WeirdGuyOne & Boyzilla: Oh? You've ever seen a Goa'uld face an enemy in a duel, in a closed field, with a referee and... *Voice-over* Lord Yu... Uh... Yes... but it's a very special case. So, there is no honorable Goa'uld (apart from Lord Yu, of course). A Goa'uld's main weapon is cunning. He deceives, he cheats, he manipulates, he betrays. And Anubis will use these weapons to confront Gilgamesh. He will use his army or his fleet to ambush the King of Heroes; trap Gilgamesh on a planet and ignite the destruction of the whole planetary system, or Anubis use his Ancient technology knowledge to craft a new weapon capable of destroying a Servant. If the renegade Systemlord fails, he will flee to hatch a new plot. He will only fight head-on if he is cornered. It's the base of the Goa'uld's art of war.
Author's note: as always, I thank the readers for their continued support. As this is probably my last publication for 2023, I would also like to wish you a happy end of the year.
Kull Warriors
Tau'ri (Earth) Milky Way Galaxy
Daylight was rising on Cheyenne Mountain Complex. Vehicles were entering and exiting the wire fence surrounding the mountain. The guards controlling the gates inspected cars and trucks while other soldiers, M-16 brought to the right shoulder, patrolled the perimeter.
The huge armored door leading inside the mountain... the equivalent of a safe door, but as high as a house, was open. Uniformed officers exchanged military salutations as they crossed paths. It was an ordinary day for this anthill dug by human hands.
Far below the surface, at Level 21, a large concrete room painted white and blue was occupied by several hospital beds.
For an hour Dr. Fraiser had been controlling the reflexes of one of her patients, noting that he was ready to regain consciousness. On the bed, Teal'c's eyelids tightened several times, and then he opened his eyes.
Teal'c felt as if he was getting out of some inner swamp, thoughts stuck in the mud that slowed him down and exhausted him.
Slowly, the Jaffa climbed closer to the surface light, and suddenly...
He became aware of looking at a white ceiling that seemed familiar to him.
"Teal'c, can you hear me?"
The alien member of SG-1 turned his head discovering an equally white wall, and medical electronics. Next to the furniture was a woman in the U.S. Air Force uniform under a white coat. He frowned. His memory was as blank as a white sheet of paper.
"Dr. Fraiser... why am I in the infirmary?"
"I would rather you remembered yourself, but it can wait. For now..." She took out a small lamp from her chest pocket. "Look at the light."
The other three members of SG-1 surrounded the casualty's bed. Bra'tac (on the nearby bed) was still in a coma, although he was no longer considered in danger. Simply because he was older, he needed more time to recover from his imprisonment and the tortures suffered at the hands of Apophis.
Teal'c had listened to his friends tell him how they found his trail and finally released him. He nodded.
"I find it hard to come back to reality, Daniel Jackson. My head is full of weird images... During my sleep, I had visions. Maybe Apophis did something that affected my reason."
Samantha Carter smiled.
"These are dreams. All humans dream. Jaffa cannot dream because they do not sleep. You are the first Jaffa to dream, Teal'c."
Daniel Jackson leaned forward, enthusiastic, but careful not to speak too loudly in a hospital.
"Never forget that dreaming is the very definition of freedom. You and Bra'tac are now completely free to dream of a brighter future, without the Goa'uld symbiote you can now write a new fate, a fate will be yours and yours alone."
Colonel O'Neill looked alternately at Sam and Daniel, visibly wondering what more to say. But found nothing to add except...
He raised both hands and clenched fists wanting to appear enthusiastic and positive.
"You see, everything ends up getting better. Even the situation on Dakara will get better."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow.
"Dakara?"
O'Neill suddenly seemed annoyed. Understanding that he would have kept quiet... after all, Dr. Fraiser insisted that her patient should relax and that violent emotions should be avoided.
Beside him, Sam sighed, shaking her head. The young woman seemed to disapprove of her superior's tactlessness. The archaeologist cleared his throat.
"During your coma, and taking advantage of the disorganization of the Free Jaffa after the ambush orchestrated by Apophis, Anubis attacked Dakara... "
Orbit of Dakara, a few days earlier
Five Transport Ha'tak and twelve Al'kesh orbited Dakara, a world that was at the center of the Jaffa religion. Indeed, it was on this planet that their race had come into existence. The capture of this planet was also the first great victory of the Free Jaffa over the false gods, a humiliation for all the Goa'uld... but especially for Anubis who controlled Dakara.
The invasion of the Replicators had, for a time, relegated this issue to the background. But the Replicators had been exterminated by the Dakara Superweapon... a weapon that had a role to play in Anubis' plans to conquer.
And, again, the planet was at the center of the power struggles tearing apart the decadent Goa'uld Empire.
The Meroe was the flagship of the Free Jaffa. A large room with a black metal floor and golden walls, carved with molded hieroglyphs was used as a bridge. This was the Pel'tak. A Jaffa in Chainmail, skullcap, and long gray satin cape stood in front of the kind of altar that served as a control system. Suddenly the parallelogram-shaped window in front of the command altar became covered with a mercury-like substance on which a schematic overview of the planetary system emerged. Near Dakara, one could see the 5 Transport Ha'tak and the Al'kesh grouped in four squadrons.
But four icons had also just appeared. Contrary to the green which indicated the allied units, they glowed in red which meant that they were hostile. Moreover, Goa'uld hieroglyphs blinked in the center of the screen: "Danger".
The helmsman manipulated the altar's touchpad and several additional windows appeared on the liquid mercury screen. He turned to an older Jaffa wearing the golden emblem of the deceased Goa'uld Cronos.
"Forc'kash, this is four Combat Ha'tak!"
The so-called Forc'kash thought for a few moments. These Ha'tak had shields and weaponry stronger than the ships the Free Jaffa had deployed to protect Dakara. After all, they were just glorified troop transports. Nevertheless, he had a slight numerical superiority... not to mention the presence of four independent squadrons of Al'kesh.
"Ring the alarm, prepare for battle."
At first glance, it was obvious that the two fleets that maneuvered to get closer to each other were made up of ships of the same origin. Nevertheless, despite obvious similarities, there were subtle differences.
The Free Jaffa's Ha'tak were a little smaller and the three-faced pyramid in the center of the structure was orange. The Goa'uld's Ha'tak were a slightly different model with larger, more angular superstructures, while the central pyramid was yellow.
The Free Jaffa sent a first wave of Death Gliders that rushed towards the invaders like a swarm of furious bees. Of course, the enemy fleet had deployed their starfighters and they intercepted them. Immediately, the confrontation turned into a confused melee streaked by the golden projectiles of the Staff Cannons where fighters exploded from time to time.
Forc' Kash smiled. The enemy had fallen into his trap.
"Send the second wave of Death Gliders and the Al'kesh."
Having the numerical advantage, the warlord of the Free Jaffa had kept some of his forces in reserve. Now he could attack the Ha'tak who were no longer defended by a screen of Death Gliders. He pointed to one of the foe's Motherships.
"Concentrate all our firepower on this Ha'tak."
It was a simple space battle tactic. Quickly destroy an opponent to weaken the foe fleet, then move on to the next one... and so on until all opponents are destroyed.
Maneuvering quickly, the ships of the Jaffa deployed in an arc of a circle then...
The main Staff Cannon (at the top of the central pyramid) simultaneously fired at all Free Jaffa's Ha'tak. Around the targeted vessel, a sphere of golden energy formed. The shield vibrated under the effect of the combined impact of several simultaneous shots.
Simultaneously, the Death Gliders and the Al'kesh dived into the target, releasing bursts of light projectiles. The energy screens of the Ha'tak were now as bright as the sun, dripping with bursts of energy... but did not collapse.
The attackers responded with all their weapons. The space around the ships was streaked with gunfire. Spacefighters and Al'kesh exploded while the Free Jaffa Motherships' shields were shaken by impacts that made the huge ships vibrate.
For'Kash stood up, looking at the screen with an expression of amazement. The enemy divided his attacks among all the ships of his fleet while he concentrated all his firepower on a single Ha'tak. So why were his ships starting to take damage while the enemy ship's shield was still resisting? It was impossible!
For'kash didn't know he was facing a fleet sent by Anubis. Thanks to Ancient technology, the Ha'tak's weapons, shields, and hyperdrives had been improved. Each ship was now the equivalent of an Asgard's Bilskirnir.
The Free Jaffa had fought hard. They ended up destroying an Anubis ship... but four of their Ha'tak were just drifting wrecks. The last surviving Mothership accelerated suddenly, escaping the shots that threatened to blow her shields, and disappeared while crossing a hyperspace window.
Around the temple of Dakara, the Free Jaffa had dispersed, sheltering behind the collapsed walls of the city of the Ancients. They were waiting for the enemy to attack. When Transport Rings appeared at about ten points around the ruins they stiffened, lifting their Ma'tok Staffs or P-90s.
But what appeared were not Jaffa... but humanoids dressed in a black Kevlar-like jumpsuit with protections on the chest, shoulders, arms, and legs that seemed made of black plastic. The face was invisible behind a helmet of the same material with a pretty scary face mask.
Demonstrating unnatural coordination, they simultaneously raised their two arms. On each wrist, they had a Plasma Repeater (a scaled-down version of the Ma'tok Staff).
They immediately began to fire with relentless precision. A first Jaffa fell to the ground, his chest turned into a smoking hole, then another, then another...
The Jaffa warriors responded immediately. But the plasma fire dispersed without damage when they struck the cuirasses of the strange aggressors as if they were... absorbed?! The bullets were barely more effective. As the Jaffa themselves, they had a regenerative power that healed their wounds.
The attackers were Kull Warriors, creatures bio-engineered by Anubis to serve as shock troopers.
In half an hour, the Kull massacred thousands of Jaffa with no casualties on their side.
Tau'ri (Earth), back to the present.
"... the Free Jaffa who managed to escape Dakara through the Stargate called these creatures 'Orak' (1), but the Tok'ra infiltrated into Anubis' army say they are artificial creatures called 'Kull'. The most amazing fact is that creatures... are Goa'uld's host. Yet, the Kull have no individuality. They are like flesh robots, programmed to obey their creator until death. A perfectly loyal elite trop. We still don't know how their armor can protect them from plasma weapons and how to counter this advantage" said Sam.
Major Carter, but also O'Neill and Jackson had followed one another to tell Teal'c about the latest events. Their alien friend was now very worried. The loss of Dakara was a defeat as significant symbolically as the capture of the Ancients' weapon could be from a strategic perspective.
O'Neill smiled.
"Don't think we've been sitting around playing yo-yo waiting for you. We've obviously launched a counterattack."
"Well, it was Thor who... "began Daniel.
But Jack cut him off.
"The important thing is that the Phoenix Alliance sent a fleet to retake Dakara and kick Anubis's ghostly ass."
In hyperspace, approaching Dakara.
Sitting in the ejection seat of an F-302 on the flight deck of the Prometheus, Lieutenant-Colonel Cameron Mitchell was tightly bound by the straps of his parachute (although useless in the space void... the Air Force regulations still required the wearing of a parachute aboard all fighters) and the seat belt.
Once again, he checked the F-302 looking for a possible breakdown. His throat was dry and his heart sounded like a drum. He could hear the sound of his rapid breathing in the oxygen mask. Even the bravest man felt fear BEFORE the battle... fortunately, in the heat of the moment, there was always too much to do to still feel terror.
A female voice echoed in the vast metal cave of the main hangar
"Attention, attention, five minutes before the hyperspace exit."
Cameron, or rather 'Cam' as his friends called him, looked around. Four F-302s, including his, were already ready for take-off, lined up on the flight deck. A fifth was pulled to its starting position by a small tractor. In the side alcoves of the hangar, one could see the mechanics, working around the last three starfighters. They armed the missiles and fixed them under the wings, or did the final checks before takeoff.
"One minute before the re-emergence. Condition Red. Be ready for battle, this is not an exercise."
A siren began to roar as red flashing lights began to spin in glass globes.
Cameron jolted as the hangar doors suddenly opened. An Aagard energy field prevented the decompression of the huge room but it was not the void that reigned outside, but the much more impressive landscape of hyperspace. A black nothingness streaked with lights... which were the stars whose orbit they crossed.
"Attention, exiting hyperspace in... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Now."
Behind the force field, the calm of hyperspace was replaced by a scene of chaos. Goa'uld ships but also Asgard and Tau'ri ones exchanged shots amid explosions and swarms of starfighters and Al'kesh who seemed to dance complex figures, crossing in all directions.
Cameron's reflexes played almost without conscious intervention of his mind. He gently pushed the throttles, releasing the undercarriage brakes. With a slight impact, the fighter crossed the force field; the pilot retracted the landing gear and pushed the engine before having his F-302 turn around the Prometheus, waiting for his wingmen to join him.
The Tau'ri ship had just emerged but she was already pinned down and her railguns fired bursts of projectiles toward an Anubis' Ha'tak who was retaliating with golden plasma shots. The impact briefly shook the shields of both vessels. But their fight was just a skirmish compared to the whole battle raging all around.
The circular room was vast with Neutronium partitions, a metal resembling aluminum. At several points of the room consoles operated by Asgard Stones protruded from the walls. In the center of the room, a light beam (an anti-g elevator) allowed access to a translucent catwalk where other consoles were in use.
There were only a few Asgard on the bridge of the O'Neill-Class Cruiser that served as Thor's flagship. In case of emergency, only one Asgard could pilot this type of ship, thanks to the advanced AI and the numerous automatisms.
An officer spoke to Thor without turning back.
"Supreme Commander, the Prometheus has just joined the fight."
A spherical hologram in front of Thor represented the ongoing battle. The forces under the command of the small gray humanoid were considerable. First, two O'Neill MK II and one Bilskirnir Asgard manufactured spacecruiser, then three Free Jaffa's Combat Ha'tak, and finally two BC-304 (the Daedalus and the Odysseus) and one BC-303 (the Prometheus) created by the Tau'ri with the help of the Asgards.
They faced three of Anubis' modernized Combat Ha'tak.
Without saying a word, Thor changed his instructions, updating the tactical display received by each ship's commander.
His flagship accelerated and changed course, it was heading towards an Anubis Ha'tak which was already facing a Free Jaffa ship of the same class and the Odysseus.
The Jaffa's Mothership suffered a heavy bludgeoning, her shields were only at 40% load and she had already received minor damage. The BC-304 fired waves of missiles that exploded on the enemy ship's shields without breaking them.
"Enemy within range, Supreme Commander."
"Open fire."
Ionic projectiles streaked the void of space. Some were only white light lines but others were more powerful spherical 'bombs'. In an instant, the balance of power was upset. Anubis's ship maneuvered. Turning sharply to divert the auto-aiming of the Asgard ship, accelerating and, changing course frequently, she was trying to avoid the shots. But Thor's flagship followed all the movements of her foe while continuing to fire. After an exchange of a dozen shots, the Ha'tak's shields fluctuated and went out.
Followed by his squadron, Cameron Mitchell veered over an O'Neill and then dived 'vertically'. Below the Asgard Cruiser, the battle raged between a Bilkirnir and a Ha'tak. It was a duel of brutes because the two ships were of equal power. Fortunately, the other ship from the Othala galaxy was positioning herself to enter the fight.
"Squadron leader, here is Control, do you copy?"
"This is Cam, I hear you Control."
"Continue on your path for 20 kliks then oblique to 280."
"Understood. Cam over."
He followed the course that the CAG (Wing Commander) of the Prometheus had indicated to him... and arrived straight in another confrontation. Two Free Jaffa's Ha'tak and the Daedalus faced an Anubis ship.
"Your mission is to escort the allied Al'kesh who gathers behind the Men'kaor to Objective 03."
Simultaneously with the oral instructions, a file was downloaded into the F-302's combat computer. Objective 03 was a Modernized Ha'tak.
"Got it."
The Men'kaor was a damaged Ha'tak hiding behind the Tan Shin (the second Ha'tak). The latter still had her shields and the golden half-sphere was constantly hit with shots that she could not dodge because she protected her damaged twin.
The space between this Mothership and her equivalent in the fleet of Anubis was crossed by projectiles as well as wrecks of Death Gliders, Al'kesh... and even F-302, they were still glowing red while spinning on themselves.
Squadrons of fighters swirled in all directions in this space crossed by plasma and rail-gun fire.
It was a deadly combat zone... a literal hell.
Followed by the Al'kesh, the squadron rushed towards its objective. Immediately the guns of Objective 03 targeted them. They dodged, seeming to be dancing on their trajectory. But an F-302 disappeared in an explosion. A second lost a wing and went in a whirling trajectory, probably completely out of control.
"Here is Control, attention, attention! Enemies approaching at 125."
"Understood, I see them!"
Indeed, several red dots had just appeared on the radar. Arrived in the visual recognition range, Cameron realized it was a formation of enemy Death Gliders.
"Squadron Leader to all, shoot them with your missiles!"
Several voices replied in the affirmative.
He armed an AIM 120A missile and fired.
"Fox-Three."
The missile rushed straight ahead, caught up with its target which had just accelerated in an evasive maneuver, and... there was a huge explosion that disintegrated the starfighter.
"Splash on the bandit!"
Other explosions followed, six enemies had just been destroyed. The surviving fighters did not flee, on the contrary, they continued on their interception course, but they were quickly exterminated by the nose-mounted railguns of the F-302, disappearing in silent explosions swallowed by the cosmic void.
The three Al'kesh dived towards Objective 03. At the first pass, they dropped plasma bombs that shook the stern shields while those in the bow caught under the fire of the spaceships of the Phoenix Alliance.
At the second pass, the shields wavered and went out... unfortunately, the Flack had hit an Al'kesh. The big bomber whirled before exploding. The two surviving Al'kesh turned quickly to escape the anti-aircraft fire and dove on the Ha'tak, zigzagging between the superstructures to drop their bombs on the turrets of the Staff Cannons destroying them one after the other.
At the same time, the Daedalus had moved closer and fired railguns burst at the bow superstructures and the Pel'tak.
The explosions were rolling continuously on the hull of the Ha'tak. Ripped apart in various places, she left in her wake a trajectory of frozen air, debris, and... corpses shredded by the explosive decompression. The shots now targeted these breaches to sow devastation in the vital organs of the Mothership.
In the ruins of the city of Dakara several Jaffa surrounded the Stargate. Contrary to tradition, they were not dressed in the classic Jaffa's Chainmail. They looked like Ninja, dressed entirely in black with a kind of turban that hid the mouth and hair. However, their forehead was visible revealing the sign of the false god Anubis.
They were members of his personal guard. No doubt, originally, these Jaffa had served a Goa'uld who impersonated a Japanese god but... this Goa'uld had disappeared, eliminated by an adversary much more dangerous than him and his armies had joined the legions serving the evil specter.
However, despite their courage and dedication, they were mere mortals and they looked up to see the explosions and fighters dog-fighting in the sky.
This was the third time in two months that the battle was raging over Dakara!
A noise brought the guards back to their task.
"The Chappa'ai!"
Indeed the ring of the Stargate had started to turn and only stopped to allow the first chevron to be locked before restarting.
When the ring spewed a liquid-looking geyser that fell back into the liquid mirror of the Events Horizon, the Jaffa were ready for battle.
They were waiting for an enemy army, like Tau'ri's Marines or Shol'va warriors. But only one character crossed the Stargate. It was a humanoid, but not a human... Tall and handsome, he was dressed in gold armor too heavy and too precious so that a mere mortal could wear it. His hair was blond and his eyes were red with vertical pupils.
He took a few steps on the sans of Dakara and looked around him... noting the presence of the Jaffa who aimed at him and a scornful smile appeared on his lips.
Without a word, he set out towards the temple. These despicable beings were too insignificant for the One and Only King to waste his time to kill them...
Nevertheless, the officer in charge of the defense of the Chappa'ai stood up and asked a question:
"What is your god?"
Gilgamesh stopped and glared at the impudent. His eyes narrowed and lit up with a spark of anger as his mouth twisted with a scowl of disgust.
"I'm the King of Heroes, I already despise the true gods. Why I will serve a mere imposter?"
The answer shocked the Jaffa, he took three steps back and shouted, pointing to the Golden King.
"Jaffa kree! Shor'wai'e! Yas! Yas!"
Immediately the guards of Anubis came out of their shelters shouting praise to their 'god' while firing.
Gilgamesh was quick and agile enough to avoid these pathetic attacks... if he wanted to. But he did not make a single movement, a scornful smile playing on his lip.
The plasma projectiles died out by touching his golden armor.
The Jaffa continued to fire for one or two minutes and then realized that their weapons were unable to harm the being in front of them. They stopped shooting and went in dismay.
With arms crossed and eyes squinted, the Wedge of Heaven stared for a moment at the boring clowns who had dared to attack the King.
Several discs of light appeared around Gilgamesh. The surface of the golden circles waved like water as a dozen different weapons appeared, there were halberds, spears, swords, axes belonging to several terrestrial civilizations.
The Noble Phantasms sprang and leaped, each weapon penetrating the chest of a Jaffa. All collapsed, immediately killed... except the officer. Gilgamesh had not attacked him.
Calmly, the King of Uruk approached the survivor. The expression of contempt on his face was mixed with anger.
"Death is not punishment enough to redeem your crime of lèse-majesté, mongrel!"
A strange weapon, a dagger with an entirely barbed cruciform blade appeared in Gilgamesh's hand. Before the Jaffa can react, Gilgamesh hits him in the chest.
"You made me waste my Mana in a pointless fight. You are a pitiful mongrel and you have so little power in your soul... nevertheless, you would be my meal today, even though I hate this idea."
Abandoning the parched corpse of the Jaffa, Gilgamesh set out for the temple.
He had just entered the ruins of the city and stood still, turning his head towards several creatures that were advancing towards him.
He had never seen a Kull Warriors, but the fighters in black plastic armor did not impress him in the least. He smiled as they raised their wrists. The plasma shots were absorbed by his armor.
Without even slowing down, he used Gate of Babylon against them. Although far more resilient than humans or Jaffa and capable of healing wounds capable of killing on the first try anyone else... they were just creature of blood and bones. Several magi's staffs appeared. Fireball, destructive rays, and whirlwinds of cold erupted from the staffs sweeping everything before them. Charred, frozen, or disintegrated, the Kull were slaughtered in an instant.
But others kept coming...
Gilgamesh was in a bad mood.
Actually, he was in a bad mood when he arrived on Dakara.
He hated having to intervene to correct the mistakes of stupid mortals... although this was not something new to him. After all, he had died from overwork... because his mortal subordinates were unable to properly conduct Uruk's affairs. Humans constantly needed the King to teach them how to do things. Left to their own devices, they created only unequal societies; destroying the ecosystem and squandering resources by multiplying without stopping like a virus killing its host. But this incorrigible ugly world will amuse the heart of the One and Only King.
He had only met the Jaffa and the Goa'uld a few weeks earlier, but they were just as stupid... only Ba'al had found favor in his eyes because he was the kind of mongrel that Gilgamesh loved to watch dancing for his own amusement...
And those Free Jaffa idiots had lost control of Dakara, allowing Anubis to take over the Ancients Superweapon.
Leaving such a weapon in the hands of this evil specter would not have been very reassuring in any situation. And, despite all his shortcomings, Gilgamesh had always been a defender of humanity, protecting humans from various calamities. That was more than enough reason for him to intervene.
In addition, Ba'al feverishly explained to the King of Heroes (visibly very worried about the situation) that this weapon was capable of killing anything regarding of any sort of shielding protecting the target. The only difficulty was to calibrate the weapon to the specific energy frequency of the creature it was aimed at. Even a Servant, a Ghost Liner, could be affected... And the fact that the dark specter attacked Dakara just after declaring war on the King of Uruk was probably no coincidence.
His ally had been so convincing that Gilgamesh immediately used a Stargate to return to the sacred planet of the Jaffa.
Several Kull attacked Gilgamesh when he entered the temple. But once again, they meet their own demises, massacred by the Noble Phantasm fired by Gate of Babylon.
The King of Uruk opened a secret passage in a wall and descended the stairs leading to the Crypt of the Ancients.
The place had changed a bit since his last stay. The room had been swept away and the debris removed... and four Kull were at attention, surrounding a short-haired blonde's Jaffa who was dressed in the traditional chainmail of his people and wrapped in a long gray cloak. He was busy operating the stone slab of the Superweapon control table, following the instructions of Anubis' hologram, projected near the screen on which phrases written in the Ancients alphabet crossed vertically and horizontally.
At first a little worried, Gilgamesh noticed that the banished Systemlord was programming the weapon to use it again the Asgard, preparing to wipe all the Milky Way from their presence.
When the Jaffa turned to him finally noticing his presence, the King of Uruk saw that the sign of his 'god' on his forehead was carved in gold. His name was Her'ak, Anubis' First Prime.
Humanity First Hero smiled and stepped forward before backing back, swearing. He had been repelled by a golden energy force field that had suddenly manifested. Of course, the obstacle was not very efficient against the Wedge of Heaven.
He astralized briefly, disappearing in golden particles to reappear on the other side of the barrier.
The Kull attacked immediately but were exterminated in one second.
"We meet again and sooner than I had expected."
Gilgamesh turned to the hologram. It was a three-dimensional image of Anubis that fluttered slightly and distorted from time to time. The banished Goa'uld was dressed in his usual black monk dress and his dark glass mask appeared under the hood, where a face should have been.
"And again, we're not face-to-face," replied the Golden King. "Do you fear me that much, snake?"
There was a silence of several seconds...
"As a matter of fact, yes... I would have nothing to gain from confronting you directly, Gilgamesh."
"Quite the contrary! I promise you a quick death... for such is the extent of the mercy of the One that is the Pinnacle of Glory. You risk losing the benefit of the King's leniency if you continue to irritate Him. "
"I must refuse this generous offer. I prefer to rule the universe for eternity, King of Uruk."
Even though the voice of the specter was artificially generated, the tone was mocking. It was visible that Anubis thought he had all the asses in his sleeve. It irritated Gilgamesh deeply... there was nothing he hated more than 'mongrels' that did not treat him with the respect he thought he deserved.
"I'm the Great King, one who had everything in His Hands. The One who holds the World in His Hand. The universe is mine and I have no intention of giving it to anyone."
Again Anubis remained silent for a few moments.
"Today I was defeated, I admit my failure. And I lost, perhaps definitively, one of the weapons that would have allowed me to kill you, King Gilgamesh. But that doesn't mean you'll be victorious at our next meeting. Have you finished your task, Her'ak?"
The King of Uruk turned to the First Prime. Upon the Servant's arrival, he had retreated to the back of the room without saying a word. As a low mortal, Gilgamesh didn't care at all about him ... the arrogance of the demigod had always been his greatest weakness. Nevertheless, Her'ak had not been idle. The Jaffa had received instructions concerning Gilgamesh specifically, and he pointed a strange device in the direction of the Servant. It was a sphere of matt metal decorated with a complex design with a kind of cavity containing a blue eye-like crystal. The First Prime bowed his head as a mark of respect for his god upon hearing his name.
"Yes, My Lord."
"You can leave," Anubis ordered.
"As my god desires."
The First Prime pressed a button on his gauntlet and... a beam of white light enveloped him, making him disappear.
"Thus far, I discovered four ways to destroy you, King Gilgamesh," said Anubis. "The Dakara Superweapon was just one of them. I wish you nights full of nightmares where you see me annihilate you while waiting for our next meeting, O mighty monarch of Uruk. With that, I withdraw."
The 3D image disappeared suddenly, leaving behind the echoes of a mocking laugh.
In orbit.
Cloaked, an Al'kesh was waiting in geostationary orbit over the city of Dakara. So far, the spacecraft has escaped detection. In addition to the cloaking device, the Goa'uld heavy bomber had one more unusual piece of equipment on board... It was the Asgard Beam Transporter that teleported He'rak.
Apophis was not the only Systemlord to have captured an ex-Replicator Bilskirnir-class Cruiser after the Battle of Dakara. The evil specter had also dissected a captured ship to learn the technological secrets of her builders.
Her'ak immediately sat down in the pilot's chair, starting the thrusters at maximum power.
Anubis' hologram appeared next to his First Prime.
"The specific frequency of Gilgamesh has been recorded?"
"Yes, My Lord."
"All right. Come back soon, I have another mission for you."
"I obey, My Lord."
Far from the Dakara System.
Anubis' immense flagship floated in the cosmic void, surrounded by dozens of Ha'tak, as well as several thousand auxiliary ships of various sizes like the Hok Al'kesh (capable of carrying hundreds of warriors) to the comparatively tiny two-seat Death Gliders.
The Pel'tak of the dark ship was larger than that of a Ha'tak. The walls covered with hieroglyphs were made of black metal like the ground. On a platform surrounded by two braziers, Anubis meditated.
In truth, he never wanted to use the Dakara Superweapon against Gilgamesh... simply because he did not know the specific frequency of the Servants. Without this information, the weapon could not be set to affect the King of Uruk.
Of course, now (thanks to He'rak) this information was known to the Descended Goa'uld. But he no longer had the Dakara Superweapon to use it. Ironic, isn't it? Except that...
He turned to another Goa'uld who waited patiently for orders.
"Ptah, immediately begins mass production of the modified Transphase Eradication Rod (2)."
The Goa'uld had already encountered beings that were not made of 'normal' matter. This had led to a war with these beings, the Goa'uld being unable to live in peace, always viewing the existence of other intelligent beings as a threat. They were a warlike civilization. As these aliens were invulnerable to ordinary weapons, neither the plasma weapons of the Jaffa nor the bullets of the Tau'ri firearms could harm them, the T.E.R. was created specifically to kill such creatures.
Nevertheless, even when modified and tuned to hurt a Servant, the weapon remained relatively weak... a plasma shot being probably unable to pass the protection offered by Gilgamesh's golden armor.
But, even if Anubis did not have sufficient knowledge of the Ancient technology to recreate the Dakara Superweapon from scratch, he had learned enough by studying it to improve the T.E.R. and transform it into a weapon capable of deconstructing Gilgamesh at the molecular level, forcibly separating the prana particles that made up the body of a Servant.
Oh, Anubis wasn't naive. He had understood that Gilgamesh was a being far superior to him with means to protect himself that the Goa'uld couldn't even imagine. He suspected that even a modified T.E.R. would not be enough to kill the King of Uruk. However, the false god was not really worried... It had never been in his plans to use a SINGLE COPY of this weapon. After all, he was the god of fanaticized Jaffa more than happy to die if he gave them the order. Anubis did not mind arming ten thousand Jaffa with T.E.R. and sending them to attack Gilgamesh in mass. If the Hero killed them all, Anubis would reply by sending 100,000 or a million more...
Quantity was a strength by itself.
Author's note: never underestimate a Goa'uld, they are cunning, pugnacious, and ready for anything. It's always a dangerous combination, but especially for an amoral tyrant who doesn't care about billions of innocent victims.
(1) "Unspeakable" in Goa'uld dialect.
(2) The T.E.R. is a weapon created by the Goa'uld to destroy the Reetou, an advanced insectoid civilization. The Reetou are made of 'phased' matter not only invisible to human eyes but also nearly immaterial. (Stargate SG1 episode 20 season 2 "Show and Tell".)