Jump Chain Gothic 4 - Atlantis

Part 25

Aurora-class Warship. Pegasus Galaxy.

"Are you sure about this" I asked Seven of Nine.

We'd already come to this planet once in order to remove the Stargate, which while currently not working would be switched back on in the future. I hadn't wanted to risk letting the Genii use their nukes on other worlds so it had been important to remove the Gate. Also this would prevent them from restoring the Genii spy network, which could also be a danger to the people of this galaxy.

That really should have been the end of my involvement with the Genii, and I had intended it to be. Only Seven of Nine, who'd again gotten distracted from the work of fixing up the city-ship, had requested that we return to this planet. I'd decided to indulge her as I did enjoy flying around in my super advanced spaceship.

"I am" said Seven of Nine "While it is empty, the ZPM currently in possession of the Genii could be vital to my research".

While I'd known about the depleted ZPM for some time I'd not considered it worth going after and I'd failed to mention its existence. However Seven had access to my files, which mentioned everything I could remember about this universe that was the least bit important. Thanks to my upgraded mind I was now able to remember things in more detail so recently I'd added to these files.

As for the depleted ZPM, it had been filed away in the Genii archives for hundreds of years. In the show a Genii called Ladon Radim used it in his coup d'etat, as part of a scheme to capture Lt. Colonel John Sheppard and a large strike team, which he knew would be enough to bring Cowen out in the open. It was presumably destroyed in the nuclear explosion which killed Cowen and his most loyal men.

However that hadn't happened in this time line, and while something similar might happen in the future that wasn't my concern since the Genii could no longer leave their homeworld. And if they wanted to kill each other that was their business.

It would be centuries until they developed some sort of space travel, assuming that they didn't destroy themselves, by then many other human worlds would have advanced making the Genii less of a threat to the galaxy. Also it could be hoped that the Ancients would have matters in that galaxy under some sort of control.

Thinking further on the matter of the depleted ZPM, it made sense that Seven would want it as while we had a few full ZPMs and ways of producing vast amount of energy the ZPMs, if used incorrectly, or perhaps correctly, could be used as bombs that were capable of destroying chunks of whole solar systems.

When I ventured to the Warhammer 40k verse, and one day I would as a final Jump, I might need that level of fire power. As such we couldn't afford to damage any of the ZPMs we already had doing tests, an empty ZPM could be taken apart without the loss of anything of value.

Plus this wasn't exactly going to take a lot of effort. The work on the city-ship was still going on, the Asgard could handle it, and since I was heading for the Milky Way soon, and would be very busy once I arrived, it made sense to deal with matters in this galaxy now rather than later.

"I can not detect the depleted ZPM" Seven informed me "I have scanned the Genii bunkers and there is a central location which we can not scan completely due to low levels of radiation and some form of shielding".

That was most likely where the ZPM was being kept. The Genii scientists would keep the things they studied in some sort of secure place near their labs, which were currently being used for the production of nuclear weapons. Much like Earth's Manhattan project.

This would explain the shielding, and I recalled that the Tauri expedition to Atlantis would have recommended to the Genii to increase the protection they were using against the radiation produced by their experiments. If they'd listened then I didn't think they'd been successful in perfecting their shielding, but it was enough to help block our transporters.

"Very well" I said, while getting up from my command chair "We'll need a plan of attack".

Cameron joined Seven and I as we studied the layout of the Genii bunkers. While we might not be able to beam directly into some sections, we had gotten some decent scans of the underground society.

Really it made no sense that the Wraith hadn't been able to detect the complex. Sure their scanners were primitive compared to mine, but they did have sensors. Plus the Wraith weren't stupid so really they should have found the Genii bunkers. I figured this was going to be one of those things that I never figured out.

"I can go down there with some of our robots and cleanse the base of all human life" my Terminator offered.

Well that was what Terminators were designed to do. However there was no need to go down there and kill a whole bunch of people. They were no threat to me, and since many Genii spent their whole lives down in the bunkers, then there could be children and elderly people living underground, assuming the radiation allowed anyone to have children or to grow old.

Normally we wouldn't require the bots when dealing with some primitive humans who had no weapons more advanced than the Tauri during world war 2, however it was only Seven, Cameron and I on board the ship as everyone else was busy back at the city-ship.

"No need" I said "Better to beam down gas canisters full of something that will knock everyone out for a few hours. If the most secure sections of the bunkers have their own air supply then Cameron and some of the bots can go in with stun weapons to clear they way".

I had no desire to slaughter science people and since we had kinetic barriers that meant Genii weapons would be useless against us. Explosives could be an issue, but it was highly unlikely that the Genii would risk blowing up their own labs.

"A sound plan" commented Seven of Nine "I will replicate the gas".

That wouldn't take too long, and once the canisters were ready we would beam them down. Then when everyone down in the bunkers was taking a nice long nap we could go in and take what we wanted.

(Line Break)

Genii Homeworld. Pegasus Galaxy.

While the gas we'd sent down had mostly dissipated by this time I was still wearing my armoured suits as the gas smelled rather funky. Cameron didn't need protection from the gas's effect as she didn't breathe, and didn't have a sense of smell, at least not exactly, she did have the means to analyse the air around her so she could detect the gas despite it not being visible.

The Genii did have gas masks as it turned out, however the gas we'd sent down had been so fast acting that very few people had been able to get to the mask. Those that were able to ended up getting stunned by Cameron and the robots we sent down in advance.

I never even saw any action. Which was somewhat of a disappointment as I had all these funky new powers and no one to test them on. Well some of my powers could be tested on people I didn't want to hurt, but I had no desire to risk the wellbeing of someone who was nice to me.

Seven of Nine I'd left back on the ship. She also had the ATA gene now thanks to a quick treatment in the DNA resequer, and I was considering altering her further, perhaps by giving her Miranda Lawson's superior genes, but that could wait. For now it only mattered that she could control the ship.

At this point, Cameron and I began looking through the labs, while we stepped over knocked out scientists. We were ignoring most of the tech due to its sheer primitiveness.

"Forget the computers, leave them be" I ordered "But download any information you can. The Genii have an extensive spy network and some off world bases. I want to know where they are".

While the bases were of no interest to us right now, the Ancients were trying to rebuild both their civilization and to aid the humans of this galaxy, as such they might have use for the information Cameron was currently downloading into her own memory banks via her omni-tool.

I recalled that the Wraith know as Todd spent years in a Genii prison that was on a planet somewhere in this galaxy. He was a very dangerous person, even for a Wraith. Perhaps sometime in the future I should use this information to track down and kill him, or take him prisoner so that I could rip information from his mind.

Having downloaded the information my Terminator now knew everything the Genii did. She couldn't interact with the computer technology of more advanced civilizations because they had firewalls and things like that to prevent an AI from hacking their systems. However while the Genii computer systems were advanced enough to be linked together via some crude version of an Internet, which was highly impressive given their tech level, they had no defences to prevent an AI from accessing the system.

My AI, Cortana could do the same, but I was saving her memory and processing power for more important things.

"Gothic I have found something!" I heard Cameron call out.

Using the data she'd just acquired my Terminator found where the Genii kept all their cool stuff, including the depleted ZPM. She also found a Wraith data device, which was sort of their version of flash drive.

After shooting down a Wraith Dart during a culling, the Genii managed to retrieve this data storage device from it and an interface was created in order to access the device. Which was also impressive given that the Wraith some sort of biotech and the Genii had such basic computers.

The device contained information on the Wraith hive ship the Dart had come from, including the Stargate address of the planet it had landed upon for hibernation as well as data on the planet.

Before I'd met up with them the Atlantis expedition and the Genii conducted a successful raid to download information from the hive ship's data core onto the storage device to learn more about the hive ships and their locations.

The device must have been recovered at some point. Most likely when the Genii took over Atlantis during that large storm. Now it was mine, and the Genii would not be able to recover it a second time.

"There is more Wraith tech here" Cameron reported.

My Terminator then reached into a box and took out what seemed to be a simple pair of googles, however after scanning them with my omni-tool I discovered that they were in fact a piece of Wraith tech as Cameron had just told me.

I'd seen these goggles in action, one had been used by a Wraith who'd hunted Ronan in the main timeline. Although the exact details of how the goggles worked, and how they could be used, were unknown to me, I did know that they were used by Wraith to track runners. They also appear to relay everything seen back to a nearby hive ship, but if this pair could do that the Wraith would have long since have found this place, so they must be broken.

Another bit of tech was a Wraith probe, which was a device used by the Wraith much like how military forces on world used drones. The probe scouted around and sent information back to whatever Wraith had programmed the device.

Once I was settled in the Milky Way in my city-ship I'd no doubt be starting my own version of Stargate Command as while I had information on many worlds within the gate network in that galaxy SGC teams hadn't explored them all.

As such having probes that could fly around gathering information would be of great use. I wouldn't even back engineer the Wraith probe since I had more than enough tech of my own to build such a device and the means to manufacture them in great numbers. But that was something to think on later.

"We can store this stuff in the Cosmic Warehouse" I said to Cameron.

These devices had little use for us. Even the Wraith flash drive contained information that was useless as all the Wraith ships had long since left whatever planet they used to hibernate upon.

Also we had little use for biotech as it we had access to much in the way of Ancient technology, and ways to gather more advanced tech that would be easier to back engineer. However this Wraith would barely take up any room in the Warehouse, and could be traded in the future.

"Let's get out of here" I said next "This gas won't keep everyone out for much longer".

A few moments later Cameron, the heavily armed bots, and I, all disappeared in flash of light.

(Line Break)

Annwn. Pegasus Galaxy.

While the view from the balcony here on the city-ship of Annwn was not as calming as those found on Atlantis, it was still pleasant to sit out here and admire the landscape as well as to enjoy the cool breeze.

"So the Asgard and the Ancients will both have an embassy" I said to Miranda Lawson "The Asgard have promised a mutual defence pact with the Confederation as well".

That the Asgard were supporting me was no surprise as I'd helped them a lot in the past, and they were a nice bunch of people. However I'd been somewhat shocked to find out that the Ancients were doing the same. While their population had grown by quite a bit since they'd returned to Atlantis, most of them were mentally children despite having adult bodies due to having been in stasis since childhood.

Perhaps the Ancients or the Asgard had been able to mentally progress them to adulthood quickly, the little grey dudes could after all upload minds into clone bodies and download info from people's minds, so advancing the Ancient children wouldn't be beyond them.

Not that it mattered to me, what did matter was that thirty Ancients were coming along with my group to the Milky Way. They would help keep the city-ship running while training others to do the same. Which would mean recruiting people smart enough to learn, but that was a problem for later.

I didn't think the Ancients were helping me only to pay me back for the help I'd given them. They must be worried about me having a city-ship of my own, and by setting up an embassy along with giving me some staff, they could keep an eye on me, perhaps even try to influence my actions.

No doubt the Asgard felt the same way, not only would they want to keep an eye on me as I attempted to build a galactic human government. Aside from that I had a habit of finding advanced technology, and the Asgard would not only want to make sure I didn't do something stupid with that tech, they would also desire to get a share of the tech.

Which was fine with me as Asgard support of the Confederation was very important. With their backing the major players in the Milky Way could take me seriously. Asgard support would not only lead to alliances with other powers, it might even led to worlds becoming members.

"So we'll need rooms for them, and an office for their ambassador" I told Miranda "best prepare some space for the Free Jaffa nation ambassador and whomever the Tauri send".

The former Cerberus operative made a note on a data padd while I considered how I'd get the Free Jaffa Nation to send an ambassador. I was sure that the Tauri would send someone as they liked messing about with other people's business, and while that could be annoying, I did need their blessing to set up the Confederation if only so I didn't make them into a dangerous enemy.

"Are you sure that letting them have access to the whole of the city-ship is a good idea?" she then asked.

I understood her concerns.

"Miranda if the either the Asgard or the Ancients were a threat to us we'd know it" I told her "They have more than enough firepower to destroy us".

She just nodded upon hearing that.

"I also want a space put aside for a marketplace" I was now telling the genetically engineered woman "Like the one we saw on the Jaffa planet, I want Annwn to be a centre of commerce, as well as diplomacy".

Which would make security a big issue, as Miranda commented, but there was no point having a capital city that people visit or live in.

"We'll need a security force" I said "Like some sort of police, we can recruit from Confederation worlds".

Assuming anyone actually joined. While the the government I planned wouldn't have much to do with a world's internal affairs those joining would have contribute to the Confederation and many worlds didn't have much to offer other than people so it was important to find uses for those people.

One of my concerns was that I would end with a load of barely populated primitives worlds who would be a drain on my resources as I tried to uplift them to a point were they could be useful to me.

As for the major powers, well they would want to ally with me as that could get them stuff in trade without having to commit much in return. I'd have to be careful not to offer too much as while I did desire allies I didn't want them taking advantage of me. The Tauri had been far too successful in getting tech and resources form me in the past while offering very little in return.

Hopefully I could get a few industrialised worlds to join up and once that happened I could simply pay them to send teachers to my city-ship who would educate the more primitive people's. Spreading knowledge of better methods of stuff like farming, which would be a real help to those people

"We've got security mechs" reminded Miranda "They can handle security, at least in the short term".

Mechs weren't the most reliable, they couldn't handle complex issues as they were governed by a very simple VI, but Miranda was correct that they would work in the short term.

"Alright I'll get to work setting all that up" she said as she left.

As she walked away I checked out her ass, even after so many years together I still couldn't help admiring her rear end.

(Line Break)

Annwn. Hyperspace.

While the city-ship was up to making a journey to the Milky Way galaxy, it didn't hurt that Thor's might O'Neill class ship was keeping pace with us just in case something went wrong. I was grateful for this as the massive void between galaxies was perhaps the worst place in existence to find yourself stranded in.

Because I had the ATA gene naturally as well as an advanced mind, I was flying the ship to the planet Annwn, which didn't really involve much effort as the ship was flying itself for the most part, I was here mostly in case things went wrong.

Of course there were actual Ancients on board, and I could see them working as the control chair was in what would be called Stargate Operations back on Atlantis. I did have a Stargate in this city-ship, having taken one from the Genii, but I was going to have it set up in another part of Annwn.

Because I needed to sit in the chair this meant that from aside from quick trips to the bathroom I had to stay sitting in the control chair, so as to pass the time I reading. Mostly about the myths and legends surrounding the deasended Ancient known to many as Merlin.

This was because the planet I was flying the city-ship to was mentioned in relation to Merlin, who was currently the leader of Atlantis, and during his time on Earth he'd been an important figure as he was now.

"According to the cultural information I got from Doctor Jackson there are two doors to Annwn, at least in legend, one was located at Glastonbury Tor and the other at Lundy Island" I said.

I'd actually been talking to myself, but Cameron, who rarely left my side, thought I was talking to her.

"So are we going to this Lundy Island?" she asked.

Since Merlin had kept a vault Glastonbury Tor it was possible that he'd also kept one somewhere under Lundy Island. I'd have to mention this to Thor and see if he was willing to repeat the mission to Glastonbury Tor. His ship could sit in Earth's orbit undetected while I used the ring transports to enter the vault and loot it of technology.

If there was another long range communication device there I didn't want the Tauri finding out about it, and frankly they'd gotten more than enough from me as it was. As for the Asgard well I'd share the tech with them because they could be trusted with it, and I did need their help.

"In the book I found at the Glastonbury vault, there's a section that mentions that Arthur went to Annwn, where he retrieved thirteen sacred objects" I told Cameron "One of which was the Mantle of Arthur, which we have".

That was the Ancient computer which I'd found in the vault at Glastonbury Tor, I'd forgotten about it, and now it was at the bottom of long list of things that needed to be studied, and back engineered.

"The Mantle of Arthur is actually a computer with an inbuilt device that allows you to phase-cloak" I went on to say "the source material says: whoever was under it could not be seen, and he could see everyone".

But there was more to phase cloaking than that.

"Phase cloak makes you a lot like a ghost" I was now saying "I know we have personal cloaks, but with phase cloak we'd be able to walk through walls and stuff like that".

When I got the chance I'd order Seven to get to work on personal phase cloaks. They would be useful in battle while normal cloaks could be dangerous as while out of phase you didn't need to worry about friendly fire.

Also a phase cloak for my ship would be nice, I didn't have a fleet like others factions did so it was important that I have the most powerful vessel in the Milky Way galaxy.

Plus the Tauri might be getting personal cloaks for their teams in the near future, assuming they made contact with the Sodan, and with those they could spy on even me. So it was important to level the playing field in the arena.

"According to Preideu Annwfn, the Spoils of Annwn, Arthur and several of his knights went to Annwn to retrieve a magical cauldron that was guarded by nine maidens" I said next "That fits in with what the book I found in the Glastonbury vault says".

I then changed the page on the data pad.

"Now I've put together a full list of the treasures" I told Cameron "And they are Dyrnwyn, the Sword of Rhydderch Hael. The Hamper of Gwyddno Garanhir The Horn of BrĂ¢n Galed. The Chariot of Morgan Mwynfawr. The Halter of Clydno Eiddyn. The Knife of Llawfrodedd the Horseman. The Cauldron of Dyrnwch the Giant. The Whetstone of Tudwal Tudglyd. The Coat of Padarn Beisrudd. The Crock and Dish of Rhygenydd Ysgolhaig. The Chessboard of Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio. The Mantle of Arthur. The Mantle of Tegau Gold-Breast. Last of all the Stone and Ring of Eluned the Fortunate, which seems to have been added on later".

Cameron tipped her head as she often did when she was considering matters.

"Why is this important?" she asked me.

Actually I wasn't sure. At this point I didn't know if anything else on that list other than the Mantle of Arthur was a piece of advanced technology, or if it even existed at all.

Dyrnwyn, the Sword of Rhydderch Hael was clearly some sort of weapon, and I suspected that The Chariot of Morgan Mwynfawr was some kind of spacecraft and The Chessboard of Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio, was pretty self explanatory, but I could only guess at what everything else on that list could be.

"Well if Arthur did recover all those items and they are in fact technology created by Merlin, then there's a vault at Lundy Islands then it could contain the rest" I told Cameron "Or at least some of the treasures".

Anything like gold or jewels could be handed over to the British government. I'd let Thor's people handle that.

"We'll just have to wait until we land" I said to Cameron

I knew that once the city-ship landed I'd be spending a lot of time within it trying to set up a galactic government that could look after itself once I was gone. Of course that would take a lot of work, and I wanted to do a little more exploring before I ended up spending so much time behind a desk.

But before then I needed to retrace the steps of an earlier adventure so that I could find the Repository of Knowledge as well as the device used by Merlin to virtually create things. Hopefully my brain was now advanced enough to use both of those technologies safely.

If not then lucky for me there were plenty of Asgard around who could suck all of that knowledge out of my mind.