The(questionable) burdens of leadership of a troll Emperor by Noodlehammer

Chapter 19

After being outmaneuvered during his attempted attack on Earth, Apophis and his son Klorel had very narrowly managed to use the onboard stargate to escape before their ships exploded.

Both of them felt the sting of Bra'tac's betrayal, the old Jaffa Master having convinced them of his loyalty only so that he could doublecross them at the end. Apophis at least knew who had turned Teal'c against him now. The thought that both of his previous two First Primes had been traitors did not sit easy with him. How long had he been surrounded by traitors? How many more were left?

The troubles of father and son did not end with their escape from their doomed ships however, as they returned to a Throne World that was not as they left it. That was clear as soon as they saw the shattered fortifications around the gate.

As they stared around themselves with thinly veiled shock, several Jaffa walked up to them and fell to one knee.

"My lords, we are relieved at your safe return." The leader said.

"What has happened here?" Apophis demanded.

"We were attacked my lord." Was the Jaffa's obvious answer. "While you were gone, the Celestial Empire came in force."

"Why did you not repel them?!" Klorel demanded angrily.

"They could not be stopped." The Jaffa said plaintively, knowing that the two Goa'uld didn't want to hear it. "Their Empress broke our fleet in the skies and their Emperor descended down on us on wings of darkness. No weapon could touch them."

"Where is Amaunet? Where is my Queen?" Apophis asked urgently, realizing what that would mean.

The Jaffa bowed his head. "She is dead my lord."

Apophis roared in rage and brought his kara'kesh to bear on the Jaffa. He was too angry to even use the slow execution function of the device and instead simply blasted the kneeling man into the ground, shattering his bones.

"Take me to her!" He demanded, panting harshly in his anger.

The remaining Jaffa hastened to obey and began to lead the two Goa'uld towards the palace.

Everything they saw on the way only served to enrage them further.

The temple was shattered and fallen, only a dismal ruin of it's previous glory.

Countless pieces of destroyed gliders and Al'kesh littered the city, along with the bodies of Jaffa that nobody had had the time to clean up.

In the inner city it was much worse. The streets were liberally bloodstained due to the many butchered Goa'uld.

Had Apophis and Klorel not been so enraged that they could barely see straight, they might have noticed the uneasy looks their Jaffa escort was giving to their surroundings. They might have noticed the humans that stared at them with angry and considering eyes from among the ruins.

But they didn't notice. Accustomed as they were to ignoring the humans, their attention was firmly on their own rage.

They still didn't notice that their escort gave the strangely quiet city nervous glances as they climbed the palace steps. The flag of the Celestial Empire that was sticking out of the stonework above the doors didn't help cool any tempers.

Apophis easily recognized that they were being led to the private quarters in which he had kept Amaunet's host prisoner while his Queen was forced to sleep. The woman had threatened to kill the child she carried if he so much as approached her, so he had left her in the care of that old man Ry'lok. He had never been a particularly impressive warrior so a job as a nursemaid to a human would be good enough for him.