"No need," the Major replies to Travis as he steps through the gate behind the MALP.

"There's no guarantee that anyone will be sent back," the Major continues once he and Travis are on the other side of the gate. "Don't want to leave you stranded there."

 Fox
"As you command sir, I just feel I am leaving having made a promise that I may have to break and that does not sit well in mind or on shoulders"
Fox walks though carrying Staff and Zat gun as well his usual weapons
This message was last edited by the player at 14:29, Sun 17 Jan 2016.

Kyle looked back rather wistfully as he stepped through the Stargate. He'd love to return to explore the ruins properly.

In reply to Kyle McGuinness (msg # 501):

Jackie continues with the group.

As the teams begin stepping through the gate, the Otterfolk are keen to meet all the new people.

Team One consists of Kyle and Carter and Jason, and Dr. Eric Mason, SSgt. Jon Taylor, and Sgt. Reno Burke. These last three are tech experts. Their first stop is to parlay with Crom, inform him of the existence of the library, and ask him if he'd like to accompany them. You also need to let him know that you've got a defensive team standing by if he'd like to have some assistance against the potential return of the Dragon Lord. It's been left up to Carter to decide whether you should tell him about Sarnak.

Team Three consists of Travis, Al, and the Colonel, plus Dr. Maya Verrano, Major Charles Stratton, and TSgt. Samson D'Onofrio.

Team Two is still waiting at Stargate Command, pending Crom's approval, but since the Otterfolk seem eager to meet everyone, Colonel Hendricks signals to send them through. If it turns out they aren't wanted, they can just dial back.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 503):

Carter walks up to Crom and holds out her hand.

" We are back, Honored Ally. "

"Yes, you said you would return, though I got the impression you weren't telling me all the reasons you would return," Crom replies.

"You bring 3 times as many people. What does this signify?"

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 505):

Jackie takes a deep breath.

" We found something, we aren't entirely sure about. So we didn't want to alarm you till we can study it more closely. Your people need you to guide them and we need to protect them and us as we study it. "

"Ah, you found something in the haunted ruins," Crom replies. He doesn't seem particularly excited but he is interested.

"I won't say that I'm not interested, but I had more than enough time and opportunity to explore them myself... and chose not to. Whoever live there, it was a long time ago. I have not seen any remnants of their civilization outside of the ruins, though, so it didn't not seem of interest. It would appear that they were isolationists... kept to themselves."

"It did seem probably that there would be higher technology on display, but, as you've seen, the Chromar are not advanced enough to do anything with it. I certainly lack the tools to delve into it."

"I notice that your people have separated into three groups. Based on the equipment and stance of the one group, I would hazard that they are the protective group you mentioned before."

"They are welcome to join the Chromar. In many ways, the Chromar are like children. Anything new fascinates them."

"The rest of you will be returning to the ruins?"

Parker moves through the gate escorting the gurney through with the rest of the group. It was one thing to watch things through the lens of the MALP, almost like watching a movie, it was something else to arrive in your own personal version of that movie. Doing his best not to gawk at the Otterfolk, he quickly makes room for the others that are following.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:24, Mon 25 Apr 2016.

Jackie smiles.

" Maybe we should wait till we confirm safety of the situation. I know you understand. Then we may even invite you in. Till then staying her like a comforting father to the Cromar might be best. "

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 507):

Fox nods in agreement of the lords observations. But adds little else. Peaceful or not the creature is still a gao'uld. So limiting the information given would seem like a good idea

The path to the both the ruins and the library is the same for most of the way. It is only as you near the ruins that the 'path' diverges.

Group One (Kyle, Carter and Jason) heads off to the right, towards the library, as it was on the edge of the city in that direction.

Kyle has a bit of a problem locating the library entrance again, as he sealed it up when he left. Also, he didn't take a straight route to it before, but had to follow the cryptic trail of markers. At least he can follow that trail again.

Once he reaches it, he opens the entrance again with no problem.



Group Two (Coleman, Al, Travis and the medical team) heads off to the left, to where Sarnak is trapped in the machine.

Travis has no trouble finding the same building again. He can still pick up the residual thoughts of those who activated the psionic launchers, even though they are long gone. He's beginning to understand what happened. The thoughts are more like echoes or reflections that 'bounced' off the devices and have kept bouncing around the 'psionic shielding' of the city for all these years. They get fainter and fainter the more years pass.

He picks up Sarnak's thoughts as he approaches the building.

~Greetings, Friend Travis! The Librarian said you would return. I was not sure. I could think of no reason why you would return. I have learned much conversing with the Librarian. Much of it I knew once but forgot over the passage of time.~

~The Library does not have any knowledge about minds trapped in machines, so it could not provide any data on how to extract one. I hope you have good news in that regard.~


Group Three remains behind at the settlement and sets up a bivouac, posts watches and sends out 2-man patrols for any area where a Gou'uld ha'tak might land.

When those are in the camp, they talk to Crom and the Cromar, careful not to let any 'tech' loose, and certainly not without Crom's approval. He lets the Cromar use the radios to talk to each other over a distance, even shows them how to use one of the multi-tools.

Mostly, though, the team gathers more information about the Cromar. They were 'created' about 300 years ago. Crom has been slowly pushing them along the civilization path.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:35, Wed 27 Apr 2016.

<quote StarMaster>


~Greetings, Friend Travis! The Librarian said you would return. I was not sure. I could think of no reason why you would return. I have learned much conversing with the Librarian. Much of it I knew once but forgot over the passage of time.~

~The Library does not have any knowledge about minds trapped in machines, so it could not provide any data on how to extract one. I hope you have good news in that regard.~

Fox's reply is calm and controlled
Greetings Sarnak, no my word is my bond as taught me by the elder's of my tribe. Only a direct order from command would have stopped me.

We have two alternatives for you to consider, I shall let the technicians of the medical explain it to you. If there is difficulty then I shall.
Fox waits for reactions before continuing if needed.

Once into the Library, Kyle asks the system to tell him about the people who created it.

After the technicians replace the battery in the radio that was left for Sarnak to talk to the library, they can then 'talk' to Sarnak directly.

They explain to him the options, admitting that they are pretty much as in the dark as he is about the viability of each procedure. The computer expert would like to see it happen, but he doesn't think it's as viable as the body.

Transferring a mind from a machine into an organic body is considered possible only because they accept the fact that there actually is a mind in the machine in the first place. The alternative--that a machine can think--is not considered possible. Even an AI can't 'think' was people do. They are also quite skeptical that Travis could have talked to such an entity.

Sarnak admits that being transferred into another machine would be less than ideal, especially since no one can see if this would be a one-way trip. The alien machines are much more sophisticated than anything the Tau'ri have.

His memories are somewhat fuzzy anyway. If he is able to transfer into another body, he'll at least be mobile, and not dependent on others.

They caution him, though, that he could die. Or, maybe worse, he could be trapped in the brain of the body without being able to activate the body. There's not any guarantee that even Travis could communicate with him.

After due consideration, he choose to try the body transfer.

The techs begin the preparations.


Meanwhile, Kyle is going to be busy for several hours. He has one of two ways to acquire the data: sequentially (start at the beginning and advance forward till the present day) or randomly (kind of select something from an outline).

Being fairly methodical, Kyle opted for the sequential route.

To transfer Sarnak's mind into the body, Al will have to make three skill checks.

The first is to verify that the body is still alive and functioning and viable. TN = 15.

The second is to make sure that all the preparations for the organic side are complete and correct. Appropriate wires and additional monitoring device have to properly attached. Although the monitor registers 0 at this point, if the transfer is successful, it should begin showing some response.

The third is to make sure that the same wires are connected at the other end--the EEG wire isn't mistakenly connected to the body's foot, etc.

The majority of this is being done by the techs, since it involves neural impulses being downloaded into and through electrical wires. This is new 'technology'. If it actually works, it could mean using electronics to allow a patient with neurological difficulties to actually use cybernetic components.

Although they are trying to get the body as close to the machine as possible so as to reduce the length of wire that the signal has to go through, it still needs to be boosted. It's one of the drawbacks to the technology at the moment--signal degradation from the amplification.


Kyle goes through the entire history of the race, though he's relieved to find that there are 'skip' paths around detailed historical events, such as the Groningen War. If he wants to delve that deeply, it will give as much detail on it as there currently is about the American Civil War.

This information isn't being directly 'loaded' into Kyle's brain; he's recording it on his computer and memory sticks.

For each of the next ten hours that Kyle continued to read/listen/study the data, you can pick one skill and get a +1 bonus to it due to the way the Sha'Kri had developed it. For example, if you chose agriculture, they might have had an interesting way of picking cotton.

But at least you've finally found the name that they called themselves: the Sha'Kri.


Jackie and Jason, while you can't get another shot of instant skill boost,  you can kind of do the same thing. If you want to study some of the material available, you should make an Intelligence check TN 15. For every point above 15, you can gain the +1 bonus to that many skills.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 516):

gotta love natural 20's  even if it is outside of combat. int check: 24.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 514):

After due consideration, he choose to try the body transfer.

 The techs begin the preparations.
As preparations are made Fox continues trying to learn and find out what happened to Sarnak's fleet.
"Sarnak he asks, have you succeeded in contacting any one else, besides the librarian?"

"Also it is my understaning that you and the others like you were supposed to take a ship and follow."
"Do you know where that ship is?"

~I can't remember. I think I was supposed to... No, someone had to stay behind to launch the last ship.~ Sarnak responds to Travis.

~I don't think it was supposed to be me, though. The machine malfunctioned. I think that's how I got trapped inside it.~



The techs don't know how long it'll take for the transfer. They don't really know how much 'data' there is in a person's brain and even less sure about what's in the machine.

"I'm starting to feel like Dr. Frankenstein," one of the techs comments. "All we need is some lightning."

"Okay, beginning the transfer now."

He throws a couple switches on the monitoring devices, and then begins dialing the transfer knob.

"EEG is still nominal. EKG reading steady. Conduit open at 1%... 5%... 10%... starting to get neuron flow. 25%... 40%... Whoa! Neuron spike! 100% open, 100% flow!"

"EEG is spiking! 7% activity detected... 42%! 99%! 110%!"

"No change in EKG."

"Travis, can you tell if he's in the machine? Are you detecting anything in the body?"


While the process was going on, Travis was able to get the distinct impression that Sarnak was starting to fade away. His thoughts were getting weaker and weaker, fainter and fainter.

Then he gets a thought... it's incoherent, unfocused, but he actually gets a direction--it seems to be coming from the body.

Travis moves kneeling by the body "easy Sarnak calm now find your way a new mind."
"Feel it know it be one."
"Calm now head my voice"
Turning to the tech "well what ever you did I feel Sarnak's mind it here now" he answers tapping the bodies fore head softly

Travis couldn't quite sort out thoughts... or determine the source... brain or machine... but they felt like they were coming from the body. At first, all he got was a blackness... darkness... but then a distinction between the two.

In that darkness, suddenly a tiny faint pinpoint of light that began to grow brighter and larger until it completely drove the darkness away.

~Am.... I... alive? Am... I... am... back. It... is... very... strange.~

~It... does... not... feel... like... the... machine... any... more. Did... it... work?~

~There... are... paths...~


The thoughts that Travis is receiving now are somehow different, though he can't quite put a finger on how they are different. A sort of 'metallic taste' is missing. And the thoughts feel more... organic... more natural... less 'artificial'.

They still feel like the same thought patterns that Travis has come to associate with the 'entity' that he knows as Sarnak.

Over the next 3 hours, Travis is able to relay Sarnak's thoughts to the technicians as they direct him to follow each of the 'paths'. At first, a toe twitches, then a finger... a lip... an eyelid. Full movement of a hand and then an arm becomes possible but is restricted by muscle atrophy.

Eventually, Sarnak can open and close the body's eyelids... move they eyes... but sensory signals aren't reaching the brain... until Sarnak finds that particular path. It's like he has to go down a path and clear out the 'cobwebs' before the brain can get the signals. At one point, Sarnak experiences synaesthesia... he can hear smells, taste colors, feel sound. He's able to work through this.

The last paths that he can and has to follow are the autonomic functions... heart, lungs, pupils, esophagus...

Finally, Sarnak is able to actually turn his head and look at Travis.

"Traaa... vis..." he manages to croak out.

Travis watches with mind and eyes as Sarnak makes his decision and journey. Fascinated by the process he watches carefully his whole attention on what is happening.
As Sarnak speaks his name he steps forward and gently moistens the being lips. "gently now friend yes I am Travis"

"It seems to have worked," the Major said to Travis and Al.

"I still don't know if that's a good thing, though I admit that having your mind trapped in a machine for who knows how long isn't something I'd wish on anyone."

"And then there's the philosophical aspect. Is he still Sarnak if he's now in a different body? I mean, he's not even in another body of his own species."

"Does he still have a soul? Is his mind the seat of his soul? Did it get transferred into the machine in the first place? And even if it did, did it come along with the new transfer or is it still trapped in the machine?"

"It's not like we have any way to compare the new Sarnak with the old Sarnak."

He continued to observe the 'body' while he listened to Travis and Sarnak.

"Here's the $64 dollar question: does he have psionic powers now that he's in a new body? Can you still hear his thoughts, Travis? Or are we... limited to verbal communication?"