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Chapter 13: Reaping whirlwind
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Part 1
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Nuclear Terrorism! A currently unknown terrorist group engaged Federal Agents and SWAT units in a running battle before taking over a mall in downtown Tacoma. The US government announced the terrorists have a nuclear device and threatened to use it if their demands are not met! Evacuation of Tacoma and Seattle is now underway! The Governor of Washington state has activated the National Guard to aid evacuation efforts and keep order!
Associated Press
Damning government incompetence! Terrorists in Tacoma have stolen experimental military technology! Did they steal a nuclear device from the US military as well?!
Washington Times
A short clip filmed by a Channel 8 news helicopter shows experimental weapons and armor in action against Tacoma SWAT! Viewer discretion is advised!
Channel 8 Morning News
Fifteen Federal Agents were confirmed dead and two more wounded in failed attempt to raid a terrorist compound in Washington State! That was the prelude to the Mall Siege in Tacoma!
USA Today
Experts dissect the video of experimental military equipment in action. Experts claim that the impractical-looking "staff" weapons might directly result from technological limitations. The length might be necessary to accelerate particles or plasma, so they would have the required charge and striking power to produce the effects we saw. It is likely what we saw were proof of concept prototypes. Field deployment might not be feasible until further research and development make the "staff" weapons smaller and more ergonomic. Their future production variants might still be potent as weapons mounted on vehicles or stationary emplacements. Such utility might require less development than a practical infantry variant.
US Army Magazine
Experts claim that armor that might be effectively immune to small arms fire would be a game-changer in infantry combat. Law enforcement, especially SWAT teams across the country, would find such protective equipment invaluable. Even if the prototype variants appear too unwieldy and heavy for regular infantry deployment, those are issues largely irrelevant for SWAT use.
Police Magazine
Is a recession inevitable? The possible End of Oil, claimed by some experts, combined with the economic disruptions caused by the terrorist in Washington State, might lead to an inevitable recession. A slowdown of the economy seems imminent. We're looking at the increased reluctance of investors to risk capital in the current economic climate.
Financial Times
The Senate and Congress will create commissions to investigate the unprecedented terrorist act in Tacoma. Senator Kinsey from the Senate Intelligence Oversight Committee swore to find whoever was responsible for the unacceptable breach in national security and bring them to justice.
C-SPAN
Governor Richardson swears that no terrorists who threatened the great State of Washington would remain at large!
Washington Post
US Special Forces outfitted with experimental armor and weapons stormed the dug-in terrorists in Tacoma and secured their nuclear device. So far, we have no confirmation about casualties among the US service members who executed the raid or the status of the terrorists.
A special team from the Department of Energy is also in place, searching the mall for hazardous materials. Downtown Tacoma remains under martial law and military lockdown until the US military confirms that all dangerous materials and terrorists are accounted for. The same is true for the terrorists compound in the forests of Washington State.
CNN News
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6 October 1996
Cheyenne Air Station
The United States
Milky Way galaxy
Two Black Hawks landed on the nearby airstrip while their escort vigilantly circled above. A mechanized company was in place just in case, creating a cordon between the helicopters and the direct path to the hangar holding the Stargate.
Perun's Jaffa got out first and formed a protective formation, surrounding the warlord and two unexpected strangers. One was Sethesh, of all people, who had a young blond woman hanging off his shoulder. He also carried a sack and looked in high spirits.
George just stared at them. He already knew, thanks to O'Neill, that Perun had convinced Sethesh to come with him. The warlord's Jaffa apparently left almost all of the alien's followers stunned for the military to pick up. There were even a few SWAT members and a NID agent among them.
That was good, commendable even. Tacoma was still in one place, not to mention Seattle. Yet, it looked like the alien responsible might get away with it. Still, George kept his frustration and anger to himself. He was sure there was a nuclear-grade weapon in that sack. The General didn't want to risk it detonating on US soil.
Perun gave George a haughty look, then dared to wink at him. Then the alien party headed to the Stargate without uttering a word. Perun activated it and walked through the wormhole beside Sethesh and the woman. The Jaffa followed suit, and George could finally sigh in relief.
He was about to give orders to the mechanized company to go stand down when the gate began dialing up moments after it shut down.
"Now what?" George grumbled. He wisely made sure to find some cover just in case. To everyone's surprise, one of Perun's Jaffa walked back through, carrying the woman's body over his shoulder.
"Lord Perun sends his regards. He believes that Sethesh used the Nishta drug to brainwash his followers. A strong enough electric shock or Zat'nik'tel shot should neutralize the compound and break the brainwashing." The Jaffa explained in strongly accented English. He walked to a safe distance in front of the Stargate before putting the woman down.
"Call in a medic!" George ordered. "What about Sethesh?" He asked.
"My Lord neutralized him and is currently disarming the bomb. You don't have to worry about Sethesh anymore." The Jaffa announced and turned to face the gate. As soon as it shut down, he raised his left hand and fiddled with a device built into his arm-guard. The Stargate began a dialing sequence, and soon the Jaffa left.
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NID's Headquarters
Washington DC
the United States
Milky Way galaxy
"This is correct, Mr. President!" Kinsey did his best to keep his voice impassive. "I've relieved the NID's leadership structure. Trustworthy agents seized their files and computers and are currently guarding them, pending an official independent investigation. I will ensure we get to the bottom of this! I will find out exactly how this disaster unfolded." Kinsey vowed and paused, listening to the President's angry demands. "I completely agree, sir! We can't let such a thing happen again. Next time, we might not be as fortunate as we were today! If we can call what happened fortunate in any way!" The Senator finished mournfully and put down the phone's handle.
He certainly mourned all the efforts he put into creating the NID. They were so much dust in the wind. If he played his cards right, Kinsey might keep the NID operational and get some use out of the organization. However, it wouldn't be under his control. The people he had a hold on and was about to throw under the bus would need replacements. He wouldn't be in a position to influence that process as much as he liked. As things stood, he would have to burn out too much political capital to avoid blame burning through his reputation and standing like an acid shower.
Sadly, the NID would become mostly independent from his machinations, leaving primarily his post on the Oversight Committee as his main leverage. Kinsey had to find other ways to influence and control the boons coming from the Stargate project.
The Senator looked around the partially deserted floor. Agents he trusted guarded vital documents about the decision process that led to tonight. Kinsey felt like patting himself on the back for ensuring he offered no suggestions that might implicate him. He merely listened, observed, and raised the odd reservation just in case he had to cover his ass. That providence on his part would now prove critical. After all, he merely listened to the professionals who should have known better.
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Prolet
Perun's domain
Milky Way galaxy
As soon as we stepped on solid ground, I used the Force to freeze Sethesh in place, then carefully removed the bag from his grasp.
"Stun them, then bring the woman back to the Tau'ri," I ordered and levitated the back to the ground near the gate.
I opened the bag and relaxed. Fortunately, it didn't look like Sethesh had bothered or had the tools to build something fancy. From what I could see, he had built a simple implosion device meant to get a critical reaction of the minimum amount of refined naquadah possible. A jacket of regular naquadah surrounded the implosion core. It would have significantly increased the explosion's magnitude without the need for fancy engineering.
Sethesh did bluff; this wasn't enough to take out a state. Unless the explosion happened right about a natural fault line or close enough to the right kind of a dormant volcano, the bomb was just an ordinary city-buster.
Disarming the device was as easy as using the Force to tear the implosion core in two without detonating the explosives surrounding it. It took me a few more moments to prune out the detonators. Now I had kilograms worth of enriched and regular naquadah to return to my vaults for later use.
With the bomb issue solved, now I could decide what to do with Seth. Giving him back to the US alive was out of the question. If I had any say in the matter, the only Goa'uld they would interact with would be my agents. I had to either kill him and give them his body or throw him in the dungeons so that he would wait for his turn for brainwashing. In that regard, it would be a coin toss, who would be my next target after Nerus, Sethesh, or Vahlen?
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Part 2
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Disaster averted? New scientific studies recently discovered a faultline below Seattle. A nuclear detonation in Tacoma could have had disastrous effects on the whole western seaboard, far outstripping what the magnitude of the weapon could directly cause!
New Scientist Magazine
Protests and vigils rock the country! Protesters demand government accountability over unprecedented breaches in national security that could have cost the lives of up to a million Americans! Vigils are held across the country in support of the families of the policemen and Federal Agents murdered by the terrorists in Washington State.
USA Today
A meeting of NATO's defense ministers is scheduled for next week. The topic? Nuclear terrorism and how to prevent it from striking again.
Euronews
The White House scheduled a closed meeting between the President and the Ambassadors of the countries part of the Five Eyes Intelligence agreement.
Washington Times
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10 October 1996
Washington DC
The United States
Milky Way galaxy
Kinsey felt both relief and irritation. He had to burn much of his political capital, however, it was a price paid well. From all accounts, the official blame was going to fall on the NID's former leadership. Unofficially, there were highly restricted reports pointing out that most people in the know did agree with the assessment of the aliens that led to the disaster. No one in their right mind believed that a Goa'uld with access to the gear that Seth bastard had would have done nothing with it. There were still analysts pouring over archives all over the country searching for even a mention of something that might be sightings of Jaffa armor or energy weapons in action.
That is not to say that people disregarded the military's concern about how advanced the alien weapons and armor were. It was just that no one seriously thought there were enough of them in possession of a crazy alien on Earth.
Despite all proof to the contrary, Kinsey himself had a hard time wrapping his head over what Seth had been doing over the past few thousand years. With those weapons and armor, he could have built his kingdom and become a major player on the world stage! If Set had played his cards right and utilized his advanced scientific knowledge, history would be different! Someone who knew how to build a nuclear weapon, the knowledge and theories they had to know to get there, could have reshaped the world and made them unthinkably wealthy! With wealth came power and influence!
Instead, from what anyone could find so far, Seth, Sethesh, whatever that bastard called himself, had been content to waste his time as a two-bit cult leader! Even for an alien, this made no fucking sense!
Kinsey's nostrils flared, and he had to think pleasant thoughts before exploding in vexation. That was the last thing he needed here and now. His political power and reputation have suffered enough already. Blowing a gasket in front of the assembled Green Commission simply wouldn't do!
The course of the meeting wasn't exactly conducive to remaining calm.
Somehow, the State Department saddled them with that crazy activist Weir. It was probably a gambit to get her out of their collective hair. That was a maneuver Kinsey could have appreciated if he didn't have to listen to her babble. Damn, all dyed-in-the-wood hippies! They didn't know how the real world worked or did their best to ignore it!
"After reviewing all meetings between US government officials, military personnel, and the foreign head of state Perun, we've reached some damning conclusions." Weir gravely announced.
'And here we go…' Kinsey kept himself from sneering openly. Weir would spout something foolish, like a speech against trading for advanced weapons. He just knew it!
"Frankly, we've been fortunate Perun has been unexpectedly reasonable up until this point. There are elected heads of allied democratic states who would have taken great offense if US officials treated them like they acted in front of Perun. Don't let appearances and precedent fool any of you. Perun might be an alien dictator, in some ways similar to many such persons the United States supported and brought to power across the world. However, he doesn't rely on our goodwill and backing to retain his position. We are in no way capable of removing or reining in Perun if he acts in a way our government finds unacceptable. The balance of power in our relationship is in Perun's favor. For example, it is more lopsided than our relationship with a tiny, third-world country of no consequence here on Earth."
For once, Kinsey found himself leaning forward and listening to the hippy. Who knew Weir had something useful to say? Was the world coming to an end? Perhaps he would find after the meeting that pigs now could fly as well?
"I can't recommend strongly enough the members of Stargate Command receive appropriate diplomatic training in how to treat foreign dignitaries. At the very least, we should have been treating Perun with the same gravitas and respect that we do the head of a friendly and allied state. Incidentally or deliberately offending an alien dignitary could have disastrous consequences for this nation and Earth as a whole." Weir finished her tirade.
Kinsey loathed to admit it, but she might be onto something here. His whole being rebelled at the thought. He closed his eyes, thought happy thoughts about becoming the President, then slowly exhaled. If the goons of some two-bit dictator the US put into power, Kinsey would push to see the up-jumped bastard humiliated and show his place.
Kinsey had to remind himself that Perun was an alien warlord who controlled an empire of multiple worlds. He had access to advanced technologies and fanatical followers, who might as well be super-soldiers out of the latest blockbuster if recent events were anything to go by.
Yes, the military needed reining in and proper supervision. And who better do it than Kinsey himself?
"Thank you, Dr. Weir," Hayes was the next to speak. "In a related matter, I must offer the State Department's recommendation and warning about the verbal agreement between the President and Perun. Here on Earth, such a deal would have no legal status and could be easily disregarded or altered if practical. Perun is liable to strongly disagree after risking his life to solve our Sethesh problem. In the same vein, what oversight we can have and what we can legally allow any joint ventures with his people to do, aren't details he might care about. That would be our, not his, problem. The latest analysis of his intention is simple. It is clear that Perun has been undergoing an uplift program among his people. Yet, it would likely take a generation or two to come into full effect, especially education-wise. We believe that Perun intents to outsource research and development of sensitive technologies, as well as design work and manufacture, to Earth. At the same time, he will focus on developing and building advanced technologies and components in his research and industrial centers. This could be a great boon to the United States if handled right. However, we will likely have to overcome various legal obstacles to take advantage of this opportunity. Otherwise, we risk offending Perun and at least appear that we are deliberately trying to breach the agreement he reached with the President. If that happens, we're unlikely to like the consequences."
Like him or not, Hayes had a good head on his shoulder. He was right. Perun had his agenda and wouldn't care what the US legal code required. That shouldn't have been an issue. Money and influence could grease all kinds of wheels. However, recent events might complicate matters. It was less the public he was concerned about, but people not in the know or even fully aware of the Stargate Program, would be playing dirty politics to get ahead. Kinsey knew that many rivals would love to be the ones in control of the Stargate Program and its boons. That was something he couldn't allow!
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