AN: Thanks to Meshakhad for researching valid locations for the Stargate!

Chapter 51: The Recon Mission Part 1

CFB Goose Bay, Newfoundland, Canada, November 14th, 1998

"Who the hell had the stupid idea to pick this as the new site of the Stargate? I want to know so we can send them to Thule!"

Samantha Carter didn't react to the Colonel's profanity. In fact, she had an urge to curse herself - the cold and the biting wind here at Canadian Force Base Goose Bay reminded her far too much of the time the Colonel and herself had been stuck in that cave in Antarctica. Even the best cold weather gear they were wearing couldn't keep them completely warm. Maybe she should have worn the spacesuit Entrapta had made for her - the cold wouldn't bother her at all, and the suit was very comfortable to wear. On the other hand, it might cause some resentment from the rest of the Stargate Command delegation visiting the site. And some idiots would claim that as a woman, she was too weak and soft to stand the temperature…

"I thought you liked Canada," Daniel commented, shielding his face with his hand. Or trying to - his glasses were fogging over.

"I like hockey. I don't like moving from Colorado to the arctic. To the butt end of the arctic, to be precise," the Colonel griped. "There was nothing wrong with Colorado."

Sam knew that it had been a mostly political choice. The United Nations didn't want the gate to remain in the USA. And the USA didn't want the gate to move too far away - and still had enough pull to ensure that. Sam thought the Australians had had the best proposal. Woomera or Exmouth would have been perfect from a strategic and logistical perspective. Easy to supply, not much buildup necessary. And remote enough so one could fight an invasion without endangering too many civilians.

But that had been too far from Europe, and so, between the USA, France and Britain, Canada's proposal had won out. And Stargate Command would have to adjust.

"Probably picked so the Russians would feel at home - it's as cold as in Siberia."

"Really?" Daniel blinked. "Well, when we visited Siberia, it wasn't winter. Were you in Siberia during winter?"

The Colonel scoffed but didn't answer. Which was to be expected.

"The location is rather remote, but it has a port," Sam pointed out. "And the Canadian government is already constructing a railway line to link it up with the Canadian railway network."

"The port will need to be expanded if we want to ship in all the supplies we need quickly enough to get this done in a timely fashion," the Colonel said. "As things are, we need a lot more infrastructure here to supply an invasion through the gate."

"I thought we didn't plan to run invasions through the gate?" Daniel frowned.

"Not for the initial attack. But we might need to use a gate to deliver supplies - we might not have access to spaceships for supplies." The Colonel shrugged. "You never know what happens in a war. Even if you think it'll be a cakewalk. Especially if you think it'll be a cakewalk."

Sam nodded. The Colonel knew that better than everyone else here, given his experiences during the Gulf War.

"Supplying an Earth invasion force, especially a mechanised one, through the gate will be difficult." Teal'c didn't seem to be bothered by the cold. Or just didn't show any reaction. "It would severely restrict the use of the gate for other reasons."

"Well, it's better than the mountain," Daniel said. "We can't exactly ship lots of supplies through the base."

That was true, of course. The Colonel still grumbled. Then again, he liked playing the grumpy old man from time to time. "One attempted invasion and the Canadians will scream to move it to Australia. And once the public realises that gates work both ways, someone will want to move it to Mars."

"I think the logistical challenges of moving the Stargate to Mars and operating it there would severely reduce its usefulness."

"Well, that was a joke, Teal'c."

"Ah."

Sam couldn't tell if Teal'c had actually thought that the Colonel had been serious. Wait, his lips twitched - that was him pulling the Colonel's leg.

"And, speaking of Mars… Is it true that you suggested surveying a landing site in advance of the Mars mission NASA is launching soon, Sam?" Daniel wanted to know.

"Oh, planning to steal NASA's thunder?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "I merely suggested using some of the recon bots we're building to search for the ideal landing site."

"But that would drive home that this isn't a brave exploration mission, but just a few scientists taking a cab to Mars." The Colonel chuckled. "Imagine them arriving, and you and Entrapta are having a picnic there!"

"We're too busy to have a picnic on Mars, sir." As if Sam would be so petty as to do that!

"But you'll keep an eye on the Mars base, right?" Daniel asked. "I mean… I am not trying to disparage NASA's engineers, but they are building this modular base in a hurry, aren't they?"

Sam nodded. "The Etherians will keep a frigate in orbit to support and, if necessary, evacuate the scientists."

"And to nuke any hostile Martians from space." The Colonel clapped his hands together. "Anyway, let's blow this joint. We came, we saw the miserable freezing place here, and we can safely say that the best way to use this base is to build a huge bunker so we're at least warm while we're here. And an underground railroad so we won't ever have to go outside."

"Except for field training, right?" Daniel asked in an earnest tone. But he was grinning.

And the Colonel scowled.

Whitehall, Westminster, London, United Kingdom, Earth, November 16th, 1998

"...and since everyone is present, the first strategy meeting of the United Alliance of Earth and Etheria has officially started. The first item to discuss is the location of the Alliance Headquarters. I suggest that it should be located on Earth and reasonably close to the Stargate to make emergency meetings easier to attend."

Glimmer went full steam ahead, as the humans would say, Catra noted. From the opening speech straight down to business. Then again, it had taken months longer than Catra had hoped to get the Alliance going and dealing with all the issues the rest of the world had brought up - well, more like making sure the bigotted idiots wouldn't make trouble for the Alliance - and they really needed to get things sorted out to get the war started. The longer an enemy was left in peace, the harder it would be to defeat them.

And, as expected, the Earth parts of the Alliance all took offence at this.

"But the majority of the Alliance member states are in Europe!" the French representative protested. "We should be picking a central location in Europe."

"Why not pick Brussels? It's already the NATO headquarters!" the Belgian representative pointed out. Though, as Catra had noticed, not too many were paying attention to him - or to the delegates from the other small European countries that had joined the Alliance.

"Germany would be happy to host the headquarters, but we think that military concerns should take precedence over political ones." The German Minister of Defence nodded at his colleagues.

"Political concerns are military concerns during a war," the French minister shot back. "You cannot separate them."

"Canada would be honoured to not only host the Stargate but also the Alliance Headquarters."

"Iceland would also be willing to host the headquarters, We can offer a geographical compromise."

"You don't even have a military!" the Danish representative snapped.

That was true. Catra didn't quite get why Iceland had joined the Alliance. They were supposedly recruiting volunteers, but they lacked any military tradition and the closest they had come to war in centuries was a conflict over fish with an ally of theirs.

But turning a willing ally away would have sent the wrong message, and compared to some kingdoms on Etheria, they weren't too small. Still, Catra didn't think they would be much use in the war. They probably would end up joining the forces of the Kingdom of Snows.

"I think Iceland is too remote to serve as headquarters," the German Minister of Defence commented.

"The United Kingdom is neither remote nor bereft of armed forces. And geographically and culturally, we're a good compromise - especially with an eye on the eventual joining of the United States."

Which were still trying to get the amendment to guarantee gay marriage and all the other rights passed. Or ratified - whatever the process was called. Catra had stopped paying close attention to it after the sixth time she had thought they were finally done only to hear that this had been just another step. The Americans must really hate changing anything about their laws, the way they made it so hard and complicated.

"I think the Stargate's location isn't of crucial importance. In an emergency, we all would have to take a plane - or one of the shuttles, once they are available - so anyone arriving through the gate could do the same and arrive at the same time." The minister from Norway had a good point, in Catra's opinion. Good enough that the rest of the ministers acknowledged it.

Of course, they then used that to explain why the headquarters would be best placed in their country.

"Just pick a country," Catra snapped when the Swedish delegate proposed a rotating headquarter. "If you don't want it near the Stargate, then its location doesn't really matter as long as there aren't too many civilians around it. You just need a big bunker to house everyone. And defences, of course."

Adora nodded. "Yes. Although it would be nice if it would serve as a staging ground as well for the Alliance forces, we don't need to combine both locations. It might be even safer to split them up so a strike at one location doesn't take out both."

Of course, that started a discussion about the location of the main base, more political and infrastructure questions, and more bickering over security and accessibility. And some of the concerns… family visiting? And being housed? On a military base?

Catra shook her head. "We never had those problems in the Horde."

"That's because we didn't have families in the Horde."

"Well, yes, but that's not the point." Catra pouted. Really, who wanted to take their family into a base? Coming home would feel like getting back to the barracks! But, apparently, things were different on Earth. The scale of the bases and the number of civilians involved… "Might as well build a new town - or found a new kingdom," she whispered.

That made Adora giggle, even if it wasn't funny.

At least Catra knew that the humans wouldn't take forever to decide this. It was clear, even though none said so, that they wanted everything settled before the Americans could join.

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 18th, 1998

"...and with that decision by the General Assembly of Ohio, two-thirds of the states have now ratified the amendment. That means…"

Jack O'Neill switched the TV off.

"I was watching that!" Daniel protested.

"You were watching the same commentary that happened thirty-four times before?" Jack raised his eyebrows as he looked for a good place to lean against, or sit on, in Daniel's office. There was the second chair, of course, but that would have made him look tired.

Daniel pouted in return. "It's a historic event. I want to follow it from start to finish. The social repercussions and changes this will cause…"

"It's a done deal," Jack cut him off. "Congress voted on it. And the states are ratifying it. The only reason it's taking as long as it takes is that some states are dragging their feet scheduling the votes." Mainly because the NID hadn't taken care of every influential conservative that would rather keep the gay down than let the United States make an alliance with lesbian magical space princesses that would net them advanced technology. At least Jack thought so. They reminded him of some of the 'Segregation Forever!'-types.

"Well," Daniel said, "some pundits seem to think that the delay is less due to holdouts but because some states want to be the deciding vote, so to speak." He shrugged. "I don't think it's likely - they would probably be remembered as the last holdout rather than the deciding vote - but it might explain some of the scheduling troubles."

Jack snorted. He also doubted it. "Sounds more like a desperate attempt to fill the news while everyone is waiting for the amendment to finally take effect." Especially the armed forces. They needed the alliance as soon as possible. If they waited any longer, the war would start without them, and the United States would be forced to enter it on someone else's terms. Mainly, the Europeans' terms.

And, judging by the rumours that Jack had heard from Entrapta about how they bickered over everything, that would be a bad idea. Jack didn't want to live in England for the war. Or, even worse, Iceland. At least no one had proposed Greenland for the base or headquarters.

"Well…" Daniel shrugged again. "Usually, the truth about such things isn't known until much later." He put a stack of papers down. Jack couldn't read their titles from his spot and didn't feel like asking his friend about it. Probably something about medieval societies that Daniel then could complain about not being applicable to Etherians or something.

"I just wish we were already in negotiations about the alliance," Jack muttered.

Daniel frowned. "We can't join without the amendment being passed."

"We could hash out the details for the alliance in advance, though. So, as soon as the final state gets around to voting, we can sign the alliance." It was just a formality, anyway. Well, most of it.

"Catra said it was rather straightforward - they've streamlined the process since the start. All the Scandinavian countries joined without lengthy negotiations," Daniel pointed out.

"That's what I am afraid of," Jack replied. Conditions aimed at small countries like Norway or Sweden wouldn't fit the United States.

His friend frowned again. "Why?"

"Of all the countries, we're the only one with experience fighting the Goa'uld. Not even the Etherians have any experience. We should be more involved." Granted, they mostly had experience with small unit actions through the Stargate, and the Alliance was gearing up for a conventional war - in space - but they knew their enemy. Especially Teal'c. Jack wasn't looking forward to seeing the Alliance repeat Operation Torch.

"Ah." Daniel nodded, apparently conceding the point. "I don't think the Etherians will ignore our advice, though."

"Maybe not." Jack wasn't so optimistic.

"So, what's up?" Daniel suddenly asked. "You didn't come here to watch CNN with me."

Jack snorted. "Can't I come to visit you to chat?"

Daniel blinked. "Sure. But you're usually a bit too busy at this time of the day."

"A meeting fell through," Jack explained. And he hadn't felt like doing paperwork.

Daniel nodded. "And Sam's in France with Entratpta, looking at the shuttle factory they are building there."

"Yes." Another fait-accompli, as the French would say. The Europeans weren't wasting any time taking advanced technology. Even though it was mostly automated, according to Carter. Wait! Jack narrowed his eyes at Daniel's expression. Was he insinuating something more?

"Between Stargate Command, the projects with Entrapta and the NASA mission to Mars she's advising, Sam's quite busy. Maybe you should order her to take a break," Daniel went on.

He was. Jack shot him a look. "Carter knows how to take care of herself. I don't need to babysit her." Unlike Daniel.

"It's not about babysitting," Daniel protested, "but relaxing and socialising."

His friend was right - they hadn't had time to relax, hadn't they? "Well, the Christmas parties are coming," Jack pointed out. Even though Alliance talks and meetings would probably hijack those. Hell, the fighting with the Navy was getting downright vicious - ever since the Royal Navy had apparently come out on top in the struggle in Britain, the Navy pukes had been getting cocky.

But Daniel didn't look satisfied. Jack almost wanted to ask if he was trying to play matchmaker but refrained from doing so. Some things you didn't talk about. And Jack's relationship with Carter, not that there was such a thing, fell firmly into that category. He'd rather discuss medieval culture than that. Or soccer.

Earth Orbit, Solar System, November 20th, 1998

"So… France can't host the headquarters because they already got a shuttle factory and more coming," Adora summed up the results of the latest meeting. The latest tiresome meeting.

"And because they're French," Catra added, stretching on her chair in that distracting way of hers, then slumping down as if she were made of liquid, about to ooze over the edge of her seat.

"No one said that." Adora scowled at her lover.

"It was implied," Glimmer cut in. "Apparently, leaving the NATO - or partially leaving - in the past is being held against them, but no one is as rude as to say so to their face."

But everyone knew it. Or used the argument. Adora sighed. "And Germany won't get the headquarters because they want to host the main base for the Alliance so it will help 'revitalise' their eastern parts."

"Yes."

"Even though they could just plant the new factories they want there?" Adora was not an expert on economics, but she had read up on the theory. You put up a factory where no one was, and that caused the area to gain workers and income.

"Those are going to be built in locations with established factory complexes, in the other parts of Germany," Bow said. "They want to use the trained workforces there."

"They don't want to make those people already working there mad for losing out," Gimmer explained. "The government relies on their support."

"Ah." That made somewhat sense.

"And the Germans have the most experience hosting lots of foreign troops, so there shouldn't be too much friction, at least that's what they claim." Catra's smirk told Adora she didn't believe them.

"But the British want to host the base as well - and they also claim they have experience, although that was decades ago during their last great war," Glimmer went on.

"The Second World War," Bow corrected her.

Glimmer frowned at him for a moment. "Yes. Anyway, they are angling to get more industries in exchange for giving up their claim."

Catra snorted. "Sounds like a bunch of bandits in the Crimson Waste haggling over who gets what part of the loot!"

Adora pressed her lips together. She couldn't quite refute that. "So, who's winning?"

"Whoever we pick," Glimmer replied. "If we want to pick one. But it's pretty clear that they won't pick locations that we wouldn't like."

"Do we want to?" Bow asked. "Seems like no matter who we pick, everyone else will be mad at us."

Catra sat straighter. "We don't want locations that can't handle the logistics and defences. And we don't want locations that have historical issues with others in the Alliance. For headquarters, something that's easy to defend against spies would be best."

"For headquarters, we have to pick something with enough infrastructure to cater to all the officers stationed there," Glimmer corrected her. "They need a certain level of comfort," she added with a snort.

Catra chuckled. "Sounds like Bright Moon."

Gimmer narrowed her eyes at her. "Bright Moon's soldiers can rough it."

"But you don't like to rough it." Catra flashed her teeth in a wide grin. "Even your dungeons look like luxury guest rooms."

Bow cleared his throat. "So, uh… Do we actually want to pick a location? We don't care for that, do we?"

"We don't," Adora said.

"And letting our allies pick it means we have more leverage when something comes up that we want to decide," Glimmer agreed. "I think they'll pick Belgium for headquarters; they already have NATO headquarters there and the seat of the European Union, which means most of their leaders are used to it."

Adora nodded even though her impression had been that no one was taking Belgium's proposal seriously. But Glimmer knew more about politics, and it did sound like a good compromise. "And the base?"

Glimmer shrugged. "Beats me. It needs to be somewhat remote so we can have the soldiers exercise there. And we need to build a spaceport. Canada or Australia would offer good locations, as would the USA, but in my impression, most want it to be located in Europe."

Adora sighed again. Petty politics! There wouldn't be that much fuss about the location of Etheria's Stargate, that was certain.

"Well, with the USA close to finally sorting themselves out," Catra said, "I bet our allies will quickly find a compromise."

"Just as they found a compromise regarding advanced technology," Glimmer added with a lot of sarcasm.

"Well, having factories with advanced technology in every country means they're less vulnerable to attacks and sabotage - you can't get too much with one attack," Bow said with a smile.

That was true, but Adora was sure this was more like a side-effect and not the main reason the Europeans wanted to spread out all the military factories they needed built. "Anyway…"

She was interrupted by an alert from Darla. An incoming call from… Stargate Command. Marked urgent.

"Put it on the screen," Adora told the ship.

A moment later, Jack appeared on the big screen in the centre. He nodded at them. "Hello, everyone."

Adora caught Catra sitting up straight - Jack looked grim and serious. That was bad news.

"We've got a situation here. Off-planet."

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 20th, 1998

"...and so the last thing we heard from the team, before contact was lost, was that the planet was under attack."

Samantha Carter looked up as she heard the Colonel's voice and saw him enter the gate control room with the Etherians in tow - well, most of them. Hordak probably stayed on Darla.

"And nothing since?" Adora asked.

"Nothing, though…"

"Hi, Sam!" Entrapta interrupted him and waved at Sam.

"Hi." Sam waved back, then had to suppress a wince - this wasn't a friendly meeting in the privacy of their labs or off-duty. They were in the middle of a crisis.

"So." Catra cocked her head sideways. "Your team went through the gate, which was deserted, and then started exploring. Which means that the gate wasn't guarded by anyone on the planet. And it was still open when the attack happened, so it didn't come through the gate."

"Yes," the Colonel confirmed.

"We didn't see any signs that the planet was occupied when we sent a MALP through." General Haig joined them, looking grim. "And the team didn't find any signs of recent activities at the gate either."

Sam nodded. The gate area had been overgrown. If there had been regular traffic, there would have been some trails at least. And if there had been recent traffic, even on foot, there should have been tracks. But according to all the data they had, the gate address belonged to an abandoned planet. That was why it had been thought to be a good choice for the Russian main team's first real mission.

"So, whatever is on the planet is important enough to merit an attack from space but not important enough to have the gate guarded." Adora shook her head. "That doesn't sound good. Do you have any maps of the area?"

"No." The general shook his head. "It was an exploration mission."

"No auto-mapper?" Entrapta pouted. "You should have sent a bot along that can automap. They're very useful!"

And they were something Stargate Command didn't have. Sam smiled wrily at the general's expression. The MALPs capabilities were very limited compared to the capabilities of such a bot - she was familiar with either.

"Yep. Such bots would be very useful. I'll make a note to buy some next time I go shopping," the Colonel said.

Entrapta blinked. "Oh, you don't have them? I can build you one!"

"Thanks, but I think we should focus on saving our team first."

"It could be useful for that, too!" Entrapta nodded. "We can build one while you do your planning, right, Sam?"

It wasn't as if she was doing anything useful right now, Sam knew. This wasn't, at least not yet, a technological or scientific problem to tackle. But she'd like to get in on the planning. Or at least attend. On the other hand, the bot could be very useful for the mission itself. She looked at the Colonel, who nodded back at her.

"Yeah, you do your thing while we plan the rescue mission."

Haig nodded his assent, and so Sam and Entrapta went to Sam's lab.

"So… I'm thinking standard spy bot with integrated automapping and scanner. They're small and cute but very eager! We shouldn't have to modify the basic design much but we can if you want," Entrapta said once they were in the lift, and a holoprojection detailing the small bot appeared next to her.

Sam wanted such a tool herself. Just displaying data in the field would be so useful - scratching a quick sketch on paper, or even in the dirt, just didn't compare. Still… "I don't think we need any modifications. The planet has a standard atmosphere and temperature, at least around the gate. And we need to get it quickly."

"Right! We could have Hordak send one down, but I think we'll be quicker building one from the parts in your lab!" Entrapta beamed. "This is going to be fun!"

Sam noticed the glances the Russian guards - Stargate Command was on alert now - gave them as they stepped out of the lift, but there wasn't anything she could do about it right now. They didn't know that Entrapta wasn't making fun of the situation - she just was a little different. And a good friend.

And she was right - this was going to be fun.

By the time they entered the gate room, a bot chattering in its own language in tow, the rest of SG-1 and the Etherians were ready to go. Sam was, once again, struck by the contrast. SG-1 was suited up - her own armoured vest, reinforced with advanced technology courtesy of Entrapta, was ready on the table next to the Colonel - while the Etherians hadn't changed at all. Adora hadn't even transformed into She-Ra. They looked as if they were here to supervise, like the generals with them.

And Emily, who was towering over everyone, was carrying what must be their emergency gear like rations and tents. Sam really needed to get a bot of her own.

"So… let's send the little guy through and see what the area looks like!" the Colonel said, clapping his hands.

"Yes." Sidorov glared at all of them. "While you were wasting time, my team might have been killed!"

That was a distinct possibility - losing radio contact was never a good sign. And even though Lenkova was a skilled officer, she had no experience with Goa'uld or aliens, and training could only take you so far. The odds for the Russian team weren't good.

And Sam wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that.

"So… let's see if the planet is still around and wasn't glassed. Or blown up," Catra said, taking care to roll her neck as if this was just another day at the training facilities. Or the personal exercise room in the palace these days. Instead of a dangerous mission to save a bunch of humans from body-snatching aliens before they got body-snatched. Or just snatched.

In hindsight, it was a pretty bad idea to just let Earth continue their Stargate missions, even though Stargate Command had claimed that they were being very careful. From what she had heard, SG-1 had a lot of experience, but they hadn't been too cautious either when they ran things, and now with the new committee in charge, things were bound to be worse. Glimmer claimed that the Alliance couldn't dictate policies to the rest of the world, but in Catra's opinion, the needs of the war were more important than playing nice with people who endangered everyone through their actions.

Even if it was a little hypocritical. Maybe more than a little.

But the spy bot was now walking towards the gate ramp, Entrapta and Sam hovering over it. Well, Entrapta was doing the hovering - Sam was mostly checking readings while slipping into her armoured vest.

Which was actually a nice piece of kit. Not the armour - Catra's suit was armoured already while still granting full mobility - but the pouches and pockets and stuff. If you didn't have a magic sword that could change into whatever tool you wanted, you had to make do with normal tools, and while her claws were great, they couldn't do everything. It would make carrying explosives easier as well - sure, she was carrying some of the bombs they had used to blow up Princess Prom, but bigger bombs wouldn't go amiss.

Of course, she couldn't say this, but if she claimed that it was a show of unity or something with their new allies, the others might buy it. Bow might even want to make a vest for himself that left his midriff bare.

"...and be careful, OK? If there's anything dangerous, report at once, and we'll shut down the gate so you can dial back!" Entrapta patted the small bot on its head or sensor dome or whatever you call it.

"I'm not telling her that the bot's not going to come back if there are enemies at the gate," Catra whispered to Adora.

She saw her lover flinch a little before raising her chin. "This is a Stargate Command mission. We shouldn't assume to speak for them."

Catra chuckled at that. Adora could be sneaky sometimes.

As if she had heard them - but she hadn't; Catra was sure - Sam said: "Ah. We can only allow opening a gate to us if there's no chance that an enemy will follow us - the risk that they could invade or just send a bomb through is too great." She looked embarrassed, in Catra's impression. Or ashamed.

The bot beeped. Entrapta frowned at it. "That doesn't matter! You're a member of our team like everyone else!"

"What do you mean?" the Russian idiot butted in. "Are you talking to the robot?"

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded. "And her name is Beatrice."

"You give your robots names?" The general was blinking.

Catra saw O'Neill stepping closer as Entrapta said: "Of course! They need names so we can talk to them without being rude."

"But they are…" The Russian trailed off. "Are they intelligent?"

"Yes!" Entrapta nodded. "Or do you mean sapient? Beatrice would need an adaptive matrix that will allow her to learn and grow to become sapient. I wanted to give her one because sapient bots can adapt much better to various environments and situations, which would make her more efficient at exploring new planets, but Sam said that we should stick to normal bots for security."

"Ah." The Russian nodded a bit jerkily. "Do not build sapient bots without permission from the committee," he told Sam.

"Of course not, sir," she replied.

"Good. We do not want robots turning on us."

"And we don't have political commissars to threaten bots with execution to send them on suicide missions," O'Neill added.

The Russian scowled at him. "We haven't had commissars for a long time now."

Right. O'Neill had mentioned those or some people like them once, Catra remembered. Dimly.

"Now let's send the bot through. We need to save our team!" the general ordered.

Everyone stepped clear of the ramp, and even the bot scuttled off it before the gate was dialled.

As soon as the iris was retracted, the bot beeped to Entrapta and Sam once more, then disappeared through the gate.

"She's so brave!" Entrapta said, wiping her eyes.

The Russian looked a little odd at that, but Catra didn't care - she was staring at the big screen showing the feed from Beatrice.

The gate area looked untouched - lots of grass, tall enough to force the bot to extend its head so it could still see above it. There wasn't anyone nearby, but the big plumes of smoke on the horizon weren't a good sign.

"Running a spectral analysis," Sam announced.

A few seconds later, Entrapta piped up: "Oh! Looks like… plastic and metal particles in those clouds."

"Those are artificial structures or vehicles burning, sir," Sam reported. "And more than a few."

Gate Area, PX4-223, November 20th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"Stay sharp, folks!" Jack O'Neill snapped as he stepped down the stone ramp, carbine ready as he scanned his surroundings. The sky was clear, the front was clear, the flanks and back, clear. He crouched down at the end of the ramp, next to the D.H.D., and studied the smoke on the horizon. Yeah, he had seen such smoke before. When a column of Iraqi vehicles had been destroyed. He could almost smell the stench of burned plastic - and burned flesh.

Teal'c took the other side of the ramp, his staff held low. And the big robot, Emily, had already thrown up a shield. Just in case the spy bot had missed an ambush. Which Jack had expected - whoever was attacking the planet should be covering the gate if only to keep reinforcements from arriving or their targets from fleeing. Any attack on a planet with a gate always focused on the gate. That was just common sense.

So, why wasn't the gate guarded? A trap? Or was the gate damaged?

Carter was behind Jack. "The D.H.D. doesn't show any signs of damage or tampering, sir," she reported before he could ask.

Jack nodded. The Russians had checked it right after arriving, but you always checked yourself. Nothing worse than getting stuck on a hostile planet thousands of lightyears from home.

Catra landed on all fours right at the end of the ramp - she must have jumped. And she sniffed the grass? Then Melog joined her. "Seems clear. I only smell human. And Melog can't sense anyone near us," Catra announced.

Then She-Ra reached the end of the ramp, her sword drawn, followed by Glimmer and Bow. "No magic," Glimmer said.

Jack nodded. He had also expected that. It made things a little harder for the Etherians - but in a pinch, She-Ra could return magic in a minute. And probably get a big boost. But where were the bad guys? They must be watching the gate from afar - they had spotted Lenkova's team, so they would be aware that the Russians had come through the gate. But they wouldn't be prepared for the Etherians; magic or not, their allies were veterans. While Jack wouldn't trade SG-1 for them, they knew their business very well.

"Beatrice! Good girl! You performed exactly to specs! I am so proud of you! Who's a good spy bot? You are! Keep your sensors aimed, will you? There might be bad guys around! And Emily, you're doing good as well!"

Jack suppressed a sigh. Well, most of them knew how to behave in a hostile environment. But if Carter started cooing over robots, he'd put his foot down. On the robot.

"The stone is lacking any ornaments. Old, but not as old as the gate. I don't see any sign of whoever would have built the ramp, Jack," Daniel said.

"Yep." Not that Jack had expected any useful information from the ramp - most of the gates had something like it to keep the activation kawoosh from killing people waiting in the area.

"Alright." Jack nodded towards the hills in front of them. "The action is that way. And our missing Russian allies also moved in that direction, as the trail here shows." And, according to the logs, roamed a little too far for a first mission - Lekova must have been cocky. Then again, the hills in front of them would offer the best vantage point for the entire area. Which was why Jack was sure that they'd find the tracks of the Russians leading there.

And the tracks of their captors or killers so they could save or avenge the team.

He looked at his team and the Etherians. "Let's follow the trail."

"Melog will warn us if there's an ambush ahead."

Jack could get used to that cat. And it shouldn't take too long - Lenkova's team had been here for less than an hour when contact had been lost. Even if the Russians had done a forced march, that wouldn't have taken them too far. A couple of miles - probably not enough to reach the top of the ridge. "And stay sharp!" he repeated himself. "The snakes must be watching us."

"We'll spot them if they come to cover the gate."

"Beatrice will tell us!" Entrapta said. The spy bot skittered away, hiding in the grass.

"And if they get to the gate before us, Adora can restore magic, and I can port us back in seconds," Glimmer announced.

Jack nodded. Though She-Ra might turn half the planet into a jungle or something in the process. And he couldn't help being worried. Why weren't the owners of whatever was burning behind the ridge running to the gate? And why hadn't they been using the gate?

Well, they would soon find out. One way or the other.