Starborn Smith [Stargate, Battletech Multicross]

I woke up early the next day with a realization; Immediately, I went to discuss it with Elder James. I sat down across from him – having grabbed some bread and soup – and began to talk. "Elder, if I went through the materiel aboard the Manassas, then I could be doing a lot more."

The Elder stopped for a moment. He seemed to almost deflate, but he quickly agreed with me. "Alright. I'll take you through the ship."

I blinked, rather surprised. For some reason I expected him to deny my request. "May I ask why we haven't already?"

He seemed to think for a moment, before letting out a light chuckle. "Most of the primary holding bays have been locked out. I'll have to bring her fully online to unlock full ship access." 

That very much felt like a half truth. Well, if he needed to tell me then he'd tell me.

An hour later, we took the Transporter Rings up to the Manassas alongside Elder Callum and Lieutenant Sarti. This time, we took the Elevator to the bridge. The room slowly lit up as we entered. Elder James began by activating several terminals. "Fuel… is at 80%. We're going to start reactivating the secondary fusion reactors."

That was odd. According to protocol, you were supposed to light a single secondary reactor, then the primary reactor, then the remaining secondary reactors. "Elder, what about protocol?"

He continued typing away at a terminal. "The main reactor is damaged. We can't reactivate it in its current state."

I winced but nodded. That would do it.

We spent the next hour ensuring that all of the vessel's secondary reactors were all within nominal tolerances. Finally, as we were preparing to activate the engines, Elder James stopped. For several long seconds he was frozen in place, seemingly deep in thought. I was just close enough to hear him mumble, "to new beginnings."

The Elder hit 'Enter' and the startup procedure began. One reactor would activate, the computer would confirm its operational status and continue to the next one. It took five minutes to activate all twenty six of the Manassas' secondary reactors. With each reactor to come online, it almost seemed like Elder James seemed to change even further than he already had. 

Where there had once been a jolly old man who helped raise me – help raise everyone in the village – there was now a man who radiated an aura of almost smug superiority and desire. Then, just as swiftly as the change had come, it had left. 

Half a minute passed in silence as the final confirmation of all secondary reactor function was confirmed. Finally, Lieutenant Sarti broke the silence, "Sir, all secondary reactors online and nominal."

Elder James nodded. "Excellent. You and Callum are free to return to Drive Control and continue performing maintenance. I'd like to know what caused the original drive failure before using it again. While we are no longer on the clock, that does not mean you have all the time in the world. You are dismissed."

The lieutenant saluted and left the room. Callum stood there.

Elder James snorted, "No need for that Callum. Go."

Once both of them were gone, Elder James sighed. "I need to have a talk with that woman; no matter what remains of the SLDF, I barely count as a soldier anymore."

He turned once more to his terminal, "Arthur, this ship isn't going to be going anywhere for a while. Are you aware of grav deck readiness procedures?"

I quickly pulled out the printed manual I had been borrowing and flipped to the correct page. "Yes Elder. I have it open."

He nods. "Good you make sure all the seals are in working order. I'll do the motor and alignment tests."

We spent thirty minutes ensuring that all grav deck parameters were within acceptable limits. Then Elder James once more hit the 'Enter' key on his keyboard. I was expecting to feel a jolt, but nothing came. Over the course of ten minutes, both grav decks slowly sped up to a speed of 4.46 revolutions per minute.

After some final checks, the Elder nodded and got out his radio. "The grav decks are operational. Move the Ring Transporter to Deck #09." 

A confirmation quickly came and Elder James nodded for me to follow him,"alright. Time for the external inspection."

Finally we left the bridge and took the elevator to Deck #23. This deck appeared similar to all the other storage decks, but there was something else here as well. Several massive grey blocks dominated the room. I approached one and touched it.

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: S-7A Bus (Orbital Shuttle)

Burster M-100 Fusion Engine

The Fusion Engine in the shuttle was quite unique compared to that of a mech. Where the Mech Engine was focused purely on electrical output, this one had slight vents for the RCS systems and the main engine. 

The Hangar had another type of vehicle as well. Where the S-7A Bus was a shuttle purely for use in orbit, the ST-46 was a sub-orbital shuttle. Only thing was, we couldn't really use it since it required a runway. 

The shuttles themselves were pretty large. They had been stuffed into the cargo bays to make room for other equipment as well. There were four more of the S-7A and three of the ST-46 within the cargo holds. The Elder had me inspect them all for their blueprints. 

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: S-7A Bus (Orbital Shuttle)

Reaction Control System, Ferro-Tile Hull, Atmospheric Regulation System

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: ST-46 (Sub-Orbital Shuttle)

Entech 200c Fusion Engine, Ferro-Tile Hull, Avionics & Navigation Suite

I followed the Elder down a large corridor that had been totally filled with and to an airlock. This was one of the two launch catapults for the Manassas' "small craft". Each of these had been used as storage for another pair of two S-7A Busses since there wasn't any further room in the deck for more shuttle craft.

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: S-7A Bus (Orbital Shuttle)

Docking/Cargo Assembly

The avionics in the Bus were very similar to those on the ST-46, so I helped the Elder get everything started up. Then, with a light jolt and a hum, the catapult gently pushed us out of the Manassas. 

For a brief fraction of a second, the Elder burned the main engine to get us away from the ship. Then he turned us around and I once more caught sight of the Manassas. This time was different than the last. We were in the shadow of the world this time, but the ship was entirely illuminated by its external lighting. 

I could barely make out the spinning of the grav decks – though only a small section of each was visible. Slowly but surely, the Elder began to make his way around the ship, examining the condition of the hull. 

We spent two hours floating around the exterior of the ship before the Elder was satisfied. Then we spent another hour examining the Cobalt Eye. Neither had any serious damage, though there had apparently been a few asteroid strikes which I had barely even noticed. 

Finally, the Elder took us back into the catapult bay and docked with the Airlock. It had been a fun experience to just look at the exterior of the Manassas.

Elder James got out his compad while I spent a few minutes walking over to the floor's other launch catapult so that I could examine the remaining S-7A. 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: S-7A Bus (Orbital Shuttle)

Avionics & Navigation Suite

I was pleasantly surprised that everything came together. There were just enough examples of the S-7A to fill out the entire blueprint. 

In a pleasant mood, I returned to find Elder James searching through a shipping container. As I entered, the inside was filled with even more smaller crates. Opening one, he nodded and looked at me. "We'll start with these."

I picked one up and a chuckle escaped my lips as I quickly moved my hand across the top of all of them.

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: LGB-46T Paint Gun

Pressure Container, Paint Canister, High Pressure Nozzle

That nozzle was actually really good. It had exceptional durability and was basically impossible to clog. I could definitely use that later. 

"Do you have any examples of the paints?" 

He nodded. Soon enough, I also had the complete chemical structure for the various paints and chemicals that were commonly used. Though I quickly realized this wasn't nearly as useful as I was hoping. The chemical structure did not include the synthesis process, and none of these were chemically simple. 

First Perk Activated. Complete Chemical Structures Acquired: Star League Multi Use Fluid Kit

From there we just continued along, opening one crate after another. The next several crates contained Star League Uniforms for every branch (Naval Officers, Mech Warriors, Pilots, and Infantry). This included extra rank insignias and the like. Not all that useful, but I have them now I guess. 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Star League Vacuum Suit

First Perk Activated. Complete Knowledge: Star League Defence Force Uniform Design

At the end of that, I got a new system notification; "Complete Knowledge". I didn't really know what was different about it, but it was certainly interesting. The most immediately useful tech of those was the Pilot Uniforms which, by necessity, were capable of keeping the wearer alive in vacuum.

Everything else on this floor was perishable goods, shuttles, or clothes, so we moved on to Deck #06. This deck was where the Marine Contingent regularly stayed. We found our way to the Magazine; there were a LOT of guns. I already had the blueprints for the Mauser A1, and the Mauser 960, but that wasn't all that was here. 

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: Soo, if I wrote down everything, then I would be here for a thousand words of JUST system notifications. Gonna cut it down a lot].

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Man-Pack Particle Projector Cannon (M-PPC)

Accelerator Chamber, Capacitor Bank, Cooling Assembly, Focusing Chamber, Control Assembly

The most insane of these was a portable Particle Projector Cannon. The thing was basically the size of a minigun. From there, I spent a minute walking around and touching every single weapon in the room. From Auto-pistols, to anti-material rifles, from Blazer Rifles to Pulse Lasers, from grenade launchers to anti-mech missiles. There was… a lot.

That wasn't even mentioning the explosives… so many explosives. The most common was the C-8 Charges, but there was also a lot of ammunition, especially for the grenade and rocket launchers. 

By the time I left the room, I had once more received two more rather unique notifications.

First Perk Activated. Complete Knowledge Acquired: Star League Standard Issue Infantry Ammunition

First Perk Activated. Complete Knowledge Acquired: Star League Standard Issue Infantry Kit

Next was Deck #07. The Manassas had Six Docking Hardpoints – two more than a standard Block I Aegis. Two of the Docking Hardpoints were empty as both those dropships – a Confederate Class Dropship and a Leopard Class Dropship were both currently landed in the Village. The remaining four Hardpoints were occupied by more Confederate Class Dropships. 

We entered the first storage bay and I was immediately blown away. Locusts! Locusts Everywhere! So Many Locusts. It seemed like they had done everything they possibly could to fit as many Locusts into the bay as Humanly possible. 

Checking the manifest, I was dumbfounded. 31 Locusts! Just in this bay! The Manassas Secondary Bays were designed to hold either 12 Battlemechs or 24 secondary vehicles. I stared blankly at the room.

"That's a lot of Locusts."

Elder James nodded.

I continued. "Who the hell got this many Locusts in here?"

"That would be our Quartermaster, Lieutenant Markus Voss," he replied.

Looking through the room, I found 22 completely intact Locusts' and 9 that had been partly or entirely disassembled to fit them in. I remembered there being at least 20 Locusts onboard the Confederate that was taken down to the planet. Disassembled mech parts were strapped down literally anywhere they could fit.

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Locust (LCT-1Vb)

LTV 160 Fusion Engine, Garret T-10B Communications Suite, O/P 911 TTS Suite, Ferro-Fibrous Armor, Locust Weapon Hardpoints, Gyroscopic and Actuation system, Neural Interface

We moved on. Deck #08 was one of the ship's two grav decks, so the next deck was Deck #09. This deck stored a collection of 12 fully assembled and six disassembled CRB-27b Royal Crabs. I stared at the room. Every conceivable tie down and locking mechanism had been used to make sure as many mechs as possible were stored away, that wasn't even mentioning the six more mechs onboard the docked dropship. 

Also of note was the names of each of the Dropships docked with the Manassas. In order of what Docking Hardpoint they were at were the SLS Maresias (that was the one that was down on the planet), SLS Bannerfall, SLS Somerset (that was the Leopard), SLS Artemis' Reach, SLS Cinder, and the SLS Claymore. 

Once more, we passed through all the mechs. I got the complete blueprint after looking through nine of the things.

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Royal Crab (CRB-27b)

Hollis Mark 1A Chassis, Magna 250 Fusion Engine, Dalban Series K Communications Suite, 650 RND TTS Suite, Paulina Ferro-Fibrous Armor, Double Heat Sinks, Crab Weapon Hardpoints, Gyroscopic and Actuation system, Neural Interface

I also smacked the docking collar of the Confederate SLS Bannerfall so that I got a partial blueprint from that. 

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: SLDF Confederate Dropship

Thordan 650X (Fusion Engine)

Deck #10 was the Docking Hardpoint used by the Leopard SLS Somerset. The Ring Transport had been moved several hours prior and was now on the grav ring. The storage bay was mostly used for ammunition storage, but there were also a pair of Phoenix Hawk's in this room. 

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: Phoenix Hawk [PXH-1c "Special"]

Earthwerks PXH Endosteel Chassis, Snubnose PPC

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Gauss Slug

First Perk Activated. Complete Knowledge Acquired: SLDF Standard Autocannon Ammunition

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Arrow IV

Arrow IV TTS Suite, Arrow IV Mini-Fusion Engine, Universal Payload Acceptor, Arrow IV Guidance System

Surprisingly, it was only here that I gained my first individual mech scale weapon. Every other mech scale weapon was only added to the mental blueprint when I gained the final major component and the subparts were being filled out. Maybe it was due to the fact that the PXH-1c was experimental? I would consider that another time. 

There was also the Arrow IV Missile System. I remember that this system became Lostech in the Inner Sphere during the succession wars, but before that they were highly favored. They weren't even that complicated – relatively speaking. Of course, the electronic components were still the most complex part. I would have to design an electronics assembly line before we would be manufacturing these things.

Now, all of that was great, but the really big thing were the five, 100 ton White Shark Capital Grade missiles. These things were absolutely massive. I didn't waste any time and grabbed the blueprints for them. 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: White Shark Capital Grade Missile

White Shark Frame, White Shark TTS Suite, White Shark Fusion Engine

Deck #11 was surprising; a total of eighteen mechs of three different types were stored here, plus an additional ten Mechs stored aboard the docked confederate. Ten marauders, nine Warhammers, and Nine Atlas IIs. Once again, spare rooms had been taken up wherever possible to make room for every single mech they could fit. It was the same, even onboard the Confederate SLS Artemis' Reach. 

The SLS Artemis' Reach, like all (if you ignore the specially modified SLS Maresias) Confederate Dropships, was designed to hold 6 Battlemechs total. They had managed to get it up to 8 by disassembling parts, and literally bolting them to the walls, but there had been a couple of mechs left. The people on board had worked together to completely disassemble the machines and stuff them into literally any open space you could find onboard. Somehow, they managed to store an extra pair of Warhammers in the crew quarters and mess hall. I didn't know if it was genius or insane.

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Royal Atlas II [AS7-D-H2]

Foundation Type 10X Chassis, Vlar 300 Fusion Engine, Army Comm Class 5 Communication Suite, Army Corporation Type 29K TTS Suite, StarSlab/2 Ferro Fibrous Armor, Double Heat Sinks, Atlas II Weapon Hardpoints, Gyroscopic and Actuation system, Neural Interface

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Royal Marauder [MAD-2R]

GM Marauder Chassis, Vlar 300 Fusion Engine, Dalban Micronics Communication Suite, Dalban HiRez TTS Suite, Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment, Double Heat Sinks, Marauder Weapon Hardpoints, Gyroscopic and Actuation system, Neural Interface

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Royal Warhammer [WHM-7A]

StarCorp 100 Chassis, VOX 280 Fusion Engine, O/P 3000 COMSET Communication Suite, O/P 1500 ARB TTS Suite, Double Heat Sinks, Ferro-Fibrous Armor, Warhammer Weapon Hardpoints, Gyroscopic and Actuation system, Neural Interface

I also grabbed the partial blueprint for the Confederate Dropship when I entered SLS Cinder. 

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: SLDF Confederate Dropship

Confederate Dropship Frame

Deck #12 stored a total of 14 King Crabs. The King Crab, being a rather wide mech, was much more difficult to fit in the bay. Nonetheless, the Quartermaster had managed to stuff an extra pair of the things – disassembled of course – onboard. Then there were another six of the things onboard the SLS Cinder. 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Royal King Crab [KGC-000b]

Hollis Mark II Chassis, Vlar 300 Fusion Engine, Aldis X Ferro-Fibrous, Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment, Dalban Commline Communications Suite, Dalban HiRez-B TTS Suite, Artemis IV Fire Control System, Gyroscopic and Actuation system, Neural Interface

Also onboard the SLS Cinder were three Barracuda Capital missiles; each weighed nearly a hundred tons. If they had been around in my past life, they would have outmassed a minuteman ICBM almost three times over. I also got the Confederate's Landing System while I grabbed that blueprint.

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Barracuda Capital Grade Missile

Barracuda Frame, TTS Suite, Barracuda Fusion Engine

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: SLDF Confederate Dropship

Landing System

Deck #13 was the other grav deck, so we skipped it and moved on.

Deck #14 was the final Docking Hardpoint. I was amazed to discover an absolutely massive assortment of non-mechs. Everything from a pair of submarines to six VTOL aircraft. It was a lot. I quickly walked through them with Elder James, inspecting each of the vehicles and grabbing their blueprints. 

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: Manta Fast Attack Submarine

Pressure Hull, Royal Nelson Drive System

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: SLDF Mobile HQ

TharHes HQ CommSet, Diplan-IX SideSweeper, Holotable

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: Fury Command/Support Vehicle

M-9 Gauss Rifle, Nirasaki-400X computer, Tread System, Pitban 320-rated fusion engine, Fury Chassis

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Chaparral Missile Artillery

Chaparral Chassis, Arrow IV Launcher, Nissan 200 Fusion Engine, TransComm WDS40A, TransComm 12 Communication System, Sapphire Medium Laser, 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Cobra Transport VTOL

Cobra VTOL Chassis, VTOL Wing Assembly, Hermes 100 Fusion Engine, McArthur Anti-Missile System, Datacomm 100 Comm System, Tarmac Quasar V

The SLS Claymore, was carrying top secret equipment and couldn't be accessed without getting approval from the vessel's senior officer. It was only a matter of time before such officers could be revived, so Elder James and I decided to wait, but I didn't forget to slap the Docking Collar as we left. 

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: SLDF Confederate Dropship

Docking Collar

Next was Deck #19 which was one of the crew quarters levels, though most importantly, this deck contained the ship's medical wing. Last time I was on this level, I was unconscious, so I hadn't looked all that closely at the technology. At the same time, there was and wasn't a considerable amount. 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Automated Surgery Table

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Medical Scanner Suite

First Perk Activated. Partial Blueprint Acquired: Medical Computer

[AUTHOR NOTE: I'M GETTING REALLY LAZY!]

The most incredible advancements were the Automated Surgery Table and the Suite of Medical Scanners that were available. The Medical Computer was interesting. It was a single, massive Custom Integrated Circuit. Some parts of it had been designed by an algorithm, but most of it was designed by hand. It must have taken decades of iteration and optimization to get a computer this highly optimized. 

Deck #20 was the deck that housed the Mechwarriors and Fighterjocks onboard the Manassas. Most of the stuff on this floor was crew housing, but there was one very useful piece of technology. 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Nirasaki Training Simulator Mk.II

The Training Simulators were only slightly more advanced than the simulators used in the late 90s in my previous life. Despite that, they were amazing. They could be used for both mech or fighter training. They had worked with every major corporation in the Hegemony to make sure that every mech and fighter aircraft operated exactly as it did in reality. 

I could probably do a lot to increase its technical specs, and I could absolutely integrate Goa'uld inertial dampeners to increase the immersion in the simulator. 

Next was Deck #22. This was one I had been really looking forward to; the housing for the Aerospace Fighter Contingent. In total, the Manassas' Hangar could carry 3 squadrons of six fighters for 18 fighters total – though it could technically carry more in the Storage Bays, they just couldn't be launched readily like those stored here. 

The Manassas was currently assigned two squadrons of Royal Sabres and one squadron of Royal Eagles. 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: EGL-R6b Eagle Heavy Aerospace Fighter

ImStar Eagle Frame, Datacomm 26 Communication Suite, Dynatec 990 Tracking Suite, Vlar-300 Fusion Engine, RCS Systems, Atmospheric Control Surfaces

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: SB-27b Sabre Light Aerospace Fighter

Sabre Frame, XL Engine, Ki-II TS Tracking System, RCS Systems, BipStar 49-G Communication Suite, RCS Systems, Atmospheric Control Surfaces

I barely got the entire blueprint for the Eagle, so I was rather glad about that. While it was fun looking at the Aerospace Fighters, we quickly moved on. 

Deck #24 was the primary storage deck. With that, came a unique addition; a pair of detachable cargo pods. These were Hold F and Hold J. 

Hold J was filled with a LOT of medical equipment. I got a look at the cargo manifest, and it was something. The main cargo was 2200 Stasis Tubes; There were more than enough tubes for the entire crew of the Manassas as well as all the Dropship Crews many times over, but there was more, a LOT more. There were a large number of automated surgical tables and medical scanners. I had already seen the same equipment in the ship's medbay, so there was nothing too surprising there. 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Myomer Implantation Device 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Medical Grade Myomer 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: MASH Truck

MASH Truck Chassis, Vox 80 Fusion Engine, HICK-4 Communications Suite, Compact Automated Surgical Table, MASH Core, Pharmacy/Dispensary

First Perk Activated. Complete Knowledge Acquired: SLDF Field Medic Equipment

The most surprising thing was the six MASH Trucks that were all stored in specially modified cargo containers. Then there had also been the absolutely massive quantity of field medic kits and medical supplies. 

There was one thing that really stuck out, however. A group of containers carrying 120 prototype "Cradle Life Units."

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Life Cradle Unit

Biocontainer, Nutrient–Perfusion Bioreactor, Respiratory Exchange Module, Environmental Regulator, Waste Processor, Health Monitor

I'm pretty sure that these were Iron Wombs, or at least an early prototype. These could come in handy. I remember the mention of moral implications of such devices, and I had never really been able to understand the issue. 

Nonetheless, I'd have to discuss what we were going to do with these later. 

Next was the other detachable Cargo Pod. This one had industrial equipment, both for mining and for agriculture. All of that was interesting, but the main attraction was the six massive water purifiers that took up almost half of the cargo pod. 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Jamerson-Ulikov Water Purifier

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Dig King Industrial Mech

Frame, Fuel Cell Engine, Drilling Equipment, Actuators and Gyros

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Harvester Ant Mech

Frame, Leenex 60 internal combustion engine, Farming Equipment, Actuators and Gyros

Even though there were only four of each Industrial Mech, I still got the complete blueprint for both which was very nice. 

Lastly, Hold I and Hold K mainly contained more infantry equipment. However, Hold I also contained a lot of antique Terran Hegemony Furniture – stuff from the 20th and 21st century, now almost 800 years old. Wasn't of much real use, but it would definitely be nice at a later date. 

Hold K, in the meantime had something much more useful; prototyping equipment. Lathes, powerhammers, grinders, even specially designed 3D Printers. That would all be incredibly useful when the time came to start creating and testing my own blueprints. 

First Perk Activated. Complete Knowledge Acquired: Basic Prototyping Equipment

The fact that the knowledge was "Basic" led me to check something. Sure enough all of this industrial equipment was also antique. In all honesty, I had been kind of disappointed when I thought that this was Star League state of the art tech for the 28th century, it was good to see that I was wrong. 

The secondary cargo hold on Deck #25 was used for non-perishable food stuffs, but the hold on Deck #26 contained a lot of portable computing equipment, including multiple unopened boxes of Compads and Noteputors. 

First Perk Activated. Complete Knowledge: Star League Portable Computational Devices

Once again, the notification told me I had "Complete Knowledge" rather than an individual Blueprint. I'd have to explore the differences in the future. 

That was just about everything. I'd seen every piece of unique or interesting technology that was available onboard the Manassas. The Elder began to take us back to Deck #09 where we could ring back to the surface when I remembered something, "what about equipment on the Cobalt Eye."

Elder James shook his head. "Nothing but perishable food stuffs and the like."

I stared at him for a moment, "Are you sure?"

The Elder seemed to consider it for a moment, before selecting Deck #24, where the Cobalt Eye was docked to the Manassas via the Cargo Access bay. We quickly made our way to the Cobalt Eye's bridge. As we entered the bridge, everything came to life and a rather placid face once more appeared above the holotable, silently waiting. 

I spoke to the AI. "Do you have a complete manifest of all ship equipment available?"

The AI quickly responded. "Of course." The terminal just beneath the Holotable came to life and started scrolling through the equipment available onboard. As I looked through it, I noticed that it was indeed as Elder James had said. I frowned and turned towards the AI's projection. "And this is all the equipment aboard this ship?"

"That is the official manifest," the AI replied in its neutral voice. 

I stopped. "Is there any unlisted equipment aboard?" 

The AI was quiet for a moment. "The ship's effective mass is greater than would be expected from the current cargo manifest."

Elder James stopped and looked up, "by how much?"

"There are approximately seven tons unaccounted for."

I smirked. That was a lot. "Are there any locations that you are unable to monitor?" 

"Personal Quarters and the Gym."

We both nodded and got started. The first thing we did was check the crew quarters of every crew member. Luckily the Bug-Eye only had a total crew complement of 48; the Cobalt Eye, being an experimental vessel, had an even smaller complement of just 32 since a lot of the jobs handled by enlistees could safely be handled by the onboard AI. 

It quickly became clear that there was nothing suspicious in any of the crew quarters, so next was the Gym. The Bug-Eye had no grav deck, so the Gym was incredibly extensive – it had to be in order to prevent the symptoms of extensive time in Zero-G. The walls were mirrors – like I'd seen in a lot of Gyms in my past life, there was everything you could imagine; advanced resistive equipment, stationary bikes, even several zero-g specialized treadmills. 

There didn't appear to be anything off about the Gym, though Elder James did comment that it was somehow larger than the Gym on the other Bug-Eye he had been on – this was despite the decreased crew complement. We spent an hour checking all the possible spots in the gym, then we searched all adjacent rooms. It became clear that there was a negative space just below the Gym. 

We quickly called both Elder Callum and Lieutenant Sarti over to the ship. I didn't know how she did it, but the Lieutenant managed to discover a terminal that was hidden within the wall. When activated, the display would be projected onto the mirror along with what appeared to be a touch screen keyboard. I hadn't seen anything like it, but it wasn't really all that advanced technologically and the display still ran on the THOS operating system. 

Unfortunately, using the computer required resetting the Cobalt Eye's current user passwords. I had already been onboard the Manassas for nearly nine hours. Elder James got called away to greet the first of the revived engineers. He had apparently been much closer to the Drive Core when the jump occurred and had thus been far more heavily affected and thus taken much longer to revive than the Lieutenant.

That left me alone for another nine hours trying to get the ship's codes reset without accidentally destroying the ship or wiping the AIs memory. Finally, it was complete. I called the Elder to inform him that the process was completed and he arrived twenty minutes later with Elder Callum and Lieutenant Sarti in tow. 

We once more returned to the Gym and activated the display. Carefully, I inputted my new identification and the screen activated. A new option appeared. "Open door." I quickly selected it and a portion of the floor quickly moved away to reveal a ladder.

Climbing down, I was immediately dumbfounded. Two dozen full sets of Nighthawk Light Powered Armor. Elder Callum took in a deep breath in shock; while Lieutenant Sarti and Elder James looked impressed, they didn't seem to know what was before them. Besides the Nighthawk Armor, there was a wall of what I assumed were some sort of concealed weapon, as well as several mannequins which had some sort of black skin-suit covering it as well as a closet at the back of the room. I didn't waste any time and immediately got to it. 

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: Nighthawk XV (Light Powered Armor)

Nighthawk Exoskeleton, Nighthawk ECM Suite, Broadspectrum EM Absorption Coating, Total Noise Canceller, Armored Gloves, Nighthawk Power Pack, Vacuum Sealed Inner Layer

First Perk Activated. Complete Blueprint Acquired: M-11C "Cloaking Suit"

M-11 ECM Suite, High-Capacity Power Pack, Myomer Underlayer, Ceramic Mesh 

First Perk Activated. Complete Knowledge Acquired: HCIB Concealed Weapons

The main prize was absolutely the Nighthawk power armor, but the Cloaking suit was incredibly powerful. Whether it would work against Goa'uld scanner tech was another question entirely. That and the knowledge of the Hegemony Central Intelligence Bureau's concealed weapons, I would certainly use those blueprints as reference when I started designing my own firearms. 

Finally, we approached the closet at the back of the room. I opened it up to find a large collection of black colored uniforms. Each one had a nametag, rank insignia, and numerous metals attached to the collar. 

All of us were surprised to find that among the crew, five of them were Majors. When we found my father's, Elder James took a deep breath. On his uniform was the insignia of a Naval Rear Admiral, another insignia for a unit known as the Blackhearts – though I didn't know what the Blackhearts were, one insignia which I didn't recognize, one insignia which identified the wearer as a Duke of the Terran Hegemony, and finally, a Cameron Star of Amethyst.