Aberrant: Stargate Universe - SG21: Mission to Abydos

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Looking for hidden panels, or a recess behind a painting," Olivia said, her voice frustrated. "I can hear it right around here! C'mon, you little piece of crap, where are you?"

[Mr Fox]

No seams were evident in the wall, but on closer inspection the surface of the wall was smoother than it seemed elsewhere.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Darn it, where's Vinny when I need him?" Olivia mumbled unhappily. She pushed against the wall, prodding it and generally give it a good going-over.

Click to reveal..

Fox, what roll do I need to try to find any possible latches?

[Rorx]

Gwyn started pulling out the few sensors he had with him and started to examine the area that Olivia had indicated. First was the thermoimager - to see if there was a variation in surface temperature across the area. Next was the metal detector, and lastly the radiation monitor.

"I don't know if this will do any good to find a way in but it might give us some data to try to guess what's back there."

[Mr Fox]

The wall was examined in close detail but no seams or opening mechanisms were discovered. Nor were Gwyn's instruments of any use, detecting nothing beyond the same reading he has received anywhere else in the valley. Best guess is that a room or alcove has been completely sealed and covered over to look like a natural part of the wall.

[Rorx]

Gwyn puts the sensors away, "Well, they didn't help at all. I guess there is a room or something back there. Doc can you think of anything funky you could do with sound to find out more, or should I start trying to find a good place to break through?"

[Jaunt]

"Stay with the supplies?" He mumbled while holding his radio to his ear. He could hear, but he didn't reply, yet. "Screw that, if you all are going to leave me I'm going to do more exploring."

A wicked grin popped on his face and he clicked the send button. "Uhh, roger? But uhh... there's like a lot of stuff here so I might be a bit longer than expected, the uhh, God of Water Termites is very intricate... could take me some time to scan him into the ol' laptop here."

He rolled his eyes and smiled, pleased with completed message. He added "Hosers." only after his thumb was safely off the 'send' button.

He continued with his sketch work, his radio volume turned up so he could hear Caine grumble from time to time. Who the hell told him I could sketch?

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Maybe, sir," Olivia said, sighing a little. All of this removing her hood in order to Listen was making her nervous. Still, she took a deep lungful of air, pulled off her hood and pressed her ear to the wall. To Gwyn and Caine, she suddenly released a short burst of air; to Olivia, it was a high-range noise that bounced through the wall and fed her its secrets.

She stepped back and pulled on her hood. Digging out a bit of chalk, she made some marks on the wall. "That's the boundary of the seal door. It's less... firm there, so we might have an easier time breaking through." She glanced at Caine. "If that's your orders, Major."

[Rorx]

Gwyn absorbs what Olivia has to say then approaches the wall again, tapping it and listening for any echos or changes in sound as well as visually examining it as best he can trying to find the best way to open it up.

Click to reveal..

Use his Analyse Weakness in support of his Engineering I guess.

(09:29:36) ChatBot: (Gwyn_Jones) rolls 6d10 and gets 4,4,3,10,5,6.

(09:29:42) (Gwyn_Jones): 1 sux

+1 dice to a Per + Engineering roll

(14:10:06) ChatBot: (Gwyn_Jones) rolls 8d10 and gets 3,6,4,1,7,1,9,9.

(14:10:13) (Gwyn_Jones): 3 sux

[Adrian Moss]

"Suggestions Team? I don't want to just destroy it unless we have no other options."

Stepping back he keys his mic.

"Jaunt, I need you here with me now. We have a wall we may have to damage with valuable pictographs on it. We need them captured for future referance. Stop what you are doing and get over to the the south-eastern section of the wall, grid coordinate 54. This is important."

Caine went up and studied the wall section, running his hands gently over the surface.

Come on. Were's your hidden latch. You don't want me to break you old girl.

Click to reveal..

Intrusion Test: (11:17:32) ChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 8d10 and gets 9,3,2,7,7,1,5,6 = 3 successes

[Jaunt]

Jaunt went from zero to thoroughly frustrated in the span of a second. In an immature hissy fit he sighed and tossed his pencil into his pack. "Yeah, because I'm the only person with a camera..."

It took a few minutes but Jaunt finally arrived toting his equipment on his back with the same smug, immature look they'd all expect from the difficult young man. "Woooow." He said snidely. "A door. Good job guys, that's promotion material all the way." He quirked an eyebrow at Caine, who was ignoring his jibes as best he could (as usual), as his hands searched for a secret lever or switch. "Lemme guess, we lost our key?"

[Adrian Moss]

"Oh, we'll find the proper sledgehammer somewhere, but if I'm going to wreck this work of art, I want it captured by an artist before it is lost for all time ... unless you can somehow jaunt in and open it from the inside?"

He spoke with a calm, almost jovial voice.

Water off a duck's back. Don't let him get under your skin. That's his game. Play yours. Get this mission accomplished and bring your people home.

"Do you need more lighting?"

He would jog back to the sled and bring some. It wasn't a problem, but he kept those thoughts to himself. If the kid know he was going to do it he would be perverse. Of course, he would most likely be perverse anyway.

[Jaunt]

"Useless with out me," He grinned arrogantly. "Step back I'll pop it from the opposite side. All hail the power of the Jauntster..."

His pack fell to the floor and he took a few running steps before simply jaunting straight towards the door. The streak of wavering air heralded his trajectory.

To understand what happened next you have to take a single millisecond and stretch it into several seconds. The world stretched and spiraled about him as his perceptions slipped into the aperture he used to propel himself between intervening space. Time halted to a crawl as his destination was pictured and his jaunt was started.

Confusion struck the poor boy as his destination 'the other side of the door' was not visible in his mind. Huh? That's not right... he thought in his pocket tunnel-realm of speed that exceeded anything measurable. His jaunt did exactly what it always did, it attempted to carry him through the door.

And so he smashed into it, still on the side he started on, at the velocity of pain. His aperture spat him out, brutally, into the solid door. He fell back, dizzy and disoriented, his limbs seemed limp yet kinda just moved about on their own...

"I'll need some better light..." He groaned, barely coherent. "And a pencil..."

[Adrian Moss]

Caine caught his team member as he falter backwards.

"Sit down," he insisted. "I want to take a look at you. Don't get any ideas. We aren't holding hands and I'm not going to go out with you when this is all over."

The Major pulled out his medkit, pulled out some antiseptic and a pin flashlight.

"Here, let me look into your eyes - gotta see if you have a concussion. He did run full-tilt just now into a wall."

He flashed into Jaunt's eyes, flicking the light back and forth, looking for signs of abnormal dialation.

"Jones, can you go get the lights from the sled please - two sets should be enough."

Damn, he was using Jones alot.

Click to reveal..

Medicine check: (13:48:42) ChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 8d10 and gets 3,4,9,7,7,6,6,3 = 3 successes

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Jaunt!" Olivia yelped, dropping to her knees next to him in concern. It was an automatic response to an injury, even if she wanted to flush Jaunt down the toilet most of the time. She wanted to help the kid, but wasn't sure what do with the hood and protective suit on. "Are you ok? What happened?"

[Jaunt]

Poor kid coulda been in Mexico for all he knew...

"Door... hard..." He mumbled/babbled. He could have been talking to Izumi, the way his hand gravitated near her chest certainly told them he still knew the scent of a woman, even in BDU's. Ahh, kids in their sexual prime. "Couldn't see... came up so fast..."

[Adrian Moss]

"Ran into the door at near-Light speed. Lucky to be alive. Lucky to have a switch somewhere inside you that allows for this kind of," stunt, crap, shit, "accident when it happens."

He puts the light away, searches around in his pack, and hands Jaunt two pills.

"Take these. They are aspirin. Nothing wrong with you a good day's rest won't cure. No concussion I could see, so we can be thankful."

He would get to the point of asking Jaunt whether or not he could still paint. If he couldn't, they would get to the 'break-it-down' phase of the mission. Caine waited for Gwyn to get back.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia dug out a water packet for Jaunt, so he could take the pills. "Wow, you really scared me," she said with a little laugh. "I really didn't expect to see you come bouncing back like that." She caught his hand and eased it to the ground beside him. "You should just sit back and relax a bit, ok?"

[Jaunt]

"You shoulda seen it from my end..." His muscles seemed barely capable of holding his neck up at the moment, the impact did a pretty good number on him. "Can't say I expected it either."

He swallowed the pills without argument, which made smashing the kid's head against a wall a good option for when the wanted him silent and compliant.

[Rorx]

Gwyn shook his head, in commiseration rather than his more typical disbelief/disgust at Jaunts antics, "Take it easy Jaunt." And headed towards the cave exit, calling "No problem Major" over his shoulder.

Stepping outside he takes off back to the cave where the sled was currently stored, arriving a minute later he digs out several battery spot/lanterns and spare batteries before flying back. So less than five minutes later Gwyn walks back in with the lights as requested.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Lie back," Olivia said firmly. Her 'broken-wing' syndrome was surfacing hard; Jaunt actually heard concern in her voice as she gently pushed him to lie flat. She wanted to pad his head, but didn't have anything to use. So she just patted his shoulder and said, "Given how fast Specialists heal, generally, you'll be fine in a moment."

He had five before Gwyn was back with the lights.

[Adrian Moss]

Caine spent his time digging his Utility tool out of his backpack. In a crunch it could be an axe, a shovel, or a hammer. The plan was to wedge the shovel into the cracks along the edge that Olivia has drawn out. Hopefully the rock would give before the tools did. The alternative was explosives.

"I'm going out to see the Sergeant," the Major directed to Jenings-Izumi.

Once outside he went looking for Declan. Not being able to find him right away, he called out over the radio.

"Sergeant, I need you to go into the cave and check out the wall. Let me know if you find any weakpoints in the rock face. Failing that, determine whether or not you believe you can punch your way through. I'll stay out here and keep watch. Report back when you've made your assessment."

[Mr Fox]

Click to reveal..

(The stone blocks used to seal the entrance were placed there without mortar, just stacked on top of each other, but then sealed over, they are not that tightly done, but they are about 12 inches square so much thicker than an earth brick. A super punch would work, but it will hurt the hand if done with a closed fist. If dec uses his super strength he won't have much problem knocking the wall down. Btw, after Jaunt's failed experiment it is now plain that there are obvious cracks and the art work and plaster on the surface is completely ruined now.

[The Red Man]

The sergeant materialised out of the dust-storm next to Caine, nodding once in compliance with the order as he moved past him into the cave. Behind the goggles, silver eyes took in the stunned Jaunt, the concerned Olivia, and the cracked wall where the team had been trying to break through. Declan moved over to stand before the wall, pushing his goggles up as his metallic eyes narrowed and he paused for a long moment, considering the marked edges of the hidden door. He shifted his right shoulder slightly...

Before abruptly moving forwards in a single explosive motion, his extended palm striking dead on the seam of the wall with tremendous force.

Click to reveal..

Spending 1 round and 10 quantum to charge up Crush.

Attack (assuming hit is automatic) does [15] + 5d10 (str) + 2d10 (strike) L damage

(23:39:14) ChatBot: (Dec) rolls 5d10 and gets 5,7,6,6,5.

(23:39:25) ChatBot: (Dec) rolls 2d10 and gets 8,1.

17 L to the wall. (Probably enough to pulverise that section of wall)

There was a thunderous *crack* as the old stone blocks shivered and exploded into dust and gravel both inwards and out around the Sergeant in a billow as about 5 square feet of the wall fair-near disintegrated. Dec stepped back, grinning as he slipped his goggles back down hastily, and keyed his mic.

"Assessment complete, Major. We have a door."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Fire filled her vision for a moment, an aura that built around Declan before flaring into a bright star of light with his strike. But through it, Olivia could still see Declan and the wall, as if the light wasn't blocking them.

Blinking, she shook her head, then looked again. There was nothing unusual, no light or fire anymore and Olivia debated a long moment before saying, "Gw- Jones, Sargeant... Jaunt? Did any of you see any... light? Around the Sargeant? As he struck the wall?"

[Adrian Moss]

When the wall exploded, Caine came running back into the chamber.

"What happened? Sitrep!"

The dust made it hard to see now, but he did a quick count of people. Jaunt was still down. Everyone else was standing. Declan was close to the wall - actually what was left of the wall. The Major could guess what had happened, but he wanted to be told. Hadn't he said 'Wait for me'?

[The Red Man]

Dec dusted off his gloved hand as he turned towards the Major, then realised what the panic was about.

"Uh, sorry sir." He sounded a little sheepish. "I assessed the wall and thought: Hey, I can do this. So I did." He shrugged apologetically. "Was feelin' a little antsy, sir. First time in the field for awhile. It won't happen again, Major."

He looked over at Olivia. "I didn't see any light, Doc. I felt somethin', though. Like part of me was channeling somethin' into my hand. Kinda like those karate dudes do all the breathing exercises before they break blocks to focus their Chi. It was like that."

[Rorx]

"Nope, Doc, I didn't see anything like that."

Gwyn shakes his head, looking around at the mess everywhere, "Hey Sarge, just a suggestion, but next time why not let the Engineer take care of it? After all it's what they pay me for, and I occasionally like to make it worth their while." He ends with a grin beneath his hood.

[Jaunt]

As they all discussed the wonder that was Declan Jaunt rolled over and reached for his pack. His pencil and sketchpad came out a moment later. It had nothing to do with him, and he knew Gwyn would have an answer for exactly what it was anytime now. He punched a wall. Big whoop. We teleport, fly, and breathe water... he's shiny and hits stuff, I fail to see how this is interesting.

Ignoring the commotion he rested his head back down on his pack which was serving as a makeshift pillow at the moment. His eyes closed and he just let them all fade away. His thoughts just drifted back to failed attempt to pass through the door. Logically enough he'd figured out why, all the places he went to up to this point he'd known rather well. No one seemed to have noticed the way he'd open doors before jaunting down hallways, not even him, really, until he'd grown quite accustomed to the places he'd been. It also explained why he'd hadn't just teleported home by now.

But from all his thoughts the door itself rose up in his mind. Continuously it streaked forward at a break neck speed before flashing out and the whole thing looping over again. Sure the camera probably caught a few pics of the door and it's design, but no one had gotten a closer look at it than Jaunt (trust him on that one)... and then he destroyed it.

But every glyph, diagram, picture, just kept advancing in his mind as his hand moved gently across the paper. It was nearly zen-like the way he sketched what was in his head, perfect observation skills had rewarded the young artist with a new masterpiece in the works.

He drew as the world moved on around him. This was his, and no one could take that away from him.

[Rorx]

Gwyn moves forward to the hole and starts lifting out the other blocks until the entranceway is clear except for the dust and small debris. In the process he notices Jaunt sketching again, but at least he's less trouble to the team when he is doing that, well, if he is meant to be doing it.

Once done they get a chance to see what of the interior space has survived the Sergeants entrance technique.

[Adrian Moss]

Caine notices Jaunt too, but has other pressing concerns.

"Gwyn, that Zat gun over there. Check it out. It seems unstable. Everyone else, move back."

"Sargeant, move Juant about three feet that way," he motions back up the pathway enough to get Jaunt out of the way of an explosion.

"You too, Doc. Gwyn, determine if the device can be moved. If it is slightly unstable, I need you to move it beyond the cave entrance. If it is highly unstable we will have to leave it in place."

"Doc, in that case, you are going to have to examine the room alone. I can't risk anyone touching that thing, so you be extra careful. Scan the room for whatever information is valuable and get out asap."

"Sargeant, I want you standing close by."

"Clear?"

[Mr Fox]

Very old stale air wafted out of the chamber. Luckily you are all wearing masks and so don't have to worry about aspergilis niger, or any of the other nasty mold spores or things that can grow in sealed chambers over the course of thousands of years. Bad air aside there was something exciting and humbling about being the first to open a chamber that has been sealed for more than three thousand years.

Shining the lights inside revealed a beautifully finished chamber. The stone walls were carved smooth and painted to highlight the writing and symbols etched into the stone. on them was the story of a priest who was exiled after he learned of the rebellion of the Tauri from a Jaffa. He was sent into the desert to die but instead found this place. Also carved on the walls are hundreds of Ancient symbols. All of them gate addresses. It mirrors what Daniel found in Nagadda in the secret chamber there. But this room has more addresses, dozens more. Maybe, just maybe the discovery of those addresses would be enough to make General O'neill forget about the incident at Kiki Nass, or at least go easier on the team.

Aside from the paintings and carvings on the chamber walls the room was devoid of all but a pile of ancient rotting clothes that had once been the priest's clothes and on top of the pile sat a zat. It was the zat that Olivia could hear. There was something wrong with it causing it to emit a very faint 'whine' in a high frequency beyond that of human hearing. It was also apparent that the chamber used to have another entrance that led out onto the hillside, but it too was bricked up with the large stone blocks. Investigating from the outside revealed that a rock slide had long since covered the original cave enterance.

[Rorx]

Hovering so as to leave as little chance of disturbing the device as possible Gwyn moves over to the Zat. Dropping hi mask back in the outer room he switches to lying flat in the air and once over the device he lowers himself down to get a good close look at it, holding his breath as he does so.

Wracking his brain for everything he had seen and read about the Zat's back at base he tries to figure out the best way to get it out of there or disarm it.

Seeing a way forward he acts upon it after calling to the others to clear out by 200 yards to be sure.

Click to reveal..

Awareness roll - 7dice

(18:13:04) ChatBot: (Gwyn_Jones) rolls 7d10 and gets 10,1,9,7,7,9,8.

(18:13:17) (Gwyn_Jones): 6 sux!

Analyse Weakness to get best way out...or fix it

(18:14:59) ChatBot: (Gwyn_Jones) rolls 6d10 and gets [7],7,9,10,8,6.

(18:15:18) (Gwyn_Jones): 6 sux, 1st dice mega

Int + Engineering to try to make it safe, +6 dice from Analyse Weakness = 8 dice +6 dice = 14 dice

(18:18:06) ChatBot: (Gwyn_Jones) rolls 14d10 and gets [6],9,9,4,7,10,3,6,3,3,6,8,2,1.

(18:18:32) (Gwyn_Jones): 1st dice Mega = 5 sux

[Mr Fox]

Except for Olivia telling you that there is a problem with it you wouldn't know. It does look slightly different from the zat's you carry but only in minor cosmetic ways. It also looks to be in remarkably good condition for a 3000 year old alien device. None the less Gwyn puts his engineering skills to go use and uses the pile of clothes as a handle to slide the zat and clothes onto a clipboard and flying slowly and gently out through the cave and into the valley he carefully places the zat on the ground and covers it with a blanket to protect it from the dust filled breeze.

Gwyn was almost back into the cave when a crackling electrical noise echo'd strangly through the valley. He turned just in time to see odd plays of energy crawling over the surface of the blanket for a moment before dying away. Investigating he could see the blanket scorched and tattered where the energy leeched from the zat. The zat itself was blackened and half melted. Better that it happened in the valley than the confines of the cave.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia stepped into the room, her eyes wide behind her hood. Her teammates were ghosting her, but her entire attention was for this place. It made the heat, the sand and the drudgery worth it. She dug out a digital camera and started to record the paintings, translating the story from the wall for both her team and the camera as she went. The reverence in her voice mixed well with the setting, giving her recitation of the tale more weight.

Finished with the story, she turned and saw the “telephone book”. “Major!” she said, her voice rising in excitement. “These are gate addresses! Look at these… some could be duplicates – I don’t know them all yet, but I haven’t recognized one yet.” Eagerly, she began to meticulously film each address; it would be a good backup for her own memory. “Sir, may I suggest we move the base camp over here so that we can work more easily?”

[Adrian Moss]

"Gwyn make sure the room is safe from any damage from the break in. Declan, go get the sled and bring it here to the entrance."

He looks down at his final team member,

"Jaunt, you are needed in the chamber. Capture everything, including the placment of the robes on the ground."

Caine remained centered at the opening to the cave. Now was the time to figure out their exit strategy and how long they would remain here. He nearly forgot something. Caine went out and retieved the ruined Zat. You never knew what would provide clues. Retrieved, he returned to the entrance of the chamber.

[Rorx]

"Sure Major, Doc you better hold it there while I check the room." Gwyn quickly hovered around the room looking and gently feeling the walls both for there design/construction and how the years had treated the integrity of the stone.

Click to reveal..

21:40:20) (Gwyn_Jones): Analyse Weakness to find weak points in the room

(21:40:29) ChatBot: (Gwyn_Jones) rolls 6d10 and gets 10,9,10,9,1,4.

(21:40:58) (Gwyn_Jones): 1st dice Mega = 6 sux!

(21:41:35) (Gwyn_Jones): Int + Engineering to check that despite those weaknesses the room/complex is still safe

(21:41:43) ChatBot: (Gwyn_Jones) rolls 14d10 and gets 3,1,10,3,1,1,4,2,4,3,2,9,8,5.

(21:41:58) (Gwyn_Jones): 1st dice Mega = 3 sux

[The Red Man]

He fetched the sled as ordered and moved it up to the cave as close as he could before resuming his sentry station outside the entrance, his goggled eyes sweeping the valley for trouble and one ear listening to the radio chatter.

[Jaunt]

Jaunt busily went about 'capturing everything'.

[Rorx]

Gwyn soon gave the all clear so everyone could get on with their assigned tasks. That done Gwyn spent a few minutes sweeping the walls with the thermal imager and radiation monitor on the off chance that there might be some technology hidden behind the walls, but didn't really expect to find anything. With nothing else to do after that he used his time to secure the cave complex they were in from additional dust coming in and removing as much as he could in order to clean the area sufficiently for them to work and rest without recourse to the masks and hoods.