Starborn Smith [Stargate, Battletech Multicross]

- - -

POV: Arthur Sinclair

I poured over the wards that had been dumped into my mind. If I didn't know any better, I would have just assumed that they were random markings. Somehow, every Stargate had wards built into them that – when combined with the dematerializer – meant that any Daemon would be shredded and turned into the purest of soul energy. 

This had to be 40K…. Was this universe a 40K crossover as well? Ohhh dear god. 

Elder James approached me. "Arthur? Is everything alright?"

I stared up at him for several long moments. "No, Elder. I'm afraid it definitely isn't. We need to go somewhere quiet for a few bit."

The Elder furrowed his brows and nodded, gesturing for me to follow him. 

We walked a short way to a nearby guard post, where the Elder closed the door. He nodded "Alright. What's the problem?"

I was silent for a few moments as I considered how I needed to go about explaining this. "So, Elder, I got the final part of the Stargate blueprint."

He nodded. "Okay, so what's the issue?"

"So… erm… the final part is magical… actually, psionic would be a better term…"

Elder James' eyes narrowed to slits. "Explain. In detail."

So, I did just that. I told him what the wards on the Stargate did, as well as what they were meant to be used against.

Elder James stood against a wall, tapping his finger against his forearm. "And this information is all from the blueprint?"

I shook my head. "No, this is another one of the franchises I recognize from my memories."

The Elder let out a deep sigh. "Alright. When we return, we're doing a complete rundown of this new franchise."

I nodded. "Yes. Elder."

We exited the small guard post and I followed Elder James down a rather large main road. There was a lot of extra room on either side of the path. After nearly thirty minutes of walking, we arrived at a small building. Entering, we found Ma'chello hard at work over a table covered with papers. 

Ma'chello looked up at us. "Ahh! Arthur, James, you're here. I was wondering when you'd be arriving."

He chuckled lightly. "You know, I always wanted to be an architect. I forgot about that for a while… It's really nice to be able to live this dream."

Elder James smiled lightly. "I'm glad we could be of help." 

The Elder turned to me next, "I'll leave you to it. Feel free to head for the gate when you're finished."

I nodded and the Elder left. I turned to Ma'chello and smiled brightly. "Well, are you ready to get to work?"

He chuckled lightly as well. "More than you could possibly know."

I nodded and sat down at one of the chairs. Ma'chello started. "I've looked over the blueprint for your constructor, and we have initial locations set aside for the first production lines." 

I smiled. "Excellent. Let's get to work then."

- - -

POV: James Cromwell

I had been waiting for the sarcophagus to open for nearly 45 minutes now. Inside, was one Major Marcus Novak, the highest ranking officer onboard the Manassas – even outranking me – and the commanding officer of the SLS Claymore, the Dropship which had been locked down for entirely too long. 

Finally, after what felt like hours, the doors ground open. Several seconds passed and the major sat up. He stared at me for several moments, and I stared back. This man very much had the ability to make my life a living hell – he had done just that during Operation EXODUS. 

I performed a textbook salute, "Major Novak."

He stared at me for several long moments. "What the hell happened to you, Cromwell?"

I smiled bitterly. "Well sir, it's been thirty years since you entered the Stasis Tubes."

He narrowed his eyes on me. "Explain."

I returned my arm to rest and continued. "Sir, the Manassas suffered a second Missjump, which resulted in the release of a fatal wave of ionizing radiation. Everyone who was not on the command deck was killed."

He continued to stare at me for several, long moments. "This isn't the time for jokes, Cromwell."

I nodded. "I am aware of that sir. This isn't a joke."

He stared at me for several long moments as he started to stand up. "Captain, I am ordering you to tell me what is going on."

A light cough came from my right, and the Major turned. Lieutenant Moretti spoke, "Major Novak, for the next ten days, you are not fit for duty."

He raised an eyebrow, "Lieutenant Moretti, what the hell is going on."

The Lieutenant nodded, "It's exactly as Captain Cromwell said, sir. All of us were killed during the second miss jump. The device used to revive you has some rather… unfortunate side effects."

The Major stared at the Lieutenant. "Elaborate."

The Lieutenant nodded. "For three days after use, you will have trouble sleeping, but you will mostly feel the same as you do now. Effects are similar to being slightly drunk and on stimulants. This will also lead to feelings of megalomania and slightly elevated egotism. After three days – assuming you've only used the device once – you will feel slightly more exhausted, as well as slight soreness and stiffness."

She coughed. "Excessive release of dopamine during the initial three-day period seems to have a worsening effect on the following withdrawals. If you want to do the most to mitigate follow on effects, then I would recommend that you do as little as possible. I haven't personally seen any of the long-term effects, but apparently it leads to intense feelings of superiority, and the withdrawal symptoms grow significantly worse with extended use."

The Major seemed to turn introspective. After a few moments he nodded. "I understand. For the next ten days, I am off-duty."

He turned his attention to me once more. "I would still like an explanation as to what is going on, Cromwell."

I nodded. "I'd be more than happy to provide an extensive rundown, sir."

I led the Major out of the resurrection room – as it had been dubbed by almost everyone – and out of Ares' Flagship. I was hoping that we weren't late, and I was quite lucky that we weren't. 

The Major looked at the seven absolutely massive pyramidal ships – each nearly rivaling an Aegis in both length and width. "Cromwell, what the hell is going on?"

I nodded. "Well sir, those are ships. Capable of taking flight within a gravity well. In fact, if you give it… approximately thirty minutes, I think you'll be able to get a demonstration of their capabilities."

He gulped and nodded. "Well, then we have time to wait then. Tell me what's happened while I've been out."

I nodded and began explaining the immediate aftermath of the second missjump.

I hadn't even known that anything had gone wrong until I realized that all of Engineering had gone radio silent. The realization that most of the crew was dead had been crushing; the discovery that everyone who had been in Stasis was shattering. In total, thirteen of us had survived. 

From there, it was a two-week burn to the single inhabitable world in the nearby star system. It was during this time that Alistair — or rather the Cobalt Eye — had found the location of Terra, 32,188 Light Years from our current location. 

All of us had been lost on what to do. Then we arrived in orbit of the world — named Nekhara by the natives — and discovered the existence of the Stargate. 

The existence of Humans so far from Terra was concerning enough, but when we caught sight of the Jaffa for the first time, it became clear that there was something else going on. 

We had been walking for a while now, and the Stargate appeared in a clearing surrounded by several vessels and Jaffa constantly on guard. "We found something; something that would give the Star League at its peak a hissy fit. That." I pointed at the Stargate.

The Major raised an eyebrow and I continued. "That is a wormhole generator capable of opening a portal to any similar device in the galaxy." 

The Major's eyebrows shot up and he stared at the Stargate. "Bullshit."

I smiled and looked down at my watch. The Major had really awoken at the perfect time. "In thirty seconds, the device will activate and one of our Survey Teams will be coming through."

Just as I had said, thirty seconds later the device started dialing. Within moments, the blue wirlpool of the forming event horizon jumped to life. I could see the awe that appeared on the Major's face.

We watched in silence as the team walked through the gate and how the gate deactivated behind them. Looking rather nervous, Major Novak spoke. "Will we be going through that?" 

I nodded. "In a bit. The demonstration is still in order."

He nodded and I continued the rest of my explanation. From my time living among the people of the village all the way to Ares' attack took me thirty minutes. It was at this moment that my radio crackled.

"This is Arthur. Ha'tak #3 is clear for takeoff."

I smiled at the Major and turned to point at one of the Ha'taks. "Watch that."

And we did, steadily the Ha'tak lifted into the air. I felt the slightest hum as it did so, but there was no sound, not even a breeze to indicate the movement of such a massive object.

For a moment, I completely forgot that the Major was even with me. "Cromwell, what the hell is that ship?"

I nodded. "Major, it's time I explained the nature of the Goa'uld Empire."

- - -

One Month Later

Arktos stood in what had once been Ares' city on Mycena. Surrounding him were more than 10,000 Jaffa. Every single one of them watched with rapt attention as Arktos began his speech. Behind him was a massive several meter tall bonfire. He began, and his voice was amplified so that it would reach the entire crowd. "Many months ago, Ares was defeated. It did not come as we expected. No, it was easier than we could have ever imagined." 

He looked around him before he continued. "Now, we remain here. Our only masters are ourselves, but we are not free. Still, we use their weapons, fly their ships, speak their words. All of us still have a prim'ta, within each of us. I cannot truly free you, but I have done everything I can."

The silence was deafening, and finally he continued. "Today, we are no longer Jaffa – no longer servants. From today onwards, we are Serkha – we are Free."

It was then that the cheering began. Arktos, for the first time since I had met him, began to remove his armor in full view of all 10,000 Jaffa – no, in full view of the 10,000 Serkha. 

As he removed his armor, he did something else. He grabbed a knife – the crowd instantly turned completely silent – and began to peel the golden symbol of Ares from his brow. I almost wanted to go up and stop him, but Elder James placed a hand on my shoulder. "He has to do this. Lieutenant Moretti will take a look at him after he is done."

I nodded and continued to watch. Slowly, methodically, Arktos peeled the golden sigil from his brow. I swear I could see the blood drip into his eyes, but he didn't blink even once. Finally, after almost three minutes, the golden sigil came off his forehead. Arktos seemed to look at it for a moment, before he turned and threw it into the flames. 

In the crowd, the first of the chants began. "Arktos! Arktos! Arktos!"

I nearly shuddered. What could cause people to follow another so fervently? Arktos raised his fist; the entire crowd instantly turned silent. "I know many of you follow me. You do not understand what it is that I see, or why I do what I do. I hope that will change in time."

He let out a deep sigh. "From now on, we are no longer Jaffa. We are Sekha. Thank you all, for following me this far."

We returned to the village that night, and I met up with the Elders onboard the bridge of the Leopard SLS Somerset. 

Elder James nodded as everyone settled down. "Alright, Arthur, how much time is left in that timer."

I looked into my mind and checked the time before the next perk pull. "One minute."

He nodded and we all waited silently. Suddenly, I noticed a single, small star in my mind. It began to fall and a tendril slowly guided it directly to me. I watched as it slowly fell directly into a fire. Everyone in the room practically jumped at once.

1st Perk: (Previous Points: 350, Subtracted: 50, Current Points: 300)

- Domain: Toolkits: Mundane

- Title: Diagnostic Tools

- Universe: Outlaw Star

- Description:

 A small data display with numerous connectors and scanners, capable of letting

 you know what is wrong with simple technology and what advanced technology that

 has been programmed into it. * Portable, can detect what's wrong with simple

 tech and do the same for advanced tech that you program into it. * Keep in mind

 'simple' is a lot lot higher than modern tech for this scanner, it's from a

 space fiction.

Interaction Between 1st Perk: Dr Shen, I presume? and 3rd Perk: Diagnostic Tools 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Advanced Diagnostic Tool

I turned to look at the nearby holotable where a tablet-shaped device had seemingly appeared out of thin air. Everyone in the room looked somewhat spooked. 

"Well," I said, "That's convenient."