Stargate Hastings
Chapter twenty-one: Part four
Aboard New Atlantis, Abydos system.
Apophis had been taken aback by his First-Prime's betrayal and had been sitting quietly since then. Like Ra and most likely Heru'ur, he knew that they were in a dangerous situation. The fact that his sibling was now being held in the grasp of this strange, powerful being; Only confirmed that the danger was real, but he also knew that the two Jaffa floating above the massive table, one of which resembled an older version of his now former First-Prime, were people he needed to learn more information about, much more!
Apophis did not know exactly why he needed to learn more about these Jaffa; Except for the fact that they both wore his mark, and the man stood before them spoke of the Gau'auld empire falling because of them! "They wear my mark, but I fail to see how two Jaffa can bring down our empire". Apophis looked to Ra, then added. "Ra would never allow this, their rebellion would have been meaningless". Unlike Cronus. Apophis knew that showing his anger would be a pointless exercise, so instead kept his manner relaxed; Still arrogant, but calm. He had also guessed, that something must have happened to Ra in this other reality.
Ra had technology far beyond the other Gau'auld. He was still no match for the Asgard, but if the Gau'auld were to go to war with that species, the conflict would be closer than the Asgard were expecting. A mere slave revolt would never be able to succeed, unless the Asgard aided them or this progenitor race. Apophis intended to accumulate as much information as he could, that was if he could escape this disastrous situation.
Larry who was still holding Cronus in his grasp, then said. "I am certain Ra would have crushed their rebellion, only Ra was no longer among the living I am afraid". The image then changed to that of Jack O'Neill. "Several years before the Jaffa uprising began. Ra was killed by a human of the Tau'ri, along with his First-Prime". Larry turned his attention to Anubis, then added. "Your successor".
An image of Teal'c appeared next to Jack O'Neill, only this image was different; Teal'c was now wearing the same uniform as the human stood at his side, and he now had hair. "Upon Ra's death, his domain was shared between the System-Lords as his custom; Only without Ra there to keep his children in line, the strongest soon began warring with each other for greater territory". Larry looked directly at Apophis before asking. "Can you guess who gained the most in Ra's absence?".
It was Ra that answered for Apophis. "It would be expected of Apophis to rise to my position among the System-Lords; That is if what you are telling us is the truth, we have only your word for this". The ancient Gau'auld said, through the very young looking man he inhabited.
Larry still holding Cronus in his grasp, replied. "Yes, however we both know that your true territory is far larger than the other Gau'auld believe it to be Ra, and I am certain you will be interested to learn who assumed control of your true strength?". Larry asked him.
The look of fear that momentarily flashed across Ra's face was clear to see, but could not be heard in his voice. "I am certain Sokar would be devious enough to learn of my true strength". Not trying to hide the secret, he was certain he and Apophis would be allied once more against a common enemy. Heru'ur already knew of those worlds, if not their location's.
"Anubis!". Larry said to Ra.
Ra's First-Prime seemed confused, but Ra knew that he meant the true owner of that title. "He is dead!".
Apophis then agreed with Ra. "No one could survive his injuries, I witnessed them myself; I could smell the wound to the Gau'auld within, not even a Sarcophagus could heal such a wound!".
"A Sarcophagus no, but an extremely powerful being could; Not only heal him, but be tricked by him also". Larry returned his attention to Ra, then asked him. "Have you been suffering from any unusual dreams my Lord?". To save Ra the trouble of denying that he had been having unsettling dreams, Larry changed the subject. The fear that Ra felt from the question, told Larry that he had guessed correctly. "I grow tired of this one's squirming". He held Cronus up for all to see, then continued. "I believe it would be justice, if you decided his fate Ro'nac!". Larry turned to Ro'nac, then added. "He will decide your fate; In a different reality of course!". Larry, was positioned between the free Jaffa, and the Gau'auld and their slaves or followers; Depending on your point of view. Larry moved closer to the former First-Prime of the one now squirming in fear within his grasp, then passed his former God to him.
Ro'nac had not been surprised by the outburst from the large Abydonian, and realised that he now had an opportunity to make some small step, towards reconciliation with this former slave. He raised Cronus above his head in the firm grip of his right hand, then declared for all to hear. "I am a Jaffa! My brothers and I thirst for battle!". The other Jaffa with him, San'kha and Kaar included, all showed their agreement. "We have fought many battles in the name of false gods, and they were glorious. Jaffa against Jaffa, warrior against warrior! It is not for the fallen Jaffa that I stand in judgement of this one, they fell in glorious combat! It is for the dishonourable actions they, we were forced to commit in his name!".
Ro'nac took Cronus in both hands, then looked directly at Nebu as he declared. "This Jaffa pleads for your forgiveness, and offers himself as your servant for his crimes". He then tore Cronus in two with his bare hands, before adding. "No Jaffa will dishonour themselves in his name, ever again!".
Nebu was not completely swayed by the Jaffa's declaration, but he did recognise that the Jaffa's words were sincere. However, these Jaffa with their God's mark on their forehead's, he could believe were slaves as he and his people were. The Jaffa who punished his people, were the Jaffa now cursing the one who had just murdered their God! The one who his brother now called brother, showed the same reaction as the free Jaffa stood with him; Nebu still did not trust him, but Kaar may not be as foolish as he believed.
Nebu spoke over the Jaffa that were now cursing each other. "You owe me no debt Jaffa, you have been marked as a slave. I believe you when you say that you had no choice, but to obey your master!". Nebu then pointed at San'kha and said. "Him". He then pointed to the Jaffa who were still with their master Ra, then added. "Those men, they have no mark! They are no better than their master!".
Bra'tac spoke up then. "You believe this!". He pointed to the Golden symbol of Apophis on his forehead, then continued. "Is what marks me as a slave?". He said to Nebu.
He opened the front of his tunic revealing his Primta pouch, then urged the Gau'auld larvae to show itself. "This is the third Primta that I have carried. I will soon require a fourth! Each time, I know what will become of the Gau'auld I nurture within myself, but I have no choice or I will die". Bra'tac turned to San'kha and ordered. "Show him!". San'kha revealed his own X shaped pouch, with his own far younger Gau'auld larvae revealing itself.
Bra'tac then stated. "This is our true mark of enslavement, and also the reason you should hate us!". He then pointed to his forehead again and declared. "This, is nothing more than a way to tell friend from foe, on the battlefield! The Jaffa who came to your world and punished the old man. He may be still alive or he may be dead, fallen in battle defending Ra's domain; Defending you and your people!".
Bra'tac's demeanour changed to a less stern one, before he continued. "What this Jaffa did was wrong, but there would have been a reason for him choosing the old man; If this young boy struck or challenged the Jaffa, he had no choice but to kill him!". He could see that Nebu was angered by his words, but he still continued. "The reason for choosing the old man, is this; If uninterrupted the old man would have lived; The elder would have then been informed, that the man should never work the mines again. The boy died, because Ra would have ordered the deaths of his entire family, if justice was not delivered immediately". Bra'tac explained to Nebu.
Hassif put his hand on Nebu's shoulder to calm him, but he shrugged it off. "I except your reasons for why he did this, but explain to me why he enjoyed hurting the old man?". Nebu asked Bra'tac.
Bra'tac thought for a moment how best to answer the question, but before he came up with a good explanation. Larry asked. "May I?". Bra'tac made a gesture to indicate that he could, with Nebu also giving his approval.
Like Janus. Larry understood, that the animosity between the former human slaves and the free Jaffa; Was the primary reason for the terrible fate awaiting that reality or the one created by Larry at least. The reality that SG1 used the time-machine to travel five thousand years into the past from, Larry did not yet know the fate of; Only the fate of the timeline he had created, by preventing them from using the time-machine in the first place. Larry had found that the effect time travel had, greatly depended on the observer. The 'Experiment' involving Jack O'Neill, and Harry Maybourne was the perfect example of this.
Whilst Larry and Janus had fore knowledge of the test, his Replicator children had not. Larry had kept the knowledge he had learned from them, in order to prevent any damage to the timeline. He had merely nudged them in the right direction, then witnessed fate play itself out. To prevent any further damage to that timeline, Larry decided to not view that realities future, in the hope of returning SG1 to that reality, along with Elizabeth Weir and something that would greatly help them prevent that terrible fate. That was if he could find them, but he was certain he would before that time arrived. There were infinite versions of SG1 throughout the multiverse, and only by finding the exact universe that version of them was in, would he be able to retrieve them from that universe's history.
All of that was over a century away from now, and he had a chance to prevent the war that would be the end of both the Tau'ri, and the free Jaffa; The Gau'auld would also be given the chance to avoid their destruction, only Larry believed many were beyond that. "If a Jaffa shows weakness of any kind, and his God or even his fellow Jaffa hear of this; That Jaffa would face severe punishment!". Larry explained to Nebu.
Larry then looked to Anubis, then back to Nebu. "However, I am certain the Jaffa in question could better explain his reasoning". He said, before returning his gaze back to Anubis. "This was before you ascended to your current position, but I can assure you that the Jaffa they speak of is yourself".
Ra could see the conflict going on in his First-Prime's mind, and he knew that Anubis would not answer honestly. If he was to admit that Bra'tac's words were the truth, he would be admitting his own weakness; Something no Jaffa would be foolish enough to do in the presence of their God or even when they were in solitude. Ra knew that he was at the mercy of this strange looking man, so decided that appeasement may be his only hope of escaping this situation.
Anubis was stood behind Ra on his right hand side. Ra placed his right hand on his shoulder, then said. "You have proven your loyalty and devotion to me; You must speak truthfully, any sins you reveal will be forgiven". Ra then turned Anubis's head towards him, and added. "but you must speak truthfully!".
Anubis looked toward the human slave that dared to challenge the Jaffa, to betray his God Ra. "I took no pleasure from beating the old man, no true Jaffa would. My laughter was to make the beating seem more severe, when the child attacked me I had no choice but to kill them both!". Before Nebu could speak, Anubis continued. "I have witnessed uprisings throughout Ra's domain! For the bravery of a few slaves, entire villages have been slaughtered!".
He looked to Ra and bowed his head. "I apologise for my weakness, my Lord".
Ra began laughing in his deep Gau'auld tone, then said. "Weakness? I hear only wisdom in your words Anubis". Ra was not lying, if he was Larry would know.
Seeing the doubt on Nebu and Jim's faces, Larry said. "They are speaking truthfully".
Jim nodded his head in understanding, but Nebu was not appeased so easily. "It matters not! I swore that Da'reff and Kenth would be avenged!". Nebu looked to the free Jaffa, then declared. "I have a better understanding of your people now! You are warriors, men of honour!". He pointed to Anubis, then continued. "My honour demands his death, at my hands! I ask you to pay witness to my challenge?".
Jim upon realising that Nebu was about to get himself killed, moved to interrupt him; Before he could, Robert Parker gave him a look, that told him there was no need to intervene. Jim had almost forgotten, that Nebu had spent the past year training with Robert, and most likely many other skilled soldiers in that time. In the short time he and Robert had spent with Nebu, his sheer determination had helped him learn at a rapid rate; That was in less than ideal conditions, whilst on earth he would have undergone intense training, under a very skilled and experienced instructor.
Ro'nac answered for the Jaffa. "Your life would be forfeit!". Ro'nac knew that a mere human, could never best a Jaffa as skilled as Ra's First-Prime; He had killed San'kha yes, but that was a very different situation to single combat. San'kha had other combatants taking his attention. Anubis would not!
Nebu smiled like a maniac, as he declared. "Then I will die in glorious combat! I will die free!".
Ro'nac bowed his head slightly, then stood to attention followed by the rest of the free Jaffa and Kaar. Ro'nac then said. "We will stand witness". They all then slammed their right fists against their chests, before bowing; All except San'kha.
When Kaar realised this, he asked San'kha. "Why will you not witness brother?".
San'kha turned his head towards Kaar, then answered. "I wish to test myself against your brother in the future, I can not do this if he is dead!". He then looked directly at Nebu, who merely smiled in return.
Kaar roled his eyes, then said. "If he does get killed, I will have to challenge Anubis! As my brother, you could kill him for me?". Realising that he probably should not have said that, Kaar quickly added. "I would fight him myself, but I am not a fool; My brother is the foolish one in our family". The Jaffa all seemed to agree with him, judging by the gestures they made.
Bra'tac put his hand on Kaar's shoulder, then said to him. "Even the mightiest warrior, should show wisdom when choosing his battles young one; Your brother does not have a choice, his fate was decided long ago". Bra'tac looked to Ro'nac, who nodded his understanding.
Ro'nac looked to Nebu, then declared. "We stand witness!". He then turned his attention to Anubis and asked. "Do you accept the challenge?".
Anubis looked to Ra, who made a gesture that told him the choice was his own. Anubis knew that Ra would use the challenge as a test for his First-Prime, but it mattered not. He was a Jaffa, he could never deny a challenge; Especially from a mere human slave! He looked in Nebu's direction, then said. "I accept your challenge slave!". He then turned to San'kha, and declared. "I will also accept your challenge in the boy's place, when this one as been dealt with Shol'va!".
Larry was pleased with how things were proceeding. He was a being dedicated to peace, but he was also a very logical being. During his very long existence, and his studies of organic beings, Larry had learned one thing about them; Change took both time and a catalyst to occur. Whilst the Asgard were already an honourable race, before the sterility plague forced them to resort to cloning, in order to survive as a species; It was not until they did, that they became a truly remarkable people. They would never have became the fourth race before their transformation, as they would have been considered far too barbaric.
The Jaffa on the other hand, were unlike any species he had encountered before. Changing them from a war like people would be an almost impossible task. Larry had long decided that changing their purpose, would be a much less challenging goal to achieve. There was one small problem with doing that, and that was the fact that the Jaffa saw the human slaves as weak. To a Jaffa strength was everything, it was Larry's hope that the Jaffa could learn that strength came in many forms, and this challenge would show exactly that. Only now was not the time for such things.
Larry raised his voice over the crowd. "Janus was speaking the truth, when he told you there would be no violence here today; The earlier demonstration does not count, that was justice. Besides, such a contest deserves a far larger audience, than the one we currently have here with us".
Both Ra and Apophis realised at that moment, that they were likely to be leaving this situation with their lives. When Cronus had been killed, neither of the two Gau'auld had felt any form of loss at his death. Cronus was probably the most dangerous of all the Gau'auld, certainly the most hated. The only emotion they had felt upon his death, was fear! Cronus had been the Gau'auld that would turn the tide of battles, by either joining the contest late or switching sides at the last moment. He had amassed a large sub-empire of his own by doing this, with many minor Gau'auld directly under his control. Ra had always believed that Cronus, could be the decisive Gau'auld in his downfall one day. Apophis had gone to war with few Gau'auld more than he had Cronus, and was pleased that he was dead.
Heru'ur was merely an extension of his father's authority, and very different to the other Gau'auld. He had always been the most loyal of Ra's children, and was seemingly incapable of betraying his father. This made him less of a free thinker, and more similar to a Jaffa than he was a System-Lord. He understood that they were in danger, but his attention was split between his Host's feelings towards Egeria, and this strange man.
Sensing the relief emanating from the System-Lords, well two of them at least. Larry was satisfied that the Gau'auld were ready to hear his ultimatum, so he looked over to Jim and said. "It is best if you take it from here Jim; You are a man with a unique perspective of the situation; A man of both worlds so to speak".
There will be more parts to this chapter, please bare with me as there are a lot of characters in this situation, and I will be laying the foundations for the future of this story!
Hope you're enjoying the ride so far!
