Tau'ri-Genii conflict

Concurrent	Tau'ri-Wraith war
Tau'ri-Genii conflict
Date	2004-2006
Place	Pegasus galaxy
Outcome	Uneasy peace Death of Chief Cowen Rise of Ladon Radim as the new leader of the Genii
Combatants
Atlantis expedition Ford's Coalition (2005)
Genii
Commanders
Dr. Elizabeth Weir Aiden Ford
Cowen†
Strength
Atlantis expedition Puddle Jumpers
Genii Military

The Tau'ri-Genii conflict was a rivalry between the Tau'ri of the Atlantis expedition and the Genii in the Pegasus galaxy. It began following a joint mission to infiltrate a Hive ship, wherein the Genii soldier Tyrus was lost, and ended after Ladon Radim successfully took power. Minor skirmishes, however, happened in the wake of Radim's coup.

History

First contact

First contact between the two races occurred during the Atlantis expedition's first year on Atlantis. Teyla Emmagan introduced the expedition to the Genii as potential trading partners, unaware of their true nature as a military power. When Dr. Rodney McKay and Major John Sheppard discovered their secret, a tentative alliance formed, as the expedition had supplies and technical expertise which the Genii lacked.

The two groups held a joint operation to raid a Wraith Hive ship for data concerning their fleet movements. During the raid, Tyrus was captured by the Wraith, having alerted them by killing a cocooned human who was making too much noise. Teyla was unable to save him, and thus Cowen, leader of the Genii, blamed her for his loss. He tried to force Sheppard to surrender his supplies and Puddle Jumper, but Sheppard had arranged for two more Jumpers to lie in wait, turning the tables on Cowen. He took the stolen Wraith data from Cowen as payment for the effort they expended on the mission, which Cowen took as an act of war. (SGA: "Underground")

Invasion of Atlantis

Main article: Genii invasion of Atlantis

When a massive storm threatened to destroy Atlantis, the Genii were presented with an opportunity to raid the city for the necessary supplies to build their atomic weapons. Acastus Kolya lead a strike force into the city. Upon learning of the plan to save it, he enacted a much more ambitious plan to take the city for the Genii. His efforts were foiled by Sheppard and his team, and Kolya was shot in the shoulder while attempting to retreat with Dr. Elizabeth Weir as a hostage. Kolya declared Sheppard his personal enemy. (SGA: "The Storm", "The Eye")

Attempt to obtain ZPM

The expedition came close to discovering a Zero Point Module on Dagan, and this information was delivered to the Genii through their spy network. Cowen chose not to provoke them, but Acastus Kolya was more insistent, secretly leading a small team to steal the ZPM once the expedition had discovered it. He was again foiled by Major John Sheppard's team, and Sheppard warned him that he would not spare Kolya the next time. (SGA: "The Brotherhood")

Coup d'état

Some time later, Ladon Radim, a member of the strike team that raided Atlantis, contacted the Atlantis expedition and offered to trade a Zero Point Module in exchange for their aid in overthrowing Cowen. He told them that Cowen intended to unite the entire galaxy under his rule, using his atomic weapons if necessary. The expedition decided to simply steal the ZPM rather than aid in the coup. Unfortunately, they discovered that it was a trap: the ZPM was depleted and they were taken hostage. Cowen and Radim had been working together the whole time. Having identified the members of the expedition who possessed the Ancient Technology Activation gene necessary to operate Puddle Jumpers, Radim was working on a way to artificially give the Genii the gene, while ransoming the hostages for Jumpers that could be used to deliver their weapons.

Radim, however, really was planning a coup, and the operation was the only way to draw Cowen into the open. Using a bomb planted underneath the facility, he killed both Cowen and his inner circle. The expedition hostages would have been left to die, but Radim freed them after learning that the Tau'ri possessed the means to cure the radiation poisoning many of his people suffered from. This marked the start of a stable alliance between the two powers. (SGA: "Coup D'etat")

Kolya's first attempt to seize power

After learning that Ladon Radim had deposed Cowen as leader of the Genii, Acastus Kolya believed Radim stolen what was rightfully his. Kolya was the first to suggest the idea of a coup, but Radim betrayed him, feeling him no more worthy of leadership than Cowen. After being driven into exile, Kolya and a small group of loyal Genii captured Lt. Colonel John Sheppard in an attempt to trade his life for Radim's. The expedition refused the trade, and Radim eventually managed to locate the world where Kolya was hiding. Sheppard was rescued, but Kolya escaped. (SGA: "Common Ground")

Kolya's second attempt to seize power

During an unrelated mission to investigate the claim that Lucius Lavin was a "superhero", Lt. Colonel John Sheppard once again came into contact with Acastus Kolya and his followers, who had been informed of Sheppard's presence by some Genii mercenaries cast out by Ladon Radim. Kolya captured Sheppard's team, minus Sheppard himself, and once again intended to ransom them in exchange for supplies for his coup. With Lucius' help, Sheppard and the villagers disarmed Kolya's men. Kolya himself refused to be captured, and was killed in an impromptu duel with Sheppard. (SGA: "Irresponsible")

Assassination of royalty

While escorting the queen-to-be Harmony to a shrine as part of her coronation ritual, Dr. Rodney McKay and Lt. Colonel John Sheppard was attacked by a group of Genii. The Genii were under the employ of Harmony's sister, Mardola. Though Harmony's people were resistant to trade with the Genii, Mardola would have been more open to it, but Harmony was next in line for the throne. McKay and Sheppard successfully protected Harmony, and Mardola was arrested. Radim claimed that this group of Genii were not acting under his orders. (SGA: "Harmony")

Coalition of Planets

When the Atlantis expedition was put on trial by the newly-formed Coalition of Planets, they quickly deduced that the Genii were bribing one of the judges to vote guilty so they would secure a position as the military power of the Coalition. Richard Woolsey convinced the judge that Atlantis was a better choice, being far more powerful than the Genii, allowing them to secure an innocent verdict. No word was given on Ladon Radim's involvement with this action. (SGA: "Inquisition")

Sora's Defiance of Orders

In 2009, soon after Atlantis returned to the Pegasus Galaxy, the Genii Captain Sora Tyrus came across a clinic ran by Doctors Carson Beckett and Jennifer Keller on Wland. Despite orders to stay away from the expedition, Sora took Beckett captive for the Genii and stole his supplies. However, Beckett knew the Genii arriving might not be friendly and sent Keller to get help from Atlantis. Keller was able to get Sheppard, Ronon, Teyla, McKay and a team of Marines to help, though Teyla stayed away upon learning of Sora's presence. Sora demanded they exchange Beckett for Teyla and threatened his life in an attempt to force the issue, but was stunned by Ronon with his blaster. As the stand-off continued, one of the Genii offered to release Beckett in exchange for the supplies which the team reluctantly agreed to.

Following the stand-off, Ladon Radim was informed of the situation and was infuriated as he'd specifically ordered Sora to stay away from the Atlantis expedition. Though Sora had stolen much needed supplies, Ladon was reluctant to antagonize Atlantis with an important project underway and as such, returned the supplies. He also had Sora stripped of her rank and placed under arrest to face trial for her rogue actions. (SGA: "Legacy: Homecoming")

Flight of the Avenger

After the kidnapping of Doctor Rodney McKay by Queen Death, the Atlantis expedition makes a deal with the Genii where in exchange for the Genii bending their intelligence network towards finding McKay, the expedition will help them salvage a wrecked Lantean cruiser called the Avenger. A team made up of Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, the Genii Chief Scientist Dahlia Radim and Doctor Carson Beckett travel to the remote planet where the Avenger is, only to be ambushed by the Wraith. While the team is able to escape the Wraith and reach the Avenger, their Puddle Jumper is disabled and both Teyla and Beckett suffer injuries from an attack by carnivorous lizards. On the Avenger, tensions rise between the expedition members and Dahlia who distrusts Teyla due to her being Wraithkin. Also, Sheppard determines that while the Avenger's Ancient hyperdrive is operational, the ship is in too poor of a state structurally to make it to the Genii homeworld. When Sheppard instead intends to take the ship to Atlantis which is much closer, Dahlia suspects the team of intending to steal the ship and refuses to believe their assertions otherwise. To try to force them to take the ship to the Genii homeworld instead, Dahlia steals Beckett's pistol while he's sleeping and threatens Teyla's life. However, Beckett recognizes Dahlia's bluff and is able to peacefully talk her down.

Upon arrival in Atlantis, the expedition begins repairs to the Avenger's numerous hull breaches while an outraged Ladon demands the return of the ship and his sister within 24 hours. After the hull breaches are repaired by Doctor Miko Kusanagi and her team, Sheppard flies the ship to the Genii homeworld accompanied by a team of Marines and the George Hammond for escort. Sheppard lands the Avenger on the Genii homeworld and completes the deal, but the Genii fail to provide any useful intel on the location of McKay afterwards. (SGA: "The Lost")

Negotiations on Sateda

After traveling to Sateda to get the titanium needed to build a mechanical iris for the Atlantis Stargate, the expedition learns that the Genii have claimed Sateda for themselves and are raiding the Satedan City Museum for useful Ancient artifacts while refusing to trade with the returned Satedans. After learning that the museum possibly holds a much needed ZPM, Sheppard, temporarily in charge of Atlantis, agrees to try a diplomatic solution, unwilling to commit his limited military resources to kicking the Genii off of Sateda. Accompanied by a delegation from Atlantis, including Colonel Steven Caldwell the commander of the Daedalus, Sheppard leads tense negotiations between the Genii and the Satedans, dealing with such problems as arguments between who can take part in the negotiations and disputes between the Genii and Satedan soldiers. After Ladon Radim tries and fails to assassinate Sora Tyrus, who kept her job through the political influence of her lover, Sheppard is able to leverage the situation against the Genii, specifically the suspicious nature of Ladon's attempt to covertly murder an officer who had been leading a secret operation before she was caught making it look like he has something big to hide. Sheppard is able to use this leverage to force Ladon to negotiate a deal with the Satedeans where they trade for what they want and otherwise leave the planet alone. (SGA: "Allegiance")