Harry Potter: Rise of an Empire

Disclaimer: If you recognize anything in this story, I don't own it.

"Text." - Speech.

'Text.' - Thoughts.

'Text.' - Salem.

"Text." - Goa'uld voice.

"Text." - God voice.

A.N: A lot of new technologies and what not in this chapter, unlike with my previous post, I wont be going into explicit detail on each item. I'll only be providing general details as well as basic information, I don't want to drown you all in data that wont make all that much difference in the future.

Chapter 8: Industrialization

-General P.O.V-

Within the higher realm, a plane of existence far beyond mortal comprehension, beings of great power congregate.

"There is a disturbance in our galaxy, an aberration that does not belong."

"I sense him as well, his power grows by the day, drawing upon the worship of his few followers."

"Is he one of them? The dissenters?"

"No, he is not of the Ori but there is a relation, he is of Alteran blood, diluted through mixture with the Terrans."

"A descendant with the power? That is impossible, we took steps to ensure that this would not happen, he may have the blood but the power should be blocked."

"Unless, one of our own has assisted him."

"None would dare, not even the banished ones would do such a thing, not after the debacle with the half-breed Anubis."

"You are correct, none of our own has assisted him, you all may have missed it but I was watching as he appeared, he is not of this reality. He came from the Quantum Mirror, from a reality where the descendants have access to their own power."

"The fools! Why would they allow such a thing to happen, are the realities so different that they can allow it?"

"Perhaps so, perhaps their universe never faced the schism, never saw the rise of the Ori. They may not have had any reason to block their descendants, we have no way of knowing."

"Very well, what is to be done about the intruder? He is not of this reality, can we interfere?"

"No! Not yet at least, we must obey the covenant. He is powerful, yes, but not as powerful as we or the Ori."

"We cannot allow him to grow stronger, he may not be powerful yet but given time he shall grow to be a threat, both with his power and his growing empire."

"I concur, what if he ascends beyond the mortal plane? The Ori will sense his ascension and make a play for his allegiance should this happen, giving them a foothold into our galaxy."

"Should that ever come to pass, we can deal with him personally, we are many and he is one. He can not stand against our might."

"Very well, are we all in agreement?"

"Agreed."

-Three Months Later. Harry's P.O.V-

My first week as god and ruler of my own empire is not as glamorous as one would expect, there is a lot of work that needs to be put into forging this empire and nothing will get done if I just laze about.

The first task on my to-do list was creating a training camp for my forces and getting my military on it's way, this is quite simple as there's a lot of free space on each world and plenty of building materials, I may not be able to transfigure or conjure the materials due to the nature of this reality but I can easily use my magic to build what I need.

Finding out that my brand of teleportation works to travel from planet to planet, it only takes me five days to flicker to each world and create a satisfactory training camp, this is made easier by the Jaffa already having some training equipment and a barracks of their own so I don't have to build everything.

Once the training camps were set up, I start my Jaffa on the basic training plans I'd created, a lot of it is simple and repetitive so I don't have to watch over them at all times and can delegate to Surei and the rest of my guard. In fact, the only ones that I actually had to teach were the forty-six members of my guard, who were divided up and spread throughout my six worlds. I would spend two hours on each world every evening, training my guards personally and passing them a large chunk of the knowledge they require through Legilimency, everything they learn and digest during the night is then used to train the general forces the next day.

I'm also pleased to note that my projected six months of hellish training have been cut down to just two months for the average Jaffa soldier, due to their genetic enhancements they don't need much of the physical conditioning and exercise that I had planned, only a polishing of their old skills and the teaching of some new ones. That's only in regards to the basic training however, a lot of the advanced training that I have planned will still take several months to complete but this definitely cuts down on the time required to train a Jaffa soldier, human soldiers will take at least two months more to train.

The basic training that I provide teaches the basics of first aid, piloting, leadership, close-quarters combat, weapon maintenance and use, the end of which consists of a grueling evaluation presided over by me and Surei. This is not a very easy task as the two of us have to evaluate over fifteen thousand soldiers in a short amount of time, even cheating by evaluating whole squads at a time doesn't do much to cut down on time required, it's a difficult job but it has to be done.

Once their basic training was completed, the soldiers were all split up based on aptitude and given truly specialized training in regards to their allotted divisions, each planet serving as a separate base of operations for a each division. My guards however, aren't allowed the small mercy of specialization, they are to serve as my personal guard, meaning they have to be the best of the best, the elite. While the general forces receive the entirety of their training from my guards in specific areas of study, the guards themselves receive advanced training in all areas from me personally.

The training is tough and grueling, much tougher than the training I myself received as a Ranger, which is probably why they all seem to hate me after the first day. I'm sure they'll praise my name when that training saves their lives and wins our future battles, until then they can complain all they want, just as long as they excel in their training.

By only training my guards, using Legilimency to cheat and delegating the training of the general forces, I have some free time to work on my own projects. I have three personal projects at this time: growing stronger, achieving immortality and expanding the technologies of my empire.

The first is the simplest of the three, since I'm able to refine my own skills while training my men, getting myself back into tiptop shape and polishing any forgotten skills. Magically, my power is growing day after day, the more my subjects worship me, the stronger I grow. It may be a very small growth at a time but it is a growth nonetheless, to grow even stronger I simply have to expand my empire and gain more subjects, something I plan on doing regardless.

Secondly, is my search for immortality, which has been put on hold for an undetermined amount of time, I have many ideas on how to reach my goal but I currently have no access to the technologies required to do so. Fujin was a minor Goa'uld, far too low to have access to a Sarcophagus which forced to to switch hosts every century or so, I will have to defeat a stronger Goa'uld and capture their Sarcophagus if I want to go that route. As for the methods used by the Asgard, they are far too powerful and far away to launch an effective attack on in the hopes of raiding their technology, I need to grow more powerful before I can attempt this.

However, while my quest for immortality through technology is currently on hold, I still take the time to look through all of my magical tomes, hoping I missed something the first time around.

As for the modification and creation of my own technologies, it's going far better than I first expected. Fujin had quite a few factories of his own, most of which are only capable of refining the materials that were mined by his slaves, all I have to do is provide a few blueprints to my eager and loyal subjects and they quickly set to work expanding the factories and constructing the basic machines that I need. The task takes just under three months to finish, and while I could have completed it faster on my own with magic, I choose not to in order to give my subjects a feeling of accomplishment in the growth of this empire.

In total, I have one major factory and five minor ones on each of my planets, the minor factories are basically refineries capable of minor construction while the major ones are used for advanced constructions. Coupled with two space docks that belonged to Fujin, I have enough workshops to begin building, outfitting and expanding my army and space fleet.

The work is slow going at first but I have plenty of raw materials to use after tearing down Fujin's extravagant palaces, he had one built on each world and seemed to like changing homes every few months, and raiding his various storehouses. My pool of available resources rises even more when my subjects return to their jobs at the mines, I've upgraded their mining tools, instituted a basic payroll and improved work conditions so they are no longer working under unsafe conditions. In fact, some are actually glad to work in the mines, anything to improve this empire we're creating and show their gratefulness to their god and liberator

With these improved factories and a supportive workforce, I'm now able to create a few hundred weapons and armor as well as several dozen vehicles and spacecraft on a monthly basis. One factory is only able to produce roughly fifty different weapons in a day, not a lot when compared to the three thousand plus guns produced each day in the United State on earth, but it's enough for my small army and will suffice until bigger, better factories can be constructed.

With the factories creating the smaller parts, my two space docks are capable of producing a dozen smaller vessels and a single Ha'tak on a monthly basis but as I lack the manpower to field all those vessels, I don't have any Ha'tak in production at the moment, only the smaller vessels. I suppose this is the reason Fujin only had eight Ha'tak to his name, they use up a large amount of resources and there is little point if you don't have the men to crew them, I wont have the required manpower for another Ha'tak for a few more moths and that's only because a large number of my human subjects have joined my growing military.

Even when they all graduate, there will only be enough of them to crew two new Ha'tak, it would be simpler to just kill another Goa'uld and commandeer their vessels.

Hmm, there's an idea

On the weapons and armor front of my army, things are going quite well, I was able to use the knowledge stolen from Fujin and my own knowledge of Earth's weapons to modify a few of the standard Goa'uld weapons in order to make them far more effective and deadly.

The first to be modified was the Ma'tok Staff used by all Jaffa. The standard staff weapon is large and clunky, it's a weapon created to terrorize in a time where the enemy was still using stone, wood and weak metals as weapons, because of this it's hard to aim and wholly ineffective outside of its seventy meter range. While the weapon has some cultural significance and familiarity for the Jaffa, it's a tool of the Goa'uld so they are more than willing to trade it in for the superior weapons created by their new god.

Taking apart one of the staff weapons, I managed to modify it and rework it into something that's far more effective for waging war, it strains the boundaries of Fujin's experienced knowledge to do so but I was able to compensate where his general knowledge failed, the reworked weapon is something I've named a Plasma Assault Rifle.

As the name suggests, it's an assault rifle much like those used on earth, it's even modeled after my favorite weapon from my army days, the G11 Assault Rifle. The Rifle is similar to the G11 in both size and appearance, except my rifles have a slightly wider barrel and the magazine is replaced with a Liquid Naquadah Core. Compared to the Ma'tok Staff, the Rifle with it's built-in scope is far easier to aim and it can fire over fifty bolts of super heated plasma in a minute, far more than a standard staff weapon. By condensing the released plasma into a thin, Star Wars-esque blaster bolt, I've increased the effective range of my soldiers to one hundred and fifty meters.

While the weapon can be further improved by using solid ammunition, I have neither the time, facilities or inclination to produce the several million bullets I would need. Plasma rounds are effective and cost efficient, requiring a simple Liquid Naquadah Core to power them, meaning less resupplies needed and my soldiers would never be captured or killed due to a lack of ammo.

With the rifles designed and under construction, I moved on to the next weapon used by the Goa'uld, the Zat'nik'tel.

Function wise, the Zat'nik'tel is a pretty decent weapon, it's mostly meant to be used to stun and capture but also serves as a way to dispose of corpses during stealth missions. Because of this, I left it functions alone and only reworked the frame so it's shaped more like a handgun than a snake, only the Goa'uld would be vain enough to shape their weapons like their true forms.

With it's new shape and built-in iron sights, the Stun Pistol as I've decided to name it, is far more accurate than its previous incarnation.

The last two weapons are creations of my own design, although the first is another modification on the standard staff weapon.

It's another Plasma Rifle like the first, except this one is built similar to the M25 Sniper Rifle, the same rifle I used during my short stint in Kuwait. The barrel is smaller than the original, condensing the energy bolts to such a degree that only ten shots can be fired before the weapon needs to cool down but this is an acceptable trade off, as the condensed energy can travel over a thousand meters before losing strength.

It is an extremely accurate, long range weapon that will take Goa'uld warfare to new heights, in my favor of course.

The final weapon is quite simple compared to the other three, it's a basic combat knife used for close quarters fighting.

From hilt to tip, the knife is about twelve inches long and sharpened to a point, I created it as a replacement for the melee capabilities of the staff weapon since my rifles are unfit for melee combat, the knives will give my Jaffa the edge they need should they ever engage in close quarters fighting.

Of course, they aren't just simple knives, each blade contains a small Liquid Naquadah battery that powers a miniature engine in the hilt. When activated, the engine causes the blade to powerfully vibrate, increasing the cutting edge of the weapon to incredible degrees. Another Star Wars-esque weapon, the Vibroknife as I'm calling it, is capable of cutting through most metals with ease and renders standard Jaffa armor useless.

Without a doubt, my empire is one of the most advanced of the Goa'uld empires, that wont mean much however, if the Goa'uld ever lay their grubby hands on my weapons and manage to reverse engineer the technology.

Which is why each weapon is built with a self-destruct fail safe, one based on magic rather than technology that can be easily disabled.

The standard weapons kit comes with one Rifle, a Stun Pistol and a Vibroknife, the Sniper Rifle only going to those in the Sniper division. Plain and simple, if someone without my sigil and the spells tied to it tries to use any one of the weapons I've created, a specially crafted rune with its own store of magic would activate, reducing the weapon to subatomic particles.

This prevents my weapons from being used by the opposition, even trying to just crack open the casing or perform a detailed scan on the weapon is enough to trip the defenses. It's time consuming providing the power for each and every rune as they come off the production line, but until I find a replacement method or these weapons become obsolete, it'll have to do.

My Jaffa aren't the only ones that receive an equipment upgrade however, I've also upgraded my own tools as well, namely my invisibility cloak and wand.

For the wand, I simply disposed of Dumbledore's wand by dropping it into a forge and replaced it with a new one, giggling with glee as I imagine the look on his face should he ever find out. The new wand is basically just a thin rod of Naquadah, roughly eleven and a half inches long with a thick handle to hold onto, various runes with a plethora effects carved onto its surface. Although the Naquadah in my blood amplifies and focuses my power, using wand grants me far greater control and finesse, as well as an additional power boost from the Naquadah.

The invisibility cloak is a simpler item to modify, I might not have any use for it as my magic can replicate is effects, but its a family heirloom and I have a strange need to keep it around. When the cloak was originally created, it had the bare minimum of Naquadah threads stitched to it, the mineral being nonexistent on Earth. With an abundance of Naquadah however, I'm able to modify the cloak and add more threads, increasing is lifespan and power.

It because of these two items that I'm struck with another brilliant idea, if Naquadah can amplify my magic, then why can't I use it to create wards and amplify the other branches of magic that are weakened in this realm. Sadly, while it's a good idea, it was a partial failure. Using a ball of Naquadah as a wardstone, I can now make wards and use runes as I please but the Naquadah can only boost the lifespan by a week at most, it's an improvement but not by much.

It does however, allow me to use the self-destruct mechanism in my weapons, the Naquadah being able to store my magic almost indefinitely until the rune is activated.

With my weapons being constructed and shipped out by the dozens each week, I focus my attention on my vehicles, namely the land based ones as I can't provide much improvements to the spacecraft with my current knowledge. Neither Fujin or Susanoo were knowledgeable about spacecraft and my own knowledge is insufficient in this, I can't do much to improve them at this point in time which is unfortunate as a majority of future battles will take place in space.

The first vehicle I designed is a variation on the Army's Jeeps, and while my version is similar in appearance, it lacks the wheels used by Earth's vehicles. Instead, I've turned it into a hovercraft powered with a Liquid Naquadah engine but rather than floating along like traditional hovercraft, the Patrol Vehicle can reach up to one hundred and twelve miles per hour.

As such speeds can be dangerous for both Jaffa and humans, the Patrol Vehicle is built with both an inertia dampener and a shield generator, allowing it to easily move at high speeds and shrug off light damage. The vehicles shields have also been designed to be one-directional, as the jeep only has two front seats with the backseats being replaced with a mounted staff cannon, allowing a soldier to stand in the back and manually fire the weapon.

The second vehicle is an Armored Personnel Carrier, a heavily armored vehicle modeled after the Earthen vehicles of the same name. While thin and squat enough to easily pass through the Chappa'ai, the Carrier is capable of carrying one driver and thirty passengers, forty if pushed.

Also powered by a Liquid Naquadah engine, the Carrier floats a couple meters above the ground but due to its armor plating and weight, its speed maxes out at one hundred miles per hour. Equipped with a shield generator, a cloaking device and a mounted staff cannon, the Carrier is capable of moving quickly and safely through enemy territory.

The final vehicle is the Plasma Tank, a large, bulky, armored tank modeled after Earth's M1 Abrams tank. Powered by two Liquid Naquadah engines and crewed by three people, the Plasma Tank is capable of laying siege on a Goa'uld stronghold.

While the vehicle is capable of moving at fast speeds while hovering, I've also built it with treads allowing it to travel over all sorts of terrain. It is also equipped with power shields, a basic sensor system and three improved staff cannons, two for direct combat and one on a swivel that allows it to act as artillery fire. If piloted correctly, the Plasma Tank is even capable of shooting down Death Gliders, Al'kesh and other low flying spacecraft.

Each type of vehicle is built and assembled in a different major factory on a separate world, this takes up a lot of construction space as I have a limited number of factories but luckily, many of the parts used in their construction can also be used in the construction of my spacecraft. As I have no land vehicles when compared to my space fleet, I have a large number of land vehicles commissioned, building up the numbers before turning my focus to other matters.

I also made sure to design all three vehicles so that they'e just small enough to pass through a Chappa'ai, allowing me to easily deploy them for a ground assault and granting my soldiers an advantage should they need to hold and defend a gate. Much like with my weapons, only someone with my mark can operate one of these vehicles, should anyone else try to drive one or crack one of them open, the vehicles are rigged up to explode violently.

I take great pride in my inventions and I have no plans of allowing the Goa'uld to steal them.

Even though I'm busy with other matters, it only took me two weeks to design my weapons and vehicles, mostly because they are just modified versions of technologies that I'm already intimately familiar with. Besides that, all I had to do was put together the blueprints, the actual building was delegated to my First Prime and the foreman of each factory. Making Surei my First Prime is also turning out to be a great decision, he is a very efficient man, able to handle his intense training and the tasks I assign with ease. It probably helps that I forced him to take on two young assistants, they keep him organized and really help to lessen his workload.

Despite being independent for much of my life, I tend to delegate most of my work to Surei and my other guards, there's just too much for me to handle on my own and I've learned to trust them to handle most tasks without me micromanaging. The work, while important, is also a bit of a distraction, I had more important issues to focus on, namely the Jaffa themselves or the symbiote stuffed into their guts to be specific.

Each Jaffa, at the age of ten is genetically altered to function as an incubator for Goa'uld young, this makes the Prim'ta more compatible to take a future host while granting the Jaffa a few benefits. Although the Jaffa is granted enhanced abilities and an extended lifespan, the symbiote completely supplants the Jaffa's natural immune system, causing death should the symbiote ever be remove.

On the other hand, Jaffa have also been altered to require a Prim'ta around puberty, if the implantation didn't take place, the child would die from a failing immune system within days. The main problem however, is that the symbiote needs to be replaced with new a larva every seven years or the Jaffa will die a painful death, I don't have tens of thousands of Goa'uld larva lying about.

As such, I needed to find a new alternative for my Jaffa or my forces will be non-existent in a matter of months.

Which is why I'm currently holed up within the potions lab in my wizarding tent, a large Naquadah wardstone powering its enchantments, working on a cure. It's actually easier than it sounds, potions simply involve the mixing and stirring of specific ingredients at specific times, pretty much like cooking which I've been doing from a young age.

Despite my lack of interest in the subject, it's quite simple when you think about it.

'Ugh, why is this so difficult?' I curse, throwing down my potions text.

I set aside my box of ingredients and turn to a separate desk, where a Goa'uld symbiote lays, sliced open to be examined.

'The chemicals the Goa'uld secretes are similar to some of my potions materials but I can't mix any of them together, some are far too volatile for that.' I muse, casting a few more diagnostic spells on the dead symbiote.

Ironically enough, the initial task I set out to do is actually the easiest part of my my current predicament. Finding a way to repair the Jaffa's immune system was actually really simple, so simple that I found the answer after just thirty minutes of searching. All I had to do was brew a cauldron of Igor's Incredible Immunizer, a simple to make and widely used potion in my home reality.

The Immunizer is a potion given to all wizarding children at birth, with muggleborns receiving it during their first year. It is this potion that gives witches and wizards their immunity to mundane diseases, infections, cancers and even radiation, with my Jaffa having a weak immune system, this potion would bring them up to average or above average at best.

While the Immunizer is a cure, I still want my Jaffa to retain their enhanced abilities, something that would not happen if the symbiote is removed, hence my current problem. Currently, I'm trying to brew a potion with all the bonuses of a Goa'uld symbiote and none of the weaknesses, which, needless to say, is very difficult to do.

'How can I combine all these ingredients without blowing myself up?' I muse, studying the ten vials before me. 'I could try Edgard's Equalizing Elixir but that only works with seven mixtures at the most, I'll need at least ten to mimic the Goa'uld secretion... OH!'

A wide grin crosses my face as I'm stuck with sudden inspiration, something I really should have considered before.

'Why mimic the secretion when I can just use the real thing.'

Turning back to my workstation, I grab a vial full of the Goa'uld fluid and my cauldron of the Immunizer. The Immunizer is quickly heated to a usable degree, the clear liquid bubbling within minutes, looking like nothing more than a pot of boiling water. I pour in the Goa'uld fluid and the potion changes instantly, turning from a thin, clear liquid into a thick, viscous, yellow mixture. With the color change, the potion begins to froth violently, a clear sign of an impending explosion.

As quick as I can, I pick up a vial of Everlasting Elixir and add it to the mix, further agitating the volatile mixture. Everlasting Elixir is a potion invented long ago for scrupulous potion brewers, it soon became one of the most famous and widespread potions in history. When one drop is added to any potion, the elixir would increase the potency of the potion, making its effects permanent. If a second drop is added to the potion, the elixir would magically expand the potion and the vial or cauldron it is in, making it endless. (Before anyone claims deus ex machina, this is an actual cannon potion, look it up on the Harry Potter wiki)

The added elixir makes the potion more volatile, causing it to froth and split angrily, cracks spreading along the cauldron from the strain. Mere seconds before my cauldron can melt or explode, I dump a vial of Edgar's Equalizing Elixir to the mix. Instantly the potion settles, turning into a thin yellow fluid that seems to glow with an inner light.

Equalizing Elixir is a potion used when volatile ingredients need to be mixed together, such as Dragon blood and Erumpent fluid or Phoenix tears and Vampire blood. It allows potions to succeed when they would usually explode, magically preventing volatile ingredients from reacting, which is why one vial is provided with every potions kit. (Okay, that one i did make up :p)

Thanks to the elixir, my potion is a success and if this works as I expect, I'll have an endless supply of a permanent cure for my Jaffa.

I just needed a test subject.

I focus inwardly, sending a signal through my link to the many sigils of my subjects, an idea I stole from the Auror Corps badges and Voldemort's Dark Mark.

The sigils are a mix of soul magic and the Protean charm, they are linked to the bearers lifeforce through a form of soul magic, allowing the sigil to draw from the bearers own lifeforce to power the enchantments placed on it. A series of Protean charms links the sigils together, all of them tied together in a specific pattern, including the sigil I've marked on my own chest.

This network of sigils was my first attempt at immortality, trying to extend my own life by draining some lifeforce from my many subjects, had it worked I would have taken a year off each of their lives and increased mine by thousands of years but it was essentially a failure. While I could drain their lifeforce, I couldn't use it to supplement my own, apparently one beings lifeforce isn't compatible with the lifeforce of another and no matter what I did, I couldn't alter the mass of lifeforce to my own frequency.

I did gain the interesting ability to send a summoning through the link, as long as the target is on the same planet as me, so it wasn't too bad.

'Come.' I command, forcing my magic into the link and pinging a link at random.

I'm told the feeling is akin to a slight tingle on their sigil, followed by a mental tug in the correct direction. It's a simple linking charm to me but the Jaffa see it as further sign of my divinity, who am I to dissuade them?

Ten minutes later, an older Jaffa warrior enters my tent, marveling at the impressive marble and silver decorations of the manor. My magic calls to him through the link, directing him to what is now my throne room. My subjects have offered many times to build me a palace or a temple over the last few months, deciding that a being of my stature requires it.

It had gotten so annoying that I just pulled out my tent and set it up just to shut them up, I might consider having a palace or temple built in my image someday but right now there's too much to do and a palace would be a waste of resources. Still, it served as yet another example of my 'godly powers', fitting a great palace within such a plain looking tent.

"You called my lord?" The Jaffa asks, entering the pitch black throne room and bowing low.

My throne room, which was essentially the manor's study, complete with a great big marble desk and chair, is designed to intimidate and impress any that enter. The room is completely dark, with no lights or windows, keeping them from seeing anything other than the two golden circles of my eyes. The only source of light comes from the door the Jaffa has entered through, filling the room with just enough light to see the massive Nundu skull hanging from the roof, this and my glowing eyes add the right amount of awe and wonder while the dark room keeps them intimidated, wondering what is hidden in the shadows.

It also helps that Salem is prowling around the dark room and making noise, hiding from 'That cursed woman and her bubbly baths' as he put it.

"Yes, Raj'ka, your services are required." I reply, plucking the name from his mind, it sees to impress my subjects when I know their names without having met them before.

"How may I serve you today Lord Heka?" He asks, remaining bowed in respect.

"I have recently created a mixture, one that will remove the Jaffa's dependency on the Goa'uld symbiote." I explain, standing from the desk and walking towards him. "However, it requires a test to ensure that the mixture works appropriately."

I can see the apprehension clear on his expression, even in the darkness of the room, if this mixture fails there's a high chance he'll die a very painful death.

"I live to serve, Lord Heka." He replies nonetheless, his expression returning to the stoicism of a Jaffa.

"Thank you." I say, placing a hand on his stomach, he shudders at the touch, my hands cold and clammy from the long days holed up in my potions lab.

There is a tearing sound and a pain-filled scream as I magically tear the Goa'uld Prim'ta from within him, it is a young one with roughly three more years until it matures. It makes a keening sound as my magic latches onto it, killing it in a flash of green light. The Jaffa, Raj'ka, has dropped to his knees at this point, his knees weak from the pain and his hands flying to the hole in his abdomen.

I'm quick to draw a vial of the cure and place it to his lips, the potion smells foul yet he drinks it without pause, only grimacing at the foul taste. With that, I take a step back and wait, hoping for a success. The effects are near instantaneous, his blood stops flowing as the wound seals closed, healing as quickly as any other Jaffa would.

I allow a small grin to slip through my mask and cast a series of diagnostic charms, the results are promising. According to the scans, his body is running as normal as always, well normal for a Jaffa, which is well above average for a human. His immune system is better than ever, above average for a human, but low for a witch or wizard. His abilities are above human levels as well, his muscles stronger, bones denser and so on. Lastly, his expected lifespan is increased, going from the one-twenty to one-fifty range of an average Jaffa up to a one sixty to one-eighty range, pretty high but still below the one-eighty to two hundred range of a wizard or witch.

Basically, the potion is a success, he as all of the strengths of his fellow Jaffa but none of the weaknesses.

'Man, I am a genius.' I cheer mentally, resisting the urge to hop and skip around.

Despite my early misgivings, potions is turning out to be a useful art, I'm still not going to give it the time of day though, this potion has taken me four days to make, I just don't have the time to waste.

'Hmm, maybe I should hire a potions master of my own, someone to do all the long tedious work.' I wonder, smirking at the look on Snape's face if I ever made him an offer. Still, I should look into an enchanted cauldron or one made of empowered Naquadah, that way I can have my subjects brew basic potions for me.

"How do you feel Raj'ka." I ask the recovered Jaffa in a tone carefully controlled to sound concerned, already knowing the answer.

He's staring at his healed abdomen in shock, the giant X of a Goa'uld pouch completely gone.

"I am well my lord, better than ever." He whispers in wonder. "Thank you my lord, you are truly great."

I nod, my glowing eyes the only sight he can see but their movement conveying the action.

"Do not inform the others of this." I caution, turning around and returning to my desk. "I require time to make sure there are no unwanted side effects."

"Of course, my lord." He replies, still sounding shocked and amazed.

"Very well, report to me if you feel anything strange." I finish, making a note to keep an eye on him for the next few days, the cure will have to be shipped out soon though, there are children turning of age in just a few short months.

Raj'ka bows and leaves the room, the door silently closing behind him. I stand from my desk and exit the room through a separate door, making my way to my personal chambers.

I have been working on a variety of projects for the last four days straight after all, I need some sleep.

-Three Months Later-

Three months later and Raj'ka is still doing well, my diagnostic spells and the Goa'uld healing device all report that he is in tiptop shape and that there are no side effect to the potion. With those results, I declare the cure a success and have it shipped out by the thousands, not that I have much choice as the children will be coming of age within the next few weeks.

It takes three days to have the potions shipped out to every planet of my empire but within hours I feel my power grow, bolstered as my subjects worship my name in thanks.

Ah, it's quite an invigorating feeling.

'Ugh, through this thing again?' Salem groans, eyes narrowed at the Chappa'ai.

'You don't have to come if you don't want to,' I say, grinning mentally. 'You could always stay here.'

'And suffer under those evil women?' He snaps, growling angrily. 'I think not.

'Ha ha, it's only a bath Salem, I thought you of all beings would love the attention.'

'I'm a cat, I don't require as many bathes as you filthy humans.' He snaps back, hissing at the memory. 'This is not what I expected when you promised me slaves.'

'Technically they aren't slaves, they do get paid after all.'

'Semantics.' he replies, sniffing in annoyance.

Our argument is interrupted when one of my guard, Fal'nor, stops before me and bows.

"The Chappa'ai has been dialed my lord, there are no obstructions on the other side." He announces, bring my attention to the now active Chappa'ai.

"Well done, Fal'nor." I reply with a thankful smile, slipping into character. "Lead the others through, I shall follow behind."

"As you command Lord Heka." He replies, bowing once more and stepping over to his squad. Each member of my personal guard controls a small honor guard of their own, consisting of ten Infantry, five Medics, three Snipers and one Junior Officer. This allows them to always have men they call upon for a mission such as the one we are going on today.

While going through Fujin's files, I found an address tied to an unclaimed world close to this system. Fujin had of course sent a scouting team through the gate to survey the world in question but only two had managed to return, bringing news of an abandoned outpost overrun by local beasts, extremely dangerous beasts.

Fujin had planned to send a larger force to the planet, hoping to either tame the beasts or lay claim to the outpost, but I'd showed up before he could organize an attempt. The file had been his most recently added document so it had taken me a while to reach it, once I did, I was very interested in this outpost. The information by the surviving scouts had marked it off as being of neither Goa'uld or Asgard design, meaning it belonged to another race, I was quite interested to find out which race owned it and excited at the possible technologies I could discover.

Which is why I'm making a trip to the world, joined by two squads led by Fal'nor and Tej'oc, I could probably handle things on my own but why take a risk when I can have have forty soldiers at my back. Seeing as two regular Jaffa were able to escape the planet, I'm willing to bet my own forces can handle the beasts on the planet. Although their training is far from complete, this excursion should be enough for me to evaluate their progress, it will also earn them some field experience with their new weapons.

I exit the Chappa'ai onto a forest world, with greenery and large trees spanning off in every direction, it's a welcome change to the desert wasteland I'd just left behind. While three of my worlds are forested planets, most of my time is spent on Taiyu which is a barren desert, I should see about fixing that, maybe take a gander through my Herbology texts for a solution.

Up above us are three large moons despite it being a bright day and I can see a Ha'tak orbiting the planet, reinforcements should we require them, not that I expect us to. Fal'nor and Tej'oc have already formed their men into a protective circle, weapons held steady and pointed into the forest in every direction, they are doing well so far.

'Hmm, this place is pretty nice.' Salem says, looking around the lush forest. 'Better than the desert.'

'If it's safe, I'll bring you here for some hunting.' I reply, focusing on the mission.

'As if it matters whether it's safe or not.' He snorts, shifting into a larger form, the one roughly the size of a horse, before returning to normal and leaping onto my shoulder. 'If anything gets in my way, I'll just step on it.'

I chuckle and turn to address Fal'nor and Tej'oc, who are awaiting my orders.

"Establish a perimeter around the gate, then deploy a Shield Projector." I command, I don't sense any presences nearby but its better to be safe than sorry. "I'll fly up and look for our target."

They bow and return to their squads, Tej'oc barking orders while Fal'nor dials the gate once more.

The Shield Projectors are a recent invention of mine based off of the Ha'tak shields, they could be deployed on land and would shield a large area, keeping living beings and plasma blasts at bay. The only problem is that they're so big that they can't be carried around by my soldiers, a problem that is easily fixed however, by employing one of my vehicles. The generators as placed inside a Carrier, filling up almost half the machine, which can then drive them through the Chappa'ai and to the target location.

As the Carrier comes through the gate, I'm standing a hundred feet in the air, my magic solidifying the air particles beneath my feet, an impressive and very difficult technique.

In the distance to the west of our position, I can see some rundown buildings of odd design, the outpost if I'm not mistaken. It seems to be only an hours march away, through the thick, dark, creepy forest...

Yeah, no.

With a flare of my power, my squad of forty Jaffa soon find themselves floating beside me high in the air, this is a simpler trick since all it involves is the Locomotor charm, the only difficulty is holding it on forty targets at once but Occlumency helps in that regard. My Jaffa exclaim in shock and awe, some even shouting out in fright, having never flown unassisted before.

I smirk at them and set off towards the outpost, moving as quickly as I can.

Below us, I hear the faint hum of the shield activating, the driver having already received his orders. It takes a few calculations, far beyond the ability of a regular Goa'uld serving Jaffa, but the driver is able to easily program the machine, creating a shield around the Chappa'ai but having it come to a stop just at the edge of the treeline.

"This is truly wondrous my lord." Tej'oc says as we sail over the forest, his comment echoed by the rest of the squad. "Your powers are truly great."

I smirk but don't reply, basking in the praise as more power flows into me from their worship. The more they believe in my divinity, the more power I gain, this has often led to me performing many magical displays around my subjects just to garner more worship.

After ten minutes of flight, we land a few meters from the outpost, a strange building if I've ever seen one. It's a large tower like structure in what looks like the beginning of a complex, the inhabitants having left before it was completed. At first, I don't recognize the architectural style but closer inspection reveals a series of circular carvings on the walls, carvings that immediately leap out at me.

This is a Furling outpost, quite a surprise as Furlings were supposedly extinct long before Susanoo traveled through the Mirror, if that was true then this outpost has to be thousands of years old.

'Crap, any technology here is probably decrepit or was taken when they deserted it.' I sigh, feeling disappointed, 'I can only hope something was left behind.'

"Your orders my Lord?" Fal'nor asks from beside me.

I glance around, seeing no wild beasts on the wide open plains surrounding the outpost.

"Your squad will remain outside and keep an eye out for trouble, Tej'oc's squad will enter the building with me." I reply after a moment.

"As you will it, my Lord." He bows backing away.

I set off towards the building, Salem on my shoulder and twenty men at my back, I can only hope something of value is stored within or this would have all been a waste of time.

Surprisingly, many of the materials in the building have been left behind with nothing cleared away at all, if that isn't a sign of trouble, the rust colored splashes on the walls and the decayed bones of small humanoid creatures is.

This outpost wasn't evacuated, it was wiped out.

Whatever did it, killed the few Furlings manning the base and devoured the corpses, at least that's what the bite marks on the decayed bones seem to say. Despite the time that has passed, the tower and bones are still in good condition, only a layer of dust to signify the passing of time.

Strange.

"Keep an eye out." I mutter to my squad, although the sunlight illuminates the entire place, there could still be hidden danger. "Something killed these creatures and it or its descendants could still be in here."

Their grips on their weapons are tighter but they keep the weapons steady, their eyes sweeping the area with the ease of long training, it's good to see that my training had been put to good use, very good use. These Jaffa are no longer warriors that rush headlong into battle to die with honor, they're trained soldiers, cold, calculating and ready to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

Sniff, I'm so proud.

Eventually, we reach the computer core of the tower, having found nothing else of interest in the building. The computer is of the data crystal variety, just like the stolen one found in Fujin's palace, and there are already two full data crystals and one empty. My guess is that the empty one was uploaded into the computer before the attack occurred, not that it matters as the computers and crystals are in perfect order, even after years left alone.

A problem turns up when I skim the information on the computer as its contents are downloaded onto the blank crystal, it's all written in the Furling language. Like the language of the Ancients, Furling is a language that I know few words from, the Goa'uld barely ever encountered them or their technologies as they were believed to come from another galaxy like the Asgard.

It will take a long time to decipher these files but I'm already interested in the few words I can recognize, namely Clone, Asgard, Beaming and Transport, I can only hope it contains what I think it does. If so, I would not only have new, superior technology to experiment with but immortality would be within my grasp.

A final check through the tower by my men and I reveals nothing else of value, so I decide it's time to leave. It's as we're making our way to the door that the first of the shouting reaches us, something is happening outside.

Tej'oc barks an order and the squad rushes for the door, their rifles held high and at the ready, I follow behind them, lazily taking my time. When I finally make it to the doors, I'm met with a surprising sight, my Jaffa are facing off against strange creatures that are pouring out of the forest to the east by the dozen, strange creatures indeed.

'What the hell are those?' I wonder, staring at the strange beasts that are rushing the tower. My best description of them is a raptor, a dinosaur that went extinct on earth millions of years ago, except with fur.

That's precisely what they look like, raptors with fur.

Rather than the leathery skin of a dinosaur, they're covered in long, shaggy, white fur, they'd make for a funny sight if it wasn't for the long claws, sharp teeth and spiked tail. There's also the fact that there are literally hundreds of them pouring out of the forest, rushing us at incredible speeds. Luckily, my Jaffa keep their cool and stay their hand, the forest is roughly four hundred meters away, far out of the range of the rifles so they're forced to wait.

Except for the six snipers, who have somehow climbed up the side of the tower and are firing into the mass of creatures from their many vantage points. All too soon ,they've used up their ten shots and the guns have overheated, luckily the creatures are just a hundred meters away, well within range of the assault rifles.

Fal'nor shouts out an order and the Jaffa being firing.

A loud hum fills the air as the assault rifles draw power from their core, a split second pause as they power-up, then the guns begin firing. Hundreds of plasma bolts plow into the advancing mob, mowing them down with deadly intensity. The creatures die by the hundreds, some requiring two or more shots to put them down but they continue pouring out of the forest, their numbers seemingly endless.

Throughout all this, my Jaffa remain calm and composed, knowing that their god is watching their efforts.

I myself am actually shocked at the number of creatures pouring out of the woods, there had to be thousands of them in there, my Jaffa aren't ready to deal with something of this magnitude, if the creatures continue on like this then the rifles will overheat before they're all dead.

'Note to self: work on some explosives for situations like this.' I muse, thinking about how good a few grenades would be right about now.

While the Goa'uld have Naquadah bombs, flash-bangs and the plasma bombs dropped by the Al'kesh, they have nothing in the way of actual hand grenades, an issue I should rectify after this.

A loud hawk-like screech draws my attention to the west, just in time to see another wave of the creatures pour from the forest, the sneaky bastards flanked us. Normally, this would cause panic in the ranks, being overwhelmed on two fronts but the Jaffa keep their cool, awaiting an order from their commander. Fal'nor waits until the creatures are close enough, the Sniper's picking some off with their cooled sniper rifles, before barking out a series of commands, causing ten of the infantry units to do an about face and fire into the mass of creatures descending from the west.

'Hmm, well thought out and executed.' I muse, impressed at their discipline despite having written the training plans myself. 'But it's not enough.'

With fire being concentrated on two fronts, the creatures are slowly making headway, inching closer to our position even as they're killed by the hundreds. Two things happen next that force my hand and cause me to enter the battle.

The first is the twin screeches from the north and south, followed by more creatures pouring out of the forest in those directions. The second is one of the creatures from the east opening it's mouth and expelling a glob of green liquid, which strikes the ground near a Medic and melts through the grass and dirt quickly.

The things can spit acid, not too far but it was still off putting.

'Right, they've proven themselves skilled enough.' I decide, stepping out from the tower. 'Time to end this.'

"Surei, are you there?" I ask, speaking into the communication device.

"Yes, my lord." The voice of my First Prime responds, sounding faint through the device.

"I take it you can see the battle down here?" I ask, already knowing the answer as the Ha'tak is floating directly above us.

"Yes Lord Heka," he responds after a moment. "We picked up the weapons fire on the sensors."

"Good, I've allowed it to continue as a test of our soldiers," I explain, glancing at the lines of approaching enemies. "However it has come time to end this, launch the Al'kesh and Death gliders, we shall be inside the tower, they are to shoot around it."

"Understood, it shall be done." He replies before yelling orders to the rest of the crew.

I turn off the communication device and turn my attention to the battle, the creatures are still being held off but they're inching closer with every second, slowly overwhelming my forces from four directions. Fal'nor has divided the men evenly to deal with the threat on four fronts but it's not enough, we'll be overrun within minutes.

"Fall back to the tower." I command, drawing on my power.

My magic spikes as I summon a ball of black fire to my hands, draining what little is left of my strength after the long flight over, it may have been simple but it still required a lot of power to keep myself and forty others afloat in the air. My order is followed instantly and the men begin falling back into the tower, some looking relieved. From the looks of their hands and the smell, most of their weapons were close to overheating, yet they kept their weapons steady and firing despite the high temperature of the metal, impressive.

The creatures, facing no more resistance, screech in apparent victory and rush the tower. I give them a few seconds to move closer before my hands lash out, the ball of flames growing in size as it flies. Soon there is a wall of ebony flames surrounding the tower, burning what few creatures are too close and bringing the rest to a halt, I can hear them outside the barrier but there's nothing they can do, with a grimace I turn and make my way back to the tower.

"Are you alright my lord?" Tej'oc asks as I collapse onto a nearby chair, ignoring the millenniums of dust piled on it.

His question draws the attention of the others and they turn to look at me, taking in my exhausted appearance.

"I'm fine Tej'oc, just drained." I reply with a frown. "I just require a few minutes rest."

"Drained my lord?" He asks, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

This is why playing god is so hard, especially with intelligent subjects, any sign of weakness would draw suspicions and doubts about my divinity. After all, gods don't bleed, get drained or require rest. Luckily, I already have an excuse prepared for such an eventuality.

"Yes." I reply in an even tone. "Despite my power, I am currently inhabiting a mortal shell, a young one at that. This shell is unable to handle the full might of my power so it is quite limited, that is why I wait for it to mature and grow stronger."

That seems to reassure them and their attention turns to the wall of fire, another example of my might, and the creatures beyond it.

"What shall we do about the beasts, they are far to numerous for us to slay." Fal'nor asks, looking disappointed.

"They are of no consequence, our ships shall handle them." I reply, giving each and every one of them a glance. "You have all done well today, I was most impressed with your discipline and capabilities."

That seems to cheer them up and I'm sure they would be beaming if they weren't Jaffa.

"You are too kind, Lord Heka." A few of them reply.

I simply nod and pet Salem, who has curled up in my lap.

"I mean it, you have all done well." I continue, I'm only giving praise where it's deserved, a squad of regular Jaffa would have been wiped out facing the same odds. "Far better than I expected, you have worked hard in your training."

The sound of explosions drowns out their reply as three Al'kesh fly by, dropping their bombs, several dozen Death Gliders follow, blasting the creatures with their cannons in a strafing run. It's a slaughter and I only wish I could be out there to see it, still, this trip was well worth it, not only did I find highly valuable information but I got to wipe out several thousand creatures.

'And it's not even my birthday yet.'

-Two Months Later-

It's taken some time but I've finally translated the last of the Furling data into Goa'uld, I'm slightly disappointed with what I find.

On the technological front, the data is a practical gold mine, within the first data crystal is a mountain of information on the Asgard Teleporter, while the second is composed of reports on the cloning process and technology. Apparently, the outpost was meant to be a Furling research facility with two functions.

The first was the study of the Teleportation technology provided by their allies, in an attempt to improve their own Teleporters.

The second function was a study of the Asgard cloning process, in an attempt to find a cure for the slowly dying Asgard.

The Furling had chosen that very planet due to the creatures living on it, know as the Srotpar, which had the ability to rapidly undergo asexual reproduction and cellular mitosis, essentially cloning themselves. That explained to massive numbers of the creatures on the planet, they were literally creating more of themselves as we gunned them down, it had taken several bomb strikes just to fight our way out. At least, I have several samples for study, they'll come in handy once I have a chance to study them.

My disappointment with the data stems from the fact that no information is provided on the cloning technology, just the problems stemming from it and a hypotheses on what could be done. Where the data crystals contain detailed information on the Teleportation technology, it is especially vague on the cloning process, it was really quite annoying.

'Guess my quest for immortality is back on hold.' I sigh, scrolling through the files. 'Oh well, at least I got this teleportation technology out of it, this is far better than the ring transporters we use now.'

It will take several months to recreate this technology and then refit my vessels to support it, luckily I have thousands of budding technicians to assist me with it, it would take far too long if I was to work on my own.

Grinning to myself, I move on to the third and final data crystal, the one I have yet to read. I'm able to see the title, Replicators, before my vision goes white, moments later everything goes dark.

I awake an undetermined amount of time later and find myself floating within a stasis field, unable to move, in what appears to be a very advanced starship, one more advanced than any Goa'uld ship.

"You're awake." a voice says off to the side, out of my view. "Interesting, you should have remained unconscious for several more hours."

"Who are you?" I ask in an even tone, drawing on my magic.

"Interesting, you are calm despite the situation." the voice replies, ignoring my question. "Even with the Goa'uld parasite removed, your personality remains the same, you are strange for a human child."

That sends a shock through my system as my focus is drawn inward, towards my symbiote which I now realize is missing, somehow this person has removed the symbiote against my will. This is surprising and shocking but its not a problem for me, having taken the Jaffa cure, I don't really need the symbiote for the advanced abilities.

I had kept it for different reasons however. Despite being brain dead, the Goa'uld was still alive and connected to my mind, it was through this connection that I could split my mind in two and control both bodies at the same time, it is also through this connection that I can sense that the symbiote is somewhere on this vessel and still alive.

"Who are you" I ask again, keeping my tone even.

"Yes, you are very interesting. I had thought the Alteran all gone but here you are, using powers and technology beyond those of a human or Goa'uld, you will make a fine test subject." the voice says, moving into my line of view. "Through you, I will finally discover a cure."

The second I see the being I immediately recognize him, well not him personally but I definitely recognize the species. He was roughly one meter in height with grayish skin, a large head with pitch black eyes and long skinny limbs.

An Asgard.

"Greetings human child." the Asgard spoke, looking positively devious. "I am Loki."