Chapter 98: The Scientist Part 4
Research Station Alpha, The First Moon of Enchantment, February 6th, 1999 (Earth Time)
"...and this is Alpha's control room. To which you don't need access for experiments, so you're not allowed inside. Not even with one of us coming along."
Entrapta was as blunt as ever. Well, Adora knew that. But Loki didn't seem to mind that - or the restrictions she had explained to him since he just nodded. Or he was good at hiding his reactions. He hadn't really acted impressed when they had entered the research station.
"And where is the genome data you mentioned?"
Or he was just fixated on the data about the old Asgard. Older Asgard, Adora corrected herself. They didn't have the genome data of the Asgard before they started cloning their bodies.
"That's in the central database of the station. It's accessible from any console - if you have the correct clearance," Sam explained.
"I expect I have the necessary clearance," Loki said. "I can hardly work on anything without access to crucial data."
Catra, who was walking next to Adora, snorted just loud enough for Adora to hear. Adora didn't react, though - she knew Catra's opinion about how far they could trust Loki.
"You can access the data for experiments," Sam told him. "But any such access will have to be cleared by Alpha."
"Nothing personal," Jack added with a toothy grin. "But we really don't want you creating another Horde."
Loki frowned at him. "I have learned from my mistakes. And I explained that you can terminate any such experiment if you feel it's dangerous."
"Yeah, see, that's kind of a sign you haven't really learned from your mistake," Jack told him. "We don't want to 'terminate' children."
"Yes," WrongHordak said, nodding sharply. "People are not experiments."
Loki didn't react to him. So far, he had ignored all the Clones whenever possible, Adora had noticed. But was it because he was ashamed of his past and didn't want to confront it or because he was ashamed of them - or because he didn't consider them people?
She suppressed a sigh. Whatever his thoughts, one thing was clear: Loki didn't get why you didn't experiment with children. Maybe it was a mistake to let him help. On the other hand, Catra and Hordak had taken a long time to learn from their mistakes and change. No, she wouldn't write off Loki after a few hours. That would be wrong.
"Anyway, that's why we don't let you experiment without close supervision," Entrapta went on, still smiling. "So you can't make another mistake like that. That would be a shame, so close to solving your people's problem, right?"
Loki stared at her. "...yes," he said after a moment.
No, he still didn't get it. "If you break our rules, you won't be allowed to continue your experiments," Adora told him. "We won't give you access to the data any more."
"And we'll hand over everything to the Asgard," Catra added.
Loki tensed at that. "I understand."
"OK! Now, let's head to the lab!" Entrapta's hair pointed the way, and she marched off.
"I bet he doesn't understand what we want him to understand," Catra mumbled as they followed their friend.
"It should be sufficient that he understands the rules and that breaking them will ruin him," Hordak added - he had been close enough to overhear them.
"Indeed!" Priest said, in a lower voice than usual for him. "Should he betray Your trust, Your Divine Highness, his punishment will be swift and appropriately harsh."
Adora was tempted to ask what Priest considered 'appropriately harsh'. Really tempted. But this wasn't the time for that. But she would have to ask him later - no matter that she wasn't a goddess, people would assume, were assuming, that Priest acted under her orders. Which, to be fair, he kind of did. But he also acted without her orders.
"And this is the lab!" Entrapta spread her arms and her hair. "Here is where the ancestors of most of Etheria's population were created by the First Ones! You could say that this is the birthplace of our world! Well, most of our world - we don't know much about the civilisation before the First Ones arrived, but we know there was one since they, not the First Ones, created She-Ra! Or discovered her, if you think the theory that She-Ra is the embodiment of Etheria's magic is correct."
A question they might never be able to answer, Adora knew. And a question that apparently wasn't merely historical. Some people claimed that She-Ra was 'the only true princess of Etheria'. Which was kind of weird since Adora was a First One and hadn't even been born on the planet.
"Based on your species, it seems as if the original civilisation on your planet was an off-shoot of the Ancients," Loki said.
"Well, that's possible," Entrapta said. "But the First Ones didn't consider them First Ones. According to Alpha, the genetic differences were too big. Not too big to overcome, of course, since they cross-bred."
"And it's ancient history," Jack cut in - a little forcefully. "We're here to discuss your experiments with Asgard genes. Or, more precisely, what experiments with Asgard genes you aren't allowed."
Loki didn't like that. Adora could tell this time.
Samantha Carter didn't trust Loki. The alien had made it clear that he only cared about finding a way to stop and reverse the genome degradation of the Asgard. Anything else was of secondary importance. It was equally obvious that he thought all his actions were justified because of his goals, no matter how convoluted. And that he either was incapable of or just not bothering with a rational risk assessment. Not the kind of scientist you wanted to work in a lab, much less this research station.
But given what he had been working on - using a dangerous self-replicating swarm of - probably - artificial intelligences to swindle his way into having access to his species' classified information - it was safer to have him here, under close supervision. Marginally safer.
Although, she added to herself with a glance at the Etherians, who were watching Entrapta explain the lab's various tools to Loki, between Alpha and the princesses, the risk of Loki slipping the leash, so to speak, was probably low enough to be acceptable.
"...and that's where we splice genes." Entrpata finished, pointing at a device sporting a few shiny crystals and some slightly odd controls that took a while to get used to.
"I see." Loki looked around - at the devices, not the people, Sam noted. Although he didn't ignore the Etherians or SG-1 like he did the Clones. He simply didn't focus on them, but the clones he actively avoided looking at.
If Loki were doing that to Sam's team instead, the Colonel would likely annoy him by standing next to or in front of the device the alien wanted to study, Sam thought with a faint smile.
"And where are the resources stored for the experiment?" Loki asked, focusing on Entrapta.
"Ah…" Entrapta smiled a little embarrassedly. "They kind of went bad in the thousand years since the research station was last used, so we have to replace them before we can start working here."
"You have access to a research station of the Ancients and haven't done any work?" Loki sounded shocked.
Entrapta frowned. "We had other projects to work on. Genetic research wasn't a priority so far."
Loki pressed his mouth closed before slowly nodding. "I see."
Sam was sure he had been about to berate Entrapta before he caught himself.
"This should be rectified then," Loki went on.
"Yeah, probably. But we first need to know what we need," Entrapta said, nodding. "There's no need to restock everything, after all. And it would be kinda illegal, I think. And wrong."
"Definitely wrong," Sam agreed. The Ancients had had a very flexible definition of resources for their research.
"Yes," Alpha chimed in. "I had to change the definition of samples to use for research. Sapient species are no longer covered."
On second thought, Alpha probably wasn't as well-suited to limit and spoil Loki's potentially questionable plans as Sam had hoped…
"We need raw material for cloning. And for growing clones. Nutrients. Cells to alter. For starters."
Catra rolled her eyes. 'We' obviously meant 'I' where Loki was concerned.
Fixated.
She nodded at Melog's comment. "Yes."
"What did they say?" Adora asked.
"Loki or Melog?"
"Uh… both."
"Loki's giving his wishlist to Entrapta, Sam and Alpha. Melog's stating the obvious." You'd have to be blind not to see what Loki wanted.
She felt Melog's amusement. But it soon gave way to wariness.
Danger.
"Danger?"
Loki. Not now. But future.
"We already know that," she told them. "We'll just have to solve the Asgard's problem before he loses his patience." And by 'we', she meant 'Entrapta and Sam'. Unless they needed some Earth professor - genetics were not either one's speciality, she thought.
Of course, Catra didn't trust an unknown Earth scientist that much more than she trusted Loki. "We need to set up a watch rotation," she said. "Someone has to be on guard here at all times. Not just Alpha."
"Are you sure?" Adora asked. "Even the Asgard need to sleep, I think."
"I see three people who are the type to wake up in the middle of the night and then go to the lab because they dreamt of a project," Catra retorted.
Her lover winced. "Yes. That will cut into our manpower. Unless we use regular guards."
That was a possibility. But… could they stand up to Loki? Or Entrapta? On the other hand, using princesses as guards was not a good way to wage war, either. "I'd suggest Lonnie and Rogelio, but they come with Kyle," she said. And Kyle was the last person you wanted in a lab. Or watching a potentially dangerous scientist. Loki wouldn't have to be the smooth talker from Earth myth to make Kyle help him do whatever he wanted. "We'll have to see if we find trustworthy people." And hope they could solve this genome problem quickly, so they could kick Loki out again. If they knew more about the Asgard… No. You couldn't trust them to rein in Loki. Not when he might save their species.
An Ancient research station specialising in genetic modifications wasn't Jack O'Neill's first choice for a travel destination. Or his second. Or third. He really didn't want to be here, actually. That the computer running the station thought he was an Ancient didn't change that - quite the contrary. Jack didn't want anything to do with the kind of research they did here. And would be doing. If the thing asked him for a sample… He shuddered.
"How long will it take you to procure the material?" Loki asked.
"Uh… we should get most of the list in a day, I think. Sam?" Entrapta looked at Carter.
"With the exception of the specific cell samples here, we can procure everything on the list from Earth." As usual, Carter was the consummate professional. Scientist. Soldier. Officer. In her place, Jack wouldn't have resisted making a sarcastic remark about eagerness.
"Goody!" Entrapta smiled. "We've got lots to do!"
"Yes. The survival of my species is at stake."
"Yes. But we also need to find a way to save the Jaffa." Entrapta smiled at Teal'c. "And it's kind of more urgent for you."
Right. The Asgard were facing extinction, but the Jaffa would die without Goa'uld larvae to grow in their bellies. Pouches. Whatever. And the prisoners would be running out of time faster than the Asgard's problems were catching up with them. Teal'c had a few more years left before that would be an urgent issue, but others were not so lucky. Not that Jack cared overly much about the Jaffa prisoners who still followed their Goa'uld masters, but they were prisoners of war, which meant you were obligated to provide them with healthcare.
"The Jaffa are your enemies. Why would you want to save them?" Loki asked. "If you help me save my people, we will help you wipe out the Goa'uld."
Yeah, right. Jack snorted. He might not be an expert on Norse mythology, but he hadn't ignored Daniel's ramblings about Loki's deeds - know your enemy and all that. Unless the alien had suffered a complete character assassination in those legends, Loki couldn't be trusted to keep his word. He would promise anything to get his way. And even if he were planning to keep his grand promises, Loki couldn't speak for the Asgard, and Jack doubted that saving them would result in Loki becoming their leader. That wasn't how politics worked. No matter the Asgard's form of government, the current leaders wouldn't hand over power to a mad scientist who had gone rogue. They'd thank him, of course, but go to war for him? That wasn't how things worked.
Of course, they had those protected planets, but those were a few dozen planets, tops - nothing compared to all the worlds in the Goa'uld Empire.
"The Jaffa are victims of the Goa'uld," Adora told Loki. "They are manipulated with lies and controlled by their need for Goa'uld larvae to survive. Our enemies are the Goa'uld."
Catra looked tense, Jack noticed. As did the Clones.
"You cannot defeat the Goa'uld without defeating the Jaffa," Loki retorted. "They are loyal unto death."
"Not all of them are blindly loyal to the false gods," Teal'c spoke up. "Some realise the truth yet are trapped by circumstances. If they can be cured of their dependency on the false gods' larvae, they will abandon them."
"Yes!" Adora nodded.
"You would prioritise such a feeble hope over my people's future?" Loki asked.
"No. We can work on both projects," Carter told him. "Cells will take time to grow."
"Time that can be used to prepare the next batch," Loki said.
"That would be kind of a waste," Entrapta said with a frown. "You'd be running two experiments - or more - before getting the first results."
"I plan to pursue multiple potential solutions." Loki straightened.
"Well, we have multiple problems to deal with," Jack said.
"Then it would be logical to solve one problem first by focusing all resources on that. Otherwise, you will have to deal with all problems for a longer time."
The alien had a point. Kind of. Jack glanced at Carter.
"That is based on the assumption that focusing all resources on one task will not lead to reduced effectiveness and efficiency," Carter said. "Something I doubt."
"Yes. And we don't know yet which project is the easiest," Entrapta added. "If we can solve the Jaffa's immune system problem quickly, it would be a waste to wait until we're done with the Asgard genome degradation. Or delay working on any other urgent problem we need to solve." She blinked. "Do we have another urgent problem yet?"
"No," Glimmer told her before addressing Loki: "If you wish to work here, you have to work with us. You can't expect us to simply do everything for you."
Loki frowned. "The survival of my entire species is at stake."
He was very fixated on that, in Jack's opinion. "Yeah, but it's not as if you're going to die out tomorrow or next month."
"Unlike some of the Jaffa," Catra added. "Adora already has to heal one of them every day."
"A single Jaffa is hardly comparable to an entire species."
"That's not how this works! We're not going to sacrifice people just so you might get a cure a little bit faster!" Adora glared at him.
"And the Jaffa are an entire species as well," Bow pointed out. "Technically. But their needs are more urgent - and will, ultimately, also mean we won't have as many Goa'uld to, ah, deal with."
"And having a cure for the Jaffa will greatly benefit our war effort - and help our friends," Glimmer added.
"And they were kinda first - we knew about their problem before we knew about yours," Entrapta added.
Loki looked around again.
Jack smiled at him, showing his teeth.
The alien looked as if he had bitten into a sour lemon - or something alien - and slowly nodded. "I see. Then we will have to split up our efforts. At least until we have more data and possible solutions to pick."
Jack was sure Loki would only half-ass his efforts on the cure for the Jaffa. But Carter and Entrapta wouldn't - and he trusted them to beat Loki.
Bright Moon, Etheria, February 8th, 1999 (Earth Time)
Glimmer was not happy. Adora could tell. Her friend was a bit curt with her subordinates and courtiers - well, more curt in some cases, but they were really annoying - and a bit snappy with everyone else. Even Catra seemed to have stopped needling her when the opportunity presented itself and was now petting Luna, who had apparently managed to escape their room once again.
Which should kind of raise questions about the security of their room, to be honest. Even if Luna was a cat and, therefore, at least according to Catra, 'innately capable of getting in and out of every place she wants'.
"Cheer up, Sparkles. Bow's going to come home in three hours."
Adora's lover was even trying to console Glimmer.
But Glimmer scowled instead of being cheered up. "He is supposed to come back from the moon in three hours. That means he'll return two hours late, dead tired, and babbling about gene sequence cutting or something! Is that OK?" Without waiting for an answer, she started pacing in her office. "I know Entrapta's going to live up there for the next few weeks; she's like that when she is researching something. And Sam might as well join her; she probably sleeps more on the shuttle to and from the moon than at home. But Bow's not supposed to be like them!"
"Well… he's a techmaster, and the research is pretty important…" Adora trailed off when she saw Glimmer scowling at her.
"Techmaster! Not geneticist! He makes trick arrows, weapons, gadgets, computers and whatever else there is to build! He doesn't build people!"
Sam and Entrapta weren't geneticists either. Adora didn't say that, though - her friend was already worked up enough.
"Well, he does build tools, and the others need tools." Catra, unfortunately, didn't show the same restraint. Or didn't pay enough attention to Glimmer.
"They should have enough tools there from the First Ones to last another thousand years!" Glimmer blurted out. "Bow shouldn't spend the whole day up there! If they need more help, they can get some actual geneticists from Earth!"
That had been proposed, but apparently, it took the Earth part of the Alliance more time than expected to vet them. Or, as Catra thought and Adora agreed with, it took Earth some more time to decide which country would be allowed to send a scientist because, of course, that was more important than sending the best trustworthy geneticist…
If they took even longer, Adora would have to intervene, diplomacy and saving face and whatever else be damned! They had work to do! And Glimmer really needed Bow.
Research Station Alpha, The First Moon of Enchantment, February 9th, 1999 (Earth Time)
"Have you finished the next sequence yet? The cloning tube is ready. Has been ready for five and a half minutes."
Samantha Carter took a deep breath and reminded herself that being impatient wasn't a crime, even if Loki was obnoxiously so, and so she couldn't shoot him and claim self-defence. Well, she could, but it wouldn't hold up in a trial. Although Glimmer might understand… Pushing the fantasy away, she looked at Loki. "No, it will take another five minutes for the machine to finish rearranging the sequence." Which Loki should be well aware of since she had told him that two minutes ago.
The alien turned to address Bow without paying any more attention to Sam. "Have you made any progress with a faster machine?"
Bow managed to smile. "I'm working on it, but to improve on the current machine, I need very precise tools, which I have to manufacture first."
"Yes! We need the tools to make the tools to make the tools, so to speak," Entrapta chimed in. She was still cheerful. "But we're working on it!" Of course, part of the reason for that was, in Sam's opinion, that Hordak was living with her on the station. In contrast, Sam had to commute back to Bright Moon with Bow and whoever was on guard duty during the day and then continue through the Stargate to Earth. Where she would have to write a dozen reports. Sometimes, she didn't even see her friends before she crashed in her quarters at the base.
She wasn't envious of Entrapta. Not at all. And if she was, it would be because Loki didn't hound her as much as he did Sam and Bow.
"You can use the time to analyse the latest results from the Jaffa line," Hordak grumbled.
The alien loved Entrapta, and he loved doing science. It was a testament to how annoying Loki's attitude was that Hordak was so grouchy despite being able to work with Entrapta in the lab here. And that was with Loki ignoring him whenever possible while he needled everyone else.
Sam wouldn't mind being ignored for a while; it would make working on the genome problem easier and more pleasant. Not that she was a geneticist. But she knew how to operate Ancient technology, and she had a good grounding n science and genetics - enough to contribute. Though a real specialist would work wonders. If only the Alliance could manage to sort out whom to pick…
"I will study the Asgard genome sequences again," Loki said.
Hordal grumbled again.
And Sam went back to her work.
P.O.W. Camp "Hotchins", Newfoundland, Canada, February 10th, 1999 (Earth Time)
"...and the Indian Government has ended the state of emergency in West Bengal following two weeks without any major terrorist attack, though the troops stationed there remain on alert according to our sources. Asked about the resolution China proposed in the United Nations Assembly, supported by Bangladesh and Pakistan, to launch an international investigation regarding the reports of human rights violations by the security forces, India's Prime Minister stated that this was an internal affair of India before rejecting the accusations, and accused China of trying to cause a civil war…"
Catra rolled her eyes. More Earth politics. At least none of the countries involved in this mess were part of the Alliance. Although she remembered that part of the problem was apparently Britain's fault, and Britain was in the Alliance. And China was part of Stargate Command.
Well, that wasn't her problem. She reached for her soda when the door to the outside was opened, and a blast of cold air hit her across the mess hall. A number of curses from the people eating here followed.
"Sorry!" Adora stepped inside and quickly closed the door before smiling at the various prison guards seated in the mess hall. "It was a bit more windy than I thought."
"No problem!" one of the noncoms told her.
Catra snorted. "That's why we use the main entrance to the building and enter the mess hall from inside," she told her lover.
"I wanted to take a shortcut," Adora said with a pout.
"Really?" Catra raised her eyebrows. "Finished healing Haken for today?" Their friends really needed to find a solution for the Jaffa's health problems; having to visit every day was a pain in the butt. Even with a shuttle, it took them an hour from Etheria and back.
"Yes. But I also had to heal Manut'u," Adora told her.
"The Jaffa Kyle we captured?" Catra finished her soda.
Her lover frowned. "He's not like Kyle. He's just a bit clumsy. He fell down in the bathroom and broke his nose and finger."
That was… suspicious. "You think he was beaten?" They had split the prisoners who were doubting the Goa'uld and those who were fanatically loyal, but they would have missed some, or some might change their views.
"No. It didn't look like, well, beatings."
"Alright." Catra smirked. "He's not like Kyle then. He's worse. Kyle never did that." She put her soda down. "Want to grab something, or can we leave?"
"We can…" Adora trailed off and looked at the TV screen nearby.
"...and Iran's government found itself in a rare alignment with its traditional rivals amongst the gulf states in rejecting a United Nations resolution calling for the decriminalisation of magic. So far, several people have been killed in Iran for 'witchcraft', but none have been officially executed, although at least a dozen trials are underway, and multiple death sentences have been appealed. Amnesty International denounced the anti-magic laws as 'inhumane and prone to abuse'."
Catra glanced at her lover. Adora looked grim, pressing her lips together, as she watched half a dozen pictures of - or so the newscaster claimed - 'witches on death row'. "Do you want us to intervene?"
"We said we wouldn't conquer Earth," Adora replied.
"We wouldn't take over the country. We'd just liberate the prisoners," Catra retorted. "If we get the transporter working, we could do it without setting foot into the country." Well, they would probably need to send a spy bot to identify the prisoners, the scanner might not be enough, but…
Adora shook her head. "That would work out the same - we would demonstrate that we won't respect or accept another country's laws." She didn't sound very convinced, though.
"Well, if the law's evil…" Catra shrugged.
"The political consequences for the Alliance would be grave," Adora said. "Much worse than Princess Sweet Bee and Prince Peekablue pushing for open trade. No one would trust us any more - everyone would fear that we'd invade them if they don't obey our orders and laws."
That wouldn't bother Catra. Most of Earth's countries were run by scum and populated by bigoted idiots, in her opinion. "Didn't they cut back on their demands?"
"Glimmer said they have been talking with more kingdoms about trade with Earth."
"Ah." Another thing to look into. It never ended. "So, let's return?"
"Yes." Adora nodded. "We have another meeting at Stargate Command."
Great. One thing the Horde had had going for it: They had had much fewer meetings, at least when Catra had run it. Granted, that might not have been good overall, but still…
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, February 10th, 1999
"Victory in space! Allied forces trounced another snake fleet! Our experts will explain…"
Jack O'Neill frowned and switched channels. Nothing was worse than listening to another so-called expert going on about things they had no clue about, half of them retired Navy officers as well…
"...we now have confirmation by Alliance Command that there was a battle in space, though we were unable to get more details except for the fact that while the naval forces involved were Horde frigates, boarding actions were taken by Earth forces. Or, in other words, our marines are now space marines!"
"Careful, Bob! That is a trademark! Alien body-snatching snakes are one thing, but lawyers are another thing! They are much more dangerous and vicious!"
Alright, listening to newscasters making board games references and joking when talking about a war, after good men had died in space, was worse. He switched channels again.
"...and so people are wondering when Earth ships will be joining the Alliance Fleet. We can't pull our own weight until we have a Navy - something the Founding Fathers knew already two hundred years ago!"
"We're not in the Age of Sail any more," Jack muttered. "And we have an Air Force now."
"Hm?" Daniel, sitting next to him, looked up. "What was that, Jack?"
"Nothing."
"Colonel O'Neill commented on the rivalry between the Air Force and the Navy," Tealc explained.
Jack frowned at his friend, but Daniel nodded. "Ah, yes. I've heard about that. There's been a fundraising campaign to build a Space Fleet, or so I've heard. The parallels to the German Navy League are quite interesting."
"It's just lobbying as usual," Jack corrected him. "The Navy pukes really want their space battleships."
"Well, the Navy League was a form of propaganda - or lobbying - as well." Daniel shrugged. "But we're already committed to building spaceships, aren't we?"
"Yes." A blind man could see the need to have spaceships of their own. Space battleships. "The Navy's just trying to use the public to gain an advantage because they know the Air Force was there first. We've got the most experience."
"With gate travel, but not with spaceships, I think," Daniel pointed out.
"We've boarded and taken Ha'taks!" Jack told him. Taken out and taken over. "What has the Navy done?"
"They've got experience in running ships and submarines?"
Jack narrowed his eyes at him. "But not spaceships."
"Well, the similarities are quite obvious. Especially for submarines." Daniel shrugged again. "I am no expert, though."
Jack huffed. "That's obvious. As obvious as the fact that the Air Force should take the lead in space."
"Or NASA?"
Jack scoffed. "They are so crippled by PR and politics, they haven't even managed to launch their Mars mission yet. Even though they could just hop into a shuttle and fly over. And they're a civilian agency, not military."
"It's scheduled for next week," Daniel said. "Sam mentioned a few more problems with the planned base."
"Excuses, excuses." Jack turned to look at the TV screen again. Carter was still working in that stupid research station on the moon. Of Etheria.
"...and people are wondering when they will be able to visit our allies' planets. While most understand that any spaceships are needed by the military, so space cruises are not on the table yet, the Stargate is another thing. We regularly get visitors from alien planets - it's more like a commute than a trip - and experts have calculated that one could easily slip a few travel groups through with the right planning. Others are already planning for the time after the war, anticipating a sale of used military transports and a corresponding boom in civilian space travel."
"Don't count your chickens before they have hatched," Jack commented, shaking his head. They had barely started the war. Even if everything worked out perfectly, they would be fighting the snakes for years. And in war, you couldn't count on everything working out.
"Well, there's no harm in planning ahead," Daniel said. "Quite the opposite, in fact - we should be prepared for the end of the war. Switching from a war economy back to a peace economy would be a daunting task even without the scope of this war and the advanced technology we will be dealing with."
"Yeah, yeah." Jack didn't really worry about that. When the war against the Goa'uld ended, he'd either stay in the military or retire. Or he'd be dead. "We still need to focus on winning the war in the first place." He checked the clock on the wall. "And we've got a meeting with the Command Council."
"We?" Daniel looked up.
"Yes. SG-1, except for Carter." Who was practically living on that moon now. Jack hardly ever saw her any more.
His friend frowned. "That's… unexpected."
Jack shrugged. "It was in your daily briefing."
"I saw it. I didn't think it concerned me."
"Well, you were wrong. Let's go."
Communication was key, as the humans said. Adora agreed with the sentiment. In an alliance, you needed to know about your allies' concerns and goals. And you had to ensure that they understood yours. And as the Supreme Commander of the Alliance, it was her responsibility to see that people understood each other. Personally, in many cases - and that meant meetings. She knew that and accepted it.
But that didn't mean she had to like it. Not every meeting was equally important. Some were even pointless. Or turned out to be pointless. Mostly pointless. Such as this one with the Stargate Command Council.
"...and I think that settles any concerns regarding the Stargate's security during the move. Thank you, Adora." General Haig smiled at her.
She smiled back. "You're welcome. The Stargate is a crucial asset in the war. Of course, we'll ensure its safety during transit."
"And afterwards," Catra added. She was still slouched in her seat, but, at least, she wasn't faking a nap. Or actually napping.
Not that Adora could blame her overly much - this whole meeting could have been replaced by a simple request to the Alliance. Or Adora. In fact… Adora suppressed the urge to mention that she could just carry the Stargate out and load it into Darla for the transfer if security was actually an issue. That would be showing off. And belittling Stargate Command - probably the United Nations as well. Even though the Security Council, and through it, Stargate Command, was controlled by Alliance members.
Politics. Glimmer should be handling this. Adora was an officer, a commander, not a politician. Sooner or later, she'd mess up.
Sooner, probably, since she was really bothered about the news from Iran.
"If that's all…?" Catra's drawled question interrupted her thoughts.
"That would be all," General Haig replied. "Thank you for coming."
"It was on the way," Catra said with a slight smirk.
General Petit chuckled at that as he rose, and everyone left the meeting room.
As the generals walked away, Jack faked a yawn. "So, we survived another very important meeting. Fortunately, we don't have anything more important to do than attend such very important meetings."
"I seem to remember that you dragged me into this meeting, Jack," Daniel told him.
"I was under orders. And why should I have to suffer alone?" Jack shrugged. "Would you have preferred to work on your VIP tour guide?"
"It's a report about the cultural impact of opening access to the Stargate to civilians," Daniel retorted with a pout. "It's not a tour guide."
"You know what 'opening access to civilians' means: Selected rich people going on trips through the Stargate," Jack said.
Adora frowned. That was news to her. Another surprise. She should have been following that - as she should have been following the fact that Iran and possibly other countries were prosecuting people for 'witchcraft'.
"That sounds like a security risk," Catra said.
"That was my main argument against it." Jack grinned. "We're at war, after all. Can't have civilians stumbling all over the Stargate."
"It's not that simple, Jack!" Daniel objected. "You can't just make everything subordinate to the needs of the military!"
"Not everything. But we can't have civilians compromise our security so they can feel important."
"Would they do that?" Adora asked.
"In a heartbeat," Jack told her.
Catra nodded with a snort. "As would many princesses back home. Let's hope they won't meet each other."
"I think they already have during Queen Bee's visit," Jack said.
"That would be Princess Sweet Bee," Daniel corrected him. "She's not a queen."
"But a Queen Bee." Jack smirked. "She's the type."
Catra grinned in apparent agreement.
Adora would have to ask her for an explanation. Later, though. "I think that is a concern for the Alliance," she said. "The risk of people being captured or even taken over by Goa'uld, revealing all our secrets, is too great to allow such trips."
"It's already pushing it to have your Russian and Chinese 'gate travel familiarisation trips', Catra added.
"Well, can't do much about that other than ensuring those teams are trained as well as they can be," Jack said. "Unless you want to tell the United Nations to take a hike and take over the Stargate for the Alliance?"
He sounded as if he was joking but also as if he wouldn't mind that idea. Adora wasn't sure what was true. It didn't matter, though. "We won't do that," she said. "The Alliance won't use their power to dominate Earth."
"Well, one could argue that the Alliance already does dominate Earth," Daniel said. "They certainly have achieved complete military superiority over the rest of the world. And economically, the Western countries in the Alliance were already superior to everyone else. So, I don't think you can avoid that, or at least the impression of domination."
She pressed her lips together. The Alliance was fighting to free people, not to conquer them. Then she remembered the people in prison in Iran. And probably in other countries. So, some people were planning to use the Stargate for tourism while others were about to be executed simply because they could work magic?
"We'll see about that," she said.