DocSolarisReich
Esoteric Spaceman
And now there’s the other Chekhov’s gun waiting to be fired; civil war between Aphophis and Horus…
Stargate Through the Looking Glass and into Heaven.
- Thread starter The Immortal Watch Dog
- Start date
The lunatic verses the well meaning patriot.
That could potentially get...ugly
Firstly loved the chapter, would you be able to threadmark them?
I always figured it was because not all of them could heal like Jack did so they needed a device that could replicate the effect.
I always figured it was because not all of them could heal like Jack did so they needed a device that could replicate the effect.
@bullethead is the patron Saint of threadmarks and has been doing that since I began. And he is a damn hero for it!
Maybe so, but to where it creates Zombies?
Harlock
I should have expected that really
Yeah agreed entirely on that sarcophagus tech, it is logical and the Goa'uld are an ancient civilisation. Not as old as some but they could very feasibly have developed the bulk of their equipment by themselves. Maybe in canon it was less probable due to their fetish for peasantry but here with an actually competent Goa'uld outlook? Yeah, totally believable.
With the show the Goa'uld were good characters, they had variety of personality, understandable goals and methods, humour in some cases and certainly some charisma. They were compelling individuals but their culture never really got the same love. SO that is definitely what I'm enjoying most here, not to say your work on Earth isn't intriguing either of course, just that the Goa'uld needed it a lot more
Knowledgeispower
Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
it worked better than intended. wouldn't be the first ancient project to do so
Alrighty then..Update time, The great Pyramids of Abydos feature as Weir digests the mountain of shit dumped on her and we get a view of Senator Kinsey's SG Reboot counterpart.
@Spartan303 Dis one's for you.
Up next the last three "chapters" to this episode including more Goa'uld culture and air time @Harlock @Knowledgeispower @DocSolarisReich and Whispering monk! You finna get Ba'al!
@Spartan303 Dis one's for you.
Up next the last three "chapters" to this episode including more Goa'uld culture and air time @Harlock @Knowledgeispower @DocSolarisReich and Whispering monk! You finna get Ba'al!
Serpents and Pyramids.
Abydos July 16th.
The Carter – O’Neill communications bridge or the “Doc Carter’s mail service” as Kowalski called it was a hastily rigged up system of wireless receivers and antennas used on desktops, some cable lines. USB cables and lots of adhesive and a jury-rigged plug for an alien power outlet that allowed for wireless communication and the exchange of data between the communication networks and net that they had just managed to set up on Abydos (Again via tapping into something that Carter and Sasha O’Neill had guessed correctly was some kind of communication system.), and Stargate Command on earth. The pyramid had begun to light up in ways that Skara had assured them he’d never seen before, as though the ancient technology that created the mountain range sized complex had begun detecting their technology and responding in kind.
Of course, there were concerns, such as power drainage and the like but with the help of Daniel Jackson they were able to determine that the power systems damaged during the original battle five years ago had mostly repaired themselves by now and were drawing enough energy from geothermal and solar power to run most of the systems. It seemed that the only two things which were energy hogs that did stress the system beyond its capacity was excessive use of the teleportation mirror and the energy shield that was projected over the gate. Both couldn’t be run at the same time and if the shield ran for more than an hour it would cause a twenty minute long black out. Ever since then, Carter had been looking for a way to make the advice Teal’c gave her on assembling a rudimentary Naquadah generation into managing some of the power issues.
Which was a good thing because Secretary Weir had a feeling the research labs here at what was becoming known as “The A-site” (short for Forward Base Alpha.) was going to be almost as important as stargate Command itself. She’d been seated with Kasuf and General Landry, Colonel Kowalski having left with Richard Woolsey and Kadra along the river to help settle a trade dispute between the farming masters and a city master. Woolsey seemed to enjoy playing the role of a medieval style councilor, really enjoy it. Which was odd, because Woolsey always struck her like a creature of comfort, yet he had quickly won respect amongst the leaders of Abydos and had no problem playing the rustic when needed. His reputation for it was eclipsed only by her own, which was totally not a problem for her ego! She had enjoyed working with the SG teams and with Kasuf immensely, finding the collection of characters to be a fascinating departure from her grinding routine in D.C.
Normally the “data bursts” brought good news back and forth but they had just received a copy from the first part of Teal’c briefing and she suddenly found herself wishing none of this was real. “We need to begin setting up our own infrastructure here, the weird internet in this pyramid could be compromised.” Weir muttered.
“Remotely?” The man who asked was a tall, grim faced army ranger by the name Evan Lorne. He’d been new, having come with Weir and being placed in charge of base security by the newly minted Stargate Command.
“These transcripts say they run most of the Galaxy Captain Lorne, if they can’t communicate across those distances, how are they gonna run it?” General Landry asked. Landry was an interesting fellow, Weir thought. He was an aeronautical engineer first and foremost, a friend of Jacob Carter who had shared the man’s obsession with getting his kids and grandkids into NASA. The friction between him and his daughter Lahm seemed to arise from there (Or so Weir thought.), yet the two worked amicably together and despite being somewhat of a stuffy, studious man with a “Soccer Dad’s” approach to diplomacy, the people of Abydos had taken a liking to him rather quickly, as had his own people. His explanation seemed to make sense to Lorne who nodded.
“It would sure suck if we got compromised by some alien IT guy a billion miles away.” The captain muttered causing Landry to laugh. “Maybe jurisdiction will buy us time.” Lorne said suddenly causing Landry to raise an eyebrow.
“He might be right!” Weir answered pleasantly surprised, for most of her life she had certain preconceptions about what military men were like and so far, everyone here had been proving that she was so far off base as to be almost crazy. She also knew, other members of the President’s cabinet wouldn’t be caught dead lounging at a table between a base commander and a regular soldier, but Elizabeth Weir long ago learned that you could achieve more by making small gestures than acting aloof. “It seems like while they have a centralized Government there are still a lot of feudal elements to their culture and system. Maybe who ever rules this sector for Ra might get really angry if it’s found out this Apophis raided their area? So, the reason that we haven’t noticed anything might be due to the fact that he broke some law, or because their people may need to obtain permission..Either way, we should prioritize trying to get…something..set up.”
“That’s one thing I’ve noticed, they aren’t asking him for any detail on the major players! And we need to know this, I mean aren’t we technically operating a base behind enemy lines?” Lorne’s point caused both Landry and Weir to glance in his direction, and he wanted to excuse himself only for Weir to nod. “You’re absolutely right Captain Lorne.” She sighed. “Maybe I should return and participate in this, to make sure things are on the right track. I can always come back for the signing.”
Landry nodded before rising and walking towards a coffee pot resting on a table that seemed to grow out of the wall. “The technology on display here worries me, a lot of this seems to be stuff we’ve been theorizing over, other stuff looks to be things we’ve begun developing in its infancy but taken to such a sophisticated degree we’re thousands of years behind at least.” Reaching out with his left hand he felt the cool stone, stone that coursed with energy, stone he was convinced was synthetic and perhaps partially alive.
“Did you read the commentary by Teal’c on the Titan’s rebellion? Specifically, the number of troops that participated?”
…..
Washington D.C July 18th.
“Of the billions of Jaffa, only a comparative handful participated in the Titan’s rebellion” She left out of course, that the “handful” in question was likely millions and her sneering tone of voice made it abundantly clear she believed this Empire should be opposed, militantly and at all costs. Especially considering the multinationals and Governments willing to pay her and her people fortunes for any technology “Liberated” from these oppressors.
Roberta “Bobby” Kensey Ne; Mangano was a congresswoman from Philadelphia minority speaker and chair of the powerful appropriations committee. Gray haired, brown eyed and ambitious as hell, she had overtaken Nancy Pelosi in 2006, during her initial showdown with President Bush, a move that might have cemented the older representative. She’d spent the last fifteen years using a mix of insider knowledge, the murky connections of her family and the strategic dissemination of information to topple all of her rivals. Many viewed her as a harsh, manipulative woman, the dregs of the party would vote for a ham sandwich if she told them too and she didn’t really care about anything except building a financial and political empire for her grandchildren. One thing that was true about her was that she trusted nothing and no one and her habitual dismissal of what she called alarmist nonsense had ensured her a comfortable and meteoric rise to the top.
This nonsense about these Goa’uld was no different. Trusting a former supreme commander of their military to deliver anything but propaganda was the kind of idiocy she expected from the current administration, and she was half tempted to leak the entirety of Project Constellation and the Stargate Program when everyone refused categorically to turn over Teal’c for “examination” and a permanent stint in a blacksite for crimes against humanity. It had been a power play admittedly, but she was hoping to extort some concession out of them, remove Hammond or something. Not outright refusal and support for that refusal from the rest of the committee (even those of her own party). That had pissed her off and she’d been in a foul mood ever since then and determined to make the lives of Stargate Command a living hell for as long as she could get away with it.
“Maybourne seems to think this is credible.” Some pissant junior representative who ended up on her committee due to her last name mooed out. The fat cow that she was. Kensey again had to force herself to not say the next words that were about to come out of her mouth -It’s too bad your grandfather wasn’t shot before your father was born-. Damn Irish, they’d been a thorn in her family’s side for centuries.
“Maybourne never met a panic he didn’t like.”
“The Statterfield’s take it seriously as well ma’am”
Kensey sneered at her. “O’Neill is probably fucking Kim, her husband is a moron and that whole family is overrated as yours.” Whoops, she was going to have to make some lame ass apology at the next party dinner over that one.
“So what? We’re going to obstruct the SGC? Try and starve them to force them to bury the gate? The Senate’s committee won’t-“
She was silenced by Kensey with a dismissive wave of the older woman’s hand. “You drunk? Of course, you would be, don’t answer that. Any way we’re not going to stop them, according to my research we’re sitting pretty on a slush fund of some, three billion that was approved during the cold war and has been sitting in some Caribbean bank accruing interest. Money that was never used and thanks to some clever phrasing in the rule book, has never been disclosed.”
The younger woman blinked, her features a mix of outrage and confusion and then, the slow heifer finally realized what she was getting at. “Wait... you are going to try bribe people in the SGC to commit theft!?”
Oh, no, swing and a miss, never mind.
Of course, it was probably better that she believed it. Kensey was going to pressure her people in the NID to do that any way. “Patriotism is never theft.”
“I thought patriotism was problematic”
“Say it’s five in the evening, aren’t you people usually on your eleventh hangover and thirtieth pregnancy by now?” Damn Irish…The only reason she bothered to take her husband’s name happened to be the connections that came with it.
All this stupid little girl could think about were the wild exaggerations by this Jaffa, fearful and wanting to bow and scrape but Roberta Kensey saw only opportunity.
A golden opportunity.
Wow I really dislike this Kensey chick.
She is determined not to be denied. Even if it costs earth dearly.
A true enemy if ever there was one.
Ahhh...the American Aristocracy at it's worst. She needs to suffer calamitous ruination. Unfortunately, it likely won't happen till she's caused enormous damage.
Knowledgeispower
Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
Looks like we need the Bruce scout lance to deal with her.
paulobrito
Well-known member
Well, to be fair, is a similar portrait to the one 'dear' senator in the series. The one everybody loves to hate.
I did appreciate the fact that Kensey ne Mangano out-evilled/politicked the Pelosi. 
I did appreciate the fact that Kensey ne Mangano out-evilled/politicked the Pelosi.
Did you catch the historical significance of her maiden name?
Because historically that's why Pelosi is known as a crooked congress woman and not the daughter of the successor to Lucky Luciano.
Also Luca Brazi from the Godfather was based off her grandfather. Go look up what he did to his mistress and bastard daughter.
Bobbi ain't gonna be nice. But hopefully she'll be an effective antagonist!
The Kennedy digs being one of many things that might one day bite her in the rear.
The original Kinsey was a true dick, but this one is an utter cunt
She was partially inspired by Ronnie Cox's character in robocop. Partially by the historical Caterina Sforza and a few other "choice" individuals.
As with the Goa'uld and Hammond I hope I honor the original while doing something new and glorious.
Or gloriously terrible in her case.
Harlock
I should have expected that really
Good call, Ronny Cox was like the go to guy for dickish powerful men in that era, Total Recall being a personal favorite. Though ironically he was also one of the best Star Trek Captains too
Hoping the Reaper has a good sense of fun when her hour arrives
Hoping the Reaper has a good sense of fun when her hour arrives
paulobrito
Well-known member
Well, is a gifted actor, that can do the evil, corrupt politician/boss, like very few.
In the halls of the mountain King.
For those who love the world building and Goa'uld culture.
We get some of Ba'al and since I know @Spartan303 is such a fan, I hope I didn't botch his intro.
Conniving, manic and charming!
Nineveh – The Month of Ouranos (Sixth month of the imperial Calendar)/July Tau’Ri reckoning
The Crown world of Ba’al has been unlike anything she’d ever known (Which made her mentally slap herself for declining his invitations prior to this.), in the last few weeks she’d seen more wealth than she’d seen in her entire life. Apophis ruled a truly enormous fiefdom, one that was remarkably well developed, and she’d traveled extensively through the domains of the House of Ra and the fallen Emperor during the Titans rebellion, the most densely populated of all the domains but Drey’ac was certain Ba’al’s personal wealth eclipsed both. She’d been given an island chain in the Southeastern waters of Nineveh, a land that was cool and filled with deep and ancient forests. But whose seat was in the sub tropics (Which she was sure was a joke by Ba’al given how cold Chulak always was.). A Jaffa fleet Captain ordinarily didn’t dwell on the Crown World of the fiefdom they served, like the first primes they were often given lands on their military hubs. It was even more unusual in that her own lands contained a few Naquadah mines, (small though they might have been) Drey’ac realized she was probably worth three times what she had been several weeks ago. While Jaffa were never neglected, this was a level of generosity that bordered on socially perverse. Ba’al was very clearly different, very clearly valued her and was very clearly unperturbed by what she viewed as her husband’s idiocy.
Defecting to another System Lord to deal a blow to Apophis was one thing, siding with the men who murdered the greatest leader the universe had ever known. Again, she sighed thanking the weird affection the House of Tartarus bore for her family. Because had it been any one but that lunatic Apophis, Drey’ac was certain she’d have been arrested and interrogated to determine her involvement with Teal’cs treason. Instead, Apophis sent her a holographic transmission where he frantically inquired after her safety, assured her that should Ba’al grow suspicious he would protect her. -The man didn’t even suspect that I had given Teal’c the idea to weaken him- she thought ruefully. Lines were being drawn in the sand, the Ohnes and Salish were evidently conducting raids through the gate network on the fringes of imperial space. Stupid singing aliens and their fishmen allies had provoked a war with the System Lords some thirty-two thousand years ago and lost their home worlds and nearly half their population for their trouble. A pointless war if she remembered the historical texts correctly well. They had picked up what was left of their race and crawled out into the lawless lands beyond imperial space to rebuild their ruined civilizations amongst outlaws, warlords and failed Jaffa prototypes.
Which was another thing, there were at least two of those prototype races that had built petty kingdoms in the shadows of the imperium. One of them, at least tried to honor the Sodan, the code of mighty Anubis. As with the Titan’s rebellion, these mercenaries, these nomadic keepers of the peace had taken the actions of her husband as a sign to begin asserting their “influence” on Imperial space. Their High Command had worked out some sort of deal with Haqet to deal with marauding bandits that plagued the minor nations on the fringe of her lonely domain. An insult to her Jaffa, an insult to the whole of the Empire and one of many missteps that could potentially escalate the tensions building on the march to the great convocation. None of these things, combined or alone would put her people in danger, she knew that. The Imperium had only one true threat to its existence in the Asgard and even the Aesir the mightiest of the Asgardian kingdoms knew a total war with them may not end in victory. The Asgard seemed to be, preoccupied any way. No, the trouble would always be within, all great civilizations fell from an internal error that spiraled into a cascade, sure as the operating system on one of her ships suffering a similar failure. And right now, she couldn’t tell if the no doubt devastating nature of Teal’c's actions would quell Apophis and check the violence she knew he wanted to unleash, or if it would make the great serpent far more dangerous and blood thirsty. She pondered these things and stressed, wondering how Bra’tac reacted to news other than his deafening silence. For some reason, the thought of disappointing the old sage terrified her more than having to face the potential wrath of Apophis did.
His silence hurt; it made her feel even more guilty. -Had we just waited-. Something brushed against her psyche, a gentle breeze and she smiled, her “son” attempting to comfort her, to remind her that she was a master and a commander and to dwell on what if’s was unbecoming of such a woman. Beside her, two of Ba’al’s Jaffa escorted her, adorned in ocean blue tunics that she had learned were just as durable as most Jaffa armor. Ba’al’s Jaffa were tall, lithe, and marble skinned, with aquiline faces and orange-colored eyes. They were, an incredibly unique breed Tiamat had created shortly after the legendary battle of Chulak. They were primarily a special forces sub species, useless in the place of infantry but as scouts, skirmishers, raiders and assassins they were the most lethal beings in the known universe. They were rare with maybe half a billion existing in the whole of the imperium, Ba’al preferred to use Llempiri (a green blooded race of near humans who were immune to being taken as hosts) as his main infantry. She liked the Llempiri, Egeria had conquered them with Amaterasu some two centuries before her death. They had surrendered out of respect for her martial prowess and when she rose in rebellion, they joined her. Ra had their home worlds destroyed and killed some thirty billion of them, the surviving billion or so had dispersed amongst the empire, becoming mercenaries, engineers, artisans and wanderers. They were a vivacious people, having a healthy appreciation for life due to the horrors of their ancient past. While they weren’t a match for a Jaffa, they came close, and she could appreciate their loyalty to Ba’al who was content to allow his domain to become their new cradle so long as they made him loads of money and kept the noise of to a minimum.
A Langaran sauntered its way passed her as her boots treaded across a silver-synthetic granite hybrid composed bridge towards the entrance of Ba’al’s palace. That particular Langaran mostly human stock and levied a hostile glare at her. Drey’ac responded with her most passive aggressive sneer. It would never cease to amuse her how Teal’c and herself would be remembered as the greatest tyrants their world had ever known for the crime of stopping a planet wide riot.
Crossing the bridge, she felt the cool breeze carried by the rivers current which brought mist and water falls that formed a sort of moat. The entrance to palace of Assur below a tree that grew some thousand feet in height. Ba’al’s personal palace being a marvel of terraforming. An underground cave system that spanned four miles, filled with vaults and marble colored Jaffa with their orange eyes and weird dialect. Boats ferried people about on the interior and tree roots and an underground garden that was a wonder in and of itself merged with incredibly advanced technology. Twelve Jaffa guarded the entrance, the black scythe of Ba’al wreathed in lightning on a dark blue field emblazoned on their chests. With their tunics and Dragon shaped helmets and marble skin they looked like statues. Farther in was the throne of the System Lord, which was a large, elevated wood seat grown out of flowering vines that spawned rose like flowers which glowed faintly.
There was a story, Drey’ac recalled about the flowered throne. She learned it from Ray’ac about some assassin, a Tok’Ra of the Children of Egeria that managed to slaughter its way into Ba’al’s throne room and the flowers fired energy blasts that incinerated the fanatic before he got so much as ten feet near Ba’al. It was partially true; the flowers had fired energy blasts at the Tok’Ra’s confederate but the criminal himself was wrapped in vines that erupted from the throne grabbed the attacker and essentially drank his blood and bodily fluids then ripped his dying form apart. She remembered reviewing the security drone footage, what she remembered the most was the mildly amused look on Ba’al’s face. She didn’t know why that had been the catalyst for her choice to throw in with him, but it had been. There was something oddly honest in his ruthlessness and more besides, he was as loyal to his Jaffa as they were to him.
Ba’al was seated on that throne that was really an organic weapons platform, his host looked rather amusingly ordinary compared to many of the human resident of the Galaxies. Or Jaffa for that matter, resembling more the Tau’Ri than anything. He was a man with tanned skinned who appeared in his early thirties, with flint gray hair neatly and shortly cut. He was of average height, also rare for a System Lord who often towered above even the tallest Jaffa. Totally unassuming until you got to the blood red eyes and the fact that the simple looking robes he wore contained rare jewels that were so exotic and in such high demand you could probably buy, crew and equip twelve Hatak’s and their escorts or a Chiron Class Dreadnaught with it. Below the Throne a tall Goa’uld with slightly lemon tinted skin and dark black hair and magenta-colored eyes looked up at Lord Ba’al, adorned in jade colored armor and a fur lined cape. Leaning on the base of the throne was a tall, broad shouldered Llempiri with reddish hair and a sarcastic smirk on his scarred face.
Aris Boch
Drey’ac hadn’t seen him since the Titan’s rebellion. He was a rather famous mercenary and bounty hunter, someone who had made a vast fortune and gained nearly legendary status over the two and a half centuries he’d spent galivanting around the known universe. From Othalla to the Milky Way and everywhere in between Aris had relentlessly hounded nearly a hundred thousand crooks. He looked slightly older than he was and she frowned when she saw the green tint to his lips -So the rumors are true, he’s a Roshna junky?-. Drey’ac wanted to shake her head, she’d grown up with stories of his acclaim and then fought with him during the siege of Medas. He nodded in acknowledgement to her then craned his neck gesturing with his chin towards the Goa’uld.
The Goa’uld wearing a symbol of a cracked mirror -Yamasu- she thought, a minor noble that governed some hundred worlds in Amaterasu’s domain. He was a descendant of Gerek and one of Ouranos sisters (allegedly), making him distant kin to Horus and Osiris and a cousin to Amaterasu. -And he invites me to his throne room when this one is here?- No one of Amaterasu’s domain stomached anything affiliated with Apophis for long, much less a Jaffa carrying a son of Apophis -And a great grandson of Amaterasu and King Yu- she thought bitterly, Chanyu had been disowned by Amaterasu when she married Apophis. Family counted for nothing solely because of the cobra banner. She understood why, but it was fundamentally cruel, especially given how harsh Aqet and Chanyu’s deaths were. She would not balk; she was not responsible for Apophis’s crimes, and she would not hide like a weakling from a sycophantic duke.
“Ah! Fleet Captain!” It was Ba’al’s voice, which sounded like a stir of echoes, hundreds of voices were customary for a System Lord, yet where Apophis rumbled with the chorus of the mad, of carnage and war. Ba’al had a melody to it that was remarkably carefree, as though a million lay bouts spoke as one.
Yamasu turned and raised an eyebrow regarding Drey’ac less like the famed pirate hunter and Admiral and more as if she were some Roshna addicted Hassak “It seems your schedule was rather, over burdened majesty.” Yamasu remarked towards Ba’al, a hint of indignation in his voice. “Your secretaries must be overburdened.”
Ba’al smiled slowly. “We shall convene tomorrow to finish negotiations and for a live fire demonstration perhaps.”
Yamasu bowed his head lightly. “As his majesty Lord Ba’al decrees.” Yamasu scurried out of the room faster then Drey’ac thought possible without some kind of conveyance. Causing Drey’ac to shake her head, long green braids swaying as she did so. Ba’al had certainly planned this, but to make an envoy of Amaterasu uncomfortable for no particular reason didn’t seem to be his style, so why? The marble skinned Jaffa turned and made their way towards their posts dismissed by Ba’al with a gesture. Drey’ac turning to him and lowering herself to one knee, the customary gesture most System Lords seemed to enjoy. “Great Lord, what might this humble sailor do for you?” She asked, a slight sense of flippantness in her tone of voice that caused Ba’al to laugh.
“For starters she can get off her knees, I was carried by one of you. Raised by Jaffa and spent my early years in this body working closely with Jaffa.” Ba’al rose and when he began to step off the Throne, she noticed to her surprise that he seemed to be walking on transparent bubbles? -Forcefields? No! Gravity bubbles!- astounding. Ba’al seemed to read her thoughts from the expressions on her face and let out a slight laugh. “That’s why I accepted you and not Se’tak when he made the same offer to me fifty years ago. Because you’re brilliant.” To her surprise he extended a hand to help her up and gripped her with a firm grip. -He’s warm- She thought, almost overly friendly with a Jaffa as Apophis often was and yet where there was always a hint of mockery in Apophis here? She sensed nothing, the humility threw her off balance and she suspected that was the primary reason for it other than his own disdain for social norms. “Your artificial gravity technology must be..a generation ahead of the rest of the Empire’s.”
Ba’al cast her an amused smirk.
More, she realized. “I..am grateful that you accepted me” She tried her hardest to keep her voice form sounding like that of an overexcited child. Oh, the things she could do in his design labs, the vessels she could craft, the combat and commerce applications, the ships she could design. She was so energized she hadn’t even noticed the youngest System Lord hooked an arm around her own and had begun to lead her towards the deeper parts of his palace. “I do find it amusing, the rigidity of our society that we are to be separate yet equal in all things. But I end up finding a kindred Spirit in you! And with no other Goa’uld save Thoth.”
Thoth hadn’t made a public appearance in nearly a thousand years. He was always buried in his laboratories, or engaged in deep space explorations, or tinkering away at the immense Gate Network. “Mind, I haven’t asked you here to discuss our projects quite yet. I wanted to ask you something, something regarding your husband.”
Ja’mah.
“Anything you wish majesty.”
He slapped at her shoulder gently as they walked. “You’re too formal Captain Drey’ac. Relax! I would have you tell me all you knew about the Tau’Ri and why it is you believe your husband joined them and why you would help them infiltrate Bakhu “
Drey’ac paused and slid her arm out from his, her heart pounding in her chest, the infant peer in her pouch wriggling up a storm as he tried desperately to shield her mind from Ba’al’s mental intrusion. The question, followed by a stealth accusation was your standard by the book practice to elicit an emotional reaction that would make mental perusing easier. She wanted to slap herself for falling for such an easy ruse, needing to remind herself that she technically hadn’t. Instead she got indignant over the blatantly false accusation which was just as bad. A feint within a feint? No, to her shock the look in Ba’als eyes suggested she didn’t care at all that she had and was merely curious. “With…respect. Majestic Lord, had I been involved in my husband’s defection the Tau’Ri would have been executed for terrorism and my husband would be on his way to Hathor’s palace.” There was a tension in her voice that belied fear, not for herself but her for “son”. “Nor did I have any idea that they were aided..” Which was true and it would have thrown her off if she wasn’t busy worrying about the boy.
Hrakar as the peer she was incubating chose to call himself was powerful for one so young, but Ba’al was uncommonly strong even for a System Lord. His mental energies were practically flooding the room, it was power only the most ancient and arcane of the System Lords commanded. Beings like Ra, Hathor, Cronus, Yu and the…
Ba’al smiled slowly easing the psychic pressure off the pair, even going so far as to create a sort of telepathic “cushion” so the poor youth didn’t just crash as his defenses now entirely free of the assault crumbled. “That boy of yours is quite skilled for an infant. No doubt he’s been shielding you from Apophis and his dysfunctional family. I believe you though!” Ba’al seemed to beam with amusement, as though he had just learned a secret or found the answer to a riddle no one knew existed except himself.
Drey’ac wasn’t amused at all. Ba’al had just told her that someone within the imperium was acting in concert with the Tau’Ri and that was beyond alarming. “My lord, should we not.”
“Expose this? To what end? It would only serve to drive the conspirators deeper underground besides, who can we expose to it too? The Imperial family? What makes you think they aren’t the ones doing it?!” Ba'al queried, his eyes glowing a faint purple.
She blinked, looking at Ba’al as if he had grown a second head. “They would never conspire with the men who murdered Ra, no one System Lord would dare but them?! Prince Horus idolizes his father, Osiris is too noble..and Isis has never shown ambition has she?”
He gave a shrug “We’re only five centuries apart in age my dear, to us that may be a lot but to the others? I couldn’t weigh in on her mind with any accuracy, how would one even profile someone who is nearly forty thousand years old? Or nearly a hundred thousand in the case of Horus. It could also be the mother.” Ba’al gave a dismissive shrug “Or Zeus, I wouldn’t have been alarmed had it been you, but this? This is concerning. It means there’s another player in our game and he or she is willing to use the Tau’Ri as a wildcard.”
Drey’ac felt a cold chill run down her spine. “We’re on the verge of a true civil war, aren’t we? Like the one from Egeria’s rebellion?”
“I certainly hope not, it would be wonderful for business, until the whole of the known universe descended into anarchy as our empire collapses. I believe our entire civilization was founded on a promise to never allow such a thing to happen again.”
He laughed then, a sort of casual, dismissive laugh as if this merely was a new puzzle for him to solve, it was a laugh far too close to Apophis, but she didn’t feel any of the concern nor sense any of the madness.
She couldn’t tell if this entire conversation made Ba’al a naïve, rank amateur or one of the most dangerous minds in all creation.
“Teal’c, husband, when we meet again, I will beat you severely for this madness”
After she hugged him and kissed him and tried furiously to produce another child of course.
We get some of Ba'al and since I know @Spartan303 is such a fan, I hope I didn't botch his intro.
Conniving, manic and charming!
Nineveh – The Month of Ouranos (Sixth month of the imperial Calendar)/July Tau’Ri reckoning
The Crown world of Ba’al has been unlike anything she’d ever known (Which made her mentally slap herself for declining his invitations prior to this.), in the last few weeks she’d seen more wealth than she’d seen in her entire life. Apophis ruled a truly enormous fiefdom, one that was remarkably well developed, and she’d traveled extensively through the domains of the House of Ra and the fallen Emperor during the Titans rebellion, the most densely populated of all the domains but Drey’ac was certain Ba’al’s personal wealth eclipsed both. She’d been given an island chain in the Southeastern waters of Nineveh, a land that was cool and filled with deep and ancient forests. But whose seat was in the sub tropics (Which she was sure was a joke by Ba’al given how cold Chulak always was.). A Jaffa fleet Captain ordinarily didn’t dwell on the Crown World of the fiefdom they served, like the first primes they were often given lands on their military hubs. It was even more unusual in that her own lands contained a few Naquadah mines, (small though they might have been) Drey’ac realized she was probably worth three times what she had been several weeks ago. While Jaffa were never neglected, this was a level of generosity that bordered on socially perverse. Ba’al was very clearly different, very clearly valued her and was very clearly unperturbed by what she viewed as her husband’s idiocy.
Defecting to another System Lord to deal a blow to Apophis was one thing, siding with the men who murdered the greatest leader the universe had ever known. Again, she sighed thanking the weird affection the House of Tartarus bore for her family. Because had it been any one but that lunatic Apophis, Drey’ac was certain she’d have been arrested and interrogated to determine her involvement with Teal’cs treason. Instead, Apophis sent her a holographic transmission where he frantically inquired after her safety, assured her that should Ba’al grow suspicious he would protect her. -The man didn’t even suspect that I had given Teal’c the idea to weaken him- she thought ruefully. Lines were being drawn in the sand, the Ohnes and Salish were evidently conducting raids through the gate network on the fringes of imperial space. Stupid singing aliens and their fishmen allies had provoked a war with the System Lords some thirty-two thousand years ago and lost their home worlds and nearly half their population for their trouble. A pointless war if she remembered the historical texts correctly well. They had picked up what was left of their race and crawled out into the lawless lands beyond imperial space to rebuild their ruined civilizations amongst outlaws, warlords and failed Jaffa prototypes.
Which was another thing, there were at least two of those prototype races that had built petty kingdoms in the shadows of the imperium. One of them, at least tried to honor the Sodan, the code of mighty Anubis. As with the Titan’s rebellion, these mercenaries, these nomadic keepers of the peace had taken the actions of her husband as a sign to begin asserting their “influence” on Imperial space. Their High Command had worked out some sort of deal with Haqet to deal with marauding bandits that plagued the minor nations on the fringe of her lonely domain. An insult to her Jaffa, an insult to the whole of the Empire and one of many missteps that could potentially escalate the tensions building on the march to the great convocation. None of these things, combined or alone would put her people in danger, she knew that. The Imperium had only one true threat to its existence in the Asgard and even the Aesir the mightiest of the Asgardian kingdoms knew a total war with them may not end in victory. The Asgard seemed to be, preoccupied any way. No, the trouble would always be within, all great civilizations fell from an internal error that spiraled into a cascade, sure as the operating system on one of her ships suffering a similar failure. And right now, she couldn’t tell if the no doubt devastating nature of Teal’c's actions would quell Apophis and check the violence she knew he wanted to unleash, or if it would make the great serpent far more dangerous and blood thirsty. She pondered these things and stressed, wondering how Bra’tac reacted to news other than his deafening silence. For some reason, the thought of disappointing the old sage terrified her more than having to face the potential wrath of Apophis did.
His silence hurt; it made her feel even more guilty. -Had we just waited-. Something brushed against her psyche, a gentle breeze and she smiled, her “son” attempting to comfort her, to remind her that she was a master and a commander and to dwell on what if’s was unbecoming of such a woman. Beside her, two of Ba’al’s Jaffa escorted her, adorned in ocean blue tunics that she had learned were just as durable as most Jaffa armor. Ba’al’s Jaffa were tall, lithe, and marble skinned, with aquiline faces and orange-colored eyes. They were, an incredibly unique breed Tiamat had created shortly after the legendary battle of Chulak. They were primarily a special forces sub species, useless in the place of infantry but as scouts, skirmishers, raiders and assassins they were the most lethal beings in the known universe. They were rare with maybe half a billion existing in the whole of the imperium, Ba’al preferred to use Llempiri (a green blooded race of near humans who were immune to being taken as hosts) as his main infantry. She liked the Llempiri, Egeria had conquered them with Amaterasu some two centuries before her death. They had surrendered out of respect for her martial prowess and when she rose in rebellion, they joined her. Ra had their home worlds destroyed and killed some thirty billion of them, the surviving billion or so had dispersed amongst the empire, becoming mercenaries, engineers, artisans and wanderers. They were a vivacious people, having a healthy appreciation for life due to the horrors of their ancient past. While they weren’t a match for a Jaffa, they came close, and she could appreciate their loyalty to Ba’al who was content to allow his domain to become their new cradle so long as they made him loads of money and kept the noise of to a minimum.
A Langaran sauntered its way passed her as her boots treaded across a silver-synthetic granite hybrid composed bridge towards the entrance of Ba’al’s palace. That particular Langaran mostly human stock and levied a hostile glare at her. Drey’ac responded with her most passive aggressive sneer. It would never cease to amuse her how Teal’c and herself would be remembered as the greatest tyrants their world had ever known for the crime of stopping a planet wide riot.
Crossing the bridge, she felt the cool breeze carried by the rivers current which brought mist and water falls that formed a sort of moat. The entrance to palace of Assur below a tree that grew some thousand feet in height. Ba’al’s personal palace being a marvel of terraforming. An underground cave system that spanned four miles, filled with vaults and marble colored Jaffa with their orange eyes and weird dialect. Boats ferried people about on the interior and tree roots and an underground garden that was a wonder in and of itself merged with incredibly advanced technology. Twelve Jaffa guarded the entrance, the black scythe of Ba’al wreathed in lightning on a dark blue field emblazoned on their chests. With their tunics and Dragon shaped helmets and marble skin they looked like statues. Farther in was the throne of the System Lord, which was a large, elevated wood seat grown out of flowering vines that spawned rose like flowers which glowed faintly.
There was a story, Drey’ac recalled about the flowered throne. She learned it from Ray’ac about some assassin, a Tok’Ra of the Children of Egeria that managed to slaughter its way into Ba’al’s throne room and the flowers fired energy blasts that incinerated the fanatic before he got so much as ten feet near Ba’al. It was partially true; the flowers had fired energy blasts at the Tok’Ra’s confederate but the criminal himself was wrapped in vines that erupted from the throne grabbed the attacker and essentially drank his blood and bodily fluids then ripped his dying form apart. She remembered reviewing the security drone footage, what she remembered the most was the mildly amused look on Ba’al’s face. She didn’t know why that had been the catalyst for her choice to throw in with him, but it had been. There was something oddly honest in his ruthlessness and more besides, he was as loyal to his Jaffa as they were to him.
Ba’al was seated on that throne that was really an organic weapons platform, his host looked rather amusingly ordinary compared to many of the human resident of the Galaxies. Or Jaffa for that matter, resembling more the Tau’Ri than anything. He was a man with tanned skinned who appeared in his early thirties, with flint gray hair neatly and shortly cut. He was of average height, also rare for a System Lord who often towered above even the tallest Jaffa. Totally unassuming until you got to the blood red eyes and the fact that the simple looking robes he wore contained rare jewels that were so exotic and in such high demand you could probably buy, crew and equip twelve Hatak’s and their escorts or a Chiron Class Dreadnaught with it. Below the Throne a tall Goa’uld with slightly lemon tinted skin and dark black hair and magenta-colored eyes looked up at Lord Ba’al, adorned in jade colored armor and a fur lined cape. Leaning on the base of the throne was a tall, broad shouldered Llempiri with reddish hair and a sarcastic smirk on his scarred face.
Aris Boch
Drey’ac hadn’t seen him since the Titan’s rebellion. He was a rather famous mercenary and bounty hunter, someone who had made a vast fortune and gained nearly legendary status over the two and a half centuries he’d spent galivanting around the known universe. From Othalla to the Milky Way and everywhere in between Aris had relentlessly hounded nearly a hundred thousand crooks. He looked slightly older than he was and she frowned when she saw the green tint to his lips -So the rumors are true, he’s a Roshna junky?-. Drey’ac wanted to shake her head, she’d grown up with stories of his acclaim and then fought with him during the siege of Medas. He nodded in acknowledgement to her then craned his neck gesturing with his chin towards the Goa’uld.
The Goa’uld wearing a symbol of a cracked mirror -Yamasu- she thought, a minor noble that governed some hundred worlds in Amaterasu’s domain. He was a descendant of Gerek and one of Ouranos sisters (allegedly), making him distant kin to Horus and Osiris and a cousin to Amaterasu. -And he invites me to his throne room when this one is here?- No one of Amaterasu’s domain stomached anything affiliated with Apophis for long, much less a Jaffa carrying a son of Apophis -And a great grandson of Amaterasu and King Yu- she thought bitterly, Chanyu had been disowned by Amaterasu when she married Apophis. Family counted for nothing solely because of the cobra banner. She understood why, but it was fundamentally cruel, especially given how harsh Aqet and Chanyu’s deaths were. She would not balk; she was not responsible for Apophis’s crimes, and she would not hide like a weakling from a sycophantic duke.
“Ah! Fleet Captain!” It was Ba’al’s voice, which sounded like a stir of echoes, hundreds of voices were customary for a System Lord, yet where Apophis rumbled with the chorus of the mad, of carnage and war. Ba’al had a melody to it that was remarkably carefree, as though a million lay bouts spoke as one.
Yamasu turned and raised an eyebrow regarding Drey’ac less like the famed pirate hunter and Admiral and more as if she were some Roshna addicted Hassak “It seems your schedule was rather, over burdened majesty.” Yamasu remarked towards Ba’al, a hint of indignation in his voice. “Your secretaries must be overburdened.”
Ba’al smiled slowly. “We shall convene tomorrow to finish negotiations and for a live fire demonstration perhaps.”
Yamasu bowed his head lightly. “As his majesty Lord Ba’al decrees.” Yamasu scurried out of the room faster then Drey’ac thought possible without some kind of conveyance. Causing Drey’ac to shake her head, long green braids swaying as she did so. Ba’al had certainly planned this, but to make an envoy of Amaterasu uncomfortable for no particular reason didn’t seem to be his style, so why? The marble skinned Jaffa turned and made their way towards their posts dismissed by Ba’al with a gesture. Drey’ac turning to him and lowering herself to one knee, the customary gesture most System Lords seemed to enjoy. “Great Lord, what might this humble sailor do for you?” She asked, a slight sense of flippantness in her tone of voice that caused Ba’al to laugh.
“For starters she can get off her knees, I was carried by one of you. Raised by Jaffa and spent my early years in this body working closely with Jaffa.” Ba’al rose and when he began to step off the Throne, she noticed to her surprise that he seemed to be walking on transparent bubbles? -Forcefields? No! Gravity bubbles!- astounding. Ba’al seemed to read her thoughts from the expressions on her face and let out a slight laugh. “That’s why I accepted you and not Se’tak when he made the same offer to me fifty years ago. Because you’re brilliant.” To her surprise he extended a hand to help her up and gripped her with a firm grip. -He’s warm- She thought, almost overly friendly with a Jaffa as Apophis often was and yet where there was always a hint of mockery in Apophis here? She sensed nothing, the humility threw her off balance and she suspected that was the primary reason for it other than his own disdain for social norms. “Your artificial gravity technology must be..a generation ahead of the rest of the Empire’s.”
Ba’al cast her an amused smirk.
More, she realized. “I..am grateful that you accepted me” She tried her hardest to keep her voice form sounding like that of an overexcited child. Oh, the things she could do in his design labs, the vessels she could craft, the combat and commerce applications, the ships she could design. She was so energized she hadn’t even noticed the youngest System Lord hooked an arm around her own and had begun to lead her towards the deeper parts of his palace. “I do find it amusing, the rigidity of our society that we are to be separate yet equal in all things. But I end up finding a kindred Spirit in you! And with no other Goa’uld save Thoth.”
Thoth hadn’t made a public appearance in nearly a thousand years. He was always buried in his laboratories, or engaged in deep space explorations, or tinkering away at the immense Gate Network. “Mind, I haven’t asked you here to discuss our projects quite yet. I wanted to ask you something, something regarding your husband.”
Ja’mah.
“Anything you wish majesty.”
He slapped at her shoulder gently as they walked. “You’re too formal Captain Drey’ac. Relax! I would have you tell me all you knew about the Tau’Ri and why it is you believe your husband joined them and why you would help them infiltrate Bakhu “
Drey’ac paused and slid her arm out from his, her heart pounding in her chest, the infant peer in her pouch wriggling up a storm as he tried desperately to shield her mind from Ba’al’s mental intrusion. The question, followed by a stealth accusation was your standard by the book practice to elicit an emotional reaction that would make mental perusing easier. She wanted to slap herself for falling for such an easy ruse, needing to remind herself that she technically hadn’t. Instead she got indignant over the blatantly false accusation which was just as bad. A feint within a feint? No, to her shock the look in Ba’als eyes suggested she didn’t care at all that she had and was merely curious. “With…respect. Majestic Lord, had I been involved in my husband’s defection the Tau’Ri would have been executed for terrorism and my husband would be on his way to Hathor’s palace.” There was a tension in her voice that belied fear, not for herself but her for “son”. “Nor did I have any idea that they were aided..” Which was true and it would have thrown her off if she wasn’t busy worrying about the boy.
Hrakar as the peer she was incubating chose to call himself was powerful for one so young, but Ba’al was uncommonly strong even for a System Lord. His mental energies were practically flooding the room, it was power only the most ancient and arcane of the System Lords commanded. Beings like Ra, Hathor, Cronus, Yu and the…
Ba’al smiled slowly easing the psychic pressure off the pair, even going so far as to create a sort of telepathic “cushion” so the poor youth didn’t just crash as his defenses now entirely free of the assault crumbled. “That boy of yours is quite skilled for an infant. No doubt he’s been shielding you from Apophis and his dysfunctional family. I believe you though!” Ba’al seemed to beam with amusement, as though he had just learned a secret or found the answer to a riddle no one knew existed except himself.
Drey’ac wasn’t amused at all. Ba’al had just told her that someone within the imperium was acting in concert with the Tau’Ri and that was beyond alarming. “My lord, should we not.”
“Expose this? To what end? It would only serve to drive the conspirators deeper underground besides, who can we expose to it too? The Imperial family? What makes you think they aren’t the ones doing it?!” Ba'al queried, his eyes glowing a faint purple.
She blinked, looking at Ba’al as if he had grown a second head. “They would never conspire with the men who murdered Ra, no one System Lord would dare but them?! Prince Horus idolizes his father, Osiris is too noble..and Isis has never shown ambition has she?”
He gave a shrug “We’re only five centuries apart in age my dear, to us that may be a lot but to the others? I couldn’t weigh in on her mind with any accuracy, how would one even profile someone who is nearly forty thousand years old? Or nearly a hundred thousand in the case of Horus. It could also be the mother.” Ba’al gave a dismissive shrug “Or Zeus, I wouldn’t have been alarmed had it been you, but this? This is concerning. It means there’s another player in our game and he or she is willing to use the Tau’Ri as a wildcard.”
Drey’ac felt a cold chill run down her spine. “We’re on the verge of a true civil war, aren’t we? Like the one from Egeria’s rebellion?”
“I certainly hope not, it would be wonderful for business, until the whole of the known universe descended into anarchy as our empire collapses. I believe our entire civilization was founded on a promise to never allow such a thing to happen again.”
He laughed then, a sort of casual, dismissive laugh as if this merely was a new puzzle for him to solve, it was a laugh far too close to Apophis, but she didn’t feel any of the concern nor sense any of the madness.
She couldn’t tell if this entire conversation made Ba’al a naïve, rank amateur or one of the most dangerous minds in all creation.
“Teal’c, husband, when we meet again, I will beat you severely for this madness”
After she hugged him and kissed him and tried furiously to produce another child of course.
Last edited: