AN 1 : Sorry for the loooooong wait. The chapter was ready early december to be posted, however a burglar broke into my home and stole everything he could take including my Macbook with the only copy of the finished chapter inside.

Don't expect another chapter before the end of february but since the ideas are flowing these days you might have a surprise.

As always, Reviews are welcome !

AN 2 : In response to reviewers who pointed out to me the lack of quotations marks i rectified the error. Originally the chapter had the quotations mark however the document manager did not accept the first .docx version i tried to upload so i had to upload a .html version. Unfortunately it screwed up my formatting and i did not notice the lack of quotations. Otherwise the chapter is the same.

Chapter 14

Uncharted Territories, Cylon Homeworld, Cyrannus system.

The Messenger god stood waiting for the end of the report. His subordinate, one of the Cavil's, was currently informing him of the result of the battle to retake the Hub. Listening to the seemingly old man, the Messenger God let his mind wander t the strategies he started to input to deal with the return of the hated Ones. A part of his fleet was already making advances on the supposed location of their base but the research was slow going since the base was not near any known Colonial or Cylon position, deep in uncharted space.

Cavil, having finished his report, was still kneeling in front of his god, waiting for him to acknowledge or dismiss him. He knew he would not get scot free from the encounter since the failure of the mission was his responsibility. With the powerful taskforce assigned to him, he should have been able to retake the Hub and capture those who had dared defy His will; he had even boasted to the other lines that he gave the One God his personal assurance to the success of the mission. But he had not foreseen the escape of the Hub in hyperspace and could not prevent the Terran Federation to steal the most precious of their holdings thereby failing the mission he had the charge and shaming his entire line.

The Hub was lost forever and with it, the central nexus designed by their god and which granted them immortality. Because of the actions of the Terran Federation and his failure, he had lost his race one of their greatest advantages.

The Messenger God finally turned around without a word, barely a glance in the direction of the supplicant at his mercy. Slowly, as if time had no matter for him he strolled toward a nearby console and activated the holographic projector built into it. In front of Cavil, still kneeling on the golden hued floor, the three-dimensional image of a large planet appeared. The planet curiously did not appear to have an atmosphere, seemed to be made entirely of metal, and was part of a system were no sun was present which was theoretically impossible. The image of the planet suddenly zoomed in and Cavil realized with stupefaction that what he believed to be a planet was in fact a gigantic structure in space and by the placement of the planets in the system was in fact enveloping the sun.

"The Hub was a gift I gave you, my children, for your own usage, however it was barely the tip of my might. Like the godly fleet I created as my personal guard, this is the world I created to suit my needs. The loss of the Hub was unfortunate but in the long run not something irreplaceable."

He slowly circled the holographic projector until he came to face the kneeling man a slight smile on his thin face. " This world was created for one reason, to prepare for the return of the hated Gods and their minions. Now that they have returned my armies are ready to bring them to their knees but they will need competent commanders and this is where you, my children, will fulfill your role. The role for which you were born and raised."

He calmly left the projector and turned his back on the cavil returning to his position near the gigantic window. Sensing the dismissal in the casual way that his God turned his back on him, Brother Cavil silently stood and prepared to leave the room when the Messenger God's voice stopped him.

"There is however one remaining issue I must address with you my dear Cavil."

His back stiffened at the cold undertone in the voice of the God as he slowly turned around to see that the Messenger God had turned his body completely with his hands displayed in front of him.

"You see my child, I am afraid your line has proved defective. You have greatly disappointed me and unfortunately if I can't trust you with such a simple task like reclaiming a lost gift, how could I trust you to command my armies. Unluckily for you in that case, you are of no more use to me. "

As he finished his phrase he revealed his hands and the golden circlets that ensnared them. His eyes flashed a terrifying red and before Cavil could move a muscle a storm of plasma energy emerged, the powerful current slowly killing him as his brain was liquefied.

The body slowly fell as the energy destroyed the nerve endings and the connection to the muscles that allowed him to remain standing was cut. The dark god did not even bother to cast a second glance in the direction of his creation and turned toward a console.

He activated the communication protocols and sent a signal to all his forces. Across the entirety of his domain the Neo Cylons received the same message: to End the Cavil Line.

His face not even showing a hint of emotion, the Messenger God calmly returned to his throne and as he sat down he activated again the Holographic projector showing his masterpiece. It took 2 thousands years, but he succeeded where the Hated Ones, the Alterans, failed. What was known in the Terran Federation as a Dyson sphere and what the Alterans had tried so hard to create was a device created to harness the power of a star and thus provide unlimited energy. Surrounding completely the sun of a distant system, the powerful base of the Messenger God allowed him to create virtually anything he desired. From his fleet of powerful ships to the armored shells of his Neo cylons, He was ready to deliver His wrath upon the Hated Ones. And this time there would be no interference from the ascended, he had made sure of that when he ordered his creations to attack the Colonies of Kobol. The whole colonial war was only for him a mean to test the Ascended and be sure that a foolish sacrifice like the one Athena made thousands of years ago would not be reproduced by another Samaritan. But no one came to help from those rightful fools and the entire Colonial Civilization had been eradicated. He could now proceed with the rest of his plans and finally pursue the last order he received from his God ten thousand years ago. His vengeance would be done.

He stood up from his throne and shakily made his way toward a door on the side, which slowly opened to reveal a hidden sarcophagus. Barely able to stand, he opened the sarcophagus and lied down on it, the door closing automatically as his head touched the bottom.

As his eyes closed for his rest his thoughts turned toward the next body he was going to inhabit. Every thousand years he changed bodies, discarding the one used up by the sarcophagus and transferring his consciousness to a younger one.

But the human mind was not made to live for so long and the process used to accomplish the transfer was not perfect. Unknowingly, each time Larikos changed bodies, he lost a part of himself at the same time.

Atlantis, Terra, Sol System. A day after the attack on Kalina.

The President of the Terran Federation was the executive leader of the Federation and the Commander in Chief of the Army. Elected directly by the people every 6 years without the possibility of reelection, the position was very demanding as the responsibilities inherent to it were as numerous as the power they gave to its holder. Thankfully the Presidential Council helped the president in his functions.

While a Vice president was the norm for most democratic governments, another way was born from a tragedy that touched the Terran leadership in the year 2058. That year, both the President in function as well as the Vice President died in the catastrophic destruction of the latest Terran Colony, leaving the executive powers of the Terran Federation empty. After the disaster, the Terran Senate voted in extraordinary assembly to create the Presidential Council whose members consisted of every President ever elected to the position and whose sole objective was to counsel the President and if necessary assume the executive powers in case of a vacancy for whatever reason be it death of the President or an investigation by the Head Judge of the Arbiters, the Justice department of the Terran Federation. The creation of the Council was the end of the Vice Presidential position and Theresa Marshall was the last individual elected to the position by the Senate before her death.

At the moment, the entire Presidential Council was in session with the current President at its head. The only subject discussed was the different options available for them in response of the illegal actions done by the Free Jaffa Nation. After the fall of the Goa'uld System Lords, the Free Jaffa constituted by the remaining Jaffa Primes and the heads of the Jaffa Rebellion, Earth was one of the first systems to recognize the Free Jaffa Nation as a government, even though a more democratic administration would have been preferred and the Jaffas had all but rejected their initial offers of help. But even then when the tempers were made more volatile by inflated egos, the brink of war had never been reached.

However, now that point had been breached and if the Terran Federation did nothing it would send a signal of weakness to their enemies and send the sharks out at the smell of fresh blood. For not only had one of the worlds under their protection been attacked but the first rule of no interference in the development of the protected worlds had been broken for the first time in a century. The Fifth Race had failed in their assigned legacy from the other Races.

The debates between the members of the council lasted long into the night and many options were examined, sent forth from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Intelligence and the Foreign Office. The Foreign Office had first brought forward economical sanctions against the Free Jaffa Nation, the Intelligence Office planned for an enormous increase of covert operations done to spread dissension amongst the Jaffa Warlords, in a manner reminiscent of the Tok'ra operations against the Goa'oulds, however while their plan for covert operations would be approved, it was deemed only complementary to a more direct approach. Finally while some in the Military Command had been pushing for all out war, the situation in the Cyrannus System caused the Council to temperate their ardor as with the emergence of a more powerful and more technologically advanced Cylon Armada the Terran Federation was finding itself assaulted on two fronts and it was not the kind of situation any military strategist worth his salt liked to find himself in.

After much deliberations several decisions had been made regarding the military situation: first, the production of four new Battleships of the Vultur Gryphus class had been decided, seeing the successful shake down cruise and the simulated engagements against the upgraded Ha'taks seized from the Lucian alliance and modified with a more powerful technology. The Vultur Gryphus was scheduled to start a tour of the frontier worlds near the free Jaffa Nation's space discreetly to monitor the most likely targets of retaliation from the Jaffa's as well as to provide a show of force to the Jaffa leadership.

Secondly, the increase of Terran Space Navy forces in the Cyrannus Sector with the goal of curtailing the Cylon advance and eradicating as quickly as possible the Cylon threat. In addition to the 102nd and the 97th Fleets currently in action there, the Terran Space Navy Triumvirate decided to sent the 24th, 72nd and 35th fleets in addition to 10 Grand Fishers acting as troop carriers for the 100 000 Space Troopers to be deployed. While such a massive deployment for what appeared to be a technically inferior opponent seemed overkill, the Chiefs of Staff were uneasy by the sudden technological leap the Cylons got out of their hats. And the loss of so many ships from the attack of the 25th fleet in orbit of Gaiatena was a real shock for them.

From the analysis of the battle sent by Admiral Delterre, the only real advantage the Cylons had for the moment was their ability to use their particular FTL drive to move freely on the battlefield instantaneously. The Colonial FTL drive while not as efficient as the Cylon version, was currently studied under license from the Colonial Government by the Terran scientists to uncover its secrets as well as make it more efficient using Terran navigational computers to extend its capabilities, range and precision. The Terran Engineers were currently developing a version based on the Wormhole drive created by the Alterans, which they discovered, was the actual ancestor of the Colonial FTL drive only where the Wormhole drive had only a 50% chance of succeeding in any case with a very powerful energy source and used wormhole technology, the Jump drive was successful at a 100% if well calculated and so small it could be fitted on Shuttles using direct point to point spatial displacement.

Finally, the reactivation of all the mothballed ships of the Terran space Navy and the recall order of all personnel on leave to their units was approved. The influx of nearly 300-mothballed ships of the previous generations was a welcome arrival in the Terran Space Navy armada since their more powerful ships would be used to prepare a spearhead attack in the heart of the Free Jaffa Nation if the situation called for it. Many on the Council had argued that such an attack would only escalate the hostilities but they rapidly deflated in their opposition when footage of the raid on Kalina was projected to the Council. The devastation brought by the Jaffa on the poorly defended civilization was incalculable and the hire of the Council members was stroked once more. The Free Jaffa Nation had to receive a firm message: it was not wise to tickle the sleeping dragon, for its wrath would be terrible.

New Amsterdam, 2 hours later.

Elisa Treville was the director of the New Amsterdam Shipyards. At 45, this mother of 4 was the Head of one of the more cutting edge technological Shipyards in the Terran Federation and probably the entire Milky Way Galaxy. With a QI of 200 and a mind particularly attuned to solving recurrent problems she had been tasked 10 years ago to rekindle the flame in the famous New Amsterdam Colony, birthplace of the line of ships so successful in the Ashen war that they were still used today. However their reputation had been slowly declining with the failure of multiple prototypes created to replace the aging class of ships used in the Terran space Navy and she had been brought in to take charge of the entire Shipyards, from the scientific research labs to the engineering architects.

She was however stumped by the order she just received via subspace on a secure channel from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. For decades the New Amsterdam shipyards had been considered the crown jewel of the Terran Federation war machine and was able to produce an entire fleet worth of ships under a year. With her arrival as the head of the facility, the productivity increased by 67% and to accomplish these results the shipyards benefited from numerous advantages: New Amsterdam was a world rich in mineral deposits like Naquadah and Trinium, the system was well hidden from conventional means of access guarantying its safety and finally the shipyards themselves were completely modular allowing the engineers to choose as they wished the designs to be build by the automated drones.

But even all that could not accomplish what the joint chiefs wanted! The shipyards had just finished the construction of the Vultur Gryphus class prototype and the team of engineers and scientist assigned to the project for the six long years it took to design the ship were hoping for a little down time of their own now that the design had proved itself successful. But to build 4 new battleship of this class in the time it took to build one, she did not know how she would achieve the results they expected of her when the shipyard were only capable to construct one or maybe two if the mobile construction drones expanded their range. She explained her reasoning and objections to the army leadership in her reply. What she received in return were reports indicating that 4 new shipyards with their personnel were ready to be shipped to New Amsterdam as well as the reassigning of a very large contingent of Engineers and Scientists directly from the Terran Science Academy to help the overtired team of New Amsterdam.

As a last measure she called Admiral Hiroshi, the head of the Ship Development Program in the Terran Space Navy and member of the Triumvirate and was still shocked by the response she got.

She had decided to contact the Admiral directly via subspace and his aide held her call until the familiar face of the 60 years old Japanese Admiral appeared on her view screen.

"My dear Elisa, how are you? I know it's not what you expected with the completion of the Vultur, but we have no choice. What I will tell you right now has not been announced to the general public yet but the Federation is arming for war and it is imperative that the new line of ships is ready to exit the shipyards as soon as possible."

Shocked at the news of war she was barely able to maintain her calm with her reply "How is it possible sir? I know the relations between our 2 governments had always been tense especially during the last 10 years but it seem impossible for the situation to have evolved so rapidly! I thought we would have more time to be ready for such an occurrence and our best strategists gave us 3 more years to prepare."

Nodding calmly to her the Admiral replied, " Yes they did but several events shot to hell their predictions. First, the asylum we offered the Colonial Government of the Cyrannus sector and the appearance of their own brand of FTL drive on the market was met with a severe anxiousness from the Jaffa war leaders who chose to view it as a potential weapon against them. Secondly, the death of War Lord Far'ok, one of the more pro-Federation on the council, allowed Warlord Keffu's faction to replace him with someone more in line with his way of thinking. In the end, the attack on Kalina, a world barely out of the industrial age, was the last drop. The Space Navy intervened and destroyed several Ha'tak when they repelled the invaders. You know as well as I from your first years of school the traditions of the Jaffa could only result for them by a formal declaration of war for the death of their men. We are at an impasse and unfortunately war is almost certain. The President is ready to issue a formal declaration himself in front of the Senate tomorrow and has ordered the entirety of the Terran Federation's war machine to be ready to respond"

She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye "Very well Admiral. Our facilities will be ready to welcome the new mobile Shipyards and personnel. I will inform my teams that their leave has been cancelled and that they must prepare themselves to enter a state of massive production. The mining nanobots will be increased to match the production so that no shortage of raw material can slow the constructions. But Admiral I am not sure if your expectations will be met! This is almost an unreachable goal."

Laughing at her pessimism he teased her gently "You Mckay's are all the same, you always huff and groan but still manage to accomplish miracles under pressure! In fact I believe your grandfather was able to overcome some of the most daring problems under the threat of death. Now, I hope I won't need to wave a lemon in front of your face to have similar results? Hum?"

Groaning in annoyance, she barely managed to huff a vague "No, No lemons needed sir!" before cutting the connection, the admiral's laugh still ringing in her hears.

Like her grandfather before her, she was deathly allergic to lemons and this led frequently to good ribbing from her personal friends when she exhibited character similarities to him. This feared scientist with an Ego as large as his QI was famous for his temper tantrums and his self-preservation instinct enabling him to miraculously sometimes accomplish incredible feats of the mind. The joke had been complete when it was discovered that the simple waving of a lemon in his face by his wife Jennifer was able to send his already brilliant mind to overdrive. Afterwards the feared Doctor Meredith Rodney Mckay had acquired a whole new human level in the eyes of his co-workers and subordinates, a fact he had resented till his death 29 years ago.

Turning her computer back on again, she sent the recall order for the Engineers under her command ready to take their leave and planned reunions after reunions for the next following days. While nothing was official yet, she prepared a brief speech for her personnel to motivate them a little and abort the protest that were sure to happen. Her thoughts drifted to her 22-year-old son, who just graduated from the Naval Academy and joined the ranks as an ensign on the defense Cruiser 87 and part of the 18th Fleet. Her son so full of life who wanted to explore the galaxy like the living legends he heard about in the classroom, and who was heading to mortal peril without even knowing about it.

Chasing the grim thoughts from her mind, she closed the computer and left her office, hoping a night out with her husband would provide a sufficient deterrent and knowing that such nights might become a rarity in the near future.

Free Jaffa Embassy, Atlantis, Terra, Sol system.

The Free Jaffa Nation had always maintained an embassy in the Terran Capital and considered it a prestigious post for the Jaffa serving its brothers as an ambassador. The current Ambassador, Tra'dor however was not the kind of Jaffa considering his position as an honor but as a thankless job because of the enormous sword of Damocles hanging over his head. After serving 10 years as the Jaffa Ambassador on Atlantis, Tra'dor had started to respect and even admire the key players of the Terran Government, a fact he kept well hidden from his brothers due to the current political climate favoring the faction that despised the Terrans.

However, during the last years of his posting as ambassador, he grew alarmed at the negative reactions to anything Terran, from a continual drop of visitors coming from the Jaffa Nation to the plummeting of several business deals made between the two powers and mostly advantageous for the Jaffa. He knew, of course, of the opposing factions inside the Jaffa Council but he did not believe that the faction opposed to the Terran Federation would one day grew powerful enough to challenge the rest of the council. He was wrong.

Not only did the faction of Warlord Keffu attack a Terran protected world, something not only foolish, as the reaction of the Space Navy was swift and violent, but also frightening. The Terran Federation was sure to expect explanations and apologies, something they were never going to give as a matter of pride first and also because the death of so many Jaffa Warriors would only strike at the heart of the Jaffa Leadership.

Sitting in his office, his back to his desk and facing the floor to ceiling massive windows showing the Terran Capital, he feasted his eyes for the last time on the impressive view he had enjoyed from his office for the last ten years. He calmly set the drink he had made himself to calm his nerves, and turned to face his desk. His hands shaking, he reached for the declaration he had received an hour ago from Dakara and read it for a fourth and last time.

"We, the Council of the Free Jaffa Nation, embodiment of the will of the Jaffa People, hereby declare this.

As of this Day, the Free Jaffa Nation no longer recognizes the Terran Federation as an ally and friend. All treaties and accords made between our two governments as well as those made with the Terran Industry are null and void.

For the attack on our Strike force, sent to reclaim a lost world of our Nation, for the loss of 17 000 Jaffa members of this strike force killed in battle by this traitorous attack and the loss of a world annexed to our proud Nation, we demand:

The unconditional surrender of the leaders of the despicable patrol that attacked our strike force.

A formal declaration from the Terran Government designing the planet Kalina as a Jaffa world.

A formal apology for the unprovoked attack on our forces.

A monetary compensation of 13 Billions credits for the loss of personnel and ships.

Those demands are to be answered with a delay of no more than a week. If this declaration is left unanswered, the Free Jaffa Nation is ready to declare war on the Terran Federation.

Signed by the War Leader of the Jaffa Council, First Councilor Keffu."

He was to present this declaration in front of the entire Terran Senate in special assembly and he knew without a doubt what their response would be. Of course certain members of the Senate were idiots pacifist who thought that the galaxy was a happy place and that none of their neighbors wanted to arm them. But the majority of the senate was intelligent enough to know that this declaration was just a show made to push them in the corner.

Whatever the reaction of the Terran Senate would be, he knew that these would be his last days in this fantastic city and he knew he would miss his position.

Almost reluctantly, he exited his office nodding to the two guards at his door to follow him. He had an appointment to respect.

Chulak, Chartiq Sector, Free Jaffa Nation territories.

Rya'c, member of the Free Jaffa Council, Warlord of the Chartiq sector comprised of the original fourteen systems held by the deceased System Lord Apophis and 11 planets colonized by the Rebel female Jaffa of the deceased Goa'uld Moloc was holding a private meeting with the allied Warlords members of his faction on the council to discuss secretly the repercussions of the coup organized by the Warlord Keffu barely a week ago.

The surprise take over of the Council was not as complete as Keffu would have liked with his actions, since Ryac's modernist faction, as they were called, was well aware of the deviousness characteristic of the opportunist Keffu.

Contingency plans had been prepared to counter partially any attempt to cease by force the supreme power of the Free Jaffa Nation. However, what the secret committee had not foreseen was for Keffu to use such a bold move as to attack the Terran federation directly and use the Brotherhood bond shared by every Jaffa and veritable basis for the Jaffa Laws to accomplish his goals. Unfortunately, no solution to counteract these actions was available for them and the debate was turning to a shouting match between the different leaders present.

R'yac, now a hundred thirty year old Jaffa, husband of Ka'ryn, father of seven and leader of more than 200 millions Jaffa was pacing in front of his desk, silently pondering the ideas flying around him proposed by the advisors and fellow Warlords allied with him.

I'tar, special diplomatic advisor of the modernist faction was calmly arguing with the Intelligence advisor, Art'io, in the soft tone of voice she possessed "I will repeat again and again Art'io, we can't negotiate with them. The last time we tried that venue, Keffu was able to manipulate the situation in his favor. The results were catastrophic and ended in the loss of the last seat in the council limiting his control of the armed forces. You know as well as I do that the Terran Federation will not sweep these actions under the rug this time, they will not bow down and why would they! They currently hold the most powerful Armada of the Known galaxy. Keffu may outnumber them ten to one with his forces alone, and fifty to one if you count the number of ships he can marshal with his allies, but technologically each of the Terran Space Navy's ship has no equal, even compared to the Asgard and Ori armies of old. "

Art'io, an old Jaffa veteran of the Free Jaffa Rebellion, snorted at yet another example of political folly and replied "The Terran Federation is powerful as you say, but what other choices do we have? Keffu is well on his way of becoming the master of the Jaffa Council and with that position he will be able to declare war on any non-Jaffa civilization he wished to conquer. There is nothing we can do about that and you know it. Our forces are no match to his or the Federation's, you know it and I know it even Keffu knows it. But as he is under attack from the Terran Federation, we are obligated as per our traditions and honor as Jaffa to answer his call. The only honorable way for us to escape the call to arms of Keffu would be if the war would pit us against other Jaffa, then we could formally leave the Free Jaffa Nation and sever all ties with them for their dishonorable conduct. But that would leave us alone against Keffu's forces, and I assure you honor or not, he would not hesitate to attack us to try to take control of our systems. And the Terran Federation does not have Jaffa neither in their armies nor their member worlds so the way is blocked."

The argument escalated between them with Rya'c a silent observer, deep in thought as he weighted the decision he would have to make for the good of the Jaffa that fought under his name and the name of his father.

Truthfully, if it were not for the last request his father made of him, he and his faction would have left the Free Jaffa Nation a long time ago. After the death of his father, many among the Jaffa council had asked him to step up and dissolve the council to take the Jaffa leadership for himself. He had refused then and later, knowing that the last wish of his father was not to create a Jaffa Empire but a Jaffa Democracy, with the freedom of all Jaffa as a fundamental law. For years he had worked to create the kind of government his father would have wanted, until the arrival of Keffu on the council. His arrival sounded the death of the golden years of the Jaffa Nation and the rise of the traditionalist bloc, which started its campaign of reforms. In less than twenty years, the hard earned results he had managed to establish were overturned, the alliances discarded and the benefits annulled.

This last stroke from Keffu was the last he would endure for the memory of his father's dreams. While he had faith in many of his Jaffa Brethren, he had lost all faith in their leaders. It was time to draw on the last ace in their game and in one stroke free both his hands and his conscience. He would not lead a war against a people that had done so much for them and the galaxy. The Goa'ulds had not been defeated only for their former slaves to take their place and his father and his friends sacrifice would not be in vain.

As he rose to speak, all the rising voices slowly but surely quieted down until silence was made in the room. While not the most imposing of Jaffa physically like his father had been, Rya'c possessed a charisma that imposed respect in his pears.

"My friends, the time for drastic measures has come. Our very way of life is threatened and no amount of reasonable talks will change that fact. Keffu and his cronies do not see the good of the Jaffa, only their personal gain and it is a fact that many among us know. There is no use to negotiate with him for he thinks he has all the cards and see only what is in front of him. It is time for us to make a decision: do we follow him on his folly or do we make our own way in the galaxy?

As Art'io said the only way to escape a fight with our friends of the Terran Federation that would satisfy our honor would be if the war started by our leaders opposed us to fellow Jaffa. But how could we respect that condition since we know that no Jaffa serves in the Terran Army?"

Giving them a minute to ponder his words, he turned around to retrieve a holographic pyramid hidden in one of his pockets and placed it on the conference table.

"You are all familiar with the legend of the Sodan Warriors? These Jaffa were the first to see the truth about the Goa'ould Ishkur and rebelled against him. Seeking to cleanse their souls from the atrocities they had committed in the name of a false God they went in the search of Kheb and in their journey found the teaching of the Ancients. For five millennia they thrived and hoped to reach enlightenment until the arrival of the Ori, when the true face of the Ori was revealed to them they again fought the false gods and were almost annihilated. But they survived and are now protected by the Terran Federation, on a world hidden to all and kept secret by the highest instances of the Terran Hierarchy."

Tremors of shock seem to travel through the room as each Jaffa present reacted to the startling news. One of them, Tire'at, minor leader of an allied system stood up to confront Rya'c, furious that such information had been hidden from them.

"How were we not informed that the Sodan, the first Free Jaffa, were not mere legends but real and living peacefully in the galaxy? Why are they not members of the free Jaffa council as they should have been? Their wisdom would have grandly helped us in the beginnings of our society!"

Rya'c re took his place around the table and calmly responded to him, not fazed in the slightest by the vehement tone in his voice. He knew that the truth about the Sodan he had kept hidden at the request of his father would one day come to the surface.

"When the Sodan rebelled against the Goa'ould, they were considered the elite of the Jaffa forces in the galaxy. Jaffa forces of the other Goa'ould preferred to surrender to them than engage them in battle so fierce was their reputation. However when they realized the Goa'ould were false gods they asked for the help of their Jaffa brothers to overthrow them. They were sadly disappointed, their own brethren hunted them at the orders of the Goa'ould and they were forced to flee and abandon all they held dear. Five Millennia later, when we realized the truth and rebelled, they had no more interest in the Jaffa affairs and were dedicated to reach Ascension. For them the Jaffa were betrayers of their own kin and they had no wish to be a part of their Government. They however respect greatly the tau'ri since they were the ones to mount the first effective fight against the Goa'uld and showed the galaxy that they could be defeated. My father himself made many overtures in their favor to entice them to rejoin with us. He was rebuked each time. "

Changing slowly his position, he made eye contact with each Jaffa present to gauge their reaction before continuing.

"However some of you may wonder how the fact that the Sodan are still alive can help us? As you know, the Ashen war of nearly a hundred years ago saw the birth of many new advances in the Terran Armada: new class of ships, new technologies and new classes of soldiers. It was during that time that the creation of a special unit of soldiers whose sole purpose was to get behind enemy line to wreck havoc, to explore without interference and to gather intelligence was decided. We knew the person tasked with the leadership of that unit: Lieutenant General Cameron Mitchell, the only non-Jaffa to have earned the Sodan's friendship. "

"The Terran Federation had acquired many technologies during their exploration, many of them they barely knew how to use or were not very proficient with. One of these technologies was the phase modules they had acquired from the Sodan which emitted minute radiation harmful to the average Terran but necessary to escape the incursions from the fauna native in other phases. They researched for years alternative solutions and during the mean time forbid the use of Phase Modules to their soldiers."

"However the Ashen war forced their hand and as soon as the necessary advancements had been made, their use was implanted. To help train the members of his new division, General Mitchell asked the help of the Sodan warriors who trained the newly formed Terran Special Forces, eventually joining their ranks. It is due to the Sodan's red Armor that the Terran Special Forces acquired the name of Red Ghosts and it is a name they honor. As of now, to my knowledge, at least 15% of the Terran Special Forces are Sodan Warriors and it is my personal belief that Alcantra, the Red Ghost's Training camp is in fact also the home world of the remaining Sodan Jaffa."

Stunned into silence by the sudden revelation, the assembly of powerful Jaffa was slowly coming to the realization that for the first time in over a decade, hope was possible for them and that the slow death of their nation might be stopped.

Seeing the effect his words had on his closest allies, he closed his long reasoning by a simple question with far reaching consequences.

"Now my friends it is our duty to make the choice required for the future of our brothers: do we acquiesce to the wishes of the Council under the direct leadership of Keffu and start a full-scale war against the Terran Federation or do we secede from the Free Jaffa Nation and request membership into the Terran Federation. This is the decision you have to make, I will abstain to vote and let you decide amongst yourselves what our future will look like, but consider this: whatever your decision will be, Jaffa blood will be spilled in this war.

He slowly stood and exited the hall in the company of his wife to wait for their decision without even a last glance.

An hour later, a consensus was reached: with a result of 13 to 5 the Modernist Faction of the Free Jaffa Nation will secede from the Free Jaffa Nation and request membership in the Terran Federation.

The future war was now more than ever a certainty.