Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Lt. Taylor Price

[Mr Fox]

Once upon a time, Doctor Taylor Price was a noted psychiatrist, specializing in the rare field of abnormal psychology. He established a practice with a colleague, working in various locals with the criminally insane, but most especially in the truly bizarre and baffling cases. His clients were a very select group, but his reputation garnered some interests, as did the occasional high profile case, and he humored the occasional moonlighter just to help pay the bills.

He eventually turned author, and wrote several best selling books, including The Modern Vampire: Studies in Blood and Bondage, The Modern Werewolf: The Wild and Reckless, The Modern Witch: Fictions, Facts, and Folklore, and his least pop, and most well-respected work, Outside the Lines: The Criminal Mind. Many other professionals in psychology and psychiatry like to ridicule him as being a pop sensation. They would like to think of him as nothing more than another, “Doctor Phil”, but his research has always been top notch, and his work constantly passes the test as the real deal.

Eventually, he was contacted on a special case. An archeological hobbyist had stumbled across some sort of crystalline device. The authorities had no idea what it was or what it did, but ever since the poor guy had found it he had been going steadily “wonky” (as it was expertly described). He was spouting stuff about ancient cities, sky gods, and various things of that sort. Nothing that shocked Doctor Taylor Price by any stretch. He decided to make a visit, if only to keep his relationship with the authorities in good order.

He made little progress with the man, who was deeply entrenched in his delusional state. After working with him for some time, he thought it best to confront him with the device, which the authorities had verified was nothing but a piece of junk. It obviously didn’t do anything. In demonstrating this to his patient, the worldly and wise Doctor Taylor Price managed to activate the artifact. After a blinding flash, he woke up to discover he was in a cell.

A man dressed in a black uniform sat on a chair. It was the only piece of furniture in the room aside from the bed Price was strapped to. "Good morning Doctor. You gave us quite a scare." The man smiled with good humor, "Please, in future don't try and establish subspace communications with a long dead Goa'uld System Lord."

Dr. Price blinked in confusion. Could this guy be serious? His patient had claimed that the device had shown him images of an Egyptian god, but this was strange. Something had happened when he'd held the crystal tablet though. "Where am I? What is happening?"

The man on the chair smiled again, "We have you under observation doctor to ensure there were no harmful effects from your encounter with the communications device. You will be released soon if you cooperate. However, we will ask that you sign a nondisclosure agreement over what you have seen. It is vital to national security."

The Taylor Price was no dummy, this bozo was an amateur, sitting on the one chair in the room was a symbol of power over Price and intended to make him feel as if he was in their power, it was obvious. "Who are you?"

The man ignored the question and stood picking up the metal chair with one hand, "Get some rest doctor, and remember the more you cooperate the sooner we can give you that NDA to sign and you can be on your way."

"I demand to speak to counsel!" Price wasn't even finished with the sentence before the door closed at the mans back leaving him alone in a padded room with nothing but a bed. He'd never been the occupant of a psychiatric observation room before. It seemed a bit more oppressive and ominous knowing he couldn't just summon an orderly and have the door opened.

*****

Two days later, judging by the meals served. Another man in black came to his door and took him for a little walk down the empty corridor. Empty that is except for more black uniformed men standing guard at several doors. His questions were ignored as usual, "Where are you taking me? What is the meaning of this?"

After a few turns they arrived at a rather heavy metal door that opened into a room. In the center stood what looked like stone altar with a crystal tipped obelisk jutting from it's center. One of the guards put a hand in the center of his back and shoved, sending him sprawling to the floor. As he was standing up he heard the sound of the door being shut and bolted behind him. After dusting himself off he looked around and didn't see anything but the object.

Price was wary about approaching it, he was sure he was under observation, but after a bit he grew bored and walked closer. When he did, he could see that there were symbols carved into the stone. The crystal tablet his patient had had seemed old, but this thing, whatever it was seemed much older.

When he got close enough one of the symbols began to glow. He wasn't particularly surprised. The question was why go to all this elaborate pretense just to perform a psych experiment. It was obvious they were testing him to see what he would do. It was not entirely unlike some of the experiments he'd read about in college, but the difference was that he hadn't volunteered for this. Finally he shrugged, and reached out to the glowing symbol. He expected an electric shock or something if this was the kind of psych experiment he thought it was. What he got was nothing like what he imagined. Light and pain were all that was left of his world.

Consciousness never returned since his captors kept him sedated as they examined him for changes over the following days.

[Mr Fox]

Price did awake eventually. Over the next few days the drug they were pumping into him had less and less effect as his body got accustomed to it. There was something to be said for patience and having his captors underestimate him. Today he had managed to slip the needle out of his vein altogether. So far the doctors hadn't come in to replace it. The next step would be to get out of this room. He thought if he could somehow over power the guards he might just be able to rush outside by going out the back stairway dropping down to the second floor and jumping out a window.

Before he could put his plan into motion alarms began to sound. His first thought was that they had realized he was awake and were coming for him, but immediately dismissed that as silly. Then the door opened and he no longer had time to think only react. Two of the NID thugs with weapons raised stepped through the door.

Price init: 12

BG Init: 11

[Luchian]

OOC:

1. Am I as "stated" currently? i.e., post transformation etc. Thus, my sheet would be correct.

2. Can I make an awareness check when I initially wake up just so as to know what is available in the room?

3. What sorts of weapons?

Assuming there is the I.V. drip in the room (they're usually on those little mobile stands) I'm going to simply toss it at the weapon wielders to distract them. Since I didn't have a chance to get up and out of the room yet, I'm just guessing it's still in reach.

Awareness roll: 7d10=35

Improvised weapon toss: 3d10=21

I was guessing that it'd basically be an athletics roll.

(Is that two actions or one? Grab then throw? I'll assume just grabbing the thing is basically a freebie, and reduce the throw roll appropriately.)

IC:

Taylor doesn't know what to make of the alarm. It's obvious they'd know nothing about his removing the IV, but two armed guards rushed into the room just the same. Trying to stay cool under pressure, he reaches for the first thing he can. Grabbing the IV carrier with both hands, he flings it at the unsuspecting guards.

[Mr Fox]

((Post transformation. Bed, Table and 1 chair and rolling IV stand, no other items in the room at all. They are carrying HK-MP5s.))

(Awareness) rolls 7d10 and gets 2,10,10,3,2,7,1. [3]

(Throw uses Might) rolls 2d10 and gets 4,1. [0]

Taylor took a quick look at the room before tossing his IV stand at the guards. It sailed right between them missing both by a wide margin. It did make them flinch for just a second, but then they leveled their guns and fired.

(BG1) rolls 6d10 and gets 6,5,2,10,2,3. [1]

(BG2) rolls 6d10 and gets 4,5,5,1,10,9. [2]

(Damage after soak) rolls 3d10 and gets 5,7,9. [2]

(Damage after soak) rolls 4d10 and gets 9,10,1,7. [3]

Taylor didn't think they'd really do it. He'd been working with these guys until two days ago, he even knew the guy on the left. His name was Rich, they'd eaten together in the mess hall earlier this week. Rich was the first to pull the trigger sending hot lead into Taylor's side. His partner in murder was only a second behind and his shots opened a hole near Taylor's left collar bone. His body jerked with the impacts and he very nearly collapsed into unconsciousness from the pain.

((Ouch!!! 5 levels of lethal You are now in Round 2.))

[z028 Riley]

((Cross posting from Team Romeo))

Kyria followed after Caine, making her way quietly into the first room off the hallway. The door had been left open and as she stepped in she took in the badly shot man and the two holding guns. She let her P90 hang on it's strap and stepped up behind the two men. Almost casually, the slender teen in SGC BDU's lifted both of them off the floor and bashed them together.

Click to reveal..

Roll(7d10)+0:

7,8,8,6,2,10,7,+0

Total:48

Roll(1d10)+0:

6,+0

Total:6

Roll(8d10)+0:

10,4,4,8,10,5,2,9,+0

Total:52

NOTES

-------------------------

This field records your latest roll at its top.

Modified results that would produce a number less than one display as one.

First die is Mega on the bottom (first) roll. 10B for the attack with Precision activated to ensure that only enough damage to knock them completely unconscious is employed.

Over the mic her teammates heard, "This room is secure, but the prisoner is badly injured. He needs medical attention."

She gave the wounded man an encouraging half-smile, "Don't worry, we're the good guys. It's almost over. Can you walk?"

[Mr Fox]

((This thread will be continued in the Team Romeo thread.))

[Luchian]

The interrogation room was sparse and like everywhere else on the base made of concrete walls, floor, and ceiling. Taylor was waved inside by his guards and found a blonde man surprising not in military fatigues sitting in one of the three chairs in room. Kyria, the woman from the rescue, was sitting in another. There was a laptop and a tape-recorder on the table. The man looked up and smiled, motioning Taylor to sit. He clicked on the tape recorder. "My name is Doctor Daniel Jackson. I'll be conducting this interview. This is Kyria, I believe you two have met."

Taylor nods to the doctor. "We have. I'm sure it would be a pleasure Doctor Jackson, if the circumstances were different."

He nodded at that, giving him a sympathetic look. "Yeah. Um, can I get your name for the record?"

"My name is Doctor Taylor Price. Taylor Samuel Price, if you would like my middle name as well."

Daniel smiled, "Dr. Price, thank you. Can you tell me how you came to be at that compound?"

"At the compound specifically or the events leading up to my arrival? I'm afraid I was not conscious for my initial arrival at that location, so I'm of absolutely no help in that regard. I can inform you of all the prior events if you like."

Daniel opened up the laptop and began typing, "Well, how about just starting at the beginning of the situation?"

"I was contacted by federal authorities. An archaeological hobbyist had stumbled upon some sort of item while fumbling around Arizona. I have worked on cases somewhat similar in the past. Since my specialties are, I suppose, not of the garden variety, I've developed some relations with the FBI. They brought me in due to some of the odd claims. Talk about old gods, and so forth. End of the world muttering, and other paranoid delusions. I didn't think too much of it initially, to be quite frank."

"I tried to speak to the man calmly, and assure him that there was nothing to be afraid of. The device was utterly non-responsive according to the FBI. It was just some sort of crystalline formation, probably crafted for religious purposes, involved in ceremonies of some sort. I guessed probably some sort of initiation ceremony. They allowed me access to it so I could demonstrate firsthand that it did nothing. With the lack of progress, a shock of that sort--showing him that his attributed phenomena in relation to the object were utterly unfounded--was the only way I could think of to jostle his mind. It's more extreme than I like. And it can backfire sometimes. But I was at a dead end you understand. He simply would not cooperate or communicate with him on any functional level."

Daniel nodded as Taylor spoke, tapping away at the laptop. "Yeah, I can see why you would think that. I had friends setting me up on blind dates with shrinks for years." He chuckled, "Some of them still do. So, did they mention any gods in specific?"

Taylor pauses at the question. "I remember something about a bird. The descriptions were rather...poetically flourished? If you get my meaning."

Dr. Jackson looked up at him from the laptop, quite serious, "A bird? Any particular type?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry. We can go over that later. So, you were contacted to help with this person. What happened then?"

"When I attempted to demonstrate the uselessness of the device, there was a bright flash. Later, I awoke in the other facility. I do remember that initial conversation, however. The man said that I had given them quite a scare, and that in the future I should not try to establish subspace communications with a long dead Goa'uld System Lord. I'm not sure what that means, but it seems important."

Daniel shrugged and nodded at that, "Well, better a long dead one than a living one. A bird." He tapped on the laptop quietly for several minutes. "Okay. Well, we should see if we can find that orb, but again, we'll get to that in a bit. So, you woke up in the facility. What happened then?"

"It was a crystalline tablet, actually. Not an orb. But a couple days later, I was escorted--to be very charitable--to a room with some sort of crystalline obelisk. Then I was left alone. It was obviously some sort of experiment. I played along, not really knowing what else to do. I managed to activate some sort of glyph on the device. When I made contact, there was another blinding flash. Following that, there was a massive amount of drugging, and probably a lot of readings taken of my vitals, etcetera. Then I awoke, got shot twice, and I'm sure you know the rest."

"Crystalline tablet? That's...odd. Huh." More typing and a furrowed brow followed as he listened to the rest of the story. He nodded as the story began to follow the expected pattern. "You feeling from better? From getting shot, I mean."

"Yes, much better than I would have expected."

"That seems to be rather constant across the board with you all. So, anything have you done or noticed anything else out of the ordinary since then?"

Taylor looks at Kyria, and thinks out loud. Is he serious? I'd assume he would already be updated on this...development.

Kyria shrugs slightly. Yeah. But this is for the record. Daniel glanced back and forth between the two of them, "Yeah.... so, I'm missing part of the conversation, aren't I?"

"My apologies. I seem to be..." Taylor pauses for a long moment, trying to come up with words. "I can hear and transmit thoughts. Sometimes, anyway. It's beginning to get easier." Taylor shifts uncomfortably.

Daniel nods again, "Okay. So, telepathy. Check. Anything else?" He gave Kyria a quick smile and then focused on Taylor again, apparently nonplussed by the conversation or the implications of it.

"Well, it would be nice if that were the only oddity." Taylor finally takes a drink of water. "For years now, and I mean before psychiatry, this is part of why I got into the field, after all...well, regardless, I'm good at reading people. I can anticipate their behavior; note their emotions, that sort of thing. It's just a knack of mine if you will. But, recently I've noticed that I can actually, seriously, feel what other people are feeling. At first, I thought it was just the drugs giving me some sort of hypersensitivity, but the drugs wore off, and it has not abated. In fact, being clear-headed seems to have made it worse. It's quite discomforting, honestly. I didn't realize how irritating my inquisitive nature can be until I was able to feel the annoyance. To put it in more simplified terms: I've developed some sort of empathic ability. But unlike the telepathy, I don't seem to be able to deactivate it. It's just always there."

Daniel grinned. "Yeah, I think even if I had your abilities, I wouldn't want to really know what most people think about me. I got enough of that when I was publishing." He looked over at Kyria inquisitively. She shrugged, "I'm a telepath, Daniel, not an empath. He'll probably be able to learn how to control it as he goes along."

"I'm afraid Kyria has more faith in my potential that I do, but I hope she's right."

Kyria smiled, "You'll get used it. I've seen others erupt and there's always a transition time. There's no Nova Training Centers, but, hey, they seem pretty smart here." She grinned at Daniel, "I'm sure we'll all muddle through somehow."

Taylor smiles at Kyria. "I'm sure we will.” Taylor shifts his attention to Daniel once again. "I also discovered an interesting talent. There was a moment when we entered the metal room, and we met the General. I was able to, how to put this? Capture the moment in my head. I don't know if I'm phrasing that right. But, anyway, I've been able to replicate it since then. It's odd, and requires a bit of focus. But I can, well, sort of freeze frame things in my mind. Sort of capture moments in time my head. I'm afraid I don't have terminology for it. But it's something I think is worthy of note. I've certainly never been able to do something like that before."

Daniel finished typing all this up in the laptop and caught Taylor's attention again, "Sounds cool. I could use a memory like that. Anything else? Other powers or an increase in other abilities?”

"Nothing I can think of, really. Although, given my current condition, I would have thought I'd be sleeping for days, as I recover. But I don't seem to need as much rest as would be expected. I'm not sure what that entails, but it's probably worth mentioning."

"Most novas require less sleep, more food, and age slower than baselines. Some don't even need to sleep or eat at all, so long as they have quantum in their system," Kyria said. Daniel didn't seem surprised by this and saved his files and then shut the laptop down. "Dr. Taylor, I'm going to tell you a little bit about what's going on here, and then you're going to have a choice to make. Alright?"

"Understood." Taylor sits quietly.

He clasped his hands together and began, "You are in a top secret Air Force base that is home to the Stargate program. Several years ago we discovered an alien artifact that allows instantaneous travel between planets. The Goa'uld, a race that impersonated the gods of most ancient civilizations on Earth, have for the past millennia or so transported humans all over the galaxy to serve as a slave race for them. That's why it's a bad idea to try to contact one, even a long dead one. The organization that kidnapped you is the rogue remnants of an initiative that was disbanded by the President last year. The artifact you were exposed to was stolen by that rogue element from another planet and is something left over from a civilization of people even older than the Goa'uld called...well.... we call them the Ancients, for obvious reasons. Are you still with me?"

"I'm following so far."

"Good. So, the details are long, mostly boring, and sometimes very painful. The end result is that we've been at war with the Goa'uld for the past seven years. We've been.... holding our own, but there's a new Goa'uld leader that's managed to take over most of the galaxy and is intent on destroying Earth once he's crushed the remaining System Lords. Not good for us. This device, and the powers you and the others have gained from it, might be the difference between winning and losing in this war. So, I've been authorized to offer you a job here. It's dangerous, strange, and the best place you could ever work." He paused long enough for some of that to sink in, "So, what do you say?"

"A week ago?" Taylor leans back, before continuing, "A week ago, I'd say you've obviously constructed this delusion of grandeur, due to personal insecurities and unhappiness in your own life. By being on the front lines of a galactic war, you're important, even indispensable. You're able to construct meaning for your life, escape the monotony or disappointment of your real day-to-day existence, and feel fulfilled, accomplished, and praiseworthy."

Daniel seemed unfazed, "And today?"

"Today? Well, today is a bit different now isn't it?" He pauses for a moment, and looks at Kyria, then returns, focusing his attention on Daniel. "Right now, I think the world is larger than I imagined. I think more is possible. And I think if I focused hard enough, I could just pluck the truth from your mind." He pauses, realizing how aggressive that might have sounded. "Not that I would do such a thing. It seems...distasteful." He crosses his legs, and settles into a more relaxed posture. "I can even sense the urgency from you, the simmering passion. There's a hint of anxiety too. Like perfume after your girlfriend leaves the room. Considering all of that, I think I have to say that I accept your offer. I'm a doctor after all. I've already agreed to put other people first. It'd be against my better judgment to make an exception of this magnitude."

Daniel arched a brow at this and glanced at Kyria; she shook her head. "Ooookay. Good. You'll be kept under observation for the next few weeks, and you'll have to sign an NDA...um, non-disclosure agreement. Other than that, someone in personnel will go over your profile and figure out where you'll do best here." He stood up and offered his hand to the new recruit. "Welcome to Stargate Command, Dr. Taylor."

Taylor stands, and shakes hands. It's a brief, semi-firm handshake. "Thank you, Doctor. I hope I'm able to make myself useful."

Before Taylor leaves the room, he thinks to Kyria, This is going to be an enormous amount of trouble, isn't it?

Heh. You have no idea.

[Luchian]

The two weeks following his rescue, Taylor spends making what contact is allowable to his family and associates, letting everyone know that he is alive and well, on assignment, so to speak, but otherwise fine. He also continues toying with his abilities to some degree, trying to better gauge what he's capable of. He learns that his telepathic ability goes largely unnoticed, unless he actually speaks to the other person, but that he's otherwise able to gently probe and "watch" other's thoughts without their knowledge. This gives him an uneasy feeling. He doesn't like eavesdropping on private moments, and so for the purpose of practice, limits his observation of other minds to moments of public discourse, and leaves people to their privacy.

He slowly learns to divide what he is feeling from what others are feeling, and this gives him a large swell of relief. He still doesn't seem able to "shut off" his empathy, but it at least becomes more manageable. His perceptive recollection, he notices, is easier when he already finds something very curious or interesting, and he makes a note of that.

Naturally, he requests access to whatever research data or other information he would be allowed to look over. It's limited, obviously, but he wants to know more about these Goa'uld people and the Ancients that Doctor Daniel mentioned. Taylor is well aware that familiarity assuages fear, and if he's going to be involved in some sort of galactic conflict, abating his fears and anxieties would be a nice way to make himself more productive and more helpful.

He takes a lot of walks, and requests a recorder so he can keep track of his thoughts. If a copy is needed or desired by his superiors, he gives them one without complaint.