"I found Wagonbray, and I daresay Castiana and Sagal," Brunhilde greeted as she teleported me away.
"I'm here to hand over your fleet to you," the woman immediately responded.
"Ha, I'm sure you're interested. Much less detail than I am. You Asgardians are precise."
"And yet." Brunhilde pointed to the unfolding holographic projection, showing an incredible event. Ten light-seconds from Urvashi stood a 4-kilometer-long station, with five khattaks moored to it. "One Khasar station and five khattaks, two thousand gliders inside the ships, 30 alkesh in the station's docks, and 100 teltaks—also. All codes to the station have been transmitted. You can launch the station into orbit around the planet using your own sublight engines."
"I generally prefer the gray-green style, but you did consider the Goa'uld's 'golden' style, didn't you? So the Jaffa would believe it."
"Everything is done to all specifications."
"Excellent. By the way, the coordinates for Wagonbray were in the picture of Gawain's sword. I analyzed them, and geographically, Wagonbray is not far from Camelot. I figured Merlin was building the Empire of Camelot, and he needed planets located close enough. He couldn't let the Goa'uld decipher everything with the fleet. The Empire had to be localized." I showed the star map on the holographic display, then drew a straight line from Camelot to Wagonbray. "And you know what? I tried several combinations, a simple brute force analysis. Thanks to the Ancient knowledge you gave me, I was able to form two addresses, and look what happened."
I formed an equilateral tetrahedron.
"I'm guessing this is the Empire of Camelot. Or rather, its ruins. After all, their rulers never returned. We can check the rest."
"You were given the fleet, and you are interested in solving charades."
"I'll play with it, of course, but these are regular Hattakis, not Beleskiner."
"You will never get an Asgard ship."
"That's what I'm saying, there's nothing special about hattaks, but about charades…"
"Fine, if it's for a few hours," Brunhilda agreed. "Just take your fleet."
"It'll only get more fun from here. I'll explain to the Jaffa where I got him from. But that's my problem."
"Why did you ask for a space station? Especially such a big one?"
"For defense and internal logistics. Antigravity shipyards can be attached to the hangars, redirecting energy from the antigravity engines to the shield generators and atmosphere. Improved logistics operations can be consolidated to a single point from which ships or teleportation can be launched. You're not going to give me a second beam teleport, are you?"
"No." Brunhilde was adamant. When she was retrieving the equipment from Merlin's Cave, I convinced the Asgard Council that Earth was too far from my sphere of interest, that I was simply trading there, and that I needed logistical simplification. I said I desperately needed a beam teleporter. They could have imposed a billion restrictions, as long as it worked with inanimate matter (and food). After much debate, they finally gave me a sealed container, installed by the Asgard, with instructions and a list of restrictions. In short, nothing was allowed except the movement of goods from pre-designated warehouses to Merlin's Cave. People were not allowed to be moved, at all. Food was allowed. All logistical problems on Earth simply collapsed. Due to the simplified logistics, and also because my crop yield had now increased fivefold, I could supply food to Israel and Latin America at below-market prices. They, in turn, were happy to be able to pressure counterparties who were inflating prices.
"So, a space shipyard has advantages. For example, greater security, the presence of station-wide shields, personnel entry and exit records, teleportation analyzers, and much more."
"You shouldn't tell an Asgardian about spaceships. We used them before the first Goa'uld emerged from the lake. It's just that everyone of your kind prefers to use either ground-based shipyards or antigravity ones."
"Yeah, and deliver all the materials on carts. I have a question: sometimes I wonder—how do we fly into space?"
"This question is of interest to all of Asgard."
I'll have to install new programs in the ships, format everything the little grey men installed to purge any hidden programs and install my own. However, first I need to look at what the Asgard installed and how it all interacts. After all, I'll be modifying my ships; I can't allow a horde of SGC woodpeckers to wander through my ships like they're their own.
We beamed onto the command bridge of Hasar Station. It was 4 kilometers long, had 200 heavy plasma cannons, and five shields. Actually, it wasn't a negotiating station at all; it was a supply station, built to ward off the Asgard fleets they'd fought thousands of years ago. Later, they were used as staging areas for fleets heading deeper into other Goa'uld territory. Hasar Station can accommodate up to 100,000 personnel and passengers. No, the station can't travel into hyperspace, but it can serve as a logistical hub. The most common complication of space warfare is running out of food. Jaffa eat more than humans, and space warfare requires a lot of food, since so many Jaffa are used.
For example, Ra and Apophis are currently deploying tens of millions of soldiers, like World War II, only in space, and weeks away in hyperspace. So such stations were a short logistical link for forces fighting on the front lines. Destroying such a station is a logical solution, and the Goa'uld aren't stupid enough to reject it. However, the forces and resources required for such an operation are estimated at 10-15 Huttaks. Moreover, the station has good sensor equipment; it can begin sending distress signals even before these ships have traveled halfway.
The end result will be a bloodbath. Even a small fleet of 5 Hattaks, like mine, can withstand a Lord's fleet of 30 ships. It won't last long, with losses, but the Lord won't be pleased with the final loss report. Specifically, he won't be pleased that he's been reduced from a "Lord" to a "Junior Lord," and that his neighbors have begun moving their ships to seize his planets. A System Lord could lose so many ships; of course, it would be annoying, but he can afford it. The main thing is, not now—80% of Apophis and Ra's forces are busy settling their differences.
There would be many logistical operations to refurbish the station and ships in the future, but that would come later. For now, I could enjoy myself. Sitting on the command throne, I allowed the neural interface to activate, analyzing all the tactical data and marveling at the power I now wielded.
"Yes, I wonder if that's a male trait or a Goa'uld trait? The desire to possess the most powerful weapon to prove one's dominance?" I asked Brunhilde.
"The Asgardians are above this."
"So, Thor wouldn't like to have an even more powerful ship?" I asked her ironically, considering O'Neill, it didn't sound so good.
"No comments".