137 Chapter 137

Earth

It started as a feeling; gnawing almost imperceptibly at the edge of the conscious mind. That feeling soon morphed into an idea and an ideal, one the Ark's message made impossible to stamp out or eradicate had anyone known it was there. Taking shape, this idea grew, and became fully formed and understood. If a single idea can build cities, then a shared ideal could change the reality of the world for many billions. This idea began to transform the world, and rewrite the rules many had taken as gospel for decades. Deciding that one must not be afraid to dream a bigger dream, people began to act.

It started with students. Those who dedicated themselves to the pursuit of knowledge and learning clawed at the new concept of liberty the Ark had implanted within them. These students, with a brazen determination reserved for the young began to speak among themselves of this grand idea. Timid at first, these students soon began to cluster together in ever larger numbers. Thanks to the World Wide Web, their thoughts and motivations were soon shared in other corners of the globe. Their aims were simple in the eyes of many, but far from simple in execution. Free will and liberty for all men, that was what they hungered for, lusted after.

At the University of Tehran, students gathered in their dormitories. After a life of repression under the tyrannical rule of the Mullah's, the students were prepared to seize the destiny they felt intended for them. Reaching out to friends, family members, and other believers, this mass of humanity set out down Edward Browne Street leading away from the University. Gathering followers and momentum, this gaggle of people found their way towards Azadi Square, home to the Azadi or Freedom Tower. Before the government could respond with force, the gathering reached a critical mass. Men and women, young and old, flowed into the streets from the central point of Azadi Square.

Caught unaware, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard could do little to prevent this sea of bodies from crashing into the governmental buildings of the Iranian Regime. Members of the standing military along with members of the Revolutionary Guard soon found themselves standing beside their brothers and sisters in this quest for liberty. Many small skirmishes would be fought before the day and night were over. The students would not be deterred in the face of violence. Taking its first unsure steps, freedom began to take hold in the former totalitarian regime.

To the northwest of Beijing, in the Haidian district, students of the prestigious Tsinghua University were amassing with their fellow students and academics from the neighboring Peking University. The students of these two universities represented the cream of the academic crop of the Peoples Republic of China. Many communist party members counted themselves as graduates, and their children were among the growing throng of dissenters. Tired of a ruling party that was long on rhetoric and promise but short on delivery, the mass of people decided to follow in the footsteps of those cut down during the Tiananmen Square revolt of June 4th, 1989. Then like now, students from the two universities had led the growing tide that called for change.

Much had changed since that uprising long ago. Technology would play a much larger role in this circumstance than was ever believed possible by the powers that be. Making use of instant messengers embedded in smart phones along with email, the word went out. In a city with a population of almost twenty million people, the wave of protestors swelled by means of its mass alone. In hours the collection of students had grown into a mass of eight hundred thousand individuals seeking one thing; free will.

The communist party apparatus became a victim of its own inertia. Bureaucrats, fearful of loosing face, were slow to pass on the message of the building tide of revolt. By the time word reached the Central Committee of the Communist Party, it was too late for the military to intercede. Students in peaceful protest surged into the governmental buildings of the Communist Party. As word spread across China of what was unfolding, similar scenes played out in other cities.

Before the day was out, the long sought after change was theirs. Not a coup d'état of force but of spirit was the undoing of the Communist leadership. Seeing the trend, lower level governmental functionaries quickly adapted to their new circumstance, falling in line with the throng of students. Military commanders followed shortly after. Not with a bang but a whimper, communism was at an end in the People's Republic.

November Site

Deep within the confines of the joint Asgard/Tauri off facility, in hangers far below the surface, Asgard technicians prepared craft for transport. Five of the remaining seven captured Lucian Alliance Ha'tak class mothership's were undergoing the most basic of repairs. Their power cores irreparably damaged during the battle of the super gate, the temporarily added power generators would allow for the antigravity drives to be brought online.

As power began to flow through the power conduits of the damaged vessels, the antigravity drives were powered up. Individually, the Ha'tak's rose from their cavernous subterranean confines, into the moons atmosphere. Once in orbit, the massive vessels were taken under tow by units of the Asgard Fleet.

Their end destination was Arkos Station. Once inside the station, the process of repairing the captured vessels would begin. Power cores identical to those destroyed would be installed, along with a full compliment of gliders. The orders were very clear that no technological upgrades would be passed on. These craft would be repaired to their original fully operational state, and nothing more.

Without the efforts of Ry'ac, none of this might have happened otherwise. Secreting himself to Earth, Ry'ac had briefed Generals O'Neill and Landry on the current challenges the Free Jaffa Nation faced. As a show of solidarity with their former allies, the Tauri was gifting a portion of the captured Ha'tak in their possession to the FJN civil war effort. It was hoped that these vessels would turn the tides of war in their favor.

As the first Daniel Jackson class science vessel leaped into hyperspace with a Ha'tak in tow, the hopes of a people rode with it. The Tauri had made possible the Jaffa's freedom from the clutches of false gods once before. Once again, they would attempt to bring peace to a people that resisted it at every opportunity.

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