Author's Note

This story is an alternate universe crossover of the Stargate franchise and Rome the HBO TV series. Stargate and all related characters are the property of MGM Television Entertainment. Rome and all related characters are the property of Home Box Office.

Prologue

Earth, Giza, Circa 3000 BC

Bonfires blazed, bright beacons in the night. People danced and sang in celebration of their great victory. At long last, the burden of Ra was lifted from their shoulders. Earlier that day, the few remaining Jaffa had been burned out of their garrison, a victory achieved after two weeks of battle. Over four hundred people died fighting against just twenty Jaffa, but eventually, numbers and courage overcame superior strength and staff weapons.

The stargate had already been pulled down, and the dialing device loaded into a donkey cart to be buried separately a day's journey away. Tomorrow, the stone masons would begin the work of carving the burial capstones to seal away the chaapa'ai forever. But tonight, everyone celebrated.

Ra's Court, Abydos landing platform, A few months later

The messenger hurried to the throne room entrance, whispered to one of the guards, handed over a scroll, and nervously hurried away. The guard glanced at the seal, quietly walked towards the throne, and handed off the scroll to the First Prime before returning to his position. The First Prime broke the seal, unfurled the paper and read the message, giving a single grunt as he did so.

"What news?" asked Ra.

"Nothing of importance, my lord. It seems the garrison on Earth has not reported in as scheduled," said the First Prime.

Ra snorted his contempt. "Perhaps the slaves on Earth finally worked up their nerve and rebelled? Or did the Jaffa go native? As you say, it is of no importance."

Earth wasn't always a backwater, thought Ra. The early days when he found the planet thousands of years ago had been a delight. An ideal species to host the Goa'uld. Easily bred, easy to repair. Versatile too. It was he, Ra, who first made the Jaffa from humans. And it was he, Ra, who had a monopoly on human trade with the other Goa'uld. That monopoly helped propel him to leader of the System Lords. But then humans turned out to breed a little too well, and naquadah mining colonies slowly became self-sustaining.

As the Goa'uld continued to expand into the galaxy, they made a remarkable discovery – other planets with humans already on then. The same species on different planets! How could this be? Whatever the cause, it broke his supply monopoly. After that, Earth lost its importance. It had no naquadah and was not strategically located, so really, there was no practical reason to continue hanging on to the planet except out of spite. The garrison was mostly for show, a place to send incompetent Jaffa as punishment. If those idiots cannot hold their own against a few half-starved slaves, thought Ra, they deserve what they get.

"Now, back to the other matter." Ra turned his attention to the minor Goa'uld reporting to him, an up and coming researcher calling himself Anubis. "Continue."

"Yes, my lord," said Anubis. "The reports say these new aliens look human, and they may in fact be yet another offshoot. They are the most advanced people we have encountered yet, though not, of course, as advanced as the Gods. They have a faster than light drive, but it still takes, at best speed, several months for them to travel from one nearby star system to another. Most of their ships are unarmed cargo carriers. The few warships in their possession have primitive kinetic energy weapons, and unenhanced nuclear missiles. None have shields. They are no match for a Ha'tak, and they seem smart enough to realize it.

"When confronted, they have, so far, made no attempt to fire on any ship of the Gods. Instead, they make concessions and trade offers. They claim to be very good at biochemistry, although that remains to be seen. For example, they offer drugs that is said to extend the life of anyone, including…." Anubis trailed off, looking around at the attendant human slaves and Jaffa, wondering how best to phrase his next sentence.

"Yes?" said Ra with just a hint of impatience.

"I'm sorry my lord. It's just that the suggestion is so… ridiculous. They claim, given time, they can extend the lives of the Gods themselves."

"Impudence!" snapped Ra, his eyes literally glowing with anger. "How dare they imply a God is not immortal!" Although, Ra reflected, such a drug could prove useful if it extended the time between trips to the medical sarcophagus. Lord Yu is even older than me. If I can keep the drug's source secret, I can further consolidate my position. Perhaps I should spare these creatures for the time being. Allow them to think we are content to trade.

"What do these creatures call themselves?" asked Ra, after calming down a bit.

"The Aschen Confederation, my lord."