The doors of the governor's residence slammed behind him as he departed. After checking the backup feeds of the cameras that were supposed to be my eyes and ears on this godforsaken planet, I dialed the coveted address. Why had I let her go? They'd told me, "Social skills are the key to resource management." A Jaffa? He would have died rather than betray his master. The Goa'uld, this entity, vanished into thin air, for dying for Vritra's interests was meaningless to her. This was an opportunity I couldn't miss. Killing her when she was so generous with her information wouldn't just be unsightly—it smacked of cheap action movies and unnecessary cruelty.
How did I capture the governor's residence so quickly? It's simple: anti-gravity bikes. Indeed, cavalry has always had its advantages over infantry. Speed, the ability to bypass traps and strike at the most vulnerable points. The Asura, those mindless soldiers, couldn't keep up with these lightning-fast raids. My men would come up behind them, firing from their built-in staves like elegant daggers slicing through flesh. Furthermore, capturing the governor's residence opened up a prime defensive position—narrow passages where the Asura, obligated to come to the aid of their overlord, perished in the line of duty. They didn't know how to concentrate their forces, always scattered, and a hundred warriors on anti-gravity bikes instantly reduced groups of three or five Jaffa to dust, like a pack of hungry wolves tearing apart lost sheep. Everything in their path was destroyed in seconds. And the worst part was the lack of radios among most of them. They had no idea their world was collapsing. Krel, my intelligence genius, mapped the locations of the asuras and their dwellings with astonishing accuracy. And so, a hundred motorcyclists took down a thousand enemies in a day. Another advantage: the helmets with targeting systems. Jaffa, trained without them, with the new equipment turned into phantom snipers.
Do you recall that legendary scene where Carter demonstrated the P90's superiority? A dubious advantage, my friend. There was the proper stance, iron discipline, and years of training. The local Jaffa, however, fired from the hip first, then, struggling to hold that poorly balanced "magic wand," tried to hit the target. The problem was the guidance system. The humans, with their sophisticated targeting systems, had a colossal advantage. But there's one catch—ammunition. It's either catastrophically scarce, or so much that your back sags under the weight, but still, it's scarce. 20-30% of a weapon's supply is ammo. And plasma weapons? They don't even know the word "ammunition"! Priceless! A couple of subtle improvements, and my Jaffa appear to the enemy as elite, trained to the limit. And no "troublemakers" liberally throwing around technology.
As for the mercenary story... It was an excellent cover, a logical explanation for the uninitiated. By all the rules of war: seize the resources, hold the planet. But I did it differently. The excuse of a mercenary contract, of my fighters simply not being interested in owning their own worlds, explained a lot to those capable of thinking. And to those who could replace me if I suddenly vanished. "The fool died, the feast continues!" – that's what they'll think. By the way, while this girl is getting to Vritra, it would be a sin not to pay a visit to the younger Goa'uld and the Alkesh. I wonder what his interest rate is on them? I should spare his life and find out. Yes, me and my "Rah credit." I wonder if he was an asshole or a fair ruler?
The Alkesh would have been a magnificent addition to my armada. True, they were on the other side of the galaxy, which required a considerable investment—either redeploying ships or seizing some abandoned planet nearby and dismantling the bombers. Granted, they're much larger, and dismantling them would take more time and effort, but time is something I have in abundance. Standard protocol: scout the gate, launch a satellite (why doesn't anyone scan the orbit?!), mark the main targets, and then attack on motorcycles. That's a whole other story. I didn't use them on Prakitia; there were so many enemies there that no amount of speed would have helped. Losses would have been inevitable. But here, killing a thousand is much faster than seventy thousand with motorcycles. Here, bombs are what really matter for mass destruction.
We left the planet's natives alone. They hid in their burrows, which suited me just fine. We took the Jaffa corpse to the ravine, stripped it, dumped it in, and used the flamethrower. Leaving behind a trail of infection was definitely not my plan. Meanwhile, a convoy of trucks arrived through the gate, loaded with staffs, grenades, various food supplies, and, of course, gold. What would a Goa'uld be without gold, naquadah? There wasn't much of it here, already refined. Essentially, we arrived, took everything that was lying around loose, and what was nailed down, we unscrewed from the walls and carried away. The colony wasn't particularly wealthy, so the entire procedure took minimal time.
"Krel, we have a lot of work to do, how many more planets need to be plundered!" I bleated cheerfully.
"Yes, sir," my "first warrior" replied dejectedly. His dejection seemed to stem solely from the fact that everything was happening far too easily. Although, admittedly, he was having fun, too. I didn't care about the Jaffa. As people, they might be pitiful, but they were the backbone of my enemies' power. And I don't have the cheat codes from the show for when a rebellion erupts over a single Teal'c. Therefore, only direct physical elimination. Although, who ever won a war without killing? And the Jaffa are even better than ordinary people. At least no one feels sorry for them. Ask any planet they've attacked.
"Other commanders need experience. Attack planets where Vritra's military presence is the smallest. No unnecessary risks. Retreat if necessary. Leave no dead on the battlefield. And if the body cannot be retrieved, methodically destroy the head."
"That would require preparation to attack multiple planets simultaneously using gate-blocking tactics," Krel pointed out the obvious.
"It's good that we have Icarus, Heliopolis, and a couple of other desert planets. We'll form strike forces and use them as bases for attack. I'll operate with the first and second companies. I'll entrust you with the third, fourth, and fifth. Distribute the rest among the free planets."
I don't know what's going on in Vritra's palace, but it's certainly nothing good. Actually, she'll be even happier. The thing is, my powers are an imbalance. They allow me to use a minimum of Jaffa to win. And then there's orbital scanning! It's not that I have anything personal against Vritra. It's just that I only know the gate addresses of her planets, so I can safely test my weapons there.
"By the way, I came up with a great tactic here..."