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Chapter 7: Times, they're changing...
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Part 3
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More government incompetence? Units from First Armored Division transferred to Colorado Air Station for planned mountain training. There they found many of the facilities full of some of the new agricultural equipment purchased by the US government!
USA Today
It appears that everything else going on this month isn't enough! UFO enthusiasts in Nevada again claim seeing weird lights at Area 51. Perhaps the Air Force is now testing electric-powered planes?
The Late Night show
"Moloc dismissed the rumors of better combat equipment for Jaffa many other System Lords are working on as fancy toys. His pure and faithful Jaffa have the strength of spirit and arms to crush any enemy.
Curiously enough, so far those same pure Jaffa are unable to crush the small rebel groups who don't want their newborn daughters burned alive."
part of a report from a Tok'ra agent in Moloc's court
It was our darkest hour. The resistance against the Demon Moloc was fractured and spread out, vulnerable. We were unable to strike a decisive blow and show that our sacred cause had a chance of success.
Then our God came, offering salvation! Thunder heralded his arrival. He wielded Holy lighting and smote down the demon Moloch!
from Dawn of hope, by High Priestess Ishta
"Vasil, get together with Stephan and Orel. I want the three of you to plan a lighting raid upon Moloc's Throne World. We'll be using the Chappa'ai and combat test the new ground transports when we have enough of them."
biography of First Prime Stephan, The Right hand of Thunder by REDACTED
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21 July 1996
Cheyenne Air Station
The United States
Milky Way galaxy
Sergeant Gates stumbled through the Stargate, finding it hard to find his footing on arrival. Bright lights shining in his face didn't help matters, and he barely avoided tumbling down like a sack of potatoes.
The lights dimmed as soon as the gate shut down behind Nicholas. He blinked out white spots, looking away from the blinding light. The first thing he saw was the metal ramp he was on. It was what he managed to stumble upon.
"Holy cow!" Gates exclaimed when his vision cleared, and he could see what was around. A huge tank cannon pointed straight at him, poking from behind a wall of sandbags. A manned M2 was on top of the cupola. It also had more sandbags stacked on top, for the gunner to use as cover.
Gates looked around, seeing two Bradleys, with only their weapons sticking above more sandbags. There was infantry behind in the flanks, positioned in such a way they wouldn't shoot each other when engaging hostiles coming from the gate.
"Sergeant Gates, put down your weapons and equipment, then approach slowly." An unfamiliar voice came over a hidden loudspeaker. "You're in for a medical check-up and debriefing."
Nicholas grumbled to himself but did as ordered. He slowly removed his sidearm, while it was safely still in the holster, and put it on the ground. His knife followed, then his backpack and webbing with all the attached equipment he carried for his trip to the alien world.
As soon as Gates wore only his field uniform, four unusually large soldiers in MOPP gear approached and waved him to follow. They fell in a loose escort position around him, just far enough that he couldn't lunge at one of them before they could react.
The poor bastard stewing into the rubber protective gear led Nicholas to a side door. There wasn't a door on that side of the hangar when Gates left Earth. The rubber tunnel that followed was new too, and the same went for the field isolation ward full of medical equipment. A short red-haired woman waited for him, wearing a protective suit of her own. It was the kind you only really saw in the movies.
"Sergeant Gates, please get down to your undershirt, put up your sleeves, then sit down on the bed." The woman ordered. "I'm Captain Janet Fraiser, the Chief Medical Officer responsible for this circus."
"Yes, sir!" Gates saluted and began removing the top part of his field uniform. "Those are a lot of needles, Ma'am." He commented, seeing the tray of instruments the Captain had ready at hand.
"We need to make sure the Nicholas Gate we sent through that thing, is the same one I'm looking at. Then, we have to be reasonably sure that you're in your right mind, Sergeant. You're in for a mandatory quarantine period as well."
"I really shouldn't have volunteered for this shit. No offense meant, sir!"
"You're a Sergeant. You should have known better." Fraiser deadpanned.
Gates looked critically at a very large syringe the tiny Captain picked up, and the needle attached to it. You could easily drain someone with that damn thing!
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A few hours later, after the vicious little Captain drained at least a third of his blood for tests, Gates found himself eating an MRE. He sat at a table in an isolation tent, waiting in front of a camera for a preliminary debriefing. That exercise would begin as soon as his X-Rays were ready, confirming he didn't have a parasite in his head.
The Sergeant stabbed a plastic fork into the sorry excuse for a chicken and wondered when he could hit a proper mess hall. Even the bad ones weren't as hit-and-miss as the bad MREs. Besides, usually, Uncle Sam went out of his way to keep his soldiers well fed.
Gates just managed to finish his meal, when one of the MOPPies entered his small room.
"Congratulations Sergeant, you don't have a snake infestation. You're to prepare for debriefing." The guard spoke in an almost inhuman voice distorted by the gas mask.
"Lucky me. Any idea how long I'll be a guest of this five-star establishment?"
"Until the Captain is sure you don't have a space fly that will get us all puking out our guts or worse."
"A piece of free advice, buddy, if the opportunity arises, never volunteer for an interesting assignment. If you do, you can end up in my shoes." Gates offered sage advice.
The MOPPie shook his head and exited the isolation ward.
Gates sighed and looked at the expensive flat-screen monitor hanging from the opposite wall. Multiple cameras focused on him as well. He also had a microphone on a plastic stand on the cheap folding table he sat at.
It was an amusing combination of the military both being as cheap as it could, and surprisingly high-tech.
The monitor suddenly came to life, showing a blond Colonel, whose hair was slowly graying.
"Sergeant Gates, I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill. Can you hear me clearly?"
Gates looked at the microphone. It had a single plastic button barely visible on its stand. He dragged it forward until it was right in front of him and pressed the button.
"I can hear you loud and clear, sir."
"That's good, Sergeant. You appear to be yourself. Tell us your observations on Perun's realm. You'll have the time to put forth a detailed written report later."
"Yes, sir. First, I'll speak of what I saw first hand, second what I heard both from the locals, and the team we have on Pobeda."
"That's all right, Sergeant Gates. Shoot."
"First, I thought we might be looking at a Potemkin village. You know, that Perun guy putting forth a show for our benefit. When we got there, the locals were in the process of rebuilding the village into something out of the late medieval period. That, or Roman-like. What I mean, I saw many new sturdy houses built with stones and what looked like concrete. However, there were a few shacks left that looked straight out of something in the bad parts of Africa. Primitive stuff. Now, to give credit where credit might be due, Perun's people did build the locals a proper bathhouse complete with a sauna. We did use both, it was surprisingly clean, much better than we expected. A new aqueduct feed the bathhouse, just like another brought clean water to the village, and there was a third for irrigation."
"If that's not all show for us, it gets together with what else we know about Perun. He's busy uplifting his realm." O'Neill noted. "What else did you figure out, Sergeant? From what you said, you aren't convinced you were stationed at a Potemkin village?"
"It's from what I gathered from the locals, which is, of course, suspect, and what the team at Pobeda said. We'll have to wait for them to come back and offer a proper debriefing to confirm my impressions." Gates warned.
"We understand that. Please elaborate."
"Perun's people on the other world are almost done with rebuilding a small city and multiple villages into something that will pass muster as properly civilized. Well-designed houses, sewers, and other assorted sanitation. Many public bathhouses, aqueducts bringing clean water from the nearby mountains, the works. More importantly, Perun has opened many new schools, and literacy is now mandatory across his realm. There are indications he's trying to use his church to change the culture of his people. However, the language barrier was too severe. I was unable to get anything of use on that front while listening and talking to the regular locals. Instead of giving details, Perun's Jaffa and other representatives are singing his praises, and that's it."
After that, Gates went on to explain what he learned from Lyda and his conclusions about Perun.
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Part 4
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"What happened to Moloc, well, it should have been a wake up call for all those who didn't believe there was a new way of war to adapt to. The smarter gods were already busy trying to improve their Jaffa. Moloc's fate made several System Lords lit up a fire under their underlings, spurring them to innovate faster. As a consequence, when the Civil War came, it was deadlier than anyone believed possible.
Those who didn't adapt? Their Jaffa suffered the most. It was among their shattered remnants that the Jaffa Rebellion found fertile soil. Many survivors from those early clashes had their faith shaken to its foundations. I can see how it was easy to convince that the Goa'uld they served were False Gods."
interrogation of a captured Jaffa by NID personnel; time, date and location: REDACTED.
"We all know that the Goa'uld are not gods! For Christ's sake, why would we ever entertain the notion that Perun is one?! He's just a snake. Well, arguably our snake, but still just a snake! He's not God!"
"You fundamentally misunderstand us then. Many, perhaps most Goa'uld are False Gods. They proved so through their cruel actions, and uncaring inaction. Perun is different. His actions prove his divinity. When he holds back his wrath, he proves his wisdom. Perun is not a False God, Tau'ri. Better remember this, before you earn yourselves enemies with your ill-chosen words!"
conversation between Colonel Jack O'Neill from Earth, and First Prime Redacted; date, time and location: REDACTED
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Erebus
Ra's domain
Milky Way Galaxy
Ra relaxed, laying on a plushy armchair. He was in the high lounge of his Cheops' traveling palace. The afternoon sun reflected from polished gold, bathing the lounge in glittering light. Outside, far into the distance, captured Jaffa serving Ra's enemies toiled in primitive mines. Their conditions were pointedly no better than those of human slaves.
His First Prime, stood nearby, watching the first fruits from Perun's labor. In a moment of thrilling amusement, Ra had given the tall human the hated name Anubis, spurning his long-dead rival.
A hologram of advancing armored transport took much of the room, hiding the fires of the sun. A gunner laid down waves of plasma fire from twin-linked staff weapons, attached to a protected mount. Sheets of armor surrounded the Jaffa, offering cover from all directions but above. The machine hovered over all kinds of broken terrain, moving at a respectable speed. It could accelerate much faster over a flatter surface, giving it even better mobility.
It was reasonably well armored. The prototype was capable of surviving a handful of staff cannon hits or virtual rain of staff weapon fire. It could carry nine Jaffa, plus a driver and a gunner making for a combat crew of eleven.
It was reasonably cheap. Any self-respecting System Lord could build those things in large numbers for their Jaffa.
That was only the basic, cheapest version, able to pass through a Chappa'ai. Perun was already looking at a larger, better armored, and armed assault transport as he called it. That one was only for deployment from Ha'tak when assaulting a planet one wanted reasonably intact.
"Your thoughts?" Ra asked his Human First Prime.
"This appears to be a capable and dangerous vehicle. It will be a boon to any Jaffa force. We will need time to figure out how to best utilize it. However, even crude and basic use would give us an edge against anyone who doesn't have a proper answer to this, my Lord Ra."
"Al'kesh are going to be one answer. Better armed Death Gliders as well. Perun and the scientists I sent him are looking into making those a reality as well." Ra smiled. He could taste gaining more advantages over the other System Lords already. There was nothing else like the taste and feeling of justified superiority!
"We'll need better staff cannons or other heavier weapons to deal with such vehicles. Several System Lords are already working on their versions or intend to begin figuring them out soon, Supreme Lord." Anubis pointed out.
"Another task for my scientists. They'll have to earn their keep." Ra allowed. "Do you agree with Perun's sentiment? That a proper combat testing is in order when he has enough vehicles and crews ready to deploy them in force?"
"That would be the best way to start figuring out how to best use this new weapon. Nothing compares to the test in the fires of battle, Supreme Lord. Further, Perun is right about the consequences. Moloc's actions over the past decades offer some justification for intervention. If you order it, Supreme Lord, many of Moloc's subjects will see you as a savior and happily flock under your banner, further increasing your strength."
"Call Heru'ur and have my son present himself. After Ba'al's misstep, we can't show weakness by starting a campaign against Moloc with failure. It would be unseemly." Ra smiled thinly. Not to mention embarrassing. Such a mistake might give some Goa'uld stupid ideas, and then he would be tremendously busy for years dealing with their stupidity. "Call Perun as well and tell him he has my blessing to begin planning an assault on Moloc's Throne World through the Chappa'ai. We'll deal with Moloc's fleet. This would be a good test to see how effective our Jaffa will be when equipped with new weapons and armor. There won't be time to properly train my warriors to use that equipment, which can be useful as well. This way we will be able to test the impact of Perun's inventions without the benefit of additional training."
"I'll see your will done, Supreme Lord!" Anubis bowed. "Are there any other tasks, you wish me to accomplish, my Lord Ra?"
"That's all for now. Go, and call my attendants on your way out," Ra dismissed his first Prime, and shut down the hologram, letting reflected sunrays bathe the lounge without interruption. Ra decided he could use some time away from dealing with the foolish schemes of his System Lords. Perhaps after overhauling his military was well underway, and after making an example of Moloc, reminding everyone who was in charge?
He could barely hear the sound of feet in soft sandals pat over the deck. Soon, a gaggle of young Humans surrounded him, carrying trays with delicacies and chilled drinks.
Perun was righter than he knew, Ra thought. The right amount of benevolence shown to the right people could make them serve you eagerly until their death, and sometimes beyond. After all, that was how Ra chose his Primes, personal guards, and many of his most trusted administrators, who were all human.
The irony that his host species could be trusted under the right circumstances, while the Goa'uld were all treacherous schemers, wasn't lost upon the Supreme System Lord.
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Slavna Zemq
Perun's Throne World
Milky Way galaxy
Prime Vasil stood proudly beside his God, eagerly listening to his wisdom. Most high-ranking Custodes on the planet were here, sitting or standing in the halls of a refreshed temple. Bright lights shone from the ceiling, burning cool with magic. It reflected from dozens of polished armors, making for a glorious, dazzling display.
"Heed my words, my Jaffa!" Perun's voice thundered. Here and now, his Divinity was on full display.
Their God was in the center of his temple, surrounded by his most faithful and loyal servants. Here and now, he could show them a glimpse of his true self, allowing them to behold Divinity!
"Let there be no misunderstandings or mistakes! Human and Jaffa alike, all who serve me and follow my sacred path, are equal before me. You are all brothers and sisters walking the same path, striving to achieve the same goal. When you walk it in full, we will be one people, united and indivisible!"
Everyone in earshot hung to each of Perun's words as if it was a sacred revelation.
"What matters most is following the sacred path. The Six Commandments I require you to learn and uphold. They will bind us together and make us stronger than we could ever be by ourselves. I am the God of War, and you are all my people. Warrior people. To be willfully ignorant of my ways is to be Dar'manda! To be without a soul and place among my people." Perun briefly paused.
"Thus I laid down the Sacred Resol'nare for all of you to learn. Six sacred laws bind us. Six sacred laws to forge us as all as united Warrior People! Six laws to let us achieve unity!"
Vasil was wrong. It wasn't until this moment that he truly Beheld Divinity. Perun was a beacon of shimmering light and roaring darkness. The Prime could suddenly sense the minds of his fellow Jaffa. They were all united in a way that Vasil couldn't explain. They were all brothers, bound by loyalty, and faith, forged by the Resol'nare!
More importantly, Perun was here, with them. The War God's mind was enormous. It bound them all together!
Perun was fury! He was wrath! He was war itself!
In one infinite moment that lasted an eternity, Perun granted his gathered Custodes an unparalleled blessing. It was a gift they would treasure until their dying breath! They all understood Perun's divine vision at a deeper level. One people, one nation, one leader, all united in faith and war, to face the coming dangers!
This was pure Rapture!
Slowly, Vasil came to his senses. He found himself kneeling, just as everyone else in the temple. He was crying tears of joy, still struggling to believe he was worthy of this honor.
"Raise my friend." Perun's glowing eyes went from Jaffa to Jaffa, and he offered them a reassuring smile. "Vasil, get together with Stephan and Orel. I want the three of you to plan a lighting raid upon Moloc's Throne World. We'll be using the Chappa'ai and combat test the new ground transports when we have enough of them, complete with trained crews."
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