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Chapter 6: Sowing seeds

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Part 3

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Prolet

Perun's Domain

Milky Way galaxy

For an alien planet, this place looked boringly mundane. It reminded Sergeant Nicholas Gates of a vacation he went to Canada with his parents a couple of years before enlisting. For even more biting irony, he joined the military to get the hell away from the farm, and the small town nearby. Gates wanted to see the world, perhaps one day beyond it. Well, that was a dream Nicholas had. One he could achieve if he ever managed to get good enough eventually for NASA to choose him as an astronaut.

Instead, because of less than stellar skills with math, and high gee tolerance, Gates didn't get to be a pilot. Instead, he had an aptitude for skulduggery. That helped him to eventually end up as a part of the Air Force special forces, a branch of the military he didn't even know existed when enlisting.

Well, the joke was on all the math teachers and math itself. Here he was, farther than most people on Earth would ever go. Astronauts, eat your hearts!

At least that was what Gates thought after signing what looked like a ton of NDAs, a literal one at that, and receiving a briefing on the Stargate Program.

It was too bad no one told him why he got read into the program and volunteered for one of the first off-world assignments. It wasn't his experience in the military, though it was a bonus. It was all he did on the farm, including working with and repairing tractors and other equipment.

Gates looked around critically. There was a quite large garage the locals were still busy building. Fortunately, there was enough space to put five tractors and all kinds of assorted agricultural equipment under a roof. In theory, rain shouldn't be an issue outside of permanent long-term exposure. Everything in front of the Sergeant would be expected to get muddy, otherwise dirty, and get regular rain showers. Nevertheless, he wasn't so sure about the new electric motors. To the best of his knowledge, those got kludged together in a hurry to get the first batch to trade for alien stuff ready.

As far as the locals went, they roughly appeared to be from Mediterranean stock, though as far as names and culture went, it was mostly Slavic. Then again, considering that aliens had taken their ancestors who knew how many thousands of years ago, any similarities were going to be on the surface level, Nicholas guessed.

On the bright side, there were a few of the local military, the Jaffa, who spoke kind of understandable English. Even better, the woman, well, the alien parasite, or symbiote in charge of the area, was fluent, so that was better than it could have been.

Gates looked away from the garage under construction and at the small village nearby. There were still a few primitive huts left, though it was obvious they wouldn't be there for much longer. A large work party was busy rebuilding the place, with another even making paved roads leading both to the Stargate, and towards the nearby fields. Those parties had the first signs of alien technology Gates saw besides the gate itself – they had simple hovering sleds they used to transport building materials. Besides that and the equipment of the few local soldiers, everything was quite primitive.

That was why they were here in the first place – to help an alien warlord with a vision to uplift his subjects. That by itself was a worthy goal. It was just too bad that it was in the service of a dictator.

"Sergeant Gates, was it?" The alien woman in charge of the planet, Lyda, startled him.

Nicholas didn't even hear her sashay near him, while he was deep in thought. The last time he saw her, Lyda was near the gate, overseeing the transport of a bunch of tractors and other equipment to another alien world.

"That's me, Ma'am. How can I help you?" Gates asked politely.

"When will you be ready to begin teaching the villagers how to use your equipment? We have a group of them who showed a good aptitude in learning ready to study how to maintain it as well." The woman spoke in a smoky voice.

"We can begin teaching them how to work the tractors and the other assorted gear as soon as they assemble. For maintenance, perhaps tomorrow afternoon, when the engineering team arrives with the tools and spares. You did request that the first team moved to begin training people on your primary agricultural world."

"That's correct. Until we get more free hands to work here and have the infrastructure to support them ready, there's just this village on the whole planet."

"I can see that." Gates agreed. Nearby, a very obvious aqueduct could have come straight out of ancient Rome. It delivered a steady stream of water towards what might be a concrete storage tank. It was attached to a fountain for use by the whole village. In the distance, another aqueduct fed a large new building with smoking chimneys. The Sergeant was ready to bet that it was a communal bath.

Both were far from something he would personally use if he had a better alternative, however it appeared to be a great improvement for the locals. The few of them he saw so far looked cheerful and in high spirits, instead of beaten down serfs or something.

That said, this was possibly a variant of a Potemkin village. Gates wouldn't know until he knew the language and could freely talk with the locals. That would certainly help. Realistically, he would get a better picture when the other teams returned and reported what was happening in one of Perun's more developed worlds. However, one of his primary tasks here was to keep his eyes, and ears open for useful intelligence, so he did as ordered.

"That's great. Are we going to begin here, or at one of the fields?"

"We, Ma'am?" Gates inquired.

"I'll be acting as a translator and help explain any technical terms in a way that will be useful to the villagers. Sadly, despite our Lord's best efforts their education still leaves a lot to be desired." Lyda grimaced. "It's a great waste of resources."

That wasn't how Gates would have put it, but it was nevertheless true. He had already seen the fields and what the locals had to work with as a matter of course. With proper tools, they could greatly expand the ground they could work. Alternatively, only a few of them would need to work in the existing fields, and reliably get much greater output, freeing many people to do other work.

Lyda spoke to a nearby Jaffa, who raised a hand and touched a small device attached to his right cheek. He spoke in turn. A few moments later, the Sergeant could hear a commotion from the far end of the village.

Gates saw a few Jaffa shouting to the locals, while another group appeared from behind the presumed bath, escorting a small bunch of children and teens. Well, five Jaffa, possibly, for there was a man in a robe and a staff walking behind that last group.

"Those will be some of the people learning to maintain your machines," Lyda explained. "The relatives of a few of them weren't very happy that those children proved smart enough to earn better education. They were even less happy that the brightest of them can earn a way out of the life as a farmer." The woman's expression hardened. "Two brothers, in particular, were stuck in the past and angry that their daughter and a younger sister were 'too smart for their own good."

"What happened to them?" Gates fished for more information.

"They tried to straighten up the youngsters by beating them, so they would be quiet and obedient. Lord Perun decreed that any such attempts to waste his human resources should be punished accordingly. We sentenced the men in question to hard labor in a mine, and the women are now under Lord Perun's protection."

A smart and cunning dictator then. One who went out of his way to earn the loyalty of useful people in his nation. The more Gates learned about this Perun, the warier he was of the man. He hoped that his superiors back home knew what they were dealing with.

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A few hours of dry explanation, followed by a quick demonstration of a tractor in action on the closest field, was all it took. The villagers were gleeful at the great reduction of back-breaking labor coming their way.

Lyda was giddy for another reason – this was yet another proof that Lord Perun's Divine vision worked wonders! She could already imagine how much ground the villagers could work when they learned to utilize Earth's equipment properly. Further, this demonstration proved how useful the Humans of Earth would be once they fully joined Lord Perun's domain. The possibilities Lyda could already see were endless, and she knew for a fact that she was only scratching the surface of what the future could offer!

News of the wild success of the tractors and Earth's technical detail on Pobeda only reinforced Lyda's belief.

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Part 4

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Ha'tak

above Slavna Zemq

Perun's domain

Milky Way galaxy

In the relative security of my single warship, I could get a brief respite from dealing with Ra's "help". Despite my demonstration against the most arrogant imbecile among them, they were still more interested in being at each other throats than working on the tasks at hand. That, spying on each other and trying to sabotage the work of their rivals. They also wasted time trying to figure out what useful data I had for stealing.

Naturally, by now, I made sure anything particularly sensitive was at my knock-off Stargate program site. That way, those plans and projects I didn't want to be shared anytime soon were relatively safe.

It was frustrating that Nerus was the most useful of the bunch. I had to choose between brainwashing him to be loyal and not to kriff with my projects. Thus, I didn't have the time to subvert the other potential Tok'ra in my realm.

Currently, Ra's scientists were busy arguing on the merits of a simple design – an armored box, with the simple gravity engine and the control systems of a Death Glider. The only reason the future Goa'uld APC didn't use more fighter components was that we wanted them cheap. The engine was the most expensive part of the Death Glider anyway.

Those things weren't bad fighters because of the engines, or the control systems. Both were very capable. The basic weaponry, lack of shields, and basic sensors held them back. When I could give them rapid-fire guns, missiles, better defenses, and sensors, the Death Gliders would become a different kind of beast.

I finally reached the bridge. There I had to wait for the security on duty to confirm I wasn't an impostor and walked inside. Those were good Jaffa who needed a reward for due diligence.

"My Lord!" Prime Iasen looked and felt both startled and ecstatic at my unscheduled visit. "We're at your service!"

The compartment was chock-full with Jaffa, many of them on the younger side. They all wore Black Legion uniforms and had stone tablets in hand, taking notes.

"I see you take training your Legion seriously. Good work. Now take a break and clear the bridge. I need to speak with Ra."

"Jaffa Kree! Go to the mess and take a break! Glory to Perun!" Iasen barked.

"Glory to Perun!" Thirty throats screamed as one.

The strength of their devotion was almost intoxicating.

"Good, good." I nodded with a smile like a stereotypical villain.

When I was finally alone on the bridge, I activated the long-range communications system, using encryption developed by Nerus. It was one he swore he hadn't shared yet and for what it was worth, he believed it. One of Ra's guards acted as a courier. He brought the encryption key to the Supreme System Lord, alongside a request for a chat, and certain assets to help me strike at the Tollan.

Soon, a hologram formed in the center of the bridge, showing three different faces. I had seen only Ra in person.

Number two was a dark-skinned man with a handful of dreadlocks framing his face, and wearing a lot of gold in solid simple jewelry, even for a Goa'uld.

Number three was a man wearing a simple silk shirt. He had short brown hair and a forgettable face – not a host that most Goa'uld would even think about choosing unless it was an emergency.

"Lord Perun, it seems you're already hard at work doing your tasks." Ra smiled benevolently. "I heard your request and in my infinite wisdom might be willing to allow it. Do elaborate. I'm certain you know who Olokun is. And this is, of course, Selket, whose Ashrak's services you desire." Ra made sure there were no mistakes about who was who.

That by itself was a good etiquette when Goa'uld could change hosts like clothes if they so desired.

"My Lords." I bowed my head in apparent submission. "Before formulating a plan for dealing with the Tollan once and for all, I do need fresh intelligence to act upon. Ideally, we would be able to find details about their defenses and plan accordingly to cripple them before they could react. Further, it would prove useful if we can take as much of their advanced technology as our own, as possible. That is why we need to know which facilities not to obliterate through orbital fire when the time for it comes."

"I like the general idea, which is why we're having this conversation." Ra happily explained. "What do you intend for an Ashrak to do, if I contract one in your name?"

"Supreme Lord, I lack first-hand experience with the Tollan. Further, it has been some time since a Goa'uld tangled with the Tollan, and got a few of their Ha'tak blown out of space. I need an experienced and effective agent to gather fresh intelligence and relay it. I am aware that considering the Tollan technology, directly infiltrating their world is going to be likely a waste of a valuable asset. Instead, I propose an Ashrak infiltrates the other populated world in their system. The Tollan would inevitably have close links with those people, which is something we are going to exploit for all its worth."

"I like this!" Ra exclaimed. "That's in no small part, because Olokun here, who fancies himself a master of spies, lacks anything of consequence to add to our current knowledge about the Tollan. That is why he's going to dispatch some of his spies to their system as well. Selket, I want one of your best Ashrak ready for briefing and deployment. They'll be working for Perun here, and this time only, I'll pay for it." Ra smiled at me. "If you succeed in ridding us of the Tollan, there will be no need to repay my benevolent generosity."

"I understand perfectly, Supreme Lord."

"Splendid! You two know what to do." Ra addressed the other System Lords.

Within moments, their images vanished, replaced by a larger and crispier view of Ra himself.

"Now, brief me on the other task you're working on for me," Ra ordered in a placid tone.

"We have the plans for what I call a proof of concept. It is a basic design right now – an armored box with the control systems of a Death Glider and basic gravitic propulsion. When the scientists available manage to finalize it, we'll build a prototype and test how it handles. We need to know if it is fast enough, sufficiently protected from enemy fire and if it can carry a sufficient number of Jaffa with their equipment. If the prototype passes muster, we'll further refine and upgrade it, being careful to keep it as effective and cheap as practical."

"That's what I like to hear! Get it done and inform me of the results!" Ra ordered. "Options for making my Jaffa deadlier?"

"Better weapons, armor, and training." I carefully choose the order I put these. "However, for the time being, the scientists I have to work with are too busy trying to backstab each other and working on the combat transport design. They have issues with properly focusing on the other available projects. With them being on loan from you, because of your benevolence, Supreme Lord, there are hard limits on how I could motivate them. Further, due to his current condition, Nerus is less effective than he should be. Unless he's overrated, he'll either need a less compromised host, or a better motivation, which are sadly counter-productive."

After all, I couldn't go around breaking Ra's toys without an excellent reason.

"How so?" Ra smirked and asked in an amused tone.

"Putting him on a strict diet and exercise regiment in a new host will be much less effective as a motivation. It doesn't help that he would genuinely rather be tortured than experience those."

"Get me a working combat transport prototype. In exchange, I will consider shifting some more assets your way to see what you can achieve in my name," Ra ordered and cut off the connection.

Well, with a bit of luck, the Ashrak's presence would ensure I buy myself a lot more time and a lot of credit in crippling the Tollan. If the timeline progressed as I vaguely recalled because their neighbors were supposed to blow up their planet. Who knew, this time around, the Ashrak might be responsible for it…

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