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Chapter 10.
Princess.
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After I gave control over my body to Maya, she led the girl into the bathroom, filled the large bathtub with hot water and poured soap granules into it. Immediately, the water surface was covered by foam. Maya glanced at the girl who looked at the water as if it was poisoned.
'Remember that she comes from a cold planet. Immersing herself in water might seem unhealthy to her,' I observed.
Maya smiled at the young girl. "Don't worry little one. It's perfectly safe."
The girl nodded without enthusiasm, disrobed her heavy pelts and clothing, then she stepped into the bathtub calmly.
A minute later, Erica begun to relax in the hot water and Maya begun to shampoo her hair.
This girl can use gate builder tech, but how? Is it something only she can do? Can she do the same thing to other artifacts? Is it something genetic? Something her people can also do? Or was it only a coincidence that the artifact started to work when she touched it. Is this something only people from that world can do? Or maybe there are others, from other planets. If there are, it would be dangerous if other Goa'uld got their hands on such power. While there are many artifacts made by the Gate Builders, only a few of them had any impact on our tech level. Most of what we know is stolen from other species. Besides the Stargates, most of the ancient Gate Builder tech is unusable. We did manage to reverse engineer a few things from some artifacts, but it is clear that what we managed is quite primitive besides Gate Builder tech.
Now, thanks to this girl, I may have an advantage no other Goa'uld has. I will need researchers, techs and engineers to explore it.
Thanks to Maya's idea, I now have a good way to increase my population. I will buy human slaves, preferably, superior slaves from other Goa'uld. As she said, Goa'uld can practically smell the humans with superior traits, be they physical or mental. I will buy them and I will offer them a better life. They and their offspring will not toil with primitive tools just to feed themselves.
They will serve me and they will do it willingly, not as unwilling slaves, but as willing citizens. And the girl ... I was considering on making her my Lotar, but perhaps something else would suit her better.
The girl is an important asset, probably the most important one I have. Her talent may be common, or she might be the only one with the ability to make Gate Builder tech work.
"There," Maya said to Erika as she finished washing the girl's head. "It wasn't so bad, was it?"
Erika nodded and Maya dried her hair with a towel before she covered her with one of our bathrobes.
Perhaps I am fortunate for Maya's maternal instincts. It would be beneficial for the girl to form an emotional attachment toward us.
Maya took the girl into my bedroom where Zyr'na was waiting with a set of clothes for Erika.
Sooner or later, I will have to educate the humans. Erika looks like a smart girl. It might be advantageous for her to begin her education. "Zyr'na, I want you to find a few tutors for Erika."
"My Lady." The bodyguard bowed and left the room.
After the girl dressed into her new clothes, Maya showed her to her new room - a smaller bedroom connected to my own, usually used by the Lotar. "This is your room," my host said.
Erika nodded.
"Would you like to eat something?"
Erika nodded again and Maya offered her hand to the girl who took it hesitantly.
Goa'uld ruler and child walked hand in hand down the corridors. We encountered some Jaffa who bowed at me and glanced curiously at Erika. Most of them were perplexed at seeing their Lady - a Goa'uld, holding the hand of a child, but a few select others had a knowing look on their face.
After I conquered Refuge - Kuro's hidden world, I introduced Maya to Kyra, Eerie and the twins. Since I was sure of their loyalty, the risk was worth taking.
One of the main reasons I did this was because I made them more and more aware of Goa'uld technology, history, intelligence reports and Goa'uld in general. Letting them think I was like the other Goa'uld - who take unwilling hosts, suppressing or torturing their minds into submission would have been much too damaging. When I choose my Jaffa, I looked for mental and physical qualities, but I also searched for those who do not follow blindly.
Sooner or later, they will all know the truth about Maya. I was of course not foolish to just blurt this out to all my Jaffa and humans. That would be too dangerous. Instead, I told my four commanders, who told this to a few other trustworthy high ranking Jaffa and squad leaders who informed other loyal Jaffa. By this time, all my original first one hundred Jaffa know the truth, along with a few hundred more.
It was of course a risky thing to do, but the risk would have been higher had I not done so.
I could not take the chance of one of them thinking I am evil because I take unwilling hosts. The chance of betrayal, despite me being different than the typical Goa'uld would be too great. There is also the chance of one of them being an agent of the Tok'ra, or being recruited by them.
I know that the Tok'ra interfere in Goa'uld business. They sabotage and pit one System Lord against another, never letting one single Goa'uld rule over the others. If they find out that a Goa'uld educates her Jaffa ... I do not know how they will react. But if they think I am a Tok'ra, they will not attack. They might even try to protect me.
The chance of my Jaffa defecting to the Tok'ra disappears if they know the truth about me. And if I do have a Tok'ra agent among them, they may defect to me or the Tok'ra might approach me to join them. I will of course refuse them, but an alliance with them might be beneficial.
Unfortunately, there are some disadvantages to my decision as well, but they pale in front of the advantages. If a Goa'uld thinks I am a Tok'ra, I will be attacked. But I will also be attacked, or at least investigated, if they only know my Jaffa know too much about the Goa'uld technology. There may even be an advantage to them thinking I am a Tok'ra. The Tok'ra have one of the best intelligence sources, so they might discover if a Goa'uld was going to attack me. If they think I am a Tok'ra, they might warn me.
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Two weeks later, Erika returned from her lessons with her tutors. Everyday, she was taken by one of her tutors in the morning, and she returned a few hours later.
When she returned to my chambers, I smiled at the silent girl. "Did you enjoy your day?"
Erika nodded. "It was interesting."
"Come here," I said. When she approached me at my desk, I gave her another Gate Builder artifact, similar to the one she activated. "Here, hold this for a second."
As soon as Erika's hand touched the artifact, it activated.
I took the artifact back, and glanced at it. The display was filled by strange writing. I must find a way to decipher their language if I am to make full use of them.
The girl looked from me, to my hand, and to the artifacts she just activated. She took a deep breath and exhaled, as if she was preparing herself for something. She looked straight into my eyes. "Why?" she asked.
"Why what?"
"Why am I here? Why are you so nice to me? Why were those Jaffa teaching me? What is this thing?" she looked at the activated artifact. "And what do you want from me?"
'Maya?' I asked my host. 'What do you think I should say? We can not afford alienating her.'
'I do not know,' she answered. 'She is just a child. How can we explain all this to her?'
'Perhaps I should just tell her everything. She is a smart girl.'
"Very well, Erika." I patted the chair besides my own. "Sit and I will explain."
I tapped a few keys at the computer console and a mature symbiote appeared. "This is a Goa'uld. To live it needs a host - a human. It enters a body and wraps around the backbone. Then, it takes control of the host."
"What happens to the host?"
"The host's mind is suppressed and the Goa'uld takes full control of mind and body."
"I see," Erika's voice trembled slightly. "So you are the Goa'uld?"
I nodded. "Normally, the host is fully suppressed, but my host - Maya and I came to an agreement and we share the body. You met her that first day, after we entered this room."
"The first day, after I entered the room," Erika repeated. "You started to behave differently. You, she was ... kinder. Sometimes you are more aloof, sometimes you are kinder, friendlier."
"Yes. You must keep this secret. The vast majority of the Goa'uld are not very nice and if they find out that I share my body with Maya, they will try to harm us. The twins, Kyra and Eerie already know about this, and so do some of my Jaffa forces, but the others are not yet aware of this. As to why I am teaching you things, the Goa'uld forbid teaching humans because knowledge is power and they do not want power in the hands of other races. They only want slaves, but I want my people to have more than that."
"And I? Why are you so interested in me? Does it have anything to do with that?" she looked at the Gate Builder artifact.
I fell silent for a few long moments. Should I tell her the truth, lie or not answer? It only took a glance at Erika's determined face to decide. She may be a child, but she is strong. "Yes. It is a artifact made by an ancient and powerful race, far stronger than the Goa'uld. No Goa'uld has ever managed to activate an inactive artifact, but you did."
"So this is why you are so nice to me?"
"Partially," I answered. "Had you lacked this ability, perhaps I wouldn't have taken such an interest in you."
Erika's face betrayed little more besides the slight tightening of her eyes. So hard to read she is, but in the past weeks, she started to relax around me. But now ... is she afraid I only want her as my tool? While she is highly intelligent, she is still a child. We had a few conversations about her past. She was, like me, the ruler of her people. Such a position is filled with loneliness. She had no family or friends, only teachers and servants. She was kidnapped by the Goa'uld, taken by me and given a new home.
"But I must admit, Maya has grown quite fond of you."
" ... And you?" she asked.
"There is a lot of feedback between Maya and I. What one of us feels, the other feels to a great extent. I too care a great deal about you, little one."
For the first time, Erika's calm appearance broke. Her lower lip begun to tremble and her eyes watered. "Promise?" she whispered.
'How cute,' Maya and I thought at the same time. 'Damn you, Maya, and your maternal instincts.'
I pulled Erika into a hug. "I promise," I whispered into her ear. The girl cried silent tears into my chest as I petted her hair.
'Maya, am I evil?' I asked my host.
'Why would you say that?'
'Because even as I hug a crying girl, a part of me can't help pointing out with glee that this has just assured me of her loyalty.'
'Don't worry, that's just another part of you, of us. Remember what you told me. We are what we are. Even if that part thinks, plots and calculates for the future, that does not lessen the other parts. The part that hugs a crying child ... our ... daughter.'
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A month later, Erika came back to her old home accompanied by four squads of Jaffa.
She glanced at the Jaffa commander - Zyr'na, who nodded at one of the squad leaders. One of the squads took defensive positions around the gate. The remaining three squads headed towards the pyramid - her people's home and sanctuary.
When they reached it, another squad pealed off before entering.
Erika, Zyr'na and the two remaining squads were greeted by a hunter who showed them the main chamber where only the elders were waiting for them.
Erika was dressed in a similar suit to the rest of the Jaffa. It was actually a high quality one, almost on par with a commander's suits. When her helmet withdrew, the elders gasped at the revealed face.
"Princess!"
"Elders. We have some things to talk," Erika said, and then she looked at Zyr'na. "Please wait outside."
The bodyguard stared at the elders for a few long seconds before returning her eyes to her charge. She gave a small bow. "Yes princess."
Erika watched the Jaffa leave the room with a small smile. It was Lilith that called her "princess" for the first time. When the commanders heard her called like that, they used it as well as did the rest of the Jaffa. Now, she was always called "princess" or "Princess Erika".
"Princess," one of the elders said. "We thought ... we are glad you came home."
"Thank you, elders, but I will not stay long. I want our people to come with me, to another world. It is a beautiful world with long warm summers, rich hunting grounds, trees with fruits and edible plants ..."
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It took over two hours for Erika to convince the elders to come with her, but in the end, she did and they begun to evacuate to Refuge.
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Author's Notes: So, how was this? Especially the "promise" part. Too much/not enough drama?
On the topic of romance and pairings. I very much doubt there will be any for various reasons. I might have a spin-off into Stargate Atlantis ... and there might be some romance there, but that's still a long time from where we are and I haven't decided on what exactly will happen in that time ... though I do have some ideas.
A little more on why does she have female Jaffa. Females are a blank slate, they can be trained into a new, better mindset. Male Jaffa are trained/set into the Jaffa strong/charge/honor/fearless (aka what is self preservation?) mindset. After the new way of thinking is deeply ingrained into the female Jaffa, there will be male fighters.
More on how will she gather more humans in the next few chapters.
As to Lilith producing things and selling them ... will happen (or begin to,) in the next few chapters as well.
On casualties in combat and reviving them ... I'll say more on that later.
Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Published May 20, 2009.
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