Episode Four - The Cult of Lillith

[Tom Chambers]

1046
Planet's surface
Meropis

Glavish Gazed at Tom, the Lance Corporal gave the smug civilian nothing in return not yet at least.

"Haven't you been paying attention, Corporal?" The arrogance of this man was in an order of magnitude above the most stuck up of officers, at least the ones he'd met. "I've been paying pretty bloody close attention, And its Lance Corporal." If the man was going to try to dress him down he should get the rank right.

"You have a commanding officer that doesn't respond to simple gestures such as pointing of Heaven forbid words. He's a man of action and only responds to examples of force!"
Well he wasn't exactly wrong but that doesn't give someone leave to pistol whip a marine. "That is beside the point you can't just go around pistol whipping sol-marines" He looked around to the other marines giving them a quick apologetic look.

Glavish's comment about the combat engineer's plan was surprising to say the least. Then pigs where surely flying Glavish gave him a half hearted pat on the back then some spiel. "Perhaps Conway should consider giving you a few more stripes or bars or whatever. It seems someone with a gun is actually capable of thinking clearly."

"When you build fortifications and clear mindfields thinking helps and Chevrons, they'd be chevrons, but he can't give them to me." Tom tapped the Australian flag on his left shoulder.

Captain Jones then ordered them around and the medic/corpsman to take the now dead marines and the seriously wounded to the jumper. He looked to Jones try to apologize, he hadn't meant to take on the captain and he still expected something for it later.

Glavish and the civilian's then went on talk amongst themselves as they set up inside the sort of arrow head-ish formation.

<TAG: Mikaere Glavish, @achillesjones, Team Able.>

[Mikaere Glavish]

1047
Planet's Surface
Meropis


The only thing that was becoming more and more apparent was that these soldiers were rather touchy where their egos were concerned.  It was certainly something that he could understand.  when someone questioned your expertise, you had to stand up for yourself.  However, how someone could be so touchy about their rank was beyond Glavish.  Surely no one was expected to call them by their entire rank each and every time they were addressed.  That was just ridiculous.  Still, Glavish had better things to do than to argue with man.  And considering he had given up paying any significant amount of attention to Captain Jones, he thought it best not to alienate all the soldiers in one setting.  He could wait at least five minutes before setting Corporal Chambers straight.

With his attention on his tablet, Glavish's attention was immediately captured.  "What the...."  his voice trailed off as frustration began to grow in his voice.  He looked towards the soldiers doubting that they would care or see the significance of his discovery, but thought to share it nonetheless.  "All this dawdling has put us behind schedule.  There's a slight elevation of electromagnetic emissions coming from the location of the lab.  Do you realize what this means?"  He paused as if waiting for the answer, but knew that it would never come.  "Best case scenario is that Doctor Black and his team have beaten us to lab and have inadvertently turned something on.  Worst case scenario... something in that lab turned itself on."  Glavish paused for a reaction.  "Do I need finger paint and a cave wall to be any clearer?  We need to move!"

Glavish was hardly in the mood for a debate, but proceeded to move ahead, acting as if he would no longer be deterred.  For now, he obliged Jones' request for his ridiculous lemming formation.  The only consolation that he could see in it was that if something did attack, it'd make short work of Jones in the opening assault.

---

1117
Ancient Lab
Meropis

As the lab came into view, Mikael's eyes looked over tablet.  His eyes glanced skyward and he could see the drone hovering above.  There didn't seem to be any sign of team Baker, nor did their appear to be any sign of danger.  He looked at the overhead view of the area with several lenses including thermal and infrared.  Though, now he seemed to be getting a bit more interference from the lab itself, meaning he couldn't see if anyone was inside.  Grand... just grand.

Glavish began to push his way past several of the marines as he moved closer towards the door.  His eyes inspected the area immediately, and with wasting almost no time, he turned to look among the soldiers and civilians present.  "Someone with the gene... front and center," he said snapping several times as if summoning someone forward.  "I'd have to believe that Lilith was smart enough to restrict access to those with the gene... and possibly see through any forgeries.  So, if you were a recipient of the therapy, I'd suggest you stay back unless you want your hand or face melted off."  Glavish brought up the profiles of the members of his team and then his head lifted from his tablet and fell on Chambers.  "You... can you wave your hand over that panel?"  He had seen that Jones also had the gene, but found a bit of satisfaction in quickly saying to the man after turning in his direction.  "I would recommend you stand by, Captain.  With you having an extra passenger, it may invalidate the scanning process."  Glavish paused for a moment as his eyebrow arched.  "On second thought... have at it, fearless leader."


<TAG: Tom Chambers, @achillesjones>

[Michael Hurley]

1117
Puddle Jumper “Oracle Three”
Meropis Airspace

With it’s typical effortless grace, the Ancient built shuttle slowly orbited the laboratory Able Team was preparing to investigate. Along with the UAV drone, the Puddle Jumper was providing armed overwatch and a forward command element. Overwatch came in the form of a pair of snipers who were kneeling on either side of the opened rear ramp, scanning the ground below with marksman rifles. Forward operating command was being handled from the cockpit. Sitting behind the pilot was a radio operator, tracking the progress of Able and Baker Teams as they proceeded with their designated missions. In the seat behind the co-pilot was one of the expedition’s oldest personnel, who was monitoring a video feed from the UAV overhead.

Chief Warrant Officer Hurley, who had spent 24 of his 27 years in the Navy as a SEAL, watched closely as Captain Jones, Doctor Glavish and Lance Corporal Chambers organised their personnel to begin exploration of laboratory. Once they entered, the drone would lose visuals, at which point Michael would be relying on the helmet- and shoulder-mounted cameras members of the team were wearing. No matter what he was using to observe the team’s progress, his mission stayed the same - to provide timely intelligence and assistance in support of the Able and Baker Team’s missions.

“Able Team, Oracle Three is on station,” he announced over the radio net, letting the ground team know that their air support was now in position. A feed from the Jumper’s sensor appeared on one of Hurley’s screen, with the CWO reviewing the information before passing it along.

“Ground penetrating radar is having some trouble cracking the planet’s surface, you boys will be going in blind.”

< Tag @achillesjones, Mikaere Glavish & Tom Chambers >

[Deleted]

1118
Ancient Lab
Meropis

"Able Team, Oracle Three is on station... Ground penetrating radar is having some trouble cracking the planet’s surface, you boys will be going in blind."

"Understood Oracle Three."

Achilles walked forward to examine the device and then looked at the civilian leader.

"You are absolutely correct. Anderson, get that panel."

"Activate the panel, I sir." The marine responded, and moved to the panel on the double. "Activating panel now." He stated as he holstered his sidearm and put his hand on the panel.

A sort of hissing sound can be heard as air and dust rushed out as the door slowly raised, and then the smell of old, stale air filled their nostrils.

"I will take point, Anderson, and Jackson will cover my flanks. The rest of you Marines, cover the civilians, two to a civilian."

[Tom Chambers]

1118
Ancient Lab exterior
Meropis

The time had come and they'd spent quite a while getting everything ready as they prepared to move out, It was about half an hour later they finally arrived after Dr Glavish had had another one of his little show you up/ power trips he seemd addicted to. This expedition was perhaps one of the most dysfunctional multi national joint military and civilian affiars he'd ever heard of, but then again from some lgiht reading he'd done Atlantis had suffered something ntow here near as problematic but similar in nature. It didn't help all the Civilians thought everyone in the Military was an ape and that the military people thought all the civilians where bumbling fools, then again most militaries the ADF included tended to breed somewhat of a superiority complex and extreme intelligence always seemed to have some cliche trade off.

"Someone with the gene... front and center," Glavish announced well maybe he would finally get to use the damn gene for something other than opening doors or training. "I'd have to believe that Lilith was smart enough to restrict access to those with the gene... and possibly see through any forgeries. So, if you were a recipient of the therapy, I'd suggest you stay back unless you want your hand or face melted off."

"She could have even created her own variant so still face melting risk entailed either way." Tom piped up. Soon after Oracle three radioed in.

Glavish then turned to him. "You... can you wave your hand over that panel?"
 om smiled slightly. "I'm not sure, can I?" He replied. Then Glavish changed as Tom walked close to the panel. "I would recommend you stand by, Captain. With you having an extra passenger, it may invalidate the scanning process."
He paused. "On second thought... have at it, fearless leader."

Standing close Captain Jones/ snake in head he had yet to find the name of ordered another marine to wave his hand on it. Perhaps either A: Jones still hand an all american superiority complex, B Glavish was right or finally C: All of the above.

As Anderson got close. Tom swiped his hand infront of the panel, no yankee marine was going to beat him. Tom Smiled at the marine. "Sorry, just thought I'de save you the trouble." 

"I will take point, Anderson, and Jackson will cover my flanks. The rest of you Marines, cover the civilians, two to a civilian."
 Jones ordered, now was perhaps the time for sweet revenge, Tom moved and stepped close to Doctor Glavish. "Looks you got stuck with this particular gun toteing monkey." Tom said as he hooked the TER onto his webbing before shouldering his P90. 

<TAG: Mikaere Glavish, @achillesjones, Michael Hurley, Lab monsters, plot devices, anything I forgot.>

[Michael Black]

1118
Interior
Lillith's Ancient Lab
Meropis

Dr. Black sat furiously tapping away at the control panel, trying to make it do, well, anything really. It kept making a dull 'ping' noise to indicate he had entered an invalid command. Cassidy gave him a quizzical look,
"What!? It's not easy okay. This would take me literally hours with an ancient translation book to work out what all this stuff does." He said, gesturing to the numerous panels and controls around the room. He sighed and smacked the panel one more time. Of course, as happens in these situations, it made a delighted little high pitch noise. Black sat up straight, well that was something...
"Guys... I think I've activated some sort of... Life signs scanner?" He glanced over the readings and a wave of realization washed over him. Excitedly, Doctor Black pushed his radio button.
"Dr. Black to team Able, do you read me?" At first only static answered him, "Dr. Black to team Able, do you read? I'm looking at an internal life signs scanner, much more thorough than our handhelds and it's showing me that you've entered the other side of the lab, there's just the matter of some rubble between us, over." He glanced over at the metal bulkhead door concealing the damaged middle section of the lab. Team Able had just descended the stairwell into the Western Section whereas Team Baker, as planned, had entered the Eastern section. A small corridor linking the two had partially collapsed and had not lit up when the team had activated the controls. Their radios buzzed with a reply from Team Able, Doctor Black smiled.

His smile gradually faded as he leaned in to get a closer look at the display screen. He pushed his glasses up his nose and squinted at it, just to be sure. A concerned look had now set itself on the good doctor's face. He slowly looked up from the screen to the stasis chamber next to him.
"Guys..."
The mist was slowly starting to empty.

<Tag Team Able AND Team Baker!>

[Mikaere Glavish]

1118
Ancient Lab
Meropis

"She could have even created her own variant so still face melting risk entailed either way."

Glavish looked at Chambers and shook his head.  "Don't be ridiculous," Glavish pipped.  "As a fellow egomaniac there's a level of pride in one's own genetics that we feel can't be mimicked.  I assure you, the authentic ATA gene will suffice."

“Able Team, Oracle Three is on station. Ground penetrating radar is having some trouble cracking the planet’s surface, you boys will be going in blind.”

Upon hearing Hurley's voice, Glavish lifted his head skywards and spotted the puddle jumper.  He shook his head and rolled his eyes.  He was rather confident that they could have saved a great deal of time and resources if they had just repelled down from the jumper in its present position.  The fact that the jumper hadn't been shot down in its current proximity was proof that Lilith wasn't concerned with anyone knowing the location of her lab.  Anyone she didn't want inside, he was certain that she had a way of dealing with.

"Understood Oracle Three," chimed Jones.  He then looked over the panel that Glavish had pointed out.  "You are absolutely correct. Anderson, get that panel."

Glavish scoffed loud enough for anyone that cared to hear to do so.  What the hell was the matter with Jones?  Of course Glavish was right!  It wasn't as if there was an alternative to that particular outcome.  And yet, the mission leader had heeded Glavish's initial warning.  He silently kicked himself for uttering it first, as he was rather curious what Lilith had in place for any beings engaged in a symbiotic relationship.  Perhaps he could discover the answer once they were inside... from her computer's data banks of course.

However, Chambers quickly moved his hand over the panel, triggering the door to open.  "Sorry, just thought I'd save you the trouble."

"Careful, Lance Corporal," Glavish began, emphasizing the man's rank.  "I think the Captain's bravado is contagious."  He narrowed his eyes.  "Looks as if your cranium has swelled by about 0.19% that quickly."

"I will take point, Anderson, and Jackson will cover my flanks. The rest of you Marines, cover the civilians, two to a civilian," Jones ordered. Tom moved and stepped close to Doctor Glavish. "Looks you got stuck with this particular gun-toting monkey."

Glavish scoffed.  "Please... I'd never insult the intelligence of our simian cousins in such a manner," Glavish insisted.  He started to move forward as the opportunity presented itself.

As they ventured inside, he could hear his radio crackle to life with a bit of static which soon evolved into the sound of Dr. Black's voice.  "Dr. Black to team Able, do you read?"

"Of course we read you," Glavish responded.  "And possibly a bit more so if you weren't yelling in our ears."

"I'm looking at an internal life signs scanner, much more thorough than our handhelds and it's showing me that you've entered the other side of the lab, there's just the matter of some rubble between us, over."

Glavish's eyes looked ahead and he thought he could see portions of the corridor where it appeared that it had caved in.  His eyes surveyed the debris and going through it didn't appear promising, especially if it seemed likely that any sort of explosion or major disturbance would only serve to bring down more of the building down on them.  "Black... do you see an alternate route?  Adjacent corridor... hidden room or...."  Glavish stopped speaking and instantly began to pull his tablet into his hands.  "Black, do you see a transporter alcove anywhere in the room?"  Glavish began to backtrack a bit searching the walls as his eyes moved up and down between the tablet and the screen.  "There should be one around here somewhere... hidden, but clearly marked...."  Glavish's voice trailed off and it became a question of whether he was speaking to those around him or himself.  His unspoken theory being that he wasn't certain that the collapse was genuine, but merely a deterrent for unwanted guests... and that a transporter or hidden passage was the true path in.  Of course, it was possible that Glavish was giving Lilith too much credit.  (Was such a thing even possible?)  "This... everyone look for this symbol!"  Glavish held up his tablet for the others to see the ancient symbol he had been scrolling through to find.

<TAG: @achillesjones, Tom Chambers, Michael Black, Team Able, Team Baker>

[Michael Hurley]

1119
Puddle Jumper “Oracle Three”
Meropis Airspace

From the Ancient shuttle overhead, Hurley watched as Able Team sorted out, after a drawn out discussion between themselves, who would be the first to enter the lab. The CWO simply smiled. While one would hope that those on the ground were mature enough to see the advantages of working together, you didn't make it into the SGC without being at the top of your field. And that often meant having an ego, an ego which didn't always come out unscathed when it encountered a just as large ego.

From the lowered ramp at the rear of the Jumper, two marksmen continued to scan and area around the laboratory with their long guns. So far they hadn't made contact with anything hostile. If Lady Luck was smiling on the expedition, it would remain that way.

Baker Team, which was composed of civilian experts and lead by Doctor Black, came back onto the radio next. The archaeologist - and the 'other Michael' of the expedition - announced that he had activated a life signs detector. By the sounds of it there wasn't any hostile threats down in the lab either, though their progress was still being impeding by rubble which separated the two teams.

"Baker Team, Oracle Three," Hurley said as he activated his radio. "Are you able to patch in a remote download link to the Ancient computer system? We can start dumping data through the systems up here on the Jumper and try to speed things up a little."

< Tag @achillesjones, Mikaere Glavish, Michael Black, Thomas Hopper & Tom Chambers >

[Almeda]

1118
Ancient Lab
Meropis

Almeda watched them through the labs sensors as the two groups of people entered the labs and began to mess around with several of the systems. She did notice that only a few of these people seemed to be very close to those who where her creators while others weren't. This made her quite curious at that fact.

One of the individuals seemed to be trying to access one of the terminals in the very same room as her. Though he didn't seem to know what to press. 'no! not that one' She said to herself as she took control on that terminal to prevent him from screwing up several of her and the lab systems. She decided that turning monitor to display the labs life scan system is what he was after. This all distracted her from monitoring her own start up quite caught her as the last of her systems am online and the stasis chamber she was placed into began to open.

When the pod fully opened she took a step outside and stretched her arms up in the air while giving out a big yawn so she could make sure her verbal systems where style in check. She was dressing in a long white dress during her storage which while she stretched she began to alter the colors to a two toned brown dress with various symbols and such on it. She didn't much like this design but it was a required by her owners to do so at all times to differ herself from each other.

<Tag Michael Black, Aear Charter, Siobhan Kells, Fiona Maccafferty>

[Fiona Maccafferty]

1118
Interior
Lillith's Ancient Lab
Meropis

Fiona was still messing with the codes; her mind working faster than her fingers could ever hope to. She had never been aware that she possessed the Ancient gene, but it was showing up in her ability to quickly hack into the advanced system. Unfortuantely for the young Irish woman, though, she didn't understand the language it presented in. She sent as much of it as she could to Dr. Black's tablet for him to translate, and tried to muddle through, hoping that basic computer language would at least suffice to offer her SOME information.

Around them, things were humming to life as she clicked keys and entered codes. She didn't know QUITE what was happening; between the strange languages and the suspiciously simple ways things were happening, Fee's subconcious was starting to doubt. But she remained focused on her screen, unwilling to show the doubt she felt.

Soon, Team Able had shown up, finally, and she could get a bit of reprieve-or at least she could get a Marine or Seabee to build her a platform on the quick so she could at least read the top of the monitor. She heard Michael Black's voice behind her, though, and stopped.

Guys... I think I've activated some sort of... Life signs scanner? She looked at him and then to Cassidy. She peered at the panel; he wasn't kidding. The mist that had surrounded them-the one she had just a bit earlier found to be a comforting reminder of the Emerald Isle-was fast dissappearing.

What did you do?! I can't understand the Ancient language to override that... She sighed. She looked at her knapsack...if they went now, they might be able to escape. But from what, she didn't know.

Better get one the military blokes in here...I have a feeling that something right holy is about to happen.

Tag:@michaelblack, Aear Charter,Shauna Alice Keys,@teamable,Almeda

[Michael Black]

1121
Interior
Lillith's Ancient Lab
Meropis

Right. That's that. All systems operational and a shed load of data streaming to Michael's tablet. He would just need to try and set up some sort of down link to Jumper Three for the main bulk of information and it would be time for a cup of tea! He looked around the lab, yep, definitely been in worse situations than this. No kettle for a start but they must have some sort of ancient canteen here somewhere, he thought. He'd managed to get lucky and press some buttons to reduce the jamming signal just enough for Oracle Three to radio in. "Baker Team, Oracle Three. Are you able to patch in a remote download link to the Ancient computer system? We can start dumping data through the systems up here on the Jumper and try to speed things up a little."
Said Michael Hurley, overseeing the mission from above.
"Yes! Already thinking of it! Hold on, give me a minute." Michael Black replied, obviously annoyed that somebody else had thought of this out loud rather than him. Then the gas slowly started streaming from the gaps around the stasis chamber...

"What did you do?! I can't understand the Ancient language to override that..." said Maccafferty, "Better get one the military blokes in here... I have a feeling that something right holy is about to happen." She seemed as obviously panicked as Dr. Black now was, a humanoid shadow began to appear within the depths of the chamber as the gas emptied out.
"Good idea!" He began to look wildly around the room, there had to be something else here... The slightly irritating but somewhat reassuring voice of Glavish came over the airwaves, "Black... do you see an alternate route? Adjacent corridor... hidden room or.... Black, do you see a transporter alcove anywhere in the room?" He began to search, running to cupboards and lockers, opening them all in the vain hope of finding something. The hissing of the gas escaping the stasis pod ever present and urging him on.

Finally, after a good minute or so of searching, he'd found it. In the darkened corner farthest away from the stairwell entrance was a small alcove. It spanned from ceiling to floor and was barely wide enough for Black to stand inside. He noticed a dull glowing light on the back panel, something not right here... Ah! There it was. A simple fix. The doors appeared to be jammed most of the way shut. He'd experienced this a few times back in Meropis whilst setting up the labs. Black gave one of the doors an experimental kick. Bingo! The doors slid back into the wall and almost immediately after, causing Black to leap out of the way, the doors slid quietly shut. The control panel on the transporter lit up.

Black tapped his radio talk button, "Black to Glavish. Got one our end! It's only designed for single person use though. Damn door was jammed so I gave it a good kick and it started to light up. You'd better get some people through here a-sap we have a er... Situation. Over." He ended the transmission. It was only then that Dr. Black became aware that none of the others in the room with him had spoken for a while and appeared to be standing in silence. He frowned slightly. Then, he slowly turned around and held his breath. His eyes widened as the figure changed it's form to different clothing.

"A... Replicator?"

<Tag Mikaere Glavish Michael Hurley @achillesjones Fiona Maccafferty Almeda Torsten Ackermann and I'm sure I missed people out, everyone! Tag everyone>

[Tom Chambers]

1122
Lilith's Lab Interior
Meropis

Tom's suggestion about a different ATA gene for this lilith wasn't taken to well to the now admitted egomaniac, though admitting it might make him not one or perhaps the combat engineer was over thinking Doctor Glavish.

But opening the door had elicited a response from Glavish particularly Tom's words to the marine. "Careful, Lance Corporal, I think the Captain's bravado is contagious." Tom smiled. "Looks as if your cranium has swelled by about 0.19% that quickly." Tom's smile turned into a wide smirk. "Well my head is still a grain of sand compared to the red giant of yours." the Lance corporal hoped that would finally make Glavish realise he might not be as stupid as Glavish thought Jones/head snake was.

Tom suppressed a small laugh as Glavish once again insulted him. "Please... I'd never insult the intelligence of our simian cousins in such a manner," Tom decided it might be time to shut up but to hell with it. "And I'll apologise to the virus on your behalf, they are far more intelligent than you." The team then began to filter in, Tom carefully trained his P90 around the room making sure to keep everyone out of hi somewhat small line of fire.

As they moved in Team baker radio in and they got a snarky reply from Galvish. "I'm looking at an internal life signs scanner, much more thorough than our handhelds and it's showing me that you've entered the other side of the lab, there's just the matter of some rubble between us, over." Black radioed in. Well maybe Tom might get to tell some of the civilians and possibly some marines, what to do.

"Black... Do you see an alternate route? Adjacent corridor... Hidden room or...." Glavish replied. "Black, do you see a transporter alcove anywhere in the room?" The star headed egomanical doctor finished off.

"There should be one around here somewhere... Hidden, but clearly marked...." Glavish said somewhat clearly to himself from Tom's point of view. "This... Everyone look for this symbol!" Glavish was holding his tablet up with a vaguely familiar ancient symbol on it. Tom quickly fanned out hoping to find it maybe he could prove he was more than just a door man to the arrogant piece of excrement that was their civilian leader.

After a few moments there was a sound close to mechanic though far more electric, the same sound of the tranporters on meropis only... Less mechanically good sounding. After what seemed like a struggle between the mechanisms the wall opened a small alcove. "Black to Glavish. Got one our end! It's only designed for single person use though. Damn door was jammed so I gave it a good kick and it started to light up. You'd better get some people through here a-sap we have a er... Situation. Over."

"Found it!" Tom called out pointed the barrel of the P90 with shining flashlight towards the roof to somewhat better indicate his position. As a few people gathered round tom looked into the alcove. "She'll be right." The combat engineer said though that was mostly cultural giving everything a go than even an educated guess. "However that last half of radio message was certainly not good. We need to get through immediately." Tom finished.

Tom radioed team baker. "Baker, This is Lance Corporal Chambers, I'll be coming through the transporter momentarily." he hoped that would mean they wouldn't shoot him in the damn door. It was also a struggle not to use the far more familiar radio discipline he was used to.

Tom walked into the booth before pressing the only appropriate button. The doors closed and a small white light travelled down the length of the join in the door before a similar pattern of actions made the combat engineer arrive in the room with Team baker. He stepped out to look at what the other were all looking at, his P90 might not be an appropriate weapon... But changing now would leave him and Team baker more vulnerable.

"W-what is that?" He asked lowly, inching closer to the thing. 

<TAG: Team Able, Mikaere Glavish, @achillesjones, anyone I missed form there. Team Baker, Michael Black, Fiona Maccafferty, Torsten Ackermann, Shauna Alice Keys, anyone I missed from there, Lab monsters, plot twists, evil npcs and Almeda, and finally anyone or anything else I missed. (this tag tho.)>

[Michael Hurley]

1122
Puddle Jumper “Oracle Three”
Meropis Airspace

Down in the hidden Ancient laboratory, Doctor Black obliged to establish a remote uplink to the Jumper. Within seconds data began to flow into the computers onboard the shuttle. Information flicked past the CWOs screen at a blinding rate, including floor plans, experiment results, photographs, and pages upon pages on Ancient script. “This, this is going to take a while,” Hurley exclaimed, mostly to himself.

While he began to skim through the data, which was coming in a hundred times faster than he could read it, events were unfolding in the lab. The presence of the civilian Baker Team had activated the defrosting of a cryogenic chamber.

Doctor Black’s frantic call for help drew Michael’s attention away for the intel he was reading to the second monitor in front of him, which was showing a live feed from cameras carried by members of the team. Hurley quickly brought up the imagine and applied a small amount of zoom. Even from a distance, the clear outline of a humanoid figure could be seen. Doctor Black stammered that the figure was a Replicator.

Able Team’s military operators responded, with Corporal Chambers the first to use an Ancient transporter to beam to Baker’s location.

Hurley turned his attention back to the intelligence that was streaming down the monitor in front of him. He opened a search protocol and ran it over the data for any mention of the term ‘Replicator’. It returned well over a thousand results. He narrowed it down to ‘Replicator, Human form’, which narrowed it down to just shy of a hundred. That still left a hell of a lot to go through. He ran a translator over the search results; while it wouldn't give him perfect English, it would be possible to get the general idea of what the Ancients had been talking about. Hurley began to scan down the search results, looking for anything that might of use.

“I’m going through the laboratory data now. Stand by Baker Team.”

< Tag @achillesjones, Mikaere Glavish, Michael Black, Thomas Hopper, Michael Black, Fiona Maccafferty & Tom Chambers & Almeda >

[Michael Black]

1124
Lilith's Lab Interior
Meropis

“I’m going through the laboratory data now. Stand by Baker Team.” Crackled the radio from Oracle Three above. Michael Black stood rooted to the spot, simply staring at the human form figure with the rest of the team. The chatter in the room had somewhat quietened since the stasis pod had opened. He became aware of Team Able slowly filtering through the single person matter transporter into the lab with them. Lance Corporal Chambers had begun slowly advancing toward the figure muttering, "W-what is that?"
"Stop!" Yelled Black, "Don't get any closer." Chambers almost looked offended by Black's 'order'. The Doctor studied the replicator with a terrified interest, it was just stood there, looking blankly at the opposite wall. He could only assume it was running through initial systems, booting up, perhaps the Nanites were just getting themselves warmed up after ten thousand years in a cold stasis pod. He watched as some of the minuscule blocks shifted and changed, assuming the form of the replicator's overcoat and clothing. It looked as if the whole thing was just about settling in to place.

Doctor Black took a brave step forward and squinted at the thing,
"Perhaps it doesn't work?" Cassidy shot him another of those quizzical glances, "I mean, what if there is no hive mind to connect to in the Triangulum Galaxy, so, no commands... Nothing to make the arms and legs move? It's just... Stood there. Maybe we could do something wi-" Doctor Black was cut short as the thing made one small movement, a turn of it's head to look directly at the archaeologist.
"Or... Perhaps not..."

<Tag Almeda>

[Fiona Maccafferty]

1124
Lilith's Lab Interior
Meropis

Fiona was still at her console, but her hands were silent over the keys. She sensed danger, and her normal response to danger was to hide. So she did that, scooting behind Dr. Kells and inching her knapsack with the sleeping kitty still inside closer to her. She calculated the distance in her head-given her small size and the lack of wind on this planet, she could run pretty darn fast in the direction they came.

She listened to the words around her, and Dr. Hurley's voice stood out.

I’m going through the laboratory data now. Stand by Baker Team. Oh, SURE. Stand idly by whilst you get eaten by some bloody alien. Bloody hell, men, the lot of them. She peeked out from behind Dr. Kells, and eyeballed the team that had come in. She didn't know these blokes, and she would stay put until Black needed her, and really, between him and Hurley, she was more or less redudant.

Black and the solider went back and forth for a moment.

Perhaps it doesn't work?...I mean, what if there is no hive mind to connect to in the Triangulum Galaxy, so, no commands... Nothing to make the arms and legs move? It's just... Stood there. Maybe we could do something wi-" She sighed. What were they on about? Obviously, she was going to need to step in again. She took a tentative step sideways, just in view of the men. She opened her mouth, but Dr. Black beat her to speaking. Or...perhaps not. Fee made a face, and looked from Dr. Black to Cassidy.

What is it?

tags:Michael Hurley, Shauna Alice Keys, @michaelblack, Ryan Decker.