Chapter 14

Lieu Hanh was dead. I hadn't trusted the reports I'd been given at first, thinking them a trick. Most Goa'uld would try faking their own death if they could use it to escape, perhaps hijacking the body of some Technician or Jaffa in the Process. However, the scans and footage didn't lie. I went over them three times and even checked the body. Lieu Hanh had refused to wait for me to make my sales pitch, committing suicide instead of allowing herself to remain in captivity.

It was a seldom-known fact that a Goa'uld Symbiote could indeed self-terminate without outside help. The comparative Mastery over biology that our species possessed allowed certain advantages for more than simple domination of hosts. One such advantage was put to use with the Prim'ta, enhancing the healing abilities and physical capabilities of the Jaffa in order to create what could effectively be termed super-soldiers. Prim'ta did it unconsciously from within their pouch, but an adult Goa'uld could do something similar, stimulating adrenaline production and manipulating the host's metabolism.

This was a similar function, only in reverse. The Symbiote, on being captured and seeing that there was no way out, would self-terminate by releasing concentrated bile into their bodies and simply refusing to lean on the symbiotic biological processes involved in the bond between host and symbiote to heal themselves. Death would come within two minutes for the Symbiote, while the host would die within five if untreated after the death of the Symbiote. It was not a pleasant way to go, for either host or symbiote.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out why Lieu Hanh had chosen death instead of capture. Not until the medical scan of the corpse revealed that Lieu Hanh was a fertile queen. That did catch my attention, as it made the pieces fit together. A queen in the hands of a non-abnormal Goa'uld was little more than a broodmare. Lieu Hanh apparently would rather be dead than suffer such a fate. The fact that I was an abnormal Goa'uld and thus would not have forced her into such a state didn't factor into it. After all, she had no way of knowing that.

Of course, that left me with the dilemma of what to do about Bà Đen. If my suspicions were correct, she was also a Fertile Queen. It would have been practically impossible for her to crew more than one Ha'tak and a handful of Al'kesh alongside her Jaffa Ground Forces without a way to replace casualties. She had been under strict observation and had yet to take such drastic steps, but that didn't mean she wouldn't soon. I would have to visit her and give her my sales pitch as soon as possible in order to avoid that.

Dressing, I headed for the Brig, my steps unhurried but nonetheless swift. It wouldn't do to project too much haste in front of the troops, after all. However, I did need to hurry. Thankfully, I was either successful in my affecting of an air of nonchalance or my Jaffa were loyal enough not to mention it as I passed. Hopefully, it was the former, but I had the feeling that the actual reason was the latter. Regardless, I approached the cell we were keeping Bà Đen in soon enough. The twin Jaffa on guard outside saluted at my approach.

"Open the door. I wish to speak to Bà Đen." I ordered.

"Of course, My Lord. However, I do not know how much of a response you will get. She has done little but glare at the sensors the whole time she's been awake." Cautioned the Rightmost Jaffa.

"She has not attempted to escape? Or tried to self-terminate?" I pressed.

"No, My Lord. Just glared. We brought in rations earlier, but she barely touched them. I have seen the behavior before, but only in prisoners who seem determined only to keep living through sheer spite." Answered the Leftmost Jaffa.

"Well, then. Let us see if I cannot give her another reason to keep going besides that." I mused.

"As you say, My Lord." Nodded the Rightmost Jaffa as his partner opened the door.

I stepped inside and immediately was struck by how young Bà Đen's Host was. It seems that she preferred women who were teenagers. This one looked no older than nineteen. The furrowed brow as she looked over at me, however, quickly smoothed out into an expression of quiet rage that it took a lifetime to perfect and I was suddenly made aware of just who and what I was dealing with. As the door closed behind me, Bà Đen let out a huff.

"Have you come to gloat?" She questioned.

"I'm afraid that's not quite my style." I refuted.

"Then what? You're not one of those Sensualists who gets off on the Host's sexual activity? I warn you, that will not go as you believe, captive or no." Queried Bà Đen.

"Nothing like that. A thought occurred that we could do more as allies than as enemies. How would you like a job?" I asked.

"Allies? You mean to make me your minion?" Questioned Bà Đen with a scowl.

"Nothing so crude as that. Think of it more like being a junior partner in a grand experiment. I would help you rebuild your forces, your world would be yours to rule as you see fit, you can even have Lieu Hanh's world as well. She chose to self-terminate before I could make her a similar offer. And of course, I'd share my technology." I offered.

"And in return? What would you want in return?" Queried Bà Đen.

"I would simply ask that you defer to me in matters that affect more than just your worlds, including defense and foreign policy." I shrugged.

"An Underlord. You want me to be an Underlord. Underlords don't get Underlords of their own in Ra's Empire. What are you playing at?" Asked Bà Đen.

"It is simple. I plan to create my own domain. One where Goa'uld such as you and I need not fear being hunted, forced to the fringes of space or having to join the Tok'ra to avoid death. One ruled by practicality, good governance, and benevolence instead of Ego, Greed, and Petty Spite." I insisted.

"Goa'uld like us? You're an Abnormal Goa'uld!" Hissed Bà Đen.

"I am." I agreed.

"All right. Keep talking, I'll consider your offer but I'm going to need a more concrete plan than this before I give you an answer. If I think you've got no chance of success, my answer will be no and I don't care what you do to me afterward." Cautioned Bà Đen.

So I laid out the first few steps of my plan, how my technical abilities give me an advantage over most other Goa'uld, how I planned to convince Lord Yu to let me go my own way, and most importantly, how I planned to organize things after my initial expansion in order to fight off any potential challenges from the likes of Cronus, Ba'al, or anyone who cared to have a go. It took over an hour to get it all out there, but I could tell that Bà Đen was convinced. By the time I was finished outlining the initial steps in my plans, she was ready to commit, I could feel it.

"It all sounds promising. I have one question, however. My First Prime, Duc. Did you kill him or did you spare him?" Demanded Bà Đen.

"I spared him. To kill such a skilled Jaffa after I had beaten him would not only be wrong, but wasteful in the extreme." I responded.

"Good. I will need him by my side if we're going to make this work. I believe that you're sincere in your desires, and what I have seen of your technical capability is certainly impressive. Your Jaffa also seem to love you, not simply serving out of fear, which speaks volumes for your ability to lead. I will place my trust in you for now. Don't betray it, or you will find me far less easy of an adversary next time." Nodded Bà Đen.

With that, I had my first convert, so to speak. I left the Brig, giving the Jaffa orders to reunite Bà Đen with her First Prime, though I would be monitoring them both for a hint of treachery for some time still. Fortunately, my ships were riddled with internal sensors and other such equipment, just in case. I was fairly certain she was sincere, however. After all, it was the Human mind that made me Abnormal, not any quirk of genetic memory, and as such, I had all the knowledge of generations of courtiers and diplomats in the courts of the Goa'uld Empire letting me know how to read others.

When I returned to the Pel'tac, I began to read various reports coming in from the fronts. Xích Lân had been spotted at Thị Trấn Thép, the last major settlement in the Kim Loại Mining Region that was still holding out against our forces. She'd taken personal command of the remaining enemy Jaffa in the region and had been waging a fairly successful defense against both General Yan and General Tsao, though it was clear she couldn't hold out much longer. General Yan predicted she would attempt a breakout sometime in the next eight hours.

In the meantime, General Kuo had been joined by General Di and had attacked the Núi Đỏ Bastion. One of the four major outlying bastions of the Pu Si Lung Mountain Region that guarded the direct approaches to the main hub of Âu Cơ Fortress. Resistance was stiff but expected to collapse within the next eight hours. Once the Núi Đỏ Bastion was taken, the southern approach to the Âu Cơ Fortress would be open to our forces. General Kuo estimated that we'll have complete control of the planet within thirty-eight hours. That effectively meant that we'd have conquered Samshan in five days of fighting.

"That's not too bad. It would take a force of Normally Equipped and Trained Jaffa at least twice that long." I mused as I looked over the reports.

"My Lord?" Questioned Shun.

"Nothing, Shun. I'm simply thinking aloud." I insisted.

"As you say, My Lord." Nodded Shun.

"Did you need something?" I queried.

"I wished to report an anomaly, My Lord." Answered Shun.

"What sort of Anomaly?" I asked.

"One of our Al'kesh Gunships, the Zhúlín, was on patrol near the edge of the system when it spotted something. A probe, My Lord." Informed Shun.

"Go on." I intoned.

"The Zhúlín attacked the probe, intending to damage it enough to disable it so it could be captured. Unfortunately, the probe, once disabled, immediately began to repair itself, metal particles swarming over it like insects and repairing the damage. Prime Jiang of the Zhúlín decided to destroy the probe instead of capturing it, as that had proven infeasible. However, by the time the command to do so was given, it was too late. The probe had repaired itself and opened a small Hyperspace Tunnel to escape through." explained Shun.

"Nanotechnology. I would assume some independent but advanced race now knows of our activities. There is nothing for it, however. We shall simply have to deal with it when the time comes." I frowned.

"What should be done about Prime JIang's Failure, My Lord?" Questioned Shun.

"Prime Jiang reported his encounter promptly?" I queried.

"He did. He even gave updates before and after engaging the probe." Confirmed Shun.

"Then he made an Error. There is nothing to do but learn to do better in the future." I insisted.

"An Error, My Lord?" Asked Shun.

"Indeed. Anyone can make an error, even a God. An error does not become a mistake until one refuses to correct it. So long as Prime Jiang learns from this error and it does not become a mistake in the future, then I believe that is the best we can hope for." I answered, paraphrasing a certain Grand Admiral.

"Of course, My Lord." Nodded Shun before resuming his station.

For my part, I couldn't help but think about this new development. A Probe denoted an advanced race, but the nanotechnology was unusual enough that it narrowed down the suspects considerably. It couldn't be the Replicators, they were still stuck in the Asgard's Home Galaxy. The Altairans might have the capability, but then I remembered that Harlan needed SG-One's help to maintain the underground facility, which he wouldn't have if he had nanomachines to do the job. Then I remembered the Orbanians. They explicitly used nanotechnology and were spacefaring.

If the Orbanians were in play, then it was possible that the Omeyocan might also be in play. Even if nothing came of this, the Orbanians met the Taur'i just a few years after they reactivated the Stargate, which meant the Taur'i would learn about me sooner than I might be ready for. Not that I had any intention of fighting the SGC, mind you. I was completely willing to reform my domain along Earth-like lines as well as not on board with the pointless cruelty and constant petty evil that most of the Goa'uld were into. The problem was, would they see that? It was honestly more likely that if the SGC learned of me from the Orbanians, they'd have already met Apophis, Hathor, Heru'ur, and others to poison the well for them on my whole species.

Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about that for the time being. Instead, I busied myself reading reports, authorizing requests for reinforcements, evacuation, or resupply, and generally managing the next phase of the fighting. Every so often, I would check up on Bà Đen and her First Prime, Duc, though they seemed to not be doing much aside from eating and talking. The conversations weren't anything remotely akin to sketching out a plan to escape or take over the ship, or anything of the sort either. It was mostly them asking questions to various Jaffa about what life was like back in my domain, small talk, or things of that nature.

Eventually, about six hours after the report about the probe from Shun, I received a report to my Command Throne in my Pel'tac about progress in the Kim Loại Mining Region. Thị Trấn Thép had fallen and Xích Lân had led her forces in a breakout attempt toward the Núi Xanh Bastion of the Pu Si Lung Mountains. Some of her forces got through, but not all, or even most of them. Xích Lân herself had been gunned down attempting to lead a counterattack against the forces General Yan had sent to force her back into the Thị Trấn Thép Pocket. She died and the pocket collapsed shortly afterward with only a quarter of her forces managing to break through to the Núi Xanh Bastion.

Six hours after that, Chen reported that we had taken the Núi Đỏ Bastion and that the way toward the Âu Cơ Fortress from the south was clear. It was time to end this and move on to the next planet. I ordered the Xiaotian Quan forward to take up position above the Âu Cơ Fortress. We would implement the plan that we had come up with back on Taiji to bring the Samshan Campaign to a close. Ba Chua Xu would fall and so would the rest of her worlds. Once they had, it would be on to attack Khun Theu Kham's twin worlds of Si Fa Xaymni and Ban Mi before attacking Shenwrab Miwo and his three worlds of Kataki, Sa Dong, and Laska.

I presumed I had a standard month or so of grace time before anyone noticed what was going on, so assuming it took a week per Minor Goa'uld conquered, I would be looking at finishing off Ba Chua Xu, taking out Khun Theu Kham, and Shenwrab Miwo in three weeks give or take a day or two. That may or may not leave me enough time to also take out Tengri and his four worlds of Budaa, Gan, Uildver, and Tsaiz. I was assuming that at the end of a standard month, resistance would become a lot more organized than it currently was, and I would be facing a coalition of other Minor Goa'uld if I wanted to keep expanding.

Atar, Mithra, and Rashnu would all certainly contest any attempt to take any of their six worlds together since they were all sons of Angra Mainyu, while Artimpasa was enigmatic and might join in with her trio of worlds and might not. Yuma Sammang definitely would if it meant that she could avenge Shenwrab Miwo since the two had formerly been close allies and were still on relatively friendly terms. Then there were Al-Lat and Menat who would act together no matter what happened, being sisters. Then there were Derzelas and Gebeleizis, along with Prende, Redon, Deipaturos, and Medaurus to the west.

And of course, the further south I went, the more I ran the risk of Ba'al intervening, while the further west I went, the more likely it was that Cronus would attack. I would have to limit myself before going too far in either direction out of necessity. That meant a month of campaigning, maybe a little more, before stopping.

The clock was already ticking down on that, as well. I would have to finish up here quickly if I wanted to make the most of my grace period and that meant assaulting the Âu Cơ Fortress as soon as everyone was in position. Fortunately, all forces reported that they would be in place on schedule. In two hours, we would attack and finally put an end to Ba Chua Xu.

Only then could we move on to the rest of the targets. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, here's the next chapter. Bà Đen has agreed to come over to Erlang Shen's side, while both Lieu Hanh and Xích Lân have been killed. Now the final assault on the Âu Cơ Fortress is about to begin so the conquest of Ba Chua Xu's worlds can be completed. Unfortunately, an unknown probe, possibly belonging to the Ordanians from the SG-One Episode Learning Curve managed to record the invasion fleet and escape into Hyperspace before it could be destroyed.

I know this chapter was mostly set up for other stuff down the line, but you'll get more action soon, I promise. Hopefully, you guys didn't find this too boring and are still with me.

Speaking of more action, the next chapter will be the assault on the Âu Cơ Fortress.

Stay tuned. . .