Jump Chain Gothic 4 - Confederation
Part 14
Annwn. Milky Way Galaxy.
With a laser scalpel in hand I carefully cut into Cameron's skin and peeled back the false flesh to show the machine that lay beneath. To this to a human would require a lot more effort, preparation and come with a lot more risk, but my Terminator couldn't bleed to death, or go into shock, and she didn't have worry about infections either.
"Oh my God, what are you two doing?" someone asked.
As Tali removed the outer layer to expose what we were trying to get at, I turned to address Samantha Carter who had just entered the room in a case of bad timing. I'd given her free permission to wonder the city-ship as she wished, so it was my fault that she was here now. I should have locked the door.
"Installing an upgrade" I answered "Come watch".
When she got closer, which was something she wasn't eager to do, she saw that weren't performing surgery on some poor naked women who was outside of sterile environment, I pointed out Cameron's nuclear power cells, which were shielded in a case-hardened subassembly inside the triple-armored Hyperalloy torso. Which meant that if you didn't know what you were doing they were very hard to get at.
The cell could supply enough power to run all the lights of a small city for a day and could allow a T-800 to operate at full power for twenty-four hours per day for 1,095 days. Although no Terminator ever spent much time in full power mode as that would be a waste of energy.
These power cells lasted significantly longer if the Terminator spent much of their time in a lower power state, which was as close to sleep as they could get without going into standby mode, which they needed a little to come out of.
When in a low power state Cameron didn't move around much and she tended to stand still while starting at something, often me. With such wise use of this energy Cameron's first power cells had a functional period of 120 years, and the power cells could of course be replaced.
Tali and I had upgraded the cells before, back when we'd been we'd been on Voyager. Those power cells, made from Trek tech had a much longer shelf life, and gave Cameron more power, however they required some maintenance, which while not a problem in this setting, could be an issue if I spent a future Jump in magical fantasy world. Sure I would have the resources of the Cosmic Warehouse and my skills to call upon, but it would be better if Cameron didn't require any repair work.
"We're going to install replacement power cells" I explained to Carter as Tali gained access to the objects "These new cells are miniaturized naquadah power cells, that's the material the gate is made from, it can produce a lot of energy, and since we're basing these cells on Ancient technology they'll last much longer than normal power cells and are unlikely to break down".
Exactly how long the power cells would last we didn't know, but some Ancient devices still worked millions of years after they were built, and even without a total understanding of the science behind the cells I felt confident that they would last for thousands of years before needing replacing. Plus they produced more energy than nuclear power cells so Cameron would be able power some inbuilt weaponry.
"I'm looking forward to having a better power source" Cameron said.
"Oh my God, she's awake!" Carter exclaimed.
Well of course she was awake, there was no point trying to sedate her, she couldn't sleep, and didn't feel pain.
"See I'd have asked about the nudity" said Tali.
Cameron didn't need be naked for the upgrading, but she'd just stripped off and that made me glad that Tali was doing most of the work, as my bodyguard look really good when naked, although now that I'd peeled back some of her skin to expose the robot underneath she didn't seem as attractive as she normally did.
"Once we're sure that the power cells are compatible with your other systems we can discuss installing some inbuilt weaponry" I told Cameron "Not that you really need it".
Cameron was an infiltration unit, meant to blend in while seeking out a target, or in her case protecting someone. Which didn't really require great amounts of fire power and she wasn't supposed to fight openly, beside she could just pick up one of the many weapons she owned.
"Take this" Tali instructed.
She passed me one of the Trek power cells, which I would safely dispose of soon. Then I watched as Tali, who liked to be in her quarian form for engineering work, insert the new power source, which Cameron soon reported was feeding her energy. This meant that it was safe to remove the other now obsolete power cell, and replace it with the superior naquadah power cell.
Once that was done I used a dermal regenerator to repair the tissue damage. The fleshy outer shell of Terminator could heal like real skin so the regenerator worked on her as well as on a human. She would have healed quickly anyway, but I would prefer it if she didn't have any damage to her attractive outer coverings.
"And done" I happily pronounced.
Hopefully installing the inbuilt weapons would go as smoothly when the time came.
(Line Break)
Annwn. Milky Way Galaxy.
As I oversaw the stacking of the containers within the gate room, which were all filled with weapons and supplies for my Jaffa allies, I had to admit to myself that Miranda Lawson was doing a better job of getting the Confederation more organised than I ever could have.
People had been using the gate to come and go all day. Folks from the Breeder faction, who were relocating to a new world to start their civilization again on a world with a breathable air, as members of the Confederation, they would be primitive for a while, but with aid from other worlds and us they'd rebuild to an industrialised nation before too long.
She'd also brought in people from the Rand Protectorate, a nation on a world which had collapsed due a nuclear war. While their society had collapsed, they were still better educated than most humans in this galaxy and would make for decent enough bureaucrats, which alas we did need in order to help organise the Confederation and the uplifting of worlds.
I was now actually glad that I'd stepped down so that I could focus more on military matters, as well as the acquiring of war materials and new technologies. Mostly I was done with new tech stuff, there wasn't much left on my list, and we already had more technology than we knew what do with. Still there were a few things on the list I needed to go pick up.
As for war materials well setting up the infrastructure the Confederation military forces would need in the future was no longer my concern as other people were handling that. Which left me free to worry about the Jaffa civil war and whatever else was going out that. I could raid other versions of this setting for what my allies needed.
Neither Baal nor the Lucian Alliance, both bad guys in the last two season of Stargate SG1 had made any moves against me, which was actually more worrying than them making a move because I had no idea if they were planning anything to do with me or not. It was a big galaxy after all and the Confederation only had a handful of member worlds.
Besides even if Baal was wisely leaving me alone someone should hunt him down and kill him just because it was he deserved, and while the Jaffa civil war did not seem to be something Baal had set into motion I was pretty sure that he'd helped things along.
Plus if I did dismantle what was left of his empire then I could bring more worlds into the Confederation, although that might not be wise right now since as we didn't have the resources to uplift so many worlds at the moment, and nor could we protect them.
Still I would hunt Baal and his clones sometime soon, once I found one I should be able to find the others since they all had subspace transmitters. As for the original I didn't have a clue what he was up to, his time travel plan was no longer an option since I'd ensured that the observatory had been destroyed. No doubt he had some scheme going on.
"That's all the supplies" Cortana informed me, her voice coming from my omni-tool.
I turned to face the waiting mechs.
"When the gate opens carry all this containers through" I ordered.
Bra'tac's Jaffa would be waiting for the supplies on the other side of the wormhole I'd soon have opened, and they would be eager for the materials I was bringing them. However I would be travelling by ship as I also needed to deliver the new Death Gliders to my allies.
"Dial the gate" I ordered.
A moment later the familiar blue vortex appeared, and before long the robots began carrying the supplies through the gate.
(Line Break)
Langara. Milky Way Galaxy.
Tali'Zorah had to admit, and would have out loud if anyone asked, that she was impressed with what she was now seeing.
The Deep Underground Excavation Vehicle was a vessel developed by the Kelownans of the planet Langara, that was capable of digging miles below the surface of a planet. The D.U.E.V. was designed by Jonas Quinn and Kianna Cyr, who had later turned out to be a Goa'uld.
The project took two and a half years to build at the expense of half the Kelownan's annual research budget. Fore and aft sections were outfitted with titanium cutter heads augmented by tunnel-forming Tok'ra crystals. Each cutter head could withstand or apply up to 50 metric tons travelling at a maximum cruising speed of 80 meters per hour. Which didn't sound very fast, but when compared to the speed most tunnels could be dug it was actually very impressive.
Kelownan's neighboring nations Tirania and the Andari Federation were unaware of its construction until their planet was rocked by massive earthquakes, denoting a disturbance of unstable Naquadria deep underground.
Along with Samantha Carter and Teal'c, Quinn and the Goa'uld-possessed Cyr journeyed deep beneath the surface of Kelowna in the excavator and successfully planted a bomb to prevent the spread of the chain-reaction that was creating the unstable vein of Naquadria. They then returned to the surface having saved the planet.
Now the D.U.E.V's were for sale to anyone could afford them, which admittedly wasn't many. Jonas Quinn, who was this world's ambassador to the Confederation had put forward the proposal to his world's government, suggesting selling the devices to advanced civilizations.
"And with your technology I'm sure you'll find ways to improve upon the D.U.E.V's, but we'd want to be the only supplier of the actual vehicle" Ambassador Quinn was currently saying "So do you think the Confederation could make use of these machines?".
Tali could see their use in mining operations on Confederation worlds, and now that she'd been placed in charge of everything to do with uplifting of worlds when it came to engineering that did mean she was technically in charge of all the mining operations even if Tech Con Group was actually doing the mining.
Her thinking was that with these machines and Langarans who could train others in their use the Confederation wouldn't have to depend on Tech Con Group for all the mining. So far Tech Con Group had proved to be useful, but it was just one company and there were many worlds out there, they would need more that what Tech Con Group had to offer.
"We'd need some of your people to train others in use of the D.U.E.V's" she said.
Jonas Quinn nodded, of course he'd anticipated this, and it was part of his plan to strength his world's ties with other civilizations.
"I can select a group of people to go to Annwn as teachers" he told Tali'Zorah.
That would be ideal since it would easier to find miners who wanted to improve the hauls of their mines and send them to special classes, instead of having the Lanagaran teachers moving from world to world, while having to ensure that they had proper shelter, food and everything they needed to teach.
"What does your government want in exchange for a supply of the D.U.E.V's?" Tali asked "Oh and aside from the teachers, we'll need a supply of spare parts".
The exact details of such a deal would be handled by Miranda Lawson, for now the quarian (who was currently in her human form since the people of this world didn't have much experience with aliens) just needed to get an idea of what was on offer and what was desired in exchange.
"They want more military technology" Ambassador Quinn stated "We've been hearing from our offworld allies about how the Free Jaffa Nation heading towards civil war, and our leaders fear that the Jaffa raids on our naquadah deposits will increase rapidly if the Jaffa need more war materials".
While Miranda ran the Confederation now all military matters were Gothic's domain, unless the Assembly overruled him, which was likely to happen unless he did something very silly. So Tali would have to speak to the Jumper about better defences for this world because she really wanted the D.U.E.V's. The Confederation simply didn't have the infrastructure it needed to exploit the naquadah mines it had access to, and they never would without machines like this to get to the naquadah.
"If you just wanted materials goods I could make that deal go through easily" said Tali "But weapons are a different matter. I'll have to speak to some people at home".
Which would further delay things, as everyone had a lot to do.
"I'll take you back to the gate" Quinn offered as the two people began to move away from the D.U.E.V's "Please talk to whoever you need to and quickly. My people are truly helpless against assault coming from space".
Tali vowed to seek out Gothic as soon as possible and to discuss this matter with him.
(Line Break)
Chulak. Milky Way Galaxy.
I'd never been to this world before now, nor I had learned much about it despite its importance in the show, but not long after I'd beamed down I discovered the planet was originally part of Cronus' empire (proof of this was the Greek-like structures) and that it was conquered by his mortal enemy, Apophis, who became the ruler of Chulak in recent centuries, which while interesting wasn't that important.
The Jaffa Rebellion truly began here as the warriors of this world were the first to denounce the Goa'uld as false gods, at least in modern times. However that didn't last long as Chulak was attacked by Apophis after he assumed control of Sokar's forces, his power seemed to great to risk rebelling against. But when Apophis died for the final time the Jaffa of Chulak become strong supporters of the rebellion, and now it was one of the most important worlds in the Free Jaffa Nation.
In the show Chulak was the first planet to be conquered by the Ori during their invasion of the Milky Way, most likely because Chulak was the first planet to denounce the Goa'uld, so the Ori would prove a point to the rest of the Jaffa by attacking the planet. SG-1 and Bra'tac tried to defend the planet, but failed and were nearly killed. Only the sudden intervention of the Odyssey saved them
The capital city of Chulak had the same name as the planet, and while it was some distance away from the gate this wasn't an issue for me as I simply beamed directly into the city. The amount of armed Jaffa around made me glad that I'd sent a message ahead to let Bra'tac know that I was coming. I wouldn't want to have alarmed people and started a firefight.
"Greetings, Master Bra'tac" I said as I entered a large build.
Judging by the layout this must have once been a temple dedicated to the worship of Apophis. Now it served as a command centre for the Jaffa of the Progressive Party. Some of the supplies I'd set through earlier had already found their way here.
Another clue to this places current use were the maps. A large stone table, which may have actually been an alter at some point, was now covered in maps, also with what I discovered to be inventories, and tallies of stuff like crops, as well reports on troops. Clearly Bra'tac was gathering not just allies to his cause, but also he had an account of all the resources at his command.
"Welcome to Chulak, Lord Gothic" replied the old Jaffa Master "The supplies you sent are already been disrupted among the warriors of this world".
That was good to hear as it had taken me some time to organise them.
"Just let me know if you need more" I said "And the new gliders, which I call Reapers, will need to flown down. I can beam the pilots up to my ship whenever they are ready".
My ship could beam the new gliders down, but there was no need to let even my allies know that I could beam such large objects around.
"Good I fear we shall need them if Garack is bold enough for a direct attack" Bra'tac told me "But I doubt he will attack Chulak in such a way. He wishes to rule over all Jaffa, so slaughtering his brothers and sisters would not be wise, and I do not think he'd risk his fleet in an all out attack".
I suspected that would matter in this war would be gaining the support of the different Jaffa factions, of which there were many. The Traditionalists and the Progressives, were the two biggest factions of Jaffa, but even they were made of smaller groups. And since both the Traditionalists and the Progressives were pretty close in terms of military might, thought the Progressives had the bigger military, they would need to recruit the smaller groups into themselves so that one group could overpower the other and bring the remaining Jaffa into one of the two parties.
The party that won this war would decide the future of all Jaffa, and would have a massive impact on the whole galaxy. Which would affect my Confederation, hence why I had vested interest in the outcome of this war.
Since the Traditionalist followed Gerak, mostly because of his military strength, then he couldn't risk depleting those forces by attacking Chulak directly, as even if he won he wouldn't have the might to remain leader. So during this war he would try to increase his military strength, and perhaps he go as far as to destroy small Jaffa factions that refused to join him, so I doubted this civil war would decided any time soon.
"I'm concerned that Gerak, or at least some Jaffa under his command, will turn to raiding humans worlds in order to fuel their forces" I mentioned to Bra'tac.
The old warrior couldn't give me his undivided attention, as he had other people to talk to, but he made an effort to address what I had just spoken about.
"We will not be doing the same" he assured me "We understand that trade is important to the creation of a true nation, but we do not have the means to prevent Gerak's Jaffa from raiding human worlds".
I nodded in understanding.
"Then you won't object is I help to defend any human worlds from raiders" I said.
While I could just go to Dakara and blast the Traditionalists to pieces with my new plasma beams weapons and ion cannons, that wouldn't help Bra'tac as much as it might seem. For starters me going and killing a load of Jaffa wasn't going to help humans and Jaffa get along better, but also there were those even in the Progressive Party who believed that the Jaffa needed to forge their own future without human getting too involved in Jaffa business. They were far more willing to accept human aid in doing so, just on their terms, which meant if I won this war for them then they'd wonder really who was in charge. They might see Bra'tac as nothing more than a puppet of humans.
"I would not consider it an act of aggression against Jaffa as long as the Confederation only aided worlds in defending themselves, but if humans were to attack the Traditionalists openly then I would be honour bound to come to their defence" it was explained.
This was fine with me and I understood Bra'tac's reasoning. The Jaffa might be having their differences now, but they would still unite against an outside threat even if that threat was somewhat justified in attacking them. So I would not allow any counter attacks against Jaffa raiders, but I wouldn't have to worry about the Progressive Party going against me if I gave member worlds and allies better means of defending themselves.
After a message from Tali I knew that the human world called Langara was worried about larger raids and needed some means of protecting themself. Not that I was going to give them the good stuff since they weren't citizens of the Confederation.
"I'll oversee the delivery of the new gliders" I let Bra'tac know.
He was a busy man so I left him to his work and beamed back up to my ship.
(Line Break)
Annwn. Milky Way.
"This place is amazing" I heard Samantha Carter say.
The two of us were currently sitting on a balcony which gave us a stunning view of the city-ship. It was night, which meant that Annwn was all lit up. A city-ship in the dark when its lights are all is an impressive sight to say the least, and while I'd seen many wonders during my travels in different city-ships rate highly on a list of the most impressive.
"I'd claim that is was expensive, but I actually didn't pay much for it" I told Carter.
Currently the former air force officer and I were enjoying some wine, as well as some things to nibble on, my intention was to spend some time with this women before I bedded her. Perhaps I could have ordered into my bed, but it seemed wise to give her a chance to ease into her new life before starting a sexual relationship with her. No sense pressuring her when I already had a harem.
"Who did it belong to?" Samantha enquired.
No an easy question to answer.
"Well it was built by the Ancients, an early race of humans who have a complex history that you can read about whenever you wish" I began by saying "But this city-ship was in the possession of the people of world in the Pegasus galaxy, which is also full of humans that I can tell you all about".
Giving her the full history of this city-ship would require a long lecture that I was in no mood to give, and frankly if Carter wanted to be put to sleep by a long lecture she'd be better off seeking out Seven of Nine.
"This city-ship, or at least the main tower, was controlled about a ruling caste who could control Ancient tech to some degree thanks to a gene they possess" I explained "Which I also have and so do the Ancients".
I was able to give any human the gene and I likely would give Carter the treatment soon, once she understand that I could advance her biology or 'evolve' her as some people might put it.
"The nobles started off using the city-ship to protect the humans of that world from the Wraith, who are another long story, but they mostly used to terrorise and exploit the lower castes" I was now saying "Since the Wraith have been dealt with, which is again a long story, they don't really need the city-ship anymore, and I overthrew the nobles and help installed a new government".
They were now ruled by their elders who formed a council if I remembered correctly. Which seemed to a preferred method of governance on many worlds. It was sensible since you could do much worse than having the most experienced of your people make the hard choices.
"Later on I went back to the world and offered them whatever they wanted for the city-ship, and they were only using a small part of it" I said next "The people of that world were more concerned about crop failures and harsh winters than Ancient technology so I gave them a lot of supplies, stuff they actually needed, and took the city-ship in exchange".
I got the better side of that bargain for sure, but the village elders hadn't been foolish they'd asked for a lot of stuff that had real value to them, tools, clothes, blankets, food, the kind of stuff a medieval level of people actually need. Stuff that would help them should a famine start or the weather turn very bad.
"So you own all of this" Carter realised.
In a sense.
"Well I always intended for Annwn to become the centre of a human civilization that spans many worlds" I said "So it belongs to the Confederation to me, I figured it could do the most good here".
Carter seemed amazed.
"The sheer scale of what you're doing is staggering" she stated "Uniting so many worlds, it doesn't seem possible".
My advanced mind allowed to me envision many things. Including Carter while she was naked.
"Possible or not we're doing it" I said.
I decided to change the subject.
"What about you?" I asked "I know that Miranda wants to place in the science division, but if you want to do some exploring you're welcome to come out and about with me. You know see something of the galaxy. There are thousands of habitable planets in the case alone we have access to many galaxies, there's a lot to see".
I could tell that she was tempted by the offer, and once I'd wowed her a bit with some cool sights, then I'd invite her to my bedroom. I was sure that she wouldn't be able to resist.