I own neither Stargate nor the X-COM franchise. No infringement is intended, no profit is to be made and I'm just not worth the hassle of suing anyway unless you want a share of the wages of an underpaid Civil Servant.
Cheyenne Mountain – Earth – February 2002
Jacob Carter, usually addressed these days in Tok’ra company as Selmak, stepped out of the stargate into the SGC expecting to find his daughter waiting for him on the ramp but instead found himself looking straight into a battery of weapons mounted on a turret that was apparently lowered from a mounting on the ceiling. ‘I surrender’ he said, grinning at Samantha who was stood next to it.
‘No offence meant Dad, everyone gets the same reception these days, our teams included’ Sam Carter told him as the turret smoothly retracted upwards out of the way. ‘Eventually someone is going to get hold of one of our GDO’s’ she said. ‘They might be surprised at what happens if they step through’ she added. ‘You’re late’ she told him before walking up the ramp and giving him a quick hug.
‘Had to deal with something urgent back on Revanna’ Jacob replied.
‘Trouble?’ Samantha asked nervously.
‘Overdue paperwork’ Jacob responded with a sigh, well technically it was more like stone tablet work using a goa’uld data device but it was no more interesting for that. ‘I was told by the boss herself that I couldn’t leave without finishing it’ he said.
‘Sounds like Per’sus and General Hammond have a lot in common’ his daughter responded with a laugh. ‘He once told Colonel O’Neill that if he tried to leave the base without filling in a report he’d have armed guards turn him back from every exit’ she said. ‘We’d better get a move on, the briefing is about to start’ she told him, leading off.
‘Was that a Staff-Cannon on that thing?’ Jacob asked, pointing upwards to the turret which had been looking right down the stargates throat from a position just in front of the blast door.
‘Taken from a Deathglider’ Sam confirmed, ‘set between twin rotary staff-weapons and a pair of fully automatic shotguns’ she told him.
‘Automatic shotguns?’ Jacob asked, following her towards the door out of the gate room which was sliding open.
‘Twelve-gauge miniguns, power-fed from hoppers, six hundred rounds of buckshot a minute each’ Samantha told him. ‘In case we ever have to deal with Replicators coming through the gate’ she explained. ‘They’re based on the autocannons X-COM used to give their troops before they had lasers’ she said.
‘Loud’ Jacob observed.
‘Very’ Sam agreed.
They eventually arrived at the briefing room where General Hammond and Commander Sharp were already talking to the rest of SG-1. ‘Nice to have you here Jacob’ Hammond greeted his old friend as they sat down.
‘Always nice to get back home even for a little while George’ Jacob replied. ‘Selmak says it’s an honour to be invited’ he added.
‘I think the idea is that if we’re more open with the Tok’ra, you might be more open with us’ Colonel O’Neill observed.
Jacob bowed his head slightly and raised it again, his voice shifting as he did so. ‘We were concerned to hear that for some time Earth has been undertaking intelligence gathering missions using agents unknown to us’ Selmak stated.
‘Bites to have the shoe on the other foot for once does it?’ O’Neill asked with some amusement.
Selmak turned to him. ‘We Tok’ra have been infiltrating the Goa’uld for centuries’ he said. ‘Your people are amateurs by comparison’ he declared. ‘They will only cause trouble and likely hinder our efforts.’
‘Or do so much better they make you guys look bad’ Sharp responded.
‘The Tok’ra High Council would like to know where your people are and what missions they are undertaking’ Selmak requested, ignoring the human’s snide reply.
‘Okay, but only if we get the same information for all Tok’ra agents’ Sharp countered.
‘That information is restricted’ Selmak told him.
‘You’re not big on the whole cooperation being a two-way-street thing sometimes are you?’ Sharp asked. ‘Quid pro quo, Selmak, we’ve swapped technology on an even basis which was fair but you won’t give us parity on Intel so we have to compensate’ he said. ‘Until the Tok’ra High Council lets us in on all their dirty little spy secrets we’re going to be running our own cloak and dagger games out there too’ he said.
Selmak lowered his chin to his chest and Jacob took over again. ‘You’re making a mistake if you’re going along with this George’ he told General Hammond.
‘It’s out of my hands but frankly I’ve got to agree with the assessment that the Tok’ra haven’t exactly been as forthcoming over the years as they might have been’ Hammond replied. ‘Relations are better now than they’ve been in the past, definitely more amicable and our pooling of scientific research has helped both of us, but we’re still working to different agendas with different styles and that’s not likely to chance anytime soon’ he said.
Jacob shrugged. ‘I just hope you come to your senses and listen to us more before you end up getting my favourite planet in the galaxy blown up or enslaved’ he said.
‘We really don’t get enough recognition for what we’ve done’ O’Neill muttered. The Tok’ra had accomplished less against the Goa’uld in the last two thousand years than Earth had managed in the last five as far as he was concerned.
‘As for technology transfer the High Council have been very interested in the reports Anise has been sending back’ Jacob told them, changing the subject because it wasn’t likely to get anywhere. ‘She’s been damn complementary regarding your successes in producing hybridised weapons, ships and other equipment using Earth, Goa’uld and Sectoid technology’ he said. ‘The upgrades you’re making to your captured Ha’tak for example’ he noted.
‘We’ve mounted a few dozen Laser Cannon Turrets on it that would swat Deathgliders like flies, and the shield is better than a regular Hat’ak, but it’s still well behind what we know Anubis or Apophis is using these days Dad’ Sam told him. ‘Anise has helped us understand a lot about the systems and where we can tweak them but basically it’s still an outdated class compared to the latest Goa’uld Motherships’ she said.
‘It’s better than anything outside the fleets of Apophis, Baal or Anubis’ Jacob pointed out, ‘that’s impressive in itself’ he said. ‘Anise also mentioned you’re planning to install Plasma Beam weapons to supplement the main armament’ he added.
Sam nodded. ‘They’re not unstoppable super-weapons or anything but they could probably take out an Al’kesh with one shot’ she told him. ‘Against another Hat’ak they wouldn’t punch through a fully charged shield but we do think that if you could weaken the enemy ships shields in advance with our Ha’taks standard main guns you might be able to cut through them with a beam and start inflicting heavy damage before the opposition could knock out the shields of the Enterprise’ she continued. ‘It’s an edge in a one-on-one fight at least’ she said.
‘Not really so much help if we’re outnumbered ten to one by an invading fleet then’ Daniel remarked.
‘Which would be a good low-end estimate of the odds’ Jacob told him wryly.
‘Gotta start stealing more motherships’ O’Neill said, ‘make a note of that Sergeant’ he told Andianov who like Teal’c had been sitting quietly listening and unlike him occasionally jotting something down on a pad of paper.
‘We still have one more than the Tok’ra ever managed Colonel’ Andianov pointed out.
‘True’ Teal’c confirmed.
‘Anise also said you recently managed to capture one of Loki’s fighters but it’s not a project she’s directly involved in’ Jacob said.
‘Yeah but if we thought we’d be able to get anywhere fast back-engineering the Foo-Fighter we were being wildly optimistic' Sharp said glumly. ‘I read a report from Area 51 in my office just before I came here’ he announced.
‘Too damaged by the zat Cannon?’ Sam asked, ‘I did wonder if the avionics systems might be too fragile for that much energy’ she said. ‘It would totally fritz one of our F-302's’ she told them.
‘Nope the fighter's fine, or at least it's not fried enough for that to be a major problem’ Sharp replied, ‘after taking it to pieces the R&D people are saying that we were all badly underestimating just how much more advanced than the other Sectoid craft we've seen before their Foo Fighter really is’ he told them. ‘They're saying it could take six months to figure out exactly what part does what and then they've got no idea how long it might take to work out in enough detail to replicate how it actually does it’ he said. ‘They can tell it uses different drive, shield and sensor technology than the ships we captured before, and the plasma cannon is a generation ahead in efficiency, but beyond that they're just scratching their heads wondering where to even start.’
‘If it's so much more high-tech than our fighters how come you’ve been able to fight them?’ Jacob queried. ‘It sound's like you’ve been taking P-51's up against F-15's’ he said.
‘I'll hazard a guess Dad’ Sam offered, ‘they're fighting out of their element’ she said. ‘Our 302's work in space but they're still primarily designed for fighting Sectoid and Goa'uld ships in the atmosphere’ she continued. ‘To give one obvious example sectoid shields don't work except in a vacuum unless they've had the Asgard designed modifications Thor provided’ she said, ‘the chances are that all of Loki's military research was, and probably still is, largely geared towards fighting the Replicators, stopping them in space before they even reach Asgard planets’ she suggested.
‘Indeed’ Teal'c concurred. ‘If the Replicators reach the atmosphere of a world it is already likely too late to save it’ he said.
Sam nodded. ‘To Loki we're really just a genetic resource that forcibly objects to being exploited, not a threat to the survival of his race’ she observed. ‘If he wanted to destroy us he could have done so pretty easily years ago before we obtained any of the extraterrestrial defence technology we have now’ she pointed out.
‘He must want human DNA and experimental subjects bad to take the losses he is’ O'Neill stated.
‘There's another theory we're also being used to try out new weaponry and tactics now you know’ Sharp interjected. ‘Loki could be at least partially using Earth as a live-fire test arena for his new toys now, and seeing how good at soldiering and piloting his cloned grunts really are’ he suggested.
‘It does feel a lot like an arms race sometimes, war tends to speed up technological development and not just of military hardware, there's usually knock-on effects into other fields’ Samantha observed.
‘Perhaps he is honing his forces for a strike at the Replicators using the warriors of this world as the grindstone’ Teal'c declared. ‘The System Lords often tested their armies against other Goa'uld in such a fashion’ he told them.
Daniel looked thoughtful. ‘Darwinian pressures’ he said quietly, ‘we're evolving them’ he continued more loudly. ‘That's exactly how Loki would think about it, he's supposed to be a geneticist right?’ he asked rhetorically.
Sam blinked. ‘Survival of the fittest’ she said. ‘Even if he had all the biological samples he needed Loki might still continue to attack Earth indefinitely because he's not just driving our military development we're also driving his’ she said.
O'Neill leaned forward in his chair. ‘The Replicators did already stir up the Asgard into upgrading their fleet to the shiny and super slick O'Neill Class’ he said. ‘War breeds military innovation a thousand times faster than peace, I guess that’s true of the Asgard as well as us’ he theorised.
‘The direction Tok’ra technology took was certainly more driven by our enemy than ourselves’ Jacob told them. ‘The tunnel crystals as a way to hide our bases, the cloaked Tel’tacs and the radioactive isotopes that blocks our operatives from Goa’uld scanners for example’ he said. ‘Selmak agrees it’s logical to assume that Loki is developing military technology in response to the Replicators in the same way.’
‘Unlike Goa’uld plasma guns the Sectoid ones project enough mass at a high enough velocity to act as a kinetic energy as well as a directed-energy weapon’ Sam noted. ‘Replicator bugs would be shattered just as effectively as they would be by a bullet and the power of the blast would probably turn the one hit into shrapnel destroying the ones near it anyway.’
Sharp frowned. ‘Loki knows our weapons and tactics work pretty well against the Replicators so why not see how we fight to help him beat them’ he said. ‘Fas est et ab hoste doceri’ he added with a sigh.
‘It's proper to learn even from an enemy’ Daniel translated, more than mildly surprised that the Commander could quote Ovid, especially in Latin.
‘It’s a dangerous universe’ O’Neill observed, ‘Sectoids and Replicators and Goa’uld! Oh my!’
General Hammond looked at the members of SG-1. ‘Well at least you’ve already got the brains, heart and courage’ he said with a chuckle. Having them whistle “We’re off to see the wizard” every time they went through the stargate for the next month made him regret the comment later though.
Underground Facility – P3X-989 (Altair) – February 2002
‘But why did you bring it here?’ the android Captain Carter asked her doppelganger and the very human Major Carter as they waited together outside Harlan’s Laboratory with their respective Jack O’Neills. Both Teal’c’s were in the chamber where the stargate was situated inspecting the advanced defence precautions established to keep out uninvited Goa’uld guests along with a singular Lyudmila Andianov who was by inclination more interested in military matters than cybernetics or emotionally immature Artificial Intelligences.
‘Daniels idea’ Major Carter replied. ‘Our Daniel I mean of course’ she added. ‘she was upset, she thought we all hated her because she was different so...’
‘You brought a freaking machine that can make these damn Replicator things to our planet’ the gears and wires O’Neill said to his flesh and blood counterpart irately.
‘You’re a machine too numb nuts’ human O’Neill replied, crossing his arms.
‘Which is why we brought her here’ Major Carter said. ‘Reese acts like a big kid, she was practically bouncing up and down when Daniel talked her into switching off the Replicators she made telling her there were other people just like her and she didn’t have to be somewhere where she was different.’
‘We are not just like her’ android O’Neill stated flatly.
‘Well technically we’re less advanced according to the notes they brought with them Sir’ Captain Carter interjected.
‘Hey we might be machinery but we’re people, or at least we’re perfect copies of people’ her commanding officer responded. ‘This mechanical chick wasn’t ever more than someone’s science project.’
‘Reese is self aware’ Major Carter told them, ‘she had emotions, she’s more like a child than anything else’ she continued. ‘She’s afraid that we’ll kill her and when she’s afraid she defends herself with her toys.’
‘Killer Von Neumann machines’ android Carter pointed out seriously.
‘She promises not to make any if people are nice to her’ human Carter replied. ‘Just don’t let her get... bored’ she advised with a slight grimace. ‘We’re hoping that Harlan might be able to deactivate that ability, he’s the closest thing to an android expert we could think of’ she said. ‘Heimdall the Asgard who’s living at Area 51 these days ran some detailed scans which we brought along to help him’ she said.
‘Thanks for sending us regular updates on what’s been going on back on Earth’ Captain Carter said to their visitors. ‘We’ve never met the Asgard but they sound pretty cool’ she said.
‘I like the little guys’ the human Jack O’Neill said. ‘Most of them try to do what’s right and they’ve got guts’ he told the duplicates.
‘Heimdall wanted to take Reese apart, as their original creator she might be the solution for beating the Replicators’ Major Carter told them, ‘but Reese objected... and we didn’t know how many stray Replicators bugs there might be hiding in the SGC so we backed off’ she said. ‘The hope is that Reese will be far more agreeable to having Harlan, and maybe you examine her, because you know that just because a lifeform is mechanical that doesn’t mean it’s bad or doesn’t have feelings.’
‘We’d all be better off killing the thing’ both O’Neill’s said simultaneously. ‘Whoa, synch’ they both continued then looked at each other.
‘We brought a couple more naquadah reactors and some other gear for you’ Major Carter told the androids. ‘We’re hoping that some of the technology of this facility, particularly the power transfer system, might be applied to the ships we’re planning’ she continued. ‘If it can run continually for thousands of years with minimal maintenance it should be hardier and more battle resistant than Goa’uld technology’ she said.
‘Want me to see what I can come up with? The other Carter asked. ‘I know this place better than anyone but Harlan, and I understand Earth technology better than he does.’
‘I was hoping you’d say that’ human Carter responded with a smile, ‘the preliminary work is on the new laptop I brought for you.
‘Hey it’ll be fun’ Captain Carter said, smiling back. ‘This place is humming along nicely now so I’ve been getting bored sometimes’ she admitted.
‘Thinking of bored I bet you forgot to bring the latest Simpsons DVD’s’ android O’Neill said to his double accusingly.
‘I’ll throw them through the gate when I get back home okay’ the other O’Neill said. ‘I’ll have to buy another set now’ he muttered to himself bitterly. ‘Now you guys have only been scouting the planets we told you to right?’ he asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.
‘Yes’ his android double replied. ‘Only the gate addresses to planets that are too radioactive or have air that’ll kill you wussy oxygen breathers’ he told them. ‘We never meet anyone interesting’ he complained.
‘Hey be grateful we let you out at all’ the somewhat more oxygen dependent O’Neill responded.
‘We’re too useful an asset to waste and you know it Sir’ Captain Carter told him with a smile, ‘there’s plenty of worlds in the stargate network far too hostile to organic life for you to properly investigate’ she said.
‘And far too boring’ her commanding officer added. ‘Come on Jack, put in a good word with the guys upstairs, tell them we’d be more use kicking Goa’uld ass than guarding this place, looking at deserted planets and playing nursemaid to the geeks who come here from Earth.’
‘The SGC spot for O’Neills is already taken’ his double replied.
‘I’ll arm wrestle you for it’ the android version replied. ‘Yours would come off at the elbow when I put the pressure on but that would just prove my point about the best man winning.’
‘You’re not a man’ the other O’Neill retorted.
‘He’s mean to you too’ Reese interupted loudly with a pout on her face as the door to Harlan’s Laboratory slid open. ‘I like the Daniel that’s like me’ she said brightly, indicating the one of the two of them stood behind her.
‘You’re welcome to the crush’ human Daniel whispered to the android one. ‘She can’t physically crush you’ he added.
‘I know a new word’ Reese declared. ‘Comtraya’ she said mimicking Harlans hand gestures and clap as she said it. ‘It means greetings and hello to friends’ she announced with a beaming smile.
Harlan walked past her. ‘Reese is very advanced but similar enough to us to understand her basic workings’ he told android Carter.
‘Harlan is very old’ Reese said. ‘Even older than I am’ she declared. ‘The Daniel that’s like me will last forever like I will’ she said. ‘I’ll never be lonely again’ she said happily.
‘So you won’t need toys to play with’ Major Carter asked meaningfully.
‘No I can play with Daniel forever’ Reese replied.
‘And I’m sure the millennia will just fly by’ that Daniel replied, staring into the distance. She was annoying him already even if intellectually he found her fascinating, being a true AI not a copy of human consciousness like he was.
‘Just let her grow up emotionally before you teach her any “special” games assuming you’re both equipped for that’ human O’Neill told him. Reese looked like an adult woman but mentally she behaved like a girl many years younger in appearance.
‘What special games?’ Reese asked, ‘I want to play special games!’ she insisted.
‘I’ll let you explain after I’m long gone’ human Daniel quickly told the android version who decided that the former had definitely turned into more of an asshole since they went their separate ways. How the hell do you explain the facts of life to an android that acts like a pre-pubescent girl?
‘And you don’t mind Harlan working on you?’ Major Carter asked. ‘Trying to figure out how you make and control your toys?’ she asked.
‘No he’s nice’ Reese replied, ‘he reminds me of my father’ she said. ‘Only more silly’ she added with a giggle. ‘Comtraya’ she said again.
‘Comtraya’ Harlan replied happily. ‘It is a pity Hubald is not here, he understood so much more than I’ he said regretfully. ‘Though as you thought I know far more than you’ he added honestly.
‘We think Harlan went slightly strange being alone all that time but he’s been getting better the last few years’ android Carter whispered to the human one.
‘Makes sense, your neural nets are more than advanced enough to suffer from that’ the other Carter whispered back.
Both Teal’c’s and Andianov wandered in. ‘The defences are formidable indeed O’Neill’ the Jaffa with a symbiote not a powerpack in his guts declared.
‘We’ve got automated guns plus anybody coming through is instantly stunned like you were when you first came here anyway, unless they send the proper GDO code in advance’ Captain Carter told them, ‘if they got past that we’ve also got the Laser Rifles you provided plus Harlan’s disintegrator pistol which gives us quite an edge in a firefight all on its own’ she added. ‘Worst case scenario we’ve got a naquadah reactor rigged to blow the facility to prevent it falling into hostile hands’ she announced.
‘We haven’t figured out how that works yet, the disintegrator I mean’ android O’Neill said with a sigh. ‘Harlan cannibalised the others he had for spare parts centuries ago’ he noted.
‘It was another of the technological miracles invented by Hubald’ Harlan told them. ‘So many secrets died with him’ he said with a sigh. ‘But it is all becoming better again’ he added in an upbeat manner.
‘Perhaps I can make another?’ Reese suggested, ‘I can make things’ she said.
‘She uses nanotechnology and energy fields to rearrange atoms of material into anything she wants’ Major Carter said. ‘She made Daniel a little statue before she made one of her... toys’ she said.
‘I can show you’ Reese offered.
‘No creating self-replicating machines though, that’s the rule, you know what happens if you break the rules Reese’ human Daniel responded.
The android girl pouted again. ‘Time-out’s and grounding’ she said, ‘sent to my room with no TV and no play if I’m naughty.’
‘That’s right’ Daniel told her. ‘The other Daniel is going to have the same rules’ he added.
‘Can I explore now?’ Reese asked hopefully, looking around ‘With the Daniel that’s like me?’ she begged.
‘If you say no she’ll wheedle until you give in’ the Daniel that wasn’t like her advised. ‘Just don’t fold on the important stuff like making Replicators... or keeping her room tidy.’
‘Daniel who’s not like me is strict’ Reese complained. ‘My father was like that sometimes’ she said.
‘Not strict enough to my way of thinking’ human O’Neill opined. ‘And who designs a computer with Attention Deficit Disorder for crying out loud?’ he asked rhetorically. ‘We need freaking android Ritalin’ he growled.
‘Hang on, do we get child support or what?’ the gears and wires O’Neill asked sternly. ‘This is not a foster home for orphan robots’ he declared vehemently, fixing the flesh and blood O’Neill with an icy glare.
Torture Chamber – Ba'al’s Fortress – February 2002
Ba'al’s lo’taur Shallan poured him another drink and then did the same for Nerus who thrust his goblet in her direction. ‘Leave us’ Ba'al told his slave who bowed and walked backwards a few steps before turning to depart looking suitably submissive. She had been present earlier when Ba'al had tortured a captured member of Apophis Royal Guard, a gravity generator pinning him to a weblike metal grille on the far wall while Ba'al horizontally dropped daggers on him and she was very glad to leave the place, it had been horrible to watch.
‘Very attractive, she would make a good host’ Nerus told Ba'al before taking a gulp of his wine, watching the human slave leave.
Ba'al rolled his eyes, a gesture learned from his host that expressed his thoughts on the matter very well. ‘I didn’t think the appearance of the host mattered to you Nerus’ he replied scornfully. ‘In fact the only things you ever seem to take note of are your next meal and your work, with the latter coming a distant second’ he declared.
‘I have been working my fingers to the bone on your behalf’ Nerus replied. ‘I missed brunch yesterday’ he declared as if it were a sacrifice worthy of commendation. ‘Barely so much as a snack between breakfast and lunch’ he said woefully.
‘But have you achieved anything?’ Ba'al demanded to know. ‘I gave you control of this facility where my most advanced research equipment is based and so far all I’ve seen as a result is that you can’t go into any laboratory or workshop in this place without finding slaves trying to wipe up the scattered remnants of your meals’ he said. ‘If your accuracy at getting the food from the plate to your mouth is any indication I hope you do not carry a weapon because you would be far more likely to shoot yourself than your enemy’ he stated with a sneer.
‘You wound me My Lord’ Nerus responded.
‘When I decide to wound you Nerus you’ll know about it’ Ba'al vowed. ‘Although I don’t know if there’s enough tal’vak acid in the entire galaxy to dissolve all the blubber in your body’ he declared. ‘I want results not excuses, what have you discovered from your research?’ he demanded to know.
Nerus put down his goblet, it was a very good time to look professional he decided. ‘Firstly it does appear from examination of the wreckage of ones we have destroyed in battle that the new ships of Apophis are not quite as advanced as we first feared’ he said. ‘They may be faster than any Ha’tak we have seen before but their shields and weapons do not have the vast superiority over the older designs that their hyperdrive does’ he said.
Ba'al nodded. ‘Have you determined why they are so swift?’ he queried.
‘It would appear that Apophis, or more likely Sokar, had developed a completely new hyperdrive which as part of the design encases the entire power-core in trinium’ Nerus replied. ‘It allows the core to run at a far higher output without overloading’ he said.
‘Can we copy this design?’ Ba'al asked.
‘Yes but unlike the less drastic upgrades Anubis provided we cannot retrofit it into existing vessels’ Nerus told him apologetically. ‘The entire Ha’tak is built around it’ he said.
‘Damn’ Ba'al responded. ‘Apophis has been using the greater speed of his new ships to considerable advantage and is able to counter-attack and reform fleets too rapidly for comfort’ he said. ‘Even battles Apophis loses are mitigated in the damage they cause him strategically by the ability of his fleeing Ha’tak ships to readily outrun our own’ he noted. ‘They outflank our advances easily forcing us to abandon deep thrusts into his territory in favour of a war of attrition.’
‘We can convert one of our shipyards to start producing new vessels that use the technologies of both Apophis and Anubis but that will take time’ Nerus told him.
‘The war stretches on and on’ Ba'al complained bitterly. ‘The only saving grace is that the armies of the other System Lords have suffered far more than ourselves due to their inferior ships’ he said.
‘What of Anubis? Nerus asked.
‘His numbers grow, and his advanced Hat’ak vessels minimise his losses, but as yet he is still only capable of fielding a relatively small fleet’ Ba'al replied. ‘I wish we could obtain one of his ships’ he continued, ‘his shields and sensors are better than the ones he provided to me to earn my favour.’
‘Our research into more advanced gravity generators and improved weapons here may give us an advantage yet’ Nerus suggested. ‘Beyond their usefulness as amusing means of torture and prison cells our compact artificial gravity units are a technology seemingly unknown to all other Goa’uld’ he said. ‘Certainly in implementation if not scientific principle’ he said.
‘See that the research remains a secret’ Ba'al commanded. ‘The other System Lords do not know of this place, they would be threatened to know the resources I have devoted towards scientific research’ he noted then sipped his wine. ‘I have heard a rumour that Thoth has returned to the service of Anubis’ he told Nerus after savouring the taste ‘Your old rival I believe?’ he asked rhetorically.
Nerus frowned. Thoth was a very able scientist who would likely be able to achieve much with the technology and resources Anubis had returned with. ‘We competed for the reputation as the most able of Goa’uld scientists a few centuries back’ he said. ‘I couldn’t see why anyone might think his inventions could possibly match my own but for some reason the scientifically illiterate thought they did’ he said dismissively then paused and sighed. ‘He would however be able to back-engineer the new hyperdrive of Apophis as well as I’ he admitted.
‘Let’s make sure we get there first Nerus’ Ba'al told him. ‘Lives may depend upon it, yours in particular’ he threatened.
‘Have no fear, Nerus is here’ the other Goa’uld declared confidently.
Ba'al looked him up and down. ‘Next time I’m here I expect to see more results or I’m putting you on an exercise program and a severe diet’ he said.
Nerus paled. ‘Couldn’t you just have some Jaffa torture me with a Pain Stick?’ he begged.