Chapter 44: The Asgard Part 2
Orbit above Cimmeria, September 26th, 1998
Thor was hiding something; Catra was sure. And it was related to the Goa'uld. You didn't stick to a treaty with enemies you killed on sight on your world just because your word was your bond or something. If you wanted to break a treaty, you could always find a reason or pretext. Just the fact that the Goa'uld had visited Cimmeria in the past should be enough of a pretext - if you actually wanted to fight them.
Daniel might assume that it was their honour that kept the Asgard back, but Catra doubted that. The whole setup where Goa'uold died as they set foot on the planet didn't really look honourable to her. More like something someone would do who wanted to stick to the letter of an agreement but bend its spirit as much as possible. Someone who wanted to fight them.
So, something had prevented the Asgard from fighting the Goa'uld all-out and made them make a treaty instead. She cocked her head and looked around. "That's a very nice bridge here. Looks like a nice ship overall."
"Thank you." Thor nodded at her.
"How does it stack up against a Ha'tak?" she asked.
"Our technology is superior. A Ha'Tak stands no chance against this ship - or any of our ships."
She had expected that. If they had similar technology to Horde Prime, they would be superior to the Goa'uld's technology. So… they had the quality. And the will. What did that leave?
Numbers. Which was weird since they had cloning technology. They should be able to grow an army if they needed one. Like Horde Prime had done. This was quite a mystery. Ah, screw it. Catra grinned. "So, what's holding you back from protecting more planets? Not enough ships?"
Thor frowned at her. At least it looked like a frown. "I assume you will understand that I'm not at liberty to discuss the Asgard military with strangers."
"Of course we understand that!" Adora said at once with a glance at Catra. Then she smiled at Thor. "It's just… You obviously consider the Goa'uld a threat. And I doubt that you trust them to stick to the treaty if they think they could break it without consequences."
"Yeah," Jack cut in, "The way you set up a roach motel and now a bug zapper for the Goa'uld kinda gives that away."
Catra frowned - a roach motel?
"It's a slang term for a vermin trap on Earth," Daniel explained.
Ah. She nodded - and noticed that Thor was still tense. Kind of. Definitely hiding something.
"So, you know they aren't trustworthy." Glimmer nodded.
"We do. But we aren't like them," Thor retorted.
"Did they trap you in the treaty?" Daniel asked. "Did they exploit your honour?" Thor turned towards him, and Daniel smiled a bit embarrassedly. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to pry - my curiosity got the better of me."
Thor nodded again, and Catra told herself that she should take notes. Daniel really knew how to get away with stuff.
"As I said, we will not break the treaty." Thor looked at Hordak. "And should the Goa'uld accuse us of doing so because they mistook you for an Asgard, we will tell them so."
"We wouldn't try to trick the Goa'uld like that!" Entrapta protested.
"Yes. That would be low," Adora agreed.
Catra eyed Jack. He was looking composed, but she was sure that he disagreed with Adora and Entrapta.
Hell, Catra would disagree with them - if she thought that the Asgard were only held back by their honour. As it was, it would be a bad idea to trick them into joining the war. Not least because they might enter on the side of Goa'uld if they suspected treachery.
They needed to know more about the Asgard. With their ties to the Horde, their technology, their relation to the Goa'uld… they were just too important for the war.
"Alright. But we'll still work on finding out what your relation to the Horde is, right?" Bow said.
"Yes. We need to know what happened - and if any of our laws were broken. And by whom."
"And you'll share your information, right?" Entrapta beamed at him. "Sharing knowledge is essential for science! And for trust-building." She nodded emphatically.
"And you're kind of family already," Catra added.
Both Hordak and Thor twitched.
She didn't care. If the Asgard were responsible for Horde Prime, then this was nothing. Hell, if they were responsible, Catra would probably be for tricking them into the war against the Goa'uld.
But they needed to know more about them first.
Thor once more slowly nodded. "Yes, we will be sharing what we find out."
Catra suppressed a snort. Sure they would - once they had removed anything sensitive.
But most of her friends were smiling. Especially Daniel.
She sighed.
Jack O'Neill smiled politely at the grey alien. 'We will not break the treaty' my ass, he thought. The guy was hiding something - you didn't build elaborate death traps for your enemies if you wanted to honour your treaty with them. That was what you did if you wanted to go as far as you could without breaking the treaty because you needed it.
"So… you won't join in the fight against the Goa'uld. But what if the people under your protection want to fight them? How many planets are under your protection, anyway?" He raised his hands. "Just so we won't have to dismantle another of your defence systems."
"We currently protect twenty-seven planets," Thor replied after a moment. "I will send you the gate addresses."
Jack didn't miss that Thor hadn't answered his first question.
Daniel hadn't missed that either. "And what if the Cimmerians want to open diplomatic relations? With Earth or the Etherians?"
"We would want assurances that they aren't exploited," Thor replied. "We are aware of your planet's history - and your species's past," he added with a nod towards Adora.
Oh shit. Of course they would know that Jack, too, had some alien genes. And draw the wrong conclusions. "I wasn't aware of my 'ancestry' until a few months ago," Jack said.
"I didn't know I was one of the First Ones for most of my life." Adora nodded with a grim expression as Catra held her hand, Jack noted. "Neither of us was raised as an Ancient."
"Your biology doesn't decide your life," Daniel added.
"Well, except for when it does - like if you have a genetic predisposition to specific illnesses or something. Or your brain chemistry is affected," Entrapta said. "And there are some instincts and urges tied to certain genes, I believe." Jack frowned at her, and she blinked. "But that's probably not what you meant, right?" she asked with a smile, looking at everyone in the room.
"Yes, We're just saying that Adora and Jack aren't going to act like Ancients just because they are descendants of them," Bow said.
"And they've never met them." Entrapta nodded again. "Unless Light Hope and Alpha count, although they aren't First Ones, they were raised by First Ones. That's actually like the opposite of you two - they don't have the genetic legacy but they have knowledge about their culture. Some knowledge, at least."
"Who are those people?" Thor asked. "We have lost contact with the Ancients long ago. If they are still present in the galaxy, we would like to talk to them again."
So, they had had contact with the Ancients. And they used cloned bodies to transfer their minds into. How old were those aliens? Jack wondered.
"They're bots. Artificial intelligences," Entrapta replied. "Or were, in Light Hope's case," she added with a frown. "She didn't survive the fight against Horde Prime."
"Ah." Thor looked disappointed - if Jack read his expression correctly. Did they need to contact the Ancients, or was it just sentimentality? He wished he knew the Asgard as well as he knew Teal'c so he could read them.
"So, you're protecting planets while we fight the Goa'uld," Glimmer said. "That will be helpful since that means we have to protect fewer planets."
Oh, that was a nice dig! Jack's smile grew more honest - everyone here knew that the Goa'uld oppressed a lot more than a few dozen planets.
"Yes," Thor replied.
"Could you provide humanitarian aid to liberated planets?" Jack asked, trying to sound earnest. "Food, for example?"
This time, Thor frowned. "That would likely be seen as breaking the treaty."
"And would you let Cimmerians come to us to fight the Goa'uld?" Jack tilted his head.
Thor mirrored his gesture. "We aren't their gods or rulers. We just keep them safe from the Goa'uld."
"But you also keep the Goa'uld safe from them. That was a clause in the treaty you mentioned." Daniel narrowed his eyes. "So, wouldn't that be breaking the treaty as well?"
"Depending on the scale of the involvement, Cimmerians who take part in the war would be considered rogue elements," Thor told him.
"And what if we shared our technology with them?" Catra asked. "I'm not saying we would do it - we have quite strict conditions for such technology transfers - but what if we did and they would accept?"
"Even if you shared all your technology today, they would take years to learn enough to maintain, much less recreate your technology without your help," Thor told her.
Catra grinned. So did Jack. "So, you'd blame us, I take it, if the Goa'uld complained, and claimed that it's us, not the Cimmerians, who are a threat."
Thor nodded, and Jack thought he saw the alien's mouth twist in a brief smile. Well, as Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet, the alien would know how to play these games.
So, he might not be a bad guy after all. But he was still hiding something. Something important.
Jack was sure of that.
This was going better than Adora had feared, but not as well as she had hoped. The Asgard were friendly but didn't want to join the war against the Goa'uld. Even though they didn't like the Goa'uld and had superior technology - on par or better with the Horde's technology. Well, they would have their reasons, even if Adora didn't know them. That treaty, on the other hand, sounded a little… it sounded like a temporary solution that no one was actually happy with and everyone knew wouldn't last forever.
And you were supposed to plan ahead if you knew something wouldn't last. So… "What will you do once the Goa'uld break the treaty?"
Thor tilted his head as he turned to look at her. "That depends on the exact circumstances, but we have a commitment to defend the protected planets."
"Mourir pour Danzig?" Jack muttered.
Adora frowned - she didn't understand the reference. But she knew evasive answers when she heard them.
"I assume that you have plans for that case," Glimmer commented. "You know the Goa'uld aren't trustworthy."
"We know that they wouldn't dare to break the treaty," Thor retorted.
"At least not openly," Catra cut in.
"And they are divided - they cannot trust each other, which means they cannot unite to wage war. Not unless circumstances force them to unite," Thor went on, looking at Glimmer.
"Circumstances like an enemy starting to dismantle their empire and free their slaves?" Glimmer met Thor's eyes.
"It is a possibility. Your technology is obviously similar to ours and, therefore, superior to the Goa'uld technology. If you also have the numbers to pose a credible threat, that could unite the Goa'uld," Thor said.
Adora pressed her lips together. They were aware of that - they would do their best to avoid that.
"Allies with the same technology and goals could counter even a united Goa'uld Empire," Glimmer pointed out.
"In a war that will lay waste to a significant part of the galaxy," Thor retorted. "And while we have solid estimates of the strength of the Goa'uld, we don't have any of your strength."
Well, of course the Asgard didn't know about their forces - they hadn't even known about Etheria until today!
"The Goa'uld knew Horde Prime yet avoided conflict with him," Glimmer pointed out. "I doubt they would have done so if they thought they could defeat him."
"And they must have known that he would not stop with our sector but continue his campaign to conquer the galaxy," Catra added. "Yet they didn't unite." Her ears turned forward as she grinned. "They probably hoped the First Ones and Horde Prime would kill each other - or at least weaken each other so much, the Goa'uld could finish off the victor. But that didn't happen."
"And then you defeated him. But how much did it cost you?" Thor asked.
Catra frowned - her ears were laid back again, Adora noticed. Did she see the question as a threat? Was it a threat?
Adora couldn't tell. Technically, if you ignored all the devastation suffered over two decades of war, Etheria had gained a lot from the war - the support of Second and Third and the remnants of First Fleet. But without the unknown rest of Horde Prime's forces, cut off by his death, they were still facing an enemy with a significant numerical superiority.
"It cost us enough so we know we can't let the Goa'uld keep oppressing and enslaving people," Glimmer said. "We've seen the destruction Horde Prime wrought on other people." She shook her head. "We can't let them keep doing this to others."
Thor didn't react for a moment. "We won't break our treaty."
"Well, I'm sure you have a good reason for that. But you better be ready for the day the Goa'uld think they can break the treaty and get away with it," Jack said.
"That day may come, but not soon," Thor said.
"Well, the Goa'uld might have held back in the hope that you'd fight Horde Prime," Catra said. "Who knows what they'll do now?"
"If they saw Horde Prime as such a threat as you claim, then they will want to find out who defeated him," Thor retorted.
He had a point. The Goa'uld wouldn't start a war with the Asgard now. Certainly not after the Alliance had begun their attacks. Adora pressed her lips together. The Alliance would be protecting the Asgard as well, in a way. Usually, she didn't mind protecting people, but this was a little different.
Why couldn't they just do the right thing and join them?
"So… seems we have reached an understanding," Jack said, smiling in a way that reminded Adora of Catra trying to pull something over her. "But since we're sharing information and all… Are there any other dangers like the Goa'uld that we should be aware of when we start exploring the galaxy?"
Thor froze for a moment, then cocked his head sideways, staring at Jack. "We aren't aware of any danger for an advanced species that aren't contained already. Although our knowledge of what the Ancients left behind is limited. The Stargates are the most famous of their achievements, but also the safest."
Adora blinked. That sounded ominous.
"Really?" Entrapta sounded intrigued.
Adora swallowed a curse.
Catra, standing at her side, didn't.
"We need to find them, then," Entrapta went on. "If they were left in a state like the Heart of Etheria, they could go out of control as well."
Samantha Carter nodded in agreement. "Given the scope of the Ancients' technology, I believe ensuring that there are no lingering dangers is necessary," she said.
"And analysing their technology will allow us not only to handle such dangers but also to greatly advance our own technology!" Entrapta beamed. "They were so far advanced compared to us!"
Sam agreed with that as well.
"Well, I'm not too comfortable with poking the possible world-destroying device," the Colonel said with a grimace.
"Oh, do not misunderstand, Colonel O'Neill. The danger that relics of the Ancients represent goes far beyond destroying a world," Thor said.
"Ah. How silly of me to worry about a mere world-destroying threat." The Colonel chuckled once.
"Well, if you're on the planet, it's still a great danger," Entrapta said. "And for everyone else in the world, of course."
That made the Colonel blink at her. Fortunately, he just nodded instead of commenting in his sarcastic way. Entrapta meant well, after all.
"Although the lack of magic in many worlds might have affected any technology left by the Ancients," Entrapta went on, wrinkling her nose. "They were using magic, after all, so their technology would also be using it."
"Not all of their technology used magic," Thor pointed out. "The Stargates do not rely on it."
Sam nodded. So, Thor was aware of magic. Well, if he was as old as he had hinted at, he would have experienced magic before it was siphoned off.
"Oh!" Adora looked embarrassed as she smiled at him. "Speaking of magic… do you wish to have it returned to your world? If you lost it, I mean. I can do it - we figured out how the First Ones took the magic from the other planets through the Stargates."
Once more, Thor tilted his head in that not quite alien way that might indicate surprise unless Sam was misinterpreting his reaction. "You can restore magic to a world?"
"Yes." Adora nodded firmly. "And it won't take long either."
"Interesting. Thank you for the offer, but the Asgard do not use magic. We don't have the talent for it, so its lack does not affect us."
"Really?" Entrapta looked surprised. "None of you can use magic? What about magitech devices?"
"We prefer to rely on our own technology."
A non-answer, like others, Sam noted. And, in her private opinion, at least, a rather short-sighted policy. One should never dismiss new knowledge or technology out of hand. On the other hand, that was the business of the Asgard, not hers.
"If you're sure…" Adora pouted a little.
"Not everyone wants magic forced into their lives," the Colonel said - a little too smugly, Sam found. The Etherians meant well, after all.
"And does everyone on your worlds share that view?" Glimmer asked.
"Yes." Thor nodded. "We're an old species. We didn't miss magic when it was gone."
"But the potential magic offers! It's a whole field of technology you're missing out on!" Entrapta protested.
"We prefer to work with technology that we not only fully understand but also fully control."
"But…" Entrapta started to retort when Hordak put his hand on her shoulder.
"I understand the feeling," he said. "Horde Prime had the same policy." After a moment, he added: "Although he destroyed what he couldn't control."
"We are not like him," Thor replied in a tense tone.
"And we're all glad for that," the Colonel said. "So, you don't have a list of worlds to avoid unless we want to risk unleashing an ancient but not quite galaxy.-destroying evil, do you?"
"No."
Sam tried not to feel disappointed. Wanting to analyse and explore such dangerous worlds was reckless and should be discouraged. Even though she couldn't help wanting to anyway.
"Aw." Entrapta didn't bother to hide her disappointment. "So, what about exchanging technology? We've got similar technology, after all, so I am sure there would be quite the synergies." She beamed at Thor.
"That would require a decision of the High Council of the Asgard," Thor told her. Sam noticed Daniel perking up. "However, we generally do not share our technology unless it is with species which have proven themselves to be mature enough to use it."
"Now, that sounds familiar!"
And the Colonel sounded a bit too smug again.
Adora frowned at him in return. "It's a sensible policy," she said.
"But we already have comparable technology," Entrapta pointed out. "It's not as if you'd uplift us."
Well, the Etherians had comparable technology. Earth still lacked it. Sam pressed her lips together; she would have loved to get access to their technology. On the other hand, it didn't look like the Asgard would be a way to circumvent the Etherians' conditions for sharing technology. And that wasn't a bad thing with the Stargate Command now under United Nations control; Sam wasn't quite as opinionated about it as the Colonel was, but she didn't think China and Russia could be trusted with such technology either.
Though she really hoped that the United States would finally manage to pass the necessary laws to negotiate an Alliance with the Etherians.
"As I said, that is up to the High Council to decide," Thor said.
"Aw."
"...and here's how to contact us once your High Council has made a decision. You can use this after dialling Earth's Stargate."
Catra smirked as Bow handed a communicator over to Thor. "Just don't try to go through the gate - you'll get flattened."
"I see." Thor looked at her and nodded. He didn't ask if they had a Stargate of their own - he probably assumed that the Alliance with Earth covered the whole planet and was much older than it was - and more stable - and so they would only give out Earth's gate address.
"And how can we contact you?" Glimmer asked.
"Visit Cimmeria and address the defence system."
Thor wasn't smiling, but Catra would bet that he was amused. He just had a smug attitude there.
"Then we've settled everything that could be settled now," she said. "Unless you'd like to give us a tour of your ship, we probably should head home."
"Yes." Adora nodded.
Entrapta smiled at Thor, obviously hoping for a tour. But, instead, the damn transporter that was so similar to Horde Prime's went off again. Catra tensed - he wasn't Horde Prime. The Asgard weren't the Horde - and then they were standing near the Stargate on Cimmeria, and she heard Ferretti call in his radio that they were back.
"Alright!" O'Neill clapped his hands. "Doesn't look like any of the natives are around, so let's head back!"
"Jack! We still haven't contacted Kendra!" Daniel complained. "In fact, we haven't talked to any Cimmerian, and we don't know what they think about this!"
"We can return after we briefed the brass," O'Neill retorted, glancing at the walls housing the defence system.
"But this is an opportunity to compare their views to the claims made by the Asgard," Daniel protested.
"And we can do that once we have had our debriefing about our meeting with the Norse god. Major - clear us to return!"
"Yes, Sir!" Ferretti used his radio again, sending a code. "Clear, Sir!"
If he was mistaken, this would be a very quick way to die, Catra knew. If anyone wanted to sabotage the Alliance, this would be the way.
But she had to trust that Stargate Command wouldn't let that happen. The British and the French had an alliance with them, and the United States wanted an alliance. Still, all it would take was one person at the controls, closing the iris at the right moment…
But they arrived safely at Stargate Command.
Still no sign of hidden defence installation like gunports. But the guards were alert. And the doors out of the gate room were closed, she noted - sealed if she interpreted the lights above it correctly. And there was Frasier coming towards them, wearing a mask and carrying several vials.
"Oh, no… we've been on Cimmeria before, Doc!" O'Neill complained.
"That was before you met an alien species and visited their ship. We'll need to give you a full check," the doctor replied.
"I've already scanned for biological agents," Entrapta said. "I didn't find anything but the normal stuff, you know."
"Normal stuff?" Daniel asked.
"Microbes and such native to the planet. If they didn't hurt you on your last visit, they shouldn't hurt you."
"We'll still check ourselves," Dr Frasier said. "Your arm, please, Colonel."
O'Neill grumbled but held out his arm to the doctor.
"But it's really not necessary," Entrapta insisted. "My scanner didn't show any dangerous agents."
"The dear doctor sticks to procedure," O'Neill said while the woman switched to Daniel.
"No one ever died because of one examination too many, Colonel."
"Are you sure? I feel as if I gave a gallon of blood already."
"Then you wouldn't be able to talk back, Sir. You'd be unconscious or dead."
Catra snickered at the exchange, which made Adora hiss at "Catra!" at her.
Frasier went on to get blood from Sam, then switched to SG-2. None of them complained. Once she was finished, she looked at Adora and hesitated.
"We trust our own specialists," Glimmer told her.
Catra nodded. She didn't want the humans to have her blood. Who knew what they would do with it?
"Yes! We're safe!" Entrapta said.
"And I can heal anyone, anyway," Adora said, raising her sword.
A moment later, light filled the room, followed by surprised gasps - Catra felt the hairs of her fur stand up for a moment as magic touched her. "Show-off," she whispered.
Adora pouted at her. "I just wanted to reassure our allies."
"Well, they don't look very reassured," Catra told her as she nodded at Frasier, who was eyeing her samples as if she expected the blood to turn into a monster and attack her.
"Oh… I didn't think of that."
Catra shrugged. "They'll get over it." She had no doubt that the blood samples would now be examined for any traces of magic - though she had no idea if the humans knew how to do that.
It didn't matter anyway - it was time to get debriefed by the council of generals. Catra just hoped they wouldn't be too annoying; she wanted to get back to the ship and relax now, after meeting what probably was Hordak's grand-uncle or something.
She snorted at the thought. She'd have to remember that for their next meeting.
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 26th, 1998
"...and then we were transported down to the planet again - abruptly - and proceeded to return to base," Jack O'Neill finished his oral report. Which he would have to deliver in writing as well because even with the change in management, getting a clerk to type out a transcript was still impossible because all of it was classified, and no clerk with the necessary security clearance was on the roster.
"Thank you, Colonel." Hammond nodded.
"A peaceful contact with an advanced species - as advanced as the Etherians," General Li commented.
Or more advanced - Jack hadn't seen them use such a transporter before.
"Yes," Entrapta said. "They have technology similar to the Horde, although with some differences; likely the result of different design and research choices since they split off."
"So, you think the Asgard are the creators of the Horde?" General Petit asked.
"We haven't found any evidence that would disprove it," Hordak spoke up. "And the genetics and technology we share support it."
That made sense. Of course, that didn't mean it was true, but Jack's gut leaned towards agreeing with it. He'd wait for Carter's assessment, though.
She nodded as well. "It fits all the data we have," she said, "and the Asgard seem to believe it was true as well, Sir."
"And yet, while the Asgard claim to oppose the Goa'uld, they refused an alliance," Sidorov said, scowling. Did he ever smile? Jack didn't remember seeing the Russian looking happy.
"Thor said they wouldn't break their treaty with the Goa'uld," Daniel said. "That would indicate a culture where honour is highly valued."
"Even if it benefits the Goa'uld and endangers their victims?" General Haig raised his eyebrows.
"It's possible. An alien species wouldn't share our values, and past cultures on Earth often put great emphasis on keeping your word." Daniel pushed his glasses up. "Although, in practice, treaties were often broken when it was convenient."
"The United States has a history full of such events," Sidorov said with a scoff.
"Err, yes," Daniel agreed. "However, we cannot assume that the Asgard act like we would in their place."
Catra scoffed before Jack could say anything. "If they really cared that much about their honour, they wouldn't have built death traps for Goa'uld. That's what you do if you want to stretch the treaty as far as you can without breaking it. I bet that they would find an excuse to break it if they actually wanted to break it."
Jack nodded. "That's my impression as well. I think they need the treaty."
"They have the same technology - more or less - as the Horde," Hammond said. "And they have had access to it for at least a thousand years. And yet they don't think that they can defeat the Goa'uld?"
"And you think you can," Sidorov added, glaring at the Etherians.
"Yes," Adora nodded firmly. "With the help of our allies, yes."
"Why would the Asgard disagree?" Li asked.
"We don't know," Daniel replied. "If their ethics don't hold them back, they might have other, more, uh, practical reasons."
"They might be outnumbered to a degree that makes fighting the Goa'uld too dangerous," Carter speculated.
"But then, why would the Goa'uld keep the treaty?" Glimmer retorted. "I bet they only made a treaty after conquering the Asgard failed. So they can't be too weak."
Jack nodded. That sounded like the snakes.
"Or they weren't too weak, back then," Catra said. "And then something changed."
"They didn't know Horde Prime, so they couldn't have been weakened by a conflict with him," Bow said. "But there must be something…"
Jack nodded. "Thor was hiding something. And they don't have good intel on the Goa'uld."
"One would have expected such people to look for allies," Li said. "And yet, you say they refused to share technology."
"They said they would only share their technology with those who proved themselves mature enough to use it responsibly," Glimmer told him. "And that the decision was up to the High Council."
The generals didn't like that. Jack could tell. He didn't like it either - but he'd like China and Russia having access to advanced technology, more than they already had, even less. Of course, the Asgard might consider Earth advanced or mature enough to share technology… He suppressed a snort. Yeah, right. He didn't need Daniel's opinion to know that that was rather optimistic. Although, if the Asgard valued martial ability, as the epics Daniel told them might hint at, humanity might get a pass.
Not that he'd mention that now, of course. The Etherians would lose all their leverage if Earth got access to Asgard technology.
And Jack was sure that they were aware of that as well.
"It's clear that we need more information about the Asgard. And about the danger Ancient relics might pose to Earth," Hammond said. "I propose to use the next meeting with them to find out more about them."
"That's the obvious course of action," Hordak agreed.
Which, of course, meant that the generals had to debate it.
Jack really missed the old Stargate Command.
Earth Orbit, Solar System, September 26th, 1998
"...and the senator announced he was resigning effective immediately after a New York Times report uncovered that he had been misusing campaign funds for years to pay for escorts and vacation trips. He declined to answer questions and asked that his family's privacy be respected 'in these trying times', although his wife has been seen boarding a plane to…"
"...der Bundeskanzler beantwortete eine parlamentarische Anfrage dahingehend, dass die Details des Technologietransfers noch nicht festgelegt wurden, aber im Grundsatz…
"...the French Ministre des armées stated that any rumours that the Légion Étrangère was training on the moon were false and clarified that the Légion was training for deployment on other planets, but not on the moon. Further questions were…"
"...Vatican remains silent on the Etherian question, as it has come to be known, but sources close to the Pope claim that the Holy See is expected to release a preliminary statement 'soon'. Neither source was willing to name a date, however, and…"
"...and the situation in Tehran remains volatile. There are no official numbers about the casualties of the latest riot, but the Supreme Leader of Iran confirmed that several 'men with special skills in metaphysics and connections with unknown worlds' were arrested and are currently under investigation. Whether they will be charged for being magicians or spies remains unclear, and…"
"...the FBI has taken over handling a hostage situation in North Dakota. While there was no official statement, local sources confirmed that the hostage situation involved a small religious community and the local sheriff…"
"...Prime Minister of India has lodged a formal protest against the exclusion of India from Stargate Command. The General-Secretary has not yet commented on the issue, but…"
"...riots continue to flare up in various countries in the Middle East while reports about witch hunts in Africa keep growing, and…"
"...Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland announced their intention to approach the Etherians together and…"
"...the United Nations Security Council announced that Stargate Command has resumed normal operations after being transferred under United Nations control. The United Nations press secretary declined to answer questions about the missions undertaken by the Stargate Teams or whether or not the first non-American team has been deployed already, but…"
Adora shook her head as Catra kept skipping through the tv channels on the bridge of Darla. "Are you even paying attention to the channels?"
"Yes, I am," Catra replied and switched channels again.
"What did the last one say?" Adora asked. She hadn't even managed to catch the broadcasting logo.
"Earth is still a mess. Watch this ad!" Catra leaned back in her seat, craned her head and grinned upside down at her.
Adora frowned. "You couldn't have caught that!"
"And yet, I'm still right!" Catra flashed her fangs.
Well, she likely was correct. Still… Adora pressed her lips together. She knew that this wasn't her fault - the United States had kept aliens and their war with them a secret, knowing that it would cause immense trouble once it got out, and had done so even after the Goa'uld's invasion attempt had almost exposed the whole secret. She also knew that the secret would have come out anyway sooner or later, and revealing it had been both the right thing to do as well as a necessity to wage war. You couldn't lie to your people like that.
But still, she couldn't help feeling guilty about the riots and the deaths, no matter how much she told herself that the humans had been doing that to themselves. They had been killing people for being witches even though magic had been gone from Earth - and was still gone!
"Hell, no!" Catra exclaimed.
"What?" Adora blinked.
"You're blaming yourself again!"
Adora clenched her jaws. She couldn't help it.
"It's not your fault. There was no good solution. We picked the least bad. It's not our fault that so many humans are so messed up.
"Still…" Adora trailed off. She didn't have a better solution. What could she say? "But we could do something. People are dying!"
"What could we do? Invade Iran? Egypt? Most of Africa?" Catra scoffed. She must have paid more attention to Earth geography than Adora had thought.
Adora snorted. Of course she had! Catra just played the lazy cat whenever she liked it, but…
"There you are!" Glimmer frowned at them.
"Where else would we be?" Catra asked.
"In the hold, for the debriefing?" Glimmer scoffed. "Come on!"
"We already had a debriefing," Catra complained. But she got up anyway.
"That was Stargate Command's debriefing." Glimmer turned to head back to the hold.
"I know; I'm just yanking your chain," Catra said. "Wouldn't want to discuss sensitive stuff when we're being recorded by strangers."
Glimmer didn't turn around, but Adora was sure that she was rolling her eyes.
Catra snorted. "We could have held the debriefing on the bridge."
But Entrapta and Hordak felt more at home in their lab in the hold. And they were the most affected by today's mission. Adora still wasn't sure what she felt about the revelation that Horde Prime had likely been created by an Asgard. Just like Etherians had been created by the First Ones. And if she wasn't sure how to feel about it, Hordak must be even worse off, being directly affected.
"I brought them!" Glimmer announced as they entered the hold. "They were watching television on the bridge."
"Ah. That would have been my second guess if they weren't in their cabin having sex," Entrapta said.
"What?" Adora blinked at her.
"I noticed you like to relax by having sex," Entrapta explained.
Adora felt herself blush. She wasn't ashamed of her love, but…
Catra giggled.
And Glimmer rolled her eyes. "Let's start the debriefing." She took a deep breath. "First, what do you think of the Asgard's claims? About Horde Prime."
"They seem like a valid hypothesis supported by the available data," Entrapta said. "Although we need more data to be certain."
"Yes," Hordak added in a more gravelly voice than usual.
"Eloquent," Catra whispered.
"Yes, but what if it is true?" Glimmer asked. "What do we do?"
Adora blinked. What did she mean?
"Well, then we find out if the Horde fleets are more loyal to Adora and the Alliance than to their family - so to speak," Catra said.
Ah. That was a possibility, of course. Those clones who felt lost without Horde Prime might very well turn to their 'ancestors'.
"Would the Asgard even want them?" Bow asked. "They seemed… a bit distant."
"It would weaken our own position," Glimmer said. "I don't think that Priest will leave, but he's got only one fleet."
"But the Asgard hate the Goa'uld," Adora pointed out. "If they lack the numbers to fight them, the clones could tip the balance."
"And we would lose most of our leverage against Earth." Glimmer snorted. "If the Asgard had offered their technology, I am sure the humans would have jumped at the opportunity."
"But we asked for sharing our technology with the Asgard," Entrapta said. "So…?"
"Yes. But they didn't share their technology with the Cimmerians. We don't know if they will share their technology with us, even though we already have comparable technology," Bow pointed out. "They might not want to share with the humans as long as the treaty holds. That might be too much for the Goa'uld to tolerate. Especially if we already started attacking them."
"In short, we don't know enough to make concrete plans," Catra said, stretching.
"We still can make contingency plans," Glimmer retorted.
"I think we need a bit more data even for that," Entrapta said. She cocked her head to look at Hordak.
"We don't know how and why Horde Prime came into being," Hordak snorted. "If he was a clone like us, that would be… satisfyingly ironic. A mere clone…"
"You're not mere anything," Entrapta told him with a frown.
The two stared at each other, and Adora felt like she was intruding somehow.
Then Glimmer cleared her throat. "So, what do we know about the Asgard?" Adora opened her mouth to answer, but her friend went on: "That we haven't already mentioned at the debriefing with Stargate Command?"
Adora closed her mouth.
"Nothing but speculation," Catra said. "They're hiding something. Something big. And with their hints at Ancient relics being dangerous…" She grimaced.
Adora nodded with a sinking feeling in her stomach. If there was another Heart of Etheria…
She shuddered.