AN: We've got a lot of technobable here for a few reasons. First, it explains why Goa'uld ships don't have better security measures to prevent people from stealing them, especially in view of the neural interface technology and how I've been portraying it in this story. Long story short, making things more secure than they are would generally be too much bother and can slow things down in a deadly way in case of a surpise attack, or if you don't have a couple of minutes to go through the kind of security that would be very hard and inconvenient to crack.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Star Wars, or Stargate movies, TV shows, games, books, or comics. This story features elements inspired by Warhammer 40K. They all belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not for sale or rent.
Chapter 27 Part 3
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Dakara,
Milky Way galaxy
With shielded craft possessing powerful engines, things like having an aerodynamic shape and much less air resistance became suggestions at best. Anyone with sensors anywhere in the hemisphere or in orbit would detect a hypersonic transit that left behind clearly visible shock waves tearing through the clouds. Al'kesh shields glowed with air friction, making the bombers appear akin to massive kinetic projectiles instead of piloted vessels.
Pushing the gravitic engines quite hard, we reached our destination in mere minutes. We spent the last leg of the journey decelerating before reaching a leisurely cruise speed as we descended through spectacular cloud cover. Without the neural interface, there would have been nothing to see; however, the sensors showed the heavens in all their glory. I had to find the time for recreational flying, I told myself.
Below us spread a huge mountain range that put the Himalayas to shame—I should know; Earth looked gorgeous from orbit. It would be a pity if the locals crossed my red lines, and I would have to make a few examples.
Jagged, snow-capped peaks stretched below us for hundreds of kilometers. As far as the sensors were concerned, this was a regular mountain below us. Say what you will about Ra, but he could produce great results when he put his mind and resources into something.
More than a thousand years ago, he built a huge hangar into these mountains, before lining it with active and passive shielding systems that might give the Asgard run for their money. Ra used the site of a much older, smaller hangar that held an ancient transport chock-full of the data needed to restart an interstellar empire.
Naturally, the sanctuary in question had an entrance specially built to accommodate small transports—in the backpack of Al'kesh or Tel'tak. Using the neural interface, I transmitted the first batch of codes as we approached what looked like a vertical wall of blue-tinted stone. Even this close, according to the sensors, we flew right at cobalt-rich rocks—very dense rock at that.
The mountain before us groaned, and a hidden door slid open, tearing through solid rock camouflage. Ice caps cracked, and avalanches formed, sliding down nearby peaks. An ancient computer sent an identification request and a query about all the small Al'kes squadron I led. At the same time, my sensors finally detected defenses coming online. Power surged, and active sensors locked onto us.
I sent another code sequence, complete with a confirmation I was bringing a crew.
Dull yellow lights lit up a tunnel that went down into the heart of the mountain at a steep angle. I guided my Al'kesh inside while my Jaffa followed as instructed.
Ra was a sneaky bastard. In some regards, getting this far was meant to lull an intruder who tortured him, the Supreme System Lord, for information into a false sense of security. There would be no prompt about the next code sequence, and if someone flew in without giving it, the automated defenses would shred them. Well, the defenses and explosives built into the tunnel's walls potent enough to make the shields of a small vessel like this one moot. There were at least a few megatons of shaped charge plasma goodness aimed into the tunnel meant to turn it into a death trap.
While an Al'kesh was very tough for its size, it was never meant to survive a direct hit of such a magnitude. Needless to say, those bombs were supposed to collapse the tunnel and end up an infantry assault from this vector cold—well, actually, in a very hot way.
Two more code sequences later, we finally reached the underground hangar. It was a massive hollow chamber holding a not-so-small mountain on top of it. This was a reminder of what the Goa'uld could achieve when they put their minds to it instead of kriffing around, cosplaying ineffective gods.
Due to the Al'lesh targeting computer, the first thing I noticed was all the sensor signals locked onto me. Dozens of targeting systems kept a close eye on our approach. Light, old staff cannons and much larger weapons tracked our progress towards the crown jewel resting upon a pyramid-shaped platform carved of what should have been the heart of this mountain.
The core of the ship was a dark orange pyramid, similar if larger than the main hull section of a Ha'tak. Massive slabs of black armor engulfed the pyramid, making it the center of a sphere.
I could see more than enough weapons bolted upon the superstructure to make a self-respecting Mandalorian proud. It was clearly divided into sections, possibly containing more firepower than a Ha'tak. Ra might have been compensating for something or, barring that, ensuring he wouldn't be outgunned if he had to flee here.
I needed this ship! Having it might make all the difference in the world in the wars to come!
Did I mention that Ra was a paranoid son of a snake? We pointedly didn't fly at a very obvious and very open hangar bay in the ship that pointed straight at the tunnel we had just left. Instead, I banked left, and my Jaffa followed while more and more weapons tracked us.
I sent another code, turned left, and decelerated until the Al'kesh came to a near stop. Ten seconds later, I sent the last code sequence, and finally, a section of the hull opened, revealing a small, private hangar. All the defenses outside went into passive mode, and the weapons went on standby, no longer aiming at us.
From here on, things would get hairy. I knew I could access Ra's library computer and get the data there. Taking control of the ship was going to be more complicated. Doing so required a neural interface with the main computer core, while you could simply get the data crystals from the library and call it a day. Considering how I tore some of Ra's secrets out of his mind, I wasn't confident I knew of all the nasty surprises he might have left in the computer core.
That was why our first task was to loot the library and send it back to Vahlen so she could copy the contents before doing anything else.
Surprisingly enough, there were no walls of gold in the hangar or beyond waxing poetic about Ra's greatness, his victories, virility, and other such nonsense. Behind me and a small cluster of Custodes, Jaffa Prime Iasen, handpicked from the best in the Black Legion, looked curiously enough. This was like no Ha'tak or Cheops they've been on. If I didn't know better… and admittedly didn't, this was the Goa'uld's idea of a proper warship built for war, not the usual fun and games. Inside, the corridors were austere, with no sign of opulent decoration. It was a very far cry from Ra's pleasure yacht I left parked above Earth or any regular Ha'tak I could recall stepping a foot into.
Finding the library took me longer than expected. This was a ship in cold storage that was slowly coming alive, with the basic system activating from the moment we landed in its hangar. I didn't have the time or opportunity to get out of Ra's head everything about this vessel, including something resembling a proper map. Under different circumstances, going to the Pel'tac and accessing the central core would have been the best path forward.
I was explicitly not doing that, so we had to explore the hard way, led by vague recollections. After a few hours of skulking around, we finally reached a familiar section. It took a few tries, but a few minutes later, I led my party through corridors I clearly recalled from Ra's memories.
The library should be right here… I turned around a corner to face a dead-end corridor blocked by an armored door. Finally!
One last code sequence got me through, revealing a small, comfortable office. Shielded repositories lined up the walls, holding data crystals. They could be accessed from a terminal on the desk, but doing so would require a neural interface. In case Ra was in a hurry, he could just slot a crystal or ten into the repositories and call it a day—or just pick them up as needed. Everything was color-coded by the nature of the data contained in each section for easier access.
"Get the crystals, and remember their color-coding," I pointed at the nearest wall. "Contact me when you leave the hangar," I ordered my Jaffa.
Once the data was secure and off-world, I could focus on the hard part – having my way with the data core. At least in theory, considering the purpose of this ship, Ra should have at least one set of spare data crystals for it, complete with a copy of its programming. I needed to look at the software section meant to authenticate that it was Ra instead of an impostor trying to steal his warship. I used Ra's spare hand device from his yacht for today's fun. It had built-in authorization and recognition codes that would help bypass some of his security for ease of access if no other reason.
Lyda and Vahlen spent weeks reviewing its programming and looking for anything unique in its hardware that might serve as a recognition marker. A few production imperfections didn't impact the device's operations, which were precisely what someone like Ra might use as an additional security feature. If those two weren't too busy and valuable to risk here, I would have had them all over this ship. If I could steal it, I would do my best to ensure they got access to this vessel as soon as possible.
Finding the damned data core proved harder than figuring out where the library was. Six bloody hours after my Jaffa left with the data crystals, I was nowhere near finding the damn thing!
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Chapter 27 Part 4
=SBS=
Dakara,
Milky Way galaxy
This right here was why, before I ended up in this universe, we didn't use captured ships unless we could tear out their computer systems and replace them wholesale. Galactic powers tended to put in all kinds of nasty surprises in case undesirables absconded with their warships. Now, to be clear, a sane military and government didn't put kill codes in the computers of their warships. As the Confederacy aptly demonstrated, doing so was a great way to lose battles and whole fleets when you had the numbers, firepower, and supplies to handily win.
Capturing or forcing the surrender of organic enemy commanders with shut-down codes for fleets was how we won at Ryloth and, more importantly, the last battle of Naboo, saving the fledgling Mid-Rim Alliance.
Frankly, it was a surprise that the Goa'uld didn't have shut-down codes in their Ha'tak as a standard operating procedure. Then again, considering that one of their enemies was the Asgard, such a vulnerability might be an existential level of threat. I could thank the Asgard for this. Otherwise, my plans to expand my fleet by capturing ships would be unfeasible.
Instead, Ra had a unique IFF built into his personal vessels, ensuring that without a direct override by him, the rest of his fleet couldn't target them. Hard overrides in the targeting and weapon systems prevented it.
But I got ahead of myself. Finding the damn computer core took more than a day skulking around the bloody ship. After that, in no small due to using one of Ra's personal hand devices, I managed to boot it into maintenance mode, which allowed me a nearly unrestricted look into its programming. What I couldn't see and change, I could trace to individual data crystals holding the relevant code and software. Yanking those out and going over them line by line, if necessary, would take a long while, but it was a better option than the alternatives.
By looking through the data on one of those crystals, I found the unique IFF built into all of Ra's warships. I would replicate that for my navy in case we faced people with captured warships from Ra's armada, which was inevitable in the long run.
Using a neural interface to go over data made looking through a tremendous amount of code, if not trivial, then at least practical. While I was not a good slicer back in my day, the right tools could greatly simplify things. Having Nerus and Vahlen working for me ensured I had great custom software to help deal with Goa'uld code.
Apparently, at the end of the day, whatever else Ra might have been, a great code monkey or snake as the case might be, he wasn't. However, the first, most critical step in data or network defense was to deny physical access to hostile elements. Direct physical access made most defensive measures moot. And at the end of the day, this was a warship. It was expected to take damage in combat, so extensive counter-measures that could prevent repairs, like replacing key data crystals in an emergency, would be counter-productive.
The good news didn't change the fact that there was a lot of code and one of me. In the end, I had Vasil fetch Nerus. Nowadays, he could vaguely pass for a very obese human instead of a vaguely humanoid blob.
Ironically, even if I hadn't properly housebroken him yet, due to Hathor taking priority, it was almost done. More importantly, I knew him well enough—he would do nothing to jeopardize access to this ship, its technology, and the library I retrieved.
Nerus and I were in one of the few well-furnished relaxation rooms in the ship I've found so far, going over the data crystals. At the same time, my Custodes and Black Legionaries were busy mapping up the vessel the hard way and looking for anything of interest to retrieve if we couldn't steal the warship. We were operating on a deadline – with the Chapa'ai locked down, it was only a matter of time before one of Ra's underlings decided to investigate. Backwater or not, this was still Dakara. Fortunately, to the best of my knowledge, the nearest naval base was three days away at best speed. To be safe, our time limit was a week from the moment we struck Dakara. Unless we were all but done by then and ready to leave with the ship in tow, my people would be deploying naquadah bombs here, and preparing those near the Chapa'ai for detonation.
To give credit where credit is due, or perhaps it was plain dumb luck, but soon after I put Nerus to work, he found out what I was looking for.
"That's fascinating!" Nerus waved a meaty finger.
It took me a moment to extract my thoughts from a data stream I was looking through and focus my attention on the Goa'uld.
"Did you find something interesting?" I asked. While Nerus was clearly excited, this didn't mean he had found something of immediate use.
"I'm familiar with this type of security; it's how I made my work safe!" Nerus boasted, sounding both proud and sincere. "I'll recognize the software holding a neural imprint everywhere. Its primary weakness is that, considering our near-immortality with Sarcophagi, we change. Protecting my work was simple because I accessed it daily and used to regularly update my security by re-scanning and uploading my neural signature!"
The Goa'uld gleefully waved a hand for emphasis.
There were a few issues with using neural imprints as security measures. First, while the Goa'uld neural interface technology was great, a computer took a couple of minutes to do an in-depth scan and compare it with what it had on record. Two minutes can be an eternity in an emergency. In contrast, a hardware lock unique to a hand device and a series of codes transmitted at the speed of thought through a neural interface usually worked well enough and wasted no time.
The other problem, and a reason why it took so long for this kind of security to authenticate if the right person was trying to get through it, was that people changed. The machines weren't merely conducting an in-depth scan of biometrics but an imprint of your mind… and we changed with every new experience. Besides, otherwise, a clone could feasibly bypass security, not to mention the issues that came with taking a new host.
Obviously, that kind of security would need regular scans to consistently confirm that you were no impostor—something Ra couldn't afford to do with a black site he rarely visited. This was really the primary reason why stealing the ship would be feasible. Otherwise, a neural imprint as a security measure would make it impossible without tearing out and replacing too much of the software.
Removing the crystals and trying to start the computer core wouldn't work. Replacing them with empty ones or crystals containing unrelated software, even if it was proper security measures, wouldn't work either. If this was a standard or even upgraded Ha'tak, that wouldn't be a problem – I could just bring freshly made crystals with a standard operational system and all the other software needed to run the ship and basically replace all relevant data crystals in the computer core.
That wouldn't work here. While we had the replacement crystals from engineering, they contained the same security software that would cause issues.
"What did Ra do?" I asked.
Nerus launched an explanation that flew over my head. The gist was that he could get into the security software and show us what we needed to do to pass muster, including altering said software. To do this later, we would need empty crystals to update with all the correct security markers and the modified software so it could pass muster when we activated the computer core. That should have been harder than using the ship's onboard fabricators to produce spare parts. However, by necessity, they could build and load crystals with the relevant security markers. This ship was meant as an ark for Ra in case everything went to hell. In that case, he might not have access to the industrial capacity to make repairs until he rebuilds or recaptures his industrial base. Otherwise, making data crystals that the data core would accept without shutting itself down would have been far more complicated and time-consuming.
This was really a key problem with any kind of security. Making it incredibly hard to bypass wasn't that hard. Doing so while allowing the things you secured to be used, especially on short notice if necessary, was far more complicated.
After five days of studying and butchering code, we were ready to try our luck. Nerus was at the computer core, along with Black Legionaries, who knew what they were doing and were prepared to put out the plug, so to speak—by blowing up the computer if needed. Meanwhile, I was at the Pel'tak, which was sensibly deep within the core pyramid structure instead of near the top, complete with windows for people to look out of if they so wished.
I sat on the command throne and interfaced with the dormant system built into it. I could feel the ship come online, which was like static buzzing through my mind. The security systems first authenticated the hardware and data integrity of the computer core. Our altered crystal clearly passed muster. Otherwise, the system would have crashed.
I focused, recalling a memory we recorded, replacing a key piece of Ra's security. Thanks to the Force, I could remember it vividly enough, rivaling what the Goa'uld genetic memory offered. I was above Mandalore, linked with Zash and Ahsoka by Battle Meditation. My Apprentice's Force Ghost, bound to me, and Sidious, unwillingly serving as a power source for my Master, shared our bond. While Aria marveled at what happened, Zash had to force Palpy's cooperation. While the bastard was alive, that would have been hard due to his sheer strength in the Force. However, as a ghost, and due to the nature of the technique that bound him, Sidious was far easier to handle. Then again, Zash had over a thousand years of experience, which was nothing to scoff at.
A long time ago, if I didn't know what she was up to when she tried to snatch my body, that would have been the end of me. However, Sidious was the ghost bound into someone else's body through a proper ritual. He lacked certain advantages I had back in the day.
I felt how Zash twisted Sidious, using him as a catalyst of our ritual, and left her to take the lead, freely feeding her as much power as I could. My Apprentice did the same. A torrent of power flowed into Zash, and she deftly directed it to briefly tear reality apart at the heart of the enemy fleet.
The neural probe buzzed lightly, announcing that the scan passed muster. The computer core came fully online and began slowly awakening systems that had been dormant for at least a thousand years. The primary life-support system came to life, while the secondary one slowly went dormant. The secondary naquadah reactors fed power into internal sensors, which soon came online. Meanwhile, diagnostic programs ran their course, first testing power conduits, then all systems related to the main power core. Passive sensors came online while targeting computers, and the weapons ran self-diagnostic routines.
A map of the ship appeared in my mind, complete with pulsing lines showing the primary power conduits, followed by tons of grayed-out systems that slowly turned amber, and then most of them went green. Here and there, the diagnostics detected failures, which, when possible, were automatically bypassed. Ten sections remained amber, denouncing problems that were not critical, the type that wouldn't impact the ship's performance meaningfully. However, here and there, the failures were more severe. A few were with the weapons – there were notable failures with either the targeting systems or key components that would make using them problematic, potentially explosively so.
When all was said and done, the ship was in near pristine condition. After staying in cold storage for more than ten centuries, it was in far better shape than it had any right to be.
Most importantly, the diagnostic of the power core, sublight engines, hyperdrive, and shield came out green. While I wouldn't push those systems to their limits before a cadre of my trustworthy engineers could execute proper maintenance, the ship appeared to be good enough for interstellar travel.
Suddenly, my odds of surviving and getting ahead in the coming conflict soared up.
