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Chapter 11: Storm Front
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Part 1
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Goa'uld spy vessel
dark space in the vicinity of the Tollan system
Milky Way galaxy
Sitting stuck into a Tel'tak for months on end wasn't glamorous, much less pleasant. It was even duller than usual when you were stuck in a cloaked vessel in deep space outside a system.
However, it was a relatively safe job unless you messed up or your luck ran out. As far as Tomek was concerned, he preferred this kind of life to the constant backstabbing intrigues of all Goa'uld courts. Perhaps not Yu's, but you practically had to be raised from a child in his domain to be trusted with anything but minor tasks.
When all was said and done, boredom was safe. It was too bad that Tomek had to risk his hide to insert an Ashrak of all people a few months ago! Granted, he didn't have to commit suicide by braving Tollana's defenses, but getting deep into the system and landing on the other inhabited world was bad enough. There were always Tollan trade vessels coming or going, and Tomek didn't trust his cloak near their sensors. It was either miracle or Tollan's arrogance that allowed his predecessors to insert a few satellites in the outer asteroid belt. They helped monitor what was going on deeper into the system. Even with the most advanced subspace sensors someone could shove into a Tel'tak's hull, Tomek could only get a vague, distorted picture.
In truth, he was in place to gather information from the satellites, transmit it to Selket, and then amuse himself by trying to find something useful buried in the data.
The most exciting developments as of late concerned a technology transfer from the Tollan to their less developed neighbors. That by itself was concerning. If the trend continued, the Goa'uld would have two developed dangerous worlds to deal with, not only the Tollan. Tomek guessed this was why he had to insert an Ashrak in the first place.
Unless this trend changed, the System Lords might have to get up from their fancy thrones and stomach the fleet losses needed to take out the Tollan. Tomek grimaced at the thought. Such a bloodbath would undoubtedly shake the balance of power and might even end the long relative peace he had known since the first time he got a host.
Consequently, Tomek had to take his tedious duties particularly seriously, which made going over all the data even more boring than usual. Despite all that, the Goa'uld spy didn't appreciate his boredom coming to a screeching halt.
His control panel lit up with warning lights. The spy satellites just did an emergency dump of data. The ship's sensors triggered an alarm too. Tomek dropped the stone tablet he was reading from and jumped off the bed he had added at the back of the cockpit.
The first thing the Goa'uld did was to shut down the ear-piercing alarms. Next, he called up the sensor feed, which got him startled.
"That can't be right…." Tomek muttered to himself and ran a diagnostic. While the program ran, he checked up on the dump from the cloaked satellites. They showed the same data from much closer and at a higher resolution.
Someone just blew up Sarita! The sheer amount of enriched naquadah explosives needed to do something like that boggled the mind!
Tomek's mind spun with possibilities while he compiled all the new data and prepared to transmit it to Selket's court. The explosion couldn't be the Ashrak in action, could it? What were among the latest technological transfers the Tollan offered? Wasn't there a new power source? That thing couldn't be powerful enough to blow up a planet if it went wrong, could it? If it was, then it was no wonder those human madmen even gave the System Lords a pause!
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Ra's Palace
Thinis
Ra's Throne World
Milky Way galaxy
For the past few weeks, Ra had been busier than at any time in the previous centuries. With Heru'ur gone, he had to consolidate his hold on over a hundred of Moloc's more critical worlds and ensure proper control of his son's domain. Ra had to order his armies to take direct control of certain more valuable industrial worlds to ensure they would not suffer damage. At the same time, his spawn prepared to purge each other to prove who might be a worthy heir. Sadly, from what his agents reported, most were acting just like the short-sighted fools they were. Perhaps it was time to recall Ma'at, get a new generation of spawn, and this time train a proper heir?
Ra shoved the stone tablet holding reports from Moloc's former domain and stood up. He walked to the back wall of his office. He pressed a button, and the windows' armored shutters rose. Ra could see frost-capped mountains in the distance, with the sun slowly rising above the beaks. Below them, his capital stretched as far as his host's eyes could see. The chanting of priests and the cries of merchants mixed up, washing over the citadel. Ra could see solid blocks of Jaffa marching up and down the main roads of the city, either going out to train with their new weapons or returning to their barracks. The city guard, still outfitted with older equipment, moved in small groups, ensuring there would be no disorder in his capital.
Pyramids, acting as both temples and landing pads for ships, shimmered with gold. Reflected golden light illuminated the streets and ensured that there would be precious little shadows in the domain of the Sun God during the day.
In the nearby government buildings, thousands of Overseers, both Goa'uld and trusted humans Ra had raised since childhood, toiled to ensure his realm ran like a carefully crafted piece of art. They were busier than ever, which meant more work for him.
There was no escaping that work. Besides, Ra knew precisely who to blame. His torturers exceeded Ra's expectations in turning Moloc into a masterpiece of an example. The same was true for that treacherous snake Erin. While she did break, it was too late to use the information by the time she spilled everything she knew of the Tok'ra. All Ra's warriors could find were collapsed abandoned bases. There were thousands of slaves busy digging up those places, just in case the Tok'ra got careless and left behind something of use.
Ra remained at the windows, enjoying the sun for some time, before returning to his desk and the endless work awaiting him. He opened the most recent report from Byblos. He began reading when Anubis burst into the office without properly announcing himself.
"Supreme Lord!" The First Prime exclaimed with a broad smile on his face. "I bring you good news, my Lord!"
Ra's irritation froze at that announcement. He could use some good news.
"News from the spies observing the Tollan, my Lord! A huge explosion destroyed Sarita, the other inhabited world in the Tollan system! Lord Selket is taking credit. According to his message, he expect that the Tollan home world might become uninhabitable over the next year as a side effect!"
"The Ashrak, right?" Ra asked and laughed merrily after Anubis had confirmed it. "Please remind me, whose idea was to send an Ashrak to gather intelligence and strike at the Tollan when feasible? I don't recall Selket coming up with the idea. I also remember paying for that Ashrak's services."
"You are as always, right, my Lord!" Anubis bowed.
What happened in the Tollan system was the news Ra needed to make up his day. It opened all kinds of delightful possibilities. A direct strike at the Tollan might become feasible to remove them as a threat once and for all. Ra had to bide his time and strike when they became weak enough.
Taking credit for this delightful development was another thing to consider. Selket, daring to pronounce himself as the one responsible, wouldn't do. Ra was the one who paid the high rate for a long-term Ashrak assignment. Using such an agent against the Tollan certainly wasn't Selket's idea. Ra decided that he would deny Selket recognition because of this arrogant presumption. He would take most of the credit and share a part of it with Perun. Doing so would not only bind Perun closer to Ra, but it would make him a better weapon against Kali. Perun would need both recognition and military might to one day replace Kali. He would know to who exactly he owed his rise in status and power.
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Rumors of Saritan nations weaponizing power technology provided by the Tollan caused strife all over the world, mere hours before a massive explosion cracked the planet. We know this for a fact from surviving records provided by the Tollan.
To this day, it is unclear if we're looking at a deadly accident. It could be a deliberate act of sabotage, or a pre-emptive strike gone wrong, executed by one of the nation states on Sarita.
Consequently, the Tollan are highly reluctant to trade any technology to societies they see as less advanced than themselves and divided.
We know Ra took credit for the disaster. He claimed that he hired and sent an Ashrak to spy on the Saritans and, by extension, the Tollan. According to Ra, the Ashrak in question was responsible. At this time, we lack credible proof if an Ashrak was operating on Sarita. If there was one present, we don't know if they had anything to do with the disaster. While the Saritans were less advanced than their Tollan neighbors, all indications we have pointed at them being significantly more advanced than Earth and aware of the Goa'uld. We believe the odds of a Goa'uld agent gaining sufficient access to cause the disaster that destroyed Sarita are very low.
The Tollan themselves seem to agree with this assessment. The Curia's official stance is that Ra used the disaster to score political points among the Goa'uld. On the other hand, the System Lords did believe Ra's spin on the matter.
from NID's report on the destruction of Sarita and the loss of the Tollan home world
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Part 2
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Pobeda
Perun's domain
Milky Way galaxy
A brief visit to my new Jaffa worlds confirmed that I would need to make examples of people sooner rather than later. Kali had gone hardcore on divide and conquer, by establishing a caste system, with the Jaffa being on top, right below the Goa'uld Overseers that ran those planets. Many powerful clans were less than thrilled at any changes that didn't strengthen their power base. They would perceive that my changes improved the lives of the "unworthy" casters as an additional slight.
Those Jaffa were going to be a headache. When one of their clans gave me an excuse, they would serve as an example. I didn't have the time to handle them with velvet gloves, so that it would be the hard way.
On a more positive note, the sarcophagus worked on my First Prime, and Stephan awoke. He was now back, managing my armies, giving me precious time to oversee projects and put down potential fires.
Another positive development was the agri-uplift. It was going pretty well.
Flying in an Al'kesh to the air base where Vahlen worked allowed me to see many fields with active tractors and other Earth equipment. That was a good thing, considering I now had three more well-developed worlds to feed. In that regard, I would meet with Lyda later in the day to get an accurate report.
However, it was high time I saw what Vahlen was up to. All the Jaffa watching her had to say was that she was constantly busy and kept blowing things up. There were no attempts to contact anyone off-world as far as they were aware. That was one of the primary reasons I left her work in peace – I already had too many troublesome Goa'uld to oversee. On top of that, I had regular meetings with Nerus to ensure his loyalty, which, while very useful in the long run, complicated my schedule tremendously.
It was only a matter of time before something slipped past me or an unattended issue reared its ugly head like the Jaffa Clans on my new Jaffa worlds. If I had more time and more reliable minions, that was an issue I might have been able to handle in a better way.
We landed near a row of parked Death Gliders. One of my Custodes waited for me, alongside an honor guard from the base's security detail.
"Lord Perun, it's an Honor!"
"Lady Vahlen. Has she caused any problems?"
"She keeps blowing up things, including Death Gliders. We've lost five so far." The old Jaffa looked uneasy at the admission.
"I hope it was worth it. You've been able to replace the lost Death Gliders without issue?" I inquired.
"The new fabricators made it so, my Lord!"
Said fabricators came with Vahlen and were Kali's contribution to the cause before Ra happened.
"Bring me to Vahlen."
The Jaffa led me to a nearby hangar, which she had turned into a makeshift R&D center. The building was large enough to hold a squadron of Death Gliders. Now, there was space for two near the doors. Vahlen had turned the rest of the area into her little kingdom. As we walked through, I saw no less than three fabricators working, with Jaffa overseeing them. We went by a storage room holding the incomplete bodies of missiles, held in place by metal racks.
We found Vahlen leaning over a sturdy table holding a disassembled missile in a large laboratory. She worked with four Custodes, who acted as her minders and bodyguards.
The laboratory was packed with equipment Vahlen had manufactured for her use. I could vaguely recognize some of the devices and their purposes, while others were a mystery.
"I hear you've achieved some progress?" I asked aloud.
Vahlen jumped, startled, and almost dropped the tools she was working with. Her anger spiked as she turned around to glare at me. She opened her mouth to shout, then my presence registered, and her jaw snapped shut.
"Lord Perun. You should have called ahead." Vahlen forced herself to calm down.
"I did. However, you didn't need to know that. After all, there is no point in a surprise inspection if it's announced in advance. What do you have for me, Lady Vahlen?"
"Many weapons to blow up your enemies with, my Lord Perun. I hope that they will pass muster!" Vahlen put down the tools and fiddled with her hand device.
A holoprojector came online on the left side of the room. An image of a meter-long cylinder materialized above the floor.
"Your suggestion was feasible, my Lord. We have a short ranged guided missile built with what you called off-the-shelf components. This missile has the same plasma warhead used by the Al'kesh, the anti-gravity drive used by your spy drones, and their sensor package. The power cell comes from staff weapons. Acceleration is slow, and the range is low. The short-range missile is a potent, precise weapon that is relatively expensive and slow to produce. Sensors, propulsion, and warhead each take up to four hours to create individually with our small fabricators. The cost in raw material is relatively high as well."
I waited for Vahlen to continue, but instead, she looked at me, waiting for my response.
"How hard is it to arm Death Gliders and Al'kesh with these weapons? Is it feasible to attach them to the combat transports as well?" I demanded more answers.
"We had to modify the test machines with pylons to attach the weapons. Then we had to find a way to make the Death Gliders computers recognize, link with, and control the missiles," Vahlen explained. "I spent more time trying to integrate those weapons than developing longer ranged missiles."
I could feel pride surging within Vahlen.
"I managed to solve the problem!" She crowed happily. "I had to look at the contact points between the staff cannons and the Death Gliders, then find a way to replicate those connections. My solution was adding small communication devices to the missiles and the pylon holding them, then integrating the latter with the Death Glider's computer. This allows for short-range direct control of the missiles. I believe we can use this to guide long-range missiles as well. However, there are some issues with making the idea work."
"Is that what you're working on now, Lady Vahlen?" I asked while carefully keeping my voice and face neutral.
What she already achieved, if true, was a game-changer. Right now, only Earth could boast longer-range missiles in the atmosphere anyway. It was questionable if they could build anything better and more reliable for future use in space.
"Yes, my Lord," Vahlen turned and waved at the disassembled missile on the table beside her. "The warhead is the same. I have two options for sensors – the same as the spy drones, which have range limitations, or a smaller version of the Death Gliders' sensors. The second option is the better one. However, it would require more work to develop and be significantly more expensive. Power generation and drive systems are problematic as well. Option one, we're looking at much larger missiles, using Death Glider components, with the associated expenses. The other option requires developing a propulsion system smaller than a Death Glider's but equally potent. The power source is an issue too. A small naquadah reactor would be best. However, that's going to be expensive." Vahlen finished her explanation. "I'm working on a prototype using most of the short-range missile components. My goal is to perfect the control system. Without it, more speed and range are pointless."
"Lady Vahlen, you've exceeded my expectations. Well done!" I allowed myself a pleasing smile. I would, of course, wait to see a few tests before taking Vahlen at her word. Then we would see what we could do about the issues she was facing.
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