Stargate Etheria
Disclaimer: I do not own She-Ra and the Princesses of Power or any of the characters in the series. I do not own Stargate: SG-1 or any of the characters in the series.
Author's Notes: This story is set in an Alternate Universe. While the canon events in She-Ra and SG-1 up to this point happened, there will be changes to either series' background to fit them into the same universe.
Chapter 1: The Encounter
Trias, July 10th, 1998
"Take cover!" Jack O'Neill yelled as he jumped behind a large rock, two blasts from Jaffa staff weapons narrowly missing him and blowing up a tree behind him. Another exploration mission gone awry. Sometimes, he wondered if they were cursed with how often they ended up on a planet full of enemies.
He ignored the wooden splinters raining down on him and glanced around. The rest of his team had taken cover - he could see Daniel just crawling behind the remnants of a wall while Carter and Teal'C were already returning fire from behind two rocks further back.
Good. He speed-crawled along the rock, then peered around the other end. Another shot from a staff weapon hit the rock, showering the area with stone splinters while he pulled back.
No way to flank the enemy on this side - the staff weapons were notoriously unprecise, but with the blast radius from a hit… He took a deep breath, bent around the corner, leading with his M4 carbine and fired two bursts before pulling back again.
Three more blasts hit the rock, throwing up dirt at its edge. There had to be at least two dozen Jaffas out there, to focus on him with three while the others were still pinned down. He checked on the rest. Carter, as expected, was returning fire while changing positions with textbook perfection. Teal'C had shifted behind a larger rock and kept their left flank clear. And Daniel… was pointing his zat'nik'tel vaguely into the direction of the enemy and squeezing off shots.
"Daniel!" Jack yelled. "Fall back and dial us out! Carter, Teal'C - cover him!"
To his credit, Daniel didn't argue and started crawling back towards the Stargate behind them. He was even using the rocks on the way as cover.
Jack took a deep breath, then stood, leaning against the rock as he fired a long burst into the treeline from which the Jaffa were shooting at them. This time, the top of the rock disintegrated under the fire from half a dozen staff weapons an instant after he dropped to the ground.
"Must have hit someone," he muttered, baring his teeth as he crawled away. Smoke from all the explosions was covering the area but that wouldn't last forever. Just long enough.
Jack jumped up and sprinted back and to the right, sliding behind a smaller rock and into a firing position. The smoke was still clearing when he spotted two Jaffa charging their position - they were using the smoke to hide from Carter and Teal'C.
He dropped the first with two bursts from his carbine, but the second threw himself to the ground and rolled into a ditch before Jack could shoot him as well.
Those were skilled Jaffa. Not Apophis's, according to Teal'C. Well, they could sort out who they had fought once they were back at Stargate Command. Jack glanced behind him. Daniel had almost reached the D.H.D. Good.
He popped up from cover to fire another burst at the Jaffa in the treeline and tried to keep an eye on the Jaffa in the ditch. If that guy made it into their position…
More blasts forced him to reposition again, behind an even smaller rock. "We're running out of rocks!" he yelled. "Hurry, Daniel!"
"I am, Jack!" Daniel yelled back. He had almost reached the D.H.D.
Jack grinned and emptied his magazine into the treeline to keep the Jaffa's heads down. Daniel would need a few seconds to…
Movement near his old position caught his attention as he pulled back to reload. The hiding Jaffa! He had a clear line of fire to Daniel! And Jack was out of ammo!
"Daniel! Watch out!" he screamed as he swapped magazines and jumped up again, lining up his shot, firing as he aimed, anything to make the bastard flinch and miss…
His bullets caught the Jaffa a moment too late - Jack saw the staff fire. Heard Daniel scream. "Daniel! Carter!" She was closest!
"I'm… I'm OK! But he hit the D.H.D.!" Daniel yelled back.
What? With it, they couldn't dial the Stargate. Couldn't return to Earth. Would be captured here - there had to be more Jaffa approaching. Gliders on the way. He fired into the treeline again. Perhaps he should save a bullet for himself...
"Sir! It's dialling!" Carter yelled. "Outgoing!"
"What?"
"The Stargate is dialling!"
"But I didn't enter the coordinates! And the D.H.D. is damaged!" Daniel complained.
Jack slid back into cover to swap magazines again. Three left. And about two dozen Jaffa. No choice. "Get through the gate!" he yelled. "Hurry!"
"But Jack!"
"Into the gate, Daniel!" Carter yelled, already sprinting towards the archaeologist and the gate - she knew what the alternative was. Better dead than snaked.
"Teal'C! I'll cover you!"
The big guy didn't argue either - just fell back, firing on the move, then stopped behind a rock to cover Jack just as Carter pushed Daniel through the gate.
Jack started to run, bent over to reduce his profile. Staff bursts went past him left and right, blowing up rock and dirt. Splinters tugged at his cap and pinged against his vest.
"Go on!" Teal'C snapped as Jack passed him.
"Like hell!" Jack muttered, crouching down next to the gate and aiming his carbine at the enemy. "Fall back!"
Teal'C obeyed, running faster than a man his size had any right to, and jumped through the gate.
Jack emptied his magazine as he moved backwards up the ramp, more blasts missing him, then one blast that was a little too close all but blew him through the gate.
He came out rolling over his shoulder, down a ramp, his carbine flying away. It was a steeper ramp than expected, he realised as the gate went out behind him. He came to a stop on his back - and found himself staring up in the face of a huge cat. A huge alien cat.
Whispering Woods, Etheria, Same Day.
"I think there's a passage here," Adora said, leaning forward to study the wall in front of her. The light from her lamp wasn't the best.
"You thought that before. And we spent half an hour digging through stone and rock to discover… more rock," Catra said behind her.
Adora glanced over her shoulder. Her girlfriend - even after months, she still had to suppress a silly grin every time she thought that - was leaning against the wall, hands behind her head and rolling her eyes. She could see perfectly well here, of course. At her feet, Melog was acting as if it was cleaning its mane. "I don't remember you doing much digging," Adora told Catra.
"Someone had to keep an eye out for dangers," Catra replied. "This is a lost outpost of the First Ones, in the middle of the Whispering Woods. So, we have to expect both some monsters the First Ones created and forgot to dispose of and the general garden variety of monsters from those cursed woods who took up residence here. And I've got the best eyes and ears of us all, which makes me the natural choice for lookout."
"And you don't like digging," Adora added.
"And I don't like digging." Catra flashed her a toothy grin that made Adora think of... other things.
"Or working," Glimmer muttered as she walked up to them. "Entrapta finished examining the remains of the console in the main room. The memory crystals were smashed, she said."
Adora knew Catra had heard the dig against her, but her girlfriend didn't react other than looking away and clenching her teeth - Adora could see her jaw muscles move. She wanted to sigh. If Catra didn't give as good as she got against Glimmer, it usually meant she was feeling down. Perhaps Adora shouldn't have asked her to come with them on this expedition. No. They were a couple, and she wanted Catra and the others to not only get along but be comfortable with each other. And Glimmer didn't mean to be mean. She was just a little cranky now.
"Yes, Entrapta's trying to recover some data, but I don't think she'll find anything intact enough for a partial retrieval." Bow joined them, ducking under a root that had managed to burrow through the ceiling. "Another dead end?"
"No!" Adora said. "I'm sure there's a tunnel behind this wall. And yes, I'm really sure this time." She pointed at the symbol on the wall. "This means 'Gate'. And this is a wall, not bedrock. So, this is a gate."
"Or some First One flunky made a mistake," Catra pointed out. "Or this was planned to be a gate, but they never got around to dig it out." She crossed her arms over her chest. "If you want to spend another half an hour digging through rock, be my guest, though."
Glimmer bared her teeth in return. "I've got a better plan: We just dig a small hole, so we can check if there's anything behind this wall."
"We would need a drill for that," Bow objected.
"No, we just need She-Ra!" Glimmer beamed at her, Adora realised.
"Me?"
"You can drive your sword through the wall. Wriggle a little to widen it, lather rinse repeat, and we have a hole!" Glimmer said.
"Or you could alter your sword and turn it into a drill," Bow suggested.
That sounded… well, either way, Adora would be digging a hole.
Catra snickered. "Poor She-Ra. From Champion of Etheria to convenient excavation tool."
Adora stuck her tongue out at her in return. She wasn't mad - it was good to see Catra smile. Then she raised her hand and closed her eyes. "For the Honour of Grayskull!"
As always, power filled her as she changed. Grew. Became far more than she was. Power that made her feel as if she could do anything. She barely noticed her clothes and hairstyle change as she became She-Ra. Princess of Power.
"Nice light show. Now, get to it, slacker," Catra commented. Adora frowned at her - she wasn't pouting - and her girlfriend's grin grew wider. "Should've done that the first time."
Adora snorted and turned towards the wall. Perhaps she should've. Yet… They might be joking about this, but it did feel weird to use She-Ra's power for something you could do without it. Even without magic. Like cheating.
Not that she would say that, or Catra would lecture her about not being stupid. Her girlfriend had strict views on fair fights and working more than you had to. Mainly, that both was stupid.
And they had been down here for a few hours already. Adora raised her hand and summoned - or conjured, according to Castaspella - her sword, then changed it into a drill. She looked at it, cocking her head. It seemed to be functional.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed the tip against the wall and started to drill. The tip went into and through the wall like a hot knife went through butter, as Glimmer liked to say. Rock dust and a few splinters flew, but she didn't mind it - her clothes would be cleaned next time she transformed. She-Ra's magic was convenient that way.
Also in other ways - she stumbled slightly when she suddenly felt a lack of resistance, but caught herself instantly. "I'm through!" she announced.
"I knew it!" Glimmer gloated.
"I knew it," Adora corrected her.
"Yes, yes. You were right. For once." Catra rolled her eyes again. "So, open up the tunnel."
That took a little longer. Halfway to clearing the entire wall, Catra suddenly held up her hand. "Stop! I heard something!"
"What?" Adora asked, freezing in the middle of carving through another stone.
"A… whooshing sound, or something." Catra's ears were twitching, and her tail was swishing back and forth.
"A 'wooshing sound'?" Glimmer snorted. "Is that a word?"
Catra narrowed her eyes. "It sounded like that. Something is behind that wall."
"Well, we better…" Adora started to say when Melog suddenly jumped up and sped past her, into the tunnel.
"Melog! Wait!" Catra yelled.
But the cat had already disappeared down the tunnel.
And Catra was about to climb after it.
Samantha Carter kept her M4 trained on the alien looming over the Colonel, silently cursing herself. It must have arrived while she had been distracted by waiting for the Colonel to arrive. Waiting and worrying… She buried the thought, clenching her teeth. She could lambast herself for her unprofessional mistakes later. Now she had to focus on dealing with the situation at hand.
They were facing an alien. It had roughly the shape of a big cat, but in purple, no markings or stripes, and a mane and tail that looked transparent - almost like holograms. Glowing eyes that matched the mane.
And it was growling fiercely.
"Carter!" the Colonel hissed through clenched teeth. He was staring straight up at the creature, and his carbine was about a foot away from his hand - if he grabbed it, he might provoke the creature. "Mind doing something about this? Like, making it go away?"
"I'm not sure if it's corporeal," she told him. If she shot it and the bullets went through its body… the ricochets would endanger everyone. Especially the Colonel.
"Well, yeah, but I'm sure it's dangerous," he snapped back as he started to slowly try and slide away from it.
"It might be intelligent," Daniel interjected. "Have you ever seen one like it, Teal'C?"
A stupid question, Sam knew - if Teal'C had recognised the alien, he would have told them so already.
"No," Teal'C replied anyway. His staff was pointed at the animal, but as close as it was to the Colonel… the plasma blast would injure him whether or not it hit the body of the alien. Perhaps Daniel's zat'nik'tel… that would be safe. Unless there was some interaction between the creature's aura and the blast. And Daniel wasn't the best shot.
The alien growled again. At Teal'C, she realised. Had it recognised him? Had it met Jaffa before? Could it tell Jaffa from humans? The differences were hard to tell without exposing their midriffs, but who knew what senses this creature had…
Her eyes widened when she heard footsteps. She shifted her carbine, aiming at the tunnel behind the alien, trusting Teal'C to keep the cat covered.
"Someone's coming!" Daniel announced.
"Melog!" A figure appeared in the tunnel, then froze when they spotted SG-1. "Who're you?"
Sam stared for a moment. The figure was humanoid but had cat-like features. Fur, twitching, cat-like ears, a tail. And she was female - the tight clothes she was wearing didn't hide that. And she was unarmed. Or not, Sam corrected herself when the woman unsheathed claws on her fingers and feet. She didn't attack, though - she must have realised they had her covered.
"We're Tau'ri," Daniel spoke up. "We're travellers who ended up here by mistake. Who are you?"
"Travellers?" The woman's ears twitched as the alien growled again. Her eyes widened. "Goa'uld?"
"No! We aren't Goa'uld," Daniel blurted out.
Sam hoped that they weren't talking to a loyal servant of the local Goa'uld.
"What are Goa'uld?" the woman asked.
Daniel blinked. "They're a species that…" he started to explain, but the alien cat cut him off with another growl.
"Parasitic snakes?" the cat-woman hissed, eyes darting to the cat for a moment.
She could understand the alien cat, Sam realised. Who was obviously intelligent. And didn't like the Goa'uld.
"Yes, exactly," Daniel went on, blissfully ignorant of this. "We've…"
More footsteps. "Catra! Melog!"
And Sam stared again as a huge blonde woman - easily seven foot tall - arrived, brandishing a giant sword. She drew to a stop next to the cat-woman - Catra? - and pointed her sword at them. "Who are you?"
"We're Tau'ri, from Earth," Daniel repeated. "We come in peace."
"They're servants of parasitic snakes," the cat-woman cut in.
"Parasitic snakes?"
Two more figures arrived. They looked like humans. A man with a… bow and arrows? And a woman with a staff. Sword, bow and staff - if they didn't end up dead, the Colonel would make a D&D joke, Sam was sure. As sure as she was that she wouldn't reveal that she understood the joke.
"No! We aren't servants of the Goa'uld!" Daniel exclaimed.
Another growl.
"He is!" the cat-woman said, pointing at Teal'C.
"I do not serve them. Not any more," Teal'C replied. He didn't show any emotion, but Sam could see that he was tense. Ready to take them all down.
"Yes. We've been kinda fighting them for some time," the Colonel chimed in.
"He carries a snake in his body!"
"A larvae - the Goa'uld use his people as hosts," Daniel explained. "We cannot extract it without endangering his life. Please - we do not mean you any harm."
"And yet you're pointing your weapons at us," the blonde woman replied.
"So are you," the Colonel shot back. The cat growled at him, and he winced.
"You started it! And Melog doesn't like you!" the cat-woman retorted.
"It's a misunderstanding." Daniel took a step towards the four. Sam gritted her teeth and shifted her position so he wouldn't block her line of fire. The Colonel was still too close to the alien cat to get his carbine. "We oppose the Goa'uld - we have killed one of their leaders. In fact, we ended up here fleeing from one of their planets."
"You fled to Etheria?" the blonde asked. "Like the Star Siblings?"
Star siblings? Sam didn't remember any term like that.
"We travelled between the stars, yes," Daniel said.
"Where's your ship? And how did you get past the frigates in orbit?" the other woman asked.
"And what are you doing here?" the man added.
Frigates in orbit? Sam's eyes widened. Despite the primitive weapons, these people must be a spacefaring civilisation. Or at least on a level to achieve orbit.
She glanced at the Colonel. He had realised it as well, she knew.
"We didn't arrive by ship," Daniel went on. "We arrived through the Stargate." He pointed at the ring behind them, which had gone inert.
And which, Sam realised with a gasp, didn't have a D.H.D. anywhere near it.
Catra hissed. They were facing a group of armed strangers - armed strangers with parasitic snakes in them. Well, at least in one, possibly two of them, according to Melog. And Adora and the others were talking with them! Even though the tactical situation favoured them. They outnumbered the others. Melog had one of them - the oldest - locked down. Adora was close enough to get the big guy with the staff before he could do anything, and she would bet on Bow against the woman with the gun. Especially since the blonde seemed to be distracted by the ring thing behind them. The Stargate, according to them.
Well, that would explain the 'Gate' sign Adora had mentioned.
Anyway, Catra could take the guy with the glasses - he didn't seem to be much of a fighter - and Glimmer could teleport behind whoever made trouble. There was no need to talk like this.
"There's no D.H.D.!" the glasses guy exclaimed.
What was a D.H.D.?
"What? Carter!" the old man turned his head away from Melog.
"I… I don't see any, Sir."
"How could you miss that?"
"We were distracted by being under fire and waiting for you," the glasses guy said.
"And it wasn't relevant," the big guy added - without taking his eyes off Adora, Catra noted. Points for identifying the biggest threat to them. But it wouldn't help him anyway. No one could beat She-Ra.
"What is a D.H.D.?" Adora asked.
"It's what is used to control the Stargate," the glasses guy explained. "Without it, you can't use it."
"So, you're stuck here unless we find one?" Adora cocked her head.
Trapped, Melog growled.
Catra blinked. Did Melog hide it with an illusion? It must have used illusions to sneak up on them, so hiding this other thing would not be too much of a stretch. "You know this gate, don't you?"
No. Only know of.
Well, that was something. Catra hated missing intel. Or giving information to the enemy. "So, did you see one?" she asked Melog.
No.
He wasn't hiding one, then.
"So, we're trapped here," the old man said. "And apparently, their cat is their gate expert."
Cat? Catra narrowed her eyes. Ah. He was talking about Melog.
"You know the Stargate?" Glasses guy was looking at Melog. "Uh… can they understand us? Or do you need to translate?"
Catra snorted. "Melog can understand you just fine."
"Ah." The man nodded. "So…"
"We still don't know who you are and why we should trust you," Catra told him.
"We come in peace. And by accident," the man replied. "We do not mean you any harm."
"You could be lying," Catra shot back. "You're carrying snake parasites that Melog really doesn't like." And she trusted Melog. Almost as much as she trusted Adora.
"I am not controlled by the Goa'uld," the huge guy said. "And I will die before I let the larvae mature and take over anyone."
Well, anyone could say that. But the guy did sound like he meant it. Not like Adora 'I can't lie to save myself' honest, but… determined.
He still could be lying.
"Look… let's lower the weapons," the glasses guy said, holstering his own tiny thing. "Let's deescalate. None of us wants to fight. I hope so, at least," he added, looking at Melog.
Melog growled again. Don't trust snakes.
"Can the snakes hurt us?" Catra asked. "Like… control us?"
Burrow into you.
She shuddered. "The snakes bury into you," she told the others.
"Ew!" Glimmer grimaced.
"That's why they're parasites!" Bow exclaimed. "And you have one inside you!"
"Not like that," the glasses guy said. "The Goa'uld use Jaffa to, ah, grow their young, but they do not control them as they control the Tau'ri. But please, let's lower our weapons. Guys?" He was talking to his friends. "We're stranded here. We need help. And it's clear that they won't trust us easily."
The woman looked at the old guy. That must be their leader. "Sir?"
"Well, I don't have a gun to lower… but we're in close quarters, and I'm pretty sure this cat can shred me before anyone can shoot it." He sighed. "Let's talk."
The glasses guy smiled as the woman lowered her gun and the big guy put the staff up. "So… I'm Daniel Jackson. These are Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter and Teal'C."
Catra narrowed her eyes. It was a gesture of trust… or it could be a trap. But either way, they had an even greater advantage. If these people tried anything…
Then Adora lowered her sword - and put it on her back. "Alright."
And Bow lowered his bow. Catra clenched her teeth. So much for having an advantage!
Glimmer took a step forward. "I am Glimmer, Queen of Bright Moon. This is She-Ra, Princess of Power. Bow and Catra. And Melog."
"Glimmer? Bow? Princess of Power?" The old guy - O'Neill - blinked.
"Sir!" the woman - Carter - hissed.
Even Jackson sent a glance at the old man before smiling again. "Thank you. We are honoured to meet you and apologise for entering your realm without permission. Ah… how do we address you?"
"Your Glowing Highness?" Jack O'Neill clenched his teeth a little too late to keep his comment from slipping out.
"Jack!" Daniel looked aghast.
"Colonel!" Carter too.
But he couldn't help it - he had been lying far too close to an alien cat creature for far too long. And those names… Even if they were a translation quirk, how could anyone resist?
And the cat-woman - named Catra? What the hell? - giggled. "'Your Glowing Highness'! That's almost as good as Sparkles!"
"Catra!" the big blonde hissed.
And the alien cat chuffed or something. It had changed colours too, for a moment, Jack noticed. Perhaps if it was distracted, he could reach his carbine… No. They were talking now. And this group seemed to loathe the Goa'uld, which made them OK in Jack's book. And they were all so young… barely twenty, by his guess. Unless that was old for a cat-woman.
"Just call me Glimmer," the supposed queen said. "We aren't at Court." She was frowning at Jack, though.
He smiled back - he had seen worse glares. Like the one Carter was sending at him. "Glimmer it is. Call me Jack."
She nodded. "You're the leader of your group."
Had it been obvious? Daniel had told them their ranks, but would they have understood that? Jack told himself not to underestimate the kids. "I'm the leader of SG-1, yes. Do you mind if I get up? Talking to you while I'm on my back feels a little weird." He managed not to add the very off-colour joke about being on his back that came to mind. See, Carter, I can control myself!
"As long as you don't try to attack us," the blonde amazon said. Adora She-Ra, or something. Daniel was probably analysing the meanings of their names.
"Thank you." Jack kept the sarcasm down as he slowly backed off a little more from the cat - no quick movements - and got up. After a moment's hesitation, he picked up his carbine and slung it over his shoulder. He always felt better conducting negotiations when he was armed.
The kids seemed to relax, he noticed.
"So, Glimmer, once again, our apologies for entering your realm," Daniel repeated himself as he gave them his usual charming smile. One of those days, he'd send the wrong signals to people, Jack knew.
"It's not exactly my realm," Glimmer replied. "This is the Whispering Woods. Bright Moon and Plumeria share the responsibility for the area. Bright Moon is my kingdom."
"Ah." Daniel nodded.
So, they were in disputed territory. And there were more kingdoms. Jack grinned - good to know. And good to know that this kid wasn't the ruler of the planet.
"So, you arrived here by the Stargate," the boy - Bow - said. "And you are stuck here since you can't activate it from this side."
Right. Daniel needed the 'don't blurt out information' talk again, Jack reminded himself.
"Yes," Carter said. "We need a D.H.D. A…"
Jack grinned. "A Dial Home Device, as we call it. It's round, looks a little like a weird sundial, and has the symbols you see on the Stargate. Found it lying around by chance?"
"No." "Nope." "Don't think so." "Didn't pay attention."
"It might be around," the blonde said. "We're still exploring these ruins."
"Looks like we're stuck until we find it," Jack said. Carter might be able to create a replacement device, but it had taken Stargate Command fifteen years to build the supercomputer to run the Stargate, and it still didn't work perfectly. Stranded on an alien planet, she'd need… He pushed the thought away. Focus on the task at hand, he reminded himself.
"Uh… you said you fled from enemies. Will they follow you through the gate?" Adora asked.
"That's…" Daniel trailed off. "The D.H.D. was hit when I was dialling. It's possible that it got stuck, but…"
"They would have reopened the gate and followed us if they could," Carter said.
"Yes," Jack agreed. "Jaffa don't give up easily." Not when their lives, and the lives of their families, might depend on it.
"If their orders were to capture us," Teal'C added. "If their orders were to drive us off, they might not have followed us even if they could.
"The gate went out as soon as you came through, Sir," Carter said. "And the D.H.D. was damaged. I doubt that it's functional, but we cannot dismiss the danger, either."
"Great." The cat-woman sighed. "We've got a portal straight to another alien invasion force."
"Well… It's a small portal?" the blonde smiled weakly. "Can we brick it up?"
"The opening of the wormhole destroys almost anything in the way," Carter told her. "You would need a special material or bury the entire gate to block it."
"Or you just seal the chamber," Jack suggested.
"That would still allow anyone to arrive. And they would be stuck here," Glimmer said. "We'll ask Entrapta if she can block the gate."
"Entrapta?" Jack tilted his head. What was it with those names?
"Princess of Dryl," Glimmer told him. "She and Bow are experts on First Ones technology."
"She's better," the boy said with a smile.
"But you're not a slouch either!" Adora added.
"So, where's Entrapta?" Jack asked. They had to stay focused.
"Trying to fix the main console," Adora told him.
"I'll fetch her," Bow said. "She'll love this."
Jack suddenly had a bad feeling about this.
Adora kept an eye on the new arrivals while Bow went to fetch Entrapta. They didn't look like they'd attack her or her friends, but better safe than sorry - they still hadn't verified their story, after all. Not that she knew how to verify if they were stranded here. But she knew they were dangerous. Well, most of them - the guy with the glasses didn't seem dangerous. Or he was a better actor than Double Trouble.
"Sir, if we don't find the D.H.D…." the woman, Carter, told the older man in a low voice.
"We'll cross that bridge if we get to it, Carter," he replied. "For now, let's be optimistic."
"Optimistic? You, Jack?"
"Hey! I'm always optimistic, Daniel."
"You always assume the worst."
"Not always. And I'm just being realistic."
"So, you mean you're not always realistic since you claim you don't always assume the worst?"
"Daniel! Not in front of our new friends!"
Catra snickered. "Oh, do continue."
"See?"
"Honesty is a good policy, Jack."
So, Carter called the man 'sir', while Daniel called him Jack. Which must mean he wasn't a soldier. Adora nodded at her conclusion. But that left the tall black guy who hadn't said much so far. Was he a soldier?
But their visitors had fallen silent now.
"So, you're from Earth, you said?" Catra spoke up. She sounded casual, just making conversation while they waited, but Adora knew her too well to fall for it. Catra was being sneaky.
"Yes, we're from Earth," Daniel replied.
"And you travel through Stargates to fight evil parasitic snakes." Catra didn't try to hide the hint of scepticism in her tone.
"The Goa'uld, yes," the man confirmed. "Although most of our missions are simple exploration missions."
"We just keep stumbling into Goa'uld, and suddenly the mission gets all complicated," O'Neill added. "Or simpler, since it becomes all about shooting the enemy before he shoots you." He grinned at them. "Or blowing them up."
Catra snorted in response. "Ah, that kind of simple."
Adora rolled her eyes. "And you accidentally ended up here, unable to go back."
"And we could have an invasion arrive at any moment." Glimmer shook her head. "Another one."
"Oh, yes, Your Glowiness," Catra told her. "But never fear, She-Ra's here."
Adora cleared her throat and pointedly looked at their visitors when Catra and Glimmer turned towards her. Glimmer blushed a little, but Catra scoffed.
"Ah… Forgive me if this is prying," Daniel said, "but you don't seem overly concerned with an invasion."
"She-Ra here can handle it," Catra replied before Adora or Glimmer could say anything. "And as you explained, we can replace her with a few tons of rock." She smirked at Adora.
Adora snorted - she knew what Catra was hinting at.
"Ah… you shouldn't underestimate the Goa'uld," Daniel said. "They are very old and experienced and often use quite brutal or underhanded means to pursue their goals."
Catra chuckled. "We've got experience with that."
"Mainly thanks to you," Glimmer retorted. "And we don't know anything about those Goa'uld."
Catra glared at her in return.
Adora sighed. She knew Catra was trying to impress their visitors to keep them honest, but… "I can handle it," she told them. "But we do need to find a more permanent solution."
"Can the gate be moved?" Catra asked.
"Yes. Although it's not easy," Carter replied.
"She-Ra can carry it." Catra waved her hand. "Problem solved."
Adora snorted. She probably could - she could throw a tank, after all - but she wasn't some beast of burden.
"Except for the fact that we're still stuck here," O'Neill said. "Our… friends at home must be worrying."
"You mean your army," Catra told him. "Or they wrote you off. Your missions seem to be rather dangerous."
"We don't write our people off!" the older man protested. He seemed genuinely angry at the assumption, Adora realised.
"Neither do we," Glimmer took a step forward. "But some of our enemies considered everyone but themselves disposable."
Catra pressed her lips together and didn't say anything. Adora wanted to sigh again. Catra had changed. Her girlfriend just needed to accept that. For good. She smiled at her, but Catra didn't seem to notice.
"Will they send a team after you?" Glimmer asked.
The others looked at each other. "I don't think they know where we are," Daniel explained. "We arrived here by accident, travelling from another planet. Our… friends… wouldn't have any way to find out where we are."
"Well, theoretically, if the Stargate on Trias has remained stuck with this gate address, then a team could find us should they be able to secure the Stargate there," Carter explained. "However, the odds of that happening…" She winced.
"So, you're stuck here until you find a way home," Adora summed up.
"As they already said," Catra commented.
"We just need a D.H.D.," Daniel said. "If you just discovered this facility, then it could be in storage somewhere, and you just haven't found it yet."
Adora nodded. That sounded plausible.
Catra was about to say something, but she cocked her head instead, ears twitching in that cute manner that made Adora want to caress them. "Bow and Entrapta are coming," her girlfriend said.
"A Stargate! A Portal! New Technology! Oh, I can't wait to examine it!" Entrapta's voice could be heard.
A few seconds later, she appeared in the door, walking on her hair tendrils while holding her recorder. "Hello, everyone! This is so exciting! Oh, there it is!"
Their visitors stared.
A teenager? was Samantha Carter's first thought. Then she saw the woman's face. No, twenty to thirty - just short. Shorter than Queen Glimmer. And she was… walking with her hair. No, that couldn't be hair. It was moving, carrying the woman. And yet it looked like hair. Some sort of nanostrands? Microstructures that allowed it to move like muscles?
"Hi!"
"Hello," the Colonel nodded.
"Hello." Daniel looked speechless for a change.
"I'm Entrapta! You're the travellers from another planet? And you arrived through a portal! Fascinating? Do you mind if I scan you? Just to check if you have some weird radiation or anything else we could use to determine your home planet."
Belatedly, Sam greeted the woman as well. "Hello."
"Hi! You're the scientist of your group?" Entrapta beamed at her, which looked a little creepy as she was still hanging down from her hair.
So, they had noticed that Sam was a scientist. That meant they knew what a scientist was - well, they already knew that, what with the remarks about frigates in orbit. Still, why would they use bows and swords? A cultural relic from a Goa'uld occupation?
Metallic steps drew her attention back to the tunnel, and she froze. A huge, round robot entered the chamber. It was the size of a small car and walking on articulated legs.
"What the…?"
"That's Emily!" the woman announced. "She's my assistant - and bodyguard, I guess."
The robot beeped, and the woman nodded. "Exactly!"
She turned and pointed a device at them. "So, let's scan you!"
"Whoa! Wait a minute!" the Colonel protested. "What exactly are you planning to do?"
"Gathering data about you, of course! You're an alien species - at least one of you is an alien for sure, but the others could be as well."
"It's considered rude to scan people without their consent," Daniel said.
"Why?" The woman cocked her head - somehow without unbalancing her hair. "It's just gathering data."
"It, ah, is a potential violation of our privacy," Daniel replied. "Medical data is considered confidential in our home culture."
"Really? Well, I need to scan you. What if you carry some alien viruses or bacteria? Or are suffering from an allergy to anything here?" The woman held up the device and started pushing buttons.
And the tall blonde - Adora - who had raised her hand, lowered it again.
"She's right," the cat-woman muttered.
"Yes, but…"
"No, you're right," Sam said. "This is a medical necessity."
"Carter!" the Colonel protested.
"She is correct, Sir." It was only sensible to check them for diseases.
"Yes, but you could've said it a little more diplomatically." He was almost pouting. Not that Sam would ever tell him that.
"O-K! Now let's analyse this!" The woman - Entrapta announced. Pushing a few more buttons. "And while we wait, let's do science!" Her mask, which had rested on top of her head, slid down and covered her face as she approached the Stargate. "Oh, First Ones style!"
"First Ones?" Daniel asked at once.
"What we call the people who built this temple," the young man told them. The group was predominantly made up of women, Sam suddenly realised. There was only one man, and he was clearly not a leader. She'd have to point this out to Daniel.
"Oh! This is a fascinating material!"
"It's Naquadah," Sam told her. "A rare, super-dense mineral."
"Oh, yes. Yes. Really fascinating. I need to take a sample to analyse it."
"Please don't damage our only way home," the Colonel said.
"Oh, right. Though a little sample won't hurt - it's already scratched." One hair tendril separated and grabbed a tool.
"How are you doing this?" Sam blurted out, both to make the woman reconsider damaging the Stargate and to satisfy her curiosity.
"Doing what?"
"Your… hair. How do you move the strands?"
"Oh." The woman turned around to face and smile at Sam. "It's my magic talent. It's more useful than you might think!"
"Magic talent?" Daniel asked.
"Yes. Inborn magic. Some princesses can control plants, some can control the sea, I can control my hair. And it's very useful for doing fine work."
Magic. Sam was tempted to lower her estimate of this planet's technical level. On the other hand, there was a lot of technology that, if not quite understood, would appear to be magic. And some species had talents that matched some definitions of magic. She'd have to ask Daniel to look into this. The last thing they needed was some cultural misunderstanding. Or some blind spots due to preconceptions. Something, fortunately, Daniel lacked.
"Magic hair. Now I've seen everything," the Colonel commented. "Can you pull a rabbit out of your hat as well?"
Unfortunately, the Colonel easily made up for that. Sam winced.
The woman, Entrapta, didn't seem to mind, though. "No, I can't. I don't have a hat or a rabbit."
But the rest of the group was glaring at the Colonel. Even the robot seemed, somehow, to show some annoyance.
"Sorry, Daniel said, smiling again. "We don't have magic on our planet, so we're not quite used to it."
"Oh, we know," the blonde woman said, smiling. "We've been working hard to return magic to all the worlds without it, but it's going slowly. But we'll get around to your home planet, don't worry!"
Sam blinked.
What?
