4: Occupation
There was something about Chulak that the old General liked. It was not the people, no, far from it. The people were primitive and superstitious, barbaric in their warrior-like ways and constantly a source of trouble. No, it was the fact that this region of the planet was similar to Calshae Prime in many ways, with the rainforests and humidity. However, the weather here, wherein the valley the capital city was located, was frequently inclement. Rains and bitter cold winds, not like the heat of the jungles back home.
Perhaps a sign of the local population's primitive nature was the fact that the capital city was also named 'Chulak', which in turn was the name of the entire planet. It did make an odd sort of sense, the General supposed, as the city was the only sizeable settlement on the planet. Aside from some outlying towns and a few mines, the world of Chulak was still mostly untamed. There were a few million Jaffa living in the city, a small population compared to some of the cities back home. The architecture within was comprised of mostly old stone masonry works, with large arches and decorated columns, again a hint as to the primitive nature of the Jaffa. Some of the structures were certainly impressive, if a little too 'ancient' for the old General's tastes.
Here were a people engineered to be slaves of the Goa'uld, their physiologies altered as to be incubators for Goa'uld larvae. They had freed themselves many years before, thrown off the yoke of Goa'uld domination and elected to guide their own destinies. Chulak was one of the core worlds of the so-called 'Free Jaffa Nation', which had made it a prime target for the first strikes of the Calsharan offensive against the troublesome Jaffa. Despite their crudeness, the Jaffa had soldiers and ships, enough to be of significant concern to the higher-ups back home. And so, through a plan that had seen a fast and precise assault, Chulak had fallen under the dominion of the Calsharan Systems Union. It had been that way for the past few months, at least in official terms. Here in the capital, Protector General Lorvoss Valinno administered over the city and planet as its acting military governor. It was a job he had not asked for, but he had found himself enjoying it nonetheless. After all, it did have its perks.
There was no real 'frontline' here, for one. The proper fighting had ended months ago. Now only bands of insurgents stirred up trouble, something that the General had found himself keen on rectifying. It was a challenge, one to be relished, for he had spent more than enough time presiding over a military base back home for him to refuse an opportunity to get his hands a bit dirty. He would show the High Protector he could quell an insurgency. To General Valinno, Chulak was an opportunity, a stepping stone towards something far greater.
He stood in what had been the personal chambers of a Goa'uld System Lord many years before. The planet had changed hands a few times over its existence, from one System Lord to another. This grand palace, or fortress as it most prominently appeared from outside, had been the place from which the presiding System Lord had ruled Chulak. Since the ousting of the Goa'uld, the fortress had been repurposed into the centre of the planet's government, consisting of a ruling council. Much of the old Goa'uld décor had been removed, likely buried or burned or recycled. Some of it, from what the General understood, had found its way into the hands of Jaffa citizens who may have still held some reverence for the old System Lords. Regardless, the place still retained its regal appearance, with stone pillars and lavish etchings upon the archways in its more important rooms.
Here in the chamber, the General had placed his own regalia, including an expensive fur rug he had brought from home, a flag of the Calsharan Union flag that was draped over the wall at one corner and a portrait of the new (and unusually young) High Protector. The windows here allowed the mid-morning light to seep in, casting a healthy yellow illumination across the entire room. Beyond those windows, the city spread out before them, with the palace high on the rocky hill that the city was nestled against. And beyond the city walls swept onwards the lush rainforests that the General found pleasant to observe and explore.
The General was tall and broad, with blue-grey skin, his scaly facial features dulled with age. His eyes were a pale blue in colour, his figure stocky as he carried somewhat more weight than average around the belly. Dressed in his uniform pants and a plain grey undershirt, he hummed quietly to the music that played from the terminal upon the table next to him. Calsharan classical, mostly rolling, melodious tones with occasional pomposity. His people were capable of both subtlety and of being grandiose, after all.
His assistant, a slim young Calsharan male in plain grey civilian clothes, was standing before him. A device was in one hand, taking readings as to the General's gradually increasing weight in order to measure him for a new uniform. A few metres behind him stood the General's personal secretary, a uniformed female with light green skin who was currently tapping away at her personal data-pad. It was a relaxed atmosphere, the kind that General Valinno most preferred.
"Kalea, Kalea my dear," the General said, turning to his secretary. She looked up from her work, meeting his gaze. "If you would be so kind, please make a note that I wish for a crate of the finest meats from the home-world. Price does not matter. The supply chains here should be stabilised enough for it to reach us without problems."
"Of course, General." Secretary Kalea proceeded to note down the General's wishes. She was a young Lieutenant, keen to impress. And she had certainly impressed the General these past few months, both through her duties here and in other pursuits.
"I am tired of having to eat the local muck," the General continued, and he turned back around to look out of the windows. He felt like a king of old, lording over this place. "It gives me indigestion."
"Understood, General."
"Also, in your next communication with high command—" He was interrupted by a sharp knock upon the sturdy double doors at the other side of the room. Annoyance briefly darted through him, before he turned to the door and put on his best welcoming expression.
"Who is it?" He called. A familiar male voice replied:
"Captain Dorvask. I have someone here who wants to see you."
"Very well, enter." The General had a feeling this was likely to waste his time, but he nonetheless lowered the volume on his music and fixed his attention to the pair who walked inside. One was the Captain, a large Calsharan male with black skin and piercing blue eyes. He was larger than most males the General had met, with a body practically bulging with iron-hard muscle. Even his black uniform seemed to struggle to hold it all in, and he stepped inside, footfalls heavy and clunking upon the tiled floor, with a much smaller Jaffa male in tow. The General recognized this one and immediately his mood soured.
The Jaffa in question was a tall, if slim, man who looked to be in his late thirties, with a ruddy complexion and short, dark curly hair. The serpent seal of his former Goa'uld ruler was tattooed on his forehead, a mark that the General had seen on most of the Jaffa here, particularly those who were old enough to have been around during the time of their rule. The younger ones did not have it, which was to be expected. The Jaffa man was dressed in earthen coloured robes, common wear for the citizens of Chulak. As he entered after Captain Dorvask, he turned to the General and bowed his head in a respectful greeting.
Veyau'c, that was his name. The General had to take a moment to recall it from that part of his memory where the information he cared little about, those bits and pieces he did not consider worth remembering, often fell into. This Jaffa had been a council member here, specifically the Representative of the High Cliffs, the 'High Cliffs' being some far-flung region on the planet home to an even more barbaric people than the city was. Since the Calsharans had taken over, he had assigned himself as the 'liaison', a role that the General had had his subordinates arrange. He had cared little for who they picked for it, just that it be a friendly face that the locals trusted. And apparently, Veyau'c was that face.
He had taken to his new position eagerly, much to General Valinno's surprise. It was, from what he had been told, because Veyau'c had often been overlooked and ignored in the ruling council. The change of management here, conducted by the Calsharan occupiers, was something he no doubt saw as an opportunity. Most of the locals probably considered him a traitor, but Veyau'c had his friends as well. Not everyone was against the occupation, and in fact the General suspected there were Jaffa out there who went beyond contented, but rather welcomed it. The insurgents were a small, radical minority, as to be expected in these circumstances. A minority he intended to remove shortly, with the help of the sizeable Calsharan garrison at his disposal.
"Governor Valinno," the Jaffa said, as he strode into the room with confidence. Captain Dorvask lingered by the doors, closing them after the Jaffa had entered. He watched him with careful, alert eyes, ready to jump into action if Veyau'c attempted anything untoward.
"Veyau'c, a pleasure to see you." A lie, as the General wanted nothing more than to see this man leave. For now, he offered him a warm smile, or as warm as a Calsharan could manage when they bared their pointed teeth. "What brings you to my chambers this morning?"
"Something urgent, Governor." Veyau'c stopped a short distance away, eyes darting about the room as he took in the General, and then the scrutinising eye of his secretary and the much harsher eye of the Captain. He finally settled his attention upon the General again, despite his apparent uneasiness at being in a room full of Calsharans. "It is about one of the prisoners you captured recently. You have him in the dungeon."
"What prisoner?" The General had seen his soldiers bring in a handful of captured Jaffa insurgents the evening before. Captain Dorvask had lead the squad responsible, and they had intercepted an attempted ambush the insurgents had intended to make against a supply convoy. Someone in their ranks had let the information slip, presumably in exchange for material wealth or luxury supplies. Given how terrible the food was on this world, General Valinno could easily see a desperate, impoverished Jaffa doing such a thing.
"You do not know him?" Veyau'c sounded surprised. The General gave a dismissive wave. Behind him, his tailor took another quick scan of his waistline to ensure that the measurements he had were accurate.
"I care little for your celebrities, Veyau'c."
"This one is a hero to many of the people of not only Chulak, but the Free Jaffa Nation as a whole. Also, he is one of the leading figures of the insurgency and a former council member. By capturing him, you could have very well crippled the resistance movement."
The General quirked one hairless brow, his curiosity piqued. Veyau'c appeared sincere, if a little too skittish for the General's liking. This Jaffa was no warrior, that much was clear.
"His name is Teal'c," Veyau'c continued. "I suspect he has concealed his true identity from you, knowing full well that you would be unlikely to know of him. He was one of the leading figures in the rebellion against the Goa'uld."
"A legend, you might say?"
"Indeed." Veyau'c nodded his head. "He served as First Prime to Apophis for many years."
The General did not entirely understand what a 'First Prime' was, nor did he much care. Nonetheless, the information had him fascinated and his first thought was to meet this 'legendary' Jaffa. He slipped on his uniform jacket, despite how tight it felt around his waist, and turned back around to regard Veyau'c with a smile.
"Take me to him," he said.
Chulak had endured much in recent years. The Jaffa Rebellion had seen some of it become a warzone for a time, before those loyal to the Goa'uld had been routed, those who were not killed having scattered themselves to the winds. And then the Ori had come to enslave a people who had only just, at that point, began to live truly free. The yoke of oppression had returned and the Jaffa had made the Ori occupiers pay for it with blood, and much of it.
For nearly twenty years, the Jaffa of Chulak had lived free. They had formed their own government, consisting of democratically elected officials. They had rebuilt their city, stripping away the more overt reminders of Goa'uld rule. Slavery had become a thing of the past, and the Jaffa of this world had, for the first time, become masters of their own destinies. Peace had wrapped the planet in its warm embrace and the people had been content. Too content, perhaps, growing comfortable with their lives.
The Calsharan assault had been swift and overwhelming. Those vessels in orbit responsible for the planet's defence had been swept aside with alarming ease. The ground war had been brief but brutal, and by the end of several weeks of fighting the flag of the Calsharan Systems Union had been raised over the grand temple in the city. It was one of the oldest buildings on the planet, the seat of power for its rulers over the centuries, from the Goa'uld System Lord Chronus and then to Apophis, before the Ori had come and instituted their own harsh theocracy. And then, the Free Jaffa council had governed from there, with Jaffa Master Teal'c as one of its core members. At least, he had been for some years.
Teal'c had felt more at home on battlefields than within the halls of government. Politics was a game he had come to loathe, and after a handful of years at the head of a council that had seen its members in constant conflict, Teal'c had bowed out and returned to a quiet life on the fringes of the city. Occasionally he paid a visit to his old friends on Earth, and every so often his son would come by, a son who now had three children of his own. Life was otherwise quiet, and part of him had come to enjoy it. Another part of him felt out-of-place, as if not having someone try to kill him every other week was somehow out of the ordinary.
He had acted fast when the Calsharans had attacked. He had gathered up his weapons and old Jaffa armour, before heading for the city. There, he had helped numerous people escape into the forests and hills. The stargate had been taken by the invaders, with their armour-clad soldiers pouring on through. Those few defenders at the stargate had been overwhelmed quickly and the Calsharans had soon established a perimeter around the area. The city fell shortly afterwards, and Calsharan fighter craft ruled the sky.
Teal'c had come to find himself in a familiar dungeon, a large grungy space in the bowels of the great temple. A long time ago, he had thrown prisoners down here as First Prime of Apophis. And it had been here that he had made the fateful decision to betray his Goa'uld masters. The place had not changed much, being little more than a stone-walled hole with a large portcullis at one side. Several others were down here with him, dirty with torn clothing. His own outfit consisted of his Jaffa warrior leggings and a plain black undershirt, all similarly dirty and damaged. Three others from his band of resistance fighters were there with him, each of them significantly younger than the ageing warrior.
Teal'c's short-cropped black hair was grey at the sides, his features roughened and wizened with age. A bruise had formed underneath one eye and a cut was at his cheek, left there by the Calsharan soldiers who had captured him. It was not an outcome Teal'c had desired, for dying in battle would have been preferable. Yet a grenade had gone off too close and knocked him over, leaving him stunned whilst the soldiers surrounded him. He had had little choice in the matter then.
Beyond the gate into the dungeon, a pair of armour-clad Calsharan soldiers stood guard. One of Teal'c's younger compatriots was over there, hollering at the guards. It was no use, of cause. These aliens paid him no mind, ignoring the increasingly agitated shouts and insults the younger Jaffa hurled at them.
Before Teal'c had a chance to tell the Jaffa to be silent, his compatriot instead came running back his way, his rapid footfalls kicking up some of the dust that covered the dungeon floor.
"Someone's coming," he hissed, as he neared the group of huddled prisoners. Multiple sets of footsteps, clunking loudly down the hall outside the dungeon, became audible. Teal'c looked towards the gate, his dark features narrowed into a hard scowl.
Two more Calsharan soldiers appeared, this time with a pair of officers in between them. One Teal'c recognized as the squad leader of those who had captured him, a Captain named 'Dorvask'. The other he had heard of, if only because this one had become the de facto 'Governor' of Chulak: Protector General Lorvoss Valinno. He was older and visibly overweight around the stomach, something that Teal'c noted with some contained amusement. He had never seen a Calsharan who was overweight.
The soldiers guarding the gate unlocked it, allowing the General and his cohorts entry. They stopped at the top of the steps leading to the gate, with the General regarding the group of prisoners ahead with a careful, examining gaze. His Captain whispered something to him, before he nodded towards the prisoners. The General stepped forwards then, his two bodyguards following, their sleek black-metal plasma rifles raised. Those two rushed ahead, moving amongst the huddled group, waving their guns around threateningly. One of the Jaffa made a lunge for the nearest soldier, but he was promptly swatted aside with the butt of the Calsharan's plasma rifle. A bleeding gash opened at the Jaffa's forehead as he went down, leaving him groaning in pain.
Teal'c went to rise to his feet, a show of defiance before the soldiers suddenly grabbed him by the arms. One of them struck him with their weapon in the stomach, causing him to double over. Seizing this chance, the pair of soldiers forced him to his knees before the General, who in turn looked down at him with visible curiosity. The General scratched at his scaly chin where a pair of short stubby horns there, as if considering his words.
"You are Teal'c?" He asked the Jaffa Master. Teal'c said nothing, he simply watched the Calsharan General with contempt in his narrowed eyes. The General smirked and then leaned forwards, practically leering over him.
"I'll take your silence as a 'yes'," General Valinno said. "You are very well-known around here, from what I understand. Not to mention, you are a leader of the resistance, one of them anyway. You could tell us a lot about them, I suspect."
Teal'c had endured interrogations and torture before. He went to stand up again, forcing one arm free of the soldier at his left. Straight away they were on him again, hitting him with their guns, sending pain tearing through his torso. On his hands on knees, he was taken hold of once more, pulled back upon his knees so that he could better see the General standing over him.
"I like this one," the General declared, turning to his Captain with a broad smile. Dorvask gave a nod, a smirk creeping upon his scaly, reptilian features. "He has spirit. You have to admire that, a spirited dissident." He turned back to Teal'c, still smiling. "You are our key at shattering the resistance. I think a trial is on the cards, would you not agree, Captain?" Again, he glanced at Dorvask. "How many of our people did this one kill? Have you some idea?"
"Dozens, General." Dorvask's voice was deep and gravelly. "He's wounded many more."
"Impressive," the General nodded his head, apparently unoffended that so many of his people had died at the hands of this Jaffa. He looked down at Teal'c, only receiving a hardened and contempt-filled scowl in return. "I want him paraded around before the people and I want him beaten and flogged along the way. I want him disgraced in the eyes of those who would worship him as the hero he evidently is. We shatter the legend of the mighty Teal'c and fewer people are likely to follow him."
"Our people will fight you." Teal'c spoke slowly, his every word carefully enunciated so that no meaning was lost on the General. "We will fight you to the last breath of the last man. We have defeated oppression in the past, and we will do so again."
"No, no, no, Teal'c." The General shook his head, his tone like that of a parent scolding a misbehaving child. "I have come to suspect that your people actually prefer to be subject to their betters. If your people were so keen to be free, then why is your insurgency such a minority? You Jaffa have been enslaved for so long that it's all you know. Now, I don't come here as a slave master, but rather as a liberator. We will elevate your people beyond your backwards, heathen ways and you will thank us for it, mark my words." He sounded confident, almost sickeningly so.
Teal'c said nothing, did not wish to say anything. He did not want to grant this General the satisfaction of a proper conversation.
"I look forward to getting to know you better, Teal'c," the General continued. "And maybe I may even be able to convince you of the benefits of Calsharan rule here on Chulak?"
No answer was forthcoming. Teal'c simply glared at the arrogant General, who in turn smirked before he spun about on his heels and started for the exit. The bodyguards released the ageing Jaffa before following, the Captain as well, the gate being closed after the group was gone. Teal'c watched them every step of the way, taking note of their movements, their gaits and any hints of body language. The smart warrior was well aware that the more you knew of your enemy, the much better your chances in a fight.
