Chapter 2: The Gate
Whispering Woods, Etheria, July 10th, 1998 (Earth Time)
"What?" The blonde woman was gaping as if Adora had been stuttering.
Catra frowned. "We're bringing magic back," she told her. "It's just going to take a while." No need to let them get high expectations.
"Magic?" The guy with glasses stared at them. "What exactly do you mean by magic?"
Catra sighed. Were those guys slow or what? "Magic. You know, the power that lets you teleport, control plants - or hair - and turn spaceships into plants?"
"What?" the blonde repeated herself.
"Magic." Entrapta beamed at them - Catra could tell even with her mask up. "It's a way of manipulating a form of energy that is commonly called 'magic' as well, which is, kinda confusing, I guess. But that's fine - you haven't had access to magic in this sector for a thousand years or more, so you can't be expected to understand everything at once.
"A form of energy?" The blonde would make a good recorder, Catra thought with a smirk, the way she kept repeating stuff.
"Yes." Entrapta nodded as if that explained everything.
The old guy who had been making fun of Entrapta shook his head. "There is no such a thing as magic."
"Really?" Glimmer narrowed her eyes at him.
Catra grinned. That should be good. Entrapta was their friend. And they wouldn't let someone mock her for her… quirks.
"Yes, really," the old guy told her.
"Colonel!" the blonde hissed.
"Jack! This is obviously a cultural difference."
"No, it's just ignorance," Glimmer spat - and teleported next to them.
All of them were shocked. Or at least surprised - even the tall, dark guy twitched.
"What do you call this?" Glimmer challenged them.
"We've seen transporters before," the old guy replied - he was still looking wary, though.
"But nothing like this, Jack!" Glasses gushed. "This is like… teleportation! Instant transportation! And we didn't see any rings!"
"Yes, this is Glimmer's innate magical talent. She can teleport using magic," Entrapta said, nodding at the others. "Just like I can control my hair."
"Perhaps they have trace elements of Naquadah or something similar in their blood, and it allows them to wield devices like the Hara'Kesh," the blonde mumbled.
"But Sam!" Glasses objected. "Why would they try to convince us that there is magic if it's actually technology?"
"Oh, actually, magic is part of technology, at least according to some definitions." Entrapta smiled. "If you have the talent, you can learn to cast spells, and they follow the laws of magic. It's science!"
This was getting out of hand, Catra realised. They were discussing magic and technology with a bunch of intruders as if they were on Mystacore and not in the middle of an ancient installation of the First Ones they had barely begun to explore. "How about we discuss that stuff once we've hashed out the more important bits? Like whether or not there's one of those 'D.H.D.s' around?" And once they had confirmed that this installation didn't have some homicidal bots waiting in secret rooms to go after all intruders. Catra didn't want a repat of that particular excursion.
Melog growled in agreement.
"Good idea." Adora smiled at her, and Catra smiled back with a warm feeling in her chest before she caught herself. They could flirt when they weren't standing in melee range of a group of still suspicious strangers.
"So, first: Are they safe, or are they controlled by alien parasitic snakes?" Catra asked. Melog certainly wasn't warming up to them.
"Well, my scan should… ah! It finished while we talked. Yes!" Entrapta slipped her mask up on her head and peered at her recorder. "Ah. None of you carries dangerous or unknown diseases as far as my scanner can tell - and it can tell a lot. And none of you has a parasitic or other organism connected to your central nervous system. So, you probably aren't controlled by those 'Goa'uld'."
"Probably?" Adora asked.
Catra looked at Melog. Her friend was still tense.
"Well, they could be controlled by other means, right?" Entrapta cocked her head sideways. "We shouldn't assume that there's only one way to achieve the same result; that's what leads to failed research!"
"Blackmail, hostages, bribes," Catra explained with a shrug. "Whatever works."
"I would rather die than obey the False Gods!" the huge guy growled. "And so would my family."
Catra narrowed her eyes. That sounded… well, she'd keep an eye on the guy. Anyone who'd sacrifice their family like that was dangerous. And probably not quite stable - she knew all about being fanatically devoted to one thing. And how dangerous that made you to everyone - including your friends. Knew it far too well.
"We are fighting the snakes. We don't obey them," the old guy said.
"But you had one inside you," Entrapta went on, pointing at the blonde with one hair tendril. "I can see where it accessed your spine - it's not quite healed yet. Fascinating! And your blood! It's full of this new metal. Relatively, of course - you're not in any danger of succumbing to heavy metal poisoning. I think - I'm not a Healer."
The blonde obviously didn't think that this was fascinating, nor was she particularly relieved that she wouldn't be dying to poison. "Yes," she spat through clenched teeth.
"It was a very recent and very traumatic experience," Glasses said.
"Oh? How so?" Entrapta blinked.
But before she could ask for more details, Adora took a step forward. "Yes, we understand. We know about traumatic experiences."
Catra, meanwhile, glanced at Entrapta and grimaced.
Her friend blinked, and then her eyes widened. "Oh! That kinda experience. Right! No asking for details!" She nodded firmly. "Anyway, they aren't currently controlled by parasites."
That didn't mean that they were trustworthy, of course. Catra knew that better than most as well. "What about the snake inside him?" she asked.
"As I said, the snake embryo in Teal'c's stomach is only connected to his bloodstream so it can receive nourishment and oxygen, but has no connection to his brain or spine."
Adora blinked. "Wait. It's not just… you're really pregnant with a snake?"
"We're calling him Junior," Jack O'Neill said. Teal'c raised an eyebrow at him, but that was to be expected. A little humour should diffuse the situation.
"It's not exactly a pregnancy," Daniel tried to explain. "It's more like… like an incubator."
"That's not much of a difference," the Queen - who could barely be twenty - said.
"It's not my child." Teal'c was getting annoyed. Jack could tell. Fortunately, the others didn't know Teal'c like Jack did. "And if I could, I would get rid of it."
The other group exchanged some glances. Except for the princess with the magical hair - she was studying her scanner again. "It's kind of a symbiont, actually - it provides him with an immune system. Otherwise, he would die."
"The Jaffa were genetically engineered to lack an immune system without an implanted Goa'uld embryo," Carter explained. "It's a way to control them."
That got a reaction - even the slightly off science princess looked shocked.
"They did what?" The amazon gasped. "That's… that's horrible!"
"They're forced to serve or die…" Queenie suddenly looked a few years older. And angrier.
And the big cat growled.
The boy, though, frowned. "But… if you have an embryo per, ah, Jaffa, wouldn't that mean that you have more Goa'uld than Jaffa?"
"Sounds more than a little top-heavy as a command structure," the catwoman added.
"The Goa'uld don't really care much for their offspring," Daniel told them.
"They eat them," Teal'c said.
Once more, the kids looked shocked. "They eat their own?" Blondie blurted out.
"Cannibalistic tendencies have been observed in many animal species, especially if they spawn a lot of offspring, but to see it in a sapient species is rare," their scientist commented. She didn't look shocked, Jack noticed.
"No wonder Melog hates them," the catwoman mumbled.
"They're evil," Teal'c said.
"But… even the babies?" The amazon - Adora, Jack reminded himself - looked at Teal'c's stomach.
"They have genetic memory - each of them knows what their progenitor knows," Daniel explained.
"That's handy for getting intel."
"Catra!"
"What? I'm just saying - if all you need is one of the snakes to find out what they know, then that's a huge weakness."
"They're still children!" Adora shook her head.
"Still better than being eaten," Catra retorted.
The blonde stared at her, then closed her mouth. "That's…"
"In order to interrogate a Goa'uld larva, you'd have to present it with a host," Carter interrupted their spat. She pressed her lips together, no doubt remembering her own possession.
"And that would be morally unacceptable since the host would be effectively dead," Daniel went on.
To their credit, most of the others nodded at that. Though the catwoman - named Catra, really! - struck Jack as a little too pragmatic to be fully convinced. She reminded him of a few spooks he had known in his youth.
"So, you're saying they're born evil?" Adora asked.
"Everyone can change," Entrapta protested. "No matter the circumstances of your birth!"
Adora nodded, as did the others, though Catra looked away. Interesting.
But they really should focus on searching the area now. The kids seemed friendly, but that might change if more locals were brought in. If they found a D.H.D., then Jack's team could be back at SGC before anyone back home started worrying, and then they could prepare a proper diplomatic mission to this planet. He cleared his throat. "So, how about we look for our missing device? We wouldn't want to impose on you, after all." He gave them his best smile.
"That sounds good." Catra nodded.
"But we still need to guard the gate," Adora pointed out.
"You can do that," Catra told her. "We'll look for their device. But let's stick together for safety."
"Never split the party," Jack agreed. As expected, Daniel the nerd frowned at him, but Carter didn't react to his joke. Neither did Teal'c, but again, that was par for the course.
"So… Adora stays here," Queenie said.
"But I'm the one who can read First Ones writing."
"You're also the best way to seal the gate here. If we find anything we need translated, we can call you."
"But…"
"She's right," Catra agreed. "Someone has to watch the gate."
"You've got the best eyes, as you claimed before!"
"And that's why I'm going to look for their device. You can watch the gate - you don't need my eyes to spot an invasion force trying to come through." The catwoman smiled and briefly hugged the amazon. "We'll be back soon."
"Daniel, stay here as well," Jack said.
"But, Jack!"
"You two can talk about translating." And he could keep an eye on the blonde amazon while staying out of the way of any traps or ambushes. And if the group turned on them, Daniel wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.
"Oh, right!"
Besides, if things went as they usually did, Daniel would be charming the socks off the woman. "Just don't get married by accident."
"Jack!" Daniel looked annoyed. And Carter frowned at him. Right. No joking about wives.
"Sorry," Jack mumbled. "Now, let's get this show on the road! We've got a D.H.D. to find!"
"If it's made from the same material as the gate, then I can scan for it!"
"You can, Entrpata?" Adora asked.
"It's simple data gathering."
"Do it," Queen Glimmer ordered.
Well, that should speed things up.
And there went the others. Adora sighed as she watched the group leave, Emily bringing up the rear. She still didn't like staying behind and guarding the portal. Of course, as She-Ra, she could repel an invasion through such an obvious choke point - even a young cadet would be able to plan such a battle, except for Kyle - but she was also the best choice to deal with lingering guard bots, traps or monsters that had ventured into the ruins. And she really didn't like letting her friends face such dangers without her.
"So… you can read Ancient script?" The man who had stayed with her asked. Daniel.
"Ancient?" She cocked her head to the side.
"This one." He pointed at a text on the wall. "It's the language of the Ancients. That's our name for the civilization which built the Stargates."
"Oh." So, the First Ones had built the gates? That figured. "We call them the First Ones," she told him.
"Ah." He nodded. "I've been studying their language for years."
"Ah, yes. It takes a long time of studying and such to learn it, right?" Adora smiled at him. There was no way she was telling him that she was born with the ability to read First Ones script. Not after all the talk about genetic memory. "I kind of studied history," she went on.
"Oh? You did?" His face lit up. "That's great! What do you know about the impact the Ancients - the First Ones - had on your world?"
They had tried to blow it up to defeat Horde Prime. And, if not for Mara and Adora, would have succeeded. But she couldn't tell him that, either. "Well, they left those ruins," she said instead. "And their technology. Though few can understand it. Other than that…" She shrugged. "Not many can understand their language." Not even dedicated historians like Bow's dads.
"A topic for academicians, then?"
"Historians, mostly," she replied. Perhaps she should've played dumb.
"Like yourself."
"Oh…" She grimaced. "I had to cut my studies short because of the war." It was true. Kinda. A little. She had missed Force Captain orientation.
"The war?" He looked surprised.
"Against the Horde. Invaders," she told him. "They tried to conquer Etheria for decades. We finally defeated them a year ago."
His eyes widened. "That's… very recent."
"Etheria was hidden from them for a thousand years," she explained.
"And then they found you?"
"Something like that, yes. It was a bit more complicated." And not something she liked to talk about. "Anyway, you studied the Ancients?"
"As much as I've managed," he told her with a sigh. "There aren't many artefacts left from their time. It's a miracle that there's anything left." He looked at the gate. "I still am awed that this is over five million years old and is working as well as it was on the first day. Or so we assume."
"Five million years old?" She stared at him. "But…" Adora wasn't a historian, but she knew that the First Ones had arrived a thousand years ago. Not five million years ago. "Are you sure?"
"Over five million years ago, actually. That's when the last Stargates were built," he told her. "All our research confirmed it so far."
"Then we need to have Entrapta date this gate. If this is five million years old…" Adora didn't know what it meant, but it was important.
"How old did you think it was?"
Oh. She pressed her lips together for a moment. Should she lie? They might see through it. "The ruins are about a thousand years old," she said. "That's when the First Ones arrived."
"Ancients, a thousand years ago? But… they all vanished from the galaxy five million years ago. Approximately."
That was weird. "Are you sure?" The galaxy was big, after all.
"We were. If we have to rewrite history…" He beamed at her. "This could be a historic discovery! Perhaps a colony of the Ancients survived?" Then he frowned. "Or another species could have been using their language and script. Or just their script. Like the Goa'uld."
"Ah." Adora didn't know what to say. She wasn't a historian. She was just a First One… Oh. "How did the Ancients look?"
"Ah… as far as we know, like us."
"Oh."
"Yes. they could probably pass for humans."
"Or Tau'ri, right?"
"We call ourselves humans, but others call us Tau'ri."
Adora blinked. "I see. And you're aliens."
"Well… the Goa'uld took humans in the past, kidnapped them from our planet and spread them across the galaxy through the gate network. That's why so many planets are populated by humans."
"And you think we're humans as well." Well, Glimmer, Bow and the others. Adora was a First One. And Catra was… Catra."
He looked a little embarrassed. "Well, yes… the odds of a species independently evolving to look like us… I assume a gene test should tell us if we're the same species."
She nodded. "Entrapta will probably do that anyway."
"Ah. She seems very enthusiastic."
So enthusiastic, she had eagerly worked for the Horde. But that was not her fault. Not entirely, at least. Entrapta had been manipulated by Catra as well. Adora nodded. "Yes."
"Like Sam, I guess." He smiled.
The tunnel ahead looked empty, but Samantha Carter knew that looks couldn't be trusted. Not in a facility such as this one. Exploring Ancient ruins was a dangerous task.
"I don't like this," Catra mumbled. "This is too easy. We should've encountered a monster or a bot at least by now."
"Don't be so pessimistic," the man told her. "We're bound to have some luck with ancient ruins, one of these days."
"That's both correct and incorrect," Entrapta said. "While it's improbable that every place we visit has traps and guardian creatures or bots, that doesn't mean any particular installation, such as this one, is any more likely to be unguarded than the one before. The odds of a particular outcome are roughly the same each time you encounter it, after all. That's simple maths."
"Well," Catra said, "this tunnel before us is likely to be a trap. It just smells like it."
"Do we have a thief with us?"
And there was the Dungeons and Dragons joke. Sam suppressed a sigh. "Sir?" she asked.
"Just a joke," the Colonel replied. "About a game I used to play," he added, nodding to the others with them, "when I was much younger. Thieves could detect traps."
"A game?" The man - Bow, and carrying a bow and arrows; Daniel would have a field day trying to puzzle but the cultural significance of the name - asked. "What kind of game?"
He didn't expect them to discuss games in the middle of an Ancient installation, did he?
"It's like a board game. You play adventurers and explorers in a sort of maze," the Colonel replied.
Sam wasn't even sure if this culture had board games.
"Oh! Do you use miniatures?" Apparently, they not only had board games, but Bow was a fan of them.
"Yes?" The Colonel obviously hadn't expected that response.
"Great!"
"Bow! We're not about to 'wargame' this." And Queen Glimmer wasn't a fan.
"You do wargames?" The Colonel cocked his head.
"Yes!"
"Once. We did that once," the queen corrected Bow. "And it was awful."
Sam cleared her throat. "Can your scanner detect anything in the tunnel?" She asked Entrapta.
"Hm? Oh, yes. No Naquadah in the tunnel," the woman replied without looking up from her device. "That's a fascinating metal. I can't wait to experiment with it."
Oh. Sam refrained from cursing. "You have to be very cautious with it. It can enhance the power of explosions to a level your research facility might not be able to handle."
"Really?" Entrapta was beaming at her. "I have to test that!"
"Err…" Bow looked a little pale. "But under strict safety protocols, right?"
"And not near Bright Moon," Queen Glimmer added.
"And do it by remote." Catra was still looking down the tunnel. Her eyes were like a cat's, but Sam didn't know if the woman could actually see in the dark as well as that indicated. Or whether or not her heterochromia affected her senses in any way.
"Oh. Something is moving ahead of us!" Entrapta piped up. "I knew my motion detector would end up working!"
"Can you detect what kind of creature is moving?" Catra asked, just as the cat, Melog, started to growl. "Watch out! Monster incoming!"
Sam aimed her M4 down the tunnel and moved to the wall, crouching down. The Colonel did the same on the other side with his M4A1. "What's coming?"
"It's moving like a snake," Entrapta announced.
"Snakes? Why did it have to be snakes?" the Colonel commented.
"Well, they're native to the area…" Entrapta started to explain
"Not now!" Glimmer snapped. "It's coming!"
And there it was. It was a snake - or a worm - and it was huge. The head was the size of a human torso, but it had multiple, brightly glowing eyes. And fangs the size of Sam's lower arm. For a moment, she hesitated. Could they shoot the snake? Or would that be…
Next to her, Bow released his arrow. It struck the snake in the open mouth, and it reeled, knocking its head against the ceiling, hard enough to shake loose dirt from it.
The Colonel fired, Sam joining him a moment later. Short bursts into the thing's wide-open mouth, where no scales could protect it.
The snake roared and charged them, mouth wide open. Sam fought the urge to turn and flee and kept firing. Twenty yards. Fifteen. This would get ugly.
Another arrow hit the ground in front of the snake, releasing a green mass - and the snake got stuck. And a laser bolt struck the side of the thing, leaving a long scorch mark.
"Aim for the mouth!" the Colonel snapped.
Teal'c shot as well, sending a blast down the creature's maw. Sam kept firing until she had emptied her whole magazine - two left, she automatically reminded herself - into the creature.
Which finally collapsed, green blood oozing out of its mouth.
Sam sighed with relief.
And Catra cursed them, holding her ears. "Warn me next time!"
"Oh! You're using a chemical propellant to fire metal bullets at the target! Fascinating! What advantages does it offer over energy-based weapons? I assume you don't have to deal with losing focus at longer ranges, but the drop-off in kinetic energy would probably be a problem, right?"
"Wow. Carter, she sounds like you when you discover a new thing."
Sam glared at the Colonel. She wasn't like that. Not at all.
Those weapons were more effective than Catra had expected. At least at this range. Much higher rate of fire than a bow, and they did take down the monster. If only they weren't so damn loud - her ears were still ringing.
She knelt down next to the monster - a Creeping Worm, at least according to the simulations she had done as a cadet - and looked at the wounds in its maw. Small holes, from what she could see. And the bullets hadn't gone through the skull of the worm. But it had been enough to kill it. And people weren't as tough as such a worm. "How good are they at going through armour?" she asked.
"Depends on the armour," the old guy said.
"We can't really say, not without a sample of the armour in question," the blonde woman added.
One non-answer and an attempt to gather more information about them. These people weren't bad at the game. But Catra hadn't really been asking them.
"I would assume, based upon the penetration of the worm's skull, and the lack of exit wounds, that they would go through standard Horde field uniforms," Entrapta said. "A Bright Moon Breast Guard's breastplate might stop it, as long as it's not too close."
That wasn't too bad at all. Quite nasty, actually - for the size of these weapons. Bow whistled, obviously impressed as well. Glimmer didn't look like she was happy about hearing that her soldiers would be vulnerable to those weapons. Well, she shouldn't be.
"Slightly better than a Horde light laser rifle, then," Catra summed up. They had seen Prime's bots use those against them often enough to compare. Far too often.
Entrapta blinked, then nodded. "Somewhat. It depends on the circumstances. I could make armour that would repel those bullets, of course. And it's definitely weaker than Emily's main blaster, I think."
Much lighter than either, however. And the rate of fire… "But it needs ammunition, I guess," Catra asked. And a lot of it, from the way it looked. That would strain supply lines and make it harder to operate behind enemy lines for any length of time. And the loud noise would alert everyone in the vicinity.
She still would like one. If it wasn't so damn loud.
"Oh, yes! Do you have a way to make more ammo?" Entrapta asked the others. "If you don't but have the formula and schematics for the bullets, I could make some for you."
And she'd also find out how to make the weapons herself. Catra smiled.
"Ah…" The woman looked to the older man.
"We're still good," he said. "But if we're stuck here, we might want to talk to you about that."
"Great! It's like a completely new technology! There have been forays into kinetic weapons like this, based upon crossbows and bows, but crystal-based lasers and blasters were deemed more effective."
"Probably because of the lessened strain on supply lines," Catra suggested. And the lower chance of some idiot cadet blowing themselves and everyone else up by mistake.
"Yeah, lugging around ammunition can be a bother," the old guy said with a shrug. "But we manage."
"Crystal based lasers?" the woman - Carter - asked.
"Oh, yes. You use focus crystals to shoot laser beams. Not quite as effective as blasters, but if you have a power source, you can fire forever - or until it overheats and breaks down," Entrapta explained. "Old technology. Blasters are more interesting."
"I bet." The old man chuckled. "But with the monster dead, and no loot I can see, how about we look for our way home?"
"Oh, yes! I already scanned the area here," Entrapta told him. "No Naquadah, sorry!"
"Then let's move on to the next area," Glimmer said.
"Shouldn't be too much left," Bow said. "Unless there's another level that we didn't find yet."
"I could run a seismic scan," Entrapta offered. "Now that the worm is gone, I doubt that the sonic vibrations would attract another - they're territorial, after all."
"Do it," Glimmer said. She sounded impatient. She probably wanted to get their visitors back to their planet or out of this facility.
Catra could understand the feeling. The group acted friendly, but they were dangerous. Their weapons might not be enough to hurt She-Ra, but everyone else wasn't nearly as tough. And those were just the weapons they had shown - who knew what else they had? You always kept something in reserve if you were a good officer, and the old guy didn't strike her as a bad officer.
No, he was like a tough, old Force Captain. If they came to blows, she'd take him out first. A decapitation strike. Perhaps literally - her claws would go through his uniform and throat, she was sure of that.
"Alright," Bow said, seemingly oblivious. "The next area is behind this junction ahead."
They went on, with Emily bringing up the rear. Catra wasn't too comfortable with the bot being their backup, but at least Emily wouldn't be easy to disable in case of an ambush - or treachery.
Though she had a feeling that the old guy already had plans for that. Several, probably.
To be fair, she was planning how to take them out as well. Just in case things turned sour, of course. And she was sure that Glimmer was also ready for a fight. Just in case.
They were underground in a maze-like area fighting monsters looking for the key to getting home. It really felt like a roleplaying session. At least an old school one - Jack O'Neill wasn't quite sure if the hobby had changed in the twenty years since he had last played. Probably got too commercialised, like everything from the seventies.
He shook his head - he had to focus on the task at hand. He couldn't let himself get distracted by the absurdity of the whole thing - he had seen weirder, after all, since he started at SG-1. Though, given the talk about magic and space ships, Jack had a feeling that things might get even weirder if they couldn't get the gate working and return to Earth.
Which, according to the science princess with the weird hair and weird name - Entrapta? Who named their kid that? - was looking quite unlikely.
"So, no Naquadah here either. Sorry!"
She sounded as if she was pleased about it. Then again, she was not quite normal. A little off, at least - even compared to her friends. Which included the catwoman who felt like a spook. The way Catra talked about gathering intel, and the way she kept an eye on Jack's team, always staying in the back if she could manage… If they came to blows, Jack would take her out first. She wasn't carrying a weapon, not openly, but that only meant that she had one hidden or didn't need one. With those claws of hers, Jack was betting on the latter.
"And I think that was the last part of the ruins we hadn't checked yet," Bow said. Did they name every kid after something obvious? Or did they earn their names once they came of age? Daniel would probably know that by now. But the kid looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, but I think this device you need isn't here. It might have been carried off since the installation was built."
"We might be able to build another one, though," Entrapta offered.
And find out how to operate the Stargates. Clever, Jack thought.
"It's a very complicated venture," Carter told her. "The Stargates need enormous amounts of power to work, and we need advanced computers that can interface with the gate. Most importantly, though, we need the gate addresses and astronomical data so the gate can correct for astronomical drift and safely connect to other gates."
"Oh, a nonstandard operating system!" Entrapta beamed. "Fascinating! I wonder if it's similar to Horde Prime's computers - those were hard to fool!"
"Horde Prime?" Jack asked.
"The leader of the Horde that tried to conquer Etheria," Catra told him. "We defeated him a while ago."
That was valuable intel. "Sounds like a tough customer. Is he still around?" Jack asked, trying to sound only politely interested. It also sounded like a Goa'uld.
"No," Catra told him.
"He was dealt with," Glimmer added. No details, Jack noted. "But if you can't return through the gate, we need to secure it and then return to Bright Moon."
Her country. Or her something. With, presumably, more guards. "We can camp out here. We don't want to be a bother," Jack said. If Daniel were here, he would protest, of course, something about refusing hospitality, but Jack needed to know where they stood with the locals before trusting them.
"It's the Whispering Woods - it's full of monsters," Glimmer told him.
"Like the worm?" Jack asked.
"Worse. How much ammunition do you carry for your weapons?" Catra asked.
Jack shrugged with deliberate nonchalance. "Enough to handle trouble."
"Sir, it might be safer to accept their offer."
Jack knew that as well. But now he knew that the kids hadn't tried to order them to come back to their home. They had tried to persuade them. They might still order them, of course, if they kept refusing. "Alright, I guess sleeping in a real bed wouldn't hurt," he said.
Catra snorted, but the others smiled.
"But we need to secure the gate," Glimmer said. "We can't leave it open for an invasion."
"If we can move the gate, we can lay it down on the ground, facing up - anyone trying to exit would fall back down into the gate. Which, unfortunately, is fatal. The gates are one-way only," Carter suggested.
Rather ruthless, but the odds of anyone from Earth following them and finding this gate were zero.
The kids, though, looked taken aback. Except for Catra.
"Can't we… seal it so it doesn't activate?" Bow asked, wincing.
"We would have to bury it for that," Carter replied. "It would need to be completely buried to keep it from activating - otherwise, it would blast an opening in whatever is covering it, unless you use a special metal."
"Then let's do that!" Glimmer announced. "We don't want to kill innocent travellers."
"It's going to be a very deep hole. Unless you have explosives, that will take some time," Jack explained.
Everyone smiled. "We don't need explosives. We have She-Ra!" Glimmer announced.
"Although I could whip up some digging charges, I think," Entrapta offered. "Though limiting their blasts so they create a hole instead of a crater would require some planning."
"Let's file that as Plan B," Bow said, "and just ask Adora first."
"Alright!" Entrapta nodded, apparently not fazed in the slightest.
They seemed to trust She-Ra - or Adora; She-Ra seemed to be her title - to be able to handle this. Jack was curious to find out if the woman could deliver. It wasn't exactly easy to move a gate - you couldn't just pick it up and carry it with you.
"Where do you want it?" Adora asked, teeth clenched, as she turned with the Stargate in her hands. It wasn't actually that heavy, but it was unwieldy - she had to hug the ring to herself, and she had to watch it so she didn't swing it around too much and brain some of her friends or visitors with it. Or broke it by accident. And knowing that, should it activate right now, she might lose her arms… No, she wasn't going to think about that!
"Just drop it on the ground to the side for now," Entrapta told her, "Uh… this side - the right side up. No, the other right side, the left from your point of view - up."
Adora suppressed the urge to curse and forced herself to smile as she flipped the gate over. "Like this?"
"Perfect!" Entrapta beamed at her. "Now, if the gate activates, it will blast a hole in the earth. Right?" She turned to face the blonde woman, Carter.
"Ah, yes," Carter replied. She seemed still surprised that Adora had been able to carry the gate around. They must not have Minotaurs on Earth. Or Scorpionfolk. Compared to throwing a tank, the gate wasn't exactly heavy. Then again, a tank could be replaced, but if Adora broke the gate…
"You must be popular when your friends are moving." The old man, O'Neill, chuckled.
Adora blinked. "Moving? We've got a skiff for that." Two actually - one for them, one for Entrapta and the camping gear. And Emily still had to walk.
"It's a custom in our culture that when you change homes, your friends help you carry your furniture and other belongings to your new home," Daniel explained.
"Ah." Adora nodded. That made more sense.
"You don't have porters?" Glimmer asked, cocking her head.
"We do, actually." Daniel smiled at her. "But not everyone can afford them. Or trusts strangers to handle their most valuable belongings."
"Ah."
"Not everyone's a princess," Catra commented. "Some of us have to work for a living."
Gimmer rolled her eyes. "You don't work."
"I do work. I keep you from killing yourself by being stupid, and I keep an eye on Adora, so you don't make her do everything for you," Catra shot back, showing her fangs.
Adora smiled - Catra was looking out for her, in her own way at least. But… "I'm currently doing all the work," she pointed out.
"That's because there aren't any alternatives. We don't have a troop of Glimmer's guards here to carry the gate around," Catra replied. "So, it's you or nothing."
"I would have brought some porters if I had known we would have to move anything," Glimmer said.
"You expected us to find nothing in the ruins worth keeping?" Catra faked surprise.
"That's not what I meant!"
Adora cleared her throat. They weren't in private - they had visitors. Who were watching them attentively. "So, now we dig a hole? Or, I dig a hole?"
"Like in training," Catra said. "Just faster and deeper."
"Training?" Daniel asked. "For… excavations?"
"Digging holes and trenches," Adora corrected him. "Basic infantry training."
"Oh."
"They mentioned a war, Daniel."
"Yes, Jack, but many societies do not have boot camp style training. At least not for their leaders. And while earthworks are a staple of warfare in history, they might not wage war in the same style here since the technology is wildly different. For example, a war fought on the sea would not see any need for sailors being able to throw up earthen fortifications - at least not so they would be trained for it."
Catra rolled her eyes, Adora saw, as Daniel talked to his friends. The man had a tendency to go on for some time - but he had a nice voice and a friendly smile. Which probably was another reason for Catra's attitude, Adora realised.
Well, that could be helped. Smiling, she walked over to her girlfriend and hugged her. Catra squirmed in her arms but didn't actually try to slip out. "Love you," Adora whispered - and her girlfriend froze for a moment.
"Not in front of the strangers," Catra whispered back. But she didn't really mean it. Adora could tell.
"So… hole?" Jack asked, cutting off his friend's explanation. "I don't want to rush anyone, but you mentioned monsters around here."
"Right!" Adora released Catra and drew her sword.
"Are you going to dig with…" Jack trailed off when Adora changed the Sword of Protection into an oversized - for She-Ra - spade. "Now that's handy."
"A morphing weapon? A multi-purpose tool?" Carter shook her head. "Molecular reconstruction? It has to be to change like that, but as fast as it was..."
"Magic," Entrapta told her. "We don't actually know how it works - Castaspella said it wasn't a spell, and she doesn't know what it is, either, and she should know. It's probably an innate talent of She-Ra. Like my hair is mine."
Adora didn't know how exactly it worked, either. But she knew how to make it work, which was all that was needed. She rammed the spade into the ground and started digging.
For all of Jack's comments, he was correct - they shouldn't linger here.
About fifteen minutes later, the hole was deep enough, according to Carter. And Jack had stopped making comments about excavators.
Then it was just a matter of lowering the gate down without breaking it - Carter said it wouldn't break if dropped, but Adora wasn't risking that - and filling the hole up again.
And then hiding the fact that they had dug a hole so no one would find the gate until they returned.
And then they were off to Bright Moon. Their visitors would love it there, Adora was sure.