Ra sat at the table, surrounded by his Lok'tars and bodyguards, enjoying the delicacies. He never stooped to the base pleasures of his subordinates. If he needed something, he could invite the Goa'uld or slave he was interested in for a private conversation.
"What do you think of Akhnur?" Ra asked his advisor.
"A fatalist, but one who knows his place. Nevertheless, he is not without certain talents," replied Warrior Ra. He had put the new junior lord through several tests to determine his character. When Akhnur had been sent to a remote colony, this hadn't mattered so much. Now that he had ascended, a more thorough analysis was required. "And, of course, we've run a full scan. This is definitely your son, the one who left five years ago. Not a Tok'ra, not a spy for Apophis—the reputational damage would be too great. Besides, he doesn't wish to be at court; he's certain he won't survive."
"But he's seriously hurt Apophis' pride. Doesn't he realize the consequences?"
"He understands, but believes he had no choice. Szarekh is certain that if he had surrendered, he would have been immediately executed, as these territories had been promised to one of Apophis's children who had arrived on the ships. Therefore, he had only one option—to win. Doing so without humiliating the System Lord was impossible. So he decided to stake everything on his continued existence. When the war ends, and Apophis will obviously seek revenge, he plans to acquire as much naquadah as he can and simply retreat from the planet with his ships, hoping for your favor."
"But he won't have a quiet, peaceful life anymore," Ra chuckled.
"As I said, he's a fatalist and is squeezing extra years out of his life, knowing there could be problems later. I must say, he does it well: he's outlived his entire brood and then some. Also, sir, I wouldn't advise wasting him quickly. Szarekh is loyal to you because only you can protect him from Apophis. He could be assigned to some project that requires loyalty and competence. After all, he didn't argue when they shoved old men at him instead of healthy Jaffa, or when they increased the naquadah quotas."
"He wouldn't argue anymore. You're right about that; he knows his place. I'll think about it, Akhnur. Now let's move away from trivial matters and turn to war strategy."
"Yes, my lord."
Meanwhile, a video of Apophis's Jaffa confidently emerging from the gate and plummeting downwards was gaining popularity within the Empire. Ra distributed the video to further humiliate Apophis. It reached literally every Goa'uld in the galaxy; Supreme Lord Ra had the means to do so.
In Baal's capital, he couldn't stop laughing, especially when Apophis's warriors were finally reduced to a bloody pulp. Kronos, Apophis's terrible enemy, laughed just as hard, delighted in these images. Along with this, news arrived that the minor lord who had humiliated Apophis had also found Set. Now Apophis must pay the one who humiliated him—a reward for Set.
But there was one Goa'uld who felt no joy at seeing his warriors fall from a cliff, his ships captured. That was System Lord Apophis. At such moments, the wise Bra'tac would expose some unfortunate soul to his master's wrath. But now, that wasn't an option.
"My lord, you have been gravely insulted, and the one responsible must die in terrible agony," Bratac had become accustomed to spewing this nonsense even in his sleep. "However, my lord, Ra undoubtedly wishes to enrage you so that you will immediately dispatch a punitive detachment."
"And you're against it?" Apophis' eyes flashed, he was angry, especially when the other System Lords joked about "flying snakes."
"Of course not, my lord. But you have thousands of years to punish the scoundrel, killing him a million times over, without hesitation. You will be able to record his torment and display it to all the System Lords as proof of your power. And what happens when you are challenged? With such Chappa'ai protection, an attack on this heretic would require ships. In my opinion, Ra is deliberately provoking you to go and kill his distant descendant. The journey will take a year. The forces you send there, my lord, will not be involved in battle for two years. The war will be over, and you will be able to send any fleet you like after the heretic's head, and Ra will not object."
"You are wise, Bratak. I will do as you advise. But I need him alive."
"When your most impressive sons return with a great victory, you can entrust this to them as a reward," Bratac had no desire to fly anywhere far to fight an insignificant Goa'uld.
- Yes, that's what I'll do.
Meanwhile, at the next Tok'ra Council, another routine discussion of the situation in the galaxy took place.
"The new Lesser Lord of Ra is Szarekh. He found Set in his domain and killed him, that's confirmed. He captured two more Khattaks, and he moved the Chappa'ai to the cliff to kill a large number of Apophis's Jaffa, humiliating him."
"He's not likely to live long," said Persus.
"But he's got three Khattaks, even though there aren't many Jaffa. He'll hardly be of any use. The territory is too remote, Apophis won't forgive him and will kill him," Selmak agreed with the whole situation.
"On the other hand, we got some funny footage of a Jaffa flying," Jolinar joked. Everyone looked at her disapprovingly. "It's really funny."
- We don't share your joy.
"There are five thousand fewer of those who will hunt us. And I can say the System Lords really liked this tactic. I wonder if we can do something like that ourselves? After all, he didn't do anything complicated; he simply attached an antigravity platform to the gate, which, on a signal, rotated it."
"We rely on stealth, and gates on cliffs are rare. They're usually located on plains. It's unlikely any Goa'uld would fall for such a trick twice."
"It would be nice to see the flight of the Jaffa Kronos," Jolinar has a long-standing dislike for Kronos.
- Jolinar!
- Okay, okay, I'll watch it again later in my room.
"Did you, by any chance, feel any emotion when they told you about all the perks of being a junior lord?" Egeria asked, studying his face.
"When they mentioned tax cuts, I must admit, I felt genuine relief," he chuckled.
"It's good that you took care of the sarcophagus – it helped to divert suspicion," the queen nodded.
"Yes, I reasoned sensibly that the absence of such a respectable acquisition would raise unnecessary questions.
"Excellent. Now listen carefully. Apophis's fleet is expected to arrive in six years. He'll likely send ten to fifteen ships here to ensure your complete annihilation. These are the numbers you should use as a guide.
Egeria was stating the obvious, but their significance for me was hard to overstate. I'd already taken the slaves of the idiot I'd eliminated, sold his house in the city of Ra, and pocketed my winnings along with the wealth of my vanquished rival. Plus, I'd received a document confirming that Yu had already been paid, and he was obligated to build me a ship. It was a significant achievement in three years. I spent the money on all sorts of trinkets available only in the capital world, like that sarcophagus, and then returned to Urvashi. I'd freed the slaves, and Isara promised to see to their fate.
"To complete my squadron plan, I'll need thirty Alkesh. At the same time, I intend to begin construction of fully-fledged Hatk'taks. The main components will be assembled on Urvashi, while component production will be scattered across other planets. The exception is Pangar—it's the only fully-fledged industrial world. I have space for shipyards. The question is how realistic is it to speed up the construction of sixty-meter ships to assembly-line production levels, similar to how the Americans built the Liberty-class transport—2,710 units! Even though my ships are more reliable, and, besides, they're combat ships, not transports. Plus, I need complex technologies: control systems, generators, engines... So, five days per Alkesh, as in your calculations, is, of course, unrealistic. But if I scale back my ambitions and exercise patience, then perhaps I can get closer to it." I have a surplus of naquadaha right now, so I can send it to the factory to produce armor plates and beams.
"A fully-fledged khatk'tak takes a considerable amount of time, even with all your innovations. It would take at least three to four years to build a single ship."
"How many shipyards can I support at once?" I asked.
"Am I Isara?" Egeria retorted. "But judging by your naquadah production figures, I'd guess five shipyards. That would allow us to build five ships simultaneously. In six years, we could commission three new squadrons—nineteen ships. That's already enough to claim Lord status. But how would Ra react to such a show of force?"
"He'll ask where such forces came from. If you refuse to answer, he might send a fleet. You're his vassal, and recruiting other System Lords to subjugate his own vassal is highly unusual. Ra will attempt to send his forces. If he loses, he'll be disgraced himself. Given the remoteness of your domains, he's unlikely to risk sending large forces. If they're defeated, Ra will prefer to bide his time and accumulate power."
It won't be possible to destroy Apophis's forces secretly. Even if I keep it a secret, word will spread that a large number of Apophis's ships have disappeared. Spy networks will sooner or later redirect their search in the right direction. They'll also start asking me if I've seen any Apophis's ships. Denying them anything will only cause discontent.
- This means we need to strengthen propaganda among the Jaffa troops, completely converting them to our side.
- Or train them to the point of complete exhaustion.
"I have four sarcophagi. That won't be a problem."
"You even have the drawings for them," the queen noted.
"That's true," I agreed, closing my eyes. "Six years of preparation. The seventh year is Ra's reaction. Another three years will be needed for the Tok'ra larvae to mature."
"The eighth year is Ra's second reaction. But he'll assume you're short-handed. So, if you don't reveal the existence of Pelops's forces, you'll be more of a target than a real threat. But if he learns of your large army, he'll have two options: he'll try to destroy you or enter into a mutually beneficial alliance with you, elevating you to the rank of lord. Destroying nineteen Hatk'taks and Hasar Station, along with a full-fledged defense system, will require at least twice as many forces—say, forty ships. A threefold advantage would be preferable, as reinforcements will take a year to arrive. Ultimately, sixty ships will need to be allocated for a long-distance expedition to bring the rebellious vassal to justice. Ra will be weakened after the war and won't allow such a blunder.
- He now has five hundred hatk'taks, and there is also Heruur.
"We'll see how many of them are left in five years. Perhaps around four hundred. Sending a seventh of their forces for two years is an invitation to war for Kronos and Baal, especially after the already resource-intensive campaign underway. The reduction in the Jaffa population, which requires time to reproduce..."
At that moment a brilliant idea came to me.
"There are several options for how to become even stronger, but for this I will need all my diplomatic skills.
- Please try not to shoot anyone with the intar.
- I will do my best.