Chapter 8

Canens, it turned out, was a smaller woman, or at least her host was. It was difficult for me to think in terms of Symbiote and Host even now, after living as a Goa'uld for some time. Regardless, she was a smaller woman, perhaps five feet tall, maybe an inch or two above that. Her brown, hair was done in a loose braid that hung down to her shoulders, and she wore a white tank top and olive green pants. It was an ensemble more akin to that of an engineer than a planetary ruler, which made me curious.

That outfit could have been chosen for practicality's sake. I had offered to show her some of my technology, after all. However, my gut instinct of Canens being a Tok'ra Infiltrator made me think the outfit had been chosen for more ulterior motives. It could have been her hearing of my reputation as an engineer that got her to choose such an outfit. After all, one of the best ways to ingratiate yourself with someone is to mirror their interests.

Canens was flanked by two Jaffa in Lorica-style Armor that looked like the sort of thing a Roman Legionary would wear, only adapted to the Jaffa. One was a Man with the typical Latin features, Olive Skin, and dark hair. The other was a Woman who looked suspiciously like Canens did, more Vedic-looking like the people of Kali's Realm than Latin. Both had Canens' Mark, a single, musical musical note, tattooed on their foreheads.

"Canens. Allow me to introduce Chen, my First Prime." I spoke up, inclining my head toward Chen.

Chen stepped forward, giving a respectful nod to Canens who scarcely inclined her head back. In turn, she motioned for the Female Jaffa to her right to step forward, which the Jaffa did with a smooth, practiced motion, tossing off a Roman Salute as she did so.

"This is Livia, my own First Prime." Introduced Canens.

"I am certain that she and Chen will have much to discuss during the course of events. I believe he has a demonstration of our Tianyan Staff Rifles, Tianjia Armor, and Diàn Jiàn Model Zat'nic'tels planned to show the new capabilities of my Jaffa." I nodded.

"Is that so? You have created new versions of weapons and armor for your Jaffa, along with Ha'tak modifications. If I didn't know any better, one might think that you have some grand war planned." Intoned Canens.

"Fishing for information, Canens?" I questioned.

"Can you blame me? It's all so intriguing." Queried Canens.

"That depends on what information you glean. Come, walk with me." I prompted.

And with that, we made our way down through the City of Yungong. I had to be careful here, as if Canens was not, in fact, a Tok'ra infiltrator, then showing her too much of Yungong and the ongoing work to improve conditions here could very well backfire on me. After all, the overwhelming majority of Goa'uld Society viewed the Humans of the Empire as little better than cattle and Jaffa as just barely better than that.

While you started to get more Abnormal Goa'uld who were more rational and not megalomaniacal, paranoid, or both, the further down the ladder of power you got, they also never were the majority at any rung of the latter. The constant eugenics-based culling and the consistent defections to the Tok'ra ensured that much. If I was wrong about Canens, then she might deduce from the public works projects that I was an Abnormal Goa'uld and try to blackmail me, likely for technology.

To that end, I made sure to pass by one of our Jaffa Posts first. To show how prepared we were for any potential threats. There were several of these posts in each city, small facilities not unlike police precincts back on earth where Yungong's City Guard of Jaffa would operate from. They were each a fortified structure well-stocked with equipment and well-garrisoned with Jaffa on a rotation.

As we passed by the Jaffa Post, however, a pair of Jaffa were busily taking a statement from a Human woman. Apparently, her bakery had been broken into and stolen from. While the thieves had been caught by the Jaffa, the day's batch of rice bread had been ruined in the scuffle, along with several sacks of rice flour. It was here where an opportunity to show my benevolence and see if I couldn't endear myself to the Tok'ra came in.

"What seems to be the problem here?" I asked.

"My Lord! We weren't expecting you to come by." Bowed the Jaffa. The Baker was also bowing, just a tad deeper than the Jaffa were.

"Come now, rise and tell me what's going on." I commanded.

"A gang of thieves broke into my Bakery, My Lord. The Guard Apprehended them, but the thieves ruined the day's batch of Rice Bread and several sacks of Rice Flour in the process." Informed the Baker.

"It's a local group, My Lord. We believe they're affiliated with a Pair of Oranian Smugglers led by an Oranian named Tenat and Jup." Informed the Lead Jaffa.

"Oranians? Is Oran not Ba'al's responsibility? Is his territory not closest to there? What are they doing operating here?" I questioned.

"Unknown, My Lord, however, it may be possible that Lord Ba'al is attempting to starve the Oranians into submission, resulting in such raids for food further afield." Theorized the Lead Jaffa.

"I shall bring it up with Lord Yu when next we meet. If Ba'al's actions are causing our people to go hungry, then that is something Lord Yu must redress with Ba'al. In the meantime, I am authorizing the replacement of this woman's lost grain with grain from the municipal granary. I also wish you to interrogate these thieves as to their Oranian Partners. I want to know their motives, what routes they may take, and any safehouses they might have on-world. They would have had to store the Rice Flour somewhere before transporting it off-world. Find out where that is and gather a team to assault it. No one steals from my people and gets away with it." I ordered.

"It shall be done, My Lord." Saluted the Lead Jaffa.

"Oh, thank you, My Lord. Truly your benevolence knows no bounds!" Praised the Baker.

As we made our way further into Yungong, I looked over to Canens. Her expression was unreadable, but I could tell she was thinking about what she'd just seen. Most Goa'uld wouldn't care enough about some lost Servant Woman's grain to replace it, and most were not nearly as protective of their subjects. That I was seemed to not be something she had expected and she was turning that over in her mind.

For good measure, I took her past one of the schools, one of the factories, and one of the Apartment Complexes I'd had built for the local workforce to be educated, live in, and work in. That gave Canens even more to chew over before we made our way to the proving grounds where Chen's Demonstration of our new Jaffa Equipment was to take place. When we arrived, Chen left to go set everything up. That allowed Canens to ask the questions that she seemed to be burning to ask.

"You treat your slaves well." Mused Canens.

"I do not see them as slaves so much as subjects, and I am their Lord. For a realm to be run well, it must be run with benevolence, else all order breaks down." I shrugged.

"I see. You certainly are benevolent. Schools, Housing with electricity and running water. One might think you a weak ruler. Abnormal even." Pointed out Canens.

"The Ma'tok Staff Rifles, Tianjia Armor, Diàn Jiàn Model Zat'nic'tels, and other equipment require a workforce that has some minimum level of education to be manufactured properly. Aside from that, a happy workforce is a productive workforce. You will find that while it is often easier to rule through fear, such things breed inefficiencies like a Taurus breeds lice. Rule with benevolence, however, mindful of your workers' needs, and you will never suffer such setbacks once in a hundred years." I responded.

"So your policy of benevolence is more one of enlightened self-interest?" Queried Canens.

"Indeed. Pointless cruelty is one thing our brethren seem to enjoy that offers them more setbacks than successes. Have you never wondered why the Empire has suffered through six Jaffa results? Why the Nox and Asgard despise us, even after we rose to such prominence? Why the Tok'ra revolted and remain a thorn in the Empire's side to this day?" I asked.

"Most would say it is simple jealousy on the part of such decrepit empires, unruly slaves, and defective Goa'uld." Retorted Canens.

"Most are fools. It is the pointless cruelty to those we rule, the constant assaults on outside empires in the name of making more slaves, and the incessant quarreling amongst ourselves that caused such things. Setbacks and failures where there need have been none." I laid out.

"And you think that benevolent rule will rectify such setbacks?" Pressed Canens.

"At the very least, by ruling benevolently and well, it will not cause any further setbacks." I opined.

As Canens thought on that, however, the demonstration began. It started with the same demonstration of the Tianyan Staff Rifles that so impressed Lord Yu, with hand-picked Jaffa firing at targets made of standard Jaffa Armor. As the Staff Rifles blew large holes in the targets with single, well-aimed shots, I could see Canens' gaze turn calculating. When the Tianjia Armor withstood the first few Tianyan Staff Rifle Shots, thanks to the ablative layer, carbon nanolattice, and thin Trinium Alloy Plating, the calculating gaze settled into a frown. When the Diàn Jiàn Model Zat'nic'tels used the EMP Setting to short-circuit an Automated Intar Emplacement, that frown only deepened. The whole demonstration ended with a display of small-unit tactics as squads maneuvered and fired around a mock battlefield to take a fortress mock-up defended by an equal number of Jaffa.

I could practically see the gears in Canens' head turning as we returned to the Palace. I invited her to the evening meal before retiring to my own chambers for more tinkering. I was hoping to figure out a way to use the improved Voc'uume that I'd come up with to allow for a holofield projector that could be used on a personal level, similar to the Stragoth Mimetic Imaging Device.

I would be so absorbed in that work that I would almost miss dinner. . .

XXXX

As soon as she'd been shown to her room in Erlang Shen's Palace, Salem immediately took out a device that was disguised as a personal datapad and began scanning for bugs. She found only two, one microphone and one micro-camera. Positively lax security by, normal, paranoid, Goa'uld Standards. That only seemed to confirm her suspicions, though how an Abnormal Goa'uld managed to gain a position as Lord Yu's Grand Chancellor was beyond Salem.

'Be wary, Salem. Erlang Shen may appear to be Abnormal, but that does not make it so. It could be a ruse meant to lure us into a false sense of security.' Cautioned Zelida, internally.

'But why would he do that? What would be the point?' Thought Back Salem.

'Perhaps he already suspects that Canens is a ruse and that we are Tok'ra Infiltrators? Such a thing sadly isn't uncommon among the shrewder Goa'uld.' Offered Zelida, mentally.

'I suppose it's possible, but what would be the point? If he wanted us killed or captured, he wouldn't need to go through all this. It's more likely that he's genuine, which gives us an opportunity.' Insisted Salem in her mind.

'Possibly, but it also opens up potential complications. He's a member of Lord Yu's Court, which means that any actions taken by the High Council in the Area have a chance of outing him if we do manage to cultivate him as an agent. If that happens, his technology will likely be spread around the Empire rather than concentrated in the hands of Lord Yu and his Underlords. That isn't an ideal scenario.' Reminded Zelida, via thought.

'And that military demonstration was no ruse, I confirmed it with Livia. That level of technical and military capacity was all real. With that sort of technology spread around, who knows what sort of things that someone like Apophis or Cronus would get up to? The opportunity may still be worth it, however.' Remarked Salem, telepathically.

It was true. Livia, not actually a brainwashed Jaffa so much as the only Jaffa who knew of Scout and Zelida's position as Tok'ra agents, had been offered the chance to fire one of those Tianyan Staff Rifles herself and had reported that everything they'd seen from the equipment in the demonstration was true. If the Tok'ra could flip the Goa'uld who had invented such equipment and functioned as the Chief Underlord of one of the most powerful System Lords in the Empire? A Goa'uld who was at least seemingly sympathetic to Tok'ra Attitudes and Ideology? That would be huge.

On the other hand, the potential for catastrophe was likewise enormous. If Erlang Shen was playing Salem and Zelida for fools and feigning his sympathies to lure them into a trap, then that was one more Tok'ra Agent who would be captured, interrogated, and executed. If Erlang Shen's Sympathies were genuine and they managed to flip him, he might get entangled in potential operations against Lord Yu, which would be even worse than if he was faking, as his technology would be spread around to other, more outwardly sinister, Goa'uld than Lord Yu ever was.

It was a tough decision to make, and one that neither Zelida nor Salem could make on their own. It would have to wait for a more opportune moment, but they had to do something that neither of them really wanted to do while on-world in Imperial Territory. They would have to contact the Tok'ra High Council for Orders. The communications device they had worked off an uplink to the Musicum Ferrum, whose communications were powerful enough to send an encrypted, tightbeam, message back to the High Council via FTL Comms.

If this was a trap, however, and Erlang Shen was watching the Musicum Ferrum for any sign of treachery, it was possible his Jaffa would pick up the transmission. They might not be able to decode it in time, but that wouldn't matter. Salem and Zelida would be captured on suspicion of treachery as a matter of course. That would lead to an interrogation that might end with Salem spilling what Tok'ra safehouses and codes she knew if she couldn't commit suicide in time. It was a gamble, but it was just one they would have to take. They would do so just after midnight.

Hopefully, this would work out all right. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, here's the next part of the Tok'ra visit. Erlang Shen is not at all what Salem or Zelida expected. On the one hand, an Abnormal Goa'uld in the position that Erlang Shen is in would be a massive boon to the Tok'ra as an ally or intelligence asset. On the other hand, there are a couple of different ways that trying to flip him could go wrong.

Ultimately, the Tok'ra Agents impersonating the Goa'uld Canens have decided to call back to the Tok'ra High Council and request orders as to how to proceed. That is risky in and of itself, mind you. If anyone is watching their Ha'tak and scanning for potential treachery, things could escalate in a way that's bad for the Tok'ra, but orders have to be gotten.

For Erlang Shen's Part, he's mostly trying to cultivate the Tok'ra as allies for the inevitable disintegration of the Goa'uld Empire that is going to happen after the Abydos Mission. He figures that he can get a line to the SGC through the Tok'ra, and with it, Earth's help in reforming at least some part of the Goa'uld Empire into being not so cartoonishly evil.

At any rate, we'll see the next part of the Tok'ra visit in the next chapter.

Stay tuned. . .