Disclaimer, still not mine
Don't sue, spent all my money on shiny, glittery things of no real value.
Hi
A longer chapter this time...
=============
The cramped, red-bricked, tunnels dripped with water, which leaked from old lead pipes overhead and fused the lights that followed the course of the passageways. This flickering half-light extenuated Jonas's shadow on the curvature of the wall making him appear like a sinister apparition in a silent horror film.
The Colonel directed him to a derelict pump room full of rusting old pipes and long forgotten memories of usefulness. He sat down in the gloom, fighting against the shadows and scratching noises that filled the room and played on his anxieties. A large, inquisitive, rodent leapt out of its dark corner, its nugget eyes shining with bravado. It sniffed the air with its long, pointed snout, resting back on its bulky hind legs and displaying the curve of its large, sharp, incisors. Jonas watched it inhale his scent, mesmerised by the way the light pooled like a diesel spill on its ragged, sable pelt and the coil of its, scaly, flesh coloured, tail. It bounded fearlessly forward, its front paws tipped with needle sharp claws ready to strike to satisfy an insatiable hunger that foamed from its gaping mouth.
The door opened again startling the rat back to its hideaway in search of something less adventurous to stalk. Chufa entered the room along with another dressed in the City Guard uniform of a General. Jonas got to his feet and directed his question at the white haired Colonel, "is this some sort of trick?"
The other man answered, "this is no trick, Jonas Quinn."
Jonas looked into the pale blue eyes of Josip Wolf, Ravel's most trusted aide, "you're, you're my contact?" He enquired, the disbelief showing in his voice.
"Who better," the General replied, spreading his hands.
Jonas shook his head in doubt and paced for a moment trying to see if he could feel the other man's presence, fishing for some sort of guidance. He looked towards Chufa, "this is who you were sent to meet, boy," the old man replied, fractiously, looking at his watch with impatience.
General Wolf moved closer and held out his hand, showing Jonas the ring on his finger, "you were told to look for this?"
Jonas nodded, "good," Wolf answered, smoothing his barren head with his palm, "then we can begin. Please," he motioned for Jonas to sit back down, "I am sorry for the venue for our meeting but tonight this is the safest place to be," he exchanged a look with the Colonel who agreed with a 'humph'.
Wolf reached inside his breast pocket and pulled out a tin containing crudely rolled cigarettes filled with iron grey, home grown, tobacco. He looked towards Jonas, offering him one but the younger man declined with a shake of his head.
The General shrugged, taking a cigarette from the container and placing it in his mouth. He gave Chufa the tin and lit the rollup with a flare of a match and let the distinct aroma wash the stale air from the room. He sat down, casually, in front of Jonas, trying to put the younger man at ease, sensing the bewilderment and suspicion that was radiating from those open, green, eyes. He took another lung filling drag and spoke in a voice of rustic honey, "I see you are unharmed from your run in with Ravel's men," he stated, pointing with the aid of the burning tip.
Jonas looked up, troubled, searching the General's, ice blue, eyes for the truth, "Ravel's? But the First Minister said they were her own men."
Wolf nodded and flicked ash onto the floor, "a little white lie," he acknowledged. "We've been using Hawks and Karajan for months, now, to feed misinformation to the Commander."
"Then she knew they would try and kill me?"
"Yes, but she also knew I would get to you first," Wolf spoke the words clearly, his tone reassuring. "She had no choice, if she had warned you, would you really have been able to hide the fact, squashed in that cab with two men intent on taking your life? And if she had used anyone else to escort you to this meeting, Ravel would have been suspicious and you may not of made it out the front gate."
Jonas digested the General's words, for a moment, staring at his hands and then smiled softly, "she could have told me, I would not have shown that I knew," he looked up and held Wolf's gaze without blinking.
The General was use to assessing men, he had risked his life and countless others on this ability to judge the soul of an individual and he realised, looking into the depths of this young man, he believed him.
The room suddenly shuddered, dislodging dust and plaster down from the ceiling. A cloud of grime circulated the small space, stealing the oxygen and choking its three occupants. Chufa's radio clicked as the tremor subsided and he stepped outside to get a better signal.
Jonas stood up, listening to the roar of noise coming from the street above, sensing the inauspicious mood that came down with the sift of age.
The Colonel came back into to room, shaking the powdered debris from his head, "it's started," he stated, plainly, "the Commander's hit the Parliamentary building first, with a large force, they didn't stand a chance."
Jonas looked between the two, puzzled by their restraint, "the First Minister," he cried, walking towards the exit.
The General rose to meet him and lay a gentle hand on his shoulder, "she knew it was tonight, Jonas," he said, softly, "she sacrificed herself so Ravel would not suspect that we have already moved weapons and equipment into the mountains so we can organise our resistance from there."
"Then why this meeting?" Jonas asked, sitting back down, disheartened.
Wolf sighed, "to keep up the pretence, let Ravel believe we were still in the dark and because Dreylock wanted you safe."
"But the others, the other Ambassadors?"
It was Chufa who spoke, "those not working for Ravel, will be shot," he said bluntly. He reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a silver flask, "here," he said offering it to Jonas.
"I don't.." Jonas began.
"Take it boy, it's going to be a long night."
Jonas absentmindedly removed his gloves to get a better grip on the polished surface. He slowly drank from the flask, the bitter liquid spreading warmth into his body, "but all those people?" He questioned.
Wolf took the flask from Jonas's grasp, "we couldn't risk telling anyone, Dreylock managed to get a few members of her guard reassigned but we had to go careful, we couldn't tip our hand, the Commander has eyes and ears everywhere."
The General tipped his head back and drank a large mouthful of the russet liquid. He closed his eyes, letting his emotions surface and escape, for a just a second, as he tried to drown the loss of innocent souls that weighed on his conscience.
Jonas felt his hand start to tremble, as the strength of these feelings flew at him, unconsciously lighting the eye on his palm to view what Wolf was trying to suppress. He heard the First Minister's voice echo around his head, 'not even the children?' 'Not even the children?' 'Not even the children?' And he saw, once again, the mutilated bodies frozen in the snow.
Wolf looked down at Jonas and took a step back as the younger man's eyes became white. He felt something other than the alcohol creep into his body, sensing an intrusion into his soul, "what the hell?"
Chufa reached for his gun and pointed it at the still figure of Jonas but the General stood between them, aware that there was no real danger.
He watched intently, as Jonas's eyes cleared and looked at him accusingly, "the attack on the refugee camp, it was down to you and Dreylock."
Wolf was stunned, "how, how did you..?"
Jonas looked down toward his palm, which was burning with light, "why?" He asked curling his hand into a fist.
The General sighed, leaning back against the brick, choosing to look away, "we needed the Andari to think that Ravel was behind the attack on their citizens. During the negotiations they've been sitting on the fence, watching and waiting to see who will win the Kelownan power struggle before deciding who they will support."
"But they know Ravel's politics, his prejudices?"
"Yes, but they're also tired of fighting and they know the Commander's in a stronger position with the Kelownan people. Ravel's held secret talks with their Ambassador, stating his party has no territorial demands and offering them a Kelwona-Andari Peace Agreement if they will back his government."
"But surely they know he won't keep to it?"
"He's a very charming and persuasive orator, Jonas, and the Andari came very close to signing that treaty."
"And then their people were butchered," Jonas continued, "limbs were hacked from their bodies, skulls bludgeoned and everyone of them, even the children, had their abdomens crudely sliced open to see if they contained Goa'uld lava and this was all done in the name of politics?" He reached for the ring around his neck, gripping it in his fist, "what about the values of The Coll? The principles that this symbol is meant to stand for? Ordering this attack makes us no better than Ravel!"
Wolf remained calm and impassive, "morals and principles are for the victors of war, Jonas, the politicians, not for those fighting it." He gave a wry laugh, "unfortunately, to beat our enemy we must sometimes think and act like him."
Jonas shook his head, massaging his temples with his thumb and forefinger. He felt lost, the ideals Dr Kieran had drilled into him felt suddenly sullied and distorted. Did he have the right to judge this action, to judge them? After all, he had let a honourable man die, saving his planet while he had done nothing but cower in the corner. Then he'd kept his head down, as he'd always done, when Dr Jackson had been labelled a saboteur, too frightened to speak up, to draw attention to himself. Where were his principles then? He looked Wolf in the eye, "but we do not want to turn into our enemy," he said.
The General took another smoke from his tin and lit it. "Do you know why I shave my head, Jonas?"
The younger man looked puzzled, Wolf continued, "in memory of my time spent in a Tiranian prison camp, it's the lice you see," he ran his hand over his head, again. "There were three thousand of us, to begin with, crammed into space enough for a thousand and made to work every daylight hour building roads and laying track; I spent the last two years of the war there. Do you know how I survived, that long, when they only fed us enough rations to satisfy a mouse? It wasn't by my principles, it was by my wits and through the death of my comrades."
Jonas looked at him openly, Wolf smiled, there was no hiding from this young man, the General swallowed, "I am not proud of what I did, back then, taking food from those dying or too weak with malnutrition to defend themselves but I did it to survive, as did others."
"At the end of the war, there was only about two hundred of us left and I was one of the lucky ones, along with Commander Ravel."
Jonas looked surprised, Wolf smiled sadly, "yes, he was there to," he resumed, "why do you think he puts so much trust in me now?"
He sucked on his cigarette and blew out a spiralling plume of smoke, "when I walked out of that camp, I vowed, that, if it were in my power I would make sure that no human being, be it Tiranian, Andrai or Kelownan would go though that kind of hell again. That I would make it my mantle to strive for some kind of peace between our nations so no man would have to choose between watching a friend die or living another day.
"When Ravel walked to freedom, through those gates, he took nothing but hatred away with him. I will not turn into our enemy, Jonas Quinn, I know the consequences of my actions, I am no saint, no hero and there are days when I cannot look at my reflection in the mirror and I will carry those scars around with me until the grave."
He sighed heavily, "be assured that the man in me still believes in the values of The Coll, even if, sometimes, the soldier has to step over those boundaries."
A silence settled in the room while Jonas held his head in his hands contemplating Wolf's statement. He tried to clear his throat, which felt like it was coated with layers of dust, Chufa, cautiously, handed him the flask. Jonas coughed before speaking, "you, you said you moved your equipment up into the mountains, why? Why not fight here, in the city?"
Wolf sat back down, "because we would be out gunned and out numbered. The city has always belonged to Ravel."
"I don't understand, surely the Tiranian's and now the Andrai would help you, especially after the murder of their Ambassadors and their, their citizens," Jonas replied, putting the flask to his lips.
"Yes, but the Commander has been making other plans, surreptitiously, plans that involve a new ally, one with advance technology and weapons, one that could destroy a city from space."
Jonas went to say something but Wolf answered his question, "Ravel has made a pact with the Goa'uld."
The younger man was stunned, "what?"
"Wartime makes strange bedfellows, Jonas Quinn and believe me, if I was in his position, I would have done the same thing. You, yourself said that the Goa'uld can smell Naquadria a galaxy away, well then, it makes sense to align yourself with a powerful System Lord who will protect the planet and your regime from the others."
"Do you know which one, which System Lord?"
The General shook his head, "Ravel's the only one who has access to the communication device."
Jonas rubbed his chin, "but how, how did he contact the Goa'uld in the first place?"
"He said he was visited by the System Lord's first prime, as Jaffa called Herak."
"That can't be right," Jonas contradicted, "Herak is Anubis's first prime and Anubis is dead."
"Are you sure?" Wolf asked.
Jonas nodded, Wolf shrugged, "then maybe he is working for another master."
Jonas stood up and began to pace again, "this doesn't make sense, why would a man like Ravel trust the Goa'uld, when he doesn't even trust his own staff?"
Wolf stub out his cigarette on the brickwork and took a large intake of breath, "Ravel gets Goa'uld technology and he will be left alone to self govern the planet, with the help of some Jaffa to boost his ranks. He sees it as an opportunity to learn from the Goa'uld and use it as a stepping- stone for the Kelownan people. He wants to start his own Stargate project but the difference between his, and the one on Earth, is that he wants to conquer other planets and steal their technology, so that one day he will be able to defeat the Goa'uld and replace it with a Absolute Kelownan Ruling Body," he smile, dryly, "after all we are the supreme race."
He nodded towards Jonas's palm, "and I'm beginning to believe in the myth myself and to understand why Kieran put so much faith in such a young man."
Chufa spat on the ground, three times, to protect himself and then grumbled something about 'the evil eye'.
Jonas ignored the cantankerous outburst and spoke to Wolf, "I know the Goa'uld, I've studied six years of intel on them, they never help anyone for free."
"And you would be right, Ravel informed me, last night, of the three things the System Lord expects to get out of this agreement. Naquaidria."
"But there's hardly enough in Kelowna to sustain a Goa'uld's appetite for power," Jonas offered.
"But there is in Tirania and Andari and Ravel foresees that there will be an inexhaustible supply of slaves to mine these reserves. That brings me to the second thing we will provide this System Lord with, slaves, or to be precise most of the population of Tirania and Andari."
Wolf paused for a moment and shook his head at the memory of the dinner he had shared with his commanding officer last night when all this had been revealed. The way the man had nonchalantly condemned millions to a life of slavery and had laughed about it 'saving him the time and the trouble of coming up with some other solution of disposing of these inferior races.'
Jonas broke his thoughts, "you said three things?"
Wolf looked at the younger man and said solemnly, "Earth. Once the coup has ended, it was my assignment to contact the SGC for an urgent meeting and when they opened their iris, I was to send a combined force of Jaffa and City Guards through and disable Stargate Command."
"Not destroy, it?"
"No, the System Lord seems to want the SGC intact, there's an item, some key that they have, that seems of high importance. Ravel probably knows, by now, of my betrayal and will be making plans to give this mission to another. He made it very clear it was of top priority."
Jonas looked a both men, "I have to warn the SGC," he said.
Both Wolf and Chufa nodded their agreement.
============
Thanks for staying with me
:o)
Don't sue, spent all my money on shiny, glittery things of no real value.
Hi
A longer chapter this time...
=============
The cramped, red-bricked, tunnels dripped with water, which leaked from old lead pipes overhead and fused the lights that followed the course of the passageways. This flickering half-light extenuated Jonas's shadow on the curvature of the wall making him appear like a sinister apparition in a silent horror film.
The Colonel directed him to a derelict pump room full of rusting old pipes and long forgotten memories of usefulness. He sat down in the gloom, fighting against the shadows and scratching noises that filled the room and played on his anxieties. A large, inquisitive, rodent leapt out of its dark corner, its nugget eyes shining with bravado. It sniffed the air with its long, pointed snout, resting back on its bulky hind legs and displaying the curve of its large, sharp, incisors. Jonas watched it inhale his scent, mesmerised by the way the light pooled like a diesel spill on its ragged, sable pelt and the coil of its, scaly, flesh coloured, tail. It bounded fearlessly forward, its front paws tipped with needle sharp claws ready to strike to satisfy an insatiable hunger that foamed from its gaping mouth.
The door opened again startling the rat back to its hideaway in search of something less adventurous to stalk. Chufa entered the room along with another dressed in the City Guard uniform of a General. Jonas got to his feet and directed his question at the white haired Colonel, "is this some sort of trick?"
The other man answered, "this is no trick, Jonas Quinn."
Jonas looked into the pale blue eyes of Josip Wolf, Ravel's most trusted aide, "you're, you're my contact?" He enquired, the disbelief showing in his voice.
"Who better," the General replied, spreading his hands.
Jonas shook his head in doubt and paced for a moment trying to see if he could feel the other man's presence, fishing for some sort of guidance. He looked towards Chufa, "this is who you were sent to meet, boy," the old man replied, fractiously, looking at his watch with impatience.
General Wolf moved closer and held out his hand, showing Jonas the ring on his finger, "you were told to look for this?"
Jonas nodded, "good," Wolf answered, smoothing his barren head with his palm, "then we can begin. Please," he motioned for Jonas to sit back down, "I am sorry for the venue for our meeting but tonight this is the safest place to be," he exchanged a look with the Colonel who agreed with a 'humph'.
Wolf reached inside his breast pocket and pulled out a tin containing crudely rolled cigarettes filled with iron grey, home grown, tobacco. He looked towards Jonas, offering him one but the younger man declined with a shake of his head.
The General shrugged, taking a cigarette from the container and placing it in his mouth. He gave Chufa the tin and lit the rollup with a flare of a match and let the distinct aroma wash the stale air from the room. He sat down, casually, in front of Jonas, trying to put the younger man at ease, sensing the bewilderment and suspicion that was radiating from those open, green, eyes. He took another lung filling drag and spoke in a voice of rustic honey, "I see you are unharmed from your run in with Ravel's men," he stated, pointing with the aid of the burning tip.
Jonas looked up, troubled, searching the General's, ice blue, eyes for the truth, "Ravel's? But the First Minister said they were her own men."
Wolf nodded and flicked ash onto the floor, "a little white lie," he acknowledged. "We've been using Hawks and Karajan for months, now, to feed misinformation to the Commander."
"Then she knew they would try and kill me?"
"Yes, but she also knew I would get to you first," Wolf spoke the words clearly, his tone reassuring. "She had no choice, if she had warned you, would you really have been able to hide the fact, squashed in that cab with two men intent on taking your life? And if she had used anyone else to escort you to this meeting, Ravel would have been suspicious and you may not of made it out the front gate."
Jonas digested the General's words, for a moment, staring at his hands and then smiled softly, "she could have told me, I would not have shown that I knew," he looked up and held Wolf's gaze without blinking.
The General was use to assessing men, he had risked his life and countless others on this ability to judge the soul of an individual and he realised, looking into the depths of this young man, he believed him.
The room suddenly shuddered, dislodging dust and plaster down from the ceiling. A cloud of grime circulated the small space, stealing the oxygen and choking its three occupants. Chufa's radio clicked as the tremor subsided and he stepped outside to get a better signal.
Jonas stood up, listening to the roar of noise coming from the street above, sensing the inauspicious mood that came down with the sift of age.
The Colonel came back into to room, shaking the powdered debris from his head, "it's started," he stated, plainly, "the Commander's hit the Parliamentary building first, with a large force, they didn't stand a chance."
Jonas looked between the two, puzzled by their restraint, "the First Minister," he cried, walking towards the exit.
The General rose to meet him and lay a gentle hand on his shoulder, "she knew it was tonight, Jonas," he said, softly, "she sacrificed herself so Ravel would not suspect that we have already moved weapons and equipment into the mountains so we can organise our resistance from there."
"Then why this meeting?" Jonas asked, sitting back down, disheartened.
Wolf sighed, "to keep up the pretence, let Ravel believe we were still in the dark and because Dreylock wanted you safe."
"But the others, the other Ambassadors?"
It was Chufa who spoke, "those not working for Ravel, will be shot," he said bluntly. He reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a silver flask, "here," he said offering it to Jonas.
"I don't.." Jonas began.
"Take it boy, it's going to be a long night."
Jonas absentmindedly removed his gloves to get a better grip on the polished surface. He slowly drank from the flask, the bitter liquid spreading warmth into his body, "but all those people?" He questioned.
Wolf took the flask from Jonas's grasp, "we couldn't risk telling anyone, Dreylock managed to get a few members of her guard reassigned but we had to go careful, we couldn't tip our hand, the Commander has eyes and ears everywhere."
The General tipped his head back and drank a large mouthful of the russet liquid. He closed his eyes, letting his emotions surface and escape, for a just a second, as he tried to drown the loss of innocent souls that weighed on his conscience.
Jonas felt his hand start to tremble, as the strength of these feelings flew at him, unconsciously lighting the eye on his palm to view what Wolf was trying to suppress. He heard the First Minister's voice echo around his head, 'not even the children?' 'Not even the children?' 'Not even the children?' And he saw, once again, the mutilated bodies frozen in the snow.
Wolf looked down at Jonas and took a step back as the younger man's eyes became white. He felt something other than the alcohol creep into his body, sensing an intrusion into his soul, "what the hell?"
Chufa reached for his gun and pointed it at the still figure of Jonas but the General stood between them, aware that there was no real danger.
He watched intently, as Jonas's eyes cleared and looked at him accusingly, "the attack on the refugee camp, it was down to you and Dreylock."
Wolf was stunned, "how, how did you..?"
Jonas looked down toward his palm, which was burning with light, "why?" He asked curling his hand into a fist.
The General sighed, leaning back against the brick, choosing to look away, "we needed the Andari to think that Ravel was behind the attack on their citizens. During the negotiations they've been sitting on the fence, watching and waiting to see who will win the Kelownan power struggle before deciding who they will support."
"But they know Ravel's politics, his prejudices?"
"Yes, but they're also tired of fighting and they know the Commander's in a stronger position with the Kelownan people. Ravel's held secret talks with their Ambassador, stating his party has no territorial demands and offering them a Kelwona-Andari Peace Agreement if they will back his government."
"But surely they know he won't keep to it?"
"He's a very charming and persuasive orator, Jonas, and the Andari came very close to signing that treaty."
"And then their people were butchered," Jonas continued, "limbs were hacked from their bodies, skulls bludgeoned and everyone of them, even the children, had their abdomens crudely sliced open to see if they contained Goa'uld lava and this was all done in the name of politics?" He reached for the ring around his neck, gripping it in his fist, "what about the values of The Coll? The principles that this symbol is meant to stand for? Ordering this attack makes us no better than Ravel!"
Wolf remained calm and impassive, "morals and principles are for the victors of war, Jonas, the politicians, not for those fighting it." He gave a wry laugh, "unfortunately, to beat our enemy we must sometimes think and act like him."
Jonas shook his head, massaging his temples with his thumb and forefinger. He felt lost, the ideals Dr Kieran had drilled into him felt suddenly sullied and distorted. Did he have the right to judge this action, to judge them? After all, he had let a honourable man die, saving his planet while he had done nothing but cower in the corner. Then he'd kept his head down, as he'd always done, when Dr Jackson had been labelled a saboteur, too frightened to speak up, to draw attention to himself. Where were his principles then? He looked Wolf in the eye, "but we do not want to turn into our enemy," he said.
The General took another smoke from his tin and lit it. "Do you know why I shave my head, Jonas?"
The younger man looked puzzled, Wolf continued, "in memory of my time spent in a Tiranian prison camp, it's the lice you see," he ran his hand over his head, again. "There were three thousand of us, to begin with, crammed into space enough for a thousand and made to work every daylight hour building roads and laying track; I spent the last two years of the war there. Do you know how I survived, that long, when they only fed us enough rations to satisfy a mouse? It wasn't by my principles, it was by my wits and through the death of my comrades."
Jonas looked at him openly, Wolf smiled, there was no hiding from this young man, the General swallowed, "I am not proud of what I did, back then, taking food from those dying or too weak with malnutrition to defend themselves but I did it to survive, as did others."
"At the end of the war, there was only about two hundred of us left and I was one of the lucky ones, along with Commander Ravel."
Jonas looked surprised, Wolf smiled sadly, "yes, he was there to," he resumed, "why do you think he puts so much trust in me now?"
He sucked on his cigarette and blew out a spiralling plume of smoke, "when I walked out of that camp, I vowed, that, if it were in my power I would make sure that no human being, be it Tiranian, Andrai or Kelownan would go though that kind of hell again. That I would make it my mantle to strive for some kind of peace between our nations so no man would have to choose between watching a friend die or living another day.
"When Ravel walked to freedom, through those gates, he took nothing but hatred away with him. I will not turn into our enemy, Jonas Quinn, I know the consequences of my actions, I am no saint, no hero and there are days when I cannot look at my reflection in the mirror and I will carry those scars around with me until the grave."
He sighed heavily, "be assured that the man in me still believes in the values of The Coll, even if, sometimes, the soldier has to step over those boundaries."
A silence settled in the room while Jonas held his head in his hands contemplating Wolf's statement. He tried to clear his throat, which felt like it was coated with layers of dust, Chufa, cautiously, handed him the flask. Jonas coughed before speaking, "you, you said you moved your equipment up into the mountains, why? Why not fight here, in the city?"
Wolf sat back down, "because we would be out gunned and out numbered. The city has always belonged to Ravel."
"I don't understand, surely the Tiranian's and now the Andrai would help you, especially after the murder of their Ambassadors and their, their citizens," Jonas replied, putting the flask to his lips.
"Yes, but the Commander has been making other plans, surreptitiously, plans that involve a new ally, one with advance technology and weapons, one that could destroy a city from space."
Jonas went to say something but Wolf answered his question, "Ravel has made a pact with the Goa'uld."
The younger man was stunned, "what?"
"Wartime makes strange bedfellows, Jonas Quinn and believe me, if I was in his position, I would have done the same thing. You, yourself said that the Goa'uld can smell Naquadria a galaxy away, well then, it makes sense to align yourself with a powerful System Lord who will protect the planet and your regime from the others."
"Do you know which one, which System Lord?"
The General shook his head, "Ravel's the only one who has access to the communication device."
Jonas rubbed his chin, "but how, how did he contact the Goa'uld in the first place?"
"He said he was visited by the System Lord's first prime, as Jaffa called Herak."
"That can't be right," Jonas contradicted, "Herak is Anubis's first prime and Anubis is dead."
"Are you sure?" Wolf asked.
Jonas nodded, Wolf shrugged, "then maybe he is working for another master."
Jonas stood up and began to pace again, "this doesn't make sense, why would a man like Ravel trust the Goa'uld, when he doesn't even trust his own staff?"
Wolf stub out his cigarette on the brickwork and took a large intake of breath, "Ravel gets Goa'uld technology and he will be left alone to self govern the planet, with the help of some Jaffa to boost his ranks. He sees it as an opportunity to learn from the Goa'uld and use it as a stepping- stone for the Kelownan people. He wants to start his own Stargate project but the difference between his, and the one on Earth, is that he wants to conquer other planets and steal their technology, so that one day he will be able to defeat the Goa'uld and replace it with a Absolute Kelownan Ruling Body," he smile, dryly, "after all we are the supreme race."
He nodded towards Jonas's palm, "and I'm beginning to believe in the myth myself and to understand why Kieran put so much faith in such a young man."
Chufa spat on the ground, three times, to protect himself and then grumbled something about 'the evil eye'.
Jonas ignored the cantankerous outburst and spoke to Wolf, "I know the Goa'uld, I've studied six years of intel on them, they never help anyone for free."
"And you would be right, Ravel informed me, last night, of the three things the System Lord expects to get out of this agreement. Naquaidria."
"But there's hardly enough in Kelowna to sustain a Goa'uld's appetite for power," Jonas offered.
"But there is in Tirania and Andari and Ravel foresees that there will be an inexhaustible supply of slaves to mine these reserves. That brings me to the second thing we will provide this System Lord with, slaves, or to be precise most of the population of Tirania and Andari."
Wolf paused for a moment and shook his head at the memory of the dinner he had shared with his commanding officer last night when all this had been revealed. The way the man had nonchalantly condemned millions to a life of slavery and had laughed about it 'saving him the time and the trouble of coming up with some other solution of disposing of these inferior races.'
Jonas broke his thoughts, "you said three things?"
Wolf looked at the younger man and said solemnly, "Earth. Once the coup has ended, it was my assignment to contact the SGC for an urgent meeting and when they opened their iris, I was to send a combined force of Jaffa and City Guards through and disable Stargate Command."
"Not destroy, it?"
"No, the System Lord seems to want the SGC intact, there's an item, some key that they have, that seems of high importance. Ravel probably knows, by now, of my betrayal and will be making plans to give this mission to another. He made it very clear it was of top priority."
Jonas looked a both men, "I have to warn the SGC," he said.
Both Wolf and Chufa nodded their agreement.
============
Thanks for staying with me
:o)