With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

[Mr Zoat]

I liked the chapter, and am eagerly waiting the fallout for that last cliffhanger.

On another note, noticed another minor problem in the Story Only thread, specifically here.



Interestingly, the picture works in the reply if you quote the relevant section, but not on the post itself in the Story Only thread. It does briefly appear if you refresh the page, but then it shows a broken image with the name of the picture in question.

EDIT: Yeah, the pic doesn't show properly once I posted this.

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Works fine for me. Anyone else?

 

[Ryumancer]

Works fine for me. Anyone else?

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The picture is broken for me as well, both in the quoted portion and in the actual chapter the quote links to.

 

[Mr Zoat]

The picture is broken for me as well, both in the quoted portion and in the actual chapter the quote links to.

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Better now?

 

[Ryumancer]

Better now?

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seems to be fixed now, yes.

 

[Mr Zoat]

22nd November 1999
10:28 GMT

"Goa'uld civilisation is… What, eighty percent human and nineteen percent Jaffa? I have accepted that if my methods are more widely used, our subjects will inevitably gain a more precise understanding of our nature. If it costs us little or nothing, a human-friendly solution seems like something that-."

"Stop. Stop."

I stop, and she… Giggles? Huy is still glaring, but Tey decides with one glance at her goddess that her current level of restrain is unnecessary.

"Humans have attempted to pass themselves off as gods before. Other humans sometimes believe them. I could count on the fingers of one hand the number who have managed to fool goa'uld and still have two fingers left over. None have lasted as long as you under the circumstances that you have."

"I'm sorry, System Lord, but I fear that you have misunderstood-."

Her eyes flare slightly. "We do not glow orange."

"Would you mind if I sit down?"

She shrugs, then gestures to a richly upholstered chair under a desk off to the side of the room. I pull it over and sit down, then… Then implant the modified Mammon clone into myself without connecting myself to it. Then I flop back, using a ring connection to make him wiggle out of my mouth for a moment before pulling him back inside.

Then I straighten up. "I admit, the orange coloured form was a… An act of mummery. We're not much given to leaving our hosts when we don't need to, and I wanted to make a point."

And now Tey's uncertain, but Bastet looks… Impressed?

"A most excellent facsimile. But I can tell the difference between a living god and a dead one, even if you have some way to animate it." Oh. "Ah, I see that you did not know that."

No. I didn't. I knew they could sense the presence of trace amounts to naquada, but I hadn't realised-. The drawback of getting a lot of your information from a delusional paranoid. And it's not like Mammon put it in his records. To a goa'uld it would be such a basic thing that they wouldn't think about it.

"I do wear a personal force field. It may be interfering with your ability to detect me."

"Oh? In that case it should be simple for you to transfer yourself into a new host."

"If you wish. I will return to Syrania and request-."

"I think-" She frowns thoughtfully. "-that I will provide you with one. A volunteer. A male priest might be a novelty."

Ah…

I could… Sneak my brain out of my body-. But then I couldn't animate the goa'uld corpse.

…

No, that's completely impractical. What else..? Scans show… I should be able to get out of here safely.

I tilt my head slightly to the right. "I thought that you'd be angrier."

There's a very quiet hiss of air through Tey's lips as she hears my confession. Was she unsure? Or now that I'm acknowledging my own humanity, is she taking offence at my irreverence?

Bastet looks more satisfied. "I considered it, but the situation is too ridiculous. How many gods have you fooled now?"

"I'm not sure. Eighty-seven haven't made mention of it. It may also amuse you to know-."

Her smile broadens. "You fooled the Tau'ri as well!"

"As far as I can tell, they have no idea. What..? Gave me away? There must be ways for gods to avoid each others notice."

"I knew Lord Mammon of old. He collected my own tithes for Ra, and I remember his arrogance well. Your story that your fall and entombment had changed you was… Plausible, but to change as completely as you had? Unlikely. Then there was your relaxed attitude to the Tau'ri explorers, and your willingness to swear yourself to me. Mammon would have preferred independence, if he had the means to preserve it as you do."

I nod. "I didn't have a good model of his behaviour to work with. I hoped that if I gave a plausible explanation, no one would look too closely at it." I hold my hands out, palms upwards. "So what happens now?"

"What do you think I will do?"

I don't know. I expected more ranting, even if she was intelligent enough to know that there isn't much she could do to stop me leaving. It's actually a pleasant surprise that she's taking it this well. But… She is a legalist, not an altruist. She maintains a 'fair' society because it works better than a chaotic arbitrary mess. All recorded instances of a human pretending to be a goa'uld have resulted in the human's death, but that's not so much a law as a way that goa'uld always respond to an insult that big. The closest actual law would be the one against falsely claiming a goa'uld's authority. But that doesn't exactly apply because Mammon is dead. The authority I've been acting under is either my own or what Bastet has given to me.

"I suspect that I'm too useful to discard. I suspect that you'll keep knowledge of my nature to a small circle of people, and release it if I ever act against you to undermine any support base I've built up."

"Ah, so confident."

"If you were going to do something more extreme then I wouldn't be here, in a small room, with your two closest confidents. Unless it turns out that you liked Mammon, in-."

"No." She shakes her head. "No one liked Mammon. Even Ra only used him to irritate people."

"Oh." I frown. "That's a bit of a shame. His personal records suggest that he genuinely respected Ra. Anyway, if no one else has spotted me then me being here doesn't hurt your reputation significantly. Or… Am I wrong?"

"No, you are correct." Huy's jaw tenses slightly. Ah yes, she is not happy about this. "But I am perfectly aware that your abilities are a good deal more advanced that you have openly admitted."

I cautiously nod.

"So given what I have gained from you, it would behoove me to see that you are bound to me more closely."

"Do you wish to receive more regular reports on-?"

"I wish for you to sire a child on me." She considers for a moment. "And a brood of prim'ta, afterwards, while I am still feeling maternal. I will appoint you as my regent while I convalesce. That will accustom my other Underlords to your authority."

Um. What?

"Um. What?"

"You need not worry. Since you are not a goa'uld yourself there will be no risk of me birthing a harcesis."

"I… Modified my blood with Mammon's genetic material in case-. You.. checked. Also… I…"

"You are too useful to discard, and too dangerous to let out of my sight for long. So I will bind you to me as powerful rules have bound retainers since time immemorial. You would be far more hesitant to flee and abandon your child, and I am not an unpleasant bedmate."

"I.. would, and… You're not. Ah-. Won't be. Would.. you be willing to hear my suggestions for the genetic programming of the new goa'uld, and for their upbringing?"

"Of course. You will be their father. It is only right that you be involved."

"And… Your host is..?"

"She is delighted at being given the opportunity to bear a child on behalf of her goddess. As she should be." She weighs me up for a moment. "We cannot keep perfect control of our vessels while pregnant. If she were resistant to the idea then it would not be worth the risk."

"Ah." Well, I was preparing for… And this does have the advantage of us being able to have an open and honest relationship. "That… Makes sense. How.. do you want to-?"

Bastet undulates to her feet and walks towards the inner doors. "My bedroom is through here."

"That-." I get up and start to walk after her. "I had thought… A courtship?"

She glances back. "We can do that as well."

"I-."

I become aware of the two sets of footsteps behind us. I stop, looking back at Tey and Huy.

"Ah, why are they-?"

"Witnesses."

"… Oh."

Marvellous.

 

[Darko]

amounts to naquada, but I

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"of naquadah"

powerful rules have bound

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"rulers"