GODS OF THE GALAXY
Chapter One: Diverging Paths
Ra, Supreme System Lord of the Goa'uld, felt his ship vibrate as the engines pushed it up and out of Alksho's atmosphere. The cargo holds were now full of the Naqueda his slaves had mined for their god. He breathed deeply of the cold air now slowly circulating through the chamber, stirring the soft silk fabrics hanging from the walls. Though the hot air of the jungle world was to his liking, the humidity left him feeling a bit sticky.
As the gentle vibrations died away Ra crossed over to a set of stairs which led up to an empty bathing area. With a flick of a control on his ribbon device water began pouring in through a dozen holes set into the sides. As he watched the water level rise he called over two of his older servants and held out his arms, allowing the boys to slide his robe off his shoulders. "Leave me," he instructed them as he slowly settled into the hot water and allowed it to wash clean the residue of the oppressive jungle heat. Closing his eyes, he began pondering which of his worlds he would collect tribute from next. Darak'har would have their food supplies harvested, and Abydos was due to deliver their Naqueda in just under a month's time. So many worlds, he thought to himself, a smirk making itself known across his face.
…
Rasui and Urshe made their way through the lavish halls of their god's palace, his robe carried in Rasui's careful hands. "I am glad to be off that place," the older Rasui remarked quietly. Around them the silks and banners of their master shifted slightly at their passing, and a distant hum filled the air with relaxing vibrations.
"Yes, I did not enjoy the wet heat at all," the smaller Urshe replied as they entered a small tan walled room with a large washing pan at the back. Two young girls were playing Dogs and Jackals off to one side. They looked up as the boys entered.
"What brings you here?" Asked the younger girl, a nine or so year old with short brown hair, her green dress pooling slightly around her feet. Her hand was wrapped around a basalt jackal which was poised to win the game Urshe noted.
"Ra wishes his garment washed," Rasui answered, handing the purple-grey robe off to the older girl who had risen to stand when the males had entered.
"It will be done," she said, her pale purple dress rippling as she moved and the circlet around her head shone where the light caught it. She pressed a white square in the wall and at once warm water began filling the pan until she pulled her finger away. "Amisi, come help me," she said as she very carefully set the robe in the water and picked up a cloth and began removing the particulates and leaf fragments from the fabric. Amisi moved to her own side and slowly picked up several jars of scented oils and added them to the water.
"We will have it done by the time Master is ready," the older girl said.
"Very well," Rasui replied as the boys turned and left. They had just made into the main area when the ship shuddered greatly and the two boys were hurled to the side, crashing into a column and banging their heads.
"What was that?" Urshe asked as he was helped back to his feet.
"I don't know, but we must get back to Ra; he may wish our presence."
The two hurried back to the throne chamber where Ra was waiting impatiently, his eyes flashing in annoyance as his servants gently grasped a long tan robe with bands of gold decorating the arms and slipped it over their god's shoulders. Rasui secured it with a golden clasp and the boys backed away down the stairs and got on their knees, eyes closed as they felt Ra stand over them for a brief moment before he headed off and vanished in the rings as they carried him away to some distant part of the ship.
As they stood once again, the boys thanked Ra that he has seen fit not to punish them for their not having been at his side faster. Their god's moods were difficult to predict, and more than one of their brothers and sisters had paid the price for their lack of skill.
"Do you think it was an attack?" Urshe asked as he grabbed a nearby rag and began mopping up a small amount of water which had spilled over the side of the bath.
"Perhaps, but our god cannot be destroyed, so we have nothing to fear," Rasui answered as he joined his brother in cleaning up the spilled water.
…
Once the rings had set him at the rear of the large pel'tac of his flagship, Ra made his way to the massive gold throne which rested against a tan stone column. A glowing orb hummed behind it, looking for all intents and purposes like a sun. All around him Jaffa were tapping at their consoles, attempting to answer their god's yet unspoken questions. The pale green and purple silks moved in time with blasts of cool air from the air ducts as they swept through the gold and tan walled room. Walls of hieroglyphics glinted in the bright light as the main screen flowed like water, solidifying into the image of a Hat'ak class mothership drifting in the distance. Several rents were visible in its hull, plainly the work of Goa'uld weaponry. "Is that ship the source of the disturbance?" Ra demanded, his eyes focusing on the ship slowly moving down and to the left of his vision.
"It is my Lord," one of the Jaffa replied, his dark skinned hands flying over his station as he attempted to gather more information. "The ship appears to have undergone severe structural damage, and sensors detect no atmosphere aboard."
"What markings does the ship bear?"
The Jaffa worked his controls again for a moment. "The ship bears the symbol of Baal my Lord," he replied.
"Baal," Ra whispered, his eyes flashing dimly. "Assemble a group of Jaffa and board that vessel. I wish to know why Baal would dare send a vessel into the heart of my territory."
"I will see to in at once my Lord," the Jaffa replied as he hurried off. As he passed into the corridor beyond the pel'tac Ra stood and made his way back to the rings. Manipulating the controls he allowed the rings to carry him back to his main chamber. Two of his servants were finishing their task of cleaning up spilled water from his bath.
"Master Ra," they spoke together, bowing their heads as their god strode past them without a reply. He crossed over to a large curving couch of red material where two of his female servants began fitting his rings onto each finger. When they were finished he took a tablet and began sifting through the pages with the turner device. Yes, he decided, Abydos would be his next destination.
…
Shal'ka, First Prime of Ra, dropped to a crouching position as soon as the rings deposited him and his boarding party of Jaffa aboard the intruding vessel belonging to Baal. There was no light, but that wasn't a problem for the Jaffa thanks to the sensors built into their armor.
Quickly taking in the situation through the sensors built into his Anubis Guard helmet, Shal'ka located the bodies of four Jaffa, all with staff weapon wounds on their bodies. Two more lay dead in front of a door which was jammed open. "Jaffa, with me," he said as he cautiously stepped out into the corridor, lit by a single flickering light at the far end. The hieroglyph-inscribed walls were pockmarked with staff weapon impacts.
"A fierce battle took place here," Al'kor noted as he prodded the still body of a helmeted Jaffa. "The number of dead increases downs that passage," he indicated, pointing down a hallway which was thick with dead Jaffa.
"We will proceed to the Pel'tac and attempt to restore power. If the damage is not severe we will have little trouble. If it is," Shal'ka continued, "we will proceed to the engineering deck. Jaffa, Kree!" He called as the six Jaffa party made their way through several corridors littered with dead Jaffa. Though he could not make out the faces, he could detect subtle differences in their armor which revealed the dead were from several different System Lords.
"Master Shal'ka, over here!" Ter'ac called from up ahead where he was examining a fallen form. It was armored much differently from the other Jaffa, and as the First Prime joined his fellow Jaffa on one knee he could see that the form was fitted with smooth, segmented armor, quite unlike the ridged, scale-like armor of the Jaffa. "I have never seen armor like this before."
"I have not either," Shal'ka replied as he spotted a Jaffa nearby with a weapon he had never seen before. It was a metal device with a stock, handle and a long barrel which ended in a small aperture. The most interesting feature though was a faintly glowing crystal near the end of the barrel. "We will take this weapon back with us, but first the Pel'tac."
As the doors to the Pel'tac opened the Jaffa instinctively raised their staff weapons. The interior of the Pel'tac was badly damaged from what the Jaffa recognized as a fast but furious battle. A dozen Jaffa lay dead, alongside another of the strangely armored warriors. Most importantly however, was the figure which lay sprawled near the throne. He was unarmored and dressed in a long robe
"Baal," Shal'ka remarked, leaning in close enough for the infrared sensors in his Horus Guard helmet to cleanly discern the face. The back and left side of his head had been blown apart by a close range staff blast, and blood and brain matter decorated the throne behind him. "Our lord will be pleased at this I am sure."
"I have accessed the ship's databanks," Tor'al called from the primary systems station. "This cannot be correct. The ship must have suffered damage to its core library," he said in confusion.
"What is it?" Shal'ka inquired.
"According to the ship's log, the current date is over ten years in the future," the Jaffa replied, his helmet cocked to one side.
"What?" Shal'ka crossed over to the flickering display and saw that Tor'al was telling the truth. "Perhaps the damage to the ship merely altered the entry dates on the information." As he accessed records however, Shal'ka became more and more convinced that there was no mistake. Records passed before his eyes that Baal would have had no knowledge of, things no spy could have learned. Then he saw a piece of information which caused him to stop cold. "This is impossible," he breathed.
"What is it?
"This entry is dated one month from now. Ra killed in orbit of planet Abydos," Shal'ka whispered. "Killers were later discovered to be of the Tau'ri."
"Who are the Tau'ri?" Tor'al asked as he worked on life-support from the adjacent controls.
"I do not know, but from what I can discern these 'Tau'ri' have, if this information is indeed accurate, bee responsible for the fall of Cronus, Apophis and Sokar."
"But gods cannot be killed," Tor'al said.
"Of course, but…" Shal'ka trailed off as he felt his anger rise and his fist clench even tighter around his staff weapon.
"What is it? More lies?"
"A Jaffa rebellion against the gods," Shal'ka answered. "Led by the shol'va Teal'c, First Prime of Apophis. The Jaffa attacked Baal in orbit over Dakara. The final log entry is of Baal giving the command to activate a technology he procured from Anubis."
"Who is Anubis?"
"I no not know. It appears the ship was to move backwards in time, allowing Baal to avoid his future mistakes and rise to rule all Goa'uld."
"Do you believe any of this information?" Tor'al asked as he finally coaxed a moan from below his feet and the ship began coming back to life around the Jaffa. Hissing sounds announced the return of atmosphere to the pel'tac. "Our lord Ra is master of all Goa'uld. Baal could never achieve what our god has and more than that, the Jaffa could turn against our gods."
"Of course," Shal'ka replied. "Still, our lord may wish to see this information for himself. We will complete our inspection of this vessel before returning." Stepping back, Shal'ka made his was back out into the now lit corridor, intent on finding the secrets this vessel concealed.
…
Ra observed the Hat'ak as it slowed glided into place at one of the docking hatches of his massive Dhan'hak command ship. His Jaffa had done an adequate job of repairing the damaged systems and accessing large amounts of what seemed to the Supreme System Lord to be lies and fabrications. Events from the future, a full-scale rebellion of the Jaffa? It was all impossible. Still, the technology on the ship itself promised to be impressive. Once its systems were powered up Ra had discovered its shields and weapons were more in line with a Shal'kra, and even then there were notable differences.
The thing which intrigued Ra the most were the two armored warriors his Jaffa had recovered. Their armor was different from any Ra had seen before and from what little had been discerned thus far were far above what his Jaffa wore now. His instincts told him that there was truth in what he was reading, and the mention of his death caused him to keep reading. These 'Tau'ri' who, according to the information, had killed several System Lords came from one of his former worlds. Perhaps he should go there and see for himself if they posed a threat.
The thought of the world he had fled millennia ago brought a frown to Ra's face. Fleeing from mere slaves; it had never truly left his mind. If he believed the information from Baal's ship, then neutralizing the Tau'ri would be paramount to his objective of completing his dominance over the other System Lords. The weapon in the planet's southern pole also offered him a potential prize he simply couldn't afford to not investigate.
"My lord," came a small voice from below him. Looking down Ra saw one of his young female servants. "Your meal is prepared," she said, her gaze resting on the floor. She did not move as Ra stepped past her. The table at the far end of the columned chamber was set with several dishes containing fruit, cooked meat and sweet deserts. Some he recognized as tribute from previous landings, other he knew his servants had spent many long hours carefully preparing.
As he ate his mind continued to ponder the validity of the information from the mysterious ship. The more he read the more his mind worked to turn things to his advantage. There was information on the movements of other Goa'uld, worlds the Tau'ri had visited and discovered resources, even full libraries of an ancient race with whose technology the Goa'uld had risen to power.
When he was finished with his meal Ra returned to the Pel'tac. "Jaffa," he spoke, "change the ship's course. Take us to the Tau'ri star system." With a flick of his ribbon device Ra called up the system's location for the Jaffa.
"As you command my Lord," the Jaffa replied, and a moment later the ship entered hyperspace.
…
Far above Earth's atmosphere space shifted and was briefly pierced as a cloud of energy flashed into existence, momentarily lighting up the sensors of every satellite it orbit. Ra's massive Dhan'hak flagship slowly assumed a geosynchronous orbit above the surface. The Goa'uld had returned to Earth.
"We have arrived my lord," Tor'al called from his station. "Sensors detect several billion inhabitants as well as heavy industrialization."
"Prepare the core for landing at this location," Ra ordered as he input a set of geographic coordinates. It was time he reclaimed what he had left behind. The ship rumbled and vibrated as the central pyramid detached from the main ship and entered the upper atmosphere.
As the ship heated up and left ragged holes in clouds the descent slowed, until the ship was dropping slowly directly over the three ancient pyramids Ra had so long ago called home.
…
Doctor Daniel Jackson wearily walked into his apartment, shaking his umbrella just outside his door to get as much water off as he could before placing it on the floor beside a coat rack. Flicking on the lights, he glanced around at his familiar stacks of books and ancient artifacts from across the world. "Well," he said to his friends of yellowed paper as he plopped down on the book laden sofa, "they laughed me out of the room again." He'd been giving a lecture on how he believed aliens had built the Great Pyramids, but he'd been heckled from the start and eventually had simply left when he could no longer hear his own voice.
"Well let's see what's on the news today," he sighed, selecting the world news channel, turning up the volume to drown out the rain. As the television flashed to life Daniel was surprised to see an Egyptian man speaking frantically while pointing to the sky. Turning it up Daniel listened to the man, ignoring the subtitles moving across the screen.
"A great flying shape is even now descending upon Giza!" The man spoke while gesturing up at a shape emerging from the clouds overhead. Daniel's eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he saw the shape resolve into a large pyramid. Before his unbelieving eyes the ship settled down over the largest of the pyramids, sending out a great cloud of dust which knocked out the camera signal.
"Did I just see that?" Daniel asked himself. Reaching over, still half in a daze, he picked up his phone and dialed the number of a colleague he'd met in Egypt during a dig there a few years before. The phone rang five times before Daniel heard someone pick up.
"Hello?" Said a raspy voice. "Who is this?"
"Adjo? Hi, this is Daniel Jackson. You might remember me from the dig in Giza three years ago.
"Ah yes, Daniel. I assume you saw the news footage of the flying pyramid?"
"So I wasn't hallucinating. What's going on there?" Daniel asked eagerly. His dream was coming true!
"A lot of chaos and confusion. The police are trying to cordon off the area, but there are so many either trying to flee or get closer it will be a long time before we have order here," Adjo replied.
"I'm on my way; I should be there by tomorrow with luck," Daniel said. "I'll talk to you soon." Hanging up the phone Daniel immediately dialed the international airport. "Hello, I need a plane to Cairo. As soon as possible. That's perfect, thank you."
After taking care of his travel plans Daniel horridly packed a suitcase. "Ok, cloths check, ancient Egyptian texts, check, all noted regarding ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses," he paused to snatch two books off a shelf and carefully place them in the last free space. "Check." As quickly as he could Daniel hurried out of his apartment, making sure to lock it, he dashed off to the airport. A single thought burned in his mind. I was right!