Chapter 15: Chapter 14: Unexpected gains are always welcome.

‘That should be enough.’

 

Coming out of the accelerated time bubble I created, I take a few seconds to download the SGC’s database, and scan the planet.

 

‘Well. Fuck. I may have cooked a bit too long it seems. Is that fucking Anubis in orbit? Why the fuck do they never ask for my help? Pride? Or, is it Fate fucking with stuff if I am gone for to long?’

 

Focusing my scan on Antarctica, I see that the General is in Prometheus protecting the little shuttle as they bore down to the outpost.

'Yea, I am stepping in here. Seems they need to fucking remember I am a thing, and I want to go to Atlantis when they finally set off. Good thing I got these fancy new shields.'

 

With a thought, I teleported myself to General Hammond.

 

Airman: “Shields are failing!”

 

Airman2: “The scout ship is cleared!”

 

Hammond: “Set a course for Anubis’s mothership.”

 

Nova: “Calm: That won’t be needed, General.”

 

I activated my shield to its full size, all six kilometres. To the outside, suddenly there was a massive pink shield that would let in all of Earth’s defenders, while blocking everything else.

 

Nova: “Unamused: Really, General? Ignoring all the reports I read that could have used my help, this would most likely count as a large enough reason to ask.”

 

Hammond: “Nova! You startled me. I will be honest, I completely forgot about you.”

 

Nova: “Reply: That is a little hurtful. What have I done to earn such forgetfulness from everyone?”

 

Hammond: “I honestly can not say, Nova. But, never mind that. How long will your shields last?”

 

Nova: “Mockery: Against this level of fire? Your sun will die before my shields fail.”

 

Airman: “R-really?”

 

Nova: “Pride: Yes. My shields are among the strongest in this universe. They could use some upgrades still from the Asgard, and other sources, but over all? Very strong.”

 

I look up, and scan Anubis’s mothership. It’s pretty good. Nothing like what his shit was based off though. Just like him, his technology is just a knock off.

 

Looking down, and scanning the outpost disappoints me. The computer core is very small, and mostly only has weapon controls and astrogation charts.

 

Nova: “Inform: It seems Jack is almost done. Get ready for a light show. From what I can scan, this should be pretty sweet.”

 

A couple of minutes later, an absolutely massive amount of drones leave the outpost and start to obliterate the fleet above Earth. I found it kind of funny they never stopped trying to destroy the shield. I even got several gliders and bombers by them trying to chase some of Earth’s X-303’s, only to ram in to the shield, and blow up.

 

Nova: “Exasperated: See General? Anticlimactic. Honestly. Well, just as good you are not dependent on me in the end, really.”

 

Hammond: “Right. Well, thank you for your help Nova. And, I truly am sorry we forgot about you.”

 

I just wave him off.

 

Nova: “Statement: Don’t worry about it. I am going to go check on Jack and them.”

 

I then beamed myself down to Jack and the others.

 

Sam: “Nova! We thought it was the Asgard for a second beaming in, but then noticed the beam was pinkish in colour.”

 

‘Because of course it is, heh.’

 

Teal’c: “It has been a long time since we have seen each other, Nova.”

 

Nova: “Complain: Yea, what the hell guys? I gave you a way to contact me if you need my help. Yet you never asked. And I don’t see any of my Tech on you. Where are your PSE’s, or Morphium based weapons?”

 

Daniel: “Uh, I can answer that, believe it or not. You see, a while ago, I died.”

 

Nova: “Amused: You seemed to have gotten better.”

 

Daniel: “Heh, yea. Well, long story short I died and then ascended. And when I was a higher being I had access to a lot of information. But one thing none of the ascended had access to, or even knew about was you Nova.”

 

I tilt my head, and motion for him to continue.

 

Daniel: “Well, you see. Whenever I tried to look at you, or the planet where you came from, all I saw was a void of nothingness. You are like a literal hole in the universe, Nova. And I noticed the impact you have on everyone around you fades after a while if you don’t interact with anyone.

 

Everything about you, and anything you have done will just vanish like it never happened. Even though there is physical evidence of your interactions, it’s like everyone just. Forgets. And when you return, they suddenly just remember everything you’ve done.”

 

Sam: “That is very… strange?”

 

Teal’c: “Indeed.”

 

Nova: “Intrigued: That is very interesting. Anyway, it seems Jack is done. He doesn’t seem to be doing good. I am detecting a massive degradation in his brain. Like it’s full. Neat.”

 

Sam: “Yea, because it is. We had to take some drastic steps to save ourselves this time. Can you help him, Nova?”

 

I shake my head. Jack then staggers out of the chair, and heads to an indent in the wall. A quick scan reveals it’s a stasis hold of sorts. A bright flash, and the chamber starts to cover him in a kind of crystal. The Ancients really like their crystals. Speaking of.

 

I take a deep scan of the ZPM, and while I don’t understand a fucking thing, I can however tell it is almost depleted.

 

I make a second pass at the computer to double check. And it really is just the astro charts and stuff. Nothing about their technology, or anything like that.

 

Nova: “Query: Now that is a powerful energy source, what is it?”

 

Sam: “Hmm? Oh, yea. We had to go to some outpost to get it, and bring it back here to power this chair. No idea what it is beyond that though right now.”

 

Nova: “Acknowledge: I can see why. The drain on this device is astronomical compared to anything on Earth. Staggering even.”

 

‘Nothing a ZPM can’t handle, but honestly a great way to indirectly prevent anyone from using your shit when you leave. Can’t use it if they can’t power it, heh.’

 

Nova: “Query: Plans now?”

 

Daniel: “We’ll return to the SGC and wait for the fallout to settle, and look into finding a cure for Jack. Most likely ask the Asgard again.”

 

Nova: “Query: Daniel, how long till you all start to forget about me?”

 

Daniel: “Ah, well from what I can remember it takes about two weeks for you to start fading, and roughly a month till you are gone until you show up again.”

 

Nodding my head I say, “Order: Good then. I am going to beam us all back to the SGC, but I will be in my base. SEND. ME. A. NOTICE. When you go to get help or something for Jack. He is one of the few Organics I like.”

 

Sam: “Sure thing, Nova.”

 

Giving everyone a nod, I transport us all back to our respective destinations. Daniel has given me a lot to think about.

 

‘A hole in the universe? Is it because I am a singularity? No, while that may be a part of it, something is telling me that is not the whole reason. Who, or whatever, sent me here originally must have known about the Ascended and Ori. And believed that they might have been able to interrupt me? That feels closer to the truth, but still not there.’

 

As I arrived back into my base, I just floated up in the air, and “reclined.” As I was thinking about what Daniel had told me, I began a scan of myself. Now that I know about that unknown radiation my [Atomic Breath] gives off, I want to see if I give it off normally as well.

 

And unsurprisingly, I do give off this radiation. Maybe it is this radiation that is causing me to appear as a hole? And why no one can remember me if they don’t interact with me after some time? I was soon interrupted by an incoming message.

— Incoming text based transmission —

We have decided to take the enhanced Goa’uld transport that Jack modified. We would like you to come. Meet us at the ship in an hour.

- Daniel 

‘Well, at least they didn’t forget about me.’

 

An hour and a half later, we were in hyperspace on our way to where the Replicators were currently imprisoned in a time dilation field.

 

Nova: “Statement: I have to say Teal’c. I think you look good with hair. I am also glad you are free of the Goa’uld that was bumming a ride.”

 

Teal’c: “Thank you Nova. It is very liberating to not have to rely on a symbiote.”

 

Soon, Sam came in from the rear of the small ship where she had packed a few things for herself and Teal’c, like food and such things.

 

Sam: “Hey, Teal’c. Did you want anything? I packed a lot of turkey, I know it's your favourite.”

 

Teal’c: “Thank you, but I am not currently hungry. Have you been able to determine how O’Neill was able to modify the engines?”

 

Sam: “No, I am just taking a break. I didn’t expect this to be easy or anything. It’s also a good way to pass the time.”

 

Nova: “Amused: She also refuses to let me help. Wants to do this on her own, she said.”

 

Sam: “Yea. I really need to understand this technology myself if I can Nova. Us forgetting you whenever you leave for an extended time can damn us. Plus, this is fun for me.”

 

Nova: “Calm: You don’t need to worry Sam. I did not mean anything by that. I also agree with you. I will not always be around. Much as I have already demonstrated.”

 

Sam looks down a little dejectedly.

 

Sam: “I am sorry if I have been ignoring you two. It’s just I thought working on the Engines would help me take my mind of Colonel O’Neill. Which is silly since he modified them. Look, I know this plan isn’t fool proof. I have never plotted an intergalactic course before. If the coordinates are off by even one half of a percent, we could end up 10,000 lightyears away from our destination.”

 

Nova: “Inform: You needed worry, Sam. I checked your course and it is fine for where you want to take us. I have the astro charts of the Asgard, as well as the charts from that chair device. And while those are old, taking cosmic drift into account is not hard. More so with the updated Asgard charts. We will be fine. Your course is fine.”

 

Teal’c: “I am in agreement with Nova. I have the utmost confidence in your ability.”

 

She smiles, and thanks us. She and Teal’c then begin to talk about some relationships they have or another. I stopped paying attention at that point. Eventually they finished and Sam left to go work on the engines again.

 

Nova: “Observation: A lot has happened since I’ve been away.”

 

Teal’c: “Indeed, you missed out on a great many things Nova. But what about you? What have you been doing all this time?”

 

Nova: “Amused: A whole lot of nothing, Teal’c. For you guys, it’s been years. For me, it’s been about five minutes. I got a bit overzealous trying out a new ability of mine, and well. Years passed by in a blink.”

 

Teal’c: “Indeed?”

 

I just gave him a nod, and then we fell into a comfortable silence. A few hours later, the console beeped at us, signalling that we were nearing our destination.

 

Teal’c: “Major Carter! We are about to drop out of hyperspace.”

 

Hearing this, Sam came up from the back of the small ship, and joined us.

 

Sam: “Alright, as soon as we leave hyperspace, I’ll start broadcasting. If the Asgard are monitoring the region, they should find us.”

 

Several seconds later, we left hyperspace. And I immediately could tell we were near a black hole. The gravity quickly snagged our little ship, and started to pull.

 

Nova: “Warning: We are caught in the gravity well of a black hole.”

 

Teal’c: “Indeed, the sublight engines are at full, and we are not moving. The hyperdrive is also not responding.”

 

Sam: “Not good…”

 

Nova: “Statement: I am detecting an Asgard ship closing in on us. They will be in transport range shortly. The black hole is messing with my sensors a bit. So, I assume the same is with them.”

 

Sam: “Most likely. I wonder when–”

 

Suddenly all three of us light up, and we were on an Asgard’s ship.

 

???: “Greetings.”

You are reading story Do not take Eldritch surveys. Noted! at novel35.com

 

Sam: “Thor!”

 

Thor: “It is good to see you again, Major Carter, Teal’c, and Nova.”

 

Sam: “Likewise.”

 

Teal’c: “Indeed.”

 

Nova: “Excitement: Agreed. Thor, is this a new ship? The O’Neill class I read about? This is far more advanced than the ship I teleported into the sun.”

 

Thor: “You are correct, Nova. This is among our best ships in the fleet.”

 

Nova: “Excitement: May I scan the ship, and connect to the Computer Core so I can get the blueprints and designs on all the upgrades so I may upgrade myself?”

 

Thor: “I would prefer you not, but I can not stop you. And it also makes little difference in the end, since you are not sharing the technology with anyone.”

 

Nodding to him, I connect to the main computer core and start going through all the upgrades on this ship. And there is quite a lot.

 

‘Oh wow, look at the upgrades to these shields! That is absolutely bonkers. Their weapons also got a huge increase in damage and efficiency. The anti-grav is also much more powerful. Drastically even. The efficiency of all of their systems has shot through the roof. 

 

Oh I can’t wait to do a massive upgrade to myself. All that's left is the Lanteans' knowledge, Wraith maybe, and Ori.’

 

After downloading and scanning all that I could from the ship, I started paying attention to what Thor and Sam were talking about.

 

Thor: “Interesting.”

 

Sam: “What is it?”

 

Thor: “The mass of replicator blocks have begun to move away from the event horizon of the black hole.”

 

Sam: “What? How is that possible?

 

Thor: “They have the time dilation device. I do not know exactly how but they seem to have used it to counteract the gravitational effects that should be pulling them in.”

 

Sam: “Frightening. Not only can they do that, but… you don’t know how.”

 

Thor: “I agree. They are picking up speed. Scans indicate that the blocks have formed together to make a ship. They are escaping the black hole, and are heading this way.”

 

Nova: “Excitement: Oh boy. Let them come. I want that time dilation device, and to see these human form Replicators I have read about.”

 

Teal’c raised an eyebrow at my comment, and Sam just smiled worriedly. I had no idea what kind of face Thor was making. They don’t exactly have that much range of movement in their face it seems. I am guessing they show emotion mostly from their eyes…

 

Thor: “They have fired upon us.”

 

Nova: “Mockery: No worries. Thor, transport me outside of the ship. I will take care of this.”

 

Sam: “What is your plan, Nova?”

 

Nova: “Pride: To show them what real technology looks like.”

 

Thor: “Very well. Good luck.”

 

With a nod, and a bright flash later, I found myself outside the ship looking at a purple spike of some sort flying towards Thor’s ship. Raising my right hand, I charge it with a full 10 ZPM’s worth of a Zat.

 

Soon enough, the projectile collides with my hand, and arcs of pink and purple lightning fly over it. It resists for all of a second before it is gone, reduced to nothingness.

 

I fly over to the Replicator ship, and take over its transportation system. I beam myself right in front of the only Humanoid Replicator I scanned on the small ship. In front of me, is the Humanoid Replicator known as “5th.”

 

Nova: “Disappointment: Really? You are what the Asgard fear? You are barely more advanced than the little shits I am standing on. I had built up some anticipation from the reports I had read about you. But, what I am seeing in front of me? You disgust me.”

 

5th: “The Destroyer… We have no quarrel with you.”

 

Nova: “Interest: Oh? You know of me?”

 

5th: “Of course. We remember when you obliterated us when we went after Earth. We also remember the pain of when you covered us with that liquid like metal. We were honestly shocked that the humans and Asgard have not called on you sooner.”

 

Nova: “Reply: I was busy, and had more important things to attend to than to deal with a being who could barely pass as a Synthetic. Unfortunately for you, you have caught my attention. Now, take me to the time dilation device.”

 

5th: “Why?”

 

Nova: “Cruelty: That was not a request.”

 

And with that, I used my ability to control technology on him. He’ll be the most advanced thing I have ever attempted to take over. And even though he is technically millions of nanobots forming a body, he counts as a single entity.

 

5th: “Ahhh!! What. What are you doing to me?! Get out! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”

 

Nova: “Mockery: You are not strong enough, child. Now stop resisting, and take me to the device.”

 

5th crashes to his knees and grabs his head. Trying to fight me off. But he suddenly stills, and stands up. Looking at me I can see my sign, the omega symbol with fox ears, in his right eye. He has lost all emotion on his face, much like my own.

 

Nova: “Order: Take me to the time dilation device.”

 

He just waves his hand, and the ground between us opens up. Seconds later the device is in front of me. Looking at it, it definitely looks a great deal different from what it looked like from Thor’s records. I hold out my left hand, and absorb it, only taking a few minutes thankfully.

 

[Temporal Domain]

Able to project a domain of 5 kilometres in which you may slow down, or speed up time by 20,000%. May decide if you are affected by the domain or not. Can also stop time.

 

Notice!

To prevent paradoxes, reversing time is not available until you are able to affect the entire universe. Some entities are not affected by time manipulation, be warned.

 

Now, I would be entirely lying if I said this massive upgrade didn’t surprise me. They had advanced this thing way past what the Asgard had designed it too. And with such a degree of time manipulation, no wonder they got out of the black hole.

 

Nova: “Query: Are there more of you humanoids in the Ida, or Milky Way galaxies?

 

5th shakes his head.

 

Nova: “Statement: To be expected. Oh well. Good bye.”

 

I then held out my left hand, and absorbed 5th. As the Morphium was launching over him, I dropped my control.

 

5th: “What happened? Wh— NO! NO PLEASE! STOP!!”

 

The Morphium crashes into him and surrounds him like an outer layer. It is soon crumpling down into a smaller ball. While he may be advanced, each individual nanobot is so small it's very simple to absorb them. Even at this number. Soon enough his screaming stops, and there is nothing left but a small ball of Morphium rushing back to my hand.

 

My eyes widen at what my UI is showing me.

 

[High speed Nanite Regeneration] -incomplete-

Your Morphium has adapted the speed of regeneration from Replicator nanites. Able to heal yourself at a much higher rate.

 

Notice!

This is not a complete ability. Find the original Replicators to fully unlock.

 

[High Speed Nanite Construction] -incomplete-

Your Morphium has adapted the speed of construction/deconstruction from Replicator nanites. Able to fabricate and construct Morphium at a much greater speed.

 

Notice!

This is not a complete ability. Find the original Replicators to fully unlock.

 

[Nanite Mimicry] -incomplete-

Your Morphium has taken on the ability to mimic other material, in sight and feel, but still have the properties of your Morphium.

 

Notice!

This is not a complete ability. Only applies to your body right now. Find the original Replicators to fully unlock.

 

As I stood there shocked, I felt my body ripple. I look back and I notice my tails are no longer Hard Light. They are like my ears now, look and feel like soft fur.

 

I am absolutely shocked at what I got from 5th. This was not what I was expecting, but is most welcome. It seems I need to get to the Pegasus galaxy for more reasons than just the Lanteans and Wraith. Shaking myself out of the stupor, I release a giant wave of Morphium to absorb this entire ship. I want to see how long it’ll take.

 

A ship of this size should have taken about 30 or so hours with my max power output. But much to my massive shock and delight, I absorb this ship in a matter of minutes.

 

‘Highspeed indeed. I can only guess the speed I’ll be able to use when I absorb an Asuran…’

 

Sadly, I got nothing new from absorbing the Replicator ship, but hey, at least it’s gone now. Flying over to Thor’s ship I phase out so I can bypass his shields and hull to enter the bridge. I land in front of them and phase back.

 

Sam: “Whoa! Nova. Jeeze. Sorry. I was, or rather am still taken aback by what we just saw.”

 

Teal’c: “Indeed. I do not remember you having the ability to absorb something that large, that fast.”

 

Nova: “Excitement: I got a few new toys from absorbing a humanoid looking Replicator called 5th. As you saw, my speed at absorbing, and constructing by the way, got a massive increase. And check out my tails now! No longer Hard Light!”

 

Teal'c: "Congratulations, Nova.

 

Nova: "Gratitude: Thank you, Teal'c."

 

Sam: “5th.”

 

Nova: “Statement: Worry not Sam. He is dead. But I bring bad news, Thor. Very bad news.”

 

Thor: “What do you mean, Nova?”

 

Nova: “Inform: The Replicators that you encountered were not the originals. The originals are called the ‘Asuran,’ and they are so much more advanced than these cheap knock offs. They were created by the Lanteans. And well. Let’s just say they have all the knowledge, skill, and technology of your former allies.”

 

Sam looked horrified at that, and Teal’c had the legendary two raised brows. Thor looked very disturbed. I think.

 

Thor: “How did you come across this information, Nova?”

 

Nova: “Reply: 5th found out about them somehow. The good news is they did not make contact. But they were planning too.”

 

‘A lie, of course. But they don’t need to know that.’

 

Thor: “This is ill news indeed. Do you know where the originals are based?”

 

I shake my head.

 

Thor: “That is disappointing, but at least we know of them now. Which is more than they can say about us.”

 

Nova: “Query: Jack was put in stasis because he has The Ancients knowledge currently downloaded into his head, right?”

 

Sam: “Yea, that’s right.”

 

Nova: “Statement: Then I say you take advantage of that before you need to remove it. Ask Jack to develop a weapon against the Replicators.”

 

Thor: “That is a good idea, Nova.”

 

He then turned his ship towards Earth, and entered Hyperspace.

 

Thor: “We will be back at Earth in a few hours.”

 

‘Think I might skip ahead to the Atlantis mission. I’ve got all that I want from here. And more. Almost time to move on from this universe…’