Robotech: The Stargate Saga Version 2.1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and universes that I am about to mangle around and mash together for my own demented author amusement – sadly all Robotech and Stargate characters and concepts remain the property of Harmony Gold and MGM respectively – I am merely borrowing them and make absolutely no profit from their use. As a result, please keep the legal attack dogs – also known as lawyers – firmly muzzled and on a leash as I have no money to give to anyone.

Chapter Nine

Security Section

Fort Minotaur, Crete

Next Day

"You don't have to do this Nathan."

Sitting in one of the small individual rooms in the security section of the vast subterranean complex that was Fort Minotaur, Nathan Hunter smiled slightly at the tone of his mother's voice. He knew that she meant well, and that she was trying to protect him as she had always tried to do, especially given the emotional breakdown he'd had yesterday after he'd first woken up and remembered everything that had happened to him from the moment he had gone to that disco. From that lovely young girl Elena – who he knew now to be the personal attendant and senior servant, or lotaur, to Vosegus – slipping his more than half drunk by then self a tablet that at the time he had thought to be either ecstasy or one of those new designer drugs, derived from a biological application of robotechnology. that had been making its way through the club scenes around the world to falling victim to the mind-control agent and implanted command in the drug.

He remembered waking up in the middle of the night, hearing the gentle snores of his mother sleeping in the next room, and overriding command an urge to leave and go to serve who was calling him. He remembered writing the note and slipping out into the night, using the old exterior fire escape so the night staff in reception wouldn't see him and going across town to where a bus was waiting. A bus filled with other young people, mostly males but some females, which had taken them away.

And into a new life that he could only describe as a nightmare.

First, he had been just another brainwashed foot soldier/worshipper, but eventually how Vosegus had seen something in him and decided to use him in an experiment that was frankly like something out of Marvel Comics. How his very nature and body had been changed by said experiment, right before he had been hooked up to a strange alien machine – that he now knew to have been a neuro-somatic imprinter – and become someone else. How he became Prime first of the Jaftari and everything that had happened since. Everything he as that other person had done, finally leading an attack here on this base to acquire the Stargate for Vosegus so the self-proclaimed god could return to the stars after several millennia of being stranded on Earth. And how he was lucky to even be alive after that attack as if Prime hadn't charged what he now knew to be Rick's veritech he would have been dead, blown apart by 55mm hypervelocity autocannon rounds at point blank range.

"No, I need to do this mom," Nathan replied, even as he inwardly shivered at just how close to death, he – or should that be the other him? – had come to dying when he'd unknowingly tangled with his own cousin. He'd looked up what Rick had been up to on the base internet last night and it had been obvious that he really, really was lucky to be alive as not only was Rick an ace pilot many times over but he had shown himself, alongside the likes of someone called Max Sterling, to be one of the most lethal combat pilots in history. "I need to talk to the people here. I need to tell them what I know now that I am me again and can think for myself again."

"But do you have too so soon?" Maria asked looking worriedly at her son. He looked much better now dressed in a pair of blue denim jeans, a white tank top and a matching blue denim jacket fabricated for him by some robotech device in the personnel department. Though she still wasn't used to his size now, this morning she had, still addled by sleep, expected to see him as he had been before a six-foot beanpole not someone who looked like a professional bodybuilder or a post-serum Captain America. Seeing Nathan with such massive muscles was going to take a hell of a lot of time for her to get used to.

"They need to know mom," Nathan answered, "they need to know about him. Yeah, the base beneath Marmolada has been destroyed by an ark bomb but there are others. Not to mention numerous safe houses and hideaways all over Europe and beyond. Vosegus will be back, and he will want to strike back hard at his will being thwarted in the way it has been not just in failing to get hold of the Stargate but failing to… well kill me."

Maria frowned slightly wondering what on Earth a Stargate was. Was it some new robotechnology device, from its name likely related to interstellar or interplanetary transport, which was being developed here? She made a mental note to ask Rick about it later. Assuming he knew anything about it and assuming he would be allowed to tell her. "Are you sure you'll be okay though? I mean what you went through it …"

"…I know it was hellish," Nathan finished for her though for some reason after his initial freak out and breakdown he wasn't that bothered by it. As while it had been his body that had done the things that Prime had done, it hadn't been him. "But while I remember all of it, I know that it wasn't me that did it but The Other Guy." Maria chuckled slightly as he said that or rather the way Nathan said it. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Mom!"

"It's silly but the way you said that it reminded me of how Bruce Banner described the Hulk in the Avengers movie that came out just before the Rain."

Nathan laughed, though he had not seen the movie – Vosegus never wanted his slave soldiers to see anything other than what served his interests, of the world outside either the surface villa or the underground part of his base – he was familiar enough with the character of Bruce Banner to be able to hear him describe his superstrong mutant alter ego like that. "Though I don't turn big, green and mean when mad," he pointed out still chuckling a little.

Maria nodded in agreement and was about to reply when the door to the room opened and a middle-aged man in UEDF officers uniform wearing the rank insignia of a colonel came into the room. Neither Nathan nor Maria recognised him but then there were a lot of people on the base and outside of Rick, Doctor Johnson, and Commander Hayes they hadn't seen that many people at all. Which was understandable given that they had only really seen a small part of the base.

"Nathan Hunter, Maria Hunter?" he asked.

"Yes," Maria confirmed for the two of them.

"Allow me to introduce myself I am Colonel Paul Davis, UEDF Intelligence. I have been tasked with carrying out this initial debriefing," the man said speaking with a clear American accent, specifically the accent one would have picked up if they had spent a lot of time working in Washington DC – well before the city, like so many others around the world, was utterly annihilated in a quantum firestorm following a direct reflex cannon hit. As he spoke Davis took a seat opposite them before taking a small recording device out of a pocket in his uniform, placed it on the table and activated it.

"Before we continue, I must advise you, especially you Miss Hunter, that the contents of this debriefing are classified under Platinum One level security you cannot discuss with anyone without the proper clearance what we will be discussing here. Violating this will have very severe consequences up to an including imprisoned in a secure detention facility on the moon," Davis said and held up a hand to forestall the question that he could see appearing on their lips. "You do not have to worry Captain Hunter does have Platinum One clearance by direct order of Admiral Gloval."

"So, we can talk to Rick about this," Nathan asked to confirm even as he wondered just what Rick had done, what he knew, to have been given such a high security clearance by Admiral Gloval.

"Yes. Especially as he has already seen the Stargate."

"What is that anyway," Maria asked her curiosity about the device finally getting the better of her. She just hoped that this Colonel Davis would be willing, and able, to tell her, "some kind of new robotech device? Assuming you can tell me."

"No, it isn't a product of robotechnology and yes, I can tell you. The Stargate – or as the Zentraedi call it Star Portal - is an alien device created millions of years ago by an ancient, unknown race that the Zentraedi, and their creators the Tirolians, known only as the Old Ones," Davis explained, "it was recently rediscovered on this planet after being buried beneath the Giza Plateau for six to seven millennia, the exact length of time it has been buried is hard to pin down all we know is it dates back to the earliest part of Egyptian history. We are still working out how it works but so far, we know it folds space to create stable, traversable wormholes inside a planetary gravity well in defiance of all laws of physics as we understand them.

"As I understand it there are already plans being developed to reveal its existence to the public now that we know how it works," Davis continued knowing that while some in the UEG and the Defence Council wanted to keep the existence of this device and its abilities secret its usefulness to the Gloval Initiative made that impossible. Of course, revealing it would come with its own problems especially from rival power blocs like EBSIS and the breakaway states who would surely demand access to it themselves. "However, until that time you are forbidden to speak of it to anyone who does not already know. Do you understand and accept this?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Very well then. Let us begin," Davis said, "Nathan how would you like me to address you?"

"Calling me by my first name is fine," Nathan answered with a smile. He didn't like it when someone did the whole Mr Hunter thing with regards to him. It always made him want to look around for Uncle Mitch, though even Uncle Mitch hadn't liked being called Mr Hunter. To the point that almost everyone who knew him simply called him Pops.

"Alright then Nathan it is. Since you know why you are here, I won't insult you by summarising the events that have led us to this point. What we want to know first from you is what do you know about Vosegus. Who and what is he? And what does the term Jaftari mean?"

"He's a Goa'uld," Nathan answered. As Prime he had been permitted to read a lot of information in the database that Vosegus had maintained, conditioned as he had been Prime had seen it all as proof of Vosegus divinity and his own destiny to serve him. "When you look at him, you'll see a human man, but he isn't in any way human."

"So, he's a humanoid alien much like a Zentraedi?"

"No. The human you see is simply a host body that he's inhabiting. You see Goa'uld – the name means 'God' in their language – are sentient parasites that invade a body and take over complete control of it. I actually don't know what his real form looks like. The last host he was in was a Prussian officer he took as a host early in the Napoleonic Wars after his previous host was mortally wounded. Apparently Goa'uld can keep a host alive for centuries, but they do have limits as it was obvious to everyone that his host was dying. Which was why he was creating a new cloned body for himself using customised DNA and some technology and a glowing liquid material that he acquired from somewhere – where I do not know."

"Glowing liquid material? Was it pink or purple?"

Nathan frowned thoughtfully and searched his memory for one of the few times Prime had been in the cloning lab usually when acting as a bodyguard for his master. "It was purple," he said at last with some level of confidence in his voice.

Davis frowned in concern. "Biomedical grade protoculture," he stated identifying the material. "The fact that he has some, and certainly a cloning tank, is very concerning. Do you know what this new clone would look like?"

"I'm afraid not though he certainly moved into it before arming the self-destruct of his Dolomite Base. The Other Guy wasn't one to hang around the lab sections."

"Understandable," Davis commented seeing the logic in that as it was simple compartmentalisation. "Though what's a Jaftari?"

"It means enhanced warrior, a version of a type of enhanced human used as a warrior caste by the Goa'uld across their empire assuming it still exists," Nathan answered then paused a moment as he took in, really for the first time what it meant for him. While he wasn't Prime anymore, he himself was still a Jaftari and not a normal human and never would be again. "Jaftari is what Prime was and what I still technically am since the biological changes cannot be undone. All the training is still here in my head, and I obviously will still have the muscle memory. Not to mention the biological abilities."

"What kind of abilities," Maria wondered curious despite herself – and her deep hatred for what that, that parasite had done to her son and who knew how many others – what Nathan was capable of now.

Nathan sighed. "Enhanced strength for one," he admitted. "I am way stronger than a normal human to the point that I can bench two thousand pounds for several reps."

"Jesus," Davis muttered knowing that was way above the current world record for the heaviest single bench press and Nathan as Prime – and certainly still as himself – could do that for multiple repetitions? It certainly said scary things about the knowledge that Vosegus – and by extension other Goa'uld – of biogenetic manipulation that they could do give a human such strength. "And there are more Jaftari?"

"Not that many only a few hundred, a thousand at the most," Nathan answered, "I think Vosegus meant us to be more of an elite unit or a praetorian guard. The bulk of his available soldiers are simply brainwashed minions."

"Brainwashed with the same biological component as you initially were and who the guy who tried to kill you still is?"

"Yes. I don't know how it works but I know it's called nish'ta and is most effective when released in a gaseous form. I also know its vulnerable to an electric shock and apparently cannot be reapplied once it has been neutralised by such a shock," Nathan added even as he recalled the handful of times Prime had seen one of Vosegus followers/worshippers get a powerful enough zap. They would blink and act confused then terrified and would quickly be disposed of instead of being reinfected. "If anyone got such a shock they would afterwards be routinely killed."

"Interesting. Given that his base has been destroyed what do you believe Vosegus will do now?"

"He has other bases and numerous safe houses. Unfortunately, I don't know where any of them are as the locations would only be revealed in an emergency, but I know there are dozens across Europe alone – safe houses I mean. He will move between them for a while, he can be quite paranoid about pursuit, before he settles on a new base location. Once he does, he'll want to strike back at you for thwarting his acquisition of the Stargate. What form that retaliation will take I can't say."

"Is there anything else you can tell us about his organization?"

"Yes. It will take a while, but I'll tell you everything that I know, you'll need it if you're to stop whatever counterstrike he has in mind."

"We have time this is after all only an initial debrief. Perhaps you could start by giving us an overview of what forces Vosegus has at his command."

Nathan nodded in understanding and beginning to detail what he knew.

Wind Tunnel

Fort Minotaur

A Few Hours Later

Brigadier General Jack O'Neill would admit, if asked, to being somewhat nervous as he gazed down the length of the wind tunnel at the Stargate. He had seen and done a lot of things over the course of his military career from serving during the Cold War to a very nasty experience during the Gulf War and even served during the Global Civil War. Though he had spent that conflict as a teacher at the United States Air Force academy in Colorado Springs, an assignment that he had initially taken to be closer to home after Charlie had scared both him Sara half to death when he accidentally shot himself – thankfully non-fatally as despite what Hollywood showed unless something vital was hit getting shot wouldn't kill you – with his personal sidearm, though to this day he didn't understand how Charlie got his hands on it that day as it was always securely stored. Back before that he had seen and done some crazy things

Still those exploits were nothing compared to what he was going to be doing in another few minutes.

In another couple of minutes, he - and a sizeable detachment of combat engineers, scientists, cave explorers and soldiers – including Ferretti's STORM Commando unit – would be passing through the Stargate to the planet that had been discovered nearly a day ago when the gate had first been activated. He had watched it be activated several times over the last couple of hours – and watched as construction drones and as many supplies and equipment as could be sent through and was actually available here or nearby as at least two of the shipments had come directly from warehouses in Heraklion – but that was very different to knowing that he would soon be stepping through that thing.

He couldn't help but wonder what the bloody hell he had been thinking when he accepted this assignment. Oh, he knew that establishing an outpost on the planet, which could eventually form the foundations of humanities first extrasolar colony world, was important. As loath as he was to agree with a Russian on anything – like far too many of his generation he couldn't quite give up the distrust of Russians that had been drummed into him from birth due to the Cold War that had been raging at the time – he had to admit that Admiral Gloval had a point about they needing to move beyond the cradle of Earth. Especially given the bullet of extinction that they had so narrowly dodged during the Robotech War. He just had to admit he would have rather travelled on one of the Zentraedi ships that would be heading to the system sometime in the next hour or so – loaded with all those supplies that either couldn't make it here in time or were too bulky, not to mention a lot more people as well as satellites that would survey the planet from orbit – than get reduced to a datastream and shot down a wormhole.

An armoured hand being waved in front of his face made him jump. Blushing slightly in embarrassment, he realized he had gotten so lost in thought that he had been ignoring someone talking to him. Looking over he saw Ferretti standing there, the helmet of his Tristen powered armour under one arm, looking at him in concern. It had been an incredible surprise to see Ferretti and Kowalski again – though he'd only seen the latter briefly when he'd arrived as the man was being run ragged organising everything – after so many years. And a little shocking how both men had changed but especially Ferretti.

Back when they'd served together – before Charlie's accident had changed the course of not just his career but his life with Sara, especially as soon after he settled into his new job at the Air Force Academy both he and Sara had been surprised when she became pregnant again bringing there twin daughters into the world nine months later – Ferretti had always been slim enough that you would think a stiff breeze would blow him over. Now he was anything but, he was noticeably bigger and – from what he'd heard about the augmentations given to STORM Commandoes – strong as an Ox even without the assistance of the nano-muscle servos in his armour.

"Hey you okay Jack," Ferretti asked his old CO, "you seemed miles away there."

"I was," Jack admitted with a smile, "just thinking about what's going to happen in another couple of minutes at the most."

"You mean the transit through the Stargate?"

"Yeah. The idea of being converted into a datastream and shot through a wormhole its…"

"… like something out of that sci-fi show, you always used to love," Ferretti finished recalling that Jack had had a major love for Star Trek. Though he would bite the head off anyone who dared to call him a Trekkie to his face.

"Well yeah," Jack admitted a moment before General Richards came into the repurposed wind tunnel and moved to the front. Okay here we go, he thought swallowing down his nerves as he watched the other man gather himself and prepare to speak.

"May have everyone's attention please," Richards called out drawing everyone's attention. As soon as he was sure everyone was looking and listening, he spoke again. "I have been informed that the three Zentraedi vessels being sent to support and assist in the exploration of the newly discovered system have finished taking on supplies and personnel and are now leaving orbit. As soon as they reach fold clearance they will travel to the system.

"Thus, it is now time for you to embark on the journey yourselves via the gate behind me," Richards continued. "I have been instructed by the Defence Council to offer you all one last chance to back out of this mission. If you chose to do so there will be no political blowback or for military personnel, any effect on your careers going forward. Does anyone wish to leave?"

Richards looked around and waited for anyone to indicate that they indeed wanted to back out of this at the last minute. He would not have blamed anyone for wanting to back out at the last minute. There was after all still so much that they didn't know about the Stargate while they could operate the thing the mechanics of how it worked, and even what actually going through the wormhole it created would do to a person, were all still unknowns. Potentially very dangerous unknowns, especially as the Zentraedi legends that Minister Exedore was still hunting down on the Stargates/Star Portals were not that helpful.

Despite understanding why some would want to back out at the last minute he was both pleased and proud that nobody moved or made any sign of taking up the offer.

"Excellent," he said at last before looking at where Doctor Carter was standing ready to, once again, operate the dialling device. "Commence the dialling sequence."

As he spoke, he moved off to the side to watch. He wasn't the only one, everyone watched the Stargate as Carter began entering the sequence of symbols. Since this was the first manned mission through the gate to another world, she had elected to enter the symbols herself this time unlike the last few dial outs which had been handled by one of her lab technicians. In no time at all she had imparted the seventh and final symbol and pressed down on the commit dome.

Jack O'Neill could only gasp in awe as with a roar of unfathomable, but at the same time undeniably ethereal, power the Stargate came to life. The vortex momentarily shooting towards them – moving almost like an explosion of silver-blue energy – before dropping back into the gate and stabilizing into the shimmering, water-like surface of the wormholes event horizon. In some ways it was an even more incredible thing to see that some of what robotechnology could do, and yet as he saw it, he felt something stir deep within him. Something that he couldn't put his finger on, but which made him feel like he should know this thing, this Stargate. The same feeling that said everything would be alright and that it was safe to transfer. What the hell is this feeling, he wondered before mentally shrugging. There would be time to think about it later.

"Alright people listen up," he said taking charge as had already been decided when he spoke with Richards earlier. "We go through two by two with several steps between each duo going through. Colonel Ferretti and I will go through first. Everyone understand?"

A chorus of understanding came from the assembled group prompting a smile to appear on Jack's face and he looked back over at Ferretti. To see that the other man had now put his helmet on though he had left the visor transparent instead of silvering it as was the norm for a STORM Commando going on a mission. The look on his face saying, 'you ready?' Ferretti nodded back and hefted his beam rifle to the ready position. There had been no sign of anyone or anything inhabiting the cave system where the gate was on any of the drone feeds but one could never, ever be too careful.

Jack steeled his nerves – damned he was out of practice with things like this if he was this nervous, he had gotten way too soft over his years as an instructor – set his shoulders and resolutely began walking towards the shimmering event horizon. Ferretti matched his pace, moving almost completely silently despite the powered armour he was wearing, he was so silent that if he hadn't been visible in his peripheral vision Jack wouldn't have known he was there.

In moments the two men reached the water-like wall of energy, took one last look at each other to make sure that they were both ready for this. Then, in unison, they resolutely stepped through…

…and into the unknown.

Authors Notes: Well, another chapter of this reboot, this one completely new, bites the metaphorical dust I hope you all enjoyed it. Now before anyone starts telling me that there is no way that Nathan – even when he was Prime – would be able to know the things he knows about Vosegus remember that Vosegus is a Goa'uld who comes from before Ra outlawed humans from reading and writing after the uprising on Earth that drove them away. Indeed, he is from the time when the Goa'uld actually taught their human slaves how to do that, and as far as Vosegus was concerned anything his slaves/worshippers learned would – filtered by their conditioning – only prove his divinity to them.

On another note, if anyone is curious the maximum amount of weight ever bench pressed by a human being is one thousand, six hundred and fifty pounds or six hundred and twelve point five kilograms by American powerlifter Jimmy Kolb. Which should tell you just how strong Nathan is now and by extension how strong other Jaftari are to say nothing of regular Jaffa who thanks to having baby Goa'uld in their abdominal pouches are stronger still. Until next time.