Chapter 4: Et tu, Brute?
To everyone in Prometheus station, most especially former Jaffa priestess Sroda of Gualun, January 12th, 2005 started much like any other day at Omega Site's Prometheus Technological Adaptation Station. Sroda, a specialist in Jaffa armor and weapons technology who defected to the SGC two years before during a raid one of System Lord Olakun's outposts, was hard at work on a new prototype when Dr. Samuel Patricks came running in. "How many Hercules suits can we get operational in the next six hours?" Sroda's head jerked up from the polymer power circuits she was fine-tuning in surprise as she exclaimed, "Why do we need them online Doctor Patricks? There aren't any field tests on the schedule for the next week and at the project meeting yesterday you yourself said we aren't expected to have it ready for production for another six months." As she looked her superior in the eye she began to register just how flustered, almost panicked, the look on Patricks' face really was.
"Haven't you heard the news? Kinsey is claiming he's arrested President Gore under suspicion of being an undercover Goa'uld!" Sroda froze as her eyes slowly widened in shock. "How is that possible?" she said in a very controlled voice. "How could the most powerful of the nations of the Tau'ri succumb to a Goa'uld?" Patricks replied, "General Hammond thinks there's something else going on. Haven't you heard half the base gossip on Kinsey? He tried to have the program shutdown right when Apophis launched his attack on Earth and has been monkeying around ever since. Remember Dr. Becker?" Sroda frowned before slowly nodding replying, "The genetics researcher who was sent back to Earth after they caught him trying to smuggle Goa'uld DNA samples offworld?" Patricks fervently nodded saying, "Yeah, turns out he received a lot of money from Gilead Sciences to steal it. They were big contributors to Kinsey's campaign and big-time advocates for completely deregulating the Orion Patents program. From what I've heard Hammond's people found evidence tying Gilead and the theft directly to Kinsey."
Sroda looks back perplexedly at Dr. Patricks. She was still getting used to the ways of the Tau'ri and their democratic processes and was unsure if this was some kind of secret test of loyalty. "Why does Kinsey arresting Albert Gore of Tennessee for Goa'uld infestation matter to us? Is not our job as soldiers to obey what the civilian government tells us to do?" Patricks took in a deep breather before replying, "I'll put it this way: if people like Kinsey got their way you'd either be in an interrogation chamber or on a dissection table instead of working for the SGC as a weapons researcher. If they had their way they wouldn't have lifted a finger for any of the Goa'uld worlds the SGC has liberated over the past few years." Sroda paused before saying, "So what are we going to do? We cannot allow Kinsey to seize power illegally, but if I understand things correctly it would be equally unlawful for the military to take action." Patricks nodded before saying, "Normally yes but if Kinsey himself is taking office illegally, and the DNA samples Becker stole could be used to fake an infestation, then we need to do whatever we can to stop him. Hammond has ordered all bases on alert and authorized an emergency early deployment of the suits and any other technology that could give us an edge."
Just as Dr. Patricks finished his sentence the intercoms for the base came online. "This is General Laval speaking. The American President-elect Al Gore has been freed from custody and confirmed as not a Goa'uld. All personnel are to continue immediate mobilization of all on-site military resources and assets. Prometheus is on immediate lockdown." Sroda listened intently before saying to Dr. Patricks, "We currently have twenty four suits that can be ready for operation in three hours. The rest will need at least forty eight hours of constant work to bring online and they would only be good for a few engagements at most. They certainly would not be fit for use against the Goa'uld." Patricks nodded before saying, "Then let's get to work."
While Dr. Patricks dialed up the rest of the armor lab staff Sroda got to work taking the necessary preliminary steps to get the Hercs ready for action. The Hercules suits, officially designated the Power Augmented Body Armor System, were the result of years of research into Jaffa body armor and the possibilities recovered Goa'uld technology offered the SGC. Unlike the Jaffa, with their enhanced strength offsetting the weight of their armor, the soldiers of Earth were normal humans with all the limitations that came with it. Many at Prometheus up until Sroda joined the program felt the power of staff weapons and the needed weight to protect against a staff blast made any serious improvements in armor likely to be years away.
It was her knowledge of Jaffa armor, particularly those of the System Lord guards' designs similar to the Falcon and Serpent Guard, coupled with a fortuitous exhibition of a Raytheon-Honda concept for an enhanced powered suit shortly after she came to Prometheus that changed all that. Two years later and six months sooner than she expected Sroda was powering up the first working examples of a powerful fusion of Goa'uld knowledge and technology with Earth practicality and necessity. As the fluorescent lights of the armor lab storage room illuminated two rows of silent, towering suits Sroda immediately punched in a systems diagnostic on the main lab computer.
The differences between Jaffa armor and the Hercs was a powerful example of the differences in mentality and approach between the Goa'uld and the SGC. Both regular and the more ostentatious System Lord Guard suits, which included enhanced optics, communications, and heavier armor than regular suits, were meant for intimidation as much as protection. The Hercules suits had a more specialized task in mind.
Forcing a defended Stargate was a highly dangerous, risky operation that brought lots of casualties with every engagement. The Hercules suits, with their heavy plate and heavier weapons loadout of two underarm miniguns and a shoulder-mounted mortar launcher, were meant to be the answer to these problems. This as all made possible by superdense batteries and superconductor-powered hydraulics and polymers dramatically enhancing the weight load a soldier could carry. Unlike Jaffa or even Serpent Guard suits the Hercules, when it went into production, was meant to reduce the risk for all personnel and accomplish the mission as quickly and bloodlessly as possible.
As she fired up the computer systems that made these massive, nine foot tall machines go Sroda slammed her palm on the intercom system. "This is Sroda in the armor lab. We need twenty four Hercules combat loads from the armory immediately." As she looked up two squads of unarmed, uniformed Gate Corps personnel ran in with a swarm of technicians. The storage room was rapidly buzzing with activity as the huge Hercs hummed to action. Gate Corps personnel hopped into their suits, armory techs loaded up belts of ammo and racks of shells, and the featureless halfdome battle helmets slid in over the soldiers' faces. As they moved into action Sroda silently hoped as hard as she could they succeeded. Years before she would have prayed to the False Gods but now all she could do was place her fate in the hands of the Taur'i and trust that she was doing the right thing.
"Good morning my fellow Americans. It fills me with great regret and sorrow to be speaking to you under these conditions. In the weeks following the election I discovered evidence of a threat to our national and planetary security I could not stand by and ignore. A month ago a concerned individual attached to the United States Space Forces approached me with shocking proof that President-elect Albert Gore Jr. has recently become a host to a Goa'uld parasite.
This information was brought to me under the strictest of security and I have the highest confidence in its authenticity. Further investigations by my staff have confirmed a number of US military personnel, including high-ranking members of the Space Forces, have been co-opted by these alien parasites. I have waited this long to come forward as I needed to be sure the threat would be contained before going public with this information.
I understand the situation is highly irregular and there may be many who question its legitimacy. Unfortunately there was no way anyone could have anticipated such an occurrence until recently and I felt it would not be safe to leave a Goa'uld host in the most powerful office on Earth any longer than necessary. Sometimes extraordinary actions are necessary to defend our liberty.
It is my hope we will succeed in cleaning out these alien infestations to better secure our national and global security. I call on the people of the United States to come together in standing firm against the alien menace. We are entering a new age for humanity and we must be ready to meet it head-on and without compromise."
Vice President-elect Robert Kinsey's Address from the Oval Office, January 12th, 5 M12
"As sudden as the Kinsey Coup was in the moment it unfolded the roots of this moment in history stretched back to before First Contact when the Stargate program first began. Robert Kinsey was far from alone in being a critic of the SGC. From its inception Kinsey was vocally opposed in public to the secrecy of the United States Space Forces. Behind closed doors, as declassified documents later revealed, he felt the Stargate Program's emphasis on diplomacy over military expedience was a dangerous policy for the security of the planet against the Goa'uld. First Contact crystalized these fears as the direct assault by Apophis' forces greatly changed the situation for the people of Terra. The establishment of the IOC hardened Kinsey's opposition as he felt American military and economic clout, plus direct ownership of the Stargate, was good enough reason to take the lead regardless of what anyone else thought.
Kinsey found support from a number of Blue Dog Democrats, neoconservative Republicans, and others who were prominent in the Occidentalist movement. The Occidentalists, held up by many historians as the antithesis of the Globalists, were a movement with considerable support following First Contact. Central to this support was the backing of powerful business interests, motivated by desires for a bigger piece of the pie, coupled with those who felt any action was justified in the defense of Earth and argued modern American democracy coupled with neo-liberal capitalism was the optimal model for organizing society. These groups were broadly coordinated by a network of political action committees and think tanks with the Project for a New American Century as the most prominent and well-known.
These views were spread by a powerful and sophisticated media network of well-funded outlets. Some of the most powerful in the Occidentalist movement were Rupert Murdoch's media empire flagshipped by Fox News, Clear Channel Radio, and The Western Review, a periodical in the vein of The Economist founded in 997 M11. It was through these outlets a degree of mass based support was cultivated through appealing to people's nationalism and xenophobia.
What further hardened these lines in the United States was the developing interstellar policy of the Clinton-Gore Administration. Quite contrary to the American Occidentalist calls for a more unilateralist, America leading the way, policy Clinton's focus was on building a broad base of international support. Where the establishment of the IOC was the spark for the Occidentalists further behind the scenes actions like the establishment of dialog with the Russo-Chinese Gate program further incensed PNAC men like Kinsey and Richard Cheney, former Defense Secretary and CEO of Halliburton. It was with the signing of the Planetary Defense Accords the Coup's plotters went into action.
The PNAC, using their vast reach and influence inside the US military establishment, managed to procure a sample of Goa'uld DNA from Prometheus Station and smuggle it to Earth. They reached out to individuals in the officer corps and the Secret Service who they felt would be sympathetic to their cause. In the media the volume and vitriol of criticism of the PDA escalated but the most stunning element of the PNAC plot was the degree to which they penetrated both parties. To ensure the success of their policies the PNAC's members pulled in enough favors and strings to put Kinsey and Cheney in the VP slots of the Democratic and Republican tickets for the 4 M12 Presidential election. With their most committed, connected members guaranteed to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency the PNAC felt certain they'd be in a position to change the direction of US policy on the Stargate.
What frustrated their plans was Albert Gore Jr., the Democratic nominee for President. Gore, though noted for having a somewhat stiff public personality, had won over the electorate with his involvement in the Clinton Administration's economic and interstellar successes. The PDA was a centerpiece of his election and many analysts argue it was thanks to the support for the PDA, global peace, and general prosperity that Gore clinched the elections with 52% of the public's support and an electoral college landslide. The PNAC hoped that Kinsey would succeed in convincing Gore to change course but the President-elect in early, post-election meetings made it quite clear he was going forward with the multilateral Clinton Doctrine policies for galactic policy. Each of Kinsey's attempts were rebuffed as Gore selected his cabinet choices based on their competence and support for these broader policy goals.
Certain that Gore's policy would put Terra in immediate, dire threat Kinsey moved into action. Agents were contacted, favors were called in, and by the beginning of the New Year he felt everything was ready. Early on the morning of January 12th, 5 M12 special forces personnel, lead by Colonel Maybourne and assisted by a handful of moles inside the Secret Service, neutralized Gore's protection detail and arrested him in his home. At 07:00 EST, just in time for the morning news broadcast, Vice President-elect Kinsey took to the airwaves from the Oval Office with his emergency address to the world. The Kinsey Coup had begun."
Chapter 3: The Changing Global Order, The Origins of the Modern World by Prof. Andrea Masters, published in 61 M12
"The immediate reaction of the public to Kinsey's announcement was shock and dismay. In spite of a history of upheaval, conflict, and revolt the United States had never experienced anything like the Kinsey Coup before. Making matters worse were the fears of Goa'uld infiltration that sprung up in the wake of First Contact. Kinsey's charges, while not believed by many, confirmed the worst nightmares of people worldwide.
Initially most of the general public sat in stunned silence. Much of the people in the United States would have never imagined such a moment could have been possible. After the first shock wore off the people of the United States reacted fiercely. Within hours mass demonstrations, organized through the use of the Internet, spontaneously broke out nationwide. Spearheaded by activists affiliated with the global justice movement these demonstrations swelled rapidly employing tactics of mass occupation of space. By 11:00 January 12th massive rallies in opposition to Kinsey's Coup had formed in every state of the country with activists shutting down the Ports of Oakland, San Pedro, Long Beach, Seattle, San Diego, Portland, Newark, Boston, Hampton Roads, Houston, Mobile, and New Orleans and many key highway and downtown routes. At the forefront were banners and speakers denouncing him as a fraud, calling for Gore's re-installation as President and calls for worldwide unity.
Counter-demonstrations were quick to form in reaction, supporting Kinsey's action. These groups tended to be much smaller but were often more well-armed and in some cases had the support of local and state officials. Protests in most cities were met with riot police lines with responses ranging from containment to active attempts at suppression. The worst violence took place in Oakland, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Dallas, Detroit, Phoenix, Boise, and New York where police officers, supported by small National Guard detachments and deputized paramilitary blocs, opened fire with live ammunition in an attempt to disperse the crowds. These initial clashes saw 107 American citizens killed by gunfire and hundreds more injured but in most places, with the exceptions of Phoenix and Boise, the demonstrators managed to hold their ground and repel the police attacks.
Internationally the reactions of foreign governments and populations varied greatly. Among most of the IOC nations, Latin America, and the Middle East anti-Kinsey demonstrations broke out with the masses declaring their support for Gore's installation as President and keeping to the Planetary Defense Accords. The governments of Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, and Chile, likely influenced by their past experiences with military takeovers and political coups, lead the way in denouncing Kinsey while the IOC members are called to an emergency meeting by Stargate Command.
In a top secret meeting at Central Command the members of the IOC are informed by General George Hammond the SGC believes the evidence proving Gore's infestation by the Goa'uld is a fabrication. He reveals upon being informed of this he mobilized all SGC military assets. Fierce debate follows over what the IOC and the governments they represent should do. Some, led by Hammond, call for immediate action to rescue the arrested President-elect Al Gore and exposing Kinsey while others express hesitation over taking a direct hand in internal US politics.
As these discussions were underway the Russian and Chinese governments took their own steps forward. Fearing the US government may truly have been penetrated by the Goa'uld the leaders of both nations ordered immediate mobilization of their armed forces. These military moves were paralleled by declarations from Moscow and Beijing the terms of the Planetary Defense Accords meant, if such accusations were proven correct, justified taking whatever actions they felt would be necessary to defend Earth."
From Chapter 4: Upheaval and Revolt, The Future is Out There: A Cultural History of the Turn of the Millennium by Prof. Travis Wingate, published in 59 M12
"The Kinsey Coup and its fallout revealed a number of fissures, flaws, and faults in the developing global economic system of the post-Contact world that would come to play in later years as Terra moved closer to unification. The coup and the upheaval that came with it caught many in the moment by surprise yet these developments were founded on longer standing issues building up under the surface. The combination of market panic and mass demonstrations in the streets did not spring up from a vacuum. The two pillars of what economists call the Kinsey Shock were the central importance of US banking in the global financial market and the creeping impact of increasingly efficient forms of automation.
Economically speaking the moment Kinsey gave his Oval Office address markets around the world shuddered in fear. The United States had never experienced an event where power was seized so openly, in such an illegal fashion, and with such little regard for even the appearance of established processes. Though Kinsey was the legally elected Vice President making him next in line after Gore for presidential succession removing an elected President by any means other than Congressional impeachment required a majority vote of a sitting, confirmed cabinet. Kinsey's well-known opposition to the Planetary Defense Accords and the general consensus his selection was to provide ideological balance to the ticket added an additional layer of illegitimacy to the proceedings. What made matters worse was how severe the reasons for removal were.
In the initial moments following his announcement traders immediately began offloading US Treasury Bonds as quickly as they possibly could. This selloff would be the pebble that set off the avalanche for a number of reasons. The Treasury Bond, in the pre-Unification world, was seen by most in the global markets as the safest, most stable investment possible thanks to the long-standing stability of the US government. For over two hundred years the US had never failed to adhere to established legal processes in changeovers of power and during the Interbellum period of the World Wars era the widespread on US loans and credit by major imperial powers had cemented this rock solid reputation. Even the end of Bretton Woods and gold to dollar convertibility, while an immediate shock to the system, failed to upend the dollar's dominance. The Kinsey Coup, as a first in history event for the United States, came as a sudden shock. His allegations of large portions of the US military being co-opted by the Goa'uld made matters worse by undermining confidence in the backbone of American global power.
The Treasury Bonds selloff was followed by panic and uncertainty as the stock traders in New York, London, Tokyo, and Berlin moved to protect their assets by liquidating American holdings, moving money to other currencies like the Yen and the Euro, and other moves that from the perspective of their clients were safe moves. Unfortunately the sheer scale of the withdrawal of funds and credit from US and global markets took on enormous proportions making the shift pennywise and pound foolish. Stock prices fell, commodity markets went into a total panic, and in an attempt to stop the bleeding on noon, January 12th the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and Chicago Mercantile Exchange officially suspended all trading and shut down. The remaining global markets fell into a spiral as the news of the market closure rocketed around the world.
Hand in hand but longer in developing was the growing impact of industrial and economic automation. By 3 M12 automation and 3D printing was rapidly shrinking the size of manufacturing work forces worldwide. More sophisticated computer systems made it possible for similar methods to be applied to supply chain work, one of the few areas of the economy most professionals in period thought was impervious to such changes. In the service sector increasing use of simple computers to replace checkout stands, Internet streaming video, and the explosion of online merchants like put many small businesses in a tight bind forcing many to cut back on labor costs or go under completely.
These impacts were felt worldwide but their manifestation was very gradual. Unlike previous contractions in the work force, with the Great Depression of the Interbellum period as the prime example, these reductions in the labor force were happening over the course of years in fits and starts as opposed to all at once in a sudden collapse. Unemployment assistance, retraining funds, and other public welfare programs mitigated the impact of these changes throughout the industrialized world by helping keep people in their homes and fed it was nonetheless a creeping rot in the world economy.
Many of these individuals, with little to do but search for increasingly scarce forms of employment, got in contact with their fellows and worked to educate themselves on the matter. Redemptionist and Occidentalist answers had some draw but their reliance on tried and true tradition did little to assuage people's needs and fears. The Globalists, by contrast, were dead on in their arguments of automation, growing reliance on debt, and increasing technological change as the culprits and their words struck a chord made more resonant by the effectiveness of Globalist movement street actions in bringing immediate, concrete change and benefits for people.
These two factors were critical in explaining why the reaction of the American public to Kinsey's Coup was so explosive. As much as Kinsey and the PNAC were banking on using the fears of the population of alien attack to secure their position they failed to appreciate these broader issues when they struck. The sudden economic collapse, coming hard on the heels of Kinsey's announcement, soured many on his government immediately. Large numbers of discontented, unemployed and underemployed Globalist sympathizers on the streets gave the spontaneous mass demonstrations, organized and communicated via the Internet, a huge mass to draw on for occupying critical public spaces. Without these two critical factors in place Kinsey's Coup would have unfolded very differently."
From Chapter 2: Building the New Global Economy, Globalization and First Contact by Prof. Dipesh Iyer, published in 48 M12
Quote:
Originally Posted by Europhile
Hey so I just got home from work and was catching up on the news when I saw US VP Robert Kinsey's broadcast. Here's an embedded video for those who haven't seen it yet:
(Video of the Kinsey Broadcast)
What's going on in the USA?
Quote:
Originally Posted by DemBones
Kinsey's trying to pull a fast one! How could Gore possibly be a Goa'uld host with all the Secret Service vetting that presidential candidates have to go through? The idea is simply preposterous!
Quote:
Originally Posted by EndtheFed
If what Vice President Kinsey is saying is true then I guess the extraordinary nature of the situation justifies action but even still the charges seem a bit ridiculous. It would have been better for him to wait for Congress to be seated and follow legal processes instead of pulling something like this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TechSabby
I'm packing up to head down to the port. I got a text message earlier this morning just after the coup went off calling for bodies in the streets of LA and at the docks. This illegal coup needs to be stopped and direct action will get the job done.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZapatistaFangirl
Good luck TechSabby, also signing off for the day. There's people streaming into the streets all over Chicago, I can't sit this one out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PolitBrit
In London things are really going nuts. They say the markets are imploding and lots of people are taking to the streets demanding Kinsey step down immediately. Downing Street hasn't said anything yet but I bet the pressure's on for a statement from the PM's office.
Quote:
Originally Posted by YellowDog
I hope things don't get violent, if what Kinsey is claiming is true that would be shocking but the idea that the President-elect AND the vast majority of the branch of the military Kinsey is on record despising being infiltrated by the Goa'uld is a pretty outrageous claim to be making.
In related news has anyone heard about what happened with the NYSE? Have they halted trading like this before?
Quote:
Originally Posted by EndtheFed
Not recently and only when things are really going haywire. Stock prices are falling all over the place and the commodities market, from what I'm seeing, has gone totally haywire. This is not going to help the situation any and if it gets really bad we could slip into a Depression.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RedStateProgressive
What an idiot! How could Kinsey think the markets would have reacted in any other way to a first in history action but with panic? No matter how this ends up a lot of people are going to end up hurting and even if Kinsey is right he's going to have a huge mess on his hands to clean up.
From General Discussion Forum Thread "What just happened in the White House?" dated January 12th, 5 M12
"By 5 M12 the discoveries of Prometheus Station, applications of the Orion Patents, and the demands of war with the Goa'uld led to a number of significant military developments. In these first steps forward the main source of advances was based on reverse-engineering of the components and systems of captured Goa'uld technology as opposed to direct reinvention. Contrary to how science fiction writers of the period assumed directly producing working copies of Goa'uld technology was far beyond the means of even the finest Terran scientists. Even with the assistance of prominent Jaffa defectors like Teal'c and Dr. Sroda Goa'uld reliance on genetic memory meant the best understanding available was a sense of function as opposed to the theoretical basis of these developments. In spite of all this examination of component parts like superconducting materials, memory systems, high-density alloys, and naquadah technology played key roles in laying the foundation for future leaps in technology across the board.
One of the more basic applications for superconductors was in the field of rail gun systems. Early prototypes and working models were under development prior to First Contact and these new materials kicked off a major revolution in the technology. Extensive practical experience and theoretical exploration, thanks to the growth of maglev networks Earthside, gave Terran researchers critical experience in working with magnetics on large and small scales. These experiences dovetailed magnificently with ongoing, far earlier experiments in railgun technology by military researchers the world over.
By 2 M12 the first major rail gun models for maritime and stellar warships were entering deployment in the United States, Britain, and France followed by China two years later. These weapons systems were capable of firing solid slug projectiles and specially prepared missiles. They were also adapted for launching aircraft, space probes, and aerospacecraft. These early, bulky rail guns were a powerful jump forward for the Terran people for interstellar defense.
One of the more well-known applications of many of these early advances in superconducting materials were the famous Mark 1 Hercules Powered Armor Suits. These massive suits were the first example of powered armor in Terran history. While somewhat clunky and unsophisticated compared to modern armor systems the Hercules suits were a major leap forward in infantry combat. Hercules suits were developed to meet the needs of gate-based warfare. In the early moments of securing a contested world any troops charging through were at considerable risk of being cut down by enemy fire. Herculeses, with their heavy battle armor and powerful weapons loadout of twin miniguns and a grenade launcher, could plow through heavy enemy fire while dishing out considerable punishment of their own.
Of all the major discoveries made by the SGC nahquadah was one of the most significant. A highly powerful, versatile material naquadah was used for everything from power generation for Goa'uld warships to use as a highly dense, effective material for constructing interstellar ships and as a powerful superconducting material by the Ancients for constructing Stargates. The discovery of these uses and duplication of Goa'uld power generation and refinement technologies made the construction of interstellar warships and starfighters possible. Naquadah was also used in weapons technology to provide powerful, enhanced warheads for interstellar weapons to give Terran ships and anti-ship defenses a much stronger punch. The first attempted use of such a weapon was during First Contact and though these weapons failed they gave SGC researchers valuable data for understanding how to better refine and apply weaponized naquadah.
The most spectacular of all technological developments were the first truly stellar vessels in Terran history. These first ships, as would be the case with all Terran vessels to the present day, took their cues from submarine maritime vessels. This was due to the great deal of similarity between the environments stellar and submerged vessels operated in. Much like a ship in the ocean depths a ship in space was surrounded by an environment inherently hostile to the human crew onboard. Further adding to the similarities of circumstances was the impact of gravity in deep space. Much like thermoclines, currents, and underwater gravity fields and stellar objects presented obstacles and problems for navigators and ship systems. It was for these reasons the submarine and maritime models of discipline, tradition, and custom became the driving forces in shaping Terran interstellar design.
The first ships launched by Terra were the SGC-designed Sentinel class System Defense Ship in 3 M12 and the Chinese-designed Mao class Defense Ship in 4 M12. The first SDSs were outfitted with powerful sensors, powered by naquadah, carried a battery of rail guns for solid and missile projectiles, and launching and retrieval bays for satellites. By the end of 5 M12 a total of five such ships were in service with two under the US Space Forces, one funded and staffed by a joint British Commonwealth program, one launched under the EU, and the sole Mao launched by the People's Republic of China. To support these ships the IOC and SCO authorized the construction of small orbital refueling and repair outposts in high Earth orbit. These humble stations were the first of many to fill the skies above Terra.
Aerospacecraft went hand in hand with the System Defense Ships. With their design based heavily on concepts and applications in use by Goa'uld Death Gliders the first aerospacecraft were meant for close orbital defense and supporting the SDS' in their long range patrols. Equipped with their own sensor suits and engines powerful enough to achieve orbital flight unaided these fighters were faster than the system defense ships and had shorter range. aerospacecraft in these days largely operated on fuel cells charged by ship-based naquadah reactors or planetside installations, limiting their range to planetary patrols and limited range operations in-system. The first three examples of these vessels were the SGC-built Joint Starfighter, the Russian-built Gargarin Orbital Fighter, and the Chinese-built Chango-o. Each was substantially larger than atmospheric fighters with a crew of two and rail guns designed for solid shot and missiles. Terran aerospacecraft, while lacking some of the flashier technologies used on the Death Glider, were very formidable and as later events would prove more than capable of going toe to toe with Goa'uld fighters. As much as the System Lords scoffed at Terran weaponry the first aerosapcecraft were a solid match for Goa'uld fighters."
From Chapter Four: Military Innovations, The Interstellar Revolution by Prof. Eduardo Garza, published in 55 M12
"The famous emergency January 12th meeting of the International Oversight Commission in the wake of Kinsey's attempted coup against President Al Gore was a decisive moment in the history of Stargate Command. Prior to this meeting the SGC was largely dominated by the United States. In terms of funding and personnel the US military establishment was responsible for the lion's share of the IOC's support. The IOC took its cues from the US military's priorities. The fallout of the Kinsey Coup would lead to a series of dramatic changes in this relationship. To understand how this happened we must first discuss the coup itself.
Early on the morning of January 12th 5 M12 Kinsey's forces, assisted by moles inside of President-elect Gore's Secret Service detail and led by Colonel Maybourne, launched a raid on his home in Tennessee aiming to take him captive. A fierce firefight broke out and Gore's loyal bodyguards successfully held off his would-be captors to flee to Marine One. In spite of this Kinsey openly claimed he succeeded in arresting Gore, hoping his personnel would manage to correct this mistake. He had reason to believe this would take place as his troops were in hot pursuit of the fleeing helicopter and other forces would soon be mobilized to lock down DC and other likely locations.
Unfortunately for him the mass demonstrations in the street, spearheaded by Globalist activists, stymied these plans for a mobilization of stateside assets and National Guard. Where units did respond at least part of the motivation for their actions was fierce opposition to the Globalists, loyalty to Kinsey, or general fear and confusion leading to kneejerk responses aimed at maintaining order. In cases like the attempted crackdowns in Oakland, Chicago, New York, and Dallas the violence was more due to such local animosities than loyalty to Kinsey. The disruption of transportation networks, the outright refusal of many US troops to obey orders of questionable legitimacy, and rapid action on the part of the SGC meant much of the military support Kinsey and his cohorts would need to cement their position was not materializing.
All of this hung in the balance at the emergency meeting. Much of the IOC was loathe to interfere in the domestic politics of any nation, much less one as powerful as the United States. Hammond and his supporters countered these claims by arguing the lack of legitimacy for Kinsey's claims along with the danger to Earth's defense posed by prolonged instability in the most critical supporter of the IOC and SGC. What finally broke the impasse was a compromise solution. The IOC would recommend to their respective governments denunciations of Kinsey's actions and tip the balance in the struggle by allowing all US personnel to directly intervene.
The timing could not have been better. Marine One had been successfully shot down by MANPAD fire in the Appalachian Mountains forcing Gore and his defenders to continue on foot. North of Big Lick, Virginia Maybourne's special forces caught up with them and succeeded in overpowering Gore's Secret Service guards, taking him captive. As luck would have it SG Team Operations Groups 1 and 3 tracked Maybourne's call for backup and zeroed in on his position with a captured and repurposed Goa'uld Al-kesh. Gore and the surviving Secret Service members were whisked away by ring transporter while the SG Teams moved in on the remaining enemy troops. A fierce battle erupted between the two forces but in the end the SG personnel succeeded in defeating Maybourne's troops and capturing him alive.
The moment Gore arrived in Washington DC by helicopter and addressed the masses gathered in protest of Kinsey's coup everything came undone for the would-be President. Gore, in his address, presented irrefutable proof he was free of Goa'uld infestation. Military forces, who were previously standing down, immediately mobilized for action to secure the White House and take Kinsey alive. Police and National Guard withdrew from the streets as the populace continued to resist. When news of Kinsey's arrest reached the airwaves the throngs erupted in celebration worldwide. The Coup was over.
In the Coup's wake critical restructuring took place at the IOC. All the participating nations dramatically increased their support and commitment, determined to ensure any sort of political upheaval would not pose a threat to the defense of Terra. To solidify a truly international policy for Stargate Command the IOC nations, using the loss of credibility suffered by the United States as leverage, entered into new secret negotiations to redefine the relationship of the member-nations military forces and the IOC. The end result would be the Portsmouth Treaty On December 8th, 5 M12. Under the terms of the Treaty all forces attached to the SGC were to permanently stay under IOC control and could only interfere in domestic affairs in the event of proven Goa'uld intrusion. These internationalized forces, basing their structure on the expanded UN Peacekeeping Forces, were to always stand at the ready for a possible Goa'uld attack before all other concerns. After Portsmouth Stargate Command was firmly on the path of becoming Terra's first truly planetary defense force."
From Chapter 5: The Kinsey Coup and the Internationalization of the SGC, The History of Stargate Command Volume I: Once More Into the Breach! by Major Kyle Schroeder, SGC, published in 54 M12
"We, as a species, stand at a precipice. On Earth we must find ways to live in harmony with the world around us in every way possible. Out in the stars we face a threat unprecedented in history. Only recently the fears motivated by the Goa'uld threat led to an attempt by members of my own government to seize control and chart a course they thought would keep us safe.
Thankfully the people of the United States refused to accept these illegal, misguided, actions. We stand, united, in our commitment to work together with the rest of the world in ensuring our shared security from alien domination. Only through our division can the Goa'uld succeed in their design. Working together we can ensure a brighter future for everyone.
It is in this spirit of unity I call for a re-evaluation of our national priorities. As President I will redouble our commitment to planetary and interstellar defense. Under my Administration American support for the Planetary Defense Accords, the United Nations, and humanity's security will never be in doubt. The future of humanity is clear and we must take decisive actions in making the best possible world reality."
From President Al Gore's Inauguration Address, January 20th, 5 M12
"Branding a Goa'uld as a rogue is a practice going back to the beginning of Ra's rule thousands of years ago. The first such Goa'uld to be declared a rogue and enemy of the empire was Ra's predecessor and nemesis Sokar during his war for the office of Supreme System Lord. Following his success and Sokar's fall from power Ra consolidated his position by declaring Sokar's territories up for grabs. Rather than directly distribute the systems and resources of Sokar to the various System Lords who supported him Ra encouraged them to fight it out, initiating his policy of divide and rule that would last until his death during the first Stargate expedition.
All Goa'uld who directly threatened Ra or succeeded in earning the ire of enough of the System Lords to force Ra's hand would suffer a similar fate. Any Goa'uld, usually a System Lord though it was not unheard of for unlanded Goa'uld and powerful Underlords to suffer the same fate, declared a rogue by the Supreme System Lord or the Council of System Lords was fair game for all Goa'uld with enough ambition and power to take advantage of the decree. On the surface this makes little sense as the feudal nature of the Goa'uld along with the long-running conflicts between System Lords, many fostered by Ra and his allies, ensured conflict between the System Lords was the norm.
When one digs deeper the danger of such a decree becomes clear. Ra's policy of divide and rule, while often characterized by constant conflict between rival System Lords, had a sense of clear limitations. Plotting, feuds, and occasional border conflicts or indecisive wars were largely tolerated under Ra's rule as these kept the System Lords too busy to turn on him or plot against his rule. If, however, one System Lord ran the risk of decisively defeating another and achieve a disproportionate amount of military power Ra would decisively intervene to maintain a favorable status quo.
Ra's justification was claiming all System Lords under his rule, unlike Sokar's, would be secure in their estates and holdings so long as they did not rebel against Ra himself. For any System Lord to substantially violate the rights of another System Lord was cast as intolerable. This won him the loyalty of many Underlords and lesser System Lords building a base for his empire. Declaring a Goa'uld rogue removed this guarantee. Rogue Goa'uld of any rank lost their right to holdings and their lives. Their possessions, including their slaves and Jaffa, were open for the taking by any Goa'uld who could enforce their claims by right of conquest. The mechanism of rogue status became a deadly tool in the System Lords' political maneuvers and a powerful weapon for destroying threats to Ra's rule.
The destabilization of the empire following Ra's death, to the surprise of many historians, did little to change this. The System Lords fighting for the supreme position were seeking to establish control over the empire as opposed to directly conquering as much territory as possible. They worked as much through political maneuvering, diplomacy, and subterfuge to subvert their rivals' supporters and re-capture as they did through open battle. Born out of a desire to maintain the Goa'uld's dominant position in the face of threats like the Asgard this preserved the special status rogues held in Goa'uld society but with key changes. A rogue in the realm of one System Lord could often find welcome in the realm of their foes, giving rise to a new culture of wandering Goa'uld shuttling from one world to another. Only a handful, mostly holdovers from Ra's rule or the few decreed rogue by the Council of System Lords, were truly unwelcome in all Goa'uld territories.
Even still the state of general conflict during the Goa'uld Succession War gave these rogues new opportunities which did not exist before. In the past, prior to the Succession War, Ra's limits on internal strife and his unquestioned dominance meant decrees of rogue status were a death sentence. The struggle for dominance between the many System Lords changed this. The most powerful like Apophis, Kronus, and Heru'ur were more interested in keeping their vassals in line and were not averse to using rogues to undermine their rivals. Those who clung to their independence, like Bastet, Yu, Pelops, Morrigan, and Olakun, lacked the resources to take advantage of rogue status instead focusing on maintaining their domains and preventing any of the claimants for the title of Supreme System Lord from focusing on conquering them. This was all assisted quietly by the Tok'ra who encouraged a state of intensifying strife through misinformation, sabotage, and assassinations.
One of the best examples of a rogue System Lord who turned the strife of the Succession War in their favor was Nirrti. Nirrti was a minor System Lord during Ra's empire who maintained her position by performing genetic experiments for Ra. Following his death Nirrti feared for the security of her domain and got to work building a web of secret bases across the galaxy. Her indiscriminate raids on Goa'uld worlds for genetic material and the general distrust amongst the other System Lords did not endear her and the assassination attempt on Kronus during the Protected Planets Treaty re-negotiations would see her declared rogue by the System Lords during the Succession War period. Her downfall seemingly assured Nirrti managed to escape Kronus' custody and continue her research in secret largely unmolested by her foes. If not for the success of Operation MENGELE, a joint IOC-SCO campaign targeting Nirrti's holdings, in killing the rogue System Lord she could have easily survived the Succession War and continued her work on the behalf of the new Supreme System Lord.
Another was Sokar. As the prior ruler of the Goa'uld Empire to Ra's takeover thousands of years before the Holocene Era Sokar was the first Goa'uld rogue. Following his defeat, Ra's takeover, and the division of his domain many assumed Sokar was dead, an assumption actively encouraged by the new Supreme System Lord. In truth Sokar had fled to the distant world of Delmak and there he slowly rebuilt his power and position. Over the following centuries he launched his own raids on Earth, other Goa'uld worlds, and succeeded in recruiting a number of exiled Jaffa to fill out his armies. Even still Sokar was careful not to confront the Empire directly or alert Ra or any other System Lord to his presence.
Ra's death and the Goa'uld Succession War gave Sokar the opening he needed. The conflict between the System Lords made it far easier for Sokar to openly seize abandoned worlds, pick off pieces of other Goa'uld domains, and consolidate his position. Rumors of his existence began to spread but many dismissed these attacks as the work of renegade Jaffa, deception by their rivals, or Tok'ra treachery. Apophis' reversal at Earth during First Contact, Ba'al's declaration of independence from his former overlord, and the combined offensive of Kronus and Heru'ur against the Serpent Lord's rule would see Sokar make his more dramatic return to Goa'uld society.
In 2 M12 Sokar launched a series of crushing attacks on Apophis' domain with his ships and troops openly displaying his soon to be notorious inverted star. Much of Apophis' remaining domain crumbled as Sokar, aided by opportunistic attacks by Kronus and Ba'al, swiftly captured the Serpent Lord himself along with many of his remaining slaves, Jaffa, ships, and worlds. Sokar swiftly followed up with a series of rapid ambushes crippling Kronus and Heru'ur's overextended forces. This rapid, sudden expansion was only possible thanks to the general chaos of the Goa'uld Succession War as the conflict's dynamic changed from the three-sided division of Kronus, Apophis, and Heru'ur to a five sided war between Sokar, Kronus, Heru'ur, Ba'al, and the newly-formed League of Independent System Lords led by Yu."
From Chapter 5: The Beginning of the End of Goa'uld Dominance, Political History of Our Galaxy by Prof. Li Feng, published in 59 M12