Interlude: The Tok'ra High Council

Deep under the surface of Vorash, a meeting was being held. Per'sus, Grand Councillor of the Tok'ra had called together the entire Tok'ra High Council due to the momentous nature of the events that had unfolded in the past weeks. He sat in the Council Chambers, located deep enough underground so as to avoid any Goa'uld Scans as well as be shielded at least partly from orbital bombardment. Both of these were necessities for the base here, as it was, in effect, the Capital of the Tok'ra.

No true city was this underground citadel. There were not thousands of people living here. Simply a few dozen Tok'ra and a few hundred of their closest supporters, both Rebel Jaffa and Escaped Human Slaves alike. It was a sad fact of reality that the Tok'ra were never as numerous as they would like to be. Their total membership numbered less than a thousand for the entire Galaxy, and while Rebel Jaffa and Escaped Human Slaves could go a long way towards bulking out the numbers, without a way to truly replace the losses of their Rebel Jaffa Allies thanks to having no ability to spawn Prim'ta, even those numbers would dwindle with time and attrition.

Indeed, in the whole of their Grand Citadel, there were only thirty Tok'ra at any given time, alongside perhaps three hundred allied Rebel Jaffa and another three-hundred-seventy Escaped Human Slaves. In total, the Capital of the Tok'ra contained a mere seven hundred Rebels between Tok'ra, Jaffa, and Humans. Their capital would barely rate as a small outpost by the standards of their foes. It was, unfortunately, necessary.

There were dozens of even smaller bases and outposts dotted around the Galaxy. Some were veritable boltholes, with occupancy as small as a dozen or so rebels of any stripe, while the largest contained perhaps half as many rebels as were currently in their Capital now. The idea was that should the Goa'uld somehow learn of this base, and seek to cut the heart out of the Tok'ra, their movement would survive, even if they themselves did not. It did spread them quite thin, of course, but risks were mitigated by moving between bases, outposts, boltholes, and safehouses. The Tok'ra had been at this a long time, after all, they knew their strengths, their weaknesses, and how to cover for the latter while accentuating the former.

As Per'sus sat in the council chamber, he took stock of who of the Tok'ra High Council had arrived and who was yet to do so. Contrarian Delek was here, with his pessimism, but so too was Thoran, whose passionate opinions often countered the cynicism of Delek. Nearby, wise Selmak sat in counsel with inquisitive Ren'al. Impulsive Malek, the youngest member of the Tok'ra High Council also sat at the table, a frown on his face. It was clear that he would have preferred to be in the field right now. It seemed of the High Council, only one was missing, the most unique of the High Council.

Garshaw of Belote was, unlike the other members of the Tok'ra High Council, not a part of Egeria's Brood, but instead, an Abnormal Goa'uld who had defected from the service of Heru'ur during a battle over the World of Belote, faking her death and in the process destroying three of Heru'ur's Ha'taks. She had since risen through the ranks of the Tok'ra, as her Military Experience and unique perspective were sorely needed in both tactical operations and recruitment. It was perhaps sad, but the fact remained that the majority of the Tok'ra's Non-Jaffa and Non-Human members were no longer Children of Egeria, but Abnormal Goa'uld Defectors and Converts from the Empire. In large part, that was due to Garshaw.

Eventually, however, Garshaw made her way into the Council Chamber, a look of satisfaction on her face. Per'sus was certain they would all find out what that look was about sooner or later. It was time to begin the meeting.

'Finally, we've waited for her for a damned hour already.' Snorted Per'sus' host, Conall, in the back of his mind.

'Patience, my friend. It is a virtue for a reason.' Responded Per'sus, mentally.

Conall, Per'sus' most recent host, came from the world of Divodurum in the Domain of Camulus. Camulus liked to engender a certain level of competitive spirit in his slaves, largely so he could channel such things into playing his slaves off one another to his benefit. Conall had been still a fairly young man when he and Per'sus had blended and still kept some of that previous fire even all these years later.

"Now that you are here, Garshaw, perhaps we should call this meeting to order. I'm sure you all have heard by now the news. You should know well why the full High Council needed to be called together." Intoned Per'sus.

"Ra has razed Mirey to the ground and seems to have taken Moloc with it. I for one, believe that to be an improvement. I do not see how that requires the entire council, though." Scoffed Delek.

"There were a half dozen of us in Mirey, Delek. Not Rebel Jaffa or Humans looking for a way off-world and out of Moloc's clutches, Actual Tok'ra. There are not so many of us that we can afford to brush off such losses." Scowled Thoran.

"That being so, this arguing is hardly productive. Might I suggest we forge ahead instead of bogging down in pointless squabbles?" Cut in Selmak, defusing the brewing argument in its infancy.

"Selmak is correct, he usually is. I believe Ren'al was overseeing operations in Moloc's Territory. What can be done to shore up losses or capitalize on the death of Moloc?" Questioned Malek.

"Shoring up losses is the easy part, we just need to retask some agents from other, less critical, duties. It's capitalizing on Moloc's death that will be more difficult. Unlike in most other System Lords' Domains, we are not the only resistance movement active in Moloc's territory. The Hak'tyl Rebel Movement are both more numerous, and local. We had been engaged in smuggling weapons and equipment to them before Ra's arrival, but that comes with other problems." Answered Ren'al.

"Indeed. I'd imagine that such a skittish group would be slow to trust new agents when they already knew the old ones. They couldn't be certain that this isn't an attempt to infiltrate their own movement." Nodded Selmak.

"Just so. It will take time for our new agents to re-establish trust, time which will be of the essence if we want to capitalize on Moloc's death." Admitted Ren'al.

"Time may be more of a factor than we had previously thought, as well. Agents in Heru'ur's territory tell me that he's gathering a fleet and army on Ra's orders to install a new Overlord for Moloc's Territory by force. He intends to sweep aside the Hak'tyll and any of Moloc's Underlords who don't submit to the new Overlord in a tide of fire and blood." Informed Thoran.

"So we may wind up back where we started. That's just typical." Frowned Delek.

"Do you have anything constructive to add, Delek? Or are you simply going to make snide remarks this entire session?" Challenged Thoran.

"I do have something to report, actually. I recently acquired a sample of Hebridian Shield Technology. It's actually quite powerful, even compared to the sort of shields mounted by Imperial Warships. Nowhere near as potent as Asgard Shields, mind you, but they're better on a one-for-one basis compared to shield designs of our own mounted aboard ships of similar tonnage." Informed Delek.

"Can you reverse-engineer such shields?" Queried Per'sus.

"Given enough time? Absolutely. It's that time that is going to be the problem. The Hebridians seem to have taken specific precautions against such tampering or reverse engineering. I'll have to work slowly and carefully in order to avoid having the whole system meltdown." Responded Delek.

"On that note, I believe I should speak next." Chimed in Garshaw.

"I take it you have something at least as interesting to report?" Asked Selmak.

"Multiple somethings actually. You recall Zelida, yes?" Questioned Garshaw.

"Zelida? The operative who suggested we ally with Lord Yu's Grand Chancellor?" Queried Malek.

"Which I counseled against, by the way." Reminded Delek.

"We know, Delek." Sighed Ren'al.

"How could we forget when you keep bringing it up?" Scowled Thoran.

"Well, it's a good thing you were overruled, Delek, because that alliance has just come through for us in a few large ways." Smirked Garshaw.

"Does this have anything to do with that mission you had Anise running?" Asked Selmak.

"That is part of it, yes." Confirmed Garshaw.

"Then we should hear this report. Without further interruptions." Announced Per'sus.

After all, aside from Garshaw herself, only Per'sus truly knew the purpose of the Mission to Si Fa Xaymni, though doubtless, Selmak was consulted on matters of operational security. The Mission had tasked Anise, Kelmaa, and several Rebel Jaffa and Human Allies to head to Si Fa Xaymni on a mission that could very well determine the future of the Tok'ra as a whole.

One of the members of the local Independent Goa'uld Warlords' Ministries was an Abnormal Goa'uld and an Agent of the Tok'ra, a junior minister of the Warlord's Chancellor named Pu-Phi-Su. Pu-Phi-Su had sent them a secret communication some months ago about the sunken wreck of a Ha'tak from over a thousand years ago, the Gladius Iustitiae, one of Egeria's Ha'taks and one that had outlasted Egeria's personal defeat and capture by a few years, raiding the spacelanes in hit and run attacks until finally being struck down in battle by some of Ra's own Ha'taks in a system that was lost to history.

Garshaw had swiftly had Anise, Kelmaa, and their team sent over to Si Fa Xaymni to attempt to get whatever they could salvage from the computer systems of the sunken Ha'tak. It may not be much, but literally any word on the fate of their mother would help point the Tok'ra in the right direction, not to mention whatever salvage they could gain. The Gladius Iustitiae had gone down with a number of fighters and Tel'taks in Attack Ship Configuration still on board, after all, to say nothing of any armor, weapons, or other equipment that could be salvaged.

'Some find. Hope this is good news.' Uttered Conall mentally, as all this was relayed to the rest of the Council, many of which were hearing about it for the first time.

'Indeed.' Thought back Per'sus.

"Well, firstly, Si Fa Xaymni and Ban Mi, her sister world, no longer belong to Khun Theu Kham. Both he and his Chancellor, Chumpha are dead. Erlang Shen is now in charge of both worlds." Began Garshaw.

"I told you that allying with any Goa'uld still in the Empire was a mistake! Now we've lost agents!" Hissed Delek.

"Actually, Erlang Shen has followed both the letter and the spirit of our alliance. Once Pu-Phi-Si made known his allegiance, Erlang Shen was remarkably willing to work with him to our mutual benefit. Anise, Kelmaa, and their team not only accomplished their mission and made it back through the Chappa'ai but did so with gifts, courtesy of our new ally." Responded Garshaw.

"What Gifts?" Questioned Selmak.

"One sample each of some of his new Jaffa Equipment. To whit, one suit of Tianjia Jaffa Armor, one Tianyan Staff Rifle, and one Dian Jian Model Zat'nic'tel." Explained Garshaw.

"How generous." Scoffed Delek.

"If you would cease your pessimistic cynicism for once, you might be able to see that Erlang Shen is expecting us to reverse-engineer his technology." Retorted Thoran.

"That is correct. In fact, Anise has already managed to make some headway with the Tianyan Staff Rifle. She estimates she can have a prototype of our own ready in a week or two." Informed Garshaw.

"That soon? I knew Anise was good, but I did not expect that much." Blinked Malek.

"Anise has others working alongside her to reverse-engineer the technology. That is not as important as the main part of her mission. What did she get from the Gladius Iustitiae, anything?" Queried Selmak.

"Quite a bit actually. Her team recovered a single squadron of Prometheus-class Chappa'ai Capable Fightercraft, along with two Tel'taks in Attack Ship Configuration. All of those are currently awaiting repair and refurbishment under the eye of local guards loyal to Pu-Phi-Su. That isn't all, she also recovered a Cargo Hold full of equipment. Jaffa Armor, Zat'nik'tels, Ma'tok Staff Weapons, Grenades of both Neser and Ra'kek configuration, Healing Devices, and even a Kara'kesh." Listed-off Garshaw.

"Quite the haul. I do wonder what Erlang Shen wants out of this, though. Even for an ally, he's being awfully accommodating." Mused Selmak.

"No doubt he took deep, in-depth, scans of everything. After all, the knowledge to make Tel'taks in Attack Ship Configuration, Prometheus-class Chappa'ai Capable Fightercraft, and Ra'kek Grenades has been lost to Goa'uld Genetic Memory. Too much internecine conflict is bad when enough Goa'uld die that their innovations can't get passed down to the next generation." Scoffed Delek.

"For once, Delek and I are in agreement. It seems unlikely he will simply repair and refurbish the ships for us in exchange for nothing." Admitted Thoran.

"This is true. He wants any technical data borne out of this particular operation to be shared with him. In exchange, he not only allowed the operation to continue to completion but also gave samples of his own innovations for us to reverse-engineer. He apparently sees no reason for both sides of this alliance not to benefit." Confirmed Garshaw.

"So, the question is, will we acquiesce? Certainly, we must give him some technical data, he'll get suspicious otherwise. How much should we share, though?" Asked Ren'al.

"I believe we should follow the agreement to the letter and the spirit." Opined Garshaw.

That caused a bit of an uproar, as Delek argued against sharing everything, which set off Thoran, whose honorable nature refused to countenance such wonton backstabbing of an ally. Then Ren'al chimed in on the side of not sharing everything, which drew in Malek, whose friendship with Kelmaa meant that he trusted her judgment to make such a bargain to begin with. The Chamber was filled with argumentative voices.

Per'sus looked over at Selmak, who must have been thinking along similar lines to himself. There had to be a reason that Garshaw insisted on following the agreement to the spirit and letter, but it wouldn't be heard over the constant din of the arguing parties.

'So, put the children in time-out.' Snorted Conall in the back of Per'sus' mind.

'Crude as that phrasing was, you're not wrong.' Sent back Per'sus.

Outwardly, Per'sus slammed the pommel of his dagger down on the council table with force, the echoing boom of the metal striking metal silencing the arguing parties as Per'sus fixed them all with a glare, daring them to continue bickering. After a few moments without the argument restarting, Per'sus resheathed the triangular Parazonium-style blade and began to speak.

"There must be a reason for an argument for such disclosure. Garshaw, explain your reasoning." Commanded Per'sus.

"It is because of what was found on the Computer Core of the Gladius Iustitiae. We have locations for several of Egeria's hidden equipment caches, some of which match no existing records. That isn't the best part, however." Grinned Garshaw.

"Which would be what, exactly?" Pressed Selmak.

"We have the coordinates for the World that Egeria was entombed on. A world called Pangar, lost to history, now found again. We can send a team to wake our Queen from her canoptic imprisonment." Informed Garshaw.

And that news set off another round of exclamations. This time, however, all were in agreement. For the location of their Queen's Tomb, they would share every scrap of technical data that came of this mission with Erlang Shen. The information was simply too important to not do so. Before the meeting was up, plans had already been put into place to send a team to Pangar. Malek would go himself, accompanied by Kelmaa and an escort of Rebel Jaffa and Human.

And together, hopefully, they would see their Queen returned to them from over a thousand years in Canoptic Stasis. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. A lot happened with the Tok'ra behind the scenes during the lead-up to Erlang Shen's invasion of Khun Theu Kham's Domain, and you get to see a bunch of that here. Not only in terms of how the High Council tends to function, with Selmak and Per'sus effectively forcing a bunch of bickering councilors back on track at least once per meeting but also in terms of various operations.

Here, we learn that the Tok'ra are actively engaging in diplomacy with various Non-Goa'uld factions, purchasing equipment from the Hebridians and smuggling gear to the Hak'tyl Resistance. Most notably, we learn just what they were doing on Si Fa Xaymni that was important enough to get Erlang Shen on board and ensure he held up his end of their alliance. The equipment is nice and all, but it pales in comparison to the Tok'ra learning about Pangar and the Tomb of Egeria.

Of course, that also puts the Tok'ra on the path toward getting and then improving upon, the Tretonin Formula that can act as a substitute for the Prim'ta, which will help a lot when it comes to needing to replace Allied Rebel Jaffa Casualties.

At any rate, in the next chapter we'll be back with Erlang Shen.

Stay tuned. . .