Chapter 55: The Experiment Part 2
Alliance Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium, November 28th, 1998
"...and we would offer a desert training facility and a mountain training facility in the United States."
Adora resisted the urge to roll her eyes. 'Offer' - as if the Secretary of Defense hadn't made it clear that this was actually a demand. Glimmer and Catra didn't even have to point that out to Adora. Not that she was as naive as they sometimes thought.
She just didn't like how politics took priority over military necessities. No matter how often Glimmer told her that politics were crucial for waging any war. It just… didn't feel right. Why couldn't people work together without all those games?
"Well, the desert training facility would certainly be welcome - the Alliance hasn't yet picked a site for that sort of training," Admiral Smythe, Royal Navy, said. "But, of course, we would have to discuss that with the rest of the Alliance."
"I thought we were here to discuss that," the Secretary of Defense retorted.
"Yes, but such a decision requires the agreement of our respective governments," General Dubois, French Army, said. "It is, after all, both a military and political decision."
Adora did roll her eyes now. She glanced at Glimmer, who had her 'I wish I could teleport you into the ocean, but I am restraining myself' smile on her face, then at Catra, who was…scratching something into the table?
Adora leaned to the side and tilted her head. Oh. It was a sketch of her and Adora. Cute!
But her good mood didn't last. They were here to settle things, not to posture. She cleared her throat. "I think that since we don't have a desert training facility available, it would only be logical to accept the offer."
Everyone smiled at her, but Adora doubted that everyone meant it. "Of course," the admiral said. "But we do have offers for mountain training - from several countries with long traditions of fighting in mountainous terrain."
"The United States 10th Mountain Division is an elite formation, proof that our facilities are not only adequate but well-suited," the American countered.
That sounded good enough for Adora. And Glimmer nodded. So, it probably made political sense as well.
"So, that's settled." The Secretary of Defense nodded, then pulled out another sheet. "Now, with regard to the central transport command, coordinating the Alliance supply routes, I think we have the ideal site in the United States - very well protected and available as soon as Stargate Command moves to its new location."
Smythe smiled. "You mean the ground component. The main command will be in orbit."
That surprised the American, Adora could tell. But it was logical that you should have some direct command post in orbit. But a ground-based backup would make sense as well. But it wouldn't be very prestigious, or so she understood.
"With our new shuttles," Dubois added, "it's an obvious choice."
The smile of the Secretary of Defense grew very thin. "And speaking of shuttles, with the number of soldiers the United States will add to the Alliance, it makes sense to build factories to ensure that they have the means to be moved at all times."
"We can expand our own without trouble," Dubois countered.
"Spreading out crucial factories makes sense," Glimmer cut in. "Although I assume you'll expand production anyway."
"If you have the money," someone muttered.
Which reminded Adora that they hadn't settled the budget yet.
Things had been so much easier during the war against the Horde.
"And I thought Horde logistics were a pain in the butt," Catra muttered.
Well, at least Adora wasn't suffering alone. Even Glimmer didn't like it here; Adora could tell.
She couldn't help feeling a bit glad about that - Glimmer had called her here for the negotiations, after all.
Half an hour later, they hadn't made much, if any, progress.
"The industrial capacity of the United States should be used to the fullest. Economies of scale, experience and logistics all point towards one conclusion: That we should shoulder the biggest share of the Alliance's supply needs."
"We're not in the Second World War any more. The advantages you claim aren't unique to the United States. And with regards to logistics, we will be relying on Etherian ships for transport."
"We've got the biggest arms industry. We're the logical choice for mass-producing advanced technology."
"I'll put a German factory against an American one any day of the week and twice on Sunday."
"You don't work on Sundays!"
"Of course we do!"
"Our factories suffice to cover the needs of the current Alliance, and we can easily expand them to cover your needs as well."
"Is that why half of NATO uses US arms instead of your products?"
"We all know why so many people bought your arms."
"Because we offered the best deals."
"Why don't we let the market sort things out? See whose products are better than their competition?"
"You mean, see who can use bribes and political pressure most effectively to push their products on others?"
Adora stared. They couldn't actually be suggesting that, could they? She looked at Catra.
Her lover narrowed her eyes. "Wait! Are you seriously suggesting that we use many different designs for the same role? At the front? Are you trying to kill our logistics?"
Adora nodded. "We need standardised designs." It had been bad enough in the Princess Alliance during the war, with all the different forces and standards.
"Yes, but we need to ensure that the best design is chosen, and healthy competition between manufacturers is the best way to achieve that - it won us the Cold War, after all," the Secretary of Defense claimed.
"It's very impressive that you can say that with a straight face, given your history of military procurement," the German Verteidigungsminister said. "We remember why we picked your products."
"And why we decided to design our own planes," the French Ministre added.
"I don't think national pride should be the deciding motivation," the American retorted.
"Really? I can't believe you just said that!"
OK, this was getting a bit… un-diplomatic. Maybe telling everyone to stop being formal had been a mistake?
"Having people compete with their designs sounds good in theory, but it depends on an unbiased final decision," Glimmer commented. "Would you like us to pick a design?"
Adora didn't have to be able to read minds to know that most people present didn't want that. "What about picking the best designers and working together?" she asked.
That sent them whispering to their generals and aides.
"That's how we get walkers," Catra mumbled. "We should have never let Entrapta watch those movies."
That was… pretty likely, actually. "Those might be a good choice," Adora whispered. "Better all-terrain capability."
"Just make hovertanks instead," Catra shot back. "Faster, and can travel over water and through swamps."
"But not through woods." There was a reason that tanks had generally fared so badly in the Whispering Woods, and bots hadn't.
"Whatever. We need to stop this circus."
She was right. Adora nodded.
"And who gets to pick the best designers? One from each country, no matter their quality?" The American spoke up.
"Of course not," Adora shot back.
"And which team? We need a lot of different vehicles alone, not to mention ships."
"One base design, with variants to cover different tasks, should do it. An advanced combat vehicle family!"
"What a coincidence that your industry is working on that exact project!"
Not again.
Glimmer stood. "Enough. We need to step up the production of shuttles and mobile force field generators - coupled with bots - and we need a competitive air and space fighter. Ground-based vehicles Earth already has more than enough. Once we have some combat experience, we'll know more about what designs are actually needed in the war. So, we can set up more factories for that, in the USA as well as in Europe and Canada."
That, at least, was met with agreement.
"And we need to start building ships," the British admiral added.
"Yes, but that's not as urgent," Glimmer told him. "We have a fighter design from the Horde, but it's meant to be flown by bots."
And that meant it needed a lot of changes so people could fly it.
"Modifying it might be faster than designing one from scratch, and we can use the experience for the next model," the German Minister pointed out.
"We should spread out production, though, so we're not dependent on a single source," the Secretary of Defense said.
That was just common sense, in Adora's opinion.
"We should pick a remote area for testing advanced technology," the American suggested. "Like a desert. It would make keeping the technology from spies easier if there was just one location to protect."
"Like the base where you tried to hide the Etherian shuttle?" the British admiral asked with raised eyebrows. "Area 51?"
"It would be an ideal choice," the Secretary of Defense said with a grin.
"If not for the fact that it is under permanent surveillance by everyone. Having to transport every prototype there would also facilitate spying on it - by anyone. There are other options."
"You just want more money to develop your ex-soviet bases."
"There are good reasons to pick a location in Germany."
"Too close to Russia. France is more secure."
"Canada has vast tracts of land that are empty of people and could easily be sealed off."
"And it's buried in snow for half the year."
"That's a cliche."
"One based on facts."
Adora winced. Telling everyone to stop being formal had definitely been a mistake.
"I almost miss the Horde," Catra muttered. "No one talked back there."
Adora glared at her.
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 29th, 1998
"...and Glimmer said we won't get to design a new fightercraft - an aerospace fighter, able to be used in space and in the atmosphere - yet. We'll adapt the Horde standard space fighter instead."
Entrapta looked a little disappointed, Samantha Carter noticed. She could understand that very well, of course - as a pilot, she certainly had spent some time designing her ideal fighter or at least defining all the features it should have. And what engineer could take a look at a Death Glider and not think of a better craft?
Of course, designing aircraft wasn't one of her specialities, although she certainly knew more about the engines and life support system an aerospace fighter should have, and about the performance of Death Gliders, than any engineer from Boeing or Lockheed Martin. Still, she had a lot of other projects to work on.
Which reminded her that she hadn't really worked on the alien data cube they had recovered months ago. And she wouldn't be able to do much work on it in the foreseeable future, either. Not with so many urgent problems to tackle.
Something she shared with Entrapta. "Well, we do have to finish our spacelab before we can take on other tasks," Sam said. It would also help with designing the Alliance Orbital Command Centre.
"Right! Hordak and Bow have finished constructing the outer hull and installing life support, but we need to furnish it! It'll be great! I've made plans for a hologram suite for the entire lab, so we can visit virtually even if we can't make time to visit physically!"
That sounded… well, just off-hand, Sam could think of several applications for that. Virtual meetings. No longer wasting time travelling and being made to wait so someone could feel important and powerful. Or visiting your family while deployed - with FTL communication, even the Mars mission's crew could still keep in contact like that. And, though she would never mention that near the Colonel, all the possibilities for entertainment, especially games…
She smiled. "That's a great idea."
"Right?" Entrapta beamed at her. "It should work through a Stargate as well. Although, based on the data we have, keeping the gate open just for hologram projections would be a waste of energy if you could step through it instead."
"And it would block the gate for other connections," Sam agreed.
"That too, yes." Entrapta shrugged. "Though once we have the communication chain set up, we wouldn't need the Stargate for talking to other planets, even though the lag would likely limit holoprojection."
"Yes." And speaking of probe bots… Sam checked the production data. Still short of the expected number, but the automated factory was working as intended now.
"We still need the computer data to set up a Stargate on Etheria, by the way," Entrapta said. "Glimmer told me that negotiations were busy with stupid posturing and money grabs, so it might take a bit longer to get that."
Sam nodded but couldn't help feeling guilty. The United States were the central actor - and issue - in the current negotiations, after all. And she had been advising the government about dealing with the Etherians. If Sam and the rest of SG-1 hadn't done that, would the government be so stubborn? Probably, Sam told herself. And they would be more likely to push for too much. Still…
"Anyway," Entrapta interrupted her thoughts, "I've also been talking to Adora about the Goa'uld, and we should test her healing on parasites that aren't sapient."
"We could use animal testing," Sam said. Many stray dogs and cats had parasites. Not even PETA would be against that sort of animal testing. At least she thought so.
"Right. As a first step, I guess."
"Yes." Finding a human with a parasite would be a little harder. At least without violating medical confidentiality - most would consider their condition embarrassing. "I can send an airman to the animal shelter in Colorado Springs and fetch a few dogs. Or cats." Sam blinked. Would Catra have issues with dogs or cats? It was a silly thought, but the woman was a little prickly under the best circumstances, and all the speculation about her 'nature' hadn't helped matters. Better safe than sorry. "What do you think would be better, dogs or cats?"
"I think we should take both, so we have more data," Entrapta replied.
That was a good point, of course. But not what Sam needed to know. "Does Catra have experience with either?"
Entrapta frowned. "Oh. I don't know." She beamed again. "So, we'll get even more data!"
Right. Sam should have seen that coming. Well, she was a little curious herself…
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, November 30th, 1998
As Samantha Carter found out the next day, while the question of whether or not Catra had issues with cats or dogs was still up in the air, dogs and cats definitely had issues with her. The animals, half a dozen of each - Stiler had erred on the side of 'too many' rather than 'too little' - had started to growl and hiss in their cages as soon as Catra, following Adora, had entered.
And Catra definitely had issues with that. "Stop playing nice with them, Adora," she snapped. "Can't you see that they want to bite me?"
"They're just confused," Adora replied from where she was crouched, trying to goad a mangy-looking cat out of its cage with a bit of food.
"That's not confused!" Catra retorted.
"Afraid then. You must smell like a big cat to them."
"What?"
"Yes," Entrapta chimed in. "They probably mistake you for a local predator. Although you probably are a local predator, all things considered. Anyway, according to the pet guide we got, this is typical behaviour when an animal is stressed and afraid."
"Oh, poor little things!" Adora cooed. "Don't worry, Catra might look mean, but she's as cuddly as you-Ow!"
"See? I told you!" Catra shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest, as Adora sucked on the finger the cat had just scratched.
Sam was already getting the medkit. Those were 'fresh strays', after all - who knew what kind of health problems they had.
"Just heal the things and yourself," Catra said.
"How can you be so callous? Look how cute they are! Their fur is all puffed up! Like yours when you get startled."
"Don't compare me to those animals!"
Sam cleared her throat. "Can we focus on the experiment? You can cuddle the animals afterwards."
"I can?" Adora beamed at her.
The woman had grown up in the Horde, groomed as a child soldier from birth, Sam reminded herself. She hadn't been socialised like a typical girl on Earth. "If they let you," she amended.
"I bet one ration that they won't," Catra said.
"Deal!"
They were betting rations? Sam shook her head. She could look into that later. The experiment came first.
Catra didn't like those… furballs. The barking and growling were annoying, and the hissing… well, she hated having to refrain from hissing back to teach the nuisance its place because the others would never let her forget it. But it was even more annoying to see Adora fuss over the stupid animals.
Not that Catra was jealous - Adora would never betray her. Not even when Catra deserved it. She had proven that over and over again during the war. And Catra wouldn't betray that trust either. Still, she had to clench her teeth while listening to Adora talking to the little beasts.
"Oh, you poor thing! Worms and fleas! No worry, soon you'll be free of them."
Fleas? Catra took a step back, shuddering. She had no intention of repeating that particular lesson from cadet training. Just thinking of it made her fur itch. "Adora! Don't touch it if it has fleas!"
"They shouldn't bother Adora," Entrapta cut in. "Parasites are often limited to specific host species, having evolved with them. Another reason that makes Goa'uld so interesting."
Well, Catra didn't know if she was different enough to not have to worry about fleas from those animals. And she wasn't about to find out. "Whatever!" She took another few steps back, crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the stupid cat in the cage. Who was still hissing at Adora even though Catra's lover had just fed her. Talk about ungrateful!
"We're ready for the experiment now," Sam spoke up. She sounded amused.
Catra narrowed her eyes at the woman - yes, Sam was smiling.
But Adora was finally standing up. And there it came. "For the Honour of Grayskull!"
Catra watched, almost basking in the sight as her lover transformed, her sword appearing in her hand. It was a magnificent sight she would never tire of as long as she lived.
"Oops. Sorry!"
"Don't worry, it's not your fault - a lab should have a higher ceiling. When you're moving to the new location, you need to ensure you've got a better room, Sam!"
"At least there wasn't an important powerline in the ceiling," Sam said.
Catra snickered. That wouldn't have happened in the Horde.
"Alright - monitors have been set up, bug scanners and containment fields are ready, we're scanning… thirty-seven fleas and five worms on that specimen," Entrapta announced. "Signs of malnutrition as well."
Catra shuddered again. The poor thing…
Then Adora pointed her sword at the hissing cat, and magical light engulfed it.
When the light faded, the cat looked confused. Catra rolled her eyes. "You've just been healed, idiot!" she snapped.
Which earned her another hiss. Dumb beast.
"Oh… there are still fleas on the specimen. But the worms in the intestinal tract are all gone. And I don't see… No, nothing left; the mass of the parasites must have been disintegrated," Entrapta said.
"I didn't remove the fleas?" Adora asked. She was looking at her sword as if it was defective.
"They weren't inside the cat's body," Sam pointed out. "That was likely the difference. Unless it's related to the species of the parasites."
"Hm. This requires more data! And we've got more test subjects!" Entrapta announced.
Adora nodded with her most earnest and determined expression, Catra noted. But she also noted how her lover looked at the healed cat - who was already scratching their ear again.
Catra sighed. "And let's give the beasts a flea bath. Or something." She just knew that Adora would hug and cuddle the things afterwards.
"Ah! Aren't you the cutest?"
Catra closed her eyes and wished she could close her ears as well.
"So, the experiments showed that any internal parasites got removed - effectively disintegrated since we found no trace of them in the air outside, so they weren't just expelled. Which is, of course, a good thing so we won't have to worry about contamination by dead parasites," Entrapta said. "And the external parasites were untouched. Botflies apparently count as internal, by the way."
Catra shuddered once more and tried to forget that particular memory. She'd have to invest in bug spray if those things were common. She focused on the discussion instead. "So, if Adora heals a host, she would kill the Goa'uld?" Adora would hate that.
"It's a possible outcome," Sam said, "However, we cannot say at this point if magic treats sapient and non-sapient parasites the same. Or if the Goa'uld are treated differently since they also provide some benefits to the host body. The symbiotic bacteria in the intestines haven't been purged, after all."
"So, we're back at step one," Catra summed up.
"Yes. If all parasites had been expelled alive, we would have had a solid hypothesis that Goa'uld would be treated the same, but…" Entrapta shrugged. "We need more testing, but we don't have the right test subjects."
"You're purring just like Catra when I pet her!"
Catra clenched her teeth and snapped at Adora, who was sitting in the middle of the now suddenly friendly animals. "That's private!"
"Oh! Sorry!" Adora had the grace to blush, at least.
But now the stupid animals were growling and hissing at her again.
This time, Catra flashed her fangs and hissed back.
"Catra! You're scaring the poor things!"
That was the idea!
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, December 1st, 1998
"Hi, Jack! We're adopting!"
"No, we're not!"
"But Catra! She likes you!"
"She doesn't. She just wants my food!"
"So give her some! She's starving!"
"She already got half my sandwich!"
"Get another one!"
"Besides, that's not good food for cats."
"But you eat it, Catra!"
"I'm not a housecat!"
Jack O'Neill sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Can we focus on the subject of this meeting?" he ground out.
He half-expected Catra and Adora to ignore him, but Catra actually sat up straight and nodded. Adora followed her friend's example. She looked serious when she nodded, but Jack had caught her sneaking the cat - barely older than a kitten, as far as he could tell - a treat or something, so he wasn't sure how serious she actually was.
Well, he'd take what he could get. And hope that Hammond never heard of this - the General would enjoy seeing Jack trying to deal with such antics for a change. Though Jack had never brought a pet into a briefing. And speaking of that… "Why's there a cat in the room?" he asked.
"You mean the housecat?" Adora asked.
Catra growled at her.
"Yes," Jack said through not quite clenched teeth.
"She's here to illustrate our experiment," Entrapta piped up.
"And she has no one else to look after her," Adora added.
"Which is her own fault," Catra said. "She broke out of her carrier and hid in the lab before the rest were moved to new owners."
"Exactly!"
Jack sighed again. "Was that why I got a mail asking if I wanted a dog?" He glanced at Carter, who was suspiciously silent and focused on her laptop.
"We asked everyone," Entrapta said. "We were looking for good homes for our test subjects."
"We couldn't send them back to the shelter after the experiment," Adora explained. "That would have broken their hearts."
Jack slowly nodded and tried to ignore how the cat walked around the briefing room, sniffing at the trash can in the corner. "I see. And, speaking of experiments…?"
"Right." Adora nodded sharply. "My healing destroys internal parasites but leaves external ones alive and in place."
"And presumably healed them as well," Carter added. "Though we could not determine whether or not this was true without the aid of a biologist."
"Doctor Fraiser said she wasn't equipped to check the health of fleas," Entrapta pouted. "That's a serious deficiency you should correct when you move to the new site. Also, we've been looking into mailing samples to specialists."
Jack grinned at the thought of the doctor's likely reaction to that request. "I see. So, any attempt to expel the snake from Lenkova would likely kill it?"
"We cannot dismiss that possibility," Carter replied. "Although we don't know enough about She-Ra's magic to say with any certainty. It could treat sapient parasites differently."
"And we can't just risk killing helpless prisoners if there's a possible alternative," Adora said. She was dead serious now, Jack noted - she didn't even react to the cat trying to climb into the trashcan. And it didn't look like Catra was about to try to change her mind, either.
Damn.
"It's not a critical situation," Carter said. "Lieutenant Lenkova is still sedated, and, according to Janet, the Goa'uld's presence is countering the negative effects of long-term sedation. However, due to the regenerative effect of the possession, Lenkova might be building up an immunity to the drugs used on her - they already had to up the dose once."
So, time was starting to run out. Well, that was nothing new. In fact, Jack was used to dealing with more urgent problems.
"Is there any news from the Tok'ra?" Adora asked.
"Nothing so far. We've been checking the world twice per day," Jack told her. "The next mission is scheduled for this afternoon." Which would be another training mission for the new guys.
"Ah."
"We still have other alternatives," Carter said. "Although they would put Lenkova at a greater risk than the Goa'uld."
Jack wasn't about to risk the damn snake killing Lenkova if they could risk the snake's life instead. And he was pretty sure most people agreed with that stance. But this wasn't the time to say that. Not yet.
He nodded instead. "So, since we used this to get away from more boring meetings… is there anything else to discuss before we are sent back into the fray?"
"We'll be opening our spacelab soon!" Entrapta announced. "Full remote and virtual access, too!"
"Waldos and hologram projections, sir," Carter explained. Somewhat.
"And we'll be testing a communication chain later - we've got enough probe bots now to start spreading them." Entrapta beamed. "By networking them, they won't ever feel lonely, either!"
"We're not using sapient bots," Carter answered Jack's question before he could ask it.
"Ah, good." There was no need to recreate Star Trek I. Although that might still happen. Not that Jack would mention that he had watched the movie when it came out - he had a reputation to maintain.
"If that's all, then we need to go," Adora said. "We need to buy pet supplies!"
"I told you - we're not adopting her!"
"As far as I was told, you don't adopt cats - they adopt you," Adora retorted. "And she did!"
"That's not how it works!"
"She must think you're her big sister."
"What? How? And why?"
Jack smirked.
Until he felt pinpricks of claws on his calf. Followed by some furry little beast climbing up his leg just as he was getting up.
Damn.
Earth Orbit, Solar System, December 2nd, 1998 (Earth Time)
"We need to name her," Adora said, watching their cat - their kitten; she was still so small - chase a ball of crumpled tin foil across Darla's lounge. She was so cute!
"We need to find her a good home on Earth," Catra retorted. "We're fighting a war; we can't take care of a pet. A stupid pet, too." She glared at the cat, who was now trying to shred the ball with her hindlegs. "That's not alive, numbskull!"
Adora looked at Melog and grinned as they went up to the cat and licked it. "Look, Melog likes her as well." And since Melog was so close to Catra, they usually shared their emotions…
Catra switched her glare to Adora. "It's not about liking the stupid cat. It's about what's best for the cat. We can't keep her on the ship."
"Why not?" Adora asked. "Entrapta can build a catsitting-bot for us." She had already asked. "We can have the bot watch and feed her when we're not around."
"And when we need to take Darla into battle?" Catra shot back with a frown. "Do you really want to risk her?"
"Ah! You do care about her!"
Her lover rolled her eyes. "That's not the point."
"It is," Adora insisted. "We can take care of her." She was She-Ra, Princess of Power. If she couldn't take care of a small cat - a kitten - then how was she supposed to win a war and protect anyone else? "We don't need to take Darla into a fight for now, anyway, and we can take her to Bright Moon before we start fleet operations." She smiled at Catra, switching to a grin when her lover scowled in that 'I hate losing an argument' way of hers that was so familiar to anyone who knew her. Like Adora.
"And what if we're pushed into battle before that?" Catra put both hands on her hips. "You can't count on the Goa'uld just sitting on their butts until we start kicking them!"
"If they attack Earth, we've got Third Fleet here," Adora retorted. "And we'll be able to send her out with a shuttle to keep her safe if it comes to that." She cocked her head. "Do you really think we can't keep her safe? Between Earth and Etheria?"
Catra sighed. "I just don't… What if we can't? Neither you nor I ever had a pet. Swift Wind doesn't count," she added with a scowl. "It's a lot of responsibility."
"We've led armies. I think we can handle a pet," Adora said. How hard could it be?
"Soldiers aren't helpless. Not even Kyle." Catra crossed her arms over her chest, grabbing her elbows with her hands and looking to the side.
Oh. Adora smiled and stepped up to her lover, putting her hands on Catra's shoulders. "You'll do fine, Catra. Don't worry. Trust me. You can do this. We can do this."
Catra pressed her lips together for a moment, not meeting her eyes. Then she sighed. "And what about our friends?"
"What about them? They'll love her!" Even Jack, despite his cursing when the kitten had climbed up his leg, liked her. Adora was sure.
"They'll tease us about having a kitten."
Adora shrugged. "I'm sure it won't be too bad. And we can tease them back if they do."
"How?"
"They're just jealous they don't have a kitten."
Catra blinked, then sighed again. "They'll tease us about the cat being like our baby."
"Oh." Adora could see that. And she, well… kind of understood it. Earth television had some shows about people using pets as replacement babies. "It's not like that, though." She released Catra's shoulders, turning to look at the cat, who was still being licked by Melog. "And she's worth a little teasing, right?" she asked while she wrapped her left arm around Catra's waist.
Catra sighed yet again. "Well, yes. Maybe."
That was a yes! "So, what should we name her? What name would she like?"
"Why are you asking me?" Catra cocked her head at her.
"Well…" Adora didn't want to point out the obvious - her lover was a little prickly about some things.
Catra rolled her eyes. "I can't ask her, dummy."
Too bad. That would have made things easy. "So… Catty? Kitty?"
Catra put a hand on her face. "Really?"
"Catherine?" That was a decent name, wasn't it?
"That sounds like a name for one of Entrapta's bots." Catra shook her head.
"That doesn't make it a bad name," Adora protested.
"She needs a better name," Catra insisted. "If we're going to have a pet, we'll treat her right. And that means a good name."
Adora frowned. Maybe this was a bit more difficult than she had thought. But at least Catra was on board now! "Princess?"
"No!"
"Luna?"
"Are you actually watching that show?" Catra stared at her.
"No!" Not really. Maybe an episode or two. But the blonde princess was too silly.
"What about…" Darla announcing an incoming call interrupted Adora. Perfect timing, she thought as she went to the bridge to take the call.
It was Stargate Command. The Tok'ra had answered the message. And they were requiring a meeting. And the return of Jakar.
Well, that was good news. Probably. Hopefully.
They'd soon find out, in any case.
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, December 2nd, 1998
"This could be a trap - either by other Goa'uld factions or the Tok'ra themselves, for taking one of theirs prisoner. The demand to meet them on an unknown planet is suspicious."
Samantha Carter pressed her lips together. General Sidorov was as paranoid as ever. Or worse, actually.
General Haig, at least, remained unflappable as he replied: "Undoubtedly, meeting them on their terms carries a certain risk. However, this is also our best chance to open relations with a potential ally. They have been fighting the Goa'uld Empire for millennia, after all."
"I concur," General Petit agreed. "We can reconnoitre the planet in advance, I believe."
"That might offend the Tok'ra," General Li pointed out.
"I believe they will expect this level of caution by us," General Hammond retorted. "In fact, given what we know about them, they might be offended, or at least might dismiss us as incompetent, if we didn't act with sufficient caution."
Sam agreed with that assessment.
So did the Colonel. "They're still snakes," he said.
Daniel cleared his throat. "We don't have enough data to draw conclusions. They might have a patronising attitude towards us - we have enough such examples in our history - but they might also be quite objective. Please don't forget that, according to what we know, they consider their hosts as partners. A society built upon such partnerships, for millennia, would naturally develop a different culture than a society built upon slavery and worship."
"Our information is based on the claims by the Tok'ra themselves," Sidorov said, scoffing. "We cannot trust their words."
"But we cannot treat them as untrustworthy either," Glimmer cut in. "We cannot build trust without offering some trust."
"By sending more soldiers into a trap? Soldiers who know our most important secrets?" Sidorov stared at Sam.
She clenched her teeth and sat even straighter in response. If the Russian thought that he could keep her from this mission… She had the most experience with Tok'ra. Very personal experience. Jolinar.
"If you want to send green troops on such an important mission, you're a fool," the Colonel snapped. "We're the ones with the experience to handle this." He nodded at Sam and the others, then at the Etherians. "And we've worked together before."
"Yes," Adora spoke up. "This is a great opportunity to make allies. We can't squander it."
Sam saw Catra lean over to Adora, mumbling something that Sam didn't catch but which had the other woman pout at her lover. She forced herself to focus on the generals in the meeting room. "I think the risk is manageable, sir," she told General Haig.
"Yes!" Entrapta nodded several times, her hair bopping up and down. "And we can use this to test our improved spy bots! They should be able to do a deep scan of the area, possibly the planet if we give them enough time and send enough of them through the gate."
"Trusting machines?" Sidorov spat.
"Do you trust anyone or anything?" Catra snorted.
"Of course not!" Sidorov said.
Not for the first time, Sam wondered why such a paranoid officer was on the Stargate Command Council. The Colonel said it was a Russian thing, but this seemed too simple an explanation.
General Haig spoke up again. "I think this would be a prudent course of action."
"Yes!" Entrapta jumped up, fist raised, then pulled out her recorder. "Spy bot test number forty-five - planetary exploration. Six Mark Threes. Method of transport: Stargate. Objective: Scan for threats and anything else of interest." She was already turning towards the door, obviously not intending to wait.
Sam looked at General Hammond. Entrapta could need some help - if only to handle the gate room crew - and Sam would rather do something productive than listen to the arguments in the meeting. The Colonel and the Etherians would ensure that SG-1 would be on the mission anyway.
Fortunately, he understood. "Please assist Princess Entrapta, Captain Carter."
"Yes, sir."
She caught up to Entrapta before they reached the gate room - right when the first spy bots walked and floated out of the elevator. Those were larger than the original Mark Ones but, of course, not nearly as large as the space-capable Mark Twos. Or the interstellar probe bots.
"Alright, guys!" Entrapta spoke up. "This is your first real mission, so I expect the best of you! But don't be sad if you have trouble - you are still in the testing phase, so you can't be expected to be perfect. Just do your best and gather data! And don't get destroyed!"
The bots beeped in agreement. One even trilled, rising a bit higher in the air, and Sam had to remind herself that those weren't sapient bots and this wasn't actual enthusiasm. Just a quirk of the programs.
She had checked that before, after all.
Running the last checks took some more time, but soon enough, the Stargate was establishing a connection, followed by six bots passing through.
Their sensors' feeds showed ruins around the gate as they fanned out.
"No power detected. No sign of life so far," Entrapta reported.
Sam double-checked the results, then nodded. "Yes. Preliminary scans complete."
"Looks clear," Entrapta said.
But that was just the gate area. They would have to scan far more of the planet, and of the atmosphere and orbits as well. One spy bot buried itself in the ground near the gate, the rest started to explore.
And Sam forced herself to focus on the alien surface she saw on the screen, on the data pouring in, on the bots' search patterns.
Anything to keep her from remembering her time as Jolinar's host.
She gritted her teeth as she worked. She had the most experience with Tok'ra. She was needed. And she would do this, her personal demons be damned.