Lucian Ha'tack, Gavos' Requiem
Milky Way Galaxy
Sarra sat in the Command Throne of the Twelfth Clan's flagship. After consolidating her position among the hierarchy of the Clan, following the murder of her brother and predecessor, she'd seen to it that the ship be renamed in his honour.
Beyond that, the Ha'tack was superficially no different than it would have appeared when it's former Goa'uld owner had sat in her chair; the bridge was the same, rather gaudy gold for the most part, which didn't appeal to Sarra's less extravagant tastes, though she imagined there were more than a few Seconds who very much enjoyed travelling through space in their personal bejewelled palaces. The same control systems, with their almost incomprehensible (to the untrained eye of course) Goa'uld script were everywhere and worse, the more advanced systems that required the presence of Naquadah in the blood. This had represented something of a challenge for nascent Alliance Empire, freed former hosts, renegade Jaffa or enslaved Goa'ulds weren't sustainable options as the size of the fleet ballooned, that demand had led to some rather questionable methods to resolve the issue, and that of use of the more advanced Goa'uld technologies in general, certainly ones that Sarra herself would not engage in, namely the experimentation on captured peoples; attempting to introduce then remove symbionts, implanting the metal, injecting it into organs, tissue or veins. Sarra was not cruel, at least not in her own mind, she was however, ruthless, so she did not reject those who successfully emerged from the process to help crew her vessels. It would be foolish to turn down the results whether she agreed with the process or not, and foolish to hand an advantage to a rival Clan, she reasoned.
Speaking of cruelty, her vessel was on its way to one of the world's the Second Clan had left to starve. Once ruled by a minor Goa'uld, Anuket, Seheil was a backwater world, though it's position near the border between the territory claimed by the two Clans made it more interesting than it had any right to be. Sarra smirked, the chance to rub that young prick Terrin's face in it, while showcasing the strength of her own 'approach' to leadership was a pleasing opportunity. She sat back in her throne, looking out at the swirling blue vortex of the dimension her ship was hurtling through in contemplation. Her more 'just' approach to ruling was in favour with the current First, who shared her disdain for the Second's Second. She expected the inexperienced boy to overreact, so the potential for seizing more of his Clan's territory tantalised her. Sarra kept her cards close however, her brother paid a heavy price for public dissention, so she was careful to allow it to appear she was merely following the wishes of Ventrell, though really, she was pursuing her own plans, it just so happened that, for now at least, they coincided.
One of the bridge crew turned from the controls he operated and informed of her of their arrival to the destination, Sarra's silent nod was enough to signal to drop the ship back into real space. She always found it a strange moment, the ship decelerating from some unfathomable speed in a different dimension back into 'reality' yet, there was barely a judder, no feeling at all. The strange energies that had filled her view for the past few hours were replaced by Seheil. It looked just as unremarkable from this vantage as she knew it to be. Lots of sand, how she hated the desert, and here she was, ostensibly to save a planet sized one.
She got off her throne, the relatively elaborate leather uniform of a Lucian commander wasn't going to be the ideal outfit for the surface of this dustball, but it carried weight, and that was more important than being a little warm. She made her way to the Ring Room, flanked by her loyal guards at all times. Her underlings were already preparing to begin transport of food and other supplies via Tel'taks, but she would take some herself, using the Rings to arrive in the centre of the settlement around the Chappa'ai to full effect.
With a flash of light and the rush of air as the rings receded back into the ground, that's exactly where Sarra found herself. It was warm, almost oppressively so. Bright too, as her eyes struggled to adjust from the unnatural gloom of her starship to the sun scorched rock she now found herself on. The Ring platform was, as expected, in front of the Chappa'ai, which found itself in front of the almost obligatory pyramid that the Goa'uld had been so found of. Otherwise, the usual run of the mill shacks and slums made up the rest of the settlement, at least as far as she could see anyway.
As her senses sharpened, she spotted a grimacing Terrin and his men beginning to approach them. She narrowed her eyes and prepared for whatever the upstart would offer as a greeting.
"Sarra, so good to welcome you to your new home." The boy added a mock attempt at a bow to make matters worse. She considered the ramifications of punching him square in the jaw, but decided the risk to the lives of the rest present was more than the satisfaction of the act would deliver. Though it would be unquestionably satisfying, of that, she had no doubt.
"Hm, I can see why you might think that, given your own collection of dirt balls, you must think that's how we all live." A smile and a mock bow of her own rounded it off.
By now the locals had begun to emerge, shuffling into the streets, but understandably apprehensive to approach too closely. They were a dishevelled mess, tattered rags covered withered frames, coughs and wretches echoed through otherwise quiet streets. Sarra took it all in before glancing back at Terrin.
"Ra's teeth, nobody told you to lavish luxury upon these people, but you couldn't spare them a few morsels to eat?"
Looking somewhat offended, Terrin retorted, "These people are weak by their nature, downtrodden slaves, it's their way, so I left them too it." Sarra's anger was building with each word. "I'm not some monster, Second. I even ordered the healing of the worst of them." The youngster turned, gesturing towards one of his entourage. Sarra hadn't paid him a lot of attention; a man, stood in simplistic robes, silent, unmoving, eyes were milky white, strangely so, then she caught sight of his arms, at least the parts extending from the robes, they were covered in scars down towards his hands, both of which had Goa'uld devices, perhaps forcibly attached.
"What…" Was all Sarra could offer before an answer came.
"Don't tell me you aren't aware of the experiments to harness the False Gods powers? Or are they too much for the Twelfth's sensibilities?" The little prick was grinning ear to ear, an insult and a demonstration of power. The urge to strike him was building again.
The back and forth continued long enough for the Second Clan to withdraw, using the Chappa'ai to travel to their capital world. Apophis knows she had no desire to ever set foot there. The Tel'taks had landed and began unloading supplies, she was almost surprised that they hadn't been swamped by the locals, either they were too ill, too weak or too afraid of the sort of treatment the Second dogs must have been dishing out to them.
Sarra pondered the implications of whatever had stricken these people, was it just malnourishment? Did Terrin really have a man, well, whatever was left of that man, who was capable of using a Goa'uld healing device? Was at a boast? If he had that power, would he really have used it on these poor wretches? If he really had the power, bringing it here to taunt her seemed more likely than an attempted act of mercy, certainly. It was a wider concern that the Second's either had access to resources the Twelfth did not, or worse, they'd managed to 'develop' this ability on their own. That last thought deeply concerned Sarra before she'd even finished thinking it. The more reckless factions towed the line as the 'sensible' ones controlled the means to the technological and scientific development that was needed to compete with the Tau'ri, if they started achieving such things themselves…
Her train of thought was interrupted by the approach of one of her underlings, they had set up their facilities and begun portioning out the supplies to the populace, meanwhile, what they had that passed for medics were moving out into the settlement to figure out whether these people were actually ill, or just starving.
"Second, as far as I can tell, all of the Second Clan have withdrawn. This world is now secure." Memalec, one of her most trusted commanders, who had also served her brother, had been tasked with making sure Terrin's dogs weren't hanging around to try and steal any of the resources that had been brought to this world. "I'm told it will be sometime before we are able to fully evaluate the planet and its population." Looking around somewhat suspiciously, the commander continued once more, "might I suggest you retire to your ship at least until we can guarantee your safety?"
Sarra was a little surprised at the suggestion, "This world is secure, no? Yet you think I could be in danger?"
"There's always danger, Second." Memalec replied with a tone of respect, "and not just from violence."
"Not just?" Sarra pondered where he was going with this.
"What if these people aren't just starving?"
