Starborn Smith [Massive Scifi MultiFusion / Celestial Forge]

[BlazingHyperion]

We were almost done with rederiving all of the equations — maybe two days away at most — when Elder James pulled me from the room. "We've found a Cybrex Facility."

I felt my eyes widen. "Already?! I was expecting it to take another few months!"

The Elder shrugged. "We got lucky. We're getting a team together. You have five hours before one of our ships arrives at a Stargate. You have until then to get yourself ready."

I nodded. "Yes, Elder."

I immediately returned to the room to inform the others that I would be leaving and rushed to my room to gather a few sets of extra clothes as well as anything else I might need. Then I rushed to the Stargate to find that I still had four hours before we would leave.

I reluctantly sat down to wait. During my break time, I continued other projects. Mostly, I was coding for the unfinished constructor. Removing the Analog Circuits had meant that I could do a lot more with the device than I had previously planned. It also meant that I had a LOT more coding to do.

The more I used the THOS Operating System, the more I liked it. It was responsive and easy to use. I remember a saying from my first life; "fast, good, or cheap; pick two." Well, the THOS system had clearly NOT been cheap, and I very much doubted that it had been made in a hurry. It had clearly been developed over the course of years, if not decades. The designers had gone all in on "good." I suppose that's what it takes to have an operating system that can last for centuries.

Over the following four hours, people started appearing near the Stargate until there were about fifty people in total. Finally, Elder James arrived. The gate began dialing as an incoming wormhole burst to life. Arktos walked through alongside a small cohort of a half dozen Jaffa.

The Wormhole shut down behind them and not even a few seconds later, the gate began dialing again. This time, the contingent was from Dendred. Along with them came Lady Isetri which I found rather surprising. I haven't seen her in several weeks now.

Arktos and Ma'chello approached Elder James. Arktos began. "The Al'kesh has landed and is awaiting our arrival."

Elder James activated his radio. "Dial the gate. We're heading out."

Immediately the Stargate jumped to life as the ring started spinning.

With a woosh the Gate dialed and we all passed through.

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: Astria Porta (Stargate) Rematerializer

On the other side, I hurriedly walked over to the DHD to grab the partial blueprint from that as well.

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: Clavis (DHD) Safety Systems

Man… The stargates were some REALLY complex devices. The Goa'uld computers were almost a joke in comparison.

Next, I turned my attention to the nearby Al'kesh, the landing ramp was open and waiting for us to enter. I turned back to the gate as Elder James, Arktos, and Ma'chello passed through. The gate shutdown behind them.

All of us quickly made our way over to the Al'kesh. It was a bit of a tight fit, but the Al'kesh was designed to hold 50 Jaffa for longer missions, so we didn't have any issues all fitting on board.

Behind us, the boarding ramp closed and the vessel took off. Within a minute, we had entered Hyperspace. Now, I had a bit over two days before we would arrive at our final destination.

I plopped down near one of the walls and pulled out my compad once more to continue my work. Once I had the first constructor done, I could start really pumping the things out. While a single constructor wouldn't be able to fully assemble another one from scratch, it could produce all the parts needed for a second such device.

Once this was done, I'd have to start designing proper conveyor systems. Then miners and smelters. Though, I'd probably need to design a special device for smelting naquadah. Or maybe not; it was pretty similar to Satisfactory's Caterium. I might not need anything after all. that would be well in the future either way. .

One of the villagers approached me. "The Elder wants to talk with you."

I stood up and followed him to the bridge where a small 3d-projection was displayed in the center of the room, using a pretty basic Goa'uld projector. Yeah, that was definitely much more advanced than the Star League Holotable. Those things could barely manage a few individual colors.

Elder James nodded to me. "Arthur. This is the facility."

I examined the projection more closely. From the massive dish and the collection of other antennae I could make a good guess as to the nature of the facility. "This looks to be a listening post of some kind, no?"

Elder James nodded. "That is our current assumption. We have confirmed that there are a pair of what appear to be shuttlecraft of some sort as well."

I nodded. "Alright, what are we going to be doing with the facility?"

Elder James looked to Arktos. "We will be removing all technology we can. Once that has been completed, we will attempt to tow it through Hyperspace to Dendred where it can be further examined."

I raised an eyebrow. "And you can tow the thing?"

Arktos nodded. "The return trip will take a bit more than two weeks, but it can be done."

I nodded. "Alright, what do you need me for?"

Elder James continued. "You'll be handling the primary computer system here. Attempt to retrieve what information you can from it. From there you'll be responsible for disassembly."

"I can probably do that. Do you need anything else from me?"

They all responded in the negative, so I returned to the main cargo hold. Time for a new project while I waited. I had to make a translator for the Cybrex video and text formats.

Quick estimate, it would probably take me a few hours.

That was finished pretty quick, and then I returned to working on my constructor code. Like that, two days passed and we approached our destination. About fifteen minutes out, I got changed into my vacuum suit. I quickly rushed up to the bridge once I was changed and watched as we exited hyperspace only a few kilometers from the facility.

Elder James grabbed his radio and spoke. "This is Elder James and the Investigation party. You are clear to decloak."

Moments later, the reply. "Understood. Decloaking."

A Tel'tak came into view out the front view port. Elder James continued. "We'll be examining this facility first. Then we'll move on to the other Object."

I raised an eyebrow. "Other object?"

Elder James nodded. "They apparently found a ship floating in space near one of the system's dwarf planets."

I raised an eyebrow but said no more. Our vessel approached the Asteroid and pulled up right alongside it. I felt the extension of the ship's port airlock extend towards the asteroid and catch onto it.

The pilot turned towards us slightly. "We're connected. You're clear to enter."

Elder James nodded. "Good. Arthur, you're with me. We're going first."

I quickly followed behind the Elder. I made sure to put on my helmet and seal it then followed Elder James into the airlock. The air was cycled out and the external door opened to reveal a rather dark set of corridors. The moment my hand touched the wall so I could stabilize myself, my perk dumped knowledge into my head.

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: Cybrex Listening Post Computational System

I raised an eyebrow. So this was the facility from Stellaris, or maybe one of many such facilities. In the game, you could happen across a Cybrex Listening Post where the AI had been abandoned for 50,000 years before it fried itself.

Well, there was a pretty easy way to check whether that was the case or not. I took the lead from the Elder and made my way to the room filled with stacks upon stacks of computers.

I nodded as I looked over at a particular section. "Elder, the AI for this station is out of commission. It looks like it probably fried itself."

The Elder raised an eyebrow. "Fried itself?"

I pointed towards the collection of computers that showed signs of singeing. "Entirely too much current was shoved through those. They fried themselves, and the rest of the room isn't receiving any power at all. If I was to assume, I'd say that the AI probably redirected all the current to its central processing."

The Elder nodded. "Well, get to work. I'll have one of the other teams in here to assist you in a moment."

I nodded and began searching the room. I quickly found the power control station and redirected the power away from the AI and towards the other systems. Unfortunately, this was also when I found out that I was working with a newer version of the Cybrex video format. I would have to make some modifications before I could properly start decoding the information stored in this facility.

As the lights came on, my assistants… hehe, I had my own assistants… entered the room. I nodded to them and gestured to the now fried computational core. "We're starting over here. I'm going to have to make some modifications before we can start accessing the facility's memory."

I quickly showed them how to disassemble one of the computing shelves and while they got to work, I started making modifications to the program. Luckily making the necessary changes only took a little more than half an hour.

Stretching, I saw that the team was a little more than halfway done with the first of the cores. These shelves had been made to be highly modular. That meant that taking them apart was pretty easy. Unfortunately there were a lot of them. Nonetheless, they were going faster than I had expected, so I left them to it.

Next, I plugged my compad into the first of several thousand memory storage blocks. This first one contained nothing but astronomical data. Much of it was raw, but there were also a lot of pointers towards data stored in other blocks.

Looking through the data, it seemed that it was generally organized by what portion of the sky it was aiming at. The most data was gathered between a period approximately 600,000 years ago to 550,000 years ago. After that point the amount of data gathered was significantly decreased.

As I stared through the data, I froze. Could it really be this easy?

I had originally discounted the probability of finding Cybrex Alpha through the stars that appeared in the video. Assuming the system was a similar distance from the galactic core as Sol, that would have meant that the system had moved a distance of 440 Light Years since the video was taken. Such a significant amount of Stellar Drift would have made the pattern of stars useless.

That changed with this data. This was a tracking record of every star within visual range of this outpost. Assuming we could parse the data accurately, we could search through these records to identify which stars were in the sky surrounding Cybrex Alpha. Once we had that, we had the system we were looking for.

I stared incredulously at the compad. "No way… it can't be this easy."

High-volume data processing; this was the task that the Cobalt-Eye was designed for. Hook up these servers to the ship, and she could start running through them.

I took a deep breath. Not yet. I still had a lot of these to search for, and it's always possible that none of these line up with the stars found in the recording of Cybrex Alpha.

There was a lot of data here too. Hundreds of millenia of near constant recording. It'd probably make anyone who studied astronomy weep with joy. It was all highly organized, but I had no question that trying to match the star patterns would take a considerable period of time.

I took a deep breath. I needed to go speak with the Elder.

- - -
Author's Note:

Cough: so I accidentally gave the MC a way to find Cybrex Alpha. I planned to have them spend a few more chapters searching, but this works out too.

Discord: [ LINK: https://discord.com/invite/dbVKfqYw5T ]

 

[BlazingHyperion]

- - -
POV: Arthur Sinclair
Three Days Later.

I walked behind as the first set of memory blocks were dragged through the Stargate. The second Al'kesh, crewed by ST02, arrived two days later. The second Al'kesh had brought a Stargate and a DHD. We had been disassembling the computer lab for nearly 48 hours straight, and it was good to finally be able to start moving equipment.

I quickly grabbed the partial blueprints from the two pieces of Ancient tech.

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: Astria Porta (Stargate) Naquadah Chassis

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: Clavis (DHD) Computational Systems

Then, I floated after the components as they were gently passed through the gate. I followed behind the first group of components and nearly stumbled as I stepped foot on the ground just outside the Village.

I immediately got out of the way so that the packages behind me could follow. I took off my helmet. I hadn't smelled the fresh air in entirely too long. I would be here for a day before I headed back. My job now was to start hooking up all the storage blocks to the Cobalt-Eye so that it could start examining the data.

I followed the first of the carts up to the Leopard SLS Somerset. From there, it was up to the Manassas through the Transport Ring and then over to the Cobalt Eye's storage bay.

So, I got to work. I started with sharing the cybrex-data format information with the ship's AI. By the time that was done, almost 50 of the memory blocks had been brought in. And There were 1600 of them in total. I was going to be here for a while.

Luckily, I had assistants, and hooking up a block was MUCH easier than disassembling one.

It was about an hour in, as I connected one of the blocks, that the AI spoke over the ship's intercom. "There is an unidentified program currently active on that memory block."

I immediately disconnected the block. "Do you know what it was doing?"

The AI's response was immediate. "No."

I frowned. "Any cross contamination?"

The response this time took several seconds."Full system diagnosis complete. No contamination. The program has not been designed to access Star League systems."

I let out a deep sigh. "Alright. I'll have to disable the internal computing and start reading the memory from scratch. Make sure to say so if any other memory blocks contain unidentified programs."

Immediately, I grabbed my equipment and started cutting. These memory blocks couldn't be disassembled once assembled. That meant I would have to cut it open to get a look at the interior. Once I was in, there was a small section of the device which contained a battery and a very simple computer that was used for communicating with the other memory blocks. I immediately cut that piece out.

Next, I had to hook up the memory directly to the ship so that it could begin reading through the raw memory. This alone took nearly an hour – for reference, hooking up one of the memory blocks took barely five minutes.

Nonetheless, once it was done, the AI began working through the raw data of the block. I took the elevator to the bridge where the nearest secure terminal was located. Taking a seat and strapping myself in, I spoke to the AI. "Alright, show me what you've found."

"Nothing yet. Parsing the data is significantly more time consuming without the assistance of the connected indexer."

I shrugged. "Can we start with the most recently updated memory?"

The AI was quiet for a moment. "There is a block of memory that has been wiped."

I sat back and scowled. Running through the Cybrex code in my mind, I spoke to the AI. "Check the Read-Only memory."

Several moments passed. "There is unusual code in what I believe to be the equivalent of the BIOS."

I nodded. "What would happen if that code was run?"

The AI replied immediately. "It uses seemingly random strings of code from the memory to reassemble code into the previously deleted memory."

I nodded. "Can you simulate running the code without actually running it?"

"Yes. Shall I do so?" The AI queried.

"Yes." Barely a second later, the AI responded. "The Blank section of memory is overridden. I do not know what this new code does."

I raised an eyebrow. "Show me."

Several hundred lines of code – all in what appeared to be some sort of assembly language – started loading on my screen. My perk activated as I looked at it.

First Perk Activated. Complete Knowledge Acquired: Contingency Protocol (Cybrex)

I slowly sat back as my perk dumped the knowledge into my head. I shuddered. I pulled out a Compad and plugged it into the AI. "Dump this code onto my compad. Erase all examples of this code. Especially from any backups or secondary systems. Make sure that no examples remain in any of your systems."

"Understood." The AI replied. Several moments later, a second reply came. "Task completed."

I nodded. "Immediately disconnect any further storage blocks that have any further unidentified programs. We'll have to use the raw data on those."

It seemed that the Contingency was at least partially responsible for the Cybrex rising against their makers. That wasn't all that surprising. I'd have to bring this to Elder James immediately.

I told my assistants to do as the AI said, and went to go find Elder James.

He was gathered alongside Elder Callum onboard the Leopard SLS Somerset's bridge. "Elder. I found something."

He raised an eyebrow but gestured for me to continue. I pulled out my compad and placed it on the table. "The Cobalt Eye's AI discovered a program hidden in one of the storage blocks. We disassembled it and found this."

Elder James nodded. "Alright. What is 'this'."

I really didn't know how to say this. "Well, I think it's the code that originally made the Cybrex turn Genocidal."

Elder James' eyes narrowed instantly. "What?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It looks like this might have been why the station was abandoned. The facilities AI was compromised."

Behind Elder James, Elder Callum spoke, "wow, wow, wow, are you sure that it's safe for the AI to interact with this."

I shrugged. "Fairly certain. This code was designed to work specifically with Cybrex systems. Star League systems operate on the same basic principles, but the execution is so totally different that it doesn't really matter."

I paused and chuckled lightly. "Elders, can I be totally frank for a moment? The Terran Hegemony – hell, it probably started back during the Alliance – very quickly ran into issues with miniaturizing their basic transistors. The Star League has been using the same basic technology and concepts from a thousand years in the past, but the architecture and software have been optimized so much that it can give hardware several centuries more advanced a run for its money. Hell, you have a leg up on even Goa'uld tech. I highly doubt that any program not specifically designed to break through Star League systems will be capable of doing so, even with several hundred or even thousand times the computing power."

My slight rant seemed to have put everyone in the room somewhat at ease. I nodded. "To be safe, I have already ordered the AI to disconnect from any storage blocks with the same code built in. It'll have to search through those blocks manually."

Elder James nodded. "How much time will that add to the search process?"

I shrugged. "Not much. Maybe a few days at most to the maximum possible search time. As it stands, we could be looking at a maximum time of about three years. That is if all of the information about the Cybrex Alpha system happens to be in a single Storage Block. Realistically, I'd say probably seven months. The data is really spread out, and we'd just need to identify three or four stars to start narrowing down the search significantly."

The Elder nodded. "Alright. Thank you for keeping us informed. I'll trust that you know what you're doing."

I nodded and prepared to leave the room. "Wait." I turned to see Elder James stopping me.

He took a deep breath. "You will be accompanying me to future meetings with the Dendredans and Jaffa."

I raised an eyebrow. "Elder, I'm already pretty busy."

He shook his head. "Arthur, you don't seem to understand how important you are. Now, I can let you lock yourself away in the engineering deck for the next twenty years, but is that really what you want?"

I was almost speechless for a moment, but I quickly found my voice. "No."

Elder James nodded. "Good. Even ignoring your father – and grandfather – you have shown excellent decision making skills and patience. When I've needed you to follow orders, you've done so. When you've had to operate on your own, you've done so. From this point forward, I expect you to start taking a more central role. Now, what is it that you want?"

I already knew my answer. "I want to rebuild the Inner Sphere and I want to remove the Goa'uld."

Elder Callum behind him raised an eyebrow. "Damn, those are some serious goals, kid."

I nodded and Elder James dismissed me. Back to hooking in the Storage Blocks.

- - -
POV: James Cromwell

I watched Arthur leave.

Callum snorted behind me, "So you're choosing him to be your protege, huh?"

I nodded gently. Callum raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

I looked at him for a moment, then I realized that I hadn't shown him the results of the Inheritance Test. I pulled out my compad and passed it over to him.

Callum froze, like a deer in headlights. He put it down and groaned. "Fuck me. Grandson of Simon Cameron, Great Grandson of Takiro Kurita. That's some hellish parentage."

I nodded. "If he wanted to focus on building, then he could have done just that. Since he's decided he wants to rebuild the Inner Sphere, I better make sure he's ready for what that's going to entail."

Callum groaned. "If his 'meta-knowledge' is accurate, then a lot of people are going to die."

I nodded. "Enough of this. Keep going with the report."

Callum immediately returned to a more serious appearance and continued from where he was before Arthur entered the room.

- - -
POV: Arthur Sinclair

Over the next six days, the rest of the 1600 storage blocks as well as the collection of computational blocks were all brought through the Stargate.

I also got my chance to look at the Cybrex shuttles.

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: Cybrex Shuttle Cybrex Impulse Thruster, Cybrex Auto-Cannon

Frankly, I was flabbergasted when I discovered that the Cybrex Impulse Thrusters were even more powerful than the Goa'uld Gravitic pushers. I would have to do some research into these things at a later date.

Finally, the Cybrex Listening Post was connected up to an Al'kesh, and the ship began the long journey back to Dendred. It would have to make several stops to let its Hyperdrive cool down, which would extend the expected two week journey to three weeks.

In other news, the jump drive of the BSG Daedalus had finally been fully re-aligned. It had taken nearly a month – two weeks longer than expected, but it had been completed nonetheless. The ship was now safely in orbit of Dendred.

Deimos – as the AI had liked to be called – was much more heavily damaged than the Daedalus, so it was expected to take a lot more time before the Jump Drive would be properly calibrated.

Finally, while I had been busy with the Cybrex Listening post, the Manassas' Engineers had started with making proper repairs to the drive. They had been working off of poor assumptions previously since they just didn't know what had caused the issue. Now that the main cause had been dealt with, they had started backtracking all the damaged components. Luckily, the Drive Core itself was still in near perfect condition.

If the Drive Core had been damaged then any hope of having the vessel ever make a jump had been effectively dumped out the window. The only way to fix the Drive Core would have been to completely replace it, and that just wasn't feasible with current resources.

People had also started to slowly move out of the village and to the new backup site. I say backup site. Soon enough it would be less of a backup site and more primary base of operations. Apparently the Jaffa have started moving their younger members to the site as well.

Most importantly, no one really needed me for anything at the moment, and at my request, Elder James had agreed to let me focus on completing the first constructor. So, this was my main project for the next several weeks, and I was not going to waste my time.

- - -
Author's Note:
Thanks for reading!
Discord link (Just posted Chapter #56 over there) [ LINK: https://discord.com/invite/dbVKfqYw5T ]

 

[BlazingHyperion]

- - -

POV: James Cromwell



It had been a bit over three weeks since I had let Arthur off the leash. He had spent almost eight hours every day working on completing his Constructor device. He had claimed that he wouldn't need more than another two weeks to complete it at the start, but he later retracted that statement; something about forgetting the 90-10 rule.



Arthur had taken one of the Leopard's bays for his personal use. Now it was time to see the fruits of his labors. The machine he presented was quite large, with a single central press. The side had a pair of robotic arms attached to rails so that they could traverse the entire length of the device. The front and back of the device seemed to be meant for a conveyor of some sort.



I spotted Arthur on the far side of the machine. He looked up at us and away from his compad and up towards us. He smiled cheerily. "Elders! Thank you for coming. I just finished the initial diagnostics."



I raised an eyebrow but nodded. "What will you be showing us?"



He pulled out several steel ingots, apparently fresh from Dendred's only functional Steel Plant – something that Ares had guarded almost jealously before. Previously, the steel had been used for making pickaxes and the like. Now, most of it was going towards repairing the vessels in orbit.



Arthur placed the ingot on the entrance and stepped away. Returning his attention to his compad, he pressed a button and the machine came to life. The Ingot slowly moved into the device. I could vaguely see the ingot centered in the machine. That was the last I saw of it. Both the arms moved, seemingly to align something within the massive metal press; then they both retreated away from the press and the air filled with the hissing of compressed air as a massive piston pushed the pair of plates together.



For several moments, the two pistons pushed against one another, then they retreated. Arthur walked to the other end of the machine and picked up the end result. A single piece blade of some sort. I didn't quite recognize what it was for.



Callum seemed flabbergasted. "How the hell do you make something like that without a mold?"



I nodded alongside him. Arthur chuckled as well. "Some rather precise usage of electromagnets. When working with metal, it strips all the free electrons then uses extremely powerful magnetic fields to realign the entire object in a matter of microseconds."



Callum seemed to raise an eyebrow. "So it only works with metals?"



Arthur shook his head. "No, it works with plastics and other such materials. Just not nearly as well. It also functions as a hydraulic press."



I was impressed, to say the least. "Can you make more of them?"



Arthur chuckled. "That's the whole point. There are 339 individual components. The device can make one component every minute – and some of the smaller components can be made in batches. Every single component can be produced by this machine. I can have all the components created in six to seven hours. Assembly will take a couple of days though."



He seemed to falter for a moment. "There's just one issue. I need a compad or a noteputor to control each one. Now, I was originally planning on using an analog circuit for this, but using a proper digital device provides a lot more control over the entire process and means I can basically create blueprints for a device on the fly."



I raised an eyebrow. "How many compads do we have in storage?"



Arthur's response was immediate. "Three thousand, two hundred, and eighty."



He made it sound like we had none. I gently rubbed my beard. Quite frankly, this device was beyond my greatest expectations. I turned to Arthur. "How many materials can it use at once?"



He winced. "Two, absolute max, and that would take serious preparation and testing. It will probably lead to a significantly larger number of failures. If you used just one then I can pretty much guarantee a perfect outcome 100% of the time…"



I nodded. So it was mostly only capable of reforming a single material. That was already a lot. I'd have to get Ma'chello over here and start discussing more extensive production lines. This prototype would have to be moved to the Backup site. We'll have to bring it up in the next meeting.



I nodded. "You've done well, Arthur. We'll be bringing this up with Ma'chello at the next meeting. We'll see how many more of these things we can make then."



He nodded. "Understood."



I turned to leave. I had more paperwork to do. "Give me a list of things that this could be used for in the immediate future."



He nodded once more. "Yes, Elder."



- - -

POV: Arthur Sinclair



We stood before a clearing on Mycena. In the distance, I could just make out the appearance of Ares' Ha'tak motherships. Before me, however, lay six Al'kesh and a Dozen Telk'taks.



Standing in a neat row, were a collection of Villagers and Jaffa. Elder James and Arktos had come to an agreement. Arktos had offered ships for the expedition to the Inner Sphere, though I don't know what it is that he got from the exchange, I doubted it was a small price.



What really surprised me however, was that the Jaffa had given up their normal armor and had instead equipped SLDF Uniforms. Quite frankly, I was flabbergasted. Even more surprising was that the mark of Ares on the brow of each of the Jaffa was gone.



Elder James gave me a quick look and spoke. "Stop staring."



I coughed. "Yes, Elder."



The Elder was in full white SLDF Uniform, with his rank insignia and full regalia on display.

We approached Arktos and his retinue. Elder James nodded and turned to the assembled crowd. "For those of you from the village, you probably do not know what it is that you have been training for. Well, it is time I told you. Over the next seventeen months, you will be making a trip to the Inner Sphere."



There was a slight murmur through the crowd. Elder James continued. "Many of you were Jaffa. You have abandoned the mark of Ares, and decided to live as free men. I have spoken to each and every one of you. Now is your last chance to leave. You serve no one but those you choose of your own will."



Elder James waited for several moments. No one moved. "Excellent. None of you know where my people come. We are what you would call Tau'ri – the people of the first world."



There were several sharp intakes of breath – even Arktos looked genuinely surprised. I suppose we had yet to inform him of our origin.



Elder James continued. "I have spoken to each and every one of you. I know that none of you will let me down. Good luck to you all."



Elder James saluted and the entire line gave a full salute back. The Elder dropped his arm and nodded. "You are all clear to launch. Your route has been decided on. You will be making a stop approximately once every two weeks, so don't worry about getting cramped."



The entire line dropped and began making their way to their ships. All of us watched in silence as the vessels slowly took off and then – all together – rocketed into orbit. There was a bright flash and they were gone.



I turned to look at the Elder and Arktos. "So, why were the Jaffa wearing SLDF Uniforms?"



Arktos smiled lightly. "They are the first, the rest will follow. We will no longer be Jaffa – servants for the Goa'uld."



I blinked. Not even Teal'c had gone so far… he really wasn't kidding during that meeting huh.



Arktos turned to Elder James. "Your people are the Tau'ri?"



Elder James nodded. "I can't exactly prove it, but we can prove that our ancestors have lived on Terra – it used to be called Earth – for the past 30,000 years at least. Before that, we weren't even humans. We were just another species of monkey, but if we count our non-human ancestors as well, we have a record going back nearly a billion years."



Arktos simply raised an eyebrow. "Your people have come far since you were forgotten."



Elder James smiled bitterly. "Perhaps we would have gotten farther had we not been so single mindedly focused on killing each other."



- - -

POV: Elana Morretti - SLS Manassas, Chief Medical Officer



I felt more relaxed than I had in years… since before Amaris had decided to start his damned civil war. That wasn't normal.



My eyes shot open as I sat up. I was in an excessively gaudy room, the walls were covered in what appeared to be Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, with a single entrance leading directly to the chamber I sat in.



I suddenly heard the approach of boots and I immediately went for my weapon only to find it was not there. Looking down, I saw that I was still wearing the same medical gown that I had been when I entered the Stasis Tube. There was something very strange going on.



I turned just in time to see a short, older man enter the room. He wore an SLDF uniform with the rank of captain. His nametag read Cromwell. I stared at the man for several long seconds. This… this was Captain Cromwell? He looked fifty years older than the last time I'd seen him.



"Lieutenant Morretti," he spoke and I immediately recognized his voice. "We have a lot to talk about. Why don't you get out of the Sarcophagus so that we can get the next person into the device?"



This was the captain? The same man who was on the verge of causing a mutiny? He coughed once.



"Ohhhh. Right." I quickly stood and got out of the way as the people began working with the stasis tube.



It took me a few brief moments to realize what was going on; they were opening bypassing all the Stasis Tubes safety features in order to get it opened immediately.



"What the hell are you doing?" I quickly rushed up to stop them, and they all seemed rather surprised. The Captain quickly stopped me. "Don't worry. The person died before he was stuck in the tube. We've just been using the device to ensure that his body remains preserved."



I ignored his words. I watched as the people carefully picked up a body wearing an unfamiliar uniform and placed him where I had been just moments prior. Suddenly, the interior of the crate lit up with white light. I heard the sound of grinding stone as the lid slowly crept shut.



Finally I turned to face the man who was holding me back. "Sir, what the hell is going on?"



The man – chuckled lightly. "That is a long story. Let's get something to eat and I'll give you a rundown.



- - -

POV: Arthur Sinclair



I was finally going to the Backup site. My constructor had been loaded onto a cart and prepared for transport. The gate was dialed and I watched the device – as well as several large trailers filled to the brim with raw materials – passed through the gate. Finally it was my turn to pass through. I quickly rushed through.



The moment I was on the other side, information rushed into my head

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Astria Porta (Stargate) Custodia Astria (Lantean Anti-Daemonic Wards)

"…"



"…"



"…"



"WHAT THE HELL!"

- - -
Author's Note:
Anyway. That happened.

 

[BlazingHyperion]

- - -
POV: Arthur Sinclair

I poured over the wards that had been dumped into my mind. If I didn't know any better, I would have just assumed that they were random markings. Somehow, every Stargate had wards built into them that – when combined with the dematerializer – meant that any Daemon would be shredded and turned into the purest of soul energy.

This had to be 40K…. Was this universe a 40K crossover as well? Ohhh dear god.

Elder James approached me. "Arthur? Is everything alright?"

I stared up at him for several long moments. "No, Elder. I'm afraid it definitely isn't. We need to go somewhere quiet for a few bit."

The Elder furrowed his brows and nodded, gesturing for me to follow him.

We walked a short way to a nearby guard post, where the Elder closed the door. He nodded "Alright. What's the problem?"

I was silent for a few moments as I considered how I needed to go about explaining this. "So, Elder, I got the final part of the Stargate blueprint."

He nodded. "Okay, so what's the issue?"

"So… erm… the final part is magical… actually, psionic would be a better term…"

Elder James' eyes narrowed to slits. "Explain. In detail."

So, I did just that. I told him what the wards on the Stargate did, as well as what they were meant to be used against.

Elder James stood against a wall, tapping his finger against his forearm. "And this information is all from the blueprint?"

I shook my head. "No, this is another one of the franchises I recognize from my memories."

The Elder let out a deep sigh. "Alright. When we return, we're doing a complete rundown of this new franchise."

I nodded. "Yes. Elder."

We exited the small guard post and I followed Elder James down a rather large main road. There was a lot of extra room on either side of the path. After nearly thirty minutes of walking, we arrived at a small building. Entering, we found Ma'chello hard at work over a table covered with papers.

Ma'chello looked up at us. "Ahh! Arthur, James, you're here. I was wondering when you'd be arriving."

He chuckled lightly. "You know, I always wanted to be an architect. I forgot about that for a while… It's really nice to be able to live this dream."

Elder James smiled lightly. "I'm glad we could be of help."

The Elder turned to me next, "I'll leave you to it. Feel free to head for the gate when you're finished."

I nodded and the Elder left. I turned to Ma'chello and smiled brightly. "Well, are you ready to get to work?"

He chuckled lightly as well. "More than you could possibly know."

I nodded and sat down at one of the chairs. Ma'chello started. "I've looked over the blueprint for your constructor, and we have initial locations set aside for the first production lines."

I smiled. "Excellent. Let's get to work then."

- - -
POV: James Cromwell

I had been waiting for the sarcophagus to open for nearly 45 minutes now. Inside, was one Major Marcus Novak, the highest ranking officer onboard the Manassas – even outranking me – and the commanding officer of the SLS Claymore, the Dropship which had been locked down for entirely too long.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the doors ground open. Several seconds passed and the major sat up. He stared at me for several moments, and I stared back. This man very much had the ability to make my life a living hell – he had done just that during Operation EXODUS.

I performed a textbook salute, "Major Novak."

He stared at me for several long moments. "What the hell happened to you, Cromwell?"

I smiled bitterly. "Well sir, it's been thirty years since you entered the Stasis Tubes."

He narrowed his eyes on me. "Explain."

I returned my arm to rest and continued. "Sir, the Manassas suffered a second Missjump, which resulted in the release of a fatal wave of ionizing radiation. Everyone who was not on the command deck was killed."

He continued to stare at me for several, long moments. "This isn't the time for jokes, Cromwell."

I nodded. "I am aware of that sir. This isn't a joke."

He stared at me for several long moments as he started to stand up. "Captain, I am ordering you to tell me what is going on."

A light cough came from my right, and the Major turned. Lieutenant Moretti spoke, "Major Novak, for the next ten days, you are not fit for duty."

He raised an eyebrow, "Lieutenant Moretti, what the hell is going on."

The Lieutenant nodded, "It's exactly as Captain Cromwell said, sir. All of us were killed during the second miss jump. The device used to revive you has some rather… unfortunate side effects."

The Major stared at the Lieutenant. "Elaborate."

The Lieutenant nodded. "For three days after use, you will have trouble sleeping, but you will mostly feel the same as you do now. Effects are similar to being slightly drunk and on stimulants. This will also lead to feelings of megalomania and slightly elevated egotism. After three days – assuming you've only used the device once – you will feel slightly more exhausted, as well as slight soreness and stiffness."

She coughed. "Excessive release of dopamine during the initial three-day period seems to have a worsening effect on the following withdrawals. If you want to do the most to mitigate follow on effects, then I would recommend that you do as little as possible. I haven't personally seen any of the long-term effects, but apparently it leads to intense feelings of superiority, and the withdrawal symptoms grow significantly worse with extended use."

The Major seemed to turn introspective. After a few moments he nodded. "I understand. For the next ten days, I am off-duty."

He turned his attention to me once more. "I would still like an explanation as to what is going on, Cromwell."

I nodded. "I'd be more than happy to provide an extensive rundown, sir."

I led the Major out of the resurrection room – as it had been dubbed by almost everyone – and out of Ares' Flagship. I was hoping that we weren't late, and I was quite lucky that we weren't.

The Major looked at the seven absolutely massive pyramidal ships – each nearly rivaling an Aegis in both length and width. "Cromwell, what the hell is going on?"

I nodded. "Well sir, those are ships. Capable of taking flight within a gravity well. In fact, if you give it… approximately thirty minutes, I think you'll be able to get a demonstration of their capabilities."

He gulped and nodded. "Well, then we have time to wait then. Tell me what's happened while I've been out."

I nodded and began explaining the immediate aftermath of the second missjump.

I hadn't even known that anything had gone wrong until I realized that all of Engineering had gone radio silent. The realization that most of the crew was dead had been crushing; the discovery that everyone who had been in Stasis was shattering. In total, thirteen of us had survived.

From there, it was a two-week burn to the single inhabitable world in the nearby star system. It was during this time that Alistair — or rather the Cobalt Eye — had found the location of Terra, 32,188 Light Years from our current location.

All of us had been lost on what to do. Then we arrived in orbit of the world — named Nekhara by the natives — and discovered the existence of the Stargate.

The existence of Humans so far from Terra was concerning enough, but when we caught sight of the Jaffa for the first time, it became clear that there was something else going on.

We had been walking for a while now, and the Stargate appeared in a clearing surrounded by several vessels and Jaffa constantly on guard. "We found something; something that would give the Star League at its peak a hissy fit. That." I pointed at the Stargate.

The Major raised an eyebrow and I continued. "That is a wormhole generator capable of opening a portal to any similar device in the galaxy."

The Major's eyebrows shot up and he stared at the Stargate. "Bullshit."

I smiled and looked down at my watch. The Major had really awoken at the perfect time. "In thirty seconds, the device will activate and one of our Survey Teams will be coming through."

Just as I had said, thirty seconds later the device started dialing. Within moments, the blue wirlpool of the forming event horizon jumped to life. I could see the awe that appeared on the Major's face.

We watched in silence as the team walked through the gate and how the gate deactivated behind them. Looking rather nervous, Major Novak spoke. "Will we be going through that?"

I nodded. "In a bit. The demonstration is still in order."

He nodded and I continued the rest of my explanation. From my time living among the people of the village all the way to Ares' attack took me thirty minutes. It was at this moment that my radio crackled.

"This is Arthur. Ha'tak #3 is clear for takeoff."

I smiled at the Major and turned to point at one of the Ha'taks. "Watch that."

And we did, steadily the Ha'tak lifted into the air. I felt the slightest hum as it did so, but there was no sound, not even a breeze to indicate the movement of such a massive object.

For a moment, I completely forgot that the Major was even with me. "Cromwell, what the hell is that ship?"

I nodded. "Major, it's time I explained the nature of the Goa'uld Empire."

- - -
One Month Later

Arktos stood in what had once been Ares' city on Mycena. Surrounding him were more than 10,000 Jaffa. Every single one of them watched with rapt attention as Arktos began his speech. Behind him was a massive several meter tall bonfire. He began, and his voice was amplified so that it would reach the entire crowd. "Many months ago, Ares was defeated. It did not come as we expected. No, it was easier than we could have ever imagined."

He looked around him before he continued. "Now, we remain here. Our only masters are ourselves, but we are not free. Still, we use their weapons, fly their ships, speak their words. All of us still have a prim'ta, within each of us. I cannot truly free you, but I have done everything I can."

The silence was deafening, and finally he continued. "Today, we are no longer Jaffa – no longer servants. From today onwards, we are Serkha – we are Free."

It was then that the cheering began. Arktos, for the first time since I had met him, began to remove his armor in full view of all 10,000 Jaffa – no, in full view of the 10,000 Serkha.

As he removed his armor, he did something else. He grabbed a knife – the crowd instantly turned completely silent – and began to peel the golden symbol of Ares from his brow. I almost wanted to go up and stop him, but Elder James placed a hand on my shoulder. "He has to do this. Lieutenant Moretti will take a look at him after he is done."

I nodded and continued to watch. Slowly, methodically, Arktos peeled the golden sigil from his brow. I swear I could see the blood drip into his eyes, but he didn't blink even once. Finally, after almost three minutes, the golden sigil came off his forehead. Arktos seemed to look at it for a moment, before he turned and threw it into the flames.

In the crowd, the first of the chants began. "Arktos! Arktos! Arktos!"

I nearly shuddered. What could cause people to follow another so fervently? Arktos raised his fist; the entire crowd instantly turned silent. "I know many of you follow me. You do not understand what it is that I see, or why I do what I do. I hope that will change in time."

He let out a deep sigh. "From now on, we are no longer Jaffa. We are Sekha. Thank you all, for following me this far."

We returned to the village that night, and I met up with the Elders onboard the bridge of the Leopard SLS Somerset.

Elder James nodded as everyone settled down. "Alright, Arthur, how much time is left in that timer."

I looked into my mind and checked the time before the next perk pull. "One minute."

He nodded and we all waited silently. Suddenly, I noticed a single, small star in my mind. It began to fall and a tendril slowly guided it directly to me. I watched as it slowly fell directly into a fire. Everyone in the room practically jumped at once.

1st Perk: (Previous Points: 350, Subtracted: 50, Current Points: 300) - Domain: Toolkits: Mundane - Title: Diagnostic Tools - Universe: Outlaw Star - Description: A small data display with numerous connectors and scanners, capable of letting you know what is wrong with simple technology and what advanced technology that has been programmed into it. * Portable, can detect what's wrong with simple tech and do the same for advanced tech that you program into it. * Keep in mind 'simple' is a lot lot higher than modern tech for this scanner, it's from a space fiction.

Interaction Between 1st Perk: Dr Shen, I presume? and 3rd Perk: Diagnostic Tools

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Advanced Diagnostic Tool

I turned to look at the nearby holotable where a tablet-shaped device had seemingly appeared out of thin air. Everyone in the room looked somewhat spooked.

"Well," I said, "That's convenient."


- - -
Author's Note:
This was completely coincidental. I had nothing to do with the perk that was pulled.

 

[BlazingHyperion]

- - -
POV: Arthur Sinclair

I found myself in Elder James' quarters the next morning. Elder Callum had taken the Diagnostic Tool and rushed straight up to the Manassas so that he could start scanning stuff. I hadn't seen him since, so I assumed that he was still at it.

I knocked on the bulkhead and waited for several moments before they opened up. Elder James looked up at me and smiled. "Arthur. Come take a seat, I have some things to discuss."

I took a seat and looked at the Elder. He looked rather exhausted. "Are you alright?"

He nodded. "Yes, yes, I'll be fine. I just couldn't sleep; I spent the whole night contemplating the nature of reality."

I nodded and waited for the Elder to continue. He took a moment and began. "Arthur, you are aware that we revived the commander of one of the Dropships, yes?"

That sounded vaguely familiar. "I believe so, yes."

The Elder continued. "We revived one Major Marcus Novak. He is the commanding officer of the SLS Claymore – the dropship that is currently in lockdown."

My eyes lit up in realization. "Ohh right. So what's the problem?"

The Elder groaned slightly. "He's refusing to open up the dropship and he outranks me."

I nodded. "Alright, so what do you want from me?"

He sat back slightly and stared at me for a few moments. "Arthur, how far are you willing to go to try and fix the Inner Sphere?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I won't be the one to drop a nuke on a city if that's what you're asking."

The Elder seemed to shudder slightly. "No. Arthur…"

He seemed almost hesitant to continue. "The Cameron name means a lot in the Inner Sphere – you probably know that more than anyone else. That name opens up a lot of doors for you – for us. So, are you willing to use the Cameron name if it is necessary?"

That's what this was about. "Absolutely. It's not like I can deny the name anyway."

Elder James stared at me for several long moments. "Are you absolutely certain about that?"

I nodded. The Elder seemed to let out a tired sigh and stand up. "Alright then. I plan to tell the Major about your heritage."

I blinked, "Right now?"

The Elder nodded. I followed him out of the room and down the hallway. There, the Elder knocked twice and a voice came from inside. "Come in."

Elder James opened the door, and gestured for me to enter first. I entered the room, and the Major raised an eyebrow as he got a look at me. Elder James entered and pulled out a compad. "Sir, it's time I showed you this."

The Major took the compad and looked at it. He looked between James and the compad several times. Finally, he sighed. "Cromwell, how is this possible?"

"That is a long story, sir. Captain Sinclair was the first child of Simon Cameron. He gave up any right to the title of First Lord when he joined the SLDF and the THIB."

The Major slowly placed the compad down on the nearby coffee table and began rubbing his temples vigorously. After a few moments, he looked up at me. "I suppose we haven't been introduced. Major Novak, sir."

Sir? Elder James wasn't kidding. "Errm, I apologize that Elder James didn't tell you sooner. I'd rather prefer that it isn't mentioned to the rest of the crew."

The Major nodded. "I understand."

A palpable silence fills the room. Finally, Major Novak sighs. "I suppose this means that you'd like me to unlock the Claymore?"

I nodded. "If you'd be so kind."

He sits there for several moments. "I can agree to that, but only on one condition."

I raised an eyebrow. "Name it."

His eyes bored into me, "When you return to the Inner Sphere, do what you can to rebuild the Star League."

I winced. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

Both the Major and Elder James seemed taken aback. The Major, with both his eyes wide open, stared at me for several long moments. "May I ask why?'

I stared right back. "The Star League was a failure. The High Council required a majority vote, something which was nearly impossible under most circumstances. Then you had the high lords themselves. I think it was Simon Cameron's first session as First Lord where the Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth accused the Coordinator of the Draconis Combine of sending mercenaries to raid Lyran worlds, then the Coordinator actually admitted to it. Simon Cameron did nothing."

I took a deep breath. "Hard times make hard men, hard men make easy times, easy times make easy men, easy men make hard times. The Star League was a success while those at the top were hardened, but a nation is not the men who founded it, it is the men who lead it after those founders have passed on."

I looked at the two of them. "Let's start with the Successor States – the five great houses."

I brought up my thumb. "The Lyran Commonwealth are probably the least problematic of the member states, but they still caused a lot of problems. When the Star League opened up the markets of the periphery worlds, the companies of the Commonwealth jumped in and stripped everything of value from the periphery states. That had a non-insignificant effect on the later periphery uprisings, but it wasn't exactly a surprising outcome all things considered."

I brought up my pointer finger next. "The Federated Suns are almost as militaristic as the Draconis Combine, but they suffered from continuous internal rebellion, not to mention that damn succession crisis orchestrated by Takiro Kurita. The corporations had a significant effect on their internal politics as well, not as much as the Commonwealth, but still."

My middle finger; "the Free Worlds League has the issues of the Federated Suns, without a lot of the bite. They suffered extreme legislative gridlock from their parliament. Their people are oppressed, despite them claiming to be a free system."

I sighed. "Despite all that, these three are still somewhat redeemable. The other two aren't."

I pulled up my ring finger. "The Capellans are an absolute mess. They survive purely because no one has had the guts to keep fighting them till they run out of bodies. It is only a matter of time until the Capellans fall apart as a nation as it is."

Especially if I change the timeline enough so that Sun Tzu was never born. Something to consider later.

Finally, I lifted my pinky finger. "The Draconis Combine. They were a constant thorne in the side of both the Lyrans and the Suns. Even during the Star League, as I have already stated, they were still starting wars with their neighbors."

I took a deep breath. "The Draconis Combine, and the Confederacy as well, need to be dissolved, preferably into a half dozen smaller states. Since I have a say in it, I'll be attempting to abolish Cameron Neo-Feudalism as well."

I looked up at the major. He was staring at me, blankly. "I have no plans to recreate the Star League. The Star League was a loose alliance based around the Terran Hegemony. I want to create something greater. I plan to shatter the Successor States and create a truly unified nation. It'll take decades, several centuries even, but if the Inner Sphere ever wants to truly be a unified whole again, that is the bare minimum."

The room was silent for several long moments before the Major seemed to shake himself out of his shock. He seemed almost reserved, but I could see a fire burning in his eyes. "That is an acceptable alternative."

He stood up. "I shall unlock the Claymore, if that is what you would like, sir."

I smiled and followed after him; Elder James followed after me. We took the Ring Transporter up to Manassas. From there, it was down to Deck 14. The Major opened up a panel and began inputting a series of codes. With a woosh, the locked door rushed open.

The Claymore's primary bay was smaller than on most confederates. The center of the bay had been modified to make room for other stuff, but what really caught my eye was the six massive crawlers, each with a satellite dish. I didn't even have to imagine what these were.

I touched all three as quickly as I could, my excitement getting the better of me.

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Mobile Hyper-Pulse Generator (HPG) Generator Core, Hyperspace Pulse Initiator, Double Heat Sink, Control Unit, Focusing Dish, Signal Strengthener

"Hehehe…" I almost started cackling. What a fascinating way to make use of Hyperspace Physics.

Elder James coughed behind me. I immediately stopped and turned to the Major. "So, Mobile HPGs?"

The Major nodded, ignoring my outburst, and began. "That was our secondary cargo. Our primary cargo is this way."

I raised an eyebrow, but gestured for us to follow him towards the center of the ship. We followed behind him until we arrived at a small room filled to the brim with what appeared like late 20th century filing cabinets. I walked to one and opened it up. Inside was a file, the insignia for DoME on the front.

I carefully put the paper back. The Major began speaking. "This is all that remains of the DoME backup library. Five Hundred tons of paper documents, the only copies that Amaris didn't burn in the civil war. "

He chuckled and continued. "All together, these are the paper copies, we have a memory core with most of the same information as well. General Kerensky locked it down before we left Terra, so we can't access it, but everything is here. Every project that the Department of Mega Engineering ever worked on."

He looked around. "Come, I'll give you the rest of the tour."

I followed him around the rest of the Dropship. As we reached the first of the main floors, he began. "This is a DoME Survey Dropship. A DoME Jumpship would carry a few of these things during survey missions. We'd land and perform a comprehensive analysis of the planet From atmospheric testing, geological surveys and mineral prospecting, to biochemical compatibility testing. You name it and we can do it. The higher ups would use that information when deciding what they would utilize that world for."

The Major showed us around the state of the art laboratories that the ship maintained, and its crew quarters. Eventually we reached the bridge where the Major stopped. "That's the ship. I hope it's everything you were expecting."

I chuckled a bit. "Just the Mobile HPGs are already more than I was hoping for. An entire DoME Survey Dropship is more than I could have imagined. Once the Drive is repaired, I believe that Elder James is planning on moving the Manassas."

The Major nodded. "I am here to help you how I can."

I nodded. That had been easier than I expected, but I guess the Elder knew what he was talking about. I looked down at my watch. "I have a meeting with Ma'chello in an hour. I'll see you again, Major."

He nodded, and I made the return journey back to Nekhara, and through the Stargate.

- - -
POV: Major Marcus Novak

I watched as Arthur left the bridge. A light chuckle escaped me when he was finally gone. "That kid has some serious dreams."

Captain Cromwell nodded. "Far more than even I was aware of."

I carefully turned to the nearby console and opened a hidden port, the Captain watched behind me. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Only if you have something to hide."

James chuckled, this was not the same man who had commanded the Manassas, he was much calmer, more patient… mellower, you could say. All the same dangerous tendencies that made Captain (formerly Major) James Cromwell such a dangerous person, sharpened to a point. I was glad to see that his time had mellowed him out.

He smiled bitterly. "I do, it's just not what you're thinking. Remember, whatever you see on that test, it doesn't leave this room."

I raised an eyebrow and waited for the results of the test to come out while the Captain left the bridge.

- - -
Author's Note:
Read up to Chapter #50 on Discord: [ LINK: https://discord.com/invite/dbVKfqYw5T ]