Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Star Wars, or Stargate movies, TV shows, games, books, or comics. This story features elements inspired by Warhammer 40K. They all belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not for sale or rent.

Chapter 16: All roads lead to Abydos

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Part 3

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The ongoing Vancouver Summit aims to change the world!

Statements from world leaders attending the conference confirm rumors of cooperation focused on fusion research first, with options to expand it to other fields in the future!

Forbes Magazine

"Research groups in our countries all have different pieces of the puzzle needed to solve fusion. Pooling our resources together can lead to a breakthrough in the coming years."

from a statement by Prime Minister Akira Suzuki from Japan

The New World Order leaders openly betray their countries! The Vancouver Summit outright proves that the New World Order spies on us! No secret, no invention is safe!

New American magazine, special edition

We dedicate most of this issue to techniques and items that can safeguard your privacy and save your thoughts! Order now all the gear needed to combat New Order surveillance! Learn how to preserve your privacy!

New American magazine, special edition

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2 December 1996
Vancouver, Canada
Earth
Milky Way Galaxy

The summit was coming to a close tonight, and in the end, it proved too short to iron out all necessary details. They still did their best to cover the most pressing issues so hand-picked diplomats could meet later to discuss and deal with everything the heads of state couldn't finish.

Michael Cole felt torn on the subject. He knew disclosure was inevitable, no matter what might have been best for his country alone. He was well aware that, in the long run, this was the better course for Earth as a whole.

That knowledge didn't make it any easier to swallow being strong-armed into sharing the boons of the Stargate.

On the bright side, the summit was going better than expected. As problematic as a few of Cole's counterparts were, by and large, they were reasonable people. Cole didn't want to think what would have happened if one of them was a populist who clawed their way to power.

"For all intents and purposes, the final disposition of the Stargate will be for the next administration to decide. President-elect Richards is a reasonable man. I believe he can accept a compromise if the reasons for it are sound and it is well-thought-out," Cole explained.

They were back discussing the particulars of the Stargate and how it would be dealt with in the future.

"We know you won't relinquish the device, and trying to force you to do it would be an expensive exercise in futility that will hurt all of us," Prime Minister Hargreaves had to sound so damn reasonable, even as he pushed to get the Stargate out of complete US control. "The reason why most of us can't hold the Stargate, whether we want it or not, is also a point in favor of the compromise I suggested."

Of course, Hargreaves wasn't doing it from the goodness of his heart. Putting the Stargate in a purpose-built facility in Canada would give the Canadian government a lot of political leverage and prestige, and they would know to whom they owed those boons. Clearly, the British were trying to rekindle the ties with key former Empire members.

Under the present circumstances, that might even work, improving Britain's international position in the long run.

Ironically, if handled right, the disclosure could do the same for the US by significantly improving its soft power and how the world perceives it. That could also be invaluable, further enhancing America's clout after winning the Cold War. That knowledge was a small comfort compared to what could have been if the galaxy at large was a nicer place.

"I will discuss this option with my administration and the President-elect. If nothing else, you will have a running start for negotiations with him next year. I will not pledge to move the Stargate outside of the United States, even if it is within the borders of our good Canadian friends."

"I can live with that," Canada's Prime Minister allowed. It was plain to see the man was torn. He could see the benefits of the Stargate being operated from Canadian soil. At the same time, if they couldn't hold it against a hostile force, then a nuclear response was a given.

Cole mussed that was also one of the big reasons that might make moving the device up north acceptable to the US. As things stood, at best, they would lose an Air Base and potentially get NORAD crippled, even if the facility remained mostly intact under the Cheyenne Mountain, and the less said about Colorado Springs, the better.

They were already looking at a place for a new facility in one of the sparsely populated flyover states. In some of them, the Federal Government did own large tracks of land. If needed, they could buy more to ensure no civilians were living around in case nuclear release became necessary.

"Then we will revisit this topic late January at the earliest, after your successor settles into his new position," Hargreaves kept being infuriatingly reasonable.

Really, Cole couldn't even feel particularly irritated with the man for the shenanigans he was pulling.

In some regards, while more of a headache, dealing with belligerent fools would have been easier. Yet, Cole was glad Hayes wouldn't have to introduce representatives chosen by arrogant politicians with too high opinion of their place in the universe to Lady Lyda, or worse, Perun.

That was one bullet Earth, in general, and the US, in particular, dodged for the time being.

"The fact-finding mission. That is the last thing we must or have time to discuss," the Chancellor interjected, changing the topic.

That was going to be a headache for everyone involved. Cole was happy he didn't have to personally oversee and wrangle the circus that would inevitably descend upon SGC and soon become the problem of Generals Hammond and West.

"A joint training exercise for special forces?" President Aubert suggested. "We can announce that as a side note to the official agreements, we will sign tonight. That's happening often enough that no one reasonable would bat an eye. It would signify further cooperation, and we can move specialists to join the mission covered by the shared research agreements."

Cole nodded before he could think it through. The French President spoke sense, yet everything he said was beside the point. Figuring out a cover shouldn't be an issue. Deciding on the broad details of a joint fact-finding mission, on the other hand, wasn't a done deal.

"We are getting ahead of ourselves here," Cole reminded everyone. "I pledged to authorize such a mission and launch it while I am still in office. However, we haven't agreed on any details, though we did discuss them more than once."

"You are well aware of our position on the matter, Mr. President," The Chancellor pointed out. "We want our personnel to participate and give us an unbiased view of what we deal with. What was that saying? Trust but verify?"

Murmurs of agreement came from everyone else. This was one point no one was willing to budge on. It made sense, too. Cole also wanted independent verification, which meant one US personnel had to bring it in. No matter how trusted they were, second-hand information from allies was less trustworthy than what your people could discover. Verification was vital in that regard. The Chancellor was absolutely right on that point.

The implications of such a joint mission held Cole back from outright agreeing. If it succeeded, it would be a proof of concept that would inevitably be used as a sticking point in future negotiations about the oversight of the Stargate and its disposition. While there were benefits to such an approach Cole wasn't blind about, they would also put the United States in a relatively weaker position as far as controlling the Stargate and its boons than it already was. If nothing else, that by itself was going to cause headaches for the US government in the coming years. After all, many people at all levels of the government were less than pleased that this meeting was taking place in the first place.

A position of first among equals was still better than Perun sending a warship, yet it was still a hard truth to swallow.

Cole bit back a rueful smile. He was supposed to know better than many people stuck in their ways. He was already setting up the stage for a purge within the State Department, one that would be up to Richards and Hayes to finish. The change of administration would greatly aid in that effort. His holding against a reasonable request was more than a bit hypocritical.

"I will find it acceptable if each of your countries sends a small group of scientists and a security detail for them to join our own," Cole finally made up his mind. While he would take some flack over his decisions today, it would be nothing compared to what his successor would have to deal with. By then, he would be retired from politics. However, Michael was sure he would face Congress and Senate hearings after disclosure became public.

"The last point we have time to talk about – the second round of disclosures," Hargreaves noted after checking his watch.

"I am in broad agreement about the proposed countries, save for Taiwan," Cole said. "We can't bring them without China. I want to keep them alongside Russia and India for the third round of disclosures. By then, we should have plans to deal with the secret going public, because it would inevitably happen soon after."

"If we can keep it under wraps until then," Suzuki reminded them. "The odds are good that we would have to go for it prematurely. Already, there are too many people in the know. Considering we will have to go public sooner or later, simply discrediting anyone who breaks ranks won't be a good look, no matter our intentions."

"There is that as well," Cole agreed. "I would prefer we have the largest economies and all nuclear powers in the fold before going public. That would help cushion the inevitable chaos and backlash at revealing the truth."

Morose nods met his statement. That was another point they all agreed on – disclosure to the public would generate many issues and have severe economic implications. If it happened without preparations by more countries than the ones present, the consequences would be even more unpleasant than they had to be.

"What about the UN framework?" Auber inquired.

"It can work, at least in theory," Hargreaves allowed. "However, we must have all Permanent Security Council Members on the same page. Otherwise, we will have to bypass the UN. Doing that would cause its own set of issues. The UN offers a framework to build upon, though it also has its problems."

"That is one issue our diplomats will have to discuss at length in the coming months," Cole disagreed. "We don't have the time to do it, and it would be pointless until we have everyone relevant on board. Until then, the best we could do is have alternative options ready to present to the other Security Council Members when the time comes."

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Part 4

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Ra's flagship

high orbit over Dakara

Ra's Domain

Milky Way Galaxy

Ra read the latest reports from his spies about what the few spawns he had, who weren't a complete waste of a good host, were doing. As expected, they were all trying to prove themselves worthy of replacing Heru'ur. Their task has been administering and securing their new domains for the past few months. Ra crafted their new realms from the territories that used to belong to his murdered son and Moloc, which were now under his direct control.

So far, no one had impressed him. If anything, his spawns' constant attempts to backstab each other were beyond the pale, even for particularly ambitious Goa'uld. At the same time, they consistently displayed none of the competence that might allow the ambitious to succeed. That was a disastrous combination that his spawn managed to keep in check until now, or more likely, without the prize in sight of gaining Heru'ur's position, they could keep their ambitions in line with their demonstrated abilities.

Ra put the stone tablet down and glowered at the murals lining the walls of his workplace. The only Goa'uld in the new territories of his realm showing promise were those raised by Heru'ur, proving his son had a head for more than conquest, alongside the odd competent underling who survived Moloc's madness and the brief war that followed.

It may be time to get a few new spawns and see if they would prove competent enough to be helpful. Ra thought about throwing them at Perun to train them and see if his brand of surprising competence might rub off them.

While Mat has been his mate and Queen for a long time, Ra made it damn sure they would not have spawn until now. Otherwise, he would have had to deal with more complications, including the real need to dispose of Mat like he did with Heru'ur's mother, Hathor, when her reach exceeded her grasp.

His previous Queen was still likely alive, sealed in a sarcophagus on the human's homeworld. However, Ra had no desire to deal with her, especially after the Tok'ra assassinated their son.

Ra grabbed an empty stone tablet and began writing. It was high time that he informed Mat about recent developments and had her end her long treasure hunt. Besides, from her infrequent messages, it was clear that his Queen had found more than enough resources and assorted treasure to justify her long absence.

He was pretty fond of Mat, but that almost didn't enter the equation.

Further, it wouldn't do for everyone to see his Queen surrounded by Jaffa wearing inferior equipment. As he wrote, Ra made a few mental calculations. Mat's small fleet was outfitted with regular hyperdrives, so she would need nearly a year to return when a message reached her, and she began her journey. While using the Chapa'ai was an option, Mat was prideful and paranoid enough not to leave behind her loyal Jaffa and, more importantly, ships. Ra decided it might be best to send a small fleet of Ha'tak with just enough crews to bring Mat's ships back. Meanwhile, his Queen would transfer her warriors and some treasures on the faster ships Ra kept under his control and return significantly faster.

When Mat returned, Ra looked forward to their reunion, intelligent conversations, and perhaps giving his Queen one of the few things he denied her. Another boon is that he could let her run parts of his domain and only worry about any schemes she might do to amuse herself, not her competence.

Until then, Ra would have to content himself with a week or two of relaxation away from the burdens of his position. He had already decided where to head out – Abydos. That place was of no consequence, and no one would think about looking for him there.

Before that, the Supreme System Lord had to make arrangements to ensure his spawn wouldn't cause more problems than they already were. He also needed to see what Perun was up to. Ra thought briefly about the last report from his useful new vassal and decided to summon him to Abydos for an account in person at the end of the visit there. That way, he would have enough time on the way back to decide how to best use Perun's new inventions to strengthen his position as a Supreme System Lord even more.

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Chapa'ai Command
Krepost
Perun's Domain
Milky Way Galaxy

Ra's latest instructions ensured I was out of time. Sarcophagus naps were a go, and they were working wonders for now. Otherwise, even with the Force and a symbiote without a mind sustaining me, I would have collapsed from exhaustion already.

Ra was going on a vacation soon and wanted me to report to him at its end. That meant I would need to be ready for his summons in a month if I was lucky, earlier if not. I didn't like what he implied – that I might have to make something special for his Queen's return. It took me longer than expected to drag the necessary information from the memories of the Perun symbiote into my head.

Ra's current favored Queen was Mat, and she hadn't been seen in a few centuries. The rumor was that she had left on a treasure-hunting expedition, which was probably an exile due to a falling out with her mate. The fact that Ra didn't entertain any of the Queens vying for his attention was a point in favor that there might be some truth to the official narrative.

Time for Goa'uld had a different concept compared to that of most species. In that regard, they were closest to the Hutts and whatever trolls like Yoda were compared to humans and most other species. When you can naturally live for a thousand years or longer, a few decades or even centuries weren't a big deal. For Goa'uld, who could live for thousands of years without a Sarcophagus? A few centuries were next to nothing.

My first issue was obviously getting ready to fulfill Ra's orders. The second one was me wondering what the odds were of Ra running either into Earth or Earth running into him during his vacation. They should be astronomical at best. However, with the Force in play and my recall of Earth's, and Ra's for that matter, luck, then everything might go straight to the deepest, darkest Corellian hell in mere weeks.

That was the second reason I was visiting my base on Krepost. There were contingencies I needed in place if the worst happened. I also needed to begin planning how to take out Kali and devour as much of her domain as possible while dealing with any of her minions who might have similar ideas.

In the coming weeks, my First Prime would be as busy as I was.