Chapter 180: The Election Campaign Part 2

Alliance Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium, August 3rd, 2000

"Alright. This is what we know about the target system."

Adora pushed a button, and the holoprojector built into the table lit up, showing a star system with several planets and all the spaceships the spy bots had observed so far.

"That's a massive fleet," Jack commented with a whistle. "Even if you discount the Death Gliders, we'll need more ships to take them on. Especially if they're upgraded Ha'taks."

Adora nodded. "Worst estimate is that all the Ha'taks have been upgraded with Horde weapons, shields and engines. That would mean they are on par or even a bit more powerful than our own upgraded Horde frigates. They would be slower because they are much larger, but they would be tougher even if we take the improved beam cannons we use into account." And while you could leverage better speed and manoeuvrability into winning against a slower but tougher foe, all other things equal, you couldn't do so without taking a considerable risk - at least, unless you were so much faster and more agile, they couldn't hit you at all without blind luck - and you were likely getting hurt in the process. That went for close quarters combat as well as for space battles.

"Then we need numerical superiority," Admiral Brown-Emerson said. "Otherwise, the risk of taking unsustainable losses is too great - especially if we have to deal with Death Gliders making suicide attacks. That number would quickly overwhelm our defences."

Adora nodded and was about to agree when Admiral Biggs scoffed: "When the Japanese tried their Kamikaze bombers, we dealt with them easily enough. We've beaten Ba'al's fleets whenever we faced them. This will be a little tougher, but we'll take them."

"That's easy to say since if it won't be your ships doing the fighting, Admiral," Jack said with a scowl.

"That should be 'our ships', General. Or do you not consider yourself a member of the United States Armed Forces any more?" Biggs retorted with a sneer before turning to look at Adora. "Even if we take the worst estimates of the enemy forces' power, all projections agree that the ships assembled for this operation are sufficient to take the objective."

"As Admiral Brown-Emerson said, with our current task force, we'll risk taking heavy losses," Glimmer interjected.

"We can replace those losses. This must be Ba'al's core system and the heart of his Empire. Take it out, and he's done for. Then we can rebuild. But the longer we wait, the tougher this will be - he's building ships as we speak," Biggs countered.

"We don't know yet if the 'new' ships we've detected joining the force in the system are new builds or repaired or upgraded ships," Adora pointed out. "Nor do we know if that's the last significant production site he has left - in fact, our analysts are sure that he has more production facilities hidden in his sphere of influence since he is so fond of compartmentalised force structures."

Biggs shook his head. "But they also agree that if Ba'al has such hidden facilities, they must be much smaller ones or we would have already faced much larger forces."

"Or they are in the process of being built up," Catra cut in. "Either way, we can't afford to lose the majority of our task force - it would cripple our offensive capability in the entire area."

"Only temporarily," Biggs disagreed. "I've seen the numbers; you'll have more ships built at the end of the year than all the ships of this task force put together, and you're also raising the crews for them."

"That doesn't mean we'll risk the task force to save time. People aren't replaceable!" Adora snapped. The Admiral seemed awfully eager to risk huge numbers of Clones.

"We need to keep our optempo up," Biggs said with a glare. "You can't wage war if you want to keep our soldiers safe from any danger! That's a sure way to lose the war! Soldiers die in war; that's a fact."

"We know better than you that soldiers die in war!" Glimmer scowled at him. "We've been fighting a war for decades."

"We won't sacrifice soldiers so some people can score points in politics," Catra added.

"What are you insinuating?" Biggs snapped. "This is a purely military decision! We need to take out Ba'al as fast as possible, no matter the cost, or he'll build up an even stronger force! Delaying our attack will only make the fight even harder once we launch the operation!"

That was a danger, Adora knew. She had written part of that analysis, after all. But that had been before Entrapta and Sam had discovered this system. "That would only be true if Ba'al's could build up more forces in the time we need to reinforce the task force. And, so far, the data doesn't show that." She pointed at the system. "The output of those yards is not large enough to change the equations. And we haven't discovered any hidden reinforcements in the vicinity either."

"They could easily be hiding outside your sensor range!"

"Yes, but he doesn't know our sensor range," Adora said. "And he's usually keeping his forces split up."

"If this is his core system, he'll call in everything once we attack," Biggs argued.

"Which is why we need more ships for this," Jack said. "I don't want to see my people cut off on the ground because the fleet got driven off."

"We can't wait and let him build up more ships."

"That's your opinion, and it's noted," Adora said. "But my decision is that we'll wait until the assigned reinforcements have arrived before we strike. We will need numerical superiority to overwhelm the defenders without sustaining too many losses. And we need a bit more time to prepare for their Death Glider swarms as well."

From the way Biggs blinked, he probably hadn't considered that.

Adora couldn't help thinking that maybe the Admiral should study the intel they had more than he should talk to his government - or their election managers.

Deep Space, Ba'al's Realm, August 4th, 2000 (Earth Time)

"...and those unsettling - and unconfirmed - accusations, as tragic as they might be, do not change the fact that witchcraft was used against an American politician. If we do not take steps against this menace, every elected politician will be faced with the threat of being cursed like that. How can you trust a representative to follow his conscience when he has to fear for his very life anytime his decision might displease a terrorist? A democracy cannot work if we cannot trust our government to act without being influenced by outside powers like that!"

"So, Senator, does that mean you will vote for the proposed anti-corruption bill?"

"You cannot compare those two things! Witchcraft presents a clear and deadly danger to everyone, especially to public figures! This bill is far too radical - we don't need more laws and regulations; the existing ones are more than enough to keep corruption at bay!"

"What about guns? Guns are a lethal danger for everyone in the United States - especially for public figures. Do you support stricter regulations for guns as well?"

"Again, stop comparing apples and oranges! Guns are not the problem, people misusing them are the problem! We have millions of responsible, law-abiding gun owners. Compared to that number, the numbers of gun crimes are negligible! Witchcraft, on the other hand, is not nearly as common, yet has produced hundreds of victims already - and that only in this year!"

"Where do you get those numbers, Senator?

"I am privy to the latest FBI report about magical crimes."

"Oh? As it happens, I have received the same report. The vast majority of the incidents you mention have not been confirmed. In fact, the FBI's preliminary investigations in some of the cases strongly hint that most of those were attempts to hide a mundane crime or accident - or delusions by people caught in a second satanic panic. So I don't…"

"How dare you dismiss the pain and fear of the victims of witchcraft as delusions! Would you do the same if they were victims of sexual abuse?"

"Sexual abuse like the charges levelled against Mr Delan and Minister Smith, Senator?"

"None of those accusations have been proven in a court of law!"

"That's because the investigation has just been started. But I agree, maybe we shouldn't use accusations that were not proven in a court of law to persecute sorceresses in the USA."

"That's not the same! The danger to our country - our immortal souls - is far too great to hesitate here! We need to…"

Samantha Carter stopped the recording. To think she had been looking forward to catch up on the news from Earth after their last foray into the heart of Ba'al's territory!

"I don't get it. This senator makes no sense," Entrapta said, shaking her head.

"He's a politician who was very invested in using the attack on Mr Delan to push his anti-magic policy and now has trouble adjusting to the revelations about the first victim's own crimes," Sam explained.

"No, no, I understand that. I think. We've had situations like that at the Princess Prom - I've read the paper George, Bow's dad, wrote about that even though I didn't see anything like it myself, though I only attended one prom so far." Entrapta shook her head. "Well, they weren't about such tragedies, but the ruler of the Scorpion Kingdom at the time was accusing the Princess of Plumeria of cheating while trading, and then the Princess of Salineas revealed that it was a corrupt sailor who was responsible, and everyone was too embarrassed to admit their mistakes. But, no, I meant the comment about the danger to their souls."

Sam grimaced for a moment. "That's a religious view, and religion is a very touchy and very personal subject for many people. It has been the cause of a lot of death and violence in the past, so we prefer not to argue over religion when we can avoid it." And she was very tired of trying to explain some of the more questionable arguments people had come up with in defence of their religion.

"Oh." Sam half-expected Entrapta to push on anyway and ask about another logical fallacy or hypocritical practice related to religion, but her friend nodded. "Alright. I'll ask Daniel when he arrives. He likes talking about that stuff."

Sam knew that already.

"And Sha're has a lot of insight into how similar your religions are to the ones controlled by the Goa'uld when you get past cosmetic differences. It's fascinating, actually, if you compare your churches and theirs. The parallels are so surprising!"

Sam hadn't known that. And she was sure that a very high number of people on Earth would take exception to that. Possibly violently in some cases.

"Maybe we should ask Priest as well. He has studied Earth religions extensively so he can avoid their mistakes."

And Sam knew that involving Priest in any such debate was not a good idea at all. Not if you wanted to avoid a conflict.

At least with the upcoming operation, they wouldn't have time for such discussions for the next few weeks.

Stargate Command, CFB Goose Bay, Newfoundland, Canada, August 5th, 2000

"...and we are here, in front of the Stargate, about to step through a wormhole to travel from Earth to a location thousands of lightyears away - a distance so long, human imagination cannot comprehend it. There, we will embark upon an Alliance warship and travel to the frontlines of the war against the Goa'uld. For the first time, journalists will not be reporting from planets that have been pacified, but directly from the front as it is being established. Stay tuned for a close-up view of how war is being conducted in space! This is Mark Bayley for CNN!"

Catra rolled her eyes at the reporter's fake excitement as he finished his recording and stepped away from the Stargate's ramp to make room for the next reporter. At least this one was from BBC - one of the non-American news companies that had sent reporters as well - and wasn't as sensationalist.

Of course, for civilians, stepping through a Stargate was a big deal, and they hadn't been told the actual distance or where they were going since that was classified information, but still, journalists had been covering the war before, and it wasn't as if they'd let the the reporter drop on planets with the first wave. Jack had put his foot down when the Americans had wanted his people to 'play babysitter for the newshounds', as he put it. And it wasn't as if the Stargate was currently active.

Oh, here came Bayley walking over. "Commander Catra? Do you mind a question?"

"Just Catra. I have no military rank," she corrected him. His cameraman wasn't covering them, and he wasn't holding his microphone, so he wasn't trying to break the rules against recording without explicit permission and limitations.

"Ah." He nodded, though she was sure he had known that in advance. At least he should have if he had properly prepared for this. "But you're effectively an officer in the Alliance, aren't you?"

She shrugged. "I help my friends when needed."

"Both in staff positions and at the frontline, or so I've heard."

She rolled her eyes. "As I said, I help my friends where and when needed."

"Then, as someone not formally a member of the Alliance Command Council, what are your thoughts about this operation? According to our briefing, we'll be striking directly at the capital of Ba'al and the heart of his military-industrial complex."

So, Bayley had paid attention to the briefing. Well, he'd be a bad journalist if he weren't able to listen to others, and the Alliance had screened the reporters allowed on this trip quite thoroughly - Catra would know since she had vetoed two of them herself; they didn't need people spreading lies from bigots at the frontlines. Or anywhere else, in her opinion. "We're attacking one of Ba'al's bases," she replied. "Anything further is classified information." Technically, that they were attacking Ba'al was classified as well, but the reporters had been read in so they knew what kind of Goa'uld they were facing and what kind of conditions they could expect in his territory.

"Yes, that's the official line and I am not going to use this in my reports. But is it true that we're invading the capital of his realm? The first time Alliance forces will be hitting a core planet of the enemy?"

So, that was the US government's angle here to get as much good PR out of this: Hype up the target as much as possible. As if this was a race to Berlin. Well, it was a race, but that was even more classified. "We don't have a map of Ba'al's territory with all his bases," she replied and flashed her fangs.

"Ah." Bayley nodded with a smile as if she had actually revealed anything. He probably thought she had confirmed his question without doing so overtly. Well, his fault. "So, have you already decided how you will be 'helping your friends' on this operation?

By talking to annoying reporters so they didn't annoy Adora or Glimmer, she thought. That's why she was keeping an eye on this. "Wherever I am needed."

"But will you be fighting with SG-1 again, as you've had in the past?"

"SG-1 was dissolved when the team members left Stargate Command," she corrected him.

"Of course. But 'the team formerly known as SG-1' is a bit of a mouthful, isn't it?" The way he smiled was probably the reason he had been chosen for this - naive girls and boys would likely fall for it.

Catra wasn't naive or interested in men. She sighed. "Mr Bayley, you cannot predict anything like that in war. It's far too fluid for that. I might stay back on a frigate and simply watch the battles munching some fish sticks," she lied. She'd only do that if Adora stayed back on the flagship as well, and everyone knew Adora wouldn't do that. Certainly not when there was a chance that Ba'al himself was present in the system.

"But do you expect to fight with the Alliance Special Forces led by General O'Neill on the ground?"

She rolled her eyes. "As I said, I don't expect anything. We can't predict anything yet. And if we could, I couldn't tell you. Not without having you locked up afterwards to maintain operational security." She flashed her fangs again.

This time, he seemed to get the message and nodded as his smile slipped slightly. "I see. Thank you for the talk, Catra."

Of course, the other reporters - an even dozen - hadn't missed this and were now descending on her.

Great. Catra fixed her smile and prepared to repeat her lines until the idiots got the message as well.

Deep Space, Ba'al's Realm, August 6th, 2000 (Earth Time)

"General O'Neill! Mark Bayley, CNN. A word?"

Jack O'Neill almost made an about face and headed back into his cabin when he heard the reporter call out - reporters, he corrected himself when he saw that Bayley was followed by two more of them. But he had been told by the President himself to be nice to the journalists - to go out of his way, in fact, to 'accommodate' them as long as it didn't hinder the operation.

Of course, being late for breakfast could hinder the operation if that meant Jack might be missing a critical problem in planning… Naw. That would be too obvious. Even the dumbest reporter amongst the bunch would see through it, and Jack didn't doubt that at least some would take offence and develop a grudge against him and his friends.

And his friends didn't deserve that. Daniel had suffered through a smear campaign already, back when his - ultimately proven - theory had been laughed at, and Jack knew that some Navy pukes were just waiting for the chance to use Carter as a scapegoat for their own failures in the Constitution II-class mess. And Teal'c was an obvious target as the former First Prime of Apophis.

So he smiled - if a bit toothily- and nodded. "Sure. I'm heading to the mess, so feel free to tag along." If he could field their questions during breakfast, he wouldn't lose too much time. And if he needed to think about a question, taking a bite or a sip would help.

"Great!" Bayley beamed at him. "So, how does it feel to be the highest-ranking ground commander in the operation? Some experts have criticised your habit of leading from the front."

Jack grinned. He had expected that question. "Well, they're used to a different war than we're fighting here. I can't make the big decisions if I don't have the necessary information. Sometimes, that means I can't stay back on a ship in orbit but need to be on the spot."

"One would expect that with modern, advanced technology, you didn't need to be on the spot," another reporter - he had a southern drawl - commented. "Chris Evans, NBC."

"Even then, there'll be delays and limited information," Jack replied. And jamming, though that was classified information. "You never get the full picture unless you're there."

"But as the general in charge, don't you need to see the full picture of the entire front, not just a single part of it? There have been concerns that you're in the habit of acting like a squad leader instead of a general, a habit carried over from your time at Stargate Command," Bayley asked.

Jack kept smiling despite his growing annoyance - he really needed his coffee and breakfast. Weren't those journalists supposed to produce a puff piece for the election campaign? "At Stargate Command, we were not fighting nearly as often as people think. Most of the time, we were exploring. If you're making First Contact with an alien civilisation, you really don't want that to be handled by a second lieutenant fresh out of West Point and a bunch of privates."

"But you're fighting a war now," the third journalist pointed out. "Cyril Foster, ABC."

"Yes, but as I said, it depends on the situation. Sometimes, you can handle everything from your command centre back in orbit," Jack replied. "The British-built fleet transports have great command and control facilities, by the way." Take that, Navy pukes! "But sometimes, you need to be in front to do your job."

"Like the princesses?" Southern Drawl Evans looked at him.

"The princesses are on the frontlines because that's usually where they can use their powers to best effect," Jack said. Ah, there was the door to the mess! Coffee, here we come!

Two Clones stepped to the side when he entered, the journalists in tow. He spotted Daniel, Sha're, Teal'c and Carter at a table - they had left a spot free for him! Unfortunately, there wasn't enough room for the reporters. Damn.

"But what about the criticism that they are neglecting their other duties as commanders?" Bayley asked.

That was aimed at him, Jack knew. He grinned widely at the man. "They do their duty while fighting at the front. That's how it works in the Princess Alliance. That's how they beat the Horde and Horde Prime. You could say their way has been tested in combat."

The smell of coffee hit his nose and Jack barely resisted the urge to get a cup, down it, and refill it before grabbing food. But he managed to limit himself to a sip before loading up on bacon, eggs and hash browns.

Fortunately for them, none of the reporters criticised his food choices by citing some nutritional experts or whatever. That would have been too much for his temper. He needed his calories to stomach those questions.

Besides, after being zapped by She-Ra's magic healing beam, Jack was as healthy as a twenty-year-old, he could handle all the cholesterol.

Not that he'd tell the journalists that - if it got out that She-Ra could do that, things would get even more complicated back on Earth.

Adora double-checked if there were any journalists in the room before starting the planning meeting. There shouldn't be any, of course - this was the flag room of the frigate, a restricted area - but with the way some reporters had been following people around, it was better to be sure. If only to avoid giving Catra - or Glimmer - an excuse to mistake a journalist for a spy.

Seeing no one - Catra wasn't looking as if she was about to pounce someone either - she nodded and addressed the room: "Alright! We've got the latest intel and we now have a comprehensive picture of the target system's defenses. Though we still don't know the exact composition and technology the enemies use."

She pointed at the holoprojection above the centre of the table. "Even if the Ha'taks had only been upgraded with beam cannons, like the ones we've fought before, they would present a formidable force against a frontal assault when working with the lighter ships and the swarm of Death Gliders with clone or bot pilots. Depending on the tactics they use, they could inflict significant losses." And if they had learnt anything from their past battles against Ba'al, it was that Ba'al was a cunning foe whose forces adapted various tactics.

"And if they have upgraded the Ha'taks further? Or the lighter ships?" Captain Baker asked.

"Heavy casualties. We don't have sufficient defences against suicide attacks by Death Gliders carrying enhanced ordnance," Adora told him. "Adapting our ship's anti-fighter defences to compensate would take too long for this operation." And would strain their fleet train. "So, we're working on an alternative solution that can be done with our current supplies and in time." She looked at Entrapta and Sam.

Entrapta nodded. "Yes! We've got some ideas, but we need a bit more data - or, rather, we need more contingencies in case we're wrong. We've been probing their networks, but we didn't crash or hack anyone yet so we don't alert the enemy to our presence."

"We are confident that we have a decisive advantage in the field of electronic warfare," Sam added. "But as past experiences prove, we can only leverage that for a limited time before the enemy adapts. And we have to assume that they expect us to jam their communications as we did before."

"Which is why we will have to maximise the impact when we crash their networks," Adora said. They would have to use jamming tactics anyway, but they couldn't depend on it. "We did manage to confirm that they have ship yards producing ships in the system, though most of them seemed to be working on Death Gliders and a new type."

The system was replaced by a projection of a Death Glider and a Ha'tak.

Sam stood and started explaining. "Observation revealed that the Ha'taks being built here are what we have dubbed 'carrier variants', sacrificing most of their firepower for the capacity to carry significantly higher numbers of Death Gliders."

"That means they plan to use Death Gliders as their main force in the battle," Jack commented.

Sam nodded. "Yes, sir. Analysis came to the same conclusion. The fleet being gathered here will rely on swarm attacks by massed Death Gliders. That means the threat of suicide attacks is high, given Ba'al's willingness to sacrifice his own forces."

Adora clenched her teeth. Ba'al was a monster! But he was a skilled enemy.

"Does that mean he's using bots in his fighters? Even with clones, he would have a hard time replacing losses, wouldn't he?" Baker asked.

"We haven't been able to confirm either hypothesis yet," Sam replied.

"Bots would need less supplies, but they are more vulnerable to jamming," Entrapta said. "They rely on sensors. Clones would be able to pick their targets even without any working sensors, as long as they are close enough for visual contact. But! Whether Ba'al uses bots or clones, setting up a pipeline for either would have taken more time than he should have had since we first used the hyperspace jammer on his forces. So, even if he picked clones, it doesn't have to be a reaction to our jamming technology - he just could have been lucky."

"Since he has heavily invested in cloning technology for a variety of reasons, we are leaning toward him using clones as pilots," Sam added with a slight grimace.

Adora nodded. No matter how they dealt with the swarm, they would probably be killing a lot of people - people who didn't know any better since they were made and raised to serve Ba'al as pilots. Looking at the others and their grim expressions, she knew they shared her feelings. It was a horrible situation, but they didn't have any alternative - they had to defeat Ba'al to put a stop to this or even more people would suffer and die for the Goa'uld.

The holoprojection changed back to the system and zoomed in on a world.

"The space-based defences are centred on this planet. The ships are augmented by a few orbital satellites, but those are a negligible force compared to Ba'al's fleet," Sam went on. "However, the surface of the planet itself - the main world of the system - has also been fortified, with ample anti-orbital and anti-air defences. And they are centred on this:"

The holoprojection changed again.

"That looks like a palace," Jack said.

"Yes." Daniel pushed his glasses up. "It's not a classic Goa'uld style, but the basic concepts and layout are still the same. It might be a recent construction incorporating Horde technology from the ground up. Coupled with the symbols, we think there's a high probability that this is Ba'al's main palace - his headquarters."

"I doubt he would waste so many defences on a palace if it weren't to protect him," Jack said. "He seems more pragmatic and would probably protect his shipyards instead."

"Unless this is a double-bluff and this is a distraction to protect the shipyards," Sha're suggested.

"That would still leave the shipyards' defences weaker than they could be - and open to attacks by equally pragmatic enemies," Jack said.

"And sacrificing what looks to be his main palace would still cause a loss of face if it was known by his rivals," Daniel said.

"If it was known," Sha're repeated. "Ba'al has been able to keep a lot of secrets from everyone, even us."

Adora nodded. "We'll be ready for a trap or any other surprise. But we won't let that stop us." They couldn't. "Now, for the ground assault…"

Deep Space, Ba'al's Realm, August 7th, 2000 (Earth Time)

"Major Carter! Mark Bayley, CNN. A word, if you please?"

Samantha Carter stopped and rolled her eyes, grimacing, before she pasted a polite smile on her face and turned to the journalist - Mark Bayley. "I am sorry, but I am in the middle of a crucial project."

"For this operation? Or for procurement? According to my sources, you've been crucial for the much-maligned Constitution II-class design."

Sam tensed. Sam didn't see any recording device, but that didn't preclude a hidden microphone. And she knew she should just tell the journalist that she was busy and leave him standing, but… She wasn't about to get portrayed as responsible for that abomination of a ship design! "I've been called in to deal with some of its flaws, but I have not been involved in its design otherwise." And it wouldn't be some unholy attempt to mate a carrier and a gunship.

"Oh? I was told that you were working on all its key systems - engines, shields and weapons."

"I was called in to work on some of the flaws that were detected in the ships during testing," Sam told him. She had already said that.

"There were flaws in all three key systems?" Bayley seemed surprised. So, he didn't have internal sources - he would be aware of how bad the design was otherwise.

"No new design is perfect," Sam replied. As much as she wanted, she couldn't reveal just how many flaws the Constitution II-class had - or how bad the design had been from the start.

"But the problems of this class are much more serious - and numerous - than others. The British Flower II-class, for example, is already in active service. I've been on one during a patrol in the Solar System."

Between Third Fleet and the spy bot network, there was no need for the corvettes to patrol the system. But it was a good way to train up the crews. "Yes, but that's a corvette, a smaller and simpler design than a frigate."

"Yes, so I've heard - though one of the criticisms aimed at the frigate is that the design is too complicated to be practical and that it would better serve as a testbed for future projects instead of a ship of the line."

"I cannot comment on that decision; I am a physicist and scientist, I am not responsible for procuring our ships," Sam said.

"But you build them - or you fix them. You've been spotted several times in the Norfolk yards."

Sam really shouldn't have stopped to talk to the press, orders to cooperate within reason be damned! On the other hand, if the Navy was trying to use her as a scapegoat for their own failures, this was her chance to set the public record straight. "Yes, I have been called in to deal with problems, and as long as my work for the Alliance is not affected too much, I have lent a hand." That was the third time she had told him the same thing!

"Your work for the Alliance… you've been working for Stargate Command as one of their most capable scientists. Yet you regularly saw combat. Do you feel that sending our best scientists out to fight in the field, so to speak, is a good policy?"

Not that again! "Sometimes - quite often, actually - you need a scientist in the field to deal with problems you encounter," she replied. "Without Princess Entrapta's personal contribution, Horde Prime might not have been defeated."

"Does that mean you expect Ba'al to be as dangerous as Horde Prime?"

"It is never a good idea to underestimate your enemy." She tilted her head slightly to the side. "Anything else is classified."

"But…"

"Good day!"

She turned and walked away, her strides just a bit longer than normal. Entrapta was waiting for her.

They had to figure out how to deal with Ba'al's Death Glider swarm, and the longer they took, the more dangerous it would become.

Fortunately, they had a few ideas already.

Unfortunately, they still had to figure out if they were practical - and if so, how to implement them.

Deep Space, Ba'al's Realm, August 8th, 2000 (Earth Time)

Catra rotated the holoprojection above the table and looked at the units on the other side of the target planet again. It wasn't a real-time feed, but it was close enough. The capital ships stuck close to the planet while the lighter units formed a screen around them, not around the planet. Standard formations, too, with the Tel'tak's forming the outer perimeter and the Al'keshs the inner, ready to form attack squadrons to pounce on enemy capital ships.

The Death Gliders, on the other hand, were split. Part of them - the smaller part - were circling the formations on regular combat air patrol routes. The vast majority of them, though, were basically covering the entire system like a Goa'uld miniature version of the spy bot network. Dense patterns in the inner system, where the planet with Ba'al's palace was located, and thinner patterns in the outer system, past a gas giant. But still dense enough that slipping any force through some gaps without getting pounced by a swarm of them was impossible.

Sure, you could feint with part of your forces, draw them in, but that would be hard on the probing force - and they had a lot of fighters so it wouldn't actually strip the rest of the system bare. Not if Ba'al's commanders were semi-competent - and Catra knew better than to assume the enemy was incompetent.

The sheer numbers of fighters also made a surprise attack by dropping out of hyperspace right next to the capital ships of the enemy too dangerous. With the sensor data from the spy bot network, the Alliance forces had managed to pull off such manoeuvres successfully, but against upgraded Ha'taks and possibly upgraded Tel'taks and Al'keshs? Supported by swarms of Death Gliders on suicide attacks? Entrapta and Sam had already confirmed with a few scans when patrols came too close to a spy bot that the Death Gliders were carrying bombs - inside the crafts, not on pylons, and they hadn't been modified with bomb bays.

They had replaced the weapon officer's seat with the bomb.

It would be a brutal brawl straight out of the gate, so to speak, and the Alliance task force would take heavy losses even if they arrived in perfect formations ready to repel waves of suicide attackers. Which they wouldn't. Travelling through hyperspace would disrupt their formations - not too much, but it would tell in such a situation - and they would have to launch fighters under fire, unlike the enemy. They could still win if they managed to fend off the Death Gliders, but Catra was sure the task force would need to be rebuilt afterwards.

"No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look good," Adora commented next to her.

"No, it doesn't," Catra agreed. In the Horde, she would have ordered a frontal assault anyway. The Horde had outnumbered the Princess Alliance and could replace their losses more easily. Especially if she used bots to breach the enemy lines and bear the brunt of their fire. And then use the rest of the bots to blunt the enemy counterattack.

But she wasn't in the Horde any more. She wasn't like that any more. She wouldn't send people to their death like that.

"They still cycle the Death Gliders through," she stated the obvious to help herself focus on the situation at hand instead of her past. "None of them stay in space so long, only bots could pilot them." Entrapta and Sam had observed that straight away.

"Yes."

That didn't mean that the fighter pilots were cloned people. Ba'al could simply want to keep the Death Gliders refueled so they were always ready for combat and wouldn't be caught with their tanks half-empty. Or he wanted any spies to assume the Death Gliders had cloned pilots - the bastard was tricky like that.

But Catra was betting that Ba'al used cloned pilots. They would be able to handle extensive jamming better than bots - even indoctrinated clones were better at adapting to changing circumstances in a battle than bots, if they were cut off from orders. And, she added with clenched teeth, Ba'al probably preferred living pilots for suicide attacks. It would impress his enemies more than bots blowing themselves up. His Goa'uld rivals would see how devoted his followers were, and the Alliance would be horrified by it. Catra didn't think it would keep any Alliance crew from doing their best to shoot the Death Gliders down in the middle of combat, but the knowledge that you were killing brainwashed people who hadn't been alive longer than a few months wouldn't be good for long-term morale.

Not that the plans Sam and Entrapta had come up with would be any better. They suggested infiltrating the enemy system and inserting a virus into the carrier-Ha'taks and letting it spread to the Death Gliders so they could disable the fighters when they attacked. That would prevent suicide attacks. But the bombs would have a manual trigger - Ba'al was the type to insist on that - and they already knew he didn't want his followers to let themselves get captured, and so the pilots would still blow themselves up. Probably when the Alliance was trying to recover them. Alternatively, they could hijack the Death Glider command and control network to send the swarms against Ba'al's own ships - like every Goa'uld System Lord, he would have plans to deal with rebels and traitors in his own ranks, so that wouldn't be questioned - but sending so many brainwashed people to their deaths… Adora would blame herself for it, and Catra couldn't let her do that.

"I don't see any alternative," Adora said. "Everything I think of leads to more deaths on our side and still kills all of them." She sounded resigned.

Catra knew that. But she wasn't about to let Adora give such an order. She couldn't - it would hurt her love too much. If only she could just snap her fingers and… Her eyes widened.

"I've got an idea!" A stupid, dangerous idea, but one that might not see Adora ordering the death of thousands of brainwashed followers of Ba'al.