Reviews

Joe Lawyer

Not right now, but that could change in the future. Also the Anicent database is vast so even Cortana might not be able to handle it. Remember it's not just data, but also the understanding of the secrets of the universe. I don't how the Asgard can simply upload that from someone's head.

Besides once he has the DNA resequer he can just make himself advanced enough to handle that much information.

When it comes to the Wraith even if it is the choice of the people of that galaxy, its still Gothic who would have to do the killing if the Ancients don't. The Wraith have done nothing to Gothic, and are no threat to him.

I did think about an EMH program, but I forgot to add it to the story. Seems a bit late now, and he has a real doctor anyway.

He will acquire more Asgard and Ancient technology in time.

Selias

A city-ship wouldn't have fitted in the space dock.

Bluesnowman

Thanks for the information, but I'll use the warehouse and addons that I am used to.

Jump Chain Gothic 4 - Atlantis - Part 13

Aurora-class Warship. Milky Way Galaxy.

This was becoming a regular habit, me walking into one of Seven's lab in order to find out what she was working on, and what breakthroughs she'd made. This was the lab she used when working on armour, which was separate from, but close to the lab she used when studying weapons.

Seven had so many labs, not just because she wanted them, but also because she had so much to study. Lucky for her our home was a 3 km long ship which was powered by the greatest artificial energy source known to mankind.

Some of her current projects included, time dilation technology, a way to download the Ancient Repository of Knowledge into something that was a human skull, and even the Sangraal, only we were wisely keeping all information and research on that within the Cosmic Warehouse where no ascended beings could see it.

Originally I hadn't wanted to do any research into the Sangraal, but in other universes I might met hostile higher powers who needed dealing with. Such as the gods of Chaos. I could only hope that Jump Chan, who'd I'd not seen in a while, didn't mistake it as an attempt to harm her.

Seven moved from subject to subject depending on not just the group's needs, but also her own whims. Which was fine with me as there was a lot of materials and data to go through, and even Seven could get bored of a subject. I was certain that she would come back to some projects later.

Currently her research was focused on Kull warriors, well to be precise it was the samples of their armour that had her attention. The IOA had finally started being more reasonable when it came to trading tech. I suspected the leaders of a few nations had put some pressure on the IOA to make better deals in case they needed new designs for more than fighters in the future.

The armour also came with an energy weapon as Kull Warriors were armed with a wrist-mounted energy weapons with a much higher rate of fire than a staff weapon, but we had plenty of weapons already, as such it was of little interest.

From what I remembered the bodies of Kull Warriors were grown from organic material, and then given life using an Ancient Healing Device, technology that Anubis gained knowledge of during his time as an Ascended being.

This manufactured body of the kull warrior was then implanted with a "blank" Goa'uld symbiote, spawned by a Queen who deliberately withholds her genetic memory from her progeny. This resulted in a creature that was utterly obedient to its master.

The armored suit worn by a Kull Warrior was bonded to its host, however it could be removed and worn by someone else. The suit was made of not just armour, but also a Kevlar-like woven fiber that absorbs energy, making them impervious to energy weapons such as staff weapons and zats, as well as firearms and explosives, including armor-piercing bullets, C4 explosives, Claymore mines, and even light missiles. How much of that toughness was a result of the layers of armour, and how much was due to the being wearing the armour was something Seven needed to find out.

While wearing the suit Kull warriors were also unaffected by force-fields. However, Samantha Carter found that a small, sharp object, such as a trinium dart, can penetrate the armor. This weakness did not concern us as something like a dart could be easily stopped by a kinetic barrier.

"How is it going?" I asked the former Borg drone.

Seven turned to face me, placing her hands behind her back while relaxing her stance. It seemed almost military.

"It may be some time before I can work on the outer sections of the armour as the materials involved are unfamiliar to me. For now I have begun attempting to synthesize the thin material kull warriors wear" she told me "It is not only highly durable, it also has energy absorbing properties. If added to our existing armour technology it would be a great improvement".

The armour we used these days were modified sets of Vanir environmental suits, which didn't handle energy weapons as well as it could, as it was meant for dealing with stuff like intense heat, cold, toxic gases, pressure and to an extent physical impacts. Its weaknesses, if they could be called that, were countered by an energy shield that came from our life support belts and our kinetic barriers. Adding a layer of Kull warrior armour material would make our defences even more potent.

"In truth I could do with some aid in understanding Goa'uld technology" Seven admitted "I lack naquadah in my bloodstream, which may be hampering my efforts".

We didn't know how much naquadah was required to operate some Goa'uld, as such we didn't want to risk injecting ourselves with it. Plus Miranda and I already had trace amounts of Element Zero within us, and we didn't know Element Zero and Naquadah would react if mixed together inside the human body.

"I do have someone in mind who might be able to help us" I told Seven "I've gone through the files and found someone I remember from the show. She's called Anise and she is a Tok'ra, and the symbiote of her host, Freya. She is an able scientist and archaeologist. She should be able to help us. I'll have Miranda contact the SGC and make arrangements to speak with the Tok'ra".

Also it helped the host was moderately attractive. I might even consider her for a companion slot should I be able to secure her loyalty and convince her to leave her people, at least for a time.

(Line Break)

Aurora-class Warship. Milky Way Galaxy.

"I've never heard of them" I said to hologram of Cortana "I'm sure they weren't in the show".

The AI had taken the liberty of hacking the computers of the SGC during my visit to the base. It was doubtful they'd even noticed what she'd done, and that wasn't much they could do about it even they did. Besides given the things I could do for them I didn't think they'd take any action against me.

"The first members of the Pack were the Calaians, who fled their homeworld of Calai to escape the System Lord Heru'ur, with a star ship known as the Wanderer being their first home. Over time, people from hundreds of worlds joined them in order to escape Goa'uld oppression. Their fleet was mainly made up of Goa'uld Ha'tak taken from the war fleet of a System Lord called Khepera".

I'd never heard of that Goa'uld.

"They were also known to trade technology with other races, deals that benefitted both sides. Eventually the Pack got in touch with the Aschen who offered them a place in their confederation, but they rejected the offer" Cortana was now telling me "However, a member of the Pack was tricked into forming a secret alliance with Mirris, a member of the Aschen confederation, who had a vendetta against the SGC, he sought to arrange for the Pack to make contact with the Tau'ri with the goal of smuggling an Aschen bio-weapon to Earth that would release a new version of the sterility pathogen on Earth".

I'd forgotten about the Aschen. They were an advanced human civilization I might be able to do business with, but I would rather not given their leadership's habit of sterilising human populations.

"Stargate Command eventually offered the Pack help in finding a planet that they could settle on and they accepted the offer after losing the Wanderer". Cortana let me know.

So somewhere out there was the Milky Way version of the Travellers, only they had some Goa'uld tech, and they might badly want the kind of the supplies needed to set up and support a civilization. I could supply tons of tools, building materials, food, clothing, projectile weapons, blanks, and so on. Sometime in the future I should look for this people. When I wasn't busy with other matters.

"I have a few more suggestions" Cortana was now saying "Years ago a race known as the Eurondans started a war with a faction known as The Breeders, over an issue of "genetic purity" the Eurondans wanted. As a result, the Eurondans created plans to eradicate The Breeders forever".

Weren't they all clones or something like that. I was having trouble remembering.

"The Eurondans began to poison the atmosphere of their homeworld in order to eradicate The Breeders, but The Breeders managed to survive underground, just like Eurondans did" Cortana was soon telling me "The Eurondans had built a massive underground complex before the war began in order to be able to house themselves and continue their plans to try to eradicate the Breeders".

She had more to say.

"The two nations began to manufacture aero-fighters and unmanned vehicles, and their World War lasted for several decades. When the SGC made contact with that world The Breeders were winning the war, as the Eurondans had begun to run out of resources, such as Deuterium (heavy water), which was required for their defence field generator. SG-1 provided some much needed fuel, which almost allowed the Eurondans to win the war. However, SG-1 discovered the truth and decided to help the Breeders rather than the Eurondans in winning the war. The Breeders managed to break through the Eurondans' air defences and bomb their bunker, which led to the bunker being destroyed and all the Eurondans dying. Thus, the Breeders had won the war".

I could see where this was going.

"Since the Breeders survived, and have technology equal to the Eurondans they to should have technology such as defensive fields and remote piloted aircraft" Cortana said next "This technology is rather primitive compared to what we have, however I think it is worth acquiring because if we combine with it our own it might allow to me control whole wings of fighters".

Yes I could see that being of value. Of course we'd have to clear some space in the docking bay as currently it was full of Puddle Jumpers, and while I couldn't hand over a few to the SGC I was loathe to as they had little else to offer me. Still it might be a good idea to make the offer just to see what they would offer me in exchange.

At least it wouldn't take much to get Breeder technology, we could offer them a new world to settle or help clean up their air.

"Some time in the future I think we should also visit Orbian and acquire a technology known as an Orbanian nanite" the AI advised "the nanite a microscopic device which is injected into Urrone Orbanian children and attaches itself to the neurons in the brain, allowing the children to obtain a far greater amount of knowledge than is possible. On their 13th birthday the nanites are removed and injected into every adult and non-Urron children, to disseminate the knowledge among the population. The process leaves the children without the memories of their 13 years, and leaves their mind in an infant state".

If I remembered correctly the Orbian's may have abandoned that practice, but the tech should exist, and if so it should be added to our knowledge of nanotechnology.

"Also there is Altair, a planet SG1 visited, while there they were androids duplicates of them were made" Cortana was now saying "According to the reports the androids didn't even know they weren't real until a member of the medical team at the SGC tried to draw some blood from one of the people who were duplicated".

That did sound like interesting technology. We might never use it, but we should certainly try to acquire it.

"Another world of interest to us is Tartarus" Cortana said "It was, and perhaps still is, defended by a powerful sensor array, preventing anyone from arriving by ship unnoticed. A Stargate lies within the complex and is surrounded by a forcefield, acting as the equivalent of the Tau'ri's Iris. Tartarus was conquered by the Rebel Jaffa as a decoy but it is unknown what they did with the planet".

Tartarus was the homeworld of the Kull warriors, and since Seven was having trouble understanding them it might not be such a bad idea go there and see if any of the technology involved in their creation was left.

Cortana surely had more to tell me, but this was when an alarm went off. Soon we would be dropping out of hyperspace and picking up a new member of the crew.

(Line Break)

Aurora-class Warship. Milky Way Galaxy.

While the ship didn't exactly run on a proper command structure, everyone on board did have their own roles to play. Miranda Lawson was the ship's XO, and she dealt with the stuff the Captain, as he was sometimes known, simply didn't wish to deal with or didn't have the time to.

Mostly this involved the day to day running of the ship. Which meant doing stuff like making sure the robot crews did their jobs, that the replicators were in working order, stuff like that.

Miranda was also the person who made sure everyone had the resources and equipment that they needed. This task was most important today as new person was joining the crew. A Tok'ra scientist by the name of Anise.

The Tok'ra lacked teleportation technology, instead preferring to make use of transporter rings. Thankfully this ship had a set, since the Ancients had used them to, not that anyone had known this, even after months spent on board this vessel, not all of its system were understood.

"Welcome on board the..."

Miranda paused for a moment when she realised that Gothic still hadn't name the vessel.

"On board" the former Cerberus operative then said "If you'll follow me I'll show you to your quarters. They're right next to your workspace".

Well Anise would no doubt be useful in the future for now Gothic just wanted her working on Goa'uld tech. Some of which would be stored away in the Cosmic Warehouse, most would simply be analysed, studied, documented and the collected data stored away.

"Thank you" said Anise "I'm looking forward to starting my work, and seeing more of this amazing ship".

Miranda didn't doubt that. She also didn't doubt that this Anise would be sending secure transmissions to the rest of her people which were full of information. Miranda would be checking those transmissions to ensure that nothing harmful towards her group fell into the wrong hands. And should this Anise prove dangerous to the group then Miss Lawson would deal with her as well.

(Line Break)

Aurora-class Warship. Milky Way Galaxy.

Once of the pieces of technology that I'd been most eager to get my hands on since coming to this universe was The DNA Resequencer. Also known as the Genetic Manipulation Device.

It was a machine that could alter the DNA of any human. People that had been "resequenced" could have genetic diseases cured or reach an ultra-extreme state of human advancement, granting them what appeared to be supernatural powers, provided the operator of the device knew what they were doing.

The device was used by Goa'uld after it's original use by the Ancients to assist them in Ascension. The Goa'uld had attempted to use the machine to create humans with superpowers to take as hosts. A human in this advanced state was known as a "Hok'tar", a Goa'uld slang combination of the words "hok" meaning advanced and "tau" meaning human. It was possible that such a device was the means by how the Goa'uld created the first Jaffa. If so then it was there only known real success with the technology.

A DNA Resequencer worked by altering a subject's DNA, which if done right could result in say increased their brain activity. After Jonas Quinn, who for a time was a member of SG1, used the device, a tumor developed in his brain, which consisted of neurons which were five times more densely packed than normal.

I wanted it because it could be used to give someone near ascension abilities such as telekinesis, telepathy, super-human senses, self healing abilities, perfect memory, and the power to heal by touch.

Of course it could go horribly wrong, which was why I would be very careful with it. Years of research might be required even if I found the version of this device that was used by Anubis.

Besides from making super-advanced humans and ascending people, the machine could have other uses. It might be capable of giving people the Ancient Technology Activation gene, which Seven of Nine would very much like, and it might be possible to alter someone's DNA so that they the same kind of genetic engineering as Miranda Lawson and myself.

Another hopeful use was to repair biological flaws in a person. For example in her natural form Tali couldn't survive without an environment suit. With the right technology perhaps that could change.

I wanted Anubis's DNA Resequencer because he'd mastered using the device to the point he could make a Goa'uld/human hybrid that got very close to ascending. Not that I intended to ascend, and I didn't want to be part Goa'uld, but I wouldn't mind some of those funky near-ascended powers.

However finding that hidden lab was going to be a pain. I didn't have a gate address and even my Asgard memory enhancing stone wasn't helping much. I could remember that SG1 went to that planet because they were concerned about a nearby black hole having been made by the Ori so that they could invade this galaxy.

As it turned out that wasn't the case, which meant the black hole was natural, and there were only so many black holes even in a good sized spiral galaxy such as this one.

Hopefully a combination of probes, long range scans and information taken from the Ancient observatory would led to us finding a habitable planet that had a Stargate which was near a black hole. There couldn't be that many, and if needs be we'd search them all.

Of course this would take time so while the probes we'd sent out did the mapping I decided to take the ship to a few different worlds in this galaxy. To start with we came to the world called Tollana.

Tollana was the planet that the Tollan relocated to after the cataclysm in their home system forced them to leave. It originally lacked a Stargate, though the Tollans were able to build one with the help of the Nox. The Tollans quickly constructed a new city on the planet together with advanced defenses meant to protect them.

In August 2001, the Goa'uld Tanith, who at the time was in the service of Anubis, used the modified shields on his ship to protect his vessel from the Tollans' ion cannons and then forced them to do the bidding of his master. After Tanith's plan was foiled due to the intervention of SG-1, Tanith razed the planet.

The Tollan planet and way of life was completely devastated as a result of the Goa'uld's ruthlessness. In the show it was never revealed if any of the Tollan people survived the bombardment.

Now that I was here I could confirm that the advanced civilization which had once lived on this world was now gone. By the looks of things the humans who'd lived here, had centered themselves around a single city, which made sense as they must have lost a lot of people when their first home world was destroyed.

What remained of that city was just a pile of radioactive rubble, there were no life signs left, no intact structures to scan, and no energy readings to investigate. Anubis had wiped them all out, and if there had been any survivors they'd long since left or they'd been taken prisoner by Anubis so that they could mind probed for information on their advanced technology.

Heliopolis had been equally disappointing, whatever had been there, was now lost time and the sea.

"There is nothing here worth investigating" Seven of Nine declared, her assessment agreeing with mine "I suggest that we unbury the gate and let Stargate Command go through the ruins if they so wish".

Restoring the Stargate to working order would be worth the effort because the radiation levels were already below lethal levels, meaning that future generations could settle here.

"Very well" I said to Seven of Nine "We can take a Puddle Jumper down just in case the DHD was destroyed".

It was beyond our ability to replace the DHD right now, but maybe we could try to build one in the future. Should be able to do that perhaps we could do the same at Heliopolis, that way these forgotten worlds could have a future as well as a past.

(Line Break)

Anubis' Lab. Milky Way Galaxy.

It had taken weeks of searching, which involved sending out many probes, taking countless scans, and now we'd found it. The lab that not only contained the equipment needed to alter someone's DNA, but also Anubis' priceless research and his sort of son Khalek.

Khalek was a Human-Goa'uld Hybrid created by Anubis in this very lab. Anubis somehow reconstructed his own DNA, combined it with Human DNA, and accelerated Khalek's evolutionary development using a DNA resequencer.

Because he was part Goa'uld this meant Khalek had the genetic memory of Anubis, along with Anubis' sociopathic and homicidal tendencies. In the show he even referred to Anubis as his "father".

He possessed various powers of those near ascension such as psychokinesis, telekinesis, telepathy, rapid healing ability, and perhaps even had the mental development to achieve Ascension.

In the show SG-1 took him out of stasis and brought him back to Stargate Command for a check-up, thinking he'd been an unwilling test subject, he initially claimed to be a victim of Anubis' experiments, but Dr. Daniel Jackson soon discovered the truth.

Jackson warned that the risks Khalek presented were too great to allow him to live, but a member of the IOA called Richard Woolsey advocated studying him, reasoning that analysis of Khalek might both help them learn more about their own future evolution and devise a means of stopping someone with Khalek's powers. Which was something the IOA was concerned about because of the Priors of the Ori.

During subsequent conversations between him and Jackson, Khalek often taunted Jackson with reference to the confrontation between Jackson and Anubis when Daniel was Ascended, which he somehow knew about, as well as constant references to his own desire to kill.

Jackson proved to be right about the danger presented by Khalek, and Khalek killed some guards while trying to escape. He gated to P3X-584, but the Call forwarding device that had initially prevented SG-1 dialling that address had been reprogrammed to send him back to Stargate Command.

Before he could overcome his surprise at this unexpected turn of events, Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell and Dr. Jackson shot and killed Khalek while he was distracted. Which was important to remember as should I gain near-ascended powers, they would not make me indestructible.

Another issue was that I'd gotten here long before anyone from the SGC had so Khalek was here, right in front of me, in stasis.

"Another interesting moral quandary" I muttered to myself.

If I killed him I could save some lives down the road, the guy in stasis was part Goa'uld, part Anubis, as such he shared that race's desire to dominate and he lacked any humanity. He would get out one day. But as of yet he hadn't actually done anything wrong.

"Is this person a threat?" asked Cameron.

She might not be that emotional, but she was good at reading my moods. She knew that I was worried and why.

"Oh most certainly" I told her.

Before anyone could react my Terminator ripped the door off the stasis chamber and used her disruptor rifle to vaporise Khalek. Which while shocking, did at least solve the problem.

"I will need a few hours to examine everything before we can start moving this equipment to the ship" Seven of Nine told me, having not been too disturbed by Khalek's death "Once it is all on board I can begin trying to understand how it all works".

Yes that would take some time. But there was no rush. We had years.