Chapter 67: Mistakes

Earth Orbit, Solar System, December 12th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Adora sighed once Jack had left with the shuttle. "We made a mistake."

"We underestimated how attached they are to their stupid rules," Catra said. "That's all. If they want us, we can solve their problem for them."

Adora frowned at her. "You sound as if you expect them to come back and ask us for help."

"Of course I do," Catra said. "If they could solve their problem themselves, they would have done so already." She snorted and stretched her arms over her head. "Although we could have saved some time and effort and just asked beforehand. Or we could have been a bit sneakier so they wouldn't have noticed."

"But then we would have done it against their wishes," Entrapta pointed out.

"They obviously don't know what they want," Catra retorted. "They think rules are more important than their love." She shook her head.

"Well, Jack made a good case for why they don't want to get an exemption from that rule," Bow said. "I mean… he explained his reasons," he added when Glimmer frowned at him. "And we need to keep in mind that they come from another world. They do things differently on Earth."

Adora nodded, though she wasn't sure if she agreed completely. As long as you didn't count the bigotry, love and relationships were basically the same on Earth and on Etheria, that much she knew. And not just from watching television. Well, mostly from television, but she had seen couples as well.

"And they're wrong," Catra insisted. "Sticking to rules against common sense is a recipe for disaster."

Adora nodded again. She agreed with that. Well, with the rules comment.

"The question is," Bow spoke up again, "do their rules go against common sense?" Both Catra and Glimmer frowned at him, but he shrugged. "We're talking about a country with five to six times the population of Etheria. I am not sure if such a country could be run like one of our kingdoms."

That was a good point. The instructors in cadet training had told them that what worked for a squad wouldn't work for a company or battalion.

"They still need flexible rules," Glimmer said. "No rule can cover everything and remain fair."

"Yes, exactly!" Catra agreed emphatically - before blinking and frowning - and looking away from Glimmer, who was frowning as well.

Adora suppressed a chuckle at her friends' antics. She quickly grew serious again, though - this was a serious problem. "But they have experience with their way of doing things. We don't."

"So? The Horde had a lot of experience doing stuff the Horde way, and they were wrong," Catra said.

"Adapting an organisation for clones mindlessly following Horde Prime to incorporate soldiers that could not share the same thoughts is a challenge," Hordak said. He wasn't looking at Catra, but everyone knew he was responding to her criticism.

"Yes!" Entrapta chimed in. "We're still fiddling with the new Horde organisation. Although the differences between Second and Third Fleet also make this a challenge."

"So? As long as they follow Adora's orders, it works." Catra shrugged again. "Better than the rest of the Alliance."

"The circumstances are quite different," Glimmer objected. "Every member of the Alliance has their own military led by their princess. It took a long time to earn their trust."

And Adora still wasn't sure she deserved that trust. She was She-Ra, but she had grown up in the Horde, not as a princess.

Although, since now they had so many countries from Earth in the Alliance, maybe that wasn't a bad thing. It was clear that they had to adapt their rules as well. And they needed to do so before they started the actual fighting side by side with the Earth soldiers.

But rules that required you to abandon your love and happiness were simply wrong. No matter what Jack said about that, there had to be a way to solve this so Sam and he could be happy together.

They just had to find it.

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, December 12th, 1998

Thanks to the latest experimental version of the magic scanner alerting her and her computer's connection to the Mountain's security system, Samantha Carter watched the shuttle touch down on the landing pad outside the Mountain from her lab. The Colonel had returned.

She made a note about possible improvements for the scanner's interface - especially a better method to mesh the scanner's data with camera footage - and then headed towards the Colonel's office. If he was returning from an official mission or even an errand, he'd usually report to General Hammond right away. So, if he wasn't headed to the General's office but his own…

And there he was. "Colonel," she greeted him.

"Carter." A half-wince appeared on his face before it settled into a polite smile. "What's up?"

Sam had an excuse ready. Multiple excuses, actually. She could report on her work with the scanner. Ask about the performance of the shuttle - she had been involved, if only in an accessory capacity, with its design. Give him an update about her work for the relocation of Stargate Command. All true and, therefore, good excuses for going to see the Colonel.

She didn't feel like using any of them. Instead, she followed him into his office and asked: "Did you succeed in convincing the Etherians to respect Air Force regulations, sir?"

His eyes widened slightly before his polite smile turned into that familiar wry grin. "I hope so," he said. "They apologised for trying to… meddle." With a sigh, he added: "Though I don't know if it took - they wanted to discuss regulations for mixed formations after my talk."

"Ah." Sam nodded slowly. That was… better than she had expected but not as good as she had hoped.

He shrugged. "You know the kids - they mean well. But that doesn't excuse their meddling. This is Earth, not Etheria."

"Yes, sir." Sam nodded again. "They are from a different culture, but they need to respect our own."

"Yep." After a moment, he added: "It doesn't help that they've been watching TV, of course."

Sam pressed her lips together. Friends meddling with their friends' love lives was a common plot in many TV shows - and often, far too often, in her opinion, that behaviour was presented not nearly negatively enough. "Hollywood has a lot to answer, sir." She had to struggle a little to keep herself from grimacing when she realised what she was doing - thinking about this as affecting her love life was a dangerous line of thought.

"Definitely." He snorted. "But I don't think they get the different culture bit. I can't help thinking that they apologised because I told them in person to stop and not because they realised their way of doing things won't work on Earth."

And the Colonel wouldn't have asked them to stop in person and in private unless he, too, felt… She shut down that line of thought. She really didn't want to go there. "To be fair, sir," she said before the short pause became awkward, "They didn't get the best impression of our customs." Entrapta, in her usual inadvertently blunt but honest manner, certainly had not left any doubt about that. "And since we actually changed the Constitution to meet their standards for the Alliance, they wouldn't have felt any need to question their own values."

He grimaced. "Yep, that certainly didn't help either." After a moment, he shrugged - a bit forced, in her opinion; she knew him well enough to tell. "Well, it's in the hand of the brass; I told our friends that they needed to discuss regulations for mixed formations with the people paid to worry about those things."

Sam frowned. "What do they consider mixed formations, sir?"

Another grimace. "I would say soldiers from Etheria and Earth in the same unit, but I didn't actually ask how far they would break that down - or how far they would scale that up."

Sam nodded. She could see the problem. "If they consider any unit under the command of an Etherian a mixed formation, then that would have unfortunate implications." Adora was the designated Supreme Commander of the Alliance, after all.

"Yep. But I don't think they're that sneaky. They wouldn't try to argue that. Not Adora, at least."

"But Catra might support that interpretation," Sam pointed out. She could easily see that.

"Yeah. But she's just one of them. And not a princess. Technically." The Colonel sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.

But Catra was Adora's lover - and amongst the Etherians, she, together with Hordak, had the most experience in commanding forces similar to Earth's armies. "You might need to talk to Adora about that, sir," Sam said.

Sighing, he nodded. "I guess so. I really hoped I could dodge that bullet," he added with a wry grin.

She matched his smile. "I trust you, sir."

"Thanks." His smile shifted a little, and, for a moment, Sam didn't know what to say now.

The moment grew awkward quickly. They were still standing in the middle of his office - too close, Sam belatedly realised. Far too close for comfort. If she reached out, she could touch his shoulder. Or he hers.

Stiffly she nodded once more. "Well, it seems you have this handled, sir."

"Ah, yes, Captain," he replied with a slightly jerky nod.

"Good. If that's all…?" she said before she caught herself. Hell, this was suddenly awkward.

"Ah, no, that's it."

"Then I will return to work, sir."

"You do that, Captain."

She turned as if she were on a parade ground and marched out of his office.

Then she sighed. She felt as if she had dodged a bullet herself - and like she had missed a shot.

Earth Orbit, Solar System, December 13th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and negotiations with the Tok'ra continue in the face of persistent protests against making a deal with the Goa'uld…"

"...you have to understand, Bob, that the Tok'ra aren't Goa'uld. Well, biologically, they are, but the differences between them and the Tok'ra are as significant as the differences between the Nazis and the Allies in World War II.

Well, Bill, our allies in World War II weren't exactly nice either, were they? Two colonial empires that were oppressing half the globe and a bloody dictatorship that would go on to subjugate half of Europe. Who's to say we won't end up in a Cold War with those people? We need to keep that in mind when dealing with those snakes, and we need to ask ourselves if we really need them as allies.

We're currently allied with a planet ruled by princesses, Bob. Absolute monarchs. Do you expect them to turn against us as well?

I'm just saying we need to be prepared. The United States cannot depend on anyone else for its security."

Sitting in Adora's seat on the bridge, Catra rolled her eyes at the screen. They went from discussing the Tok'ra to discussing Etheria - and she hadn't missed the copout at the end. "Those people really expect everyone to betray them," she muttered.

Probably because they were ready to betray everyone as soon as it was convenient for them. Or if they thought it was convenient for them. She knew from experience that misjudging the long-term consequences - or dismissing them - was a grave mistake when making plans. But if there was one thing she had learned after Adora had saved her - apart from how stupid Catra had been for not realising they were in love, of course - it was that you had to trust to be trusted.

But she also knew that trusting the wrong people was a potentially fatal mistake. "Shadow Weaver," she muttered as she switched the channel.

"...and despite the Secretary General of NATO's repeated assurances that the Alliance had no intention to attack or threaten any other country on Earth and the building up of forces, as well as the incorporation of advanced alien technology in its arsenal, was purely aimed to counter the threat posed by the Goa'uld Empire, many nations have voiced their concerns and fears about the shifting balance of power, citing historical precedents, and a proposal in the United Nations is gathering support…"

"...and it pains me to see that even so close to the most holy day of the year, when we should be preparing to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, the world is not only ready to plunge into war but preparing to join forces with evil. Haven't we learned anything from history? Doesn't the Holy Bible tell us what happens if you trust snakes? We need to…"

Catra scowled - why did the news keep giving those religious nutcases any screen time? She switched the screen to a feed from the bot network surrounding Earth and spreading into the Solar System and leaned back. What a way to start the day.

"What's wrong?"

Catra turned her head. Adora had just entered the bridge, carrying two steaming mugs. Chocolate, Catra's nose told her. "Just commenting on the stuff the news cover," she said as she slid out of the seat. "Come, sit down!"

"You just want to sit in my lap," Adora replied as she handed over Catra's mug. But she sat down anyway, and Catra did slip in her lap, then took a sip. "Mhh."

They sat in silence for a little while, watching the Earth through the windows - and the various other planets on the screen - until a ping announced a message. Catra was tempted to ignore it, but Adora being Adora, reached out and put it on the screen, replacing Mars.

It was their mail report from - whatever was considered important enough to pass on to them instead of being handled by a bot. While Adora grabbed a pad and started to go over the letters - scanned, of course - that were mostly calls for help, Catra picked up her own and checked the rest of the report.

Oh. "Speaking of religious nutcases…" she said, shaking her head.

"I thought we didn't get told about hatemail anymore," Adora commented.

"We don't. This is the summary of what the security bots have found. It looks like the bombs are getting more sophisticated, and one bigot upgraded to poison." Catra snorted. "All that effort, and they didn't bother to check whether we actually receive the mail in person!" Of course, the kind of scum sending such stuff probably considered everyone working with them an acceptable target. Well, the police were on the case. And Entrapta's scanners could detect any such threats.

Still, with Earth starting production of advanced weapons, the threats would grow more sophisticated. How soon until a nutcase tried to hijack a shuttle? How soon until a nutcase succeeded and tried to ram Darla?

Yeah, extending trust to people also had drawbacks. Catra would have to hope that Entrapta kept ahead of their enemies with her technology.

P34-353J, December 14th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Jack O'Neill wasn't a diplomat. Sure, he had talked his way out of trouble before, a couple of times, maybe more often than he had talked his way into trouble, but he was a soldier, not a negotiator. And he was a field officer, not a flag rank. Sure, he was a colonel, one rank below a one-star, and it wasn't as if he knew nothing about strategy, but his main experience was on the tactical level. So, it should have been obvious that he wasn't the best choice when it came to picking officers for the alliance negotiations with the Tok'ra.

But, apparently, his experience with aliens was 'invaluable', and his advice 'crucial', and so he had been attached to the delegation meeting the snakes. That was the official reason, at least - unofficially, Jack was sure that they had sent him along because he was friends with the Etherians and had done his part to defuse the bomb that would have blown up the High Council of the snakes, and the brass, as well as the government, counted on that to influence the negotiations. General Pecks, the ranking US officer of the delegation, certainly had hinted at that in the briefing.

At least the ground pounder hadn't told Jack to lie back and think of America, but Jack couldn't help thinking that the interest Anise was showing in his genes was also a factor. It wasn't as if anyone had needed his advice so far.

"...and while we agree that there are clear advantages to a unified command, there are also disadvantages. If the supreme commander makes a mistake, the consequences could be fatal. A more diverse force can survive such mistakes and keep fighting." Per'sus smiled as brightly as when the negotiations had begun hours ago.

"While that is, technically, true, it is a stance based on fighting a shadow war - a war fought by spies and saboteurs, where being discovered is lethal. Our war against the Goa'uld will be fought by armies and fleets, not small teams of saboteurs. And in such a war, defeat in detail is the bigger threat - and a lack of coordination will result in higher casualties than we'd suffer with a unified command that can have all forces support each other and follow a coordinated strategy." Glimmer's smile wasn't quite as bright - and not just because she didn't have the superhuman stamina of a snake, in Jack's opinion. She wasn't happy with the proceedings so far.

Well, he wasn't happy either. Even a cadet would be aware that you need a unified command to effectively fight a war. Well, maybe not a first year, but a second year for sure. But the snakes were still stuck in their spy mindset - and no matter how often Daniel claimed that it was perfectly logical given their history, it was holding things up.

Of course, Jack could understand not wanting to fight under the command of a foreigner - or, worse, a Navy puke - but if the US had to accept that, the Tok'ra could do so as well. Even more so since, apparently, the Tok'ra had no issues with Adora's age - though that was probably because they considered her an Ancient.

"And you will have a say as well about the strategic decisions," Adora added - for the third time, by Jack's count. "You won't have to obey blindly. Decisions will be debated, and advice will be listened to."

"But ultimately, it will be your decision," Garshaw said. "Yours and your closest advisors'."

Adora frowned, but Glimmer narrowed her eyes and spoke before she could reply. "I don't like this implication. That's not how we do things. Everyone gets a say."

"But some voices weigh more than others," Garshaw retorted. "That's only natural."

"That depends on their arguments and experience," Adora said.

"Yes," Glimmer agreed. "And we will be relying on your experience when it comes to the Goa'uld. You can count on that."

"But we won't be blindly following your advice either," Catra cut in, not bothering to straighten in her seat. Jack almost expected her to put her feet up on the table. "Also, you don't have to worry about getting ordered to suicide-charge Jaffa lines anyway - we know that that's not your strength."

"And who will you order into suicide charges?" Hen'ru asked.

"Bots," Catra shot back. "Dumb bots."

Adora nodded.

"And what if there are no bots available?" Hen'ru didn't relent.

The guy probably had spent too much time amongst snakes - evil snakes, in Jack's opinion. Well, time to justify why he was here. "Whoever's available in that case," he said. "You can't really plan that. It's a difficult decision, yes, but you have to trust your commander to use their best judgement." It all came down to that - trust.

Adora nodded. "Yes. We need a unified command, or the alliance can't really work. But we won't abuse that power. You have my word."

The Tok'ra exchanged glances. For a moment, Jack hoped they would realise that Adora was honest to a fault.

"Yes, of course, but we do have concerns," Per'sus said. "Even with the best intentions, a commander can make a mistake if they rely on faulty intel."

"Well, that's what happens in war." Catra shrugged. "And when it happens, you take your losses and keep going. You can't tell me you didn't have screw-ups that killed your people."

Jack suppressed a grin. They certainly couldn't - not after a spy almost blew them up.

The Tok'ra exchanged more glances. "Yes, of course," Garshaw said with a polite smile. "However, while we agree in principle to a unified command, crucial details still need to be settled."

Jack sighed. This was going to take a while. At least, it looked as if the Tok'ra accepted Supreme Commander Adora.

After another hour, they were still not done with all the crucial details. The Tok'ra might be attempting to exhaust them into agreeing, in Jack's opinion. Although they might have underestimated how stubborn Glimmer was - and Sir Watson, for all his politeness and British-ness, kept insisting on changes to the Tok'ra proposals that even Jack wouldn't have worried about.

But they finally could take a break - even though, Jack suspected, for Glimmer and the other leaders, it merely meant that they would negotiate more informally over food. But at least they got to eat - just sitting and listening, in case his advice was actually needed, had left him quite hungry.

He looked around for his friends, but Daniel had made a beeline for Per'sus as soon as the break had started, and Carter was already talking in a corner with Entrapta and Anise. Maybe he should go over there and remind Carter to eat? No, that would be patronising. Besides, if she was occupying Anise, then the least he could do was honouring her sacrifice.

The buffet was stacked as before, so Jack could pick what he already knew was good and leave the rest for the diplomats and Peck. If he felt like it, he might even point out the fried brain snacks before everyone had tried them. Now, where did the snakes place the noodles? The fish dishes were easy to find; Catra had headed straight to that part of the buffet, but the noodles were…

"Are you looking for the Ka'met, Colonel O'Neill?"

Jack turned and smiled at Anise. "Ka'met?" he asked while he glanced around - he couldn't spot Carter, but Entrpata was at the other side of the buffet.

"Fried noodles, I think, you called them before."

Had she ordered them hidden to have an opener? No, Jack didn't think Anise was the type to be so subtle - the snake had no problem being blunt. On the other hand, she had apparently noticed last time that he had liked that dish. Did he have an alien stalker? "Yes, actually," he said.

"The grain-based food is over here." She pointed at a row of owls with various mashed stuff in it - it looked like a mashed potatoes display at a barbecue after the kids got the food colouring set.

"Thank you." He stepped over there and spotted the noddles - cleverly hidden between green and bright orange mush that no red-blooded American man would want to look at.

"It's been quite a tiring negotiation session so far." Anise had followed him and was scooping out two helpings of the green mush.

Jack shrugged. "That's par for the course for diplomatic meetings. People can never simply agree to something." Not unless you asked them at gunpoint, and some of the diplomats he had seen today might object out of principle even then.

"It's quite vexing when people do not agree to the logical solution," she seemed to agree.

"I bet our diplomats say the same," Jack retorted.

"I was talking about both sets of negotiators." She tilted her head towards him. "The High Council is, unfortunately, understaffed with scientists."

Jack snorted. "Well, if scientists were negotiating, I bet they would decide everything by experimenting."

"Of course. That would be the rational solution." Anise nodded with a smile, and Jack wondered if he had to work on his sarcasm.

He started eating the noodles - Or Ka'met, whatever - and shrugged again.

"Anyway, I am happy that you are part of the Alliance delegation," Anise went on. "Since until the alliance has been formally sealed, travelling to Earth is restricted, I was hoping to meet you here."

And Jack was pretty sure why the snake wanted to meet him. "I think security precautions will still put some limits on travel to Earth." No one wanted to grant the snakes the freedom to travel unrestrictedly. Hell, the Etherians only got that because they had a fleet of spaceships with big honking guns and the tech everyone wanted.

"Well, limiting travel to the countries in the Alliance would be a rational compromise, I believe," Anise said.

"Maybe," Jack said as noncommittally as he could. Oh, Carter had just entered - and was headed straight towards him and Anise.

And he didn't think she was frowning as deeply as she did because she was hungry. Or that the frown was purely aimed at Anise.

Great.

"Oh! Looks like Sam's about to stake her claim! Hah, so much for 'there's nothing between us'!"

Adora suppressed a wince at Catra's gleeful tone. Sam was their friend; they should respect her wishes. And Jack's. Even though she agreed with Catra - the two were obviously in love - that didn't mean they should be so eager to see their friends proven wrong. That was just… petty.

But Catra was correct - Sam was frowning at Anise and Jack. Which was a little unfair since, as far as Adora could tell, Jack hadn't done anything to encourage Anise and Freya. On the other hand, maybe Sam thought that he should have done something to discourage them.

"Do you think she'll hit them?" Catra asked - still sounding more amused than concerned.

Adora shook her head as she kept watching the scene; they were both at the buffet, where Catra was waiting for fresh fish dishes, so it wasn't rude. "She's got too much self-control," Adora said. They wouldn't have to fear a diplomatic incident.

"Oh, yes - if she had less self-control, she would have jumped at our offer. Or jumped his bones," Catra agreed.

Adora pressed her lips together. She shouldn't indulge, but… "What are they saying?" she whispered.

"Nothing interesting," Catra replied. "She's just asking Anise some technical stuff."

But Sam had been scowling openly while she was approaching the others; Adora had seen that clearly. And Jack was, well, his smile was strained, and he looked like he was trying not to wince. Anise, though, looked puzzled. But why…

"Supreme Commander?"

Oh. Malinor/Kalet had approached them. And Adora hadn't even noticed. Well, Catra must have missed it as well. "Yes?" Adora cocked her head slightly to the side and smiled as if she hadn't been staring at her friends.

"I was wondering about your plans for returning magic to the Galaxy," the Tok'ra councillor said. "Do you expect that this will facilitate rebellions on the planets held by the Goa'uld?"

Hadn't Glimmer covered that already during their talks? But pointing that out would be rude - they were here to formalise an alliance, after all. So, Adora shook her head. "That's unlikely. Magic - the kind sorceresses do - requires training. Years of training." And as far as they knew, the Goa'uld had taken great pains to eliminate any knowledge about magic amongst their slaves.

"But that's not the only kind of magic, is it?" Malinor leaned forward a little. He was holding an empty plate, but he didn't seem to be interested in getting more food.

"Yes, there're also magical talents that people are born with," Adora told him.

"Some people," Catra interjected between two bites from a large fried fish she had managed to grab from the buffet as soon as it was restocked. "Princesses. And they're limited to Etheria."

Adora nodded. That was true, as far as they knew at least.

"And Ancients, right?" Malinor smiled.

Right. That again. "She-Ra's a special case," Adora told him. She didn't know for certain why she had become She-Ra. She had found the sword the First Ones had made to control Etheria's magic, but She-Ra had existed before the First Ones had arrived. Her friends claimed Etheria's magic had chosen her, that this was proof that it wasn't the sword the First Ones had created that made her She-Ra, but Adora just didn't know. And, knowing what the First Ones had been preparing Etheria for, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

Malinor nodded. "But as every scientist knows: If something was done once, it can be done again. Magitech can be used by anyone. Sooner or later, the Goa'uld will use magic as well - sooner rather than later, I fear, since they remember the time before magic disappeared."

"They can't activate a planet's magic, though," Adora pointed out. Only she could. "That will limit their options."

"But you will activate magic on planets that you invade, won't you?"

Of course - how else could the princesses use their magic? "Yes."

"And the Goa'uld already can use magitech - what they have left, at least," Catra said after finishing her fish.

"Some might be locked to Ancients and their descendants, they often limited their technology like that," Malinor said.

"Then they just have to take over such a host." Catra shrugged. "It's something that will probably happen anyway. At least, they can't use magic that way."

"Yes. But have you considered the threat of the Goa'uld using indoctrinated slaves to do magic? It might take a long time to conquer a planet."

Adora clenched her jaw. People raised from birth to unquestioningly serve the Goa'uld - that sounded very familiar.

Catra shrugged again. "They won't be very effective."

"Not at the start. But the longer they have, the more effective they'll become."

"Then we'll ensure that they won't have enough time," Adora said. "And the longer we have, the better we'll be prepared."

"Which brings us to another question: Did you consider waiting a bit longer with the overt parts of the war so we'll be better prepared?"

"That again!" Catra sighed. "We can't let them have the initiative - they will strike at Earth again, sooner or later. Better to hit them first and make them react to us."

"And we can't just let them keep oppressing people," Adora added with a frown. "We've gone over that before."

"Of course, but we didn't touch on how magic would affect that question. So…"

Adora grabbed a fish from Catra's plate and bit into it so she wouldn't grind her teeth. This was as bad as the negotiations on Earth.

"And yes, I think that would work out well - provided we can harden the power supply to withstand the drain."

I shouldn't have done this, Samantha Carter thought. Intervening had been a mistake. I should have just ignored Anise hitting on the Colonel.

Yes, that would have been the best choice of action - it wasn't as if he was interested in starting a relationship with either Anise or Freya. Sam was sure of this - the Colonel's many comments about the Goa'uld left no doubt about how he felt about the 'snakes'.

But when she had spotted Anise making a move, Sam hadn't been able to simply ignore it. Instead, she had made a completely transparent attempt to derail whatever discussion Anise and the Colonel had had going by talking about their shared projects. Way to go, Sam, she told herself.

"Yes! I think we can solve that by doubling the powerlines - and adding more redundancy on the power supply side," Entrapta said.

That it had worked was no small consolation, though - Anise had stopped flirting with the Colonel. Or what the Tok'ra scientist considered flirting.

"Well, I see you've got the tech-talk going, so…" The Colonel smiled. "...I'll go check if someone needs a tactic-talk. Or a hockey-talk. Or maybe I'll see if Catra wants to discuss the Simpsons' new catgirl character."

And with a nod, he left before anyone could say anything, leaving Sam wondering what he thought about her lapse.

"Oh. I think we've been rude, right?" Entrapta said, cocking her head while her hair continued to hold two plates, a glass and a computer. "Since Jack's not a scientist or involved in our projects - at least, I don't think he's involved in granting the funding, is he? Anyway, so he probably wasn't very interested in our project. And talking about something not everyone present is interested in is being rude." She nodded twice. "We might have to apologise, I think."

"I started it; I'll talk to him later," Sam said. "It was my fault, not yours." And it would allow her to sound out the Colonel without, well, being obvious about it. More obvious.

"OK. But we all bored him, right?"

"Only after I started it," Sam repeated herself. "Don't worry, if the Colonel's blaming anyone, it won't be you."

"Oh. But… didn't you know it was rude? Or were you impatient? I know it's hard to wait sometimes, but we're still in the planning phase."

Ah. Sam suppressed a wince. How to explain her actions without making her look foolish or lying to Entrapta? Maybe…

"Are you interested in Colonel O'Neill, Sam?"

Sam stiffened at Anise's question. "Regulations prohibit relationships between an officer and their subordinate," she replied almost reflexively before pressing her lips together. That wasn't a question you asked!

"That doesn't answer my question," Anise said, frowning. Then she cocked her head and grew still, somehow suddenly looking very alien. "Ah. Maybe it does." She nodded.

Freya must have commented, Sam realised. Anise's host saw what Anise was seeing. And Freya was interested in the Colonel as well, Sam reminded herself.

"It does?" Entrapta blinked. "Ah, I see." She nodded. "Yes, all my friends think so as well."

Sam really didn't like the smile on Anise's face, but it was quickly replaced by a sigh. "You should have stated your interest clearly, Sam," she - no, that was Freya's voice - said.

Was she insinuating that Sam had missed her shot? Sam could think of a few things that wouldn't miss Anise or Freya… She pushed the irrational bout of overrating aggression away. "As I said, regulations prohibit any relationship between an officer and their subordinate."

"Yes!" Entrapta chimed in. "We wanted to help them abolish that regulation - or get an exception - but that would be bad. Apparently."

Sam refrained from glaring at her friend. Unlike the other alien participating in this discussion, Entrapta didn't know any better and didn't mean anything by her comment. Nothing she didn't say, at least.

"But you are interested." Anise nodded. "If there were no regulations…"

"Those regulations were made for very good reasons," Sam interrupted her through clenched teeth. "And that's not going to change."

"And yet, you don't plan on finding another partner, do you?" Anise slowly nodded as if she already knew the answer.

"I am very busy with crucial work - as you already know," Sam told her. "Too busy to look for a relationship."

"Well, you could pick a lab buddy! That's how Hordak and I got together!" Entrapta beamed at her.

Her friend didn't know any better, Sam reminded herself again.

"What about Iwan?" Entrapta went on. "He's funny and nice, isn't he?"

"I am not interested in Dr Georgovich that way," Sam said. Not to mention that their cooperation would only last as long as Sam was assigned to Stargate Command.

"Ah." Anise's smile shifted into an expression of pity. "You are in a bind, then. You're unwilling to defy regulations - and you are in love with Colonel O'Neill. Is he aware of that?" Before Sam could think of an answer that wouldn't lead to a diplomatic incident, she nodded. "He would be - and he would return your interest. Otherwise, you would have moved on, I am sure."

Yes, of course - Sam wouldn't pine after a man who wasn't interested. She didn't say that out loud. And she was aware that the difference between pining after someone who wasn't interested and someone who wasn't allowed to have a relationship with her was mostly a technicality.

She didn't say that either, of course. Instead, she said: "Emotions are not very rational."

"Ah, yes." Entrapta nodded as if Sam had something insightful.

Sam was looking at Anise, anyway.

The Tok'ra nodded as well - with a smile. "This simplifies things."

"What?" Sam blurted out.

"Yes. While regrettable from a personal point of view - Colonel O'Neill is a very impressive man, and both Freya and I think he would be a great partner - now that this has been revealed, we can stop trying to entice him into a relationship and focus on convincing him to donate his genetic material. That should be much easier!" Anise beamed.

Sam stared. Were they serious?

And Catra started laughing behind them.