EV: Interlude: The System Lords React to Erlang Shen's Promotion

As the proclamation by Lord Yu that he was promoting his Nephew and Former Grand Chancellor to the Rank of System Lord, the reaction was somewhat mixed. He had obtained Amaterasu's backing for the move, and technically, he only needed one other System Lord to second the motion for it to be carried to a vote. Unfortunately, with Ra indisposed, a simple majority would carry the day without Ra to exercise his veto. With Moloc yet to be replaced, that meant that for the motion to carry, the motion required eight votes from the remaining System Lords. It would be even less if there were abstentions, which was guaranteed to come from at least Heru'ur, as the Warmaster of Ra was busily crushing the Hak'tyll Rebellion that Moloc had failed to deal with and which had caused Ra to wipe Moloc from the face of the Galaxy.

The votes would be transmitted via Hyperspace Communications and tabulated by the systems of the Hasara Space Station. In such a manner, it would be impossible to cheat, as only Ra himself knew the specifics of how the Station's Systems were programmed, making tampering with the vote tallies impossible for anyone else without taking apart the Station. That was something that would immediately cause every other System Lord to gang up on the System Lord who attempted it, as the Neutrality of Hasara Station was one of the two things keeping the Empire together, along with Ra's will.

Hasara Station itself was from an older time. It was one of the few remaining pieces of infrastructure left over from the High First Goa'uld Dynasty. Before the Asgard had returned to the Milky Way and destroyed the Emperor Shu along with the entire First Dynasty in the Seven Battles of Nilor. It was from before the destructive series of Civil Wars culminating in the rise of the Traitor Anubis as well. It had been built as part of the building spree commemorating the rise of the Goa'uld in the aftermath of the dissolving of the Alliance of Four Great Races that had previously been masters of the Galaxy. In the period just after the Ancients had disappeared, the Furlings had died out, the Nox withdrew into isolation, and the Asgard retreated from the Milky Way, leaving the Goa'uld to flourish in their place.

The secret code of the systems had been passed on from ruler to ruler, dynasty to dynasty, until Ra had taken his place as Supreme System Lord. Since only Ra knew how the systems were programmed, it was the perfect neutral site for the fractious System Lords. One of a very few that existed, and the only one that was at least somewhat out of Ra's Control, given how the Hasara System lay on the borders between Ra, Heru'ur, and Morrigan's Domains instead of entirely within Ra's Domain, such as the Capital World of the Empire, Men-Nefer, or the Great Repository of Khemenu, where any Goa'uld in the Empire was allowed to walk and look through the gathered records of the Empire.

As the vote began, however, each System Lord weighed the pros and cons of allowing a new member among their ranks in their own way. Each would need to carefully consider this before voting one way or another. It was thought that self-interest would rule the day, in the end.

How the final vote turned out would surprise many in the Galaxy. . .

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Amaterasu was an obvious yes, based on how she had seconded Lord Yu's Proposal, and so many would assume that Camulus and Svarog would refuse, simply based on their opposition to Amaterasu. Indeed, while Camulus voted against on principle, Svarog had other concerns which would see his vote cast in such a way that would see a rift begin to form in their alliance. Indeed, Svarog would vote for the motion, something that confused many other System Lords, not least among them his alliance partner, Camulus.

In reality, Svarog had received a message from an unexpected source. His Daughter Mokosh was not only alive, but had been freed from Canoptic Imprisonment in the Borderlands by Erlang Shen's Campaigns. Mokosh had always been Abnormal, but if Svarog could be said to have a weakness, it was sentimentality for his brood. Even though she had been Abnormal, Svarog could not have executed his daughter in such a way. Instead, he had banished her to the Borderlands, never to return to the Empire, a move which Ra, who had been dealing with issues arising from his defeat at the hands of the Asgard, had approved.

It had been seen as weak, of course, and Svarog had been forced to fend off an attack from Intarabus, who had been System Lord of the territory around Amagetobria before his overthrow by Camulus. However, Svarog had soundly defeated Intarabus and seized the world of Stratonicum from the whole affair regardless. Last Svarog had heard, though, Mokosh had been seized by the Independent Warlord Shenwrab Miwo and placed in Canoptic Stasis to live eternally in agony. With no way to mount an expedition to that part of the Borderlands without losing territory to rivals, Svarog had despaired of ever hearing from his daughter again.

That Erlang Shen had not only released her but also given her back her rule over Laska, even if it were as a vassal, spoke well of the Young Goa'uld. Enough that Svarog could picture himself working with him in the future. Besides which, he now owed the Young Goa'uld a debt for the freeing of his daughter from Canopic Agony. Svarog would rather the debt be discharged over this than be held over his head potentially for centuries until being called in. For that reason, he voted yes on Lord Yu's proposal. It would wind up causing a rift to form in his alliance with Camulus down the line, however. Svarog, though, would deal with that when it happened. For now, he was satisfied that any obligation or debt he may have owed for the freeing of his Daughter from Canopic Stasis was discharged.

And that was enough for Svarog to view the matter finished with. . .

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Olokun, meanwhile, had a different dilemma. On the one hand, Lord Yu had been a rival for years. On the other hand, Erlang Shen had allowed him to seize worlds far from his disputed border with Lord Yu. Worlds that it appeared were more than making up for the loss of border territory, such as Longinus. Worlds that were producing quite a bit more in terms of Trinium than Olokun had first thought they were capable of, and whose Naquadah Production, while not as much as Trinium, was still fairly decent. Food production as well was better than the territories he had lost, and he had been able to wipe out a grudge that dated back to the time of his father. All thanks to Erlang Shen being willing to negotiate the compromise he had.

Because of that, and because Erlang Shen’s Territory would be on the other side of Lord Yu’s territory, and thus, Erlang Shen would not be in a position to do any harm to his interests, Olokun would vote yes on making Erlang Shen a System Lord. Who knew? Perhaps there might even be an opportunity to turn Lord Yu’s nephew against the Old Snake. Stranger things had happened in this Galaxy than that, after all. It was that sort of skullduggery which his Cursor’va excelled in, as well. All they would need to do was infiltrate Erlang Shen’s Domain and attack an outpost or something while leaving behind evidence that would implicate Lord Yu. It was certainly something they could do, and worth thinking about as a potential opportunity down the line, once Olokun himself had rebuilt enough of his forces to be able to take advantage of any such war between Uncle and Nephew.

For now, though, Olokun would watch, wait, and build up his forces for the day he would be able to put such a plan into action. . .

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Ba’al voted yes to Erlang Shen’s Promotion almost without having to think about it for a few reasons. First, Ba’al was a scientist, and as a scientist, he could respect Erlang Shen’s tinkering with various designs. Indeed, he had managed to waylay an odd alien probe that had watched one of Erlang Shen’s various battles and had scanned the modifications he had made to ships and the like. Ba’al had downloaded a partial data dump of the Probe’s memory before the thing had used Nanotechnology to break free and escape. Ba’al could appreciate a fellow scientist, even if they might be rivals in the future.

Of course, that last bit was mitigated by the fact that Erlang Shen becoming a System Lord in his own right would weaken Lord Yu. Yu was a much more pressing concern, as he could be a rival now, as opposed to some nebulous time in the future. Indeed, that Yu hadn’t become a rival yet was down to his pre-existing rivalries with Cronus and Olokun, the latter of which he seemed to have recently gained a decisive upper hand in. It was better that the six systems that Erlang Shen would be splitting off of Lord Yu’s Domain by gaining independence be done now, when Lord Yu had gained the upper hand against Olokun and was in need of weakening before he could potentially turn his full attention to Cronus. 

After all, if Lord Yu was able to focus on Cronus, it was possible that he would gain the upper hand in that rivalry as well. If that happened, then Lord Yu might decide to turn his attention toward Ba’al. Ba’al was not as powerful as Cronus, and though he was a bit more powerful than Olokun, he would not be able to withstand an attack from Lord Yu if the Old Snake could focus his full attention on Ba’al rather than have to worry about being stabbed in the back by Olokun and Cronus. In that regard, having Erlang Shen as a buffer between himself and Lord Yu was just good planning in terms of self-preservation. If there was one thing that Ba’al was an expert in, aside from Goa’uld technology, that is, it was Self-Preservation. Accordingly, Ba'al voted yes on the motion to make Erlang Shen a System Lord in his own right.

It was the logical thing to do. . .

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Cronus vehemently rejected the idea that Yu's little nephew be made a System Lord in his own right. He did not care that it would take six systems away from Yu's Personal Domain. If Cronus knew the Old Snake like he thought he did, then he would have extracted a heavy toll from his Nephew for the privilege of being a System Lord in his own right. An alliance or agreement of some sort that was likely aimed directly at him. Cronus wouldn't stand for it. Even if all Yu gained from this little farce were material resources, Cronus would still vote no.

After all, he hated Yu enough that any advantage the Old Snake gained was an advantage that Cronus would seek to deny him. Indeed, Cronus would seek to spite his Old Rival in any way he could, much as he would seek to spite Apophis however he could. It was the only way to treat a rival, with merciless contempt from the moment the rivalry began until the day you gained ultimate victory over your rivals. He had proven that with his destruction of Zeus and his petty faction of Would-be Kings over two millennia ago.

Accordingly, Cronus would be voting no on the motion, with the addendum that he believed that Erlang Shen had overstepped his authority as an Underlord and that he should be forced to divest the conquered worlds from the Borderlands he had seized to a Third Party as punishment. Cronus didn't think that would happen, of course. Too many Goa'uld had an interest in not setting that precedent, but Cronus felt that the addendum showed his contempt for the House of Yu.

And really, there was nothing else that needed to be said on that front. . .

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Bastet and Kali voted together. Neither of them had any attachment whatsoever to Erlang Shen one way or the other, but the fact that the proposal had clearly annoyed Cronus so much was something that both Queens could get behind. Cronus had been an ally to the recently departed System Lord Sobek, who had been a frequent Thorn in Bastet's Side for much of the preceding six centuries. Bastet and Kali's alliance had put paid to Sobek, and even now, the Crocadilian Head of Sobek's Genetically-Altered Host adorned the throne room of Bastet's Palace on the world of Bubastis as a trophy, but Cronus had sent an expeditionary force to attack them on Sobek's behalf, seizing the Worlds of Taxila, Potala, and Sagala from Kali which he retained control of to this day.

Furthermore, Cronus was one of the Goa'uld who was cut from the same cloth as Moloc. He disdained females of any race as weaker and less intelligent than males. The fact that both Kali and Bastet were female had been a source of scorn from Cronus and a source of anger and frustration from the two Queens. Even now, he only recognized them as System Lords in their own right because Ra had made him. He was an infuriating, odious Goa'uld, and that was saying something, given how their people could be as a matter of course.

Suffice it to say that anything that deflated Cronus' ego, even a little, was worth agreeing to by Kali and Bastet. Accordingly, they both voted yes on Lord Yu's proposal. It would be interesting to see just what would happen in the aftermath. Neither Kali nor Bastet would imagine Cronus' Ego would allow him to take this lying down. Perhaps he would even go to war with Erlang Shen over it. If that happened, then there might be an opportunity to intervene for them, and perhaps even a chance to retake the lost systems of Taxila, Potala, and Sagala.

With that in mind, Kali and Bastet would vote yes and wait for their chance to intervene in the inevitable backlash from Cronus that would follow. . .

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Nirrti was annoyed that she was being dragged out of her labs for this. She was the foremost Geneticist among the Goa'uld, someone who was the closest to unlocking the potential of a Human Host to be a Hok'tar, an advanced human with all sorts of powers. If she could do that, then by taking such a Hok'tar as a host, the Goa'uld would be capable of much more than they currently were. Even perhaps enough to defeat the hated Asgard and retake the territory around Nilor! It was important work, not to be meddled with by trifles such as this.

Accordingly, Nirrti abstained. She was not the only one, either. Sokar, ever the outcast, also abstained, as was his tradition. For the past few centuries, he had effectively been on probation. A punishment for daring to seek to rebel against Ra's Authority. That he had surrendered when his plot had been uncovered without fighting an extended campaign, and that Ra had not been willing to fight a longer campaign while the Empire was still recovering from the Damage that had been done by the Asgard during Ra's disastrous war with them, had been the only reasons that Sokar had been allowed to keep control of his core territories and remain a System Lord. Ba'al had gained several of them, as had Apophis, while others had broken away and become independent. For centuries, Sokar had been a shadow of his former self. Even after he had rebuilt, Sokar had abstained from major decisions, seeking to stay in the shadows and avoid scrutiny. It was a trend he continued by abstaining from this vote.

Heru'ur, in the meanwhile, was busy dealing with the fallout of Moloc's poor decision-making. He had elevated a distant relative of Moloc's, Tanit, to the position of System Lord. It had been thought that having a Female Goa'uld at the head of Moloc's Former Domain would help quiet the all-female Hak'tyll Rebels and allow some of the burden of crushing the rebellion to ease. However, that had not been the case, and Heru'ur had found himself having to commit more ships and Jaffa Garrisons to bolster Tanit's Reign than he would have liked. With himself in overall command of the effort, Heru'ur just didn't have time for political things at the moment. Accordingly, he also abstained from the decision. Tanit, naturally, abstained as well, pressured by Heru'ur to focus on efforts in her Domain as her sole current priority.

Ra was likewise silent, though he had not had a vote so much as veto power over the final say as Supreme System Lord and head of the Council. Of course, he was in seclusion on Abydos at the moment and would not be able to exercise any veto or vote if he had a vote, to begin with. Ra may have been Supreme System Lord, but he was not an arbitrary ruler to flout the laws and customs that he had put into place himself, even if he weren't in seclusion on Abydos at the moment.

That left just two votes uncounted, Morrigan and Apophis, with the votes currently standing at seven-to-two. Because of the Abstentions of Tanit, Heru'ur, Nirrti, and Sokar, the motion only needed six votes to pass and had more than reached that threshold. Apophis and Morrigan's Votes would still be counted, however, for the record. When all was said and done, the record would reflect that Apophis voted against, and Morrigan voted for.

They did so for different reasons, of course. Apophis was generally against anyone gaining more power that wasn't named Apophis, even being jealous of his brother, Ra's, position as Supreme System Lord. Morrigan, meanwhile, felt that a young System Lord might be more biddable by her feminine charms. After all, Erlang Shen was barely of age to no longer be considered Prim'ta, and such youths typically had more of the host's hormones affecting their thinking than more experienced Goa'uld.

By the time all the votes were tabulated, the result was clear. Eight votes for, three against, with four abstentions. The motion to make Erlang Shen a System Lord in his own right carried. Without Ra here to veto the motion, that was that. Erlang Shen was now the Sixteenth Member of the Council of System Lords, the Sixteenth System Lord of the Empire, and the Sixteenth Vassal of Ra.

Now, they would have to find someone brave enough to contact Ra in his seclusion so that Erlang Shen could swear his Oaths. Naturally, the task would fall on Heru'ur's Shoulders, as the Son and Warmaster of Ra. As if he did not have a full enough plate as it was, dealing with the Hak'tyll Rebels. By the time he would manage to get around to contacting Ra after successfully stabilizing Tanit's new domain, however, it would swiftly become clear that something had gone dreadfully amiss on Abydos.

And when that happened, the entire Empire would burst into chaos. . .

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AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter. I wanted to get this one out today, since I'm not going to be able to get much out tomorrow, with Mother's Day and all, and I have a family thing. As an apology, I'm giving you guys a Chapter of this, which is probably my most popular story I have going on here by way of an apology.

Anyway, here we see the formal vote of the System Lords as regards making Erlang Shen a System Lord in his own right, along with a bit of the thought process behind some of the decisions to vote yes or no. We also get a bit more history of the Empire thanks to said thought processes. The Goa'uld have a lot of internal squabbles after all, and you get some information on a few of those here.

At any rate, the next chapter will be an Interlude on Earth, showing the reactions of various folks to the Abydos Mission. I'll also have those images I promised out before then.

Stay tuned. . .