Chapter 15: The Inconvenient Truth
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Chapter 15: The Inconvenient Truth
Hyperspace, On the Way to Earth, July 16th, 1998 (Earth Time)
4th: No orbital bombardments without clearance by the commander in chief.
Sitting at the table in the mess, Adora nodded at the screen of her pad. That was a very important rule. Perhaps she should place it at a more prominent spot? But 'protect innocent sentient life forms' was also very important. As was 'collateral damage should be avoided whenever possible'. Hm…
"That should be 'without clearance by Adora or whoever she promoted to commander in chief'," someone whispered into her ear - her breath tickled Adora's skin.
Adora gasped. "Catra!" She hadn't noticed her lover sneaking up on her.
"Hm?" Catra chuckled as she withdrew. "I'm just helping. I did write a lot of orders, you know."
"Yes. But this is a special case," Adora said. "I need a list of rules that will keep Third Fleet from blowing up planets to kill a single Goa'uld."
"Then you want the orders to be very clear," Catra said.
"No Auftragstaktik," Jack added as he entered and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
"Auftragstaktik?" Adora frowned. What did that mean?
"That's where you tell your men what you need to be done, but not how they should do it," he explained.
"Oh."
Catra nodded. "Yes, you really don't want to do that with Priest."
Adora frowned at her. She knew that very well, thank you very much.
"Oh, yes. If you asked him to get some milk from the supermarket, he probably would conquer the country in the name of you," Jack added with a grin.
Adora frowned at him as well. "I am aware of that. That's why I am going to give him precise orders."
Catra shrugged. "Just be ready to add more orders - you'll never cover everything that can go wrong."
"Yes." Daniel peered inside the mess, then stepped inside. Had Adora missed a meeting notice or something? "Like the list of things Jack isn't allowed to do any more."
"There's no such list, and if there were any, it would cover the entire team," Jack protested.
"Your team, your responsibility," Daniel shot back. "Oh, pudding!"
"Oh? Tell us more!" Catra leaned across the table and beamed at Daniel.
"That's classified," Jack said.
"You playing on your Game Boy during briefings is classified?" Daniel grinned.
"I never got caught! and I only did it during the boring parts!"
"What's a 'Game Boy'?" Catra asked.
"Oh. That's a portable gaming console," Daniel explained. Which didn't explain anything.
"You play video games on it," Jack added. Adora looked at him, and he went on: "Video games are… games you play on a computer."
Daniel shook his head. "Allow me. Video games are electronic games that you play…"
"...and that's why they are called video games. They come in a very wide range of genres and are very popular amongst children, teenagers and some adults," Daniel finished.
"Ah." Adora looked at Catra. She wasn't entirely sure, but while Catra nodded as if the explanation had actually explained everything, Adora thought her lover was just faking.
"Video games are quite popular amongst adults as well," Jack said with a slight pout.
"You would say that, Jack."
"Daniel…"
Ador cleared her throat. "Anyway, I was working on my list." It would be rude to send them out, but she needed some peace and quiet to work on that. And her and Catra's cabin definitely wouldn't be suitable, what with Catra in a playful mood.
"Right, your list!" Jack nodded.
"Yes," Daniel nodded as well. "Your commandments. I am looking forward to seeing how Priest and his church will interpret them. It should be a fascinating study of how holy scripture came to be."
"What?" Adora stared at him.
"Daniel wants to see how your orders will be turned in holy commandments," Jack said. "Word of God - or, in this case, word of the Goddess."
Adora closed her mouth. That wasn't what she wanted! Not at all! "But…"
"I bet Priest will have the orders burned into a golden plate and fixed on the bridge of every ship," Catra interrupted her. "Do you think we can make them rhyme so they can sing the lines?"
Her lover was joking - she had to be! - but Adora could see Priest doing that. She shook her head until her ponytail hit her face. Her orders, enshrined like that? Her friends would never let her forget it. "Anything but that!"
"The alternative would be no lasting restrictions," Daniel pointed out. "Religious commandments were often a restraining influence in Earth's past."
"The point is, Daniel, that Adora doesn't want to found a religion," Jack told him.
"I think it's clear that the religion already exists, Jack. So, the best solution would be to use the opportunity, rather than struggling futilely to turn back time," Daniel retorted.
Adora was about to tell them not to talk about her as if she wasn't present when Catra spoke up in that fake innocent tone of hers: "Well, it'll be amusing to see Priest trying to convert Earth to the worship of Adora."
The wide-eyed glance Jack and Daniel exchanged in return wasn't helping Adora's mood in the slightest.
Warhead separation complete. Five seconds to impact. Four. Three. Two. One.
On the screen, the ruins and the hill vanished in a fireball each. Samantha Carter watched as the multiple angles blanked out in rapid succession until only the orbital view remained, showing two converging mushroom clouds.
"It's a beautiful sight, isn't it?" Entrapta commented. "The bombs performed as calculated!"
Sam slowly nodded. She wasn't quite as enthusiastic about the bombs they had built as Entrapta was, but a part of her was proud that they had managed to rig a warhead that struck both sites at the same time with Naqadah-enhanced bombs in such a short time. But that was just the technical aspect. With this as proof of concept, the genie was out of the bottle - now such bombs would be on the table for other situations as well. Situations where the targets weren't just ruins devoid of intelligent life.
On the screen, the cloud started to dissipate - faster than in real life; Entrapta had sped up the recording - and revealed two huge craters.
"Now comes my favourite part!" Entrapta said as a Horde frigate descended above the craters. "Yes!" she all but squealed when two lances of red light appeared under the frigate, stabbing down into the crater. The screen split again, showing the lasers burning into the glassed surface below. Writing.
Potential Goa'uld on the planet. Beware.
In Goa'uld - as much as Daniel hated it, it was the lingua franca of a big part of the galaxy. Most people in the sector would be able to read it. It would also tell Goa'uld that someone hostile had destroyed the ruins, but that couldn't be avoided. And the paranoid System Lords might well suspect one of their own trying to throw off suspicion - that was why they had used Goa'uld weapons, after all.
Not that the odds that it would matter were great anyway - sooner or later, Sam's money was on sooner, the Alliance would engage in open warfare with the Goa'uld. With help from Earth, unless something went very wrong when they reached home.
In any case, at that point, the Goa'uld would know who they were facing, and any intel potential Goa'uld left on the planet might provide would be even more outdated than it already was.
"You must really love this," Entrapta said. "You've been watching it five times so far."
Sam blinked and realised that the recording had ended. "I was looking for more data," she lied. Well, it wasn't a complete lie - there was a chance that she had missed something the four other times she had watched the recording.
"Oh! Did you discover something?"
"No." Sam shook her head. She hadn't found anything new. And, maybe, it was time to stop watching what she had wrought and get back to working on the alien data cube. They had still a few weeks until they reached Earth, and if they encountered a Stargate on the way, Sam wouldn't be able to work on the cube until the fleet reached Earth. Not even then, she knew - she would likely be too busy with other work, mainly the Al'kesh repairs. And briefing various generals and politicians.
She wasn't looking forward to that. She wouldn't go as far as to call it a waste of time, as the Colonel did, but she could do much more important work than telling people who were as likely to ignore her as to heed her words things they could read up in her reports. Which she had to update with the latest data, actually.
But that could wait until the evening. "Let's tackle the data cube again," she said. "I think we haven't tried base-13 yet, did we?" They hadn't; Sam had checked.
"Oh, yes. I mean, no, we haven't!" Entrapta skipped over to the table where the cube was waiting for them. "Let's try this out!"
"Yes." Sam smiled - it was great to work with an enthusiastic partner.
"I'll call Hordak, too! He's had a few interesting ideas as well!"
Sam kept smiling with a bit of effort. She wasn't nearly as fond of Hordak as she was of Entrapta. The man - the alien - was a genius, no doubt about it. But he was also a former warlord with alien morals, and Sam wasn't entirely sure that he had changed enough not to slide back into old habits, should he deem it necessary. And while she had been told that Entrapta's influence had changed him, she knew that Hordak's influence would have changed Entrapta as well. And would continue to do so.
Well, Sam could exert some influence as well. If Hordak wanted to get a pet scientist to unleash monstrous weapons on defenceless civilians, he wouldn't get his way if Sam had anything to say about it.
"You've finished the documentation, then."
"Yes!" Entrapta said, nodding as she went to Hordak, who stood in the door. "And we're ready to continue with the data cube!"
Had he been listening until this moment? Or was this just coincidence? Sam nodded at him. Politely. "Yes."
"Enhancing explosives with Naquadah will facilitate further offensive operations," Hordak said. "Defending assets against attacks with such bombs will be more difficult, though."
That was obvious, of course. On Earth, it had led to a somewhat stable peace between nuclear powers thanks to the threat of mutually assured destruction. She doubted that they could or should achieve the same with the Goa'uld.
But the way the former warlord talked about assets and operations… Sam didn't like that.
Hyperspace, On the Way to Earth, July 18th, 1998 (Earth Time)
Catra yawned as she leaned back in her seat on the bridge of Darla. Standing watch was as boring as ever. As expected - she had spent time in space before, after all, and unless you were trying to fool Horde Prime, running for your life, or exploring some ancient ruins, it was generally very dull. Especially without Adora or anyone else to talk to because it was the night shift. Night watch.
Everyone else was asleep. Unless Entrapta or Carter had sneaked into the hold to tinker with the cube again. She checked the display on her right - no, the hold was empty of life signatures. Unless someone had fiddled with the ship's internal sensors, of course. Which… wasn't too implausible, actually.
Well, she hadn't anything better to do, so she might as well check personally. And grab a drink from the kitchen. Or kitchenette, as O'Neill called it.
She got up and walked out of the bridge, then frowned - the light was on in the kitchen area. And - her ears twitched - someone was heating tea. If Entrapta had actually sneaked out… "Hey!"
It wasn't Entrapta. She saw Daniel, gasping, standing next to the pot of boiling water. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Making tea?" He pointed at the kettle.
She rolled her eyes. "I meant, why aren't you sleeping?"
To his credit, he didn't make a stupid joke about her having to ask what she meant in the first place but shrugged. "I got caught translating some of the books."
They had a library on board? That was news to her. Not that she'd admit it. "What book are you reading?"
"It's actually one of Bow's history books," he told her.
Ah. So, he was talking about Bow's books. Well, history books were pretty harmless. If it had been Entrapta's diary or notes of bot construction… She shrugged. "Sounds pretty boring."
"It's actually fascinating how Etheria's culture evolved over a thousand years," he said. "The way magic powers shaped history on your planet…"
"Yeah, yeah, magic princesses rule," she cut him off and grabbed a cup of her own.
"That's a very simplified view," he said with a slight pout.
"But a correct one. In the Horde, we were taught that the princesses were evil, you know?" she said as she dropped some leaves in a streamer. "That they were fighting us because we didn't have princesses."
"Well, on Earth, when France overthrew their monarchy, the other monarchies banded together to fight the new government. They didn't declare war merely because of the revolution, there were many other reasons, but it was a contributing factor," Daniel told her. "Executing the king and queen did help escalate the situation as well, of course."
"They didn't fight us because we had overthrown our princess," Catra retorted. Well, in as much as Scorpia was their princess. "They fought us because we invaded them and tried to conquer them." They had actually conquered quite a bit of Etheria under her leadership.
"Of course." He nodded. "I'm just pointing out possible parallels to the history of Earth."
"And potential trouble," she added.
He winced, then took a sip from his steaming cup and winced even more. "Yes, that too."
Catra jumped slightly to sit on the counter, blowing on her cup. "So, how bad will it be?" Daniel was the most honest of SG-1, she knew that. And without his friends around, he should be likely to let slip something.
He looked puzzled for a moment. "When we arrive on Earth?"
"Yes. Magic, princesses, fanatical clones with a space fleet…" She took a sip from her own cup. A little too hot, but tolerable.
"Well…" He grimaced. "It will be a shock to find out that aliens are real."
"That's obvious." They had gone over that already. "But afterwards, when the shock's faded, and we're talking alliance."
"Ah." He pursed his lips. "It's hard to say. Historically, people tend to be pragmatic when they are faced with a common enemy. Even ideological enemies."
That sounded good. "So, you're going to play one happy, united front and ignore all the differences?"
"That would be best for the war, wouldn't it?" He blew on his cup again, then took a swallow, sighing with his eyes closed. The man liked the tea, even though he claimed that he preferred coffee - but they had run out of the bitter brew.
"Probably." She shrugged again. "In my experience, ignoring differences isn't a good idea. It can lead to losing a war." She knew that from personal experience.
"Oh." He took another swallow.
"So, what's the worst problem we'll face? Magic? Or Monarchies? Our gender?"
"That's hard to say. Earth isn't very homogenous, and even in our country, there are distinct groups with very different views and interests." He smiled rather weakly.
"So, all of the above?" she asked with a wry grin.
He nodded, making a noncommittal noise, and hid his mouth behind his cup again.
"I see." She nodded as well.
Great. She would have to talk with the rest about this. Once they were awake, of course.
Hyperspace, On the Way to Earth, July 20th, 1998 (Earth Time)
"Another day, another empty system," Jack O'Neill commented as he stepped on the bridge of the Darla.
"We don't know if the system is actually empty, Sir," Carter told him, as he had expected.
Good to know that she hadn't been entirely lost to the alien data cube. Perhaps Jack shouldn't have joked about expecting her to crack the thing in one day - she seemed to have taken it as a challenge. Though, to be fair, there wasn't much else to do on the ship during this trip. Except for checking the Al'kesh, but since that was transported on a Horde frigate, she would have to leave the Darla for that - and Jack wasn't about to split up his team.
"Well, we'll soon know!" Entrapta piped up. "Dropping out of hyperspace in five… four… three… two… one!"
"Nothing in close range," Bow reported. "Long-range scanners… Contacts!"
Jack didn't jerk, but he leaned forward on his seat. "Have they seen us?"
"Not unless they have improved sensors," Bow replied.
Jack glanced at the side screen. The holographic display zoomed in on the system, past the outer planets, and came to a stop at the second planet - a habitable world, it seemed. He counted a dozen ships in orbit, and they were… firing onto each other.
"It's a war zone," Daniel stated the obvious as one of the ships - blew up.
"Three Ha'taks, eight Al'kesh. Multiple Death Gliders," Bow reported.
"It's an invasion," Jack said. The three Ha'taks were working together, flying in formation with the Al'keshs. But the Death Gliders were dogfighting - and some were attacking the Al'kesh.
"And unless the defenders have reinforcements waiting for them, they have lost the battle," Teal'c stated.
"Yeah. A bunch of Death Gliders reenacting the Battle of Britain won't beat three Ha'taks," Jack said.
"Are they buying time for the ground forces to evacuate or disperse for guerilla campaign?" Catra asked.
"I can't tell from here," Entrapta said. "We need to get closer to find out."
"It depends on the System Lord who rules the planet," Teal'c said. "Some expect their Jaffa to fight to the death even when retreating would be advisable."
"What?" Adora frowned. "Why would they throw away their people?
"To keep the news of defeat from spreading amongst their troops," Daniel explained. "That might damage their claims of divinity."
"That's…" Adora shook her head.
"Monstrous," Glimmer spat. "And stupid. It means their enemy can undermine the trust of their people by spreading the news themselves. That'll do more damage to the defender's reputation in the long run."
The princess was the commander of the Alliance, Jack reminded himself.
"And the soldiers will stop trusting any information from their superiors," Catra added.
"That's the Goa'uld for you - they're not very big on rational plans," Jack said.
"We can't underestimate them, Sir," Carter objected.
"I'm not saying their fools, just that they might not have the same view of what is rational and effective as we do," Jack replied.
"Hey, crazy plans can work very well - just ask Glimmer," Catra said with a smirk.
"What do you mean?" Glimmer asked with narrowed eyes just as Adora hissed: "Catra!"
"You know what I mean," Catra replied.
"My plan worked." Glimmer clenched her teeth. "It defeated the Horde."
"You were lucky. Very lucky." Catra bared her teeth.
"And it was all for nought since Horde Prime arrived in the moment of your triumph," Hordak added.
"Catra! Glimmer!" Adora snapped. "This is not the time!" She turned her head to glare at Hordak, who remained impassive.
Catra ducked her head with a pout, but Glimmer grew serious and nodded. "Yes. Sorry."
"Anyway!" Entrapta spoke up. "There's a significant amount of Naquadah on the planet, but I can't tell from here if there's a Stargate."
"There could be mining operations," Carter speculated. "Although those should have better protection."
"Unless the main defenders were lured away - or they trusted secrecy," Jack said.
"So, who's invading whom here?" Adora asked.
"All those Goa'uld ships look the same," Jack said with a grin.
"They have an IFF transponder system," Carter added, "but they might not use distinctive codes for every mission."
"Well, if they are true to form, we just have to wait until the invaders win and broadcast the new rulers of the planet. It's a thing for them," Jack said. "Unless this is a black op, and they're only here to lay waste to the planet. Or a false flag operation."
"So, do we take our stealth ship in close? Try to find a gate while they are still busy shooting each other?" Daniel asked.
It was tempting. There would be chaos on the ground. A ship might slip through, and they might make their way to a stargate. Yet, they didn't know if there was a gate on the planet.
"We could blow all the Goa'uld ships up," Catra said. "The Third Fleet wouldn't have any trouble with them."
"Can they do that and prevent someone from sending out word about the attack?" Jack asked. He didn't want to lose operational surprise before they had a formal alliance with Etheria.
"Doubtful. We haven't found a way to reliably prevent FTL communications," Carter replied.
"Then we better not try to meddle," Jack said. If the Goa'uld killed each other, so much the better. "Unless they plan to massacre civilians." On the screen, another Al'kesh blew up, but then the rest of them started to enter the atmosphere, and the Ha'taks spread out as well.
"There's a message broadcast in the clear," Bow said. A moment later, a Goa'uld voice filled the room.
"Your Death Gliders have been destroyed. Surrender to the divine Raiden!"
"Raiden?" Adora asked. She hadn't heard about any Goa'uld with that name yet. Not that she'd remember, anyway.
"Raiden, also known as Raijin, is a Shinto god of lightning, thunder and storms," Daniel said. "And, obviously, a Goa'uld who has claimed the name. Or who has started the religion - since we lack records for most of the civilisations dating back to the time of the Goa'uld, it is often hard to determine whether the Goa'uld coopted existing mythological figures or created them." After a moment, he added: "Shinto is a religion centred on the Japanese Islands."
"Ah." That didn't actually tell Adora much, but it would be rude not to acknowledge Daniel's efforts.
"Raiden is a false god with a minor domain, in perpetual conflict with the vastly more powerful Yu," Teal'c said. "According to the star charts, however, we should not be in either of their territories."
"Well, for a vastly more powerful Goa'uld, those were pitiful defences," Catra commented with a frown. "Not really a big invasion fleet, either."
Adora agreed with her lover. The Third Fleet could wipe out all those ships easily. Of course, the Third Fleet wasn't stretched out protecting multiple worlds yet.
"Yu might be involved in another conflict with a stronger force and could have withdrawn his ships from this planet to protect more important systems," Jack repeated his earlier speculation. "Or this world didn't belong to Yu, but to another, weaker Goa'uld."
Either possibility could be true. "What are they doing?" Adora asked.
"There's been no answer from the people on the ground," Bow said.
"That means bombing will start soon," Jack said. "Goa'uld are testy about being ignored or refused."
As he had predicted, the screen flared, and Bow reported the Al'kesh making bombing runs.
Catra stepped closer to the screen. "How precise are they? Can we tell from here?"
Bow grimaced. "I can't tell what they're aiming at - the scanner doesn't show the planetary surface in detail."
Adora made a mental note that they needed either better scanners or a way to get closer to a planet without being detected. It wouldn't do to attack a planet without good intel or lose surprise by a recon mission being detected. The stealth system Entrapta and Sam had built for the shuttle might be the answer, but it hadn't been tested against actual Goa'uld ships yet.
"The bombs they use have a rather high yield," Entrapta said, frowning at the console next to her. "They do not seem to be very precise."
Adora gripped the armrests of her chair. "Are they targeting civilians?" If they were…
"We can't tell. We have to fly closer for that," Bow said.
"If they detect us, operational surprise is lost," Jack cautioned.
"But we might secure a working Stargate," Sam pointed out.
"Let's take the shuttle and fly closer. If they detect the shuttle, we'll move the fleet in," Adora said. "We can't let them bomb civilians."
"Alright," Glimmer said. "But you're staying here." Adora was about to protest, but her friend went on: "Third Fleet won't take well to you flying close to an enemy fleet in a simple shuttle."
"They accepted our trip to the planet with the crashed Al-Kesh," Adora said.
"PK-327," Entrapta cut in.
"Yes, that." Adora nodded.
"The system didn't have a fleet in it," Catra said.
Adora sighed. "Alright. But you're staying here as well, Glimmer."
Glimmer pouted at her, but Adora shrugged it off. If it was too dangerous for her, it was too dangerous for the Queen of Bright Moon.
"Let's go, Bow," Catra said - but she was looking at Adora.
After a moment, Adora nodded. Catra smiled and headed to the back, followed by Bow, Entrapta and SG-1.
And Adora closed her eyes and sighed. She hated staying back while her friends braved danger.
Glimmer didn't say anything as she went and took over Bow position at the console.
"I hate this," Adora muttered as she watched the shuttle leave on the side screen.
"Welcome to my life," Glimmer replied. "The burden of command, Mom called it."
Adora bit her lower lip for a moment. Even now, Queen Angella was a sore subject. "We're princesses," she said. "We're supposed to lead from the front."
"Technically, I'm a queen."
The queen, actually, as far as Etheria was concerned. Adora kept her eyes on the screen. The shuttle was quickly reducing the distance to the planet. And to the enemy fleet. No reaction by the Goa'uld so far. But they could be trying to lure them closer, to spring an ambush - send the Death Gliders at them before they could reverse course and flee. "Yes. But I'm no queen," she said.
"Priest would disagree."
Adora scoffed. Who cared what Priest thought? His fleet, she answered her own question. She sighed instead of replying.
On the screen, the shuttle suddenly turned around and started flying back. Still no reaction from the Goa'uld fleet. Or flotilla - three Ha'tak and a few more Al'kesh weren't much of a fleet, not compared to Third Fleet.
"The bombings stopped," Glimmer commented. "So, no civilians are in danger any more."
Adora pressed her lips together. They weren't in any danger any more because they were either safe - or dead.
Then Catra's smiling face appeared on the screen. "Hey, Adora!"
Adora smiled against her will. That comment brought up so many memories…
"The bombings targetted Jaffa ground forces. They left the mines down there alone, where all the civilians are," Catra went on. "No sign of a Stargate, though."
Adora sighed with relief. They could return at a later date, once they had hashed out their alliance with Earth, and save the slaves.
Hyperspace, On the Way to Earth, July 31st, 1998 (Earth Time)
"And… nothing! No connection - the signal remains incompatible."
Even Entrapta sounded a little dejected at the result of their latest attempt to crack the alien data cube, Samantha Carter noted. Unlike their work on the Al'kesh, which had been very satisfactory, they hadn't had much success with the cube so far - it had defied every single one of their attempts to access its core.
"Welllll…. That means we can try the next theory!"
Not for long, of course - the princess still seemed to have limitless enthusiasm. Sam nodded, though her heart wasn't in it. "Yes, let's attempt to reverse the polarity on the connectors there and see if we get a reading then," she said.
"Exactly!" Entratpa nodded, her hair twitching, then looked at Hordak. "What do you say, Science Buddy?"
"The methodical approach is sound," the former warlord said - he hadn't shown any frustration at their lack of results at all. "Absent other examples of this technology, or individuals of the species that created it whom we could interrogate, we can only work through the various possibilities."
Sam pressed her lips together. She wasn't sure what kind of interrogation Hordak meant. Even after two weeks working with him, Sam couldn't claim she knew him. Sometimes, he acted like the sort of scientist, usually men, who were a little too focused on their work. She was familiar with them, though that also meant she had to be wary of letting her expectations frame her impressions. Other times, the former warlord came to the fore, sometimes just by uttering a suggestion that was unethical, sometimes by mentioning details of his past that drove home the fact that he had waged a war of conquest in the name of an interstellar dictator. The former usually took Entrapta a bit more time to catch and correct than the latter, which was worrying Sam a little.
But the alien was a very good scientist, Sam had to admit. And as much as it made her question her own morals, she was starting to understand how NASA scientists had been able to work with former Nazis like Werner von Braun. Earth needed to adapt its technology to the level of the various space-faring species, and that meant she and her colleagues needed to understand the alien technology they had access to. And if they had to work with an ex-warlord who might not have reformed as completely as some claimed, then… well, it was better than working with a Goa'uld.
At least Hordak was trying to do better, from what Sam could tell. And, another point in his favour, he didn't show any sort of sexism. He treated both Entrapta and Sam as his equals.
"Alright! Let's prepare the next test!" Entrapta announced and went over to the table where the crystals she had 'attuned' were held.
Hordak nodded and went to the console to adjust the parameters.
And Sam wondered while she changed the adapters on the data cube how she could break it to the Etherians that Earth was a rather sexist society. They were more than halfway to Earth now, and it wouldn't do at all to let their allies - and friends - discover after reaching it that humanity, by and large, wasn't quite as progressive when it came to equal rights for women. Or for people who had non-heterosexual orientations.
The Colonel should have brought it up, but, so far, he hadn't even touched the issue. Daniel had, for a change, apparently avoided the topic in his long talks with the Etherians about their culture. Teal'c… was Teal'c.
Which left her, the only woman in the team, to bring it up. Even if that was against the Colonel's wishes. Not that he had given an actual order about that. But this wasn't the kind of thing you kept secret.
She sighed.
"Don't worry! Sooner or later, we'll crack the cube!" Entrapta told her with a smile. "Sometimes, science takes a while to get results!"
Sam knew that, of course. "Oh, it's not about that," she said. "I was thinking about home."
"Oh. Don't worry, we should reach Earth in about ten days!"
"Unless we meet another situation that requires intervention or exploration," Hordak added.
Meaning: found a planet with a Stargate on it. They hadn't so far. Which was a good thing, seeing as the route between Etheria and Earth seemed to be outside the Goa'uld sphere of influence, but also meant that SG-1 hadn't been able to inform Stargate Command about their upcoming arrival with an allied fleet. And magical princesses. Not an ideal state.
"Alright! Attempt to connect to the data cube Number three hundred and twenty-six!" Entrapta announced.
Sam nodded and focused on her work.
"Any luck cracking the data cube?" the Colonel asked when they sat down for dinner.
Samantha Carter looked at him with narrowed eyes. He should, by now, know the answer to that without having to ask.
The Colonel flinched a little, which was a small victory. A petty one as well, she had to admit - but the long time spent in a small ship, with limited company, and the mounting pressure on her was taking its toll. Perfectly reasonable. At least, that was what she told herself.
"We're making progress - we've eliminated several possible architectures today!" Entrapta said between eating her tiny meat pies.
"Well, at least we've cracked the Al'kesh," the Colonel went on. "We'll probably be able to build a copy from scratch at home."
"If we get several key pieces of technology or manage to manufacture them," Sam corrected him. "The crystal-based controls will have to be built from scratch."
"That's what I said," the Colonel said with a grin.
She shook her head and filled her plate.
Catra joined them at the table, stretching her arms over her head, then leaning over to kiss Adora on the cheek. "Hey, Adora!"
"Hey!" Adora smiled at the catwoman, and Sam clenched her teeth. No, this couldn't go on.
She cleared her throat after swallowing a piece of her own, larger meat pie. "There's something we need to talk about…"
"...and while the general attitude has been changing for the better, people who do not conform to the majority view of what is an acceptable sexuality, meaning heterosexuality, are still facing discrimination - legal discrimination, at that."
Catra narrowed her eyes, her tail swishing back and forth behind her, as she alternated between staring at Carter and glancing at Adora. "You mean… your people hate…" she blinked. What was the term she had used? "You mean your people hate people like Adora and me? Or Scorpia and Perfuma? Or Netossa and Spinnerella?"
"Or my dads?" Bow asked. He sounded shocked.
Well, everyone looked shocked. They had known that Earth had some stupid issues with men being considered more powerful than women, which kind of was understandable since Earth didn't have magical princesses, or scorpion people, or minotaurs, who could toss others around regardless of magic or gender. Understandable, but stupid, of course. But hating people based upon their choice of partners?
"We don't hate you!" Carter protested. She even sounded as if she meant it. "Nor does everyone on Earth hate you. There's a significant part of the population that distrusts or dislikes people who do not conform to the heterosexual norm, but few actually hate you."
That was mincing words, in Catra's opinion. She didn't say so, but whether you disliked someone or hated someone didn't really matter that much, in her opinion.
"And people are changing - society is changing. We're working on that," Daniel said. He looked ashamed, at least. "But while we made a lot of progress, we haven't left all the bigotry behind us. Not yet. But it's much better than it was in the past. At least in countries like the USA."
Catra stared at him. Daniel was, as far as she could tell, not one to lie to them.
"That means it was worse? Like with your gender discrimination?" Bow shook his head. "But…why? Why do you hate my family?"
"Why do you hate people like us?" Adora asked in a low voice.
Catra glanced at her and winced - her lover was looking down at the table, and her fingers were digging into her thighs. She reached out to grab one of Adora's hands, but Adora suddenly looked up, glaring at SG-1.
"Why do you hate us? Why do you want to keep us from… from loving each other?" Adora spat. "Why do you hate love?"
Uh-oh. Catra grabbed her hand and squeezed, hard. When Adora, gasping softly, looked at her, she smiled, leaned over and rested her head on Adora's shoulder. "I'm here," she whispered.
"We don't hate you," Carter repeated herself. Daniel nodded, as did - although a moment later, Catra noted, O'Neill. "As I said, it's not a small minority, but neither is it an overwhelming majority."
"So, what is it? Who on Earth hates us?" Adora asked.
"Ah…" Daniel cleared his throat. "It's a complicated issue, rooted in our - our country's - past - and our religion. For a long time, homosexuality, both by women and men, was seen as morally wrong. Usually, religious reasons were given for that, even though the actual scripture of the predominant religion in our country did not condemn homosexuality, as far as most modern scholars agree. It was actually a rather selective interpretation of older passages in scripture, often distorted by translations from the original source, that was seen as a condemnation of the practice."
Catra blinked. "What?"
"Bullshit," Glimmer spat. "You want to claim that your god hates us?"
"No, no!" Daniel shook his head. "Sorry, I was… I digressed. No, what I am trying to explain is that while religious passages were cited to justify such a hatred of homosexuality, it was actually based on the culture dominating our country, and much of the world, which, in turn, shaped the religion of our culture."
Catra blinked again. "You mean… you made your god's words into what you wanted them to be?" Wasn't that… going against your god?
"Well, it's a rather succinct way to word it, but… essentially yes." Daniel nodded with a short-lived smile. "Even leaving aside the question of whether or not the god that most of us - most of the USA - revere is actually real, most scholars agree that the scripture was written, and, more importantly, edited and translated later, by people. People who usually had quite specific and sometimes quite personal interests that were reflected in the scripture that resulted from their efforts. Further, they often used expressions that we, lacking the context of their culture and time, cannot interpret with any certainty."
"Get to the point," Glimmer told him, tapping her fingers on the table.
Entrapta was watching with a weird expression, both fascinated and shocked, it seemed, or so Catra thought. And Hordak looked bored. SG-1, on the other hand, mostly looked ashamed. And also angry, in O'Neill's case. Except for Teal'c, who looked like he usually did.
"Sorry. Anyway, according to several scholars - I didn't actually research the matter, unfortunately, since it had no bearing on my work, but I did read a few papers on it - hatred against homosexuals is rooted in a patriarchic culture that values certain traits that are seen as masculine - usually, power, pride, logic and aggressiveness - and considers other traits which are seen as feminine, like nurturing and empathy, as less valuable."
Catra couldn't help but scoff at that. What fool would think those were exclusively male or female traits? These people were so stupid, it hurt.
Daniel cleared his throat again. "This shapes the common view of what is an acceptable way to express your sexuality as well. Men are seen as the active part in a relationship. They are expected to seek out sexual relationships - with women, sometimes multiple women - while women are expected to be the passive partner, serving their lone male partner's desires. Women who express an active interest in sexual relationships are generally disdained by society, while men are generally praised for it. Homosexuals of both genders challenge this view simply by existing, and many men and women who conform to their society's expectations see them as a threat that undermines society as a whole."
Catra could barely follow the man's rambling thoughts. Even what she understood just didn't make any sense. This was just so… so fucked up! She wanted to rip the guts out of… of someone! She looked at the others, trying to see if they got what their… guests were saying.
Glimmer was frowning worse than she had when they had met during the war. "So, what you are saying is that your society is built on the idea that if you aren't like everyone else, you are a threat, and so you persecute people who don't fit and make up reasons for it?"
Daniel nodded. "Yes. It's a bit more complicated, but essentially, that's correct. Was correct - as I said, we are changing."
"Yes, we are changing," Carter spoke up. "It's taking a while, but we are changing our society for the better. Many people already do not share these views and treat everyone equally. Many speak out against discrimination, and we are working to make others see how bad it is. But making society as a whole change and adapt is a huge undertaking - I faced a lot of sexism as a woman in traditionally male fields, such as the military and the sciences, so I know how hard it is to make people change. A significant part of our people can't just instantly shed centuries of… of tradition."
Daniel nodded. "Change, even unequivocally for the better, frightens many conservative people. New ideas often get dismissed out of hand by them no matter how valid they are. But, over time, change for the better happens."
Glimmer scoffed. "Well, you better be ready to change some more since we won't tolerate anyone trying to tell us whom we can love!"
"Yes," Adora hissed, and, for a moment, Catra thought her eyes were blazing.
Hyperspace, On the Way to Earth, July 16th, 1998 (Earth Time)
4th: No orbital bombardments without clearance by the commander in chief.
Sitting at the table in the mess, Adora nodded at the screen of her pad. That was a very important rule. Perhaps she should place it at a more prominent spot? But 'protect innocent sentient life forms' was also very important. As was 'collateral damage should be avoided whenever possible'. Hm…
"That should be 'without clearance by Adora or whoever she promoted to commander in chief'," someone whispered into her ear - her breath tickled Adora's skin.
Adora gasped. "Catra!" She hadn't noticed her lover sneaking up on her.
"Hm?" Catra chuckled as she withdrew. "I'm just helping. I did write a lot of orders, you know."
"Yes. But this is a special case," Adora said. "I need a list of rules that will keep Third Fleet from blowing up planets to kill a single Goa'uld."
"Then you want the orders to be very clear," Catra said.
"No Auftragstaktik," Jack added as he entered and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
"Auftragstaktik?" Adora frowned. What did that mean?
"That's where you tell your men what you need to be done, but not how they should do it," he explained.
"Oh."
Catra nodded. "Yes, you really don't want to do that with Priest."
Adora frowned at her. She knew that very well, thank you very much.
"Oh, yes. If you asked him to get some milk from the supermarket, he probably would conquer the country in the name of you," Jack added with a grin.
Adora frowned at him as well. "I am aware of that. That's why I am going to give him precise orders."
Catra shrugged. "Just be ready to add more orders - you'll never cover everything that can go wrong."
"Yes." Daniel peered inside the mess, then stepped inside. Had Adora missed a meeting notice or something? "Like the list of things Jack isn't allowed to do any more."
"There's no such list, and if there were any, it would cover the entire team," Jack protested.
"Your team, your responsibility," Daniel shot back. "Oh, pudding!"
"Oh? Tell us more!" Catra leaned across the table and beamed at Daniel.
"That's classified," Jack said.
"You playing on your Game Boy during briefings is classified?" Daniel grinned.
"I never got caught! and I only did it during the boring parts!"
"What's a 'Game Boy'?" Catra asked.
"Oh. That's a portable gaming console," Daniel explained. Which didn't explain anything.
"You play video games on it," Jack added. Adora looked at him, and he went on: "Video games are… games you play on a computer."
Daniel shook his head. "Allow me. Video games are electronic games that you play…"
*****
"...and that's why they are called video games. They come in a very wide range of genres and are very popular amongst children, teenagers and some adults," Daniel finished.
"Ah." Adora looked at Catra. She wasn't entirely sure, but while Catra nodded as if the explanation had actually explained everything, Adora thought her lover was just faking.
"Video games are quite popular amongst adults as well," Jack said with a slight pout.
"You would say that, Jack."
"Daniel…"
Ador cleared her throat. "Anyway, I was working on my list." It would be rude to send them out, but she needed some peace and quiet to work on that. And her and Catra's cabin definitely wouldn't be suitable, what with Catra in a playful mood.
"Right, your list!" Jack nodded.
"Yes," Daniel nodded as well. "Your commandments. I am looking forward to seeing how Priest and his church will interpret them. It should be a fascinating study of how holy scripture came to be."
"What?" Adora stared at him.
"Daniel wants to see how your orders will be turned in holy commandments," Jack said. "Word of God - or, in this case, word of the Goddess."
Adora closed her mouth. That wasn't what she wanted! Not at all! "But…"
"I bet Priest will have the orders burned into a golden plate and fixed on the bridge of every ship," Catra interrupted her. "Do you think we can make them rhyme so they can sing the lines?"
Her lover was joking - she had to be! - but Adora could see Priest doing that. She shook her head until her ponytail hit her face. Her orders, enshrined like that? Her friends would never let her forget it. "Anything but that!"
"The alternative would be no lasting restrictions," Daniel pointed out. "Religious commandments were often a restraining influence in Earth's past."
"The point is, Daniel, that Adora doesn't want to found a religion," Jack told him.
"I think it's clear that the religion already exists, Jack. So, the best solution would be to use the opportunity, rather than struggling futilely to turn back time," Daniel retorted.
Adora was about to tell them not to talk about her as if she wasn't present when Catra spoke up in that fake innocent tone of hers: "Well, it'll be amusing to see Priest trying to convert Earth to the worship of Adora."
The wide-eyed glance Jack and Daniel exchanged in return wasn't helping Adora's mood in the slightest.
*****
Warhead separation complete. Five seconds to impact. Four. Three. Two. One.
On the screen, the ruins and the hill vanished in a fireball each. Samantha Carter watched as the multiple angles blanked out in rapid succession until only the orbital view remained, showing two converging mushroom clouds.
"It's a beautiful sight, isn't it?" Entrapta commented. "The bombs performed as calculated!"
Sam slowly nodded. She wasn't quite as enthusiastic about the bombs they had built as Entrapta was, but a part of her was proud that they had managed to rig a warhead that struck both sites at the same time with Naqadah-enhanced bombs in such a short time. But that was just the technical aspect. With this as proof of concept, the genie was out of the bottle - now such bombs would be on the table for other situations as well. Situations where the targets weren't just ruins devoid of intelligent life.
On the screen, the cloud started to dissipate - faster than in real life; Entrapta had sped up the recording - and revealed two huge craters.
"Now comes my favourite part!" Entrapta said as a Horde frigate descended above the craters. "Yes!" she all but squealed when two lances of red light appeared under the frigate, stabbing down into the crater. The screen split again, showing the lasers burning into the glassed surface below. Writing.
Potential Goa'uld on the planet. Beware.
In Goa'uld - as much as Daniel hated it, it was the lingua franca of a big part of the galaxy. Most people in the sector would be able to read it. It would also tell Goa'uld that someone hostile had destroyed the ruins, but that couldn't be avoided. And the paranoid System Lords might well suspect one of their own trying to throw off suspicion - that was why they had used Goa'uld weapons, after all.
Not that the odds that it would matter were great anyway - sooner or later, Sam's money was on sooner, the Alliance would engage in open warfare with the Goa'uld. With help from Earth, unless something went very wrong when they reached home.
In any case, at that point, the Goa'uld would know who they were facing, and any intel potential Goa'uld left on the planet might provide would be even more outdated than it already was.
"You must really love this," Entrapta said. "You've been watching it five times so far."
Sam blinked and realised that the recording had ended. "I was looking for more data," she lied. Well, it wasn't a complete lie - there was a chance that she had missed something the four other times she had watched the recording.
"Oh! Did you discover something?"
"No." Sam shook her head. She hadn't found anything new. And, maybe, it was time to stop watching what she had wrought and get back to working on the alien data cube. They had still a few weeks until they reached Earth, and if they encountered a Stargate on the way, Sam wouldn't be able to work on the cube until the fleet reached Earth. Not even then, she knew - she would likely be too busy with other work, mainly the Al'kesh repairs. And briefing various generals and politicians.
She wasn't looking forward to that. She wouldn't go as far as to call it a waste of time, as the Colonel did, but she could do much more important work than telling people who were as likely to ignore her as to heed her words things they could read up in her reports. Which she had to update with the latest data, actually.
But that could wait until the evening. "Let's tackle the data cube again," she said. "I think we haven't tried base-13 yet, did we?" They hadn't; Sam had checked.
"Oh, yes. I mean, no, we haven't!" Entrapta skipped over to the table where the cube was waiting for them. "Let's try this out!"
"Yes." Sam smiled - it was great to work with an enthusiastic partner.
"I'll call Hordak, too! He's had a few interesting ideas as well!"
Sam kept smiling with a bit of effort. She wasn't nearly as fond of Hordak as she was of Entrapta. The man - the alien - was a genius, no doubt about it. But he was also a former warlord with alien morals, and Sam wasn't entirely sure that he had changed enough not to slide back into old habits, should he deem it necessary. And while she had been told that Entrapta's influence had changed him, she knew that Hordak's influence would have changed Entrapta as well. And would continue to do so.
Well, Sam could exert some influence as well. If Hordak wanted to get a pet scientist to unleash monstrous weapons on defenceless civilians, he wouldn't get his way if Sam had anything to say about it.
"You've finished the documentation, then."
"Yes!" Entrapta said, nodding as she went to Hordak, who stood in the door. "And we're ready to continue with the data cube!"
Had he been listening until this moment? Or was this just coincidence? Sam nodded at him. Politely. "Yes."
"Enhancing explosives with Naquadah will facilitate further offensive operations," Hordak said. "Defending assets against attacks with such bombs will be more difficult, though."
That was obvious, of course. On Earth, it had led to a somewhat stable peace between nuclear powers thanks to the threat of mutually assured destruction. She doubted that they could or should achieve the same with the Goa'uld.
But the way the former warlord talked about assets and operations… Sam didn't like that.
*****
Hyperspace, On the Way to Earth, July 18th, 1998 (Earth Time)
Catra yawned as she leaned back in her seat on the bridge of Darla. Standing watch was as boring as ever. As expected - she had spent time in space before, after all, and unless you were trying to fool Horde Prime, running for your life, or exploring some ancient ruins, it was generally very dull. Especially without Adora or anyone else to talk to because it was the night shift. Night watch.
Everyone else was asleep. Unless Entrapta or Carter had sneaked into the hold to tinker with the cube again. She checked the display on her right - no, the hold was empty of life signatures. Unless someone had fiddled with the ship's internal sensors, of course. Which… wasn't too implausible, actually.
Well, she hadn't anything better to do, so she might as well check personally. And grab a drink from the kitchen. Or kitchenette, as O'Neill called it.
She got up and walked out of the bridge, then frowned - the light was on in the kitchen area. And - her ears twitched - someone was heating tea. If Entrapta had actually sneaked out… "Hey!"
It wasn't Entrapta. She saw Daniel, gasping, standing next to the pot of boiling water. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Making tea?" He pointed at the kettle.
She rolled her eyes. "I meant, why aren't you sleeping?"
To his credit, he didn't make a stupid joke about her having to ask what she meant in the first place but shrugged. "I got caught translating some of the books."
They had a library on board? That was news to her. Not that she'd admit it. "What book are you reading?"
"It's actually one of Bow's history books," he told her.
Ah. So, he was talking about Bow's books. Well, history books were pretty harmless. If it had been Entrapta's diary or notes of bot construction… She shrugged. "Sounds pretty boring."
"It's actually fascinating how Etheria's culture evolved over a thousand years," he said. "The way magic powers shaped history on your planet…"
"Yeah, yeah, magic princesses rule," she cut him off and grabbed a cup of her own.
"That's a very simplified view," he said with a slight pout.
"But a correct one. In the Horde, we were taught that the princesses were evil, you know?" she said as she dropped some leaves in a streamer. "That they were fighting us because we didn't have princesses."
"Well, on Earth, when France overthrew their monarchy, the other monarchies banded together to fight the new government. They didn't declare war merely because of the revolution, there were many other reasons, but it was a contributing factor," Daniel told her. "Executing the king and queen did help escalate the situation as well, of course."
"They didn't fight us because we had overthrown our princess," Catra retorted. Well, in as much as Scorpia was their princess. "They fought us because we invaded them and tried to conquer them." They had actually conquered quite a bit of Etheria under her leadership.
"Of course." He nodded. "I'm just pointing out possible parallels to the history of Earth."
"And potential trouble," she added.
He winced, then took a sip from his steaming cup and winced even more. "Yes, that too."
Catra jumped slightly to sit on the counter, blowing on her cup. "So, how bad will it be?" Daniel was the most honest of SG-1, she knew that. And without his friends around, he should be likely to let slip something.
He looked puzzled for a moment. "When we arrive on Earth?"
"Yes. Magic, princesses, fanatical clones with a space fleet…" She took a sip from her own cup. A little too hot, but tolerable.
"Well…" He grimaced. "It will be a shock to find out that aliens are real."
"That's obvious." They had gone over that already. "But afterwards, when the shock's faded, and we're talking alliance."
"Ah." He pursed his lips. "It's hard to say. Historically, people tend to be pragmatic when they are faced with a common enemy. Even ideological enemies."
That sounded good. "So, you're going to play one happy, united front and ignore all the differences?"
"That would be best for the war, wouldn't it?" He blew on his cup again, then took a swallow, sighing with his eyes closed. The man liked the tea, even though he claimed that he preferred coffee - but they had run out of the bitter brew.
"Probably." She shrugged again. "In my experience, ignoring differences isn't a good idea. It can lead to losing a war." She knew that from personal experience.
"Oh." He took another swallow.
"So, what's the worst problem we'll face? Magic? Or Monarchies? Our gender?"
"That's hard to say. Earth isn't very homogenous, and even in our country, there are distinct groups with very different views and interests." He smiled rather weakly.
"So, all of the above?" she asked with a wry grin.
He nodded, making a noncommittal noise, and hid his mouth behind his cup again.
"I see." She nodded as well.
Great. She would have to talk with the rest about this. Once they were awake, of course.
*****
Hyperspace, On the Way to Earth, July 20th, 1998 (Earth Time)
"Another day, another empty system," Jack O'Neill commented as he stepped on the bridge of the Darla.
"We don't know if the system is actually empty, Sir," Carter told him, as he had expected.
Good to know that she hadn't been entirely lost to the alien data cube. Perhaps Jack shouldn't have joked about expecting her to crack the thing in one day - she seemed to have taken it as a challenge. Though, to be fair, there wasn't much else to do on the ship during this trip. Except for checking the Al'kesh, but since that was transported on a Horde frigate, she would have to leave the Darla for that - and Jack wasn't about to split up his team.
"Well, we'll soon know!" Entrapta piped up. "Dropping out of hyperspace in five… four… three… two… one!"
"Nothing in close range," Bow reported. "Long-range scanners… Contacts!"
Jack didn't jerk, but he leaned forward on his seat. "Have they seen us?"
"Not unless they have improved sensors," Bow replied.
Jack glanced at the side screen. The holographic display zoomed in on the system, past the outer planets, and came to a stop at the second planet - a habitable world, it seemed. He counted a dozen ships in orbit, and they were… firing onto each other.
"It's a war zone," Daniel stated the obvious as one of the ships - blew up.
"Three Ha'taks, eight Al'kesh. Multiple Death Gliders," Bow reported.
"It's an invasion," Jack said. The three Ha'taks were working together, flying in formation with the Al'keshs. But the Death Gliders were dogfighting - and some were attacking the Al'kesh.
"And unless the defenders have reinforcements waiting for them, they have lost the battle," Teal'c stated.
"Yeah. A bunch of Death Gliders reenacting the Battle of Britain won't beat three Ha'taks," Jack said.
"Are they buying time for the ground forces to evacuate or disperse for guerilla campaign?" Catra asked.
"I can't tell from here," Entrapta said. "We need to get closer to find out."
"It depends on the System Lord who rules the planet," Teal'c said. "Some expect their Jaffa to fight to the death even when retreating would be advisable."
"What?" Adora frowned. "Why would they throw away their people?
"To keep the news of defeat from spreading amongst their troops," Daniel explained. "That might damage their claims of divinity."
"That's…" Adora shook her head.
"Monstrous," Glimmer spat. "And stupid. It means their enemy can undermine the trust of their people by spreading the news themselves. That'll do more damage to the defender's reputation in the long run."
The princess was the commander of the Alliance, Jack reminded himself.
"And the soldiers will stop trusting any information from their superiors," Catra added.
"That's the Goa'uld for you - they're not very big on rational plans," Jack said.
"We can't underestimate them, Sir," Carter objected.
"I'm not saying their fools, just that they might not have the same view of what is rational and effective as we do," Jack replied.
"Hey, crazy plans can work very well - just ask Glimmer," Catra said with a smirk.
"What do you mean?" Glimmer asked with narrowed eyes just as Adora hissed: "Catra!"
"You know what I mean," Catra replied.
"My plan worked." Glimmer clenched her teeth. "It defeated the Horde."
"You were lucky. Very lucky." Catra bared her teeth.
"And it was all for nought since Horde Prime arrived in the moment of your triumph," Hordak added.
"Catra! Glimmer!" Adora snapped. "This is not the time!" She turned her head to glare at Hordak, who remained impassive.
Catra ducked her head with a pout, but Glimmer grew serious and nodded. "Yes. Sorry."
"Anyway!" Entrapta spoke up. "There's a significant amount of Naquadah on the planet, but I can't tell from here if there's a Stargate."
"There could be mining operations," Carter speculated. "Although those should have better protection."
"Unless the main defenders were lured away - or they trusted secrecy," Jack said.
"So, who's invading whom here?" Adora asked.
"All those Goa'uld ships look the same," Jack said with a grin.
"They have an IFF transponder system," Carter added, "but they might not use distinctive codes for every mission."
"Well, if they are true to form, we just have to wait until the invaders win and broadcast the new rulers of the planet. It's a thing for them," Jack said. "Unless this is a black op, and they're only here to lay waste to the planet. Or a false flag operation."
"So, do we take our stealth ship in close? Try to find a gate while they are still busy shooting each other?" Daniel asked.
It was tempting. There would be chaos on the ground. A ship might slip through, and they might make their way to a stargate. Yet, they didn't know if there was a gate on the planet.
"We could blow all the Goa'uld ships up," Catra said. "The Third Fleet wouldn't have any trouble with them."
"Can they do that and prevent someone from sending out word about the attack?" Jack asked. He didn't want to lose operational surprise before they had a formal alliance with Etheria.
"Doubtful. We haven't found a way to reliably prevent FTL communications," Carter replied.
"Then we better not try to meddle," Jack said. If the Goa'uld killed each other, so much the better. "Unless they plan to massacre civilians." On the screen, another Al'kesh blew up, but then the rest of them started to enter the atmosphere, and the Ha'taks spread out as well.
"There's a message broadcast in the clear," Bow said. A moment later, a Goa'uld voice filled the room.
"Your Death Gliders have been destroyed. Surrender to the divine Raiden!"
*****
"Raiden?" Adora asked. She hadn't heard about any Goa'uld with that name yet. Not that she'd remember, anyway.
"Raiden, also known as Raijin, is a Shinto god of lightning, thunder and storms," Daniel said. "And, obviously, a Goa'uld who has claimed the name. Or who has started the religion - since we lack records for most of the civilisations dating back to the time of the Goa'uld, it is often hard to determine whether the Goa'uld coopted existing mythological figures or created them." After a moment, he added: "Shinto is a religion centred on the Japanese Islands."
"Ah." That didn't actually tell Adora much, but it would be rude not to acknowledge Daniel's efforts.
"Raiden is a false god with a minor domain, in perpetual conflict with the vastly more powerful Yu," Teal'c said. "According to the star charts, however, we should not be in either of their territories."
"Well, for a vastly more powerful Goa'uld, those were pitiful defences," Catra commented with a frown. "Not really a big invasion fleet, either."
Adora agreed with her lover. The Third Fleet could wipe out all those ships easily. Of course, the Third Fleet wasn't stretched out protecting multiple worlds yet.
"Yu might be involved in another conflict with a stronger force and could have withdrawn his ships from this planet to protect more important systems," Jack repeated his earlier speculation. "Or this world didn't belong to Yu, but to another, weaker Goa'uld."
Either possibility could be true. "What are they doing?" Adora asked.
"There's been no answer from the people on the ground," Bow said.
"That means bombing will start soon," Jack said. "Goa'uld are testy about being ignored or refused."
As he had predicted, the screen flared, and Bow reported the Al'kesh making bombing runs.
Catra stepped closer to the screen. "How precise are they? Can we tell from here?"
Bow grimaced. "I can't tell what they're aiming at - the scanner doesn't show the planetary surface in detail."
Adora made a mental note that they needed either better scanners or a way to get closer to a planet without being detected. It wouldn't do to attack a planet without good intel or lose surprise by a recon mission being detected. The stealth system Entrapta and Sam had built for the shuttle might be the answer, but it hadn't been tested against actual Goa'uld ships yet.
"The bombs they use have a rather high yield," Entrapta said, frowning at the console next to her. "They do not seem to be very precise."
Adora gripped the armrests of her chair. "Are they targeting civilians?" If they were…
"We can't tell. We have to fly closer for that," Bow said.
"If they detect us, operational surprise is lost," Jack cautioned.
"But we might secure a working Stargate," Sam pointed out.
"Let's take the shuttle and fly closer. If they detect the shuttle, we'll move the fleet in," Adora said. "We can't let them bomb civilians."
"Alright," Glimmer said. "But you're staying here." Adora was about to protest, but her friend went on: "Third Fleet won't take well to you flying close to an enemy fleet in a simple shuttle."
"They accepted our trip to the planet with the crashed Al-Kesh," Adora said.
"PK-327," Entrapta cut in.
"Yes, that." Adora nodded.
"The system didn't have a fleet in it," Catra said.
Adora sighed. "Alright. But you're staying here as well, Glimmer."
Glimmer pouted at her, but Adora shrugged it off. If it was too dangerous for her, it was too dangerous for the Queen of Bright Moon.
"Let's go, Bow," Catra said - but she was looking at Adora.
After a moment, Adora nodded. Catra smiled and headed to the back, followed by Bow, Entrapta and SG-1.
And Adora closed her eyes and sighed. She hated staying back while her friends braved danger.
Glimmer didn't say anything as she went and took over Bow position at the console.
"I hate this," Adora muttered as she watched the shuttle leave on the side screen.
"Welcome to my life," Glimmer replied. "The burden of command, Mom called it."
Adora bit her lower lip for a moment. Even now, Queen Angella was a sore subject. "We're princesses," she said. "We're supposed to lead from the front."
"Technically, I'm a queen."
The queen, actually, as far as Etheria was concerned. Adora kept her eyes on the screen. The shuttle was quickly reducing the distance to the planet. And to the enemy fleet. No reaction by the Goa'uld so far. But they could be trying to lure them closer, to spring an ambush - send the Death Gliders at them before they could reverse course and flee. "Yes. But I'm no queen," she said.
"Priest would disagree."
Adora scoffed. Who cared what Priest thought? His fleet, she answered her own question. She sighed instead of replying.
On the screen, the shuttle suddenly turned around and started flying back. Still no reaction from the Goa'uld fleet. Or flotilla - three Ha'tak and a few more Al'kesh weren't much of a fleet, not compared to Third Fleet.
"The bombings stopped," Glimmer commented. "So, no civilians are in danger any more."
Adora pressed her lips together. They weren't in any danger any more because they were either safe - or dead.
Then Catra's smiling face appeared on the screen. "Hey, Adora!"
Adora smiled against her will. That comment brought up so many memories…
"The bombings targetted Jaffa ground forces. They left the mines down there alone, where all the civilians are," Catra went on. "No sign of a Stargate, though."
Adora sighed with relief. They could return at a later date, once they had hashed out their alliance with Earth, and save the slaves.
*****
Hyperspace, On the Way to Earth, July 31st, 1998 (Earth Time)
"And… nothing! No connection - the signal remains incompatible."
Even Entrapta sounded a little dejected at the result of their latest attempt to crack the alien data cube, Samantha Carter noted. Unlike their work on the Al'kesh, which had been very satisfactory, they hadn't had much success with the cube so far - it had defied every single one of their attempts to access its core.
"Welllll…. That means we can try the next theory!"
Not for long, of course - the princess still seemed to have limitless enthusiasm. Sam nodded, though her heart wasn't in it. "Yes, let's attempt to reverse the polarity on the connectors there and see if we get a reading then," she said.
"Exactly!" Entratpa nodded, her hair twitching, then looked at Hordak. "What do you say, Science Buddy?"
"The methodical approach is sound," the former warlord said - he hadn't shown any frustration at their lack of results at all. "Absent other examples of this technology, or individuals of the species that created it whom we could interrogate, we can only work through the various possibilities."
Sam pressed her lips together. She wasn't sure what kind of interrogation Hordak meant. Even after two weeks working with him, Sam couldn't claim she knew him. Sometimes, he acted like the sort of scientist, usually men, who were a little too focused on their work. She was familiar with them, though that also meant she had to be wary of letting her expectations frame her impressions. Other times, the former warlord came to the fore, sometimes just by uttering a suggestion that was unethical, sometimes by mentioning details of his past that drove home the fact that he had waged a war of conquest in the name of an interstellar dictator. The former usually took Entrapta a bit more time to catch and correct than the latter, which was worrying Sam a little.
But the alien was a very good scientist, Sam had to admit. And as much as it made her question her own morals, she was starting to understand how NASA scientists had been able to work with former Nazis like Werner von Braun. Earth needed to adapt its technology to the level of the various space-faring species, and that meant she and her colleagues needed to understand the alien technology they had access to. And if they had to work with an ex-warlord who might not have reformed as completely as some claimed, then… well, it was better than working with a Goa'uld.
At least Hordak was trying to do better, from what Sam could tell. And, another point in his favour, he didn't show any sort of sexism. He treated both Entrapta and Sam as his equals.
"Alright! Let's prepare the next test!" Entrapta announced and went over to the table where the crystals she had 'attuned' were held.
Hordak nodded and went to the console to adjust the parameters.
And Sam wondered while she changed the adapters on the data cube how she could break it to the Etherians that Earth was a rather sexist society. They were more than halfway to Earth now, and it wouldn't do at all to let their allies - and friends - discover after reaching it that humanity, by and large, wasn't quite as progressive when it came to equal rights for women. Or for people who had non-heterosexual orientations.
The Colonel should have brought it up, but, so far, he hadn't even touched the issue. Daniel had, for a change, apparently avoided the topic in his long talks with the Etherians about their culture. Teal'c… was Teal'c.
Which left her, the only woman in the team, to bring it up. Even if that was against the Colonel's wishes. Not that he had given an actual order about that. But this wasn't the kind of thing you kept secret.
She sighed.
"Don't worry! Sooner or later, we'll crack the cube!" Entrapta told her with a smile. "Sometimes, science takes a while to get results!"
Sam knew that, of course. "Oh, it's not about that," she said. "I was thinking about home."
"Oh. Don't worry, we should reach Earth in about ten days!"
"Unless we meet another situation that requires intervention or exploration," Hordak added.
Meaning: found a planet with a Stargate on it. They hadn't so far. Which was a good thing, seeing as the route between Etheria and Earth seemed to be outside the Goa'uld sphere of influence, but also meant that SG-1 hadn't been able to inform Stargate Command about their upcoming arrival with an allied fleet. And magical princesses. Not an ideal state.
"Alright! Attempt to connect to the data cube Number three hundred and twenty-six!" Entrapta announced.
Sam nodded and focused on her work.
*****
"Any luck cracking the data cube?" the Colonel asked when they sat down for dinner.
Samantha Carter looked at him with narrowed eyes. He should, by now, know the answer to that without having to ask.
The Colonel flinched a little, which was a small victory. A petty one as well, she had to admit - but the long time spent in a small ship, with limited company, and the mounting pressure on her was taking its toll. Perfectly reasonable. At least, that was what she told herself.
"We're making progress - we've eliminated several possible architectures today!" Entrapta said between eating her tiny meat pies.
"Well, at least we've cracked the Al'kesh," the Colonel went on. "We'll probably be able to build a copy from scratch at home."
"If we get several key pieces of technology or manage to manufacture them," Sam corrected him. "The crystal-based controls will have to be built from scratch."
"That's what I said," the Colonel said with a grin.
She shook her head and filled her plate.
Catra joined them at the table, stretching her arms over her head, then leaning over to kiss Adora on the cheek. "Hey, Adora!"
"Hey!" Adora smiled at the catwoman, and Sam clenched her teeth. No, this couldn't go on.
She cleared her throat after swallowing a piece of her own, larger meat pie. "There's something we need to talk about…"
*****
"...and while the general attitude has been changing for the better, people who do not conform to the majority view of what is an acceptable sexuality, meaning heterosexuality, are still facing discrimination - legal discrimination, at that."
Catra narrowed her eyes, her tail swishing back and forth behind her, as she alternated between staring at Carter and glancing at Adora. "You mean… your people hate…" she blinked. What was the term she had used? "You mean your people hate people like Adora and me? Or Scorpia and Perfuma? Or Netossa and Spinnerella?"
"Or my dads?" Bow asked. He sounded shocked.
Well, everyone looked shocked. They had known that Earth had some stupid issues with men being considered more powerful than women, which kind of was understandable since Earth didn't have magical princesses, or scorpion people, or minotaurs, who could toss others around regardless of magic or gender. Understandable, but stupid, of course. But hating people based upon their choice of partners?
"We don't hate you!" Carter protested. She even sounded as if she meant it. "Nor does everyone on Earth hate you. There's a significant part of the population that distrusts or dislikes people who do not conform to the heterosexual norm, but few actually hate you."
That was mincing words, in Catra's opinion. She didn't say so, but whether you disliked someone or hated someone didn't really matter that much, in her opinion.
"And people are changing - society is changing. We're working on that," Daniel said. He looked ashamed, at least. "But while we made a lot of progress, we haven't left all the bigotry behind us. Not yet. But it's much better than it was in the past. At least in countries like the USA."
Catra stared at him. Daniel was, as far as she could tell, not one to lie to them.
"That means it was worse? Like with your gender discrimination?" Bow shook his head. "But…why? Why do you hate my family?"
"Why do you hate people like us?" Adora asked in a low voice.
Catra glanced at her and winced - her lover was looking down at the table, and her fingers were digging into her thighs. She reached out to grab one of Adora's hands, but Adora suddenly looked up, glaring at SG-1.
"Why do you hate us? Why do you want to keep us from… from loving each other?" Adora spat. "Why do you hate love?"
Uh-oh. Catra grabbed her hand and squeezed, hard. When Adora, gasping softly, looked at her, she smiled, leaned over and rested her head on Adora's shoulder. "I'm here," she whispered.
"We don't hate you," Carter repeated herself. Daniel nodded, as did - although a moment later, Catra noted, O'Neill. "As I said, it's not a small minority, but neither is it an overwhelming majority."
"So, what is it? Who on Earth hates us?" Adora asked.
"Ah…" Daniel cleared his throat. "It's a complicated issue, rooted in our - our country's - past - and our religion. For a long time, homosexuality, both by women and men, was seen as morally wrong. Usually, religious reasons were given for that, even though the actual scripture of the predominant religion in our country did not condemn homosexuality, as far as most modern scholars agree. It was actually a rather selective interpretation of older passages in scripture, often distorted by translations from the original source, that was seen as a condemnation of the practice."
Catra blinked. "What?"
"Bullshit," Glimmer spat. "You want to claim that your god hates us?"
"No, no!" Daniel shook his head. "Sorry, I was… I digressed. No, what I am trying to explain is that while religious passages were cited to justify such a hatred of homosexuality, it was actually based on the culture dominating our country, and much of the world, which, in turn, shaped the religion of our culture."
Catra blinked again. "You mean… you made your god's words into what you wanted them to be?" Wasn't that… going against your god?
"Well, it's a rather succinct way to word it, but… essentially yes." Daniel nodded with a short-lived smile. "Even leaving aside the question of whether or not the god that most of us - most of the USA - revere is actually real, most scholars agree that the scripture was written, and, more importantly, edited and translated later, by people. People who usually had quite specific and sometimes quite personal interests that were reflected in the scripture that resulted from their efforts. Further, they often used expressions that we, lacking the context of their culture and time, cannot interpret with any certainty."
"Get to the point," Glimmer told him, tapping her fingers on the table.
Entrapta was watching with a weird expression, both fascinated and shocked, it seemed, or so Catra thought. And Hordak looked bored. SG-1, on the other hand, mostly looked ashamed. And also angry, in O'Neill's case. Except for Teal'c, who looked like he usually did.
"Sorry. Anyway, according to several scholars - I didn't actually research the matter, unfortunately, since it had no bearing on my work, but I did read a few papers on it - hatred against homosexuals is rooted in a patriarchic culture that values certain traits that are seen as masculine - usually, power, pride, logic and aggressiveness - and considers other traits which are seen as feminine, like nurturing and empathy, as less valuable."
Catra couldn't help but scoff at that. What fool would think those were exclusively male or female traits? These people were so stupid, it hurt.
Daniel cleared his throat again. "This shapes the common view of what is an acceptable way to express your sexuality as well. Men are seen as the active part in a relationship. They are expected to seek out sexual relationships - with women, sometimes multiple women - while women are expected to be the passive partner, serving their lone male partner's desires. Women who express an active interest in sexual relationships are generally disdained by society, while men are generally praised for it. Homosexuals of both genders challenge this view simply by existing, and many men and women who conform to their society's expectations see them as a threat that undermines society as a whole."
Catra could barely follow the man's rambling thoughts. Even what she understood just didn't make any sense. This was just so… so fucked up! She wanted to rip the guts out of… of someone! She looked at the others, trying to see if they got what their… guests were saying.
Glimmer was frowning worse than she had when they had met during the war. "So, what you are saying is that your society is built on the idea that if you aren't like everyone else, you are a threat, and so you persecute people who don't fit and make up reasons for it?"
Daniel nodded. "Yes. It's a bit more complicated, but essentially, that's correct. Was correct - as I said, we are changing."
"Yes, we are changing," Carter spoke up. "It's taking a while, but we are changing our society for the better. Many people already do not share these views and treat everyone equally. Many speak out against discrimination, and we are working to make others see how bad it is. But making society as a whole change and adapt is a huge undertaking - I faced a lot of sexism as a woman in traditionally male fields, such as the military and the sciences, so I know how hard it is to make people change. A significant part of our people can't just instantly shed centuries of… of tradition."
Daniel nodded. "Change, even unequivocally for the better, frightens many conservative people. New ideas often get dismissed out of hand by them no matter how valid they are. But, over time, change for the better happens."
Glimmer scoffed. "Well, you better be ready to change some more since we won't tolerate anyone trying to tell us whom we can love!"
"Yes," Adora hissed, and, for a moment, Catra thought her eyes were blazing.
*****
