Episode Two - Fear Is What We Learn

[Paul Riley]

1853
Briefing Room
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System

Their first hour in Meropis Orbit and an alien vessel had attempted a skirmish on the Sun Tzu, who could have seen that coming? Commander Riley, at least he hoped he was still commander by the end of the day, turned to face the briefing room full of weary looking faces. Some of the new Chinese heads of department had opted to join them for this one, he was thankful they could at least speak the same language as him and could progress through the agenda at his usual speed. Riley nodded to Cira Knight, acknowledging her promotion to F-302 Squadron Leader, and nodded in a similar respect to Corran Halcyon who had assumed the Executive Squadron Leader for the 302s. There were a few other faces in the room that he recognized, a few of them certainly more intelligent than him, something he thought might come in handy on this particular mission.

Taking a seat Riley began to pass out the paper documents, sliding them across the oak varnished briefing table to all gathered round. Those who couldn't get a seat reached over to get themselves a copy or simply glanced over shoulders.
"Alright team. First of all congratulations to all promoted, we all know theres been a lot of major shake-ups in the expedition structure, and a welcome aboard to our new friends."
A chorus of welcomes and congratulations reverberated around the room before silence found it's way back to the Colonel.
"Gate Ops picked up this strange reading two days ago. Now we've seen moons with electromagnetic properties before, but whats interesting about this one is that two days ago... This planet didn't have a moon." Riley let these words sink in, then realizing that it wasn't uncommon for planets to pick up stray comets as moons he dropped the other fact on the room.
"The other interesting point is the speed in which this moon completes its orbit, which doesn't fit for the size of the moon compared to the size of the planet. This moon achieves a complete orbit every 40 minutes."

Paul didn't want to get wrapped up in boring facts and statistics, but he had to do his job and brief his team on what they were walking in to. He noticed Alecia Brannagh, the Athosian, had joined them for this mission. Thinking back to why Riley had approved this, her grounds were simply that she wanted to explore and see as much of the Galaxy as she could, and he admired this.
"So team, anybody got any ideas as to what this... moon, might be? We'll be arriving at the planet in just under an hour."
Riley didn't want to tax the hyper-drive engines so soon after the extensive journey they had undergone, so he had opted to travel the length of the solar system on full sub-light. Which would get them there in about 7 hours. Most of the crew had used the time to affect a few last minute internal repairs and upgrades. He had used the time to meet several new crew members, get used to the minor upgrades that the efficient new Chinese crew had affected on the ship and allow the new crew to settle in to their positions. Now that they were in the final hour of the trip it was time to see what people could come up with, although he suspected ultimately they wouldn't find out what it was until they got there.

<Tag Sun Tzu Team>(See Mission Briefing for placements)>

[Deleted]

1854
Briefing Room
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System

Cira nodded at Riley as she entered the room, followed by her squad and her quiet RIO, Sadie.

Cira was thrilled about her promotion, and she hoped her crew, which was mostly male would listen to her faithfully. When they all got started on the briefing, Cira chewed on one end of her own pen in thought for a moment. A rapidly spinning moon? Weird. As if a giant dragonfly thing striking her craft was bad enough. She stopped gnawing on her pen after a bit. "Honestly, I can't think of any kinda planet that does that. If you're talkin' stars, Pulsars move pretty quickly; so do some binary systems. From what I recall anyway. So honestly, I dun have too many ideas, sir." she figured they'd probably save that question for later if no one had too many wild ideas.

Sadie sat quietly next to her, studying the papers, every now and then eying the screen.

<Tag: any>

[Deleted]

1853
Briefing Room
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System

Corran was already in the briefing room when Colonel Riley and most of the staff walked in. He was standing at the back of the room, twirling a small gold coin between his fingers as he thought about his new promotion to Squadron XO. As Colonel Riley talked about the moon that just appeared, Lt. Knight said something about stars. Corran stopped spinning the coin and said in his thick British accent "Mum I don't mean to interrupt but Sir what could create such an object or even cause an object of that size to move into this solar system". Corran went back to twirling the coin while thinking about the fact that he hadn't been anywhere near the British Isle in almost seven years but still had his thick accent .

<Tag:Riley>

[Deleted]

1855
Briefing Room
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System

The Briefing Room, a rather large place on board the Acropo...no...the Sun Tzu. That was going to be hard to remember, given the fact that he had received the notice of the name change shortly before boarding the vessel.

Master Sergeant Joshua Bishop had been assigned to the Meropis expedition shortly after they had established contact via Atlantis, so when the Sun Tzu had returned, Joshua had been there, along with the Chinese; ready to board the BC-304.

Now on their way to the planet they were having this briefing about, Joshua found himself in the Briefing Room along with most of the pilots and the commander of the Sun Tzu.

"Is it possible that this...whatever it is, is a naturally occurring event?" he asked as he turned from the window, arms folded across his chest.

TAG: Everyone in Briefing Room>

[Alecia Kazuko Brannagh]

1857
Briefing Room
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System
Outfit

The Athosian girl leant back on a wall situated on the right side of the room, the crew were gathered here to undergo mission briefings before heading out to complete the task. It had taken some time for her to convince Riley to allow her aboard the ship for this mission; as a citizen, it was necessary for Alec to prove herself to the other members, she had not been on Earth these past few years to have any military training whatsoever, what she did possess was raw fighting skill and a knack for being perceptive. An annoying knack for some, but a great attribute no doubt.

She gazed about the room, once again wearing an outfit that made her stand out from the crowd, all of whom were dressed up in their uniforms. Alec had never felt quite comfortable in the uniform they had provided for her, wearing her own attire allowed her to move more freely and besides, comfort was a must, you couldn't be stealthy if you continuously had to fidget in your jacket or your trousers. The crew all filed in and Riley turned to acknowledge them all, sure she had been one of the first here, but sitting at the front never appealed to her - this was she could stand back and consider things more openly, as well as gauge everybody elses reaction to the mission and to just being here in general.

Riley pushed some files out on to the desk and so, just like everyone else, Alecia moved forward to grab herself a copy before slinking back to her spot, her eyes scanning across the document. Riley gave a brief speech for those who were new here and those who had been promoted and she heard the shouts from the other members as they celebrated. She gave a small smile at them all before she let her eyes finish looking through what they had just been given while listening to the following words from Riley. Alec's brow furrowed slightly at the facts and as she glanced up she saw she wasn't the only one thinking about what this could possibly be.

A few people spoke up offering suggestions for what this 'moon' could be or what could cause it to orbit in the way it is. She folded her arms and turned her body so that her back was against the wall and her whole front to the room, the documents hanging in her hand. "Is there a possibility that this isn't a moon at all?" Alec spoke up after another young member, although she was still possible the youngest one here. "If it's not orbiting like a moon, if the sizing is off and if it was never there before..." She paused, looking around at everyone before she drew her attention back to Riley. "Well... it if it doesn't sound like a moon, why are we calling it a moon?"

[Paul Riley]

1858
Briefing Room
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System

Commander Riley took in the comments made by the assembled throng, what if it wasn't a moon? This was an all too worrying thought.
"Either way, this... object appears to be giving off strange electromagnetic readings and base has asked we check this one out."
He let that sink ink, the pause to reclassify the moon as an object, and the new information about electromagnetic readings, this was an alien galaxy and there was no way anybody could predict what they were about to get themselves in to.

Riley rose from his seat at the head of the table.
"We'll be arriving near the planet in approximately 15 minutes team, I want everybody ready for the worst. I don't think we'll be launching the 302s, but there is a chance we might need to beam items in or people out so take whatever precautions you feel necessary."
He saluted to the room, who saluted back with the exception of the civilian and alien crew members. With that Riley pushed past and made his way to the bridge, leaving the rest of the crew to make their own preparations.



1910
Bridge
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System

Paul stood at the front of the bridge, gazing out throw the screen as the Sun Tzu slowed its approach to the planet, he noticed in the corner of his eye a few other familiar faces making their way onto the bridge. Everybody getting ready for the moment where they would find out what this strange thing was. Riley glanced at the screens displayed various scanners, counting under his breath.
"3... 2... 1..." There it goes. The object passed in front of the Sun Tzu, directly ahead and maintaining a very fast orbit, it disappeared downwards and out of view as it made it's way around the planet again. Riley gestured to the first and second pilots sat at their consoles,
"Thats close enough bring is to a stop. Forward thrusters at 10%... And... Stop... Alright, anybody got anything of interest?" Riley said to the bridge as a whole, the object had just passed quite clearly through their scanners so information would be assembling itself on various monitors at this moment. He waited for some of the brighter crew members to come up with something as he resumed his seat in the command chair.

<Tag Sun Tzu Crew>

[Alecia Kazuko Brannagh]

1859
Briefing Room
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System
Outfit

Her idea seemed to sink in to the Commander, she wondered if anybody else had considered this wasn't a moon... Alecia looked about the room, surely she wasn't the only one? She wasn't the brightest of the lot here, all this technology was quite new and different to her, seeing as she came from a world whose technological advancement had been wiped clear by the Wraith. Aside from a few little gadgets like the famous Fire Started her aunt would carry with her. Alecia herself had her own, given to her by her mother not long before she and Alec's father disappeared. The Athosian girl kept this gadget safe in her quarters though, it was not something she was going to risk losing.

The Commander rounded up the briefing, letting everyone know to be on their guard for anything. It was a new galaxy for everyone, not just Alec and no one knew what to expect. So far, every galaxy the SG teams had ventured into had unearthed some big mean enemy and she was sure everyone was anticipating the same for this galaxy. She knew she was, there was never anything good without something bad - how would we appreciate the good things otherwise? Everyone gave a salute to the commander, which Alec still found a curious tradition for the Tau'ri and hadn't quite caught on to doing it herself yet. But she wasn't the only citizen who hadn't. Alec instead gave a nod of her head to the Commander and headed out the door with everyone else. The written brief in her hand still, she would give it a proper look while the fifteen minutes ticked by.

1912
Bridge
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System
Outfit

Alec made her way down the corridor to the Bridge, it was closing in on the time of arrival, with a few minutes to spare. But as the doors to the Bridge came in to view, the ship came to a halt. Had they gotten here earlier than they had thought? She continued on in her stride, the doors opening automatically for her entrance and as she stepped through them, the commanders voice could be heard speaking out to everyone. "Alright, anybody got anything of interest?" His question was aimed at everyone and anyone who was at a station capable of scanning and receiving data about the strange object orbiting this planet. Alec was still fairly oblivious to how to work any of this technology, so she kept to herself, watching as the Tau'ri bent over their stations, analysing the scan data, wondering what it was they had found.

[Paul Riley]

1917
Bridge
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System

They waited as the scanners collated the data. The first pilot silently presented Riley with the readings on a tablet before returning to his station. Riley scanned it quickly then looked back up at the observation window. Before he could come to any sort of conclusion the pilot spoke again, notifying the crew that the object was inbound again.
"It picked up speed?" According to the tablet it was due to pass on exactly the same course, about two miles ahead of the Sun Tzu. The commander took his chair and waited patiently, watching the scanner is it neared. This was where things changed, at this moment, the mission turned from observation to worry... The object, began to slow.

Riley, sensing danger, immediately stood up. The object slowed considerably before passing mere meters from the nose of the Sun Tzu. The ship shook violently as the massive black and purple ball of seething static and lightning passed them by. They were yells, consoles exploded in showers of sparks, blackouts and power cuts rolled throughout the ship and the alarm systems went haywire. People stumbled and fell as the deck shook. Then the object had passed.

The systems quickly restored themselves, being of the highest grade of equipment they were built for power cuts like this, no doubt the backup generators were already running. The crew shut off the alarms and worked on getting what they could online and quarantining the rest. The sensors indicated the object was continuing around the planet at it's new slow speed. With a grave expression on his face Riley turned to the assembled crew,
"So much for it being a moon then... Is everybody alright? Anybody have any idea what the HELL that could have been? How the hell did it change course like that?"

<Tag Cira Knight>

[Deleted]

1918
Bridge
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System

"Um, wtf?" Cira had been knocked out of her chair, though had caught herself by her hands and feet. Getting into an upright position once the tremors passed, she eyed the object as it moved away. "It's obviously controlled by something, no planets do that kinda crap on a regular basis. It could be a giant orb of...something. What we see there could be disguising the rest of whatever it contains, I dunno. It could just be a hella weird being or some kind of transport device, I dunno." Cira said. "But that is definitely the weirdest thing I've seen yet." she muses, quite literally staring at the main viewing screen of the ship. Cira was just spilling guesses, most of which seemed unlikely/unrealistic.

<OFF>
<Tag: Corran>

[Deleted]

1853
Pilots Breifing Room
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System

Corran was sitting in one of the chairs in the Pilots Briefing room When he saw the "orb" pass buy the small window that was at the back of the room. He nearly fell out the chair when he saw how it was reacting. Pressing his radio he said "This Lt. Corran Halcyon did anyone else just see that our object changed corse and speed". Corran shook his head as he tried to regain his blance not sure what he just saw.

<Tag Alecia Brannagh>

[Paul Riley]

1920
Bridge
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System

Riley replied on the radio to all concerned,
"Yes. I am well aware it changed course AND speed. No, I do not know why, we're just figuring that part out."
He began pacing again, something the commander did when he was frustrated or concerned. What in the world was going on here. Riley's mind was blocked, for a brief moment he felt confused. Until clarity came through like a ray of sun on a cloudy day. His mind clicked and started racing. Right. This clearly isn't a moon, this has some sort of intelligence or programing as it investigated the ship. Therefore it could be deemed a threat this close to the still hidden city of Meropis. It needs to be assessed and if it is a threat, eliminated.

"Follow it." Was his simple command. The first pilot nodded and put the controls in. The mysterious object was making it's way slowly around the planet. The Sun Tzu set off on sublight engines following the trail of the object. One way or another they would soon know what was going on. Riley hit the ship -wide com channel.
"Everyone to battle stations. We're taking up chase and are closing the distance fast. We don't know what this is but it might not take kindly to being followed. Stand by."
The forward railguns were armed and locked, the ship drew near... any minute now they would be coming up on it. The ship groaned under the tension.

<Tag whoever is next>

[Plot Twist]

1923
Bridge
BC-304 Sun Tzu
Meropis Solar System

<Joint post between Plot Twist, Admin and Paul Riley>

As the Sun Tzu closed in on it's target, the tension on the bridge felt like it could be cut with a knife. Paul glanced at one of the overhead monitors and noted that data on the strange object was being gleaned for later observation. He looked around the bridge at the various technicians working diligently and returned his gaze to the window, waiting patiently for the gap to close. The ship slowed as flight officer Major Hunter activated the reverse thrusts to counter their approach, bringing the ship just close enough to the strange, teeming ball of energy which had now come to a stop. Paul stood up from his command chair, taking in what he could see. It was almost as if a shroud of purple lightning was wrapping itself around a giant black golf ball, no larger than a satellite. It was hard to tell, given that the background of the view ahead was mostly the dark deep space hues that he was now getting used to seeing. The solar system's star was behind the Sun Tzu and their quarrel was now almost all but behind this as yet un-named planet on the outer edge of the star system, so lighting was low at best.

The commander felt like he was at a loss as to what to do with this thing. He did not have time to consider his next move however as the object... activated. Paul squinted, was it moving... or growing? He noticed that the purple lighnting swarming across the dark surface began to spark even more furiously. Just as Paul began to wonder if the object was indeed increasing in size a nervous voice sounded off behind him,
"Sir... I'm detecting a rapid energy build up within the object, and it appears to have started back toward us!"
The commander thought quickly. No chances, no mistakes. No. Paul's mind quickly flashed back to the Korolev being destroyed by the Ori, and the Sun Tzu's near death encounter with the Wraith Super-Hive. The Meropis Expedition needed this ship and Paul's duty was to protect her and everyone on board.
"Sir, this is bad news!" The panicked voice was heard again over the general throng of activity on the bridge.
"Fire Asgard beams. Destroy it."

Commander Riley was taking no chances. The Sun Tzu had been equipped with Asgard weaponry during it's refit before the expedition launched. Riley wasn't keen on using these weapons as the engineering process shown to Stargate teams by the Asgard meant that the ship's ZPM was taxed even more than it had been so far. With only one ZPM on board and only one in Meropis, Riley was keen to avoid any mistakes when it came to power usage. He watched as the beams had powered up and fired on the object. Just as it had begun to grow in size, the weapons were proven effective, the object exploded. It was a powerful explosion that rocked the Sun Tzu. Riley stumbled and grabbed onto the nearest console. He was thankful that he had given the order for shields up further back as debris bounced off the ship's shields. The main brunt of the explosion cleared and Paul rose to his feet again. He noticed some of the floating debris looked like some sort of strange molded metal. What was that thing? Paul paused to think. The scientists would give him hell for this, there would be political arguments and a report would need to be submitted. At the end of the day, Paul considered it to be dangerous, it was clearly made by somebody and was building up in energy. The effect it had on the ship's system did not bode well either. No, it was a threat and that threat had been eliminated. The tension calmed and the bridge crew were able to breathe again. Paul turned to flight officer Hunter.
"Set a course back to Meropis. Report that the threat has been eliminated."
"Aye Sir"
The ship's sub-light engines powered up and brought her around in a wide arc back toward the planet. A team of very intelligent people would now need to sift through what data that had managed to glean on the object to try and determine it's purpose. But for now, Paul thought... Mission accomplished.

<Episode Two Complete - Thread Locked>