Chapter 43: The Asgard Part 1
Gate Area, Cimmeria, September 26th, 1998
"The Asgard are the Horde?"
Catra shook her head at Daniel's outburst. "Can't be. Horde Prime wouldn't have protected the planet." She knew that monster.
"He would have destroyed it. Or 'reformed' it so they worshipped him." Glimmer, too, knew Horde Prime.
"I have never heard of any such policy as well - or of the Goa'uld," Hordak said.
"But the Asgard are singling you out. And they assume that you know how to contact their Supreme Commander." Entrapta frowned. "Why do they think that?"
"I don't know!" Hordak said. "I would assume that this is a splinter group of clones who chose their own path after Horde Prime's death, but the timeline does not work at all. At the time this planet was protected, Horde Prime was fighting the First Ones."
Well, he had fought them for a long time, Catra knew.
"But you're clones of Horde Prime. What if he was an Asgard who left his people to found the Horde? The depiction in the labyrinth could've been a ruse."
Sam had a good point. Horde Prime had to have come from somewhere - someone. He couldn't have just… appeared.
"We might be talking to Horde Prime's people," Adora stated the obvious. "And they're not evil!"
"We don't know that," Glimmer disagreed. "We don't know why they protected this planet."
"Well, they don't seem too bad compared to the Goa'uld. Or your Horde," Ferretti said.
Hordak turned to face the… well, the wall. "How can I contact the Supreme Commander? I lost my standard communication equipment."
"The Supreme Commander has been contacted. Please wait."
"Well, that's one way to make contact," Catra said. "Let's hope Horde Prime was an outlier."
"And let's hope they won't take too long to answer," Glimmer said.
"At least the DHD is here," Ferretti said. "We can dial back."
But it was outside the walled section, Catra noticed. Hordak would be trapped if he were alone here.
"Yes, but our goal is to make peaceful contact with the Asgard," Bow said. "If we leave, that's a failure."
Catra was tempted to tell Ferretti to head back while they stayed. "We can wait a few hours, easily. Although we might get bored."
"We could analyse the Asgard technology!" Entrapta suggested.
"Only if you can do it without dismantling it," Bow told her. "We don't want to make a bad impression."
Catra nodded in agreement. Especially if the Asgard were even a little like Hordak - or Horde Prime. "If Horde Prime has a connection to the Asgard, the technology should be familiar," she said.
"Yes!" Entrapta nodded. "Although the communication protocols are different compared to those Horde Prime used."
Well, she would know. "On the other hand, they might use the same transporter Horde Prime had on his flagship," Catra pointed out.
"Yes. Though the aesthetics are completely different as well," Glimmer said.
And that was a good thing. Catra didn't like Horde Prime's style. The Asgard's style was more like the one Alliance used on Etheria. Well, not really, but it wasn't as polished and cold as Horde Prime's.
Entrapta stepped back inside the gate area and fiddled with her device. "Ah. There's some familiarity. The scanners use similar principles in how they are built and controlled. The weapons, though… I've never seen Horde technology use such a field."
"I've never heard of anything like that, either. If Horde Prime had access to weapons that targetted specific species, I would assume they would have been used," Hordak said.
"Unless he wanted to avoid giving his enemies ideas. If the First Ones had developed a weapon that targeted Horde Prime and all his clones…" Bow grimaced.
Catra scoffed. "I doubt that he would have been concerned about that. He was too arrogant to assume anyone could get one up on him." And that had been part of the reason he had lost in the end.
"Yes. Still…" Glimmer was interrupted by the voice speaking up again.
"This is Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet. Who are you?"
Right to the top. Catra grinned despite herself.
"I am Hordak."
"And I am Entrapta! Hi!" Entrapta waved.
"You are not one of the Asgard. Neither of you. And yet, you share our DNA."
"Ah." Hordak paused for a moment. "I am a clone of Horde Prime."
"Horde Prime?"
So the Asgard didn't know him. Or didn't want them to know they knew him.
"Our… progenitor. Creator. He cloned himself to create an army of conquest. He was defeated some time ago," Hordak replied.
"He cloned himself, you said. Was he known under another name?"
"We called him brother. Sometimes." Hordak sounded tense. Entrapta's hair patted his shoulder, Catra noticed. "We do not know where he came from - or what his species was," Hordak went on.
"Well, we have his DNA, if you're interested. But it's pretty close to Hordak's, so you probably already have it," Entrapta added.
"What brings you to Cimmeria?"
"He's with us!" Adora said, stepping into the area as well. "We're here with a team from Earth - we're friends with the people who had to dismantle your defence system to save their friend, and we came here to check if the planet needed any help - and to see if we could contact you. We're from Etheria."
"You're of Ancient descent."
"Yes." Adora looked grim.
Catra suppressed a sigh. Her lover needed to accept that her heritage didn't mean anything.
"Are you a bot? And can we meet you?" Entrapta asked. "We could share technology! Yours seems fascinating!"
Adora coughed. "We would like to meet you and apologise for destroying your defence system. And we would like to talk to you about the Goa'uld threat. We're fighting them. Well, we will be fighting them soon."
After a moment, the voice - Thor - replied: "I see. Yes, I think we should meet."
"Great!" Adora beamed at the wall.
Catra refrained from commenting about it - they didn't know if the Asgard had a camera pointed at them. Although if they had a DNA scanner, they should have a camera as well.
"We can close the connection to our gate so you can use it to travel," Ferretti said.
"This will not be necessary," Thor replied. "I will arrive with my ship."
Ah. That meant the Asgard's ship - probably more than one if they were ready to face the Goa'uld - had to be close. Relatively close.
"How long will that take?" Glimmer asked.
After a bit of back and forth, they had a time - about two hours, And wasn't it interesting that the Asgard used Horde standard time units? Catra grinned without humour. There had to be close ties between Horde Prime and the Asgard.
"So… before you enter hyperspace…" Adora smiled in that embarrassed way of hers when she was about to confess to a blunder. "Our friends had to disable your defence system to save their friend - and our friend - Teal'c, who is a Jaffa who is opposing the Goa'uld. When they visited this planet, he was trapped in the labyrinth, and they had to destroy it to free him."
"I am aware of the circumstances of the destruction of our first defence system."
Which didn't mean he approved of what SG-1 had done. Catra snorted.
"Good. So, can they visit as well?" Adora was still smiling. "They're sorry about the whole thing, but they had no choice. They didn't know if they could contact you - or how."
"So they destroyed our system."
The tone didn't sound like Thor approved at all. Of course, that could be different for aliens. Then again, if they were so closely related to Hordak and the other clones, they couldn't be too different.
"Yes, but they're sorry. And we're all fighting the Goa'uld, and the planet's safe, so… no harm done?" Adora's smile was obviously forced now.
"I will not judge them for one single action done out of ignorance."
"But you'll judge them later?" Catra asked before she could control herself.
"I can probably repair your system," Entrapta offered. "Or replace it with a similar one of equal value. Although you already upgraded the system here."
"The Tau'ri can visit, but your Jaffa friend should stay away."
That was a partial success - unless Thor just wanted everyone who offended them in one easy-to-bomb spot. If he arrived with a fleet, and they were all stuck on the planet…
"Thank you!" Adora said.
Well, it was better than nothing. Still, Catra would prefer if they had a flotilla with them. With Priest's bunch, they probably didn't have to worry about the clones changing allegiance when faced with some 'relatives'. But the ships would never make it here in time.
"Entering Hyperspace. Thor out."
Or so he claimed. He might be listening in still - and Catra was sure that the Asgard were still recording everything in the area. That's what she would be doing in their place.
"So… we made peaceful first contact," Bow said.
"Let's hope it stays that way." Glimmer snorted. "If a fight breaks out, we're kind of outgunned."
And, not that Catra would mention that where a potential enemy could record them, without the planet's magic restored, they were even more at a disadvantage.
It would only be five minutes to restore magic, but Catra knew her friends wouldn't do that without asking the local people first. And from what she remembered of Daniel's briefing, they might be afraid of magic like Earth's nutcases.
Adora turned to the M.A.L.P. "Jack? Did you get that?"
"Yes."
"Are you coming over?"
"That's currently being debated. In committee."
Great. Catra sighed.
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 26th, 1998
"Sir, we should head through the gate," Jack O'Neill said, staring at the observation window above them. "You heard the Asgard - we can enter." He turned to smile apologetically at Teal'c. "Except for you. Sorry, Teal'c. They don't know you like we do."
"The Asgard's hesitation to trust me is perfectly understandable."
Of course he'd say that.
"This could be a trap, Colonel O'Neill," Sidorov said.
"If we think it's a trap, we should evacuate the Etherians. That's their entire leadership out there," Jack retorted. Not that he thought that they would let themselves be evacuated.
"They are aware of that," General Hammond said.
At least Catra would be, in Jack's opinion. "So, can we go through the gate?" He almost added 'pretty please', but the foreign generals wouldn't appreciate it. And the Russian would take any excuse to sideline SG-1.
"We should not, how do you say, put all the eggs in one basket?" General Li said.
"Well, not showing up after we got permission could be seen as an affront," Jack said. He suppressed the urge to rub his neck - staring up at the observation window was annoying - and glanced at Daniel.
Fortunately, Daniel was on the ball. "Ah, yes, If the Asgard have Norse values, they might see this as refusing their hospitality. Something that could be taken as an insult," he said in his usual earnest manner.
Jack smiled. "And we don't want to insult the alien race with spaceships and anti-Goa'uld devices and ties to a galactic conqueror."
Sidorov, standing at the window, didn't bother hiding his scowl. But the other generals looked more reasonable. Not happy, of course.
But Jack was sure SG-1 would go through the gate - if only because they wanted someone present who was able to stand up to the Etherians - at least when it came to making decisions - when the Asgard arrived. SG-2 was a great team, but he didn't see Ferretti keeping up with the Etherians.
And Jack was right. It still took the generals five minutes to sort things out - an eternity if this had been an emergency - and Sidorov was glaring at everyone afterwards, but SG-1 got the go-ahead. Except for Teal'c, but that couldn't be helped.
"Alright! Carter, Daniel - grab your stuff and get to the gate." Jack nodded at them, then turned to Teal'c.
"Good luck, O'Neill," his friend said before Jack could say anything.
"Ah, thanks." Jack nodded at him, then turned to grab his backpack and join the others at the gate.
It was still active, so there was no need to wait. "You know the drill. No shooting the locals, no getting married by mistake even if it's to a Viking god."
"Norse god, actually. Vikings were…" Daniel started to correct him.
Jack grinned and stepped through the Stargate before his friend could finish.
Then he saw red - literally. That anti-Goa'uld field was active. As expected. He pushed the memory of the labyrinth away and faced the others. "Hey!"
"Hi! You made it!" Entrapta beamed - not at him but at Carter, who had followed him. Well, he had expected that as well. Hordak looked grumpy as ever, and Jack had to refrain from speculating loudly what the Asgard might think about former warlords. They were being recorded, after all.
"Sir!" Ferretti nodded at him while Entrapta started talking technology with Carter - or science- and dragging Bow into it as well.
"Major." Jack returned the nod. "Anything to report?" It was a pointless question - they had followed the mission through the M.A.L.P. - but forms had to be observed.
"No, Sir."
"You're early," Catra commented as Jack stepped out of the red field. She was sitting on a tree stump nearby.
"Couldn't wait." Jack shrugged. "You know how it is." She wasn't exactly the most patient person he knew.
She laughed in return. "Well, now you can wait here with us."
"It's good to have you here," Adora said with a glance at Catra.
The catwoman grinned in return and stretched, then shifted around on the tree stump as if she was sunbathing on a lounge chair.
"Catra!" Glimmer hissed.
"What? I'm not going to pretend to be busy when we're just waiting for the Asgard to arrive."
Well, Jack couldn't say that he disagreed with that. But with the brass watching, he couldn't join her or start a campfire. Although… "Daniel! You mentioned hospitality. Should we prepare a camp or something to welcome the Asgard?"
"Uh…" His friend bit his lower lip. "That's a good question. It depends, I think, on their views of the planet. If they consider it theirs, claiming part of it as hosts for them would be… tacky, I guess."
Or it could be seen as an invasion. Technically. Grabbing land and all.
"On the other hand," Daniel went on, "if the Asgard see this planet as belonging to the Cimmerians, they might not take offence. Or they might take offence on behalf of the Cimmerians."
"So, we better not try to invite them to roast marshmallows at our fire, got it," Jack said.
"Well, they could also be offended if we don't offer them hospitality." Daniel smiled. "It's hard to say with an alien culture. Although in Norse culture, it was generally dependent on who called a location home, so to speak."
In other words, they wouldn't know until the Asgard arrived. Like usual.
"I doubt they'll get angry," Glimmer said. "They should be used to meeting alien cultures and be aware that not everyone follows their customs."
Jack hoped she was correct. There was still the little matter of SG-1 breaking the Asgard defence system. Although, as one of its victims, Jack was ready to argue that it had been broken already - he shouldn't have been transported into the labyrinth since he didn't have a Goa'uld inside him. At best, the system's aim had been broken.
"Well," he said. "Then let's wait and hope Carter, Entrapta and Bow don't go overboard with the study of alien technology and accidentally dismantle the new defence system."
"Bow wouldn't," Glimmer retorted.
"But Entrapta and the others can get pretty enthusiastic," Adora pointed out.
"And Hordak seems a bit off his game," Catra added. "He might be too distracted to intervene."
Jack had been joking, but the Etherians seemed to take it seriously. Ah well - he trusted Carter not to go overboard. And to ride herd on the rest. She was a great officer; if she weren't an even greater scientist, she'd have her own team already.
He put his backpack down on the grass and sat on it. "So… any idea how to pass the time until Thor arrives in his shiny spaceship? If it's even shiny." Jack eyed the defence system. "It could be rather dull, of course, if this is his style."
"A spaceship made to look like it was built from stone?" Adora blinked.
"It might be using classic Norse aesthetics, such as runic decorations, maybe even some style elements from longships." Daniel got into it as well. "No sail, I would assume, though."
As they started to make silly suggestions, Jack relaxed a little. They were still meeting an alien who could hold a grudge and had a spaceship available where they were limited to small arms, but he and his team were back in the field. Where they belonged.
Things were looking up.
Gate Area, Cimmeria, September 26th, 1998
"It's been two hours. I'm getting bored."
Sitting in the grass, Adora tried to ignore Catra's complaining. Yes, it had been two hours - and three minutes - since Thor had given his estimate, but he had said 'about two hours', not 'precisely two hours'.
She felt her lover shift in her lap and crane her neck so she could look at Adora's face. "Aren't you bored?"
Adora caught Catra's tail before it could flick against her nose. "No." Between listening for trouble from Entrapta, Sam and Bow and keeping Catra from starting trouble, she was quite busy.
"How? We haven't even made out to pass the time!"
"And we're all grateful for your restraint," Jack cut in.
"See? Someone appreciates my sacrifice."
Adora rolled her eyes. As if she was going to make out in front of Asgard sensors! Or her friends. Well, not beyond some kissing. "Thor's going to be here soon." He better be.
"He's probably analysing the recordings from the defence system to prepare for the meeting," Jack said. He was still sitting on his backpack, but as much as he tried to act relaxed and carefree, he never put down his rifle, Adora noticed.
"Of course he is," Glimmer said, looking directly at the closest wall.
"Entrapta should have built something to spoof the sensors," Catra said.
"That could have been considered a hostile act," Daniel cut in, looking up from his book on Norse culture. "We would effectively render the defence system partially ineffective."
"Spying on people is also a hostile act."
"It's not spying when we know there are cameras and sensors," Adora pointed out. "And we do. We could've headed back and waited at home."
"But it's much nicer here," Jack said. "Like a vacation."
Adora suppressed a sigh. Jack was still avoiding any quips about Stargate Command. No complaining about the brass, the power bill, the underground location - he must be really concerned about leaking information. Catra, too, was sticking to quite, well, mostly personal and unimportant stuff to complain about or tease.
That, and napping and speculating about the Asgard, of course. Which counted as planning and preparing, in Adora's opinion.
"I have arrived."
Adora jumped up, dumping Catra to the ground in the process before she realised what she had done. The Asgard had arrived!
And there they were! A large, muscular human-looking man in chainmail and a steel helmet was standing near the defence system's walls. How had he appeared without anyone noticing…?
"A holoprojection," Catra said. She must have noticed a lack of smell. Or her eyes saw a flaw or something.
In any case, it was a very advanced projection - more life-like than Light Hope had been.
"Correct. I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet." He nodded. "I am currently aboard my ship in orbit."
"I am She-Ra, Princess of Power," Adora told him. "This is Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon, Colonel Jack O'Neill of Stargate Command, Catra, Daniel, Major Ferreti of Stargate command, and here come Princess Entrapta of Dryl, Bow, Captain Carter and Hordak. And Dr Willard." She didn't introduce the rest of SG-2 since Casey and Bell were still guarding the gate.
"Greetings." Thor nodded.
"Hi!" Jack waved. Adora glanced at him and suppressed a frown - that wasn't how you greeted a diplomat. She wasn't the only one to glare at him, either.
But Thor didn't seem to care. He cocked his head and nodded in return. "You were the ones who destroyed the defence system of this planet."
"Well, you locked Teal'c and me up with a dangerous man-eating monster, so we had to break your prison to save us." Jack shrugged. "I can't say I'm too sorry about that. Indiscriminate targeting is not very polite, you know."
"But we are sorry that we had to destroy your defence system," Daniel quickly added.
"I understand. The circumstances that led to that situation won't repeat themselves. We only targetted Goa'uld."
"Not every Goau'ld is evil," Adora cut in.
Thor turned towards her. "That may be the case, but when dealing with them, it is better to err on the side of caution."
Adora pressed her lips together. Killing every Goa'uld by default wasn't exactly cautious, in her opinion. But before she could say anything, Thor went on: "But as I understand, the situation was resolved, and you are now aware that this planet represents a lethal danger to your Jaffa friend. I don't think this needs further debate." He turned to Hordak. "You share our genes, yet you aren't one of us. You didn't know us - or of us - either. And you are a clone."
"Yes." Hordak nodded and stared at Thor. Adora couldn't read him well, but he looked tense. Very tense.
"A clone of who?"
Hordak raised his chin. "Horde Prime. He made us - my brothers and me - in his image."
"I do not know this name."
"I'm not impressed by their intelligence gathering capability," Catra whispered. "Even the Goa'uld knew about Horde Prime," she added a bit more loudly.
"We do not share information or anything else with the Goa'uld," Thor told her.
"Other than being revered as gods by people," Jack said with an innocent-looking smile. "And hiding your true appearance."
Thor frowned at him again. "That is correct. We chose an appearance that suited the local civilisation. Our true appearance is, as you have undoubtedly deduced, different from humans or Ancients."
Ah. Adora nodded. That made sense - they probably looked more like Hordak since they shared enough DNA to mistake him for an Asgard.
Entrapta pouted. "But why are you hiding your appearance from us? We aren't Cimmerians, and we already know you aren't human. I've been told it's polite and respectful to show your true face."
"And there's no Cimmerian around," Jack said. He made a show to look around. "Unlike last time we visited - they chanted your name when we arrived.
"The local population has been advised to avoid the gate area for the time being," Thor told them. "While the defences should be enough to repel a Goa'uld invasion, collateral damage is still a threat."
"That explains their absence. If your god tells you to avoid an area, you generally do it, right?" Jack asked with an innocent expression that, Adora knew from experience, was fake.
"It was deemed the best way to interact with the people without disrupting their civilisation more than absolutely necessary," Thor said.
"Ah!" Daniel nodded. "Does that mean you used an existing pantheon as your role model, or did you create the Norse pantheon from, uh, scratch?"
Thor hesitated a moment. "We did build our appearance on the local culture, but we did not lay claim to any gods."
That was… probably a good thing. But they were still worshipped as gods. Which was a bad thing - Adora could attest to that personally. You didn't claim you were a god!
"So, you took the Cimmerians' ancestors from Earth to raise them here, safe from the Goa'uld?" Jack asked in the same innocent tone as before.
"Yes." Thor apparently took him at face value. "We wanted to allow them to develop without being manipulated by the Goa'uld - or anyone else. Which is why we did not contact them directly afterwards."
"Except for leaving proof of your existence by planting your hammer at the Stargate." Jack nodded.
"That was a necessity."
"And you've been watching over the planet since then?" Adora asked.
"Rather distantly," Catra added before Thor could answer.
The projection nodded. "We didn't want to interfere. And we didn't - until you forced our hand. We have taken steps to avoid a repeat of such a situation."
That sounded good to Adora. She smiled at the projection.
"But I came to see you because of you," Thor said, turning back to Hordak. "You said you do not know the origin of your creator."
"I do not." Hordak shook his head. "Horde Prime… never said anything about that."
"He liked to give the impression that he was eternal," Glimmer added. "That he was always there and would always be there."
"Yes," Hordak said. "I never questioned this - I never speculated who might have been his parent. Or his creator."
He wasn't looking at Thor as he told them that, Adora noticed.
"I see." Thor nodded. "Regretable."
"Of course," Catra spoke up. "I don't think the clones actually looked into Horde Prime's origin."
"Most of us wanted to forget our past, I believe," Hordak said.
Hordak sounded like he was one of them, Adora thought.
"But it means we might be able to help shed some light on this mystery," Catra went on. She smiled widely at Thor, showing her fangs.
Adora pressed her lips together. She knew that expression - Catra thought she had spotted an opportunity.
Thor wasn't fooled either, judging by his frown. "And what do you expect in exchange for your help?"
"Nothing for me, personally." Catra's grin widened. "But since you obviously don't like the Goa'uld and kill them on sight, maybe we should be talking about that as well, instead of just talking about Hordak's ancestors."
That was a good point. A great point, actually. Adora nodded. "Yes. If we're both fighting the Goa'uld, we should coordinate our efforts." And maybe form an alliance.
Once more, Thor hesitated a moment before answering. That didn't seem to be a good thing.
"Are you fighting the Goa'uld as well?" Jack asked.
"We have a treaty with the System Lords - the Protected Planets Treaty," Thor said.
"And what are the terms of the treaty?" Glimmer asked when he didn't go on.
"The System Lords are forbidden from attacking a protected planet and are obligated to keep rogue Goa'uld from attacking. In exchange, the Asgard ensure that the protected planets do not threaten the Goa'uld."
Adora blinked. That sounded…
"And did the protected planets agree to this treaty?" Glimmer asked. She turned to look at Jack. "The Cimmerians didn't tell you anything about it, did they?"
Jack shook his head. "Nope."
"Although we only talked to their local leader - the wife of the local ruler," Daniel added. "She mentioned he had gone to look for work in a city, so the rulers there might know about the treaty."
Adora frowned again. The Stargate of the planet was in a remote location. A backwater location. That said a lot about how important it was for the planet. Or how important it was supposed to be for the planet.
"The treaty is between the Asgard and the Goa'uld. The populations of the protected planets aren't sufficiently advanced to actually pose a threat to the Goa'uld."
"Are they like the Cimmerians?" Daniel asked. "Culturally, I mean. And technologically, although that is so heavily entwined with a planet's culture, it's often hard to draw a clear distinction, even if traditions tend to linger past the point where what caused them to develop was rendered obsolete by technology."
Thor tilted his head. "The protected planets have a wide range of cultures. We didn't intend to be revered by the people on this planet."
"But you were also revered on Earth - by a part of the population," Daniel pointed out.
"Yes. That was also not intended." Thor looked… annoyed. Or embarrassed? It was hard to tell, with the helmet covering half his face. And all being a projection, of course.
"So, you accidentally got worshipped as gods?" Jack raised his eyebrows. "Well, that could happen to anyone, I guess," he added with a shrug.
Adora frowned at him. Yes, it could happen accidentally! Or at least unintentionally!
"The level of native technology of this planet doesn't seem to have advanced very much since they were taken from Earth," Sam said.
"We have not interfered with their development," Thor said.
"Except for becoming their gods." Jack grinned, showing his teeth.
"Yes. We strive to avoid intervening unless something or someone forces our hand." Thor nodded.
Daniel adjusted his glasses. "But despite the treaty, you don't like the Goa'uld. You didn't just block them from reaching this planet - you built an elaborate system to capture any of them who arrived, where the only way to escape was for the Goa'uld to release their hosts."
"Yes."
Daniel nodded. "The Goa'uld must be aware of that as well. And yet, they made a treaty with you. I don't think they would have done that if they thought they could defeat you in an all-out war. Or, at least, defeat you without fatally weakening their own Empire. The Asgard must be a credible threat to them for such a treaty to be agreed upon."
"Our technology is superior to theirs," Thor replied.
"Quite a specific wording," Catra whispered. She was right, in Adora's opinion.
Glimmer, though, was nodding. "So, if you joined forces with us, we could likely defeat them easily." She was smiling, but it was a guarded smile, Adora noticed. Her friend didn't expect Thor to agree with her.
"Unless the Goa'uld break the treaty, the Asgard will not declare war on them."
"So, you won't break your own treaty." Jack nodded.
"Thor was supposed to be very honourable in our myths. As were most gods of the Norse pantheon. Loki was the most notable and famous - or infamous - exception," Daniel said in a low voice.
And Adora saw Thor frown at the name.
"Or maybe you can't afford to go to war?" Catra asked, cocking her head to the side as her ears twitched. "Is there something else keeping you from moving against the Goa'uld?"
Thor frowned at her. "How could you trust an alliance with someone who broke a treaty?"
That was a good point, Adora had to admit. She nodded in agreement.
"That depends on whether or not the treaty was made in good faith - and if it wasn't forced on either side," Glimmer said.
Thor inclined his head but didn't answer the unspoken question. "We seem to be at an impasse."
"Maybe we should discuss this face to face," Jack said. "You know, it's hard to trust someone when you know they're hiding their true appearance and pretty much everything else." His smile reminded Adora of Catra's when she thought she had the upper hand.
After a moment, Thor nodded. "Very well. If you give your word not to offer violence, we can meet in person on my ship."
"We accept your hospitality," Daniel said, nodding slowly. Then he glanced at Jack and raised his eyebrows.
"Yes." Jack nodded as well - a little exaggeratedly, in Adora's opinion. "You have our word."
"Yes!" Entrapta beamed. She was the only one, though.
Adora glanced at Catra, but her lover nodded as well without adding anything - for once. And Glimmer frowned a little but didn't say anything either.
"So, are you going to send a shuttle down, or…?" Jack was interrupted by a peculiar noise.
Adora saw Catra and Glimmer clench their teeth and jerk, but a moment later, they were standing on the bridge of a ship in space.
Orbit above Cimmeria, September 26th, 1998
Matter transportation - or teleportation, Samantha Carter thought as she got her bearings after the sudden shift. She didn't see any sign of a ring transporter, and it hadn't felt like a ring transporter, either. Magic was unlikely - the planet hadn't had its magic restored - but couldn't be eliminated as a possible source since She-Ra proved that some magic worked without that.
They were on a bridge - or a command centre. Darker than she had expected, with a few screens and consoles, but she couldn't see anyone manning them, and…
"Oh, for crying out loud!"
The Colonel's exclamation had her turn around and… freeze for a moment as a figure stepped out of the shadows.
"Welcome to the Biliskner, my flagship."
Thor was a grey humanoid alien, smaller than an average human, with a proportionally big head, solid black eyes, and no visible genitals. And no clothes, either. In short, he looked like the depictions of aliens in some science fiction media - and in some tales of being kidnapped by aliens, which likely prompted the Colonel's outburst.
"Hello! Thank you for inviting us!" Adora, like the rest of the Etheirans, didn't seem to be affected. No, Sam corrected herself - Catra and Glimmer looked around like they were in hostile territory. And the Colonel muttered something about 'probing' that probably shouldn't be overheard.
"Well, it's definitely not designed or decorated in the Norse style," Daniel said.
"We do not impose our own culture on others," Thor said. He was staring at Hordak, though.
The former warlord looked around. "It's not Horde Prime's style either," he said. "But the technology…"
"It's quite similar!" Entrapta smiled widely as she pointed her recorder around. "Not identical, but here, you can easily see that it's based on the same principles and key technology."
"Yeah, the transporter felt very familiar," Glimmer muttered.
"I see." Thor nodded. "That would be another indicator that you are… descendants of the Asgard."
Daniel blinked. "Descendants? Are you sure? If the culture doesn't show any shared origin, only similar technology, couldn't it be parallel evolution?"
"Our species' history is well-documented," Thor replied. "If there are close similarities between our technology and the technology this 'Horde Prime' used, then that would indicate that he had access to our technology relatively recently."
"Yes!" Entrapta nodded several times. "That would fit the differences!"
Sam was inclined to agree based on her own readings.
"But would the timeline of the Horde fit?" Daniel asked with a slight pout - he didn't like letting go of a theory.
"As I mentioned before, Horde Prime didn't encourage us to delve into his past. But I think it would fit - I certainly do not recall anything that would disprove the notion." Hordak stared at Thor. "Although the differences in appearance are striking."
"But DNA doesn't lie," Entrapta said. She pointed her device at Thor, and Sam winced. That was rather rude. If Thor took offence… "Oh!" Entrapta blinked. "You're a clone as well!"
"What?" The Colonel blurted out.
"It would be more correct to say that this body is a clone. My consciousness is far older than this," Thor said.
Now the Etherians tensed. Especially Catra, Glimmer and Hordak.
"Horde Prime could transfer his consciousness into the bodies of his clones," Hordak said. "He was able to possess any single one of us any time he chose so."
Oh. That would explain it. The ramifications of this… No wonder they hadn't mentioned this before.
Thor seemed unfazed, though. "Yes. This is also an old technology of my species. Although we do not use it on other sapients - we use specifically created braindead clones. Nevertheless, it seems Horde Prime had access to a wide range of Asgard technology."
Which would support the theory that Horde Prime had been created by an Asgard. Like the Ancient experiments on Etheria. "Does your species have a history of experimenting with new life forms?" Sam asked before she realised how rude it sounded. But it seemed everyone else was focusing on Thor.
"My species? No." Thor was… well, Sam had no experience or point of reference to judge the alien's expression, but he seemed to be frowning. "But individuals have done such research in the past."
"Undocumented and uncontrolled research, right?" Catra shook her head. "Since you somehow missed how a clone with your DNA started a conquest of the galaxy."
Thor inclined his head. "There have been experiments without permission from the High Council in the past. Some of our scientists felt 'hobbled' by our laws. It would not be out of character for some to hide their research, no matter how dangerous or short-sighted it would be."
"Yep, we know about such people as well," the Colonel said. "Short-sighted and law-breaking, I mean - we haven't actually had scientists create a new species and set them loose on the galaxy."
"Well, I know a few scientists who would likely do that - if they had the means," Daniel said.
Sam nodded in agreement. She knew a number of such people herself. And she didn't miss how Entrapta looked a little guilty.
"So, it looks like the Asgard aren't the Horde - but the Horde came from the Asgard," the Colonel summed up. "Does that mean you're like… cousins? Or are you Hordak's uncle? Great-uncle?"
Hordak frowned at the Colonel, but Thor tilted his head. "The exact legal relationship remains to be determined. So far, it's merely a theory. We cannot exclude the possibility that someone else captured an Asgard and used them for such experiments."
"Yes," Adora said. "Some people will experiment on people like that." She blinked. "You know what I mean:"
"We do," Catra told her with a grin. Then she turned to Thor. "So, when will you interrogate your suspect?"
Thor looked surprised for a moment, then slowly nodded. "They are sometimes hard to get ahold of. But we will get to the bottom of this."
Which meant that he did have a suspect in mind. Sam nodded.
"And we will help you!" Entrapta beamed again. "Right, Hordak?"
Hordak nodded very slowly. "Yes. This is important."
"Yes, it is. For both of our species." Thor said.
"And speaking of important things," the Colonel broke the short silence. "How about we talk about our common enemy again? You were explaining why you couldn't fight the snakes before you invited us to your fine ship here."
Thor seemed to tense up again - at least Sam thought so.
That wasn't a good sign for a possible alliance.