章 8: Chapter 8 Lords of the Goa’uld System
"Korr, if you are willing to serve, I can spare you the inconveniences that facing the System Lords will bring for you," Ba'al offered from a Goa'uld throne with his mark behind. Korr observed his image on a screen while seated on his own throne on the Leviathan's bridge.
Ba'al was the most reasonable Goa'uld Korr knew, but also the most treacherous and dangerous. Once he had him in his hands, Korr would send him straight to the cargo hold.
"Ba'al, how many ships can the System Lords muster to face me? Ten, twenty? At most, thirty. I already have thirty-five ships at my disposal," Korr lied, actually having over a hundred, as he had captured Olokun's fleet almost intact, and had more than a hundred Ha'tak ships that he had already upgraded. But Korr didn't want to alarm the System Lords and start a war. "Send those ships against me, and we'll have a total war," Korr threatened.
"A total war won't benefit you. If it comes to that, we can send hundreds of ships against you," Ba'al warned.
"Send them. I think the fall of Olokun hasn't escaped your notice. My strategic superiority is overwhelming. While you send that fleet, and by the time it takes them to reach my capital world, I'll already be conquering at least five of your capital worlds," Korr replied. Ba'al remained silent for a few seconds.
"What are you willing to offer for a position among the System Lords?" Ba'al asked shamelessly, seeing that his threats had no effect. Korr smiled.
Ba'al continued to address him informally, a reminder that he considered Korr inferior, but that didn't affect his judgment, and he was still willing to negotiate.
"Ba'al, I think your fleet will look better with about five Ha'tak to reinforce them. As for the System Lords, I don't think they'll accept anything less than an explanation of my strategic superiority, and I'm willing to indulge them, but only halfway," Korr offered. Ba'al's eyes gleamed.
"Would you be willing to reveal that information?" Ba'al asked greedily.
"Do you think the System Lords will stop bothering me if I don't tell them how my ships surpass theirs?" Korr asked. Ba'al smiled.
"I'll speak on your behalf with them, and once I'm done, I'll get in touch with you," Ba'al said, and the holographic screen closed.
Korr smiled because he already had something prepared for the System Lords: naquadriah, which was the same naquadah subjected to a process that made it unstable and radioactive but increased its potential as an energy source immensely.
Unfortunately for the Goa'uld, they lacked the knowledge to extract that potential, and at most, they would get a small improvement at a huge cost, because Korr had no intention of sharing any method of use with them, not even a reference.
Korr set aside that matter and gave a brief overview of his subordinates' reports. It had been a month since Olokun's fall, and all his servants were now his. Therefore, his territory extended five percent across the galaxy, and he had over two hundred million humans and over two hundred planets ruled by minor Goa'uld in his service. They had already sent their initial reports on city construction, mine activation, and everything related to civilian life.
Korr contrasted his reports with the data from the program that monitored them, but since they were new and Korr had already shown them that his technology was unfathomable, they were still scared and dared not take any liberties, so their performance was one hundred percent.
Korr shrugged and moved on to the military reports. In the battle with Olokun, he forced his First Prime Jet and his Jaffa to take things seriously by not allowing any of their ships to be captured, intensifying the battle and causing over two hundred of his Jaffa to die in the explosions on the ships where they were.
As for those Jaffa whose bodies could be found or traced in space, totaling more than five thousand, Korr had transported them to the Leviathan, and even before the battle ended, they were already receiving medical treatment.
Nevertheless, the losses of Ha'tak ships from Olokun's fleet left him with just over a hundred Ha'tak, which he divided into thirteen fleets of five Ha'tak each, commanded by Mot and other middle-ranking lords, and his personal fleet, commanded by his First Prime Jaffa Jet, consisting of thirty-five Ha'tak and his flagship, the upgraded Ha'tak that Korr had gifted him.
The Goa'uld didn't name their ships, and the Jaffa even less so, as they were only slaves and didn't have ships; they only commanded them. But since Jet's ship was a gift and Korr had named his ship, Jet followed his example and called his the Fist of Korr, which made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
The number of Jaffa had increased with the integration of Olokun's forces and all his lords, totaling more than five million Jaffa, not counting their families. Therefore, Korr increased the number of his planets to three. It wasn't prudent to divide his Jaffa. Korr gave them three planets because he was preparing to conquer a third of the galaxy and would need free space for his future army.
Korr saw that the Jaffa had no issues, as a computer program handled the administration of their worlds, and their only task was to be soldiers, receiving tributes from all the planets in the empire. As for his Goa'uld generals, they supervised the training of troops in space battles because they had the most experience in this. Korr hadn't found anything on Earth that suited space, and he could only create virtual reality simulators.
"Emperor, this is 05 from the lunar shipyard base; everything is ready. Do you want to press the start button?" 05 asked in her mind.
Korr smiled and had the Leviathan approach the orbit of one of the two moons of his capital planet. Then, he transported to the side of 05, who was in the center of the moon, in an observation room managed by insectoid replicators giving the final touches to the control room before disappearing from the location and hiding in case the Asgard wanted to monitor their territory.
Korr looked through the control room screen, revealing an immense mechanized complex, an automated shipyard for the production of Ha'tak, Al'kesh, and Death Gliders, all with the upgrades he had added to his captured ships using the replicators.
This Ha'tak shipyard had two purposes: one was to supply his fleet and provide true military capability to his army, and the other was to show the Asgard where their ships came from and the technology used for their construction, as this moon only had Goa'uld technology at its peak.
The mining resources sent by his Goa'uld governors would arrive at this moon, used for the production of weapons and ships. The second moon was also part of this complex but was used to produce Naquadriah, the fuel used by the Ha'tak. As it was radioactive, it couldn't be mixed with this shipyard.
Korr linked his mind with the computer of the place and initiated production. The bioship could do the same as this shipyard, but it was adapted to produce bioships, which were his most advanced weapon, and he couldn't waste his shipyards building Ha'tak, which were ships of a lower category. Not because of their power, as that could be altered by replacing the power source, but due to their composition.
Two ships with the same specifications, one being a bioship and the other being a metal construction, would show different results, with the bioship being ten times superior in power and potency. That's why Ha'tak were not the best option when it came to power and potency. They were only an addition to his fleet.
"Production capacity?" Korr asked.
"A fully equipped Ha'tak every three days, depending on material availability," 05 replied while fixing her long golden hair.
Producing a bioship took a month, but they included all the technology they had up to that point. Producing a metallic ship with all those upgrades would take at least three months. The construction of bioships could be accelerated thanks to the bionanites and their cellular capacity, giving them moldability and growth impossible to obtain from metal.
"120 Ha'tak per year. It's not a significant addition, but it's more than any Goa'uld can achieve. I doubt all the System Lords can do something like this because they employ slave labor without advanced construction technology, and this delays production," Korr said, satisfied.
He wouldn't create more shipyards because he didn't need them and preferred to save resources and extract as little as possible from his populated planets. He had his replicators in his true production mines, hidden on planets with toxic atmospheres, well protected from Asgard sensors.
As for the other System Lords, he wasn't concerned. At most, they would produce three to six Ha'tak per year. An example was Apophis, who, since learning of Ra's death and putting all his resources into it, had only produced two Ha'tak, which Korr had gifted to Earth and then forgotten. Although it wasn't a significant downgrade for him, as Apophis was a disgrace of a Goa'uld.
Apophis was one of the oldest System Lords and, along with Herur-ur, one of Ra's favorites because he always licked his feet. But, unlike Herur-ur, who gained a large fleet and territories after Ra's fall, Apophis had only produced a couple of shipyards and hadn't stolen even a miserable Ha'tak. Furthermore, the Goa'uld lords serving him were disloyal, and as soon as they smelled his blood, they would turn on him. Korr could only use him as cannon fodder to improve his relations with Earth, so he pushed him out of his mind and looked at his beautiful shipyard.
"Good job!" Korr congratulated.
"Thank you, Emperor," said 05, and then looked at him thoughtfully. "Emperor, I've read the reports from 00 and 03. If you want to protect Earth, why not give them all the technology they need?" 05 asked.
"The political situation on Earth is complicated, and granting them too much power suddenly could make them think only of themselves and forget the danger others in the galaxy are facing.
If we were dealing with a single person, it would be different, but here we're talking about billions of people, thinking about their own interests. I don't want them sitting around doing nothing and leaving all the work to me. If they want benefits, they'll have to work hard for them," Korr explained.
Korr also had a plan to pressure the United States, taking control of the entire African continent, which was a chaos of wars and social conflicts, similar to the disaster of the Goa'uld Empire, where the atrocities committed by its leaders were no less than those committed by the Goa'uld.
Korr had already sent 04 to study the situation and chart the best course for intervention. Since the involved leaders were pure trash, and those who didn't limit themselves to watching, Korr's conscience wouldn't torment him if he lobotomized all their brains.
As for Asia and Latin America, the situation wasn't as dire, and once the United States and the entire African continent started developing at lightning speed, they would all feel the pressure. If they didn't progress, they would be left behind. Korr didn't intend to hand-hold anyone; he would only ensure they had their chance. If their leaders squandered it, it wasn't his concern.
"With those ships and the enhancements we made on them, the country known as the United States can subjugate others without any difficulty. Wouldn't that harm your plans?" 05 asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"The United States cares about its reputation, not for other countries but to praise its own ego. They love to say they are the good guys and a land of freedom. It's the propaganda that has made them seem more than they are, and they cling to It tooth and nail. They won't initiate a world conquest; if they use the technology we've given them, it will be to generate more favorable propaganda for themselves.
"Additionally, I plan to give them some toys they can flaunt to the rest of the world and grab attention, as they love to do. In the process, they can stop depending on some strategic resources, which have forced them into some dirty deals worldwide and led to the development of secret organizations against other countries. In reality, they are indifferent people if you evaluate their actions objectively," Korr explained, and 05 nodded.
Korr thought he was also gaining a lot from Earth, as he had already obtained Tollan phase-shifting technology and the android technology from Harlan's android, who created robots for SG1.
Android technology was thousands of years behind replicator technology and, in comparison, didn't seem worth it. But nothing could be further from the truth because within this seemingly outdated technology compared to high standards like replicator or Asgard technology, there was something that not even the Asgard had, and that was the ability to copy a person's memory.
The Asgard could do this, but it was through a mind probe, and the process was flawed as it had difficulties copying memory into a device other than a similar body. But android technology could, as it transferred the complete memories of SG1 into the body of a machine, i.e., the androids, and it was fully functional without any errors. This meant that with some study, he could even copy his own memory in case someone wanted to tamper with his mind, which was one of his current vulnerabilities.
…
Two days later, Ba'al contacted him again. Korr moved from his palace to the bridge of the Leviathan to take his call, as he expected the System Lords would want to speak with him about goa'uld private matters.
Indeed, as he sat on his throne, wearing his godly attire, a large screen unfolded in front of Korr, dividing into twelve parts, one for each System Lord. Currently, there were fourteen of them, but Apophis had just fallen out of favor, and Olokun was in his clutches, so only twelve System Lords were present.
Yu was in the center of the screen, being the oldest and most respected among them. Yu wore ancient Asian attire and had a middle-aged host with Asian features. The attire seemed old-fashioned and didn't appeal to Korr. The style was cool, but it lacked a lot of presence.
Ba'al stood next to Morrigan, a Goa'uld queen whose host was a decent-looking red-haired woman. She was just as treacherous as Ba'al. They were followed by Heru-ur and Camulus, one with Egyptian attire and the other with Greek. The rest were Amaterasu, Bastet, Ares, Cronos, Moloc, Kali, and Nirrti.
All the System Lords were on their thrones, and there were no Jaffa around, indicating they were preparing to negotiate technology. This was a good sign because it indicated they were willing to negotiate their entry into the group.
"Where is Olokun?" demanded Yu authoritatively, after looking Korr up and down with superiority.
"He is my guest," Korr said casually. Yu looked at him with a bit less superiority and nodded.
Among the Goa'uld, it wasn't customary to kill their rivals, as the ultimate glory was to force them to serve. It was cowardly to kill the adversary… well, to kill them and leave them dead. The tradition was to capture the enemy and then invite them to a "VIP" room, where they would be "convinced" to serve.
"Korr, this council acknowledges your victory against Olokun," said Ba'al, speaking after Yu, who seemed interested in nothing more than verifying if Goa'uld traditions had been upheld in Korr's war against Olokun.
"Not unanimously," interjected Cronos, whose host was a middle-aged man with a square face and white hair. His appearance was unkempt, and his demeanor left much to be desired. He was the sworn enemy of Teal'c and the Tok'ra because, according to Korr's memories, he was the one who sealed Egeria.
"You are barely a larva out of the pouch," added Amaterasu, whose host was a woman with Asian features and an acceptable figure.
"You are too arrogant," said Nirrti, whose host was a slender woman. She was a failed scientist trying to obtain better hosts, but in thousands of years, she had had no success.
"Ba'al has mentioned that you have new technology and a flagship that you couldn't have built yourself. Where did you get it?" growled Moloc.
"That ship belonged to my father! You have stolen one of his shipyards!" rebuked Heru-ur with anger.
Korr could only blink at his accusation, but then he thought that made sense.
Korr had disappeared for two months just when Ra's death was known. Later, he appeared with a ship like never seen before and some ha'taks. The most logical explanation was that he had learned of Ra's death before the others and taken advantage of some opportunity to take possession of this new ship that Ra had surely built.
"It seems like you got the lion's share of Ra's belongings, Heru-ur," Korr said calmly because it suited him for these guys not to ask more questions about the origin of the Leviathan.
"That ship belongs to me, and so does the shipyard where it was created," reprimanded Heru-ur, banging the armrest of his throne with indignation at his confession.
"Come and get it, then," said Korr casually.
Heru-ur had one of the largest personal fleets at present because he was Ra's favorite or the closest. He had taken a lot of territories, shipyards, and productive planets. But for Korr, it was nothing, and Ba'al must have already informed them of the number of his personal fleet. So, Heru-ur could only seethe with indignation.
Heru-ur was about to speak, but Yu growled, and the enraged Goa'uld swallowed his anger. All of them had stolen Ra's possessions. What hurt Heru-ur was that Korr supposedly got an emperor-level loot, being just a five-year-old larva. Korr was no longer a larva, but a shapeless mass of millions of tons, but Heru-ur didn't know that.
"Korr, if you provide the blueprints for that ship, we will consider accepting you among the System Lords, despite going against your lord," Morrigan offered with a smile. She was just as audacious as Ba'al. Korr snorted.
"Olokun was not my lord; Ra was, and after his death, I have the right to take everything I can from him. As for Olokun, he asked me to serve him, and I never accepted. I have asked him to serve me, and he has not accepted so far, but he will sooner or later, and then all his domains will be inherited by me. If any of you disagrees with our negotiation on this matter, you can speak now," Korr threatened.
"Little larva, show some respect…" Yu growled, interrupting Cronos's anger with a thump on the armrest of his throne.
"He is right," declared Yu, and those who wanted to speak gritted their teeth.
"Of course, despite being young, Korr has proven himself capable, and we are all aware of his current power. But the situation in his territory is unstable now that there is no lord in this domain," Morrigan said.
"There is already enough chaos with Ra's disappearance; we need stability," Ba'al added.
"Perhaps if we make Korr part of the System Lords, his current dispute with Olokun will be expedited," Camulus suggested as if contemplating it.
"It's possible, but he must demonstrate that he cares about this stability and our superiority in the galaxy," contributed Ares. Heru-ur and Cronos gritted their teeth, so Korr knew they were his major opponents, while he watched the other lords mull over the bribery request.
"Of course, I am concerned about Goa'uld superiority in this galaxy. So, if you do me the favor of resolving my current legal situation and recognizing my right over Olokun's territories, I will share with you the secret behind the superior capabilities of my ha'taks, and that is the power source of my current flagship," Korr offered, gaining everyone's attention.
These guys, despite their appearance, were the Goa'uld amassing the most knowledge, and they were already making calculations in their heads.
"Just one power source?" Cronos asked suspiciously.
Since Korr was willing to share, their hostility had decreased. Korr smiled and transmitted some data. The data didn't mention anything, only the difference in potential and energy generated between naquadah and its enhanced but also unstable version, naquadriah. Korr didn't even mention the name or properties of this new material; he only sent the results, indicating a hundredfold power increase with ten times less quantity.
"With what I offer, this material and how to create it, you can conduct tests yourselves if you're not convinced. What I won't give you is the research on how to use it; that will be up to you," Korr said with a malicious smile, so everyone knew this wouldn't be a simple change of fuel for their ships.
Cronos and Heru-ur clenched their teeth again, seeing that his gift was somewhat rotten, but most nodded because they were Goa'uld, and even if they had the noose around their necks, none of them would give anything for free.
"This is acceptable," said Ba'al. Morrigan fell in line behind, and the others, though they took their time, already knew they wouldn't get anything more from him.
Korr's current personal fleet was the largest among them and also the fastest. If they declared him out of the Goa'uld system, it would be ruin for several of them. On the other hand, Korr had no resentment or enmity with any of them. The last to nod was Yu, who waited for everyone's consent.
"Korr, your name will be recorded as one of the System Lords," declared Yu. Korr nodded and didn't make them wait, passing them his payment, which was all the Information on how to create naquadriah.
Upon receiving the information, Cronos and Heru-ur looked at him with disdain and left. The others nodded before cutting the communication, leaving only Ba'al.
"How many more ha'taks will it cost me to gain the support of Morrigan, Ares, and Camulus?" asked Korr, who had already sent the five unmodified ha'taks from Ba'al with 02. Ba'al smiled.
"One ha'tak for Camulus, one for Ares, and three for Morrigan. Additionally, I promised to fix at least a small advantage in the research of the new power source," said Ba'al. Korr grimaced; this guy was practically a mobster. With these requests, he had quadrupled his Initial offer.
Korr also didn't overlook that it was impossible for Ba'al to have negotiated for the research of the power source because he didn't know it was unstable and required research to use.
"Ba'al, I'll give you four ha'taks for Ares and Camulus, four more for Morrigan, and some naquadah for you, but don't expect a hint of information about Naquadriah from me," said Korr, counting on the Goa'uld spending years researching naquadriah.
"That's acceptable," Ba'al said with a smile.
"If Ares, Camulus, and Morrigan ask me about my gifts to them, I'll tell them to claim them from you," said Korr, and Ba'al stopped smiling. Then he looked at him coldly and cut the communication.
Korr had already given the ambitious guy five ha'taks, and he wouldn't let him keep any more.
…
After finishing his conversation, Korr transported to his throne in the surface palace, surrounded by about fifty of his new servants. They all wore clothing in the style of ancient Egypt, with complementary makeup. Even servants with Western and Asian features looked great.
Korr already had more than five hundred personal servants, but they had three-hour work shifts. As for their work, most were children, only there for display and public worship purposes.
The ones who actually worked were the two servants with bodies of Greek gods who handled the large feather fans, and the four servant women with bodies of Greek goddesses who carried and served cold drinks for him.
Korr wore his godly attire, with golden scorpion-bracelets, greaves, and helmet, his semicircular half-breastplate with jewel ribbons, and his white Egyptian-style skirt.
When Korr appeared on the throne, his servants set into motion. Men began to move their fans gently, women served a refreshment, and boys and girls in garment attire modeled to pose on display, some sitting on the stairs, others standing menacingly to petitioners, and others gossiping about anyone approaching and whispering to each other.
"Yes, Ra had style; this is great," thought Korr.
While Korr praised himself, his First Prime kicked a petitioner who refused to kneel in the buttocks, and he fell biting the hard and polished floor, in a pose that made the children on the throne stairs burst into laughter.
With the man were four others, including a woman. They were escorted by twenty Jaffa. Security was necessary because these were not peasants but Goa'uld, although they called themselves Tok'ra.
They claimed to be different from the Goa'uld because they didn't use the sarcophagus, but Korr still doubted their sanity. In the original history, these guys had spent two thousand years infiltrated among the Goa'uld, showing no progress in their supposed war against them. Korr suspected they spent twenty-three hours a day scratching their balls, and the remaining hour arguing about their dreams for the future. Only that could explain their complete and absolute inefficiency.
"Goa'uld, you can kill and torture us, but the Tok'ra will always be free," retorted one of the kneeling Tok'ra, who had a very young host, but his voice was deep because he spoke with a Goa'uld voice. They were ten meters away from him, in front of the throne stairs, guarded by two Jaffa.
"There's something I've never understood about the Tok'ra. Why do they speak with those strange voices?" Korr asked curiously. A symbiote was perfectly capable of speaking without hoarseness or voice distortion. "Is it for theatricality?" he added. The Tok'ra looked at him without understanding his question. Korr sighed as the one who had received the kick in the buttocks stood up and, seeing that he had made a fool of himself before, agreed to kneel.
"Goa'uld, don't play games with us. We won't say a word," declared the middle-aged and burly man. Considering his host's age, he might be the oldest there, although it couldn't be certain; all Tok'ra symbiotes were nearly the same age.
"So, you won't speak to me," Korr said, and the man nodded decisively. "How rude. I saved your backs from the massacre the Tau'ri did with Apophis's forces, but won't you even deign to talk to me?" Korr asked.
The middle-aged man seemed to hesitate and want to ask something, but he kept true to his word and only nodded. Korr also nodded with a smile on his face.
"I have Egeria in my hands as a Goa'uld," Korr said, and the Tok'ra widened their eyes.
"What!" exclaimed the middle-aged man, causing a chorus of laughter among the children sitting on the throne stairs, who rushed to speak and comment on his lack of commitment to his own words.
"It seems you don't have much word," said Korr.
The Tok'ra tried to stand up, but their First Prime ordered the Jaffa to keep them kneeling.
"What did you say?" asked the middle-aged Tok'ra with a growl. Korr gestured with his hand, and 06 appeared before him with a fish tank in her hands, where a symbiote swam.
"This is Egeria, the Goa'uld queen who gave birth to all of you. But you're so ungrateful and thankless that I saved you and brought you here to deliver your mother to you, and still, you refuse to speak to me," Korr said with a complaining tone.
The Jaffa again hit the Tok'ra to keep them kneeling.
"What do you want, Goa'uld?" asked the middle-aged man in a funereal tone.
Korr supposed they feared he was going to propose some dark deal.
"What I want, I have already discussed with Egeria. You just have to take her with you, and then we'll talk," Korr said, having already offered an alliance to Egeria, offering her hosts who didn't need a sarcophagus and would only be empty bodies. 06 approached the kneeling Tok'ra and handed them the fish tank.
"Send them through the gate," ordered Korr, and Jet ordered the Jaffa to drag the Tok'ra out.
"Any other requests?" asked Korr.
"My lord, there are some minor gods who wish to offer their loyalty," said Jet. Korr nodded.
"Let them in," said Korr.
Since Korr defeated Olokun and took over his worlds, some small Goa'uld came to him from time to time seeking opportunities for growth. Korr imposed conditions on them to serve him: abandon their hosts, undergo treatment for Goa'uld madness, and follow his laws, especially the one prohibiting slavery. Of course, he didn't mention the treatment for madness until it was already done, as it didn't matter if they accepted to serve him or not. Every Goa'uld captured by him underwent this treatment.
Author's Note: Hello everyone, I want to clarify some points about this chapter. When I mention that the Goa'uld don't have the knowledge to create stable energy sources with naquadriah, I'm not referring to their technology. Goa'uld technology is highly advanced, and in my opinion, it can fully leverage the potential of naquadriah, building androids, automated shipyards, artificial intelligences, nanites, genetic experiments, and much more. In fact, I consider it more advanced than Tollan technology.
The obstacle with Goa'uld technology lies with the Goa'uld themselves, who present their technology as magic or their own power, leading them to create only simple things with limited applications. In contrast, the Tollan have adapted their technology to civilian life and can even disable energy weapons and projectiles with it. However, they cannot bring the dead back to life, their advancements in space technology are limited, and a heart attack can kill them under the right conditions. This was demonstrated in the episode where one of them was murdered by sabotaging their medical assistance system.
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