Good day and today I present another chapter. This one much longer. I have no idea how it happened but for some reason there was a glitch and the chapter I had uploaded as chapter 2 for this story didn't upload the way I thought it did. If you are reading this then that means that this one has worked and now we can actually get back to the story at hand.
Please review if this works and let me know what you think of this much longer chapter, sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience. I hope you enjoy reading more about Nabu and his adventure as a Goa'uld. I do want to give some context for when and what is happening during the time of this story though and that will be at the end of the story.
Without further ado, on with the story!
Everything was going wrong. So very wrong. I was sent by my Lord, Marduk, to investigate a revolt and now here I was. Inside some dusty old temple, trying to not get shot, again, by a band of misfits that claim that Goa'uld are false gods and that they don't wish to serve us. Today was going just great.
It started the day after I received my host, Abdul. I left my quarters and arrived at the main chamber of my Lord. Kneeling before him and his Queen as any proper Goa'uld should.
A warm breeze swept through the room as Marduk waited for some unseen signal. He was very dramatic, as I would come to find out, but only when it suited him. His aura was close to that of a master manipulator. One who was so in control of a situation that they could afford to be a little dramatic from time to time and boy did he love to do it when it annoyed me the most. Here I was, knelt before him and he was grinning like an idiot just playing up the drama for his own amusement. What was worse was that I couldn't do anything to stop him.
"Rise, my child" There it was, his hidden signal and now we could finally get down to business. It was surprising that the rest of my race hadn't died from the slave sooner. We were too invested in playing the part of being Gods that we damn near believed it ourselves, some did.
My ornate robe shifted as I moved to stand before my Lord. Marduk was as amused as ever however his Queen, Sarpanitum, didn't seem as enthused about his behavior if the nasty glare she threw his way was any indication.
"Nabu, you appear to be acclimating well to your new host. Are you ready to serve us?" I could only nod as his grin faltered at his Queen's subtle admonishment.
"Yes my Lord. I am ready to serve you and my Queen" My eyes subtly shifting to Sarpanitum. Her scarlet hair flowed down her shoulders like silk, eyes a venomous yellow that seemed to reach into my soul and lay it bare before her as her eyes raked across my form. I could feel the thoughts and schemes being formulated within her head. She was as frightening and imposing as Marduk. Although I shouldn't have expected any less from a Queen. She probably held more sway in Enki's court than even Marduk himself. It was the fate of those who consorted with Queens. If I ever raise my prestige enough to become an Underlord, I would never allow myself to fall victim to such manipulative creatures.
"Good…" The half-amuse timbre of his metallic voice echoing throughout the room as if the room itself was alive with his voice. "My Prime will lead you to your station. I have many things to teach you."
Easing out of his throne with the grace befitting his station as a God, he glided across the floor and led me out of the room. Sarpanitum followed behind to his left, her gaze never seeming to leave me as I followed them through the many hallways of Marduk's palace.
It was truly massive, the palace, his seat of power on Tau'ri. That was the name we called this world of viable hosts. A world that brought many of our kind together in order to aid in our race's population explosion. Even minor Goa'uld had vassals now and I doubted that would change. If I proved myself to Marduk, I might even gain a vassal of my own. Even with his station as an Underlord of Enki, he might still be able to bestow upon me a child of Sarpanitum if given enough time.
Marduk led me to a massive chamber, several pieces of our technology lay scattered with half in various states of repair and the other in various states of disassembly. Each was broken into segments in an analytical fashion.
I felt myself immediately drawn to a dismantled Kara-kesh. It was a weapon that served multiple functions. Drawing on my genetic memory, I focused on the Kara-kesh and its uses in times past. It served as a weapon for my people that, from the memories, sent out a pulse of some kind that could stun or disable an enemy if they got too close. It could also be used as a torture device that would weaken the mind of an enemy to make them more susceptible to suggestion but if used for too long would damage the brain of the victim to the point of death. The hand device was also used to house a small shield that when activated would repel the blasts of our Ma-Tak or Zat'nik'tel's. Such weapons were the only that could harm us so it only repelled energy weapons or fast moving projectiles. Nothing slow but when would anything slow ever be of use to an enemy that wished to do us harm.
Fascinated with the technology, I began to look across the various pieces. Something about it scratched an itch that I didn't even know I had in the back of my mind.
'What is that?'
'It is a Kara-kesh, a weapon, shield, and torture device. One of the favored devices among my kind.' I didn't even think about who was asking before mentally answering, images from my genetic memory supporting my words. The fact my host even spoke did not even register to me.
"You seem rather interested in technology, would you like to study them?"
"It would please me greatly, my Queen." My answer was automatic as my mind remained on its single-minded pursuit of knowledge as I peered over the device.
Sarpanitum quickly shared a look with Marduk as they both observed my fascination with the device.
"Then it is yours my son. Take it and study it." To say I was ecstatic would've been an understatement as the words of Sarpanitum washed over me, through my mind and even my host was jittery with excitement. Whether that was due to my own mental state or an interest in learning more about Goa'uld 'magic' was another series of questions on its own.
"You honor me, my Queen." Finally setting the, now, fully dismantled Kara-kesh I turned back to my lord to see the amused smile back in full force. "However I feel that allowing me to lose myself in these treasures was not your intent on bringing me here."
My attempt at changing the subject poorly masked my own bashfulness as my actions could've been perceived as extremely disrespectful had it been any other lord that I served. Marduk nodded with a thinly veiled chuckle of amusement.
"Indeed, however I will take into consideration your desire for study as you begin to prove yourself. For now though." My lord stepped to the back of the room where a computer of sorts was positioned. It was a technology obtained from one of the many conquered species we defeated in the past. "You will begin your service to me as my administrator. You will deal with issues and management beneath my station or that I deem you can handle. That starts with you reviewing the archives of my Empire. You will learn all that there is to know of my worlds and their value. The System Lords and their histories as well as territories. I will not have my only servant killed because he was left unaware of who or what he was dealing with. I give you one week to accomplish this task and then you will report to me when this is completed."
"Understood my lord, it shall be done." With my acceptance of my new duties, Marduk and Sarpanitum left the room and while I knew that I should immediately pour over the notes and begin the task assigned to me, I was in the middle of a veritable treasure trove of knowledge just waiting to be unlocked. After all, I had a whole week, what would losing one day cost me?
It cost me a lot, a hell of a lot more than I bargained for. One day turned to two, then three and on the fourth day, my procrastination caught up to me in the form of an unexpected visit.
I was pouring over the fully disassembled Kara-kesh. I had just discovered a fatal weakness in the design of the crystals. My eyes laser focused on the crystal on the desk that I failed to notice the door opening, the presence behind me, nor the look of amusement on Sarpanitum's face when I practically jumped for joy as the crystal suddenly changed hues from red to purple with the addition of a Naquadah isotope to the crystal.
"You seem to be making progress in all the wrong area's Nabu." The next jump was decidedly not for joy as I twisted around to find a very amused Sarpanitum behind me.
"Um…my Queen…I can…Um…Explain…You see?" Not even remembering to use the metallic layer that was accustomed to my species as I floundered under the intensity of my Queen's amusement.
"I am not going to judge you for the progress you have made; however I do wish you to report to me about your breakthrough." Clearing my throat and shifting to my personal topic of interest and what was slowly developing into my hobby, I began my explanation.
"My Queen, after thoroughly examining the material makeup of the crystals used to power and allow functionality to the Kara-kesh, I discovered a flaw." This caused her eyebrow to twitch ever upward. Ignoring it for now I pressed onward.
"It's not the design itself but the programming of the crystals. They appear to function as both a source of power and of information. It provides the purpose and power at the same time. This leads me to believe that the Kara-kesh can utilize these functions in tandem and independently of each other. However as you are well aware, we only possess the ability to access one of these functions at any given time. I wanted to know why so I delved deeper and it would seem that when we absorbed this particular technology we failed to see the use of the crystals and mistakenly programmed one incorrectly."
Sarpanitum was now fully immersed in the impromptu lecture I was giving, however her eyes twitched at the mention of a mistake.
"Your words could be seen as blasphemy, Nabu. You do realize you are speaking to your Queen, correct?" I winced but shook my head.
"This knowledge may be blasphemy but that does not make it any less true my Queen. Kill me if you must but at least allow me to pass my knowledge to you first." My eyes hardened as I stood my ground. Sarpanitum didn't shift her amused expression.
"I had no intention of killing you, however that look in your eyes is rather endearing. Maybe it would be good to invest more time with my child. Less than a week of life and you are already proving yourself worthy of being my child. I will take your words into consideration next I speak with Marduk. I see great potential in you and maybe I should nurture that potential." I would come to regret those words later as Sarpanitum now had an invested interest in my role and life. An interest that I would rather not have focused solely on me. Maybe I shouldn't have been so forthcoming with my discovery and been more attentive to my surroundings. No matter, I would just have to roll with the punches, no use dwelling on actions past and well outside of my control now.
'That's the Nabu I know, I was scared there that you would try to change you plans to try to move out of her sight.'
That was another thing. In the past three days, I had taken to speaking with Abdul, my host. I told him about my species but that I would still be in control of his body. He was my host now and he knew his place but I wouldn't suppress him like the others tended to do. Instead I wished to put his human mind to work but for that I needed him to understand the technology which has been a rather difficult challenge as of late. Apparently when you take a human who never even learned to read or write and try to teach him about advanced technology that he once called magic, there was a bit of a knowledge deficit. One that might take years to alter and change.
'I am Goa'uld, it is beneath me to dwell on things outside my control. You forget that that is a human emotion and one that I am not beholden to.' My retort fell on deaf ears however as Abdul simply scoffed at me.
'Human emotion indeed but was that not embarrassment that you felt when you'd been caught red handed by your mother?' I chose to ignore him after that. I wasn't going to fight him over something so trivial when I had my Queen standing right in front of me waiting for my reply.
"What I discovered after a thorough examination of the inner workings of the Kara-kesh was this." I held up the now purple crystal. "Before I made the adjustments, this was the core of the Kara-kesh. It established functionality and was what told each other crystal what to do and when. This is what we interact with when we activate the Kara-kesh. However it was only designed to power one at a time. It only had the capability to power one function at a time. What I did was add a stronger and more potent isotope of Naquadah to the crystal to basically give it a boost in power. With greater power comes the ability to power more than one function. With the sample I had and the blank crystals we had available. I was able to create a core crystal that could power two functions at about 80% capacity but that is still superior to only having one. Now you can activate the shield and repel enemies without having to worry about being attacked yourself. Granted both effects are weaker and overuse can strain the crystal but it's a marked improvement over the original."
Her eyes unfocused as Sarpanitum seemed to mull over the information I had just fed her. The improvement would make military attacks via Goa'uld foot soldiers much simpler and even open the door to Goa'uld ground forces but that was also a major advantage that might cause backlash from the other Minor Lords, Underlords and possibly even the System Lords. This was groundbreaking and both Sarpanitum and I knew that.
"You will make one for myself, Lord Marduk and yourself. That is all and you will not tell anyone else of your discovery." The threat of if I did being left unsaid. Both of us knew what would happen if I broke the compromise that Sarpanitum had pushed on me. She would kill him herself.
"Very well my Queen. It shall be done." Turning on her heel, Sarpanitum made her way out but not before lingering by the door with that amused upward turn of her lips.
"Make sure you don't neglect Marduk's orders either, my child. He has much planned for you and I would rather not allow you to get yourself killed because you failed in the first task asked of you."
A breath I didn't even know I was holding was released after the door closed, marking her exit for the time being.
'She frightens you?' Abdul was growing bold in his assessments.
'Indeed, she could have our lives snuffed out before we knew what was happening. A Queen is very influential and I must not allow us to fall out of her graces.' While that was the main goal of explaining my discovery to her, it also had the unfortunate side effect of gaining too much of her interest. This would make my development more difficult if this interest led to her choosing to keep me by her side rather than allow me to ascend the ranks of the Goa'uld.
It took the remaining four days to memorize all of the information provided to us by Marduk. It was a vast archive of all of the System Lords, their domains as well as a good majority of their Underlords and other adjacent systems. Very comprehensive.
After my report to Marduk and Sarpanitum where they questioned me on the material I had been studying I presented them both with the upgraded Kara-kesh. Marduk was very pleased with the results of both my studies and the new weapon. Confident in my abilities so far he sent me to one of his many mining worlds: Assura.
Arriving on the world via Chaapa'ai. The gateway hummed behind me before the portal evaporated. A procession of slaves greeting me upon my arrival. The slaves moved to approach me but something was off.
"Hal mek!/Hold!" The slaves all froze as they looked among each other before bowing their heads to me. "Kel tel Jaffa!?/Where are my Jaffa!?" My question resonated throughout the desertscape that surrounded the Chaapa'ai.
The air was still, the gentle rusting of the wind blowing the fabric of the slaves tunics and short robes billowing, breaking the potent silence.
"My lord, the Jaffa are out supervising the mines. I can call them if you wish?" An older slave, closest to me, spoke. My gaze flicked over to the older slave, his head covered in snow-white hairs and a lengthy beard.
"Go, bring them to me, I would speak to the Jaffa overseeing this world!" Stepping down, I headed towards the pyramid that stood adjacent to the Chaapa'ai. It was where all the administration was done. Slaves followed me, leading me deep into the pyramid. One I had learned about during my studies and it would seem the slaves were leading me to a dead end. A trap perhaps.
Something about this made me curious. Had they overthrown the Jaffa or were they planning on showing the Jaffa that a God could be killed. Either way it wouldn't matter, there was little they could do to me with my hand devices. My thumb traced the activation crystal which would activate my shield and allow me to repel any attack.
It didn't take long for the slaves to start growing anxious. This was obviously a plan they had made for a while, it had been decades since we visited this world since they always delivered their tribute on time and with the usually expected quantity. That amount of time would have facilitated the schemes that they were now exacting.
They led me to a rather large chamber, the walls vaulted and looming overhead. The throne room. This is where the reigning Goa'uld would have been seated had there been one to place over such an insignificant world. This one however was going to be my first holding among the stars and I was already starting to get a headache because seated on the aforementioned throne was a Jaffa. Flanked by two of his brothers as all three glared down at me. The hatred that burned behind their eyes. Oh you couldn't fake such raw emotion.
"Kree tak? This is not Marduk. Who are you Goa'uld. I will let you speak." The arrogance of the Jaffa knew no bounds as he motioned for me to speak. It was amusing to me just how much this Jaffa overestimated his position. Even with two Ma'tok aimed at him, he could easily disable the number of enemies in this room. Especially after his adjustments to his Kara-kesh.
I would play his game however. See just how far this Jaffa thinks this world was his.
"I am known as Nabu, noble child of Lord Marduk and his Queen, Lady Sarpanitum. Jaffa, why do you rebel against your God Marduk?" My voice, devoid of any of the metallic timbre that my layered voice would bring. Instead opting to use the voice of my host in its natural state. The Jaffa straightened up. I could see the muscle ripple under his armor, the age in his eyes. He was one of the first born. Lords Nirrti and Pelops had worked in tandem with several other of the brightest of our kind and created the Jaffa. Some of the first were delegated to Marduk through the System Lord Enki. This must have been one of them.
Human males in peak performance were selected for the program, those ranged from 40 to 50 years old that were heavily trained. It's been 50 years since the program began and while the Jaffa appeared to be in his mid-20's, I could see the age of a century in his stance and how he carried himself.
"I am Tal'ilk, former First Prime of Marduk and ruler of this land. We have seen the false Gods for who they are and will not suffer their lordship any longer. I will allow you to live out your days here in peace if you surrender." His words rung throughout the hall with an air of finality. If I was any other Goa'uld, I would have had his head right then but that would cause the rest to target me immediately and I would inevitably die. Such was the arrogance of my kind. It would have meant my death had I not known my own limits.
Limits, it was a difficult thing to come to understand. Knowing your limits and understanding exactly what could spell then end for you was an undertaking that Goa'uld as young as him would find nigh impossible and even less so as they aged and their ego was fed. Me? I knew what limits I could and could not surpass and right now. All I wanted to do was push those limits as far as they would go.
"And what would you do when Marduk discovers my absence and sends an army through the Chaapa'ai?" His answer would decide how I played this game. Would I take the risk and break this rebellion before it even had the ability to stand, or would I bid my time and continue to play this game?
"We will bury the Chaapa'ai. Let them come and waste their time. If they come in ships then we will decimate them using our Staff Cannons. There is nothing that you are able to do, false god, reject your divinity and make your home here. It is your only salvation."
I couldn't even begin to hold back my smile as Abdul began to cackle in the back of my mind. The deviousness of my plan was too much for my host to bear. At least I can say that I gained something useful from Marduk. The penchant for drama.
I clapped my hands together as my eyes glowed ever so slightly. The air tense with anticipation as I let the clap of my hands resonate throughout the room full of slaves and the handful of Jaffa.
"Well, alright then. I'm not a god." I said it so matter of factly that the eyes of the old Jaffa before me practically popped out of his head as he took in my words. That moment, the complete lack of preparedness for me to so readily admit my lacking divinity was the moment I needed to launch my attack.
I flung my hand forward and simultaneously activated my personal shield and sent a wave of kinetic energy at a grouping of slaves. All of the inhabitants of the room, much too stunned to do much before I swept them aside with my power. It was exhilarating to watch them slam into walls and collapse to the ground. To watch consciousness fade from their eyes as their bodies fell limp. The room rocked with the crashing of stone and sounds of broken bones. Blast after blast taking out all of the room save the handful of Jaffa and slaves that managed to keep their wits about them.
Once they regained their senses it didn't take long for the slaves to pick up the weapons of the fallen and the Jaffa to begin firing their Ma'tok at me.
Now, back to the present and today was just going great.
I managed to peak over the edge of the throne that I dove behind to see who all of the rebellion was left. Apparently once I started firing off kinetic energy blasts from my palm, the natives gave up on their revolt. This left only those in the room that were too stubborn to come this far and die with nothing. Keeping the shield active I pumped all the energy that the crystal offered into it. Ma'tok blasts were absorbed by my shield as I calmly began to walk towards the slaves. One by one, I struck them and let consciousness leave their minds, taking one of their Ma'tok for my own.
The more of the slaves that I knocked out without being phased by their combined assault, the more desperation and fear crept into their minds. I could see it. I could see the blood vessels, feel their hearts pumping oxygenated blood throughout their body. The stress of their muscles as they all tensed in vivid anticipation as I slowly approached each one. Until there was one. The Prime. A Jaffa that once demanded the respect of thousands of slaves, now just a fleeing rat in my presence.
It felt so intoxicating. Memories flooding into my mind, none of which my own. Scenes of other Goa'uld torturing and maiming slaves in the thousands. The glee, the joy, all of it surrounding the very thought of butchering those that were so far beneath me. Crushing bugs just felt so exhilarating.
'Nabu!' I could feel it, reveling in the fact that their pitiful lives were in my hands. A single thought was the difference between salvation and yet another snuffed out life.
'NABU!' Sweat beaded across my brow as I was snapped out of my musings. The golden glow of my Kara-kesh as a beam of energy connected my palm to the Jaffa's forehead. His face contorted in agony as blood dripped from his nose and ears.
Instantly I deactivated the hand device. Now suddenly unsure if it was I who had acted or the memories and desires I felt so deeply within my mind forcing a physical response. Whichever it was I needed to make sure it didn't happen again.
'Thank you Abdul.' He didn't respond but I could feel the sigh of relief as I withdrew the energy from the forehead of the former Prime.
"You will not rebel again, or this will seem like a drop of pain as compared to the ocean awaiting you." The Prime simply nodded, the other slaves left shocked as he bowed his head to me. A once proud warrior turned from rebel to servant with but a scant few words.
My power once more established, the other slaves fell in line and left me alone as I returned home. Tau'ri would be a nice break after dealing with this insurrection. It may have been short lived but the impacts and implications of such an event would be long lasting as this world would not be left alone for centuries to come. The Prime for his part would be sentenced by Marduk himself but that was no longer my concern.
My concern was how to avoid those memories getting the better of me. It would cost me my life if it happened again in a more equal engagement. For now though I needed a rest and maybe a few days in the treasury that was our laboratories. That would allow me to relax and better understand this issue and might even give me some insight as to why the issue presented itself.
Yes, peace and quiet in the lab. With those last thoughts, I entered the Chaapa'ai and returned to Tau'ri. Little did I know that my life would only get more complicated as time marched forward.
Alright, let's get into the events leading up to this story. You are all aware that in the description that this story takes place in the year 9030 BCE. That is true, there will also be time jumps which will be labeled appropriately. Now, this chapter being broken as it was gives me the chance to show you just how long ago this story takes place.
9177 BCE: Ra discovers Earth/Tau'ri
9080 BCE: Pelops, Nirrti among other Goa'uld create what will be known as the Jaffa using Humans as a basis
9032 BCE: Telchak, understudy of Thoth finishes Thoths work on the Sarcophagus device and makes it what is commonly known to be throughout the series.
9030 BCE: Nabu is given a host
Using the above information, the Tau'ri are still a new thing to the Goa'uld, Jaffa are barely 50 years old as a species and the Sarcophagus, which wasn't commonly used before, only started coming into fashion around 2 years prior to this story.
I hope this information gives context to why the Goa'uld are acting the way they are and why this may seem a little off to those of you know how the Goa'uld act in the series.
Thank you once more, my discord can be found in Chapter 1 if you want to reach out with questions or as a beta and I hope to see you in the next installment of this series. Chao!