Tok'ra base.
"Another galactic war has come to an end," Selmak concluded.
"Yes, it turned out to be quite destructive, and all because Szareh was involved. We gave him too many contracts," Jolinar noted.
"It's a miracle he was able to accomplish all the tasks assigned to him. He's now revered as one of the greatest military leaders in the galaxy, and the Jaffa commanders who serve under him are respected everywhere. We still haven't found a way to infiltrate him, because he only has one planet," Garshau lamented.
"Officially," Selmak clarified, "he could have dozens of planets with hidden bases."
"The peace will last five years. Zeus is using this time to strengthen his forces. It is also known that Szarekh is buying up slaves. The total number has reached fifty million. It seems he is also preparing for his return and is eager to prove his worth. He is even drawing up contracts for events that will occur in five years.
— Is there any evidence regarding Ra? Or what does he think about this?
"The Jaffa of Ra have begun training intensively. There is clear evidence that Szarekh called all Jaffa weaklings for daring to engage in anything but war, claiming that his warriors train eighteen hours a day. Yet he shows them no mercy. His fleet is also extremely competent, but the Jaffa have never shown any desire to flee. They are devoted to Szarekh, ready to fanatically destroy anyone if necessary. However, they are also highly selective, never targeting ordinary civilians. They typically possess weapons capable of destroying large numbers of enemy troops, but never use them if there are civilians in villages or cities. While using more exotic methods of attack, they seek to spare ordinary people." Jolinar had reports on Szarekh's operations, and all the Tok'ra studied them, trying to understand their new enemy.
"Sarekh calls it rationality. He's being paid to immediately exploit the new planet, and it will be difficult to exploit it if the slaves are dead."
"You could say his ideology was beneficial to humans. They don't get killed," Garshau agreed. "If only more Goa'uld were so farsighted."
"Many Goa'uld want him dead, but five Ashraks have already died attempting this mission. He's paranoid, but also a talented engineer. The System Lords are investing significant resources in trying to replicate Szarekh's achievements in armor and rocketry."
"Thanks to his actions, we were able to promote our operatives to high positions. Jolinar, how do you manage Zeus?"
"Average. He listens to my advice, but his closest advisor remains the Ashrak Perseus, who, apparently, hired Szareh to storm Tartarus."
— Did Selket react calmly to this?
"He apparently learned a few tricks and was able to buy his way out. It looked as if Zeus had outbid Perseus's contract. Besides, Selket was busy with vacancies among her highly skilled Ashraks, and employers were expressing dissatisfaction over the failure to fulfill their obligations. The cost of killing Szarekh is comparable only to the cost of killing the Lord of the Systems; now that's too expensive. There's even a chance Ra might hire her for this mission."
"He is so unhappy with Sareh, even though he brings glory to his house.
"He destabilized his system of power. Representatives of House Ra hired him, strengthening their power base, so Ra was forced to play them off against each other. And they spent their resources excessively slowly. So House Ra grew stronger, which gives bad ideas to the vassals. However, Szarekh clearly doesn't plan to overthrow Ra. Most likely, he wants to produce enough ships for the fleet and declare himself Lord of the Systems.
Then he'll declare war on some System Lord, for example, Kronos. He'll capture his planet and transfer a significant portion of his ships there, after which he'll interfere in galactic politics. True, that event is still decades away. Besides, the Hutts are now strengthening their position against the Space Marines, although many Goa'uld have appreciated this. So in five years, they'll show what they're capable of."
"Interesting, very interesting. However, as soon as he comes to the larger galaxy, he'll be forced to play by the established rules. He'll no longer be able to use his mercenary tactics; they'll stop trusting him. He'll cease to be a neutral party."
- He can do it for the sake of power.
"I still don't think so," Jolinar said. "He's different from most Goa'uld; he's very intelligent. And not in the sense that other Goa'uld are stupid. No, he's one of those rare breeds that doesn't flaunt their vices. Not much is even known about Urvashi. It's known that he prefers to engage in combat personally, but he created two entire combat-oriented Jaffa sects. He already has his own queen, whom he kidnapped, and these same Jaffa sects as well. While the Immortals are simply terrifying, the Golden Legion is depressing. Perhaps they're some kind of new genetic or cybernetic warriors that fight with high efficiency. Oh, and the cost of equipping most of his Jaffa is very high. Training and high technology go hand in hand. He's created so many technological innovations, it's frightening."
"And he never stops inventing," Garshaw said. "He really seems interested in little else than technological innovation."
"More money," Selmak pointed out. "He'll do anything for money, we already realized that when we hired him through intermediaries."
"In five years, we'll see what he came up with. Thanks to his actions, millions of Jaffa died, and hundreds of Hutts fell. In my opinion, it was one of our most successful operations in recent memory."
"I agree," Selmak agreed. "Although this could lead to the rise of a powerful Goa'uld."
"And to the fall of several. He needs to take territory from someone. Apophis, Nirrti, and Kronos are possible options."
"And also the battle with Ra and Heruur. Szarekh has become too independent. He needs to be reminded of his place."
"In this situation, we can further destabilize the Empire, allowing even more worlds to free themselves from the Goa'uld's grip.
— With a high degree of probability, this is exactly the case.
- Then we are heading towards victory, as Queen Egeria predicts for us from the afterlife.
"For Egeria!" the Tok'ra said in unison.