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Chapter 20: Chaos creates opportunities
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Part 1
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Slavna Zemq
Perun's Throne World
Milky Way Galaxy
Time, you either had a lot of it or not enough. In my experience, there was no middle ground there.
With Ra dead, I was on the clock, with only the Force to warn me when I ran out of time. The best-case scenario would give me a few years to consolidate and use what I learned from Ra. Possessing his Cheops might buy me more time and offer exciting opportunities. My position as a trusted and valuable vassal might allow me to get away with certain shenanigans that generally wouldn't fly.
In the worst-case scenario, people might wonder why Ra is missing much earlier than hoped due to orders he left behind. I didn't have time to tear such information from his brain. I was focused on the contingencies and codes I needed to prevent his ship from blowing up around me.
The good news was that thanks to memory working by association, I did get secrets related to codes and contingencies Ra thought of recently or related to where we were. That was how I knew for sure he had the Eye of Ra on Abydos and where it was. The same was true for the chamber with addresses and a few other goodies stashed on the planet.
More importantly, I knew Ra had a powerful flagship hidden on Dakara. Taking the ship itself might not be feasible – doing so required a neural check at the command throne. While that could be bypassed by tearing parts of the computer systems apart and replacing them, doing so while on that planet would be an issue. It was too deep within Ra's domain to deploy my navy, potentially leaving only Ra's Cheops as orbital support. A ground assault on that planet had its own issues. Still, the prize was worth it. Ra had information on most of his advanced technology in a library on board that vessel.
If I had enough time, I might have ignored Dakara and focused on reverse-engineering all the systems on my brand-new yacht.
I didn't have the time to figure out how to build those systems, then do so in meaningful numbers and use them to upgrade my navy in a way that would make any difference. I needed the information stashed on Ra's flagship, so I had to plan a covert strike that would leave no witnesses behind. The issue there was obvious – the moment news of the attack spread, it would expedite the time frame for the war, which brought me back to square one regarding upgrading my navy with advanced technology.
Then there was Earth. I had to go there in person, and the plan was to do so with my new ship so I could impress upon everyone the gravity of the situation. I had to ensure Earth pulled its weight in the war.
My Primes arrived one after another, and it was time we got to work refining our war plans.
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The Russian government finally issued a statement!
The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation personally made earthshaking statements in front of the press in the Kremlin, refusing to answer questions.
1. The President died of a massive heart attack caused by a combination of extreme stress and news from the Russian ambassador to the United States.
2. Yuri Gerasimov and his forces resisted an attempt to arrest them concerning the nuclear terrorism attempt on American soil.
3. Currently, the military and security services of the Russian Federation are executing operations against other oligarchs who are a clear and present danger to the integrity of the Russian state.
The implications of these statements are grave and are at least partially supported by the observed actions of the British and United States governments over the past few days.
BBC World News
The stand-off at Heathrow has been resolved. The Russian private jet's passengers and crew surrendered in British military forces' custody. They have been last seen being driven away to an undisclosed location for interrogation.
Daily Mail
Armed police and military personnel have locked down and are investigating multiple sites used for storage by the British Museum. A source in the British government suggests that at least one of those sites might be in active use to smuggle weapons and drugs. The alleged source is a network operated by the Russian mafia.
BBC
All Eastern European countries bordering the Russian Federation are mobilizing military units in case the civil war spills on their territory and preparing to deal with a potential refugee wave.
CNN
Governments from former Warsaw Pact countries voice concerns over what some perceive as a hardliner coup in Moscow.
Associated Press
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1 January 1997
The White House, Washington DC
The United States, Earth
Milky Way Galaxy
"Can someone finally give me a reasonable explanation about the situation in Russia? What are we looking at here? Are there more snakes in their oligarchs? What about our damn criminals!?" President Cole demanded. He felt and looked worse for wear and was damn glad that all this won't be his responsibility very soon.
"Signal intercepts and what we directly heard from the Russian government is finally painting a comprehensive picture," Danvers drew the short stick of explaining due to his position. "It is an unholy mess over there, and from what we can gather, things just happened, Mr. President."
"A civil war in the country with most nuclear weapons on Earth just happened," Cole's tone was drier than the Nevada desert. "I need more than that, and you know it!"
"We all know the lead-up to the ongoing disaster, sir. Their President had a heart attack after disclosure, and we know why the Russians jumped at Gerasimov with extreme prejudice. Bob talked with their Foreign Minister, and we have a first-hand account of the relevant points. The Minister and the General in charge of their internal security forces have been to Gerasimov's building and seen parts of his Egyptian collection. General Popov was sure he had seen equipment practically identical to what Seth had…"
"I knew that a few days ago. How did we go from a raid upon an alien's stronghold to a civil war?!" Cole's patience was already thin and now approached its breaking point.
He was looking forward to leaving all this madness behind, even though he knew he would be neck-deep in Congressional and Senate hearings for years to come…
"Mr. President," Danvers spoke soothingly, "We already knew that the oligarchs in Moscow and the rest of Russia, for that matter, have had a free reign for years. Many of them have large private armies equipped with the best Soviet equipment for sale, and virtually everything save for actual nuclear weapons was for sale in Russia. We are nearly 100% certain that the civil war began when the private forces of various oligarchs literally stumbled into firefights with the military forces deployed to secure Moscow after the President's death and the raid on Gerasimov's building. Everything spiraled out of control at that point. Mr. President," Danvers spoke in a soothing voice, "We already knew that the oligarchs in Moscow and the rest of Russia, for that matter, have had a free reign for years. On the other hand, the Russian government can't take the chance of other oligarchs being compromised, and well… Those damn bastards already started a shooting war with the military in Moscow. That might have been until the St. Petersburg Clique acted up."
"How did they seize Russia's second-largest city anyway?" Cole asked in sick fascination. He could vaguely recall reading the answer in a briefing. Yet, his brain refused to dredge up that nugget of information.
"The oligarchs had a lot of loyal mercenaries in the city, and two of them had private military companies with headquarters and barracks in the region. They could mobilize and move into the city during the confusion after the President's death. While the Russian government was busy securing Moscow," The National Security Adviser explained. "Local security forces proved to be inadequate, those that actually fought. The closest military unit that could have intervened – a naval infantry battalion - has been staying put in their base. We believe they're waiting to see how the perceived coup will turn out."
"The oligarchs surely can't believe they could win this?" Cole wondered aloud.
"Theoretically, they don't stand a snowball's chance in hell. In practice… It is utter chaos in Russia right now, Mr. President. The government there didn't intend to carry out a systematic purge or prepare for a civil war. This gives the oligarchs a window of opportunity. They don't need to defeat the Russian military as a whole. What they need to do is take out critical government members, then negotiate and end hostilities."
"However, the Russian government is afraid they're damn snakes, so the only way this can end peacefully is with everyone in custody for medical examination," Cole grimaced. "They won't agree on that, would they?"
"It is highly unlikely, Mr. President. Even if the Russians come in the open about the aliens, the oligarchs are likely to fight it out, fearing they would be disappeared so their assets could be taken, snakes or no snakes."
"Fucking hell…" Cole cursed.
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Part 2
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Ra's yacht
Abydos
Ra's Domain
Milky Way Galaxy
I watched closely how Nerus oversaw and aided a few of my most technically educated Jaffa in removing the component of a staff cannon. Taking the Cheops for a brief ride to one of the other planets in the system and testing its weapons proved what I already knew. This thing was a significant upgrade compared to standard Ha'tak systems. The power core itself was of a different design. Its most novel feature was a sheathing of an uncommon naquadah alloy that reflected energy back to the heart of the power plant, enhancing the ongoing reaction more efficiently than the reactors commonly in use.
The hyperdrive had modifications of the same alloy. They almost certainly allowed it to handle more power for longer before overheating. Combined with a cooling system I wasn't familiar with, that could explain Ra's strategic speed advantage very well.
The weapons design had to be different as well because, as far as sheer size was concerned, the Cheops' guns were smaller than those of a Ha'tak. These particular ones were just a little larger than the standard cannons Cheops were outfitted with, yet had firepower surpassing that of the newer capital ships.
Without refinement of current technology or a breakthrough, the way to get more firepower was more guns, or larger guns, backed by more power, requiring a larger power plant or more than one.
That explicitly wasn't the case with this ship, which left better technology as the answer.
"I will need to get everything in my laboratory to tell you how it works, my Lord!" Nerus looked nervously at me. "Everything so far has appeared to be of a standard modular design. I'll need to crack the modules open and examine what is new. Only then can I give you a time frame for replicating the technology, Lord Perun. The same is true for the other systems of this ship. Do you want the shields, power plant, and hyperdrive replicated? In that case, I must take them apart and dissect everything different from standard designs."
"Removing a single weapon won't compromise this ship's capabilities. I can't say the same about tearing at its other core systems. I will procure for you designs and specifications for the technology used to build this ship if possible. Until then, I want to see what you can learn and if you can think of ways to improve what we have here. Your primary task remains unchanged. I want a viable system to scramble targeting sensors, not just ours."
"Doing so is providing harder than anticipated, my Lord. We now have ways to mask and disguise signatures at long range. However, at anything approaching combat ranges, the sensors simply have too much power and can burn through any attempts to scramble them. I will keep trying, my Lord. Part of the issue is power, both incoming and outgoing. That is why we can't cloak a Ha'tak, for example. We can hide it from visual detection easily. However, our sensors are more than sensitive enough to detect it anyway. Compared to a small vessel like the Al'kesh, the power needed to obscure a capital ship ensures energy will leak through the cloaking field. Building a larger cloaking system doesn't solve the problem; on the contrary, it makes the energy bleed-through issue that much worse!"
"I explicitly didn't ask you to improve our cloaking technology, Nerus. We do not have the technology or knowledge to solve that particular issue. We don't have the scientists to dedicate to the issue. We already have too many other projects that need doing. What I want of you is a system that scrambles targeting at long range, allowing us an advantage in the opening phases of combat by ensuring the enemy won't be able to accurately target our ships until they close the distance. When we have something like that, we can further refine it, and you can focus more on other projects as well."
I left Nerus to deal with the weapon disassembly and bring it back to his lab under the supervision of a Custodes unit.
While I was on Abydos, I had other tasks to accomplish. First, I wanted to see what my Jaffa found on the locations of interests I gleaned from Ra's mind. He had the Eye in the pyramid below, alongside a few Alteran tablets that needed translation. There was the hidden chamber with Stargate addresses and a room below it with equipment for rainy days – weapons, armor, Kara'kesh, and such, and a case with spare data crystals in case Ra ever had to flee here on a crippled ship. The crystals obviously wouldn't fix most combat damage. Yet, they could be invaluable in repairing computers or replacing their core systems in case of sabotage.
A stash with naquadah and other valuable metals was supposed to be in an expanded and reinforced cave near one of the poles. A scan from orbit showed nothing, so the next step was to deploy Jaffa there. That would have to wait until I had a permanent base. Then my people will have the vehicles at hand to get there fast and start searching.
The final disposition of Abydos, its people, and mine was something I had to decide soon and get someone working on it.
If no one brought a ship in orbit for proper scans, it would appear that the mine nearby was yet another poor site that wasn't worth it as an industrial operation. Each System Lord had hundreds, if not thousands, of worlds like Abydos, with only a tiny settlement and a primitive mining or agricultural operation.
One of the reasons why such places existed was long-term planning. Eventually, industrialized systems reached a point in their exploitation where it became cheaper and faster to exploit the easily mined resources on other worlds and systems and then bring them in. That tended to happen long before the resources in the industrial system were anywhere close to exhaustion.
A fringe benefit of operating like this was that in case of a war, when a Goa'uld had to consolidate their defenses, they would still have incredible resources to utilize in their core systems. Besides, industrial mining equipment was valuable and highly automated. It needed protection, and it was a lucrative target. Usually, no Goa'uld put such facilities on lightly defended worlds on the fringe of their Empire.
The only reason I got my hands on that small automated refinery was the experimental and dangerous nature of the operation at the site we raided.
Back to Abydos, no one visiting would see anything unusual here. This meant that now I had access to a relatively rich naquadah mine, which served as cover. A proper mining operation was more than worth setting up here.
I reached the ring platform and activated it with my hand device. Rings jumped from the deck to surround me, lightly flared around me, and I briefly experienced the sensation of being moving energy and matter before I found myself down in the pyramid. The security detail around the platform saluted me, followed by the nearby Jaffa deployed to defend the Stargate.
The building still wore the scars of the recent battle, though except for them, the only hint of what happened was the lingering stench of cooked meat. It might take a lot of time for the inner chambers to be clear of the smell.
On my way to the exit, I pondered my options for Abydos. My people simply didn't have the expertise to make the best use of all the naquadah here. The few primary mining operations on my industrial world had personnel who could do the job; however, I couldn't trust them with Abydos, and moving their equipment here was not feasible.
We were on the far end of Ra's domain: not entirely on the other side of the galaxy from my realm, but close enough for the difference to be academic.
Perhaps using Abydos and the mine here as carrots for my allies might be for the best. I would force them to swallow some bitter truths, so offering more carrots to go along the stick was a wise choice, no matter how angry I was at their idiocy. It didn't help that I knew where they came from. I was still in less a less-than-ideal position now.
Ra might have had to eventually die so I could take advantage of the inevitable chaos. Back before he maneuvered me as his weapon against Kali, her domain was a shield against a potential civil war. Then Ra's death would have been a clear opportunity. Now, it was an incredibly dangerous one.
I walked outside through the crystal tunnel formed through the demolished entrance of the pyramid. I walked down the ramp towards several transports my people brought through the Stargate. The smallest vehicles I was building could barely fit through the pyramid's corridors, especially the intentional bends around walls at the entrance of each chamber. Those spaces were just large enough for the tiny human vehicles to pass through, even though they did scrape the corners. Getting my transports through required the use of mining crystals to remove a few walls, replacing them with reinforced crystalline passageways.
So, check on the mine first, or go to the area where my Jaffa were searching for the hidden chamber? Considering I hadn't received a report of a success, the choice was obvious. I went to see the mine for myself, then the local settlement, to better understand what I was working with. Watching the location from the Cheops' sensors wasn't a substitute for being on-site, no matter how useful.