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

[Chaoswind]

Article:

A special class of Goa'uld are the Queens which are responsible for producing new larval Goa'uld for implantation into Jaffa. When encountering a new tribe of Humans or a different race, the Queen needs to first sample the DNA, or "code of life" as the Goa'uld refer to it, from the species intended to be a host. This is to ensure that there is no rejection during the process between host and larva. (SG1: "Hathor")

Source: https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Goa%27uld#Overview

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Funny how that is never ever relevant in the plot of the series. However the word larva may be doing a lot in this sentence, adult Gould are more often than not the ones taking over host with little difficulty, so it may be a problem that only exist for the Gould equivalent of toddlers.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Article:

A special class of Goa'uld are the Queens which are responsible for producing new larval Goa'uld for implantation into Jaffa. When encountering a new tribe of Humans or a different race, the Queen needs to first sample the DNA, or "code of life" as the Goa'uld refer to it, from the species intended to be a host. This is to ensure that there is no rejection during the process between host and larva. (SG1: "Hathor")

Source: https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Goa%27uld#Overview

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That quote doesn't lead to that conclusion, otherwise there would be sekhmet Jaffa.

 

[Silveraith]

It's entirely possible there were before the widespread adoption of humans. The Goa'uld possibly didn't need Unas Jaffa because both originated from the same world and after discovering Ancient technology's near seamless adaptability to human physiology the entire Empire shifted away from non-human hosts/Jaffa.

 

[Someguy Somewhere]

Please tell me there were bright enough to do this with medical professionals on standby, like sane people would?

Seriously the Mad Science OSHA violations for Stargate are bad enough, bending space time into a pretzel, blowing up (most) of a Star System and such.

Now you have medical and legal malpractice by sticking a mind control snake into a judge.

I guess Mammon could have had them sign a waver first.....

 

[CrazyNoVa]

It's impolite.

He's done his best to turn himself into an idealised version of himself; he looks better, his accent is sharper and he doesn't do things he doesn't like doing.

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Calling it now: If Paul ever gets a 5th-dimensional Imp (Paul-mite? Orange-mite?), the first thing they'll do is to force Paul to sit through a weird video compilation of all the weird shit he's done in the series.

Oh, and then stick a tiny domino mask on Paul's face that can't be removed, just to fuck with him!

Please tell me there were bright enough to do this with medical professionals on standby, like sane people would?

Seriously the Mad Science OSHA violations for Stargate are bad enough, bending space time into a pretzel, blowing up (most) of a Star System and such.

Now you have medical and legal malpractice by sticking a mind control snake into a judge.

I guess Mammon could have had them sign a waver first.....

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Yeah, now that I think about it, safety regulations in both superhero and supervillain bases are rarely ever explored in general. Even in this story, the topic rarely comes up apart from fortifying base defenses and whatnot.

Then again, since most of the occupants would be superhuman in some way, I guess "safety" may mean something else entirely for them.

Both.

It didn't. That part has been a gradual thing, but using the orange light makes you what you want to be.

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Okay, but if Orange makes you what you want to be, then what about the other colors? Because judging from the other Pauls out there in the multiverse, the other colors don't seem to affect you as much in the story. Granted, Blue Paul and Gold/Anti-Green Paul both have an excuse, but still.

 

[Dur'id the Druid]

Oh, I hadn't heard that. Where's that from?

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I also recall it being mentioned in SG-1, though I can't give you a episode.

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It was something t'ock (sp?) told everyone, about why jaffa exist. Either the Hathor episode, or when the female jaffa was talking with their G'hould larvae (sp?) when it was about to mature. And it wanted to defect to the Tauri.

 

[Mr Zoat]

It was something t'ock (sp?) told everyone, about why jaffa exist. Either the Hathor episode, or when the female jaffa was talking with their G'hould larvae (sp?) when it was about to mature. And it wanted to defect to the Tauri.

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The first Hathor episode had her 'sampling the code' by having sex with Dr. Jackson.

Yeah, now that I think about it, safety regulations in both superhero and supervillain bases are rarely ever explored in general. Even in this story, the topic rarely comes up apart from fortifying base defenses and whatnot.

Then again, since most of the occupants would be superhuman in some way, I guess "safety" may mean something else entirely for them.

Click to shrink...

That's probably for the best.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDedpreZH-0

Okay, but if Orange makes you what you want to be, then what about the other colors? Because judging from the other Pauls out there in the multiverse, the other colors don't seem to affect you as much in the story. Granted, Blue Paul and Gold/Anti-Green Paul both have an excuse, but still.

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The other colours don't really do that. It's not impossible to change yourself, and it's also not impossible to make a hash of it, as Lantern Driq found.

 

[hkim]

That quote doesn't lead to that conclusion, otherwise there would be sekhmet Jaffa.

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I mean it's one quasi-canon episode vs a quasi-canon RPG sourcebook. Of course there's no firm answer there besides "they didn't think it mattered".

 

[CrazyNoVa]

The other colours don't really do that. It's not impossible to change yourself, and it's also not impossible to make a hash of it, as Lantern Driq found.

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Really? Interesting. You'd think that, being closely related to desire, love would also allow you to achieve a similar result. After all, what's the difference between what you WANT to be versus what you would LOVE to be? In fact, I'd expect that if you have a Star Sapphire ring, you could easily use it to either make yourself look like what you find attractive, or change your appearance to make yourself look like someone you love.

Ah yes, Lantern Driq. What does Paul think of him? You have to admit, the mere fact that a non-black Lantern ring can be used by a dead person raises a lot of fascinating implications. For one thing, what would happen if someone tried to use necromancy on Driq? Or put him in a lazarus pit? Or put a ring of a different color on him, and then took away his green ring? And furthermore, what does it mean for other undead DC characters like Boston Brand/Deadman?

 

[Mr Zoat]

Really? Interesting. You'd think that, being closely related to desire, love would also allow you to achieve a similar result. After all, what's the difference between what you WANT to be versus what you would LOVE to be?

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No. Love in this context is one of the eight Greek types, not a strong desire.

In fact, I'd expect that if you have a Star Sapphire ring, you could easily use it to either make yourself look like what you find attractive, or change your appearance to make yourself look like someone you love.

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Again, love is not simple desire. You can make yourself more attractive, but it's not easy unless you're a literal narcissist.

Ah yes, Lantern Driq. What does Paul think of him? You have to admit, the mere fact that a non-black Lantern ring can be used by a dead person raises a lot of fascinating implications. For one thing, what would happen if someone tried to use necromancy on Driq? Or put him in a lazarus pit? Or put a ring of a different color on him, and then took away his green ring? And furthermore, what does it mean for other undead DC characters like Boston Brand/Deadman?

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The SI hasn't actually confirmed that he exists in-setting. Assuming that he does, necromancy would probably work. Lazarus Pits aren't reliable on humans so aliens probably aren't compatible. Removing the ring canonically kills him. Permanently.

 

[CrazyNoVa]

No. Love in this context is one of the eight Greek types, not a strong desire.

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I wasn't referring to the eight Greek loves. I was just talking about love in general, because love and desire are, perhaps moreso than any other emotions on the spectrum, like two sides of the same coint. They often precede one another, and are closely related. After all, when you love something, you often hunger for it, and when you want something, you'll likely end up loving it too. Granted, there's exceptions to this, but still. Love and desire aren't that different from one another. That goes double in the DCU, since there's a certain Endless who embodies all forms of love and desire at once, and they both fall under that Endless' purview.

Hell, if you compare the Violet and Orange Lanterns' unique abilities side-by-side, you can see some similarities, especially in regards to mind control, assimilation and influencing people's emotions: Orange Lanterns and Star Sapphires can both assimilate people in their own ways, but where Orange Lanterns can assimilate people by stealing their minds, bodies and souls to turn them into construct lanterns, Star Sapphires can assimilate people by crystallizing them and brainwashing them with love, which can even work on power rings of other lantern corps to turn them into Star Sapphire rings, not unlike what Paul did with John Stewart's first ring.

If we ever see a character who has achieved violet enlightenment in either canon or in this story, I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that they had to confront and accept all of their loves and lusts in the same way that Paul had to confront his own wants and desires when he achieved enlightenment, nor would I be surprised if the violet version of enlightenment granted similar abilities to what the orange version does. After all, if you have the ability to see someone's desires, it's not too hard to guess what they love. And in turn, if you can see someone's loves, then it shouldn't be too hard to guess what they desire either.

Also, the mere act of exposing someone to the orange and violet lights has been shown to drive people insane, especially if it's their first time putting on an orange or violet ring. Maybe that's why Star Sapphires can resist the orange light's power in canon. Maybe it's because orange and violet lanterns both live by their hearts and their respective emotions require them to be extremely obsessive, not to mention batshit crazy. Or maybe the fact that their powers have so much similarity and synergy makes Orange and Violet lanterns naturally resistant to each other's abilities.

Again, love is not simple desire. You can make yourself more attractive, but it's not easy unless you're a literal narcissist.

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Interesting. So, what you're saying is that if I was a super narcissist who had a really high opinion of myself, and if I genuinely thought I was the hottest guy on Earth, and if I had a Star Sapphire ring…then the ring would essentially make me transform and self-actualize into the hottest guy on Earth?

What about if you're someone who actually has a really self-positive image of themselves and are just happy the way they are, while also really loving themselves without being a narcissist? Would the Star Sapphire ring just preserve their appearance and make sure they don't age, get fat or go through any significant transformation so that they can stay that way forever?

 

[GhostKing 666]

Did we ever see these Sekhmet folk in the series? Because I'm picturing animalistic cat-people. Interesting that she's adapted for them, though.

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Nope, Sekhmet are entirely a thing from the rpg. Not that there's anything wrong with that, one nice thing about the rpgs is that like the novels, they gave more depth and focus on things like Goa'uld history, backgrounds for the System Lords(and any interesting unique and divergent technology they might be known for), early Stargate encounters like what the System Lord Pelops got up to(the guy responsible for the planet with the nanotech STD that Jack got) and some of the aliens that only ever showed up for a single episode like the aquatic Ohnes and the crystalline Unity(whose survivors are divided into three different groups, the explorers, pacifists and vengeance seekers). We even have examples of Unas dominated planets where the local population started developing past the stone age, the planet Pssk and planet K'kaa(which is actually inhabited by an offshoot species called the K'kaan).

Heck, the Sekhmet aren't even the only example of a rpg only race that used to be Goa'uld hosts before getting abandoned for humans, Hathor apparently used to own a race called the Netjerians. There's even a bit talking about what the Tollan survivors of Anubis's attack went through and that while Tollana might be lost, the existence of Tollan colony worlds like Pellor mean that Tollan civilization still exists.

That quote doesn't lead to that conclusion, otherwise there would be sekhmet Jaffa.

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There might have been, but from what the rpg states, most sekhmet populations were abandoned even by Bastet after humans became the "in" thing for Goa'uld. Just like the Unas.

 

[Mr Zoat]

18th January 2000
00:40 GMT -5

"I did-"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

"-warn you. We're-"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

"-solitary symbiotes thousands-"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

"-of years old. Okay, if you-"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

"-keep screaming I'm going to cut you off, al-"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

"-right?"

Reset defaults.

AAAAAAAAAA-oh.

"Better?"

It has helped me to learn what it is like to be a host.

"Are you continuing to suffer, I meant? I have no desire to make you suffer."

I have learned things that I would be more comfortable not knowing.

"Speaking for myself, I'd rather know the truth than remain happily ignorant, but I've seen your homeworld. I know some people who might be able to erase your memory once the trial is over if you want me to introduce you."

No. I would rather know.

"Aren't you a treasure? If you ever tire of the forest idyll, you're welcome to visit Syrania. We could use a healer with your abilities."

Can you go back to your own body, please.

"Yes." I open the screen-wall and step out into the ward. "In two minutes."

…

Why?

"Because the most important part of learning what it's like to host a goa'uld is learning that you're not in control of what happens any longer. Humans we take as hosts expect our thoughts to be unnerving. They expect direct communion to be a shock. Humans like Skaara expect the thing controlling them to be evil. But not having control any longer? Not being able to control your own motions? Every instinct rebels against it."

I do not understand what you are trying to make me think. Do you want to make me think that the goa'uld are evil?

"I want to make you respond! We've been doing this to people for tens of thousands of years and even I don't have the moral instincts that might make me empathic enough to see anything wrong with it. Do you?"

I felt how you feel. It was horrible.

"Well guess what? You could do something about it. You wouldn't even need to fight yourself. You could walk into the Tau'ri's command centre tomorrow and offer to cure death for any corpse they could recover. You could do that for the Tok'Ra. But you don't. You won't. You think I'm horrible? I think you're contemptible."

Colonel Cromwell and.. Teal'c are standing by the door. Teal'c is as impassive as ever, but Cromwell looks mildly amused.

"Talking to yourself isn't usually a good sign."

"Just giving the hippy a piece of my mind."

He raises an eyebrow. "They can hear you?"

Yes.

"She says 'yes'."

Why do you think I am contemptible?

"Isn't it obvious?"

Cromwell shrugs. "Not that I like hippies, but if I was inside one I'd probably keep a lid on it."

"Not you, her. You live a life of indolence. I live to improve the lives of my people, but even before that, I at least tried to improve myself and my position. You just exist. You could do anything and instead choose to do nothing. You could go anywhere and instead choose to go nowhere. You could be anything and instead choose to be nothing. And if you're inside a hippy-"

I turn her body around and walk back towards me.

"-then you should get out as soon as possible because you don't know where they've been and they probably haven't had their shots."

Cromwell shrugs. "It was a long deployment."

Teal'c raises an eyebrow at him.

Do all goa'uld feel like that?

"We feel whatever our mothers programmed us to feel. But we respect the Ancients and Asgard. I can't think of a single goa'uld who respects you."

I shove her mouth over mine and have Mammon 2 disconnect itself. I observe that she's just as stunned by the disconnection as a human host would be as he slithers back into my mouth and I send him to subspace.

And then I open my eyes, pushing her back slightly as I stand up.

"Learn what you need?"

"Yes." She nods slowly. "I knew that having a goa'uld inside someone was unpleasant, but I did not understand quite how bad it was. I cannot compass the idea of allowing Klorel to keep possession of Skaara."

I shrug. "Right, but that doesn't resolve anything. He'll just jump in someone else who will be subjected to the same thing. Unless he can't find someone compatible, then he'll probably have the failed hosts killed one after the other. And Apophis will probably destroy this planet from orbit for daring to stand in judgement over his son."

I start walking towards the door.

"Of course, if we're really unlucky, then a few Tollan will survive and be taken by Apophis as hosts for his favourite goa'uld followers. Having superior technology than other humans -and better than the goa'uld in some areas- that will herald a new age of oppression for the galaxy as free human worlds and advanced alien worlds are overrun by newly crowned Supreme System Lord Apophis. And the thing is? I doubt that he'll bother with your world because as far as he knows it's empty. So trot off home, you waste of flesh, and leave the universe for people who care about it."

And then I sweep out, the picture of an arrogant goa'uld lord. I doubt very much that I'll convince her to change her ways, but-.

There's a BOOM, and the building shakes-. And then shakes again as another BOOM shatters the air.

We're under bombardment. Ring?

The image appears in my mind. And that's a big ship, and it has friends with it.

I need to check what the Tollan can do to defend themselves.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Interesting. So, what you're saying is that if I was a super narcissist who had a really high opinion of myself, and if I genuinely thought I was the hottest guy on Earth, and if I had a Star Sapphire ring…then the ring would essentially make me transform and self-actualize into the hottest guy on Earth?

What about if you're someone who actually has a really self-positive image of themselves and are just happy the way they are, while also really loving themselves without being a narcissist? Would the Star Sapphire ring just preserve their appearance and make sure they don't age, get fat or go through any significant transformation so that they can stay that way forever?

Click to shrink...

No. Literal pine-away-gazing-at-your-own-reflection narcissist. Like, there are a few people who as a result of a psychological malady genuinely love inanimate objects. This isn't something that would come up much, and the Zamarons wouldn't want to recruit them.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

18th January 2000
00:40 GMT -5

"I did-"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Click to shrink...

Talk about living the 'Internal Screaming' meme... Hopefully she doesn't go on like this for too long, there are more important things to do than indulge a masochistic curiosity. Plus I suspect Mammon isn't finding the experience of having a female body all that interesting.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"-warn you. We're-"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Click to shrink...

...Is she taking figurative mental 'breaths' between screams, or is this just one long noise?

"-solitary symbiotes thousands-"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Click to shrink...

...You can stop now. Seriously, if you had an actual throat involved, it would have given out by now.

"-of years old. Okay, if you-"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Click to shrink...

You think she's just doing it to annoy him now, or is she really feeling that much pain?

"-keep screaming I'm going to cut you off, al-"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Click to shrink...

Just do it, Mammon, she's clearly in no state to respond.

"-right?"

Reset defaults.

AAAAAAAAAA-oh.

Click to shrink...

Impressively fast. And her reaction to the cessation is surprisingly underwhelming.

"Better?"

It has helped me to learn what it is like to be a host.

Click to shrink...

That might just be a particular reaction to a Goa'uld/Nox joining, mind.

"Are you continuing to suffer, I meant? I have no desire to make you suffer."

I have learned things that I would be more comfortable not knowing.

Click to shrink...

Hopefully nothing that would spoil Mammon's long con.

"Speaking for myself, I'd rather know the truth than remain happily ignorant, but I've seen your homeworld. I know some people who might be able to erase your memory once the trial is over if you want me to introduce you."

No. I would rather know.

Click to shrink...

Sucker for punishment, isn't she? Or is this a compassionate martyrdom thing? She can share that experience with other Nox so they can see how bad it is?

"Aren't you a treasure? If you ever tire of the forest idyll, you're welcome to visit Syrania. We could use a healer with your abilities."

Can you go back to your own body, please.

Click to shrink...

Now, see, it's funny that you think you have a say in it at this stage, dear. If he wanted to keep your body, he could. See how the bad Goa'uld are now?

"Yes." I open the screen-wall and step out into the ward. "In two minutes."

…

Why?

Click to shrink...

Consider it a trade. You get the experience of being a passenger, he maybe gets to poke around in your biology a bit.

"Because the most important part of learning what it's like to host a goa'uld is learning that you're not in control of what happens any longer. Humans we take as hosts expect our thoughts to be unnerving. They expect direct communion to be a shock. Humans like Skaara expect the thing controlling them to be evil. But not having control any longer? Not being able to control your own motions? Every instinct rebels against it."

Click to shrink...

Why did you think the Americans - the Tau'ri - are so upset by the whole thing?

I do not understand what you are trying to make me think. Do you want to make me think that the goa'uld are evil?

"I want to make you respond! We've been doing this to people for tens of thousands of years and even I don't have the moral instincts that might make me empathic enough to see anything wrong with it. Do you?"

Click to shrink...

Ah, I see. Trying to get even one Nox to maybe reconsider their absolute neutrality and passiveness... That would be one heck of a butterfly.

I felt how you feel. It was horrible.

"Well guess what? You could do something about it. You wouldn't even need to fight yourself. You could walk into the Tau'ri's command centre tomorrow and offer to cure death for any corpse they could recover. You could do that for the Tok'Ra. But you don't. You won't. You think I'm horrible? I think you're contemptible."

Click to shrink...

To be fair, a power like 'cure death' is something of a cultural demolisher when you think about it. Especially if it isn't available to everyone, whether by dint of secrecy or human asshole-ishness. Like the number of Worm fics where I've seen medical insurance companies adding riders for 'Parahuman Healing' when panacea's involved.

Colonel Cromwell and.. Teal'c are standing by the door. Teal'c is as impassive as ever, but Cromwell looks mildly amused.

"Talking to yourself isn't usually a good sign."

Click to shrink...

Talking back to the voice in your head is perfectly normal for a Goa'uld. It's just that they tend to gag them.

"Just giving the hippy a piece of my mind."

He raises an eyebrow. "They can hear you?"

Click to shrink...

They're using the same ears. And she's shown no signs of deafness, so...

Yes.

"She says 'yes'."

Click to shrink...

Admittedly, they only have your word on that.

Why do you think I am contemptible?

"Isn't it obvious?"

Cromwell shrugs. "Not that I like hippies, but if I was inside one I'd probably keep a lid on it."

Click to shrink...

Ah, the joy of holding a conversation where one side isn't audible to the others... Generally, looking away from anyone else is a good signal that you're not talking to them.

"Not you, her. You live a life of indolence. I live to improve the lives of my people, but even before that, I at least tried to improve myself and my position. You just exist. You could do anything and instead choose to do nothing. You could go anywhere and instead choose to go nowhere. You could be anything and instead choose to be nothing. And if you're inside a hippy-"

Click to shrink...

The joy of being able to do whatever you want: Why bother?

I turn her body around and walk back towards me.

"-then you should get out as soon as possible because you don't know where they've been and they probably haven't had their shots."

Click to shrink...

I'm sure she's in amazing health under the surface. Maybe the 'haven't bathed in anything but rainfall' look is in right now.

Cromwell shrugs. "It was a long deployment."

Teal'c raises an eyebrow at him.

Click to shrink...

Gotta admit, that made me chuckle out loud. Exactly how he'd react.

Do all goa'uld feel like that?

"We feel whatever our mothers programmed us to feel. But we respect the Ancients and Asgard. I can't think of a single goa'uld who respects you."

Click to shrink...

Oooh, burn. I doubt the Goa'uld's opinions hold much sway over the Nox, but knowing that might sting.

I shove her mouth over mine and have Mammon 2 disconnect itself. I observe that she's just as stunned by the disconnection as a human host would be as he slithers back into my mouth and I send him to subspace.

And then I open my eyes, pushing her back slightly as I stand up.

Click to shrink...

What does Subspace do to nominally living things, anyway. I mean, I know the Mammon-clone is technically dead, but I still wonder.

"Learn what you need?"

"Yes." She nods slowly. "I knew that having a goa'uld inside someone was unpleasant, but I did not understand quite how bad it was. I cannot compass the idea of allowing Klorel to keep possession of Skaara."

Click to shrink...

Oh, good. Nice to see you've come around on that front.

I shrug. "Right, but that doesn't resolve anything. He'll just jump in someone else who will be subjected to the same thing. Unless he can't find someone compatible, then he'll probably have the failed hosts killed one after the other. And Apophis will probably destroy this planet from orbit for daring to stand in judgement over his son."

Click to shrink...

Or they manage to force him to accept a tailor-made clone, much like Mammon claims to be using. Though if he ever escapes, I expect he'd be right out of that body as soon as he could.

I start walking towards the door.

"Of course, if we're really unlucky, then a few Tollan will survive and be taken by Apophis as hosts for his favourite goa'uld followers. Having superior technology than other humans -and better than the goa'uld in some areas- that will herald a new age of oppression for the galaxy as free human worlds and advanced alien worlds are overrun by newly crowned Supreme System Lord Apophis. And the thing is? I doubt that he'll bother with your world because as far as he knows it's empty. So trot off home, you waste of flesh, and leave the universe for people who care about it."

Click to shrink...

Ooof. Really hammering home the point with all the subtlety of a brick. unfortunately needed, since Nox seem to have the obstinance of a brick wall.

And then I sweep out, the picture of an arrogate goa'uld lord. I doubt very much that I'll convince her to change her ways, but-.

There's a BOOM, and the building shakes-. And then shakes again as another BOOM shatters the air.

Click to shrink...

Ah, speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

We're under bombardment. Ring?

The image appears in my mind. And that's a big ship, and it has friends with it.

I need to check what the Tollan can do to defend themselves.

Click to shrink...

And then decide whether to step in for yourself or let them face it alone.

Well, chances are that thoroughly sledgehammer-blunt diatribe might, just might, get through to the Nox. At which point, the whole board is likely to get flipped if they take action. More likely one or two will go out and make small impacts. In the meantime, looks like the Tollan and Mammon have a planet to defend...

 

[Ardy]

No. Literal pine-away-gazing-at-your-own-reflection narcissist. Like, there are a few people who as a result of a psychological malady genuinely love inanimate objects. This isn't something that would come up much, and the Zamarons wouldn't want to recruit them.

Click to shrink...

It might be funny though. Does anyone have a spare violet ring? Just to mess with them?

 

[Neruz]

Well, chances are that thoroughly sledgehammer-blunt diatribe might, just might, get through to the Nox. At which point, the whole board is likely to get flipped if they take action. More likely one or two will go out and make small impacts. In the meantime, looks like the Tollan and Mammon have a planet to defend...

Click to shrink...

I doubt it; the core of the issue with the Nox is that they are obsessively dedicated to pacifism, which makes it fundamentally impossible for them to interact with other galactic polities in any meaningful way. Indeed they basically hide themselves from most of the rest of the galaxy specifically in order to prevent them from being forced to break their pacifism.

 

[Darko]

Having superior technology than other humans -and better than the goa'uld in some areas-

Click to shrink...

Superior in practically every area.

picture of an arrogate

Click to shrink...

"arrogant"

 

[Mr Zoat]

"arrogant"

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

 

[WereDragon]

Superior in practically every area.

Click to shrink...

Their FTL is nothing to write home about. Nor is their sensor tech given they couldn't tell someone had been marking their cannons. And they either don't have shields or are so monumentally moronic that they didn't build any despite knowing how. Plus the fact that their power generation tech is hideously unstable.

 

[Oglymogly]

I really enjoyed the verbal beat down of the Nox here. They really are alien in how they think, in that they assume anyone powerful enough to attack them... Won't? I'm sure there's some logic there, but I sure don't understand it.

The rather large lack of empathy to the plight of the rest of the galaxy was very well lambasted here, but wasn't something I had seriously considered previously. So I really appreciate a chance to reconsider a part of my favorite childhood series, especially since fanfiction I enjoy of it is sparce.

That wham line was amazing, mad props for both referencing a amazing magic storyline and using it epically.

Thank you for the chapter!

 

[LZB1285]

"Yes." She nods slowly. "I knew that having a goa'uld inside someone was unpleasant, but I did not understand quite how bad it was. I cannot compass the idea of allowing Klorel to keep possession of Skaara."

Click to shrink...

Compass? I had a bit of trouble with this, did you mean comprehend?

 

[Chaoswind]

Star gate getting interesting, I certainly hope we won't have more whiplash with another change towards the Renegade or Paragon....


Great update Zoat, let's see how the B plot is resolved.

 

[Ngamer11]

@Mr Zoat, random question. How are Firebrand and Red Torpedo nowadays? I assume the former is doing her best to keep her family safe, but the latter was just a cranky old man who wanted to stay out of everything. So I can guess Firebrand brought her wife and stepson to the Justice League's relatively safer areas to keep herself going, but I'm curious as to how the latter coped with the Anti-Life.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Compass? I had a bit of trouble with this, did you mean comprehend?

Click to shrink...

No. An archaic use perhaps, but a valid one.

@Mr Zoat, random question. How are Firebrand and Red Torpedo nowadays? I assume the former is doing her best to keep her family safe, but the latter was just a cranky old man who wanted to stay out of everything. So I can guess Firebrand brought her wife and stepson to the Justice League's relatively safer areas to keep herself going, but I'm curious as to how the latter coped with the Anti-Life.

Click to shrink...

An upbeat person can get through the Anti-Life by straining to remain upbeat. A depressed person's situation doesn't really change, which is why Detroit managed alright. Firebrand remained in the Sanctuary, and because they were close enough to Teth Adom to be protected she was fine. I hadn't really thought about Lockhart, but... Let's say that he joined them for a while.

 

[Ngamer11]

An upbeat person can get through the Anti-Life by straining to remain upbeat. A depressed person's situation doesn't really change, which is why Detroit managed alright. Firebrand remained in the Sanctuary, and because they were close enough to Teth Adom to be protected she was fine. I hadn't really thought about Lockhart, but... Let's say that he joined them for a while.

Click to shrink...

That's nice to hear. Has Red Torpedo come to the same conclusion as Doctor Mist and realized he can't hope to stay out of the crazy things that affect the Earth?

 

[CrazyNoVa]

No. Literal pine-away-gazing-at-your-own-reflection narcissist. Like, there are a few people who as a result of a psychological malady genuinely love inanimate objects. This isn't something that would come up much, and the Zamarons wouldn't want to recruit them.

Click to shrink...

Okay, fair enough. So, what you're saying is that people like the mythological Narcissus could wield a violet ring just because of how self-obsessed and in love with their reflection they are, but they wouldn't be able to do anything productive or follow orders from their Zamaron superiors, because they would be literally too captivated by themselves for that, hence why the Zamarons wouldn't want to recruit them in their ranks, right?

It might be funny though. Does anyone have a spare violet ring? Just to mess with them?

Click to shrink...

Better idea: How about taking them to an alternate universe just so they meet their alternate self? Their reaction would be priceless.

 

[Mr Zoat]

That's nice to hear. Has Red Torpedo come to the same conclusion as Doctor Mist and realized he can't hope to stay out of the crazy things that affect the Earth?

Click to shrink...

No. It's more 'if I'm stuck being alive then I may as well do something.

Okay, fair enough. So, what you're saying is that people like the mythological Narcissus could wield a violet ring just because of how self-obsessed and in love with their reflection they are, but they wouldn't be able to do anything productive or follow orders from their Zamaron superiors, because they would be literally too captivated by themselves for that, hence why the Zamarons wouldn't want to recruit them in their ranks, right?

Click to shrink...

Nearly. The Zamarons have a romantic view of love. They wouldn't want someone like that even if they were effective.

 

[Ngamer11]

Nearly. The Zamarons have a romantic view of love. They wouldn't want someone like that even if they were effective.

Click to shrink...

Yeah. I remember how Ghia'ta reacted when the Renegade decided that the first thing she needed to know about love was that sometimes it hurt through introducing her to Zatara. Though that does make me wonder if the Renegade's lessons for her will eventually cause her to become more skilled at using the violet light than her fellow Zamarons.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Yeah. I remember how Ghia'ta reacted when the Renegade decided that the first thing she needed to know about love was that sometimes it hurt through introducing her to Zatara. Though that does make me wonder if the Renegade's lessons for her will eventually cause her to become more skilled at using the violet light than her fellow Zamarons.

Click to shrink...

In the Renegade timeline it will put her ahead of the Zamarons her age. The elders already know.