Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by
The Architect
Chapter 02: Edgerunners
Sitting in the Overseer's office, I allow myself to show just a hint of the panic that is running through me. I had hoped this was all bullshit, some prank by a netrunner with too much time and skill. If it were, I could have hunted them down and put a bullet through their eyes to fix this.
But it isn't. This is no prank, no game. This isn't the Corp testing my loyalty or some Netrunner with a grudge. I am now the proud owner of Vault 001, registered as the Overseer of the expansive underground vault.
As it stands, this Vault was designed to hold up to two hundred and fifty residents for hundreds of years. It has an incredibly advanced water production system, which I understand. That's the part that scares me the most. I can look at the near-alien technology that looks like nothing I've ever seen before and understand it all. I know how it was made, I know how it works. I know how to create more.
There's a section of the vault dedicated to Bioscience, where both the food and water are produced. It has incredibly advanced hydroponics farms that produces fruits and vegetables for the vault residents, and I understand it.
I am a talented person. I graduated with top grades from a very competitive Arasaka Academy. Even still, I should know so very little about Bioscience. My skills lie in combat and netrunning, not biology or the other sciences. And yet, the moment I examine any of this, my mind just… supplies the information.
I've used a skillshard before, downloading an entire course's worth of knowledge into my mind. Sometimes I needed skills for a job that I just didn't have and couldn't risk bringing someone else in to help. This doesn't feel the same. With skillshards, the information or proficiency doesn't feel like it's yours. It feels alien, your hands move with a practised ease that feels unnatural. This doesn't feel like that. Even with the information clearly coming from the databank Zero put in my head, it feels natural.
I'm becoming increasingly convinced that Zero is a rogue AI from beyond the Blackwall. Their skill at bypassing my defences is beyond human, not even the likes of Alt Cunningham or Spider Murphy would have had such an easy time. I'm not arrogant enough to put myself up on the same level as them and Bartmoss, but I am very good at my job. Sure, I'd lose to any of those three, but I'd at least put up a fight. Zero practically danced through my defences, laughed at my counter-attacks and installed a databank that is physically too big to fit onto my systems.
But that doesn't explain the vault. I've run a million tests, and this is no trick. I'm not being made to see this through a compromised optic. This isn't some braindance being played directly into my head to make me think it's real. This entire structure appeared in seconds, which is impossible.
Only, it can't be impossible because it happened, right in front of my eyes. The Vault is real. I am sitting in the Overseer's office, looking over a map and reports of a base that can't exist. Getting out of the comfy, genuine leather chair, I set off down the clean, brightly lit corridors of my new base. Zero was kind enough to leave me a storeroom full of supplies, and I have a variety of different workshops I can use.
I have an armoury with everything I need to make the weapons that came with this knowledge dump. I have a garage and a mechanics workshop. A robotics lab. The previously mentioned Bioscience wing, along with the medical bay and an autodoc programmed to act as my Ripperdoc.
Heading down to the robotics lab, I feel my hand twitch towards my holstered pistol as one of the pale white figures turns to me. It looks like a Ken doll that hasn't been painted, nude, but with no real features beyond its eyebrowless face. No hair, leaving the bald plaster-white head on display.
This is a Second-Generation Institute Synth. It's also a death sentance if anyone finds out about it, because inside that humanoid machine is a very limited artificial intelligence. Netwatch would kill me and destroy every trace of this vault if they learnt of what Zero had casually left waiting for me in this place.
I have ten of them, all programmed for maintenance around the vault. I know how to make more, and the robotics lab has everything needed to program them for whatever needs I have. Every horror story about AI flashes through my mind, and a part of me considers going down to the Institute Reactor powering this place and overloading it to cause a meltdown and wipe the vault out.
But I remain a corpo at heart, and the possible benefits stop me from just blowing this place up and calling it a day. Heading to the terminal, I access it and set their duties, while also uploading a program into the vault security system to track them at all times and report any divergence from their duties. I have enough problems as it is without adding rogue synths onto my list.
This entire vault uses a different operating system, which will make hacking into it a pain in the ass for basically anyone who isn't me. To me, it feels as natural and normal as the system that is used worldwide. For anyone else, it'd be nigh incomprehensible. Either way, I need to improve the ICE on my vault and synths, just in case.
Watching the synths head off to complete their orders, I frown to myself before I head back to the Overseer's office. The tech at my fingertips is both awe-inspiring and worrying. There's a fucking teleportation array in the vault, that my databanks tell me was used by the Institute to deploy their corsair synths to the wasteland. With its current range, I could teleport myself anywhere in the Eastern Badlands and at the edge of Santo Domingo, and then back into my vault, allowing me to move in and out without leaving a trail back to my vault.
Fucking teleportation.
The agent in me is thrilled by the concept because being able to teleport into high-security locations and then back out is a game-changer in the espionage business. I'll need to build relays to extend my range, which is risky because they won't be as well hidden or shielded as my vault, but the Biotechnica job could go a lot smoother if I can set up a relay near the underground research lab and bypass their security entirely.
But if word reaches Arasaka that I have teleportation tech, I'm fucked.
That's not even touching on the second biggest shock after the synths. This Vault comes with a G.E.C.K. unit. Better known as a Garden of Eden Creation Kit. I have the tech to turn the Badlands into a fertile utopia. Biotechnica would kill everyone within a fifty mile radius to get their hands on this.
Fuck the new fuel, if I gave this to Michiko or Hanako Arasaka, I'd rise to the top of the corpo ladder and Arasaka would crush Biotechnica under our heels. I wish I was naive enough to be willing to believe that it would end well for me. The higher you rise, the tighter the leash around your neck. I'd go from a mere intel asset to a keystone for Arasaka's Bioscience division, and that would come with immense wealth and a 24/7 guard, for my own protection, of course. I'd never take a piss without Arasaka knowing the volume and colour.
Going over the design plans I have access to, I find one that stands out. I have no desire to build myself a pipboy, the clunky wrist-mounted device is basically useless to me… but one of the systems it has access to is not.
V.A.T.S., or the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System.
Well, I had been looking for a new set of cyberoptics to upgrade with. I need to test out this 'system' that I've been given, and what better way to do that than to make my own? My current optics have teleoptics, recording, low light and infrared vision. It's all rather basic, in truth. I think I can make something better than that.
Still, I could use some cyberware to scavenge for part… sending a new work order, two of my synths head into the cave system to retrieve the bodies. I've taken over the cameras they had installed, and nobody has shown up since I cleared the place. I'll need to improve the cave system's security as well. As I proved earlier, a single corpo agent can bypass all the current security measures.
That said, I can't rely on harvesting Raffen Shivs like a scav with a semi-functioning morale compass, I'll need a supply of cyberware that doesn't come from my usual sources if I want to make my own. The parts here are useful, but they're not suited for making cyberware.
First things first, I need to start taking steps for the Biotechnica job. Jenkins is in full-paranoia mode, and I should expect him to call up demanding to know what I've been doing and what I've achieved. If I can't give him an answer, he'll assume Abernathy has bought me, and then he'll try to neutralise me. I won't have things go to shit because Jenkins decided to micromanage. I might die, but I refuse to let it be someone as incompetent as Arthur Jenkins who takes me down.
So, despite being ordered not to use Arasaka assets, I need to use our usual sources to make sure that Jenkins can see that I'm working on the assignment, as ordered. The more he sees me doing, the less reason he'll have to go psycho and try to kill me out of paranoia that Abernathy has turned me.
Loading up my records on Sasha Yakovleva, I carefully read through them as I do my pre-job research. Daughter of Galina Valieva, a veteran who died due to neural degeneration. Sister of Stella Ramos, a member of NCPD. Her father is long dead. Nothing noteworthy there.
So, onto her crew and the job that went south. Maine is the head of a low-to-mid tier merc crew. Just a small-time player, trying to make it big. They've had a series of low-level jobs completed with few issues before Sasha went AWOL on them. She was one of their two netrunners, the second being Kiwi.
Kiwi, ex-child factory worker, was sold to a brothel as a joytoy. Possible anti-corporate alignment due to her past. Dorio, Maine's input and part of the crew's muscle. Nothing of note.
Newest hire, a new runner to replace Sasha. Simply known as Lucy. No second name, no record at all. Someone has gone to great lengths to clear her past. Allegedly a genius netrunner, Kiwi brought her into the crew. They've enjoyed a boost in success since she joined them.
Finally, a pair of siblings, Pilar and Rebecca. Children of a far more successful merc, Papa Sunrise. Pilar is a crude techie, and Rebecca is an unhinged solo. Rebecca is responsible for over half of the crew's complications, often employing excessive violence on the job or simply ignoring the actual objective to do whatever she feels like at the time. An unpredictable asset.
If Maine was wise, he'd have dropped the pair by now. Their skills don't make up for the trouble they cause. The fact that he hasn't tells me he cares for his crew too much. I can use that. He thinks Sasha is dead, but the shard Jenkins gave me has proof of her being alive in the Biotechnica research site. It isn't recent, but it proves that Biotechnica took her captive after the job. If he's the type to see his crew as family, then he'll want to rescue her but he also seems realistic enough to know that his crew can't take on the higher-risk jobs.
Most mercs mistrust corpos, and for good reason. They're seen as expendable, and they know it. If I hire them to aid in the job, the smart thing to do would be to refuse. I'm counting on Maine not doing the smart thing.
Going over my contacts, I make the call.
"Seiji. I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon," Faraday says as he answers the call almost immediately. Faraday is a minor fixer working in Santa Domingo, with delusions of grandeur. He used to have Militech connections which he used to send mercs to cause problems for Arasaka, but Counter Intel took care of that. Getting him to defect was not particularly difficult, especially after sabotaging several jobs he had set up for Militech to make him look incompetent. His MIlitech handler lost his patience, and Faraday felt undervalued by Militech due to his ego.
Getting him to betray his handler was not difficult, and the damn fool thinks the entire thing was his plan. He wants to climb the corporate ladder himself, not realising he's just one of the ladder steps.
"You work with a group led by a man named Maine, correct?" I ask, cutting to the chase. I dislike people like Faraday because he's convinced he's smarter than everyone around him. I wonder how he'd take learning that we decided on recruiting him over a coin toss. Heads, we recruit him. Tails, we put him down to send a warning to other fixers not to get so involved in corporate affairs. It was V's idea, after we'd spent two hours arguing over the benefits of recruiting him vs the issues with keeping such an arrogant asset under control.
Finding a coin was the hard part, to be perfectly honest. V didn't trust an app as she claimed I'd hack any tech-based probability method (she was right).
"That is correct. I can't advise you use them, however. They are problematic, with a fairly erratic success rate," Faraday replies smoothly. "If you need a crew, I can suggest several-"
"No. Set up a meeting with Maine's crew. It is important that they are the ones involved. I'm transferring the job details and payment details. Typical mid-tier corporate asset extraction," I say, cutting him off. Much like Jenkins, he's determined to prove how useful he can be to Arasaka and doesn't want a crew with someone as unreliable as Rebecca to fuck up and make him look bad.
"You'll be meeting them yourself?" Faraday asks, making me nod. I can read him fairly easily, his four eyes tightening as what I'm sure he thinks is a cunning expression crosses his face.
"I don't plan to advertise my Arasaka connections, but we want this to go well so I'll be on the ground. Treat this like the Kang Tao job," I order. "Your usual payment will be transferred after the meeting is complete, regardless of the outcome."
"Of course," Faraday agrees smoothly. "I'll send the details for the meet up soon. I should warn you, they are not the most reliable group, nor are they overly fond of corporations."
"I know. I don't need them to like me. I need deniable, expendable assets," I reply coldly. As the call ends, I know full well that he'll likely poke his head into just what this job is. It's his nature. Predictable assets are the most useful.
I told V he'd be a problem. When I put him down, I'll be sure to rub it in her face that I was right to want to eliminate him. Plus, using Faraday was her idea, and she was meant to keep him under control. When he fucks up, she'll be the one that takes the blame.
– Lucyna Kushinada –
"I'm telling ya, I don't like this," Rebecca repeated, making Maine sigh for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. "I don't trust that wanna-be corpocunt."
"Faraday has been straight with us so far. Some of our best-paying jobs have come from him," Maine pointed out as they waited in the booth in Afterlife for their client. She couldn't deny that she didn't like the idea of this either. Why was the client coming to meet them instead of working through the Fixer? "The pay is good, and the client asked for us by name."
There it was. Maine wanted to 'make it big', and the idea that some big-time client had asked for their crew by name mattered to him more than he'd admit. Dorio said nothing, sipping her drink. Rebecca had insisted on coming along, though they'd left Pilar behind as they didn't need him insulting a client with his usual attitude and crude language.
"Rebecca, sit down and stop making a scene," Kiwi ordered tiredly, her mentor showing the slightest hints at annoyance at Rebecca. She liked the younger girl, but Rebecca was rather outspoken when she had a problem, and clearly thought that this job stunk.
As the meeting time approached, she looked over Afterlife carefully, looking for their client. They weren't late yet, but they didn't have much time until they were. As her gaze landed on one of the new arrivals, she stiffened. The handsome man, likely around her age (though cyberware made it increasingly difficult to tell), was walking straight towards them as if he owned the place.
She had never seen someone who screamed 'corpo' more, with his expensive black suit and tie, with a red undershirt. Maybe she was being racist, but his Japanese features and red optics screamed Arasaka to her, and it took all her self-control not to react.
He paused for just a moment, speaking to the woman behind the bar, before he continued heading to their booth. Maine straightened up, and Rebecca looked like she was wishing they hadn't taken her guns away. Entering the booth, he gestured and the wall closed to give them privacy. Lucy was also kinda regretting taking Rebecca's shotgun away as the most Arasaka corpo she had ever seen took a seat opposite Maine. The crew knew she had a problem with Arasaka, though not the exact details, and both Maine and Kiwi gave her warning looks as she stiffened.
Like she needed a warning, she'd spent most of her life hiding from Arasaka.
"You the suit that Faraday was talking about?" Rebecca cut in curtly before Maine could open his mouth.
"I suspect so," the man replied. "Seiji Moriyama. You must be Maine. I have to say, I wasn't expecting you to bring most of your crew with you."
If he was bothered by their presence, he didn't show it. Nearly expressionless, and she'd bet good eddies that he had hormone regulators helping keep his emotions under tight wraps. He had very little visible cyberware beyond his optics, but that was usually a sign of good cyberware. The expensive stuff tended to be more aesthetically pleasing and could be hidden better than the bulky, cheap junk.
"I like to bring them with me to the table," Maine replied, putting on a gruff front. Dorio was sitting closest to Seiji. Her size would intimidate many, but Seiji didn't bat an eye at her challenging posture. "You asked for us, by name, but this isn't the type of job we'd usually take."
He wasn't wrong. This was a typical corporate espionage job, extracting an asset from a Biotechnica facility. They hadn't been given all the details, but they weren't usually picked for this kind of job because… well, they were too loud. Maine and Dorio weren't made for stealth, and that wasn't even mentioning Rebecca. It set off alarm bells, far too close to what she was certain was an Arasaka asset for her comfort. Had they found her and lured her here under the guise of a job?
"You'll understand why I chose you soon enough," Seiji promised. "I understand that your team is more used to smash and grabs rather than infiltrations, but I will handle the espionage myself. I need a distraction, and your team tends to be noisy."
"Wait, you're going on the job, too?" Rebecca asked, tense and ready to explode. "I'm telling you, I don't like this Maine. Nothing good comes from the client getting involved."
"I assure you, I will not be a liability, Rebecca, and my participation is non-negotiable," Seiji replied bluntly, making Rebecca stiffen and swivel her glare toward him. "I picked your crew for more than just your reputation for flashiness."
As he spoke, he placed a shard on the table and flicked it across to Maine. Maine hesitated, and she could tell Rebecca was trying to tell him to decline with her eyes. As Maine went to grab it, Rebecca beat him to the punch and grabbed it first, sticking it in. She was extremely loyal, but far too unpredictable.
Rebecca's eyes flashed as she went over the information, then her face dropped from a mistrustful scowl to a furious glare as the shard came out, her hand shot into her oversized jacket and pulled out a gun that they'd missed on their brief search. Maine got out a shout as Rebecca lunged across the table, sticking the barrel under Seiji's chin with the fiercest scowl she'd ever seen on the short girls face.
"The fuck you playing at, psychosuit?" Rebecca spat, finger on the trigger. Seiji just stared at her with a worrying indifference. "Start talking, choom, before I start blasting."
"Rebecca, what the fuck are you doing?" Maine asked, his tone a mixture of anger and worry. He was right to be worried as Rebecca turned to him, and the second she took her eyes off Seiji, he moved. Rebecca's arm malfunctioned, spazzing out as Seiji swept her legs from under her, taking advantage of the weird way she was perched on the table to knock her down at speeds that just screamed Sandevistan, Rebecca letting out a shout of surprise as she was flipped onto her back, Seiji lunging forward as his sleeve retracted and a mantis blade revealed itself, pressing against Becca's throat. The entire movement barely took a second, and Seiji stared down at her before snorting and moving back.
His mantis blade retracted, the sleeve of his fancy suit sliding back down. Did he have a custom suit made that retracted so he could use his mantis blades without ruining it?
"Get your crew under control, Maine," Seiji ordered, lounging in his seat as Rebecca went to grab her gun again. Maine grabbed her arm, getting a betrayed look from the younger girl before she scowled and yanked it back. Did she not realise that Seiji could have cut her head off? The edge of his mantis blade looked different, and everything he had just screamed high-tier corpo assassin.
"Look at that fucking shard, and tell me I was wrong," Rebecca challenged, making Maine go to look for the shard before realising that Kiwi had grabbed it in the chaos.
Kiwi's reaction was far less explosive, as she removed the chip and passed it to Maine. She said nothing, silent and thoughtful beyond the tightening of her eyes. Lucy knew Kiwi well. The older netrunner was basically a mentor to her. She knew Kiwi was disturbed by whatever she saw.
Maine finally chipped the shard, his eyes widening and his fists clenching. Rebecca looked like she was seconds away from lunging over the table again and trying to bite Seiji, Kiwi had gone almost completely still.
Dorio looked calm, but the muscular woman rarely looked bothered by anything. She hadn't missed the way Dorio's posture had changed, looking more prepared to fight Seiji if it became necessary.
"She's dead," Maine finally said, pulling the shard out. "The building blew up with her still inside it."
"And yet, that footage was a month after the job she allegedly died on. Biotechnica rarely goes for executions; it isn't in their playbook," Seiji replied, leaving Lucy confused for a moment. She was not putting an Arasaka shard into her system. Not a chance in hell.
"What the fuck do you care?" Rebecca challenged, making Seiji look back at her. For just a moment, she saw the amusement on his face. "Why tell us that Sasha is alive? You want us to believe your cold, black corpo heart felt sorry for her?"
And the pieces fell into place. Sasha, her predecessor. Kiwi's former 'student'. Kiwi had told her about Sasha and how she'd put herself first and gone off script, getting herself killed on what should have been a simple job. Dorio sat up quickly, her carefully relaxed posture gone as she shared a look with Maine.
"Because he wants whatever Sasha found on Biotechnica's systems," Kiwi cut in. "She hid whatever she found on the deepnet, and Biotechnica couldn't find it, so they took her alive. You, and whatever corp you work for, wants what she found."
"Correct. You're right, Rebecca. I don't care about Sasha. Whatever she found was enough to send waves through Biotechnica, and they're working hard to find and shred it, but they haven't succeed yet," Seiji explained, his tone cool. "Finding a hidden datafort without a start point is a matter of dumb luck as much as it is skill. I'll admit that I'm surprised Sasha has managed to stop them from finding it in the seven months she's been missing, but I'm hoping that retrieving her from Biotechnica's grasp will allow me to find it for myself, and if not, that Kiwi will be able to help track down her former students hidden data."
"Maine. She betrayed us. All she had to do was grab the data the client wanted and leave. She got herself into this," Kiwi said, her tone colder than Seiji's. Again, she could read the woman who recruited her well enough to see the hurt that she was trying to hide.
"Fuck that. Some fucking corpo is experimenting on her," Rebecca shouted, slamming her hand on the table as she glared at Kiwi. "We're not leaving our girl to be poked and prodded until they've had their fun and toss her corpse into a landfill. I swear, if this is a trick, I'm gonna scatter your fancy tech across the Badlands in a few thousand pieces, suit."
"I'm sure you'd try. My intel suggests that she is still alive, though the condition she is in cannot be confirmed beyond that. She's been used as a test subject for whatever research they are running, and since they decided to handle it in a blacksite that doesn't exist on the books, I can only guess what they are trying to hide," Seiji continued, her tone blunt. Maine did not appreciate the calm explanation, every muscle tensing. "I'll be blunt. I have my own ways of getting the intel from Biotechnica. My sources suggest that they have no truly talented runners at the blacksite and don't want to call for one, likely because they are running off the books and don't want to bring the spotlight onto them. That's probably why they still haven't got what they want from her. I will be doing this mission, with or without your crew, but if I handle it with a different crew, Sasha would become a loose end once the job was complete."
Openly admitting he'd probably kill Sasha if they didn't take the job was not well received. Rebecca's glare became downright apocalyptic, Maine's posture aggressive, even Kiwi sat up straighter despite her words. If she was right, and he was a corpo, then he'd likely take Sasha back to his own corp where they'd have their netrunners rip her mind apart for the data.
Bastard.
"Attacking a blacksite isn't like breaking into an office," Kiwi pointed out, more to Maine than Seiji. Her words carried a simple message. This is out of our league.
"I have the plans, with three netrunners we can disable their security and prevent them from calling for reinforcements," Seiji pointed out, confirming that he was also a netrunner. "Biotechnica won't admit they owned the blacksite, despite it being under their farms. The staff is small, and most of their security is mechanical. They use obscurity as their best defence. As long as we get in without setting off alarms, once we're inside, we'll have time to smash and grab. Between the three of us, deleting their security footage will be easy enough. We'll simply have to leave no one behind who can identify us."
Lucy stiffened at that. In her mind, she saw another blacksite where a group of children desperately tried to use their netrunning skills to escape from their Arasaka overlords. She heard the gunshots as they were cut down, one by one, until only one little girl was left, the only one who escaped. This wasn't the same, but Seiji's casual reference to zeroing the staff made her wonder if someone like him had said the same when they'd tried their break-out. Just wipe the slate clean so nobody could identify them.
What was he planning to do with any other test subject?
"So, kick down the door and wipe out these corpo-scumbags? Never thought I'd like a corpo's plan," Rebecca growled, hatred clear in her tone. She glared at Seiji, mistrust in her eyes, and then at Maine, warning him to take the job, a rapid switch from her earlier position. Rebecca was going to try, either way.
She was the newest member of the crew, and even she could tell that Rebecca was almost ready to grab her shotgun and head to the Biotechnica Flats, gunning down every suit she saw until she found Sasha. Pilar probably would join her.
"The pay is good, more than we'd usually get from a handful of the small-time jobs," Dorio added, her tone hesitant. Dorio was almost like the team mom, in some ways. Her words were logical, and all business, but it didn't hide the emotion in her tone. She wanted to take the job.
Kiwi said nothing, utterly silent as she brooded. Rebecca fidgeted as the silence went on, eyes flickering around the booth.
"When is the job?" Maine finally said, slumping down in his seat. He couldn't hide his frustration at how they were dancing in this corpo's hand, but he wasn't going to leave a member of his crew to be experimented on.
"One week. Friday, past midnight to limit the number of people on-site," Seiji said, showing no emotion at the unsaid acceptance. If he hadn't shown off that he was a Netrunner, she'd have tried to hack him to make sure this wasn't a trap, but whoever he was, he was dangerous, and she would rather stay quiet and blend into the background. He'd not looked at her once after he took his seat, and that was how she preferred it. "I will acquire the patrol paths of the Biotechnica Flats guards and drones. The hardest part will be getting to the blacksite without causing any alarms. I expect the patrols will be heavier around the blacksite entrance, but not too much as that would make it clear that they have something worth protecting."
As he spoke, he rose and gestured for the walls to lift, the sounds of Afterlife filtering in again.
"I'll be in touch."
They hadn't said they'd take the job, they didn't need to.
"I really fucking hate that guy," Rebecca finally said, her hand rising to where his mantis blade had been pressed against her throat. "But we're doing it, right?"
"...of course we are. Fucking corpo has us by the balls and he knows it," Maine finally agreed.
"We could do it early, without the fucking samurai," Rebecca suggested, perking up. Samurai was right. She wasn't the only person who saw Seiji for what he was, a corporate assassin.
"We cut the client out of the job, no Fixer will deal with us," Kiwi pointed out bluntly, making Rebecca scowl. "You don't fuck your Fixer, you don't fuck your client. The only two rules that matter to mercs."
"Not to mention, he doesn't seem like the kind to take kindly to backstabbing," Dorio pointed out. They didn't know for sure what corp he worked for, even if his look and outfit screamed Arasaka, but fucking over a megacorp as a bunch of mercs was how you became a cautionary tale. Even the legend of Silverhand ended with him dying, and they weren't legends.
"Only when he's not the one holding the knife," Rebecca scoffed darkly. Lucy laughed at that, quietly and unhappily.
"Lucy, did you try to hack him?" Kiwi asked, making her shake her head.
"Not worth the risk," Lucy said, making Kiwi hum. Lucy stiffened, realising that Kiwi had tried. That was why she'd been so silent toward the end. "What did you see?"
"The weirdest ICE I've ever seen. Never seen anything like it. I wouldn't even know where to start," Kiwi admitted after a moment. Lucy paused at that, her gaze turning to where Seiji was just turning the corner and going out of view.
What the hell had they gotten themselves into?
— Bonus Scene — Misty Olszewski
Watching Jackie leave, Misty hid the concern from her expression and gave him a wave goodbye. She knew he trusted his corpo friend, even if she'd never actually met V herself. Plus, he wasn't as spiritual as her, and he didn't need her dark thoughts darkening his latest job.
Instead, she smiled as he left and waited until her hot-headed gonk of a boyfriend was gone before she let her worry show. She truly loved him, but she'd always known what Jackie was. He lived for the danger, always aiming to become a Night City Legend.
Before her, three tarot cards lay on her desk. She always drew a tarot for Jackie before he went on a job.
The Fool, reversed. Recklessness, being taken advantage of. The Hanged Man, upright. Sacrifice, uncertainty. Death, upright. An ending.
She tried to find an interpretation that didn't paint such a dark picture, but she knew that she was reaching. Tarot was as much about the interpretation as it was the cards drawn; ten different readers could get ten interpretations. Every interpretation she came up with felt false because the first felt so true.
Putting the cards back, she drew a single card for herself.
The reversed wheel of fortune felt mocking. Bad luck. Lack of control. Unwelcome changes.
Almost to prove that, despite her years of dedication to the more spiritual ways, the cards were just that. Cards. She drew one more.
The Tower, upright. Chaos. Upheaval.
Disaster.
Author's Note: This chapter was delayed by the masculine urge to rewatch the entire Lord of the Rings extended trilogy. Gondor called for aid.
Written: 29/05/2025
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by
The Guild of Gamers, the Dungeon Master
Chapter 04: Chulak
— Dorian Morgan —
In truth, I got lazy after my mischief on Nittri's planet. Every single Jaffa in my Empire (of one planet) has been upgraded by Calexa, freeing them from their dependency on the Goa'uld and dealing the final blow to those who still prayed for Sokar's return.
Dominica finished her divine mission, bringing the tribes back and that left me with a lot of low-intelligence men that I kinda want to get rid of. They're too dumb to be in the gene pool of my Empire, so… what to do with them?
Well, toss them in the meat grinder that is the Astra Militarum of course. Much like I did for the Sisters of Battle, I've built a new Imperial Guard training facility on Netu and sent all the fake Mongols there. I've summoned some more NPCs to help, a Commissar and a small squad of Cadian Imperial Guards to whip them into shape, and blessed the facility to increase their learning speed.
With the increased automation from Calexa's work and factories being 99% of the work on Delmak, I've found myself with a lot of people with nothing to do so the Imperial Guard has found itself with plenty of volunteers.
In truth, Dominica broke their will so much that the idea of learning how to become 'true warriors' heavily appealed to the tribesmen. Their furs have been replaced with flak armour, their sticks replaced with real weapons as they're put through the brutal training to become something useful to me.
"Stand proud, my Wrath. Your deeds have made the first step toward our true expansion," I praise, stroking Dominica's hair as she kneels before me.
She was distraught at how many of the tribesmen she had to kill to get them to fall in line, but if I wanted them all to come back alive, I wouldn't have sent the girl with a giant chain sword to recruit them.
Besides, she did amazingly. She brought back thousands of tribesmen and women for me to put to work. She was rewarded with a lot of sex, which is one of the reasons I really like Sisters of Battle. I'm literally paying her with my dick and she thinks I'm being generous. The women have been split between three 'positions'.
The most faithful of them have been sent to the Sisters of Battle. I've summoned some novices to help Valeria train up the rapidly growing order, and set up an Order Hospitaller to train the less physically adept of them in the art of medicine and healing. Their culture doesn't allow women to fight, and it is not easy to wipe that away so quickly so directing them toward becoming healers instead is a step in the right direction.
I remembered that their planet had some plants that made really good anaesthetics, so I've moved them over onto the terraformed moon where we can grow them.
Many of the women have been recruited into a new program that I have set up. As I told Dominica, a hundred women and one man can be just as effective as a hundred women and a hundred men when it comes to breeding.
Especially when I'm that man.
Their role is to be pregnant at all times, but it comes with an incredibly easy life. They live in a massive complex that puts their tents to shame, and their sole purpose is to get pregnant and stay healthy for their pregnancy.
Nobody was forced to join it, and I barely had to give them a nudge to get them to volunteer. They are used to the chieftain having multiple women, and I'm a far stronger chieftain than Tuggy or whatever his name was. It's an honour to be bred by me, and it kept me busy once they settled in.
I need my numbers to grow, and having an entire facility full of young, beautiful women who live to breed is going to help out a lot. Plus, my children are going to be stronger, faster, smarter. I've made sure of that.
Eventually, I'll expand it to have the less-appealing ones bred by my most loyal and skilled men but right now, I shall bear this incredible burden alone.
Egeria gave me a scolding look when she found out, but again, they're more or less volunteering and she can't deny that they're happier here than they were on their home planet. Mostly because I claimed that I'd seen that their Stargate was going to become active soon.
Sure, I didn't mention that it was SG-1 and not the Goa'uld but she doesn't need to know that. As far as she knows, I saved these people from becoming slaves and besides, she didn't like their culture either.
Partially because one, very optimistic, tribal idiot tried to break into her chambers and claim her while she slept. I have to give these guys credit, their ability to ignore reality is almost impressive. Who looks at a nine-foot tall superhuman and thinks 'surely I'd win because I'm a man'.
Egeria literally snapped his neck with a single hand, and her complaints about me sending all the men to be turned into soldiers vanished. She isn't so naive as to think that they'll integrate with our society instantly, and won't let others suffer for the sake of preserving the tribal culture.
They're an entire culture of rapists, having them living with the rest of us is just asking for trouble. The Guard will beat that behaviour out of them. Luckily, their martial culture meshes well with their new military life. They've learnt to adapt to the boot camp training fairly well, coming from an already rough and savage lifestyle, all I'm doing is adding some discipline to that aggression. They've learnt the benefits of obedience to their new God, and the Imperial Guard comes with almost as many mandatory prayers as the Sisters of Battle. The point is, they're adapting well to their new lives.
Well, once the Commissar shot a few of them to make examples.
The older women are being trained as midwives and caregivers, but there weren't that many oddly enough. Turns out old people don't really… survive in a tribal culture. Most of them get sent out into the wilds when they're no longer useful. As such, they're eager to be useful in this new clan they've joined.
Finally, the children. They're the easiest to deal with. I've built a new academy, to make them more useful and also to indoctrinate the ever-loving fuck out of them. Egeria is once again very mixed about that, because the uplifting is obviously good for them but she's not overly fond of the children being taught to worship their God Emperor.
I let her set the actual curriculum, and she can't deny that giving the people of Delmak a chance to be more than meat for the brutal factories and mines is a good thing, but also… I summoned some non-combatant Sisters of Battle to be the teachers. Yeah, those kids are getting very indoctrinated.
As a pair of soft hands massage my shoulders, I smile. I told Dominica to bring Nya back, and I'm actually impressed with myself because I got her name right.
In the episode, this cutie was the reason that… Adu? Abu? The dude who kidnapped Sam. That guy. Yeah, she was the reason that he kidnapped her because he tried to trade her to her father, the chieftain, in exchange for Nya.
Obviously the much stronger chieftain said 'go fuck yourself' and kept Sam anyway, but the point stands. Sam goes through her big damn hero arc so that Nya can marry the one she loves, instead of being sold to another chieftain for an alliance and they leave with the tribes treating women better.
Only, that lasts like two years until the current chieftain of Abu's tribe, a dude called Moughal who actually already had more progressive thoughts on women since he actually loved his wife, Abu, the dickhead, became chieftain and undid all that work and made women into property again.
Yeah, I read the novels and as a Samantha Carter fanboy, I ain't having it.
So, I took Nya for myself as a concubine. I have to wonder which of the Sisters taught her how to give massages, because she's pretty good at this.
Abu did try to challenge me for her, amusingly enough. He seemed to think I was weak because I had women fight for me. Long story short, he pulled out a knife and Dominica shot him.
He died in one shot, she emptied a clip into him, reloaded then emptied a second clip into him for good measure. Just in case.
I think the krak grenade onto his corpse was a little too much, but I do appreciate her enthusiasm.
Moughal was sad his son died, but he's also much smarter than most of his people and knows that clinging onto their culture would be their end. I had Calexa use the funny DNA machine to de-age him a bit, mostly just to see if we could.
Nirrti really did waste one of the most powerful gizmos the Ancients left behind, because that little gadget is hilariously powerful. Of course, only the truly faithful benefit from being immune to age itself, a gift I give to my most loyal and useful people.
I'm letting Nya get used to her new position. A part of me does want to throw her down and take her as my prize, but she has just lost her father (who she isn't mourning, admittedly) and her 'love', so I can wait and let her get settled into her new life in the Imperial Palace.
As upset as she may be, it's easy to wow someone who was living in a tent a week ago with silk sheets and grand buffets. Plus, while she didn't want to marry the tribal chief dear old dad had sold her to, she does still come from the same culture where women are property, and she doesn't actually hold being claimed as a prize against me. Living in a palace, with servants tending to her every whim, eating the finest foods and clad in the finest silks, its far too easy to make the teenage girl decide 'maybe this isn't so bad after all.'
Looking over Delmak, I smile to myself. It's shaping up nicely, and the rest of the galaxy still doesn't even know we exist. Sure, the Tok'ra are going to come and poke their noses in eventually, but Egeria is here so they won't be a problem.
Oh, and Nirrti but we didn't leave her anything to actually lead her back to us.
So, as long as I keep my head down, maybe grab a few more tribal planets, we'd be in a great position to start the crusade in a year or two. Probably faster, given the way I've 'blessed' the various buildings to increase efficiency.
…I'm not waiting a year, let's do something fun.
You see, my original plan was to not really mess with Stargate Command too much. Leave some breadcrumbs like I did on Simarka to let them know the Imperium exists, but not really derail canon too much.
The more I change, the less useful my foreknowledge is. That said, there is a dangerous problem with that. I have the restraint of the teenage boy that I actually am. I've already poked enough to send some serious waves through the timeline, so relying on metaknowledge is going to be a mistake anyway.
The reason I'm bringing this up is because the first episode has begun. We are officially in Season One, Episode One.
Senior Airman Carol Weterings has been kidnapped from what will soon be Stargate Command, and Sha're and Skaara have been taken from Abydos and taken to Chulak.
Soon, Apophis will present Carol to his queen, Amaunet, who will find her an unacceptable host causing Apophis to kill Carol. Then, he presents Sha're and Amaunet takes her as a host, triggering the entire plot.
…Apophis is such a prick. Wouldn't it be really funny to ruin his big event, on his capital planet? He's inviting Goa'uld from all over the galaxy to come and select hosts from the men and women he's abducted. How embarrassing would it be if this entire event went to shit?
"Hey, Dominica?" I mumble, enjoying the tender ministrations of Nya. Despite my half-assed tone, Dominica stands to attention immediately. "Wanna kill some more Goa'uld?"
The look in her eyes tells me that I've said all that I need to.
— Sister Valeria —
In truth, she was nervous.
Not at the God Emperor's plan, of course, but at herself. She had been tasked with training the female Jaffa into a new fighting force of the Adepta Sororitas, and today was their first true test. They hadn't been trained for long, but under the divine blessing of the God Emperor, they had trained hard and learnt fast.
They were Constantia, who had gone through the rite of severing by burning their former Goa'uld larvae in holy flame, but not true Sisters yet. Still, she had faith in the ones she had picked for this task. They weren't clad in Ceramite Power Armour or armed with Bolters, as they had not yet become full Sisters of the Order of the Severed Chain.
Instead, they work black flak armour and wielded lasguns, courtesy of Calexa-Nine. She wasn't entirely fond of the odd tech priest, but it was good to have the Adeptus Mechanicus around to supply their troops.
The God Emperor jokingly claimed that he'd taken inspiration from the Tyranid for their plan, specifically the Shadow in the Warp that cut off the planets from outside help.
Once they arrived, the God Emperor would bless the Stargate in a way that prevented anyone from leaving or arriving. It was possible that reinforcements would arrive through space travel but that took far longer than the Stargate and was highly unlikely as long as they acted with haste.
The God Emperor had blessed her helmet to be able to scan for Goa'uld presence, and her purpose here was clear. They were to send a message to the System Lords that this galaxy was theirs no longer.
Looking over the small squad she assembled, she was humbled to see no fear, no doubt, on the faces of the novices, even as they prepared for their first battle. Today was the day they dealt a blow to the xeno scum who had enslaved them, and she could tell they were ready to lay down their lives for this cause, should it prove necessary.
"Remember the Words of Devotion, Sisters. Keep faith in the God Emperor within your heart and do not falter before the xeno slavers or their forces," Valeria ordered, leading them in a brief prayer as they waited for the signal.
By the bolster shell, flamer burst and melta blast, the xeno and the heretic would be cleansed of their sin of existence. She prayed that she would need to slay no traitors today, as her students were tested in the fires of war.
The revving of a chainsword made her smile, seeing the eagerness on Dominica's face as the Emperor's Wrath placed her helmet on. She'd serve as a good example for the novices.
And a better example for the few heretics that were unfortunate enough not to be cleansed of their sins this day.
"I understand your desire to deliver their well-deserved retribution upon them, Sisters, but remember our mission. This is a rescue mission, not a purge," Valeria reminded her bloodthirsty sister. "The captured humans who would be forced into becoming hosts for these parasites, they are our targets. We are to strike at the very heart of this Apophis' empire and retrieve those he stole."
"I know. If I get a chance to purge Apophis, I'll take it gladly, but the Emperor's plan comes first. I would never put my own desires before Him," Dominica replied, semi-scolding. "His Queen is the bigger target anyway. We kill her, we cut off his supply of larvae."
Sometimes, she forgot that Dominica was more than just a berserker. It was unfair to her Sister, she was chosen as His Wrath for a reason.
As the Stargate came to life, activated by Calexa, she gave one last prayer and headed through into battle.
This was the true start of their great crusade against the Goa'uld.
— Teal'c —
It went without saying that security was raised for this grand event. Apophis had invited both his son and countless other Goa'uld to Chulak to choose new hosts from the selection of… acquired subjects, and where there was Goa'uld, there was a risk of betrayal.
Even Klorel, Apophis' own son, was seen with suspicion and given a large group of Jaffa to both protect him and to ensure that he remained loyal to his father.
A younger Teal'c would have looked upon this event as a true honour for the humans they'd abducted, but he was not that boy anymore.
His faith in the Gods had long since been eroded through years of watching Apophis' cruelty, his position as Apophis' first giving him a vantage to see the true cruelty of the Goa'uld.
And yet, even still, when word came of an armed force invading Chulak, he did his duty and gathered Apophis' forces. The invaders were within the temple itself before anyone even realised they were under attack, and both he and Apophis assumed this was some rival Goa'uld.
Apophis had been distracted with the Tauri woman he was presenting to his Queen when the fighting began, the invaders attacking with an efficient brutality that would undoubtedly make their master proud.
Apophis' first thought was to protect his Queen, and for good reason. For any system lord to be successful they needed a Queen to produce larvae for them. His second was to protect himself, and even Teal'c was mildly impressed that the 'God' put his queen first.
Apophis was a rare case in Goa'uld, truly caring for his mate and son. It was perhaps his only positive trait. Apophis immediately retreated to the most secure part of the temple where they were holding this event, taking the priestess that was currently carrying his Queen with him.
So, when it was revealed that Klorel was still somewhere in the less-secure part of the temple, Teal'c had found himself sent to retrieve Klorel and bring him to safety. Klorel was more reckless than his father, he wouldn't retreat from an invader.
He'd led a group of Apophis' honour guard to find their Gods son, and these men were some of the best in Apophis' service.
The smell of their burning flesh made Teal'c wish to vomit, watching as the armoured figured cut down one of the most talented warriors in Apophis' forces with her massive blade.
"You missed a spot, Sister," another said, seemingly amused as Teal'c raised his Ma'tok staff. The sword wielding one didn't even flinch, dashing forwards at inhuman speeds and slicing his weapon in two before an armoured boot smashed into his chest and pinned him to the ground.
Behind the second figure, he saw the squad of entirely female Jaffa finishing off the last of his men with their strange weaponry, a golden symbol proudly displayed on their heads. Gold was normally reserved for Firsts, like him, with others having a plain black mark, but each of these women bore a golden mark of a God he didn't know.
He had come down here with such confidence, to his shame. He'd heard that the invaders were female warriors and to his dishonour, he'd assumed they'd be weak.
The fight, and he could only call it that by being extremely generous to himself, was as short as it was humbling. The two in their special armour had laughed off their attacks, the blade wielding one killing three proud Jaffa warriors in a single swing as her Sister burnt the rest alive, a volley of red flashes blasting the men he'd led to their deaths.
Slumped against the wall, he saw the decapitated body of Klorel's current host. He was a dead man. If he returned to Apophis after this failure, he'd be killed slowly.
As such, he simply stared up at the woman who had so easily bested him with a steadfast expression, unphased by his imminent death. His only regret was that it was in the service of an unworthy master.
As the woman pulled out the weapon he'd seen blow entire limbs off his men, he stared at her unflinchingly. He'd dishonoured himself in life, he would not do so in death.
And yet, before she could pull the trigger, a golden light shone down upon them. He paused, looking around in confusion but the woman didn't hesitate. In an instant, her weapon was sheathed and she took off her black and white helmet, its red glowing eyes replaced with her cold stare.
"You are Teal'c, are you not?" the woman asked, her tone firm.
"I am."
He didn't know how she knew his name.
"The God Emperor has seen your future, Teal'c of Chulak. You are not to die in the service of a false god," she continued. "I am Sister Dominica, Wrath of the Emperor. His divine wisdom has seen your doubt, your desire to see your people freed from the cruelty of the Goa'uld."
She stepped back, offering him a hand. He looked over at where the Jaffa that followed her into battle were, each standing proud as they secured the room.
"I would not exchange the service of one false god for another," Teal'c said plainly, rising to his feet. Dominica snarled, but the other heavily armoured woman placed a hand on her shoulder as she took off her helmet.
"Peace, Dominica. He doesn't know," she said calmly, her face more relaxed though still clearly alert to any potential threats. "I am Sister Valeria, of the Adepta Sororitas. These women were once slaves to the Goa'uld parasite known as Sokar, now they are members of the Order of Severed Chain. Each of them has been freed from the parasite within their body, and through faith and discipline they have been born anew."
He froze at that, disbelief coursing through him but one of the Jaffa stepped forward at Valeria's order. As she exposed her stomach, Teal'c stared in shock at the missing larvae pouch. And yet, they still possessed the benefits of hosting a larvae? If he removed his larvae, he'd be too weak to move within hours.
"The False God Apophis has stolen many innocents to present to the 'Gods' under his command. We have been sent to liberate them, to save them from a fate of torment and imprisonment within their own bodies," Valeria continued, and her knowing tone sent shame through his body for his part in this. "Aid us, Teal'c. The God Emperor has seen your people's plight, and called for a crusade against the Goa'uld. The Grand Imperium will see your people freed from the cruelty of the Goa'uld."
"Even if Apophis is slain, another Goa'uld will invade Chulak," Teal'c said, knowing he was wavering.
"Our Lord can disable the Stargate, preventing any from coming here through it. They may arrive in their fleets, but such a thing would take time, time we could use to prepare to drive them off," Valeria swore. "The Imperium protects its own."
— Dorian Morgan —
…are they trying to take over Chulak with less than fifty men?
Well, fifty women.
That… isn't what I told them to do. They're such overachievers, aren't they? I only sent that golden light to get them to spare Teal'c since he's cool.
Hey, I'm not complaining. Chulak has a larger population that Delmak, and that's a lot of potential followers that the girls are trying to recruit.
Wait, how much energy would I need to…
Oooh, I'm onto something here. I'm so damn smart.
I pause for a moment, before calling for Calexa and Egeria because this isn't the kind of thing I should try without double-checking the numbers first.
But if I wanted to show off my godhood, this is one hell of a way to do it. Good look finding Chulak, dickheads. I'm not taking your followers, I'm taking the entire fucking planet home with me.
— Carol Weterings —
In truth, she didn't remember much after being taken to the leader of her kidnappers. She was fighting against the men holding her, and then there was a light from his hand and she couldn't remember anything from there.
Waking up naked, laid on a slab in some ritual-looking room, was not a situation that any woman wanted to find herself in. She was mildly relieved to see the corpses of the men who had kidnapped her in the first place, but as she watched one of the golden armoured men be literally bisected by a chainsaw sword, she had to wonder if she hadn't gone from bad to worse.
Scrambling to her feet, the chainsword wielding woman paused, seeing her panic. The only pro she could see to the current shitty situation she'd found herself in was that the only men around were currently staring at their own intestines instead of her naked body.
"Peace, Carol of Terra," the woman said, putting her sword away as she nodded to the armoured squad behind her.
"How do you know my name?" Carol asked, watching the woman take off her helmet to reveal a scared but attractive young woman with a fleur-de-lis tattoo under her left eye and short white hair. Terra? Did they mean Earth?
"The God-Emperor foresaw your death at the hands of Apophis, the false god that kidnapped you. In his wisdom, he sought to change that fate," the woman explained, reaching into her pack and pulling out an outfit similar to the uniform that the female squad behind her was wearing, black military uniform with some flak armoured pieces. "I am Sister Dominica, of the Adeptas Sororitas, sent to rescue those captured by Apophis."
As confusing and disturbing as her statement might have been, Carol wasn't going to refuse clothes.
"You mean this God Emperor can see the future?" Carol asked, unable to hide the doubt in her tone. Before Dominica could respond with more than a brief scowl, a golden glow engulfed Carol and her mind was flooded with images and memories.
She saw herself being dragged into this room, put into a trance by the light she could remember, but then… she was stripped, presented to some hideous snake-like creature, and found wanting.
She gasped as she watched herself die, tossed aside like garbage.
Then, the image changed and before she could be presented to the snake, word reached her captor of an attack, and he left, leaving her behind without a second thought.
"A vision from the God Emperor himself? Such a blessing," Dominica breathed as Carol blinked rapidly, her vision clearing.
She should have died here. Had this attack not happened, she'd have been murdered by her captor for failing to impress a fucking parasite.
"I… what happens now?" Carol asked, well aware of the power difference here.
"The God Emperor has plans for you, undoubtedly, but I do not know them. My mission is to rescue the captives and put down as many Goa'uld as possible," Dominica admitted with a bloodthirsty grin. "You are a solider, yes?"
"Senior Airman of the United States Air Force," Carol agreed, seeing the mild confusion on her saviours face before Dominica shrugged and pulled out a bulky looking pistol.
"Close enough. Take this Laspistol, shoot the ones in the golden snake armour," Dominica ordered bluntly, and Carol hesitated for just a moment.
A part of her said to point out that she wasn't in Dominica's chain of command, a US Air Force soldier shouldn't take orders from whoever Dominica was.
The bigger part of her said grab the gun and get some payback. She'd focus on getting home after she got out of here.
— Sister Valeria —
In truth, she could not help but doubt herself. Their mission was complete, they were supposed to pull back but was this not a chance to take Chulak for the God Emperor?
She felt his presence, warm and approving, and took a deep breath as she smiled. They may have gone beyond the boundaries of his plan, but he did not disapprove of their ambition.
Teal'c had helped them get to the caged prisoners, and she'd sent a small group of her Constantia Sisters to guide them back to safety, under the watchful eyes of the God Emperor, their faith helping them avoid any patrols as they extracted the targets.
But she was not satisfied. The cruelty and brazen audacity of the Goa'uld filled her with hatred, a rage that burned hotter than her flamer. It seemed that in every galaxy, humanity was beset upon by scum that would enslave and abuse them, and these Goa'uld deserved a thousand deaths for their crimes.
"Sister Valeria, we have put down the Jaffa resistance outside of Apophis' shelter. The false god cowers in his hole. Sister Dominica and her… liberal application of grenades has collapsed the tunnel Teal'c warned us about. Apophis is trapped," one of the Constantia reported, making her smile darkly.
Dominica had been sent away, but not before putting her impressive collection of explosives to use. Valeria was genuinely impressed that Dominica both carried so many, and was able to collapse the tunnels without bringing down the entire temple.
"He will have his most loyal men by his side. I suspect he has begun to doubt my loyalty in the passing months, which is why he sent me away," Teal'c explained, his no-nonsense attitude growing on her despite his heretical nature.
He'd be given a chance to learn before she judged him too harshly.
"Fifteen, most likely. They will have set up a defensive ring around him, aiming their Ma'Tok staffs at the doorway," Teal'c continued, making her nod in appreciation. "They will not falter, not in the presence of their God and his Queen. You will have to kill them all. He surrounds himself with the most devoted, even his death will not make their faith falter."
Impressive, if misplaced. A shame they would die serving a false god, but she simply nodded. It brought Teal'c no joy to make such claims, the deaths of his kin weighing heavy on his soul, but he was a pragmatic man.
They had broken some of the Jaffa Serpent Guard, as Apophis called his forces, but it made sense that the false god would surround himself with the most indoctrinated of his followers. Their deaths would be a necessary sacrifice to the enlightenment of their people.
Seeing the doorway that they had undoubtedly turned into a kill zone, she hesitated. Her armour was powerful, but could it withstand that many direct blasts? She would not see the treasured relic her God gave her damaged, it was worth more than her life.
What would Sister Dominica do in her position?
…pulling out a krak grenade, she tossed it through the doorway and listened to the panicked shouts for just a moment, the blast silencing them all. She was starting to understand why Dominica insisted on carrying so many.
Few situations could not be improved by reducing heretics to a fine paste on the walls and ceilings.
Shouting in the tongue of the Goa'uld reached her ears, the voice strained and panicked despite its best efforts to hide its fear, and she took that as her time to move.
Entering the room, she realised why Apophis sounded panicked as she looked at him desperately looking over the shredded body of the priestess that had carried his Queen. In their arrogance, the Goa'uld would not give one of their kara kesh to a mere Jaffa, not even one carrying his queen.
Which means, unlike him, she had no shield for the blast.
Apophis turned to her, rage and hatred on his face. The same face twisted in bafflement as she simply punched him in the nose, hard. The crunching told her she'd shattered his nose, squashing it into his face as she grabbed his arm and ruthlessly snapped it over her knee, ripping away his golden toy as he screamed.
"Shol'va!" Apophis spat out at Teal'c who watched with something that may just be satisfaction on his often blank face. "You will die for-"
Her knee silenced him as she brought his head down and slammed the armoured knee into his face, cracking his jaw and reducing the 'god' to pained whimpers.
In an act she would repent for later, she prayed to the one true God for a miracle. It was time for the people of Chulak to see their 'god' as the people of Delmak had seen Sokar.
Screaming as he burnt alive.
Despite the incredible audacity for a mere Sister to make a request of the God Emperor, Dorian's warmth filled her body and she knew he had accepted her brazen request.
— Dorian Morgan —
Man, we're just saying fuck canon today, huh?
I'll need to make some nudges to make sure that SG-1 still becomes a thing even after I fuck their Chulak mission to high hell and steal Teal'c for myself.
As Valeria gives her speech, I take a brief moment to pout. She's better at this than I was, her speech far more zealous than my own.
I do like the addition of having Teal'c be the one to fire the flamer, very damning for them to see one of their own, Apophis First, be the one to put down their false god.
Once more, I feel the wave of faith coming from Chulak thanks to the Jaffa culture of being stolen from one god to another. They served Cronos before Apophis showed up, and now they'll serve me.
But I intend to show them that I'm not nearly as weak as the others, and that means its my turn.
I've done the numbers, Egeria (once she was through gawking at my plan) and Calexa have done the science, and with the largest expenditure of energy yet, I cause Chulak to glow. I could have bought a lot of Sisters with this energy, but this is gonna be worth it.
Because I'm not just taking over the planet, I'm stealing the whole damn thing. I wish Cronos the best of luck in finding Chulak once Apophis' death reaches him, because I'm relocating the entire planet and its moon to the same solar system as Delmak.
Who's a false god now, bitches?
"By the stars…" Egeria breathes, the slightest sliver of faith coming from her as I let out a gasp of exertion. Worth it, as I feel the faith coming from Chulak triple.
Similar to Egeria, I feel a hint of faith coming from a much older being. It's just the slightest sliver, but it's there and coming from… another plane.
Ah, hello Ancients. I was wondering when you'd notice my mischief.
— Bonus Scene — Samantha Carter
"What's taking so long?" Colonel O'Neill asked, clearly impatient as she examined the Stargate.
"Are we sure Major Ferretti got the combination right?" Daniel asked, also impatient as he looked at the Stargate. She didn't blame him, given that his wife was hopefully at the address they were trying to connect to.
"I mean, it has to be right. The Stargate has connected to something," Sam pointed out, getting their attention. "If the Gate Address was wrong, we wouldn't connect at all. This is… well, honestly I don't know what this is."
In front of them, the Stargate hummed as the wormhole fluctuated and the symbols flashed. It was clearly doing something, but this was nothing like what she saw when it connected to Abydos or the reports from the earlier missions. The wormhole was unstable, fluctuating and shuddering.
"Captain. I need your professional opinion. Should we pull the plug?" General Hammond asked, making her hesitate as she turned back to it. Before she could open her mouth to respond, the Stargate settled down but they all froze in confusion.
Instead of the blue wormhole they were expecting, the gate had a golden wormhole instead, with a single symbol. A large black two-headed bird in the center of the iris.
Her mind raced as she tried to wonder what the hell she was looking at, but again she was interrupted as a booming female voice echoed throughout the gate room.
"By order of the God Emperor of Mankind, travel to Chulak has been forbidden from all planets outside of the Imperium of Man. For the crime of kidnapping the subjects of the God Emperor, the false god Apophis has been sentenced to death and his capital planet claimed for the Imperium. To all Goa'uld, know Apophis died screaming and that the rest of your kind will soon follow."
"We have a God Emperor? Why does nobody tell me these things?" Colonel O'Neill drawled, getting a look from General Hammond as the voice continued in what sounded like latin, but the meaning was lost on her.
"Some kind of message? I didn't know Stargates could be disabled," Daniel mumbled, a look of worry crossing his face.
"It could be a more advanced civilisation that has worked out how to reconfigure the gates," Sam pointed out, watching as they tested things and staring in disbelief as Jack threw something at the gate and it… bounced off.
They'd made the wormhole solid? Everything she knew about physics protested but their testing proved it to be true. The wormhole wasn't in the almost liquid state she'd seen before, but rock solid, a golden wall filling in the gate and denying entry.
"What did the message say at the end?" General Hammond asked, watching Daniel frown and scratch his chin as he tried to translate it.
"The wording was strange, but in Latin it roughly translated to 'Glory to Humanity, may His light shine upon all the stars,'" Daniel explained, watching as the gate shut down.
She stared at the Stargate as the arguments broke out, hearing Daniel and Colonel O'Neill pushing for them to find a way to head to the address, but her mind was elsewhere.
She was the closest thing the US Military had to a Stargate expert, and she was so laughably out of her depth it wasn't even funny.
It didn't take them long to work out that Apophis was almost certainly the alien that had kidnapped Senior Airman Weterings, from his markings and the fact that he was also named after an Egyptian God like Ra, and it sounded like he had crossed more than just Abydos and Earth.
Unless she was misinterpreting the message, there was another human civilisation out there… and they seemed laughably more advanced than them.
Whether for the sake of the missing Airman, the kidnapped people from Abydos, or just because it had become clear that ignoring the Stargate was no longer an option, it seemed that Stargate Command was officially going to become active again despite their first mission ending questionable at best.
General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson all had the same question. If Apophis had been dealt with, what happened to the people he'd kidnapped? They were still down Carol Weterings, Skaara and Sha're.
Still, one thing was clear. Earth had been noticed and they couldn't risk just burying the Gate and sticking their head in the sand.
Author's Note: I'm not sure what Dorian fucks harder, the Sisters of Battle or any semblance of canon.
Written: 07/06/2025