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Skyranger Transport - Inbound to UFO Crash Site in Zaire – September 2001
Sergeant Kevin Nash formerly of the Royal Marines Special Boat Squadron, and for the past two and a half years an X-COM Trooper, winked at the new recruit sat across from him in the Skyranger as they entered into their high-speed final approach run. ‘Cheer up Jefferson’ he said. ‘It might never happen’ he told him. Frankly it was practically a miracle it had never happened to Nash but they did say it was better to be lucky than good, and Nash was both.
‘Yeah brighten up rookie’ Mallozzi an American X-COM soldier agreed. ‘You’ve got better than a fifty-fifty chance of surviving the next hour it’s not like the old days.’
‘True enough’ Nash concurred, hefting his P3-A1 Heavy Plasma Rifle with integral zat. The weapon had replaced the L2-A2 Laser Rifle in UFO retrieval missions much to the joy of the troops being nearly twice as powerful per shot despite weighing no more. It had taken a while but they were really starting to get some nice kit now Nash decided, looking around the Skyranger. Two of the ten-man team carried the X-COM upgraded copy of the Sectoid Stun-Bomb launcher which could not only fire its original loads but could also launch high-explosives over a long distance when necessary, everyone else not only had a Heavy Plasma Rifle but was also carrying Goa’uld Shock-Grenades which were ideal for clearing out a room without damaging equipment or killing aliens who might yield important information when interrogated back at base.
‘Alright you all know the drill’ Captain Waring leading the Team announced. ‘Except for Recruit Jefferson there we’ve all done this before and even he’s done it plenty of times in training’ he said.
‘Getting shot at with an Intar’s not like getting lit up by a Heavy Plasma mate’ an X-COM soldier from the Australian SAS sagely told the newbie. Use of the Goa’uld training weapons had helped prepare replacements for their first taste of combat with the aliens but it was still not a patch on the real thing, it was hard to simulate the extremely unnerving experience of a green bolt of plasma that would go straight through an APC whizzing past your head at a good percentage of the speed of light.
‘We want another leader and a navigator alive to help with the Hyperwave research’ the Captain noted. ‘Only use lethal force when absolutely necessary’ he ordered.
‘Better not be Muton’s then’ Nash muttered. The zat discharges had no effect on the armour that was bonded to their skin, they were resistant to the effect of the aliens own elerium stun bombs and the shock-grenades only tended to make them extremely pissed-off. ‘Eitam would you stop playing with that bloody thing’ he told the young woman sat next to him.
The Israeli on secondment from Sayeret Matkal slid the Goa’uld healing device off her hand and put in back in her pocket. ‘I have to practice’ she replied. ‘Do you know how difficult it is to use one of those things if you’ve never had a Goa’uld Symbiote?’ she asked. ‘It took me six weeks after they injected me with naquadah to figure out how to turn it on’ she told him.
‘You could turn me on with a look Nava’ another soldier told her with a wink.
‘What about a gesture?’ she replied, giving him the finger.
‘Thirty seconds’ the pilot called back.
‘On your toes X-COM’ the Captain ordered, standing up with the others and getting ready to charge down the ramp after the Heavy Weapon’s Platform as soon as they landed. The Tracked HWP at the back of the Skyranger always went out first, it was much better armoured than they were and more easily replaced if some alien sharpshooter was waiting to give them a warm reception.
The VSTOL Jet Transport was being buffeted around hard now and most of the troops were holding onto the straps provided and most had their jaws clenched tight so they wouldn’t accidentally bite off their own tongues.
‘Word of advice son’ Nash told Jefferson. ‘If you get killed and then see a bright light remember it might not be heaven, you could just be waking up in a sarcophagus so don’t assume the figure in white standing over you is an angel until you’re absolutely sure it’s not someone in a labcoat checking your pupil dilation’ he said.
‘Has that happened to you?’ Jefferson asked, ‘being killed I mean?’
‘No but the Captain there is on his third life’ Nash replied. ‘Last time he came back his first words were “Aw shit not again” right Sir?’ he asked loudly.
‘People who regret that they only have one life to give their country are quitters’ Captain Waring replied with a grin, checking his P3-A1. He didn’t even hold the record, there was a Sergeant in the Team flying out of the base in Japan who had been killed in action four times and was supposedly turning strange because of the nasty personality warping side-effects of repeated sarcophagus use. That is to say he was turning “strange” by X-COM standards, others might call it totally batshit insane. ‘Time to save the world again boys and girls’ Waring declared.
The ramp started to lower before they landed and the pilot must have taken the idea of flying nap-of-earth seriously because they seemed to be barely above the trees, or perhaps not at all because a sudden thump on the bottom of the Skyranger meant that they had just scraped the tree-tops. If you came in much higher or slower you ran a good chance of being shot down by Plasma Fire so both the pilots and the passengers much preferred a risky hair-raising ride to a suicidal stately approach.
They just got a glimpse of the crashed UFO before they set down, it was a nice big grey battleship which had been perforated by multiple laser hits from a squadron of F-302’s. Normally they nuked them, or in a recent change of tactics beamed the power-plants out one by one until it ditched in the ocean but the people in charge wanted their prisoners and were willing to risk grunt lives to get them. The troopers understood, they weren’t going to win the war in the field with rifles, the war needed to be won in the laboratory with test-tubes and computers and it was their job to retrieve whatever the geeks needed to accomplish that.
The HWP was rolling as soon as they hit the ground and came under fire immediately, the compact automated tank returning fire with its rotary-staff weapon, spitting out a storm of plasma bolts to cover the humans behind it as they went into battle.
Captain Waring never got a chance to make life number four, a Sectoid blew his head off with a Heavy Plasma blast five minutes into the mission and even the sarcophagus couldn’t bring you back from something like that. Jefferson the newbie took a glancing hit which almost took his right leg off but a combination of the medkit stopping the bleeding and Eitam repairing much of the damage with the Healing Device on the way home meant he was almost fully mobile even before they returned to base.
Dozens of alien kills and years of training and experience under his belt, supplemented by plenty of performance enhancing drugs flowing through his veins, saw Sergeant Kevin Nash successfully fight his way inside and up through all three decks of the alien ship, he and his troops zatting, shock-grenading and stun-bombing everything in their path. They lost two more soldiers achieving their objective, one of who was able to be bought back later, but they got the alien officers they were after, not only a Leader and a Navigator but an Engineer too.
X-COM traded the lives of its soldiers for information every day, but with every new piece of information obtained they increased the payment of blood the enemy had to make to come to Earth. The best and brightest of the human race, soldiers, scientists and engineers, were going to bleed the grey aliens white until they kept coming, and then the Tau’ri were going to come after them, and they wouldn’t be in a mood to forgive and forget.
Loki did later wonder regretfully if it might not have been a better idea to attack Goa’uld controlled worlds looking for genetic material after all. Who would have ever imagined that the evolved primates that the Ancients had dabbled with as a hobby would hold such a grudge, learn so fast and prove to be such a monumental pain in the ass?
To be fair to him however the Ascended Ancients observing events in the mortal plane with interest were pretty surprised at their success too, their very long-term plan to stick it to the Ori and get some revenge on the Wraith was running way ahead of schedule.
Cheyenne Mountain – Earth – October 2001
Russell Sharp entered the briefing room, and finding Weir the only one present so far pointed an accusing finger at her. ‘I know you had something to do with this’ he stated with enough menace to make her want to shrink back into her chair though she fought the impulse. Even before she found out about the mind altering chemicals she wasn’t all that certain he wasn’t going to go on a random killing spree one day, the majority of the time he did come across as reasonably balanced but the moments he didn’t were all too frequent for Weir’s liking.
‘I merely reported my concerns about the way the SGC was being run’ Weir replied as Sharp dropped into a seat across the table from her. ‘That I found such a receptive audience in some quarters merely speaks for the validity of my arguments’ she told him.
Sharp leaned forward. ‘Senator Kinsey was a thorn in the side of the SGC long before I ever showed up’ he said. ‘Ask Hammond, or O’Neill if you want to hear the unedited version of Kinsey’s shortcomings as a human being’ he advised. ‘He’s been trying to control Stargate Command for his own ends for years and now you’ve helped him gain some actual authority over the running of this place’ he told her.
‘Only in as much as he is the United State’s representative of the new International Oversight Committee’ Weir replied. ‘X-COM technically operated under civilian authority and had an Advisory Board before’ she noted, ‘it’s not that big a step.’
‘As long as we killed enough Aliens, retrieved enough technology and didn’t go bankrupt the civilians the UN foisted on us never interfered’ Sharp replied. ‘The Security Council voted a resolution telling us to defeat the threat by “all necessary means” and asked very few questions which is exactly how we like it’ he said. ‘Based on what I’ve heard so far the new IOC is going to be a pain in the ass, and I’m not going to kiss someone else’s when I should be kicking a Goa’ulds’ he declared.
Weir rolled her eyes, the man talked like some character from an action movie. ‘Commander, elements in the governments of several UN Security Council members are quite understandably concerned about the dire consequences that could result from the SGC making a poorly considered judgement call’ she said. ‘The influence of the military in this program is excessive and your accountability far too limited’ she continued, ‘I thought that from the moment I learned about both the SGC and X-COM and I’ve yet to learn anything that has swayed my opinion on the matter.’
‘Haven’t you been paying attention?’ Sharp retorted, ‘we’re under attack’ he said, ‘evil and immoral assholes from outer space want to enslave or experiment on us’ he pointed out. ‘We’re fighting for the survival of the human race and you think that’s a good time to let politicians and bureaucrats get involved?’ he asked incredulously.
‘Commander who are you to make the call as to what the best course of action is?’ Weir asked. ‘What are your qualifications?’
‘My qualifications are the number of hostile aliens killed on my watch, the number of UFO’s bought down as scrap metal and the number of factories and mines we’ve blown all to hell’ Sharp replied.
‘And how many current or potential offworld allies have you alienated?’ Weir asked, ‘no pun intended’ she added, realising her unfortunate choice of words.
Sharp frowned. ‘Relations with the Tollan and Tok’ra are better than ever as regards tech-transfer’ he responded defensively.
‘Largely despite you Commander’ Weir told him. ‘The only way I could persuade the Nox to attend the conference with the Aschen was to promise you wouldn’t be within a hundred light-years.’
‘Playing nice with the Planet of the Hippies is not my idea of a strategic aim of prime importance’ Sharp declared.
‘They know how to make stargates and they have a flying city’ Weir reminded him. ‘Along with the Asgard they’re considered one of the Four Great Races, we would have to be insane not to keep in touch and try to maintain friendly a relationship’ she said.
‘Wear something tie-dye and don’t comb or wash your hair and they’ll love you’ Sharp advised. ‘Tell them we’re willing to swap a busted up 1960’s Volkswagen Campervan for the anti-gravity stuff and they’ll jump at the deal.’
Elizabeth Weir sighed as she attempted to decide if she disliked the petulant child part of his personality more than the sociopathic streak. ‘The IOC is here to stay, get used to it’ she told him with finality.
‘And I’ll bet you’ll be their bright-eyed and busy tailed little helper’ Sharp observed scornfully.
Weir was patient, thoughtful and diplomatic by inclination as well as career but sometimes you had to bite back. ‘You’re even less amiable than usual’ she told him. ‘What’s the matter? Haven’t got to kill anybody today?’ she asked sardonically.
Sharp looked her in the eye. ‘It’s still early’ he replied coldly just as General Hammond entered. ‘Hey George, what do you think of the new IOC with Kinsey on it?’ he asked.
‘My thoughts are unrepeatable in mixed company’ Hammond replied, taking his own seat. ‘I’ll do your paperwork for a week if you tell Colonel O’Neill instead of me’ he offered.
‘No deal’ Sharp replied, ‘it took me over a year to get him to the stage where he doesn’t resent me being here... quite as much’ he said. ‘You can afford to lose more O’Neill goodwill than me.’
A near thunderous “Oh for crying out loud” in the corridor outside indicated that the Colonel had just run into a likely gloating Kinsey thereby saving them both from the job. O’Neill strode in with an appalled look on his face and a smug Senator following on behind. ‘This is someone’s idea of a joke right?’ he asked. ‘Tell me this is a joke and that’s really someone in a Kinsey mask’ he pleaded.
‘I’m afraid not Colonel’ Hammond replied.
‘Blame her’ Sharp told him, indicating Weir who was quite surprised at the reactions of O’Neill and Hammond in particular, the Airforce General having always struck her as being a man of considered, reasoned opinions.
‘Credit Ms Weir for acting as she saw fit in the best interests of the country’ Kinsey responded. ‘The other members of the International Oversight Committee are still on the fifty-cent tour of the facility’ he continued, ‘I’ve seen it all before’ he said sitting down next to her. ‘You are Commander Sharp no doubt’ he said. ‘I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced’ he noted.
‘Senator Robert Kinsey, Commander Russell Sharp of the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit’ Hammond introduced them properly.
‘You’re Canadian I believe’ Kinsey asked leadingly.
‘It was the snow chains and the maple-leaf bumper-sticker on my car outside that gave it away again right?’ Sharp replied wryly.
Kinsey ignored the mans attempted wit. ‘I must say that I and many others in Washington have held reservations for some time about having this project under foreign control’ he said.
‘Foreign?’ Sharp queried, ‘I’m here fighting for Earth, which is where I thought I was’ he said evenly. ‘X-COM operates under a mandate from the United Nations and as far as I’m aware the US hasn’t left either the UN or the X-COM organisation yet’ he said. ‘I have heard through channels that certain people have been trying to play up the old anti-UN “national sovereignty” stuff but I was hoping that those in authority realised that either the nations of this planet hang together or we’ll hang separately’ he told Kinsey. ‘You know there are a few people in X-COM who wonder if the anti UN stuff is actually part of some alien plot of divide and conquer’ he added. ‘Personally I don’t hold to conspiracy theories but the Goa’uld and Sectoids do have brainwashing and mind-control so you never know’ he added. ‘Might be wise to keep the suspects under surveillance just in case’ he opined.
O’Neill noted the expression on Kinsey’s face and decided it was worth playing along even if only for the laughs. ‘How would you determine who the suspected alien dupes were?’ he asked Sharp, putting on his serious voice.
‘Well we know the High Council of the Goa’uld System Lords wanted us to shut down the stargate program when the Asgard negotiated Earth being added to the Protected Planets Treaty so I guess anyone that wanted to do that too would be pretty high on the list’ Sharp reasoned.
‘Yeah that makes sense’ O’Neill agreed. ‘How would you make sure they weren’t just a dumbass instead of a traitor though?’ he asked, noting the rising expression on fury on Kinsey’s face.
‘Well if they were that determined to clear their name we could use a mind-probe on them’ Sharp suggested. ‘Of course we might accidentally find out any secrets they might have and we’d have to promise not to tell anyone about them.’
‘Hand on heart, Scout’s Honour’ O’Neill agreed nodding and performing the action. ‘We could rig them up to a Zatarc detector instead, that tells you if they’re lying’ he reminded the Commander.
‘Not as effective, they might not necessarily know they’re lying and what if you asked them other questions like were all the campaign contributions they received completely legal?’ Sharp asked rhetorically. ‘I mean if they were a politician say’ he added. ‘Where would we stand on asking the FBI to investigate?’
‘Legally I’d say that would be a grey area’ O’Neill said. ‘Roswell grey’ he joked.
Kinsey’s look of fury had shifted to one of increasing concern, if they decided to insist on screening for possible alien influence there was plenty of information in his head he really wouldn’t want to become known, especially by the likes of Jack O’Neill.
‘I guess thinking about it we’d better keep alert and vigilant for signs of pro-alien activity George’ Sharp told Hammond. ‘I mean the security of the entire world is at stake’ he said. ‘They do say if you’ve got nothing to hide you’ve got nothing to fear’ he declared.
‘Indeed they do’ O’Neill concurred.
Later that day as they passed in the corridor Sharp observed quietly to Weir that amongst his other qualifications for the job was a very good grasp of strategy and tactics and that outmanoeuvring an opponent that was not only both overconfident and cocky, but also underestimated you, was easy. Weir made a mental note that being slightly unhinged by normal standards by no means meant being stupid and decided not to underestimate the gung-ho son-of-a-bitch herself either.
Meanwhile Kinsey decided that he needed to re-think his game-plan, he had thought that he would be able to quickly establish overriding authority over the SGC via what the military drones would call a direct frontal assault through his position on the IOC, but now he realised he would have to resort to good old-fashioned political chicanery and seek to divide and conquer by helping to drive a wedge between the various factions within the program he had identified.
For his part O’Neill got to watch Kinsey squirm which took him to a happy place where usually only a new episode of the Simpson’s took him. His opinion of the X-COM Commander also improved a few points because anyone that seemed to automatically realise that the Senator was a slimy, underhanded, self-serving weasel was at the very least a good judge of character.
Hammond just wondered how he’d managed to keep a straight face through the whole thing.
Space Station – Hasara System – October 2001
Lord Yu scowled at Baal when he finally arrived to take his seat. ‘You are late’ he growled, ‘it shows disrespect for the other members of this Council’ he said. ‘Especially when the Council is a Council of War’ he added.
‘I prefer to think of it as making a memorable entrance’ Baal replied looking around. Bastet, Kali and Amaterasu were sat together and all greeted him with a friendly nod of acknowledgement which he returned. With reasonably strong ties before the war they had been fighting Apophis as a united front, their combined forces making them the leaders of a formidable fighting force and their block vote on the Council making them a useful political as well as military ally. By throwing his own fleet into the conflict alongside theirs, rather than that of Lord Yu or another more powerful individual System Lord, Baal had sought to earn the favour of the reasonably strong sub-alliance they represented within the more fractious overall anti-Apophis coalition.
‘Perhaps Baal you might make amends for arriving late by providing us with the plans for these more advanced Hat’aks we have heard so much about’ a female goa’uld with bright red hair suggested.
‘I don’t think so Morrigan’ Baal replied with a smirk. ‘I’m surprised to see you here’ he continued, ‘your forces have not exactly made themselves as well known in the fight against Apophis as my new ships’ he observed.
‘At least I threw myself into the fight long before you decided what side to join’ Morrigan retorted. ‘We were starting to wonder if your refusal to get involved was calculation or craven cowardice’ she said. ‘I thought the latter’ she added with a sneer.
‘You never were a good judge of character’ Baal told her. ‘What did you think Olokun?’ he asked the System Lord sat beside her.
‘I for one always knew that you were far more deceitful and cunning than you were spineless’ Olokun replied, Camulus nodding his agreement with the assessment.
‘I’ll choose to take that as a complement’ Baal told him. ‘I must say I am surprised to see those two were invited’ he said, indicating Cronus and Terok. ‘According to my intelligence they can barely scrape up a thousand Jaffa and three spaceworthy ships between them’ he declared, causing Cronus to leap from his chair only to meekly return when Yu indicated with a gesture he should. The once mighty army of Cronus, and Heru-ur’s vast fleet that Terok had inherited following his masters death had been shattered by Apophis and in reality they were both merely vassals of Lord Yu these days.
‘Your intelligence is false’ Cronus blustered.
‘My intelligence is probably the best and most comprehensive amongst all the Goa’uld’ Baal replied, ‘which brings me to the point at which I’d like to introduce my surprise guest’ he said, waving a solitary figure into the room none recognised. ‘This is Ren’al’ he said, ‘of the Tok’ra’ he added.
Ren’al hadn’t known whether to expect stunned silence or consternation and got the former as she looked around. In different circumstances she would have happily killed the entire lot of them with the symbiote poison she had helped develop. ‘Greetings from the Tok’ra High Council’ she said. ‘We would like to negotiate a temporary truce between us until the threat Apophis represents is neutralised’ she said.
‘You bought a Tok’ra here?’ Camulus exclaimed. ‘Are you insane?’ he asked incredulously.
‘Far from it’ Baal replied. ‘The Tok’ra have as much to fear from a single all-powerful System Lord as we do’ he noted. ‘I have been in contact with them for some months, as indeed have you all without knowing it’ he continued. ‘They have been surreptitiously and anonymously feeding you information on the dispositions of the forces of Apophis for quite some time’ he announced. ‘We just felt the time was right to bring things out into the open’ he said.
‘I will tear this traitor apart with my bare hands’ Olokun declared, standing up. ‘Then I will deal with you’ he hissed at Baal.
‘Given that the Tau’ri supplied sidearm she is wearing could apparently put a hole through your torso larger than your fist I would suggest hearing her out before making any rash moves’ Baal advised, the Tok’ra indicating the holstered plasma pistol hanging from her belt. ‘At any other time I would enthusiastically kill her myself but these are not normal times’ he pointed out. ‘The Tok’ra have agents throughout the galaxy and know more about what is happening within the systems Apophis controls than anyone else, they will provide this for a fairly reasonable agreement that we merely stop trying to wipe them out for the time being.’
‘Weapons are banned from the summit, all are scanned for energy weapons on arrival’ Amaterasu stated. ‘It must be a bluff’ she said.
‘The technology is of a type completely new to both our societies and would not be recognised by your sensors’ Ren’al explained, it was an elerium powered device and as such would have triggered no alarms. She herself had been injected with a Tok’ra innovation, an isotope which prevented her being detected on Goa’uld sensors for up to six hours, if not for that Baal would have never managed to sneak her aboard. ‘Any System Lord that cooperates will also be offered immunity from Tok’ra attack while the truce holds’ she told them. ‘When Apophis is defeated the usual state of affairs will resume and I’m sure I look forward as much to trying to exterminate the goa’uld collectively once again as you all do my people.’
‘How can we trust these traitors?’ Morrigan snarled.
‘The same way that we currently trust each other’ Baal replied. ‘We’re all intelligent enough to realise that Apophis represents a far greater threat to all of us than we do to each other’ he said. ‘Enlightened self-interest is a powerful bond that supersedes personal animosity.’
‘We Tok’ra despise you as you do us but we could never hope to defeat a single all-powerful System Lord’ Ren’al told them honestly. ‘You will all revert to form in time, we know this coalition of yours is an ephemeral thing that will vanish the instant you start to fear each other more than you collectively fear Apophis’ she said, ‘until then helping you butcher and keep each other in check more effectively is simply a sensible response to the current political situation.’
Baal grinned. ‘It’s hard not to like them at a certain level of grudging respect isn’t it’ he said to the other System Lords. ‘If they weren’t treacherous disgraces to their race they would make worthy adversaries’ he opined. ‘I’ve already got one of them helping to run my war effort’ he said, ‘in some ways its refreshing to have an underling that honestly wants me dead on principle rather than seeks to usurp my realm’ he joked.
‘I’ll let her know you feel that way’ Ren’al told him sardonically.
‘Her presence sickens me’ Kali commented, looking at the Tok'ra in disgust.
‘I’m surprised you have such a weak stomach after seeing that outfit in the mirror each morning’ Ren’al retorted. ‘You should look to Bastet’ she continued, ‘at least she could pass muster and earn a more honest living as a painted harlot.’
Baal couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on both of the faces of the maligned System Lords, they clearly weren’t used to be spoken to in such a manner. It was also evident that Ren’al had been taking female human hosts for quite some time, she had the vicious turn of phrase to prove it. ‘Perhaps we should discuss this further after dinner?’ he suggested.
‘I’ll pass’ Ren’al replied. Baal had informed her they were going to ritually consume goa’uld symbiotes and that was a bit too close to cannibalism for her liking.
Ren’al had to admit it was all quite the masterstroke by Baal, after bringing a Tok’ra guest offering truce to the summit his announcement that Anubis had returned and wished to resume his seat on the Council as a recognised System Lord sounded almost reasonable by comparison. With the deal sweetened by the offering of a smattering of the ancient technology Anubis could offer to aid their war against Apophis the vote was near unanimous with only Lord Yu voting against the proposal.
The Tok’ra decided to keep a very close eye on Baal, he was too clever by half and was increasingly exhibited dangerously un-goa’uld-like traits like favouring reasoned argument over bluster and seeing the big picture instead of having a myopic focus on his immediate goals. One of the greatest advantages the Tok’ra had always had over their ideologically opposed brethren was that the latter didn’t act collectively or plan long-term. Baal seemed to be at odds with this goa’uld stereotype and it was a cause for worry, though naturally eclipsed by the real and present threat of Apophis and the upcoming likely threat posed by Anubis who seemed already to be dangerously technologically advanced over the rest.
Selmak and host Jacob Carter were dispatched to the Tau’ri to notify them of the developments. O’Neill complained that it was the usual Tok’ra “go it alone and keep us in the dark crap” and said they were nuts to trust the Goa’uld even if it was in the System Lords best interests to keep their end of the deal. Selmak and Jacob couldn’t help but agree but it had been a decision taken by the collective Tok’ra Leadership and they were bound by it.
On the plus side the Tollan had offered to provide the Tok’ra with a brand-new stargate which they would transport to a new planet outside the original network constructed by the ancients. The Tollan had begun building their first ships utilising the faster Goa’uld hyperdrives the Tau’ri had given them and were in a better position to do the Tok’ra such a favour. A secure base which wasn’t on anyone’s list of gate addresses would be a handy hiding place if the Tok’ra ever needed one and the way the galaxy was going they might need one pretty soon.