"Good work, Major!" General Hammond answers.

"We weren't sure what we would find at first, but the short and sweet answer is: we want you to bring them both back!"

"Unfortunately, neither will fit through the stargate. Even if we could refuel the ha'tak, it'd take you the better part of a year to return to Earth. At least the globular cluster isn't on the other side of the galaxy."

"I've been talking to the scientists and engineers, and neither group thinks it would be feasible to send a tech team through to study the ha'tak. Too much risk of getting caught, and insufficient tools at hand."

"We've got no way of destroying either of them. Not that I think that's a good idea. The object is to keep them out of the hands of the Goa'uld."

"What about moving the ship and stargate to where the naquadah mine is? We might be able to get in a bit of mining before the Dragonlords figure it out."

"I'm already assembling a contact team to deal with the First Ones."

"As our man on site, Major, do  you have any recommendations?"

In reply to _General Hammond (msg # 94):

"Actually, Sir, I do." Kaspar responds, gesturing for everyone to move closer and join in the conversation,

"As you point out, flying this Ha'tak back to Earth would take a year, even assuming we could get that much naquada -- which we probably could, if we mined and refined if from here, in the weeks it would take to outfit and supply this ship for that trip. You must remember, Sir, that the Green Slime ate everything of an organic and near-organic nature. There are no food supplies aboard, no sheets on the beds, no mattresses, no freshwater reserves, no laundry detergent, no cleaning supplies ... no toilet paper!"

"And then, even if we do fly it back to Earth, where are you going to hide something the size of a small Egyptian pyramid? No, I really don't think that flying this Ha'tak back to earth, at this time, is the way to go."

"However, moving the Ha'tak to the mine site is an excellent idea, both for defense of the site as well as ease for us to continue mining it for our own naquada needs. But, after moving the Ha'tak, I suggest we render it immobile by removing it's propulsion engines - shipping those systems back to earth for study and retro-engineering. We keep the power systems active and convert the Ha'tak into an SGC facility, on this planet. An embassy, of sorts, as well as a cultural exchange center with the First Ones."

"We keep this gate here, rig up an iris, move in a command team, place some security troops, store supplies in the spaces made empty by removing the flight engines, turn one or two of these cargo bays into vehicle bays for land rovers and lorries and mining equipment and such. Then set up the Diplomats and the Scientists, and we have a fully functional base, complete with functional shields and defensive energy weapons."

"I think the Ha'tak would make an ideal, ready-made base facility. And, it would remain in the possession of the SGC, available for study whenever wanted."

"Somewhat of a good idea, Major," Gavan adds. "Not that some of the things you suggest can't be done, but it won't be easy. Goa'uld pyramid ships are built from the ground up... engines first, then the rest is built around them."

"You'd have to prop the four corners up on some sort of platform to get access to the underside just to get at the engines. Not sure, even then, that they could be removed. They don't build things with interchangeable parts, only with consistent parts because they aren't very creative. If a ha'tak got damaged, for instance, but the engines were intact, they'd just dismantle the old one and build a new one around the old engines."

"Also, you don't have the technology to refine naquadah yet. Neither Freyda nor I have the knowledge to assist you in that endeavor, though possibly Vasandra does."

He pauses for a moment before continuing.

"As a cultural exchange base for the First Ones, that is very good idea. It would get them acclimated to leaving their city, establish us as allies, and educate them to another culture."

"As I understand it, the mine isn't that far from here. It's why the ship crashed in this location--it was on its way to the mine. I suspect the mine is probably hidden, as it was coveted by all the Dragonlords. It was probably the main source of political power for the Dragonlord that owned the ha'tak."

As they spoke to Earl Hammond, Hilda chipped in what she thought necessary to the reports and proposals.



'There is a Stargate. You could bring supplies.' she pointed out.



'Mars?'


She didn't have much more to add. Insteadm Hilda went to the shimmering portal of the Ring of Stars. 'Earl Hammond, please raise the iris!' Then, with an underarm throw, she hurled the bloody sack through. On the radio, she declared 'Earl Hammond! I deliver you the head of the Dragonlord Chu-Lung!'

Not sure what the 'threat' was, Hammond indicated to close the iris. A moment later, there was a splat-like sound that was only partially distorted by the iris's metal.

"What was that?" he called back before it registered what Hilda meant.

"Well, that was interesting, though I'm not sure that was the best way to dispose of it. We have no presence in the cluster, and they have no concerns in this part of the galaxy, so it probably doesn't matter."

"On the other hand, you've effectively stolen a ha'tak from them. That may have consequences."

"I'll take your suggestions under advisement, Major, but I'm inclined to agree with you. For the moment, I suggest you move the ha'tak to the mine, and I'll assemble a team to fill that temporary base."

"Anything else?"

OOC: Oops. I meant to open the iris. I thought it was already closed. :) Hilda's going to have to scrub that off, isn't she? :\

Hearing the soft thud over the radio, Hilda winced then had a sheepish look. 'I meant... ah, never mind.'

After that escapade, she rejoined the others, asking 'Can the ha'tak be... made to sail itself? We tell it to go to Midgard – Earth – then pick it up when it comes.'

"Yes, Hilda, the ship can be placed on auto-pilot," Gavan replied, "but over that long a distance, any number of things can go wrong."

"In any case, the ship doesn't have the fuel to go anywhere, and someone would probably need to refuel the ship about halfway there."

"I think placing that ha'tak at the mine and using it as a base is a good idea... with one exception. You can't leave the stargate on board. Any number of nasty things can be sent through it, including a naquadah bomb. Or even flying a death glider through it."

"I don't know if one of your irises would stop either of those."

"There are other things that could be done as well."

'We are going to take the magic crystals out of the altar, are we not?' Hilda checked, indicating the DHD. 'That will close the Ring of Stars... But also stop us from returning. We can give them to the First Ones, so they only open it at certain times.'

"Taking the crystals out of the altar will not prevent the gate from functioning, Hilda," Freyda responded. "That will only make it so no one can operate the gate from this side."

"Others can still dial in... they could come through the chappa'i and just be stranded here, as they could not then go back."

"I am not sure if the First Ones could reinsert the crystals into the altar, though it is not that hard."

In reply to Freyda (msg # 102):

Kaspar nods at everyone's ideas, but turns to the still-active gate and opens his comm again, before addressing his team mates.

"Oh, by the way, General," Kaspar transmits, "we actually still have one local Jaffa left with us - and he's starting to look a little lost at sea.  He could be a valuable source of current info on the doings in this star cluster, so, is there one of the Free Jaffa available to come over here and take him in tow?  Maybe help him adjust to the new life paradigm he's faced with?  Or a Tok'ra? Whoever is helping Jaffa adjust to freedom?"

Without waiting for an answer, Kaspar releases the mic and turns to his fellows, "Right, those are all good points you've all made. How about this - right now we put as much liquid naquada into the Ha'tak fuel tanks as we can scrounge up, then hope that it's enough to fly this beast to the mine. We set it down at a location as close to the mine as we can, in a nice strategic spot."

"Once we've landed at the mine - and probably with a few helpers from home - we then move the 'Gate and its DHD to a spot outside, maybe several hundred yards from the Ha'tak, but also someplace that we can keep the gate covered by weapons on the Ha'tak.  Whether those are already installed Goa'uld weapons, or weapons installed aboard by us, doesn't matter, just as long as we can put any hostiles coming through the gate under fire."

"We'll leave any future installation of an iris up to the General."

"How's that sound, Ladies and Gentlemen?"

"An excellent idea, Major!" Gavan said a bit wryly at Kaspar's reiteration of what they had just told him.

"Moving the stargate out of the ha'tak is not going to be the easy thing you think it is," he added. "No doubt the Dragonlord used some sort of Ancient gravity control device to load it on in the first place."

"I believe the First Ones can assist you with that," the Cat-ffolk spoke up. "We have a few Lifters given to us by the Alterans. It should only require two of them to move the portal."

"Will that be sufficient incentive to let me visit your world?"

Hilda shrugged at the plan they'd settled on and Kaspar outlined. She had no more objections or ideas. In fact, she just wanted to go back to Earth, now the exciting stuff was done here. She hadn't watched Xena in ages. 'This is fine.'

She had an idea on what to do with the Ring of Stars, however, without needing an iris. 'If you tip the stargate on its face, the vortex will make a big pit. Then anyone who comes through will fall in and be trapped and vulnerable. Or dead. We can radio before we come, and you can lift it up again.'

"Alas, I cannot gainsay General Hammond letting you visit Earth, Asherrra," Gavan replies to the First One.

"Just as you and your kin live in a single city, so, too, do the Tau'ri live in multiple cities across the entire world. Only one small city knows about the stargates, and even those aren't always comfortable around non-humans."

"It isn't likely that you would be allowed outside that one small city because those outside would be afraid of you. Even in that city, you would likely be stared at out of curiosity."

"However, I will put in a good word for you to General Hammond."

He then addressed Hilda.

"Yes, anyone passing through the gate would be stuck in the hole created by the emergent wormhole, and it would be obvious that the gate had been activated, but how then would anyone get to those so trapped?"

"Lowering and raising the gate is not so easy a task, though the secrecy needed on Earth would probably not be necessary here."

"It is a possibility, though. I think they would appreciate a simply solution."

'There's a city?!' Hilda exclaimed at the revelation. 'I'm trapped under Cheyenne Mountain while somewhere there's a whole city I could visit?'

'The hole is just for killing people.' she explained plainly. She tried to think of something less horrific, and naturally considered how her homeworld was protected, and Freyda standing close by. 'The Asgard. Lady Freyda, can the Asgard protect the First under the Protected Planets Treaty?'

In reply to Hilda (msg # 108):

"Actually, Asherrra, I think Gavin may be calling our Star Gate Command facility a 'city', for lack of a better word." Kaspar says, "The SGC is built underground - under an entire mountain, actually - it is very large and has several hundred people living in it; soldiers, technical personnel and scientists, all working to run our exploration mission.  They sleep there, eat there, work and recreate there; they live entire lives in that underground facility - just like they would if living in a city on the surface of the world."

"I think we could probably convince General Hammond to allow you to visit, but Gavin was right that we probably would not be allowed to show you around outside the SGC.  We Tau'ri - that's the Goa'uld name for us, by the way; we call ourselves either 'Earthlings', because everyone there calls my planet 'Earth' these days.  Or we call ourselves Terrans, which is based on what we called our world many, many centuries ago; back then our world was called Terra.  That's the name The Ancients - the Alterans - knew our world by"

"Anyways, Terrans are new on the galactic scene; we've only just started using Stargates, and we've run into some difficulties with the Goa'uld - only we don't have an ancient Alteran defense system to protect our world. We're doing that on our own and so far, we're holding our own."

"But our general population is, as yet, unaware of our using the Stargate, or of the SGC's encountering many races unknown on Terra.  Our governments on the homeworld feel that many of our world's population would panic, if that information were just thrust out there, so the SCG and what we do remain a secret from the general population, while our governments take time to prepare our people for these facts, in a way that will avoid any panic."

Kaspar suddenly raises a hand to halt the conversation momentarily, then he reaches up and keys his microphone, while turning to look at the still active gate,

"General Hammond, Major Gorski, here.  Any word on someone coming to counsel this lost Jaffa, over here?  I'm in no hurry, of course, Sir - but I would remind you that there is a Cimmerian over here, Sir.  And she has her sword out ... Sir."

Kaspar releases the mic and winks at Hilda, with a grin.

"There's no one available at the moment, Major," General Hammond replies to Kaspar, "plus there are the logistics to work out."

"We are looking into getting this Bra'tak fellow for the task."

"Meanwhile, go ahead and relocate the ha'tak to the mine entrance. Report again in two hours if  you are successful."

"I suspect that when you next return to Terra, the Earl Hammond will let you visit some of the cities," Freyda replied to Hilda.

"It is not that they don't trust you, but that your customs are different than theirs. They wanted to make sure you understood that before letting you wander around their streets. Remember, not everyone on Terra is a warrior. You could easily hurt some of them without meaning to."

"Oh. And it is not like Xena either."

'But Lady Freyda,' Hilda protested, 'I would only hurt those I mean to.'

Catching Kaspar's wink, she thought she got his meaning. She drew her sword...
This message was last edited by the player at 08:10, Fri 16 Mar 2018.

In reply to Hilda (msg # 112):

"O Mary, Mother of God! No!" Kaspar blurts out, waving for Hilda to sheath her sword, "I didn't mean you were actually threatening him..." Kaspar glances to the side, to check and see if the Jaffa is still confused, or if he might be starting to understand what's really happening here.

"I only said that to light a fire under Hammond's ass and get someone over here to take charge of the poor guy."

Before it had fully emerged, Hilda slid her sword back into its sheath. 'Oh.' She didn't ask about his intended burning of Earl Hammond; perhaps it was only in effigy.

"Besides, he may know where the mine is," Gavan spoke up again. "If not from here, then perhaps once we get to the right coordinates, he'll know where the entrance is."

"Remember, this was supposed to be a secret location, though it seems as if most of the Dragonlords knew there was a naquadah mine here. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if a single ha'tak was permitted to land at the mine, but more than one at a time might trigger the Alteran defense system. Simply mining for a natural resource could easily be perceived as peaceful, whereas multiple ha'taks or other ships could be considered aggressive or exploitative."

"So, it looks like Freyda and I need to replace the engineering crystals and then the bridge control crystals. We'll also need to drain the staffs of their naquadah and put it in the power core."

"Vasandra can give Hilda the command, and Hilda, you can have the Jaffa bring all the staffs down to engineering."

He glanced over at Vasandra and was surprised to see that she seemed to be enjoying her role as a goddess. At any rate, she seemed to be maintaining her pretense. But was that a flicker of excitement in her eyes at the prospect of finally flying the ha'tak?

This role as a goddess didn't really suit her, but Vasandra could just as easily play the strong silent type, since a pilot seldom had anyone to talk to other than herself, and that route often led to madness as you started answering yourself and then imagining you were talking to someone else.

If it wasn't so odd and scary, it'd probably be amusing. The sole remaining Jaffa was hardly a threat, especially without a weapon, but she couldn't let him see that she was concerned about the near-bickering conversation of the others. She had to maintain her disinterested aloofness. When things had finally been resolved and the gate had closed once more, she looked at the others, and said, in Goa'uld:

"I have listened to what you have said. It is now my wish to implement The Plan."

"Freyda and Gavan, prepare the ha'tak for flight. Hilda, have your Second gather up the staff weapons and take them to engineering so that their naquadah may be used to fuel the ship."

"While you are at it, have him direct you to the mine's location."

"I will be in the pel'tak. Asherrra and Kaspar, with me. Rajip, assist Hilda."

She didn't know if the First One understood the pretense that was going on, nor did she know if Asherrra could assist Freyda in any way, though she doubted it. She also did not know how well the First One could fight if trouble occurred with the Jaffa. So, the best course was to keep her with Kaspar and herself.

Anyway, she wanted to be on the bridge when the power was brought back on line so she could see if the ship had any other damage or problems. As soon as the Jaffa's back was turned, though, she gave Kaspar a wink, to let him know she was still playing the game.

In reply to Vasandra Tourmaline (msg # 116):

"As the Goddess commands, we obey." Kaspar says, bowing low towards Vasandra, then straightening and gesturing towards Asherrra,

"Come, my dear, we follow the Goddess." Kaspar says to the First One, giving her a wink - then hoping that that means the same thing to her people as it does to Terrans.

Either way, Kaspar and Asherrra fall in behind Vasandra - that is, behind 'Angrboða' - and follow her up to the pel'tak.

'Are we still doing this?' Hilda muttered irritably, then caught herself and returned to her role as First Prime. 'Yes, my queen. I obey.'

She marched off and waved the last remaining Jaffa to follow her, giving orders in Goa'uld. 'Kree! We must gather the ma'tok staffs and take them to Engineering.' With him and Rajip in tow, she returned to the sight of the battle between the Jaffa.