Chapter 166: The Clones Question Part 6

Ba'al's Base, PT-9511, PT-9511 System, May 17th, 2000 (Earth Time)

"So… We're either looking at the galaxy's only case of… fifty-plets or Ba'al has been playing around with cloning technology," Jack O'Neill said, staring at the double rows of pods containing people.

"I think the word you wanted to use is 'quinquagintuplets', Jack," Daniel said. "Not 'fifty-plets'."

Jack cocked his head to the side and rolled his eyes at his friend. Daniel was the geeky language guy, not Jack. "The meaning was clear."

"Yes, but…"

"And," Jack went on, "let's focus on the issue at hand, not how we call it. We can save that for the report."

"It's obvious that Ba'al's cloning people," Catra said. She leaned forward and peered at the bare belly of the man in the pod before her. "And humans, not Jaffa. There's no symbiont pouch."

"These seem to be humans," Carter agreed. "But we can't assume he's not cloning Jaffa as well - we don't know."

"Or Horde clones," Adora added. "If he can clone humans, he can probably also clone Clones… err, you know what I mean."

"Yes." Jack nodded. "But does he have the tech to copy and implant memories?" That was the key question. Without that kind of tech, Ba'al would have to get his clones taught whatever skills they needed the hard way. If he could just copy the skills and experience as well as the bodies, though…

"They would have had to create the technology from scratch," Carter replied. "Horde Prime restricted it to his flagship. They wouldn't even have had examples to reverse-engineer. But we don't know what kind of technology Ba'al has access to."

"If all he needs are warm bodies, he can just use mature symbionts to take over the cloned bodies," Glimmer said. "They would have that genetic memory. But they would also have the original's ambition."

"They would try to topple Ba'al and tear each other apart," Sha're said.

"So, we don't have to fear an army of mini-Ba'als in cloned hosts, good." Jack nodded. "But we might still be dealing with an army of clones."

"Even without a way to implant skills into a clone's mind, they could still be useful," Glimmer said. "There are a number of tasks you don't need too much training for."

"But those aren't really crucial skills for the war," Catra objected. "If he has to teach new clones everything, he needs a lot of teachers and trainers and a lot of infrastructure. Unless he just wants warm bodies to launch suicide attacks…" She blinked.

Jack glanced at the pods again and cursed. If Ba'al was cloning slaves…

"He would have no qualms sacrificing cloned slaves for even a meagre advantage," Sha're said. "The simpler the task, the fewer resources it would take to get a clone trained. And the fewer the cost of sacrificing them."

They'd have to prepare for suicide attacks. Watch out for fake surrenders. Suicide bombers hiding amongst other slaves. Jack cursed again.

"He wouldn't have to care about the health of his slaves," Carter said. "If training a new clone is cheaper than the cost of protective gear…" She glanced out of the container, at the warehouse's front.

"But that makes no sense!" Entrapta protested. "Even if Ba'al would only teach clones the most basic skills, it would still take years for them just to learn a language! And the other skills they need to survive! Between growing the clones and housing and teaching them, they represent a significant investment! Throwing that away for basic menial labour or… something else… doesn't make any sense!"

"The snakes might not care much if it is economical," Jack pointed out. "They're not the most rational ones."

"No, you're right," Sha're said. "If he's cloning slaves - and those bodies don't look like they are meant to fight - then he either needs more slaves and doesn't mind waiting years for them to be useful for his goals… or he has a way to teach them."

"Great." Jack looked at Carter and cocked his head at the pod. "Can you find out what's what?"

"According to our scans, it's a cryogenic pod keeping a single person in stasis," Carter replied. "The body itself… looks like a normal human body. No sign of a symbiont or any implants. Or any other alteration to the brain."

"Well, the elasticity of the brain matter is a bit higher than usual for its age," Entrapta added. "But if we want to find out what Ba'al is doing to the clones, we need to get more and better data."

"Well, let's look around for more intel, then," Jack said. That was what they were here for, after all.

Adora nodded. They could analyse what this meant later - once they had more intel. And once they were back with the fleet. But first… "Can we get samples from the people where without waking them up?"

"We would have to open the pods for that," Sam said. "And that would start the process to revive them."

And that would let the guards know that someone had sneaked into the base.

"According to our scanner, they are identical in all categories we can check without taking samples," Entrapta added. "Though that excludes an actual genetic analysis."

"Did you get all the data from the pods?" Adora asked.

"Yes! We downloaded the entire log of the pod," her friend replied.

"And we have the cargo manifest. It doesn't list the origin, but we might find that once we correlate the information with more data points," Sam said.

Adora nodded curtly. "Let's go then. We need more information about the production here. And the people working here." They had to know if Ba'al was killing off his slaves and replacing them with clones. Among other things, of course.

"And if a slave would be missed if they vanish," Catra said. Adora looked at her, and she shrugged. "They might know things we won't find in the databanks if we interrogate them thoroughly."

"You mean if we debrief them," Glimmer said.

"Thoroughly." Catra flashed her fangs.

Adora didn't quite roll her eyes. "Let's be cautious."

They checked outside, then left the container again - after a last thorough scan of it and its contents as well as taking material samples of both the container and the pods, in case that would give them clues about its origin.

The side entrance they had planned to take wasn't guarded, and the camera covering it was easily dealt with. But they still had to cross about fifty yards of roads and empty spaces to the main administration building. Melog's illusions wouldn't be able to completely cover them over such a distance. They would have to make sure no one was watching the area too closely. "We need a distraction," she said, then used her communicator to call Bow. "Is there a shuttle or ship coming in soon?"

"Nothing on our sensors," Bow replied.

"Then we need to make a distraction," Catra said. "Can you sabotage something? Without it being obvious?"

Adora saw Sam and Entrapta exchanging glances. "We can manipulate the security system, but that might draw attention," Sam said. "It's not very likely, but we cannot exclude the possibility that they will suspect something."

"Wouldn't the first time the snakes were paranoid," Jack added. "But we'll have to take the risk."

"Yes," Adora agreed. "Simulate a glitch or something that raises an alert."

"Alright!" Entrapta nodded enthusiastically, and she huddled with Sam over the laptop.

After a few minutes, both got up. "We're ready," Sam reported.

"Melog's ready too," Catra said.

"Do it!" Adora told them.

A few seconds later, a siren went off in the area on the other side of the route, and everyone started running out of the door and toward the next building. Adora took the lead but made sure she didn't leave the others behind - that would strain Melog's illusions even more.

They reached the administrative building just as the alarm ended and huddled close to the wall next to the door. There, it was easy for Melog to make them look like part of the building, and Entrapta hacked the door and the building's security system while Sam kept an eye on the sabotaged system.

"The corridor behind the door is clear," Entrapta said after a few minutes. "And there's an empty room nearby we can hide inside."

"Good. Melog's getting a bit strained covering so much," Catra said. "And I don't hear anyone inside either."

Adora nodded. "Let's go."

Another quick dash later, everyone was inside a small storage room with empty shelves lining bare stone walls.

"It's designated as an archive according to the building's system," Entrapta explained. "But there's nothing to be archived yet I think."

"No marble, no gold decor, not even some fancy drapes… Ba'al must be strapped for cash. Or just miserly," Jack commented.

"We could only hope so," Daniel said. "But…"

"It's an administrative, not a representative building," Sha're finished for him. "There's no need to spend money on the offices of the workers running this base. Though the commander's office and quarters will be far more elaborately furnished."

"Quiet!" Catra hissed. "I hear someone walking toward us."

Everyone moved to the wall, and Melog once more covered them in an illusion. Half a minute later, Catra spoke up again. "They went through the door."

Adora sighed, relieved. "Now - can you hack the databanks from here?"

"No. They aren't connected to the security system," Entrapta explained. "We need to get to a console, the computer core or the location of the databanks. Though those should be next to the computer core for best performance."

"So… is there an unused console somewhere?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Entratpa replied after a moment, eyes on her tool. "But it's in a room with active consoles."

"Great. The computer core it is, then," Jack said. "Where is it?"

"In the basement."

"Figures. Ba'al is a fan of the classics, isn't he?"

That must be a reference to something from Earth culture, Adora thought.

Before she could ask, though, Sam suddenly snapped: "The base commander ordered a complete sweep of the base, sir. The garrison has been put on alert."

Both Jack and Catra cursed loudly.

Had she made a mistake when she engineered the sensor glitch? Samantha Carter couldn't say. Given Ba'al's reputation, it wasn't out of the question that the base commander might react with a full alert to every malfunctioning sensor. Or he might just assume the worst since the base was new, but not that new; faults from construction should have been fixed, and equipment failing from constant use shouldn't be happening.

But whatever the reason, the base was on full alert, and squads of Jaffa were gathering to search for intruders. The group had to find a way to evade them before they were found. And it was up to Sam and Entrapta to do it - they were the ones responsible for hacking the system.

"Can we reach the core thingie before the Jaffa fill the building?" the General asked.

Sam quickly checked the different feeds from the hacked security systems covering the base. "They are converging on the shipyards - and on this building, sir."

"Do we hide here and let them finish their search?" Glimmer asked, looking at the door.

"Will they finish their search?" Catra snorted.

"Depending on the commander of the base, they might order their warriors to search until they find an intruder - or until an alternate explanation for whatever triggered this has been found," Teal'c said.

"Now that they have launched a search, they need to provide results, or they will look foolish," Sha're added.

"Well, we should get moving then so we have something to show for if we have to fight our way out," the General suggested. "Besides Adora turning the base into a flower field or something."

"I only did that once!" Adora protested. "The other times, it was Perfuma!"

"Sir!" Sam spoke up. "We're running out of time!"

"Then let's start running. Keep an eye on their positions, Carter."

"Yes, sir." Keeping track of so many squads by flipping through feeds would be hard, but she had no choice. If only they had finished the surveillance bot project which would have automated that, but the failure rate had been too high for Sam's standards.

"They're searching the computer system as well," Entrapta reported as they rushed to the door - she could carry herself with her hair and focus on her computer. "So far, they haven't detected us, but we can't exactly leave backdoors open if they're actively looking."

That would give away that there were intruders on the base. "Keep from being noticed," Sam said as they rushed down the corridor. "The guards in the entrance haven't moved yet."

"You block the exits, then go in and search." The General opened the door ahead of them, revealing the staircase. "Let's use that time."

"The computer core is in the second basement floor," Sam reported. And the first squad had taken position at the side entrance. That left a backdoor… no, also covered. Well, if they had to, they could just cut their way through the walls. Or blow a hole into them. But being found would mean they failed their mission.

"First basement floor clear," Sam reported after a second of flipping through feeds."

"They're checking the sensor routines," Entrapta reported. "We can still look through the feeds, but we can't alter them now without them noticing."

That made things harder.

They reached the second basement floor. Sam checked the feeds again. "There's a patrol in the main core room."

The General cursed. They could take the squad out, but, again, that would expose their presence.

"Can we access the data lines somewhere?" Catra asked.

That was a possibility. Sam quickly checked the floor maps and contrasted them with the system's architecture. "We can go through the ventilation ducts. They double as cable tunnels in some areas."

"Oh!" Entrapta perked up. "Yes, that's a very nice way to travel!"

Before anyone could say anything, she moved ahead, past the closed door, and her hair reached up to remove a grill from an opening, then pulled herself inside.

Catra cursed and jumped up, quickly sliding into it as well in one smooth motion. "Don't rush off!" Sam heard her hiss before Melog followed her.

Adora looked at the others. "Well… Entrapta is the expert here. She spent days in the Horde ventilation ducts once."

Sam had heard the story, as had the others.

"Let's go!" Adora continued, hoisting up Glimmer without showing any effort before turning to the others.

Sam was the sixth in, after the General, before Daniel and Sha're, with Teal'c and Adora, their largest members, bringing up the rear. She had some trouble moving with her computer out in front, but she managed - and she couldn't take her eyes off the camera feeds. If they were caught in the ducts…

A few minutes later, they were deep in the maze of ducts, still following Entrapta. They had passed several cable bundles before Sam, her attention on tracking the sweep of the base, realised that they were headed to the computer core room.

The computer core room with the guards inside.

Not that it mattered - dozens of Jaffa were now searching the building. The entire base must have been mobilised.

A message flashed on her screen.

I'm at the core room! The guards aren't looking this way!

Sam clenched her teeth and hoped Melog had Entrapta covered since she knew what her friend would do.

"I can reach the console from here… I think. Just need to stretch a bit…"

"Get back!" Catra hissed, clenching her teeth while she tried to keep Entrapta from doing something stupid.

"But it's right there!" came the whispered complaint.

"Let Melog take a look first, so they can cover your hair," Catra said.

"Oh. Right."

Sorry.

Sorry? What were they sorry… Oh, that! Catra winced when Melog pushed past her, almost flattening her in the process. The ventilation ducts weren't that big. "You're heavier than you were before," she whispered when her friend had gotten in front of her. "Too many treats."

Denial.

She snorted, softly, then whispered: "Watch out, Entrapta, Melog's coming through."

"What? Oh!"

In front of Catra, Melog squirmed their way past Entrapta. It was a bit more difficult - Entrapta was shorter than Catra, but not quite as slender. And her hair didn't help. Fortunately, Melog didn't get tangled up in it.

Done.

In front of Catra, the duct suddenly looked empty.

"Oh! Nice! If only a stealth field would work like that!"

Focus, Entrapta, Catra thought. They needed information, not inspiration right now. She resisted the urge to crawl forward, through the seemingly empty vent, until she could peer into the room ahead. Melog and Entrapta were invisible, not gone. She would only disturb either, and at this point, that could be critical.

But she really wanted to. To do something, anything, other than waiting and feeling useless, trapped in a ventilation duct while others acted. She'd be almost glad if they were detected, and she'd have to claw some… No, she wouldn't be glad. This mission was too important. No matter how frustrating it felt.

Finally, after what felt like ages, she heard Entrapta whisper: "Almost done! There is more data than expected, but I should be able to…"

"Enemy reinforcements arriving," Sam reported through the communicator."

Catra gasped and focused on her ears. Yes, she could hear footsteps in lockstep. Then she heard the door open.

"Search the room!"

"We've been guarding the door all day. No one got past us."

"We've got our orders."

"You can see that it's empty!"

Catra heard a smack, metal against flesh. Someone didn't like backtalk.

"Search the room!"

And the footsteps fell out of step. Three, four people walking around the room. Where Entrapta was trying to download the computer's data.

Close.

Well, no shit, Catra thought.

Entrapta didn't say anything. Good - from the sounds of it, at least one Jaffa guard was close enough to hear them whispering in the ducts. So, they just had to wait until…

Catra heard a curse, followed by the sound of metal striking metal.

"What did you do?"

"Something tripped me!"

Oh, for…!

"I don't see anything."

"I didn't trip over my own feet - it was a rope! I felt it!"

Catra's ears twitched - metal scraping over concrete. They must be running their staff weapons' shafts over the floor.

Up in air now.

Good.

"Nothing."

"I know what I felt."

"There is nothing, clumsy fool!"

"But…"

"Do you think the air from the vent tripped you?" A scoff followed.

Catra tensed. If they checked the ducts… they were hidden behind Melog's illusions, but the grill covering the vent was missing…

"The room is clear. Move on to the next objective!"

She heard the steps move further away, followed by the door opening and closing again.

"So much time spent to check what everyone could see with a glance!"

"What do you expect from fools who trip over their own feet?"

Laughter from the remaining guards followed. They acted like Catra would have expected from Horde soldiers in the same situation. And if Jaffa had this attitude toward each other, what did they think of the clones following Ba'al? It was something to keep in mind, a potential weakness that could be exploited.

Though not now. Now they had to get the intel they were here for.

"Got it!"

Back.

Back? Catra cocked her head, then grimaced when she felt Melog's hindpaw touching her face. Ah, that.

Once again, Melog squeezed their way past Catra.

"Just fixing the grill and I'll join you!" she heard Entrapta whisper, followed by soft metallic noises. "Done!"

"We're done. We need a safe room to regroup," Catra reported over the communicator.

"Follow me," Adora replied.

She must have picked a room in advance, probably with Sam's help, Catra guessed. One which the Jaffa had already searched.

The stench reached her nose quite a bit before she reached the room. "The garbage storage room? Seriously?" she hissed as she lowered herself down from the ventilation duct.

"It's only used by the workers, and they're barred from the building until the search is over," Adora defended herself.

"It's not that bad," Glimmer chimed in.

"Not that bad for people whose noses are only there so their glasses don't fall off their faces," Catra shot back. It stank!

"As long as the walls don't suddenly start to try to crush us, I'm fine," Jack said.

"I don't think they will do that - I don't detect any presses that would be able to move those walls," Entrapta replied.

"Ah… thanks. That's reassuring."

"So, what data did you get?" Adora asked.

"Oh, lots!" Entrapta beamed. "The production schedule, full guard and worker roster, transport schedule, maintenance… Basically, everything the administration here needs. No blueprints, though - for those, we need to get into a shipyard."

Catra nodded. So, that would be their next objective.

Jack O'Neill knew that the administrative data would allow the spooks back home to ferret out a lot about the ships being built here through thorough analysis but to get the actual blueprints… that would give the Alliance a huge advantage in any future confrontation. And, maybe, even a few designs to copy. So, he nodded. "Alright. Let's go and steal the blueprints. Might be useful if we need to stop a Death Star.

"Indeed." Teal'c nodded with such a serious expression, Jack couldn't tell if his friend had gotten the joke or not. It would be just like Teal'c to pull Jack's leg by acting as if he hadn't gotten it.

"I don't think they're building a Death Star here. The slips could be used to build components, but you'd have to assemble them in space, and we've seen no sign of any orbital construction going on. And it wouldn't make much sense not to build such yards in the same system you're building the Death Star, to save you the transportation effort. And we haven't seen the transport ships necessary to lift such huge parts from ground to orbit, either, so it would probably be more efficient to build everything in space from the start, although that depends on how many space-rated workers you have, I guess. Of course, the Clones would know how to build things in space and qualified for such work since their fleet trains do the same, so…"

"... there's no Death Star being constructed here," Catra cut off Entrapta.

"It's very unlikely, yes."

Of course, that didn't mean Ba'al wasn't constructing some superweapon somewhere else. Though would he build such shipyards instead of focusing everything on the superweapon? Megalomaniacs loved their superweapons. On the other hand, he probably needed escorts for it, and such yards would also serve as a way to hide his actual project by making spies and saboteurs focus on them… Maybe that was why the yards were so close to Alliance space? Jack would have to bring that up with the analysts back home. But now, they had a shipyard to plunder.

"Alright. Let's see how we can reach the shipyards from here without starting another search," Catra said.

"We could wait until the search is over," Sha're suggested. "At that point, the guards will be tired and convinced there aren't any intruders around and so won't be paying as much attention as during the search."

That was a good point, but waiting for hours - or even longer; who knew how paranoid the base commander was? - would tire them out as well. "Waiting will be a pain," he said.

"We can't hack the systems to create a distraction," Carter said. "Another such incident would confirm our presence to the base commander."

"But can you hack the system to hide us from the sensors?" Jack asked. That alone would be a big help in getting to the shipyards - and, not to forget, out of the base afterwards.

"That should be possible," Carter replied after sharing a glance with Entrapta. "But we'd still have to avoid being detected by the patrols."

"We could have Melog make us look like a patrol," Catra suggested. "As long as you can make sure that there are no records for them to analyse later and realise that there were too many guards around at the same time."

"We can do that!" Entrapta said. "No sweat!"

Jack glanced at Carter. Entrapta was sometimes a bit too optimistic, but his former second-in-command nodded, so that was a valid plan.

"Let's do that," Adora said. "Check the cameras so you can tell when we have a window of opportunity."

"Alright!" Entrapta bopped her head and went over to Carter to peer at her laptop.

With Melog and Catra on lookout duty, that left the rest of them to wait.

Jack wasn't a stranger to waiting. Every soldier was familiar with it - hurry up and wait, and all. It still grated on his nerves. Not that he'd show it, of course - he made a point of yawning and taking a nap. Maybe he should mention that he forgot his Game Boy… No. That might be overdoing it. And if his troops heard about it, they might think that was acceptable for them as well.

"I think we got a window here, sir," Carter said after fifteen minutes. "If the patrols follow the same pattern."

"Which they have for the last two cycles," Entrapta added.

"But we need to get into position now, sir," Carter went on.

"Then let's go!" Adora stopped pacing and headed to the door, where Melog and Catra were also up.

They quickly made their way to the side entrance - no guards in the vicinity, not after the building had been 'cleared' - and gathered there, waiting for Carter, who had her eyes glued to her laptop, to give the signal.

She held up a hand, using her fingers to count down.

5… 4… 3…

Suddenly, she looked like a Jaffa warrior in full armour. Jack managed not to wince at the sight.

2… 1… Go!

Adora took point, opening the door, and they filed out, marching in step. Or tried their best - Jack really hoped no Jaffa decided to stop them to berate them for not moving sharply enough.

But they managed to reach the closest shipyard without anyone calling them out - or shooting at them - and then entered the office building next to the open slip. They had to wait a nerve-wracking minute before Carter and Entrapta had found another hiding spot, but no one bothered or even saw them, at least Jack hadn't noticed anyone.

He still didn't relax even after they entered what apparently was an unused lounge overlooking the slip.

A very luxurious lounge.

"Someone really likes their comfort when inspecting the shipyard," Jack commented. "Probably Ba'al himself." He blinked, then grinned. "Let's check the bar - I'm sure that would give us great insight into his character!"

"Jack! Are you trying to steal his booze?"

"Of course not!" Though if he thought he could get away with it without compromising the mission, Jack would do it in a heartbeat. Just the bragging rights alone would make it worth it.

"Don't steal the drinks," Adora said. "That would give us away."

"They also might be poisoned," Catra added. "Either as an assassination attempt on Ba'al or by himself as a trap for his enemies. He might even use a poison he was immune to so he could poison someone while sharing a drink."

Adora didn't know if her lover was serious, but she wouldn't put it beyond a System Lord like Ba'al to do such a thing.

Jack pouted at that, narrowing his eyes at the bar. "That sounds like him. In that case, we should take a few bottles as a gift for some acquaintances."

Adora frowned at him for that. He shouldn't joke about that. Catra laughed, and she frowned at her as well. She shouldn't encourage him.

They weren't here for that, anyway. "Can you access the yard's computer from here?" she asked Sam and Entrapta.

"We'll check!" Entrapta nodded.

"We have to be careful, though, in case this is a trap as well," Sam added.

I would say that sounds a bit far-fetched, but since Ba'al has his deliveries cleared with nerve gas…" Daniel shrugged.

"We'll be careful!" Entrapta's hair flew out and started probing the console near a seat with enough gold plated to its surface to outshine some thrones Adora had seen.

She turned to eye the windows. They were polarised, so those working on the slip below couldn't see inside, but Adora couldn't help feeling exposed. After the poison incident and then the alert, she was on edge.

As was Catra. Adora's lover was putting on a good front, sprawling in a leather seat to the side as if she had no care in the world, but Adora could tell from the way her tail and ears moved. And from Melog's colour, of course. But that was kind of cheating.

"OK! We're in! And no trap - no alert, at least!" Entrapta's announcement interrupted Adora's thoughts. "Let's get the data we want!"

Hair tendrils whipped around, making Adora take a step back out of reflex. Sam, though, didn't even twitch, eyes glued to her laptop.

"Oh… those are the blueprints… Ha'tak, looks like a standard model… and there's the improved one! Look at those engines!"

Adora cocked her head but she couldn't see the screen from her spot.

"Ah. That's three per cent more acceleration," Sam said.

"Not bad! But we're still faster. Oh, look at that blueprint!"

"A Ha'tak with full Horde technology?" Sam sounded impressed. And worried.

With good reason - a ship the size of a Ha'tak, with Horde technology, would be a flying fortress. A very fast flying fortress.

"It's all standard Horde technology, though - nothing improved. And they didn't even adapt the engines; they adapted everything else," Entrapta complained.

"They might not have the scientists and engineers to adapt the new technology," Sam speculated.

"Not yet," Jack said.

"Training people to that level takes a lot of time, sir. But they should be able to recruit clones from their fleet," Sam replied. "They should be familiar with their own technology."

"Familiar enough to improve on it?" Jack sounded sceptical. "I used a lot of gadgets in the force and never rebuilt one. Did some unofficial modifications to my gun, but that's not the same."

He was correct, but they couldn't count on having such an advantage. "We can't underestimate the enemy," Adora said. "They only need one smart scientist to develop better weapons for their fleet, then they can build it."

"It's not that simple in practice, but essentially yes," Sam agreed. Mostly.

"Can you sabotage their blueprints? Without being obvious?" Jack asked.

"If they compare them to the original, wherever it is, they'll notice any changes," Sam explained.

"Can you change them so it looks as if those who created the original blueprints did it?" Catra asked.

That was a rather… ruthless way to sabotage Baal's research and development.

"Not with any degree of certainty," Sam said.

"Not worth the risk then. Though what about adding something? Like a trigger? Something that wouldn't show up until we use it, so they have no reason to check their blueprints?" Jack wasn't giving up on his idea. "Maybe a locator?"

"Hm. Leaving it changed would be a risk, but we might be able to change it and then remove any traces. That would mean we had to limit it to the ships here, though," Entrapta said.

"Three super-Ha'taks sabotaged seems good enough for me," Jack said. "By the time they can start on more of them, we probably are at a point where that won't really matter any more."

That could be taken in a few ways. Adora chose to take it in an optimistic way. "Do it," she told Entrapta and Sam. "Just being able to track their movements will be a great advantage for us."

That done… Adora turned to the others. "Now we need to find a way to sneak out," she said.

"We can call in Bow. He can hover the stealth shuttle above this building, and we board it under cover."

Samantha Carter nodded in agreement with Catra's suggestion. It was a simple plan with a high probability of success. But she had to focus on sabotaging the ships being built here before they could leave. Adding a locator beacon would need her to have it installed on the slip without anyone realising it. That meant it had to arrive inside a finished component to minimise the risk of anyone realising what was going on. There wasn't a big chance that the slaves working here would notice something amiss by installing an additional component, but it was best to minimise the risk as much as possible.

She quickly searched the copied data. She needed a component close to the hull and with an internal power source so the locator beacon could operate. Independently and send out a signal. The beacon itself would need to have an FTL communicator built in so it had the necessary reach. And a navigation system to track the ship's course… no, better just have it tap into the navigation system of the ship. However, that limited the potential modules even more. A direct line to the ship's computer, close to the hull… "We have to alter the ship's sensor packs," she said.

"Yes! Well, we could add an entire new module, but that would be more difficult and more easily found," Entrapta agreed.

Sam checked the data until she found the factory complex where the sensor modules were assembled. They needed to use an automated process - anything involving an actual worker was too prone to catch the attention of the staff. "Alright. We need to alter this step."

Entrapta nodded. "Add a few more steps for the beacon… but that will slow down production. They might notice that."

Right. At the very least, they might investigate such a 'glitch'. Especially after today's alert. So… "Can we optimise the procedure to compensate?" Sam asked.

"We can, I think - the whole setup looks a bit inefficient. But we'd have to restore the original routines afterwards."

"Yes?" Sam looked at her.

Entrapta pouted. "That feels wrong!"

"They're our enemy," Sam said. "Think of it as sabotage."

"Well… Oh! We could prepare some sabotage here as well!" Entrapta perked up. "If we're already manufacturing beacons and altering the core programs, we can make it so we can remotely sabotage the entire complex! We could repurpose the munition factory to blow itself up! Although that would endanger the workers, I fear."

"Watch out for mission creep," the General suddenly cut in. "Just stick with the locator beacons. We can always send another group to sabotage or bomb the factory."

That was true, especially with superior stealth technology. Although once they used stealth shuttles for that, the Goa'uld would know about that and react accordingly, so that was best used as a mass attack to exploit the element of surprise.

"We'll limit our mission to placing the locator beacons, sir," she said.

"Good."

Sam went back to hacking the computer core of the factory while Entrapta took care of the routines they needed altered - she had more experience with setting up factories, anyway. She had to be careful, though - whoever had been checking the security system's computers might be watching the other systems as well. But they already had a backdoor here, so…

After about ten minutes, she was done. And so was Entrapta. Actually setting up the swap, and the timer to undo the changes, took longer than that, though, but finally, they were done.

And so was the exfiltration plan. They would board the shuttle from the roof of the shipyard, hidden by Melog's illusion and a couple of large vents. There was still a chance that someone might spot them - Melog's illusions were not perfect when out in the open like that, and the stealth field couldn't cover the open ramp, but…

"Did you trip another alert?" Catra hissed.

"What? No!" Sam replied, then checked. "No, the system load is normal."

"They're calling up all Jaffa again," Catra said.

And, indeed, the camera feeds showed it - all the Jaffa currently resting were rushing out of the barracks, and the Jaffa on the walls were moving to the heavy weapons.

"That is not an intruder alert," Teal'c said in a calm voice. "You can see the squad leaders checking the appearance of their warriors' armour. They are forming an honour guard."

Oh. That meant…

"Ba'als coming here?" The General grinned in a familiar way.

"What was that about watching out for mission creep?" Catra asked.

"Oh, come on - that's not mission creep. That's a target of opportunity!" he protested. "We can leave any time, but we can't waste this opportunity!"

Sam couldn't argue that.