Aberrant: Stargate Universe - SG1: Mission to Truskat (P3Y-709)

[Mr Fox]

"On a pike." Lorne didn't look any more pleased than Cole felt. "Ba'al's high priest, a guy named Harkin, occasionally 'puts Mot in his place' in Ba'al's name. Worse, Astarte, another snakehead, comes by to pick up the naquadah these people mind for their false god. She's due to return any day now. Only way we are going to get these people on our side is to kill Mot and display his corpse and capture or kill the other one when she comes through. We've got to prove we're more powerful than their gods."

Lorne looked concerned. "Look, I know you guys are good, I've seen most of you in the gym on base... but these guys are playing for keeps. This is Ba'al's top naquadah producing planet from what we have found out. He's not going to give it up without a fight and if he finds out we're here..."

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan nodded. "Then that's what we're going to do. "The Jaffa party you took down, did you recover their weaponry?"

He nodded. Everyone was trained on the Jaffa weaponry. He looked at Lorne and nodded. "We play for keeps too Major, just like you and your men do. If you're still up for it, we're going to complete the mission. Having you with us would make things easier."

He looked to the other men. "Though after what you've endured, if you are ready to go home, then I understand completely, and My team will take these guys down."

"I would like to use you all to provide us a secure exit, to guard the gate, in case we run into something too hot for us."

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Sure, we get the mission, and they get sent to guard the gate, Wakiki sighed. "Having you with us" doesn't mean sending them back to the gate to watch our asses. It means taking them with us.

Wakiki understood that the tired, injured men were likely to be a detriment to the fresh, super-powered novas. But saying 'we're all doing this together but you stay at the gate' wasn't exactly nice in Wakiki's eyes.

"I don't think there's anyone else out there," Wakiki told Major Hawke.

"You don't think?" Lorne asked. There was a hint of 'why aren't you sure?'

"Do you see all the enemies you look for with your eyes?" Wakiki shot back.

"Oh. Kyria never made it sound like that," Lorne said after a moment. "I mean, from all I heard. I thought it was pretty much... perfect."

And let the 'why aren't you as awesome as the guy you replaced' begin, Wakiki thought wryly to himself. "She may have like you to think that," Wakiki said with a shrug. "I'm not going to try to blow smoke up your ass. If I'm sure, then I'll say. But otherwise, not so much."

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult stood up smoothly from where she was kneeling at Chapman's side and joined the others, lips pressed into a straight line. She had been contracted to the SGC long enough to know that sometimes, violence was a necessary measure, but it didn't mean she had to be content with it.

"Your honesty, we are appreciating it very much, Wakiki," Yseult said, briefly laying a hand on his arm. "It is, without having the ability ourselves, it is being hard to intuit how telepathy is actually functioning. Unless you are capable of showing us, of course. Kyria, she was being able to project her memories onto others, perhaps your are being able to, as well."

Her oddly intense turquoise eyes flicked rapidly side to side as she placed a slender finger to her lips, pondering. "Major Lorne, where are we being able to find this High Priest, Harkin? If Mot is being secure inside his fortress, perhaps Harkin is having another way in so he can be 'defeating' him, yes?"

[Mr Fox]

Major Lorne considered for a moment then nodded, "Yes Ma'am. He's in the village in the center of the valley, biggest house there. The one surrounded by a wall. He's part of the scheme that keeps the villagers in their place, so he probably does have some good intel. Only problem is that he's surrounded by the village and his personal jaffa guards. It wasn't possible for us to get in undetected, but you guys might be able to do it. Just keep in mind that I doubt he really 'defeats' Mot. I believe he takes orders from Mot, and that Mot rules on this world in the name of Ba'al. They're just being sneaky about it."

[Aradia McConnell]

For the first time since the specialists had entered the presence, Aradia decided to vocalize her presence. Of course, in her current form, that equaled a muted screech that drew the attention of those she was talking to, including her boyfriend/momentary perch. She tilted her head, hoping he would understand the indication that he was supposed to focus on her thoughts and interpret them to the rest of the room.

Wakiki, ask Ryan if he wants me to fly out and spy on the village for a bit, see if I can get a guard count or spot anything else that might help us, would ya'?

He nodded and turned back to Ryan, relaying the message as Aradia watched the Commander intently, cocking her head to one side and flexing her wings slightly as she waited for his reply.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"Hey, Major," Wakiki called across the fire. "The pretty birdie here would like to know if she should do some more recon," he told the marine with a grin.

*I know what I'd like you to be doing now,* Wakiki replied to her, grinning a little more at the mental discourse. He could have gone on and on, but he didn't want to distract her. She had a job to do and so did he.

[Ryan Hawke]

"Have her find all the guard positions, and a count if she can. Also, what direction is the best approach."

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"She understands you," Wakiki pointed out, though he kept his voice more respectful than sarcastic. "You can talk to her, too."

*Be careful, babe* he added silently. He didn't need to say why he said that; the look in his eyes spoke for him.

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult gave Major Lorne a nod. "We are understanding, Major Lorne. Still Harkin, he might be having some information we are able to be using to approach Mot surreptitiously."

As Aradia flexed her wings, preparing to take flight, Yseult said in a near echo to Wakiki's projected thoughts, "Be careful, Aradie." She tilted her head slightly at Wakiki, tapping her lips with a finger as she pondered the limits of his capabilities. "Wakiki, are you being able to remind in mental contact with Aradie, perhaps as a second set of eyes hidden behind her own? Or at least capable to relaying what she is seeing, so Ryan, he is being able to give suggestions on what to look for?"

[Aradia McConnell]

I can still understand what you're saying, Major Dumb-Ass...

Aradia had let out an annoyed squawk in Ryan's direction at his comment, though Wakiki interpreted her sarcastic thoughts in a much more polite and militarily respectful manner. She ruffled her wings slightly at Yseult's question, directing her thoughts in Wakiki's direction, knowing he was probably still listening.

Kyria used to do that.. she'd be able to kind of keep in touch with me while I scouted, and I'd report back anything useful. I don't know what kinda range you have though, so let me know if you start to.. I dunno, lose track of what I'm thinking, I suppose. I dunno if she could see what I was seeing though.. you can try.

She flexed her wings again, obviously a bit impatient to get going, so that she could hurry up and get back. She wasn't looking forward to the cold chill of the winter wind, especially at higher altitudes.

[Mr Fox]

After some discussion it was decided that Aradia would fly recon over the village.

The flight was cold despite the excellent insulation of the feathers, but it was also beautiful. The valley looked like something out of a Norman Rockwell paint of some Vermont Christmas scene. It was all too easy to get caught up in the beauty of the area until she spotted the a group of six jaffa walking toward the gate along the road from the village. So long as they continued to the gate there would be no chance of them discovering the SG teams.

She circled once to make sure there were no suprises and then headed on to the village. It was only a matter of minutes before she was flying around the small town. It took about twenty minutes to be sure she had spotted all of the guards and another half hour to scout the town.

The main road goes into the town from the direction of the stargate and goes right through the center of the town and dead ends at what could only be Ba'al's temple. It was at least three times the size of the next biggest building in the village and stood twice as tall. It looked well made and sturdy, the stones of it's walls tight and set without mortar like an Egyptian temple, but the difference to the ancient monuments that Aradia was used to seeing on Earth, this one was white washed and brightly painted with scenes glorifying Ba'al. In a way it reminded the young acrobat of anytown America with the old courthouse in the center of town surrounded by the town square, except this was no courthouse, it was a temple to an evil alien with a god complex.

Flying around the temple she was able to spot another five jaffa making their rounds.

[Aradia McConnell]

She could still feel the touch of Wakiki's presence in her mind, and spoke her thoughts clearly, as if she was talking to him, the way she'd learned to do when interacting with Kyria like this. She'd told her once it made it easier to distinguish what was background thoughts and what she was actually trying to say.

You know what I miss?

What's that, babe?

Thinking about pyramids as something cool. You know, like ancient Egypt, pharaoh's tombs, mummy-movies type of stuff. Markie took me to a museum once, said history was cooler when you got to see it. I don't remember much about it, but I remember they had an Egyptian section, and pictures of the pyramids, and an actual mummy and all the jewelry and stuff. And I thought it was cool, you know?

Yeah.

Aradia was quiet for a minute, the irony not lost on her that she was sitting her reminiscing about the 'good old days' while shape-shifted into a hawk on an alien planet so she could scout enemy territory. That was about as far from the so-called 'good old days' as one could feasibly get.

Um.. babe?

Yeah - sorry. Six jaffa on the road, heading towards the gate from the village. Don't think there'll be any problems there unless they decide to take a detour or something. Temple's in the middle of the village, Wild West courthouse style. Looks pretty sturdy. Looks like five jaffa making the rounds outside the temple. Hawke want me to head back, or watch their patterns for awhile?

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Wakiki passed on Aradia's report and asked Hawke for orders. As he waited, he thought, You think you miss them? I've been having bad dreams about mummies.

You didn't mention that, Aradia said, her thoughts concerned.

I just found out that the world is under constant alien invasion by guys who created Egyptian mythology millennia ago to keep us subservient as a people. Wakiki's voice was unhappy. I used to like reading about Egyptian culture. I used to marvel about their engineering skills and prowess. Now I find out that was all given to them. That culture has played such an impact on others, so in a way, nothing we've done has been us. It's all been ... tainted by the aliens. He sighed mentally. I'm not sure how to take it.

[Ryan Hawke]

"Have her maintain surveilance at a safe distance. Beyond that see if there's any other way to aproach the pyramid that doesn't expose the rest of us as much as the main path."

[Aradia McConnell]

I guess you've given that even more thought than I had. I guess I've spent so much of my time being pissed off about how the present is getting screwed that I never though too much about that far back in the past.

Originally Posted By: Ryan Hawke

"Have her maintain surveillance at a safe distance. Beyond that see if there's any other way to approach the pyramid that doesn't expose the rest of us as much as the main path."

Wakiki relayed Hawke's message, and Aradia fluttered her wings slightly, preparing to fly again.

Look, they may have given us the jump start, but everything we've done with it up until recently has been all us. Don't give them the satisfaction of making you feel like we haven't accomplished anything - all they left us with were some lies, and buildings, and ideas. We did the rest.

She began fluttering from one tree to the next, finding a branch on each one and resting there for several minutes as she scouted the area in-depth, zooming her vision in and out to observe details. She studied the village and it's approach, as well as the temple and it's guards, for quite some time, until she finally felt satisfied that she had picked up all the information that was useful to them.

Click to reveal..

Activating Electromagnetic Vision: -1 QP = 26/28

Rolling Per + M.Per + Aware + EV, 1st die Mega: 9d10 → [7,7,5,1,8,4,10,9,10] = 7 suxx

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2844113/

I'm on my way back.. find a stick or something, and I'll draw Hawke a map when I get there. God, it's cold out here...

With that she took off, heading back towards the cave that housed the specialists and the members of SG17.

[Yseult Sierra]

While waiting for Aradia to return from her scouting mission so they could determine their plan of approach, Yseult took a look at the rest of Major Lorne's team. None were near as bad off as Corporal Chapman, but they still various amounts of minor - and not so minor - injuries she could tend to, using just the medical supplies in her kit, instead of biological manipulation.

Though the soldiers protested the need, they finally submitted under the stunning woman's unrelenting, odd-eyed regard and her sure, gentle hands. After some time, the soldiers were moving easier, moderated amounts of pills giving them a boost of energy, wounds carefully bound so as not to hamper while still providing support and the wound clear of potential infection.

[Aradia McConnell]

By the time Yseult was tending to the last of the soldiers Aradia made it back, and wasted no time transforming back into her regular appearance, shedding the avian disguise as simply as one might shed a bathrobe and looking relieved to be inside the fire-warmed cave. One of the SG-17 members handed her a cup of coffee, and she smiled slightly at him as she sat down next to Wakiki, cradling the thermos cup between her hands to warm them.

"Thanks. Okay, Major.. looks like we lucked out. The jaffa have an entry and exit path on either side of the village that leads straight through the town and directly into the temple. It's concealed from the villagers by gates and walls wherever the streets intersect, from what I can tell - they probably don't even realize it's there. But it's a quick path in and out, with little to no villager interaction necessary. Does someone have a pen and paper or something?"

It turned out that someone did, in the form of a small notepad, and Aradia tore several sheets out of it and drew a makeshift map in between sips of coffee, detailing what she had observed about guard locations and rotation during her time observing the village and the temple, as well as the locations of the secret paths, and what she thought would probably be the best approach.

"There you go, Hawke - hope it helps."

[Ryan Hawke]

"Alright, that's definitely helpful." he thought a moment and nodded. "What I see is against most conventional wisdom, but it has worked."

"I'd like to split into two teams, one to take one side, the other taking the other path. Aradia, you'll come with me on the long way around, We can cover ground the fastest and with the least amount of detection."

"Yseult, charlie, and wakiki, you'll be the other group. You all can maintain contact with us, with the present talents we can keep in easy communication. We get in with minimal fuss, find our target and take him down before they realize we're there."

It was far from perfect, but it was what they had.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"Uh... sure?" Wakiki had no idea if that was a good plan or not. But Hawke sounded convinced, so the Japanese man just rolled with it. "When do you want us to leave, boss? Major Boss." As one Lorne's men blinked at him, Wakiki said, "Sorry, I'm new enough that I should be wearing a trainee nametag. I haven't even been introduced to the ropes, much less learning them."

[Mr Fox]

Major Lorne nodded understanding at the newest specialist. "Understood." Looking to Major Hawke he added, "I'd say those Jaffa will be at the gate soon according to our feathered friend here." There was a little bit of a twinkle of amusement in his eye and a half grin on his face. "Major, I think if we hug the hills moving further along their line we can strike out across the fields and avoid being seen, but it's up to you."

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan nodded. "Then we should get moving. Let's get this done, quickly and cleanly. I'm sure everyone's ready to get back home."

[Mr Fox]

The SG members moved quietly through the still night your white poncho cloaks acting as camouflage against the snow. Even so, if it weren't for Aradia's warning about the Jaffa positions you would have been easily spotted approaching the town. It was easy enough to circle around back of the area to come at it from both sides at once, but even knowing the hidden path was there did not make it any easier to spot from outside the village.

Aradia's group was able to find it quickly enough only because she had personally scouted it and knew exactly what to look for on this side of the wall. What appeared to be a small garden gate entering into the back garden of a house was actually the entrance to the pathway and her group made it through the village one hidden gate and street at a time.

The opposite group did not have such an easy time of it.

Click to reveal..

I need 3 successful investigation rolls from the folks in the other group.

[Charlie Cole]

Charlie let his eyes go alertly back and forth across the town, looking for prime entrances and passages through the village. And staying alert for Jaffa too.

Click to reveal..

Perception + Investigation roll:

[6,1,10,4]

Popping 10:

[3]

Total Sux: 1

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult walked cautiously around the perimeter of the village with Wakiki and Cole. Though having learned only the basics in stealth, the enhanced grace Yseult had developed while pursuing Aradia's lessons in shapeshifting, along with the tremendous beauty and stamina, made up the difference.

Her keen, uncanny eyes surveyed the grounds, innate sense of space and dimension intuitively calculating where there was empty space amidst the architecture to hide the passage from this side.

Click to reveal.. (Eye Spy...)

Perception + Investigation (first die Mega): 9d10.hitsopen(7,10) = 6 Successes

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Wakiki was nervous. That was why, when the pressure was on, he didn't do as well as he could have. He was jumping at every new sound rather than focusing on his job.

Click to reveal..

Perc + Awareness (Mega last) (1d10=3, 1d...1d10=4, 1d10=4) = 1 sux

That was almost the most mediocre 10-die roll ever.

[Mr Fox]

The men for various reasons were distracted but the Doctor spotted the doorways easily enough and tripped the catches. In only a few minutes they had traversed the town through short passages interspersed with the town streets. Each secret path shared a common theme, they were cobbled and they were sandwiched between walls belonging to the various houses and gardens and surprisingly there was no evidence of kids toys or junk.

Once standing hidden in the final passage looking out through a hidden hole in the gate the two groups could see the Jaffa walking patrol outside the temple. There was a space of about 20 to 30 yards between the passageway and where guards paced their way back and forth.

Click to reveal..

The way the guards are walking there are two on each side of the building always within sight of each other. Every few minutes the guards get to the corners of the building and at that time they are able to see that the guards on the side of the building are there and alert.

The temple square itself is about 100 yards on a side, there is about 25 yards between the temple and the buildings that surround it. The temple itself is made of solid looking stone and three stories tall. There are windows set in the walls, but they would be too tight of a squees for the average person to get through, and the lowest ones are about twice a man's height above the ground. The windows look a lot like arrow slits in a medieval castle and would provide a jaffa with staff weapon an easy firing solution on anything that approaches the building assuming anyone is standing in the windows watching. Ari has not seen anyone looking out the windows on guard, nor has anyone with any enhanced vision. Most likely they are only manned in the event of battle. The roof is flat and appears to have furniture on it for use in warmer weather. There is surely a hatch on the roof somewhere but with the piled up snow it would be impossible to tell where.

Is there any other info about the building that you need?

[Ryan Hawke]

"everyone move out."

With that mental order, ryan waited for his chance to get there undetected and moved in, totally silent, and with unrivaled speed.

[Mr Fox]

The two teams moved out crossing the distance between their hiding places and the side doors to the temple. Timing was just right as the two jaffa were reaching the end of the building and turning to make sure their fellow guards were on their posts. In the brief moment of their inattention the Specialists made it into the doorway. Unfortunately for Ba'al's priest he had sent too many men out to hunt down the SG team in the hills and left his temple undermanned. Once inside the two teams made their separate way's to the main audience hall where the somewhat overweight priest sat feasting. The two guards at the door posed no challenge and slumped to the floor with a zat bolt to each. The priest was stunned by the intrusion and sat sputtering in indignation. When he finally regained his wits and reached for a device on his belt it was too late, Charlie Cole was already behind him and stopped the man's attempt to signal help with a steel like grip the priest's wrist and then forced the arm up behind the man's back in a painful hold.

"What is the meaning of this?!? Lord Ba'al's wrath will be devestating for this affront!"

[Yseult Sierra]

"Perhaps it is being so," Yseult agreed in a hard tone as she pulled the signaling device from his belt - along with any of technology he had close at hand - with a small effort of telekinetic will. "But it is being direct at you, Harkin, and against Mot and Astarte, for losing the willing collaboration of the misguided people of Truskat."

Yseult was calm, cool, her breathing steady. Despite having only basic training field operations, her enhanced physicality had helped her penetrate the Temple with surprising ease. It was a slightly heady sensation for the woman who used to be a five foot tall researcher.

"Mot will not be terrorizing these people through this farce, and they will not be saved by 'Ba'al,'" Yseult said, accented alto dripping with contempt, as she glanced around, looking for anything else of note, especially for any crystal technology information storage devices.

[Mr Fox]

Harkin's eyes bulged at the the sight of his communicator and other accoutraments flying off of his person. He immediately became defensive and more than a little nervous. "Are you gods? Do you come to challenge my lord Ba'al's rule?" He swallowed hard and looked as if were considering falling to his knees, "I was told that the evil one Anubis might send demons..."

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia rolled her eyes at the fat priest's cowardice, and pulled out her own zat, aiming it at him casually.

"We are what we are - all you need to know is that we're here to kick your lord Ba'al's cowardly ass, if he'd bother to show it. In the meantime, Mot'll have to do, and if we have to kick your ugly ass from here to the Stargate and back in order to get you to tell us where he is, we'll do it, dickhead. So drop the shit, and start talking."

[Mr Fox]

Harkin looked offended but too afraid to act at the same time. Finally he seemed to make a decision. "Lord Mott resides in Hell. It is a fortress just outside the valley where the hills almost meet up. He normally has a company of Jaffa protecting him and doing his bidding, but most of the Jaffa were called away to fight against Anubis. He will be there now, the next 'sacrifice' isn't due to happen for another week."

[Mr Fox]

((It has been one week since the last update, so I'll be updating now.))

Harkin was starting to feel comfortable with his betrayal of Ba'al's underling when his face suddenly became very pale and his eyes went wide. Above an altar along the side wall of the room a disembodied head appeared. A hologram, for those of Earth who know such things, but to the Jaffa and priest in the room, it was the god Mott appearing in fury.

"YOUR BETRYAL WILL NOW BE PUNISHED WORM. YOU SHOULD HAVE CONTINUED TO SERVE YOUR GOD BA'AL, BUT BY YOUR WORDS YOU ARE CONDEMED AND SO YOUR SOUL IS NOW MINE!!!"

A beam of energy much like that of the kara'kesh shot out from the altar and struck Harkin sending him into writhing agony in the seconds before he died.

"JAFFA, YOU ARE NOT YET CONDEMED, IF YOU RISE UP AND DESTROY THE INTRUDERS YOUR SOULS SHALL BE SPARED, BUT IF EVEN ONE OF THEM LIVES, THEN BA'AL WILL GIVE YOU TO ME TO TORMENT FOR ETERNITY!!!"

The Jaffa in the room surged back to their feet preparing to give their lives in bare-handed assault on the Specialists. Apparently it was better to be dead at the hands of the intruders than tortured by Mott.

((Please roll init.))

[Ryan Hawke]

"Damn" in an instant Ryan reacted, ready for the fight. "Hate dealing with these "Gods."

Click to reveal..

init

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2937495/ 9+13=22

[Charlie Cole]

Charlie dumped aside the limp body of the fat priest, before whirling with a sudden surge of energy to face the Jaffa. To the very perceptive, it seemed as if he was suddenly moving faster.

Click to reveal..

Init roll

1d10+12=17

And I'm hinting at Charlie's new M-Dexterity 2.

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult flinched at Harkin's painful demise, dropping the items she had retrieved from him with her telekinesis, hand going for the Zat at her hip. She focused on the new threat, instinctively analyzing trajectories and angles, and possible means of a direct override for the Altar-weapon.

There is must being some manner of remote control for the weapon, for Mott to accurately aim the weapon, or at least, an artificial guidance system keyed to Harkin's bio-signature.

Click to reveal.. (Initiative)

Initiative: 1d10+8 = 16

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Wakiki backpedaled from both the altar and the surging crowd. His gun came up, but he didn't look dedicated to using it. Frantic, he turned his attention to the altar, to see if there was some kind of mental component to it that he could interrupt.

Click to reveal..

Initiative roll (1d10+9=19)

Telepathy roll (Mega is last die) (1d10=...1d10=3, 1d10=1)

[Aradia McConnell]

"Damn!"

Aradia's exclamation mirrored Ryan's, and her gaze flickered around the room as the Jaffa surged to action. Her skin morphed into it's previous, scale-protected form, though this time her short-nailed fingertips stretched and morphed into sharp taloned claws as well. Seeing Wakiki's hesitation, she stepped slightly in front of him, her gun lifted a little less hesitantly than his.

"Try not to shoot me, okay?"

Click to reveal..

Initiative Roll: 1d10 → [6] = (6) + 8 = 14 Initiative

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2941872/

Shapeshifting Roll: 8d10 → [3,7,8,2,5,8,6,6] = 3 suxx. 1 for SS/1 for armor/1 for claws.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2941844/

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"Uh... what? No!" he muttered. "I mean... I'll do my best." His thumb checked for the eighth time to make sure that the safety was on.