He is not of the Earth [✱18]

Posted on Sun Jun 15th, 2025 @ 7:52am by Captain Rovak & Lieutenant Onda Duros & Atonu & Tyr & Consul Kwaa & Lord Akhenaten

2,011 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: The Serpent's Tooth [3]
Location: JAG Courtroom
Timeline: 0930 - MD10

“The proceedings shall go as follows for each of the accused. The prosecution will have an opportunity to question the accused, then the defence will have the same chance. Following that, both prosecution and defence may call and cross-examine witnesses to query the claims against the accused. Once all accused have been cross-examined, there will be a final opportunity to call and cross-examine any supplementary witnesses. For the purposes of these proceedings, you shall refer to the presiding officer as the court, or your honour. The prosecution may begin.” Rovak said.

“Thank you, your honour.” Lieutenant Onda said, standing. “Lord Akhenaten, you hold the title of Pharaoh, is that correct?”

“It is.” Akhenaten responded.

“Who bestowed that title upon you?”

“My father, the Aten.”

“Pharaoh is a title usually reserved for the supreme leader of the System Lords, is it not?”

“It is one such title held by their leaders, yes.”

“Are you now, or have you ever assented to be or been considered by any Anubisite, Raist or Oranic Council to be one of the Goa'uld System Lords?” Onda asked.

“No.” Akhenaten responded directly and calmly.

“Could you tell us how it is you came to rule the space and forces you controlled at the zenith of your power?”

“When the Aten shared its wisdom with me, I shared it with the people of Lower Karnak. In time, they too saw the profundity of my father’s insight, and followed in the hopes that I would bring forth the future promised to me by the Aten, so that they would live in his light evermore. From there my forces grew. In time we had the power to challenge the local system lords and unite the independent colonies throughout the sector. It took two decades, but finally the entire Karnka sector was bathed in the Aten's light.”

“Before the Aten spoke to you, what did your life entail?”

“I do not know.”

Onda looked confused, though he may have been performing for the audience, a lawyer's habit. “You don’t know what you did with your life before the Aten?”

“No. The Aten cleansed me of all that came before when it visited upon me, and told me of its ways.”

“So you may well have been a System Lord.” Onda suggested.

“I am the son of the Aten, I am the instrument through which the supremacy of the Goa’uld shall be undone.”

“Objection your honour, that’s not an answer to my question.” Onda said.

“Sustained. Lord Akhenaten, please answer the question.”

“I know not.”

“In fact, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that you were Supreme System Lord, even.” Onda suggested.

“Objection, calls for speculation. The witness has stated he does not recall.” Consul Kwaa interrupted.

“Sustained.” Rovak agreed.

“Lord Akhenaten, is it your intention that you will one day take your daughter Atonu as a host?” Onda asked.

The Pharaoh was visibly enraged by the question and his eyes flashed. “Never!” He roared. “The Aten’s teachings are designed to end the line of Goa’uld, and replace them with Harcesis that will lead the faithful to ascension.”

“Ascension, it’s funny you bring that up. My colleague Tyr informs us that ascension is a process whereby living beings become pure energy, able to influence the universe at will, usually to disastrous effect. Is this what you describe?”

“No.”

“So what is the ascension you’re offering?”

“To become more than mere masters and slaves. To become a people of conscience, to improve and uplift ourselves beyond what we have always been. To use the knowledge of the Goa’uld to make the Jaffa a sovereign power in their own right, without the influence of those who would shape them in their own image as the Tau'ri have done.”

“Do the Jaffa not already have their own power as a sovereign nation?” Onda asked.

“The Jaffa Nation has been corrupt since its birth, and they survive by the mercy of their technological superiors. The political trickery of the Tau’ri means that the powerful consolidate their power while the powerless are left to subsist. The way of the Aten offers power to any Jaffa who will heed the wisdom of the Aten and ascend beyond the old ways.”

"So you're not a fan of democracy, you wouldn't allow your people to vote, or decide who should represent them to their government?" Onda asked.

"Democracy is a Tau'ri concept. One needs look no further than the so-called Free Jaffa Nation to see how unsuited it is to the ways of the Jaffa. The very first leader they elected became a preacher for a false religion concoted by ascended beings to feed on the energy of living believers. More than a dozen of their leaders have led internecine crusades, warred on fellow Alliance members or condoned their assassinations. Jaffa and Tau'ri may share ancestors, but they are not the same. The ways of the Jaffa are more direct. Tau'ri attempts to impose their culture only hobble Jaffa society and further the suffering within."

Onda nodded, as though thinking where he would go next.

“You began on Lower Karnak, but now control the whole Karnak sector. How many were killed in this overtaking?” Onda asked.

“I know not the precise number. Many thousands, I expect.”

“And how many were those unwilling to accept the wisdom of the Aten?”

“Many. There were many enslaved to System Lords, and many more still who violently opposed our settlement.”

“What happened to those Jaffa who did not take up arms against you, but would not accept the ways of the Aten?”

“They were free to leave, or continue to lead their lives as they saw fit, so long as they did not interfere with the children of the Aten, or undermine our great works.”

“Would a Jaffa protesting your rule in the public square be considered undermining your great works?” Onda asked.

“I suppose so, yes.”

“What would be the punishment?”

“There would be no punishment. They would be told to maintain the Pharaoh's peace or leave.”

“And if they refused?”

“They would be removed and returned to their home.”

“If they resisted?”

“Likely they would be stunned. But they would be returned alive and unspoiled.”

“It’s interesting that you say that. I’d like to introduce exhibit A at this time. This is a report filed by a Tok’ra infiltrator in your palace. It says that a month before you left on your journey here, thirteen non-believers came down from the hills to spread dissent against your rule. They were all executed in the forests. Is this true?”

“You speak of poachers. They attacked the Mahig herds on farmsteads around the city. My Jaffa went to stop them but they would not be taken alive. All were killed in a firefight.”

"You execute poachers? Was it not likely they were hungry?"

"To ask a Jaffa to merely stun one who try to kill him with a lethal weapon would be asking him to dishonour himself, and his foe. But they were not executed, they were killed in battle."

“I have another report here, exhibit B, which says that a diplomatic delegation arrived from a free Jaffa colony ten months before your departure. They refused to accept the Aten as their only belief system. None left alive.”

“They were ashrak. Assassins sent by the System Lords. They who fear the holy light of the Aten most of all.”

“Do you have any proof to support that?"

“What proof would I show you? Bones? Recordings of the assassination attempt? It is not the way of the Goa’uld or Jaffa to keep records of every waking moment as the Tau’ri are known to. We do not spy on our people or attempt to police their thoughts. In my Kingdom, every Jaffa is free. That means freedom from the eyes of any who would surveil them in the name of controlling their actions pre-emptively.”

Onda could feel the tide turning, though Rovak’s expressions gave nothing away.

“I have another report, exhibit C, that shows your forces destroyed all life on the moon of Ulqash, approximately sixteen months before your departure.” This was the best they had on the Pharoah, Onda knew this was a hail Mary play.

“Ulqash’s moon was an independent Jaffa colony that suggested they were interested in learning our ways. A smaller ship was dispatched with a diplomatic party, including my former Vizier, Atensu-Na’mun. There was an undeclared Naquadah mine on the moon, and the locals killed the diplomatic mission and seized the ship. In the chaos, they accidentally detonated an explosive near one of the reactors. The ship was destroyed, the chain reaction detonated the Naquadah mines. The moon was destroyed by the actions of its inhabitants.”

“The Tau’ri don’t have records that extensive, how do you know all these details?”

“Atensu-Na’mun was in communication with me as it happened. She was relaying the events to me as the ship was destroyed.”

Onda looked back to Tyr, whose expression was not especially scrutable or useful.

“Lord Akhenaten, what do you most regret about what you have had to do to build your community, before the circumstances as you say, forced you to flee?”

“Atonu was not my first child, nor my Lady wife Amarna my first consort. When the first child of the Aten, Meketaten was mere weeks old, my Lady wife Kiya had taken him to be seen by the people of Tiye, an outer colony of the Karnak Sector.” Akhenaten began, and for the first time he seemed stuck for words, as though his emotions might get the better of him, and he paused to slow them.

“As she visited, the Tau’ri deployed a weapon they call ‘Horizon’. Whether that was a cruel irony of fate or a deliberate taunt from the Tau’ri I know not. Horizon is single projectile weapon that contains a number of nuclear warheads within, enhanced with an element Naquadriah, a far more volatile and powerful variant of the Naquadah that forms the basis of our technology.” The Pharaoh seemed overcome with sadness for a moment, and had to stop.

“My regret is that I could not have been with them in that final moment, as the fiery terror brought by the Tau’ri was rained upon them.”

Onda kept a brave face, but he knew this was in all likelihood, not a win. He looked back to Tyr once more, who was again expressionless.

“Nothing further, your honour.” Onda said, and took his seat, and whispered to Tyr. “I’m twisting in the wraith-damned wind up there buddy, you can’t give me anything to work with?”

“I had nothing further to offer in this matter.” Tyr responded quietly and with a neutral affect. “We had expected the imposition of tyranny to be more of a crime to your people. The cases against Hera and Typhon are much stronger.” The Asgard said in a way he hoped was reassuring, but Onda’s expression suggested wasn’t.

“The defence may proceed.” Rovak said after a few minutes had passed, and he had reviewed some details on the screen in front of him.

“We have no further questions for the Pharaoh, your honour.” Atonu spoke, a defiant confidence in her voice obvious.

“Are there any witnesses the prosecution wishes to call?” Rovak asked.

Onda looked at Tyr. This time he would let the Asgard do the talking.

“No, your honour.” Tyr said, and for a moment Onda looked like he might punch the little grey man, but it quickly passed.

"The defence?"

"No, your honour." Atonu said.

“Very well. There will be a recess of half an hour.” Rovak said, banging the gavel. The holographic attendees disappeared.

Onda walked quickly out of the courtroom back to the offices they’d been granted for the trial. Tyr moved slowly, Atonu waited for him to pass and bowed courteously. Tyr returned a gentle nod in response.

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