11: Occupation
While an army of Jaffa prepared and rested for tomorrow's offensive, an increasingly perturbed Calsharan military Governor remained awake, sitting in his office upon the highest levels of the great temple overlooking Chulak's capital. The same great temple that had been broken into the year before, when the high-value prisoner Teal'c had been rescued out from under him. That was a black mark upon the record of Governor and 'Protector General' Lorvoss Valinno, and it was perhaps the one and only such mark. He intended to prevent any further disgrace, no matter what it took to do so. Unfortunately, it seemed fate had other plans in mind.
The General was a broad Calsharan male, with grey-blue skin, pale blue eyes and an otherwise stocky figure upon which a noticeable amount of excess weight clung to his belly. His black and grey uniform was adorned with multiple-coloured ribbons; commendations received over a long and varied military career. In human years, the General would be a man in his sixties, one who had perhaps indulged a little too much in fine cuisine in more recent times. Indeed, ever since becoming the military Governor of Chulak, General Valinno had found many such opportunities to indulge.
He sat alone in his lavishly furnished office, formerly the private chambers of the Jaffa head of state here on Chulak. And even before then, they had once been the chambers of a Goa'uld known as Apophis, although most evidence of his spending time here was gone. Even Valinno had covered up the place with his own regalia, from flags to plaques and framed images. Much of the latter consisted of holographs taken of himself meeting various important figures within the Calsharan Systems Union, with the most recent of which seeing him shaking hands with the new High Protector, Tarva Garall. The youngest to be appointed to the office, and the one whose mismanagement had seen civil war divide the great Calsharan empire.
Of course, Valinno kept that opinion to himself. Agents of the Union Political Directorate were everywhere, to the point that he suspected his own Captain Dorvask to be one of them. That Captain had been severely wounded when the insurgents and their human allies had broken into the temple to rescue Teal'c, yet through the miracles of Calsharan medical science the Captain had survived.
For now, music played from the terminal by the window at his rear. It was Calsharan classical, the kind of music that Valinno enjoyed and had often used as a means to help him relax. This time around, it did anything but. Rising from his chair, cast in the yellow illumination brought on by the orb-shaped fittings about the columned, stone room, he stepped over to the terminal and swiped the 'off' button. The music stopped abruptly, right in the middle of a bombastic chorus, and Valinno found himself looking through the reinforced stained-glass windows towards the city below.
The odd fire burned, the yellow and orange of the flames stark against the night. Every so often, he could discern weapons fire from somewhere distant. Fighter craft roared over the city, with a constant rotating patrol in place. He stood before the window for a good minute, looking across the darkened city, his own personal fortress. The people here had been nothing but ungrateful to him, their resistance having only increased in the past few months.
There sounded a knock at the door. It was a persistent one, sounding off again and again at a rapid rate. Finally, the heavy oak door swung open, creaking upon ageing hinges. A ruddy faced, dark-haired Jaffa man in earthen-coloured robes stormed in. He was quickly followed by the bulky, imposing form of Captain Dorvask, the Calsharan's piercing blue eyes searching out the Governor. Two guards were behind him, and the Jaffa who had stormed in was no doubt the target of their attention.
"Governor Valinno!" The Jaffa, Veyau'c, sounded panicked. His wide-eyed, fearful expression certainly indicated that something had disturbed him. He rushed to the Governor's desk, his tone almost pleading. Valinno turned about to face him, narrowing his eyes at the Jaffa.
"I'm sorry, General," Dorvask said, as he stepped into the office after the Jaffa. "He insisted on seeing you."
"It's fine, Captain." Valinno eyed Dorvask carefully, wary of the bulky Captain. Even his sheer size had become a point of unease for the General. Dorvask had been a loyal second to Valinno since the occupation had started, yet with the onset of civil war the General had been unable to stem the tide of paranoia that threatened to undermine his command decisions. Dorvask was popular among the troops and, from what the General had seen, the females as well. And yet, Dorvask has eschewed female Calsharan attention, instead opting for the desperate female Jaffa who occasionally came by the temple looking for assistance, be it for additional rations or some financial aid. Passes to leave the city and visit communities in the High Cliffs region were popular, and of course such applications went through Dorvask's office. The Captain had taken to his duties here with a relish that uneased even Valinno, and all this did was further his paranoia in regards to him.
"They're going to attack!" Veyau'c sounded desperate. He had been the official Jaffa liaison between the occupying forces and the locals, and this had afforded him privileges most of the Jaffa population were not offered. In the eyes of many, he was a traitor, yet he was a protected traitor at that. As it stood, the situation on Chulak had reached a point where his safety was no longer assured.
"That seems obvious, Veyau'c," Valinno countered, his tone level.
"They're going to launch an attack tomorrow, Governor. I have it on good authority that they will move at dawn. Their intention is to force you off of this planet."
"As has been their intention from the beginning," Valinno replied. "Regardless of when they attack, we will be ready for them. You don't honestly believe I would have been left to run this place as long as I have if I did not know what I was doing?" Granted, 'occupying alien worlds' was not something he had been trained for. Sure, as a General he managed people, organized armies and the like. But to be Governor of an occupied world? That was not something so easily prepared for. Nonetheless, he had surmised that he had done reasonably well, at least until the past month where the local populace had become increasingly unruly. As the insurgents had pushed onto the capital and been reinforced with ha'tak class vessels, the civilian population had seemingly increased their resentment and outright resistance to Calsharan rule in turn. Valinno had supposed this was inevitable, and so he had enacted far harsher crackdown methods. Food was a tightly controlled commodity here on Chulak, and much of the yields made from the region's farms had been claimed by the Calsharans. Rations were doled out to the locals in amounts just sufficient to keep them from starving.
"If they attack, then I want my safety to be guaranteed," Veyau'c demanded, and once again his voice took on an insistent, desperate tone. "That of my family as well. If the insurgents get hold of me…"
"I imagine they will be none too pleased," Valinno finished, and the casual nature of this remark only made Veyau'c glare at him. "I will not retreat, if that is your concern. To abandon this world would be to leave in defeat, and I will not return to the home world to face that disgrace." The High Protector would have him assigned somewhere miserable, probably some forgotten outpost on the fringes of Union territory. Valinno was aware that other, further Calsharan holdings had been abandoned, their occupying forces recalled to the home-world in response to the civil war now tearing apart the thousand-year Union. So far, such orders had not come his way. Valinno was partly disappointed by this, for official orders to leave Chulak were the kind he would happily obey. As it stood, retreating now would destroy his reputation and career.
"We're all in the same situation, Veyau'c. You keep to within the great temple and you will live."
"And if you do leave?" Now the Jaffa leaned over the desk, frantic eyes meeting Valinno's weary blue ones.
"Then you are welcome to come with us." Valinno delivered the lie straight-faced, the mark of one experienced in such things. No Jaffa would be welcome on the home world, and Veyau'c could look forward to a lengthy incarceration if he ever decided to tag along on a flight back to Calshae Prime. No doubt that incarceration would be eventually followed up by a convenient disappearance, but that was simply the way things worked back home. Even more so now, with the civil war in play.
"How can you be so relaxed?" Veyau'c stood up again and began pacing about the room. "They have the means to take this city. The numbers and the air support. How can you just sit there and act as if this is normal?"
"Because the matter is well in hand," Valinno replied. He eyed Dorvask, who remained standing off to the right, eyes set upon the agitated Jaffa. He said nothing, he simply allowed the exchange to run its course.
"I do understand your concerns," Valinno continued. "I also understand that you have been hoarding the old Goa'uld treasures. No doubt you will want to guarantee their safety as well?"
Veyau'c froze mid-pace. He spun about to look to Valinno again, his eyes narrowed.
"Don't think I haven't noticed," Valinno added, and he rose to his feet. His portly belly was barely contained by his uniform, and as such the whole outfit appeared noticeably tight. "We catalogued everything down in the vault when he moved in here. Something goes missing, I know about it."
What treasures that had not been sent home to Calshae Prime were kept where they had been found. The Goa'uld System Lord, Apophis, had hoarded a treasure trove during his rule here. Some of those items had been inherited from the previous System Lord ruler, Cronus. Many had originated from other worlds, relics of various alien cultures. Among them rare metals and gleaming jewels of all manner of colours and shapes and sizes. And Veyau'c here had smuggled the odd piece out of the temple's hidden vault since the occupation had started. With the Jaffa still being caught up in their feudal ways, a few gold pieces could go a long way.
"It's all right, my friend," Valinno said, and he stepped around the desk and sidled up alongside the increasingly nervous Jaffa. "You want to get ahead. Don't we all?"
Veyau'c nodded his head slowly. No point denying it now.
"Have you ever been off of Chulak, Veyau'c?" The General asked.
"No, Governor."
"You should see Calshae Prime." He swept his arm out, as if gesturing to the green plains and rolling hills of his home. "There are places there I would not hesitate to describe as 'paradise'." Now standing just to Veyau'c's left, he glanced to Dorvask. He gave the Captain a small nod, and the burly Calsharan stepped forwards.
"Do you have a symbiote, Veyau'c?" Valinno asked. He turned to the worried Jaffa, who appeared confused by this latest question.
"Those are very hard to come by in these times," Veyau'c said. "So no, Governor."
"So you're beholden to the humans of Earth? For a steady supply of tretonin?" Valinno found this topic so very fascinating. He walked Veyau'c towards the windows, and there he looked out across the darkened city wherein the odd fire burned and the people had grown discontent. No, more than discontent: disgruntled.
"We make much of it ourselves, now," Veyau'c stated.
"Good, that's good." Valinno nodded his head. "And yet, your people are so stuck in their ways. So barbaric, so feudal. It will be generations before the taint of Goa'uld rule will fade. What do you think of what we have done here, on Chulak?" He turned to the Jaffa again, searching for an answer. Veyau'c appeared uneasy, and the line of questioning only compounded that sensation. "Have we improved Jaffa society?"
"Governor, I am not sure…"
"Answer the question." Valinno snapped the words with a sudden anger, and he grabbed the Jaffa by one shoulder and spun him around so that they were now face-to-face. "Your people are used to being slaves, so by and large you should be happy under the benevolent rule of the Calsharan Systems Union. Would you not agree?"
Veyau'c appeared panicked. He squirmed out of Valinno's grasp and took a few steps back.
"Governor, if I may say so—"
"Yes?" Valinno interrupted. Dorvask had slipped about the Jaffa's flank during the exchange, and now he crept up behind the increasingly frantic 'liaison'
"Your question is not one I am comfortable answering." A diplomatic reply, Valinno was almost impressed. Before the occupation, Veyau'c had worked for a diplomat in a secretarial role of sorts. The occupation had offered a means to increase his standing, and now that it was at risk he grew anxious and wished to flee. Valinno could not stand cowards or defeatist attitudes, and with a small gesture towards Dorvask he put an end to the troublesome Jaffa then and there.
Dorvask plunged his blade through the man's upper back, sliding it between his ribs and piercing his heart. It was an expert move, with years and years of training and experience behind it. Veyau'c's eyes widened and a gasp escaped his mouth, yet he made little other sound. The life left him almost instantly, and he collapsed against the burly Calsharan Captain as if he were a puppet whose strings had all been cut at once. Dorvask passed the dead Jaffa to one of his guards, ordering them to dispose of the body. Had Veyau'c been carrying a symbiote, then Dorvask would likely have plunged the blade into the Jaffa's pouch instead. That would have resulted in a slower, more agonizing death. The kind Valinno could find some entertainment value in, rather than the sudden and near-instantaneous method of a knife through the heart.
"We don't need him," Valinno declared, as the guard dragged the body out of the office. A bloody trail was left in its wake, smearing red across the glazed, tiled floor. Dorvask shouted for someone to clean it up, and little under a minute later a young and rather meek looking Jaffa woman entered, dressed in a drab grey gown and equipped with a bucket of water and rags. She went on her hands and knees and began to wipe up the blood, all the while keeping her eyes downcast and away from her Calsharan masters. She seemed especially frightened of Dorvask, and Valinno could not blame her.
"Captain," Valinno said, getting Dorvask's attention. He stood before the General's desk, hands clasped behind his back and posture straight and rigid.
"Sir?"
"Will the Jaffa attack tomorrow?"
Dorvask frowned slightly as he considered the question, but otherwise tilted his head. A look of uncertainty, at least where he was concerned.
"Perhaps. What difference would it make, sir?"
"None whatsoever." Valinno intended to hold this city to the last man. He also intended to be that 'last man'. "I am curious, however, as to your actual purpose here."
"My purpose, sir?" Now Dorvask's face creased into a mean scowl. "I am your second, sir. I am here to carry out your orders and perform my duties as an officer of the Calsharan Systems Union."
"You know what I mean, Captain. The UPD sent you here to keep an eye on me, didn't they?" Valinno returned Dorvask's scowl with one of his own. As he spoke this latest question, Dorvask's expression moved from annoyance to confusion.
"Sir, I think you have me mistaken."
"You think I would retreat in the face of the enemy?" Valinno asked. He could not keep his voice from wavering, paranoia flaring into anger. Now Dorvask simply appeared worried, as it had become clear to him these past couple of months that Protector General Valinno was beginning to cave under the strain of command.
"I cannot say, sir. But I can assure you that I am no operative of the UPD." Now the guard at the door was watching them. "We have worked together since our forces first came to Chulak. You know me well, sir. And you know I would never work for such an organization."
"So you do not approve of the UPD?"
"No, sir, that isn't what I meant." Dorvask clenched his jaw. Valinno quirked a brow-ridge, a small smile forming at his mouth.
"Captain, I want our patrols doubled. I want every Calsharan in this city armed. And I want explosives set throughout the city. If the Jaffa do attack, then we shall raze the city down on top of them." It was a plan he had considered for a while, yet he had seen no need for it. Now, however, he felt that it was indeed necessary. With an unruly population and the enemy at the gates, now was as good a time as any to wipe the game board clean.
Dorvask looked about to protest, but he otherwise decided not to. He could not care less for the locals, but destroying the city seemed brash even for him. Nearby, the Jaffa servant had managed to clean up most of Veyau'c's blood. Valinno nodded in the young woman's direction.
"So, off you go, Dorvask. And don't forget to take that whore with you."
Dorvask frowned again but said nothing. He saluted, albeit with a little less sincerity than normal, before he spun on his heels and strode from the room. He motioned for the dark-haired Jaffa woman to follow, and she obeyed through fear of further hurt inflicted upon her. Valinno went back around his desk and sat down again, the chair audibly creaking under his heavy bulk. Outside, another fighter craft raced overhead, the whine of its engines cutting through the relative quiet of the night. It would be an especially quiet night for Valinno, now that he did not have to worry about the pestering of his so-called Jaffa community 'liaison'. Even so, Veyau'c's warning of an attack had certainly seemed sincere, so what better way to meet the attack than with row after row of high explosives?