Chapter 87: Educational Issues Part 6
Cheyenne Mountain Colorado, United States of America, Earth, January 22nd, 1999
"The recon drones have detected a Goa'uld fleet?"
"Yes, sir." Samantha Carter noted that, as usual, General Haig showed no reaction while General Hammond narrowed his eyes just a little, and General Petit's smile thinned a bit. General Li nodded, and General Sidorov…
…jumped up from his seat. "A Goa'uld counter-offensive in response to your attack on one of their planets!"
"But it's nowhere near Earth. The closest allied forces are on PZ-921, and even that is a week's flight at standard Goa'uld speed away," General Hammond retorted.
"Yes!" Entrapta nodded with a wide smile. "Our spy bots have done such good work! They've spread out over a significant part of the area near PZ-921, in addition to the other areas they're expanding into, of course - the planned expansion of the network is proceeding on schedule, but we managed to increase production of the spy bots to allow focused additional expansion. I would show you the network, but Sam told me that we can't share that information with Stargate Command since this is Alliance intel. Sorry!"
Sidorov glared at her, but even Entrapta had learned not to take that seriously. General Li merely nodded.
"Of course. We're here as representatives of Stargate Command, not our home countries, which are members of the Alliance," General Petit remarked. "But I assume you are informing us of this because you need to use the Stargate in response to this information?"
"Yes." Sam nodded. "We need to contact the Tok'ra and inform them about this so they can direct their information-gathering operations towards this new development." Unless they hadn't done so already - the Tok'ra kept their spy network a secret from their allies, citing security reasons.
"You don't have the authority to make an official request to Stargate Command, Captain Carter!" Sidorov snapped.
"But I do," Entrapta replied. "I think, at least. I am a princess, and while you don't have princesses, it's a high rank in the Princess Alliance - we don't really have many higher ranks unless you count queen or commander, but that's Glimmer, or Supreme Commander, and that's Adora. Oh! If I can't ask you, I can just call Adora and have her ask you! We already informed the others, but I didn't know we had to ask them to ask you to call our allies."
"I think no one doubts that you can speak for the Alliance in such a matter," General Haig told her.
"Unless it's about experiments, yes," Entrapta nodded. "Glimmer told me that I need to pass the request for dangerous experiments through her and Bow. Or Sam. But Sam's here, and this isn't a request for interesting volatile samples, which we would examine and experiment with in space anyway, so an explosion wouldn't really threaten Earth."
General Haig still didn't show a reaction, but General Hammond winced, and General Petit's smile looked very strained now.
"So… can we call the Tok'ra?" Entrapta beamed. "We can ask if Anise wants to visit early, too!"
Was that a wince from Haig?
Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, Earth, January 22nd, 1999
"...and we stand here, representing neutral, peace-loving kingdoms of Etheria, hoping that we may find like-minded realms on Earth to forge closer ties through trade and…"
Catra tried not to roll her eyes at Sweet Bee's speech. It wasn't as if it mattered - the Secretary-General had predicted that the General Assembly would welcome the proposal to open the Stargate between Earth and Etheria for non-Alliance-related travel, and Catra didn't think he was wrong. The nations that were denied advanced technology by the Alliance would jump at the chance to get a trade partner on Etheria this way. And to send spies to the planet, of course. They couldn't stop it, not unless the Alliance simply took over the Stargates and banned everyone else from using it. And that was politically unfeasible - even Glimmer, who really wanted to do it, agreed with that.
At least it would take a while until there was an agreement. And some nations - those who persecuted witches and gay people - were unlikely to be able to make a deal. And the Alliance diplomats might be able to play some games and stretch things out some more. Play some of the supposed neutrals against each other, see if they could undermine Sweet Bee's support base on Etheria… Catra frowned. If she had done that at the Princess Prom instead of focusing on Adora, maybe…
She shook her head and pushed the thought away. Speculating like this was pointless. She had changed - and for the better. Everyone had changed, she added to herself as she glanced at Adora and the others.
"...and so we remain hopeful that you'll decide to open trade and diplomatic relations with our kingdoms."
Sweet Bee bowed as she - finally! - finished her speech.
The Secretary-General thanked her and started his own speech.
Catra was tempted to use some of the unofficial lessons learned in Horde training. Like how to feign attention while all but napping in pointless lectures. But Adora would know, and her lover was already stressed by this whole affair. Well, partially, that was Adora's own fault. If she had told Sweet Bee to take a hike… OK, that would have caused trouble as well. And Adora would have felt terrible about it - betraying the ideals of the Alliance, hypocrisy, blah blah.
Catra watched the Chinese and Russian delegates. They were smiling widely - well, for Chinese and Russians. But other delegates were scowling. Mainly from the countries where magic was illegal. India's ambassador, of course, wasn't amongst them - he was beaming like Entrapta faced with an interesting and dangerous piece of First One technology. Well, the only reason that India hadn't yet managed to join the Alliance was because its government had split over the question of whether or not She-Ra was a goddess in their religion, so until that was settled, their government was paralysed. And they still had that terrorism problem that had led to the attack when Adora had brought magic back.
Well, Catra hoped they settled that soon - and stopped bothering Adora about it.
'Alright. I think we have to cut this whole trip short since we just got intel about a Goa'uld fleet massing near the first world we liberated in the war, and we have to return to Stargate Command. So sorry!'
That was what Jack O'Neill would like to say, but he couldn't. Well, he could, but it would be pointless. Actually, it would be worse than pointless - Sweet Bee and Peekablue would jump at the chance to claim this was another attempt to use the war as an excuse to undermine their trade deals in the making or whatever they were hashing out in the meeting room next to theirs with the delegates from Russia and China.
"Russia and China!" he muttered. "That's a fine mess!" Of course, he hadn't really thought that they could keep Sweet Bee from making contact with their 'trusted partners' in Stargate Command, but the Russians and Chinese were far too prepared for this - information about Sweet Bee and her trip had to have been leaked prior to today.
Catra, sitting across from him, snorted. Of course, she had overheard him - her ears were twitching. "That's not because of anything we did - Sweet Bee decided to meet with them."
"Probably because Russia and China already have access to the Stargate, so they can't be easily blocked by the Alliance on Earth. She's got good chances to get a working trade deal out of this," Glimmer added with a scowl. "She also can play up how similar her kingdom is to them, both playing second fiddle to a vastly superior military."
Jack nodded. In hindsight, having the five permanent members of the Security Council taking control of Stargate Command (and blocking everyone else) but then taking effective control of it for the Alliance might not have been that smart. Sure, they couldn't let everyone meddle - having a 'Command Council' with five generals was a nightmare for anything serious - but it certainly didn't make Russia or China happy. Or anyone else outside the Alliance.
"Well… that's just obvious diplomacy, right?" Adora shrugged with a slightly strained smile. "She's annoying and rude and obstinate…"
"...a real pain in the ass!" Catra cut in with a grin.
Adora frowned at her but didn't contradict her. "...but she's an experienced diplomat."
Daniel cleared his throat. "I would think that most experienced diplomats would be, well, more diplomatic?"
That was a good point. Jack nodded in agreement.
Glimmer nodded as well.
"Her ego can't handle not getting everything she wants," Catra said. "So she is rude to compensate."
"Speaking from experience?" Glimmer asked with a sly grin.
Catra scoffed at her.
"Well, if she had asked nicely, we would have been more, ah…" Adora trailed off.
"Accommodating?" Bow asked.
"Yes."
"Someone learned a new word today!" Catra grinned again, and Adora rolled her eyes at her.
"Would you have been? Or would you just have been more polite in turning her down?" Jack asked. He knew how politics worked. Countries had interests, not friends.
"The Alliance agreed that gate travel had to be restricted to military needs," Glimmer told him.
"And when you asked her for help during the war, she refused," Catra added.
"Why should she benefit from what we fought and bled for?" Glimmer retorted.
"Technically, we discovered the Stargate after the war," Bow pointed out.
Jack suppressed the urge to award him a point. Best not to provoke the magic princess.
"And that started another war," Glimmer said with a scowl. "Which she is sitting out again."
"But she's right that the Stargate belongs to all of Etheria," Adora said. "She could be nicer about it, but she's right. And Peekablue fought in the Horde War. Just not the whole war."
Glimmer scoffed again, muttering something unflattering, and Jack felt a bit torn. If the Goa'uld were aiming for your planet, it was all hands on deck. If you could fight, you fought. But he had known good soldiers who just couldn't take it any more during a war - for no fault of their own. Peekablue might be like them. Might - it wasn't as if Jack could tell. "Still, making enemies is not a good long-term strategy," he said instead.
Glimmer, as expected, agreed.
Catra also nodded, flashing her fangs. "Payback's a bitch, as you say on Earth. See if we do anything for her in the future. Her kingdom will be dead last in the queue for the Stargate."
Adora, also just like Jack expected, frowned. "We're not going to be so petty as to punish her kingdom just because she has been rude, are we?"
"She would deserve it," Glimmer objected. Then she sighed. "But she'd twist that into another attack on the Alliance."
"So?" Catra stretched like… like a cat. If Jack tried to do the same, his back would break, even with magical healing having restored his flexibility.
"And that means more diplomatic problems," Glimmer told her. "Dad's still dealing with Swift Wind's… antics."
Adora winced as if that were her fault. "Sorry."
Catra rolled her eyes.
"International politics," Jack commented. "Such a pain in the ass if you can't just shoot problems."
"Or princesses," Catra added.
"Catra!" Adora glared at her. "We're not the Horde."
"Yeah. But Sweet Bee would have never dared to mouth off to the Horde," Catra said.
"That's not the point. We are better than the Horde. We won't use violence to cow the other kingdoms," Adora said.
She was completely sincere. Jack knew it. But so did Sweet Bee - Jack was sure of it. Well, anyone would know it after spending a bit of time with Adora; the girl simply was too honest for her own good. And a lousy liar.
"We still should do something to get back at Sweet Bee," Catra objected.
"That would be petty," Adora repeated herself.
"But oh so satisfying, right?" Catra shot back.
Jack nodded. "Yes."
"Jack! We're not going to risk a diplomatic incident because someone else was rude for a change!" Daniel protested.
"Well, it usually worked for me," Jack defended himself. At least, it worked more often than not. Probably.
"I think that is in dispute. But if it were true, wouldn't that be a good reason not to react to Sweet Bee's rudeness?"
Daniel had a good point. Not that Jack would acknowledge it. Instead, he clapped his hands. "So, any bets whether Perfuma and Scorpia finish their talk before Sweet Bee and Peekablue do?"
"They're just talking with a few environmental activists," Bow said. "They're not negotiating interstellar trade deals."
"So, you think they'll be done first, OK. Anyone else?" Jack grinned.
"I didn't say I'd bet on it!"
"All bets are final!" Jack retorted.
"We didn't even say what we bet!" Bow protested.
"Yeah, that was really careless of you." Jack grinned. The kid was trying, but he had a lot to learn until he cold hold his own.
Catra nodded. "Yeah. Shame on you."
"Catra!"
"Jack!"
Adora laughed. A little - Jack was a bit mean to tease Bow like that, and the bet wasn't really that funny. Catra chuckled, but that was to be expected. Still, it wasn't really a laughing matter or situation. Sweet Bee making a deal with Russia or China - or both, or another country - could complicate things enormously. What if they made an alliance, and say, Russia or China wanted to shift troops to her kingdom? They had a lot of soldiers, and that might make other kingdoms feel threatened no matter how much Sweet Bee claimed that she didn't want a war.
Could the Alliance stop them from moving soldiers through the Stargate? Well, they certainly could, on both sides of the gate, but should they? Sweet Bee was a sovereign princess, and Russia and China were sovereign nations. And part of Stargat Command. And the Alliance would have soldiers from Earth on Etheria sooner or later, for training and familiarisation at least.
Doing something but banning others from doing the same was hypocrisy. Even if there were good reasons for it, Adora felt bad about that. Of course, it was unlikely to begin with. It wasn't really practical for either country to send troops through the gate - not in numbers that would be effective. The supply issues were too big; even the Alliance couldn't really rely on the Stargate to supply their troops in anything but a supplemental capacity. Of course, the United States had plans to improve that, but the easier you made it to transport freight through the Stargate, the harder you made it to defend it.
And the real issue, even though no one had mentioned it yet, was magic, not soldiers. Sweet Bee didn't have close ties to Mystacore, but sorceresses were free to move to her kingdom. And if the Russians or the Chinese set up an embassy there…
"What are you brooding about?" Catra interrupted her thoughts.
Adora looked up. Bow was still protesting that he never agreed to a bet, and Jack continued to claim that he had made outrageous wagers. And Daniel was trying to stop Jack. Glimmer seemed amused, Sea Hawk wasn't helping with his suggestions, Mermista shook her head, Frosta was giggling and… Oh. Spinnerella looked a bit anxious. Was she thinking the same things Adora was?
And now she had noticed Adora's glance and looked even more anxious. Adora grimaced.
But then, her friend sighed and straightened. "I think Sweet Bee honestly feels threatened," she said. "Seen from the outside, we might have seemed to act a bit, well… arrogantly, after the war."
Right. Spinnerella and Sweet Bee had been a couple for a time; Adora remembered hearing about that. But that had been a long time ago. Still, she would know Sweet Bee the best.
"We just did what was needed to start rebuilding. We aren't threatening them!" Glimmer protested.
"Even if you might want to," Catra added, grinning at Glimmer, which wasn't helping.
"But, well…" Spinnerella sighed again.
Netossa was still studying her tablet but now looked up and patted her wife's shoulder.
"I know we aren't threatening them - only we are, in a way, you know?" Spinnerella smiled weakly. "We're the strongest power on Etheria, even without the fleet. With the fleet… well, if we wanted to conquer the planet, we could. Easily."
"Horde Prime thought the same," Adoa pointed out. "He was wrong."
"He was facing you and the Alliance, not some pacifist princess whose only power is to fly," Catra said with a scoff.
That was true - flying wasn't a very powerful, ah, power when people could use spaceships and shuttles. Or flyers. Or aeroplanes and Death Gliders. But it wasn't the point. Taking Etheria was much harder than it might seem.
"We could crush her kingdom, and she couldn't stop us. And Peekablue could only watch helplessly," Netossa said. "The best intel is worthless if you don't have the forces to act on it. The difference in power is too big. All the elemental princesses? And the biggest, richest kingdoms? With experienced troops? And the remains of the Horde?"
"We aren't a threat to her kingdom," Frosta cut in.
"But we could be," Bow said. "And everyone knows it."
"But she can trust us not to abuse our power," Adora protested. That wouldn't be right. She-Ra was a protector, not a conqueror!
"Sweet Bee is, well… she doesn't easily trust people," Spinnerella said.
"Smart of her," Catra muttered.
Adora winced.
"I wouldn't call insulting people who can easily crush you smart. Or countries," Jack said.
"If we crushed her in response, we'd be as bad as the Horde!" Adora blurted out. Then she glanced at her lover. Catra didn't react, but Adora still felt bad for reminding her of, well, the Horde. "We'd never do that!"
"And Sweet Bee is aware of that," Spinnerella said. "She isn't a fool. But… She is proud."
"Like a princess," Jack commented.
"Yes," Spinnerella nodded at him, which seemed to surprise him for a moment. "Ruling Princesses are supposed to be equal in rank. Of course, they're not equal in power, but before the Princess Alliance, the difference wasn't as large as it's now, and if you started a war, there was always the threat of a rival kingdom attacking you while you were fighting on another front to deter it."
"There were alliances, but not on the scale of the Princess Alliance, and when rulers changed, alliances often changed as well. But that changed when the Horde attacked," Bow said. "Now we're the biggest power on Etheria."
"And Sweet Bee doesn't like it," Spinnerella said. "It hurts her pride."
"Tough," Catra commented.
"Well, that's kind of understandable," Daniel said. "Many Americans share a similar sentiment - they were used to being the most powerful country on Earth, and now they aren't any more. And many don't like it."
"The other countries like it, though," Catra pointed out.
Was that how the other kingdoms, the other princesses, saw the Alliance? Adora didn't like that. But… "The President hasn't been rude, unlike Sweet Bee," she said.
"Because he wants something from us - mainly our tech and support," Bow said. "Sweet Bee doesn't want to fight in the war, so she can't join the Alliance."
"If we let people like her join, reaping the benefits without fighting the Goa'uld, we will be swamped with such leeches." Glimmer shook her head. "That would be unfair towards the ones who actually fight and risk their lives in the war. The blowback from that could cripple our forces."
Adora nodded. And it was wrong to let others fight your battles. But it was also wrong to force people to fight if they didn't want to.
"In any case, by being rude and an annoyance, she challenges us, shows she isn't a pushover," Bow went on. "That raises her standing amongst the other princesses."
"It also shows we won't crush people for disagreeing with us," Adora said. "Or discriminate against them." That should prove their good faith. Eventually, at least.
"Even though it would feel good," Catra said with a grin.
Adora lightly swatted her thigh.
"So, everybody wins?" Bow smiled weakly.
Glimmer scoffed. "She's still rude and annoying."
"And a pain in the butt," Frosta added.
Adora nodded in agreement.
Cheyenne Mountain Colorado, United States of America, Earth, January 22nd, 1999
"Hi, Anise! Oh, and hi, Martouf!"
"Entrapta! Sam!"
"Greetings, Captain Carter, Princess Entrapta."
"Hello, Anise. Martouf." A step behind Entrapta, Samantha Carter greeted their friends.
"We heard about your situation and decided to visit earlier than planned," Martouf smiled. "I hope this is not a bother."
"Not at all," Sam reassured him. "Quite the contrary."
Martouf glanced at Anise, who was already looking at some of the data Entrapta had prepared, then turned his attention back at her. "That's good to hear. How have you been doing?"
"We've made a lot of progress, given the circumstances, although we're still far from finishing our current projects."
"Ah." Martouf nodded. Sam expected him to say something more, but he didn't.
"Let's go to our lab," Sam told him. She suppressed a wince - this felt awkward. Like meeting an ex too soon after a breakup. And yet, they had never had a relationship in the first place. Not Sam and Martouf. Only Jolinar and Martouf.
"Yes! We can work better there!" Entrapta nodded emphatically. "And once our friends get back, you can tell Sweet Bee and Peekablue that the Goa'uld are dangerous."
"Yes." Martouf nodded. As they started to leave the gate room, he added: "I must confess I am curious about them. We were already aware that Etheria is not unified, but given their recent history, I would have expected that to have changed."
"Earth has not united either," Sam pointed out as they approached the lift. The two Chinese soldiers standing guard there didn't react, but Sam was sure they were paying close attention.
"As I understand it, all the relevant powers are working together to fight the Goa'uld," Martouf said.
The Colonel would make a quip about Russia and China, perhaps India as well, Sam knew. Or about not relevant powers joining to appear relevant. "I wouldn't say that. Alliance membership is mostly limited because of politics." Limited to countries that the Etherians deemed ethically acceptable, but to state that - and how ironic it was that absolute monarchies had higher standards than democracies when it came to alliances - would be impolite. Especially within earshot of the Chinese guards.
"Ah."
"Yes!" Entrapta chimed in - fortunately, only after the lift had already started moving. "When it comes to ground combat, the armies of most of the countries on Earth would actually be sufficiently effective. But we can't trust some of them, and it's not OK to use them as cannon fodder to weaken them and the Goa'uld because if we did that, people wouldn't trust us. That's what Hordak and Catra said, at least, and it seems a sound analysis based on the available data."
Sam winced. It was blunt but true. And she could imagine the two former Horde leaders saying this.
Anise nodded. "I concur."
"Yes, it sounds quite plausible," Martouf added. "Which means that Earth and Etheria are facing similar situations with internal dissent complicating the situation."
"Yes," Sam confirmed as they stepped out of the lift. From a certain point of view, at least.
"Let's hope that the Etherian dissidents will listen to us," Anise commented. "It would be disastrous if they underestimated the Goa'uld's danger."
"I don't see why they would refuse to accept facts and evidence," Entrapta said. "Our data proves our statements."
"Not everyone is open-minded enough to change their views based on new data," Sam told her friend. "Not even all scientists have an easy time with that."
"But that's the core of science!" Entrapta protested as they entered Sam's lab. "If you ignore the data, you're not a scientist!"
Anise nodded in agreement. "And you would be a fool to ignore facts."
"Unfortunately, many people prefer to ignore reality rather than accept that they might be wrong," Martouf said.
Sam had met more than a few of those people. Full of prejudice and pride. "What must not be, cannot be," she muttered as she closed the door.
"Exactly," Martouf said. "Which, incidentally, is a weakness many Goa'uld share."
"Anyway," Entrpata spoke up after a moment. "Here's the rest of our data. Look at this!"
In the middle of the room, a holoprojection of a star system appeared. Entrapta's hair tendrils flicked over a keyboard, and the projection zoomed in on a formation of Goa'uld ships - half Ha'taks, half Al'kesh and Tel'taks.
"The system isn't claimed by any System Lord, as far as we know," Sam added - though the Tok'ra already knew that.
"We've checked. We don't know any gate addresses for this system either," Anise said. "We haven't received any notification from our spies about this, but since communication is dangerous, we might still receive more information about this."
"We're trying to crack their encryption to identify the ships, but they aren't communicating a lot," Entrapta said. "Or if they do, it's through secure channels such as a Stargate on a ship and directed short-range comms. And if we order the spy bots closer, they might be detected. So, that is a bit of a challenge."
"That is a quite unusual level of security for a System Lord," Martouf said. "An unclaimed system? Comm silence? Few would go to such lengths."
"Unless they are planning something underhanded." Sam nodded. "Like when Apophis was trying to frame Sokar."
"This could be a second attempt by Apophis, though I would assume that he would first want to find out what went wrong with his plan. Heru'ur… generally is blunter. He might want to keep it secret that he lost a planet, but he has to expect that whoever amongst his enemies took the planet will announce it anyway. And it could be Sokar's doing, though we don't know if he is aware of Apophis's plans for him." Martouf sighed. "We don't have a spy at Sokar's court. Not yet."
"So we need more data!" Entrapta summed up.
Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, Earth, January 22nd, 1999
Sweet Bee looked happy when she came out of the meeting room, Catra noticed. Of course, she would also be smiling even if the negotiations had completely broken up right after starting since she would have to keep up appearances, but the smile looked genuine. The smiles of the Russian and Chinese delegates, on the other hand, were too polite to tell if they were genuine.
Catra had hoped that the Tau'ri tendency to drag things out for months over details would have frustrated the princess. Then again, judging by some Alliance meetings Catra had taken part in, maybe Sweet Bee had expected that. Or they actually had reached an agreement… No. That wasn't how things were done on Earth.
Peekablue, on the other hand, looked as absent-minded as usual - his polite smile not matching his unfocused eyes. But that was probably a ruse, Catra reminded herself. The prince was paying much more attention to his surroundings than one would expect at first glance. If she had had to deal with him during her time as the Horde leader…
"We have come to a preliminary agreement to continue our negotiations," Sweet Bee announced. "I trust that the Alliance won't attempt to block our peaceful diplomatic meetings."
We should send you to a Goa'uld planet and leave you stranded there, Catra thought. See how you like your 'peaceful diplomacy' when the snakes come to burrow into your body. But that would probably help the Goa'uld, which would make the war harder. And Adora wouldn't like it.
Since they were in public - sort of; there was a photographer, but he was apparently working for the United Nations, not the press, and the Secretary-General was smiling at the idiot with other diplomats - Catra stuck to flashing her fangs in an insincere smile while the Chinese delegate - what was his name again? Something weird - repeated what Sweet Bee had said using slightly different sentences.
"The Alliance always supports peaceful diplomacy - as long as it won't hinder the efforts to defeat the Goa'uld and free millions of humans suffering in slavery," Glimmer announced with a toothy smile as soon as they had finished.
Adora nodded emphatically. "Yes. We won't sacrifice people for trade negotiations."
That should do well with the press, Catra thought. Even though she was sure that a lot of Earth's leaders would be perfectly fine with that trade. At least in private. They let people starve for profit, after all.
"Of course not." Sweet Bee's smile looked as sincere as Glimmer's.
Peekablue, though, nodded. "Yes. We're aware of the cost of a war."
Then the Secretary-General started a hopefully short speech about peace and trade and reaching out that had Catra struggle not to yawn. It was past time to go and meet the Tok'ra - and then push Sweet Bee's butt back through the Stargate. Preferably with a kick.
And Peekablue as well.
Cheyenne Mountain Colorado, United States of America, Earth, January 22nd, 1999
"Colonel O'Neill!"
"Anise. Martouf." Jack O'Neill forced himself to smile as he greeted the Tok'ra. Anise looked far too happy to see him, in his opinion. So happy, indeed, that he felt the urge to check if she had drawn blood somehow while everyone shook hands and exchanged platitudes.
"... these are Princess Sweet Bee and Prince Peekablue. Sweet Bee, Peekablue, these are the Tok'ra Anise and Freya and Martouf and Lantash," Adora introduced their visitors to each other.
Peekablue was openly staring at them - was he trying to spot the snakes inside them? Could he use his magic to look into people? That would make him even more dangerous than Jack had thought. And a lot more useful as well, of course.
"I see," the prince said, nodding slowly.
Had that been a joke? Jack couldn't tell; the Etherian prince always looked as if he was high. Jack blinked. His comparison to David Bowie in the 70s might actually closer to the mark than he had thought.
"You see?" Martouf asked.
"I have the gift of Farsight."
"Ah." The two Tok'ra exchanged glances.
"And what does that do?" Anise was blunt as ever.
"It lets me see," Peekablue told her, sounding absolutely serious.
Jack grinned at Anise's reaction. That had definitely been a joke! If the prince were not with Her Annoying Honeyness, Jack would probably like the guy.
Anise sniffed. "And you think the Goa'uld aren't a danger to everyone."
"We wish to verify what the Alliance has told us about them from independent sources," Sweet Bee told her. "But there don't seem to be unbiased sources."
"Because the Goa'uld destroy or enslave everyone they can. They are as dangerous and evil as you've heard - or more so," Anise said with a scowl.
Martouf nodded. "The Tok'ra have been fighting them for thousands of years. Some of us are former Goa'uld who managed to see the light and deserted them. We know their very souls. They are cruel, vain, greedy and willing to betray even their closest kin for more power. Their cruelty knows no bounds."
Laying it on a little thick, Marty, Jack thought. But then, the Etherians might lap that up.
While the two snakes started to tell Tales of the Goa'uld, uncut edition, Jack looked around. The lab looked like it always looked - cluttered despite Carter's meticulous organisation, with too much stuff that you shouldn't touch spread around everywhere.
And Carter herself was typing on her laptop, with Entrapta looking over her shoulder. Working hard, harder than anyone else. As usual, he thought. She was really a model officer. Far too good for…
He caught himself smiling in a non-professional or diplomatic way and quickly schooled his features.
"...and then Ra had the entire planet bombed from orbit." Martouf - no, that was Lantash speaking, Adora realised even though they hadn't changed their tone - pointed at the records Sam's projector displayed in the middle of the lab. "He punished an entire world for the actions of their leader - a leader of his choice who had subjugated and enslaved the population."
She glanced at the recording being shown and winced. A formation of Ha'taks was shooting their cannons in orbit, Al'keshs swooping down, dropping bombs… and explosions on the ground. Many, many explosions.
Sweet Bee looked… struck. Her lips were trembling. And Peekablue… Had closed his eyes and was trembling. His lips were pressed together, forming a thin blue line. Oh, no - he must be suffering a flashback, as Earth called it! "Please stop the recording!" she blurted out.
"But we've just started," Anise objected. "This is just the part covering Ra's forces - we're about to show footage from the ground."
"No, we aren't," Adora told her, getting up. "Stop it, Entrapta!"
"OK!" Entrapta looked a little confused, but her hair reached out, and the holoprojection froze for a second, then faded out.
"What's the…? Oh." Bow grimaced; he would know about the problem from his dads, Adora remembered. "Sorry, we should have warned you."
"Warned us?" Sweet Bee blinked, then glanced at Peekablue and Gasped. "Peekablue!" She reached over and wrapped her arm around his shoulder.
"I'm OK," he said. He was obviously lying, though - he still hadn't opened his eyes. He returned Sweet Bee's hug, but it looked like he was clinging to her as she gently sat him down on the ground.
"Definitely not OK," Catra commented in a low voice.
Anise was still frowning, but Martouf leaned towards her and whispered something which made her blink.
Well, that seemed to have been handled. That left… No, a glance confirmed that not even Jack was about to make a joke. He was just standing there and looking awkward.
Like almost everyone else, actually. Even Entrapta wasn't looking confused any more, though she was talking to Sam in a low voice. And Sam looked uncomfortable.
Adora bit her lip - she shouldn't pry. She really shouldn't. It was rude. She should respect someone's privacy. On the other hand, Entrapta was her friend, and, well, she was often confused by things others took for granted, and that made her vulnerable. Sam was Adora and Entrapta's friend, but Adora had known Entrapta for much longer, and…
"She's telling Sam that Hordak reacts differently," Catra whispered.
Adora glanced at her lover. Catra wasn't showing any reaction. She was even looking a bit bored - or trying to fake it.
Adora was about to tell her that she shouldn't try to appear so distant, but then Peekablue opened his eyes.
And they were… She gasped. His pupils were so big, you couldn't see the white of his eyes any more. And he wasn't blinking.
Catra cursed next to her.
"What's going on?" Glimmer asked.
"Flashback," Jack replied.
"PTSD," Sam added a moment later. "Post-traumatic stress disorder."
"He is remembering what he saw during the war," Bow said.
"Like a nightmare, just… without falling asleep first," Netossa added.
"Quiet!" Sweet Bee hissed, still hugging the prince. "You're not helping!"
For a change, no one snapped back as she used one hand to gently turn Peekablue's head towards her face and started whispering to him.
Adora didn't glance at Catra, and her lover didn't tell her what the princess was saying. After a few very, very awkward minutes of silence, Peekablue closed his eyes and loudly sighed, then slumped over.
Sweet Bee hugged him a bit longer, then rose. "We'll return to Etheria. We can continue this talk at a later date. Without such… demonstrations."
"Alright!" Entrapta nodded.
"Let's go back to the gate," Jack said and walked towards the door. Sweet Bee and Peekablue got up and followed him. Adora watched them go. She should go with them to the gate, but… She couldn't do anything to help them.
Instead, once the door closed behind them, she looked at her friends and her lover. "So… We've got a fleet to deal with?"
After a moment, Sam nodded. "Yes. You've seen the data we've gathered so far. Unfortunately, We still haven't identified to which System Lord it belongs."
"We've passed the information on. The Council will look into it," Martouf added. "But unless an operative of ours already knows about this, this will take some time."
"We're analysing their communication - as much as we can, at least - but there are a few problems we have to deal with, namely…"
As Entrapta continued to explain, Adora did her best to focus on the information they had already gathered. And not on the few nightmares she had since the Horde War had ended. She didn't want to remember them.
"So, we hope that the Tok'ra can find out what's going on with that fleet, but better don't count on it. I bet we'll have to go there and take a look ourselves," the Colonel said. "But… not right now. I still have to do the paperwork for this visit." He stood and rolled his neck, then walked towards the door. "And that'll be a bitch. Because of a bitch."
"Jack!" Daniel gasped, following him out.
Samantha Carter refined from commenting, but she sighed as the door closed and cut off the Colonel's next comment.
"So… is that why Peekablue left the Alliance? The first princess Alliance, I mean. Because he couldn't see the war any more, and so couldn't fight any more?" Entrapta asked.
"It looks like it," Sam replied.
"Hordak doesn't act like that when he remembers."
She had told Sam that already. "PTSD expresses itself differently in people," Sam explained. So, Hordak suffered from it as well. He was still a former warlord who didn't really show too much remorse, in her opinion. But Entrapta loved him. And, at least as far as Sam knew, he loved her. More importantly, she didn't think he would ever hurt Entrapta.
"Apparently." Her friend sat down on the edge of her desk - solidly bolted to the floor - and used her hair to stow some of their gear. "So, how do you fix that?"
Sam winced. "That's also different for everyone. Therapy can help." But some couldn't get better at all.
"We'll have to talk to Hordak about therapy then." Entrapta nodded. "And to Peekablue, I guess."
Sam winced again. 'We'? She didn't want to talk to Hordak about his trauma. But Entrapta was her friend and obviously expected her to do this. So, she nodded and forced herself to smile. "Alright."
"Great! We can travel back to Etheria with Peekablue and Sweet Bee! I'll tell the others!" Entrapta hopped down and was halfway to the door before Sam could react.
"Wait! We've got more urgent problems to deal with!"
Entrapta stopped, turned and cocked her head. "More urgent than dealing with such pain?"
That was… a good question. Sam didn't quite know how to answer it. And they had to wait for the Tok'ra to send word, anyway.
It looked like she'd have to talk about therapy with Hordak.
Great.