Damn but that one was a pain. I worked on it for a while, but I was stuck on a problem for a whole week until I said 'fuck it' and ignored it entirely. I don't want to spoil the chapter, so I explained in the end.

Things are moving forward, fast, and will probably move like this for a few chapters. There isn't a lot to say with the state of things right then, but it will change soon.

Now, this chapter is sort of a filler, except there is a HUGE character development part. You shouldn't be able to miss it if you read. And i'm not kidding. Voider had Lilith become like that at birth. I decided she needed some help along the way. Nothing more to say, read.

Now, I thank you all for your enthusiasm for my story. Damn but I didn't expect such a huge success. More than a hundred reviews, nearly 14000 views, 147 alerts and 131 favs. Dayum. I'm honored, really. So thanks everyone, and double thanks to those who reviewed. I love you guys.

Time to answer to the reviews though, chronologically since there are several Guests and I don't want to confuse them :

Guest : It won't be immediately unfortunately. Since Bastet doesn't know where Lilith is, it will be difficult for her to try and bring her back as her subordinate.

Guest : It will happen, but not immediately. She's still a little isolated. It will change, but not yet. The exploration has started already. As for the shadow empire, it will probably happen, and by the time it does it probably won't be as you said because she'll be able to defend her Empire from the Goa'uld. She's careful and won't expand until she's sure it's secure.

jabbarulez : I won't talk about it in the fic so I'll say it to you. They didn't really. Well, it's not as nice as it was when Lilith was there though. As for the serum, yeah, they still got it. Bastet has the formula and so have the other System Lords.

ideaman : I'm not sure I'll do that. If I need to add a completely alien race, I'll probably work on my own version of the Furlings and go with it. And you can erase the probably. I'll work on the Furlings. You still have some time before they appear though.

Evil-Jeff : I'll be perfectly honest with you, I had forgotten about those. Yeah of course she took them with her.

Xeeoon : She aged because she did not use the sarcophagus until the 'cure' was ready. Now that it is, she won't age anymore. It was also a convenient plot device to avoid to have an immortal teenager on my hands.

OMAC001 : It still is in effect, and it'll completely fuck canon up. Say bye bye to the Goa'uld as you know them, by the time SG1 enter the scene things will be completely different.

ragnar28190 : I'm sorry you think like that. And I don't think that everything goes the Tok'ra's way. After all, they lost one of their bases and hundred of operatives in the mission. As for them using humans, I see that as logical after the fall of Earth. Contrarily to the canon, they were there to liberate the Tau'ri and did so with the help of humans. In my opinion, I think it would prompt them to continue using them in the future. Then again, it's my personal opinion.

alexieB : They will appear, just not now. It's 2400 BC, they still are at the very least in a medieval society. They are no threat yet.

Guest : She would find that annoyingly ironic. As for changing her host and name, it won't happen. She likes Maya. 'Nough said.

gasacan90 : Very well, thanks :D

Dotton : They are good friends I'd say, but it's tempered by the fact that Lilith knows that friendship or not Bastet will not let betrayal go unpunished. By leaving, Lilith declared herself a traitor to the System Lords.

Zomvee : I... Thanks. I really don't think I'm even worthy to lick their boots, but it's still nice to read. I won't have her conquer the Tau'ri, but a close alliance is still possible. I'm not exactly sure on how I'll go about that. I don't think I'll need help with the technology, I'm an avid reader and have a lot of imagination, but still give me your opinion if you want. I'm never against some help. As for the point of view of SG1, I'm not sure. I did everything in Lilith's point of view for the moment, maybe I'll continue like that, maybe not. Future's still open on that.

Guest : I will mention sex when it is relevant in the future, but no, I won't do lemons. I like reading them and all, but it's true that it can fuck a story up and this story is not suitable for this kind of things.

I also thank all of those who did write a comment just to encourage me. Love you guys.

Special thanks to Zealot of Reading who helps me a lot for the plot related problems.

Still would like a beta for the grammar/syntax. Any help would be appreciated.

Now, before I let you read the chapter, I just want you to warn you that I'm going on holidays for a month. I'll take my computer to write but I'm not sure I'll be able to upload new chapters. So don't worry it I'm silent until the end of august, I'm not forgetting you. If nothing is up in august, you can be sure that when I come back there'll be two new chapters. (okay, maybe, that depends on how busy I am during these Holidays. One chapter is an absolute certainty though.)

There, it's done, now enjoy the chapter guys.

2356 BC, Refuge, Lilith's Domain

I gazed toward the city underneath my palace, a small smile on my lips. It had been a long time since my exile from the Goa'uld society, more than four hundred years since then. And both I and Refuge had thrived.

I still didn't find a more efficient power source in order to improve what I already had built, but to be perfectly honest I had absolutely no idea where to start with that. No, I worked on several subjects which I found of major importance.

The first was to create a computer able of calculations beyond anything that was currently used by the Goa'uld. We already had the technology, but never a need for it. It was a task I completed in a mere month, and then I fed it the source code I found in the dialing device of the gate. I expected some quick resolution but I was shocked to see that it would take nearly a millennium to complete the decryption and have a clear understanding of each and every part of the gate control. Still, I had the time.

I also managed to greatly miniaturize the Goa'uld technology, and with it greatly improved the means of production of said technology. Of course for ship systems and other energy consuming systems, I couldn't really use microscopic crystals due to the amount of energy that had to travel through them, but I could now craft control crystals of such size for my weapons and future armors.

The new ships designs had been completed and with them the plans of what would be my future flagship. I didn't want to be limited by any future improvement though, so I decided to wait before crafting these ships. I knew that in only a couple centuries or so, the humans under my command would be scientifically competent enough to start inventing new useful technology by my side. They even already started.

The population was united under my command, and without any possible war and conflict, they both thrived and stagnated. The global level of development of the society was impressive after such a short time, but I had to… incite them to work on new weapons in order to push them forward.

It was a jarring perspective. I wanted to build a world where I would be loved as their immortal empress, but also a world filled with humans that would be as developed as the Goa'uld. The problem was that in order to reach that level of development, war was nearly indispensable. For as sad as it was, there was nothing better than war to force a population to spend resources on the improvement of technology and the development of new weapons.

So I had to cheat. I created a competition. Every ten years, scientists and other people from the entire planet would be able, if they wished to, to create a new weapon. I had several controls to make sure that there was no foul play due to the reward for such an endeavor: four times their weight in weapon's grade naqahdah. It was the common currency on Refuge, and such a sum would be enough to fund their most expensive researches for half a century, or simply make their families comfortable for many centuries.

Of course, nearly all the inventions were useless, but it pushed them forward and forced them to improve. One of those though, was an incredibly good surprise. What he presented me was a simple sword, much to the amusement of the other contestants. What was intriguing though, was the bluish color of the metal, in a shade that I had never seen beforehand. I tested the sword myself, and found it incredibly light for its size. When it was the time to test its resistance to several different factors, I was simply stunned beyond belief. It was actually better than the naqahdah-iron alloy that was used for my ships.

Apparently, his family had worked on the strange metal I had found on this planet for centuries, until they managed the perfect ratio between it and naqahdah. That was the collective sum of their efforts and I was seriously impressed. I had gotten to study this new metal and had been surprised by its extremely interesting properties, but for all my technology, I had not progressed enough in my research to create such an alloy. That the blacksmith won that decade's competition didn't need to be said. The metal was called Trinium.

The school itself was a huge success and thanks to my involvement and my contributions, it was totally free for anyone who wanted to learn. Thanks to that, the development of sciences was extremely fast and they had already discovered the electricity and various means to produce it, principally chemically. The industrial revolution would start soon, and everything would accelerate after that.

I had totally destroyed five of the eight Ha'tak that I had gathered under Bastet's rule. I was tempted to keep them at first, since a fleet of eight Ha'tak was worthy of a minor System Lord, but I knew that I didn't have much of a use for them for the moment. I was isolated, nobody knew that I was staying there. Keeping them would make me waste resources in the long term, resources that I may need for other projects.

I also totally changed my armor, changing the heavy naqahdah chainmail for a new lighter armor made by a nanometric weave of the new Trinium naqahdah composite. All in all it resulted in a much more resilient armor for less than half the weight. It was skintight so I decided to include several other systems in the armor, powered by five liquid naqahdah cells. The first was a couple of wrist devices that were completely integrated into the armor. It simply appeared as a small red gem on the palm of my hand, small enough not to bother me when I wanted to grab something. It could also activate the teleportation rings if I wished to. Knowing that there could be situations where I had to be unarmed, the wrist devices were exclusively powered by a single naqahdah cell placed at the back of my neck.

The second system that was included in the suit of armor was an improved shield system. The aim was clear. It was to protect me from both ranged attacks and primitive weapons. The standard shield was able to repulse high-energy attacks, both kinetic and others, but failed spectacularly when confronted with primitive weapons such as thrown knives. With my new armor I didn't have to fear for an attack targeting my body since it was resilient enough to put my death gliders to shame, but my head was always a weak point due to my lacking a helmet. And with my sniper rifle being in the hands of the Tok'ra, I couldn't know when someone would target that weak point of mine without my knowing. So the improved shield was an automatic system, powered by three liquid naqahdah cells. The first layer was a sensor that was able to detect incoming projectiles or energy signature and was able to categorize them from their energy levels. Then it would trigger one of the two barriers. The first was the traditional energy shield of the Goa'uld, to deal with high energy attacks, and the other was a primitive version of said shield that was more suited to primitive attacks. All in all, I knew the system would protect me continuously.

The energy requirement for the sensor was not so great, so it would be able to last for a while and the cell would be slowly recharged by my exceeding bioenergy. It was, in my opinion, an excellent security system for my level of technology.

The last system, powered by the fifth and last energy cell was simply a temperature control to keep the armor always at the perfect temperature regardless of the external conditions.

All in all, things were going extremely well. I didn't even have that much to do since I acknowledged the fact that the inhabitants of Refuge had grown enough to start governing themselves. Oh, I remained their Immortal Empress, and was both loved by the population and feared by any wannabe criminals, but the fact was that I was a bit bored to do always the same thing and I yearned to explore and discover new things. The problem was, exploring the galaxy seemed a simple thing with my possessing a stargate, but I only knew the list of address that was known to every Goa'uld. And those addresses were too risky to go to since there was the risk of my being recognized and my position given to the System Lords.

I also didn't have any information about the galaxy as a whole. I knew that with my giving them a serum to protect them from our insanity, things would change, but I had no way of determining which of those things were and how much they progressed after all those years.

I had designed numerous exploration drones that would be able to gather information and send it in real time through the gate, but the fact was that it would not be able to give me a very clear information of the state of things in the Goa'uld society.

No, I had to be prudent and avoid those locations for the moment. At least until I had a better idea of where I was standing in the balance of power.

That left me only a couple of places to explore though. The first was the Tau'ri. I was pretty sure that it was left alone after they buried the stargate, and thus it would be a good idea to keep an eye on them every once in a while. To check their development and avoid any bad surprise.

The second was a very controversial place, one that was legendary in the ranks of the Jaffa and feared by the Goa'uld as a whole. Kheb. Oh, we knew where it was, and what the stargate address was to reach that place, but it was a sacred place, and the Goa'uld's natural aggressiveness pretty much made them persona non grata there. Or at least it seemed so, since not one of them came back. Still, I knew I was different, so I was tempted to try and visit, just to be the first one to come back.

There were a few other planets that I knew were abandoned and where I could get some well-deserved rest, but it wasn't as interesting as a trip to Kheb would be.

It seemed that I had chosen my destination, I just had to warn my first prime and the new leader of the humans.

One year, it took them one year to organize the new ruling system of the planet, with me at the head, as their Empress, then a single man or woman, named the Deputy elected by and from a council of one hundred, who were elected themselves by the people. Those elections would happen every ten years. The idea of elections was a bit strange, but it meant that I acknowledged their abilities and political acumen. And they were grateful.

I had started a small group of my smarter Jaffa in order to keep an eye on the government and avoid any corruption or others shady dealings, but apart from that I knew everything was going well and I would be able to take my vacations.

Just before going, I simply sent a single drone to verify that the surroundings of the gate were clear, which they were, and then I removed the liquid naqahdah generator powering my weapons' system. No sense in trying to aggravate whoever made all the previous Goa'uld visitors disappear without a trace.

Then, I stepped through the gate and landed on Kheb. It was a lush place, where nature was undisturbed and flourishing, just as much as I expected. I quickly sent the drone back to Refuge and looked around to find a small road going away from the gate into the forest. I shrugged with a small smile on my lips before following the road. It had to go somewhere, and I wasn't in a rush.

It took me several hours to reach the end of the road, a temple of a style that I did not recognize. It was definitely alien and not something that we Goa'uld, or even the humans of Earth would have built. Too modern, too well build. Still, as I was climbing the steps of the imposing temple, I noticed the lack of people. There were only a couple humans that I could see, or at least they appeared human, and that was far too little compared to the size of the temple. Still, I soon reached my destination and was greeted by a single woman who was looking at me with what appeared to be suspicion.

"Greetings. Please do not be too inconvenienced by my suspicion, it is not often that your kind risk themselves here."

I nodded my head respectfully, a small smile on my lips.

"Greetings. I do not hold it against you, I am aware of my kind's… disrespectful manners at times. I simply ask the same courtesy in return."

She looked at me before nodding.

"It is fair. May I inquire of your presence here?"

My smile widened.

"I must admit that there are two main reasons I came on this planet. The first is curiosity. I love to discover new things and the very idea of this place and how little I knew about it was enticing. The second is a bit more complex. I am an exile, voluntarily, from the Goa'uld society and have kept myself to the ruling of my planet and the people living on it. Unsurprisingly, while a rewarding activity, it can get quite repetitive. I thus decided to get away from the turpitudes of power and closer to nature for a while. This place is said to be a place of enlightenment. And I knew I would benefit from anything you would agree to teach me."

She opened her mouth to answer and then closed it again, deep in thought.

"You do know that we would not teach you anything that would help you subjugate other sentient beings."

I nodded at that. It could nearly sound like a question but her tone was affirmative, she was sure of herself.

"Indeed I do. Then again, I am not interested in the subjugation of my people. I rule them because I am their beloved and just Empress, because they benefit from it, not because they fear their Goddess. I gently guide them and they accept my rule for it. Using other methods are unsavory and dubious at best."

She looked at me in surprise for a dozen seconds before a soft smile appeared on her lips.

"As surprising as it may be, I believe you. You are welcome to stay here in the time being. I now know that you are not ready for everything we have to teach, but both you and the galaxy may indeed benefit from this visit. I urge you to warn your Jaffa and the leaders of your planet that you may be absent for a long time. The teachings take time, and you may have to stay here for several years."

I was shocked that she knew so much about my planet, and it clearly showed on my face.

"How…"

She shushed me with a mysterious smile.

"You will know in due time. Do not worry about such things. The means for me to know that are beyond your comprehension for the moment."

I nodded after a second and left toward the gate. I did not know what to think to be honest, for them to know about the state of things on Refuge was a distressing thought. It meant that it was not as unknown as I hoped it to be. Still, I knew that there was nothing I could do about it. There was something that told me that my first instinct, which was to come in force and kill anyone who knew about Refuge, would be dangerous for me. It was Kheb, and some Jaffa thought this place sacred. The rest of the Goa'uld feared it. There was probably a reason for it.

The message had been sent and received. And soon enough I was back to the monastery. I would live there and thus was given simple clothes, the very same than the others and was told to leave my possessions in a room, where I was assured I could not get them until my stay is over. Everything was communal, and I knew immediately the very meaning of those things. I was told that I was the same as everyone else there, that I was not an Empress, nor was I a Goa'uld. I was simply a woman, even though I was genderless by nature my presence within Maya made me refer to myself as such after a couple centuries, seeking their teachings, like any other man and woman here.

What followed was a boring and repetitive life. I will not detail everything, but the gist of it was that I had nothing to do but think. The work was menial and unchallenging, something that I never had to do before, which led me to try and take my mind off it. The only part of the day that I came to appreciate was the evenings, where we would gather in a room and discuss various subjects.

I must regretfully admit that I didn't understand the meaning of these teachings until the very end, when I was about to leave two years later. I had changed tremendously. I had assumed myself different from the Goa'uld, better, because of my intelligence and my relative sanity compared to them. The only one that I respected was Bastet. In a way, I was a victim of the same hubris than them. I still viewed myself superior. Despite the very fair rule of my planet, I still considered myself superior to them. I ruled because I viewed myself as better than them. All of that changed.

There were also countless other little habits that I learned to correct, my relationship with Maya had never been better and I have learned the extend of the damage my kind had wrought upon the galaxy. It was truly disheartening to see fellow sentients be debased and exploited just because the Goa'uld could do so. I didn't know what I could do, I was just one woman after all, but I resolved to change things. With some luck, I would be able to get Bastet on my side, but I didn't count on it too much. She may be more compassionate than the others, but she was still a System Lord.

Still, I was a little bit excited, since I was to meet who could appear as the leader of this place for the first time. A woman named Oma Desala. I didn't know what to expect at all, and it would probably have made me ill at ease a couple years before. Now, the most I was feeling was a bit of excitation. Not everyone met Oma Desala, and to have that privilege was making me giddy with anticipation.

Soon enough, I was in front of her. She was sitting next to a low table and appeared to me as a middle aged woman, but I could see the wisdom in her eyes, wisdom that did take countless millennia to develop. She was Old. I bowed respectfully in front of her, getting a smile out of her.

"Please Lilith, do not bow. There is no need of it."

I reluctantly settled back into a comfortable position and looked toward the woman with a healthy amount of respect in my eyes.

"It is an honor to finally meet you."

She decided to simply answer me with a smile and gestured me to sit down in front of her. I did without a word.

"You are the second one of your kind that has accepted to stay here to learn. The first one was wounded, and recalcitrant for a while, but she learned, just as you did. And she came out changed, just as you do."

I frowned in confusion. Surely I would have heard of such a different Goa'uld.

"I must admit that I'm curious…"

I struggled for a few seconds, not knowing what to call her. She answered me with that soft smile that made me feel like a child in front of her mother.

"Just call me Oma." She then sighed. "The first one… I won't give you her name, but she is rebelling against the rest of the Goa'uld now. She was a young queen…"

Immediately my eyes widened in incredulity.

"The Tok'ra?"

Oma nodded simply.

"Yes."

I frowned, before sighing despondently.

"I… I'm not sure I would join them. I agree that something must be done to protect the people of this galaxy, but I have some… bad blood with the Tok'ra."

She interrupted me with that smile once again on her lips.

"I am not the road that will lead you to your future, simply the map to show you the possibilities."

I nodded with a grateful smile.

"Thank you. I will do something… maybe, but I have to think about it carefully."

She nodded.

"Due to your intervention, the lives on some planets of the Goa'uld Empire are a bit better. For the first time in millennia though, they are developing. Some faster than others. Your friend Bastet seems to be a bit ahead of the competition."

That state of the galaxy alarmed me slightly. Half a millennium ago, I would have been exceedingly proud to have been the catalyst of a new golden age of the Goa'uld Empire. Now though, I was starting to see them as enemies, and the possibility of them improving was worrying.

"That's not… Oh, who am I kidding, that's exactly what I expected at the time." I sigh. "This makes things complicated though, I didn't expect to become a traitor to my kind."

I sighed once again as she smiled.

"Good, evil, traitor, loyal, those are but mere words. One's good is another's evil, and revolutions are always engineered by terrorists until the moment they are successful. Simply try to do some good according to your own values, and do not worry about labels."

I nodded, the silence stretching, comfortable. I broke it after a few minutes though.

"I… I don't want to seem rude, but I must admit that I am curious as to who exactly you are, and what is your race."

She laughed softly, apparently amused.

"Your curiosity is something that defines you it seems. I am simply Oma Desala. As to what I am… Let's say that I'm something you are not ready yet to be. Maybe once you have reached the end of your journey, we will be able to speak about this once again." I nodded in acceptance, knowing that I was not ready to know yet. "Farewell Lilith. We will probably meet again in the future, but accept this single gift to set you up on your journey."

All of a sudden I blinked, the knowledge of a gate address imprinting itself in my brain. I quickly noticed that it was not known by the Goa'uld yet, so I knew I would visit in the near future. After all this, I couldn't see Oma trying to lead me into a trap.

"I thank you for your gift and your teachings Oma. Farewell."

I stood up and bowed once again, before leaving silently. With this encounter, my vacation to Kheb finished itself. I said my goodbyes to everyone and went to get back my belongings. It had been a good two years, and I was a bit apprehensive to go back on Refuge. Would things have changed in those last two years?

Nothing changed. When I was back on Refuge and walked toward my palace, accompanied by a few Jaffa, I could see the fervor of the people on the street. They were acclaiming me, welcoming me back. I ignored Maya gently teasing me inside my head and smiled toward the people, discreetly wiping a single tear off my cheek. I knew that they loved me, that was my goal in order not to be betrayed by my people. But seeing that love openly like that, seeing them welcome me back like a most cherished parent. It was heartwarming. In a sense, it was its own reward. My trip to Kheb helped me see that.

I had doubts in Kheb. Whether or not I would remain as their ruler, whether or not to let them chose their own ruler. But as I saw all the people welcoming me back, I knew I couldn't back off. It was too late. They were my people, and I was their empress. Together, always.

Too soon I was back in my palace, welcomed by my first prime. Things had gone exceedingly well in the past two years, and the new ruling system proved itself efficient. I wanted to be aware of each and any development though, so I warned the Deputy, a man named Aran, that I wanted a meeting with the One Hundred in order to discuss the state of things on Refuge. He agreed immediately and the meeting was arranged the day after.

In the end, there was nothing new except for one point. The population wanted to change the name of the planet. Refuge made them seem like cowards, hiding away from the rest of the galaxy. I hypocritically refrained from saying that it was what I was doing and nodded in approval. They were not that wrong. After that, there was a long debate to decide what it would be called. The majority was agreeing on Shal, Home in Goa'uld, but I was a bit bothered by the fact that it was a bit simplistic. So after a couple more hours, we agreed on a name, slightly different from Shal, but close enough to retain its appeal.

Refuge would become Sheol.

I watched the gate open. It had been several weeks since I came back to Sheol and now I was leaving again for a short while. I had sent a drone through the gate to the address Oma Desala gave me and saw that it was inside a building with no protection. Now it was my turn to visit the place, accompanied with two Jaffa this time and with my suit fully functional.

There was no natural opening to light the place, but I could see everything. The lighting system was clearly elaborate and discreet, sign of a fairly advanced civilization.

I moved forward up a few stairs and after entered a new room only to stop immediately, my jaw hanging low in astonishment.

The place appeared as a meeting room, with a pedestal in the center that seemed to be still powered and four different writings, two of which I recognized, one of which I could read, on the walls.

I let out an excited and very undignified squeak as I saw the Gatebuilder and Asgard language on the walls accompanied by two others. Then I thanked Oma Desala. Profusely.

So, once again, SURPRISE! Who guessed that I would use this place in my fic, huh?

Also, I know I messed up Oma,really, I know it. Why do you think it took so long to write this chapter? I tried to have her all cryptic and all as she is in canon, but I can't do cryptic. I tried, but I can't. So I stopped trying after a week of writing and erasing the shit I was writing and decided to go with the flow.

Also, when I saw that Home was Shal in Goa'uld, I just HAD to name that planet Sheol. I hesitated a couple of times on the name, but then again, I just live to throw things like that at you guys. :P

I hope that you find the development realistic enough. Yeah, even the Naqahdah-Trinium composite. No, it's not yet the NTC composite of the Asgard, it's far too complex for a medieval society, but I personally think that a human blacksmith with access to the two metals would be able and creative enough to create such a composite. I assumed that Lilith gave them forges powerful enough to work on those highly resilient metals beforehand.

Oh, and Oma looking into the Goa'uld Society in detail thanks to Lilith will have a HUGE impact on the canon story-line. I let you guess how, it's not that hard to guess. (I think?)

So, please don't hesitate to review, especially for constructive criticism. I love those.

Ttfn!