Author's notes: Note that this is the year 1927: one year before the stargate was uncovered at the dig in Giza, and eight years before Indiana Jones came to Pankot palace. That is why no heroes will show up in this story, and why all the Goa'ulds are still alive.
Please also note that all Goa'uld speeches and designations of materials has all been copied from the subtitles in the DVDs of Stargate SG:1. All speeches in Hindu and its translations which you will find in later chapters is all taken from the trivia section of the site IMDB and from the novel of Temple of Doom written by James Khan. Any possible inconsistences that you may find is therefore of no fault of mine. I own neither the Stargate franchise or Indiana Jones. No money is being made on this story.
Their problems are none of my concern!
That was how Kali the Destroyer felt about the whole matter, but it was clear that her pursuers did not share that sentiment. Her Ha'tak vessel, racing through space attempting to rendezvous with the rest of her fleet was taking heavy fire from three motherships like hers, fully intent to stop her from going through with her plans – her quest for the certain power she coveted… her long dream.
Why does the other System lords have a problem with it anyway? Like all the Goa'ulds, she strived for power and dominance of the galaxy – no one was to expect any less of their kind. But it certainly appeared that her planned method for gaining the power she desired was sending a shiver of fear through the other Goa'ulds, not that they would admit such a thing, of course.
There was a frantic activity going on at the bridge. Her mother ship took another hit from one of the Ha'tak vessels chasing her, causing a sparkle of energy to erupt in a cascade from one of the control-modules of the Peltac. Her first prime Kru'ul that was stationed at the helm immediately killed all power feeding through the damaged conduit to stop the energy leak and barked through the communicator to the Jaffa personnel that currently staffed the engine room: "Reroute the control-crystals to the Peltac through the reserve conduits! We can't afford to lose navigation!"
Kali was growing quite impatient. "Why aren't we going into hyperspace?" she demanded with her distorted voice.
Kru'ul reluctantly looked over his shoulder, wary of facing the wrath of his god. It was never a good thing to be the deliverer of bad news, especially to one who was as bloodthirsty as Kali was. "We cannot risk doing so while we're busy doing evasive maneuvers dodging the weapons from our pursuers, my lord. If we open a hyperspace window and misses the entry, the strain of a failed entry might cause a feedback to our control crystals and burn them out, and then we would be stuck. We are already running on our reserves. We have no more to spare."
Kali growled in response, her eyes literally flashing in anger. Kru'ul turned back to his task, not daring to show how he cringed under his god's bestial glare. And bestial they were.
Unlike many of the other system lords, Kali the Destroyer had not changed hosts after the discovery of the Tauri. She was one of the few Goa'ulds who still resided within the first kind of vessel of their origin. Hers was still of the Unas – a lizard-like being of raw power and primordial senses. One of the main reasons as to why she stuck with her Unas-host was because it was more advanced than any other. A long time ago, before the Goa'uld began to upgrade their hosts to the vessels of the Tauri, Kali had undergone a genetic experiment conducted by the Goa'uld scientist Nirrti in an attempt to create a Hok'una, (advanced Unas) which was to better their hosts and make them more powerful. The treatment had given Kali some interesting extra appendages which made her self-appointed god-status appear more legitimate. Her head was slightly larger than the average Unas – she claimed that her brain had evolved and thus making her more intelligent. But unlike any other Unas form, Kali had not two, but six arms. Over the thousands of years past she had grown quite accustomed to this genetic 'defect', and it certainly gave an advantage that she could carry three times as many naqahdah-powered hand-ribbons than any other Goa'uld. Kali's coalition with Nirrti had long since been disbanded after the other went on to creating Hok'tars (advanced humans) instead, but now Kali sought coalition of another kind – that was why the other system lords had put a price on her head.
"What about weapons and shield status?" Kali demanded from her throne.
Kru'ul turned to his side where a lower Jaffa was stationed at another consol. "Trao'l! Kree!" he barked.
Trao'l's report was not any more encouraging than Kru'ul's had been. "Shields are losing power," he said apologetically. "We're taking fire three to one and we're unable to direct our own at everyone at once. We cannot…"
"Stop your sniveling, Jaffa, or I'll have you executed!" Kali snarled in annoyance. With a wave of one of her hands, she called over her Lo'taur, a young human woman who was her closest servant. The woman immediately came over with a pitcher and a glass, in which she poured up a liquid and handed over to her master. The ghoulish-like goddess emptied the glass in one swig, feeling the contents course though her systems. The liquid wasn't just a pleasure drink, it helped to diminish the bestial anger that was rising within her at her Jaffas' incompetence. Throwing away the empty glass into the corner where it broke into hundreds of pieces, Kali addressed her crew again: "Do whatever you need to do to evade our pursuers! Your god commands it!"
"Yes, my lord," Kru'ul responded. "Attempting to…" That's when the proximity alert suddenly blared.
"My lord Kali!" the first prime exclaimed. "We got four more enemy vessels emerging from hyperspace right in front of us!" Just as Kru'ul had said, four more Goa'uld mother ships appeared out of seemingly nowhere to block Kali's path. Kru'ul had no choice but to put the Ha'tak vessel into a stop or they would crash into the newcomers. The new arrivals had played a dangerous game, but it had payed off. Kali was surrounded.
"They've boxed us in," Kru'ul stated unnecessarily.
Just then the main window turned opaque as a transmission was coming in. The viewer displayed an image of a black-haired man with a square face, short-trimmed beard, and small, yet piercing eyes.
"Kree shac chel, Kali!" The man's greeting was as false as his smile. "Kel Baal!"
Kali rose from her throne and approached the viewscreen. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded in a raging distorted voice. "How dare you attack me?!"
Baal didn't falter one bit. "You know perfectly well why," he retorted. "Surely you didn't think your plans of joining forces with Sokar wouldn't slip by the attention of the system lords unnoticed and unchallenged? That we would just sit by and allow you to tip the balance of power to his favor?"
Sokar was one of the two Goa'ulds who currently were the most powerful system lords in the galaxy. Sokar commanded a large fleet, ruled over many worlds, and had thousands of legions of loyal Jaffa at his disposal. But it wasn't the size of his army that tempted Kali to incorporate her fleet with his… it was because Sokar shared Kali's lust for pain and suffering.
Sokar was a ruthless system lord, but then he was the incarnation of the devil. He went by the rule of obedience through tyranny, and he was not above using extreme torture to put his underlings and slaves into submission – and he enjoyed doing so. Inflicting eternal damnation through pain was like a nectar to Sokar – he had even converted the moon circulating his home planet into a hellish prison colony called Netu where the residents suffered unspeakable atrocities every day. The very thought of it made Kali's own blood to rush. She was just as much of a sadist like Sokar, and she would give anything to stand in the middle of hell and listen to all the wailings of torture. Even her own fleet.
That was Kali's whole plan. She had spent a long time to build herself an own army, which she was going to offer to Sokar in exchange for becoming the ruler of Netu. Sokar had once been the supreme system lord of all the Goa'uld until an alliance lead by Ra and Apophis unseated him. If Kali was to join her fleet with his, then Sokar would once again be powerful enough to overthrow the rest of the system lords and place them all under his tyrannical rule. None of the other Goa'ulds wanted to see that day return, so it was a coalition they wanted to stop at all costs. To halt such a union, they needed to take one of the players out of the picture, and it was easier to stop Kali than going against Sokar. That was why Kali the Destroyer currently was the most hunted Goa'uld in the galaxy. And now Baal had caught up with her.
Kali studied the read-outs over the first prime's shoulder; Baal had all his seven ships covering any possible direction the fugitive craft would've liked to go, and every weapon was charged to full power, prepared to blast her out of space.
"You are completely at my mercy," Baal stated smugly. "You can either surrender and swear allegiance to me or be destroyed."
"My fleet will come for me!" Kali growled, clenching all six of her fists.
"Then they'll come witnessing their goddess being vanquished by my hand, and then I will give them the same choice as I just gave you." Baal's smile became even wider. "Do you honestly think that you can escape?"
Kali grimaced while contemplating her options. It was obvious that she couldn't go anywhere she preferably had wanted to go, so she had to consider a different route. And there just might be one: one Baal hadn't considered.
Kali returned to her throne, sitting down, looking regal and proud. "I'll need time to inform my crew of this development," she told Baal.
"You'll have one minute!" Baal said and cut communications. The screen went blank and showed the view of the window again.
"What is your plan now, my lord?" Kru'ul asked.
"No doubt he is monitoring our communications," Kali snorted. "We'll play along for a bit. Trao'l. Depower all of our weapons."
"My lord?" Trao'l questioned.
"Do it!" she snarled to him, and he complied. Then Kali called her Lo'taur over and instructed her a new command. "You will inform the engine room that all available power except for navigation and the star drive is to be diverted into the shields. They are to be put up to maximum power at my command!"
The aide nodded and went her way.
"Kru'ul! Input the following coordinates into the navigational console…" When the first prime had done so, he looked over at Kali with a startled expression. "My lord! That heading will take us right into…"
"I know exactly where it will take us!" Kali barked. "Do not question me!"
"Forgive me, my lord. Awaiting your command to execute."
The female aide came back and reported to Kali that the engine room was ready. Just then the viewscreen came on again and once more displayed Baal's face.
"Time's up. I see that you powered down your weapons," he said with a pleased expression. "I take it that you have agreed to surrender?"
Kali's eyes flashed. "To you? Never! Raise shields!"
Baal's smile disappeared. "Fire!" he barked to his side.
All gun batteries of the surrounding ships released their charges. Had Kali not boosted her shields prior to this, she would've have been instantly obliterated. But it would not be able to withstand the combined power for very long, so Kali immediately had Kru'ul to execute the next phase of her escape. The Ha'tak vessel rotated on its axis, turning to a direction Baal had not considered to cover as it would not take Kali to a destination favorable to her – but since the path was clear, Kali took it anyway. Enduring the heavy bombardment for just the few seconds required, Kali's mother ship managed to escape into hyperspace right under Baal's nose.
Onboard Baal's flagship, the Jaffa stationed at the Peltac looked over his shoulder to deliver the report that otherwise was quite obvious to all. "My lord, she jumped into hyperspace!"
One might've expected a tantrum coming from a Goa'uld ruler – but Baal simply leaned back in his own throne and sighed tiredly. This was only but a mere nuisance to him. "So, my dear, you've chosen to do this the hard way," he mumbled in his distorted voice. "Well, go after her!" he then commanded. The Jaffa nodded in acknowledgement and quickly steered the ship into the new bearing Kali had taken. All seven Ha'tak vessels took pursuit in hyperspace. They figured that since Kali's own ship was previously damaged, she would not be able to maintain top speed for so long. Sooner or later she would have to drop out, and then they would have her. But it soon became clear what Kali had in mind when she broke into her run.
"My lord Baal," the Jaffa called back again. "Our sensors indicate that kali is headed straight for Ra's territory!"
This news made Baal's eyebrow rise slightly in surprise. What did she hope to gain from that, he wondered silently to himself? Loudly he asked: "Can we reach her before that?"
"No, my Lord!" the Jaffa answered. "According to the readings, she has already crossed the border!" Contrary to her success of escape earlier, this accomplishment of Kali's displeased Baal quite a bit.
"My lord," the Jaffa continued, looking nervous. "We can't go in after her!"
Baal didn't like to admit it, but his lower underling was in this case right. He gave the command. "All ships: stop!" Every pursuing Ha'tak vessel came out of hyperspace, slowed down and came to a stop right before the border that marked the space that belonged to the system lord Ra, and there they remained.
"Based on the direction she took, what is Kali's estimated destination?" Baal asked.
The Jaffa at the Peltac called up a star map on the viewer and made the calculations. "There," he finally said, pointing to a specific spot. "I believe it is the world of the Tauri! That's a bad choice. There's absolutely nothing there!" the Jaffa chuckled. Baal however, didn't chuckle.
"On the contrary, it's the perfect choice," he said, looking like he sat in deep thought. The Tauri was said to be the world where the Goa'uld found their human hosts, and where they lifted their slaves to seed around the galaxy on the planets they dominated to serve them. But that was a long, long time ago. That world was of no interest today. No naqahdah deposits existed there, no trinium ore… it didn't even have a chaapa-ai. If there was one, it was buried and impossible to use. It was a completely isolated stellar body, which was why it served Kali to hide there. Although the Tauri belonged to Ra, it was a world he had long ago abandoned and cared nothing for. (No doubt the human uprising 5000 years ago that drove him away from there still left a bitter aftertaste he did not wish to be reminded of.)
Baal considered both the facts and his options. As it currently looked, since Ra didn't bother with that world, a single Ha'tak vessel could slip through unnoticed without attracting attention. Baal's fleet of seven ships however would not. And Ra was one adversary he did not wish to engage battle with at this time. Ra was the system lord besides Sokar that was the most powerful. It wasn't however his might that was the main problem…
One thing that all Goa'uld had in common was that they were all vain and megalomaniac, but Ra had one streak that made him close to unreasonable: he was eccentric. Ra had a fondness of beauty in youth and vitality, that was why his host was one of a teenage boy. He even surrounded himself with children in his closest company.
One of the Goa'ulds biggest lies were that with each host they took, nothing of the original personality survived. But that wasn't entirely true – one side effect with each blending was that each Goa'uld symbiote would end up taking some of the characteristics that could be found in every new host. And since Ra had chosen a teenage host, he had taken on the traits of youthful arrogance, impatience, and distrust for others. If Baal went after Kali into Ra's domain, the other wouldn't be interested in the fact it was to stop a coalition with Sokar, even though he too was an enemy of Ra. (He had only sided with Apophis against Sokar due to the fact that they were brothers, and even that had been a tense cooperation.) Ra would only see it as an intrusion and respond as such. Even though the Tauri was of no interest to him, Ra would retaliate by sheer principal.
Such an action would also leave Baal with a bad reputation. The Tauri was a backwater world – it had no strategic position of any kind. To go into war for such a worthless rock in space would brand Baal to be a fool. Reputation was a powerful tool if it leaned in the right way, and Baal was known to be a cunning god. It was a reputation he could not afford to ruin - which meant that he could not go after Kali.
"What do we do now, my lord?" the Jaffa at the Peltac asked.
Baal leaned back in his throne in a relaxed posture. "We wait," he said simply. "Kali went there to hide, not to run. But she won't be able to hide there for long, there isn't much on that world that can help sustain her or meet her requirements for repairs. And there's no way off there except by ship. Eventually she will have to reveal her position, and we'll be waiting for it."
"But… what if she does something that will gain her a new advantage?"
Baal only scoffed. "The Tauri is a primitive world. What harm can she possibly do there?"
