Starborn Smith [Stargate, Battletech Multicross]

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POV: Arthur Sinclair

The SLS Claymore had three separate Biolabs, each kitted out with the greatest tech the Star League had at its peak. This was where Major Novak and Lieutenant Sterling went as soon as they were back from their meeting with Astrocreator Azaryn. I didn't even know they were back until an hour after they had returned. 

As I found my way onboard the Claymore, I was unsurprised to find it buzzing with activity. The vessel's crew were hard at work checking the equipment and reinsulating chambers of the various biolabs to ensure that they were safe for active use. 

I approached a conference room on the floor and knocked once before entering. Inside I found both the Major and the Lieutenant, as well as another half-dozen of the dropship's crew. They all turned to me as I entered. I coughed once. "I was told that you brought something back."

Major Novak nodded. "A bacterium of some kind. The astrocreator said we were to neutralize it before we were to return to her."

I raised an eyebrow. "Could I see a sample of it?" 

The Major narrowed his eyebrows. "I don't believe you have any training in the handling of unknown pathogens. May I ask why?"

I wasn't really sure how to answer that. After a few moments, "Let me get Elder James and we can discuss this."

The Major shrugged as I took a seat. He continued discussing the initial reports of the bacterium with the others in the room while I waited for Elder James to arrive. I saw him coming a little over an hour later. I quickly exited the room so that I could talk to him before he entered. "The Major brought something back with him, and I think my first perk could help. Do you think it would be alright to tell the Major about the Forge?"

Elder James rubbed his jaw for a moment before nodding. "I don't see why not. He was loyal to the Star league. I doubt what amounts to a literal divine intervention would lead to him questioning anything."

With that in mind, we entered the conference room. The Major looked at us and nodded to the others. "Alright, you all know what you're doing. Get to work." 

We waited for everyone to file out before Elder James began explaining the nature of the Celestial Forge. The Major looked shocked at first. That skepticism remained active for the entirety of the explanation. Finally, he turned to me; we looked at each other for a few long moments. "You sure that this isn't some other kind of… I don't know… prank?"

Elder James almost snorted. "I assume it's possible. I have yet to come up with a better explanation than Arthur's own."

The Major looked very confused for several long moments before he finally righted himself. "Well, I suppose it won't be the first time that a Cameron has had visions." 

We stared at each other for several minutes. "Right, let's get you into that hazmat suit and we'll see what this Forge of yours can do."

Thirty minutes later, I was in one of the secure biolabs, wearing that Hazmat suit, and staring at an empty looking petri dish. I looked at the Major outside the window. He didn't seem to react, so I reached forward and picked it up. 

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: Azaryn's Gift

Cell Wall

It seemed like a pretty normal cell wall. Then again, Biology had not been my strong suit during class, in either of my lives.

I exited the Biolab, and after changing back into my normal outfit, I returned to the conference room to find Elder James, Lieutenant Sterling, and Major Novak all waiting for me.

I could almost see the energy sparking off of the Lieutenant with how excited she seemed to be. I carefully took a seat and began explaining the partial blueprint that the Celestial Forge had given me. 

My explanation continued for almost two full hours before I had finally completed the whole thing. The Lieutenant in particular was extremely invested in everything I said. 

She and the Major seemed to converse between themselves, totally lost in discussing the nature of the strange, plant-like cell wall that this bacterium used for self defence. I coughed once and the two looked up at me. "Was that any help?"

The Lieutenant nodded immediately. "Oh absolutely. You probably shaved a week of initial testing from the problem."

I nodded and stood up. "Well, I'll be on my way then. I have to get back to my own projects."

The two of them saw me and Elder James off as we left. 

As I walked towards the Gate, I was surprised to see several more spheroid dropships landed on the ground. Raising an eyebrow, I turned to the Elder. "Why are those down here?"

The Elder didn't even blink. "We're unloading the Manassas. She's about ready for a test of her Jump Drive. In a few days time, they'll be burning for the System's Zenith."

I blinked. "They were moving pretty fast then."

The Elder chuckled lightly. "They've been working on repairs for almost a full year now… huh."

I looked up at him, questioningly. He smiled. "It's been more than a full year since we defeated Ares."

I stared at him, letting his words sink in for several moments, before I pulled out my compad to double check. "366 days…" I looked up at the Elder. "You should bring it up with the others when you get the chance. Some sort of celebration would be nice. It would probably make for a nice morale boost."

He nodded. "Speaking of, Ma'chello and Arktos have requested your presence during the next meeting. It'll be in two days' time."

I groaned. "I barely had the time for this. How the hell am I supposed to make time for another meeting?"

I turned towards the gate as the Elder responded. "You'll make the time. The others know of your memories, and about the Celestial Forge. You'll be there to explain it to them more in depth."

I nodded, and we returned through the gate to Kaelastrum. From there, it was back to my hangar. 

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Two Days Later. 

I entered the primary office on Kaelastrum. On the top floor in an office, I entered to find Elder James, Ma'chello, and Arktos already waiting for me. 

Everyone nodded to me once, and Ma'chello gestured for me to take a seat. I did so and Ma'chello began the meeting. "Arthur, James here has told us of your memories, and of your ability. The Celestial Forge, as you call it."

I nodded and so began the meeting. Ma'chello and Arktos had already been briefed in full by the Elder, but they clearly wanted to go over all the material again. It was once we were getting to the nature of how my first perk worked that things got interesting. 

"So, if you have ownership of something, then you can get the blueprint for it?" Ma'chello spoke to me, his voice serious.

I nodded and he continued. "So how far does that… 'ownership' extend?"

I frowned. After a bit of thought I answered. "As far as I can tell, anything that the village owns is considered part of the stuff that I 'own'."

Ma'chello and Arktos looked between each other, before Ma'chello continued. "So if we decided to give you all of our technology, let you get the blueprint for it, and then had you return that stuff to us, would that count?"

I frowned. "I suppose it's possible. I don't believe we've tested it yet."

They looked at each other. After a moment they seemed to be in agreement. "Then let's test it." 

From the cloth sack beside his chair, Ma'chello removed a weapon of some sort. Looking at it, I saw that it was one of the Lightning Bolts, a Pre-Invasion Dendredan pistol. Ma'chello passed the weapon over to me. 

He nodded at me to take it. I reached across the table and grabbed it. Nothing. I looked up at Ma'chello and shook my head. 

He seemed to nod in understanding. "Alright, I'm giving you this weapon."

Still there was nothing. I blinked. I looked between Ma'chello and the weapon a few times. "Still nothing."

He stared at me for several long moments, and he seemed to make a decision, before his mouth even began to move, my perk activated.

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint: Plasma Pistol (Κεραυνός Εκδοχή 3 - Lightningbolt Version 3)

Naquadah Power Cell

"Take it." Ma'chello spoke. I blinked a few times. "That worked."

Ma'chello raised an eyebrow. "How absolutely fascinating. It's able to tell when I've actually decided to give something over."

I prepared to hand the gun back, but Ma'chello shook his head. "Keep it."

I blinked and placed the weapon carefully on the table. Ma'chello continued from there. "We'll have to do further testing." 

From there, we tested my ability with a half dozen different objects¹. 

What had been determined from those tests was that my ability purely used the intent of the person providing the object. If the person giving the object was planning on letting me keep the object, then my perk activated. 

On my end, all that was required was that I didn't intend to give the object back immediately. If I simply took it without really thinking about it (like what had happened with the Lightning Bolt), and the user didn't plan to give it back, then that worked as well.

Ma'chello let out a sigh. "It would have been so easy if we could just get the blueprints for everything."

Elder James pursed his lips. "There is one thing we could do."

Arktos raised an eyebrow. "What would that be?"

The Elder was silent for several long moments. "We've already been working together, as a single entity for almost a year now. Why don't we make it official? A single unified government for all three of our people."

Ma'chello seemed to be almost stunned by the possibility, though Arktos simply nodded. "I was under the impression that was our final goal, was it not?"

Ma'chello was once more stunned by his words. He was quiet for a few brief moments, before he let out a sigh. "I suppose that was what you were planning from the beginning, wasn't it James."

Elder James didn't reply, he stared at Ma'chello for several long moments. Ma'chello finally gave in. "This was bound to happen the moment we started working together."

Elder James nodded slightly, though he didn't say a word. 

Ma'chello was silent for another few seconds. "Alright. I'll have to get the other resistance leaders to join any meeting. I'll need two days to get my people ready."

Arktos nodded. "Then in two days time, we begin."

Elder James nodded. "Ma'chello, how many people will you be bringing?"

He seemed to think for a minute. "At least five. Any less than that and I won't be able to get proper representatives for all my people."

Elder James nodded. "Each of us will bring five additional members. That will be 18 people total. Are we in agreement?"

Arktos nodded once. Ma'chello also let out a sigh and nodded as well.

We left the room late in the evening. Elder James immediately went to go find the other Elders and to call an emergency meeting to decide on who would be attending the… I didn't really know what to call it. Negotiations? The Summit? 

They could decide on that later. I was exhausted from all the extra knowledge that had been stuffed into my head. A lot of it wasn't really new (it was replicas of already existing technologies that had been modified to fit a different object), but there was still a lot of it.

I went to bed. Tomorrow I would be getting back to the prototyping work. 

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List of tested Technologies:

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First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Auri 2

- User Interface, Crystal Memory, Naquadah Battery

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First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Bolt Action Rifle (Arculex Ostrostylos)

 - Barrel, Action, Stock

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First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: (Handheld Plasma Welder) Arcudraco

 - Dendred Naquadah Battery, Field Emitter, Plasma Generator

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First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Dendredan First Aid Kit