Jump Chain Gothic 4 - Atlantis

Part 16

Runabout. Pegasus Galaxy.

While rapidly evolving, if such a term really applied to what was happening to me, did come with some negative effects, such as an increased metabolism, which meant I was hungry most of the time, and frequent headaches. Overall it was worth the discomfort.

As of yet I had not developed any funky near-ascended powers, despite having undergone a second treatment in the ascension machine, but this wasn't too surprising. I wasn't what could be called a baseline human, as such my 'evolution' wouldn't progress the way it had for other humans who had gone down this path via artificial means.

However I was certain that my intelligence had increased. At first I hadn't noticed the change, then I'd been tested in separate ways by Ansie of the Tok'ra, three different Asgard and Doctor Keller, whose concern for me I hoped would blossom in a greater attachment as time went by.

This increase of intelligence had come at a good time. My ship was remaining in orbit of Lantena, the world Atlantis had remained under the ocean of for so many centuries, we had to remain there a great deal of the time in case those unknown aliens came back. So far they hadn't, which meant I had free time on my hands.

I was using that time to test just how much more intelligent I had become. I was no scientist, or engineer, so coming up with an idea and then designing a way to make it practical wasn't really my forte, I had people do that sort of thing for me, but this wasn't stopping me from trying.

The Cipher, which contained the knowledge and experience of the all Protheans whom had died on Feros before being absorbed by the plant creature called the Thorian, had become mine, and I'd been able to use it to invent, or to reinvent some impressive technology, but until now I'd been able to make proper use of the Cipher. Now that my mind was developing I was finding the Cipher easier to access.

Ironically the Cipher wasn't much help these days as I was working with technology well beyond that of even the Protheans. At least it gave me an understanding of technology that I could build upon, and this had allowed to assist Seven on one of her projects, which involved installing a hyperdrive on the runabout.

This didn't turn about to be too hard since the warp core could supply enough energy to open up a window into hyperspace, alas while we'd taken many things into account, such as subspace turbulence, which was a real thing apparently, we'd not expected to drop out of hyperspace within weapon's range of an alien warship.

"Seven, we've lost rear and lateral thrusters!" I said urgently.

We'd not come out of hyperspace with our shields up, only our navigational deflectors, and the unknown aliens, the same beings who'd attacked Atlantis, had caught us with our defences down. How they'd know we would be here was a mystery to solve later.

"I am aware of that, Gothic" the sexy cyborg replied "I took them offline. They were critically damaged and venting plasma, making a trail that is quite easy to follow. They were overheating, which may have ignited the plasma. Which would kill us both".

Well that was good and all that she'd done that, but it was bad timing as we were about to crash, and the only thing we had going for us was that unlike Starfleet Runabouts, my vessel came with seatbelts.

(Line Break)

Unknown Planet. Pegasus Galaxy.

Seven of Nine and I sat beside the useless shuttle, the front of which was party buried in the ground, it was dented and all scratched up from the crash.

"Not a bad landing if I do say so," I remarked.

Seven looked at me.

"Actually, given the circumstances you did extremely well" she praised "We are alive"

And uninjured for the most part, although I was sure we both had some bruises.

"I really loved my runabout" I said to Seven "It looked so cool with painted on flames and the skull".

Plus it had a cloaking device, and an array of weapons that gave the craft a lot of firepower, an impressive amount considering its size.

"Perhaps we can see this an opportunity" suggest the former drone "Back when we served on Voyager you displayed envy over the Delta Flyer. We could attempt to construct a superior version of the Delta Flyer using the technology we have gathered so far".

Well we did have room in the vehicle bay now and while it was a nice idea, it would have to wait. For now we should concern ourselves over with predicament we were currently in.

"Any idea where we are?" I asked.

I'd been too busy trying to crash land the ship to notice which bit of the planet I'd aimed the ship at.

"Without the shuttle's computer I cannot ascertain our position" she said.

Not that it really mattered as even if this planet had a Stargate that wasn't in orbit, or buried somewhere, the gate network was still down. Which was why I hadn't set a course for a world with a gate that I knew the location of for the test flight. Thankfully we had other options.

"All we need is a door and I can access the Cosmic Warehouse, from there we can get to the Vehicle Bay...".

Seven stopped me there.

"That would be unwise" she advised "the alien warship could still be in orbit and while we did upgrade your Kodiak shuttle with Starfleet technology I do not believe it would fair well against the aliens. And given its slow speed it would take months to return to Atlantis".

I quickly came up with a new plan.

"Fine so we go through the Vehicle Bay and into the Space Dock" I said next "We can take the Wraith cruiser... ".

Again Seven didn't allow me to finish.

"I have not had time to modify the hyperdrive on the cruiser and by the time I was able to modify it, your Aurora class ship would have had ample chance to make it to this planet" Seven told me "And before you mention the communications system on board the cruiser, the same issues applies".

She was right.

"Well, the others will soon realize what happened" I said to the sexy cyborg "and eventually they will find us even if we can't contact them".

Waiting around to be saved wasn't really my style.

"If we wish to rejoin the others we should remain near the shuttle and attempt to repair or construct a subspace radio" Seven was now saying "The alien ship may remain in orbit and we should warn our comrades that they may be flying into danger".

This time it was me who pointed out the flaws in her plan. Although she didn't really need me to as the alien shuttlecraft heading our way made it clear.

"They may want to salvage what's left of the runabout" I mused "I would".

The runabout was cutting edge Starfleet technology that we'd started improving with Ancient technology. Also it contained all our long range communications equipment.

"Or they may be looking for survivors so they can torture us for information" Seven suggested.

With my enhanced mind I quickly came up with a short term plan. This was a human world and so we might be hide among the natives and escape detection by the aliens.

"I glimpsed a road as we were crashing" I said while pointing off into the woods "It's this way".

We started out into the woods leaving the shuttle behind. There was no time to salvage anything from or booby trap it.

(Line Break)

Unknown Planet. Pegasus Galaxy.

Seven spotted them first, having detected them with her tricorder, she always carried one on her person, and in order to avoid being seen she and I hid behind some trees. When the life signs got closer it was clear that they were humans, and not the hostile aliens who might be chasing us even now.

There were six men walking ahead of six women. The couples varied from teens to middle aged. The men wore turbans, loose fitting shirts and wide trousers held up by a sash. Each man wore a dagger on his bet and carried a spear.

Clearly they were not an advanced culture, at least in terms of technology. I'd say that they were at the same level as one of Classical Mediterranean civilizations rather than medieval Europe, however I'd have to see more of their society before I could be sure of that.

The women wore low-cut undergarments, that showed off quite a bit of their breasts and long skirts with fine embroidery. Two of the women led pack animals, which to me looked like some kind of horse-camel hybrid.

Judging by their activity I'd say that they were about to set up camp, and that they were a merchant caravan loaded up with goods, which might mean that they were heading to a major settlement. More people meant bigger crowds to get lost in.

"You know it might not be such a bad idea to try to blend in with the locals" I said to Seven "If the aliens are looking for us they'll focus anyone who looks out of place but shouldn't care about the natives".

Okay so that was guess, we knew so little about the aliens that we couldn't know what they'd do, however given that the humans who lived here hadn't been wiped out by the aliens it seemed possibly that they were hostile towards races that had advanced technology.

"They may be able to detect our scans so I will not be able to use the tricorder as much as I would like" Seven mused "As such it should be hidden, and we may as well disguise ourselves. It will not prevent our companions from locating us".

That wouldn't be much of an issue because our ship had very advanced sensors, so even if I kept my omni-tool off, which I was doing in case it could be tracked by the aliens, the ship should still be able to detect us. Hopefully the aliens didn't have sensors as sophisticated as ours. Although if they did, then they should have found us by now since they had aircraft in the area.

"I'll cloak myself, go down there and steal some clothes" I said to Seven "Wait for me here".

While using the Geth personal cloaking device was a risk, it was designed to stop me from being seen by eyeballs or scanners, so it shouldn't give us away.

(Line Break)

Unknown Planet. Pegasus Galaxy.

Seven look with distaste at the bodice which made up part of the outfit I'd stolen for her.

"It serves no purpose. And it appears uncomfortable" she commented.

Thinking fast I tried to put a positive spin on things.

"It will look very flattering I'm sure" I said.

Seven studied what she held.

"It will emphasize my breasts. Is that what you mean by flattering?" she asked.

I knew enough about women not to answer that question.

"Different cultures have different standards" was all I said.

The women wore jewelry so we would explain Seven's implants that way. To a more primitive culture they should appear decorative, like some sort of body art. Also I'd been able to use the mini-fabractior in my omni-tool to get enough material for hoods and sashes for belts.

"Well we can hide out in the woods for day or two" I said to Seven.

My other companions weren't expecting us back until tomorrow, and it would take them a few hours to reach us if they didn't want to put strain on the engines, then they'd have to scan the whole planet.

Which shouldn't take too long, unless the aliens were still in orbit. If they were then rescue might take longer.

Miranda could fly the ship well enough to fight the aliens, who I hoped would retreat like they had done when one of the Ancient controlled Aurora classes had returned to Atlantis. If they didn't well at worst my companions would die and respawn in about a week inside the Cosmic Warehouse.

Losing the ship would be a much bigger problem, but I highly doubted that would happen as my ship was ZPM powered juggernaut filled with advanced technology. The aliens would be far more likely to try to capture it than destroy and if they did then there was always a chance that it could be recovered.

"No we should attempt to blend in with the native humans" Seven stated.

So Plan A it was then.

(Line Break)

Unknown Planet. Pegasus Galaxy.

As we walked down to the camp the locals were setting up I felt somewhat nervous. I was lacking most of my advanced tech, and while I had my biotic abilities, and my omni-tool, which could be used as a weapon, I felt vulnerable. Having Cameron with me right now would have been a great comfort.

Sadly I'd left her behind, not thinking I needed her for something as simple as a test flight, and she'd been planning to practice her ballet for several hours, I'd suggested it as a hobby back when we'd had free time to spend on Voyager.

When she found about this 'adventure' she going to be upset that she wasn't here to protect me, as that a major part of why she existed, and she'd no crowd me for a while and try to get me to spend more time in my quarters with her. Which could be fun as she was always up for some sex.

"They must have seen us by now" Seven said. "They do not appear threatening"

A couple of humans came out to met us. They were oldest of the group, and now what we were closer I noticed a resemblance between the humans. They might be related, and extended family.

When we got close to shake hands the middle aged man tapped his chest and held his hand open. I copied the gesture as that as normally polite.

"Greetings sir," the man said. "I am Mas. This my slave-wife".

He indicated an attractive woman a few years younger than himself who was standing to the side.

"Could you say that again?" I requested.

I wasn't sure I'd heard that right, but when he repeated his words I was sure that he'd said: slave-wife. My perk should have translated and I did have a universal translator on my person.

"You know our language, but your accent is strange" Mas commented.

Hopefully they didn't mind travellers on this planet.

"We are new to this region" I said.

The man narrowed his eyes when he looked at Seven, who was attempting to be seen as little as possible under the hood she wore. I was surprised that any man would look at face given how huge her breasts looked in the outfit she currently wore.

"Yes" said the man "From far away indeed. Your skin is so pale, and your slave's jewellary is so strange".

So Seven's borg had implants passed inspection, as hoped they were seen as mere decoration. As for our clothes, any oddness noted by the way we wore them and the lack of matching colours would hopefully be dismissed because they thought we were foreigners.

"Where are your beasts and why do you carry no supplies?" the local human asked.

I'd guessed that this question would be asked,

"We were attacked on the road" I told Mas "Luckly we escaped. Are you heading to a nearby city?".

The man nodded.

"Travel with us for you and your slaves safety" he offered.

Hopefully if the aliens did see us we should blend in with the group.

"Thank you" I told Mas.

(Line Break)

Unknown Planet. Pegasus Galaxy

Seven approached where I was sitting off by myself a small distance away from the camp.

"Gothic" she said.

I patted the ground next to me and she sat down.

"Quite a day" I remarked.

I'd not expected a lot of what happened since I got up this morning, but somehow being shot down by unknown aggressive aliens and crashing on an alien planet, seemed dull compared when compared to what I had discovered on this world.

"This planet is a little Gorean" I said to Seven, when it was clear that she wasn't going to speak "Do you know what that means?".

To my surprise she did.

"Gor is a world used as the setting for an extended series of novels written by author and philosophy professor John Norman. The books were inspired by the Barsoom series and is known for its content, which is a combination of philosophy, erotica and science fantasy. The series is also known for its repeated depiction of sexual fantasies involving men abducting and sexually brutalizing women, who grow to enjoy their submissive state" she told me "during your time the books inspired a Gorean subculture among some humans as well as two movies".

Well that made explanations simpler.

"How do you know all that?" I wondered.

I somehow didn't think the Borg Collective would have bothered to save that information when they acquired knowledge of humanity.

"Before selecting this universe as the destination for the Jump I carefully studied several hundred other options that were available, including one based upon John Norman's work" Seven let me know "I dismissed that Jump early on due to primitiveness of the humans".

I'd never even known that there was a Gor Jump. I'd never thought to look despite my fondness for submissive females. Perhaps I should consider taking a Jump there for some R&R. After all I'd been through I deserved it.

Then again I really should learn some magic for when I got my planeswalker spark and there some magic settings that would be down right peaceful compared to what I'd been through so far.

"Gothic I have been speaking with the females" Seven told me next "I believe that you were correct to chose these people to blend in with. These are fine upstanding men by the standards of the people of this world, and the women do not consider themselves slaves but rather wives.

Well women being treated as second class citizens wasn't uncommon in human societies. Even in my day.

"Have you discover anything of value?" Seven asked.

Oh lots.

"Yes" I told her "I couldn't ask too many questions without exposing them to fact that I'm from much further away than they think, but I learned a lot by listening".

While being foreign would excuse my ignorance of many things, they would wonder how it was I spoke their language and yet knew nothing of their customs or history. These weren't total savages after all, nor were they stupid.

"The humans here aren't so different from the Romans, or the Ancient Greeks, civilization is, as far as I can tell, made up of city-states that trade and sometimes war with each other" I informed Seven "I heard no mention of anything like the Stargate, or the Wraith, so it seems as if they are cut off from the rest of the galaxy".

It was possible that this planet hadn't been culled for hundreds of years and while stories of that time could survive they might not be commonly spoken about, hence why I hadn't heard them. That might chance later as people tended to tell more scary tales at night around the campfire.

"All women are owned by the men, most men only have a slave-wife, but some have many slaves, daughters are sold once they come of age" I said next "Near as I can tell it's always been that way, but its not religious, they worship the Ancestors, as in the Ancients, only they don't actually know anything about them".

I figured we'd learn more once we made it to the city.

"For now we just need to keep our heads down and mouths shut" I said to Seven.

Hopefully she'd follow my lead on this.

(Line Break)

Unknown Planet. Pegasus Galaxy

The away team led by Miranda wasn't much of an away team as only Cameron went with her. Before leaving they replicated simple clothes that were compatible with this level of culture and beamed down where they wouldn't be seen.

If they'd taken the time to study the culture they would have known that women weren't allowed to roam around the city without a man escorting them. Because of this the two women drew a lot of attention very quickly.

About thirty seconds after beaming down they were captured, Cameron allowed herself to be taken captive since Gothic had ordered not to kill anyone who wasn't a direct threat, and she could easily escape the bindings used to hold her. Miranda decided that she didn't want to be jabbed by pointy spears, even if they were bronze, and figured she'd just call the ship and get beamed out once they'd been locked up.

In retrospect it would have been wiser to beam Seven and Gothic up to the ship, but Miranda hadn't wanted to beam them out in front of the locals who might not be aware of the existence of other civilizations on other plants or advanced technology.

The two women were soon dragged before the leader of the city, and to their surprise they found Gothic sitting on the throne.

"I was wondering when you'd turn up" said the Jumper.

Needless to say the newly formed royal court was somewhat taken aback by the fact that their new king somehow knew these intruders.

"Who are these slaves, my lord?" the man called Mas asked quietly.

"Well mine I guess" Gothic said "they are from my land, sort of".

The truth was much more complex than that.

"The slaves don't know how to act. I see why you left your homeland" Mas commented.

Yesterday he'd been the head of some merchant caravan, now he was royal advisier, and he'd adjusted well. He very much enjoyed the wealth, power and the big hat that came with his new job.

"Slaves?" asked Miranda.

Cameron had a different question.

"Why is Seven of Nine chained to your command chair?" she asked.

This was going to take some explaining.

(Line Break)

Aurora-class Warship. Pegasus Galaxy.

"So any sign of the aliens?" I asked as made our way to the bridge.

Miranda shook her head.

"No sign of the runabout either. I think they took it and left" she said.

Most likely they'd taken it to their home planet or a base of operations for study.

"Something on your mind?" I asked.

Miranda looked annoyed.

"Two days" said Miranda "less than that, and in that time you took over an entire city-state!".

To be fair even for us, that was odd.

"I didn't intend to" I told Miss Lawson "But when we got to the city I found out the ruler was using Ancient tech to enforce his will upon the people"

Much like the Lord Protector had with that half buried city-ship, but in this case the tech used came from one of a few Ancient Outposts. Still the rulers had enough drones and control chairs to protect their people. I did wondered why the rulers hadn't blown each other up with drones long ago. Perhaps there was some sort of failsafe left in place by the Ancients to prevent it.

I had no idea how that had evolved into a somewhat Gorean themed world, although I guessed it might have something to do with the rulers being prevetered old men.

"The ruler of that city-state tried to take Seven from me so I used my biotic abilities and they started worshipping me as a god-king" I explained.

Which had been amusing.

"We should let the Ancients know about these outposts" Tali advised "They might want to shut them down".

Atlantis could handle it. I had other things to do.

"Everything else was just me having some fun" I said to the group as I sat in my command chair "Seven and I learned a lot about an interesting human culture".

The cyborg gave me a look.

"You are correct, Gothic" Seven said "I learned a great deal about myself. And a great deal about you".

I requested that she explain that.

"Human sexuality can be quite complex" was what she said next.

"What's that mean?" I asked.

Seven smiled.

"I discovered that I enjoyed being your slave" she said.

Everyone just stared at her.