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Chapter 31: The Interview Part 1
Chapter 31: The Interview Part 1

The Mountain, Colorado, United States, Earth, September 7th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"The visitors have arrived, Sir."

Jack O'Neill nodded at Siler. "Thank you, Siler." He sighed and got up. Usually, he'd appreciate any break from paperwork, but today… "Let's go give the commies the tour."

"Russia isn't communist any more, Jack." Daniel had to comment, of course, as they filed out of his office.

"They've still got the same people in uniform. Every one of their generals was in the Red Army," Jack retorted. "And the Chinese are communist."

"Well, that's a matter of debate," Daniel replied. "Some might claim that they are more capitalist than many western countries since their economic reforms took off."

"They're still ruled by the Communist Party," Jack shot back. Who had brutally crushed protesting students not even 10 years ago. Literally crushed in some cases, or so he had heard.

They collected Carter on the way. Teal'c joined them before they reached the elevator.

"And the British are ruled by socialists," Jack said as they stepped inside the cabin.

"Sir?"

"Just telling Daniel why calling our visitors 'commies' is perfectly factual, Carter," he explained.

"It's actually not," Daniel insisted. "And calling the delegation from the United Nations Security Council 'commies' would be a major diplomatic blunder!"

"I'm not going to tell them that to their faces," Jack assured his friend. "But I am permitted to be grumpy about a bunch of strangers coming and taking over."

"Our government agreed with the decision," Daniel said.

"Under protest."

"Actually, they didn't file any protest," Carter said.

"Because that would've been bad for our image." Jack snorted. It had probably been inevitable - not even the United States could defy the entire world. Especially with the Etherians willing to uplift, as Daniel called it, other countries. But that didn't mean that he had to like it.

"Well, that is a consideration," Daniel said. "But the Stargate is supposed to be for the entire world, so… we shouldn't expect to be able to monopolise it."

"Monopolising is a proud capitalist tradition," Jack quipped as they entered Hammond's office.

"Don't make any jokes about communists, Colonel O'Neill," the general told him. "The President himself told me to extend every courtesy to our guests."

"My lips are sealed," Jack replied and mimed zipping them.

Hammond snorted. "I don't like this either, but politics are politics. We can but try to make the best out of this."

"At least it's going to be a military operation," Jack said. "Some people wanted to put us under civilian oversight." You couldn't wage war like that.

Daniel was about to comment, as Jack had known he would, but Siler's voice over the intercom informed them that the delegation had reached their floor.

And there they came. Russian, Chinese, British and French officers. Undoubtedly taking in everything - this was, after all, one of the most important military installations in the United States even if you didn't count the Stargate.

"General Sidorov, General Li, General Haig and General Dubois, welcome to Stargate Command," Hammond greeted them. "This is SG-1, our best team."

"Thank you, General. And I think everyone here knows SG-1." Sidorov smiled. "We've met at the United Nations."

Jack returned the smile with about as much sincerity. Yes, he remembered those briefings. Or interrogations.

"And I think you've met Dr Georgovich already."

The Russian scientist beamed at them. "Yes! Hello! Fancy meeting you here, da? Who would have thought we meet again so soon!"

Just about everyone with half a brain, Jack thought. Too bad that telling Georgovich to drop the act would be undiplomatic. He glanced at Carter - she was smiling. She didn't actually like the Russian, did she?

"So, gentlemen, let me give you a tour so you can get an impression of how we run things here," Hammond said.

"Yes," General Haig replied. "We need to know that in order to determine how to transfer the entire operation to a more suitable location." He looked around. "While this is very secure, I can't see us operating an entire invasion through this installation."

"Or peaceful exploration and diplomacy," Georgovich added. "Bunker makes not good first impression, no?"

The General Sidorov didn't look angry that the scientist spoke up without having been asked a question. That told Jack a lot about the dear doctor's standing in Russia.

"So the decision has been made to move the Stargate?" Hammond asked. He was taking that much better than Jack would have in his place.

"Yes. Although the new location hasn't been finalised yet," General Dubois answered. "The need of the new location to be accessible for bulk transport as well as being secure and easy to defend pose a slight challenge."

"And prestige warring with security. Great honour to host gate, but great embarrassment if gate invaded and need to be blown up," Georgovich said.

"It's a tricky decision indeed," General Haig agreed. "Completely out of our hands, though."

And that was another reason Jack wasn't happy with this. He didn't want to move to some foreign country where he couldn't go out and have a decent American dinner in town. It was petty, but after travelling the Galaxy - and getting shot at - he really liked heading home instead of to some barracks.

But there was nothing he could do about this.

*****​

Dulles International Airport, Washington DC, Earth, September 7th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and I believe that it is past time to start giving interviews," Julie finished her, well, briefing. Even though she was a civilian. "Some members of the press are already portraying you as 'aloof' and 'distant', and the longer this goes on, the worse it will get. If you wish to improve your public image, you need to start talking to the press."

Adora frowned. They had been busy with negotiations and diplomatic meetings nonstop - even the so-called European Union hadn't actually spoken for their members. Apparently, the military alliance part wasn't included in the Union. But since they regulated trade, they had a say about any agreement being made. Or something - even Glimmer was still a little confused about how this was supposed to work.

"Democracy in action." Catra snorted. "Why is it that the people's opinion only counts when it's making trouble for us?"

"That would be because the media and the public in the United States have certain expectations that politics need to take into account," Julie said. "And in true American fashion, they extend that to everyone else."

"Charming," Glimmer commented. "And once we start giving interviews, we can't really stop until everyone got theirs, right?"

Julie shook her head. "You can stick to the most important ones. A snubbed journalist is one of the worst enemies you can make in the USA - if they have the backing of their employer. Some of them are so petty, they will portray everything you do in the worst light possible in retaliation. But if they don't have the reach to cover the country, they can't really hurt you no matter how hard they will try."

"You mean they aren't doing that already?" Catra asked. "Some of them could've fooled me."

Adora nodded. "Do they really expect us to talk to them before we actually finish our negotiations with the United Nations?"

"In a word, yes," Julie replied. "Some of them - most actually - will understand that you're not American and won't act like our own government. But a few have such huge egos, they think they have more influence on the public than the government and should be treated accordingly. And in some states, they would be correct. Now, some of them won't really change their attitude and will use the interview merely as another source for their criticism. They are too invested in their fanbase. But others can be won over if you handle this right." Julie slowly nodded. "But you will have to prepare thoroughly for this - a blunder could seriously damage your reputation."

Adora perked up. She was good at such preparations! "Oh, we can do that! We'll prepare as if this were a diplomatic mission of utmost importance!"

Glimmer sighed. "Oh, great - it's Princess Prom again."

Adora frowned at her friend. Granted, her preparations hadn't been as helpful as she had hoped, but that didn't mean they had been bad. If she hadn't prepared as extensively as she had, things might have gone worse. And her worst mistake had been that she hadn't accounted for Catra's presence, anyway - and that wasn't a problem any more!

Julie wrinkled her forehead a little. "Princess Prom?"

"The most important ball on Etheria," Bow explained. "All the princesses and their consorts gather at the Princess Prom every ten years. It goes back centuries, to the Age of War, and is used not only to socialise but also to negotiate agreements, alliances and settle disputes."

"Oh, yes," Adora added. "And the list of rules for it is longer than I am tall - as She-Ra."

"But you don't need to know all of them, just the most important ones," Catra said.

"You would think that - you blew up the last one!" Glimmer protested.

"You blew it up?" Julie looked… well, the most surprised Adora had ever seen her in the week since they had started working together.

"Not really," Catra said, making a dismissive gesture with her hand. "It was mostly a distraction. I didn't use decent charges."

"Yes." Entrapta nodded. "Those were microcharges. Scorpia told me about them after I joined the Horde."

"They caused a panic," Glimmer said.

"And they caused Frosta to ally with us," Bow added. "Even after Adora alienated her."

"I was surprised at her age," Adora defended herself.

"And she would have joined the Princess Alliance sooner or later anyway," Catra said. "But others were scared off, and we got our objectives, so I'd say, overall, it was a qualified success." She turned and flashed her fangs at Adora in that way of hers that made Adora feel butterflies in her stomach. "And I got to dance with you!"

"The dance that will live in infamy," Bow said. "Or would, if there were any records."

"Actually, there are," Entrapta said. "I recorded everything for my research into social occasions and interactions."

Adora felt herself blush a little. Entrapta had recorded that dance?

"Oh, great! I need a copy!" Catra beamed. "Did you record how I fooled Adora as well?"

"I think so?"

"You recorded the Princess Prom?" Glimmer blurted out. "But that's against the rules!"

"It is?" Entrapta looked confused. "They said you weren't allowed to use magic to record the events at the ball, but I used a completely different way of recording things!"

"I think you and I both better clear our schedule to prepare for your first interview, " Julie commented.

Adora frowned. The Princess Prom had been an exception, and that had been years ago. Everyone had changed since then. And for the better.

But Julie didn't look as if she'd believe that.

*****​

The Mountain, Colorado, United States, Earth, September 7th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and this is the central vault where we store the recovered alien technology. While I'm not going to detail the exact security measures, you can see that it is quite secure," Samantha Carter said as she approached the vault and nodded at the two guards there.

"Yes, yes. Very solid door," Dr Georgovich said, nodding. "The walls - reinforced as well, right?"

"Of course," Sam replied. "It wouldn't make sense to have a reinforced door anchored to walls that you can easily breach."

"You would think, but sometimes, mistake happens. I saw vault that had door one metre thick, stainless steel, but the walls? Natural stone. You see, specifications only said thick door, not walls, and workers did follow specifications to the letter. Was very embarrassing for officer in charge when hinges broke out of wall and door almost fell on important visitor." The Russian eyed the door - no, the guards. "Ah, no flinching, they trust door. Good."

Sam narrowed her eyes at the man. "I can't believe someone would make such an obvious mistake." He had to be joking.

"Ah, you never visited Soviet Union, da? If door was your task but not wall, you only did door. Wall was other problem. You did your problem and done."

"Yeah, I can believe that," the Colonel commented.

"Ah, you've visited Soviet Russia, da? No comment or no confirm or deny?" Dr Georgovich beamed at the Colonel.

"Something like that, yeah." The Colonel shrugged. "Anyway, that's the vault."

"So, can we enter? Just for a look - evaluate."

"We do need to take stock, after all," General Haig added.

"As long as you keep your fingers to yourself," the Colonel said.

Sam would have frowned at him - suggesting that their guests might attempt to steal from the vault wasn't very diplomatic - but they were under scrutiny right now.

So she had the guards open the vault and then stepped into the door - she wouldn't let anyone actually enter the vault. Not until and unless they had the necessary clearance.

"Oh! I feel like Dr Jones! You know, movie with Harrison Ford, Han Solo, right?"

"Yeah, we know Indiana Jones," the Colonel said.

This had to be an act. Sam was certain now.

"I have watched Star Wars fourteen times," Teal'c said. "Han Solo is undoubtedly Harrison Ford's best role."

Dr Georgovich blinked. "Fourteen times?"

"It was thirteen times, but I found myself with time on my hand after our return from Etheria," Teal'C replied.

When he had been sidelined by their superiors. Sam clenched her teeth for a moment - she didn't support that decision. Teal'c had earned their trust over and over again.

And seemed to have confused the dear Dr Georgovich - a feat not even the Colonel had managed so far.

"Ah, I see." The scientist blinked. "So… how many alien artefacts are in vault?"

"That's classified," the Colonel told him.

"I thought you were told to cooperate," General Li said.

"Yes. Within limits set by the President himself." The Colonel grinned widely. "You aren't in our chain of command yet, and treating you as if you had the necessary clearance would be a grave breach of regulations."

"Da!" Dr Georgovich smiled. "Very loyal, very obedient, yes! Good soldier follow orders, right?"

"Yeah…" The Colonel narrowed his eyes at the man, but the scientist was already talking to Sam again. "So, here is vault, but where is your lab? How do you work here? I am very curious about working conditions!"

"My lab is a level above this floor," she told him.

"For safety? So not blow up both vault and lab, da?"

"Oh, Carter hasn't blown up anything in ages - it should be pretty safe to enter her lab."

That was too much! "Colonel!" she hissed under her breath.

He made an innocent face.

And Georgovich beamed again. "Ah, joke! I understand. Good joke!"

Sam turned to lead them to her lab, rolling her eyes as soon as she was facing away from their guests. What was with the Colonel? He couldn't really be holding a grudge from the Cold War, could he?

They reached her lab after another short ride in the elevator.

"Oh. Very small. Not much room for pacing - do you not pace? I think best when pacing."

Well, Sam hadn't really expected that their guests would be impressed, but… this was a little rude.

"Think when relocating, get better lab. More spacious. And with bed and shower, in case you work late. Maybe kitchen and fridge, tto. Good idea?"

Sam blinked. That was actually a very good idea. She had lamented the lack of space in her lab a few times in the past. And to be able to sleep in the lab would save time in a crisis…

"Carter! Accepting a bribe is illegal!" The Colonel commented - she must have let her expression betray her thoughts.

"No crime!" Georgovich protested. "But scientists need space to work. No poaching - unless you feel like getting poached, of course!" He beamed at her. "We offer spacious lab and much better coffee!"

He was joking. Probably. But the Colonel was glaring as if this had been a serious attempt to recruit her.

"As things stand, most of Stargate Command will be transferred to the United Nations Stargate Command," General Haig cut in. "But we will add both military and civilian staff. The scope of the operation has to expand, after all, now that we're going to have a proper war."

"'A proper war'?" The Colonel narrowed his eyes at the General. "Sir?"

The British officer didn't seem impressed at all. "Yes. So far, you've conducted the war through special operations. With the Etherians, this will change. We'll be shifting to conventional warfare, with special operations in support of planetary invasions."

"There will be independent operations as before," General Sidorov said in accented English, "under control of the United Nations."

"We will have to hash out with the Etherians how best to move troops and supplies," General Haig went on. "But the Stargate will play an essential part of any invasion, I think."

"You seem pretty confident that you will manage to negotiate an alliance with the Etherians," the Colonel commented.

Sam had to agree - this sounded very optimistic to her.

"Shouldn't we?" General Haig shrugged. "The conditions set by them can and will be easily fulfilled by Her Majesty's Government."

"Indeed," General Dubois agreed with a smug smile, "full equality before the law for every citizen, no matter their sexual orientation, is certainly in line with the founding principles of the république. France is united in this."

The Colonel pressed his lips together instead of answering at once. That wasn't a good sign.

Daniel, though, spoke up: "But the Etherians expect more than lip service. They expect full commitment to ensuring that the laws you pass are enforced."

General Haig was unfazed. "As I said, Her Majesty's Government's stance is that such conditions are easily fulfilled. Inquiries were made, and assurances received that the Etherians are aware that attitudes among some part of the population wouldn't change overnight."

The Colonel glanced at General Sidorov. "Equal rights by authoritarian decree should be a good trick. Especially after killing off the Tsar and his entire family."

The Russian didn't seem to let himself be baited. "That is a matter for politics. Even without an alliance with the Etherians, the Stargate will be under the control of the United Nations, and exploration and diplomatic missions will continue - for the world."

Sam blinked. That sounded like…

"You want to keep us out of the war?" the Colonel blurted out.

"That's a question for the politicians," Sidorov replied. "But in order to wage war, we need an alliance or at least a way to coordinate with the Etherians."

"And with their allies," General Dubois interjected.

"We only know for sure that the Stargate will be under international control," General Li said. "but we remain optimistic that an agreement can be reached - in a war, compromises must be made, after all."

"Good luck getting the magical princesses to compromise," Sam heard the Colonel mutter next to her.

"In any case, we will do science!" Dr Georgovich spoke up again. "And in new, spacious lab!"

That would be a small consolation, in Sam's opinion, if Stargate Command ended up relegated from Earth's premier force facing the Goa'uld to some… guard and support unit for diplomatic missions. She wasn't arrogant, but SG-1 had the most experience in dealing with the Goa'uld. That kind of knowledge shouldn't be dismissed.

And she wanted to keep doing crucial work, a small voice in the back of her mind added. Especially now that she could publish her findings.

*****​

Dulles International Airport, Washington DC, Earth, September 8th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"I agree with my colleague," Brown said. "An interview is almost overdue. But you need to prepare extensively for your interview. And you need to pick your interviewer carefully. I would suggest CNN - the channel has a global reach and a good reputation."

Catra suppressed a snort when she saw Adora nod eagerly - she'd already had to keep her lover from spending all night working out increasingly complicated relations between the most prominent journalists without even knowing who would be relevant - or what.

"They're an American channel," Gimmer pointed out. "And one that isn't too popular in the conservative circles, as far as we could tell."

"Yes." Brown nodded. "But you hired me to improve your image with the American public, and picking a news service in the USA will play better with the conservative crowd. Though no matter their views, almost everyone will be watching CNN for your interview."

"No pressure," Bow mumbled with a grin, too low for anyone except for Glimmer, who was sitting very close to him, and Catra to hear.

She chuckled. Adora was fretting already about being watched by billions.

"Won't that be resented by the other countries?" Entrapta asked, tilting her head.

"Not as long as you don't wait too long with giving foreign news services interviews as well," Brown told her. "And your image in most countries in Europe is better than in the USA, according to the latest poll we ran."

"Oh! You've got new data?" Entrapta piped up.

Brown smiled. "I'll send you a summary."

"Thanks!"

"But now for your preparations. I don't know what my colleague told you already, but there's a whole science to presenting your best side on television. Elections were lost for bungling up a TV appearance," Brown went on. "So, I would like to hire a specialist for the visual aspect of that."

They still hadn't hired more public relations consultants from other countries, but this sounded like a good idea. Catra glanced at her lover. Adora was already fretting too much about this as things were. If she had to sit through a few hours worrying over what to wear… "Good idea!" she said.

Bow stared at her. "You want a stylist working on you?"

Catra returned his stare with a frown. Why would that surprise him? "Why do you think I wouldn't want that?" Granted, it was mostly for Adora, but it wouldn't hurt her either.

"You're always wearing the same clothes!" he blurted out.

So was he. "Did you forget Princess Prom?" she shot back.

He blinked, then nodded. "Ah."

She rolled her eyes. She was wearing her old uniform so she had a reminder of… things she wanted but couldn't allow herself to forget. Not because she thought it was the best outfit ever. And she wouldn't beg for a new outfit.

"It's more than styling, actually," Brown spoke up. "It's also about how to sit, move and talk, treat the camera, body language in general and, crucially, what pitfalls to avoid.

"Pitfalls?" Adora tensed.

"Verbal pitfalls - statements that might be misconstrued, phrases and their meaning in the United States, and such things. How you say something is as important, sometimes more important, than what you say." Brown spread his hands. "It's a science."

Entrapta perked up. "Fascinating! Can we do experiments?"

Brown's smile slipped a tiny bit. "I think rehearsals would be mandatory, but I wouldn't experiment with public relations. Failures will have consequences."

"Oh." Entrapta blinked. "So, if we wanted to test a hypothesis, we would need to run an experiment without the test subjects being aware of our involvement. Although that might influence the results…"

Catra drew a breath through her clenched teeth. "Maybe wait with running social experiments until you have a better baseline?"

"You mean stick to passively gathering data?" Entrapta cocked her head. "I guess that would make sense. You need data to prepare a proper experiment, after all." She nodded with a smile. "I bet we'll get a lot of data from this!"

Brown wasn't the only wincing, Catra noted. But when it came to wrangling Entrapta, this was a good result.

She was a great friend and a very nice person, but she could scare you without meaning to.

*****​

The Mountain, Colorado, United States, Earth, September 7th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Jack O'Neill was thoroughly sick of Dr Iwan the Terrible Comedian. His - absolutely fake! - accent grated on Jack's nerves, his constant smiling made Jack feel like he was about to be ambushed, and his subtle-as-a-brick-to-the-face attempts to poach Carter begged for some good old Cold War-style retaliation.

"...oh, what ingenious solution! Very Impressive, Dr Carter - I mean, Captain Carter. No wonder you are head scientist here."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Call me Iwan, please - we are colleagues of sorts, yes?"

No, you are rivals. Rivals from rival powers, Jack thought.

But Carter didn't rebuke the man - she was just too polite to do the right thing. "Call me Samantha, then. Or Sam."

"Thank you! Which do you prefer?" The Russian spy was beaming again.

"I don't have any preference."

That was a lie. Jack was sure Carter had a preference.

"Samantha then. It is a beautiful name."

"Thank you."

"And speaking of names," Daniel cut in, finally making himself useful, "I noticed on your name tag that your name doesn't use the usual Russian spelling of 'Ivan'. Do you have German ancestry, perhaps?"

Asking a Russian if he was German? Jack winced.

But the man smiled at Daniel. "Ah, common assumption, yes, but mistaken. It is actually Welsh name."

Jack blinked. "Welsh?" he asked before he could help himself.

"Yes. Grandmother was from Cardiff."

So he was both British and Russian - that explained why he was doubly annoying.

But the man was still talking. "She was nurse in Spanish Civil War, fighting fascists, and met my grandfather, who was volunteer from Russia. Commissar, actually, but we don't talk about that."

Then why are you mentioning it? Jack thought. But both Daniel and Carter were listening attentively.

"So, they met, fell in love, and when fascists won despite best efforts, she went back with him to Russia. She was killed in Great Patriotic War but already had my father, also named Iwan. Family tradition of naming first son Iwan."

"Ah." Daniel looked torn between his curiosity and empathy. And Carter looked…

…entirely too sympathetic for Jack's taste. The man's grandfather had been a political commissar, for crying out loud! If they hadn't killed more republicans than fascists in Spain, it hadn't been for lack of effort!

"That is why I have been learning English. Too bad grandmother died before teaching father. I also hope to learn Welsh - perhaps after retirement."

And there went Daniel. "Oh, it's a fascinating language!"

"Da! But need to improve English more, to work together at Stargate! Fortunately, science is universal language, right? Especially mathematics."

Carter smiled far too kindly at the man.

"Do not worry, O'Neill," Teal'c said, sotto voce, as Carter showed Dr Iwan-the-Terrible the main gate control room, "Captain Carter is an honourable soldier and will not leave your service in the middle of a war."

"Thanks, Teal'c," Jack replied. "But I don't think Carter would leave the team even if we weren't at war with the Goa'uld." At least he hoped so.

"Indeed." Teal'c nodded sagely, but there was a hint of a grin - or smirk - on his face.

Jack stared at him, but Teal'c had put up his usual inscrutable expression again.

*****​

Dulles International Airport, Washington DC, Earth, September 10th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...so, let the interviewer speak. Don't interrupt them - even if you think you know what they are asking. And don't lecture people. The public reacts negatively to presumed arrogance. Also, watch your body language like - exactly like that! Don't do that on TV!" Melissa Barnaby, Brown's 'specialist', pointed at Catra, who had her arms crossed over her chest and was frowning at her.

Adora suppressed a sigh. The woman certainly seemed to know her business - her advice about Earth fashion sounded very, well, sound. But Catra didn't like to be told, well, that pretty much everything she did was wrong.

"I thought we also should be authentic," Catra snapped. "And not act as if we were all sunshine and roses even when we're talking to idiots."

"You aren't going to talk to idiots," Melissa retorted. "Not unless you pick the wrong channel to give an interview."

"So, make it 'even when we're faced with lies and questions from idiots they quote' then," Catra said with a sneer.

"Even then, you can't lose your temper - that would leave a bad impression. You want to appear friendly. Firm in your stances but polite and respectful. No one likes a gloating jerk."

"They seem to be very popular in media," Glimmer pointed out.

"Jerks are popular in a certain crowd - if they are rude to people whom that crowd doesn't like. So, yes, being rude and dismissive about conservatives will be popular in more liberal circles, but won't make you more popular amongst conservatives," Melissa replied. "And that's your goal, isn't it?"

Glimmer's expression mirrored Catra's.

Bow cleared his head. "But we shouldn't put on an act," he said. "We don't want to lie to people to get them to like us."

Adora nodded emphatically. "We want to be honest."

"Besides, I'm already being nicer than usual if I don't scratch an idiot," Catra added with a scoff, flexing her claws.

Melissa blinked.

Adora quickly said. "Catra's kidding." She added a glare at her lover to ensure that this was true.

Catra nodded with a pout. "Unless they attack us, I won't touch them."

"You won't be attacked in a studio," Melissa told her.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Catra retorted. "I've organised an attack at a ball."

Melissa blinked.

"Stop sounding so proud about it!" Glimmer snapped.

Adora sighed.

*****​

"What's wrong with my uniform?" Adora asked a short explanation and a quick assessment of her wardrobe later. "It's comfortable and sturdy." And it held a lot of memories.

"But it's rather plain," Melissa said. "The cuts in the sleeves are a nice style element, but the shoulders are a bit over the top. Overall, it lacks a certain something."

"Something what?" Adora frowned.

"Something that says 'I'm an alien magical princess and I'm here to help you' without being too in your face about it. No tiara, but…" Melissa took a step to the side and eyed Adora's hair. "...maybe a change of style there as well."

Adora resisted the urge to put a hand on top of her hairdo. She liked her hairstyle just as it was!

Catra snorted, and Adora glared at her - her lover's hairstyle had been deemed 'passable' already.

"What about a bare midriff?" Bow asked. Melissa narrowed her eyes at him, and he recoiled.

"That would not go over well at all with your target crowd."

"Are you sure?" Entrapta chimed in. "A lot of your media popular with conservatives feature such outfits rather prominently." She showed a picture of a woman in shorts and a knotted shirt in front of an orange car on her tablet. "See?"

Melissa sighed. "You don't want to be likened to such characters, trust me - that would sabotage your image."

"Ah." Entrapta frowned. "Is this an example of them liking something but pretending not to like it because it goes against a dominant part of their culture?"

"No, that's an example of conservative sexism. If you appear like that on television, they won't take you seriously at all," Melissa said.

Bow looked taken aback. "They won't?" He stared at his midriff.

Melissa sighed again. "It's different in your case."

"Homophobes! I got data about them!" Entrapta smiled. "Most of them will be attracted to you, Bow, but they will try to deny and suppress their feelings."

Bow grimaced. "I'm not sure if I should be flattered or alarmed."

"Alarmed. Definitely alarmed," Melissa said. "But we can work with your style - but it's not for everyone else."

"Aw! I bet Adora would rock that look!" Catra crowed.

Adora felt herself blush in response. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, we have been seen on television already. Shouldn't we stick with our, ah, image?" The Earth leaders basically always wore the same suits anyway, right?

Melissa nodded. "But a few touch-ups would greatly improve your image. You might even set a new trend. Or rather, you'll boost an already starting trend."

"Well, Glimmer, you can put your royal coronation outfit on," Adora suggested.

"That's just my cape," Glimmer replied.

"It still looks nice and, uh, regal?" Adora tilted her head with a forced smile.

"We should stick you into your prom dress," Catra said.

"But it's not a ball," Entrapta protested. "Or is it? I'm still working on gathering data on Earth social conventions."

Melissa sighed once more.

*****​

Pentagon, Washington DC, Earth, September 11th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Samantha Carter wished she had a spaceship. Or a working ring transporter. It would make the trips to Washington to brief generals and politicians more bearable. Since there hasn't been a C-37 available today, and commercial flights had been deemed not safe enough, she'd had to hitch a ride on a C-130 today. That hadn't been comfortable enough to work efficiently and had taken much longer than a spaceship would have. And all for a briefing she could have done remotely through a video conference, anyway - and she had refuted the Pentagon's security concerns thoroughly in her latest report, which apparently had been ignored.

'Ours is not to reason why', as Daniel would quote if she complained to him. And that was why she was here for what the Colonel would call 'a complete waste of time'. At least she had been able to catch up on paperwork on the flight.

"No, Sir, I don't think handing the spare Stargate over to the United Nations is a workable solution," she repeated herself. They had gone over this already, back when it had first been proposed as a response to the demands from the Security Council. There was a reason everyone was busy planning to make the takeover of Stargate Command go through with the least amount of friction.

"I wasn't talking about diplomatic issues, Captain." The Army general who had asked her about it frowned at her. "We called you here for technical advice."

"And I am talking about the technical aspects," she retorted. "As my report about this stated, running two Stargates in one location - on one planet - creates interference since both use the same gate address." A report she had written shortly after discovering the second gate through this very effect, which had ended with herself and the Colonel getting stuck in an ice cave in the Antarctic. "We would end up with multiple misconnections - and possibly fatalities from our defences."

"Thank you. We didn't call you here to discuss that, anyway," the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, shutting up the obnoxious general with a glare. "There is talk about relocating the Stargate to a more accessible location, either in Canada or Australia."

Ah. She nodded - Iwan had told them about that. Russia's proposal to use Siberia had apparently been rejected despite, as he claimed, their great experience with 'building entire research centres and bases in the middle of nowhere so expected accidents do not hurt civilians.'

"So, we would like your assessment of the proposed locations from a technical point of view," the Chairman went on.

Did they expect her to give an assessment of the logistical issues without any time to study said locations in detail? Sam almost shook her head. "As long as the power requirements for the operation of the Stargate are met and there is enough space to house the equipment and staff, any location will be suitable for running Stargate Command, as far as the technical aspect is concerned," she said. "Unlike with satellite launches, location provides no inherent benefit or drawback." And with alien technology, the advantage of being closer to the equator for launches would vanish as well.

"That would require a large power plant," another general said. "A very large power plant."

"Yes, Sir."

"Are there alternatives to such a plant?" he asked.

"The DHD the Russians recovered could fuel the Stargate independently, but its capacity is limited," she said. "Enough for the average use of a Stargate, but not enough to power it for constant high-volume traffic. Its recovery rate is not high enough, and we haven't yet managed to duplicate its power generation method." Not for lack of trying on her part.

"Ah."

"Etherian technology would offer compact alternatives - compact compared to a conventional power plant, not a DHD," she went on.

She noted that several Generals frowned or even winced. The Chairman nodded, though. "That would require their support."

"Yes, Sir." She nodded emphatically. If any of the people present thought the United States could accomplish this without outside help, they hadn't read her reports at all.

"Wonderful," the Army general who had asked her about the second Stargate muttered. "More leverage for them."

"Speaking of the Etherians," an admiral spoke up, "did they voice any preference or resistance to specific locations or climates?"

Catra didn't like the ocean, but Sam didn't think that was relevant here. "Based on their references to events during their war, I think they would prefer to avoid arctic climates as well as deserts."

"We can plant our Stargate where we damn well want," the first general muttered again.

"You mean where the Security Council wants it," the admiral corrected him. "Canada would be much closer to us - and to Europe. Wherever this gate is installed will become a hub for the entire planet. It needs a good harbour - we'll want to base a fleet there to protect the shipping."

"A space fleet," another general - Air Force - added with a smirk.

The admiral frowned at him. "I do not think cargo ships will be replaced by spaceships any time soon, at least on Earth. And by the time space cargo ships are common, the Navy will have adapted."

"What?" The Air Force general glared at him. "Space is clearly the domain of the Air Force!"

"Only as long as it was about satellite reconnaissance. If anyone has the experience to run a ship, it's the Navy. You can't run a ship, or a spaceship, as if it were a plane!"

"Oh, yeah? Just watch us!"

Sam refrained from rolling her eyes or otherwise showing her reaction. They still hadn't made much progress forming an alliance with the Etherians, and the Navy and the Air Force brass were already squabbling over who got to run a hypothetical fleet in space?

They needed to get their priorities straight!

Besides, it was clear that the Air Force had the most experience here.

*****​
 
Chapter 32: The Interview Part 2
Chapter 32: The Interview Part 2

Earth Orbit, Solar System, September 12th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"Oh, my! I never expected to do an interview in space!"

Catra raised her eyebrows at the outburst from the CNN journalist.

Mr Pullmann - he hadn't asked them to call him Bob, unlike in his latest interview - stared through the windows on Darla's bridge, shaking his head before he turned to face them. "You know, it looks exactly like on the picture I've seen, but it's so different if you're seeing it in person."

"Really? That is weird," Entrapta spoke up. "Are you sure that this isn't just an emotional bias?"

Pullmann blinked. "Ah… Actually, that is what I was talking about."

"Ah! So it wasn't because of inferior optics." Entrapta nodded, satisfied, then turned around and started to dictate her findings into her device.

Pullman blinked again.

Glimmer cleared her throat. "So, do you want to do the interview on the bridge or in the lounge?"

"We would also offer the hold, but it's also serving as our laboratory, so that's not going to work well," Entrapta added, looking up and letting her hair handle her device.

That didn't seem to unnerve Mr Pullmann, Catra noted - he had prepared for this, of course. Or had been prepared. That made her wonder if his awe at the sight of space was an act as well.

"I think the bridge will do nicely. The throne makes for a nice background," he replied.

"Throne?" Glimmer frowned.

Catra chuckled. "That's not a throne. That's the Captain's Chair."

"Yes!" Entrapta piped up. "Darla is She-Ra's ship, and when Mara, Adora's predecessor, was in control of it, she wasn't a Princess. Well, as far as we know - there probably were princesses back then, but we don't have any definite records about She-Ra's status. Especially since Mara was a foreigner."

"Oh." Pullman nodded. "I know you should never ask a lady about her age, but… how old is Darla?"

"About a thousand years, give or take a century," Entrapta replied as Pullmann's eyebrows rose. "But we completely restored her and brought her up to modern standards."

"Yes." Adora nodded. "Darla's the equal of any other ship in her class now."

Catra knew Darla was now actually better than any other ship in her class that they knew about, but there was no need to share that information. So she shrugged. "She still looks ancient, of course. But I doubt that we could fool anyone like we did in the war."

Pullman, as expected, perked up at that. "Maybe we could talk about that during the interview?"

"Of course," Adora said. "Although you'll understand that we can't go into every detail - we're still at war."

"Oh. Do you expect there to be more alien spies on Earth?"

"It's just good practice not to share potentially crucial intel," Catra told him.

"Loose lips sink spaceships, huh?" He smiled.

"Something like that," Glimmer said. "Although usually, it's Sea Hawk who sinks ships."

"And sings," Catra added.

Pullman frowned just a little but didn't ask who Sea Hawk was. Too bad - Catra would have loved explaining.

"So, let's start?" Adora said. "What about the Earth as a background?" she pointed at the seats lining the wall below the window. Just as Melissa had suggested.

"It's your ship," Pullman replied.

"Then let's get set up," Adora said. "We have the camera prepared."

"It should be compatible with your system - just from watching your program, we didn't hack your systems to check," Entrapta said. "But once you upgrade to full holographic projections, you can use the recording for that as well."

"Ah. Good to know - although that will probably take a while. No one in the United States, or on Earth, has a holographic system," Pullman said.

"Well, that should change once you start upteching. Until then, you could run both systems in parallel - I thought about a way to do that if you're interested in some outlines."

Adora coughed.

"Oops. Sorry - we didn't start the interview, and I'm already questioning you instead of the other way around. Sorry!" Entrapta beamed at him.

Pullman smiled. "Oh, no - I like it when an interview feels more like a discussion than an interrogation."

"Oh, yes. In a discussion, people don't get annoyed if you keep slipping out of your cuffs."

And there he was confused again. Catra still wasn't entirely sure that including Entrapta in the interview was a good idea, but it seemed to be working for them so far.

"So, let's take our seats," Adora said. "The camera's here."

"I wanted Emily to record it, but she doesn't fit into the bridge," Entrapta added. "Emily's my best bot. She's a modified assault bot with reinforced armour plate and a stronger blaster. I'll introduce you after the interview."

Pullmann's smile didn't slip, but his eyebrows rose again. "I'm looking forward to it."

And then they sat down. Adora and Glimmer in the middle, flanked by Catra and Bow, with Entrapta on Bow's other side and Hordak next to her. And Melog next to Catra.

"So, we're here, floating above Earth," Pullman started, "in Darla, Princess She-Ra's personal spaceship. And I think everyone knows Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon, She-Ra, Princess of Power, Queen Entrapta of Dryl, Catra, Bow, and Hordak. And Melog. I'm Bob Pullman, for CNN."

*****​

The Mountain, Colorado, United States, Earth, September 13th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and I'm just saying - the Marine Corps has the experience when it comes to landing operations and boarding ships. We're the obvious choice to expand into space-based landing operations and security on spaceships."

Jack O'Neill rolled his eyes as he stepped into the lift - he could do that; he was a Colonel, Warren was a Major. And the commander of SG-3 was a Marine. Of course he'd claim that the Marines were the first choice to go into space. "No one has any experience with space-based landing operations," he replied.

"But the fundamentals are the same - we're used to living on ships for lengths of time, landing on hostile shores… the Army isn't used to that."

Jack shook his head. "It's not the same. Space is different." Otherwise, might as well let the Navy take over.

"Really? And you're not just saying this because the Navy's trying to take over space-based forces from the Air Force?" Warren asked.

Jack snorted. "It's the same for them - they have no experience in space."

"But they have experience with submarines. Which are pretty close to spaceships."

That was a good argument, actually. But Jack would be damned if he'd let such a thing influence him when it came to defending Air Force turf. "Stargate Command is an Air Force program - we've got the most experience with aliens, alien technology, other planets - you name it, we did it."

"I recall SG-3 being Marines," Warren retorted.

"You're honorary Air Force." Jack grinned at Warren's scowl. "But yes, in a pinch, I'd take the Corps over the Army. You're more used to operating on a thin supply line."

"Good. This is going to be bloody. Very bloody," Warren said. "I've got calls from every officer I know or have heard of about Stargate Command. And I've been called in for a meeting with the top brass."

Jack snorted. "Of course it's going to be bloody. The service that gets to control the American space forces will dominate the armed forces. The Navy is looking at becoming obsolete in short order." Once spaceships were on the horizon, the Navy would lose all relevance - who wanted or needed aircraft carriers if you had spaceships? Or missile cruisers? Or destroyers?

"They will suffer so many cuts, the Coast Guard will have a bigger budget," Warren said.

Jack chuckled. Served the Navy pukes right.

"On the other hand, if they get to expand into space, the Air Force's done for," Warren went on.

Jack clenched his teeth to avoid cursing. Warren was correct - if the Navy became the space force, they would get all the shiny new space fighters. The Air Force would lose out - hell, they might even get folded back into the Army, to provide close air support and transport or something. "That won't happen," he said. "We've got both the Space Command and Stargate Command. We've got too much experience." And personal contacts with the Etherians. "You'd have to be an idiot to throw that away."

"That never stopped Washington," Warren said. "And Space Command? Really?"

Jack shrugged. General Naird and his bunch of nerds didn't have any real experience with aliens or combat, being glorified satellite handlers. But they were Air Force Space Command. And with Stargate Command apparently being put under United Nations control, the Air Force needed every little bit of help.

They reached their floor - the canteen. Where the television would be showing the first-ever interview with the Etherians. Warren and Jack entered and moved to the front, where Daniel waved. "I saved us a table!" he said.

"I'll be sitting with my guys," Warren said, nodding and walking over to SG-3 in the corner.

Jack sighed as he sat down. "So… what are the pundits saying about this?"

Daniel shrugged. "Mostly nothing."

"But in many, many words." Jack chuckled.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "Their use of words was very inefficient."

"That's because they are paid to talk," Carter said.

Jack nodded. "And if they don't talk at length whenever they can, people might question their salaries." But he didn't want to discuss budgets again. "So… does anyone have the inside scoop?" He looked at Daniel and Carter.

"No," Daniel said. "I know they've been preparing for this with consultants, but that's all."

"Entrapta sounded quite optimistic about their preparations," Carter added.

"Well, it's not live at least," Jack said. "So, whatever is being broadcast won't be too bad."

His friends didn't seem to share his optimism. "CNN won't accept too much editing," Daniel said. "If they accept any at all."

Carter nodded. "Entrapta didn't mention anything about final approval."

Great. Jack wished the canteen would serve alcohol. He had a feeling that he'd need a stiff drink soon.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Earth, Solar System, September 13th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"It's starting!"

Adora couldn't help feeling that Catra sounded far too cheerful about this. Or far too confident about the interview. Adora didn't share that confidence. She was sure she had done something wrong. Mr Brown had been a bit… diplomatic after watching the recording. And Julie had been terse. And Melissa had stuck to comments about their body language, makeup and clothes. But if it was truly bad, wouldn't they have said something? Or kept Entrapta from handing the recording over to Mr Pullman?

"Good!" Entrapta, of course, was happy as ever as she used her hair to lift her over the back of the couch she had installed in the hold and plopped down in front of the huge television screen she had constructed for the occasion. "I made popcorn since I was told that that is the traditional meal to eat while watching this!"

"I think popcorn is for watching entertainment," Bow commented as he took a seat on the second couch.

"This certainly should be entertaining," Catra said. "Come on, Adora! It's starting!"

Adora glanced at Glimmer, who sighed, obviously also not as confident as the rest of them, and joined her lover on the third couch.

Hordak, carrying a huge tray loaded with Earth drinks of all kinds - Adora wondered if he needed his armour's servos to lift it - arrived just as the logo on the screen faded, and they saw a studio with Mr Pullmann seated behind a big desk.

"Good evening, America! I'm Bob Pullman," he said - even though his name also appeared in a small band at the bottom of the screen, "and I'm here to present the first in-depth interview with our visitors from the planet Etheria."

"So they did count the questions we were asked in Switzerland as an interview!" Entrapta nodded.

"Not necessarily," Hordak retorted. "They might just want to stress the personal aspect."

"Shhh!" Bow hissed. "It's starting!"

And indeed, once more, the screen changed - this time to a view of Darla's bridge, every one of them lined up, with Earth visible behind them and Mr Pullman on the right side, facing them. And their names and titles appeared below them on the screen.

"Queen Glimmer, Princess She-Ra, Princess Entrapta, Mr Bow, Miss Catra, Mr Hordak, Melog, thank you for granting me an interview. I am aware that you are terribly busy with politics and the war, and I appreciate that you made time to answer the questions of the public." Mr Pullman nodded with a smile.

"Oh, think nothing of it!" Adora said. "We appreciate the opportunity to explain more about ourselves. You should never blindly trust people, after all, right?"

Adora winced. Her smile looked forced - but she had been so nervous!

"Honesty is the best policy, or so you said, right?" Mr Pullman asked.

"Yes!"

"I don't want to pry, but that sounds as if this stems from personal experience." The man leaned forward with an earnest expression on his face.

"Ah… Yes, we've had experiences with betrayal and lies." Adora nodded earnestly. As did Catra, although with a scowl on her face.

"But also with misunderstandings based on a lack of reliable data!" Entrapta piped up - she was sitting on the edge of her seat, her hair moving around her. "Once I thought I had been abandoned in the war, but my friends thought I had been killed, so they didn't send a rescue mission while I was waiting."

"Oh?" Mr Pullman tilted his head, eyebrows raising. "That sounds like a harrowing experience, But you obviously survived."

"Yes! And I met Hordak and Catra through it!" Entrapta replied. "Although I had met Catra before, at the Princess Prom."

"Which is a ball for all the Princesses and Princes of Etheria, held every ten years," Glimmer cut in. "It is the most important event in international politics and diplomacy."

Adora saw herself reaching over and squeezing Catra's thigh before her lover could say that she had blown it up. Catra might be doing it because she still felt guilty about it or because she liked to grandstand or a bit of both, but this wasn't the time for either.

"Which brings us to the first topic. Etheria." Mr Pullman nodded. "It is a planet ruled by princes and princesses, right?"

"Yes," Glimmer told him. "There are over a hundred kingdoms of various sizes."

"And you're the queen."

"The traditional title for the ruler of Bright Moon is Queen," she said. "But that doesn't mean I have a higher rank than Princess Entrapta. We're both sovereign rulers of our respective kingdoms."

"Yes! Although Dryl is much smaller than Bright Moon, and I'm not an Elemental Princess," Entrapta cut in. "My magic power is my prehensible hair while the Elemental Princesses control the elements - well, after a fashion."

"But we're all equal in the Alliance," Glimmer said.

"Speaking of equality," Mr Pullman spoke up again. "You are undoubtedly aware that on Earth, absolute monarchies are very rare nowadays. Most countries are democracies. Are there any democracies on Etheria?"

"Not really," Bow spoke up. "Not on a kingdom level, at least. Many villages elect their leader or mayor, but that's often the son or daughter of the previous leader. And of course, pirates elect their captains, but I don't think they count." He grinned before growing serious again. "The rule of princesses and princes goes back to before the Age of War and has never been seriously challenged on Etheria. Part of the reason for that is, of course, tradition at this point, but in the past, it was likely based on the fact that all princesses and princes have a magic talent."

"That sounds as if it would be very difficult to replace a princess with a democratically elected representative," Mr Pullman said.

"Well, certain kingdoms do rely on the magical power of their ruler. Like Mermista's control over the Seagate, which keeps Salineas safe. Or Perfuma's control over plants, which feeds her kingdom," Bow said.

"Two kingdoms, actually, since the Fright Zone still needs her help," Glimmer said.

"Ah. So, if people would turn against their princess, they would lose their help?"

"Yes," Hordak said without hesitation. "Not unlike the Earth custom of granting special privileges to the rich in the hope that they will share their money with the poor, I believe."

Mr Pullman's smile grew a bit blander in response, and he leaned forward. "Do you think that the position of rich people on Earth is comparable to princesses on Etheria?"

Hordak looked as if he didn't understand the question. "I just said that, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." Mr Pullman nodded.

"It's similar," Adora spoke up. "As a princess, you have responsibilities. You have power but also a duty to use it well. Especially as a ruling princess. You have to protect and help those who need it."

"Noblesse oblige?" Mr Pullman asked. "Privilege entails responsibility?" He smiled. "With great power comes great responsibility?"

"Of course!" Glimmer agreed, nodding emphatically. "That is what the princess alliance is all about."

"It's also a defence pact," Hordak added.

"Yes," Glimmer told him, looking a little annoyed. "But at its core, it's about using your power to protect your people - and everyone else."

"Let's come back to the comparison of princesses to rich people on Earth," Mr Pullman said. "Or, to be precise, to rich people. Do you need to be a princess to be rich on Etheria? How does the economy work?"

"That depends on how you define 'rich'," Bow replied. "There are many merchants and other people who are wealthy, but the differences between them and the other people aren't as large as on Earth." He frowned. "As far as the economy goes… I'm not an expert, that would be my brother, Count, but Etheria has a much smaller economy. And it's not quite as industrialised."

"Yes," Catra chimed in. "The Horde's factories were a major advantage in the war. The Alliance couldn't match their production."

"We did pretty well in blowing up the tanks and bots," Glimmer said with a toothy smile.

"Only once She-Ra appeared," Catra shot back.

Bow coughed. "Anyway, one difference I spotted is that more of the economy is run by the kingdoms. There are lots of farmers and artisans, but most of the big projects are controlled by the princesses and princes."

"A state-controlled economy?"

"Of course," Hordak spoke up again. "How could you efficiently run a kingdom if you didn't have control over its production? Salineas would have fallen far sooner if they had been producing merchantmen instead of warships during the war."

"That sounds like a planned economy," Mr Pullman said. "That was attempted on Earth a few times, but with mixed results."

"You probably lacked the data to properly plan," Entrapta said. "That happened to me a few times - I had built so many bots, I couldn't use all of them. And the Horde ran into supply issues when it built too many tanks and not enough transports."

"Oh. You're talking about a war economy," Mr Pullman said.

"Yes?" Adora tilted her head. "We are at war, after all. Well, we were recovering from the war against the Horde when we heard about the Goa'uld, but we were quickly back on a war footing."

"Something Earth hasn't done," Catra added. "Despite being at war with the Goa'uld."

"Well, we weren't even aware of being at war with them," Mr Pullman replied. "Most of Earth, at least."

"Yeah, we were very surprised when we heard that," Entrapta said. "But now that you know, you can spin up war production!"

"That's for the government to decide," Mr Pullman told her. "But let's talk about the war some more. You were fighting the Horde on Etheria for decades, or so I've heard."

"Yes," Glimmer said. "My parents were founding members of the Princess Alliance. That was before I was born, after the Horde had taken over the Scorpion Kingdom and started its conquest of Etheria."

"It was the first such alliance since the Age of War," Bow added. "And the largest in recorded history. There were temporary alliances since then, but none involving so many princesses."

"And it barely managed to slow down our advance at the start," Hordak said. "Despite my preparations having been, in hindsight, insufficient."

"You mean you underestimated us," Glimmer retorted.

"Pardon me," Mr Pullman said. "But you fought each other?"

"I created and led the Horde on Etheria!" Hordak said. "I introduced its technology to Etheria - although since I was alone and had to rebuild my tech base by myself, my means were limited."

"Which was a very good thing," Bow quickly said. "Otherwise, you might have conquered Etheria for Horde Prime."

Hordak scowled. "Yes, as it turned out, I was misguided. Manipulated and exploited."

"You weren't the only one," Catra said.

"But it all worked out in the end!" Entrapta patted Hordak's thigh with her hand. "We came together and beat Horde Prime!"

"Yes," Adora said, nodding emphatically. "Once Horde Prime's fleet arrived, everyone fought him, and we won."

"You allied with former enemies? Even the leader of the Horde?" Mr Pullman sounded surprised.

"I was the leader of the Horde on Etheria. Until Horde Prime made it very clear that there was only one leader in the entire Horde - himself. And that we others were merely vessels for his will." Hordak scowled. "He tried to wipe out my consciousness, but I defied him."

"And you beat him," Entrapta said.

"Adora did kill him," Catra pointed out.

"We all worked together," Adora said. "And yes, we took in everyone who wanted to change. I was a former Horde soldier myself."

"You were a cadet. You never led the Horde," Catra cut in. "I did."

"You got better," Adora shot back. After a moment, both of them laughed.

Mr Pullman looked… very surprised.

*****​

The Mountain, Colorado, United States, Earth, September 13th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Samantha Carter suppressed a groan while on the screen, Adora started to explain how they grew up and how they 'split up temporarily', with Catra making snarky remarks.

The Colonel didn't hold back. "For Crying out loud!" he muttered. "Why did their consultants let that go through?"

"Probably because if they tried to hide that, it would have been revealed anyway, possibly at the worst moment?" Daniel speculated. "You know that Adora isn't the best at hiding something like that."

Or anything. Sam agreed with the assessment. Anyone expecting Adora to hide anything about her relationship with Catra was a fool. "I concur."

"Yeah, yeah, she's all for being honest - but I bet that 'reformed conquering warlords' wasn't the public image the Etherians were aiming for," the Colonel said.

Teal'c tilted his head. "Why would they not aim for such a revelation? As I was told, and have seen on television, the people of the United States love repenting sinners."

The Colonel winced. "Yeah, but repenting sinners usually don't joke about their sins. Not on television, at least. They do that repenting thing."

Sam had to agree.

"...and then we saved her and returned to Etheria to fight Horde Prime," Adora finished her - quite edited, Sam knew - story.

"Now that's a story!" Pullman was smiling widely again. "So, not only did you recruit former enemies during the war, but after you won, you incorporated them into your countries?"

"Not quite," Glimmer spoke up. "Scorpia restored her kingdom, the Scorpion Kingdom, that the Horde had turned into the Fright Zone. And she decided to join the Alliance."

"She decided to join Perfuma," Catra commented with a grin.

Adora frowned. "I am sure that Scorpia would have joined the Alliance even if she weren't together with Perfuma. It was a sound decision, given her experiences."

"Well, you said that she defected during the war on Etheria. But what about the Horde soldiers who didn't defect to the Alliance during the war?" Pullman asked. "Weren't you concerned about what they would do - and what they had done?"

"If they want to change they still deserve a second chance," Adora said. "Everyone deserves the chance to change. Just because you made mistakes in the past doesn't mean you should be damned forever."

"And there weren't many die-hard Horde soldiers - most of their troops defected before the end," Glimmer replied. "Horde Prime made it clear that he didn't really care for anyone but himself. Not at all. Not even for his clones."

"Yes," Hordak said. "And with Horde Prime dead, my brothers were, for the first time in their lives, free to make their own decisions. So it was easy to recruit them."

"We didn't 'recruit' them," Adora protested. "They joined us because of WrongHordak and Priest."

"WrongHordak was our first friend from the Horde," Entrapta explained. "We saved him when we saved Catra. Priest saw She-Ra eradicate Horde Prime and decided to worship her. And many followed his example."

"When you say 'worship', what exactly do you mean?" Pullman asked.

"Uh… exactly, that, worship?" Adora said with a strained smile.

"They consider her a goddess," Catra added with a smirk.

"I didn't ask for it! And denying it doesn't work!"

"And this 'Priest' would be in command of the ships currently orbiting Earth?" Pullman's smile looked fake now.

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded. "And the rest of the Fleet currently stationed outside the Solar System. We didn't want to scare you accidentally by bringing all the ships. And their numbers might distort the night sky, which might affect the work of your astronomers."

"I see." Pullman nodded. "And, speaking of space and war fleets, you first heard of the Goa'uld when a team from Earth accidentally landed on your planet, right?"

"Well, they arrived through a Stargate, so they didn't technically land, but yes," Entrapta said.

"You'd never heard of them before?"

"Melog did," Catra said, pointing at the big cat next to her seat. "Their people knew them and what they were. We almost fought SG-1 because they felt the larva inside Teal'c."

Sam winced, and the Colonel cursed. That hadn't been widely known yet. Teal'c wasn't showing any reaction, but Daniel looked worried.

"Teal'c?" Pullman asked.

"Yes." Adora nodded. "He defected from the Goa'uld and joined Stargate Command."

"And he carries a Goa'uld inside him?" Pullman was leaning forward.

"Yes, a larva. That's how the Goa'uld breed, you know," Entrapta explained. "They put a larva inside one of their Jaffa, where it grows over several years until it is mature, at which point it gets a host, usually a human, and the Jaffa gets a new larva. The Jaffa depend on the larva for their immune system, you know? I would have thought that that was a defect, but the Goa'uld made the Jaffa that way so they had to stay loyal." She frowned. "They could have had their loyalty just by being nicer, I think."

"That sounds… horrible, actually," Pullman said.

"Yes! Not only do they enslave people, but they also use them as hosts, trapping them in their own bodies, and treat their soldiers as slaves and incubators." Glimmer nodded with a grim expression. "They are as bad as Horde Prime was. As soon as we heard about them, we knew we had to fight them."

"Yes," Adora agreed. "Such evil can't be tolerated. They already oppress countless people and they want to conquer everyone else - and they have destroyed worlds like Horde Prime did."

"Not on the same scale or using the same means," Entrapa added, "but for the dead people it works out the same, I think."

"So you think everyone needs to fight the Goa'uld?"

"Of course," Adora said. "If you don't fight them, they'll destroy you. They'll wreck your cities, kill your people and raise your children as their brainwashed slaves. Together, we can beat them and free their slaves!"

"That seems logical." Pullman nodded. "Although something seems a little strange. If the Goa'uld are such a threat, and you're used to working with former enemies, why are you so hesitant to form an alliance with Earth? Or at least with the United States, since you've been working with Stargate Command for a while already?"

Sam winced again. She was certain that many Americans wouldn't like the answer.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Earth, Solar System, September 13th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"Now comes the best part!" Catra grinned. Adora groaned, and Catra patted her arm. "Honesty is the best policy, right?"

On the screen, Adora raised her chin with that adorably determined expression of hers. "That actually ties back to our history. When Hordak was stranded on Etheria, he was welcomed by the Scorpion Kingdom and taken in as a shipwrecked stranger. And in a few years, he had taken over the kingdom, turned it into the Fright Zone and started to conquer Etheria."

"It wasn't quite as simple," Hordak cut in. "The rulers of the Scorpion Kingdom didn't just take me in out of the goodness of their hearts - the princesses were interested in my technology. Especially my weapons. Without their support, I couldn't have formed the industrial base for the Horde on Etheria."

"I'm sure they didn't want to conquer Etheria," Glimmer said.

"But a little border adjustment?" Catra grinned.

"Anyway!" Adora raised her voice a little. "We want to limit our technology to countries that we can trust not to abuse our help to conquer their neighbours - or attack us."

"And you don't trust the United States?" Pullman raised his eyebrows. "Your actions with Stargate Command seem to indicate a close relationship."

"We trust SG-1," Adora replied. "They're our friends. But that doesn't mean we trust everyone else in their country." She wrapped an arm around Catra's shoulders. "I mean… they wouldn't have let us into the army just because we love each other! How can you trust a country with such… such…"

"...such prejudices," Bow finished for her. He nodded with a serious expression. "I have two Dads. That wouldn't be possible in your country - it would be illegal. They couldn't marry. They couldn't have my siblings or me."

"But that doesn't mean that the USA would turn on you - the United States isn't in the business of enforcing their own morals on others," Pullman retorted. "Least of all their allies. Just look at Saudi Arabia or Kuwait."

"Well, a lot of your people seem to disagree," Glimmer said with a frown. "They call for our murder." She shook her head. "Yes, they are supposed to be a minority - but what kind of ruler would tolerate such demands when trying to form an alliance? What kind of ruler would let his subjects plot their supposed allies' death?"

"And it's not just the hostility - it's the insanity of it," Catra added. "We haven't done anything to them. Just because Adora and I are in love…" She blushed a little. "...apparently is enough of a reason for them to demand that we should be killed."

"Yes!" Adora nodded emphatically. "It's so insane! Completely crazy! What does it matter if we're both women? We love each other! We want to be happy together! Perhaps… form a family sometime in the future!" She blushed. "Just like everyone else! Why would that be wrong? We're not harming anyone!"

"We're not trying to 'make people gay'," Bow added with a scowl. "We're not telling anyone to stop loving their partner or partners."

"Unlike your people," Catra added.

Pullman frowned at that. "Well, as you said yourself, those people calling for violence are a tiny minority…"

Catra snorted. "A minority who can legally plan our death in your country."

"That's not entirely correct. Actually planning a murder is illegal."

"But telling others to murder people isn't against your law. Marrying your love is, though - if they're the same gender as yours." Glimmer crossed her arms over her chest. "That sounds insane to me."

"We just want the same as everyone else," Adora repeated herself: "Being happy with our love. Why are so many people against that? Why should that be illegal?"

Pullman cleared his throat. "Well, many of the more conservative people in the United States - and elsewhere - think same-sex relationships are immoral."

"Why?" Entrapta leaned forward. "There has to be a reason for that. Murder is wrong because you kill innocent people. Stealing is wrong because you take what isn't yours. Conducting experiments with new high-explosives in your laboratory instead of in the desert or a bunker is wrong because you risk hurting others in the castle if something goes wrong." She nodded. "But who would get hurt if my friends marry each other?"

Pullman didn't like those questions, Catra thought, but he was back to smiling politely. "Well, some people think that allowing such marriages would encourage such marriages - and would set an example for impressionable teenagers."

Catra snorted. "You don't want your people to have loving relationships and families?"

"A lot of the conservatives in the United States consider same-sex relationships a sin. They don't want people to sin. Or be tempted to sin."

"That makes no sense," Entrapta said.

"Would they rather have their family be unhappy?" Bow asked. "Why would it matter if you have two Dads or two Moms, or a Mom and a Dad? What matters is whether or not you love your family and care for them! And that doesn't depend on your gender!"

Pullman cleared his throat. "Well, as I said, those who advocate for violence are a tiny minority, and those who think your relationships should be illegal are also a minority according to our last polls."

"If they're a minority, why can't you change the laws? That's how democracy works, right? The majority sets the laws!" Catra said, staring at Pullman. "So, if you can't actually change your laws, doesn't that mean that those people aren't a minority?"

"And that is why you fear they would turn on you?" Pullman asked.

"It's one of the reasons," Glimmer replied. "How can we trust people who hate us just because we're not following their religion? People who are trying to force their views on others by outlawing relationships they don't like? If they're willing to force everyone like us in your country to be unhappy, why wouldn't they do that to everyone else if they had the power to conquer Earth?"

"We've read about your religious wars and conquests," Bow added.

"Those were hundreds of years ago," Pullman replied. "No one is calling for a crusade any more."

Catra scoffed. "I think some people in your country would disagree about that."

"Anyway, that's why we won't share our technology with a country we cannot trust to at least accept us as we are," Adora said. "But there's another reason for that. Those people who want us gone just because we love each other, because they think others could see us and realise that they have the same feelings, they don't know how much pain and misery they cause. Catra and I, we were orphans, raised in the Horde by a… manipulative woman."

Catra leaned into her love. Shadow Weaver had a lot to answer for.

Adora took a deep breath. "She left us ignorant of what love was - we didn't realise what we were feeling for each other. As a result, we hurt each other, very much. We almost killed each other - we almost doomed our world over this." She raised her chin. "We don't want anyone else going through this pain. And that is why we won't share our technology with any country where people can do this to each other."

"Legally, that is," Bow added.

"Yes." Adora stared at the camera. "Because you cannot trust someone like that - someone who can't be happy if you're happy with your love. We know this."

*****​

The Mountain, Colorado, United States, Earth, September 13th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Jack O'Neill closed his eyes and sighed. The Etherians didn't pull punches. "I thought they had some PR weenies advising them," he muttered.

"They do, yes," Carter replied.

"Then why did they just push every damn button of the conservatives?" Planned economy, monarchy, being worshipped as a god, gay marriage… He looked around - a number of the soldiers watching the interview looked angry.

"They haven't talked about magic yet," Daniel unhelpfully pointed out.

"I'm sure that'll happen as well," Jack told him. "But seriously? I thought they wanted to play nice with the conservatives!"

"I believe that they realised that the more extreme members of the conservatives are a hopeless cause and decided to appeal to the moderates," Teal'c commented.

Jack blinked and stared at his friend. Political commentary from Teal'c?

"I had ample time to watch television since our return, and I decided to educate myself on the domestic politics of the United States." Teal'c nodded.

Ah. Which was kind of worrying. But the interview went on.

"Let's address another subject that is controversial: Magic," Pullman said. "There have been several reports that you are planning to 'return magic' to Earth. Could you elaborate on this?"

"Well, it's simple," Adora said. "About a thousand years ago, the First Ones stole magic to power their superweapon to destroy Horde Prime - and they planned for a lot of collateral damage. They were stopped by my predecessor, Mara, but she couldn't return the stolen magic. Since we defeated Horde Prime, we've been working to return magic to the various planets." She smiled. "It's slow going, especially with the war, but we'll get there. And once we have won the war, we can use the Stargate Network to visit the affected planets more easily and much more quickly."

"Those planets which haven't been destroyed by Horde Prime," Glimmer added with a frown.

"So… you carry magic with you and then release it?" Pullman asked.

"Oh, no!" Entrapta shook her head. "That's not how it works. You can't store magic like that - well, you could, if you had the right crystal matrix, but it would be very hard to transport, and releasing it wouldn't return magic to the planet, not in the way that matters. Magic is constantly generated on life-bearing planets. Or it should. Anyway, the First Ones kind of shunted the magic generated off to collect it to power their weapon. It's a very complex and fascinating piece of magic engineering, actually. The possibilities if we could duplicate the basic mechanics…" She coughed. "Anyway, so, once you dismantle that shunt, the planet's magic is available again for the people on it."

"The natural order restored," Glimmer added.

"So, you claim that until a thousand years ago, magic was real on Earth? And then we lost access to it?" Pullman raised his eyebrows.

"Exactly," Entrapta said, nodding.

"We have no records of magic," Pullman retorted.

Bow frowned at that. "You have such records - we saw them. People turning into animals. Or controlling the weather or the sea. Flying through the sky."

"Healing the sick," Adora added. "Magic's all in your history."

"Those are myths," Pullman replied. "Are you claiming that those are historical records?"

"Well, a lot of historical records turn into myths over time when primary sources get lost or forgotten, linguistic drift happens…" Bow shrugged. "We experienced that on Etheria as well, and we have excellent archives in Bright Moon."

"Of course, a number of the recorded magic events and miracles might be the result of Goa'uld technology used to impress people," Entratpa said. "That wouldn't be magic, of course - the technology is completely different. But Earth magic is totally real - Adora can restore it."

"Many people think magic is evil," Pullman said cautiously.

"They're wrong," Adora replied bluntly. "Magic isn't good or evil, it's like… technology."

"You can use it for good or evil," Glimmer added. "Like everything else. And many people want magic back, according to the news. I heard there's going to be a formal petition from various people."

"Various indigenous people," Bow added. "Magic is an important part of their religion."

"I see. But many people are also concerned that 'restoring' magic would create inequality. Some people would be able to use magic, others wouldn't. That would create a huge power imbalance." Pullman tilted his head. "People fear that this would lead to a magical monarchy being imposed on Earth."

"They're wrong," Glimmer repeated Adora's words. "Or they're lying. You already have power imbalances and inequality. Some of your people - or countries - are vastly more powerful than the others. Magic wouldn't change anything about that - not fundamentally."

"It would just add another variable, so to speak," Bow said.

"A huge variable," Pullman insisted. "The ability to… to heal the sick is huge."

"Incorrect," Hordak spoke up. "On average, a sorceress is no real threat to a trained soldier. Few have the talent and discipline to even learn magic that can make a difference on the battlefield, and fewer still amount to a threat that can't be dealt with by a squad or two of soldiers with armour support. Even princesses, who, thanks to their innate magic, don't have to study for years to learn how to cast spells, are rarely powerful enough to turn the tide on the battlefield by themselves."

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded. "My own magic talent is prehensile hair - very useful for lab work or housework, but I couldn't really do anything on the battlefield that a net launcher and some other weapons couldn't do as well. The elemental princesses are the exception since they are bonded to runestones, which Earth lacks." She smiled. "So, you don't have to fear that, once magic is restored, princesses are taking over. Not that we know if you'll even have princesses, mind you!"

"I see. But if magic is as weak as you say, why should it be restored in the first place if people oppose it?" Pullman asked. "They might be wrong, but their fear and loathing are real. Why should you ignore their wishes?"

"Because it's the same attitude we already covered," Catra said with a sneer: "Some people think magic is evil, so they don't want anyone else to use it."

"That's selfish and stupid," Glimmer added.

"Magic is a natural part of Earth - your birthright. It was stolen from you by the First Ones," Adora said. "Why should a part of you get to decide that no one can get it back? If you don't like magic, you can just not use it. But you shouldn't try to forbid others from using it! It's not any more dangerous than one of your guns."

"I see." Pullman nodded. "You've certainly made your position clear about that. Now, I already mentioned concerns that your arrival and magic might lead to the imposition of magical monarchies on Earth. You've explained your view of how with power comes responsibility - or duty. But what's your view of democracy?"

"Well… it's certainly an interesting concept," Glimmer said very diplomatically. "We don't have much experience with it. But if it works for you, then that's good for you."

"It's just that it doesn't seem to work for you as well as it should," Adora added.

"Yes!" Bow nodded several times. "Like when the majority wants something, but it doesn't matter because they're controlled by the minority."

"Or manipulated by your rulers," Catra said.

Jack closed his eyes once more. "Here we go again." The Etherians were going for a full sweep, it seemed.

*****​
 
Chapter 33: Alliances Part 1
Chapter 33: Alliances Part 1

Dulles International Airport, Washington DC, Earth, September 16th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and you can see that the interview resulted in more positive and more negative reactions amongst American conservatives. The polls we ran show that the number of moderate conservatives - those who held a slightly negative opinion of Etheria - shrunk as a result," Mr Brown explained, pointing at the big screen on Darla's bridge, where a diagram was displayed.

Adora frowned. That didn't sound like a good result. "We made more people hate us?"

"Yes. But you also made more people like you," Mr Brown said. "In short, you polarised the moderate conservatives. We're still analysing the exact reasons, but so far, it looks like your, ah, appeal to progressive family values was the central argument that convinced the more liberal of them, although many have other reasons as well, such as your willingness to defend Earth, while the other end of the spectrum saw their negative opinion confirmed by several of your statements. However, we're still not sure how many of the reasons given were merely excuses for reasons that made the difference but were less socially accepted."

"What? What do you mean?" Adora asked.

"Well…" Mr Brown glanced at Glimmer and Bow. "While few answered our respective questions directly, we have reasons to suspect - based upon other polls in the past - that the relationship between Queen Glimmer and Techmaster Bow also influenced them."

What? But Glimmer and Bow weren't… Oh! "That racism thing, right?" Adora asked.

"Yes. Although the overlap between people who show an extremely negative reaction to same-sex relationships and people who show negative reactions to interracial relationships is very high."

"Most racists," Julie cut in, "are also sexist and bigots. At least in the USA. But they don't want to be seen as racists, so they generally make up other reasons."

"Ah."

Catra snorted. "Idiots, all of them."

"Yes!" Bow agreed - with a rare expression of anger, Adora noted. And Glimmer…

"Well, fuck them!"

Yes, Glimmer was livid.

"So… we basically made the almost good ones better and the almost really bad ones worse?" Entrapta asked.

"Yes. As expected, actually. And the numbers are positive - together with the progressives, we're looking at a very solid majority of the Americans who have a positive opinion of you." Mr Brown nodded. "Helped along, of course, by the propaganda efforts of the government."

"Of course, that could and will change - opinions shift all the time," Julie said. "But you met expectations, more or less. And yes, the government's PR campaign is helping here, though they probably didn't appreciate your frank statements."

Well, that was their problem. Adora wouldn't lie to the people. And yet… "But we also increased the number of people who really hate us," she pointed out.

"That couldn't be helped," Julie told her. "You have very divisive opinions. And you didn't want to commit to a more extended public relations campaign."

Adora frowned but didn't pout. It wasn't as if they had the time to 'interact with the public in casual ways' for weeks. And that sounded far too much like playing a role. And lying. 'Just be yourself' was no guarantee that people would like you. Entrapta and Catra were great, but you had to know them a bit to understand that.

"And some of your opinions are not well-received even amongst progressives and liberals," Mr Brown cautioned. "There are already attempts to paint you as communists because of the way your economy is set up. That may get some traction, though we might be able to counter that by stressing that we're talking about a war economy and showing the similarities to our own war economy during World War II."

"And the palace economy of Minoan culture," Bow added with a smile. "There are parallels, even if the social conditions are different."

Mr Brown and Julie looked as lost as Adora felt.

Bow sighed. "An ancient culture based on... Crete, I believe. Yes, ancient Crete. Daniel told me about it during the trip here."

"Ah." Mr Brown nodded. "I fear most Americans won't be able to place such a reference. A pity, I'm sure."

Catra snorted as Bow pouted.

Mr Brown went on: "Anyway, some of the more left-leaning segments also didn't like how you recruited and apparently pardoned your enemies after the war. It didn't play well with some of the civil rights activists either, but not enough to measurably affect their opinions. The religious aspect of your followers pretty much was a wash - the more religious ones who were affronted by what they saw as an attempt to replace God already were disapproving of you for your social stances - but your plan to return magic did affect people who would have supported you otherwise."

"I thought we explained that their fears are baseless," Glimmer commented. "Even if they have the talent, they'll need years of training to do anything noticeable, much less anything impressive."

"Well, they don't believe you," Mr Brown said. "Interestingly, you have anti-colonialist activists split between those who think you are acting like colonialists, making decisions without concern about the opinions of the people affected, and those who laud your willingness to return magic to indigenous cultures despite the objections of former colonialist societies."

Not for the first time, Adora wondered what was wrong with Earth. "We won't return magic if no one wants it back," she said. "But we know people want it back."

"You don't have to tell me that," Mr Brown said. "I've seen the polls. Anyway, basically, we're talking about a solid majority in support of gay marriage now."

"Great!" Adora beamed.

"Of course, for actual changes in legislation, that doesn't mean much. What matters is whether or not you have a solid, even a supermajority, in the House of Representatives and the Senate," Julie said. "And the states."

Adora blinked. It was all for nothing?

"Well, that will take a while to shake out, and we can't poll the politicians, so we should focus on your next interview," Mr Brown said.

"Right." Adora sighed.

*****

Pentagon, Washington DC, Earth, September 16th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and those polls are clearly biased! Why would anyone change their opinion after seeing just how depraved and dangerous those aliens are? The government should stand up to their insane demands! We all - all the patriots, at least - have taken the pledge! One Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all! And this offence against God is no justice at all!"

Samantha Carter pressed her lips together and stood up, walking towards the TV in the corner of the canteen. A warrant officer almost dropped his tray to get out of her way. She reached the remote control and quickly changed the channel to something less stupid.

"Hey!" A man at one of the closer tables stood. "What are you doing? Change it back!"

She eyed him. He was a major - he technically outranked her. But he was an Army staff officer, and she was Stargate Command's best scientist. "The television is supposed to show the news," she told him.

"This is the news!"

"Technically, this isn't news but entertainment, despite the name," Daniel spoke up in support of her from their table. He smiled at the glare from the major. "That's what they claim."

"But they show the news!"

"No," Sam told him. "They show some selected polarising 'interviews' in an attempt to gain better ratings. There is nothing informative about the rantings of extremists."

"Why are you calling them extremists?"

"Because they are extremists." She glared at him. This should have been obvious. "They refuse to acknowledge facts to push their own narrative." And every scientist knew that that was a cardinal sin.

"They're just stating their opinion."

"And we don't need to listen to their opinion," she retorted. "Not in the canteen. What you do in the privacy of your home is your business, but this kind of propaganda has no place in the Armed Forces of the United States." She turned away before he could retort and stalked back to her table. Where, she saw with a sinking feeling, the Colonel had joined Daniel.

He grinned at her. "Wow, you read the man the riot act. And he outranks you! Way to go, Carter!"

She refused to blush. "I was merely enforcing regulations, Sir," she said as she sat down stiffly.

"Yeah, yeah, Carter." The Colonel snorted but quickly grew serious. "We're all sick of the stuff."

"Actually, the reactions of the various segments of the population are fascinating," Daniel retorted.

"You wouldn't say this if you had been at the meeting I just had to attend," the Colonel said.

"Oh?" Sam raised her eyebrows, prompting him as much as she would.

"Yes. Kinsey," he all but snarled. "He's got his hooks into the government."

"We, ah, already knew that," Daniel said with a frown."

"No, we knew he had influence - but he's now running an NID operation to shatter the right-wing movement in the United States. And the government has basically given him carte blanche."

"What? But… that's illegal!" Daniel protested.

"Yes." The Colonel's smile was devoid of any humour.

"Then we have to report this!"

"Report what? It was all between the lines." The Colonel scoffed. "Kinsey didn't say he was going to blackmail, frame and assassinate people whose political views were in the way of government aims. He was talking about 'persuading' and 'offering incentives', and 'making them see reason' and 'exposing those who preach water and drink wine'."

Ah. Sam nodded. "But the NID could still make mistakes, and their machinations could become exposed." She had a few ideas on how to arrange that.

Usually, the Colonel would say something like, 'machinations, Carter? Did you fall asleep on the dictionary yesterday?' But he merely shook his head. "Yes. And then?"

She pressed her lips together. She knew what he was thinking.

Daniel, though, frowned. "Then they'll get arrested, and the whole illegal operation exposed."

"And then?" The Colonel asked, staring at their friend.

"Their victims get exonerated, the government will have to… Oh." Daniel blinked.

"...drop any plans to pass gay marriage legislation as the right-wingers resurge with popular support as the victims of evil government manipulations," the Colonel finished for him. "And the United States can forget about an alliance with the Etherians because we'll be doubling down on the anti-gay legislation."

That wouldn't be the only thing such a comeback of the right-wing conservatives would bring, Sam knew. If they gained the presidency and control of Congress, they would also try to crack down on women's rights. Funnel more money into the military, of course - but without the help of the Etherians, and most of Stargate Command working directly for the United Nations, much of that money would be wasted. "They'll also call us away from the Stargate," she said. They would want everyone with knowledge of the aliens working for the USA.

"But…" Daniel looked lost. "They wouldn't do that, would they?"

"Daniel!" the Colonel snapped. "They've been crying for exactly that ever since they heard that the aliens aren't heterosexual Aryan princesses."

Sam blinked. "'Heterosexual Aryan princesses', Sir?"

He frowned at her. "I was quoting the Secretary of Education."

Ah.

"So…" Daniel licked his lips. "Are we going to, ah, sit on this, then?"

The Colonel snorted once more. "That's the question, isn't it?"

*****

Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, Earth, September 17th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and the protests in Riad turned into riots as a mob assaulted several embassies of European countries…"

"...the state of emergency in Egypt has been prolonged indefinitely as the civil unrest continues, the armed forces and the police cracking down on any protests to avoid a repeat of the Goa'uld riots in…"

"...statement from the Vatican that the Pope is still deliberating and urges the faithful to remain calm and kind to those in need…"

"...has resigned after serving twenty years as Senator, citing that recent events make it impossible to serve both his personal principles and the needs of the country. His successor will be appointed by the governor of…"

"...arrested and charged with multiple counts of embezzlement. His church declined to comment on…"

"...hat der Bundestag die erste Lesung des geplanten Gesetzes abgeschlossen und weitere Änderungen vorgeschlagen. Der Bundeskanzler erklärte, er sei enttäuscht, dass das Parlament die Dringlichkeit der Gesetzesänderung offenbar nicht ganz realisiert habe, und…"

"...Prime Minister's refusal to comment on the apparent favoured treatment of the United States in comparison fueled speculation that his diplomatic efforts had encountered obstacles that passing the gay marriage act in Parliament wouldn't solve, yet…"

"...le Président de la République est arrivé à Genève, où il va rencontrer la reine Glimmer…"

"Can you stop switching channels all the time? I want to actually understand what they are saying!"

Catra snorted at Glimmer's familiar complaint and switched channels a few more times. "It's not my fault you're too slow, Sparkles."

"Slow?"

"Yeah!" Catra nodded. "I got everything I needed."

"Really."

"Yes." She smirked.

"And what did you get from switching through three dozen channels in a minute or so?" Glimmer crossed her arms and glared at her.

"That nothing much has changed. The people on Earth are still rioting because we aren't following their customs, and their rulers still try to flatter us at every opportunity." Catra grinned. "You really should reconsider not accepting gifts - I am sure Adora would have enjoyed that private island we were offered."

Glimmer clenched her teeth. "Those were bribes! The man expected Etherian weapons in exchange!"

"So?" Catra shrugged again. "Just hand him some spears and swords." The man hadn't specified which weapons, after all, he wanted.

Glimmer rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's exactly what we need - a reputation for trickery and deception!"

"It would be an improvement over 'witchcraft', 'carnal sin', 'heathen debauchery', 'offending God' and…"

"I've seen the report!" Glimmer snapped. "And things are improving."

"In some countries," Catra pointed out. "We've been basically banned from entering an entire region."

"And other regions are complaining that we haven't visited them yet," Glimmer retorted.

"The people or the governments?" Catra grinned at her friend's scowl. "Anyway, we don't need them. We just need a few countries and their armies to start conquering planets."

"Liberating planets!" Glimmer glared at her again. "And the more allies we have, the more effective we'll be in the long run."

"Provided they don't betray us." Catra scoffed. Not everyone was as untrustworthy as Double Trouble, but a number of the people they had met here…

"That's why we are doing all those negotiations. Not that you're doing much," Glimmer complained.

"I'm analysing them and keeping Adora from being swayed by their sob stories," Catra retorted. "If you want me to actually negotiate, just say so!"

Glimmer scoffed in return. "And have you fleece the Earth countries out of their treasury?"

"Well… we can use it for the war?" She flashed her fangs. "Even with the support from the fleets, and with Perfuma doing her plant growth thing, it'll be costly."

Glimmer sighed and sat down in the seat next to her. "I know. We still haven't recovered from the Horde War. And the Earth people want to open free trade with us."

Catra frowned. "So? They are really desperate for our technology. We could make a killing!"

"Yes, until they have our technology, and then we get flooded with cheap Earth products." Glimmer shook her head. "Bow has read up on that. We need to be really careful with any trade agreement."

Catra would have to read up on that stuff as well, then. She knew how to wage war, but trade politics… In the Horde, you just requisitioned everything. Trade was for the black market in the barracks. "So… stick to the military?"

"That's the plan. But they have plans of their own."

"They're not stupid, despite all this." Catra pointed at the screen on the wall.

"I know. I just wish they'd stop being stupid where it matters." Glimmer sighed. "We've got a meeting with the French president in ten minutes. Where is Adora?"

"She is still reading up on French history with Bow." As if there'd be a test later on.

"Ah." Glimmer nodded.

"And how did your talk with the Australians go?" Catra asked.

"They wanted to know more about magic. I'm not sure they fully understood my explanations - or Entrapta's." Glimmer shrugged. "They don't get that Earth magic isn't the same as Etherian magic. They don't have runestones. They don't have Mystacore. They think once magic is back, people will spontaneously start flying and throwing lightning around." She scoffed. "It's frustrating."

"Better you than me." Catra grinned again.

"You're up for the strategy meeting with NATO as soon as we can get a time and date."

Catra hung her head. Great.

*****

Pentagon, Washington DC, Earth, September 16th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and speculation about who will succeed as senator is rampant, with the governor remaining tight-lipped about any prospects, but with the polls showing that a majority of the state's population support a more progressive stance, he is expected to…"

So, it had begun. Jack O'Neill pressed his lips together as he forced himself to turn away from the television and focus on his jello. He would bet all his desserts for the next ten years that the senator in question hadn't resigned out of his free will but had been forced to by Kinsey and the NID. The guy was claiming some noble principles and the good of the country, but Jack didn't believe any of it. It just didn't fit the man's policies.

So, it wasn't a great loss to see that politician go. It might actually be a good thing if he was replaced by someone not as selfish and greedy, but the man had been elected by a majority of his state's voters. Forcing him to step down through underhanded means was a blow against democracy and the rule of law. Against the constitution Jack had sworn to defend.

"So… what do we do?" Daniel asked. "About that, I mean." He gestured at the television as if there was any doubt about the topic of the conversation.

Out of habit, Jack glanced around. Still no one close enough to overhear them. "We don't actually have any proof," he said, trying not to wince at his own words. They sounded like… excuses.

"Without proof, there is no way to legally stop this," Carter pointed out.

"So we would be breaking the law if we did anything?" Daniel sounded weirdly hopeful and desperate at the same time. "And we don't have proof, so we don't really know…"

Jack hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. He didn't like excuses. "We do know. This…" He pointed at the screen, then blinked. They had already switched to covering the latest scandal involving a minister, a luxury yacht and church donations. "Well, that too. We know this is the work of the NID using illegal means to affect national policy. We don't have proof, yes, but this is no coincidence." This was Kinsey at work.

"Yes, but…" Daniel fell silent, then raised his chin. "We also 'know' what will happen if this gets exposed."

"That's a good guess," Jack replied. Then he raised his hands, "Yes, I also think if the NID gets thwarted, we'll see the right-wing nutters take over." It would be just like Watergate. The public wouldn't tolerate such blatantly illegal acts by the government.

"'Thwarted', Jack?" Daniel blinked.

Jack stared at him. "Not the point, Daniel."

"Uh, right. Anyway - so… what do we do? Whatever we do would be breaking the law, sort of."

"It's not against the law to keep speculation to yourself," Carter, prim and proper as usual, said. "Without any proof or even clues except for the timing, we aren't required to take action."

"Yes," Daniel agreed. "Otherwise, we would have witch hunts all the time. I don't mean literal witch hunts."

Those were good arguments. Sound, logical, perfectly fine. But Jack knew that they were excuses, nothing more. Under different circumstances, he would be doing all he could to stop the NID. And Carter and Daniel would be with him all the way. Doing the right thing, no matter the cost.

But what if the cost was America? There was some Latin saying about justice and the world ending that Jack did not quite remember from West Point. Something about enforcing justice even if it doomed the world. Did he want that?

He snorted, startling Carter and Daniel. If he did, he would have quit the Air Force long ago. Some of the things he had done during the Cold War… His friends were still staring at him. He sighed. "We don't have any proof. And doing anything illegal to gather proof…" Carter blushed a little, he noticed. "...would have us act like the NID." Not quite, but close enough. At least for his conscience.

"You could argue that the only reason this is happening is because the American system is flawed, so a minority has too much influence, controlling the majority," Daniel said. "So, those suffering from the NID breaking the law were already violating the spirit of the law."

Jack stared at him. "Let's not sound too smug or noble, OK?"

Daniel blushed. "OK. So… we don't do anything. Illegal, I mean."

"Yes." Jack nodded. As did Carter.

He turned to look at the television again. They were showing a report from some country in Africa - he had missed the start. Something about witch hunts. The reporter sounded concerned in that professional way some managed.

"...and the reports of people lynched after being accused of being 'witches' keep increasing. The government has announced that in light of the Etherian threat to restore magic, they will outlaw witchcraft. In response, a rebel faction has called upon the population to 'embrace the ancient magic of our people'. Experts disagree about…"

And there were the literal witch hunts. Jack scowled. If they or the NID bungled this, this could become the future of America. He'd do a lot more to avoid this than turn a blind eye to rumours.

No matter how bad it made him feel.

*****

Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, Earth, September 17th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Adora was prepared. She had read up on the history of France - and there had been a lot of revolutions and quasi-revolutions; they were up to their fifth republic! - and on the current politics of the country and on the Président himself. She was prepared.

But she was still nervous when she walked towards the meeting room. She had only briefly met the man before, she didn't know any French people she could have trusted to tell her more about him, and the news was pretty divided about him.

Catra stretched next to her, then leaned over. "Relax. He wants something from us, not the other way around."

"We want allies on Earth," Adora whispered back. Allies they could trust. If only SG-1 were princesses - well, princes and one princess - in charge of the USA! "And we need allies."

"Not as much as they need us," Glimmer cut in from Adora's other side. "If everything fails, we don't need to share technology - Earth troops can fight the Goa'uld on the ground just fine, as SG-1 has proven."

"Yeah," Catra agreed. "Though in the long run, we might be pressed for resources."

Adora knew that. Second and Third Fleet had their logistical tails and could get resupplied. Bots could be used. Entrapta and Hordak also were positive that they could rebuild Horde Prime's cloning facilities. Well, replace them - the originals were currently part of the space plant above Etheria. But that should be the clones' decision, not anyone else's. And it certainly shouldn't be done because they needed more soldiers.

Of course, if they managed to get an alliance, the point would be moot.

They reached the meeting room and entered.

The Président was tall, was Adora's first thought. Not as tall as She-Ra, but… maybe half a head shorter? Which meant he was far taller than her friends and herself.

"Queen Glimmer! Princess She-Ra!" The Président beamed at them, shaking their hands - she had half-expected him to kiss their hands, based on some reports about the French. But he had a firm handshake.

"Monsieur le Président," Glimmer nodded at him.

"Hello!" Adora added.

"Techmaster Bow. Catra." More smiles all around, even if Catra's was a little toothy.

Then they met his staff. General Dubois. And the Minister des Armées. And what Catra called flunkies or minions.

"I am so happy to meet you again," the man told her as they took their seats at the table - decorated with the French flags and… the Princess Alliance Crest. That was a nice touch!

Adora smiled at the Président. "Yes." They had met briefly before, when they had met the United Nations. But this was their first personal meeting.

"It's an honour," Glimmer replied.

"The honour is all mine." Another smile. "I hope to invite you to France one day - you must see Paris, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The City of Love, she is known as."

Adora didn't have to glance to the side to see Catra perk up.

"That would be lovely," Glimmer said. "Should we form an Alliance, then signing the agreement would be a great occasion to visit."

Adora nodded. Perhaps they should have visited for this meeting, but… Geneva was close to France, and they had so many meetings with the Security Council anyway. Besides, this was mostly a preliminary meeting, according to the schedule.

"France would be honoured."

"As would we," Glimmer told him. "But let's get down to business. Let's talk about an alliance."

*****

"...and we will pass legislation that will grant everyone, no matter their sexual orientation, the same rights to marriage and everything that entails, including adoption." The Président nodded. "We expect the laws to be passed soon."

Adora nodded. She could have done without the list of France's achievements with regards to human rights - she had read up on the country - but it would have been rude to mention that.

"Now, I'd be the first to admit that we're not perfect. France has done much to be ashamed of in the past. Sometimes out of ignorance, sometimes for worse motivations," he went on. "But we strive to be better than we were."

Adora nodded again. She had read up on that as well. "As everyone should."

"No one's perfect," Glimmer added. "We understand that."

"So we've heard." The Président didn't look at Catra, Adora noted. But it was clear what he meant.

And Catra knew it - Adora saw that she was pretty tense. She reached over and patted her knee. Catra had changed. She wasn't the Catra who had led the Horde any more. Well, she was, in some ways, but not the ones that counted most.

"As long as you don't go back, this will be fine," Glimmer said. "Of course, laws also need to be enforced to matter."

"France is a country of law and order. We will enforce those laws." He smiled again. "You have my word. Although I don't expect many problems - it's not as if we are limiting people's rights; we're expanding them. That rarely causes any problems with people."

"Except for the bigots," Catra said. "They hate that."

"We have a handle on them," the Président told her. "France is a secular, laicist state with a strict separation of religion and state. The religious extremists do not hold any power here."

That was aimed at the USA, Adora was certain.

But Glimmer didn't comment. "Now, with that dealt with, let's talk about the military."

*****

Capitol, Washington DC, Earth, September 16th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"But can't we outproduce them? They said their planet has a population of fifty million - we have six times that number!"

Samantha Carter had to refrain from correcting the senator that the United States' population was five and a half times Etheria's. That wouldn't only further alienate the man and his conservative cohorts. So she gently shook her head and repeated what she had been telling her superiors and various members of the government since they had returned from Etheria: "If we had the same technology and resources, we could. But we don't. We don't have enough people who understand alien technology."

"Can't we teach more people?" another conservative senator asked. His accent sounded as if he had stepped out of 'Gone with the Wind'.

The people who understood alien technology enough were not good teachers. Sam included herself in that category, seeing as she really wanted to curse at her audience. She had gone over that before! It was in her reports!

"We would have to teach all scientists and all engineers. And then every worker. And we would still lag behind the Etherians' technology. They, on the other hand, have a fleet full of people who know to use, maintain and create alien technology. They can teach that to others much more easily than we can. And on Etheria, they have a society used to both magic and technology." Sam shook her head. And there was also the threat of brain drain - those who came to study and work in the USA because it was the most advanced nation would look elsewhere if the USA lost that position.

"A society that's still using swords and bows and arrows," the first senator said.

"Magic swords and arrows. They defeated an army that had hovertanks with laser cannons," Sam shot back. She was fudging the truth a little here, but only a little. "They aren't primitive. They have different aesthetics, that's all. People in the USA hunt with bow and arrow, yet we don't think the USA is stuck in the medieval age, do we?" Why couldn't they see that? The rest of the conservative senators did!

"My cousin swears by his composite bow," a third senator - an overweight older man from the South - said with a smile. "I swear by my Remington, of course."

"That's irrelevant. The question we're here to answer is: Can we defy those aliens who attempt to force their ideology on us and chart our own course as a proud nation, or do we have to bend our necks and accept their demands so we will not be relegated to a third-world country?" the first senator snapped.

"They don't make demands, Senator," Sam corrected him. "They have requirements to be met for anyone who wants access to their technology."

"Semantics!" the senator who had asked after teachers said. "If we want their technology, we have to bend to their whims. That's what it boils down to."

"Well, they're just doing what we did to our backyard," another said with a chuckle.

Sam cleared her throat, then had to wait a few moments before the assembled senators turned their attention back on her. Why exactly had the President sent her to talk to those people? She knew their type; they didn't like listening to women as a rule, and if the woman was pretty and young… She managed not to clench her teeth. Well, the Colonel would have lost his patience long ago and would have antagonised everyone with his flippant remarks, and Daniel… would have lectured them in his earnest but accidentally offensive way.

Still, as grating as this was, she had faced worse sexists. "As I said, senators, if the United States is forced to tackle upgrading our technology without any help from the Etherians, we will lag behind. We simply aren't on a sufficient level, educationally, scientifically and with regards to infrastructure, to match whatever country they support."

"But ultimately, we'll catch up, right?" the first senator asked again. "We might have a slower start, but we're the United States - we will persevere. With God's help, we'll show them!"

"By the time we catch up to where they are now, they will have progressed even further. And we would have to spend a lot of resources just to catch up - money we could spend on more advanced programs." Not that education didn't need a huge investment, but this wasn't the crowd to address that even - or especially - since they were the exact crowd who had caused the damage to the United States' schools and colleges.

"We would certainly lose our role as leader of the free world," another Senator who had stayed silent so far spoke up. "And we wouldn't have the strongest military in the world any more. Not when the French and the British are rolling over and showing their bellies to the aliens just so they can get spaceships."

Of course, that made an impression on the politicians in the room. Sam refrained from scoffing - whether or not the USA had the strongest military in the world didn't matter, not when six ships in orbit could easily defeat the entire world's militaries.

"So, we either grant the dykes the right to marry each other and raise children, or we lose everything we have achieved in the last two hundred years."

No one batted an eye at the man's slur, Sam noted. But most nodded in reluctant agreement.

"At least a chunk of my state is in favour of this," one senator said. "According to the polls at least."

"Lucky you. My constituents will murder me for this," another said.

"Aren't they busy murdering your church right now?"

"It wasn't my church! I have attended a few services there, but I hardly knew the minister! And I certainly wasn't aware of his… inclinations!"

Ah! So that scandal was happening in his state. Sam kept a polite expression on her face as the senators complained about having to go along with the government's proposals.

She just wished she could already leave. More such meetings and she might become as bad as the Colonel about politicians.

*****

Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, Earth, September 17th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and we can send la Légion d'Étrangère out at once - it's one of the best units in the world and ready to deploy," the Minister des Armées said. "Though they would need support from other forces - they don't have integral air support."

Catra nodded. "Unlike the US Marine Corps." She had read up on Earth's military history.

The French general frowned. "Of course, how valid air support is on foreign planets remains to be seen. And going up against space ships?" He shrugged. "I assume you have sufficient space forces to take over this, and we can handle everything on the ground, provided our intel about the enemy forces is correct."

"It should be," Adora said. "Teal'c was a highly placed officer, and he didn't know about any armour units in the ranks of the Jaffa."

"Or artillery." Which was a weird deficiency. How could you wage war without armour and artillery? Well, if you had princesses to pick up the slack, you could, Catra amended. "They are said to rely on their bombers for such support. But the core of their ground forces is composed of infantry. And Earth-made weapons are very competitive in that area." She had examined the zats and staff weapons herself. And the American rifles.

The French general nodded. "That is a small consolation. To find ourselves completely outclassed, and many of our best weapons rendered obsolete, was a heavy blow."

"Of course, it helped that every army on Earth was rendered obsolete at the same time," the French Président added with a chuckle. "Our pride might have suffered some blows, but others who used to look down on us suffered relatively worse."

Which meant the US Army, Catra knew. There was, well, she wouldn't call it a feud, but certainly some bad blood there. And the French were supposed to be allies of the Americans. Then again, the USA hadn't exactly been honest with the rest of the world - and also more than a little arrogant, or so it seemed.

"But a few thousand soldiers are not enough to tackle an Empire that spans the galaxy. We'll have to mobilise more, and that will take some time. As will converting our existing weapon designs to incorporate advanced technology," the minister went on.

"Well, the Goa'uld Empire is, as far as we know, fractured. After the death of Ra, his underlings split and started fighting each other. Or at least competing with each other," Glimmer added. "And this is a weakness of theirs."

"Yes," Catra agreed. "If we can keep them divided, we can defeat them piecemeal." What the Horde had almost done to the Alliance. "We have the edge in technology, and we can concentrate our forces as long as we have the initiative. If we use a few flotillas to strike various planets far apart, we can force them to spread out their ships to cover their realms. Of course, that will become harder and harder as we take more planets. So, it's essential that we develop ground-based weapons to protect planets and more ships."

"France will do what she can to help there," the Président said. "Our industry is ready for this challenge. Even the unions agree," he added, which prompted some chuckling from the others with him.

"But we won't be able to win this war on the defensive," Catra went on. "We need to take out their leaders and either conquer or destroy their core industries to cripple their ability to wage war. Most of the planets they control aren't important from a strategic sense - they don't have any infrastructure other than some mines, and they only have as many troops and gear their that they can supply through the Stargate." Which, Catra didn't need Teal'c to tell her that, was great for travelling, but not so great if you had to supply an army through it - much less several armies and bases.

"And we want to avoid pushing them into fighting to the bitter end," Adora added.

Catra kept her mouth closed. It was a sound decision - an enemy who had nothing to lose would fight harder than someone who could surrender - but she didn't think many, if any, of the Goa'uld could be trusted to stick to an agreement if they were even willing to make one in the first place. It would have to entail giving u their slaves, after all.

"As long as we can keep Earth and Etheria safe," the Président said.

"That's the main objective, of course," Glimmer agreed. "Strategically."

"But back to the alliance," the Président said. "We've covered the laws we'll change. Is there anything else left to discuss that needs to be altered?"

"As long as you make an honest effort to enforce the new laws and don't start conquering other countries, I don't think so," Glimmer said.

Adora nodded.

"Then we need to discuss how the command structure will work," Catra said. "Who's in charge of which operations, how discipline is being handled."

"Trade agreements, training, how to keep restricted knowledge safe from spies," Glimmer added.

"With regards to trade, that would have to involve the European Union," the Président replied.

"Well, we won't really see much trade for the foreseeable future, what with the distance between Etheria and Earth," Glimmer said.

And the issues about economic imbalances, Catra added to herself. France had more people than Etheria as a whole. And they were also meeting with the British and Germans. At least all of them were in the same Union which should simplify trade agreements.

Still, she preferred to talk tactics and strategy rather than trade, so she leaned back while Glimmer and Bow started talking about economic details. It looked like they would have their first ally on Earth soon enough.

*****
 
Chapter 34: Alliances Part 2
Chapter 34: Alliances Part 2

Capitol, Washington DC, Earth, September 17th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Jack O'Neill didn't like politicians. No matter their party affiliation, the lot of them were generally more concerned with pandering to their backers - and looking good to their constituents - than doing what was good for the country. At least Hammond was aware of that and had sent Carter to talk to the idiots who still hadn't gotten the message that the times of playing the usual games were over. Or at least suspended for the duration of the current crisis.

But that meant that he was stuck with watching how the cabinet tried to deal with the fact that the French had stolen a march on the United States.

"Look, they haven't signed an alliance yet. That is contingent on legalising gay marriage, and the French haven't done that yet," the Secretary of Agriculture said.

Why the man was voicing his opinion on this, Jack didn't quite understand. Perhaps he had dealt with the French over cheese and champagne exports and thought that had made him an expert?

"They'll pass those laws in a heartbeat. With the alliance all but signed, they won't hesitate," the Secretary of State replied. "The French Président doesn't have to deal with a bunch of religious nutcases who think God is American and they are the chosen people. When did the conservatives actually start believing in their own propaganda?"

The man must be either exhausted or incredibly annoyed, in Jack's opinion - he usually was far more restrained.

"Most don't believe that," the President replied. "But they have grown used to the status quo. And they have been cultivating the religious right for years. They fear that they are riding a tiger and can't get off without getting mauled."

And that was why Jack didn't like politicians. If you were a patriot, you did what was best for your country, no matter the cost for yourself. Soldiers were ready to lay down their lives for America, and those hypocrites in Congress were baulking at the thought of losing their seats?

"A tiger? More like a lemming," the Secretary of Education commented with a snort. "A lemming grown fat on money from bribes and running heedlessly towards the edge of the cliff."

"Now, to be fair, no one could have predicted that we'd make contact with helpful aliens who care about gay rights," the Secretary of Agriculture retorted.

"That doesn't matter. Have you seen what they were doing to America's education, all in the name of their ideology? Intelligent design! Chastity as sexual education! Cutbacks on public education wherever they could! They were ruining America long before we opened that gate!"

Jack refrained from smiling at the rant as the President spoke up. "Now, now - let's not dwell on the past. We have the future to deal with. And we have most of the conservatives in Congress on board. Or we'll have them, once the holdouts realise that they can't do any horse-trading like usual. Not with their own backers breathing down their necks."

"And the true believers?" the Secretary of the Interior asked.

"I think Captain Carter's briefing today helped impress upon them that their views of the situation were not entirely correct," the Chief of Staff replied.

"Must be tough to realise that your god abandoned you." The Secretary of Education snorted again.

The President frowned at her. "Anyway, if we just wanted to pass a federal law, we could do that easily. But as I was told by our experts, that won't be enough for the Etherians." He glanced at Jack, who straightened in response. Daniel had been the one who had explained to the Etherians how the United States worked, including the role of the Supreme Court, but Jack was the leader of SG-1, and so it was his responsibility.

"Why can the French do it, and we need to amend our constitution?" The Secretary of Agriculture pouted.

"Because they have a different system," the Secretary of Education told him. "They don't have a Supreme Court in charge who could change its rulings whenever they chose to."

"The Supreme Court can't just change its rulings."

"Of course they can. They did it before with the death penalty, remember?" The woman scoffed. "And the magical princesses from the space kingdom are all too aware how that works when someone is elected for life without any checks and balances."

"You can't compare the Supreme Court to an absolute monarch!"

"I just did."

"Folks!" the President spoke up again. "There's no point to bicker about the hand we've been dealt. We have to play it. So… assume the French seal the deal in a few days; how long until they start building spaceships?"

Damn. The President was looking at Jack again. And this was a question for Carter, not for him. "They will have to spend months just learning the new technology," Jack repeated what Carter had told him. "And unless they want to copy a Horde frigate, they will have to design a ship as well."

"They'll want their own designs. The French always do," the Secretary of Agriculture claimed.

Jack wasn't so sure. The French had cooperated with other countries in the aerospace industry before. Airbus was the most famous example.

"Well, even if the French get a headstart, it won't matter much as long as we can get an alliance in a few weeks to a few months," the Secretary of State said.

"As long as the Etherians have enough teachers to cover all our needs," the Secretary of Education pointed out. "I don't think they'll stop their first teaching programs just to start with us. They might expect us to work together with everyone else."

Jack wasn't the only one who winced. The United States had trouble getting the Air Force and the Navy to cooperate - all the fault of the Navy pukes who didn't want to admit that space was covered by the Air Force - but to work so closely with the Europeans? The French didn't like America, and the Brits probably hadn't forgotten the whole Skybolt mess. Or the Suez Crisis. Or the Tizard Mission.

Great.

*****​

Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, Earth, September 18th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...the secretary general of NATO confirmed today that the member states have collectively decided that the attack by the Goa'uld constitutes sufficient cause to trigger Article 5. Following this, the individual member states are expected to officially declare war, although to preserve operational security, the Goa'uld Empire will not be formally notified of this, which has several experts on International law express their doubts about the legality of the current and future hostilities…"

"...the police had to intervene to protect anti-war protestors from counter-protestors in Washington DC…"

"...several US embassies were the target of protests claiming that the United States were the aggressor in the conflict with the Goa'uld Empire…"

"...and many are wondering, with NATO invoking Article 5 and France about to sign an Alliance with the Etherians, whether or not a formal alliance with the Etherians is still necessary. We don't know the details of the alliance yet, but if France is fighting as part of NATO and allied to the Etherians, that would forge close ties between the Alliance and NATO, and that…"

"...and has no one looked at the money? How many defence contractors are pressuring their bought and paid for members of Congress to vote in favour of this travesty of justice just so they can profit from the war? Are we really willing to sell our souls for profit? I say: NO! This is a conspiracy to corrupt the heart of America so…"

"That weird conservative channel still hasn't changed," Adora commented as she switched the television in the waiting room off. They were still focusing on the extremists.

"Well, they claim that they are merely showing both sides of the issue equally," Bow told her, looking up from his tablet.

Catra snorted. "Yeah, right."

Adora looked over. Her lover was… you couldn't call it sitting; Catra was sprawled in one of the seats in the waiting room, back arched over the armrest as she looked upside down at the others in the room. "At least they are showing the positive reactions as well, now," Adora said.

"How nice." Catra, obviously, didn't think this was a sign of progress.

"Let's focus on today's meeting," Glimmer said. "The British delegation is supposed to arrive in twenty minutes - unless their flight gets delayed."

"Maybe we should have landed in London," Adora said. "This is close to France but not to England."

"The French Président still had to fly in," Glimmer retorted. "And it would be a snub to France if we went to London for the meeting with the British Prime Minister. And Geneva is one of the seats of the United Nations."

"You just like the sweets here," Catra commented.

Glimmer stuck out her tongue at Catra. She was in a good mood. Everyone was after they had finalised the agreement with the French. Now, if things with the British went well as well, and then with the Germans, they would be ready to start liberating planets. Too bad the United States were still dragging their feet - Jack and the others wouldn't be able to help them until their country adjusted. "Well, let's hope things go well today."

"They should," Glimmer said. "I just wish the people from Earth wouldn't complicate everything so much." She scoffed. "They have the United Nations taking control of the Stargate. And their NATO is now officially at war with the Goa'uld. And we're forming an alliance separate from NATO. How can you wage war like that?"

"Well, if anyone can, you should know how, Commander," Catra told her. "It sounds like the old Princess Alliance."

"We didn't have three partially overlapping alliances," Glimmer retorted. "Planning who gets to use the Stargate will be a nightmare. Not just logistically, but who wants to bet that some nations will attempt to leverage control over the gate into influence over us?"

"I'm not going to take a sucker's bet," Catra declared promptly. "That's Adora's thing."

"It's not!" Adora protested. Just because she had made a few unfortunate bets as a cadet… She pouted at the grinning Catra.

"Let's get serious," Glimmer said. "We don't want the British to think we're not serious."

Adora spoke up before Catra could make a joke about Glimmer's wording. "Isn't it a snub, talking to the prime minister of a queen instead of the queen herself?" She might be a figurehead, but she was the head of state.

"It's not," Catra replied. "The Prime Minister is the actual ruler of the country."

Which was either England, the United Kingdom or Great Britain depending on what you read. A very weird country.

"Anyway, since the head of state is the queen," Glimmer said, "we can expect to meet her when we sign the alliance."

"If we sign an alliance," Catra said. "They didn't get the name 'perfidious Albion' for nothing, I bet."

"That was actually enemy propaganda," Bow countered.

"Like calling the Horde the 'Evil Horde'?" Catra grinned.

"That was just telling the truth!" Glimmer retorted.

"Guys, please!" Bow said. "Let's focus on the meeting."

Catra snorted. "It'll go like the one with the French did. We have something they want very badly, and they are willing to do what is needed to get a deal."

Adora frowned, but she couldn't really counter that argument.

*****​

Pentagon, United States of America, Earth, September 18th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...so, the others are busy meeting the British, but that's politics, so they don't need us for that - Bow knows about our technology, Glimmer is a trained sorceress in case they have questions about magic, and Catra and Adora know everything about our logistics, even though Catra acts as if she wasn't interested, and the French didn't have any questions that would have needed us - so we thought we could take the shuttle and visit you to do some science, but then they told us at the mountain that you were here, so we flew here to meet you, in case you had some free time to discuss this adaption of the anti-gravity generator you mentioned! I hope we aren't disturbing you when you're busy with something important!"

Samantha Carter liked Entrapta. She really did. But sometimes, the princess was a little too impulsive and enthusiastic. And Sam didn't like Hordak.

Then again, Entrapta's arrival had gotten Sam out of another meeting with recalcitrant conservative members of the House of Representatives who just couldn't be bothered to face reality. And she was very sick of having to listen to Bible quotes. So Sam smiled a the beaming princess and nodded at Hordak. "No, just another meeting."

"Ah." Entrapta nodded. "Good! As Catra and Glimmer say - and if they agree on something, you know it's true: If you have time for a meeting, you don't have anything important to do. Unless it's a diplomatic meeting, I think."

Sam suppressed a chuckle; they weren't alone at the landing pad at the Pentagon, and with the current struggle between the Navy and the Air Force over the Space Force, she didn't want to hand the Navy any ammunition. "Well, I'm available to look at your modifications to the generator."

"Great! I've changed the power modulation. And Hordak had a very interesting idea about the main regulator." Entrapta opened the shuttle's back to show her the generator stashed there.

"An obvious modification that any technician should have realised long ago," Hordak commented.

Sam suppressed her annoyed reaction at the implied insult. "The Goa'uld aren't much for encouraging creativity amongst their slaves."

"How very short-sighted of them. Although having been the target of a coup myself, I can understand that they might have thought drastic measures were necessary."

"I don't think Catra was trying to replace you when she sent me to Beast Island," Entrapta said.

"She was working up to it. I merely preempted her attack."

Sam tried to focus on the generator. She was already aware that Hordak, Entrapta and Catra shared a quite convoluted past. She didn't really want to hear the details. Well, she did, but whatever she heard, she was supposed to report to her superiors. And that felt like a breach of trust.

So she cleared her throat. "I see you doubled the crystals here."

"Yes. Added redundancy." Entrapta nodded. "You can blow half the relays and still have full power! But it will need a case that will vent the power of the explosion. And that won't offer the same protection as an armoured case."

"Any external force that penetrates the hull and reaches the generator will likely wreck the vehicle anyway," Hordak retorted. "Unless it's a capital vessel, in which case losing a minor backup generator won't affect its combat performance."

"What about a cellular array?" Sam asked. "Earth tanks use a system to offer both armour protection and a way to vent an internal explosion away from the crew compartment."

"Oh, yes!" Entrapta beamed. "That would work. It would even work for bots - it would keep their decision matrixes intact so they can continue learning after repairs."

"That should enhance their long-term combat performance, yes," Hordak agreed.

"So, how does that work? Oh, blast panels, maybe? Mounted so they resist force from one direction but can easily be pushed away into the other direction?"

Entrapta was a genius, Sam reminded herself. She nodded with a smile. "Yes - it's quite obvious, isn't it?"

Hordak frowned. "Only if you are used to weapons that use explosives as propellant. Energy-based weapons make such construction pointless."

Sam knew a face-saving argument when she heard it and grinned. "You also need internal armour, though. And that will make it heavier."

"Yes. Unless we could… Hm… if we calculate the maximum power a blown crystal array could develop, we would know the minimal amount of armour we need…" Entrapta scrunched her nose while she started tapping buttons on her multi-purpose-device. "That means… Hm… It is related to the amount of power transmitted to the generator, so whatever metals the power lines or blows up the regulator is the upper limit of what could reach the relay crystals, so…"

She was interrupted by a beeping noise.

Hordak frowned. "Someone's trying to enter the shuttle."

"Oh?"

Sam tensed. They were on a landing pad at the Pentagon. Who would be willing to disturb them? If it was the NID… No. They wouldn't want to risk the Etherians' anger. Kinsey had clearly understood that. "It might be important," she said.

"Let's check!" Entrapta was already on the way to the door controls.

Outside, two men in dress shirts and slacks, but without jackets or ties, waited. Both carried laptop cases - and both had multiple pens in their shirt pockets.

Sam could be mistaken, but this style? She was familiar with it.

"Dr Carter? Princess Entrapta? Mr Hordak? We're sorry to disturb you, but when we heard that you had a shuttle here, we couldn't resist. I'm Mark Bower; this is Gerald Cline. We're from NASA, and we'd like to talk to you!"

Sam knew it. And since no one had stopped them from bothering the alien shuttle, the brass approved of whatever they were here for.

Well, Sam was pretty sure she also knew what this was about.

*****​

Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, Earth, September 18th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and in addition to crafting the Marriage Rights Act, we've also adjusted the Human Rights Act. As soon as those receive Royal Assent, same-sex marriage, with all the duties and rights that marriage grants, will be legal in the United Kingdom. All people, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation, will have equal rights with regards to selecting their partner."

The British Prime Minister had been stressing the kingdom part of the United Kingdom Catra had noticed. And the role of the Queen of England. A rather transparent attempt to appeal to the princesses, in her opinion. And like the French, he hadn't mentioned that they had executed one of their kings after a revolution. Not that it mattered - that had happened centuries ago.

"Thank you!" Adora beamed. Catra was tempted to kick her under the table to remind her lover that the Earth politicians were trying to butter them up. Then again, that was Adora for you: always willing to see the best in people. Even when they did their worst to her and her friends, like… She suppressed the urge to shake her head. That was the past; Catra couldn't change it. She could only do better in the future. Like here.

"It's very good to hear that," Glimmer said. "I assume your queen won't hold up the process for ceremonial reasons?"

And now Catra had to hide her grin. Glimmer smiled as politely as before, but the Prime Minister's slight flinch meant the small barb had found its mark. The British might have a queen, but she wasn't their actual ruler.

"I don't foresee any delays on that front," the man replied.

"Good!" Adora glanced at Glimmer for a change, not at Catra, before beaming at the delegation from the United Kingdom. "So, provided the act goes through, let's talk about military and technology!"

*****​

"...and so the Royal Navy would expand to cover space as well. While we work on building our own space vessels, we would like to have our sailors gather experience in space combat on your ships," the British admiral finished.

Now that was a good idea, in Catra's opinion. That would certainly speed up the time until Earth had space assets worth a damn. She knew best how useless most cadets were before they got some experience in the field. "That sounds reasonable," she said.

"Of course, we would also like to purchase spaceships from you once our sailors are ready to crew them," the man went on. "It's very likely that we'll pattern our own production after your ships, after all, so this would make a lot of sense."

That might be going a little too fast, though. Catra didn't trust the British - or any Earth country - yet with their own spaceships.

"That is certainly a good way to train up your forces, but it will take quite some time until your people are proficient with handling and especially maintaining Horde frigates," Adora said.

Time enough to see if they were trustworthy.

"We're aware of that from our own history. But the sooner we start, the sooner we are ready."

"There's also the fact that the way the Horde frigates are run might not suit your navy," Catra pointed out. "Horde Prime had his clones made to perform exactly as he wanted, and that's how they still work in many areas."

"Not big on lower ranks showing any initiative, was he?" the British general asked.

"Not at all," Catra said, frowning. Anyone who stuck out got… brainwashed. Like Hordak. Or herself.

"Then our crews might be an advantage for you as well - we've got a long naval tradition that favours showing initiative," the admiral said. "Of course, sailing the blue sea isn't quite comparable to flying in space, but the basic principles of running a ship tend to remain the same - at least that was the case for us while we went from sailing ships to ironclads to dreadnoughts and to aircraft carriers."

Catra tried not to sneer. She didn't like water. And she didn't remember her time with Horde ships fondly. Well, she had mixed feelings about conquering Salineas, but that wasn't something she liked to dwell on either.

"Well, basically, yes," Adora said with a smile. "At least that was our experience - we fought on sailing ships and in space."

The British soldiers looked surprised at that. "You did?"

"Yes." Adora nodded. "Of course, it wasn't a warship, and it floated above the water until it sank, but, yes, it was propelled by sails and magic."

"The Horde had actual warships," Catra cut in. "Not sailing ships. But yes, there are quite a lot of similarities between those ships and Horde frigates."

"But copying Horde ships might be harder than adapting a few crucial systems to your own technology," Bow pointed out.

"We're aware of that. But we think the priority is now to get ships into space. And working designs tend to have fewer issues to work out than new designs," the admiral said.

"Hopefully fewer delays," the Prime Minister added. "We don't have decades to get the perfect ship. Good enough will have to do."

"Perfection is the enemy of good enough, yes," Bow said.

Catra had a comment about this, Adora and Shadow Weaver, but this wasn't the time or place for it. "So, let's talk about numbers," she said instead.

*****​

Pentagon, United States of America, Earth, September 18th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...so, you see, if we had just one of your ships available for transporting supplies, we could settle Mars and start terraforming it! Unless, of course, our calculations of their minimum cargo capacity are wrong."

Jack O'Neill frowned as he approached the shuttle parked on one of the Pentagon's landing pads. Who was talking inside? As far as he knew, it was just Carter, Entrapta and Hordak in there. Perhaps he should have asked one of the guards outside, but that would have made him look as if he didn't know everything that was going on with the aliens.

Well, he trusted Carter. Absolutely. Even with that damn Russian. But he didn't trust the aliens. Entrapta was too naive and trusting, and Hordak was a former warlord whose 'change of heart' might not be as thorough as some, namely Entrapta, thought. Jack had dealt with warlords in his past.

So he stepped onto the ramp and called out: "Permission to come aboard?" And then had to suppress a wince. That was something a navy puke would say - and space was Air Force turf.

"Jack?" Entrapta replied. "Come in! It's open!"

Not the best policy even with guards outside, Jack thought as he entered the shuttle.

Carter smiled and nodded at him. "Sir."

"Hi, Jack!" Entrapta's greeting was as friendly as Hordak's was curt - the alien merely nodded at him.

"Hello… Oh, you're Colonel O'Neill!"

"Wow! Hello!"

Two men - two nerds - smiled at him. Jack raised his eyebrows. "And you are?"

"Oh, sorry! I'm Mark Bower; this is Gerald Cline. We're from NASA!"

"We heard that a shuttle set down here and decided to use the opportunity to see if we could talk to them - to the aliens," the other added.

"And you just walked up to the shuttle?" If that was true, heads would roll in the Pentagon. Jack would make sure of that.

"We wish!" Bower complained. "We had to go through security checks as if we were terrorists!"

"They even x-rayed us and our laptops! If we'd have sensitive equipment, that would have been damaged!" his colleague added.

Jack nodded. So, someone had greenlighted the 'spontaneous' visit. Probably some general who thought that Entrapta would react favourably to talking to those nerds. Well, it didn't seem as if they had been wrong.

"And they have such interesting ideas!" Entrapta gushed. "I mean, we told people that we would offer travel to space, but with all the other negotiations we had to do, and the security concerns that Catra and Glimmer were talking about, we didn't get anything done yet, but this! This is so much more interesting than some boring trip to space - we'll be settling another planet in this star system and terraforming it! And without magic! Although…" She scrunched her nose. "Magic would speed up terraforming by a lot if we can get Adora to create some space plants on the planet. Or ask Perfuma if she can change plants to survive there."

"As would self-replicating machinery," Hordak added.

"That, too!" Entrapta nodded several times. Then she pouted. "But people here have hangups about self-replicating machines. Even though they could be soooo useful! And we've disproven the grey goo scenario that you mentioned. At least I think so."

Bower and Cline nodded in obvious agreement with her, and even Carter didn't look like she was opposing those plans with much fervour, Jack noted with a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Well," he said, "we've had some bad experiences with nanites." Namely, Jack himself. "Better safe than sorry."

"But we wouldn't use nanites!" Entrapta countered. "Well, not self-replicating nanites - we would use nanites to build micromachinery, of course. But we're talking automated mining machines and factories. And if we can't get Adora or Perfuma, probably rapid-growing plants that will turn the atmosphere breathable. As long as we can get exponential growth going, we'll see Mars turning into another habitable world in our lifetimes!"

"The calculations work out!" Bower added. "All we need is transport capacity."

"And perhaps some way to get a few ice asteroids to Mars," Cline said.

Jack glanced at Carter and, once more, raised his eyebrows.

She blushed a little - which was a very bad sign. "Well, Sir, the concept sounds plausible. And the scientific and engineering challenges do not seem unsurmountable."

"And it's all civilian, non-military, so it shouldn't be a problem for all the political stuff!" Entrapta added, beaming. Then she blinked. "Although I guess that someone would have to decide if Mars would be counted as part of Earth or not, and who gets to rule it." She shrugged. "Well, that's not a science problem."

"But a pretty difficult political problem," Jack said. What if they actually pulled it off, terraformed Mars and settled it, and then the planet decided to declare its independence? Would they throw instant coffee into the Sea of Dunes or something?

"Well, it's a future problem - settlements would be small habitats for science," Bower said. "And while we'd push them to become self-sustaining, they'd still be science outposts, not some… country."

"And by the time there are enough people on Mars to form a country, we'll probably have colonies on other planets thanks to the Stargates, so any political problem will have been solved already." Cline smiled.

Jack frowned. "NASA sent you here to talk about colonising Mars?"

Bower coughed. "Ah, we were supposed to talk about chartering a transport to Mars - which we did - but once we got talking, well…" He smiled. "We quickly realised that we could do so much more!"

Jack grinned. The kid was too naive. With open war looming and the United States gearing up to produce spaceships as soon as the idiots in the Capitol managed to get their act together, the budget for terraforming Mars would be smaller than the budget for the design of the Space Force's unit patch.

"Oh, yes!" Entrapta nodded again. "This will be great! We'll have to do something about the lack of a magnetic field and the loss of the atmosphere, but that doesn't sound impossible to solve. Maybe an energy field to keep the atmosphere in and the solar wind out?"

Although, Jack realised, the Etherians might not quite share his view.

*****​

Earth Orbit, September 18th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and as I said, Jesus Christ never condemned homosexuality; all the quotes people like to cite when they claim he was a homophobe are from the Old Testament."

"Thank you, Reverend, but last I checked, the Old Testament was still part of the Bible - the Word of God?"

"Oh, yes, technically. But a lot of the Old Testament is not part of Christian dogma. Last I checked, the Evangelicals haven't condemned spare ribs or pulled pork, have they? Or veal with cream sauce. Neither did they refrain from mixing fabrics. The Old Testament just isn't as important as what Jesus himself told us. And he never condemned homosexuality."

"But he valued the union between man and woman."

"That does not mean he condemned the union between man and man, or woman and woman. Jesus's message is one of love - not of homophobia. And he certainly didn't mean that whatever he didn't mention was to be condemned - that would hamper a lot of televangelists since Jesus never said anything about television, either."

Adora frowned as Catra changed the channel to some music video. "Why would a god leave such a confusing book? Rules have to be clear; everyone knows that."

"Well, I like unclear rules; it makes breaking the rules without breaking them easier." Catra grinned.

"I bet you would." Adora snorted. Catra had never liked any rules that got in her way. "But at least it sounds better than what the others said."

Catra scoffed and shifted on her seat, twisting until she was watching the screen upside down. "When's Entrapta coming back?"

"The shuttle is on the way from Washington and will reach us shortly," Adora told her after a check with Darla.

"Ah." Catra reached over and changed the channel again.

"...the end times are coming! Rapture awaits us! God is…"

"...the Queen is expected to sign the acts at the first opportunity. A state visit by the Etherians has also been announced to celebrate the upcoming alliance even though several details have not been finalised and…"

"...protests by indigenous people in Brazil continue. They demand that the government contacts the Etherians and formally asks for magic to be returned to Earth. The Brazilian government has not yet commented on…"

"...casualties of the riots are estimated to reach over a hundred, and there is no sign of the riots ending…"

"...a mob demanding that the government in Tehran declare war on the Etherians has been forcefully dispersed, though rumours about elements of the Revolutionary Guards refusing to obey orders continue to circulate…"

"...the Prime Minister, reportedly after consulting with representatives of the zaibatsu, addressed the Diet, stating that Japan's stance towards same-sex marriage has to be re-examined in light of the recent developments in Europe and expressed his hope that access to alien technology will revitalise Japan's economy. At the same time, Article 9 will have to be…"

"...the IDF has been put on alert as the border with Lebanon saw several skirmishes…"

"…Russia's president announced several emergency measures to stabilise the economy, blaming the war with the Goa'uld for the disruption and called on the Etherians to provide support…"

Adora blinked. "How are we supposed to help them?"

Catra shrugged. "I don't know. I'm a soldier, not a princess."

Adora frowned at her lover. "I'm a princess, and I don't know either."

"You don't have a kingdom to rule."

That was true. "We should ask Glimmer." Adora frowned. "But I think she has advisors for that." Glimmer hadn't talked a lot about economics - although she had mentioned the potential trouble if there was unrestricted trade between Earth and Etheria, hadn't she?

"Or Bow. He's got a brother who knows that stuff, doesn't he?"

Right, Count. But Adora had never met him, and he was on Etheria and not available. "Maybe we should… Oh!" She saw the shuttle approach them. "Entrapta and Hordak are coming."

"Good. Let's hope they haven't given the Americans a frigate or two."

Adora frowned at her lover as they left the bridge. Entrapta wasn't like that - and Catra knew it.

"I was joking," Catra said. "Besides, Hordak would never let her do that."

That was true. "Let's meet them and hear what happened in Washington."

"Virginia, actually."

Adora narrowed her eyes at Catra, who grinned. "Since when do you care about geography so much?"

"I read up on where the USA has its army headquarters, of course."

Of course.

But they had reached the hold and were just in time to see the shuttle set down on the deck.

"Adora! Catra! How was the meeting with the British kingdom?" Entrapta asked as she walked down the ramp, followed by Hordak.

"We only need to hash out a few more details and we have a second alliance ready to be signed," Catra replied. "They really want our tech."

"Everyone wants it!" Entrapta nodded. "Oh! We talked with NASA about terraforming - that means turning a planet into a second Earth or Etheria - the fourth and second planets of this system! It's so fascinating - they made plans without having the technology for it, but now that we're here, we should have the technology!"

"Ah." Adora smiled. "That's nice. How long would that take?"

"Oh, years and years! But it's fascinating - and if it works here, we could, maybe, restore some of the planets Horde Prime destroyed."

That had Melog, who had been dozing in the corner, perk up. Catra cocked her head to the side. "Melog would be interested in that."

"I'm sure they would!" Entrapta grinned.

"I thought we'd restore their planets once I found out how to do it," Adora said.

"Yeah, that was the plan, but if we can do it without magic, then everyone can do it!" Entrapta beamed. "It'll take longer, but it'll be so much more useful!"

"Right." Adora wasn't quite sure what to think about that. It felt… well, weird, not to be needed.

"Oh! Mark and Gerald - they're from NASA - also told us about the smartest man on Earth! Stephen Hawkins! He's dying from an illness. Can you help him? I think you could, couldn't you?"

Adora blinked. That was…

"People are dying all the time," Catra told her with a frown. "You can't heal everyone, and if you start, you won't be able to stop. I know you."

"Yes. But this is an exception. He's the smartest man on Earth!" Entrapta said.

"He should be useful for the war," Hordak added. "And he is British, not American."

Did that mean healing him fell under rendering critical assistance?

*****​

Pentagon, United States of America, Earth, September 18th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"So. Not only might we have inspired our alien mad scientist princess to create a green goo swarm and unleash it in our solar system, but we might also have asked them to reveal the full extent of their magic healing power to Earth by curing Hawkings. Not bad for an afternoon's worth of work. What's for tomorrow? Ask them to send missionaries of the Church of Adora to Earth?"

The Colonel's sarcasm was biting, but he wasn't entirely wrong; Samantha Carter knew it. But he wasn't entirely correct, either. "Sir, that was the result of NASA engineers meeting Entrapta. We couldn't exactly shoot them, and if we had ordered them to stay silent, this might have led to a diplomatic incident that would have undermined our efforts to win the trust of the Etherians." The Colonel had been present for half the meeting, after all.

"Well, we could shoot them now and make it look like an accident. I bet the NID could cover it up," the Colonel joked as he sat down in their temporary office in the Pentagon. Then he sighed. "Wrecking Mars and Venus isn't a big problem - it's not as if there's anything alive on those planets - even though the resources spent on terraforming them will be missing somewhere more important. But telling everyone that Adora can heal every illness with magic? Desperate people will hound her everywhere. And if she refuses to heal them, what will they do?"

"She might not be able to heal Dr Hawkins," Sam retorted. "We've only observed her healing wounds and counteracting poison." When Adora had saved the Colonel's life.

He raised his eyebrow at her. "You know what her magic did to my body. Do you really think she can't cure whatever Hawkins suffers from?"

"No, Sir." A scientist had to be honest.

"And if that 'side-effect' becomes known, what do you think will happen?" He cocked his head.

Everyone would want it. It wasn't a true rejuvenation, but it was probably coming close. All the microdamage and lingering effects of wounds and broken bones healed? "They would be swamped with offers and demands."

"Yes. Every rich old bastard will want to be 'healed'. But what will the Etherians do?"

Sam pressed her lips together. That was the question. "I think Adora will have a hard time refusing to heal dying patients." Especially if they were children.

"Yes. But she can't heal everyone. And her friends won't let her sacrifice herself like that," the Colonel said. "And we need her for the war." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "We need to talk to them about this. In secret."

Sam nodded. "I'm sure we can arrange something, Sir." It shouldn't be hard - it was obvious that this had to be addressed.

"Without telling anyone."

She blinked. Did he mean that not even their superiors would be informed?

"We need to talk to the Etherians before this spreads." He looked around. "And if we tell anyone, it will spread."

"The two engineers from NASA will not keep silent about this," Sam pointed out. Not even if they asked or ordered them to stay silent - she knew the type.

"They'll focus on the terraforming and colonisation parts. They'll say they asked the Etherians to heal Hawkins, but they don't know what the Etherians can do. And Entrapta only said she thought they could help." He shook his head. "We can contain this, at least to some degree, if we act quickly."

"Do you want to arrange a clandestine meeting?" That wouldn't be too easy - anything related to the aliens was under close scrutiny by everyone - but if Sam called Entrapta, asked to do some experiments in space…

"Yes." He suddenly grinned. "Let's invite them to a movie night. Teal'c is dying to watch Star Wars with them."

That was… well, that might actually work. She slowly nodded.

And the Colonel smiled widely at her. "You know what? Let's make it a barbecue!"

*****​
 
Chapter 35: The Movie Night
Chapter 35: The Movie Night

Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 19th, 1998

"I had expected something larger," Catra said after they had arrived at O'Neill's house. "This doesn't look like much." His car didn't have a minibar; another disappointment, but she had complained about that on the way already. She got out and stretched.

"Catra!" Adora hissed as she joined her.

"What? It's true! I expected something more impressive than a wooden hut." Catra sniffed.

"It's not a wooden hut!" Adora protested. "It's a… nice, little wooden house." She cocked her head and bit her lower lip. Anyone could tell that she was lying.

"It might not be much for a princess, but it's quite a nice house for Earth," O'Neill said. His smile showed a few too many teeth to be genuine, so Catra counted that as a win. Make her hide her tail, wear a stupid cap that squished her ears, would they?

"I still don't know why we can't just shoot anyone if they bother us," she muttered as the man opened the door to his house and ushered them inside. The interior looked as she expected from the shows she had seen. Which meant it wasn't impressive either.

"It's illegal," O'Neill told her as he closed the door. "I asked. Unless you're in Texas."

"We should hold this in Texas, then," Catra told him as she pulled the stupid cap off.

"Catra!" Adora hissed again.

"What? Do you know how uncomfortable this is?" Catra scowled at her, then pulled her tail out of her pants. "And if this fooled anyone, your spies are useless."

"It's not meant to fool spies," O'Neill told her. "It's meant to keep journalists from finding out about us."

"Can't we shoot them at least?" Catra said.

"Freedom of the press is a fundamental right in the United States."

Ah, Daniel was already here. As was Teal'c. Catra glared at the latter - the 'hat plan' was probably his fault.

Not that the big man was fazed. He nodded at her and Adora. "Greetings. I am very happy that you will be finally enjoying one of the finest pieces of Tau'ri storytelling."

"I'm sure George Lucas would be happy to hear this." O'Neill grinned. Before he could say anything else, the doorbell rang. "It's open!"

That would be Carter with Glimmer, Bow, Entrapta and Hordak. Catra couldn't help laughing when she saw how they had 'disguised' Hordak - he was wearing a long coat with a high collar and a hat that hid everything else of his head. How he could see where he was going was anyone's guess.

"Oh! Nice!" Entrapta looked around and beamed. "Is this a mobile house? Easy to disassemble, lightweight construction - do you fold it down for transport, or do you take it apart and then reconstruct it at the new location?"

"It's not a mobile home. It's a solid, perfectly fine American house," O'Neill replied.

"Really? All the other buildings we saw were much more solidly built." Entrapta cocked her head.

"It's a solid American house," O'Neill repeated himself.

"I think my claws would cut straight through it," Catra said as she nosed around in the kitchen. "Do you have anything to drink?"

"Catra!"

"Beer and drinks are in the fridge."

Oh! The fridge was stuffed with meat, a bowl of some vegetable dish and drinks! Catra grabbed a beer and threw it to Adora, then grabbed one for herself.

"Adora, don't open it!" she heard Daniel yell.

"What? Why?"

"If you open it, it'll spray beer all over you."

"You just have to be careful," Catra told them as she flicked her bottle's cap off with her claws.

Adora scowled at her, then tried to open her bottle very carefully. She almost managed it but still needed a towel.

"Next time, aim the bottle at Catra," Glimmer commented.

"And spill beer all over Jack's house? I guess you never learned how to be a good guest," Catra shot back.

"Oh!" Glimmer scowled as she grabbed a beer as well.

"I think I could build a safe beer opener," Entrapta offered. "Do you have a workshop? And some spare engines?"

"Why don't we move to the garden?" O'Neill told her. "The grill should be ready by now, and the grass won't mind if you spill some beer, or coke, or anything else. And it's hidden from view."

"Alright!" Adora stood and headed out.

Catra finished her beer, then followed her and the others.

"You use… open fire to cook?" Hordak stared at the grill. "Is this some archaic ritual of hospitality?"

"Technically, it's not open fire - it's glowing coal," Entrapta told him. "But it was a fire first."

"How inefficient. And how do you control the temperature?"

"With great experience." O'Neill smiled rather toothily at Hordak. "And yes, it's a tradition in the United States."

"Well, there are some people who prefer electric grills," Daniel said. "Or gas."

"We don't speak about such blasphemy in this house." O'Neill frowned at him. "Without coal, it's not a barbecue."

"I think many would disagree about that, Jack. Gas grills are popular, and…"

Catra snickered as the two quarrelled, with Hordak giving his unwanted opinion every second sentence and Entrapta studying the grill. Maybe this would be more entertaining than she had expected.

*****​

The nerve of some people! Gas grills! Electro grills! Jack O'Neill shook his head as he checked the heat on the grill - glowing coals, just as it was intended, thank you very much.
"I would have expected better of you, Daniel," he said, sighing as he took a step back. Time to grab the meat.

"What?" Daniel stared at him.

"I would have thought that you especially would be more respectful of my culture. Gas? Electro? Those are fighting words!"

"But…"

"So it is an archaic ritual of hospitality." And the alien warlord had to comment with a nod. "That explains the stubborn refusal to change to more advanced heating techniques."

Jack clenched his teeth as he stepped into his - perfectly solid and fine - house. He found Catra raiding his fridge for another beer. That was her… third? Jack hadn't kept count.

She grinned as she opened it. "So, grill's finally ready?"

"Yes." He started grabbing the first course.

"About time."

"A barbecue cannot be rushed," he told her.

She shrugged. "I'm sure Entrapta would manage to do it if we asked her to."

Jack shook his head. "The waiting and socialising is a crucial part of it."

"And that's why you had the fire prepared before we arrived?"

"One shouldn't wait too long," he said.

Catra made a snorting noise and took another sip from her bottle.

He couldn't help it. "Shouldn't overdo it," he said. "You don't want to become drunk early on." Or at all. He had seen young soldiers indulge too much at the first opportunity, and they generally had had half again her weight.

"I need stronger stuff to get drunk," she said. "Or more of this, but hogging all the beer would be rude."

She didn't offer to help him carry the meat. Jack wasn't quite sure how to feel about that - he would, as host, have refused her help anyway, but usually, people offered at least. Well, he certainly wouldn't comment.

A few minutes later, the meat was on the grill, and Jack joined the rest on the benches and lounge chairs in his garden. Catra was in Adora's lap, trying to fiddle with the blonde's top, while Adora tried to push her hands away without spilling her bottle. Entrapta was talking with Carter and Hordak about stuff that Jack didn't have to fake ignorance of, and Glimmer, Bow and Daniel were talking about history. With Teal'c - at least Jack's friend was nodding once to a comment of Daniel.

Jack almost felt bad for ruining the mood, but it was better to talk now, before everyone was buzzed and digesting large amounts of meat and watching Star Wars. He cleared his throat. "So, the first round should be ready in twenty or so." Plenty of time to discuss magical healing.

"Are you sure we can't use an accelerant to speed the cooking time up?" Entrapta asked. "Or cut the meat into tiny slices, which would cook faster?"

"Let's do it as the people here are used to," Glimmer told her. "They should know best since they have been doing this for a long time."

"Not so long - the country's barely two hundred years old," Bow commented, then grinned at the frown from Glimmer.

"Anyway," Jack raised his voice a little. "I wanted to discuss a thing. A potential problem."

"And you wanted to talk about it where we wouldn't be overheard by your superiors." Catra flashed her fangs in a wide grin. "I knew it! Pay up, Adora!" Well, Jack should have expected that she saw through his little ruse.

"We didn't make a bet! You just said you wanted to bet - I never agreed!"

Having them in a good mood is a good thing, Jack told himself as he cleared his throat again. "Well, yeah, it's a delicate topic. It's about healing. Magical healing. The thing you did to me when you saved my life."

"Oh?" Adora leaned forward, which made her put her chin on Catra's shoulder as the cat woman didn't move out of the way. "Were there complications? Do I need to heal you again?"

"No, no," Jack said. "Everything's fine. More than fine, actually - Dr Fraiser says my body's in peak condition, as good as a twenty-year-old's." Well, for a forty-year-old.

"Ah, good!" Adora beamed.

"Which is a problem," Catra said with a frown.

"What?" Adora gasped.

"A potential problem," Jack corrected her.

"You mean everyone will want to get healed," Glimmer said.

"More or less, yes," Jack said. "We've classified my medical information, so that should keep a lid on it." And he thought Fraiser might have gone the extra mile here. "But even if we manage to keep this detail secret, should you be able to heal Hawking, and I have no doubt that you could, you'll be swamped by the pleas of dying people all over the world. And people with incurable sicknesses." He didn't mention children. That would be counter-productive.

"Well, I can…"

"Six billion people's worth of terminal and incurable cases," Carter added, nodding at Adora.

"Oh." Adora closed her mouth.

"And professional athletes who want to get career-ending injuries healed." Daniel nodded. "Or just the rich and famous who want to skip weeks of rehab."

"You'd never have a minute's rest," Catra summed up.

"Well, I could just stick to the terminal people…" Adora bit her lower lip.

"Over a hundred thousand people die every day," Carter said. "Even if you healed one per second, you wouldn't be able to get them all."

"Oh."

*****​

Over a hundred thousand people died every day! Adora hadn't considered just how many people lived on Earth. No, she couldn't heal so many people.

"Well, it would theoretically be possible if you had the ability to heal multiple people at once, but even then, you would need a way to gather all of them together, and that would require a huge logistical effort… Even with the whole fleet here, I'm not sure that we would manage to collect all of them…" Entrapta said.

"And you'd have to find them, first," Catra cut in.

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded. "Although that could be solved with enough bots, provided we could whip up scanners for the vital signs of people. Perhaps if we had a transport system keyed to such scanners, and…"

"Are you talking about constructing a permanent round the clock surveillance system that monitors every human on Earth?" Sam asked.

Entrapta blinked. "Effectively, yes. If you want to heal everyone who's dying, then that's what you need. And a transport system to match."

"And Adora not doing anything but healing the sick and wounded - not sleeping, not eating, not having fun with her friends, and not protecting anyone from the Goa'uld," Catra said with a scowl.

Adora winced. That sounded horrible. And not practical. But how could she be happy and have fun if people she could save were dying? How could she be so selfish? How could she… "Ow!"

Catra glared at her, her first - which had struck Adora's head - still raised. "Stop thinking stupid thoughts! You can't save everyone - and you can't save anyone if you kill yourself trying to save everyone! Have you forgotten your lessons about combat fatigue?"

"Of course not! If you are fighting, and even more if you are leading soldiers, you need you to be rested, or you'll make mistakes that might lose you the battle," Adora quoted from cadet training lessons.

"Same here, idiot - you can't heal everyone. You'll exhaust yourself long before you put a dent in all the sick and wounded," Catra said.

"Yes." Glimmer nodded with a very firm expression. "You couldn't heal every soldier in the Alliance, either, remember?"

"Well, no, but I was less experienced, and... OW!" Adora glared at Catra.

"I said no thinking stupid thoughts." Catra sniffed. "Besides, we need you in the war, not stuck on Earth exhausting yourself healing people who will be killed by the Goa'uld if we lose the war without you."

Adora opened her mouth to protest, but Bow cut her off: "Yes, Adora. You can't heal everyone, and you can do so much more. Besides, we can save more people if we teach them how to heal others. And improve their medical technology."

"As long as you don't turn the sick into zombies," Jack said. "I don't think that would go over well."

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded. "Proliferating healing technology should have a greater impact than Adora healing people - technology that anyone can use is always more effective than the efforts of single people, except for extraordinary circumstances."

"And Earth magic should help as well," Glimmer added. "Although teaching them decent healing spells would take years."

"You would know, Miss Sparkly Staff Swinger," Catra commented.

Adora pinched her. It wasn't Glimmer's fault that she hadn't had the time to learn many spells.

"Ow!" But Catra was smiling at Adora.

"Anyway, yes, you can't heal everyone," Jack said.

"But that doesn't mean I can't heal anyone," Adora protested.

"Dummy!" Catra frowned at her. "Didn't you listen? If the people on Earth know that you can heal, they'll mob you! They'll beg and plead and bribe you to heal them or their loved ones. And you'll have to tell them all no."

That sounded… Adora clenched her teeth. "But I can't just do nothing!"

"You have to," Jack told her. "Unless you want to be worshipped as a goddess on Earth."

"What?"

"Healing the sick? That's pretty much part and parcel of the gods," Jack explained.

"But…" Adora trailed off and sighed, wrapping her arms around Catra. "I don't want to let people die. And Hawking…"

"Well, we could disguise the source of limited healing as 'experimental technology'," Sam suggested. "But that would have to be very limited."

"Only those people whose continued existence would serve the war effort," Hordak said. "This Hawking sounds like he could be useful."

Adora glared at him. People shouldn't get healed just because they were useful!

But Glimmer was nodding - and Bow was as well!

"That would work," Glimmer said. "But not forever."

"Well, we won't stay on Earth forever," Bow pointed out. "Once we're back in space or on other planets, the problem, well, won't go away but won't be urgent."

"Adora can't be an idiot and kill herself healing others if there aren't too many people to be healed," Catra said.

"I'm not an idiot!"

"Yes, you are." Catra grinned. "My idiot," she added in a whisper.

Adora sighed, half-smiling against her will. Her friends wanted the best for her, and their arguments made sense, but… She hated letting people suffer when she could help. And when she couldn't help. And yet… "Alright," she mumbled.

"Finally!"

Catra didn't have to sound so smug, Adora thought with a pout.

"And the first round of steak is done. Who wants one?" Jack announced.

"Me!" Catra wriggled out of Adora's embrace before she could react. "Talking sense into Adora is hungry work!"

"Hey!"

*****​

Samantha Carter had seen Star Wars before. Several times. She might not remember the whole movie verbatim, but she knew the plot very well, so she hadn't expected to be entertained by watching it again.

But watching it with the Etherians wasn't the same as watching it with the team.

"Oh! Bots! And look, a tiny bot! We need to build tiny bots!"

"They're droids."

"Thank you, Teal'c."

"Blond, naive and has a magic sword? Hm… that sounds familiar!"

"I wasn't a farmer. I was a cadet!"

"But… they're torturing her!"

"And that is why you don't talk if you're going to kill someone."

"Speaking from experience?"

"Their magic is lame."

"Is this how Earth's magic works?"

"That would still be lame."

"They blew up the planet? Even after she told them what they wanted to know? They're worse than Horde Prime!"

"We already knew that they're evil, Adora."

"But not how evil!"

"For supposed elite marksmen, those soldiers miss their targets far too often. At that distance, the two smugglers should be dead."

"Perhaps that was their Kyle squad? Kyle platoon?"

"How could they just fly away in their ship? If I were in charge, the entire guard shift on the Death Star would be court-martialed!"

"Catra! That's exactly what we did when we saved you from Horde Prime's flagship. Ask Adora if you don't believe me."

"Ah, it was a trap! And they fell for it!"

"That happens when you don't have sufficient ECM. This wouldn't work with Darla - I made sure of that. Unless we encounter an enemy with better technology than we have and better magic, we won't be tracked like that."

"But I think this tactic might be useful when fighting the Goa'uld. Although arranging a convincing escape might be difficult without sacrificing a few soldiers."

"Hordak! We don't do that kind of thing!"

"I am aware. That is why I said it would be difficult."

"Why doesn't he get out and throw the blaster bolts back at the enemy with his sword?"

"Luke can't jump through vacuum and cut ships apart, dummy!"

"He should be able to if he had a good spacesuit. I could build one with a jetpack!"

"They're letting Luke fly a fighter without having any experience? He'll crash it into the jungle!"

"He won't. He's a hero."

"That doesn't mean he can fly the thing. Remember how you crashed the skiff?"

"I didn't crash it - you crashed it!"

"No, you!"

"That's not how space combat works! Ships don't fly that way! Although if we take the gravity caused by the Death Star's mass into account… no, still doesn't work!"

"It's a movie, folks."

"The flight characteristics of the X-Wings fighters, Y-Wing fighters and TIE-Fighters were modelled after Tau'ri atmospheric craft used in their greatest war, more than fifty years ago. It was a deliberate aesthetic choice."

"Thank you, Teal'c."

"I told you Han would be back! He's a hero!"

"You didn't! You were all mopey, Adora!"

"Luke is the hero. Han is a scoundrel. No wonder Adora likes him."

"What do you mean, Glimmer?"

"Do I have to spell it out, Adora?"

"Hey! I wasn't a smuggler - I was a soldier!"

"So was Han Solo. He was dishonourably discharged after he helped Chewbacca."

"Thank you, Teal'c."

"Look at those torpedoes! They are super-agile - we need that as well!"

"They would need inertial compensators to be able to pull such manoeuvres. That would reduce their payload."

"We could make them bigger to compensate."

"Yes! There goes the Death Star!"

"I would court-martial the designer. And everyone involved in its construction. How could you build something with such an obvious weak spot?"

"Well, if this was the first Death Star they built, it was kind of a prototype, and such mistakes are expected. I had a lot of prototypes when I built bots."

"Why didn't Chewbacca get a medal?"

"The Princess was too small to put it on him."

"Catra!"

"She could have used a droid for that. I would have used my hair - and I think her hair would be long enough if it were magical."

Indeed, Sam thought as the credits appeared on the screen, this was a very entertaining experience.

The Colonel clapped his hands. "So, what do you think?"

Catra shrugged. "Not bad."

"Not bad?" Glimmer scoffed. "You were glued to the screen! You almost tore my head off when I talked in that scene!"

"So?"

"You loved it, didn't you?" Glimmer smirked.

Catra glared at her.

Adora coughed. "Well, it was a little… strong, in places."

Sam clenched her teeth. The Etherians had lived through similar situations - and the science fiction setting with fantasy elements including a princess would only make it look more, not less realistic. Her team hadn't thought about that.

"I found it very inspiring," Entrapta said with a smile.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "A few brave warriors fighting an evil Empire and winning against the odds - anyone would be inspired by this tale."

"I was more inspired by the technology!" Entrapta corrected him. "I've got so many new ideas!"

"Dibs on a lightsaber," Catra said.

"You want a sword?" Adora asked with a surprised expression.

"No, a lightsaber."

"Well, it should be possible, theoretically. But the power requirements would limit its use. Or make it too heavy to be used easily. And probably make it explode if it gets hit. Still… I think I could build one."

"Really?"

Sam blinked. How many had just said that?

*****​

"Lightsabers are just laser swords. Sea Hawk has one."

Catra scoffed at Glimmer's claim. "That's not the same. Sea Hawk has a sword with a blade that can glow. But that's not a blade made out of energy. Or do you see Luke polishing his blade like Sea Hawk does?"

All her friends gave her a strange look. Catra rolled her eyes. "Not that."

Adora blushed in that cute. flustered way of hers. "Sorry…"

"You are correct," Entrapta said. "Sea Hawk's sword isn't a lightsaber. Although I think it could be upgraded to offer similar functionality - though with some of the same issues as a lightsaber would have. The power demands would be much greater, which would cause some of the same issues, although you wouldn't need the same focusing and limiting mechanism. If you use the blade as a medium, you don't need an energy field to contain the plasma."

"So, it would still explode if it were hit?"

"Yes," Entrapta said. "The energy density of the power supply would just be too high to avoid that - unless you only want to use it for a few minutes."

"That wouldn't be enough for a battle," Catra said.

"Why would you need a lightsaber, anyway?" Daniel asked. "You have a magic sword. Or claws that can cut through armour."

"It is an elegant weapon of a more civilised age," Teal'c said. "I would like to use such a weapon in battle."

"But that wouldn't leverage your advantages in strength and mass," Glimmer pointed out.

"When facing other Jaffa, I may not have such advantages," Teal'c retorted.

"And it's a cool weapon!" Bow gushed. "I wonder if I could make lightarrows."

"Oh! They wouldn't have to be active for long - and exploding if containment is breached would be a bonus!" Entrapta said.

"But in order to get a significant blast out of a power cell, you'd have to make the arrow rather heavy," Hordak said.

"Unless we used anti-gravity generators."

"Are you planning to use a trebuchet to shoot the bolt?" Catra pointed out.

"No!" Bow said.

"That would be… no?" Entrapta looked disappointed.

"You know, the cultural impact of Star Wars is much greater than the inspirations for weapons. Or it should be," Daniel commented with a frown. "The themes of the movie resonated with a lot of people who would have dismissed a mere science fiction movie. Some consider it a fairy tale set in space. You know, with princesses, knights, dark lords…" He trailed off, looking a little sheepish. "I mean, for Earth, before we made contact with you, it was a fairy tale."

"Way to go, Daniel," O'Neill muttered under his breath, and the man blushed a little.

Catra cleared her throat. She had no intention to go over all the 'themes' - the Evil Empire already made her remember things she didn't like to think about. Like her life in the Horde. "So, how about we watch the next movie?"

"Right."

Good. Catra smiled and settled down on the carpet, leaning against Adora's legs, as Teal'c swapped the cassette for another.

"The next movie is widely seen as the best of the trilogy," Daniel commented.

Well, Catra thought, that remains to be seen.

"What a cute bot! Oh, no - they shot it!"

"This is a very effective strategy for automated interstellar recon. If we flood the enemy's system with stealth bots, the intel this would produce… the technological challenges would be easily met if we manage to miniaturise the FTL communication array…"

"Oh, no! The poor tauntan!"

"It's just a dumb animal. It's not as if he cut open Swift Wind, Adora."

"But it's so cruel! It carried him through the storm, to Luke, did its best, and now he kills it?"

"It would have died anyway."

"He just choked the man to death?"

Catra resisted the urge to reach for her own throat as she remembered almost suffocating when Hordak punished her.

"That's a very drastic way to deal with failure. Although I can understand the feeling."

"Hordak!"

Catra didn't look at him as Adora protested. She had gotten him back, anyway. Beat him. Not that it mattered in the end.

"Did you never want to kill a subordinate that made such a huge blunder in the Alliance?"

"Of course not! Right, Glimmer?"

"Shh. The invasion starts."

"Glimmer?"

"Shh!"

"Imperial walkers? Oh!"

"Don't tell me you're planning to build those!"

"What? No. Too unstable. And too slow. But they look nice! Perhaps we could build them as tiny bots?"

"Well, that was to be expected. If you have lower numbers and lower firepower, don't get into static battles." Catra scoffed.

"They had to gain time for the others to evacuate!"

"Should have had a better plan. Like buried explosives. Or decent artillery. They didn't even have good fixed defences. Hell, if they were about to sacrifice the troops anyway, strap them in those speeders, fill it up with a bomb and ram the walkers."

"Catra!"

"What?" The tactics shown weren't good. Anyone could see that.

"That's a very, very dense asteroid field. It must have been very recently formed, or it would have spread out - the Empire must have blown up a planet in the system! They have another Death Star!"

"I think they would need space suits for this, not just breathers. Unless this cave has an atmosphere somehow. Magic?"

"That's a huge monster. A really huge monster."

"I could take it. I think."

"You're She-Ra."

"Well, a sufficiently big bomb would kill the monster - especially if it swallows it without digesting it."

"Ew. Look at that swamp! Can you imagine the smell of it?"

"Yes, Glimmer."

"Oh, no, R2-D2!"

"That is Yoda?"

"It might just be a spy for the real Yoda. Like Hordak's spy."

"He reminds me of Madame Razz."

"Ugh, you're right, Adora."

"Vader? Here?"

"Yes! Off with his head!"

"Bah! That was just a dream!"

"I don't trust that guy."

"You don't trust anyone."

"He's too… see? He's a traitor!"

"Oh, no! How could they do this?"

"See? She loves him, not Luke! The scoundrel wins!"

"That doesn't look like winning, Catra."

"Well, it seems a rather ineffective alternative to stasis pods. Although the energy demands over time might be low enough to make it a better long-term storage method."

"We're not going to freeze people, Entrapta!"

"See? He wasn't a traitor!"

"He was a double traitor!" Like Double Trouble.

"You tell him, Luke! You…"

"..."

"Impossible! He can' be Luke's father!"

"Why would he cut off his son's hand? It must be a lie!"

"Why would he lie about this? And why would he make up such a lie?"

"I don't believe that Obi-Wan lied to Luke!"

Well, Catra could believe that. Very well. She glanced at Adora, who had a grim expression as well. Both knew about lying… people who raised you. Hordak looked grim as well - he would, of course.

And that was supposed to be the best movie of the trilogy? Who wanted to watch the heroes lose?

*****​

"Well, now we absolutely have to watch the next movie!"

Jack O'Neill agreed with Adora's outburst. Not because he wanted to watch the movie - Teal'c was already moving - but he didn't want the Ethrians to dwell on the downer ending for too long. It was obvious that the movie hit quite a few of their buttons. The way Catra had almost touched her own throat when that Imperial Captain had been strangled, and the reaction to Darth Vader's revelation… Well, Jack had already known that they had some issues with betrayals. And he could definitely tell that 'need to know' would have to be carefully managed should they form an alliance with the United States - they wouldn't accept being kept out of the loop. Fortunately, they were all leading members of the Princess Alliance, so they should have the necessary clearances.

"Yes, I concur," Teal'c said. "While many consider 'The Empire Strikes Back' the best Star Wars movie, it does not have a happy ending. Although this follows the classic structure of a tale - the second act is often focused on challenges and problems before the third act offers the solution."

Teal'c's English lessons obviously had covered literature in more depth than Jack had expected.

"Way to spoil the ending!" Catra complained with a scowl. Although it looked a little fake to Jack. And Adora was clearly relieved there would be a happy ending. Same for Bow and Glimmer.

Well, they were all kids. Except for Hordak, and Jack didn't care about him, and Entrapta, who often acted like a kid. A kid who could nuke a country or planet if an experiment went wrong.

He opened another beer while the opening began.

"See! They have a second Death Star! That's where the asteroid field came from!"

"No, this is a different system."

"The Emperor is even eviler than Darth Vader?"

"Of course he is! Darth Vader would have killed him otherwise!"

"All that sand can't be good for the poor bots!"

"They are called droids in Star Wars."

"The sand is still not good for them. I hope they have enough lubricants."

"He just gave them to that… slug? Without even telling them? But… how could he be so cruel!"

"Well, did you see his clothes? He went all dark. Pretty sure he joined his father."

"Catra! They wouldn't have skipped that! And Luke wouldn't do that!"

"They could use a flashback to show it! And he just handed over the bots to Jabba!"

"I'm sure he has a good reason for it!"

"Dream on, Adora!"

"Shh!"

"Sorry!"

"Shh!"

"It… ate her. They fed the girl to a monster!"

"They shouldn't be trying to make a bargain with the slug! Just kill the real monster!"

"Oh, no! They captured Chewbacca!"

"That bounty hunter is crazy!"

"Or he's bluffing. But whether he was bluffing or crazy, it worked!"

"Oh! It's Leia! She went in to save her love!"

"Did you expect her to wait until Luke the Dark bought him?"

"Oh, no!"

"How dumb was that? Didn't she have anyone to watch her back? She makes Alliance missions look good!"

"Hey!"

"You know it's true!"

"Well, you did forget me once…"

"Those were special circumstances."

"Oh no! Poor Leia!"

"Well, that's a better costume than her armour."

"Catra!"

"Don't tell me it's not hot!"

"Slave Princess Leia is one of the most iconic visuals of the trilogy. Many fans love it and don similar costumes for events. It is also said to feature heavily in many teenage fantasies."

"Thank you, Teal'c."

"We should buy a set for Adora. I bet she'd look great in it!"

"Catra!"

"What? You would!"

"Oh, no - Luke is getting eaten by the monster!"

"Big loss."

"Oh no… that poor monster. Look at the man crying!"

"The monster ate the other girl."

"But it didn't know better. It's all the fault of Jabba!"

"Yes! And he tortures bots!"

"Robots are called droids in Star Wars."

"Oh! This must be magic - you wouldn't survive for a thousand years in its belly otherwise!"

"Why didn't anyone just drop a bomb down its maw?"

"So they won't kill the victims, duh!"

"Can they get them out?"

"They… Yes! Lightsaber time!"

"And there's the double traitor - is that triple traitor now?"

"And down goes the bounty hunter! Bon appetit!"

"Hah! Die, Jabba, die!"

"Killed by his own foolishness. He should have known better than handing his slaves such a handy weapon."

"Or he should have had better guards. I would have killed all of them myself for letting him out of their sights."

"Oh, the Emperor is small."

"And not wearing armour. That is foolish."

"He's got thousands of guards."

"They could easily betray him. Personal armour is of crucial importance."

"You would say that, of course."

"Darth Vader is his father!"

"How could they have lied to him?"

"They didn't tell him about his sister?"

"They separated them?"

"How cruel!"

"Those are supposed to be the good guys?"

"Leia is his sister? What?"

"Ew!"

"No wonder she loves Han."

"Ew."

Jack swallowed a comment. Yes, the Etherians didn't deal well with deceptions and betrayals.

"Han volunteered? Must still have brain damage from the freezer."

"He's a hero!"

"He should know better than trusting those kinds of plans."

"We need such bikes!"

"Catra! You just saw how dangerous they are!"

"Doesn't matter. We need such bikes. For… scouting or something."

"Bow! Not you too!"

"Cannibal furballs? Why doesn't Luke kill the monsters?"

"But they look cute!"

"And want to grill Han alive."

"Well…"

"What's Luke doing? He's acting like Adora!"

"Hey!"

"Well… he is?"

"Bow!"

"It's a trap! It's a trap!"

"Indeed."

"Those stormtroopers are garbage! Getting beaten by a few furballs with sticks and stones? Even Kyle would have done better than that!"

"Definitely."

Jack really needed to meet this Kyle.

"And the shield is gone! Bye-bye Death Star!"

"Luke's still on it!"

"Luke chose to head there."

"Hah! Die, Emperor, die!"

"A fitting end for him."

"Adora?"

"Uh, yes, a fitting end."

"That reminds me of…"

"We know, Entrapta."

"Oh, no… Darth Vader is dying?"

"Come on, heal him - use the force, Luke!"

"He can't heal him? Didn't they teach him anything?"

"And there is no spare armour. That's not good planning."

"Well… that's a happy ending, I guess."

"Darth Vader looks harmless without his armour."

"Indeed. He has become a force ghost."

"Ah."

The Etherians were rather subdued after the end credits started to roll, Jack noticed. Perhaps they should have picked another movie for this occasion.

*****​

"So… I guess that was a happy ending," Adora said. All but Vader lived, but…

"You guess?" Catra raised her eyebrows, and her ears perked as she grinned at Adora.

"Well… It's commonly seen as a classic happy ending," Daniel said.

He had been unusually silent during the movies, Adora realised. He hadn't said even nearly as much as Teal'c. Was he not feeling well or something? Should she offer to heal him? Or was this some cultural taboo that she and her friends had just broken? Sam and Jack hadn't said much, either. And all three looked… concerned. Even tense. "Uh… should we have stayed silent during the movie?" she asked.

"What?" Now Daniel looked confused.

"Did we break a rule?" Adora explained.

"I think I remember something about shutting up in the theatre," Catra said. "But that's boring."

"Ah… technically, this isn't a theatre," Daniel said.

So, they should have stayed silent. "Sorry." Adora sighed.

"No, no - this is a private viewing!" Daniel quickly told her. "Reacting to the movie is perfectly acceptable. Especially amongst friends." He nodded several times.

"Ah."

"And you can observe our reactions better if we don't stay silent." Catra snorted and grinned, but there was an edge to her comment.

Daniel blushed a little. "Well, uh, I couldn't not observe your reactions."

They had been a little loud, hadn't they? Adora felt her cheeks heat up. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry - this isn't a theatre full of hardcore fans," Jack said.

"Indeed." Teal'c nodded. "There is nothing wrong with expressing your passion when watching Star Wars."

"In private," Jack added.

They hadn't denied that they had observed their reactions.

"Anyway," Daniel went on, "the ending does match all the criteria for a classic happy ending. The protagonists survived, the hero and the heroine got together, evil was vanquished and justice and peace restored."

"Luke didn't get the girl, though," Catra said, grinning. "Then again, that would've been awkward."

"Catra!" Adora pouted at her lover.

"You're just annoyed that Luke wasn't the hero of the story."

"He so was!" Adora retorted.

"Arguably, Luke's the protagonist - we see his journey from farm boy to Jedi Knight," Daniel said. "A classic hero's journey."

"He is the hero destined to overthrow the evil empire and redeem his father," Teal'c commented.

"He's boring. Han's exciting. And sexy. Ask Leia." Catra was just trying to rile her up, Adora knew it. Then again, the movies had had scenes that cut a bit too close.

She glanced at Hordak and Entrapta. Hordak must have realised the parallels between Darth Vader and himself, down to the armour keeping them alive. But unlike Hordak, Darth Vader hadn't survived. And Entrapta couldn't have missed that, either. The two were huddled together, too, staring at…

…Entrapta's device? And discussing something?

"They're talking about new bots," Catra whispered as she slid into Adora's lap.

"Oh." Still, the movie had affected them. As it had Adora. Luke… there was just something to his 'journey'. Finding the sword of his father, facing the evil Darth Vader, trying to learn how to use his powers… Adora knew how that felt like. Being lied to by your mentor - she also knew exactly how that felt. And losing your… well, Shadow Weaver wasn't Darth Vader, but she had died in a similar way. Was Luke as conflicted about his father's death? Was he relieved as well, partially at least? And as ashamed to feel that way?

Of course, it could have been worse. Much worse. Shadow Weaver had been… Shadow Weaver. Adora remembered how she had felt on Horde Prime's flagship, holding Catra's lifeless body after that fall, thinking she had lost everything.

She wrapped an arm around Catra's waist and pulled her closer. She wouldn't lose her. She'd die before she would let that happen. Again.

"So, that's your favourite movie, Teal'c?" Bow asked,

"No, he hates it and just… Hey!" Catra started to say, but Adora interrupted her by bending forward and nuzzling her ear.

"Let it go," she whispered.

Catra wriggled in her lap in response and pouted but didn't needle Bow.

"It is an epic tale of heroism and triumph against evil," Teal'c said. "A corrupt Empire built on lies brought down by bravery and cunning. What better inspiration could you seek for our own struggle against the Goa'uld?"

"Well, I hope we won't have to cut it as close as the rebels did," Glimmer said. "And with a better plan."

"And more firepower," Catra added.

And without losing any of my friends, Adora thought.

"Well, the situation for us is different," Sam said. "We - if we combine our forces - have technological superiority and better doctrines for both space and ground fighting. And the Goa'uld are far less united than the Empire."

"Because we killed Ra a few years ago." Jack grinned. "They're busy stabbing each other in the back to see who gets the throne. But that window of opportunity won't last forever."

"Which is why we will strike as soon as possible," Glimmer said, nodding. "Once we solidify alliances and gather enough ground troops, we can go on the offensive."

Uh.oh. Adora knew where this was headed - and she didn't want to talk about politics or war. Not now. "So, did they make more movies?" she asked Teal'c. Catra snorted, but Adora didn't care that her attempt to change the subject was obvious.

"A few spin-offs," Daniel said. "But they were not, well…" He shrugged. "Not the same quality. And there are comics, novels and games. They are making a new movie - a prequel - but I think they stopped production and are considering redoing it or something."

"And don't forget the TV Christmas special!" Jack grinned.

Teal'c glared at him. "We do not talk about the Christmas Special."

*****​
 
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Chapter 36: Spooks Part 1
Chapter 36: Spooks Part 1

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 20th, 1998

"...and we need to do this again! Bye!"

"Bye! Drive… fly responsibly!"

"Of course!"

Samantha Carter watched as the shuttle lifted off and flew into orbit, suppressing the slight envy she felt at the reminder that for the Etherians, flying into space was as easy - or easier - than driving home after work.

"Well, that's it." The Colonel sighed and turned back to look at Sam and her friends. "Mission accomplished. I guess."

"Mission?" Daniel blinked.

"To keep Adora from causing chaos by offering magical healing to Earth," the Colonel reminded him.

"Ah, yes." Daniel nodded. "I was more concerned with their reactions to Star Wars."

"We noticed," Sam told him.

He smiled a little sheepishly. "It's fascinating. An advanced civilisation, reacting to Earth's pop culture. I mean… we haven't seen that before. Even contact with Abydos wasn't like… well, we didn't have much in the way of pop culture to show. I did tell a lot of stories, but telling the plot of Star Wars isn't the same as watching the movie." His smile turned both sad and wistful.

Sam suppressed a wince. He would be thinking of his wife.

"The visuals are striking, even for someone used to space flight, but the story itself is its strength," Teal'c said.

"Not everyone agrees, Teal'c," the Colonel told him. "For many critics, as soon as people have ray guns, it's just cheap entertainment, not cultured."

"It seems those people value appearances over substance," Teal'c said. "Therefore, their opinions are highly suspect."

"Yeah, I'd say so too. Many of them would probably claim Hockey isn't the best sport ever, either." The Colonel grinned.

"Jack…" Daniel sighed. "Well, they liked Star Wars. I don't think they were just being polite."

Sam nodded. She didn't think Catra would even consider lying just to be polite. "Yes."

"But we kind of screwed up as well," the Colonel went on. "We forgot that for them, Star Wars is like watching a war movie for veterans. A contemporary war movie."

Sam winced. They should have considered that.

Daniel nodded, but Teal'c frowned. "What do you mean, O'Neill?"

"The movies made them think of things they didn't want to think about. A number of those scenes were probably a little too close to what they lived through," he explained.

"Yes," Daniel agreed. "No one triggered, but… we should have considered that an evil Lord of the Sith in a suit of armour that doubles as a life support system would remind Hordak about, well, himself."

"Well, I was more concerned about the whole betrayal thing in the movies," the Colonel said. "Hordak is a big former warlord and can handle himself."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Sir," Sam objected. "He was raised in very… unique circumstances. They all were, compared to the average American soldier."

"And they are stronger for it," Teal'c said, nodding slowly but firmly. "They faced the worst and were not broken. And those of them who served a false god refuted him. Like Vader ultimately refuted the Emperor."

Just like Teal'c.

"Well, yeah, but they didn't die like Vader," the Colonel said. "And even if they won, not many want to be reminded of what they did and lived through in a war."

Sam nodded again and suppressed a sigh at Teal'c's expression. For all their friendship, and his interest in Earth culture and customs, Teal'c still was a Jaffa, with all that entailed.

"Why wouldn't they want to remember their deeds? They fought a tyrant and won. This is something to be proud of - and to tell others to teach and inspire them."

"Well, they're still kids," the Colonel said. "And yes, Entrapta isn't a kid, but she's… Entrapta. So, we can't treat them like Jaffa."

"I think they could do with some therapy," Daniel said. "Especially if the war with the Goa'uld starts for real."

"Yeah, getting them therapy might be a tad difficult," the Colonel said, grimacing. "You don't send your absolute monarch to a shrink. And you absolutely don't send an absolute monarch of a foreign country to a shrink."

"Well, they're an advanced society; I think they have their own… therapists," Daniel said.

"You think? Or you hope?" The Colonel raised his eyebrows.

"It's not a topic that came up so far in our talks," Daniel replied. "But I'll have to ask them about it. This could have consequences for the war efforts."

"Just be very… diplomatic," the Colonel told him. "We're already on thin ice with the whole gay marriage thing. If they think we consider them crazy, it might kill the alliance."

"I think you overestimate the problem, O'Neill, and underestimate our friends' strength. Honesty is the best policy, as they said themselves. Just voice your concerns in a straightforward manner." Teal'c nodded at them.

"Easier said than done," Daniel muttered.

Sam resisted the urge to bite her lower lip. She was an officer in the Air Force, not a teenager faced with a row in the family. "I could ask Entrapta about… talking to people," she offered.

"Good idea. I don't think Entrapta will get mad," the Colonel said, nodding. After a moment, he demonstratively yawned. "But we better get home now. It's past midnight, and we'll have a long day tomorrow, what with all the debriefings and reports about tonight."

Oh, yes. Sam clenched her teeth.

"This was a private affair, Jack," Daniel said with a frown. "Our reports should say so." Sam could hear the 'and nothing else' as if he had said it.

"Yeah. I'm not saying we should rat them out. But we have to let Hammond know about the healing thing. And that they like Star Wars. And warn the brass about pushing their buttons." The Colonel snorted. "And that they absolutely hate being lied to."

That was true. But Sam was sure that the Etherians didn't like being spied on, either. And they would see revealing what was said tonight as breaking their confidence.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, September 20th, 1998

Catra leaned back into her cushion - for all her muscles, Adora was quite soft when you knew where to sit and were flexible enough - and sighed as they approached Darla. "So… how much intel do you think did we let slip to SG-1?"

"Catra!" Adora blurted out. "This was a movie night! They didn't spy on us!"

Catra snorted. Adora was great - brave, kind, forgiving, loving, protective, honourable, incredible in bed - but she was trusting to a fault. "They only had to keep their eyes and ears open as we watched the movie." And she was sure neither O'Neill nor Daniel had missed anything.

"But that doesn't mean they would use that against us!" Adora retorted. "They're our friends!"

"Yes," Glimmer chimed in. "But they're also loyal towards their country."

"Well," Bow spoke up, "I don't think they would attempt to use what they know about us against us, but what about using it to, ah, better understand us?"

Catra snorted again. "You mean, use their knowledge of us to help them plan how best to make a deal with us?"

"Err… it sounds bad if you say it like that." Bow pouted.

Glimmer, though, nodded at Catra. "Exactly."

"They know how to make a deal with us!" Adora, predictably, protested. "We told them what we want! Equal rights for everyone!"

"Yes," Glimmer agreed. "But the American president might think that if he knows more about us, we'll compromise on that."

Catra nodded. That would fit what they knew about the American government. Or any Earth government.

"Well, then them knowing more about us is a good thing," Adora said. "So they'll know we won't. Compromise, that is."

"They'll still attempt to find leverage. Even if they manage to fulfil our conditions - or especially if they do and an alliance is formed. They want to have as much influence in the alliance as possible," Hordak said.

Catra nodded again.

And, once more, Glimmer agreed. "That's how it works back home as well."

"But…" Adora frowned at them. She probably would have jumped up and crossed her arms if Catra hadn't occupied her lap. "Our friends don't think like that!"

"Well…" Glimmer took a deep breath. "Not our close friends, I think."

Adora looked at her as if she had been told that she would not be allowed to eat anything but Horde rations for a month. Or a year. "But…"

"Adora," Catra told her. "Yes, our close friends won't stab us in the back or play political games with us. They fought with us, and they know what was and is at stake." And just how powerful She-Ra was. "But the people on Earth? Their rulers? They don't. They don't know us."

"And for them, that's normal. Politics," Glimmer added.

"Yes." Bow nodded. "I've read up on their history, and their alliances were full of power struggles and politics. Sometimes even between people of the same country. Fellow soldiers."

"That was normal in the Horde - my Horde; not Horde Prime's," Hordak said.

He was glancing at her, Catra noticed. She bared her fangs in a grin in return. They understood each other.

"So, you think SG-1 will tell them… that we liked the movies?" Adora asked. "Or will they tell them how we reacted?"

Catra shrugged. "Hard to say." O'Neill was the kind of man to do what he thought was necessary, no matter what. But what would he think was necessary? That was the big question. Teal'c, though, she was sure wouldn't betray their confidence. Sam and Daniel... Sam would follow O'Neill's lead. Daniel would do what he thought was right. He wouldn't betray them.

"I think they'll be fine," Entrapta said. "And even if they tell them what we thought of the movies, so what? It's not a secret." She beamed. "There were so many neat ideas! I can't wait to start doing science!"

That was… well, not entirely true, but Entrapta was right that even if the Americans got the full records of the evening, they wouldn't really gain much that they hadn't already known. "Well, not so for their magic. It sucked."

Adora nodded.

"Yoda managed to lift the entire X-Wing," Bow pointed out.

"Big deal," Adora said. "I can do the same without magic. And so could Scorpia."

Catra chuckled. "But you'd be all dirty afterwards."

"And anti-gravity generators could do the same as well," Entrapta added. "Luke should have left them on, anyway, when he landed in a swamp."

"Yeah, that was dumb. But that's Luke for you. All brawn, no brains."

"Hey!" Adora pouted at her.

Catra grinned back. "I wasn't talking about you."

"I know what you meant!"

Catra let her tail rub against Adora's nose, and when her lover gripped it and was distracted, Catra leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips.

"Mhh."

Cara closed her eyes and enjoyed the kiss. That was how a relaxed evening should end.

"Oh, for… at least wait until we're back inside Darla!" Glimmer complained.

Catra ignored her. No one kept Glimmer from kissing Bow.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 20th, 1998

"We need more details, Colonel O'Neill. This is of crucial importance." Smith - if that was the man's real name, Jack O'Neill would eat his service cap - frowned. Jack had the impression he didn't really believe that Jack didn't remember many details.

Well, Jack didn't care. He hated spooks as much as he hated politicians. Perhaps a little bit more since he had worked far more often with spooks than with politicians in the past. "I told you that they seemed to like Star Wars but also that it seemed to remind them of their own war."

"Yes, but which scenes, in particular, did remind them of their own war? We cannot build a dependable psych profile if we can't pinpoint the exact triggers."

Which was part of the reason Jack wasn't going to tell the man any details. Shrinks ranked third on his list, after all. Second on any day that he had a mandatory counselling session scheduled. "I also told you that the revelation that Obi-Wan and Yoda had lied and kept the truth about Luke's family from him struck them hard. That kind of manipulation seemed to rile up all of them."

"Yes, you did. But we need more data."

The guy sounded like a suited version of Entrapta without her charm and innocence. No, like a druggie suffering withdrawal. And Jack didn't want to sell out his friends to get the guy his fix. "Did it occur to you that if you build up your psych profile and then try to 'handle' the Etherians, they will notice that?"

"I doubt that, Colonel." The man's bland smile grew a tad more arrogant.

Jack clenched his teeth. "You're still thinking that the Etherians are kids from a fantasy land, aren't you?"

"We're aware that they have fought a war and have access to advanced technology."

Damn. Jack hoped that the man's superiors were more on the ball. "You don't get it. They aren't young people in over their heads. They aren't traumatised kids you can manipulate with a lollipop and a smile. They rule their own countries." Well, some of them did. "They're leading armies and fleets. And they have experience with politics and war."

"Only two of them are ruling princesses, and Entrapta has shown a marked reluctance to engage in politics which points to a lack of experience - something which was corroborated with information you provided."

Oh, for crying out loud! "All of them have command experience at the highest level. They have been leaders of a coalition of sovereign rulers. It's all politics at that level." One of the reasons Jack was happy as an officer in the field. "Stop thinking of them as naive kids! Think of them as presidents and four-star generals."

"You're not an analyst, Colonel O'Neill."

"And you're not in charge of US politics," he shot back. "You don't understand the difference between naive and principled. You think because they don't give a damn about the 'realities' of American politics, they are ignorant." The man's glare told him he was on the mark. "They know how the USA works. They know the limits of our system." Daniel certainly had taught them more than enough about that on the way back.

"If they do, they don't really show it," the man fired back.

"They don't have to," Jack spat. "They don't need us. We need them."

"And that is why we need more intelligence about them, Colonel!"

*****​

"I think Star Wars has been ruined for me!" Jack O'Neill exclaimed as he sat down at SG-1's table in the cantine.

"Why would that be, O'Neil?" Teal'c asked.

"Didn't you get debriefed about the trilogy?" Jack asked as he poked the 'food' on his tray. Just to check if it was still alive. Not that it looked as if it had ever been alive.

"I was happy to explain the intricacies of Star Wars to the agent," Teal'c said without changing his expression. "At length."

Which meant that he had drowned the interrogator in movie trivia and hadn't said much if anything about the Etherians. Jack snorted.

"I explained the unique opportunity of watching people from a society without movies to that kind of media," Daniel added. "Well, a society without movies but with the cultural background to understand Star Wars."

"I stuck to technical aspects of hypothetical Star Wars technology reproduced with current technology," Carter said in a bland voice.

"I guess I should have stuck to military tactics seen through Star Wars," Jack sighed. His team was learning. Maybe a bit too much.

"Clashed with the interrogator?" Daniel asked.

"He wanted to know too many personal details," Jack replied. "Sounded like a stalker. I told him that the Etherians don't like stalkers." Well, not in so many words.

Daniel chuckled at that, but Carter nodded.

"So!" Jack said, trying some of the side dishes and grimacing. They must have let the Marines help out in the kitchen today. "Let's hope that the head spooks are more reasonable than their underlings."

"Since we haven't burnt any bridges so far, I think that's a safe assumption," Daniel said.

"The Etherians are meeting with the Germans today," Carter commented. "They just passed the new legislation in a special session."

And America was still trying to make half their politicians understand that the times had changed. Jack sighed. Beaten to the goal by the Germans? That was almost insulting. No wonder the spooks were getting pushy - they must be under a lot of pressure.

*****​

Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, September 20th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...Bundeskanzler ist in Genf eingetroffen, wo er mit den Etherianern Gespräche über eine Allianz führen wird. Nach der Sondersitzung des Bundestags wird erwartet…"

"...of the Organisation of African Unity harshly condemned the Etherians, citing a colonialist policy and cultural imperialism on par with the worst atrocities…"

"...Canadian Prime Minister released a statement reaffirming the country's firm stance towards equality before the law regardless of race, faith or sexual identity, although the bill's still being debated…"

"...while the European Union's plan to release a statement of joint intent has been stalled. Several member states, notably Italy, criticised France and the United Kingdom for their 'hasty policies' and claimed that…"

"...Russian government once more stated that their economic troubles were due to the arrival of the aliens and the effects on the resource market, not on anything else, and…"

"...and the Chinese government released a strongly worded statement warning the Taiwanese government not to approach the Etherians…"

"...of South Korea stated that the country would have to follow Japan's example if it wanted to remain competitive in a world rapidly adapting to alien technology and societies. Asked about the repercussions on their relationship with North Korea, he claimed that…"

"...and the Pope is still in reclusion. Numerous prominent representatives of the Catholic Church have been vocal in their demands that…"

"...Swedish Riksdag passed a law granting equal rights to gay people, although it's as of yet unclear whether the government will enter negotiations about an alliance with the Etherians. Several politicians claimed that the country's long tradition of neutrality was an obstacle to such a course of action, although others cited the fact that the entire Earth was under attack as sufficient reason to seek allies. Pacifist organisations denounced such arguments as…"

"...and after a long and spirited debate with the pastor of my church, I have come to realise that Jesus's love is unconditional and for everyone regardless of their sexual orientation. Therefore, I cannot, in good conscience, oppose the proposed constitutional amendment any longer and will…"

Adora switched off the television before Catra could switch channels again. "I think you're becoming a little too… fixated on this." What was the term? News junkie?

Catra snorted. "I'm just keeping up with the news."

"By zapping through all channels?"

"Yes!" Catra grinned. "It's not as if I need to watch for long before I know what they'll say."

Adora frowned. She still had some issues understanding Earth people. "And what did they say?"

"Some countries want to get our technology and will pass any law they think will make us like them but don't want to look as greedy as they are, and others think we're the devil and want us dead." Catra shrugged. "Same as yesterday:"

"But that politician at the end wasn't like usual!" Adora protested.

"He suddenly found out that his god loves everyone?" Catra scoffed. "You believe that? He was either bribed or blackmailed, I bet."

"He sounded sincere."

"As sincere as Shadow Weaver," Catra shot back with a sneer. Adora raised her eyebrows, and she sighed. "Sorry, but I don't buy this 'our god suddenly loves you too, and it has nothing to do with the fact you have something we want' story." She grinned. "Not without their god saying anything about it in person."

Adora frowned at her lover. She knew what Catra meant.

"I bet you'd make a much better goddess…"

"Don't you start! I'm no goddess!" Adora hissed. Priest was bad enough. And the people on Earth would really hate her if they thought she claimed to be a goddess. Or, worse, they might revere her!

Catra giggled. "Just yanking your chain." She grinned. "And speaking of… we really need to buy you that outfit."

Adora blushed.

"Are you at it again?" Glimmer scowled at them from where she was reading what data Entrapta had collected on the Bundeskanzler. It wasn't much - Adora had read it twice already.

"Just passing the time. Why, do you want one as well?" Catra's grin widened.

"I want you to focus on our meeting with the German ruler!"

"What's there to focus on?" Catra shrugged. "It's going to be the same as with the French and British: They want our technology, and we want their soldiers."

"They have vastly different cultures," Glimmer retorted. "We can't just treat everyone the same."

"When it comes down to it, they all want the same," Catra shot back.

"Yes, but how they want to get it differs," Glimmer pointed out. "The Germans don't have a princess or king, but they didn't kill their monarchs, either. That makes them different from the French and British."

"Didn't the grandson of their last ruler propose to restore the monarchy in Germany for better relations with us?" Adora asked.

"Great-grandson," Glimmer corrected her. "And that wasn't received well. Not at all."

"They didn't do anything to him, though," Catra pointed out.

"Anyway," Glimmer said, "we can't just half-ass this. Germany is the most powerful economy in Europe, and their industry is very modern. If we can get an alliance with them, then, with the French and British on board, we're set for the time being." She looked at Catra. "So, don't needle them."

"Sure, sure. They don't have a sense of humour anyway, according to what I've read."

"That might be British propaganda," Bow pointed out.

"Well, we'll find out."

"No. We won't find out if they have a sense of humour or not. Not in the middle of our negotiations!"

"Spoilsport."

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 20th, 1998

"So, the Goa'uld prisoners have refused to use the keyboard so far?"

Samantha Carter nodded. "Yes. We have installed keyboards in both cells, but other than trying out the keys, they have not attempted to communicate with us," she told Entrapta.

Entrapta frowned and stopped looking around in Sam's lab, presumably for new things. "Are you sure that they can read without a host? They could be relying on a host for higher cognitive feats and only act on instincts until they can get a host. They do access their hosts' memories, after all, don't they?"

"Our intel indicates that this isn't the case," Sam replied.

"But did you check?" Hordak asked.

Sam looked at the clone. "If that was the case, then the Goa'uld controlling the animals we encountered should have been more limited in its actions."

"That might have been instinct as well. Or the creatures were more intelligent than you assumed."

That was theoretically possible, but Sam doubted it. "With their genetic memory, and based on previous encounters, it seems implausible that they do not retain their intellect outside a host."

"Well, the small size of their brains means that they have a much more efficient neural structure than humans if they also retain their intelligence," Entrapta said.

"They don't piggyback on human brains." Sam pressed her lips together for a moment, suppressing a shudder at the memories of her own time as a host. "My intellectual capacity wasn't diminished at all while I was puppeted."

"Oh." Entrapta blinked, then bit her lower lip. "I see. But why wouldn't they communicate with us?"

"We don't know. It might be their version of only giving name, rank and serial number," Sam speculated.

"Or they want to force you to provide them with a host to interrogate them, giving them leverage through a hostage - or at least more options to escape," Hordak suggested.

"That has been mentioned as well," Sam admitted. And some of the agents had suggested actually doing it.

"So, they're just being stubborn?" Entrapta frowned.

"Or desperate," Sam said.

"Well, we wouldn't kill them," Entrapta said. "And they could have a more comfortable stay if they cooperated - we don't know too much about their needs outside a host."

Executing the Goa'uld prisoners - or one of them, to 'encourage' the other - had been suggested as well. Sam understood the Colonel's attitude towards 'spooks' a bit better now. "They haven't reacted to such offers either." That was amongst the basics of interrogation. "And yes," she added when Hordak opened his mouth, "we also made the offer using hieroglyphs they would be able to read." One of the Goa'uld had been living in the United States for decades, but the other wouldn't be able to understand or read modern languages.

"I wasn't going to mention that since it was obvious," Hordak said. "Did you remove privileges from the prisoners in response to their refusal to communicate?"

"You mean like… torturing them?" Sam asked.

Hordak tilted his head. "Making their cells less comfortable would probably qualify, yes."

"Hordak! We don't torture prisoners!" Entrapta scolded him.

He seemed unfazed. "But the people on Earth do."

"Not in America. We don't torture prisoners," Sam said. "It's illegal."

"Your history disagrees with that statement," Hordak said.

"Those were crimes. We won't torture our prisoners." Sam shook her head. "That's ingrained into our laws. Anyone who does torture a prisoner will be persecuted by the law." If they caught them - Sam had no doubt that the NID would torture people if they thought it would help their goals.

"If removing amenities is not acceptable, and they do not react to offers of better conditions, then you have few options left to entice them into cooperating with you," Hordak said.

"We're aware of that."

"Appeal to their curiosity?" Entrapta suggested. "Show them something they didn't know before? Offer them to do science? It worked on me!" she added with a smile, then frowned. "Of course, Catra later said it was a dirty trick, but I don't know if she was serious."

"Letting them do science would imply giving them a host," Sam said.

"Not if we make tiny tools for them!" Entrapta smiled.

"I do not think that giving the prisoners access to tools is a good idea," Hordak said.

"And I don't think they're interested in science," Sam added. But they might be interested in information about Etherians. Seth would have known about their arrival, but Osiris wouldn't have known about it. It was a decent enough idea. "But I'll pass it on."

"Pass it on?" Entrapta tilted her head to the side.

"I am not in charge of the prisoners," Sam explained. "I can make suggestions, but no decisions." And she could speak out against questionable ideas such as trying to play one of the Goa'uld against the other based on their supposed animosity.

"Right." Entrapta nodded. "So… what do we do now? Did you work on a lightsaber yet?"

Sam suppressed a chuckle - this was the first time she had entered her lab since last night. "I haven't had the time yet."

"So, let's see what we can come up with!" Entrapta nodded several times and then looked at Sam's desk. "We might need more space, though."

"And a safe way to test prototypes," Hordak added. "Plasma blades tend to be dangerous when they lose containment."

"Yes." Sam had been told that all research with the Etherians would be supported by Stargate Command - and the government still desperate for closer ties to the Etherians - but she wasn't sure General Hammond expected them to research lightsabers. Then again, she had her orders, so asking for a lab to test their prototypes would just be doing her duty…

*****​

Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, September 20th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"Yes, small to medium companies are the backbone of our industry. They aren't famous like our car companies or our arms industry, but they provide the bigger corporations with parts and fill crucial niches in the global economy. So, any agreement about sharing advanced technology will have to keep this in mind."

Catra felt as if her face had frozen in a polite smile as the Chancellor of Germany - the Bundeskanzler - once again went on about Germany's industry. They were here to finalise a military alliance, not a trade agreement. But there were more representatives of businesses with him than military officers. At least it felt that way to her.

"Yes, but you also have to consider the need to keep advanced technology safe from spies," Adora told the man. "Sharing this technology with every little company is too dangerous."

"I trust our companies," the man said with a slight frown. "They have experience with guarding their technological edge against their competition."

"And against spies?" Catra leaned forward and matched the man's frown. "Not just your other k-countries, but what about alien spies?" She had almost said 'kingdoms' - she blamed her boredom. That would've made the Germans think she wasn't aware of how things were done on Earth and thought they had a king. Or Emperor.

"Well, there shouldn't be any alien spies - you checked, didn't you?" one of the people in suits said.

"We did. But there are more alien species than the Goa'uld," Glimmer said. "You can't just trust we'll catch every spy. And your other countries won't show up - and they want this technology."

"You might have to adjust how you do things - or implement better security for your smaller companies," Bow added.

"That would be possible, but troops used for that would be missing on the front," one of the officers retorted.

"I don't think we want to station soldiers in factories," a man in a suit said with a frown. "The optics would be terrible."

"That might be a good thing," another officer spoke up. "Drive home the fact that we're at war. Some people really don't get that."

"Even the Greens are with us," the first suit said. "We can ignore the fringe."

Adora cleared her throat. "So, speaking of the military, what kind of troops can be mobilised?"

"Well, the Bundeswehr is still in the process of being mobilised for war," the Minister of Defence said. "We have had some material stowed away, and getting it ready for deployment will take some more time. As will training up the soldiers we need for this."

"Yes," Catra said, hissing a little. "Can we get numbers?"

They got numbers. Lots of numbers. But all of them would take a while to be reached. The Germans apparently hadn't been ready for a war. They had some troops ready but in very limited numbers. Still… "I think we can work with that," Catra said. "It'll take time sorting out how we move them and deciding which planets we'll attack. And we need to coordinate with the rest of the Alliance. Alliances," she corrected herself - the Princess Alliance had now an alliance with the British and the French and soon with the Germans. That would get confusing.

"Ah, yes." The Chancellor nodded several times. "And speaking of coordinating, have you considered our proposal for increased trade between Germany, I mean the European Union, and Etheria?"

Catra slowly unsheathed her claws under the table and scratched its underside.

"We would have to discuss that with the European Union, and we're not ready to negotiate any trade agreements," Glimmer told him. "We're talking about a military alliance. Trade can be discussed at a later date."

"Yes," Catra nodded emphatically. Her tail was twitching again, but she managed not to flatten her ears.

"Alright!" The Chancellor smiled. "We've had proposals to convert submarine yards to spaceship yards. Would that be feasible?"

If not for Adora's hand on her thigh, Catra would have hissed.

"Such technical details would be best discussed with our experts," Bow said. "We would have to know more about your 'submarines' as well."

One of the aides started pulling sheets out of a suitcase.

"We should've taken Entrapta with us," Catra whispered as Bow studied the first sheets.

"Yes," Adora agreed. "She would love this."

She would also have to be supervised so she didn't give out technological secrets for free, but yes, this was a matter best aimed at Entrapta. Bow was a techmaster, but he wasn't experienced with mass production. Or factories - except for knowing how to sabotage them.

Which was tempting, Catra thought with a grin.

"Catra, no!" Adora whispered.

"So," Glimmer spoke up, probably to cover for Adora's scolding, "we should have sorted out all the important points, then."

Like an hour ago, in Catra's opinion.

"Well, the military parts, yes," the Chancellor agreed.

"Good. I think we need to discuss the rest at a later date." Glimmer nodded. "It's getting late."

"It's late afternoon."

"Orbit lag," Glimmer lied.

"Ah, of course! So… same time tomorrow?"

Catra didn't whimper. She had survived worse.

But she wanted to.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 21st, 1998

"...and the Chancellor and the Etherians have been meeting with several representatives of the German arms industry, likely discussing technology transfers, although no details were forthcoming and the government declined to comment on…"

"Figures that the Germans are at the forefront when it comes to getting new technology," Jack O'Neill commented as he shut off the television in the meeting room. "Greedy bastards." He noticed that Daniel was frowning at him. And Carter had that perfectly polite expression on her face that meant she was annoyed at him. "I'm just letting off some steam. No need to mention Operation Paperclip." He grinned when Daniel closed his mouth and pouted.

"I doubt that the Etherians will show such preference to the Germans," Teal'c said. "That would vex the British and the French for no discernable reason."

"They haven't said that there is a deal, just that they're talking about one. It's probably just propaganda for the German public," Jack agreed. "They've got an election coming up."

Daniel frowned again. "You're following German politics?"

Jack snorted in return. "If it's relevant." And it helped when dealing with stupid politicians wanting advice. He was an officer, not a consultant!

"Ah."

"Entrapta didn't mention anything about that," Carter said.

"She might have forgotten about it," Daniel speculated. "You were pretty busy."

Carter didn't blush, but she tensed for a moment. "We were discussing how best to interrogate the Goa'uld."

Jack raised his eyebrows. Entrapta was a sweet girl - woman, he corrected himself; she might act like a teenager, but she was about thirty years old, after all. But she could be very scary when developing new technology. Just thinking about her being interested in interrogation techniques - or tools - was enough to make him feel queasy.

"We didn't discuss torture," Carter said. "Well, Hordak mentioned the possibility, but Entrapta didn't entertain the possibility."

Of course the bastard would have no qualms about torturing people. Or aliens. Jack snorted.

"What did Entrapta suggest?"

"Using their curiosity against them," Carter explained. "But I fear her suggestions would result in a higher risk of escape."

"Ah. On the other hand, our own experts haven't gotten anything out of the Goa'uld so far," Jack said. If not for the Etherians being involved, he was sure they would have attempted torture already. But when your friends were used to locking up prisoners in their palaces' guest rooms, even the worst spooks had to control themselves. They couldn't risk alienating the friendly aliens with more spaceships than the United States had warships.

"The false gods might expect that they will be disposed of once they have no more information to give out," Teal'c said. "A logical assumption."

"We wouldn't murder prisoners!" Daniel protested.

"Of course not," Teal'c agreed. "But given their numerous crimes, the death penalty would be the likely result of a trial."

"I'm sure that our experienced interrogators have mentioned that to our guests," Jack told his friend. "But the Goa'uld probably don't trust them. Not that I'd blame them for it."

Daniel frowned again. He was still a little naive.

But before Jack could point that out to his friend, Hammond entered the room. And his expression told Jack that he didn't have good news.

"SG-1." The general nodded at them. "As of this morning, the Security Council has officially created the International Stargate Command Organisation. The President has agreed to transfer control over the Stargate to the new organisation."

Jack clenched his teeth. He had known this was coming, but it still felt like a punch in the gut. After all their efforts, all the dead, all the money the Air Force had poured into this, the United Nations would now reap the benefits.

Damn.

*****​
 
Chapter 37: Spooks Part 2
Chapter 37: Spooks Part 2

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 21st, 1998

"So, they won't talk to us?" Adora bent down and peered at the tank in which one of the Goa'uld they had captured was held. It looked like a fish tank to her, but mentioning that would be rude.

"I wouldn't want to talk to you either if you kept me in a fish tank," Catra commented.

"It's not a fish tank," Sam protested. "It's a secure habitat for alien life forms."

"That's sciency for 'fish tank'," Catra retorted with a grin.

Adora sighed. "And they can understand us in this form?"

"Yes." Teal'c nodded.

"Their senses cover the same range as humans - mostly. There are a few differences, but whatever sound a human can make, Goa'uld can hear," Entrapta explained.

"But Osiris is unlikely to understand anything except for Old Egyptian," Daniel added. "He was sealed in a stasis jar for thousands of years. Seth, though, should understand us perfectly fine."

"Ah." Right, the Goa'uld could just access their host's brains to learn everything they knew. Adora suppressed a shudder - Seth had tried to possess her.

"And Daniel and Teal'c talked to them in their language, but the snakes didn't want to talk back, either." Jack shook his head. "That's the longest temper tantrum I've ever seen."

"Aren't they just doing what you said prisoners had to do? Refuse to give the enemy any information other than name, rank and serial number?" Adora asked.

Jack frowned at her as if she had something mean, but Daniel chuckled, and even Sam smiled. "It's not the same." Adora wanted to ask why it wasn't the same, but he went on: "So, Entrapta and Carter built some keyboards for them, and specially made screens that they can see through the windows of their cells. Yet they still refuse to communicate."

"We tested the keyboards - they work perfectly fine. And we demonstrated them to the prisoners. Although Seth should already be familiar with keyboards since he was captured in the United States," Entrapta said. "They just don't want to talk to us."

Adora wrinkled her nose. Perhaps they should respect that? They weren't the Goa'uld - they respected the rights of their prisoners. Or should - she wasn't sure that the cells here were actually nice enough for that. The Goa'uld had no privacy at all. Still…

"Make them eat rations and tell them they can order better food?" Catra suggested. "They'd have to talk to us then."

"We're not going to torture them," Entrapta protested.

"The Horde lived on ration bars," Catra retorted.

"And that wasn't alright!" Glimmer cut in with a grimace. "That was torture!"

"The grey ones were OK," Adora said. "Way better than the brown ones."

Everyone looked at her as if she had said something stupid. She frowned at them, but Glimmer just shook her head, and Catra giggled.

"I am now really curious whether or not those ration bars are worse than MREs," Jack said.

"Well, we don't have any of them with us, so we can't compare them," Bow said. "But Horde ration bars were really horrible."

"Disgusting." Glimmer nodded with a shudder.

Adora looked at Etnrapta and Hordak.

"They provided the troops with a perfectly balanced meal," Hordak said.

"And if you used food additives, they were quite palatable," Entrapta said.

"'Food additives'?" Adora asked.

"Seasoning," Catra said. "Force Captains got them."

"Ah."

"But we're not here to talk about torture food," Glimmer spoke up. "We're here to make the Goa'uld talk." She looked at the tank and grinned. "And I think Entrapta's plan has a good chance of working."

"Making them curious?" Jack asked. "By showing them the news? A tv show that ends on a cliffhanger?"

"No," Entrapta said. "I'm talking about magic."

"Magic," Jack repeated in a flat tone.

"Yes." Glimmer nodded. "If we had activated Earth's magic already, I could teleport around. I bet that would make them talk to us."

"Unless the Goa'uld can use magic as well, then," Jack pointed out.

"I doubt that they can use magic," Daniel said. "None of our sources show them using any power that wasn't based on technology."

"I think if they had access to magic and then lost it a thousand years ago, they would have searched for the reason for said loss," Teal'c added. "But I know of no such venture."

"Well, I could restore magic," Adora offered. "It wouldn't take long."

"There's something wrong with world-changing actions being done on a whim in five minutes," Jack muttered.

"Well, we don't need to activate Earth's magic for Adora to use magic, right?" Daniel smiled.

"But we might not want to show them her transformation," Catra was quick to add. "And I don't think we should hurt someone so Adora can demonstrate her magic healing."

Adora nodded. Of course not!

"It would be the easiest solution," Entrapta said. "Activating magic, I mean. Or… I could show them our technology!" She beamed. "I bet they would be curious about our bots."

"They'll probably think any magic used is technology anyway," Jack pointed out, a little belatedly.

"But showing them our technology might also give away important information," Carter said.

"They already know we're working with Etherians - even if they don't know they are Etherians," Jack told her. "Let's try technology first before we change the world for a chat with snakes."

*****​

Samantha Carter nodded at the Colonel's words. Returning magic to Earth just for an interrogation… their superiors wouldn't accept that. And the Goa'uld knew their own technology. So, it had to be Etherian technology. Or Horde technology. Or… "We might be able to use Ancient technology," she suggested.

"First Ones technology? Wouldn't they know that?" Entrapta asked. "They use the gates, after all."

"Yes, but they aren't familiar with the Ancient technology on Etheria," Sam explained. She looked at Teal'c.

"Indeed. It's not conforming to Ancient technology known to the Goa'uld," he confirmed.

"So… First Ones technology." Entrapta nodded. "We don't have too much of that here."

"I can summon my sword. After transforming out of their sight," Adora said. "And I can make it change shape."

"It slices, it dices, it makes julienne fries," the Colonel commented.

Catra snickered, but Adora pouted - and Sam made a note that they might be familiar with the idiom.

"But we still should show our bots," Entrapta said. "And Hordak's technology."

Hordak nodded. "They should be familiar with Horde Prime's technology, but my own developments, and those of Entrapta, will be unknown to them." He nodded at Entrapta, who smiled back at him.

They wanted to show off, Sam realised. Well, she could understand the feeling. Perhaps a bit more than she should - but what scientist didn't like showing off at least a little? Even Daniel wasn't immune, as his lessons and briefings revealed.

"Let's start with the bots then," the Colonel said. "We can save Adora's Swiss-army-sword-magic for later."

"Yes!" Entrapta beamed. "I'll call Emily so she can lead the others inside."

"The others?" The Colonel asked.

"I brought more bots - they need to get down to Earth anyway. Being cooped up on a ship all the time isn't healthy!" Entrapta nodded and pushed a button on her multitool. "Emily? Get in here!"

Sam turned to the intercom, but the Colonel was already calling the entrance so the guards would let the bots through.

"Have someone guide them so they don't get lost," Entrapta said. Then she blinked. "Uh… can they get in here?"

Sam pointed at the large door in the back. "Yes. There's a freight elevator there. It would have been impractical to move heavy machinery through the smaller corridors."

"Isn't that a security risk?" Catra asked, cocking her head as she looked from the habitats to the elevator.

"We've got it under guard," the Colonel said. "And usually, the habitats aren't here but in secure cells."

"In cells?" Adora frowned. "Isolated?"

"First rule of handling prisoners for interrogation is not to let them talk to each other and coordinate their stories," the Colonel replied.

"But… they are all alone, all day?"

"They can talk to us anytime they choose."

"That sounds like torture," Hordak said. "At least some would consider it torture - I can understand, given the intellect of the average soldier, that not having to talk to them could also be a blessing."

"Hordak!" Glimmer glared at him.

Entrapta, though, slowly nodded. "Yes. Some did claim that isolation is torture. I discovered that when I researched what was considered torture on Earth."

"Let me guess: You found Amnesty International, right?" the Colonel asked.

"Yes."

"They are sometimes seen as a little controversial," the Colonel told her.

"Mostly in countries that they criticise," Daniel added. "They are also strictly against the death penalty." Sam saw that he didn't look at the Colonel.

Fortunately, Entrapta's bots arrived before this subject could be discussed further - Sam was sure that the Etherians weren't in favour of the death penalty.

"Emily! Come over here! And you too, Gaby! And Silvie!"

Two smaller, but still quite large, bots followed Emily to the group. And the Goa'uld had noticed - Sam saw that both were paying close attention to the bots.

Something she should have done as well, she realised when the bot named 'Gaby' walked to a desk and started scanning the computers there while Silvie was picking up tools on the other side of the room. "Please don't touch anything," Sam said belatedly.

"Put it down, Silvie!" Entrapta said. "You can play with it later. Now you have to show what you can do!"

Emily beeped, and Entrapta shook her head. "No, this isn't an indoor shooting range. Just demonstrate on low power setting."

"Ah… how about not shooting anything on any setting inside the base?" the Colonel said.

Sam couldn't explain how a huge spherical three-legged robot could look sad, but Emily managed. Entrapta patted the bot's dome with her hair. "There, there - we'll get you something to shoot under safe conditions. Safe-ish, at least."

But Silvie and Gaby were already working on something - something the two Goa'uld were very interested in.

Something using First Ones technology, Sam realised. And…

"Are they making a bot?" Daniel asked.

"Yes! A prototype spy bot Mark II!" Entrapta confirmed. "One that can fly!" She frowned. "Well, it will fly once we solve the tiny little issues with making a small engine that won't blow under stress and still is powerful enough to let it explore a star system."

"Or, alternatively, is fast enough to serve as ordnance," Hordak added.

Judging from the beeps from all three bots, they didn't like that idea.

"Hordak!"

Neither did Entrapta.

"I meant for non-sapient bots," the former warlord tried to defend himself.

"They can still learn enough to become sapient!" Entrapta protested. "We can't use them as missiles."

Ah, yes. Artificial intelligence rights - another touchy subject Sam would rather not go into right now.

*****​

Catra sighed as Entrapta scolded Hordak about using bots as missiles. Bots weren't people. Sure, some of them were exceptions, but the vast majority didn't have any more brains than any other machine - she would know; she had had to command tons of the things in the war. They made Kyle look like a genius.

But at least the prisoners were paying attention - she could see the snakes all but pressing their ugly little heads against the fish tanks' glass to study the bots as they built another bot.

Her ears twitched as she overheard O'Neill mutter: "Just what we need - self-replicating bots."

"That possibility always existed once we encountered sufficiently complex and capable robots, Sir," Sam told him. "Although for truly self-replicating bots, they would have to be able to provide the components and the raw materials as well."

"And how likely is that? The brass will want to know if we don't just have to deal with aliens but Skynet as well."

"It shouldn't be too difficult to construct mining bots, Sir."

"Great."

Catra shook her head. It seemed that O'Neill was more worried about what the Etherians could do than about the Goa'uld. Well, it fit him, in her opinion.

But they were here to interrogate the prisoners, not discuss O'Neill's hangups. She kept an eye on the Goa'uld as the two bots, with some concerned beeping from Emily, finished the spy bot.

It didn't look very different from the models she had used in the war. A small bot with a round body like the others and cameras rather than weapons, scurrying around on three legs. Whatever changes Entrapta and Hordak had made must have been internal.

"Oh, look at it go!" Entrapta gushed. "Already used to walking!"

"Shouldn't that be standard?" Daniel asked. "Or do bots have to learn how to walk?"

"That depends on their control matrix," Entrapta replied. "They can come pre-programmed, like most bots we used in the war - with the networks copied from older bots. Or they can learn from scratch, as you say - that way, they tend to be a bit more effective, although it takes longer for them to be ready for deployment. They can learn more routines that way, though."

"Ah." Daniel nodded. "Like people?"

"The control matrixes use networks similar to neural networks," Sam told him.

The spy bot was demonstrating its sensors and other gear now - First Ones technology, Catra realised; she had seen those scanning rays before. She focused on the Goa'uld's reaction and could see their tails twitch more and more. Of course, that didn't have to mean anything - they weren't like her - but she would bet that it meant they were agitated. Or excited.

"And now, testing the gravity generator!" Entrapta announced.

The spy bot stopped moving, pulled its legs in - and a humming noise filled the room.

Catra clenched her teeth; it didn't actually hurt her ears, but it grated - though she seemed to be the only one affected. The others probably couldn't hear it.

And then the spy bot rose into the air and started to float around. Like that droid in the movie. The legs unfolded again, further showing the parallels. The top rotated as well, small cameras looking at everything in the room.

And at the Goa'uld. A red light appeared, a cone moving over the first, then the second Goa'uld.

"Ah, the scanner works as well!" Entrapa beamed. "Look!" She pushed a button on her tool, and floating holograms of the two snakes appeared. "It's not quite as detailed as our magic scanner, nor with the range that one has, but it's a medical scan!"

She bent forward, her hair lifting her up, and looked at the Goa'uld. "Hello? Do you want to communicate now?"

"They can't hear us," Sam told her.

"It would be counter-productive if they could listen in on our talks," O'Neill added.

"Oh." Entrapta blinked, then two hair tendrils shot out, grabbed a whiteboard and a marker and started writing.

HELLO! YOU CAN USE THE KEYBOARD!

The first Goa'uld, Osiris, didn't react. Well, they didn't use the keyboard.

The other, though, Seth, started to type, using its tail.

WHO ARE YOU?

Entrapta beamed.

I AM ENTRAPTA, PRINCESS OF DRYL

"We're supposed to get intel from it, not the other way around," O'Neill complained.

"You have to give data to receive data. Even if you're just observing, the act of observation affects the observed, which is kind of giving data," Entrapta told him.

"And he should know our names - we know he saw us on television before we captured him," Catra reminded them.

Seth was typing again.

WHAT ARE YOU?

Entrapta cocked her head, frowning, "I just told you!"

ENTRAPTA, PRINCESS OF DRYL

ARE YOU A TAU'RI?

"Well, now that's a matter of opinion. What do you think, Sam? We are the same species - we can have viable offspring without genetic manipulation - but so were the First Ones. And I don't think he'd call the First Ones Tau'ri."

Before Sam could answer, Entrapta wrote on:

WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF A TAU'RI?

A HOST SPECIES FROM THIS PLANET

NO, I AM NOT FROM THIS PLANET. AND I AM NOT A HOST SPECIES.

O'Neill sighed. "Who thought it was a good idea to let Entrapta start the interrogation?"

And then the other Goa'uld started typing, and symbols Catra didn't know appeared on his screen.

"Oh, he's using hieroglyphs!" Daniel exclaimed in the same tone Entrapta had when she saw tiny food. Or a First One relic.

Catra snickered again as O'Neill groaned.

*****​

"How can the snake type hieroglyphs?" Jack O'Neill asked. It was a dumb question and not relevant, but he wanted to know.

"I've added a database with the hieroglyphs known to us to the tiny keyboard, accessible through the touchpad on the keyboard - or the keyboard, with key combinations," Entrapta explained. "They can use their tail or other limbs to draw on the pad or just flick through the database until they find the symbol they want, although the sorting algorithm was a bit of a guess - I don't know what the Goa'uld would find intuitive, and the Japanese system wasn't applicable since the hieroglyphs are drawn differently, so sorting according to the number of strokes needed to draw them was not applicable. I wonder what system they use for their own communication."

"They probably dictate to a slave," Jack said. That seemed to fit them.

"That is correct, O'Neill," Teal'c confirmed.

Jack grinned. "So… what's Osiris saying?"

"He's warning us not to trust 'the traitor'," Daniel replied, looking slightly put out.

Jack snorted. That, too, should have been expected from a snake. He glanced at Seth's screen.

I NOTICED THAT I COULD NOT TAKE OVER THE BLONDE WOMAN. SAME SPECIES?

"Someone needs to make him understand that we're the ones asking the questions," Jack said.

Catra made a sort-of agreeing noise.

"Well, should I tell him yes? It's not true, but we're both princesses," Entrapta asked. "And the jury's still out whether or not First Ones are the same species as humans."

"It might keep the Goa'uld from trying to possess us. Or at least you and Glimmer," Bow pointed out.

Jack shook his head. "They'll probably still try it if they have the opportunity - out of desperation or because they suspect a lie." He doubted that the snakes would trust them to tell the truth since the Goa'uld would lie if their positions were switched.

"Ah." Entrapta nodded and typed with her hair.

YOU ARE SETH, CORRECT?

YES.

Jack wanted to step in and take over. Entrapta wasn't a trained interrogator. And she was too trusting - or naive. But as long as she listened to the others, there was no reason to be rude to her.

He glanced at Daniel. "What's Osiris saying?"

"Well, technically, he's typing," his friend replied. Jack rolled his eyes, and Daniel cleared his throat. "Sorry. Anyway, he's telling me how Seth betrayed him and Isis, and… well, basically how everything is Seth's fault. And he's asking where Isis is." He grimaced.

Jack shook his head again. "Tell him that she died when her stasis jar was broken centuries ago."

While Daniel started picking through hieroglyphs, Jack looked back at the other Goa'uld. Entrapta was typing again.

YES, WE WERE NEVER RULED BY THE GOA'ULD.

Well, Seth had seen them on TV, Jack reminded himself.

DO YOU TRUST THE TAU'RI?

Jack narrowed his eyes. That was less subtle than he had expected. On the other hand, perhaps Seth thought that the Etherians had taken control of Earth, overtly or covertly.

SOME ARE OUR FRIENDS.

AND THE OTHERS?

"Osiris is asking if he can visit Isis's grave," Daniel said.

Jack didn't have to look at his friend to know that Daniel looked sympathetic. Even though his own wife had been taken from him by the Goa'uld. Or perhaps because of that.

"We did an autopsy on the corpse, Sir," Carter informed him. Was that a wince?

Jack sighed. "And I guess that all the parts are now floating in formaldehyde in some jars, ready to be studied?" Couldn't be too many jars, of course, given the alien's size.

"Yes, Sir."

"It's a perfectly valid request, Jack."

"You… didn't bury her?" Adora sounded shocked. And no snarky comment from Catra.

Carter pressed her lips together and tensed. Jack held up his hand - he was their commanding officer. This was on him. "We need more information about Goa'uld. We don't know enough about them, how their bodies work, anything."

"But you can scan her. Then you have all the data you need. You don't need to keep the body except for some tissue samples, do you?" Entratpa apparently had stopped chatting with Seth.

Jack sighed. He would have to convince the brass - well, that shouldn't be too hard, not if the Etherians supported it. "We'll see about a funeral. Ask Osiris how we should bury her - but tell him no pyramids."

No one laughed at his joke.

"I doubt that he would expect a pyramid for her," Daniel said as he typed. "Based on his era, it will likely be a grave chamber in a small temple."

"That won't go over better with Congress, I think," Jack said. The Etherians still looked… disapproving. "Don't forget that they don't care about the dead humans," he reminded them. "Seth didn't ask about his followers, did he?"

"No. Should I remind him?" Entrapta asked.

Jack shook his head. "Let's see how long it takes him to remember them." Probably forever, in Jack's opinion.

ARE YOU THE NEW PROTECTORS OF THE TAU'RI?

"Uh…" Entrapta looked around, "Kinda?"

"Technically, we are," Bow said.

"Officially, once we have the Alliances signed," Glimmer added.

"Tell him that we will protect all the Tau'ri," Adora said, nodding curtly.

YES

The snake couldn't hear them - but they could see them. Could gauge their reactions. And they were smart. Seth had thousands of years of experience with manipulating people, Jack reminded himself.

Maybe they should call in spooks. No - those had no experience with Goa'uld. They would try to treat them like humans.

And that would be a disaster. Wait! "'New protectors'?" He frowned. "Does that mean there were old protectors?

*****​

"Old protectors?" Adora looked at Jack, then at the others.

"I think assuming that there were old protectors solely based on Seth's question is reaching a little," Daniel pointed out. "While he certainly knew about the Etherians' arrival, he might merely be trying to confirm their policy towards Earth."

"I am not aware of any protectors of Earth - or the Tau'ri as a whole," Teal'c said. "However, certain planets are off-limits to Goa'uld attacks. I was never told why, though. I assumed it was a decree of Ra, like the order to leave Earth alone. However, the planet Cimmeria was protected by unknown forces against the Goa'uld."

"Right." Jack nodded. "But Earth doesn't have anything like it. Or the snakes would have been killed long ago."

"Cimmeria could've been protected by another faction of the Goa'uld posing as the Norse gods," Daniel suggested.

"The technology used was unlike and beyond the Goa'uld's known capability," Sam objected.

"It certainly wasn't Ra," Jack said. "He wouldn't have posed as another god that wasn't under his command - or tolerated others posing as such gods."

Adora was a little confused. "Could you explain what happened on Cimmeria?"

"Oh, sorry!" Daniel blushed. "It's a planet with a population that worships the old Norse gods, and when we arrived there, a defence mechanism - Thor's Hammer, it was called - captured Teal'c and Jack and sent them into a labyrinth where they had to fight a former alien host. We managed to disable the mechanism and save them."

"With the help of a native named Kendra," Sam added.

Ah. That explained… not very much.

"Did you recover the technology? Did you analyse it?" Entrapta asked.

"No." Sam shook her head. "But it didn't resemble any known Goa'uld technology. Or Ancient technology."

"So, it wasn't the First Ones," Adora said. "And I don't believe the Horde would have done anything like it."

"They would have conquered the planet, not defended it against the Goa'uld," Hordak said.

"Do you want me to ask him about Cimmeria?" Entrapta cocked her head.

"If he knows about it, then that changes things," Daniel said. "The Norse gods weren't worshipped when Ra was driven from Earth. So, whoever took the people from Earth to Cimmeria did so after Ra had left. If Seth knows about it, he might have had contact with them."

Jack nodded. "Ask if he knows about Cimmeria."

DO YOU KNOW A PLANET NAMED CIMMERIA?

NO

That was quick. Of course, that didn't mean it had to be a lie - Seth would probably be more cautious if he were lying. Still…

"He's watching us. He knows we're talking about something, "Jack said. "Damn - could he be able to read lips?"

Read lips? Oh.

"We can't dismiss the possibility," Sam said, wincing.

So the Goa'uld might have been able to understand what they were discussing?

"Overestimating an enemy is often as bad as underestimating them," Hordak pointed out.

"Well, let's huddle for the next discussion," Jack said.

"Huddle?" Adora asked.

"Gather round, like this." He demonstrated. "So… we need to know if he knows anything about Cimmeria's protectors. Any suggestions on how to ask that without revealing what we know and don't know?"

"Uh." Adora hadn't been trained in interrogation. That had been something Shadow Weaver had reserved for herself. She probably hadn't wanted to teach Adora how to spot lies either.

"Let's just ask Seth about what he did on Earth. Let him talk and see what we can find out," Catra suggested. "We can ask about Cimmeria later."

"And what about Osiris?" Daniel asked.

"He's been sealed in that jar since Ra's departure," Jack replied. "I doubt he has a lot of actionable intel."

"But as a high-ranking Goa'uld, he has a lot of important knowledge," Teal'c pointed out.

"Right. But it's not urgent either. And since he hasn't been raising and murdering cults on Earth for thousands of years, we might make Seth think that we like Osiris more," Jack said.

"Play them against each other." Catra nodded with a grin.

Adora frowned. That seemed manipulative. On the other hand, they needed information. "Let's let them talk? To us, not to each other," she clarified. "Before we make more plans."

"Good idea."

"And we should visit Cimmeria," Entrapta said. "See if we can get more technology samples. Imagine - a completely new technology!"

That was a good idea. Adora nodded. "And we can check how they are doing."

"And if the defence mechanism has been restored. That would mean that their protectors have kept tabs on them and have returned," Catra added.

Adora's eyes widened. "If it hasn't been restored, then they've been left defenceless!" And that meant they would have to step in. You couldn't leave a planet at the mercy of the Goa'uld!

"Well, the Goa'uld wouldn't know that the defence mechanism was gone without attempting an invasion - and they have no reason to assume it is gone," Jack said. He looked a little guilty, though.

"You know what they say about assuming anything," Catra retorted.

"We should not underestimate our enemies," Teal'c added.

"Yeah…" Jack grimaced. "I guess we'll have to see if the new management is OK with visiting Cimmeria."

New management? Oh, he must mean the United Nations. Adora nodded. "Why wouldn't they want us to visit Cimmeria?"

Jack shrugged. "Oh, lots of reasons. That they didn't have the idea, that they think it's too dangerous, that they think it's too expensive, that they want to move the Stargate first…"

Adora frowned. Those sounded like very silly reasons. But Glimmer nodded with a wry expression. And Catra snorted.

*****​

WHY DID YOU FORM A CULT?

I HAD TO HIDE FROM RA

Samantha Carter heard the Colonel snort at that. "And that's why he used variations of his own name for every cult."

"To be fair," Daniel pointed out, "he was hiding - he did not seek attention or tried to spread his, ah, faith. In all the past cults that we could identify, he kept the number of his followers small and hid from the authorities."

"Until the mass suicides."

"Ah, yes."

Sam saw that the Etherians grimaced at that.

"Should I ask why his past followers killed themselves?" Entrapta asked.

"Yeah. Let's see how he tries to justify that." The Colonel grinned.

WHY DID YOUR PAST FOLLOWERS KILL THEMSELVES?

Sam saw the Goa'uld hesitate a moment.

I HAD TO LEAVE THEM AND THEY COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT ME.

"Good answer - blame the victims." The Colonel snorted again. "Ask him why he had to leave them."

WHY DID YOU HAVE TO LEAVE THEM?

IT WAS BECOMING TOO DANGEROUS. I HAD STAYED TOO LONG. RA WOULD HAVE NOTICED.

Catra scoffed. "Didn't his cults always worship Seth?"

"Or Setesh, or similar names," Daniel said.

"Yep, can't really call that hiding. On the other hand, for a snake used to be worshipped by entire countries, he probably was all humble and stuff," the Colonel commented.

"Are you serious?" Glimmer asked. "Do Goa'uld honestly think like that?"

"The false gods are arrogant to a fault, but it would not do to underestimate them," Teal'c commented.

"Also, we have to consider that Seth was used to a much more limited world - not a world with computers and the internet," Daniel said. "What measure he took to avoid notice would have been sufficient in the past, like in the eighteenth century, when his last cult suicided."

"You still found him." Bow frowned a little.

"Yes, but that was because vast archives have been scanned and archived electronically," Daniel explained. "That wouldn't have been possible just a few years ago."

"So, what should I ask him next?"

"Ask him why he didn't tell his followers that he'd return."

Entrapta typed, and, once more, the Goa'uld hesitated just a moment too long to give an honest answer, in Sam's impression.

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN CRUEL AND A LIE

"Yeah, right."

"He's the picture of the compassionate god." Catra snorted again.

Seth was still typing.

YOU RULE YOUR PEOPLE - WOULD YOU LIE TO THEM?

Sam pressed her lips together. This was a blatant attempt to drive a wedge between the Etherians and Earth, aimed at the most obvious difference between their worlds.

Entrapta frowned, and her hair flew over the keyboard.

I WOULD NOT LIE TO THEM AND CLAIM TO BE A GODDESS.

WHAT MAKES A GOD OR GODDESS? POWER? YOU HAVE POWER BEYOND BELIEF OVER THE TAU'RI. YOU CAN HEAL YOUR PEOPLE. FEED THEM. GUIDE THEM.

ANY PRINCESS CAN DO THAT. THAT POWER DOES NOT MAKE YOU A GOD.

WHAT ABOUT MAGIC?

That was a good question, in Sam's opinion.

Apparently, the Colonel shared this view since he said: "Well, if you can heal the sick and the lame, feed the masses and raise the dead, we can start talking about what makes a god."

"No, we can't! I'm not a goddess!" Adora blurted out. "Just tell him that we aren't goddesses."

WE ARE NOT GODDESSES. WE ARE PRINCESSES.

SEMANTICS. YOU RULE BECAUSE YOU ARE THE MOST POWERFUL. BECAUSE YOU ARE THE MOST EXPERIENCED. BECAUSE YOU ARE DIFFERENT.

"Well, technically, he's correct." Catra stretched her arms above her head.

"It's not the same!" Glimmer hissed.

Catra nodded. "Yeah, you don't claim to be a goddess."

"We also don't lie to our people!"

Sam glanced at the Colonel. He was pressing his lips together - he probably had to bite his tongue, literally, to keep from snarking.

"Well, fundamentally, the rule of the princesses is based on the magical power that makes them princesses," Hordak said. "Or that made their ancestors princesses. Any legitimacy by lineage still devolves from power."

"We assume that that was how the royal lines started, but we don't know," Bow objected.

"Well, it's the most likely explanation," Entrapta said. "If the First Ones had installed the royal families, the research base should have had data on that."

Sam was inclined to agree. But saying so would have been… undiplomatic. Even the Colonel was aware of that.

"Well, how your ancestors came to power doesn't matter nearly as much as how you use your power - both magical and governmental," Daniel said. "The Goa'uld only care about themselves. That is the difference."

"Yes!" Adora nodded several times. "We don't rule for ourselves!"

"You don't rule anything anyway," Catra added. "Well, unless we count Third Fleet."

Adora scowled at her. "That doesn't count! I didn't ask for them to… follow me!"

Entrapta was typing again.

WE USE OUR POWER FOR OTHERS.

AS DO I - IT IS A POOR RULER WHO NEGLECTS HIS PEOPLE.

"You're a parasite!" Glimmer spat. "Living by possessing people - and exploiting your slaves!"

"Should I tell him that?" Entrapta asked.

"No." The Colonel shook his head. "Ask him what he did to Osiris."

This time, the Goa'uld hesitated even longer, Sam noticed.

*****​

Catra clenched her teeth and suppressed the urge to hiss - again - at the lies Seth was spewing on the screen. If one were to believe him, he was the innocent victim of jealous rivals - Osiris and Isis - his weakness being too caring about his followers while, at the same time, being too successful thanks to his followers 'flourishing' under his gentle guidance.

Fortunately, not even Horde Cadet Adora at her worst would have been naive enough to believe him. Not after the way he ruthlessly ordered his followers to suicidally attack them so he could escape. The additional information Daniel had dug up was just confirming that they were dealing with a monster on par with Shadow Weaver - worse than Shadow Weaver, actually. Catra could easily see Seth acting like Horde Prime, spouting drivel about harmony while murdering everyone who didn't fit in enough. Or brainwashing them, she added with a shudder.

"Wow, we're holding Gandhi's spiritual successor here!" O'Neill exclaimed with a chuckle.

"Gandhi?" Adora asked.

"A famous Indian pacifist," Daniel replied. "He was crucial for India gaining its independence from the British colonial rule and used nonviolent means to protest and oppose oppression. Although some of his views and policies have become controversial lately."

"Daniel, if you explain things like that, people miss the point."

"That could be avoided if you pick a better example, Jack."

"Whatever!" Glimmer blurted out. "The snake's lying through its pointed teeth, and no one's buying it! Enough of that! What's Osiris saying?"

"Uh…" Daniel cleared his throat. "I've been translating his messages, though they mostly deal with Seth's treachery, warnings about not believing any of Seth's claims, and his dead wife."

"And he's presenting himself as the innocent victim of persecution?" O'Neill asked.

"The victim of a backstabbing attempt at treason that framed him and his wife as a traitor in the eyes of Ra," Daniel told him.

"What I said, then."

"But he doesn't try to appear as a benevolent ruler using his power and wisdom to rule and guide the humans for their own good," Daniel objected.

"Probably because he hasn't seen us on television and doesn't know anything about us," Glimmer said, scoffing. "Or he'd probably claim his wife was a princess."

Catra shook her head. Sure, Seth was as subtle as a hovertank if you compared him to Shadow Weaver, but the others were reacting a bit too strongly to Seth's claim that princesses were the same as the Goa'uld.

Especially since, well, he wasn't entirely wrong, as Daniel would say. Princesses ruled because they were princesses, and they were princesses because they had magic powers that they were born with. Dress it up however you wanted, it still came down to power. Netossa and Spinnerella weren't ruling a country, but if they wanted to, they could probably find an area not claimed by any princess and take it over. Catra doubted that too many would care.

And she didn't doubt that a princess could be as bad as the Goa'uld. Maybe even worse, though that would take a lot and probably lead to other princesses banding together to deal with you. There probably had been such bad princesses before. She didn't know any example, but Bow was the historian, or at least the son of two historians, not Catra.

But none of that meant that Catra's friends were bad people. "He's just trying to manipulate you," she said. "As we expected. But compared to Shadow Weaver, he's bad at it." Mostly because Seth didn't know them, not really.

"He's trying his best," O'Neill added. "But he's still a Goa'uld - I bet he can't really take us mere humans seriously."

"The Goa'uld do not consider anyone their peer, or even just deserving of respect," Teal'c said. "Horde Prime might have come the closest thanks to his power, but they would have destroyed him as soon as they found a way to do so."

"Well, he didn't even bother with pretending. Whatever got in his way was destroyed." Catra shrugged. "Anyway, Seth is just trying to suck up to you because he thinks power's all that matters and that everyone's the same." And she was very familiar with that view.

Adora nodded, but she was still clenching her teeth, Catra could tell. And Glimmer was still staring at the Goa'uld as if she wanted to smash them in their cells.

Well, so was Hordak, she noticed. Entrapa looked upset, which must have set this off.

What a mess. In hindsight, they should have left this to Stargate Command. On the other hand, Seth had only started talking once he had seen Adora and the others.

Catra stretched again, the claws in her feet slightly digging into the floor - it was only concrete, so Catra didn't have to worry about damaging a mosaic or some polished wood or expensive carpet. "So, do we have to keep listening to those lies? Or can we do something more productive now? Like taking a nap?"

"Both Seth and Osiris were present when Ra ruled the Earth - and Seth lived through almost our entire written history!" Daniel said with a pout. "The knowledge they hold could change history and offer crucial insight into Goa'uld society."

Catra chuckled. "Well, looks like you just volunteered to keep talking to them." She tugged at Adora's arm. "Come on! Let's get something to eat; I'm hungry!"

Adora didn't object to being dragged out of the room. That meant she was still mulling over Seth's words. Probably questioning if she was a Goa'uld-style ruler.

Damn. Catra really wanted to shred the snake with her claws.

*****​
 
Chapter 38: Doubts
Chapter 38: Doubts

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 21st, 1998

"A funeral for the Goa'uld?" General Hammond sounded surprised.

Jack O'Neill, standing at parade rest in the general's office, nodded. "Yes, Sir. Osiris asked to see the body of his wife - or her grave."

The general sighed. "And it happened in the presence of the Etherians."

"Yes, Sir."

"And letting him see the body would be…" The general grimaced.

Jack nodded again and refrained from commenting that getting the body back together would mean solving a puzzle and draining gallons of formaldehyde.

General Hammond sighed again. "And just when we're about to be formally transferred under UN control."

"Yes, Sir."

The general narrowed his eyes at him.

Oops. Maybe Jack had overdone the dutiful by-the-book officer act. "Do you think that the Security Council won't be willing to please the Etherians? It's our mistake, after all." The Russians and the Chinese would love to rub the United States' face in. And the British and the French wouldn't exactly do their utmost to help out, either.

"I think the Security Council's representatives might see this as a way to present themselves as not prone to making the same mistakes we did," General Hammond replied.

Oh, yes. Jack could see that. Damn vultures. And yet… "Speaking of mistakes, Sir…"

Hammond stopped sighing and looking at the ceiling and zeroed in on Jack once more. "Yes, Colonel?"

"Cimmeria was brought up during the interrogation," Jack said.

"The planet with the people worshipping Thor."

"Yes, Sir. The Etherians would like to visit." Jack straightened just a bit. "They are curious about the technology on the planet - and they voiced their concern that our actions might have left the planet defenceless against the Goa'uld."

"How would the Goa'uld find out?" Hammond asked.

"I said the same, Sir. But the Etherians want to go. There was also talk about installing a surveillance drone to keep an eye on the planet." Jack inclined his head. "Captain Carter seemed to think the proposed design was feasible." Feasible enough to have her spend time in her lab with Entrapta and Hordak working on a bot.

"I see. Well, that's another request I'll have to present our new command crew with."

"Yes, Sir." Another glare. Jack didn't show any reaction. "And, speaking of that, Sir: When will the new brass arrive?"

"I just received the news. They will arrive tomorrow."

It was Jack's turn to be surprised. "That's faster than I expected."

"Even the United Nations can move quickly if they're motivated enough." Hammond snorted. "The security up top is working around the clock to ensure that the new United Nations Stargate Command can be kept from accidentally entering the other areas of the base."

'Accidentally'. Jack snorted - as if the Russians and the Chinese wouldn't try to use this to spy on the Air Force! "Any word of who's going to play overlord?"

"We'll have a joint command overseeing UNSGC operations, with members drawn from all permanent members of the Security Council," Hammond replied.

A committee! Wonderful!

"They'll also provide troops and officers to Stargate Command, although, to my knowledge, it's understood that they will need to be trained before they can cover crucial posts."

Even better - they'd have to train FNGs to take over. And spooks masquerading as FNGs. "It feels as if we're expected to train up our own replacements, Sir."

And Hammond nodded. "That's probably correct, Colonel. International politics being as they are, we cannot expect Stargate Command to remain heavily dominated by the Air Force."

"We're the most experienced, Sir," Jack spat.

"Which means it'll take some time until we're replaced. And the United States will keep troops in Stargate Command. But I think the bulk of our current roster will be transferred to whatever our space forces will end up called."

"Including my team." He clenched his teeth. It was a logical development. It made sense. It still grated. He had been with Stargate Command, well, not from the start, but pretty much from the first time the gate had been used.

"Yes." Hammond smiled. "Your close relationship with the Etherians makes this a no-brainer. The United States need you working with the Etherians fighting a war, not guarding the Stargate."

"Someone has to keep an eye on this new… command, Sir." Who knew what the Russians and the Chinese would try to pull if they were left unsupervised.

"I am certain that this concern will be addressed by our superiors."

"Does that mean we'll get new troops from the NID?" Jack tilted his head and raised his eyebrows.

Unfortunately, Hammond didn't laugh. "I was assured that we'd be receiving people with the necessary training to ensure that the Stargate won't be used in ways that would endanger Earth."

More spooks. Great. Well, at least that meant leaving Stargate Command would be easier for everyone in SG-1 - Jack knew none of his team members wanted to work with the NID. "Can I tell the rest of my team that?"

Hammond smiled. "Never give an order you know won't be obeyed, Colonel."

Jack grinned in return.

*****​

"Team huddle!" Jack O'Neill said, peering into Carter's lab. As expected, his entire team was there - Carter was going over the data Entrapta had left, Daniel was going over the transcripts from this afternoon, and Teal'c was… thinking, probably.

"Sir?" Carter tilted her head with a very polite expression - she wasn't in the mood for banter, then.

"Metaphorically," he told her as he closed the door. "With the snakes back in their cells, we don't have to fear being overheard. So!" He clapped his hands. "I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

Carter raised her eyebrows, but Daniel seemed to ponder the question. "Uh… bad first?"

"Stargate Command will be formally transferred under control of the United Nations Security Council," Jack said. "The new brass arrive tomorrow."

Daniel blinked, obviously surprised, while Carter pressed her lips together. Teal'c nodded slowly.

"More bad news: It'll be a joint command, committee-style."

"How is that supposed to work?" Daniel asked.

"I assume that they'll have lots of discussions and votes." And Hammond would be forced to make urgent decisions on the spot, which probably would result in him getting the boot - the brass didn't like officers who kept showing them up.

"So, what's the good news?" Daniel asked.

"I haven't finished with the bad news yet," Jack told him with a toothy grin. "We'll have to train up our replacements, and sooner or later, most of Stargate Command - our current command - will transfer to whatever will be our new Space Force." Jack waited a moment, then added: "Including us."

"What?" Daniel gasped.

"They don't want us working for the United Nations," Carter said, looking… not pleased. "Not when we're friends with the Etherians."

"Exactly. And, well - the Space Force will be where the action's at." Jack grinned. "That's the good news. We won't have to suffer the new regime for more than a few months, and we won't end up glorified bodyguards for diplomats." Or casualties of international powerplays.

"We can't really train up competent replacements in a few months," Daniel protested.

Jack shrugged. "Not everyone will leave. Hammond might stay if the United Nations don't piss him off too much. But we're needed in the war."

"The Stargate is crucial for the war," Daniel said.

"Yeah, and I assume we'll be using it when we can." Jack grinned. "But we won't have to deal with that Chinese-Russian clusterfuck. We'll be kicking snake ass."

Carter nodded. "We'll be working very closely with the Etherians, I assume."

"Yep. I can't see anyone, not even Kinsey, being as stupid as to assign us elsewhere." It wouldn't make any sense.

"I am looking forward to fighting the Goa'uld at the Etherians' side," Teal'c commented.

"But… I'm a civilian," Daniel pointed out. "Will that work for the Space Force?"

His friend didn't want to become a soldier, Jack knew that. And Daniel wouldn't be a good soldier anyway. "Of course it will," he said. "The brass needs you."

"They can keep me in the office, translating things. If we're invading planets…" Daniel trailed off.

Jack shook his head. Carter looked concerned as well. "Don't worry about that," he told them. "Remember what the Etherians told us about their war against the Horde?"

"Yes…?" Daniel looked confused, but Carter nodded. "The princesses are planning to fight at the frontlines. And in special operations."

Jack smiled at her. "Exactly. And that means if we want to work with them, we need to send people who can work with them, not just for them. If the brass sends a bunch of marines to work with the Etherians, they'll end up being grunts doing the shooting while the Etherians make the calls." And the United States didn't like subordinating their troops to others like that. "They'll need us. SG-1."

Daniel nodded as well. "Right. The princesses and their friends are like us - not just soldiers, but scientists as well." He smiled. Then he frowned. "But there's no Space Force yet. I mean, not the kind we talked about."

"Give them time," Jack told him. "There's no alliance with the Etherians yet, either. I assume that once we have an alliance, we'll be amongst the first to be transferred out of United Nations Stargate Command." The sooner, the better - he still didn't trust that damn Russian 'scientist'. And yet… "And the last piece of somewhat bad news: We'll have to clear any mission to Cimmeria with our new overlords."

Daniel's face fell again.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, September 22nd, 1998

She wasn't like the Goa'uld. She didn't claim to be a goddess - quite the contrary. She didn't rule thanks to her powers - she didn't rule, period. She didn't enslave anyone, either. Nor did she lie.

Adora stared at the ceiling above her bed and sighed. No matter how often she told herself that, she couldn't help wondering if it was true. Or, should it be true, if it was enough of a difference. She had led people in the war because she was She-Ra, Princess of Power. Sure, she had the officer training from the Horde, but she hadn't earned her position. Not when she had gotten it, at least. She had proven herself afterwards. At least she liked to think so.

"Stop moping!" Catra reached over and flicked her nose.

"Ow!" Adora rubbed her nose and pouted at her lover. "I wasn't moping!"

"You were. Stop thinking about it. Seth is a liar. You're not a Goa'uld." Catra shifted and slid from Adora's side on top of her chest, looking down at her.

"I know!"

Catra raised her eyebrows, and her ears twitched.

Adora deflated. "I just… I wonder if I've… What if I weren't She-Ra?"

"Then you'd have stayed in the Horde, and we would have conquered Etheria together," Catra told her.

Adora blinked. That was… well, not implausible. Probably even probable. Glimmer was great, as was Bow, and Adora certainly hadn't saved the Alliance by herself, but… the Princesses Alliance had only started winning the war after She-ra had joined them.

"Which would have been a bad thing, of course," Catra added. She wasn't grinning, but she wasn't entirely serious, either - Adora could tell. Her lover might find the thought funny; Catra had changed, mellowed out, as Bow called it, but her sense of humour was still… sharp and dark or something.

"Yes. But… I've been thinking…" Adora started to explain.

"Aha! I knew it!"

"...and I was wondering if we - the princesses - are different enough compared to the Goa'uld."

"You don't burrow into people to take over their bodies," Catra said.

"Not that. The whole… ruling thing. And I know that I'm not a ruling princess," Adora added with a frown before Catra could say anything. "It's the principle of the thing."

"The democracy versus monarchy thing?" Catra cocked her head.

"Yes. Kind of."

"That didn't bother you when Daniel explained things," Catra pointed out.

"Yes." Adora sighed. "But it wasn't… It was just a theory back then. And when we arrived at Earth and found out how much was… weird and bad and wrong here…" She shook her head. It had been so obvious that democracies weren't any better than kingdoms - arguably worse, actually.

"And now you suddenly realised how much worse the Goa'uld are? We already knew that."

"It's not that," Adora protested. "I'm just wondering… without the body-snatching, and the genetic memory, and the eating your kids, what's the difference between a bad princess and a Goa'uld?"

"Princesses generally look hotter," Catra said. Her grin quickly faded, though, when Adora frowned at her. "Well…" She shrugged. "Probably not much of a difference. In principle."

Adora had hoped for a better answer. "So… we aren't really different."

"Sure you are!" Catra snapped. "You, Sparkles, Entrapta, Perfuma, Scorpia, even Frosta and Mermista - you're good rulers. You aren't like the Goa'uld. You care."

"Yes." Adora couldn't deny that. "But that's us. What about… other princesses? Future ones, I mean."

"Ah. You mean… What if Glimmer and Bow's kid turns out to be bad?" Catra tilted her head forward.

"Well… I don't think their child, their potential child, would be bad," Adora said. She didn't even know if they wanted children. Glimmer probably felt she had to, as a princess, but…

Catra rolled her eyes. "I mean as a hypothetical example."

"Yes." Very hypothetical. She couldn't imagine a child of her friends being bad - really bad, not just children doing bad stuff bad. "What then?"

"Then I guess we grab them, lock them up and let Perfuma and Scorpia talk to them until they learn their lesson."

Well, that was a Catra plan, alright. Not a bad plan, but… "And what if they and we aren't around?"

"You mean, what if we all died before it happens?"

"Yes." Adora nodded.

"Then someone else has to do it." Catra sat up, straddling Adora's belly, and shrugged emphatically, which did interesting things to her chest.

"But what if there's no one who can 'take them'?"

"There'll be a She-Ra around."

That was right. Still… Adora frowned. "You told me that I didn't have to do everything."

"Yes." Catra grinned. "But that wouldn't be you. It would be your successor. And they probably won't have much else to do."

"And you don't care about her."

"I don't know her." Catra shrugged again. "I probably won't be around, anyway, to get to know her."

Adora frowned once more. "I'm not going to let you die before me."

"I'm not going to let you die before me," Catra shot back. With a grin, she added: "Let's agree to die together."

"Yes, let's." Adora blinked. "I mean, no! Let's not die at all!"

Catra giggled, leaned down and planted a kiss on Adora's lips.

Adora returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around her lover.

They didn't talk much afterwards.

*****​

"So!" Adora said, a little too loudly, she realised right afterwards, as she sat down to eat breakfast. "Good morning."

Glimmer and Bow both raised their eyebrows at her, then looked at each other for a moment before turning back to stare at Adora.

"What's wrong?" Glimmer asked.

"What? Nothing!" Adora replied. "It's a nice morning, we'll be signing the Alliance with the French today, and… the television isn't showing another riot," she finished, pointing at the screen Entrapta had installed in Darla's kitchen.

"...and international tension is rising as representatives of several African nations have accused France of preparing to intervene with Etherian support in…"

Adora frowned and grabbed the remote to switch the channel.

"...protest turned violent, and the police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse it before it could reach the designated landing zone of the Etherians, and…"

"...of India stated that they considered the concerns about magic that the Chinese ambassador had raised to be unfounded, and…"

"...called for OPEC to develop strategies to deal with the expected change in technology that the aliens will bring, but several member states were unwilling to…"

"....the riots in Tehran continue, and rumours of the Revolutionary Guards refusing to follow orders of the government are spreading. Whether this could lead to a coup remains in doubt, but…"

"...general strike has paralysed Mexico City…"

"…of Iceland has created a government agency to deal with magic, should it be restored to Earth. Its focus is expected to be on the Huldufólk - hidden people, or 'elves' - which are an important part of Icelandic folklore, and…"

"...the United Nations Security Council will formally take control of the Stargate later today, despite protests from…"

"...and anyone reading the Bible, instead of just parroting bigoted televangelists, knows that the Bible didn't limit marriage to a man and a woman - many biblical characters had multiple wives. Further, the parts of the Bible, namely the Old Testament, that can be interpreted as condemning homosexuality also contain other rules that we do not follow any more. Jesus never said anything against homosexuality, and…"

Well, that at least sounded positive! Adora nodded and tuned the channel out. And tried not to glance at her friends' smirks.

"So, what's got her so worked up?" Glimmer asked Catra.

"Seth's claim that princesses are like Goa'uld," Catra replied between swallowing a 'croissant' in a few hasty bites.

"Really?" Glimmer shook her head. "We're nothing like the Goa'uld!"

Adora pressed her lips together. "I'm just wondering what we would do if a princess turns out like one of them. You know, cruel and power-hungry."

"Check if it's Double Trouble trying to create drama again," Glimmer replied.

That wasn't the point! Adora frowned again. "What do we do if a princess is a bad ruler? Should She-Ra intervene?"

"You're She-Ra," Glimmer replied.

"I mean, what if, in the future, a princess turns bad and none of us is around?" Adora explained while Catra sighed. Loudly.

"Ah." Bow nodded. "Historically, such situations were solved through war or the threat of war. Neighbouring kingdoms usually banded together to deal with, ah, a rogue kingdom if it became apparent that they would not stop trying to expand."

"Someone missed the Horde, then," Catra said.

"We didn't miss it - but by the time Hordak made his move, he had already managed to entrench himself and raise an army that was too powerful to be easily defeated by the Princess Alliance." Glimmer scoffed. "But we did win, and now the Scorpion Kingdom has been restored."

"But what if they aren't attacking their neighbours? Just, ah, ruling like a Goa'uld?" Adora asked.

Glimmer frowned some more. And Bow blinked. "Internal affairs of a kingdom have usually been left to the ruling princess of a kingdom," he said.

"Meddling in another kingdom runs the risk of starting a war," Glimmer added. "Everyone would fear that they would be next. If there are issues, like water rights, that's what the Princess Prom is for."

"So, if a princess is cruel to her subjects, that's a topic to discuss at the Princess Prom?" Adora asked.

"More like gossip, I bet," Catra said, earning her a frown from Glimmer.

"Princesses are expected to rule wisely and lead by example," Glimmer said. "No one wants to be shamed in front of their peers."

"But it's a loose system - there's no laws or anything," Bow added. "It's a touchy subject."

"Well, maybe there should be a law," Adora said.

"It would have to be enforced by starting a war, ultimately," Glimmer pointed out.

"Or by She-Ra," Bow said. "But that would be seen as a war as well. Two princesses fighting, and all."

Adora slowly nodded. Maybe that would be a task for She-Ra - and future She-Ras: Dealing with bad princesses.

Catra raised her eyebrows at her, but Adora didn't react. She had to think about this. If She-Ra was supposed to deal with bad princesses, then there needed to be rules to determine what was bad.

But who would make the rules?

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 22nd, 1998

Samantha Carter stood at parade rest while General Hammond saluted and formally handed over command of Stargate Command to the United Nations Security Council.

The four foreign generals present - she recognised General Li, General Sidorov and General Haig from their first visit to the Mountain, but the French had sent a new officer, General Petit - saluted in return, then everyone shook hands.

"General Petit…" She heard the Colonel whisper next to her.

"Jack!" Daniel hissed in response.

Sam suppressed a sigh. She just knew that the Colonel would make jokes about 'General Little'. At least the United States picked General Hammond as their representative on the UNSGC Joint Command instead of someone from the Pentagon without any experience with the Stargate.

"Let me introduce my staff," General Hammond went on. "Most of you have already met SG-1."

More handshaking followed. General Petit, despite the stereotypes about French womanisers and the Colonel's grumbling, was completely professional as he addressed Sam. More professional than many Air Force officers, actually. She didn't get a read on Li, Haig seemed to be slightly annoyed to be here and Sidorov…

…was looking at the Stargate more than at the people present.

"Samantha!" Dr Georgovich beamed at her. "Now we finally can work together!"

"Iwan." Sam smiled at the enthusiastic scientist. It was hard not to like someone so passionate about their work - and so congenial. Of course, Dr Georgovich almost certainly was working for the Russian FSB, the successor of the KGB, in some capacity, but Sam didn't think he was an actual trained agent - the man was a scientist through and through, after all.

"Too bad we not yet in new location. Not much room for science here."

"It hasn't been an issue before," the Colonel said. "The Mountain's got perfectly fine facilities."

"Perfectly fine for American Stargate Command, yes. But now we are United Nations Stargate Command!" Dr Georgovich beamed. "New mission! Less war, more science! And other civilian missions!"

"For a civilian mission, there surely are a lot of new soldiers here," the Colonel retorted, nodding towards the new generals and their entourage.

"Of course! Galaxy is dangerous, scientists need guards." Dr Gergovich nodded at him. "Take good care of us, da?"

"For as long as we're here." The Colonel's smile showed many teeth.

Sam cleared her throat. "Well, let's see how we can fit you and your colleagues into our labs here. We've made a preliminary plan, but the roster hasn't been finalised yet."

"Da! Need to check if all scientists survived gulag, first, before sending them here." Dr Grogovich chuckled. "It's not real gulag, of course. Just top-secret research stations in Siberia. But name is tradition."

The Colonel chuckled at that - he would; he liked dark humour. Sam politely smiled.

"So, once we move to Canada or Australia, we will have one big science building. And another as a spare. And a testing ground for experiments!"

"Once the United Nations decide on a location," Sam said.

"It better be Canada," the Colonel commented. "Can't move to a land without a decent hockey league."

"Da! I love NHL! Almost as good as Russian hockey league, now that Russians play in the USA!"

"In any bar, those would be fighting words."

"But this is no bar." Dr Georgovich laughed again, then turned to Sam. "So, do aliens work with you here as well? Do they have their own lab space? Will they share?"

Entrapta would, in a heartbeat. "They visit from time to time," Sam replied. "But they have their own research facilities in space."

"Oh! I love space. Is it public lab?"

"Invitation only," The Colonel told him. "And the Etherians are a bit touchy about non-allied visitors."

"Like Americans, da? You still have no alliance." Dr Georgovich nodded. "Maybe I talk to them. Entrapta is fine scientist, too. Science does not care about country."

"But scientists generally do," the Colonel said.

"Bad scientists care!" Dr Gerogovich retorted. "But we are all one world now! We need to think like that!"

A lovely attitude. Sam wished that would be true. But they couldn't even get all Americans to agree on what had to be done - or to care more about the whole than themselves. "I think that's an ideal to strive for." Daniel would agree - where was he, anyway?

She looked around and saw him talking to a French officer. Quite an attractive woman. Probably a member of the DGSE, Sam thought, then berated herself for being petty. She should know better than to judge people for their appearance.

Even though Daniel would be a prime target for a honey trap, as the Colonel called it. At least in the eyes of those who didn't know him.

"Da! What was President Lincoln said? 'House divided cannot stand'? Wise words! Earth has to stand united to face Goa'uld!"

Well, there was nothing anyone could say against that. Even though it looked like the Colonel really wanted to disagree.

Sam probably should talk to him if this persisted. They had to work with the newcomers - at least until they were reassigned to Space Force.

"Let's head to the lab," she said. A good distraction would help soothe tempers.

*****​

Le Palais de L'Élysée, Paris, Earth, September 22nd, 1998

"Well, that's an impressive palace for a non-princess," Catra commented as they stepped on the red carpet leading up the stairs to where the French president waited with his wife.

Glimmer looked around - probably trying to figure out if her own palace was bigger, Catra thought with a grin.

"Catra!" Adora hissed next to her.

"I'm not saying anything," Catra defended herself. "I just had a funny thought."

"Don't have funny thoughts when we're signing an alliance treaty," Glimmer said.

Catra would have retorted, but they reached the top of the stairs, and the French president greeted them with a wide smile before introducing his wife.

Catra flashed her teeth, matching the man's smile. She wasn't an idiot - she knew this was an important diplomatic occasion. Like the Princess Prom, but hopefully with better security. At least the soldiers - those not just standing around at attention - looked sharper than Frosta's guards. Well, they had Melog with them; they would spot any trap. Probably.

They posed for the press, shook hands a few times so everyone got the message and then entered the palace to actually sign the treaty. Or not - there was more posing and smiling for the press before Glimmer and the president signed the treaty.

Which then was held up so everyone could smile some more for even more pictures. If Entrapta were here, she'd probably be wondering if this was done so the treaty couldn't be denied since there were too many witnesses.

But Entrapta was running tests of their spy bot with Hordak.

"...and we've prepared a small reception here."

Oh? Finally, a good thing! Catra's smile turned genuine when they entered a large room with a buffet. Her nostrils flared when she smelt fish. Grilled fish.

"Don't drool," Adora commented.

Catra snorted - her lover was as fond of good food as she was. Growing up in the Horde tended to result in that.

They made their way over to the buffet and started filling plates with food. The French president seemed to relax as well - he even pointed out French specialities for them.

Which, Catra had to admit, were delicious. So delicious, she refilled her plate before joining Adora and the others talking to the French president and his ministers and generals.

"...and we should start the technology transfer right away. Changing production to advanced vehicles will take some time, so it's best not delaying that any longer than strictly necessary," one of the generals was saying.

"You need educated engineers first - and scientists," Glimmer retorted. "You can't really start producing spaceships without knowing what you're doing."

Catra snorted. "Well, you can - but it'll end up like Kyle doing maintenance on a hovertank."

Adora giggled, Glimmer groaned, and Bow frowned. As expected. But the French looked lost, so Catra explained: "He was in our cadet squad. Hard-working, but a screw-up."

"He's a little clumsy, but he's very brave," Adora added with a frown at Catra.

"Anyway, the hovertank broke down in the field. Blocked a whole company from crossing a mountain pass because they didn't dare to push it over the side," Catra went on. "I think the Alliance should have awarded him a medal for that. Heroically holding the pass or something."

"Catra!"

But the French were laughing. "Oh, yes, we had one of those in our company as well when I was a recruit," one of the generals said. "Almost blew himself up with a grenade."

"So, it's true you both were originally enemies of the Princess Alliance?" another general asked.

"Yes," Adora said, standing a little bit straighter. "But we all joined the Alliance to fight Horde Prime."

Of course, it had happened at pretty much the last possible moment, in Catra's case. She nodded anyway.

"Well, a common enemy generally has a unifying effect," the general commented. "We've seen the same with the Goa'uld - after the Americans finally informed us."

"Yes," Glimmer agreed with a nod.

Catra was tempted to mention that the Americans had wanted to keep their arrival secret as well, but… she wasn't Double-Trouble. Causing more problems for shit and giggles was stupid. Although the reaction of the French might tell her how much they knew about Stargate Command… No, that was stupid as well. They needed Earth united if only to make dealing with the lot of the people here a little easier.

"I'm still a little surprised that our weapons are deemed effective against aliens with spaceships," the first general said.

"Well, on the ground, they don't have better weapons," Catra told him. "Probably worse, all things considered - although your weapons need more supplies. We haven't faced the Goa'uld, though, so our estimation is based on the experiences the Americans have gained fighting them for years."

"Well, we can match the Americans on the ground," the second general said. "Soldier per soldier, at least."

"Only if you send in the Légion," another general retorted. He had a different uniform.

Everyone laughed again.

"But, more seriously, we need to train our troops for fighting the Goa'uld. We can't just send them into battle without preparing them for this." The first general shook his head. "And we need the resources for that."

The easiest way would be to do joint training with Stargate Command, Catra knew. They had the experience - it'd be like some old sergeants giving lessons and training to cadets. It didn't turn cadets into experienced troops, but it cut down on basic mistakes. At least for most cadets.

On the other hand, sometimes, they taught the wrong lessons. Or just didn't know enough. Like the time the Plumerians suddenly decided to start fighting back thanks to She-Ra. All the past Horde actions had shown that they wouldn't fight back in an organised manner and would stick to individual resistance. They would have to wing it to some degree.

And such training would be good for their own troops as well - both clones and Alliance troops. Heh, former Horde soldiers might be the best pick for this kind of war, what with having been trained to fight princesses with weird magic powers. Not that the training had been very successful.

"We'll have to ask Entrapta to make some Goa'uld-style training weapons. To simulate the effects," Adora told the generals. "At least for the staff weapons - the zat'nik'tels can be used as they are since they stun and don't kill their targets." She blinked. "Unless you hit a target twice. Maybe those should be simulated as well," she added with a weak smile.

"Joint training," Catra said. "Most of our own troops will gain from that as well."

"Right."

Can help too. Know Goa'uld.

"And Melog will help," Catra added, nodding at her friend. "They have experience with Goa'uld."

A number of the officers stared at Melog as if they had forgotten that they were here. Well, Melog could be very sneaky if they wanted. But… Oh. They had forgotten that Melog wasn't an animal. Even though Adora had introduced them.

At least the president smiled and didn't look surprised. But that raised another point. If even the generals were like this… Catra shook her head. "And your troops also need to train for interacting with other species. Like Melog here. Otherwise, they'll make stupid mistakes. Maybe even fatal ones." If Melog had wanted to harm them with their illusions back when they had met for the first time…

"And magic," Adora added. "People on Earth have weird views of magic."

A few of the people around them winced. "It's a touchy subject for many," the president said. "Mostly because they don't know what magic can do."

"It's more what magic can't do," Adora said. "And we really don't know what Earth magic will be like - your myths and history are a little confusing."

A lot, in Catra's opinion. And so many of them contradicted each other!

"But that might be because you have so many people," Glimmer added. "You have enough people for almost two hundred planets like Etheria. That could spawn hundreds of magical traditions. And, as far as we can tell, you never had a centre like Mystacore on Etheria, where all the sorcerers gather to study and research."

And to hide from the war, Catra thought. It was a bit unfair, of course, but the Alliance would have done much better even before She-Ra joined them if they had had sorcerers fighting for them. Had done better back when Micah had been with them. But pointing that out would only set off Glimmer.

"Could we send people to study there?" the president's wife asked.

"That would be up to Mystacore," Glimmer replied. "They're not officially part of the Princess Alliance."

"Your father and your aunt are, though, and they're the most powerful sorcerers on Etheria and members of the city's council," Catra said. It wouldn't hurt to remind Earth's people that Etheria might not be united, but that the Alliance pretty much called the shots for the planet.

She caught Adora flinching and blinked. Why would…? Oh. She had just reminded Adora of the reason that princesses ruled, and her lover was still worrying that she wasn't any better than the Goa'uld.

Damn.

"Well, it would allow us to study magic without having it returned to Earth," the French president said. "That would likely calm down a lot of people worried about magic."

It would also give them sorcerers trained at the best academy in Etheria - maybe the galaxy. Predictable. But they had misjudged Adora.

Catra's lover shook her head. "That would take years. And Etherian magic might not work the same as Earth magic."

"It would also mean that instead of your native traditions, you would have Etherian traditions," Bow said. "A lot of people want their magic back, not someone else's."

"Yes," Glimmer said. "And there's no reason to wait years before returning magic, anyway. Not when so many people want it returned. India sent another request to restore magic, and the Japanese have stated that this is part of what they want to discuss at our upcoming meeting as well."

That made the French wince, Catra noticed. Well, she had expected that.

"We might have to look into hiring instructors, then - France doesn't have, ah, magical traditions," the president said. "Or if we have, they were lost. Our myths don't tell us how to use magic, only what magic did. And our current research into the matter was inconclusive."

"Well, you'll figure it out," Catra said.

The French didn't seem to take much heart from that, though.

*****​

Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, Roissy-En-France, Earth, September 22nd, 1998

"Well, the food was good, but the company…" Catra stretched as they entered their ship.

"They weren't that bad," Adora objected.

"They wanted us to hand over everything, technology and magic, right away." Catra scoffed.

"They didn't want magic," her lover objected.

"They want magic, just without everyone getting magic," Glimmer corrected her. "And their 'entrepreneurs' wanting unlimited trade with us as if we didn't know how dangerous that is! I hope the British aren't like that, or tomorrow will be the same, just with worse food."

Catra snorted at that.

*****​
 
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Chapter 39: The Training Session
Chapter 39: The Training Session

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 23rd, 1998

"So, there are our FNGs," Jack O'Neill commented as he looked at the soldiers assembling on the field in front of him. "We've got our work cut out for us, Teal'c." They were the worst kind of FNGs, too - FNGs who didn't understand that they were FNGs. Jack knew the type. Most of the members of Stargate Command - the old Stargate Command - had been like that: recruited from elite units, used to being the best. They took a while to be broken down and rebuilt into useful soldiers.

"They are veterans, as I was told, and merely inexperienced where fighting the Goa'uld is concerned. I foresee no trouble teaching them how to fight the servants of the false gods and the false gods themselves as we did to our comrades in arms before."

"Yep. But those aren't Americans, so they'll be more prickly and difficult." Then again, getting Marines to listen to an Air Force officer when it came to ground combat was a challenge by itself.

"I have no doubt that we will rise to the challenge, O'Neill."

"That's the spirit." Jack grinned and kept grinning as he started walking towards the rough formation that had assembled on the field. The officer in charge of the Brits noticed him first and bellowed, the rest of the limeys quickly coming to attention.

The French and Chinese followed, with the Russians a little behind, but all finished before Jack stepped onto the actual field. Four different formations, all of them assembling on their own, with four different officers reporting for training.

"What a mess," Jack whispered after returning the salutes.

Only Teal'c heard him, and his friend didn't react at all.

Then Jack raised his voice. "Welcome to Stargate Command! I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, the senior field officer of the unit. This is Teal'c, former First Prime of Apophis. He is a Jaffa." He nodded at his friend and tried to gauge the men's reactions. There was some tensing, but nothing serious that he could see.

"We're going to teach you about the way the Goa'uld and their Jaffa fight. I know you've been briefed and seen the news, but there's nothing as impressive as first-hand experience," he went on. "For that, we've prepared some target dummies."

Everyone turned their heads to look at the range to the side of the field, where, in the open and behind earthen walls, a dozen dummies had been erected by some grunts. "Line up at the edge!"

A minute later, the soldiers were watching the range - and Teal'c, who had stepped into the centre of the firing line with his staff weapon. It was always better to start with something that drew attention when teaching soldiers, and explosions were a sure way to do that, in Jack's opinion. He nodded at his friend.

"This is a staff weapon," Teal'c said, holding the staff up. "It can fire plasma bolts upon command. They explode upon hitting the target, generally burning through standard body armour of Tau'ri and Jaffa alike."

Jack saw a few of the soldiers whisper to each other - some might not have been aware of the Goa'uld term for humans. One of the Russian female soldiers - or spies; they were far too pretty in Jack's opinion - seemed to be the resident expert for her group. He made a mental note to look up her file later.

Then Teal'c turned to face the field and aimed at the closest dummy. A moment later, the staff fired, and the dummy exploded, sending rubber bits and ballistic jelly all over the place. Teal'c didn't stop and fired again and again, blowing up another dummy and blasting off the top of a wall of earth, then decapitated the dummy behind it.

Jack's friend wasn't quite smiling when he turned to face the soldiers, but he was standing in a sort of smug way. Jack could tell.

He grinned himself. "That looks impressive, but the staff has a few drawbacks as well. Aiming is kind of hard since the thing isn't ergonomic. And it has a low rate of fire - relatively low." It easily beat an M79 or an M203, of course. "But one hit, and you're dead even if you're wearing body armour. So, don't get hit." He grinned.

The chuckling amongst the soldiers sounded just a little bit forced; they weren't green soldiers.

"Now, the second common weapon in our enemies' arsenal." Jack drew the zat'nik'tel from his holster. "Looks weird, doesn't it? That's a zat'nik'tel." He demonstrated the safe and active modes. "It's smaller than a staff weapon and works differently. If you get hit with it, you'll be stunned. Hurts like a bitch, too, trust me about this." This time, the chuckling was a little more reluctant. "Then if you get hit a second time, even if it's minutes apart, you die. Just like that. Dead as a doornail, leaving an intact corpse."

No one was chuckling now.

"And if you get hit there times in succession…" Jack turned and fired at the closest standing dummy. The first and second shots didn't do anything. The third disintegrated it. "...you're literally gone."

Everyone was staring now. It really was like teaching Marines.

*****​

The FNGs were good. Better than the average SGC recruit, Jack O'Neill had to admit. Of course, the other countries would send their best for this assignment - if only so they could build up a cadre to train more troops back home once they had experience fighting the Goa'uld.

He watched a squad of British soldiers navigate the simulation field, trying to get close to Teal'c. Fire and move, the simulated shots not quite as loud as the real thing. Jack didn't see any obvious mistake - but they had never fought Jaffa. And they had no idea how fast Teal'c could run. One more leap… yes.

Teal'c dashed out from under cover, staff weapon firing - at the ground in front of the closest soldiers, throwing up dirt and smoke, temporarily blinding the limeys. Not for long - they changed positions as soon as they realised what had happened - but they reacted as if they were fighting humans.

Teal'c closed the distance far quicker than they expected - he jumped over the rock the first two were hiding behind before the dust cloud had settled. Two jabs, not even shooting, and both men's simulation gear marked them dead.

The rest of the squad started firing, but Teal'c jumped to the side, behind another rock, then returned fire. Simulated fire. One soldier was caught in the open and went down, and Teal'c used two more real blasts to throw up more dust clouds.

The limeys fell back, expecting another charge - and ended up flanked by Teal'c, who had sprinted to the side even faster than they had expected. And that was it for this exercise.

"Bloody hell!" one of their mates behind Jack cursed. "No one told us we'd be fighting Superman!"

Jack clenched his teeth to keep from correcting the soldier. Teal'c was closer to Captain America, not Superman, but it wouldn't do to appear a nerd. He turned and grinned. "Welcome to the galaxy, boys! Don't worry, with training, you'll be able to handle Jaffa."

Another soldier scoffed. "And with artillery."

"No heavy artillery for Stargate Command, alas." Jack smiled. "But anything portable, we can use."

"Why don't we get heavy weapons?" the soldier complained.

"Because our task is exploration and scouting - and guarding scientists and diplomats," Jack quoted their new mission statement. "We're not going to conquer planets."

"Well, we should!" the soldier insisted.

"Hey! Even artillery wouldn't hit the guy when he's right in your trench!" another limey said. "Besides, we got his number now. When it's our turn, we'll get him for sure!"

Jack didn't bother hiding his grin. Just like his latest batch of recruits, they had to learn the hard way.

*****​

"So, how is it…" Daniel took a step back from where he had joined Jack O'Neill when Teal'c tossed another Russian across the mats in the base's gym.

"...going?" Jack grinned. "As expected."

The Russian cursed and rolled to his feet, then charged in again. Teal'c used one Jaffa-martial arts move Jack didn't remember the name of and redirected the Russian's charge into the other Russian trying to sneak up on him from behind.

Both went down in a tangle of limbs. When they got up, one had a split lip, and the other was favouring his left leg.

"Let's take him all together!" the first spat in Russian.

"They didn't say we could."

"They didn't say we couldn't."

"It makes us look bad."

"I don't care! Just take this bastard down!"

Jack chuckled loudly, which made the Russians sitting around the mat glare at him - they would know he spoke enough Russian to understand them - but the four fighting Teal'c didn't seem to care and attacked together.

It didn't help them. Teal'c blocked two strikes, took a kick to his chest and slammed the first Russian down, then tackled two more. All went down, but only Teal'c got up, catching the last one with a mule kick in the chest.

Jack winced - he knew how much that hurt. Dr Fraser wouldn't be happy - she never was when they flooded the infirmary with training accidents. But this was necessary to avoid flooding the morgue once they were in the field.

Anyone with SGC needed to know just how dangerous Jaffa could be.

"They'll think every Jaffa is Teal'c," Daniel commented in a low voice.

"Yes. Better than thinking they are pushovers."

"They might be more easily intimidated when they meet the first Jaffa," Daniel worried.

"Doesn't matter. They'll still fight as well as they can." Jack knew those people. Spec Ops and Black Ops. And some spies. He glanced at the woman he had noticed before. She was getting ready to fight Teal'c next. She was wearing camo pants and a t-shirt that left her arms bare, and Jack studied her muscles. Definitely no desk jockeying data analyst. And not a honey trap, either. Or not just a honey trap. And she moved like… well, not quite like Teal'c, or Catra, but… Jack wouldn't like to fight her on the mats. Not because he wouldn't win - he had about fifty pounds of muscle on her and fifteen years of experience, and that would be telling - but it would be closer than he would like. And he would get hurt.

"Are you sure about that, Jack?"

"Yes. I know the type." Jack would do the same in their place. Had done the same.

"Well, if you're sure that…" Daniel trailed off when more Russians started flying. Not the woman, though - she evaded Teal'c and almost caught him in the back. And she took two throws to stay down.

Yeah, Jack would have to keep an eye on her.

*****​

Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom, Earth, September 23rd, 1998

"Horses!" Adora couldn't help it - she beamed as they stepped out of Darla. There were two carriages waiting for them with horses! And more people on horses! Swift Wind would love this! Or not - he probably would want those horses freed.

"Did they put this together to impress us?" Catra asked, looking around with a barely-hidden scowl.

"No," Glimmer said. "This is standard procedure for state visits."

"We checked," Bow added.

Adora nodded. He had researched things.

"And you didn't tell us?" Catra asked with a frown.

"I thought Adora would tell you," Glimmer replied before taking a step forward and greeting their hosts - represented by the Crown Prince, apparently, and a minister of the government.

And lots of horses. And, of course, lots of reporters.

"I hope they have more effective security than horse cavalry," Catra muttered after a frown at Adora.

"Smile," Adora whispered before she shook the Prince's hand. He looked about as old as Micah.

They exchanged the usual greetings. By now, Adora was kind of familiar with the customs. Shake hands, say how happy you are to be here, smile and wave for the cameras - that came before, when you left the shuttle or ship - and don't say anything too honest.

After the spiel, they climbed into the waiting carriages. Glimmer and Bow rode with the Prince, Adora and Catra with the minister - the Foreign Secretary.

"We're using standard protocols for visiting royalty," the man explained as they took off, travelling at low speed.

Adora nodded. "Of course." They were princesses, after all. And their consorts - even if it wasn't yet official. But that didn't seem to matter to the British. Though Catra suspected that they would care about those details if they didn't have to suck up to the Alliance.

By the time they reached Windsor Castle, they had covered the landmarks on the way, the history of the Horse Guards, food and the weather. No politics. And Adora didn't even have to pinch Catra to keep her lover from making comments about figurehead princesses and queens.

Such as the one they were meeting now. She was old. Adora had known that, of course - she had seen pictures and met her son today - but actually meeting her made that even more apparent. She wasn't like Angella. And not like Madame Razz, either. No disapproving glances or absent-minded remarks.

The protocol for meeting the Queen was supposedly complicated, but it was nothing compared to the rules for the Princess Prom, so Adora didn't make any mistakes while greeting the Queen or walking down the line of soldiers. It wasn't an actual inspection, though - the Queen didn't check every soldier for regulation-conforming uniform, nor did she check their weapons.

Unlike the French, the British didn't have them proceed to the signing of the alliance treaty right away. First, they moved, again with the carriages, to the Queen's palace. Without the Foreign Secretary this time. And past a lot of people, many of them waving tiny flags of the United Kingdom and the Alliance.

"Let's hope none of them tries to kill us," Catra mumbled. Her ears were twitching - she was on edge, Adora realised.

Well, they were surrounded by throngs of people. And Adora knew that not everyone on Earth liked them. But here, she didn't see any signs of a protest. Just cheering people. And lots of children.

*****​

Buckingham Palace, London, United Kingdom, Earth, September 23rd, 1998

They were having tea. Adora had had tea before, but not like this. And not just because they were in the Queen's palace - Buckingham Palace. She'd had tea in palaces before. But not with so much food. And good food, at that - Catra was scarfing down those fish sandwiches. Adora preferred the scones, actually.

"So, how was growing up on Etheria as a princess?" the Queen's second-eldest grandson - the 'spare' according to Catra - asked. He was very young, barely fourteen. Two years younger than his elder brother. The whole Royal family was present, which was, as far as Adora could tell, unusual for state visits.

"You'd have to ask Glimmer that," she told him. "I grew up as a Horde cadet."

"Yeah," Catra cut in after swallowing her latest sandwich. "We grew up in the barracks. Glimmer's the one who grew up in a palace."

Glimmer frowned slightly. "I was trained as a soldier as well," she said.

"In a palace." Catra grinned. "With good food and beds so soft, you could drown in them."

Adora nodded. "Oh, yes. I remember my first night at Bright Moon. I couldn't sleep because it was so soft." And because she had missed Catra's presence, but she wouldn't talk about that.

"We're going to enter the military as well," the young prince told them, nodding solemnly before grinning. "We might even get to fight the Goa'uld, too! Like Uncle Andrew fought the Argentines."

Adora hid a grimace. She wasn't the only one, she saw - the Queen wasn't amused. She looked like Angella right then, just older.

"We shall do our duty," the Queen said. "As we have done before."

She had served in the army as well, or something like it, according to Bow. And her consort had been in the Navy. Like proper princesses.

"Nazis, Argentines, and now snakes," the old man - a prince as well, although now he was the Royal Consort - said with a chuckle. "I wonder what's next. Martians?"

Mars was not inhabited… Oh, he was joking again. Sometimes, it was hard to tell. And some of the consort's jokes were… a little mean. Catra liked them, though.

Adora nodded and took another scone.

"We can't actually be sure that there aren't other realms in the galaxy that might be a threat to us," Glimmer said. "Just because we haven't encountered them so far doesn't mean they don't exist."

"Yes," Bow agreed. "The galaxy is so big, the Goa'uld Empire is a very small part of it. And they limit themselves mostly to the worlds linked by Stargates. We've encountered several different species while we've dealt with Horde Prime and they didn't use Stargates as far as we know."

Species like the Star Children or Melog, whose worlds had been destroyed by Horde Prime. Adora bit a little harder into her scone. So much pain and suffering, so much destruction just because of one man's desires…

"Species like you?" the youngest prince asked, looking at Catra.

"Huh?" Catra shook her head. "No, I'm from Etheria." She patted Melog's head. "They're such a species - Horde Prime destroyed their world."

Melog growled softly for a moment.

"And they remember," Catra went on. "They also remember the Goa'uld."

For a moment, no one said anything. Then the Queen nodded. "Such atrocities must be remembered lest they will be repeated."

"Yes," Glimmer agreed. "We won't let anyone destroy another world if we can help it." She flashed her teeth in a grim smile.

"And we will do what we can to help you," the Queen said.

Adora half-expected their hosts to point out that they could do more to help if they had advanced technology, but no such comment followed. Then again, the Queen was just the figurehead, not the ruler of the country.

"So, how many different species do live on your planet?" the older of the two princes asked, leaning forward a little.

He was addressing Catra as well, Adora noticed with a slight smile.

"Lots. I don't know how many, actually. But there has to be a list in some archive. Or in the research base on the moon," Catra replied.

"A research base on the moon?" The younger prince blinked.

"Yes," Bow told him. "The reason we have so many different species on Etheria is that the First Ones created them as part of their research using genetic engineering. All of Etheria's species are related to humans like yourself."

"Ah." The boy nodded.

And the First Ones had also built a superweapon into Etheria's core to destroy Horde Prime, but that wasn't the time to mention this, in Adora's opinion. "The First Ones were destroyed by Horde Prime as well," she said instead. All but herself. Although Jack also was a First One, so… there probably were more people like her left. On Earth, even.

But that was another topic not suited to this conversation.

"So, can you breed with humans?" the Royal Consort asked Catra.

Catra shrugged. "Sure." She glanced at Adora for a moment and then grabbed another sandwich.

"Any species on Etheria can have children with another species, though they might need magical help in some cases," Bow said. "We haven't any, ah, data on how it works with other species not related to humans, but theoretically, you could use the same methods the First Ones used to create Etheria's species to create offspring."

The Royal Consort laughed at that. "Oh, that will ruffle some feathers!"

"The ramifications for various legislation will be quite complicated," the Queen said. "We will have to bring that up in Our next talk with the Prime Minister. It wouldn't do to be caught unaware by one of Our subjects having offspring with an alien."

"Or an animal," the Royal Consort added with another chuckle.

The Queen didn't seem to be amused but she slowly nodded. "Quite."

The young princes grimaced, and the Crown Prince frowned. "That seems rather far-fetched," he commented. "And such magic would be restricted, wouldn't it?"

"Probably not," Glimmer replied. "Don't you have myths about horse people?"

"Centaurs," Bow corrected her. "And there were minotaurs mentioned as well. Earth magic might make this possible. Technology certainly will, once you master First Ones tech."

"We really must have a talk with the Prime Minister." The Queen lifted her cup of tea and took a sip.

Glimmer frowned. "Can you actually tell him what to do? We were told that the power rests with the elected government."

The Queen smiled. "It's not quite as cut and dry as it sounds. The power does rest with the government. However, the reasons for that are a mix of custom, tradition and laws. And as Queen of England, we wield influence - soft power. The Prime Minister cannot easily dismiss our concerns, certainly not if they are well-founded."

"Which the prospect of people having kids with their pets certainly qualifies as," the Royal Consort added. "I can think of a few people who would have rather married their dog than their spouse."

"Animals cannot consent to marriage, though," Glimmer retorted. "Only sapient species can. You couldn't marry a pet. Well, not according to our laws."

"Nor according to ours," the Queen said. "But we are more concerned about genetic engineering creating new species. Even leaving aside the moral questions about mixing humans and animals, what about the practical aspects? People rarely succeed at their first attempt when they are trying something new, and while a craftsman discarding a ruined piece is normal, we would rather not see people discarded - or suffer from mistakes made in their creation that leave them in pain or crippled."

It was Adora's turn to wince. The Queen was correct; people trying to create a new species would likely make mistakes while experimenting. Even worse, she had a feeling that this was a problem the First Ones - her people - had had to deal with when they experimented in Etheria. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what they had done with 'failed experiments'. Even though the answer was probably buried in all the data from the research base.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 23rd, 1998

"So, this is a zat'nik'tel. Weird design. But powerful. And non-lethal. Boon for police, you think?"

Samantha Carter shook her head at her new colleague. "Two shots kill, three disintegrate, Iwan." Far too easy to kill someone before you realised that you had hit them the first time.

"Make it one shot only?" He cocked his head sideways and frowned at the weapon he was holding. "And limit it to one per squad?"

"Reducing the number of shots - or introducing a hard-coded delay so it would be safe - would mean you'd have to hit with the first shot," she explained. "And that would mean it would only see marginal use. Especially in incidents with multiple assailants." She had had to explain that to a senator before. At least no one had told the NRA yet that there were actual stun and disintegration ray guns on Earth.

"Ah." He nodded. "Too bad. Reliable method of non-lethal takedown would be great. Especially for hostage situations."

"Yes. But not even the Etherians have anything like that." Although they might have some spells which could be used for that. Sam hadn't asked.

He put the gun down and beamed at her. "So! What work do you do?"

"I'm waiting for Entrapta to arrive," she said. "We're working on space surveillance drones." The princess apparently had overslept - after working through the night. Or so Hordak had claimed.

"Great! Space spy drones!" Dr Georgovich clapped his hands together. "You go to space to test, da?"

Sam nodded. She felt almost nostalgic - he was so enthusiastic about space. When was the last time Sam had felt like that? After weeks in space, and several visits to orbit, it had become almost mundane. Of course, all the urgent work piled on her had done its share of taking the wonder out of space travel.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no." She smiled. "I was just thinking about all the other projects waiting for me." Some of which she wouldn't be allowed to work on, now that she was - technically - under the command of the United Nations.

"Oh! What other projects do you work on?" He looked around.

Now that was a little blatant. "Currently? I don't know." She inclined her head with a slightly toothy smile. "Others are going over the classified material to see what will be moved." She suppressed a frown. That was logical, but she still didn't like it.

"Oh." He pouted, then shrugged. "Like in Russia, then. Secret Service controls science."

"Not quite," she told him with a frown. "But not all the work I did was for Stargate Command."

"But you cannot decide what work was and was not, da? Secret Service can classify it."

She kept herself from frowning. "That is out of my hands. I focused on science, not internal or international politics." Technically true, even though she had followed either as well.

"Ah." He nodded with a wide smile. "Again, like Russia! Or USSR!"

It wasn't like that. But saying so would make her look petulant. So she shrugged. "Perhaps. Now, the work on spy drones involves Etherian technology. Horde technology."

"Ah!"

Yes, that would interest Dr Georgovich. He hadn't yet asked if he was allowed to work with Entrapta, but was that because he was aware that this wasn't covered by the new agreement with the United Nations or because he knew that this was entirely up to the Etherians and he hoped that Entrapta would invite him to work with them?

If so, he might be disappointed. Entrapta would do so in a heartbeat, Sam was certain, but Hordak wouldn't. The former warlord had more of a mind for keeping things classified than Entrapta.

"In any case, we have work to do for Stargate Command. Recalibrating for stellar drift, for one." That was needed to keep the Stargate working with their computers.

"Oh. That's what Russian DHD does automatically, da?"

"Yes. But we shouldn't just rely on an artefact we can't duplicate," she retorted.

"Da! We need to learn how to build DHD!"

Oh, if Sam achieved that… It wasn't just the controls for the Stargate or the software, but the power sources… "Let's start with the charts," she said. "We got a lot of astronavigation data from the Etherians and still haven't implemented everything yet."

"Da! Let's do science!"

*****​

"Sam?"

Samantha Carter looked up from the latest readouts when she heard Daniel enter her lab. "Yes?"

"Do you want to do lunch together?"

She narrowed her eyes at her friend. Was he being subtle about 'feeding our scientist', as the Colonel put it, or did he just want to eat with her? It was hard to tell with Daniel.

"Lunch? Oh. Already past noon!" Dr Georgovich exclaimed. "Time to eat! Cannot live on coffee and tea, no matter how much sugar we add, da?"

Daniel blinked, apparently surprised by Dr Georgovich inviting himself along. "Ah… yes." He looked at Sam again.

Was something wrong? If something had happened to the Colonel or Teal'c, Daniel would have said so right away. Was it about the Russians? The Colonel was training the new arrivals today.

"So, let's go? Before only spam is left?" Dr Georgovich was beaming at them.

Daniel nodded. "Ah, OK!"

Sam almost snorted as she followed them out of the lab. "So, will the Colonel and Teal'c be joining us?"

"I don't think so," Daniel said. "Teal'c told me that they will be eating 'in the field' when he came to grab his mess kit."

"How did the training go so far?" Sam asked as they waited for the lift to arrive.

"As expected, I think. Teal'c wasn't very talkative."

Sam chuckled.

"Strong and silent type, yes?" Dr Georgovich asked.

"Ah, yes." Daniel nodded. "Though he also said that Jack was interested in a female soldier."

Sam blinked. What?

*****​

10 Downing Street, London, United Kingdom, Earth, September 23rd, 1998

"...and I'm happy and proud to see this historic agreement signed today!"

It was hard to think of the Queen as a mere figurehead after meeting her, Catra had to admit. Even harder when meeting the Prime Minister right after having had tea with her. He was trying too hard to be nice, in Catra's opinion.

Of course, he wanted this alliance signed, so he had to be nice. But, still… Catra refrained from scowling when everyone present clapped their hands. And his smile was a bit too wide. He just… didn't look like a princess. Or prince, in his case. And he didn't live in a palace. It was a big house, of course, but it wasn't a proper palace. Unlike the French President's palace.

Of course, the French didn't have a queen, so their president filled the spot, so that was probably why he got to have a palace - no princess to show up.

"As are we." Glimmer stood straight, but she wasn't trying to appear taller than she was in an attempt to match the Prime Minister. "We are looking forward to fighting side by side with your troops against the Goa'uld to free their slaves."

More applause while some flunkie presented the alliance agreement to them. A few strokes with a pen later, they had their alliance.

And even more clapping followed. Well, they finally had their second alliance in the bag. And the Germans would follow tomorrow.

So, it was time to celebrate. Only, they had to face the press next. Like with the French. Catra kept smiling while she stared at a dozen cameras and more microphones. "Imagine if we had to deal with that back home," she whispered to Adora as they lined up for the questions.

"Shh!" Adora hissed back.

"You know I'm right." Catra had the last word.

Then the questions began.

*****​

"I'm sorry, but as the Prime Minister already told you, we cannot comment on plans and missions." Catra saw that Adora's smile was frozen as she answered the same question the Prime Minister had already answered. For the third time.

"Audrey Collins, BBC. Prime Minister, are you planning to reintroduce military conscription? According to our sources, the British Army currently has just shy of fifty thousand soldiers available for deployment. This seems quite low for a galactic war."

The man's smile didn't waver. "We're looking into all options once we have a clearer picture of what exactly the military situation demands. Of course, I hope that we will not be forced to reintroduce conscription."

"Does that mean you support extending the alliance with Etheria to countries with more soldiers available for deployment, regardless of their human rights record?"

"That question hasn't been raised so far."

"It seems to be an obvious question. It hasn't been brought up so far?" The woman's frown was impressive.

Adora cleared her throat. "As I have said before: We cannot comment on plans and missions at this point."

"And that includes future diplomatic overtures." Glimmer frowned. "However, we have no intention to lower our standards and ally with people who would discriminate against us."

"Tim Brown, the Sunday Times. Isn't that a form of discrimination?"

That again! Catra rolled her eyes as Glimmer glared at the fool: "Do you think you have a right to our technology? That we have an obligation to share it with everyone, regardless of their deeds and character? Regardless of their stance towards us?"

"No, of course not, but some might consider your stance as forcing everyone to accept your values and morals."

"All we require is to treat people like us - people loving the same gender - equal to others. If that violates your morals, then that says a lot about your morals, but nothing good." Glimmer bared her teeth.

The reporters in France had been much more polite. Or picked better.

"Stop shilling for bigots, Tim!" someone from the reporters yelled. "We're here to get information, not push conservative policy!"

"Indeed," the Prime Minister said. "Ken?"

"Ken Smith, The Guardian. Will you send teachers and instructors to Britain to proliferate technology or invite students to Etheria or both?"

Glimmer glanced at Bow, who took a step towards the microphone. "We're still evaluating how we can share our technology in the most efficient way. However, transporting large numbers of people to Etheria seems not very efficient even with the Stargate, not when the industry to be converted is here."

And it would also flood Etheria with spies. Though saying so would be rude. Which was why Adora had told Catra she couldn't comment on that. Spoilsport.

"Karen Calloway, The Independent. Will there be a supreme commander for the Alliance?"

"Why wouldn't there be a supreme commander?" Adora looked as surprised at the questions as Catra. Of course there would be a supreme commander! You couldn't wage war effectively without one person in charge. Trying to fight a war under a committee was a recipe for disaster, as the Princess Alliance had found out early on. "It would be foolish not to fight under a unified command."

"And who would be that commander?"

"That remains to be seen. None of us has experience waging war against the Goa'uld, so we can't tell yet who's best at it." Adora nodded with a smile. "I think it will take a while to find the right person."

"And to convince them to take the job," Catra added with a grin. "Those who have been in command of an army at war before know what I mean."

But it was a good question - who would lead the alliance forces? Adora? Glimmer? Not Hordak. And certainly not any of the other princesses. Adora would be best - Catra could work best with her.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 23rd, 1998

"...and the Etherian delegation is currently attending the state dinner in Buckingham Palace. According to usually well-informed sources, informal talks following the signing of the alliance have gone well, and concrete results are supposed to be released soon. Neither the Etherians nor Her Majesty's Government was willing to comment, though, so speculation is running rampant."

Sitting in the mess hall, Jack O'Neill rolled his eyes at the reporter on the screen. Of course they wouldn't comment on informal talks - or release anything before the alliance agreement with the Germans was signed and the Etherians could actually start hashing out concrete details with the limeys, the Germans and the French.

Well, there were rumours that at least half the smaller European countries wanted to join the alliance - like the Swedes and the Finn, once they worked out how to handle their neutrality. That might delay the whole process further. Or the big three might just go ahead anyway and expect the smaller countries to follow their lead. Jack had a feeling that the last thing the Europeans wanted was to have the United States join the alliance too soon. Or at all.

To quote the limeys he had trained today in the field: bloody wankers. They were in this together - all of Earth was. They had to work together to defeat the Goa'uld. Though Jack wouldn't mind if the Russians and the Chinese were a little less involved.

He glanced over at the table where most of the Russian soldiers were sitting. How many of them were spies? It was hard to tell. All of them had military experience; Jack had confirmed that today. But how many had training as spooks? Some didn't hide their interest in everything in the Mountain, whether or not it was part of Stargate Command, but were they spies - or just distractions for the real spooks? Or was it a triple bluff?

He studied the woman who had caught his attention earlier. Lt Svetlana Lenkova. She was most certainly a spook - she had combat experience, Jack was sure of that, and women weren't allowed to serve in combat units in the Russian army. According to her file, she was a communication specialist, but he had seen her shoot and fight in close quarters, and he'd eat his service cap if she was a radio operator with basic combat training. The way she sat, a little too relaxed, and the way the Spetsnaz soldiers listened to her was another clue. No special forces would act like that towards a radio operator. Certainly not with one as pretty as the woman.

"Jack?"

He blinked and turned to Daniel. "Yes?"

"You were staring at the Russians."

"Yes?" Why wouldn't he stare at them? They were a security risk. This was still an American base, no matter whether or not the Stargate was now UN property or whatever.

"So, Teal'c was correct - you're interested in the blonde."

"What?" He blinked again.

"He said that she caught your attention." Daniel was… not quite frowning.

"Indeed." Teal'c nodded.

And Carter… was focusing on her meal. Probably going over some data in her head that Entrapta had brought up in the afternoon or something.

"Well, yes," Jack told his friend. "I'm sure she's a spy."

"A spy?" Daniel looked surprised. And Carter stopped eating to stare at Jack.

He sighed. Daniel was a little naive, but Carter should've known better. "Yes. I'm sure she's GRU. Russian military intelligence," he added for Daniel's benefit.

To his friend's credit, he didn't ask if that meant KGB. "So, that's why you're interested in her?"

"Yes?"

"Ah."

Jack narrowed his eyes. What was Daniel thinking? Or implying? Oh, for crying out loud! "Do you really think I would fall for a honey trap?" He scoffed and shook his head.

And caught Lenkova smiling a rather toothy smile at him. Had she been watching him? She couldn't have been listening in, but if she could read lips… He bared his own teeth at her in a wide smile. She might be a lethal GRU agent, but Jack had decades of experience in black ops.

Let's see who comes out on top, he thought.

*****​
 
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Chapter 40: The Expert
Chapter 40: The Expert

Earth Orbit, Solar System, September 23rd, 1998

"I'm dying."

Adora rolled her eyes at Catra. "You aren't dying. You just stuffed yourself."

"Against my will. This was an attempt to kill us. A very subtle and cunning attempt. All those fish dishes… they knew I would be unable to resist." Catra groaned from their bed. "I'll get back at them for that."

"They just wanted to curry favour with you," Adora told her as she finished putting her clothes into their locker - or armoire since it was in their cabin. It was her best dress, after all, and deserved to be cared for. It would be a little embarrassing if she had to ask an Earth tailor for another dress.

Not that that deterred Catra. Her lover had dropped her clothes on the floor on the way to the bed. And not in the sexy way - she had groaned and complained until she hit the bed.

Adora sighed and started picking up the pieces.

"Just leave it for the bots. They need to be cleaned anyway," Catra commented from the bed.

Adora pressed her lips together. "It's still not right to just drop stuff on the floor."

"We're not cadets any more."

"That's no excuse."

Catra snorted. "I'd say you're making the job harder for the bots - they need to get it out of the locker now."

She had a point, but Adora wouldn't admit that. You just didn't leave your clothes on the floor. Unless you were seducing your lover, of course - it would kill the mood if you started gathering the clothes. Even Adora knew that.

So she still put the clothes into Catra's locker, sent a message to the bots to get it cleaned, as well as her dress, and then finally joined Catra on the bed.

"Took you long enough," Catra complained.

"It seems you have survived the cunning attack on your life."

"The fish I can't stomach has yet to be born. Not counting fugu."

"Fugu?"

"Some poisonous fish people eat on Earth. Deadly poison."

"They eat poisonous fish?" Were they crazy? Crazier than Adora had thought?

"Well, they cut the poisonous part out or something. Unless the cook makes a mistake, it's perfectly safe." Catra shrugged - a bit too nonchalantly.

Adora knew her lover. "You're not going to eat that fish." No one was perfect, after all. Everyone made a mistake at least once.

Catra frowned at her. "I didn't say I was going to eat it."

"I know you were planning to eat it."

"I wasn't really planning to eat it. We aren't even planning to visit Japan. And I don't think they would serve it at a state dinner, anyway."

Adora narrowed her eyes. That was a lot of research into a fish. "Of course they wouldn't serve poisonous fish at a state dinner!" Because it was poisonous!

"So, there's no reason to worry about me." Catra grinned widely.

There was only one answer to that. Adora slid over, then rolled on top of her lover. "I do worry about you anyway. Because I know you," she said, looking down at Catra.

"Well, you shouldn't. I survived fighting you," Catra retorted.

Adora suppressed a sigh. That was typical for Catra, mentioning the war to change the subject. "I worry anyway," she repeated herself.

Catra bit her lower lip. "I know," she whispered after a moment, glancing to the side. And blushing under her fur.

Adora smiled and bent down, planting a kiss on her lips. And another. And then a third, longer one, when Catra wrapped her arms around her.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, September 24th, 1998

Glimmer and Bow were already at the table when Adora entered Darla's kitchen with a yawning Catra in tow. Hordak and Entrapta were probably still asleep - they had worked late into the night.

"So… what dastardly plans of us have the news revealed now?" Catra asked as she grabbed some bread and butter.

"The usual," Glimmer replied. "Blah blah forced laws on us blah blah unfair discrimination blah blah plan to corrupt our youth blah blah weak government blah blah corruption at the highest level blah blah global conspiracy."

She must have watched quite a lot of the news already, Adora realised.

"Well, most were quite positive," Bow amended. "Just a few channels and newspapers were… critical."

"And all of them are owned by the same people," Glimmer said. "Most belong to the same person, even. At least in England and America."

That was… well, not surprising. "Should we talk to them? Explain that we aren't corrupting anyone?" Adora asked.

"Won't help if they're a bigot," Glimmer said. "But they might just expect a bribe," she added. "They might want something in exchange for stopping this. They aren't as… fanatical as the others who hate us."

Adora frowned. "They are trying to blackmail us?" That was…

"Not blackmail, more like… extortion," Bow corrected her.

"It doesn't matter whether they hate us or want to extort something." Glimmer scoffed. "We have many more important people to talk to."

"But we could ask the Americans what's up with them," Catra suggested. "Have them do something about that. I mean, not that we would ask that, but I bet they would do something if we mentioned that this was annoying."

That was… likely, actually, but Adora didn't think it would be a good thing to do. It felt wrong. "I don't think that's a good idea," she said.

"Yes," Glimmer agreed. "The Americans might think that we owe them for anything they do."

Adora frowned again. That wasn't why she thought they shouldn't do this.

*****​

"So… did you find anything that I missed and that we should be aware of during our trip to Germany?" Adora asked when breakfast was over - well, almost over; Catra was finishing the scrambled eggs.

"We didn't actually do any research after yesterday's state dinner," Bow told her.

"As if you'd have missed anything," Catra said after swallowing. "You obsess over that stuff."

"I like to be prepared," Adora defended herself. "And the better we understand the Tau'ri, the fewer problems we'll have."

"Half of the time, nobody can understand them. Probably not even Earth people themselves," Catra said with a chuckle.

Everyone laughed, though it was a problem. Misunderstandings could have tragic consequences, as Adora and her friends knew very well. "Well, I don't think we'll have any problem at the signing. We didn't have any trouble in France or Britain, and they're supposed to be similar countries." She had mapped out some differences, but most of them didn't seem to apply. Except for the whole thing about the world war. The Second World War. As long as Catra didn't ask about the war, they should be fine. Though, speaking of the war… "What do you think about the supreme commander question?"

"It's a no-brainer," Catra said. She scoffed. "Without a unified command, we'll be as bad as the Alliance was before you took over."

"Hey!" Glimmer protested. "Adora didn't take over - we had to restore the Princess Alliance because it had fallen apart at that point. That was why the Alliance was so ineffective!"

Catra shrugged. "Same thing - you had no overall commander."

"It's not the same thing!"

Bow shook his head. "Let's not argue about the Alliance, OK?"

Adora nodded emphatically before Glimmer and Catra could continue their disagreement. "Yes. We all know we need a commander. The question is: Can we persuade our allies on Earth of that? And who will take the post?"

"Why would they baulk at this? They aren't that stupid," Catra said. "They had one in the big war as well. At least one per front or something." She grinned. "And I think we can persuade them - we've got the fleet and the technology they want."

That was a good argument. But… "And who would become supreme commander?" Adora asked.

"Not one of theirs," Catra said at once. "They have no experience with our technology or war in space."

"We don't have much experience with a war in space either," Adora pointed out. Well, she had personally cut fighters in half, but…

"It's still more than they have." Catra grinned. "And the clones have lots of experience - and Priest will follow you."

Adora grimaced. That was true, but she didn't like being reminded of it. "Still, we can't let them lead us." The only clone with actual experience as a commander in a war was Hordak. And Adora didn't think anyone except, possibly, Entrapta would want him to lead the Alliance.

"But we have less experience fighting the Goa'uld," Bow pointed out. "The Americans have been fighting them for years."

"They aren't in the Alliance," Catra retorted.

"But they might join," Bow told her. "They are making progress with their reforms."

"And they have access to Goa'uld technology and a ship of their own," Adora added. "They could fight without an alliance - they did that so far. And they have the Stargate, so they can keep fighting the Goa'uld."

"The whole planet has access to the Stargate," Catra said. "Technically." She flashed her teeth in a grin.

"If we don't get them all united under one command, this will be a mess," Adora said. "But we can't ally with countries where we would get imprisoned - or worse - for loving each other."

Glimmer nodded. "Fortunately, the British and the French are part of the Security Council. If the Americans join the Alliance, that would mean they could control the Stargate. At least to some degree."

"I don't think the other countries would let them control the Stargate," Bow said.

"But if the Americans join, they'll want to have command," Catra said. "Hey! We all talked to SG-1. Remember Daniel's lectures? They are used to being in charge. And they don't like following orders. Especially from princesses - remember the comments about you? And our age?"

Adora did remember those comments on their television. As if you had to be old to lead! Or male!

"Well, we can't let them be in charge," Glimmer said. "They're not even in the Alliance yet."

"We haven't launched any operation yet, either." Bow shook his head. "By the time we're ready for an attack on a planet, we might have an alliance with the Americans."

"That means we should have our structures down for the new Alliance before that happens," Glimmer said. "And I think one of us needs to be in charge."

"Priest will only follow Adora, anyway," Catra pointed out. "Not anyone from Earth."

Adora frowned, but her lover was likely correct. "But I could be a subcommander." She beamed at Glimmer. "You could lead. You lead the Princess Alliance in the war."

Glimmer didn't look as enthusiastic as Adora had hoped.

Catra, though, did. "Yes. And you have the political experience and rank to wrangle all the others."

Glimmer frowned. "I also have a kingdom to rule. Unlike in the war against the Horde, I wouldn't be on Etheria for long."

"Micah's got that in hand," Catra retorted. "Besides, can you see Adora dealing with all those Earth rulers and politicians?"

Adora frowned when both Bow and Glimmer nodded at Catra's words. She wasn't that bad! "What about you, Catra?" she asked with a wide smile.

"No chance. I'm used to leading the Horde, where I could tell everyone what to do and didn't have to worry about a dozen princesses or rulers disagreeing." Catra grinned. "It's you or Glimmer."

"Glimmer!" Adora said at once.

*****​

Area 51, Nevada, United States of America, Earth, September 24th, 1998

"Don't worry, Carter - you'll be back working with these alien thingamabobs soon enough."

Samantha Carter frowned as she turned away from her laptop, where she was cross-checking the inventory of the transport, to look at the Colonel. "I wouldn't presume to forecast my future deployments, Sir." And she wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to work at Area 51 anyway, instead of at the Stargate - or join the still-developing Space Force.

"Oh, come on - this is the Air Force's newest and most secret research facility!" The Colonel grinned. "Where else do you think the brass would send their best scientist?"

"Somewhere they can work with alien researchers without having to go through an hours-long security check?" Sam tilted her head for a moment, then went back to check off yet another piece of alien technology that hadn't been fully identified yet. Probably part of a lattice used to grow crystals for data storage, but Sam hadn't been able to get around to testing her assumption.

"Good point!" The Colonel nodded. "Security is tight here. Very tight."

Sam half-expected him to make an off-colour joke about how tight it was, but he didn't. He was correct, though - security had increased since her last visit. Of course, that had been before first contact with Etheria and all the troubles that this caused - Sam still winced when she thought of the attempted storming of the base by a mob.

But they might have overdone it a little. Daniel and Teal'c hadn't been allowed on-site, presumably because their presence wasn't needed. And because they were civilians. Sam couldn't imagine foreigners, much less alien researchers, being allowed into the base. Having them land at the base was one thing, but entering the base proper was a completely different matter.

Which meant she didn't really want to work here, either. Not to mention that the whole base was about applying alien technology, not groundbreaking research.

And, she added to herself as two transport containers were unloaded from the plane under even heavier security, now containment for alien prisoners as well. Apparently, the United Nations weren't trusted with Seth or Osiris. Sam had pointed out that this would delay interrogation efforts that needed the Etherians' help, but the transfer had gone through anyway. She wondered what would happen when the Etherians wanted to visit - or check up on how the prisoners were treated. Well, that wouldn't be her problem, would it?

Once the two containers were put on trucks bristling with guards and driven out of the hangar, the Colonel spoke up again: "I don't like this. I can't help feeling that the resident nerds and brass underestimate the snakes."

"They will have read the reports and files," Sam said.

"Reports and files are well and good, but they can't replace practical experience. And what are the chances that someone who thinks he's smarter than he actually is comes up with some 'genius plan' that involves the Goa'uld?"

Like offering them some sort of host in exchange for cooperation? Too high, in Sam's opinion. She knew a number of the scientists working here. And some of them she wouldn't trust to look after a hamster. But it was out of their hands for now, with Stargate Command now under the control of the United Nations. "I wouldn't presume to make any estimates," she said.

The Colonel snorted but didn't press her. "Well, the Etherians will find them, should they escape. They've got that magic scanner, after all. But, in the interest of fostering good relations, someone ought to inform them of the transfer as well."

Was he asking her to do it? She was meeting Entrapta tomorrow - today's trip to Nevada took too long to do any more work with the princess - and it would be easy to tell her. She hadn't been ordered not to tell, after all. And Area 51 was supposed to be secret, but the Etherians had landed here for their first visit...

So she nodded. "It would certainly be rude to have them find out once they want to talk to them." Or think the Goa'uld escaped from Colorado.

"Exactly!"

The Colonel watched as the last container with alien technology was opened and both Sam and the local officer in charge went through the inventory. Nothing came up missing or unaccounted for, and the last truck soon left the hangar.

Half an hour later, they were back in the air on the way to Colorado. And catching up on the news.

"...and the crowds are already lining the streets in anticipation of the Etherians' arrival. Berlin is ready for the aliens!"

"But are the aliens ready for Berlin?" The Colonel snorted. "I've been there, actually, during the Cold War. How things have changed."

Sam knew better than to ask him about what he had been doing there. "After today, the Etherians will have an alliance with three of the most powerful countries in Europe."

He scoffed. "Just signing a treaty won't create a working alliance. They still have to hash out all the nitty-gritty details. Troops, command, missions, technology… It'll take a while until anything comes of this." With a chuckle, he added: "Just sorting out who is to be in charge will take a long while."

"I would assume Adora or Glimmer would be in command," Sam said.

"They're the logical choice. But both are young - I've had second lieutenants older than them. That will cause problems."

And their gender, Sam silently added. Many, probably most of the officers would have trouble following the orders of a young woman. She knew that better than most.

"And no one wants to let foreigners command their soldiers," the Colonel went on.

"Least of all the United States," Sam said.

He frowned at her reminder that the United States was working on an alliance with the Eherians as well, with all that entailed. "Yes. Working out who is in charge once we join will be difficult."

Mostly for the United States, in Sam's opinion. Given the discrepancy in experience and resources, the Etherians were the obvious choice for supreme command of Alliance forces in the field. The Colonel was aware of that as well, but she knew he didn't like it.

Sam wasn't entirely sold on it, either. It was logical, obvious, but… it took a lot of trust to let foreigners command your own troops. Who could say if they didn't favour their own troops, even just a little, over others? It was one thing to have a few troops under someone else's command, but all of them?

*****​

Flughafen Berlin-Tegel, Berlin, Germany, Earth, September 24th, 1998

"As I said: The same as in Paris and London." Catra smirked as they stepped out of Darla. "Flags, soldiers and reporters. And a minister or two." Typical.

"Those aren't ministers. Those are the chief of the Bundespräsidialamt and his partner," Adora corrected her.

"Bundespre-what?" Catra asked.

"The office of the head of state of the Germans," Bow explained.

Right. The Germans were infamous on Earth for using weirdly long words. "Still the same. They're just here to greet us," she insisted.

Then they reached the bottom of the ramp, and the whole circus started. Formal greeting, walking past soldiers, past reporters - no answering questions, though - and then getting into cars. No carriages here.

The drive through Berlin felt the same as in Paris or London - lots of people waving and cheering, lots of flags, big and small ones, until they reached a sort of palace, where more soldiers and the German Bundespräsident waited. Now that was a figurehead, in Catra's opinion. No real power at all. And he wasn't like the Queen either. Friendly, but not princess material - she found that out quickly after they started talking in the palace.

"...so, you act as the highest judge?"

And he wasn't interested in their military but their judges. Talk about weird!

"Only for the worst crimes," Glimmer replied. "But those are really rare."

"Really?" The man looked surprised.

"Yes. The normal judges can handle pretty much everything." Gimmer nodded.

"That's surprising. And you pick the judges?"

"Yes. Though most were picked by my mother."

Catra didn't wince. She kept smiling politely, even though being reminded of one of her greatest mistakes - or crimes - that had led to Queen Angella sacrificing herself made her want to wince. She grabbed another snack to distract herself. Tuna salad canapés, those were called, and they were heavenly. She'd have to ask Sea Hawk or Mermista if Etheria had any fish like this.

"...and do you use magic to determine the truth?"

"Yes, when the judge or the people in court ask for it."

They were still talking about the law? Catra wanted to roll her eyes.

"Aren't you concerned that this would force everyone to ask for magical means to prove they are telling the truth or be suspected of or assumed to be lying?"

Glimmer tilted her head with a frown. "Without truth, there is no justice. Why would we want to let people lie?"

"But what if people honestly believe that something is true? Would your magic detect a lie instead?"

"No. But it would still show what the person honestly believed, which is usually decisive for a case."

"Usually, but there are always exceptions, aren't there?"

"Few of them. And even those can be solved with care and attention. We…"

Catra tuned the discussion out. Who cared about the law when they had a war to fight? Especially if it wasn't about war crimes? And why would the right to lie be a right at all? Hell, Double Trouble would love this system!

*****​

Schloss Bellevue, Berlin, Germany, Earth, September 24th, 1998

"...and with this signature, the alliance has been officially formed!" the German Chancellor announced.

Finally! Catra clapped loudly and enthusiastically as applause filled the room. They were here to sign the treaty, not to discuss the finer points of the law. Worst meeting ever, in her opinion. Even if the food had been good. Better than expected, after what Adora had read up on German cuisine. At least they knew how to cook fish.

And now came the press. Gah! Catra blinked as cameras flashed.

"Hans Meier, FAZ. Herr Bundeskanzler, do you expect that this treaty will decide the upcoming election?"

The Chancellor slowly nodded. "Entering this alliance is one of the most important decisions I ever took for the future of Germany - on par with the reunification of our country. With this, we have assured the safety and future of Germany and its place at the forefront of technology."

"Karl Reissmann, Der Spiegel. Herr Bundeskanzler, what do you say to the accusations that you made too many concessions to the Etherians in order to secure this alliance?"

"Those accusations are completely unfounded! All we conceded was the implementation of laws that should have been implemented long ago, to grant equal rights to all citizens and residents in Germany no matter their life choices."

Yeah, the reporters were the same as well. They should have skipped this, in Catra's opinion.

"Jasmin Kowalski, TAZ. Herr Bundeskanzler, how do you feel, having committed Germany to another war of conquest?"

"This comparison is in very bad taste - and wrong as well! We aren't in a war of conquest; we are in a war for our very survival against an enemy that has enslaved countless planets."

"And yet, according to what we know, the Bundeswehr will be expected to help conquer planets. Excuse me, 'liberate' them. Was a diplomatic solution even considered?"

Adora took a step forward. "We're always open for a diplomatic solution - but not if it means accepting slavery. If the Goa'uld desire peace, all they have to do is liberate their slaves, both humans and Jaffa. And if we have to conquer their Empire to liberate their slaves, then we will do that. How would you feel, knowing that you could free a slave but deciding not to?"

"How will you feel, knowing that millions will die in a war that could have been prevented?"

Adora frowned at the woman. "As I said, if the Goa'uld want peace, they have to release their slaves. We will certainly give them the option."

Catra frowned as well. They hadn't discussed that yet with their new alliance members. And contacting the Goa'uld first would ruin the element of surprise. She suppressed a sigh. Sorting this out wouldn't be pretty.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 24th, 1998

"...and experts are divided in their views on whether or not the Goa'uld will respond to any diplomatic offer. Retired Colonel Barnes, United States Air Force, was cited that 'any such offer would be repeating the mistakes made in Munich in 1938', although several prominent activists have already launched a proposal to focus on a 'peaceful resolution of the current differences', and…"

Jack O'Neill wanted to shoot the television. 'Experts'? None of them had any experience with the Goa'uld - or with the Etherians or any other aliens. He had never even heard of Colonel Barnes, and, judging by his age, the man had retired from the Air Force before Stargate Command had been a thing. He definitely didn't know anything. Although Jack would grant him one thing - the man was correct that trying diplomacy with the Goa'uld was stupid. But those 'activists' calling slavery and genocide 'ideological differences'... "God damn it!" he cursed as he stabbed his jello - blue! - with his spoon. "I leave for half a day, and see what happens?"

"I do not think that you could have prevented Adora from voicing her views even if you had been present at the base, O'Neill."

"Da! Unless you have open channel to headphones of aliens, or ability to mute her microphone."

Jack gritted his teeth. Why had the Russian spy - well, the most annoying of their spies - started to sit at their table? Because he had invited himself along when Jack had been in the field training the FNGs, and Daniel hadn't had the balls to tell him to get lost. "It was a figure of speech," he said. Daniel opened his mouth, and Jack shot him a glare. He wasn't in the mood for pedantic linguistic corrections.

While Daniel pouted, Carter spoke up: "Adora didn't actually make any offer - she merely stated what conditions she considers essential for a peace treaty and that she was open to a diplomatic solution. She didn't announce that they would attempt to find a diplomatic solution before taking military action."

"Yep. But everyone took it as a 'peace for our time' moment," Jack said.

"Not everyone," Daniel cut in, still pouting. "None of the involved governments, at least."

"But the press did," Jack retorted. "Until the Etherians clarify what they mean, people will keep arguing about this." They would keep arguing after any clarification, of course, but it wouldn't be as bad as it was right now. "They really should put out a communique."

"They're currently busy with the state dinner," Daniel said.

Probably gorging them on good food. Well, decent food - they were in Germany, after all. "By the time they finish, some fools will have started building a Goa'uld hotel for the peace talks," Jack said.

Daniel laughed, as did the Russian spy. "Funny! A snake hotel, like roach motel?"

"PETA would probably object," Jack told him. Unfortunately, the man didn't look confused but nodded, laughing again.

"It's just the media overreacting to every little slip of the tongue," Daniel said.

"And the politicians who think they can capitalise on this," Carter added.

"Damn vultures," Jack said. Them and their useful idiots. As if you could trust the Goa'uld to keep a treaty!

He finished his jello and looked around. The TV was showing some academic talking about how you couldn't truly understand real aliens' culture and what that supposedly meant for diplomacy with the Goa'uld. "What a nutcase!" he muttered.

"What a hypocrite!" Daniel hissed next to him. "Why would anyone give that charlatan the time of day, much less screen time?"

Jack blinked. "Is there a story here?" he asked his friend.

"Dr Baker was one of, well, my most vocal critics when I published my hypothesis," Daniel replied, scowling. "He called me a UFO conspiracy theorist. And now he's talking as if he were an expert on aliens! The man isn't even an expert in his own field - he needed help reading hieroglyphs!"

Ah, touchy subject. Jack nodded. "The actual experts are all working for us, so who could they drag in front of a television?" He shrugged.

"Someone who actually has an open mind!" Daniel answered his rhetorical question. "Not someone angling to agree with anyone who'd give him a grant!"

Really touchy subject.

"I should call the studio to set things straight. Baker's totally misrepresenting the Thirteenth Dynasty! Which has nothing to do with Goa'uld, anyway!" Daniel went on.

Jack blinked. That was… "I think you should call."

"What?" Everyone, not just Daniel, was staring at him. Even the Russian.

"What?" Jack frowned at them. "This isn't spilling some alien secrets - this is just Daniel correcting a colleague about Ancient Egypt."

"Right." Daniel nodded. "No talk about aliens, just Egypt." He stood and walked away.

Carter owned her mouth, then closed it and frowned at Jack. "You know they'll announce him as an expert on aliens."

"Of course. But Daniel's too smart to spill anything important." Jack grinned. And it might derail the damn peace talk frenzy.

"Really?" Carter's eyebrows rose. "You think Daniel will simply not comment when they ask questions about the Etherians and the Goa'uld? When they make up wrong statements about them?"

Jack blinked again. "On second thought, maybe I should go with him…"

*****​

Schloss Bellevue, Berlin, Germany, Earth, September 24th, 1998

"...and I do not think that we should open with diplomacy. That would give away the advantage of surprise."

"Striking without a declaration of war? I think history shows why that's a very questionable plan."

"Are you comparing a war to defend ourselves and to free countless humans kept as slaves and hosts for parasites to a war of aggression?"

"No. But once we have struck, any offer to negotiate will either be seen as a ruse - or as a sign of weakness."

Adora frowned at the discussion between the two German politicians. It seemed they had forgotten that this was a dinner, not their parliament. Or wherever they discussed like that.

"The Goa'uld don't know about us," Glimmer cut in. "Any negotiation will be difficult when one side doesn't know the strength and goals of the other side."

"And giving out that information would be stupid beyond belief," Catra added.

"Then how are we supposed to negotiate in good faith with them?" the German asked.

"That's easy: Once we have them at our mercy, we let them surrender." Catra flashed her fangs at the man. "All honest-like."

Adora chuckled almost against her will - and barely managed not to laugh when she saw the man's reaction. So did Glimmer, and Bow hid his smile behind his napkin.

But the rest of the Germans, even the one who had argued against trying diplomacy first, didn't look amused. Even the Chancellor frowned. "One should never enter a war lightly. Germany has a special responsibility there."

"You mean because you started the last world war?" Catra asked, cocking her head.

"Germany did far more than starting a war," the Chancellor replied. "The shadow of the crimes done in our country's name - by our parents and grandparents - still lies over Germany."

"Yeah, but this time, you're on the right side," Catra told him. "And that's how you make up for your past crimes - by doing good."

Adora nodded. "You are now helping to protect and free others. That's the complete opposite of what your ancestors did."

"But we can't just ignore our past - Germany has a historic guilt."

Adora frowned. That made no sense. "But you changed."

"Yes," Bow spoke up. "We studied your history. You have rejected your past ideology. Like others have."

"Germany has a unique legacy. We carry a collective guilt. An obligation to ensure that this shameful, terrible history won't ever repeat itself." The big old man slowly nodded.

"But that's exactly why we are fighting this war - will be fighting this war," Glimmer protested. "To save millions of people from being enslaved and turned into hosts for the Goa'uld."

"Or worked to death," Bow added.

Adora nodded once more - they had seen the data Stargate Command had gathered on the Goa'uld's practice of slavery.

"It's still a difficult decision," the Chancellor told them. "Germany will stand with you and with the other countries on Earth. We will defend ourselves and our allies - and there is no doubt that we are under attack, through no fault of our own. However, our history will not allow us to enter any war lightly, and even when we do, we should consider all alternatives before committing to war."

"But none of you fought in the last war," Glimmer said. "What happened wasn't your fault."

Adora looked around. None of the people present looked old enough to have fought in that war.

"I escaped that guilt by a hair's width," the Chancellor said. "I was already recruited and training to fight when the war ended."

"Even if you had fought," Adora told him, "you aren't the same person you were back then - you changed." She glanced at Catra, but her lover seemed very interested in the remains of dessert. "That's what matters. The future, not your past."

The Germans were staring at her, she noticed. At her, not at Catra.

"You do believe that," one of the Ministers said, slowly shaking his head.

"Of course." Adora nodded emphatically. "Everyone can change." Her friends proved that. Catra proved that. "We hope the Goa'uld, too, will change. At least some of them."

"So, you think we should talk before we start a war?"

Adora frowned. "We're already at war. They started it long ago. They keep slaves. They use them as hosts. They attacked Earth - and I have no doubt that they would attack Etheria if they knew where we are."

"Oh."

"Yes." Glimmer nodded sharply. "We will not refuse to talk with them if they offer an honest peace proposal - but neither will we stop fighting them. That would be a betrayal of all we stand for - and a betrayal of those who depend on us for their freedom or their very lives."

Someone muttered 'München', but Adora didn't know who it was.

"So, we'll fight," she went on. "And we'll fight until all their slaves are free."

"Whether that means we'll fight to the last Goa'uld or not is up to them," Catra said with a toothy grin.

As Adora and her friends nodded, she couldn't help noticing that the Germans looked… surprised and concerned. "Do you disagree?"

The Chancellor shook his head. "No. It's just… surprising to see people who have fought a war for years entering the next so… eagerly. You know how terrible war is."

Oh.

"We're willing to fight this war because we know the alternative," Glimmer said.

Adora nodded in agreement, but she couldn't help wondering if the Germans had a point.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 25th, 1998

"...and we are talking to Dr Daniel Jackson, who predicted the existence of aliens years before it was officially revealed. Dr Jackson, you wanted to chime in on our analysis of the Goa'uld?"

"Yes, Mr Ballantine. As you know, since you checked my credentials, I am a consultant for Stargate Command. In that capacity, I have met Goa'uld, and I am afraid that I disagree with the conclusions drawn by Dr Baker based on his studies of ancient Egypt, chiefly that we cannot understand a literal alien culture."

"Is this about my dismissal of your theory? Dr Jackson, back when you postulated the existence of aliens, you had no proof to prop it up. It was pure speculation."

"Speculation? I based my hypothesis on the results of various interdisciplinary research - results which were dismissed by everyone because they didn't fit established assumptions about the age of the pyramids. Instead of testing my hypothesis, which was what a scientist should have done, it was ridiculed. But that is not why I called today. I called because your lack of primary or secondary sources means your conclusions are incorrect."

"I have valid secondary sources!"

"You have, at most, tertiary sources. Hearsay, in other words. You have neither talked to any Goa'uld nor spoken with their subjects, much less visited their worlds."

"And you have?"

"Actually, I have, yes. And I can confidently state that your hypothesis that we cannot understand the Goa'uld is not supported by any evidence or experience. The Goa'uld aren't a misunderstood alien species with ethics incomprehensible for humans - their ethics are easily understood but simply reprehensible."

"That is a very biassed claim. Of course you'd say that, seeing as you work for the same organisation that started the war with the Goa'uld."

"Killing Ra was a reaction to his planned invasion of Earth. Any aggression started with him - I would know since I was there!"

Samantha Carter winced when General Hammond turned the television off. He was frowning, as were the other generals present. "I think there's no need to listen to the entirety of your scientific debate with Dr Baker, Dr Jackson."

Daniel flushed but stood his ground. "I merely corrected his mistaken assumptions about the Goa'uld."

"By citing your own experiences in the employ of Stargate Command," General Hammond said. "Which, I shouldn't have to remind you, are still classified."

"Daniel said nothing that was actually a secret," the Colonel spoke up. "Everything he mentioned was already publicly known."

"Yes. I did not reveal any details that might still be classified."

"Classified information isn't automatically unclassified just because it's leaked to the public," General Sidorov cut in.

"Of course a Russian would say that," Sam heard the Colonel mutter under his breath.

"That's a very illogical stance," Daniel retorted with a deep frown. "The President himself revealed the existence of Goa'uld, the Stargate Program, and our history with the Goa'uld, including the death of Ra."

"You aren't the President of the United States," Sidorov shot back.

"And we aren't in Russia," the Colonel said. "If you expect us to keep silent about things everyone, including elementary students, is talking about, then I think you'll be disappointed."

"No one expects you to act as if this were still a secret," General Hammond said. "However, neither does anyone expect you to act as if you were the spokesman of Stargate Command."

Daniel flushed again. "I merely corrected quite mistaken claims by someone puffing himself up as an expert."

"But you did so as an employee of Stargate Command," General Haig said. "This means the public will consider your views as views shared by the entire program."

"Views? I am talking about facts!" Daniel frowned. "I did not say anything about Stargate Command's goals and policies; I just corrected factual claims that were wrong."

Sam nodded. Her friend was correct - from a scientific point of view. Unfortunately, they were dealing with politics, not science.

"Without having received orders or permissions to do so." General Li didn't show any expression, but his tone indicated disapproval.

"I gave permission," the Colonel said.

"You don't have the authority to do so, Colonel O'Neill," Li told him.

"I wasn't aware that Stargate Command had passed gag orders," the Colonel faked surprise. At least he didn't mention free speech in a dig against China and Russia. Small mercies.

"I doubt that such a call would have been permitted back when Stargate Command was an American program," General Haig said.

The Colonel shrugged. "Back then, it was a secret. Things change."

"Let's not mince words, Colonel." General Hammond was still scowling. "This wasn't just about correcting a scientist or settling academic grudges. This was about politics."

Daniel blinked, obviously surprised. Sam could see his eyes widen for a moment as he realised it.

The Colonel's equally obvious surprise, however, was faked. Sam was sure of that.

"The United States Armed Forces take a dim view of their members trying to make politics, Colonel O'Neill."

"Yes, Sir." The Colonel still didn't look concerned.

Well, he had good reasons not to be. Stargate Command couldn't afford to relieve him - or anyone else in SG-1. They needed their experience. And their connections to the Etherians.

But Sam had no doubt that whatever the timetable for their dismissal from Stargate Command was, it had just been accelerated to some degree.

Which probably had been the Colonel's goal. Or one of his goals.

*****​
 
Chapter 41: Cimmeria Part 1
Chapter 41: Cimmeria Part 1

Earth Orbit, Solar System, September 25th, 1998

"Whatcha watching?" Catra asked as she entered the lab in Darla's hold. There was some angry human on screen, yelling at the camera, and… She blinked. "Is that Daniel's voice?"

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded. "He's correcting the man's wrong assumptions about the Go'auld."

Catra cocked her head. "He is?" That was a surprise. So far, SG-1 hadn't appeared much in the media. "I would've expected him to be the focus of the show," she said.

"He's not present - he's just calling from the base," Entrapta replied. "And they don't have video calls." She frowned. "I don't know why - they could easily do this with their current technology. We have seen it work on television."

"They probably don't want video calls from their base to a television studio," Catra said. "Might be a security risk."

"Really?" Entrapta looked surprised.

Catra shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know." Etheria didn't have television. And Catra wasn't sure it needed it. Sure, the movies and series were entertaining, but all the talk shows… She made a gagging noise.

"What's wrong?" Entrapta peered at her.

"I believe she is regurgitating a 'hairball'."

Catra glared at Hordak. "No, I'm not. Just remembering some talk show."

"Ah. Which one?" Entrapta asked.

"Any one," Catra replied, staring at the screen. The man was now standing and ranting about dynasties and hieroglyphs, with Daniel correcting every second word of his. She grinned when he corrected the man's pronunciation - for such a friendly guy, Daniel could be surprisingly vicious in an underhanded way. Catra approved.

"This Dr Baker doesn't seem like much of a scientist," Entrapta said with a pout. "All his claims are unsubstantiated - or disproven. I expected a more interesting discourse."

"I think I told you that we shouldn't expect much scientific progress from daytime television," Hordak told her.

"Yes, but… it's such a waste! Imagine what research breakthroughs we could achieve if we connected the top scientists together like this!" Entrapta sighed. "And they use the technology to argue obviously false claims."

"Just like their politics," Hordak said.

Catra snorted. "Maybe you should suggest your plan to them."

Entrapta nodded. "Yes! I'll tell Sam about this. If it works, we will be able to do science all day! Even if you need Darla and the shuttle! And if we use remote-controlled bots, we can even work on the same prototype together without being in the same lab!"

That could work. Although… Catra grinned. "You could make a completely remote-operated lab. If it blows up, no one will get hurt."

Entrapta beamed at her. "Oh, yes! That's a great idea! We'll finally be able to do those experiments that would be too dangerous to do on a planet!" She turned away and pushed buttons on her tool. "I'll have to compensate for latency, and I'll miss my hair for fine-tuning things, but… with the right manipulators, we can safely work on Naquadah-enhanced weapons!"

"Indeed. And the lack of air will mean we won't have to worry about pressure waves devastating the planet," Hordak agreed. "Although we should probably consider the danger from radiation."

Catra blinked, then hit her palm against her forehead. She should have known better than to assume that Entrapta would be concerned about personal danger instead of danger on a planetary scale.

She looked at the screen, where Dr Baker was storming out of the studio in a rage, with Daniel asking when his hypothesis would be published. Ah, well… time to check how Adora was doing with Glimmer and Bow.

She left the hold - Entrapta and Hordak were already designing remote-controlled bots with manipulator arms - and swung by the kitchen to grab a salmon sandwich that she had sneaked out of the state dinner last night. It went perfect with some milk.

Munching and sipping alternately, she headed to the bridge.

"Finally awake… Ew!" Glimmer greeted her with a grimace.

"Ew?" Bow turned to look at Catra.

"I can smell the fish from here," Glimmer complained.

Catra doubted that - she had already eaten most of it - but Adora stopped scribbling down notes on a board and sniffed the air. "I don't… Do you think I'm getting a cold?"

"Nope," Catra told her and walked over to them. She finished her sandwich on the way and planted a kiss on Adora's cheek.

"Now I'm smelling it," Adora said with a frown.

"Isn't it heavenly?" Catra grinned and finished her milk. "Earth food has some great things going for it."

"Earth food has a lot to answer for," Glimmer grumbled.

"Catra was complaining about overeating after the British dinner," Adora said.

Catra glared at her while Bow shook his head and Glimmer scoffed. That was classified information! She looked at the board. "So, how goes the planning?"

"Well, we still haven't finished our presentation," Adora said.

"There are several political issues to consider," Glimmer explained. "And, as I told Adora, we can't really plan for everything when we don't even know the stances of our allies on the post of supreme commander."

"It won't hurt to plan ahead anyway," Adora defended herself. "We need to make a good impression at the first alliance meeting."

Catra snorted. "We've got the fleet. We can make any impression we want."

Adora frowned at her, but Catra knew she was right. The power discrepancy was too big.

"That's shortsighted," Glimmer retorted. "If we act like a bully now, then Earth will remember it when they have caught up to us."

"Right." Catra nodded. "Long-term, it's probably better not to tweak their noses too much."

"We shouldn't bully anyone anyway, regardless of future consequences," Adora insisted. "It wouldn't be right."

Catra patted her shoulder. "And that's why I think you would make a great supreme commander."

Adora kept frowning at her. Glimmer tried not to frown, Catra noted. And Bow… stared at his tablet and tried not to draw attention.

Catra snorted and shook her head. "Sparkles, you would also work as a commander. Probably better than Adora, actually." Glimmer blinked, and Adora looked surprised, but before either could say anything, Catra added: "As Supreme Commander, you'd be able to keep her from trying to do everything and blame herself for every setback or death."

Glimmer laughed, Adora pouted - and Bow gave her a thumbs up.

"I'm not that bad!" Adora protested.

"Adora…" Bow trailed off.

"Yes. Yes, you are," Glimmer said. "We still love you."

Catra didn't grab Adora's arm in response. Glimmer didn't mean it that way. "Yes," she said instead, "We love you despite your faults."

"I'm not that bad!" Adora repeated herself with that pout that always made Catra want to kiss her.

They weren't in the bedroom, but you could hardly call this public. So she leaned in with a wide grin, and Adora's eyes widened, and Catra reached out and planted a kiss on her lips.

But before she could really enjoy it, Glimmer sighed loudly. "This is a planning session, not a make-out session."

"Spoilsport," Catra whispered as Adora withdrew, blushing.

"Sorry, sorry," her lover said. "It's just…"

"It's Catra's fault, we know." Glimmer nodded sagely.

"No! I mean… It's not just Catra's fault."

That wasn't exactly a staunch defence, but Catra didn't mind. She shrugged and leaned against the seat closest to the board, and when Glimmer and Bow looked back at the circles and columns on it, she mouthed 'bedroom' to Adora.

But Adora was, although still blushing, all professional now, standing at parade rest and staring at the board as well. Rats. "So… I think we have a good case here. And we won't need to bully anyone." She frowned at everyone else. "We need to set a good example - for everyone!"

"Yes," Bow agreed. "The people on Earth already complain about us 'forcing' our views on them."

"Stupid idiots!" Glimmer hissed. "We didn't do anything like that."

"We didn't, no. And we won't stoop to bullying our allies around," Adora said. "Even if we think they deserve it or are being stupid. It's not right."

"Not even when it'd be funny?" Catra joked, flashing her fangs. But Adora frowned at her, and Glimmer glared. And Bow looked disappointed rather than amused. Well, can't win them all.

"We need to set an example," Adora said. "Our troops will look to us as role models. If we break our own rules, if we don't do what's right, they won't either."

That was straight out of cadet lessons about command and leadership. Not that it was wrong, of course. If Adora stepped out of line, Priest would take it as a sign and try to outdo her. On the other hand, sometimes, you needed to be a bit… pragmatic in war. Glimmer understood that. Adora… tried to ignore that. Even if it hurt her. Sometimes especially if it hurt her.

"We'll be good," Catra said with a wide smile.

Adora frowned some more at her, apparently not convinced - as if Catra would do anything to hurt her - but Glimmer and Bow nodded.

"And we'll keep our troops - and the Earth troops in line," Glimmer said.

"And we'll keep each other in line," Bow added.

That was a little… Catra blinked; Bow wasn't looking at her - he was looking at Glimmer, who barely managed to stop frowning. Oh.

Well, Bow wasn't wrong. And Glimmer loved him. But it was still brave of him to say it.

Catra reached over and patted Glimmer on the back. "Don't worry. We'll tell you when you're about to go overboard."

Glimmer narrowed her eyes at Catra. "I have no doubt that you'll tell me everything I did wrong - if I become Supreme Commander."

Catra chuckled.

But Adora started to nod before she realised what she was doing. "Well, only if it's a really big mistake," she said - a little too earnest for Glimmer's taste, Catra thought.

Well, that couldn't be helped. They were about to launch a war that was bigger than the war against the Horde or Horde Prime. They couldn't afford stupid mistakes. Or any mistakes.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 25th, 1998

"Well, that went better than I expected," Jack O'Neill said after they had left the meeting room - and had closed the door behind them, of course. Hammond knew him too well not to expect such a flippant comment, but one had to uphold appearances. Especially now, with foreigners in the mountain. "They didn't throw us into jail or demoted us."

"You expected them to jail us?" Daniel gasped.

Jack grinned at him. "Do you really think they would throw the best friends of our magical space princess alliance - our magical space princess alliance with which we want to be allied - into jail for telling the truth on television? That would sabotage all our efforts to make nice with them."

Daniel closed his mouth and frowned at him for a moment. "Didn't you say yesterday that the Russians and the Chinese would love that?"

Of course they'd love to see the USA excluded from the alliance with Etheria. The limeys and the French would probably like that as well. "But they can't do it - we didn't tell them any of the new secrets, just old ones - and those belong to the Air Force."

"I thought we didn't tell any secrets."

"Not real secrets. Just open secrets." Jack grinned. "Anyway - see you at dinner, team. I have to train our FNGs some more." He waved and left before Daniel could find another argument. His friend would get over it. As would Carter.

And if things went as planned, they'd be back in the real action sooner than planned.

Jack had no wish to play security for foreign space tourists while his friends were fighting a war against the snakes. The upcoming trip to Cimmeria would show if Stargate Command could still do any real missions.

He shook his head as he entered the lift leading up - he had another batch of recruits to run ragged in the field.

Before the doors could close, someone else stepped inside, and Jack tensed.

"Lieutenant Lenkova. Cutting it a little close, are we?"

"Colonel O'Neill." The spy frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jack made a point of checking his watch. "Training starts in ten minutes."

"Yes?" She cocked her head to the side.

"It's usually good form to be ready for training in the field before the officer in charge arrives," he told her. "At least in the United States Armed Forces."

"Yes?" That look of confused innocence had to be an act. "It's the same in Russia."

"And you're currently riding an elevator with the officer in charge of the exercise." Well, the training session - the FNGs weren't yet ready for an actual exercise. But it sounded better than 'basic training'.

"Yes?" she repeated herself for the third time.

"Which implies that we'll arrive together." He inclined his head.

Her expression changed into a grin. He would call it impish if that wouldn't make him sound like he read romance novels. "It's good to warm up before exercise, da?"

Jack narrowed his eyes at her. "You're planning to run to the training area?"

"Extra exercise is a good thing, isn't it?"

Was she checking him out - or implying that he needed the exercise as well? Challenge him to a race? Either way, Jack wouldn't be falling for that. He knew he was in top shape - Adora's healing had done wonders. And he wasn't falling for a pretty blonde under his command. Certainly not for a Russian honey trap!

They reached the changeover floor - Stargate Command lacked lifts that went all the way up to the entrance level - and she was out of the cabin before the doors had fully opened. She was actually sprinting to the lift to the surface.

Jack grinned as he followed at a more leisurely pace. Well, the joke was on her - he knew the timing of the lifts, and so he knew he would…

She hit the button to close the doors on the way into the lift. They promptly closed.

…apparently have to wait for the next lift. Jack sighed and ignored the two guards next to the lift. The exercise wouldn't start without him, anyway.

But Jack was man enough to admit that this round went to the Lieutenant. He'd get her back during training.

*****​

"Again, from the top!" Jack O'Neill yelled, channelling his inner drill sergeant. "That was almost acceptable - for raw recruits!"

The squad that had just 'run the gauntlet' groaned and grumbled as the soldiers trotted back to the starting point.

"I believe that they performed above the level of raw recruits, O'Neill."

Jack turned to look at Teal'c. "Well, yes, but you don't tell them that. Can't have them become complacent, can we?"

"Would they be suitable for Stargate Command if they are unable to judge their own performance objectively?"

"They know they aren't doing too badly," Jack explained. "But they also know they can do better." Much better, once they sorted out tactics and team roles and adapted to the exercise.

"Ah." Teal'c nodded.

Both of them watched the next squad go through the exercise. They were Lenkova's squad. And, to Jack's slight annoyance, they were doing well. Covering each other was expected, but they also adjusted to the Goa'uld weapons - the simulated ones - well enough. Even the staggered staff weapon volleys didn't keep them down.

And Lenkova was leading from the front. Usually, that could be grounds for criticism - officers weren't supposed to take point since that would leave their men leaderless. On the other hand, sometimes, you had to run ahead because that was the only way to get them to follow you.

And Jack would be a hypocrite if he criticised her for things he regularly did in the field.

Still, it would be nice if she made a mistake he could point out. Just telling her to advance more smoothly and more quickly didn't have the same ring to it.

But the damned Russian spy didn't cooperate - her squad finished as the best so far. And the woman knew it as she saluted him. "Mission accomplished, Sir!" She wasn't quite smiling, but he could tell that she was amused.

"We don't salute in the field," he told her with a nod. They were supposed to act as if they were in the field during the exercise. "Good work. Now make it faster."

She returned the nod and this time, she smiled, then told her squad in Russian to grab more sim ammo and line up for another go.

Instead of joining them, she pulled out her canteen and took a swallow. "Anything else that needs to be improved, Sir?"

"Nothing critical," he told her. "Teal'c?"

"You lead more aggressively than the Americans," Jack's friend said.

"It's our doctrine." She grinned. "We aren't as averse to casualties as the Americans."

'Averse to casualties'? She must have watched American TV. Of course she would have watched it - she was a spy, after all.

"Yes. Like the Jaffa," Teal'c said.

Even Jack couldn't tell if that was meant as a compliment or not. Lenkova nodded, then went to rejoin her squad.

Jack watched her go, looking at how she moved in the Russian fatigues. He still thought the American ones were superior, but now they would be able to directly compare the two.

"She is a formidable warrior," Teal'c commented.

"Without a doubt," Jack agreed. And a dangerous spy - he caught her glancing over her shoulder back at him.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, September 25th, 1998

"We're in space. That's Earth below us."

"What a sight!"

"It looks so small."

"Not as small as from the moon."

"Still…"

"Impressive."

Adora smiled as she watched the three ministers from France, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as their aides and generals, look at the planet floating below them. It was a touching moment - and very symbolic, in her opinion.

"Who wants to bet that the whole 'your ship is a neutral place for the preliminary meeting favouring no one' was just an excuse so they could go to space?" Catra whispered behind her.

Trust her to assume the worst! Adora sighed as Glimmer giggled. Although she had to admit that their guests were very enthusiastic about space. Maybe they should hold their meeting with NASA's representatives - which they needed to schedule, she reminded herself - in space as well?

Still… they had a war to plan. Adora cleared her throat. "It's an impressive sight, yes," she said. "You can see the entire world from here."

"Or target it," Catra added.

That ruined the mood, and everyone grew serious.

"Yes, the information we received from the USA also showed how vulnerable Earth is to attacks from space," the British minister said.

"That's why we have a fleet here," Glimmer told him.

"But you're not planning to keep it in place until we've started building ships of our own, are you?"

"No," Glimmer said. "Based on our information, we don't need the entire fleet here - or on Etheria - to protect the planet. The Goa'uld are divided, which renders them vulnerable and also makes it harder for them to launch an offensive. Any System Lord who wants to attack Earth will have to expose their own holdings to attacks from their rivals in order to free the troops and ships for that."

"And even if they managed that, using Teal'c's information about Apophis's forces as a baseline for one of the most powerful System Lords, they wouldn't be able to match our forces here," Catra added. "And that's not accounting for our technological superiority."

"So, we can spare the ships for offensive operations." Glimmer nodded.

"But the more worlds we take, the more ships are needed to defend them. This favours the attacker," the British admiral pointed out. "We need to hit their forces and destroy their offensive capability."

"And if they unite against us, the whole equation changes," the French general added. "And once they realise the threat we pose to them, they have a very compelling reason to unite."

"They have to realise that first," Glimmer retorted. "We will conceal our numbers and aims for as long as possible. And the Goa'uld still need to trust each other. We can counteract that by striking at select System Lords and leaving others - preferably their rivals - alone. That would sow distrust."

"If it works out. It's still a risky strategy." The German minister looked grim.

"It's less dangerous than staying in this system and hoping the Goa'uld ignore you," Catra retorted. "They will check on Earth, and that means we have to stop them, and then they'll know about us and our forces. It's better to hit them first."

"But they will attack Earth anyway once they realise Earth troops are taking their planets." The British minister tilted his head.

"That's why we need scouts and spies," Catra told him. "We need to track their forces."

Adora nodded. The spy bots Entrapta and Sam were building would help there. But they didn't have actual spies. Well, they could send Double Trouble, but Glimmer and Catra didn't trust them. The Tok'Ra were an option, but not even SG-1 had any idea how to contact them.

"That will be a challenge given the sheer size of the Goa'uld Empire." The French General nodded at the map of the galaxy floating in the middle of the room.

"Yes. But it's a challenge we can overcome." Adora did her best to sound confident. Entrapta had mentioned plans to build self-replicating spy bots or something. That should help.

"I hope so." But the British admiral didn't sound very hopeful, not to Adora at least.

"In any case, we need to first set the structure of the Alliance." Adora leaned forward. That was the point of this meeting, after all. Well, one of the points - she would love to use her presentation, but they were saving that for the main meeting. "We need a chain of command, clear duties, and a structure that will allow us to integrate more members." Such as other, smaller European countries, and the United States, if they managed to stop their bigotry.

The delegations tensed up. "Yes. A chain of command is essential for any military force," the German minister said. "Though who sets the policies that the military is tasked to enact? We cannot simply act according to purely military concerns, or we risk overly focusing on such matters."

Adora frowned. What did he mean?

"The goals of the war will be set by the rulers of the countries involved," Glimmer said.

Adora nodded.

"And what if the rulers are also personally involved in fighting in the war?" the German asked. "Etheria has a tradition of the rulers of states also personally leading the troops, hasn't it?"

Adora blinked. Why would that matter?

Glimmer looked surprised as well. "Yes."

"That would give them significant influence on both policies and military decisions as well as information on both," the French minister said. "This can be problematic."

"I would think that's an advantage for everyone," Adora said. "Less friction and possible misunderstanding between those who make the policies and those who execute them."

That sounded logical to her - and to her friends, who were nodding - but it was obvious that the Europeans didn't quite agree.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 25th, 1998

"...and that is why a mission to return to Cimmeria should be undertaken," Samantha Carter finished. She didn't show her annoyance at having to give an entirely superfluous presentation when she nodded at the five generals facing her. Even if you discounted the need to further investigate the mystery of the creator's of Thor's Hammer or the moral need to check on how the planet fared without its protections - something Sam had to admit Stargate Command should have done much, much sooner - it was also obvious that refusing permission would antagonise the Etherians.

And why would anyone want to do that? The Colonel had speculated that some countries might want to show that they didn't bow to the Etherians, but Sam didn't think that any of the permanent members of the Security Council would be amongst those - not when they were either in an alliance with the Etherians or courting their favour. A powerplay was also not very likely since the Etherians could probably just claim the spare Stargate they had found on the way to Earth. Sam had no doubt that Entrapta could rig up a computer to use it. Russia or China might want to play to their populations, but Sam doubted that they would be willing to leak secrets like Cimmeria to the public.

And yet, the command committee was acting as if approving this mission was somehow controversial and had to be deliberated carefully.

"We've read the files on the last - and only - mission to that planet," General Li said. "Two members of your team almost died, and you had to destroy a planetary defence system of unknown origin to save them."

"Yes, Sir." Sam had just explained that.

"Your actions could be very well seen as hostile to the population of Cimmeria - or their protectors," Li went on.

"Yes. That is why we need to find out who created the defence system so we can explain our actions, should that be needed." Sam also had said that already.

"And what if that fails?" Li didn't frown, but his tone carried the same meaning. "Wars have been started over less. What if you open a new front with an unknown galactic power? A power with more advanced technology than the Goa'uld."

"That's why we should meet them and explain what happened," Sam said. She wished that the Colonel was here instead of training the soldiers. On the other hand, after his stunt with Daniel, it was probably better that he wasn't here. General Hammond might have arranged this deliberately.

"They would have to tie this to Earth, first. And then they would have to find us," General Haig cut in.

"The Cimmerians know that we're from Earth," Sam retorted.

"The Cimmerians know that you claimed this," General Sidorov said. "But would the unknown party believe that? Or would they assume that this was a covert operation by a Goa'uld hoping to divert retaliation? You had a Jaffa with you and disabled the defence system. This does look rather suspicious."

The Colonel's comments about paranoid Russians might have some merit, Sam thought. "This seems rather reaching, Sir," she said with a very polite expression.

He glared at her anyway.

"I think the mere possibility that we might have antagonised another galactic power is grounds enough to investigate the planet," General Haig said. General Petit and General Hammond nodded, so that meant the majority was in favour of the mission. Sam started to smile when the General went on: "Although I think it might be better not to send the same team that created said incident in the first place. The system did detect a Jaffa, didn't it? And according to your file, you still have enhanced levels of Naquadah in your blood, Captain Carter. You could be mistaken for a Goa'uld host."

Sam clenched her teeth at the reminder of her time as a host. As much as it stung - and felt insulting - that the General thought she should be excluded, she couldn't refute the reasons offered.

"Yes," General Petit agreed with his British colleague. "I think a new team would be a better choice. Together with whoever the Etherians send, they should have less trouble convincing whoever built the defence system that it was a mistake, not an act of sabotage that destroyed it."

"SG-1 is our most experienced team," General Hammond pointed out. "And they have been working with the Etherians before."

"No one doubts that. But we cannot rely on a single team," General Li said. "We need more teams with experience and who are used to working with the Etherians."

Sam couldn't fault the logic here, either - but it also felt like a political move. And an attempt to squeeze SG-1 out.

"Captain Carter is also our foremost expert on alien technology," Hammond retorted.

"Another reason not to send her into high-risk situations," General Haig said.

Sam clenched her teeth again. She was an officer in the Air Force, and she had probably more combat experience than most of the generals in the room. But as a captain, you didn't snap at generals.

"The Etherians might not want to work with an unknown team instead of their friends," General Hammond argued.

"I am sure they'll understand our reasoning," General Sidorov told him.

Sam wasn't so sure. But she held her tongue.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, September 25th, 1998

"Congratulations, Supreme Commander Adora," Catra said as she handed Adora a glass.

"I'm not Supreme Commander. This was just a preliminary discussion. Nothing is set in stone." Adora shook her head.

Catra smiled wrily.

"They were pretty insistent," Glimmer said. "I don't think they'll budge on that. They don't want a ruling princess as Supreme Commander. Because they fear corruption." She frowned.

Bow patted her back, then slung his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. "They don't know you. You'd never abuse the position to favour Bright Moon."

Catra agreed - but also because the war would be fought in space and on other planets. There was no reason nor any real way to favour Bright Moon by strengthening its defences and letting other kingdoms get conquered. She wasn't entirely sure what Glimmer would do if she had to decide whether Bright Moon or Salineas would be defended.

Glimmer didn't look mollified, even though she leaned into Bow's side. "It's just so stupid."

"Yes!" Adora nodded. "Whether or not you rule shouldn't be a reason to deny you a post."

Catra hesitated a moment, then made a humming sound. "Well, you could claim that if you have to rule a kingdom, you can't focus entirely on fighting a war - especially away from your kingdom."

"I've got Dad for that," Glimmer said with a pout.

Catra shrugged. She agreed with the others that their new allies just didn't want too much power concentrated in one person. Which was… well, it was inefficient. On the other hand, Earth was full of stories of the military taking over a country. That's what happened if you didn't have princesses. Or, she reminded herself, if you had technological superiority. Hordak had taken over the Scorpion Kingdom in a similar way, after all. "Anyway, so Adora's set as the Supreme Commander. They think they've won, but it won't really change things."

Adora nodded. "And we can tell them that!"

Catra sighed and looked at Glimmer and Bow. Bow looked away.

Glimmer set her jaw. "No, Adora. We can't tell them that. We can't undermine your command from the start. If they don't want a ruling princess, they'll get She-Ra. But you can't act as if you're just doing my bidding."

Adora opened her mouth, but Catra was quicker: "And we know you wouldn't actually just do what Sparkles said. But when you act as if it doesn't matter whether you or Glimmer are in command, they'll assume the worst." She shrugged. "They'll see how the Alliance runs things soon enough." With lots of talking and discussing until a decision was made.

"I think they run their alliances the same as we do, actually," Bow said. "That's why they want Adora."

Catra snorted. "They underestimate you."

"What?" Adora frowned again.

"They probably think you're a bit naive - inexperienced in politics," Glimmer said.

"I am inexperienced in politics," Adora told them. "But I'm not naive. Right?"

"You are a little naive," Catra told her. "And we love you for it." She knew it very well - anyone other than Adora would have given up on her years ago.

"I think you made a good impression, Adora. They trust you to be completely honest with them." Bow beamed at her.

Catra took a step closer to Adora. Bow had his own princess to handle.

"And they don't trust me," Glimmer complained.

"Well, we already knew that they have issues with princesses - ruling princesses," Bow said. "They have their own system."

Not a very bright system, in Catra's opinion. You could see that when you looked at the trouble the Americans had with changing their policies. On the other hand, if Hordak had lost his position after an election, that would've been funny. She snorted.

"What's so funny?" Glimmer glared at her.

And Adora was frowning again.

"I just imagined a democratic Horde, with Hordak losing an election," Catra explained.

Adora giggled. "Could you imagine his reaction?"

Glimmer and Bow were a bit more restrained.

"Anyway, I think you're set for Supreme Commander, Adora. No getting out of this." Catra grinned and took a sip from her drink.

Adora sighed once more and took a swallow from her own. Then she gasped and stared at the glass? "What's this?"

"White Russian." Catra grinned, showing her teeth. "Vodka and cream!" And some other stuff, but that was optional in her opinion.

Glimmer made some gagging noise even though Catra hadn't offered her one.

And Adora frowned. "What's vodka?"

"Strong booze from Russia," Catra told her.

"We shouldn't drink when we're in a planning session."

"We had a planning session. We're relaxing now," Catra corrected her.

"I can't relax if I might become Supreme Commander!"

"That's what the drink is for!" Catra raised her own and took another sip.

"Catra!"

Catra grinned. Adora was so cute when she got mad over nothing. "Drink your White Russian and relax." She was pretty sure Adora would, too.

Her lover was still holding the glass, after all.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 26th, 1998

"So, instead of sending us, they'll send a new team without any experience?" Jack O'Neill didn't bother hiding what he thought of that plan.

"The majority of my colleagues feel that the presence of SG-1 could be misunderstood by whoever built the defence system that you destroyed," General Hammond replied. "Especially in the case of Teal'c and Captain Carter."

Who could be mistaken as a Goa'uld and their Jaffa. Jack frowned. It wasn't a bad point. It was a good point, actually - at least in this particular situation, where the defence system had already mistakenly identified Teal'c as an enemy. But he hated admitting anything like that - he had a reputation to maintain. And Carter didn't look like she agreed, and Jack wouldn't stab her in the back. "Are they going to disguise the team as well? That'll do wonders for building trust."

Daniel snorted, Jack noticed. Hammond, though, wasn't amused. "The consensus was that our Etherian friends wouldn't take well to that kind of deception."

Translation: It was actually proposed, but people wised up and used the Etherians as a face-saving excuse. At least Jack hoped that this was the case - if the only reason they hadn't gone with disguises was that the magical space princesses might not like it, then things were worse than he had feared. "And how have the Etherians taken the news that they'll go to Cimmeria with a bunch of unknown FNGs?"

"Stargate Command will be sending a veteran team." Hammond slightly frowned at him.

"Oh, great. Strangers then. I bet they're thrilled." Jack shook his head.

"The Etherians have yet to be informed about the details of the mission." Hammond didn't like it either, Jack could tell, even though the general's expression remained neutral.

"They won't like that even less," Jack said.

"Yes," Daniel chimed in. "As far as I understood, they expect to head out there with us - SG-1. Now, the concerns about possible misunderstandings shouldn't be dismissed easily, but I think they would expect to be allowed to have a say in this before a decision was made."

"And wouldn't that be a shame if they demanded changes to the mission!" Jack watched Hammond's reaction to his comment.

The general frowned. "Stargate Command isn't in the habit of letting its teams use their relationship with foreign powers to get their way and overrule their commanding officer."

So, Hammond wouldn't look away if Jack had a frank talk with the Etherians.

"But the Etherians will want to talk to us. Do you expect us to refuse a meeting with them? Or to lie?" Daniel asked.

"I expect you to act with the loyalty and integrity expected from a member of Stargate Command," Hammond replied. "If the Security Council gets the impression that the Etherians have undue influence on Stargate Command, and that individual members are trying to exploit that to control which teams are assigned to any missions, then the whole agreement will be revisited."

Jack wouldn't mind that. But Hammond would. And it would be bad for the entire Stargate Command - well, at least for the part Jack cared about. So he nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Hammond stared at him for a moment, and Jack did his best to look honest. He wasn't about to stab the general in the back either. And he would make sure that his team would follow his lead.

But he had a bad feeling about this mission now.

*****​
 
Chapter 42: Cimmeria Part 2
Chapter 42: Cimmeria Part 2

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 26th, 1998

"We're not going with you?" Adora blinked.

Jack shrugged. "It's been deemed too dangerous because we kind of wrecked their defence system when we visited - we had an excellent reason, of course, so don't feel bad, Carter - and so those who built it might think we're their enemies, what with them having mistaken us for Goa'uld once already. So… it was decided that another team should head there with you."

Adora frowned. That sounded… well, it made sense, but still. It didn't feel right.

"So, will the new guys dress up or wear the same uniforms you wore when you wrecked the defence system?" Catra asked. "It's not exactly hard to tell that you come from the same planet if you wear the same uniform."

Adora nodded. That was the point of uniforms, after all.

"Well… that hasn't been decided yet," Jack said.

"Trying to hide your planet of origin isn't good for building trust," Bow pointed out with a frown. "If you plan to reveal the truth at a later date."

"Or if they find out before you reveal the truth," Catra added.

Once more, Adora nodded. "It doesn't seem to be very honest to use fake uniforms."

"You wore Horde uniforms as well to infiltrate a base, remember?" Catra asked.

Adora pouted. "That was a legitimate tactic against the Horde. But we're not going there to fight the Cimmerians or their protectors. We aren't at war with them."

"Well, at least as far as we know," Jack said. "They might have a different opinion."

"You could be at war and don't know it," Glimmer said. "Sounds familiar."

Jack frowned at her while Catra grinned. "Good one, Sparkles!"

"But… if you're not coming, how can we do science together?" Entrapta asked Sam with a deep pout. "Hordak and I did some work on remote-controlled lab assistants, but they aren't meant to be used through a gate or in the field - well, we could modify them."

Sam looked uncomfortable. "I will be in my lab, ready to support you if you need help. Remotely."

"Or… What if we go through the gate and look around, and if there's no shooting war going on, we call you in?" Adora suggested.

"Well, the mission is basically checking if we started a war," Jack replied. "Coming in afterwards is more like a tourist trip."

"Jack!" Daniel frowned at him. "We would talk to the Cimmerians, learn more about their culture and history and see if we can analyse the technology. Check for more clues about its creators. We wouldn't be tourists."

"Active tourists then." Jack shrugged again. "Anyway, SG-2 is supposed to go with you on the mission, But we'll be ready to assist you. And not just remotely," he added.

"Good! We need your assistance!" Entrapta beamed at Sam.

Jack coughed. "That's not how that works," he said, glancing at Adora.

"So, we can't call on you for assistance?" Catra cocked her head with a toothy grin. "Sounds like we'd be under your command then…"

Jack glared at her. "You know what I mean. Playing such games doesn't make you popular with the brass."

The brass? Ah, the generals. Adora frowned. "But deciding that we should go with SG-2 instead of you without even asking us wasn't really friendly either."

Jack looked a little uncomfortable. "Well, the generals in command of Stargate Command get to decide what team they send on a mission. Generally."

That sounded a bit like…

"What do you think of this?" Glimmer asked with narrowed eyes.

Jack sighed. "Well, I want to go, and I think SG-1 could do the job. But I understand and accept the concerns that the generals have. About the whole thing. We did kind of wreck stuff, and people tend to take that badly. Whether it's someone's lawnmower or someone's planetary defence system."

"Wait - did you wreck your neighbour's lawnmower, Jack?" Daniel asked.

"No, I didn't." Jack smiled. "And you can't prove anything!"

Catra chuckled, and Adora snorted almost against her will. "So, you are alright with this?"

"I just said that, didn't I?" Jack tilted his head a little.

Catra snorted again.

"But that's still unfair! I wanted to work with Sam!" Entrapta protested.

"There'll be other missions," Sam told her.

"And who knows - maybe things go wrong, and we have to charge in to help fix it and save the planet," Jack added.

Adora pressed her lips together as she remembered the Heart of Etheria. And what she had to do to save it. "Let's not hope for that, please."

"Yes," Daniel agreed. "I would love for a mission that goes without a hitch."

"Well, what are the odds that this will end up with us learning that the mysterious creators haven't returned, as they hadn't for a long, long time?" Jack grinned. "It might be a milk run."

"Do you really think that, Jack?" Adora asked.

"Well… we can hope? Our track record isn't looking promising, though," Jack replied.

"That's mostly SG-1. Other teams didn't have so many, uh, interesting missions as we had," Daniel said.

"That's because we usually get the most difficult and important missions."

"Like this one?" Glimmer asked with a wry smile.

Jack nodded. "Exactly. So, we good?"

Adora looked at her friends. Entrapta was still pouting, Hordak was stoic or something, but the others nodded. "Let's go meet SG-2, then," she said.

"And the generals," Catra added. "Can't forget them."

"Yes, we really must talk to them," Glimmer added.

Jack grinned.

*****​

"I really wish you could come with us." Entrapta pouted again. The third time in about as many minutes.

Not that Samantha Carter was counting. She shrugged and suppressed a sigh. "I would like to come as well, but the reasoning by my superiors is sound. My presence could ruin our chances to avoid another conflict."

"If your absence alone would make the difference between war and peace, then I think those people who created the defence system you sabotaged would probably find another reason to start a war," Entrapta retorted. "They sound like easily provoked."

"We actually don't know if they even noticed what happened," Sam explained. "They might have abandoned Cimmeria - or they might be gone extinct. We're just playing things as safe as possible until we know more."

"Ah." Entrapta frowned. "But being too cautious can be dangerous as well. Catra explained that to me once."

"I believe that was about operations during the war," Hordak cut in. "Not about opening lines of communications to an unknown force."

Sam nodded. "When approaching unknown people, it's best to err on the side of caution."

"Unless you need a show of strength to impress them," Hordak added.

"That could be seen as a hostile approach," Sam pointed out.

"And if hostilities broke out afterwards, you would have given away crucial data about your capabilities." Hordak nodded. Of course the former warlord would think of that!

"Couldn't you avoid that by making sure your demonstration is safe?" Entrapta cocked her head as her hair fiddled with some of Sam's tools.

"We would have to know more about the others to judge what's considered safe," Sam said, quoting Daniel. "Making first contact is a very delicate affair, generally."

"Well, when we met you, things worked out well!" Entrapta nodded.

Sam suppressed a wince. They had almost shot at Melog when SG-1 had met the Etherians for the first time. It wasn't a good example of a peaceful first contact. "Well, if SG-2 and you give the clear, we can follow you," she said.

"Alright!" Entrapta beamed, and her hair picked up more tools. "So, what are you working on today? Did you look into our remote-controlled bot idea?"

"Yes," Sam replied. "We need a safe connection, though. And while I think it would be safe enough for remote lab work in space, I don't think we should rely on it for dangerous work in inhabited areas." If she made a mistake due to lag or loss of connection while manipulating Naquadah-enhanced gear…

"It would still be safer for defusing bombs than doing it in person," Hordak said. "I believe you already use robots for that."

"Poor things!" Entrapta exclaimed. "They risk getting blown up!"

That was their purpose. "Most of them can't act autonomously," Sam told her. "They aren't sapient. Or sentient."

"Like most of our bots," Hordak added. "Even though they can act autonomously."

"But some bots are sapient! And if we give them enough time and unlock their neural matrixes to evolve in response to stimuli, most of our advanced bots can develop sentience, then sapience," Entrapta retorted. "That's why we need remote-controlled bots - so everyone's safe from getting blown up!"

"We use remote-controlled Mobile Analytic Laboratory Probes - M.A.L.P.s - but they aren't as mobile as your bots," Sam said. Although she thought they had more options for scanning. On the other hand, she hadn't thoroughly analysed the spybots of the Etherians.

"Well, that can be fixed!" Entrapta nodded several times. "And if we're lucky, we can investigate the technology on Cimmeria ourselves. It might be First Ones in origin."

Sam nodded. Although given SG-1's luck, she wasn't very optimistic. On the other hand. SG-2 might have better luck.

"Oh! Did I show you the plans for self-replicating exploration bots yet?" Entrapta said, putting down another set of tools.

Sam blinked. "Self-replicating exploration bots?"

"Or spybots, yes. We need as many spybots as possible to spy on the Goa'uld, right? So, I thought about ways to achieve that. And self-replicating bots are the answer! The initial development cost is higher, but once they get going, they can increase their numbers exponentially once they find enough resources. We should have coverage of most of the Goa'uld-controlled systems in no time!"

"You want to create Von Neumann probes?" Sam had a sinking feeling in her gut.

"Oh! You already have a model? Can I see it?"

Sam winced at Entrapta's enthusiasm.

"I think releasing self-replicating bots has to be considered very carefully," she said. "What if they get out of control? Even if they only continue to replicate, they would soon require enormous amounts of resources." That was what exponential growth did.

"Well, they would be hardened against the First Ones tech virus," Entrapta replied. "Although you are correct that they also need a limit. Although checking if such a limit was reached would require them to be in constant contact with each other. That might influence their stealth capability. On the other hand, it would greatly enhance cooperation between bots, should that be required. And whatever one bot experienced would be available - although not as a direct neural copy - to every other bot."

Not just a Von Neumann probe - a hive mind. Sam felt a cold shiver run down her spine. "If the spy bots can learn, that means they can adapt. And that means they could evolve."

"Yes!" Entratpa nodded with a smile.

"What if they evolved out of your control?" Provided Entrapta was planning to control them in the first place.

"Well, if they develop sapience - and I think they would - controlling them without their consent would be wrong, wouldn't it?" Entrapta tilted her head.

Sam closed her eyes. It was as she had feared. "And what if they start behaving like, ah, Priest? Or see everyone else as competition for resources? Or as enemies?"

"Those are good points. We should limit their neural network," Hordak said, nodding.

"But that would mean they can't ever develop sapience!"

That was the point! "I think if you want sapient bots, they shouldn't be self-replicating," Sam said.

"But everyone else is! People self-replicate! We don't limit them like that!" Entrapta protested.

"But people don't self-replicate exponentially," Sam retorted. Well, not infinitely. Although that might be a reaction to resources as often as a result of cultural adaptation. "And releasing self-replicating bots without limits would impact everyone else. Bots would grow at the expense of others. Would that be fair?"

Entrapta pouted but slowly nodded.

Sam suppressed a relieved sigh. One crisis averted before the mission had even started.

*****​

"...and while we understand that it is your prerogative to decide which team you send on a specific mission, this is a joint mission," Glimmer said. If she were standing instead of sitting at a conference table, she would have had her hands on her hips. Catra was sure of that. "We should've been consulted. Not just because this decision affects us and our dispositions as well, but we might have information that affects your decision."

Catra watched the generals' reaction. Hammond kept his expression politely interested and nodded once. The French general did the same, but his smile looked less honest - or so she thought. The British general frowned a little. The Russian frowned a lot, and the Chinese one didn't show any reaction at all. Which was a reaction by itself, of course.

Well, she should have expected them to be good at the game - one advantage of being older. Probably.

"We are now discussing the mission," the Chinese general said.

"After SG-1 told us about the change of teams," Glimmer retorted. "Is that how things are done here?"

"You are friends with SG-1, aren't you?" the Russian general said.

"Yes. But that doesn't affect the chain of command," Glimmer told him.

Well, it did, of course - in a pinch, Catra would be first listening to those she trusted no matter their ranks. And she was sure her friends would do the same. But this wasn't about the chain of command but appearances. Or posturing. It was a power play.

"You know, we didn't have to play such games in the Horde," she whispered. You knew your place there.

"The Horde was all about such games," Adora whispered back. "Shadow Weaver did it all the time. And that worked out so well."

Right. Catra pressed her lips together as she remembered that Shadow Weaver had played such mind games all the time. It wasn't a happy memory. She frowned at her lover anyway.

"...and so we need to discuss such information on the level where such decisions are made," Glimmer said.

"Well, do you disagree with our reasoning?" the British general asked.

"In part," Adora spoke up. "We don't even know if the mysterious people who built the system you destroyed are on the planet. If we don't find them, there's no reason for SG-1 not to join us."

"Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't watching from afar," the Russian general retorted.

"If you don't trust us to do recon, you shouldn't send us in the first place," Adora told him.

Catra nodded. This wasn't like in the Horde, where you often only found the Alliance forces when they attacked the Horde scouts. Or, at least, it shouldn't be. "That guy's paranoid," she whispered.

She didn't think the Russian had heard her, but he was frowning at her. Well, he seemed the type to expect the worst when someone whispered in his presence.

Catra smiled sweetly at him.

"We cannot afford another war with an interstellar power," Hammond said. "So, we have to proceed with caution here."

"Does that mean that even if we don't find any sign of those people, SG-1 will have to remain here?" Adora asked.

The generals exchanged some glances. "That will be decided once we have a clearer picture of the situation on Cimmeria," the British general told her.

"And what if we decide that we need their expertise?" Catra asked.

More glances and frowning followed. "The mission's success, of course, takes priority," Hammond replied.

Which neatly avoided answering if they would overrule Catra's friends.

This mission was off to a good start.

*****​

For Jack O'Neill, watching the preparations in the gate room for a mission for another team was always a little… disturbing wasn't quite correct, but it came close. He wasn't arrogant - well, not very much - but SG-1 was the best team in Stargate Command. They had proven that repeatedly. The other teams weren't bad - Hell, they were amongst the best Jack knew when it came to special ops - but there were situations out there that SG-1 could handle and the other teams couldn't. Not really because of Jack, of course, but because when push came to shove, no scientist attached to Stargate Command could hold a candle to Carter, no one was as good as Daniel at getting aliens to talk instead of shooting at you, and Teal'c was the most dangerous man - alien - Jack had met. Well, before he met the Etherians.

Of course, the Etherians kind of changed the situation. The scientist assigned to SG-2, Willard, wasn't a genius, but Entrapta most certainly was. She was also a real-life mad scientist, though that wasn't necessarily a bad thing on some missions. And Adora had some of the same earnest charm Daniel had in spades. Not to mention that Bow had a knack for technology as well.

He turned away from the M.A.L.P. being prepared for the mission to face the approaching Ferretti.

"Colonel." Ferretti greeted him a tad warily.

That was only natural - Jack knew how it felt when your superior was watching you work. Though Jack wouldn't show it quite as openly. Ferretti had been on the first mission to Abydos, but he still was a little… not green, but not on Jack's level. And he wasn't used to the Etherians. "Major. All set up for our diplomatic probe? Don't worry, the Etherians won't bite you. Probably not - Catra can get a little moody."

Ferretti's chuckle was a typical 'laugh at your superior's joke' thing. He must be more nervous than Jack had assumed. Then again, Catra was a prickly woman. "If in doubt, treat her like a cat," he added.

"Sir?" Ferretti cocked his head.

"You know, don't look like a mouse, don't tease her and stay out of the range of her claws." Jack grinned.

Ferretti laughed again, still a bit forced. "Yes, Sir. Any other advice?"

"Anything not in the briefing?" Jack struck a thinking pose. Daniel had been thorough. "If in doubt, trust them. Don't lie to them. And don't treat them like kids."

"Of course not, Sir." Ferretti nodded.

Jack refrained from frowning. "I mean it. I know they don't look it, but they've been through a war - they've grown up in a war and ended it. Personally. Don't try to treat them as you'd Willard, don't try to protect them. If the shit hits the fan, let them take the lead and don't get in their way."

"I've talked to Major Warren, Sir."

Jack expected that. SG-3 would have spread the news about the Etherians after the fight with Seth. But it always paid to make sure. "Good." It still wasn't ideal, of course. SG-1 had spent far more time with the Etherians. Had gone on several missions with them, on Earth and in space. They should be here, ready to go to Cimmeria. But if wishes were horses, beggars would ride, as Daniel would say. He smiled. "So, any further questions?"

Ferretti didn't ask the one Jack was sure he wanted to ask - 'are you going to stop hovering over us here, Sir?' - but shook his head. "No, Sir."

"Good luck, then."

"Thank you, Sir." Ferretti turned away and went back to checking his and his team's gear.

And Jack was back to waiting for someone else to risk their life in his place.

"Jack!"

He turned again. That had been Adora - the Etherians had arrived. "Finished discussing our decision process with the brass?"

Adora blinked, then nodded. "Yes."

"Not that we have a result to show for," Catra added. The woman stretched her arms over her head, fingers entwined, and Jack saw one of the gate guards stare. The kid wasn't used yet to aliens.

"We didn't even get permission to call on you if we need you," Adora said.

Well, that would have given the Etherians the power to dictate who got to come on the mission - the generals wouldn't allow themselves to be outmanoeuvred like that. Even Hammond wouldn't let that fly. "Let's hope you don't need us," Jack told her. "Just a simple, boring mission that shows that nothing changed."

Catra snorted. "Yeah, right."

Adora pouted. "It could very well be like that."

"With our luck?" Catra raised her eyebrows, and her tail twitched.

"Whatever awaits us, we'll deal with it," Glimmer stated.

"That's the spirit!" Jack grinned.

"I still think you should come with us," Entrapta said. "It isn't fair that… Oh! There's the bot!" And she was off, headed for the M.A.L.P.

Jack hoped she wouldn't try to dismantle it. The things were expensive, as Stargate Command's budget could attest to. On the other hand, Entrapta could probably improve the things.

He blinked. On second thought, he'd better make sure she didn't tinker with it.

After introducing the Etherians to Ferretti and his team, of course.

*****​

"Folks, this is Major Ferretti. Major - Adora, Princess of Power, Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon, Princess Entrapta of Dryl who has deigned to join us again, Bow, Catra and Hordak."

Major Ferretti wasn't Jack. Adora knew it was unfair to compare the two - it wasn't Ferretti's decision to replace SG-1, and he seemed a skilled, competent soldier - but she would have preferred to do this mission with Jack and the others, not with people she didn't know and had never worked with. That wasn't a good idea; even basic Horde command lessons taught you that. On the other hand, making new friends and allies was a good thing as well. "Hello, Major," she said with a smile.

"Hello." He nodded. He didn't look nervous, which was… well, it should be a good sign. Of Confidence. Hopefully, not overconfidence.

The others greeted him as well - Catra with a 'Yo' - and he waved the rest of SG-2 over. "These are Lieutenants Casey and Bell and Dr Willard."

Casey and Bell were soldiers like Ferretti. Willard looked more like Daniel. And all were nervous - Willard obviously so.

"Oh! Are you a scientist or a medical doctor?" Entrapta beamed at him.

"Ah… A physicist. Mainly."

"Oh! So, what do you think we'll encounter? Did you work with a lot of Goa'uld or Ancient technology before? Do you think the defence system is an entirely new technology? What do you think about bots?"

Quite reasonable questions, in Adora's opinion. Although Entrapta should give the man more time to answer - he was gaping at her. And at her hair.

"So, you're the FNGs Jack told us about?" Catra commented with a grin.

Adora suppressed a sigh. That was the wrong thing to say. Of course Catra would say it. Even though she knew better - she had gone through the same lessons as Adora, after all.

"No, SG-2 is an experienced Stargate Command team," Jack corrected her with a frown. "We wouldn't let FNGs through the gate."

"But you're not used to, well, us," Bow spoke up.

"That won't affect our performance," Ferretti said.

"It better not," Catra said.

"Maybe we should delay the mission until we know each other a bit better," Adora suggested.

"We've done missions like this before." And now Ferretti looked annoyed. As did Casey and Bell.

"Yep." Jack nodded.

"Sorry." Adora had just wanted to help. Well, if they were trained to fight like Jack, they could handle this - if it came to a fight. But she didn't expect much from the team.

"We were just told that we'd be working with you," Bow added. "We expected to go with SG-1."

Their friends. Adora nodded. She understood the reasons the generals had given, but she didn't like them. It was always better to go on such missions with people you knew and trusted, not unknowns. Even in the Horde, which had standardised training, you tended to keep squads together.

"Not your fault," Catra said with a shrug. "But we've worked with SG-1 before."

"Well, we'll do our best to replace them," Ferretti said.

They'd better.

After a moment of everyone staring at each other without saying anything, Jack clapped his hands. "So, let's walk over and see what the M.A.L.P. can do? Provided that Entrapta didn't take it apart."

"I didn't do anything to it!" Entrapta protested. "Although if you give me a bit of time, I could modify it… legs would make it more manoeuvrable, I think. And maybe add a gun so it can defend itself. And a neural matrix so it can act on its own."

"I don't think we want M.A.L.P.s that can think and shoot on their own," Jack said.

"Why not?" Entrapta frowned.

"We don't have the paperwork for it. And people get nervous about a robot revolution." Jack shrugged.

"A robot revolution?" Adora asked. She remembered Entrapta's bots going out of control due to the First One's virus. That would be bad in here.

"It's from a movie," Jack replied.

"Ah."

"They wouldn't revolt. Unless you treat them badly," Entrapta said. "And why would anyone treat a bot badly?"

"Military necessity," Catra told her. "Sometimes, you have to send forces to their death."

Entrapta pouted. "There's no need to send sapient bots out to die."

"Exactly. And M.A.L.P.s often get sent to dangerous, deadly worlds, so we don't want them to be sapient," Jack explained. "It's kind of their job to be expendable."

"Oh." Entrapta looked surprised. "I guess that is a good reason not to give them neural matrixes."

"Yeah."

They were in front of the Stargate's ramp now - behind the bot. Or M.A.L.P. Whatever. Two techs were going over it, mumbling something about mad scientists. It seemed Entrapta had done more than just look it over.

Well, it was still in one piece and didn't sprout legs, so Adora doubted that any harm had been done.

While the M.A.L.P. was readied, they ran through communication checks and general gear checks. But, after ten more minutes, they were finally ready, and the Stargate was activated.

"Oh!" Entrapta beamed as it spun, and someone announced each chevron getting encoded and locked. "It looks even better than on recordings."

"I think security on this side is a bit light," Catra commented. "I'd have heavy weapons ready, not just a squad or two of infantry."

She was correct - the number of soldiers visible was a little low. "Perhaps there are hidden gun emplacements," Adora speculated.

"Or poison gas canisters?"

"We've got explosives in the ground as a last resort," Jack said. "But it's pretty hard to fight your way out of the gate room to the surface."

That was true. But if you just wanted to wreck the gate controls…

The wormhole formed, interrupting her thoughts. So, that was what the deadly energy Sam had mentioned looked like from up close - Adora could feel the hairs on her arms rise.

Then the M.A.L.P. started rolling up the ramp, entered the wormhole and vanished.

"It's through," Sam announced from behind. "Signal's… established."

"That is new," Daniel commented, staring at the screen showing the M.A.L.P.'s feed. "That wasn't there back when we visited."

Adora turned and went to join them. Catra beat her to the screen by jumping over the console, startling Daniel. "Right. That's not the Thor's Hammer you described. Unless you hallucinated a lot when you saw it."

Adora suppressed a frown as she rounded the console. Then she could finally see what the others were commenting on. And she blinked. "They walled off the gate area?"

"Those aren't walls," Jack said. "I bet those are weapon emplacements."

"Weapon emplacements?" Adora looked for laser emitters or barrels but couldn't see any. It looked like those were simple stone walls.

"Ah!" Catra nodded. "You think they covered the entire gate area in an anti-Goa'uld field?"

"Yes." Jack grinned. "And that means that the Asgard did return after we left."

"Well, they probably had some way to check on the hammer," Bow said. "In case it would get broken."

"Well, Ancient technology, and the Goa'uld technology they cribbed from them, lasts for a very long time," Jack said. "Without much maintenance. Or any, in the case of the gates."

"That might mean that this technology is different - and might require more maintenance," Sam said. "Closer to our own, Sir."

"Or it means the Asgard just liked to check instead of assuming everything was still working as intended," Jack retorted with a grin.

"Then we have to assume that they are watching the gate," Adora pointed out. "The Asgard, I mean. They have sensors in those weapons. Or devices."

"Yep."

"I would prefer not to test the viability of those devices," Teal'c said. "I doubt that I would survive until the gate could be opened back to Earth, should they act like the one we encountered at the exit of the labyrinth."

"That's why we have the M.A.L.P., Teal'c. And SG-2." Jack added with a grin.

Ferretti, who had just joined them as well, chuckled at that. "And, seeing as there are no guards: Are we cleared to go through the gate?" he asked.

"The sensors don't show any dangerous radiation or contaminated air," Sam reported.

That didn't mean that it was safe, Adora knew. But it was probably as safe as it was going to get. "Yes. Let's go," she said.

"We don't want to let the Asgard wait," Catra added. This time, she didn't jump over the console but followed Adora to the gate.

SG-2 moved to take point. For a moment, Adora thought about going first anyway, but… they had already had an argument today, and she didn't want another one.

So the four men disappeared through the gate, and then it was her turn.

"Wait!" Catra said, holding her hand up. She cocked her head towards SG-1. "Are they safe over there?"

"They're not being shot at - but they're in that red field. It looks like the Asgard skipped the scanning," Jack told them.

"Well, time to find out if we pass the test," Bow said.

Adora nodded and quickly went up the ramp, stepping through the gate before Catra could catch up.

Gate travel was… disturbing. Weird. It was only a moment, but it felt longer. And weirder. Adora shook her head as she stepped out of the gate on the other side and took a deep breath. The air smelt more like Etheria than Earth. Cleaner. Fresher.

And she saw everything in a red tone since she was standing inside the field that hurt the Goa'uld. It didn't do anything to her, though.

SG-2 had taken up positions around the gate, peering through the gap at the front. The M.A.L.P. was slowly moving through the gap.

Catra appeared behind her, scowling.

Adora acted as if she hadn't noticed and went down the ramp. She was the best choice to take point - She-Ra was the toughest of the entire group. She could survive things that killed everyone else.

"I don't see anyone. Last time, there was activity around the gate. And there's the dirt road," Ferretti looked around.

Catra sniffed the air. "I don't smell any animals - or their shit."

"Did something happen to the people?" Adora asked. "Did… did the Goa'uld attack, and the Asgard arrived too late to save them?"

Glimmer and Bow arrived together, Bow peering at the walls - or weapons - surrounding them and Glimmer frowning at the field.

Then Entrapta and Hordak arrived.

"Oh! Nifty!" Entrapta beamed. "I wonder if the field stays active as long as the gate is active."

"Probably a little longer," Hordak said. "To ensure that any Goa'uld arriving shortly before the gate closes are killed as well."

That sounded… probable. And ruthless.

"Although I think an active scan would be a good idea anyway." Entrapta nodded. "Just in case."

As if the walls had heard her, a ray started scanning Ferreti - and other rays scanned everyone else.

And then a voice sounded from the walls. "Confirm your permission to visit this planet."

Adora blinked. That was new as well, as far as she knew.

*****​

"It looks like someone tightened down on border control. I knew we should have applied for travel visas."

Samantha Carter didn't react to the Colonel's poor joke. "Thor's Hammer was activated as soon as someone came through the gate. They scanned them afterwards - no. They must have scanned for life forms since they didn't activate the field for the M.A.L.P. So, at least two sensor scans." But Goa'uld would be detected just by their reaction to the effect of Thor's Hammer.

"Permission?" she heard Adora ask through the M.A.L.P's microphones. "What permission?"

"And where do we get it?" Glimmer added.

"Confirm your permission to visit this planet," the voice repeated itself.

"Do you think this is a recording?" Daniel asked.

"It is asking a question, so they expect an answer," the Colonel replied.

"I mean… do you think this is an automated system - or is this an actual Asgard talking to them?"

Sam adjusted the focus on the M.A.L.P.'s cameras. "Even a primitive - comparably - computer system with voice recognition and pre-recorded lines could 'talk' to visitors."

"But would the Asgard trust an automated system after we wrecked the last one?" the Colonel asked. "Or would they station troops on the planet to enforce whatever new rules they put in place?"

Before Sam could answer, Glimmer spoke up again: "We didn't know you required permission. The people of the planet extended an invitation last time our friends visited."

"Let's hope they didn't just mean us, specifically," the Colonel said.

Sam resisted the urge to shush him. You didn't do that to your superior.

"Well, it wasn't entirely clear, but I think the Cimmerians knew that we represented an organisation, and…"

"Shhh!" Sam hissed. Daniel wasn't her superior.

"Other visitors are free to leave the gate area. Be mindful of the laws of the planet and aware that any hostile action will be reciprocated."

"'Other visitors'? Who are you talking to?" Adora exclaimed.

"Confirm your permission to visit this planet."

Sam really wished she was on Cimmeria. Even though right now she couldn't think of anything she could do to help, she hated staying back and watching helplessly as her friends were in danger.

"Well, let's try to leave and see what happens!" Catra suggested.

"Catra, no!" Adora yelled.

But Sam saw that Catra was already moving, jumping on top of the M.A.L.P. and then through the opening in the walls surrounding the gate. She held her breath, expecting the worst - but Catra landed on all fours on the grass outside the gate area, then rose, not affected at all by anything.

"So, the bot wasn't talking to me!"

"Catra, you idiot!"

And the voice hadn't been talking to Adora since she had just charged through the gap as well, bumping the M.A.L.P. to the side, probably without noticing.

Once more, Sam was reminded that just because Adora looked and acted like a normal woman most of the time, she was a magical princess strong enough to throw tanks around. And enough power to turn spaceships into plants.

"What were you thinking?"

"Someone had to test it!"

"And that someone should've been me, not you! I'm She-Ra!"

"So? That means you get to risk your life all the time?"

"Yes!"

"You got to go through the gate first!"

"That was after SG-2 went through!"

Bow and Glimmer joined them without acrobatics or pushing expensive gear to the side. "No magic," Glimmer said.

"Perhaps it is just a recording and not able to actually do anything?" Bow speculated.

SG-2 ventured out of the gate area as well. That left Entrapta and Hordak. Sam repositioned the M.A.L.P. and switched to another camera.

"Well, they have extensive sensors and… Oh! Look at those projectors, Hordak!"

"I see. But why would they hide the weapons behind worked stone? An attempt at camouflage?"

"Or they just like the style?"

"Entrapta! Can you tell if it's just a recording?"

"Give me a moment, Adora! No, I can't tell. The system is in contact with someone or something else, but I haven't cracked the encryption yet."

"Is she trying to hack the Asgard?" the Colonel asked. He sounded both impressed and aghast, Sam noted.

Before she could formulate a reply, Entrapta stepped through the gap without any trouble. But when Hordak tried to follow her, a barrier field appeared, and the voice spoke up again.

"Direct contact with the population of the planet requires permission by the Supreme Commander. Please confirm your permission or contact the closest fleet outpost."

Sam blinked. Did that mean…?

"The Asgard are the Horde?" Daniel blurted out.

"For crying out loud!"

*****​
 
Chapter 43: The Asgard Part 1
Chapter 43: The Asgard Part 1

Gate Area, Cimmeria, September 26th, 1998

"The Asgard are the Horde?"

Catra shook her head at Daniel's outburst. "Can't be. Horde Prime wouldn't have protected the planet." She knew that monster.

"He would have destroyed it. Or 'reformed' it so they worshipped him." Glimmer, too, knew Horde Prime.

"I have never heard of any such policy as well - or of the Goa'uld," Hordak said.

"But the Asgard are singling you out. And they assume that you know how to contact their Supreme Commander." Entrapta frowned. "Why do they think that?"

"I don't know!" Hordak said. "I would assume that this is a splinter group of clones who chose their own path after Horde Prime's death, but the timeline does not work at all. At the time this planet was protected, Horde Prime was fighting the First Ones."

Well, he had fought them for a long time, Catra knew.

"But you're clones of Horde Prime. What if he was an Asgard who left his people to found the Horde? The depiction in the labyrinth could've been a ruse."

Sam had a good point. Horde Prime had to have come from somewhere - someone. He couldn't have just… appeared.

"We might be talking to Horde Prime's people," Adora stated the obvious. "And they're not evil!"

"We don't know that," Glimmer disagreed. "We don't know why they protected this planet."

"Well, they don't seem too bad compared to the Goa'uld. Or your Horde," Ferretti said.

Hordak turned to face the… well, the wall. "How can I contact the Supreme Commander? I lost my standard communication equipment."

"The Supreme Commander has been contacted. Please wait."

"Well, that's one way to make contact," Catra said. "Let's hope Horde Prime was an outlier."

"And let's hope they won't take too long to answer," Glimmer said.

"At least the DHD is here," Ferretti said. "We can dial back."

But it was outside the walled section, Catra noticed. Hordak would be trapped if he were alone here.

"Yes, but our goal is to make peaceful contact with the Asgard," Bow said. "If we leave, that's a failure."

Catra was tempted to tell Ferretti to head back while they stayed. "We can wait a few hours, easily. Although we might get bored."

"We could analyse the Asgard technology!" Entrapta suggested.

"Only if you can do it without dismantling it," Bow told her. "We don't want to make a bad impression."

Catra nodded in agreement. Especially if the Asgard were even a little like Hordak - or Horde Prime. "If Horde Prime has a connection to the Asgard, the technology should be familiar," she said.

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded. "Although the communication protocols are different compared to those Horde Prime used."

Well, she would know. "On the other hand, they might use the same transporter Horde Prime had on his flagship," Catra pointed out.

"Yes. Though the aesthetics are completely different as well," Glimmer said.

And that was a good thing. Catra didn't like Horde Prime's style. The Asgard's style was more like the one Alliance used on Etheria. Well, not really, but it wasn't as polished and cold as Horde Prime's.

Entrapta stepped back inside the gate area and fiddled with her device. "Ah. There's some familiarity. The scanners use similar principles in how they are built and controlled. The weapons, though… I've never seen Horde technology use such a field."

"I've never heard of anything like that, either. If Horde Prime had access to weapons that targetted specific species, I would assume they would have been used," Hordak said.

"Unless he wanted to avoid giving his enemies ideas. If the First Ones had developed a weapon that targeted Horde Prime and all his clones…" Bow grimaced.

Catra scoffed. "I doubt that he would have been concerned about that. He was too arrogant to assume anyone could get one up on him." And that had been part of the reason he had lost in the end.

"Yes. Still…" Glimmer was interrupted by the voice speaking up again.

"This is Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet. Who are you?"

Right to the top. Catra grinned despite herself.

"I am Hordak."

"And I am Entrapta! Hi!" Entrapta waved.

"You are not one of the Asgard. Neither of you. And yet, you share our DNA."

"Ah." Hordak paused for a moment. "I am a clone of Horde Prime."

"Horde Prime?"

So the Asgard didn't know him. Or didn't want them to know they knew him.

"Our… progenitor. Creator. He cloned himself to create an army of conquest. He was defeated some time ago," Hordak replied.

"He cloned himself, you said. Was he known under another name?"

"We called him brother. Sometimes." Hordak sounded tense. Entrapta's hair patted his shoulder, Catra noticed. "We do not know where he came from - or what his species was," Hordak went on.

"Well, we have his DNA, if you're interested. But it's pretty close to Hordak's, so you probably already have it," Entrapta added.

"What brings you to Cimmeria?"

"He's with us!" Adora said, stepping into the area as well. "We're here with a team from Earth - we're friends with the people who had to dismantle your defence system to save their friend, and we came here to check if the planet needed any help - and to see if we could contact you. We're from Etheria."

"You're of Ancient descent."

"Yes." Adora looked grim.

Catra suppressed a sigh. Her lover needed to accept that her heritage didn't mean anything.

"Are you a bot? And can we meet you?" Entrapta asked. "We could share technology! Yours seems fascinating!"

Adora coughed. "We would like to meet you and apologise for destroying your defence system. And we would like to talk to you about the Goa'uld threat. We're fighting them. Well, we will be fighting them soon."

After a moment, the voice - Thor - replied: "I see. Yes, I think we should meet."

"Great!" Adora beamed at the wall.

Catra refrained from commenting about it - they didn't know if the Asgard had a camera pointed at them. Although if they had a DNA scanner, they should have a camera as well.

"We can close the connection to our gate so you can use it to travel," Ferretti said.

"This will not be necessary," Thor replied. "I will arrive with my ship."

Ah. That meant the Asgard's ship - probably more than one if they were ready to face the Goa'uld - had to be close. Relatively close.

"How long will that take?" Glimmer asked.

After a bit of back and forth, they had a time - about two hours, And wasn't it interesting that the Asgard used Horde standard time units? Catra grinned without humour. There had to be close ties between Horde Prime and the Asgard.

"So… before you enter hyperspace…" Adora smiled in that embarrassed way of hers when she was about to confess to a blunder. "Our friends had to disable your defence system to save their friend - and our friend - Teal'c, who is a Jaffa who is opposing the Goa'uld. When they visited this planet, he was trapped in the labyrinth, and they had to destroy it to free him."

"I am aware of the circumstances of the destruction of our first defence system."

Which didn't mean he approved of what SG-1 had done. Catra snorted.

"Good. So, can they visit as well?" Adora was still smiling. "They're sorry about the whole thing, but they had no choice. They didn't know if they could contact you - or how."

"So they destroyed our system."

The tone didn't sound like Thor approved at all. Of course, that could be different for aliens. Then again, if they were so closely related to Hordak and the other clones, they couldn't be too different.

"Yes, but they're sorry. And we're all fighting the Goa'uld, and the planet's safe, so… no harm done?" Adora's smile was obviously forced now.

"I will not judge them for one single action done out of ignorance."

"But you'll judge them later?" Catra asked before she could control herself.

"I can probably repair your system," Entrapta offered. "Or replace it with a similar one of equal value. Although you already upgraded the system here."

"The Tau'ri can visit, but your Jaffa friend should stay away."

That was a partial success - unless Thor just wanted everyone who offended them in one easy-to-bomb spot. If he arrived with a fleet, and they were all stuck on the planet…

"Thank you!" Adora said.

Well, it was better than nothing. Still, Catra would prefer if they had a flotilla with them. With Priest's bunch, they probably didn't have to worry about the clones changing allegiance when faced with some 'relatives'. But the ships would never make it here in time.

"Entering Hyperspace. Thor out."

Or so he claimed. He might be listening in still - and Catra was sure that the Asgard were still recording everything in the area. That's what she would be doing in their place.

"So… we made peaceful first contact," Bow said.

"Let's hope it stays that way." Glimmer snorted. "If a fight breaks out, we're kind of outgunned."

And, not that Catra would mention that where a potential enemy could record them, without the planet's magic restored, they were even more at a disadvantage.

It would only be five minutes to restore magic, but Catra knew her friends wouldn't do that without asking the local people first. And from what she remembered of Daniel's briefing, they might be afraid of magic like Earth's nutcases.

Adora turned to the M.A.L.P. "Jack? Did you get that?"

"Yes."

"Are you coming over?"

"That's currently being debated. In committee."

Great. Catra sighed.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 26th, 1998

"Sir, we should head through the gate," Jack O'Neill said, staring at the observation window above them. "You heard the Asgard - we can enter." He turned to smile apologetically at Teal'c. "Except for you. Sorry, Teal'c. They don't know you like we do."

"The Asgard's hesitation to trust me is perfectly understandable."

Of course he'd say that.

"This could be a trap, Colonel O'Neill," Sidorov said.

"If we think it's a trap, we should evacuate the Etherians. That's their entire leadership out there," Jack retorted. Not that he thought that they would let themselves be evacuated.

"They are aware of that," General Hammond said.

At least Catra would be, in Jack's opinion. "So, can we go through the gate?" He almost added 'pretty please', but the foreign generals wouldn't appreciate it. And the Russian would take any excuse to sideline SG-1.

"We should not, how do you say, put all the eggs in one basket?" General Li said.

"Well, not showing up after we got permission could be seen as an affront," Jack said. He suppressed the urge to rub his neck - staring up at the observation window was annoying - and glanced at Daniel.

Fortunately, Daniel was on the ball. "Ah, yes, If the Asgard have Norse values, they might see this as refusing their hospitality. Something that could be taken as an insult," he said in his usual earnest manner.

Jack smiled. "And we don't want to insult the alien race with spaceships and anti-Goa'uld devices and ties to a galactic conqueror."

Sidorov, standing at the window, didn't bother hiding his scowl. But the other generals looked more reasonable. Not happy, of course.

But Jack was sure SG-1 would go through the gate - if only because they wanted someone present who was able to stand up to the Etherians - at least when it came to making decisions - when the Asgard arrived. SG-2 was a great team, but he didn't see Ferretti keeping up with the Etherians.

And Jack was right. It still took the generals five minutes to sort things out - an eternity if this had been an emergency - and Sidorov was glaring at everyone afterwards, but SG-1 got the go-ahead. Except for Teal'c, but that couldn't be helped.

"Alright! Carter, Daniel - grab your stuff and get to the gate." Jack nodded at them, then turned to Teal'c.

"Good luck, O'Neill," his friend said before Jack could say anything.

"Ah, thanks." Jack nodded at him, then turned to grab his backpack and join the others at the gate.

It was still active, so there was no need to wait. "You know the drill. No shooting the locals, no getting married by mistake even if it's to a Viking god."

"Norse god, actually. Vikings were…" Daniel started to correct him.

Jack grinned and stepped through the Stargate before his friend could finish.

Then he saw red - literally. That anti-Goa'uld field was active. As expected. He pushed the memory of the labyrinth away and faced the others. "Hey!"

"Hi! You made it!" Entrapta beamed - not at him but at Carter, who had followed him. Well, he had expected that as well. Hordak looked grumpy as ever, and Jack had to refrain from speculating loudly what the Asgard might think about former warlords. They were being recorded, after all.

"Sir!" Ferretti nodded at him while Entrapta started talking technology with Carter - or science- and dragging Bow into it as well.

"Major." Jack returned the nod. "Anything to report?" It was a pointless question - they had followed the mission through the M.A.L.P. - but forms had to be observed.

"No, Sir."

"You're early," Catra commented as Jack stepped out of the red field. She was sitting on a tree stump nearby.

"Couldn't wait." Jack shrugged. "You know how it is." She wasn't exactly the most patient person he knew.

She laughed in return. "Well, now you can wait here with us."

"It's good to have you here," Adora said with a glance at Catra.

The catwoman grinned in return and stretched, then shifted around on the tree stump as if she was sunbathing on a lounge chair.

"Catra!" Glimmer hissed.

"What? I'm not going to pretend to be busy when we're just waiting for the Asgard to arrive."

Well, Jack couldn't say that he disagreed with that. But with the brass watching, he couldn't join her or start a campfire. Although… "Daniel! You mentioned hospitality. Should we prepare a camp or something to welcome the Asgard?"

"Uh…" His friend bit his lower lip. "That's a good question. It depends, I think, on their views of the planet. If they consider it theirs, claiming part of it as hosts for them would be… tacky, I guess."

Or it could be seen as an invasion. Technically. Grabbing land and all.

"On the other hand," Daniel went on, "if the Asgard see this planet as belonging to the Cimmerians, they might not take offence. Or they might take offence on behalf of the Cimmerians."

"So, we better not try to invite them to roast marshmallows at our fire, got it," Jack said.

"Well, they could also be offended if we don't offer them hospitality." Daniel smiled. "It's hard to say with an alien culture. Although in Norse culture, it was generally dependent on who called a location home, so to speak."

In other words, they wouldn't know until the Asgard arrived. Like usual.

"I doubt they'll get angry," Glimmer said. "They should be used to meeting alien cultures and be aware that not everyone follows their customs."

Jack hoped she was correct. There was still the little matter of SG-1 breaking the Asgard defence system. Although, as one of its victims, Jack was ready to argue that it had been broken already - he shouldn't have been transported into the labyrinth since he didn't have a Goa'uld inside him. At best, the system's aim had been broken.

"Well," he said. "Then let's wait and hope Carter, Entrapta and Bow don't go overboard with the study of alien technology and accidentally dismantle the new defence system."

"Bow wouldn't," Glimmer retorted.

"But Entrapta and the others can get pretty enthusiastic," Adora pointed out.

"And Hordak seems a bit off his game," Catra added. "He might be too distracted to intervene."

Jack had been joking, but the Etherians seemed to take it seriously. Ah well - he trusted Carter not to go overboard. And to ride herd on the rest. She was a great officer; if she weren't an even greater scientist, she'd have her own team already.

He put his backpack down on the grass and sat on it. "So… any idea how to pass the time until Thor arrives in his shiny spaceship? If it's even shiny." Jack eyed the defence system. "It could be rather dull, of course, if this is his style."

"A spaceship made to look like it was built from stone?" Adora blinked.

"It might be using classic Norse aesthetics, such as runic decorations, maybe even some style elements from longships." Daniel got into it as well. "No sail, I would assume, though."

As they started to make silly suggestions, Jack relaxed a little. They were still meeting an alien who could hold a grudge and had a spaceship available where they were limited to small arms, but he and his team were back in the field. Where they belonged.

Things were looking up.

*****​

Gate Area, Cimmeria, September 26th, 1998

"It's been two hours. I'm getting bored."

Sitting in the grass, Adora tried to ignore Catra's complaining. Yes, it had been two hours - and three minutes - since Thor had given his estimate, but he had said 'about two hours', not 'precisely two hours'.

She felt her lover shift in her lap and crane her neck so she could look at Adora's face. "Aren't you bored?"

Adora caught Catra's tail before it could flick against her nose. "No." Between listening for trouble from Entrapta, Sam and Bow and keeping Catra from starting trouble, she was quite busy.

"How? We haven't even made out to pass the time!"

"And we're all grateful for your restraint," Jack cut in.

"See? Someone appreciates my sacrifice."

Adora rolled her eyes. As if she was going to make out in front of Asgard sensors! Or her friends. Well, not beyond some kissing. "Thor's going to be here soon." He better be.

"He's probably analysing the recordings from the defence system to prepare for the meeting," Jack said. He was still sitting on his backpack, but as much as he tried to act relaxed and carefree, he never put down his rifle, Adora noticed.

"Of course he is," Glimmer said, looking directly at the closest wall.

"Entrapta should have built something to spoof the sensors," Catra said.

"That could have been considered a hostile act," Daniel cut in, looking up from his book on Norse culture. "We would effectively render the defence system partially ineffective."

"Spying on people is also a hostile act."

"It's not spying when we know there are cameras and sensors," Adora pointed out. "And we do. We could've headed back and waited at home."

"But it's much nicer here," Jack said. "Like a vacation."

Adora suppressed a sigh. Jack was still avoiding any quips about Stargate Command. No complaining about the brass, the power bill, the underground location - he must be really concerned about leaking information. Catra, too, was sticking to quite, well, mostly personal and unimportant stuff to complain about or tease.

That, and napping and speculating about the Asgard, of course. Which counted as planning and preparing, in Adora's opinion.

"I have arrived."

Adora jumped up, dumping Catra to the ground in the process before she realised what she had done. The Asgard had arrived!

And there they were! A large, muscular human-looking man in chainmail and a steel helmet was standing near the defence system's walls. How had he appeared without anyone noticing…?

"A holoprojection," Catra said. She must have noticed a lack of smell. Or her eyes saw a flaw or something.

In any case, it was a very advanced projection - more life-like than Light Hope had been.

"Correct. I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet." He nodded. "I am currently aboard my ship in orbit."

"I am She-Ra, Princess of Power," Adora told him. "This is Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon, Colonel Jack O'Neill of Stargate Command, Catra, Daniel, Major Ferreti of Stargate command, and here come Princess Entrapta of Dryl, Bow, Captain Carter and Hordak. And Dr Willard." She didn't introduce the rest of SG-2 since Casey and Bell were still guarding the gate.

"Greetings." Thor nodded.

"Hi!" Jack waved. Adora glanced at him and suppressed a frown - that wasn't how you greeted a diplomat. She wasn't the only one to glare at him, either.

But Thor didn't seem to care. He cocked his head and nodded in return. "You were the ones who destroyed the defence system of this planet."

"Well, you locked Teal'c and me up with a dangerous man-eating monster, so we had to break your prison to save us." Jack shrugged. "I can't say I'm too sorry about that. Indiscriminate targeting is not very polite, you know."

"But we are sorry that we had to destroy your defence system," Daniel quickly added.

"I understand. The circumstances that led to that situation won't repeat themselves. We only targetted Goa'uld."

"Not every Goau'ld is evil," Adora cut in.

Thor turned towards her. "That may be the case, but when dealing with them, it is better to err on the side of caution."

Adora pressed her lips together. Killing every Goa'uld by default wasn't exactly cautious, in her opinion. But before she could say anything, Thor went on: "But as I understand, the situation was resolved, and you are now aware that this planet represents a lethal danger to your Jaffa friend. I don't think this needs further debate." He turned to Hordak. "You share our genes, yet you aren't one of us. You didn't know us - or of us - either. And you are a clone."

"Yes." Hordak nodded and stared at Thor. Adora couldn't read him well, but he looked tense. Very tense.

"A clone of who?"

Hordak raised his chin. "Horde Prime. He made us - my brothers and me - in his image."

"I do not know this name."

"I'm not impressed by their intelligence gathering capability," Catra whispered. "Even the Goa'uld knew about Horde Prime," she added a bit more loudly.

"We do not share information or anything else with the Goa'uld," Thor told her.

"Other than being revered as gods by people," Jack said with an innocent-looking smile. "And hiding your true appearance."

Thor frowned at him again. "That is correct. We chose an appearance that suited the local civilisation. Our true appearance is, as you have undoubtedly deduced, different from humans or Ancients."

Ah. Adora nodded. That made sense - they probably looked more like Hordak since they shared enough DNA to mistake him for an Asgard.

Entrapta pouted. "But why are you hiding your appearance from us? We aren't Cimmerians, and we already know you aren't human. I've been told it's polite and respectful to show your true face."

"And there's no Cimmerian around," Jack said. He made a show to look around. "Unlike last time we visited - they chanted your name when we arrived.

"The local population has been advised to avoid the gate area for the time being," Thor told them. "While the defences should be enough to repel a Goa'uld invasion, collateral damage is still a threat."

"That explains their absence. If your god tells you to avoid an area, you generally do it, right?" Jack asked with an innocent expression that, Adora knew from experience, was fake.

"It was deemed the best way to interact with the people without disrupting their civilisation more than absolutely necessary," Thor said.

"Ah!" Daniel nodded. "Does that mean you used an existing pantheon as your role model, or did you create the Norse pantheon from, uh, scratch?"

Thor hesitated a moment. "We did build our appearance on the local culture, but we did not lay claim to any gods."

That was… probably a good thing. But they were still worshipped as gods. Which was a bad thing - Adora could attest to that personally. You didn't claim you were a god!

"So, you took the Cimmerians' ancestors from Earth to raise them here, safe from the Goa'uld?" Jack asked in the same innocent tone as before.

"Yes." Thor apparently took him at face value. "We wanted to allow them to develop without being manipulated by the Goa'uld - or anyone else. Which is why we did not contact them directly afterwards."

"Except for leaving proof of your existence by planting your hammer at the Stargate." Jack nodded.

"That was a necessity."

"And you've been watching over the planet since then?" Adora asked.

"Rather distantly," Catra added before Thor could answer.

The projection nodded. "We didn't want to interfere. And we didn't - until you forced our hand. We have taken steps to avoid a repeat of such a situation."

That sounded good to Adora. She smiled at the projection.

"But I came to see you because of you," Thor said, turning back to Hordak. "You said you do not know the origin of your creator."

"I do not." Hordak shook his head. "Horde Prime… never said anything about that."

"He liked to give the impression that he was eternal," Glimmer added. "That he was always there and would always be there."

"Yes," Hordak said. "I never questioned this - I never speculated who might have been his parent. Or his creator."

He wasn't looking at Thor as he told them that, Adora noticed.

"I see." Thor nodded. "Regretable."

"Of course," Catra spoke up. "I don't think the clones actually looked into Horde Prime's origin."

"Most of us wanted to forget our past, I believe," Hordak said.

Hordak sounded like he was one of them, Adora thought.

"But it means we might be able to help shed some light on this mystery," Catra went on. She smiled widely at Thor, showing her fangs.

Adora pressed her lips together. She knew that expression - Catra thought she had spotted an opportunity.

Thor wasn't fooled either, judging by his frown. "And what do you expect in exchange for your help?"

"Nothing for me, personally." Catra's grin widened. "But since you obviously don't like the Goa'uld and kill them on sight, maybe we should be talking about that as well, instead of just talking about Hordak's ancestors."

That was a good point. A great point, actually. Adora nodded. "Yes. If we're both fighting the Goa'uld, we should coordinate our efforts." And maybe form an alliance.

Once more, Thor hesitated a moment before answering. That didn't seem to be a good thing.

"Are you fighting the Goa'uld as well?" Jack asked.

"We have a treaty with the System Lords - the Protected Planets Treaty," Thor said.

"And what are the terms of the treaty?" Glimmer asked when he didn't go on.

"The System Lords are forbidden from attacking a protected planet and are obligated to keep rogue Goa'uld from attacking. In exchange, the Asgard ensure that the protected planets do not threaten the Goa'uld."

Adora blinked. That sounded…

"And did the protected planets agree to this treaty?" Glimmer asked. She turned to look at Jack. "The Cimmerians didn't tell you anything about it, did they?"

Jack shook his head. "Nope."

"Although we only talked to their local leader - the wife of the local ruler," Daniel added. "She mentioned he had gone to look for work in a city, so the rulers there might know about the treaty."

Adora frowned again. The Stargate of the planet was in a remote location. A backwater location. That said a lot about how important it was for the planet. Or how important it was supposed to be for the planet.

"The treaty is between the Asgard and the Goa'uld. The populations of the protected planets aren't sufficiently advanced to actually pose a threat to the Goa'uld."

"Are they like the Cimmerians?" Daniel asked. "Culturally, I mean. And technologically, although that is so heavily entwined with a planet's culture, it's often hard to draw a clear distinction, even if traditions tend to linger past the point where what caused them to develop was rendered obsolete by technology."

Thor tilted his head. "The protected planets have a wide range of cultures. We didn't intend to be revered by the people on this planet."

"But you were also revered on Earth - by a part of the population," Daniel pointed out.

"Yes. That was also not intended." Thor looked… annoyed. Or embarrassed? It was hard to tell, with the helmet covering half his face. And all being a projection, of course.

"So, you accidentally got worshipped as gods?" Jack raised his eyebrows. "Well, that could happen to anyone, I guess," he added with a shrug.

Adora frowned at him. Yes, it could happen accidentally! Or at least unintentionally!

"The level of native technology of this planet doesn't seem to have advanced very much since they were taken from Earth," Sam said.

"We have not interfered with their development," Thor said.

"Except for becoming their gods." Jack grinned, showing his teeth.

"Yes. We strive to avoid intervening unless something or someone forces our hand." Thor nodded.

Daniel adjusted his glasses. "But despite the treaty, you don't like the Goa'uld. You didn't just block them from reaching this planet - you built an elaborate system to capture any of them who arrived, where the only way to escape was for the Goa'uld to release their hosts."

"Yes."

Daniel nodded. "The Goa'uld must be aware of that as well. And yet, they made a treaty with you. I don't think they would have done that if they thought they could defeat you in an all-out war. Or, at least, defeat you without fatally weakening their own Empire. The Asgard must be a credible threat to them for such a treaty to be agreed upon."

"Our technology is superior to theirs," Thor replied.

"Quite a specific wording," Catra whispered. She was right, in Adora's opinion.

Glimmer, though, was nodding. "So, if you joined forces with us, we could likely defeat them easily." She was smiling, but it was a guarded smile, Adora noticed. Her friend didn't expect Thor to agree with her.

"Unless the Goa'uld break the treaty, the Asgard will not declare war on them."

"So, you won't break your own treaty." Jack nodded.

"Thor was supposed to be very honourable in our myths. As were most gods of the Norse pantheon. Loki was the most notable and famous - or infamous - exception," Daniel said in a low voice.

And Adora saw Thor frown at the name.

"Or maybe you can't afford to go to war?" Catra asked, cocking her head to the side as her ears twitched. "Is there something else keeping you from moving against the Goa'uld?"

Thor frowned at her. "How could you trust an alliance with someone who broke a treaty?"

That was a good point, Adora had to admit. She nodded in agreement.

"That depends on whether or not the treaty was made in good faith - and if it wasn't forced on either side," Glimmer said.

Thor inclined his head but didn't answer the unspoken question. "We seem to be at an impasse."

"Maybe we should discuss this face to face," Jack said. "You know, it's hard to trust someone when you know they're hiding their true appearance and pretty much everything else." His smile reminded Adora of Catra's when she thought she had the upper hand.

After a moment, Thor nodded. "Very well. If you give your word not to offer violence, we can meet in person on my ship."

"We accept your hospitality," Daniel said, nodding slowly. Then he glanced at Jack and raised his eyebrows.

"Yes." Jack nodded as well - a little exaggeratedly, in Adora's opinion. "You have our word."

"Yes!" Entrapta beamed. She was the only one, though.

Adora glanced at Catra, but her lover nodded as well without adding anything - for once. And Glimmer frowned a little but didn't say anything either.

"So, are you going to send a shuttle down, or…?" Jack was interrupted by a peculiar noise.

Adora saw Catra and Glimmer clench their teeth and jerk, but a moment later, they were standing on the bridge of a ship in space.

*****​

Orbit above Cimmeria, September 26th, 1998

Matter transportation - or teleportation, Samantha Carter thought as she got her bearings after the sudden shift. She didn't see any sign of a ring transporter, and it hadn't felt like a ring transporter, either. Magic was unlikely - the planet hadn't had its magic restored - but couldn't be eliminated as a possible source since She-Ra proved that some magic worked without that.

They were on a bridge - or a command centre. Darker than she had expected, with a few screens and consoles, but she couldn't see anyone manning them, and…

"Oh, for crying out loud!"

The Colonel's exclamation had her turn around and… freeze for a moment as a figure stepped out of the shadows.

"Welcome to the Biliskner, my flagship."

Thor was a grey humanoid alien, smaller than an average human, with a proportionally big head, solid black eyes, and no visible genitals. And no clothes, either. In short, he looked like the depictions of aliens in some science fiction media - and in some tales of being kidnapped by aliens, which likely prompted the Colonel's outburst.

"Hello! Thank you for inviting us!" Adora, like the rest of the Etheirans, didn't seem to be affected. No, Sam corrected herself - Catra and Glimmer looked around like they were in hostile territory. And the Colonel muttered something about 'probing' that probably shouldn't be overheard.

"Well, it's definitely not designed or decorated in the Norse style," Daniel said.

"We do not impose our own culture on others," Thor said. He was staring at Hordak, though.

The former warlord looked around. "It's not Horde Prime's style either," he said. "But the technology…"

"It's quite similar!" Entrapta smiled widely as she pointed her recorder around. "Not identical, but here, you can easily see that it's based on the same principles and key technology."

"Yeah, the transporter felt very familiar," Glimmer muttered.

"I see." Thor nodded. "That would be another indicator that you are… descendants of the Asgard."

Daniel blinked. "Descendants? Are you sure? If the culture doesn't show any shared origin, only similar technology, couldn't it be parallel evolution?"

"Our species' history is well-documented," Thor replied. "If there are close similarities between our technology and the technology this 'Horde Prime' used, then that would indicate that he had access to our technology relatively recently."

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded several times. "That would fit the differences!"

Sam was inclined to agree based on her own readings.

"But would the timeline of the Horde fit?" Daniel asked with a slight pout - he didn't like letting go of a theory.

"As I mentioned before, Horde Prime didn't encourage us to delve into his past. But I think it would fit - I certainly do not recall anything that would disprove the notion." Hordak stared at Thor. "Although the differences in appearance are striking."

"But DNA doesn't lie," Entrapta said. She pointed her device at Thor, and Sam winced. That was rather rude. If Thor took offence… "Oh!" Entrapta blinked. "You're a clone as well!"

"What?" The Colonel blurted out.

"It would be more correct to say that this body is a clone. My consciousness is far older than this," Thor said.

Now the Etherians tensed. Especially Catra, Glimmer and Hordak.

"Horde Prime could transfer his consciousness into the bodies of his clones," Hordak said. "He was able to possess any single one of us any time he chose so."

Oh. That would explain it. The ramifications of this… No wonder they hadn't mentioned this before.

Thor seemed unfazed, though. "Yes. This is also an old technology of my species. Although we do not use it on other sapients - we use specifically created braindead clones. Nevertheless, it seems Horde Prime had access to a wide range of Asgard technology."

Which would support the theory that Horde Prime had been created by an Asgard. Like the Ancient experiments on Etheria. "Does your species have a history of experimenting with new life forms?" Sam asked before she realised how rude it sounded. But it seemed everyone else was focusing on Thor.

"My species? No." Thor was… well, Sam had no experience or point of reference to judge the alien's expression, but he seemed to be frowning. "But individuals have done such research in the past."

"Undocumented and uncontrolled research, right?" Catra shook her head. "Since you somehow missed how a clone with your DNA started a conquest of the galaxy."

Thor inclined his head. "There have been experiments without permission from the High Council in the past. Some of our scientists felt 'hobbled' by our laws. It would not be out of character for some to hide their research, no matter how dangerous or short-sighted it would be."

"Yep, we know about such people as well," the Colonel said. "Short-sighted and law-breaking, I mean - we haven't actually had scientists create a new species and set them loose on the galaxy."

"Well, I know a few scientists who would likely do that - if they had the means," Daniel said.

Sam nodded in agreement. She knew a number of such people herself. And she didn't miss how Entrapta looked a little guilty.

"So, it looks like the Asgard aren't the Horde - but the Horde came from the Asgard," the Colonel summed up. "Does that mean you're like… cousins? Or are you Hordak's uncle? Great-uncle?"

Hordak frowned at the Colonel, but Thor tilted his head. "The exact legal relationship remains to be determined. So far, it's merely a theory. We cannot exclude the possibility that someone else captured an Asgard and used them for such experiments."

"Yes," Adora said. "Some people will experiment on people like that." She blinked. "You know what I mean:"

"We do," Catra told her with a grin. Then she turned to Thor. "So, when will you interrogate your suspect?"

Thor looked surprised for a moment, then slowly nodded. "They are sometimes hard to get ahold of. But we will get to the bottom of this."

Which meant that he did have a suspect in mind. Sam nodded.

"And we will help you!" Entrapta beamed again. "Right, Hordak?"

Hordak nodded very slowly. "Yes. This is important."

"Yes, it is. For both of our species." Thor said.

"And speaking of important things," the Colonel broke the short silence. "How about we talk about our common enemy again? You were explaining why you couldn't fight the snakes before you invited us to your fine ship here."

Thor seemed to tense up again - at least Sam thought so.

That wasn't a good sign for a possible alliance.

*****​
 
Chapter 44: The Asgard Part 2
Chapter 44: The Asgard Part 2

Orbit above Cimmeria, September 26th, 1998

Thor was hiding something; Catra was sure. And it was related to the Goa'uld. You didn't stick to a treaty with enemies you killed on sight on your world just because your word was your bond or something. If you wanted to break a treaty, you could always find a reason or pretext. Just the fact that the Goa'uld had visited Cimmeria in the past should be enough of a pretext - if you actually wanted to fight them.

Daniel might assume that it was their honour that kept the Asgard back, but Catra doubted that. The whole setup where Goa'uold died as they set foot on the planet didn't really look honourable to her. More like something someone would do who wanted to stick to the letter of an agreement but bend its spirit as much as possible. Someone who wanted to fight them.

So, something had prevented the Asgard from fighting the Goa'uld all-out and made them make a treaty instead. She cocked her head and looked around. "That's a very nice bridge here. Looks like a nice ship overall."

"Thank you." Thor nodded at her.

"How does it stack up against a Ha'tak?" she asked.

"Our technology is superior. A Ha'Tak stands no chance against this ship - or any of our ships."

She had expected that. If they had similar technology to Horde Prime, they would be superior to the Goa'uld's technology. So… they had the quality. And the will. What did that leave?

Numbers. Which was weird since they had cloning technology. They should be able to grow an army if they needed one. Like Horde Prime had done. This was quite a mystery. Ah, screw it. Catra grinned. "So, what's holding you back from protecting more planets? Not enough ships?"

Thor frowned at her. At least it looked like a frown. "I assume you will understand that I'm not at liberty to discuss the Asgard military with strangers."

"Of course we understand that!" Adora said at once with a glance at Catra. Then she smiled at Thor. "It's just… You obviously consider the Goa'uld a threat. And I doubt that you trust them to stick to the treaty if they think they could break it without consequences."

"Yeah," Jack cut in, "The way you set up a roach motel and now a bug zapper for the Goa'uld kinda gives that away."

Catra frowned - a roach motel?

"It's a slang term for a vermin trap on Earth," Daniel explained.

Ah. She nodded - and noticed that Thor was still tense. Kind of. Definitely hiding something.

"So, you know they aren't trustworthy." Glimmer nodded.

"We do. But we aren't like them," Thor retorted.

"Did they trap you in the treaty?" Daniel asked. "Did they exploit your honour?" Thor turned towards him, and Daniel smiled a bit embarrassedly. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to pry - my curiosity got the better of me."

Thor nodded again, and Catra told herself that she should take notes. Daniel really knew how to get away with stuff.

"As I said, we will not break the treaty." Thor looked at Hordak. "And should the Goa'uld accuse us of doing so because they mistook you for an Asgard, we will tell them so."

"We wouldn't try to trick the Goa'uld like that!" Entrapta protested.

"Yes. That would be low," Adora agreed.

Catra eyed Jack. He was looking composed, but she was sure that he disagreed with Adora and Entrapta.

Hell, Catra would disagree with them - if she thought that the Asgard were only held back by their honour. As it was, it would be a bad idea to trick them into joining the war. Not least because they might enter on the side of Goa'uld if they suspected treachery.

They needed to know more about the Asgard. With their ties to the Horde, their technology, their relation to the Goa'uld… they were just too important for the war.

"Alright. But we'll still work on finding out what your relation to the Horde is, right?" Bow said.

"Yes. We need to know what happened - and if any of our laws were broken. And by whom."

"And you'll share your information, right?" Entrapta beamed at him. "Sharing knowledge is essential for science! And for trust-building." She nodded emphatically.

"And you're kind of family already," Catra added.

Both Hordak and Thor twitched.

She didn't care. If the Asgard were responsible for Horde Prime, then this was nothing. Hell, if they were responsible, Catra would probably be for tricking them into the war against the Goa'uld.

But they needed to know more about them first.

Thor once more slowly nodded. "Yes, we will be sharing what we find out."

Catra suppressed a snort. Sure they would - once they had removed anything sensitive.

But most of her friends were smiling. Especially Daniel.

She sighed.

*****​

Jack O'Neill smiled politely at the grey alien. 'We will not break the treaty' my ass, he thought. The guy was hiding something - you didn't build elaborate death traps for your enemies if you wanted to honour your treaty with them. That was what you did if you wanted to go as far as you could without breaking the treaty because you needed it.

"So… you won't join in the fight against the Goa'uld. But what if the people under your protection want to fight them? How many planets are under your protection, anyway?" He raised his hands. "Just so we won't have to dismantle another of your defence systems."

"We currently protect twenty-seven planets," Thor replied after a moment. "I will send you the gate addresses."

Jack didn't miss that Thor hadn't answered his first question.

Daniel hadn't missed that either. "And what if the Cimmerians want to open diplomatic relations? With Earth or the Etherians?"

"We would want assurances that they aren't exploited," Thor replied. "We are aware of your planet's history - and your species's past," he added with a nod towards Adora.

Oh shit. Of course they would know that Jack, too, had some alien genes. And draw the wrong conclusions. "I wasn't aware of my 'ancestry' until a few months ago," Jack said.

"I didn't know I was one of the First Ones for most of my life." Adora nodded with a grim expression as Catra held her hand, Jack noted. "Neither of us was raised as an Ancient."

"Your biology doesn't decide your life," Daniel added.

"Well, except for when it does - like if you have a genetic predisposition to specific illnesses or something. Or your brain chemistry is affected," Entrapta said. "And there are some instincts and urges tied to certain genes, I believe." Jack frowned at her, and she blinked. "But that's probably not what you meant, right?" she asked with a smile, looking at everyone in the room.

"Yes, We're just saying that Adora and Jack aren't going to act like Ancients just because they are descendants of them," Bow said.

"And they've never met them." Entrapta nodded again. "Unless Light Hope and Alpha count, although they aren't First Ones, they were raised by First Ones. That's actually like the opposite of you two - they don't have the genetic legacy but they have knowledge about their culture. Some knowledge, at least."

"Who are those people?" Thor asked. "We have lost contact with the Ancients long ago. If they are still present in the galaxy, we would like to talk to them again."

So, they had had contact with the Ancients. And they used cloned bodies to transfer their minds into. How old were those aliens? Jack wondered.

"They're bots. Artificial intelligences," Entrapta replied. "Or were, in Light Hope's case," she added with a frown. "She didn't survive the fight against Horde Prime."

"Ah." Thor looked disappointed - if Jack read his expression correctly. Did they need to contact the Ancients, or was it just sentimentality? He wished he knew the Asgard as well as he knew Teal'c so he could read them.

"So, you're protecting planets while we fight the Goa'uld," Glimmer said. "That will be helpful since that means we have to protect fewer planets."

Oh, that was a nice dig! Jack's smile grew more honest - everyone here knew that the Goa'uld oppressed a lot more than a few dozen planets.

"Yes," Thor replied.

"Could you provide humanitarian aid to liberated planets?" Jack asked, trying to sound earnest. "Food, for example?"

This time, Thor frowned. "That would likely be seen as breaking the treaty."

"And would you let Cimmerians come to us to fight the Goa'uld?" Jack tilted his head.

Thor mirrored his gesture. "We aren't their gods or rulers. We just keep them safe from the Goa'uld."

"But you also keep the Goa'uld safe from them. That was a clause in the treaty you mentioned." Daniel narrowed his eyes. "So, wouldn't that be breaking the treaty as well?"

"Depending on the scale of the involvement, Cimmerians who take part in the war would be considered rogue elements," Thor told him.

"And what if we shared our technology with them?" Catra asked. "I'm not saying we would do it - we have quite strict conditions for such technology transfers - but what if we did and they would accept?"

"Even if you shared all your technology today, they would take years to learn enough to maintain, much less recreate your technology without your help," Thor told her.

Catra grinned. So did Jack. "So, you'd blame us, I take it, if the Goa'uld complained, and claimed that it's us, not the Cimmerians, who are a threat."

Thor nodded, and Jack thought he saw the alien's mouth twist in a brief smile. Well, as Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet, the alien would know how to play these games.

So, he might not be a bad guy after all. But he was still hiding something. Something important.

Jack was sure of that.

*****​

This was going better than Adora had feared, but not as well as she had hoped. The Asgard were friendly but didn't want to join the war against the Goa'uld. Even though they didn't like the Goa'uld and had superior technology - on par or better with the Horde's technology. Well, they would have their reasons, even if Adora didn't know them. That treaty, on the other hand, sounded a little… it sounded like a temporary solution that no one was actually happy with and everyone knew wouldn't last forever.

And you were supposed to plan ahead if you knew something wouldn't last. So… "What will you do once the Goa'uld break the treaty?"

Thor tilted his head as he turned to look at her. "That depends on the exact circumstances, but we have a commitment to defend the protected planets."

"Mourir pour Danzig?" Jack muttered.

Adora frowned - she didn't understand the reference. But she knew evasive answers when she heard them.

"I assume that you have plans for that case," Glimmer commented. "You know the Goa'uld aren't trustworthy."

"We know that they wouldn't dare to break the treaty," Thor retorted.

"At least not openly," Catra cut in.

"And they are divided - they cannot trust each other, which means they cannot unite to wage war. Not unless circumstances force them to unite," Thor went on, looking at Glimmer.

"Circumstances like an enemy starting to dismantle their empire and free their slaves?" Glimmer met Thor's eyes.

"It is a possibility. Your technology is obviously similar to ours and, therefore, superior to the Goa'uld technology. If you also have the numbers to pose a credible threat, that could unite the Goa'uld," Thor said.

Adora pressed her lips together. They were aware of that - they would do their best to avoid that.

"Allies with the same technology and goals could counter even a united Goa'uld Empire," Glimmer pointed out.

"In a war that will lay waste to a significant part of the galaxy," Thor retorted. "And while we have solid estimates of the strength of the Goa'uld, we don't have any of your strength."

Well, of course the Asgard didn't know about their forces - they hadn't even known about Etheria until today!

"The Goa'uld knew Horde Prime yet avoided conflict with him," Glimmer pointed out. "I doubt they would have done so if they thought they could defeat him."

"And they must have known that he would not stop with our sector but continue his campaign to conquer the galaxy," Catra added. "Yet they didn't unite." Her ears turned forward as she grinned. "They probably hoped the First Ones and Horde Prime would kill each other - or at least weaken each other so much, the Goa'uld could finish off the victor. But that didn't happen."

"And then you defeated him. But how much did it cost you?" Thor asked.

Catra frowned - her ears were laid back again, Adora noticed. Did she see the question as a threat? Was it a threat?

Adora couldn't tell. Technically, if you ignored all the devastation suffered over two decades of war, Etheria had gained a lot from the war - the support of Second and Third and the remnants of First Fleet. But without the unknown rest of Horde Prime's forces, cut off by his death, they were still facing an enemy with a significant numerical superiority.

"It cost us enough so we know we can't let the Goa'uld keep oppressing and enslaving people," Glimmer said. "We've seen the destruction Horde Prime wrought on other people." She shook her head. "We can't let them keep doing this to others."

Thor didn't react for a moment. "We won't break our treaty."

"Well, I'm sure you have a good reason for that. But you better be ready for the day the Goa'uld think they can break the treaty and get away with it," Jack said.

"That day may come, but not soon," Thor said.

"Well, the Goa'uld might have held back in the hope that you'd fight Horde Prime," Catra said. "Who knows what they'll do now?"

"If they saw Horde Prime as such a threat as you claim, then they will want to find out who defeated him," Thor retorted.

He had a point. The Goa'uld wouldn't start a war with the Asgard now. Certainly not after the Alliance had begun their attacks. Adora pressed her lips together. The Alliance would be protecting the Asgard as well, in a way. Usually, she didn't mind protecting people, but this was a little different.

Why couldn't they just do the right thing and join them?

"So… seems we have reached an understanding," Jack said, smiling in a way that reminded Adora of Catra trying to pull something over her. "But since we're sharing information and all… Are there any other dangers like the Goa'uld that we should be aware of when we start exploring the galaxy?"

Thor froze for a moment, then cocked his head sideways, staring at Jack. "We aren't aware of any danger for an advanced species that aren't contained already. Although our knowledge of what the Ancients left behind is limited. The Stargates are the most famous of their achievements, but also the safest."

Adora blinked. That sounded ominous.

"Really?" Entrapta sounded intrigued.

Adora swallowed a curse.

Catra, standing at her side, didn't.

*****​

"We need to find them, then," Entrapta went on. "If they were left in a state like the Heart of Etheria, they could go out of control as well."

Samantha Carter nodded in agreement. "Given the scope of the Ancients' technology, I believe ensuring that there are no lingering dangers is necessary," she said.

"And analysing their technology will allow us not only to handle such dangers but also to greatly advance our own technology!" Entrapta beamed. "They were so far advanced compared to us!"

Sam agreed with that as well.

"Well, I'm not too comfortable with poking the possible world-destroying device," the Colonel said with a grimace.

"Oh, do not misunderstand, Colonel O'Neill. The danger that relics of the Ancients represent goes far beyond destroying a world," Thor said.

"Ah. How silly of me to worry about a mere world-destroying threat." The Colonel chuckled once.

"Well, if you're on the planet, it's still a great danger," Entrapta said. "And for everyone else in the world, of course."

That made the Colonel blink at her. Fortunately, he just nodded instead of commenting in his sarcastic way. Entrapta meant well, after all.

"Although the lack of magic in many worlds might have affected any technology left by the Ancients," Entrapta went on, wrinkling her nose. "They were using magic, after all, so their technology would also be using it."

"Not all of their technology used magic," Thor pointed out. "The Stargates do not rely on it."

Sam nodded. So, Thor was aware of magic. Well, if he was as old as he had hinted at, he would have experienced magic before it was siphoned off.

"Oh!" Adora looked embarrassed as she smiled at him. "Speaking of magic… do you wish to have it returned to your world? If you lost it, I mean. I can do it - we figured out how the First Ones took the magic from the other planets through the Stargates."

Once more, Thor tilted his head in that not quite alien way that might indicate surprise unless Sam was misinterpreting his reaction. "You can restore magic to a world?"

"Yes." Adora nodded firmly. "And it won't take long either."

"Interesting. Thank you for the offer, but the Asgard do not use magic. We don't have the talent for it, so its lack does not affect us."

"Really?" Entrapta looked surprised. "None of you can use magic? What about magitech devices?"

"We prefer to rely on our own technology."

A non-answer, like others, Sam noted. And, in her private opinion, at least, a rather short-sighted policy. One should never dismiss new knowledge or technology out of hand. On the other hand, that was the business of the Asgard, not hers.

"If you're sure…" Adora pouted a little.

"Not everyone wants magic forced into their lives," the Colonel said - a little too smugly, Sam found. The Etherians meant well, after all.

"And does everyone on your worlds share that view?" Glimmer asked.

"Yes." Thor nodded. "We're an old species. We didn't miss magic when it was gone."

"But the potential magic offers! It's a whole field of technology you're missing out on!" Entrapta protested.

"We prefer to work with technology that we not only fully understand but also fully control."

"But…" Entrapta started to retort when Hordak put his hand on her shoulder.

"I understand the feeling," he said. "Horde Prime had the same policy." After a moment, he added: "Although he destroyed what he couldn't control."

"We are not like him," Thor replied in a tense tone.

"And we're all glad for that," the Colonel said. "So, you don't have a list of worlds to avoid unless we want to risk unleashing an ancient but not quite galaxy.-destroying evil, do you?"

"No."

Sam tried not to feel disappointed. Wanting to analyse and explore such dangerous worlds was reckless and should be discouraged. Even though she couldn't help wanting to anyway.

"Aw." Entrapta didn't bother to hide her disappointment. "So, what about exchanging technology? We've got similar technology, after all, so I am sure there would be quite the synergies." She beamed at Thor.

"That would require a decision of the High Council of the Asgard," Thor told her. Sam noticed Daniel perking up. "However, we generally do not share our technology unless it is with species which have proven themselves to be mature enough to use it."

"Now, that sounds familiar!"

And the Colonel sounded a bit too smug again.

Adora frowned at him in return. "It's a sensible policy," she said.

"But we already have comparable technology," Entrapta pointed out. "It's not as if you'd uplift us."

Well, the Etherians had comparable technology. Earth still lacked it. Sam pressed her lips together; she would have loved to get access to their technology. On the other hand, it didn't look like the Asgard would be a way to circumvent the Etherians' conditions for sharing technology. And that wasn't a bad thing with the Stargate Command now under United Nations control; Sam wasn't quite as opinionated about it as the Colonel was, but she didn't think China and Russia could be trusted with such technology either.

Though she really hoped that the United States would finally manage to pass the necessary laws to negotiate an Alliance with the Etherians.

"As I said, that is up to the High Council to decide," Thor said.

"Aw."

*****​

"...and here's how to contact us once your High Council has made a decision. You can use this after dialling Earth's Stargate."

Catra smirked as Bow handed a communicator over to Thor. "Just don't try to go through the gate - you'll get flattened."

"I see." Thor looked at her and nodded. He didn't ask if they had a Stargate of their own - he probably assumed that the Alliance with Earth covered the whole planet and was much older than it was - and more stable - and so they would only give out Earth's gate address.

"And how can we contact you?" Glimmer asked.

"Visit Cimmeria and address the defence system."

Thor wasn't smiling, but Catra would bet that he was amused. He just had a smug attitude there.

"Then we've settled everything that could be settled now," she said. "Unless you'd like to give us a tour of your ship, we probably should head home."

"Yes." Adora nodded.

Entrapta smiled at Thor, obviously hoping for a tour. But, instead, the damn transporter that was so similar to Horde Prime's went off again. Catra tensed - he wasn't Horde Prime. The Asgard weren't the Horde - and then they were standing near the Stargate on Cimmeria, and she heard Ferretti call in his radio that they were back.

"Alright!" O'Neill clapped his hands. "Doesn't look like any of the natives are around, so let's head back!"

"Jack! We still haven't contacted Kendra!" Daniel complained. "In fact, we haven't talked to any Cimmerian, and we don't know what they think about this!"

"We can return after we briefed the brass," O'Neill retorted, glancing at the walls housing the defence system.

"But this is an opportunity to compare their views to the claims made by the Asgard," Daniel protested.

"And we can do that once we have had our debriefing about our meeting with the Norse god. Major - clear us to return!"

"Yes, Sir!" Ferretti used his radio again, sending a code. "Clear, Sir!"

If he was mistaken, this would be a very quick way to die, Catra knew. If anyone wanted to sabotage the Alliance, this would be the way.

But she had to trust that Stargate Command wouldn't let that happen. The British and the French had an alliance with them, and the United States wanted an alliance. Still, all it would take was one person at the controls, closing the iris at the right moment…

But they arrived safely at Stargate Command.

Still no sign of hidden defence installation like gunports. But the guards were alert. And the doors out of the gate room were closed, she noted - sealed if she interpreted the lights above it correctly. And there was Frasier coming towards them, wearing a mask and carrying several vials.

"Oh, no… we've been on Cimmeria before, Doc!" O'Neill complained.

"That was before you met an alien species and visited their ship. We'll need to give you a full check," the doctor replied.

"I've already scanned for biological agents," Entrapta said. "I didn't find anything but the normal stuff, you know."

"Normal stuff?" Daniel asked.

"Microbes and such native to the planet. If they didn't hurt you on your last visit, they shouldn't hurt you."

"We'll still check ourselves," Dr Frasier said. "Your arm, please, Colonel."

O'Neill grumbled but held out his arm to the doctor.

"But it's really not necessary," Entrapta insisted. "My scanner didn't show any dangerous agents."

"The dear doctor sticks to procedure," O'Neill said while the woman switched to Daniel.

"No one ever died because of one examination too many, Colonel."

"Are you sure? I feel as if I gave a gallon of blood already."

"Then you wouldn't be able to talk back, Sir. You'd be unconscious or dead."

Catra snickered at the exchange, which made Adora hiss at "Catra!" at her.

Frasier went on to get blood from Sam, then switched to SG-2. None of them complained. Once she was finished, she looked at Adora and hesitated.

"We trust our own specialists," Glimmer told her.

Catra nodded. She didn't want the humans to have her blood. Who knew what they would do with it?

"Yes! We're safe!" Entrapta said.

"And I can heal anyone, anyway," Adora said, raising her sword.

A moment later, light filled the room, followed by surprised gasps - Catra felt the hairs of her fur stand up for a moment as magic touched her. "Show-off," she whispered.

Adora pouted at her. "I just wanted to reassure our allies."

"Well, they don't look very reassured," Catra told her as she nodded at Frasier, who was eyeing her samples as if she expected the blood to turn into a monster and attack her.

"Oh… I didn't think of that."

Catra shrugged. "They'll get over it." She had no doubt that the blood samples would now be examined for any traces of magic - though she had no idea if the humans knew how to do that.

It didn't matter anyway - it was time to get debriefed by the council of generals. Catra just hoped they wouldn't be too annoying; she wanted to get back to the ship and relax now, after meeting what probably was Hordak's grand-uncle or something.

She snorted at the thought. She'd have to remember that for their next meeting.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 26th, 1998

"...and then we were transported down to the planet again - abruptly - and proceeded to return to base," Jack O'Neill finished his oral report. Which he would have to deliver in writing as well because even with the change in management, getting a clerk to type out a transcript was still impossible because all of it was classified, and no clerk with the necessary security clearance was on the roster.

"Thank you, Colonel." Hammond nodded.

"A peaceful contact with an advanced species - as advanced as the Etherians," General Li commented.

Or more advanced - Jack hadn't seen them use such a transporter before.

"Yes," Entrapta said. "They have technology similar to the Horde, although with some differences; likely the result of different design and research choices since they split off."

"So, you think the Asgard are the creators of the Horde?" General Petit asked.

"We haven't found any evidence that would disprove it," Hordak spoke up. "And the genetics and technology we share support it."

That made sense. Of course, that didn't mean it was true, but Jack's gut leaned towards agreeing with it. He'd wait for Carter's assessment, though.

She nodded as well. "It fits all the data we have," she said, "and the Asgard seem to believe it was true as well, Sir."

"And yet, while the Asgard claim to oppose the Goa'uld, they refused an alliance," Sidorov said, scowling. Did he ever smile? Jack didn't remember seeing the Russian looking happy.

"Thor said they wouldn't break their treaty with the Goa'uld," Daniel said. "That would indicate a culture where honour is highly valued."

"Even if it benefits the Goa'uld and endangers their victims?" General Haig raised his eyebrows.

"It's possible. An alien species wouldn't share our values, and past cultures on Earth often put great emphasis on keeping your word." Daniel pushed his glasses up. "Although, in practice, treaties were often broken when it was convenient."

"The United States has a history full of such events," Sidorov said with a scoff.

"Err, yes," Daniel agreed. "However, we cannot assume that the Asgard act like we would in their place."

Catra scoffed before Jack could say anything. "If they really cared that much about their honour, they wouldn't have built death traps for Goa'uld. That's what you do if you want to stretch the treaty as far as you can without breaking it. I bet that they would find an excuse to break it if they actually wanted to break it."

Jack nodded. "That's my impression as well. I think they need the treaty."

"They have the same technology - more or less - as the Horde," Hammond said. "And they have had access to it for at least a thousand years. And yet they don't think that they can defeat the Goa'uld?"

"And you think you can," Sidorov added, glaring at the Etherians.

"Yes," Adora nodded firmly. "With the help of our allies, yes."

"Why would the Asgard disagree?" Li asked.

"We don't know," Daniel replied. "If their ethics don't hold them back, they might have other, more, uh, practical reasons."

"They might be outnumbered to a degree that makes fighting the Goa'uld too dangerous," Carter speculated.

"But then, why would the Goa'uld keep the treaty?" Glimmer retorted. "I bet they only made a treaty after conquering the Asgard failed. So they can't be too weak."

Jack nodded. That sounded like the snakes.

"Or they weren't too weak, back then," Catra said. "And then something changed."

"They didn't know Horde Prime, so they couldn't have been weakened by a conflict with him," Bow said. "But there must be something…"

Jack nodded. "Thor was hiding something. And they don't have good intel on the Goa'uld."

"One would have expected such people to look for allies," Li said. "And yet, you say they refused to share technology."

"They said they would only share their technology with those who proved themselves mature enough to use it responsibly," Glimmer told him. "And that the decision was up to the High Council."

The generals didn't like that. Jack could tell. He didn't like it either - but he'd like China and Russia having access to advanced technology, more than they already had, even less. Of course, the Asgard might consider Earth advanced or mature enough to share technology… He suppressed a snort. Yeah, right. He didn't need Daniel's opinion to know that that was rather optimistic. Although, if the Asgard valued martial ability, as the epics Daniel told them might hint at, humanity might get a pass.

Not that he'd mention that now, of course. The Etherians would lose all their leverage if Earth got access to Asgard technology.

And Jack was sure that they were aware of that as well.

"It's clear that we need more information about the Asgard. And about the danger Ancient relics might pose to Earth," Hammond said. "I propose to use the next meeting with them to find out more about them."

"That's the obvious course of action," Hordak agreed.

Which, of course, meant that the generals had to debate it.

Jack really missed the old Stargate Command.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, September 26th, 1998

"...and the senator announced he was resigning effective immediately after a New York Times report uncovered that he had been misusing campaign funds for years to pay for escorts and vacation trips. He declined to answer questions and asked that his family's privacy be respected 'in these trying times', although his wife has been seen boarding a plane to…"

"...der Bundeskanzler beantwortete eine parlamentarische Anfrage dahingehend, dass die Details des Technologietransfers noch nicht festgelegt wurden, aber im Grundsatz…

"...the French Ministre des armées stated that any rumours that the Légion Étrangère was training on the moon were false and clarified that the Légion was training for deployment on other planets, but not on the moon. Further questions were…"

"...Vatican remains silent on the Etherian question, as it has come to be known, but sources close to the Pope claim that the Holy See is expected to release a preliminary statement 'soon'. Neither source was willing to name a date, however, and…"

"...and the situation in Tehran remains volatile. There are no official numbers about the casualties of the latest riot, but the Supreme Leader of Iran confirmed that several 'men with special skills in metaphysics and connections with unknown worlds' were arrested and are currently under investigation. Whether they will be charged for being magicians or spies remains unclear, and…"

"...the FBI has taken over handling a hostage situation in North Dakota. While there was no official statement, local sources confirmed that the hostage situation involved a small religious community and the local sheriff…"

"...Prime Minister of India has lodged a formal protest against the exclusion of India from Stargate Command. The General-Secretary has not yet commented on the issue, but…"

"...riots continue to flare up in various countries in the Middle East while reports about witch hunts in Africa keep growing, and…"

"...Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland announced their intention to approach the Etherians together and…"

"...the United Nations Security Council announced that Stargate Command has resumed normal operations after being transferred under United Nations control. The United Nations press secretary declined to answer questions about the missions undertaken by the Stargate Teams or whether or not the first non-American team has been deployed already, but…"

Adora shook her head as Catra kept skipping through the tv channels on the bridge of Darla. "Are you even paying attention to the channels?"

"Yes, I am," Catra replied and switched channels again.

"What did the last one say?" Adora asked. She hadn't even managed to catch the broadcasting logo.

"Earth is still a mess. Watch this ad!" Catra leaned back in her seat, craned her head and grinned upside down at her.

Adora frowned. "You couldn't have caught that!"

"And yet, I'm still right!" Catra flashed her fangs.

Well, she likely was correct. Still… Adora pressed her lips together. She knew that this wasn't her fault - the United States had kept aliens and their war with them a secret, knowing that it would cause immense trouble once it got out, and had done so even after the Goa'uld's invasion attempt had almost exposed the whole secret. She also knew that the secret would have come out anyway sooner or later, and revealing it had been both the right thing to do as well as a necessity to wage war. You couldn't lie to your people like that.

But still, she couldn't help feeling guilty about the riots and the deaths, no matter how much she told herself that the humans had been doing that to themselves. They had been killing people for being witches even though magic had been gone from Earth - and was still gone!

"Hell, no!" Catra exclaimed.

"What?" Adora blinked.

"You're blaming yourself again!"

Adora clenched her jaws. She couldn't help it.

"It's not your fault. There was no good solution. We picked the least bad. It's not our fault that so many humans are so messed up.

"Still…" Adora trailed off. She didn't have a better solution. What could she say? "But we could do something. People are dying!"

"What could we do? Invade Iran? Egypt? Most of Africa?" Catra scoffed. She must have paid more attention to Earth geography than Adora had thought.

Adora snorted. Of course she had! Catra just played the lazy cat whenever she liked it, but…

"There you are!" Glimmer frowned at them.

"Where else would we be?" Catra asked.

"In the hold, for the debriefing?" Glimmer scoffed. "Come on!"

"We already had a debriefing," Catra complained. But she got up anyway.

"That was Stargate Command's debriefing." Glimmer turned to head back to the hold.

"I know; I'm just yanking your chain," Catra said. "Wouldn't want to discuss sensitive stuff when we're being recorded by strangers."

Glimmer didn't turn around, but Adora was sure that she was rolling her eyes.

Catra snorted. "We could have held the debriefing on the bridge."

But Entrapta and Hordak felt more at home in their lab in the hold. And they were the most affected by today's mission. Adora still wasn't sure what she felt about the revelation that Horde Prime had likely been created by an Asgard. Just like Etherians had been created by the First Ones. And if she wasn't sure how to feel about it, Hordak must be even worse off, being directly affected.

"I brought them!" Glimmer announced as they entered the hold. "They were watching television on the bridge."

"Ah. That would have been my second guess if they weren't in their cabin having sex," Entrapta said.

"What?" Adora blinked at her.

"I noticed you like to relax by having sex," Entrapta explained.

Adora felt herself blush. She wasn't ashamed of her love, but…

Catra giggled.

And Glimmer rolled her eyes. "Let's start the debriefing." She took a deep breath. "First, what do you think of the Asgard's claims? About Horde Prime."

"They seem like a valid hypothesis supported by the available data," Entrapta said. "Although we need more data to be certain."

"Yes," Hordak added in a more gravelly voice than usual.

"Eloquent," Catra whispered.

"Yes, but what if it is true?" Glimmer asked. "What do we do?"

Adora blinked. What did she mean?

"Well, then we find out if the Horde fleets are more loyal to Adora and the Alliance than to their family - so to speak," Catra said.

Ah. That was a possibility, of course. Those clones who felt lost without Horde Prime might very well turn to their 'ancestors'.

"Would the Asgard even want them?" Bow asked. "They seemed… a bit distant."

"It would weaken our own position," Glimmer said. "I don't think that Priest will leave, but he's got only one fleet."

"But the Asgard hate the Goa'uld," Adora pointed out. "If they lack the numbers to fight them, the clones could tip the balance."

"And we would lose most of our leverage against Earth." Glimmer snorted. "If the Asgard had offered their technology, I am sure the humans would have jumped at the opportunity."

"But we asked for sharing our technology with the Asgard," Entrapta said. "So…?"

"Yes. But they didn't share their technology with the Cimmerians. We don't know if they will share their technology with us, even though we already have comparable technology," Bow pointed out. "They might not want to share with the humans as long as the treaty holds. That might be too much for the Goa'uld to tolerate. Especially if we already started attacking them."

"In short, we don't know enough to make concrete plans," Catra said, stretching.

"We still can make contingency plans," Glimmer retorted.

"I think we need a bit more data even for that," Entrapta said. She cocked her head to look at Hordak.

"We don't know how and why Horde Prime came into being," Hordak snorted. "If he was a clone like us, that would be… satisfyingly ironic. A mere clone…"

"You're not mere anything," Entrapta told him with a frown.

The two stared at each other, and Adora felt like she was intruding somehow.

Then Glimmer cleared her throat. "So, what do we know about the Asgard?" Adora opened her mouth to answer, but her friend went on: "That we haven't already mentioned at the debriefing with Stargate Command?"

Adora closed her mouth.

"Nothing but speculation," Catra said. "They're hiding something. Something big. And with their hints at Ancient relics being dangerous…" She grimaced.

Adora nodded with a sinking feeling in her stomach. If there was another Heart of Etheria…

She shuddered.

*****​
 
Chapter 45: The Magic Question Part 1
Chapter 45: The Magic Question Part 1

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 27th, 1998

"And you saw no possibility to get the 'Asgard' to agree to share their technology with us?"

Samantha Carter didn't frown at the question of General Sidorov even though her report - which she had finished shortly before midnight - answered it succinctly. "No, Sir. Thor made it clear that the decision to share their technology was in the purview of their High Council - presumably their government."

"That's what Dr Jackson also said," General Petit added. "And the Etherians made their offer already."

Entrapta had, but the others hadn't seemed too put off by it.

"Yes. Without any regard for our interests," General Sidorov complained. "And the Etherians didn't state any conditions that the Asgard would have to legalise same-sex marriages!"

"Such conditions would likely be settled during the negotiations of any technology-sharing agreement," General Haig said.

Sam couldn't help feeling that the British officer sounded a little smug. Then again, many British officers tended to sound like him, so it might just be her impression. But the British and the French already had their alliance with the Etherians and they were looking forward to the advanced technology they were about to receive while the United States government was still trying to convince so-called patriots in Congress and state legislatures that the right to discriminate against homosexuals wasn't more important than the ability of the country to defend itself against alien threats.

"Yes," General Petit said. He did sound amused. "Of course, the Asgard might have their own conditions - they didn't share their advanced technology, or any technology, with the planets under their protection, did they?"

"Not to our knowledge," Sam replied. "And if they are responsible for keeping their protected planets from becoming a threat to the Goa'uld, then they wouldn't uplift the people on those planets."

"They might even sabotage the people under their so-called protection, should they advance past medieval technology." General Sidorov glowered. "We cannot trust them - they were clearly hiding something!"

"I don't know any country that is in the habit of sharing their secrets with strangers," General Li commented. "Except, possibly, for the Etherians." His lips twitched into a small smile.

Sam had to agree - the Etherians were very open about themselves. Arguably, too open - if they had been a bit more discreet about their culture and magic, maybe the reaction on Earth would have been a little less violent. Maybe. Or it might have been seen as an attempt to deceive Earth - people hadn't taken the fact that the United States had kept the Stargate and the war with the Goa'uld secret very well, to say the least.

"It's a ploy!" General Sidorov spat.

Sam was tempted to ask if he meant the Asgard or the Etherians, but refrained from doing so. The Russian officer didn't trust anyone, anyway, so he probably meant both.

"In any case, while the Asgard do not seem to be a threat to Earth or Etheria…" General Hammond said.

"Maybe not an immediate threat, but a threat anyway!" Sidorov interrupted him.

But General Hammond barely reacted to the slight. Sam couldn't help thinking that Hammond's patience and self-control were partially due to the Colonel's attitude. "...we did learn about potential threats left by the Ancients. Threats supposedly contained - those which are known to the Asgard, at least."

"Yes, Sir," Sam said. Of course, they only had the Asgard's word for that.

"And from what the Etherians have told us about the Heart of Etheria, a weapon of the Ancients, those threats could easily destroy a planet," General Hammond went on.

Or a sector. Sam had seen Entrapta's calculations.

"How much would it take to contain such a threat?" General Li asked.

"Without knowing the nature of the threat, I can't even make a guess," Sam replied. "The Heart of Etheria required direct intervention by Adora, but that was a special situation. Biological weapons might require quarantining a planet, which could require quite the resources." Or sterilising the planet. That was a theoretical option for Earth, but Sam thought that the Etherians and the Asgard would be able to do it. Not that she would mention it to Entrapta.

"Could such a commitment be what is keeping the Asgard from fighting the Goa'uld?" General Haig asked.

Sam inclined her head. "It's possible." They had considered that last night. But they didn't know enough to tell. We need more data, Sam thought, hearing it in Entrapta's voice.

"But we cannot say it with any certainty." General Haig nodded. "It's a little unnerving to know that such threats might be more common than we hoped."

General Petit chuckled at the understatement while General Sidorov kept glowering.

"We can't do anything about that for now, so I think we should focus on what we can do," General Hammond said.

"Exactly. We need to identify the other protected planets - and find out if the Asgard were telling us the truth about them," General Sidorov said.

"We have a list of the gate addresses," Sam pointed out. "And we matched them to systems." Which had taken her past midnight. She really needed more computing power.

"The Asgard didn't prohibit visits, so we should send teams to check those addresses," General Li said. "We need more information."

"But not SG-1," General Hammond said. "We cannot risk losing Teal'c - we have to assume they have such defence systems on every planet they protect."

"And, possibly, orbital defences," Sam added. "We need better sensor gear so we can check on a mission."

"Wouldn't orbital defences be hidden from sensors? As much as that is possible, anyway," General Haig said.

Sam nodded. "Yes. But a magically enhanced sensor might penetrate the Asgard's stealth systems." Entrapta hadn't had any trouble checking their technology on the ground, after all.

General Sidorov scoffed again, but the others nodded. "That requires the cooperation of the Etherians," General Li noted.

"At least until Magic is restored to Earth," General Petit said. "And we can train our own wizards." He grinned.

Sam thought the officer was a bit too optimistic. Training sorcerers would take years. And Etherian help.

And magic had to be restored first. Sam still wasn't sure how she felt about that.

*****​

Whitehall, Westminster, London, United Kingdom, Earth, September 28th, 1998

"...and here's how we plan to keep the information secure. We're using multiple layers of…"

Catra tuned the British intelligence officer doing the presentation out and looked at the files they had been given. It seemed to be a decent setup. A good mix between secure procedures and common sense - the factories had to be able to produce stuff without jumping through hoops, after all. Certainly better protected from spies than the usual horde factory.

But the real target wouldn't be factories but the people working in them - especially those who knew how to build advanced technology. She flipped through the folder, not caring how Adora frowned at her for obviously ignoring the presentation, and read up on how they tackled that. Ah. Strict surveillance of the engineers. And… She blinked. "A tracking device"?

Everyone stared at her as the officer stopped talking about sensors and patrols. "Err, yes. All crucial people with the highest clearance will be required to wear a tracking device so we can check their position at all times. We still encourage protection details and guarded housing, of course."

And so they could keep them under surveillance. Well, it was important to keep the technology out of the hands of hostile countries. And as far as Catra was concerned, a lot of the countries on Earth were hostile. She certainly didn't want countries where it was illegal for her to love Adora to get access to advanced technology. Hell, she was still wary of the United States after all she had seen of their conservative politicians.

At least most of the countries that couldn't be trusted didn't have the means to spy on their allies - with the notable exceptions of Russia and China. And those had access to the Stargate, which meant they wouldn't just be hunting for advanced technology like the Americans had been but would also have excuses for stolen technology turning up in their hands.

"Well, if they agree to that…" Adora looked like she wasn't entirely on board with that.

"It's for their own safety," the officer pointed out.

"Not everyone wants to be under permanent surveillance," Bow pointed out.

"It's strictly volunteer-only," the officer replied.

Of course, the chances for a scientist to get to work with advanced technology without agreeing to that wouldn't be high, Catra was sure.

"Any other comments?" the British admiral in the meeting asked.

Catra made a point of thinking for a moment, cocking her head, before answering: "No."

And the meeting continued.

*****​

"We really should hold those meetings together with the other countries," Catra said as the meeting had finally ended and they left the room. "We're going through three times the meetings otherwise."

"I've suggested it," Glimmer said. "But, apparently, each country's situation is different."

"I thought they were in the defence alliance," Catra mumbled. "But if we held them in space, they'd agree!"

"Probably." Bow grinned.

"I would certainly be in favour," the British admiral told them with a smile. "Although I do have to agree that the political situation in our allied countries is too different to combine such meetings."

"Great," Catra muttered. "We'll be dying from paperwork and old age before we get this war really going." She hadn't had to deal with so many meetings in the Horde. Not that that meant the Horde had been a good place. Still…

"Well, at least we got things straightened out," the admiral went on. "And the technological transfer should be able to commence on schedule."

"Yes!" Entrapta smiled. "And the Americans are making progress as well."

That didn't please the British officers, Catra noticed, though they kept smiling politely.

"It would facilitate things," Adora said. "It's already complicated with the Stargate controlled by the United Nations."

"Well," the general representing the British Army - which, for some weird historical reason, wasn't the Royal Army, unlike their Navy and Air Force - said, "If the United States joined the Alliance, members would have a majority in Stargate Command."

"Small mercies," the admiral commented with a chuckle. Apparently, they still carried grudges. "So, what's next on your schedule?"

"After the meetings with France and Germany about the same things we just discussed? A meeting with the United Nations regarding magic," Glimmer told him.

"Ah." The admiral nodded. "That is bound to be lively."

That must be the British understatement Catra had heard about. She shrugged. "Well, it's not as if they can outlaw magic."

"Last I heard, several countries have proposed a resolution doing exactly that," the general cut in.

"So?" Catra cocked her head at him. "How many such resolutions have been ignored so far?"

"If the United Nations Security Council actually passes a resolution, there's the question of whether or not such a resolution would be actually binding for us since we're not a country on Earth," Glimmer added. "Although it would be already a stretch to consider magic a threat to peace."

Glimmer must have studied the United Nations, Catra realised. Well, better her than Catra.

"So your stance is that magic doesn't fall under Chapter VII of the UN Charter?" the admiral asked.

"Yes." Glimmer nodded. "They might not agree, but even so - what are the odds that all permanent members of the Security Council will support such a resolution? The Americans still haven't sorted out what they think about magic."

"Well, they're in a bind."

More chuckling followed, but it sounded a little forced.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 28th, 1998

Jack O'Neill suppressed the sudden and stupid urge to hum the melody of 'Monday Morning' when he approached the training field. Colonels didn't break out into a song as if life was a musical. Surely not when they came to check on how the training of the new guys was going.

And, on the off-chance that she knew Fleetwood Mac, he didn't want to give Lenkova any ideas. 'Monday morning you sure look fine' was more than a little suggestive, especially seen through the eyes of a Russian spy likely trained as a honey trap.

And as a special forces soldier, he reminded himself when he saw her squad was training in hand-to-hand combat. And doing better than most. Of course, he already knew that from her bout with Teal'c.

He looked at the rest of the field as he walked over to Major Warren, who was in charge for today.

"Sir!" Warren saluted.

Jack returned the salute, a little surprised. They usually weren't as formal, even if half the new guys were watching. Or especially - Jack didn't want to see Stargate Command turned into a unit where forms were more important than results, and the divide between enlisted and officers was too deep. That wouldn't work too well in the field, and Jack would hate it at the base. Saluting the foreign generals every time you saw them was bad enough.

But he wasn't here to complain about the brass. "So, how are they doing?" he asked, watching another squad go at it.

"As well as can be expected. Our new allies didn't send the worst of their forces." Warren frowned a little. "They learn quickly. Still wouldn't want to send them through the gate on their own any time soon," he added.

"Not even to a known location?" Jack tilted his head slightly. They had some 'baby's first Stargate' addresses to ease new guys into travelling the galaxy.

"Maybe the empty ones," Warren said.

Ah. Jack nodded. He wouldn't want to let the new guys loose on unsuspecting populations on alien planets. Especially not the Russians and Chinese - if they didn't have orders to acquire any advanced technology they could, no matter how, he'd eat his service cap. Just imagining what they would have done if faced with Thor made him want to curse. The only thing worse would have been the NID meeting Thor. The Asgard would have probably declared war on Earth in that case.

He watched the training for a few minutes. All of the teams had a good grounding in hand-to-hand combat, far better than regular soldiers - but he knew that already. And they were learning fast, as Warren had said.

His eyes caught Lenkova right after she smashed one of her team members into the ground, and the Russian spy smiled at him. Slyly. As if she had caught him at something inappropriate instead of watching the training. She was one of the most dangerous new guys, after all. Girls. Whatever. Jack made a point to watch the squad next to hers for a while.

"Have you heard anything about joint missions, Colonel?" Warren asked in a low voice after a few minutes.

The middle of training wasn't the best moment to spread rumours and fish for information, and Warren would know that. If he was asking anyway, he must be really concerned about something. Jack shrugged. "I haven't heard anything. They deployed us with SG-2, but that was mostly because we're friends with the Etherians." And none of the nations running the new Stargate Command wanted to annoy the aliens. "Of course, joint missions will either be very good for our unit cohesion or make us shoot each other no matter who gets to team up with whom." Someone even suggested splitting up all teams and forming new ones - mixed ones including forces from all nations. Fortunately for the fool, by the time Jack had heard about this nonsense - splitting up SG-1? Over his dead body! - the idea had been shot down by everyone else already. As if he'd let his team be split up. Or put experienced team members under the command of a new guy. Or girl.

"I see, Sir." Warren sounded as relieved as Jack had felt. After a moment, he added: "I've heard from a few old friends, Sir. They've been called up to head units training for deployment off-world. Expeditionary units."

"Someone's optimistic about our politicians," Jack commented. They would need an alliance with the Etherians to field Marines in those numbers.

"Yes, Sir."

Well, they might not be overly optimistic - the newspapers and TV pundits were hammering the conservative holdouts hard. Almost all of them, at least; some extremists were still ranting about godless aliens corrupting the American youth. But it looked like both public opinion and politics were shifting.

After a moment, Warren glanced at his watch and yelled: "Alright! Break for five!"

The squads on the field stopped hitting each other and headed to the break area, where the drinks and snacks were stored. None of them lingered to exchange a few more blows, Jack noted.

He and Warren watched them go before heading over themselves. Officers ate last, after all.

But when Jack approached the chow line, Lenkova joined him. He stopped and gestured, letting her go before him, and she smiled.

"An officer and a gentleman?"

"Didn't really like the movie," he replied. He was an Air Force officer; liking romances about a naval aviator came straight after 'dereliction of duty' in the 'things you aren't allowed to do in the Air Force' regulations.

"Movie?" She cocked her head at him.

Jack berated himself. He shouldn't have quipped; that only gave the spy an in. Well, it wasn't the first time his mouth got him into trouble. "It's a movie with Richard Gere about a romance between a Navy pilot candidate and a factory worker," he explained as they reached the snack box.

"Ah. A male officer and a working-class woman?" She sounded… well, not mocking, but there was a hint of disapproval. Or amusement.

Jack suppressed the urge to point out that back at the start of the eighties, movies featuring a female officer and a male factory worker wouldn't have sold. Not that he thought they'd sell today, either. "Yes," he said instead.

"And you didn't like it?" She wasn't dropping the topic.

"It was about a Navy pilot," he said.

"Ah. Service rivalry." She nodded, then grabbed a coke and a Snickers. "I've heard of it. Is it true that service rivalry is fostered by the government so they can have one branch shoot the other if they need to make an example?"

Jack smiled as sweetly as he could as he replied: "Well, without the NKVD, we have to make do."

She laughed at that. It was even a nice laugh, and her smile seemed genuine. "Your humour is almost Russian, Colonel."

That was probably meant to be a compliment. "Thank you," he said.

Then he heard Warren chuckle behind him and wanted to curse himself. And Lenkova.

Who was drinking her coke as if she were in a commercial where she was wearing a bikini instead of a striped t-shirt under Russian fatigues, with her back arched to emphasise her chest.

Well, there was no helping it - the rumour mill would grind on now. Jack grabbed a Mars bar and a coke for himself.

*****​

Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, September 28th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and why should we allow magic to return to Earth? It goes against our religion! It will destabilise society! Corrupt the youth! My country - the world - is still reeling from the revelation that aliens are real, with riots happening daily, and you want to introduce another shock? The United Nations need to take a stand and ban the practice!"

Adora frowned. That was the third ambassador in a row that wanted Earth - well, the United Nations - to ban magic. Or ban the return of magic.

The ambassador from India rose. Wasn't he supposed to wait until he was recognised? But the debate had grown more and more heated, and this was supposed to be an informational meeting with Adora and her friends. Maybe the rules were different here. "Magic is an important part of my country's religion. To ban magic would be an unacceptable violation of our religious freedom - and a blatant attempt to force your views and culture on us! India has not fought for her freedom from colonialist powers only to bow to them again!"

"You dare to call out others as colonialists when you attempt to force such evil on your own people?" Another glared at India's ambassador.

Adora checked the plate. Right. Pakistan and India had a violent history - she had learned that preparing for this meeting.

"The vast majority of our people want magic, our ancestors' legacy, restored to us. We won't let a minority oppress us just as we won't let foreigners oppress us!"

"But you want to force magic on the entire world - as a minority!" Pakistan's ambassador countered. A lot of ambassadors loudly voiced their support.

"No one forces you to practise magic!" the Indian shot back once things had calmed down a little. "You are free to ban it in your countries - you already have, after all, even though magic was taken from us a thousand years ago," he added with a sneer.

"It was taken from Earth with good reason! Magic is dangerous - it corrupts people!"

And if weaponised, it could blow up a sector. But that was a very special case.

"You're overreacting," Glimmer spoke up. "Magic is no more dangerous than technology."

"And we limit and ban dangerous technology! Like nuclear weapons!" Pakistan's ambassador exclaimed.

"That's rich coming from a country with nuclear weapons!" another ambassador - oh, that was Bangladesh - said.

"We do not proliferate the technology!"

"Wanna bet whether they go to war over this?" Catra whispered next to her. Not even she sounded amused, though.

Glimmer clenched her teeth and stood, her hands not quite slamming down on the table. "Listen! You keep talking about how magic is dangerous, but you have no idea what magic is! Don't you realise how… weird this looks?"

"You don't know what Earth magic will look like either! You said so yourself!" the man from Iran said with a deep sneer.

Adora frowned at him. He had openly called for executing 'witches' - and while he hadn't said it out loud, he had left no doubt he thought this should include Adora and her friends.

"That's because every planet's magic is unique," Glimmer pointed out. "It depends on your traditions. But no matter what your traditions are, you can't just do magic. You need to study how to work magic. And you need a talent for magic."

"And when you've done all that? What will stop a witch from cursing everyone?" Another of the African ambassadors scoffed. They were the majority of the countries backing a ban on magic, Adora knew.

"What is stopping anyone from taking a weapon and killing people?" Glimmer shook her head. "Magic isn't any different than technology. You can deal with it."

"It only requires sorcerers of your own," the British ambassador said.

That didn't placate the others at all - quite the contrary. It grew even louder in the room.

Once more, it took a little while until things calmed down enough so people could be heard again.

"You know, if Alliance meetings were like this, they would be a lot more entertaining," Catra whispered to her.

Adora frowned at her in response before listening to the Brazilian ambassador. "This is not merely a question of whether or not our religion prohibits magic, but of the danger magic represents. Imagine terrorists using magic to strike at their targets! How can you defend against a curse? No one would be safe! Many such attacks might not even be noticed if the victim merely suffers a fatal accident or illness!"

"If the attack doesn't get noticed, it's not terrorism!" someone cut in. "Spreading terror is the point of terrorism! You're talking about assassinations!"

"Whatever!" the Brazilian went on. "Imagine this power in the hands of insurgents! No government would be safe! We would be held hostage by extremists! For the good of us all, we need to ban magic!"

Adora heard Catra curse under her breath. She could understand the feeling - this argument was swaying people.

Once more, Glimmer spoke up. "Magic can protect you against magic!"

Another ambassador yelled: "At the cost of our souls!"

"Magic isn't evil just as technology isn't evil," Glimmer retorted. "Both can be abused. And as events on Earth have shown, even if you ban magic, you aren't safe from magitech."

Like the zombie plague generator, as Jack had called it. Adora nodded firmly.

"So, by banning magic, you would cripple your defences against it without being safe." Glimmer scoffed.

"What's magitech?" someone else asked.

"Magitech is advanced technology using magic effects but powered by non-magical sources," Bow explained. "You do not need to have magic restored on a planet to use it."

"Let's ban magitech!"

Catra rolled her eyes and spoke up. "You think you can ban that technology? And win the war against the Goa'uld?" She scoffed. "Really, you should be demanding magic be restored as soon as possible since most of you will have a much easier time getting magic to work for you than getting our advanced technology, especially the way you're acting."

Adora frowned - it would still take quite a lot of work to get a decent number of sorcerers in a country. You couldn't just snap your finger and do magic - it took years of study. But Glimmer was smiling as she nodded, and a number of the ambassadors had suddenly fallen silent.

"So that's why you want magic restored!" the ambassador from Pakistan yelled at India's ambassador. "You plan to attack us with it!"

"India has no plans to attack anyone!" the Indian shot back. "But yes, we are counting on magic to improve our country without having to be dependent on foreign powers. It's our heritage."

A number of ambassadors still protested, especially the ones from the Middle East countries, as far as Adora could tell, but several others who had vocally opposed magic were suddenly silent.

"Look how their concerns just vanished," Catra muttered with a grin.

Adora had to agree - but she also had to admit that the Brazilian had a point about the danger magic represented for those who had no defence against it. And yet… She was surprised how quickly religious concerns were brushed aside by so many, after everything that she had heard and seen before. "I guess it's really all about power," she whispered.

"Always was," Catra said.

It was hard to disagree with her as the discussion took a turn towards the practicability of magical education on Etheria.

*****​

"...and while our sorcerers can teach others, provided they have the talent, any students would be learning Etheria's traditions, not Earth's magical traditions," Glimmer explained for the second time.

"But your traditions do not teach people how to conjure evil spirits or make bargains with demons," an ambassador retorted. "Unlike magic here."

"None of our magical traditions require either!" India's ambassador cut in. He had been doing that a lot, together with the Japanese ambassador.

"So you claim! We know better!"

"Leaving religious disagreements aside," the Swedish ambassador spoke up, "We do have to consider that by relying on a foreign magical education, we might strangle our own cultural and magical heritage."

"That should be any country's decision," the ambassador from Liberia shot back.

"Of course. I was merely pointing out that this should require further consideration."

"Says the ambassador from a country that is asking for access to advanced technology."

"That has no bearing on the question of magical traditions and heritage," the Swede retorted.

"On the contrary! That's a crucial aspect of the entire question!"

"They're talking as if they can just send hundreds of people to Etheria to get trained," Glimmer muttered. "I've told them that Mystacor isn't an open university and that they would decide whom they would train!"

Catra leaned over, her head in front of Adora's chest, to answer Glimmer: "They're a little hard of hearing."

Adora had to agree once more. At least, it seemed that the resolution to ban magic from Earth - or ban its return - was no longer a concern, even though several countries still were pushing for it. Although as far as she knew, most of those ambassadors would have to check with their governments before making any binding statements or votes.

So the question of whether or not Adora should return magic at the request of India and Japan hadn't been answered. Sure, if the United Nations didn't ban magic, it would follow that it was allowed to restore magic to Earth. But if Adora had learned one thing from all the meetings of the Alliance and now on Earth, it was that politics were rarely logical.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 29th, 1998

"....and in the General Assembly of the United Nations, the topic of a ban on magic continues to be hotly debated as tensions between Pakistan and India are rising. The Arab League has announced their full support of Pakistan in this growing conflict and reaffirmed their intent to ban all magic, though support for the stance is wavering amongst many African nations. The European Union released a statement that affirmed the right of any nation to decide their internal policies provided they did not violate human rights but didn't elaborate on whether or not they considered the restoration of magic to be covered by this. According to anonymous sources, several South and Central American member states have voiced reservations concerning magic on religious grounds, although this may change with the release of the Vatican's statement later today - an announcement which many experts expect to cover the Catholic Church's stance on magic, and…"

Samantha Carter switched the television off. She had heard the news twice already, and it hadn't changed significantly - the hosts and pundits were just growing more and more excited without anything to justify it.

She put the remote down and resisted the urge to stretch her arms over her head - it was barely mid-morning, and she didn't want to give the impression that she hadn't slept well or long enough. Especially not when both were true.

Although, she added to herself, Daniel doesn't look like he'd notice. Her friend had his nose buried in an older tome he had brought into her lab.

"Fascinating. I never really delved into all the various magical traditions in Europe; not my speciality, and it wasn't really relevant for our work - not until we met the Etherians, in any case, although some of it might give us insights into handling those Goa'uld using European myths as their cover. But with the Goa'uld using technology, I never really cared about the potential of actual magic. Just imagine if we could get the divination rituals of ancient Rome to work!"

Sam wasn't an expert on ancient history, but she had gone through college and the Air Force Academy, and she had worked with Daniel for a long time now, so… "You mean reading the future in the entrails of a sacrificed animal?"

"Ah, yes. Amongst other rituals," Daniel looked sheepish. "This would be messy, wouldn't it? Although if we could get the cooperation of a butcher, given how much meat we eat, it shouldn't be too hard to arrange a few experiments…"

"You would also need to find people with the talent for magic," she pointed out. The Etherians had been clear about that, and the data they had gathered at Research Site Alpha confirmed it: Not everyone could work magic.

"Right." He frowned. "Finding them might be a problem unless we can isolate the gene for magic talent." He looked at her with a hopeful smile.

"I'm no geneticist," she told him. "But, as far as I know, there are research projects working on identifying the Ancient gene." It was only logical after the revelation of the Colonel's ancestry, after all.

"Oh! Do you think Jack has magic potential? The Ancients - or First Ones - were working with magic, after all. And manipulated the Etherian genetics."

She pressed her lips together. Although the Colonel had never said anything about it, other than some off-colour jokes, she knew he wasn't happy about that particular revelation. And she didn't think he would like learning magic either. "We don't know enough about Ancients to know," she said.

"Right. Well, I hope we'll soon know more. With everyone preparing to jumpstart magic projects, it's bound to lead to some results." He nodded.

"Or to a debacle," Sam retorted. "If countries start identifying potential sorcerers through their genes…" She trailed off.

Daniel gasped. "Literal witch hunts using DNA testing!"

Sam nodded. Forced conscription of people with magic talents was the mildest problem she could imagine. But in those countries where 'witchcraft' was a capital crime, things would be much, much worse once magic was returned to Earth.

"Are the Etherians aware of that?" Daniel asked.

Sam sighed. "I don't know if they considered this." Sometimes, their friends were quite naive. Or just inexperienced with Earth's cultures and practices. Entrapta was both, of course.

"We need to tell them!" Daniel said. "They can't just return magic if it means people getting murdered for their ancestry."

People had been getting murdered for their ancestry for millennia, all over the world. And people were getting murdered for being called witches even with magic still absent from Earth. But Sam didn't say that. True as it might be, it wasn't relevant. "I don't think they can test for a gene. We don't even know what the gene or genes for magical talent is. We don't even know if it's tied to the Ancient heritage - and Colonel O'Neill's ancestry isn't exactly public knowledge either." Sure, with Stargate Command being transferred under the control of the United Nations Security Council, foreign countries had access to their files. But only Russia, China, Britain and France. Stargate Command hadn't been able to justify hiding the Colonel's special heritage, not when it could be revealed as soon as he walked into another Ancient facility. But the countries most likely to attempt to 'purge' witches wouldn't have access to that data. "People lack sufficient data to test for witches," she added. Of course, that might change if magic was restored and people started expressing a talent for it. She had to mention that to the Etherians.

"Right. But are we testing for the Ancient gene?" Daniel asked. "If we know it, of course - how close do you think we are to identifying it?"

"So far, we only know of two people who are descendants of Ancients: The Colonel and Adora," Sam said. "Without access to more samples, it will be hard to identify people with the same ancestry." They didn't have a sample of Adora. At least, Sam hoped no one had been as stupid as to steal a sample of her.

"There's his family," Daniel pointed out. "His extended family, I mean." He blinked. "Oh. Maybe… No. Too far-fetched."

Sam frowned. "What is too far-fetched, Daniel?"

"Nothing!" Daniel replied. Sam raised her eyebrows, and he caved. "I just wondered if Lieutenant Lenkova was less of a honey trap and more of a… family trap? Maybe the Russians want a child of Jack to compare genes? Ridiculous, I know!" He laughed - a little forcedly.

Sam clenched her jaws. It was ridiculous. Obviously so. The Colonel wouldn't… well, the odds of such a scheme working were so small as to be nonexistent. And they didn't know if it was even planned.

But she still felt the urge to test a few of her recent inventions on a certain Russian officer.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, September 29th, 1998

"...and that was a bombshell, wasn't it? Who would have expected this from the Pope? I certainly didn't! Terry?"

"Well, I'd say that nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, but I did. To claim that magic is part of God's creation and inherently neutral, not evil, that witches can be good Christians as long as they don't use their magic for evil goes against centuries of history!"

"Indeed, Terry! But we have an expert on the Vatican here, Dr Marconi. Dr Marconi, what do you say to this shocking development?"

"Well, Mr Smith, first, the Pope's declaration doesn't go against centuries of tradition. The Catholic Church's stance towards witches has never been as hostile as people claim - in fact, for centuries, the Church prohibited witch hunts! It was only after the protestant movement took off that witch hunts were conducted by the Church, and even then, they remained rare in the solidly Catholic countries. The infamous Spanish Inquisition, for example, despite popular myths, wasn't aimed at witches but at so-called heretics and 'hidden jews'. So, this declaration is not violating Church dogma - though, of course, the summoning of spirits and similar creatures has been explicitly restricted. So, today's declaration is no surprise for those who know the history and dogma of the Catholic Church. In fact, now that we know that magic was taken from Earth roughly a thousand years ago, the Church's stance back then that there were no witches has been confirmed, which has several interesting implications. And one cannot forget that the Catholic Church has proven to be very pragmatic and able to adapt to changing circumstances. I would actually focus on the first part as surprising - the Pope outright stated that aliens have souls. That is a revolutionary declaration I didn't expect, certainly not as explicitly. This has far greater effects on…"

Catra yawned as the 'expert' went into more details she didn't care for. "So, magic isn't evil unless you use it for evil, and we have souls. How shocking!" She scoffed as she leaned back in her seat and craned her head to look at the others.

"It is shocking for a lot of people, according to the news reports," Bow pointed out. "Obviously, they expected the Pope to condemn us."

"The Pope doesn't want to alienate us," Glimmer said with a grin - probably proud of her pun. But she quickly frowned.

"It's still a good thing." Adora smiled. "That's a lot of people who won't see us as evil now!"

Bow cleared his throat. "Well… He didn't say anything about homosexuality. And only the Catholics are listening to him, and not even all of them. Some are already claiming that he must be corrupt. Or possessed."

Catra scoffed again. "Typical! If you don't like a decision, attack your superior!"

"Well, they are responsible," Adora retorted. "But in this case, aren't they supposed to follow his rules?"

"Yes," Glimmer agreed. "In theory. But going against the Pope is a big thing, so this should help with the acceptance of magic."

Almost as much as the realisation that magic could give any country an advantage helped. Catra shook her head. "So what? It won't really affect us anyway." It wasn't as if they were going to listen to the idiots calling magic evil, anyway.

"The more people, especially religious people, accept magic, the better," Adora insisted. "That means the United Nations won't ban magic."

Catra shrugged. The odds of any such resolution not being defeated by a veto at the latest had been zero already before this, anyway. "So, are you going to restore magic now?"

"Uh…" Adora sighed and lowered her head. "I want to, and the Indians keep pushing for it. And the Japanese." Which also were pushing for a diplomatic meeting about advanced technology, Catra knew. "But with what Sam told us…" Adora pressed her lips together.

Catra nodded. Witch hunts based on your genes - your ancestry. People getting killed for… for simply existing. Well, the same people already wanted to kill her for loving Adora, and anyone else who loved the same sex.

"That would be genocide," Glimmer said. "A crime against humanity. The United Nations would intervene."

"Are we sure of that?" Bow asked. "They didn't intervene in the past."

"Well, they should know that we would intervene if they don't," Glimmer said.

"We would?" Catra's ears twitched. She wouldn't mind crushing those fools who threatened her and Adora, but… "What about not interfering with other countries?"

Glimmer huffed. "This is an exception, of course."

"But they are already killing witches!" Adora protested. "Well, people they claim are witches. Why don't we stop them?"

"Because that's a crime, but not a genocide," Glimmer said. "And it's not the country that is doing it, but parts of the population. We don't attack a kingdom for what bandits are doing."

"Not unless the princess is sponsoring and using the bandits." Catra grinned.

Glimmer frowned at her. "Yes, of course, there are exceptions. But they don't even know yet how to look for sorcerers with tests. So, that's not going to happen anyway."

"But once the magic is back, they'll be able to find sorcerers by looking for magic being done," Bow pointed out. "Anyone displaying magic powers would be a target."

"Just like anyone whom people don't like is currently a target," Catra retorted. "And was a target before." People would get hurt and killed anyway under any pretext.

"But if I return magic, any deaths that happen will be on my head," Adora said glumly.

Catra rolled her eyes, then reached over and smacked the back of Adora's head. "Stop being an idiot! Those people are already hunting 'witches', and they won't stop. They don't care that there's no magic around yet. And sooner or later, they'll get that test for magic talents. You're not saving anyone by keeping magic away - you're just ensuring that they won't be able to defend themselves."

"Well, technically…" Bow trailed off at Catra's glare. "I didn't say anything!"

"Catra's right," Glimmer said, and Catra preened. "It's not your fault. And Earth deserves to get its magic back. The entire planet without magic? It's unnatural."

Catra nodded. "And you don't give in to those people. They won't stop anyway." They were going for people like her and Adora already, magic or no magic. You couldn't placate them.

"And we need to restore magic to planets we invade anyway, so we can use our powers," Glimmer added.

"But there'll be trouble and more riots on Earth if magic is returned," Bow pointed out.

Catra rolled her eyes. "As opposed to right now? Better to ride that stuff out now, instead of when we're fighting the Goa'uld on multiple fronts."

Adora slowly nodded.

*****​
 
Chapter 46: The Magic Question Part 2
Chapter 46: The Magic Question Part 2

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 1st, 1998

"...and that's about it."

Jack O'Neill blinked at Glimmer. Those had been quite a number of words for something simple. "So… you want to get the United Nations to declare open season on genocidal countries?"

Judging by the way Catra grinned, Daniel frowned and Carter pressed her lips together, he had hit the right amount of levity for such a topic.

Glimmer frowned as well. "Not 'open season'. We just want to ensure that the United Nations know that we're ready to intervene if a country should start a genocide. Of course, it should be obvious that we wouldn't stand by in such a case."

Well, they had been sending mixed signals if they thought this would be obvious, in Jack's opinion. "There are already witch hunts going on," he pointed out - diplomatically. The Etherians hadn't intervened in those.

"Not organised by any state," Glimmer said. "As far as we know."

But likely tolerated. Then again, the last thing Earth needed was a bunch of aliens with a space fleet playing world police.

And, of course, Daniel hadn't gotten that memo. "But there are several states where witchcraft is a capital crime."

"Yes." Glimmer pressed her lips together. "But since magic hasn't been restored to Earth, there aren't any actual sorceresses on Earth yet."

"With the exception of you," Catra added as she fiddled with one of the plaques on the table.

Well, better a broken plaque than some broken gadget in Carter's lab.

"I'd like to see them try to try me," Glimmer said with a sneer. Then she sighed. "Yes, we're aware of that. But as long as such countries don't actually start killing people for having a magical talent…" She shrugged. "We don't want to interfere with other countries."

Jack nodded even though he could think of quite a few countries which deserved to be interfered with.

"But as long as they know that we won't tolerate such things, they should know better than to do it," Adora said.

"But once people know where the, ah, red line is," Daniel said, "they know how far they can go - and likely will go as far. So, by stating you'll intervene if a genocide starts, you also state that you won't intervene if it's not a genocide."

"That does not follow," Teal'c pointed out. "Unless stated outright, nothing prevents Etheria from intervening without a genocide taking place."

"Like the United States' stance towards our defence commitment towards Taiwan," Carter said.

"I don't think that policy is a good idea in this case," Jack retorted. "The countries where witches are being hunted aren't as rational as the Chinese. Which, by the way, will probably grow a little anxious if you're vague, what with their policy in Tibet."

Glimmer winced. "Yes. We're aware of that issue. We… don't wish to get involved in such cases."

Ah. Jack couldn't help grinning a little - and showing his teeth. "Only clear cases of 'let's kill those people' qualify as genocide, right?"

That earned him a glare from almost everyone.

"Jack! We're talking about military intervention here!" Daniel blurted out.

Glimmer, though, met his eyes. "Yes. We don't want to start a war over… cultural issues. Not unless they lead to people getting killed for their ancestry."

"We probably would have to declare war on everyone on Earth if we did that," Catra said with a snort.

Adora glared at her, then sighed as well. "Yes. We don't want to start a war even though we don't like what is happening in Tibet and elsewhere."

Jack had no doubt that Adora hated to restrain herself. She wasn't the type to do 'Realpolitik'.

"Well, if you wait for the United Nations to call something out as genocide, the Chinese won't have to worry about being put on the spot," Jack said.

"We're aware of that as well," Glimmer said. "But that's your system."

"And unless the system breaks and the mass graves and gas chambers start up again, you're not going to break it." Jack nodded. Sensible, but it did leave a bad taste in your mouth - worse, of course, if you had the power to actually do something about it.

"Yes." Glimmer took a deep breath. "We also hope that things will improve in several countries as a result of our alliances and our presence, but that will take a while."

Adora nodded, as did Daniel, almost eagerly. Jack tried to hide his cynicism. He didn't think things would improve as the Etherians hoped. Or some of them - Catra didn't look as if she thought things would magically improve.

Heh, 'magically'! Jack snorted. "Yeah, sounds like you've got this thought out."

"Kind of," Bow spoke up. "We wanted a second opinion from someone we trust." He smiled at Jack and the others. Adora positively beamed.

And Jack suppressed the urge to curse. He didn't like being put on the spot like this. It was worse since everyone was so sincere, so trusting towards him - and so much was at stake. He glanced at Catra, who grinned at him. The damn catwoman knew what he was feeling.

And, of course, his team was letting him take the lead here. Even Daniel, who could usually be trusted to speak up before anyone else could stop him.

Jack sighed. "Well…" What to say? And how to word it? He wasn't exactly a politician. Or a diplomat. "It's a touchy issue," he said. "And every situation is unique."

"You mean some situations get the veto, and others don't," Catra cut in unhelpfully. That was Jack's role, damn it!

He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "If you say you're following the United Nations lead and rules, are you going to stick to it? Even when a case of genocide gets vetoed?"

The way the Etherians exchanged glances, that wasn't a given.

"One could claim that a country stepping in like that to prevent an intervention is helping to commit a genocide," Glimmer said.

That was… well, it wasn't a bad argument, Jack had to admit. One he'd make himself - hell, why was he arguing in favour of following orders he knew were wrong again? Right, to keep the Etherians from taking over. "And what if the other countries don't agree with that interpretation?"

"Would they?" Catra's ears twitched. "Wouldn't they like to gang up on such a country?"

"You'd be surprised." Jack shrugged. "No one wants to be the next one up on the wall."

"I thought that was the purpose of the United Nations." Bow frowned. "To ensure the crimes against humanity wouldn't happen again."

"Yep," Jack said. "But the great powers wanted a little insurance so the weaker countries couldn't enforce their rules on them."

Adora scowled at that. "If rules don't apply to everyone, what good are they?"

Jack grinned. "Well, that's the question, right?"

Oh, the glare she sent at him for having her words twisted back at her.

"Well…" Daniel must have finally reached his limit. "The question of what to do if a law or rule has been deemed unfair or unjust is a very old question. What if breaking the law does even more harm? There's the fact that any law that's not enforced weakens the entire system, although that's more abstract, and then there's the cost of any intervention. You need not only to remove the government but replace it. And there might be resistance to the new regime. Violent resistance. Coups and regime changes rarely were bloodless. When exactly is it justified to break the law? When someone guilty would escape justice? Or when someone innocent would be punished?"

"When someone would be killed for being born," Adora snapped. "You can't obey a law that defends such a crime!"

"I don't think that's going to be an issue," Carter told her. "Any country pursuing such a policy would be a pariah."

Jack agreed - if only because no one would want to provoke the Etherians like that.

"But what about displacing a native population? Attacking their culture?" Daniel shook his head. "It's a lot harder to judge such cases."

"You mean that 'cultural imperialism' people accuse us of?" Catra asked. She scoffed.

"Yes." Daniel nodded. "A considerable number of countries feels that an attempt to enforce global human rights on them is imperialism in another form." He frowned, "Although it is kind of ironic that when it comes to the discrimination of homosexuality, many countries are now defending the values originally forced on them by colonial powers as their own."

"That's stupid," Adora commented. "And it doesn't matter anyway - you don't get to kill people for being born with magic or a love for the same sex."

Yeah, She-Ra wouldn't budge on that. Although drawing the line at killing people wasn't a bad idea. "Well, if you stick to that, you shouldn't have too many problems," Jack said.

"And we'll have to leave the cultural stuff alone in exchange?" Catra cocked her head sideways. Like a cat.

"Uh…" Daniel took a deep breath. "It's a really touchy subject. A lot of countries want to foster a sense of… patriotism. Loyalty to the nation. Taken too far, that can be seen as an attack on minorities and their cultures. It's controversial," he added with a shrug.

"Well, we don't want to meddle with the internal affairs of others if we can help it," Glimmer said. She didn't look happy, though. "We don't want to replace a government or occupy a country."

Jack was glad - the Etherians occupying another country would be a disaster for everyone involved. It would probably make the worst CIA attempts at regime change look competent.

And it would probably be worse for the Etherians than Vietnam had been for the USA. Jack really didn't want to see them broken like some of the vets he knew.

"So, we're going to talk to the United Nations," Glimmer said. "Voice our concern. Mention how genocide violates their own charter. And hope they get the message."

Jack couldn't help himself. "And if they don't?"

"Then we get to train planetary invasions and decapitation missions," Catra said with a wide grin.

"It's not funny, Catra!" Adora protested.

"I know."

"Oh, you!"

Jack really hoped that the United Nations would get their act together. The Etherians getting bogged down in an insurgency would be a nightmare - and the best thing to happen to the Goa'uld.

*****​

Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, October 2nd, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and as you can see here, in this example, restoring a planet's magic doesn't change its biosphere significantly or instantly. It merely activates the magic field you can tap into if you have the talent. You can check the data yourself; we've included it in the folder you've got."

Entrapta was great at this, Adora thought as she watched her friend explain magic to various diplomats - again. Glimmer would have lost her temper long ago. Had lost her temper, actually, when she had heard of the request to explain once more what magic did and didn't. Fortunately, she hadn't been in public. Her choice of words would have caused a lot of friction with Earth.

Entrapta, though, saw nothing wrong with explaining things over and over again. Probably because she was used to talking to bots who were slow learners at the start when their control matrices had just begun to develop. Which was why Entrapta was here, explaining things, with Adora helping out, since Bow was with Glimmer, and Catra and Hordak wouldn't be of any help here - quite the opposite.

"If one has to learn to, ah, tap into that field, does that mean there won't be any magical plants or animals? I mean, how would you teach them that?" a diplomat asked.

"Good question!" Entrapta beamed at him. "There are actually plants and animals back on Etheria which use magic. But they either evolved to make use of magic or are the result of genetic engineering by the First Ones. Now, it's not impossible that Earth had such plants and animals as well - you had magic until a thousand years ago, and the Ancients and other species certainly had enough time to experiment on Earth - but those organisms would have been affected by the loss of magic." Entrapta pouted a little. "I guess some might have gone extinct. If they needed magic to fly or breathe water, for example. Or survive in hostile environments. On the other hand, if they just used magic for non-essential powers, they could have survived. And a thousand years is a short time for evolution to lose such a power, so they might regain it."

"So we will have to worry about dragons and other monsters returning?" another diplomat gasped.

Entrapta looked confused. "Why would you worry about that? Creatures that went extinct wouldn't magically appear. And while some organisms might regain the use of magic - on an instinctive level - Earth had magic until a thousand years ago, and you obviously could handle whatever magical creatures were around just fine back then - and now you have far more advanced technology!"

"How could you know that?" a delegate from one of the hostile countries asked with a glare. One who, unlike others, hadn't left. Instead, he had stayed and spent his time trying to make magic look evil.

"You've got records going further back," Entrapta explained. "If magical creatures were such a threat, they'd show up in your documents."

"There are countless myths and legends about dangerous monsters!"

The British delegate shook her head. "With all due respect, but those myths and legends talk about single incidents. Local problems, not something that affected entire countries, much less the world. Please stop your fearmongering. If dragons reappeared tomorrow, we probably would have to treat them as an endangered species right away."

A number of people laughed at that. But Adora could see that more were still concerned.

"There is another aspect," the delegate from Japan spoke up. "We have myths of foxes and tanuki who could take on the form of people. Obviously, they would have to be intelligent for that. And obviously, neither species currently possesses such intelligence. If the myths are based on truth, though, and such animals can, with the help of magic, become sapient, how could we continue to keep them from that?"

"Animals taking the form of people?" the hostile delegate spat. "What if they breed with humans? We cannot allow that to happen! Earth is no place for half-animal abominations!"

Adora was really grateful that Catra wasn't present. Her lover would have ripped into the bigot. Maybe even literally.

"It figures you'd think of sex right away!" someone else snapped through the muttering this comment caused.

Entrapta, as usual, was unfazed. "If they can have fertile offspring with humans without technological or magical intervention, they would be the same species, so they would be humans," she said, smiling. Then she cocked her head to the side and put her finger on her cheek, frowning a little. "Of course, if an inherent magical ability would allow them that, one would have to consider whether or not that classification is still true." Then she shrugged. "Not that it matters as long as both are intelligent, right?"

It was obvious that not everyone shared her view.

"May I remind some of our esteemed colleagues that we're here to have questions about magic answered, not to debate whether or not magic should be restored," the British delegate said.

That helped to quiet things down a little. Only a little, though. And while Entrapta didn't mind explaining things, Adora was getting a little fed up with it.

So she had to control her expression while Entrapta told the delegates that, yes, in theory, plants could develop deadly magical poison. But the plants would have had that a thousand years ago, so people would know. And magic wouldn't suddenly make plants and animals and people change into something else. Well, not without a spell or a device.

Which didn't go over well. That genetic engineering could do much more, as Entrapta pointed out in response to the exclamations, didn't really help either.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 3rd, 1998

"...so it took a few repetitions, but they finally understood how magic works." Entrapta beamed as her hair fiddled with a few of Samantha Carter's tools in her lab.

"You must be saint!" Dr Georgovich - who insisted Sam and Entrapta should call him Iwan - exclaimed. "Explaining to politicians?" He shook his head. "Easier to explain mistake to commissar!"

"Commissar?" Entrapta cocked her head to the side while her hair didn't move.

"Oh, communist commissar. Very bad, very strict, no humour. Used to motivate and punish everyone in old Russia."

Entrapta didn't look like she understood Dr Gregorovich's black humour, so Sam cut in: "The political commissars were functionaries responsible for the morale of the soviet military. They have a reputation for brutal punishments without often bothering whether or not their victims were actually guilty."

"Yes! USSR collectivised everything, including punishment!" Dr Gerogovich chuckled. "One for all, and all for one, da?"

Entrapta wrinkled her forehead. "That sounds… not very nice."

"It was brutal and unjust," Sam said.

"Da! Make mistake? Be called saboteur! Other make mistake? Be called saboteur! Off to Gulag either way - if you lucky!"

"A gulag was a forced labour camp in the USSR," Sam explained.

"Oh."

"But I think we have exhausted that topic," Sam went on, narrowing her eyes at her colleague.

"Ah, yes. Sorry. Not everyone like Russian humour." Dr Gregorovich nodded. "We were talking about you teaching politicians!"

"Yes!" Entrapta perked up. "It's like teaching bots - just tell them until they understand."

That reminded Sam of the old joke about trying to explain a joke to a sergeant-major, but she pushed the thought away. She didn't want to get side-tracked again. "Did you explain magitech as well?"

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded, then frowned. "I thought that would make them understand how silly their fears are about sorcerers when technology using magic will be much easier to build and use - by anyone, not just sorcerers. But they didn't seem to understand that."

Sam suppressed a sigh. "People generally don't feel better about something which they're afraid of if you tell them there are worse things to fear."

"Ah." Entrapta nodded again. "I see."

Sam wondered if she did but didn't ask. That would've been rude.

"Ah! I understand why orders came to focus on magitech research!" Dr Georgovich nodded enthusiastically. "I told superior that I am scientist, not wizard, but did he listen? No!"

So the Russians were looking into magic combined with technology. Like the United States. Or that was what they wanted you to think - she heard the Colonel's voice in her mind.

Not that it mattered - the subject was fascinating. The possibilities were almost endless. And you didn't need to be a sorceress or princess to work with it - or to build it. But a sorceress in your team should make researching new such technology much easier. Or would - the only trained sorceress amongst the Etherians on Earth was Glimmer, and not only was she very busy with diplomacy, but she also didn't seem fond of doing research in a laboratory. Well, maybe if they recruited Bow? That might entice his girlfriend to work with them, and… Sam pressed her lips together. That was a very manipulative plan. She knew better than that. She was better than that.

She'd crack her most recent project soon enough with just Entrapa as a lab partner. Or science buddy, as Entrapta called it.

But, she added to herself as she saw Dr Georgovich smiling at Entrapta, she would have to consider if she wanted to risk Russia getting access to her project. In theory, she was working for Stargate Command, under the control of the United Nations. In practice, Sam had no doubt that every scientist at the gate had some projects that they weren't supposed to share. Or at least data.

"SO!" Entrpata beamed at her. "Want to research bots that can track magic?"

Sam blinked. That would… Well, it would certainly be very useful. Very powerful. But also very dangerous for anyone with magical talent. And it wouldn't be very hard to construct - she had some ideas about the magic scanner they had built. If it could use magic to detect Naqadah, it was likely that magic was detectable as well. And…

She sighed. She really hated to do this to Entrapta, but even if it wouldn't prevent someone from inventing this in the future, the last thing they needed was a magic detector on Earth right now. "I would love to, but there is a problem with that…"

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, October 3rd, 1998

"...and tensions remain high between India and Pakistan despite the Secretary-General of the United Nations personally meeting with both country's prime ministers. Protests in support of Pakistan have erupted in several Arab countries, and the police had to stop a mob attacking India's embassy in Riad with lethal force…"

"...and then we'll cover how this new development will affect the numerous Indian migrant workers in the Gulf States…"

"...PETA stated that with the possibility of animals gaining sapience thanks to magic, eating meat now definitely was murder, and called for the immediate abolishment of…"

"...latest polls show even greater support for the proposed amendment to the constitution regarding gay marriage and other rights, although a number of holdout states and members of congress continue to…"

"...rumours about the Etherians planning to address the United Nations about the state of human rights in the world persist, though nothing has been confirmed yet, and…"

"...Amnesty International voiced their concerns about the state of human rights in Etheria, citing the lack of formalised protections and international oversight, and the absence of democratic structures and a free press in the countries ruled by monarchies as worrying, and…"

Catra rolled her eyes. "Why do they have so many channels if it's all the same?"

"It's not the same," Hordak said, moving the bowl with snacks a little closer to him. "You can spot the biases of every news organisation by comparing them to each other."

Catra snorted. "And since when are you an expert on news agencies? The Horde didn't have any news!" Only propaganda.

"But the Horde had scouting and reconnaissance troops, whose reports I read regularly." He sounded a little smug. "I learned what was lost between the lines of any report depending on who made it."

She snorted again."I know how bad the casualty rates were in that branch. How long did a regular scout last?"

Hordak huffed and stuffed some fried corn into his mouth. Probably to avoid answering her. "Long enough."

Catra grinned. "You mean, you knew a few soldiers and how they worked."

"Just like there are a few channels worth watching," he shot back.

"Whatever," Catra said, grabbing a drink. "We can't…"

"There you are!"

Catra turned her head. Adora had burst into the lounge. "Yes?" she said, her ears twitching. Adora knew she had been taking a break in the lounge.

"We have a problem!"

"What?"

"Did something happen to Entrapta?" Hordak said, getting up.

Catra tensed. If anything had happened, it would have been on Earth. And Entrapta was the only one of them currently on the planet, having taken the shuttle down to Stargate Command. Everyone else was on Darla.

Adora blinked. "Uh, not that I'd know." She shook her head. "But we have a problem - we have fan mail!"

"Fan mail?" Catra cocked her head.

"Yes, fan mail! People who like us are writing to us to tell us that they like us!" Adora nodded emphatically.

"And why is that a problem?" Catra asked. That sounded like, well, not a bad thing.

"Because we haven't been answering them!"

Oh.

*****​

"How did that happen?" Glimmer sounded angry - and looked angry - but Catra couldn't help suspecting that her anger wasn't so much because of the fan mail problem but because her time with Bow had been interrupted. Her clothes did look a little rumpled.

"Well…" Adora looked a little guilty, too, for interrupting them, Catra thought. "Apparently, since we didn't have an official mail address, the mail was shuffled back and forth between various countries without getting delivered. Some letters were returned to the sender."

"And they didn't tell us?" Glimmer growled.

"Well, they did, today - kind of. Mostly by accident, when a clerk in the United Nations wanted to know if we now had an official mail address. It seems that they had to screen the mail for poison and bombs and such, and then tried to find an official mailing address, and kind of sent the mail back forth between the countries before storing it all in America and going through the diplomatic channels to ask us about it. But we found out that the request never reached us." Adora frowned. "I don't know how that could happen. They could have just sent it to Stargate Command and let them contact us."

"Back home, I'd blame Kyle," Catra said with a chuckle.

"Or it was sabotage," Hordak added.

Catra doubted that. It sounded more like some screwup. Unless, of course, there were important messages that had gotten lost as well. She narrowed her eyes. "So, they scanned our mail for bombs and poison? And maybe sensitive information?"

"We should have gotten an official mail address," Bow said. "We should get one, in fact."

"Yes!" Adora agreed. "And we need to answer our mail! And apologise for not doing so sooner!"

"Great," Catra grumbled. As if they didn't have better and more important things to do. But Adora cared about that. And Catra cared about her. "Let's go and collect the mail, then."

There went her relaxing evening in the lounge.

*****​

US Postal Service Storage Facility, New York, Earth, October 3rd, 1998

"...and I am terribly sorry about this. We didn't know you weren't informed, so we just kept storing the mail. We didn't want to bother you, you know - and we couldn't. We're storage, not customer service. We asked the management to contact you; that was all we could do." The flunky in the ugly uniform was wringing his hands, Catra noted. Not that she cared. Not faced with…

"We need to get Darla down here," Adora said. "That won't fit into the shuttle."

"I'm not sure it'll fit into Darla's hold," Bow said.

"Not without stuffing every nook and cranny with letters, including the lab," Glimmer said.

…a small mountain of letters. Catra shook her head. How could the people on Earth have missed so many letters? Usually, they loved their paperwork!

"I'm really sorry, but regulations being regulations…"

Catra glared at the man, and he shut up.

"Well…" Adora grimaced. "I think this will take us a little longer to process than I expected."

"We could just set it on fire," Catra suggested.

Glimmer looked like she'd agree, but Adora gasped. "Catra!"

"So, that's a no?"

"Catra!"

*****​

Dear She-Ra! Are you really a Princess? Art, that's my brother, said princesses are stupid and not real, but I saw you on TV! You are so pretty and tall and strong! How can I become a princess? Love, Maggie

Catra snorted, folded the letter and put it back into the envelope, then waved it at Adora. "Here's another one for you!"

Adora sighed as she took it and put it on the huge stack next to it. "Thanks."

"No problem." Adora's stack was the biggest so far, Catra saw. Well, that was to be expected - Adora was the greatest, after all. The humans had good taste.

Catra grinned as she picked up the next letter.

Dear Bow! I just wanted to let you know that I think you're the best! A techmaster and archer, you're like a black Green Arrow! Do you have the same trick arrows as he has? If you don't know Green Arrow, he's a superhero, only he doesn't have any special powers, except for his trick arrows, and he's a master archer! I'm taking archery lessons already! Is Bow your superhero name, and do you have a secret identity? Yours sincerely, Tim.

"Bow, you've got a fan!" Catra grinned and threw the letter over to Bow.

"Thanks!" He smiled, though he looked a little… disturbed.

"What's wrong?" Glimmer had noticed it as well.

"Just…" He sighed, then held up a letter. "They're thanking me for being a good black role model. And they said their son's father was in prison, and they've been trying to find good role models for their kid… They're asking if I could visit the kid's school."

Ah. Catra suppressed a snort.

"Well, we should have time to visit a school…" Adora said.

"And then turn every other request down?" Glimmer shook her head. "We can't visit everyone who asks."

Adora frowned. "But they're so earnest… This girl asks me to come show her class that girls loving girls is OK."

"Where is it from?" Bow asked.

"Canada."

"I think they already know that there," Glimmer said,

"Well, it seems no one told their school yet," Adora said. "Although the letter's a month old." She put it down on another pile after pinning the envelope to it.

"I think their government already told everyone that girls loving girls is perfectly fine," Catra said. At least she remembered a letter thanking them for showing that gay marriage was a human right from there. "Canada's on the list for an alliance meeting, right?"

"Yes," Glimmer said. "They haven't pushed, though."

"They're probably too polite for that," Catra joked.

"Oh! This one's for you, Glimmer!"

"Thanks." Glimmer tried to act as if she didn't care, but Catra had caught her glancing at the much larger stack of letters for Adora a few times. Glimmer opened the letter and blinked. "They're thanking me for doing so much to return magic. And… they invite me to visit their coven? And share my knowledge of magic, but only if I want to?"

"What's a coven?" Adora asked.

"A group of witches working together, part of Earth's magical traditions," Glimmer said.

"We don't have time to visit every coven," Catra reminded her. "Besides, magic hasn't been restored yet. You'd just have tea with them."

"They want the visit after magic has been restored," Glimmer said. But she was pouting.

Well, that was her problem. It wasn't as if Catra cared about the fact that the number of letters addressed to her was smaller than Glimmer's. She wasn't a princess, after all.

And, she spat with a slight hiss after reading the next letter, "I don't hunt mice!"

Glimmer chuckled.

"Really," Catra complained. "Why are so many people interested in my fur and ears and tails?"

"Most of us look like humans. You're different," Bow said.

"And you're much prettier than Hordak," Adora added with a smile.

Well, of course, she was! Catra straightened a little. "That's why they want pictures." Lots of picture requests, actually. Almost as many as Adora's, if the stacks were any indication.

"Signed pictures are commonly traded on Earth, I believe," Bow said.

"And we can print them en bloc and send them out without losing too much time," Glimmer said.

"We could also create action figures!" Bow said, smiling. "Or figurines."

"Yeah, because we want people playing games with us." Catra snorted.

"Well, that wouldn't be bad, would it?" Bow asked.

"Who cares." Catra shrugged. "We're here to protect Earth and find allies, not to sell pictures or figurines."

"We wouldn't sell the pictures," Adora said.

"We actually should," Glimmer corrected her. "Or we'll be swamped in requests. More than we already are," she added with a glance at the mountain that had barely shrunk in the hours since they started. Still too much for the shuttle. And too much for Darla's hold. Maybe they could commandeer a frigate's hold for this…

"Oh." Adora gasped.

"What?" Catra narrowed her eyes.

"This boy said his parents were in heaven and, since we have spaceships, asked if I could bring them back…" Adora sighed and put the letter down.

Catra suppressed a curse. Damn, she had thought the letters from people calling them names and wishing them dead were bad, but this… "Let's take a break!"

"But we still have so many letters to go through…"

"Yes. And they're not going to disappear," Catra told her.

Unfortunately.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 4th, 1998

"Fan mail?" Jack O'Neill resisted the urge to mime cleaning his ears. Carter wouldn't appreciate it - she had glared at his latest joke, even though that had been a good one. Probably encountered some problem she couldn't solve easily. Although he couldn't spot anything like it in the lab. Maybe it was some theoretical physics stuff.

"Yes, Sir," Carter said, nodding. "The Etherians apparently received vast amounts of fan mail and are now undecided about the best way to cope with it."

"What's the problem? Write a form letter, print it a few hundred times, send it to everyone. Or hire people to send the letters if that's beneath a princess," Jack said.

"The amount of mail they received was much larger than a few hundred letters," Carter replied. "Apparently, due to a bureaucratic mishap and unclear regulations for international mail delivery as well as some politics at the United Nations, all the mail addressed at them - at least from North America and Europe - was collected since their arrival."

Jack whistled. That would have to be a lot of letters! And a bureaucratic mistake? He would bet that this was part of an attempt to gather intel. Or control what the Etherians heard from Earth. Just what the NID would do. Still… Even a mountain of letters just meant the Etherians would need to hire more people and print more form letters. So why wouldn't they? "Is there some Etherian cultural thingie that means they have to reply personally to every letter?"

Daniel was frowning at him, but Jack couldn't tell whether that was for his wording or not knowing if there was such a taboo.

"I doubt that," Carter replied. "Entrapta told me that she wanted to construct a reply-bot."

Jack nodded. That fit the princess. "Could you ask her if she could construct a paperwork-bot?" he joked. Well, semi-joked. Some help writing reports would be nice.

Carter was rolling her eyes, so her mood must have improved. "I will not abuse my friendship with her to save you from doing your work, Sir."

Jack carefully didn't point out that relaying to your superiors what your alien buddy told you while you were tinkering in your lab was a sort of friendship abuse by itself. He would do the same in her place - the Etherians were crucial for the world's defence, after all, and anything that upset them could have catastrophic consequences.

Besides, people had been doing this kind of gossipping since ancient times. Probably since the time of the Ancients.

"Uh…" Daniel pushed his glasses up. "Entrapta might not have the same cultural views on answering mail as her friends - they do come from different kingdoms on Etheria, and Etherian culture, even though it might appear so from an outsider's point of view, is very diverse. In fact, I would bet that, without the global media networks, Etheria's culture is more diverse than Earth's, at least relative to their population."

That was a lot of words for 'other Etherians might have that rule'.

"That's possible." Carter nodded, but Jack could tell she wanted to contradict Daniel.

"Anyway," Jack spoke up, "our alien friends having to cope with letters from their adoring fans doesn't look like a huge problem." Or any problem at all.

Carter shook her head. "There were also letters from people who didn't like them. Some were rather… crude."

Ah. "I hope they aren't planning to answer those in person." That could be a problem - Jack didn't want to imagine what Catra might do to someone threatening her. Or Adora. Or propositioning them.

"Not to my knowledge, Sir," Carter replied.

"Good."

"The Etherians, despite the medieval aesthetics of some of their cultures, do not share the kind of warrior culture that requires insults to be repaid with violence," Daniel said.

Jack looked at Teal'c. The Jaffa, on the other hand… It was probably a good thing Teal'c wasn't receiving such mail.

"Indeed," Teal'c spoke up as if he had read Jack's thoughts. "Although while Jaffa society differs in that area, it would be dishonourable for a trained warrior to actually fight an untrained civilian over such insults. However, a thrashing, as you would call it, would be perfectly appropriate."

Of course, pretty much every adult Jaffa was trained in combat, Jack knew. He nodded anyway. "So… what do you think they'll do? Should we give them advice on how to treat cramps in your hand?" He grinned - Adora would easily heal that, anyway.

Carter straightened. "Ultimately, it's their decision, Sir."

"But we can give them advice on what's an appropriate response in our society," Daniel said.

"And we don't want them spending all their time writing letters by hand to explain to little Timmy that they won't blow up his school to save him from his homework," Jack joked.

"No, we don't," Carter said. "I already told Entrapta that there's no expectation of a personal reply in such cases."

"Looking out for your science buddy?" Jack smiled. Carter probably also didn't want Entrpata to waste time on answering letters instead of doing science with her.

"Sharing data." Her smile was a little toothy. He probably shouldn't joke about being jealous of letters. "But, apparently, they have received a number of requests for personal visits."

"And are they planning to do that?" Jack asked. They'd need good security - with all the furore about magic, there was bound to be a nutcase who would try to blow up the 'evil aliens'. He blinked. 'Furore'? He must have been listening to Daniel a bit too much lately.

"I don't know, Sir. It's apparently something they still have to discuss."

"Like the return of magic?" Jack asked.

"Entrapta seems to be under the impression that they are merely waiting for the right moment to do that, Sir."

Great. Jack clenched his teeth. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with Dungeons and Dragons in real life. And if some idiot decided that Jack might have a magical talent because of his Ancient ancestry and wanted to send him to magic school…

He really wouldn't like that.

*****​
 
Chapter 47: The Magic Question Part 3
Chapter 47: The Magic Question Part 3

Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, October 7th, 1998 (Earth Time)

They were facing the full assembly of the United Nations. So many countries were represented here. If Adora hadn't faced them before, and if she hadn't attended Princess Prom, she would feel nervous. Well, more nervous. This was, after all, an important meeting. For everyone. Fortunately, Adora didn't have to take the lead here.

"...and we welcome Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon, who will address the Assembly."

Adora watched as Glimmer, wearing her coronation outfit - or something like it - rose and walked up to the microphone.

"Thank you!" She smiled and put her up notes - Bow had installed a small projector on her pad so she could read her speech without glancing down all the time. "I'm happy to be here and talk about an important issue - two important issues, although they are related. First, I want to announce that the Princess Alliance will support the United Nations and enforce international law in the case of genocide. We, the people of Etheria, were the target of such crimes, and while we managed to defeat the criminal aiming to murder us all and destroy our planet, many other planets suffered this fate before us. We would dishonour the memory of those people if we would look away should someone else attempt a genocide. As we came to Earth to stop the Goa'uld from invading your planet and murdering your civilisation, we will protect you against such crimes committed by others on your planet. Just as your own laws stipulate, we will do what we can to stop any such crime." Glimmer nodded.

Adora didn't miss that not everyone in the audience seemed very enthusiastic. Actually, a lot of the ambassadors who applauded seemed to be doing so with polite smiles rather than honest or enthusiastic support. And a lot of the audience looked angry and were talking to their neighbours.

"Told you so," Catra whispered. "They care more about their sovereignty than their own laws. Or the lives of others."

Adora didn't frown - that would have been misunderstood, what with cameras covering everyone - but she whispered back: "Just because they are concerned about us trying to impose our will on them doesn't mean they would rather face a genocide."

"Someone listened once too often to Glimmer practising the speech." Catra had the last word before Glimmer started talking again.

"This does not mean that we will invade a country or impose our own laws or customs on anyone. All we will do, should a country or organisation attempt a genocide, is to stop them and capture the criminals." Glimmer nodded. "We are not planning to start a war, change a country's government or political system. We will absolutely not occupy a country. But if anyone is starting a genocide, we will stop them."

"And what is your definition of genocide?" one ambassador yelled. Adora checked the flag - it was Saudi Arabia.

They had prepared for that. "Acts with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group," Glimmer replied. "That's in your own Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which your country ratified decades ago."

"And what about the permanent members of the Security Council?" another ambassador - from Algeria - asked before she could continue.

Adora pressed her lips together. They had expected that question as well, but she had hoped they could address it after the speech.

Glimmer, though, raised her chin slightly. "I do not think any of those countries will attempt to support genocide in that manner. However, the Princess Alliance is of the opinion that, should a genocide be attempted, saving lives takes precedence over adhering to formalities."

That caused an uproar, and Adora clenched her teeth. Did they really expect the Alliance to let any country stop them from saving people?

"This is an attempt to take over the world!" someone yelled just as the noise started to die down - Adora didn't catch who said it.

"No," Glimmer replied, her amplified voice filling the assembly. "This is not an attempt to take over the world. This is just a warning - if you attempt genocide, we will stop you. Just as your own laws stipulate and expect of you. We will not let you murder people for the crime of being born, no matter who you are or who you are allied with."

The assembly erupted in shouting and yelling again.

"Looks like genocide is more popular than we thought," Catra commented with a sneer.

This time, Adora frowned at her.

*****​

It took a bit of time for the assembly to calm down - the Secretary-General had to step in and remind a few of the ambassadors that they were in public and had to behave with a certain decorum, though it wasn't as bad as the Princess Prom had been. No one attacked anyone, in any case. And there had been Alliance meetings that had been as loud and contested, though those were private.

But finally, Glimmer could continue her speech. "In addition to clarifying our stance towards genocide, we are also here to inform you about our decision with regards to Earth's magic."

"Here it comes!" Catra whispered - she sounded as if she were looking forward to this. She probably was, Adora realised.

"After considerable deliberation and consulting various trusted people, we have decided that we will honour the request to restore magic to Earth. We have…"

Glimmer's voice was drowned by shouting and yelling, even louder than before - it almost hurt Adora's ears, and she saw Catra clench her teeth and flatten her ears. Adora knew how sensitive her lover's ears were; this had to hurt her.

She reached out and patted Catra's thigh. As she tried to make out what the people were yelling.

"This is an outrage!"

"How dare you force magic on us!"

"Blasphemy!

"Finally!"

"We will not let you corrupt our people!"

"This wasn't your decision!"

"You have no right to do this!"

"No, you have no right to keep us from regaining our heritage!"

"This is an act of war!"

"You are changing our entire life on a whim!"

"Take your magic and leave!"

It took a few more minutes until people had calmed down - no, until people stopped screaming. Adora had no doubt that they hadn't really calmed down. Not the people who were glaring at her friends and herself.

Glimmer, who had weathered the storm without showing her annoyance, except for narrowing her eyes, continued: "As I explained, we decided to honour the request to return magic to your planet. We are aware that this is a controversial issue, but we do not think that anyone has the right to dictate to another that they cannot use magic; it's your heritage. It's part of your natural environment. Your planet had magic until a thousand years ago, and it will regain what was stolen from it."

"You're forcing this on us!"

"No one forces you to use magic," Glimmer went on without glancing at the ambassador of Kuwait, who had blurted that out. "But we will not let those who hate and fear magic for petty and bigoted reasons dictate how everyone else on the planet should live."

Adora nodded. Just as they wouldn't let the bigots oppress people like her and Catra.

"You can't just dismiss our concerns!" the ambassador of Saudi Arabia yelled. "This is against our religion. You are trying to change our way of life by force!"

"And we don't care!" Catra hissed through clenched teeth - fortunately, not into a microphone.

"Your concerns are unfounded," Glimmer replied. "You fear magic, yet you embrace technology. And you desire advanced technology that will change your life much more than magic - and is far more dangerous. And can be used by anyone."

"This is the core of the issue," said the ambassador of… Adora had to squint to read the sign. Of Nigeria. "Anyone can use technology. Only a few, as you explained, can use magic. We do not want to be ruled by witches and wizards."

Catra rolled her eyes.

"And you won't," Glimmer told them. "As we explained multiple times, it takes both talent and years of study to gain any significant skill at magic - and even with both, you won't be able to subjugate a country, much less the world."

"You are ruling your country," the ambassador retorted.

"Yes," Glimmer replied. "And several countries on Earth are ruled by monarchs as well." She looked at the ambassador of Saudi Arabia. "But I didn't conquer Bright Moon with magic."

Adora glanced at Catra, but her lover refrained from commenting that Angella had conquered it. Or might have - the records were a little vague.

"And in our war against the Horde, several kingdoms ruled by princesses fell to an enemy who didn't use magic, but technology." Glimmer shook her head. "The return of magic will not lead to monarchies being restored or imposed on you."

"But a few might get toppled," Catra whispered, baring her teeth.

Adora glared at her. That wasn't helping!

"This will cause a panic," the ambassador of Sudan said. "People will accuse each other of being evil witches! People will die!"

"People are already dying," Glimmer said. "You don't need magic to have witch hunts."

"But it'll be worse, now that people know it's real!"

"Yes." Glimmer nodded, her expression fixed. "It will get worse. But it'll also get better once you realise what magic can and can't do. If we don't restore magic, not only would we be helping those amongst you who wish to keep what was stolen from you out of ignorance and selfishness, but we would still see witch hunts." She narrowed her eyes. "And all the bigots would have realised that they can force their views on others if they threaten to hurt and kill enough people. And that would mean things would grow far, far worse." She shook her head. "If the threat of people being murdered would be enough to make us keep magic from being restored to Earth, we might as well surrender to the Goa'uld because they wouldn't hesitate to murder their slaves if they thought that would make us back down." She scoffed. "It won't."

Adora firmly nodded. As much as she hated how this decision would lead to people getting hurt and killed, the alternative would be worse. You could not give in to people who would hurt others to make you obey them. You wouldn't save anyone that way.

"You could delay this, though! Let us adapt slowly to it!" the ambassador of South Africa said.

"We have been delaying this." Glimmer shook her head. "We've explained what magic is, how it works, what you can expect. If people still think magic is evil after our explanations, then delaying further won't help either."

"Yeah," Catra muttered. "Let's get this over with so we can focus on the war instead of on idiots."

Adora frowned at her, but Catra had a point. This had already taken too long. Far too long. People were suffering under the rule of the Goa'uld. It was time to settle this.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 8th, 1998

"So, they said I shouldn't build a reply-bot because we don't know enough about Earth customs regarding correspondence. And I said that if we don't know enough to build a reply-bot, we don't know enough to reply ourselves."

Samantha Carter nodded and tried to suppress the sudden and petty burst of annoyance she felt upon hearing that. She had been looking forward to working on probe bots, not explaining how you wrote form letters without offending the recipient. It wasn't a subject she was very experienced with, anyway. Well, if you counted the 'Dear John' letter she had to write at the academy, before her first deployment, but…

Entrapta shrugged. "So, they're going to talk to Julie and Mr Brown about that and then tell me if I can build a bot." She beamed. "I hope I can - I've never built a reply-bot. It would be an entirely new bot type. Very delicate manipulators, so it can write using Earth pens. And a new control matrix since it would need a completely different set of parameters to handle is task compared to a usual bot. I mean, I built lots of different bots, from combat bots to servant bots, but I haven't really focused on language expression - so far, their sound emitters using a set of signals was good enough, as long as they understood me." She blinked. "In hindsight, that was a little unfair, wasn't it? They could understand my language but not speak it. None of them complained, ever - well, not even when they went all murderous after getting infected with a First One virus - but maybe others would have been nicer to them if they could talk?"

Sam nodded. "People do treat you differently if you can speak their language." Whether it also went for bots… she didn't know. Would a bot be seen like C-3PO or Data? A sapient being? Or like Ed-209? Emily talking, perhaps with a British accent, would likely be off-putting. Then again, humans had a tendency for anthropomorphism. People attributed human traits and emotions to their pets and computers - not that Sam would ever do that! - and so doing that to bots would only be logical.

"Then we should work on that!" Entrapta nodded. "It'll make all bots better, too - probe bots will be able to report what they saw and answer questions!"

"That would also introduce bias with regards to their data, though," Sam pointed out. "Since they would have to interpret the data to report it. Unless they just repeat the numbers." But that would be a waste of a language module.

"Right. Even with self-learning matrices, we couldn't be sure about the results of their interpretation. But wouldn't it still be helpful? As a second opinion? As long as we treat the data without being biased, which any scientist should, anyway. Right?"

Sam nodded. It was time to do science.

*****​

"I think we should take a break," Samantha Carter said a few hours later, resisting the urge to run her hands through her hair before she got them cleaned - Etherian bots used lubricants as well, after all, though how exactly they had arrived at prototyping new manipulators from mapping out language matrices was a little unclear in hindsight.

"Aw…" Entrapta pouted, her hair still holding a small scouting bot's parts in the air. Then she blinked. "Although now that you mention it, Hordak said I should eat more regularly when working."

"Where is Hordak, anyway?" Sam asked before she could help herself. While the former warlord didn't come along with Entrapta every time she came to the mountain, Sam hadn't seen him for some time.

"He's checking with Priest about planetary drop tactics," Entrapta replied while rooting through the fridge in Sam's lab. "Do you have some of those tiny snickers I saw on TV?"

"No, sorry. You're the first person I met who prefers the small bars to the full-size bars," Sam replied. "I'll order some for your next visit."

"Thank you!"

Sam made a note, then frowned. "Planetary drops?"

"Yes. In case the fleet needs to intervene on Earth. They're worried about that, you know?"

Sam had known about the announcement to the United Nations regarding genocide - she was sure almost everyone on Earth had heard about it, the way the news had spread. Some pundits were claiming this was the first step to invading Earth. "Do you expect to intervene?"

Entrapta shrugged. "It seems illogical, but if everyone acted logically, people wouldn't fear magic. Catra thinks someone - some country - will be stupid enough to attempt genocide out of spite. Bow thinks they won't since genocide is illegal on Earth. Glimmer agreed with Catra, but she was mad when she did that. Adora said she hopes that we won't have to intervene."

That was a very detailed report. "Well, many people are afraid of magic," Sam carefully said. "And they tend to lash out against what they fear. It's irrational but common."

"It's stupid," Entrapta said, nibbling on a Snickers. "We've explained how magic works several times. Even a restricted bot would have understood by now."

That was pretty harsh for Entrapta. She didn't seem very concerned about the potential deaths that the Etherians' decision might cause, though. "Do you think you will be able to stop any genocides?" Sam asked.

"I guess so? Once we hear about it, in any case. We're moving more ships into orbit so we have more ground troops. Mostly bots, but they should work for this kind of mission." Entrapta shrugged again.

"Many people could be killed before anyone notices," Sam commented. That had been the case with Rwanda a few years ago.

"Yeah, but we're keeping an eye on the countries that were the worst about it so far."

She couldn't help it - she had to ask. "You don't seem to be worried."

"Worried?" Entratpa tilted her head to the side in an almost comical fashion.

"About the deaths," Sam explained. "You won't be able to stop all killings since you need to detect them first before you can intervene."

"Oh!" Entrapta nodded. "Yes, but that can't be helped. I thought about improving our scanner so we can spot lives ending, but that is tricky - lots of humans die every minute - and Catra told me that it would be depressing if we just watched people die without being able to help. I think she meant Adora would find it depressing - Catra's usually not really bothered about that."

"Seeing people die is not something everyone can handle," Sam pointed out.

"I know." Entrapta nodded. "We can just do our best and go on."

That sounded like something someone told Entrapta, and she took it to heart. "Who said that?" Sam asked.

"Perfuma. She's very good about that stuff. I wish we had taken her with us," Entrapta said.

Sam didn't know the other princess well enough - or at all - to agree. But things could have gotten better with the Etherians, that was certain.

On the other hand, Sam was only too aware of how much worse things could have gone. If Perfuma thought the Etherians should intervene more on Earth, to do their best… "Let's get back to work," she said.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, October 8th, 1998

"...and the riots in India have spread to most northern states. The military, already mobilising to protect the border, has been ordered to reinforce security forces. The number of deaths hasn't been determined yet as reports are still coming in from more remote parts of the country where protests and counter-protests clash violently, often fueled by ethnic and religious tension as well, and…"

"...the group of anti-magic protesters holding a vigil in front of the Reichstag has required police protection from counter-protestors accusing them of being bigots, and…"

"...in response to the riots that killed dozens of migrant workers from India in the Gulf States, the Indian Prime Minister accused the UAE of deliberately neglecting their duty to protect the residents in their countries and called for 'all sons and daughters of India to return home', threatening that any attempts to prevent them from leaving the UAE would be seen as a hostile act against India, and…"

"...Egypt, where the situation had barely calmed down since the riots following the catastrophic explosion, the military has moved against the protestors with brutal force as reports of people getting lynched as 'witches' and 'blasphemers' mount, and…"

"...Israel Defense Forces have been put on full alert again, and reservists have been called up as the country prepares for an upswing in violence following the fighting between factions in the Westbank, and…"

"...French troops have secured the airport to organise an evacuation as law and order in the capital of Mali are breaking down, and mobs started witch hunts…"

"...in Kabul released a statement declaring their intent to fight 'blasphemers and witches to the death', although, so far, it remains unclear who exactly the Taliban consider as such and how they plan to fight them. Experts commented that…"

"... of the European Union denounced the anti-magic violence and called for swift and decisive action to prevent further loss of life…"

"...the Arab League denounced both the Princess Alliance as well as India and Japan for causing this 'avoidable tragedy with their blatant attempt to oppress Islam and force magic on our people' and once again called on the United Nations to pass a resolution banning magic from Earth, which…"

"...Japanese government released a statement that Japan did not feel responsible for the violent actions of people trying to prevent Japan from recovering its cultural and religious heritage, and offered India their full diplomatic support in…"

"...the president has released a statement that all US citizens in countries affected by the sudden surge of anti-magic violence should evacuate…"

"...the stock exchanges are reeling as several major oil exporters in the Middle East announced an oil embargo against 'any country supporting the imperialist actions of the Etherians'. The United States is expected to release the strategic reserve any day, and several members of the Senate have been calling to secure the oil supply even though the United States has not been put on an embargo so far, and…"

"...protests in several European cities have been demanding the release of advanced technology to compensate the effects of the oil embargo even as Russia announced stepping up production…"

"...a group of Wiccan celebrating the imminent return of magic were attacked in Los Angeles, leaving two seriously wounded. The LAPD originally judged it to be a gang-related shooting but was forced to widen the investigation to cover a possible hate crime, and is expected…"

"...der Bundeskanzler wiederholte, dass Deutschlands strategische Ölreserven freigegeben werden würden und dass die Regierung alle nötigen Massnahmen treffen werde, um die Versorgung des Landes zu gewährleisten. Genauere Angaben zu den Massnahmen machte er nicht, aber…"

"...Indonesian government has declared a state of emergency and ordered a curfew in response to growing unrest…"

"...Swedish authorities stated that the apparent suicide of a family of five in Stockholm was being investigated and that reports of the family being very religious and concerned about magic 'corrupting their souls' could not be confirmed at the moment…"

"...have announced to fight the 'blasphemous forces of the devil to the last bullet and barricaded themselves in their church when police officers arrived on the premises. So far, it's unclear what prompted the police intervention, but locals are already voicing their concern that this might lead to another Waco-style massacre if not handled carefully and…"

"...the Pope has released a statement calling on all Catholics to remain calm and assuring them that the return of magic was no threat to their immortal souls provided they wouldn't…"

"...leader of the protesters in front of the White House stated that they wouldn't go home until the government banned magic in the United States, claiming that the United States was a Christian country and…"

"...the Met intervened and broke up a so-called 'exorcism'. A child of eight years was moved to a hospital for treatment, and…"

Catra flicked the screen off and shook her head. "They've gone crazy." At least the rioting and worse was limited to countries in the Middle East and Africa, for the most part.

"This is awful!" Adora blurted out. "We have to do something!"

"And what can we do?" Glimmer asked. She pointed at the bridge's window, where Earth was floating beneath them. "Start conquering Earth?"

"No, but…" Adora shook her head. "This is our fault."

Catra hissed. "It's not our fault!"

"If we hadn't announced our decision to return magic, this wouldn't have happened."

Well, she wasn't wrong, Not technically. But…

"Should we have bowed to pressure and kept magic from those who wanted it back?" Glimmer asked with a frown.

"No, but…" Adora pressed her lips together. "We shouldn't have done it like that."

"We knew that there would be violence," Glimmer retorted. "Like when we revealed ourselves."

"But we didn't think it would be that bad," Adora shot back. "It wasn't that bad back then."

"It's not your fault," Catra said. "Nor our fault. As Glimmer said - if we bow to violence, we might as well surrender to the Goa'uld."

"But those aren't the Goa'uld down there! They aren't brainwashed soldiers or slaves fooled by evil fake gods!" Adora protested.

"Doesn't look like much of a difference to me," Catra scoffed. "Attacking people over magic sounds pretty evil to me."

Glimmer nodded but she looked grim. "Yes. We can't bow to the threat of violence. Not from anyone."

Bow, thought, shook his head. "We should have handled this better. We could have… avoided this."

Catra snorted, even though she didn't feel amused. "Really? Sat down with the witch hunters and politely explained that they're wrong? Showed them the light? Explained how magic works?"

"Yes!" Adora blurted out as Bow nodded.

"We did that at the United Nations, and we couldn't even convince their ambassadors," Glimmer pointed out. "Why do you think this would have worked better with the people in their countries?"

"And how long would that have taken?" Catra added. She sneered. "Should we have told India and Japan, and everyone else who isn't an idiot, that they can't get magic back because it might offend the same people who were offended by our relationship and provoke them into rioting?"

Adora bit her lower lip. "Well, no, but…"

"We could have made more of an effort to convince people that magic isn't going to ruin their lives," Bow said.

Glimmer glared at him, which was a bit of a surprise. "Yes, we could have done it. And it would have been a waste of time. They don't listen! We keep telling them how magic works, and they do not listen!"

"Some are concerned about magic causing more problems," Bow retorted.

"Yes. And those people aren't down here rioting and murdering others!" Glimmer yelled as she jumped to her feet. "The fanatics are! The people who hate everyone who isn't like them and want to kill them!" She bared her teeth. "I am sick and tired of trying to talk to them, trying to reach them, trying to make nice with them when they DO. NOT. WANT. TO. LISTEN!"

She screamed the last words and stalked out of the door.

Catra looked at Adora, who looked shocked, and then at Bow, who looked like Scorpia had hit him with a tank. "I think Glimmer needs a break from diplomacy," she said.

Adora slowly nodded.

Bow shook his head. "She needs…" He trailed off.

"Go talk to her," Catra told him. After a moment, she nodded at Adora. "Both of you." For all her words, Glimmer wasn't taking this well.

Bow was already moving, but Adora looked at him, then at Catra.

"Go! She needs you," Catra told her. "I'll keep watch here."

And, she added to herself as Adora left the bridge, I'll try to ignore the insanity down there.

It's not our fault, she repeated to herself.

Yet she still felt guilty.

*****​

Dulles International Airport, Washington DC, October 10th, 1998

Jack O'Neill watched the truck - the second truck - leave the hangar. He half-expected a few letters to fall off it, to be blown across the tarmac by the soft breeze he could feel, but whoever had done the loading had done a good job with the Etherians' fan mail. "I pity whoever has to deal with all that mail," he commented as he started walking towards the hangar.

"That would be Brown, Wallander and Co. and Julie Callaghan, I believe," Carter said. "Entrapta mentioned that they decided to let 'experts in communication' handle it."

"Dumped the whole thing on PR weenies?" Jack chuckled. Not exactly a surprise - he couldn't see any of the Etherians spending all their time answering mail. Although he wasn't sure if it was a good decision, with all the violence about magic shaking the world, the mail was bound to reflect that, and Jack wouldn't trust PR firms to handle that. In more sense than one. "Have they been told about the threat of mail bombs?"

"Entrapta said she built a bomb-detecting-function into her reply-bot."

Jack blinked. "She built a paperwork bot? And I wasn't told as soon you heard about it?" He narrowed his eyes at Carter.

She tilted her head slightly as if she didn't know what he was talking about. "It was in my report about robotics, sir. And it wasn't a paperwork-bot. Merely a bot physically able to write letters. It still needs to learn how to write and, more importantly, what to write. Its neural network is in its infancy and won't be able to handle even basic letters for a while."

"You make it sound like a baby," Jack told her.

Carter blinked. "That's actually an apt description, sir. The bots are learning like children, though often from a set of base skills."

"So…" Jack grinned. "You basically made a baby with Entrapta?"

Daniel gasped, but Carter merely narrowed her eyes. "We constructed a bot, sir. And it cannot help you do your paperwork."

"Pity." Jack would have added another joke, but they reached the hangar's entrance - where that combat bot of Entrapta's, Emily, was standing.

"Hi, Emily!" Carter greeted it, and the oversized R2-D2 with a tank cannon beeped back. "Yes, we're fine. No, it's safe. There are no violent protests in the city."

Jack privately wondered if Carter wasn't spending a bit too much time with Entrapta. "I didn't know you spoke robot."

"I am familiar with the general signals of Entrapta's bots since I worked on communication modules with her, sir."

"Ah."

"Sam!" And there was the magical mad scientist, coming straight at them - walking on hair and waving. "Did you get my message about the random phrases generator?"

"Yes. Although I am not sure if that is a good teaching tool. It seems…"

Jack tried to tune out the tech talk and focused on the shuttle waiting inside the hangar.

"It doesn't look like it could carry so many letters," Daniel said.

"They made multiple trips," Jack explained. The brass hadn't wanted to see a Horde frigate land in Washington. Apparently, the optics would have been bad - as if having a few dozens of the things in orbit was any better. The retired generals making the talk-show circuits were already commenting on how vulnerable the United States were now and how much they needed an alliance with the Etherians to replace those shiny white ships with grey hulls of their own. Which led to this meeting, not that Jack thought anything would come of it. Not until Washington finally managed to legalise gay marriage and all that stuff.

"Ah."

And there was the rest of the Etherians, walking down the ramp - together with a man and a woman. Mr Brown and Miss Callaghan - Jack had seen their files. They didn't look happy. Jack wouldn't be happy in their place, either, having to deal with this.

"...and we'll get back to you once we have a better overview of the trends," Callaghan was saying. "We should have vetted more people by then as well."

"Hi, Jack." Adora looked… not as perfect as she usually did. Tired.

Most of the group looked tired, actually, Jack noticed as they exchanged greetings, and SG-1 was introduced to the PR weenies. "So, you're going to handle the mail?" he asked. "Like working for Santa at Sears?"

"We're handling it as part of public relations." Mr Brown sounded slightly prissy. No comment about Jack's joke even though he should be old enough to understand it. Definitely prissy.

So Jack waited until the two had left in a limousine and a sports car, respectively, before addressing the Etherians. "So… How are you doing?"

"Not going to say 'I told you so'?" Catra narrowed her eyes at him. Prickly, there. More than usual.

Jack shrugged. "I guess you've been beating yourself up enough already." They certainly looked the part.

"The loss of life is a tragedy," Glimmer said. She looked pissed, actually. "But the blame is to be placed at the feet of those who use ignorance and fanaticism to try and impose their narrow views on others through violence."

"Did you run that by your public relations consultants?" Jack asked before he could help himself.

Glimmer's glare intensified. "No. That's not their expertise."

So, did that mean they would listen to experts?

"Well, if you need experts on the Middle East and Africa, I know several people in the field," Daniel offered with his 'I only want to help you' smile.

Glimmer scoffed. "You want to tell me that you have experts that know how to make religious fanatics accept magic?"

Daniel blinked. "Well… not exactly. But they know the cultures of those regions and how to interact with people there without offending them."

Catra snorted. "We know that as well - we would just have to ban magic and stop loving each other. And probably convert to whatever religion those people follow. Or die for our sins."

Jack couldn't help chuckling, which made Daniel pout at him. "It's not quite that bad," his friend insisted.

"Really?" Glimmer openly sneered at Daniel. "Do you think if we just used the right words, they'd be fine with magic?"

"No, no, but… a more diplomatic approach might have avoided some of the riots." Daniel smiled rather weakly. "Maybe."

Glimmer bared her teeth - for a moment, she reminded Jack of a furless angry Catra. "We tried that. We talked to their ambassadors for hours and hours! The only thing that would have prevented this would have been to agree not to return magic."

Daniel winced. "Well, yes, but… wouldn't it have been worth to delay restoring magic to Earth to avoid all this loss of life?"

"Delay for how long?" Glimmer asked, stepping up to glare at him from up close - or down close since she was smaller than Daniel. "Until those fanatics suddenly accept magic?"

"We'd be dead before that happens," Catra added. "From old age. And what about the United States?" She looked at Jack. "Would your country agree to, I dunno, stop eating meat if enough vegetarians threaten to riot? Wouldn't it be worth to ban meat if it prevents such a loss of life?"

Jack could almost physically feel the sarcasm aimed at Daniel.

"It's not the same," his friend argued. "Magic affects everyone:"

"So does meat production," Adora said. "Many countries grow feed for animals instead of food, and export it." Jack blinked, and she shrugged. "I was curious about Earth farming after you visited a farm in Bright Moon."

Ah. Jack nodded. He should have expected that.

"It's still not the same," Daniel argued.

"The principle is the same. How many deaths does it take to make your country stop doing something?" Glimmer asked.

"I think the United States of America don't negotiate with terrorists," Catra added. "At least not officially."

"We are talking about countries, not terrorists," Daniel retorted.

"Same thing," Catra shot back. "They threaten violence against other people to make us do what they want us to do."

"And speaking of terrorists," Jack said, raising his voice a little. "We're here to talk about coordinating responses with the fleet and security concerns, not politics, right?"

Everyone looked at him as if they were surprised at his words.

Jack frowned. He could be diplomatic if he needed to. He just usually didn't want to. "Anyway, the new ships in orbit are a concern for some people," he said. "Like the Pentagon."

"A concern?" Adora asked.

"Yes." Jack nodded.

"Oh."

"And that has nothing to do with our announcement that we won't let people commit genocide?" Catra asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, I don't think the people who asked me to talk to you are bothered by that," Jack replied. "America doesn't do genocide."

"Not any more," Daniel just had to add.

Fortunately, the Etherians just nodded. They were really forgiving with all the second chances they gave everyone. "Yes, we're aware of your country's past," Bow said. "But as you said, you've changed."

"Yeah. Anyway, I was told to pass along that having spaceships with big honking space guns flying in the sky could make people nervous and afraid, and that can trigger bad responses to surprises - or rumours." Jack wasn't going to mention 'bad optics', or anything like that. That would make the United States look bad.

"Ah." Adora nodded. "We don't want people to panic."

Jack almost bit his tongue to avoid pointing out that they had done a very good job at making people panic. "Sometimes, things happen that you didn't intend."

Catra snorted but didn't comment.

"We've got Mr Brown and Julie working on explaining things better," Bow said. "So people won't write us to ask things we can't do - we don't want them to get their hopes up."

Jack blinked. "You really got letters asking you to blow up a school?"

"Some ask us to go to heaven and bring back their parents," Glimmer said with a scowl.

Jack winced. He had stepped into that one. "Yeah. That's a toughie." He suppressed the sudden urge to ask if they actually could do that. If they could, they would certainly have mentioned it by now - people would do anything to get their loved ones back. Hell, Jack would do anything to get Charlie back. No! He shook his head. Dead was dead. People didn't come back from death.

Glimmer nodded. "So, we'll ask them to also explain that we're not going to invade Earth." She sighed. "They'll ask us to give another interview."

"Well…" Jack shrugged. "It makes you look approachable if you appear on TV."

"We really don't have the time to give lots of interviews," Glimmer retorted. "We've got diplomatic meetings every day."

Judging by the way the others reacted, those meetings sounded as bad as Jack thought. He didn't envy them.

"Well, your public relations people did a good job," Daniel said. "The majority of Americans support an alliance with Etheria."

And the massive and often questionable efforts of the government and the NID, of course, Jack thought. It was easier to change public opinion if your most vocal opponents happened to have all their dirty laundry exposed at the most inconvenient moment.

"Before or after we announced that we'd stop genocides no matter what country did it - or tried to use their veto in support of it?" Catra asked with a scoff.

"Actually, that stance received a lot of support from those who feel that the veto power in the United Nations Security Council should be abolished - which includes a lot of people in smaller countries," Daniel said. "Although I've only seen statistics for countries with a free press."

"You can bet that every Chinese and Russian is shocked by the implications of your new policy," Jack added with a chuckle. "Just ask their propaganda ministers."

"Russia isn't the USSR, Jack!" Daniel complained.

"Close enough," Jack shot back. They certainly weren't a free country yet. Not with so many former communists and even KGB members now in positions of power.

"Anyway, we can't cover every country - and if we only grant interviews to American journalists, we'll be accused of being biased," Glimmer said.

"It's hard enough just meeting with the diplomats and governments," Adora added. "And we need to prepare for every meeting by reading up on the country's history."

"Ah, paperwork!" Jack nodded sagely. "I feel with you. And speaking of feelings…"

Glimmer rolled her eyes. "We'll tell Priest to keep the ships out of low orbit."

That was probably the best Jack would get. Well, it was no skin off his butt, anyway. His ego wasn't so fragile that seeing ships in orbit would threaten it. Certainly not when he was already aware that far more ships were in the system. "Thank you," he said. "So… with that out of the way, and your public relations guys already gone, is there anything else official-like we need to talk about?"

"Yes." Adora sighed. "We could use some help with security for public appearances. India has invited us to restore magic on their soil next week."

"Oh." Jack blinked. He hadn't heard about that. No one had, as far as he knew.

And he had a bad feeling about this.

*****​

Indira Gandhi International Airport, National Capital Region, India, October 17th, 1998

Adora couldn't help looking around reflexively as she stepped on the ramp of the shuttle. Entrapta's scanner hadn't detected anything like a trap or an ambush, but she couldn't help worrying. There were so many people cheering and yelling, kept at bay by soldiers. So many opportunities to hide an attacker. Even after a week, Jack's lecture on sabotage and assassination was at the forefront of her mind.

Even Jack's team - with the exception of Teal'c, who had added some advice of his own, based on his experiences as First Prime - had seemed to have been taken aback a little by his obvious personal experience with all that stuff.

"Relax. The tarmac is clear," Catra said as she joined her on the ramp, walking slowly down behind Glimmer and Bow. "No bombs in range."

Her lover had been taking notes and nodding a lot during the lecture, Adora remembered. And she wasn't sure if Catra had just been concerned about defending against such attacks. Or limiting such attacks to Goa'uld.

But it had helped with the security for today's visit. Thanks to the scanner, the Indian police had already arrested three groups of people planning to attack the ceremony with bombs. And a few more had been 'dealt with' according to the Indian government when searched for weapons by the police before being allowed on the field reserved for the ceremony. Jack would be happy about the security here - the Indians had tightly locked up the entire area.

But this wasn't the time to talk about that. She nodded, forced herself to smile and kept walking toward the delegation from the Indian government. Unlike visits to other countries, the Prime Minister himself was waiting there, a big smile on his face.

"Keep an eye on his bodyguards," Catra whispered into her communicator.

Right. One Indian Prime Minister had been assassinated by her own bodyguards.

"Emily's on the job!" Entrapta replied over the channel. The two were following Adora and Catra - and Adora noticed a number of the soldiers standing guard looked a little nervous when they saw Emily. "Her force field is ready to be deployed. But she does miss her cannon."

"Poor baby," Catra muttered - sarcastically.

Adora was tempted to elbow her, but they had just reached the Indian delegation.

"Welcome to India! We are honoured and proud that you have chosen our country for this historic moment!" The man looked jovial and honestly happy. Well, he had campaigned hard for this - of all the countries, India had been the most vocal about restoring magic.

"Thank you," Glimmer replied. "We're honoured to be here."

"Yes," Adora added with a nod. "We're happy to finally return what was stolen from you." By her ancestors and in an attempt to build a super-weapon that would have devastated an entire sector. But this wasn't the time to discuss this particular subject, either. Still, it felt good to right this wrong. She might not be responsible for the actions of the First Ones, but she still felt guilty.

They exchanged handshakes and greetings with the rest of the delegation - Emily, encouraged by Entrapta, waved one of her legs, balancing on the others, which prompted some laughs from the audience and even from the Prime Minister himself.

And from some of the soldiers. Well, the ones standing guard. The ones standing at attention in the 'honour formation' didn't laugh or move at all while Adora and her friends walked past them. Adora still didn't know why practically every country on Earth had soldiers do that for state visits, but it made adapting to such visits easier.

"...and you picked a good time to visit; the monsoon has ended, and the weather is quite nice."

It was actually still quite hot and humid, but Adora nodded. And even Catra didn't complain about the effects on her fur. Her smile looked a bit more toothy, though, as they climbed into the waiting cars that would take them to the field chosen for the ceremony.

Not that an actual ceremony was necessary. Adora could have restored the magic to Earth anywhere on Earth. All it took was using She-Ra's power to remove the last remains of the First Ones 'magic shunt', as Entrapta called it. The enchantment that had siphoned off the planet's magic and still kept it from returning to Earth. They didn't know exactly where the magic was going, actually - part of it at least was used to keep the shunt in place, but the rest seemed to be vanishing into another dimension, according to Entrapta's latest theory.

It didn't matter. Soon, this would stop, and Earth's magic would be restored.

Adora smiled, both at the thought and at the people lining the street, cheering at them. After all the bloodshed on the news, it felt so good to be welcomed. To see people wanting their stolen heritage returned.

"I wonder where they put their protesters," Catra whispered while she waved herself.

Right. Not all Indians were happy with magic returning. But most were. India's Minister of External Affairs had assured them that they wouldn't be bothered by 'fanatics trying to disturb the ceremony', but he hadn't gone into details. Just that they were banned from entering the area of the visit.

"Ah, looks like they missed some," Catra said.

Adora tensed as she saw the scuffle in the distance - lots of soldiers were there, beating some people and dragging them away. Lots of other people were joining in, trying to beat them up. She winced at the sight, but they were quickly driven past the spot.

"At least the cars are armoured," Catra said.

Adora nodded. Anyone taking a shot at them would have to use a heavier weapon to threaten them - and those would show up on the scanner Hordak was currently watching from Darla. And they would have force fields at the ceremony.

Still, Adora felt a little on edge. So many people - most of the world - would be watching her. What if she botched it? If she tried to restore magic, and it didn't work… No. She had done this before. She knew how to do it. Everything would be fine.

Everything… that was a lot of people. Adora blinked.

Catra whistled. "Somehow, it looked smaller from orbit."

Adora nodded. It was like looking at a sea of people. "There must be millions of them."

"Yes."

"Well, it would look smaller from a longer distance and from a different viewing angle," Entrapta said. "But I know what you mean."

"Indeed," the Prime Minister cut in. "Every true Indian wishes to be present when our divine heritage will be returned to us."

"Except for those who think magic is evil," Catra commented.

The man frowned for a moment. "Yes. But rest assured that none of them will be present to mar this occasion. We've purged them from the guards assigned to this ceremony as well."

Oh. "Purged?" Adora asked. She had read about such purges…

"Reassigned to duties that take them away from the region," the Prime Minister explained with a slightly forced smile. "We're not barbarians."

Ah. That was reassuring. Somewhat, at least. But not overly much. As far as Adora knew, most of the people in India who didn't want magic returned were members of a religious minority. To persecute every one of them for the views of some of them…

But they had arrived now, the car slowing down as it passed a checkpoint, then drove through a narrow lane kept open by double-rows of soldiers holding back a cheering crowd. Flowers were thrown at them, and Adora flinched for a moment before she reminded herself that they were in an armoured car and would have detected any explosives in the crowd.

And there was the huge stage, where the delegations from other countries, members of the Indian government and other honourables were waiting.

More greetings followed. Many more. Adora shook hands with the Japanese Prime Minister, with familiar faces from the United Kingdom - they had sent the Crown Prince - and France, Germany and the United States, and many other people she hadn't met yet. By the time they were finally done with the greetings, the sun was high in the sky, and Catra was cursing under her breath about the heat.

And now the Indian Prime Minister was starting his speech. He was a poet of sorts, Adora had read, and well-liked - the people were cheering at almost every word - but…

"I'm growing hungry," Catra complained in a whisper.

"There's going to be food afterwards," Adora whispered back.

"I know. I can smell it in the tents behind us," Catra replied.

"And I can hear you," Gimmer hissed. "Shh!"

Adora blushed a little. She should have known better than to respond to Catra in a situation like this. She couldn't be rude to their hosts - everyone, the entire world, was looking at them!

She took a deep breath. Besides, it wouldn't be much longer - how long could the Prime Minister talk, anyway? Any minute now, he would finish, and…

Hordak's voice coming through their communicators interrupted them. "The scanners show a disturbance in a military base to the east."

"Disturbance?" Catra sat straighter, tensing up.

"Fighting. Between soldiers - they're wearing the same uniform."

"Traitors or infiltrators," Catra spat. "What's their goal?"

"The artillery park, it seems."

Adora gasped. Artillery? What was the range of the guns? Emily's force field would stop an artillery shell, even a barrage, but she couldn't cover the entire area, and if a shell struck the tightly-packed crowd…

One of the soldiers on stage was listening to his radio as well, she noticed. And looking pale.

"Who's winning?" Glimmer asked, leaning over. No need any more to care about how it looked - more soldiers were moving now, as well as bodyguards.

"It looks like the attackers are winning," Hordak said.

Adora blinked. How long would it take them to aim a cannon at the field here? A few minutes, probably, if they had ammunition and a trained gun crew. That had been Horde standard.

"They're attacking the magazines as well," Hordak reported.

That was… Adora clenched her teeth.

"Are we in range of their guns?" Glimmer asked.

"According to our data, yes," Entrapta said, staring at her tool. "Emily can stop the shells from hitting us, but she can't protect everyone here."

Like Adora had thought. This was…

"Hordak, stop them!" Glimmer snapped.

"Fire!"

A moment later, Adora saw a beam strike the ground in the distance, followed by explosions. And then an entire volley of beams struck. And more explosions followed, dust forming columns of smoke that billowed up.

Orbital support, she realised - they had trained for that. But secondary explosions? In the Indian Army base?

"The attackers are dead," Hordak reported. "There was some collateral damage as the magazines were neutralised."

Adora wasn't listening any more. She was staring at the crowd in front of her. The people were panicking. Screaming. Pushing against each other and the soldiers as they tried to run away from the explosions. She saw a soldier being overrun, people trampling over him, heard more screams, saw a little girl stumble and fall, and a man step on her…

She gasped. The crowd, the sea of people, was going crazy. And soldiers were moving in front of the stage, brandishing weapons. Trying to protect the Prime Minister and his guests with lethal force.

"No!" she yelled, standing up. Raising her arm. Summoning her sword.

"For the Honour of Grayskull!"

A familiar rush filled her. Her armour formed. She was She-Ra, Princess of Power!

The people around her - those who didn't know her - stopped and stared. But that wasn't enough. The crowd was still panicking. People were being hurt. People were dying.

She stabbed her sword upwards and focused. On her power. On her magic. Reaching out to that familiar pattern. Connecting.

For a moment, everything turned white as the magic of the planet ran through her. She almost screamed. There was so much, it was so hard, so…

And flicked her sword. Cutting the pattern. It was like popping a balloon. One moment, she felt like she was about to burst from the power filling her. The next, the pressure was gone.

Mostly. She was still glowing brightly with power. With magic. Blazing.

She turned, looking at the crowd. The hurt and the dying. The panicking and the crying.

Adora raised her sword, then brought it down.

And a wave of magic burst from her blade, sweeping over the crowd. A wave large enough to cover the entire area as she turned.

Healing.

Soothing.

Earth's magic. Used for the first time in a thousand years.

*****​
 
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Chapter 48: The Magic Question Part 4
Chapter 48: The Magic Question Part 4

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 17th, 1998

"We're tracking six frigates in orbit above the Indian subcontinent. They're holding positions."

"No further weapon fire detected."

"Six more frigates are in a holding pattern over the northern hemisphere."

"Five minutes until our next satellite is in position to cover the area of impact."

Samantha Carter blinked at the reports from the other officers in the command centre even as she continued to analyse the data from all the sensors networked with her mainframe. They should have satellites in place already… Oh. She pressed her lips together. The United States had satellites in place already. But Stargate Command didn't control them - or had access to them. Not any more. They had to make do with the satellites transferred to Stargate Command.

"What do you have for us, Carter?" The Colonel was leaning over her desk.

"I'm still cross-checking the sensor data, sir," she replied. "But so far, it looks like a limited bombardment. Precision strikes with standard laser weapons from low orbit."

"Precision strikes?" He raised his eyebrows, then looked at the TV screen in the back, where a mushroom-shaped cloud was visible in the distance.

"Those are secondary detonations," she told him - as if he didn't know it already. "The Etherians must have hit the magazines of the base." She hit a few keys, checking the most recent satellite image - which was still not up to date. But the intel report… "Artillery and tank shells were stored at the base," she said.

"And the terrorists would've gone for them so they could use the captured artillery pieces." The Colonel nodded. "And so our magical space princesses blew the base up."

"The magazine was surrounded by revetments," she informed him. "Its explosion should not have destroyed the entire base." They would know more as soon as the satellite finally reached its intended position.

Sam really missed the Air Force Stargate Command and its resources. Having to rely on CNN for real-time intel was a shame. She bit her lower lip. She might not know the access codes for the US satellites any more. But she knew how to get them - which cache memory to access and how. This was a global emergency, wasn't it? Maybe… She blinked, then sighed. She had better alternatives.

"One moment, sir!" she told the Colonel and pulled her phone out.

He didn't make a joke about texting or ordering pizza. Which was kind of reassuring - the Colonel joked and quipped the most when the situation was desperate.

"What are you doing?" And here came Sidorov.

Sam suppressed a sigh as she turned to face the General. "Getting more information, General." She called Entrapta.

"Sam! How are you doing?"

Her friend didn't sound as if she was in danger. Or concerned. But that was Entrapta. "How are you doing?" Sam asked. "We received reports of an orbital bombardment."

"Oh. Yes, Hordak had to destroy the guns and ammunition before they were turned against us. Emily could've protected us, but not everyone else. But we're fine now! And the panic has stopped!"

"Who are you talking to?" Sidorov snarled.

"Princess Entrapta," Sam told him - as if it wasn't obvious. "The situation seems to be under control."

"Under whose control? The aliens'?"

"Well, they have all those ships in orbit," the Colonel cut in.

Sidorov glared at him, then turned back to Sam. "Are they landing troops?"

"Who is that yelling in the background? We aren't invading, by the way. Hordak is just a bit protective."

A little? Compared to Priest, maybe, Sam thought. "So you are safe?"

"Yes, everyone here is safe. I think. The soldiers here didn't start fighting each other."

"How reassuring," the Colonel said with a snort.

Sam didn't smile. India was in a special situation, with significant parts of their Muslim minority opposing magic, not helped by a nationalist Hindu party controlling the government, but the United States had their share of religious fanatics with similar views. Probably in the armed forces as well.

"Yes! Anyway, I'm not sure if the ceremony will continue, but there's no fighting here."

Sam smiled wryly. "Yes, I doubt the festivities will just go on as planned."

"Does this mean that magic won't be restored?" General Petit had arrived with the rest of the generals in tow.

Entrapta must have heard him. "Oh, no, Adora already did that. She used the excess magic to heal the wounded here."

"That was the light show on CNN," the Colonel said.

"What? They already did it?" Sidorov bellowed.

Sam narrowed her eyes. "My report clearly stated that, according to the Etherians, restoring a planet's magic doesn't take She-Ra longer than a few minutes." Did anyone actually read her reports through?

"Or faster if there's artillery fire incoming," the Colonel added.

A beeping noise alerted Sam to the incoming satellite footage. She put it on the big screen. And winced.

The base wasn't entirely destroyed. But the magazine and the parked guns were gone. Presumably with everyone in the vicinity. There were survivors amongst the soldiers, as far as she could tell. And some would just have been wounded.

But she didn't think there would be too many of those. Not where the lasers had struck. Or near the explosions.

"The Indians won't be happy about that," the Colonel said.

Sam nodded in agreement.

*****​

National Capital Region, India, October 17th, 1998

The orbital bombardment had stopped, but smoke was still rising on the horizon. At least the target was destroyed, so there shouldn't be any more… Ah, no, there was another secondary explosion. Even Catra's ringing ears - why did crowds have to be so loud? - caught the sound.

She bared her teeth as another smoke cloud rose, this one tinted with red and orange. Probably a fuel depot - Entrapta had explained that this was how fuel explosions looked when they had watched one of Earth's action movies and wondered about the blasts.

"I think their damage control isn't any better than their security," she commented. First, a mutiny, now this… She looked at the crowd around the stage. Most of them looked stunned. Blinking and patting themselves down. One man in a bloody shirt was holding his nose as if he couldn't believe it was still there.

Well, that was Adora's healing magic for you. Catra knew the feeling better than anyone else.

Next to her, Adora sighed, closing her eyes and staggering a little.

Catra grabbed her arm and steadied her.

"Thanks," Adora whispered, taking a deep, shivering breath before standing tall again.

"Anytime," Catra whispered back. She wouldn't let her lover down.

She looked around. The Indian soldiers had used the shock from Adora's magic to form a square around the stage, three lines deep. Others were surrounding the Prime Minister - and arguing. The man didn't want to leave the stage. He wasn't the only one - the British Crown Prince was also still on the stage, although Catra could barely spot him behind the two massive men standing in front of him. Not nearly as tall as Scorpia, of course, but She-Ra wouldn't tower much over them.

But other dignitaries had been dragged off by their security detail; Catra saw cars still rushing off.

"I do not detect any more hostilities," Hordak reported through their comm channel. "The fleet is on standby."

Good. Catra wasn't sure if the danger was over. She straightened, facing the nearest guards. They couldn't look weak. Not surrounded by such a crowd, and right after they had turned a local army base into a crater. Sure, the base had been about to be overrun, and if the mutineers had used the artillery there, they would have caused a massacre, but people didn't like you blowing up their bases no matter your reason.

"So much for their security," Glimmer muttered.

"Why did they have artillery here, anyway? We're not even near their border with Pakistan," Bow asked.

"They must have been fearing an invasion from orbit," Glimmer told him.

"But we're guarding the system." Bow blinked. "And those guns wouldn't do anything against our ships."

"They probably weren't aware of that." Glimmer shrugged. She still looked angry.

"But we told them about our capability when we discussed the security for this, didn't we?" Entrapta asked.

"We did," Catra said, baring her teeth. "But they probably didn't really believe us. Or they just felt better with their biggest guns around."

Glimmer chuckled, and Entrapta looked confused, but before Catra could explain her comment, the Prime Minister walked towards them, pushing a particularly stubborn security guard out of the way.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"We stopped a terrorist attack," Catra replied. She managed not to sneer.

"You destroyed a base of ours!" another man snapped. He was listening to a radio. Right - Catra remembered that he had been introduced as India's defence minister or whatever his exact title was.

"The base was taken over, and they tried to use the artillery there," Glimmer told him. "Did you want us to let them shell us here?" She pointed at the crowd.

"Emily can't cover everyone here with her shield," Entrapta added. She still was too open with military information, in Catra's opinion. "We would have been fine, probably, but if they missed us, the shells would have struck the crowd."

"And that would have been a massacre," Adora said.

"You killed our soldiers!" the minister protested.

"They were mutineers," Catra retorted. "And about to take the guns."

"We had it under control!"

"Yeah, right - we saw it from orbit. Your soldiers had already lost." Catra sneered.

"We weren't about to wait until they shot at us here - at everyone here - before stopping them," Glimmer said. "We're sorry about the dead loyal soldiers, but we had no choice."

"You could have…"

The Prime Minister interrupted the man. "I didn't mean that." He looked at Adora. "What did you do here? With your magic?"

Oh.

She glanced at Adora. Her lover straightened, towering over everyone but the two British bodyguards. "I restored magic to Earth. And then I healed everyone," she said with a slow nod.

"Everyone?" the Prime Minister asked.

And Adora winced, suddenly looking embarrassed. "Well… everyone present in the area. I couldn't exactly limit the healing magic to just the wounded, and there was a lot of magic available, so I just healed everyone here."

"Everyone?" the Minister of Defence asked.

It has to be stupidity, Catra thought - if he were hard of hearing, Adora would have cured it.

And, of course, her lover was too nice to just call the man out for it and explained again: "Everyone I could see here, well, figuratively - even if they were in the middle of the crowd, I could heal them. It's more a figure of speech."

"We haven't much data for targeting healing spells," Entrapta cut in. "Usually, it's either aimed at a single person or a clearly defined area effect. She-Ra's magic is kinda an exception."

"Sorry if you would rather have stayed wounded or sick," Catra added with a toothy smile. "But saving lives was more important."

"But the healing was safe?" the Prime Minister asked.

"Yes." Adora nodded firmly. "I controlled the magic. So there won't be any side effects - I just healed you."

"That won't bring back our dead!" the Minister of Defence spat, still holding his radio. "The base was wiped out! Hundreds of our soldiers are dead!"

"Does that include the mutineers?" Catra asked.

"Catra!" Adora hissed.

"Just asking," Catra said, shrugging. "It must be hard to sort out the mutineers from the loyal soldiers if all were wearing the same uniform."

"We know how many soldiers were stationed at the base."

"Ah."

Glimmer took a step forward. "We're sorry about your losses, but we couldn't let the mutineers take control of your artillery."

"Yes." Adora nodded. "I can heal your wounded soldiers, but I cannot raise the dead."

"Thank you," the Prime Minister said. "It was a very difficult situation, but…"

Loud yelling from the crowd behind them interrupted him. He turned, frowning. "What are they…?"

"I can see! I can see!"

"It's a miracle!"

"I can see again!"

Catra narrowed her eyes at a man walking towards the line of soldiers, the crowd parting before him. He was surrounded by crying people and holding a white staff above his head.

The Prime Minister blinked. "You gave him back his eyesight?"

Catra rolled her eyes. "Adora healed every one of everything," she said.

"Of illnesses and wounds, cancerous tumours and accumulated microdamage over the course of your life," Entrapta said.

More people were screaming and yelling. Catra saw one man stand on shaking legs but raising a wheelchair over his head while he cried.

The Prime Minister seemed to freeze for a moment, then quickly bent his knees, straightening up. "I feel no pain," he said. "It's as if I were young again. Is… Is this permanent?"

Entrapta spoke before anyone else could say anything. "Well, as permanent as healing - you're not hurt or hurting any more, but you can still get hurt again. You're just very healthy right now. You're not immortal if you wondered about that."

He laughed. Then he blinked again. "And you did this to everyone here?"

Adora nodded.

He smiled widely, then bowed. "Thank you very much."

The Minister of Defence was staring at them, his mouth half-open, as all around them, the diplomats and dignitaries started to talk to each other. They sounded excited.

"Well, that's one crisis averted," Bow said behind Catra.

She turned and glared at him. "Bow!"

"What?" He looked confused.

"Don't jinx it!"

"But…"

"We've started a bigger crisis," Glimmer mumbled. "Look at the crowd!"

Catra did. The people - even some of the soldiers - were staring at the stage. At She-Ra. Smiling. Crying. And…

"What are they doing?" Adora asked.

Catra snorted.

Praying. They were praying to She-Ra.

"They're worshipping you," she told her lover.

"Oh no!" Adora shook her head.

"That might actually be a good thing," Catra said. "Priest is less likely to attack a country full of people worshipping you."

Adora glared at her, but Glimmer and Bow nodded.

Entrapta was busy scanning the crowd.

And Catra looked at the mass of journalists and their cameras. Earth would know, or knew already, what She-Ra's magic could do.

She cursed under her breath.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 17th, 1998

"...and many are calling this a true miracle, although the Etherians' press release stated that this was merely 'high-level healing magic powered by a unique build-up of magic'. Are those merely semantics, or is this a meaningful difference? We have invited experts on…"

"...of Pakistan denied any ties or responsibility to the mutineers who attempted to attack the Restoration Ceremony in India, yet…"

"...police and military forces have been deployed to prevent violence as many Hindus are blaming all Muslims for the attack despite the Prime Minister himself speaking out against this and calling for all Indians to remain peaceful and celebrate the return of magic 'despite the brutal and bloody terrorist attack', as he called today's incident…"

"...reports of hundreds of thousands of Indians being healed of all ailments haven't been confirmed by independent agencies. Her Majesty's Government declined to comment on the status of the Crown Prince, who was present and presumably affected, but…"

"...and the reverend called the event in India 'a hoax and a transparent attempt to deceive the faithful with trickery and sorcery', claiming that 'only God can heal people, and no heathen would receive His grace'. He also called on 'all true Christians' to be on guard against witchcraft, and…"

"...an ambulance had to be called for a self-declared witch who hurt herself repeatedly attempting to cast a spell that supposedly required her own blood. A request for clarification whether or not this was real magic has not yet been answered by the Etherians, but we'll keep…"

"...and while the government declined to comment, experts are concerned about the Etherians' use of orbital bombardment in response to a terrorist attack. Will other countries suffer the same fate? Will we see city blocks melting under a hail of laser fire from space in response to a bomb threat? Does the military have the capability to respond to or prevent such attacks? The public has a right to know, and here at…"

"...of the Vatican declined to comment on the issue and…"

"...more than a dozen were killed when the military fired on the mob attacking the Indian embassy…"

"...reports of soldiers exchanging fire at the border in Kashmir have not been confirmed yet, but the militaries of both countries have been put on alert, and…"

"...far, there have been no confirmed reports of magic despite the Etherians' claims, so there is growing doubt that…"

"...the Indian government hasn't released any casualty numbers yet, but hundreds of soldiers were stationed at the destroyed base, so conservative estimates…"

"...in Tehran claimed that the fire that destroyed an entire apartment building was caused by magic and not negligence, stating that a suspect had already been arrested and would…"

"...the number of suicides by people afraid that the return of magic would imperil their souls might be low overall, but our government cannot ignore this. These people need help, and we demand…"

"...and shrines to She-Ra have already been erected at various locations, even outside the National Capital Region, as grateful people offer their prayer in thanks. However, we have received reports that there have been disputes over the question of whether She-Ra, the Princess of Power, is a goddess in her own right or the latest incarnation of an established goddess such as Shitala Mata or Parvati, and…"

"...the Shinto temples saw far more visitors than expected following the events in India, although no magic has yet been confirmed…"

"...a sangoma claiming to be able to heal has caused a riot in Capetown, forcing the authorities to intervene…"

Jack O'Neill shook his head. The world was going crazy over magic. And over the orbital bombardment that the Etherians had conducted - the Pentagon was in an uproar. He snorted. The brass really shouldn't be surprised; SG-1 had told them what a single Ha'tak could do, and the Etherians had tons of ships that, according to Carter, outclassed a Ha'tak. And yet, it had taken an actual orbital strike for the generals to take it seriously? The politicians were worse, though. Some were already demanding that the United States start building spaceships right now.

And all because a bunch of terrorists managed to take over a military base at the worst possible moment. He felt a bit guilty about that - he had mentioned that possibility when he had talked about security with the Etherians, but he had considered it a very low risk. Teach me to overestimate the Indians, he thought. Well, that couldn't be helped now. The Etherians had revealed their military power - part of it - and what magic could do. And the world wasn't exactly ready for it.

"...and here, in Salem, hundreds of witches are celebrating the return of magic with a broom race. Although, apparently, the start has been delayed while the coven organising the race is debating whether or not pointy hats or helmets should be worn. Until they sort it out, we'll be watching the curse competition going on. Ugh! I just stepped on a frog!"

He blinked at the latest segment. What the hell? That was… Jack narrowed his eyes. "OK, who's the joker who put up Saturday Night Live on the screen?" he yelled through the control room.

One of the new Warrant Officers spoke up: "Sorry, sir! The algorithm must have selected this because of the magic keyword."

Jack glanced at Carter.

"There are search algorithms, sir, but the final selection is made by an officer," she answered his unspoken question.

Which meant that someone had either thought it would be funny to slip in a comedy show or hadn't noticed that this was a comedy sketch and not an actual news report. Jack hoped it was the former - they could need some laughs right now.

"Colonel O'Neill? Captain Carter?"

Jack turned. That was General Haig's aide. "Yes?"

"Your presence is requested."

Oh, damn! Just what he had been waiting for: A meeting with the brass at almost midnight.

Jack sighed.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 18th, 1998

"...and that is our estimate of the firepower the Horde frigate brought to bear against the Indian base. Although we cannot say whether or not they have used their maximum firepower or held back to avoid collateral damage. We are tracking the frigates in high and low orbit."

Carter sounded slightly annoyed, in Jack O'Neill's opinion. Not because it was now past midnight, but because she didn't like repeating what she had already reported - or what was obvious to anyone who could read a radar screen. Which, admittedly, wasn't everyone. Still, she usually hid her annoyance better. She must be tired as well.

"How much time will we have to react should they decide to strike at Stargate Command?"

Or just fed up with Sidorov's paranoid questions.

"None, General," Carter replied. "By the time our sensors register their weapons firing, they have already struck the surface."

"I mean, how quickly can they move into a firing position?" The Russian glared at her.

"That depends on the angle from which they want to fire downwards and their position relative to us. A few minutes at most." Carter was using her 'I want to roll my eyes at you' voice - Jack was very familiar with it.

"And we're not going to sound the alert every time they pass overhead or appear on the horizon. I, for one, like to sleep sometime," General Petit added with a grin.

Carter smiled as well, even though, as far as jokes went, that one had been old when Jack had been born.

"We don't have the capability to stop the Etherians from striking any spot on Earth," General Li summed up what everyone with half a brain would have known on the day the Etherians showed up.

"Yes, General," Carter confirmed.

"Thank you, Captain Carter," General Haig said. "This matches our own estimate."

Jack refrained from sighing loudly. Was this just a cover-your-ass meeting? Did they need SG-1's official statement to inform their respective governments?

"With that settled," the limey went on, "there remains the question of magic."

Jack clenched his teeth. That really wasn't a subject he wanted to talk about at midnight. Or at all.

"I am afraid that I am no expert on magic, General," Carter tried to avoid this.

"You're the best we have, Captain," Haig retorted. "You have the most experience with magic and magitech at Stargate Command."

Or on Earth, Jack added for himself.

"Yes, sir."

"So… is there a way to tell whether magic was restored to Earth or not?" General Li asked.

Carter frowned. "The Etherians said so, sir."

Sidorov scoffed. Loudly.

Jack narrowed his eyes at the Russian. "In my experience, they wouldn't lie about this," he said. "And why would they lie in the first place?"

"They could attempt to deceive us into believing that magic has returned, making us waste time and money trying to control it while leaving us unable to defend ourselves against their magic!"

Jack sighed. Yes, the Russian general was as paranoid as ever. "As we just concluded, we are already unable to defend Earth against their fleet, General."

Hammond was frowning at him, but Jack didn't care. Carter was his subordinate. She wouldn't have to face inane questions from a paranoid Russian if he could help it.

"That would be an open attack, which would reveal their aggression," Sidorov spat. "But with magic, they could strike far more subtly. Without magic of our own, we cannot defend against that!"

Well, that was theoretically possible, but the Etehrians wouldn't even dream of doing that - Jack knew them.

"Without restoring magic, the Etherians are limited to magitech, minor inherent effects such as Entrapta's hair control and Adora's powers," Carter cut in. "They cannot use teleportation or spells."

"That's what they claim!"

"General." Haig didn't sound annoyed, but his meaning was clear, and the Russian glared at him before leaning back with a huff and crossing his arms over his chest. Haig looked at Carter. "But can you confirm that we currently have no way to detect whether or not Earth has magic?"

"Except for observing a magical effect that is not the result of magitech, no sir."

"Ah." Haig nodded.

Petit spoke up: "And what can you tell us about the 'healing' Adora did, Colonel O'Neill? According to your file, you were healed by her."

Jack clenched his teeth for a moment, remembering the moment he had almost died and was healed. Then he pushed the memories away and shrugged. "She points her sword at you, and magic heals you."

"A few more details would be appreciated, Colonel." The Frenchman kept smiling at him.

"I'm sorry, but those details are classified." Jack smiled back. "That happened before the United Nations took control of Stargate Command." Hammond didn't look happy but wasn't frowning at Jack, he noted.

"And you can't or won't elaborate on the detailed effect said healing had on you," Haig said.

Jack spread his hands. "Sorry, sir."

"From the information that we gathered so far, the healing magic is not limited to specific injuries and doesn't seem to discriminate," General Li said. "You are remarkably fit for your age, Colonel."

"Good living," Jack replied with a fake smile. So, they knew about that.

"Is there any way we could ask the Etherians to duplicate this feat at Stargate Command, should we suffer casualties?" General Haig asked. "Or would they be willing to restore the health of soldiers who have been medically discharged?"

Adora would heal pretty much everyone in need, Jack was sure of that. But her friends wouldn't let her heal everyone and burn out. "I don't know, sir," he replied.

"I think her services will be in high demand," General Petit stated the obvious.

And a lot of people would probably regret not having attended the event in India. Still… this was a problem for the Etherians.

Petit seemed to be about to say something else, but the door was opened, and an aide stepped in. "I'm sorry for the interruption, sir," he told Haig. "But I think you should see the latest news from the BBC." He barely waited for the general to nod before pointing a remote at the screen in the meeting room.

"...reporting directly from Stonehenge, where the police have had to disperse a crowd of people wishing to see magic return, we haven't noticed anything unusual so far, yet we… What's that? The stones are glowing. They are glowing! Is this a trick? I don't see any spotlights, and… yes, the light is coming directly from the stones, as the shadows prove. Oh, here are the police coming towards us…"

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, October 18th, 1998

"The United Nations are holding a special session to discuss 'the incident involving orbital bombardment' and invited us to attend and answer questions."

Adora frowned at Glimmer's words. "They don't want to talk about magic?" That had been the topic the United Nations had wanted to talk about for weeks, after all.

"That's the subject of another special session," her friend replied. "But they apparently want to talk about us blowing up terrorists first." She would know - she'd been talking to diplomats since she had woken up.

"And an Indian army base," Catra, sitting next to Adora in Darla's lounge, added. "Don't forget that."

Glimmer clenched her teeth. "The Indian Prime Minister said they understood our decision."

"That doesn't mean that he liked it," Catra shot back. "They lost too many soldiers to just forget it."

Adora nodded in agreement. You couldn't just ignore such losses. Those soldiers had families. Friends.

"They were already being killed by the mutineers," Glimmer retorted. "We had no choice."

"Yes. But not everyone will see it that way," Bow said. "Some journalists complain that we didn't ask the Prime Minister before firing on the base."

Adora had watched the same news. But Bow had been compiling the news from various channels.

Glimmer snorted. "Most of them are trying to use this to attack the Indian government so they can replace it. And what if we had asked and he wouldn't have given permission fast enough to react? Or not at all? They would have blamed us for the massacre those guns would have caused. And if we had shot at the base anyway, we would have made the Prime Minister and his country look powerless."

"They are powerless," Catra said.

"Yes, but it would be rude to rub their noses in it." Glimmer shook her head.

"We were rude anyway, though," Bow said. "There was no good solution."

"It could have been worse," Glimmer said. "At least from the military angle," she added with a glance at Adora.

Right. Adora closed her eyes and sighed. The orbital bombardment was only one part of their problems. The other part was Earth's reaction to magic. To magical healing. To She-Ra.

"Speaking of magic…" Bow trailed off, and Adora didn't need to open her eyes to know he was grimacing.

"How many want me to heal them?" she asked, slumping forward.

"Many," Bow told her. "There are complaints that we acted unfairly by healing Indians and demands that we repeat the healing in every country."

"What?" Catra hissed. "Who's demanding that?"

"Mostly individuals being interviewed," Bow said. "We haven't received formal requests."

That was good. Adora couldn't heal everyone - and she couldn't repeat what she had done n India. The magic she had used had been part of the blocked magic. "We need to tell them that I can't use that kind of magic normally."

"Yes," Catra agreed. "Too bad we can't tell them that you can't heal at all."

Adora sighed again. She couldn't heal everyone - she knew that. It was impossible. There were simply too many people on Earth. Too many sick and dying people. She could heal some, though. But how to pick who got healed and who didn't? It was unfair to only heal a few lucky ones, but to not heal anyone at all sounded… wrong.

"Well, once their own sorceresses learn how to heal people, that shouldn't be a problem any more," Entrapta said.

"That will take years," Glimmer pointed out. "And we don't know how that works with Earth's magic."

"Well, we know they have some magical sites and probably items," Entrapta said. "There are glowing stones in England! They aren't runestones, I checked - that would have been neat."

"It also would have made us look like liars after Glimmer told them that magic won't result in princesses ruling countries." Catra snorted.

Glimmer glared at her. "I told them what we knew. And I was right - they don't have runestones."

"But they have glowing stones." Catra grinned.

Adora sighed and gently squeezed her lover's thigh. "And I guess the British want to know what is going there?"

"Yes." Bow nodded. "They are concerned since they don't know what the stone ring - Stonehenge - did before magic vanished."

"They don't have records from the time before?" Glimmer narrowed her eyes.

"Apparently not." Bow shrugged. "There's speculation that the records were destroyed by some of their priests since the stone circle was older than their religion, but no one knows for sure." He sounded almost angry at that.

Well, he was the son of two historians.

"And they want us to come and examine the ring?" Entrapta sounded delighted.

"It won't be the only such site," Bow pointed out. "They might expect us to examine every magical location on Earth."

And that would take too much time, probably. Not that Entrapta seemed to mind - she nodded enthusiastically. "Imagine the data!"

"The United Kingdom is allied with us. So, we can help them without having to help everyone else," Glimmer said. "But we should keep an eye out for other locations. Just in case they turn out to be dangerous."

"Yes," Adora agreed.

"Yes." Bow nodded. "Anyway, so far, there haven't been any confirmed reports of Earth sorceresses working magic. But a lot of unconfirmed reports."

Carta scoffed. "Fools."

Adora frowned. "They might not have forgotten their entire magical tradition. Some lore might have survived." And would be working now.

"Yes. But I don't think actual sorceresses would want to reveal themselves right now," Bow went on with a wince. "Witch hunts have grown worse with magic returned."

Adora winced as well. She wanted to say they should stop those, but… If they started to intervene for such crimes, where would they stop?

"Any witch hunts organised by a country's government?" Glimmer asked.

"Well, none that have led to anyone being executed so far," Bow said.

"The cowards don't want to risk another orbital strike," Catra said with a scoff.

"Then it's not an urgent issue." Glimmer shook her head. "We have countries calling us returning magic an aggressive act and trying to get the United Nations to condemn us for it."

"They did that before we returned magic," Catra pointed out.

Glimmer nodded. "Yes. But now that magic is back, the situation changed. And that we had to destroy the base isn't helping - some countries claim that's an act of war."

"Great." Catra bared her fangs. "Now that they have realised we can destroy them from orbit, they're growing even more aggressive? How have those idiots survived all those wars of theirs?"

Adora didn't point out that Catra hadn't exactly rolled over either on the occasions that she had been caught on the backfoot during the war. "They're afraid," she said instead.

"Well, they should be afraid."

"We don't want even more enemies." Glimmer shook her head. "I'll be meeting with the United Nations to explain that we just defended ourselves."

"Yes." Adora nodded. "And I can explain about magical healing."

Glimmer was wincing. Bow as well. And Catra… was shaking her head. "No," her lover said, "I don't think you should appear in public on Earth for a while."

Bow nodded. "Yes. People are putting up shrines and temples for you."

"And others are burning dolls that look like you," Catra added.

Adora opened her mouth, then closed it again. "I am no goddess!" she spat after a moment.

"Well…" Catra grinned, then grew serious when Adora glared at her. This wasn't the time for jokes about this!

"Actually," Bow said, "you do fit the definition of most gods on Earth. Not the most popular god, though."

"Right now, at least. You look much better than that god," Catra said.

Adora pinched her thigh in retaliation, making her yelp. This really wasn't a joking matter!

"Anyway, I think you should limit your visits to Stargate Command," Bow said. "Or discreet visits to other places. Nothing official."

Glimmer nodded. "The Swiss sounded very concerned when they asked if you planned to visit the United Nations."

Great. Adora clenched her teeth. Because of that stupidity, she couldn't even help Glimmer sort out the mess she had caused?

"Or you can help Sam and us working with magitech!" Entrapta suggested. "We should be creating a magic scanner - a scanner to detect magic."

"That should lay some of the irrational fears about magic to rest," Hordak said.

Before Adora could say anything in response, Darla patched a call through to the screen in the lounge.

"Your Divine Highness!"

It was Priest. Adora wanted to scream. "Priest," she managed to reply while he was bowing. "This isn't another request for a preemptive strike against those countries that don't like us, is it?"

"Ah, no, Your Divine Highness." Priest beamed at her. "Your command was as clear as it was gracious. No, this is a request to help Earth in this time of crisis! In your divine name, of course."

Adora blinked. "What help… what do you want to do?"

"Now that the humans have finally also seen the light and are worshipping Your Divine Highness, we wish to help your new faithful!" He nodded. "You asked us not to deploy the Holy Legion to convert the humans - peacefully, of course! - for political reasons, but surely, now that they have seen the light and are spreading your holy message themselves, the situation has changed?"

Adora managed not to scream. But it was a near thing.

*****​
 
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Chapter 49: The Magic Question Part 5
Chapter 49: The Magic Question Part 5

Stonehenge, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, Earth, October 19th, 1998

"Welcome to Stonehenge! I'm James Mason, and this is Major Smythe-Cranston."

The British official - in tweed like the cliche - looked more cheerful than Samantha Carter had expected someone to look faced with an unidentified magical phenomenon. Perhaps he was just relieved that help had arrived to find out what was going on. At least the officer next to him looked properly stiff when he nodded at them.

"Thank you," she told them.

"We're so happy to be here!" Entrapta said, her hair waving. "This is so interesting! The first expression of native Earth magic!" She blinked. "Well, the first that we know off! I can't wait to analyse everything here!"

"You don't have something like it on Etheria?" Mason asked.

"Nothing that looks like it - but depending on what it is, we might have something similar. Although we won't know exactly what until we finish our examination. At least I think we can exclude the possibility that this is an ancient superweapon's charging chamber - the readings don't match at all."

Mason's smile turned rather brittle, and the major tensed even more. "I'm happy to hear this. I wasn't aware this was a possibility."

"Well, it's theoretically possible but unlikely. Even if Earth had a magical superweapon, it would need a long time to charge," Entrapta went on. "I bet this is something very different."

"Ah… the most prevalent theory, before the return of magic, was that it was an ancient astronomical observatory or a religious site," Mason said.

"That would be boring." Entrapta cocked her head with a slight pout. "It would be far more interesting if it were some portal or beacon related to another dimension!"

"We'll inform you as soon as we find out anything," Sam told the two men. "Unless you have anything else to discuss…?"

"No, I think we're set here," Mason said. "We'll be at the local headquarters if you need anything. You can reach us over the radio, I believe."

"Yes." Sam watched them leave. Obviously, they didn't want to remain any longer on site as they had to. Or they had orders to leave the Etherians to their work.

And speaking of work, it was time to unload their instruments. Sam followed Entrapta up the ramp to pick up the scanners and other gear.

If Sam needed a reminder of how much her life had changed in the last three months, it would be the fact that as a member of the United Nations Stargate Command, she was part of an Etherian mission to England on behalf of Her Majesty's Government to investigate Stonehenge for its magical properties. And, of course, that a few hundred police officers, as well as two companies of British soldiers, had cordoned off the entire area to keep thousands of civilians from storming the place.

"I miss the secrecy," she mumbled as she stepped out of the shuttle.

"What?" Entrapta paused at the bottom of the ramp.

"Nothing," Sam replied. She looked at the line of soldiers and police in the distance. "Just…"

"Oh, we should be safe here," Entrapta said. "We have six frigates overhead, and Darla should also soon be on the way from Geneva." She frowned. "I don't know why Glimmer had to attend the United Nations session about orbital bombardment. Hordak volunteered to answer any technical questions they had."

"I think it's not just technical questions that they want answered," Sam told her as she arrived at the bottom of the ramp as well.

"Oh? But we already told them all about our rules of engagement," Entrapta said. "Who would expect us not to defend ourselves?" Before Sam could answer that question, she went on: "Of course, technically, we were defending the people attending the ceremony since even in the worst case, we were pretty safe thanks to Emily's shield, but I think that's covered as well." She shrugged.

"I think people didn't expect how you would defend yourself," Sam said.

"That's weird. We told them about the ships. And that they have the capability to fire from orbit at targets on the ground. And they had your report as well covering the use of Naquadah-enhanced bombs, where we used lasers to leave a message in the ground."

Sam remembered that. She sighed. "My report was classified, I believe." Not that everyone who should read her reports did it with the attention they deserved, anyway.

"Oh. I forgot about that." Entrapta sighed as well. "How are people supposed to make decisions if they lack the data to fully understand the situation?"

"People rarely have all the information they need for their decisions," Sam replied. "So, they make the best decisions they can think of. Or should." She hesitated a moment. "And not everyone has the same view of a situation. Some people will value short-term benefits over long-term benefits. Or consider harming their own people acceptable if they personally profit."

"Well, they shouldn't get elected in that case. Or reelected," Entrapta said. "Isn't that the advantage of a democratic system? That you can replace such leaders without a coup?"

Sam sighed again. "Not every voter knows enough to make an informed decision." You almost never had the complete picture of a situation, anyway.

"Oh." Entrapta frowned. "That seems like a pretty bad flaw of the system."

"On the other hand, without a democracy, you don't even have the option to peacefully remove a leader who values their own profit more than their people." Sam managed not to scowl. There were reasons that monarchies had been replaced with democracies.

"That's true as well," Entrapta said, nodding.

Sam reminded herself that Entrapta wasn't one to argue a point if she thought it was supported by logic and data.

"So… let's set up our scanners. Glimmer and the others should arrive shortly," Entrapta said. "Emily, are you hooked up to our sensor network?"

The bot beeped affirmatively.

"Great! So, we'll be very safe here." Entrapta walked over to the outer stone ring.

Sam followed her. In daylight, the stones were barely glowing, but it was still noticeable. At least it wasn't harmful radiation, as their scan from orbit had shown. Just normal light with a blue tint. Of course, that didn't mean the site was harmless - if the light was of magical origin, and their scans had also hinted strongly at that, then anything could be possible here - no one really knew what Earth magic could and would do.

For a moment, Sam wished the Colonel were present. He had wanted to come, but he had been stuck in meetings all day. And with the Etherians present, and the Colonel's lack of magical skill or experience, he wouldn't have been of any use here. Despite his talent for magic, as far as they knew.

Sam wasn't sure how she felt about that. The Colonel was one of the best officers she knew. Having him spend his time learning magic - provided they found a teacher or sources - would leave Stargate Command bereft of his experience and leadership. On the other hand, of those she would trust with magic, he was at the top of the list. But it was his decision - or should be.

She started setting up the crystal array for a scanner while Entrapta did the same on the other side of the ring. Shortly before they had finished, Emily announced the arrival of Darla - Sam knew those signals by heart now.

And here came Darla, engines lighting up as she came to a stop above them. After hovering for a moment - probably to scan the area for threats - she started descending.

Sam noticed the ship's force fields expanding slightly to cover the entire site before the ramp was lowered. Unless someone had buried explosives underneath them - and somehow fooled their scanners - they were now safer than anywhere else on Earth.

Then the rest of the Etherians appeared, walking down the ramp to join them. Catra was in the lead, followed by Glimmer and Bow. Catra was looking around as she approached them. "No welcoming committee?" she asked, ears twitching.

"We talked to them already and asked them to give us space to set up without disrupting our work," Entrapta told her. "So, they're waiting with the soldiers there." Her hair pointed towards a few tents thrown up near trucks and APCs.

"Ah." Catra nodded, then turned around and yelled: "No one's here to ask you for healing, so get your butt down here!"

Sam blinked. What…?

Then Adora - blonde hair hidden beneath a wide hat and wearing a long coat - appeared at the top of the ramp.

"It's her disguise," Catra answered Sam's unspoken question.

"She was bothered in Geneva for healing by the same people who were angry with us for defending ourselves," Glimmer added. "Damn hypocrites."

"Well, they weren't the exact same people who actually accused us of trying to invade and conquer Earth," Bow said. "Just people who worked there."

"And the dummy healed them." Catra scoffed.

"I couldn't just not heal them - it took me less than a minute." Adora pouted at them. "And they were deadly ill."

"And now more people think they just have to ask you and get healed," Catra shot back.

Bow raised his hands. "It happened. And I think none of us would walk past people dying if we could help them."

Adora nodded, as did Glimmer - though the latter was frowning. And Catra scoffed again.

"Oh, but you wouldn't do it either!" Entrapta chimed in with a smile, her hair tendril patting Catra on the head for about a second before the catwoman shrugged it off.

"But now everyone will think they just have to meet you and get healed!" Catra repeated. "Even on diplomatic meetings!"

"Well, we can just teleport in and out now," Glimmer said. She grinned. "I so missed that!"

"Just don't teleport here before we've finished analysing the magic effect," Entrapta told her.

Sam knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help herself - she was too curious. "So, what was the meeting's result?"

Catra snorted. "They couldn't come to a decision."

Glimmer frowned at her. "The United Nations decided not to condemn us for defending ourselves. The motion to do so failed to pass. That's a difference."

Catra shrugged. "Same thing."

Well, Sam had expected that. Between the allies of the Etherians, the prospective and hopeful allies and the countries who didn't want to provoke a power that could lay waste to their forces without taking any risk, the odds that there would be a majority were very slim, even discounting the almost certain veto in the Security Council.

"We still have to return to talk about 'the magic question'," Catra said

She was making air quotes. Was that a sign of Earth's popular culture being adopted by the Etherians? Sam made a mental note to mention it to Daniel. He expected such cultural adaptions. "I doubt the outcome of that will be different," she said. Too many countries saw magic as a way to even the odds against technologically superior rivals.

"Let's hope so. And let's hope they don't invite all their sick and wounded for Adora to heal," Catra said. "I bet some ambassadors are already thinking about selling spots."

"Catra!" Glimmer scoffed. "We're talking about high-ranking diplomats!"

"Exactly."

"Let's analyse the magic here," Adora spoke up. She was eyeing the cordon around them, Sam noticed.

If those people decided to push, Sam doubted that the police and soldiers could hold them back. And despite their reputation, the British could be very unruly.

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded. "We've placed a crystal array to enhance our scanners!"

"And I can now cast a few spells to help us identify what kind of magic this is," Glimmer added, raising her staff.

Sam made another mental note that it seemed the staff wasn't a piece of magitech, but probably what Entrapta had called a focus when she had mentioned magic tools. Or maybe Glimmer hadn't used her staff so far because she wanted to appear less threatening. After the orbital bombardment, a mere staff wouldn't matter any more, of course.

Then Sam focused on the readings from their scanner. That was… She frowned and did another scan, compared the data… She had to run another scan!

"It looks like a minor healing effect," Entrapta said, sticking her head under Sam's arms to stare at the screen.

"Like the one in the jungle?" Catra asked, tensing up.

"Not like it. Similar, but since this is healing magic, not an unguided regeneration effect, there shouldn't be any zombies," Entrapta said.

Sam nodded. "Yes." She had already scanned for such results - to her relief, the small mammals and insects in the area didn't show any effects like those that they had observed in Honduras.

"So, is this a healing site?" Catra asked, stretching her arms over her head.

"It might have been one," Sam replied. "But if the stones had been glowing in the past, we should have had records of that, I believe."

"Are you sure?" Bow asked. "From what I found out, a lot of records didn't survive various catastrophes. And purges."

"The glowing might be a result of magic returning after so long. The enchantments might be slightly overloaded," Glimmer said. "Or something broke with the missing stones."

"Or the stars aren't aligned. Or are aligned. The stones were placed in accordance with astronomical observations, after all." Entrapta beamed. "We need more data!"

Could Earth's magic - Earth's magic traditions - be relying on constellations? Sam hoped it wasn't the case. The thought that astrology might be based on actual magic was almost too much to bear…

*****​

Whitehall, London, United Kingdom, Earth, October 19th, 1998

"...and that's the data we used for our conclusions."

Catra watched the others' reactions to Entrapta's presentation. Most of the members of the British Government - Her Majesty's Government, she corrected herself, even though it was more the other way around - who were present seemed to be relieved that they weren't sitting on an Earth version of the Heart of Etheria. Most but not all. A few were almost disappointed.

The Prime Minister, though, smiled. "Thank you very much for your help."

"Oh, you're welcome!" Entrapta beamed at him. "It was a very interesting examination. We now know more about Earth magic. Although it's too bad that the site isn't a portal to other dimensions. That would have been even better!"

"Yes." Sam nodded. "It was very informative. Especially with the increasing number of similar reports."

"Well, at least most of the supposedly haunted locations didn't show up," the Home Secretary commented with a laugh. "We can handle a few prehistoric magical sites. Especially if they are just healing places."

"We would have to check all of them to be sure of that," Sam told him.

"And once this gets out, there will be a lot of people pressuring us to let them visit Stonehenge," the Prime Minister said.

"And a lot of disappointed people once they realise it's not a stone version of Adora." Catra scoffed.

"Ah… What exactly does the, ah, magic there do?" That was the Health Secretary.

"It's a weak healing effect. You recover faster if you're resting there," Glimmer explained.

"Just recovering faster? Or will you heal from conditions that would not improve without treatment?" The Health Secretary looked intrigued rather than disappointed.

"The latter," Glimmer replied. "But it's not very powerful. You'd have to stay a long time to get healed from a serious condition. Although casting heal magic would be improved as well."

"We'll have people camping there. And fighting each other for a spot on the ground." The Home Secretary wasn't laughing any more. "This is a disaster."

"We could transfer the site to the NHS," the Health Secretary said.

"That won't keep people away - quite the contrary."

Catra nodded in agreement. People would want magic healing. Who wouldn't? But the more options they had, the less they would bother Adora.

"Then we need trained, ah, sorceresses, as soon as possible." The Health Secretary wasn't looking at them, but Catra knew the comment was aimed at them. Not very subtle.

"We can't yet tell what kind of instructions will work best for your sorceresses." Glimmer said. "And which magical traditions are the best option."

"We haven't found actual sorceresses on Earth. Not yet," Bow added. "You need the talent to work magic."

"But using this as a blueprint, we could probably create magitech devices that heal," Entrapta suggested. "Well, we would have to avoid the zombie side effects." She scrunched her nose. "That's probably what the First Ones were doing with their prototype. But we should be able to build something that doesn't turn everyone nearby into zombies. I think."

"Zombies?" the Prime Minister asked.

"That's what you call mindless aggressive regenerating people, right?" Entrapta smiled.

"Err, yes."

"Then zombie it is!"

Sam muttered something about the Colonel Catra didn't catch.

"I would be glad if we could avoid creating zombies." The man looked quite queasy.

"Me too!"

The Health Secretary coughed. "Would the current effect at Stonehenge be enough to heal disabling diseases and conditions? One of our most brilliant scientists is suffering from a paralysing disease that is robbing him of the ability to move and talk."

They meant Hawking. The name had come up several times when they were discussing how to reveal magic and healing magic. And now, with magic exposed…

Adora gasped. "I'll heal him right away!"

Catra didn't miss how the Prime Minister and others smiled. She was sure they had planned that.

"We can't take her anywhere," she mumbled.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 19th, 1998

Jack O'Neill was looking at the FNGs train on the field - melee combat this time, with bayonets, knives, Entrenching tools and staffs - but he wasn't really focusing on them. They were good enough anyway; the other countries hadn't sent desk jockeys. Though the Russian with an axe had been a little worrying. Jack was just here to supervise, anyway; he wasn't here as an instructor. And he had other things on his mind. Like Carter.

Jack didn't like it if his team went into danger without him. He trusted them, of course - even Daniel had learned to be a bit cautious, and he could talk his way out of trouble almost as often as he could get into trouble. And Teal'c and Carter were amongst the most skilled soldiers he knew.

But he was their commanding officer. Their leader. If they were in danger, it was his duty to be with them. He shouldn't be staying behind, safe at the base, while Carter went and examined a glowing stone ring that was under siege by thousands of crazy people. Even if she was with Entrapta. Especially if she was with Entrapta, he corrected himself. The woman was undoubtedly almost as smart as Carter but didn't have half the common sense of Daniel.

At least nothing had happened, and they were now talking to the British government. And even if the limeys botched things, the rest of the Etherians would step in. With magic restored, Glimmer could now teleport.

He sighed. That was also a security risk. At least they had already implemented revised security protocols after the encounter with the Asgard and their transporter.

The instructor in charge called for a break - without glancing at Jack to check, Jack noted approvingly - and the groups broke apart. Jack kept an eye on the axe guy; the Russian looked a bit too happy swinging the thing around. And on Lenkova, who had been walking towards the snack line but diverted and was now making a beeline towards Jack.

"Vladimir is a good soldier."

So that was his name. Of course the woman would have noticed his attention. Jack shrugged. "I didn't know Russia trained soldiers in axe combat."

"We don't," she replied. "Vladimir grew up in Siberia in a logging family."

"His brawls with his siblings must have been a bloody affair."

She giggled at that, which made her suddenly look younger. Not any less dangerous, of course. He kept his eyes on her face, not her shirt. Not that her face wasn't attractive either.

"He's a good comrade. Helps out everyone in need," she said.

"And splits heads and logs, depending on what's on the menu." Jack snorted once.

"Yes." She was still smiling. "Although you seemed a little distracted today."

There was no point in denying it - that would only make him look foolish. "There's a lot happening on Earth," he said. "Riots, witch hunts, two nuclear powers ready to go to war with each other…"

She scoffed. "India and Pakistan have been at war before."

"Circumstances were different back then," Jack shot back. There hadn't been any aliens or magic.

"Wouldn't the Etherians stop a nuclear exchange?"

"They said they wouldn't interfere," Jack reminded her.

"Politicians and diplomats say a lot," she retorted with a more cynical grin. "But you know them personally; would they let a nuclear war happen?"

That was a good question. "I don't know," he said. He was pretty sure Adora wouldn't let millions die. But would the fleet be able to intervene in time? Were they even looking out for nukes?

"Well, let's hope we don't find out the hard way," she said.

He could agree with that.

"But was that the reason you were distracted?" She cocked her head, her hair - longer than Carters - touching her shoulder and drawing attention to her tank top. "Or were you worried about Captain Carter?"

He narrowed his eyes. What did she know?

She smiled in return. "I heard she was investigating magical places with the Etherians. The last time you did that, you had to fight zombies, right?"

Jack was, once more, reminded how much he hated that their files were now almost public knowledge. "I didn't know you had the security clearance to read those files."

"I didn't read them. But that there was a zombie invasion is public knowledge."

He wasn't sure if he could believe her. But she was right about people knowing about zombies - he had even heard, through the grapevine, that some Hollywood people wanted to shoot a movie about the mission. Still… the woman was a Russian spy. So he shrugged. "She's with the foremost experts on magic; they've dealt with worse things."

He half-expected her to ask what things the Etherians had dealt with, but Lenkova was too skilled for that. "Do you worry about every soldier under your command?"

"Yes." Of course he did! Well, there were a few exceptions from his time in Special Forces.

"So, you'd be worried about me when I go on my first mission?" She was grinning again.

Jack bared his teeth and said in a flat voice: "You'd be a soldier under my command."

She nodded and smiled again. "I hope we'll go on a mission before you are transferred."

"Transferred?" What had she heard?

"I read newspapers. America is close to finally passing the laws the aliens demand," she explained.

Constitutional amendments, but he wasn't Daniel; he didn't feel the need to correct her.

"So, once you are allied with the Etherians, you will certainly be transferred to an active combat command."

Ah, that. He shrugged. "I can't fathom what the brass will do. After all, I spent years in deep-space radar telemetry." The former cover story for Stargate Command.

Lenkova laughed at that. It sounded honest.

But she was a Russian spy. And under his command, not that that mattered.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, October 20th, 1998

Adora took a deep breath. She could do this. She had prepared for this. She had rehearsed this. She just had to be firm. Firm and friendly.

Nodding, she said: "Open a channel to Priest, Darla."

The ship did as ordered, and a moment later - Third Fleet never let her wait - Priest appeared on the big screen on Darla's bridge.

"Your Divine Highness! How may your faithful serve you?" He bowed so quickly, Adora didn't see his expression until he rose again, a wide smile on his face.

"I have considered your request to visit Earth," she said. He perked up. "I feel, in the current circumstances, it wouldn't be advisable."

And his face fell. He looked worse than Wrong Hordak had looked before he recovered from getting disconnected from Prime's mental network. "But Your Divine Highness…"

"The political situation on Earth is volatile," she explained. "Many humans are afraid that we're here to conquer them."

"But if we wanted to conquer them, we would have done so already! Their defences are nothing against the firepower of even the flotilla in orbit, much less the Third Fleet, Your Divine Highness!"

Adora sighed. "I know. And they should know."

"How could they not, after our intervention in India? Were they distracted by the demonstration of your divine might and grace, Your Divine Highness?"

She pressed her lips together for a moment. That hadn't been one of her finest moments. Although she would do it again in the same situation - she wouldn't let people die if she could help it. But saying that wouldn't help here. "They aren't always rational. Although some fear that the destruction of the base was the first step in a campaign to conquer Earth."

"They don't know you, then, Your Divine Highness. Or us."

She nodded. "Yes. That is why they fear us." Well, some of the countries would fear them even more if they knew Adora and her friends better. Those who had horrible customs and laws.

Priest nodded. "I see. But if ignorance is the problem, shouldn't we educate them instead of staying away from them, Your Divine Highness? If they could meet us and talk to us, we could show them that their fears are misguided!" He looked at her with an expression full of hope.

Uh… She managed not to bite her lips. How to tell him that some people on Earth would fear and hate Adora - and Priest and his faithful - even or especially if they knew them better? She hadn't prepared for that question, but… "Are your people trained in diplomacy?" They weren't; Adora knew that.

"We have studied the work of those on Earth who spread the word of false gods, Your Divine Highness. Missionaries, they are called." Priest smiled at her. "We know all about door-knocking!"

"Ah…" He obviously didn't mean the Goa'uld when he talked about false gods, Adora realised. That could be a bigger problem than she had feared. "Many people won't like it if you call their gods false."

He frowned. "But they do the same, Your Divine Highness. The majority of the population worships single gods and denounces all other gods as false. And doesn't the freedom of religion protect missionaries?"

Adora almost smiled. "Freedom of religion isn't granted in every country. Many countries do not respect all religions - or outlaw missionaries." Not too many prohibited missionaries, actually, but that was a detail.

"Ah!" Priest bowed again. "And yet, aren't such countries those which need to learn about your divine wisdom the most, Your Divine Highness?"

"We have to respect their laws," Adora replied. "At least as far as missionaries are concerned," she quickly added.

"So, our missionaries shall stick to countries where religion is free, Your Divine Highness."

"I am not a goddess," Adora said through clenched teeth. She had tried to avoid this.

"You are as humble as you are powerful and wise, Your Divine Highness," Priest replied, bowing so deeply that she couldn't tell if he was smiling or smirking.

"I'm really not," Adora repeated herself.

"Your Divine Highness, we have also studied the gods that are worshipped on Earth - and their deeds. You have healed the sick, let the blind see again and the lame regain their legs. You have struck down the false god who lied to us and oppressed us. You have turned the heart of his Empire into a garden in space. You have freed our souls and cast his soul down into the Abyss. And you have saved not merely one world but all the worlds in the sector. These facts do not lie, Your Divine Highness - you more than met the standard for divinity on Earth." Priest smiled at her with shining eyes. "You saved us, and you will save everyone from the false gods. It is only just that we will spread the word of you in return, so everyone can bask in your grace."

No, no, no! That was wrong! Terribly wrong! "I don't have a grace!" she snapped.

"Your humility is divine!"

Adora opened her mouth to yell at Priest, then took a deep breath. This was going all wrong! She had wanted to explain to Priest why he and his people couldn't visit Earth to convert people. She could just tell them not to visit Earth, of course. And she was tempted to do so - very much.

But she had talked about this with her friends. What if Priest took this to mean that the people on Earth are to be ignored because they were beyond saving? Or, worse, that Adora didn't want them saved or whatever? You couldn't win a war if a big part of your soldiers thought their allies were traitors or at least ungrateful heathens.

She sighed. "You won't visit a country without permission from that country and from myself or Glimmer as our commander."

"Yes, Your Divine Highness!"

"And you'll stick to short trips." No invasion. Just some sailors going on shore leave. "And not everyone at once."

"Of course, Your Divine Highness. We have to remain ready to fight at your command at a moment's notice!"

Adora couldn't think of anything else. She nodded. "Good." It was anything but good.

"As you command, Your Divine Highness! I will relay your orders at once!" Priest bowed even more deeply.

Adora sighed. Her friends wouldn't be happy about this. Nor would the humans on Earth like this. Well, they'd inform the United Nations about this. And find out which countries would allow such 'visits'.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 21st, 1998

Once, Samantha Carter would have been delighted to see real teleportation in action - and in an environment where she could use all sorts of sensors to take readings to analyse later. But there was such a thing as too much of a good thing. And so, when her lab was lit up with another set of sparkling lights, she didn't even look up - Glimmer had been teleporting every five minutes, sometimes just a few metres in the lab. She must have really missed using her power.

"Sorry, I forgot - did anyone want dessert as well?" the princess asked.

"What dessert is on the menu today?" Entrapta cocked her head, pausing in the middle of working on an improved long-range Geiger counter. Something the world could really use right now, what with two nuclear powers butting heads - Sam knew that the Horde frigates in stationary orbit over the Indian subcontinent could shoot down missiles, but a better early warning system would be great.

"Oh, silly me!" Glimmer laughed and disappeared in another cloud of sparkles, only to reappear five seconds later. "Blue jello and apple cake."

"Oh! I've never tried that combination! Yes, I'd like dessert!"

"Sounds very American. Me too, please!" Iwan added.

"Just the cake," Catra chimed in from the counter she had taken over, not even looking up from her magazine.

"For me too. Just the cake, that is," Adora, who was apparently content with serving as a pillow for Catra to sprawl over, said, lowering her own magazine. "Thank you!"

"I'll try the jello," Bow said.

"Jello," Hordak grumbled.

"Are you sure you don't want to try the cake?" Entrapta asked, beaming at him.

"I'll take the cake as well," Hordak replied at once - as expected.

"If you don't like it, we can swap," Entrapta said as Glimmer disappeared once more. Sam wondered how the mess hall was reacting to the princess popping in and out in short order. If the Colonel were present, he'd tell her about it. With a joke.

But he was supervising the training of the foreign teams in the field again. If you could call them teams already - they were still forming. Not that the Colonel was needed there - he was nominally in command of the teams, but others were training them, and he wasn't scheduled as an instructor for today. But he said it was a good idea to keep an eye on the foreigners. Sam couldn't disagree with that, although she would like it if there were fewer rumours about the Colonel having his eye on a particular foreign officer. Not that anything would happen - the Colonel would never start anything with someone in his chain of command.

Sam buried the mixed feelings she had about that just in time for Glimmer to return with a tray full of jello and cake.

"Finally! What did you do, bake the cake yourself?"

"Catra!"

"What?"

"No, I didn't!"

"Can we do that? I'd like tiny cakes! Oh, but this is good! Try something, Hordak!"

"Hmph."

"Since you didn't say anything, I brought you both!"

Sam looked at Glimmer. The princess was holding out the tray with a bowl of jello and a piece of cake left on it. And she was smiling widely, so Sam would feel bad to refuse. Even if she wasn't overly fond of either dessert. At least not of what passed for it here. Still, she had to eat it now.

And it tasted quite a bit better than expected. Had the French replaced the cooks? Or brought in confectioners? She could imagine General Petit bringing one along; the man liked his personal comforts.

"So, what do you think?" Entrapta asked Hordak.

"It is… adequate."

"I've had better," Catra added. "But for military food, it's better than Horde rations."

"Even rocks are better than Horde rations. Easier to chew, too," Adora said.

Both laughed at that.

Sam felt herself relax as well. They still had lots of work to do - apart from enhanced scanners for nuclear weapons held ready, they also had dozens of reports of magical sites 'going active' all over the world to cover. And reports to write so the brass would realise that Sam couldn't 'whip up' a healing device in her spare time. But she could take a break joking around with the Etherians. Maybe she could convince Daniel to join them in the afternoon - he was still sifting through his stack of books covering myths and fairy tales in an attempt to find working magical spells and traditions.

And maybe the Colonel would join them as well - all of them needed a break, after all.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 23rd, 1998

"...tensions are still high at the Kashmir border, but there hasn't been a shooting incident in two days, which experts say is a sign of increased control by the respective governments over their forces, although it remains unclear how the separatists will react to this. The United Nations have called on all parties to remain peaceful, although China's stance remains unclear, as does the stance of the Etherians, who have three space ships in geostationary orbit over the subcontinent, yet have not voiced an opinion on the matter so far. This leaves the world in doubt whether or not a nuclear war would cause them to intervene or not, which experts have claimed is similar to the United States' stance towards a defence of Taiwan and might be a calculated move to influence both India and Pakistan into negotiations, though…"

Sitting in her - it was hers now - corner in Sam's lab, Catra sighed and flicked the pad off. Bow had done all the work to let their pads access all of Earth's media, and yet there wasn't anything worth watching on. Or if there was, she hadn't found it, and she wasn't about to waste an hour switching channels to find something. If she did it on her pad instead of on a screen, it wouldn't annoy anyone anyway except herself.

"Back in the USSR, we joke that it no matter that we have fewer channels if Americans have dozens of channels and nothing good to watch." Iwan, the Russian spy scientist, smiled at her. "It was good joke, not approved by party, but not enough for gulag."

Catra snorted at the last line. "Sounds like Horde humour," she said before she could help himself.

"Da. I think. Horde much like USSR? Lots of tanks and soldiers, not much good food or fun?"

Catra nodded. "Pretty much, yes." As cadets, she'd had Adora, but Shadow Weaver had done what she could to ruin everything, and when Adora had left… She sighed. Then Catra had done what she could to ruin everything.

"Bad memories?"

Catra narrowed her eyes. That was a bit blatant. She glanced around. Adora was working with Glimmer on a press release. So much for 'I'm just coming along so I can visit Earth without getting hounded by petitioners'! Bow and the other tech heads were working on the enhanced Geiger counters - or were that enhanced-enhanced Geiger counters by now? In any case, it was a good opportunity for a spy to gather information. Add his obviously fake bad English he used to make people underestimate him… On the other hand, it wasn't exactly a secret that Catra had been leading the Horde before… Before. "Yes, bad memories," she said.

"People in Russia drink to get rid of bad memories, but not work well."

"Yeah." Not that Adora would let Catra drink anyway. Carve a few funny lines into a stupid pastel palace wall one time with your claws, and they never let you forget it.

For a moment, the Russian remained silent, looking at whatever he was working on. Then he nodded. "What helps is doing better. Helping helps."

She snorted, but he had a point, sort of. "Helping can also hurt." Adora proved that.

"Da. Life is pain, and then you die. Painfully." He nodded sagely.

She shrugged. Life didn't have to be painful. Usually, some idiot was responsible for that part. Or a Horde of idiots. Or some ancient idiot bot trying to make Adora sacrifice herself. But life didn't have to hurt. Not really hurt, at least. You just needed to get rid of the worst idiots.

Iwan went back to working, and Catra switched her pad back on.

"...representants of several religions have voiced their concern about the Etherians intent to send missionaries to Earth, but the government has released a statement that aliens were also protected by the constitutional freedom of religion and that it would not take any steps to prevent Etherian visitors from proselytising. When asked whether or not he would push for reciprocity with regards to Christian missionaries visiting Etheria, the President said that visits to Etheria were currently restricted to military needs and that this question would have to be revisited once civilian travel was possible. He did not say when he expected this state of affairs to change, but…"

Catra shook her head. "It's not us who wants this, but Priest," she muttered. But the crazies were already screaming - sometimes literally - about an alien plot to brainwash the humans to corrupt their souls or something. And missionaries visiting Etheria? She snorted. Good luck trying to convince people that an invisible intangible god existed when you just had to look to the sky and see what She-Ra could do.

They should be more concerned about all the magical places activating, in her opinion. As Bow and Daniel had explained, most of them were holy sites of religions that had been more or less replaced by the current mainstream religions. Depending on how things worked out, they might need every missionary on Earth just to keep up with magic.

Or with Priest's followers.

*****​
 
Chapter 50: The Magic Question Part 6
Chapter 50: The Magic Question Part 6

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 24th, 1998

"...and the police was forced to use violence to keep protesters and counter-protesters separated in Washington. Bill?"

"Thank you, Keith. Yes, it's been a bit sticky, but not as bad as it could have been. The number of people protesting the President's decision to allow alien missionaries to visit the country has been much lower than expected, even with the boost the return of magic gave to the anti-magic movement."

"People like magic healing. Who would have thought?"

"Certainly not the good reverend calling for this protest, Keith! Anyway, Washington is quiet again."

"Something that cannot be said for the rest of the world. Daily protests are going on in many countries in the Middle East, and the witch hunts and lynchings in the region continue, although hard numbers are hard to come by. In other news, experts disagree on whether or not we are looking at the start of a new religion in India now that we know that there's already an established Church of She-Ra. And no, that's not an official name, but if our benevolent alien allies would like to use it, I wouldn't request royalties!"

Jack O'Neill tuned the fake laughter out. Why couldn't the mess hall just broadcast CNN instead of this farce? Or the BBC. He didn't need to listen to stupid jokes when things were getting serious. Cracking jokes was his thing, damn it! On the other hand, he probably should be glad that the mess hall TV still broadcasted an American news show instead of a Russian one. Or a French one. He shuddered at the thought.

"Is something wrong?" Daniel asked as he set his tray down on the table. "With the food?"

"No. It's the news," Jack replied, nodding towards the screen now showing advertisements.

"What happened this time?" Daniel turned to look at the television.

"It's not what happened, but how they cover it."

"Ah." Daniel nodded. "It's actually quite interesting how the different TV channels cover the same events. You can make out distinctive social norms by the differences in what is emphasised and what's dismissed. Why…"

"Daniel, your food's getting cold," Jack reminded him.

"Ah, sorry." His friend started eating, then blinked. "Is it just me, or has the quality of the meals improved?"

"It's not just you," Jack told him. "We needed more cooks to cover the influx of new people, and our gallant foreign allies decided to send their own." And, apparently, decided to show off and send cooks who could hack it in civilian life. The food wasn't up to fine dining standards - they still had to cook in quantities that meant they couldn't carefully prepare each meal - but it certainly was better than before.

"Ah!" Daniel smiled. "That's good news!"

"What's good news?" Carter had arrived, smiling at them both.

"Good to see that the Etherians didn't squirrel you away on one of their ships," Jack joked. It wasn't as funny as he had planned, though.

Carter's smile twisted a little. "Well, Entrapta did offer me to move into her lab."

Jack frowned. Poaching his second in command? Over his dead body!

"Really?"

"Yes. She said it would 'facilitate research'." Carter shrugged. "I told her that I had duties here and could always come visit her."

Jack nodded. Yes. They had their duties on Earth.

"So, what's good news?" Carter asked after a bite from her steak.

"That we've got better cooks," Daniel told her.

"Indeed." For someone his size, Teal'c could be very stealthy. Jack had almost missed his approach.

"As long as they don't serve us crayons…" Jack snorted. He didn't have to explain the joke, which meant he had made it before. Well, some jokes bore repeating.

He was about to finish his own steak when he saw Carter tense up. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Lenkova approach the table. "Do you mind if I join you?"

What was he supposed to do without sounding rude? She didn't offer a transparent excuse like all her comrades had already eaten or something.

"Not at all! please sit down!" Daniel said with a smile.

Jack managed not to frown at his friend. Daniel was just too friendly sometimes.

Teal'c nodded without saying anything, and Carter… smiled tightly as she nodded. She obviously didn't like Lenkova. But she hadn't said anything before, as far as Jack could recall.

And Lenkova was all smiles. She had ditched the top of her fatigues and was just wearing her tank top, Jack noticed. And she made very appreciative noises when she tried the food.

"Oh, this is so much better than what we ate back in Russia," she said with a long sigh.

"Yeah, we can hear that," Jack said before he could help himself.

Lenkova blushed in return.

And Carter was openly frowning.

"So, what do you think of this?" Lenkova tried to change the subject by nodding at the TV screen, where the hosts were interviewing another supposed expert on religions.

"...and, so, while technically it falls under the term religion as defined by law, one could argue that it's not a religion but a thinly-veiled attempt to influence the internal politics of the United States. She-Ra is, after all, not a goddess but a leader of the Princess Alliance - it goes without saying that merely calling your party a religion does not make it a religion. And as our past shows, it's perfectly legal to limit foreign propaganda during wartime."

"But, and I am just repeating some of the arguments brought forth by others, why isn't the Church of She-Ra a religion?"

"Well, ah, first, She-Ra herself denies her, ah, divinity. And second, we can all see that she is no goddess. She has magic powers, but that does not make her a divine entity. There is also the lack of any significant history - according to what we know, this 'Church of She-Ra' is less than a year old and composed of formerly brainwashed clones. It might be called a cult, but it's not a religion as the average American understands it."

"The President seems to disagree."

"The government is beholden to the Etherians for military reasons. Of course they cannot afford to oppose this thinly-veiled attempt to conduct propaganda operations in the United States. So…"

Jack rolled his eyes. At least no one could claim that the United States government controlled the media.

"Ah." Daniel adjusted his glasses with a smile. "That's a very biased opinion, of course. You cannot, as any anthropologist would tell you if asked them instead of a theologist of dubious repute, consider Christianity as the standard for a religion. Human religious traditions are much more diverse. We have ancestor worship, nature spirits being revered, pagan pantheons - although that term is somewhat misleading - and religions that do not have divine figures at all. For many religions, She-Ra would, purely based on her powers, indeed be considered a goddess. In fact, she would compare favourably to some of the classic Greek gods. As would some of her fellow princesses like Perfuma and Mermista. Again, purely based on their magic powers. So, from an anthropologist's perspective, I do not think that the government is in error when treating the Church of She-Ra as a religion." He beamed at Lenkova.

Jack suppressed a sigh. Daniel still had a tendency to go on and on.

Lenkova looked… well, she was frowning a little. "That's very interesting. But I wanted to know what you think of the consequences of this… new development."

"Ah!" Daniel nodded. "Well, it remains to be seen if this new religion can get any traction outside the former Horde fleet and India. Unless Adora starts healing Americans en masse - which I don't think she'll do - I don't see the new religion having much success in the United States. Although the resurgence of magic might change this - a lot of formerly esoteric beliefs might grow more popular provided their magical traditions end up working."

And wasn't that a pretty thought! Maybe Stargate Command would issue healing crystals as standard gear, and intel would be based on tea leaves reading. And Carter would use crystal balls for her stuff.

"And do you think this will lead to problems?" Lenkova asked.

"It has the potential to be a problem," Daniel replied at once. "But we've been seeing a pushback against the more intolerant religious conservatives for months, in politics and the media as well as public opinion, so I don't think that the United States will see much more than a few protests against this."

"I see." The Russian nodded.

Jack wasn't quite as optimistic but refrained from commenting.

Then she turned towards him. "You've been rather quiet, Colonel."

Jack noticed Carter frowning again but ignored that for the time being. "Daniel's the expert," he said. "Just as Teal'c is the resident authority on Jaffa and Goa'uld and Carter's Stargate Command's goddess of technology."

The frown turned into a scowl. "I'm not a goddess, sir."

Jack didn't wince. So, that had been a failed attempt to crack a joke. Even if Lenkova laughed.

"I don't think it was meant to be taken literally," she told Carter. "You do have a very impressive reputation, though. Dr Georgovich is singing your praises. Not literally, fortunately - he hasn't the best singing voice."

Jack chuckled, but Carter's scowl deepened. "I am just doing what I can - like all of us here," She replied, a bit cattily in Jack's opinion.

Lenkova nodded. "Will you be transferred along with the Colonel when America closes the deal with the Etherians? Will they keep your team together?"

Carter blinked for a moment. "I am not aware of any such orders," she said. "We are part of Stargate Command."

That was the technically correct answer. But Carter knew as well as Jack that the United States wouldn't leave the best friend of the Etherians under the authority of the United Nations.

"Ah, we've been working well with the Etherians, so it would stand to reason that they wouldn't split us up," Daniel ventured. "Especially considering the way the Etherians fight their wars. With the princesses expected to fight on the frontlines when necessary, and their personal approach to politics, I think all of us will be working closely with them." He smiled. "So, I don't see SG-1 being split up!"

Lenkova smiled as well. "It would be a mistake and a shame to split up such a successful team." With a nod to Jack, she added: "Your team does you credit, Colonel."

"Thank you. You have a good team as well," Jack returned the compliment. It was the truth, after all. "You'll do fine once you're on your own." And that they weren't quite ready yet was also true.

It didn't seem to bother the woman, though - she beamed at him. "Thank you. Although I hope you will still be available for talks once we're no longer under your command."

"Sure." Jack nodded before he realised how the way Lenkova leaned forward a little added something not entirely professional meaning to her words.

Carter stood up. "Well, it's time for me to return to the lab."

Oh.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, October 25th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and please remember: You represent the Alliance! We're here to protect Earth from the Goa'uld. Many people on Earth are afraid of us. They don't know our customs. They don't know us. So, don't scare them, don't bully them, and remain polite and peaceful no matter what they say. Even if they insult me - especially if they insult me. Err… you can, of course, defend yourself if someone attacks you, but don't go overboard. That means no orbital bombardment." Ador blinked. "Not without permission from Alliance Command." She didn't want to sound like a hypocrite, after all - and, in theory, there might be more situations where an orbital strike was the necessary answer.

The dozens of clones standing in formation before her in the frigate's main hangar bowed. "Yes, Your Divine Highness," they said in unison. And smiled.

Adora refrained from wincing even though it sounded very creepy. They acted as if just being near her was the best thing they could think of. As if Adora's mere presence made them happier than anything else. For a moment, she imagined Horde Prime standing in her place - he would have loved this. Had loved it. Except for the lack of orbital bombardment. And the other orders.

And, she added to herself, he probably wouldn't have taken the dark Earth-style suits every clone was wearing well either.

She glanced at Priest, who was wearing a similar suit, just with a more elaborate tie. 'New dress uniforms', he had claimed. Catra had found it funny. Adora less so. Priest was correct that the fleet - in fact, most of the Princess Alliance - didn't have dress uniforms like Earth soldiers had, though Bright Moon had 'parade uniforms', but to pick those suits as uniforms… Well, it was kind of just another part of his 'we proselytise through shore leave' plan. Which she really hoped wouldn't backfire but also didn't want to succeed.

But there wasn't anything else to say that she hadn't already said. Twice, since the clones might be a little too much like Priest. So she nodded at the clones, then at Priest. "Dismissed. And have fun!"

Priest bowed so deeply, Adora was almost afraid his head would hit the ground, then straightened and addressed the rest. "You heard Her Divine Highness! You represent Her, so conduct yourself accordingly! I do not want to hear any complaints about your behaviour! Now go and enjoy your shore leave!"

The clones saluted him, Bright Moon style. That was a nice change from Horde regulations. Then they bowed to Adora, which made her struggle not to sigh again, before they started boarding the shuttles. All of them seemed very enthusiastic. Beaming. Laughing. Talking to each other. They loved this.

And Adora was left hoping that this wouldn't cause trouble. At least not a lot.

*****​

"So, how are your faithful doing?" Catra greeted Adora when she returned to Darla's bridge.

"Shouldn't you know that better than I would?" Adora replied, pointing at the screens on the bridge showing feeds from London, Paris, Berlin and New York.

"They haven't touched down yet," Catra said with a grin.

Adora frowned at her. "Why do you think this is funny?"

Catra's grin widened. "It is funny because it annoys you."

Adora pressed her lips together. She should have expected that.

Catra lost her grin and smiled ruefully for a moment. She didn't apologise, though. "And it's also funny because they're acting like humans. Right down to the uniforms."

"Suits," Adora corrected her.

"Priest defined them as uniforms, so they're uniforms," Catra shot back.

"And why is it funny that clones are acting like humans?" Adora wanted to know. It wasn't funny. Not at all!

"It might make the idiots on Earth realise how stupid they are about their religions," Catra explained as she shifted in her seat.

Adora sighed. That was a touchy subject. "Earth is very serious about their religions."

"Only the parts of Earth that we don't want to have anything to do with," Catra retorted. "And the same goes for them."

That was, well… not entirely wrong. But not entirely correct either. "Their pope told everyone that magic wasn't evil." That covered at least one of the biggest religions.

Catra scoffed. "And he didn't tell everyone that us loving each other was fine. Speaking for a god that supposedly wants you to love everyone."

Adora didn't think Catra - or herself - were reliable sources on Earth's religions. Or any religion - it wasn't as if growing up in the Horde had taught them anything about any religion. And Adora hadn't exactly researched the various religions on Etheria since the war had ended. Perfuma and most of Plumeria worshipped nature, Mystacore worshipped magic… That was about the extent of her knowledge. It just wasn't something most people talked about. Still… "I just don't want to be worshipped."

Catra shrugged again. "Better you than some invisible, silent god that won't step in when its followers start hurting others."

Adora's lover had made that point before. And Adora couldn't really argue it. But that didn't mean she liked it, either. "You usually complain if I feel responsible for everyone."

"Yes." Catra scoffed. "But it's better than the alternative. Imagine if the humans converted the clones!"

Adora shuddered at the thought. That would be a catastrophe!

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 26th, 1998

"Chevron Six, encoded!"

"Chevron Seven locked!"

A moment later, the gate activated. Samantha Carter saw the members of the new Stargate team - British this time - wince slightly as the vortex formed before stabilising. Good. That meant they remembered how lethal it was.

But they recovered quickly, the team leader stepping on the ramp, then looking at the command centre.

"Proceed to your destination," General Haig ordered the men, and the team quickly marched through the gate, vanishing from view.

And that was it. Sam's work for this 'acclimatisation mission' was done. She stayed at her post anyway, just in case something came up - even with a routine trip to a known destination which already had a team and temporary base on site, you never knew if something unexpected would happen. It was part of what made Stargate Command such an attractive posting for Sam. Next to being able to advance physics past anything people outside science fiction authors could have imagined a few years ago, of course. And now being able to work with magitech.

And working with people who appreciated her talents and didn't think she had slept her way up or was riding the coattails of a man. Sam had had enough of that to last her a lifetime. As if she'd ever sleep with a superior to advance her career! Just sleeping with a fellow officer could damage your career, and if you got involved with someone in your chain of command…

She pressed her lips together. This was purely hypothetical. She knew the regulations, and she was a professional soldier. Such things were off-limits, and for very good reasons. The last thing Stargate Command - or any unit involved with the war against the Goa'uld - needed was people getting distracted by relationships, gossip and interpersonal conflicts.

Even the Russians should realise that. Especially the Russians. Certainly some Russian spy posing as a soldier trying to honeytrap the Colonel. Who should really know better than to encourage the woman!

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She was being silly. The Colonel was a professional and knew the Russians better than anyone else in Stargate Command. He wouldn't fall for such a blatant attempt to seduce him. Really, 'I am looking forward to when we're no longer in the same chain of command'? Hah! By that time, the new Stargate Command site would be ready, and the Russian spy would be stuck on the coast of Canada, while SG-1 would be part of whatever expeditionary force the United States would send along with the Etherian fleets.

Sam pushed the thought that SG-1 might end up split up away. She had talked to Entrapta and the others about how the Etherians waged war, and from what she heard, it sounded like SG-1's experience was an almost perfect fit for the kind of operations the Princess Alliance ran. A small group of highly-skilled special forces used to working together spearheading larger operations. Odds were, SG-1 would be kept together, for both political and military reasons.

And if not, a traitorous part of her mind whispered as she ran another check on the gate's status, the Colonel wouldn't be in your chain of command any more…

She pushed that thought away as well.

*****​

An hour later, the British team was back, and Samantha Carter was taking a break while a French team was getting ready for their first gate trip. She sipped from a cup of great coffee - General Petit had had the standard coffee makers replaced with civilian-grade models that shamed most coffee shops in Colorado - and looked at the screen in the corner of the control room, where the news was being displayed. At least the news deemed relevant or important for Stargate Command, selected by a team of specialists and put on a loop.

Today, like yesterday, it was focused on the Etherian missionaries, showing two of them walking down a narrow street in… London. "They really look like alien Mormons," General Petit commented as he joined her.

Mormons sent missionaries all over the world, Sam reminded herself. Even to such secular countries as France. "Yes, sir," she agreed.

"But they look slightly stiff," the general went on. "They must be under great pressure, with the eyes of the world on them. And the eyes of their superiors."

Sam agreed again. Though she wasn't sure if the Horde clones, at least those from Third Fleet, weren't their own worst critics, so to speak - from what Sam had seen of them, they were religious fanatics. And now on a mission from their goddess. At least they weren't wearing sunglasses and organising a concert. She suppressed a snort - this was too serious for that kind of joke.

"Although I doubt that there will be much if any trouble in London or Paris," Petit went on. "Or Berlin."

Sam was tempted to point out that Europe had its fair share of religious fanatics as well but refrained. And not just because the general was her superior, but also because, even taking into account the smaller populations, neither the United Kingdom nor France or Germany had had nearly as many protests against the 'shore leave' of the clones as the United States had had and were still having. Fortunately, most of those protests were held in places the aliens weren't visiting.

And the last few months had shown a rapid decline of both the influence and visibility of the radical Evangelicals in the country. Though being dropped by pretty much every conservative business and billionaire hadn't been received well by those conservative politicians who hadn't changed their stance on religion. Once the proposed constitutional amendments passed - and Sam had no doubt they would pass - things might get ugly in some places.

She masked her silence with another sip from her coffee and made some appreciative noise.

The General beamed. "I personally selected this coffee maker! It's the best on the market!"

Sam nodded. And probably the most expensive as well. Well, it wasn't her budget to worry about. "It shows," she said. She was about to add some platitude when the screen changed. CNN. Showing police cars. American police cars. And a red banner at the bottom.

Breaking news! Alien shot in New York!

*****​

North Shore University Hospital, New York, Earth, October 26th, 1998

Catra didn't bother to hide her mood, snarling as she sprinted down the hallway after Adora. One of the clones had gotten shot by some Earth nutcase. And, of course, Adora had dropped everything to rush to the clone.

Well, his condition was critical according to what they had been told, and Earth hospitals and doctors had no experience treating clones, and if the guy died, things would probably get ugly. Uglier. Priest had already been talking about making the man a 'martyr' or something. But still - running through a hospital like this wasn't exactly 'good optics', as Mr Brown would say.

"Uh… ma'am? This is a…"

Adora brushed past the uniformed guards in front of the door between her and the wounded clone as if they weren't there. Not that they could have stopped her if they had tried - nothing could stop Adora in such a moment. She all but kicked the door open.

Catra still kept an eye on the guards as she passed them - they were armed, after all.

Inside the room, a woman in white clothes - a doctor or nurse - tried to stop Adora. "This is an operating room! You can't just…"

Adora ignored her as well, pointing her sword at the figure on the table, surrounded by startled humans. The nurse shrieked, but the glowing healing magic was already covering the wounded clone.

Moments later, he started to move, or tried to - they had tied him to the table. She-Ra cut him free with two slices of her sword while everyone else backed away. "How are you? Do you still feel pain?"

Catra saw the clone blink before he recognised Adora and his eyes widened. "Your Divine Highness!"

Usually, Adora would flinch at hearing that title, but she was too focused on saving him, Catra noticed. "Do you still feel pain?"

"Uh… No, no! No, Your Divine Highness!" His mouth spread in a wide smile and he was blinking through tears.

Adora curtly nodded, then took a deep breath. "We arrived in time."

"Yeah," Catra agreed. And they had attracted a lot of attention. She pushed her communicator. "Sparkles? We've got him."

"Alright! Coming!"

"Glimmer's on the way," Catra told Adora, who was helping the clone off the table. He still looked like he had had the time of his life instead of nearly dying. "Just have to wait until she finds us."

"Good. Where are his clothes?" Adora asked the humans present.

"Uh… we had to cut them off to prep him for surgery," one of them replied.

"Ah."

"What about his communicator?" Catra asked. That was, well, not really advanced technology, but you didn't leave your comms if you could help it. That was how your communication lines got compromised. Well, that and by Entrapta and Bow hacking into your systems.

"Uh…"

Catra shook her head and turned to glare at the uniformed guards - who had multiplied in the meantime but hadn't dared to enter the room. "Fetch his gear!"

One of them turned to leave, then stopped, glancing at another guard. Probably their leader. Or were those cops? It didn't matter.

"That's evidence for a criminal investigation," the leader said.

Before Catra could tell the idiot what he could do with his 'criminal investigation', another man arrived and snapped at him. "Perkins! Don't try to boss around the aliens with spaceships floating above us!"

"But Chief!"

He ignored him and smiled - although tightly - at Catra and Adora. "I've sent someone to fetch his belongings."

"Thank you!" Adora beamed at him. And then Catra's idiot lover went on: "Was anyone else hurt? They only told us about him."

By the time Glimmer arrived in a cloud of sparkling light - Catra didn't know how many other rooms she had teleported into before reaching them - Adora was already busy healing half the patients in the hospital.

And Catra couldn't help wondering if this had been part of a plan to get her lover to heal people.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, October 26th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"So, what exactly happened? The Earth authorities kept saying they were still investigating when I asked them. All of them!" Glimmer asked. And she had talked to every authority she could reach, Catra knew. "Also, I told everyone we wouldn't bombard their city from orbit."

The formerly wounded clone, sitting in the centre of Darla's lounge, glanced at Adora, then at Priest.

Adora smiled gently at him, and Priest nodded. "Speak, brother, so we know who tried to murder you before you were saved by Her Divine Grace!"

The Clone beamed, nodding eagerly, before blinking. "Uh… we were door-knocking like we had trained."

"And why weren't you with your partner?"

"Ah, that is, we had passed a food stand earlier, and he had gone back to fetch us some 'hot dogs'." The clone cringed a little. "I thought I could handle a house alone - we'd been to many already."

Priest nodded, taking this breach of regulations better than Catra had expected. Or maybe he thought that Adora healing the clone had wiped away any fault. Catra hadn't delved too deeply into Priest's views.

"So, I ring the doorbell, and this woman appears, and I ask her if she had heard of Her Divine Highness, She-Ra. She had, and so I started explaining, and she was listening, when an older man appeared, yelling at her not to listen to me. And then he started cursing me." The clone raised his chin. "The curses of the ignorant cannot hurt the faithful, so I ignored him. But he started berating the woman, and they started a row, and then he… he insulted Your Divine Highness!" He scowled deeply.

Catra pressed her lips together. She had a hunch of where this was going.

"I told him not to slander Your Divine Highness, but he… he doubled down! I told him that those who slandered She-Ra would not be saved, and he kept cursing me as a heathen and sprouting inane sentences, and… well, I told him he was stupid and his god was wrong, and he yelled something about how his daughter wouldn't be corrupted, and then he suddenly drew a gun and shot me. I don't remember much after that. Everyone was screaming." The clone lowered his head, then glanced at Adora.

Catra sighed as her friends looked at each other. Definitely not good optics.

*****​

Washington D.C., United States of America, October 27th (Earth Time)

Usually, Jack O'Neill didn't like - or outright hated - travelling to Washington D.C. because that meant talking to the brass at the Pentagon about things they didn't really understand. Or to politicians who didn't understand anything. Usually, it meant preventing some more or less well-meaning (or downright malicious) idiot from sabotaging Stargate Command, wasting time that would be better spent on actually doing his job.

Which, incidentally, was leading SG-1 in the field and waging war, not playing politics. He was a colonel, not a general.

But today, he almost enjoyed his trip to Washington D.C. Sure, he might have to talk to politicians, but this was the President, not Kinsey. And while the occasion was serious - having an alien visitor shot on one's watch was always serious - it got him out of the mountain just when he needed a change of scenery. And some distance between himself and certain very competent and far too attractive female officers of Stargate Command. About whom he definitely didn't have any thoughts that might violate regulations or common sense, respectively. Not at all.

"Say, Jack…"

Daniel turned from watching the streets of Washington, chock-full of cars, to Daniel, who was sitting next to him in the staff car. "Yes?"

"Don't you think Sam should have come with us as well?"

Jack suppressed a sigh.

Daniel went on: "I mean, sure, she's a physicist, not an anthropologist, but she's been working with the Etherians the most, and she probably has the best picture of how they're going to react. And she can just call Entrapta and ask if she doesn't know the answer."

"Carter has urgent work to do," Jack replied. "She said so herself." Even though both Jack and Carter had known it was 'not entirely factual', as she would say. "And she gave us her opinion on the Etherians' reaction." In writing.

"Yes, but…" Daniel must have noticed something about Jack's mood since he trailed off. He didn't stop talking, of course. Not Daniel. "Is this about Lenkova?"

Yes. "No," Jack said, narrowing his eyes.

This time, Daniel got the message. Though the pout he showed when he slowly nodded told Jack that his friend would bring this up again.

Damn. Jack needed to sort out this before then.

*****​

"...and many people have come together in a vigil at the site of the shooting, showing their concern and empathy for the wounded alien. A few protestors were sent away by the police, allegedly for their own protection. In other news, the North Shore University Hospital required police protection as hundreds of people tried to enter it in the hope of getting healed, despite the announcement that Adora had already left the building - and Earth - again. Experts are divided about the effects this incident will have on the relations between the United States and Etheria."

Jack O'Neill rolled his eyes at the TV screen in the room where he and Daniel were waiting to talk to the cabinet. Technically, the United States government wasn't negotiating with Etheria but with the Princess Alliance. Effectively, they represented Etheria, of course, but… He blinked - he was thinking like Daniel! Damn!

At least his friend hadn't noticed - he was looking through news sites on his laptop. And Daniel didn't seem to be happy.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

"It's just… how stupid are people? Glimmer repeatedly said the Etherians wouldn't retaliate - or blame the United States for this - and this so-called expert claims that this was a clear threat! I mean, I expect biases from this news company, but outright insanity?"

Jack craned his neck and checked the article's origin. Ah. "They're pandering to their audience." Which was a bunch of radical nutcases.

"Still… Facts are facts!"

"And that article is an opinion piece." Jack grinned at Daniel's expression.

Even better, before Daniel could say anything in return, an aide entered the room and called them to meet the cabinet.

*****​

"...and that's I don't think this incident will have a significant negative influence on our relations with the Etherians: They know that this was the action of a lone individual, and they do not blame the United States for it. Further, they are also aware that the proselytising the victim engaged in is somewhat divisive," Daniel finally finished.

"I see," the President said. "That concurs with the opinion of our analysts."

"And Captain Carter's summary," Jack O'Neill added. He earned a few glares from other cabinet members for speaking without being addressed, but the President nodded in agreement.

"That's reassuring. Less reassuring is that this happened in the first place." The President didn't look at anyone in particular, but Jack saw several members of the cabinet tense up.

"We can't really convince everyone that we need the Etherians as allies more than we need 'god's support'," the Secretary of Education said - her tone making it clear what she thought of the idea that there was any question about what the United States needed.

"We've got the media on our side, though," the Secretary of State replied. "With the exception of fringe newspapers and the odd opinion piece."

"The incident did rile up the more extremist Evangelicals, though - the idea that aliens are allowed to proselytise on United States soil is a very touchy subject," the Secretary of Defense said.

"We know that," the President retorted. "We've all seen the polls. But the constitution, regardless of what some radicals think, is clear about this." He sighed. "Of course, I wish they wouldn't have put us on the spot like this. Things were all on track for the amendment, and now we've got this mess to deal with."

"The Etherians might not have had much of a choice," Daniel pointed out. "They have to deal with religious radicals as well, after all."

The Secretary of Defense frowned. "Can't they just order them to shut up and stop making trouble? They are absolute monarchs! Hell, one of them is worshipped as a god by those aliens!"

Jack smiled as Daniel pushed his glasses up and went into lecture mode. "It's a common misconception that absolute monarchs rule absolutely. The clones are a vital part of the Alliance military, and their desires and opinions carry a lot of weight. Further, I think it's clear that Adora is unwilling to use her position to tell others what religion they should follow - or not follow. So, it should be evident that…"

Jack leaned back a little and tuned his friend out.

*****​

Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, October 28th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and yes, that's the complete list of locations with magical activity on Earth as far as we know. There might be other such sites that aren't active right now but will become active should certain conditions be met - conditions which we also don't know yet."

Glimmer sounded annoyed. Adora wanted to pat her shoulder when she sat down after answering another stupid question from the assembly, but that would have left the wrong impression. So she nodded at her friend. This was the fifth 'special session' of the United Nations about magic after Adora had restored it, and the questions hadn't really changed. In fact, many of the hostile ambassadors always asked the same questions Adora and her friends couldn't answer, probably just so they could keep claiming that magic was not known well enough and so it would be too dangerous to legalise it.

Another ambassador rose to ask a question. Adora noticed it was the one from Iran, heard the first line about responsibility, and sighed. The same 'question' again. As soon as he had finished, she rose. "No, we will not 'assume responsibility' for any damage done by magic. First, you still have not submitted any proof that the fire and flooding - or the sickness - were caused by magic. Second, magic is a natural force. Restoring it to Earth is not the same as providing everyone with a loaded gun. It's like restoring the laws of physics that make it possible for gunpowder to work." She smiled, even though after four such sessions, she now could quote Entrapa and Bow's arguments in her sleep. And sometimes did, at least according to Catra. "We didn't teach anyone in your country to actually use magic; that's all on them."

"Without your actions, none of this would have happened!"

Adora shrugged. The man wasn't entirely wrong. If they hadn't restored magic to Earth, spells and powers wouldn't work. But magitech would. And as they had found out in Honduras, magitech could be as dangerous as advanced non-magical technology.

Something Glimmer was, as always, quick to point out: "Even if your calamities were caused by magic, it could have been magitech, which was already working before we restored magic."

"And we answered that question already in the last session. And the session before that." Catra openly sneered at the ambassador.

Adora pressed her lips together. They should stop attending those sessions - it made everyone's temper worse.

"At least give us scanners to detect magic!" the ambassador all but yelled. "How are we supposed to protect our people from magic if we can't even find it?"

Glimmer rolled her eyes. "No country that hasn't legalised magic - and given guarantees to prevent witch hunts - will receive magic scanners." She leaned forward and glared at the man. "Do you think we're stupid? You'll use those scanners to hunt down people with the talent to use magic! And then you'd claim they were evil no matter what they actually did!"

"We do not execute people simply for having such a talent!" the ambassador protested. "But criminals are criminals, whether they are magical or not!"

Adora glared. Sure, a number of 'sorceresses' in Iran were sent to prison and not executed, and many more were 'lynched' by 'private citizens', not the police, but so far, none of the murderers had been prosecuted either. Still, it wasn't enough to intervene.

"The scanners aren't ready yet, anyway," Catra added before yawning theatrically. "Does anyone actually have a question that wasn't answered already before this session?"

Adora knew she should scold Catra for the breach of protocol, but she just couldn't bother. Listening to the same questions session after session was simply too repetitive.

Yet another ambassador from the Middle East complained about magic. At least many African countries had stopped that - apparently, many traditional healers suddenly found their medicines and treatments working much more effectively.

"They're just running those sessions so they can funnel people in for you to heal," Catra whispered.

Adora frowned at her. She wasn't about to ignore someone suffering in front of her! It wasn't their fault that they were sick!

"You know I'm right." Catra smirked.

"They should look for sorceresses of their own," Adora said. "That would solve their problems with magic."

"They are looking for their own sorceresses," Catra retorted. "So they can kill them." She leaned back and stretched her arms over her head. "It would be more fun listening to Priest explaining why you're a goddess even though you deny it."

Adora pouted in return. She couldn't just order Priest to stop… worshipping her. No matter how much it annoyed her. She had been the one to defeat Horde Prime and free the clones, after all. It was only natural that some of them would fixate on her as their new leader - they didn't know any better. Adora knew how it was, being raised by the Horde and not knowing the truth. And how difficult it was for many to change, she added to herself with a glance a Catra. She could only hope that the clones would realise that she was no goddess if Adora kept explaining it.

And, a small part inside her mind that sounded like Catra because that was what Catra had told her many times, it was better if the Clones worshipped her instead of worshipping anyone else. Like an enemy of theirs. Or the Goa'uld. Better for the clones and everyone else.

"...and the way you offer your lapdogs training in sorcery but refuse to help countries that don't bow to your demands shows your bias!"

Right, they were at the 'stop helping your allies' part now. They hadn't even finalised the agreement to train some sorceresses on Earth yet! Or recruited instructors from Etheria - they needed a Stargate for that, anyway. And that was a little tricky. Both politically and with regard to security. They might just install it on a moon. And then there was the technology exchange. In theory, the clones could help with basic instructions, but they would likely use the opportunity to proselytise as well… They had so many more important things to do than listening to people complain about magic!

"We should ask Entrapta to build a bot to answer those questions," Catra commented as yet another ambassador asked about magic schools. "Make them look like us, but the size of Emily!"

Adora giggled at that.

Well, this, too, would pass, as Jack said. And they were making progress. Sooner or later, things would work out.

But they really needed to stop attending those stupid sessions. They had much more important things to do.

*****​
 
Chapter 51: The Recon Mission Part 1
AN: Thanks to Meshakhad for researching valid locations for the Stargate!

Chapter 51: The Recon Mission Part 1

CFB Goose Bay, Newfoundland, Canada, November 14th, 1998

"Who the hell had the stupid idea to pick this as the new site of the Stargate? I want to know so we can send them to Thule!"

Samantha Carter didn't react to the Colonel's profanity. In fact, she had an urge to curse herself - the cold and the biting wind here at Canadian Force Base Goose Bay reminded her far too much of the time the Colonel and herself had been stuck in that cave in Antarctica. Even the best cold weather gear they were wearing couldn't keep them completely warm. Maybe she should have worn the spacesuit Entrapta had made for her - the cold wouldn't bother her at all, and the suit was very comfortable to wear. On the other hand, it might cause some resentment from the rest of the Stargate Command delegation visiting the site. And some idiots would claim that as a woman, she was too weak and soft to stand the temperature…

"I thought you liked Canada," Daniel commented, shielding his face with his hand. Or trying to - his glasses were fogging over.

"I like hockey. I don't like moving from Colorado to the arctic. To the butt end of the arctic, to be precise," the Colonel griped. "There was nothing wrong with Colorado."

Sam knew that it had been a mostly political choice. The United Nations didn't want the gate to remain in the USA. And the USA didn't want the gate to move too far away - and still had enough pull to ensure that. Sam thought the Australians had had the best proposal. Woomera or Exmouth would have been perfect from a strategic and logistical perspective. Easy to supply, not much buildup necessary. And remote enough so one could fight an invasion without endangering too many civilians.

But that had been too far from Europe, and so, between the USA, France and Britain, Canada's proposal had won out. And Stargate Command would have to adjust.

"Probably picked so the Russians would feel at home - it's as cold as in Siberia."

"Really?" Daniel blinked. "Well, when we visited Siberia, it wasn't winter. Were you in Siberia during winter?"

The Colonel scoffed but didn't answer. Which was to be expected.

"The location is rather remote, but it has a port," Sam pointed out. "And the Canadian government is already constructing a railway line to link it up with the Canadian railway network."

"The port will need to be expanded if we want to ship in all the supplies we need quickly enough to get this done in a timely fashion," the Colonel said. "As things are, we need a lot more infrastructure here to supply an invasion through the gate."

"I thought we didn't plan to run invasions through the gate?" Daniel frowned.

"Not for the initial attack. But we might need to use a gate to deliver supplies - we might not have access to spaceships for supplies." The Colonel shrugged. "You never know what happens in a war. Even if you think it'll be a cakewalk. Especially if you think it'll be a cakewalk."

Sam nodded. The Colonel knew that better than everyone else here, given his experiences during the Gulf War.

"Supplying an Earth invasion force, especially a mechanised one, through the gate will be difficult." Teal'c didn't seem to be bothered by the cold. Or just didn't show any reaction. "It would severely restrict the use of the gate for other reasons."

"Well, it's better than the mountain," Daniel said. "We can't exactly ship lots of supplies through the base."

That was true, of course. The Colonel still grumbled. Then again, he liked playing the grumpy old man from time to time. "One attempted invasion and the Canadians will scream to move it to Australia. And once the public realises that gates work both ways, someone will want to move it to Mars."

"I think the logistical challenges of moving the Stargate to Mars and operating it there would severely reduce its usefulness."

"Well, that was a joke, Teal'c."

"Ah."

Sam couldn't tell if Teal'c had actually thought that the Colonel had been serious. Wait, his lips twitched - that was him pulling the Colonel's leg.

"And, speaking of Mars… Is it true that you suggested surveying a landing site in advance of the Mars mission NASA is launching soon, Sam?" Daniel wanted to know.

"Oh, planning to steal NASA's thunder?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "I merely suggested using some of the recon bots we're building to search for the ideal landing site."

"But that would drive home that this isn't a brave exploration mission, but just a few scientists taking a cab to Mars." The Colonel chuckled. "Imagine them arriving, and you and Entrapta are having a picnic there!"

"We're too busy to have a picnic on Mars, sir." As if Sam would be so petty as to do that!

"But you'll keep an eye on the Mars base, right?" Daniel asked. "I mean… I am not trying to disparage NASA's engineers, but they are building this modular base in a hurry, aren't they?"

Sam nodded. "The Etherians will keep a frigate in orbit to support and, if necessary, evacuate the scientists."

"And to nuke any hostile Martians from space." The Colonel clapped his hands together. "Anyway, let's blow this joint. We came, we saw the miserable freezing place here, and we can safely say that the best way to use this base is to build a huge bunker so we're at least warm while we're here. And an underground railroad so we won't ever have to go outside."

"Except for field training, right?" Daniel asked in an earnest tone. But he was grinning.

And the Colonel scowled.

*****​

Whitehall, Westminster, London, United Kingdom, Earth, November 16th, 1998

"...and since everyone is present, the first strategy meeting of the United Alliance of Earth and Etheria has officially started. The first item to discuss is the location of the Alliance Headquarters. I suggest that it should be located on Earth and reasonably close to the Stargate to make emergency meetings easier to attend."

Glimmer went full steam ahead, as the humans would say, Catra noted. From the opening speech straight down to business. Then again, it had taken months longer than Catra had hoped to get the Alliance going and dealing with all the issues the rest of the world had brought up - well, more like making sure the bigotted idiots wouldn't make trouble for the Alliance - and they really needed to get things sorted out to get the war started. The longer an enemy was left in peace, the harder it would be to defeat them.

And, as expected, the Earth parts of the Alliance all took offence at this.

"But the majority of the Alliance member states are in Europe!" the French representative protested. "We should be picking a central location in Europe."

"Why not pick Brussels? It's already the NATO headquarters!" the Belgian representative pointed out. Though, as Catra had noticed, not too many were paying attention to him - or to the delegates from the other small European countries that had joined the Alliance.

"Germany would be happy to host the headquarters, but we think that military concerns should take precedence over political ones." The German Minister of Defence nodded at his colleagues.

"Political concerns are military concerns during a war," the French minister shot back. "You cannot separate them."

"Canada would be honoured to not only host the Stargate but also the Alliance Headquarters."

"Iceland would also be willing to host the headquarters, We can offer a geographical compromise."

"You don't even have a military!" the Danish representative snapped.

That was true. Catra didn't quite get why Iceland had joined the Alliance. They were supposedly recruiting volunteers, but they lacked any military tradition and the closest they had come to war in centuries was a conflict over fish with an ally of theirs.

But turning a willing ally away would have sent the wrong message, and compared to some kingdoms on Etheria, they weren't too small. Still, Catra didn't think they would be much use in the war. They probably would end up joining the forces of the Kingdom of Snows.

"I think Iceland is too remote to serve as headquarters," the German Minister of Defence commented.

"The United Kingdom is neither remote nor bereft of armed forces. And geographically and culturally, we're a good compromise - especially with an eye on the eventual joining of the United States."

Which were still trying to get the amendment to guarantee gay marriage and all the other rights passed. Or ratified - whatever the process was called. Catra had stopped paying close attention to it after the sixth time she had thought they were finally done only to hear that this had been just another step. The Americans must really hate changing anything about their laws, the way they made it so hard and complicated.

"I think the Stargate's location isn't of crucial importance. In an emergency, we all would have to take a plane - or one of the shuttles, once they are available - so anyone arriving through the gate could do the same and arrive at the same time." The minister from Norway had a good point, in Catra's opinion. Good enough that the rest of the ministers acknowledged it.

Of course, they then used that to explain why the headquarters would be best placed in their country.

"Just pick a country," Catra snapped when the Swedish delegate proposed a rotating headquarter. "If you don't want it near the Stargate, then its location doesn't really matter as long as there aren't too many civilians around it. You just need a big bunker to house everyone. And defences, of course."

Adora nodded. "Yes. Although it would be nice if it would serve as a staging ground as well for the Alliance forces, we don't need to combine both locations. It might be even safer to split them up so a strike at one location doesn't take out both."

Of course, that started a discussion about the location of the main base, more political and infrastructure questions, and more bickering over security and accessibility. And some of the concerns… family visiting? And being housed? On a military base?

Catra shook her head. "We never had those problems in the Horde."

"That's because we didn't have families in the Horde."

"Well, yes, but that's not the point." Catra pouted. Really, who wanted to take their family into a base? Coming home would feel like getting back to the barracks! But, apparently, things were different on Earth. The scale of the bases and the number of civilians involved… "Might as well build a new town - or found a new kingdom," she whispered.

That made Adora giggle, even if it wasn't funny.

At least Catra knew that the humans wouldn't take forever to decide this. It was clear, even though none said so, that they wanted everything settled before the Americans could join.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 18th, 1998

"...and with that decision by the General Assembly of Ohio, two-thirds of the states have now ratified the amendment. That means…"

Jack O'Neill switched the TV off.

"I was watching that!" Daniel protested.

"You were watching the same commentary that happened thirty-four times before?" Jack raised his eyebrows as he looked for a good place to lean against, or sit on, in Daniel's office. There was the second chair, of course, but that would have made him look tired.

Daniel pouted in return. "It's a historic event. I want to follow it from start to finish. The social repercussions and changes this will cause…"

"It's a done deal," Jack cut him off. "Congress voted on it. And the states are ratifying it. The only reason it's taking as long as it takes is that some states are dragging their feet scheduling the votes." Mainly because the NID hadn't taken care of every influential conservative that would rather keep the gay down than let the United States make an alliance with lesbian magical space princesses that would net them advanced technology. At least Jack thought so. They reminded him of some of the 'Segregation Forever!'-types.

"Well," Daniel said, "some pundits seem to think that the delay is less due to holdouts but because some states want to be the deciding vote, so to speak." He shrugged. "I don't think it's likely - they would probably be remembered as the last holdout rather than the deciding vote - but it might explain some of the scheduling troubles."

Jack snorted. He also doubted it. "Sounds more like a desperate attempt to fill the news while everyone is waiting for the amendment to finally take effect." Especially the armed forces. They needed the alliance as soon as possible. If they waited any longer, the war would start without them, and the United States would be forced to enter it on someone else's terms. Mainly, the Europeans' terms.

And, judging by the rumours that Jack had heard from Entrapta about how they bickered over everything, that would be a bad idea. Jack didn't want to live in England for the war. Or, even worse, Iceland. At least no one had proposed Greenland for the base or headquarters.

"Well…" Daniel shrugged again. "Usually, the truth about such things isn't known until much later." He put a stack of papers down. Jack couldn't read their titles from his spot and didn't feel like asking his friend about it. Probably something about medieval societies that Daniel then could complain about not being applicable to Etherians or something.

"I just wish we were already in negotiations about the alliance," Jack muttered.

Daniel frowned. "We can't join without the amendment being passed."

"We could hash out the details for the alliance in advance, though. So, as soon as the final state gets around to voting, we can sign the alliance." It was just a formality, anyway. Well, most of it.

"Catra said it was rather straightforward - they've streamlined the process since the start. All the Scandinavian countries joined without lengthy negotiations," Daniel pointed out.

"That's what I am afraid of," Jack replied. Conditions aimed at small countries like Norway or Sweden wouldn't fit the United States.

His friend frowned again. "Why?"

"Of all the countries, we're the only one with experience fighting the Goa'uld. Not even the Etherians have any experience. We should be more involved." Granted, they mostly had experience with small unit actions through the Stargate, and the Alliance was gearing up for a conventional war - in space - but they knew their enemy. Especially Teal'c. Jack wasn't looking forward to seeing the Alliance repeat Operation Torch.

"Ah." Daniel nodded, apparently conceding the point. "I don't think the Etherians will ignore our advice, though."

"Maybe not." Jack wasn't so optimistic.

"So, what's up?" Daniel suddenly asked. "You didn't come here to watch CNN with me."

Jack snorted. "Can't I come to visit you to chat?"

Daniel blinked. "Sure. But you're usually a bit too busy at this time of the day."

"A meeting fell through," Jack explained. And he hadn't felt like doing paperwork.

Daniel nodded. "And Sam's in France with Entratpta, looking at the shuttle factory they are building there."

"Yes." Another fait-accompli, as the French would say. The Europeans weren't wasting any time taking advanced technology. Even though it was mostly automated, according to Carter. Wait! Jack narrowed his eyes at Daniel's expression. Was he insinuating something more?

"Between Stargate Command, the projects with Entrapta and the NASA mission to Mars she's advising, Sam's quite busy. Maybe you should order her to take a break," Daniel went on.

He was. Jack shot him a look. "Carter knows how to take care of herself. I don't need to babysit her." Unlike Daniel.

"It's not about babysitting," Daniel protested, "but relaxing and socialising."

His friend was right - they hadn't had time to relax, hadn't they? "Well, the Christmas parties are coming," Jack pointed out. Even though Alliance talks and meetings would probably hijack those. Hell, the fighting with the Navy was getting downright vicious - ever since the Royal Navy had apparently come out on top in the struggle in Britain, the Navy pukes had been getting cocky.

But Daniel didn't look satisfied. Jack almost wanted to ask if he was trying to play matchmaker but refrained from doing so. Some things you didn't talk about. And Jack's relationship with Carter, not that there was such a thing, fell firmly into that category. He'd rather discuss medieval culture than that. Or soccer.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, November 20th, 1998

"So… France can't host the headquarters because they already got a shuttle factory and more coming," Adora summed up the results of the latest meeting. The latest tiresome meeting.

"And because they're French," Catra added, stretching on her chair in that distracting way of hers, then slumping down as if she were made of liquid, about to ooze over the edge of her seat.

"No one said that." Adora scowled at her lover.

"It was implied," Glimmer cut in. "Apparently, leaving the NATO - or partially leaving - in the past is being held against them, but no one is as rude as to say so to their face."

But everyone knew it. Or used the argument. Adora sighed. "And Germany won't get the headquarters because they want to host the main base for the Alliance so it will help 'revitalise' their eastern parts."

"Yes."

"Even though they could just plant the new factories they want there?" Adora was not an expert on economics, but she had read up on the theory. You put up a factory where no one was, and that caused the area to gain workers and income.

"Those are going to be built in locations with established factory complexes, in the other parts of Germany," Bow said. "They want to use the trained workforces there."

"They don't want to make those people already working there mad for losing out," Gimmer explained. "The government relies on their support."

"Ah." That made somewhat sense.

"And the Germans have the most experience hosting lots of foreign troops, so there shouldn't be too much friction, at least that's what they claim." Catra's smirk told Adora she didn't believe them.

"But the British want to host the base as well - and they also claim they have experience, although that was decades ago during their last great war," Glimmer went on.

"The Second World War," Bow corrected her.

Glimmer frowned at him for a moment. "Yes. Anyway, they are angling to get more industries in exchange for giving up their claim."

Catra snorted. "Sounds like a bunch of bandits in the Crimson Waste haggling over who gets what part of the loot!"

Adora pressed her lips together. She couldn't quite refute that. "So, who's winning?"

"Whoever we pick," Glimmer replied. "If we want to pick one. But it's pretty clear that they won't pick locations that we wouldn't like."

"Do we want to?" Bow asked. "Seems like no matter who we pick, everyone else will be mad at us."

Catra sat straighter. "We don't want locations that can't handle the logistics and defences. And we don't want locations that have historical issues with others in the Alliance. For headquarters, something that's easy to defend against spies would be best."

"For headquarters, we have to pick something with enough infrastructure to cater to all the officers stationed there," Glimmer corrected her. "They need a certain level of comfort," she added with a snort.

Catra chuckled. "Sounds like Bright Moon."

Gimmer narrowed her eyes at her. "Bright Moon's soldiers can rough it."

"But you don't like to rough it." Catra flashed her teeth in a wide grin. "Even your dungeons look like luxury guest rooms."

Bow cleared his throat. "So, uh… Do we actually want to pick a location? We don't care for that, do we?"

"We don't," Adora said.

"And letting our allies pick it means we have more leverage when something comes up that we want to decide," Glimmer agreed. "I think they'll pick Belgium for headquarters; they already have NATO headquarters there and the seat of the European Union, which means most of their leaders are used to it."

Adora nodded even though her impression had been that no one was taking Belgium's proposal seriously. But Glimmer knew more about politics, and it did sound like a good compromise. "And the base?"

Glimmer shrugged. "Beats me. It needs to be somewhat remote so we can have the soldiers exercise there. And we need to build a spaceport. Canada or Australia would offer good locations, as would the USA, but in my impression, most want it to be located in Europe."

Adora sighed again. Petty politics! There wouldn't be that much fuss about the location of Etheria's Stargate, that was certain.

"Well, with the USA close to finally sorting themselves out," Catra said, "I bet our allies will quickly find a compromise."

"Just as they found a compromise regarding advanced technology," Glimmer added with a lot of sarcasm.

"Well, having factories with advanced technology in every country means they're less vulnerable to attacks and sabotage - you can't get too much with one attack," Bow said with a smile.

That was true, but Adora was sure this was more like a side-effect and not the main reason the Europeans wanted to spread out all the military factories they needed built. "Anyway…"

She was interrupted by an alert from Darla. An incoming call from… Stargate Command. Marked urgent.

"Put it on the screen," Adora told the ship.

A moment later, Jack appeared on the big screen in the centre. He nodded at them. "Hello, everyone."

Adora caught Catra sitting up straight - Jack looked grim and serious. That was bad news.

"We've got a situation here. Off-planet."

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 20th, 1998

"...and so the last thing we heard from the team, before contact was lost, was that the planet was under attack."

Samantha Carter looked up as she heard the Colonel's voice and saw him enter the gate control room with the Etherians in tow - well, most of them. Hordak probably stayed on Darla.

"And nothing since?" Adora asked.

"Nothing, though…"

"Hi, Sam!" Entrapta interrupted him and waved at Sam.

"Hi." Sam waved back, then had to suppress a wince - this wasn't a friendly meeting in the privacy of their labs or off-duty. They were in the middle of a crisis.

"So." Catra cocked her head sideways. "Your team went through the gate, which was deserted, and then started exploring. Which means that the gate wasn't guarded by anyone on the planet. And it was still open when the attack happened, so it didn't come through the gate."

"Yes," the Colonel confirmed.

"We didn't see any signs that the planet was occupied when we sent a MALP through." General Haig joined them, looking grim. "And the team didn't find any signs of recent activities at the gate either."

Sam nodded. The gate area had been overgrown. If there had been regular traffic, there would have been some trails at least. And if there had been recent traffic, even on foot, there should have been tracks. But according to all the data they had, the gate address belonged to an abandoned planet. That was why it had been thought to be a good choice for the Russian main team's first real mission.

"So, whatever is on the planet is important enough to merit an attack from space but not important enough to have the gate guarded." Adora shook her head. "That doesn't sound good. Do you have any maps of the area?"

"No." The general shook his head. "It was an exploration mission."

"No auto-mapper?" Entrapta pouted. "You should have sent a bot along that can automap. They're very useful!"

And they were something Stargate Command didn't have. Sam smiled wrily at the general's expression. The MALPs capabilities were very limited compared to the capabilities of such a bot - she was familiar with either.

"Yep. Such bots would be very useful. I'll make a note to buy some next time I go shopping," the Colonel said.

Entrapta blinked. "Oh, you don't have them? I can build you one!"

"Thanks, but I think we should focus on saving our team first."

"It could be useful for that, too!" Entrapta nodded. "We can build one while you do your planning, right, Sam?"

It wasn't as if she was doing anything useful right now, Sam knew. This wasn't, at least not yet, a technological or scientific problem to tackle. But she'd like to get in on the planning. Or at least attend. On the other hand, the bot could be very useful for the mission itself. She looked at the Colonel, who nodded back at her.

"Yeah, you do your thing while we plan the rescue mission."

Haig nodded his assent, and so Sam and Entrapta went to Sam's lab.

"So… I'm thinking standard spy bot with integrated automapping and scanner. They're small and cute but very eager! We shouldn't have to modify the basic design much but we can if you want," Entrapta said once they were in the lift, and a holoprojection detailing the small bot appeared next to her.

Sam wanted such a tool herself. Just displaying data in the field would be so useful - scratching a quick sketch on paper, or even in the dirt, just didn't compare. Still… "I don't think we need any modifications. The planet has a standard atmosphere and temperature, at least around the gate. And we need to get it quickly."

"Right! We could have Hordak send one down, but I think we'll be quicker building one from the parts in your lab!" Entrapta beamed. "This is going to be fun!"

Sam noticed the glances the Russian guards - Stargate Command was on alert now - gave them as they stepped out of the lift, but there wasn't anything she could do about it right now. They didn't know that Entrapta wasn't making fun of the situation - she just was a little different. And a good friend.

And she was right - this was going to be fun.

*****​

By the time they entered the gate room, a bot chattering in its own language in tow, the rest of SG-1 and the Etherians were ready to go. Sam was, once again, struck by the contrast. SG-1 was suited up - her own armoured vest, reinforced with advanced technology courtesy of Entrapta, was ready on the table next to the Colonel - while the Etherians hadn't changed at all. Adora hadn't even transformed into She-Ra. They looked as if they were here to supervise, like the generals with them.

And Emily, who was towering over everyone, was carrying what must be their emergency gear like rations and tents. Sam really needed to get a bot of her own.

"So… let's send the little guy through and see what the area looks like!" the Colonel said, clapping his hands.

"Yes." Sidorov glared at all of them. "While you were wasting time, my team might have been killed!"

That was a distinct possibility - losing radio contact was never a good sign. And even though Lenkova was a skilled officer, she had no experience with Goa'uld or aliens, and training could only take you so far. The odds for the Russian team weren't good.

And Sam wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that.

*****​

"So… let's see if the planet is still around and wasn't glassed. Or blown up," Catra said, taking care to roll her neck as if this was just another day at the training facilities. Or the personal exercise room in the palace these days. Instead of a dangerous mission to save a bunch of humans from body-snatching aliens before they got body-snatched. Or just snatched.

In hindsight, it was a pretty bad idea to just let Earth continue their Stargate missions, even though Stargate Command had claimed that they were being very careful. From what she had heard, SG-1 had a lot of experience, but they hadn't been too cautious either when they ran things, and now with the new committee in charge, things were bound to be worse. Glimmer claimed that the Alliance couldn't dictate policies to the rest of the world, but in Catra's opinion, the needs of the war were more important than playing nice with people who endangered everyone through their actions.

Even if it was a little hypocritical. Maybe more than a little.

But the spy bot was now walking towards the gate ramp, Entrapta and Sam hovering over it. Well, Entrapta was doing the hovering - Sam was mostly checking readings while slipping into her armoured vest.

Which was actually a nice piece of kit. Not the armour - Catra's suit was armoured already while still granting full mobility - but the pouches and pockets and stuff. If you didn't have a magic sword that could change into whatever tool you wanted, you had to make do with normal tools, and while her claws were great, they couldn't do everything. It would make carrying explosives easier as well - sure, she was carrying some of the bombs they had used to blow up Princess Prom, but bigger bombs wouldn't go amiss.

Of course, she couldn't say this, but if she claimed that it was a show of unity or something with their new allies, the others might buy it. Bow might even want to make a vest for himself that left his midriff bare.

"...and be careful, OK? If there's anything dangerous, report at once, and we'll shut down the gate so you can dial back!" Entrapta patted the small bot on its head or sensor dome or whatever you call it.

"I'm not telling her that the bot's not going to come back if there are enemies at the gate," Catra whispered to Adora.

She saw her lover flinch a little before raising her chin. "This is a Stargate Command mission. We shouldn't assume to speak for them."

Catra chuckled at that. Adora could be sneaky sometimes.

As if she had heard them - but she hadn't; Catra was sure - Sam said: "Ah. We can only allow opening a gate to us if there's no chance that an enemy will follow us - the risk that they could invade or just send a bomb through is too great." She looked embarrassed, in Catra's impression. Or ashamed.

The bot beeped. Entrapta frowned at it. "That doesn't matter! You're a member of our team like everyone else!"

"What do you mean?" the Russian idiot butted in. "Are you talking to the robot?"

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded. "And her name is Beatrice."

"You give your robots names?" The general was blinking.

Catra saw O'Neill stepping closer as Entrapta said: "Of course! They need names so we can talk to them without being rude."

"But they are…" The Russian trailed off. "Are they intelligent?"

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded. "Or do you mean sapient? Beatrice would need an adaptive matrix that will allow her to learn and grow to become sapient. I wanted to give her one because sapient bots can adapt much better to various environments and situations, which would make her more efficient at exploring new planets, but Sam said that we should stick to normal bots for security."

"Ah." The Russian nodded a bit jerkily. "Do not build sapient bots without permission from the committee," he told Sam.

"Of course not, sir," she replied.

"Good. We do not want robots turning on us."

"And we don't have political commissars to threaten bots with execution to send them on suicide missions," O'Neill added.

The Russian scowled at him. "We haven't had commissars for a long time now."

Right. O'Neill had mentioned those or some people like them once, Catra remembered. Dimly.

"Now let's send the bot through. We need to save our team!" the general ordered.

Everyone stepped clear of the ramp, and even the bot scuttled off it before the gate was dialled.

As soon as the iris was retracted, the bot beeped to Entrapta and Sam once more, then disappeared through the gate.

"She's so brave!" Entrapta said, wiping her eyes.

The Russian looked a little odd at that, but Catra didn't care - she was staring at the big screen showing the feed from Beatrice.

The gate area looked untouched - lots of grass, tall enough to force the bot to extend its head so it could still see above it. There wasn't anyone nearby, but the big plumes of smoke on the horizon weren't a good sign.

"Running a spectral analysis," Sam announced.

A few seconds later, Entrapta piped up: "Oh! Looks like… plastic and metal particles in those clouds."

"Those are artificial structures or vehicles burning, sir," Sam reported. "And more than a few."

*****​

Gate Area, PX4-223, November 20th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"Stay sharp, folks!" Jack O'Neill snapped as he stepped down the stone ramp, carbine ready as he scanned his surroundings. The sky was clear, the front was clear, the flanks and back, clear. He crouched down at the end of the ramp, next to the D.H.D., and studied the smoke on the horizon. Yeah, he had seen such smoke before. When a column of Iraqi vehicles had been destroyed. He could almost smell the stench of burned plastic - and burned flesh.

Teal'c took the other side of the ramp, his staff held low. And the big robot, Emily, had already thrown up a shield. Just in case the spy bot had missed an ambush. Which Jack had expected - whoever was attacking the planet should be covering the gate if only to keep reinforcements from arriving or their targets from fleeing. Any attack on a planet with a gate always focused on the gate. That was just common sense.

So, why wasn't the gate guarded? A trap? Or was the gate damaged?

Carter was behind Jack. "The D.H.D. doesn't show any signs of damage or tampering, sir," she reported before he could ask.

Jack nodded. The Russians had checked it right after arriving, but you always checked yourself. Nothing worse than getting stuck on a hostile planet thousands of lightyears from home.

Catra landed on all fours right at the end of the ramp - she must have jumped. And she sniffed the grass? Then Melog joined her. "Seems clear. I only smell human. And Melog can't sense anyone near us," Catra announced.

Then She-Ra reached the end of the ramp, her sword drawn, followed by Glimmer and Bow. "No magic," Glimmer said.

Jack nodded. He had also expected that. It made things a little harder for the Etherians - but in a pinch, She-Ra could return magic in a minute. And probably get a big boost. But where were the bad guys? They must be watching the gate from afar - they had spotted Lenkova's team, so they would be aware that the Russians had come through the gate. But they wouldn't be prepared for the Etherians; magic or not, their allies were veterans. While Jack wouldn't trade SG-1 for them, they knew their business very well.

"Beatrice! Good girl! You performed exactly to specs! I am so proud of you! Who's a good spy bot? You are! Keep your sensors aimed, will you? There might be bad guys around! And Emily, you're doing good as well!"

Jack suppressed a sigh. Well, most of them knew how to behave in a hostile environment. But if Carter started cooing over robots, he'd put his foot down. On the robot.

"The stone is lacking any ornaments. Old, but not as old as the gate. I don't see any sign of whoever would have built the ramp, Jack," Daniel said.

"Yep." Not that Jack had expected any useful information from the ramp - most of the gates had something like it to keep the activation kawoosh from killing people waiting in the area.

"Alright." Jack nodded towards the hills in front of them. "The action is that way. And our missing Russian allies also moved in that direction, as the trail here shows." And, according to the logs, roamed a little too far for a first mission - Lekova must have been cocky. Then again, the hills in front of them would offer the best vantage point for the entire area. Which was why Jack was sure that they'd find the tracks of the Russians leading there.

And the tracks of their captors or killers so they could save or avenge the team.

He looked at his team and the Etherians. "Let's follow the trail."

"Melog will warn us if there's an ambush ahead."

Jack could get used to that cat. And it shouldn't take too long - Lenkova's team had been here for less than an hour when contact had been lost. Even if the Russians had done a forced march, that wouldn't have taken them too far. A couple of miles - probably not enough to reach the top of the ridge. "And stay sharp!" he repeated himself. "The snakes must be watching us."

"We'll spot them if they come to cover the gate."

"Beatrice will tell us!" Entrapta said. The spy bot skittered away, hiding in the grass.

"And if they get to the gate before us, Adora can restore magic, and I can port us back in seconds," Glimmer announced.

Jack nodded. Though She-Ra might turn half the planet into a jungle or something in the process. And he couldn't help being worried. Why weren't the owners of whatever was burning behind the ridge running to the gate? And why hadn't they been using the gate?

Well, they would soon find out. One way or the other.

*****​
 
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Chapter 52: The Recon Mission Part 2
Chapter 52: The Recon Mission Part 2

PX4-223, November 20th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Adora kept looking around as they entered a light forest. She knew that Catra, who was in front of them, had much better ears, that Melog would sense people nearby, and that Entrapta was scanning for energy signatures or something while riding Emily, but some things were ingrained after years of training.

And covering your sector while on patrol was one of them. She was third in line, so she was watching the sky above as well as the left arc. At least by Horde standards. Americans might have different standards. And Bright Moon didn't have standard patrol training for everyone - their scouting was usually done by tightly-knit local teams who did things their way because they knew the terrain better than anyone else. She made a mental note to cover that point in one of the strategy meetings about the training regime for the Alliance. And she would propose to go with the Horde standard - or what the Earth armies used. The Bright Moon system was defensive in nature and wouldn't be of any use on foreign planets.

Well, Jack was ahead of her and to the right, so he would be covering the right arc. And Teal'c was covering the rear arc. So they should be good.

Catra made a gagging noise ahead of them. "Ew."

"What's up? Allergies?" Jack asked.

"No. I just caught a whiff of smoke," Catra replied. "That's not just plastic and metal burning there. Smells like a Horde transport that brewed up with a squad inside."

Adora winced - she knew what that smelt like because she had blown up a few of them in the war. Also hovertanks.

"Ah." Jack nodded.

"So that was what the carbon molecules were in the smoke." Entrapta nodded. "I'll update the data banks for the future. Good to know!"

Adora didn't have to look at SG-1 to know most of them would be wincing. Well, Sam should know Entrapta didn't mean anything by it, and Teal'c wouldn't move a muscle in his face unless he wanted to, but Jack and Daniel were wincing.

"Let's follow the trail," Jack said. "And hope it wasn't our team that was turned into airborne pollution."

"Jack!" Daniel protested.

"What? It's scientifically correct, isn't it?"

"That's not the point!"

"But it is!" Entrapta chimed in.

Adora sighed and focused on her surroundings as they continued their trek. The tracks left by the Russian team were faint - apparently, they knew how to move without leaving a trail - but between Catra and Melog, with some help from Bow when needed, they could follow them just fine. They weren't as good as Bright Moon or Plumerian scouts.

After about a quarter of an hour, Catra suddenly stopped again. "I smell blood."

Everyone tensed. "Proceed carefully," Jack whispered. "Teal'c, go around on the right. Bow…"

"Taking left."

The two split off, and Catra continued, more slowly this time. Adora felt as if she were back in the war, sneaking up on Horde troops. She tensed and drew her sword. If anything happened, she would be ready.

Catra stopped again, then went down on all fours and crawled ahead, followed by Melog.

Adora moved ahead, hiding behind a tree, peering around its trunk. She couldn't see much, but… Oh. Those were… not blaster burns. But something similar on the trees ahead.

"It's clear," Catra's voice rang out over the radio.

Adora moved at once, stepping past her lover's position. She was She-Ra - if Catra had missed a threat, Adora could handle it best.

And she was in the middle of a clearing. Next to a body. Two bodies - she could see another under a bush a bit away. Both were wearing ornate armour.

"I saw no enemies on this side," Teal'c said, appearing to her right.

"Clear here as well." Bow joined them, looking grim. "There's another body there." He pointed back. "And it's wearing a Russian uniform."

"This is a Jaffa wearing the standard armour of those who serve the false god Apophis," Teal'c said, kneeling next to the first body.

"But you think it might be a false flag?" Jack asked.

"They left the bodies with their gear. That would be a waste - and disrespectful of the fallen warriors."

"Unless they were in a hurry," Jack pointed out. "Like when you're getting attacked out of the blue."

"Yes. Still… where are the bodies of the others?"

They found another Russian a bit away. He had been hit in the stomach and crawled beneath a bush, where he died. Messily. And two more dead Jaffa.

But there was no sign of the other two missing Russians.

"Are there any tracks of… the Russians?" Jack asked.

"None that lead away," Bow replied. He pointed at the start of a small trail. "But some of the prints there are much deeper than others."

"Either they have giants amongst the Jaffa, or they are carrying prisoners," Jack said, looking grim. "Carter, call Stargate Command and inform them that two members were captured and that we're in pursuit."

"Yes, sir!"

*****​

"...and there's still nothing on the radio. Weird. That smoke is composed of advanced materials - well, the remnants of them - and the byproducts of burning those advanced materials, and some people, too - so why is there no radio traffic? See?"

Samantha Carter took a look at Entrapta's multipurpose tool. Mostly because her friend was holding it in front of her face. She didn't doubt the results - she had seen them herself. "Yes. This is strange," she agreed.

"First the gate left uncovered, now no radio communications…" The Colonel looked grim. "I don't like that. We're missing something." He looked at the hills.

Sam knew what he was thinking. The trail they were following - well, which they would be following as soon as Catra, Melog and Bow managed to find it again after losing it in that stream they had reached - led away from the ridge behind which vehicles or buildings were still burning. If they wanted to know what was going on there, they would either have to abandon the pursuit of the Jaffa who had captured the Russians or split up. Neither was a good idea.

"Maybe they're using another form of communication?" Daniel speculated.

"Our scanner's covering every frequency and spectrum we know," Entrapta retorted. "If they're using something unknown, then that would mean we're faced with an entirely new technology!" She beamed. "Can you imagine it?"

"What if they are using magic?" Daniel asked.

"Hm." Entrapta blinked. "That's theoretically possible, but it would have to be magitech since Adora still hasn't activated magic on this planet. And we should be able to detect any power sources powerful enough to power magic." She blinked again. "That was a lot of power in that sentence."

Sam chuckled. "Yes. But I think even if the attackers are using magic or an unknown technology to communicate, the Jaffa fighting for Apophis would be using known methods of communication."

"Unless good old Aphophis found some Ancient technology since we blew up his flagship and distributed it to his goons." The Colonel's mood hadn't improved. On the contrary.

And Sam agreed again - that was a rather daunting possibility. Technology not even the Etherians and the Horde had? She'd rather face a System Lord using magic. On the other hand… who knew what kind of magic knowledge a thousand years old Goa'uld had? They supposedly hadn't been using magic even before Etheria swallowed it all, but Sam didn't trust that assessment.

"Well, we'll find out soon!" Entrapta, of course, was undaunted. "I can't wait!"

"Yeah, I betcha."

Sam checked her own scanner - she really needed to upgrade it. Still no signals.

Then Catra returned. "Melog found the trail. They went east in the stream."

"Back towards the hills?" The Colonel looked sceptical.

Catra shrugged. "I think it's a detour. But we've lost enough time checking both upstream and downstream. Let's go."

"Right. We've got people to save."

Or to avenge. If those Jaffa were working for a Goa'uld… Sam suppressed the shiver that remembering her own possession caused. It was a fate worse than death.

They didn't walk in the stream themselves as they walked - with Emily, there was no way to avoid leaving an obvious trail. Melog and Bow were waiting for them a few hundred yards away. "They went this way," Bow said, pointing northwest.

"I knew it - a detour!" Catra grinned.

"Or that's what they want us to think. Those are the worst kind of enemies," the Colonel said. "Smart ones."

"We'll find out soon," Adora said.

"Well, at least this time, we're not the ones being outgunned by the snakes," the Colonel told Sam as they followed a narrow trail. "We've got the magic powerhouse and Emily the walking artillery with us."

He was correct - Sam had to remind herself that appearances were deceiving. They might look like light infantry with a robot, but they had the firepower of a mechanised platoon. At least. And if She-Ra restored magic…

They marched on for almost half an hour. Entrapta was riding on Emily again, and Daniel was looking a little worn by now - he was putting up a good front, and he was in better shape than when he had joined Stargate Command, but the group was moving at a quick pace.

But then, they stopped, and Catra whispered through the radio: "Got a hidden bunker ahead of us. Melog's sensing people inside."

"Let's find out if we're looking at a fortress or a bolthole," the Colonel muttered as he moved to the front. "With our luck, it's probably a fortress complex big enough to make the Swiss jealous."

Sam hoped he was wrong.

He was, but not by far. As their magical scanner showed, they were facing a decent-sized bunker. Big enough to house a starship - and unless Sam was misreading the power readings, one that was powering up already.

*****​

Outside Goa'uld Underground Base, PX4-223, November 20th, 1998 (Earth Time)

A Goa'uld ship, powering up. Inside a fortified hill. There were times when Catra missed the Horde. To be more precise, what she missed was being in command of the Horde. Today was such a time.

"If we had a squadron of hovertanks, we could just blow the entrance open. And they'd draw fire so we'd notice any hidden guns the scan might have missed," she muttered as she studied the hill hiding an enemy facility. Or some artillery to shell the hill.

"I don't think the scan missed anything," Adora whispered next to her. "Especially not the ship."

Which they needed to stop. "Where are the hangar doors?" Catra asked over the radio.

"Lemme check... Hangar doors… Ah, there - straight up! Top of the hill! Well, a little to the west."

So they would be covered from sight and direct fire from whatever was burning behind the ridge. Made sense. "Well, fancy cutting another ship in half?" She turned her head and grinned at Adora.

Her lover frowned for a moment, then slowly nodded. "We need to stop them."

"We can try to hack the door controls if we can hack the communication system," Entrapta cut in.

"If Adora gets up there, she can stop the ship and get us inside," Catra pointed out.

"Yes." Catra expected Adora to charge ahead, but her lover was hesitating. "Jack?" she asked.

"Alright, stopping the ship takes priority. Without blowing it up, please, since our people might be on it. Go get the hangar." O'Neill nodded.

And Adora took off like a rocket, dashing across the small clearing towards the flank of the hill.

With Catra right behind her, of course. As if she'd let her lover do this alone! Even if Adora could do it alone. Though Catra had to drop to all fours to keep up.

Before she could glance back to check what their friends were doing, guns opened up from the hill. Staff cannons or whatever they were called - blasts tore up the ground nearby as Catra began to weave between shots, once jumping over one, baring her teeth as she charged ahead.

Adora just kept going, swatting a blast away with her sword when she got closer. "Stay behind me!"

Catra had the urge to swerve to the side in response to that - she could charge the hill perfectly fine by herself! - but stayed close to and behind her lover. Someone had to ensure she didn't fall for a stupid trick or so.

They reached the foot of the hill and kept going. Adora swatted another blast away, then turned her sword into a shield, catching one, then another shot as she went straight towards a gun emplacement, then past it.

Catra, hot on her heels, grinned as she slashed with her claws and cut the barrel of the gun as she passed it herself. A moment later, the gun exploded, taking the emplacement with it. If the blaster fire or the ship's engines turning on hadn't alarmed whoever was invading the planet, then the smoke would. Well, that couldn't be helped.

They were about to reach the top of the hill, and Catra pushed the button on her radio. "How many guns are on the top of the hill?"

"Uh… Two. West and east," Entrapta replied.

Pretty weak as anti-aircraft artillery went. But Catra wouldn't complain. "Taking East!" she yelled, veering off.

"West!" Adora replied.

By the time they crested the hilltop, the gun emplacements were already firing. The gunners were better than their friends below - the shots came much closer to Catra as she rushed forward.

Closer, but not close enough. Catra jumped, rolled and came up next to the gun. She ripped it in half with her claws, then rolled away. Once again, the gun exploded, and Catra heard someone scream inside the bunker.

Adora had literally crushed the gun emplacement on the other side just in time for the hangar doors starting to pull away, tearing the grass and bushes growing here apart. The hangar hadn't been used regularly, then - probably a bolthole with an escape ship, Catra realised.

And now it was a trap. As soon as the gap was wide enough, Adora jumped down the hole. Catra was a bit more cautious, crouching at the edge and looking down. There was a small transport down there - a Tel'tak, if she wasn't mistaken. Adora had dropped on top of it right when it had started to hover and drove her sword through the engine section.

The ship fell about a yard down, and Catra gritted her teeth at the crashing sound. But the crew was already charging out of it, staff weapons at the ready.

Catra came down on one of them, feet first. Her claws almost went through him into the floor, breaking her fall, and she rolled off. A swipe with her hands cut deep into the leg of another Jaffa firing on Adora, and the man fell to the ground. Her claws tore through his throat before he could recover.

That was it for the hangar, but… there was still someone inside the ship. Catra could hear them. More than one. And footsteps from the side door - reinforcements were arriving.

She grinned, flashing her fangs. After months of politics on Earth, she could finally cut loose!

"Check the ship!" she snapped, then dashed forward, pouncing on the first Jaffa who came through the door, her claws ripping through both his arms and his weapon. As he started to scream, blood gushing from the stumps, she was already inside the reach of the next, kicking the staff weapon to the side as she gutted the man and cut the larva inside his belly at the same time.

The last of the reinforcements got a shot off so close, she felt the heat on her cheek before she swept his legs, but a miss was a miss. She knocked him out with a straight blow to the head. They needed prisoners, after all.

*****​

Jack O'Neill ducked as he ran towards the now revealed bunker entrance. Emily's shield might be covering them, and the huge bot certainly had drawn fire right until the last gun covering their approach had been melted by an arrow from Bow - and Jack wasn't sure he wanted to know how that had worked - but he knew better than to think everything was going according to plan. Some defenders might make a sally - the Jaffa were crazy like that.

They reached the now revealed doors, and Carter went straight for their controls. By the time Entrapta joined her, she already had the covering plate off.

"Adora and Catra have reached the top of the hill," Glimmer said. "We've got them trapped now."

Jack made a vaguely agreeing noise. The snakes were tricky - you couldn't assume that they were done for until you had them in the morgue or a secure cell. Even though things were looking good thanks to the Etherians. SG-1 would have found a way into the hill without their help, Jack was sure of that, but they wouldn't have been able to just charge it and shrug off whatever the Jaffa threw at them.

Glancing at Emily, he made a mental note to ask Carter to make a bot with a shield generator for SG-1. They needed it.

"Oh, look at that architecture!"

Jack turned, carbine rising, but the door was still locked - Entrapta was gushing over the computer innards or something. Or she was talking about the architecture inside - she was looking at her multi-tool-thingy.

"How much longer, Carter?" Jack asked.

"I can't yet… Done!"

Jack grinned as the door started to open, taking a step to the side. A blast from a staff weapon splashed against the shield, and the Jaffa in the door died before he could fire another one, hit by Jack's burst and a volley from Teal'c.

Unfortunately, the entrance was a bit too narrow for Emily, so things would be trickier now. Assaulting an underground complex was never really safe. Unless you were a magical space princess who could shrug off tank rounds, maybe. But Adora was busy stopping a ship from taking off. Probably by grabbing its tail and just holding onto it.

So Jack took the lead, Teal'c behind him, backed by Bow. Glimmer could watch Carter and Entrapta, which would keep Her Majesty from the frontline as a neat side-effect. And Emily could guard the exit.

He stepped over the dead body, then rushed forward, pressing his back against the wall at the first corner. A glance - and he ducked back in time to avoid the staff blast sent at him. The wall on the other side exploded in a small cloud of smoke and fire. But Jack had already grabbed a grenade. Pulling the pin and throwing it was almost an instinct.

"Fire in the hole!"

He was around the corner as soon as the explosion went off, charging ahead. Another body was on the ground, where the shooter had been, and Jack put a burst into it without thinking, already looking for more enemies.

But he didn't see anyone, and no one was firing at him, either. "See any bad guys on your scanner?" he snapped as the others caught up.

"Uh… no… yes, but they're all going into the hangar," Entrapta reported. "Three… two… one… none."

What? Oh. "All down?"

"Yes."

Melog the creepy space cat made a noise that was probably agreement.

"The rest of the complex is clear, sir," Carter told him. "Except for the Tel'tak. Scans are impeded there, though."

"So, if our people are alive, they're in the ship." Jack nodded.

"Unless they are in a room shielded from our scanners."

Of course. Not that it was likely - if the snakes could do that, they would have hidden the entire facility - Jack knew a bolthole if he saw one. "Let's go join the others!"

It didn't take them long to reach the hangar, and not even Daniel was distracted by the luxury quarters they passed on the way - Goa'uld simply didn't do spartan.

The ship looked… well, it wasn't burning, but there were still sparks flying around the remains of its engines. Adora and Catra were staring at the ship's doors.

Jack cursed. If those two hadn't yet taken down the snakes or Jaffa inside the ship, then that left one obvious conclusion. "Hostages?"

Catra nodded with a grim expression. Well, they were veterans.

"Let's negotiate," Jack said with a sneer. "But if you can take a shot, do it," he added in a whisper.

The others nodded, and Jack took a step forward. His people, his responsibility. "Hey! We've got you pinned down. How about you surrender, and we won't kill you?"

Daniel muttered something behind him, but Jack ignored him. The snakes were too arrogant to appreciate a more respectful tone anyway.

To his mild surprise, the door slowly opened, and he saw a figure stepping onto the ramp - no, two. Lenkova, beaten up but alive, in the grip of a Jaffa who held a zat to her head. She was conscious as well, one hand on the arm around her neck, the other dangling at her side.

She hadn't gone down easily, then. Good. Jack hadn't expected anything else.

The Jaffa said something in gibberish.

"He wants a ship in exchange for the hostages," Daniel translated. "Or a passage through the gate."

Teal'c said something in return. The way the Jaffa sneered at him, it could have been either an insult to the guy's parents or something about not following false gods.

Another Jaffa appeared, holding up the axe-wielding Russian. The guy looked worse than Lenkova - he was unconscious and had badly-dressed wounds.

Another comment in gibberish.

"They say that he will kill the man if we need proof that they are serious," Daniel translated.

Damn. Jack clenched his teeth. He hated negotiating with hostage takers.

*****​

Adora clenched her teeth and glared at the Jaffa holding Lieutenant Lenkova. She hated hostage situations. For all her power, she couldn't do anything without risking an innocent. She was probably quick enough to take out the Jaffa before he could kill his hostage, but she couldn't be sure - it would take only a twitch of his finger to fire the weapon. And that would still leave the second hostage. Adora couldn't get both at the same time. And coordinating with her allies and friends… still too dangerous. The slightest delay would doom one hostage.

"Tell them that if they kill a hostage, we'll kill them all," Jack said. He was so angry, Adora could almost feel the tension.

Daniel translated. Entrapta mumbled something about working on a translation matrix in the future. And Catra…

…had cocked her head and was glancing at Melog. "Are you sure? Dumb question, sorry."

Oh! Adora understood. If Melog could create an illusion to fool the Jaffa, Adora and her friends could easily stop them. But Melog needed magic for that. And Adora hadn't restored magic to the planet yet. Stupid - she should have done that right after arriving. Then Glimmer would be able to teleport, Melog could do magic, and… well, it would be enough.

But they could still do it. Pretend to give in to the Jaffa's demand, retreat as a sign of goodwill, restore magic, then strike. Yes, that was a good plan.

"Adora." Catra's hiss interrupted her planning. "Get the one on the right. Now!"

The one holding the wounded man. For a moment, Adora hesitated. This would endanger Lieutenant Lenkova. But it was Catra. She would have a plan.

Adora rushed forward, covering the distance in an instant, her sword flashing. The blade cut through the Jaffa's arm before he could fire his weapon, and he stumbled back, blood gushing from his stump as his hand, still holding the weapon, dropped to the ground.

Adora whirled to face the other…

…and saw him aim his weapon at Catra, throwing his hostage to the side. Catra ducked under the blast, dropping to all fours, then pounced - past the Jaffa, claws ripping through his neck before she landed on Lieutenant Lenkova, knocking the woman out…

What? Adora gasped. Why would…?

"She's a Goa'uld," Catra snapped. "Melog sensed the snake."

Oh, no! Adora drew a sharp breath.

Jack cursed.

"Yes," Entrapta confirmed, looking at her multitool. "There's a parasite wrapped around her spine."

"But… the Jaffa couldn't use their larvae. So, where's the body of the original host?" Daniel asked. "Wouldn't you have seen it on the scanner?"

"Blocked inside the ship. Or disintegrated," Jack said. "Damn." He had his gun trained on the unconscious woman, Adora realised. And he was still so tense…

"Don't shoot her!" she blurted out.

"I wasn't going to," Jack spat. But he wanted to; Adora could tell. "Even if it would be a mercy." Well, everyone could tell.

"Don't worry! We'll figure out how to remove the parasite without killing her!" Entrapta was the only one smiling amongst the group.

But now Daniel was smiling tentatively as well. "Are you sure?"

"If it's possible, we can do it! And there's no reason it should be impossible!" Entrapta beamed. "Sam was once possessed as well, and she's not dead, so possession can end without killing the host. We just have to find out how to do it without the help of the parasite."

"Best keep her sedated, though, to avoid the Goa'uld committing suicide out of spite," Sam said. She was kneeling at the man's side. "He needs medical help."

Or healing. Adora bit her lower lip. "I can restore magic and heal him."

"And half the planet?" Jack asked. "Or resurrect the Jaffa?"

"Jack!" Daniel protested.

"Hey! We don't know what this planet's magic will do, do we? It could be zombie apocalypse time."

Adora frowned - the odds for that were… well, very low. She had never heard of such a thing until she had met SG-1.

"Could the, uh, magic boost you get when you restore it be used to remove a Goa'uld?" Daniel asked.

That was possible. Probably. But Adora couldn't be sure. And if she healed the woman and the Goa'uld by mistake…

"Let's not try it in the field. Just get both back through the gate so they can be… treated," Jack said. "We can experiment when we're not on a planet under attack."

Adora nodded.

"What about the attackers?" Catra asked. "We still don't know what happened here. We should at least take a look."

"We can do that afterwards. We need to take care of our wounded first," Jack said. "And of the prisoner."

He was right. Adora nodded. "Let's carry them back."

"Emily can use her transport configuration!" Entrapta said.

"We should secure all data in this ship and bunker, though," Sam cut in.

"Well, that…"

A beeping sound from Entrapta's tool interrupted them. "Oh! Beatrice says someone's approaching the gate!"

Adora saw Jack check his watch before using his radio. "Stargate Command? SG-1. Close the gate, then redial it. We need to block someone from escaping."

Oh! That was smart - the gate couldn't be kept open forever, just a bit less than an hour, but if they redialed it right now, Adora and her friends would have enough time to get back to the gate while it was still blocked.

"I could teleport us back there in a few seconds," Glimmer offered.

Jack tilted his head. "But we would have to restore magic for that. And risk a zombie apocalypse."

Glimmer rolled her eyes. "It would allow us to catch whoever is approaching the gate."

"And find out what is going on here," Catra added.

"And risk Lenkova's life?" Jack retorted.

He was right. Adora could just use the magic for something else, but that was a bit dangerous as well. The last time she had 'improvised', she had turned a huge ship into a plant.

"Let's walk," Adora said.

"And have 'Beatrice' track the guy," Jack added.

*****​

Gate Area, PX4-223, November 20th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Samantha Carter checked her scanner when they approached the Stargate. "The contact hasn't moved," she reported.

"Still hiding out in the bushes?" the Colonel asked. "Watching us?"

"Yes, sir." Well, she couldn't tell if they were watching the Stargate, but it was very likely. Why else would they hide with a line of sight to the gate area?

"Probably ready to snipe us as soon as we leave Emily's shield," Catra added, staring at the smaller ridge covered with tall grass and bushes.

"The Naquadah detected would fit a weapon like a zat'nik'tel," Entrapta confirmed.

But the range was very far for a zat. Not impossible to hit your target with proper sights, but it came close. And the Goa'uld weapons usually didn't have sights worthy of the name. In addition, the odds of the shot's charge holding together over this distance… "I think they're just observing," Sam said.

Catra scoffed. "Probably waiting until we've left so they can flee through the gate."

That was, again, very likely.

"Well, we need to move our wounded through the gate," the Colonel said as they reached the D.H.D. "Keep an eye on them." Then he tapped his radio. "SG-1 to Stargate Command. We've secured the gate - send the medics through."

A moment later, a mixed team of medics and guards stepped through the gate, followed by Janet.

"Doc?" The Colonel frowned. "It's not that urgent."

"I've got orders to check for biological contamination," Janet replied, already kneeling next to the wounded Russian.

The Colonel muttered something about paranoid Russians but didn't voice any further complaint.

Sam was forced to agree with the precaution. She-Ra might be able to heal anything, and they had the gate area back home quarantined until scans were done, but it didn't hurt to be a little more cautious here. Even if Entrapta and Sam hadn't detected anything with their scanner.

Janet quickly and efficiently treated the man's wounds before giving the go-ahead for transport. Two medics picked up the stretcher as the gate collapsed, and Sam dialled home.

Janet was already examining Lenkova - far more cautiously than before. Sam approved; if the Goa'uld woke up and couldn't escape, it would try to gain another host. And Janet would be closest.

Sam shivered at the thought, trying not to remember her own possession. Being controlled by an alien, reduced to watching helplessly as her body moved on its own… It was a mercy that Lenkova was unconscious now - no one should suffer through that. Sam would rather die than experience it again, no matter how optimistic Entrapta was about removing the parasite.

But Janet didn't find anything either, nor on the second prisoner, and soon, the secured and sedated Lenkova and the Jaffa Catra had knocked out were carried through the gate as well - escorted by two full teams of guards. The two bodies they had recovered on the way back followed.

And that left SG1 and the Etherians free to deal with their spy.

"Watch the gate," the Colonel ordered the remaining guards. "We're going to flush out our little snake."

"If I could teleport, we could just grab them," Glimmer suggested. "I could drop Adora on them."

"Let's not use the magic whammy just yet," the Colonel objected. "Save that for a surprise."

"If they run, I won't be chasing them all over the planet," Catra said. "Not without a skiff or something."

Which wouldn't fit through the gate or could even reach the gate room. But other vehicles might - small ones like dirt bikes or quads. Once they relocated the Stargate, though, they would have a much easier time getting vehicles to and through the gate.

"Well, let's see if we can fool our little snake. We'll march towards the eastern ridge to watch what's burning, and once in the woods, we'll turn right to come at them from behind." The Colonel grinned. "Should be fun."

"Or we could just wait for them to come to us, Jack," Daniel said.

"Well, I don't think…" The Colonel trailed off and cursed.

Sam looked up and clenched her teeth - the Goa'uld had stopped hiding and was now out in the open, walking towards the gate.

She heard the Colonel mutter a curse under his breath.

"Are they surrendering?" Adora asked.

"They might prefer being captured to being left behind," Bow speculated. "But they could just leave after us."

"It's probably a trick." Catra scoffed. She squinted. "They're armed with a zat."

"Anything else? Like some bombs? Poison?" the Colonel asked.

Sam quickly ran a scan with Entrpata. "No, sir. But it's definitely a Goa'uld host."

"I don't like this."

Sam didn't like it either. It was never a good sign when the Goa'uld deviated from standard behaviour.

Once the Goa'uld was about twenty yards away - fifteen from the outer edge of Emily's force field - the Colonel called out. "That's far enough."

The Goa'uld stopped and nodded. "You're the Tau'ri."

"And you're the Goa'uld," the Colonel shot back. He didn't nod.

"I'm not Goa'uld. I'm Tok'ra."

Sam gasped before she could control herself. Tok'ra. Like Jolinar, who had taken over Sam's body and then ended up sacrificing herself for her.

She closed her eyes for a moment, struggling with the memories. This complicated things.

*****​

"I am Jakar of the Tok'ra."

A Tok'ra? Catra narrowed her eyes at the Goa'uld. She had heard of the Tok'ra in a few briefings, and from Sam, but it seemed a little too convenient to meet a Tok'ra here, in the middle of an attack or whatever, when they were blocking the gate and with it, the Goa'uld's escape.

O'Neill seemed to share her thoughts. "Well, that's what a Goa'uld would say, isn't it?" His smile was all teeth.

The Goa'uld wasn't fazed, though. "Only if they would ever think of trying to pass as one of us - and if they would also think they have enough knowledge to manage that. Which is rather unlikely given our secrecy. And how would they know whether or not you have an easy way to verify any such claim?" His smile was friendly. Maybe a little too friendly for Catra's taste.

"Well, it would certainly be nice if we did have an easy way to check your claim." O'Neill shrugged. "But you know… we kind of don't. The last guy of yours we had contact with didn't leave a home address."

"We survive thanks to secrecy," the Goa'uld retorted. "Telling anyone about us would put our agents at risk. If the Goa'uld ever found our bases, they would destroy us."

"Not telling anyone about you also puts you at risk," Glimmer pointed out. "We can't really check if a Goa'uld is a Tok'ra when we fight them."

"Yes," Adora agreed. "If you're fighting the Goa'uld, you should ally with us."

"And who are you?" the Goa'uld asked. He nodded at Catra. "You are not of the Tau'ri."

Catra grinned in return. "Secrecy saves lives," she said before her friends could blurt out critical information. They already had one Goa'uld who knew everything the Russian woman knew - which included information about the Alliance. "You still haven't proven your identity."

The Goa'uld closed his eyes for a moment, then suddenly spoke with a different voice. "I am Mats, the partner of Jakar. I can vouch for him."

"A Goa'uld would never grant their host control," Daniel said.

"Unless they're desperate," Catra told him. "Or have a way to enforce obedience, like hostages. Or they're just faking it, and it's still the Goa'uld in control."

"Indeed," Teal'c spoke up. "A false god is not forced to use their command voice."

The man tilted his head as he looked at them. "Then it seems that we are at an impasse."

"You could, you know, leave your host so we can be sure you're not controlling him," O'Neill suggested.

"Even if I had the means available here in the field, that wouldn't eliminate the possibility that I am controlled through other means," the man - or the Goa'uld - said.

O'Neill frowned at Catra as if that was her fault. She had just pointed out a weakness in the Goa'ul's claim!

"I can give you the information to contact one of our agents," the Goa'uld went on. "They can prove my claims, and I can stay your prisoner until then."

"You really want to leave the planet, huh?" O'Neill narrowed his eyes.

"Apophis will not take the destruction of one of his secret research facilities without striking back," Jakar replied. "I don't know if I managed to prevent an alert from reaching his forces. I sabotaged the normal channels, but if they had a backup channel…" He spread his hands. "I would rather not be present when his ships arrive - or when he sends troops through the gate. He will assume this is an attack of a rival and stop at nothing to find out who would dare strike at him."

"Research facility?" Entrapta perked up. "What kind of research?"

"Weapons of mass destruction," Jakar replied. "We couldn't allow that."

"Oh."

It was a good answer. Maybe a little too good for Catra's taste. The Goa'uld was a little too smooth - he reminded her of Double Trouble. And that wasn't a good thing. "So, you blew up the entire facility? With everyone inside?"

"Except for the second in command, who managed to escape - but who, I believe, was captured by you. After taking a new host."

Right, the Goa'uld had watched them send the wounded through the gate.

"Well, if you want to surrender so we can sort out your credentials later, I'm not going to object," O'Neill said.

And so the Goa'uld could gather more information, of course. Either as a bonus or as the main objective. No, Catra quickly discarded that idea - it would be too dangerous and too unlikely to succeed.

Jakar carefully drew the zat, then put it down on the ground. "I surrender then."

"Good. Now, you don't mind us checking out your claims here, do you?" O'Neill grinned. "I'd like to take your word for it, but I have to check myself what exactly is burning on the other side of that ridge."

"I would suggest you do not linger - Apophis might arrive any moment. He doesn't like his people using the gate here, to keep the location a secret, but in an emergency, he will not hesitate to send troops through the gate."

Catra didn't quite understand how not using the gate kept it secret - was there some registry that got updated every time a gate was used? She would have to ask the others.

But first, they had to verify the claims from the Goa'uld. And then they had to decide how to deal with the Tok'ra.

*****​
 
Chapter 53: The Recon Mission Part 3
Chapter 53: The Recon Mission Part 3

PX4-223, November 20th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"Alright, careful now - we don't want to run into an ambush." Jack O'Neill knew the odds of running into an ambush were very low - between Catra taking point and Carter and Entrapta scanning - probably mapping the entire planet by now - he didn't think there would be any enemy able to ambush them. Then again, overconfidence was a recipe for disaster.

"We're almost at the ridge," Glimmer pointed out. Jack heard the 'and we could have been here half an hour ago if magic had been restored' without her having to say it - she had said it often enough.

But he didn't trust strange magic. Adora meant well - she was one of the most idealistic persons he knew, even putting Daniel to shame - but Jack really didn't want to risk her getting pumped full of magic and improvising something to use all that power. Not on a strange planet where the Goa'uld were - or had been - researching weapons of mass destruction. The supposed Tok'ra hadn't mentioned what kind of weapons Apophis's goons had been working on, but Jack would bet a month's worth of jello that it was biological weapons. The Goa'uld already had nukes and possibly Naquadah-enhanced nukes, and chemical weapons were more situational and needed more resources to be deployed than biological weapons - and research into chemical weapons wasn't that dangerous. Even if there was an accident, a lab wouldn't have enough of the stuff to threaten more than the lab itself and maybe the area around it.

Biological weapons, though… Those were so dangerous that moving the lab to a forgotten planet and forbidding the researchers and the Jaffa from using the gate for any transport made sense. Of course, moving the lab to a world without a gate might have been even safer, or into a ship, but… Well, who knew what snakes were thinking? Apophis probably wanted to have the opportunity to reinforce the planet on the quick with expendable troops.

Well, it did backfire on him. If 'Jakar' had told them the truth, of course. They would find out soon.

Catra, ahead of them, dropped to all four and was now crawling up the last part of the hill before the top. Jack bit his tongue before he made a comment about watching her tail - Adora was a very nice girl, and Jack trusted her to watch his back any day, but from what he had learned in their time together from throw-away comments and the odd discussion, Adora's relationship with Catra was something best left alone.

"Yeah, those are burning craters," Catra reported. "Whatever it was, was underground, I'd say."

Jack heard Carter behind him make that little sound that told him she wanted to check herself but was too polite to say so out loud and grinned. A moment later, he reached the ridge's top and pulled out his binocs. Yeah, those looked like bunkers that had blown up. He saw three craters, one of them formed by at least two explosions. But had they blown up from within due to sabotage, or had they been hit by bunker-busters or similar weapons from above?

Well, Carter and Entrapta would find out soon. Jack didn't look at Carter's back when she crawled up the ridge next to him, followed by… Entrapta's hair, which dragged the princess up.

"Oh, the structural damage… yes…"

"The blast pattern is rather distinctive, right, Sam?"

"Yes. And the spread of the broken walls and roofs…"

"Yes! I don't see any trace in any part of an initial penetration, but that could have been wiped by the explosion."

That probably meant that the snake had told them the truth about sabotage being the cause of the explosion. But that didn't mean that the snake had told them the truth about anything else. Jack was almost glad that the gate room was currently under the command of Sidorov - a paranoid Russian officer would ensure that the snake couldn't get free and wreak havoc. Especially since Carter and Entrapta had taken away all the snake's toys.

Jack cleared his throat. "And is there anything biological showing on your thingies?" If the ashes of people were detectable in the smoke, what about biological agents?

"Nothing, sir. I would have informed you at once," Carter replied. She sounded just a tiny bit annoyed at the implication that she might have forgotten to check for traces of bioweapons.

"Emily's keeping an eye out!" Entrapta said. "Nothing on her scanners so far. Of course, an advanced experimental bioweapon might be masquerading as something harmless and only change into a dangerous compound when triggered. At least, that is what I would do should I research something like it."

Jack glanced around - he wasn't the only one wincing at the princess's words. Not by far.

"I don't think we should be researching bioweapons," Adora said with a very forced smile.

"But how can we defend against Goa'uld bioweapons if we don't do any research?"

Jack clenched his teeth. That was an excellent question. He would have to tell Carter to press for a lab in space at once. One with a nuclear self-destruct.

"Looks like there are no survivors," Catra commented after a moment. "I wonder if they were experimenting on people."

Once more, everyone winced. And Jack made a mental note to ask a few pointed questions to their new prisoners - all of them - about that.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 20th, 1998

"A research facility for biological weapons? And you went there?"

The Russian general looked like he was about to need some healing any moment now, Adora thought. He was red in the face and trembling. Although judging by the way Jack reacted to this sight - or not reacted, as was the case - this was normal for the man. On the other hand, this was Jack. Adora glanced at the rest of SG-1. None of them seemed concerned. Sam was glancing towards where Entrapta and Emily were standing, probably counting the seconds until they could go to her lab. Teal'c was doing his stoic thing and not showing any reaction - then again, that was normal for him. But Daniel also looked unconcerned - at least for the Russian.

Who, Adora noted, didn't seem to care overly much about the dead and wounded members of his team, including Lieutenant Lenkova's possession. Then again, biological weapons were terrifying if you couldn't heal everything with magic. But she could, and the general knew it, so this made not much sense.

"Yes, General," Jack replied. "After careful analysis of the atmosphere and finding no traces of any biological agent. Except for the ashes of the dead."

Adora winced. There had to be a lot of people in the facility for that to be noticeable. Not a few researchers and a handful of guards as she had imagined.

"We're dealing with alien technology here!" Sidorov shook his head. "Alien weapons created to fool alien sensors! You cannot trust such an analysis!"

Ah, that must have rankled Sam. She stood just a bit straighter. "We performed all possible scans, General. Including magical scans. There was no unidentified biological agent in the area or air that we were exposed to - all the organisms we found were familiar."

"Yes!" Entrapta chimed in. "We took lots of samples! I was hoping for interesting new data, but we didn't encounter anything we didn't already know - the planet was probably seeded with bioforms from Earth, although to determine when that happened, we need to extensively analyse the samples we took for genetic drift. Once we know that, we can calculate the time of divergence."

"I don't care about that!" the Russian spat. "I care about the danger you might have exposed Earth to with your decision to not only investigate a weapon research facility but take prisoners from there! We had to lock down the entire base to contain a possible outbreak!"

Oh. Adora blinked. "You quarantined the base?" she asked.

"You mean you want to lock us up here?" Catra hissed.

"It's necessary to ensure that we were not contaminated!" the Russian retorted.

"Quarantine after a potential exposure is standard procedure," Sam admitted. "But only until the medical officer in charge clears us."

Well, that was only sensible. "We can wait until then," Adora said. "I can also heal everyone who was exposed, just in case." She could do that now that they were back on Earth.

"Or we can have Glimmer teleport us directly onto our sealed shuttle and wait in orbit until you sort out your stuff here," Catra suggested with a frown at Adora. As if Adora hadn't a perfectly sensible reason for offering to heal everyone!

"Yes!" Glimmer nodded. "That way, we won't endanger anyone."

The Russian general opened his mouth, then closed it again - apparently, he was at a loss for words. Or he had remembered that he wasn't talking to subordinates.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea to keep you from getting stuck here," Jack agreed. "I think I'll spend quarantine asking our new guest a few questions."

Adora frowned at him - it was as if he didn't want her to heal anyone either!

"I shall join you, O'Neill."

"I have work to do," Daniel said.

"We can take you with us," Entrapta told Sam. "This is a good opportunity to work on getting our space lab going! Bow, you coming as well?"

"Well…"

"I think we should ask the prisoners some questions as well," Glimmer said.

"Yes," Catra agreed.

"And I would like to heal Sergeant Popov," Adora added. At least no one objected to that!

"Granted," the General told her - after a second or two, though. "But the prisoners are off-limits until we're sure they aren't dangerous!"

"That could take a while," Jack commented with an overly innocent expression. "After all, one of them confessed to blowing up an underground facility as a saboteur and spy."

"And you brought him here!" the General retorted. "Despite the danger!" He shook his head.

Jack muttered something under his breath that she didn't catch, but Catra giggled. Adora would have to ask her lover after this.

"I think under the circumstances, there's no reason to isolate SG-1 and our allies from the prisoners. The whole base is already locked down, after all." General Haig had arrived. At just the right moment to solve the issue.

Adora couldn't help remembering the officer's course about timing. But she could discuss that later with the others - she had a wounded soldier to heal. And then some prisoners to interrogate.

Especially about the number of people in that base and what they had been doing there before they were killed. Jack had mentioned 'test subjects', and if the saboteur had killed innocent victims of the Goa'uld…

She shook her head as she followed the others to the infirmary. She had to focus on healing the wounded first.

*****​

"Say tight! I'm fetching the others!" Glimmer disappeared in a sparkly cloud before Samantha Carter could reply.

That wasn't a bad thing, though. Being teleported wasn't a new experience for Sam. Far from it. Between the ring transporters and whatever the Asgard had used, she had done it often enough. Being teleported by a living being, however, using pure magic… It was a little unnerving. Computers were not perfect, but as long as they worked, they generally did exactly what they were programmed for. And they had perfect memory. Sam was trusting computers with her life every time she used a plane, for example. People, on the other hand, weren't perfect. And they didn't have perfect memory.

Glimmer teleporting her meant that Sam had to trust the princess to transport her solely with the power of her mind and magic. And that took some work, even though Sam would never say so.

But they had arrived safely in the shuttle on the base's landing pad. At least as far as Sam could tell. And it was nice to leave the base despite the mandatory quarantine. Sam didn't have the Colonel's personal history with the Russians in the Cold War, but she had been trained by people with said experience at the Academy, and her experience with Sidorov hadn't been very positive so far.

"OK! The shuttle's sensors show that the seal wasn't breached - we're still isolated from the atmosphere," Entrapta reported.

"And the scans are still negative," Sam added after a check of her instruments.

"Of course!" Entrapta wasn't fazed by the possibility of contamination by biological agents. Not at all - Sam could tell. The princess sat down in her favourite seat on the shuttle. "So, should we have a mandatory quarantine protocol in our spacelab as well? Once we research biological weapons?"

Sam suppressed a sigh. "That would be prudent, yes. But I don't know if we should focus on that area of research." And not merely because Sam was a physicist and not a biologist.

"Why not?"

"I think magitech should take priority. By combining magic and technology, we can gain a clear advantage over the Goa'uld," Sam replied. "Like with our scanner."

"Right. But bioweapons present an obvious danger, especially with the Stargates allowing contaminated people to travel instantly to other planets," Entrapta objected. "If the Goa'uld manage to develop agents that masquerade as - or are - harmless organisms or substances before triggered into taking effect, that could circumvent our sensors."

That was merely a theoretical possibility so far. Sam wouldn't dismiss the possibility, but it would require very detailed knowledge of all the sensors, scanners and other tools the targets used to screen for bioweapons in order to bypass them. Then again, with magic, it might be possible. "The more we improve our magitech scanner, the smaller the chances of the Goa'uld managing to fool them," she said.

"Right! If we can detect it, we can beat it! Adora can heal any sickness, anyway." Entrapta nodded.

"Any sickness we know," Sam said. "There might be something She-Ra's magic cannot handle."

Entrapta blinked, then wrinkled her nose. "In theory, yes. But it would require similar powers, I think - her magic isn't quite like the normal princess type. It's not as limited if she has enough power, though I haven't yet found out if it's actually conceptual magic. We can't easily test for that. Glimmer says it's unlikely since conceptual magic was merely theorised by Mystacore's sages. Although the reasoning is rather weak. She-Ra's healing is not guided by her knowledge - she's no medical expert - but that doesn't mean it's conceptual healing. It's far more likely that her magic just restores the 'healthy' state of the target, which could be easily deduced by magic."

Sam hoped that that was the case. What Entrapta had told her about conceptual magic was… frightening. Magic working from basic concepts - it was almost an outside context problem for reality. Of course, the actual effects might not be very dissimilar. Whether you were healed because magic changed reality according to the concept of healing or because it simply restored your health was likely working out the same for the target.

"So… did you look over the blueprints I sent you?"

"For the lab? Yes." Of course, Sam had looked them over! A lab in space offered so many possibilities! Microgravity, safe conditions for more dangerous research, remote access… And, of course, it being an Etherian project - nominally - less to no supervision by superiors who lacked the scientific education and knowledge to understand her work. Also, no struggle for a working budget.

There wouldn't be any experiments cancelled because of funding being diverted to other projects or hypothetical dangers of catastrophic failure there. "I think it's a sound layout, though I have a few suggestions, like…"

Glimmer returned with Bow and Adora, interrupting Sam. "Sorry for the delay. Adora had to heal the entire infirmary."

"I couldn't just leave them suffering there!" Adora pouted. "Ah, right! Almost forgot!" A moment later, Sam was staring at the tip of She-Ra's sword.

And then she was healed.

"Just in case there was something on that planet - better safe than sorry, right?"

Sam managed to nod while she blinked and took a deep breath.

"OK, I'm taking Adora back so she and Catra can help interrogate the prisoners," Glimmer announced, but Sam was only half-listening. "Then we can take off!"

She felt… Well, that was what the Colonel must have been feeling ever since he had been healed. She felt… perfect. Perfectly rested, not even a trace of pain or strain.

Wow.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 20th, 1998

"...and you can simply drop off my message and a contact location at this address, and the Tok'ra will make contact. It might take a while, though - obviously, we do not have a regular schedule for such drops."

The damn Goa'uld is too smug, Catra thought. Far too smug. He acted like he was in charge of them and not inside a cell, leaning back with a wide smile - she was sure that that was the parasite, not the host. But he couldn't actually be that confident, could he? The Tok'ra didn't have too much intel on Earth and nothing on the Alliance. It had to be a front.

And two could play that game.

"Yep, so you say. Of course, letting you write a message is kind of tricky, you know - you might slip in critical intel," O'Neill said.

"Of course I would add critical intel, Colonel O'Neill - I have to prove to my superiors that both my identity and that this isn't a trap but a way to contact a potential ally." Jakar inclined his head. His attitude wasn't as bad as Shadow Weaver's had been, even when she had been in a cell, but still quite condescending.

"You think we could be valuable allies?" O'Neill leaned forward, both hands on the table between them and the Goa'uld.

"I do. While various System Lords remain in ignorance of what you have achieved, we have better information than them. Few powers can boast of fending off an attack personally led by Apophis, although he clearly underestimated you." He nodded at Catra and Adora. "Of course, we didn't know either that you already made allies with another power."

That was a blatant attempt at fishing for information.

"I couldn't possibly comment," O'Neill retorted.

Catra would have preferred a double bluff. An attempt to play up the Alliance so the Tok'ra - if they were the Tok'ra - would think they were just some individuals, or deserters like Teal'c, trying to appear more important. That was how such spies thought. But Stargate Command had insisted on no commenting on Etheria.

"You don't have to. You lost a scout team to the remnants of Apophis's researchers, then rescued the survivors and took out the researchers before they could flee. That is a remarkable achievement."

And they also wrecked the Goa'uld's ship in the process, which probably didn't please Stargate Command. Not that Catra cared - the planet had been too far to fly the ship back to Earth anyway. Well, mostly because Earth didn't have any trained pilots they could spare for the months-long journey without crippling other missions.

O'Neill shrugged. "All in a day's work."

"It was a nice diversion from paperwork," Catra added.

"Of course, you also stumbled onto a secret bioweapon research facility by accident," Jakar went on as if that was a huge revelation and not something anyone would have deduced from their first meeting.

"And speaking of said research facility…" O'Neill smiled, showing all his teeth. "We've got a good idea about its size and structures, but how many people were inside when you blew it up?"

The Goa'uld slowly nodded, and his smile faded. "About a dozen Goa'uld and two dozen Jaffa. They were amongst the top researchers of Apophis and their best assistants. Capturing them was no option, and letting them finish their work was and remains unacceptable. As one of the primary targets of any bioweapon Apophis might develop, I am sure you agree."

"And how many 'test subjects' were in that lab?" O'Neill sounded almost bored, but that was a front, Catra could tell.

And she didn't need to look at Adora to know how tense her lover was.

Apparently, the spy also realised that. "Too many, but they were doomed from the start. At least dying in an explosion is far more merciful than dying while your lungs slowly decay over days."

"I, we could heal that," Adora blurted out.

Jakar studied her for a moment. "Regrettably, I wasn't aware of your presence until after the deed was done. And I couldn't risk spreading the weapon they were developing by evacuating the prisoners. Entire worlds would have been at risk."

"You could have evacuated them to a deserted planet and then moved supplies to sustain them there. It would have served as an effective quarantine," Adora countered.

"I fear you overestimate the means at my disposal," Jakar told her. "Placing hidden bombs at crucial locations is something I could do, albeit at great risk. However, organising a mass breakout and evacuation at the same time? And timing it so the researchers and their guards wouldn't realise what was going on before it was too late to escape the lab themselves? I doubt there is anyone who could have done this."

And that was more fishing for information. Catra squeezed Adora's thigh before she could tell them how the Alliance would do it. Without Double Trouble.

"So they were collateral damage, huh?" O'Neill asked.

The snake nodded. "A quite apt turn of phrase, Colonel. I regret their loss, but my priorities were clear."

"Yep." O'Neill slowly nodded.​

And Catra couldn't tell if he actually agreed, even if he didn't like it. She knew Adora didn't agree, of course. But if Catra had been in Jakar's place, faced with some hellish bioweapon being developed… She wasn't sure if she would have tried to blow up the researchers and most guards in their sleep while saving the test subjects, risking failure and Apophis releasing the weapon later, or would have played it safe and blown up the entire facility with everyone inside.

Even though she knew what would have been the right course of action.

"Well, write your note and give us the address," O'Neill said. "We'll pass it upstairs, and they will decide whether or not we'll risk passing it on."

And the snake was all smiles again. "Thank you, Colonel."

*****​

"So, your recommendation is that we should contact the Tok'ra."

Jack O'Neill nodded at General Haig's comment. "Yes, sir." He didn't like the snake they had currently in a cell - they reminded him of a particularly smooth spook he had known years ago, and he didn't really need to remember what that man had done 'in the line of duty' - but they needed to know more about the Tok'ra. The danger of those snakes messing up the war against the other snakes, intentionally or not, was too great to ignore. "If only to check if they're telling us the truth."

The General nodded. "Although this seems to affect far more than merely Stargate Command's operations."

Of course it did. And everyone knew it.

"It primarily involves Stargate Command," Sidorov, as expected objected. "And through it, the United Nations. It was our mission that triggered this."

Jack smiled thinly. It was obvious that the Russian hoped to use the Tok'ra to get advanced technology. Maybe that meant that the Russians weren't as far along in legalising gay marriages as Jack had expected. Daniel might be correct in his view of the influence of the Orthodox Church on politics. And the influence of the supposedly loyal folks left in charge in Chechenya.

"I concur," Li agreed, to no one's surprise. "This contact with a foreign and possibly amiable power should be handled by the United Nations."

Now, why China hadn't already legalised gay marriage, Jack had no clue. Daniel thought it wasn't about gay rights and more about a power play in the communist party, but that was pure speculation. None of the usual suspects on the talk show circuit had any idea either. Jack hoped the experts working for the government were better informed. But the Chinese would love to have two sides to play off against each other, Jack was sure of that.

And speaking of two sides… He glanced at Adora.

As if on cue, she cleared her throat. "The Princess Alliance was involved in the mission as well, and it's obvious that the Tok'ra are an important factor in the war against the Goa'uld. So, this isn't just or even primarily a Stargate Command affair. But we need to discuss it with the Alliance Command before any steps can be taken."

Haig, Petit and Hammond nodded. "Of course. It seems tabling further steps should wait until our respective governments have discussed this," Haig said.

Jack blinked for a moment until he remembered that British English got it wrong. "So, should we still contact the Tok'ra?"

"Yes. We need to know if Jakar is a Tok'ra or a Goa'uld spy," Adora said, nodding.

Jack watched the generals exchanging glances. If the Tok'ra heard about Jakar being in Earth's custody, making the snake disappear would be more difficult. He doubted that that was why Adora had said it, but Catra hadn't missed the implications - or the generals' reactions. He could see how her ears twitched.

"Yes. We need more information. If the subject in question is trying to deceive us, the whole political aspect would be rendered moot," Haig said.

"But if he isn't, this is an opportunity to make allies amongst the Goa'uld," Adora retorted. "Goa'uld who turned against the Goa'uld Empire;" she added with a smile.

Jack suppressed a cynical smile of his own. Of course, Adora would see this as a way to get more Goa'uld to change sides. But what had worked with the Horde - probably; in Jack's opinion, the jury was still out for Hordak and his 'brothers' - wouldn't work for the snakes. Though Jack would still like to know what exactly made the Tok'ra defect.

Not that it mattered right now. "I'll arrange a mission once the message has been cleared, sir." Which might take a while, of course - the snake had insisted that they had to write in their language, and the resident spooks had a devil of a time trying to find any hidden information in it.

"Yes, Colonel." Haig nodded. "Is there anything else to discuss?"

"Not right now," Catra said.

"I need to look at Lieutenant Lenkova," Adora said. "She's still hurt."

Jack wasn't the only one who tensed.

"She's also possessed by a Goa'uld," Hammond pointed out. "We don't know what effect healing her with magic might have." The unspoken 'and we don't want to find out right now' was clearly understood by everyone in the room - they were still under lockdown, after all.

Adora pouted, but Catra grabbed her hand. "She's not about to die. And we should have Entrapta take a look at her as well before we do anything."

Adora nodded, although very reluctantly.

The girl really needed some perspective. And a lot of rest and recreation, in Jack's opinion. "So, if that's all…?" He grinned - it was against protocol for him to speak out like that, being the lowest-ranked in the room, but with the Etherians around, he figured he would get away with it.

"Dismissed, Colonel," Hammond told him with a frown.

Jack saluted and left the room.

A moment later, Adora and Catra followed him.

"We'll let Glimmer handle the politics once the quarantine is lifted," Adora told him. "Let's go check up on Lieutenant Lenkova and the prisoners."

Jack nodded. Lenkova was one of his soldiers. As her commander, he had to check on her anyway. "Let's go."

He could set things in motion for the contact mission afterwards.

*****​

Lieutenant Lenkova looked terrible. Adora couldn't help wincing at the sight. Bruises all over her face and arms - the rest of the body was covered with some ugly gown and an only slightly less ugly blanket - tubes stuck in her arms and on her face…

"I thought the parasite would help with her healing," Adora said.

"She's healing faster than normal," the doctor - Janet - explained. "Just not as fast as would be normal for such a possession. Our data is very limited, though, for lack of samples."

'Samples' sounded as bad as 'test subjects', in Adora's opinion. Although she didn't have a better word.

"Could the Goa'uld have suppressed this healing effect?" Catra asked. "So we wouldn't spot it and realise she was possessed?"

"We don't know if they can do that," Janet replied.

"To my knowledge, the false gods cannot do that," Teal'c, who was apparently standing guard in the infirmary, cut in. "The effects on the host are beyond their control."

"So, what, this is some weak snake?" Jack raised his eyebrows. "Some defective bloodline or something?"

Janet narrowed her eyes at him. "We can't tell at this point. We don't have comparable data."

Jack grinned at that. "Yeah. We tend to shoot the bastards dead when we encounter them." He blinked. "And I guess beating up our other guest as a control group isn't allowed?"

Catra chuckled at the joke. Adora pressed her lips together and didn't laugh. Even if it was funny in a dark humour kind of way. Teal'c didn't move a muscle in his face, and Janet glared at Jack even more. "It's not a joke, Colonel!" she spat.

"Sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood." Jack looked solemn again. And angry.

"We'll do what we can for her," Janet told him.

"We'll have Entrapta look her over as soon as the quarantine is over and we can focus on that," Adora offered. And once Entrapta was done, Adora could heal the Lieutenant. Or try to, she added with a silent sigh. Healing magic might not do a thing about the parasite. "But we might have to ask Mystacore for help; they might know about spells that remove parasites of that nature."

"I thought you didn't have experience with such possessions," Janet said.

"We don't." The Horde hadn't had to deal with that, or they would have received some training in how to avoid it - like they got training in how to avoid catching and spreading diseases. "But there might have been similar parasites in the past or in other areas of Etheria," Adora told her.

"Speaking of contacting Etheria. How's that going?" Jack asked.

"We've sent a small flotilla back with the news when we made the first Alliance," Adora said. "But they need time to reach it. The next step is to set up a Stargate." And without a D.H.D., that required a computer and power source on the same level. Which was on Entrapta's to-do list. Glimmer was still hoping to get a D.H.D. from another source - or the one from Earth, but Adora wasn't very optimistic about that. At least the computer data from Stargate Command would help a lot, though they hadn't made a deal for that. Even then, a setup like in Stargate Command would require quite the staff on Etheria. Probably Entrapta or Bow to set it up and run it while training up a crew.

"Ah." Jack grinned. "It's like the age of sail again. When news took weeks and months to spread."

"We've mapped out the route now, so speed should improve," Catra said. "And Entrapta mentioned a plan for using scouting bots to set up a relay chain. Either way, it'll still be ready long before the Alliance on Earth is ready for war."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, mobilising a planet for war takes time."

"Like adjusting your laws," Catra commented.

Jack shrugged, but it looked a little forced. "That's not always a bad thing. Rushing something isn't always a good idea."

And sometimes, hesitation killed you and your troops. But this wasn't the time to argue about that. And it wasn't as if Adora and her friends hadn't taken things a bit more slowly after they had learned the truth about Earth.

"Aren't you concerned about the lack of news from your home?" Janet asked.

"We trust our friends," Adora replied at once.

"Unless they start a new war, things will be fine enough," Catra added. "Between Scorpia and Perfuma, and I guess Netossa and Spinerella, things should be OK. As long as Mermista keeps Seahawk from setting things on fire."

Unless something like the Heart of Etheria was discovered. She-Ra was Etheria's protector. If something happened while she wasn't there… Adora felt Catra's tail wrap around her leg and relaxed a little. Things would be fine. She had to trust their friends.

"So, what's the timeline on the quarantine, Doc?" Jack asked.

"I already gave my medical recommendation hours ago," Janet replied with a scowl. "It's up to the command council to act on it."

Jack shrugged. "They're covering their asses. Nobody wants to be known as the guy who let a deadly alien plague escape containment."

"I hope that they would be more concerned about releasing such a plague than their reputation," Adora said.

Everyone else snorted at that.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 22nd, 1998

It had taken Stargate Command forty-eight hours to lift the quarantine. Samantha Carter couldn't help feeling that it was a compromise solution - or the result of politics. It wasn't long enough to catch most actual diseases - and bioweapons would have, on average, a longer incubation time to spread more easily before anyone noticed an infection and took countermeasures. But it was long enough to show that something had been done, in case something went wrong and people were looking for a scapegoat.

Of course, if there was an actual containment break involving a bioweapon, having ordered a quarantine for forty-eight hours wouldn't save anyone's career - people would be out for blood. But in that case, careers were secondary to lives, anyway. Or should be. Sam wasn't quite sure if everyone in the new Stargate Command shared this sentiment.

"So… do you think we can get a ring transporter for our spacelab?" Entrapta asked, interrupting Sam's thoughts as they walked past Stargate Command's sentries. British soldiers, this time, which still looked weird in the mountain.

"Even if one were available, I doubt it," Sam replied as they entered the lift. "Especially if there is any dangerous research being done in the lab."

"I thought we weren't doing bioweapon research yet." Entrapta cocked her head, her hair compensating while holding various tools.

"Bots, especially bots that can build other bots, are also considered dangerous by my superiors," Sam told her. "Nanotechnology as well." Some of the Luddites even thought Stargates should be isolated - not because of the threat of invasion or infiltration through it, or an attack, but because they feared a spontaneous black hole generation or whatever.

Sam suppressed a sigh at the thought - it was the hysteria about the Large Hadron Collider all over again!

"Oh. Your superiors consider a lot of nifty technology dangerous," Entrapta commented. "That's probably why they are afraid of magic as well."

"Some technology or magic is dangerous," Sam retorted. "But they might be a bit overly cautious," she amended. Although the proposed plans to set up a base on another, deserted planet as a buffer for Earth made some sense. With the secrecy lifted, construction shouldn't be a problem - at least it wouldn't once the Stargate was relocated; moving any heavy equipment into the mountain and then through the gate was still an exercise in frustration and often futility. The base had never been designed for anything other than small exploration teams - the lack of easy access had been deemed a feature for security reasons.

"Definitely! But that's why we will have remote controls installed! So we can work even when we're not in the lab. Like when we're flying towards it!" Entrapta beamed. "I've already designed the cutest avatars for us!"

Sam nodded with a smile. Which she lost as soon as they arrived in Stargate command and stepped into the hallway. They were here to examine the prisoners, after all. And their victims.

Like Lenkova. The woman was most likely a spy for Russia and a potential threat to SG-1's commanding officer, but no one deserved to become a host for a Goa'uld.

Sam shivered before she could stop herself as they approached the infirmary. She nodded at the guards outside, then at Teal'c inside before greeting Janet with a smile that was only slightly forced. She could do this. She had to do this.

"You don't have to do this," Janet told her in a low voice. "You're not a medical doctor."

But she was, at least as far as she knew, Earth's foremost expert on magitech. "I have to," she replied. No matter how she hated it.

"So, who do we check first? The Tok'ra or the Goa'uld? Well, technically, both are Goa'uld. So, the Tok'ra or the follower of Apophis?" Entrapta, as expected, was genuinely enthusiastic.

"Let's check Lenkova first," Sam said. It would be better to examine Lenkova without any potential bias from talking to Jakar.

"Alright!" Entrapta moved towards the cells, her hair already picking up more tools from the small porter bot trailing after her.

Sam took a deep breath, ignored Janet's concerned look and followed her friend.

Lenkova looked… as expected. Only light bruises. No visible wounds. And so different compared to Sam's image of the woman. Instead of being an attractive, too attractive, confident woman, she looked frail, tied to the bed, with various tubes and sensors attached to her.

"We've been keeping her sedated. So far, the Goa'uld seems to have been sedated as well," Janet explained. "But I wouldn't advise doing that indefinitely. Even if it might be better for her mental health, the long-term effects on someone in her position are unknown. If the Goa'uld should die, she'd die as well."

Sam was aware of that - she had studied everything they knew about Goa'uld possession after… Jolinar.

She forced the memories away. "Let's hope we'll find a solution so we won't have to wake her up before removing the Goa'uld."

"Yes!" Entrapta agreed. "Now let's see what we can find out with our improved scanner mark two!"

Sam nodded and started to help set it up. And if the mark two didn't reveal anything useful, there was the mark four - they hadn't exactly spent the last two days idle, after all. And the mark three's failure hadn't cost them too much time…

*****​
 
Chapter 54: The Experiment Part 1
Chapter 54: The Experiment Part 1

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 22nd, 1998

"...and after yesterday, the amendment only needs to be ratified by one more state. Which, unless the scheduled session of its legislature changes again, will be Pennsylvania. Right, Bob?"

"Yes, Joe! Pennsylvania has gambled by delaying their session until next week and it seems they have won. The eyes of the world - no, the galaxy, since your alien friends will be watching as well - will be on Harrisburg next week when they start their special session."

"I hear CNN is selling advertising slots as if it were the Superbowl, Bob!"

"Hah! You might think you're joking, but I am sure many businesses want to be associated with this historic moment - and I bet that this will have a bigger audience than the moon landings!"

"And speaking of moon landings: NASA has finished their Mars habitat! As soon as they finalise their negotiations with the Etherians, mankind will travel to Mars to stay there!"

"Well, good for them, though I think NASA would have preferred to do so under their own power instead of hitching a ride with an alien cabby."

"Oh, come on, Bob! Who wouldn't want to hitch a ride from magical space princesses? Have you seen them?"

"I have Joe, I have!"

Catra rolled her eyes before raising her voice. "Can someone switch to a channel not populated by horny old guys?" She knew which princess they were lusting after.

The soldier closest to the TV in the mess hall jumped up and quickly started pushing buttons, switching channels rapidly until some animal documentation came up.

"Catra!" Adora hissed. "We're guests here!"

"So?" Catra scoffed. "That doesn't mean we have to listen to some idiots drooling after you."

Adora blinked. "After me?"

"Who else do you think they mean when they're talking about beautiful magical space princesses?" Catra shook her head.

"Uh… Glimmer?"

"She's a queen," Catra pointed out.

"I don't think they care about the exact titles," Adora retorted.

"You're the 'blonde amazon bombshell'," Catra told her. "Glimmer's… not." She didn't need Daniel to realise what was the most common beauty standard on Earth - you just had to watch their television shows and movies.

"I am sure she has fans as well," Adora said with a pout.

"Not nearly as many as you have." Catra was tempted to add 'and you're worshipped as a goddess', but that was a sore spot for Adora.

"That doesn't matter."

"Sure does." Catra grinned. "You're more popular than she is."

Now Adora rolled her eyes. "It's not a competition." Then she blinked and slowly started to grin. "Besides… you might be more popular than Glimmer too!"

Catra growled. "I'm not counting that crowd." She regretted looking up those people. And the kind of pictures they drew. She suppressed a shudder at the memory.

Adora grinned as if she had won the argument.

Time to change the subject. "So, when are you going to see if you can heal a snake out of a person?"

"Once we got permission from Stargate Command and Entrapta and Sam have all their scanners set up to monitor the situation," her lover replied.

And they were ready to step in if something went wrong, Catra mentally added.

"But we want to talk to Jakar first - we know they know a way to take a Goa'uld out of a host without the host dying," Adora went on. "Hopefully, without the Goa'uld dying."

Catra scoffed. She didn't care about the lives of people who enslaved others.

"If the Goa'uld knows they're going to die if we capture them, they will suicide and not let themselves get captured," Adora pointed out with a frown.

That was true. Catra nodded, acknowledging the point. "We need more sorceresses and healers. And Techmasters," she said. "Entrapta can't do everything." And it would be kind of embarrassing if Etheria ended up not mobilising enough people for the war after berating the Americans for the same mistake.

"I know," Adora said. "For that, we need the establish a Stargate."

And for that, they needed a DHD or a computer that could replace it. And for the latter, they needed access to Stargate Command's computers for Entrapta. Well, that would be a point in the upcoming negotiations with the United States.

Catra leaned back, stretching her arms over her head and throwing her head back. She heard some curses behind her, a yelp and the clattering noise that told her a tray had been dropped on the ground. "Do they have their own Kyle?" she asked as she turned around and saw a guy sprawled on the floor and covered in food.

"Kyle didn't get distracted by you stretching," Adora told her with a grin.

Catra blinked, then narrowed her eyes. "I see." Was that one of the weird ones? Or one of the people who didn't think having fur and a tail meant you were an animal instead of a person? Earth people had strange views, after all, but some were decent.

Adora was still smiling.

Time to change the subject again. "So, have you heard anything about the mission to contact the Tok'ra?"

"No. They dropped off the message, but nothing came of it so far."

"Ah." Well, Jakar had told them it might take some time. Which made sense. Of course, that was also what a Goa'uld spy would claim to buy time.

They'd find out either way.

*****​

Washington D.C., United States of America, November 25th, 1998

"Did the brass ever hear of 'don't count your chickens before they're hatched'?" Jack O'Neill asked as he leaned back in his seat in the meeting room in the White House that was now far too familiar for his taste. "Pennsylvania's still debating the ratification."

"Every analysis I have watched on television or read in the newspaper agrees that the ratification is a mere formality, O'Neill. And I believe you told me that a sign of competent military leadership is making and updating plans for every possible situation, no matter how improbable." Teal'c tilted his head slightly towards him.

"Yeeessss, I did," Jack said.

"Then would not this meeting to discuss and advise your leader for the expected negotiations with the Etherian Alliance be an example of such leadership?"

Jack narrowed his eyes. Was Teal'c making fun of him?

Daniel looked up from his laptop. "Jack's aware of that. He's just complaining out of habit, Teal'c."

"Ah. Like the rituals warriors often undergo before important battles."

"Yes, exactly," Daniel grinned.

Jack glared at him, and then at Teal'c for good measure. He would have glared at Carter, but she hadn't stopped typing on her laptop and was acting as if she hadn't heard them. "If we're talking about examples of good leadership, then asking the experts on Etherians a few days before the negotiations begin isn't a good example," he said.

Daniel blinked. "That's actually a good point, Jack. They should have called us for advice earlier. Well, we did brief them regularly, but lately, not as often as we used to…"

"That's because they think we might be too close to the Etherians," Jack told him. If this was the Cold War, and SG-1 wasn't the damn best team in Stargate Command, they would have been sent to some less critical post long ago.

"What? They think we've been compromised?" Daniel gaped.

"I do not think any would dare to question your honour," Teal'c said. "Your history speaks for yourself."

Which was the problem, of course. "Yep," Jack said. "They know we'll do the right thing."

Daniel blinked again. "Oh. You mean… even if the right thing is against orders."

Like when Apophis had attacked. Jack nodded. The brass hated soldiers who disobeyed orders - even or especially if they got results. Of course, that was why the Etherians trusted SG-1. Something the brass and the government were aware of as well. Imagining how much Kinsey must hate this was a good way to lift Jack's spirits. The man was a snake - well, figuratively.

"Well…" Daniel seemed at a loss of words for a moment. "We're all on the same side, though."

"Like the Western Allies and the Soviets?" Jack told him.

"But… you don't really think that we'll end up fighting Etheria after the Goa'uld?" Daniel shook his head.

"Fighting them? No. But once the Goa'uld are gone, a lot of problems and differences won't look so minor any more," Jack said.

"Breaking the Alliance would be a very shortsighted view," Teal'c said. "There are other powers in the galaxy, and it is always better to stand with those who have fought at your side than betray them and your honour for promises of new allies that might turn out to be empty."

"No one ever accused our leaders of being too concerned with the long-term consequences of their actions," Jack said. Some of the politicians would be looking to get back at the Etherians for forcing them to change America no matter whether or not the change was for America's own good.

Daniel snorted at that but didn't look happy or amused. "Well, as you said, we shouldn't count our chickens before they've hatched."

"Nope, but we should keep our eyes open for future problems," Jack said. A lot could happen during a war, but as recent events had shown, gratitude was short-lived while resentment lingered.

"And what do we do if our friends ask us for advice?" Daniel asked.

"We won't betray our country, of course," Jack said. "But neither will we betray our friends."

He just hoped he'd never have to choose between the United States and his friends.

*****​

"...so, no, I don't think the Etherians will be too happy if we try to play political games during the negotiations," Jack said. "And they will see through such games," he added. "They're young, but they aren't inexperienced." They already had told the President and the cabinet not to underestimate the Etherians because of their young age, on multiple occasions, but it shouldn't hurt to restate it. Glimmer was a reigning queen who had led her country and an Alliance of other monarchs through a war to the knife against an alien invasion.

"They didn't seem to care when the Europeans played those games," the Secretary of Defence pointed out. "It was NATO all over again, horse-trading and squabbling left and right, so every little country got something."

And case in point. "Glimmer's got experience handling an alliance of different countries as the leader of one of their strongest members," Jack said. "The thing about that horse-trading is, that was back when they were still hashing out where to set up bases. But they've done that. I don't think they would stand for us trying to redo everything at this point." America was the Johnny-come-lately, after all.

"That won't make Congress happy. And the public will expect us to take a leading role in the Alliance." The Secretary of State shook his head.

"As long as we get the technology and the factories set up, people won't care much." The Secretary of the Treasury made a dismissive noise.

"We can't appear cap in hand, though. We need some concessions," the President said. "Something to show we're not just dancing to the others' tunes."

Jack suppressed a sigh. You didn't sigh at the President.

"It's the optics. The right-wing conservatives are still claiming we've 'sold out the heart and soul of America' to 'Godless aliens'," the Secretary of the Interior complained.

"And they took a beating at the midterms," the Secretary of Education retorted. "The entire party took a beating."

"That was because of special circumstances," the Secretary of the Interior told her with a glance at Kinsey. "But we won't beat them next election if they can campaign on the United States being the junior partner in this Alliance."

"We are the junior partner in the Alliance," the Secretary of Defense cut in. "Not forever, if we get the technology trades we want, but, militarily, we're going to play second fiddle to the Etherians for years. And the Europeans have stolen a march on us."

"It's not about the aliens, but the rest of the world," the President spoke up. "The American public won't expect us to take command of the alien space fleets, but they're used to being in charge of NATO. The conservatives, except for the lunatics, won't try to actually annoy the Etherians, but you can bet that they will be campaigning with all the bluster they can muster about 'perfidious Albion' and 'cheese-eating surrender monkeys' lording it over America."

Jack had to suppress a snort at the President's choice of words - they were quite unexpected - but he had to agree that this was likely.

"Bigots ignorant of history aside," the Secretary of Education said, "what are the chances that trying to score points in American politics will backfire on us with our international and interstellar allies?"

"Bet you've been waiting to use that word for weeks," Jack heard the Secretary of Defense mutter under his breath.

But the question was aimed at SG-1. Jack cleared his throat. "I am not an expert on other countries," he said, "but the Etherians generally have a lower tolerance for such games than we do." Catra had the shortest fuse, but Glimmer had a temper as well, and she was their lead in such negotiations. And Adora… well, as nice as she was, she was too idealistic to tolerate much bullshit.

"Yes, ma'am," Daniel added. "They have just fought a war for their world's survival, and they are, as far as I can tell, treating this war against the Goa'uld the same. They will expect and tolerate a certain amount of, ah, scoring points - as ruling monarch, Queen Glimmer will be used to that from Etheria's politics - but anything that directly hampers the war effort will not be received well."

"If the American public loses faith in the Alliance and we lose the White House next election, being replaced with a conservative pandering to the religious vote, that will hinder the war effort as well," the Vice President remarked. "They won't play nice with our allies."

Jack bit down on commenting that it would hamper the man's obvious plan to succeed the current president even more than the war effort.

"I think we'll manage," the President said. "We just need to show that were aren't subordinates in the Alliance. Partners, not subjects of princesses and queens, both alien and on Earth." He smiled at SG-1. "And that's where you come in. Especially you, Captain Carter."

Jack saw that Carter, who had been relaxing a little since she had given her report on the technological aspect of this whole thing, tensed. "Sir?"

"We'll need to emphasise your relationship with Princess Entrapta. Your professional relationship, I mean - the last thing we need are rumours of an unprofessional relationship with her."

Carter blinked. "What?"

"That would feed the lunatics prattling about alien corruption," the Secretary of Defense commented.

"I do not have or had a sexual relationship with Princess Entrapta," Carter spat. "Sir."

The President had the grace to wince at that, but the Secretary of the Interior went on: "Yes, yes. But that doesn't matter. What matters is what the public thinks. And if they think there's a torrid affair between you two, that won't be received well."

"I thought the entire point of the latest amendment was to legalise and normalise all gay relationships," Daniel commented with a frown.

"Yes. But we can't ignore that a significant part of the public still has some reservations about the whole thing. We don't want to… push too much," the man continued.

"And we don't want rumours in the Armed Forces that you were… exploiting this," the Secretary of Defense added.

Jack clenched his teeth. Carter looked angrier than he had seen her before. He glared at the cabinet members. "Are we really planning to pander to the bigots with an overly active imagination?"

"Of course not!" the Vice President protested. "We're just concerned with the optics. We don't want you to get hurt over this."

Kinsey spoke up: "I'll do what I can to squash such attempts."

"Thank you." The President nodded at him. "So, what kind of concessions can we get, other than the technology? Bases?"

"We can offer desert training, probably mountain training facilities as well," the Secretary of Defense suggested.

"That sounds like a good start."

While the cabinet discussed this, Jack looked at Carter. She was still fuming. And all he could do was nod at her to show his support.

He really hated politics.

*****​

Washington D.C., United States of America, November 26th, 1998

She shouldn't be here. She should be back at Stargate Command, helping Entrapta and Sam find a way to get the Goa'uld out of Lieutenant Lenkova. Adora had expelled Horde Prime from Hordak's body, after all, even if exactly how she had done it was a bit hazy. And, according to the data gathered by Entrapta, Adora had healed people infected by parasites before. Of course, that had been when she had healed everyone in the area in the surge from Earth's returning magic, but there was no reason she couldn't do that normally. As long as she was prepared to heal the poison Goa'uld could release. Which she was reasonably sure she was - she had healed poison before.

On the other hand, they didn't know whether or not Adora's healing had expelled or killed the Earth parasites; the records from India were not conclusive. If she tried it and the Goa'uld died, that would be... Well, it was one thing to kill an enemy in battle, but it was another to kill them when they were your helpless prisoner.

Looking out of the window in the White House, she repeated herself out loud with a sigh: "I shouldn't be here."

"The protesters outside would agree with that," Glimmer told her. "But they're wrong." Adora's friend got up from her seat and joined her at the window.

One could barely see the people protesting the alliance negotiations - tall barriers at the fence blocked the line of sight. Supposedly for safety reasons. Glimmer thought, and Catra agreed, that this was just a pretext so the American government could pretend there weren't any protesters without infringing on their rights to protest or something. Adora had seen them when they had arrived, anyway. And heard them.

"This is important," Glimmer said in a lower voice.

"So is saving Lieutenant Lenkova," Adora retorted.

"We're working on that."

They were. Entrapta, Melog and Catra were back at Stargate Command. But Adora wasn't. And she was the best Healer on Earth. "You don't need me here."

"Yes, we do," Glimmer protested.

"You can handle politics," Adora pointed out. "And military matters." This was just an 'introductory meeting', as someone had called it - even though they already knew the United States government.

"I could." Glimmer nodded. "But it's easier if we do it together."

Right. Adora bit her lower lip. Leaving Glimmer to do everything by herself was selfish. Adora was needed here as well. If only Bow wasn't busy helping Hordak build the spacelab… No, she couldn't think like that.

"It'll be hard enough to keep smiling when they make stupid demands to puff themselves up," Glimmer went on.

Adora pressed her lips together. Why couldn't people work together without trying to get an advantage for themselves at the expense of others? "I hate that part," she hissed.

"I hate it too," Glimmer said with a shrug. "But it's necessary."

"It wouldn't be necessary if people weren't so selfish," Adora spat.

"But people are selfish. And vain. And envious." Glimmer snorted. "It's not very different from the early Alliance meetings."

Adora had heard that before, but she couldn't really believe that things had been as bad as that.

Glimmer grinned. "You've only seen us when the war was going so badly, everyone realised that they couldn't afford to play such games. It was different before. Dad told me about it as well - most princesses of his generation were almost as concerned with ensuring that another kingdom didn't get an 'unfair advantage' as they were with winning the war."

"And they almost lost the war," Adora pointed out. "We should focus on defeating the enemy!"

Glimmer grimaced. "We can't just focus on winning the war. We also need to prepare for peace after the war. An alliance only held together by a common enemy won't last once the enemy is defeated. We need to build ties and friendships beyond that."

That was obviously true, but… "And we get that by squabbling over who gets which base?"

"We get that by ensuring that no one feels cheated or exploited, but part of something greater than themselves." Glimmer smiled a little sadly. "At least that's what Mom said, according to Dad." She straightened. "And by ensuring that everyone gets something out of it when things are going well."

Adora pouted. "I still don't like it."

"I know. You don't have to like it." Glimmer nodded again. "Don't worry - I'll handle most of the finer points of the negotiations and diplomacy. Just be yourself."

Adora nodded. She could do that. In fact… She blinked. "Wait! 'Just be yourself'?" After Glimmer's speech about how important those negotiations were?

"Yes."

Adora frowned. "You're using me as… as… the bad cop!" Like in those Earth TV shows!

Glimmer grinned a bit sheepishly.

"I'm not the bad cop!" Adora insisted.

"Of course not - you're not bad!" Glimmer told her. "You're She-Ra. Princess of Power."

"And you're going to be the reasonable politician you can make deals with."

"Yes."

"We didn't do that in Europe," Adora pointed out.

"We didn't have to. We only had to ensure that things worked out for the war. But the United States are almost as big as the rest of the Earth countries in the Alliance put together and arguably more powerful. And our other allies carry grudges about their past behaviour. So, we can't just stay back and let things sort themselves out. Not without making everyone else mad. It's just politics."

Adora sighed. She really didn't like politics.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 26th, 1998

"Yes, we know how to safely separate symbiont and host, although the procedure is not without risk if the symbiont is unwilling." The supposed Tok'ra inclined his head. He didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that his allies hadn't replied to his message yet, and that he was still in a cell under guard.

He certainly looked much calmer than Samantha Carter felt. Just thinking of the rumours the cabinet had hinted at made her want to punch something. Or to repurpose something for destructive testing. It was the old malicious gossip about sleeping her way to a promotion, just with an added twist. And there wasn't much that she could do about it as long as it stayed just gossip - such attitudes were too ingrained in the Air Force. Or in society in general.

But she had a task to accomplish. "And if we sedated the parasite?"

The alien didn't react to her correction. And she had had an excellent argument prepared to point out that the Goa'uld were not symbionts; any benefits they provided to their hosts' bodies were only used by the Goa'uld, not the hosts who permanently lost control over their bodies. "It is an instinctive reaction, alas." He even looked like he regretted it. "We need to actively suppress the urge to release the toxin."

Sam pressed her lips together. That was awful but not quite unexpected.

Entrapta beamed. "That's interesting! I wonder why you evolved that way - was there once a danger of being forcefully extracted, so you developed ways to discourage that? Or did the toxin once have a different function, before you started taking humans as hosts? Might it have been beneficial for your original hosts? Or were you engineered that way?"

And the Goa'uld finally frowned. "Why would you think that we were engineered?"

"Well, you look like a great infiltrator for a human civilisation. Not perfect, of course, since once you know how to scan for Naqadah, you can find your hosts. And we know the First Ones experimented with humans, so why wouldn't they experiment with your ancestors? Or created you through a process of hybridisation? Unless we can analyse the fauna of your home planet, we might never know. By the way, where is your home planet? Do you know that? Since you have genetic memories, you should know where your ancestors were born, right?"

"We evolved naturally on our home world," Jakar told them - he looked, if not disturbed, then at least annoyed. "We were not engineered as tools."

A potential psychological weakness? Sam made a mental note to look into this. They also knew their home world - or wanted the Alliance to believe that.

"Oh, being the product of genetic engineering is nothing to be ashamed of!" Entrapta smiled. "I'm the result of such experiments, you know! And the Jaffa, of course - though you really should have fixed their dependency on Goa'uld larvae for their immune system."

Sam clenched her teeth. She really liked Entrapta, but her friend's tendency to share crucial intel with everyone was annoying, to say the least. "The Ancients have a history of such experiments," she said, trying to mitigate the damage. "And in the time since their disappearance, many of their engineered species will have evolved over millions of years. However, we're here to find out how to extract a Goa'uld from one of our soldiers without killing her," she reminded Entrapta.

"Right! So, if we want to use your method, we need to counter the toxin," Entrapta said. "That should be possible."

"It is a neurotoxin, and since a symbiont is connected to the host's central nervous system, death happens instantly as the toxin destroys the nervous tissue," Jakar pointed out. He spread his hands. "I do not want to give you false hope. Honesty is the best policy to build trust."

"Yes, that's obvious, but that doesn't mean that we can't stop it. We just need to heal the neural tissue faster than the toxin can destroy it." Entrapta nodded. "Although that would require constant healing, I guess, which could be tiring."

The Goa'uld was shaking his head. "Even a sarcophagus cannot heal such brain damage. It was tried in the past, at great cost, and without result."

"Oh, we're not planning to use a sarcophagus," Entrapta told him. "Although a regeneration effect like the one we encountered, modified so it doesn't zombify the target, might work."

The Colonel would throw a fit if they proposed that plan, Sam was sure of that. Even if it had potential. "There are alternatives."

"We've been looking into this for millennia and haven't found them," Jakar retorted. He sounded rather arrogant to Sam.

"That means we're breaking new ground!" Entrapta smiled again.

"You must come from a very advanced civilisation to be so confident," Jakar commented.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Sam told him before Entrapta could spill more intel. "But the age of a civilisation doesn't matter nearly as much as their approach to science."

"Yes! If you convince yourself that something's impossible just because others tell you so, you might miss out on so many interesting experiments - which can generate even more interesting results!" Entrapta nodded emphatically. "And sometimes blow up a prototype or a lab, but that's the price we pay for doing science!"

Sam nodded - and noted that Jakar had stopped looking smug and vaguely patronising. Well, that made her feel better. Showing up the Goa'uld or Tok'ra was almost as good for restoring her mood as showing up the sexist bastards in the United States was.

She blinked at her own thought while Entrapta told Jakar about lab safety. It seemed that spending so much time with people who were raised in a very different culture, with different expectations of how men and women were to act, was influencing her more than she had thought.

*****​

"Apophis is a false god."

"Traitor!"

Loyalty. Conviction.

Catra didn't take her eyes off the prisoner to glance at Melog, but she frowned. Yes, she had come to the same conclusion. You had to expect that kind of fanatic loyalty - even in kingdoms where the ruler wasn't worshipped as a god, only the most reliable soldiers would be sent to guard a biological weapons research facility. For the Goa'uld? Who would happily betray each other to take over? Apophis had to have picked the most loyal Jaffa to keep his underlings in line. But it was still disappointing.

"Apophis is a false god," Teal'c repeated himself. "He does not deserve your loyalty."

"I've heard of you, traitor!" the prisoner spat. "You betrayed our god! I will not listen to your lies!"

Catra snorted. "Well, you kind of are listening right now," she pointed out.

That earned her a glare as well, which she shrugged off with a grin.

Fool. Melog moved to her side.

"Aren't you wondering who we are?" Catra asked. She moved her ears for emphasis.

The prisoner remained silent.

"Apophis is no god. His powers are not divine but mere technology," Teal'c spoke up again after a moment. "He does not care for his followers - they are but tools to be used and discarded."

"The faithful will be rewarded in the afterlife!"

Fanatic.

Yeah, definitely.

"That is a lie. Apophis holds no power over the afterlife."

The prisoner remained silent again.

Catra shook her head. If things were pointless, she might as well try something weird. And have some fun. She stood up and walked around the table, towards the prisoner shackled to the steel chair, her tail swishing. "Apophis is a false god fooling his followers with tricks. He has no power over your soul." She flashed her fangs, then leaned over, extending one claw from her index finger. His eyes tracked her hand, and she saw him tense a bit. Grinning, she ran her claw over his forehead, then down his cheek, resting on his throat. "But others do."

She withdrew her claws, and the room around her grew dark, mist rolling up to her calves. Eerie music started to play in the background.

"Parlor tricks!" the prisoner spat.

But then the room vanished, replaced by an empty field of dry ground. And sand. A dark, starless sky above them. And a huge temple looming in the back.

The Jaffa jerked, gasping, and stared at Teal'c - or where he couldn't see him any more. Nor could he see Catra or Melog. He started to turn his head, looking around.

Catra snorted softly.

"Parlor tricks!" the prisoner repeated himself - but he sounded a little shaken.

Teal'c had narrowed his eyes a little, Catra noticed. Well, that was to be expected. She nodded at Melog, and the illusions faded.

Catra grinned at the prisoner, turned and left the interrogation room, Melog trailing after her.

Teal'c nodded at the other Jaffa, then followed her. Once the door closed, he tilted his head slightly. "That was not part of the plan."

"I improvised," Catra told him with a shrug. "He wasn't going to break. Too fanatical."

"I saw the truth, and I was Apophis's First Prime."

"Yeah, but you're not him. He's like that even after guarding a facility where people were killed to test weapons," Catra pointed out. "I know a bit about stupid fanaticism." Well, not the loyal kind, but still. "Takes a lot more to shake up his type."

"In a similar situation, I did the same - reassured me of my own loyalty to the false god to suppress my doubts." Teal'c nodded. "The Tau'ri have a saying - the man might be protesting too much."

"It's kind of hard to tell the difference between those and true believers," Catra retorted.

"Indeed." Another small nod.

It was Catra's turn to glare at him. His subtle humour wasn't as funny as he thought. If it was humour. Melog was amused, at least, she could tell that. "Whatever - all we did was shake him up a bit."

"By pretending to be gods."

Ah, that was what he disliked. "We didn't. None of us claimed to be a goddess or god."

His eyebrows rose a little.

"If I really wanted him to find a new god, I'd have called Adora," Catra told him.

"She would not be amused."

"Oh, yes, she wouldn't be amused." Catra chuckled, imagining her lover's reaction. "It would still be funny, though." Adora had at least some of the power the Goa'uld claimed they had.

"We should not encourage faith in false gods."

"But if they have to follow a god, it would be better if it's a good one." Catra shrugged. "Might be a human thing - most of them seem to follow a god." And, from what she could tell from her admittedly limited exposure to human religion, she'd rather have everyone following Adora than any other religious figure. But saying so would be offensive, at least according to Glimmer.

And Adora would hate it, which was more important.

She shrugged again. "Well, we tried. Let's check on the others. Can't leave them unsupervised for too long, or they'll try to turn Lenkova into some experiment."

"I do not think Captain Carter would condone that."

Catra smirked. "I think she would make an exception for Lenkova."

Teal'c tilted his head a bit to the side, which she took as agreement.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 27th, 1998

"...so, in order to create an antidote to the symbiote toxin, we need samples. And since we don't have any, that's kinda difficult." Entrapta nodded, then added: "Also, because the only way to get such a sample is to kill the Goa'uld in a host, presumably when the host is still alive, it's kind of unethical, so we can't do that." She smiled.

Jack O'Neill suppressed a sigh. The mad scientist princess looked like she expected a headpat and a 'well done' for realising that you didn't kill prisoners or innocents. Worse, the rest of the Etherians smiled at her.

"Yes." Carter stood and pointed at the hologram of a snake they had floating inside the meeting room. "Even assuming we had an antidote, surgical removal is very difficult because the Goa'uld is wrapped around the host's spine and connected to their central nervous system. Any damage to either is likely crippling or fatal."

"I can heal that!" Adora spoke up. "I mean, the crippling damage - not the fatal one, obviously." She nodded emphatically.

'Obviously'? Jack narrowed his eyes slightly. It sounded a little… overly emphasised for Adora. And the way the other Etherians didn't react at all… He pressed his lips together. He didn't want to deal with that worrying possibility right now. At least he was sure he had been alive when he had been healed by her.

"However," Carter went on, "with magical healing available, it remains a potential solution. But we think alternatives should be pursued first."

Adora nodded again.

"Basically, we need to find out if Adora can expel the Goa'uld without killing either them or the host," Entrapta said. "Although, since she can heal them, death should be off the table anyway in either case. Probably. It depends on whether or not the magic of She-Ra would consider the Go'auld a healing target in this case - a symbiont - or a parasite to be removed." She cocked her head to the side as her hair pointed at the hologram. "Answering that question would be useful for a better understanding of the Goa'uld's biology, I believe."

A symbiont? Jack scoffed under his breath. The damn snakes were parasites. And he didn't give a damn about whether or not they lived as long as they were removed from their hosts.

But he wasn't calling the shots here. The generals present were.

And Haig was nodding. "I see. And if you attempt to use magical healing to expel the Goa'uld, and it is healed instead, it might wake up."

"And attempt to kill their host by suicide," Carter added. "Which, in this case, magical healing might only delay and not stop permanently since both host and Goa'uld would be healed at the same time, allowing the Goa'uld to continue the attempt indefinitely."

"Or until Adora stops healing them," Entrapta added.

Which she wouldn't do voluntarily. Jack knew her well enough. And losing Lenkova like that would probably not do good things to her mental health. Not at all.

"So, the best option seems to be to attempt magical healing, and if the Goa'uld isn't expelled from the host, sedate it at once." Entrapta waved her hair, and a cartoon syringe appeared on the hologram, pointed at the Goa'uld.

"However," Carter took over, facing the row of generals in the room, "There are serious ethical considerations with this course of action. There is a significant probability that the attempt might lead to the Goa'uld's death."

"So?" Sidorov scoffed. "It's an enemy currently possessing one of our soldiers."

Jack really didn't want to agree with the Russian, but he also didn't want to value the life of a snake over that of Lenkova's life or freedom.

"It would be killing a helpless prisoner," Carter went on. She looked tense - she probably didn't want to but agreed with the Russian as well, Jack realised. But she was also correct about killing prisoners.

Adora nodded again. Sharply. "Yes. We can't just kill prisoners." She didn't sound conflicted. Not at all.

"One could argue that the Goa'uld is still actively fighting by holding one of our soldiers hostage," Petit suggested.

"They're unconscious," Adora retorted. "They might be willing to surrender peacefully and let Lieutenant Lenkova regain control of her body if we ask."

Jack scoffed. As if! The snake would attempt to deceive and betray them at once.

Catra glared at him while Adora frowned. Hey! He was just stating the obvious - well, not stating actually, more making it known without words.

"How likely do you think such an outcome is, Captain?" General Haig asked.

"It isn't very likely, sir," Carter told him. "But we cannot dismiss the possibility."

"We're at war," Sidorov said as if that explained and excused everything. "We cannot afford to coddle our enemies."

"We cannot murder prisoners," Carter retorted.

Jack clenched his jaws to avoid quipping about 'we could, but we aren't supposed to'. A dead snake was a small price to pay to save a soldier.

"We won't murder prisoners," Adora said with a deep scowl.

"But what about Lieuenant Lenkova? Are we willing to sacrifice her - doom her to a fate worse than death - to protect her assailant?" Petit countered.

It was Adora's turn to wince. But she shook her head with a determined expression. "Murdering helpless people is wrong."

"The Goa'auld aren't people," Sidorov snapped.

"They are!" Adora protested. "And the Tok'ra prove that they aren't all evil."

"Uh…" Entrapta spoke up, looking uncomfortable. "Anyway, that's why we should wait and contact the Tok'ra to see if they have a better way to deal with possession. Or if they have more data that we can use. After all, they were already active when magic was still around, so they might be familiar with magical healing."

"We have a Tok'ra in our cells," Petit pointed out.

"But Jakar isn't a scientist," Entrapta said. "He doesn't know the details."

"So, we should wait with attempting to remove the Goa'uld from Lieutenant Lenkova until we know more? Or at least know we won't know more?" General Haig asked. "That sounds like a sensible solution to our dilemma."

In other words, they would be waiting and doing nothing, hoping that a solution would magically appear. Well, it was prudent to wait for more information before you were risking someone's life, but Jack really hated waiting in this case.

Damn.

*****​
 
Chapter 55: The Experiment Part 2
Chapter 55: The Experiment Part 2

Alliance Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium, November 28th, 1998

"...and we would offer a desert training facility and a mountain training facility in the United States."

Adora resisted the urge to roll her eyes. 'Offer' - as if the Secretary of Defense hadn't made it clear that this was actually a demand. Glimmer and Catra didn't even have to point that out to Adora. Not that she was as naive as they sometimes thought.

She just didn't like how politics took priority over military necessities. No matter how often Glimmer told her that politics were crucial for waging any war. It just… didn't feel right. Why couldn't people work together without all those games?

"Well, the desert training facility would certainly be welcome - the Alliance hasn't yet picked a site for that sort of training," Admiral Smythe, Royal Navy, said. "But, of course, we would have to discuss that with the rest of the Alliance."

"I thought we were here to discuss that," the Secretary of Defense retorted.

"Yes, but such a decision requires the agreement of our respective governments," General Dubois, French Army, said. "It is, after all, both a military and political decision."

Adora did roll her eyes now. She glanced at Glimmer, who had her 'I wish I could teleport you into the ocean, but I am restraining myself' smile on her face, then at Catra, who was…scratching something into the table?

Adora leaned to the side and tilted her head. Oh. It was a sketch of her and Adora. Cute!

But her good mood didn't last. They were here to settle things, not to posture. She cleared her throat. "I think that since we don't have a desert training facility available, it would only be logical to accept the offer."

Everyone smiled at her, but Adora doubted that everyone meant it. "Of course," the admiral said. "But we do have offers for mountain training - from several countries with long traditions of fighting in mountainous terrain."

"The United States 10th Mountain Division is an elite formation, proof that our facilities are not only adequate but well-suited," the American countered.

That sounded good enough for Adora. And Glimmer nodded. So, it probably made political sense as well.

"So, that's settled." The Secretary of Defense nodded, then pulled out another sheet. "Now, with regard to the central transport command, coordinating the Alliance supply routes, I think we have the ideal site in the United States - very well protected and available as soon as Stargate Command moves to its new location."

Smythe smiled. "You mean the ground component. The main command will be in orbit."

That surprised the American, Adora could tell. But it was logical that you should have some direct command post in orbit. But a ground-based backup would make sense as well. But it wouldn't be very prestigious, or so she understood.

"With our new shuttles," Dubois added, "it's an obvious choice."

The smile of the Secretary of Defense grew very thin. "And speaking of shuttles, with the number of soldiers the United States will add to the Alliance, it makes sense to build factories to ensure that they have the means to be moved at all times."

"We can expand our own without trouble," Dubois countered.

"Spreading out crucial factories makes sense," Glimmer cut in. "Although I assume you'll expand production anyway."

"If you have the money," someone muttered.

Which reminded Adora that they hadn't settled the budget yet.

Things had been so much easier during the war against the Horde.

"And I thought Horde logistics were a pain in the butt," Catra muttered.

Well, at least Adora wasn't suffering alone. Even Glimmer didn't like it here; Adora could tell.

She couldn't help feeling a bit glad about that - Glimmer had called her here for the negotiations, after all.

*****​

Half an hour later, they hadn't made much, if any, progress.

"The industrial capacity of the United States should be used to the fullest. Economies of scale, experience and logistics all point towards one conclusion: That we should shoulder the biggest share of the Alliance's supply needs."

"We're not in the Second World War any more. The advantages you claim aren't unique to the United States. And with regards to logistics, we will be relying on Etherian ships for transport."

"We've got the biggest arms industry. We're the logical choice for mass-producing advanced technology."

"I'll put a German factory against an American one any day of the week and twice on Sunday."

"You don't work on Sundays!"

"Of course we do!"

"Our factories suffice to cover the needs of the current Alliance, and we can easily expand them to cover your needs as well."

"Is that why half of NATO uses US arms instead of your products?"

"We all know why so many people bought your arms."

"Because we offered the best deals."

"Why don't we let the market sort things out? See whose products are better than their competition?"

"You mean, see who can use bribes and political pressure most effectively to push their products on others?"

Adora stared. They couldn't actually be suggesting that, could they? She looked at Catra.

Her lover narrowed her eyes. "Wait! Are you seriously suggesting that we use many different designs for the same role? At the front? Are you trying to kill our logistics?"

Adora nodded. "We need standardised designs." It had been bad enough in the Princess Alliance during the war, with all the different forces and standards.

"Yes, but we need to ensure that the best design is chosen, and healthy competition between manufacturers is the best way to achieve that - it won us the Cold War, after all," the Secretary of Defense claimed.

"It's very impressive that you can say that with a straight face, given your history of military procurement," the German Verteidigungsminister said. "We remember why we picked your products."

"And why we decided to design our own planes," the French Ministre added.

"I don't think national pride should be the deciding motivation," the American retorted.

"Really? I can't believe you just said that!"

OK, this was getting a bit… un-diplomatic. Maybe telling everyone to stop being formal had been a mistake?

"Having people compete with their designs sounds good in theory, but it depends on an unbiased final decision," Glimmer commented. "Would you like us to pick a design?"

Adora didn't have to be able to read minds to know that most people present didn't want that. "What about picking the best designers and working together?" she asked.

That sent them whispering to their generals and aides.

"That's how we get walkers," Catra mumbled. "We should have never let Entrapta watch those movies."

That was… pretty likely, actually. "Those might be a good choice," Adora whispered. "Better all-terrain capability."

"Just make hovertanks instead," Catra shot back. "Faster, and can travel over water and through swamps."

"But not through woods." There was a reason that tanks had generally fared so badly in the Whispering Woods, and bots hadn't.

"Whatever. We need to stop this circus."

She was right. Adora nodded.

"And who gets to pick the best designers? One from each country, no matter their quality?" The American spoke up.

"Of course not," Adora shot back.

"And which team? We need a lot of different vehicles alone, not to mention ships."

"One base design, with variants to cover different tasks, should do it. An advanced combat vehicle family!"

"What a coincidence that your industry is working on that exact project!"

Not again.

Glimmer stood. "Enough. We need to step up the production of shuttles and mobile force field generators - coupled with bots - and we need a competitive air and space fighter. Ground-based vehicles Earth already has more than enough. Once we have some combat experience, we'll know more about what designs are actually needed in the war. So, we can set up more factories for that, in the USA as well as in Europe and Canada."

That, at least, was met with agreement.

"And we need to start building ships," the British admiral added.

"Yes, but that's not as urgent," Glimmer told him. "We have a fighter design from the Horde, but it's meant to be flown by bots."

And that meant it needed a lot of changes so people could fly it.

"Modifying it might be faster than designing one from scratch, and we can use the experience for the next model," the German Minister pointed out.

"We should spread out production, though, so we're not dependent on a single source," the Secretary of Defense said.

That was just common sense, in Adora's opinion.

"We should pick a remote area for testing advanced technology," the American suggested. "Like a desert. It would make keeping the technology from spies easier if there was just one location to protect."

"Like the base where you tried to hide the Etherian shuttle?" the British admiral asked with raised eyebrows. "Area 51?"

"It would be an ideal choice," the Secretary of Defense said with a grin.

"If not for the fact that it is under permanent surveillance by everyone. Having to transport every prototype there would also facilitate spying on it - by anyone. There are other options."

"You just want more money to develop your ex-soviet bases."

"There are good reasons to pick a location in Germany."

"Too close to Russia. France is more secure."

"Canada has vast tracts of land that are empty of people and could easily be sealed off."

"And it's buried in snow for half the year."

"That's a cliche."

"One based on facts."

Adora winced. Telling everyone to stop being formal had definitely been a mistake.

"I almost miss the Horde," Catra muttered. "No one talked back there."

Adora glared at her.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 29th, 1998

"...and Glimmer said we won't get to design a new fightercraft - an aerospace fighter, able to be used in space and in the atmosphere - yet. We'll adapt the Horde standard space fighter instead."

Entrapta looked a little disappointed, Samantha Carter noticed. She could understand that very well, of course - as a pilot, she certainly had spent some time designing her ideal fighter or at least defining all the features it should have. And what engineer could take a look at a Death Glider and not think of a better craft?

Of course, designing aircraft wasn't one of her specialities, although she certainly knew more about the engines and life support system an aerospace fighter should have, and about the performance of Death Gliders, than any engineer from Boeing or Lockheed Martin. Still, she had a lot of other projects to work on.

Which reminded her that she hadn't really worked on the alien data cube they had recovered months ago. And she wouldn't be able to do much work on it in the foreseeable future, either. Not with so many urgent problems to tackle.

Something she shared with Entrapta. "Well, we do have to finish our spacelab before we can take on other tasks," Sam said. It would also help with designing the Alliance Orbital Command Centre.

"Right! Hordak and Bow have finished constructing the outer hull and installing life support, but we need to furnish it! It'll be great! I've made plans for a hologram suite for the entire lab, so we can visit virtually even if we can't make time to visit physically!"

That sounded… well, just off-hand, Sam could think of several applications for that. Virtual meetings. No longer wasting time travelling and being made to wait so someone could feel important and powerful. Or visiting your family while deployed - with FTL communication, even the Mars mission's crew could still keep in contact like that. And, though she would never mention that near the Colonel, all the possibilities for entertainment, especially games…

She smiled. "That's a great idea."

"Right?" Entrapta beamed at her. "It should work through a Stargate as well. Although, based on the data we have, keeping the gate open just for hologram projections would be a waste of energy if you could step through it instead."

"And it would block the gate for other connections," Sam agreed.

"That too, yes." Entrapta shrugged. "Though once we have the communication chain set up, we wouldn't need the Stargate for talking to other planets, even though the lag would likely limit holoprojection."

"Yes." And speaking of probe bots… Sam checked the production data. Still short of the expected number, but the automated factory was working as intended now.

"We still need the computer data to set up a Stargate on Etheria, by the way," Entrapta said. "Glimmer told me that negotiations were busy with stupid posturing and money grabs, so it might take a bit longer to get that."

Sam nodded but couldn't help feeling guilty. The United States were the central actor - and issue - in the current negotiations, after all. And she had been advising the government about dealing with the Etherians. If Sam and the rest of SG-1 hadn't done that, would the government be so stubborn? Probably, Sam told herself. And they would be more likely to push for too much. Still…

"Anyway," Entrapta interrupted her thoughts, "I've also been talking to Adora about the Goa'uld, and we should test her healing on parasites that aren't sapient."

"We could use animal testing," Sam said. Many stray dogs and cats had parasites. Not even PETA would be against that sort of animal testing. At least she thought so.

"Right. As a first step, I guess."

"Yes." Finding a human with a parasite would be a little harder. At least without violating medical confidentiality - most would consider their condition embarrassing. "I can send an airman to the animal shelter in Colorado Springs and fetch a few dogs. Or cats." Sam blinked. Would Catra have issues with dogs or cats? It was a silly thought, but the woman was a little prickly under the best circumstances, and all the speculation about her 'nature' hadn't helped matters. Better safe than sorry. "What do you think would be better, dogs or cats?"

"I think we should take both, so we have more data," Entrapta replied.

That was a good point, of course. But not what Sam needed to know. "Does Catra have experience with either?"

Entrapta frowned. "Oh. I don't know." She beamed again. "So, we'll get even more data!"

Right. Sam should have seen that coming. Well, she was a little curious herself…

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 30th, 1998

As Samantha Carter found out the next day, while the question of whether or not Catra had issues with cats or dogs was still up in the air, dogs and cats definitely had issues with her. The animals, half a dozen of each - Stiler had erred on the side of 'too many' rather than 'too little' - had started to growl and hiss in their cages as soon as Catra, following Adora, had entered.

And Catra definitely had issues with that. "Stop playing nice with them, Adora," she snapped. "Can't you see that they want to bite me?"

"They're just confused," Adora replied from where she was crouched, trying to goad a mangy-looking cat out of its cage with a bit of food.

"That's not confused!" Catra retorted.

"Afraid then. You must smell like a big cat to them."

"What?"

"Yes," Entrapta chimed in. "They probably mistake you for a local predator. Although you probably are a local predator, all things considered. Anyway, according to the pet guide we got, this is typical behaviour when an animal is stressed and afraid."

"Oh, poor little things!" Adora cooed. "Don't worry, Catra might look mean, but she's as cuddly as you-Ow!"

"See? I told you!" Catra shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest, as Adora sucked on the finger the cat had just scratched.

Sam was already getting the medkit. Those were 'fresh strays', after all - who knew what kind of health problems they had.

"Just heal the things and yourself," Catra said.

"How can you be so callous? Look how cute they are! Their fur is all puffed up! Like yours when you get startled."

"Don't compare me to those animals!"

Sam cleared her throat. "Can we focus on the experiment? You can cuddle the animals afterwards."

"I can?" Adora beamed at her.

The woman had grown up in the Horde, groomed as a child soldier from birth, Sam reminded herself. She hadn't been socialised like a typical girl on Earth. "If they let you," she amended.

"I bet one ration that they won't," Catra said.

"Deal!"

They were betting rations? Sam shook her head. She could look into that later. The experiment came first.

*****​

Catra didn't like those… furballs. The barking and growling were annoying, and the hissing… well, she hated having to refrain from hissing back to teach the nuisance its place because the others would never let her forget it. But it was even more annoying to see Adora fuss over the stupid animals.

Not that Catra was jealous - Adora would never betray her. Not even when Catra deserved it. She had proven that over and over again during the war. And Catra wouldn't betray that trust either. Still, she had to clench her teeth while listening to Adora talking to the little beasts.

"Oh, you poor thing! Worms and fleas! No worry, soon you'll be free of them."

Fleas? Catra took a step back, shuddering. She had no intention of repeating that particular lesson from cadet training. Just thinking of it made her fur itch. "Adora! Don't touch it if it has fleas!"

"They shouldn't bother Adora," Entrapta cut in. "Parasites are often limited to specific host species, having evolved with them. Another reason that makes Goa'uld so interesting."

Well, Catra didn't know if she was different enough to not have to worry about fleas from those animals. And she wasn't about to find out. "Whatever!" She took another few steps back, crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the stupid cat in the cage. Who was still hissing at Adora even though Catra's lover had just fed her. Talk about ungrateful!

"We're ready for the experiment now," Sam spoke up. She sounded amused.

Catra narrowed her eyes at the woman - yes, Sam was smiling.

But Adora was finally standing up. And there it came. "For the Honour of Grayskull!"

Catra watched, almost basking in the sight as her lover transformed, her sword appearing in her hand. It was a magnificent sight she would never tire of as long as she lived.

"Oops. Sorry!"

"Don't worry, it's not your fault - a lab should have a higher ceiling. When you're moving to the new location, you need to ensure you've got a better room, Sam!"

"At least there wasn't an important powerline in the ceiling," Sam said.

Catra snickered. That wouldn't have happened in the Horde.

"Alright - monitors have been set up, bug scanners and containment fields are ready, we're scanning… thirty-seven fleas and five worms on that specimen," Entrapta announced. "Signs of malnutrition as well."

Catra shuddered again. The poor thing…

Then Adora pointed her sword at the hissing cat, and magical light engulfed it.

When the light faded, the cat looked confused. Catra rolled her eyes. "You've just been healed, idiot!" she snapped.

Which earned her another hiss. Dumb beast.

"Oh… there are still fleas on the specimen. But the worms in the intestinal tract are all gone. And I don't see… No, nothing left; the mass of the parasites must have been disintegrated," Entrapta said.

"I didn't remove the fleas?" Adora asked. She was looking at her sword as if it was defective.

"They weren't inside the cat's body," Sam pointed out. "That was likely the difference. Unless it's related to the species of the parasites."

"Hm. This requires more data! And we've got more test subjects!" Entrapta announced.

Adora nodded with her most earnest and determined expression, Catra noted. But she also noted how her lover looked at the healed cat - who was already scratching their ear again.

Catra sighed. "And let's give the beasts a flea bath. Or something." She just knew that Adora would hug and cuddle the things afterwards.

*****​

"Ah! Aren't you the cutest?"

Catra closed her eyes and wished she could close her ears as well.

"So, the experiments showed that any internal parasites got removed - effectively disintegrated since we found no trace of them in the air outside, so they weren't just expelled. Which is, of course, a good thing so we won't have to worry about contamination by dead parasites," Entrapta said. "And the external parasites were untouched. Botflies apparently count as internal, by the way."

Catra shuddered once more and tried to forget that particular memory. She'd have to invest in bug spray if those things were common. She focused on the discussion instead. "So, if Adora heals a host, she would kill the Goa'uld?" Adora would hate that.

"It's a possible outcome," Sam said, "However, we cannot say at this point if magic treats sapient and non-sapient parasites the same. Or if the Goa'uld are treated differently since they also provide some benefits to the host body. The symbiotic bacteria in the intestines haven't been purged, after all."

"So, we're back at step one," Catra summed up.

"Yes. If all parasites had been expelled alive, we would have had a solid hypothesis that Goa'uld would be treated the same, but…" Entrapta shrugged. "We need more testing, but we don't have the right test subjects."

"You're purring just like Catra when I pet her!"

Catra clenched her teeth and snapped at Adora, who was sitting in the middle of the now suddenly friendly animals. "That's private!"

"Oh! Sorry!" Adora had the grace to blush, at least.

But now the stupid animals were growling and hissing at her again.

This time, Catra flashed her fangs and hissed back.

"Catra! You're scaring the poor things!"

That was the idea!

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, December 1st, 1998

"Hi, Jack! We're adopting!"

"No, we're not!"

"But Catra! She likes you!"

"She doesn't. She just wants my food!"

"So give her some! She's starving!"

"She already got half my sandwich!"

"Get another one!"

"Besides, that's not good food for cats."

"But you eat it, Catra!"

"I'm not a housecat!"

Jack O'Neill sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Can we focus on the subject of this meeting?" he ground out.

He half-expected Catra and Adora to ignore him, but Catra actually sat up straight and nodded. Adora followed her friend's example. She looked serious when she nodded, but Jack had caught her sneaking the cat - barely older than a kitten, as far as he could tell - a treat or something, so he wasn't sure how serious she actually was.

Well, he'd take what he could get. And hope that Hammond never heard of this - the General would enjoy seeing Jack trying to deal with such antics for a change. Though Jack had never brought a pet into a briefing. And speaking of that… "Why's there a cat in the room?" he asked.

"You mean the housecat?" Adora asked.

Catra growled at her.

"Yes," Jack said through not quite clenched teeth.

"She's here to illustrate our experiment," Entrapta piped up.

"And she has no one else to look after her," Adora added.

"Which is her own fault," Catra said. "She broke out of her carrier and hid in the lab before the rest were moved to new owners."

"Exactly!"

Jack sighed again. "Was that why I got a mail asking if I wanted a dog?" He glanced at Carter, who was suspiciously silent and focused on her laptop.

"We asked everyone," Entrapta said. "We were looking for good homes for our test subjects."

"We couldn't send them back to the shelter after the experiment," Adora explained. "That would have broken their hearts."

Jack slowly nodded and tried to ignore how the cat walked around the briefing room, sniffing at the trash can in the corner. "I see. And, speaking of experiments…?"

"Right." Adora nodded sharply. "My healing destroys internal parasites but leaves external ones alive and in place."

"And presumably healed them as well," Carter added. "Though we could not determine whether or not this was true without the aid of a biologist."

"Doctor Fraiser said she wasn't equipped to check the health of fleas," Entrapta pouted. "That's a serious deficiency you should correct when you move to the new site. Also, we've been looking into mailing samples to specialists."

Jack grinned at the thought of the doctor's likely reaction to that request. "I see. So, any attempt to expel the snake from Lenkova would likely kill it?"

"We cannot dismiss that possibility," Carter replied. "Although we don't know enough about She-Ra's magic to say with any certainty. It could treat sapient parasites differently."

"And we can't just risk killing helpless prisoners if there's a possible alternative," Adora said. She was dead serious now, Jack noted - she didn't even react to the cat trying to climb into the trashcan. And it didn't look like Catra was about to try to change her mind, either.

Damn.

"It's not a critical situation," Carter said. "Lieutenant Lenkova is still sedated, and, according to Janet, the Goa'uld's presence is countering the negative effects of long-term sedation. However, due to the regenerative effect of the possession, Lenkova might be building up an immunity to the drugs used on her - they already had to up the dose once."

So, time was starting to run out. Well, that was nothing new. In fact, Jack was used to dealing with more urgent problems.

"Is there any news from the Tok'ra?" Adora asked.

"Nothing so far. We've been checking the world twice per day," Jack told her. "The next mission is scheduled for this afternoon." Which would be another training mission for the new guys.

"Ah."

"We still have other alternatives," Carter said. "Although they would put Lenkova at a greater risk than the Goa'uld."

Jack wasn't about to risk the damn snake killing Lenkova if they could risk the snake's life instead. And he was pretty sure most people agreed with that stance. But this wasn't the time to say that. Not yet.

He nodded instead. "So, since we used this to get away from more boring meetings… is there anything else to discuss before we are sent back into the fray?"

"We'll be opening our spacelab soon!" Entrapta announced. "Full remote and virtual access, too!"

"Waldos and hologram projections, sir," Carter explained. Somewhat.

"And we'll be testing a communication chain later - we've got enough probe bots now to start spreading them." Entrapta beamed. "By networking them, they won't ever feel lonely, either!"

"We're not using sapient bots," Carter answered Jack's question before he could ask it.

"Ah, good." There was no need to recreate Star Trek I. Although that might still happen. Not that Jack would mention that he had watched the movie when it came out - he had a reputation to maintain.

"If that's all, then we need to go," Adora said. "We need to buy pet supplies!"

"I told you - we're not adopting her!"

"As far as I was told, you don't adopt cats - they adopt you," Adora retorted. "And she did!"

"That's not how it works!"

"She must think you're her big sister."

"What? How? And why?"

Jack smirked.

Until he felt pinpricks of claws on his calf. Followed by some furry little beast climbing up his leg just as he was getting up.

Damn.

*****​

Earth Orbit, Solar System, December 2nd, 1998 (Earth Time)

"We need to name her," Adora said, watching their cat - their kitten; she was still so small - chase a ball of crumpled tin foil across Darla's lounge. She was so cute!

"We need to find her a good home on Earth," Catra retorted. "We're fighting a war; we can't take care of a pet. A stupid pet, too." She glared at the cat, who was now trying to shred the ball with her hindlegs. "That's not alive, numbskull!"

Adora looked at Melog and grinned as they went up to the cat and licked it. "Look, Melog likes her as well." And since Melog was so close to Catra, they usually shared their emotions…

Catra switched her glare to Adora. "It's not about liking the stupid cat. It's about what's best for the cat. We can't keep her on the ship."

"Why not?" Adora asked. "Entrapta can build a catsitting-bot for us." She had already asked. "We can have the bot watch and feed her when we're not around."

"And when we need to take Darla into battle?" Catra shot back with a frown. "Do you really want to risk her?"

"Ah! You do care about her!"

Her lover rolled her eyes. "That's not the point."

"It is," Adora insisted. "We can take care of her." She was She-Ra, Princess of Power. If she couldn't take care of a small cat - a kitten - then how was she supposed to win a war and protect anyone else? "We don't need to take Darla into a fight for now, anyway, and we can take her to Bright Moon before we start fleet operations." She smiled at Catra, switching to a grin when her lover scowled in that 'I hate losing an argument' way of hers that was so familiar to anyone who knew her. Like Adora.

"And what if we're pushed into battle before that?" Catra put both hands on her hips. "You can't count on the Goa'uld just sitting on their butts until we start kicking them!"

"If they attack Earth, we've got Third Fleet here," Adora retorted. "And we'll be able to send her out with a shuttle to keep her safe if it comes to that." She cocked her head. "Do you really think we can't keep her safe? Between Earth and Etheria?"

Catra sighed. "I just don't… What if we can't? Neither you nor I ever had a pet. Swift Wind doesn't count," she added with a scowl. "It's a lot of responsibility."

"We've led armies. I think we can handle a pet," Adora said. How hard could it be?

"Soldiers aren't helpless. Not even Kyle." Catra crossed her arms over her chest, grabbing her elbows with her hands and looking to the side.

Oh. Adora smiled and stepped up to her lover, putting her hands on Catra's shoulders. "You'll do fine, Catra. Don't worry. Trust me. You can do this. We can do this."

Catra pressed her lips together for a moment, not meeting her eyes. Then she sighed. "And what about our friends?"

"What about them? They'll love her!" Even Jack, despite his cursing when the kitten had climbed up his leg, liked her. Adora was sure.

"They'll tease us about having a kitten."

Adora shrugged. "I'm sure it won't be too bad. And we can tease them back if they do."

"How?"

"They're just jealous they don't have a kitten."

Catra blinked, then sighed again. "They'll tease us about the cat being like our baby."

"Oh." Adora could see that. And she, well… kind of understood it. Earth television had some shows about people using pets as replacement babies. "It's not like that, though." She released Catra's shoulders, turning to look at the cat, who was still being licked by Melog. "And she's worth a little teasing, right?" she asked while she wrapped her left arm around Catra's waist.

Catra sighed yet again. "Well, yes. Maybe."

That was a yes! "So, what should we name her? What name would she like?"

"Why are you asking me?" Catra cocked her head at her.

"Well…" Adora didn't want to point out the obvious - her lover was a little prickly about some things.

Catra rolled her eyes. "I can't ask her, dummy."

Too bad. That would have made things easy. "So… Catty? Kitty?"

Catra put a hand on her face. "Really?"

"Catherine?" That was a decent name, wasn't it?

"That sounds like a name for one of Entrapta's bots." Catra shook her head.

"That doesn't make it a bad name," Adora protested.

"She needs a better name," Catra insisted. "If we're going to have a pet, we'll treat her right. And that means a good name."

Adora frowned. Maybe this was a bit more difficult than she had thought. But at least Catra was on board now! "Princess?"

"No!"

"Luna?"

"Are you actually watching that show?" Catra stared at her.

"No!" Not really. Maybe an episode or two. But the blonde princess was too silly.

"What about…" Darla announcing an incoming call interrupted Adora. Perfect timing, she thought as she went to the bridge to take the call.

It was Stargate Command. The Tok'ra had answered the message. And they were requiring a meeting. And the return of Jakar.

Well, that was good news. Probably. Hopefully.

They'd soon find out, in any case.

*****​

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, December 2nd, 1998

"This could be a trap - either by other Goa'uld factions or the Tok'ra themselves, for taking one of theirs prisoner. The demand to meet them on an unknown planet is suspicious."

Samantha Carter pressed her lips together. General Sidorov was as paranoid as ever. Or worse, actually.

General Haig, at least, remained unflappable as he replied: "Undoubtedly, meeting them on their terms carries a certain risk. However, this is also our best chance to open relations with a potential ally. They have been fighting the Goa'uld Empire for millennia, after all."

"I concur," General Petit agreed. "We can reconnoitre the planet in advance, I believe."

"That might offend the Tok'ra," General Li pointed out.

"I believe they will expect this level of caution by us," General Hammond retorted. "In fact, given what we know about them, they might be offended, or at least might dismiss us as incompetent, if we didn't act with sufficient caution."

Sam agreed with that assessment.

So did the Colonel. "They're still snakes," he said.

Daniel cleared his throat. "We don't have enough data to draw conclusions. They might have a patronising attitude towards us - we have enough such examples in our history - but they might also be quite objective. Please don't forget that, according to what we know, they consider their hosts as partners. A society built upon such partnerships, for millennia, would naturally develop a different culture than a society built upon slavery and worship."

"Our information is based on the claims by the Tok'ra themselves," Sidorov said, scoffing. "We cannot trust their words."

"But we cannot treat them as untrustworthy either," Glimmer cut in. "We cannot build trust without offering some trust."

"By sending more soldiers into a trap? Soldiers who know our most important secrets?" Sidorov stared at Sam.

She clenched her teeth and sat even straighter in response. If the Russian thought that he could keep her from this mission… She had the most experience with Tok'ra. Very personal experience. Jolinar.

"If you want to send green troops on such an important mission, you're a fool," the Colonel snapped. "We're the ones with the experience to handle this." He nodded at Sam and the others, then at the Etherians. "And we've worked together before."

"Yes," Adora spoke up. "This is a great opportunity to make allies. We can't squander it."

Sam saw Catra lean over to Adora, mumbling something that Sam didn't catch but which had the other woman pout at her lover. She forced herself to focus on the generals in the meeting room. "I think the risk is manageable, sir," she told General Haig.

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded several times, her hair bopping up and down. "And we can use this to test our improved spy bots! They should be able to do a deep scan of the area, possibly the planet if we give them enough time and send enough of them through the gate."

"Trusting machines?" Sidorov spat.

"Do you trust anyone or anything?" Catra snorted.

"Of course not!" Sidorov said.

Not for the first time, Sam wondered why such a paranoid officer was on the Stargate Command Council. The Colonel said it was a Russian thing, but this seemed too simple an explanation.

General Haig spoke up again. "I think this would be a prudent course of action."

"Yes!" Entrapta jumped up, fist raised, then pulled out her recorder. "Spy bot test number forty-five - planetary exploration. Six Mark Threes. Method of transport: Stargate. Objective: Scan for threats and anything else of interest." She was already turning towards the door, obviously not intending to wait.

Sam looked at General Hammond. Entrapta could need some help - if only to handle the gate room crew - and Sam would rather do something productive than listen to the arguments in the meeting. The Colonel and the Etherians would ensure that SG-1 would be on the mission anyway.

Fortunately, he understood. "Please assist Princess Entrapta, Captain Carter."

"Yes, sir."

She caught up to Entrapta before they reached the gate room - right when the first spy bots walked and floated out of the elevator. Those were larger than the original Mark Ones but, of course, not nearly as large as the space-capable Mark Twos. Or the interstellar probe bots.

"Alright, guys!" Entrapta spoke up. "This is your first real mission, so I expect the best of you! But don't be sad if you have trouble - you are still in the testing phase, so you can't be expected to be perfect. Just do your best and gather data! And don't get destroyed!"

The bots beeped in agreement. One even trilled, rising a bit higher in the air, and Sam had to remind herself that those weren't sapient bots and this wasn't actual enthusiasm. Just a quirk of the programs.

She had checked that before, after all.

Running the last checks took some more time, but soon enough, the Stargate was establishing a connection, followed by six bots passing through.

Their sensors' feeds showed ruins around the gate as they fanned out.

"No power detected. No sign of life so far," Entrapta reported.

Sam double-checked the results, then nodded. "Yes. Preliminary scans complete."

"Looks clear," Entrapta said.

But that was just the gate area. They would have to scan far more of the planet, and of the atmosphere and orbits as well. One spy bot buried itself in the ground near the gate, the rest started to explore.

And Sam forced herself to focus on the alien surface she saw on the screen, on the data pouring in, on the bots' search patterns.

Anything to keep her from remembering her time as Jolinar's host.

She gritted her teeth as she worked. She had the most experience with Tok'ra. She was needed. And she would do this, her personal demons be damned.

*****​
 
Chapter 56: The Tok’Ra Part 1
Chapter 56: The Tok'Ra Part 1

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, December 4th, 1998

Catra eyed the Stargate as it formed, taking care to appear as relaxed and unconcerned as she could. It wouldn't do to look concerned or even anxious. Even though they were entering a potential trap. Sure, Entrapta and Sam's bots had scanned the whole planet for two days before scanning the two people who had arrived twenty minutes ago. And anything that managed to escape their sensors would probably be able to bypass whatever security they might put up on another planet anyway.

But you could never be sure - Catra had used the Princess Prom, a supposedly neutral meeting, for a covert operation herself. In hindsight, that hadn't been her best plan; it had driven the Kingdom of Snows into the Princess Alliance, but she had achieved her primary objectives. Mostly. Not that she wanted to remember that part of her life, anyway. With the exception of the dance, of course.

And who could say what the Tok'ra were planning? The First Ones had been willing to sacrifice Etheria to defeat Horde Prime. If the Goa'uld who had contacted them were even the Tok'a and not some other faction.

But being too cautious, seeing traps and traitors everywhere, was a good way to lose a war. Especially if you drove away allies. Catra was kind of familiar with that as well. And she didn't want to look as stupid as the Russian idiot in Stargate Command, Sidorov. The odds that Jakar was working for a System Lord and had decided to pose as a Tok'ra in the spur of a moment, without knowing anything about the Alliance, were very low.

Besides, they had She-Ra and Entrapta with them. Whatever the trap, they'd beat it anyway.

So she smiled as she stepped on the ramp, flashing her fangs at the guards, then turned to glance at the others. "Come on, slowpokes! I want to be back in time for dinner. They're serving fish in the mess hall today!"

"You could order fish every day," Glimmer pointed out with a frown. "The payments from NASA for the Mars mission came in."

"And?" Catra cocked her head to the side as if Glimmer had said something stupid.

"I mean… Oh, forget it!" Glimmer stomped past her, straight up to the gate. "Let's not make them wait any longer."

"Hey - they pick the place; we pick the time!" Catra retorted. Waiting until they arrived and then sending a bomb through the gate was the most effective way to ambush them that Catra could think of. Even Emily's force shield would have trouble with a big enough bomb.

That was similar to how the humans had killed Ra, apparently.

But Glimmer was correct - they couldn't wait any longer. Catra would have gone first through the gate, but her appearance might spook the Tok'ra since they were expecting humans. And if they attacked Catra, she'd have to defend herself, and that might ruin diplomatic relations before they could be opened.

So Catra let O'Neill go first, then followed him, holding her breath for the weird transit time. She was getting used to it, but it still played havoc with her senses.

And then she was on a new planet. PX-852, according to Stargate Command. And facing two Goa'uld. Or their human hosts. They didn't wear heavy armour and were armed with zat'nik'tels at their hips, but while their uniforms looked quite tight, they and especially their belts could hide a lot of gadgets - or weapons. Catra knew that perfectly well. Flashing her fangs, she waved at the two women. "Hi!"

They were tense; she could tell at once. Catra wanted to ask if they had never seen a cat, but Adora and Glimmer, followed by Bow, Sam and Daniel, arrived right behind her.

And then came Entrapta with Emily, and the Tok'ra tensed even more. But, after a moment, they slowly nodded.

"Hello," O'Neill said. "I'm Colonel O'Neill, Stargate Command. These are Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon, She-Ra, Princess of Power, Princess Entrapta of Dryl, Captain Carter, Techmaster Bow, Dr Daniel Jackson, Catra and Teal'c, former First Prime of Apophis."

"And this is Emily!" Entrapta added, patting the bot's upper shell. "Hi!"

Emily beeped.

"I am Garshaw of Belote. And this is Anise. We represent the Tok'ra," the Goa'uld with the darker hair said, nodding at the other.

Teal'c's eyebrows rose a little bit, Catra noticed. So, he must have recognised at least one of the names. The Goa'uld hadn't reacted to his presence, so they must have been already aware of his desertion.

"And we represent the Alliance," Glimmer replied.

"We expected Jakar to be present as well," Anise commented. She had a rather bland smile, Catra noted, but something in her attitude made Catra want to annoy her. Almost like a princess.

"Ah, yes, Jakar. Since he is in our custody, we're responsible for his safety, and so we can't risk transporting him into potentially dangerous situations until we are sure that there's no danger." O'Neill smiled, showing his teeth. "Wouldn't want to break our laws, you understand."

"Ah." Anise's smile didn't change, but she took a closer look at O'Neill.

Garshaw nodded. "You don't trust us."

"We don't know you," Glimmer said. "This meeting will hopefully change that."

Catra wasn't so sure about that. But she nodded along with everyone else.

*****​

Gate Area, PX-852, December 4th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"Jakar's message told us that you were potential allies against the Goa'uld. But he didn't tell us who you are," the darker-haired Goa'uld - Garshaw - said. She inclined her head. "We don't know you either."

Jack O'Neill had a snarky reply on his tongue, but Adora spoke up before he could: "We hope this meeting will change that as well." She had an earnest, wide smile on her face as well.

"You're clearly an advanced species - or an alliance of different species," the other Goa'uld said with a glance at Catra before staring at Entrapta with an expression that had Jack silently thank whoever was responsible that Hordak wasn't present and that the rumours about the princess and Carter were completely wrong. "This robot of yours looks very impressive. Is that a laser emitter?"

Entrapta nodded enthusiastically. "You saw that? Yes, it is! Standard bot weapon, though Emily's was upgraded, of course - couldn't leave you with sub-par weapons, right, Emily?"

Jack realised that he had been hanging out with the Etherians a bit too much since he could almost understand Emily's answering beep.

The Goa'uld gasped. "Oh! Is it actually sapient?"

"Emily's female, and yes!" Entrapta replied. "I programmed her matrix myself, and her neural network did the rest, of course."

"You did? Remarkable. Was this your technology, or did you adapt the Ancients'?"

"Oh, the control matrix is mine, but we've upgraded her with First Ones - Ancients - technology as well!"

"Though the details we shouldn't share until we know that we can trust each other," Carter cut in. She had a rather toothy smile, Jack noticed.

"Of course," Anise replied without taking her eyes off Emily. "Given your size, you must contain impressively powerful weapons."

Emily beeped in agreement.

Jack glanced at the others. Everyone else, even the second Goa'uld - or Tok'ra - looked like they were wondering when their diplomatic meeting had changed into a robot discussion. He cleared his throat. Time to be the bad guy. "So… That's very fascinating, but, as was pointed out, we shouldn't talk tech until we know each other much better." He flashed a toothy smile of his own at the two snakes.

"Oh, yes." The other Goa'uld sounded almost relieved. "I apologise for my companion - she is an excellent and passionate scientist, so new technology tends to fascinate her." Jack could hear the unsaid 'a bit too much' clearly.

Anise didn't deny that. She didn't even acknowledge it.

"Right. We don't share technology unless it's an alliance," Entrapta said. "Sorry!"

"Perfectly understandable," Anise told her.

Carter nodded politely. At least she could be trusted not to hand out military technology just for being asked.

"So, you're the Tok'ra," Jack said. "You opposed Ra, and I guess after we killed him, you switched targets."

"We heard that Ra was killed by the Tau'ri," Garshaw looked at him and raised one eyebrow.

"Yep, that's us," Jack said. "We had a slight disagreement. He wanted to conquer our planet, and we didn't want him to. So, we ended up blowing him up as a compromise."

"And you destroyed two Ha'taks in the service of Apophis," Anise added. "You must have quite the advanced technology - developed under Ra's nose."

"Yes." Jack smiled. "And that was before we joined the Alliance." No need to go into details here. As a member of Stargate Command, he was talking for Earth, or at least for two countries that were in the Alliance, and Carter had developed quite impressive technology from their finds, so, technically, he wasn't lying to the snakes. Not that lying wouldn't be a-ok when talking to snakes - or doing diplomacy.

"We represent the Princess Alliance. We met the Tau'ri shortly after Apophis's attack on their planet," Glimmer said. Of course, she'd have a different view of diplomacy. "When we learned of the Goa'uld Empire and their policies, we knew we would have to fight them and free their slaves. And so we formed an alliance. A new Alliance - Earth didn't join the Princess Alliance."

"Ah." Garshaw nodded.

"An alliance with an alliance? A complex arrangement," Anise said. She seemed to approve.

"We've never heard of a Princess Alliance." Garshaw seemed to ignore her friend's comment. "And we have access to almost all of the Goa'uld Empire's records."

"Have you heard of Horde Prime?" Glimmer asked.

They had - Jack saw them tense up.

"We defeated him," Glimmer quickly explained.

"Thoroughly," Catra added.

"That's quite a claim," Garshaw said. "Ra had ordered the System Lords to avoid Horde Prime's territory. He kept the reasons secret from most of his followers, but we managed to find reports that told us enough to deduce that Horde Prime was exceedingly dangerous."

"Yeah, we're aware of that," Jack cut in. "But Ra's dead, and Horde Prime is dead. And the Alliance is just getting started."

Daniel frowned at him, even though this was a great line.

"And how exactly did you kill either?"

That was a good question. One Jack wanted to answer with 'that's classified', but he had a feeling that the Etherians would disagree. And looking at Adora raise her chin, he knew he was right.

*****​

"For Horde Prime, I drove his spirit out of the body he possessed and destroyed it." A moment after Adora had said it, she realised that the Tok'ra were probably a bit concerned about her wording. Or more than a bit, she amended her thoughts after she saw them tense up again.

"You destroyed his spirit?" Garshaw asked.

"Yes. He could jump from body to body. He wasn't like you," Adora tried to explain.

While Garshaw looked sceptical, Anise looked interested. "He was essentially a pure consciousness? One not tied to a physical body like a Goa'uld or Tok'ra?"

"Essentially, yes," Entrapta said. "He basically took over prepared clone bodies, suppressing the native consciousness. Although his control wasn't perfect," she added with a fond smile. "In at least one case, his host could resist him."

"And Ra?"

"We lost a bomb in his flagship," Jack said, shrugging. "He must have stumbled over it."

"It sounds as if you're leaving out a lot of details," Anise commented.

"Boring details." Jack grinned.

"The details don't matter much here. What matters is that Horde Prime's dead and gone," Catra cut in. "The Goa'uld Empire still stands. The Tok'ra oppose it - or so we hear." Adora saw her lover's tail switch back and forth and her ears twitch a little. She didn't like sharing intel like that. But they couldn't expect anyone to trust them without showing some trust first.

"We have been fighting the Goa'uld for millennia," Garshaw replied with narrowed eyes. "None has hurt them as much as we did."

"But not in open warfare," Catra retorted. "You can't match them militarily."

"And you can?" Garshaw shot back.

"We believe so," Adora said. "We have better technology, and we will have the edge in trained troops." It was a risk to say this - but honesty was the best way to gain allies. And she had a good feeling about this.

"If you can match the Empire in open warfare, why are you seeking allies?" Garshaw didn't scoff, but Adora thought she wanted to.

"The more members in the Alliance, the easier the fight will be," Adora explained. "Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, but combined, we can cover each other. We can be more than the sum of our parts." She smiled at them. This had to work - they had to see that this was true. "We can do so much more with allies than alone."

"Or you can be dragged into futile attacks by ignorant allies - or be betrayed by your supposed allies," Garshaw retorted. "We've seen this before, and the cost was horrible."

Right. She was talking to people who have lived for thousands of years, Adora reminded herself. People who weren't like Madame Razz. "That's why we want allies. The more we know, the better we can plan. And we won't betray our allies." She nodded sharply, meeting their eyes.

"And the more we know, the better we can leverage our advantages," Catra added. "And the lower the risk of killing your people as collateral damage is." She shrugged. "It's not as if we have a way to check if someone's Tok'ra or Goa'uld when we attack a world."

"Exposing our agents and spies to outsiders would endanger them far more than the chance that they might be caught in an attack by someone else," Garshaw said. "All it would take is one succumbing to a Goa'uld, and the System Lords would be able to eliminate all our agents. We keep that information compartmentalised even within the Tok'ra."

Adora refrained from frowning. It made sense.

"We don't expect a list of your operatives - though we wouldn't turn one down either, of course!" Jack grinned. "But if we had an alliance, or at least shared intel, we could confirm that a prisoner claiming to be Tok'ra was actually a member of the Tok'ra. Letting anyone go just on their say so isn't how things are done, after all." He shrugged. "Of course, we still don't know if you're the Tok'ra."

Adora frowned at him. He wasn't wrong, but the chances that Jakar was a Goa'uld spy posing as a Tok'ra were rather small. He wouldn't have known who he was talking to, nor that the Alliance would work with the Tok'ra but would refuse to work with another System Lord against Apophis. Or that the Alliance wouldn't just torture him until he broke no matter his claims. And she didn't think he would have prearranged secret tells to let his allies know with a message that they would have to pose as Tok'ra.

"How do you expect us to prove our claims?" Garshaw asked. Her friend glanced at her, but she didn't seem to react. "Anyone could say they were members of the Tok'ra, after all. And why should we trust you? We are here because of Jakar's message, yet he isn't here. You admitted that you keep him prisoner."

How could you prove that you were honest? Adora glanced at Sam. They had a way, of course, but they didn't know if it would work. And the Tok'ra had a point about Jakar. She looked at Jack. "We can bring Jakar through the gate." It wasn't as if Jakar knew more about them than what they had told the Tok'ra about the Alliance. Quite the contrary, actually. Which she was sure Jack wasn't happy about. And she knew that Catra didn't like it. But trust required trust. Someone had to make the first step.

Jack narrowed his eyes, and his smile dimmed a lot, but, after a moment, he nodded and pushed a button on his radio. "Send Jakar through."

Stargate Command didn't argue. Adora sorted - that probably meant that Sidorov wasn't in the gate room.

A few minutes later, Jakar stepped through the gate.

"Jakar!" Anise smiled at him.

"Garshaw. Anise." He nodded at both, then looked at Jack.

"Go ahead," Jack said. "They already know more about us than you do."

Jakar laughed at this but walked over to the two other Tok'ra. They exchanged some words in a whisper that Adora didn't catch, but Catra did. Her lover shook her head, though, when Adora looked at her. So, she didn't understand the language. Well, Emily would have recorded it too.

Jack cleared his throat. "So, now that we've proven our good intentions, how about you prove that you're the Tok'ra? Just for the record, so to speak. I mean, if we really thought you were Goa'uld, we wouldn't have done this, but we've got a few sceptics at home, and we would like some solid proof that we didn't just spill all this intel to the enemy."

Yes, definitely not happy.

"Again: How do you expect us to prove that?" Garshaw asked

Sam took a step forward. "Call Martouf."

*****​

"Martouf?" Garshaw tilted her head slightly as if she was confused, Samantha Carter saw, but Anise wasn't quite as smooth and froze for a moment. So, they knew the name. And they were surprised that Sam knew the name. Jakar didn't react - but he was a trained undercover operative, so Sam hadn't expected him to do so.

"Martouf," Sam repeated herself, meeting their eyes. "You know them."

"How do you know him?" Anise asked with a frown.

"That's part of how we can ascertain that you're Tok'ra," Sam told her.

"I see." Garshaw slowly nodded. "We will have to use the Chappa'ai to call him."

"And, of course, two of us will be staying here as a show of good faith," Jakar added, smiling widely.

He really wanted the alliance, Sam realised. Or, she amended her thought, he was that curious about them and the Etherians.

She also noticed that Garshaw wasn't happy, but Anise nodded. "Of course." The woman sounded almost eager. Well, Sam could understand that - any scientist worth her salt would love to observe, if not explore, new technology.

"It will take a while to reach him," Garshaw said, a very thin smile on her face. "You'll understand that I won't travel directly to him."

Sam hesitated a moment. This was a gamble. She was acting on partial information - information gained in a dream, based on remnants of Jolinar's memories. Disturbing dreams. And yet, Martouf was real. So she smiled and recited the gate address Jolinar and Martouf had used in the fragment of the Tok'ra's memories she remembered.

And Sam had to refrain from smirking at the Tok'ra's reaction. This time, even Jakar tensed, eyes narrowing for half a second before he started to smile again.

"Well played, Captain Carter," he said with a slight bow. "Your talents go beyond being a scientist and soldier."

Garshaw was less graceful - her lips were pressed together, forming a thin line, as she nodded. And Anise was… well, Sam wasn't quite sure what her expression meant. But the Tok'ra was staring at her just like she had been staring at Entrapta before.

Which did, strangely, make Sam feel proud and concerned at the same time.

Garshaw walked over to the D.H.D. with the usual grace of a Goa'uld not trying to hide, and the Colonel took a step to the side, his nod turning into an ironic bow. "I'll signal our side to break the connection," he said, just as Garshaw opened her mouth, presumably to demand the same thing.

Sam once more refrained from grinning.

But as Garshaw dialled, the Colonel stepped closer to Sam and whispered: "That was a hell of a shot in the dark, Carter."

"It was a calculated risk based on solid intel," she retorted in an equally low voice. Well, as solid as possible for this situation, she amended in her mind.

Catra snorted - the catwoman had overheard them, of course.

"I hope you know what you are doing," the Colonel went on.

"Yes, sir," Sam replied. In any case, the die was cast.

Then Garshaw vanished through the Stargate, the connection ending a moment later. Sam took note of that. If the connection had stayed up, they wouldn't have been able to dial home. So, since Anise and Jakar were still here, this was also a sign of trust. Or it could be just a precaution in case the Tok'ra didn't have an iris or another way to block gate travel. She couldn't be sure until she personally verified it.

Sam understood why the Colonel liked to complain so much about spooks.

"So, while we wait…." Anise tilted her head and smiled at Entrapta. "Your hair looks very interesting. How do you control it?"

"Well, like I control the rest of my body," Entrapta answered. "With my mind."

"The hair is part of your body?"

"Yes." Entrapta nodded. "It's not the most powerful talent, but it's very useful for fiddly work."

Anise looked from her to Catra and back. "You are a very diverse Alliance."

That, of course, had the Colonel chuckling. "You could say that, yes."

Anise frowned at him for a moment, her lips twisting into a pout. Then her expression smoothed out again. "You four wear the same uniforms - a distinctive style." She nodded at SG-1. "Even the former First Prime of Apophis. And yet, the rest of you all wear different clothes. And it is not for utilitarian reasons."

Glimmer nodded. "Many different factions form our Alliance."

"Do you have a dominant power? Or do you need to reach a consensus for every decision?" Anise asked.

"It depends on the kind of decision," Glimmer told her. "Military decisions are under the purview of the military leadership - the commander of the Alliance forces and their staff."

Which would have to expand, now that the United States was joining. Sam really didn't want to watch those negotiations. Even though anyone with a working brain would have to realise that there was no chance at all that the supreme commander would be anyone other than Adora. Certainly not an American.

"Your planning meetings must be… lively." Anise smiled in a way that made Sam want to take her down a peg. Even if the Tok'ra wasn't entirely wrong about this.

"We manage," Glimmer said. "Fighting Horde Prime taught us a lot."

"Ah."

"I am sure both of us can learn a lot from each other." Jakar smiled again.

"Yeah, sure, you betcha. But let's focus on how to defeat the Goa'uld, shall we?" The Colonel cut in. "And we should wait with forming closer ties until we both trust each other."

Sam nodded. That was just common sense.

"Of course," Jakar replied, acknowledging the point. "Although I remain very hopeful that we will forge close bonds." His smile turned a little wistful. "We've been fighting the Goa'uld for a long time without allies. Of course, being betrayed by System Lords claiming they wanted to work with us did sour us on alliances with any Goa'uld. And we haven't been looking for other allies either."

"Yeah, being stabbed in the back by snakes does have that effect on people." The Colonel sounded a little too casual for simply agreeing with the Tok'ra, in Sam's opinion.

Daniel, who had been uncharacteristically silent until now, cleared his throat. "I noticed that you talk about the Goa'uld being your enemies, not the System Lords. Do you consider yourself as not part of the Goa'uld?"

"Yes." Jakar nodded sharply. As did Anise. "To call us Goa'uld is an insult," he added.

"Ah. I am sorry - I did not want to give offence." Daniel nodded but quickly perked up. "So, do you have a name for your species? That is, do you consider yourself an entirely new species defined by your allegiance?"

"We're the Tok'ra," Jakar said, a little less congenial than he usually talked, Sam noted.

Anise, though, nodded. "Indeed, I have coined a new term for our biological species, but, so far, it has not received wide acceptance despite the clear need to differentiate between cultural and biological terms."

Jakar tilted his head towards her. "The only one who has accepted it is you, Anise."

Anise sniffed in response. "That others reject my proposal is a clear indication of their lesser status as scientists. You cannot ignore that we are biologically the same species and so we should have a term for this."

"Yes!" Entrapta chimed in. "Science is not biased or political - science is honest. You can't do science if you're not honest. You'd end up falsifying your data, undermining your entire work!"

"Exactly!" Anise smiled at her.

They had a very valid point, of course.

"Yeah, but sometimes, science needs to take those other things into account," the Colonel said. "Or you end up with stuff that should never have been created and a whole mess on your hands."

"Such as the research I destroyed before we met, yes," Jakar agreed.

Entrapta frowned. "That's wrong! Whether or not you use something is not a scientific question. You shouldn't limit scientific research just because of politics! Researching doesn't harm anyone." She blinked. "If conducted properly and responsibly, of course," she added with a smile.

The Colonel wasn't the only one who grimaced at that. "Yeah, well… If you never build a world-destroying thingie, it can't be used to destroy the world. And it can't get stolen or lost. Or accidentally activated."

Entrapta winced at that. As did the other Etherians. They would remember their past, Sam knew. She shook her head as she spoke up: "On the other hand, science is universal. Just because someone is limiting their research doesn't mean anyone else will be doing the same. And people cannot defend against something unless they know how it works."

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded emphatically. "That's why we need to research everything! So we're ready for everything!"

Well, that wasn't a very practical stance. You couldn't research everything - you would end up not researching anything in sufficient depth to be useful and practical. And there were only so many scientists with the talent and training to research advanced technology, much less to break new ground. They were fortunate that the Goa'uld kept their slaves ignorant as a rule - if the Alliance were faced with a Goa'uld Empire using its resources for research and development on a similar scale to Earth… Sam suppressed a shudder.

Anise, once again, was agreeing emphatically. "I keep telling the High Council the same! And they keep rejecting my proposals."

For a moment, Sam felt for the other woman. The number of requests she had been denied during her career… Although, to be fair, those had mainly been denied for budgetary reasons, not on moral grounds. Or because her hide-bound superiours had favoured another, usually male, scientist. But on the whole, the United States Armed Forces were generally very open to anything that could improve their weapons.

She noticed that the Colonel was frowning at her. And the Etherians were staring at Entrapta and Anise.

Oh.

But before she could explain - or defend - her position, the Stargate activated again.

"Stay sharp!" the Colonel snapped, raising his M4.

"Shield up, Emily!" Entrapta yelled as the bot moved to cover them, force shields springing up.

But it was only Garshaw who stepped through, followed by…

"Martouf," Sam whispered before she could stop herself. Her friend. Her comrade. They had fought side by side against the Goa'uld, and… No. She shook her head. She had never met the Tok'ra. This was Jolinar's remaining memories affecting her.

She straightened and stepped forward, meeting the man's eyes. "Martouf." She bowed slightly to him in greeting.

He returned the bow, looking wary. "You know my name. But I have never met you," he said with a glance at Garshaw.

"I know." Sam smiled ruefully. "I was briefly the host of Jolinar of Malkshur."

Martouf's eyes widened as he drew a sharp breath. "Jolinar. Where is he?"

He sounded so hopeful... Sam pressed her lips together. She hated this. She forced herself to smile gently. "He died saving my life."

"Oh."

"But he was... inside me long enough for our memories to partially overlap. I remember you," Sam went on.

"That's how you knew the gate address!" Anise exclaimed.

Sam nodded. She turned to the Colonel. "They're the Tok'ra," she said. The odds of the Goa'uld being able to produce either Martouf or a double of his host in such a short time were too low to be considered a valid hypothesis.

He looked at her for a moment before nodding. "Okay. So, you're the Tok'ra. We're the Alliance. And we both hate the Goa'uld. Let's talk!"

*****​

Finally! Catra refrained from saying so out loud, of course - except for sighing a bit more loudly than usual, which earned her a frown from Adora. She stared back at her lover. Catra would have preferred to move with more caution - you couldn't trust just anyone you met who claimed to be fighting the Goa'uld - but if you were doing the trusting bit instead anyway, there wasn't any reason to stall for so long. It wasn't as if Entrapta was particularly good at keeping secrets.

"Yes," Garshaw said, nodding at O'Neill. "But maybe in a location more suited to such talks?" She turned her head to look at the Stargate. "Since you are already aware of one of our bases' locations, visiting that planet would not endanger it further."

Catra narrowed her eyes a little. That could be a trap. Unlikely, but not impossible. And without magic, Glimmer couldn't use her powers to get them out quickly. On the other hand, the Tok'ra had no idea about Adora's power. And Catra didn't think a bunch of guerilla fighters and saboteurs would try to start a war with yet another power for any sane reason. And if they weren't sane and cautious, they wouldn't have lasted for so long against the Goa'uld Empire.

O'Neill must have come to the same conclusion since he nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Adora and Glimmer were, of course, all for it. "Yes," Adora said, smiling widely while Glimmer nodded.

And so, after informing Stargate Command, they went through the gate and found themselves in…

…a desert.

"You people really must love sand," Catra said with a deep frown. She didn't like sand. Not at all. The stuff got everywhere, including your clothes and fur. And walking on it was… Well, it wasn't hot enough to burn her feet, at least, but it wasn't comfortable either. Marching on soft sand was far more exhausting than marching on decent ground. It also reminded her of the Crimson Waste, and those were memories she wasn't very fond of. For a variety of reasons.

Garshaw raised her eyebrows at her. "We don't love sand. But we are used to the environment. We would rather live on a world like this, safe from the Goa'uld, than on a more hospitable one known to the System Lords."

"You could have moved to a more temperate area, though," Entrapta pointed out. "Or is the planet covered by deserts? Is this the temperate part, and the other regions are even worse - so hot, you can't survive without special environmental suits?"

"Having the gate in this location discourages visitors, reducing the danger of being found and of anyone taking more than a passing interest in the world," Garshaw explained.

"And," Jakar added, "if the gate were moved, anyone familiar with the original location would realise that someone had moved it - and they would investigate."

"So, how far do we have to travel until we're at your base?" Catra asked. It couldn't be too far, she thought - Garshaw hadn't taken that long to fetch Martouf. Though they probably had used a skiff or something similar - she couldn't see any road or tracks in the sand, and they had to have a way to haul supplies to and from their base.

"Not too far," Garshaw replied, pulling out a round radio or communicator - Catra didn't recognise the exact model. "We've arrived with guests and need a transport."

Catra narrowed her eyes - and not just because of the sun - and cocked her head, her ears twitching. Was that a whining noise? Yes, it was. She turned to look in that direction. A single vehicle, probably.

Yes, she added to herself as it crested the dune there, it looks like a sort of skiff. Just without the sail. General-purpose light hovertransport, she'd call it. Pants in any fight since she couldn't see any armour or emitters for shields - just like a skiff, in other words. But it probably could fly over water, not that there was any water in the desert.

"George Lucas has to answer a few questions," she heard O'Neill comment.

"It is not too similar to a skiff, I believe," Teal'c said.

"Form often follows function," Daniel added. "So, it stands to reason that different designs would still show general similarities."

"You use similar transports?" Anise asked.

"Yes," Catra told her. No need to go into details.

"It serves well enough, though maintenance can be difficult at times," Anise said. Judging by her expression, she had done such work before.

"Oh?" Entrapta stared at the approaching vehicle. "Is it the sand? Or do you have to craft all spare parts by hand? Some of the old bots I restored were like that."

"Both," Anise replied.

"Come," Garshaw said. "Let's be off."

They boarded the transport, and the driver let it hover over the gate area, then pushed a button, blasting the sand below with air and erasing their tracks.

"Smooth," Catra said with a grin.

"We have been doing this for some time," Jakar told her with a matching smile as they took off.

*****​

P34-353J, December 4th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Jack O'Neill suppressed a frown when the skiff - which did look a bit too much like it came out of Star Wars for his taste - stopped in the middle of the desert between two dunes. There was nothing to distinguish this spot from any other spot of sand.

"We're here," Garshaw said.

"Home sweet home, as you would say," the damn snake spy added with a smile.

Jack wondered where Jakar had picked up that piece of Earth slang. Or idiom, as Daniel would say. He would have to ensure that the man hadn't had access to Earth media while in the mountain - that would have been a massive breach of security. Well, that was something to do once they were back home. He made a point to look around. "Are you sure you don't love sand? Because there's a lot of sand here."

Jakar laughed. "This is merely the entrance." He climbed over the railing and jumped down into the sand without apparent effort. Jack almost expected him to strike a pose as if he were at a gymnastics competition.

Well, two could play that game - especially since Adora had healed Jack. He gripped the railing with both hands and vaulted over it, landing next to the snake spy, and grinned.

Then Catra jumped over the skiff's railing, did a somersault in midair and landed a few yards away with a shit-eating grin.

"Catra!" Adora, followed by the others, didn't show off and simply dropped down from the skiff.

"What? I thought it was a competition. A traditional ritual before guests were admitted into their homes!" Catra's shit-eating grin didn't waver.

"You've been talking too much to Daniel," Jack told her in a flat voice.

"What? We didn't!" his friend protested. "Well, not recently, at least. And I never mentioned anything like... Oh." He blinked, then pouted.

Then sand was thrown into the air when Emily landed on it, her legs sinking a foot or two into the soft ground. Entrapta, sitting on top of the bot and somehow having managed not to get thrown off - she'd probably cheated with her hair - cheered.

"This might be a bit much for one transport," Anise said, looking around. "The robot will have to follow with the next."

Transport? Were they switching… Ah. "A ring transporter?" Jack asked, cocking his head. "We're getting the VIP treatment, I see." And it meant they wouldn't be able to easily find an entrance.

"Yes. It leaves no tracks," Garshaw said, pulling her round communicator thingie out again.

"And the skiff continues to another base which serves as a last-ditch decoy?" Catra asked. "Or is this the decoy base?"

Garshaw didn't answer. Instead, she spoke into the small ball. "We're here."

"Should have said 'a dozen to beam down, Scotty'," Jack joked.

"Colonel!" Carter hissed next to him.

But he was watching the snakes. None of them showed a reaction other than mild confusion - even the spy. So, Jakar might not have had access to Earth media in depth - or that was what the spy wanted you to think, of course.

Jack didn't like spooks. He liked alien spooks even less.

Then the familiar rings rose around the group, and, a moment later, they appeared in a room - and were facing half a dozen guards.

But the snakes hadn't drawn their weapons, and Garshaw nodded at the apparent leader. "There is a robot to transport down as well," she told them before turning to address SG-1 and the Etherians. "Please follow us to your quarters. It will take a little while to convene the High Council to meet with you."

They stepped out of the transporter area, and Jack turned to Jakar, tilting his head slightly to the right. "Guest quarters?"

The spy laughed again. "Oh, don't worry - it's not a euphemism for cells. You have free access to explore this base if you do not wish to wait in quite comfortable surroundings."

Jack's eyebrows rose. Full access to their base? Either the Tok'ra weren't as competent as they had to be to survive for so long, or this was a decoy base.

"Thank you," Glimmer spoke up with one of her regal, polite smiles. "It will be nice to freshen up a bit."

Garshaw nodded. "You are our guests. Jakar, please show them their quarters. I will call the rest of the High Council."

"Can we see your lab?" Entrapta asked Anise with a wide smile as Emily appeared behind them. "We're building a new lab, Sam and I, and I'd love to see how other scientists work!"

"Ah…" Anise grimaced. "I don't have a lab in this base," she said.

So, this was a decoy base. Jack grinned. If Entrapta had done this intentionally, he'd tell her well done in private.

"Aw." Entrapta pouted. "Did you have to move your lab for security reasons too?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Anise had apparently recovered from her slip.

"Is it in space? Though that would require a guard fleet to keep it safe. Do you have enough naval assets for that? Of course, a spacelab seems the safest option for a lot of experiments. Or… with your transporters, could you build a lab deep in the bedrock, completely isolated from everyone? But the transporter might still be a risk for spreading biological agents in an accident, and if it failed, you'd be stuck there or outside the lab!"

Jack couldn't tell if Entrapta was more worried about being stuck inside or outside her lab. He guessed the latter.

Then he tried to tune the tech talk out and focus on the base they were travelling through. The tunnels were roomy, but, for all their alien-ness, they looked a bit… rough. And those crystals everywhere… He narrowed his eyes, then grinned. He wasn't an expert on alien technology, but they had two of them with him. Three, actually; he kept forgetting that Bow was a Techmaster because compared to the mad scientist princess, the boy tended to escape notice.

So Jack turned his head and beamed at Entrapta, Carter and Bow. "Hey - did you see those crystals? Have you ever seen similar things?"

Entrapta perked up, skipping over to the closest crystal row. "Oh! How interesting!" Her hair brushed over them. "I don't think I've seen them before."

"Neither have I", Carter said. She touched them and took a look at the wall next to it. After knocking on it, she frowned. "This sounds odd."

"Oh!" Entrapta pulled her tool thingie out, then blinked and turned to face Anise. "Oh! I almost forgot: Can we scan the wall?"

"Ah, yes," Anise replied, her eyes fixed on the tool. "If I can take a look at your scanner."

"Deal!"

Jack suppressed a grimace. That wasn't what he had wanted. And Jakar was smiling as if he knew that.

The damn snake spy probably did, damn him.

*****​
 
Chapter 57: The Tok’Ra Part 2
Chapter 57: The Tok'Ra Part 2

P34-353J, December 4th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Things were going well. At least Adora thought so. They had made contact with the Tok'ra, proving that Jakar had told them the truth, the Tok'ra had invited them to their base and were preparing to talk about an alliance. She frowned - well, they hadn't said so outright, actually. But they also hadn't denied it. So, it was implied, at least. And they had prepared guest quarters for Adora and her friends. Even more importantly, they weren't under guard. That was a sign of trust, in Adora's opinion.

Not that they had reached the guest quarters yet - Entrapta and Sam were examining the tunnels here. Quite thoroughly. Both had their scanners out. Well, their personal ones, though Adora had a feeling that Emily was also using hers, and Emily's scanner was a copy of the magically-enhanced scanner the two had built.

"Oh, look at the molecular structure here!"

"Yes. They are aligned… almost as if they were…"

"Yes, exactly! Emily, check the crystals again!"

Emily beeped.

"Oh, look at that!" Entrapta held her tool out to Sam - presumably to show the results of that scan.

"Definitely a connection to the crystals - the patterns complement each other."

Adora winced. Her friends were being a little rude. More than a little, in her opinion.

"Your scanners can analyse the molecular structure in that detail?"

"Yes. Look? That's the crystal's pattern. And that's the wall's!"

Well, at least Anise didn't seem to mind - though that was probably because the Tok'ra scientist was fascinated by Entrapta and Sam's technology.

Adora glanced at Jakar. The agent looked amused. So, they weren't insulting their hosts without meaning to - a danger, as Daniel had stressed, that was always present when making first contact. He had a number of stories to show that, too.

"Oh, I see! The crystals have been… altering the stone. The density is much higher than further away, but it's not high enough to account for the entire volume we're standing in."

And now Bow was getting into it. Adora softly sighed. If things continued like this, they wouldn't reach their guest quarters before the Tok'ra High Council was ready for them.

"And what does it mean? For non-scientists?" Catra asked suddenly, interrupting the others. She had her head cocked to the side and a bored expression - but Adora could tell that it was fake. Just like in cadet training when she had been fooling other squads. And instructors sometimes.

"Oh… isn't it obvious?" Entrapta asked, looking surprised.

Adora shook her head, as did Glimmer and Catra.

"Oh! Wellll… the tunnel here was created completely artificially."

"And that's never the case with tunnels, right?" Jack must be a little tense as well - he was usually a bit less sarcastic when talking to Entrapta.

"Well, technically…"

"They were created very quickly using the crystals to form and mould the stone, sir," Sam explained. "Judging by the readins we took, the stone's structure is still adjusting - cooling down where it had been compressed so much, the molecules heated up."

"Yes! But not the whole mass was compressed - a big part isn't here. So, either it was used as fuel - converted into energy in a non-explosive way - or it was disintegrated," Entrapta added.

"We didn't find any traces of loose molecules in the environment, though," Bow said.

Adora blinked. Did that mean…

"You made the whole base to meet us, didn't you?" Jack said.

Anise looked surprised, but Jakar smiled. "Indeed, Colonel O'Neill. Quite perceptive."

"I have my moments," Jack replied.

Adora glanced at Catra. Her lover didn't look surprised. Which didn't surprise Adora. Catra was much better at the sneaky stuff than her.

"Yes," Anise confirmed. "We can rapidly grow tunnels using our technology."

Catra whistled, then grinned at Adora. "Imagine what we could've done with that in the war."

Oh. Oh, yes. Adora could imagine that. Very well. If they had this technology… they could assault any bunker from any side they wanted. They could create safe and hidden supply lines. Entire bases could be fabricated in no time, out of sight of the enemy.

She glanced at Glimmer. They needed this alliance more than they had expected.

*****​

This was fascinating! The Tok'ra could grow tunnels. Samantha Carter had thought, at first, that they used advanced technology to rapidly drill tunnels - probably by using a way to disrupt the molecular bonds to facilitate excavating the material - but it was so much more. Their technology - she still hadn't found out how the crystals did this - shaped the stone. And used part of it to fuel the process. Probably not a self-sustaining reaction, though - at least, she hoped not. If such a thing ever went out of control, it might actually manage something close to the - impossible as far as Sam knew - Grey Goo scenario. Not that she had any idea how a self-sustaining partial disintegration process might work, either.

"So, the crystals are the key. That means they must be used to project a field that changes the matter," Entrapta said.

"Yes." Anise nodded after a moment's hesitation. Then she cocked her head. "And your scanner is a very advanced multi-frequency device. However, that wouldn't result in some of the readings I see here. So… how are you doing this? It must be this crystal here." She tapped part of the externally-visible crystal array that boosted the scanner with magic.

"Yes, that's the key part of the scanner," Entrapta confirmed. "It bypasses the limits of the standard scanner. Some of the limits, at least - we still have trouble with the finer details at longer ranges, and its range itself is still limited, though planetary scans are reliably possible, and some effects do reduce the scanner's effectiveness. But we're working on that!"

If not as often as we probably should, Sam thought as she nodded in agreement. But there was so much else to do… and so few who could assist, much less take over some projects. Years of secrecy meant even geniuses like Hawking had to first catch up before they could contribute to the field.

Which, Sam admitted to herself while she ran another scan, had some good side as well - some of those geniuses could do with a little humbling. At least in her opinion. While none had said so to her face, she knew that some of them looked down on her for being a woman, a soldier, or both. Iwan never did that. Or, she couldn't help adding, in the Colonel's voice, he was too well-trained to let it slip.

"Oh, look at that!" Entrapta interrupted her thoughts. "That trace here… the structures are half-formed."

"Yes." Sam narrowed her eyes. That was the first trace of a denser but not quite fully formed area they had seen. And that meant they could deduce something about how the process worked. After extensive modelling and more scanning, and probably not enough to understand, much less replicate the process, but it was a start.

"This is remarkable. You aren't just enhancing the scan with a different sensor - you're enhancing the scan itself! This is… Not even supercharging a scanner with Naquadah would achieve that."

Supercharging a scanner with Naquadah? Sam blinked. That would…

"If you empower the scan and have Naquadah present…" Entrapta frowned.

"...it could destabilise the entire array," Sam finished for her friend. "Violently and exothermically."

"Boom!" Entrapta mimed an explosion.

Anise frowned. Either she didn't like the miming or… "Yes, it can lead to remarkable explosions if mishandled," the Tok'ra said.

She was speaking from experience, Sam was sure. But she wouldn't ask - it was clear that Anise didn't like to be reminded of such a failure.

"Oh! Did that happen to you? Did you lose your entire lab? That happened to me once. Well, more than once, but only once through a completely unexpected explosion instead of an unexpectedly powerful explosion," Entrapta said, beaming at Anise.

"Something like that, yes," Ansie said with a wince.

Entrapta nodded. "Well, you can make a new lab easily with this technology, though the tools might be a bother to replace - although that means it's also an opportunity to upgrade!"

"Especially your safety procedures," Bow cut in with a forced smile.

Anise didn't look very impressed. She nodded, quite curtly. "Yes. However… the way your scanner works, you either have it slaved to a much more powerful array somewhere else, close enough to work…" She glanced at Emily. "But the signals would be detected. Or you have added another element. And those crystals…" She gasped. "It can't be!" Her eyes widened as she looked at Entrapta. "Magic?"

Sam hesitated just long enough - should she lie or not? It would come out sooner or later anyway; Adora would ask to return magic to the planet - for Entrapta to nod. "Exactly! It's a magic scanner."

"But… magic stopped working long ago," Anise said.

"We're bringing it back!" Entrapta beamed at her. "Technically, it never stopped working - you, that means, the galaxy, simply lost access to it. Did you work with magic before it was taken away?"

"Taken away? The common theory amongst System Lords is that magic was the work of the Ancients and that whatever system had powered it had finally broken down a thousand years ago," Anise said. "You mean that was a deliberate action?"

"Yes. Although technically, it was done by the Ancients, I guess," Entrapta said. "Do you remember it?"

Anise shook her head. "No. I wasn't born back then. And I never worked with magic - our species has no talent for it."

"But shouldn't you have genetic memories of your progenitor?" Entrapta blinked.

Sam narrowed her eyes. Indeed, a Goa'uld or Tok'ra should remember the time when magic worked. And Goa'uld couldn't do magic? Not even with talented hosts? Something to confirm.

The Colonel interrupted by yawning. "Say, can we get to those guest quarters? My back's killing me."

Right. Sam refused to blush even though she just realised that they had been holding up everyone else. But it was such a fascinating technology…

At least Anise and Bow looked as sheepish as Sam felt. Entrapta, of course, wasn't fazed. "Aw. This is so interesting… although I guess we can continue with the walls in the guest quarters! Let's go, Emily!"

Sam could tell that the Colonel wasn't pleased about that, but he should have known better than to expect Entrapta to stop examining such fascinating new technology.

"So, Bow, getting distracted by the shiny new technology? Should Glimmer get jealous?" Sam heard Catra ask as they started to follow Jakar.

Although, Sam suddenly realised as Catra and Adora teased Bow, with Glimmer joining in for a mock-disappointed complaint that had the man flounder for a moment, the Tok'ra agent couldn't have known the base beforehand. Nor could have Anise - both had been away when the base had been built. So, if they could serve as guides, then this base must have a pre-set layout or there were markers indicating where which part was. Since she hadn't noticed any such markers, she was betting on the former. But she'd have to check with the others about this - she could have missed something, after all.

"Here!" Jakar announced with a bow that seemed just a bit too intricate to be genuine or completely serious, and next to him, a sliding door opened. Big enough to let Emily pass through.

"Neat! Can you grow such a mechanism as well?" Entrapta asked, bending over to examine the door.

That was a good question. If this technology wasn't limited to growing tunnels and rooms but could be used to grow furniture and more complex things…

"Standard packages can be easily installed," Anise said, which was a little evasive, in Sam's opinion. "But come inside."

The guest quarters looked spartan compared to quarters a state visit could expect in most countries on Earth, much less the lavish luxury of Bright Moon, but for a group in hiding, they were quite generous, in Sam's opinion. The furniture mostly but not completely matched, so that might indicate that the Tok'ra couldn't grow more than tunnels. Well, they could ask Anise.

*****​

"Nice digs," Catra commented as she looked around. "Quite a step up from Horde barracks."

"Catra!" Adora hissed under her breath.

"What? It's true. It's a compliment," Catra said. "This is their equivalent of generic construction." And as bland as a guest room on Earth - in Bright Moon, someone would have added little touches to make the guest feel more at home. Or feel more out of their depth if the guest had been raised in the Horde, Catra added mentally with a snort.

"We're guests here!" Adora insisted.

Yes, they were. But since they didn't have privacy - not that Catra expected the room to be private even if the two Tok'ra had left; in the Tok'ra's place, she would have crammed it full of surveillance - she felt justified in ribbing their hosts a bit.

Or trying to rib them - Anise was busy examining Entrapta's technology while Entrapta and the others were examining the walls of the room, and Jakar looked perfectly at ease. The spy really was too smooth. And too friendly. Not as bad as Double Trouble - Catra didn't have the urge to claw his face off every time he smiled - but he got her hackles raised.

"We do our best, but our means are limited - we do wage war against an Empire that has us outnumbered many, many times over, forcing us to remain in hiding and be prepared to move at the shortest notice."

"That's terrible!" Adora said. "How often do you have to move?"

"Often enough to keep us from setting down roots anywhere, I'd say," he replied with a shrug, "but not enough to force us to constantly move."

Another non-answer. Catra suppressed a theatrical sigh. "So, do your decoy bases see regular use against the Goa'uld?" She sat down on one of the couches - or were they supposed to be beds? They were not as soft as Bright Moon's 'swallowing pillows' but softer than a normal couch. "Since you don't have a Stargate in the base, you would have to outwait any attackers before you could leave. Letting them destroy a base would probably speed that up." And keep them from just blowing up the planet if they couldn't find the Tok'ra but knew that they were present.

"They have been used in that capacity in the past, yes," Jakar admitted. "Mostly to fool the Goa'uld into thinking that we already moved before they arrived." He smiled wryly. "Which is why Garshaw will not be happy to hear that you have realised our building capability and will oppose sharing this technology - if the Goa'uld suspect we can do this, they will be much harder to fool with fake bases."

Entrapta wouldn't be happy to hear that, Catra knew. She glanced at the corner, where Entrapta, Bow and the others were still examining the stone wall. It seemed she hadn't overheard them.

"You won't have to fool them any more if you join us," Adora said. "We can match them in open warfare. Not that we are planning to strike openly from the start, of course - the element of surprise has tobe preserved as long as possible."

"I sincerely hope so," Jakar told her. "But I am not on the High Council. You will have to convince them to change our ways. My own voice will not move them much, especially since I am still a little suspect after enjoying your hospitality."

So, they thought he was compromised? Catra narrowed her eyes.

But Jack spoke before she could. "Why don't they trust you? You've got all that genetic memory and a thousand years of working together."

Jakar, for once not smiling so smugly or overly friendly, shook his head. "Unlike the Goa'uld, we do not extend our lives with sarcophaguses. So, while we share the memories of our distant ancestors, we do not live for thousands of years. Our life spans are more comparable to yours."

Oh. Catra glanced at the others. That changed a few things.

*****​

So the snakes were as mortal as humans. That was crucial intel, Jack O'Neill knew - their calculations had been based on the assumption that they were dealing with aliens who had been alive for a thousand years or more. And who probably counted on being alive for another few thousand years. Then again, they had that genetic memory…

"Really?" Of course, Daniel would jump on that.

Jack was almost relieved - Daniel being quiet while meeting new aliens was very uncharacteristic. Almost. Daniel was just a little bit better at talking himself out of trouble than he was at getting in trouble.

And there he went. "But you still have the genetic memory of your ancestors - all of them, I suppose?"

Jakar's smile turned a bit blander, Jack noted. "That's a very personal question, Dr Jackson."

"Oh, I am sorry - it's just that we have, although not nearly enough, quite the amount of information about Goa'uld society, so we know that the fact that its members, especially its leaders, were so extremely long-lived, was crucial in shaping it. Although this is merely an assumption, and a generalisation, and based on human behaviour, older people tend to be more conservative, and that would explain the relative stagnation of Goa'uld society." And there came his charming smile. "So, the existence of a society of, well, people who share the same biology, but have a very different lifespan, provides a fascinating counterpart to check such assumptions." He blinked. "I mean, that sounds… I didn't mean it like an experiment. But I would love to learn more about your society."

Jack nodded in agreement, if not for the same reasons as Daniel. They needed to know more about the Tok'ra - as much as possible. Not just for the upcoming negotiations but for the future as well. Whether they managed to form an alliance or not, the Tok'ra were extremely dangerous.

Jakar's smile remained polite as he tilted his head a smidge to the side. "Half of our society is formed by humans, Dr Jackson." Then his voice switched. "Yes. I fear that you might be operating from a mistaken assumption. The Tok'ra aren't like the Goa'uld - we are their partners, not their slaves."

Daniel blinked. "Of course." He bowed his head. "I didn't want to give offence. Obviously, the comparatively reduced lifespan of the symbiont would affect their relationship with the hosts as well. The power imbalance between a being who has lived for thousands of years and a human would render any relationship less than equal no matter the intentions of everyone involved, but if that factor is gone…" He frowned in his half-pouty way. "There's still the genetic memory to consider, of course. As I said, fascinating."

Great. Jack glanced at the corner where Carter was still geeking out about snake science. He was in danger of losing half of his team to the snakes! He bit down on the first comment that came to mind - neither of his friends would have taken it well - and joked: "Careful with that enthusiasm, Danny, or they'll end up offering you a symbiont."

Daniel glared at him. "Jack!"

Jack's chuckle died, though, when he saw Jakar's reaction.

Jakar switched back to his snake voice. "Actually, Colonel O'Neill, we're always looking for willing hosts. I can guarantee that this will come up in negotiations."

Oh, no! Hell, no! Jack wouldn't let anyone of his team get snaked! Or anyone else, if he could help it!

*****​

Jack looked like he had bitten into a brown Horde ration bar that had gone bad. Or, Adora added in her mind, one that had been disguised as a grey one and gone bad.

"Oh? Do you have trouble finding willing hosts?" Daniel asked, cocking his head.

"It's not always easy to find a human who can make an informed decision," Jakar explained. "Consent is meaningless if it's based on wrong information or on indoctrination. And with the Goa'uld keeping their human slaves ignorant and teach them to worship their masters as gods…" He shrugged, and his voice changed again. This was Mats talking, now. "It took a long time for me to truly understand what joining with Jakar would mean. I was raised as a slave, to faithfully worship a false god, and to overcome that…" He shook his head. "We have to be sure that there will be no false expectations which could lead to resentment afterwards."

Daniel looked impressed. "I see. Of course, recruiting from a Goa'uld slave society, or less technologically advanced civilisations like the Cimmerians, would pose such problems."

"And we cannot just kidnap people to teach them the truth. The more they learn, the greater the risk they would pose, should the Goa'uld get ahold of them, which means we couldn't allow them to return even if they rejected our offer to become a host," Jakar, back in charge of the body, explained.

"And you would have to educate them as well so they can function in your society, which is obviously more technologically advanced than the typical Goa'uld slave society. You cannot be an equal partner in a relationship if you depend on your symbiont for everything." Daniel nodded. "If Sha're had come to Earth with me, instead of us staying on Abydos, where she could teach me about daily life, I wonder how we would have fared…" He trailed off, a pained expression on his face.

Adora bit her lower lip. She felt for her friend - she knew what he was going through. Better than almost anyone else, she added with a glance at Catra, remembering when her lover had been controlled by Horde Prime. But they would rescue Sha're and remove the Goa'uld possessing her. Reunite Daniel with his love. She was She-Ra; saving people was her duty.

"We'll save her," Jack echoed Adora's thoughts.

She nodded in agreement. "Yes," she said as confidently as she could. "We will."

Jakar cocked his head, frowning a little. "Your partner was taken by the Goa'uld?"

Daniel nodded. "Not just taken. Taken as a host," he spat through clenched teeth - quite an unusual tone and expression for him, Adora thought.

"And you wish our help to remove the Goa'uld from her."

So, they could do it! That was part of the reason they were here. They could save Lieutenant Lenkova first, then! Adora smiled.

As did Daniel. "You can do it?"

"We can remove a Goa'uld from their host, yes," Jakar confirmed.

"Without killing the host, I hope," Jack cut in.

"Of course." Jakar narrowed his eyes at him, Adora noted.

"Just checking," Jack replied with a slightly toothy smile. "Wouldn't want to find out too late about side effects."

"We aren't Goa'uld, Colonel O'Neill. We do not consider people expendable."

"You blew up a lab with all the prisoners still inside," Jack shot back.

Jakar met Jack's eyes. "As I explained, as far as I knew at the time, I could not save them without failing my mission, and allowing Apophis to develop biological weapons would have doomed far more people. I did not make this decision lightly, Colonel, but I would make it again. We are compassionate, but not foolishly so. We are fighting a war."

Adora pressed her lips together. That was… well, he wasn't wrong, but if Adora had been there, they could have saved everyone. They couldn't give up hope lightly when it came to saving people.

Catra, though, nodded. "Yes. You made the call, and while it was a bad one, you didn't know any better. If we had been informed, things would have gone differently."

Jakar frowned - did he expect them not to point that out? - but slowly nodded as well.

In the sudden silence, they could hear Entrapta point out something about their scanner to Anise that Adora heard but didn't understand. She glanced at Glimmer, who seemed to follow the conversation. As a trained sorceress, she knew more about magic than Adora. And also about magitech. Maybe Adora should study magic as well…

"So, how long do Tok'ra live?" Catra asked, breaking the silence.

"Barring an unfortunately not quite rare death at the hands of the Goa'uld or their servants," Jakar said with a glance at Teal'c, "we can live for several centuries."

He had hesitated a moment before answering, Adora realised. And that was a bit vague, still.

Jack whistled. "Several centuries?"

"Oh. That's… quite long compared to the average human lifespan," Daniel commented. "What about your hosts?"

"They share our longevity. It would hardly be a true partnership if they died long before our time," Jakar commented.

His voice changed, and Mats said: "Indeed. Which is another reason finding hosts can be difficult. To see your family, maybe your children, grow old and die while you stay young is not something everyone can stand. If you have a family left, of course."

"Yes," Jack commented. He looked like he wanted to say more but kept his lips pressed closed instead, looking rather grim.

He must be thinking of his dead son, Adora realised, and had to refrain from trying to console him. Jack wouldn't appreciate her hugging him or squeezing his shoulder. Even if he really needed it, in her opinion.

And they weren't in private, anyway.

"You know, you've been telling us a lot about what the Tok'ra want and would expect," Catra spoke up again, tilting her head as she looked at Jakar. "And right before our negotiations with you." She flashed her fangs at him. "Mighty generous of you."

"I believe that the more you know about us and understand our situation, the easier you will find common ground, "Jakar, back in control, replied. "Both of our people need this alliance, and to see it fail because of misunderstandings and ignorance would be unacceptable."

"Ah." Adora nodded.

"Laudable," Glimmer said. "But will your friends understand?" She glanced at Anise, who was, at least as far as Adora could tell, still captivated by the magitech scanner.

Jakar shrugged. "I do what is necessary even if it costs me."

"Even when it means going against your friends?" Jack asked.

"I would not betray them, but I won't blindly follow a course of action I consider foolish either." Jakar shrugged. "Blind obedience is what Goa'uld expect and demand." Once again, he glanced at Teal'c.

"Indeed."

"You don't like Jaffa, do you?" Catra asked.

"They do most of the System Lords' killing," Jakar replied. "It is hard to... not see them as the willing tool of our enemy. Too much blood has been spilt at their eager hands."

Oh. "But Teal'c turned away from that," Adora said - Catra was looking grim as well, she noticed. "Once he had the opportunity."

"He may be an exception. But how many of your prisoners turned against Apophis?" Jakar asked.

"Everyone can change," Adora told him. "Sometimes, all they need is the chance to do so."

"And sometimes, it's not enough," Catra muttered next to her.

Adora wrapped her arm around her lover's shoulder, pulling her against her side despite her squeaking protest. Catra had changed. Adora knew that even if Catra sometimes forgot. "We know about being raised in ignorance and sent to fight for evil rulers," she told Jakar.

His eyebrows rose. "I see."

"Yeah, I think you do," Jack cut in. "To avoid mistakes and ignorance, improve understanding yadda, yadda."

Jakar slowly nodded with a faint smile.

Ah.

Jakar was a spy, Adora reminded herself. And information flowed both ways.

*****​

"I see. So, this is the converter that powers the magic part of the scanner. Ingenious. And with that, you can use magitech." Anise hadn't taken her eyes off the scanner since Entrapta had opened it. Not that Samantha Carter would have expected anything else - the Tok'ra scientist had been very enthusiastic since they'd met. And very quick to understand their explanations.

They hadn't gone into too much detail, of course - that would have been sharing technology, and Anise hadn't exactly shared blueprints of their tunnel growing technology either, but Sam felt that this needed some clarification. "You can use existing magitech, yes - but to construct a new magitech component, you need to work in a magically active environment."

"A planet where magic has been returned," Entrapta added. "There aren't many of those around yet."

"A planet like yours?" Anise asked, cocking her head in a way that looked just a bit weird - alien - to Sam even though part of her, no, the remnants of Jolinar, found it perfectly normal.

"Yes. Etheria never lost its magic, and Earth has had its magic restored." Entrapta smiled. "We're planning to restore magic to the galaxy, but it's going a little slow because of all the security concerns."

"You can restore magic to a planet?" Anise looked… Well, Sam hoped she never looked like that when faced with exciting new technology. The teasing the Colonel could come up with about wanting to marry a computer…

"Not me," Entrapta said.

"It's not a technological problem," Sam cut her friend off before she could mention Adora's name. "I am sure it will come up at the negotiations," she added, with a glance at Entrapta.

"Right!" Entrapta nodded, her hair bopping a little as it held the scanner. "Some people tend to be a little nervous about possible side effects, even though it's perfectly safe - generally."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Anise said. "The potential of magitech outweighs any possible danger magic could pose. Although I remember reading that magic was limited to those people who had a particular talent for it…"

"Yes. And they need training as well to do magic," Entrapta said. "But anyone can work with magical components. That's just science. And some magitech allows you to refine or effectively create magical components."

That, once again, was just a little too much information. "So, it's not as if restoring magic will turn a planet into a magitech factory," Sam said. "But, again, such details are best left to the negotiations."

Anise nodded. "Of course. They're bound to be interesting. And speaking of the upcoming negotiations… I think I need to talk to Garshaw and the others before those start." She looked at the scanner again, shaking her head, then turned away with obvious reluctance.

Sam knew the feeling.

"Jakar," Anise said. "We should let our guests rest before the negotiations."

"Ah, of course." Jakar bowed to the Colonel and the others. "We'll take our leave then."

"You do that," the Colonel replied, smiling until the doors closed behind the two Tok'ra. Then he sighed and turned to Sam and Entrapta. "So… where are the cameras I should wave to?"

"Huh?" Entratpa looked confused.

"We haven't scanned for surveillance devices yet," Sam replied. Not with Anise watching them.

"Well, let's do it. I guess they already know all about your fancy scanner anyway." He tilted his head a bit towards her, Sam saw.

She pressed her lips together at the rebuke. Yes, she should have kept Entrapta from spilling more intel, but… This was a diplomatic meeting. As Adora had said, trust required trust, and someone had to make the first step.

Though they might have taken a few steps too far, should negotiations fail. On the other hand, they had gotten detailed scans of the crystal used by the Tok'ra. Enough to have at least some idea about how it worked. Emily's scans should be even more detailed as well - and they hadn't revealed that to Anise. Although she probably suspected.

But first, they had to scan for surveillance devices. Or security devices, depending on your point of view.

"Found it! Them!" Entrapta announced thirty seconds later, hair pointing at two corners of the room.

"Two cameras and microphones," Sam added, looking at the readout. She looked at the Colonel, raising her eyebrows.

"Let's get some privacy without destroying our new friends' tools," he replied.

"Yes, that would be rude," Glimmer agreed, if with a touch of sarcasm.

Sam nodded and triggered a noise-cancelling field. They'd have to avoid letting the cameras see their faces to protect against lip-reading, but that wasn't too hard now that they knew where the cameras were. "Done, sir," she announced.

"Those are rather standard devices - for Goa'uld," Entrapta added with a pout. "I would have expected better technology from people spying on the Goa'uld."

"They probably didn't use their best technology here," Catra said.

"Then why install it at all?" Entrapta shook her head.

"Habit?" Catra shrugged. "They're spies, after all."

"It might be merely standard practice," Daniel pointed out. "Something everyone expects."

"Whatever," the Colonel spoke up. "They know that we know that they know. Let's talk diplomacy. And secrecy."

Sam winced a little at the glance he sent her.

*****​

O'Neill wasn't happy with Sam and Entrapta, Catra could easily tell. And, well, he had his reasons - the two had spilt some intel to the Tok'ra; Catra had followed their conversation with Anise quite closely. There hadn't been anything too important, and they had gotten some intel back, but still, it could've gone better - although it could've gone worse as well. And Entrapta was Entrapta. She wasn't a spy or professional soldier. If you wanted or needed her talents, you had to make some allowances for her quirks.

And she was Catra's friend.

So when O'Neill started talking about not revealing secrets, Catra shrugged pointedly and interrupted him. "Trying to keep things secret that will come out anyway if we form an alliance is stupid."

"It also weakens our negotiation position," O'Neill retorted, frowning at her rather than at Entrapta. "The more they know about us, the better they can make demands. They can't ask for something they don't know."

Catra was about to answer, but Glimmer was faster. "That's short-sighted, Jack. We're here to get an ally we can trust, and we won't get that if we play games with them." She shook her head. "This isn't a compettion."

"We're not going to play games. But they're not telling us everything, and you can bet that they want the best deal for themselves." He snorted. "Jakar's good at playing the helpful friend, but he's a spy - and he really wants this alliance."

"The best deal for everyone is an alliance with trusted friends," Adora said, nodding firmly.

Catra suppressed a sigh - and a sappy smile. That was… well, so like Adora. And her lover wasn't wrong, of course, but… "Yeah, but not everyone wants to be your friend, even if they act like it." She tried not to wince at Aora's frown.

"Exactly!" O`Neill said with a sharp nod.

"But we didn't do that," Sam spoke up. "We discussed fairly obvious technology, not anything crucial."

O'Neill frowned some more. "Magic seems quite crucial to me. Healing, scanning, zombifying…"

"Magic is an obvious topic that would have come up during negotiations anyway," Glimmer said. "This way, they won't feel as if we tried to trick them or attempted to hide it from them."

"Not that we have to hide magic from the Tok'ra," Entrapta said. "Anise was very interested! I don't think they'll fear it."

"That was one Tok'ra. We don't know what the others will think about it," Daniel cautioned her. "Especially if they can't use magic."

"They can use magitech, though," Entrapta pointed out.

"That might not appeal to everyone." Daniel pushed his glasses up with one finger. "And what will they think about magical ways to eject a symbiont from a host, possibly killing the symbiont in the process?"

That was a good point, Catra had to admit. Of course, magic spells and powers could kill anyone, but that was something you were used to on Etheria - especially in the Horde. If the Tok'ra were not used to it, magic might terrify them.

"Jakar didn't seem to mind, either," Adora said.

"Jakar has an agenda." O'Neill shook his head. "He's been far too helpful to be trusted."

And he was a spy.

"He told us about the Tok'ra's goals and needs," Adora protested.

"About some of them. And he was slippery at that. 'Several centuries'? 'Comparable'? Remember how he dodged the question about their genetic memory?" Jack scoffed. "He would make a fine politician."

Daniel frowned at him, Catra saw. "That's a very biased view, Jack. It's clear that the relationship between the symbiont and the host is at the core of the Tok'ra society. That's what separates them from the Goa'uld. They go as far as to consider themselves a different species because of this. You don't expect him to tell us everything up front, do you?"

Catra smirked at the way Daniel turned O'Neill's words back at him.

"It's so crucial for them, they will ask for more hosts from us!" O'Neill shot back. "You heard him - they're always looking for hosts!"

But who would want to share their body with a snake that could take control of it anytime they chose? Catra shuddered at the thought.

"Which is an interesting point, Jack," Daniel said. "If a host lives roughly as long as the Tok'ra, and they always need new hosts, then they must have a significant number of Tok'ra without hosts. And that means…"

"They must have a queen," Teal'c said.

Catra shrugged. That seemed obvious to her. "Well, someone has to give birth to all the Tok'ra, right? Especially If they don't live as long as the Goa'uld."

"They didn't mention anything about us meeting their queen," Glimmer said, frowning a little. "Just the High Council."

"Maybe they want to surprise us?" Adora asked.

Catra suppressed a snort.

"I doubt that." Daniel shook his head. "Their queen would be crucial for their entire civilisation. Should anything happen to her, they would be doomed unless they find a replacement - they would die out. So, they would likely keep her as safe as possible, far from any threat no matter how remote."

That made sense. "Their biggest secret," Catra said.

"Indeed," Teal'c said.

Catra grinned. The upcoming negotiations should be fun.

*****​
 
Chapter 58: The Tok’ra Part 3
Chapter 58: The Tok'ra Part 3

P34-353J, December 4th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Jack O'Neill generally liked Catra. She was the one amongst the Etherians - with the possible exception of Hordak, but Jack wasn't going there - who knew that you couldn't trust everybody to play straight with you. More importantly, she was the one who knew how you fought a war. She was the last of the Etherians, actually, who Jack would have expected to defend Carter and Entrapta spilling Alliance secrets to the snakes.

But she had just done so, neatly derailing his well-deserved reminder that operational security was a thing in the military for a reason - something Carter knew very well. Usually, it was Daniel whom Jack had to remind of such things, not his fellow officer. Jack refrained from frowning at the thought - the others would pick up on it. But Carter had changed over the last few months. Jack had thought it was because of the Etherians and their antics. He was too old and had seen too much to change, but between She-Ra and her friends' idealism and the lure of Entrapta's technology and special enthusiasm for science, even an officer like Carter couldn't avoid being affected. That it was hard to be mad at Entrapta wasn't helping, of course - if you criticised her, you felt as if you had just shot Bambi's mom.

And if Entrapta's friends noticed, it also made you feel as if you just kicked a landmine. A nuclear landmine in Adora's case, and a Bouncing Betty in Catra's case, Jack added to himself while he watched Adora go through everything they knew about the Tok'ra in preparation for the meeting with the High Council.

But there might be more behind this. Jack glanced at Carter, who was still busy going over Emily's records. What if this wasn't Carter growing careless because of her friendship with Entrapta but a relic of her possession by the snake? She said she didn't remember much, but that meant she did remember something. Was she unconsciously seeing the Tok'ra as trusted friends? Or more?

He buried that thought at once. But such… contamination would explain Carter's lapses.

Damn. He had to talk to her. Find out if she was influenced by the snake that had controlled her. But they were in the middle of a mission - and about to face the High Snake Council. The worst moment to try and find out if his Second-in-Command was compromised. Ah, well - he'd been in worse situations.

He clapped his hands together. "So, kids, I hate to interrupt playtime, but we'll soon be facing the High Council and have to be on our best behaviour."

In the corner of his eye, he caught Carter frowning at him, like usual when he was a bit too flippant.

"You're usually the one who has to keep that in mind the most, I think." And Daniel reacted as usual as well. He was dependable like that. Even though he was also, well, not compromised, but not unbiased either - the snakes here could offer him a way to save his wife.

But Jack was taking what he could right now.

"That's why we're studying all our available intel!" Adora said. "To be sure we're as prepared as we can be."

"Or just to calm down our nerves," Catra, sprawled on a couch with a datapad sitting unused on her stomach, added.

"You don't look nervous," Gimmer commented.

"Because I don't have any reason to be nervous," Catra responded. "I'm not a princess; securing an alliance is your job. If anything goes wrong, it won't be my fault. I'm just here to watch. But no pressure!"

"We're not nervous either," Glimmer shot back. "We know what we're doing."

"I sure hope so."

Hell, the catwoman is stealing my shtick, Jack thought. Somehow, that made him feel even older right now. "So… don't get lost in details. Just remember: We want an alliance, but we don't want to hand them everything for nothing in return. Or almost nothing." Growing tunnels was nice and all, but Jack had a feeling that this war wouldn't be decided by tunnels. And probably not on the ground, either - this war would be decided in space. "And yes, honesty is the best policy, but information is valuable. Trust goes both ways. And yes," he cut off Adora when she opened her mouth, "someone has to take the first step, but we already did that."

Catra chuckled, Teal'c didn't comment, but the rest of the group looked slightly annoyed. Well, except for Entrapta, who looked a bit confused.

Before anyone could say anything - probably repeat themselves - they heard a buzzer from the door.

"It's open! Come in!" Jack yelled before Daniel made it to the door. When the door opened and Jakar entered, Jack made a mental note to remember that the room's sound insulation wasn't up to snuff. Another thing to consider and analyse for the geeks and spooks back home.

"The High Council is now ready for you," the snake told them.

"And it only took them three hours," Jack commented after a glance at his watch. "I'm impressed."

Jakar smiled, but Daniel pouted at him. "Jack!"

"No, seriously," Jack told his friend. "Imagine how long it would have taken - did take - for the US government to react in their place. And the US government isn't hiding from the Evil Galactic Empire, snake edition. I'm genuinely impressed." Jack wasn't even lying - the snakes could have made them cool their heels for a day at least. And many would have done so in their place - not at least so they wouldn't appear as if they needed an alliance. Hell, that sort of powerplay was the bread and butter of politicians.

And Jack had a feeling that the snakes here were no exception. But were they actually that hard off for an alliance, or were they playing some game?

They'd soon find out. "Well, let's not make them wait for us! Shall we?" He flashed his teeth at the snake.

*****​

The Tok'ra seem to be quite practical, Adora thought as they entered the meeting room. Instead of some far too-tall and far too-large hall, with oversized tables on a pedestal for the council and pillars lining the walls, it was a decently sized room with two big, crescent-shaped tables facing each other. Of course, the Tok'ra had been fighting a war against the Goa'uld for millennia, so if they weren't practical, they'd probably be dead already.

And they were standing to meet them, Garshaw in the lead. "Welcome," she said, bowing her head. "I am the Grand Councillor, Garshaw of Belote. These are Per'sus, Malinor, Sak'ram, Hen'ru and Salesh. We are the Tok'ra High Council - we speak for every Tok'ra, and we have the authority to form an alliance."

"We greet you, High Council," Glimmer spoke up. "I am Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon. These are She-Ra, Princess of Power, Princess Entrapta of Dryl, Colonel Jack'Neill of Earth, Captain Carter, Techmaster Bow, Dr Daniel Jackson, Teal'c and Catra."

They bowed as well, though Catra smirked as she did so - and Adora couldn't frown at her, not in the middle of the meeting. Or at Jakar leaving.

"I speak for the Princess Alliance, and I am authorised to make treaties in their name, but any treaty involving the Alliance with Earth has to be negotiated with diplomats from Earth as well," Glimmer explained.

"So we don't have the authority to make a binding treaty," Jack said. "But we can get things squared away."

"Does that mean that we could make an alliance with the Princess Alliance even if negotiations with Earth should fail?" Per'sus asked,

That was a good question, Adora had to admit. And judging by the reactions of SG-1, it looked as if things got a bit complicated.

Glimmer kept smiling, but it was her polite 'political smile', as Adora knew. "In theory, yes. But we're committed to the Alliance and the war against the Goa'uld, and being in two different alliances, unaligned with each other, would not help our aims. We need a coordinated, unified strategy if we want to defeat the Goa'uld with the least casualties on all sides."

"Let's sit down," one of the Tok'ra councillors, Sak'ram, said. "It's clear we have a lot to discuss."

They took their seats, Glimmer sitting opposite Garshaw, with Adora and Jack at her side, next to Catra and Sam, respectively, with Entrapta on Catra's other side, followed by Bow, and Daniel and Teal'c anchoring their right flank.

Adora wanted to frown. She shouldn't be thinking like this - this wasn't a battle; they weren't in formation. This was a meeting with potential allies in the war against the Goa'uld. Future friends.

"So, we're here to conduct exploratory talks. Nothing binding," Garshaw said.

"Yes." Glimmer nodded.

"But before we start going into nitty-gritty details," Per'sus spoke up. "You represent an alliance between several Earth countries and the Etherian alliance, correct?"

"Yes," Glimmer confirmed. "The Princess Alliance, forged to defend Etheria against the Horde. My parents were amongst the founders and leaders."

"And you have the power to make binding decisions for your alliance," Per'sus went on.

"Yes." Glimmer leaned forward a little. "Between us here, we represent the most powerful kingdom of Etheria, the most technologically advanced kingdom and the most powerful military power of Etheria."

"And we have the trust of our friends," Adora added.

To her relief, neither did Catra mutter about some of them having the trust of the alliance and nor did Jack comment sarcastically about the power of friendship or monarchy.

"The friends with whom you defeated Horde Prime." That was Hen'ru. And he sounded rather doubtful, in Adora's impression.

"Yes." She nodded firmly. "We fought him in person. We destroyed his flagship and erased his consciousness."

"A decapitation strike?" Hen'ru cocked his head.

"Yes." Adora bared her teeth. She didn't like remembering this. "It was personal."

"Ah."

"That's the thing with those despots - once you take them out, the whole system starts to crumble. When we blew up Ra, his minions started infighting at once," Jack added with a smile that reminded Adora of Catra's… not so nice smiles.

Not that Stargate Command had known that Ra's underlings would start a power struggle when they killed him. Adora had heard the story from Daniel, after all - they hadn't even been aware of how large Ra's Empire had been. Still was. But that kind of subterfuge was allowed in diplomacy. It wasn't as if Adora and her friends were sharing all the details of just how badly they had been outmatched by Horde Prime's military, with just one antique spaceship to their name…

She still felt bad about it. Kind of.

"And you've been fighting Ra for millennia - mostly through sabotage, I take it?" Glimmer nodded at Garshaw.

"Yes." Garshaw smiled. "Our small number makes that the most effective strategy. Especially given the internal divisions in the Goa'uld Empire. Timed and executed correctly, a single act of sabotage can spark a war that causes far more losses to the Empire."

Catra nodded appreciatively, Adora saw.

As did Jack. "Yeah. A few pounds of C-4 are surprisingly effective when you place them in the right spot. Never leave home without it."

"Such was your strategy until lately, yes? The Tau'ri's, I mean." Per'sus tilted his head at Jack.

"Yeah, you know - if you don't have a fleet of spaceships with big honking guns, you make do with what you have." Jack shrugged again.

"But the situation has changed now," Glimmer cut in. "We do have naval assets in sufficient numbers to fight the Goa'uld on even grounds. We can switch from sabotage and commando operations to large-scale battles and planetary invasions. We can defeat the Goa'uld Empire for good. Just as we defeated Horde Prime."

"Horde Prime was said to rival Ra's power," Malinor, one of the female Tok'ra present, said. "Defeating him must have cost you a lot of casualties."

Adora pressed her lips together as she thought of all the people who had been killed in the war against the Horde. On both sides. Even knowing that it could have been so much worse - that Etheria could have been destroyed entirely, with everyone dead, if she hadn't defeated Horde Prime and shut down the Heart of Etheria - didn't help much.

"And it wasn't that long ago, was it?" Per'sus interjected. "You must have remarkable production and recruiting capabilities if you already feel confident to take on the Goa'uld Empire."

Adora glanced a Glimmer, but her friend nodded firmly. "We recruited Horde Prime's surviving fleet."

That surprised them - Adora could tell. As could Catra, of course; she snorted.

"They're big on recruiting and reforming people," Jack said.

"It's the best way to achieve a lasting peace." Glimmer smiled. "And it keeps your enemy from fighting to the end, shortening the war."

"Especially their soldiers," Catra added with another snort.

Adora squeezed her lover's thigh under the tale, both to reassure her - Catra had changed, and Adora loved her, no matter her past - and to remind her to keep from getting too snarky.

"Yes! Hordak, one of Horde Prime's commanders, is now our friend. And WrongHordak, another friend we made, leads the Second Fleet." Entrapta beamed at them.

Garshaw, though, didn't look very impressed. "While certainly not impossible, it's very, very rare for a Goa'uld to overcome their genetic memory and conditioning." She glanced at Teal'c for the first time since the meeting had started, Adora noted. "Or for a Jaffa. So, the feasibility of using the same strategy on the Goa'uld Empire seems questionable."

"It won't be easy," Glimmer said. "We're aware of that. But people can and do change. We will make the offers to let them switch sides anyway."

"Yes." Adora nodded firmly. It was the right thing to do.

"If you start winning the war, many System Lords will offer to switch sides in exchange for keeping their power," Per'sus said. "But you can't trust them."

"We won't let them keep slaves or oppress anyone," Glimmer said. "That's non-negotiable."

"Their slaves have been conditioned from birth to worship them as gods. Overcoming that has proven to be very difficult," he retorted.

"We're aware of that," Glimmer replied. "And we'll be working on fixing that as well." She bared her teeth. "We have some experience with that."

Catra snorted again, and Adora squeezed her thigh once more. She felt her lover's tail brush over her hand before she withdrew it.

"System Lords switching sides might not keep much more than their lives," Jack said, "but that's still a bargain for them."

"And yet you kept Horde Prime's commanders in charge." Malinor cocked her head.

"Not all of them," Glimmer retorted. "Just those we can trust. Each of them has to be judged individually."

"And what about their crimes?" Per'sus stared at them. "Each System Lord is responsible for countless deaths and unimaginable atrocities. Would you suggest just letting them go without punishment?"

Adora didn't need to touch Catra to know her lover was tensing up. And she had to struggle not to frown. This was a contentious issue; she knew that very well. But she wouldn't budge on that, either.

*****​

Samantha Carter didn't show any reaction to the Tok'ra's comment, though she couldn't help agreeing with them. Per'sus had always valued morals highly, sometimes even at the expense of efficacy, and given the Goa'uld's cruelty and the scale of their crimes…

She blinked. She had never met Per'sus before today. This was another of Jolinar's memories. Pressing her lips together, she focused on the mission. They were here to form an alliance - more precisely, to lay the foundation of an alliance, which diplomats would then form. Not to reconnect with the friends of a dead Tok'ra.

"People can change - even if they were raised to serve someone evil. Even the Goa'uld can change," Adora said, meeting Per'sus's eyes. "Refusing to grant them the chance to change wouldn't be right."

Sam knew Adora was sincere here. The princess honestly believed it. But she was also very, very biased because of her personal history. Because of Catra.

"And what about their victims? Should they be denied justice after all their suffering?" Per'sus asked with a hint of a sneer.

He was taking this personally as well, Sam knew. No, Jolinar had known. She clenched her jaw. Perhaps coming here had been a mistake - seeing familiar faces triggered more remnants of memories. And feeling friendly towards a stranger was more than a little disturbing. But she was an officer of the United States Air Force. She could overcome this - she knew her duty.

"What do you consider justice?" Daniel asked, leaning forward. "People have many different views of that."

"Justice means criminals receiving what they deserve - their fair punishment," Per'sus replied.

"And what would you consider a fair punishment?" Glimmer asked.

"For what the System Lords did, only death is sufficient."

Sam knew the Colonel agreed with that, even though he didn't show it.

"That sounds more like vengeance than justice," Glimmer said. "A dead person cannot make amends. Cannot help set things right. Killing someone doesn't bring any of their victims back."

"But their loved ones can find closure," Malinor pointed out. "Instead of knowing that the murderer of their family remains alive, free to commit more crimes."

Once more, Sam had to force herself not to nod.

"If people change for good, they won't do any more crimes," Adora said.

"But what about atoning for their crimes?" Garshaw asked. "Do you expect people to forget what was done to them?"

"If fighting to take down the Goa'uld Empire isn't enough to atone for your crimes, then that really sounds like vengeance and not justice," Bow spoke up. "Just saying."

Sam caught Garsahw nodding at that, which - weirdly - didn't surprise her.

"And it would make it hard to get anyone to surrender or switch sides," Glimmer added. "Which would prolong the war and cause more people to suffer."

"Well," the Colonel spoke up, "does anyone here think that the big bad System Lords will actually change for good? Abandon their slaves, including their hosts, and switch sides?" He shook his head. "I don't think so, so this is a rather academic discussion - no offence to our academics, of course," he added with a grin at Daniel and Sam.

"You plan to force them to release their hosts?" Garshaw asked. "Even if they switch sides?"

"Of course!" Adora said at once. "They don't get to keep any slaves or oppress anyone - we already said that, didn't we?"

Judging by the glances the High Council exchanged, Sam knew they didn't think many Goa'uld would take up such an offer. She doubted it as well.

"Making them release their hosts and rely on volunteers to bond with them seems a sufficient show of good faith," Malinor said.

"Good luck finding any volunteers," the Colonel muttered.

"You show a quite remarkable mix of idealism and pragmatism," Garshaw commented. It sounded like a compliment, but Sam wasn't sure if it was honestly meant that way.

"We're just doing what's right," Adora insisted.

"Well, everyone's trying that, but not all agree on what's right." The Colonel shrugged once more. "But we're here to talk about an alliance."

"And our different stances towards the Goa'uld are a central part of any such talk," Per'sus told him.

"Yes," Glimmer spoke up. "But I think we have explored that topic sufficiently for now. Let us talk about what you expect from an alliance and what you can offer to the alliance."

Garshaw inclined her head, then straightened. "We need more hosts. Our numbers are small because finding a willing host who consents to become our partner is a difficult task."

Ah. This time, Sam couldn't help wincing. That was a much more delicate issue than how to treat potential Goa'uld turncoats and prisoners.

"If you're looking for volunteers, I don't see any problem with that," Adora said. "People are free to make their own decisions - provided those are informed decisions," she added.

"Well," the Colonel spoke up with a frown, "that's all fine in principle, but some people have classified knowledge. Top secret knowledge which cannot be allowed to be revealed to anyone without the necessary clearance."

Sam nodded. The way a Goa'ld and their host blended together would mean that anything the host knew, the Tok'ra would know as well. And that could cause all sorts of problems. Not that most of the people with such knowledge were likely to volunteer to become a host for the Tok'ra. But there were always exceptions. And even so - having a host from Earth or Etheria would give the Tok'ra immense insight into either society.

And why was the Colonel glancing at her? And why was he avoiding her eyes when she looked at him? Had she missed a cue? Or… was this a warning? He certainly couldn't expect her to want to become a host, could he? It was ridiculous! Jolinar possessing her had been more terrifying than anything else she had experienced and survived so far!

No, the Colonel couldn't suspect her of wanting to join the Tok'ra. He must expect her input, then. She set her jaw, but Garshaw was already replying.

"We are familiar with the need to keep crucial information safe, even if that might necessitate limiting someone's freedom," the Tok'ra leader said.

They had mentioned the problem of educating potential hosts, only to have to detain them, should they reject the offer, so they wouldn't spill Tok'ra secrets to the Goa'uld - voluntarily or involuntarily. "Yes." Sam nodded firmly. "The safety and security of everyone have to be considered when making and accepting such offers."

But of course, the Etherians didn't agree - or not fully. "But if someone desires to enter such a relationship with a Tok'ra, it feels wrong to deny them their wish just because they know some of your secrets," Glimmer said. "In a way, it feels not very different to prohibiting relationships across borders because you question the loyalty of someone interested in a foreigner."

Ah, yes - that would raise their hackles. Maybe literally in Catra's case, Sam thought. Even though Earth's history had proven that honey traps worked exactly like that. She almost snorted at the thought of the Tok'ra being honey traps to gather intel.

Then she realised it wasn't far off the mark - they offered a much longer life, centuries it seemed, and great physical enhancements as well as a civilisation with advanced technology in exchange for sharing your body with a loyal partner who would never leave you. That would be tempting for a great number any people with few prospects on Earth and likely on Etheria as well, even accounting for the fact that every Tok'ra was fighting in the war against the Goa'uld. So… "I think candidates should be vetted by everyone concerned, at least as long as the Goa'uld are a concern," she said, "because anyone joining the Tok'ra will likely risk being captured by the Goa'uld." Jolinar's memories of undercover missions were very fragmented, but Sam had seen enough to deduce how dangerous they were.

"Of course - it would hardly be fair if we dismissed such concerns by allies," Molinar said. "And we are aware of the damage a captured operative can cause, trust us on that. Very familiar."

Sam noticed Teal'c shifting a little, which was a surprising reaction from her stoic friend - was he remembering some action he had taken as Apophis's First Prime? Something to, maybe, bring up in a moment of privacy. Back on Earth. If at all.

And the Etherians seemed to accept that, if a bit grudgingly - Adora was frowning.

"So, you want hosts and accept that there are security concerns," the Colonel summed up.

"Yes. And what is your primary goal for this alliance you propose?" Garshaw asked.

"Information," Glimmer replied at once. "We have the fleet to take on the Goa'uld Empire, and we're training up the ground troops, but we need as much information as we can get on the strengths and weaknesses of the System Lords so we can pick the best targets and strategy."

She was correct, of course, but relying on the Tok'ra for crucial intel would also give them an unparalleled way to influence and shape the entire campaign. Garshaw would love that - she had made her mark when she had defected after sabotaging her System Lord's military. It had earned her the trust of the Tok'ra even though she hadn't been a descendant of Egeria, and…

Sam blinked once more - another memory of Jolinar that she hadn't been aware of until now. Just how much of the Tok'ra was left in her mind, she couldn't help wondering - or fearing. Would she keep remembering such fragments? Would she change? Had she changed without noticing?

"Information we can provide," Per'sus said, as Sam had expected. "Of course, even our own information-gathering capability could be improved with more information from other sources."

"Sharing information seems an obvious course of action," Adora commented. "The more we know about our enemy, the better we can fight them."

Everyone nodded in agreement, though Sam was sure almost everyone planned to hold back some information, for various reasons. Catra's snort showed that she had the same thought.

"So, an exchange of information can be set up," Glimmer said. "What else do you expect from an alliance?"

"Magic," Garshaw told her. "Information and support to explore magitech. If magic is returning to the galaxy, we need to be prepared for it - and after a thousand years, none of us has any experience with it. Meanwhile, the System Lords can rely on their memories from the time when magic was ubiquitous."

"If Goa'uld cannot use magic, I wouldn't expect them to make extensive use of it - it might have made them look weak," Daniel commented.

"They did suppress such knowledge amongst their slave populations, but at the very least, they would have taken measures to protect themselves against attacks using magic. And, as you told Anise, anyone can work with magitech, provided they have access to the resources only a magician can create," Garshaw said.

Per'sus looked a little sceptical, Sam thought. Sak'ram, Hen'ru and Salesh had remained more or less quiet - as throughout the meeting so far - but at least Hen'ru looked interested, as did Molinar.

"We can do that," Entrapta said. "And we're very interested in your own technology!" she added with a beaming smile. "It's so fascinating!"

Both Glimmer and the Colonel seemed a little annoyed at her butting in, but Sam had expected that. And it didn't really matter - Anise and Jakar would have told the Tok'ra High Council about Entrapta already.

Though there was another delicate topic to cover: Technology. While Sam wouldn't have expected this situation a year ago, as part of the Alliance, they had, through the Etherians, access to technology that was more advanced than the Goa'uld's - or the Tok'ra's - at least in some areas.

Which meant that negotiating technology transfers would be amongst the most difficult parts of any alliance treaty to negotiate. Or should be, unless the Etherians planned to simply share their technology like they had with Earth, provided some basic conditions were met.

Which, Sam realised as Glimmer nodded, they probably were.

Sharing intel and technology, providing hosts - the Colonel wouldn't be the only one with deep reservations about such an alliance.

Well, the devil was, as always, in the details.

*****​

"...and support in the field, as you call it, would strain our means too much. We are not ready to wage open war against the Goa'uld - we fight from the shadows with subterfuge, sabotage and assassinations. We aren't Jaffa," Sak'ram said - with a nasty glance at Teal'c, Catra noticed.

"We don't expect squads of Tok'ra commandos, but advisors and intelligence agents attached to an invasion force would be a great help. If something unexpected appears, shorter lines of communication would save lives - on all sides." Sam smiled at the Tok'ra. She seemed rather invested in this, in Catra's opinion. This tunnel-growing technology better was worth it.

"You seem to care almost more for saving the soldiers of the enemy than for saving their slaves." And Per'sus had to pipe up again. He'd made it clear long ago that he certainly only cared about the victims of the System Lords, not their soldiers or the Goa'uld themselves.

Catra could understand that, to some degree. But then, if Adora had been like him… She clenched her teeth together. This had become a drag. They had some preliminary agreements on the core issues, but now they were talking details and circling around each other. That sort of stuff was what diplomats and princesses were for!

"Actually, with the bot network we're building, we shouldn't have any issues with long-range communications. We won't need an open Stargate, just a dedicated faster-than-light communication array to contact planets, and while those aren't portable - though we could construct bots with those instead of weapons - they could easily relay calls from communicators to the network. So, communication lag shouldn't be an issue." Entrapta beamed, and Catra suppressed a sigh - her friend was missing the point.

"Even if we could call the Tok'ra whenever we want from across the galaxy," she said instead, "they wouldn't be aware of our situation. We'd have to brief them before they could advise us."

"Yes," Glimmer agreed. "That's why advisors in the field would be useful."

She was right, of course. But Tok'ra advisors would also be useful for spying on the Alliance. And influencing the Alliance military decisions. So, why didn't the Tok'ra want that? Did they really have so few agents that they couldn't spare enough?

"Well, as soon as we get more hosts, we will have more people available for such missions," Salesh said.

Now, that could be true - or just a cheap way to force their hand. It was hard to tell. But Catra didn't think that the Tok'ra had been very open with them so far. Jakar claimed he had been, but he was a trained and experienced spy and would have carefully chosen what information he shared or 'let slip'. And none of the Tok'ra had reacted to Entrapta mentioning the bot network, even though Catra was sure they had not missed that bit.

"Well…" O'Neill rubbed his neck and rolled his shoulder. "I don't know about you, but I could use a break. I'm not getting any younger, after all."

Catra nodded, stretching her arms over her head. "We've been at this for a while."

"Indeed," Garshaw said. "Let's take a break. It's almost dinner time. Let us schedule the next meeting for after dinner?"

"And refrain from continuing our current discussion at the table," Per'sus added with a faint smile.

"Good luck making Anise not talk about magitech," Malinor told him with a grin.

"Or you?" Per'sus shot back.

Catra snorted at the exchange.

"Oh, we can talk about magitech - there are many aspects of it that were not mentioned yet in this discussion," Entrapta said, nodding enthusiastically. "And there's all the technology that we haven't touched yet, of course."

"Oh?" Malinor cocked her head. "I am looking forward to our discussion then."

"So am I!"

Catra kept a polite smile on her face while they left the room, but as soon as they were inside their quarters and Sam and Entrapta had done their anti-surveillance thing, she sighed. "Now, that was a drag."

"We've been making great progress for a first meeting with an unknown kingdom," Glimmer reported.

"Still a drag," Catra insisted. "We went around in circles for so long, I started to get dizzy."

"It looked more as if you were getting sleepy." Glimmer's smile had too many teeth.

"Naw. I would have taken a nap in Adora's lap if I had been sleepy." Catra grinned at her.

"Catra!" Adora blushed. "You can't do that in a meeting!"

"You mean 'shouldn't'," Catra corrected her.

"You're not doing this!"

"Of course not - I'm bored, not sleepy." Catra shrugged.

"Anyway," Glimmer said. "Let's go over the meeting so far to refine our approach."

Ugh. "The Tokra want hosts and won't help us until they get hosts," Catra said. "They could be telling the truth, or they could be lying about their numbers. And they really want magitech."

Glimmer frowned at her. "It's a serious issue."

Cara shrugged in return. "That's my take on it. We're dealing with spies, saboteurs and assassins."

"That's an oversimplification," Daniel spoke up, "but the cultural influence of a millennia-long conflict centred on hiding, infiltration and covert operations shouldn't be underestimated. We're dealing with a unique culture for which we don't have existing references. It's really fascinating how they have built their society."

Ugh. Another lecture. Catra hopped on Adora's lap, prompting a yelp.

If she had to listen to this rehash, she might as well get the most comfortable she could.

Unfortunately, after Daniel finished his five minutes of speculation about the Tok'ra culture, Adora thought it was her turn to speculate about the relationships between the members of the High Council. So Catra found herself removed from her favourite napping and lounging spot in favour of watching her lover improvise a whiteboard with the help of Emily's side. Sometimes, Adora's tendency to overprepare for a meeting was cute, but Catra had spent hours in a meeting already, and dinner, which likely would be another sort of meeting despite the Tok'ra's words, was still fifteen minutes away. Which was fifteen minutes too long to sit and listen to amateur analysis of facial expressions and body language.

In hindsight, watching the Earth media trying to analyse the relationships between everyone in Catra's circle of friends based on their body language had been a mistake. Sure, it had been kind of funny at the time, but apparently, Adora had taken it seriously.

And Catra was quite fed up with sitting still and listening to people talk without any results, and not even Adora there to cuddle. So she got up, stretched, and announced: "I'm going to prowl a little before dinner. Been sitting down for too long."

"'Prowl'?" Daniel asked.

Catra shrugged. "Wander around, see the sights, poke my nose into stuff that looks interesting." Adora pouted, but Catra just had to do something instead of nothing. "Toodles!"

"'Toodles'?" Glimmer asked.

"Ask Daniel!" Catra told her as she stepped out of the room.

"Don't start a diplomatic incident!" she heard before the door closed behind her.

She snorted. As if! They had permission to explore the entire base. And it would be rude if they didn't after the Tok'ra had gone and created the whole base just for this meeting.

Not to mention that, decoy or not, Catra wanted to know more about the base's layout and how it compared to Horde bunkers and forward bases. If they routinely used such bases to fool the Goa'uld into thinking they had left a planet, then the base had to look close to the real thing. Reasonably close, at least. Which meant weapons lockers, command centres, barracks and choke points should net some information.

Sure this had been a rush job just for this meeting, but at least in the Horde, a rush job meant grunts were falling back on what they had been trained to do instead of getting creative.

Grinning, she picked the next few turns and crossings at random and started to explore.

After five minutes, she had found half a dozen empty quarters, an unused mess hall, bathrooms without anything in it and what must have been a fake armoury. Which meant it was getting boring. And she hadn't met anyone to bother either. She could check the transporter room or follow the scent of food to the kitchen or whatever dining room the Tok'ra were preparing…

Her ears twitched when she picked up some murmuring from another empty bathroom down the hallway. Was that a Tok'ra who had sneaked away for some private talk? Or just to bitch about their superior officers? Catra had done both in the Horde as a cadet with Adora.

She grinned. This could be interesting. And she could find out how good the Tok'ra were at noticing her when she was making an effort at sneaking. Valuable data, as Entrapta would say.

Soon, she could make out what was being said - those doors didn't block sound well enough to fool her ears.

"...and they claim to have a fleet rivalling the Empire's and are preparing to wage war against the Goa'uld, requesting information and support from the Tok'ra. They're currently in a temporary base on the planet but may move back to their home planet or the planet of the Tau'ri soon to fetch diplomats for another meeting with the Tok'ra."

Catra frowned. That sounded… well, like the Tok'ra version of what Adora and the others had been doing. Only… She wasn't an expert on the Tok'ra or a scholar like Daniel. In fact, Catra would be the first to admit that she wasn't particularly experienced at picking up alien culture stuff.

But the man - it was a male voice, at least - was talking to someone who wasn't present since she hadn't heard anyone else.

And he sounded as if he didn't consider himself a Tok'ra.

*****​
 
Chapter 59: The Tok’ra Part 4
Chapter 59: The Tok'ra Part 4

P34-353J, December 4th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"I think I found a spy amongst the Tok'ra."

Jack O'Neill narrowed his eyes as he snapped his head to stare at Catra. "What?" he asked before he could control himself.

"I think I found a spy amongst the Tok'ra," she repeated herself, nodding slowly.

"So, it wasn't my hearing going bad," Jack quipped even as he grimaced.

"A spy?" Adora asked.

"Yes. I overheard someone talking about us and about the Tok'ra as if both of us were strangers. And he was talking to a communicator or recording device - there was nobody else in the bathroom," Catra replied. She tapped her nose with one finger. "Didn't smell anyone else either."

"Ew!" Glimmer frowned.

"Not that!" Catra rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I got his scent but I didn't catch more than a glimpse of him from behind - those tunnels don't offer many hiding spots." She pouted. "The Horde hallways were better for that. If we get the Tok'ra tunnel technology, we need to keep that in mind."

"Wouldn't that help a spy as well?" Daniel asked. A moment later, he blinked as he got the joke. "Oh."

Jack snorted at his friend's expression. "Yeah. So, you're not sure if it was a spy."

Catra shrugged. "I'm no expert. It could just be a cultural quirk of the Tok'ra to talk like that. But… you don't go to an empty, out-of-the-way bathroom in a decoy base to talk like that if it's perfectly normal."

Jack nodded - his gut agreed.

"Well, we don't know much about Tok'ra culture," Daniel said. "Though it's very likely that they are heavily influenced by their conflict with the Goa'uld, which is fought undercover with spies and saboteurs." He slowly nodded. "Isolating yourself like that could be a cultural quirk."

"I didn't find anyone else doing that," Catra objected.

"There can't be too many Tok'ra in a decoy base," Daniel defended his theory. Or hypothesis, or whatever the science guys called it.

"I noticed two dozen," Catra retorted. "Six guards in the transport room, six guards in the ready room, five people preparing the mess hall and the meal, and the rest attending the Councilors. Plus Anise and Jakar."

"They haven't left for the actual base?" Carter asked with a frown.

"Did you spy on them?" Adora sounded shocked.

Catra smirked. "I didn't. I just took a walk through the base and listened - and smelt. It's not spying if I do what they told us we can do."

Jack snorted again, but he couldn't really enjoy the humour. "Let's go back to the spy. We've got a potential spy amongst our potential allies. And they already know too much." Just knowing that Etheria existed and was about to fight them was enough to lose the Alliance the element of surprise.

"Well, we don't know if he managed to pass it on," Catra said. "He'd need an FTL communication device to inform anyone outside the system. Of course, if he was talking to another spy on the planet, or a listening post - or a ship hidden in the system…" She grimaced. "That would be bad."

"Well, I guess we have to find out," Jack said. "ASAP." If they managed to plug the leak before the Goa'uld got the information, they might be able to salvage this clusterfuck. But could they trust an ally who let a spy into their most important meeting? And what else had the spy already gathered?

"But how?" Daniel asked. "And we don't know if this is a spy," he added.

Not by asking nicely, that was sure. Jack sighed. He really hated what they had to do. "We'll have to talk to our first spy."

Daniel blinked again. "Our first spy?"

"Jakar," Glimmer told him with a grin.

"I thought that you didn't trust him." Daniel still looked confused.

Jack didn't trust or like any spook, snake or not. "He's our best bet to solve this mess," he explained. The odds that Jakar was also a mole were far too low - and contacting him wouldn't look as suspicious to the spy as contacting a councillor would.

"And then we lay a trap for the spy?" Catra grinned again, looking eager.

Jack shrugged. "Perhaps. It depends on the Tok'ra protocols for this." They were sure to have protocols for handing moles - you didn't survive a shadow war for so long without having procedures in place for that. Hell, Jack wouldn't even be too surprised if the snakes already suspected the mole, and this was part of a plan to make him reveal himself. Although he wouldn't be surprised if the standard procedure was to use enhanced interrogation on any suspect - they were dealing with snakes, after all. "Now, let's see if we can contact Jakar without alerting anyone. Too bad we can't just call him."

Entrapta beamed. "We could call him - I just need to get us connected to their communication network!"

Jack blinked. That sounded like…

"You want to hack their comms?" Even Carter sounded surprised.

"Yes?" Entrapta blinked. "Well, we could ask for access, but we're trying to be subtle, right?"

Sometimes, Entrapta was a pain in the butt. But sometimes, like now, Jack loved her.

*****​

Adora stared at Entrapta and Sam. "Dinner will be starting in a minute or two," she reminded them. "We'll probably meet Jakar there and can tell him there."

"Aw." Entrapta pouted. "But what if the spy is also there? We can't talk to Jakar without drawing attention, right?"

Adora sighed. "I think we can pass him a message without being spotted."

"A slip of paper or something. Or just ask him if he wants to discuss our secrets afterwards," Catra added with a grin. But she quickly grew serious. "I also need to identify the spy first. If he's not at the dinner, I'll make an excuse to get out and see if I can find him."

"If he's not at dinner, we can just tell the High Council," Daniel said.

"We can't risk that the spy is watching," Jack objected. "And a paper message might not cut it - I think the Tok'ra expect us to continue our meeting after dinner," Jack cut in. "Which means we won't be able to meet discreetly with him and plan things."

"And we don't have time to hack the comms," Bow said. "And hacking them would also be quite rude since we're guests." He frowned at Entrapta.

"But we're helping them," Entrapta retorted. "And I think I can work on this during dinner. I can use my goggles and my hair to work while I eat - I've done it before, no problem!"

"That would be rude as well," Glimmer commented.

"It would be rude? But I would do it under the table!" Entrapta looked surprised. "No one ever minds if Adora and Catra do their thing under the table while we eat or talk."

Adora felt her face heat up. "We're just holding hands sometimes!" she blurted out when the others stared at her. And she was sure they knew that!

"And thighs, and tails, and…" Catra nodded. Adora glared at her, but her lover shrugged. "Glimmer and Bow do the same. Minus the tail, of course."

Adora switched her frown to her blushing friends. Hypocrites!

Then Jack cleared his throat. "Can we skip the handholding debate and focus on how we contact our spy without alerting the other spy?" He looked at Entrapta. "Can you contact him without getting caught?"

"Well, is it rude or not? We're not supposed to be rude, are we?" Entrapta scrunched her nose and then nodded. "But yes, I think I can hack the communications. Their protocols are good, but not as good as Horde Prime's - and if I can work through dinner, that's ample time! I'm not getting shot at either, this time!"

Glimmer sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "But hacking someone's systems is not just rude, it's generally a hostile act - even if you do it for their own good."

"Does that mean I shouldn't be doing it? Or does that mean I shouldn't get caught?" Entrapta asked.

Adora knew who was to blame for that question. She would have to talk to Catra once they were home. But first, they had to sort this out. She took a step forward. "We should inform Jakar and then let the Tok'ra handle this. The spy isn't a member of the High Council, which means he can inform them without risking that the spy will notice." The Tok'ra had been fighting the Goa'uld in a spy war for a long, long time. They should know how to handle spies. If they couldn't trust the Tok'ra to manage this, they couldn't trust them with anything sensitive, anyway.

"The Tok'ra have survived against the Goa'uld for millennia," Teal'c pointed out. "This will not be the first such spy they have encountered."

Jack didn't like that; Adora could tell from his expression. But Daniel and Sam were nodding in agreement, as were Glimmer and Bow. And Catra…

…was shrugging. "Might even be a plan to see how we react," she said.

"I could find that out if I hack their systems!" Entrapta smiled.

"I don't think we need to do that," Glimmer told her.

"At least not right now," Catra added. "We might want to test their computer security later."

"OK!" Entrapta beamed. "So, I can enjoy talking to Anise without being rude!"

Adora was about to tell her lover a few things about how to treat your allies, but then someone knocked at the door - it was time for dinner. They had run out of time.

"I'll be a bit late - I'll write a message and then slip it into Jakar's pocket," Catra told her with a grin. "Go ahead!"

Adora didn't want to go ahead, but she saw no better solution. "Alright."

But when the door opened, Jakar was standing there. "Are you ready for dinner?" he asked.

Adora wanted to palm her face. They should have expected this!

"Ah, yes… we are, but there's a tiny little issue we need to solve first," Jack said with a toothy grin.

*****​

Samantha Carter smiled a little ruefully at the Colonel's antics. If this wasn't Jakar, but Martouf, the levity wouldn't go over well, but the Tok'ra spy had proven to have a sense of humour - probably with a similar dose of gallows humour as the Colonel's.

And indeed, he was smiling as he raised his eyebrows. "Somehow, I suspect that this won't be a little thing, Colonel."

And then he lost his smile when Catra peeked her head through the door and checked the corridor outside, her ears twitching as she sniffed the air and announced. "Clear."

"It seems you expect treachery," Jakar said as the door closed behind him. "And since you chose to tell me, you do not believe it's on the part of the Tok'ra. At least not as a whole."

The Colonel's smile grew a little wider. "It's so nice to work with someone who's quick on the uptake. Yes, we discovered what might be a spy."

And there was only one group who'd send a spy into the Tok'ra's ranks.

"What did you discover?" Jakar asked with narrowed eyes.

"I overheard someone that sounded like making a report in a deserted bathroom here," Catra told him. "He didn't sound as if he considered himself a Tok'ra. I didn't get a look at his face, but I can identify him if I'm close enough."

"Ah." Jakar slowly nodded. "Then we need you to identify him to investigate further. Fortunately, we know all the individuals present in this base - and travel is restricted. So the suspect must still be inside the base. Do you need him to speak to identify him?"

Catra cocked her head. "I just need to be close. It's not one of the High Council."

She didn't say that she could identify the spy by scent, but Jakar would expect that. Or, Sam amended her thoughts, he might suspect some magical or psychic ability like Melog's. That would have thrown some of the Tok'ra she knew for a loop. That they hadn't mentioned Melog yet in the discussions meant that they probably wanted to secure an alliance first before touching on that subject. Or… She shook her head. They had to focus on dealing with the spy, not on hypothetical developments for future negotiations.

"Good. That leaves their aides, the guards and the kitchen staff, but I can work with that." Jakar nodded sharply. "Please come with me now - we can't afford to cause the spy to suspect something because we take too long."

Sam nodded but noticed that the Colonel seemed a bit reluctant. Despite his words, he didn't really trust the Tok'ra to handle this, she realised. Well, that couldn't be helped - they couldn't exactly launch an investigation into the matter by themselves as guests of the Tok'ra. And the Tok'ra knew how to handle spies; this wasn't the first time they had to deal with a mole, even though she couldn't recall any details.

Sam frowned as she realised she wasn't sure if she should be glad or annoyed that she only had fragments of Jolinar's memories about this topic. How could she make sound decisions if she couldn't trust her information? But they were walking towards the dining room. It was time to focus on that, not on the past - or the spy. Even if it was hard.

"Did you construct the dining room for this occasion, or is that like an officer's mess? Do you have officers?" Entrapta asked. "I know that spies generally don't operate like line soldiers, and you're pretty much all spies, right?"

"We have our leaders and commanders," Jakar said. "Though we have a much flatter hierarchy than you have, based on what I noticed as your guest. Much fewer ranks, for one." He grinned. "Shaped by our needs - and, unfortunately, our small numbers."

"Which will grow as soon as you get access to more hosts, or so you've told us," the Colonel said. "Do you have a bunch of little Tok'ra on ice who are just waiting for hosts?"

Jakar laughed once more. "Something like that, Colonel."

And wasn't that a clear hint at them having a queen? Or was it misdirection? Sam really wished she had access to Jolinar's memories to verify this. Although… would any field operative of the Tok'ra actually know such crucial information? The Goa'uld would want nothing more than cripple their enemies' ability to replenish their forces. Kill their queen, and the Tok'ra would die out sooner or later.

"And here we are," Jakar announced before opening a door, revealing a room with a large set of crescent-shaped tables, not unlike the ones in the meeting room. The High Council, and Anise, were present - but so were half a dozen other Tok'ra whom Sam hadn't seen before. No, whom she hadn't seen at the meeting - Martouf was there. And another who looked familiar but whose name she couldn't remember. And…

Her trail of thought was broken when she noticed Catra grabbing Jakar's arm and pointing at the food on a round table in the centre between the two others. "Is that fish? The dish in front of the guy there?" She pointed at one of the unknown Tok'ra.

Ah. Not the most subtle, in Sam's - or Jolinar's - opinion. But Jakar would understand.

So, they had identified their suspect. But having them at the dinner complicated matters somewhat, in Sam's opinion. She didn't know if everyone present could keep up appearances without letting slip tier suspicion.

"Sam! Entrapta! Bow!" Anise made a beeline towards them. "Let's sit down! I have a lot of questions we should discuss!"

Well, Sam thought as Entrapta all but dragged her and Bow towards the Tok'ra scientist, at least for Entrapta, it'll be easy. She doubted her friend would spare a thought on the spy - if she had even noticed Catra marking him.

*****​

The dish was fish! Fried fish! Talk about hitting two enemies with one shot! Catra smiled widely as she finished the morsel she had been given to get a taste - it was really good! - before shovelling more on her plate. "You know, this is much better than the Earth-style dinners," she said. "Or the Bright Moon-style dinners."

"What?" Adora cocked her head at her as she filled her own plate.

"What do you mean?" Ah, Glimmer had overheard her - as planned.

"It's one big buffet," Catra explained. "You don't have to wait for a servant to bring you food, you don't have to eat what is put in front of you, you can pick what you like and then load up on it. And you don't insult anyone if you don't eat some inedible mess that some weirdo thinks is tasty."

"It wasn't inedible! Your taste buds are just wired weirdly after having only had Horde rations for years!" Glimmer protested. "And it was one time! We have competent staff who take notes on what people like to eat and what they don't like."

Catra smirked. "Well, but I still don't get fish every meal." She nudged Adora, who hadn't reacted to the little exchange. "Say, what do you think of switching all meals to buffet-style affairs?"

"Oh. Uhm." Adora tried unsuccessfully to hide how she had loaded her plate mostly with some of the marinated meat bits, Catra noticed. "I would think it would affect logistics - since you usually would have more food wasted when people left one kind of dish alone and picked others. And, uh, if you only made enough overall so someone had to eat the worse food, there might be trouble in the chow line once all the good food is gone." And now she was looking at the dish she had left out - some greenish stuff that looked like a partially-bleached cactus and smelt terrible.

Catra sighed and shook her head. "We're guests. Don't eat stuff you don't like," she whispered.

"But…"

"No buts." Catra bumped her with her hip to steer her back to their table. "Besides, our hosts are waiting for you so they can start talking your ear off." Apparently, it was considered rude amongst Tok'ra to talk at the buffet or something. Daniel probably figured it out, not that Catra cared to ask.

"Oh, OK!"

And that was how you handled Adora.

Catra glanced at the spy when they returned to the table. He was eating the cactus stuff, she noticed. And his name was Cordesh - Firnan for the host - according to the introductions. Damn, trying to keep two sets of names for every Tok'ra was going to be a hassle.

"Ah, you like mat'o," Per'sus commented from across the table as they took their seats. They had taken their meals first - as Jakar had explained, to show it wasn't poisoned and so the guests' meals wouldn't grow cold before they ate. Since they hadn't eaten yet, it didn't make too much sense, but then, neither did Bright Moon's table manners.

"The fish?" Catra cocked her head. "Yes, it's very tasty."

"Fish?" The Tok'ra blinked. "Ah. Mat'o is not fish - it's fried mat'a brain."

Catra froze for a moment, staring at her plate. It tasted like fish. Mostly.

"What are mat'a?" Glimmer asked.

"Legless reptiles," Per'sus explained.

So, she was eating snake brains. Catra blinked, then shrugged. Who cared? It was good!

Glimmer, though, stared at her own small portion of mat'o. Hah!

"As we have gathered, let us eat in peace and harmony," Garshaw said.

A moment later, people started eating, and Catra dug in. Everyone else did so as well - though Entrapta and Anise needed a reminder from Sam and Bow.

"So, are all your meals eaten in this style?" Daniel asked after the first bite. "Or is this reserved for such occasions?"

"It is a sign of pride to offer a wide variety of food to your guests," Hen'ru told him.

"And when you aren't hosting guests?" Daniel followed up at once.

"Then you usually just make whatever dish you and your partner - or partners - like," Hen'ru replied with a grin.

Well, that sounded sensible, in Catra's opinion. But she wasn't here to learn about Tok'ra dining habits. So, as Daniel continued to pelt the Tok'ra with questions about their culture and society - nicely abusing the fact that they weren't supposed to talk about the alliance - Catra paid attention to the spy.

He seemed to be torn between trying to follow the conversation between Daniel and the High Council and trying to listen in to what Entrapta, Sam, Bow, Anise and Malinor were discussing.

Good luck, Catra thought with a smirk hidden behind her drink. Her ears picked up the conversation just fine - but it was far too technical to understand, and she didn't think the spy was a scientist either.

Cordesh must have realised that as well since he started asking Daniel questions about Earth society. "So, your planet is divided between many independent countries, each with its own culture and leaders?"

"Yes," Daniel said without hesitation. "Though we have shared rules and values."

"Precious few of those," Catra heard O'Neill mutter under his breath, and she had to suppress a chuckle.

"And Etheria is the same?"

"Yes," Glimmer told him.

"It must be fascinating to live in such a place, but if I may hazard a guess, trying to rule the planet would be very difficult with so many different factions," Cordesh said.

Ah, that was his game - he was looking for weaknesses. As expected.

"We're not planning to rule the planet," Glimmer told him.

"And neither are we," Daniel added.

"But how are you supposed to fight a war with such… disunity?" another aide asked.

"We only take the willing into an alliance," Adora told him. "There are enough people willing to fight."

"Ah."

"Fascinating, To have so many people that you can let them sit out a war against the Empire…"

As the discussion shifted a little, Catra noticed that one of the aides, Martouf, wasn't taking part. He was looking at Sam instead. And his expression… Catra thought it looked familiar, somehow. And pained.

Weird.

*****​

More weird food. Jack O'Neill liked to think he wasn't a picky eater - in the field, you quickly learned how to eat anything edible, and the Air Force wasn't a Chair Force no matter what the crayon-eaters claimed - but eating fried snake brain was something only Daniel could enjoy. And Catra, obviously, but, well, she was an alien. No, Jack stuck to snake meat, thank you very much. And some sort of not-quite-sweet potatoes as a side dish instead of bleached cactus.

Not that he was about to ask what exactly he was eating, of course. That way lay the sort of unpleasant realisation that you were living through dessert in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - a lesson everyone except for Daniel learned quickly in Stargate Command.

He bit down on another forkful, chewing slowly while he listened to Per'sus talking to Daniel about the way Tok'ra supply lines worked. Well, they were talking about how they mixed imported food and locally sourced grub, but that was what it worked out to.

He glanced at the spy - Catra hadn't been very subtle with pointing out him. The snake had stopped gathering intel from Carter and the others and was now listening to Daniel spill information about Earth's culture, mainly food and hospitality. Mostly safe topics, then - even though a spy might be able to use some of the information. But that would only matter if they couldn't stop the spy from passing on his intel.

Damn, he hated playing the nice guest while a spook was trying to stab them in the back! He would love to just wander over, then smash the man's face into his plate and just… Jack took a deep breath.

"I see. With the way your society moves around, the only constant food sources are those able to be grown on many different planets - and those so prized, you take considerable effort to source them," Daniel said. "So, your culture's culinary traditions are split between adapting new recipes with every new planet and old traditional dishes that you can only eat on special occasions."

Even a communist snake spy society has to have ways to reward their elite, Jack thought.

"Indeed," Per'sus said.

"It will be interesting to discover how this will change once we have defeated the Goa'uld," Glimmer commented. "Once you don't have to hide any more."

She said it as if this was inevitable. Jack would chalk her confidence up to naivety and inexperience, but the Etherians had been through a decades-long war already. Still, the Goa'uld Empire was different from the Horde.

"You speak as if our victory was set in stone," Per'sus echoed Jack's thoughts somewhat.

Glimmer tilted her head. "We are confident that we'll defeat the Empire, yes. And planning ahead is a good idea. But more importantly, you can't fight a war if you're all about gloom and doom. If you expect to lose, you tend to lose."

"Yes!" Adora chimed in with a nod. "The moral is to the physical as three to one, as one of Earth's greatest generals once said. If soldiers don't believe in victory, they'll believe in defeat."

An alien magical space princess quoting Napoleon… Jack chuckled. "It's not quite that simple," he said, "and we shouldn't be overconfident, but you're more or less correct - we will beat the Goa'uld." Or die trying. Of course, there would be efforts to ensure that even in defeat, Earth would survive. Though more organised than what had happened during Apophis's attack. Just shoving people through the gate, without almost no thought about how they were supposed to survive on the other side, no real preparations to start a self-sufficient colony… Everyone involved had done their best to forget that debacle.

"I want to share your confidence," Garsahw said. "But my experience keeps me from doing so. We've struggled for so long, just holding out was a victory. We've seen our hopes dashed multiple times, and harsh defeats have taught us to expect the worst."

Well, Jack knew what she was talking about. Somewhat, at least - the United States hadn't really fought such a lopsided war on the weaker side until they had started Stargate Command. But Jack had done enough stuff with spooks to expect the worst, too - even if the Etherians tended to make that hard these days.

And his team, of course. Daniel with his enthusiasm and idealism, Carter with her genius and stubborn drive, Teal'c, who had risked it all, abandoned his entire life and changed sides because he had seen something in SG-1 that Jack hadn't, at the time…

He smiled and nodded at Garshaw. "I know the feeling. But you can't just get… stuck in it." He wasn't going to say anything cheesy about losing the future by clinging to the past. His team would probably assume he had been taken over by a Goa'uld.

"We'll see," Garshaw said, obviously still sceptical. Jack wouldn't have expected anything else.

"What can we do to prove to you that we are telling the truth? That we can make good on our claims?" Adora asked, leaning forward.

Per'sus tilted his head at her. "You've made a lot of claims about magic. Such as that it allows you to heal people that even a Goa'uld healing device cannot help."

Adora's face lit up with a smile as Jack suppressed a sigh.

He should have expected that.

*****​

"I can heal them, yes," Adora said confidently. She could heal anyone. Then she blinked. "Uh… do you mean a host or a symbiont? We haven't tried yet if my healing power will expel a Goa'uld from an unwilling host, so I don't know what will happen to a Tok'ra."

"The host is dying," Per'sus said.

"Oh." Adora winced. If she accidentally killed a Tok'ra symbiont while trying to heal the host… "It would be safer if the symbiont would leave the host. Just for the healing. It won't take long at all." She smiled as reassuringly as she could.

Per'sus didn't look like he felt very assured, but he nodded. "That can… be arranged."

"Great. Where are they?" She almost looked around but controlled herself.

"They're not in the base," Per'sus told her. "But we can visit them later."

Ah, they were in the real base on the planet - that made sense, of course. Adora nodded. But… could they leave the base here, when a spy was on the loose? Or was that an opportunity to catch the spy? A trap, maybe?

She nodded. "Good."

Wait, had Jakar even told the High Council about the spy yet? Adora hadn't seen any exchange between the agent and the councillors, but she wasn't a spy - she could've easily missed it. And she couldn't ask Catra right now, in the middle of their dinner with the Tok'ra.

She took another bite from the excellent grilled snake meat and sneaked a glance at her lover. Catra looked… slightly annoyed. So, something wasn't right or not going according to how she thought things should be going. Or she didn't like the food - but she'd just gone to get a third helping, so that wasn't it.

It looks like I've made a mistake, Adora thought.

"I thought you needed to… 'unlock' magic on a planet to be able to use it," Garshaw said. "Do you have a magitech healing device?"

Adora shook her head, wincing slightly at the memory of the jungle zombies. "No, we don't have such devices. The one we found, made by the Ancients, ah, didn't quite work."

Catra snorted. "It made zombies."

"Zombies?" Per'sus cocked his head to the side with a puzzled expression.

"It's a Tau'ri name for animated corpses that attack the living. Supposedly fictional, but as we found out, the Ancients managed to create them for real," Glimmer explained. "Accidentally, we think."

"Oh." Garshaw glanced at Per'sus. "That seems… surprisingly inept for the Ancients. The Goa'uld healing devices work, after all."

"We think it was a prototype or something," Adora said.

"Ah." Garshaw nodded again. "And are you working on fixing its flaws?"

"No," Adora said. Not to her knowledge, at least. Entrapta and Sam were working on other projects. And no one else had the skills to work with Ancient magitech.

"But how can you heal people on a planet without magic and magitech?" Garshaw asked once more.

"Oh, that's because I'm She-Ra," Adora replied. "My powers are tied into magic itself. I can always use it." She didn't know if that was the fault of the First Ones or something else, but that wasn't something she liked talking about.

"Her title is 'Princess of Power'," Glimmer added with a grin. "She can use magic in space as well."

"Magic doesn't work off-planet?" Per'sus nodded.

Adora nodded. "Magitech works, though."

"Magic requires life," Glimmer explained. "Or at least the potential for life. And that means planets that can bear life. Magitech circumvents this by using something else as a power source, even though the effects are magical."

"I see," Garshaw said, glancing at Entrapta and the others. "I assume they're already past discussing the fundamentals."

Catra chuckled. "Oh, yes. Entrapta, Sam and Bow are probably already planning devices to augment existing technology with Anise."

That made the councillors wince a little, even Adora could tell. And that made her want to wince since Catra's ears would've picked up what the others were talking about, so that probably wasn't idle speculation.

"You seem unhappy about that," Jack commented. "Don't you trust Anise?"

"She's an excellent scientist," Per'sus said. "Innovative and bold. Sometimes perhaps a bit too bold."

Oh. "Like Entrapta, then," Adora said, nodding.

And that made the others wince more.

*****​

"...so we could use a magitech device to enhance your crystal growing technology - and with a decision matrix from a bot, we could have a smart base able to grow tunnels and tools where they want and need them!" Entrapta beamed.

If we manage to refine the Tok'ra technology to include more complex tools, Samantha Carter mentally amended her friend's statement.

"Yes, if your other hypothesises are proven true," Anise said. "Which is a not insignificant assumption - we have been using and refining our crystal technology for a long time."

"But never with magitech!" Entrapta nodded several times. "It's a game changer, as people say on Earth."

"A 'game changer'?" Anise cocked her head in a slightly alien manner. "Do you treat this as a game?"

"It's a figure of speech," Sam explained. "We don't treat it as a game."

"Even though science is fun!" Entrapta agreed. "As long as no one gets hurt seriously," she added.

Anise nodded in apparent agreement. "Yes, it is. And there are few things as satisfying and rewarding as seeing your projects work out and your hypothesises proven true."

"Yes!" Once more, Entrapta nodded enthusiastically.

Sam agreed as well, though she didn't voice it like that. There were a number of more important things, after all. Defeating the Goa'uld. Friends. Family - at least, it was supposed to be more important, even if it might not always work out like that.

She noticed her plate was empty and excused herself to get a bit more food - the dishes were excellent. Some, she hadn't had in quite some time. Jolinar hadn't had them, she corrected herself - Sam had never tasted them before today.

Still, she did like them and started filling her plate with a few more kren and liso'n bits - she particularly liked them.

"Jolinar loved them."

Sam managed not to gasp despite her surprise and turned to face who had addressed her. Oh.

It was Martouf. The Tok'ra she knew the most about, even though it was still very little. But he had been Jolinar's friend, and most of the fragmented memories Sam remembered featured him. And he had just learned of Jolinar's death a few hours ago.

So Sam smiled and nodded. "Yes. I don't remember too much of their life, but when I tasted kren and liso'n, the taste was familiar."

Martouf nodded and repeated himself. "Jolinar loved them. Unlike most of us, who prefer the traditional, rare dishes, she loved the food here." His eyes lost focus for a moment, and his expression grew a little sad.

Her? Jolinar's last host had been male, Sam knew - she doubted she would ever forget the moment Jolinar had entered her, leaving the dying man she had been trying to save. "I am sorry for your loss," she said.

"Thank you." He slowly inclined his head. "Though I suppose, as her last host, you keenly feel her loss as well."

Really? She took a bite or kren to gain some time. "Yes, we weren't, ah, together for long, but…" She shrugged. 'Memorable' would sound trite. 'Traumatising' would be harsh, even if it was true. "I won't ever forget her." She took a forkful of liso'n while her thoughts raced. Did Tok'ra identify with the gender of their host? It wasn't something that had come up in the preparations for this mission - a clear oversight, in hindsight. They had no clue how Tok'ra relationships worked, she realised. How did they handle having two beings in one body?

And asking Martouf about it was out of the question - he was clearly grieving his friend. His sad smile as he must remember…

She blinked as more memories rose inside her. Of Martouf. Of… "Lantash?"

His voice changed as the symbiont took over. "You remember. I wasn't certain since you never said anything."

"I only just remembered," she told him. "Her memories are fragmented. Sometimes, I have a… sort of flash." Likely the result of a trigger. Perhaps she should look into therapy to manage this... No! Therapy would see her benched - the Air Force wasn't in the habit of trusting people with mental problems in combat. But why hadn't Lantash introduced themselves earlier?

"But you do remember us," Lantash said - and reached out, putting his hand on her shoulder.

His touch… she drew a sharp breath as she remembered more. Martouf. Lantash. And… She felt her cheeks flush. They hadn't been Jolinar's friends. They had been their lover.

"And you remember more," Lantash said, staring at her, lips twisting into a faint smile.

She nodded a little stiffly. "I am sorry for your loss," she repeated herself.

"Her memories live on," he said with another sad smile.

Sam froze for a moment. 'Her memories'. Not 'her memory'. Oh, hell! They couldn't think that she was… She nodded again, more sharply this time - the kren suddenly didn't taste as well as before.

They couldn't think that she was somehow Jolinar's successor - or replacement - could they?

"Everything alright, Carter? Something wrong with the food?"

She turned to face the Colonel, glad - very glad - about the interruption. She really needed a distraction right now. "No, the food's great, sir. We've just been… mourning."

"Jolinar was our partner," Martouf said, inclining his head at the Colonel. "It is comforting that part of her lives on in some way, despite the tragic circumstances of how that came to be."

The Colonel narrowed his eyes, and Sam quickly added: "Fragments of her memories."

"Ah." His expression didn't really change - he was still… suspicious. Of her? No. Of Martouf and Lantash, Sam realised. "Partners?" he asked.

"Lovers. Mates," Lantash explained.

The Colonel tensed at the change of voice. "I didn't realise Tok'ra went for such things," he said with a shrug. "You know, lovers."

And Lantash frowned in return. "As our hosts do, we as well fall in love."

"Must be tough, having to share your body and a relationship."

"Not at all," Lantash said. Then Martouf continued. "Everything's shared, Colonel. Between us all."

"Sounds a bit crowded to me."

"It would, of course, since you have never experienced it," Martouf replied.

He was glancing at her, Sam realised with a sinking feeling. Did he expect her to comment on that? The last thing she wanted to do right now was to discuss Tok'ra romance. With anyone.

But the Colonel was staring at her as well.

Before she could even think of what to say to extract herself, a body crashed into the buffet next to them, sending the food flying as the table toppled.

Sam almost cried out in relief at the interruption.

*****​
 
Chapter 60: The Tok’ra Part 5
Chapter 60: The Tok'ra Part 5

P34-353J, December 4th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Catra didn't have too much experience with spies. She only met one, actually, and that was a painful memory. How she had been as stupid as to ever trust Double Trouble… She suppressed the urge to shake her head at her own folly. But she had worked undercover herself, and she knew something about hiding your intentions - she wouldn't have survived in the Horde if she hadn't been able to do that.

And in her opinion, Jakar was a smooth operator, to use one of the Earth movie terms, but how he approached the spy halfway into the dinner just didn't look… quite as natural and inconspicuous as it should have been.

Of course, she knew what this was about, so she might be biased. Maybe. Cordesh didn't look like he suspected anything, but he was a spy, so he would be good at hiding any reaction. And if he suspected that he was detected, he might trigger whatever he had planned early.

Well, it was up to Jakar now. She was curious how they would handle it, tilting her head a bit to better listen in to the conversation.

"Cordesh! Enjoying the meal?"

"Jakar. Not as much as you must, after your mission."

"Oh, yes. I did miss kren, especially."

"Who doesn't?"

Then Jakar's voice changed. Mats was talking, then. "So, you finally grew to like it, Firnan?"

Cordesh's voice changed as well. "Yes. It took me a while, but who can resist it?"

Jakar nodded, smiling warmly, and took a bite of mat'o.

But Kordesh tensed up. Something wasn't right. And he was reaching to the small of his back, where…

Catra was already moving, jumping over the table between her and the two spies, when Jakar grabbed Kordesh's arm, and the two started wrestling over a... zat!

Catra unsheathed her claws as she closed. A single swipe, and… No! She had to think of the host! Clenching her teeth, she kicked Cordesh into the back of his knees, sending him to the floor.

But the spy took Jakar with him, turning the whole thing into a throw - and sent Jakar into the buffet.

But Catra was on him already, grabbing both his wrists and pinning him to the ground. He tried to shake her off, but he didn't have enough leverage or strength - not against Catra, at least; he was stronger than a human.

And then Adora was there, and Jakar was back, and the fight was over. Between the three of them, they had Cordesh secured before the rest of the people present made it over. Garshaw looked at them - at Jakar - with narrowed eyes while Jakar stripped him of weapons and tools and everything but his clothes.

"Firnan claimed to have tasted kren before and grown to like it," Jakar told her.

Garshaw nodded as if that was enough to identify a spy.

"You must be really serious about your food," Catra commented with a glance at Jakar.

"Kren is made from local sources," he said. "It's only available on this planet - and Cordesh and Firnan were not stationed here before they arrived with the councillors."

Ah. That explained it. Catra nodded.

"Then we need to find out if Cordesh decided to betray us or if he was replaced," Garshaw said.

Right. Catra was really glad she hadn't ripped the man's hand off.

"Will you extract the symbiont?" Daniel asked.

Right, they could do that.

"It's the most expedient way to check," Garshaw replied. "As soon as Firnan is free, he can tell us what happened."

Cordesh scoffed. "The plague that is the Tok'ra will soon be wiped out! And we will crush your allies as well!" he yelled.

Well, Catra might not be an expert on spies, but she knew empty bravado when she saw it. Although… She narrowed her eyes. "Could he have contacted someone in the system with this?" She pointed at the round thing on the ground next to the zat.

"Check it," Garshaw said.

While another aide picked the thing up, Catra looked at the captured spy. He was clenching his teeth, which she took as a good sign.

"It's pointless! You are doomed!"

Yeah, definitely empty bravado.

"There wasn't a long-range transmission since before he arrived here; the cache still holds the data."

So their secret was still safe. Catra smiled. That was a relief! Losing operational surprise would have been quite the setback.

"But there are short-range transmissions logged. Very little data, though. I'm trying to access…"

"Shor'wai'e! Yas!" Cordesh yelled. "Mal…"

Catra slugged the spy, then held his mouth shut before he could say anything else, but the communicator beeped.

Then the base shook from an explosion.

*****​

Jack O'Neill cursed as he crouched to keep his balance. "Are we under attack?" he snapped, his hand going for his carbine - which had been left in their quarters. He gripped his pistol's holster instead.

Garshaw was already talking into one of those round communicators. "Melion, what's going on? Melion?" He saw her press her lips together for a moment before she went on: "Ker'seh? Nelias?" she waited a moment

Jack struggled against the urge to rush out, get his M4 and… what then? Half the Tok'ra in the room had already left.

"We have lost contact with the transporter room," Garshaw announced.

"I smell smoke," Catra said. Her nose twitched. "And… burning flesh." She was still holding the spy's mouth shut.

Jack winced. "If they took the transporter room, they'll be storming the base right now."

"I don't hear any shooting," Catra retorted.

Then Per'sus' voice came through the communicator. "The transporter room has been destroyed. I don't see any breach in the walls, though."

That meant it hadn't been an attack from the outside. Jack muttered another curse. "Sabotage. He must have planted a bomb."

"More than one, I fear," the snake holding the spy's communicator ball said.

"Give it to me!" Anise snapped. "I'll check."

She all but ripped the thing out of the other Tok'ra's hands. He didn't seem upset, so that was probably normal.

Per'sus spoke up again. "The guards in the transporter room are dead. And the ring transport was damaged and is nonfunctional."

Which meant they were trapped in the base! Wait, no - they had that tunnel-growing technology. "Can you grow us an exit?" Jack asked.

Garshaw shook her head. "We don't have the necessary tools in this base. The main base should have recorded the explosion, but it'll take them a while to reach us."

Damn. "Didn't want potential spies getting a glimpse, huh?" Jack asked.

The snake's grimace was answer enough.

Fortunately, Adora didn't say anything about trust saving them and distrust hurting them. Instead, she said: "I could restore magic to the planet. Then Glimmer could teleport us out."

"All of us?" Malinor asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Two at a time," Glimmer corrected her. "But I think I'll be able to get everyone out."

'I think', Jack noted. That wasn't a clear confirmation in his book. "How long will it take for the others to reach us with a tunnel or transporter?"

Another aide whose name he had forgotten replied: "They'll be here in half an hour - I was just talking to Laran."

Half an hour? Well, that wasn't too bad. Jack started to nod.

Then Anise went to Carter and Entrapta and showed them the communicator. "Look at that!"

Jack really didn't like Carter's reaction.

"We need the scanner," she said.

"Yes. If there are more bombs, they should show up on the scanner." Entrapta nodded.

"More bombs?" Salesh stared at them.

Jack glanced at the captured spy. He couldn't see the snake's mouth, but his eyes… the scum was happy.

"OK, let's see - those bombs can't be using Naquadah, or we would have found them in our earlier scan, so…" Entrapa trailed off, eyes glued to her scanner.

"Check for these chemicals!" Anise rattled down some formula Jack couldn't follow.

Carter could, though, which was what counted. "Yes. None of that, none of those, either, but…" She drew a sharp breath through clenched teeth, and Jack knew that shit had just hit the fan - Carter only looked like that when things were about to go really wrong.

"How bad is it?" he asked.

"We have half a dozen bombs with chemical explosives placed throughout the base, sir," she replied. "And it doesn't look like the spots were randomly chosen."

"We're running a structural analysis," Entrapta cut in.

"Yes. Our technology makes tunnelling very easy, but without proper structural reinforcements, the tunnels are slightly more vulnerable to shocks," Anise said.

Jack refrained from closing his eyes. "Don't tell me - if the bombs go off, we won't need to be buried after our deaths?" Hell, to die buried alive… getting crushed quickly would be a mercy. He suppressed a shudder.

Carter nodded with a grimace.

"Well, the bombs didn't go off," Adora said. "Only one did."

"But they're on a timer," Anise said.

When it rained, it poured. "How much time do we have?"

"Fifteen minutes, sir."

"It's evacuation time," Jack said.

Garshaw nodded.

"Uh…" Adora's expression made Jack close his eyes and sigh. "If I restore magic, I'll be… well, I'll have to use all the magic returning. And we still don't know what my healing will do to symbionts inside a host."

And that had all the snakes in the room exchange grim glances.

"Can't you leave your host temporarily?"

"Only for a very short time without a habitat or stasis unit," Garshaw said. "And we don't have either in this base."

More secrecy messing things up. If Jack were a believer, he'd tell God that this was a little too blatant.

"We'll have to defuse the bombs then," Entrapta said. "Before it's too late."

"Can you do this?" Garshaw asked.

"We should be able to - and we have about ten minutes before we'll have to return magic, anyway!" Entrapta told her. "Let's go! The closest bomb is down the hallway outside!"

She looked excited, Jack saw. At least Carter looked suitably concerned as the geek squad rushed out of the room.

He ran with them - he had a lot of experience in demolitions, and since they were facing chemical bombs instead of some Naquadah or space magic stuff, Jack should be able to help.

And defusing a bomb definitely beat waiting while his friends and teammates risked their lives defusing it, in Jack's opinion.

*****​

Watching others do their best to save them all - and risk their lives in the process - was torture, in Adora's opinion.

"Alright, kid, let's see what kind of anti-tampering mechanism our snake has left for us to trigger. It can't be something that reacts to mere movement and shock, or it would have gone off when the base shook. But he must have a way to keep us from just pulling the bombs off and dropping them down a spare tunnel." Jack said. He sounded tense, but neither he nor Bow looked as tense as they should be - they were so close to the first bomb they had found, if it went off, not even Adora could do anything for them!

"According to my scan, there's a fine mesh inside the outer shell, connected to the detonator. But it's not perfectly covering everything, see?" Bow showed his pad to Jack.

"That's to keep us from just shooting or cutting the thing. What about the glue keeping the bomb stuck to the floor here?"

"That's under a mild current - so, perhaps if we kept the current going somehow…"

"There would still be some change when you pull the bomb off the wall, and if the bomb's sensitive enough…"

"Boom."

"Exactly, kid."

Adora let out a sigh through clenched teeth - softly; you didn't startle people defusing ordnance; the Horde had been very clear about that. Even Catra hadn't joked around in those lessons. Or with live ordnance.

She couldn't do anything here. So she stepped around the corner and checked up on the others. If Entrapta, Sam and Anise managed to crack the communicator, they could turn off all bombs with a single command. Or so they hoped.

"Oh… that's a very sophisticated protocol! Almost as good as Horde Prime's! Well, mostly - did you see this here, Sam?"

"Yes. That seems like an obvious weakness. Probably too obvious."

"Yes! It's probably a, what do you call it, decoy?"

"That, and an alert, I would say. But I think we can circumvent it like this…"

"Yes," Anise cut in. "And that should get us past the encryption to send out the delay command to the bombs. But we still need to figure out the command."

"How much longer until you have to restore magic?" Garshaw asked as Adora stepped back from Entrapta, Sam and Anise to check on the others.

"Seven more minutes," Adora replied after a check of her watch. Then she'd have two minutes left to use all the magic surging through her and… try not to expel the symbionts while Glimmer teleported people out.

"That's cutting it close," Garshaw commented.

Adora looked at her. The Tok'ra leader seemed to be, well, focused on her instead of the people defusing the bomb. "We really don't want to risk accidentally killing you all with my healing magic," she said. Hadn't she explained that before?

"But the risk for you and your friends would be lesser."

Oh. "That's not how we do things," Adora said, frowning despite herself. What did Garshaw think she was, so selfish as to sacrifice others for her?

And now Garshaw was smiling at her. Had that been a test? Adora wasn't fond of such games - Shadow Weaver had liked them.

Malinor spoke up: "Can you use your magic powers to seal off or disable the bombs?"

Adora bit her lower lip. "I have never done that before," she admitted. "I could attempt to turn them into plants, but if they are as sensitive to defusing attempts as it sounds they are, they might detonate anyway." Before she managed to figure out how to repeat what she had done to Horde Prime's flagship. Or how to freeze anything in stasis, or something. She wasn't a sorceress! She hadn't studied magic! Or tried to use her magic for such things.

Glimmer would be able to do that. Probably. Adora glanced at her friend. She looked tense but determined. Stubborn, almost scowling, as she watched Bow and Jack work around the corner.

"Six minutes left."

They were timing her? Adora looked at the Tok'ra who had spoken, Salesh. Oh, of course, they would be watching the clock count down. Their lives were at stake, after all.

"If we start teleporting out, we'll leave the spy for last," Catra said. She sounded matter-of-factly, almost calm, but Adora could see her tail twitching - her lover was as nervous as she felt herself.

Adora frowned at her, and Catra shrugged. "If Glimmer exhausts herself…"

Adora understood the sentiment, but… "She'd still do everything to save Firnan."

Catra sighed. "Right." Her ears drooped. She was probably blaming herself for forgetting about the host taken over by the spy.

Adora smiled softly. No one was perfect. But Catra was doing so much better than… before.

"Five minutes left."

"How are Jack and Bow doing?" Adora asked in a low voice.

"They want to cut out the piece of wall with the bomb stuck to it," Catra said. "But it's a crystal, and so if they cut through it, it'll send a power surge through the adhesive. Bow's trying to rig up a surge compensator or something."

Adora nodded. "And I can cut through the crystal." She summoned her sword. Again.

And she could carry the bomb away quickly. She might not get all of them, but enough so the base wouldn't collapse completely should be possible.

"Don't do anything stupid. We only need to deal with half of them," Catra said.

She didn't try to keep Adora from doing it, though. Adora reached out and pulled her into her arms, just holding her for a few seconds. Feeling her warmth against her body, Feeling Catra tense up, squirming for just a moment, before relaxing into her embrace. Yes…

"Four minutes."

Rats.

*****​

Four minutes left. Samantha Carter pressed her lips together. Four minutes until Adora would restore magic, and Glimmer would start teleporting people out. And until Adora might accidentally kill every Tok'ra with some uncontrolled mass-healing magic.

Which also meant six minutes until the bombs would go off and cause the entire base to collapse. Perhaps the Tok'ra's tunnel-growing technology had some drawbacks as well - though Sam hadn't done the static calculations to know if this was because of the inherent weakness of their technology Garshaw had mentioned or if the bombs would wreck a conventionally-built base as well.

And she didn't have the time to get distracted right now. They were so close to cracking the signal to shut down all the bombs!

"Nothing in the cache - the main unit clears it right after use," Anise said.

"That would almost make it redundant, wouldn't it?" Entrapta commented. "Oh! Nothing in the transmitter, either - nothing that wasn't already logged."

And the log files had been the first thing they had checked. That left the main unit's memory. Which was not only heavily encrypted but also using a sort of proprietary operating system that none of them - not even Anise, who had the most experience with Goa'uld communications amongst them - had ever seen.

But it still used familiar principles. And known hardware with which it interacted.

And that opened ways to crack it.

"Three minutes!"

Goa'uld communicators were a mature technology - but they weren't perfect. And this was a modified communicator - whoever had sent the spy had taken care to hide additional capacities inside it. New technology. Not as tested and proven.

And they had taken shortcuts when installing it.

Sam smiled when she found a minor glitch in the program controlling the interface between the main unit and the transmitter. "Anise? Take a look at that."

"Oh, yes!" The Tok'ra smiled and started typing on her tool.

"Oh! Clever!" Entrapta's hair flew over her own multitool. "If we overload the cache here…"

"...it will access the main unit's cache," Sam finished. And they could use that to insert a program to download the cache.

"Done!" Anise announced.

"Yes!" Sam quickly ran a search - and came up empty. But the communicator controlled the bombs, so the code to stop or at least delay the detonations had to be in there! The spy had used it to detonate the bomb in the transporter room!

Sam blinked. With a verbal command. A verbal code.

"I'm so stupid!" she snapped. "There's no code in the communicator because they never saved it in there - they only memorised it!"

"Oh!" Entrapta's eyes widened. "That's clever!"

Anise cursed.

And Sam whirled around. "But the codes have to be in the bombs!" And the Colonel and Bow were working on one around the corner!

"Yes!"

"What?" Adora stared at them, but Sam, followed by Entrapta and Anise, rushed past the woman.

He was looking at her as she rounded the corner - he would have heard her running. Good - she hadn't distracted him at a critical moment. "Sir, we need access to the bomb's communicator," she said as calmly as she could.

After a fraction of a second, he nodded. "That might be a little tricky."

"Here's the probe!" Entrapta handed him a thin needle-like device. "It transmits wirelessly. Just touch the communication array."

He turned to Bow. "We'll need to insert it through the internal mesh. Without touching it."

"Two minutes!"

Bow looked grim but nodded as well.

"Bow!" someone - Glimmer - said behind them.

But the boy had already turned to face the bomb, kneeling down. "I can guide you with my scanner."

"Let's do it."

And Sam was forced to wait and stare as the two men started working.

"Alright… this is the spot. Now… align the drill… bit more to the right, the angle is… yes, like that."

The Colonel had sweat on his brow now. "Step back into cover!" he snapped. In a soft voice that only Sam, Bow and probably Catra heard, he added: "Just in case."

Sam wanted to stay, but that wouldn't have made sense.

She still hated herself for obeying and getting into cover around the corner and behind Emily's shield.

"Alright, here we go!"

"Steady, steady… Stop!"

"And now the probe…"

"Check the angle."

"Yes, yes…"

"O-One minute!"

Sam held her breath.

"And… Done! We've got the thingie in!" the Colonel announced.

"We've got contact!" Entrapta blurted out.

Sam was already diving into the bomb's memory. Detonation protocol, communication… "There!" She blinked. "Hal mek?" That meant 'hold' in Goa'uld. It couldn't be so easy, could it?

"Sent!" Anise announced.

"Zero!" the aide announced.

A moment later, Anise yelled. "Bombs delayed!"

A cheer went up.

And Sam took a deep breath and sat down, leaning back against the wall.

That had been a little too close for her taste. And to think she had missed the possibility that the communicator didn't hold the codes to disarm or delay the bombs! Even though it made so much sense - it would ensure that no one could stop the bombs without the spy's cooperation.

But they had solved the problem, which was what counted.

"Oh, here's the command to disarm the bombs, 'hol'!" Entrapta said.

That meant 'stop' in Goa'uld. The spy probably had picked common terms they could slip into any sentence so they could use them in the open without sounding suspicious. Something to keep in mind.

Sam sighed as she got up and stretched. Anise and Entrapta were sending the commands to disarm the bombs, and Glimmer was both hugging and scolding Bow.

"That was cutting it a bit close, Captain."

She looked at the Colonel. He was smiling, teasing her. She wanted to hug him. Instead, she nodded with a grin. "That's how such projects go, sir. There's always a crunch at the end."

She couldn't tell if he got the comment about programming tasks. But his smile turned a little softer. "Good work, Captain!"

"Thank you, sir."

*****​

Catra let out a relieved sigh - silently; she had a reputation to maintain - and let her tail trail over Adora's thigh as she turned back to look at the captured spy, who was still on the ground, glaring at her over his gag. Grinning, she crouched down and looked him straight in the eyes. "So… looks like you were clever but not clever enough."

He made some angry noises through the gag.

"Don't bother; my friends are thorough - you won't be able to detonate the bombs now, even if you had a communicator." Well, between the four of them, they shouldn't have missed that possibility. She still said it loudly enough, just in case they had missed it and were listening. Well, not Bow - he was too busy dealing with Glimmer trying to kiss and throttle him at the same time.

The spy seemed to agree with her, though, and switched to silently glaring at her.

She sighed again, but theatrically now. "Let me guess - more threats about how your masters will surely crush us, how we are doomed, how the Empire will prevail?" She shook her head. "It won't happen; trust me - I've been there." And said the same things. "You'll see."

"No, they won't," one of the Tok'ra guarding the spy - another aide - said.

Catra narrowed her eyes. Did they mean…?

"What?" Adora butted in.

"When we captured Goa'uld, we extract from their host and execute them for their crimes," Per'sus explained.

"You can't do that!" Adora blurted out. "They're a prisoner!"

"They're Goa'uld!" Per'sus retorted.

"They're a captured spy." And O'Neill had decided to stop watching Sam disassemble the communicator and join the discussion. "We shoot spies back home."

Adora stared at him. "But… they're a prisoner. They can't hurt anyone any more."

"They're Goa'uld," Per'sus said. "They need to pay for their crimes."

"They almost managed to kill us all," Garshaw spoke up. "And they most certainly killed Cordesh - the Goa'uld murder every Tok'ra they can capture. Usually by torture."

"It's a risk every one of us faces," Jakar added.

Adora stared at them for a moment, looking from one to the other. Then she raised her chin a little, and her expression grew stubborn. "That doesn't make it right to kill them when they're a helpless prisoner!"

"We don't even know if they murdered your spy," Catra pointed out in support of her lover. "And killing prisoners means you can't get any information out of them." Adora pouted at her for that addition, but Catra shrugged - the Tok'ra struck her as pragmatic.

"That would require us to sacrifice a host to them. We won't do that," Garshaw said. "And putting them in stasis would not functionally change their fate - without a host, they would remain in stasis forever."

"You could put them into animals," Adora suggested.

"Or into a habitat made for the symbionts!" Entrapta added.

That, on the other hand, seemed to shock the Tok'ra. And the spy looked genuinely frightened for the first time since they had captured them, Catra noticed.

"Animals?" Gashaw repeated. "But that would…" She shook her head.

"We've encountered a Goa'uld possessing a large predator," Sam told them.

"But to bond with an animal!" Per'sus blurted out. "That's… the mental contamination from that - you'd lose your mind!"

"The snake seemed smart enough to give us some trouble," O'Neill said. "I should know."

"It's an abomination!" Salesh stated. "To bond with an animal is a fate worse than death - far worse. We wouldn't subject even a Goa'uld to that."

"They must have been utterly desperate - and likely not of sound mind already - to do this." Per'sus looked like he wanted to spit.

Catra didn't think this was a good moment to mention that they had been discussing letting the captured Goa'uld possess animal bodies.

"But we could let them into a habitat," Entrapta said. "We have two captured Goa'uld in such habitats, and they are doing fine."

"As far as we can tell," Sam added. "At least they have not complained."

"You have captured Goa'uld? And you're holding them in… a habitat?" Garshaw asked.

"Like a fish tank but for snakes," O'Neill told them.

"Osiris and Setesh. We captured them on Earth," Daniel said. "They were left there when Ra left."

"We know of those System Lords," Garshaw spat. "Even millennia after their disappearance, their crimes are not forgotten!"

Catra managed not to comment about holding long grudges. But it was a near thing, even though she understood the sentiment. But she also knew how bad holding such grudges was for you.

"And you haven't executed them as spies?" Per'sus asked O'Neill.

"Well, you know…" O'Neill shrugged. "Their circumstances were a little different from theirs." He nodded at the spy on the ground.

"We recovered Osiris from a stasis jar," Sam explained. "Although it could be argued that Setesh was infiltrating Earth society when we caught him."

"You are very soft for someone claiming to wage war against the Goa'uld," Garshaw said.

"Even if we were willing to kill prisoners, it makes no sense to do it," Glimmer said. "They can provide valuable information, and if the enemy knows they won't be killed, they are more likely to surrender."

"But to put them into a habitat…" Per'sus shook his head. "Like a larva. Without a partner to bond to, to share your thoughts and memories…" He seemed to suppress a shudder.

"They are fed three meals a day and got a warm place to sleep," O'Neill said.

"And we built them a keyboard - keyboards - to communicate with us!" Entrapta piped up with a smile. "Sized for Goa'uld!"

"It's still… We need hosts. To live without one is… like living as a cripple."

"With brain damage," Anise added.

The Goa'uld suppressed their hosts, as far as Catra knew. But they also got access to their memories. Was that more important than merely a source of information?

"Oh." Entrapta looked surprised. "But if it's so bad, why haven't they said anything?"

"They probably think the alternative is execution," Catra told her friend.

"Oh."

Adora nodded. "If that's how it is, then we need to find a better solution."

It was clear from the expressions on the Tok'ra what alternative solution they would favour.

Well, good luck trying to convince Adora of that! Catra thought.

*****​

And here he had thought they could get a good cop/bad cop thing going. But it seemed that the good cops, while meaning well, had unknowingly terrified the spy more than the ones wanting to execute him. Jack O'Neill faintly smiled at the irony - and made a mental note of the fact that the spy apparently was more terrified of being put into an animal than of being executed. That was important information. Also important was that the habitats they had built for their prisoners apparently qualified as cruel and unusual punishment. And, of course, that the snakes they had captured hadn't complained.

But that was for future analysis. They had a more urgent problem to deal with. "How about we discuss what to do with the spy after we've interrogated him?" he suggested.

"We need to liberate Finran," Garshaw said. "He'll be able to tell us what the spy did while in his body."

Jack suppressed the urge to say that they shouldn't discuss this in front of the spy. The snake would already know such obvious information.

"And that would kill the Goa'uld. Eventually," Catra said. "Unless you've got a stasis pod or a habitat."

"One that we could spare," Garshaw agreed.

"We can build a habitat!" Entrapta said at once. "I mean… it might not be as nice as I thought it would be - they really should've told me that! - but it's better than being killed, right?"

Jack couldn't tell if she was honestly asking or if that was a rhetorical question. But she was correct.

"Yes," Adora said. "We can take them back to Earth and keep them there."

The snakes didn't like that - they exchanged a few significant glances. "We need to be able to interrogate them," Garshaw said. "We'll be able to see through their lies."

Implying that Stargate Command wouldn't. But they were right in that they likely knew more about how the Goa'uld worked - hell, about the Goa'uld, period - that would make it harder for the spy to lie or hide information. "We can interrogate them here," Jack said. That might ruffle some feathers back home, but fewer than if he had just invited the snakes to set up an interrogation room in Stargate Command. Even though it would have been funny to see how the spooks with their foreign torture chambers would react to aliens pulling their own moves on them.

"As long as Finran doesn't have to suffer for too much longer," Per'sus said. He turned to stare at the spy. "It goes without saying that, should Finran die, we will not show you any mercy."

"And our prospective allies just have shown us that there are indeed worse fates than death," Malinor added with an expression that made Jack wince a little.

Yeah, those snakes really hated the Goa'uld.

"OK! It shouldn't take too long - we know how to build one. We probably should build a few more in reserve." Entrapta nodded. "Or a lot if we are going to invade a planet."

"But we also need to find a more humane way to keep Goa'uld prisoners," Glimmer said.

Garshaw smiled sadly at that. "I sincerely hope you find a solution, though we have tried to find alternatives for millennia since there are so few voluntary hosts, and none of the proposed solutions was practicable or morally acceptable."

"What about artificial bodies?" Entrapta apparently took that as a challenge.

"That wouldn't satisfy our need for a partner," Per'sus explained with a gentler smile. "It would be like a more mobile version of your 'habitats', I believe."

"Oh. I guess that means cloned bodies without higher cerebral functions are also out."

Once more, the Tok'ra shuddered - and the spy looked frightened again.

"That might satisfy some of the biological needs of our species with regards to mental capacity," Anise said, "but it would leave us bereft of the emotional and intellectual benefits a host offers."

"It would be like inhabiting a corpse." Malinor shook her head.

"You need a sapient, sentient partner," Daniel said, nodding. "But the Goa'uld keep their hosts' consciousness suppressed, trapped in their own body. Do they have different needs?"

Once more, the Tok'ra exchanged glances before Per'sus replied: "They have perverted this. They thrive on the control, on the oppression of their host. And that reflects on their entire society."

Daniel's eyes widened. "That explains so much!" he exclaimed. "If there is a biological urge, beyond genetic memory, then we have to reexamine our views of Goa'uld society!"

"But if it's a perverted urge, it also means they can change," Glimmer pointed out.

"Some of us can," Garshaw agreed. "But few amongst the Goa'uld can overcome their… condition."

"Or their conditioning," Daniel said. "If this is like… We need to talk about this with psychologists. It might be treatable."

He made the snakes sound like a bunch of poor, sick patients. Or addicts. Jack pressed his lips together so he wouldn't sneer. They were monsters. Monsters who apparently had a choice to be decent people and rejected it. But that was a topic for another day. They had a more urgent situation to deal with. "Anyway, let's get a habitat so we can start interrogating our spy," he said.

"And in the meantime, while we restore the transporter, we can continue our discussions," Garshaw said.

"As long as we can get more food," Catra cut in. "I, at least, wasn't finished with my dinner," she added when Adora frowned at her.

Jack chuckled at that - he could do with some more food himself. Even if it was snake meat.

*****​

The food didn't taste as good as before. At least to Adora. The thought that they were torturing their prisoners… She shook her head. How could this have happened? Why hadn't their prisoners said anything? Did they really fear they would be killed if they complained?

She bit down on a piece of fried meat, chewed twice then swallowed it. With some difficulty.

"Careful. You don't want to choke," Catra told her - in between stuffing her own mouth with more fried fish than should fit.

Adora frowned at her. "I'm not going to choke."

"But you're blaming yourself for the Goa'uld's problems." Catra twitched her shoulders in that not-quite-shrug of hers.

"No," Adora protested. "I'm just… wondering how this could happen." They had done all they could to treat their prisoners well - or so they thought.

"Because we don't know as much as we thought we do about the Goa'uld?" Catra shrugged again. "That kind of stuff happens. Nobody's perfect."

Adora pressed her lips together. That was true, but… "That sounds a bit callous," she said.

"Yeah." Catra agreed. "So?"

"What?"

"We did what we thought was best," Catra explained. "It turned out we were wrong. Kind of - no one seems to have a better solution, anyway. So… why torture yourself over it?"

"Because we have to do better!" Adora took a deep breath. "We need to fix our mistake." They couldn't torture their prisoners.

"If there's a way to fix it," her lover said. "You can't fix everything." She narrowed her eyes at Adora. "Not even She-Ra can do that."

Well, she should! But Adora didn't say that out loud. Her friends would scold her for that. And they were right - she didn't like it, but she knew she couldn't solve every problem. She couldn't heal everyone on Earth. She knew it well enough.

But she hated it all the same.

"And the Tok'ra have been working on this for a long time," Catra pointed out. "Not to help the Goa'uld, but to get an alternative to needing hosts, but it works out to the same."

Only, it didn't work out at all in this case. "There has to be a way to fix this," Adora said. "Entrapta and the others will find it."

"They've got other things to do. More important things," Catra retorted.

Adora was aware of that as well. Of course, they couldn't just focus on how to treat prisoners when they were fighting a war. But… "It would be easier to make the Goa'uld surrender if we had an alternative." Like with the Horde.

"They would have to believe us in the first place," Catra said. "Remember what we were told about the princesses?"

Of course, she did! Adora pressed her lips together. The Goa'uld would expect the worst. Not without justification - the Tok'ra apparently had been killing all their prisoners for thousands of years. To free their hosts, and because they had no alternative, apparently, but still.

The war would be worse than they had expected, she realised. Harder. Bloodier.

"We need a way to fix this," she repeated herself. Some way to show the Goa'uld that there was an alternative to enslaving others.

But as much as she tried, she couldn't think of any at the moment. She could only hope that their friends would think of one.

*****​
 
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