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Chapter 13: Reaping whirlwind

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Part 3

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Slavna Zemq

Perun's Throne World
Perun's domain
Milky Way galaxy

After dealing with Seth, one of the first things I did was dispatch additional Jaffa to Heliopolis. That was just in case the US government decided it might be a good idea to get back on their part of the deal. In that case, the first sign of my displeasure would be ejecting their personnel studying the place back to Earth.

Next, I arranged a private meeting with Lyda. She had to report the moment she completed her current tasks. We had to have a heart-to-heart conversation about what I would expect her to achieve as my representative on Earth.

With that out of the way, it was time for another visit to my new industrial world and Che'Nub. My new Ha'tak would be arriving soon, and I wanted to be in place to meet them. But first, I had to make a detour to my palace for a mind-kriffing session with Nerus. I also wanted to see if his eager promises finally panned out and if he had a design or two ready for prototyping and testing.

I walked through heavily guarded corridors and finally got to Nerus' laboratory. He was a little less flabby blob due to a restricted diet. I kept hanging that over his head until he got me working prototypes for testing, and his brainwashing was complete. I let the Force flow through me for a moment before channeling it in a useful manner. There was no threat I could sense coming from the lab or Nerus himself. I would nevertheless continue checking until I was sure he was my creature. The last thing I wanted was to die because that creature felt particularly spiteful over a diet.

"Nerus," I walked in and smiled, dropping any pretenses. The Dark Side surged around me, forming an eager cloak of power. Frost crept around me, and the few shadows in the bright laboratory stirred to life. Now that I knew to pay attention, the difference in the Force was tangible. The Dark Side was like an eager puppy, wanting attention, instead of the dark seductress wanting me to drink from her poisoned well until I was lost in it.

I could almost hear it whisper for attention.

Nerus flinched at the sudden chill, and his flabby form slowly turned around.

"My Lord Perun!" he offered me a sick smile.

I could see and feel how his mixed feelings of resentment, hatred, and slowly growing loyalty pained him.

"Have you planned any treachery lately? As you know, the price is at least a week of starvation, among other things…."

Nerus blanched and rapidly shook his head. The effect was like a Hutt trying to laugh, in all its disgusting glory.

"That's good." I nodded. I couldn't detect deception, just fear. "What do you have for me?"

"It's not a simple thing you ask for, Lord!" Nerus blubbered.

"If it were an easy thing, I would give the task to someone else. I want results." I reminded him.

Nerus slowly raised a hand and waved his thick fingers at a table where he had the sensor system of a Death Glider partially disassembled. Beside it sat a complete one covered with sensors. Metal cables linked it to a control device.

"The way the sensor system works is fascinating! It's reverse-engineered Ancient technology! It has to be!" Nerus' eyes brightened with excitement. "It's a pity I didn't think to study it earlier! The things I could have done using it!"

"Behold my utter lack of surprise." My dry voice dashed his excitement.

"You know the easy way to block the sensors, Lord! They can detect shields and only get general information beyond them, little more than visual one!" Nerus pointed out.

"Your goal is to create a good jamming device that scrambles sensors and disrupts Asgard teleportation, among other things. I want that option on facilities and ships available and active even when shields aren't up."

Ideally, I wanted personal jammers to defend my soldiers from being beamed away—me too, for that matter. I might be able to protect myself with the Force, but that wasn't something I was eager to test. Further, such jammers on small craft would make them damn hard to hit if we could get the tech working and small enough.

I knew it was possible. The Wraith could jam Asgard and presumably Ancient teleportation. They had to have developed their countermeasures against the Ancients first. It also worked as a charm against the Asgard beaming.

However, getting to Pegasus was impractical and impossible at the moment, so stealing a sample was out of the question.

"I'm still figuring out how the sensors work, everything they detect, and how. I need to know that even to begin constructing a jamming device!"

"We know shields get the job done while active. Think how you can use that and why it works while you're at it." I suggested.

Nerus nodded eagerly, then blanched when I walked beside him. He tried to shrink into himself, which didn't work with how large he was.

"No, Lord! No!" He shook his head and spluttered before I put my hand on his forehead and pushed with the Force.

Nerus slackened as I slowly slid through his ravaged mental defenses and began reinforcing suggestions and loyalty.

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Lyda managed to find me shortly before I left for Rajgir.

"My Lord!" She gleefully bowed. "I repaired the dialing device. Two lesser overseers are now busy rebuilding the cliffs below the castle on Heliopolis. Another one is recording all information from the device in the meeting room we can access. He will bring it back to study! The agricultural uplift proceeds apace!"

"Good. Follow me to my office. I will have new tasks for you."

I led her to my hopefully secure office and used the Force to ensure privacy. It shimmered around us, creating a barrier that should prevent listening devices from recording our conversation.

"Sit, and pay attention." I pointed Lyda at a nearby chair and sat on my desk. "You will be my chief representative to Earth, speaking with my voice and safeguarding my interests."

Lyda leaned forward, feeling overwhelmed with the great honor.

Hopefully, Nerus wouldn't get this insanely devoted when I finished kriffing with his mind. I already had more than enough fanatics hanging on my every word to deal with

"You have many tasks to complete for me, Lyda. First, the obvious. Despite our best efforts, our education programs wouldn't give us enough educated subjects to draw from soon enough. We lack the people to work on even a fraction of the projects I need to be completed in the short term. We will outsource most less sensitive research, development, design, and basic industry to Earth. You'll need to work with their people to establish joint ventures to complete these tasks. Your new job includes figuring out how to get their primitive industry to build tools that would eventually allow them to create useful industry."

Lyda kept listening with rapt attention and sadly asked no questions.

"Wealthy people from Earth will approach you. They will attempt to buy you off…." I wanted Lyda's inevitable outrage at the idea to calm down to a simmer before continuing. "Or try and invest in the joint ventures, offering resources and personnel. You'll have to judge which offers are best to accept carefully. I want to bind Earth with ties of economy, industry, and influence, mitigating the risk of the Tau'ri turning on us. Your other major goal is political. We will use the joint technological research and the industry we create with the Tau'ri to influence and subvert them slowly. The end goal is if at all possible, to become indispensable if the Tau'ri want to maintain their rate of advancement. In that regard, when the joint ventures begin earning profits, you'll use those resources to achieve political goals. If practical, you'll also use parts of the investments people would try to buy a joint position in our ventures. You will invest on Earth, buy real estate, the works…."

I could sense Lyda's confusion. This was going to be a long conversation. I felt that many things people from an adequately developed world with a somewhat free economy took for granted were alien to my Tok'ra and her host. It didn't help that she didn't even think about questioning me. I had to work on that, too, damn it.

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Part 4

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Ha'tak Pel'tak

high orbit above Rajgir
Perun's domain
Milky Way galaxy

Jaffa and a few Goa'uld 'technicians' still crawled all over the two new additions to the Black Fleet. Officially, their job was to look for any sabotage or other unpleasant surprises left by Kali's loyalists when the two Ha'tak protecting Rajgir came into service of Lord Perun.

That much was true, Prime Iasen thought. He had two-thirds of his Black Legion on board those ships, using the search to kill multiple Death Gliders with a single shot. First, there was the official reason, which was obviously necessary. Second, it was the training opportunity. Lord Perun decreed that the Black Legion had to understand the tools they fought with to understand the Goa'uld magics and technology that made the Ha'tak work. This was a priceless opportunity to go over all systems of the ships, learn about them, and check for wear and tear.

The third reason was secret. Tok'ra interrogation had revealed that those honorless scum had spent the last thousand years or so placing trackers on many Goa'uld ships across the galaxy. The search for sabotage would cover going all over the vessel to find if such tracking devices were present. Lord Perun privately confided in Iasen his thoughts about the war against Moloc. If the mad god had been any saner, then Tok'ra supplied intelligence on ship movements could have turned the divine intervention against Moloc into a disaster. Well, more of a disaster than it already was with the death and martyrdom of Heru'ur.

At least, Lord Perun and his realm, the Black Legion in particular, profited mightily from the resolution of that intervention. Very soon, the Black Legion would have nine times the Ha'tak it began with. This meant Iasen would have more people to train and more ships to go over. Nevertheless, with such power at its disposal, the Black Legion could finally begin fulfilling its duties in defending Lord Perun's realm.

The industry on the world below them, including complete production Kali was unable to move in time, would further strengthen the Black Legion. Hundreds of brand-new Death Gliders and squadrons of Al'kesh waited for their pilots and assignments. Ten Tel'tak transports were near completion, and at least some of them would directly serve the Black Legion as dedicated supply ships, and Jaffa transports.

The future was bright, Prime Iasen decided.

Even better, Lord Perun would soon arrive to meet the new additions of the fleet and inspect them. Iasen looked forward to demonstrating his Legion's progress since its creation.

The only present issue was that they couldn't fully trust the original crews of the new Ha'tak. That was why detachments of the Space Wolves were all over the ships, guarding critical areas and acting as backup to the Black Legion Jaffa. Iasen had at least four of the heavily armored Jaffa protecting his person all the time.

That was a sign that Lord Perun valued him highly and wanted him alive. Further, it was proof that their god didn't believe Kali's former Jaffa would easily relinquish their old allegiances.

It was wise to worry about that, the Prime knew. He would undoubtedly remain loyal to his god, even if the likes of Supreme Lord Ra ordered him to serve someone else

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Pel'tac
Ha'tak en route to Rajgir
Hyperspace

After nearly a month of constant travel, V'rak was looking forward to the journey's end. Despite Lord Perun delivering a hefty amount of supplies, the Ha'tak in the small fleet were now all out of fresh food and had to do with rations. The ship's engines and power core might do with a rest and maintenance to ensure everything worked fine after two long journeys with heavy combat between them.

Not to mention that V'rak and the rest of the Jaffa, now in service of Perun, could do with a rest period on a decent planet. They were also eager to see their families, who should have arrived in Perun's domain by now.

Everyone was also eager to hear what fate befell the treacherous Moloc and all the Tok'ra scum Lord Perun managed to catch on that mad god's Throne World! Everyone was furious at what happened to Lord Heru'ur. It didn't help that they had to be on the lookout for Tok'ra sabotage due to Lord Perun's wise advice, or they might have all ended lost in hyperspace, far from the light of the gods!

"Prime V'rak, we're about to reach the edge of the Rajgir system! The hyperdrive is getting hotter but is still within acceptable bounds. The same is true for the power core!"

"Unless we need to fight, that would be of no consequence. The ships will undergo the proper rites to ensure everything works as it should when we arrive." V'rak dearly hoped that would be the case.

On the face of it, a month wasn't much of a time. Nothing of consequence might have happened since they began their journey. On the other hand, with Lord Heru'ur's murder, their world shattered and irrevocably changed in a matter of days.

"Exiting hyperspace now!" The Jaffa operating the primary control station reported.

The painfully familiar hyperspace vortex tore, and the Ha'tak rapidly decelerated as it returned to the familiar universe.

"Detecting six more ships with us. The fleet made the transition without accident!" V'rak could hear a hint of relief in the voice of the younger Jaffa.

"Take us towards Rajgir at half speed. Scan for anything out of the ordinary."

"Detecting power spikes from the vicinity of the second planet in the system! We're being scanned… Two Ha'tak. We're being hailed."

V'rak put his hands on the control panels built into the Command Throne and accepted the hail. The holographic system activated, and the face of a Jaffa in light black armor appeared in front of him.

"Approaching Ha'tak, you've entered Lord Perun's domain. Identify yourselves!" Even as V'rak heard those words, he could see Iasen's face relax when Perun's Prime recognized him.

They met briefly when Lord Perun's people delivered the supplies for the voyage here.

"This is Prime V'rak. We're bringing Lord Perun's new Ha'tak to our new home."

"It's good to see you made it here without incident." Iasen nodded. "Join us in orbit of Rajgir. We've got much to discuss. Lord Perun is already on the way to meet us."

"We're on the way. What about our families?"

"They arrived two weeks ago and settled on one of Lord Perun's worlds. You'll be able to meet them after debriefing and arranging shift rotation to keep the Ha'tak you bring manned and ready for combat. Lord Perun also requires confirmation that all of your family members have arrived, and there has been no foul play involved, as he put it."

"I can say all my Jaffa appreciate the sentiment. We'll reach orbit soon."

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