Aberrant: Stargate Universe - SG21: Mission to Abydos

[Mr Fox]

Mission Briefing SG21 08:00 hours:

General O'Neill sat at the head of the briefing table as the team filed in and took their seats. Once everyone was settled he spoke, "Congratulations on passing the basic training. I also want to commend your team on some excellent work the last few weeks. I've been getting regular reports from Major Caine and I think you will all work very well together." A look of minor annoyance passed over O'neils face then he grinned and stood up. "Good now that's out of the way I want to explain what we have planned for you. You will be going to Abydos. As I said in your first briefing, we want to start you off easy, but in this case easy means lacking the danger of enemy attack. We feel it is highly unlikely there will be any Goa'uld or any other presence onworld. Abydos was basically destroyed by Anubis recently. His attack wrecked the planet and it's eco system and there is nothing left alive." O'Neill's smile became amused, "That is where the challenge comes in. You will have to take everything you need with you from water to food, there will be nothing on the planet for you to scavenge. Despite the lack of enemies, it won't be a pleasant trip thanks to the condition of the planet."

He moved to the screen on the side wall and clicked his remote and images appeared of Abydos through the lens of a malp. "As you can see conditions are pretty harsh, but not so much that you can't survive a few days. Now the reason we want you to go is that Daniel has uncovered reference in some writings he was translating that suggest that there was once another settlement there when Ra first brought the people there from Earth. Apparently, it remained a legend to the people and someone would venture out looking for it every few generations, but only a handful ever returned to talk of an oasis in the desert. From the descriptions it looks like it was a valley surrounded by rocky hill that protected it from the winds and sand. The accounts talk about dwellings cut into the cliffs in the valley."

O'Neill's smile became just a little malicious, but good naturedly so, "The bad news is that you are in for a long trek through some very inhospitable desert. The good news is we think we have the exact position of those hills located from one of the surveys our people did a while back. When you gear up you need to make sure you take double the supplies you need and wear protective gear. You are to go there, investigate the caves for any writings or Goa'uld tech. You might not find anything, but we did find our biggest list of Stargate addresses on Abydos in a hidden location so we are hoping you might find something useful in those caves."

O'Neill sat back down, "Any questions?"

[Adrian Moss]

Several things occured to him, but it wasn't his place to counteract the premise of the mission. After all if the sesimic activity had flattened the caves, someone had to be sure of this, right? Enter SG-21.

"Sir, I suggest we take a sled to pull our gear. Our team can take it and it will help with the ammounts of water we are talking about."

He already knew what this hellish world would do for Olivia. No need to go further down that road. Jones would do okay. Jaunt would be a risk, but that would be the case for some time until ... Declan would be in his element, no doubt. That left him, Caine. This world would be his crucible, both tempramentally and physically. He had no doubts he was being dumped into hell.

[Rorx]

((OOC: What sort of 'harsh conditions' are we looking at in addition to being a desert?))

"Sir, what sort of protective suits, can you give us any indication of the distance we'll be trekking, and lastly can I have flight permission for this mission?"

Gwyn quickly considered the best method of travel. If he could fly and using the sled or some form of pallet he could get the equipment there pretty quick. Then maybe they could fit 2 people on the sled with Jaunt teleporting in stages to get the team to the target location quickly.

[Mr Fox]

O'Neill considered for a moment, "Flight permission granted, but remember to keep it a secret if at all possible. An ability the enemy doesn't know we have is one they can't prepare for. That goes for any of you on any mission. You are allowed to use your abilities, but be discreet. As for the conditions, you will be looking at a warm 110 degrees in the sun, which means everywhere. It is likely to be windy, constantly gusting up to 30 kph. And there are no sources of food or water. That is one reason we don't believe you are likely to face any enemy or anything else alive. Conditions are much better now than they were right after the destruction Anubis caused. The scientist tell me the planet might be able to support life again in another 50 to 100 years once all the sand and dust settle out of the atmosphere. The reason we are sending you is that you should be better able to cope with the conditions than any of the standard SG teams. It will be rough on some of you, but nothing you shouldn't be able to handle. Not dangerous like evening strolls out on the mountain side for instance." The General didn't look at Olivia but it was obvious he was poking fun at her over the recent incident with SG8. "As for protective gear, we've got some nice state of the art hooded canvas ponchos and face masks to keep the sand out of your eyes, mouth and noses. You'll also be taking some bottled oxygen just in case you run into a dust storm."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia felt like vomiting. There really was no other way to describe the feeling, and even the General's gentle only got a small smile from her. But she didn't say anything, especially not a thing about how unfair it was that she finally got to use the StarGate to go to a world that would actively be trying to kill her.

Also, her hangover was killing her. I'm never spending the last night of leave trying to out-drink anyone again.

[The Red Man]

He studied the images dispassionately, absorbing the briefing and letting the Major ask the questions. Olivia looked green to the gills, and Dec tried not to smile at her, instead simply setting a bottle of water down in front of her. "Here, thought you'd need this." he said with a murmur and maybe a hint of a grin before raising his own voice at the table.

"Sir. What weapons and tactical equipment will we be taking along for this?"

[Jaunt]

"Umm, just so I'm getting this right... sir." Jaunt raised his hand but spoke before he was already speaking. "You want us, in full combat gear, to trudge across a destroyed planet to look for a phone book. A phone book that may or may not be there, in a cave that's actual location isn't one hundred percent confirmed."

He shook his head scoffing. "Wow, tax payer dollars at work."

He mumbled sarcastically. "No wonder Anubis is winning."

"Why not just send those of us who can trek the desert faster, those whose abilities focus on travel instead of us being slowed down by everyone else. If Gwenny over there can fly, and I can jaunt entire miles at a time, why waste time bringing everyone else? No offense but it makes as much sense as sending all of us along into an ocean with a guy who can breathe water and swim like a fish. He's suited for the mission, we're just slowing him down and giving him something to babysit."

[Adrian Moss]

"Jaunt, what would you and Specialist Jones be looking for? Between the two of you, you have one off-world mission. The object in my books is to get Dr. Jenings-Izumi to the site to figure out what is what, dechiper, or record the various runes in the area, and take back the things we need to take back."

"We need the rest of the team in case our intelligence is wrong and there isn't some presence on planet. Unlikely, but why take chances."

Looking from Declan to the General,

"General, I would like to requisition to Zats. The environment on planet may render our conventional weapons inoperable. Juant will carry double the number of grenades. I'm sure he will find a way and place to use them."

He looks to Juant,

"Just don't blow up the Goa'uld tech we are their to retrieve."

Eyes back to the General,

"Otherwise, we will carry our regular gear and four times the ration of water. I think we will make good time over the terrain."

[Jaunt]

"Whatever, dude." He leaned back in his chair and put his hands on the back of his head. "It's your show, man, you get me killed and I'm going to take it personally."

"Oh, yeah... Doc over there looks really capable. I feel safer already... what's she specialize in, Brewery Neutralization?"

[Adrian Moss]

Caine looks at Jaunt with a nuetral expression.

"The death thing - I'll take it under advisement."

"If there aren't anymore questions, I think we are done here General. We are ready to move on to equipment checks and mission specs profiling."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Perhaps it was the hangover. Maybe it was just that she'd reached the end of her fuse. "Jaunt, I don't care what you think of me personally," she said, her voice tight, "but I have earned my place here. So you can take your questions regarding my abilities and necessity on this mission, and you can shove it through an unstable wormhole." Her jaw was tightly clenched tightly as she spoke, and the fact that she said this in front of O'Neill was a sign of just how pissed she was.

[Jaunt]

"See?" Jaunt said. "That's what I'm talking about right there. That sort of attitude is completely counterproductive to our mission."

He had his palm extended to Olivia and his voice seemed to be pleading with the General. "Hung over, or whatever, at a mission briefing. Is this really a person I can trust my life to in a team environment? She's obviously irresponsible and in her state could seriously jeopardize our well being."

He was making jokes at Izumi's expense, but it's not like anyone else knew that. He was spouting all the military 'team player' bullshit they'd been spoon feeding him with Declan's boot. "We're going to need you to start making some more responsible choices doctor, we rely on you out there Trooper."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia hated bullshit like this. It was the kind of thing that made her hate academia, though it was much more subtle there than Jaunt's antics here. "Major, General, do we really need to have his kind of lack of professionalism?" she said. "I'm sure that we can get along much better without it." She was ignoring Jaunt now, and likely would every chance she got.

[Adrian Moss]

What Caine didn't say was that he had a good idea of just how they would be moving through the sand. It was clever, so he though, and would help out the movements at the best speed for the whole team, though the use of assets would be rather ... controversial.

"Specialist Jaunt, I will review your complaints in the pre-expidtionary meeting."

[Mr Fox]

General O'Neill did not look like a happy man at the moment. "Specialist Jauntsen, if you would prefer not to be associated with the SGC that can be arranged. If you do wish to remain associated, you will demonstrate proper respect for the chain of command and your teammates. Do I make myself clear?" The General looked ready to sign a transfer order for anything other than a proper and respectful response and by the look on his face the transfer he was considering for Jaunt was to Antarctica for scientific studies of penguin excrement.

[Jaunt]

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." Jaunt fumed. "She's still half lambasted at a mission briefing and that's apparently acceptable to you guys? Unbelievable."

"Yeah, yeah... crystal clear." The glare he shot the General was nothing short of icy daggers. "Sir."

[Mr Fox]

General O'Neill could be seen to visibly restrain himself from his natural instincts. "I will give you this last warning Specialist since you are new to all of this. You are not 'in' the military, but as part of the SGC you are still subject to it's rules. Things in the military are handled in certain ways. One of those is respect whether you like those you work with or not. Second, you do not bring up matters like your perceived assessment of another team member's state in a briefing like this. If Major Caine as commanding officer of your team determines that Specialist Jennings-Izuma has done something improper and jeopardizes the team then it is his responsibility to take disciplinary action. That is not up to you. Also, showing respect is more than the words you choose, it is also the tone of voice you use. I've made a number of allowances for you because I think you can be a very valuable addition to the team, but if that is a mistake, it is one I can very quickly correct. Now, I don't want to hear any response from you right now Specialist, but next time we see each other I'll expect you to have thought over the future you would like to have and act accordingly."

[Adrian Moss]

Without looking at Jaunt, Caine addresses O'Neil,

"The Specialist is well in hand, Sir. We'll have everything straightened out before we head off world. It is just his way of ... dealing with the stress. Pre-mission jitters. I'll work it out."

[The Red Man]

The Sergeant leaned back in his chair, letting the officers sort the dumb kid out. If he had been an enlisted man, then this insubordination would've been Dec's problem. The officers would have simply looked once his way, and Jaunt would be in for roughly 48 hours of serious suffering in between being confined to his quarters.

But the punk wasn't enlisted. He wouldn't even make it through fucking basic. Dec folded his arms and stared through his shades at Jauntsen, disappointment writ on his shaggy features. He'd expected better, but mentally shrugged. He shouldn't have, he supposed: no matter how well Jaunt had taken to learning on that one gym session, the kid hadn't been kicked in the nuts hard enough yet that he felt mortal.

Crap, next to him even I'm socially well-adjusted. What the fuck is it with kids these days?

[Rorx]

Gwyn is momentarily stunned by just stupid an ass Jaunt is, but recovers his train of thought before anyone else notices.

So the least useful member of the team blasts one of the most useful and seems to reckon its a good idea? Well, I for one won't be trusting him to do anything right and god help us if we actually encounter anyone in anything other than combat while we're out there. The jerk is a diplomatic incident waiting to happen.Christ knows how Caine reckons he can straighten this out before the mission starts, but then that's his job to sort it out I guess.

[Mr Fox]

General O'Niell seeing that Specialist Jaunt had seen the wisdom of silence looked back at Major Caine, "Dismissed Major. You leave as soon as you are ready."

[Mr Fox]

Two hours later SG21 was assembled in the gate room. Even within the cool depths of the SGC the protective poncho and face masks seemed a little warm and that did not bode well for the 110 degree weather on the other side of the gate. Along with the group there was a sled with wide runners that would slide over the sand easily enough, that sled weighed nearly three hundred pounds mostly of supplies. And then there were the packs, and each member of the team also had an addition of small snow shoes modified for sand. Finally each team member had been issued P90s and a zat. With a check that everyone had memorized the GDC code Major Caine signaled the control room that all was ready.

The gate began to dial out. The massive ring began to turn as gears and mechanisms whirred to life. One symbol after another locked into place until finally on the seventh, the symbol for Earth, the gate surged with energy and the vortex of the the coalescing wormhole like a bizarre and dangerous horizontal waterspout. Then it collapsed into the liquid mercury appearance of the event horizon.

The team trudged up the ramp in their gear and one by one went through, Gwyn made considerable noise pulling the ramp both himself and the cart weighing a combined total of over 600 pounds. On the other side Abydos was as bad as feared. Within seconds most of the team had burst out into profuse sweating inside their ponchos and had it running down their faces under suddenly uncomfortable masks. Despite the conditions inside the protective gear it was better than being without it. The ambient conditions were just short of a sandstorm. The hot wind cut across the desert throwing sand through the air in a constant stinging horizontal rain of particles. Even though some of the Specialists might have survived without the gear it wouldn't be pleasant.

Having read the original mission reports on Abydos it was a shock to find that the gate was no longer inside the depths of a pyramid, but instead stood alone on a blasted patch of solid bedrock upon which the pyramid had once been built. Drifts of sand covered parts of the large flats space but blew away in the gusting wind as fast as they settled and accumulated.

[Adrian Moss]

"Okay team. We are here and we are going to hoof it to the oasis so we can get off this blased rock," Caine all but shouted to his Team.

"Jones, you and Jenings-Izumi will be flying a large circle over the sled, say one to two kilometers out."

He looks at Gwyn and Olivia to make sure they understand what they want.

"You two have harnesses and will dump your equipment on the sled. Doctor, you will hook up to Jones and keep an eye out with your binoculars while Jones keeps his pattern. Jones you will stop from time to time to allow a fuller scan."

"Okay, on the ground we will break the trip up into two legs. On the first leg, Jaunt has point. Jaunt around and keep an eye out forward and backwards. Perault will be the scouting out the second leg." He didn't add taht this would be the leg were they would have to be finding the oasis.

"Perault, you will be pulling the sled for the first leg. Jaunt, you will be pulling in on the second leg. I would help out, but it looks like from your physicals that I would only be in the way. I'll be moving quickly to keep up. I'm the slow man on the team."

"That's the plan. Constructive suggestion?"

[Rorx]

Gwyn turns to face Major Caine while sorting out his harness with familisrity earned both in the mountains of his native North Wales and more recently with the Uk's Royal Marines.

"With this semi-sandstorm Major I don't think we'll be able to see that much from any height, but we can give it a go for a while and see if you want? Otherwise it sounds ok."

[Jaunt]

"Uh, why don't I push as he pulls." Jaunt said over the high wind. "Less work on both of us. Oh, and I'll need a whip."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia was glad, that for once in her life, she had a perfect memory. The feel of stepping through the wormhole for the first time, the wonder of landing on another planet, a billion miles from home - it would never leave her.

She clung to that wonder as the wind battered her and sand started to seep into her clothes.

So this is hell, she thought idly. Her headache, which had been miraculously subsiding, returned with a vengeance. She ignored it and nodded at Caine. Her pack when on the sled, and she hummed to herself as she pulled on her gear, knowing that she'd just gotten lucky. She'd be irate about being coddled later. Right now, she was just glad she wouldn't be slowing them down.

[Rorx]

Gwyn walked over to the Doc as she prepared her own harness.

"Ok, Doc, I guess the best way, or at least the most dignified for you at least is if we arrange it so that I'm effectivley giving you a piggyback ride and then link the two harnesses with carabiners on either side. That way you shouldn't be able to fall off. What do you think?"

[Jaunt]

Jaunt watched everyone harness up. "Caine, dude, if Perault is going to be pulling this, and I'm pushing it, you may as well hop on. Seriously, no point it tiring yourself out keeping up with us. An extra two hundred pounds isn't going to matter much."

He motioned for Caine to get on the sled and he mumbled under the wind. "Sides, not like you C.O.s ever do anything anyway..."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Whatever you think," she shouted over the wind and sand. "You're the expert here." Together, they got her strapped to his back. I've been here before, she chuckled to herself, her moment of private humor hidden behind her mask. It seemed like she was destined to ride piggy-back on all of her teammates, at least once.

Caine would never do it for her again, Olivia knew, and she fiddled with the binoculars in a poor attempt to distract herself. Despite the cold, overly-professional way she'd been treating him, she missed being able to joke with him. But if he wouldn't talk to her, then how could they work this out? Because she couldn't take him making mopey eyes at her, and then acting like nothing was wrong. It was messing with her head!

"Ready when you are," she told Gwen.

[Rorx]

After a brief radio check Gwyn called over his shoulder, "Hang on!", and lifted off at a gentle pace. Initially he just took them up above the height of the surrounding dunes to see what the visibility was like. As he suspected they couldn't see anywhere near out what the horizon should be, but it was better than being on the ground.

The heat wasn't affecting him at all really, he certainly hadn't broken a sweat and he had soon become used to the faint itchy feeling he got from the sand being blown at him. However, he was well aware that it wasn't as pleasant for the most if not all the others.

Having established that the idea did still have some merit despite the weather conditions Gwyn keyed the radio as he started to head out, initially at a running pace of about 10mph.

"Major, we've got visibility of maybe a couple of hundred yards at about 30ft altitude. I'm heading out at a low speed as I'm not sure how well the Doc will stand up to the additional effective windspeed. Doc you sing out as soon as it's getting too much for you, I'll ramp up the speed in easy stages but I doubt we'll be going to fast."

That said he pulls out the GPS/Inertial Navigation unit that had been loaded with the available data and starts out for a point about a mile and a half out from the gate his increased intelligence already having calculated the route required to fit Major Caine's criteria.

After a minute he gives Olivia a warning before he ramps the speed up to about 30mph (the GPS/Inertial giving a gauge of his speed).

[Adrian Moss]

"Take a test run to see if you can rise above it," he started with Jones, "then come back down Keep circing then at about 200 meters as long as you can see the ground."

Once Declan was harnessed up, Caine gave him a nod to start.

Jaunt you best take your position now. We are moving out."

There was no need to tell him he would run along side until he could no longer keep up. He would ride then - if he needed to. It was some small consulation that it would probably be adding extra weight on Jaunt's turn at the harness.

[Rorx]

"Roger that Major. Hang on Doc we're going up."

With that Gwyn goes into a slow ascent until they break through the worst of the dustlike sand at about 30m up. From there they had a visibility of about 150m on the ground, but it wasn't likely to get any better if they went higher. Without the sand Olivia only had to contend with the windspeed and the heat, so Gwyn was able to increase the speed to about 45mph.

"You able to cope with this ok Doc?"

[The Red Man]

Declan started moving, easily pulling the weight of the sled at a steady dog-trot, his Zat slung across his chest, one hand on the grip as he squinted from behind his goggles at the sandy wastes ahead. The harness was comfortable enough, and his enhanced muscles were easily up to the task.

He forged on at that steady pace, paying attention to Jones' over the radio and letting the rest of the team do their jobs. He hoped to hell that Jaunt wasn't a poor choice for point man - a bad forward guard could get a small unit wiped out in no time flat.

[Mr Fox]

The situation did not improve as the team headed away from the gate. In the air Gwyn and Olivia found that they could occasionally get a good view of a distance as the winds died for a moment. The unpredictability of the wind soon became the most annoying part of the trek for everyone both on the ground and in the air. The wind would gust at thirty miles an hour for a good solid minute carrying with it a near wall of sand and dust that would hit and even with the protective gear somehow get into everyone's clothing. Then the wind would just as suddenly die down to nearly nothing for a few seconds before another wall of dust and sand hit. It was during one of the lulls that Gwyn noticed that the wall of dust and sand seemed to tower hundreds of feet in the air, but the sand stayed nearer to the ground and at the higher altitudes it was more dust and then at what must be several thousand feet it looked like the dust might lessen somewhat. Unfortunately as he ascended to test out the theory he soon discovered that above the level of the dust the winds were were steady and more forceful and looking to the horizon in all directions showed nothing but the brown cloud of dust in every direction. In brief small patches the two flyers could see to the ground but it soon became apparent that there was no point in fighting against the heavier winds for less visibility to the ground.

[Jaunt]

"Thank you," he said to Caine as he watched him run along side the sled. "Thank you for completely ignoring me, I appreciate that. You're a fine leader, I'll be sure and follow your example."

Dumbass.

They continued to move through the sand, Jaunt waiting for his turn in the harness.

[Rorx]

Leaving the higher, clearer winds Gwyn dived back into the dust and as necessary the sand in order to maintain a visability of at least 100 yards on the ground around them. Keeping the rest of the team aware of their progress and observations at regular intervals.

[Adrian Moss]

He doesn't sigh. He doesn't sigh.

"Juant, I'm not ignoring you. I need you running point. You aren't pushing the sled. I'm asking you to guard us from any possible threats that the flying group misses. I don't want the team getting sloppy."

Is responsibility too much for the kid? Will he pay attention, or is he going to be eaten by some post-apocalyptic scorpion?

*Image of Jaunt getting eaten by said Scorpion*

Bad Commander. Then we would have to kill the damn scorpion for only doing what comes natural.

Inside his hood, Major Caine grinned.

"Come on Jaunt, points out there."

He pointed in the direction they were heading.

[Jaunt]

"An I'm col with that Caine, if you want me on point I'll take point, but next time could you at least acknowledge that I made a suggestion, it'd be nice." His expression was a a sarcastic one as he patted Caine on the shoulder in the 'thanks for nothing so of manner'. "Looks like I got point."

Click to reveal..

Awareness Roll @ +5 Difficulty for the sand and wind (Lookout on Point for anything that 'isn't right' )

(Jaunt) rolls 10d10 and gets [8],1,1,8,8,2,8,2,8,8 = 7 Successes - 5 = 2 Successes.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia clung to Gwyn's solid form and struggled to see anything through the mess. She was trying to do her job as a spotter, but she wasn't sure if there was anything to see beyond sand and wind. It was a dismaying thought.

Click to reveal..

Olivia's Perc + Awareness (last die is mega): 4 sux

1d10=5, 1d10=8, 1d10=5, 1d10=4, 1d10=6, 1d10=4, 1d10=10

[Mr Fox]

The desert was a serious beat down despite the fact that the team was making 10km per hour. After two hours Caine was forced to call a halt to take a break. Thirty minutes of sipping water through straws under masks in the slight shelter of the sled was helpful for some and did little for others. Once the team was rested and ready to start again, Declan took point with Jaunt pulling the sled and Caine alternating between riding and walking. The distance to the target location was off. The second stretch of the journey took a good three more hours of steady trudging through the dust and sand before Olivia spotted the hills during a break in the dust clouds.

As the team approached the hills were imposing almost more like small mountains. No discernible opening in the hills could be seen.