Stargate Through the Looking Glass and into Heaven.

The lawyer and the soldier.

The Immortal Watch Dog

Well-known member
Hetman
For those of you who thought this was dead...nah.

So, for the next ep updates, Richard Woolsey prepares to do battle with a Goa'uld lawyer and Hathor confronts @Knowledgeispower and @bullethead favorite snake!

12914.png


P3X-797/Devorias

September 30th.


Stepping through the gate Richard Woolsey wasn’t quite certain what he expected as this was both the least advanced society they’d encountered and the most isolated but paradoxically aware of things beyond their borders to the point that he was worried there Tollan spies in the government of this bronze age comparable kingdom. Certainly, the fact that there was a Goa’uld wreck here and several of the aristocrats that greeted him weren’t fully human led him to believe the story that they were in part an abandoned imperial colony and a place settled by run aways wasn’t a complete fabrication.

He was greeted by Colonel Kowalski who shook his hand firmly. The Colonel looking as boyish as he ever did even when it was clear he was nearing middle age. “Welcome to P3X-797 Sir! Called Devorias by the natives.”

“Colonel.” Woosley shook his hand, just in time to see a Green Beret from one of the new SG teams walk by, helping another member of yet another SG team who looked pale as a sheet. “Common problem.” Kowalski muttered shaking his head ruefully wondering what he did to displease the Admiral that for this little political shindig it was decided that only the newbies would participate in security except for Makepeace’s outfit any way. “a lot of these guys don’t know anything about history, so they assume food and drink’s made the way for a bronze age society equivalent than it is with us.”

Admittedly, he’d been as stupid on Abydos but so much of the foliage on that planet doubled as stand ins for advanced medicine that the average Abydonian was probably healthier than the average Earth born human. “So, a lot of our guys.”

“Human waste in the cocktail” Woolsey nodded. “My Great-grandfather bought a Roman villa and had it shipped tile and block by tile and block to the family ranch in California. As a kid my gramps took me to the different places that once passed for bathrooms and explained what sanitation was like even with the ultra-cleanly Romans.” There was also the time he negotiated a dispute over diamond mining between a Japanese cartel under the Mitsubishi banner and a now defunct telecommunications company Earth Resource Technology Services Inc. Or ERTS (which had ironically been absorbed by Shepherd industries.) for short. Half the legal team didn’t heed his advice (Which was to do what John Ford and Humphrey Bogart did and drink mostly soda and booze or boiled water, cut with rum. Also eating quinines as if they were M&M’s helped), of that ten three died from renal failure due to loose bowels on account of parasites. “No fatalities yet?”

“No, there’s a kind of tea these people drink that is remarkably efficient at killing intestinal parasites and more than a few viruses. Captain Perez over there caught a local flu virus and had some of that tea? Went from hundred and four fever to sparring with Menestros in about four hours.” When Woolsey raised an eyebrow Kowalski laughed. “Yes, we sent notice to Doc Fraser, she’ll be here tomorrow I think.”

The monarchy of Devarios was rather generous allowing all of this, permitting members of two foreign armies to show up as escorts and to help with security. They had an agenda of their own, that was clear and were probably banking on their reputation catching a bump out in space on the coat tails of whatever decision was reached out here.

“So, what exactly is expected of me?” He’d been reading the copies of the papers on Imperial law, specifically right to asylum and the right of the host nation to refuse but seeing as these were essentially FBI agents in space, he wasn’t particularly clear on if they even had cause to accept without looking like shifty bastards trying to poach technology and intel from a nation that had gone out of its way to be friendly towards despite everything that happened in their disastrous initial contact. “It almost sounds like I have to argue before a court or promise them that we’re not going to use them to pillage technological secrets which they may not even have.” Woolsey pushed his glasses closer to his head.

It was all moot, he wasn’t going to do anything until Statterfield arrived with Fraser to conduct a proper interrogation of the two Goa’uld. Kowalski gave him a confused look and Woolsey sighed exasperatedly. “It’s that sometimes people in the field know more about how these things are applied than what’s on paper for me to read.”

“Fair enough, no all it looks like is that asylum cases this high profile have to be witnessed by three to five parties and one party has the right to challenge the other. My guess is Bisu’s boss is going to challenge but it’s not like the challenge is anything more than a formality. The third party which isn’t the neutral host nation is just there to make sure there’s nothing shady going on. I guess the other parties in attendance are just spectators. Honestly sir, this seems like pure ceremony.” The marine muttered in an annoyed voice as they stalked towards an estate that was covered in the hanging gardens allegedly famous in Babylon. “Doctor Jackson’s going to love this place.”

“Yeah, his theory gets more and more vindicated, though I am surprised no one thought of it before. I mean its common sense, right? With so much out there there’s bound to be people who either evolve the same way or develop similar religions and cultures on pure coincidence and then end up influencing others.” The Marine’s consternation made the older lawyer laugh and he pulled out an engraved leather wrapped flask and passed it to Kowalski who gave him the proper “I’m on duty.” Protestations before caving to an insistence from Woolsey.

“Funny thing about us experts, a lot of times we need an outsider or a regular guy to tell us the obvious. Overspecialization kills Colonel.”

“Explains why the old timers wanted as much talent from as many places as they could nab for the SGC.” Kowalski answered.

“Old timers huh?” Woolsey asked with an amused grin. There’s plenty of SGC personnel that would see him as an old timer by now. Woolsey thought as they walked on, observing the hanging gardens and simple streets. It was interesting, this society might have been comparable to the bronze age, but their buildings were larger and there was a lot more people than he expected. Mentioning this to Kowalski the man nodded. “There’s a lot of what my wife calls homeopathic medicine out here, mostly from the plants and certain chemicals secreted by various fauna. Some of it’s better than modern medicine, diabetes out here is a persistent problem because everyone seems to have the abundance of food of a modern world with limited health knowledge. “He paused as what looked like a gigantic SUV sized tortoise lazily bearing along a few kids and what looked like an exasperated butler crossed a city street. “Well damn…But yeah, almost every culture we’ve encountered has either a cure for diabetes or a method to reverse it or treat it more efficiently than we do. Her and Doc Fraser think the snakes did gen-engineering on a bunch of planets to make sure the healthcare of their subject worlds was up to snuff even if they didn’t advance.” That was the conclusion Lahm had reached on Abydos all those years ago and it hadn’t been proven wrong since.

“Have you received word from the Imperium yet?”

“No, the impression I get is that the government in general doesn’t give a damn about these two, it’s only a bone to pick for this ancient bitch, Heqet.” Woolsey nodded, Teal’c’s estimations of her were logically going to be colored by the biases of a semi feudal system and he had attempted to take them with a grain of salt but the behavior pattern he’d seen so far suggested she was as sleezy and morally compromised as a Latin American Dictator in cocaine country. On the basics of logistics alone it didn’t make any damn sense for the equivalent to the police chief of her territory to apprehend two individuals suspected of sedition and for one of them to also be a law enforcement officer of a different kind. No, this was all different shades of corrupt and he hoped whoever the Imperium sent to oversee all of this was rational and not taken to weighing in solely on the grounds of sharing the same country.

“Well, if there’s nothing further, I need to be appraised on, I’ll be setting up my office and reviewing the material provided.” Woolsey gave a genial smile as the Colonel departed, leaving Woolsey to dwell on the prospect of doing battle with a potential millennia old serpent who specialized in bandying words.

How exciting.
 
The Consort and the Queen

The Immortal Watch Dog

Well-known member
Hetman
And for @Spartan303 and others who were waiting for a Hathor heavy chapter.

She goes in alone against Amunet and Apophis!

And for @Harlock and those who enjoy the world building, there's a bit of back and forth between Hathor and Amunet on socio-political issues within the Imperium and Hathor implies some rather unPC things about Amunet's character :ROFLMAO:

Also a bit of Hathor being a good grandmother.

Oh and more importantly. A tiny bit of info on the "Nameless one" and that civil war.

RPmJ4-CNNm1UCro_SEjFQj8nL5yhKQoklhok06nZBu0.jpg


Waset – Crown World of Apophis Domain. – Month of Tartarus (September by Tau’Ri reckoning.)

It was an odd contrast, to the eternally cold and forested Chulak. The planet Waset whose orbital was slightly closer to the sun than ordinary for most lotar life. A degree of nanometers perhaps, just enough to give the planet a temperate to tropical climate that resulted in a world of island paradises, rolling hills, mountains and warm breezes. She doubted if there was anywhere on Waset that snow touched except for the mountain peaks and the most remote regions on the southern archipelago, where enormous beasts descended from the cave dwelling omnivores commonplace on the western hemisphere of Tau’Ri. Hathor remembered them well, from a hunting trip here ten thousand years ago. Enormous, almost four times the size of the tallest Jaffa when on their hind legs and they could swim as well when needed, even reaching the tips of the southern continent at times. Ten thousand years, ten thousand! He was her younger brother, the last surviving sibling Hathor had and yet she barely spent any time with Apophis or his many, many children and the chamberlain felt guilt assault her heart. -Then again, it was his brutality that provoked Egeria to rebel- she thought, with no hint of bitterness as one of her attendants began to weave golden threads through her long black hair before nearly flinching at the thought. No, that wasn’t quite true. He raped Amaterasu and brutalized her host, poisoned her, all the savagery of one who was still grieving, still furious and has no self-control. But it was her former husband that allowed Apophis to do that – And as Ra was always so happy to point out, it was me who proposed giving Amaterasu over to Apophis- One of her worst mistakes, a mistake that resulted in two children being marred forever and one of them dying at her own father’s hands and all because she believed that turning over Amaterasu would have prevented civil war.

She wanted to laugh at herself then as she looked into the mirror, she wanted to sneer at herself. -It was either that or I give over Egeria, and I couldn’t do that, not after what he showed himself to be capable of. - other than her total destruction of the Set’yim, she had no greater regret, and it was one of the myriad reasons why she truly detested coming here. Another thing that still pained her, unlike Ra who had a large family, there was only ever Apophis, Anubis, and herself. Her parents, gentle Tartarus and mighty Neith having died early in the rebellion when she was still a youngster. So young that, had she been born the way Goa’uld were now, she would have still been a Prim’tah.

Bast came later, the daughter of Anubis, but even she died eventually. Killed during the fight against the nameless one. Apophis had so many progeny, but he tended to neglect and ignore his children with the exception of Klorel and the less said about him the better. Waset was a lonely place, one that was now run by that murderous bitch Amunet. A Goa’uld queen, a halfbreed that was so filled with ambition and hate she was certain the youngster had assassinated dozens if not hundreds of her nieces and nephews through Apophis even while she was still a Prim’tah. For her mental powers were enormous owing likely to her “wild” DNA and the disturbing fact that when Peers mixed with the lower species of Goa’uld they tended to yield offspring who were far more powerful than they had any right to be. Maybe it was a mistake coming here, Hathor thought. But it was a mistake she had to make, she owed the memory of the sweet, altruistic, and energetic youngster Apophis had been before the rebellion, to the memory of the little brother she loved dearly if not the monster he’d become. And so, she prepared her finest, to make a plea to a madman that used to be her brother and to confront her brother’s mistress face to face. To see the face that was stolen from one so innocent and see if there was a chance, she could stop what was coming.

“Remain here.” Hathor ordered, to the presence she felt by the door to her rooms onboard the Egerios her personal flagship. Though one would not think it were a warship given the silks on the walls, the golden statues and the soft carpet beneath her feet. Braziers burned with holographic fires illuminating her personal quarters and the tall, golden-haired woman who stood towering over the former empress. Her eyes were completely turquoise, and her golden hair fell down passed her rear, she was dressed in the armored tunics of a fleet Captain, and she bowed. Taweret was her great granddaughter, from a son Horus had with Mei’lyn who was killed during the Titans rebellion.

She was no peer, Ra had denied her the right to use a resurrection chamber, but Hathor had granted it to her in the years since his death, to honor her service. “I…I advise against this yet again. To go alone, majestic eminence.”

She smiled patient smile at the younger Goa’uld. Loyal Taweret, who would have stepped between herself and Amunet the moment she sensed trouble even though doing so would mean her death within an instant. “The gap between peers and your kind is the difference between a pebble and a moon.” She chided, causing the youth’s eyes to glow in a reflexive display of embarrassment. “Amunet would need Klorel to overwhelm me.”

-Or a well-placed sniper- the girl thought -Even a God may die if she is taken unawares- and then her eyes widened in horror as she realized her anxiety allowed the thoughts to be broadcasted. So great was her panic that her apologies may as well have been shouted from the rafters before they ever left her mouth and Hathor reached out and set a calming hand on the girl’s wrist. “Pease child, you gave no offense. My, dearly departed husband certainly proved that point, didn’t he? Still, I’m not worried.” Hathor allowed an almost feral grin to appear on her face for a fraction of a second. “Amunet wants to kill me herself; she isn’t powerful enough to do that yet although I bet, she thinks she is.” She stood up gently kissing her bastard granddaughter on the forehead before turning to leave.

Sometimes it was hard to remember who originally proposed the idea, it had been nearly forty thousand years. Whether it was her, or it was Amun-Ra but she had advanced it and then blamed him her brother acted in a way she’d never seen him act before. It was cruel to blame him, albeit his reaction was worse than she expected. He merely ordered Apophis to surrender Amaterasu now that his abysmal attempt to salvage his wounded pride was done. And then paid a small fortune out to the broken countess. Whatever Apophis had done to her nervous system, it had taken Amaterasu a hundred years of healing to correct the damage. She was too proud to use a resurrection chamber until after she had healed, or so the story went. Regret filled her mind, and it was odd, she supposed after being wrathful and warlike for so long the last thirty thousand years being dedicated to peace or atonement was logical. The trouble was she didn’t believe atonement for some of the things she did was possible, nor did she necessarily believe she needed to. Accepting that as a ruler one needed to do horrible things, live with them and regret them yet still carry out your duties and being consumed by guilt and fear and rage as her husband was at the end or consumed by indolence and bloodlust as her brother did were three very different things. As the decoy shuttle descended to Waset, she smiled, she was getting old if merely visiting her only remaining sibling made her wax poetically about sin. At the end of the day, all she could do was hope her son (And likely Mei’lyn) would be better rulers than Ra and Hathor herself had been. “They go bad, but we don’t have to.” She repeated in the Tau’Ri language called English. According to Leanan the Tau’Ri war leader Jack O’Neill had said that to Teal’c and that had been what swayed the War Master. Of course, he would, those words resonated with her on a profound level because that was exactly why her parents and Ra’s started the rebellion against the Ori so long ago.

-I would very much like to meet this O’Neill one day- Hathor thought then laughed at how preposterous the thought was, especially after such heavy memories. Enveloped by the transported beam, she rematerialized inside the rings board the shuttle that was supposed to carry her guards. Exiting before the great palace at Waset, Apophis home.

A home that was fashioned in honor of Yggdrasil the mythical castle on the cradle world of the Asgardians. A great long house the size of a mountain that could be seen from orbit and rose high enough to have distinct climates on the different levels and ends. Unlike Chulak, many Lotar lived on Waset some four billion. They were a proud people, whose ancestors won the honor by surviving the rigorous conditions on Dakkara, to tame it and make it theirs and whose DNA was used to create the first Jaffa. The bravest and fiercest of these Lotar might even one day win the honor of having a descendant of theirs taken in uteru and genetically engineered to become the lowest rung of the Jaffa race, who in time through selective breeding and competitiveness and intrepidness would one day mayhap reach as high as First Prime or even War Master. On Waset they didn’t worship a distant and remote God, but a mighty war God who walked among them, fought with them, honored them by presiding over decadal contest of strength wherein the mightiest champions of their world fought in a great Lotar exclusive bloodsport broadcast throughout the Imperium. He also slept with them, to the extent that at the behest of Thoth Isis had placed rigorous immigration controls Waset’s subjects because so many of them shared the same ancestor or father (Apophis himself.) that there had been concern about potential genetic damage to the planets around Waset. Though, in truth Hathor suspected that was more an attempt to shame Apophis into ceasing his relentless fornications. She laughed to herself, as a warm breeze passed through hair that she allowed to develop a few streaks of silver, to contrast with how youthful her body looked after Crichton’s many old and vain jokes. They had known her brother for their entire lives yet still had no idea how to sway him to do anything.

Then again, only Anubis ever really could and Ra’s…

A brigade of the serpent legion met her, standing in glistening gold uniforms. The elite of his personal guard the one’s that survived two engagements with the Tau’Ri any way. Each one was tall, gallant and the eyes on their cobra shaped helmets glowed as they arrayed themselves as a column on each side of the walkway through to the entrance of the palace where she was greeted not by the chamberlain of Apophis’ domains but by several minor Goa’uld nobles. Now that was interesting…He’d been another one of her brother’s illegitimate but well-placed progeny. -She’s truly killing everyone connected to his past mistresses and wives…Drey’ac must be warned and the girl in the bureaucracy. Neith? Yes, her too- Hathor thought, though Drey’ac hardly needed to be warned. She’d been the victim of an attempted bombing inside of a major space port over Nineveh no less. -At the very least, that’s what the assassin wanted us to think- there were deeper mysteries and madder minds then even Amunet are at work here.-

It was an empty court, which was what she had come to expect from her brother. Waset wasn’t like Pengu or Nineveh or Olympus or Helios or Y’zumo . it was the court of the being whose mind and resources and manpower were the backbone of the Imperium’s military machine and Chulak was where most of the decisions effecting the military and its economics were done. Teal’c likely entertained more courtiers, diplomats and System Lords than Apophis ever did because the War God simply held himself above all that and his capitol was his retreat from the nonsense. So, the immense yet oddly spartanesque Throne room was empty but for flickering lights holographically modified to appear as the flames of torches. The only real sign of ostentation beyond the precious gems and metals that went along the edges of mosaics and murals on the walls was the art itself. Nanite woven synth marble that told and retold accounts of some of the early battles in her brother’s life. Except for a new one which was immense and towered over even the throne itself. Behind the throne of Waset (Made from starship armor of vessels he’d destroyed himself in his youth twisted and molded into an raised elegant chair.) were two depictions.

The first a figure hooded, cloaked in scarlet, gaunt, emaciated and hobbled, wretched and decrepit. The antithesis of a system lord. It’s face hidden and obscured, its eyes glowing colors that ran the gamut of each color associated with each system Lord dynasty before settling on red. An old rotten, clawed hand extended pointing towards Amun-Ra who was struggling to hold back the darkness that began to flow all about them. Apophis appeared between the nameless crimson figure and her former husband, a look of defiance and outrage on his face and thrust Anubis legendary staff forward into its chest.

The next image showed Apophis on bent knee, in supplication to an Amun-Ra who held one hand up in banishment and the other in welcome, with a proud hard face unwilling to show gratitude.

Hathor’s blood chilled with rage. Liar! You slew his soldiers! It was Ra, Yu and I who had to face his evil head on! Hathor took a breath, controlling the rage that was building inside of her at so open a blasphemy and such total disrespect for her family. Her eyes darted to the throne itself which was currently enveloped in light as Apophis making use of a ring transport device brought himself from wherever he was seated onto the throne, Amunet appeared beside him barely clothed, with only a shimmering silk robe of reds and blacks to cover her nakedness. Her host body looked only slightly older than Hathor’s and the former Empress was filled with disgust at the sight -A woman barely out of her adolescence, she took a child.- At least the doctor was a thousand years old even she didn’t look it, at least she was a monster, at least it was a fight to take her over. At least she deserved it! Adorned in black silks with streaks of gold and velvet gloves, Apophis looked like he had been in his bed chambers and couldn’t be bothered to dress properly for his elder sister, they both did.

This was such an unhinged, unhealthy and undisciplined display Hathor had to rely on her vast array of life experience to summon the emotional control to master herself before she rushed over to the throne to shake her brother out of his madness. “Hathor! Ahhh elder sister!” Apophis called, though she noted he only rose from his throne to embrace her when Hathor took the first steps towards him. Amunet stayed by the throne, eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly as Apophis rose to greet his sister, her hostility was well concealed, but she could sense the hatred below it all. Amunet did not like her. Seeing Hathor perhaps as a rival or resenting the matriarch of the Gods for her status, after all. Hathor ruled jointly with Ra until their relationship soured and this wretched little thief had to have known her heritage precluded her from ever having any real power.

“Do you like my new painting? Klorel worked it for me, he’s switched hosts recently and there is time before…” Apophis trialed off, still embracing Hathor as the two gazed up upon the insult to Hathor’s entire family. -a little time before his ungovernable abilities and disabled mind reduce him to the status of a drooling invalid- Hathor thought, wanting to say that out loud and remind Apophis that it was indiscretion that resulted in the poor creature’s birth. “I am curious.” She began, considering her phrasing as the admission that it was Klorel who did this served as a shield against any charges of disloyalty. “Where are my sons who fought beside you? And Athena? Who fought side by side with you against A’z’hrael the fallen first prime until Horus thrust his golden sword through the monster’s heart? And Apollo and Izanami and Raijin? Who waged a frantic battle in the skies above Edenos preventing more of his follows from joining the battle? Or Zeus, Amaterasu, Hera and Izanagi who battled the Leilum alongside Isis in the mental realms? Or myself” she linked regarding the painting, as if seeing it for the first time and scrutinizing it with the fine eye of an art critic as Amunet suppressed a shudder at Hathor’s use of the forbidden names to describe a final battle whose mere mention often came with “And may the Gods forgive me for mentioning such evil in the light of day.” By even nonbelievers who spoke of the nameless one and his treachery. “I was there, and as I recall bore the brunt of his psychic assault for a few seconds.” An eternity, Hathor thought, an eternity of mental torture and psychic rape and if it wasn’t for my former husband, I’d be a blank slate right now, as blank as that poor woman Amunet stole. Apophis frowned, seemingly wounded on behalf of his son and looked at Hathor with a mix of sadness and disappointment and anger. “Klorel did it for me, because he wanted to honor his father who he thinks is so strong. It was just a gift…”

Hathor patted his chest gently. “Peace little brother, he is an innocent boy” which was what made Klorel so dangerous, Hathor left out. That he did what he did without any concept of wrong or right because he was too insane and mentally impaired to comprehend right and wrong. “And you are a good father.” He was, so help her, Hathor had to admit it was his only redeeming quality, but he was always a great father to as many of his offspring as he could manage at any given moment. Which was what made it so bizarre, that he would tolerate the naked butchery Amunet was clearly attempting against his offspring. Offspring that he doted on and adored above anything save war. “I was merely concerned this would get you in trouble.”

Apophis shrugged. “I won’t be living here much longer sadly. By the end of this decade, I’ll be seated in the throne room at Iwnw on Dakkara. Our son will be seated here I suppose, when one gifted enough in the ways of war is born.”

The grandiosity of that proclamation and how oblivious it seemed to be, aside. It made her almost sad to hear him discuss Amunet so. -No offspring born from a Goa’uld of the lower species may assume any position of nobility higher than planetary governor and even that required a special dispensation from the Emperor.- Hathor’s mind was awash with a mix of guilt and surprise. “The laws we set in place…”

“Are laws of retribution by Amun-Ra because his father was betrayed by primitive Goa’uld.” Apophis waved his hand dismissively at last breaking physical contact with her to walk towards Amunet, a bright smile on his face as they locked arms. “Over one hundred thousand years has passed since then, many of those species have evolved since then and are sentient and loyal subjects of the Imperium.”

“Subjects being the operative word, Majestic eminence” Amunet spat the honorifics out as though they were venom in her throat, beneath all her subtle velvety tones. Hathor scrutinized her focused on her vocal cords and mental energies, on the movement of her chest and throat and jaw. Making sure she wasn’t using the voice denied to all but the System lords. “Jaffa would have more rights than I do were I not the consort of mighty Lord Apophis.”

“Jaffa have earned those rights, my dear many times over. As have many others who are citizens and not subjects, half of your heritage is of the blood, you are a peer by birth, but your mother was some sewer born bottom feeder who ended up dying in a cell after she took up with the children of Egeria.” Hathor responded lazily, let her know that you knew the truth about her birth. Not that any of it mattered now, but this woman fancies me the devil. She knows nothing of true evil, all petulance and rage.

“Begging your pardon majestic eminence but it’s the equalist movement, not the Children of Egeria, I know all Tok’ra must look the same to the great and noble Hathor.” Amunet hissed back, her eyes flashing a low pink color that made Hathor pray to whatever existed out there above everything that she descended form one of Tartarus’ brothers by some happy coincidence (Even though they all died in their tanks.) or a niece through Bast and that her brother was not sexually involved with his own daughter. After a second Hathor smiled indulgently “On the contrary, Nerus is a close and dear friend, among the few I have left. I have always been a patron of certain Tok’Ra factions, I’ve never made a secret of that. I agree with the equalists up to a degree and have debated it rather extensively with Hera..if you’ve not learned much on the subject.” Hathor’s eyes flashed a bright pink, and her voice was all calm and patience, she would not affectate a false tone of honey or sweetness, she did not need to be demure.

She was Hathor, one of the two builders of the greatest civilization that ever was and the greatest that ever will be. She was the mother of dynasties and a peacemaker, but she was an old mother long accustomed to arrogant children. “However, surely you understand why reproducing with Goa’uld of the line of poor Klorel’s mother…”

“Sister..” Apophis warned and Hathor shook her head. “Brother, you made a mistake and were honorable in wanting to atone for it by bringing her home, but you have to know that it was wrong! My poor nephew…”

Apophis nodded; he seemed genuinely sad as he held Amunet. As if he knew that Hathor would rather Ra had made him kill Klorel when he made Apophis kill the others. -No, I never wanted that, but I wish he was never born. What have you done little brother? I can’t even recognize you anymore- Hathor felt sorrow but resolve fill her heart. “You want the throne so you can change those Immutable laws? You would have to get past Hera first or convince the conclave of the System Lords to amend our most fundamental of laws.”

“Perhaps.” Apophis said with a wolfish grin. “But then again, I’ve always felt Amun-Ra’s greatest mistake was relinquishing some of his power to this legislative body of the Imperium. I advised him when we were still barely in control of one little planet to retain absolute power.”

“A civilization built on one being, as opposed to around a small group of good sentients was doomed to death as soon as that one being breathed his last” she quoted Ra’s response to him, because once upon a time, her husband had been a good man and a great leader. Apophis smiled in response laughing as if the fact that she remembered the response was surprising. “Even with out designed memory…I had forgotten that. Come! Let us leave the nonsense of civil rights aside and talk of why you’re here.”

Nonsense?! There was a moment when both women regarded him as if he was even feebler than Klorel. Even though we come at it from two separate angles neither of us would dare dismiss the single most contentious issue in our civilization as trivial.

There were trillions of lower Goa’uld, even if that did still make them a minority in an Empire so vast, that was still a tremendous group of sentients, some of whom looked at the middle born and the Peers with anger and it was a problem they would have to address one day. “It’s a serious enough issue that Inari has requested asylum from the Tau’Ri.”

“Good for her.” Amunet remarked. “I heard the rumors that she is a latent queen and if so, I don’t blame her. I’ve already had one batch of Prim’tah and had to lobotomize eighty percent of them. You’ve no idea how it feels, to dim the little lights inside you.” She murmured sadly.

Were you under the impression that even if equality was achieved that it would ever stop? One of us can give birth to ten thousand offspring in a single day unless they’re peers or queens. Do you imagine what would happen to our Jaffa? Or our population centers if a billion new Goa’uld matured from Prim’tah states tomorrow?

There were trillions of lower Goa’uld because most died with their initial host, whose personality was often either preserved or merged with the serpent thus most of the poorest residents of the galaxies saw it as a means to maintain longer life and near perfect health for long enough to support their families for a few generations. The bondings were an out of poverty scheme for both Goa’uld and host and were ultimately harmless because of the limited nature of both. And who knew how many “wild” bondings occurred in Peacekeeper space or what have you. But it was different with the middle and higher borns and peers? A hundred thousand Peers suddenly appearing wouldn’t just be a demographic problem, that much psionic energy concentrated in one spot could potentially be a civilization destroying cataclysm. And discussing this with siblicidal lunatic was beneath Hathor. She was too insane, and she undermined her own cause with her insanity. “I came to ask the Lord if he planned to attend the grand banquet in memoriam of Amun-Ra later this year.”

“Ah! So, you plan to make the announcement for when the election will take place?” Apophis queried as if there was no other reason to honor the life of the man who built a civilization from nothing. “I suppose we’ll be ask to vote you as Grand Regent...”

“To arbitrate the succession, yes. It will be my last duty to Amun-Ra.” She said, feeling a hint of actual sadness for her ex-husband, or rather the memory of the being he was one; now in a time so long ago it was more fable than fact. -And my first duty to my new Emperor, my foolish if altruistic prince Horus- she thought before offering Apophis a tired smile. “Come to my party little brother, please.” She hated how juvenile she sounded in her sorrow but in truth even if all she could do was cling to the memories of dead siblings and not this lost monster. Apophis wanted to do more than become Emperor it seemed but wanting to abolish all the systems in place to ensure everything worked. He wanted the power but why? Was it truly for wars unending? Would he reduce them so?

Her brother laughed and nodded, eyes beaming the way they did in their youth. “Hathi! Of course, I will, but I will bring Amunet. She’s mine and the rules be damned, let Ra seethe from the next world, but through pain and loss she’s been there for me.”

Hathor’s blood chilled.

That was a lie, a mean-spirited lie. And he told it with practiced ease, but Apophis was always such a terrible liar on anything except military matters that he had to know she’d see through it. Leave this place wife…

Ra’s voice echoed in her mind, what an odd form to take but she agreed heartily with it. Rising she thanked Apophis and turned with a flourish. Her heartbeat kept neutral and steady only through the control she held over her host body. She waited for the duo to bow, her eyes imperious and commanding now and she would not depart until one of them gave ground (as it granted her the precious few seconds to reign in the storm of emotions below the surface.) when Apophis rose and bowed, she turned not waiting for Amunet to pay her proper respects, refusing to give her the time of day.

Something reached out, she could feel it touching on her defenses, gently, lightly probing. The subtle intrusion was no threat, but it was in and of itself an act of disrespect and Hathor turned slightly facing the youngster. Her eyes glowed slightly, and the woman bowed, but as she did so the subtle touches became suddenly slightly harder, and Hathor responded by allowing the attack to wash over her defenses…While she opened several capillaries in the young host's nose. Amunet came up sneezing and gushing blood about while hissing in embarrassment and annoyance.

Hathor left the throne room to laughter that didn’t belong to her brother, at least not the one she remembered from her adolescence.

Her mind wandered back to her promise to Drey’ac “We will have a reckoning for all those whom we loved that have been robbed from us.” It was a promise, not just from a Goddess to her follower, not merely a monarch to a subject but one mother to another. It was a sacred vow she had, in the moment felt a slight amount of regret in making for what it implied but after today. She was glad she’d made it.

For as she returned to her vessel Sekhmet-Hathor knew two things. The first? That Amunet was a murderer and the second that nothing good of Apophis remained, something had driven him so completely insane that he was gone.

And if was if that spirit was dead.

She would ensure his body joined it.
 
Last edited:

The Immortal Watch Dog

Well-known member
Hetman
Oh man the cojones on Amunet for even trying to touch Hathors mind. Hathor ain't playing with her ass and gave her a gentle reminder whose who. I like this Hathor.

I couldn't just do a reboot of the original Hathor from the show.

Novel Hathor was a lot of fun, but she was like an MMPR villain. I loved it but sadly it didn't fit my setting and what I needed for the story.

Admittedly I took a lot of inspiration for her portrayal from Da'an and Galadriel.

Hence her quiet dismissal of Amunet. She didn't make a big show of it. Doing so would have been beneath her.

More like hatred.

She had a couple hundred nieces and nephews get the Clinton treatment solely because Amunet is a jealous bitch.

Hathor may try very hard to be a decent person but she's also the worse person in the universe to make an enemy of.
 
Last edited:

The Immortal Watch Dog

Well-known member
Hetman
does allow for black ops for quite some time, after all you can't tell its a earth ship

I was debating that mentally, because I could see the Tau'Ri low key selling their reverse engineered tech to minor powers in exchange for various things.

The law is that they can't traffic weapons tech on par with the Goa'uld or Asgard and those two races enforce that law viciously.

But the law says nothing about say, building ships that are fit with tech from those races that's ten generations older than current tech and then selling the hulks. I mean it would have to be a big pay off to be worth the risk but yeah.

Or as you said running black ops missions safely for awhile.
 

Knowledgeispower

Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
I was debating that mentally, because I could see the Tau'Ri low key selling their reverse engineered tech to minor powers in exchange for various things.

The law is that they can't traffic weapons tech on par with the Goa'uld or Asgard and those two races enforce that law viciously.

But the law says nothing about say, building ships that are fit with tech from those races that's ten generations older than current tech and then selling the hulks. I mean it would have to be a big pay off to be worth the risk but yeah.

Or as you said running black ops missions safely for awhile.
hell you could make the ships sold suspiciously being able to be easily upgraded....like say power conduits rated for vastly more power, modular construction, additional spare hull volume. And it just so happens the weapons able to be scaled up in power from what they're notionally rated for with some modifications
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Top