Cormac seems a little too eager and runs through the gate, followed by Randall who walks a bit more sedately.

Cormac must not have read the reports that carefully because his running speed (it's only a light jog) is amplified by the random inertia imparted by the gate. Not really discernible until exiting the wormhole at the other end, he is flung out of the even horizon more quickly than his feet are moving. He stumbles forward, desperately trying to get his feet to catch up with the rest of his body... and slams into the back of the MALP, knocking him to the ground and leaving him momentarily out of breath.

Randall exits the even horizon with a bit more speed than he was expecting, but he stumbles a bit before catching his balance again.

Since the MALP had reported no change in the situation, the scene is exactly as the last picture sent.

"Uh" is the sound Mick makes as he face plants into the back op the MALP. When he catches his breathe he looks at the rest of the team. " and that gentlemen is what not to do" as he laughs it off. Make a fool of himself seems to be Mick's favorite pastime.

Randall just helps his teammate up.
"Let's keep our eyes peeled; we don't need an alien croc sneaking up on us just as we gate in." Randall says looking around.

As Thorne was helping him he comented on what Thorne said.
" wow cap! You really don't like swamps do ya? Heads up if it was gonna be anything it would be a snake like creature." As he points over behind thrones back to nothing.

"Like that"

James looks over the area seeing if are any threats or sign of recent activity then asks Thorne "Captain do you want to scout out ahead?"

James, Eddie and Marcus stepped through the event horizon and were soon ejected on the other side.

The extra momentum imparted happens to catch James in mid-stride, so he just has to make a quick extra step to catch his balance.

Eddie wasn't so lucky, and stumbles a bit as his feet touch ground.

Marcus, with some experience at gate-walking, isn't bothered by the quick step.

~You should get that fixed!~ Vektar comments to Marcus mentally.


Nothing immediately attacks anyone, and nothing is visible in the surrounding swamp.

The event horizon on the gate behind them shuts down, and silence falls over the area.

Eddie recovers from his stumble and quickly clears the area immediately in front of the gate before he settles to one knee and scans the area, listening as the sounds of the swamp return.

Ooc: Spot: Eddie Dean rolled 10 using 1d20+4.
ListenEddie Dean rolled 15 using 1d20+4.

Marc looks around moving off to the side of the stargate to avoid any unpleasantness if it suddenly reactivates.

~I'll talk to the General when we get back about it.~ Thinks Marcus.

Looking around he moves to the DHD and looks it over to verify the symbols for a return trip to base.

"Captain, ready to try dialing home if your done with the MALP."

Mick makes sure that he is clear of the gate as he begins to look around at the surrounding area. In particular if there are any noticeable disturbances to he ground in the vicinity of the gate that the MALP may have missed.

James scans the area for threats or recent activity. He does notice what might be footprints in the dirt of the path that leads down the causeway. He estimates that it rained about three days ago, and the footprints were made before that, but the
rain didn't quite wash them all away.


Eddie finds the same thing, and after a few minutes, he hears the typical sounds of a swamp return: croaking frogs, chirping crickets, buzzing cicadas, flies and dragonflies. The gators and most of the frogs won't come out till dark, though. He also notices that none of the insects seem to approach the gate.


It would have been a major shock if the DHD had different symbols, but Marcus finds this one looks like the standard one. He tentatively pushes the first symbol and is relieved to see it light up, indicating that the DHD still has power.


Mick also scans the area, though he's looking for specific signs of disturbance. He finds nothing obvious, but he gets a general impression from the packed dirt and regrowing grass that the gate may not have been used in about a month.

He also notices a scent... kind of familiar but strange. He finally identifies it as citronella... or at least something like it. With a little investigation, he determines that the scent is coming from the grass.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:44, Tue 24 Dec 2013.

While Eddie maintains his watch and waits for orders from the captain, he sets the IP on his inertial compass and checks his magnetic one to see if it will be of use.

While James awaits the captain's orders, he takes cover to Marcus and keeps a lookout for any threats or sign of movement

As the group is waiting on orders Mick is testing the water to make sure it's safe if for some reason someone ends up in it. After that he will inform the team that the gate area hasn't been used in the last few weeks. "Hey guys, it doesn't appear that this area hasn't been used in quite some time."

Depending on what the water analysis says he will let them know about the water toxicity.

OOC: would I need to roll something for that?

((OOC: You should only make a skill check if there's a potential hazard involved or you are attempting a task while under stress (such as being shot at while climbing, etc.).))


The water is not toxic, though it has the usual microbes in it that you'd expect from a swamp.

"Marcus, we're done with the MALP for now. Let's send it back. Everyone else, keep your eyes open as we traverse this wonderful path."

" well guess I should let y'all know if for some reason we end up swimming the water is not toxic, swamp microbes but not deadly." Mick then heads down the path with the others.

"Head out in five minutes after the MALP goes through so we have time to get updates from the SGC, box formation with the scientists in the center."
Randall says examining the trees.

James keeps on alert as he gets into fomartion

Eddie nods, acknowledging the command, and moves to take one of the lead positions in the formation.  He then prepares to make contact with the SGC once the gate is established.

Marcus has no problems dialing Earth, and once the wormhole is established, Eddie makes contact with SGC. Everything is still normal there, nothing has invaded since they left, so it's okay to send the MALP back through, which Marcus does. Then the gate closes again.

The team then heads out, walking down the causeway. They don't have to walk single file, as the causeway path is wide enough to accommodate two people walking side by side, but it makes for a right narrow 'box' formation.

Randall keeps watching the trees as they go, probably because of the all the Spanish moss hanging from them, which can conceal a lot of things. In this case, if it is, Randall doesn't spot it. He does hear numerous bird calls, and almost always can locate the bird that's producing it. The birds are high up in the canopy of the trees. None of them venture down lower, but then it's a rather thick canopy, generating an almost twilight condition at ground level.

The gate and the causeway, of course, have no canopy, leaving a patch of open sky above.

At one point, Randall catches sight of a snake swimming through the swamp. It's not particularly close, and does not seem interested in the team.

As the team approaches what appears to be the end of the causeway, the swamp and the canopy--maybe 300 feet ahead, it starts to snow.

Looks like SG-X3 is going to have a white Christmas after all!


((Merry Christmas, SG-X3!))
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:39, Tue 24 Dec 2013.

Sgt. Dean looks at the snow ahead saying, mostly to himself, "And me without my winter issue."

The snow gets heavy for maybe ten minutes, just long enough to cover the ground, and then the snowfall drops to just a flurry before stopping altogether. The ground, however, is just too warm for the snow to last. It begins to melt away within five minutes.

It also never actually got cold, though it did cool off a bit.

The team continues on down the causeway. As the swamp vegetation begins thinning out, odd sounds can be heard. They sound man-made but are hard to identify. The sounds are coming from up ahead.

With the aid of binoculars, something can be seen through the thinning plantlife. It takes a moment to figure out what it is that you see, but eventually your brain overlays something 'reasonable' on it.

What you see are structures, but peculiar ones. They appear to be made of a bunch of stacked circles, each circle offset from the one below. Through the trees, only half a dozen structures can be seen.

When Mick sees the structures he starts to wrack his brain for which earth culture if any used circular or spherical building materials. He also listens closely to the sounds trying to deciminate if they could give him any indication of possible root language he could possibly translate through. He looks over to Marcus and asks, Do either you or Vektar recognize any of this? As he indicates the structures.

Once James sees the structures and hears the sound of something manmade, he turns to Thorne "Captain we should be careful I would suggest we either walk all friendly like or send a 1 or man team to scout it out"

After Marcus looks at the structures through the binoculars, Vektar offers an idea.

"This could be the Rings of Svengara," he says. "A few mentions have made their way to us, but we thought it just another human legend. A minor system lord named Ganesha was attacked by Yu's forces some 300 years ago. She was generally thought to have been killed in the attack, but there was a rumor that she escaped to a place called Svengara. The rings were a motif that she used in her magnetic experiments."

Well that makes my job a bit harder. Guess I will have to brush up on my Hindi when we get back. Thanks. He then looks over at James, you still want to walk right in if this might be a goa'uld held planet? he asks with a slight questioning tone.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:52, Sat 28 Dec 2013.

"We need to exercise more caution, sudden changes in weather coupled with those rumors of a minor Goa'uld having been here make me leery of scouting in detail. Let's stay far away from these rings and scout out what other structures there are. This is definitely a case of Neon sign saying trap here." Randall said as he motioned in Apache wards against bad things.

"So, sir...  If we're not going to get a closer look at the structures then what direction would you like us to travel?  Wouldn't it be better to verify if those are Goa'uld held buildings so that we can report that back to the SGC?"

"What I want to do before we get into a potentially sticky situation is recon the perimeter and hopefully find out if there are more than one."

"So, your orders sir?"

The structures were off to the right. Nothing is discernible to the left. The 'bayou' appears to end in another 150 feet or so, though there hasn't been any standing water visible for awhile now. The ground might be somewhat soggy, but it looks stable; the team could stay in amid the trees and moss with a good chance of remaining unseen.

"Eddie, get close to one of those structures and see what you can see, the rest of us will get ready to cover you."

"Sir, I think I should go with him. I have been working closely with Dr. Jackson at the base and I believe if there are any markings that Mr. Dean here may not recognize or think signifigant, I might."

Before the others have a chance to say no, Mick takes a quick breath and says, "I grew up hunting, so I know how to stay quiet and out of sight."
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:43, Sat 28 Dec 2013.

"Fine, but keep your head down, I don't want to be writing any letters home so soon."

"Roger, sir.". He looks over at Cormac before fishing out a second radio headset from his pack, "Here, put this on...  Keep your hands free.  We'll approach as close as we can and get eyes.  Then we can call the L.T."

He takes a small kit out from his load bearing harness that looks surprisingly like a woman's compact only green and takes a moment to apply camouflage paint to his face before offering the kit to Cormac. "Mick, if we take fire we'll center peel back to the rest of the team... "  he seems to realize that tactical terms don't mean much of anything to rhe non military team members and explains, "I'll start firing then you run towards the team until you find cover.  You call out that you're ready and lay down some fire while I hustle past you and find cover.  We just keep doing that till we re-establish contact with the team.  Hopefully, we'll just find some nice unprotected buildings.  Let's move."

Eddie and Mick head off into the woods to the right of the causeway, cause going straight ahead would leave them exposed out in the open. It only takes about five minutes to get up close enough to see the structures through the bushes.

Just 50 feet of lateral movement gave a completely different perspective. This is a town! There are nearly a hundred of these structures. Eddie and Mick are looking at one corner of the town. Only a few minutes of study elicits the following facts:

Every structure is made of stacked discs.
Every structure is made of an odd number of discs.
There are two or three 1-disc structures, but otherwise they range from 3 to 7 discs.
Every disc is offset from the one below it. The amount of offset appears to be fixed, roughly one third of the diameter.
There are no windows.

After that, though, there is some variation. Sometimes the discs are offset to the left, and some to the right. Sometimes they are rotated 120 degrees, though this can only happen on 5 or 7 disc-high structures.

The discs aren't all the same color, but the colors are dull shades. Nothing is bright, nor is anything pastel. Predominant colors are gray, darkk blue, purple and dark red. The top disc always seems to have the most color.

Although an arched opening can be seen on the bottom disc of each structure, it takes a few more minutes of study to determine that the doors appear to be discs that roll from side to side.


Then there are the people. It has the appearance of a typical town, with people moving about along the streets, entering and exiting buildings. The people have fairly dark skin and dark hair. Style is either straight and long (worn loose, back or to one side) or in a top knot/bun. A very few have their hair braided.

Garb is either a robe or blouse and loose baggy trousers. There is no color to the fabrics, however, but they are decorated with colored beads and stitching. Maybe half of them are wearing a black vest, and a few have scarves or shawls.

There does not appear to be any difference between what the males are wearing and the females are wearing.

Mick pulls out one of his notebooks. He takes a few quick notes and then writes something down of a blank page so as not to speak.

This is definitely Hindu influence but I'm drawing a blank on the rings and their significance. Let's head back, we have a better idea of who is here.

Also, there were absolutely no weapons visible.

OOC: Depending on what Eddie decides will determine if i delete this post or not.

As the two men are making their way back to the team Mick suddenly stops. It almost seems as though he is about to shout when he grabs his notes and begins to write something down.  The rings of their structure may allude to their viewpoints concerning the Stargate and how they may perceive it as their "tree of life, garden of Eden, their Cobra." He kept scratching away as he continued to walk back to the others.

Eddie takes a few minutes to study the people and structures with binoculars even from this close range looking for distinctive individuals who might represent a leadership, military, or police role as well as examining the buildings for other entrances such as windows before withdrawing.

Once he gets a safe distance away he begins to speak with Cormac, "What makes you say Hindu influence? And how do you think they built the towers...  They seem almost modular."

James keeps his position as he keep a lookout

Marc knelt observing what he could and started to snap off some pictures with his dig camera.  Taking wide shots and then zooming in to record more details.  He then started to check his compass and his physics kit to check on any magnetic anomalies.

Randall kept his eyes scanning for threats to his forward observing team members.
Something felt off, he just couldn't place it.

As the team continues to observe this town, a loud whistle sounds and everyone suddenly freezes in place. It's not like they are paralyzed; they can still move, but it's as if they have been trained to stay in place.

In a few minutes, three Jaffa come into view. Two are wearing the elaborate headpiece-helmet that hides their features. The third one has the mark of a prime on his forehead. He is carrying some device that's about the size of typical paperback book.

As they walk, the prime points the device at people. After pointing it at several dozen people, he finally points to one... a young woman. The other Jaffa pull out zats and one of them shoots the woman, who falls to the ground.

Then they roll her over on her back and pick her up by her arms and start dragging her back the way they came.

The stationary people continue to just stand there, except for two of them--a young man and an older woman. They move forward, screaming. The older woman throws herself onto the younger woman, apparently in an attempt to keep her from being dragged away. The young man challenges one of the Jaffa and promptly gets shot for his efforts. Then the Jaffa kicks the older woman in the head until she lets go and falls off and tumbles to the ground.

"Ok team, seems like time to act from the bushes. We need to tail those Jaffa and find out what's going on. Keep to the shadows and unless you can do it with little harm to yourself; no heroic rescues." Randall says reluctantly. He wished he could order a full scale rescue; but his first priority was to his team.

"Ventar, did that First Prime mark identify him as belonging to any Goa'uld you know of?" Randall asked the blended scientist.

OOC: I'm assuming that Dean and Marcus are back from scouting, if not I can change the post.

OOC The other science dweeb went scouting.  Marcus is still with the group.

Marc tilts his head, apparently in communication with Vektar about what they saw.

"I suggest we split into teams of so its easier to move around and avoid detection" James says as he keep a lookout

"Sir, it will be difficult to follow the Jaffa without alerting the village.  It might be best set a lay-up position here and send a small group to the stargate to make contact with the SGC.  I think the general will want to know that we're tangling with a Goa'uld."

Actually, it is fairly easy to follow the Jaffa with binoculars. Not only are they slightly taller than everyone else, they have the headgear.

At a rough guess, it looks as if they are heading to the pyramid.

This is only slightly visible through the gap between two buildings. The gap is only a sliver, and it becomes noticeable only because the Jaffa walk between those two buildings and you can still follow them as they head toward the pyramid.

You aren't looking at the pyramid straight on, though, so you aren't sure how high it is or how wide the base is. However, it appears to be a step pyramid, more like the Aztecs built than the Egyptians.

With a somewhat different mental perspective, what seemed insignificant initially now has greater meaning. Through other gaps, more disc buildings can be seen over to the right, now giving the impression that the majority of the town is still unseen, though possibly only half. The team is looking at the leftmost side street... essentially one corner of the town.

How many other buildings there are can't be seen clearly, but at least another dozen. Because of perspective, none of the other buildings are any higher than the ones that you can see. In fact, there is only one buildings that is 7 discs high.

The pyramid appears to be at the opposite end of the town, and, again because of perspective, doesn't go up high enough to be seen over the tops of the disc buildings.

The older woman continues to lay on the ground, sobbing hysterically. It isn't until the Jaffa are out of sight that others move to help her up and comfort her.

"They're going into a step pyramid, sir...  Guess we don't need to follow them after all."

OOC: Didn't know there was a pyramid until now...

At Randall's question, Marcus's eyes glow for a second as Vektar answers.

"It is not inconsistent with Ganesha, but I cannot verify that it does, indeed, belong to her."

Mick asks for the binoculars as the jaffa without the headpeice is walking towards them.

He sees what appears to be similar to this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...ymbol_(Stargate).svg

Could Ganesha be a lieutenent of Nirrti?

"Well team, careful's what we have to be. If we can take out Jaffa and stop this then that's a bonus. We need to make sure the General gets this intel." Randall said.

"I do not know who Nirrti's lieutenants were," Vektar replies to Cormac. "I am not even sure she ever had any. If she did, it was long before she became a System Lord."

"However, Ganesha could once have been such a lieutenant."

thanks Vektar. well if ganesha was once a underling it might explain the rumors about how the Goa'uld made it out here. he then looks back to Thorne. maybe we should sit on the gate to make sure they aren't sending anyone that way. If noone shows up we can call back to the SGC and inform them.

I would still like to try and make contact with the locals if i can. maybe not all armed up but with cover.

Mick then proceeds to adjust his gear and ripping things where he needs to in order to come across as a beggar.

He addresses the team. it pays to be resourceful. Also youd be surprised at what people will say in the presence of what they percieve as the lower classes.

"True a lot is said to beggars or religious, but be careful Mac you have a green light to go in but don't be afraid to signal for help if you need it. Marcus and myself will stay here to cover you; everyone else secure the Gate so we can fall back in a hurry if we need to."

"Sir, if I may remind you.  Our orders specifically state to avoid contact with the local population."  He looks over to Mac, "It's a different mission profile to contact the locals even if they are being exploited by the Goa'uld."

"Hummmm  Eddie is right.  We technically have completed the first part of the mission,  following the path."

He looks at their new team leader, "do we stay on mission Randall?"
  Marc was curious, While O'Neil seemed to get away with bending rules he had heard of the General not being that 'forgiving' with other military personnel.

As the team considers their options, some of the SGC training comes back to mind now that the reality of the situation sheds a bit of light on it.


Part of the orders have to do with interpretation, and even Hammond wasn't naive enough to think the rules and regulations could cover every possible contingency.

Specifically, the intent of not making contact with locals was to not disrupt their culture. A cultural team with training in that area would be dispatched to do so if they deemed it important.

The other intent was to avoid contact with the Goa'uld, though that was specifically aimed at not getting into a running battle with them. If the Goa'uld and Jaffa were just lording it over natives, then leave it alone for another day. If there was abuse involved... well, Hammond didn't specifically identify that as either a 'lay off' or 'get involved' scenario--he left that up to the team leader to decide.

It is generally frowned on because it isn't supposed to be an opportunity for everyone to go 'John Wayne' on the Jaffa. Most team leaders don't have the 'correct' mindset for that kind of decision making. It's not something you can train into a person; it's only something that his moral compass and experience can direct him.


((The GM is neither encouraging you to attack, nor suggesting you run away. There is no wrong answer (except maybe an all-out frontal assault...). The above is just my interpretation of the team's 'orders'. O'Neill was a unique person; he was in a dark place during that first mission, and it was that uniqueness that enabled him to succeed whereas others might not have.))

"Mac keep it to observation, but keep yourself safe. Don't rile up the locals. However if you feel it safe for you, through a monkeywrench into Goa'uld plans." If after five minutes you get nothing fade out of there and we'll ex-filtrate via the 'Gate." said Randall.

"We need to give the General full intel not a partial picture." Randall clarifies.

With the go ahead from Thorne Mick starts to head into the settlement. He does a couple things before getting there in order to keep himself inconspicuous including rubbing some dirt on his clothing and face, and hair. He might be a bit too blonde for this situation so the dirt is hopefully going to help darken his hair.

When he finds his way into the town he starts to wander around paying specific attention to the language that is being spoken and anything else that could give him an idea of who these people may be descendant of if any known Earth culture.

Mick sort of shuffles or shambles into town, but he's quickly the center of attention, even if no one actually confronts him.

He realizes, perhaps too late, that he stands out like sore thumb.

First of all, there is no one else in the town that wears clothes that resemble his nor that are the color of his. Secondly, he sees no indication that there are any beggars in this society. Third, based on some gestures, he gathers that NO ONE comes into town from somewhere else!

No one stops him, no one accosts him, but most people avoid him. Others kind of stare at him, but keep on walking.


As near as he can tell, they sound like they are speaking Hindi. As it's not a language he knows, he can't be sure how much linguistic drift there is.

"Looks like he's been made." Randall whispers "be ready for a go." Get out of there man! Randall thinks readying himself in case a hidden weapon or Jaffa patrol comes.

Eddie checks his weapon, knowing that it's ready, but one can never check often enough. "Didn't expect him to just walk up and say hi.  Sir, what's your intent if things go south?"

James keeps holding the stargate as ordered
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Mon 06 Jan 2014.

"If things go south we need to provide covering fire for Cormac, if he can't get out then I'll go in to rescue him with you providing suppression. We don't leave our own behind. Then we'll rush towards the 'Gate and get out of dodge." Randall says.

Marc nods his understanding.

As he is determining that the language has some semblance to Hindi Mick notices the staring and figures its time to leave. He can get some help back at base to figure out what language it is and how far off it is from an Earth language.

He meets back up with the team.

yeah, So I think we should be leaving now.

"Pull back to the 'Gate and evac." Randall says keeping his senses on high alert. After all, no plan survived contact with the battlefield.

It was a good thing that Randall was staying alert because someone followed Cormac from the village.

He's a bit surprised to see anyone other than Mick, but he seems to find some courage and starts talking. He quickly realizes that no one understands him, so he launches into a pantomime of gestures.

After a few moments, his expression turns to one of desperation, and when it seems to have no effect, tears start running down his face.

It finally sinks in that this is the man that attacked the Jaffa when the woman was being dragged away.

Eddie holds up his hand, palm open to the worried man before holding a finger up to his lips.  He speaks to the Captain, "Sir, I'm no linguistic expert, but maybe we could open a gate to the SGC and they could either send someone through or put someone on the radio..."

"I think that's a good idea, however explain to him that we are going back to the 'Gate first. I hate to be callous but now the team's safety is my number one priority."

Eddie nods, "Sir."

He looks to his new charge and points directly at the man's chest before pointing at each of the team members including himself.  He makes a circle motion with his hand encompassing everyone present before miming walking with his fingers.  He then points to the patch on his arm indicating the stylized stargate and then motioning to the man to follow.

"SOP says we should search him sir, but I don't have a good way to mime it.  I think it's a risk we might need to take."

"We'll search him and then make our way to the 'Gate, where we can get a translation. Hopefully we get the green light to attempt a rescue." Randall said.

The man taps his chest and says "Narjav". He then holds out his hand, flat, palm up. He draws a circle in the air at the tip of his fingers, then points to all five team members, then to himself, and uses his fingers to indicate walking to the circle.

Then he draws the circle in the air again, points to all five team members and himself, and uses his fingers to indicate walking back from the circle.

He then points up to the sun. He then moves his hand a short way through the arc of the sun.

He then moves his hand about halfway down through the same arc, and then puts his hand to his throat with the thumb sticking up, and draws his hand across his throat.

His face goes back to an expression of anguish.

This message was deleted by the player at 21:55, Thu 09 Jan 2014.

"Well then this changes things; a frontal assault is a bad idea. However, delaying the execution/possession ceremony would work in our favor. Eddie's recon might have tipped our hand. Get on the horn to the team at the 'Gate and tell them to dial and request backup. Meanwhile we'll mount a diversionary attack to draw off as many as we can. Remember no stupid risks, but the Jaffa have been proven hostile." Randall said.

"Roger Sir."

Eddie keys his mic and speaks into it, "Dean to Berten.  LT the Captain would like you to dial home.  We need to make contact with SGC. Over."

James radios back "Understood dialing home"

James will then make sure there is no one around then start the dialup

James has no problem dialing up the gate and sends the recognition code, even though they aren't going through. It's to make sure SGC knows who is calling.

"SGC this is Lt. Berten do you read" if so he will reply any message

As the others are doing their procedures Mick is readjusting his gear and double checking his ammo and safety. He may not be expressly military but he knew how to handle himself with a gun. Maybe not as much when the target is shooting back.

"We read you loud and clear, SG-X3," General Hammond replies over the radio. "Are you returning, or is there a problem?"

"Captain Thorne, this is Berten made contact with Hammond. What message do you want to send and I'll reply it" James keep alert as he talks

"Relay this message: Made contact with the natives while exfiltrating. Natives seem to be of Hindu descent, one of them has indicated that another member is to be sacrificed to the Goauld. It is believed that if we can disrupt this sacrifice it would set back the Goauld. We would need a combat team ready to reinforce us. We will be able to divert their attention for a delay although we can't be sure it will be too long. Requesting permission to do so." Randall said hoping to gain some goodwill with his superior by asking permission to go in, rather than begging for forgiveness.

James relayed the message word for word
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:55, Wed 15 Jan 2014.

"It doesn't sound like you have much to go on, Sergeant," General Hammond replied to James. "As the officer on site, it is Randall's decision to make. If we did not trust his judgment, we would not have put him in charge. As far as I am concerned, you have a go."

"We will send a combat team through to secure the gate for a rapid exit if it becomes necessary."

"We have a go to expand the mission; we need to draw them out of that structure somehow. Ask our guest if there is a way to get the Jaffa to move out; prefereably without risk of capture. We're going to need to move quickly to disrupt this shindig campers." Randall said hoping for a textbook snatch and grab mission.

Marc had a notion so he thought about it and asked out loud to Vektar as well, "If there are Jaffa here shouldn't the natives know the Jaffa and/or Goa'uld languages?"

"Not necessarily," Vektar says through Wright, "Leaders might know it, but the people won't have been taught it. It also depends on how many Jaffa there are. If there were a lot of Jaffa, then the people would have been forced to learn their language rather than making all of the Jaffa learn the local language."

"Remember, if this planet is being run by a previously unknown system lord, which the Jaffa would seem to indicate, then they may control more than one system, so the Jaffa wouldn't be required to learn all of them."

"As it is, Earth has some 250 languages. No Jaffa could have ever learned all of them."

"By extrapolation then, if the people don't speak Jaffa, then there probably aren't that many Jaffa."

"Then a diversionary attack from one side to draw the small cadre of Jaffa out and then slip in a small group to exfiltrate the hostage seems to be our best bet." Randall turns to Cormac,
"Do we have any plastique or C4?" Randall hopes wanting to get as many Jaffa down out of the building.

Mick looks at Thorne with a semi blank stare for a moment before he begins to speak.As glad as I am to go blow things up I think your barkin up the rong tree. I dont have any of that stuff.

No one was issued explosives for this exploration mission as it wasn't anticipated that you'd need them. However, it's possible that the back-up team might have some when they come through.

James is still back at the gate.


What is going to be your approach to the step pyramid?

"No explosives makes it harder, but doable. Someone is going to have to run and gun drawing off the Jaffa while a second element exfiltrates the captive. Run and gun duty is going to be hazardous, as you'll be kicking a hornet's nest of an unknown number of foes. I'll take that duty and do my best to lead the Jaffa on a merry chase. Give me 1 minute after I start to draw out as many guards as possible. When you're out successfully give me a holler over the radio and I'll try to shake my pursuers. If you need me to come in call." Randall says as he gets ready to run interference.

For the sake of argument, we'll say Randall was also relaying his instructions over the radio while he was talking to the rest of the team.

The team has a couple of options for approaching the pyramid.

They can circle around the left of the city and try to use the buildings for cover as they approach.

They can make a beeline run straight through the city to the pyramid.

They can weave in and out of the buildings in a more stealthy approach to the pyramid.

They can attempt to move around to the right of the buildings and maybe reach the pyramid that way. From your current viewpoint, though, you aren't really sure how much more city there is in that direction.

Vektar any chance you could try asking our friend here what the rest of the settlement is like via Goa'uld language. I will need to brush up onit when we get back.

Vektar's personality surfaces once again as he tries to talk to the villager.

"Do you understand me?" he asks in Goa'uld. There seems to be no comprehension from the man.

Vektar tries three other languages that he knows, including Asgard and Ancient, but there is no comprehension of those either.

"It was not likely that he could speak Goa'uld," Vektar says to Cormac and the others. "If anyone did, it would only be the leader. Teaching people another language is considered a form of education that prompts rebellion. Thus the Goa'uld do not do that."

Thanks boss. It was worth a shot.

Mick looks over to the man that had followed him. he motioned towards Thorne and then tries to explain that Thorne was going to cause the Jaffa to leave the pyramid so they could go in and grab the girl. He tried to make it clear that he was unsure of what was on the other side of the pyramid via drawing a large area behind it while having building in front of the pyramid.

Cormac has a difficult time conveying his idea to Narjav, but finally manages to clear a patch of ground and draw a diagram. Since all the buildings are round and the pyramid is square, the intent becomes rather obvious.

Narjav then draws additional circles all around the pyramid, indicating that the pyramid is in the center of the town.

"sir do you want to stay at the gate or move to the team's location. We also could set a fire"

"Setting a fire could do the job, and would allow me to link up with the team in case I'm needed. I want to make sure we get away from this mission too. Why don't I do that and prepare to cover a retreat. A double-click of the radio will send me towards the team, three clicks sounds the retreat." Randall looks around as he finishes speaking and then digs in his bag for fire-starting material.

OOC GM Question

Marcus never detected any magnetic anomalies, but did register the normal magnetic north, which only confirms that the planet has a magnetic field. It wouldn't likely be habitable without it. That also means the planet has a liquid iron core, since the planet's spin is what generates the magnetic field.

The town/city isn't laid out in a square, and otherwise seems oriented in a north-south direction.

James was recalled to join the team again, rather than left out there by himself. Besides, he's the next in the command line. If Randall is going to cause the diversion rather than lead the rescue team, then James will have to lead them.

Oddly, with all that you've seen, but, more importantly, all that you haven't seen, it doesn't look like it should turn into a firefight.

Since you can't wait until nightfall to perform the rescue, it's pretty much a given that you will all be spotted. So probably the best course of action is for Randall to head around the right side of town and make his way to beside the pyramid. The rest should go left until you line up with the street that leads directly to the pyramid and make a straight run till you are close, then use the cover of the buildings until the diversion draws out the Jaffa.

In case your radios get jammed and Randall can't signal when to go, you all synchronize watches and pick a time... 20 minutes from... NOW.

Randall heads out first because he'll need time to start the diversion. Five minutes later, the rest of the team heads out.

As expected, a few people notice them as they dash and dodge from one house to the next. It does seem, though, that a few people come out of their houses to look at the team as they pass by. No alarm is given; in fact, the people appear either confused or curious.

They reach the central street without incident, and then start running down the street, two on each side, just in case. They also reach the last two houses on each side without incident, and duck behind the houses out of sight of the pyramid, though there was no way to tell if there was any kind of guard on the pyramid that might have been watching them.

However, no one comes out. And again, the people that see the team don't sound any kind of alarm, don't try to stop them, and don't even approach them. Some go over to another person, neighbor perhaps, and converse while looking at the team, but they are even polite enough not to point!

Now it's down to waiting... three minutes to go.

I start whooping and letting out Apache warcries to try to draw Jaffa.

James motions for the others to stay hidden and also finds cover

though Mick may not have all of the military training as the others he is still a decent marksman and can handle his own in a fight. As James signals for them to find cover He finds his spot as close to the pyramid as possible. the faster they can get in and out the sooner Thorne can meet up and they can get back to the gate for reinforcements.

He sits in his spot waiting for the signal to go. he has his pistol ready because it will be easier to run with.

Randall moved into position with a similar result to the rest of the team. By himself, however, he was able to dodge from house to house without being seen. Or, at least if someone did see him, no alarm was raised. He would have expected a few citizens to follow, but no one did.

The step pyramid is at the center of the back side of the town, and up close, it's resemblance to Aztec pyramids is obvious.

Randall moves to the side of the pyramid and begins whooping and hollering.

The rest of the team is close enough to hear this, so no other signal needs to be given.

Five minutes go by with no reaction from the pyramid.

Marc finds what he thinks is a good vantage point and hides as ordered.  He readies the P90 to help support the team if it becomes necessary.

It was not too long ago that he was not a big fan of weapons.  Its surprising what you can learn to do when you need a tool to survive.

Another five minutes go by, and there is still no response from the pyramid.

"Captain, i would suggest firing your weapon" James says over comms as he keeps a look0out

Randall starts firing into the air and continues yelling warcries.

Randall has to fire quite a lot of rounds before there is activity from the pyramid. A section of the side steps suddenly swings upward and two Jaffa with staff weapons start to walk out. They point them at Randall but do not fire yet.

Mick looks around to try and get the rest of the teams attention. when he does he motions that he thinks it is time to move. He also tries to silently mouth that Thorne has spent a lot of ammo for this.

James and Mick were on the left side, while Eddie and Marcus were on the right, all hiding around the curve of the buildings.

James and Mick couldn't really see what was going on unless they moved around to the back of the building. The 75-foot wide unpaved street was a main route, based on what you've seen so far. The step pyramid that it led up to was 175 feet wide at its base and 75 feet high, with a temple-like structure on the top.

There was a 50 foot wide clear area around the pyramid. The houses were all a uniform 30 feet in diameter, so that put James and Mick about 250 feet away, while Eddie and Marcus were maybe 350 feet away. Eddie and Marcus can see Randall, but not the Jaffa yet, who haven't exited the pyramid.

Is anyone still playing here? Is anyone going to move?

Mick chirps his radio to check with Thorne. He knows that the team will have to move soon either good or bad but he still holds out hope that everyone will get off this planet the way they came.

Randall has created the diversion; it required shooting, but he's going to run out of ammo soon. The rest of the team has a clear run to the pyramid.

Mick hears the signal to move. He is hoping that the others will be ready to go with him.

He waits for confirmation of movement from whomever is closest before he sprints to the pyramid and tries to find the entrance and how to open it. Once he finds it he will wait for at least one of the others before he opens it. better safe than sorry.

Mac follows Eddie into the next posisiton.

Presumably the step pyramid is symmetrical, but no one has actually determined that there are flights of stairs on all four sides.

However, James and Cormac saw that a section of the stairs on the left side where Randall is lifted up. It seemed as if it started several steps up, and covered about 7 feet in height.

All four of the rest of the team rush forward. When they reach the steps, Cormac looks for some way to open the unseen door. He doesn't find what he was looking for, but finds what he really wanted. As soon as he steps on the fifth step, the door starts to open. Clearly activated by some kind of sensor, it can presumably be turned off from inside.

Hinged at the top, the section of steps begins to rise from the bottom.

Beyond is a short narrow hallway that seems to lead into an open area.

Just about this time, you can hear the sound of staff weapons firing.

James motions hes going to scout ahead and for Wright/Mclane to form up to act as a backup/rearguard

He hated when plans worked! At least better than expected. He had no idea how many Jaffa there were in the blasted pyramid, but only two had appeared. The steps had raised and two of them had appeared in the opening... but hadn't exited.

He wasn't going to be the first to start shooting... well, AT them. He'd fired into the ground; shooting into the air was a bad idea as the round could still come down and kill someone accidentally.

He didn't speak Jaffa, and he was pretty sure they didn't speak English, but he started yelling insults at them anyway. It made his 'performance' more believable... and more confusing.

They started yelling back... probably telling him to go away.

He had to admit that he was baffled by their actions. Surely SGC personnel weren't so commonplace that they wouldn't want to investigate? Who was this stranger? Weren't they even curious.

Perhaps not, but certainly impatient. It was only a few minutes of shouting and gesturing before they lowered their staff weapons and fired. And missed.

For a second, he thought they really had bad aim, but then realized that NO ONE, certainly not Jaffa, had aim THAT bad! They were firing warning shots! That he understood, and fired a few rounds at the stone of the pyramid next to them.

They looked REALLY confused after that. Apparently, Randall figured out, they'd never seen projectile weapons before! That had been one of the big advantages the Tau'ri had over the Goa'uld servants. He'd guess that not one in a thousand Jaffa could repair a staff weapon let alone make one.

++Are you guys in yet?++ Randall called over the radio. ++It's starting to get a little hot over here!++

As James takes point Cormac follows with Marcus on his hip.  He scans the area to make sure their was nothing missed. He also checked to see if there was anything he would even remotely recognize from his time with Dr. Jackson.

++We are now L.T. Moving to excavate target.++ he wanted to scream  get out of there now Thorne but he knew better.

++We will double time it so you're not hanging out too long.++

Randall started to actually start edging away from the pyramid whilst continuing on with his distraction; never turning his back to the Jaffa.

I hope they got the target out alright. Two more minutes and I'll extract myself. Thorne thought.

James leads the charge into the interior. It's clearly not a Goa'uld ship. There is a landing that runs around all sides. They can see that the door on the left side is open, and that's where the sounds of staff weapons is coming from.

There are ramps leading down on each side as well.

There does not appear to be any internal way to go up.

As James, Marcus and Cormac ran to the pyramid, Eddie brought up the rear. Not understanding this society yet, he wasn't convinced that Jaffa weren't going to suddenly pop out of the woodwork.

Once the stair-doorway was raised, they all rushed in. As soon as he saw the layout, he made a snap decision.

"You three head down and find the woman! I'll back up Randall!"

He ran around the ledge to the other opening, trying to be as quiet as possible. Reaching the opening, he flattened himself against the wall for a moment and listened, trying to ascertain just where the two Jaffa were standing. Once he thought he had that figured out, he stepped around the corner, then moved forward as he raised his weapon with the intent of hitting the nearest Jaffa on the back of the head with the butt of the gun.

James radios "No way up but no paths down, moving down. Eddie moving to provide covering fire for you" James motions for them to move down one of the ramps, keeping his sense open for anything wrong

"Roger, it's starting to get hairy." Randall says as he dodges another staff blast that was inaccurate. He kept up the Apache warcries and taunts.

"Lead the way LT"  Marcus follows keeping his new weapon ready. One clip ... they have got to be kidding.  One would think they could afford more.

He refocuses for any new dangers.

Randall tries to taunt the Jaffa and lead them into an area where he can set them up for a strike by Marcus.

I'm gonna head down the other side.  will stay in radio Contact. If either of u need help just chirp the radio and Ill be there asap.

Mick rechecks his pistol to make sure there is a round ready.

besides it will let us cover more ground so we can get out of here sooner.

Cormac starts to head down the other ramp heading down deeper into the pyramid.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:38, Mon 24 Feb 2014.

James motions for Wright to stay with Mclane as he mvoes

The Jaffa haven't left the pyramid yet, so they aren't following Randall. He has no problem getting out of their line of fire.

There is enough external noise that Eddie has no problem sneaking up on the Jaffa at the opening. He hits the first one from behind with a lot of force because he knows they have hard heads and thick skulls even when they aren't wearing those fancy headgear, plus they have symbiotes in them. The Jaffa slams against the side wall and slumps to the floor unconscious.

As the second Jaffa turns to see what's going on, Eddie is able to hit him on the jaw with the butt of his P90. He falls to the floor unconscious, too.


James, Cormac and Marcus run down the ramps. There are four ramps, one on each side of a kind of center cube that the ramps run around between the center cube the peripheral walkway. They all go down in a clockwise direction. The ramps go down to the opposite side and then turn right and continue down another level. It ends there, but there's a hallway that angles sharply off to the right.

There is no sign of Jaffa so far. Going down the hallway, it opens into a single large room. James and Marcus went down one ramp, while Cormac went down another. They all lead to the same place.

The scene that greets their eyes is mind-boggling. The woman they are there to rescue is in the center of this room, laying on a metal table. She seems to be unconscious. It has the appearance of an operating table as there is a metal cart at one end with various implements on it.

There are two Jaffa standing there, but they don't have staff weapons. At the head of the table is another person. He could be the 'doctor' but he's not wearing any kind of surgical outfit.

As strange as this sight is, the rest of the room is even stranger. All four walls are line with stepped shelves. The lowest one is about waist level, and there are four shelves above that, each one stepped back about 18". On every shelf, around the entire perimeter of the room, there are dozens of glass bell jars, each about 3 feet apart. Wires come out of the top of each jar and connect to the next jar.

It's what's in the jars that are shocking: brains! They look like human brains floating in a liquid solution with wires attached directly to the brains.


The 'doctor' looks up and calls out. He sounds like he's speaking in Goa'uld.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:09, Tue 25 Feb 2014.

Activating the laser targeting sight and aiming at the chest of the 'Doc'.   Not knowing if all those present knew the language Marc translates.

"He wants to know who we are and why we are here?"

James raises his P-90 saying Goa'uld "Step away from the table or I will fire" if the doc does anything other then move away he opens fire

As James aims at the doc. Cormac will aim at one of the others.

"KILL HIM!" Marcus suddenly shouts, but it's clearly in Vektar's 'voice'.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:59, Tue 25 Feb 2014.

"DIE, TRAITOR!" the Goa'uld replies, and brings his hand up and aims at Marcus. The Goa'uld has a ribbon device on his hand!

The Goa'uld fires at the same time as James does.

Vektar/Marcus manages to dodge aside, but James bullets are stopped by a force field!

"Ohhhh, CRAP!"

Marcus scrambles to find cover since it appears Vektar as found someone he knows.

Once there "Dibs on the ribbon device and ... Friend of yours Vektar ???"
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:00, Thu 27 Feb 2014.

James keeps firing as he moves to cover, radioing as he does  on open freq "Confirmed Goa'uld with shied device"
This message was lightly edited by the player at 02:34, Wed 26 Feb 2014.

Randall curses and moves to aid his team.

Ohhhh great.

Marcus looks, from behind cover, for anything that he could cause to fall and hit the 'Doc'.

Mick had pull slightly behind the wall to keep in cover but he continues to fire. Switching back to his P90 after the initial shots were fired from his pistol. His target remains one of the Jaffa.


23:14, Mon 03 Mar 2014: Cormac McLane rolled 15 using 1d20+2 ((13)). With P90
This message was last edited by the player at 04:16, Tue 04 Mar 2014.

((Need some dice rolls if you want to hit anything!))

Marcus becoming a focal point of the Goa'uld's anger dashes to better cover to force the Goa'uld to expose himself if he wished to kill the 'traitor'

Once in place Marcus mentally runs down what items would work past the Goa'uld shield device.

Over the radio, "According to reports, thrown weapon are slow enough to make it through the shielding device.  Anyone bring a bunch of throwing knives or better yet grenades?  You'll have to time the grenade ... but it should work." 

09:15, Today: James Berten rolled 8 using 1d20+3. p-90.

Randall hefts his tomahawk.
"Ancestors guide my arm." gives a warcry and throws.

19:48, Thu 06 Mar 2014: Randall Thorne rolled 24 using 1d20+4 ((20))

After knocking out the two Jaffa that had responded to Randall's noise, Eddie continued to guard the entrance until Randall ran back and into the pyramid.

"They went down the ramps," he informed Randall as he picked up the two staff weapons.

The two of them hustled down the ramps. Eddie didn't know if the staff weapon would be effective against a Goa'uld kinetic shield--sounds like it should (though why a Goa'uld would want to leave himself vulnerable to a weapon he provided the Jaffa certainly sounded silly), but his actions were more about depriving the two Jaffa of their weapons in case they recovered too quickly... always a possibility because of the little slug inside them.

As he ran, he tossed one of the staff weapons out the other door, but kept one for his own use.

Down the ramp they ran, and pulled up short as they saw the bizarre sight of the brains in jars. There must have been a hundred of them!

The Jaffa firing were also a problem.

As Randall pulled out a hatchet--or was that a tomahawk?--Eddie lowered the staff weapon at one of the Jaffa.

02:12, Fri 07 Mar 2014: Eddie Dean rolled 16 using 1d20+3 ((13)) shoot Jaffa with staff weapon.

((Heck with the Cowboys & Aliens--watch out for the Indians & Aliens!))


James's first shots hit the Goa'uld, but bounced off of his kinetic shield.


Cormac shot at one of the Jaffa... and hit... for only 2 points!

02:18, Fri 07 Mar 2014: StarMaster, on behalf of Cormac McLane, rolled 2 using 1d10+1 ((1)) P90 damage.

See what happens when you leave up to me to roll damage?


James then shot at the other Jaffa... and missed.


Eddie arrives and fires a staff weapon at the other Jaffa... and hits!

02:21, Fri 07 Mar 2014: StarMaster, on behalf of Eddie Dean, rolled 21 using 6d6 ((2,3,6,1,3,6)) staff damage.

That Jaffa goes down.

Randall arrives and tosses his 'survival hatchet'--aka tomahawk--at the Goa'uld... and hits for a critical!

01:15, Fri 07 Mar 2014: StarMaster, on behalf of Randall Thorne, rolled 13 using 1d20+4 ((9)) critical confirmation.

The tomahawk does 16 points of damage, a serious injury under normal conditions but not usually fatal. However, he's struck the hand with the ribbon device (the source of the kinetic shield), cutting the hand in half and damaging the device. It suddenly explodes in a burst of electrical energy that throws the Goa'uld backwards to the floor.

Marcus saw the throw of the axe and heard the explosion, peaking out from around cover with his weapon he scans the area for anymore enemies.  Covering any of the soldiers as they advance.

Cormac continued to fire at the Jaffa but he appeared to be funding all of the hard spots of their armour. He fired and ducked back behind the wall to avoid return fire.

11:20, Today: Cormac McLane rolled 5 using 1d10+1. Damage
11:19, Today: Cormac McLane rolled 17 using 1d20. Round 2 into Jaffa p90.

James fires at the other Jaffa with his Pa-90, staying in cover

11:22, Today: James Berten rolled 6 using 1d20+3. p-90.

Randall brings his weapon to bear on the Goa'uld and advances forward seeking to retrieve the tomahawk.
Mentally, he thanks the ancestors for guiding his hand.

Marcus is ready to shoot at the remaining Jaffa, but Cormac and James beat him to it.

Cormac hits but James misses again. The Jaffa armor stops some of the damage, though, so it doesn't take the Jaffa down.

Marcus can shoot if he wants.

Randall moves to retrieve his tomahawk, but I'll assume he waits until the last Jaffa goes down before he steps into the line of fire...


The Jaffa fires his staff weapon at Cormac.

18:52, Sun 09 Mar 2014: StarMaster rolled 4,5 using 1d20+2,2d6 ((2,1,4)) Jaffa attack.

Cormac's damage must have really thrown off his aim, cause he misses wide.

Just as Cormac was peeking back out to take another shot at the Jaffa he had to pull himself behind cover and he missed, his shot went way wide right impacting one of the walls harmlessly.

15:11, Today: Cormac McLane rolled 6 using 1d20. One more time into Jaffa .
This message was last edited by the player at 19:15, Sun 09 Mar 2014.

Marcus fires a single shot at the remaining threat.

09:33, Today: Marcus Wright rolled 3 using 1d10+1 with rolls of 2. damage.  09:33, Today: Marcus Wright rolled 18 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 13. P-90 single shot. ranged 4 -1 p-90 +2 Laser = +5.

Hit a 18 for 3 AP damage  If with in 30'  19 Hit 4 damage
This message was last edited by the player at 18:01, Mon 10 Mar 2014.

Randall grumbles about not being able to retrieve his tomahawk right away. He sits in cover for the time being.

James takes aim at the jaffa and fires at him again with his p-90

14:55, Today: James Berten rolled 4 using 1d20+3. p-90.
(the dice roller hates me)

Randall grabs his P90 and fires at a Jaffa.

21:23, Thu 13 Mar 2014: Randall Thorne rolled 15 using 1d20+3 ((12)).

20:54, Sun 16 Mar 2014: StarMaster, on behalf of Randall Thorne, rolled 15 using 2d8 ((7,8)).
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:55, Sun 16 Mar 2014.

"Would you guys quite foolin' around and shoot that bastard!" Eddie calls out to the others. "You're embarrassing me! They're going to make us re-qualify when we get back!"

He aims the staff weapon at the last standing Jaffa and fires again.

02:44, Fri 14 Mar 2014: Eddie Dean rolled 13,23 using 1d20+3,6d6 ((10,2,6,6,3,4,2)) attack and damage with staff weapon.

Figuring in the non-proficiency penalty, Eddie probably misses.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:25, Sun 16 Mar 2014.

James shoots and misses again.

Eddie fires the staff and misses.

Randall shoots again, and this time scores a solid hit. The last Jaffa goes down.

There's a lull then, but no one else shows up.

"Destroy them all!" Vektar states. "There is nothing left of them except endless agony!"

James moves towards the Goa'uld to check to see if its dead

As Miracle Max might say, the Goa'uld is 'mostly' dead. The Jaffa host is dead; James can't tell if the Goa'uld symbiote is dead or not, so it might be wise to stay clear. Besides, if there is a sarcophagus nearby, he can be place in it and get better.

"So Vektar, you gonna tell us how you knew that guy, and why we are just hearing about it now?" Cormac says with a laugh but a slightly serious undertone.

"I do not know him," Vektar replied. "I only know what he is and what he represents. This is one of Nirrti's abominable experiments. It is even considered so by most Goa'uld."

"It is, as you said, an organic computer, but it is much more. It is an attempt to harness mental energy to power devices, in much the same way we use naquadah. There might even be a storage unit here somewhere."

Marcus' eyes stop glowing and his voice changes back to normal, "A storage unit of naquadah?  That would be quite the score for our first mission."

"No heroics yet, let's begin the exfil process for the prisoner. Once we're successful and if we have a reasonable chance of nabbing the storage unit, we'll go for it. Otherwise, we're out of here. Hearts and minds need to be our focus before we go for a naquadah unit that we might not even be able to secure. However keep your ears and eyes open." Randall said moving closer to the "Prisoner."

James moves to secure the jaffa

Cormac move to take out one of his artifact bags and places the go'uld device in it for further research at SGC.

Marc takes pictures with his camera.

"We going to blast the experiments with some C4 or something?"

James shrugs his shoulders as he checks on the girl seeing if shes alive

The two Jaffa down here and the Goa'uld are dead. There are two Jaffa still upstairs that are only unconscious.

The woman is alive; she appears to be just unconscious, probably as a result of the Goa'uld ribbon device.

Did anybody bring any C4? It wasn't in the standard bundle.

"I think we should call this in and have the general make the call" James suggests

"No offense, Vektar, but the Tok'ra are not always right," Eddie points out.

"They are living brains... of people. We don't really know what their level of awareness is. Without external stimulus, though, it does seem reasonable that they might all be stark raving mad by now. On the other hand, if they are in contact with each other..." He just let the words hang there because he really didn't know what else to add. The possibilities could be endless.

"Basically, what I'm saying is that destroying them could be the same as murder. Maybe it'd be a mercy killing, but we don't know enough yet to say."

"Also, we don't know what they are actually doing. While this has the appearance of some mad, diabolical experiment, we don't know that it isn't a functional, successful experiment. I mean, when we saw them take the woman, they appeared as if they were looking for a particular... I don't know... brainwave pattern?"

"Was that a replacement, or was that an add-on? Know what I'm saying?"

Eddie was more for action himself, and all this talking was not his style, but there was a time for talk and a time for action. The action was done with, for a moment anyway, so that meant it was time or talking. With the captured staff weapons, they could easily destroy all the brains. But should they?

"Oh, and Cormac, Vektar didn't say anything about a naquadah deposit. If there's a storage unit here--up top somewhere would be my guess based on the way the wires run, it's one of mental energy. And, no, I don't know what that means, either."

"Also, while I kind of agree with James about contacting the General, I don't think that's reasonable. First of all, there's no way we can convey this information to him in such a way that he's going to get the big picture... probably because we don't know what that even is yet. So, he's just going to tell us to use our best judgment. After all, we were supposed to have been chosen for our brains as well as our muscles."

"Secondly, the logistics are a bit strained. Someone would have to go back to the gate and dial home. Now that we've initiated full combat, we have no idea what the response is likely to be, so sending one person off by himself is... untenable. If we all go, who's to say what we're likely to find when we get back? For all we know, this 'storage unit'--if it even exists--could go 'boom'! Wipe out the entire town."

"My suggestion is that James and I go take care of those two Jaffa upstairs before they recover while Marcus and Cormac see what they can find out down here. We should also make sure the Goa'uld is really, really dead--don't want some Jaffa sneaking in and stuffing him into a sarcophagus and making us do this all again!"

There was something that had been nagging at him. It finally percolated into his conscious brain. He walked over to the Goa'uld and carefully studied him for any symbol. Then he examined the Jaffa for the symbol on their foreheads... if there was any.

"We're missing at least one person," he then said. "Remember when we first saw them? There were two Jaffa with staff weapons and another with some odd device. So... where' that Jaffa and where's that device?"

"Okay, first we neutralize the threat of the Goauld coming back. Then we'll see about our missing person, be careful people we've kicked a hornet's nest I don't want anyone getting stung." Randall secures things in bags that the SGC eggheads can study as he waits for the Prisoner to come around. Could the snake have jumped to her and commanded a Jaffa to run?

"There is a team holding the gate if I'm not mistaken" James says

"I'm just worried about a transport or worse." Randall looked at the prisoner.

"Let's see if we can find a gurney to exfil this patient."

I'm sure we can rig something up to get the young lady out boss. OK boys grab the staves and I'll use a tarp to bridge them we can cary her like that.Sound like a plan boyos? Cormac says in almost a chipper tone. it may be due to the fact that he now has something goa'uld to study back at the base.

Marcus looks over the 'brain network' takes pictures and notes.

"While the brain component is inhumane there might be some networking principles that could prove beneficial to existing networking structures."

There's no tarp or anything like that, but everyone's got a spare shirt in their pack. By pulling the sleeves to the inside and slipping the staves through the sleeves to reinforce the sides, a makeshift stretcher can be made.

Once they set up the stretcher on the floor, it easy enough to move the woman off the 'operating table' and onto the stretcher. It's a little dicy going back up the stairs, but the team manages it.

It's a little easier going down the outer stairs to the ground.

Now what?

"Let's exfi this patient to the 'Gate."

James help move the patient

Marcus follows the group out and to the gate for extraction.

The woman is starting to recover by the time the group returns to the location where they saw her taken. Their native friend, once he greets the woman with a hug, bows down before the team.

"Should we get going Sir?" Marc asks the team leader?

"Sir SG-5 is holding the gate so they could dial in and get in touch in with General Hammond"
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:26, Sat 05 Apr 2014.

"Let's get going. We've more than completed our objectives." Randall says happy to take his subordinate's advice.

Marcus follows the leader out wishing they had time to search for the StarGate metal that may be hidden here.

Cormac will follow Thorne's lead and head back through the gate.

The team has no problem getting back to the gate, where they find SG-5 on station. Since there is no immediate emergency, no one bothered calling ahead so that SG-5 would have already dialed the gate.

Major Castleman wants a report from Randall while his men stand on guard for expected pursuit.

"So you couldn't resist poking the bear?" he jokes. "What's the situation?"

"Well, we apparently permanently stopped a snake that was doing biotech experiments.
That's going to be a barrel of monkeys we don't have to deal with, on the positive side we started a hearts and minds campaign here." Randall said.

"So no hordes of angry Jaffa chasing you?" Castleman replies. "Then what was the rush and the threat? Why'd you need us?"

"Don't get me wrong, Thorne... any excuse for a walk on the wild side is jake with me. Beats sitting on our duffs all the time. But, it's kind of frustrating not being able to shoot something."

"Better safe than sorry, except when the bean-counters get the bill. Well, go ahead, Berten, dial home. This isn't my idea of a picnic area."

"Yes sir" James then heads and dials home using his code for the shield

"We thought that there would be more Jaffa, I actually ended up as a diversion and worried that it failed because I didn't see too many. Apparently it was a small fry snake with a few Jaffa cooking up experiments. The bean counters should be happy with us starting a hearts and minds campaign; after all a similar one helped us bring down the USSR." James said, hoping to explain to the other team leader what went on.

Once the gate is open and the team receives the confirmation Cormac will head through. This time with a bit more grace.

Randall will follow Cormac slowly.

james follows

James's effort to dial the gate didn't work at first... probably because Earth's stargate was in use by another team. It took him 3 tries before he was able to establish a connection and create the wormhole.

After that, it was routine.

Everyone makes it back through the gate without incident.

((Thank you for flying SGC gate travel. Please return the stewardess to an upright position. You can post in the Gate Room and Infirmiry now, but hold off on posting in the Briefing Room until SG-X1 is done with their debriefing.))