EV: Chapter 26

Wusun was a planet of steppes and mountains. It was largely agricultural in the steppes, but also produced a decent tithe of both Naquadah and Trinium from mines in the mountains. The locals were an interesting mix of people. Both Cronus and my Uncle had put settlers here, with my Uncle's Han-descended Settlers living largely on the eastern edge of the Steppes, where a great river flowed into the ocean after rising in the Mountains that ran along the center of the large continent that made up the primary landmass of Wusun. There, they cultivated large amounts of rice and millet. Meanwhile, Cronus' Hellenic-descended settlers lived primarily in the foothills of the Mountains, pulling large amounts of metal and stone out of the mines.

Neither were the original settlers, however. The Original Settlers had been placed during the Latter Days of the First Goa'uld Dynasty by the Goa'uld Tapati and were descendants of an Indo-Iranian Saka Tribe that had been plucked off the Eurasian Steppes in the days before the Taur'i Revolt kicked them off Earth and transplanted to a number of worlds in what is now disputed territory between my Uncle and Cronus. Tapati was long dead, of course, slain during the internecine fighting that followed the Collapse of the First Goa'uld Dynasty following the destruction of the Imperial House and its government during the Seven Battles of Nilor against the Asgard. However, the Original Settlers still lived on Wusun, mostly in the deep Steppes, where they herded cattle, horses, and sheep.

Because of that, the Original Settlers were, ironically, the one constant throughout all the turbulent fighting over Wusun that occurred through the millennia. It was always more of a priority for my Uncle or Cronus to reduce the settlements that were planted by each other, instead of chasing down a group of nomads whose Goddess was long dead, and thus, unable to be a rival in the here and now. It was something of a mistake in strategy, I calculated. While the Original Settlers of Wusun may not be targeted by various attacks, they also were not courted, either, largely for the same reasons. Their Goddess being dead also meant that she could not be an ally, just as much as the fact that she could not be a rival.

I, on the other hand, did not intend to make that same mistake. My initial plan for the planetary invasion of Wusun relied a fair amount on having local scouts that knew both the territory of Cronus' Settlements and those that belonged to descendants of my Uncle's Settlers. After all, the Original Settlers emerged from the Deep Steppe regularly to trade the products of their herds with the more settled peoples. They knew the layouts of Hellenic Settlements just as much as they knew the layouts of Han Settlements. Plus, their mounts would allow them to swiftly reconnoiter areas and return to tell my forces about them far more easily than my Jaffa could under fire. I planned to court them just as much as I did my Uncle's transplanted Han Settlers.

Of course, before I could do any of that, I had to clear Orbit first. That would be a task for my fleet, which should be fairly easy. Save for the small shipyard and fleet outpost on the Moon of Yili, which had a squadron of Al'kesh Gunships and a single Ha'tak Battlecruiser, the fleet presence of Cronus' Forces at Wusun should be minimal. After all, it wasn't as if he knew we were coming, now was it? I was willing to bet that we would face perhaps as many as two Ha'tak Battlecruisers and nine Al'kesh Gunships to clear orbit. Given how I was bringing eight of my Ha'tak Battlecruisers, eight Long-class Cruisers, and sixteen Al'kesh Gunships, this should be a walkover, even if the Underlord present at the Base committed to fighting instead of surrendering.

"Remind me. Who is the Underlord we are going to be facing again?" I questioned Chen from my spot in the command throne of the Pel'tac of the Xiaotian Quan.

"Coeus, My Lord." Answered Chen.

"The Questioner?" I queried, intrigued.

"The same, My Lord." Affirmed Chen.

"That's an odd choice for an underlord on a disputed border that may be attacked at any time." I mused.

"As you say, My Lord. It doesn't seem the optimal choice." Agreed Chen.

That was an understatement. Coeus was, of all of the surviving Descendants of Ouranos, one of the ones who was most prone to reason and logic in most things. He was not the sort of Goa'uld who would, when confronted by an enemy fleet that he couldn't beat, fight on when he could simply surrender. Oh, for certain, Coeus wouldn't surrender immediately. Even for someone that prone to rational thought, he was still a member of Ouranos' Brood, and that meant that he had the same flaw as their progenitor, that of Pride. It just wasn't the suicidal kind, unlike his kinsman, Cronus, who was known to fight until he couldn't fight any more rather than to surrender to his enemies while he could still so much as stab a knife into someone. Coeus would fight for long enough that his honor was satisfied and then surrender.

"Do you think perhaps that Cronus is attempting to rid himself of other Titans?" I asked.

"I am sure I wouldn't know, My Lord. It is not my place to speculate." Demurred Chen.

"And if I made you speculate?" I questioned.

"If you ordered me to? It might be plausible. The latest intelligence reports passed along by Canens' people indicate that Cronus has been placing his own Children in as many Underlord Positions as he can." Informed Chen.

"Yes, he has, hasn't he? And of course, Cronus' domain works largely off of autocracy. He doesn't have a well-developed Bureaucracy like we do, instead, he appoints underlords for every planet outside of his core territory." I remarked.

"What are you thinking, My Lord?" Queried Chen.

"I am thinking that we can use this to our advantage. If Cronus is attempting a subtle purge of any potential challengers in his domain, then we may be able to use that fact to raise a large rebellion within his territory. One that might even keep Cronus busy for years if we're lucky." I answered,

"Could we find proof of this to convince them with?" Asked Chen.

"Perhaps. It is Cronus, after all. He isn't as subtle as many other System Lords. We would do well to keep that in mind when assailing the disputed territories." I intoned.

"I will let the Primes know to capture as many comms devices intact as possible during our campaign, My Lord." Nodded Chen.

"Excellent. Now, I believe we are close to our destination, are we not?" I questioned.

"We should arrive at Wusun in fifteen standard minutes, My Lord." Confirmed Chen.

"Very Good. Sound battlestations. I want the fleet to emerge from Hyperspace ready for anything, just in case of a trap." I ordered.

"You believe this to be such a trap, My Lord?" Queried Chen.

"When dealing with odd occurrences, it is best to be prepared for anything, wouldn't you agree?" I asked.

"Of course, My Lord. It will be done." Saluted Chen.

Odd choice of Underlord aside, this could all be a coincidence. After all, Coeus was close enough in blood among the Children of Ouranos to Cronus to merit such a position. They were cousins, if I recall correctly, though not first cousins. It could just be an attempt to get a highly-ranked relative into a position further away from his core territory where he couldn't muck up any of Cronus' central planning. Hell, it could just be that Cronus had finally taken one too many dips into a Sarcophagus and tilted over the edge into instability. There had been rumors that he had been riding that line for years, after all.

The best-case scenario was that this was something like I had theorized. Something exploitable. The worst-case scenario was that this was a trap, and I would be emerging from Hyperspace into an ambush or something. Most likely, it was neither, and just a quirk of circumstance. Either way, the fleet would be ready. Fifteen minutes later, we emerged from Hyperspace, already alert and ready to find which case we were dealing with. Thankfully, it wasn't an ambush. No ships were waiting for us, and no mines impacted our shields with explosive force. Whether this was the best case scenario or not remained to be seen.

"Movement at the Yili Fleet Base!" Called out Shun from the Comms Unit.

"How many ships are we dealing with?" I questioned.

"Looks like one Ha'tak Battlecruiser and five Al'kesh Gunships." Informed Shun.

"Scan for other ships." I ordered.

"The entire system, My Lord?" Queried Shun.

"No. That will take time I am not certain we have. Focus your efforts on the other side of the System's Star. We should have scan capability that far, thanks to my modifications and the Hebridan technology." I commanded.

"Scanning now, My Lord." Affirmed Shun.

"In the meantime, keep on our original heading. If they intend to pincer us, they will require time to complete the maneuver around the System's Star." I insisted.

"You believe that Coeus will attempt to parlay to buy that time?" Asked Chen.

"I would in his position." I nodded.

As the minutes ticked down, the fleet closed in on the intercepting Ha'tak and Al'kesh flotilla. Further Scans revealed the Ha'tak to be the Koan Dóry, Coeus' Flagship. That meant that the Questioner was coming to parlay personally. Falsely, of course, but then, the Goa'uld didn't exactly have an equivalent to the Geneva Conventions on Earth that would forbid Perfidy like that. Hell, I was pretty sure that at this point, I was the only System Lord who hadn't committed a War Crime. Even my Uncle probably had done an ethnic cleansing or two in his day. I couldn't imagine that he had always held onto his belief in enlightened self-interest by benevolent rule, especially not during the desperate days of the Anubis War, when he wouldn't have had the luxury of forgoing such things.

As we got closer, however, the scanning range to try and find any ships trying to flank us narrowed as well. By the time we had crossed have the distance between our Hyperspace Egress and Coeus' intercepting flotilla, Shun called out from his place at the Comms Station, drawing my attention to the scans once more.

"We have a scan of another enemy Flotilla attempting to make its way around the System's Star to our flank, My Lord!" Called out Shun.

"How many ships and of what type?" I questioned.

"One Ha'tak Battlecruiser and four Al'kesh Gunships, My Lord." Answered Shun.

"Do we have a positive identification on the Ha'tak?" Queried Chen.

"I believe so. . .yes! It appears to be the Tártarou Lepída." Informed Shun.

"Erebus' Ship. He's an Uncle of Cronus', which lends further credence to this being a stealth purge." I mused.

"Orders, My Lord?" Asked Chen.

"If we have a scan, we should be able to acquire a target lock. Have the Hēilóng, Tiānlóng, Hélóng, Huánglóng, Lánlóng, and Shānlóng acquire target locks and prepare to fire an alpha strike when the flanking ships come into range. Two Cruisers on the Tártarou Lepída, the rest on the Al'kesh. The sooner we defeat the pincer attack, the sooner that Coeus will offer terms." I commanded.

"Of course, My Lord. You don't believe the planet will surrender, though, do you?" Questioned Chen.

"I do not. It is likely that both of Coeus' Daughters will be on-planet to take charge of the defense. Leto and Asteria will both continue the fight even despite their father's capture. Asteria will be more difficult to defeat than Leto, but not by much. I am actually expecting Yuezhi to be far more formidably defended." I responded.

"Why would that be, My Lord?" Queried Chen.

"Cronus' Nephew Pallas is the Underlord there. He has a reputation as a renowned commander. I am very much looking forward to facing off against him." I answered with a grin.

"My Lord, we are being hailed!" Informed Shun.

"About time. On screen." I ordered.

The Vocu'ume Projector roared to life, and the brown-bearded face of a man in armored robes filled the screen. He had streaks of grey in his beard, but it was unmistakably Coeus the Questioner, Underlord of Wusun. It seemed he was going to need a change of host soon if he did not get access to a Sarcophagus or Healing Device to extend this one's lifespan. Normally, he would have access to something like that, that he did not was, seemingly, further proof that we had caught Cronus in the middle of a subtle purge of potential rivals.

"Erlang Shen. The newest System Lord. Why have you crossed the border? Surely you must realize my kinsman Cronus will crush you when he finds out?" Asked Coeus.

"I did not cross the border alone, Coeus. My Uncle comes with me. Were are here to take back worlds that rightfully belong to the Blood of Fuxi." I intoned.

"I see. Then this is a full-scale war. Ra will be most displeased, I do not think this will end well for either you or your Uncle. You would be wise to turn your fleet around and spare yourself the wrath of the Supreme System Lord." Tried Coeus.

"Ra is in seclusion, Coeus. None have been able to reach him on Abydos, even in an emergency. If he is still keeping an eye on the Empire, he is doing so from enough of a distance that we will be long finished by the time he returns. You should do yourself a favor and surrender. You are outmatched." I offered.

"Perhaps, but I have a few strategems yet to play." Hedged Coeus.

"If you are referring to Erebus' Flotilla attempting to flank me from around the System's Star, you will find that your strategem is not as foolproof as you believe it to be." I intoned.

Coeus' eyes widened at that, but it was too late to recall Erebus now, as his flotilla finally reappeared on the other side of the System's Star just in time for Six of my Long-class Cruisers to open fire on the supposed surprise flank attack. The Al'kesh melted away under a withering barrage of intense Rotary Staff Cannon Fire, and the Tártarou Lepída stalled under the hail of gunfire. Coeus immediately attempted to scatter his own formation, but it was all for naught. My Eight Ha'tak Battlecruisers and my remaining two Long-class Cruisers, screened by Sixteen Al'kesh Gunships, immediately opened fire. The Xiaotian Quan scored the first hits on the Koan Dóry as Coeus tried desperately to maneuver out of the kill-box.

It was all for naught, and within one and a half hours, even despite a surprise sortie of five squadrons of Ptah-class Fighters from the Yili Fleet Base and Shipyard, it was clear who the victor of this space battle was. All of Coeus' Al'kesh had been wiped from space, Erebus' Ha'tak, the Tártarou Lepída, had been boarded and captured, and Coeus' Ha'tak, the Koan Dóry, was dead in space. Erebus himself had been captured along with his Ha'tak and was currently in a holding cell on his own ship. One hour and Ten Minutes Later, Coeus surrendered after we had finally shot off the last of the Koan Dóry's Staff Cannons, using our ability to precision target our own weaponry to make a point.

Two hours after the Fleet Battle began, we had secured control of Orbit, the Yili Fleet Base surrendering after being forced to do so by Coeus, as I had made him give the order in exchange for accepting his surrender. Honestly, with such a disparity of firepower and fleet ability between us, there really was no other way this could have ended but in a victory. Hell, we hadn't even had any ships damaged badly enough that they couldn't be repaired as is. Now, all that was left was to invade Wusun itself.

I didn't know it at the time, but My Uncle had also managed an easy victory at Kangju against Iapetus. Of course, Kangju was also better defended, so he would be attacking the Planet for longer than I would be attacking Wusun, most likely. In the end, however, I estimated that we would both have conquered our initial targets by the time that Cronus managed to put together a counterattack. Now, I just had to see my estimate through and actually invade the planet itself. I would be going down in one of our very few Attack Configuration Tel'tacs with the first wave, though I would not be headed straight into battle.

Instead, I would be conducting diplomacy with the Nomads of the Steppe, courting the Original Settlers of Wusun into being the key to a speedy victory on the ground. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, I promised you guys I'd have this out today, and I kept that promise. Here we have the space battle of Wusun and the initial situation as of Lord Yu and Erlang Shen's attack on Cronus. Notably, all the names of Underlords in Cronus' Domain are Non-Olympian Greek Deities. Titans, Primordial Gods, and Children of Titans, for the most part. No Olympians, as Zeus rebelled against Cronus successfully for a few centuries, resulting in Cronus wiping out all of the Olympians in a Civil War. No Prometheus, either, though the reason for that will be revealed later on.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve Erlang Shen meeting the Tribal Chiefs of the Original, Saka-descended, Settlers of Wusun and negotiating their allegiance so he can use them as cavalry scouts that won't automatically be attacked by the enemy because of how inconsequential they generally are in border wars. I'll also have a few images out before then of the various Goa'uld present on Wusun.

Stay tuned. . .