Episode One - One Way Trip

[Jason Conway]

Planet Surface
Meropis
1224 Zulu

The familiar white light flashed up, bringing with it the traditional beaming noise signaling that several people had just been beamed down to the planet surface from the Sun Tzu, which now assumed a random orbit pattern... Just in case. Even when nobody is looking it can't to cover your tracks and not look suspicious. The pilots were probably landing right about now at the other destination and getting out of their 302's.

It had taken over 20 minutes for everyone to get fully geared up, but there was no immediate threat and the team had time to waste. General Conway was equipped in black ops gear as used frequently by the Atlantis expedition. He had chosen the P90 and had clipped it to his vest with an M9 sidearm at his right hip. Jason couldn't wait to find Meropis, it was a weight off everyone's minds now that they knew it was here for sure somewhere. He felt like a kid at Christmas, so many new toys to play with. He had a brand spanking new Blackhawk helicopter and a few tons of fuel stored in the Sun Tzu' spare F-302 bay, they only gave him the one but he was looking forward to using that. Conway was an old-fashioned kind of guy, he would prefer to have a helicopter as back-up should the Puddle Jumpers fail for whatever reason.

He allowed time for him and the other military personnel to thoroughly scan their immediate surroundings and make sure the coast was clear before he turned to the team behind him. He noticed Hansford had come equipped with a weapon too, as did Cafferey, McCallister and the Athosian girl. Pandora Banks, he noted, had come armed with a tablet laptop.
"Okay Team. We've been beamed down a quarter of a mile from the outer-most radius of the green dot which may or may not be Meropis. If it is, we are looking for a cloaked city. Which sounds kind of strange... but look out for anything out of the ordinary, form up, stay sharp and don't get too close to the wildlife."
He signaled the team to move out and proceeded to head on in the direction they'd told him it was. He motioned for Cafferey to take point with a few others and fell in among the center of the group, at a relaxed walking pace. He kept his hands on his P90 but not in any way that he might immediately use it, just a caution in case this planet had giant blood-sucking insects or something else equally creepy.

<Tag Non-Pilots Team>

[Alecia Kazuko Brannagh]

Planet Surface
Meropis
1226 Zulu
Outfit and weapons

Well, it seemed they had solved the problem and once everyone was fully assembled they were off to figure out a new problem. Which of the two cloaked dots was Meropis. Admittedly, she should have been a bit more nervous. Most civilians would have been with the aspect of embarking into territory that could possibly be full of enemies. But her life had toughened Alec up, much like the numerous training the military members had undergone. Alec made sure her daggers were settled firmly into the straps upon trousers, she didn't much like the restriction of the ordinary uniform and so still wore what she had on the bridge, allowing her to move freely and quickly. That fact alone gave her a bit more confidence.

They beamed down onto the surface, all the guys carrying their guns. They all had various ones and the differences were beyond Alecia at this current moment in time, she much preferred to stick to her daggers, swords, staffs and body to get the job done. There was no speech between everyone for a few moments as they all looked around to take everything in, it was amazing how much alike all the planets could be, but teeming with differences. A big grin could be seen on the young girl's face and one that she was not ashamed to show, despite the seriousness of the expedition. "Brilliant..." She breathed to herself just before Conway turned to speak to them all.

Alecia immediately pulled her eyes back to him, a tough feat indeed but she managed it as she listened to him with keen ears. She took her position as they began heading forward, her arms swinging at her sides as if she were in familiar territory. She trained hard to be agile enough to be at the ready if there was any danger and her weapons were within easy reach. Her eyes and ears were on the alert, scanning the area as she had done many times on her home planet.

[Deleted]

1226
Meropis; planet surface

Falling back behind the group as he often did, Raiden and Jacob both used P90's. ~This should be fun, wonder if we'll come across anything dangerous before we get to Meropis,~ Raiden wondered, hoping he didn't jynx them thinking that. Any minute now, he half wondered how soon his brother would start humming or singing, though he knew he didn't usually do it around others unless he was in a good mood.

[Deleted]

1227
Meropis; planet-side

Raiden's guess was rather accurate, and after they proceeded onto solid ground a bit, Jacob began to hum one of the military jodies "Mission top secret, destination unknown." well it kind of applied to what they were dealing with, but this expedition was only partially an air born operation (seeing how the song is actually about being an air born ranger/PJ). Well, it had a nice tune to it, regardless.

Jacob moved towards the front of the group, where he usually liked to be, a bit off from Lucas to his right a step or two behind. "I'll watch right, you watch left sir?" he offered with a light smirk.

<Tags: Lucas!>
(Like i said, i promise the posts will get better, just eh, distracted, but don't want to get left behind!)

[Deleted]

1228
Planetside
Meropis

Lucas took point, his Colt Commando at the ready. It wasn't a small weapon, more like a sub machine gun but it got the job done.

"Just keep your eyes open. I don't want anything sneaking up on us." Lucas replied to Jacob.
He caught the small smile from Jacob but didn't respond to it. Why people had to smile on missions was beyond him.


All around them were weird looking trees and wildlife, but nothing out of the ordinary per say.
Around a small bend there stood an animal, what looked like a cross between a horse and a camel. It had the long, thin legs and the long neck of a camel, but the body and a bit of the face of a horse.
It was jet black with what looked like fur along it's back as well, however along the tops of it's legs were spiky things, almost like big points off of sandburs.

Upon seeing the group, the animal raised it's head and let out a loud grunt as it backed up several steps.

"Hmm...you don't see something like that every day." Lucas commented.

<Tag Open>

[Dominic Evans]

1229
Planetside
Meropis

Warrant Officer Steve Evans (First Class) was among the small party selected by Lt. Col. Cafferey for beaming down to explore 'Possible Meropis Site A'. He strolled along amidst the group, one hand on his SA-80. The IOA had allowed him to keep a British weapon through thick and thin, he had chosen one of the Zat's as his sidearm. His flack jacket was full of all sorts of trinkets; C4 Explosive, Binoculars, Radio, Chocolate bars... A standard SGC off-world kit list.

He didn't speak much to anyone but had been in the canteen for the hour or so before they arrived. Evans had enjoyed the General's speech somewhat, I mean you would - compared to the boring constant dull air of activity in a ship on a journey like that. He didn't know how Riley and his team did it day in day out. Evans was used to action, he had toured the Middle East back on Earth and for a short period of time led SG-22 in the Milky Way. He proudly, or shamefully depending on your outlook on war, had chalked up six Ori soldiers to his name. Evan's mind took him back to the ship. He hadn't been very good at socializing but had made one or two friends. Pandora Banks was one, he liked the scientist alot.

Flashback
Pandora Banks was walking down the hall just in front of Officer Evans. He couldn't help but check her butt out, he did to almost every female on the expedition. She stopped and began having a furiously fast conversation with one of the civilian scientists. Evans leaned against the wall and watched. The civilian conceded defeat,
"Well, I guess you're right then."
"Thats because I'm smarter than you then isn't it. Now go... Run along!" Pandora sighed as she snatched the civilian's laptop and walked off in the opposite direction.
Evans smirked, he liked her, he could see why people found her annoying. He liked annoying. There was a limit to annoying though, he thought as a few of the F-302 pilots walked past. The friction between the pilots and the non-pilot military staff had been growing in the confined space of the ship. Steve knew he would be happy to have decent fresh air.
Flashback

Steve fell in next Alecia as they walked on. He checked her out up and down and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows - she looked like she had walked right out a comic book! The cloak, the hidden daggers, the boots. Evans knew if Teyla was anything to go by that this Athosian could probably have him on the floor with a dagger to his throat at any moment if she really put her mind to it, he would put up a fight of course.

Dismissing these thoughts he spoke up as they paused to remark on the strange horse-like creature that had reared it's head at them.
"I don't know about in the Pegasus Galaxy, but we don't get creatures as weird as that back on Earth..."
He swatted a small bug as it landed on his neck, removing it carefully so as to keep it alive he studied it. It seemed to have two wings that revolved like helicopter blades. It got to it's feet and zipped off again as Evans muttered, "What the hell...".
He shook it off and carried on walking with the group. So they were looking for an invisible city, he had to wonder if anybody knew what they were doing on this mission.

<Tag Alecia, Pandora... Open>

[Pandora Banks]

Planet Surface
Meropis
1230 Zulu

Pandora cannot help but stare around her, wide-eyed, like an excited child in a Christmas grotto. She wonders if it is Christmas - she had lost track of time travelling for so long. The general feeling is definitely festive though.

She hears the warning about the wildlife, but following this order is easier said than done. Something rather like a huge venus fly-trap, adorned with a single massive pink flower, leers from underneath a spreading tree, which itself is covered in trailing vines. She aches to reach out and touch them, but knows this would be foolish. Still, when the base on Meropis is established, she thinks, I will definitely be sending out teams to collect some of these species for study. She smiles, suddenly more at home than she had been since she left Earth.

Still, she reminds herself, this may not be the right place at all.

After they have been walking a few minutes, her heart begins to sink. No walls loom from the distance, near or far. Nothing remotely technological presents itself, nothing industrial, nothing even residential. This planet is most definitely uninhabited - they had picked up no life signs in their initial scans, but it looks like no one had ever lived here. Or worked here. Or built anything. The entire place is wild, strewn with trees and alien flora. A weird creature ran past a while ago, a sort of antelope perhaps, on spindly almost spidery legs, but since then nothing in the way of animal life had appeared, at least, not to Pandora's eyes.

They emerge into a large plain, a grasslands of some kind, but still exotic. The grass is a deeper, more vibrant green than earth grass, like shining emeralds. Again, there isn't any sign of life, save for a single crow-like bird, now or ever in this barren place's history. Maybe this is the wrong place.

The entire team stops in their tracks, almost simultaneously, surveying the area with an air of importance.Within seconds the confidence turns to confusion.

"These are the exact co-ordinates..." says Conway, slowly.

Evans, someone she had spoken to only briefly a few times in their journey, seems to be trying to sidle over to her. She edges a little away, uncomfortable in his presence. She knows she likes him, he's very friendly, but a bit of a womaniser perhaps - she just gets that feeling. But she feels guilty speaking to any man here. Alex would be back in their house now, alone, not knowing and not wanting to know where she was or what she is doing. The thought pangs her heart and she tries to stop thinking about it. It just makes her feel abandoned.

"So, Banks, what do you think?" says Evans, still trying to shuffle through the crowd towards her.

Pandora isn't listening. She is too busy watching the crow-bird, too long-feathered for an earthly bird, which is now sitting, perched....in mid air. It even turns it's head to preen its feathers a little - something about it appears terribly smug.

[Alecia Kazuko Brannagh]

Planet Surface
Meropis
1231 Zulu

Alec felt her spidey-sense tingling, when you became accustomed to looking out for danger, you also became skillful at sensing when you had eyes on you and so she turned her head back to see just who it was. Her eyes fixed upon another military member who seemed quite perplexed about her, well, that wasn't something out of the ordinary either considering her outfit didn't quite carry the same look the bulky uniform did. But it looked a whole lot better than her walking about in a dress with them all. Although Alec would probably serve as good bait then as she would look quite like a little damsel, the weak spot. She toyed with that idea in her mind for a second, imagining the shock on the enemies face when they found she wasn't quite as weak as she appeared.

But then she remembered the reason she was walking in this awkward position, "Was it never told on your planet that staring is rude?" she queried, giving him a look that said if he didn't take his eyes off her now, he'll more than likely lose a couple of close friends. Alec didn't take too kindly to being gawped at like she was some exotic animal in a zoo. Oh, and talking about exotic animals, it seemed that had walked into a bunch of them. Lucas spotted the first, followed quickly by the guy who had been staring at her. "Oh wow," Another amazed breath expelled from her mouth as she stared in awe at the two creatures.

It was then that she heard a rustling in the bushes beside her and Alec pulled her attention back round to her front, watching as a small little creature poked it's head out of the bushes to see what all the noise outside was about. It was rather odd looking, yet again. With the head shape of a rabbit, but it's ears were immensely long and very pointy and the eyes look like that of a cat's, a deep amber colour and large as they stared at her. It's fur was a dark brown, growing darker as it got to the tips of it's ears and around it's eyes. "This place... I've never seen anything quite like it." She'd been on her fair share of planets, enough to be able to state that with reason.

Her words had only just left her lips as it appeared the whole group had drawn to a halt. Alec pulls her eyes away from her surroundings to find out why but it was not her sight that answered her, but Conway's words. They had reached a location where Meropis could have been. But it appeared that they had not struck gold. Her eyes follow the same direction as Pandora's, spotting that bird perched in mid-air. "Y'know, something about that makes me think someone had a little slip up..." A bird couldn't just perch on nothing, right? Was everyone thinking the same as her...?

[Deleted]

Planet Surface
Meropis
1232 Zulu

"Just keep your eyes open. I don't want anything sneaking up on us."

"Yeah, uh, I can do that much sir." Jacob replied, able to resist rolling his eyes by glancing off to the right as they walked along.

Jacob followed near Lucas quietly, near the front of the group. When the weird bird-like creature was spotted, he slowed his pace and watched it curiously as well. "Now that's pretty cool. Looks like something straight from a sci fi movie." he commented. He heard Raiden snort in response the back of the group.

He glanced around at the open area. "....Interesting." he commented not long after the General commented that this spot was the exact location. "Well, guess we got to tread lightly. Don't want to run into walls now do we?" Jacob said to himself in a rhetorical manner as he took some careful steps forward.

Raiden was the quiet one, help keeping watch on the rear of the group.

[Deleted]

Planet Surface
Meropis
1233 Zulu

"Any ideas how we can actually find what we're looking for?" Raiden queried, speaking up. Raiden was a bit distracted by the hovering bird, though he though it was pretty cool. "Surely there's some way to shut off the cloak, at least temporarily until we understand how it works." the Cheif of Security rambled aloud. It was an intriguing topic to him, since it was somewhat related to security, and could some day be directly related to how he managed security at Meropis. ~"If we could just find the location of the power source,"~ he thought, eye brows furrowing as he became more refocused on the situation.

[Dominic Evans]

Planet Surface
Meropis
1235 Zulu

Evans had not noticed the mystery bird perched on nothing, he did not even notice the group had slowed down to a snails pace. He was too busy admiring the wildlife... and the people. He was watching the small rabbit-like creature peek out if its bush. The Warrant Officer turned and took a step towards to creature, bending down and rubbing his fingers together in an effort to entice it over. The creature was evidently frightened, it sprang from it's bush at a startling speed and bounded off toward the middle of the clearing where it... vanished?

Steve stood up, slightly surprised. He looked around at the rest of the group, some of them were examining wildlife, most were still looking at the bird perched on nothing.
"Hey guys..." Evans started walking in the direction of where the creature had vanished into thin air. He turned to the rest of the group, walking backwards as he did so. He cleared his throat so his clear British accent rung out across the group this time,
"Hey! I think I've found someth-" His sentence was cut short.

To the others in the group, Steve simply vanished into thin air. To Steve Evans, this was a world of pain. He had stepped backwards and suddenly noticed the ancient-design walls either side of a doorway, outside of the doorway he could see the expedition looking to where he had disappeared. This all seemed to happen in slow motion as Evans took one step back too many... He lost his footing and was sent tumbling backwards down a flight of stairs. Lights began turning on around him, detecting a human presence, Evans lay in a heap in a corner where the staircase turned to the left, he clutched the back of his head in pain then checked his hand, no blood, well at least he was alright but that had hurt like hell!

<Tag planet-side expedition>

[Pandora Banks]

Planet Surface
Meropis
1236 Zulu

Evans disappears backwards, and although Pandora cannott see him, she can hear him alright. The screech he utters as he is sucked into the mysterious invisibility is not entirely manly. Something hovers behind her eyes, daring her to laugh, but it is far too dangerous for comedy right now.

Everyone else is looking around wildly, a mixture of fearful, curious and vaguely amused faces. Even the slight grins are wracked with nerves though, and Pandora knows she, and everyone else in charge, needs to move fast to avoid any further disasters.

"Where did he go? Is he dead?!" someone says, a terrified civilian. Pandora steps forward, as everyone else seems to be frozen. As she does so, she tugs a sensor device from her belt, pushes a few symbols on the touchscreen, and waits for something that migh explain what is going on, or will at least give her something useful to say.

"No, don't worry," she says. The tiny, greasy screen shows a few energy readings, far more than they had been able to pick up on the Sun Tzu, despite this devices limited capabilities. "We have a few more energy signatures from that area, where Evans disappeared. I think we are dealing with something big, something cloaked."

Now ripples of excitement seem to flow through the group. Could it be?

She strains her ears. Is that Evans' voice? Even if it isn't, something tells her that Evans is just as safe as the rest of them. At least he is invisible down there. Sure they had met only harmless-looking wildlife so far, but who was to say something lethal wouldn't show up? They had just left a huge forest, hadn't they? And don't wolves and bears live in forests?

[Jason Conway]

Planet Surface
Meropis
1236 Zulu

Conway plodded along, trying not focus on any of the strange creatures that called this planet home. He was more interested in finding the ancient city of Meropis. He had heard Raiden... or was it Jacob? One of the two twins piped up and had asked what it was they were actually looking for, or how they could find it... something like that. So many questions were being asked Jason didn't need to respond, the group was a buzz of chatter, nerves and excitement. He kept focused, surely at any moment... Yes. There it is.

He had happened to look over as Warrant Officer Evans vanished into what seemed like thin air and could not help but smirk. That HAD to be Meropis, right here in front of them, or maybe around them as they walked! Speaking of walking, this was something Jason Conway had stopped doing... and he stopped doing it very, very abruptly. With a thud he bent over in pain reaching for his face, was his nose broken? No. He knew a few people got a giggle out of it though. Jason stood up and felt in front of him, he could feel a solid wall but nothing was there! He followed it along to roughly the point where Evans had vanished and probed an experimental hand into the mysterious, invisible void. Conway turned to the rest of the group, readying his P90 and turning on the built-on torch.
"So... Who goes first then?"


Planet Surface
Inside Meropis
1237 Zulu

Evans lay there in pain clutching his lower back. He looked around him at last, the lights were off. The only light in here was flooding in through the wide open doorway, who would leave a door open like that for thousands of years? He was slumped in a corner, to his left the stairs extended up to the opening. To his right he could see stairs extending down at a right angle from the corner, further into the dark, mysterious depths of the city. There was a staircase above him as well, leading down to a landing at the doorway. This must have been some sort of ancient's version of a fire escape. He groaned as he pulled himself up into a sitting position and turned the torch on the top of his SA-80 on, rubbing the top of his head he noticed he had taken a pretty bad blow and there was some blood. He saw Conway walk up to the doorway,

"Sir, I'm alright I just took a nasty hit t-" The General couldn't hear him. He sighed and gave up. Evans had noticed the General was talking quite clearly to the others, as in his mouth was moving and he was gesturing. However no sound was breaching the shield. This was definitely a different kind of cloak to what Atlantis had been reportedly using. He watched as Conway thrust a hand through the cloak, causing it to ripple slightly and generate a weird humming noise. It was a weird sensation when you came through as well, it was like the cloak hugged the buildings very tightly as opposed to shielding it like a bubble like they had in the Pegasus Galaxy. He sighed, kept his weapon at the ready just in case and waited for the others to step through and assist him.

<Tag non-pilots>

[Alecia Kazuko Brannagh]

Planet Surface
Meropis
1237 Zulu
Outfit and weapons

The excitement all seemed to happen at once, one moment they were all stood staring at a bird perched upon nothing and then the next someone was falling down what could only be a flight of stairs with his tumbling and thudding. Alec had raised her eyebrows in surprise at the somewhat too high-pitched scream for a guy, especially when she had turned to see where it had come from, only to see that the only person they were missing was the Evans guy. Alecia couldn't help but smirk somewhat, both for the girly scream and for the fact that it had been mere moments ago that she had scolded him for staring. And now he was on his arse somewhere, well, talk about an over the top punishment.

No one seemed in any rush to go and help him out though, they all merely stared around at where he had disappeared. Some confused, the odd frightened face - but most amused for the same reason she had been. If she hadn't looked, Alec would have assumed one of the girls had fallen. Although she couldn't even imagine Pandora screaming like that and as for herself, well, Alec couldn't scream. Her reaction to that would probably be some high-pitched 'eep' rather than a scream, a little squeak that would sound out of place on the tough girl.

Alec ignored Pandora's muttering about the energy readings and instead walked forward to where Evans had fallen. She wasn't one for waiting around, she was probably the most confident looking civilian there as she headed forward, dipping through the shield just as Conway was saying 'So, Who goes first then?' Her eyes scanned the now visible building before finding their way down to where Evans lay. She managed a smile to him, rather than a laugh, "Y'know, I think you're supposed to walk down these, leave the falling to that thing you people have, what was it called again? Slingy?" It wasn't the best joke at his expense, but she knew what she meant as she moved down the stairs to explore the place further herself.

Alec got down to him and noticed the blood from the knock to his head, rolling her eyes Alec knealt down beside him to have a better look. "Men, she sighed, while she checked just how serious it was, "We can't take you anywhere..." Alec reached into the pouch situated by her weapons and pulled out some gauze, "Here," She unwrapped the gauze and handed it over to him, "You'll survive but keep pressure on that for about 15 minutes to stop the bleeding." By 'that' she meant the gash on his head, which she gave a nod to as she spoke of it.

[Chicago "Roo" Eastlyn]

Planetside
Meropis
1237 Zulu

Looking around at the plant life on the planet surface, combined with scanning the surface for any kind of transmissions, and making sure she didn't get atacked by anything, Chicago had not really looked, or spoken to anyone since landing planetside. Not very helpful in the long run, when she didn't really know anyone to begin with.

She did notice, however, when the people around her began to stir at the "disappearance" of a member of the party. Seeing a flight of stairs she realised said person has fallen down and decided to make her way over to see if she could help, even though her knowledge of first aid was "Put a band-aid on it"

<Tag: planetside expedition>

(Edit: this looked alot bigger when i typed it :S Sorry for short post, will make up for it next time)