Chapter 19 Aschen

Daniel

"Are they telling me that our closest ally could be a Goa'uld System Lord?" asked the President of the United States after Sam explained some of her suspicions.

The president sat at the head of the table and, alongside his executive train, looked to General Hammond.

"Mr. President, that's the most likely conclusion," confirmed General Hammond, who then glanced at Sam.

Sam, standing in front of a screen displaying a galaxy map with Stargate points marked, nodded and pointed at various spots.

"After reviewing our call records to see why we hadn't reached the territories of Lord Korr's system, and with information provided by the Tok'ra about their domains, I've realized that whenever we dial any gate location in the selected territory, we end up with no response, as if the gate doesn't exist."

"Since this isn't unusual and we've already encountered dozens of similar results when dialing other Stargates throughout the galaxy, these failed attempts were dismissed as a buried or damaged gate."

"However, now that we've reviewed the results, they've yielded the data I've outlined. There's no malfunction; we simply can't dial into their territory. I suspect they have control of the Stargate system and have blocked our systems."

"This, coupled with the fact that the Goa'uld are the rulers of this galaxy, and we have no information on any empire other than theirs, leads us to conclude that it's possible the Goa'uld known as Korr is the emperor mentioned by 00 and 03."

"If that's the case, the initial mistrust of the Asgard and the current situation with the so-called Ascended would have a reasonable explanation. They wouldn't trust a Goa'uld Lord," Sam explained, and the next person everyone looked to was him, standing next to Sam.

Daniel swallowed hard. He didn't have good experiences in these types of meetings.

"I've been cross-referencing all the data on cultures and possible civilizations. There's no mention of any empire resembling the characteristics our allies' empire should have. If it existed, the Goa'uld would undoubtedly know about it."

"The only empire with such characteristics is that of Lord Korr. In fact, their contact with Earth occurred around the time we believe this Goa'uld created his empire some years ago when the Goa'uld learned of Ra's death," Daniel explained.

The president blinked, stunned because all the evidence pointed to the fact that indeed, their allies were Goa'uld.

"Mr. President, even if this is the situation, allow me to remind you that we already have an alliance with another Goa'uld faction, and at no point have our allies done anything to harm us."

"On the contrary, they've provided us with technology, resources, and everything we need to defend ourselves from the Goa'uld, even participating in missions that have helped save our planet," said a man in a general's uniform who had arrived before the president.

So far, the president himself seemed to doubt his identity, although as he was standing next to Maybourne and had met him upon arrival, it didn't take much imagination to know that this was one of those people it was better not to know or know anything about.

Daniel frowned. The president, who didn't rise to his current position out of nowhere, glared at the man with anger in his eyes, but he was a politician, and even if he found out he had been lied to and that intelligence had long known their allies were Goa'uld, he only half clenched his teeth…

"Maybourne!" Jack reproached, who wasn't a politician. Maybourne barely reacted.

"Jack?" Maybourne asked with feigned confusion.

"Maybourne, don't call me Jack, we're not friends, unfortunately, we know each other," Jack growled uncomfortably, while looking at everyone with seriousness to make it clear that he had nothing to do with Maybourne.

"Jack, we're an intelligence agency, we take all possibilities into account, and having another one of our allies be a Goa'uld wasn't outside the realm of possibilities, so now we remain calm awaiting possible confirmation," explained Maybourne, while the president glared at him and then glanced at his advisors who looked everywhere except at the president.

It was evident that none of them dared to step forward to confront people of such bad reputation, especially when in the last year, other politicians fell into their hands, and so far their fate was confidential.

"How can we confirm this?" asked the president, swallowing bile and changing the subject.

All present turned to look at him and Sam. Daniel shook his head because besides asking 03 and 00, he had no idea what else to do. Sam looked at the galaxy map.

"Mr. President, I don't believe they've buried their Stargate; the gate is a ceremonial artifact for the Goa'uld, they display it in their cities and planets; burying it could be seen as weakness," said Sam looking at Teal'c.

"Even minor lords keep their Chappa'ai in plain sight, it's a ceremonial artifact and part of the gods' power," confirmed Teal'c.

"And you believe we can reach that place by dialing from an unblocked gate," said the president. Sam nodded. "And who would we send on this mission?" asked the president.

"SG-1," Maybourne proposed.

"A probe," Daniel proposed at the same time, then looked at Maybourne with surprise.

"Sir, I suspect Maybourne and his team plan to get rid of us," complained Jack.

"Jack, don't be alarmist, if we send a probe to the territory of our potential allies, from a gate that isn't ours, and they know there's no way to dial into their territory from our gate, wouldn't that be considered a clear gesture of mistrust and even espionage attempt?" Maybourne asked, raising an eyebrow. "Furthermore, our allies have always cared for SG-1, and have never hesitated to help when they ask, even if they've previously ignored our higher-ups," he added.

Daniel didn't know how to respond to that, and by the expressions of his other teammates, neither did they.

"We've never dealt with Goa'uld before!" Jack insisted.

"I'm not saying that," clarified Maybourne. "But it's evident that if they came to Earth, it was because of you. This information is confidential, but I suppose I should mention it," Maybourne said, and the man beside him nodded in agreement.

"If it's confidential, it's best left unsaid," Jack hurriedly interjected, but Maybourne completely ignored him.

"The main condition in our deal with our allies is that in no way can we interfere with SG-1. In summary, even if they spit in our faces, if we want to continue receiving support from our allies, SG-1 is untouchable," Maybourne explained.

Daniel had to admit he was astonished.

"Sir, I must remind you that I've been asking for a yacht since my return to the base, and I still don't see it docked at my pier," said Jack when everyone looked at them.

"You haven't demanded it seriously enough," said Maybourne.

"Maybourne, be quiet," Jack reprimanded angrily.

"Colonel O'Neill, calm down, SG-1 is not under investigation," said General Hammond.

"Of course, if we were to do something like that, it would be a breach of our agreement with our allies," said Maybourne. Somehow, he had managed to cast all suspicions onto their group, Daniel realized.

"Maybourne, just spit it out," Jack reprimanded before Maybourne continued to throw garbage at them.

"Jack, we only act for the good of our country and planet Earth. And I only mentioned this because it's important."

"We can't send a probe into the territory of a potential ally; they will undoubtedly notice it. But if we send someone they fully trust, we can confirm what we want without risking our current treaty, in case they are indeed our allies, because I assume our government won't consider breaking relations due to the species of our allies. Anyway, we already have alliances with other Goa'uld groups," said Maybourne, looking at the president.

"The Tok'ra are not Goa'uld," said Daniel with frustration, but he himself didn't agree with that. Although the Tok'ra vehemently denied it, there were few differences in their way of being compared to the Goa'uld, although Daniel had to admit they were fundamental differences in their society. The president looked at General Hammond.

"Mr. President, if we're wrong, we'll be sending our flagship team into the hands of the strongest of the Goa'uld System Lords," warned General Hammond to the president who looked at the general next to Maybourne.

"Sir, if such a thing happens, we can always call our allies to rescue SG-1, I'm sure they'll come," said the man.

"Sir, I disagree with this plan," Jack complained.

…

Maybourne

Three days later, SG-1 and Maybourne were on a planet near Korr's territories, dialing one of its bordering planets. In the past few days, they had been trying different gates, but it turned out that Earth wasn't the only one blocked, and they could only access Korr's territory from neighboring systems.

"Maybourne, your being here means nothing, I still think you're a treacherous snake," said Jack. Maybourne ignored him; he had more important things to worry about than Jack's paranoia.

Maybourne truly had serious problems to consider, and they had to do with his allies, but not about their identity, because the NID had known the identity of their allies for two years now, when they started collaborating with the Tok'ra and they provided them with information about the Goa'uld and their territories, and they realized there was no room for an empire like the one their allies were supposed to have unless their empire was also part of the Goa'uld empire. It was a logical deduction.

What worried Maybourne at the moment were the countries of Earth, which seemed to want to commit suicide by attacking the new African Empire, where they had confirmed that their allies were involved.

Maybourne didn't have to think much to guess the fate of those fools who dared to attack an empire backed by a civilization thousands of years more advanced than theirs.

That would be a catastrophe, and it could make their allies, who remained in the shadows, supporting this new empire, decide to come out into the open and directly name themselves rulers of a territory on Earth, creating countless political problems and a disaster of epic proportions in the work for those who, like him, work in intelligence.

For Maybourne, this mission was nothing, just a diplomatic visit to the territory of an ally, which he was dragged into because SG-1 got somewhat paranoid and their bosses decided to send him to prove to them that there was nothing to fear.

"Maybourne, at attention!" ordered Jack, forgetting they had the same rank, even the same influence, because Maybourne had gained a lot by being the liaison with Earth's main allies.

Maybourne had already received a promotion, but in his situation, accepting gifts would only lead him to owe favors later, and with his current assignment, he would soon have more than enough merits and influences to ascend in the way he wanted.

Maybourne felt like responding, but he truly had bigger concerns than Jack, and his petty jabs didn't affect him at the moment, so he walked towards the Stargate to cross. He felt some curiosity about what their allies' planets were like because these were Goa'uld, and Maybourne's references for them were the System Lords and the Tok'ra.

The System Lords lived amidst garbage, even their most luxurious palaces were decadent works from the Middle Ages, and the Tok'ra lived in tunnels like moles. The only salvageable thing in this civilization was the luxury with which they built their ships, which were in a class of their own.

Maybourne emerged from the gate onto a plaza of at least one hectare, on top of a truncated pyramid that occupied half of the plaza and served as a base for the Stargate, which in turn stood at the feet of a colossal statue over a kilometer tall.

"We've undoubtedly arrived at the right place," said Daniel Jackson, looking at the colossal golden statue of the Goa'uld System Lord called Korr.

Maybourne agreed, this was the Goa'uld style, but it was a style reserved for their ships and instruments of power, not for building statues; those were built by human slaves, and were nothing like what they were seeing now.

"People," called Colonel O'Neill, observing a group of five Jaffa climbing the stairs of the pyramid and armed.

Maybourne identified those approaching as Jaffa because they had a Goa'uld mark covering the entire front of the helmets they wore, not because of their armor, which was very different from Jaffa armor, with a stylized and fitted design.

The helmet was similar to a motorcycle helmet, but fitted to the head, metallic-colored on the sides, and the entire front covered by dark glass with the Goa'uld mark. The Jaffa carried weapons that seemed to have a human design but decorated in the Goa'uld style with black marble and gold.

"Jack, don't do anything foolish," Maybourne warned, because hundreds of people were circulating just in this plaza, and surrounding it was a city of pyramids stretching for kilometers and must be inhabited by millions of people.

"Daniel," Jack grumbled reluctantly, not attempting to raise his weapons.

Daniel Jackson hurried to step forward. He had a concerned expression because if these were ordinary Jaffa, he would be receiving the first round of kicks.

"Identify yourselves!" growled the leader of the Jaffa in Goa'uld.

Daniel Jackson sighed in relief because the first thing an ordinary Jaffa would do is to strike them, make them kneel, and then ask which god they served.

"We are SG-1 from Earth, Tau'ri," explained Daniel.

The Jaffa leader looked at him for a few seconds and then aimed his weapon at them while the other four stepped back to form a semicircle and aim at them. Maybourne raised his hands.

"The Tau'ri are on the other side of the galaxy, and only nearby planets have access to this gate!" growled the Jaffa. "Silence!" he ordered when Daniel Jackson tried to speak. He lowered his weapon and brought his hand to his armored arm.

At that moment, a light lit up beneath each of them.

"Sir, it's a scanner," said Major Carter. The light lasted a second, and the Jaffa hurriedly lowered their weapons when it ended.

"SG-1, welcome to the planet Nerul, step down from the altar, more people are trying to use the Chappa'ai," said the Jaffa, and he and his group gathered.

When they were together, Goa'uld rings ascended, and the Jaffa were transported somewhere else. Daniel Jackson blinked, then turned around.

"If I'm not mistaken, we're disrupting traffic," said Daniel Jackson.

Maybourne rolled his eyes, already hurrying down the pyramid stairs while some passersby watched them. SG-1 hurried to follow him, and when everyone was off the platform, a shield covered it, and the portal began to activate.

As they descended to the bottom of the stairs, the portal was already stabilizing, and the shield disappeared.

A few seconds later, five people came through the portal and immediately began descending the stairs without stopping to look around, so Maybourne understood why the guards had arrived when they lingered to survey the place.

"Good morning, we are travelers…" Daniel Jackson, who was trying to greet the people who arrived through the portal, interrupted his words when their leader, a man in his apparent forties, looked him up and down and continued on his way as if he had encountered some unpleasant bug.

"What?!" Jack reprimanded the group of people, observing their clothing, which was a military uniform.

The group of people ignored them, and a man hurried over to the newcomers, bowed to them, and quickly guided them through the crowd, which parted to let them through.

"O'Neill, I don't think it's because of our clothes; they were wearing Korr's Goa'uld insignias. In Goa'uld worlds, those who can use the Chappa'ai are the highest among those who serve the Goa'uld," explained Teal'c.

"Since we don't wear them, it's evident we are of low status," said Daniel, understanding their situation.

Maybourne glanced at the portal because the shield was activating again; apparently, it was a busy place.

"We should speak with someone else," said Maybourne, looking at the curious onlookers, but no one approached them.

"Colonel Maybourne, we arrived through the Chappa'ai, but we do not have the approval of the gods; these people may not want to speak with us," warned Teal'c.

Maybourne ignored the Jaffa and walked towards where the other travelers were being received. The Jaffa had some experience, but this was not a typical Goa'uld world, and it was not possible for so many people to live there without some administration.

"Good morning, we are travelers from Earth; we would like to speak with a diplomatic representative," Maybourne requested, stepping ahead of the arriving travelers.

A woman who was part of the reception committee stepped forward, bowed to them, and asked them to follow her.

…

Half an hour later, their group was in one of the city's pyramids, which served as their buildings. The woman who had guided them there told them to wait while she contacted someone who could assist them.

"Daniel, Carter?" Jack asked with a somewhat alarmed tone upon seeing the room, which was no less luxurious than a five-star hotel room on Earth; it even had a bar and a pool table.

Maybourne saw a giant screen and felt curious because it was evident that it was a television. He approached and examined the remote control, which was a rectangle with what looked like a red gem. Upon touching the device, the TV turned on, and a woman in robes presented news about the recent battle that the System Lord had.

Maybourne smiled because he had just thought of a news channel and wondered if these people were aware that a battle had taken place nearby. The language of the news was Goa'uld, but Maybourne had received a knowledge update that included about five thousand languages, so he had no trouble understanding what the presenter was saying as images of the recent battle were shown.

Apparently, the emperor had declared war against another Goa'uld, and now some of the people feared that their god would be defeated and they would fall back into the hands of their old gods. Another part wanted to participate in the war, and another part accused the other two factions of heresy for doubting their almighty god.

"The government system of this empire seems to be a theocracy," said Daniel, and Maybourne and the rest looked at him.

"Daniel, they're Goa'uld," said Jack.

"I know," replied Daniel. "What I mean is that 00 and 03 don't seem to be part of a theocracy. Well, 03 calls his emperor god, but that's because he's their creator," explained Daniel, as the TV screen changed to display pages and pages of text.

"I've wondered if they have a constitution and laws in this place," said Maybourne, pointing to the remote control in his hands. Then he frowned.

"What's wrong?" asked Jack. Maybourne looked at him for a few seconds, but eventually decided to speak.

"I have a nanite core installed in my brain…"

"Maybourne!" Jack reprimanded, as he was one of the main opponents of nanite technology, especially its uses in knowledge transfer. Maybourne sighed.

"I possess a nanite core, and this computer has recognized it. It's asking for permission to send me a copy of the information I'm requesting," explained Maybourne.

"Definitely not!" ordered Jack.

"If I start acting strange, notify me," said Maybourne, and accepted the information transfer.

"Interesting," said Maybourne, looking at the TV screen, which changed and displayed various chapters and laws.

"It's not a theocracy," said Maybourne, pointing to the laws being shown on the TV. "It's an empire, with the Goa'uld as rulers, and Korr as the supreme ruler among them. The legal system is for the Goa'uld, all the justice and laws," he explained.

The others looked at the laws and realized that all of them were about the Goa'uld.

"Only the Goa'uld are citizens. What about the humans?" asked Daniel, and Maybourne showed an annex chapter of the laws.

"This is insane," said Jack, when Daniel explained what Maybourne was showing. Daniel shook his head.

"I don't think these people see the treatment by the Goa'uld towards them as something bad, as they come from being slaves," said Daniel, and Teal'c nodded.

"O'Neill, humans on Goa'uld planets are slaves, and everything they own belongs to their gods, even their lives. For these humans, having gained their freedom, and these Goa'uld being willing to acknowledge this and grant them all their legal privileges must be something they have never experienced before," said Teal'c.

"These people have nothing; even the food they cultivate is property of the Goa'uld," growled Jack, because all the territory belonged to the Goa'uld, and although they acknowledged the freedom of the humans, fundamentally, nothing they had belonged to them; everything belonged to the Goa'uld, and if one day they left their territory, they couldn't take anything with them.

"That's relative," said Maybourne, showing more laws. "The Goa'uld lords cannot expel citizens; they must renounce their citizenship, and even if they do, they can choose an heir. In the end, the Goa'uld would gain nothing," explained Maybourne. "These laws aren't there for expropriations; they're there to prevent anything from leaving these territories," he added.

"Jack, we need to study this more, but this seems to be the case. This system of laws seems to aim to ensure that the Goa'uld are always in charge and that the humans cannot take anything from them," said Daniel.

"Sir, I would say they treat humans as employees," said Major Carter.

"Servants with many privileges," said Teal'c. Maybourne nodded to the Jaffa.

"The worship comes from the origin of these people, but we see that on almost every planet we visit," said Maybourne. "And so it will continue," said Maybourne seriously, because they weren't there to campaign against the Goa'uld. Jack rolled his eyes.

…

Two hours after leaving them in the room, a Jaffa entered the place, leading five others. This leading Jaffa was different from the ones before, and from those escorting him, because the mark on the front of his helmet was golden, not copper like the others.

Maybourne and his group, who were discussing the laws of this empire, got up from the sofas where they were waiting and walked over to the group of Jaffa. When they were in front of them, the leader Jaffa's helmet was removed from his head, retracted, and folded down to the rest of his armor. The Jaffa had dark skin, black eyes, and the mark of the Goa'uld Korr, engraved in gold on his forehead.

"I am Jet, first principal of Korr. The Tau'ri should not be here," introduced the Jaffa, who looked at Teal'c and nodded. Teal'c responded with another nod.

"We thought this was your territory and decided to pay you a visit to confirm," said Jack.

"Confirm?" asked Jet.

"First Principal Jet, we were unaware of the origin of our allies. They hadn't mentioned it," said Daniel with some discomfort. Jet blinked.

"Did someone stop you from asking?" Jet asked.

"Well, we didn't want to be rude. Since they didn't mention it, we thought it was a secret, and our requests for a meeting were denied," said Daniel.

"Our god has more important things to do. He cannot be bothered with the little creatures around him and solve their insignificant matters," said Jet, giving his opinion on what he thought of their attempts to speak with his boss.

"Hey!" reprimanded Jack, but Jet raised his hand.

"If I recall correctly, my god has assigned three envoys to protect Earth. There is no difference between the word of an envoy and our god. Why would you want to meet with him then? I can only conclude that you intend to waste his time," explained Jet.

"We recently learned of the status of 00 and 03," Major Carter intervened.

"You didn't inquire about it either?" Jet asked, raising an eyebrow.

"On some occasions, asking questions can be considered impolite," explained Daniel. Jet looked at him.

"I would consider that to be an exception, only applicable to personal matters. My god values reason; questions are not something that bothers him. Furthermore, humans are important to him; it could be said that he loves them," explained Jet, and he looked at Teal'c, as the discomfort of the Jaffa every time the first principal mentioned his god was palpable.

"Teal'c, one of the leaders of the Jaffa slave revolt against the system lords, speaks freely," said Jet.

"No…

"The system lord Korr is not a god," Teal'c said before Daniel Jackson could say anything. Jet looked at Teal'c with disdain.

"Worms may make noise as they crawl, but in the end, it's just a sound with no meaning behind it," Jet declared. Jack was about to step forward, but Maybourne stopped him because the Jaffa escorting Jet materialized weapons in their hands.

"Jack, he's asking for arguments," growled Maybourne, because this guy was sometimes obtuse. Jack looked at Daniel.

"Well, it's a bit blunt, but that's more or less what he said," said Daniel, and Teal'c nodded in agreement.

"Goa'uld magic does not exist; it's technology," Teal'c told Jet.

"Before, in my ignorance, I thought that the power of my god was magic, but thanks to the knowledge he has provided me, I have understood that it is not so," said Jet and looked around. "You're partly right, but I've seen more than just technology. Still, you're just making noise; this technology is part of the power of my god. Or can you do the same as him?" asked the first principal.

"Carter can," Jack assured, because Teal'c frowned at the question, and remained silent to think. Maybourne felt somewhat embarrassed.

"What?" asked Jack as his team glanced at him sideways. Interpreting meanings in others' words escaped his notice.

"Perhaps not, our physiology is different from that of the Goa'uld, and we cannot store as much knowledge, but the same technology will guide us to it. The Goa'uld are simply more advanced," Major Carter said.

"They cannot know the same things, and they do not possess the technology to make any changes," said Jet. Teal'c nodded in acceptance.

"Then they are incomparable to my god, and are thousands of years away from being like him. That makes your words nothing more than meaningless blasphemy, the words of an ignorant," Jet said disdainfully. Teal'c seemed to think again.

"The strength and power of the Goa'uld depend on the Jaffa," Teal'c tried another approach. The Jaffa was smarter than Maybourne assumed.

Jet made a gesture with his hand, pointing to the sofas in the room, leaving SG-1 somewhat surprised.

"Your ignorance is not a surprise to me. And my god has ordered me to come here, so you may have my time, and I would also like to meet Teal'c, who has rebelled against his weak gods and demanded his freedom," Jet explained once they were all seated.

"So, the strength of the system lords depends on the Jaffa, because they are weak gods," Teal'c said, and Jet nodded, satisfied that Teal'c understood his words.

"My god himself told me so. A god does not need slaves. From his words, I conclude that a god needs no one," explained Jet. That meant he thought that the system lord Korr did not need his Jaffa armies, which left Teal'c's second argument in a lot of trouble, unless he wanted to debate whether Korr was lying. From Jet's attitude, it was clear that the conversation would end there.

"Oh, come on, doesn't your god say he's not a god?" Jack intervened, pointing to the television that still showed the constitution of this Goa'uld empire, where the status of the Goa'uld was that of rulers and that of Korr was that of an Emperor. Jet looked at him.

"How can a god be a god in his own eyes?" Jet asked in response. "For him, his knowledge is something he possesses, as is his power. For us, the incomprehensible, the distance between us, that which is beyond our understanding, that in which we believe and have faith, is what we call god," Jet said confidently.

"And what are the limits of your god's power?" Maybourne asked, who had not been interested in the conversation until now because he thought that Jet, being a Jaffa, had simply been brainwashed, but his words hinted that it was not the case at all.

This Jaffa truly believed that the Goa'uld Korr was a god, and he had also made it clear that he believed this because of the power he wielded.

"Can your god bring the dead back to life?" Maybourne added, because if he was going to question the power of this Goa'uld, he might as well get something big out of it.

"Maybourne, we don't have several sarcophagi…" Maybourne looked at Jack seriously, because now he was working, and this was something important. Jack raised his hands and made a face. Maybourne looked at the Jaffa.

"A couple of years ago, my god sent us into battle against the system lord Olokun, where I lost two hundred loyal Jaffa warriors. Thousands of others fell, but my god made sarcophagi available to us, and once their bodies were placed there, these thousands were repaired.

"This is miraculous technology, but although it is beyond my knowledge, it is not beyond my understanding, as I suppose it is not beyond yours, it is something broken that is repaired.

"However, these two hundred were declared dead, because before my eyes, several of them were turned into ashes or small pieces of material floating in space. Do you know of any technology that can bring these warriors back to life?" Jet asked. Maybourne smiled, he had truly obtained something valuable by coming there.

"Are you saying he also revived those who turned into space ash?" Jack asked incredulously.

"One of them is part of my group and is standing behind me right now," Jet said, and one of his Jaffa guards removed his helmet. He was a man with white skin, with a somewhat square face, and the mark of Korr tattooed on his forehead.

"I still remember the weak god Olokun's ship firing its cannons at my unprotected position and how part of my body disappeared. Then I woke up and was in front of the first principal," the Jaffa said.

"That's incredible, some consciousness transfer technology, like the Asgard's…" Major Carter fell silent, thinking she had said too much, but Jet just nodded.

"I thought the same thing at first," Jet said and raised his hand. "Tell them the rest," Jet ordered, and the Jaffa seemed hesitant, but finally spoke.

"Upon waking up, I was with other Jaffa who died alongside me, and the first principal received me. He told me I could stay there, as I had fulfilled my duty to serve my god and could get my reward. Or I could return and continue serving our god. I chose to return and continue serving my god," the Jaffa said firmly, and Teal'c sprang up, looking at Jet with a shocked expression. Jet simply nodded.

"I am not the person this Jaffa speaks of, or not yet, as I am still alive, and I have not yet visited the world our god reserves for the souls of his warriors at the time of our death. And as long as my god needs me, I will not take any rest in his service," Jet declared proudly.

Maybourne smiled even more. If this could be confirmed, it would definitely earn him a promotion…

No, this could earn him more than a promotion. Life after death, resurrection. These were transcendental topics for humanity, and now he had a clue to reach it.

Maybourne looked at SG-1. Some ideas crossed his mind, but he dismissed them. Besides, he had already understood that they were his golden goose, twisting their necks and turning them into stew just because they had given him an egg that included some shiny jewels more, was not something he should do, as in the future they could give him even more valuable things.

SG1's luck was unparalleled, and he planned to stick around to get all the gains he could. So he smiled at Jack, while he looked at him with disgust, and asked him what the hell he was thinking. Maybourne just kept smiling and making plans.

Teal'c was in denial, Major Carter was trying to get more information, Jack was scolding him, and Daniel Jackson was trying to mediate, but Maybourne ignored it all.

…

Korr

Korr averted his gaze from his first principal, as what had caught his attention, which was the reason why his Jaffa still considered him a god, even though he always told them he was not a god, had already been resolved.

His first principal considered him a god, and he did so because he possessed power and knowledge beyond their understanding.

To Korr's surprise, his first principal and he had the same concept of what a god was, the difference being that Korr would not be willing to serve any god. If anything, he would pretend to do so, to obtain everything they possessed and take their place.

On the other hand, he had serious problems because if his first principal thought that way, the other Jaffa would too, which meant that if he fell before Anubis, these guys would definitely kneel.

Korr didn't plan to fall, but he would truly hate to die and let Anubis take everything he had fought for. Still, there was nothing to be done in this case because he didn't plan to brainwash the Jaffa into stop worshiping gods or to worship only him.

A hologram appeared In front of Korr, interrupting his thoughts.

"Father, the enemy's weapon and shield power are not enough to face our Ha'tak," 02 reported. Korr nodded, looking to the back of his bridge, where the battle of fifteen of his Ha'tak against a fleet of thirty ships could be seen.

The ships were not Goa'uld ships. They had an elongated, streamlined, and compact design, an efficient design for battle.

"Reinforcements are coming," 02 added, leading the battle on her own ship.

At least two hundred ships emerged from hyperspace, and Korr smiled as three hundred Ha'tak that had been hidden appeared now that the enemy had shown its forces.

This tactic of suddenly appearing was dangerous because shields and camouflage did not work at the same time, but it was certainly effective for ambushing. In this case, it had caused their enemies to bring the rest of their forces and avoid being pursued later.

With weapon and tactical superiority, just one day later, their enemy was already negotiating surrender.

"Emperor Korr, our government wants to know what your conditions are," a man in a black suit said.

The clothes were of good quality in terms of materials and efficiency, but the design was ordinary, without any class, it was stiff and dull.

"I want you to stay on your planet," Korr said. The man looked at him with doubts.

"The Aschen Federation…" Korr raised his hand.

"I am not interested in your petty affairs or your words. My conditions are for you to stay on your planet. Disregard my words, and our war will continue," Korr warned and cut off the communication.

"Father, we have blocked their Stargate, although it seems they only had addresses for their neighboring systems," 02 reported. Korr nodded.

"Leave a fleet of ten Ha'tak to monitor them and enforce a blockade; I want no surprises in our war against Anubis," Korr said.

It was unlikely that Anubis would have the courage to want to use the Aschen, who were a thousand times more dangerous than the replicators, but Korr would leave nothing to chance, and once he learned of their location, he had isolated them from the Stargate network and initiated a campaign against them to return them to their planet, where he planned to have them blocked until he could lay his claws on that little rat of Anubis and decide what to do with them.

Korr didn't plan to bombard them and commit genocide because although these Aschen had exterminated populations on several planets, on their own planet, there was law and order, they were not unreasonable. They were unhappy people who did what they wanted with others, but among themselves, they were very civilized, and there were tens of billions of them, so Korr didn't plan to dirty his hands. It was enough for him to impose a blockade on them, and he would think about what to do next.

The Aschen had entered his radar a few months ago when Atanik technology fell into his hands, and Korr decided to send probes to the rest of the addresses recorded in the Stargate command, because he had nothing more to expect from them and could act freely.

The explorations found the Aschen, the second repository of ancient knowledge, the android creator of the replicators, and some other things that could be a problem, so Korr withdrew them.

The android was now in a human body and was no longer capable of creating replicators, but she was happy about this and served in his palace. The repository was destroyed, and now he was dealing with the Aschen. There were more civilizations out there, but these would not join Anubis, nor could they be a threat to him, as they dealt with their own affairs.

After saying goodbye to 02, Korr returned to his thoughts about Jet and the Jaffa. He, of course, knew that a few of the Jaffa who had turned to ashes in his confrontation with Olokun had returned recently to the ranks of the Jaffa, saying that they had come back from the other life to continue fighting for their god.

Korr did not do such a thing and knew nothing of another life, although he had reviewed the memories of the returned Jaffa, and they at least seemed real. Their return left too many questions for Korr, because he had no knowledge of a supernatural part in Stargate, besides the ascended ones who could be classified as beings of another dimension or who ascended to another dimension or plane of existence.

Korr did not plan to ascend, but he did have plans to create another world for his dead Jaffa warriors, because every time they went to battle, they entrusted him with their souls, and as Korr only nodded, he had the responsibility to fulfill their expectations. He knew that something like that was possible, because he had seen it in the original series.

What Korr had seen was not another world, but the non-existence of death in this world, when the Ori revived Daniel Jackson and Vala after being turned to ashes.

As for the rest, a simulation was enough, but not any simulation, this had to be the simulation of a complete universe, so at this moment, just like reviving people who had been turned to ashes, it was completely out of his reach. He would have to put his claws on the Ori to see what their little resurrection trick consisted of.

Another option to revive people was time travel, but that posed huge risks and many possible disasters, so Korr had not tried it.

Korr deployed ten holograms in front of him, which were the Jaffa who died in the battle against Olokun, and now they had returned to according to them continue fighting for him. If these Jaffa were sent by another version of him, that would be helpful. The problem was that there was also the possibility that Anubis was involved in this, and these Jaffa were a bomb that would explode in his face in the future.

The time machine did not work nor any temporal technology that was effective, so he could not confirm or rule out anything. The worst thing was that Korr would not do this kind of thing, and if he did, he would certainly warn himself of them, as he had done when he tested the time machine and sent Isis from the future, or rather, the past, because his other self from the future had taken her out of there.

Korr sighed, and the holograms disappeared. This was another headache for him, and something else that would be pending in this war. He already saw that his comfortable life had come to an end by the work of Anubis. That snake would pay when he got his hands on him.

Korr also wanted to take revenge on the ascended ones, but if he did not ascend, that would not be possible, and he did not want to ascend because that was another risk. Korr did not have much information about the world of the ascended ones, and that made it a unknown danger that, with a war over him, he did not want to face. His plans were not yet ruined, and as long as he managed to capture Anubis, he could make arrangements, so he had to strive to catch the bastard.

…

Anubis

Anubis saw how Korr's flagship withdrew, leaving a fleet of ten ships guarding the planet of the Aschen. Anubis had planned to give them the address of Korr's world to buy some time while he faced the invasion of his territory, but he found Korr getting ahead and disconnecting the Aschen from the rest of the portals while destroying their fleet and making them a blockade.

Anubis suspected there were also hidden ships waiting for an attack. He hadn't considered this strategy until he saw how Korr used it against Apophis's fleet to prevent the escape of his capital ships. Korr was an enemy not to be underestimated, and his preemptive actions to delay him once again confirmed to Anubis that he couldn't win this war by acting from the shadows. His enemy and he seemed to have the same information…

No, we don't have the same information, Anubis thought, seated on a marble throne on the bridge of his new flagship, which was hidden a few thousand kilometers away from Korr's fleet.

Anubis had seen it in the battle between Korr's fleet and Apophis's. One of his commanders had used his ship to move through hyperspace and reach Apophis's ship. Apophis's ship couldn't be underestimated, and neither could its weapons.

Firing upon a ship that had no shields to protect it should have destroyed the target, but Korr's serving ship didn't explode, and Anubis could see it was an organic ship, with what appeared to be armor on the surface. The ship itself didn't exceed his expectations, but its resistance was abnormal, and it might have advantages he didn't know about.

Anubis, being ascended, had dismissed biotechnology and only cared about it as a side project, to have a host that would allow him to enjoy the sensations of the material plane once again. But as an immortal being, he wasn't in a hurry for it, and it was a project relegated to the background to prioritize more important ones.

Anubis pondered for a moment where Korr might have obtained this biotechnology because even with all his knowledge, it would take him decades or centuries to develop it.

…

In the end, Anubis couldn't come up with an answer and left the place to start recruiting his allies.

Anubis directed his ship towards his next target, the planet of a minor Goa'uld, which was in the territories that once belonged to Nirrti, and which had been conquered by Cronos after her exile and persecution by the system lords.

Nirrti

Nirrti was reading a few reports that arrived from the system lord Cronos, in whose territories she was hiding, assuming the identity of one of his minor lords, waiting for the opportunity to claim his head and reclaim the territories that were stolen from her.

To achieve this goal, Nirrti faced some difficulties, the most problematic of which was that the other system lords were pursuing her for attempting an attack at a peace summit organized by the Asgard. This had frightened them and made them fear an Asgard attack, so she was expelled from the system lords. Fortunately, she had managed to escape from Cronos. Nirrti gritted her teeth at the memory.

"Pathetic," Nirrti thought. How could a god be afraid? The system lords were weak and cowardly; they needed to be destroyed, but she didn't have enough power to do that. She already had problems avenging herself against Cronos, and her research, which was her main interest now, was discarded…

Nirrti's thoughts were interrupted when an alarm sounded, warning her of a ship exiting hyperspace.

Nirrti, who was on the throne of her pyramid palace, hurried to walk to the ring platform and transport herself to her Ha'tak in orbit to assess the threat. Upon reaching its bridge, a window unfolded in front of her as she sat on her throne. The Jaffa guarding the ship bowed to her.

Nirrti observed the approaching ship. It was a Goa'uld ship, but the central pyramid was barely visible. The dimensions were absurd, with a five-kilometer diameter and a circular outer structure.

Nirrti observed the approaching ship. It was a Goa'uld ship, but the central pyramid was barely visible. The dimensions were absurd, with a five-kilometer diameter and a circular outer structure.

Nirrti contemplated fleeing, as she only knew of one ship of similar proportions, and that was the flagship of the system lord Korr, the most powerful system lord currently, who conquered a fleet of a thousand ships in a few seconds. She didn't want to serve Korr; undoubtedly, he would be thousands of times harder to bring down than Cronos.

Nirrti didn't want to spend millennia kneeling. She was a supreme goddess; she didn't want to be reduced to serving another system lord…

Nirrti was already intending to rise when a hologram projected in front of her. A Jaffa aimed at the hologram, and it raised a hand towards him, turning him to ashes.

"Jaffas who dare to raise their hands against their gods," it said indifferently.

Nirrti raised her hand to instruct her Jaffa to hold their positions and frowned. What she had before her wasn't a hologram, although it seemed like it because her ship's sensors didn't identify it as anything physical. She also hadn't seen any form of transportation. But what she had in front of her was real, and it wasn't the system lord Korr. The apparition was a darkness clad in robe and hood, reminiscent of Sokar, but darker, not even his face was visible.

"Who are you?" Nirrti asked.

"Anubis, your new lord," the stranger introduced himself.

Nirrti had to admit she was surprised. This Goa'uld was truly a ghost who hadn't shown himself for a thousand years. She smiled genuinely.

"Anubis, your tricks are interesting, but your time has passed," Nirrti said, thinking of Korr, who was practically the new supreme lord.

Anubis said nothing, but raised his hand towards her. Nirrti hurried to raise her shield…

Nirrti's mind went blank for a few seconds, and then she rose and kneeled, showing a smile on her face.

"My lord, I will serve you with loyalty," Nirrti said, while thinking about her presentation to Cronos, who with Nirrti's return as system lord, would ensure he never occupied a position among them. As for the Asgard, they were not Goa'uld and should be exterminated…

…

Anubis

Anubis perceived the lie in Nirrti's words after transmitting to her mind some of his plans and his current power in ships, resources, and technology.

Anubis could bend Nirrti's mind by force, but he was a god; he didn't need to resort to such tricks. As for Nirrti's ambition, which undoubtedly would stab him in the back if she could, Anubis would only be annoyed if she didn't feel envious of his divinity.

"Serve me, and you will always have a seat among the system lords. Cronos is already an old man, and his weakness and cowardice have humiliated us before the Asgard. His punishment will be your reward," Anubis offered.