"We're dealing with crazy people," the thought flashed through my mind, but out loud I only smiled. The news of two approaching Huttaks filled everyone with indescribable joy. I, for the umpteenth time, silently thanked myself for the treaty I'd made with Asgard. The Spartans were especially delighted: their grueling training had ceased, and the promise of a battle where they could reclaim their lost honor lit a fire in their eyes. All forces were brought to the highest state of combat readiness. Orbital cannons prepared to repel an attack from any point in planetary orbit, glider pilots took their stations, and Krel, McVay, and Imotekh beamed with anticipation. The military might of five Huttaks and thirty-five Alkesh promised to sweep away any enemy, unless, of course, they found an equal opponent.
"If we know where they'll exit hyperspace, we could set up an ambush," Imotekh suggested, his voice slightly distorted by the synthesizer so as not to reveal the presence of the two Jaffa.
"By what means?" I asked.
"While these ships are moving, we can refit several Teltaks. Install magnetic grapples and laser drills on them. Before the enemy ships can raise their shields, our fighters and refitted Teltaks will attack the hull. Several ships prepared for boarding will attach to it, and then our groups will attack."
"My lord, what if the landing force is large?" Imotekh asked politely.
"In that scenario, we'll have bombs. The main forces will be hidden throughout the system. If the initial attack fails, we'll attack from all sides, breaking the enemy ships' shields. If boarding fails, we'll simply destroy them."
The assault force must be equipped with the latest technology, and the glider pilots must strike the Huttaks' vulnerable points before their shields are up. At the same time, I will test the Teltaks, converted into fighters. Four cannons, positioned forward and downward, are capable of providing continuous fire. Improved naquadah generators and shields have transformed them into fully-fledged heavy fighters.
"We need to withdraw our forces early to prevent enemy scanners from detecting the carriers. All ambush units must be deployed two hours before the enemy forces exit hyperspace."
"However, the boarding party won't be large. The khattak could have up to two thousand troops," Imotekh reminded.
"They've been flying here for a year. Unless they have extensive supply depots, they'll be weakened. But you raise an important point: a captured peltak or a damaged reactor is already a victory. From there, we can impose our will on any forces. For example, we could cause a coolant leak in the reactor. It's extremely toxic, even to Jaffa. Not to mention, we could separate the enemies by activating all the blast doors. But in case you're cut off, the assault team must have powerful explosives. I'll provide them."
There's no time for secrecy here. Let them use potassium naquadah explosives—and make them more active!
"There will be four groups of ten men. It's best to deploy near the peltak and attack as quickly as possible. Hesitation is fatal."
I'll equip them with dispersion shields and pulse rifles. But the main goal is to break through to the peltak or the generators, not the hull.
"Who will lead the boarding party?" Krel asked. Lately, my "first warrior" had clearly begun to compete with Imotekh.
"None of you. We need to give others a chance. But not even those who were Pelops's former Jaffa. The honor of slaying Apophis's servants, and I'm almost certain that will go to the sons of Ra."
"In the name of Ra!" Imotekh, Krel, and McVay jumped to their feet. It was amusing to watch the American rear admiral praise Ra, but it was merely feigned enthusiasm.
— And what will happen to the army that Apophis sends through the gate?
"I'll set up a gate on a high cliff," I replied, "and also on the uninhabited second planet in the system. Maybe Apophis will drop a bomb there."
- Hm, there is a certain cruelty in this.
"More like practicality. Gravity is a weapon too, it would be a sin not to use it." "The Stargate simply didn't have the same access to antigravity technology as I did. I could do anything in that regard. The Goa'uld, however, lacked imagination."
"Will you fly the flag on the Eternal Omen?" McVay asked.
"No, my flag will be on the Executor. The fleet is your front, McVay. Do your duty."
"Yes, my lord." Yes, for an American admiral, learning proper Goa'uld etiquette was no easy task, but he had to do it.
"Eternal Omen," "Oracle," "Unwavering Law," "Loyalty," "Justice"—those are the names of my Huttaks. Yes, the random name generator came up with their names. But "Executor" is my Cheops. Having a ship with a name like Vader's might be fun. The Alkesh, for now, only have numbers—from one to thirty-five. I constantly read fleet reports, keeping my finger on the pulse, but I didn't undermine McVay's authority. If I disagreed with something, I simply summoned him to my office. To his credit, I rarely disagreed with him.
My fleet is currently in its infancy, so special attention is being paid to developing educational institutions. Jaffa women, like the men, give me plenty of trouble, but they train diligently. There are kindergartens and schools for Jaffa children. And yes, they are trained there to be good warriors—the old men. The administrative division is divided into the Line Department, the Fighter Department, the Fleet Support Department, and the Support Services Branch. Yes, the last two are different units.
The Line Department trains officers, tacticians, administrators, and logisticians. It handles the Jaffa's salaries, supplies food, water, and other supplies, and monitors their schedules, vacations, and so on. Some of this work was performed by the Jaffa, while others were handled by ordinary people, such as logistics.
The Fighter Division is responsible for training glider, teltak, and alkesh pilots.
The support department is technical support. I simply need them. It's mostly women. The whole thing is presented as an initiation into Goa'uld magic.
The Support Services branch trains officers of a different class: artillerymen, astrogators, communications specialists, and medics. Non-combat officers are women, while the artillerymen, for example, are Jaffa.
As for artillery, Goa'uld or Jaffa can typically control all weapons with their minds, but this results in only a small number of them firing on target. Assigning dedicated operators to the guns would improve efficiency. Incidentally, McVay and I completely redesigned the bridge. First, we secured it, then expanded it and gave the officers a seat. Now, each officer has their own control station, as does the commander. The viewscreen remains more of a nod to tradition.
The bridge's staff increased to ten, with personnel from other departments coming in and working multiple shifts. Fleet officers were now distinguished by uniform color: dark green for officers, black for technical personnel and pilots. Security teams wore standard Jaffa chainmail. A rank system was now in place. Infantry didn't need one, as their identification was in their helmets (and it would have been foolish to mark their officers with any kind of indicator). In the navy, however, it was more a matter of pride and status.
Currently, my fleet consists of two squadrons. Generally speaking, the Khattaks and Alkesh were grouped into just these two squadrons. Three Khattaks and twenty-one Alkesh in the first, and two Khattaks, one Cheops, and fourteen Alkesh in the second. Conventionally, there are three cruisers, and for each cruiser, there are escort ships. But formally, they are a combined unit: one Khattak and seven Alkesh constitute two battle lines: heavy and light. The Alkesh can be used for patrols and the delivery of various cargoes.
A squadron is a fully autonomous combat unit, capable of performing a separate function, so the officer leading such a force must be loyal but also competent. McVay trains them in various space combat situations. He develops many tactics along the way, based on logic. For example, the idea that using asteroids as cover is perfectly feasible. It's a shame Stargate Command didn't hire naval officers to captain their ships. They're far more competent, although they can be a bit odd due to their traditions. After all, the Air Force doesn't have the same wealth of experience in warfare, where multiple forces are involved. The Navy has similar experience. And while it might need some fine-tuning later to make it suitable for a space fleet, it's still a step up from jumping into the middle of a Wraith formation hoping for shields.
The Khattaks and Cheops will become heavy and light cruisers. I should also think about something regarding military transports. Having room for two thousand Jaffa is a huge drain on space that could be put to much better use. Consider that combining a warship and a transport requires a huge number of showers and toilets. And even if they sleep in shared barracks, all the associated infrastructure is a drain on space. McVay and I often discuss this issue. He's an old-school thinker, where some ships should be good at shooting, while others should be capable of landing troops. That's how the Pacific campaign worked. However, we can't start something like that if I don't want to be left without the ability to transport an army in the future, since it's not always possible to capture a planet through the gate. These are usually underdeveloped planets, with secondary Goa'uld populations. We need large landing ships, similar to the Acclamators from Star Wars. Because transporting two thousand Jaffa is completely out of the question. The defenders only need five hundred men to hold off the entire Khattak landing force.
I hope Khattak doesn't unleash an orbital bombardment on us. There are many conditions, but the answer is simple: two thousand fighters are insufficient. Even if they are my Jaffa, reinforced with advanced technology. To lay siege to a planet developed and prepared for defense, we need full-scale legions. Therefore, we need a ship capable of accommodating and transporting ten thousand warriors or more, along with all the necessary supplies.
However, creating such a ship from scratch... For one person, that's the stuff of science fiction. Even if it were a Goa'uld imbued with the power of an Ancient computer, whose computational capabilities are truly limitless. Especially when we're talking about a ship seven hundred meters long and five hundred meters wide. That's a colossal amount of space, requiring countless nuances. Until the Tok'ra are developed on an industrial scale, I won't be able to implement such a feat alone. Which means I won't be able to upgrade our Hattakis by getting rid of the outdated infrastructure. By limiting the crew to three to five hundred, we'll free up a huge amount of space for installing capacitors, new weapons, backup systems, and sensor arrays.
Currently, all the modifications are focused on increasing safety and introducing railguns. Not counting the Asgardian gifts. However, plans for the future are already in place, and no one's stopping me from spending hours at the drawing board. Theoretically, the updated Hattak should outperform its siblings in firepower by 1.5 times, and that's without taking into account the Asgardian upgrades. Overall, if you look at the numbers, that's a two-fold increase over the standard Hattak. So I'm confident about my future. For now.