Author's Note: I DO NOT own Stargate:SG1, Atlantis, Highlander, nor any other books, TV shows, games published from here on in, just the content in between them do I own such as Steven Reed, the Drakonian Imperium and others, otherwise I'd be rich and writing books for fun. Also, this idea came about from reading the works of VexMaster and Lucifer 00, and they do have content in here that I borrowed with permission, if you want to do the same, just ask.
FYI: This is story is not beta'd, yet. If you notice anything weird, PM me with it and I'll fix it ASAP.
Chapter 1
Lackland Air Force Base – 2200 Hours
Bexar County, TX
21 Dec 2021
In a room labeled broom closet of the 443rd Squadron, a sensor gathering real-time telemetry of the distance between the Earth and its moon began sounding. But with no one around to hear it, as the two Techs, tasked with this matter of National Security, were too busy groping one another in a dorm room a stone's throw away from their posts' position, the sensor went unanswered. Neither of them heard the wavering pitch of an imminent attack blare across the entire base, nor the abrupt halt of said tone, too focused upon making the other drown in pleasurable bliss where they, that when a shadow radiating evil appeared behind them, and rent their heads from their bodies, they did not notice.
Quickly, silently, and without pause for morality, did an evil spread across the whole of South Texas, Mexico, and Central America. In the aftermath of the following morning, millions had perished quietly into the night and wee hours of the morning, never to be seen or heard from again. Of course, once the world realized this horror was true; blame began bombarding even the best of countries. Presidents, Ambassadors, Senators, members of the House, CEO's, and all the way down to the poorest of families threw away the trust garnered from others, and what took months of planning, signing, and building, stood for nearly three centuries, was dissolved in less than 24 hours. Martial law was declared by an obscure Air Force General, a Brigadier General George C. Hammond, of Texas, who had become disgusted with the disgruntled population whose rights and freedoms he had sworn to protect. Within the next 72 hours random night strikes occurred worldwide, causing the world to lose its dependence on electric power, and Brig. Gen. Hammond, ironically enough, had been able to obtain and have dominion over Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and gained the title of Tejan, from the Republic of Texas, which had apparently seceded from the Union just after the initial strike and united the remainder of the state under the its former Constitution.
~~~~~~~ * 8 years ago * ~~~~~~~
Boulder Peak - 0630
Olympic National Forest
SW of Boulder Lake
22 Dec 2013
Finally, some goddamn peace! No more yammering ignorant nincompoops that don't know their left from their right! Of course, being in the middle of the wilderness, near Boulder Peak in the Northwest corner of Washington State has that effect upon most people. Considering my time and experience around the darkest, dirtiest, and hellish places on Earth I thought I had earned some nice R&R to somewhere unreachable by the most advanced wireless technology, but only by plane, boat, and foot.
That's right; I am a former Marine and Ranger, not a SEAL. I didn't qualify for SEAL training, but Ranger School is for all branches, so I went there instead. I'm not your average Ranger either, along with knowledge I learned as a Ranger, and the Corps, I've got an unhealthy infatuation with all things science wise, including science fiction. Name any sci-fi show, and I have probably seen or own it. Of course, as a nerd, whom my team likes to call me, I'm on the strange side you see I was born with eerie green eyes, which over time became hazel with slight tinges of red around the irises. Think that is weird enough, it keeps getting better; I didn't begin my growth spurts until I turned 17, which while not bad is still horrible. I went from 5'10" to 6'4" in 8 months, then grew another five inches until I turned 21; which by that time I'd already been shot three times, once in my ass, and in each shoulder. I was born on American soil in Japan as half Japanese, a quarter Cherokee, and a quarter Hawaiian. Of course, while growing up in Japan, the Code of Bushido as well as the Samurai lifestyle has become ingrained into my personality. So when I was able to take some well-deserved R&R, I planned for it months ahead of schedule, getting all essential items, and one nonessential box of items I've wanted to take for a long time, my great great great great great grandfather's handcrafted katana, wakazashi, and my mother's heirloom Cherokee hatchet.
Surrounded by gloriously magnificent size, standing tall shouting in their unblemished beauty, "Take me if you dare, puny humans, we've withstood a thousand years of change, and you are no different" was so spectacular I almost missed an abnormally weird ship hurtling towards Elk Lake at an astounding speed, gathering flames licked at its underbelly as though it had entered orbit from an unexpected angle. Looks like a….wait it can't be…..it's an actual Tel'tak! How the frak did that ship end up in this place….wait! Hold it! Wasn't there an episode dealing with multiple dimensions...
About that time, the Tel'tak crashed into Elk Lake's beach. I hastened toward the crash site, hoping and praying that I was the first one there, and not the Air Force. Within five minutes, I had traversed the three and half klicks distance from where I originally saw the strange ship. Upon arriving at the cargo ship, now realizing it is an actual Tel'tak, I looked around for any track leading away from the ship. As luck would have the moment I turned around, an oddly dressed man seemed to come out of the tree line and hobble toward me.
Dressed in clothing eerily reminiscent of the Ch'ing Dynasty, with hints of gold thread forming into an incredible four clawed dragon, golden in nature, with Amethyst stones set for the irises around the black opal pupils glaring at me from chest height. The dragon was accented by the sky blue threading forming cumulonimbus clouds floating across a sea of royal blue hued silk, which seemed to slowly be turning a purplish color. The approaching man whom looked to be Asiatic, was grimacing every few steps whilst clutching his right side, which seemed to hold the kara kesh. Within 15 feet of where I stood, the man collapsed onto his side, clutching his ribs with both hands.
Come here, young one, I need your help," said the collapsed man.
Cautiously approaching the man, I watched as his eyes glowed, hinting that he was indeed either Tok'ra or Goa'uld.
"I am not going to hurt you, I am the Tok'ra Tenshi," he said.
"Angel, really, that's the best you could think of huh?"
"日本語を知っていますか?" (You speak Japanese?)
"Hai, Tenshi-san." (Yes, Tenshi-sir")
"I need you to help me, my host is dying, I won't do anything untoward you. I must get a message to the SGC"
"I will do my best to get it there, Tenshi-san"
Knowing what was expected, I leaned over the host's body and lowered my head as though I was about to do the Kiss of Life, a technique used to get air into the lungs of someone who has swallowed copious amounts of water and how can't swim. I felt something jump from the host's mouth into mine, thankfully keeping my gag reflex from acting, and then pain as the symbiote Tenshi pierced the muscles of my neck and swam up to where he was supposed to be along my neck column.
Suddenly, I blacked out in pain. My body sustained too much damage from the crash, Ryuu-chan. I will give you all my knowledge of the Tok'ra and the message to give the SGC. With that, incredible amounts of information were "downloaded" into my brain, such as the Rise of the Goa'uld, worlds left alone or lost in time to them, the schism of the Tok'ra, just incredible things. What I wanted most was how to fix the Tel'tak, so I could hide it from the Air Force before they got here. What are you doing, Ryu? They are the SGC! No, this is not the home dimension of the SGC, Tenshi, it's a ruthless world where the powerful dominate the weak, and the weak use terrorism to destroy the peace so that the Jihads and wars from only decades ago keep going! At that I showed him just what I had to do as a Marine and then as a Ranger, in order to keep my country, family, and the ignorant public safe from.
You, you, what kind of person have I blended with that would do such horrifying things upon his own people? I showed him the 9/11 incident, the destruction of the Pentagon, the nuclear blast that hit Japan, which I had found out was a terrorist strike right after the Tsunami, just an opportune time. More acts of terrorism flowed toward him, when the pain stopped and belief that I could change things began to emanate from Tenshi. I give you, everything, Ryu. Don't abuse it, or things you thought impossible will come to pass. Thank you for helping me...and just like that, he was gone. The naquadah painfully entered by bloodstream, and a polypeptide protein chain was added to my DNA showing I was host to Tenshi, like Samantha Carter to Jolinar.
I mourned the passing of Tenshi, momentarily, dug a grave ironically for Hansuke, literally "helpful friend," put on the kara kesh, and entered the Tel'tak.
Chapter 2
As I entered the Tel'tak, I noticed that the interior had been rearranged. No longer was it just a normal cargo ship with four escape sarcophagi pods, two driving consoles, the ring room (storage area), and the engine; actual hallways branched off from the ring platform room, two escape pods had been removed for columns with power conduits flowing throughout them. The front console no longer was two spheres, but rather an exotic Goa'uld version of the Atlantean chair, complete with buttons controlling the input/output of the sublight engines, hyperdrive, shielding, weapons, beaming technology for drinks and snacks. The walls weren't a gaudy gold covered in hieroglyphs, but scrolling waves of Goa'uld, Alteran, Binary, and Japanese creating haiku's, phrases containing life's mysteries, all whilst creating a picture of an incredible representation of one face, that face that all Stargate fans around the globe know, and despise at some level.
Ba'al, the Supreme System Lord Ba'al, whom was working for Anubis, that half ascended arse-wipe that just wouldn't die, no matter frakking what happened! Seems as though Ba'al had stumbled upon the Dimensional mirror, or at least another one, reversed engineered it into a Dimensional Jump Drive, destroyed the original via melting it in a sun, and kept it secret from Anubis, somehow. Even his clones didn't know of its existence, and they knew about the plan on Chronyr to go back in time and eradicate the SGC before they destroy the Goa'uld Ra, and that was saying something.
With my time window closing soon, I ran to the Engine room, fixed all the crystals, upgraded a few at the same time, went to the Chair, and asked for full cloaking and stealth mode. The ship seemed sentient now and complied automatically, and interpreted my need for stealth by also utilizing the phase technology so as not to turn up on any sensors on Earth or in her orbit, of seeing thermal readings, or atmospheric anomalies. Once cloaked and phased, I decided to explore my new ship and all she contained. Knowing that some of the door pads would not open to Tenshin, I pulled out some of the gear I had borrowed from my former bosses, knowing that they would replace it with something much better within the week. Among the gear was a code generator, which I reprogrammed not only for number sequences, but Goa'uld, Alterran, Japanese, and Binary locks just in case I ran into any trouble around this seemingly impossible ship.
Above the arches of the branching hallways names of what that area was seemed to be written in Ancient Goa'uld, like our infatuation with using Olde English for signs sometimes. Beginning from A to Z, arranged in a circular fashion, I headed towards the closest being at 5 o'clock which was labeled Armoury. Largely curious about what weaponry, armor, and experimental projects were cached in such an obvious location, I walked down the empty corridor when I came upon a wall that seemed to appear from thin air.
"Kree!"
Going through Tenshi's memories, I realize I am being asked for a password. Crap, how the frak am I supposed to know what that password is…
Tenshi vaguely remembers changing it in a hurry, almost as though something is behind the wall. Hmmm…..do I answer and possibly face Jaffa, Kull Warriors, or something worse? Let's go find that Beaming Technology first, get settled and then go beyond that wall.
Scouring the other labeled corridors, I found 5 tonnes of weapons grade naquadah, half a tonne of "clean" naquadria kept in air-sealed containers alone in their own corner, 150 square feet of Kull cloth, fifteen kilos of neutronium, two tons of a dark silver ore unidentified with "A?" as the label, and a massive box measuring twenty feet high, one hundred feet deep, and fifteen feet across labeled 'Dangerous.' Being overly cautious with my body, I leaned toward the box and heard a dull hum coming from the box. Going up and down the side with my ear, I realized something inside was stacked one atop the other, like blocks….oh no, no don't tell that idiot actually did that. Sprinting back toward the Chair, I asked the ship what was stored where. In a gentle, soothing voice reports of what were where flowed onto the screen in the window, darkened by the night sky. In bold red lettering, with massive hieroglyphics, the word I feared scrolled across the screen.
!Caution! Inert Replicator Blocks held in stasis !Caution!
Ba'al, the slimiest System Lord, had gone balls to the walls bat shit insane, captured live replicators, used a modified Anti-Replicator Gun, gathered all the blocks, and put them inside the biggest cargo container he had with a stasis field, set it to constantly change frequencies, and left smugly thinking they were defeated.
Well, if they are here, inert, and waiting, why not see if I can change their thought process to something more of my liking.
A/N: Please leave a review, after you've read this, any and all feedback is welcome, including one word responses.
Chapter 3
A/N: That last thought before I cut the chapter is supposed to represent Steven's darker side, a part we will see more of as the storyline progresses.
Finding the corridor marked Asgard Beaming Technology, I strolled in expecting to find large containers sprawled out with labels, but what I did find was even more bizarre. Where a room was supposed to be, instead sat an elegant hall, shaped like the bridge room of an Asgard O'neil-class starship, with consoles labeled in Asgard, Goa'uld, and Binary depicting which console holds what information, does something specific, is puzzling, etc. All in all, the hall seemed to portray a side of curiosity about Ba'al that none had known about. However, as beautifully elegant and aesthetically pleasing to the eye that the hall was, I needed to concentrate on solving my issue with the inert Replicator blocks, sitting in my ship waiting to get out.
Deciding that the sequencing of coding, its nature and adaptation would be a problem, I rewrote most of the sequence. Instead of infinite replication, I set the maximum rotation of said coding to be ten generations per bug-form, and made that series of coding tertiary to the main two coding sequences before. Thus dealing with whom the Replicators would listen and obey, at all times, and whom could interact with them and how, but any orders against me would be taken as an aggressive act, keeping my control over them from ever being stolen, and that said person would be brought to me at due haste to dispense with as I please. Realizing that without any input/output device(s) to monitor, maintain, and remain the Replicator's Master, I decided to go ahead with an obscene idea.
Why not jump to an apocalyptic future? I could grab any and all valuables and or assets left from whatever doomsday occurred, and then find any data pertaining to nanotechnology, any Genesis-type projects (making an inhabitable region habitable via terraforming or the like). With those alone I could create an interface with the Replicators, remake Earth into an oasis, repopulate with the clones of Jaffa and humans I found in a large unnoticed corridor, and have a "home world" Dimension that no-one could attack.
My Empire could always remain untouched, and if any colonies fail, it would not be the end!
.
..
…
….
…..
….
…
..
.
Whoa, where the frak did that thought come from?
I am you, Ryu, a ….Darker side of yourself. This part of you was shunned from your conscious during your time in the Service, because you consciously didn't want to be discharged for any misconduct at all.
That is not possible….I banish you from my mind, for all Eternity!
And so on went the life of Steven "Ryu" Reed, debating what to do with this new found Goa'uld Tel'tak. A few hours aboard the vessel turned into days, days stretched amazingly into a week, even still time flew around Ryu granting him fractions of the wonders aboard Ba'al's…..no, his new vessel, one that required a name of her own. Historically aware of names carrying an unlucky karma, such as Titanic, Prometheus, Odin's Chariot, and the like were doomed to become infamous due to their creator's arrogance in thinking what was the best of their class of ship would not ever fail, nor fall to pieces at random occurrences. Yet, naming was not an instinctive part, nor a learned one either, for he had labored for many days and nights over what to name his Marine Corps issued M40A3, which he finally relented upon Frown simply because his Scope had a Smiley picture on the front cover, and when it came to his own customized, one-of-a-kind M40A5 with many different attachments and modifications, he had settled on the name just hours before his trip. He had named it Eagle Eye, simply for the maximum distance he could hit a target at; that being 4500 meters, done in perfect silence, written down exactly once, just to piss off the top marksmen on the range.
Leaving the name to be chosen upon at some other point in time, Ryu asked the Tel'tak to scan Earth for any and all anomalies, specifically anything non-human, naturally occurring and not, separate all items into categories easily manageable, but distinguishable from the others by certain criteria determined by the Artificial Intelligence, Atalanta as Tenshi had been fond of calling her.
"Your request shall be done, as thy Will will be done, Sire!"
"My name is Ryu, Atalanta, but if you wish to call me Sire, I would be honored to call thee friend."
"My Lord, Ryu, it would be an honor. May I give you a viable option with what to do with the cargo in this new untainted realm?
"You know of what the entirety of this ship's cargo, including in rooms barred to mine own entry?"
"Yes, my lord Ryu. This newly upgraded Tel'tak contains various specimens of Jaffa, Human, Unas, and some Hok'tarians each with multiple variations of genetic material both male and female; precious metals, identified and not; High Priority Cargo requires authorized access."
"Well if you are referring to the Replicators in stasis, the arsenal of weaponry within the armoury, and the Asgard cargo I know of them already. I also know what else remains, but knowing exactly where would be appreciated, would you mind synthesizing a sphere containing all access codes, a map of this ship, some minor defensive capabilities, and a cloaking button, please?"
"Certainly, milord, that task shall be completed momentarily. Should I also include documentation of options available for our course of action, sir?"
"Please, Atalanta, do that and I my mind shall rest easier."
Within mere seconds of the conversation ending, a small sphere measuring only a few inches in diameter and with multiple applications, some even Atalanta did not dare mention to her friend. Taking the metallic black and gold sphere covered in raised ruby covered pictogram buttons into his hand, Ryu swept through the corridors until he reached the Dimensional Drive. Setting it for an alternate dimension with a small human population after an apocalyptic event scattered them to the remotest corners of the globe, Atalanta started the Dimension Drive, ensuring nothing would be harming the ship upon arrival. With an eerily familiar sound one reminiscent of a tiny blue box, Ryu and his recently acquired one of a kind Tel'tak, carrying an invaluable cargo kept as a backup plan from System Lord Ba'al, one of the few remaining Goa'uld left in the Star Gate Dimension, disappeared from his home, planning to return from whence he came in the future once his power base was secure.
You know what they say about plans? I haven't got one. ~ Doctor
Chapter 4
A/N: Ye desired lengthier documentation from mine own wordsmiths, hopefully thyne own appetites shall gratefully be sated by the following pieces of literature. Also, in accordance with the wishes of our esteemed networking host, the following literature was inspired by the television works of MGM, BBC, and other various production companies and by the authors Vexmaster, Lucifer 00, RickyClevinger all of whom I have obtained permission to borrow ideas from their literary works. FYI, temporal flows between each Dimension are not unilateral, meaning that a year in one could be a decade, century, or even millennia in the other
.
5000 miles above Aegean Sea
0445 UTC
10 Dec 1999
An awfully loud, unexplainable unheard sound emerged as a rounded ship of alien origin emerged from a black, midnight blue and royal red hued wormhole. No one noticed, neither on land or sea, nor in the deepest reaches of space did the emergence of such a craft, but in the reaches of space did the transport disappeared at the will of Atalanta. Some whom awoke shy of dawn's break and were astutely aware of the bare lit sky chanced upon seeing a few late meteoric strikes streaking through the barest of atmospheres, but not one were attentive to an alien ship entering the atmosphere above the Aegean Sea and remained hovering around the ruins of the Acropolis.
With the advanced computing power, coding, and technology onboard the Tel'tak, utilizing assistance from Atalanta, Ryu retrieved all knowledge, information, and databanks from across the globe. Without programmers, specialists not trained in countering hackers, nor firewalls constantly monitored or given alphanumeric algorithmic coding, Ryu and Atalanta had all that binary information in less than a few hours. In less than twenty minutes, access codes and all folders containers pertaining to wealth, terraforming projects, nuclear codes, safe bunkers, and internet access over the past few months since the nuclear war. Thus did Ryu and Atalanta retrieve the stored gems, precious metals, closely guarded secrets, and millennia old secret entrusted to the governments as each succeeding nation conquered the elder. Amongst the first coffers and bunkers to be unearthed were the Archives and Secret Catacombs of the Vatican City, the Arkenhalls of the Swiss Alps, the Salt Mines in Austria, and the unknown underground halls of the former Nazi regime catalogued as Shwarz Hallen des Todes. From journals found amongst the treasures, these words were writ:
Bronze gauntlets rest inside an unfound pedestal inlaid in the wall bedecked in wondrous hues of sky and cloud. Lore foretells an abhorrent catastrophe which shall plunge our lands into horrific winters and poison summers…
Αρχαίοιδιασκορπίστηκαν, υπολείμματατηςκουλτούραςτουςείναιλίγεςκαισποραδικές (roughly translated piece means Ancients ran to winds, relics remain hidden but scarce)
Multiple entries writ in various languages, however some of the journals and scrolls seemed to be focused upon one focus. Atlantis, home of the Gods said the latest journals, Ancient Ones sayeth the latest scrolls, but one scroll in particular where Atalanta translated the first entry states thus, "Atlantis, our forefather's home, whence we came unto this rock, has sunk once more. Of course, Mount Pretoria's eruption initiated the sinking. May she rest peacefully resting upon the bottom of the world," ended the original personal scroll.
-Five days, sixty thousand five hundred twelve miles, and laden with trillions in gold and priceless artifacts later-
With the New Year approaching, Atalanta stated that our plans were ready to begin and if I had no problems, none that delayed me for more than twelve hours. Atalanta's preprogrammed course kick started the engines, hopefully over the next five days someone would be found that could raise the city of Atlantis, because if my thoughts were correct and Atalanta's estimations were accurate, the Ancients were actually alive in multiple dimensions. With the city raised, I could restart this world and revitalize it correctly. Six minutes later, Atalanta was hovering over an isolated island located on the borders of Australia and New Zealand covered in cultural amalgams denoting hints of Christianity, Polytheistic religions, and some Catholic. Strangely, the population showed no sign of degradation or radiation poisoning. Satisfied that I would remain unharmed whilst on the island, I uncloaked the ship whilst broadcasting "I mean no harm" in dozens of languages.
Donning on my custom outfit, I had remade Ba'al's signature leather duster by cutting away the sleeves and reforming the symbol on the back into a draconic wings. Underneath the duster, I wore black leather trousers with hints of gold hued bronze along the cuffs and seam lines covering the black combat boots remade courtesy of Atalanta by Kull cloth, some of the unidentified metal, bronze for the buttons, and some nanite insoles designed for infinite comfort. My shirt accenting the duster was the color of blood synthesized, by Atalanta of course, from pure silk, nanites programmed for keeping my body temperature constant no matter the weather. Putting the upgrade karakesh on, strapping a zat'niktel, and arming myself with the weapons I brought from my home, the few remaining possessions I had left, I stepped into the Rings, initiated the personal shield, and activated the Rings.
Hitting solid ground, I felt exhilarated by the fresh air. Being cooped up in a roomy, but dusty ship, I realized just how much I had missed the smell and feel of Mother Nature and her wondrous glory; the ebb and flow of the sea water hitting the shore awoke my senses to multiple people closing in on my position. Knowing that my presence might instill fear, apprehension toward my goals, and horrible condemnation amongst the religious zealots of the community, I prepared myself to be humble, courteous, and hospitable to them as a whole whilst keeping my deeper plans from their inquisitive, misguided minds.
Appearing to be lost in thought, Ryu sized up the warily approaching multitude comprised of various ethnic groups. Five behemoths of man, easily six foot seven and over two hundred and forty pounds, well built, were leading the congregation and from the way they glided towards me, I knew all five had undergone extensive training in Special Operations, whether as a unit or not I didn't care. Without my knowledge from being a Ranger, Marine, and extensive training in numerous Martial Arts these gargantuan golems would have dashed my plans into innumerable molecules; Atalanta seemed to notice their aggressive posturing and blared "We mean you no harm; we are here to rebuild." In the midst of this, I had been fiddling around with my karakesh like a gunslinger of old in the Wild West, waiting the opportune moment to unleash the power within whilst afterward putting up the upgraded shield ASAP. Knowing things could get ugly, my back up plan was to flatten out as Atalanta dropped the transport rings, thus ensuring that any rounds sent my way would be limited to less than three percent, which still makes the use of Goa'uld shielding much more effective. Dropping into prone also eliminated the use of any thrown object or tranquilizer darts sent downrange.
Confident in my façade, fifteen minutes passed until the group was within twenty feet of my unmoved position; diplomatic affairs, not yet my forte, the three men approaching me carrying an olive branch, a piece of parchment, an ink pen, and curiously a fold up table with four chairs made me slightly nervous. Seeing no motion of aggression coming from my person or the hovering ship, the five behemoths made a show of putting their weapons away, but we all knew that was just that, a show. At any sign of distress or danger, those weapons would be back in their hands within three hundredths of a second or less. Giving these men, the ones whose job it is to protect the leaders of their remaining community, the members itself, and destroy those bent on disrupting the peace, a signal, from my reality that allied forces used to recognize each with, that I was friendly and meant no harm. Splitting my focus between the diplomats and the behemoths, I laughed internally when all of them suddenly began coughing and relaxing even further.
This is going to be easier than I thought, with their Special Operations unit not concerned with me, and more likely to side with me when we switch to the new world, my plans for an Intergalactic Cross-reality Imperium will soon come to fruition.
A/N: What started as humble beginnings has evolved into a more dominant darker subconscious of Ryu's personality. I am coming into my RL complications, hence my delayed postings, of which I humbly apologize. Plans for this story are evolving as I read more of the suggested material, but the plot lines stated before will remain the same. As always, flamers go away, constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcome.
