Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Star Wars, or Stargate movies, TV shows, games, books, or comics. This story features elements inspired by Warhammer 40K. They all belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not for sale or rent.


Chapter 22: Disclosure

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Part 2

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11 January 1997
The United Nations building, New York
The United States, Earth
Milky Way Galaxy

"Lady Lyda, I am afraid I must remind you that this is a diplomatic forum, where a certain amount of tact is required," The US representative looked pained as he said that.

Jack groaned. So much for the idea that people heard and understood what he was telling them. O'Neill could see Henry sitting on a chair behind the US ambassador to the UN. His face was pinched, and he looked imploringly at Jack to try to salvage the situation.

"I think there is indeed a misunderstanding here, Ambassador," Jack interjected.

Lyda tilted her head towards him just enough for him to see her glowing eyes.

"A misunderstanding?" Lyda's voice sounded light and irrelevant, very much human. "That is one way to put it, Colonel," Her voice suddenly shifted into the deep, resonant tone of a Goa'uld talking. "This is not a discussion between equals. My Lord has been extremely generous towards this world. Earth remains intact only because of Lord Perun's benevolence and wisdom. Any other Goa'uld would have turned your cities to ash, destroyed your civilization, and erased your culture before enslaving the scattered survivors."

All Jack could hear at that proclamation was shocked gasps and sharply sucked breaths.

"That is the fate you can look forward to if my Lord doesn't emerge powerful enough from the inevitable war your bumbling in the dark caused. Then this world will burn," Lyda declared. She leaned back in her chair, and her haughty expression slipped back in place, erasing any hint of anger she might feel. "If you haven't figured it out yet, despite my Lord's explicit warnings, that is the proper protocol when a world like yours meets the Goa'uld. It is to be smitten from orbit for the temerity of not being primitive enough as befits human slaves," Lyda twisted the knife using a sweet, poisonous voice.

Shocked whispers spread throughout the chamber. Here and there, Jack could see outraged expressions on the faces of the odd diplomat or politician. The rest had the smarts to appear shaken by Lyda's blunt statements.

"I await your questions, humans. You need to be clearly educated on your world's place in the galaxy," Lyda continued when no one spoke aloud.

"Lady, threats won't get you far," the Chinese ambassador dared address Lyda.

An older man sitting behind him stirred. A gnarled arm shot up, grabbing the ambassador by the hand, and dragged him with its chair back to furiously whisper something in his ear.

"Ah. China. Lord Yu would be displeased when he discovers how far his former realm on Earth has fallen," there was no mistaking the mocking tone Lyda used for anything else.

"Lord Yu?" The older Chinese man asked, in heavily accented English.

"His Celestial Wisdom, the Immortal Emperor, Yu-huang Shang Ti," Lyda uttered each word with careful precision and intonation in a way only a native speaker could. "He is one of the most powerful System Lords. My Lord Perun holds the Jade Emperor in the highest esteem possible. Our mutual trade deals and military training programs greatly benefit Lord Perun's realm."

The Chinese delegation looked particularly disturbed at that revelation. Jack could imagine why. There weren't many countries on Earth that were that old and claimed such ancient glories. Even with the CCP in charge for decades, it wasn't a great secret that domestically, they at least in part got their legitimacy by claiming the so-called Mandate of Heaven. Well, that, secret police and the military to oppress anyone who disagreed.

"What's next? Sun Tzu is a Goa'uld too?" Someone muttered just loud enough to be heard.

"Sun Tzu was a favored adviser, bodyguard, and Prime of his Celestial Wisdom. The story of their friendship and achievements together is legendary. The latest Clone of Sun Tzu is one of the Jade Emeperor's most trusted commanders," Lyda explained.

Jack was sure she had fun shocking everyone.

"Can we focus on more immediately relevant topics, like the war you and your Lord have spoken of, Lady Lyda?" Henry broke protocol and spoke, ignoring all the ambassadors representing their countries on the Security Council.

"You tend to ask relevant questions, Henry," Lyda's words were soft like honey, further reinforcing Jack's conviction that she was fucking with everyone.

Unfortunately, everything she was telling people was the grave truth they had to get through their thick skulls.

"I am here to answer relevant questions, so you won't be wasting my Lord's time when he arrives," Lyda frowned, 'Or worse, test his patience. Doing so would be unwise."

"What does Ra's death mean for Earth, my Lady?" The French ambassador inquired, making a show of bowing his head.

"My Lord Perun was a vassal directly sworn to the Supreme System Lord Ra. Ra exalted my Lord with gifts, pitting him against his former liege, Lady Kali. With Ra gone, it is only a matter of time before Lady Kali suspects the truth and moves to destroy the largest internal threat within her domain, my Lord Perun. While a war for Ra's throne is now inevitable, your stumbling on Abydos put my Lord in a perilous position. He now must be the one who starts the war by striking at Lady Kali first before she could mobilize her fleets and armies," Lyda glowered at the assembled politicians.

"Everyone is aware of my Lord's close working relationship with Ra. Through striking at Lady Kali, it would be clear that my Lord believes his liege is dead. Due to his work for the Supreme System Lord, my Lord Perun had more regular access to Ra than any of the System Lords. The conclusion all System Lords will reach is obvious, and then the galaxy will burn," Lyda explained. "It was because of your foolishness and arrogance that my Lord will have to start the war that will consume the whole galaxy. Your world will serve. It will pull its weight and be useful in the conflagration to come," Lyda paused, giving the assembled politicians time to digest her words. "When my Lord arrives, he will bring you orders. And you will do your best to fulfill them."

"Theoretically speaking, if we can not do what Lord Perun requires?" The British representative asked.

"I dislike repeating myself. If you fail to sufficiently support my Lord, your world will burn. You put my Lord in an impossible position. For your own sake, you will do your utmost to aid him in prospering during the war to come. My Lord Perun must not only endure the coming war for your world to survive. He must emerge from it in a powerful enough position to safeguard your world."


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Part 3

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Federal agents detained Kelly's Patriots militia members attempting to bring heavy weapons into New York City. FBI spokesman confirmed that among the seized weaponry were Stinger anti-air missiles and Soviet-made RPG-7 anti-tank rockets.

The US government is likely to declare Kelly's Patriots a terrorist organization and act accordingly soon, government sources say.

CNN

The British government is facing a vote of no confidence tomorrow. In a blistering speech in front of Parliament, opposition leader Hector Dudley accused the Prime Minister in particular and his government in general of endangering the lives of every single British citizen. Accusations of criminal recklessness for authorizing British personnel to participate in the Abydos Expedition.

BBC

Italian Interior Minister Juliani has been placed under house arrest, awaiting trial for disclosing state secrets.

Euronews

Germany is the second EU nation with a government facing a vote of no confidence over its involvement with the Abydos Expedition.

Associated Press

The situation in Chicago has stabilized. No engagements between National Guard forces and law enforcement against local gangs have been reported for the past twelve hours. During a press conference early in the afternoon, Police Commissioner Stark shed light on the situation. The fighting began after a National Guard unit had run into a shootout between members of the two largest gangs in the city. Attempts to restore order in the aftermath were met with violence by disorganized gang members, resulting in the chaos gripping parts of the city for the past few days.

USA Today

The snowstorms gripping Russia are abating and expected to cease in the next two days. Experts expect an imminent resumption of hostilities between government and oligarch forces. The obvious target for the Russian military is St. Petersburg, where thousands of mercenaries aligned with the League have been digging in for the past two weeks.

The Russian High Command: STAVKA has deployed multiple rifle-motor divisions to encircle the city. However, military experts are sure that the actual assault would be carried out by Russian airborne regiments and various Spetsnaz units.

CNN

Alien nobility met with the UN Security Council yesterday in a closed session. What was discussed remains classified for the time being. Despite that, government sources who wish to remain anonymous claim that the meetings didn't have a promising conclusion.

New York Times


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12 January 1997

The United Nations building, New York
The United States, Earth
Milky Way Galaxy

Henry sat beside his immediate boss, the Secretary of State, Bob Harrison, nursing one coffee too many. By now, Hayes was on his last legs, yet the work that needed doing had no end in sight. Yesterday's meeting with Lady Lyda wasn't as disastrous as he feared it might be. Yet, the consequences were far-reaching, and virtually all of them made his work harder.

The diplomats gathered for this meeting didn't help manners. They could, in theory, speak for their heads of state. In practice, any agreement they might reach today was subject to votes and approval by too many governments. Realistically, nothing decided today could be relied on being approved by the time Perun arrived.

Earth's politics moved at the speed of democracy, and that could be too damn slow even when a single government was involved. Here and now, there were over thirty of them, representing the bulk of Earth's population and economic and industrial might. If they agreed on anything, they could make it stick.

In theory, anyway.

Tomorrow or next week, the people who authorized these diplomats to speak for them and their countries might not be in power.

"He can't force us to fight a war for him. Doing so goes against our constitution and everything our society has been trying to achieve for decades!" The Japanese representative whined.

Hayes didn't roll his eyes, though it was hard. Japan was more than eager to trade with Perun and benefit from joint research, as long as they didn't have to send more troops to die. That was their government's official stance anyway. However, some factions in it would love to use the current situation to change the constitution and push Japan into a different trajectory. Then there were the nationalists. Fortunately, those were a relative minority. Considering Japan's party system, Hayes didn't expect massive policy changes even if the government changed due to popular demand.

He couldn't say the same for the UK or Germany. The Italian government was about to fall as well. However, that was unsurprising and would have likely happened soon, even without disclosure.

Despite all the rioting, the French weren't looking at the new Parliament, and President Aubert appeared to be secure in his current position. The cynic in Harry was convinced that this was only because no one else wanted to deal with this mess.

Henry knew this was an untenable state of affairs, and Perun's arrival would make the situation worse.

"There is one single question we must answer right now," Harrison finally got everyone on the same page, hopefully.

Henry noticed he had missed a bit of the discussion, a clear sign he needed a few hours of sleep, like right now.

"Are we going to present a united front to Perun, or should we just not bother with this meeting and wait for his arrival?" The Secretary of State asked.

Bob earned himself a lot of sullen looks with that inquiry.

"Can he afford to force us to do his bidding while preparing for a war?" The Indian representative asked.

"Is your country volunteering to test his patience when he arrives?" Hayes spoke out of turn again. Bob gave him a warning look, though he didn't try to smooth his outburst over.

"Doesn't he need us intact to get him what he needs? You've met him, Mr. Hayes." The Italian representative asked.

"Perun has been very accommodating so far. At least that was the case before Abydos," Henry admitted. "However, I believe he was operating under the assumption he had a lot of time to uplift his realm and prepare for any eventualities," Hayes pointed out. "Perun is now rapidly running out of time, and the same is true for us."

"We can't just do whatever he demands. Our people won't accept it," The German ambassador pointed out.

That was technically a huge issue. There were hard limits to what any of them could do. Those limits might be softer for the autocratic states, though they were very real over there, too. At the same time, laws weren't suicide pacts. However, that wasn't something Henry wanted to see put to the test when they had an angry alien monarch in the equation.

"We will negotiate. Nevertheless, what is feasible or not might be for our next government to decide," The Brit said. "For what's worth it, the Prime Minister supports an attempt to present a united front. If nothing else, we might get a better deal that way. If we negotiate together, we offer Perun the opportunity to save precious time. Otherwise, he will have to talk with many governments, and if he has to make a demonstration, what we can practically offer might be less than otherwise. Panicking people running for the hills aren't building things after all."

"My government agrees to present a united front," The Russian representative offered, soon followed by the Chinese member of the politburo who replaced their ambassador to the UN until a replacement could arrive.

It took a lot of bickering and more than a few concessions. However, they somehow got a provisional agreement by the time the meeting was over. It was another question if it would last until Perun arrived, or better yet, said arrival.


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Part 4

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Alien Emperor dead! Earth is about to be dragged into an alien civil war for the throne of a galactic empire!

Daily Mail

Over the past few days, more information gradually became available on the situation across the galaxy and Earth's place in the cosmos. We are at the far end of the personal realm of Ra, Supreme System Lord, who was recently assassinated. This guarantees a civil war for his throne after Ra's only heir, Heru'ur, was assassinated a few months back. In the coming war, some of the most powerful among Ra's vassals would clash over his territory to gain an advantage in the conflict. This will put Earth in imminent danger of discovery and destruction…

Associated Press

Shock and disbelief meet the news of an inevitable galactic war. Earth's place in the conflict remains uncertain!

BBC

On Abydos, Lord Perun fought off forces loyal to his dead liege Ra to prevent the discovery and destruction of Earth. When he arrives within the next two weeks, government officials expect he will demand support for Ra's empty throne in the coming conflict!

CNN

Anti-war protests worldwide clash with local security forces. Many people are furious and terrified at the prospect of an alien war spilling on Earth. Pacifists and anti-war activists demand that Earth's governments not participate in a war that is not ours to fight.

BBC World News


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14 January 1997
St. Petersburg's outskirts, Russian Federation
Earth
Milky Way Galaxy

Chekov kept glancing at a blank-faced FSB goon that the Kremlin shoved down his throat. He knew those spooks had been busy doing their underhanded, dirty job within St. Petersburg for the past few weeks. Now it was time to see if it was all a waste of time or, worse, a trap.
It was an hour before sunrise. Low gray clouds ensured that outside was pitch black, thus ideal for Spetsnaz groups to infiltrate enemy-held positions. If the FSB man was correct, then the special forces Chekov could outfit with night-vision equipment would be able to slip right through a hole in the enemy's defenses. They could designate rebel positions for air strikes, though coming in to execute them in this weather would suck for both the pilots and their planes.

Still, no matter how dangerous, this gambit was Chekov's best bet to crack the defenses without turning large parts of the city into hollowed-out ruins. If his first strike was successful enough, there was a chance that the mercenaries would break. Their morale couldn't be high after the truth about Gerasimov came out.

The issue there was simple – for the time being, the oligarchs could promise their fighters more than the government could currently offer. That was especially true if the bastards could somehow take out the government in Moscow. That was something Chekov couldn't allow to happen. He knew both the Kremlin and NATO suspected snakes among the oligarchs. If those traitors came close to winning, all bets were off. A NATO intervention might be a realistic prospect then, and through it, a wider war no one could afford to fight now.

For Chekov, failure wasn't an option, and not just because his future depended on success. The whole world was watching, and now, everything hung upon the word of FSB.

"Bear, Smerch One. Objective Alpha secure. The enemy positions in the area are abandoned. We have heavy weapons just sitting here. I am leaving rear guard and proceeding to Beta."

"Bear, Shadow One. Objective Thorn secure. No enemy in sight. We will hold until reinforced."

"Bear, Wolf One. We are in position. No enemy contact."

The FSB bastard looked damn smug at those reports. Chekov ignored him, checked his watch, and waited. The airborne elements would be in missile range from the mercenaries' positions at dawn. They would need a clear path into the city to facilitate the movement of men and material.


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Minutes before dawn, two squadrons of Su-25 approached St. Petersburg. Their pilots were among the best the Russian Air Force had left. They had spent the past week catching up on flight hours, practicing attack runs under various conditions. The planes they flew were the newest and best maintained, gathered from squadrons all over the country. Mechanics tore three nearly new Su-25s for spare parts to mitigate the possibility of technical issues as much as possible.

In the same vein, the aircraft's weapons were painstakingly taken apart and rebuilt, ensuring they should work as advertised.

The morning sun was a dull glow on the horizon, nearly invisible behind a curtain of thick, gray clouds.

"Predator One to all Predator elements, we are weapons free. We will execute the first attack run," The squadron leader finally broke radio silence after receiving the 'go ahead' order.

The first wave of Su-25 descended under the clouds, and their targeting computers began scanning for the silent song of laser designators. The fighters spread, each going for their assigned sector.

The twenty-marked building received the attention of the incoming aircraft. Hardpoints released laser-guided missiles, which streaked towards their targets. Rocket engines roared, shattering the sound barrier. At this range, anyone at the target locations barely had time to hear the approaching weapons before they slammed through roofs or walls. Three missiles even managed to slip through windows before detonating.

Buildings shook. Glass shattered across whole districts. Four of the older residential buildings occupied by the mercenaries couldn't survive the onslaught, collapsing upon themselves. The rest shook as focused explosions shattered walls and floors, turning everything in their path into shrapnel that shredded people and furniture alike.

At the same time, airborne battalions, each led by a tank platoon, raced into the city, aiming to secure major transport arteries. The second echelon burst through the opening in the mercenary positions. It turned around, attempting to encircle and roll up the flanks of the oligarch forces holding St. Petersburg's suburbs.