Boyzilla: I would give anything for her to run for election at home... but she is exactly the opposite of a French politician... she is competent, honest, and does not know how to lie.
naufalrakha0104: Uh... Hakuno saving the world while Gilgamesh messing around... this not the definition of an ordinary day?
Jyggilag: Literal translation. I write first in my native language, and then I translate. And I do not pretend that my level of English is extraordinary.
Dragon Of The Eclipsing Moon: I think he is much more sociable than before. Moreover, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, he rapes, kills, insults the gods, revolts against them, devastates the ecosystem... in fact, in this story, Gil shows A LOT of restraint.
brayanamaya963: Thank you.
Ultimate Warrior of Zera: So, you want to see the end of this story? Hakuno and Gilgamesh together, no one in the SGUniverse can oppose them. The story would become far too boring.
Yog-sothsoth: Yes, it's Canon... since Gilgamesh has everything that can be called treasure, he could literally interpret this joke. And then the idea made me laugh alone like an idiot... so I implemented it (now, I am no longer the only idiot laughing in front of his screen *looks up at the ceiling while whistling*).
Author's note: First of all, I would like to thank all my readers for your continued support.
Then I would like to make an announcement.
From the next chapter, the story will be mainly centered on the events in the Milky Way (SG-1, Ba'al, Gilgamesh)... Hakuno will no longer appear in every episode, but probably in half the episodes.
In Pegasus, the story is almost over... (It remains only to defeat the Wraiths) while the story is not as advanced in the Milky Way part.
Good Loser vs. Bad Loser
Asuras, Pegasus galaxy
Even seen from space, it was obvious the planet was inhabited by a very advanced civilization. Under the cloudy swirls, the seas sparkled blue gleaming in the sunlight, while the continents were heavily urbanized, alternating areas covered with skyscrapers with areas covered by forests and grassland that were more of a recreation park or wildlife refuge than a natural environment.
Artificial satellites of all sizes and for all purposes revolved around Asuras. The smaller ones weighed only a few kilos, and the larger ones were huge space cities.
Although passenger transport was mainly by Transporters, many cargo ships, Puddle Jumpers, and warships landed, and took off or else orbited near the planet.
The activity was not decreasing in Asuras' atmosphere.
There were surprisingly few vehicles in the streets or flying between buildings, again thanks to the Transporters, as the Asurans teleported directly from one building to another.
Straight avenues stretched for hundreds of kilometers, forming a spiderweb that covered two-thirds of the planet. Each street was lined with skyscrapers and smaller constructions in white stone, neutronium, and glass.
The sun shone on the mercury-like metal and the glass windows.
The planetary city was storming the sky, the largest skyscrapers almost reaching the clouds, but the underground facilities were just as impressive, a maze of concrete caverns dug under the cities, on several floors. Robotized plants covered hundreds of kilometers. Elsewhere basements were used by technical installations, sewers, waste treatment plants, electrical installations, and huge storage areas where goods piled up to the ceiling.
Even the oceans were urbanized. Several cities floated on the waves, simplified versions of Atlantis (unable to fly, and even less jump into hyperspace).
Underwater, at shallow depths, aquaculture farms grew algae while geothermal power plants were installed at the bottom of the oceans, drawing energy from planetary magma.
In the streets, in office buildings, and in residential skyscrapers, humanoids walked without hurry, stopped to discuss among themselves, and gathered in waiting rooms, waiting for space to open up to talk to employees from different jurisdictions. They were dressed in jumpsuits or dresses. Most of the clothes were white, light beige, or brown, sometimes decorated with geometric patterns.
Many were working on Ancients Console Panels, pressing the triangular and luminous buttons of the keyboard, while watching the translucent windows floating in front of them.
Others sat in comfortable chairs and read documents on digital tablets.
The interior of the buildings was soberly decorated, with bright panels, and holographic projectors diffusing 3D paintings. There were green plants in the corridors, and the entry halls of buildings were often planted with trees and flower bushes.
As at the command of an inaudible voice, everywhere at the same moment, all the Pegasus Replicators stopped talking or working, eyes fixed in the void.
The Central Server had just contacted all the Asurans.
To summarize the message sent by subspace link, three members of the Council had just tabled a Notion of Censorship against the High Councilor Oberoth. As a result, in accordance with the Constitution of Asuras, the Council had been dissolved and new elections were to be held during the day.
The Asurans were democratically governed.
In fact, they lived in a direct democracy. There was no House of Representatives, no Senate, no local governors... The global government consisted only of the nine members of the Asuran Council. They ran the day-to-day, solving ordinary problems. However, as soon as a true crisis arose, the Asuran Council questioned the people who answered by referendum.
Since nanomorphs were all interconnected to the Central Server thanks to a subspace link, real-time direct democracy was possible.
There was no need for an election campaign or polling stations, and forgeries were almost impossible (1).
People gathered everywhere, in the halls, in the streets, in the squares, and even in the corridors. The Replicators discussed among themselves, the debates were intense.
"Who do I want to vote for?"
The one who had just spoken was an Asuran who looked like a beautiful young Mediterranean woman. Her hair was long and brown, her eyes black and her skin sun-kissed. She was dressed in a long brown dress decorated with silver squares.
She was responding to a black bald colossus dressed in a brown-sleeved white jumpsuit.
"I will vote for Hakuno."
The black-skinned man raised a suspicious eyebrow.
"And why?"
She put her hands on her cheeks, blushing, shaking her head and waddling.
"Hakuno is so adorable! When she focuses on solving a problem, she looks like a cute little squirrel peeling a hazelnut. The first time she made a head tilt, I almost passed out... "
The black man face-palmed, sighing with exasperation.
"I don't think I've ever heard a more stupid reason to vote for someone!"
A third Asuran intervened in the conversation. He looked like a wrinkled old man with hair and a short white beard. He was dressed in a white dress under an open dress on the front in brown fabric. With his receding hairline and dignified air, he looked like a philosopher of Greek antiquity.
"I agree with you, brother. One could not elect a Councilor because... because she is cute and looks like a squirrel! Who are you going to vote for?"
"I will vote for Oberoth, he has been guiding us for ten thousand years. No one is more experienced than him."
Old Asuran frowned.
"Brother, I point out to you that Oberoth wants to provoke genocide of the human species."
The brown-haired woman intervened.
"It's really a horrible idea! Humans are not our enemies, they do not threaten us! Attack them... it doesn't really seem... good to me."
The black-skinned man had an ironic grimace.
"This kind of reflection does not surprise me coming from you, my sister."
As she blushed with anger, the old man motioned to her to calm down, turning to the bald colossus.
"And you, could you explain to me the reasons for your choice, brother?"
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Oberoth is right. We can easily defeat the Wraithd by starving them. On the other hand, we have little chance of winning... and at what cost... if we face them head on. After all, we are only responsible to the Asurans, what happens to humans is not our problem."
Many Pegasus Replicators were jealous of humans, the 'eldest son' of the Ancients, loved and pampered by them. While themselves the 'younger son' had never been loved and treated rudely. No doubt the situation was admirably suited to revenge...
"I see."
He turned to the woman.
"And you believe that Hakuno can defeat the Wraiths without resorting to... shall we say... questionable methods?"
The female Asuran consulted the Central Server, downloading Hakuno's 'election program'.
"Hakuno Kishinami has a plan to ally with other factions capable of fighting the Wraiths like the Genii, the Tau'ri, or the Travelers. If we cannot win alone, we must build an alliance capable of defeating them. "
The old man seemed to think. But in fact, he also downloaded information from the Central Server... everything about Hakuno. The battles she had won, the tactics she had employed... and he nodded.
"So far, our sister Hakuno has been very capable. She has a certain talent, as a warlord, strategist, and tactician. I'm going to vote for her. In the worst case... we can resort to... questionable means if her strategy does not allow us to win the war. I don't think we have the right to sacrifice innocent people as long as we have other options."
The 'electoral campaign' of the various candidates ended at 18:00 (capital time) and the vote took place in just a few minutes. Once the last Asuran had voted the counting was almost instantaneous.
As a former High Councilor, Oberoth chaired the session.
His face was congested. He could not hide his frustration, anger, and sense of betrayal. For 10,000 years, he had led the Asurans... devoted himself to their prosperity... That's their thanks!
"Computers have finished counting the votes. 97.8% of the population voted. 97, 6% of the votes were accounted... computers rejected 0.1% of the votes cast either because of fraud or because of a void vote."
He paused, watching Hakuno with fury.
"Here are the results of the votes in order. Hakuno Kishinami: 37.5%. Oberoth: 21.3 of the votes. Liem: 13.5%. Thena: 11.8%..."
There were about twenty names, but none of the other candidates reached more than 5% of the vote.
Oberoth ended his speech in a hoarse voice.
"According to the constitution of Asuras, the candidate with the most votes is elected High Councilor and the following eight candidates are appointed Councilors. I congratulate Hakuno Kishinami on her election!"
While most of the people present surrounded the last Master of the Moon, uncomfortable, to congratulate her... Oberoth spoke in a firmer voice.
"Now that the new Asuran Council has taken office, under the leadership of Hakuno Kishinami, I would like to enlighten the newly elected officials on the rules of operation of the Council. All decisions are taken by a simple majority vote. The High Councilor's vote counts as two votes. Any Councilor may decide that a question submitted to the Council is 'Fundamental'. A Fundamental question is not settled by the Council but by referendum. Having arrived in second position during the election, and defending a very different point of view from that of the High Councilor Kishinami, I find myself - indeed - in the position of the leader of the opposition. Nevertheless..." He turned to Hakuno and nodded to her, before speaking directly to the teen girl. "I would like to say that I sincerely hope that your strategy proves viable and that we can win by creating alliances with the other enemies of the Wraiths. Then, I would also like to emphasize that I intend to give my opinion sincerely and advise you as best I can and to carry out the tasks the Asuran entrusts to me. My experience as a High Councilor, my knowledge of the administration, and my network of connections are fully available to the New High Councilor."
Oberoth had served Asuras for ten thousand years and had every intention of continuing. He was not one of those who scuttled the ship because he had not been elected master. He was a good loser. Hakuno bowed.
"I'm looking forward to working with you, Councilor Oberoth."
"Same for me, High Councilor Kishinami."
P3X-042, Milky Way
In a whimpering sound, the two Death Gliders rocked on a wing, diving to the ground.
In the valley below several craters opened in the ground while the Staff Cannons spewed golden plasma balls.
Jack O'Neill bowed his head as he curled up at the corner of a low wall as broken stones and tiles fell from the roof of the pagoda behind him.
A few weeks earlier, P3X-042 had been the planet where Lord Yu-Huang Shang-Ti had run his domain...
But in the meantime, the Replicators had attacked the planet. By the millions, the Jaffa had died in the fighting, and half of the System Lords had been killed or terribly weakened.
The shock that shook the entire Goa'uld society was not without consequences. In particular, the least affected System Lords hastened to attack the domains of their deceased rivals... or even simply those of the most weakened.
The two Death Gliders were far away now. Jack got up to take a look over the low wall. The valley was narrow, between two networks of steep hills. A river flowed at the bottom of the valley winding between rocks of all sizes, the smallest were simple pebbles polished by the current, and the largest resembled huge sugar loaf and must have weighed hundreds of tons. Here and there on the slopes or at the top of the rocks, Chinese-style houses or pagodas were connected to the bottom of the valley by elegant wooden stairs painted red with dragon-carved railings. Trees similar to whippings willows grew everywhere, further reducing the field of vision...
Just as Colonel O'Neill was completing his visual reconnaissance, two Jaffa came out from under a tree firing in his direction.
They were dressed in the traditional Jaffa's chainmail with skullcap... a red chainmail. Apophis. It was once again a trap set by this damned snake!
Jack threw himself to the ground while the plasma spheres fired by the Ma'tok Staffs dug two holes in the wall of the Chinese temple.
Further on, on the right, Samantha Carter and Daniel Jackson suddenly straightened up, opening fire towards the Jaffa.
The two Apophis' warriors took shelter behind the trees, untouched. But the diversion saved Jack O'Neill. He stood up, ran to safety behind an intact part of the wall. However, before he could shoot a third Jaffa... a Necropolis Serpent Guard, well recognizable by his snake helmet... shot Jack. This one was not touched... since he responded to the attack with mockery.
"But how many times will it be necessary to repeat it?! Don't be so eager! I already have a partner for the next ball!"
While lowering his sunglasses with one hand, he searched the pockets of his flack vest. Standing up, he threw two black grenades one after the other. The American colonel aimed very well. The double explosion killed all three opponents.
Jack shrugged his shoulders.
"They really don't accept being told 'no'..." He turned to Major Carter. "Sam it's always okay for the ball?"
Startled, Samantha strangely looked at her superior... a ball? But she had known him long enough to know that when he improvised a joke, he demanded that his subordinates participate.
She smiles with embarrassment.
"Well... yes, if there's a ball, I'll dance with you, of course. But I fly a BC-304 better than I dance."
"Oh, I see... your favorite dance partner must weigh some weight. It is better that he does not walk on your foot."
"Thousands of tons of trinium and naquadah alloy armor, I would also prefer" confirmed Sam.
Crouched behind the low wall, Daniel pulled out his P-90, looking into the prismatic riflescope at the forest where Jaffa in red chainmail clumped and the end of the valley, where Yu's palace was guessed in the distance. Nearby, a Transport Ha'tak floated in the sky. Even from this distance, the archaeologist could see Transport Rings' beams, continually bringing reinforcements to the surface of the planet.
"Apophis is very insisting on the choice of prom partners. He is already sending us replacements."
"We should retreat..."
But the end of Sam's sentence was interrupted by the white light so characteristic of an Asgard Transport Beam.
"... farther?"
Samantha Carter blinked, realizing that the environment in which she stood had suddenly changed. The white light had deposited her with Jack and Daniel in front of the bridge's canopy of a BC-304 spaceship.
Standing again, Jack O'Neill returned his military salute to the military that had just left the command chair.
"Colonel."
"Colonel" replied Jack.
The man he was speaking to was Paul Emerson and the colonel had on his Air Force's jumpsuit shoulder and heart the coat of arms of the Odysseus.
"General Hammond sent me to pick you up. He was worried you wouldn't answer the calls."
"The enemy had taken the Gate sector, Colonel Emerson."
"I understood that when I arrived in orbit, Colonel O'Neill."
A few hours later, Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Earth.
George Hammond closed Daniel Jackson's report and crossed his hands on the table. Sitting in the Briefing Room, the three members of SG-1 who had just returned from a mission were patiently watching him, waiting for what their superiors had to tell them.
Through the shielded window of the room, they could see below the currently inactive Stargate, with a group of technicians in labcoat busy inspecting.
"Colonel O'Neill, do you think Apophis wants to keep P3X-042?"
Forgetting for once to joke, Jack nodded.
"It was a great style offensive, these warriors both took control of the Stargate and disembarked from a Mothership."
"In this case, what is his objective? The industrial power of the planet?"
Jack responded without taking the time to think about it.
"With this snake, there is no need to look for practical reasons for his actions. P3X-042 was the capital of another Systemlord, which is reason enough for him to covet this planet. In kindergarten, he must have been the type to steal other people's toys."
Daniel intervened.
"The Free Jaffa were also well placed to take control of P3X-042, and Apophis has always fought against their liberation movement."
General Hammond nodded.
"I take note of your opinion, Professor Jackson."
Sam seemed pensive.
"Since we were talking about the Free Jaffa, I find it strange that Teal'c has not already returned from P2X-003. The Free Jaffa meeting he attended was not supposed to last longer than our mission and we came back several days late."
Hammond frowned.
"The Free Jaffa have not provided us with a precise schedule. I had to participate in a meeting of this kind. They talk for a long time, this kind of discussion is also the opportunity to renew old friendships, marry their children, and make commercial contracts."
Jackson nodded.
"The tribal culture of the Jaffa is very similar to that of the Berbers of the Sahara or the nomads of Siberia. This sort of discussion has a sacred character. One cannot depart from the ritualized politeness fixed by customs without insulting the clan that invites others."
"And then the negotiations can be complicated. Major Carter, Teal'C came to support Master Bra'tac" concluded Hammond.
"If I remember correctly, the subject of these negotiations was to study Ba'al's proposed alliance with the Free Jaffa?"
"Right, Daniel, and Bra'tac are firmly opposed to any compromise with the Goa'uld."
Jack had been listening with growing unease. Since Sam's first words, he could almost hear an alarm bell ringing in his brain. Jack was sure that Teal'c was in danger. Finally, he spoke, and his worried tone - even more than his words- startled his friends.
"I understand that the discussions are long and complicated: Should we kickass the Goa'uld back to their hole or should we kickass the Goa'uld back to their hole? But this does not prevent Teal'c from sending a phone call home!"
After these words, a moment of unease spread in the room... as if the temperature in the room had dropped several degrees. Eventually, Hammond broke the silence.
"I will ask Walter to contact P2X-003."
Norman Walter Davis Harriman was dressed in the blue jumpsuit of the SGC with the coat of arms of this organization. Short hair, with glasses, he looked like a studious first of the class.
"Chevron seven... engaged"
On the screen in front of him, the last symbol had actually registered.
The ring of naquadah had stopped turning and the seventh triangle was closed on the symbol of a constellation. Orange lights appeared on the chevron and then...
A luminous geyser surged into the Gateroom, illuminating the piece of concrete deep beneath a mountain.
When the geyser fell back into the ring, the inside of the naquadah circle had been replaced by a sort of luminous water basin suspended vertically, in defiance of gravity. The ripples of the 'liquid' illuminated the walls.
General Hammond leaned over a microphone on a desk, pressing a button.
"Teal'c, this is the SGC, General Hammond is talking to you. Teal'c come in."
Once, twice, three times... Hammond repeated his call without receiving an answer. The 26th level was entirely occupied by powerful communication instruments, constantly improved thanks to the latest discoveries. If Teal'c were on P2X-003, his radio would certainly receive the message since the transmitters could even contact ships in the same planetary system as the gate.
Behind Hammond, Samantha spoke.
"I will have a MALP prepared."
The small autonomous robot rolled to the Stargate and crossed the Horizon of Events.
"Destructuring engaged" announced Walter.
Indeed, a small simplistic animation shows the MALP disintegrating. At an unthinkable speed, the robot crossed the galaxy in a ghostly tunnel between the universes before reconstituting itself on the other side.
Sitting next to the door technician, Sam rotated the MALP camera to inspect the Stargate area. On the screen appeared an apocalypse scene.
P2X-003's Stargate was in a wide semi-desert valley between two series of hills. Normally the dunes were next to palm trees, and the spectators should also have seen some columns of stone worn by wind erosion that delimited a paved road.
Everything was still there except...
Some of the palms were lying on the ground, or broken, still smoking. Everywhere deep craters with blackened edges testified that the area of the door had been bombed.
Worse, there were corpses on the ground in Jaffa's chainmail.
Suddenly, the MALP appeared to tremble. The image wavered covered itself with parasites, and recovered briefly, although of a lower quality... Then the robot was shaken again and... the image disappeared permanently.
But Sam had time to see something.
"Walter replay the last recorded footage, slow motion!"
The technician executed the order and images slowly appeared, pixilated, masked by parasites...
"Stop!"
With her finger, Major Carter showed two characters standing behind one of the collapsed columns they were holding the Staff Weapons they had used to destroy the robot.
Daniel was the first to react.
"Them again!"
Jaffa in red Chainmail!
O'Neill was heating up with anger.
"Decidedly, we must give too much free time to Apophis. Like a small child, if we do not pay attention to him, he makes a ruckus." Turning to Hammond who had listened in silence, Jack added: "General, I ask permission to immediately begin the organization of a rescue mission on planet P2X-003. The goal is to find Teal'c, Brat'ac, and the other Jaffa's leaders."
"Granted, Colonel. Don't waste a minute."
Somewhere in the Milky Way.
The scene took place inside the hangar of a Ha'tak transformed into... some sort of experimental camp? Prison? Torture room?
Behind a transparent panel, two men were watching the scene below. Jaffa using rods of anguish, a torture weapon resembling large forks with two teeth, led Jaffa prisoners towards some kind of sarcophagus aligned along the walls. They fastened the prisoners and then closed the lid. Wires, cables, and equipment were immediately attached to the temples and forehead of the prisoner. Then the instruments started. In a faint hum, the 'session' began. After about ten of these sessions, the effects were final.
Suddenly, a musical murmur was heard.
Taking a small sphere of quicksilver-like material out of his pocket, Ba'al listened to the report of one of his spies.
A mocking voice was heard.
"Good news?"
Ba'al turned to his ally. As usual, Gilgamesh sat on his golden throne and drank from a cup he called the 'Uruk's Grail'.
"But yes, King of Uruk... my agents confirmed that Apophis did attack the Free Jaffa meeting."
"Oh, but I must congratulate my jester, once again he has prepared a first-choice entertainment for his king."
"Your Majesty is too good"
Ba'al replied in a strangled voice, without concealing his fury, but Gilgamesh limited himself to laughing arrogantly as if the reaction of his 'buffoon' was part of the show.
Yet the System Lord had achieved a masterpiece of conspiracy and manipulation. Thanks to the agents he had managed to infiltrate in the Free Jaffa Council, he had obtained the secret coordinates of a planet where a meeting of the main leaders had just been organized... to which he was not invited and which he was not even supposed to know.
Ba'al had communicated this information to Apophis... without Apophis knowing it came from him. Of course, the intelligence highlighted the presence of Teal'c and Bra'tac at this meeting... irresistible bait for his rival, obsessive about Teal'c's betrayal.
"I find it very poetic" approved Gilgamesh. "Eliminate these troublemakers by accusing your own worst enemy."
Indeed, Apophis had managed to inflict several affronts on Lord Ba'al, so calling him 'worst enemy' was not exaggerated. And the crafty false god was not one of those who forgot to 'reward' this kind of 'kindness'. Perhaps he was a bit resentful, even a slightly bad loser... but from Ba'al Zebub was it really so surprising? The Machiavellian Goa'uld had done a double blow. Not only, he had eliminated the leaders of the Free Jaffa but he also managed to manipulate Apophis into doing the dirty work for him. The most fun was that it would be the Free Jaffa, the Tau'ri and perhaps even the Asgard would be the instruments of his vengeance against the Serpent King. It would be jubilant!
"Of course," added the Golden King, "the new leaders of the Free Jaffa will approve the alliance with Lord Ba'al."
Ba'al had a faint smirk, the usual smile of a man who never took his own actions quite seriously.
"Naturally, they recognized me as the greatest leader of all time. A sudden revelation..."
The malefic System Lord watched his guards bring a new batch of Free Jaffa into the sarcophagi... which were Brainwashing machines!
(1)... almost... in the Stargate Atlantis show (Canon) after the "Liam Faction" became illegal and its members were forcibly reprogrammed, some of them managed to hide their true thoughts, proving that it is possible to deceive the Central Server.
Author's note: Hakuno and Ba'al could teach Palpatine how to take control of a galaxy. Lesson one: Next time Palpatine, at least try to bolt a shield plate between the cosmic void and the generator of your superweapon... after four losses, maybe it's time you finally understood.