Jump Chain Gothic 6 - The Phantom Menace
Part 4
Lantean Style City. Tatooine.
"Please state the nature of the medical emergency" said a familiar voice.
I smiled upon hearing that. After so long it sounded so good.
"Welcome to Tatooine, Doctor" I greeted the hologram.
I'd had a copy of the EMH (emergency medical hologram) for many years, it was just until now I'd never bothered to set him up, nor had I much need to. In the Stargate Jump I'd had some local help, as well as my own healing abilities, and in the Merlin Jump my own talents had been more than enough for my needs.
Thinking on it now I was sure that the EMH would have been useful during the Stargate Jump, but there had been plenty of other things had that needed doing. Now things were different we had plenty of time to set up our base of operations before anything happened which caused my group to divide our attentions between so many different projects. Hence why Tali and I had been able to set up a state of the art infirmary.
"Lieutenant-Commander Gothic" said the Doctor "Can you tell me what is going on? The last thing I remember was working in sickbay, on Voyager. This isn't Voyager!".
Indeed it wasn't, and he should be grateful for that.
"It's been a while since anyone addressed me by that rank" I said to the hologram. "Now to answer your question, you are a copy of Voyager's EMH that I made back when I served on that ship. I'm now making use of that copy, which is you because I have need of a chief medical officer of sorts".
I went on to explain where the Doctor was and what was expected of him in this place, as well as the challenges ahead. He would have to treat a wide variety of lifeforms, none of which he'd seen before, aside from humans, and the ones native to this galaxy could have some differences from ones he'd treated in his native galaxy.
"To help you with your work I got you a robot assistant" I informed the EMH "It is called Effex-Seven, and its databanks contain all the information you'll need in order to treat new lifeforms, it can also assist you with surgical procedures. We can even upgrade its abilities if you wish".
The galaxy was full of sentient species and it could be very hard for a flesh-and-blood doctor to know how to effectively treat more than a few of them. As such the people of this galaxy had created droids to act as doctors. As their memory banks could store much more information than any organic mind.
I'd traded for the droid the last time I'd visited Mos Espa. I'd gone to view the slave markets, however there were no slaves with the skills I required, and soon enough I'd have to shut down the market as I couldn't bring the planet in the Republic while such practices were going on here.
"And am I trapped here?" the hologram asked.
While this is infirmary was large and better equipped than Voyagers sickbay I knew that even a well decorated prison cell was still a prison cell.
"We've acquired some technology that allows for the projection of holograms over large distances" I informed the EMH "So you can go anywhere in the city, as long as you respect people's privacy. You could even reach ships which are in orbit, and the technology that allows this has its own power source, so you'll be able to function even if most of the city is damaged. I've also ensured that can you de-active yourself and bring yourself back online on a timer if you wish".
I had more to say.
"Tali is just putting some finishing touches to the place" I informed the Doctor "And in the meantime if there's any equipment you need just called Miranda and she'll arrange for it to be delivered to you. There are no patients right now, but we will have many people living in this city soon, and I'd like everyone to undergo an examination in case there are any problems".
The Doctor looked around, as if trying to find something to criticize. Which he failed at doing.
"This will do" he said "Now if you'll excuse me I'll need to check the medical database. I'll call you when it's time for a physical examination".
Since everything looked as if it would run smoothly here I decided that was a good a time as any to go find somewhere peaceful for some mediation.
(Line Break)
City. Tatooine.
Up here away from any distractions, it was easy to get a feel for the Force, and I was discovering that was much more like magic that I had originally imagined, although it was a seperate energy field than the power that magic users could tap into.
Which made sense as like magic it was an energy that certain people could tap into if they had the right genetics and the right training. Not that genetics always seemed to matter as people could be born with the Force and not have in run in their families. Which could also be the case with magic users.
Perhaps it was more complex than that, in fact I was sure that it would turn out to be, but for now this level of understanding would suffice. I had lots of time and a box load of holocrons to help me better understand in the Force in the future.
I was still sensing that while the darkside was not as strong as it had been, it was still clouding things somewhat, making it hard to see the future, and to sense matters taking place far away. This was no surprise as the Bane line of Sith had been working for a thousand years to destroy the Jedi and dominate the galaxy. Their centuries of work would not be undone so easily.
The darkside could not be defeated in any case, because it was more than just some destructive entity that wanted to destroy and corrupt. The Force as a whole, which included both light and dark, was created by life, but life itself was not good or evil, light or dark, so for those things to be a part of the Force they had to have come from life. Sentient life. The darkside came from within us.
Also I understood that without the darker sides of our natures we could not function as whole beings, and so totally denying our inner darkness was not a wise idea. The key was to accept your own darkness, and to understand why we felt what some people would call 'negative emotions' but not to let it control you, and to ensure that while we might let our inner light guide our actions, it could not be allowed to control us.
Reaching out into the wider universe I could sense some of what was going on out there. The corruption of the bloated Republic could be best seen here in the Outer Rim. Slavery, piracy, smuggling, terrorism, and exploitation by organisations like the Trade Federation were causing much suffering in the galaxy.
Some of these problems I could deal with, or at least lessen, but that wasn't really my job. I'd not ignore any suffering I came across, but I didn't want a repeat of the Stargate Jump were I spent so much of my time dealing with other people's problems, while trying to bring about long term changes for the human populations of entire galaxies.
Pushing my thoughts aside I tried to clear my mind so that I could sense more of what the Force would allow me to sense, assuming that was how it worked, only this when Cortana beeped at me and alerted me to the fact that Seven of Nine wished to speak with me.
"No rest for the Jumper" I muttered.
(Line Break)
Science Ship. Orbit of Tatooine.
When Seven of Nine beamed me up to her ship I'd been expecting her to report in on the Yuuzhan Vong, however while she'd hadn't found them yet, she had launched more than enough probes to ensure that she would, and that wasn't why she wanted to see me.
Just like my vessel this one had a crew of bots, who did the routine maintenance, stuff like that, and like my Aurora-class warship it was controlled by someone who sat in what was sometimes called a command throne.
Unlike my spaceship this craft was of Asgard design, having been gifted to my group by the Asgard when they retired this class of vessel in favour of new multi purpose vessels that could fulfil the role of warship and science ship thanks to the introduction of new technologies as well as new ways of thinking.
Not any of this mattered right now as we were meeting in one of Seven's science labs. She had many labs like this, all for different projects, a few of which were on my ship, and by the looks of things here I quickly deduced that Seven was now working on something involving terraforming. The hologram in the centre of the room made it clear which world she wanted to alter.
"Please observe the hologram" Seven requested.
I did so and before my eyes the barren wasteland that was Tatooine transformed from simple dessert into something that looked like a tropical paradise world.
"Planning on Terraforming the whole planet?" I asked.
Seven confirmed that this was indeed her intention.
"I will begin by harvesting required materials that are available in this solar system" she explained, while zooming out the hologram "there are more than enough meteorites and asteroids in this system that contain the required ice. Using the tractor beam on this vessel I will tow this space debris to Tatooine and launch them at the planet at high speeds".
Her plan was easy for me to grasp.
"These metroties will burn up upon entering the atmosphere" I realised "The ice will boil become steam, settle in the upper atmosphere as water vapor, and begin to cool forming clouds. If you timed it right you could create one heck of a meteor shower".
Seven went on to tell about some Star Trek style technobabble that she would employ to help this process along, some sort of particle bombardment would be required, and while this would result in some storms, they wouldn't be a big issue as sand storm already took place here often enough.
"This project will take more than two years" Seven told me "It could be accomplished faster if we were to remove the native population, and keep the city's shield raised, however I did not think you would allow that".
While I would like to improve things for the people here the Moisture Farmers needed to be convinced to go along with these changes over time, and we had more than a decade in this galaxy so there was no rush.
"Once the rivers, streams, and oceans have formed we can be the importing of plant as well as animal life" Seven of Nine was now saying "I believe a race known as the Ithorians will be able to aid us in the second phase of this project. I can not estimate how long it will take to fully convert the entire planet into a tropical paradise, but it should be done long before it is time for us to end this Jump".
So we should have a few island paradises ready in just a few years, and by then the city should be fully populated and be bringing in trade from across the galaxy.
"I like this plan" I said to Seven "My only concern is that aside from how much of your time it will take up, is what will happen to the locals".
Seven must have already considered this as she took no time to think before addressing my concerns.
"The project will not require my undivided attention" she told me "And I have begun the creation of a VI that will monitor the project for me, and raise an alert if anything unexpected happens. I will be able to explore using probes for the most part, while taking short trips to more closely inspect anything I wish to study in detail. I can also hire assistants, a few could be trained to perform to my high standards".
Tali had mentioned setting up a VI to help run the city, that might be what she was working on right now, and for assistants, I had been thinking of cloning some asari, perhaps with the right downloaded memories and some favourable genetic adjustments I could make some assistants.
"As for the native lifeforms, what few there are, I believe that the Jawa population should be able to withstand the changes and adapt to a new way of life" Seven said "We can trade with the different tribes and offer them aid should they request".
I could help the Jawas tribes easily just by offering them water and junk metal.
"And the Sand People?" I asked.
Tusken Raiders, less formally referred to as Sand People or simply as Tuskens, were a culture of nomadic, primitive sentients that seemed to be indigenous to Tatooine, and they were often extremely hostile to any settlers. The term Sand People was given to them due to their existence in the desert, and was in use from at least around 4000 BBY; but the more formal name of Tusken Raiders was acquired much later, due to a period of concerted attacks on the settlement at Fort Tusken in 98-95 BBY. Although this name is often used as a common term for the race, it actually refers only to the participants of the attack on the settlement.
"They must adapt or die" Seven stated, with all the warmth of winter in Siberia "Their way of life has not changed for thousands of years, they continue to capture, enslave and torture settlers on this world".
Well yes, but they did because those settlers came and took their land. It wasn't a black and white issue.
"They are the natives of this world" I reminded Seven "They have a right to defend themselves, and while their methods are harsh this is their planet. I was hoping not to have to wipe them out".
While my city was large, it was nothing when compared to the sheer amount of open space out there, so its mere existence didn't threatened the Sand People as a race, not unless they all banded together in and attacked, getting themselves killed. As long as they kept their distance I saw no reason to bother them.
"If they fail to adapt they will die" Seven insisted "It is only a matter of time, and it may be possible to make peace with them once they realise that we are changing this world. Also I would like to point out that a transformed Tatooine could provide millions of people from across the galaxy with a new and better home. A tropical paradise world will attract many, including females from many humanoid races who will done skimpy bikinis".
Her arguments had merit. Also I would like to see Seven in a skimpy bikini. Which I could on the holodeck, but it just wasn't the same.
"Okay start work" I said "I'll try to figure out something to do with the Sand People that doesn't involve genocide".
Just another thing to add to my to do list.
(Line Break)
Palace. Nal Hutta.
Many light years from Tatooine, ruling members of the Hutt Clans had come together to discuss what to do about the death of two members of their species. Some of the Hutts were in only as transmitted holograms, either because they ran their businesses in far off places or because they were hiding in fear within their strongholds.
Strange things were happening. News had reached the Hutts that a Sith had been spotted on Naboo, a planet which the Trade Federation had recently occupied. Agents on Coruscant reported that the Supreme Chancellor had vanished, and there would have to be an another election very soon.
If that wasn't odd enough now there were stories of people from outside of the galaxy. They'd been involved with the events on Naboo and now they were behind a city suddenly appearing on Tatooine. Which wouldn't have been believed if not for the holoimages sent by spies.
These Outsiders, to use the term already being spread about, had created the city from nothing it seemed, which made them too powerful to attack some of the Hutts were saying, but others were saying that these Outsiders had to be destroyed before they killed more Hutts, or worse began to interfere with the business of the Hutts.
"Jee-jee widd wamma murishanee oeal bu Outsiders!" said one of the higher ranking Hutts.
The dark and drab meeting room suddenly became a much more lively place when a group of very dangerous looking people entered. They were clearly bounty hunters, and they didn't look much like the kind of bounty hunters who liked to bring their bounties in alive and unharmed.
"Widd kidd bu Outsiders!" declared the most senior Hutt "jee-jee widd doo beet citee as wedd".
Had a translator been required it would have informed all present that the Hutts were now agreeing to the plan to have the Bounty Hunters kill the Outsiders so that the Hutts could take this new city for themselves. Which was something the hunters were quite willing to do. For the right price.
(Line Break)
City. Holodeck.
While the Force wasn't much of a weapon when fighting holograms, it could enhance my fighting abilities and warn me of danger. The holodeck had safeties to prevent me from getting harmed however with a little tweaking it was possible to make the simulated attacks hurt enough that you'd want to avoid them. Not that the Force seemed to care it allowed me to deflect blaster bolts despite them not being lethal.
The simulated squad B-1 droids could barely even slow me. They wouldn't have been a credible threat even if they could shoot straight. I wondered who in their right mind would produce "battle" droids without giving them adequate targeting software and decent optics, or even better a built in dedicated targeting computer.
Heck I could have built droids with proper VIs who could outperform these clankers and I intended to do just that as security droids were one of products I planned to sell to the galaxy. They would be superior to the local bots and Cortana would be able to seize control of them within a certain range. Meaning that I could end turning someone's security force against them in the future.
While the B-1 were just an entertaining sideshow, the small part of me that was still a fanboy was giddy at the thought that I was cutting apart Star Wars robots with my very own lightsaber.
Alas the comic relief was soon replaced by groups of advanced battle droids. Those two meter tall, heavily armed and armored behemoths. They rained fire upon me with their fist-mounted dual repeating blasters.
While those things, at least at the numbers I was facing, were not even as series threat, they were slowing me down nonetheless. It wouldn't do for me to get careless or overly arrogant and get myself shot. I believed that my my armour and personal shield, which I had not bothered to activate yet, would provide great protection against modern weaponry but I'd rather not test that if I didn't have to.
After taking apart the last of the super battle droids in this part of the simulation (which was a replica of my ship currently suffering under an enemy boarding action, and when I turned around a corner, while heading for the bridge, I ran into a quartet of Super Battle droids. For a split second I stared in the photoreceptors of one of the silver killing machines. Then all hell broke loose.
My lightsaber soon came to life and I stabbed at the red eye of the machine that was glaring malevolently at me. After that my lightsaber swirled to the left and cut its way through the armoured bulk of the dying droid. On its way to then next target it sliced in half the right arm of the robot that I had just dispatched.
The second droid was bisected through the waist and its torso slid to the ground blocking the path of the two. Which didn't help as much as I'd have thought as unlike the standard blaster fodder battle droids, these robots had the sense to step over the obstruction rather trip over it.
One of the remaining Super Battle Droids tried to backhand me with its left arm. I ducked under the strike and planted my blade in the center of the offending machine. Then I moved my lightsaber upward on a ninety degree angle leaving a melted hole in the synthetic. I immediately followed that up with a diagonal slash which cut the last robot in two as I spun around and ran down the corridor.
The next thing that tried to stop me were a pair of destroyer droids, those rolling droids with the shields I could hear them approaching as they were rolling my way. They unfolded in an intersection, which meant that they were now in my way and were joined by four squads of B-1's.
"Okay now I'm having fun" I said to myself.
(Line Break)
Penthouse. Tatooine.
My new home was a sight to behold. Miranda had really outdone herself when designing the place, she'd ensured that I would have everything I needed within these rooms. She'd had a rich red carpet put down, which allowed people to walk around barefoot, and she'd even gone to the trouble of decorating the set of rooms with some stuff she'd replicated just for me.
Within the part of this tower that was mine I had an office well suited for study and for meeting with people. My own state of the art lab, which would be useful when I began experimenting. A workshop for when I felt like tinkering with whatever bit of technology caught my fancy. A lounge for relaxation, which included not only an entertainment system, but also a stripper pole complete with a small stage.
I suspected that Cameron had added that feature as she did enjoy dancing, or at least seemed to enjoy it. Even after so many years together I still didn't understand what went through her CPU. Not that I really needed to as she was very good at her job and followed my commands. That was what mattered.
The bedroom was more typical and more simple, in contain a single large bed, wardrobes, and windows that gave me an impressive view of the city. When I looked out of it I was reminded of how much power I had obtained since starting this whole Jump Chain thing, and I wasn't even close to the finish.
Not only was I able to alter the fate of an entire galaxy, save or destroy whole worlds, and alter people to suit my needs, I could raise up magnificent cities such as this simply so that I had a base of operations. Which made me wonder what else I was capable of doing. Which led me to some rather scary thinking.
With a thought I turned on the entertainment system, however amusement was not what I desired to see. I was tuning into the holonet in order to find a news station.
I was soon tuned into The Holonet, which was a galactic communications grid that was developed, used and maintained by the Galactic Republic and later by the Galactic Empire, or would have been if hadn't aborted that government by killing Palpatine.
The HoloNet was a near-instantaneous communications network commissioned by the Galactic Senate to provide a free flow of hologram communications and information exchange among member worlds. Much like the extranet back in the Mass Effect universe, which I'd often made use of doing my time there.
However it wasn't just about communication and exchanging information, it was also had what I would call TV shows, it allowed for social media, and most importantly it had a non-stop news service. Which I was now sitting down to watch.
As soon as I went and sat down, I saw Cameron go over to a drinks cabinet and fix me something acholic, before coming down and sitting next to me.
"They're having an emergency election in the senate to decide the next Supreme Chancellor" I said to my Terminator "They should have declared the winner by now".
Cameron was thinking, or processing, I could tell because she tilted her head when doing that.
"Why do people elect leaders in a popularity contest?" she wondered.
Well democracy was a bit more complex than that.
"Because it makes people think that their opinion actually matters" I told her "When it fact it doesn't".
Most people were unwilling to acknowledge the truth, that they didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, and no matter who got elected you'd still end up with a douchebag in charge, some were just less douchey than others.
"You should rule the galaxy" Cameron stated.
Well there were worse choices than me. Palpatine had been one of them, but there was no point me taking charge as once I was gone any system that I set up which depended on me would fall apart as soon Jump Chain ended. I had no desire to stay in one universe when I could go an explore some other place so I wouldn't stay. This was why I'd created the Confederation of Planets with the intention of handing over to a democratic government as quickly as possible. At least that way if it still collapsed it wasn't my fault.
"So Bail Antilles is the new the Supreme Chancellor" I said, once the results were declared.
I mentally went over what I knew of Bail Antilles, he was a Human male from the planet Alderaan. Like Bail Organa he came from an influential noble family. Antilles currently served as the senator of the Alderaan sector and had done during the years leading up to the Invasion of Naboo.
By campaigning to combat corruption in the Senate, which was a problem I might need to take measure to deal with sometime in the future, Antilles was able to ascended to the position of chairman of the Internal Activities Committee. Which was an organization meant to combat the corruption in the Senate. Which the Sith had been aiding the growth of for the last thousand years within the Senate as well as everywhere else.
He was also leader of one of the two main factions of the Senate, the Core faction, which was mostly opposed by the Rim faction led by his colleague Ainlee Teem of the planet Malastare. The Core faction wanted a stronger centralised government. What exactly that meant I'd have to find out.
The holonet spoke about how during the debates on the taxation of trade routes, Antilles argued the Senate should not allow the Trade Federation to increase the number of its battle droid defenses. More recently when Queen Amidala of the planet Naboo moved for a Vote of No Confidence in the leadership of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum he was candidate for the job.
Along with his colleagues Palpatine of Naboo and Ainlee Teem, Antilles was nominated to succeed the Chancellor. Despite, or partly because of, his crusade against corruption, Antilles was not chosen, and Palpatine received the big job of leading the Senate. Following Palpatine's election at the helm of the state, Antilles said that he would retire from office, making way for his compatriot Bail Organa, to whom he was related through marriage.
However he hadn't retired right away, being a Senator wasn't a job you could easily leave, so he was still a Senator when Palpatine vanished, no one knew for certain that he was dead ashis atoms were floating about in orbit of Naboo, and the Senate had decided to elect a new leader, Antilles had thrown his hat back into the ring, and he'd won. Perhaps some of Palpatine's former supports had changed their allegiances.
Regardless of how he got that job it looked as if I might have to deal with Bail Antilles in the future, so it was good that I knew at least a little about him. And I had time to learn more as while I intended to bring this world into the Republic my plan was do that with the help of Naboo, which was currently in debt to me because of the help I'd given.
However the people of that planet would be rebuilding for a time so I would have to wait a while before approaching them. I could go to the New Republic directly, but since they'd just elected a new Supreme Chancellor I felt it wise to give the man a chance to settle into the job before shaking up the galaxy any further.
"This is all too easy" I said to Cameron.
She gave me a quizzical look.
"Watching news shows isn't suppose to be hard work" she stated.
I muted the holonet feed.
"That wasn't what I was referring to" I explained "I meant this Jump. It's not much of a challenge. I've already defeated the Sith, and prevented two galactic wars with barely any effort".
Which wasn't all good because now when the Yuuzhan Vong arrived they would face a Republic that was bloated, corrupt, and with little in the way of military. This meant that when the Yuuzhan Vong arrived in force, that they could lay waste to the galaxy while facing even less resistance than they did when fighting the New Republic.
Of course I could do something about without needing to spend so much of my time trying to help prepare this galaxy for the coming invasion. Simply altering the locals could help as they would have ample time to begin a military build up over the coming decades.
Another option was to locate the Vong worldships, which were currently between galaxies, and use overloading ZPM or naquadah enhanced weapons to wipe them out. Sure Vong had warships, but with their leaders destroyed and a limited population left there wouldn't be much they could do.
Somewhere along the way I'd gone from asking the question 'could I do this' to 'should I do this', and there was more of a difference between the two than imagined.
"While my programming does compel me to keep you safe" Cameron stated "I also must ensure your mental wellbeing, so I suggest seeking out more powerful foes, and for this Jump you could limit what technology you use in order to ensure that you are challenged".
Well those were certainly options.
"I have thought about that" I said to Cameron.
For now I'd kick back and watch the holonet.
"Would you like oral sex?" my Terminator asked "It would help to relax you".
Everyone should have their own cyborg servant, they really were so much better than other females.