"Phaeron, deployment is on schedule," Krell reported. "It will be complete in two hours, by morning local time."
I nodded and continued drinking my coffee, peering at the satellite map. Dots on the screen danced chaotically across the capital—the only major city—while the countryside remained eerily calm. The orbital scans flashed with the symbols denoting Jaffa strongholds. This served as silent testimony to their defeat. Of course, a single bomb couldn't wipe out a thousand people. There would always be survivors who, realizing the chaos, would try to change cover. They would be even easier to cover. We have various types of munitions, including incendiary ones. A deadly cocktail of a conventional bomb and napalm would be dropped on every stronghold immediately. For fun. And to reduce the number of those who could continue to resist. Once the outskirts were cleared of the Jaffa, we could begin an aerial blockade of the capital.
The plateau was divided into several zones: landing, takeoff, equipment, control, and the gate. Impeccable logistics ensured smooth operations. Once everything was in place, we activated the gate to transfer the gliders to Urvashi. My twenty-four gliders, meanwhile, began the protracted bombardment phase. I sent an encrypted order via satellite, and dots appeared on all pilots' screens—key Jaffa bases in the city. To minimize civilian casualties, the city was bombed with hundreds of lightweight, one-hundred-kilogram bombs. These could be carried in large numbers on an aircraft.
The beacons had been placed by local partisans. They resembled ordinary stones tuned to a specific frequency. Now they were broadcasting their location. I didn't want to damage the homes of those I was trying to save, so I established contact with underground cells to stay informed of what was happening. The pilots whose gliders were being sent to Cheops for refitting were resting. I allowed each pilot only two bombing sorties, after which they would be replaced by the next one. In essence, I had turned bombing into a conveyor belt. I may not have been a genius of military tactics, but ever since school, where we studied Ford, we knew: the conveyor belt is man's greatest invention since the wheel.
I figured that at a certain point, the asura garrison would realize my strikes were too precise. And then the variable would become unpredictable. I remember Teal'c being told that Apophis is omniscient. Considering that my forces are Goa'uld, they might decide they're fighting a similarly omniscient god. Or they might act rationally and disperse throughout the city, among the civilians' homes. In that case, I would immediately cease the bombardment, establish surveillance of the city, and, as soon as the asura units begin to emerge, launch an immediate retaliatory strike.
The deployment affected not only the gliders but also the drones transported by the Teltak. They contained radios and a holographic recording. It stated that the god Tsatekh (I needed a pseudonym so Indra and Vritra wouldn't look for me)—a friend of the goddess Indra—had come to free Pragia from the golden god Vritra and that he needed help. It also stated that the magical chariots contained magical stones with a single button, and if they spotted asuras, they were to warn me by pressing the button and reporting their number and location—so that the wrath of the heavens would strike the servants of the evil god. The drones were still imperfect, so there were only a few of them, but they cut down on the time. All requests were processed automatically.
"Phaeron, what will happen if the asuras don't leave the city?" Krell was intrigued.
To paraphrase from Jaffa into plain English: "Okay, we've killed about twenty-one to twenty-two thousand. How are you going to destroy the rest?" However, even destroying that many enemy forces without losses is already an impressive result. And I intend to continue without taking any losses. However, this does not mean there will be no casualties among the inhabitants of this planet. From a rational-egoistic standpoint, my Jaffa are a non-renewable resource. Killing them for the sake of the Prakitins, when they have shown no desire to change their "religion," is irrational. Besides, there is nothing interesting in terms of resources or technology. So, instead of bombing, I will soon be dumping hundreds of containers. The intars of a stunned Jaffa will be easier to deal with. Intars are shaped like a crossbow with a single trigger. Even an idiot could figure it out. I'll also make an announcement along the lines of: "Your goddess is watching you fight." Will there be civilian casualties? Yes, and significant ones, but they will be equalized in long-range weapons. It's worth doing. Once most of the gliders are reassembled, we can launch a massive raid. All the necessary equipment is ready—we just need to strike and deploy troops with a huge amount of equipment, supporting the rebels with fire from the gliders and Teltak. I'll also provide them with communications support, indicating where the threat will come from. Creating hundreds of localized points of resistance will force the Jaffa to disperse. They'll have an army in the city, and urban combat is the most difficult. And no matter how experienced the Jaffa, when they start shooting at you from the rooftops, it's hard. There's also fighting in narrow streets, where the staff becomes less effective for obvious reasons of length. It won't be a walk in the park, but it will definitely be tense.
"I will give Indra's servants what they so desire: the opportunity to serve their god. I will give them intars, communication systems, and knives."
Krell's eyes widened. He realized what I was up to. He was starting to get smart.
"Will you allow the slaves to fight?"
"They're Indra's slaves. Not to mention that the Intars will stop working whenever I want. Also, technically, this will be a victory in a battle in which not a single one of my Jaffa perishes, despite the enemy outnumbering us 140 to 1. This is cause for celebration. We'll get all the weapons and supplies the Asuras have. Furthermore, you and the rest of my army's commanders will direct Indra's slaves into battle using drones and communications."
"That's quite… insightful," Krel chose his words carefully.
"Speak!"
"I'm afraid others might start saying that we fight from afar, which is not honorable." And classic Jaffa honor... it's the same as Klingon honor.
"There's little honor in a senseless death without benefit to your god. Thanks to this, I've acquired 74 gliders and will acquire more without losing anything. That's the honor—serving your god with maximum efficiency." Oh, how tired I am of constantly being told they serve me out of religious worship. So I'm tempted to switch to proper combat units. But that's still a long way off.
After which I continued to calmly sip my coffee. It was top-notch, and thanks to my Latin American allies, I could indulge in a little decadence. Well, I'm allowed to. I just introduced twenty thousand people to napalm. Oh, and there are small Jaffa detachments, leaving the city at regular intervals, using horses. Most likely a reconnaissance force. It doesn't really matter, though. When there are no buildings nearby that can destroy them, I'll strike with napalm. One bomb, and that's it. The Jaffa's line tactics are failing them. However, there's no need to be arrogant. The humans abandoned line tactics only during the First World War, because of the machine gun. That was 30 years ago. In the timescale of the System Lords, that's five minutes ago. Plus, let's be honest, the Goa'uld have alcoholics, not homeless people like me, but normal ones. In exactly this situation, the Asura, only other Goa'uld, wouldn't have given much thought to preserving the city. Or maybe they did, but they had no problem burning a couple hundred thousand of their Jaffa. Urban warfare is expensive in terms of manpower. And I doubt any Goa'uld would invest that many people in capturing a planet without naquadah. They'd be better off taking advantage of the 70,000 missing somewhere near Vritra in the right directions and striking there. Fighting for naquadah or for production. Honestly, I still don't know why she's digging that mine. Maybe she's crazy? Not uncommon among Goa'uld.