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POV: Arthur Sinclair
I opened my door to find Elder James waiting for me. "May I come in?"
I blinked at him a few times, but eventually pulled away and gestured for him to enter. My room was pretty sparse. Just my bed, a desk, and a couple of chairs. I took a seat, and the Elder did as well.
He was silent for several moments before he spoke. "You've told me before that you're willing to use the Cameron name if it is necessary, yes?"
I raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "I am."
The Elder tapped his fingers against the table a few times, before letting out a sigh. "Your father wasn't entirely honest with you about his parentage."
He pulled out a compad which I took. I let out a light chuckle as I read the name: Kurita.
Elder James looked at me rather worried. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
He blinked at me and relaxed a bit. "Your father didn't want it to affect what you decided to do of your own accord."
I shrugged. "The only thing that changes is the options I have available."
Elder James stared at me blankly for a few moments before I continued. "This gives us an in with the Draconis Combine."
The Elder stared at me for several long moments, "Why didn't I think of that? We could replace the Coordinator… it would require a lot of setup, and we'd need to get support from the DC nobility, but it could work…"
I nodded. "Exactly. It wouldn't be easy, and if the current Coordinator is any good, then replacing them might not even be feasible, but it opens up a lot of possibilities."
The Elder stared into space for several long moments before he finally got ahold of himself. "Well Arthur, if you're really planning to go ahead with this, then I need you to do something for me."
I waited for him to continue. "The Crew of the Manassas need something to follow. I've talked to Major Novak, and we both believe it would be best if we told the crew about you being a Cameron."
I shrugged. "Alright, yeah lets do it."
He stared at me for several long moments, before letting out a sigh. "I was really worried for nothing, huh."
I smiled lightly and nodded. "It was going to come out eventually. Is there really a reason to wait any longer?"
The Elder let out another sigh. "Alright then. I'll be reviving what is left of the Manassas' command crew in the coming few days. One of the crew was a confidant of Aleksandr Kerensky. I need you there when he is revived."
I nodded and saw the Elder out.
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The Next Day.
I stood just outside the revival room. After nearly a hundred examples, Lieutenant Moretti had figured out how long a revival would take down to about ten minutes (with a few exceptions that she was still looking into).
Unless something was seriously wrong, the Lieutenant would awaken any moment now. Having read through his personnel file, I didn't really know why the Elder had decided against reviving the Lieutenant. Unlike every other member of the Lionhearts – the name for Elder James' unit, Randall Lewis was a model soldier. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that he could appear under the textbook definition of soldier.
He had joined the SLDF in his mid thirties, following his dream of becoming a mech warrior, Kerensky took notice of him following a few years of active duty, assigned him to the Lionhearts to keep an eye on Cromwell. Of course, this caused no lack of friction between the two of them.
In hindsight, I could maybe see why the Elder would be so hesitant to revive him.
Despite the slight animosity between Elder James and Lieutenant Lewis, the Lieutenant was highly liked by most of the Manassas crew. Virtually all of the crew who knew him, even those who supported Cromwell, considered him to be an honest, upright, dedicated, and competent soldier. He was frequently called "Santa Claus" or "Jolly Old Saint Randy" due to his constant positive mood and red hair.
Just as Lieutenant Moretti had predicted, the sound of grinding stone became just barely audible. Elder James, Lieutenant Moretti, and Major Novak all stood up, and entered behind a group that was wheeling in another Stasis Tube. I stood and followed them all into the room.
Standing up from within the sarcophagus was a heavyset man, with red hair and a neatly trimmed red beard, wearing a full SLDF naval officers uniform, with the stripes of a Lieutenant Senior Grade.
The man looked strangely at Captain Cromwell, but his attention soon turned to Major Novak. His legs snapped together and he threw off a quick salute. "Sir!"
Major Novak saluted back. "At ease, lieutenant." He then nodded to Lieutenant Moretti who began her usual talk. "Lieutenant, you are off duty for the next five days. Now, please step out of the Sarcophagus."
The Lieutenant looked down, before quickly lifting his legs over the brim of the golden coffin. As he got out of the way, Lieutenant Moretti began opening up the Stasis tube. We all stood to the side as she had the stiff placed into the sarcophagus. Lieutenant Lewis stared, fixated, as the Sarcophagus closed on the corpse.
He finally turned to Major Novak and spoke. "Sir, what's going on?"
Rather than the major, it was Lieutenant Moretti who responded. "Lieutenant Lewis, you have been dead for the past thirty years. Your body has been preserved, and this device has allowed us to revive you. For the next three days you will have trouble sleeping and experience a slight high; this also comes with amplified feelings of megalomania. After the initial symptoms have passed, you will feel extended fatigue for several days."
The Lieutenant nodded. "I understand, doctor. Thank you."
Captain Cromwell spoke next. "Lets grab you something to eat, and we can discuss what is going on."
Captain Cromwell began explaining everything that had happened over the last thirty years as we exited the pyramid. The Lieutenant was fascinated by the massive tetrahedral vessels, though his attention really shifted when we got to the Stargate. He watched us step through to Nekhara, and was the last person through. The look of fascination on his face was something else.
It was once we had reached the bridge of the SLS Somerset, the Leopard Class Dropship that the Elder finally finished his initial explanation. All together, it wasn't really all that much. We had stopped by the cafeteria to gather some soup, so we all sat down to start eating. I silently ate my soup as they all continued talking.
"The Dendredans, and Serkha have agreed to a formal alliance, but there have been some complications." Elder James paused here, he looked at me for a brief moment.
"Quite frankly, we need more than an alliance. By the time we've finished reviving all the Manassas' crew, we'll have a bit more than 2000 people. We have advanced technology, and we've been sharing, but we need further assurances. The Serkha have almost 10,000 warriors, and just as many people who live with them as well as access to all of the Goa'uld technology and are trained in its use, but they don't have any permanent farms and very little knowledge of infrastructure. The Dendredans have a massive population, food supply, and source of raw resources, but they lack a lot of advanced technology and the knowhow to produce more." Elder James stopped for a moment to compose himself.
Lieutenant Lewis raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like the status quo is working out well. It doesn't sound like any single group is gaining more than the rest. As it stands, you should all be able to continue without much issue."
The Elder nodded and put a hand on my shoulder. "The issue is Arthur here."
Without waiting for the Lieutenant to interrupt, the Elder continued. "I assume you remember Captain Alistair Sinclair?"
Lieutenant Lewis nodded sharply. "Well, it turns out he wasn't a Captain." Major Novak pulled out a compad and showed it to him, "And his last name wasn't just Sinclair."
The Lieutenant took in a deep breath, "Cameron?"
Major Novak nodded. "That is correct."
I saw the Lieutenant's jaw clench, but he didn't continue. "I still don't understand how that is a problem."
The Elder smiled lightly. "The issue is that Arthur here… has abilities. If he touches a piece of technology that he… owns, then he gets not only a bit of the blueprint for that device, but learns how to use that piece of technology as well."
The Lieutenant raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"
The Major chuckled. "He's also seen the future and supposedly knows the current state of the Inner Sphere."
The Lieutenant looked between the two of them. When neither of them said anything, he began to rub his temples. "Okay. Again, what's the problem?"
I smiled this time. "It only works on things I own. That also includes things that are owned by the village, like the Manassas for example. If we were to form a single unified government, then I would gain access to all of the technology of both the Serkha, as well as the tech from the Dendredans."
A look of understanding flashed through Lieutenant Lewis' eyes. "And they want access to what you can teach them when you get access to their technology."
I nodded. Elder James took over from me. "Now we run into the issues. I am incapable of fairly representing the Manassas' crew members. Most of them didn't trust me to begin with, and now they don't have the faintest idea what I will do at any one moment. You know the crew. They trust you. They may follow me, but it won't be willingly for a lot of them. You on the other hand, they trust you to have their backs. Randall, I need your help."
The Lieutenant stared at Elder James for several long moments. "Sir, if I didn't know you were James Cromwell, I would not have been able to recognize you."
The Elder sat back in his chair and chuckled lightly. "I believe you're the fifth person to say something similar to my face."
The Lieutenant was silent for several long moments. "Alright then, sir. What do you need from me?"
Elder James looked to Major Novak for a moment, before returning his attention to the Lieutenant. "Once Lieutenant Terry is revived, we will be holding a meeting with all members of the Manassas' crew. The Major and I will share everything we know, as well our current and future plans."
Lieutenant Lewis nodded. "Alright. I'm here to support you however I can, but I need to know what we'll be working with."
The Major and Elder James shared a look. "Thats where things get complicated."
From there, the Elder began explaining my knowledge of future events. That included everything from the Clans all the way through to the third succession war, and tidbits from the fourth succession war and the clan invasion.
The Lieutenant looked rather composed throughout the entire telling, I only realized why when he asked a rather important question. "How much of this have you confirmed?"
The Elder and Major looked between each other. "So far, none of it, but 99% of what Arthur has remembered that we've been able to confirm have been accurate. We have a small fleet of ships heading to the Inner Sphere. We'll know for sure what information is accurate and what isn't when they arrive there."
The Lieutenant turned to me and smiled bitterly. "I hope that you are wrong."
I smiled bitterly. "So do I, but the more we learn about the galaxy, the less likely that begins to appear."