Episode Five - The Enemy Within

[Capt. Kelly Miller]

2002
Vents -> Control Room
Stargate Operations
Meropis

Doesn't smell like they've gone very far." she warned. "We'll need whatever you people have that passes for air purification after this. Kelly reserved comment for the time being; it didn't do much for cohesion to point out how entirely untimely and ultimately inane that statement was at the moment. Instead, she just sighed, and stopped when the General did.

Let's not dwell on what we don't know yet...Instead, let's see if we can get things running again.[/red] She just prepared to drop, and as she did, she followed her training protocol, pulled her knees to her chest and took the impact on her torso. Luckily, it was a HUGE drop, but she was getting too damn old for manuvers like THAT. She shook it off, though, and stood, smoothing her uniform. She didn't look worse for the wear, but she was dirty from the vent. Ew. She smirked a little as the General banged on the door.

It's Jason Conway, anybody inside?[/b] She hoped that someone wasn't actually out there; for their sakes. Sir! It's good to hear your voice. Whatever's going on, the protocols didn't seem to apply to the master control room. We managed to lock the doors and bring down the blast screen before those things showed up. You'll have to lift it though, the powers still out. THe general looked at her and Hurley and Ms. Luks. Guys, give me a hand with this. Uh huh. Three of them in this room were over 40. That was not going to happen that easily. She leaned against it, though, and pushed with everything she had-she wasn't a weak person, but neither was she particularly physically strong, either. As she pushed, she responded to the General.

You know, when I joined up as an officer, I joined JAG to avoid THIS exact scenario... Her tone was a LITTLE annoyed; but really, what were they DOING? Someone with actual technical knowledge really should be in charge here. She changed her track, raising her voice a bit.

Hey, Grover, this is Captain Miller. Is Bakshi with you? Ask her to try the door panels again, but with a screwdriver. Old school, as you kids say. The others gave her look, and she shrugged. It was worth a try, right?

Tag:Michael Hurley, Jason Conway,Francessca Luks, Jaya Bakshi, @npc, Plottwist, and whomever else is joining this party

[Michael Hurley]

2002
Control Room
Stargate Operations

Following the General, Hurley had crawled through the ventilation shafts to escape the humanoid horrors that were stalking Meropis. Learning the who, why and how of the situation was all well and good, and no doubt at the top of many people's lists, but right now the chief's primary interest was security the safety of Conway. While Michael was more than capable with a weapon, a great deal of his SEAL training had been around how to read the situation, carry out rapid risk analysis, and determine the best course of action. Given that the team was lightly armed, had no idea what they were up against, and including among their number the expedition's senior ranking officer, a tactical retreat had been the best decision. Once Conway was secure, the task of mopping up could commence.

The CCWO dropped down from the vent behind the General, having arrived just outside the control room. How the General had been able to navigate the ventilation shafts without a map was an amazing feat, testament to his skill and experience. Falling into a defensive stance, Hurley covered the hallway with his sidearm while the General, Miller and Lucky went about gaining access to the control room. By the sounds of it, the blast doors had been activated. While it was unlocked, it would be a challenge the lift them out of place to grant the team access.

Faintly at first, then slowly growing louder, the chief heard the sound of footsteps. Lots of footsteps. "We're about to have company," he whispered back to the team, trying to determine the direction they were being approached from.

< Jason Conway, Capt. Kelly Miller , Jaya Bakshi, & Francessca Luks >

OOC: So sorry about the delay, but back on deck!

[Jaya Bakshi]

2004
Control Room
Stargate Operations

Jaya was still sitting, waiting for futher instruction. She was at the end of her ideas; yeah, she was trained at computers, but not THIS much. She was more or less at the end of her skill set, and she was also tired.

Hey, Grover, this is Captain Miller. Is Bakshi with you? Ask her to try the door panels again, but with a screwdriver. Old school, as you kids say. She looked at Grover and raised an eyebrow. She was cute for an old lady.

I can try again, Captain. She followed the steps that the woman dictated to her, wondering how Miller knew that. Then, Miller commented that her late husband had been "into cars." Ok. When nothing happened, Jaya sighed, but didn't really have time to comment because they could hear the pitter=patter of not-so-little feet.

Crap.

Tag@jay, @steve, Francessca Luks, Plot Twist and the Grove-man.

[Jason Conway]

2004
Control Room
Stargate Operations

He may be approaching 50, but he could still damn well try to lift a door... On second thoughts, maybe Captain Miller had a better idea.
"Hey, Grover, this is Captain Miller. Is Bakshi with you? Ask her to try the door panels again, but with a screwdriver. Old school, as you kids say." Conway could hear some feint shuffling and fiddling behind the door as the technicians tried to force it open as well.
"We're about to have company," whispered Hurley, further urgency was added to the situation. He was right, Conway could hear definite sounds of movement further down the balcony behind them. He heaved a little further, noting Miller, Hurley and even Lucky and her alien device giving it a try. Finally, something clicked and the door lifted about halfway. That would do it.

A snarl echoed up the hall from the shadows, Conway ushered Miller under first, then Lucky, then himself. Dropping prone he went into a roll and slid into the control room. There was a howl and a bark again, the pack had returned! Hurley slid under just as something slammed itself into the blast door with considerable force.
"Quickly!" Yelled the General as a cacophony of wild beasts screaming and growling hit the control room doors. Together, all five of them applied force to the door, slowly it began to move. Jason noticed several pairs of clawed feet appearing in the dim glow underneath the door. They'd managed to get a sliding motion going and things were starting to look up, before the creatures got clever. One of them hooked it's claws on the bottom of the door, pushing back UP with equal force! Conway was silently horrified to notice the thing's claw were dripping with fresh blood. A renewed effort, driven by anger, the group managed to get the door to slam door. The creature withdrew it's hands just in time and Grover rushed to the panel to get the locks shut and clicked in place.

Conway turned and leaned back against the door, wiping the sweat off his brow. Phew. The things still scrabbled and slammed against it but they wouldn't be able to do much damage, this thing was built to withstand all sorts of ancient attacks.
"Grover, Jaya." He addressed the two technicians, "Is there any way at all we can get some power back on up here and run a life signs sweep of the city?" Turning to Hurley, Lucky and Miller and a little more exasperated, he added, "I have no idea what we're dealing with here."

<tag Michael Hurley Capt. Kelly Miller Jaya Bakshi and Francessca Luks>

[Capt. Kelly Miller]

2010
Control Room
Stargate Operations

Kelly stifled a chuckle as the General struggled to maintain his calm. The door DID click, though, and she scooted under it without a word.

Quickly! The General's voice was somewhere behind her.

After another tuck-and-roll, she was on the other side. She smiled warmly at Grover and Bakshi, and then straightened herself. She looked behind her, and then saw the General, Hurley and Luks had made it through. Great! Just in time, Kelly saw the clawed fingers of some beast. Shoooot.

The General spoke.

Grover, Jaya...Is there any way at all we can get some power back on up here and run a life signs sweep of the city? I have no idea what we're dealing with here. Wonderful. He'd said it aloud. While she appreciated his truthfulness, it wasn't exactly a good idea for a leader to NOT inspire confidence. When Grover and Jaya appeared sorry, she sighed, and posed her own question.

Hurley, you're an old Seadog, been around the block a time or two, right?! What kind of creature are we dealing with? Does it respond to fire? Because, if so, she had an IDEA. They could make fire with the tools; she knew how, and one of the shirts would be EXCELLENT kindling.

Tag:Michael Hurley, Jason Conway, Francessca Luks, Jaya Bakshi, @npc, Plottwist, the Bogeyman, Bigfoot, et al.

[Michael Hurley]

2004
Control Room
Stargate Operations

The pack of wild alien dogs rounded around the corner and into sight of the group. The chief cursed. Judging by what he could hear behind him, and General and the team were having some difficulty opening the blast door to the control room. With power down, the one way through was to lift it open, a task which the door was designed to resist. They needed more time.

Bringing up his sidearm, one of the few weapons they had on them, Hurley fired two shots at the lead animal. It went down, but by the way it was thrashing about, was far from dead. The animals around it - as hoped - stopped their advance, deciding whether it was worthwhile to advance. Using the few precious seconds he’d brought them, Michael hurried back and helped lift the blast door open. Realising that their dinner was getting away from them, the alien dogs rushed forward, but not quickly enough. The team, with Hurley at the rear, slipped under the blast door and sealed it shut.

Over the howling and ferocious scratching at the door, the General requested that power and life sign scanner be brought back online. Captain Miller approached the chief, asking if he’d ever seen something like this.

“As in alien dogs ma’am?” the SEAL replied. “No, can’t say I have. They didn’t cover them at BUD/S.” Being a recent appointee to the SGC, Hurley was still coming around to the idea that alien dogs were a threat he needed to deal with.

“Got some rounds off and that slowed them down, but we’re going to need some bigger firepower to push them back,” he added. The pack outside the door alone posed a serious issue for the expedition, let alone if there were other such creatures throughout the base.

< Jason Conway, Capt. Kelly Miller, Jaya Bakshi & Francessca Luks >

[Jason Conway]

2012
Control Room
Stargate Operations

"Hurley, you're an old Seadog, been around the block a time or two, right?! What kind of creature are we dealing with? Does it respond to fire?" said Miller.
“As in alien dogs ma’am? No, can’t say I have. They didn't cover them at BUD/S.” Hurley replied as he checked his side-arm for remaining ammunition, "Got some rounds off and that slowed them down, but we’re going to need some bigger firepower to push them back" This was where people started looking at their 'fearless leader' again. He paced over to where Grover now knelt, the panel exposed and a mess of wires hanging out.
"Know what you're doing there Grover?" he asked the technician.
"Yes Sir, a little trick Glavish taught me for use in a crisis." Grover replied, ducking his head out from under the ancient console, "It'll re-route just enough emergency power from non-essential sections to give us some key core systems... I believe now we are most certainly in a crisis." He set bet to work after a nod of approval from Conway.

The General checked his watch, he paused for thought then looked straight at Michael Hurley clicking his fingers.
"Bingo! Sergeant Stonehouse's team is due back within the next hour from their trade mission on K4N-223." He could see Miller and Hurley catching on quickly to his plan, "They are fully locked and loaded. If we can make sure the shield is down for their arrival, well, there's our backup right there. As soon as they see the lights are off and nobody is in the 'gate room waiting to greet them, they'll be on alert."
"Got it Sir!" Grover called out excitedly as a feint whirring sound heralded the arrival of the lights within the control room, "It was just shorted out by an overload by the looks of it, although I've only managed to get some essential systems online."
"What have we got?" asked the General.
"Comms are still offline... And I can't get the life signs scanner to boot up, sorry..." Grover punched in a few more commands, "At the very least I'll be able to drop the shield when the 'gate dials and..." Grover swallowed, not wishing to say it, but Conway caught his meaning.
"Arm the self-destruct. We're not there just yet, thankfully." Turning back to the others he smirked a little, "I guess we just need to sit tight until the cavalry arrives then?"

<tag Michael Hurley Francessca Luks Capt. Kelly Miller Jaya Bakshi>
K4N-223 - Explored Planets Thread

[Jaya Bakshi]

2015
Meropis
Control Room/Alcove

Jaya could feel the panic start to set in. The normally calm, serene Indian woman was starting to worry a bit. She was at the end of her skill set, and her rope, and worried that she would not be able to perform her duties as they were being asked of her. Her knowledge of systems was basically limited to Radar Interception and Flight Logs, along with some basic High School level computing classes, but nothing like what the Data Analysis people knew. Grover knew more; then he SHOULD, he was an engineer, after all. They DID work well together-Jaya was calm and level headed in her work, while Grover was more of a "get in, get it done, get out" kind of guy. So she hated disappointing both him and the Command with her assertions that she'd done what she could.

Grover was now fiddling with the panels, passing information to herself and the General every so often. He seemed to have a plan, and so her job was to hurry up...and wait. She HATED it; she felt like a sitting duck, and at least at the doors, she could have the security of her long gun or something. SOMETHING. Those creatures were not...well. She didn't know a word for it that wasn't four letters long, but the phrase in Hindi was "The eyes of monsters held the truth." Not that she had any idea what that MEANT, but you didn't exactly question your mother.

FINALLY, Grover revealed his plan.

Yes Sir, a little trick Glavish taught me for use in a crisis...It'll re-route just enough emergency power from non-essential sections to give us some key core systems... I believe now we are most certainly in a crisis. It was a good idea, even if Grove had just stated the obvious. She looked at him, and he gave a few instructions, and she set to clicking keys, entering the override codes and asking the General to do the same.

General Conway...Grover? I think we have some success! She then looked to the Captian and NCO Hurley. THEY seemed to have a plan, as well, and this one sounded like fire. Interesting.

She let Grover finish as the Captain asked her for her help.

Tag:Jason Conway, Michael Hurley, Plot Twist, et al.

[Capt. Kelly Miller]

2012-2015
Comms Room
SG Command

Kelly stood off to the side, conversing with Hurley and the General. Hurley seemed to understand her question.

As in alien dogs ma’am?...No, can’t say I have. They didn’t cover them at BUD/S. She just nodded. They hadn't covered them in any of HER training, either. What the hell was the Navy's problem, anyway?! But that was probably an issue best left for another day..possibly another LIFETIME when she had eternity to figure it out.

I am sure they didn't... She said, matter of factly. But they covered enemy combatants in the BUD/S training, as well as MARSOC, which they didn't let women do, but that she had an understanding of because of her job-even the best Marines sometimes got into trouble. Hurley went on.

Got some rounds off and that slowed them down, but we’re going to need some bigger firepower to push them back. She nodded, and glanced around.

In Seal school, do they still teach you to build bombs?! Becuase I think that between setting a fire and smoke bombing the hallway, we can at least section off this area, allowing Miss Bakshi and Mr. Grover over there to have more time to work... She posed her plan to Hurley, and then sighed. It'd been awhile since she'd had to plan any manuvers, sitting behind a desk for several hours a day for several years made a girl rusty, but she WAS a Marine at the end of the day, and she knew how to keep herself alive, even if just for a few more hours. She motioned for Bakshi, and then asked the woman what sort of tools they had handy. The list that she rattled off migt be enough if the NCO were game.

Tag:Michael Hurley, Jason Conway, Francessca Luks, Plot Twist, the creatures, etc, etc, etc.

[Francessca Luks]

2002 -> 2015
Control Room
Stargate Operations

It took a combined effort, including a magical jet powered boomerang and Francessca pouring as much mana as she could into it but they slowly they managed to drag the blast door up. Okay half way up and enough for everyone to roll under. Francessca took the rear, grabbing Chi and turning her roll into a spin as she slammed her device into the door to help push it down. It was working but not quite fast enough. Francessca leapt back summoning a magic circle in front of her as her device ejected another mana cartridge. [Schnellen Knall] Chimed the device as 5 magical bullets fired out from the magic circle at the creature clawing underneath the door. Either it didn't like being shot at or it realised it's claw hand thing was going to be crushed because it withdrew just before the door slammed shut.

Lucky retrieved her device as she turned back into it's basic boomerang form. [Gerat Form] Lucky took a few steps towards the center of the room. She realised her breathing was shallow. No, she was actually struggling to breath. If she didn't know any better she'd say she was hyperventilating. "Chi... Atmung..." She struggled to get out, reverting to her mother tongue as she did. [The breathing apparatus is not designed for combat performance. Please attempt control.] That as what she'd thought, she simply wasn't getting enough chlorine into her lungs. She rubbed the breathing apparatus on top of her nose (what looks more like a plaster/bandaid). They sent her to a world she couldn't breath in with basic equipment and expected her to be at full combat effectiveness. Even considering she really wasn't that much of a mage, she couldn't pull of a single lethal spell, she sometimes had to regret joining Brave Phoenix. The higher ups were just insane.

Tag; Capt. Kelly Miller, Jason Conway, Michael Hurley, Jaya Bakshi,  Plot Twist

[Jason Conway]

2015-2027
Control Room
Stargate Operations
Meropis

“General Conway...Grover? I think we have some success!” said Jaya as some of the ancient control consoles whirred back to life.
“Still no life signs Sir, but it looks like Glavish has activated an emergency communication channel elsewhere in the city. I’ll see if I can patch it through to the city-wide...” The technician started typing frantically into a laptop plugged into the ancient systems, focusing intently on his work. Conway’s attention was suddenly distracted by a gasping sound coming from Lucky,
"Chi... Atmung..." She was choking, struggling to breath! The General rushed to her side as the alien ambassador collapsed down to one knee, clutching at her own throat.
“Of course, how could we be so stupid. This is an alien on a different planet to it’s own, sometimes that just doesn't work. The atmospheric conditions aren't right. Hell, even the damn gravity isn't the same. Ah crap, we need a medic down here fast” This was just like the trouble they had with Aear and the Meowtian's Linker Core device. Away from the Ueda Charter had reported severe trauma every time he attempted to use what they referred to as a "spell". Unsure what to do, he tried to lay Francessca back against the wall, putting her in as much comfort as possible and easy the strain on her muscles. He knew that realistically, a medic was quite far away, and trapped behind several steel doors and alien monsters.
“Alright Lucky, take it easy. Just breathe in, and breathe out. You don’t have to do anything else right now you just relax there, we've got your back.” He attempted to comfort an alien being with a completely different biology to his own, Conway felt more than a little in over his head.

A few minutes passed. Conway remained by Francessca as she gently wheezed in an out, she wasn't getting any better that was for sure. Hurley and Miller had discussed a plan of attack against the monsters once Sergeant Stonehouse’s team returned. Outside the door, the occasional growl, shuffle or howl could be heard as the creatures prowled the gate room. Grover had managed to access the comms network once again and brought up an audio signal for the team to hear. It wasn't pleasant. They were immediately greeted with a distress call, a plea for help by a lone marine trapped in the lower sections. There was gunfire, a scream and then silence...
“Shut it off.” Conway ordered, failing to mask the anger in his voice. They didn't need to hear that. They’d get the lights on first and, with Stonehouse’s help, they’d be able to sweep the city section by section and eventually lift the quarantine.

It was then, after nearly quarter of an hour of agonizing wait, that Jason heard a familiar noise. The sound of the Stargate being dialed. The room became a hive of activity all at once, Grover shouted out,
“Incoming wormhole, Sir!” Conway was still knelt by Lucky’s side, she was still not good. Hurley was at the ready with his and Miller’s plan as Grover raised the blast doors surrounding the ‘gate room.
“It’s Stonehouse’s I.D.C. Lowering the shield.” The blast doors slowly rose just as the wormhole connected, it was game time. The unstable vortex whooshed out and into life, a blue ethereal glow illuminating the room. Conway caught sight of a pack of the invading creatures, scaled humanoid figures – some running, some skittering on all fours – their silvery antenna like thick fibrous hair raised in alarm. The pack fled at the sight of the unstable vortex. Conway stood ready to receive the away team and brief them on the situation.
“Grover, Jaya. Keep a close eye on Francessca here, we’ll get the medical team to her as a priority.” He, Hurley and Miller made their way out of the control room and descended the ancient staircase into the staging area.

A metallic clinking sound caught the General’s attention. The smile on Conway’s face quickly faded, he knew it was going too well to be true.
“GET DOWN!” He screamed to the others as a 'flash bang' illuminated the room and temporarily deafened the trio. Conway had hit the deck, covering himself as best as possible from whatever this fresh hell was. A second object burst in front of him and began to fill the room with a thick, orange smoke. In his dazed and confused state all Conway see were boots, one pair after another running past him. The Stargate event horizon rippled three, four, five times. He felt a blow to the back of his head and looked up in front of him to see Hurley struggling with another figure. Another blow, Conway rolled forward and away from the attacker before he saw Miller being slammed to the deck by two men garbed in dark robes. They were tying her hands behind her back, this had gone wrong very quickly. The General turned to try and identify his assailant through the thick smoke as the Stargate shut off. He felt his hands being grabbed and cable tied, powerless to resist. It was then that a familiar voice spoke, much to his horror...
“Hello General!” grinned Andrew McManus.

<tag Andrew McManus Michael Hurley Jaya Bakshi Francessca Luks Capt. Kelly Miller>

[Michael Hurley]

2027
Control Room
Stargate Operations

Hurley nodded in reply to Captain Miller. “Yes ma’am, we learnt a thing or two about improvised explosives.”

With that, the CCWO went to work. Despite all his years of SEAL training, this was going to be a challenge. In the field, he usually had a whole kit strapped to him or in his pack - at the moment he was still attired in his service uniform. Explosive substances such as gasoline or fertiliser were a staple of an IED - but he didn’t have access to either standing in the middle of a mission control room. There was also the matter of the alien hounds that were barking outside the door. While he was no stranger to working under pressure, rabid space dogs had a way of escalating the already dangerous situation.

After a stressful 15 minutes, the chief managed to rig a small explosive. Housed in a computer monitor, it used some common household chemicals, the gun powder from his few remaining pistol rounds, and a charged capacitor from a broken down computer to act as a makeshift fuse. It wasn’t great, but it would do the job.

When the Stargate activated, Michael leapt into action. While the bomb was no where near powerful enough to kill all the alien dogs outside, his plan was to use it to stun the beasts, giving the SG team a fighting chance of making it to them. Hurley activated the door, kicked the makeshift explosive out into the hallway, and slammed the door shut. The IED detonated with a satisfying deep thud.

The chief follower the General out of the control room, and down to the staging room below. Hurley spotted the stun grenade as it came through the Gate, at which point his training kicked in. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to get his hands over his ears. The first he achieved, the second he didn’t. The deafening sound of the flash bang unsettled the water in his inner ear, with Michael staggering to stay on his feet.

A smoke grenade followed, as was standard procedure. Annoyed that the flash bang had gotten them, the Chief prepared to blast his lungs at the team as they came through the gate. But the team had other reason. One of the moment rushed Hurley, tackling him to the ground. The career SEAL tried to the fight back, but was quickly overpowered.

< Tag Jason Conway, Capt. Kelly Miller, Jaya Bakshi, Francessca Luks & Andrew McManus >

[Capt. Kelly Miller]

2027
Control Room
Stargate Operations

Yes ma’am, we learnt a thing or two about improvised explosives.

She nodded.

Let's get to it.

Kelly did her best to help Hurley with his improvised bomb. She remembered that John, who had been in the Navy before SEALS were what they were now, did some combat demolition with the SOGs when he had been in the fleet as a junior officrer. He had volunteered sometimes at the local high school JROTC before his passing, and he would give a chat about building fire and weapons with stuff you had just lying around-one time, as she remembered, he had set fire to a package of MREs using the sun, a mirror and lots of finger-crossing. Kelly had paid attention.

After a few moments of handing the man things, she proved herself useless and went off to help the General, letting Bakshi assist Hurley. She got Lucky seated; if the...woman?...could remain calm, it might be easier for her to find whatever she needed to breathe. Kelly was a pragmatist; it was always better to have people calm and able to respond than to have panic. Panic was bad.

Then, something happened. Kelly hadn't yet learned to recognize the sound of the Stargate, but it DID sound rather like any sort of dialing machine, not quite like a telephone but not quite a computerized system, either-more like a numerical padlock. She looked up...was that supposed to happen?! She followed the General down to the staging area, hoping to whatever God watched over Marines that Hurley knew what he was doing, and got ready to recieve Sgt. Stonehouse. Not that she knew who that was, but she assumed she'd recognize a Sargeant.

*FLASH BANG*

That wasn't supposed to happen; she hit the floor, prone in a firing stance. She couldn't SEE and then she was captured. She did her best to fight it off and was fairly successful, but these hooded beings took her weapons. They didn't really seem to care that she was female and while normally she'd be all up in the place with the UCMJ's rules about treatment of women, even combatant women, she knew that thier laws didn't apply.

She heard a voice.

Hello General! Kelly raised an eyebrow.

What the HELL is going on here? The Marine wanted answers and she wanted them NOW.

Tag:Jason Conway, Michael Hurley, Plot Twist, etc

[Andrew McManus]

2029
Gate Room
Meropis

McManus finished binding the General's hands behind his back. He stood up just as the smoke was clearing, the gate room still gloomy and barely light by torches and the emergency lighting installed by the Earth expedition. McManus was garbed in tattered green off-world gear, covered by a standard issue flack jacket marked with the occasional blood stain. He wore a light grey cap loosely over his head and a checkered desert colored scarf hung over his shoulders. He was carrying a green pack on his back, which he slid off and handed to one of the other men before he checked his P90's remaining ammunition. The other six men were all dressed in black robes, with hoods and dark face paint concealing their identities. McManus reached up and placed a hand on his ginger bearded chin, frowning in deep thought.
"You two," he barked orders, "clear that side passage over there. And you, check that one. Amarh? There you are..." he pointed to a male stood near the stairs with a P90 weapon in his hands, "Check those rooms all along that balcony. We want this area secure before we move on."
"What the HELL is going on here?" came the somewhat shrill cry of the marine lady.
"Well, I wasn't expecting it to be this easy Jason!" He said addressing the General by his first name, he turned to the lady, "and who are you? We've not met before." He crouched down to her level, all three of the senior officers had by now been brought to their knees and bound next to each other in the middle of the 'gate room. General Conway interrupted him,
"Stand down McManus!" He ordered.
"Stand down?" McManus raised his arms in an open gesture and looked around the room, he laughed, the other man laughed too, "General Conway. I don't think you're in much of a position to order anyone to stand down now are ya."

Conway noticed now that some of McManus' men wore SG gear, the bastards must have taken it from Sergeant Stonehouse's team before stealing the IDC and gating in, he thought. He glanced at Hurley who met his eyes, the General shook his head. While the man could probably devise some sort of a plan to incapacitate McManus, they were suddenly vastly outnumbered, now wasn't the time. Besides, the alien beasts still roamed the city. A fact that the General was sure McManus couldn't be aware of, so they still had that to their advantage.
"Where are all your guards? Something gone wrong eh, General?" he raised a hand to silence Conway before he could speak, "wait, don't tell me. Let me guess... Budget cuts? Aliens invaded? Mutiny? Power cut due to a dodgy ZPM?" McManus crouched in front of Conway, lowering his voice, "Lets face it, sonny Jim. You weren't prepared for this job. We both know that now."
"Why are you doing this Sergeant? We all thought you were dead. Why not just signal for help?" Conway asked in a plain, level tone, fixing a deathly gaze on the man.
"Well ain't that the question of the day!? You thought I was dead... Again!" He sighed, "I'm getting real sick of being left for dead General." He let the P90 fall on it's strap and produced a small, ancient looking revolver, pointing it straight at General Conway's forehead.
"Dead. Just like I was the first time you didn't come for me. Just like Captain Oliver is. Just like Owens is. Just like Kozumi is. Just like my wife and kids are. DEAD!" He began to shout, "WHERE'S YOUR RESCUE MISSION NOW GENERAL!? WHERE'S YOUR SEARCH PARTY HUH!?"

Out of the corner of his eye, McManus saw Hurley twitch, he quickly leveled the pistol on the Chief Warrant Officer. Two of his men took aim at Conway and Miller respectively. Turning his head slightly to the three other men near the far corridor he barked another order,
"Follow my map, take the bags, get to work." It was then that the three officers realized the attackers had brought three large woven bags with them that they now lugged away down the corridor with them.
"The three of you are going to stay here as my hostages. I'm going to take what I need and then I am leaving. And," he glanced over at the marine woman again, "if you play your cards right. You three get to live and we never see each other again... Think of it as kinda like speed dating, only with a gun in your face." He kept the pistol aimed at Hurley and kept scanning the corners of the room, why had this been so easy? There had literally only been three people in a darkened 'gate room waiting for them. It made McManus uneasy, and when he was uneasy, he was unpredictable...

<tag Capt. Kelly Miller Francessca Luks Michael Hurley>

[Francessca Luks]

2015 - 2029
Control Room
Stargate Operations
Meropis

Francessca struggled to control her breathing, the fact was her breathing apparatus was working overtime to help and it just wasn't enough, it just wasn't designed for combat. The General helped her into a sitting position trying his best to comfort her. “Alright Lucky, take it easy. Just breathe in, and breathe out. You don’t have to do anything else right now you just relax there, we've got your back.” He wasn't the best at it but at least he was trying and Francessca appreciated it. Francessca pulled out her inhaler and took a few puffs, it would take a little while to work but it would help, eventually.

It wasn't long before the General was forced to leave her under the care of Jaya and Grover. She assumed the two to be admin staff or possibly technicians of some kind, they didn't seem to be very high up the command chain at least. The General and his officers left the room and Francessca heard the sounds of the stargate coming to life. Not that she recognised the sound in the slightest, their stargate was strapped to the outside of a space station rather then on Sanada itself, clearly not what one of their enemies had in mind when their troops floated off into space.

There was a loud bang and a flash seen through the window where the blast door had been followed by thick orange smoke cloud. "They don't sound friendly." Francessca pointed out to no one in particular. She eased herself to her feet using Jaya for support before gingerly and slowly making her way over to the window. She couldn't see a thing through the cloud but she could certainly hear what was going on. A debate crossed her mind for a second. On the one hand she was simply an ambassador and could just roll with whatever happened. On the other she was military and the Meowtians liked their idea of honour. Well that was easy enough. Francessca took a few steps back before hurling her magic boomerang through the window. She payed no attention to where it went and didn't actually notice McManus duck to avoid her throw. She turned to Jaya and Grover. "I'd get the blast doors back down if I were you."

Tag: Jason Conway, Capt. Kelly Miller, Michael Hurley, Jaya Bakshi, Andrew McManus