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Chapter 15: The path to war can be paved with the best of intentions

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Part 1

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Varanasi

Perun's Domain

Milky Way Galaxy

After ten days of training and instruction, often overseen by Lord Perun, Jek'il was deployed to one of the new worlds brought into his God's light. Now, he was an agent of the Inquisition. His group was what Lord Perun called a Direct Action team, and their job was to support the Inquisitors who focused on investigating wrongdoings.

What happened here was proof of Lord Perun's foresight in creating the Inquisition. While the thought of going against his Lord's teachings was alien to the young Jaffa, things were different on this planet.

He was ashamed of his Jaffa brothers and sisters living here. There had been little doubt that they were the heart of the problem, and mere days after the Inquisition deployed to Varansai, they got proof.

Mih'ail was sitting at a table, operating a control panel for an invisible machine flying around the region, looking for trouble. A large window of light hung above the table, projected from a modified Vo'cuum. They could see what the machine did as it flew. That was how they found a group of Jaffa in dark clothes skulking around in the night.

Their drone operator guided its charge after the suspicious Jaffa and recorded them setting on fire the hut of a family who saw Perun's light. Jek'il trembled in indignation. All he wanted to do was go out there and teach those blind fools a lesson! He wasn't the only one with such thoughts. The Jaffa around were all tense and ready for action.

"Jaffa, focus!" Prime Vladizlav barked. "We have our orders, and they are wise! We need to track this poison to its source before acting!"

"If we act now before we have the truth, whoever is behind this can and will flee, making it much harder to reach the heart of the problem," Inquisitor Zlatan added in his usual, grandfatherly way.

The old veteran Jaffa was in charge of the investigation and was one of the Inquisitors honored to be one of the warriors who spent most of his training taught by Lord Perun.

Jek'il looked at the floor in shame. He should know better by now!

The Inquisitors simply watched as word of the fire reached the barracks, and a group of Jaffa went to investigate. Weeks ago, such a thing wasn't necessary. Fires happened often enough, especially in places that weren't rebuilt, according to Perun's vision. However, since the 'accidents' began, no one trusted that any problem happening on this planet might have natural sources.

Mih'ail guided the machine to follow the traitors. They eventually split after hitting the road leading towards the estates of the local well-off Jaffa families.

"Follow the largest group," Zlatan ordered. "Eventually, we will have enough equipment and trained people to follow each group of treacherous bastards."

That was true. While nearly half of the ordained Inquisitors were currently on Varanasi, the rest were back on the Throne World, seeking suitable candidates for testing and training. Only then would anyone new receive the high honor of being personally ordained by Perun himself as a member of the organization.

The drone followed its prey to their lair. It was the largest estate in this region, belonging to a large and powerful Jaffa dynasty. Their services in the past, honoring a different God, would not be enough to protect them from Perun's righteous wrath, that much Jek'il was sure of!

"I will talk with our Warrior Priests so they can quietly inquire about our first target," Zlatan turned away from the glowing window of light and stared down at the other Inquisitors. "I want you to keep your mouths shut about what we learned tonight! We will only move when we have unraveled as much of this conspiracy as possible. Otherwise, we will warn any traitors we are unaware of, making our work here much harder!"

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Slavna Zemq
Perun's Throne World
Milky Way Galaxy

Soft fingers massaged my neck and shoulders. Sensing Ishta's reverence at being allowed to touch me, much less being this close to me, was an intoxicating sensation.

My new High Priestess was a special case. Instead of ensuring her undying loyalty, like I had to do with others in my court, the issue with her was her belief that I was an actual God who could hardly do anything wrong. That trait made her, in some regards, less reliable than a minion I couldn't fully trust because she would follow any instructions and requests coming from me with blind devotion.

Familiar signatures entered my awareness – those were the guards dragging Seth in. That particular trouble was one I decided not to kill yet. Subverting him was slow due to my constantly increasing workload and the need to focus on Nerus first. There was no argument about which of them was more valuable.

The guards in front of my chambers opened the doors to let in a squad of Custodes who practically carried Seth. While I kept him in a rather nice cell, it was a far cry from what he was accustomed to. His ego didn't help. He had been playing the role of a cult leader for most of his time stranded on Earth, mixing it up by possessing priests and, at times, the odd low-key noble.

My Custodes shoved Seth on a chair, waiting for him, and then left. He was leaner now and appeared quite miserable in his simple clothes.

"What do you want now, you treacherous madman?" Seth glowered at me. "I look forward to seeing the System Lords learn of your betrayal."

Case in point, due to the sparse time I had to work on him, his arrogance was still in place and once again proved rather irritating. Frankly, I was beginning to wonder if his mind was starting to slowly go after so long spent without a sarcophagus. Seth's taunts were getting repetitive and less creative, and honestly, these days, he was a far cry from the Goa'uld I briefly spoke with back on Earth. It was either that, or I have been more heavy-handed than intended while mind-fucking him. Perhaps briefly throwing him into my sarcophagus would help?

"That's rich coming from such a disappointment. A self-respecting warlord or even a Goa'uld with a semblance of competence would have ruled an Empire on Earth. On the other hand, you hid like a worm from humans and Goa'uld alike," I smiled cheerfully at Seth after he had bristled at my words.

Ishta was amused at the exchange, even if she briefly froze in fury when my current project taunted me. I submerged myself fully into the Force and let it flood my chambers as it flowed through me.

"It is time to be educated," I told them both. My mind snapped into the familiar state that led to Battle Meditation. Then, I focused the technique on the people closest to me alone.

On one hand, that was much easier than trying to influence more people. On the other hand, after using the technique on whole armies so many times, keeping it contained and focused also took concentration. Sadly, Battle Mediation never came naturally to me. Everything I could do with it was thanks to years of training by a prodigy and the raw power to brute force it.

"You should remember your place, Seth," I hammered into the blended mind of a host and parasite alike. "You will serve me, though you are fortunate. I do not expect or require blind obedience," I reinforced that point with a flare of power.

To Seth, it was like a sudden storm front tore through his consciouscness. Ishta, on the other hand, basked in what she perceived as my Divine Glory. I was still unsure why Battle Meditation had this effect on a lot of people. Surely it couldn't just be how they were taught the world worked since they could comprehend it?

That was yet another thing I would love to have the time to study in-depth, yet it was not to be for a long while.

My wandering mind made me nearly slip out of the Battle Meditation. It was a sign that I needed more rest, which I could hardly afford. The way things were going, I might need to risk taking short naps in the sarcophagus to buy myself more time to operate at peak efficiency.

"You were a failure and a pathetic example of a Goa'uld! I am offering you a path to greatness!" My mind hammered the point into Seth's head. He shook in the chair. Seth's eyes glowed at me in defiance. "You will serve!" I struck again.

Behind me, Ishta moaned, excited by the idea of serving me in any fashion she could.

I allowed the pressure on Seth's mind to gradually lessen, and he nearly collapsed in the chair.

"I am not a servant!" the Goa'uld managed to croak.

"You will be," I ramped up the pressure. "You will serve and will be glad I bothered to raise you from irrelevance. You will help me foster an Empire the likes of which this galaxy has never seen before!"

"And I will be your herald, now and forever, my Lord!" Ishta solemnly vowed.

"That you will be, Ishta," I turned aside to look her in the eyes. "You will be right beside me, ushering the future we are working towards," I turned back to Seth and focused the weight of my mind against his after the brief respite he got to enjoy.

It was going to be another long night.

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Part 2

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Second Heaven

Lord Yu's Throne World

Milky Way Galaxy

A vast lush valley bisected by a river sparkling with crystal-clear water was one of the largest training sites on the planet. Prime Orel was more aware than ever of the magnitude of the task before him and his fellow servants of Lord Perun.

At this place alone, Lord Yu has been constantly training more Jaffa, who served in Perun's army until recently. That has been ongoing for thousands of years. Lord Yu had many other, if smaller, training grounds on this planet alone, and this was his Throne World. They weren't upon a Jaffa world dedicated to raising and training armies.

Nevertheless, Lord Perun's military was stronger than ever. Orel knew his Master had planned to increase their numbers and power significantly in the coming months and years. This was the very reason why he was here. Lord Perun had a set of deals with Lord Yu, which were vital in safeguarding their domain in the fullness of time. Orel's task right now was to ensure Lord Yu's Primes and Jaffa experienced first-hand how valuable Perun's vision was. That way, they would be more inclined to make more vital deals in the years to come.

Nearby, Instructor Dana was shouting at a large group of Jaffa, cursing them for their ability to aim. Well, the lack of said ability. Orel saw them first use the old-fashioned staffs against distant targets. In that regard, Yu's warriors were among the best he had seen in a long while. However, now that they had the new weapons, too many tried to use them as if they were wielding the familiar staffs instead of the plasma guns in their hands, as Perun informally called his invention.

Orel knew from first-hand experience that forgetting what you have been taught your whole life was hard. That was especially true about the lessons that kept you alive on many battlefields.

"This group is learning slower than many others," Prime Oshu commented. Yu's son had been shadowing Orel since he arrived on this planet alongside a group of experienced trainers. The Lighting Legion commander had to admit the younger Jaffa was learning fast and, so far, didn't make the same mistake twice. That was notable more than usual because most of those mistakes were doing what ordinary warrior wisdom told you to do in certain situations. It was just that Lord Perun changed the face of war forever. He was indeed the God of War and, in Orel's opinion, the only one of the Gods who could honestly claim that title in this era.

"They have more veterans than most I've seen being retrained here," Orel pointed out.

Oshu spent a few moments squinting at the Jaffa, who Dana was still shouting at. She glowered, raised her weapon, and opened fire, striking each target on the firing range in sequence.

"Do better, I dare you!" Dana bellowed and lowered her weapon after hitting the last, most distant target.

Naturally, Lord Yu's Jaffa rose to the challenge.

"Ah, using their pride as motivation. That usually works," a brief smile flickered over Oshu's face before it returned to its usual, neutrally polite expression.

Orel chose not to comment. He didn't want to create any more of a rivalry than already existed between them or the Jaffa under their command. Some of it was inevitable. Lord Yu was a wise ancient God; his armies were among the best trained and dangerous in the galaxy. That they had to learn from the warriors of a God, few had heard of until recently naturally pushed many Jaffa to prove they were better and knew better. That attitude was a constant obstacle because there were more than a few particularly hard-headed Jaffa in every group that began retraining.

The Primes watched how Lord Yu's Jaffa took firing positions and opened fire. This time, everyone was using the plasma guns like they were meant to be used. The result was obvious and devastating. There were still misses from time to time. However, almost all shots hit their targets. And most of those targets were farther away than the range one might expect a veteran Jaffa to reliably hit them with a staff weapon. The most distant ones were so far away that nothing but pure luck or divine intervention would allow you to hit them with the old weapons.

"You can learn! I am glad you won't embarrass Lord You in the future!" Dana happily announced. "Now, do it again! Prove to me and yourselves that this wasn't dumb luck!"

"I like her," Oshu noted. "She has a knack for motivating Jaffa."

They walked away from the firing range and boarded one of the first basic transport that Lord Yu put into production. It was little more than an armored box meant to facilitate the fast moving of people and material away from a battlefield. From what Orel gathered, these machines were also a test to see how their various systems worked. Once the equipment was proven reliable enough, it could be better refined before use in models meant to see combat.

That was a luxury Lord Perun simply lacked due to insufficient time for testing and the need to make their military stronger faster. On the other hand, from what Orel had seen to date, Lord Perun was still leading in designing practical combat vehicles. His God simply lacked the industry and time to do what the likes of Lord Yu could safely afford to do.

A Jaffa drove them to another section of the training ground. What should have taken more than an hour on foot was a brief trek at high speed. It was delightful, too. This vehicle had an open top, allowing the Primes to stand tall and proud while enjoying the brisk wind hitting their faces.

They disembarked at a valley section dedicated to combat training in broken terrain. Armories for Intar weaponry rose to the right, mirrored by buildings to the left holding training armor fashioned to have similar weight and balance to what troops would go into combat. Its purpose was to mitigate injuries and allow Jaffa to train for longer and harder before they needed to rest or time to heal. The armor was also resistant to Intar shots, instead of being immune to it like regular gear, making sure that Jaffa, who 'died' in training, could be up and back at it much sooner. After all, if you shot someone unprotected with Intar, it would be damn painful and knock them out. Depending on where you hit them and how often you did, the Jaffa might be out for hours or blind for a time, preventing them from training.

Legend had it that this waste of time convinced the Gods in the past to commission the training armor. They were also valuable in an emergency if there was a slave uprising to put down.

Both Primes wore proper combat armor and had their helmets in the vehicle. They put them on, becoming immune to Intar fire, and walked into the training ground. Two small armies were fighting to control a village and its surrounding area. Red energy blasts flew in all directions. Shock-grenades flashed, briefly disorienting Jaffa caught in the affected area. The training armor was enough to dampen that particular tool's effects as well, which made sense. From the education Lord Perun insisted for all his warriors, Orel knew that shock grenades and Intar worked on similar principles.

A group of Jaffa threw small black cylinders into the kill zone between the tree line they used for cover and the village that was their target. Soon, dark, oily smoke covered the ground before rising like a mist.

That was a new development that Orel would report to his Master. After all, one of his tasks here was to evaluate how training Lord Yu's army went and, more importantly, observe any innovations so they could be accounted for or replicated if practical enough.

Hundreds of Jaffa ran into the smoke. Some fired their Intars as they went, while others threw shock grenades at the buildings. The defenders called in their reinforcements, and soon the battle devolved into vicious close-quarters combat. It was this kind of battle where the Space Wolves excelled. They would have torn through the opposition quickly, allowing the attackers to take the village more cheaply, or for the defenders to hold it. It soon became clear that the Jaffa reinforcing the defenders might not be enough… and that the attackers had not committed all their forces yet. Another wave of warriors ran through the smoke, and this time, no one could stop them. They split in two, flanking the combatants in the village, and opened fire on the defenders, catching them in a deadly crossfire.

"That last stratagem was a nice touch," Orel commented.

"The attacking force is among the groups ready to complete their training and leave soon. They are supposed to be better," Despite Oshu's comment, it was clear the Prime was proud of the achievement of his Jaffa.