The Jaffa descended swiftly from the roof, penetrating straight to the seventh floor and occupying key stairwells, ready to meet anyone who dared ascend. They clutched Intars, weapons disguised as Z-types, and a multitude of stun grenades.
- Sir, we could have crushed them with a direct attack, you shouldn't have taken such a risk.
"And countless hordes of them would pour in here. This world is primitive, but it has known the crucible of war. I don't have a fleet here capable of imposing my will. Subtlety is required, and the Jaffa never take the easy way out."
The clearing of the next floor was no different from the previous one. The first to be attacked were the occupants of the offices, whose doors were blocked, and then the guards. Fortunately, few people came up from the lower floors to see the authorities. The few such strays were knocked unconscious, and precious time began to slip away. After all, they had to return, and their absence would have raised alarm. Moreover, they could contact their superiors, which inexorably reduced the remaining minutes.
Having cleared the fifth floor with grenades, I gave the order to deploy an EMP. In an instant, all the lights in the rooms went out, and the Jaffa immediately sprang into action. Equipped with night vision goggles, they easily found and stunned the sentries, then, advancing through the corridors, tossed grenades into the offices where people were congregating. Using the element of surprise and the complete darkness, the Jaffa gained an undeniable technological advantage. The MGB officers screamed in panic, trying to light their way with lighters. However, they were quickly discovered and knocked out with a few well-timed shots from their Intars. Almost the entire communications unit was neutralized, and several had to be stunned in the classic sense—with blows to the head. Fortunately, the communications officers were unarmed.
"The second floor is clear," the Jaffa coordinating the attack reported to me. "All targets have been neutralized. Only the first floor and the underground areas remain. Entrances to the prison block are minimal. The guards can be completely incapacitated."
— Excellent. Tell the second Teltak to fly to where I left the stasis pods. Load them up and return.
The operation proceeded flawlessly, without a single alarm or unforeseen circumstance. The top floor remained. Someone could run out the doors and open fire to attract attention. The EMP jamming only affected one building. If residents had seen the shootout near Lubyanka… They would have called the appropriate authorities. Sensing the loss of all communication with the building, the authorities could have sent in troops.
So, when storming the first floor, the Jaffa first blocked all the doors. Then, moving away from the doors, they stunned anyone they encountered. It was very convenient when everyone was heading out into the hallways to ask each other, "What happened?" They could be hit with grenades. Of course, there were still those who noticed the blaster shots and screamed. But their move was doomed—the operator saw it and ordered the person to be surrounded and stunned.
- Sir, all enemies have been neutralized.
"Okay," I wanted to go around to everyone and wipe their memories, but that would be a hassle. I'll have to return the weapons I took. I didn't carry them far, though. "Post guards. If anyone comes, let them in and knock them out."
After that, the Teltak descended from the roof into the courtyard to facilitate the transfer of the stunned prisoners, rather than dragging them up to the roof of a seven-story building. I found Raoul Wallenberg and his driver fairly quickly. The officer in charge of the investigation had their names and cell numbers listed in his file. They were stunned first and transported by Teltak. By then, the second ship had arrived, and we were able to load the remaining prisoners, along with their personal files, onto the transport. There were two hundred of them in total, so the stasis capsules had to be stacked in several rows. While the Jaffa were loading them, I methodically wiped everyone's memory. This would only take a couple of minutes before something extraordinary happened. In a few days, I would dump all the prisoners near some American commandant's office, along with their personal files. If they are political prisoners, they will most likely be released and given asylum, and if they are German officers who have committed crimes, they will also be released. Then the most seriously wounded will need to be treated to prevent their death.
"Sir, two vehicles have pulled up to the door. There are more than twenty people there."
— It seems I didn't answer some call.
- Stun them and retreat.
An infantry platoon, just deploying, was quickly hit with grenades. It's worth noting that we don't have many grenades, they're just reusable. They're not widely used on the battlefield, as any sufficiently thick cover can serve as a shield against a stun field, and their range is limited. A useful tool, but nothing more. They were dragged inside the building, after which we retreated. In the end, I left with only the prisoners and their personal information, as well as proof that they were at Lubyanka. Let this be the mystery of the century: who or what carried out such a daring operation. I can immediately imagine the headlines: "The Secret of the Lubyanka Escape Revealed," with senile lunatics spouting ravings. However, the lunatic talking about aliens will turn out to be right.
I was sitting next to two stunned men, one of whom was starting to come to. He opened his eyes, and a ray of sunlight hit them straight in. He jumped up in horror, looked around, and spotted me sitting by the fire, devouring pizza. He seemed to think he'd gone crazy: he'd fallen asleep in an MGB cell and woke up on some rocks, with a stranger eating pizza next to him.
"You're not crazy," I said softly in English.
— Is this another provocation?
"Oh, I don't work for the MGB. To be precise, I am the ruler of my own state. Although Queen Isara might argue. You're in Sweden. There's a village five minutes' walk down the path. We're not that far from Stockholm. I left you some local currency so you could get home. You've saved a lot of people, Raoul. Karmic justice, you might say. I was just in need of a diplomat with your level of influence. I'll contact you in the future for a few favors; they won't be onerous. I delivered your cellmates to Germany, near the American commandant's office. Your driver is lying next to you. You can find out about it when you get home. Good luck."
I contacted a Teltak that emerged from behind the rocks and hovered above me. Then I activated the rings and vanished in a flash of light. I don't think he'll tell me about this. Now I need to get back to the US to find some businessman in trouble. And I also need to stop by Glastonbury. The Knights must have somehow gotten into Merlin's Vault. I need to find the local rings. Or I can simply try to contact the rings at a depth of 900 meters by landing on the surface. Without Asgard scanners, I'll have to rely on a background signal.
He had the Wallenberg file in his suit. I had to change it, as it was clearly inappropriately dressed, as was his driver's file. Well, I've rewarded one of the "Righteous Among the Nations." Now I need to address the more mercantile issues. I need someone capable of purchasing huge quantities of products for me and disguising them. Considering it's the 1940s, I have plenty of guaranteed-to-be-popular ideas. So, I can easily afford to pay with intellectual property. At the same time, I need someone capable of finding Seth. He's definitely not in Europe, as a stray bomb could have killed him there, and he wouldn't tolerate that risk. I think he'd choose the US: it's peaceful there and there are no risks for someone with his desires and capabilities. Canada and Mexico are also options. I don't think he'll attract too much attention by expanding his cult. Up to a hundred people would be plenty; in 2000, he had 50, which isn't all that many. Which makes him, as a cultist, a low priority for the government. Seth has been here for over five thousand years, so he should have easily understood how to hide, aided by his nishta reserves. Storming his fortress would be difficult. Seth could have become careless with his nishta, but SG-1's approach was overly optimistic. He also probably has scanners capable of tracking Goa'uld ships, so he knows when to hide, so it's best not to fly near him in a Teltak.
At the same time, I need to find a place where I can properly place the gate, so that it's private, protected territory, and no one can encroach on it. It should also be large enough to store a large amount of products. Essentially, I need a large warehouse. Although, in reality, I need to create full-fledged identities with school certificates and other documents. Fortunately, people are fleeing Europe now, so this can be done. Before digitalization, it will be difficult to correlate multiple identities. But someone has to administer it: pay the bills, keep their existence known to the system. Of course, I can't do that. I have an entire planet to manage, and an entire galaxy to explore.