Chapter 88: The Therapy Question Part 1

Bright Moon, Etheria, January 22nd, 1999 (Earth Time)

"I feel guilty."

Catra, lying on her back on their bed, rolled her eyes at Adora's comment and turned her head to glance at her lover. "It's not your fault. Stop being an idiot."

"You didn't even ask what I'm feeling guilty about!" Adora pouted.

Catra grinned in return. "I don't have to. You're always feeling guilty about stuff that's not your fault."

"Not always!" her lover protested.

Catra raised her eyebrows in response. "Name one example."

"Ah…" Adora closed her mouth and pouted again. "But I should have realised that Peekablue was suffering!"

"How?" Catra scoffed. "Not even Melog managed to find that out until he had his flashback." That was a good name for it. Much better than 'nightmare while being awake', or what Glimmer tried to come up with.

"But I knew that fighting in a war left you… hurting." Adora finished hanging up her and Catra's clothes - as if they didn't have maids for that in the palace! And the clothes would be collected and sent to the laundry in the morning anyway! - and sat down on the bed next to Catra. She was biting her lower lip, Catra noticed. "It's… many have nightmares."

"Yeah." That wasn't really new. Hell, Catra had nightmares as well. Not as many as back then, not since she had started sleeping in Adora's bed again, but still. And that was normal - she didn't know anyone who never had nightmares. "Everyone has nightmares. You don't have to fight in a war to get them."

"But it's not the same! Peekablue was… He was trembling, and his eyes…" Adora shook her head.

Catra clenched her teeth for a moment. Yes, the stupid Prince had looked terrible. But that wasn't Adora's fault. "But you couldn't know that he had the worst trauma," she said, as gently as she could, while she sat up and slid behind her lover so she could wrap her arms around Adora's waist.

"I should have!"

Catra rolled her eyes behind Adora's back. "No, you couldn't. Most people who go through traumatic experiences don't suffer like he does." At least not for over ten years. Someone would have told them if that was normal, right? Catra pushed the stupid thought away. "It's not your fault that he had a flashback. You didn't know and couldn't know. He didn't tell us, either."

"Well, yes, but… I still feel guilty. I thought he was a coward for not fighting! I didn't even consider that he might have had a good reason to stop fighting! That he couldn't fight any more! That his magic power would have shown him so many horrible things…"

Catra tensed before she managed to force herself to relax. She was responsible for a lot of those things. If Peekablue had kept an eye on the war… No, he wouldn't have. Not when just recordings of a Goa'uld attack caused such a reaction. He wouldn't have tortured himself like that. She was sure of that. Pretty sure. Whatever. Adora was blaming herself, and Catra had to do something about that. "He didn't tell us, so why would we suspect that? It's his fault for not telling us. It's like…" Think, idiot, think! "It's like a food allergy. If you don't tell people you are allergic to some food, it's your own fault if they serve something that hurts you!"

"How much Earth television did you watch?" Adora asked, turning her head and shifting a bit around to frown at her.

"That was from the lecture about travelling to different planets and trying different food," Catra defended herself. And there had been something about that.

"Ah." Adora shook her head. "It's not the same. We've been blaming him and Sweet Bee for not wanting to fight the Goa'uld even though the Goa'uld are a danger to everyone, but we didn't know this!"

"Sweet Bee didn't have any traumatic experience in the war." The stupid princess had avoided the Horde War - Catra knew all princesses who had fought the Horde when she had been in command. She shifted around, lying across Adora's lap, on her back so she could face her lover.

"She could have fought against Horde Prime's invasion," Adora retorted.

"Do you really think she wouldn't have told us that, repeatedly, to get access to the gate?" Catra snorted.

"Ah…" Adora sighed. "I guess she would have."

Catra nodded. "Absolutely." The arrogant princess would have thrown that into their face at every opportunity.

"But she knows about Peekablue's trauma. So, she knows how it happened."

"So?" Catra narrowed her eyes.

Adora took a deep breath. Catra felt her arms tense around her shoulders and hip. "She would know that this could happen to her in the war."

"That only makes her a coward," Catra snapped. Countless people had fought anyway. OK, not all of them had had a choice or knew any better, but… She clenched her teeth again.

"Not everyone is cut out to fight."

"She's a princess. If she's not willing to fight for her kingdom, she should step down!" Catra spat. "She owes her people that!"

Adora nodded. "But what… what if her people aren't in danger?"

"Because the Alliance protects everyone?" Catra scoffed again. "Then she should help us anyway."

Adora sighed and slowly nodded, but Catra had a feeling that her lover didn't quite agree.

Cheyenne Mountain Colorado, United States of America, Earth, January 23rd, 1999

"Colonel O'Neill, could you explain why the United Nations has sent a request to let a delegation composed of members of several non-governmental organisations visit Etheria?"

General Hammond hadn't lost his touch, Jack O'Neill noted to himself. The man's tone was polite, even slightly bored, his question innocuous, but his expression… Jack forced himself to smile. "I assume that's related to the meeting Perfuma had with them in Geneva."

"A meeting the Command Council wasn't informed of until now." Hammond frowned openly now.

"I think it was in our report," Jack defended himself.

"It was - I checked. 'Princess Perfuma was curious about the biosphere of Earth, and the Secretary-General referred her to a few specialists of his acquaintance'," Hammond quoted. He didn't quite slap the report down on his desk, but it came close. "Nothing about an agreement to restore the Amazon rainforest with magic."

Ah. "I didn't hear anything about that, sir," Jack said. Granted, he - and the others, including Perfuma as soon as she heard of it - had been focused on Peekablue's nervous breakdown and then the whole business about the hidden Goa'uld fleet tok priority.

"Yes, General," Daniel bravely tried to help. "Specifics never came up, though Perfuma was talking about restoring the rainforest earlier in the day."

"And you didn't mention that either, Dr Jackson?"

Damn! Jack knew that face. Daniel was digging his heels in. "It was not relevant to the task we were given, General. We were to report about Sweet Bee's diplomatic mission," his friend said.

"I would think that it was clear that a foreign head of state planning to intervene in a nation on Earth, with possible repercussions for the entire planet, should have been reported."

"I didn't hear anything about an intervention." Daniel frowned. "Perfuma was merely interested in the possibility of using her magic to restore nature, and the Secretary-General referred her to several organisations with similar goals."

"Yes, General," Jack added. "If we can't trust the Secretary-General of the United Nations - of which Stargate Command is a part - then whom could we trust?"

And here came the glare. Jack had to work on his innocent act. "This isn't a time for jokes, Colonel. The CIA has warned us that there are questionable elements amongst the delegation."

"'Questionable elements'?" Daniel raised his eyebrows.

"Potential extremists, Dr Jackson. As you might be aware, there's some concern about extremists of various kinds acquiring magic to enforce their demands."

"Are you sure that was the CIA and not the United Fruit Company?" Daniel inclined his head. "Did they label Greenpeace as terrorists as well?"

"Well, they do oppose nuclear power, which probably means they'll oppose spaceships," Jack commented. "That will make it hard for them to blockade spaceship yards with their own spaceships, though."

No one laughed, and Daniel frowned at him.

"Greenpeace is actually an organisation under observation according to our sources," Hammond said,

Daniel blinked, then took a deep breath. "Of all the… What is going on? This is ridiculous!"

"It is the stance of the United States Government that the reckless use of magic by independent actors might endanger the entire planet, Dr Jackson." Hammond met his eyes. "I think that, thanks to your close acquaintance with the Etherians, you are aware of how dangerous magic can be."

Daniel had an incredulous expression for a moment before he scowled. "Thanks to our close friendship with the Etherians, we are aware that the odds of anyone on Earth being able to endanger the entire planet with magic are infinitesimally small. We don't have the tradition, knowledge and magitech to create anything like what the Etherians dealt with."

"We aren't only concerned about such threats, but also about magical diseases, invasive species - and the repercussions of…" Hammond glanced at another file. "...magical geoengineering and altering of regional ecosystems, especially with regard to the climate."

"Oh, now we're concerned about the climate, are we?" Daniel scoffed. "Ruining the ecosystems of entire countries was fine as long as it wasn't done with magic?"

"Dr Jackson." Hammond narrowed his eyes at him.

To Jack's relief, Daniel backed down. "Sorry, sir. But these concerns seem oddly specific and limited."

"Not the concerns about invasive species and magically altered diseases," Carter spoke up. "Those could be very dangerous."

"Perfuma is aware of that, though," Daniel retorted. "She wouldn't endanger us like that."

"And her new friends on Earth are as responsible?" Jack shook his head. "I'm not a biologist or a sorcerer, but we've all seen what magic can do, and it probably wouldn't take much to change a virus into the second coming of the Spanish Flu." He had done a report about that at the Academy once. Nasty stuff.

"That's just speculation," Daniel said. But he looked less confident now. "And Perfuma and the others will be aware of that. And they will likely have countermeasures for such incidents."

"Which they will, generously and selflessly, share with us," Jack said, not hiding his sarcasm. "Oh, I know they will," he said when Daniel opened his mouth. "But that'll be one more thing we'll depend on them for."

"Only until we get sorceresses of our own, Jack," Daniel said.

"Good luck with that," Jack muttered. The last thing he wanted was more pressure to study magic.

"In any case, the Command Council expects you to discuss these concerns with our allies," Hammond said.

"Yes, sir."

Great. More magic talk.

Bright Moon, Etheria, January 23rd, 1999 (Earth Time)

"So, Sweet Bee and Peekablue haven't contacted us yet to reschedule their meeting with the Tok'ra. If they ever do," Glimmer said, slowly looking at everyone at the table in the meeting room.

She sounded a bit… not smug. But… relieved? Adora wasn't quite sure. Adora herself certainly wasn't sad that she wouldn't have to face Sweet Bee and Peekablue right away. She still felt ashamed for her annoyance at them before she found out about Peekablue's issues.

"Let's hope that the talk they had with the Tok'ra was enough to convince them that the Goa'uld are a real threat," Mermista commented with a frown.

"I don't think Peekablue could go through another such talk," Perfuma said. "At least not if they have more such… records."

"Sweet Bee could do it herself," Adora pointed out. That would be the logical course of action.

"If she's interested in the truth, at least," Glimmer muttered. Louder, she said: "Anyway, we can just wait until they contact us again. We've got a more pressing problem to deal with."

"Yes!" Entrapta perked up. "Therapy!"

"No, I meant… what?"

What? Adora blinked. She wasn't the only one - pretty much everyone at the table was staring at Entrapta.

"Therapy?" Catra asked.

"Yes. I talked with Sam, and I confirmed it with some data we gathered on Earth, but overlooked until now, but therapy can help you deal with traumatic experiences. It's not always successful, though. But it shouldn't make things worse, I think. So, the logical course of action would be to do it." Entrapta nodded firmly.

"Good luck telling Sweet Bee and Peekablue that. If they don't believe us about the Goa'uld, they won't believe us about therapy," Glimmer told her with a snort.

"Oh, I wasn't thinking about Peekablue - but he probably should get some therapy too, yes. Although Sam told me that the patient needs to want to get therapy or it won't really help, which is quite an interesting difference compared to other forms of healing, right?"

She wasn't thinking about Peekablue? Then who…? Oh! "You want us to get therapy?" Adora blurted out before she could stop herself.

"What?"

"That's stupid!"

"I don't need therapy!"

"We don't need therapy!"

"I'm doing fine!"

"What's therapy?"

"I'm not like Peekablue."

Adora looked at Catra. Her lover hadn't said anything, but she was glaring at Entrapta. And clenching her teeth, hard - Adora could tell from the way her cheeks twitched. She reached over to squeeze Catra's thigh and felt how tense the other girl was.

Entrapta looked confused - and taken aback - by the reactions of the others. "Therapy is a form of treatment that Earth scientists have developed to deal with trauma. And war - which we have gone through - is a commonly mentioned source of such trauma. And the symptoms of a post-traumatic stress disorder vary wildly, but nightmares are amongst them."

And everyone had had nightmares after the war, Adora was sure of that. Judging by the glances the others exchanged, they remembered that as well. But she wasn't sure if those therapists she remembered from the shows and movies she had seen on Earth were scientists. They hadn't really seemed like scientists to her, but then, many of those shows and movies had been fiction.

"Earth did that? Without magic?" Mermista didn't quite sneer, but her expression was not really supportive.

"You can't use magic to, ah, cure trauma," Adora told her friends. She had looked quite thoroughly into that after the war, when Catra had had more frequent nightmares. And Adora as well, but that was another topic. In any case, everyone she asked - Glimmer and Castaspella - had been clear that there was no spell to deal with nightmares and guilt.

"My research shows that therapy is generally based on talking to specialists," Entrapta smiled as she explained, but she still looked confused by the reactions. And perhaps a bit afraid. "It helps, according to my data."

"Talk to a stranger?" Mermista frowned even more. "About what, exactly?"

"The experience that left you traumatised. And your feelings." Entrapta nodded. "It sounds fascinating, actually - the people on Earth have so much data about emotions."

"I bet they have," Catra mumbled.

"That sounds stupid!" Frosta declared. "Why should we talk to a stranger about that? Not that we need to, anyway, but there're a lot of secrets involved in the war - and there will be more secrets in this war. You can't just talk to a stranger about that!"

"Well, talking to a friend about your feelings could be… embarrassing," Sea Hawk said with an embarrassed smile. "Talking to a stranger might be easier."

He was glancing at Scorpia, Adora noticed. And Scorpia seemed embarrassed as well. What was up with that?

"Well, I'm fine. I don't need to talk to anyone about that stuff," Frosta said.

"Are you sure?" Perfuma looked concerned. "Talking to a friend helps; I know that. If you don't want to talk to a stranger, you can talk to me."

"I told you: I am fine!" Frosta retorted.

Now that sounded familiar. Adora glanced at her lover, but Catra was still sitting here, tense and more silent than expected. She wasn't fine at all. And Adora didn't think the rest of her friends were fine, either. There was no helping it; she had to do something. "I think it would be a good thing to talk about such things," she said. Not talking about your feelings certainly wasn't doing anyone any good. If only Adora and Catra had talked about their feelings for each other before everything had gone wrong…

Glimmer frowned at her, Adora saw, but Bow nodded. As did Netossa and Spinnerella. And Entrapta, of course. Mermista, though, crossed her arms over her chest and scowled, but Sea Hawk was whispering to her. Frosta mimicked her. Perfuma beamed at Adora, Scorpia smiled, and Catra… Rolled her eyes but didn't scoff or make fun of her.

Well, that was a better reaction than Adora had feared.

"Even if we want to talk to a therapist, who could we trust?" Glimmer said.

"We can talk to a friend," Perfuma repeated herself.

"Therapists are professionals with a code of ethics that requires them to keep their patients' secrets," Entrapta said. Probably quoting her data.

"That's what they are supposed to do. But can we trust them to actually stick to it?" Glimmer shook her head. "And they would all be from Earth - we would depend on them. That's… unbalanced."

"We could ask for them to train our own therapists?" Perfuma suggested.

"They'll want training in magic in return. And you know what Mystacore said about that."

"Well, yes. But…"

Adora leaned back a little as the discussion shifted about how to get therapy. Things were looking up, it seemed.

"You're going to therapy as well, you know," Catra whispered. "We're probably going to need two therapists for you alone."

Or not.

Bright Moon, Etheria, January 24th, 1999 (Earth Time)

"Sam! There you are!"

"Greetings, Captain Carter."

"Hello, Entrapa. Hordak." Samantha Carter nodded at her friend and her… partner as she stepped into their lab in the palace.

Entrapta's smile turned into a wince. "I wanted to welcome you at the gate, but then the experiment with the new bot matrix hit a hitch, and we kinda lost track of time! I'm sorry!"

"It's no problem," Sam told her. "I know the feeling." It had happened to her a few times as well, after all. The Colonel liked to claim that she intentionally lost track of time as an excuse, but that wasn't true. Not really.

"Good!" Her friend beamed at her, then turned around to look at Hordak. "Science Buddy! We need to talk!"

"Yes?" Hordak cocked his head and slowly turned to face her. Compared to the other clones, he felt quite a bit more alien, Sam noticed again. There was always some hesitation in his movements. Some stiffness. Maybe it was a lingering psychological effect from living in a crippled body for so long, even being restored to full health hadn't been able to overcome it. Not to mention that the circumstances of that process hadn't been deeply traumatic. And, speaking of trauma, Sam had to consider how to diplomatically breach the reason for today's visit…

"You need to get therapy!" Entrapta blurted out.

Sam suppressed a wince at her friend's bluntness - which she should have expected.

"Therapy?" Hordak looked confused.

"A treatment for trauma that Earth scientists have developed!" Entrapta beamed at him.

But Hordak scowled. "I do not require such treatment."

"Yes, you do!" Entrapta, completely unimpressed, nodded emphatically. "The data is conclusive. You've experienced traumatic events - lots of them that we don't need to go into now - and you're showing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder."

"I do not."

"You have nightmares," Entrapta pointed out. "That's a symptom."

"That is a normal reaction. Everyone has nightmares." Hordak shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest, raising his chin. "I am no different in that than anyone else."

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean you don't need therapy. It could mean that everyone needs therapy. Which I think would be the more plausible deduction, actually." Entrapta cocked her head to the side. "In any case, the Alliance is currently discussing how to get therapy. I think so, at least - some were not very receptive to the idea, but Adora supported it. And Catra as well, I think - she didn't protest, at least. And she's like you, kinda."

Sam's eyes widened. The princesses were planning to get therapy? That was… a huge surprise. And important information, she added with a pang of guilt.

Hordak scoffed. "Catra would agree to anything Adora proposes."

"Well, probably, yes. But that doesn't change the data or the conclusions."

Hordak didn't look convinced. "And what does this 'therapy' entail?"

"Well, according to my research, you basically talk with specialists about your feelings and problems until you feel better."

Sam cleared her throat. "It's a bit more complex than that. It's about dealing with traumatic experiences and memories by focusing on changing mental distortions and adapting coping strategies." Well, the most effective and common therapy for trauma did, at least according to her admittedly cursory research.

"I fail to see how this would work," Hordak retorted, glowering at her now.

"Well, that's because you don't know anything about this - we haven't researched this yet!" Entrapta smiled. "Once we know more, that'll change! That's why Sam's here!"

Sam blinked. She hadn't expected that - this was a misunderstanding! She wasn't a psychologist, much less a therapist! She was a physicist, not a shrink!

"Earth has tons of experience with that stuff - I found tons of material in our databanks! Everyone gets therapy there!" Entrapta went on. "Look!"

Her hair tendrils touched the keyboard behind her, and documents appeared on the big screen in the lab. And pictures. And clips from TV shows and movies. Most of them fictional, Sam realised with a sinking feeling.

"You see? It's very common on Earth, which is logical given how many wars they have, and how many other traumatic experiences. Right, Sam?"

Sam winced. "Well, that's… not entirely accurate…"

"No?"

"No?"

"Not everyone who needs therapy gets it," Sam started to explain. Fortunately, her quick research had covered this, although not in real depth. "And while it generally helps, it's not a perfect cure - far from it. Its effectiveness depends on many factors, and…"

"...and so, people are kind of concerned about any plans to restore the rainforest."

Catra snorted as O'Neill finished and shrugged before leaning back in his seat and nibbling on a finger sandwich. So, Earth was worried about Perfuma wanting to help them. Typical!

"'People'?" Glimmer asked, raising her eyebrows.

"You know, the United Nations, the countries which include parts of the rainforest, various corporations involved in the agricultural business…" O'Neill shrugged. "Lots of people."

"Lots of interest groups," Daniel added with a scoff. "Although the countries that would be affected by Perfuma's hypothetical actions are legitimately concerned." He glanced around in Glimmer's office. "We had hoped to talk to her about that, actually."

"Well, she's back in Plumeria or the Scorpion Kingdom," Glimmer replied. "We had an Alliance meeting yesterday, and people needed a break."

And Perfuma was probably trying to persuade more of their friends to get help. She was like that, Catra knew.

"Oh?" O'Neill perked up. "Something came up?"

"Yes. Therapy." Adora told him.

He seemed surprised, Catra noticed. Surprised and… that was a brief scowl. So, O'Neill didn't like therapy? Or didn't like them getting therapy? Either way, that was interesting.

"Therapy?" Daniel asked with a slightly puzzled expression.

"It's an Earth treatment for trauma," Catra told him, trying to look and sound as serious as possible.

"Oh, I know what…" Daniel trailed off, pouting, while Adora and Glimmer frowned at her, and O'Neill laughed.

Success! Catra grinned.

"Yes, we're considering therapy," Glimmer said with a fake smile. "Although it's a quite controversial proposal."

"Yeah." O'Neill nodded in agreement. "I can imagine."

"Oh?" Catra cocked her head at him. "Do you have experience with therapy?"

"Well, not personally," O'Neill said. "But… the shrinks, I mean, the people who do the therapy, sometimes don't really understand how things work, you know? They are a bit removed from, well, the reality of our lives out here. Or on the front."

Catra glanced at Daniel, who was pressing his lips together and frowning at O'Neill. He obviously disagreed. But would he say so out loud? Probably, she decided. Daniel wasn't one to hold back much. "I see," she said. "So, you've never got therapy."

"No."

"And that wasn't a good thing," Daniel blurted out.

"Daniel," O'Neill snapped with a glare.

"Jack!" Daniel shook his head as he met Jack's eyes. "Therapy does help. Not every therapist is good, but not every officer is good either - and you don't paint everyone with the same brush. That so many veterans don't get therapy is a shame!"

The two stared at each other for a moment. Then O'Neill shrugged with a snort and slouched a bit in his seat. "There are too many stupid shrinks around who think they know best when they don't know anything at all about the real world."

"Many people would be happier with therapy. It's not some hoax," Daniel retorted.

"I can see how the topic is controversial," Bow commented. He was grimacing a little.

And Adora looked torn, Catra noticed. Maybe she would reconsider this therapy thing - it wasn't as if Catra was sold on it. But if it could help Adora with her issues, it was worth it.

"So, we already know that therapy isn't some magic cure," Glimmer spoke up, then frowned at O'Neill's grin at her wording. "But what's the worst that could happen if it doesn't work? Can it hurt you?"

"You get sent to the loony bin," O'Neill replied.

"Jack!" Daniel frowned.

"Loony bin?" Glimmer asked.

"A colloquial term for a psychiatric facility where people who are suffering from severe mental issues are treated, sometimes against their will," Daniel explained.

"You mean psychologists can lock people up?" Adora blurted out. "On Earth?"

That was concerning, Catra had to agree. Well, they obviously wouldn't be able to do it to a princess. Or to her - she'd shred anyone who tried.

"In very extreme cases, but it wouldn't be psychologists, but psychiatrists," Daniel said, glancing at O'Neill. "Those, ah, are specialists for mental illnesses. It's not the same as treating trauma, even though lay people tend to mix them up."

"You're neither a psychologist nor a psychiatrist, Daniel."

"But I know the difference, Jack."

"Whatever," Catra said. "So, seeing as anyone trying to lock up one of us would regret it, what's the worst outcome that could realistically happen?"

"Manipulation," O'Neill said after a moment. "The shrink will get to know you really well. Including some of your worst secrets. If he abuses your trust, he can manipulate you."

Oh. Catra clenched her teeth. That sounded like…

"Shadow Weaver," Adora muttered under her breath, copying Catra's thought.

Glimmer's as well, it seemed, judging by her expression. "Maybe we should reconsider this a bit more," Glimmer said with a glance at Adora.

"Maybe." Adora pressed her lips together as she nodded.

"Ah… it's a matter of trust and trustworthiness." Daniel smiled at them. "If you can't trust your therapist, well… that's obviously bad, but that's the same with many things. Like your doctor. Or your, ah, portfolio manager."

"What's a portfolio manager?" Glimmer asked.

"People who manage your money," Daniel explained. "If they betray your trust, they can steal a lot of your wealth."

"You have people manage your wealth for you?" Bow asked.

"Only the rich, and only some of them," O'Neill said. "Well, there's also banking, which works the same."

"In a very simplified way," Daniel said. "But it was just an example that therapy isn't a bad thing even if there might be untrustworthy therapists."

"And we would have to judge that." Glimmer still looked sceptical. With good reason, of course - in Catra's opinion.

"Well, any psychologist working at Stargate Command was carefully vetted," Daniel said.

"By your government." Glimmer nodded.

Which didn't mean that they could be trusted by Catra's friends. They would have to find their own.

It looked like this would be even more difficult than it had seemed.

"Yes, by our government, which is your trusted ally." Jack O'Neill smiled widely and ignored Daniel's frown. He was allowed a bit of sarcasm. And a good amount of caution was a very good thing when dealing with shrinks.

"Do you really think the US government will try to send spies to Etheria under the guise of psychologists?" Daniel asked. "That would be a very unfriendly act towards an ally."

"Only if they get caught," Jack said.

"But the consequences of such an operation being exposed… why would the government risk that?" Daniel shook his head.

"Oh, never underestimate how cocky spooks can be." Jack grinned, showing his teeth. He knew that first-hand. "Or what they think they can get away with, as long as there's plausible deniability." Jack had no doubt that a number of spooks were acting as if the Cold War had never ended. Or had trouble adapting to a world where the United States wasn't the superpower, or even a superpower, any more.

"But…" Daniel shook his head again - he hadn't actually stopped, Jack realised. "They would risk the alliance! After all the trouble it took to get into it! Who would do that?"

"Kinsey?" Jack cocked his head. "Anyone from the NID?" Maybourne probably would love such an operation.

"Aren't you supposed to portray your country as trustworthy and sympathetic?" Bow asked.

Jack shrugged. "The United States has its share of bad apples." In often far too high positions, but still - it wasn't as if the country was rotten to the core or something. "That doesn't mean we're the bad guys."

"But there's a risk of some of those 'bad apples' working against our best interest," Glimmer said.

"Yep."

"And if they get caught, they'll claim to have operated without orders from your government," Catra added.

"Yep. Though they would be telling the truth - the government wouldn't give them such orders."

"But they also wouldn't order them not to do this." Catra flashed her fangs. "In case they succeed."

"Spooks have been known to interpret their orders creatively." Jack shrugged again. "Some of them also have been operating quite independently." And some had gone rogue.

"Well, so do we - SG-1, I mean. If we think our orders are stupid," Daniel said.

Like when Apophis had attacked. "The difference is that we only acted when there was no other choice," Jack said. And they had been right, of course. Unlike the NID.

"Your government seems to need better control over its spies," Glimmer commented.

"Like we have control over Double Trouble?" Catra scoffed.

"They aren't a member of the Alliance. They aren't under our command at all," Glimmer said.

"Well, of course, we'd say that!" Catra grinned.

"But we wouldn't be lying about it!" Glimmer snapped. "And Double Trouble wouldn't be acting for us but for themselves."

Catra nodded, serious again.

Ah, yes. The Etherian superspy who could take the shape of anyone - and had the acting talent and experience to play the role convincingly. And who loved to cause drama and chaos for shit and giggles. Just knowing about Double Trouble had sent the various agencies in the United States into a frenzy. Hearing that the Etherians were also concerned about the spy didn't help with that, of course. At least no one, except possibly Kinsey, was blaming Jack for that since he had never met the spy. At least as far as he knew - he could have met them without realising it. Easily.

And wasn't that a comforting thought? Fortunately, Double Trouble was a unique case. At least as far as the Etherians knew. Of course, if Double Trouble were not such a showman, they could have stayed in the shadows forever, so just because the Etherians were not aware of anyone else like Double Trouble didn't mean there was no such spy…

Ah! Jack reminded himself to stop that - he was starting to think like a spook again. And that wasn't a good thing.

And he didn't need a shrink to know that, either!

Bright Moon, Etheria, January 25th, 1999 (Earth Time)

"Therapy?" Sweet Bee sounded as if that was a dirty word, in Adora's opinion.

"Therapy?" Peekablue repeated although he sounded more as if he was honestly curious.

"Yes," Adora repeated. "It's a form of treatment for, ah, traumatic experiences that cause, uh, flashbacks that the people on Earth have developed. The treatment, not the flashbacks." She struggled not to bite her lower lip - she was stumbling over words she had heard so often in the last few days, she was probably dreaming of them! Then again, talking to Peekablue about it was different - he was so obviously suffering from it…

"They don't have magic; how could they develop this?" Sweet Bee asked, frowning.

"It's not a magical treatment," Adora explained. "It is based on psychological principles." She had prepared for that part, of course.

"What are psychological principles?" Sweet Bee still sounded doubtful.

And Catra had made fun of Adora for preparing to explain that as well! Adora nodded and launched into her next explanation. "It's the science of studying the mind and behaviour. Well, the principles of such behaviour. Specifically, the principles of..."

"...and that's about it," Adora finished her explanation, then looked at her guests. Although, technically, they were guests of Glimmer, and Adora was a guest in their room. Sort of. Protocol was kind of unclear about such visits since Adora was - technically - a guest as well in the palace, but it was also her home. And she wasn't a subordinate of Glimmer, which further complicated matters. It would only be more complicated if this were the Princess Prom.

Sweet Bee still was frowning. Even more so than before, actually, Adora realised with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Had she botched the explanation? Maybe she shouldn't have come alone, but Sweet Bee didn't get along with most of Adora's friends, especially Catra and Glimmer. Though she also didn't get along with Adora…

"So… You want us to talk to Earth healers about our problems so they can analyse us." Sweet Beet stared at her.

That was… technically correct, but not in that sense. "I think this could help you get better about, you know," Adora replied, looking at Peekablue. This was about him, after all - Sweet Bee wasn't traumatised by war.

"I see." Peekablue smiled faintly. "But I also see the risks of being taken advantage of."

"And of feeling obligated," Sweet Bee added.

"What? No!" Adora shook her head. "This isn't a trade; this is an honest offer to help you. No strings attached!" What did they think she was doing?

"So you say. And you might mean it. But you'd have to be a very selfish person not to feel an obligation to return such a favour," Sweet Bee said. "Glimmer has been quite clear about the fact that she expects us to be grateful for the protection the Alliance provides. Whether or not we want it."

Well, that was… not entirely wrong. Glimmer had been vocal about people profiting from the sacrifices of the Alliance. But it wasn't right either. Adora shook her head. "Glimmer was talking about using the Stargate without contributing to its security." And putting Etheria at risk, which was kind of a negative contribution to the gate security, as Bow had described it.

Sweet Bee rolled her eyes, but Peekablue slowly nodded. "But you don't want to share responsibility over the Stargate's operation - you want to control it."

"We kind of have to," Adora said, trying not to wince. "It's crucial for the war effort."

Sweet Bee scoffed at that. "The usual excuse!"

"It's not an excuse. We need the Stargate to wage the war - the distances are too big for alternatives," Adora told her. Sure, there was the communication network Entrapta and Sam's spy bots were putting up, but that could only handle communication - they certainly couldn't move princesses and other people through it.

"Earth nominally has the whole planet contributing to secure the Stargate, but the Alliance effectively controls it as well there," Peekablue pointed out.

"Which is a problem. You want us to contribute to the defence of Etheria, but we wouldn't have any say about how it's being handled." Sweet Bee shook her head. "The Alliance is just too big for Etheria."

"Do you want us to break up? In the middle of the war?" Adora shook her head. That would be crazy! And they couldn't expect the princesses to stop being friends! That wasn't how it worked!

"No," Peekablue spoke again, cutting off what Sweet Bee had been about to say. "But we expect you to acknowledge that you are so powerful, what the smaller kingdoms could contribute to the war wouldn't matter at all." He leaned forward in his seat, staring - for the first time, ever - directly at Adora and meeting her eyes. "War has traditionally been the business of princesses. Of course, soldiers served and fought in various roles, but a war was generally decided by princesses matching up against each other. The Horde broke that tradition."

Well, Hordak wasn't a princess. Though, technically, he was powerful enough to be treated as one, he hadn't been raised on Etheria. Of course, he'd fight a war differently.

"Yes. The Horde fought differently. And now they're part of the Alliance," Sweet Bee said.

"Well… yes?" Adora didn't shrug; that would have been rude. It was obvious that the Alliance would have taken in former Horde soldiers; that was the right thing to do. And the smart thing to do, as Catra would put it.

"But you - at least most of the Alliance - seem to expect that everyone else continues the same as before," Peekablue said. "Even though things have changed drastically. Earth kingdoms have no princesses - but many times the population of Etheria. And you have Horde Prime's fleet of ships and the Horde army of bots. What do you need anyone else for? Why do you want more people to be exposed to the horrors of war? You already have enough soldiers."

That was… it wasn't like that! "We don't expect everyone to fight," Adora protested. "You can help in other ways as well if you want to."

"You'd have our artisans craft a skiff while the factories of the Alliance and Earth spit out shuttles by the dozens?" Peekablue shook his head. "What for? A skiff more or less wouldn't really change anything for a war on this scale."

"But a skiff more or less would change a lot for a family on Etheria. Or a village. Not every kingdom is large or rich," Sweet Bee added.

"Trading with Earth will change a lot as well," Adora pointed out. "And you are planning that."

"Yes. We have to," Sweet Bee told her. "But that trade will be more equal, and more profitable, than just working for the Alliance. We won't have to turn into the Horde for this. We won't have to change as much. We will be able to control it."

"We hope so, at least," Peekablue said. "We might be wrong, but we have to try anyway. We owe it to our people."

Sweet Bee nodded firmly.

Adora winced. She should have taken someone else with her. She hadn't come for this. "I see," she said, smiling wryly when Peekablue raised his eyebrows. "But I didn't come here to discuss politics. I wanted to talk to you about therapy, nothing more. It might help you with your… issue." He was suffering, and he shouldn't be. No one should.

Sweet Bee and Peekablue exchanged a glance. "We'll consider it," he said.

Adora wasn't a politician, but she knew that was a polite way to say no. Catra would tell her she told her so. But Adora had had to try, at least.