Author's Note:

Many apologies to everyone who reads this story, but it will not be finished. You can currently read Parts One to Five (along with half of Part Six), and I will soon be posting a summary of where the story would have gone. For more info, see the Author's Note at the start of Part Four.

If you decide to read this story regardless, I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to hear your comments. I've edited it so it's clearer which scenes are in the present and which are flashbacks.

Thank you.

Stargate Universe: Terminus

Written by Mr Evil 37

Part One

Present:

Light shone warmly across the infinite mountain range, as the sun slowly began to sink. In the distance, Nicholas Rush could see the snow capped peaks reflecting the fire that burned at the centre of the solar system. The stars of the universe had been powering them on their journey for so long; and now, as we near our destination, this one fails to provide for us. Rush found the irony difficult to appreciate.

Sprawled over the dusty plateau in front of him was the carcass of the star ship Destiny; the relatively flat triangular front end stretched out before the scientist, becoming narrower towards the bow. The surface of the ship was covered in layers of textural elements, including a vast arsenal of double- and triple-barrelled energy cannons. The sun light glared harshly off the ancient metal, highlighting the gaping cracks, holes and corrosions of Destiny'shull.

After millions of years travelling through the universe, across billions of light-years, this ship is still more or less intact, Rush thought admirably. Destiny truly was a technological marvel; for a ship to have the capability to fly so deep into space, and to cross between galaxies on a relatively regular basis, was an incredible achievement. The Ancients really deserved the reverence of the many races that idealised and even worshiped them in the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies.

The vista before him was truly spectacular. The distant mountains were larger than any Rush had ever seen on Earth or anywhere else, and the sun dazzled his eyes as it continued to fall below the horizon; the darkness creeped slowly over the dead ship. It pained Rush's heart to know that the beautiful ship would never fly again. It's mission – my mission – will never be fulfilled. Not now. A million years worth of degradation, combined with the battering of numerous attempts by outside parties to take the ship by force, had whittled the ship down to a shadow of her former great self. It had simply been a matter of time before the ship experienced a fatal breakdown.

A matter of time...

Flashback:

Eli yawned, earning himself a disapproving glare from Nicholas Rush. Oh, I'm sorry that you got me out of bed to work so early, Eli thought sarcastically. They were alone in the bridge while the rest of the crew slept in their quarters. Eli felt his stomach grumble.

He looked up from the control console in front of him and stared through the viewport. Destiny was currently travelling faster-than-light; streaks of blue shimmered over the ship, along with small points of white light: stars. The sight was utterly mesmerising. After two years of sailing through the universe, Eli still found it hard to believe that he was living every day on a space ship. It's like a real life, much cooler version of Star Trek: Voyager.

Suddenly there was a flash, and a deep rumble reverberated throughout the entire ship. The blue FTL effect vanished, replaced by an unending blackness.

"Did you do that?" Eli asked, as he leant back in his chair.

For a moment the other scientist was silent. Eli looked over in curiosity to find Rush in one of the other chairs, staring incredulously at the screen in front of him for a fraction of a second, before he began pressing buttons and twisting dials. The ship lurched slightly.

"Yes," Rush replied succinctly. "Power reserves are running low. I'm going to take Destiny into this system's star to recharge. Monitor the power levels."

Eli sighed again and leant forward, bringing up the power distribution interface on his screen with a couple of button presses. The hum of Destiny's engines slowly sped up, and the blinding light of the sun began to beam through the bridges windows, illuminating every corner of the room. Wow, Eli thought. He instantly felt somewhat stupid: you're looking at the most powerful thing in all of creation, and all you can say is, "Wow"? Solar flares danced from the surface of the sun like immense tornados of light, swirling in blinding iridescence.

After a few more minutes, Rush carefully manipulated Destiny's controls and took the ship underneath the scorching surface of the star. The solar material blanketed the bridges viewports, flooding the room with light. Eli squinted down at his console.

"Power flow is stable," he said. "Mind if I go get something to eat?"

Rush ignored him, merely burying himself within the data on his console once more. Sure, go ahead, Eli, he thought to himself. Great work by the way! He turned and began walking across the bridge towards the exit.

Bang!

The ship lurched again and Eli was thrown hard against the floor. Pain exploded in his arm as the boom resonated throughout the ship. Sparks began to explode out of the consoles all around them. Fear gripped his stomach.

"There was an explosion in the FTL drive! The engines are offline, and we haven't pulled out of the star yet!" Rush screamed over the din as he punched buttons and twisted dials in a desperate attempt to reignite the engines.

"What the hell happened?" Eli yelled in response as he picked himself clumsily off the floor. "Everything was fine a second ago!"

"The entire power network is flooded! It's going to burn out the shields," Rush exclaimed, with real fear in his voice as he gestured at another console. "Get over there and initiate an emergency shutdown and restart!"

Eli shook himself out of his trance of horror and practically leapt into the chair. He frantically began shutting down all systems except for the shields. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God... The next few seconds went by in a blur of activity and beeps and clicks, when suddenly red flashed all over his console. We're going to die...

"Reset everything, now!" Rush yelled again. "The shields are failing!"