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Chapter 8: Rising winds

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Part 5

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Babylos

Moloc's Throne World

Milky Way galaxy

Thousands of Perun's warriors marched through the Chappa'ai, bringing in supplies. Within moments of their arrival, many of them were busy establishing military camps nearby. They were preparing for a longer war than Mel'chan expected.

The Chappa'ai shut down, allowing Heru'ur's armies to begin deploying. Perun's so-called Space Wolves and combat transports had secured the surrounding area by then. Perun used the vehicles to deploy a blocking force on the main road leading towards the nearby city, which held Moloc's stronghold. Most of the assault transports were there to bolster the firepower of the advance party.

Meanwhile, Mel'chan found himself close to Perun. The Goa'uld decided he would make a decent enough 'liaison' with Heru'ur's forces until his Lord could appoint someone else.

That was a priceless opportunity to learn how Perun worked, and naturally, Mel'chan agreed. That was how he found himself in a command tent, looking over a table with a hastily drawn map of the region.

The more he saw, the more his apprehension and respect rose. Perun took every opportunity to keep his Jaffa alive. He always ensured 'medic' parties were ready to care for and transport the wounded. It was as clear as a day that Perun's Jaffa were all loyal to him and with a good reason.

Another strange thing was that Perun listened to his Primes and often asked for their thoughts before issuing orders. As far as Mel'chan knew, most Goa'uld ordered things done and left it to the Jaffa, no matter how bloody the result.

A commotion got his attention. Mel'chan could hear the guards outside inspect something before two Jaffa brought inside a case with a communication device. As soon as they put it on the table and opened it, Perun fiddled with a device built into his armor's armguard.

The dark sphere lifted and hovered above the table. A few seconds later, it cleared, showing the visage of Lord Heru'ur, who was sitting on a throne, talking with someone out of sight.

"Perun. It's a rare pleasure." Heru'ur smiled.

Mel'chan's god sounded uncharacteristically pleased and happy.

"The pleasure is mine, Lord Heru'ur," Perun spoke with the proper reverent tone and bowed deeply. "Let me be among the first to congratulate you on your victory in space."

"It was magnificent!" Heru'ur happily crooned. "Moloc's fools stood no chance against my mighty armada!"

"I am pleased to hear it, my Lord!" Perun smiled back. "I am also happy to report that so far, the weapon testing down here proceeds as expected. The assault transports deployed by your Jaffa were critical in taking the Chappa'ai with a minimum number of wasted warriors. The combat transports are performing as expected, allowing us to rapidly shatter enemy lines and deploy faster than Moloc's Jaffa could react. I look forward to your wise leadership and the conquest of this world! We're yours to command, Lord Heru'ur!"

Mel'chan nodded in approval. From what he could see, Lord Heru'ur appeared particularly pleased with Perun.

"That's what I love to hear! We will crush Moloc's heretics and take this world in my father's name, the Supreme System Lord Ra!" Heru'ur declared grandly. "I am coming down and will lead the assault upon his capital in person. We will storm his palace together and bring that fool down! Prepare for my arrival!"

"I can't possibly wait, my Lord!" Perun sounded eager at the prospect of further victories.

The communication device went dark.

"You heard Lord Heru'ur! Muster at the landing zone and prepare a proper meeting party. Mel'chan, get your boys. You'll be acting as your Lord's honor guard! Go! We can't let Lord Heru'ur wait for us!"

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A few minutes later, Mel'chan found himself at the head of a line of his brothers, all standing like on parade. A bunch of Perun's Jaffa assembled into two blocks lining up a path in front of a makeshift landing field. Eight combat transports surrounded the area. Those, alongside the Jaffa they carried, provided additional security.

Perun and his First Prime, Stephan, joined Heru'ur's Jaffa, awaiting their god's arrival. They were just in time, proving that Perun wasn't a fool to act in haste. A wing of Death Gliders howled through the clouds, followed by more of the agile craft escorting a single Al'kesh and two trailing Tel'tak.

The bomber landed at the designated spot. The Death Gliders kept circling above like flocks of hungry birds of prey. The transports landed next, allowing groups of Horus Guard to disembark quickly and take positions near Mel'chan's warriors. Only then did the Al'kesh's door open, and their god walked down.

Four more Hours guard came out, followed by a pair of Goa'uld attendants.

Perun's Jaffa began beating their armored fists over their hearts, creating a cacophony of ringing steel.

"Lord Heru'ur, welcome to Byblos. This world eagerly awaits your conquest!" Perun hailed and bowed again. His First Prime followed suit.

"That's the kind of welcome I deserve! A proper warrior welcome! You, I like!" Heru'ur happily pointed at Perun.

"You do me a great honor, Lord Heru'ur!" Perun declared, smiling. He was about to say something else but narrowed

his eyes at one of the Heru'ur's attendants.

The man's face was blank, and he moved with stiff precision.

"You still refuse to heed my wisdom… Perhaps it's better this way."

At least that was what Mel'chan thought the Goa'uld said. He was on the other side of the Jaffa column, near the Al'kesh and far from his god.

"What are you babbling on again?" Lord Heru'ur's voice rang in the resulting silence. He seemed less than pleased at the distraction.

"Just die already!" The attendant shouted in relief.

Mel'chan's mouth opened in shock. Before anyone could react, the world ended in light and fire.

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"I was there, impotent to act when foul treachery ended my god's glorious reign. Only because of Lord Perun's benevolence and the skills of his medics do I still live to tell this tale. Only Lord Perun's quick actions prevented more senseless slaughter at the hands of the Tok'ra! He even caught one of the foul traitors responsible and dragged her in front of Ra's court for divine judgment!

"It was Lord Perun who rallied us from the brink of the abyss and led us in just vengeance against Moloc, the abomination who conspired with the Tok'ra. After that, how could we strive not to serve him?"

Prime Mel'chan, speaking about Heru'ur's assassination and its immediate aftermath

"Kriff a Hutt, this didn't quite go according to plan. Thank the Force for energy shields!"

Perun, in the aftermath of Heru'ur's assassination

"Do you see, fools!? No one can stand against my divine power! More sacrifices! We'll burn them all from the face of my world! Jaffa, attack! Bring me their leaders for the pyres!"

Moloc, after hearing about Heru'ur's assassination

"Jaffa, loyal servants of Heru'ur, the Conqueror! Tok'ra traitors struck a deadly blow at us! They dared end Heru'ur's glorious reign! With great sorrow and regret, I must inform you that a Tok'ra assassin murdered Lord Heru'ur. Even as I speak, their abomination of an ally, Moloc, is about to throw his heretics at us! Are you ready to avenge your god? Are you ready to purge this world from the taint of treason and evil?! Stand and fight beside me! Let this day herald Moloc's end! Death to the monster! Death to the Tok'ra cowards! For Heru'ur! For all your Jaffa brothers and sisters, who are suffering under Moloc's tyranny! Let us burn the heretics, purge the unclean and kill all traitors! Let us end this madness as the Supreme Lord Ra ordained!"

Perun's speech in the aftermath of Heru'ur's assassination by a Tok'ra agent

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Part 6

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Babylos

Moloc's Throne World

Milky Way galaxy

I wasn't sure if my plans came terrifyingly close to success or terribly wrong. The first warning that something was amiss came from the evident agitation I could sense radiating from one of the Heru'ur's attendants. It didn't help I was liberally using the Force to find the right way to ingratiate myself with the smug bastard, which was distracting.

The warning of danger through the Force came almost too late. I had to use telekinesis to activate my shield even as I raised my hands to do so manually. In front of me, Heru'ur had turned aside to look at his attendant instead of going for his shield.

That was a fatal mistake. The world lit up with fire. Even with my shied coming online just in time, I had to brace myself with the Force for additional protection to weather the blast wave.

Then Heru'ur's charred remains slammed into my shield with a loud crunch. Thunderclap washed over the landing field, blasting away the gathered Jaffa.

I shut my shield as soon as I was reasonably sure there was no more direct danger and knelt near Heru'ur's smoking corpse. His armor offered partial protection, so instead of shredding him to pieces, the explosion 'merely' charred most of his body. It also pulverized his bones and liquefied most of his organs. Nevertheless, I used the guise of checking on him to strike with the Force and crush whatever bits and pieces of Heru'ur remained in his mangled host. With that done, I carefully picked up the twisted form of half-melted metal and fried meat.

"Jaffa, to me!" I bellowed. "Get medics here and take care of the wounded!" With those words, I walked briskly towards the Al'kesh that brought Heru'ur down. A handful of his Horus guard who remained beside the bomber survived the explosion primarily intact. The shock wave lightly knocked them against the hull, yet they were just far enough not to suffer real damage.

They leveled their weapons at me before recognition dawned on what I was carrying.

"Is there a sarcophagus in the fleet above? Your god needs one now, if he is to have a chance!" I bellowed again.

The key to taking charge during a crisis is to appear to know what the hell you're doing and convince people to follow your lead initially. After that, it would be much easier to persuade them to keep following if you didn't kriff up.

The Horus guards lowered their weapons. I could feel their stunned disbelief and building rage.

"We need to take care of Heru'ur first. We'll hunt down the Tok'ra assassins later!" I snapped. "We need a sarcophagus right now!" I barked, layering my voice with the Force.

Finally, the Horus guards got out of their stupor. One hurried to help me with Heru'ur's corpse, while the other screamed to the pilot to open the door. We ran inside, and the door slid close behind us. I laid down the body and made a show of trying to heal him with my Kara'kesh.

The Al'kesh vibrated and shot up into the sky. I could hear frantic shouting between the pilot, Horus guards, and someone in orbit. As soon as one of them paid attention, I stopped my show and shook my head.

"Only a sarcophagus can save Heru'ur now. Get us there, now!" I snapped again, ensuring my eyes glowed in their full Goa'uld glory.

"We're moving as fast as the Al'kesh can go, Lord! We have Death Glider escort to prevent any further treachery!" One of the guards finally spoke to me in a shocked voice.

"It's too late for that, isn't it!" I sneered at him. "Talk with whoever is in charge in the Ha'tak were going to. They need to make sure there is no further sabotage or bombs! Have them inspect the sarcophagus before we get Heru'ur inside!"

The Horus guard took a shocked step back. I could feel his sheer disbelief at my suggestion.

"One of your god's attendants was Tok'ra assassin. None of us knows the depth of their betrayal or the extent of their sabotage! Do you want us to put your god in the sarcophagus only for there to be another bomb there?!" I demanded harshly.

Seeing the Jaffa's falcon-like helmet shake in denial was almost comical. He quickly returned to the cockpit and rapidly spoke with the pilot. At the same time, the other Jaffa came back to stand a silent vigil above his god's corpse.

I finally had the time to stop improvising and think about my next steps. I had to talk with Heru'ur's First Prime and try and take charge of the forces in the system. Then I would throw them at Moloc so that they could avenge their god. The Tok'ra were perfect scapegoats for this. I could likely spin this debacle as the Tok'ra entering an alliance with Moloc, the monster, further tarnishing them and uniting the Heru'ur's Jaffa in the system with a common purpose.

Breaking the news to Ra would be a tougher sell. Ideally, I would only speak with him once I had things under a semblance of control to show I was a helpful minion.

We arrived faster than I appreciated, giving me less time to think of options than I would have preferred. Well, it was time to face the music.

I gently picked up Heru'ur's body as soon as I heard the Al'kesh land.

"Lead the way! Hurry, Heru'ur doesn't have much time, if any!"

The Horus guard raced out as soon as the door opened, and I followed. I found the hangar outside cramped with worried-looking Jaffa, led by Heru'ur's First Prime. As soon as they saw their god's sorry state, they all froze, struck mute by shock.

"We don't have a whole day to waste here!" My voice thundered, echoing in the hangar. "We need a sarcophagus, now! Someone lead the way! Do you want to watch your god die for good, damn you!?"

My words broke the spell. The First Prime's eyes widened even further, and for a moment, I thought they might pop out of his skull.

"This way!" The First Prime caught himself and waved me to follow. "Make way!" He barked at his Jaffa, who reluctantly moved back, then fell in a protective circle around us. "What in the name of all the gods happened down there?!"

"One of Heru'ur's attendants blew himself up. I presume he was a Tok'ra assassin." I explained. "As you can see, he mortally wounded your god. There are many wounded Jaffa back on Byblos as well. My healers are doing what they can for them. Unfortunately, nothing less than a sarcophagus could even give a chance to Heru'ur to recover if it's at all possible. That treacherous coward blew himself up practically in Heru'ur's face. Have you checked the sarcophagus for sabotage?"

"I sent for a Goa'uld overseer to do so." The First Prime said.

"For all we know, they might be a Tok'ra as well. I'm not taking any chances. Have your Jaffa go check for bombs, now!"

"That's…" The First Prime trailed off.

He might have been about to say preposterous. But right now? When one of Heru'ur's closer attendants went out as a suicide bomber? It wasn't so far-fetched that other saboteurs might be on board, was it?

"I'll see to it, Lord!" The First Prime quickly agreed. "Re'ol, take some Jaffa and run ahead of us to secure the sarcophagus! Check for anything out of place!"

"We won't fail, Karrok!" A large, pale Jaffa nodded rapidly and sprinted away, followed by a cohort of Horus guards.

"First Prime Karrok, when we place Heru'ur in the sarcophagus, we need to secure our position here. There is likely to be more Tok'ra treachery afoot. You need to check your fleet for sabotage, and I must ensure that we contain Moloc's heretics. The current chaos is the perfect time for them to strike at us, which is something we can't allow! Ra himself gave us a mission, and we will carry it on no matter what!"

"I need to see to Lord Heru'ur's well-being first, Lord! That is more important than anything else!" Karrok shook his head in denial.

"Then do I have permission to secure this fleet and see to it that we crush Moloc while you attend Heru'ur and protect him during his recovery?" As I spoke, I subtly pushed with the Force.

Karrok, First Prime or not, was a Jaffa accustomed to following orders while asking precious few questions. He was eager to ensure Heru'ur's recovery. Influencing him with the Force was surprisingly easy.

"That's prudent, Lord!"

We finally got to the sarcophagus chamber. A Goa'uld in silk robes was busy screaming at Re'ol's Jaffa. A few Horus' guards had him cornered near a wall and aimed their staff rifles at him. The rest of them were all over the sarcophagus, looking for bombs.

"Is it all clear?" I demanded.

"There is nothing out of place we can find, Lord!" Re'ol shouted back.

"Let's hope for all our sakes that you're right, Jaffa." With those words, I walked to the sarcophagus and gently put Heru'ur's corpse inside. Barring a literal divine intervention, even days inside should do him no good. Even if he somehow emerged alive, I should win many brownie points for saving his life.

The device's heavy lit closed, and it hummed with energy. Heru'ur's Jaffa reverently took a defensive position across the chamber.

"First Prime Karrok, I need to speak with the fleet and our forces on the ground. I would appreciate it if you send a few of your Horus guards to vouch about what happened. We have no time for petty arguments. We have traitors to root out and heretics to burn out!"

"Re'ol, you're with Lord Perun." Karrok looked at the two Jaffa who traveled with me from the surface. "You saw what happened, right?"

"Yes, First Prime! It is like Lord Perun said. Ket'in blew himself up. He said something that made Lord Heru'ur turn towards him, then exploded." One of Horus' guards confirmed what happened.

"That's good enough for now. Go to the Pel'tac with Lord Perun and follow his commands as if they are my own!"

We quickly headed for the bridge. I used the time to kludge together a speech to fire up the Jaffa before throwing them at Moloc.

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"Lord Perun did more than any other Goa'uld in his place would have ever done to see that our god survived the assassination attempt. The universe is cruel. Despite Lord Perun's best efforts, when the sarcophagus finally opened, Heru'ur was dead. Even the Goa'uld magics could only partially restore his body.

Lord Perun picked us up in our darkest hour and gave us a renewed purpose – vengeance! We heard his speech and knew in our hearts to be true. Before his last, glorious battle, Heru'ur himself told us the Tok'ra meddled, warning Moloc. It was a pity that no one knew the full extent of their treachery then.

I ask you, brothers, who else would we serve now? Who else is worthy enough to follow in Heru'ur's steps?"

Karrok, First Prime of the Martyr Heru'ur

"We were all stunned and wounded. We faced the news of Heru'ur's injuries with stunned disbelief. There was only confusion and rage without direction while Perun's medics tended our wounds. Our brothers coming through the Chappa'ai had no direction either."

"Without Lord Heru'ur, without someone to take charge, we were merely a mob milling around. If Moloc's heretics struck us then and there, they could have broken us. Only Lord Perun's preparations bought us time to recover our wits. It was his speech that directed our rage. He came down, surrounded by Horus guard, to forge our hatred into a weapon and lead us towards vengeance."

Prime Mel'chan, speaking about the aftermath of Heru'ur's assassination

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