Mr Zoat
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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
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Ngamer11
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That cop talking about Paul's admission of the Justice League's takeover of Earth has me wondering what the general populace thinks of him now. They saw him as the Cake Guy but also acknowledge that he should be in the Justice League, regardless of his stated reasons for not joining. Depending on how many people know the plan to purge Earth of the Anti-Life was his, they might low-key be scared of what his presence in any place might mean and think of him as the JL's unofficial dirty jobs guy.
Steelplaza
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I was looking through some older updates set in the immediate aftermath of the anti-life crisis yesterday, and there's one where OL literally begins a conversation by asking, "What morally dubious thing would you like me to talk you into today, Kal-el?"
Ngamer11
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I was thinking what the general public, as in civilians, military officers, and government personnel, think of Paul. The Justice League knows Paul is fully willing to cross lines they themselves are hesitant or refuse to cross so long as he thinks it is the right, or at least most pragmatic, thing to do.
Prince Charon
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Which episode was that, please?
Ngamer11
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It happened in part 5 of Episode 143: Reconstruction.
Anarkic (part 4)
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Mr Zoat
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1st May 2013
08:52 GMT -5
His face hardens, and he leans back a little in his chair, not focusing on us. Considering his options, I imagine.
Alan turns towards me, raising his eyebrows. "Orange Lantern?"
"A group of professional thieves working for someone wouldn't have direct contact. If they'd demonstrated that they were competent and knew how to keep their mouths shut, there would be at least one degree of separation between the person directing them and the team. There can't be direct communication because the big boss needs to be insulated, but there can't be too many gaps because the more people know the higher the chance of miscommunication or leaks. I'd imagine that our friend here has only met the person who gives him orders… Once? Maybe not even that. There's a protocol for communication, but the thing is, any protocol that doesn't involve direct meetings can be learned by a sufficiently clever observer."
He doesn't look worried, but he is making a point of controlling his expressions rather more tightly.
"Let us assume that the lawyer you contacted is… Probably burnable. Just there to handle the initial stuff, while your director tries to decide how much it's worth helping you. Now, if he thinks that you're moonlighting, things are about to get jolly interesting, because once you get released on bail he's going to want a rather sharp talk with you. Now, given the current environment I doubt that whoever it is would have you killed to ensure your silence or anything like that, but they might actually let you go to prison without a fight as a reminder to check who it is that's sending you messages a bit more carefully."
I shrug, smiling.
"I suppose we'll get some inkling based on how quickly the lawyer turns up. How long has it been?"
Johanna shrugs. "Just a few hours, yes? It was a Sunday, and it was unexpected. People are busy. It is not something to worry about. Unt the police must schedule things after completing their forensic examinations or how would they know what to ask you? Hm."
He blinks, slowly. "Are you making an offer, or are you just blowing smoke up my ass?"
"We have no authority to make an offer. Though I.. suppose, that if you had been induced to burgle LexCorp under false pretences, that might work in your favour. If only to reassure your ultimate employer that you were loyal to them. At least to the degree that you don't go spilling your guts when anyone applies any pressure."
"You think talking to you would convince someone that I don't talk."
"I'm not asking you who your regular sponsor is. I'm not much interested in them. I'm interested in someone who might have used you as a distraction by pretending to be them, and if that did happen, then you'd be off the hook with your employer. Plus, since you've asked for a lawyer, nothing you say here is admissible as evidence."
He smiles. "Law-yer."
I shrug. "As you will. I respect your good judgement. But I wonder… If someone did use you as a distraction… How much do they respect you?"
I smile at Alan and Johanna.
"I don't believe our friend is interested in talking to us. Shall we try the others?"
1st May 2013
08:56 GMT -5
"Lawyer."
Alan frowns. "If-."
"Lawyer." The interviewee takes a sip of water from their glass. "Lawyer now?"
1st May 2013
09:03 GMT -5
"…really great cake." I wince. "I just watched the whole thing. Snack and a show. Thought about keeping it but…" He shrugs. "I could not find out how it tasted, could I?"
Johanna is openly staring at me. I ignore her, maintaining my smile and clicking the fingers of my right hand together. A piece of paper with a rationalisation of the recipe appears and floats over to him.
"Here. Share it with your friends."
He takes it with a smile. "Will do. Also, lawyer."
1st May 2013
09:10 GMT -5
"Hey babe." Our guest leers at Johanna. "You seein' anybody?"
Johanna's eyes narrow-. I step in between them, leering back.
"Hey yourself, big boy. I am, but what she doesn't know doesn't hurt her, r-?"
"Lawyer."
1st May 2013
09:12 GMT -5
"Just to be clear, I wouldn't cheat on Jade for information."
"But I suppose that his criminal record wouldn't be a problem." Alan doesn't look impressed. "What was your plan if he was okay with it?"
"I can see people's emotions. It wasn't an issue."
"Paul, sometimes, things happen in prison-."
"Yes. To him. As a result he finds the idea viscerally disgusting. Also, once we're done here I need to see whether or not it's possible to convict his attacker." I sigh. "Probably
won't be, but I want to try."
The door opens again, and the sergeant brings in a member of the roof team-
"Whaw!"
-who smiles broadly when he sees us. No identifying documents on him, and fingerprints and facial recognition scans didn't reveal his identity. We only know that his name is 'Chris' because one of the others calls him that.
"Are you finally going after LexCorp?!"
"Not… Right now, not without evidence of an immediate threat or of significant wrongdoing. Do you have any such evidence?"
"No." He shakes his head as he takes his seat. "They stopped us too quick. But you can get it! The link to their main computer is right there!"
Somehow I don't think convicting this one will be all that difficult.
Alan smiles kindly. "Now why do you think we need to do that, son? What do you think they've been up to?"
I mentally add 'recently'.
"Tons of stuff! The stuff at Cadmus, the alien in South America, and Lex Luthor totally vanished while the Anti-Life was happening!"
"Well… Okay, but none of that's a smoking gun. Plenty of people went into hiding when the Anti-Life was being broadcast."
"But where! Where did he go? And why…"
I tune him out as I try to study his emotional network-. And get rebuffed. Hm. He doesn't act like a hardened operative, and can't be out of his early twenties. Curious. His records-.
Don't… Exist. Even the custody log appears to have suffered an accident. Either someone is actively sabotaging an awful lot of places, or-.
Someone's using John's history erasure ritual. And while we can't track the records, we should be able to track the magic.
08:52 GMT -5
His face hardens, and he leans back a little in his chair, not focusing on us. Considering his options, I imagine.
Alan turns towards me, raising his eyebrows. "Orange Lantern?"
"A group of professional thieves working for someone wouldn't have direct contact. If they'd demonstrated that they were competent and knew how to keep their mouths shut, there would be at least one degree of separation between the person directing them and the team. There can't be direct communication because the big boss needs to be insulated, but there can't be too many gaps because the more people know the higher the chance of miscommunication or leaks. I'd imagine that our friend here has only met the person who gives him orders… Once? Maybe not even that. There's a protocol for communication, but the thing is, any protocol that doesn't involve direct meetings can be learned by a sufficiently clever observer."
He doesn't look worried, but he is making a point of controlling his expressions rather more tightly.
"Let us assume that the lawyer you contacted is… Probably burnable. Just there to handle the initial stuff, while your director tries to decide how much it's worth helping you. Now, if he thinks that you're moonlighting, things are about to get jolly interesting, because once you get released on bail he's going to want a rather sharp talk with you. Now, given the current environment I doubt that whoever it is would have you killed to ensure your silence or anything like that, but they might actually let you go to prison without a fight as a reminder to check who it is that's sending you messages a bit more carefully."
I shrug, smiling.
"I suppose we'll get some inkling based on how quickly the lawyer turns up. How long has it been?"
Johanna shrugs. "Just a few hours, yes? It was a Sunday, and it was unexpected. People are busy. It is not something to worry about. Unt the police must schedule things after completing their forensic examinations or how would they know what to ask you? Hm."
He blinks, slowly. "Are you making an offer, or are you just blowing smoke up my ass?"
"We have no authority to make an offer. Though I.. suppose, that if you had been induced to burgle LexCorp under false pretences, that might work in your favour. If only to reassure your ultimate employer that you were loyal to them. At least to the degree that you don't go spilling your guts when anyone applies any pressure."
"You think talking to you would convince someone that I don't talk."
"I'm not asking you who your regular sponsor is. I'm not much interested in them. I'm interested in someone who might have used you as a distraction by pretending to be them, and if that did happen, then you'd be off the hook with your employer. Plus, since you've asked for a lawyer, nothing you say here is admissible as evidence."
He smiles. "Law-yer."
I shrug. "As you will. I respect your good judgement. But I wonder… If someone did use you as a distraction… How much do they respect you?"
I smile at Alan and Johanna.
"I don't believe our friend is interested in talking to us. Shall we try the others?"
1st May 2013
08:56 GMT -5
"Lawyer."
Alan frowns. "If-."
"Lawyer." The interviewee takes a sip of water from their glass. "Lawyer now?"
1st May 2013
09:03 GMT -5
"…really great cake." I wince. "I just watched the whole thing. Snack and a show. Thought about keeping it but…" He shrugs. "I could not find out how it tasted, could I?"
Johanna is openly staring at me. I ignore her, maintaining my smile and clicking the fingers of my right hand together. A piece of paper with a rationalisation of the recipe appears and floats over to him.
"Here. Share it with your friends."
He takes it with a smile. "Will do. Also, lawyer."
1st May 2013
09:10 GMT -5
"Hey babe." Our guest leers at Johanna. "You seein' anybody?"
Johanna's eyes narrow-. I step in between them, leering back.
"Hey yourself, big boy. I am, but what she doesn't know doesn't hurt her, r-?"
"Lawyer."
1st May 2013
09:12 GMT -5
"Just to be clear, I wouldn't cheat on Jade for information."
"But I suppose that his criminal record wouldn't be a problem." Alan doesn't look impressed. "What was your plan if he was okay with it?"
"I can see people's emotions. It wasn't an issue."
"Paul, sometimes, things happen in prison-."
"Yes. To him. As a result he finds the idea viscerally disgusting. Also, once we're done here I need to see whether or not it's possible to convict his attacker." I sigh. "Probably
won't be, but I want to try."
The door opens again, and the sergeant brings in a member of the roof team-
"Whaw!"
-who smiles broadly when he sees us. No identifying documents on him, and fingerprints and facial recognition scans didn't reveal his identity. We only know that his name is 'Chris' because one of the others calls him that.
"Are you finally going after LexCorp?!"
"Not… Right now, not without evidence of an immediate threat or of significant wrongdoing. Do you have any such evidence?"
"No." He shakes his head as he takes his seat. "They stopped us too quick. But you can get it! The link to their main computer is right there!"
Somehow I don't think convicting this one will be all that difficult.
Alan smiles kindly. "Now why do you think we need to do that, son? What do you think they've been up to?"
I mentally add 'recently'.
"Tons of stuff! The stuff at Cadmus, the alien in South America, and Lex Luthor totally vanished while the Anti-Life was happening!"
"Well… Okay, but none of that's a smoking gun. Plenty of people went into hiding when the Anti-Life was being broadcast."
"But where! Where did he go? And why…"
I tune him out as I try to study his emotional network-. And get rebuffed. Hm. He doesn't act like a hardened operative, and can't be out of his early twenties. Curious. His records-.
Don't… Exist. Even the custody log appears to have suffered an accident. Either someone is actively sabotaging an awful lot of places, or-.
Someone's using John's history erasure ritual. And while we can't track the records, we should be able to track the magic.
Last edited:
Coltsguy
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Now we're getting somewhere! Also:
They'd be getting off the hook.
Chojin Patriarch
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I'd say those options are limited, at best. Face them now, and risk reprisals later. Clam up, and maybe his real boss doesn't have him 'collected'. Let his lawyer do that talking and maybe he gets off... Let's see what he picks.
Ah, the classic issue of covert crimes. Are the orders you're getting really from your boss, or someone very clever?
I think he's already learned that lesson, but prison would make it stick.
That's have to be a very good retainer for super-prompt service.
I think we can skip the nice talk. Not legally admissible and all that.
And while he might not get killed over this, he may well end up wishing he had.
Yes, you say that, OL, but would his boss believe that? The difference is a heck of a lot of pain in his future.
Not much at all, going by Lonnie's demonstrated character...
I suspect this is going to be like a brick wall...
Man of few words...
Of course OL's got a fan.
Yes, Johanna, that actually happened. Also, jerk move, pal.
Quickly, before he gets to find out what his own penis tastes like...
Heh, that was a quick turnaround. Tough luck, horndog.
Empathic vision, Alan. I know you're probably not used to it, but...
Assuming he isn't already out, anyway.
...Well, that isn't suspicious at all, no sir!
Oh, there's definitely a backstory there.
Kid seems eager to go to jail. I bet he'll be crowing about this all the way to the dock.
Yeah, a comprehensive list would take a while.
He's not a tin-hatter, is he? although a lot of this is public information.
Oh, that's significant.
It's not likely to be John himself, though. He should still be recovering, right? Of course, there's plenty of trenchcoat brigade to look up...
Well, then. This guy definitely seems like a good lead. Admittedly, not necessarily to Anarky, but a lead's a lead. If nothing else, he's talkative enough and hopefully dumb enough to spill something useful. Let's hope he says enough to be useful before their lawyer gets here and busts in. Gods bless dumb criminals...
Vaermina
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Or someone has a minor casualty based super power.
Because that seems a lot more likely then someone knowing an extroidinarily specific ritual invented by a single person who isn't known for sharing.
Darko
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"off the hook"
This is the guy you're working with.
Well Paul's have weird attractions.
Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
SirKaid
Know what you're doing yet?
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Alan, if that mattered he wouldn't be dating Jade. She was a member of the League of Assassins.
Ngamer11
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Found an error in the TOC. This should say 24.
Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
boo600
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I like the word, and I think I successfully looked it up at one point, but now I can't find it anywhere - is it misspelled, or…? I'm not sure where it went.
Starbate (part 11)
New
Mr Zoat
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16th January 2000
03:12 GMT
"Dad!" General Carter looks nonplussed as the Samantha Carter gynoid runs over to give him a hug.
"Sam? I.. thought you were-?" He glances back at Major Carter, who awkwardly raises her right hand to wave at the both. "Ah…"
"She's-." / "I'm-."
The Samanthas look at each other, tiny twitches and changes of expression serving to communicate their intent to one another. Then:
"She's an android." / "I'm a gynoid."
The gynoid frowns at her original, breaking away from their father and gesturing to her obviously feminine body with both hands.
Major Carter considers, then shrugs awkwardly. "Ah, she's a gynoid. With a copy of my memories and personality. Effectively, she's.. another me up to about two years ago."
"Oh." General Carter nods. "Then I guess it's good to see you Sam-. Ah… What do I call you, exactly?"
The gynoid appears to have no real idea. "… Samantha..?"
Major Carter looks away, while I grin. "Should have given them a middle name. It worked for Riker."
Major Carter gives her alter-ego another look. "I guess you solved the power supply problem."
"It wasn't that hard. Alt-."
I put my right fist in front of my mouth and cough emphatically.
"Hmuhr!"
"Altair had the technology. Harlan just didn't know how to use-"
"Uhhhhrhrhrhrhrhrhr!"
"-it." We watch each other for a moment. "Though, yes, the raw materials and the initial design came from Lord Mammon."
My cough vanishes, and I smile warmly. "You're welcome."
Major Carter nods. "Are the others here?"
"Jack and Teal'c are. Daniel's off with a trade caravan visiting the worlds of Bastet's other Underlords."
O'Neill stops scanning his surroundings and looks at me. "And if I were… Looking for…" He shakes his head and shrugs. "Me..?"
"Last time I saw him he was watching recordings of old wars System Lord Bastet's Jaffa waged. Like watching the Three Stooges, apparently."
General Carter frowns. "If you don't have problems with your..? Power supply? Why not just come back to Earth?"
"Ah…" The gynoid looks away awkwardly. "I'm not a member of the U.S. Air Force. I'm not even a U.S. citizen, really. I remember being… Her-" She indicates Major Carter. "-but I started life in a laboratory on Altair. And even if I did go back to Earth, I'd have to wait fourteen years before I could join up again."
Colonel O'Neill looks curious. "So you're.. not an Air Force Major?"
"No, S-. … J-. … Colonel."
"Which means that the other me… Isn't a Colonel."
"That's… True." She nods.
"Huh." He turns to me. "Which way to your T.V. room?"
I raise my right hand and click my fingers, prompting a member of my staff to hurry over. "Please escort Colonel O'Neill to his twin."
"Yes, Lord Mammon."
Colonel O'Neill favours me with a very small smile as he follows his guide.
Major Carter watches him go thoughtfully. "What rank did you give the Colonel's android when he started working for you?"
I smile. "General."
"And… Samantha?"
Gynoid-Sam looks slightly awkward. "He offered me unlimited resources to redesign goa'uld starships."
"Redesign-?" General Carter stares at her. "You're making gou'ald starships better?"
"Well, at the moment, we're just working on trade and exploration ships."
"Why?"
I smile. "The democratisation of violence. And mobility. The more humans in Bastet's domain are used to flying starships, the better placed they are to simply leave if they don't like how they're treated. The more exposure to other domains they have, the better they can judge which they prefer. The more economic power they have, the more their feelings on the matter have weight."
I hold out my left hand and create a construct of Ra's old ship.
"Ra used to use an all-human crew, did you know that? Not a single Jaffa on the ship. Would you like to guess the level of authority humans had in his domain versus the domain of every other System Lord?" I dismiss the image. "Giving humans in goa'uld space a role outside of manual labour will do far more to improve their lives than anything that either of your organisations has managed."
General Carter fixes his robotic daughter with a glare. "So you're not designing warships."
"No… Not.. yet." He glares harder. "Daniel's visiting each of Bastet's planets so we can confirm how their civilization works. Frankly, if Lord Mammon's been telling the truth-"
"I mostly have."
"-then making it easier for Bastet to conquer other goa'uld… Will do more good that refusing to help her."
I sidle closer and gently elbow him in the side.
"Of course, if you want to keep an eye on things, you can just move here."
He glances at me, then returns his attention to Samantha. "You know goa'uld go mad, right?"
"Nah." I shake my head. "I fixed that. Undid the sarcophagus-induced damage to the brain of every goa'uld in Bastet's and Kali's domain. No more paranoia."
He looks at me sceptically. "What about the megalomania?"
"Ah. Turns out?" I do a slight face-wince. "That was.. mostly learned. But you can get quite a long way by appealing to their pride and ego. And besides, you're working with the tau'ri, aren't you?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"Well… Obviously, you have to prioritise your own world. It would be ridiculous for me to expect you to just… Let Ra nuke America. But killing him triggered a series of wars whose casualties outstrip the greatest war in Earth's history by a factor of about a thousand, and virtually all of them are human. The galaxy is literally the most lethal it's been since Ra led the coalition against Sokar, and it shows no signs of slowing down..." Major Carter looks awkward. "What?"
"Sokar's dead."
"Couldn't have happened to a nicer man. Who do I send the gift basket to?"
"Aldwin. He's a Tok'Ra agent."
"Small gift basket, then."
"Y-es. The problem is that Apophis captured his domains, including his fleet and main industrial centres."
Oh. I haven't seen Sokar's territory myself, but I do have access to Bastet's most recent intelligence. By goa'uld standards…
"How.. big..? An industrial centre did he have?"
"Basically, the whole of planet Delmak is a factory, with several shipyards in planetary orbit. Although I think they might be manufacturing parts on the planet and assembling them in space."
I gulp. "Which… Means that he's actually in a position to win. To defeat Heru'ur and.. anyone else. That's… Something that I'm going to need to take to Bastet."
03:12 GMT
"Dad!" General Carter looks nonplussed as the Samantha Carter gynoid runs over to give him a hug.
"Sam? I.. thought you were-?" He glances back at Major Carter, who awkwardly raises her right hand to wave at the both. "Ah…"
"She's-." / "I'm-."
The Samanthas look at each other, tiny twitches and changes of expression serving to communicate their intent to one another. Then:
"She's an android." / "I'm a gynoid."
The gynoid frowns at her original, breaking away from their father and gesturing to her obviously feminine body with both hands.
Major Carter considers, then shrugs awkwardly. "Ah, she's a gynoid. With a copy of my memories and personality. Effectively, she's.. another me up to about two years ago."
"Oh." General Carter nods. "Then I guess it's good to see you Sam-. Ah… What do I call you, exactly?"
The gynoid appears to have no real idea. "… Samantha..?"
Major Carter looks away, while I grin. "Should have given them a middle name. It worked for Riker."
Major Carter gives her alter-ego another look. "I guess you solved the power supply problem."
"It wasn't that hard. Alt-."
I put my right fist in front of my mouth and cough emphatically.
"Hmuhr!"
"Altair had the technology. Harlan just didn't know how to use-"
"Uhhhhrhrhrhrhrhrhr!"
"-it." We watch each other for a moment. "Though, yes, the raw materials and the initial design came from Lord Mammon."
My cough vanishes, and I smile warmly. "You're welcome."
Major Carter nods. "Are the others here?"
"Jack and Teal'c are. Daniel's off with a trade caravan visiting the worlds of Bastet's other Underlords."
O'Neill stops scanning his surroundings and looks at me. "And if I were… Looking for…" He shakes his head and shrugs. "Me..?"
"Last time I saw him he was watching recordings of old wars System Lord Bastet's Jaffa waged. Like watching the Three Stooges, apparently."
General Carter frowns. "If you don't have problems with your..? Power supply? Why not just come back to Earth?"
"Ah…" The gynoid looks away awkwardly. "I'm not a member of the U.S. Air Force. I'm not even a U.S. citizen, really. I remember being… Her-" She indicates Major Carter. "-but I started life in a laboratory on Altair. And even if I did go back to Earth, I'd have to wait fourteen years before I could join up again."
Colonel O'Neill looks curious. "So you're.. not an Air Force Major?"
"No, S-. … J-. … Colonel."
"Which means that the other me… Isn't a Colonel."
"That's… True." She nods.
"Huh." He turns to me. "Which way to your T.V. room?"
I raise my right hand and click my fingers, prompting a member of my staff to hurry over. "Please escort Colonel O'Neill to his twin."
"Yes, Lord Mammon."
Colonel O'Neill favours me with a very small smile as he follows his guide.
Major Carter watches him go thoughtfully. "What rank did you give the Colonel's android when he started working for you?"
I smile. "General."
"And… Samantha?"
Gynoid-Sam looks slightly awkward. "He offered me unlimited resources to redesign goa'uld starships."
"Redesign-?" General Carter stares at her. "You're making gou'ald starships better?"
"Well, at the moment, we're just working on trade and exploration ships."
"Why?"
I smile. "The democratisation of violence. And mobility. The more humans in Bastet's domain are used to flying starships, the better placed they are to simply leave if they don't like how they're treated. The more exposure to other domains they have, the better they can judge which they prefer. The more economic power they have, the more their feelings on the matter have weight."
I hold out my left hand and create a construct of Ra's old ship.
"Ra used to use an all-human crew, did you know that? Not a single Jaffa on the ship. Would you like to guess the level of authority humans had in his domain versus the domain of every other System Lord?" I dismiss the image. "Giving humans in goa'uld space a role outside of manual labour will do far more to improve their lives than anything that either of your organisations has managed."
General Carter fixes his robotic daughter with a glare. "So you're not designing warships."
"No… Not.. yet." He glares harder. "Daniel's visiting each of Bastet's planets so we can confirm how their civilization works. Frankly, if Lord Mammon's been telling the truth-"
"I mostly have."
"-then making it easier for Bastet to conquer other goa'uld… Will do more good that refusing to help her."
I sidle closer and gently elbow him in the side.
"Of course, if you want to keep an eye on things, you can just move here."
He glances at me, then returns his attention to Samantha. "You know goa'uld go mad, right?"
"Nah." I shake my head. "I fixed that. Undid the sarcophagus-induced damage to the brain of every goa'uld in Bastet's and Kali's domain. No more paranoia."
He looks at me sceptically. "What about the megalomania?"
"Ah. Turns out?" I do a slight face-wince. "That was.. mostly learned. But you can get quite a long way by appealing to their pride and ego. And besides, you're working with the tau'ri, aren't you?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"Well… Obviously, you have to prioritise your own world. It would be ridiculous for me to expect you to just… Let Ra nuke America. But killing him triggered a series of wars whose casualties outstrip the greatest war in Earth's history by a factor of about a thousand, and virtually all of them are human. The galaxy is literally the most lethal it's been since Ra led the coalition against Sokar, and it shows no signs of slowing down..." Major Carter looks awkward. "What?"
"Sokar's dead."
"Couldn't have happened to a nicer man. Who do I send the gift basket to?"
"Aldwin. He's a Tok'Ra agent."
"Small gift basket, then."
"Y-es. The problem is that Apophis captured his domains, including his fleet and main industrial centres."
Oh. I haven't seen Sokar's territory myself, but I do have access to Bastet's most recent intelligence. By goa'uld standards…
"How.. big..? An industrial centre did he have?"
"Basically, the whole of planet Delmak is a factory, with several shipyards in planetary orbit. Although I think they might be manufacturing parts on the planet and assembling them in space."
I gulp. "Which… Means that he's actually in a position to win. To defeat Heru'ur and.. anyone else. That's… Something that I'm going to need to take to Bastet."
Darko
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No more paranoia due to brain damage, but they've still been paranoid for centuries to millenia, so unlearning that is going to take a very, very long time.
Also something they were born with.
Chojin Patriarch
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Ah, visiting the synthezoids of Altair. A good place to start showing the Tok'ra just how life is under Mammon's command. Well, technically Bastet's rule, but I expect she's already taking steps back from leadership.
Amazing how some people can have entire conversations with a few glances.
Yes, the descriptor isn't quite accurate from the original's end. Not unless Robo-Carter has some modifications downstairs.
...Ah, the trick of what to call a perfect replica again.They'd hardly be comfortable using a different name, and...
...Middle names only help if you have them. Which apparently Carter doesn't? Is that even a common thing in America?
Simple enough when you have a fresh pair of eyes on the matter.
He can already see where she's going, can't he?
Catching a cold, Mammon?
Nasty cough you have there.I suppsoe that happens when you have an actual scientist working on the issue, not a caretaker.
Discreetly, of course. Losing the glasses probably helps.
HA! Sums up their opinion of conventional Jaffa tactics, I see.
If she takes the date she went online as her birthday, yes.
Still a few amusing habits, I see.
That's probably a strange experience for him.
And hopefully a six-pack of beer, or something? A drink to bond over.
...Oh, boy. Now there's gonna be two of them...
Appropriate as commander of Altair's security forces.
Which means learning how they work in the first place, of course.
Heh. Don't think Mammon didn't notice that, Selmak.
Giving them a chance to see how much worse it is out there compared to Bastet's systems, and letting them come to the logical conclusion.
And certainly reduce the number of rebellions. No hopelessness to drive bad feelings...
Good to see they're not taking him at his word.
A strange thing to say about a System lord, but with enforced compassion...
I don't think the Tok'ra are quite that comfortable with you yet, Mammon.
Presumably they'll need an occasional tune-up once a decade or so if they abuse the system like they used to...
'Mostly', yes... At least he's learned how to direct those impulses constructively.
Oh-ho, Mammon's a bit out of the loop, is he?
Heheh. Accurate response. Not a pleasant person, that one.
Only polite. You aren't close enough friends with the Tok'ra for a good one.
Ah, and Mammon's suffering a 'Not as planned, not as planned!' moment, I see.
Welp, there goes the neighbourhood?
Ah, SG-1. Always the bearers of bad news. It sounds like Bastet and Mammon will have to rapidly accelerate some of their plans and adjust others to take this into account. There's going to be a lot of swearing in Bastet's palace tonight, I suspect. Hopefully them getting the news this quickly will give them a slight leg up in responding to the changing situation...
Mr Zoat
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I assume that System Lords don't interfere much with how their Underlords rule their own planets as long as the tribute keeps coming.
B00ki5h
Verified: Oddball, Lurker, and Dabbler
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And likely has at least three to four agents in various levels in their territories, with one of them likely being an open agent for deniable, discrete communication.
Neruz
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That is how those kinds of feudal systems usually work yeah; as long as the local lord keeps the taxes flowing they are mostly left to their own devices.
Impartial Panic
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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"Apophis has what?!"
"Yeah the Tau'ri and Tok'Ra dealt with our Sokar problem but Apophis managed to take over nearly seamlessly since he treated the subjects better than the guy who gets off on torture."
WereDragon
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Eh, not seeing the problem. Ma'man has a power ring and nothing in this universe can really stand up to that level of concentrated force and versatility. Just go kill Apophis and or destroy Delmak and the problem is solved.
Mr Zoat
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Not... Entirely true. Anubis can. The Ori and other ascended definitely can, as can top tier weapons and devices. His big weakness is stealth attacks in his sleep, and his preferred method of dealing with those is to maintain the masquerade of being a slightly oddball Underlord so that no one puts the effort in to make one. And remember, this isn't the main SI. Mammon is a good deal weaker and less skilled. Killing Apophis is certainly doable. Destroying a planet is probably beyond him, even ignoring killing millions of innocent people.
Odysseus2099
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His pals the Altairans might be able to close that weakness. Make a few dozen android duplicates, then designate them as his "chosen successors" in the ring seeker program, combined with keeping backups of his memories in the ring to download to the duplicate upon transfer. With that you have the closest thing to resurrection easily achievable in Stargate.
Could even use them as functionaries/"lesser avatars" if you need to be in more than one place at once, and use the ring to re-synch memories regularly. Though that removes the security of having them as a secret.
Mr Zoat
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He could do a Baal, but that seems a bit masturbatory and it wouldn't help him. To use an orange ring they'd have to have their own desires, and as they have their own experiences they'd gradually become more different.
Odysseus2099
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I suppose that depends on your definition of him. Without a soul to differentiate them it could be argued that a number of beings with the same memories, personality, and desires are all the same being. That's the point of re-synching, so all experiences are shared and they don't become different.
haralo99
Making the rounds.
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Hawk and Dove time