EV: Chapter 24

Two days after returning to Taiji, my Uncle arrived in force. Sixteen Ha'taks and Thirty-Two Al'kesh, led by his flagship, the Tian Lung, arrived in orbit around Taiji. My Uncle was sending a message with a fleet of this size, and the message was clear. My Uncle was clearly saying that if he determined that I was being a rebellious vassal, then he had brought enough firepower to ensure my rebellion was put down. Fortunately, I had no intention of fighting him. Instead, I was hoping to negotiate. In this, I had something of an advantage in that I had a number of bribes to offer. Notably, Ra'kek Grenades, which I had successfully reverse-engineered, and Long-class Cruisers, which would no doubt intrigue My Uncle. If that failed, then I would offer some of my captured Ha'taks to sweeten the pot.

Hopefully, that would be enough. However, if it were not, then I would move on to my next negotiating position. Helping my Uncle seize control of several disputed worlds along the Borders with Cronus. The Worlds of Daxia, Dayuan, Kangju, Lixuan, Yuezhi, Wusun, Shule, Shache, Gumo, Khotan, Jingjue, Kuche, Jibin, and Yancai had been contested between My Uncle and Cronus since the time of the Second Goa'uld Dynasty, immediately preceding Anubis' destruction of the Second Dynasty and the Civil War that followed. Neither my Uncle nor Cronus ever was able to gain uncontested control of them for more than a century at a time.

However, with my help, my Uncle may just find himself in control of most, if not all, of those contested worlds. I might even be able to pick up a world or two myself in the process, though I would reserve the overwhelming majority for my Uncle as compensation for worlds he would be losing by allowing me to become a System Lord in my own right. I was willing to be that My Uncle would agree to that if he did not agree to anything else. Cronus and my Uncle had a longstanding rivalry, after all, one that was only rivaled in vitriol by Cronus' own rivalry with Apophis. However, while Cronus' Rivalry with Apophis was one that could not see border conflicts, the Rivalry between my Uncle and Cronus could, and that lent it a level of intensity not seen by the rivalry of saboteurs that Cronus engaged in with Apophis.

Regardless, the first order of business was welcoming my uncle to Taiji, something I did with a feast. I knew that My Uncle was fond of meals that were perfectly balanced between the five tastes and four natures, and so I had ensured that was exactly what had been prepared. At the same time, I had prepared material gifts for my Uncle's personal use. The Tianzhi Yujia or Jade Armor of Heaven, which was a version of my own personal armor, now that I had tested it in multiple combat environments and had time to work out a design that lacked flaws. It was a more refined version of my own armor, and My Uncle's set would be the first crafted, even before my own, plus a Diàn Jiàn Model Zat'nic'tel that I had assembled specifically for him and tuned to be more accurate than the normal model.

Indeed, as he arrived, alongside his First Prime, Wei Han, I stepped down off my throne to greet him, bowing as he arrived in my Throne Room.

"Uncle. Welcome to Taiji, I have prepared a feast and gifts to celebrate your arrival, along with the tributes you are no doubt expecting." I bowed.

"It is well you remember your filial piety, Nephew. Had you not, I would have ensured a sharp lesson." Intoned My Uncle.

"So I saw. Sixteen Ha'taks and Twice that in Al'kesh. I do hope you are not leaving the borders bare for this visit?" I questioned.

"I have come to an arrangement with Amaterasu, and Olokun is still weak from his prior defeats. Fear not for our borders, Nephew. Though I am surprised to see you have pushed them so far into the Borderlands." Responded my Uncle.

"We required more resources, and the Independents in the Borderlands were sitting right there. I can build these worlds up at my Leisure, now, Uncle." I opined.

"Yes, twenty worlds, enough to see you be worthy of consideration as a System Lord in your own right." Mused My Uncle.

"If that is to be, then it is to be. However, I certainly would not wish to be considered unfilial in the attempt. Should I be declared a System Lord in my own right, I would wish for your blessing and negotiate accordingly." I informed.

"We can speak of such things later, Nephew. For now, I wish to see my tributes delivered to my Fleet's Transports. They are waiting at the edge of the system." Intoned My Uncle.

"Of course, Uncle. I shall send the tributes over to them. I think you will find that with expansion into the borderlands, ample Trinium, Naquadah, and Foodstuffs have been requisitioned to fulfill the Quota of Tributes. As for ships and equipment, we must discuss. I have a few options for you to choose from, each with its own benefits. I would not presume to send you equipment without speaking to you first. After all, who can know the Mind of the Jade Emperor but the Jade Emperor himself?" I queried.

I turned to Chen, my First Prime stood ready to offer me the Dataslate needed to send the orders to the Fleet to begin delivery of the Naquadah, Trinium, and Foodstuff Tributes. He handed me the Dataslate, and with a press of a button on the interface, the transfer began. By the time it was over, dozens of Tel'tacs would have made dozens of trips to My Uncle's Transport Fleet to offload six-and-a-half billion tons of Trinium, four-and-a-quarter-billion tons of Naquadah, and one-and-a-half billion tons each of Rice, Millet, Wheat, and Sorghum. As soon as my uncle got confirmation that the transfers were on their way, he nodded at me before speaking up.

"Indeed. Now, I believe you mentioned gifts, Nephew?" Asked My Uncle.

"I did. I have recently iterated on the design of my personal armor. It is now more efficient and has none of the weaknesses of the prototype design. I call it the Tianzhi Yujia, and you, Uncle, will be the recipient of the first such suit, even before myself." I summarized.

As I spoke, several Jaffa marched forth carrying a chest of laquered wood inlayed with Jade and solid Naquadah. They placed the box down at my Uncle's Feet, and he nodded toward his First Prime, Wei Han, to check the present before he touched it. The silent and taciturn Jaffa, a clone of the Original Sun Tzu, unbeknownst to him, as all my Uncle's First Primes were, moved to do his duty. Once he had confirmed that there was no explosive or other method of assassination waiting for My Uncle in the box, he opened the box to find that yes, there was a suit of extremely advanced armor inside.

"I assume the way to use this will also be provided?" Questioned My Uncle.

"Of course. At the bottom of the box, you will find an instruction manual. Wearing this Armor, Uncle, you shall be as feared as you were in the days of your mighty victories over Anubis once more. That isn't all, either." I nodded.

At my prompting, another Jaffa emerged carrying a silk cushion with the Diàn Jiàn Model Zat'nic'tel I had assembled by hand specifically for My Uncle. My Uncle, at least, kept his look of intrigue as he spotted the new Gift, though his words seemed to show less approval for this than for the Armor.

"Another gift? I already have a Zat'nic'tel, Nephew." Pointed out My Uncle.

"Not like this one, you do not, Uncle. This is one of my Diàn Jiàn Model Zat'nic'tels that I crafted by hand specially for your use. You will find it is more accurate over a longer range than even the Diàn Jiàn Model Zat'nic'tels I have already produced." I explained.

"Another worthy gift, then. However, I believe you also mentioned options for technological tributes? Perhaps we should get such decisions out of the way as a priority?" Queried My Uncle.

"Indeed. Diligence is a virtue, after all. In terms of options, I can offer you more of the Tianjia Armor, Diàn Jiàn Model Zat'nic'tels, and Tianyue Staff Rifles than you wanted, or I can offer the standard tribute amount, plus enough Rakek Grenades to equip three Brigades of Jaffa. I am also willing to throw in the designs of my Long-class Cruiser for your shipwright to build as part of special consideration toward our negotiations." I informed.

"Rakek Grenades are lost technology. You have managed to recreate them?" Asked My Uncle.

"I have. We recovered examples of the technology from an ancient crash site during our campaign, and I managed to reverse-engineer the technology." I confirmed.

"What of these Long-class Cruisers? Why would we even want them?" Questioned Wei Han, speaking up for the first time.

"The Long-class utilizes advanced technologies that My Lord has developed in order to create a ship that is a third the size of a Standard Ha'tak while being roughly half as capable as one." Answered Chen for me.

"Is this true?" Queried My Uncle.

"It is, Uncle. Plus, the Long-class can be built in Shipyards that would only normally be able to build Al'kesh." I affirmed.

"That is a very tempting offer, Nephew. However, I am not certain it is enough by itself to merit special consideration to allow you independence as a System Lord in your own right." Demurred my Uncle.

"I can throw in a Ha'tak, the Shonkhor Khums, captured from Tengri over his throne world of Uildver as well." I offered.

"That is not enough to offset the loss of Six Worlds to your new domain, Nephew." Refuted My Uncle.

"Perhaps if I also offered you an Alliance for the next decade with an option to renew at the end of the period?" I asked.

"Even then." Intoned My Uncle.

"You drive a hard bargain, Uncle, but I have one last tile yet to play." I frowned.

"Which would be?" Questioned Lord Yu.

"Why, a chance to seize rightful territory from Cronus and a chance to keep it for more than just the short term, of course." I grinned.

"And how would you propose we do such a thing? Cronus has one of the largest fleets of Ha'taks in the Empire, and the Jaffa numbers to match. Surely even your technical magics cannot deal with such things by themselves?" Queried Wei Han.

"We currently have a fleet that totals ten Ha'taks, ten Long-class Cruisers, and thirty Al'kesh Gunships. We have millions of Jaffa equipped with powerful personal weaponry, plus an assortment of Fightercraft, not just Udajeet or Ptah-class Fighters, either, but also Chappa'ai Capable Models as well." Informed Chen.

"Have you truly grown that much, Nephew?" Asked My Uncle.

"Chen does not lie, Uncle. With us as allies, and my new status allowing me to keep such a fleet in good condition, we can together seize all of the disputed worlds and hold them against whatever Cronus sends our way. Daxia, Dayuan, Kangju, Lixuan, Yuezhi, Wusun, Shule, Shache, Gumo, Khotan, Jingjue, Kuche, Jibin, and Yancai can be returned to our Family's Stewardship for all time." I insisted.

I could see that My Uncle was interested. His rivalry with Cronus and need to avenge the last, most recent, loss of disputed territory warred with his inborn suspicion of other Goa'uld and their motives. I knew, however, that I had him and that he would agree in the end, though it was likely he would press for more worlds out of the deal than I had hoped for. He would agree, however. I could feel it.

"I want ten of those worlds for my own." Demanded My Uncle.

"Ten for six is not an even trade, Uncle." I frowned.

"Ah, but you forget so quickly, Nephew. You are not simply gaining four worlds from Cronus, you are also gaining the position and prestige of being a System Lord in your own right." Smirked my Uncle.

Sensing that if I pressed for a fifth world from this endeavor, that My Uncle would immediately rule against my petition for independence, I let the matter drop. It wasn't lost on me that My Uncle was ensuring a power balance between us by claiming more than twice the amount of spoils I would gain from reconquering the disputed provinces. We may be family, and he may be more diplomatic than every other System Lord, but Lord Yu was nobody's fool. He was ensuring that even if I turned against him after independence, he would have the strength to defeat me. Fortunately, I had no interest in betraying My Uncle.

"Very well, Uncle. I agree. Shall we discuss the specifics over food? My Cooks have prepared a Banquet for us in the Painted Dining Hall that I am sure will be to your taste." I acquiesced.

"Lead the Way, Nephew." Agreed My Uncle.

The painted dining room was, as its name implied, a dining room with a number of masterfully-painted murals on the lacquered wood of the walls. In here, a long table sat that was practically covered in dishes of various kinds. Pork fried rice and sticky white rice provided sides that were savory and sweet, respectively, while fermented tofu provided pungent tastes. Beef Noodles in Peppercorn Broth provided Spicy, while Suanmei Plums provided tartness. At the same time, all four natures were likewise present, with the plums being served cool, the rice warm, the noodles hot, the tea cold, and the confectionery red bean cakes at the end of the meal neutral.

All the while, My Uncle and I dickered over the specifics of the terms of our agreement. Troop commitments in the attack on Cronus, Technology Transfers, Trade Deals, and so on. By the time the meal reached its conclusion, however, I had secured my Uncle's Blessing for independence on the condition that I follow through with my promises. With Ra in seclusion, there was a time limit on just how long we could wait before launching our attack. A full-scale invasion of this sort was generally frowned upon by Ra, who would insist on the peace between his vassals being kept. By force if necessary.

What My Uncle wasn't yet aware of, and I was, however, was that Ra was most likely dead by now. The seclusion at Abydos he had entered after the assassination attempt he had been the victim of while visiting Moloc, was actually not seclusion at all. It was likely that O'Neill had nuked him during the Abydos Mission, and Ra wasn't coming back. In a sense, our attack on Cronus was likely to just be the prelude to the Collapse of the Goa'uld Empire into Civil War. Unfortunately, I was the only one who realized this thanks to having meta-knowledge, which meant that when My Uncle set a date for our assault to begin, I couldn't actually argue against it based on that information. As it was, I had three months to prepare. When those three months were up, whether I was ready or not, we would be attacking Cronus.

My position as a newly-created, newly-independent, System Lord depended on it. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we see Lord Yu's visit to Taiji. He's agreed to allow Erlang Shen to become an independent System Lord in his own right, though the concessions for such an agreement are pretty hefty and include not only technology transfers, trade agreements, alliances, and flat-out bribes, but also a joint invasion of Cronus' Domain to seize worlds that were disputed between Cronus and Lord Yu.

At the same time, Erlang Shen is trying to figure out how much he can let slip about what he knows about Abydos in order to buy time for him to prepare for not just his and Lord Yu's joint attack on Cronus, but also for the civil war that will come along in the aftermath of said attack. As it is, he can't push too hard without Lord Yu asking very inconvenient questions, so he only managed to buy himself three months of prep time.

At any rate, the next couple of chapters will be a couple of interludes showing things from the perspectives of Other System Lords as they react to the presence of a new peer in their ranks. I'll also have some images out before then as well.

Stay tuned. . .