Kali bit through Priya’s back and tunneled into her spine.
Within a second, she had taken control. Priya’s left leg was indeed completely shattered, but it was the work of only a few minutes to heal. As Ra had indicated, an injury that would have taken hours to heal with an Unas host she was able to cure in a fraction of the time.
The rockslide had stopped, at least, but the tel’tak was destroyed. The communications equipment was buried beneath several rocks, and what little could be seen was smashed to pieces. Kali had neither the ability nor the inclination to attempt repairs.
Besides, she now had access to Priya’s memories of hiking to this plateau and back. It would take the better part of a day for her to hike down, but it was her only option.
It actually took more than a day — the rockslide had made the path that Priya had usually taken more treacherous and difficult to pass — but eventually Kali made it back to Shiva’s throne room. She went directly there despite her rather unfortunate appearance — Priya had worn a lovely silk dress for the trip, but it was badly ripped and torn. And while Kali was able to heal any cuts and bruises, her face and arms were still streaked with dirt.
When she came before Shiva, he rose angrily from his throne. “How dare you come before me dressed like a savage! You will change into proper attire before — ”
And then Kali’s eyes glowed, and Shiva realized what had happened.
“Kali?”
“Yes, my lord, it is I.” She quickly explained what happened on the plateau. “I had no choice.”
“Indeed,” Shiva said. “You must travel back to Ra’s kingdom and use the chappa’ai to return to our homeworld and obtain a new host.”
“I will not,” Kali said.
Shiva straightened in his throne. “I beg your pardon.”
Kali knew she had spoken out of turn, but it was now clear that Ra had been correct. “I am sorry, my lord, but Ra’s words were true. This body is far more adaptable. I healed her broken leg in almost no time at all. I’m faster now, more agile. And I am still stronger than any around me, for I am able to supplement Priya’s strength with my own.”
“The Unas are even stronger.”
“As Apophis said, what need have we of physical strength?” Kali asked. “We have thousands of subjects to do our bidding.”
That got Shiva’s attention, and his anger abated in favor of curiosity. “Thousands?”
“Yes, my lord. Before the rockslide, Priya showed me several villages to the south. There are many hundreds more people living there who have yet to be subjugated. I believe you should travel there and reveal to them the might of their god.”
Nodding, Shiva said, “Perhaps I shall.”
Within a year, many more of the Bengali had come under Shiva’s rule. As with the first group they had subjugated, the people were frightened of Shiva’s appearance. Some recoiled at the very sight of him, and when that happened, Shiva took to sending Kali in his place.
Ever since taking Priya as a host, the Bengali had started coming to Kali with their petitions. Shiva was always willing to entertain such from his subjects, but only on his own terms and when his whim took him in that direction. Kali was far more approachable. Many of the Bengali saw her as a melding of Priya (who was a respected member of the Tau’ri community) and Kali, and Kali herself did not discourage that notion. It meant that the people would come to her with issues, which she could then bring to Shiva.
For many months after this they were alone in the valley of the great mountain. Their subjects were devoted and growing ever-greater in number. And their rule was peaceful and good…
Then came the summer solstice. On the day when the sun spent the longest time visible in the planet’s sky, Ra always held a feast for the Goa’uld.
“We will not attend,” Shiva said. “Apophis, Anubis, Hathor, Osiris — they have all taken Tau’ri hosts, and no doubt Cronus and Ares and Olokun and the Morrigan have as well. I will not sit with Goa’uld who have embraced weakness over strength.”
“It is not weakness!” Kali cried out. “I have needed the sarcophagus less than you. Ra was correct in his decree.”
It was becoming an old, and tired, argument. Shiva had not changed his position. “No. We will not attend.”
“And how will you explain to Ra why you have disobeyed his summons?”
Shiva had nothing to say in response to that — Ra’s instructions were to be obeyed to the letter. Disobedience of Ra’s directive regarding hosts was one thing. Reasons could be contrived — a worthy host had yet to be found, his Unas body had not deteriorated to the point where it was necessary — and this particular transgression was out of Ra’s sight. But to not attend Ra’s most important feast would gain notice — and incur Ra’s wrath. Shiva was not prepared to be that seditious.
And so together they journeyed back to the banks of the great river, which Ra had taken to calling the Nile.
As Shiva had feared, almost all the other Goa’uld had taken Tau’ri hosts, though Kali was relieved to see that Shiva was not the only contrarian amongst them. Cronus and Ares also still had Unas hosts.
Upon sitting down to feast, Ra stared at the three who had disobeyed with the penetrating eyes of his Tau’ri host. “I believe I made my instructions on the subject of our new hosts very clear.”
“Yes, my lord Ra, you did,” Cronus said with a respectful bow of his head. “Your exact words were, ‘find a Tau’ri you believe to be worthy of the honor of hosting our greatness.’ The simple matter is, we have yet to find a Tau’ri who is so worthy.”
Ra glared at Cronus before turning his eyes upon Shiva. “And you, Shiva? Kali has followed my instructions, yet you have not?”
“As Cronus speaks, so say I, my lord. Kali’s Unas host was injured beyond repair, and so she took the nearest Tau’ri available as a host. I prefer my choice to be a more considered one. Rest assured, once I find a Tau’ri who is worthy, I will honor him.”
Kali said nothing, knowing that the hypothetical day of which Shiva spoke would never come.
Shiva continued. “With respect, it is also a difficult search. The Unas were bred to host the Goa’uld. The Tau’ri are truly fit only to be our slaves.”
“Actually,” Hathor said, “they are fit for more than that. They are able to incubate our larvae. I have created several such among the Tau’ri, who now serve as our soldiers. As the ranks of our worshippers grow, it becomes imperative that we create soldiers whose loyalty is not in doubt.”
Centuries later, Kali had become the queen to Shiva’s king. The people of Bengal feared Shiva, thinking him to be a demon. His own growing discomfort with his fellow System Lords certainly aided in that. He had become more surly and unpleasant, and Kali’s calming influence had been necessary.
Hathor’s experiment had proven successful, creating the Jaffa. Every Goa’uld made use of her altered humans.
Kali became the voice of the Goa’uld to the Bengali. In front of Shiva, they cowered in fear, and while sometimes that effect was useful, more often a kinder, gentler face needed to be put on the Goa’uld rule of Bengal.
There was one day, though, when Kali realized that something needed to change.
“Ra has asked — ” she started, but Shiva interrupted her.
“What possible reason do I have to do as Ra wishes?”
Slowly, Kali said, “He is the supreme System Lord. If you challenge him — ”
“I do not challenge him — but I do not acknowledge his superiority, either. Let him rule the Nile. I shall rule Bengal.”
“But Ra has asked that tribute increase.”
Shiva snorted with his Unas mouth. “He is entitled to ask.”
A long pause followed, and then Kali asked quietly, “What message shall I send back to Ra?”
“None. He has made his request. Let silence be his reply.”
Predictably, Ra did not accept silence as a reply, and summoned Shiva to his throne room on the Nile. Shiva sent Kali in hi
s place.
By this time, Shiva had several vessels in orbit, all of which were equipped with ring transporters. He had not brought a mothership to Earth, keeping them in reserve. Besides, the mountainous region of Bengal was ill suited to a ha’tak.
Kali simply transported to one of Shiva’s ships, and then ringed down to Ra’s palace. A lo’taur greeted her and escorted her to Ra’s throne room.
Already present was Ares. He had taken a very tall, well-muscled human host with dark cruly hair and a dark beard. Where Kali had come in her finest silk raiment, Ares had kept it simple: a sleeveless leather vest, thick boots, leather pants, all black. The humans had come to think of him as the god of war, and looking at him now, Kali could understand why. He had embraced that part as thoroughly as Shiva had taken to his role as a demon.
“Why do you stand before me, Kali?” Ra asked. The soft face of his human host had hardened. “I summoned Shiva to the throne room, not you.”
“Shiva has many matters of state to attend to. He asked that I come in his place.” Quickly she added, “I am empowered to speak for him.”
“And what do you say on his behalf?”
“That would depend entirely upon why you have summoned me, my lord.”
“I see.” Ra stood up from his throne and started to pace, his robes flowing behind him. “It is simple, Kali. I ordered tribute be increased. I am not singling your region out — all the System Lords have been so ordered. Only one gave an answer in the negative, and only one other has given me no answer at all.”
“I — ” Kali started.
Ra interrupted her by ceasing his pacing and holding up a hand. “We will discuss Shiva’s lack of response in due course.” He turned to face Ares. “Let us address the negative response first.”
Kali turned to also look at Ares. For his part, her fellow Goa’uld looked impassive. Kali would not have considered Ares as one to defy Ra.
In his deep voice, Ares said, “As you instructed, my lord, I confronted Cronus and informed him that he would be wise to reverse his refusal.”
So it wasn’t Ares who refused, but Cronus, Kali realized.
“And did he?” Ra asked.
Ares let out a quick breath. “Not at first, my lord. Cronus has always been — stubborn. Since he continued his defiance, I acted in accordance with your instructions. A dozen Jaffa stormed Cronus’s battlements upon Olympian Mountain and were triumphant. Cronus capitulated.” Ares smiled beneath his black beard. “Expect all tribute from Greece to increase accordingly, my lord. Oh, and Cronus has also finally taken a Tau’ri host.”
“Excellent.” Ra resumed pacing again. “You have served me well.”
Ares inclined his head. “Thank you, my lord.”
With that, Ares turned and departed the throne room.
Kali swallowed as Ra studied her. “Now then. I still await Shiva’s response to my instruction.”
“Unfortunately, my lord, I have no response to give you, for just as Shiva provided you with no answer, he provided me with none, either.”
While Ra continued to pace, Kali stood still. He finally came to stand face to face with her.
“You were once called the Destroyer, were you not?”
Kali looked away. “That was a long time ago, my lord, when I served as Shiva’s right hand in battle. However, that function has not been necessary since we came to this world.”
“But you still have the skills you learned in that role, do you not? They have not atrophied? They have not disappeared with the transfer from an Unas to a Tau’ri host?”
“I — ” Kali hesitated. She knew where this conversation was going, and she needed to make sure that she knew where she stood. “Why do you ask, my lord?”
“As you heard from Ares, Cronus did not obey me and therefore he had to be dealt with. Shiva did not obey me.”
“And he should be dealt with as well?
Ra nodded gravely. “Yes, but the response can not be the same. Cronus is ambitious, but he knows his place. He will kneel before me. But Shiva rejects my authority. He is disobedient. And there is only one punishment for disobedience.”
“Are you ordering me to kill Shiva, my lord?”
Ra smiled. “Is that a problem?”
“It is not. Shiva has refused to give up his Unas host. He has become more difficult. Indeed, our people see him as a demon, and he has endeavored to live down to that reputation.”
Now Ra’s smile grew wider. “I see you refer to the Bengali as ‘our people.’”
She looked away. “I apologize, my lord. I assumed a station that is not my own.”
“Would you like it to be?”
That got Kali to look directly at Ra, who had the same amused expression on his face.
Ra continued: “If you carry out this task then Shiva’s holdings become yours. All of it shall be ceded to you upon his demise.”
“In that case, my lord Ra, I do humbly accept your command. And I promise you that Shiva’s death will be quick and efficient.”
“I would expect no less from Kali the Destroyer.” Ra dismissed her with a gesture. “Go and carry out your duty.”
Kali bowed. “Yes, my lord.”
Kali returned to Bengal and went straight to Shiva’s throne room.
Two Jaffa guards stepped aside to admit her.
Shiva looked up at her entrance. “Welcome home, my love.”
Kali bristled at the salutation.
“Tell me,” he continued, “what unimportant tidings are there from the fool on the Nile?”
Kali stood before the throne and waited a few seconds before starting. “Ra told me a tale when I arrived,” she finally said. “You know that Cronus and Ares were sent to the sea to the north to rule the people on the peninsula and the small islands there. When Ra made his decree that you all must increase your tribute, Cronus refused. He did not ignore the order, as you did, my lord, but actually told Ra no.”
“Good for him.”
“In fact, it was rather bad for him,” Kali said with a grave expression, hoping Shiva would understand the gravity of the situation. “Ares sent his Jaffa to the Olympian Mountain, and Cronus capitulated.”
Shiva rose from the throne, raising his arms in frustration. “The coward! Cronus should have stood his ground.”
“Ra is the greatest of us,” Kali started, but Shiva cut her off.
“Do not be a fool, Kali. Ra claims loyalty because he claims supremacy, but such coin is earned.” Shiva started to pace back and forth. “This is an opportunity. Cronus can’t have been happy about having to capitulate. Perhaps we need only talk to him, convince him to join in the fight against Ra? I already have Anubis on my side, it would be but the work of a simple conversation to convince Cronus to join us.”
Kali started to join in the pacing, making sure to stay respectfully behind Shiva. “What makes you think that Ra hasn’t earned that loyalty? Ares was in the throne room with me, reporting to Ra. I detected no reluctance on his part. Isn’t it possible that he acted because he believes in Ra’s leadership?”
Shiva turned to face Kali. “Ra took on a Tau’ri host. How does that prove that he’s earned anything but contempt?”
Then Shiva made the last mistake he would ever make.
He turned his back on Kali.
She unsheathed her dagger and stabbed him directly in the back of the neck, severing his spinal cord and slicing his Goa’uld symbiote in twain.
As time passed, Kali — who now ruled the region in the valley of the great mountain alone — heard reports of many System Lords having trouble keeping the Tau’ri in line. The mortals grew in number, and grew also in sophistication. Some questioned the Goa’uld’s divinity; others questioned the need for gods at all.
Kali knew that she had her loyal subjects — but she knew that not all her subjects were loyal. After killing Shiva, she’d made it clear that the people of Bengal were under her protection forevermore. The demon Shiva had been vanquished, and those who worshipp
ed her, whom she had dubbed Kali Kula, would always be safe under her rule.
But not all worshipped her. While the Kula’s numbers remained strong, the percentage of the people in the Bengal region who considered themselves Kula shrank with each decade.
And Kali’s domain was the least tumultuous. All throughout the world, from Cronus and Ares in the large sea to Yu and Ameratsu in the eastern regions, they were struggling to maintain their rule.
But the worst was on the Nile, where Ra’s hold was slipping.
Eventually the humans rebelled, and so Ra departed, ordering all the Goa’uld to abandon Earth. Only their most devout worshippers came with them.
Kali immediately set up her new throne room on a world she named Bhopal and her Jaffa struck out onto several dozen other worlds.
She had very carefully made sure to keep the worlds she conquered far from those claimed by Ra, though still very much part of the ancient gate network.
Soon her empire grew. While she received many challenges, they were fewer than those of other Goa’uld. Mostly she made sure that the Kula remained safe.
And if the occasional challenge from the likes of Heru’ur made it necessary to ally with Sobek and Bastet — and then to turn on Sobek — then so be it.
CHAPTER TWELVE
P3X-418
KALI LOOKED at Jackson, who actually seemed fascinated by her story. She considered this a significant step forward from his contempt, which had grown wearisome.
“Interesting,” Jackson said. “The stories I read on Abydos claimed that Ra took a human host as soon as he arrived on Earth.” He smirked. “Then again, those stories didn’t mention you or Shiva or any other Goa’uld at all.”
“Hardly surprising. Ra preferred to think of himself as the be-all and end-all.” Kali walked over to the picture window and stared out at the mountains.
“I will give you credit for one thing — that’s quite a view.”
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