Chapter 97: The Scientist Part 3
PZ-825, January 30th, 1999 (Earth Time)
They wouldn't inform Thor about Loki's plans. Samantha Carter couldn't say she disagreed with the decision. It was pragmatic, and the arguments for not exposing the Asgard made sense. But…
She glanced at Daniel. She would have expected him to oppose this course of action more strongly. He was usually quite vocal, sometimes even bordering on insubordination, when it came to being honest with other species. Also, he was correct in that honesty generally made it easier to forge good relations or even an alliance with another species. And the Asgard were an advanced species, with technology on par - at least - with the Horde's. Very valuable allies.
How would they react to the Alliance covering for Loki? Of course, they had no obligation to inform the Asgard about Loki's plans, but that was a legalistic argument. The Asgard might accept it, but they would react accordingly to any future proposals from Earth or Etheria.
Sam would have expected the Etherians, the majority of them, at least, but certainly Adora, to push for honesty. Loki wasn't their friend, after all, and as Daniel had remarked correctly, they had not promised to keep his secrets.
"Well, with that settled," the Colonel spoke up, "let's pick up the Stargate. Before Loki calls us again because he forgot something. Like his conscience."
"That's a bit harsh, Jack," Daniel said. "He is facing the extinction of his species - that will heavily influence his decisions."
"And not for the better," the Colonel muttered.
"I don't agree with his decisions," Daniel explained, "but I can understand his motives. How would we act in his place?"
Sam nodded. That explained his reaction. Somewhat.
"We wouldn't produce kids as test subjects," the Colonel said.
"Or judge them according to their appearance," Bow added with a scowl.
Everyone nodded at that.
"Of course not! That wouldn't make much sense. Appearances, even within the same species, can vary enormously," Entrapta said. "If the genome is similar enough, they're the same species no matter their appearance!"
Well, the scientifically accepted criteria to decide if two beings were members of the same species was the ability to have fertile offspring together. But with magic and advanced technology, that wasn't really a good way to differentiate between species any more.
"I don't think the Asgard agree with that view," Hordak said.
"Well, they're wrong! The science checks out!" Entrapta insisted.
"And we can't assume that Loki's sentiments towards us are shared by the rest of the Asgard," WrongHordak added.
"We will have to ask them," Priest said. "Even if we might not agree on being one species, we are closely related. They are family."
Sam frowned at that. Priest had studied Earth's history, hadn't he? He had probably focused on the various religions, but could he have missed how so many humans were all too willing to exclude other humans from humanity as they defined it?
"I thought you didn't want to tell Thor what his brother was up to," the Colonel said, frowning as well.
"Telling Thor might force Loki's hand - he might have surveillance in place to receive advanced warning of such contact. And as everyone, Loki deserves his chance at redemption," Priest said. "But that doesn't mean we should avoid the other members of his species forever. Redemption is not free, after all. Those who repent have to atone as well."
Sam saw Catra wince at that. Hordak, though, didn't seem to react, although he might have grown a little tenser.
"You expect atonement from Loki?" Daniel asked.
"I would expect him to do what he could to make amends," Priest explained. "To use his gifts for the benefit of others in need." Turning to bow at Adora, he added: "As Your Divine Highness taught and showed us by Your holy mercy."
"And what if Loki doesn't want to repent or atone? He seemed pretty insistent that he did nothing wrong," the Colonel asked.
Priest smiled serenely. "Those who reject a chance at redeeming themselves and continue to harm and threaten the innocents shall be brought to justice in the name of the Holy She-Ra, Princess of Power. Everyone deserves a chance at redemption, but not everyone deserves a second or third chance. The needs of the innocents are not to be sacrificed to save the guilty."
Catra winced again, Sam saw. But so did Adora. And Entrapta was frowning again.
Sam didn't want to deal with that right now. She cleared her throat. "Let's prepare the Stargate for transport." She much preferred to deal with an engineering challenge, even one as small as that.
Bright Moon, Etheria, January 31st, 1999 (Earth Time)
Catra stretched as she walked over to their bed, then sighed and let herself fall backwards on it. If there was one thing that was the same in the Horde and the Alliance, it was the paperwork. Not in the details - Hordak's forms had been far more detailed, and Shadow Weaver had enjoyed having her redo her reports to add obscure information without telling her why that was important. Probably just to mess with her.
But in general, doing the paperwork after a mission felt the same. You were trying to remember everything that had happened during an operation, even if you wanted to forget it, and you were hoping you hadn't missed something important. In the Horde, you also tried to make yourself look good and blame someone else for whatever had gone wrong. Usually Kyle. You didn't do that in the Alliance. Well, Catra didn't. Lying in reports led to people drawing the wrong conclusions. And that led to mistakes in planning. And failed missions. Which then would lead to more lying.
But in the Horde, not lying would get you punished. Catra knew that very well. At least when Shadow Weaver was in charge. Then again, just existing led to getting punishment from Shadow Weaver if you were Catra.
She sighed again. She was sure people in the Alliance were doing the same thing. The lying, not the punishment. Or both. Not the princesses and their friends, of course. Nor SG-1. Well, they wouldn't lie to make themselves look good, but she wouldn't put it past O'Neill to fiddle with a report to hide some stuff that might have broken some rule. Of course, his superiors, at least the good ones, would also know that.
But the rank and file? They would be doing the same shit to get promotions and avoid getting punished. Hell, the Earth countries in the Alliance were probably doing the same thing, hiding mistakes and blaming others, to look better than their competitors for influence and technology.
It was a damn good thing Adora was the Supreme Commander. She could be trusted.
Her ears twitched when she heard a tiny noise from under the bed. That had sounded like… She rolled over and lowered her head, peering under the bed upside-down.
Two slightly glowing eyes looked back at her, nose and whiskers twitching.
"Luna? What are you doing down here?" Catra asked.
The kitten didn't answer. Probably thought it was a stupid name. So did Catra. But it was the least stupid suggestion from Adora. And Catra… hadn't really felt like naming the kitten.
She sniffed the air but smelt no food, rotting or fresh. But Luna was still acting weird. "You're hiding something," Catra told her. "I know it."
Luna meowed again. Trying to play innocent. She wasn't very good at it - Catra could see through her facade almost as well as Melog could. So, where… ah! She grinned, flashing her teeth as she spotted a piece of fabric peeking out from underneath the kitten's paws. "Stole something again, huh?"
Luna, predictably, ignored her and tried to play it cool. Well, hiding a scrap of fabric was better than trying to hide a stolen piece of fish. Catra still wasn't sure if Melog had actually missed that for an entire day despite the smell or if they had wanted to remind Catra and Adora that Melog wasn't the one who had adopted the kitten and was only catsitting it as a favour.
She rolled off the bed, landing on all fours, then quickly lay down and shimmied under the bed. "Let's see your haul!"
Luna tried to defend her toy, but all she managed was to hang on to it and get dragged out from underneath the bed along the fabric.
Which, Catra realised when she spread it out, was actually a handkerchief. A silken one. With extensive, if now slightly fraying, embroidery. Familiar embroidery.
Catra snorted and petted Luna, who was still trying to get her prize back. "Well, I guess Glimmer has enough handkerchiefs to not miss this one." It was probably not even hers but from a guest room, and those were practically official souvenirs to take with you. Or they should be.
"What would Glimmer miss?"
Ah, Adora had finished showering. Catra turned her head and let the piece drop. While Luna pounced on it and started kicking it with her hind claws - she had a long way to go before she could kill a mouse like that - Catra looked her lover over. Adora was wrapped in a towel and nothing else, her slightly wet hair was hanging from her shoulders, her poof was gone… Catra licked her lips.
"Catra?" Adora raised her eyebrows. She was blushing just a little.
"Nothing," Catra replied, rising from the floor.
"Nothing?"
"Luna stole a handkerchief." Catra cocked her head as she stepped closer to Adora. "It's her new favourite toy."
"Oh. But we got her plenty of toys!"
Catra snorted. "She's a cat. Gifts are never as appealing as things you had to hunt down. You should know that." She reached out and hooked one claw under the hem of the towel.
"But still…"
Catra pulled, and the towel fell away.
"Oh."
And Adora shut up.
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, February 2nd, 1999
At least they hadn't moved the briefing room's chairs. Not yet. Jack O'Neill had already seen some offices in Stargate Command filled with brown cardboard boxes. It looked as if they were moving an ordinary household, not the most important military base on Earth.
Of course, he doubted that the Command Council would accept having to stand during their debriefings. Even - or especially - if that would shorten them. Having the team they were debriefing stand, on the other hand, as if this were a tribunal, would certainly please some of the generals. Especially Sidorov, who probably hadn't stopped scowling at Jack and the others since they had returned through the gate three days ago - and had immediately been swept away for a debriefing by the Alliance in Brussels.
"We've finally received your report, Colonel," the Russian general ground out. "Three days late."
"Time constraints, sir." Jack made an effort not to shrug casually in return. Hammond wouldn't like it, and as much as Jack would love to tweak the Russian's nose, he didn't want to annoy Hammond. The general deserved better than being stuck in a council with the likes of Sidorov. Or being stuck in Stargate Command while the Alliance prepared the biggest expeditionary force ever.
"As short as it was, you had ample time to prepare a report in your spaceship on the way back!" Sidorov snapped. "You could have handed it over the moment you set foot back into this base!"
Yeah, Jack could have done that. Easily. And he had spent some of the time on the way to PZ-825 writing his reports. But that wasn't Sidorov's business. "I am sorry, General, but I had to check with Alliance Command first to know what parts of the report weren't classified." Jack smiled sweetly at the Russian. Nothing was as sweet as having an excuse that was completely true.
"You were on the same ship as the Supreme Commander of the Alliance! You could have asked at the same time you could've written the report!"
"Supreme Commander Adora doesn't like to unilaterally decide such things unless there's an urgent need," Jack said. Also mostly true.
"I don't think the timing of the report is very important," Petit cut in before the Russian could embarrass himself any further. "Judging from the report, it's obvious that, except for using the Stargate to return, the mission didn't concern Stargate Command."
"That's what the report claims," Li commented with a polite smile. "But then, that is the entire content of the report."
This time, Jack couldn't help shrugging. "The rest is classified, General." No intel for you to pass back to China. Especially not about the boarded Ha'tak they had had to scuttle - that was disappointing enough without outsiders becoming aware of it.
Li nodded, still smiling. China probably had spies in the Alliance already. Though if any of them were placed high enough to have access to the full report was another question. Jack doubted it. The Russians were another thing, of course - the KGB had penetrated a lot of NATO during the Cold War, and Jack didn't think they had dismantled their spy network since then. But even so, information about Loki was classified at the highest levels, so even the Russians might be in the dark.
Might. It never paid to underestimate them. Even if Sidorov was an idiot.
"I concur," Haig said. "This mission doesn't concern Stargate Command."
Hammond nodded in agreement, and that was that. "Yes. You are dismissed, Colonel."
"Sir."
A waste of time, all in all, Jack thought as he left the debriefing room. And the whole song and dance with Sidorov and Li was getting old. He almost couldn't wait until they were officially transferred to the Alliance forces. Especially if it meant he wouldn't have to move quarters twice in a few months or so. Although it wasn't as if he was going to move his home, anyway. He liked Colorado Springs, and commuting wouldn't be an issue for much longer. He might not be able to requisition a shuttle for his personal use - that was reserved for generals - but Jack was pretty sure that if he asked, the Etherians would give him one of theirs. Or have Entrapta build him one, if he didn't mind flying an experimental craft that would probably be faster than anything else and have a tiny little chance of blowing up.
Although Carter wouldn't be happy. She was pretty protective of Entrapta and would see this as an attempt to exploit the woman. Well, it would be, kind of.
On the other hand, the Horde and the Asgard apparently had transporters like straight from Star Trek. If they got something like that set up, commuting wouldn't take any time at all. If it worked perfectly, of course. Both the Asgard and Horde Prime used clone bodies, after all, so they could be replaced easily if there was a transporter accident. Jack didn't have or want a cloned body, and he could wait until Carter and Entrapta deemed the things safe. Wouldn't want to give some people ideas about cloned soldiers, either.
On second thought, he added Bow to the list. The boy was very sensible. Jack trusted Carter with his life, of course, but a third opinion never hurt when it came to potentially turning your insides out.
Not that it was an urgent problem, of course. Entrapta, Bow and Carter couldn't really focus on the transporter stuff right now, not with the Loki issue to be solved. And the need to find a cure for the Jaffa's immune system problem so Adora didn't have to visit a POW camp every day. And everything else Carter and Entapta were up to - Jack had no doubt that they had many more projects than he was aware of. Like that alien data cube they had found last year.
But that could wait. They had to deal with Loki first.
Research Station Alpha, The First Moon of Enchantment, February 3rd, 1999 (Earth Time)
"Research Station Alpha is at your disposal, Adora."
"Thank you, Alpha." Adora frowned a little. She didn't think it was 'creepy' that Alpha sounded like Light Hope, unlike Catra, but hearing the bot always made her remember Light Hope. "We're here to look through the database. Please ensure my friends have complete access."
"Yes, Adora."
Adora narrowed her eyes a little. Was Alpha being honest with her? Or did her programming make her keep secrets? From Adora's friends, or even Adora herself? Like Light Hope? Who had struggled with that until…
She shook her head. She couldn't worry herself over that when she had no way to tell if it was true. Alpha wasn't Light Hope. She wasn't part of a superweapon project that needed She-Ra to betray Etheria. There had been no reason to make her keep such secrets from her. The First Ones had researched and developed biological weapons here, but Alpha hadn't hidden that from Adora and her friends.
"OK, let's start looking for Asgard genome data!" Entrapta said as she started using one of the consoles in the control room. "If we find the original data, we can just hand that over to the Asgard and their problems are solved! Well, they would still have to adapt their cloning pods to grow different bodies, and they would probably have to alter the appearance since Loki mentioned that his species had looked differently in the past, and they might want to check for what caused the degradation to begin with, but in principle, their problems will be solved."
Adora heard Catra snort at that. Her lover was leaning against another console, watching the big holoprojection where displays of various species flickered as Entrapta was working.
"Hm. There's no 'Asgard' entry. I think. Though the First Ones might have given them another designation - or used a scientific classification instead. Which would be more logical than using a name, I think. Names are sometimes weird, and they tend to change with linguistic drift over time. Or when a language is replaced. And sometimes, they just change. And sometimes, people give others a new name even though they liked their old name. At least on Earth," Entrapta commented.
Catra scoffed again. "Earth isn't exactly a good role model."
More images of different species appeared and disappeared as Entrapta's hair flew over the console's keyboard.
"It's not too different compared to Etheria," Entrapta disagreed. "Mainly, it has more people and less genetic variation amongst them."
"And very different customs," Glimmer added as she joined Adora.
"Well, they aren't too different compared to Etheria during the Age of War," Bow objected. "My dads said they want to look into that period for a comparative research project," he explained. "The parallels are quite striking, or so they claim - at least after some preliminary research. They will need to travel to Earth to gather more data."
Adora blinked. "I thought they were mainly researching the First Ones." They had been visiting Alpha a lot, after all.
"They said that, technically, humans are First Ones. Or at least some of them are." Bow smiled a little sheepishly.
Catra snorted once more. "I bet they just want an excuse to visit Earth."
"Well…" Bow shrugged. "It's probably true. But they said that they wanted to compare how the First Ones affected Earth and Etheria. I've told them that they'd be in danger there, at least in some countries, but…"
"Can't stop them." Cara stretched. "Well, we could, actually. And we did."
"Well, they should be safe in our allied countries," Adora said. And they couldn't keep people from using the Stargate to travel to safe planets. That wasn't right.
"That's up to Earth," Glimmer said. "So far, they have blocked civilian travel, claiming that they lack the facilities to handle it and want to wait for Stargate Command to move to Canada and get set up in a dedicated base there before allowing visitors."
"They'll expect to be allowed to travel to Etheria as well," Adora said.
"Yes." Glimmer scowled at the thought.
Adora knew that Sweet Bee was still arguing for free travel. Glimmer said they would settle for limited travel, but it would take some time to hash out how limited. Well, that wasn't her problem. Adora might be the Supreme Commander of the Alliance, but this was Glimmer's problem. She had the experience. Sort of.
"Oh! I think I found something!" Entrapta announced. "Let me blow it up. I mean, magnify."
The holoprojections were replaced with a single figure, slowly rotating around itself. It didn't quite look like an Asgard, but there were some similarities.
"That's the original genome of the Asgard?" Bow asked.
"I don't think so. Though it's hard to define what the original genome is since we're constantly evolving. Kind of." Entrapta shrugged. "We could probably define it as the genome data before they started cloning new bodies."
"Yes," Bow agreed.
So did Adora - that sounded logical.
"Anyway, the data entry here mentions signs of genome degradation, so it probably isn't the original genome data unless they already had that problem before they started using clones," Entrapta said.
"Alpha?" Adora asked, a little belatedly. "Is that the oldest data you have of the Asgard?"
"Assigning label 'Asgard' to degradation data," Alpha said. "Yes, this is the oldest data regarding this particular species."
"Oh." Entrapt frowned. "I guess it's not a solution, then." She perked up. "But it should make it easier for them to find a solution. And they can use it to gain more time for more research! So, it's kind of a solution."
"Good." Catra didn't sound as if she cared much. "So, do we hand the data over to Loki or Thor? Or both? And do we want to invite Asgard scientists to this station?"
Those were good questions. Adora looked at Glimmer. Her friend was scowling again.
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, February 4th, 1999
"...and so we know part of the solution for the Asgard's problems. And if the genome degradation that Alpha projected is correct, or even if it's just close to the actual degradation, then they really do have a serious problem, Sam. If their genome were a structural component of a bot, the poor thing would be on the brink of collapse! Anyway, we decided to meet with Loki first before deciding if we inform Thor about this. Well, if we inform the other Asgard, but we only have his number. And Loki's, but he didn't claim to speak for his species. Although Thor didn't claim that, either, technically, but as Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet, he does have an official position that seems quite high. Unless he lied, but then Loki would have said something when Daniel mentioned it, at least I think so, right?"
"Yes, I also think so." Samantha Carter nodded at Entrapta. "Although we can't be sure - we don't know much about the Asgard, so we can't assume that they would act and react as we do." Though what they knew pointed at a similar morality. And Thor had seemed to be quite a decent individual.
Of course, con men often made very honest impressions.
"Well, we now have their past genome data, and if they don't have it, and I think they don't, we know something about them they don't." Entrapta shrugged. "Anyway, that's what we got from Alpha. The others are still discussing things. Even Hordak didn't want to do science instead," she added with a pout.
"Ah." Sam nodded again. She didn't quite mind that. Hordak was a remarkable scientist, as Sam knew from both personal experience and the fact that he had managed to recreate advanced technology almost by himself after stranding on Etheria. But he also was a former warlord who had almost conquered Etheria. And, as the Colonel would put it, he had more issues than National Geographic.
But Entrapta clearly was in love with him. And, at least as far as Sam could tell, the feelings were reciprocated. So, as long as Entrapta wasn't hurting, it wasn't any of Sam's business. Thanks to Entrapta's somewhat enthusiastic habit of oversharing information, she already knew more than she had ever wanted to know about their relationship.
Entrapta hopped off the table she had been sitting on. "I know if we just tell Thor that we found some data about his people's genome trouble in one of our labs, it might look suspicious since we shouldn't know about that unless we were snooping around, but not telling him would look worse, wouldn't it?"
"It's a dilemma," Sam agreed. No matter what they ultimately decided to do, it would have unpleasant repercussions. Either Loki or Thor wouldn't be happy once everything was said and done.
"Yes." Entrapta nodded with a frown, her hair bopping. "It would be so much easier if this was just a science problem. Science problems have clear solutions. Dilemmas don't."
"Engineering requires compromises as well," Sam pointed out.
"That's not the same. Engineering is fun. And you might not get everything in a design, but you'll get something - and more than you had before! But with a dilemma, we'll have to disappoint someone." She perked up. "Although if we solve their genome problem, everyone will be happy!"
Sam winced. For a moment, she pondered agreeing. But that wouldn't be honest. "I don't think everyone will be happy."
"Well, not the Goa'uld, since the Asgard don't like them and if their main problem is solved, they can help us fight the Goa'uld."
Sam shook her head. "Even amongst the Asgard, some might not be happy."
"What? But that wouldn't make sense! Their species is about to become extinct!" Entrapta stared at her.
"Some Asgard might prefer their species to die out rather than to change in what they might think are too drastic ways," Sam said. Of course, that was projecting human traits on an alien species. But Loki's attitude towards the Horde clones certainly showed similar views.
"Really?" Entrapta scowled. "Well, Loki said the Clones were not Asgard enough, even though their genes are, but that was merely an appearance issue. Stupid, but we can fix that. And we would be using older Asgard genetic data, so it would be them."
"Some Asgard might not want to return to that state," Sam said. "But I just wanted to say that there will always be someone unhappy with a decision. You can't make everyone happy."
"That's stupid."
Many humans, and, presumably, aliens as well, were stupid, Sam knew that. And many were petty, cruel, vindictive, sexist and bigoted. "We can't change that. We can just do our best for everyone."
Entrapta sighed. "Maybe. People should be less stupid."
Sam nodded in wry agreement.
"Anyway, let's do science!" her friend perked up. "We can go over the genome data I brought. And then we can check the new parameters for the stealth shuttle after the testing - I have some refinements I think would improve the stealth device based on the Goa'uld sensors. Look at that!" Entrapta's hair moved over the keyboard closest to her, and a screen lit up with data. Interesting data.
Sam took a step closer to the screen and started studying it.
Bright Moon, Etheria, February 4th, 1999 (Earth Time)
"...and I don't think we know enough about the Asgard yet to make a decision about telling them. About Loki or the genome data."
Catra nodded in agreement with Glimmer's comment. They had met Thor and Loki. Once each. That wasn't enough to know either, much less their species.
But not everyone in the Princess Alliance agreed. Perfuma shook her head. "But is there any doubt that they need our help? That they are threatened by extinction?"
"Well, we only have Loki's word for it," Glimmer replied. "But the data we got from Alpha supports the claim."
"And I don't think Loki's dumb enough to make up something like this when we could easily check with Thor if it's true," Catra added.
"So, we know that they need our help. Then we can't hold back information that might save them." Perfuma looked at Glimmer.
"We're not planning to hold the data back. I just think we should know more about the Asgard before getting involved with… this," Glimmer said.
Mermista frowned. "We jumped to help Earth based on what SG-1 told us. Why should we treat the Asgard differently?"
"Weren't you against helping SG-1?" Glimmer narrowed her eyes at Mermista.
"I was sceptical of their claims," Mermista shot back. "I didn't doubt that we should help them if they were telling the truth."
Ah. So, Mermista was probably just being annoying. Or trying to get back at Glimmer. Catra shrugged a bit theatrically. "And you trust Loki?"
"You just explained that we have data that supports his claims." Mermista switched to frowning at Catra.
She smiled back.
Adora squeezed her thigh under the table, and Catra swallowed her next comment. She could be good.
"It's not quite the same," Adora said. "Or it is, kind of. We will help the Asgard. That's sure. Just as we decided to help Earth. But we need to know how we can help them without causing more trouble for them."
"Yes," Bow agreed. "We don't want to cause rioting or worse. Earth was bad enough."
"That couldn't be helped," Glimmer told him.
"And that was the fault of the Americans. They decided to keep the Goa'uld threat a secret," Catra added. "Should we have kept their secret and ignored the whole planet?" That wasn't how you fought a war. "Besides, Earth people riot over anything."
"It's not that simple," Adora disagreed with a frown.
"Anyway, we can wait with giving them the data until we know more about the Asgard," Glimmer said. "So we'll know how to avoid more problems."
"Don't you think that hiding a possible cure against extinction will cause problems?" Netossa asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Yes," Glimmer ground out. "But if we just hand it over, they'll wonder why we would be aware of the problem in the first place, and then they'll know that we have had talked with Loki without telling them. So, they would be annoyed with us anyway - but being handed a potential cure should make up for that."
"Let's hope you're right." Netossa seemed to doubt it. At least, Catra thought so.
"Yes." Frosta also looked sceptical.
"So, why don't we tell them about Loki?" Mermista asked. "We already know he's breaking their laws. And he was planning to deceive them by using their mortal enemy."
"Which is a very reckless plan," Perfuma added. "What if some of those Replicators escape? That would be like introducing an invasive species, but much worse, wouldn't it?"
"It would be an invading species."
Catra's joke earned her some glares and groans, but she could see that Adora had to struggle not to chuckle, even as she frowned at Catra, so it was all good. And Mermista, Netossa and Glimmer chuckled as well.
"It's not a joking matter," Perfuma told her with a pout.
Catra shrugged.
"Yes, Loki is very reckless," Adora said. "But he is also desperate to save his species. If he has hope that we can help, he won't have to take more risks."
"Letting him experiment on the Third Moon of Enchantment seems pretty risky," Netossa said.
"We can keep an eye on him there," Bow retorted. "And if he is willing to use those Replicators, then letting him experiment anywhere is a greater risk."
Catra nodded.
"That's another argument for telling Thor about him," Mermista said.
Catra couldn't disagree with that. But…
"I think he deserves a chance to change," Adora said.
Ah. Perfuma understood that, Catra saw - she was glancing at Scorpia.
"And we need more information before we can decide how to proceed," Glimmer added.
And between the owner of the moon and the owner of the research station - at least according to Glimmer's claim and Alpha's opinion - that was it. Some might disagree with them, but they didn't have enough support in the Alliance.
"As long as Loki is under constant surveillance, I guess that's OK," Netossa said. She was still frowning, though.
Adora smiled at her. "That's where you come in. If you want to, that is."
Netossa nodded, as did Spinnerella. Others would have been annoyed, Catra knew, but those two had their priorities straight. And they were amongst the most experienced princesses. They wouldn't let Loki get away with anything.
Unlike others.
Gate Area, Near Bright Moon, Etheria, February 6th, 1999 (Earth Time)
Waiting for the gate to open, Jack O'Neill couldn't help wondering a little at the differences between Stargate Command and whatever the Etherians called their Staragate area. Not the gear, actually. The Etherians had built their base on the ground, not inside a mountain, but they had used former Horde technology and stuff, which apparently didn't look that different from Earth technology. There were some differences, of course. They didn't have an iris but moved the entire gate into the ground to seal it, and their gate computer looked a whole lot different, as did their power plant. But as far as the gate was concerned, it worked out the same.
No, the difference was in the staff. SG-1 was the flagship team of Stargate Command, and Jack was aware that most other members looked up to them, but Jack and his team answered to General Hammond. And now the Command Council, but that was, well, different. Ultimately, SG-1 were soldiers following orders. Unless the orders make absolutely no sense, a small voice in the back of his mind reminded him.
The Etherians, though, were in command. Glimmer was the Queen of Bright Moon, arguably the most powerful kingdom of Etheria - they laid claims to the moons of the planet! And Adora was the Supreme Commander of the Alliance. Everyone else was either a princess ruling a country of their own or in a relationship with one. And Jack knew how much influence that granted someone.
So, the gate guards, from the two soldiers standing guard at the exit of the gate room to the commander of the entire force here were looking at their leaders, their monarchs, not at - in theory - fellow soldiers.
Jack was both a little jealous - envious, as Daniel and Carter would correct him - and happy that he wasn't in their place. Either place. He didn't think power corrupted, but with power came responsibility. If an officer fucked up, their people paid the price. Jack didn't need more of that pressure.
Though the others seemed to bear it well, he found as he looked at them. Or they hid the stress well. They were raised from birth to take up their positions, of course, and they had led their kingdoms through the Horde War, so they probably were used to it.
Glimmer was joking with Bow, Adora trying not to glance too much at Catra, who was lounging on top of a console like, well, a cat, in a very distracting way - if you were attracted to catwomen. And not to hot, smart blondes in unif… Jack deliberately didn't look at the console where Carter and Entrapta were bent over a screen doing whatever scientific geniuses did while waiting. They'd share their results, if they were important, soon enough.
So Jack looked at the rest of the people present. Hordak, WrongHordak and Priest formed a group. Jack wasn't an expert on Clones, but they looked as if they weren't comfortable so close to each other. Well, that wasn't his problem.
Netossa and Spinnerella were talking with Mermista and Sea Hawk. The former were holding hands, the latter… Well, if anyone didn't know already that they were a couple, a glance at Sea Hawk's expression when he looked at Mermista and her reaction to his gaze would make it obvious.
Once more, Jack felt envious. Shaking his head, he turned to look at the gate, but Melog caught his eye. The weird cat-alien was looking at him, their head cocked to the side. Jack wasn't an expert on cats, alien or not, either, but Melog seemed amused.
Jack narrowed his eyes. In response, the cat turned to make a point of looking at Carter, then back at Jack.
He gritted his teeth. They had talked about that. The Etherians knew what Carter and Jack thought about the whole thing. Which wasn't a thing in the first place, which was the point. There were very good reasons for the regulations.
Melog's alien eyes flared for a moment, and Jack heard Catra snicker from the side. Great. Telepathic gossiping was a thing. This was worse than high school. Of course, most of the princesses looked as if they were barely out of high school and behaved like it, so he should have expected that.
"OK! It has now been exactly seven days, well, seven days on PK-825, since Loki left the planet!" Entrapta announced. "Let's call him!"
Right. Different planets had different days. Jack wasn't sure Loki had meant seven days on PK-825, but it was a reasonable enough assumption. It was close enough to seven days on Earth - or Etheria - anyway. If Loki was expecting different days, well, they would find out in a minute.
"Dialling," Carter announced unnecessarily as the gate started to spin. One advantage of working directly with - or for - the leaders of the Princess Alliance was that no one made a fuss about Carter taking over a console. Of course, that might also be because she was best friends with Entrapta.
Whatever. "Daniel, we're starting!" Jack called out.
"I noticed!" Daniel yelled back as he closed whatever book he had borrowed from the royal archives of Bright Moon and joined the others near the gate.
"Wormhole stable. Establishing communications," Carter reported.
A holographic symbol appeared in front of her console, slowly rotating around itself. It looked like an alien letter. Or some scribble.
But before Jack could joke about it, the symbol vanished and was replaced by a little grey alien.
Loki.
He was fast to answer - he must have been waiting for their call, Jack realised. Quite eager. Or desperate. Of course, they already knew that.
"Greetings."
"Hello, Loki!" Adora nodded at him with a wide smile. "How are you doing?"
"Awaiting your response to my request."
Jack heard Catra snicker again, and he had to suppress a chuckle himself. Both at Adora trying to make small talk and Loki's reaction.
"Ah." Adora flushed a little. "Well, we decided to invite you to the research station, to further discuss how to proceed with helping your people."
"We've found some genetic data, too!" Entrapta added.
Asgard had big eyes to begin with. Loki's grew a size at hearing that, or so it looked to Jack.
If only he knew if that was a good or a bad thing.