Episode Three - "Extinction"

[Jason Conway]

Stargate: Meropis Episode Three - "Extinction"

Summary

Following a three year hiatus, Stargate: Meropis is back! The two-part season pilot episodes were well received but the series was not picked up by a television network and thus plans were put on ice. Now, after the cancellation of SG-1, Atlantis and Universe... The Stargate franchise lives on. Meropis picks up where the fabled lost script "Extinction" left off. First it was Atlantis season six, then a direct-to-dvd movie, now the journey truly begins anew with Meropis season one. Featuring your characters. The mission begins with life-as-normal as we all get used to our new base of operations and the wonders inside, however we soon find that we may have created an enemy during Episode One and that things aren't all as peaceful as they seem. Will the Meropis Expedition survive or will we face the Extinction of not just ourselves but the last remnants of ancient technology?

SG:A Crossover

As a huge series launch cross-over episode with Stargate: Atlantis, some SG:A characters will be introduced by either admin team or the "plot twist" device. Once they have been introduced you are free to use them as part of your posts (guest appearances, hooray!) but please make sure they can complete their part of the mission, or Meropis might be in grave danger! Please note that due to Stargate franchise canon, none of the SG:A guest characters may be seriously injured or killed off during this episode unless done so by "plot twist" (and even then there may be further twists!).

Starting Thread
For this Episode, the Sun Tzu has been recalled to Earth for a crew change, using it's ZPM to power the hyper-drive and reduce the intergalactic journey to a mere five weeks. As such Meropis only has one ZPM and is therefore unable to dial Earth. With the support ship gone and all other Earth ships otherwise occupied in the Milky Way, all the action will take place within Meropis and the sub-boards on that part of the forum.


That being said, get stuck in and introduce your characters to Meropis 2.0!


THREAD LOCATED HERE

[Jason Conway]

Episode so far...
The team have been going about business as usual on the base, settling in and adjusting to life in another galaxy only to be interrupted by a city-wide tannoy announcing an object on the long range scanners fast approaching the planet. That object appeared to have the same reading as the enemy vessel from Episode One, General Conway ordered the cloak to be raised. Back in the Milky Way, Atlantis has successfully relocated itself and landed on the moon to establish a permanent lunar base.

The alien vessel had taken up orbit above Meropis and fired a projectile shot into the woodlands near the city, causing an explosion that sent vibrations throughout. A warning shot or a lucky miss? The city then detected a looping broadcast in a strange alien dialect which required patching to interface with our systems. Once patched in, the alien Etruscan warrior revealed itself, providing an image on the Meropis screens. It is still unclear if they know the exact location of the city-ship or what their demands are. Meanwhile, Todd the Wraith was transported by Lt. Col. Sheppard and Major. Lorne from Area 51 on Earth to Atlantis on the moon. Radek Zelenka and Rodney McKay were assigned the task of bringing the Stargate online to supersede the Earth gate, however they have encountered a problem...

The enemy began firing upon the ancient city of Meropis. After a solid 45 minutes of combat during which the jumpers were deployed to intercept the enemy fighters, city's shield was raised and the shield was infiltrated! Three enemy scout ships managed to glide harmlessly through and deposit a platoon of enemy foot soldiers at the base of the tower. Members of SM-1 headed to the scene to combat the enemy but were shocked as it took nearly an entire P90 magazine to bring down just one of the aliens. Meanwhile, two further enemy ships arrived in orbit following an unsuccessful attempt by Captain Jones in the drone chair to penetrate the first enemy ship's hull. As if the battle couldn't take a turn for the worst, the enemy rebroadcast themselves on all channels revealing what appeared to be a member of the expedition as prisoner with many of the base questioning how this was possible.

[Jason Conway]

Continued...
The alien vessel in Meropis Orbit had opened a barrage of fire down upon the city, taxing the city shields quite heavily. At this time it is still unclear what the aliens want, but Dr. Black had managed to identify them as part of the mythological Etruscan Empire. The enemy launched hordes of fighters which our rail guns and puddle jumpers had a hard time keeping at bay, resulting in their second wave of scout ships being able to land and drop small platoons of enemy warriors on the surface. Much to the horror of General Conway, the enemy scout ships were able to glide harmlessly through the shields somehow, this resulted in a squadron of warriors walking right into the lower decks of the city. Ahrima the Jaffa teamed up with Warrant Officer Evans, Captain Callaghan and the base XO Captain Jones to try to defend the base from these invaders. Several marines were shot, some were wounded and a few were killed in the ensuing combat however, as it was revealed that these alien warriors needed an entire P90 magazine to kill them, and once brought down their armor would self-destruct. The team managed to stop the invaders but not before they had managed to drain a significant amount of power from the primary conduits into a device they had brought with them.

Back on Earth, Atlantis (having relocated to the moon) was experiencing some difficulties. An ancient fail safe had activated as a result of the city being relocated from the Pegasus Galaxy and the city began power up exponentially. Dr. Rodney McKay diagnosed the problem and revealed after a few other attempts to work around it, that the city would essentially blow up the moon unless they activated the wormhole drive once more. With only minutes to decide Richard Woolsey gave the go ahead and the city jumped through the wormhole, leaving Earth and the Moon safe and intact.

In the Triangulum Galaxy, it was revealed that the prisoner aboard the enemy ship was Andrew McManus, a former Meropis Soldier that had been declared "missing in action" after the first encounter in Episode One and was the only person to have been taken by the Etruscans. It becomes evident that his violent torture has led to some, but not all, information about the Expedition. Conway asks Captain Jacob Oliver to take a Jumper to the alien ship and retrieve him. Oliver does so with the help of another captive aboard the ship, a native of the Galaxy called Oberon who reveals himself to be a prince and potential future ally. McManus, Oliver and Oberon then look to set C4 charges in the ship's power plant before attempting to escape.

Meanwhile, the battle raged on outside in orbit with two further Etruscan mother ships dropping out of hyperspace to join the bombardment. The Meropis shields could not cope under the immense power and failed completely, but not before Captain Jones managed to fire off enough drones from the control chair to disable primary systems on one of the vessels. General Conway had ordered that the alpha site be dialed and evacuation begin. Just in the pinch of time, Atlantis arrived having detected Meropis' signal via the ancient sub-space systems. Lt. Col. John Sheppard ordered Atlantis to fire drones on the enemy ships, engaging them enough to stop the bombardment on the city below. At this stage Meropis is now one third ruined by the battle and the evacuation is now halted. Will McManus and Oliver make it out of the alien ship in time? Will more enemy vessels arrive? Will Atlantis be able to destroy the enemy vessels? Only time will tell.

[Jason Conway]

And Finally...

With mere moments to spare. McManus, Oliver and co on the alien vessel made a break through a busy fighter bay to their cloaked jumper. Just as they escaped Atlantis opened fire with a full compliment of drones, taking out the enemy vessel. The explosion from the first enemy vessel combined with the drone attack destroyed the second ship. With two huge blasts illuminating the sky above the city, a cheer rose from within the confines of Meropis. The third alien vessel turned tail and entered hyper-space, fleeing the battle and hopefully spreading the message that the expedition is not to be messed with. Meanwhile, Callaghan and the team from the Star Drives had made their way back up to the control room to report several injured marines but a successful mission and the enemy intruders taken out. With the battle over and the dust beginning to settle, all eyes turned to the future and what this meant for the expedition. Atlantis said their farewells and departed, via hyper-drive, to the Pegasus Galaxy. Conway began dialing the Stargate for a check in with Earth... There was a lot to explain.