Chapter 50: The Magic Question Part 6

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 24th, 1998

"...and the police was forced to use violence to keep protesters and counter-protesters separated in Washington. Bill?"

"Thank you, Keith. Yes, it's been a bit sticky, but not as bad as it could have been. The number of people protesting the President's decision to allow alien missionaries to visit the country has been much lower than expected, even with the boost the return of magic gave to the anti-magic movement."

"People like magic healing. Who would have thought?"

"Certainly not the good reverend calling for this protest, Keith! Anyway, Washington is quiet again."

"Something that cannot be said for the rest of the world. Daily protests are going on in many countries in the Middle East, and the witch hunts and lynchings in the region continue, although hard numbers are hard to come by. In other news, experts disagree on whether or not we are looking at the start of a new religion in India now that we know that there's already an established Church of She-Ra. And no, that's not an official name, but if our benevolent alien allies would like to use it, I wouldn't request royalties!"

Jack O'Neill tuned the fake laughter out. Why couldn't the mess hall just broadcast CNN instead of this farce? Or the BBC. He didn't need to listen to stupid jokes when things were getting serious. Cracking jokes was his thing, damn it! On the other hand, he probably should be glad that the mess hall TV still broadcasted an American news show instead of a Russian one. Or a French one. He shuddered at the thought.

"Is something wrong?" Daniel asked as he set his tray down on the table. "With the food?"

"No. It's the news," Jack replied, nodding towards the screen now showing advertisements.

"What happened this time?" Daniel turned to look at the television.

"It's not what happened, but how they cover it."

"Ah." Daniel nodded. "It's actually quite interesting how the different TV channels cover the same events. You can make out distinctive social norms by the differences in what is emphasised and what's dismissed. Why…"

"Daniel, your food's getting cold," Jack reminded him.

"Ah, sorry." His friend started eating, then blinked. "Is it just me, or has the quality of the meals improved?"

"It's not just you," Jack told him. "We needed more cooks to cover the influx of new people, and our gallant foreign allies decided to send their own." And, apparently, decided to show off and send cooks who could hack it in civilian life. The food wasn't up to fine dining standards - they still had to cook in quantities that meant they couldn't carefully prepare each meal - but it certainly was better than before.

"Ah!" Daniel smiled. "That's good news!"

"What's good news?" Carter had arrived, smiling at them both.

"Good to see that the Etherians didn't squirrel you away on one of their ships," Jack joked. It wasn't as funny as he had planned, though.

Carter's smile twisted a little. "Well, Entrapta did offer me to move into her lab."

Jack frowned. Poaching his second in command? Over his dead body!

"Really?"

"Yes. She said it would 'facilitate research'." Carter shrugged. "I told her that I had duties here and could always come visit her."

Jack nodded. Yes. They had their duties on Earth.

"So, what's good news?" Carter asked after a bite from her steak.

"That we've got better cooks," Daniel told her.

"Indeed." For someone his size, Teal'c could be very stealthy. Jack had almost missed his approach.

"As long as they don't serve us crayons…" Jack snorted. He didn't have to explain the joke, which meant he had made it before. Well, some jokes bore repeating.

He was about to finish his own steak when he saw Carter tense up. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Lenkova approach the table. "Do you mind if I join you?"

What was he supposed to do without sounding rude? She didn't offer a transparent excuse like all her comrades had already eaten or something.

"Not at all! please sit down!" Daniel said with a smile.

Jack managed not to frown at his friend. Daniel was just too friendly sometimes.

Teal'c nodded without saying anything, and Carter… smiled tightly as she nodded. She obviously didn't like Lenkova. But she hadn't said anything before, as far as Jack could recall.

And Lenkova was all smiles. She had ditched the top of her fatigues and was just wearing her tank top, Jack noticed. And she made very appreciative noises when she tried the food.

"Oh, this is so much better than what we ate back in Russia," she said with a long sigh.

"Yeah, we can hear that," Jack said before he could help himself.

Lenkova blushed in return.

And Carter was openly frowning.

"So, what do you think of this?" Lenkova tried to change the subject by nodding at the TV screen, where the hosts were interviewing another supposed expert on religions.

"...and, so, while technically it falls under the term religion as defined by law, one could argue that it's not a religion but a thinly-veiled attempt to influence the internal politics of the United States. She-Ra is, after all, not a goddess but a leader of the Princess Alliance - it goes without saying that merely calling your party a religion does not make it a religion. And as our past shows, it's perfectly legal to limit foreign propaganda during wartime."

"But, and I am just repeating some of the arguments brought forth by others, why isn't the Church of She-Ra a religion?"

"Well, ah, first, She-Ra herself denies her, ah, divinity. And second, we can all see that she is no goddess. She has magic powers, but that does not make her a divine entity. There is also the lack of any significant history - according to what we know, this 'Church of She-Ra' is less than a year old and composed of formerly brainwashed clones. It might be called a cult, but it's not a religion as the average American understands it."

"The President seems to disagree."

"The government is beholden to the Etherians for military reasons. Of course they cannot afford to oppose this thinly-veiled attempt to conduct propaganda operations in the United States. So…"

Jack rolled his eyes. At least no one could claim that the United States government controlled the media.

"Ah." Daniel adjusted his glasses with a smile. "That's a very biased opinion, of course. You cannot, as any anthropologist would tell you if asked them instead of a theologist of dubious repute, consider Christianity as the standard for a religion. Human religious traditions are much more diverse. We have ancestor worship, nature spirits being revered, pagan pantheons - although that term is somewhat misleading - and religions that do not have divine figures at all. For many religions, She-Ra would, purely based on her powers, indeed be considered a goddess. In fact, she would compare favourably to some of the classic Greek gods. As would some of her fellow princesses like Perfuma and Mermista. Again, purely based on their magic powers. So, from an anthropologist's perspective, I do not think that the government is in error when treating the Church of She-Ra as a religion." He beamed at Lenkova.

Jack suppressed a sigh. Daniel still had a tendency to go on and on.

Lenkova looked… well, she was frowning a little. "That's very interesting. But I wanted to know what you think of the consequences of this… new development."

"Ah!" Daniel nodded. "Well, it remains to be seen if this new religion can get any traction outside the former Horde fleet and India. Unless Adora starts healing Americans en masse - which I don't think she'll do - I don't see the new religion having much success in the United States. Although the resurgence of magic might change this - a lot of formerly esoteric beliefs might grow more popular provided their magical traditions end up working."

And wasn't that a pretty thought! Maybe Stargate Command would issue healing crystals as standard gear, and intel would be based on tea leaves reading. And Carter would use crystal balls for her stuff.

"And do you think this will lead to problems?" Lenkova asked.

"It has the potential to be a problem," Daniel replied at once. "But we've been seeing a pushback against the more intolerant religious conservatives for months, in politics and the media as well as public opinion, so I don't think that the United States will see much more than a few protests against this."

"I see." The Russian nodded.

Jack wasn't quite as optimistic but refrained from commenting.

Then she turned towards him. "You've been rather quiet, Colonel."

Jack noticed Carter frowning again but ignored that for the time being. "Daniel's the expert," he said. "Just as Teal'c is the resident authority on Jaffa and Goa'uld and Carter's Stargate Command's goddess of technology."

The frown turned into a scowl. "I'm not a goddess, sir."

Jack didn't wince. So, that had been a failed attempt to crack a joke. Even if Lenkova laughed.

"I don't think it was meant to be taken literally," she told Carter. "You do have a very impressive reputation, though. Dr Georgovich is singing your praises. Not literally, fortunately - he hasn't the best singing voice."

Jack chuckled, but Carter's scowl deepened. "I am just doing what I can - like all of us here," She replied, a bit cattily in Jack's opinion.

Lenkova nodded. "Will you be transferred along with the Colonel when America closes the deal with the Etherians? Will they keep your team together?"

Carter blinked for a moment. "I am not aware of any such orders," she said. "We are part of Stargate Command."

That was the technically correct answer. But Carter knew as well as Jack that the United States wouldn't leave the best friend of the Etherians under the authority of the United Nations.

"Ah, we've been working well with the Etherians, so it would stand to reason that they wouldn't split us up," Daniel ventured. "Especially considering the way the Etherians fight their wars. With the princesses expected to fight on the frontlines when necessary, and their personal approach to politics, I think all of us will be working closely with them." He smiled. "So, I don't see SG-1 being split up!"

Lenkova smiled as well. "It would be a mistake and a shame to split up such a successful team." With a nod to Jack, she added: "Your team does you credit, Colonel."

"Thank you. You have a good team as well," Jack returned the compliment. It was the truth, after all. "You'll do fine once you're on your own." And that they weren't quite ready yet was also true.

It didn't seem to bother the woman, though - she beamed at him. "Thank you. Although I hope you will still be available for talks once we're no longer under your command."

"Sure." Jack nodded before he realised how the way Lenkova leaned forward a little added something not entirely professional meaning to her words.

Carter stood up. "Well, it's time for me to return to the lab."

Oh.

Earth Orbit, Solar System, October 25th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and please remember: You represent the Alliance! We're here to protect Earth from the Goa'uld. Many people on Earth are afraid of us. They don't know our customs. They don't know us. So, don't scare them, don't bully them, and remain polite and peaceful no matter what they say. Even if they insult me - especially if they insult me. Err… you can, of course, defend yourself if someone attacks you, but don't go overboard. That means no orbital bombardment." Ador blinked. "Not without permission from Alliance Command." She didn't want to sound like a hypocrite, after all - and, in theory, there might be more situations where an orbital strike was the necessary answer.

The dozens of clones standing in formation before her in the frigate's main hangar bowed. "Yes, Your Divine Highness," they said in unison. And smiled.

Adora refrained from wincing even though it sounded very creepy. They acted as if just being near her was the best thing they could think of. As if Adora's mere presence made them happier than anything else. For a moment, she imagined Horde Prime standing in her place - he would have loved this. Had loved it. Except for the lack of orbital bombardment. And the other orders.

And, she added to herself, he probably wouldn't have taken the dark Earth-style suits every clone was wearing well either.

She glanced at Priest, who was wearing a similar suit, just with a more elaborate tie. 'New dress uniforms', he had claimed. Catra had found it funny. Adora less so. Priest was correct that the fleet - in fact, most of the Princess Alliance - didn't have dress uniforms like Earth soldiers had, though Bright Moon had 'parade uniforms', but to pick those suits as uniforms… Well, it was kind of just another part of his 'we proselytise through shore leave' plan. Which she really hoped wouldn't backfire but also didn't want to succeed.

But there wasn't anything else to say that she hadn't already said. Twice, since the clones might be a little too much like Priest. So she nodded at the clones, then at Priest. "Dismissed. And have fun!"

Priest bowed so deeply, Adora was almost afraid his head would hit the ground, then straightened and addressed the rest. "You heard Her Divine Highness! You represent Her, so conduct yourself accordingly! I do not want to hear any complaints about your behaviour! Now go and enjoy your shore leave!"

The clones saluted him, Bright Moon style. That was a nice change from Horde regulations. Then they bowed to Adora, which made her struggle not to sigh again, before they started boarding the shuttles. All of them seemed very enthusiastic. Beaming. Laughing. Talking to each other. They loved this.

And Adora was left hoping that this wouldn't cause trouble. At least not a lot.

"So, how are your faithful doing?" Catra greeted Adora when she returned to Darla's bridge.

"Shouldn't you know that better than I would?" Adora replied, pointing at the screens on the bridge showing feeds from London, Paris, Berlin and New York.

"They haven't touched down yet," Catra said with a grin.

Adora frowned at her. "Why do you think this is funny?"

Catra's grin widened. "It is funny because it annoys you."

Adora pressed her lips together. She should have expected that.

Catra lost her grin and smiled ruefully for a moment. She didn't apologise, though. "And it's also funny because they're acting like humans. Right down to the uniforms."

"Suits," Adora corrected her.

"Priest defined them as uniforms, so they're uniforms," Catra shot back.

"And why is it funny that clones are acting like humans?" Adora wanted to know. It wasn't funny. Not at all!

"It might make the idiots on Earth realise how stupid they are about their religions," Catra explained as she shifted in her seat.

Adora sighed. That was a touchy subject. "Earth is very serious about their religions."

"Only the parts of Earth that we don't want to have anything to do with," Catra retorted. "And the same goes for them."

That was, well… not entirely wrong. But not entirely correct either. "Their pope told everyone that magic wasn't evil." That covered at least one of the biggest religions.

Catra scoffed. "And he didn't tell everyone that us loving each other was fine. Speaking for a god that supposedly wants you to love everyone."

Adora didn't think Catra - or herself - were reliable sources on Earth's religions. Or any religion - it wasn't as if growing up in the Horde had taught them anything about any religion. And Adora hadn't exactly researched the various religions on Etheria since the war had ended. Perfuma and most of Plumeria worshipped nature, Mystacore worshipped magic… That was about the extent of her knowledge. It just wasn't something most people talked about. Still… "I just don't want to be worshipped."

Catra shrugged again. "Better you than some invisible, silent god that won't step in when its followers start hurting others."

Adora's lover had made that point before. And Adora couldn't really argue it. But that didn't mean she liked it, either. "You usually complain if I feel responsible for everyone."

"Yes." Catra scoffed. "But it's better than the alternative. Imagine if the humans converted the clones!"

Adora shuddered at the thought. That would be a catastrophe!

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, October 26th, 1998

"Chevron Six, encoded!"

"Chevron Seven locked!"

A moment later, the gate activated. Samantha Carter saw the members of the new Stargate team - British this time - wince slightly as the vortex formed before stabilising. Good. That meant they remembered how lethal it was.

But they recovered quickly, the team leader stepping on the ramp, then looking at the command centre.

"Proceed to your destination," General Haig ordered the men, and the team quickly marched through the gate, vanishing from view.

And that was it. Sam's work for this 'acclimatisation mission' was done. She stayed at her post anyway, just in case something came up - even with a routine trip to a known destination which already had a team and temporary base on site, you never knew if something unexpected would happen. It was part of what made Stargate Command such an attractive posting for Sam. Next to being able to advance physics past anything people outside science fiction authors could have imagined a few years ago, of course. And now being able to work with magitech.

And working with people who appreciated her talents and didn't think she had slept her way up or was riding the coattails of a man. Sam had had enough of that to last her a lifetime. As if she'd ever sleep with a superior to advance her career! Just sleeping with a fellow officer could damage your career, and if you got involved with someone in your chain of command…

She pressed her lips together. This was purely hypothetical. She knew the regulations, and she was a professional soldier. Such things were off-limits, and for very good reasons. The last thing Stargate Command - or any unit involved with the war against the Goa'uld - needed was people getting distracted by relationships, gossip and interpersonal conflicts.

Even the Russians should realise that. Especially the Russians. Certainly some Russian spy posing as a soldier trying to honeytrap the Colonel. Who should really know better than to encourage the woman!

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She was being silly. The Colonel was a professional and knew the Russians better than anyone else in Stargate Command. He wouldn't fall for such a blatant attempt to seduce him. Really, 'I am looking forward to when we're no longer in the same chain of command'? Hah! By that time, the new Stargate Command site would be ready, and the Russian spy would be stuck on the coast of Canada, while SG-1 would be part of whatever expeditionary force the United States would send along with the Etherian fleets.

Sam pushed the thought that SG-1 might end up split up away. She had talked to Entrapta and the others about how the Etherians waged war, and from what she heard, it sounded like SG-1's experience was an almost perfect fit for the kind of operations the Princess Alliance ran. A small group of highly-skilled special forces used to working together spearheading larger operations. Odds were, SG-1 would be kept together, for both political and military reasons.

And if not, a traitorous part of her mind whispered as she ran another check on the gate's status, the Colonel wouldn't be in your chain of command any more…

She pushed that thought away as well.

An hour later, the British team was back, and Samantha Carter was taking a break while a French team was getting ready for their first gate trip. She sipped from a cup of great coffee - General Petit had had the standard coffee makers replaced with civilian-grade models that shamed most coffee shops in Colorado - and looked at the screen in the corner of the control room, where the news was being displayed. At least the news deemed relevant or important for Stargate Command, selected by a team of specialists and put on a loop.

Today, like yesterday, it was focused on the Etherian missionaries, showing two of them walking down a narrow street in… London. "They really look like alien Mormons," General Petit commented as he joined her.

Mormons sent missionaries all over the world, Sam reminded herself. Even to such secular countries as France. "Yes, sir," she agreed.

"But they look slightly stiff," the general went on. "They must be under great pressure, with the eyes of the world on them. And the eyes of their superiors."

Sam agreed again. Though she wasn't sure if the Horde clones, at least those from Third Fleet, weren't their own worst critics, so to speak - from what Sam had seen of them, they were religious fanatics. And now on a mission from their goddess. At least they weren't wearing sunglasses and organising a concert. She suppressed a snort - this was too serious for that kind of joke.

"Although I doubt that there will be much if any trouble in London or Paris," Petit went on. "Or Berlin."

Sam was tempted to point out that Europe had its fair share of religious fanatics as well but refrained. And not just because the general was her superior, but also because, even taking into account the smaller populations, neither the United Kingdom nor France or Germany had had nearly as many protests against the 'shore leave' of the clones as the United States had had and were still having. Fortunately, most of those protests were held in places the aliens weren't visiting.

And the last few months had shown a rapid decline of both the influence and visibility of the radical Evangelicals in the country. Though being dropped by pretty much every conservative business and billionaire hadn't been received well by those conservative politicians who hadn't changed their stance on religion. Once the proposed constitutional amendments passed - and Sam had no doubt they would pass - things might get ugly in some places.

She masked her silence with another sip from her coffee and made some appreciative noise.

The General beamed. "I personally selected this coffee maker! It's the best on the market!"

Sam nodded. And probably the most expensive as well. Well, it wasn't her budget to worry about. "It shows," she said. She was about to add some platitude when the screen changed. CNN. Showing police cars. American police cars. And a red banner at the bottom.

Breaking news! Alien shot in New York!

North Shore University Hospital, New York, Earth, October 26th, 1998

Catra didn't bother to hide her mood, snarling as she sprinted down the hallway after Adora. One of the clones had gotten shot by some Earth nutcase. And, of course, Adora had dropped everything to rush to the clone.

Well, his condition was critical according to what they had been told, and Earth hospitals and doctors had no experience treating clones, and if the guy died, things would probably get ugly. Uglier. Priest had already been talking about making the man a 'martyr' or something. But still - running through a hospital like this wasn't exactly 'good optics', as Mr Brown would say.

"Uh… ma'am? This is a…"

Adora brushed past the uniformed guards in front of the door between her and the wounded clone as if they weren't there. Not that they could have stopped her if they had tried - nothing could stop Adora in such a moment. She all but kicked the door open.

Catra still kept an eye on the guards as she passed them - they were armed, after all.

Inside the room, a woman in white clothes - a doctor or nurse - tried to stop Adora. "This is an operating room! You can't just…"

Adora ignored her as well, pointing her sword at the figure on the table, surrounded by startled humans. The nurse shrieked, but the glowing healing magic was already covering the wounded clone.

Moments later, he started to move, or tried to - they had tied him to the table. She-Ra cut him free with two slices of her sword while everyone else backed away. "How are you? Do you still feel pain?"

Catra saw the clone blink before he recognised Adora and his eyes widened. "Your Divine Highness!"

Usually, Adora would flinch at hearing that title, but she was too focused on saving him, Catra noticed. "Do you still feel pain?"

"Uh… No, no! No, Your Divine Highness!" His mouth spread in a wide smile and he was blinking through tears.

Adora curtly nodded, then took a deep breath. "We arrived in time."

"Yeah," Catra agreed. And they had attracted a lot of attention. She pushed her communicator. "Sparkles? We've got him."

"Alright! Coming!"

"Glimmer's on the way," Catra told Adora, who was helping the clone off the table. He still looked like he had had the time of his life instead of nearly dying. "Just have to wait until she finds us."

"Good. Where are his clothes?" Adora asked the humans present.

"Uh… we had to cut them off to prep him for surgery," one of them replied.

"Ah."

"What about his communicator?" Catra asked. That was, well, not really advanced technology, but you didn't leave your comms if you could help it. That was how your communication lines got compromised. Well, that and by Entrapta and Bow hacking into your systems.

"Uh…"

Catra shook her head and turned to glare at the uniformed guards - who had multiplied in the meantime but hadn't dared to enter the room. "Fetch his gear!"

One of them turned to leave, then stopped, glancing at another guard. Probably their leader. Or were those cops? It didn't matter.

"That's evidence for a criminal investigation," the leader said.

Before Catra could tell the idiot what he could do with his 'criminal investigation', another man arrived and snapped at him. "Perkins! Don't try to boss around the aliens with spaceships floating above us!"

"But Chief!"

He ignored him and smiled - although tightly - at Catra and Adora. "I've sent someone to fetch his belongings."

"Thank you!" Adora beamed at him. And then Catra's idiot lover went on: "Was anyone else hurt? They only told us about him."

By the time Glimmer arrived in a cloud of sparkling light - Catra didn't know how many other rooms she had teleported into before reaching them - Adora was already busy healing half the patients in the hospital.

And Catra couldn't help wondering if this had been part of a plan to get her lover to heal people.

Earth Orbit, Solar System, October 26th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"So, what exactly happened? The Earth authorities kept saying they were still investigating when I asked them. All of them!" Glimmer asked. And she had talked to every authority she could reach, Catra knew. "Also, I told everyone we wouldn't bombard their city from orbit."

The formerly wounded clone, sitting in the centre of Darla's lounge, glanced at Adora, then at Priest.

Adora smiled gently at him, and Priest nodded. "Speak, brother, so we know who tried to murder you before you were saved by Her Divine Grace!"

The Clone beamed, nodding eagerly, before blinking. "Uh… we were door-knocking like we had trained."

"And why weren't you with your partner?"

"Ah, that is, we had passed a food stand earlier, and he had gone back to fetch us some 'hot dogs'." The clone cringed a little. "I thought I could handle a house alone - we'd been to many already."

Priest nodded, taking this breach of regulations better than Catra had expected. Or maybe he thought that Adora healing the clone had wiped away any fault. Catra hadn't delved too deeply into Priest's views.

"So, I ring the doorbell, and this woman appears, and I ask her if she had heard of Her Divine Highness, She-Ra. She had, and so I started explaining, and she was listening, when an older man appeared, yelling at her not to listen to me. And then he started cursing me." The clone raised his chin. "The curses of the ignorant cannot hurt the faithful, so I ignored him. But he started berating the woman, and they started a row, and then he… he insulted Your Divine Highness!" He scowled deeply.

Catra pressed her lips together. She had a hunch of where this was going.

"I told him not to slander Your Divine Highness, but he… he doubled down! I told him that those who slandered She-Ra would not be saved, and he kept cursing me as a heathen and sprouting inane sentences, and… well, I told him he was stupid and his god was wrong, and he yelled something about how his daughter wouldn't be corrupted, and then he suddenly drew a gun and shot me. I don't remember much after that. Everyone was screaming." The clone lowered his head, then glanced at Adora.

Catra sighed as her friends looked at each other. Definitely not good optics.

Washington D.C., United States of America, October 27th (Earth Time)

Usually, Jack O'Neill didn't like - or outright hated - travelling to Washington D.C. because that meant talking to the brass at the Pentagon about things they didn't really understand. Or to politicians who didn't understand anything. Usually, it meant preventing some more or less well-meaning (or downright malicious) idiot from sabotaging Stargate Command, wasting time that would be better spent on actually doing his job.

Which, incidentally, was leading SG-1 in the field and waging war, not playing politics. He was a colonel, not a general.

But today, he almost enjoyed his trip to Washington D.C. Sure, he might have to talk to politicians, but this was the President, not Kinsey. And while the occasion was serious - having an alien visitor shot on one's watch was always serious - it got him out of the mountain just when he needed a change of scenery. And some distance between himself and certain very competent and far too attractive female officers of Stargate Command. About whom he definitely didn't have any thoughts that might violate regulations or common sense, respectively. Not at all.

"Say, Jack…"

Daniel turned from watching the streets of Washington, chock-full of cars, to Daniel, who was sitting next to him in the staff car. "Yes?"

"Don't you think Sam should have come with us as well?"

Jack suppressed a sigh.

Daniel went on: "I mean, sure, she's a physicist, not an anthropologist, but she's been working with the Etherians the most, and she probably has the best picture of how they're going to react. And she can just call Entrapta and ask if she doesn't know the answer."

"Carter has urgent work to do," Jack replied. "She said so herself." Even though both Jack and Carter had known it was 'not entirely factual', as she would say. "And she gave us her opinion on the Etherians' reaction." In writing.

"Yes, but…" Daniel must have noticed something about Jack's mood since he trailed off. He didn't stop talking, of course. Not Daniel. "Is this about Lenkova?"

Yes. "No," Jack said, narrowing his eyes.

This time, Daniel got the message. Though the pout he showed when he slowly nodded told Jack that his friend would bring this up again.

Damn. Jack needed to sort out this before then.

"...and many people have come together in a vigil at the site of the shooting, showing their concern and empathy for the wounded alien. A few protestors were sent away by the police, allegedly for their own protection. In other news, the North Shore University Hospital required police protection as hundreds of people tried to enter it in the hope of getting healed, despite the announcement that Adora had already left the building - and Earth - again. Experts are divided about the effects this incident will have on the relations between the United States and Etheria."

Jack O'Neill rolled his eyes at the TV screen in the room where he and Daniel were waiting to talk to the cabinet. Technically, the United States government wasn't negotiating with Etheria but with the Princess Alliance. Effectively, they represented Etheria, of course, but… He blinked - he was thinking like Daniel! Damn!

At least his friend hadn't noticed - he was looking through news sites on his laptop. And Daniel didn't seem to be happy.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

"It's just… how stupid are people? Glimmer repeatedly said the Etherians wouldn't retaliate - or blame the United States for this - and this so-called expert claims that this was a clear threat! I mean, I expect biases from this news company, but outright insanity?"

Jack craned his neck and checked the article's origin. Ah. "They're pandering to their audience." Which was a bunch of radical nutcases.

"Still… Facts are facts!"

"And that article is an opinion piece." Jack grinned at Daniel's expression.

Even better, before Daniel could say anything in return, an aide entered the room and called them to meet the cabinet.

"...and that's I don't think this incident will have a significant negative influence on our relations with the Etherians: They know that this was the action of a lone individual, and they do not blame the United States for it. Further, they are also aware that the proselytising the victim engaged in is somewhat divisive," Daniel finally finished.

"I see," the President said. "That concurs with the opinion of our analysts."

"And Captain Carter's summary," Jack O'Neill added. He earned a few glares from other cabinet members for speaking without being addressed, but the President nodded in agreement.

"That's reassuring. Less reassuring is that this happened in the first place." The President didn't look at anyone in particular, but Jack saw several members of the cabinet tense up.

"We can't really convince everyone that we need the Etherians as allies more than we need 'god's support'," the Secretary of Education said - her tone making it clear what she thought of the idea that there was any question about what the United States needed.

"We've got the media on our side, though," the Secretary of State replied. "With the exception of fringe newspapers and the odd opinion piece."

"The incident did rile up the more extremist Evangelicals, though - the idea that aliens are allowed to proselytise on United States soil is a very touchy subject," the Secretary of Defense said.

"We know that," the President retorted. "We've all seen the polls. But the constitution, regardless of what some radicals think, is clear about this." He sighed. "Of course, I wish they wouldn't have put us on the spot like this. Things were all on track for the amendment, and now we've got this mess to deal with."

"The Etherians might not have had much of a choice," Daniel pointed out. "They have to deal with religious radicals as well, after all."

The Secretary of Defense frowned. "Can't they just order them to shut up and stop making trouble? They are absolute monarchs! Hell, one of them is worshipped as a god by those aliens!"

Jack smiled as Daniel pushed his glasses up and went into lecture mode. "It's a common misconception that absolute monarchs rule absolutely. The clones are a vital part of the Alliance military, and their desires and opinions carry a lot of weight. Further, I think it's clear that Adora is unwilling to use her position to tell others what religion they should follow - or not follow. So, it should be evident that…"

Jack leaned back a little and tuned his friend out.

Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, October 28th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and yes, that's the complete list of locations with magical activity on Earth as far as we know. There might be other such sites that aren't active right now but will become active should certain conditions be met - conditions which we also don't know yet."

Glimmer sounded annoyed. Adora wanted to pat her shoulder when she sat down after answering another stupid question from the assembly, but that would have left the wrong impression. So she nodded at her friend. This was the fifth 'special session' of the United Nations about magic after Adora had restored it, and the questions hadn't really changed. In fact, many of the hostile ambassadors always asked the same questions Adora and her friends couldn't answer, probably just so they could keep claiming that magic was not known well enough and so it would be too dangerous to legalise it.

Another ambassador rose to ask a question. Adora noticed it was the one from Iran, heard the first line about responsibility, and sighed. The same 'question' again. As soon as he had finished, she rose. "No, we will not 'assume responsibility' for any damage done by magic. First, you still have not submitted any proof that the fire and flooding - or the sickness - were caused by magic. Second, magic is a natural force. Restoring it to Earth is not the same as providing everyone with a loaded gun. It's like restoring the laws of physics that make it possible for gunpowder to work." She smiled, even though after four such sessions, she now could quote Entrapa and Bow's arguments in her sleep. And sometimes did, at least according to Catra. "We didn't teach anyone in your country to actually use magic; that's all on them."

"Without your actions, none of this would have happened!"

Adora shrugged. The man wasn't entirely wrong. If they hadn't restored magic to Earth, spells and powers wouldn't work. But magitech would. And as they had found out in Honduras, magitech could be as dangerous as advanced non-magical technology.

Something Glimmer was, as always, quick to point out: "Even if your calamities were caused by magic, it could have been magitech, which was already working before we restored magic."

"And we answered that question already in the last session. And the session before that." Catra openly sneered at the ambassador.

Adora pressed her lips together. They should stop attending those sessions - it made everyone's temper worse.

"At least give us scanners to detect magic!" the ambassador all but yelled. "How are we supposed to protect our people from magic if we can't even find it?"

Glimmer rolled her eyes. "No country that hasn't legalised magic - and given guarantees to prevent witch hunts - will receive magic scanners." She leaned forward and glared at the man. "Do you think we're stupid? You'll use those scanners to hunt down people with the talent to use magic! And then you'd claim they were evil no matter what they actually did!"

"We do not execute people simply for having such a talent!" the ambassador protested. "But criminals are criminals, whether they are magical or not!"

Adora glared. Sure, a number of 'sorceresses' in Iran were sent to prison and not executed, and many more were 'lynched' by 'private citizens', not the police, but so far, none of the murderers had been prosecuted either. Still, it wasn't enough to intervene.

"The scanners aren't ready yet, anyway," Catra added before yawning theatrically. "Does anyone actually have a question that wasn't answered already before this session?"

Adora knew she should scold Catra for the breach of protocol, but she just couldn't bother. Listening to the same questions session after session was simply too repetitive.

Yet another ambassador from the Middle East complained about magic. At least many African countries had stopped that - apparently, many traditional healers suddenly found their medicines and treatments working much more effectively.

"They're just running those sessions so they can funnel people in for you to heal," Catra whispered.

Adora frowned at her. She wasn't about to ignore someone suffering in front of her! It wasn't their fault that they were sick!

"You know I'm right." Catra smirked.

"They should look for sorceresses of their own," Adora said. "That would solve their problems with magic."

"They are looking for their own sorceresses," Catra retorted. "So they can kill them." She leaned back and stretched her arms over her head. "It would be more fun listening to Priest explaining why you're a goddess even though you deny it."

Adora pouted in return. She couldn't just order Priest to stop… worshipping her. No matter how much it annoyed her. She had been the one to defeat Horde Prime and free the clones, after all. It was only natural that some of them would fixate on her as their new leader - they didn't know any better. Adora knew how it was, being raised by the Horde and not knowing the truth. And how difficult it was for many to change, she added to herself with a glance a Catra. She could only hope that the clones would realise that she was no goddess if Adora kept explaining it.

And, a small part inside her mind that sounded like Catra because that was what Catra had told her many times, it was better if the Clones worshipped her instead of worshipping anyone else. Like an enemy of theirs. Or the Goa'uld. Better for the clones and everyone else.

"...and the way you offer your lapdogs training in sorcery but refuse to help countries that don't bow to your demands shows your bias!"

Right, they were at the 'stop helping your allies' part now. They hadn't even finalised the agreement to train some sorceresses on Earth yet! Or recruited instructors from Etheria - they needed a Stargate for that, anyway. And that was a little tricky. Both politically and with regard to security. They might just install it on a moon. And then there was the technology exchange. In theory, the clones could help with basic instructions, but they would likely use the opportunity to proselytise as well… They had so many more important things to do than listening to people complain about magic!

"We should ask Entrapta to build a bot to answer those questions," Catra commented as yet another ambassador asked about magic schools. "Make them look like us, but the size of Emily!"

Adora giggled at that.

Well, this, too, would pass, as Jack said. And they were making progress. Sooner or later, things would work out.

But they really needed to stop attending those stupid sessions. They had much more important things to do.