The SPARTAN and The Princess

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

Kerra carefully guided her Pelican down onto the uneven landscape of the Moon, near the terminator line. She had flown the entire mission so far with the dropship’s cloak activated to prevent any Earth based telescopes and the variety of satellites orbiting the Moon from spotting her as she made her descent.

“So would someone explain why I am doing this solo?” She asked into her suit helmet’s radio as the dropship’s ion drives kicked up the lunar regolith.

“Because they still haven’t gotten anything that would perform better than the old A7L suits that the Apollo astronauts used and the suits that you designed for us haven’t passed through their certifications yet.” Came the reply for Lt Colonel Cameron Mitchell. “You and I both know that they will, but you know they won’t let us take them out until they are certified.”

Kerra sighed. “Yeah, that sounds about right. I can’t believe that I submitted those suits for certification two years ago and they still aren’t cleared for use.” She groused as she shut down the drives. Unbuckling her harness, she stood and stretched.

Standing at five foot eleven outside of her MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor, Kerra was a tall specimen of a woman, even discounting that she was not human. She flexed her twin tails carefully as not to let them hit anything in their armored casings.

Walking into the cargo bay, she pressed her back up to the PLSS backpack she had developed for long duration EVAs that her suit’s scrubbers couldn't last for. Nominally, her suit would provide her with just over an hour and a half of air depending upon the circumstances. With the PLSS, she now had the capability to go for days outside of a ship or on a planet with a hostile atmosphere.

Now it would be used to investigate an anomalous signal that had originated several miles into what was currently the ‘dark’ side of the moon as it made its slow, monthly rotation as it orbited the earth.

Ensuring that the PLSS was connected securely and that it was feeding into her suit’s life support system, she grabbed her P90 and attached it to one of the side mounts of the PLSS. She then triggered the troop bay to depressurize and the rear ramp to open.

Stepping out onto the lunar surface, she smiled slightly. “That’s one small step for vixen, on giant leap for foxkind.” She said, a smile evident in her voice.

“Very cute Prower. Now get your head in the game and proceed on mission please?” Cam said, a smile in his voice.

“Yes, Sir. Sierra-048, Oscar Mike.” Kerra said as she began moving towards the nav marker on her helmet’s HUD.

Thanks to her armor’s strength amplification she was able to maintain a reasonable pace across the surface, her suit’s lights showing her path as she entered the shadow of Earth.

“With the progress you are making, I know that the Apollo astronauts would have killed for a suit like that.” Cam said as he monitored from the orbiting USS George S Hammond.

Kerra chuckled. “I know right? But there would have been weight issues. The A7L weighed about a hundred and eighty pounds before it was used. This suit is around half a ton. But my EVA suit that I developed for you guys is still a couple of hundred pounds. The only reason that it doesn't feel like it is the semi powered aspect. It will take the strain off and provide some augmentation of your strength, but nothing on the scale of MJOLNIR.” She replied. Checking the distance to her target she slowed to a halt. “Hammond, I am less than five hundred meters from the target. Going dark.” She said killing her suit’s external lights and activating the helmet’s VISR mode, which showed outlines of the various rocks and craters in her path.

Unlimbering the P90 from her backpack, Kerra carefully made her way forward towards the waypoint.

As the tactical information on her HUD updated, she began to see the outline of what appeared to be a body on the surface of the Moon.

“Hammond, I am almost on top of the anomaly, and it appears that there is a body there.” She said over her radio.

“Say again last, did you say a body?” Cam inquired.

“Affirmative. There is a body on the surface. Doesn’t look like there is a suit on it though, but it is hard to tell from the VISR overlay. I am activating my suit lights now.” Kerra said as she shut down the VISR display and hit her suit lights.

The powerful LEDs lit up the area, causing her visor to polarize slightly to compensate.

“Hunh.” Kerra said tilting her head to the side.

“What is it Kerra?” Cam asked.

“It looks like a female. Definitely alien. Bipedal, wings, horn, fur, hooves, hands with five fingers.” Kerra said as she played her lights over the figure.

“Sounds like a horse. What condition is the body in?” Cam asked.

“Surprisingly for being exposed to hard vacuum and solar radiation for who knows how long, it looks like she is just sleeping, rather than dead from decompression and radiation poisoning.” Kerra said. “It is very odd. Scanning her now.” She said as she let her suit’s bio scanners run over the figure.

“What the hell?” Kerra said out loud, shock in her voice. “Hammond, are you seeing these results? Somehow this woman is alive. Not sure how, but she is.”

“Didn’t you survive hard vacuum after blowing up that planet a few years ago?” Cam asked.

“I did, but I was in my super form. It basically makes me invulnerable while I am in it. I barely made it into the ship that came to get me. As it is, I was suffering from hypoxia when the airlock finished cycling. I healed from it thankfully, but not an experience I want to repeat.” Kerra said.

“Alright, Command wants you to bring her back to the ship.” Cam said after a few moments.

“Understood. Collecting the package and egressing back to the Pelican.” Kerra said as she stowed her weapon.

Carefully picking up the alien woman, taking care not to damage her wings, Kerra made her way back to the dropship.

Entering the troop bay, she set the woman down on the seats on one side before closing the ramp and re-pressurizing the bay. While it was cycling, she pulled a litter out from the emergency kit and opened it up. Once it was open, she transferred the woman to the litter and strapped her to it before securing it to the deck.

This done, she entered the cockpit and quickly had the engines running and left the surface, engaging the cloak as she did so, causing the dropship to disappear with a slight shimmer.

“Hammond, Sierra-048. I am enroute to you. ETA twenty minutes.” She said as she adjusted her course to rendezvous with the Daedalus-class carrier.

“Roger that. See you in the hangar.” Cam replied.

Soon enough, the Pelican had landed in the Hammond’s hangar bay. Kerra quickly shut down the ship before moving to the troop bay to open the rear ramp.

Once the ramp was lowered, a medical team came on board and took the unconscious woman to the ship’s infirmary.

Kerra removed her helmet and ran a gloved hand through her close cropped hair.

“This has been an interesting day. It will also confuse the hell out of future explorers on the moon when they see my boot prints.” Kerra said.

Cam chuckled. “It probably will. Go ahead and get out of your armor and get it cleaned up. We will be back in Earth orbit in a few hours. We’ll transport down with our guest when we get there.” He said.

“Yes sir.” Kerra replied to her team lead.

‘A random alien woman shows up on the moon and is somehow alive despite having no protection whatsoever. This is beyond odd. I just hope she is friendly.’ Kerra thought as she moved to her armory aboard the ship.

Removing her armor took little time, but cleaning the moon dust from it took quite a bit of time and several gallons of water, trickled out of a small nozzle.

‘Gonna have to tear it down completely when we get back to Earth. Who knows how much got between the segments.’ She thought as she cleaned up the runny grey mess.

As she finished mopping up the gunk, Cam walked in.

“Good news is that she isn’t a Goa’uld. No traces of naquedah in her system and nothing is showing up on the MRI.” He informed his teammate.

“That’s good news and one less thing to worry about.” Kerra said. The fact the signal could be some new Goa’uld trap was the reason the SGC had her fly a dropship to the surface rather than using a transporter.

“It is. But it opens a whole new can of worms about who and what she is, as well as how she got there and why she isn’t dead.” Cam replied, leaning against a bulkhead.

Kerra sighed. “I’ll watch over her.” She said as she grabbed a weapon belt with her two .45 caliber handguns holstered on it.

“I was going to ask you too while I went to the bridge. General Landry is going to want to do a debrief when we get back to the SGC.” Cam replied.

The two officers went their separate ways, Cam heading to the bridge and Kerra heading to the infirmary.

As she walked through the halls, Kerra contemplated their guest. How she wound up on the moon, how she survived the hard vacuum and the radiation, and most importantly, what her intentions were.

Entering the infirmary, she nodded at the medical staff before moving to a chair across from the bed the mysterious woman rested in. She felt a slight tingle as her chaos abilities were dampened.

Looking around, she spotted an Anti-Prior device active on a nearby table.

She then turned to the figure in the bed. She looked young, about Kerra’s age, with dark blue fur and a lighter blue mane and tail. Her wings were impressive, nearly ten feet across when they had been fully extended to gather information about her physiology. She also had a horn that extended from her forehead that was nearly a foot long and came to a sharp point.

The MRI had shown that the horn extended into her skull and that there was an extra lobe of her brain that it was directly connected to.

Kerra sat there observing the woman for sometime before she felt the subtle slowing of the ship as it settled into Earth orbit.

“Kerra, get ready for transport. Dr. Lam wants to check you out before debrief.” Cam said through her earpiece.

“Roger. Standing by.” Kerra said as she stood up.

A bright flash of light and both women disappeared from the ship.

Chapter 2

Kerra entered the infirmary after her debriefing with General Landry.

“How is our guest doing Doc?” She asked Doctor Lam.

“She is still unconscious. As far as I can tell, she is healthy, but that is going by our standards as we have never run across a race like hers before. I have blood samples in the lab right now being run to make sure she won’t be causing any issues with unknown pathogens and that our diseases won’t cause her harm.” Doctor Lam replied. “Currently she is in an isolation room until we can make sure there won’t be any issues.”

Kerra nodded. “Could you keep me apprised? I am going to be in my lab doing maintenance on my armor.” She asked.

Doctor Lam nodded. “I can do that easily. I am sure that General Landry would keep you in the loop as well, as you and Cam were the ones that located her.” She replied.

“He probably would. Your dad is a good man and a good leader.” Kerra replied with a smile.

“He is.” Doctor Lam replied with a smile of her own.

Kerra nodded to the woman and headed to her lab to get her armor cleaned up.

Kerra sighed as she removed her respirator. Cleaning her armor had taken nearly ten hours.

“Now I see the issues NASA had back during the Apollo missions. Regolith gets everywhere.” She said out loud.

“Having regrets about going down?” A male voice inquired.

Kerra turned and smiled. “No I am not Daniel. Just complaining to myself. Might have to make a variant for going to the moon though. Something that has less places for the regolith to hide in.” She said.

“So what do you think of our guest?” Daniel asked.

“A lot of unknowns.” Kerra said as she stretched her back out. “Who is she? How did she get here? How is she still alive after being in hard vacuum with no suit for at least twelve hours?”

“What does she like to do on a date?” Daniel asked with a smirk.

Kerra felt her cheeks heat up as she glared at her teammate. “Low blow Jackson. Low blow.” She said before smiling and laughing. “The thought had crossed my mind. But only if she is one of the good guys and once she has gotten used to her new situation.”

Daniel was about to reply when alarms sounded.

“Security Teams to Isolation Room 3. Security Teams to Isolation Room 3.” Came the announcement over the intercom.

“Sounds like Sleeping Beauty is awake.” Kerra said as she grabbed her sidearms and left the lab.

Kerra quickly made her way to the Infirmary level and entered the observation room. The shield over the room flared as an energy blast hit it.

“Wow. Someone woke up cranky.” She said as another blast hit the shield.

“She woke up a few minutes ago. I was observing her when she woke up, panicked and started throwing off energy blasts from her horn.” Doctor Lam said.

“Is the Anti-Pryor device active?” Kerra asked.

“It is. Just shows how powerful she is.” Lam said.

“What’s the situation?” General Landry inquired as he entered the observation room.

“A scared, powerful alien is throwing around energy blasts like they are water Sir.” Kerra said as she observed the alien woman’s horn glow as another blast hit the shield, this time over the door.

“Recommendations?” Landry asked.

“I’m going to see if I can talk to her.” Kerra said, keying the microphone for the speakers in the room.

“You aren’t going to be able to get through that shield. So why don’t you stop trying to blast your way out and I can come in and we can talk.” She said.

“Who art thou? Where art thee?” The woman asked, her eyes wide as she searched the room, her ears swiveling.

“My name is Lieutenant Colonel Kerra Prower of Stargate Command. I am in the observation room behind the windows. If you can remain calm, I will come in with some food and water and we can talk.” Kerra replied.

The woman calmed as she looked at the two way mirrors that made up the windows of the observation room.

“That would be acceptable. We art famished.” The woman said.

“I’ll be in shortly.” Kerra replied as she turned off the microphone.

“‘We?’” Dr Lam said, a confused look on her face.

“It might be the royal ‘We’. Like the Queen of England when she is doing something official.” Landry said.

“So an alien royalty. Hopefully her race won’t think we kidnapped her when we take her home.” Kerra said as she moved towards the hall.

Kerra stood outside the door to the isolation room with a tray of fruits and a small salad as well as a pitcher of water. Nodding to the guard next to the door, the shield was disabled and the door opened.

Kerra stepped inside and the door closed behind her and the shield came back up.

“Hi. I brought some food.” She said to the other woman, lifting the tray slightly as she walked towards the bed.

The other woman watched her warily from the corner of the room opposite the door.

Kerra sighed as she set the tray down. “Come on and sit. I won’t hurt you.” She said.

“How can We be sure of that? You have imprisoned Us.” The woman said.

“No, we currently have you isolated so we can run some tests and make sure none of our illnesses can get you sick and that you don’t have any that will get us sick.” Kerra said. “Once we are sure everyone won’t be trading bugs, you will be transferred to the guest quarters a couple of levels up.”

“We are underground?” The woman asked.

Kerra nodded. “We are currently on sub-level 26 of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex on Earth. It is the base for Stargate Command.” She explained.

“You mentioned that before. What is it?” The woman said as she slowly made her way to the bed.

“It is the command that is charged with going through the Stargate to explore, make allies, and to recover advanced technology for study to use in the defense of Earth and the betterment of life on this world.” Kerra said. “We are also Earth’s last line of defence against hostile alien threats.”

“So We would still be a prisoner.” The woman said.

Kerra cocked her head. “Why would you be a prisoner? Your actions earlier were those of someone who was scared and not knowing where they were or what was going on. We won’t hold that against you.” She said.

“You should. We, We almost destroyed Our own subjects!” She said, voice thick with emotion.

“What?” Kerra inquired. “Why don’t you start from the beginning. Say, with your name?”

“Our apologies. Our name is Princess Luna. Though We are not sure We are worthy of the title of Princess.” Luna said morosely.

“What makes you say that?” Kerra said.

Luna sighed and began to tell Kerra her tale. A lack of recognition for her efforts, scorned by the nobility and treated as the lesser of two powerful sisters, feared for her skills in combat against threats to her people, her corruption by a malignant force, her downfall and the schism between the two sisters.

Kerra’s heart ached for the woman. “Luna, those things were out of your control. You were treated as second class by your nation’s nobility. You protected them from things that would have reduced lesser men to tears at the prospect of fighting. As for you sister, it sounds like she let the adulation get to her head. She shouldn’t have brushed away your concerns and worries so quickly. She should have listened.” Kerra said as she wrapped the crying woman in a hug.

Luna tensed for a moment before relaxing into the hug as she began to cry harder.

Kerra held the woman as she let out what was probably years of pain and heartache. She knew that Dr Lam and probably the other members of SG-1 were taking pictures of the pair, but she could care less as she stroked the woman’s back between her wing joints soothingly.

Eventually, Luna calmed. “Thank you Colonel Prower. I have not had anyone that I could truly speak with about any of this.” She said.

Kerra smiled as she rested a hand on Luna’s shoulder. “It’s alright. Everyone has their breaking point. Granted, yours lead to a bigger fight than most, but it is understandable. Now, how about some food?” She said.

Luna was about to reply when her stomach growled, causing her to look bashful and Kerra to laugh lightly as she pulled the table towards the alicorn.

Chapter 3

SGC Briefing Room

“So what do we know about our guest” General Landry asked SG-1 and Dr Lam.

“She is a bipedal equine with remarkably human internal physiology. Her internal organs are laid out very similar to ours and aside from lacking organs like a gallbladder, I would call her human from images of her thoracic cavity.” Dr Lam said. “Her musculature, not counting the extra muscles for her wings and tail and the lack of an ankle joint, is remarkably similar as well. Her bones however are much denser than ours. I would hazard a guess that they are almost as hard to break as Colonel Prower’s. Her brain however is the biggest difference. There is an extra lobe that is tied directly into the horn on her forehead.”

“Meaning?” Cam asked.

“Meaning that if struck, even lightly, it would cause severe amounts of pain. Of course during the course of my examination once she was awake and calmed down, Luna confessed that my hands moving carefully along the horn to get a feel for the texture and hardness was arousing to her.” Dr Lam replied. “The same happened when I examined her wings. Both spots, when touched or manipulated correctly by another appear to be major erogenous zones for her, and quite possibly her species.”

“What about the energy blasts she was generating?” Colonel Samantha Carter inquired.

“I am uncertain. The sensors respond similarly to Colonel Prower’s abilities, though Luna’s are more varied.” Dr Lam said. “She has shown the ability to levitate multiple objects at a time, all of varying weight, and with no sign of strain. She can also produce a shield, but without a way to safely test it, we can’t tell how strong it is.”

“How does she perform these acts Dr Lam?” Teal’c asked, with about as much curiosity in his voice as one asking about the weather forecast.

“She says it is magic.” Dr Lam said. “Myself, I believe that it is similar to how the Ancients were able to manipulate energy before they Ascended.”

Kerra nodded. “Or it could be that she is from a world that does have access to their world’s energy field. On Mobius, the field was mostly Chaos Energy, so it was easy to access. Here though, it is neutral, not leaning to Chaos or Harmony in any real appreciable way. I can sense the field and make use of the smaller reserve of Chaos, but not to any real extent, not like when I tap into the wider universe’s field.” The vixen replied.

“Yeah, can you please not do that again. You were actually quite terrifying when you did that.” Daniel said from his seat.

Kerra chuckled. “Yes, but at the time I was fighting a couple dozen Kull warriors so I needed the power boost.” She replied. “But as to whether she is a threat, I doubt it. She showed real remorse over her actions prior to whatever happened that brought her here. Obviously she won't be able to leave the mountain, and she should be restricted to certain areas of the base, but she just seems to be a scared young woman who just went through hell.” She added.

Landry nodded. “That is my assessment as well. Royalty usually doesn't break down like that unless they have been through something traumatic.” He said. “At this point, I see no reason that she shouldn't be able to stay in the guest quarters and have access to the less classified areas of the base. Once Dr Lam and her team clear her to leave quarantine, you will be in charge of her Colonel Prower. As the only resident non-human member of the SGC that is not outwardly human, you might make her more comfortable.”

Kerra nodded at this. “Yes Sir. Do I have permission to take her into my lab, I have a few projects going that I need to finish.” She inquired.

“I’ll allow it. But make sure that if she gets uncomfortable that you take her elsewhere.” Landry replied.

Kerra nodded.

As the meeting broke up, klaxons began to sound.

“Incoming traveller.”

The group rushed down to the control room.

“SG-13’s IDC Sir.” Walter said as they approached his station.

“Do we have communications? They aren’t scheduled to return for three days.” Landry asked.

“Checking now Sir.” Walter said. “Sierra Gulf One Three Niner, Sierra Gulf Charlie. What is your status?”

“Sierra Gulf Charlie, Sierra Gulf One Three Niner. We are secure and we have made contact with the locals.” Came the response from the leader of SG-13. “We are requesting the presence of Sierra-048. She might want to see this.”

Kerra leaned over to talk on the microphone. “This is Sierra-048. What do you have that I need to see?” She inquired.

“Ma’am, I just got done talking to a woman named Sally Acorn.” Came the response.

Kerra’s jaw dropped. She looked at General Landry, eyes pleading.

Landry gave her a smile. “Gear up Colonel. You have a go. You too Dr Jackson, Colonel Mitchell.” He said.

Twenty minutes later the three members of SG-1 were in the embarkation room, doing a final check of their gear.

As they were waiting for the control room to dial the Gate, Sam and Vala came in dressed in their off world gear as well.

“Kerra we heard the good news.” Sam said as she double checked her P-90’s load.

Kerra smiled. “Glad you two could make it. Too bad Teal’c has to go back to dealing with the Jaffa council. I am sure that he would want to come along as well.” She said.

“Yeah, I know that Muscles would be here for you Foxy.” Vala said in her ever optimistic way.

Kerra smiled at Vala as she walked over to the woman. It was not a kind smile, more the smile that a predator gets when they have trapped their prey.

“Now Vala, this is my home.” Kerra said as she wrapped an arm around the woman’s shoulders, gripping them firmly. “These are friends that I grew up with. There will be not thieving, lying, conning or anything else that might earn their, and by extension my ire. Are we clear?” Squeezing the woman to her side very tightly as the grip on her shoulders tightened.

“Crystal.” Vala squeaked out.

The others raised an eyebrow, but with Vala’s history of endangering missions due to her greed, understood the sentiment.

On the other side of the Milky Way, US Marine Colonel David Dixon stood near the Gate waiting for SG-1.

“Excuse me, Colonel?”

He looked up to see Sally Acorn looking at him.

“Yes Ms Acorn?” He asked.

“Please Colonel, call me Sally. What are we waiting for?” She asked.

“Our flagship team SG-1. They should be dialing in shortly. They are the best at handling First Contact scenarios.” Dixon replied.

“And your team is not?” Sally inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.

Dixon shook his head. “We are primarily a survey team, scouts. We can generally take care of ourselves if we run into locals, but the exploration teams such as SG-1 have civilians that are experienced in diplomacy. We're Marine Raiders Sally. Our job is to recon an area, check for enemy patrols and positions and do sabotage. Not exactly who you want to be the face of your world.” He replied.

“I see. So when are they coming?” Sally asked.

At that moment, the Gate activated.

“Marines! Get ready!” Dixon called out as he moved Sally to cover. “Just in case this isn’t SG-1.” He explained as he trained his weapon on the Gate.

The Gate connected and once the puddle had formed, Dixon’s radio crackled to life.

“Sierra Gulf One Three Niner, this is Sierra Gulf One Niner. We are coming through. Sierra Zero Four Eight will be dragging trail.” Came Colonel Mitchell’s voice over the radio.

“Understood Sir. We're waiting for you at the Gate.” Dixon replied before turning to his team. “Form up Marines!” He called out.

The other five members of his team rushed to one side of the Gate, and form a single file line, facing the path SG-1 would walk down to reach them. Dixon took his place at the end.

“Parade rest!” He called out, and his team responded, moving from the position of attention, to parade rest.

Cam came through the Gate first, with Sam, Daniel and Vala behind him.

All of them looked askance at the Marines before Cam motioned for them to do the same on the other side of the Gate, the two officers mirroring the Marines.

Sally looked at the Gate and wondered who was going to be coming through that deserved this level of respect.

She got her answer when a face she never expected to see again came through the Gate.

“T...Tails? Is, is that really you?” She said quietly.

Kerra looked around as she stepped through the Gate onto her home planet for the first time in decades.

She heard her name, and looked at Sally, who had an expression of disbelief on her face.

“It's me Aunt Sally. I’m home.” Kerra said with a small smile.

Sally ran up to her friend, her nephew and wrapped him in a hug. A second later she realized something.

“Tails, is there something you would like to tell me young lady?” Sally inquired flatley.

Kerra had been waiting for this and she was not disappointed. She burst out laughing as she picked her aunt up in a hug and spun her around.

“Got a lot ta tell ya Sal. But we should get the old crew together.” She said, setting Sally down and stepping back.

“Ooooo, this place is roomy.” Came a female voice.

Sally looked around while Kerra sighed and rubbed her eyes.

“Damn it Aura! You were supposed to stay on Earth until I was able to make arrangements.” Kerra said out loud.

Aura formed an avatar from the nanites of the city that they were in.

“Sorry Mom. I was just too excited.” The AI said in a contrite tone.

Kerra shook her head. “Just don’t mess with anything and don’t cause Nicole any problems.” She said.

“Tails.” Sally said softly. “We had to shut Nicole down about ten years ago. She was having issues with her personality and began to experience glitches. It was like nothing we had ever seen.”

Kerra nodded sadly. “Rampancy. It happens when an AI has been around for too long. Even Aura will eventually succumb to it. But I at least know about it and will be prepared when the time comes.” She said.

Aura nodded. “My condolences on losing your friend Sally. If you would like, and with your permission, I can look over the city systems and let you know of any issues that your monitoring may not be able to detect.” She said softly.

“Please do so. There have been lots of little issues over the last decade.” Sally said with a kind smile.

Sally lead SG-1 out of the building that the Stargate had been relocated to after it had been located.

“So what have you been up to all these years?” Sally asked Kerra.

“Oh, this and that.” Kerra said with a smirk, getting a flat look in response. “I want to get everyone together before I tell the story. It is a long one. But I have had a good life out there, and I am glad to come home, even if it is only for a short while.” She added, a wistful smile at the end.

“You aren't staying?” Sally asked.

Kerra shrugged. “Not up to me really. General Landry can put in a good word, but it will be up to the IOA if I stay. Even then, I will probably spend quite a bit of time off world. I have a unique skill set and it is constantly in need.” She replied. "That, and what is out there." She added, gesturing to the inactive Gate. "Is too exciting to not go and check out."

"Fair enough." Sally said. "Are you going to introduce your new friends?"

"Where are my manners?" Kerra said with a posh accent. "Here we have Colonel Cameron 'Cam' Mitchell, current leader of SG-1 and quite the skilled fighter pilot."

"Your Highness." Cam said in greeting.

"Colonel, please, all of you, call me Sally. I abdicated my title years ago." Sally said with a smile.

"Then we have Colonel Samantha 'Sam' Carter, one of the two original members of SG-1 with us today. She is a brilliant scientist that has been able to crack some tough technological puzzles. Also a fellow aviator as well as a scientist. She really is brilliant."

"Sally." Sam greeted with a smile.

"Next we have Dr. Daniel Jackson, former Egyptologist, unfairly disgraced only because the only way to prove his theory about the pyramids would probably cause World War III, and our linguist. Man knows more languages than almost anyone I have met and helped to find some real meaning of life stuff out there."

"Sally." Daniel greeted with a small wave.

"And this." Kerra said as she walked over to Vala and wrapped an arm around her shoulders once again. "Is our resident reprobate, Vala Maldaran. Interstellar thief extraordinaire. I put the fear of Chaos into her before we dialed the gate."

"Pleasure Sally, a friend of Kerra's is on my do not steal from list." Vala replied with a squeak.

Sally looked at Kerra with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms.

Kerra rolled her eyes. "Alright, so I threatened to send her to the most sickly sweet reality that I could think of. No way to steal even a cookie without getting a lecture." She said.

"Tails…" Sally said.

"What? This woman is an interstellar thief, wanted in a couple of dozens systems at least." Kerra said, gesturing at the raven haired woman who was pouting.

"Still, one does not threaten their friends with being sent to another reality." Sally said, an amused glint in her eyes.

"Fiiiinnnneeee. I'll be nice." Kerra drawled out. "Now where is every-" She started to inquire before being hit by a blue blur, sending her flying out of sight.

"Prower!" Mitchell shouted as said blue blur came crashing down near them moments later and Kerra appeared in a flash of green light.

"What the fuck Blue?" Kerra said as she shook her head to clear the cobwebs from being hit. "That would have killed me if I wasn't augmented."

"Sonic! What were you thinking?" Sally added, glaring down at the stunned hedgehog.

"That isn't Tails, Sal." Sonic replied as he stood up, shaking slightly from Kerra's Chaos enhanced punch. "It has to be one of Eggman's tricks. Why else would he have been so quiet for so long?"

"I dunno, he could have croaked and the automated systems could have kept things going in the meantime?" Kerra said, glaring at her pseudo brother.

"I doubt it. He went quiet about three years ago. Right after that weird pyramid showed up." Sonic said as he stood up, rubbing his jaw.

Kerra blinked. "Wait, weird pyramid? Lots of gold? Black frame around the outside of it?" She asked.

"Yeah. That sounds about right. Why? Have you seen something like that?" Sonic said.

"Yeah." Kerra said, her tone flat. "Usually right before I go in and blow it up."

Kerra turned to Cam.

"Sir, I need to get back to Earth. I think this calls for MJOLNIR deployment." She said.

Cam nodded. "Get to the Gate and get your gear. I'd rather get this snake situation sorted out sooner than later."

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Sally asked.

"Getting my armor and heavy weapons." Kerra replied as she turned to walk away.

"Why?" Sally asked.

"Because I am going to go to that ship and kill everyone on board that isn't Mobian. And even then, if they turn out to be working with the enemy, then they will be dead too." Kerra replied. "Can you guys explain the nature of the threat for me?" She added, looking at her teammates.

"We've got it. Go and get suited up." Cam replied.

Kerra nodded and took off running to the building with the Gate.

Chapter 4

SPARTAN Armory, SGC, Earth

"Colonel Prower? Are you in here?" Luna said as she entered the room she had been escorted to.

"Yeah, I'm back here Luna." Kerra replied from behind the partition in the back of the room.

"I was told that you had left earlier and that you had returned." Luna said. "Your Dr. Lam released me from her care. I was told that I would be in your charge for the time being."

"That is correct." Kerra said as she stepped around the partition, now clad in her armor's underlayer.

"During the times that I am not on mission I will be in charge of getting you acclimated to the experience of being an alien on a strange new world." She continued. "That is also contingent on what happens in the next few weeks."

"What is happening?" Luna asked.

"One of our scouting teams, by pure fucking chance, found my home world." Kerra said. "But, just our luck, a ship of one of our enemies is parked on the planet. So I am getting ready to go deal with it." She finished as she approached the rig to assemble her armor.

Pushing a few buttons on the panel next to the rig, she stepped into the boots as they deployed and slid her hands into the gloves where they were held for her. The rest of the armor was quickly attached to her underlayer and the reactor was taken out of standby once the helmet was sealed.

The arms released her and she shook her limbs and tails out to release the tension of holding the position to don the armor.

"What is that?" Luna asked.

"This is the MJOLNIR Mk VI Powered Assault Armor. I am the only one in existence that can run this suit due to the augmentations required." Kerra explained as she stepped off the platform and moved to have the shields initiated.

Luna watched as the armored vixen stepped onto the second platform and there was a buzz and a pop before a golden light shimmered around her.
"Energy shields." Kerra explained. "I can generate my own, but this takes the strain of maintaining them off me." She added as she moved to the rack of weapons and began grabbing magazines and grenades, slotting them into the pouches on her torso.

"I see. This enemy is dangerous then?" Luna asked.

"At this point they are like cornered animals. They spent millennia as the overlords of the galaxy, killing and enslaving trillions. In less than two decades, the SGC and our allies have all but wiped them out." Kerra said as she grabbed a rifle and loaded it before securing it to her back.

"So you have committed genocide?" Luna asked, a horrified look on her face.

"Luna, you have to understand. The Goa'uld, the Wraith, the Ori, they are monsters." Kerra said, removing her helmet to meet Luna's gaze. "They have enslaved countless worlds, used the inhabitants for their twisted experiments, as hosts, food, and power. They stood unchallenged and unchecked for countless generations. Every time there was a rebellion, it was quashed. They even ruled over Earth for a time until their slaves were successful in throwing them off the planet. They buried the gate and that was that." She said before sighing.

"That was over two thousand years ago. Then we dug up the gate almost a hundred years ago. It sat in storage after some early experiments until about twenty years ago. Then we made them aware of our presence and that the gate was active again." Kerra explained. "They struck first and started this war. We are just working on finishing this fight."

Luna's face took on an apologetic expression. "I am sorry Colonel Prower. I have judged you and these humans without the whole story." She said, eyes down cast until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Kerra smiling at her.

"That is because where you are from, friendship is quite literally magic. Your people have the ability to do amazing things and not have to suffer from want." Kerra said. "Your wars have probably not been anything like what humanity has waged, and still wages to this day. Until you came here, you had no concept of the wider universe as a place that contained other civilizations. I know that your people would make excellent diplomats, just by being yourselves. But our enemies are not ones for diplomacy. It is surrender and be enslaved or die for your beliefs."

"So you stand and fight?" Luna asked.

"I do." Kerra said. "As someone once said it is better to die on your feet and free than to be a content slave in chains for what is right and just. Of course I think I totally butchered that quote, but the point remains. It has gotten to the point that the Jaffa, the loyal soldiers of the Goa'uld, people who saw the Goa'uld as gods, have realized that they are slaves themselves. They have begun to cast off the shackles that bound them for generations. Their cry is 'Shel kek nem ron'
or 'I die free'. They have cast off the shackles of the false gods and in some cases have struck them down. Only the most fanatical remain loyal."

Luna smiled back. "I agree. Our wars might have been small, but when we saw injustice, we were driven to correct it. We always tried diplomacy first, but would not hesitate to do what was needed."

Kerra nodded. "That is all we can do. Now, the rest of my team is waiting and I have some bastards to kick out of my backyard." She said with a smirk. "Would you like to come and see me off?"

"I think I would, Colonel Prower." Luna replied.

"Luna, just call me Kerra. All my friends do." Kerra said as she led the way to the gate room.

Kerra and Luna entered the gate room to find General Landry talking to Dr. Woolsey.

"Dr. Woolsey, this is a surprise." Kerra said when there was a lull in the conversation.

"Colonel Prower. Good to see you again." Dr. Woolsey replied. "I will be joining you when you return to your home world." He added.

"Happened to be on Earth and they tasked you to do some diplomacy?" Kerra asked.

"Yes. Though, from what I understand about your home world from the old transcripts when you first arrived on Earth, your people, even when differing in their opinions, will be a nice break from dealing with the Wraith." Woolsey said with a sardonic smirk.

Kerra laughed. "This is true. The council may be obstinate, but they can be reasoned with. What is the IOA wanting? An alpha site?" She inquired.

"And a shipyard if possible. The lone shipyard we have on Earth is too hard to hide and limited in how much work can be done. That and it would be too hard to make adjustments to it to allow for other designs." Woolsey replied. "Which is where you come in."

Kerra blinked. "So wait, does that mean my designs will be built?" She asked.

Woolsey nodded with a smile. "We were finally able to convince them that while a good stop gap, the Daedalus-class is too limited and as the war with the Ori showed us, we are horribly out gunned in most of the universe. Your designs would level the playing field and let us approach things like this from a position of strength should it come to it."

Kerra's smile was reaching Cheshire cat proportions. "Dr. Woolsey, you have no idea how happy that makes me. So what would my role be? Lead designer?"

"How does commander sound?"

Kerra blinked. "And here I was thinking that the IOA merely tolerated me. I would be honored."

Woolsey nodded. "Then I suggest that we depart." He said, before turning to Luna. "Her Highness is welcome to accompany us as well if she would like. Give her a chance to breathe some fresh air."

Luna smiled. "Thank you Doctor. I would, if it is alright with Colonel Prower and General Landry." She replied

Kerra shrugged. "I don't have an issue with it. I know staying in the mountain isn't much fun. Especially when you have a desire to fly." She replied before keying her helmet's radio. "General, your opinion?"

General Landry smiled. "Dr. Lam cleared Luna for gate travel when she released her from the infirmary. This way, should she decide to stay on Mobius for a while, it will allow the IOA a chance to figure out how to handle her situation. At least there she will have a bit more comfort than we can offer here." He replied via the loudspeaker in the gate room. "Colonel, Doctor, Princess. You have a go." He added as the gate engaged.

Kerra turned to Luna. "Stay with Dr. Woolsey. I will be moving quick. He has been through the gate several times, and knows what to expect." She said.

"Of course. I will await your successful return." Luna replied.

"Count on it." Kerra said before polarizing her visor and keying her mike.

"Sierra Gulf One Niner, Sierra Zero Four Eight. I am Oscar Mike. Sitrep?" Kerra called for Cam.

"Things have kinda gotten warm here, Four Eight." Cam replied.

"What's going on?" Kerra replied as she double checked her rifle.

"Bad guys at the perimeter of the city. Aura was able to detect them and get the shield up, but it won't take much of a beating if they open up, even from the staff weapons. If the ship comes, we're humped."Cam replied.

"Understood. Any idea on who we are going up against?" Kerra inquired.

"Looks like another Ba'al clone we must have missed."Cam said before adding: "I really hate that guy."

Kerra chuckled. "I do too. I'm on my way. Make sure you have your beacon on and I have a clear path. Once I get going, there won't be any brakes on this pain train." She said as she took her stance, preparing to run through the gate.

"Understood. Beacon is active."Cam replied. "I estimate you have less than five minutes before Ba'al has his guys open fire."

"Alright." Kerra said before turning to look at the control room.

"Spartan Prower, you have a go."Landry ordered from over the intercom.

"Alright! Let's sprint this!" Kerra shouted as she charged up the ramp, the metal straining under the weight.

Kerra emerged from the other side of the gate and didn't break her stride as she blitzed through the open door, Rotor and Chuck standing off to one side with their jaws hanging in shock as her heavy footfalls cracked the concrete.

She paid that no mind as she gained speed, heading down the thoroughfare towards the nav beacon on her HUD.

Suddenly a pair of workers with a large piece of furniture walked into her path.

Swearing, she dropped into a slide, her shields flaring as she slid along under the large couch, before her thrusters fired, launching her into the air and landing on her feet and continuing to run in one smooth, awe inspiring movement.

Finally she reached the edge of the city, she was able to identify her team, Ba'al, and Robotnik there.

Ba'al and Cam were exchanging insults while Robotnik watched on and observed the background. Then his eyes widened when he saw Kerra charging at them, her black armored form throwing up dust and debris as she left clear boot prints in her wake.

"Aura! Make a hole!" Kerra shouted a moment before a hole opened in the shield, just in front of Robotnik. He tried to maneuver his normal egg pod away, but Kerra fired her thrusters once again and slammed into the pod with her armored shoulder.

"How do you like them apples Julian?" Kerra shouted as she turned her rifle onto the assembled Jaffa Loyalists and menagerie of bots before opening fire.

What followed was a brief, ten minute, one-sided firefight that left over a hundred Jaffa on the ground bleeding or dead and an equal number of bots destined for the scrap heap.

"Ba'al! What the devil is going on?!? Who or what is that thing?" Robotnik yelled at the system lord clone.

Ba'al merely shrugged. "This is the Demon of the Tau'ri, Lieutenant Colonel Kerra Prower. She has been a thorn in my side for years. Very intelligent, and as you can see, capable of extreme levels of violence." He replied.

"Wait, did you say Prower?" Robotnik said before turning to Kerra. "It can't be. Tails, after all these years?"

"You got it Egghead!" Kerra replied. "I'm still capable of busting up your kindergarten toys without my armor too! Now I just have one job left to do!"

"And what would that be Colonel?" Ba'al inquired, smug as usual.

Kerra vanished in a flash of green light. Seconds later a powerful explosion rocked the area as Ba'al's ship exploded, leaving a rising mushroom cloud as Kerra reappeared behind him.

"Taking care of your ship, and this." Kerra said as she ignited a plasma sword and drove it into Ba'al's back, drawing the blade upward, splitting his upper torso and head in two.

Kerra then turned to Robotnik, removing her helmet as she did so.

"As for you Julian, I would love nothing more than to punch you in your sorry face until your head is nothing but a bloody pulp, but I do follow the Law of Armed Conflict, so I won't." She said as she drew her sidearm. "Now give me one good reason not to blow your brains all over the ground here and now."

"Cosmo! Cosmo. She's alive, she came back from the seed Sonic recovered after the battle. I'm not sure how but she did. After you disappeared, I went rooting about your workshop and I found the plant. That little Seedarian was a thorn in my side, but I'm not so cruel as to just let your one connection to her die. I kept her plant safe, just in case you ever returned." He said in a panic.

Kerra narrowed her eyes. A trick like this would be right up Robotnik's alley. "Alright, where is the plant then?" She asked.

"My lab. Top level." Robotnik replied.

Kerra attached her helmet to her belt. "Alright, you're coming with me." She said as she grabbed Robotnik and teleported away.

"So, someone want to explain who this Cosmo is?" Cam asked the Mobians that had joined SG-1 at the city's edge.

Sally sighed. "She was an alien from a race known as the Seedarians. She was the last of her kind. Tails, Kerra, took a liking to her, but was just starting to understand those feelings when Cosmo sacrificed herself to buy Kerra a chance to take the shot that saved the galaxy. She never forgave herself for it. She probably still hasn't."

"She hasn't." Sam replied. She held up her hands. "She never mentioned names, but she did tell me about how a friend that she had come to care a great deal for sacrificed herself to save a lot of people. She just didn't mention that it was the fate of the galaxy at stake at the time."

Kerra and Robotnik arrived at the top level of his desert island lab.

"Done some remodeling I see." Kerra said as she looked around. "Now, where is she?"

"Down that path." Robotnik said, gesturing towards the center path.

Kerra grunted and pulled him along with her as she walked, her heavy footsteps thudding as she did.

"What are you going to do to me?" Robotnik asked.

"No idea yet." Kerra replied. "Make no mistake, you are going to die today, no doubt about that. But I haven't quite decided on the method of execution."

"You can't do that!" Robotnik yelped. "I'm a prisoner!"

"And with no one else here, there isn't anyone who can stop me." Kerra replied. "This isn't business like it was with Ba'al. With you, this is personal."

"But those humans you were with, they wouldn't let you get away with it." Robotnik said. "They would see you punished."
"They could try, but short of a black hole, no prison can hold me. I can't die, not for long anyways, and stasis is just making it someone else's problem." Kerra replied. "Same with banishment. I have been stranded off world before and was able to make a signal to get help with hardly anything appropriate for the task. Given enough resources and time, which I have plenty of, I could build a ship and become a right nuisance for them if I so chose. But the thing is, outside of those that I have known for years, very few of the humans that know me aren't afraid of me. My powers, my strength, my intelligence, it gives them pause and fills them with dread at the possibility that I might go off the rails and turn on them."

"What is stopping you?" Robotnik asked as they approached the central area of the chamber.

"Not much really. Losing the few people I could call friends and the thought of disappointing her are all that really keep me grounded and not going all "God Empress of Everything" on the known universe." She replied as they entered the central area, her breath catching as she saw her objective.

Standing near the tree, a plate of fruits resting on a table next to her, stood a painfully familiar figure.

Kerra stood silently as she looked over the individual. Definitely female, slender and about a head shorter than Kerra outside of her armor, her long green hair pulled back into a thick braid, a few loose strands framing her pale face as she stood next to the tree, one hand placed upon it, as if in silent meditation or prayer.

"Cos...Cosmo?" Kerra croaked out, her throat tight with emotion.

Cosmo's eyes opened and then widened as she saw Kerra.

"Tails, is that you?" She asked, taking a small step forward.

Kerra nodded. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" She said, swallowing back some emotion.

"Not so long for me. I only finished my regeneration a couple of years ago." Cosmo explained.

"Regeneration?" Kerra asked.

Cosmo nodded. "It is something that some of my kind were capable of. When we died, we would become a seed and from that seed, a plant of some kind would sprout. From that plant, eventually we would be reborn, usually as we were in our prime." She explained. "It was a very rare gift amongst Seedarians."

"Well, I'm glad that you have this gift." Kerra said. "There is so much I want to tell you, so much that I couldn't before the final battle

"We have time for that now, Tails." Cosmo said with a smile.

"Though, I do have to ask you to do something for me." Kerra said. "I, my team and I, we have been tricked by copies before. I have to know that it is really you. What is something that I had only told you, and where was it that I told you that thing?"

Cosmo stopped to think. "It was one night on the Blue Typhoon's main bridge. We were on watch that evening and everyone else was in their quarters. I had asked why you seemed to shy away from hugs and such from Cream. You told me that you were hiding your gender and why you were doing so." She said finally.

Kerra released the tension in her shoulders and slowly walked over to the other woman.

"You are the only one that I willingly told that story to before I went through the Stargate. The Quacks are the only other two who know because they helped me hide who I truly was to protect myself. I only talked about it with a couple of people on Earth. One was the woman who wound up adopting me and the other was a psychologist I have been seeing to help deal with some other things. She wanted to know my story so she could better understand how to help me work through things." She said after a moment.

"I understand. It was hard to hear you tell it. But what did you need a psychologist for, if you don't mind my asking?"

Kerra sighed. "I have a condition called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. From what my doctor was able to determine, it goes back to that night, and the coup that his," She paused to jerk a thumb over her shoulder, "predecessor staged and the ensuing years of fighting in the resistance didn't help with." She finished with a wry chuckle. "All of us have some serious issues. My time with Stargate Command has only deepened them and added a few more. Honestly, if I weren't capable of recognizing when I am too deep and pulling back, I probably would have been pulled off the line and thrown into Area 51 years ago."

"Is that armor part of it?" Cosmo asked gently as she approached and placed her hand on the chest piece.

Kerra nodded. "In the beginning, I only wore it when I needed to. But after a few bad missions, I started wearing the underweave all the time and would only wear the armor when I went into the field, even on simple missions to just meet up with the locals, ones where there was no threat. It became a problem when they found me sleeping in it in my lab one night." Kerra said quietly, her gauntleted hand gently resting on Cosmo's smaller one. "I had to be given a direct order to get out of it. I was also repressing my emotions to a dangerous extent. I was slowly turning into the perfect soldier. It took a lot to pull me back." She chuckled. "It took Teal'c and Ronan on one of his rare visits to Earth to knock me out of it. I was put on medical leave. Thankfully I had managed to figure out a way to blend in with the human populace by then. I got told to see the world, so I grabbed my passport and headed for the British Isles. Spent a month traveling around from town to town, just taking in the sights until I happened to run into a crusty old SAS officer in this little pub. Said he saw the war in me. He helped me out a lot."

"I'm glad." Cosmo replied. "I definitely want to get to know the real you though, not the front you put up."

Kerra looked at her. "You sure? There are a lotta things that I have done that aren't the best darlin'." She said before holding up her hands. "These hands are stained and my ledger is gushin' red. Nothing can wipe it clean at this point, and I probably won't be able to stop from adding to it. Either from my creations, or my deeds."

"But you understand that it affects you. That is enough to show that there is still good in you." Cosmo replied with a kind smile. "That is enough for me."

Kerra closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath.

"Julian, today is your lucky day. You just got a reprieve." She said, not turning to look at him. "My suggestion, retire. Try and do something that helps the world rather than try and dominate it."

Robotnik nodded. "I think I shall do that. Getting too old for the whole world domination thing." He replied, a rare sincerity to his words.

Kerra nodded before pulling Cosmo close and disappearing in a flash of green.

The pair reappeared just inside the shield of New Mobotropolis.

"Prower, how did things go?" Cam asked.

"Better than expected, Sir." Kerra replied. "Though I am finding myself in need of some sleep. Today has been a whirlwind of emotions for me and it is starting to catch up to me now that the shooting has stopped. Permission to find a place to crash?"

Cam nodded. "That sounds like a capital idea." He replied. "It is almost sundown according to Sally, so we were going to get some accommodations for the night and start talks tomorrow. Let's find a place and get you out of that armor."

"I think Chuck and Rotor can help me with that. Let's go find them. I saw them in the building with the Gate." Kerra replied as she turned to head back to the building.

Author's Note

Sorry for the long delay everyone! Had some issues with this after I had to rescue my files from a compromised google account. Finally got it working properly and can finally post this.