At the insistence of System Lord Apophis, Szarekh of the House of Ra is elevated to the rank of System Lord, with the right to found his own house and bestow all manner of titles. This decision was not taken lightly by the House of Ra, while Apophis looked as if he were suffering from acute diarrhea and was holding back the urge to pee. His own vassals gave him a choice: acknowledge me as System Lord, or behead him and present me with his head as compensation. Any System Lord is obliged to support internecine wars among his vassals, and henceforth, Apophis's vassals feared me more than they did him. He was unlikely to forgive them for this, but that's another story. The entire galaxy mocked Apophis, from the lowest Goa'uld to the System Lords. Even the Jaffa made jokes about it.
So, there are several ways to become a System Lord. First, by assassinating the current System Lord and taking their place—a rare occurrence. Second, by amassing enough power to simply present the Empire with the fait accompli of one's rise. Or, third, by receiving a recommendation from another System Lord—an equally rare procedure, as no one is eager to share power. Heruur became System Lord on Ra's recommendation, already possessing a formidable fleet. Instead of starting a war for succession, they decided to work together. Formally, this is a way to elevate a loyal ally, not an enemy. This is precisely why Apophis is being mocked—he showed weakness. I won't touch him for a while, as there are enough sharks in this ocean without me.
System Lords have no insignia, no emblems to indicate their status. They are known by sight. Those who don't die quickly. We are the most powerful beings in the galaxy, and we will not fall until all others fall. However, for this ceremony, I was instructed to dress more appropriately than my usual black coat. I chose a robe reminiscent of the one Palpatine wore as Chancellor, but embroidered with so many technological innovations that it could serve as a flak jacket, protecting against knives and plasma blasts. It was completely covered in runes of my pseudo-language, as well as Egyptian hieroglyphs, understandable to all Goa'uld, recounting my exploits—perhaps this is what made Apophis's teeth grind. Besides its functionality, the robe was very expensive, and most importantly, it looked expensive and stylish.
"Thank you, Supreme Lord of Systems Ra," I replied. Apparently, there's a party coming up to celebrate my appointment, and they'll also be adding a chair just for me.
Apophis, immediately after the ceremony, retired to his chambers, probably to cry or to hatch plans for revenge.
"How much would it cost to build a replica of your flagship?" Bastet asked, approaching me first.
"The price is five huttaks," I replied. It was worth exploiting the business opportunity. The other System Lords had become wary after seeing the power of my flagship, and now they understood that it wasn't just a toy, but a toy that could prove quite useful. Besides, in this competition for dominance, reputation had to be maintained.
- It's coming.
Next, Yu, who also ordered a ship, like Baal, came up with congratulations.
"Now you are the youngest System Lord," Baal said with such a smug look, as if he had taught me everything himself.
"Yes, for the Goa'uld, power is paramount. And that satisfies my ambitions."
"I understand. Since we're now equal, I want to buy equipment from you," he stated bluntly.
— Which one exactly?
— The one your troops use, and, of course, I need the flagship too.
"Okay, I think we can come to an agreement. My holdings are far apart, and we have little to divide."
"That's true. However, I sense that your ambitions could take you very far. The main thing is not to choke on them."
"Regarding Ra's agreement to keep you from interfering while his fleet bombed my planet? His vassals have grown too powerful, and I've become popular among them. He used others to remove the obstacle, but now he's actually the winner," I said frankly. "On the other hand, I can increase the price for using my troops and fleet. Their competence is too high."
"Yes, competence," Baal almost grimaced, probably imagining himself being sliced. "The robot we left behind to fight somehow took two ships with it; the surprise probably played a role. And now the Golden Legion (Lych Guard) was so feared that the sight of their beloved Goa'uld gold gave them indigestion. The only good thing was that the Golden Legion couldn't be hired, and they were only used against those who had angered me.
Their capabilities had been demonstrated: an unsupported landing operation, an attack on the High Lord's palace when tens of millions of Jaffa were on his planet; an attack directly on a heavily guarded palace, guarded by thousands of Jaffa... It's possible to find enough dumb Jaffa willing to do such a thing, but those who would succeed through their own competence are practically nonexistent." I don't know how the System Lords keep their ashraks safe, but they're clearly permanently bruised. "How did you get a Jaffa so competent?"
"I've long ago set a target of 18 hours of training per day. Or should I write a book called 'The Jaffa Code'? Where I'll describe how to train a Jaffa. Although I wrote it, it's classified."
Baal's face became even more distorted by these words.
"Why should supersoldiers guard slaves? Let them sweat it out on thousands of training grounds."
- And who will guard the slaves?
"Is it really so difficult to form loyal slaves who will stand by with an outdated staff and whip? You can find them everywhere." I said this so openly because the System Lords were arrogant idiots and would never have done such a thing. And if I had said, 'Pay the workers their wages and give them an eight-hour workday,' I would have been sent to a mental hospital. Besides, I was already considered insane for personally participating in battles.
Yu, however, was happy to discuss economics, being an intelligent man. Everything ran like clockwork for him, after all, he was the Chinese Emperor, and China had a well-functioning bureaucracy. The problem was that weak rulers came to power, and then everything went wrong. Yu was not weak in the slightest. That's why his region of space prospered. He was someone to talk economics with, and also Bastet—with twenty thousand years of experience, she was a skilled administrator with a good head on her shoulders. So, in a small circle, we laughed at the idiots who had supersoldiers guarding slaves. After all, the easiest way to ensure that slaves didn't need protection was to turn them from slaves into citizens who cared about their own state and their beloved ruler.
Now I am a System Lord, recognized as one of the most powerful Goa'uld in the galaxy. It took me 20 years to achieve this. This means it is still possible to crush the Goa'uld, subjugating them all. It was a magical feeling… Rule over the galaxy and liberating the human race from the Goa'uld were one step closer.