Episode Five-The Enemy Within (Aliens)

[Paisley Gregorvich]

0900 Hours
Meropis City 
A conference room 

Paisley was settling in nicely on Meropis. Dr. Harrison and the rest of the medical staff still had her on observation, so she wouldn't be ready to leave the planet for a little while. Besides, with her cruiser destroyed, and Heliv being in the next FREAKING GALAXY, she was kind of stuck here anyway. She spent most of her days in the clinic-she felt safe there, and she was aware of how coddled she'd been-the daughters of the King did NOT venture out into the "real world" very often. However, the Tau'ri were exceptionally welcoming, and she was fast becoming fond of these strange beings. 

Dr. Harrison, who something called a "psychologist" but seemed to have some sort of medical training as well, had introduced her to a few of the key staff members. She'd discovered that not one of them knew her native language, so as a coping skill, her mind immediately translated to Tau'ri, but she mimicked the accent and intonation of the person she was speaking with. She felt like she'd embarassed the pretty young redhead when she used the humans' radio beacons to call home. Her sister Tamela had been able to beam her a few changes of vestments, as well as her Royal items-cape, crown, and scepter, just in case-and her Federation phone book. They had just a few contacts in the Triangulum galaxy-the Federation viewed it as neutral territory, though, so anyone SHOULD be friendly. 

She had been asked to have one of her "people" come as a representative. Her father, the King, was likely going to be the one to come, as her mother didn't venture out of the Atmosphere often, and her sisters were too dense to be of much use. She was going to fill in the other aliens on what the Federation and the Kingdom of Heliv meant to the Universe, and hear what THEY provided. It was all supposed to be diplomatic, but with the Ancients and Go'uald around, she was a bit on edge. She just hoped that they all could behave themselves. She smiled at the two others, and figured the best place to start was to introduce herself. 

Me ha est... she paused, giving her brain a chance to translate, then started again. I am sorry. My name is Paisley. Princess of Heliv and the Helivan representative to the United Galatic Federation. She copied a strangely Russian sounding accent. She wasn't sure where she'd picked it up, but probably had heard it from one of the species at a Federation meeting. 

Tag:@achillesjones, Blueberry Yagami

Outfit: www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=144528181. She calls her clothes her "vestments" and tends to wear business-casual items. Also, that's her "everyday" tiara. She has a few more depending on what/where she is or doing. 

[Blueberry Yagami]

0903
Conference Room
Meropis

Blueberry strolled in with her tablet, yeah she was late and no she didn't care. She was still wondering why she was here as she sat down silently. Had she not been in the room when she spoke with the General? What was he thinking assigning her to negotiations and greetings, she was the last person on her list. But for some reason the plan was to pick the quietest most eccentric human they could find and make her negotiate with yet another boring type Alien. Seriously were all Aliens human looking? Where did they pick them up from, Texas?

I am sorry. My name is Paisley. Princess of Heliv and the Helivan representative to the United Galatic Federation.

Nope, Yakutsk apparently. Russian accent and knows English just like that. HER English wasn't that great and she'd been working with the US since her satellite 'upgrade'. Well they were running outdated software on even more outdated hardware. She'd done them a favour and apparently got herself shipped out to another galaxy in the process.

Watashi... I am Blueberry Yagami. From Tokyo, Japan. Apparently I'm representing Earth. Blue looked over at her Jaffa counterpart. Supposedly he was two people, one hidden away on the inside and a host via some kind of symbiot. Blue hadn't spent much time with him or the other Jaffa woman but she had noticed that they were rather militaristic. Was that how their people ran things or were they special cases like Earth military? Whatever, she might as well get this meeting over and done with.

Tag: @achilliesjones, Paisley Gregorvich

[Deleted]

0903
Conference Room
Meropis

Captain Jones walked into the room wearing a dress uniform [1], with navy insignia instead of marine insignia. Once he was in the room, he paused dramatically to be visually taken in, as the doors automatically closed behind him.

Once they took him in, they would see a physical giant at over six feet tall, and nearly 300 pounds of athletic build. He uniform was in perfect condition, the cloth pressed, the metal shiny, all of the pins, medals and ribbons in perfect order and position.

In his hand was a leather notebook holder [2] that could be seen as he took the necessary three steps towards the conference table, and then spoke in a firm, powerful and confident, but not harsh tone.

"My name is Achilles Jones, and I am the executive officer and second in command of this facility, and the executive officer, and second in command of this expedition and mission. I am from the The city of (insert city which I can't remember at the moment.), in the State of (insert state name i can't remember right now), of the Nation named the United States of America. The United States of America is located in the North Western quadrant of our homeworld, the planet Earth which is the third planet of of star system, which is located near the edge of our galaxy, which we call the milky way.

I am a high ranking officer in my nation's naval forces. I have spent my entire career in the elite special forces before being selected for this assignment and post. I am also host to a Symbiotic alien life form who's name is "Arson." Arson used to be a leading member of one of our enemies, but after we had been bonded for a while, turned to our side, and we now share this form."

He finished giving his biography and pulled his chair out.

"Now that you know who and what I am, it's time for you to fill me in. I have been assigned to work through the diplomatic process with you, by the base commander, my superior officer."

He then sat down at the head of the table and waited for the foreign delegate's response.

[1]


[2]

[Paisley Gregorvich]

0903
Conference Room
Meropis

Paisley raised an eyebrow at Achilles Jones' appearance. He seemed larger than life, but at the same time, there was something slightly off. She couldn't place it. He was OK looking, she supposed, but Paisley preferred pretty guys, as opposed to the ruggedly handsome. She was used to his type, though-the kind of man who thought that women were delicate things, breakable, almost and needed caring for. Paisley, though, was tall, and well-built for a woman, and as she was the wisest of her sisters, she had been taught to handle her own. She was a princess in name only; the rest of her was true-blue Helivan, and she was no wussy.

My name is Achilles Jones, and I am the executive officer and second in command of this facility, and the executive officer, and second in command of this expedition and mission. I am from the The city of (insert city which I can't remember at the moment.), in the State of (insert state name i can't remember right now), of the Nation named the United States of America. The United States of America is located in the North Western quadrant of our homeworld, the planet Earth which is the third planet of of star system, which is located near the edge of our galaxy, which we call the milky way. Paisley nodded.

Hello.I am Paisley Gregorvich, Princess of Heliv. That's the fourth known planet in the Andromeda galaxy. My father is the King, and we're proud members of the United Galatic Federation, of which I am the sitting representative of Heliv and Cebos, our sister planet. She answered robotically, matching the man's tone of voice and patterns of speech. This was an automatic response; not intended to be rude, but rather as a mechanism meant to make her survive. Her operating system organ didn't recognize that she was or was not in danger here.

Achilles continued.

I am a high ranking officer in my nation's naval forces. I have spent my entire career in the elite special forces before being selected for this assignment and post. I am also host to a Symbiotic alien life form who's name is "Arson." Arson used to be a leading member of one of our enemies, but after we had been bonded for a while, turned to our side, and we now share this form. Paisley nodded again. She was used to symbiotes; on Cebos, there was a native species of insect that had a symbiotic relationship with the Cebos' native people.

Nice to meet you. I, too, served in my nation's naval forces. We have three oceans on Heliv. Two of them are salt water, and the other is made up of mostly pure hydrogen. It's nice to meet you. She was as stiff in demeanor as the man; the strange customs of these "Tau'ri" were foregin to her. She watched as he sat.

The strange woman spoke, as well.

Watashi... I am Blueberry Yagami. From Tokyo, Japan. Apparently I'm representing Earth. Paisley turned her head.

Watashi. That is a strange name. Blueberry sounds like my young sister's familiar feline. Though that being smells like food and you do not. Paisley returned her gaze straight ahead. Achilles, having seated himself, finished up.

Now that you know who and what I am, it's time for you to fill me in. I have been assigned to work through the diplomatic process with you, by the base commander, my superior officer. Paisley looked to the table.

Yes. He seems like a nice being. What sort of twootfasy...rather, information, will you need?

Tag:Blueberry Yagami, @achillesjones.

Note: Paisley's sister has a cat-like creature she keeps as a pet, but which is normally food on thier planet.

[Blueberry Yagami]

0904
Conference Room
Meropis

Achilles only had to say one sentence after making his grandiose entrance before she had to snicker and turn back to Paisley ignoring the rest of his speech. Blueberry did not like soldiers and he was a big hulking ape of a soldier. He'd just taken the proverbial biscuit, eaten it and barfed it up all over her shoes. Blueberry rolled her eyes a couple of times during his speech whilst facing Paisley. Seriously why was she here again?

[i[Watashi. That is a strange name. Blueberry sounds like my young sister's familiar feline. Though that being smells like food and you do not.[/i]

Blueberry had to roll her eyes again. Seriously she was some Russian Alien that had no idea what Japanese sounded like? Don't expect Blueberry to explain it to her however, she was far too smart for that.

Now that you know who and what I am, it's time for you to fill me in. I have been assigned to work through the diplomatic process with you, by the base commander, my superior officer. Paisley looked to the table.

Yes. He seems like a nice being. What sort of twootfasy...rather, information, will you need?

Oh so she was allowed to slip in her mother tongue and Blueberry wasn't? This was not going to go unforgotten. "How many ships do you people have and what's your build capacity? Blueberry could feel the stares from that question alone. That was information that would be useful to them. "What?"

Tag: Paisley Gregorvich, @achillesjones

[Deleted]

0905
Conference Room
Meropis

"The civilian here..." He glanced towards Blueberry. "The wrong question though. First, we would like biographical information. For example, If I were to describe my nation I would do so as follows. "The United States of America, is most political and militarily powerful nation on our planet. It has a population of roughly three-hundred million residents and citizens; it has roughly four billion square miles of area.. a border with two other nations to the north and south, with two borders to open ocean on the east and west. Our governmental structure is a presidential, constitutional, democratic, republican, federation, consisting of 50 states that are sub-divisions of the nation as a whole and whom are sovereign within their own borders. We have one of the top three economies on the planet and it operates using fraction reserve banking, interest banking, and fiat money.""

He paused and spoke again.

"Our nation was founded on the concept that by purview of being a sapient life force, all individuals have the innate rights of life, liberty, private property ownership, and to live ones' life however they so choose, as long as doing so doesn't infringe on the innate rights of other individuals. And that government in any form must conform to two basic principles. First, that government can only govern through consent of those to be governed. And second, that any powers and/or authority it may have is not innate, but delegated to it by the sovereign individuals that make up the group of individuals to be governed."

He popped his knuckles and spoke some more.

"It is important that we establish what kind of government, and culture you have before trade talks, treaties, or any other form of deals can be made between our two peoples."

[Plot Twist]

1955
Conference Room
Meropis

It had been a long day indeed. Negotiations had been back and forth, there had been tension between the individuals in that conference room, built and dispelled time and time over as Paisley was essentially grilled by the expedition's second in command. They took a long lunch break, very long in fact as Captain Jones sat in his own conference with General Conway, relaying his findings and working out a decision between the two of them. The end result was that they'd finally returned to the table at 19:45 to end the day. Yagami's recording of the meeting took up quite a few gigabytes of data as it was. They'd agreed that, although Paisley was currently stranded, when the expedition's resources allowed they would attempt to re-unite her with her people. Both Jones and Conway had decided that an alliance with the Helivans and the potential for exploration of another galaxy was an appealing prospect. Conway had thanked Jones extensively for handling these lengthy talks, he was just about ready with his own delegation of Captain Miller and Warrant Officer Hurley to welcome the Meowtian diplomat to the city.

However, this was where the phrase "it's too good to be true" came in. As Jones opened his notepad file for what he hoped was the last time today, the doors slammed themselves shut. The lights went out.
"Umm..." was muttered by one of the women.
The emergency lighting slowly came on, casting a dim glow over the trio.
The power had gone out.
The doors were sealed.
Oops...

<Tag @achillesjones Blueberry Yagami and Paisley Gregorvich>

[Blueberry Yagami]

1955
Conference Room
Meropis

They'd been going at it all day, for the past 11 hours almost and Blueberry was expected to still be social. Seriously did anyone read her file? What part of quiet and anti-social weren't people getting? She'd been recording the meeting and the General had been a little surprised at the amount of data space it was taking but what was the man expecting? You watch a movie back with some buttered popcorn in HD. Of course it was gonna take up some space.

The three of them sat down once again to finish off their negotiations, with Blueberry still here for some reason. Blueberry had her tablet just about set up when the lights went out. "Umm... I didn't do it this time?" Blueberry proceeded to ignore the rest of the room, which was now only lit by the emergency lighting and her tablet, and set to work figuring out what had gone wrong. It didn't take her long to connect to the Meropis systems and figure it out. Something had triggered a city wide quarantine. With only remote access however Blueberry was struggling to figure out both how to unlock the door and what had triggered it. "Muuu... Nozomu mono o oshiete!"

Tag: @achillesjones, Paisley Gregorvich

TL: "Geez... Tell me what you want!"

[Paisley Gregorvich]

1955
Conference Room
Meropis

Paisley remained stone-like in her chair. Her "humanoid" form was rigid, and she wasn't yet sure if she were safe around these beings. She spent most of her time on the bed in the infirmary; it was the first place she'd been here, and she felt safe there. The doctors left her alone...the scientists, though...they liked to bother her with "questions." Questions she was not able to answer usually, due to both decorum's sake and the fact that she just simply didn't understand most of the Tau'ri language. She was still in a bit of shock from the attack on her cruiser-even though her physical wounds had healed, her emotional ones had not, so her operating system organ didn't always translate speech fast enough for these beings, and because of that, she feared they thought her a lesser being.

Her sharp, China-blue eyes remained steadily on Jones's; the Ancients were, to the best of her knowledge, a neutral party, and so she didn't fear him, simply she was fascinated as to WHY Arson had chosen a mere Tau'ri as a host. Why not one of the higher beings, say, the Omegas or something? It was a question SHE had for him.

She let him run this show; she didn't care so much about being recognized. Sure, she was the Princess of a nearby planet, but it was mostly an honorary title; the Monarchy didn't have as much power these days since going to a Parlimentary government.

The strange female being spoke first. Paisley moved her head in a mechanical way to face the female.

How many ships do you people have and what's your build capacity? Paisley's eyes blinked for a moment. Her operating system machine hummed to life-this woman wanted to know about Heliva's battle abilities. She was about to respond when the equally strange Symbiote spoke.

The civilian here...The wrong question though. First, we would like biographical information. For example, If I were to describe my nation I would do so as follows. "The United States of America, is most political and militarily powerful nation on our planet. It has a population of roughly three-hundred million residents and citizens; it has roughly four billion square miles of area.. a border with two other nations to the north and south, with two borders to open ocean on the east and west. Our governmental structure is a presidential, constitutional, democratic, republican, federation, consisting of 50 states that are sub-divisions of the nation as a whole and whom are sovereign within their own borders. We have one of the top three economies on the planet and it operates using fraction reserve banking, interest banking, and fiat money. Paisley was processing as he spoke. The United States of America? She hadn't heard of these Tau'ri places; only of the United Soviet Socialst Republic, whose radio becons had been picked up by some scientists in fly-over space near the next galaxy over. The images had been AMAZING; the royal family still had the topographical maps hanging in the Public Reception room at the castle.

Jones continued.

"Our nation was founded on the concept that by purview of being a sapient life force, all individuals have the innate rights of life, liberty, private property ownership, and to live ones' life however they so choose, as long as doing so doesn't infringe on the innate rights of other individuals. And that government in any form must conform to two basic principles. First, that government can only govern through consent of those to be governed. And second, that any powers and/or authority it may have is not innate, but delegated to it by the sovereign individuals that make up the group of individuals to be governed...It is important that we establish what kind of government, and culture you have before trade talks, treaties, or any other form of deals can be made between our two peoples.

I don't know what 'civillian' means, but I assume she was referring to battle operations. We're a peaceful species; we have one battle cruiser and several smaller deep-space cruisers. We have a Federated Naval Corp as well as a Federated Air Navigation Force, and a Federated Land Force, as well. We use them mostly as law enforcement and exploration units these days. There is global peace on Heliv. As for our government, my family are the rulers; my Ancient Father was the founder of Heliv, and my male parent is King Reosipy of Heliv, and my female parent is Queen Kelises. My three sisters are Osanna, the Second Princess, Keziah, the Third Princess, and Doilidh, the Junior Princess. There are no male children.

We have Helivan Dobra as forms of currency; there is a mass bank where each member, even the children, have an account, that is overseen by the Ministry of Finance. There, each month, a set amount of money is put into the Bank, and with the proper ID, a Helivan can withdraw thier currency to either replace into the World Economy, or to save for whatever items they wish. It is earned through the trades of each person; children get a flat rate, 12 Dobra per month. The adult Helivans are grouped by trade-the consumer trades are people like your foodstuff vendors, wash people, and garment producers. There are many groups; I can make you chart, that will be easier. Each group makes a flat fee; we find it's more fair and peaceful this way. People have the ability to change trades by either applying to the king, or by increasing their Educational Intake. She stopped. That had been a lot of information. She went on once more, her tone still montontous, her gaze empty. Our people are represented by my family, but we also have a Parliment to bring forth laws and rules for the individual city states. There are four major city-states: Elysium, Aron, Myar, and Calliope. Calliope has no life forms on it; thus, they have no representative. The other three send 25 each, each chosen by secret vote as chosen by the city-state. Then, from those people, they elect five to send to the FGC-Federated Galatic Council, where we represent the rights and interests of Heliv amongst our allies. We would liken it to your United Nations, of which the USSR is not a member. She stopped speaking. She wished she had a few beams from these "United States of Americans", but their technology didn't reach that far. She had heard of them through some of her colleagues on the Council, but Paisley tried not to listen to gossip, preferring to believe things once she knew them to be true or not.

As she stopped, the lights went out and the doors locked. She looked around, and the strange female Humanoid Civillian spoke again.

Umm... I didn't do it this time?...Muuu... Nozomu mono o oshiete! Paisley looked surprised, but her Operating System Organ clicked, having been revved up by all the questioning. She replied, matching Blueberry's tones and patterns of speech, as well as the perfect Japanese.

Sore wa nanimonutsakunai. Sore wa zenteidesu.

Tag:@achillesjones, Blueberry Yagami

Translation: It doesn't want anything. It's a door!

[Deleted]

1956
Conference Room
Meropis

The Naval Special Forces Officer sat down at the table again. This time he was decked out in his standard combat uniform, gear, and equipment. He had changed into his standard load out because he was falsely sure his diplomatic duties were over. But sadly, here he was again, and then the lights went out. As soon as the back up power went on, he stood up, checked his gear, and opened his com system.

"Meropis 2, to Meropis 1. Come in Meropis 1. Power in conference room 5 is down. Meropis 1 Come in."

OOC: Meropis 1 = Conway.

[Blueberry Yagami]

1956
Conference Room
Meropis

Blueberry was still tapping away at her tablet. She wasn't desperately trying to open the door, so long as these two stayed quiet she didn't mind being locked in here. She could just take a nap. She looked up and gave Paisley a look when she spoke. "Konpyuta." she said slowly and deliberately pointing at her tablet. The woman's accent was good but her grasp of the language not so much. "Wakaru ka?"

Blueberry stood up and wandered over the door to check the control panel. Nope everything was fine here and her tablet was communicating just fine the door was simply refusing to accept her override. Not that she had the highest clearance on the base. Blueberry moved back to the table and place her tablet in front of Captain Muscles. "Use your override code." she demanded. Blueberry waited until the chime of a failed attempt rang out before taking back her tablet sat down and slumped onto the desk. "Nemuttera"

Tag: @achillesjones, Paisley Gregorvich

Tl1=Computer
TL2=Get it?
TL3=I'm taking a nap

[Jason Conway]

1956
Conference Room
Meropis

"Meropis 2, to Meropis 1. Come in Meropis 1. Power in conference room 5 is down. Meropis 1 Come in."
The earpieces Jones and Yagami were wearing crackled with static for a short moment before bursting to life as the city-wide comms went nuts. This wasn't just a localized problem. Conway's reply to Jones was short and abrupt,
"Meropis 1 receiving. We have a situation in conference room 3. Stand by." A pause followed as Conway hit the over-ride on his expedition leader's earpiece. A small, polite bleep in all other radios indicated that the General Conway had authorization over the airwaves. He spoke with the control room. Captain Jones and Blueberry Yagami listened in, Paisley did not have the luxury but no doubt noticed the brief silence of the other two listening to something.
"General Conway to 'gate ops. Sit-rep please, what the hell just happened?"
"Sir, we have no idea. The city just went into quarantine which explains the doors... As for the lighting, we can't explain it at this time, all power just seems to have just vanished somewhere. The ZPMs and generators are still active but nothings getting through." Came the crackled reply.
"Thanks, Grover. Can we get these doors open at least?"
"No Sir... They seem to have vacuumed sealed themselves, over-ride commands aren't working. We're locked out from an unidentified auxiliary control panel somewhere else in the city."
"Alright, keep working on it. Conway out."
So, they were all trapped in their various sections of the city, things could get awkward...


<Tag: Throwing it back to you three until the next plot twist event!>

[Paisley Gregorvich]

1956
Conference Room
Meropis

Paisley did not understand the hulabaloo happening around her. The others seemed panicked, but Paisley was used to this; combat simulations on Heliv oftentimes involved being locked up in a room, building or craft, and then timed to see how long it took your team to get out of it. She usually did well; under ten minutes.

The strange female looked at her.

Konpyuta...Wakaru ka? Paisley just nodded. She understood what a "computer" was.

Processing machine, which is faster than Tau'ri processing organ. Paisley then looked to Achilles. He didn't seem to be showing contentment. The strange female went on again.

Nemuttera Paisley's brain translated this as "short sleep", and she looked confusedly at Achilles.

A short sleep. What does that do for one's health? I know that a long, daily, regular sleep is necessary for resetting the Operating Organ, but does a short sleep do that, too? Also, we can try the ceiling vents. She looked at him, and then tried again. Well. I can. I don't think your dimensions will flow through that space very well. May I be permitted to return to the Infirmary?

Tag:Blueberry Yagami, @achillesjones

[Deleted]

1957
Conference Room
Meropis

An extremely deep voice could be heard coming from Captain Jones' mouth immediately after his eyes glowed enough to e seen through his black designer sunglasses. It was clear that although his morality and allegiances had changed, Arson still carried himself like a System Lord. His tone of voice, and his body language when he was in control of the body, made it clear.

"This is unacceptable."

Arson backed away from the door ran with a speed that would be impossible for a human of his size, then the instant he was within 2.5 feet (0.8 meters) from the door, his fist flew out at a ridiculous speed, slamming into, and shattering the locking mechanism. This forces the door open a few inches.

[Paisley Gregorvich]

1956
Conference Room
Meropis

As Arson was ramming down the door, Paisley looked on. She was a bit worried for him; not only was the door solid-core steel, but also it was a bit unnecessary. Paisley had magic powers-not like the Uedans, but she was powerful nonetheless-but really, was there a POINT to it?! So they had been put on lockdown. Maybe there was a good reason, and if they went out, they'd be in danger. When Arson had finished, she ventured a sentence.

Did it work?

Tag:@achillesjones, Blueberry Yagami