeer from Madam Rosmerta's cellar and fruits picked from the orchards in Elysia.
After a while, Daphne leaned back on her hands and gazed at the sky.
"I can't remember the last time I was able to relax like this."
"That was the idea." Harry looked sideways at her. "But there's more. Something I want to show you."
She raised an eyebrow.
"More than riverside strawberries and vintage butterbeer?"
He rose to his feet and extended his hand while the hover car's door slid open, offering more adventure.
"Much more." Harry said with a confident smile.
******
The hover car landed on a clearing nearby, surrounded by huge trees and a small running stream.
"What is that?" Daphne asked as she stepped out of the car with her sights set on a small dome-shaped structure.
"That was once an Alteran ship manufacturing factory. We recovered it from one of their outposts from a distant planet." Harry explained as he led her towards the structure.
"So, we're going to see ships being made?" Daphne asked.
"No. We're here to see what is beneath the facility."
In the centre of the clearing near the dome stood a granite monolith, covered in runes glowing faintly blue. Harry stepped forward and placed his hand against a specific spiral near the base. The ground trembled slightly.
A circle of earth sank inward, revealing a white marble platform.
"Come on." Harry offered his hand to Daphne after he stepped over the platform.
Once she stood beside Harry, the platform glowed before transport rings emerged from below and transported them to the secret base below.
Once they arrived at the base, there stood a polished steel door, its frame engraved with glowing Alteran runes.
"Security enchantments keyed to me," Harry explained. "This is one of the most secure facilities we've ever built."
The steel door slid open silently when Harry placed his hand against its surface.
Inside was a wide chamber humming with magical energy. Sleek obsidian consoles floated in midair, and enchanted lights danced across walls displaying arcane data. The air was warmer here, infused with enchantments that made the underground base nourishing.
Daphne turned slowly, taking it all in, feeling the hum of some unknown energy.
"This doesn't feel like magic," she said softly. "It feels… like the very air is alive."
"It is. Magic and science—combined," Harry said, his voice brimming with pride. "This is the Star Core Project – a variant of the Alteran power source Potentia."
At the far end of the chamber sat a tall crystal cylinder brimming with an ethereal blue light. Suspended inside was a pulsing cube of fabricated space continuum, its facets gleaming like diamonds. But light refracted through it in unnatural angles, shimmering in multitudes of colours in a short range.
"That," Harry whispered, "is the culmination of our research. A stabilised, self-sustaining energy generator. It draws from sub-reality currents outside normal space, shielded from our reality. Infinite power—channelled and regulated with magic."
Daphne stepped forward slowly, lips parted in awe and at a loss for words.
"It's beautiful." she said eventually.
"And dangerous," Harry added. "There are several layers of enchanted crystals between our reality and the sub-reality tethered within. If the containment fails, our star system will collapse under the immense energy released from the collapsed subspace."
"Marvellous." Daphne whispered, her eyes gleaming at the prospect of staring into the crystal module, which held power beyond imagination.
"You could say it holds the power of a star." Harry added.
"If you have this, why are we using Naquadah to power the fleet and the city?" Daphne asked.
"Because this is just a prototype. We have successfully tethered a subspace capable of extracting energy and have manufactured power-extraction crystals. But we have yet to test its durability or its performance under less-than-ideal situations." Harry explained.
"When will you start testing then?" Daphne asked.
"As soon as we set up a base in a distant star system where no one would notice if it winked out of existence in one of our trials." Harry said in all seriousness.
"Huh. That's wicked." Daphne smiled, her eyes sparkling at the thought of an entire star system exploding into dust.
"Sometimes, you can be quite scary, you know." Harry said, his lips twitching as he watched the gleam in her eyes.
"You're the one who made this bomb that can turn us into stardust." Daphne deadpanned.
"True." Harry nodded with a grin as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "We make a good pair, don't we?"
AN:
To read ahead of the update schedule: patreon.com/Dragonspectre
For artworks: https://discord.gg/Nw2JH25fJf