Chapter 141: The Secret Base Part 1
Starfox5
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Chapter 141: The Secret Base Part 1
Outside PU-9623 System, January 29th, 2000 (Earth Time)
Catra stared at the display floating in the middle of the room. "That's not really detailed," she complained. It really wasn't. It was a very rudimentary 3D-model.
"That's the best we can do with our scanners from orbit," Sam replied. "We extrapolated some structures, but… we'll need a magic scanner close by to get more details." After a moment's pause, she added: "We only got those results after we adjusted the bot's sensors with the data from Alpha."
Catra hissed again. "That's a First Ones base?"
"It's a possibility," Sam replied.
"I don't know what would be worse," Jack said. "Apophis having technology to block our sensors, or Apophis having access to an Ancient base."
"The second," Jakar said. "I consider it most urgent that we take out both his fleet and his base. This takes priority over confirming Taweret's position."
"Yes," Glimmer agreed. "We can't let Apophis get his hands on such a base."
"He might already have his hands on the base," Jack said, pointing at the structures directly above the underground's base. Those were standard Goa'uld fortifications. "You don't throw up that kind of base in a day or two, and that mound next to the base doesn't look natural or old."
"Our scanners don't show a shaft leading to the base," Entrapta objected. "And that would show up - unless he managed to build them using First One materials. Though even then, we should have detected the effects of such a structure on the surrounding earth and stone."
Jakar nodded. "Yes. Even with our digging technology, we cannot build our bases without leaving such traces. Though detecting them is beyond the standard Goa'uld sensors."
Or so you think, Catra added silently. But that was a discussion for another day.
"They could be using a ring transporter," Sha're pointed out.
"Yes," Sam agreed. "We have to assume they have access to the base, and for a while at least - we don't know when he first discovered this system."
"That makes it even more urgent that we strike as soon as possible," Glimmer said.
"The task force stands ready to launch an attack on the enemy fleet at a moment's notice, Supreme Commander," WrongHordak said. "We are plotting their courses and adjusting our calculations so we can drop on them from hyperspace."
That would ensure they would surprise the Goa'uld - since they could only jam their comms for a short while and couldn't block them from entering hyperspace, that was essential if they wanted to take the Goa'uld out without allowing them to alert Apophis by comms or couriers. But it was dangerous. The risk of colliding with an enemy ship upon exiting hyperspace was low - though not zero - but the task force would be dropping into knife-fighting range. Even technologically inferior ships were dangerous at such ranges.
But that wasn't Catra's primary concern. "Even if we take out the fleet in the system, the base will be able to react."
"We can destroy them from orbit," Glimmer retorted.
"Quickly enough to stop them from contacting Apophis? Or activate a Stargate they might have?" Catra shook her head.
"We don't have the planet in our data banks," Sam said. "But they could have brought one to the planet."
"Apophis probably doesn't want to spend weeks on every booty call," Jack said.
"He would not want to leave Taweret so far out of his reach, lest she might turn the forces guarding her," Teal'c agreed. "He would want to be able to reach her - or have her reach him - through a Stargate. Though that could be inside the base or in the flagship of the fleet - either offers advantages and disadvantages for him."
If he had the Stargate on a ship, it would allow him better control over it - and over the ship's crew. But he would need a shuttle or a ring transporter to reach the base. And more people would know when he arrived - or Taweret took off. And Catra had a feeling that Apophis would want direct access to the base. It just seemed to fit the snake better.
"Even if they do escape, they'll report that a Horde fleet attacked them. Apophis has no reason to suspect the Alliance," Glimmer pointed out.
"Yes. But if we just destroy the base, we won't know what they worked on there - and whether or not they managed to flee with completed projects," Catra said.
"And Taweret would escape," Sha're said.
Jakar slowly nodded. "Yes, I think we should ascertain what kind of research they are doing in the base. And whether or not it is functional."
Adora nodded. "Yes. We don't want them to panic and open a portal to another dimension."
Catra clenched her teeth. That had been her lowest point. She had almost destroyed Etheria - killed everyone - through her obsession. If there was a risk that Apophis was working on a similar project… "We need to find out what they're doing there - and stop it." Permanently.
Adora nodded again. "And we need to take the base and destroy their fleet at the same time." She looked at WrongHordak. "This will require close coordination."
"And a trip in a stealth shuttle," Jack added as WrongHordak saluted Adora.
PU-9623 System, January 29th, 2000 (Earth Time)
"Enemy patrol approaching."
Adora turned her head to look at the screen in front of her at Sam's report. Yes, there was a patrol of two Death Gliders on a course that would take them closer to the shuttle. Not very close, though - certainly not near enough to risk a collision. And with the stealth generator active, they had no chance to spot the shuttle either.
She still tensed up for the next few minutes while the two Death Gliders passed the shuttle. She trusted her friends with her life, and she knew the stealth shuttle worked, but you could never be completely sure.
"I feel like I'm in a submarine with a destroyer passing above us on the surface," Catra whispered.
"We're not in a submarine," Jack, predictably, complained. "This is a stealth shuttle."
Adora frowned at Catra - she was sure that her lover had just said that to rile up Jack.
"Feels like a submarine running silent," Catra retorted.
"It's more like a stealth fighter. Submarines don't fly," Jack said.
"Stealth fighters generally don't transport more than a pilot. Unless it's a movie," Daniel pointed out.
"We don't talk about that movie!" Jack snapped.
"What movie?" Sha're asked.
"A stupid action movie made by a guy who had no idea about planes!"
"A popcorn flick."
"I believe they are talking about 'Executive Decision'."
"We aren't talking about that movie, Teal'c!"
"My mistake then."
Catra snorted. "We really need to watch that at the next movie night. It sounds like a riot."
"No, we don't!" Jack protested.
"I believe I can acquire a copy for such an occasion."
"I think we have that movie on file somewhere," Bow added. "We have a lot of military movies on file to, ah, study."
"It's not a military movie. It's a disgrace."
Adora looked at Catra. "What kind of movie is it?"
Catra shrugged. "I never watched it. I only know Jack hates it."
"Any Air Force member hates it!"
"Ah, Jack, I don't think that's correct. I am sure there are at least a few airmen and officers who like the movie despite any, ah, artistic liberties the producers might have taken." Daniel smiled a bit apologetically.
"There's nothing artistic about that movie! They…"
"The Death Gliders have passed," Sam reported.
"...right. Continuing towards our destination."
Adora looked at the screen again. The system's habitable planet was coming up. Too far away still to spot with the naked eye, but the sensors were covering it already. And updating their information.
"Two Ha'tak's in orbit. One geostationary over the base, the other above the planet's north pole," Sam summed up.
"Weird arrangement," Catra commented. "What good is the one at the pole?"
"We don't know. There's nothing on our scanners in that area," Entrapta said. "It's… Oh!"
"'Oh'?" Adora winced. When Entrapta sounded like that, it usually wasn't good news.
"Look at the power readings, Sam!"
"Oh! Those are… I didn't think a Ha'tak had so much power available," Sam said.
"They don't," Entrapta said. "At least, they can't generate so much power. But…"
"...they can receive so much power from the ground," Sam finished for her. "From the base."
"Microwave-based power transfer? But our scanners would show that…"
"Something similar, probably. There is feedback on another frequency… Look at this readout!" Bow cut in.
"Oh!"
Again! Adora twitched.
"So, what is going on?" Catra bluntly asked.
"Oh! It looks like the base is feeding a lot of power to the Ha'tak above it. The readings are getting clearer as we close in," Entrapta replied. "Look at the stress the ship's suffering!"
"Those vibrations aren't good for its structural integrity," Sam agreed.
"But why are they doing this?" Bow asked.
"It's a test," Sam said. "They're testing power transfers."
"What for?" Jack asked before Adora could ask the same.
"Possibly as an experiment, sir," Sam told him.
"Related to the dimension travel thing?"
"We have yet to confirm that, sir."
Bow nodded. "They're testing power transfer. What are the odds that they are testing a new weapon system as well?"
"Oh! Like a dimensional cannon? Ripping open a dimensional rift to damage your target? Or move it into a pocket dimension like Despondos?" Entrapta perked up.
"If they are experimenting with a weapon like that, we must stop them at all costs!" Glimmer snapped.
"And we need their data to know what they have done so far."
"Proceed," Adora said. "But avoid the Ha'tak - and don't fly through the area below it." She didn't feel like risking being imprisoned in another dimension. Like Angella…
"Yeah, that wouldn't be a smooth ride," Jack said as he changed course. "Would be damn embarrassing if we get taken out by accident without the snakes meaning to attack us. We could never live that down."
"I think the more important problem is that we wouldn't survive it in the first place, Jack."
"Power spiking!" Sam snapped.
A moment later, the shuttle's alerts went off, and Adora's screen flickered - followed by the entire shuttle shaking.
"That was… a multidimensional release of power," Entrapta reported. "I think."
"A what?" Jack asked with clenched teeth. Several of the alerts on his display were still lit, Adora saw.
"They vented that power into what might have been an attempt to create a rift, sir. That's only a hypothesis, though."
"Great. Whatever it was, it played haywire with our systems. The Stealth generator was just flagged as damaged. Won't last much longer."
Adora drew a sharp breath. They were too close to the enemy to withdraw easily. Too close to the planet to survive another. She could call in the task force, but that would leave the base untouched during the attack. And they were so close… "Take us down in the target area. Quickly."
They would continue with the mission.
PU-9623, January 29th, 2000 (Earth Time)
They entered the atmosphere at high speed. Not quite dangerous, not fast enough to risk losing control, but it was a rougher ride than recommended and would require a thorough maintenance check afterwards, according to the manual even though the inertial compensators of the craft did their job.
Samantha Carter knew that very well since she had written part of the manual for the stealth shuttles and knew its specs by heart.
Not that the craft wouldn't have gone into maintenance anyway, what with the damage it suffered because of its proximity to whatever experiment Apophis - or Taweret - was running on the planet. Entraptra, Bow and herself were struggling to keep the stealth generator running while they plunged towards the planet's surface. Between the stealth field and the effect from the radiation released by the dimensional venting on all sensors, they would hopefully remain undetected - Sam had charted a course that had them on the side opposite to the base for the re-entry and on the southern half of the planet so the thermal effects of the manoeuvre would not be too obvious to any close observer.
But there was always a risk, and they would have to find a hiding spot for the shuttle - one close to the base so they could reach it on foot. The special coating and shielding could only do so much, and Sam didn't think that Apophis had sent Jaffa to this planet who were lax in their duties.
So, while the General brought the shuttle down, she left handling the sputtering systems of the shuttle to her friends and focused on the sensors, scanning the area near their target for caves and valleys with cliffs. Anything big enough to hide the shuttle from above. She already had an earlier overview from the spy bots and the shuttle's sensor readings on approach, but that was not up to date and left a lot of area to cover,
The shuttle levelled out a few yards above the surface of the planet's main ocean when she found a narrow gorge with dense vegetation that should fit their shuttle. She plotted a course that would lead them over rougher terrain to make them harder to detect with sensors and sent it to the General. "This is our destination, sir."
"Good work, Carter!" He flashed her a quick smile as the shuttle shifted and adjusted its heading.
She nodded, hiding her own smile, and went back to helping the others keep the shuttle's system working. It wasn't looking good. Whatever backlash that experiment had created had overwhelmed their shields, and even hardened systems had suffered. She ran a quick calculation. It wouldn't have affected a frigate or other capital ship, even the Flower II classes entering the Royal Navy would be fine, mostly, but it would wreak havoc on any smaller craft, such as shuttles and fighters. And destroy spy bots.
She checked the network. Yes, most of the bots near the planet had been destroyed or rendered inoperational.
"The stealth system is not going to hold for much longer!" Bow called out from the aft. "Its power supply is fluctuating. I'm manually compensating, but I can't keep that up forever!"
"I'm switching the system to the main power. It'll slow us down some, but the fluctuations will stop," Sam retorted. They were still too far from the target area to lose their stealth. Rerouting the connections didn't take long. "Switching in three… two… one!"
Done.
"The fluctuations stopped. Stealth field holding."
But it was weakening anyway - the projectors had to be damaged. It could be just some misalignments from vibrations, but the power fluctuations likely had done more serious damage. Sam would have to check later. And think of a way to harden the systems further. A lot of missions would be affected if they couldn't trust the stealth shuttles.
"Alright, folks!" the General called out. "It's not going to be the Beggar's Canyon, but it's going to be close enough, so hold on tight!"
"What do you mean, 'close enough'?" Glimmer asked just as the shuttle sped up again - and entered a narrow gorge for the last leg of their trip.
The General was a good pilot. Even though he spent most of his time on the ground, he requalified regularly. And ever since he had received his personal stealth shuttle, he had taken it out whenever he could find the time. He knew the shuttle probably better than most pilots.
Sam told herself that, repeatedly, but she still felt her stomach sink when she glanced out through the cockpit and saw the steep walls of the gorge loom far closer than she was comfortable with while the shuttle wove through tight turns with more speed than she thought was safe.
She had to trust the General. And even if they hit the walls, the shuttle was sturdy enough to survive a glancing contact. And the inertial compensators should let them survive a frontal collision as well, provided the General managed to slow down enough in time…
It doesn't look as if he's even trying, a small voice in the back of her head added as she looked away and focused back on her screen and data.
Minutes that felt like hours later, the noise from the engines changed - they were finally slowing down. Sam looked up again and saw that they were hovering, slowly gliding below a slight overhang, brushing aside dense foliage until they were above solid ground. Right on top of the marker she had set on the map.
"Welcome to yet another snake planet!" the General called out with a smile that almost managed to hide his own exhaustion.
"Switching off the stealth system and powering down," Sam announced before she took a deep breath.
They had arrived. Now, they had to reach the base and deal with whatever was going on inside. Without being spotted by the guards. But at least they weren't depending on a failing shuttle any more.
Near Apophis's Base, PU-9623, January 29th, 2000 (Earth Time)
Catra glanced up, checking the sky - or the canopy of dense foliage, in this case - above them. "Sloppy," she commented as she jumped over a fallen tree trunk, landing lightly on the soft soil behind it.
"What is sloppy?" Adora asked as she - with slightly less grace - jumped over the trunk as well, her boots leaving deep imprints next to Catra.
"This." Catra motioned with her head at the trees around them. "In Apophis's place, I would have cleared the entire area of the jungle around their base. Clear the lines of fire and remove cover." Sure, it would make it obvious where the hidden First Ones base was - unless it was a hidden Horde base - but Apophis had built a damn base above it, so that was no concern any more.
"Ah." Adora looked around as well as their friends caught up.
"Are you having flashbacks to the Whispering Woods?" Glimmer asked while she struggled to get over the tree herself until Bow gave her a boost. "Ugh. We should restore magic to the planet."
"Just so you can teleport past a tree?" Catra snorted.
"We're gonna save the magic light show for emergencies," Jack said as he quickly climbed over it. "Like turning a dangerous snake or Ancient contraption into a potted plant before it destroys reality."
As it had almost happened before. On her orders. Catra pressed her lips together.
"I'm not sure feeding so much magical power into a potential threat is a good idea," Glimmer retorted. "We don't know how it would react. It might trigger the very effect we want to avoid."
"Yes. We had to use magic to power the gate on Etheria!" Entrapta had no trouble having her hair carry her over the trunk. "It wouldn't have worked otherwise. On the other hand, without magic, it shouldn't be threatening reality as we know it. Probably."
That wasn't very reassuring, in Catra's opinion.
"The Ancients were magitech users," Sam added, climbing with the help of Entrapta's hair. "So, they might have left artefacts able to power whatever experiment they are doing with magic or similar energy."
"If you tell me that we can't blow it up because it could absorb that power, too, I'm going to be annoyed," Jack said.
"Welllll…" Entrapta cocked her head and shrugged. "We don't know? We need more data!"
"Great," Catra heard Jack mutter. "I'm not carrying all that C-4 back to the shuttle."
"I'm sure we can find a use for it, Jack," Daniel said.
Catra snorted and went ahead again. She had a base to sneak up to - they were halfway there, so they had to look out for patrols now. Their Naquadah-scanner might show every Jaffa and Goa'uld, and the odds of Apophis using humans on patrols were very low, but that didn't mean Catra could be sloppy.
Moving through the woods as if it was an obstacle course, jumping from trunk to trunk, her claws leaving gashes for the others to follow, she quickly put some distance between herself and the rest of their team.
The planet apparently had no birds or other flying animals, so she didn't have to worry about giving away her presence by disturbing a flock of those, but several small tree-dwelling animals scattered at her approach. She managed to grab one as she landed on a larger branch and quickly studied the squirming beast. It looked like a squirrel with longer claws. On Earth, no one would bat an eye except, perhaps, a biologist. It was nothing like the vermin she had seen in the Whispering Woods.
Probably a clue that this world hadn't been used for genetic engineering experiments, but Catra wasn't an expert.
She released the animal, waited until she spotted Adora catching up to her, then moved ahead again.
Half an hour later, she encountered the first sign of a patrol - tracks left in the dark soil. She didn't know how old they were, but Bow would be able to tell. But it meant they were now in the area the base guards patrolled.
Her ears twitched but caught nothing but her friends behind her.
Once more, she waited for them to catch up, then pointed the tracks out. Jack, Teal'c and Bow all knelt down to take a look.
"This was made by a guard wearing standard armour for Apophis's Jaffa," Teal'c said.
"Four of them, a day ago," Bow added.
"I'll take your word for it," Jack said. "So, how often do they run their patrols? And how often do they vary their routes?"
"Warriors are supposed to take different routes each day and have one patrol out in every sector at all times, based on the size of the garrison," Teal'c said.
Catra could hear the 'and woe to anyone who failed his false god' added without it spoken aloud. Teal'c had probably punished more than a few in his time as Apophis's Prime. "But this is a safe world, unknown to anyone, they have a fleet in the system and two Ha'taks in orbit. What are the odds they feel safe enough to get sloppy while slogging through the jungle?"
"I doubt Apophis will send any but his best, most loyal troops to guard his queen," Teal'c replied.
"For several reasons, not least because he wants them to guard him against betrayal by her," Jakar added. "But even so, in my experience, even the best troops tend to follow the same routes."
Catra shrugged. "I'll hear them before they spot us. Let's go."
She did spot a patrol on the last leg of the trip, but it was easy to keep out of their way - the Jaffa were limited to their eyes and ears, and those were not nearly as good as hers. Catra watched them from a hiding spot in the canopy while her friends hid a bit away. The Jaffa did look smart, all clean and tall, but they also looked a bit… tense. Not as tense as Horde scouts in the Whispering Woods, but those were warriors on a routine patrol where they didn't expect any trouble. Something had them on edge.
But Catra couldn't think of what that might be - there were no monsters in this jungle. At least none that she could spot.
Jack O'Neill couldn't help grinning while he studied the base in front of him through his binoculars. How he had missed sneaking up on a snake base, hiding under their very noses while plotting to blow it up! He had been behind a desk for far too long!
He inched forward a little more, a number of the thorns of the bush he was using as cover snagging on his fatigues, and used the button on the side of the binoculars to zoom in. Built with some fancy tech by Carter and Entrapta as a prototype, the binoculars allowed him to zoom in to almost magnifying glass level and switch between different vision modes, including thermal and low-light. And they were working great - he would have to light a fire under procurement's butts so they approved it for manufacturing at once. His troops needed this!
But that could wait. The mission came first. He studied the base. Massive walls that looked like they were taken from the set of Cleopatra, Jaffa in heavy armour patrolling on top of them between staff cannons mounted for air and ground defence, Death Gliders waiting on the pads inside… pretty standard snake stuff, except for the palace in the centre.
He zoomed in on it. It was a blocky structure, looking more like a bunker someone had gilded than an actual palace, rising higher than the walls around it. It was prime bombardment bait. But it also had balconies built into the front wall, and the top was covered by a pavilion, including a pool and lounge area. "Talk about lipstick on a pig…" he muttered.
He heard a snort from his left, where Catra was studying the base as well. "It makes Horde construction look fancy," she said.
Daniel would say something about different cultures having different styles and aesthetics, but Jack nodded. "I bet some billionaires without taste would love that style." And would probably add more gold to it.
Catra snorted again. "Good defences, though. And it's sitting right on top of the First Ones base."
As they had expected - the snakes preferred to keep tight control over crucial assets. Jack flipped through a few modes on his binocs until he reached the one he wanted. "Ah! There's the big reactor!"
"We already knew that from the orbital scans," Catra commented.
"But now we know where it's relative to the rest," Jack shot back. "And we can see the shield projectors. Now, if I were a ring transporter, where would I be?"
"You? In the living room so you didn't have to move to get a beer from the fridge," Catra said. "But a snake's transporter?"
"Taweret would want it close to her personal quarters but not inside them. She would not tolerate others walking through her rooms every time they needed to enter the base beneath." Jakar the snake commando cut in. "And her quarters will be near the top. She will want private access to the roof."
There spoke the snake expert. Though Jack had come to the same conclusions. Placing your quarters underground would be safer, but that wouldn't allow the snakes to look down on everyone else. He zoomed in on the roof. "Yeah, there it is - door in that fake tent on the side. I bet if we wait long enough, we would see her making a big entrance there." A bit far for a sniper, but Jack was sure he could do it. Not that he would - the odds of hitting the actual snake were slim, and killing the host wouldn't do anything but warn them of their presence while they possessed the next spare host. But it was a nice thought to have.
"You want to enter through the roof?" Catra asked.
If the stealth shuttle still worked, that would be ideal. Fly in, hover above the roof and drop down. "Unless Adora restores magic and Glimmer teleports us there, Or Carter and Entrapta somehow find a way to get the spare parts they need to repair the stealth system, I think we'll have to pick the side entrance," Jack replied.
And that meant getting through the gate - or over the walls.
"I guess we can't ambush a patrol and take their armour," Catra joked.
"Nope." There were few slaves around, Jack noted. The base didn't look old - he could see signs of recent construction, actually - and it must have been built quickly, meaning with lots of hands, so where were the workers responsible? Jack pressed his lips together. Apophis wouldn't move the workers constructing his secret base back to his other worlds. That would risk the base being revealed. So… What would a megalomaniac snake with no morals do to keep such a secret?
The answer was obvious and nauseating. Jack quickly scanned the area, but he didn't see any signs of mass graves. Or other possible disposal facilities.
And that was even more worrying.
"Let's look for blind spots and other weaknesses," he said. Before they looked for unconventional solutions. Jack would prefer to do this without magic. If they had to restore magic, Adora would probably wipe out the Goa'uld base by accident anyway, and while that wasn't exactly a bad thing, it would also alert the Ha'taks in orbit and the rest of the fleet - and the Ancient base deep underground.
No, they needed a more subtle way inside.
Fortunately, Jack thought as he zoomed in on a small ditch near the base of the walls, I might have found our way inside.
"You want to sneak in through the sewers?"
Adora winced at Glimmer's comment. They were out of earshot - Apophis's Jaffa had cleared a lot of the area around their base - but they were trying to stay hidden.
"It's not actually a sewer," Jack replied. "More like… a stream flowing out of their base."
"It's still a sewer - it carries all their waste away!" Glimmer retorted.
"And it is fed from a spring inside their base," Sam added. "There's no stream entering the base."
So much for using a clean body of water to sneak in, Adora thought.
"Can't be worse than infiltrating the Fright Zone," Catra said. "Or sneaking around there."
Glimmer glared at her. "We didn't sneak through the sewers when we did that!"
"We did, actually. When we went to rescue you and Bow," Adora corrected her.
"You didn't actually swim through the sewers!" Glimmer shot back with a glare.
"You couldn't have - some of the sewers there were so toxic, you needed protective gear," Entrapta said. "That's why the standard Horde uniform included a fully enclosed helmet."
Adora nodded. "And uniforms were resistant to environmental dangers."
"Is that why you're still wearing your old uniform?" Jakar asked.
"Ah…" Adora smiled at him, feeling a bit embarrassed. She didn't actually need that kind of protection as She-Ra. "They're also very durable and comfortable!"
"If you match the general body type they're made for," Catra added. "I always had to customise my uniforms."
It had been more a want than a need, as Adora remembered it, but that wasn't important right now. "So, infiltrating through the stream."
"Open Sewer," Glimmer said. "Perfuma would loath this."
"Anyone with a bit of common sense would loathe it." Catra snorted. "That's a disease outbreak waiting to happen."
"And you want to swim through it to get into the base?" Glimmer asked Jack.
"Well…" Jack shrugged. "We've got these fancy new fatigues, with masks that double as diving masks…"
"Not all of us have those," Glimmer said.
Adora wouldn't have any problems thanks to She-Ra's armour, but the others… Not everyone had the new fatigues, and even there, the masks wouldn't cover more than their faces. They were meant to be worn with a hood for full NBC protection.
"You'll survive," Catra commented.
Adora glanced at her lover. Catra's feet, hair, ears and tail would be exposed. And she knew that.
"It's not going to be worse than sneaking around in the seedier parts of the Fright Zone as cadets," Catra said with a snort.
Glimmer glared at her before scoffing. "Let's go then."
"Alright. We'll have to deal with sensors in the stream and the grate at the wall," Jack said.
"We can handle that!" Entrapta beamed. "We can hack the sensors - if they have any that resisted the effects of their experiments - and bypass the alerts when we cut through the grate. As long as we're not seen."
"Fortunately, the water's muddy," Jack said. "And we're going in at night."
"Muddy? More like shitty," Catra commented with another snort.
Adora didn't think it was funny, but Jack laughed at it.
The stream was shitty. Adora didn't want to take a closer look at what exactly floated on the surface as she approached the stream and watched the bot Entrapta, Sam and Bow had rigged up disappear in it. Peeking over Bow's shoulder, she could see the feed from the bot - or the sanitised overlay from its sensors depicting the stream's bed as it started moving upstream.
"Alright… now… where are the sensors?" Entrapta mumbled as she stared at her own tool.
"It doesn't seem that there are any," Sam said.
"So, they cannot protect their own sensors from their own experiments?" Jack shook his head. "I don't think Apophis will accept that."
"I concur," Jakar said. "Though that won't keep him from deploying a new weapon system if he deems it effective enough."
"We'll stop him before it comes to that," Adora said.
"We've reached the wall - well, under the wall," Bow reported. "Doesn't look like there are sensors either."
"But the grate itself is powered - a low current, but if it's cut, that will be noticed," Sam added. "Scanning the array."
"We need to cut here to reach the control module."
"Yes. But that's hardened material. We should access it from the side."
"Yes! Like that!"
"Drilling."
"Oh, look at that - it's a simple but working design! Tiny crystals!"
"Easy to circumvent, though. Just let me run a few calculations on my tablet… Yes. We'll need two of the thicker wires, and about… this long."
"Yes, I concur with Bow."
"Me too!"
It didn't take the three more than a few minutes to bypass what security there was and fix the cable the bot had trailed to the grate. And then it was time for them to start swimming. In the 'muddy' stream.
Just dive down and try not to think about it, Adora told herself, trying not to grimace. This was important. She had to do this. She was She-Ra.
She took a deep breath, grabbed the cable the bot had laid, and entered the stream. As soon as she was completely underwater, she started pulling herself forward, following the cable to the grate.
Five minutes later, she reached the grate. "I'm there!" she said through her communicator.
"Good! Cut the grate along the sides we marked!" Bow told her.
She summoned her sword and did so. "Done."
"No alert. We should be safe to follow you then." Catra said.
"OK."
Adora just had to wait for her friends now. And try not to think about what kind of stuff was floating in the stream.
Apophis's Base, PU-9623, January 29th, 2000 (Earth Time)
While their small infiltrator bot went ahead to explore the rest of the base and they waited in the stream, Samantha Carter made a mental note to build a prototype uniform that doubled as a drysuit with full-body protection as soon as she found the time. The odds of it getting approved were zero - the cost alone doomed any such proposal; the new spacesuits had been a struggle to get through procurement even though the need for such suits was obvious - but Sam would be able to use the prototype herself next time she had to swim through a sewer.
She shuddered and suppressed the urge to run her gloved hands through her hair. Focus on the mission, she told herself. This was just like having to crawl through mud in basic. Only worse.
The spy bot was circling the central bunker - or bunker/palace, as the General called it - and Sam was, hidden by the thick wall above them, watching its feed to mark potential entry points. Main entrance - too big to open without anyone noticing even if the squad of Jaffa guarding it were dealt with. Goa'uld megalomania working for them this time. Side entrance - small, heavily armoured, likely an air lock. And two guards in front of it. Second side trnance, other side… That one was a bit larger, with tracks of heavy machinery left on the ground in front of it. Still guarded, though. The roof was a possibility. But scrambling up the walls would leave them exposed to any guard watching from the perimeter or yard. There were gaps in the coverage by the patrols - she had analysed the pattern already - but they were not long enough to allow the group to reach the roof in time.
That left the balconies. Without sensors on them, they would provide cover and concealment while they dealt with the doors, and they were close enough to the ground to be reached quickly. Adora could probably throw people up to speed things up, and Entrapta's hair, while not long enough to reach the balcony from the ground, would further facilitate this.
Entering the private quarters of Taweret was a problem in itself, but securing or neutralising her was a mission objective, so they would have to deal with her anyway at some point, even if the Ancient base was more important. If the best way inside was through her?
Well, Sam had no problem with that. And there was the possibility that, Goa'ulds being Goa'ulds, they could access the ring transporter from her quarters, or close enough, to achieve the primary objective of the mission as well.
The final decision was Adora's - and the General's - of course, but Sam was sure they would agree with her reasoning when she motioned and held her screen out to the others to check.
She wasn't wrong. A few minutes later, with the spy bot tracking the guards, they rushed to the wall below the balcony, Adora in the lead. A running jump took her to the top of the balcony, trailing lines behind her. Lines Sam and the others attached to the harnesses built into their fatigues. Or just held onto, in some cases.
"Everyone ready?" The General asked in a whisper through their communicators. "Go!"
And the line went taut, then dragged Sam upwards as Adora heaved. Sam barely had the time to get her feet against the wall and push off before she was pulled over the railing and rolled over the balcony's floor. Entrapta had an even worse time - Sam's friend would have hit the floor head-on if not for her hair, legs twitching for a moment before she managed to straighten herself. She was smiling widely, though, and already reaching for her tool when Teal'c, the last of their group, smoothly slid over the railing.
"Clear!" the General announced.
"Working on the door," Sam replied.
"No sensors here either," Bow whispered.
But the door was armoured. They would have to work to crack the locks. At least it was an automatic door. If the Goa'uld had skipped any servos and just relied on servants to pull it open, this would take far longer.
As it was, thanks to Jakar's help - the agent had the most experience with the electronic locks on such doors - they cracked it in less than five minutes.
The quarters behind it were as luxurious as Sam expected. Not quite an exact copy of Amaunet's quarters on Saqqara, but they came close enough.
They quickly spread out through them, covering all rooms. There were no guards, and they found only two servants working in a side room. Teal'c and Catra stunned them before they could react.
And no Taweret.
"Aren't queens supposed to laze around and have grapes fed to them in their rooms?" the General asked.
"If she's not here, she's either somewhere else in the bunker - or in the base below us," Jakar stated the obvious. "We would have noticed her guard detachment moving outside."
"Unless she's in a ship," Teal'c objected.
Jakar inclined his head. "True."
"Well, wherever she is, we need to get a move on," the General said. "Where's the ring transporter?"
"Outside the quarters!" Entrapta announced. "Well, that's where our scanner shows an amount of processed Naquadah that matches the amount used in a transporter."
The General nodded. "Good enough for me. Let's go. We have a base to take over. Or blow up. Whatever it takes."
Catra was already moving towards the exit.
Outside PU-9623 System, January 29th, 2000 (Earth Time)
Catra stared at the display floating in the middle of the room. "That's not really detailed," she complained. It really wasn't. It was a very rudimentary 3D-model.
"That's the best we can do with our scanners from orbit," Sam replied. "We extrapolated some structures, but… we'll need a magic scanner close by to get more details." After a moment's pause, she added: "We only got those results after we adjusted the bot's sensors with the data from Alpha."
Catra hissed again. "That's a First Ones base?"
"It's a possibility," Sam replied.
"I don't know what would be worse," Jack said. "Apophis having technology to block our sensors, or Apophis having access to an Ancient base."
"The second," Jakar said. "I consider it most urgent that we take out both his fleet and his base. This takes priority over confirming Taweret's position."
"Yes," Glimmer agreed. "We can't let Apophis get his hands on such a base."
"He might already have his hands on the base," Jack said, pointing at the structures directly above the underground's base. Those were standard Goa'uld fortifications. "You don't throw up that kind of base in a day or two, and that mound next to the base doesn't look natural or old."
"Our scanners don't show a shaft leading to the base," Entrapta objected. "And that would show up - unless he managed to build them using First One materials. Though even then, we should have detected the effects of such a structure on the surrounding earth and stone."
Jakar nodded. "Yes. Even with our digging technology, we cannot build our bases without leaving such traces. Though detecting them is beyond the standard Goa'uld sensors."
Or so you think, Catra added silently. But that was a discussion for another day.
"They could be using a ring transporter," Sha're pointed out.
"Yes," Sam agreed. "We have to assume they have access to the base, and for a while at least - we don't know when he first discovered this system."
"That makes it even more urgent that we strike as soon as possible," Glimmer said.
"The task force stands ready to launch an attack on the enemy fleet at a moment's notice, Supreme Commander," WrongHordak said. "We are plotting their courses and adjusting our calculations so we can drop on them from hyperspace."
That would ensure they would surprise the Goa'uld - since they could only jam their comms for a short while and couldn't block them from entering hyperspace, that was essential if they wanted to take the Goa'uld out without allowing them to alert Apophis by comms or couriers. But it was dangerous. The risk of colliding with an enemy ship upon exiting hyperspace was low - though not zero - but the task force would be dropping into knife-fighting range. Even technologically inferior ships were dangerous at such ranges.
But that wasn't Catra's primary concern. "Even if we take out the fleet in the system, the base will be able to react."
"We can destroy them from orbit," Glimmer retorted.
"Quickly enough to stop them from contacting Apophis? Or activate a Stargate they might have?" Catra shook her head.
"We don't have the planet in our data banks," Sam said. "But they could have brought one to the planet."
"Apophis probably doesn't want to spend weeks on every booty call," Jack said.
"He would not want to leave Taweret so far out of his reach, lest she might turn the forces guarding her," Teal'c agreed. "He would want to be able to reach her - or have her reach him - through a Stargate. Though that could be inside the base or in the flagship of the fleet - either offers advantages and disadvantages for him."
If he had the Stargate on a ship, it would allow him better control over it - and over the ship's crew. But he would need a shuttle or a ring transporter to reach the base. And more people would know when he arrived - or Taweret took off. And Catra had a feeling that Apophis would want direct access to the base. It just seemed to fit the snake better.
"Even if they do escape, they'll report that a Horde fleet attacked them. Apophis has no reason to suspect the Alliance," Glimmer pointed out.
"Yes. But if we just destroy the base, we won't know what they worked on there - and whether or not they managed to flee with completed projects," Catra said.
"And Taweret would escape," Sha're said.
Jakar slowly nodded. "Yes, I think we should ascertain what kind of research they are doing in the base. And whether or not it is functional."
Adora nodded. "Yes. We don't want them to panic and open a portal to another dimension."
Catra clenched her teeth. That had been her lowest point. She had almost destroyed Etheria - killed everyone - through her obsession. If there was a risk that Apophis was working on a similar project… "We need to find out what they're doing there - and stop it." Permanently.
Adora nodded again. "And we need to take the base and destroy their fleet at the same time." She looked at WrongHordak. "This will require close coordination."
"And a trip in a stealth shuttle," Jack added as WrongHordak saluted Adora.
*****
PU-9623 System, January 29th, 2000 (Earth Time)
"Enemy patrol approaching."
Adora turned her head to look at the screen in front of her at Sam's report. Yes, there was a patrol of two Death Gliders on a course that would take them closer to the shuttle. Not very close, though - certainly not near enough to risk a collision. And with the stealth generator active, they had no chance to spot the shuttle either.
She still tensed up for the next few minutes while the two Death Gliders passed the shuttle. She trusted her friends with her life, and she knew the stealth shuttle worked, but you could never be completely sure.
"I feel like I'm in a submarine with a destroyer passing above us on the surface," Catra whispered.
"We're not in a submarine," Jack, predictably, complained. "This is a stealth shuttle."
Adora frowned at Catra - she was sure that her lover had just said that to rile up Jack.
"Feels like a submarine running silent," Catra retorted.
"It's more like a stealth fighter. Submarines don't fly," Jack said.
"Stealth fighters generally don't transport more than a pilot. Unless it's a movie," Daniel pointed out.
"We don't talk about that movie!" Jack snapped.
"What movie?" Sha're asked.
"A stupid action movie made by a guy who had no idea about planes!"
"A popcorn flick."
"I believe they are talking about 'Executive Decision'."
"We aren't talking about that movie, Teal'c!"
"My mistake then."
Catra snorted. "We really need to watch that at the next movie night. It sounds like a riot."
"No, we don't!" Jack protested.
"I believe I can acquire a copy for such an occasion."
"I think we have that movie on file somewhere," Bow added. "We have a lot of military movies on file to, ah, study."
"It's not a military movie. It's a disgrace."
Adora looked at Catra. "What kind of movie is it?"
Catra shrugged. "I never watched it. I only know Jack hates it."
"Any Air Force member hates it!"
"Ah, Jack, I don't think that's correct. I am sure there are at least a few airmen and officers who like the movie despite any, ah, artistic liberties the producers might have taken." Daniel smiled a bit apologetically.
"There's nothing artistic about that movie! They…"
"The Death Gliders have passed," Sam reported.
"...right. Continuing towards our destination."
Adora looked at the screen again. The system's habitable planet was coming up. Too far away still to spot with the naked eye, but the sensors were covering it already. And updating their information.
"Two Ha'tak's in orbit. One geostationary over the base, the other above the planet's north pole," Sam summed up.
"Weird arrangement," Catra commented. "What good is the one at the pole?"
"We don't know. There's nothing on our scanners in that area," Entrapta said. "It's… Oh!"
"'Oh'?" Adora winced. When Entrapta sounded like that, it usually wasn't good news.
"Look at the power readings, Sam!"
"Oh! Those are… I didn't think a Ha'tak had so much power available," Sam said.
"They don't," Entrapta said. "At least, they can't generate so much power. But…"
"...they can receive so much power from the ground," Sam finished for her. "From the base."
"Microwave-based power transfer? But our scanners would show that…"
"Something similar, probably. There is feedback on another frequency… Look at this readout!" Bow cut in.
"Oh!"
Again! Adora twitched.
"So, what is going on?" Catra bluntly asked.
"Oh! It looks like the base is feeding a lot of power to the Ha'tak above it. The readings are getting clearer as we close in," Entrapta replied. "Look at the stress the ship's suffering!"
"Those vibrations aren't good for its structural integrity," Sam agreed.
"But why are they doing this?" Bow asked.
"It's a test," Sam said. "They're testing power transfers."
"What for?" Jack asked before Adora could ask the same.
"Possibly as an experiment, sir," Sam told him.
"Related to the dimension travel thing?"
"We have yet to confirm that, sir."
Bow nodded. "They're testing power transfer. What are the odds that they are testing a new weapon system as well?"
"Oh! Like a dimensional cannon? Ripping open a dimensional rift to damage your target? Or move it into a pocket dimension like Despondos?" Entrapta perked up.
"If they are experimenting with a weapon like that, we must stop them at all costs!" Glimmer snapped.
"And we need their data to know what they have done so far."
"Proceed," Adora said. "But avoid the Ha'tak - and don't fly through the area below it." She didn't feel like risking being imprisoned in another dimension. Like Angella…
"Yeah, that wouldn't be a smooth ride," Jack said as he changed course. "Would be damn embarrassing if we get taken out by accident without the snakes meaning to attack us. We could never live that down."
"I think the more important problem is that we wouldn't survive it in the first place, Jack."
"Power spiking!" Sam snapped.
A moment later, the shuttle's alerts went off, and Adora's screen flickered - followed by the entire shuttle shaking.
"That was… a multidimensional release of power," Entrapta reported. "I think."
"A what?" Jack asked with clenched teeth. Several of the alerts on his display were still lit, Adora saw.
"They vented that power into what might have been an attempt to create a rift, sir. That's only a hypothesis, though."
"Great. Whatever it was, it played haywire with our systems. The Stealth generator was just flagged as damaged. Won't last much longer."
Adora drew a sharp breath. They were too close to the enemy to withdraw easily. Too close to the planet to survive another. She could call in the task force, but that would leave the base untouched during the attack. And they were so close… "Take us down in the target area. Quickly."
They would continue with the mission.
*****
PU-9623, January 29th, 2000 (Earth Time)
They entered the atmosphere at high speed. Not quite dangerous, not fast enough to risk losing control, but it was a rougher ride than recommended and would require a thorough maintenance check afterwards, according to the manual even though the inertial compensators of the craft did their job.
Samantha Carter knew that very well since she had written part of the manual for the stealth shuttles and knew its specs by heart.
Not that the craft wouldn't have gone into maintenance anyway, what with the damage it suffered because of its proximity to whatever experiment Apophis - or Taweret - was running on the planet. Entraptra, Bow and herself were struggling to keep the stealth generator running while they plunged towards the planet's surface. Between the stealth field and the effect from the radiation released by the dimensional venting on all sensors, they would hopefully remain undetected - Sam had charted a course that had them on the side opposite to the base for the re-entry and on the southern half of the planet so the thermal effects of the manoeuvre would not be too obvious to any close observer.
But there was always a risk, and they would have to find a hiding spot for the shuttle - one close to the base so they could reach it on foot. The special coating and shielding could only do so much, and Sam didn't think that Apophis had sent Jaffa to this planet who were lax in their duties.
So, while the General brought the shuttle down, she left handling the sputtering systems of the shuttle to her friends and focused on the sensors, scanning the area near their target for caves and valleys with cliffs. Anything big enough to hide the shuttle from above. She already had an earlier overview from the spy bots and the shuttle's sensor readings on approach, but that was not up to date and left a lot of area to cover,
The shuttle levelled out a few yards above the surface of the planet's main ocean when she found a narrow gorge with dense vegetation that should fit their shuttle. She plotted a course that would lead them over rougher terrain to make them harder to detect with sensors and sent it to the General. "This is our destination, sir."
"Good work, Carter!" He flashed her a quick smile as the shuttle shifted and adjusted its heading.
She nodded, hiding her own smile, and went back to helping the others keep the shuttle's system working. It wasn't looking good. Whatever backlash that experiment had created had overwhelmed their shields, and even hardened systems had suffered. She ran a quick calculation. It wouldn't have affected a frigate or other capital ship, even the Flower II classes entering the Royal Navy would be fine, mostly, but it would wreak havoc on any smaller craft, such as shuttles and fighters. And destroy spy bots.
She checked the network. Yes, most of the bots near the planet had been destroyed or rendered inoperational.
"The stealth system is not going to hold for much longer!" Bow called out from the aft. "Its power supply is fluctuating. I'm manually compensating, but I can't keep that up forever!"
"I'm switching the system to the main power. It'll slow us down some, but the fluctuations will stop," Sam retorted. They were still too far from the target area to lose their stealth. Rerouting the connections didn't take long. "Switching in three… two… one!"
Done.
"The fluctuations stopped. Stealth field holding."
But it was weakening anyway - the projectors had to be damaged. It could be just some misalignments from vibrations, but the power fluctuations likely had done more serious damage. Sam would have to check later. And think of a way to harden the systems further. A lot of missions would be affected if they couldn't trust the stealth shuttles.
"Alright, folks!" the General called out. "It's not going to be the Beggar's Canyon, but it's going to be close enough, so hold on tight!"
"What do you mean, 'close enough'?" Glimmer asked just as the shuttle sped up again - and entered a narrow gorge for the last leg of their trip.
The General was a good pilot. Even though he spent most of his time on the ground, he requalified regularly. And ever since he had received his personal stealth shuttle, he had taken it out whenever he could find the time. He knew the shuttle probably better than most pilots.
Sam told herself that, repeatedly, but she still felt her stomach sink when she glanced out through the cockpit and saw the steep walls of the gorge loom far closer than she was comfortable with while the shuttle wove through tight turns with more speed than she thought was safe.
She had to trust the General. And even if they hit the walls, the shuttle was sturdy enough to survive a glancing contact. And the inertial compensators should let them survive a frontal collision as well, provided the General managed to slow down enough in time…
It doesn't look as if he's even trying, a small voice in the back of her head added as she looked away and focused back on her screen and data.
Minutes that felt like hours later, the noise from the engines changed - they were finally slowing down. Sam looked up again and saw that they were hovering, slowly gliding below a slight overhang, brushing aside dense foliage until they were above solid ground. Right on top of the marker she had set on the map.
"Welcome to yet another snake planet!" the General called out with a smile that almost managed to hide his own exhaustion.
"Switching off the stealth system and powering down," Sam announced before she took a deep breath.
They had arrived. Now, they had to reach the base and deal with whatever was going on inside. Without being spotted by the guards. But at least they weren't depending on a failing shuttle any more.
*****
Near Apophis's Base, PU-9623, January 29th, 2000 (Earth Time)
Catra glanced up, checking the sky - or the canopy of dense foliage, in this case - above them. "Sloppy," she commented as she jumped over a fallen tree trunk, landing lightly on the soft soil behind it.
"What is sloppy?" Adora asked as she - with slightly less grace - jumped over the trunk as well, her boots leaving deep imprints next to Catra.
"This." Catra motioned with her head at the trees around them. "In Apophis's place, I would have cleared the entire area of the jungle around their base. Clear the lines of fire and remove cover." Sure, it would make it obvious where the hidden First Ones base was - unless it was a hidden Horde base - but Apophis had built a damn base above it, so that was no concern any more.
"Ah." Adora looked around as well as their friends caught up.
"Are you having flashbacks to the Whispering Woods?" Glimmer asked while she struggled to get over the tree herself until Bow gave her a boost. "Ugh. We should restore magic to the planet."
"Just so you can teleport past a tree?" Catra snorted.
"We're gonna save the magic light show for emergencies," Jack said as he quickly climbed over it. "Like turning a dangerous snake or Ancient contraption into a potted plant before it destroys reality."
As it had almost happened before. On her orders. Catra pressed her lips together.
"I'm not sure feeding so much magical power into a potential threat is a good idea," Glimmer retorted. "We don't know how it would react. It might trigger the very effect we want to avoid."
"Yes. We had to use magic to power the gate on Etheria!" Entrapta had no trouble having her hair carry her over the trunk. "It wouldn't have worked otherwise. On the other hand, without magic, it shouldn't be threatening reality as we know it. Probably."
That wasn't very reassuring, in Catra's opinion.
"The Ancients were magitech users," Sam added, climbing with the help of Entrapta's hair. "So, they might have left artefacts able to power whatever experiment they are doing with magic or similar energy."
"If you tell me that we can't blow it up because it could absorb that power, too, I'm going to be annoyed," Jack said.
"Welllll…" Entrapta cocked her head and shrugged. "We don't know? We need more data!"
"Great," Catra heard Jack mutter. "I'm not carrying all that C-4 back to the shuttle."
"I'm sure we can find a use for it, Jack," Daniel said.
Catra snorted and went ahead again. She had a base to sneak up to - they were halfway there, so they had to look out for patrols now. Their Naquadah-scanner might show every Jaffa and Goa'uld, and the odds of Apophis using humans on patrols were very low, but that didn't mean Catra could be sloppy.
Moving through the woods as if it was an obstacle course, jumping from trunk to trunk, her claws leaving gashes for the others to follow, she quickly put some distance between herself and the rest of their team.
The planet apparently had no birds or other flying animals, so she didn't have to worry about giving away her presence by disturbing a flock of those, but several small tree-dwelling animals scattered at her approach. She managed to grab one as she landed on a larger branch and quickly studied the squirming beast. It looked like a squirrel with longer claws. On Earth, no one would bat an eye except, perhaps, a biologist. It was nothing like the vermin she had seen in the Whispering Woods.
Probably a clue that this world hadn't been used for genetic engineering experiments, but Catra wasn't an expert.
She released the animal, waited until she spotted Adora catching up to her, then moved ahead again.
Half an hour later, she encountered the first sign of a patrol - tracks left in the dark soil. She didn't know how old they were, but Bow would be able to tell. But it meant they were now in the area the base guards patrolled.
Her ears twitched but caught nothing but her friends behind her.
Once more, she waited for them to catch up, then pointed the tracks out. Jack, Teal'c and Bow all knelt down to take a look.
"This was made by a guard wearing standard armour for Apophis's Jaffa," Teal'c said.
"Four of them, a day ago," Bow added.
"I'll take your word for it," Jack said. "So, how often do they run their patrols? And how often do they vary their routes?"
"Warriors are supposed to take different routes each day and have one patrol out in every sector at all times, based on the size of the garrison," Teal'c said.
Catra could hear the 'and woe to anyone who failed his false god' added without it spoken aloud. Teal'c had probably punished more than a few in his time as Apophis's Prime. "But this is a safe world, unknown to anyone, they have a fleet in the system and two Ha'taks in orbit. What are the odds they feel safe enough to get sloppy while slogging through the jungle?"
"I doubt Apophis will send any but his best, most loyal troops to guard his queen," Teal'c replied.
"For several reasons, not least because he wants them to guard him against betrayal by her," Jakar added. "But even so, in my experience, even the best troops tend to follow the same routes."
Catra shrugged. "I'll hear them before they spot us. Let's go."
She did spot a patrol on the last leg of the trip, but it was easy to keep out of their way - the Jaffa were limited to their eyes and ears, and those were not nearly as good as hers. Catra watched them from a hiding spot in the canopy while her friends hid a bit away. The Jaffa did look smart, all clean and tall, but they also looked a bit… tense. Not as tense as Horde scouts in the Whispering Woods, but those were warriors on a routine patrol where they didn't expect any trouble. Something had them on edge.
But Catra couldn't think of what that might be - there were no monsters in this jungle. At least none that she could spot.
*****
Jack O'Neill couldn't help grinning while he studied the base in front of him through his binoculars. How he had missed sneaking up on a snake base, hiding under their very noses while plotting to blow it up! He had been behind a desk for far too long!
He inched forward a little more, a number of the thorns of the bush he was using as cover snagging on his fatigues, and used the button on the side of the binoculars to zoom in. Built with some fancy tech by Carter and Entrapta as a prototype, the binoculars allowed him to zoom in to almost magnifying glass level and switch between different vision modes, including thermal and low-light. And they were working great - he would have to light a fire under procurement's butts so they approved it for manufacturing at once. His troops needed this!
But that could wait. The mission came first. He studied the base. Massive walls that looked like they were taken from the set of Cleopatra, Jaffa in heavy armour patrolling on top of them between staff cannons mounted for air and ground defence, Death Gliders waiting on the pads inside… pretty standard snake stuff, except for the palace in the centre.
He zoomed in on it. It was a blocky structure, looking more like a bunker someone had gilded than an actual palace, rising higher than the walls around it. It was prime bombardment bait. But it also had balconies built into the front wall, and the top was covered by a pavilion, including a pool and lounge area. "Talk about lipstick on a pig…" he muttered.
He heard a snort from his left, where Catra was studying the base as well. "It makes Horde construction look fancy," she said.
Daniel would say something about different cultures having different styles and aesthetics, but Jack nodded. "I bet some billionaires without taste would love that style." And would probably add more gold to it.
Catra snorted again. "Good defences, though. And it's sitting right on top of the First Ones base."
As they had expected - the snakes preferred to keep tight control over crucial assets. Jack flipped through a few modes on his binocs until he reached the one he wanted. "Ah! There's the big reactor!"
"We already knew that from the orbital scans," Catra commented.
"But now we know where it's relative to the rest," Jack shot back. "And we can see the shield projectors. Now, if I were a ring transporter, where would I be?"
"You? In the living room so you didn't have to move to get a beer from the fridge," Catra said. "But a snake's transporter?"
"Taweret would want it close to her personal quarters but not inside them. She would not tolerate others walking through her rooms every time they needed to enter the base beneath." Jakar the snake commando cut in. "And her quarters will be near the top. She will want private access to the roof."
There spoke the snake expert. Though Jack had come to the same conclusions. Placing your quarters underground would be safer, but that wouldn't allow the snakes to look down on everyone else. He zoomed in on the roof. "Yeah, there it is - door in that fake tent on the side. I bet if we wait long enough, we would see her making a big entrance there." A bit far for a sniper, but Jack was sure he could do it. Not that he would - the odds of hitting the actual snake were slim, and killing the host wouldn't do anything but warn them of their presence while they possessed the next spare host. But it was a nice thought to have.
"You want to enter through the roof?" Catra asked.
If the stealth shuttle still worked, that would be ideal. Fly in, hover above the roof and drop down. "Unless Adora restores magic and Glimmer teleports us there, Or Carter and Entrapta somehow find a way to get the spare parts they need to repair the stealth system, I think we'll have to pick the side entrance," Jack replied.
And that meant getting through the gate - or over the walls.
"I guess we can't ambush a patrol and take their armour," Catra joked.
"Nope." There were few slaves around, Jack noted. The base didn't look old - he could see signs of recent construction, actually - and it must have been built quickly, meaning with lots of hands, so where were the workers responsible? Jack pressed his lips together. Apophis wouldn't move the workers constructing his secret base back to his other worlds. That would risk the base being revealed. So… What would a megalomaniac snake with no morals do to keep such a secret?
The answer was obvious and nauseating. Jack quickly scanned the area, but he didn't see any signs of mass graves. Or other possible disposal facilities.
And that was even more worrying.
"Let's look for blind spots and other weaknesses," he said. Before they looked for unconventional solutions. Jack would prefer to do this without magic. If they had to restore magic, Adora would probably wipe out the Goa'uld base by accident anyway, and while that wasn't exactly a bad thing, it would also alert the Ha'taks in orbit and the rest of the fleet - and the Ancient base deep underground.
No, they needed a more subtle way inside.
Fortunately, Jack thought as he zoomed in on a small ditch near the base of the walls, I might have found our way inside.
*****
"You want to sneak in through the sewers?"
Adora winced at Glimmer's comment. They were out of earshot - Apophis's Jaffa had cleared a lot of the area around their base - but they were trying to stay hidden.
"It's not actually a sewer," Jack replied. "More like… a stream flowing out of their base."
"It's still a sewer - it carries all their waste away!" Glimmer retorted.
"And it is fed from a spring inside their base," Sam added. "There's no stream entering the base."
So much for using a clean body of water to sneak in, Adora thought.
"Can't be worse than infiltrating the Fright Zone," Catra said. "Or sneaking around there."
Glimmer glared at her. "We didn't sneak through the sewers when we did that!"
"We did, actually. When we went to rescue you and Bow," Adora corrected her.
"You didn't actually swim through the sewers!" Glimmer shot back with a glare.
"You couldn't have - some of the sewers there were so toxic, you needed protective gear," Entrapta said. "That's why the standard Horde uniform included a fully enclosed helmet."
Adora nodded. "And uniforms were resistant to environmental dangers."
"Is that why you're still wearing your old uniform?" Jakar asked.
"Ah…" Adora smiled at him, feeling a bit embarrassed. She didn't actually need that kind of protection as She-Ra. "They're also very durable and comfortable!"
"If you match the general body type they're made for," Catra added. "I always had to customise my uniforms."
It had been more a want than a need, as Adora remembered it, but that wasn't important right now. "So, infiltrating through the stream."
"Open Sewer," Glimmer said. "Perfuma would loath this."
"Anyone with a bit of common sense would loathe it." Catra snorted. "That's a disease outbreak waiting to happen."
"And you want to swim through it to get into the base?" Glimmer asked Jack.
"Well…" Jack shrugged. "We've got these fancy new fatigues, with masks that double as diving masks…"
"Not all of us have those," Glimmer said.
Adora wouldn't have any problems thanks to She-Ra's armour, but the others… Not everyone had the new fatigues, and even there, the masks wouldn't cover more than their faces. They were meant to be worn with a hood for full NBC protection.
"You'll survive," Catra commented.
Adora glanced at her lover. Catra's feet, hair, ears and tail would be exposed. And she knew that.
"It's not going to be worse than sneaking around in the seedier parts of the Fright Zone as cadets," Catra said with a snort.
Glimmer glared at her before scoffing. "Let's go then."
"Alright. We'll have to deal with sensors in the stream and the grate at the wall," Jack said.
"We can handle that!" Entrapta beamed. "We can hack the sensors - if they have any that resisted the effects of their experiments - and bypass the alerts when we cut through the grate. As long as we're not seen."
"Fortunately, the water's muddy," Jack said. "And we're going in at night."
"Muddy? More like shitty," Catra commented with another snort.
Adora didn't think it was funny, but Jack laughed at it.
*****
The stream was shitty. Adora didn't want to take a closer look at what exactly floated on the surface as she approached the stream and watched the bot Entrapta, Sam and Bow had rigged up disappear in it. Peeking over Bow's shoulder, she could see the feed from the bot - or the sanitised overlay from its sensors depicting the stream's bed as it started moving upstream.
"Alright… now… where are the sensors?" Entrapta mumbled as she stared at her own tool.
"It doesn't seem that there are any," Sam said.
"So, they cannot protect their own sensors from their own experiments?" Jack shook his head. "I don't think Apophis will accept that."
"I concur," Jakar said. "Though that won't keep him from deploying a new weapon system if he deems it effective enough."
"We'll stop him before it comes to that," Adora said.
"We've reached the wall - well, under the wall," Bow reported. "Doesn't look like there are sensors either."
"But the grate itself is powered - a low current, but if it's cut, that will be noticed," Sam added. "Scanning the array."
"We need to cut here to reach the control module."
"Yes. But that's hardened material. We should access it from the side."
"Yes! Like that!"
"Drilling."
"Oh, look at that - it's a simple but working design! Tiny crystals!"
"Easy to circumvent, though. Just let me run a few calculations on my tablet… Yes. We'll need two of the thicker wires, and about… this long."
"Yes, I concur with Bow."
"Me too!"
It didn't take the three more than a few minutes to bypass what security there was and fix the cable the bot had trailed to the grate. And then it was time for them to start swimming. In the 'muddy' stream.
Just dive down and try not to think about it, Adora told herself, trying not to grimace. This was important. She had to do this. She was She-Ra.
She took a deep breath, grabbed the cable the bot had laid, and entered the stream. As soon as she was completely underwater, she started pulling herself forward, following the cable to the grate.
Five minutes later, she reached the grate. "I'm there!" she said through her communicator.
"Good! Cut the grate along the sides we marked!" Bow told her.
She summoned her sword and did so. "Done."
"No alert. We should be safe to follow you then." Catra said.
"OK."
Adora just had to wait for her friends now. And try not to think about what kind of stuff was floating in the stream.
*****
Apophis's Base, PU-9623, January 29th, 2000 (Earth Time)
While their small infiltrator bot went ahead to explore the rest of the base and they waited in the stream, Samantha Carter made a mental note to build a prototype uniform that doubled as a drysuit with full-body protection as soon as she found the time. The odds of it getting approved were zero - the cost alone doomed any such proposal; the new spacesuits had been a struggle to get through procurement even though the need for such suits was obvious - but Sam would be able to use the prototype herself next time she had to swim through a sewer.
She shuddered and suppressed the urge to run her gloved hands through her hair. Focus on the mission, she told herself. This was just like having to crawl through mud in basic. Only worse.
The spy bot was circling the central bunker - or bunker/palace, as the General called it - and Sam was, hidden by the thick wall above them, watching its feed to mark potential entry points. Main entrance - too big to open without anyone noticing even if the squad of Jaffa guarding it were dealt with. Goa'uld megalomania working for them this time. Side entrance - small, heavily armoured, likely an air lock. And two guards in front of it. Second side trnance, other side… That one was a bit larger, with tracks of heavy machinery left on the ground in front of it. Still guarded, though. The roof was a possibility. But scrambling up the walls would leave them exposed to any guard watching from the perimeter or yard. There were gaps in the coverage by the patrols - she had analysed the pattern already - but they were not long enough to allow the group to reach the roof in time.
That left the balconies. Without sensors on them, they would provide cover and concealment while they dealt with the doors, and they were close enough to the ground to be reached quickly. Adora could probably throw people up to speed things up, and Entrapta's hair, while not long enough to reach the balcony from the ground, would further facilitate this.
Entering the private quarters of Taweret was a problem in itself, but securing or neutralising her was a mission objective, so they would have to deal with her anyway at some point, even if the Ancient base was more important. If the best way inside was through her?
Well, Sam had no problem with that. And there was the possibility that, Goa'ulds being Goa'ulds, they could access the ring transporter from her quarters, or close enough, to achieve the primary objective of the mission as well.
The final decision was Adora's - and the General's - of course, but Sam was sure they would agree with her reasoning when she motioned and held her screen out to the others to check.
She wasn't wrong. A few minutes later, with the spy bot tracking the guards, they rushed to the wall below the balcony, Adora in the lead. A running jump took her to the top of the balcony, trailing lines behind her. Lines Sam and the others attached to the harnesses built into their fatigues. Or just held onto, in some cases.
"Everyone ready?" The General asked in a whisper through their communicators. "Go!"
And the line went taut, then dragged Sam upwards as Adora heaved. Sam barely had the time to get her feet against the wall and push off before she was pulled over the railing and rolled over the balcony's floor. Entrapta had an even worse time - Sam's friend would have hit the floor head-on if not for her hair, legs twitching for a moment before she managed to straighten herself. She was smiling widely, though, and already reaching for her tool when Teal'c, the last of their group, smoothly slid over the railing.
"Clear!" the General announced.
"Working on the door," Sam replied.
"No sensors here either," Bow whispered.
But the door was armoured. They would have to work to crack the locks. At least it was an automatic door. If the Goa'uld had skipped any servos and just relied on servants to pull it open, this would take far longer.
As it was, thanks to Jakar's help - the agent had the most experience with the electronic locks on such doors - they cracked it in less than five minutes.
The quarters behind it were as luxurious as Sam expected. Not quite an exact copy of Amaunet's quarters on Saqqara, but they came close enough.
They quickly spread out through them, covering all rooms. There were no guards, and they found only two servants working in a side room. Teal'c and Catra stunned them before they could react.
And no Taweret.
"Aren't queens supposed to laze around and have grapes fed to them in their rooms?" the General asked.
"If she's not here, she's either somewhere else in the bunker - or in the base below us," Jakar stated the obvious. "We would have noticed her guard detachment moving outside."
"Unless she's in a ship," Teal'c objected.
Jakar inclined his head. "True."
"Well, wherever she is, we need to get a move on," the General said. "Where's the ring transporter?"
"Outside the quarters!" Entrapta announced. "Well, that's where our scanner shows an amount of processed Naquadah that matches the amount used in a transporter."
The General nodded. "Good enough for me. Let's go. We have a base to take over. Or blow up. Whatever it takes."
Catra was already moving towards the exit.
*****
