"Egeria, what kind of stupid creature would build a pyramid that supports a khattak five hundred meters from the gate?" I asked her, looking at the data provided by Perseus.
"Lazy. It's much easier to supply that way," the Tok'ra queen replied.
"Do you know how much I can get it for?"
"It's a common logistics point where ships land to resupply via the Gate. As you demonstrated with poor Raiden, transporting the Gate aboard a ship isn't the smartest solution, as it allows the enemy to use powerful bombs without violating the Protocol of War."
"And I know of several Kronos ships that are due to replenish their supplies soon. By the way, I sincerely pity this man. He was betrayed by an ashrak who served for two thousand years. He thought he was loyal, but it turns out he's loyal to Zeus. He'll probably do the same as me: find some fools and destroy them, gaining his initial army."
"Yes, that's pretty much how it will happen. Except that my children might already be aware of your actions and help undermine Kronos's power," Egeria pointed out the obvious.
"I was hoping that there would be information about the Tok'ra in Tartarus, since they were supposed to meet there."
"They're hardly in prison," Egeria replied sadly. "After all, Tartarus is still a prison. Besides, prisoners might commit suicide to keep secrets from being revealed."
"Yes, that's true."
Logistics bases in Goa'uld territory are uninhabited planets where various supplies are delivered through gates. Patrol ships are usually supplied this way, but the location of a huttak five hundred meters from the pyramid leading to the gate still baffles me. It was probably on one of these planets that Mitchell reached Baal's huttak. The attack plans will be quite prosaic: take off on threaders, surround the ship, and force it to surrender. There's even a special scenario: a threader lands on the ship's hull, which detonates inside using a shaped charge. Landing opposite the bridge effectively means victory. Furthermore, another threader with a bomb can be used, with the condition that if anyone attempts to take off, the bomb will detonate.
This way, I won't violate protocol by deploying an overly powerful explosive on the planet. As a result, I'll have three Huttaks, which will effectively become another squadron for my growing fleet. However, they still need to be delivered to Urvashi, and to do that, I'll have to leave the Goa'uld's sensor arrays so no one can track the squadron. I might have to take a detour through the galaxy.
"Now you'll keep quiet."
"Yes, there's no point in attracting the attention of the other inhabitants with the volume of orders I'm fulfilling for now," I replied. "I'll focus on Earth and finally capture Kenya."
"What did Kenya do to you?"
"A British colony with an active guerrilla movement. It will be fairly easy to control through agents. Then we can move on to Somalia and Ethiopia, establishing control over a certain section of an important trade route. I'll also be working on living German, American, and Soviet generals to extract the necessary information from them and train my commanders in new combat tactics."
"Human beings fight using extensive supply chains, while the Goa'uld don't show such a massive reliance on supplies. You should take that into account. I suppose that's why you didn't bother designing artillery or rocket artillery."
"For starters, it's too disruptive. And yes, long supply chains are a factor to consider. It's important to be mobile and not carry too much cargo. With the advent of food engineering technology, it became possible to create high-calorie bars that take up little space and weigh little. This has reduced the transportation burden several times over. I have ideas for heavy weapons for the Jaffa—a robot capable of carrying four plasma cannons, which would serve as infantry support. This is a potential replacement for tanks, albeit with a shorter range. I have a slightly different concept for troop deployment, emphasizing air power as a means of infantry support."
"Goa'uld Classics."
"Yes, in terms of mobility this is a significant advantage."
"Listen, Szareh, I think you should focus on civilian technologies for a while. I've seen the consequences of focusing solely on military developments. You have so many scientists with whom you could experiment with various technologies. Considering that your research led to the discovery of thermonuclear fusion technology, the available energy is truly enormous. Several dozen civilian projects would be a very useful avenue for your efforts."
I felt a little offended.
"I have a project to configure nanites for wastewater treatment. This requires selecting a special class of nanites and training them for this function, more precisely, using a neural network. Then there are ideas for developing space resource mining using recently mined shields. This, of course, will make the process more expensive, but will significantly reduce the risks to humans: in space, there is no threat of groundwater flooding. Then there are improving the omni-tool, creating tactile holograms. And, of course, my main project is a station capable of generating solar energy."
"Yes, it's a very ambitious idea. Essentially, it's about access to unlimited energy," Egeria confirmed.
"A separate question is whether it will be possible to move these stations through the gate. Then, deploying colonies won't require significant infrastructure investments; everything can be delivered through the gate."
"Are you interested in experiments with energy?"
"Yes, I'm essentially an engineer. If I weren't distracted from the lab, I'd be happy," I admitted to her. "But that's not how it works. I know the highest form of energy is Potentium. Have you ever seen Ra's sixty-centimeter-long yellow crystal?"
"Is this something important?"
"An artificial universe, the main energy tool of the Ancients," I decided to reveal some details to Egeria.
"It seemed like he had something similar, like a ritual object, but the scanners didn't give any energy information. Just a regular glowing crystal."
"It's good they didn't connect any wires to it. Yes, it's Potentium. I know a couple of other places where it might be. One of them is the base on Proklarush Taonas, but the gate there is most likely destroyed. And that's Apophis's territory, and we have a strained relationship with him."
"Even if you were best friends, no one would give the Ancient artifact to anyone."
"I wonder why? Another base is on Earth, under a thick layer of ice. I know the approximate location based on some Ancient data. It must have been near the Earth Gate, but if we extrapolate how many years ago the Ancients left Earth, the ice there could be up to a kilometer thick. The base was on the surface of Antarctica."
"Then that's quite a lot. We can't begin excavations secretly," Egeria pointed out. "Abstergo Industries isn't influential enough to justify the expenditure of such resources, let alone Israel or the Central American countries. They still have a long way to go to establish themselves."
"That's why I wait patiently. There's no rush: it's important not only to obtain something, but also to hold on to it. Therefore, everything I can't hold on to, I give to Asgard. For example, I know where the Eye of Ra is, I'm carefully searching for the Eye of Osiris, and I suspect the location of the Eye given to Marduk. I even know Marduk's fate: his own priests locked him in a sarcophagus with a carnivorous beast. But the planet eludes me."
"Three out of six. You were wise to leave the Eye of Ra alone. The other two are held by Apophis and Baal. The last one is the Eye of Balor, but I discovered that he is dead, and his territory is occupied by the Morrigan."
"So the Eye is somewhere on her planet," I shrugged. The Eye was a rather old and dark secret of the Goa'uld, one they don't talk about. It's a naquadah energy amplifier, similar to the one O'Neill created, but permanent and ageless. Essentially, you could install it on any ship, and you'd have plenty of power. A good deal, but Ra divided these artifacts among the other Lords to stabilize the Empire. Ships with such technology are by no means invincible, and I didn't want to risk everyone uniting against me. I'm interested in this, for example, for strengthening the Khasar station. For ships, it's also interesting to have a so-called "ubership," although it's ineffective. Anubis can confirm: if everyone wants to destroy it, they'll find a way.
The station, however, is a stationary object, and it's much harder to consider it "strange." An "Übership" is an offensive weapon, and it'll be quickly discovered, while an "Überstation" is a defensive weapon, not to mention other applications. For example, energy storage: increasing the reactor's energy output tenfold is a HUGE increase. Imagine a single power plant unit producing more than tenfold, while consuming the same amount of working fluid. With stationary naquadah generators (after receiving upgrades from Asgard), this multiplier will be even greater. – As part of my civilian projects, I have an idea for building special cabins with holograms that will serve as recreation centers. In fact, this is a military development for simulating situations and training, but in the future, it can be used for civilian purposes as well. However, the project will be very complex. Essentially, the rooms need to have stable fields of the required shape, which will be filled with light. This is the next stage in the development of entertainment, where you appear as if you were on television. A participant in the film.
"This is going to be VERY difficult."
"I know. – Yes, I want to create holodecks from Star Trek. – It will be not just difficult, but practically impossible to do alone. Even a team of the most talented specialists would need centuries. The data from that neural network helps; it has reached peak optimization in relation to these fields. But it has never tried to shape them into, say, a human being. The amount of analytical work is simply colossal."
Egeria glanced at me sideways.
"What? You yourself wanted me to have a hobby other than capturing planets and hiring people. Actually, I have other interests: archaeology."
"You're just using archeology to find Goa'uld or Ancient artifacts, it's the same job."
Jaffa education demonstrates high rates, and soon, when sufficient helmets and training programs are available, the literacy rate among the population will reach 100%. This is also directly related to work: a competent person is able to master instructions. With the rapid advancement of technology, the industrial revolution is taking a very unusual turn.
This is a problem the Goa'uld could have solved long ago.
I admit, my plans for the development of other worlds in the absence of the Goa'uld weren't as detailed as yours. I constantly get the feeling that their existence is endless.
"Nothing lasts forever," I assert, knowing full well that the Goa'uld may be gone in six decades. However, most of them have fallen at the hands of Anubis, Baal, and RepliCarter. I have no intention of allowing the latter to continue to exist, and Anubis must also be dealt with. Thus, a significant portion of the burden will fall on me for the next fifty years. "Everyone leaves this world one day."
"I see you are an incorrigible optimist."
"You're talking to the man who came up with the idea of freeing the Jaffa using glider chairs."
"Universe, it's good you didn't resort to this nonsense!" Egeria exclaimed. "I don't even understand how your plans succeed."
"I am a talented self-taught person."
"Unless."
She returned to her duties, as she had many, as did I. Another Jaffa bounty needed to be handed out, then I should visit Isara. Perhaps I really do need a vacation. A tropical island would be perfect for both of us.