Urvashi.
The most difficult conversation in the galaxy lay before me—a conversation with Ra. His holographic projection appeared in a specially designated room. I dropped to one knee, feeling, I swear, like fucking Vader in front of Palpatine.
"High Lord of the Ra Systems," I greeted him, using a much shorter form of address.
"Sarekh," he replied, without even using any of my titles. "I was extremely surprised to learn of your strength. My data told a different story."
"Of course. The Goa'uld rules were established twenty thousand years ago. I'm fighting for my life with all the means at my disposal, since all my peers are already dead."
"And what is the size of your fleet and army?" Ra asked with genuine interest.
"Twenty-seven Hutts and five hundred thousand Jaffa," I replied. This impressive figure was due to two Jaffa birth cycles, during which each family produced an average of two children. "However, more than half of them are younglings who don't yet require larvae."
- And where did you get them for the rest of your forces, because I remember that you had much less Jaffa?
"Maggots can be purchased in many places, especially when your services are in demand," I hinted at the existence of a vast black market for Goa'uld maggots, accessible to those with the right connections. My past as an unknown mercenary lord had proven quite useful. Now, my maggots mostly come from Kronos, as odd as that may sound. No one knows I killed Pelops. Besides, only Tok'ra bear children. "However, that's not a problem now, since my warriors have captured Queen Yanina."
Attacking Goa'uld larval breeding sites was taboo, but stealing queens from each other was common. She's in stasis, like Hathor; perhaps I'll be able to make use of them in the future. With these actions, I demonstrated my claim to the title of High Lord. After all, I have an army, a highly competent one, a queen, and a navy. True, the navy currently numbers less than the hundred Huttks required of a High Lord. But that's more of a recommendation than a strict rule. My conditions are different.
"Wise. So what do you want, Szarekh?" Ra asked haughtily.
"To live and do what I enjoy. Politics tires me; I'm not cut out for it. I make no claim to planets, for being a shepherd of slaves is boring. Like your son Heruur, I prefer to fight and have created conditions where I will always have worthy opponents to demonstrate my superiority. My remote location serves as my protection, but also imposes limitations. I will not be able to maintain and defend planets so far from my core. This is to your advantage, my lord, for I will not interfere in palace intrigues.
Nor will I fight against my brothers, but I can easily be used against other houses. Now no one will doubt that it was the House of Ra that triumphed in the war with Apophis. Despite the peace we had concluded, Apophis sent troops against me, suffered a crushing defeat, and lost two of his vassals. In your palace, my lord, the head of the Elder Lord will rest. Deaths such as mine do not happen often. No more than forty Elder Lords have perished in the last thirty years. The House of Ra was responsible for the deaths of seven of them, and now eight.
I spoke of the prestige I would bring to the House of Ra. So I figuratively asked them to leave me alone and allow me to pursue mercenary work.
"You claimed the right to conquest without informing me," Ra said gravely. "You didn't openly rebel, but you're too clever to come to my planet. Besides, a Goa'uld so adept at attacking other planets through chapaai couldn't help but defend its own. However, you brought glory to the House of Ra by humiliating Apophis three times and Kronos once, proving that his 'protected prison' isn't so impenetrable. But let me ask a question: how did you destroy the Hasar Yanina station?"
"I bombed his city with great precision. Your Jaffa were panicking, so my scouts infiltrated the building where supplies for the station were being delivered. They wore Janin's Jaffa uniform and made unimpeded progress to the reactor compartment housing the explosives."
– Teleportation rings are protected from explosives.
"There are many explosives, even those considered not particularly high-tech. Even a keg of gunpowder could be a very effective explosive."
– How would you suggest defending against such tactics?
"All Jaffa must be provided with unique electronic badges that transmit signals and are linked to life-signal sensors. If anyone appears without these sensors, an alarm should sound and the compartment should automatically seal." I didn't mention that I would have found a way to bypass such protection anyway, but it was obvious. "And the reactor compartment must be protected with a large number of sensors and force fields."
"Your technology is excellent. Why didn't you share it with others?"
"Because these aren't new technologies. Antigravity has been known to our species for thousands of years; I simply applied it in an unconventional way. Just as a new casing for a plasma weapon doesn't make it new, it merely repackages an old weapon. Anyone could do the same if they wanted. My resources were limited, and I desire power as much as any Goa'uld. Rather than spend millennia accumulating resources, I chose to devote myself to useful work in the laboratory. My slaves don't bother me too much, so I can devote more time to scientific research than any ruler."
Ra nodded. I doubted he believed me, but he was forced to follow certain protocols. He couldn't technically declare me a rebel and outcast like Sokar, since in the eyes of the others, I brought glory to the House of Ra, and he couldn't look foolish.
"Very well, Elder Lord Szarekh," Ra said slowly and deliberately. "I wish to hire your forces for a task."
- What must I perform for you, Lord?
"Kill another Elder Lord – Apophis," a smile of superiority flashed across Ra's face, clearly amused at how I had fallen into his trap.
"Sir, I'm not qualified for assassination. Any of the many ashraks serving you could handle it. Yanin has eluded my attempts to kill him three times. If he'd flown off into space, I'd have been content with destroying his infrastructure." "Yeah, go find another fool. I don't want to argue with Selket, the mistress of the assassination market." "And that's despite the fact that I tried to kill him by dropping bombs on his head."
- So, you refuse?
"It would be foolish to agree to something you're incompetent in. The Ashraks are reasonably qualified. Only my foresight saved me from an assassination attempt by Nirrti, and it cost me quite a few Jaffa."
- Not that big.
"I value any assets, sir, considering that I don't have many of them."
"You're not stupid for such a young Goa'uld. Quarrelling with Selket would be truly reckless," Ra said with a smirk. "But you, unlike her, can't guarantee that your competitors won't have similar ideas."
– I just need to remain the best at what I do.
- Let's see.
Ra didn't ask me where I got the fleet or the Jaffa. His own intelligence chief will likely handle that, possibly with plasma blasts to the chest and then resurrection. This poses a security risk, so I should strengthen the scanning network around my system and begin patrols. I have a feeling there will be plenty of reconnaissance operations here.
When Ra passed out, I let out a sigh. The only being with the political clout to destroy me had decided against it for their own reasons. And yes, I am now the youngest Elder Lord in history. I'm supposed to have 250-500 planets and billions under my control, but that's just me. Of course, some will want to kill me for my rank, but that's the trade. They could donate their ships to me, bolstering my fleet; after all, defeating me would require sending 40-50 ships. And such an investment for a mere rank is quite large, and most don't need it.
I need to live another four years, after which I'll have 75,000 Tok'ra ready for work. This will be a significant therapy. A lot of the work will no longer fall on my shoulders. I already have an existing International Research Complex, which employs over 100,000 people. Four planets, each with a significant combined population, are actually engaged in the exploration of other worlds. Three academies are currently operating, training personnel for the IRC: the first, the Scientific Academy, trains scientists for the exploration of other planets, dividing them into categories from those who are not allowed to leave the laboratory to those ready to join combat teams.
The Operations Academy trains fighters and security guards based on their accumulated experience. The Communications Academy trains analysts, accountants, technical personnel, and bureaucrats involved in data analysis and protocol refinement. For example, First Contact protocols, methods for containing hazardous materials, software improvements, writing new programs, ordering standard consumables for experiments – all of this is done by a whole class of people whose work is essential; without them, none of this would have happened.
Thanks to my exploration of other planets, I've acquired a wealth of programs and developments that could be used in the war. However, we're now entering a race with the Goa'uld; everyone will imitate my actions sooner or later. At least for now, they don't know about my advantages in naval combat, only in ground transport. But if I destroy an invading fleet like that a couple of times, they might become suspicious.
I left the communications room. Isara, Egeria, Maine, and McVey were waiting for me in the hallway.
- How?
"I'm a High Lord, and Ra isn't particularly opposed to my mercenary business. He tried to catch me, but I evaded his trap."
"You have become the youngest Elder Lord in history," Egeria smiled, and Isara hugged me.
- Yes, now you can no longer hide and essentially open your own mercenary agency, and this will help Hydra grow and spread.
Any planet my mercenaries land on will have a complement of spies who will also be there, organizing intelligence networks. No matter how insignificant the planet, what matters is that Jaffa rotate there, and information can be extracted from their minds. Insignificant planets have more free access to the Gate, but the Jaffa who rotate through each other have certain useful information in their heads. And yes, Hydra will grow and spread throughout the galaxy, forming an agent network in every corner of the galaxy, among the human population of the Goa'uld Empire. In some ways, this is much more promising than infiltrating the Goa'uld forces, although again, this is a niche area.
"Victory, a small victory for now, but a victory nonetheless. Now we are no longer so dependent on Ra's favor."