"Yes, sir. The 75th Ranger Regiment," Rajip replied, then hesitated and added: "Until recenly, that is."

Smirking a very purple smile as the humans pound out the details of relevance only to those native to earth, and likely even then only military minds, once that is done she hops down off the FRED.  ”I suppose the break is over then, now that we all know each other, so will we be going around back or through the main entrance?  Either way we may as well leave the FRED parked here.”

"Speaking of which, what do you have back there?" Rajip's eyes shifted behind the team members and he began to analyze the building, identifying the main entrance and other possible points of entry as well as estimating his chances if it came to scale the walls and get inside through the roof.

Hilda nodded her head as she was introduced by Kaspar, then frowned as Rajip revealed himself to be a Tau'ri ranger. What in Hel? 'Recon-nay-sance? Ranger? Isn't that what I'm here for?' she asked, aggrieved and feeling like she was being replaced before she'd even completed her mission. 'Why have you come?' They already had a team, however briefly, and she felt protective of those already on it. Surprise arrivals had to be challenged and found worthy. She glared fiercely through the eye-guards of her helm at the newcomer. It usually wasn't a good idea to anger a Viking warrior, especially not one with so many weapons.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:14, Mon 06 Jan 2014.

"Perspective," interjected Gavin before Hilda could challenge the newcomer to a duel.

"Remember, this team was put together because of our different perspectives. What Rajip brings is not only a younger Tau'ri perspective, but yet another Tau'ri culture."

"From someone who does not venture into the wilderness very often, I can assure you, Hilda, that I appreciate all the scouts we can get! Also, if it matters, you are the... how do the Tau'ri put it? Ah, yes... the 'up front and in your face' kind of scout. I would much rather follow you into battle... if that has to be an option."

"Rajip strikes me as the stealthy sort. He's clearly not your replacement; if anything, he's your assistant. He's got the training to assess a situation in terms of modern weapons, while you are better suited to the older style of weapons. In that sense, you two represent the opposite sides of the same coin. You complement each other."

"I suspect he'll learn as much from you as you will from him."

"For instance, the temple looks somewhat primitive, but I suspect it is of more modern construction."

*...a different Tau'ri culture. indeed...* Kaspar thought with amusement, as Gavin tried to soothe Hilda by explaining the difference between scouting and Covert Operations -- without actually mentioning Covert ops, or any of its less savory applications.

"Uh, yes.  Quite right, Gavin" Kaspar added, "So.  I suppose a quick mission update for the Sargeant."

"We were sent here with the standard orders -- investigate this building complex for alien technologies that might help defend Earth from the Go'auld.  Avoid conflict, reconnoiter any locals, et cetera, et cetera."

"Upon arrival we discovered that this 'yellow brick road' posesses a mild radiation signature like that of naquada; naquada might even be a minor component of the bricks.  We then discovered evidence of some recent geological activity; a disruption in the ground surface that looked like some minor fault shifting. Observing that led us to discover the presence of some habitable structures that had been damaged by the ground shifting.  Evidence indicates the structures were built and lived in by Human..." Kaspar casts a quick, surreptitious glance towards Vasandra, "...oids.  Our investigation showed that the residents had left several days, if not weeks, earlier, and that while they did so in a hurry, they did not appear to be rushed."

Kaspar points back towards the gate, but off to the left of it, "You can see the cluster of building over there, just the other side of the stand of trees."

"From there we've come here, to continue the primary mission.  We're allowing the possibility that there may be some, or all, of the residents of that village taking shelter inside.  We were just about to walk the perrimeter of the building, before we try and enter." Kaspar gestures at the open doorway, at the top of the steps.

"In fact...Hilda, you said you saw what might be a trail, leading away from here.  Why don't you walk around the temple going that way -- but just observe that trail, don't follow it!  Sargeant, after you secure the majority of your gear to the FRED, I want you to walk around the complex in the opposite direction.  Both of you watch for other possible entrances into the complex, and come back here."

"Meanwhile, we science-types will point every scanner, sensor, detector, and machine that goes 'Ping!' at the building, and see what they tell us."

Kaspar grins at the two scouts, "And if either, or both, of you are not back in thirty minutes, then I shall start to panic uncontrollably."

"Questions?"

Already making space for more gear on the FRED by the time the new arrival can unburden himself Vasandra indicates which item to put where, each fitted into a neat little gap between other items very nearly it's size.

”How long do you intend to scan the place before we go inside, just in case we do not detect anything immediately?”

Rajip watched the Cimmerian woman while she spoke, tense yet silent, glad when Gavin's remark placated the situation in the end. He supposed it's a temporary solution, though. He was certain there'd be problems with the aliens on the team later on.

As he was listening to the commander's words something occured to him. Unfortunately, it seemed to be just a fleeting thought at the moment, nothing that he could really hang on to. Eventually, he just nodded in acknowledgement, then took his backpack off and tucked it onto the FRED.

"I'll be off then."

At Gavin's placating words, Hilda snorted 'Hmph.' Then she softened her stance and gave Rajip a crooked smile. 'And I'm sure he can speak for himself.' After all, she hadn't been entirely serious about her rough greeting. Still, she felt competitive for her Tau'ri counterpart on the team.

She listened through Kaspar's summary, having little to add to it, until he got to her:



'No, I didn't say that, but now that you mention it...' she interjected wryly.



Hilda nodded. 'Aha. And you want us to meet alone on the opposite side, já?' she inquired with a mischievous grin. 'Alright, but I should look for tracks on that trail. It is the only place to take a fresh print.'

'Alright. See you soon.' she said, and immediately set off for the temple, veering away to go around the base of the grey stone plateau in the indicated direction. With her bow ready, she looked around, though not too attentively for such a deserted landscape. Part of the journey she spent following the trail, largely from the side, and scanning the dirt for the prints of boots, hooves, or cart-wheels.


OOC: Listen 10, Spot 12
Track: Survival 29
19:42, Today: Hilda rolled 12 using 1d20+5. spot.
19:42, Today: Hilda rolled 10 using 1d20+5. listen.
19:42, Today: Hilda rolled 29 using 1d20+11. survival (forest) - track.

Hilda and Rajip both started to walk around the temple in the opposite directions.

Rajip was looking for any possible entrances. But there were no doors nor there were windows on this side of the temple. Only the same forms and figures were ornamenting the buildings wall.
He also tried to watch if it would have been possible to get on the roof of the temple but as it looked, there is no way to climb this wall without the help of a cord and there's no apparent attach point for that said cord so it looks like an impasse.
He was also looking for any sign of life but he could see nothing of interest.

On the opposite side, Hilda found that there were no entries too. Apparently, the only entrance was the main door but she would have to check the last side with Rajip.
She also focused on the trail that was around the temple. Starting close to the corner, it was not really long. Maybe 10 or 15 feet and it faded in the grass. But she was able to see some trace of this trail at a distance and she could say that it was going in the direction of another patch of forest running behind the temple.

She took a closer look at the trail turning around the temple and she was able to notice some prints going in the direction of the building. But they were not humans print. Instead, she saw animals tracks that were probably left by one or more large animals, something that could be between 4 and 6 feet long and weighting around 80 and 100 pounds. But she could not be more precise as the tracks were rather old and started to fade.

”How long do you intend to scan the place before we go inside, just in case we do not detect anything immediately?” Vasandra asked.

"Well," Kaspar responded, looking up at the temple, "we'll set up, and we'll scan until those two return or thirty minutes has passed -- just in case they make a quick job of their recon.  Hopefully that should give the equipment time enough to collect a useful amount of data."


OOC: I actually have no idea what kind of "devices" we have for this ^_^  Unless you two have some "Alien Tech" to do some scans with, we may be doing nothing more, here, than taking photos, notes on the weather, and a few radiation counter readings!  Did anyone pack a portable RADAR?  How about a Snooper Mic? Portable Mass Spectrometer? ^_^

Suddenly Rajip stopped dead in his tracks, as he finally realized what it was that had been hiding in the depths of his mind before. There were no windows. At all. Yet, if there was the possibility that someone could be hiding inside or even if it was a place of worship, there should be a way of looking outside without opening the only existing door. He took another, more careful look at the walls of the building, searching for any surfaces that behave differently in comparison to their once next to them. There could be anything: a different light reflection angle, a semi-transparent fragments of a wall or even small camera-like devices that did not match the rest of the structure.



OOC: Another look maybe if you allow me that.
21:52, Today: Rajip Mojdar rolled 14 using 1d20+5. Looking for hidden observation points. Spot.

Making use of the limited technology available to the SGC Vasandra packed a few items that could be potentially handy, among them is a Digital Camera, which she quickly retrieves from it's secure storage container on the FRED.  ”If you are familiar with the use of this you are welcome to make use of it, there is also a tripod if you prefer to set it up to continue monitoring for extended periods.”

OOC: I tried to find useful scanning or sensor package items but there do not appear to be any, if you find some let me know and we will make a point of bringing them next time.

OOC: You've got your games confused, Major. It's Star Trek that has all those jiggery-pokery devices! And Major Mass Spec was assigned elsewhere. Current Earth technology doesn't really have any (conveniently portable) scanning devices. Nearly everything is passive sensors. The two major exceptions are ground-penetrating radar and MRI... both rather large and inconvenient in the field.

I do find it amusing that the book has about 3 pages for all the miscellaneous equipment but 25 pages for weapons! It's like ignoring 90% of the show.


In Gavin's puzzle bundle, he has two science kits: life sciences and physics. Plus he has the radiation detector and the metal detector. The physics kit will let him sense energy readings, which he does. Both it and the metal detector can sense magnetic fields.

"I have several devices that might prove useful in that regard," Gavin states to the major as he works on breaking out the kits and operating them.

"Two other techniques we can try is to use the radio headphones to listen into the interior, and I might be able to use a digital camera with a strong light source to function as a makeshift spectrometer. It might give us an idea of what the temple is made of. Of course, if it's unobtainium, we won't be able to identify it, but at least we'll know it's... unusual."

"Someone should make a note that next mission... if we have one, we should request a thermal imaging device and a fibrescope."

"If someone else would examine the temple walls a bit closer, please... see if it is painted or otherwise coated in anyway. Are there any signs of weathering? Any dust, dirt or grime on the surface? Possibly take a scraping of the material... if you can."

23:01, Today: Gavin rolled 24 using 1d20+10 (includes +4 for science kit) to detect any other type of radiation coming from the temple (radio, microwave, ultraviolet, x-rays, etc.).

23:01, Today: Gavin rolled 29 using 1d20+10 (includes +4 for science kit) to detect any magnetic fields in the area, specifically from the temple walls (includes any electrical circuitry).

23:01, Today: Gavin rolled 22 using 1d20+10 (includes +4 for science kit) to get a reading from temple wall which the computer can analyze from his makeshift spectrometer.
This message was last updated by the GM at 13:53, Tue 07 Jan 2014.

OOC: Well that's what I said, isn't it? ^_^  I was asking, in a back-handed way, if any of our Aliens had "Alien Devices" they could use.  Good point about the thermal imager, though.  Damn!  I almost asked about that, too.


"Good idea, Gavin.  Let's see if we've got any white-light glo-sticks, and I'll toss a couple up against the walls, while you ka-jigger your imager."

"Another low-tech thing we can do is hit it with a hammer."  Kaspar pauses for expected chuckles, "Really, I'm serious.  Hit it with a hammer.  Is it metal, stone or ceramic?  On a subjective scale of one to ten, how hard does it feel?  Does it chip?  Does it produce a dull thudding sound, or does the whole damn place suddenly ring out like a bell?  There's a lot you can tell about an item, just by hitting it hard with a hammer."

Hilda looked over the tracks, brushing her fingers across the hard-packed dirt and crushed grass. Four legs, long but quite light, like a goat maybe. Did they take animals into their temple, as sacrifices or rescued beasts? But the tracks were old, perhaps older than the evacuation of the village.

Leaving the trail, Hilda moved back to the temple and continued her walk around it, heading out to the back of the structure, where she expected to meet Rajip. She didn't expect to find any people here. If the villagers had taken shelter here, then she'd see signs of their work and play here outside. If the priests were still, then they'd have confronted the team already. What had caused everything to be so deserted?

During his walk around the temple, Rajip tried to look for anything that could have let someone inside the building be able to see outside. Even when he paid all his attention to these kind of details, he was unable to find something.
The building had literally no opening other that the only door found on top of the stairs. At least on this side of the temple.
Soon, he arrived at the second corner and continued to walk around the temple. Once again, he was unable to find any opening.

On his road around the temple, Hilda was able to find new animal tracks. This time they were more recent and she was able to estimate that they were done around the same time than the village was deserted. They were maybe linked to the earthquake.
Finally, she reached her corner and spotted Rajip walking in her direction.

At the opposite side of the temple, Gavin was measuring all the thing he could with the tools he had with him. All the different scanners were working well but they had found no kind of major radiations or radio emissions that could prove that something was emitting a signal from the inside of the temple.

But Gavin was able to find that there was an energy source in the temple. In fact, there was more than one. Like the road, the temple bricks seemed to emit little radiations. This would explain why the temple was so clean. The bricks could contain the same system to clean themselves than they found on the yellow brick road.

Amongst all the little radiations, the instruments were telling to Gavin that there was a main energy source inside the temple. But he was unable to tell what was the purpose of such energy and all he could said was that it was stable and somewhat important.

At the same time Gavin finished his measures, Rajip and Hilda showed up, returning from their walk around the temple. On the last side of the temple, they had found no more opening or way to climb the temple. If they wanted to enter in the building, the group would have to use the main door that was in front of them.

Hilda waved to Rajip, almost friendly, as they passed on their course around the temple. Finishing up her scouting, she returned to Kaspar, Gavin, and Vasandra, where the wise craftsfolk were still hard at their arcane work, finding little of use about the temple. 'Hail!' she signalled as she approached.

Hilda reported what she'd found: 'It looks like the villagers went on past the temple, with their animals. They didn't stop... Can we go inside now?'

Rajip nodded in confirmation for Hilda's report.

"Exactly. The building should be abandoned. If we enter, however, we must have reliable light source. There'll be no natural light inside and we can not depend on possible artificial lighting supplied by the hosts."

"I'm not detecting anything definitive," Gavin informed the others. "The constructive material appears to have the same radiation as the road. I am guessing that it functions as some type of electrostatic charge that keeps dust and dirt and probably water off the building, since there is not sign of water erosion."

"There is also a power source within the structure. I think it's producing electricity, but I cannot be certain, as the structure's composition blocks some of the radiation. However, it seems to be a rather powerful energy source, so it could easily power a lighting system."

"I do believe that qualifies as 'alien technology'. Not that we needed an additional reason to inventigate the interior."

Looking up from her own palm top style computer Vasandra offers a confirming nod to Gavin's suppositions, along with a brief suggestion.  ”Even if the lights are not currently on for some reason we have plenty of flashlights, most of which can be attached to your weapons, lighting should not be a problem unless you forgot to bring yours.

On the subject of usefulness I am inclined to agree that it is clear the temple holds the only chance for either useful technology or information leading to it that we have seen within miles of here, some caution is likely warranted but not investigating simply because it may be dark in there seems to be a touch on the paranoid side”

'They might use burning torches, or lanterns. Or holes in the roof.' Hilda suggested. She drew her flashlight and peered at the bulb to see the light turn on, momentarily blinding herself. She turned it off again. 'I also have some these flares, if we need to light up an area.' She pulled her pack off the FRED and rummaged around inside for her flares, then packed them in spare pockets.

'Lucky for us, all the people have left, so we won't bother anybody. I just hope they don't come back and call us looters.'

"Right, then." nods Kaspar, "Nothing for it but to get inside."

"Sargeant Mojdar, you will take point, Hilda you will back him up.  Carefully proceed up these stairs and then enter the building if you deem it safe.  Secure whatever chamber or hallway you find just inside the doorway, and then call in the rest of us.  We'll follow along more slowly, keeping back, say four meters behind you."

Kaspar frowns, as he continues, "Also...Sargeant Mojdar, I know that no soldier in any army likes to hear the order I am about to give you, but, in accordance with SGC protocols, you will not, under any circumstances, initiate hostile contact.  You may return fire if fired upon, but you will not fire first!  And Hilda, that goes double for you.  You will not attack anyone unless they attack you first.  Even if you feel legitimately threatened.  Is this understood?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:52, Fri 10 Jan 2014.

'Yes, sir.' Hilda acknowledged, then listened as Kaspar told her not to start any fights. She scowled darkly. 'You sound like you don't trust me. I'm not a berserker... usually.' she added with a mischief. 'Don't worry, I understand.'

"The point it is," Rajip nodded. He grimaced upon the next remark of defensive proceeding yet relaxed visibly when the Cimmerian got her own warning. He then fished out his own flashlight and quickly checked if it worked before placing it, lit as it was, in a loop of his jacket available for quick removal if needed.

He turned towards the entrance.



OOC: GMs, don't forget to mention if it's dark inside or not. We're going in.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:07, Fri 10 Jan 2014.