Chapter 17: The Reveal
Outside the Solar System, August 13th, 1998 (Earth Time)
"OK… Earth entertainment isn't all bad."
Catra, still giggling, frowned at her lover. "What? That had been hilarious!" she protested. The way those people kept stumbling into traps… Not at all like the Jerry Springer Show. Why would anyone want to watch friends - family - tear into each other? The whole show had reminded Catra of a time she really didn't want to remember.
"It was OK," Adora said, shrugging. "Pretty entertaining."
"Bah!" Catra scoffed. "Let's watch another cartoon! But not the one where the cat always loses!" That one was biased and bad.
Adora snorted at that - of course she would! Catra frowned at her, but she smiled even more. "That one was funny, though."
"It was… OK," Catra replied in a flat tone and narrowed her eyes at her lover.
Then Adora laughed in that carefree way of hers that reminded Catra of their time as cadets before things got bad, and Catra couldn't help joining in.
"I'm still not sure that the Jerry Springer Show was actually entertainment," Glimmer commented after a moment. She was frowning - probably jealous that Bow was stuck on Earth.
"It was called a show. Shows are entertainment," Entrapta replied. "The news and documentaries are educational." She smiled. "We've recorded a number of those while we watched other shows."
"Yes!" Adora nodded. "We need to learn more about Earth!"
Catra groaned. Not everything should serve the mission.
"What about this? It's a documentary about Earth food?" Entrapta pointed at an item on the screen.
"Like the cooking show that we watched earlier?" Catra leaned forward. That had been entertaining and interesting. So much food and so many new swear words.
Adora nodded. "Yes, let's watch that."
"It's mostly about meat, I think," Entrapta said.
"Meat is good," Catra commented with a smirk. Adora missed her meaning, though.
Then the documentary started. And Catra started to wonder if that had been a good idea. "People eat that on Earth?" All the birds looked like they were sick!
"I'm not going to eat any meat on Earth," Adora mumbled.
"I'm not going to eat anything on Earth," Glimmer added.
"It's a very efficient way to produce meat without cloning tanks," Hordak commented. "I might have to adjust my opinion of Earth's culture."
Entrapta whapped him on the head with one of her hair strands without taking her eyes off the screen.
And Catra swallowed what she had been about to say. In hindsight, trying to make a joke about dead animals wasn't nice.
Washington D.C., United States of America, August 13th, 1998 (Earth Time)
Jack O'Neill knew jetlag would get him sooner or later. But he'd manage a few more days. He had to - everyone was going crazy about the arrival of the Etherians. It helped that he had been able to sleep during the flight to Washington and that the day/night cycle in Third Fleet had been off compared to Earth. Still, he was running on coffee and jello. And a sandwich some poor aide must have grabbed from the mess hall.
He resisted the urge to shake his head - he had to be professional. The perfect soldier. These people had to believe him, or things would turn into a catastrophe.
"I'm still not convinced that we should let these aliens dictate how they contact Earth," Senator Brown-something - the civilians lacked name tags - said with a scoff. "This is our planet, and we need to draw a line in the sand from the start. History proves that."
Jack wondered what history the man meant. Columbus? Or Perry?
"Eugene, while the exact number of space ships on their way to Earth might have to be readjusted once we can independently verify it, I can tell you that even a handful of space ships represents a force that our forces cannot resist," Kinsey said. For once, the man was actually helping.
"Robert! You knew all about this!" Brown-Something glared at his supposed colleague. "Of course you'd say that!"
Jack had to struggle to keep from sniggering. Yes, as the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which controlled the Stargate Program's budget, Kinsey belonged to the small group of politicians who had been read in about Stargate Command and the Goa'uld. If it came out that his decisions had almost led to Earth being conquered by Apophis, Kinsey would be done for.
Unfortunately, revealing that would probably also bring the government down - things had been very dicey, after all. So, Jack couldn't hint at a few of the angry Senators who had just a day before heard that aliens were real and Earth was at war that they should look into that particular incident.
"I'm saying that because I know it's true. The United States cannot stand against even a small fleet," Kinsey insisted. "And the President shares my view on this."
More snorting from the politicians at the table. But even some of the brass seemed sceptical, Jack noticed.
"We've been updating our capability to intercept space-born threats," General Naird said. "But it's a slow process, and we've been handicapped by the need to keep our advanced technology secret."
"Alien technology," Kinsey corrected him.
Jack almost nodded in agreement. As head of the Air Force Space Command, Naird had been read in about Stargate Command as well. The general should know better than to act as if he wasn't involved in the whole coverup.
"Yes, yes." Naird shook his head. "But even if we don't need to keep the technology secret any more, we would still look at several years to upgrade our space defences to what we would consider operational."
"And we only have a few more days before the black ships arrive and force our airports open," Brown-Whatever commented with a glare at Jack. "Because you failed to impress upon those aliens how things are done on Earth. Princesses! Absolute Monarchies! And those people are about to dictate terms to us!"
"They won't," Jack said with more confidence than he felt. "They fought a war against an invading Horde for decades; they won't invade another planet in turn. We know them."
"So you say, Colonel O'Neill." The politician sneered at him.
"Eugene, if the aliens want to invade, why would they announce their arrival in advance? That doesn't make any sense. If they were planning to conquer Earth, they would have struck without warning." Kinsey shook his head. "They certainly wouldn't have sent SG-1 ahead to inform us about them."
Jack refrained from nodding in agreement. It was still Kinsey.
"They could be planning to divide us!" Brown - Brown-Smalls, Jack finally remembered the name - spat. "They force us to inform the rest of the world to undermine our leadership of the free world!"
"They said that they want to talk to the whole planet, not just to the USA," Senator Willsbury, an older woman, pointed out. "They're not exactly being subtle there."
"They wanted to arrive without warning, but we managed to persuade them that we needed some time to prepare the world," Jack added.
"And you couldn't persuade them to negotiate with the United States instead?"
"I'm sure the Colonel and his team did their best," Kinsey, smiling, cut in before Jack could answer.
"Well, their best obviously wasn't good enough!" Brown-Smalls scoffed.
This time, Jack glared at him. "I can assure you, Senator, that if you had been in our place, they wouldn't even dream of talking to the United States at all."
"That's enough, Colonel," General Naird spoke up. "We're here to determine what realistic military options we have should this First Contact turn hostile."
"We already did that, sir," Jack reminded him. "We do not have any realistic option to withstand the Etherian fleet with either conventional or nuclear means. We could resort to asymmetrical warfare as long as the Princess Alliance remains in command since they do not want to hurt civilians. Unlike the Goa'uld."
Naird frowned as if it was Jack's fault that he didn't have a few brave space fighters to attack a mother ship. Which the Etherians didn't have anyway. Because Adora had turned it into a giant space plant. With magic.
But if Jack mentioned that, everyone present would think that he had gone crazy.
Washington D.C., United States of America, August 13th, 1998 (Earth Time)
"Ah, Colonel O'Neill. Captain Carter." The President looked as if he had aged years since Jack O'Neill had seen him last. "Glad you could join us."
"Mr President." Jack and Carter saluted. Daniel almost followed suit but nodded instead.
"Sit down somewhere. There should be food in a bit - we've ordered dinner." The man gestured at the long table in the situation room. "Ladies and Gentlemen - the Pentagon finally released SG-1 to us."
SG-1 without Teal'c. Jack was still grumpy about that. 'Security considerations' his ass - Teal'c had proven his loyalty many times over! Apparently, the Goa'uld larva in his stomach pouch suddenly represented a risk for the President and his cabinet.
The assembled men and women nodded at them.
"We've already reviewed our military options," the President went on. "And since those boil down to 'surrender or become guerillas', we're here to discuss our political options."
"They should have been doing that from the start," Daniel whispered.
"I'm sure they have," Carter whispered back.
Jack cleared his throat.
"Your input will be invaluable for this - you know the alien leaders and how they think."
"Thank you, Mr President," Jack said.
The rest of the Cabinet nodded as well, but Jack could see some sceptical expressions amongst them.
"So, we'll tell the world tomorrow. Our allies will be informed beforehand, of course - they'll be mad enough about this secret being kept from them. Especially the Brits." The President laughed, and so did everyone else. "But we haven't yet decided how to handle the aliens themselves. That means we have this night to come up with a plan of action. I need ideas, people!"
"Well…" the Secretary of Defense spoke up, "we've read the briefs about the Etherians. They want allies for their war with the Goa'uld. The United States are the most advanced nation on Earth - technologically, militarily and industrially. We've been fighting the Goa'uld for years, so we're the natural allies of the Etherians. They need our manpower and industrial capacity."
Many at the table were nodding in agreement, Jack saw.
"If not for some of our policies," the President said, tilting his head. "Such as 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' and our general problem with bigotry and racism."
"Racism wasn't in the brief," the Secretary of Commerce protested.
"Did you miss that the queen's consort is black?" the Secretary of Education told him. "Not that it matters - the intel we received was clear: Our current stance towards gay rights is the biggest obstacle to forming an alliance with the Etherians."
"If we can be allied to Saudi Arabia despite their policies on pretty much everything except for Iran and making money, I doubt that a few internal matters will be a problem for the Etherians. They're fighting the same enemy as we are fighting - an Empire of body-snatching snakes," the Secretary of Defense retorted. "Winning the war takes precedence. Etheria only has fifty million people and is not nearly as industrialised as we are, according to our information. They need us as much as we need them. Who else would they ally with? The Russians? China? India?" He scoffed.
"Etheria isn't a democracy," the Secretary of State pointed out. "And they are aliens - they have a different view of what is a good system for government."
"But everyone's track record with regards to gay rights is worse than ours. Do you really think that aliens concerned about bigotry will ally with countries that violate human rights every day?"
"Several states in Europe have a better track record, to use your words." The Secretary of State shook his head. "France will jump at the chance to get out of our shadow - and they won't have much of a problem with adjusting their internal policies. Germany too," he added.
"They'll certainly have far less trouble changing anything than we'll have," the Secretary of Education said. "The conservatives will fight this tooth and nail."
"We can use Executive Orders," the Secretary of Defense retorted. "If we actually have to do a thing. I'm still not convinced that the leaders of an alien planet would be overly concerned about gay marriage on Earth."
"Would you care to answer that, Dr Jackson?" The President turned to face them.
Daniel took a deep breath. "Yes, Mr President. The first thing you need to understand is that Etheria's kingdoms are ruled by monarchs," he said. "Monarchs with special powers who govern as mostly absolute rulers."
"I thought they were absolute rulers?" the Secretary of Defense asked.
"Even absolute rulers depend on a bureaucracy, advisors and regional sub-rulers," Daniel explained. "And depending on the situation of the realm, they have to consider all those people when making decisions."
"Ah."
"Although in this case, the current rulers of the dominant kingdoms of Etheria seem to be rather secure in their power - they have recently defeated an invasion by an alien power, the Horde. One could actually make a case for there having been two invasions…" Daniel coughed. "Anyway, the important point is that the personal prestige of the princesses in the Alliance is currently at its peak. Combine that with unparalleled personal power and it is very likely that their people are firmly behind every decision they make."
Jack could see some grim expressions there.
"To illustrate that, as our report stated, an entire fleet of clones worship Adora, also known under her title of She-Ra, Princess of Power, as a goddess," Daniel went on.
"Your report also states that this She-Ra doesn't like it yet cannot stop them. This seems to be a limit of her power," the Secretary of Education said.
"This is correct in that she can't stop the worship or hasn't managed so far. But they will obey her other commands almost blindly," Daniel replied.
That caused more grim expressions.
"So, the princesses are used to getting their way," the Secretary of Agriculture spoke up.
"Mostly, yes. They are also close personal friends." Daniel smiled. "And this leads us to the crucial point: Etheria takes what we could call matters of state very personally. Princesses are expected to lead from the front, so to speak. Alliances are as much or more a matter of personal relationships and character as of necessity or state - their alliance is called the Princess Alliance, after all. And, well… they have voiced concerns that they might form an alliance with a country on Earth, and a few years later, the leader of a country on Earth might be replaced, and the alliance might be broken - that's because they are used to forming alliances with rulers, not nations."
"Christ! It's like we're in the medieval age!" the Secretary of Commerce blurted out. "Do we need to arrange dynastic marriages to get anything done?"
Jack thought the man was joking, but his laughter rang more than a bit hollow.
"The Brits would like that, I bet," the Secretary of Defense commented. "They've got two princes in the right age range."
Daniel, of course, took the question seriously. "It would be a mistake to consider Etheria as a technologically advanced copy of our own medieval age. They developed the way they have due to the specific circumstances of their planet and their population. Dynastic marriages are, actually, not the norm on Etheria - the rulers tend to pick their partners for love and without concern for someone's social standing. One of the most powerful princesses is, according to her friends, expected to formalise her relationship with a smuggler any day now, for example."
That had most of the Cabinet blinking with surprise, in Jack's impression.
"Do we need to call in George Lucas as an advisor?" The President chuckled.
Jack laughed at the joke, and even Daniel got it. Carter, of course, merely smiled.
But Jack's friend grew serious at once. "And this is the crux of the matter: The Etherians were shocked by our stance towards minorities. When we informed them of the state of our society with regards to gay rights, they had trouble understanding the mere concept of discrimination based on sexuality, gender or - presumably - race. I have to stress this: They were shocked by the fact that this was happening on Earth."
"Ultra-progressive princesses. Now I've seen everything," the Secretary of Defense mumbled.
"Their political views might cause some consternation amongst the pundits," the Secretary of Education commented.
"More importantly," the President spoke up, "their views are a problem for us. We look like a bunch of bigots to them - and they take that personally. Dr Jackson, how do you think they'll react when some of our more prominent pundits voice disagreement with the lifestyles of Etheria?"
Daniel frowned. "I think they would be hurt if a televangelist called them Whores of Babylon. They aren't used to such… diverse opinions. Or mass media. For them, politics is a deeply personal affair."
"Do they expect us to abolish Freedom of Speech?" the Secretary of State asked.
"No, I don't think so." Daniel shook his head. "We have covered that aspect of democracy in our talks. But I think they'll still emotionally struggle with such attacks. They are, after all, all very young compared to the average political leader on Earth."
"Idealistic college students turned absolute monarchs. I can see the next Disney movie," the Secretary of Agriculture mumbled.
No one laughed this time.
"Yes, that sums it up, folks." The President nodded. "So, how do we ensure that they realise that we aren't the antichrist? We need this alliance. Not just to protect Earth, but also to preserve the United States as a world leader."
"Ah." Daniel was smiling apologetically, Jack noticed.
The President nodded at him. "Yes, Dr Jackson?"
Daniel cleared his throat. "Religion is actually another crucial issue. The Etherians plan to restore magic to Earth, after all."
"What?"
Jack had the impression that most of the Cabinet had overlooked that part of their report. Or had failed to take it seriously.
"And people keep telling me to write better reports," he mumbled.
Carter shot him a glare, of course.
Outside the Solar System, August 14th, 1998 (Earth Time)
"They've announced a press conference at the White House for the afternoon!"
Adora blinked at Entrapta's exclamation. "A what?" Then she blinked again. What was Entrapta doing in her bedroom?
"It's a thing where they tell people news!" Entrapta, balancing on the foot end of Adora and Catra's bed, beamed at them. "At least that's the logical deduction from the reactions I saw on the television broadcasts!"
Catra groaned and rolled off Adora. "And you woke us up for that?"
Entrapta nodded. "Yes! It's so exciting! We'll be able to watch Earth's reaction to the information about our impending arrival as it happens! Just imagine all the data we'll gather!"
Adora blinked once more. "Uh, Entrapta… how much did you sleep last, uh, night?"
"Err… I didn't? But I'm totally fine - I got enough tiny concentrated tea inside me to be fine!"
Adora made a mental note to have a talk with Hordak about Entrapta's eating habits. "So… when will this news conference happen?"
"In the afternoon!"
"Our afternoon?" Catra asked. Her lover had finally opened her eyes, Adora noticed.
"Yes!"
"And it's…" Catra turned her head to look at the clock on the sideboard.
Adora quickly wrapped an arm around Catra and smiled at Entrapta. "Why don't you go tell Glimmer now? We'll be up in a bit!" Fortunately, she managed to clamp a hand over Catra's mouth before her lover started hissing and trying to wriggle out of her grasp to claw Entrapta or something.
"Oh… are you engaging in foreplay?" Entrapta tilted her head. "That's usually done in private, though, as far as I know."
What the…? This was… Adora's face felt like it was burning. She gaped at Entrapta.
"Oh, right, sorry!" Entrapta hurried out of the door before Adora could correct her.
As soon as their friend had left, Adora relaxed with a sigh and released Catra.
"See what you've done?" Catra hissed and smacked her on the head.
"She means well," Adora said.
"I know." Catra groaned and rolled on her back. "But it's seven in the morning. And we watched that stupid show until three."
And hadn't gone right to sleep, either. But that was neither here nor there. "It wasn't a stupid show, or we wouldn't have watched it for so long."
"I was just keeping you company!"
"Your eyes were glued to the screen!"
Catra sniffed. "I didn't want to make you feel bad." Then she yawned. "Now, let's get some more sleep before Entrapta notices."
That was a good idea. Adora pulled Catra in close and pressed a kiss on her head. They could watch television later.
Washington D.C., United States of America, August 14th, 1998 (Earth Time)
When she saw the Colonel enter the Situation Room, he looked… well, Samantha Carter couldn't say rumpled since his uniform was perfectly pressed. But she knew the signs of fatigue on him.
"How much did you sleep, Carter?"
As he knew the signs on her, apparently. "We were dismissed to get some rest at the same time, Sir," she replied.
"That's not an answer to my actual question, Carter."
She felt herself wince. "I had to amend our reports, Sir." There had been no choice, though - she had to amend the parts about magic since those had obviously not been given enough weight by the Cabinet.
"Carter! We need you at your best! This is a crucial moment for the entire world, and you can't give your best hopped up on coffee."
"Yes, Sir." She carefully nodded and stared at him.
He didn't blush, but he frowned. "I had to give a personal report to the president."
Sam suppressed the sudden spike of resentment. The president asking the commanding officer was just a logical move. Even though she should've been there as well. And Daniel, of course.
"It wasn't much - just my personal take on the princesses," the Colonel went on.
"Yes, Sir."
A loud yawn announced Daniel's arrival. "Sorry… I slept a bit too long. They had this old book in the guest room…" He smiled at them. "So, how are things?"
"News Conference at two in the afternoon," the Colonel replied. "NATO partners have been informed already."
"What about the Russians and the Chinese? India?" Daniel asked.
The Colonel didn't shrug. "They were, as far as I've heard through the grapevine, informed that this wasn't a joke and not aimed at them, but that there might be some social unrest." He chuckled. "The Russians probably know about this by now due to some KGB mole left in Brussels."
Daniel blinked. "Seriously?"
The Colonel snorted. "I'm joking. At least I hope I'm joking. The Russians were good, though, back in the Cold War."
"Ah." Daniel looked around and then headed for the pot of coffee.
"So, the police are going to be mobilised?" Sam asked.
"And the National Guard. And the Army. And the fire brigades, of course, and all the other emergency services." The Colonel sighed. "This is such a goddamn mess."
"Well, this would have happened sooner or later," Sam pointed out.
"I just wish it had been later rather than sooner," he replied. "Preferably after my retirement."
She didn't snort at that - the Colonel wouldn't retire for twenty years. But he would retire from active frontline duty sooner than that. And maybe she wouldn't be in his chain of command any… She clamped down on that thought. She really was a bit too tired.
"Well, let's prepare for the end of the world as we know it," he said.
"So, where do we stand with Congress?" the President asked when he entered the room half an hour later. He looked a little tired as well, Samantha Carter noticed, but not nearly as tired as she had expected.
"They're not happy with us," the Vice President told him.
"Not happy with me, you mean." The President chuckled. "What are the chances you'll be in my seat a month from now?"
"Low. They're angry at being left out of the loop about a war in space, but we should still have a majority behind us. But you might have to make some sacrifices."
Of course, Kinsey cleared his throat at that. "If I may, Mr President."
"Yes?" That was more than a hint of a frown, Sam noticed.
"We do have a majority right now, but that could change should news of the attack by Apophis leak." Kinsey sounded just the tiniest bit of smug, though his expression didn't betray any of that.
Next to Sam, the Colonel cursed under his breath. Sam was tempted to join in. Both of them knew where this was going.
Kinsey sighed. "If they decide to raise a stink about the fact that Earth was a few hours from orbital bombardment without any measures taken to warn people and get them into shelters…" His grimace was as fake as his concern, Sam thought. But he was correct. People wouldn't take well to hearing that. And she strongly suspected that the news would leak in the wake of today's revelations. Certainty if Kinsey was about to get canned for his own part in it.
"Everyone involved would have to resign," the President said with a grim expression.
"We'll be lucky if they don't shoot us in the streets," the Secretary of Defense mumbled.
"We can handle the people," Kinsey said. "They won't know how fast spaceships are. Saturn might as well be on Alpha Centauri for all they know. We tell them we stopped the invasion far out, and they'll be happy enough. But that won't work on Congress."
The President narrowed his eyes. "And you can handle Congress."
Kinsey smiled almost apologetically. "I can talk to a few people, make them understand that the last thing we need right now is an Impeachment. America more than ever needs strong leadership in this crisis. We're in a war after all."
The President stared at him for a moment. "Do it."
Kinsey's smile turned more genuine as he nodded. "I'll get on it, Mr President." He left the room.
The President sighed. "Well, let's hope he can deliver. Now, about our allies… How unhappy are they?"
"Very, Mr President. Very unhappy."
"I hate to say it," the Colonel mumbled to Sam as the Secretary of State started to detail the responses from the other NATO members, "but I'm hoping that Kinsey got more dirt about his colleagues than we thought."
Sam had to nod in agreement. The senator was correct - the last thing the USA needed right now was a change of government. That wouldn't build a lot of trust with the Etherians. Not at all.
Outside the Solar System, August 14th, 1998 (Earth Time)
Entrapta didn't look like she had slept at all, Catra noticed when she entered Darla's bridge. Her friend was still acting as if she had just drunk another can of concentrated tea - which she might very well have, actually. Well, they would have to force her to rest after this.
"Ten minutes to the start of the press conference!" Entrapta announced. "Look, they're already broadcasting!"
On the screen, Catra could see a large room filled with people, an empty pedestal and small desk, and several people in uniforms. Not the same as SG-1 had worn - those must be the 'dress uniforms' Daniel had mentioned.
"...and speculation is running wild as to the content of this surprising press conference. We've received reports that the police not only in Washington D.C. but across the entire country has been preparing to handle rioting. Chuck?"
The image shifted.
"Yes, Betty, indeed, I am standing in front of the headquarters of the LAPD, and the mood is tense. You can see various officers checking the transports and preparing riot control gear. But no one seems to know what this is all about."
"Thank you, Chuck. We've also received news that NATO states are doing the same thing - and have also announced press conferences. Whatever it is, this is big, folks! Very big!"
"Not only that, Betty, but we've received news that Russia and China are moving army formations into cities. Some people worry that this might start a new Cold War - or, even worse, an actual hot war!" another man said.
"Well, if Russia wanted to start a war, I doubt they would move their army into their cities," Betty replied. "But speculation is indeed rampant. Alan?"
The screen shifted to show a man standing in front of a fence. "Yes. Rumours after rumours are spreading. Even the most absurd speculation is repeated across Washington." He laughed. "The most outrageous is tied to reports that Dr Daniel Jackson has been seen in the White House for the last few days. For those who don't know, Dr Jackson was an archaeologist who became briefly famous for his theory that the pyramids were built by aliens."
As apparently the entire news crew laughed, Catra shook her head. "Someone's going to be sorry for that in about… five minutes."
Entrapta nodded.
"Daniel will be happy to be proven right at last," Catra said. "I wonder if he'll talk to the press as well."
"You mean give an interview?" Adora asked.
"Everyone is giving interviews." Glimmer snorted. "SG-1 are the ones who met us, so they'll be asked all sorts of questions."
"Like in the show that we saw," Adora nodded.
"He better make us look good," Catra muttered.
"Catra!" Adora frowned at her.
"What?" Catra smiled at her lover. "I'm just saying… they wanted a headstart to prepare Earth for our arrival, they should use that to make us look good, so they won't be afraid of us." All the preparations that were mentioned on the screen were a little concerning. Would the people on Earth really freak out just because they heard about the Alliance?
Adora snorted, and Glimmer rolled her eyes.
"They need to know that the fleet is able to protect them. That way, they'll feel safe," Hordak added.
Glimmer cleared her throat. "I don't think that's how it works. They don't know us, so they don't trust us."
"Once we're in orbit, they'll see that they can trust us when we don't conquer them even though we could do so easily," Hordak retorted.
"I don't think we could conquer Earth easily. Or at all," Catra said. "They've got millions of soldiers and all those weapons. Even if we transported all of Etheria and all the clones and bots down there, we couldn't garrison them." And as SG-1 had told them, Earth people were used to fighting even after being conquered. And she wasn't going to say what Horde Prime would have done to Earth.
Neither did Hordak or anyone else - but they all knew it.
"Oh, it's starting!" Entrapta piped up in the sudden silence.
And, indeed, an old man was stepping up to the desk, smiling widely. That must be the President.
"My fellow Americans! Today is a historic day. An age-old question of humanity will finally be answered: Are we alone in the universe? And the answer is: No, we are not alone in the universe. The United States has made contact with extraterrestrial intelligent life. Peaceful contact."
The room exploded in noise. A red banner appeared on the bottom of the screen with the words 'Existence of aliens confirmed' and started scrolling from right to left.
"Please, please…" The President raised his hand. It took a while for the room to quiet down. "I'll answer questions after my statement." He nodded.
"Now, in addition to SETI, for several years, the United States has been running a top-secret program to search the galaxy for intelligent life. We have been doing this by means of an alien artefact that was found on Earth and painstakingly restored and returned to service. An artefact that allows travel to distant planets through a gate network that covers a lot of the galaxy. Brave teams of explorers went through those gates to explore the stars. This is our Stargate Program."
Catra frowned. That didn't…. Well, it did fit the story SG-1 had told them about the Stargate Program, but only if you creatively shuffled things around.
Once more, whispers started, and the banner changed to 'Aliens exist - U.S. teams travel the galaxy.'
"The reason this was kept top secret is that not all aliens are peaceful and friendly," the President went on. "In fact, some of them are hostile, and we've…"
Catra shook her head at the reaction of the people on the screen. The President - or was that the Mr President? - barely could continue his speech over all the cries and shouting. He tried anyway, but it seemed to make things worse.
"They are panicking," Hordak said. "He just told them that they defeated the Goa'uld twice, and that new allies are about to reach Earth, and they are still panicking. I question the need of making an alliance with such people. They will run at the slightest danger."
"Those are civilians, not soldiers," Adora retorted. But Catra could tell that she was taken aback as well.
"They did expect riots," Catra said. "That's why they were all so tense."
Hordak huffed.
"I don't have any news of riots," Entrapta announced.
Catra glanced at her and gasped. She had cables stuck to her visor and… "How many channels are you watching at the same time?"
"Six. No, seven. But all of them are focusing on the press conference," Entrapta replied. "Even though they're just shouting at the moment."
"Their military does not seem to be very competent either if they cannot restore order in the room," Hordak said. "Their leader is not supposed to have any magic powers with which he could defend himself, is he?"
"No, he isn't," Catra told him.
"Then he is at risk. This might be a coup."
"No, it isn't. But they're not going to send their military against their own people," Glimmer said. She looked rather angry, Catra noticed. "And it's no surprise that the people there are panicking - they have just been told that their leader hid a huge secret from them for years and that their country is at war. Why wouldn't they be upset?"
"Why would they trust him?" Adora asked. "They must feel betrayed."
Ah. Catra clenched her teeth when she understood. Adora was feeling for those people - this must remind her of her experiences with the Horde propaganda.
After minutes of pointless shouting and yelling, the President was able to continue his speech.
Although people kept trying to interrupt him. And their reactions…
Adora grimaced. "They really didn't like hearing that SG-1 has been fighting the Goa'uld for several years."
Catra nodded. Well, she could understand that. Though if you told the troops everything, operational security would be dead, and morale would drop at the slightest reversal. Hell, Mermista's people had deserted her at the mere rumour of a damaged Runestone and a Horde Fleet sailing towards them. The Earth people were doing pretty well so far. And now the President was talking about Etheria. And he was making them look good!
And then came the questions. And Catra started frowning. Some questions made no sense at all. Why were they asking if the Etherians had grey skin and big eyes?
Washington D.C., United States of America, August 14th, 1998 (Earth Time)
"Well, this went… as badly as expected," Jack O'Neill said as he sat down in one of the chairs at the wall in the Situation Room.
"They haven't set fire to the Capitol. Or the capital," Daniel objected. "And the rest of the world hasn't declared war on the United States. Both of which were deemed possible if not very likely scenarios, if I recall correctly."
"Give'em time. Both can still happen," Jack mumbled, craning his neck until the back of his head touched the wall. "People need some time to get to a riot."
"It's started in Los Angeles, Sir," Carter reported, looking at her laptop. "And there are traffic jams in the greater Washington area as some people flee the city and others flock to Washington after several groups have called to protest this 'flagrant violation of the constitution and the trust in our government', to quote one."
Jack sighed. "Any good news?"
"The police seem to have the riots in hand so far, Sir," Carter replied. "Although if this spreads too far…"
Members of the Cabinet started filtering in as well. A few looked shell-shocked like green soldiers after their first fight.
"We're receiving sharply worded diplomatic notes from all over the world," the Secretary of State said. "Apparently, the British have figured out where the Stargate came from. They're all but calling us thieves."
Jack scoffed. "It was found in Egypt, not England. And Egypt was an independent country at the time. At least formally." He noticed Daniel looking surprised and rolled his eyes. "I once did a report on the country at the Academy."
"Sorry." Daniel looked embarrassed at his earlier surprise.
The Secretary of State chuckled. "That will be our answer. Of course, the Egyptians also protested - they must have put two and two together after CNN revealed your presence, Dr Jackson."
"Oh." Daniel blinked.
Jack shook his "That was fast."
And that, of course, made Daniel frown at him - as Jack had known it would. "Don't underestimate other countries, Jack. Humans aren't stupid as a rule no matter their culture."
Jack pointed at the big screen, which was now showing burning cars in Los Angeles and a breathless reporter talking into the camera. "Looks pretty stupid to me."
"People are scared, Jack, and scared people lash out."
"The French are facing similar riots. The United States embassy required additional protection," someone said.
More and more reports were brought in by a swarm of young aides and interns.
"Russia's president is making a speech."
"China's gone silent - they've cut the internet and cited a national emergency to stop foreign correspondents from reporting. Last we heard, tanks were moving to Beijing."
"People are calling for a gathering at Area 51."
"Germany's voicing concern about the possibility of a war being conducted from our bases there without their knowledge."
"The French are calling for a 'reevaluation' of NATO structures."
"Los Angeles reports the first death in the riots."
"Several people suffered heart attacks during the press conference. We're still getting a count."
"The National Guard has moved to secure the Capitol and the White House."
"Canada is demanding a full accounting of the Stargate Program's use of shared resources in Cheyenne Mountain."
Someone must have leaked the location of the Stargate. No, they probably recognised Daniel, Carter or Jack himself and realised the truth. "I hope that the Etherians are feeling sorry for inflicting this on the world," Jack muttered. They probably would, unless he had completely misjudged their characters. Well, Hordak probably wouldn't feel sorry at all.
"I think so, Sir," Carter said.
"To be fair, Jack," Daniel said. "I honestly doubt that more time would have changed anything. You can't really ease the world into the fact that we're at war with aliens." He frowned. "Of course, it could've been much worse if the Etherians had showed up without warning, but this was probably the best we could've hoped for."
Jack sighed again. Daniel was right. And the more the people knew about it, the bigger the risk of a leak. Still… "This could've gone better."
"Bill's calling for a bipartisan congressional inquiry into the Stargate Program!" someone yelled.
"Bastard!"
"He's just playing to the crowd!"
"Can we counter that?"
"What the hell's Kinsey doing? He should've prevented that!"
"If it's a bipartisan effort, then we can sink this."
"That's what they want!"
"It's just showboating for the crowds. Besides, there's already congressional oversight. He's just angry that he's not on that committee."
"It's just a waste of time. We can give them that to placate them."
"Right. But where's the President?"
"Still on the line with Russia."
"I thought the Russian president is at a Press Conference?"
"It's been delayed."
"They just want to be seen to be doing something."
"They seem more concerned about this investigation than the riots and the reactions of the rest of the world," Daniel said.
"Welcome to politics," Jack muttered.
Someone next to him laughed. He looked over, and it was the Secretary of Defense. Damn, Jack should've noticed the man sitting down. He must be more tired than he had thought.
"It's not like that - or just a bit," the man told them. "But we've been anticipating the reaction of the rest of the world, and of the people. They're more or less following the script. But Congress shenanigans? That's not as predictable as foreign policy."
Jack nodded, even though he didn't completely agree. The man was his nominal superior, after all.
But they were now, to borrow a term from the Navy, in uncharted waters. And Jack wasn't looking forward to discovering that they were headed for an underwater reef.