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Chapter 8: Rising winds
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Part 1
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"The Tok'ra? For Christ's sake, what did they do this time? Did they make Perun the Lord of the universe or something?!"
a comment by Colonel Jack O'Neill from Earth when he heard of the Tok'ra's latest exploits.
"These rumors, we're pretty sure Ba'al spreads them. There are few enough Jaffa gathering behind his banners to make it worth it.
The rumors? Well, they contradict themselves. Some claim Perun was always a Tok'ra who went rogue and used their resources to get as far as he did, as fast as he did. Others claim he is still working with the Tok'ra to take care of the remaining System Lords.
There's the good one. Perun's a Tok'ra, all right. They've been deceiving everyone since the start. Their only purpose was to one day replace the System Lords and rule the galaxy. We're pretty sure Perun's people are spreading that one.
Is it true, you ask? I have no idea. That said, you know what happened. Either the Tok'ra's plans backfired spectacularly, or they worked flawlessly. I'll let you think about that, Harry. By the way, you're paying the bill."
from an interview with a former NID operative, now working as a freelance agent
"How did we get here? The campaign against Moloc marked the rise of Perun from obscurity to someone powerful in his own right. Analysis of all available data points that this wasn't the desired outcome by either Ra, the Tok'ra, or the System Lords at large. However, it was far too late before any of them decided or was in a position to do something constructive about it. At that time, we were in no position to intervene, even if we wanted to. After all, Perun then was and still is our ally. He is one of the few Goa'uld we might be able to coexist with and the only one willing to freely trade advanced technologies and know-how.
Even if we could see the future and were in a position to do something, we wouldn't have acted against him then. Doing so now? That would be highly unwise."
from intelligence hearing on the state of the galaxy, required by the International Oversight Committee and the United Nations Security Council
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Tok'ra temporarily base
location classified
Milky Way galaxy
Per'sus managed to gather just a handful of Council members for the emergency meeting. It wasn't every day such a dangerous opportunity arose, and they were potentially in a position to take advantage of it.
"Garshaw, Thoran, I'm glad you could make it." The Council Leader greeted them with a tired smile. "Take a seat." He waved them at two nearby chairs.
This time, they met in a simple storage room stacked with crates of supplies and equipment. Per'sus didn't bother with a chair and sat on a sealed container holding food rations.
"I'm delighted that you two could make it. You control assets that might be invaluable in this situation." Per'sus began as soon as his friends took their seats.
"The impending intervention against Moloc. It was only a matter of time before the System Lords took advantage of his weakness." Thoran noted.
"This won't be a typical feeding frenzy," Garshaw warned. "My agents believe Perun has his fingers all over this one. The idea is to use an intervention to end Moloc's madness as a plausible cover to test new military equipment and tactics against a System Lord's army. Heru'ur will be in overall command, acting in Ra's name. Most of Moloc's people will see them as saviors and liberators. Ra is about to increase his power base and have another source of fanatically loyal followers."
"He is one of the few Goa'uld who understands the merits of even the illusion of mercy and benevolence. That they could be more useful than terror," Per'sus spoke in a deep voice, using his host as a conduit. "That is one of the many factors that allowed him to rule for so long. The planned intervention is a dangerous opportunity."
"It might be too late to stop the changes Perun introduces from spreading. However, we must stop him from making the Goa'uld even more dangerous. At least one assassin attempted to take him out. They failed, and Perun got them alive for interrogation. Thankfully, it wasn't our agent. They're still gathering information and bidding their time." Garshaw explained. "Perun will likely go to Moloc's Throne World when Heru'ur secures the orbitals. Both of them will be at the same time and place."
"Per'sus, you want us to strike directly at a System Lord? Perhaps even blame it on Perun?" Thoran smiled at the idea. "I like it!"
"We might go the other way around. Try to persuade Perun that Heru'ur attempted to remove him while we tried to kill him." Garshaw suggested. "It would be best if both of them die, and we can set it up to appear that they killed each other."
"Perun styles himself a god of war. Heru'ur sees himself as a peerless conqueror. Considering the Goa'uld typical arrogance, a conflict between them will be a matter of when not if. That might allow our agents to strike successfully." Thoran suggested.
"I want multiple plans in place to remove both Perun and Heru'ur. Risking our agents in their courts to see it done is acceptable. With his son and heir out of the picture, Ra's position will weaken. The System Lords will vie for influence and attempt to step fill in the power vacuum. The ensuing chaos might offer us more priceless opportunities to eliminate them. That's more than could be said for the past thousand years." Per'sus stood up. "You have my authorization to do whatever you believe is needed to see that Perun and Heru'ur die on Moloc's Throne World. Warn that monster of the coming invasion if you believe the chaos will help you hide your hand until it's time to strike true."
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Slavna Zemq
Perun's Throne World
Milky Way galaxy
Weeks of surveillance by my people finally paid off. Those precautions ensured that Ra's scientists didn't have an opportunity to kriff with me. The surveillance gathered a lot of valuable information about them, something I used to good effect in manipulating the bastards.
More importantly, I finally got a confirmation that Erin was indeed a Tok'ra, as I suspected. Her ways of communicating were deceptively simple. Instead of avoiding her security detail, which would have raised suspicions, she seduced one of Ra's boys. That much became apparent soon after their arrival, after one of my servants saw them slip away from the rest of the guards to have an affair, as she put it. The girl had the good sense to keep her wits about it, keep quiet and report.
From that point on, I ordered my people also to keep a close eye on Erin's lover. Finally, all those efforts hit the jackpot. A listening device recorded a conversation between Erin and her Tok'ra handler, who was no one else but the infamous Garshaw of Belote, the Goa'uld's most wanted.
I re-winded the recording and listened again to the relevant part.
"You're to find a way to follow Perun to Moloc's world and ensure he dies there if that's at all possible. If not, you're to persuade him Heru'ur is about to turn on him. They will inevitably clash. Use that to fuel Perun's Goa'uld paranoia."
"I'll request to observe firsthand how the new vehicles perform and require going through the Chappa'ai as soon as it's reasonably safe. I'll try to get closer to Perun and gain his confidence." Erin sounded eager. "However, I'm not sure I would be able to kill him, even if I could get close enough to strike."
"Then use a bomb or poison. We're Tok'ra, not Jaffa brutes or Goa'uld. We don't need to use blunt instruments unless we have to. Moving in the shadows and finesse has won us more victories. It won't be different this time, dear."
The recording ended, leaving me deep in thought. If the Tok'ra could kill Heru'ur at Moloc's Throne World, that might be an opportunity. Either that or I could kill him for good and blame it on them. The natural question would be, what then? Could I earn the loyalty of some of Heru'ur's Jaffa by avenging their god and vowing to hunt the Tok'ra to extinction? Could I get a few Ha'tak that way and then keep them? Would Ra allow it, or would he be too furious that his son died during an operation I suggested?
Even just having this recording and information of a Tok'ra who infiltrated Ra's people would be an invaluable boon if I brought Erin in front of Ra. That would be the most straightforward and safe option of them all.
Decisions, decisions...
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Part 2
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"By the time the 'intervention' began, practically everyone who mattered was aware that something was coming. Those with better spies were well aware of what Ra was up to. In contrast to Ba'al's failed invasion of Kali and Bastet's domains, the intervention against Moloc had many eyes on it. They were all eager to glean something they could make use of.
We made sure of that. Certain Council Members believed this scrutiny would be vital in weakening Ra's position.
Ra was aware that all eyes were on him, so he made a point to remind the System Lords why he was in charge. This combination of factors and conflicting agendas made for a perfect storm of events, which should have created the openings our agents needed."
"You created a perfect storm, all right. It was perfect for Perun to step in and take advantage."
conversation between Delek and Selmak, Tok'ra Council Members
"Jaffa! Ra has gone mad and moves against us! This is our hour! This is the test of our purity and strength I've been preparing you for! This is why we burn the weak and impure as a sacrifice! Behold my pure armies! We will smite down his Ha'tak and crush his impure Jaffa!"
from Moloc's speech broadcast throughout his realm during his announcement of mobilization against Ra
"Reinforce the borders with Ra and Heru'ur! We'll drown their pathetic invasion in blood!"
Moloc's orders to his First Prime
"Brothers, today we face a sacred task! By Perun's grace, we will face off against a monster! Moloc is an abomination who burns Jaffa children alive! Newborn girls just like your daughters and sisters! Perun has decreed that as Warrior People, we can not abide by such evil! We will purge Moloc's heretics! We will save our brothers and sisters from this madness! Are you with me?!"
"Perun! PERUN! PERUN!"
"Death to Moloc!"
Chaplain Mar'Tok, Warrior Priest of Perun, speaking in front of the First Mechanized Jaffa Regiment
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Heru'ur's flagship
Ha'tak staging area
near the border between Moloc and Heru'ur's domains
Milky Way galaxy
Heru'ur met with Ra's messenger in private. His father rarely dispatched messages this way – by using a cloaked Tel'tak to avoid detection and intercept.
"Anubis," Heru'ur's lips twitched in dark amusement at the name his father chose for his latest First Prime. Despite his half-hearted attempts, the Goa'uld could not keep his feelings entirely off his face. "You have news from Lord Ra?"
"As you should know, Lord Heru'ur, Moloc is mobilizing his forces. There is little doubt in Lord Ra's mind that the Tok'ra are responsible. They want to see our invasion meet a similar fate to Ba'al's mistake." The large, dark-skinned human sneered. "Lord Ra has decreed otherwise."
"Do go on. Let's hear what father wants us to do." Heru'ur had to fight harder to keep his sneer at bay. Ra was showing his growing complacency. As if you could decide the fate of conquest by simply declaring it! You had to win it by crushing the enemy under your armored boots! Then kick it repeatedly while he was down to make it stick for good.
"First, we must ensure the Tok'ra are unaware of what we're up to. To achieve this, Lord Ra ordered that you cease all long-range communication and monitor your fleet and staging grounds for spy signals. Second, You're to take a fleet and slowly head for Moloc's Throne World while avoiding detection. Officially, you'll be touring the border, ensuring all preparations for the invasion are going as they should be. Ra will see his ships replace those you'll take to strike at Moloc directly. Before you reach the target, we'll strike all across the border, ensuring Moloc's Ha'tak and Jaffa are in no position to reinforce his capital."
"I won't have enough Jaffa to take Moloc's Throne World. Does father want me to raze it?" Heru'ur inquired. Ra would be surprisingly ruthless, considering the pretext behind this conquest.
"No. You're to test the assault transport and secure the Chappa'ai in conjunction with Perun. He'll offer the initial reinforcements and hold the Chappa'ai while our Jaffa surge forth and crush Moloc's forces on the ground." Anubis explained the plan.
"I find myself intrigued by my father's new pet. We'll see if his ideas and toys have merit." Heru'ur's eyes shone in anticipation. If Perun's ways of war were all that Ra believed them to be, Heru'ur would make it his own. He would improve it, as befitting the Galaxy's Greatest Conqueror.
Perun himself might even make for a good servant and even commander. Despite Heru'ur's best efforts, it was hard to find reliable commanders. While it might be more fun that way, managing everything himself ensured that Heru'ur's planned conquests had to be relatively limited in scope.
If Perun proved reliable and capable enough, bringing forth a new effective way of war? If Perun could become one of his underlings? That might even allow him to try for the greatest prize in the galaxy, Ra's throne!
"I've heard father's commands and will naturally obey. I will see Moloc crushed in Ra's name."
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Slavna Zemq
Perun's Throne World
Milky Way galaxy
I wasn't sure if Erin was sandbagging in order not to make the Goa'uld any more dangerous than absolutely necessary. Or perhaps, she got the idea from the Al'kesh plasma charges, and I gave her too much credit for innovation.
It didn't matter in the end.
The critical thing was closer surveillance discovered how she intended to try and kill me. She chose to build a bomb and did it mainly in the open.
Only close scrutiny enabled my personnel to notice discrepancies in the materials Erin was working with. She was busy preparing four charges for testing. In theory, they would be useful to breach a Ha'tak's hull and allow boarding parties inside. The charges would allow assaulting a station without bothering with an airlock or opening fire to announce your presence. The first time the enemy would know you were there would be when your troopers were already storming inside.
In practice, Erin built the components for six charges and, over days, smuggled the pieces of two bombs back to her quarters, where she assembled them. Just in case, I used the Force to cloak myself and slip by Erin's Ra supplies security detail. Once inside, I ensured that those contraband charges wouldn't go off, then saw myself out by jumping out of a window.
To be on the safe side, I made a note to check on the charges again, just before the operation against Moloc was about to begin.
Meanwhile, I played the long game with Erin, allowing her to get the impression that she was getting closer to me. That was how she got to work on the charges in the first place. I ensured Erin knew I was looking into something like that, and she was quick to try and please me.
The hints she kept giving about Goa'uld treachery, she had noted while part of Ra's court, was blatant. Her attempts to smear Heru'ur in my eyes were a bit on the nose too. She was doing her best to play up my pride as a god of war and set me up to loath Heru'ur as the self-proclaimed Conqueror TM.
Then again, according to both my memories and experience, you could hit most Goa'uld with clue-by-four over the head repeatedly. They might still fail to get a clue. Any clue.
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My people intercepted and recorded two more contacts between Garshaw and Erin. Those were in order to refine the Tok'ra's plots further and finally confirm their operation was a go.
Now, the reason I let things progress up to this point instead of delivering Erin to Ra was simple. I decided the risk was worth it. It was always possible that Ra would choose not to be reasonable, and I would need to either take him out openly or run.
However, the potential prizes were worth it. Suppose the Tok'ra proved themselves vaguely competent in direct action and managed to take out Heru'ur. In that case, I might be able to snatch some of his forces present at Moloc's capital. I would also be in a position to give Ra targets to vent his spleen on and torture to his heart's content. At the same time, I would enhance my reputation and standing.
Depending on the circumstances, I might even try to take out Heru'ur myself, if practical, in case the Tok'ra proved incompetent.
At any rate, I had already committed myself to this course of action. Tonight, Ra's forces would surge over Moloc's border. Tomorrow, Heru'ur would be in a position to strike. As soon as he had the orbitals above the gate secure and assault transports committed, my forces would begin their assault as well.
It was time to make a final check on Erin's bombs to ensure they wouldn't blow up. Then I would go to the staging ground in front of the Chappa'ai, inspect, and motivate the troops.
One way or another, I would soon know if it was all worth it.
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