A gentle hum resonated across the Pegasus city-ship, no longer Asuran by name or culture, but reclaimed for my newly minted empire. With two Phoenix-class battleships in orbit and 10,000 Alteran clones at its core, this planetary stronghold was quickly becoming the heart of my Pegasus Legion's operations. Even the world beneath our feet had shed its old identity—no longer the Asuran homeworld, but a rising fortress-planet I'd dubbed EVE.
Quiet Orders, Grand Ambitions
Strolling through the city-ship's command center, I took in the sight of columns lined with shimmering holographic panels. Lilith, ever-watchful, stood at a side console, tracking in real-time the movements of drone squads that combed EVE's surface. The planet was large, dotted with relics from the Asurans' old infrastructure—usable labs, vast storerooms, and idle factories. All now pressed into my service.
"Our expansions are proceeding apace," Lilith said, offering a crisp salute. "The Pegasus Legion remains eager to bring the rest of the galaxy under control."
I smiled thinly. "Then let's begin in earnest—on two fronts: gate exploration and the acquisition of every Ancient outpost or advanced tech we can find."
Five-Man Cloaked Teams
Even with legions at my disposal, I had no wish to spook the Wraith or other potential foes prematurely. I ordered the formation of small, five-person squads, each equipped with:
Full Tech Armor: Sleek, form-fitting plating reminiscent of Mandalorian aesthetics but infused with Ancient shield emitters and personal cloak generators.Plasma Rifles: Integrated into the arm bracers for near-silent kills.Replicator Interfacing Devices: For quick hacking of Ancient or Wraith technology.
With the city-ship's Stargate ringed by newly upgraded force fields, these squads stepped through in rotating shifts, heading to unknown Pegasus worlds and verifying (or eliminating) any local Wraith presence.
In a massive overhead map, each planet winked into existence as soon as a scout team dialed in. They'd cloak upon arrival, gather local intel, and return before anyone realized they'd been there. Day by day, the star map grew more detailed—dozens of gates visited, new resources noted, Wraith strongholds quietly mapped.
Seizing Ancient Technology
Simultaneously, I cast my gaze on known Lantean outposts. Many had fallen into disrepair after the Ancients retreated, and the Wraith all but ignored them if they held no feeding stock. One, however, had always intrigued me: the satellite weapon near Atlantis, a powerful Lantean orbital gun that nearly destroyed Wraith hive ships in the old war.
According to old schematics, that satellite orbited a lonely planet in the Atlantis system. With a single shot, it could tear a hive to shreds—but the Ancients never completed a full production run.
"Helia," I said, addressing my caretaker AI from the city-ship's dais, "prepare a retrieval team for that orbital satellite. I want it towed here to EVE and broken down for analysis. Once we've copied its design, we'll produce an entire network of them around this planet."
Her voice echoed in the chamber. "Acknowledged, Marty. Routing a specialized construction barge and five squads of replicator engineering units. ETA to orbital extraction in six hours."
I caught Lilith's eye. "Fifty satellites, at least. If the Wraith come calling, they'll regret it."
She gave a slight nod, her lips curving into a confident smile. "I'll see to it personally."
The Planet EVE: Future Fortress
As the days slipped by, the newly renamed planet EVE buzzed with methodical expansion. Construction drones scuttled across the old Asuran cityscape, erecting shield pylons and building new subspace relays. My own replicator aides—Morgan and Amelia typically resided in the Milky Way, but Lilith and Sarah assisted me here—coordinated every last detail, from farmland expansion (for human populations we might relocate) to the distribution of advanced sensor arrays.
Among these, the fifty satellite weapons formed the cornerstone of our local defenses. Each floating fortress would hold enough firepower to bring down a Wraith super-hive—if legends of such ships were true. My cloned workforce hammered out the final modules, forging them in an orbital foundry and installing them in key orbits.
"It's a shame the Ancients never leveraged this approach sooner," Sarah mused as we hovered over a completed gun platform in one of our small transports, scanning its hull. "If they had, the Wraith might've lost the war centuries ago."
"Complacency," I replied, "and perhaps a misplaced faith that ascension trumped direct conflict." I let my hand glide over the transport's glass, surveying the newly minted station. "We won't make that mistake."
Expanding the Reach
Meanwhile, five-man cloak teams continued stepping through the gate, vanishing into the watery event horizon. Each mission uncovered more details:
Worlds enslaved by Wraith worshippers. The teams quietly identified the local chieftains, noting which ones might be swayed or forcibly replaced.Ruined Lantean outposts. Some automated defenses still operational, requiring stealth to deactivate or subjugate.Scattered human enclaves. Potential allies or future subjects, depending on their willingness to accept an Alteran protectorate.
Whenever these squads returned, the city-ship's data banks lit up with fresh intelligence. Planet by planet, we quietly wove a net around the Pegasus Galaxy—seeing everything, interfering only when needed to ensure minimal Wraith interference.
Unofficial Conquest
It was, by all accounts, a covert conquest. We didn't arrive with massive warfleets to level the Wraith from orbit (not yet, at least). Instead, we accumulated knowledge, positioned fortresses, and turned EVE into the beating heart of a new Lantean domain.
The Phoenix perched in high orbit, occasionally dispatching flights of interceptors or scouring uncharted systems. Two other Phoenix-class battleships performed similar tasks: one roving near the galaxy's rim, sniffing out isolated Wraith strongholds; the other lingering near EVE, always ready to defend the city-ship.
Some of my clones yearned for open conflict, to prove themselves in glorious battle against the Wraith. But I insisted on patience—for now. This stage was about stealth, about building an information edge that neither the Ancients nor the Wraith expected.
The Dawn of a Pegasus Empire
Stepping to a wide balcony overlooking EVE's capital tower, I watched the newly minted city sprawl below. Lights glimmered in the twilight, reminiscent of an Ancient metropolis reborn. Interceptor craft zipped between spires, ferrying supplies for the next wave of expansions. The faint hum of orbiting battleships drifted across subspace, a promise of power waiting to be unleashed.
It felt surreal. I was hardly that Earth-born teen stumbling into cosmic inheritance anymore. Now, I commanded an empire—my empire—accumulating strength with each hushed operation. The Wraith had no inkling that soon, their feeding grounds would be cut off, their dominion undone. Pegasus would return to the Lanteans…though this time, it was me forging the path, not the Ancients of old.
A faint smile touched my lips. If all went according to plan, we'd secure Pegasus quietly enough that, by the time the Wraith realized what was happening, they'd have no recourse. And once the galaxy was firmly under my rule, I could turn my full attention to the Milky Way's Goa'uld stragglers.
The galaxy was vast, and the next steps remained perilous. But this conquest—born in stealth, cloaked infiltration, and unstoppable technology—was well on its way, and I stood at the helm, unwavering as the stars themselves.