"This is outrageous! I had nothing to do with this!" Indra screamed over the comm.
"Lord Indra, are you telling me that by some incredible coincidence, an ashrak ended up on the only planet I attacked with a hundred Jaffa, Nirrti? And this despite the fact that it was you who insisted on attacking that planet. Don't you dare call me a fool! If an ashrak had ended up on any of the planets I chose, you wouldn't have any suspicions. But no, it seems both you and Nirrti consider me an idiot who can be manipulated with impunity."
- I…
"Silence!" "The ability to silence a Goa'uld at least three thousand years older than you is quite valuable." "I'm not interested in your excuses. Know this: you will never be able to hire me again, and anyone who wants to hire me to attack you will receive a 25% discount. This is the end of our relationship, Lord Indra."
The connection was interrupted.
"You're growing," Egeria praised me.
Meanwhile, I removed my helmet. My losses amounted to 94 Jaffa, twenty of which were killed by that damned Ashrak. Those creatures were certainly worth their weight in gold, but I needed to demonstrate my ability to stand firm on principle. I also needed an air transport, similar to jumpers. However, I lack the technology to build such miniature engines, so I'll have to make the entire rear section a solid engine, possibly increasing it to 10-12 meters to accommodate the landing force. I haven't done this before because I don't know what clearance such a tool would have. The countermeasure to my airfield strikes is simple: place a shield over the airfield, position it a good distance from the gate, and disperse it. If the enemy has aircraft, the landing force will be as worthless as the dead. In the 21st century, the VDV is merely a tool for fighting the natives, because no government with a decent air defense system (or even Stingers) would allow large aircraft to land troops. And low-flying helicopters are incapable of transporting large numbers of soldiers behind enemy lines. The VDV's swan song was during the Vietnam War. Before that, I used the tactic of surprise airdrops on the enemy precisely for the sake of strategic decapitation.
That is, the tactics of special forces. So I pondered the usefulness of such tools, but experience has shown me wrong. Each cohort needs several transport helicopters, as well as units capable of airlifting troops behind enemy lines. Typically, my new iteration of the VDV should be linked to Hattacks and deployed via drop pods. To be honest, instead of men, they could have been loaded with explosives. I passed this tactic on to the Tollans so they could come up with a countermeasure. After all, they need to be fully prepared. The Goa'uld have an air of nobility, and that's why there's a Code of War, which, by the way, I haven't violated. Even with bombs and napalm. Because these weapons can't be classified as something that can cause irreparable damage to infrastructure. But a similar weapon was used against me—a Nirrti bomb. Technically, this frees me up, of course, not to completely destroy the entire Nirrti domain with thermonuclear bombs. No, otherwise, the crazy Goa'uld would have destroyed each other long ago. The Laws and Codes of War dictate: "An eye for an eye, an eye for a tooth." When someone uses a weapon of mass destruction, the injured party is allowed to use a comparable weapon, and as many times as it was used against them.
"I don't know how to classify this remark: as a compliment or as disappointment that I'm becoming more and more like a Goa'uld.
Before Egeria could respond, one of the Jaffa women coordinating communications approached me.
"We received a message from the team that was supposed to eliminate Raiden. Ten minutes ago, they successfully opened the gate and deployed the bomb."
Oh, and more about tradition! I think everyone understands that the Goa'uld are actually capable of destroying each other's gates with bombs? It's forbidden. And if the SGC had actually used a gate-destroying weapon against the Goa'uld, or if those alternate universe scenarios had repeated themselves, with O'Neill sending a bomb to Chulak, then Earth would have faced a very bad ending. Yes, worse than it ultimately turned out to be. Earth survived because there were always things that worried the Goa'uld more than Earth. So, sending a bomb through a gate for a Goa'uld is equivalent to being labeled "Excomunicatedo" in the John Wick universe.
And for an alien race that attacked the Goa'uld like that... Extermination. However, I did violate the rules, because I sent a bomb through a gate, yes, but that gate was on board a ship, and the ship was destroyed. The rules don't stipulate that. For example, Nirrti could have declared that suicide bombing was the Ashrak's decision, but she gave him a bomb to blow up, say, my residence. And the force of the explosion wouldn't have damaged any usable infrastructure. Yes, sending bombs through the gate is forbidden, but carrying them through and planting them in vulnerable areas is theoretically possible, unless, of course, they're naquadah mines and shipyards. Generally speaking, an explosion as a political assassination is acceptable, or as a strike against the Jaffa. But there are still numerous clauses and interpretations of the laws that allow Ra, for example, to manipulate this understanding. Most (except the Tok'ra, who would be killed anyway) try to avoid it altogether. Basically, I fulfilled the contract, I'll report to the client, and I'll get my payment. Unless, of course, he decides to frame me. Incidentally, I charged much less for the assassination than for the Ashrak—that damned monopolist, Selket. She might think that we are competitors, and then she will send ashraks to me on an industrial scale.
"Noted." The woman returned to her seat and began processing the information. "I haven't recalled my troops from across the galaxy yet, as I could still receive an order." "Do you think I should send a message to Nirrti not to mess with me, or not?"
"This is an extremely broad concept, but the answer must be proportionate and concise.
- Yes, destroying her genetic program for producing a supercarrier would be, at the very least, excessive.
"What?" The shock in Egeria's eyes was obvious.
"Oh, yes, on the planet Hanka, she's running a genetic program to create a supercarrier, also capable of telekinesis. It's a good thing I was smart enough to use invisibility while exploring that planet. Nirrti must spend a lot of time there to monitor the experiment, so maybe I could even kill her. But I don't need that yet, otherwise I'd "theoretically" have to deal with this circus."
"And you'd also become the youngest System Lord in history. Although you're right, no one would have allowed you to do that. Can I get the data on these genetic studies?"
"Her lab is located in the forest. A hypnotic program is installed in teenagers: they go into the forest at puberty. Perhaps this genetic programming has been going on for some time. I didn't try to break into the lab, as life is precious. But I did collect a few samples from the locals."
"That's good. If we really need to eliminate her, we know where to find her."
— And take the results of the experiment.
"It seems you enjoy robbing Goa'ulds as much as I do."
"Don't flatter yourself, everyone likes it. Look how people, including you, pounced on the Germans' research."
"Knowledge must be shared. If it serves only a privileged few, stagnation ensues. I know how it will be: in less than 30 years, the grateful population of Urvashi will ask both Isara and me to leave, as we may have reached the limits of our competence. Then we will suffer the fate of the British royal family, except perhaps with control of the armed forces and navy. The more wealthy the average person is, the more ideas they have for improving their situation. Those who advance civilization are doomed to be rejected by it. And to deny this is to go against social evolution."
"Doesn't this bother you at all?" Egeria asked.
"Not at all. After all, that's the price of progress. My students' generation will grow up and eclipse my engineering achievements, so much so that I won't even be able to keep up with them. My students' gratitude lies in the fact that they'll surpass me. It's even a bit offensive, should I name some units of measurement after myself?"
"I think they will remember that they live in the House of Sarehan anyway."
- Oh yeah, I still have to read all the reports and name those who deserved a last name.
— It is the leader's duty to reward and punish.
- And this improves loyalty.