Episode Three - Extinction

[Ahrima]

1433
Control Room
Meropis

Ahrima listened as the translation of the alien transmission was made by Doctor Black. It was nothing she hadn't heard before, though she had to wonder just how much of what this Laran said was true. He claimed to know the location of the city, and all be swore there would be no mercy if they didn't surrender. The fact that he mentioned mercy that he had no intention of showing any. Should this Laran make good on his threat, the Tau'ri, and Ahrima herself, would fall at the feet of Laran. It was why the order to raise the city's shields gave Ahrima a sense of comfort. They would fight.

The Tau'ri soldiers did not need to be told their orders. They all began to take up their stations as the cloak fell and the shields began to rise to protect the city. Their technicians worked frantically at their computers while the soldiers took up defensive stances at the balcony, their weapons trained on the enemy overhead. The enemy and the fighters that it seemed to be launching. Some of the people raced from the room, heading for the Jumper Bay. Ahrima knew that she would be no good in the machine. She was a warrior, and while she was a master of many weapons, she still preferred to actually face her enemy rather than bring them down with a long-range weapon. That wasn't to say that she had much of a choice in the matter.

Yet there was one single thought that had come to mind that Ahrima thought to raise. She moved towards General Conway, choosing to address her question to him and not the Tok'ra. "Have all personnel returned to the confines of the city?" she asked. She was all too familiar with the desire of the Tau'ri researchers to poke and prod everything in their surroundings. They'd never be content to simply examine the city and the city alone. And while they had armed escorts, there was the question of whether they were able to make it safely back. Ahrima nodded at a soldier who had returned from the armory carrying a weapon for himself and a spare. He tossed her the rifle, and as she caught it in mid-air, Ahrima examined it. It was what the Tau'ri referred to as a P-90. It wasn't her weapon of choice, but it had been suggested by her superiors to become proficient in its use, and so she had. For now, it would do.

She had to assume that seeing a large ship approaching, many of those outside would have began to run back to Meropis. Yet, if they'd made it back in time or if they'd been caught in the initial blast was the question.

<TAG All>

[Mikaere Glavish]

1434
Control Room
Meropis

"No mercy?  Really, that's what he's going with?  Glavish asked as he shook his head.  Part of him was beginning to wonder if such lines were actually printed in a "Villains for Dummies" handbook.  He took a deep breath and took a seat at his computer once more.  He looked over at Black.  "Relax.  He's probably bluffing.  I bet he'd suck at poker."  The researcher had just started to recline as he turned to get a glimpse of some fighters being launched from the large ship and heading towards the city.  He shrugged.  "Then again, maybe he's better at it than I thought."

As the order was given to raise shields, Glavish did what he could to monitor the transfer of power as the cloak was dropped and the shield to protect the city was raised.  He turned in his seat to see soldiers racing all over the place and out of the room.  And while he wasn't a marksman of any sort, he wasn't about to just sit there and be helpless.  "So, you can see the city, but can your sensors," Glavish said more to himself than anyone else.  "Let's see... if I can just piggyback off the frequency they're broadcasting on, I may be able to give them a little treat for stopping by unannounced."

Doctor Glavish's fingers moved across his keyboard as he did his best to convert the coding on a virus program.  "All right, let's see if this works," he said as he continued to work.  "I'm hoping this little bug will give their targeting sensors some false positives.  Of course, there's no telling if it'll work or how long it'd take sense it has to run through a series of conversion algorithm which may or may not...."  Glavish paused and looked at the others.  "Why am I explaining myself to you people?  Let's just say I'm trying to make them miss."

<TAG: All>

[Jason Conway]

1435
Control Room
Meropis

The General grimaced as the rail guns initiated fire on the incoming enemy ships, a quick glance at one of the heads up displays in the control room confirmed the audio broadcast stating that the jumpers were now air borne and engaging in combat. His eyes flicked up to the roof of the gate room as a great wooshing sound herald a close pass of an enemy fighter, gods they were fast. He would have loved to be able to take the time to analyze this new enemy, their reason for declaring war so suddenly and what their demands might be but there was simply no time. He needed to be the General the team were looking up to, Jason Conway needed to step in to his stripes and stars and delegate orders in aid of the defense of Meropis. He watched and listened as Captain Eastlyn in Jumper Three confirmed a kill with one of the on board drones, he gritted his teeth as both he and the Captain noticed another enemy on her tail and watched for a few seconds as the dog fight continued. A voice in the control room snapped his attention back to focus,
"Have all personnel returned to the confines of the city?"
The Jaffa had asked, the General simply moved his gaze over to Warrant Officer Evans who had been stood in the control room monitoring the situation. He saluted with a reply, "Yes Sir, I'm on it." Meaning he would immediately account for any current out-of-city expeditions and their members.

Conway's ear pricked up, the technician, what was his name... Glavish? He was feeding something back to the alien's looping broadcast. Conway eyed the screen suspiciously then smiled subtly as something happened. The screen began flickering then changed to a different view one of the aliens piloting a fighting, the alien's attention was brought to the screen, the slight distraction apparently enough for the craft to visibly shake at the impact of a rear explosion. The screen flicked again, over to another alien, then again, it seemed that whatever the scientist had done he had ensured that Meropis was "channel hopping" which could be distracting at least to the aliens. Before Conway had a chance to congratulate the man for his idea he noticed an inbound object on the sensors. One of the ships, possibly the one that had just been hit was heading right for the base of the central spire. Surely the shield would stop it? He sighed as the blip disappeared where the shield should be, success. A soft Scottish brogue interrupted his train of thought, a welcome interruption, "Perhaps not quite the time for a check up, General, bu' ya' arm, sir? Is it feelin' a'righ'?"
He gestured with the sling on his chest, the temporary handicap that the commander was painfully aware of. "Now that you mention it Hamish, it has been tingling and aching all day. I've had no time to go back and refill my prescription." Conway began to take a seat but stood bolt upright again as his eyes caught another blip on the sensors, inside the shields this time! His fear was confirmed as one of the gate technicians spoke his thoughts, "Sir, we've got two unknown life signs inside the shield, near to where the enemy ship crashed." His eyes widened, turning to Ahrima and the others he ordered, "Grab who you can and get down to the base of the tower, take them out. We cannot allow them inside." He turned back to the good doctor, then with a grimace and a shared look he decided it was best to let the CMO take a look at his arm, his soldiers knew what to do. He needed to learn to take that step back that most other Generals could do and take an overall look at the situation. General Conway took a seat and raised his arm slowly for inspection.

<Tag All>

[Jacob "Jake" Oliver]

1435
Meropis Airspace
Meropis

Within an instant, Captain Oliver and his trusty co-pilot were airborne and out of the city. Enemy fighters had closed in much faster than he, or, most likely, Captain Eastlyn could have ever imagined - and thus - they were in the heat of things before either of them would have had much time to truly prepare for combat. With his eyes fixed on the incoming fighters, Oliver piped up to the tech besides him, though his eyes did not falter from the tango's ahead.
"Do me a favor and get our cloak off. I want these war-mongering buggers with their attention on us, instead of the city." as he gave the order, the tech worked his magic and within a moment, they were visible to their foes.

Shots came bursting their way and Oliver weaved and ducked the Jumper to his best ability, executing manoeuvres to keep them out of harms way as much as possible, whilst taking a flight path that would draw fire away from the city.
"Okay, okay, okay...." he encouraged himself as shots got far closer than were comfortable, borderline grazing the ancient ship as they flew.
"Doc, I'm gonna take us back around. Please, for the love of God, tell me you don't get motion sickness, 'cause I'm not too keen on getting puked on mid-dogfight." the Captain smirked, jokingly - doing his best to lighten the mood. The tech was looking extremely tense and uneasy and thus, Oliver knew he wasn't going to like what had to be done next.

With no more warning, having drawn the enemy out far enough now - Oliver craned the jumper back, sending the Jumper upside down and soaring back at the enemy as if in a game of chicken. Straightening up and levelling out the Jumper, Oliver readied himself; eyes locked on the target and then, he launched their on-board drones.
One, then, two drones soared from the drone storage; both soaring, golden orbs finds their mark and rendering their targets immobilised.
A triumphant cheer escaped the Captain's throat as he slapped his tech firmly on the arm in excitement.
"That's what I'm talking about!" he grinned cheerily, as he allowed his sights to find their way to Captain Eastlyn who was being tailed by another enemy fighter. His joy subsided then. He felt an uneasiness overcome him. The Captain was in serious trouble, and God knew he wasn't going to sit back and do nothing while she found herself in such a state.

"Harrison, how many drones have we got left in the Jumper?" Oliver requested.

"Ah.... That's the thing sir, I think the Jumper's weapons systems are playing up.... I don't know what's going on, but, we should have more than two drones in here - but it's saying we're all out of ammunition. It might have been one of those near misses from enemy fire before. Maybe one of those shots was a little closer than we originally thought. Give me a few minutes and I might be able to override it, but -..."

Oliver didn't need to know anymore. In that moment, they didn't have the capability to fire a drone and so, he knew that taking action and helping the Captain out would have to be something far more risky than a distant sniping shot.
"Captain Eastlyn, this is Jumper Two. We're having drone problems on our end, but I'm gonna do my best to try and get that tango off your tail, ma'am. The more breathing room you can give me, the better - but the kill - it's all yours." Oliver throttled the Jumper to full speed, ducking and weaving between some of the other fire that they were receiving, before finally, he found his way to Jumper Three and the tango. He waited for the right moment, when Eastlyn's jumper was to the right of his sight and the enemy following, the left. Then he throttled forward, flashing the Jumper's cloak on and off to draw the attention of the enemy. Their jumper broke in between the gap between the Meropis ship and the enemies, forcing the tango to pull up and dart away in the opposite direction if they didn't want to render their ship completely demolished. A huge breath had been drawn in by both Oliver and Harrison in the build up, and then, relinquished when all had gone to plan.

"You nearly killed us!" Harrison called out, completely angered.

Oliver allowed a loud chuckle to escape his lips as he gave the man a wink, "It's kinda the way dogfights go, Doc. You either get killed, or have a hell'a'lot of near misses. There's no in betweens out here." he grinned

"Ma'am," the Captain clicked back into comms. "You're clear of the tango for now. Hope that buys you a little time to do what you do best." he offered, fond words of compliment for his fellow air force comrade.

<TAG ALL/CPT. Eastlyn>

[Ahrima]

1435
Control Room
Meropis

"Grab who you can and get down to the base of the tower, take them out. We cannot allow them inside."

Ahrima did not need to be told a second time. As the General gave the order, her objective became clear. "Kel'sha, General." Several of the soldiers nearby quickly began to check their guns. A pair of techs approached them, making certain they were equipped with earpieces so that they could remain in contact. As one of them came to Ahrima, the Jaffa took the device and watched as the others secured them within their ear. Following the same action, she could hear the voice of one of the techs as he practiced to make certain that the channels were clear. One of the other soldiers took a tablet that displayed a pair of red dots, which Ahrima quickly concluded were the intruders.

Ahrima checked her weapon one final time, before moving in front of the soldiers. "Arik tree-ac te kek," she said in her native tongue before deciphering her words for them. "We do not surrender, even in death." Turning, she began to move out of the control room, enroute to the the base of the tower with several of the soldiers following closely behind.

---

1439
Tower Base
Meropis

Upon making it down to the base of the tower, Ahrima couldn't help but notice how silence seemed to envelope them entirely. Her eyes scoured the area for signs of the intruders, but yielded nothing immediately. The soldiers with her began to fan out. Ahrima's eyes found the one with the table who was trying to track their movements. His eyes widened as he noticed a red dot rush directly towards him. It all happened so quickly, as the silence ended with a muffled energy blast piercing the comm officer's chest. He slumped to the ground, and the remaining forces of Meropis quickly turned their guns on the assailant.

His body buckled against the assault of the bullets, but by no means should he still be standing. Ahrima and the others continued to fire, watching him rattle with each bullet, and yet remaining on his feet. Anyone else would have been nothing more than shredded flesh. Finally, he fell to one knee and then others ceased their fire. He slumped forward, catching himself with one hand as if he was truly clinging to life. Everyone kept their eyes and their arms trained on him. And while distracted by the marvelous sight before them, weapons fire broke out once more from behind, hitting a second soldier. Ahrima quickly moved for cover, behind a nearby corner.

Pressing her back against the wall, she tried to peer around the corner to determine the whereabouts and well-being of the rest of the team. One thing was certain, the people they were dealing with were certainly formidable. Yet, despite the odds posed against them, Ahrima had no plans of experiencing defeat this day.

<TAG: All>

[Plot Twist]

0925
Gate Ops
Atlantis

Radek had been going through the last of the Gate diagnostics before they could sign off this particular part of the re-base as complete. In fact, he had done the scans twice. The results of scan number two flashed up on his terminal. Radek frowned, his hand moved to his chin as he struggled to understand the problem in front of him. Surely it must be some sort of small glitch in the diagnostic system somewhere?
"Rodney, could you take a look at this? Somethings definitely not right..." He gestured toward his screen and pushed his chair back slightly. Rodney rolled his eyes and marched over.
"Look it's just one simple scan, you run it, you check the results and you calibrate the Stargate's position slightly if needed, which as we know from the super hive in orbit, it shouldn't!" Rodney began entering the keys needed to run through the scan. He muttered to himself, and then entered further commands on the laptop. The look on Rodney's face said it all. He had stopped typing, his eyes widened.
"You see?" said Radek Zelenka, "There is a slow but steady power build up in the capacitors, ever since we reconnected the device. Rodney slowly turned to Radek,
"Yes but it's much worse than that..."
"Well surely the answer is to simply disable the Stargate until we know what the problem is." Rodney placed his hands on his head in frustration then gestured as he replied in his usual manner,
"Yeah, except as usual I am one step ahead you and I have already disconnected it. What do you think I was doing just then?"
"... and?"
"And the power build up is still there. Yes, I know!" Rodney held a hand up as Radek was about to speak, stopping him in his tracks, "It shouldn't because the Stargate is no longer connected and if it continues there isn't anything to stop it and the gate will blow up, I know, we've been there before. Remember?" Rodney leaned forward onto the ancient console in front of him, clearly frustrated and worried about this latest turn of events. He had no choice, he tapped his communicator earpiece.
"Sheppard! It's McKay, we've got a serious problem..." He relayed the information, John's reply of "what do you mean" was, in Rodney's mind, a typical reply from anybody with an IQ lower than his, "Look I don't know it could be some sort of... of ancient fail safe put in place to protect anybody from moving the city across galaxies. The only thing we've done is re-calibrated the Stargate's position from the Pegasus Galaxy to the Milky Way and then turned it back on. That's the only thing it could be... I don't know maybe manually uncoupling the Gate will solve it..."
"Alright we're on our way, sit tight." Rodney shared a look with Radek and then glanced back at the information screen, it wasn't a rapid build-up but it was noticeable nonetheless. Their mind's both cast back to the Attero device, the readings were shockingly similar, and if it was the same thing they both knew the city-ship could blow a new crater in the moon when it reached critical levels. Rodney did as ordered and sat tight until the Colonel arrived.

<Tag None>

[Dominic Evans]

1439
Tower Base
Meropis

Dominic ran down the last set of stairs as fast as he could, taking the last three in one jump, his P90 bouncing on the clip on his body armor. He had been tasked with rounding up any outstanding out-of-city science expeditions so had grabbed the day's manifest and ran for the elevator to the bottom of the tower. He had read the manifest and checked his weapon over on the way down. Just one team today, Doctor Roberts was leading two others in a biology sample gathering exercise. He rounded the last corner, stuffing the manifest into the side pocket of the black DPU's he had chosen to wear that day and brought his weapon up to bear. There they were! Cowering as a group behind a stack of crates right near the entrance, just a short distance maybe five to ten feet from the doorway. What were they waiting for? Then Evans noticed the three enemy scout ships slowly hover past, making their way to another point around the base of the tower. He cursed to himself then waved a hand signal to the scientists. Dr. Roberts spotted Evans and his eyes almost lit up, if they could have...

Evans gave a hand signal for the scientist to wait, then knelt down on one knee aiming the weapon out of the doorway, scanning the field in front of him. He then gestured. The three scientists ran toward the opening as fast as they could.
"Oh thank god, I thought we were done for we, we couldn't move because they would have spotted us and-"
"Alright, alright, enough! Get back up to control... The way this is going it might be a good idea to stop by your quarters and grab your gear as well. I'd say a swift exit is on the cards..." The three doctors nodded and set off at a crouching run toward the internal transporter. He tapped his ear piece to radio back to one of the operative's in control handling non-critical operations.
"Control this is Evans. Out of city team present and accounted for." Control radioed back confirmation. It was then that the Warrant Officer's attention was caught by the sound of three very large bangs one after another coming from the other side of the central spire. He set off at a run across the ground floor, quickly over-taking the scientists and passing straight by the elevator.

Dominic emerged just in time to see the second of Ahrima's men shot down by the furious green energy blast coming from the aliens. As he approached, moving from cover to cover, he watched how much it took to bring the alien down to it's knees. He shouted up above the noise of combat.
"Jaffa! This is Warrant Officer Dom Evans backing you up." He patted himself down, smoke grenades might be useless against these aliens and a flash bang would only give them the advantage as well. He found the one frag grenade he had picked up in his urgent scramble to get geared and unclipped it from his vest. Aiming it carefully he removed the pin and threw it as hard as he could. The grenade flew out through the open doorway landing behind the enemy personnel. The explosion missed the troops but sent one of them stumbling. Evans watched in horror as the enemy warrior slowly got to his feet again, apparently unshaken by blast. He brought his P90 to bear. Evans gave them all he had.

<Tag Ahrima>

[Deleted]

[JOINT POST BETWEEN ZODD, CONWAY & THE ENEMY]

1438
Drone Control Room
Meropis

Achilles sat in his chair, in that wonderfully reclined position that the chairs change into when activated. After communicating to the control room about drones being activated, he awaited the orders of the general for targeting, which never came. The heat of battle had sent the personnel into a sort of controlled frenzy. Claxons were going off, orders were being issued and just about everyone who wasn't completely sure of themselves had been asking General Conway what to do. Captain Jones took the ball and ran with it, he knew what needed to be done.

"Chair, Control" Achilles spoke again.
"Control here." The NCO at the communications panel in the control room said.
"Firing drones at the intruders on the ground inside the shield."
"Roger that, Captain."
"Chair, Ground patrol."
"Ground patrol here." One of the Marines with the Jaffa Lieutenant spoke into his radio.
"You guys better get small, support fire coming your way."
"Roger that, XO... Hit the deck!"

After those two radio calls concluded, Achilles smiled as he gazed up at the targeting hologram above his head, and highlighted the incoming tangos on the ground.
"Drone one, drone two, drone three, drone four away."

The drones soared from open hatch, four yellow beads of light chasing each other almost playfully as they made their way out and around toward the base of Meropis tower. The soared in and out of enemy ships and puddle jumpers alike. A new wave of enemy ships had been heading inbound, slightly different to the fighters. They almost resembled a white version of a Goa'uld scout ship, three gleaming white constructs in formation, with a triangular structure to the hull and a forward faced cockpit. The control room watched with horror as these ships, unlike the enemy fighters, had made their way down from orbit and managed to glide through the shield unaffected. Achilles diverted one of the drones, a twinge of conscious effort as he focused his attention and managed to slam it in to the back of one of these new ships, creating an explosions a little too close the tower for comfort.

---

1441
Tower Base
Meropis

The two enemy scout ships activated some sort of beaming technology. A great white beam of light emitting from the base of their hull and lighting up the ground beneath. To the shock of the Meropis personnel assembling to combat the intrusion on Meropis central spire, a small platoon of twelve enemy warriors appeared before them. The enemy soldiers quickly dispersed themselves, but some not quick enough. The three remaining drones crash into the ground with a huge bang and a flash of light. The gunfire ceased as the dust settled... Out of the cloud of thick, grey combat smoke another few bright green flashes of enemy energy weapons fire burst out toward them. Ahrima counted, two, three, four of the enemy warriors were left standing. The drone blast had worked but they were now being pushed back in to the central spire among the pillars and corridors. How had this all happened to fast? The enemy were tough, they were fast and their scout ships could get through the shields. This was starting to turn into a living nightmare. Ahrima and her troops took one last glance outside, the two scout ships still hovering near the blast site, hopefully Captain Jones could still hit them hard. The soldiers ducked back in cover and kept up their fire.

They watched as the enemy warrior took an entire P90 clip. His silver, thick plating deflecting some of the bullets and absorbing the rest. His teeth and gums baring as he snarled in defiance. To the onlooker it seemed that the enemy warrior did not suffer pain, he merely stumbled, down to his knees and one hand. One of the bullets hit home on the beast's head, lodging itself in it's thick green skinned skull. Finally, the enemy warrior collapsed. Did it really take that much to kill just one of these things on foot? They could not let more of them land... This was all happening way too fast. Ahrima and her team did not have time to think, however, as two more of the enemy warriors were quickly approaching through the entrance from outside. Then they noticed it. The small strip of red lights pinned in to the creature's head began to pulse, faster and faster, a high pitched whining sound accompanying it. Instinctively the troops dove for cover, just in time as the enemy warrior self-destructed in an explosion that caused dust and rubble to fall around the soldiers. The ringing in the ears was punctuated by the whizzing of enemy weapons fire past where the soldiers had taken cover. They were facing a truly formidable foe.

---

1445
Drone Control Chair
Meropis

"Chair, Control" Achilles spoke again.
"Control here." The NCO at the communications panel in the control room said again.
"Sensor control officer, scan that ship and find the power plant for me."
The sensor control officer began furiously tapping away, scanning the enemy ship in orbit. Then the city shook. The enemy ship in orbit had begun it's barrage to accompany the waves of fighters and scout ship. Every thirty seconds or so a great green blast came screaming down from orbit, striking the tip of the shield that surrounded the city, sending vibrations throughout. It really was a full-frontal assault.

"Found it sir, marking coordinates on the targeting display." The sensor control officer stated.

"There you are..." Achilles said as he chuckled.

"Drone five, drone six, drone seven launching. Target... enemy vessesl's power plant."

After Achilles stated that, three more glowing orbs left the various magazines in the city and began their flight path towards the enemy vessel. Moments later, one, two, and then three white flickers occur as the drones pass through the enemy's ship and then impact the hull. Surprisingly, they did no rip through the enemy vessel. Instead, they started to bore into the hull and then detonated.

"Drone attack effect, negligible. Drones penetrated the enemy's shields and impacted the hull but did not penetrate more than a few meters. They must have really strong hull and or armor guys."

[Hamish Flanagan]

1435
Control Room
Meropis

Dr. Flanagan payed careful attention to Conway as he kept a focused eye on the events going on, and only properly began examining the General's arm once he had truly relieved himself from his orders for the other members of the Meropis Personnel. With an intent ear listening in to the General's explanation of his arms pain, the doctor nodded his head in understanding and took note of the arm when it had been offered to him for further examination. It had only been in that moment that, now, whilst assisting someone on a medical basis, he had forgotten enough of the attack on the city that he felt almost at home once more. In his element. In a place that offered him a sense of relief.
With a delicate touch which few had in the medical field, Dr. Flanagan took Conway's arm and felt about the healing area delicately, careful not to cause any discomfort or pain for the gentleman.

After the careful touch examination, he allowed the arm to rest back in the sling, and noted it's height and angle when it was supported. With a nod, the doctor knew well enough what needed to be done.
"Ya' sling is hangin' a wee bit too high, General. I think that may be causin' a little o' the discomfort." He moved towards the fasten in the sling, loosened it slightly and allowed the arm to hang a little lower - with not so much tension or pressure to put the arm too high in the General's chest. "Any better, General?" he asked as he made a few minor adjustments. "While it probably won' be perfec' withou' a few more pain meds and anti-inflamitories, it should give ya' a lil' more comfort while we...." his mind snapped back to the reality of the situation they had on their hands once more, and he looked at the signs of life from the enemy now within the cities walls, "...deal with our curren' situation." he offered a warm smile, and to the best of his ability - tried to be reassuring that, while he'd done only a small amount, it might have been enough to put the General's mind a little more at ease so that he could focus on the defence of the city.

Hoisting the medical kit he had slung over his shoulders, the doctor searched through his medication within and withdrew some pain killers, offering them to the General as he set the medical kit back on his back. "While they're not exac'ly the stronges', they'll take some o' the edge off that ache ya' feelin', General. Jus' for good measure.... An' to keep my conscience clear that I've done my part to keep ya' at the top of ya' game today." he smirked with a slight chuckle.
Aye. The General was too good a man for his own good at times, and this moment had been showing that. Always putting his personnel before himself, only realising it when someone brought it to his attention.

Meropis was lucky to have him.

<TAG GEN. Conway/All>

[John Callaghan]

1445
Control Room Balcony
Meropis


John fired the railgun for wht seemed like ages now. At short intervals, bursts of five rounds filled the air. Other railguns did the same, and the Five-oh's fired away at will as well. The sky was filled with tracer rounds and enemy fighters. There were also quite a few enemy fighters, to say the least, and a few friendly jumpers up there. 

John noticed an enemy fighter heading towards one of the friendly jumpers. He punched a few buttons and the barrel of the railgun moved to lead the target. He hit the fire button, and the barrel spit out a five-round burst. A second later, they hit their mark and the fighter exploded. then he said, through the radio: "You know, whoever was in that jumper that has a large '2' painted on it's side may buy me a beer".

[Jason Conway]

1445
Enemy Ship
Meropis Orbit

The commander, as his position dictated he was, slammed the complex mess of wires and panels once more to steady the signal. The pesky vermin in the ancestor city had interfered with his signals, only serving to inconvenience and thus anger him. He had managed to steady it now as the broadcast locked back on his horrific alien features. He smiled, if you could call it that.


Shouting something across at another alien in the harsh, foreign tongue, the barrage on the city suddenly stopped. Creepy silence now filling the air outside the city. The blasts from the ship in orbit had stopped and the enemy fighters broke off and dispersed, heading back up toward the atmosphere. He laughed, a deep bubbling laughter from the thing's throat. Grabbing the camera device he showed his audience what it was that he had paused the attack for. On an object that can only be described as a table were a series of items. The alien gestured toward them. Repeating his initial threat in the alien tongue as he did so.


1447
Control Room
Meropis

Back in the control room everybody froze. The blood drained from the face of General Conway and he gritted his teeth. Many of the members of the expedition were asking themselves how this was possible. Conway knew, he was the one who had written the letters home to the next of kin. He was the one who had stamped the file and sent it back to the IOA. He was the one who had kept this secret so as not to cause fear and panic among those who had already tentatively volunteered for the expedition as it was. He watched as the screen closed in on the objects on the table. An SGC Meropis Expedition jacket, an M9 pistol, a radio, a flat cap... The camera then panned up to reveal a slightly less alien looking figure in the shadows, his arms chained up above him, almost in a crucifix position. His head bowed. His shirt removed and his skin beaten and blood stained. There was no doubt about it, whoever that was and however he had got there, that was a member of their expedition.

The battle had been underway for a good three quarters of an hour now. General Conway gulped, turning to the CMO stood near him. Saying nothing but sharing a look that pleaded for this to all just be a bad dream. He took a deep breath, aware of the brave troops fighting off enemy foot soldiers who had simply strolled through their shields. Aware of the Captains risking their lives in the puddle jumpers to try and keep the enemy at bay. Aware of the railguns and how little ammo they must have left. And oh so painfully aware that the Sun Tzu was on 3 million light years away, their only way home through the wormhole in front of them. Would they have to abandon the city?

His question was almost answered as one of the technicians in the control room spoke up, his panicked voice breaking the tension.
"Sir, two more ships just dropped out of hyperspace. Detecting the same signatures as the alien vessel."
Then the silence was broken as the three enemy vessels all began barraging the city. Time seemed to slow for the General, the control suddenly a buzz of activity. A horde of enemy fighters were screaming their way back in, with only two puddle jumpers and a bunch of railguns in their way. Technicians were screaming about the shield depleting at an alarming rate and medics were rushing to aid personnel who had been struck by sparks or falling objects. Jason Conway clenched his good hand into a fist and banged it on the desk in front of him, causing the room to temporarily stop. He tapped his radio earpiece, he had a plan...
"Control to Chair, give the third ship everything you've got, keep up the barrage. If we can take one of the three out we might be able to even the odds. Leave the original ship well alone." He acknowledged the response, "Control to Jumper Two, get yourself cloaked and get up to that alien ship. Achilles must have weakened their shields by now. Get inside when the next wave of fighters launches and whoever that is... Bring them back alive. If you can plant any C4 on the way out all the better." He knew he was asking a bit too much, but it was all they had. "Control to Jumper Three, give those fighters something to chase so Jumper Two can break away..." He listened to Chicago acknowledge his orders and glanced at the scanner as she gave the Jumper everything it had, flooring the ancient flying pod away from the city with a flock of enemy fighters in tow. "Control to Ahrima, sit-rep on how many foot soldiers you have left a-sap. Control to Callaghan, get down there and get that lower deck cleared." That almost covered it, now for the order he really didn't want to give, but he had a responsibility to do so. He released his ear piece and turned to Hamish, placing his good hand on the man's shoulder. "Dial the Alpha Site, I know it may only be a collection of tents and rations at this point but we can't dial Earth. Start with the civilian personnel." He gritted his teeth and turned back to the scanners, the enemy fighters had now returned and were being met by whatever resistance the city could offer. The Etruscans were proving themselves to be a deadly enemy force. Laran, wherever he was, was their leader. A god of war... Who would want to be a god of this?


<Tag Everyone!>

[Jacob "Jake" Oliver]

1447
Meropis Airspace
Meropis

Weaving the ship in and out of enemy fire had become a task that required every ounce of the Captain's attention and he tried desperately to avoid any shots hitting the jumper. However, regardless how good a pilot - near misses soon became a little too comfortable, and a few occasional enemy bolts crashed against the solid exterior of the ancient craft that Jake was piloting. Each time, he heard Harrison squirm and cry in fear of the impact and Oliver did his best to reassure the man that everything would be fine; even despite the fact, he didn't truly know how legitimate or valid his words were. But his attention was taken back to the battle when he noted an enemy craft pulling up on their rear. Jake readied himself, hoping desperately that he'd be able to manoeuvre the ship and end up with the enemy in his sights rather than the other way around.

Though, he needn't make the effort. The craft dropped off the scanners, and a familiar voice of a friend and fellow Meropis member rang through his earpiece.
Callaghan had saved their asses, and Oliver was thankful for it to a point he couldn't put into words.
"Jumper Two to Callaghan; I'll buy you a case of fifty. You've more than earned it, sir!" he smirked to himself, in thanks to the C.O.
Though, celebrations couldn't last too long as enemies continued to close in and the Captain heard the General's voice echo in his ear.

"Control to Jumper Two, get yourself cloaked and get up to that alien ship. Achilles must have weakened their shields by now. Get inside when the next wave of fighters launches and whoever that is... Bring them back alive. If you can plant any C4 on the way out all the better."

"On it, General. We'll take care of it; you've got my word." he spoke back instantly, not daring to ponder the difficulty he might face in the approach to the enemy vessel. No less, as Jumper Three spiralled into action and did all it could to give Oliver an opening to break away, the Captain took advantage of it, activated the cloak and throttled out of the initial combat zone he had been ever so desperately trying to defend the ancient city.
Quickly they advanced, rushing passed oncoming fighters whom fell blind to their approach. Whizzing passed, Oliver angled the Jumper to avoid collisions with anything oncoming until finally, he reached the enemy vessel - waiting for the hangar doors to open and for more fighters to charge out.

And they did.

The moment the doors cracked open, Jumper Two flew speedily into the heart of the enemies ship and slowed to a halt, descending down onto the ships surface.

1450
Enemy Vessel; Hangar
Meropis Orbit

"Oliver to General Conway; we're in." he uttered simply, disengaging the Jumper and opening the rear door. His eyes moved to meet with Harrison and he offered the man a smile.
"Stick close to me out there, okay? I promise, you'll be fine. You know how to use that sidearm?" he questioned.

"Kind of." the doctor replied nervously.

"Kind of is good enough for me." he chuckled, clapping the man on the shoulder and unholstering his own sidearm, leading the way out into the hangar. Harrison followed closely behind and the two stealthily navigated their way into the innards of the ship where long, barren hallways that looked identical to one another reached on as far as the eye could see.
This craft was big enough to house hundreds if not thousands of enemies - so triggering any alarms or persons on board of their presence was the last thing that Oliver wanted to do.
Drawing out his life signs detector, the Captain looked at it and noted where the enemies were, until finally, proceeding through the hallways, he found that navigating the ship was going to be a task in itself; let alone planting the explosives the General desperately needed them to. No less, he wasn't going back to Meropis until the job was done. Whether he had to lay his life down for the safety of his fellow personnel, or not.

<TAG GEN. Conway / CPT. Callaghan / ALL>

[Deleted]

1446
Chair Room
Meropis City

"Control to Chair, give the third ship everything you've got, keep up the barrage. If we can take one of the three out we might be able to even the odds. Leave the original ship well alone."
The general had said.

Achilles replied.

"Roger that."

Achilles looked up at the targeting hologram once again.

"Targeting third alien hostile ship's power plant. Drones 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 away at third alien hostile."

As soon as he finished saying those words, five golden streaks filled the sky as five drones exited various magazines around the city. Approximately 30 seconds later, a white energy disruption can be seen as drone 8 works it's way through the enemy shield, followed by the other four. Three seconds later, the drones impact the hull and begin tunneling through the extremely dense armor plating and hull paneling. Three of the drones burnt out before getting through the hull, the fourth drone finally piercing the hull, and the fifth hitting the power core.

Afterwards a large cascading explosion could be seen by the naked eye and registered on sensors as the third ship's power core detonated, and caused massive internal damage to the ship. After the explosion, sensors would detect the enemy vessel's systems shutting down one by one, until none was left active.

"Chair to control."

"Control here."

"Drone attack on enemy vessel successful, resulting in enemy vessel disabled and dead in space."

<Tag All>

[Ellenor Clark]

1447
Mess Hall
Meropis

It had been a dramatic hour for the young chef, infact it had been a dramatic few weeks. Long before the days drama she was tasked with learning the dietary needs of everyone on the base, which could prove problematic when a large proportion of your none military personal had put in special requests. From allergens to simple requests for Ice Cream, Ellenor had been inundated with information. The previous chef who had started on the expedition had requested an immediate transfer back to the homeworld, meaning a replacement was needed quickly. Ellenor had served as the cook at the SGC for a little over a year, she was semi up to date with the workings of the Stargate program, though she never personally served any off world being, she knew of their presence and did prepare food for those ... people? The only real alien Ellenor had ever known, -more accurately witnessed from afar- was the Jaffa, but she knew enough to get her offered a position of a life time. She had just hoped the life time would be longer.

At first from the mess hall the screams seemed muffled, toned town by the sounds of cooking. Ellenor had ignored them to the best of her ability assuming some machine had popped a fuse and caused a spark or something, it wasnt until she saw people rushing out of the dining hall to the balcony. There was little to see from this side of the city but the noise was much louder. Her stomach churned and her nerves began to take over as silence filled the screams that she had struggled to hear. The dining hall seemed to empty quicker then she could even notice, one minute it was full of people, casually chatting away next thing Ellenor knew she was standing there along in a plan black skivvie and cargo pants, her apron abandoned on the bench of the kitchen. It was the shield raising that caused the young woman the most distress, the shield was obviously keeping something out. What could it have been? El raced back into the kitchen and grabbed the radio that she was supposed to have on her persons at all time. Something was happening, people where probably informed over the radio and this stupid ditz had left hers by a pot of boiling potatos. This was why, after almost seven years of military service she was only a Private first class, she'd practically lucked into every good position she'd ever had... Luck and Daddy. 

A loud explosion caused the girl to jump and let out a fearful cry, her body beginning to shake in fear. El was without weapons, without any major skills that would be useful in this situation and without the knowledge of what she was afraid of. Quite shamefully she felt herself back into a corner, holding the radio tight in one hand and a sharp carving knife in the other. Yes, Ellenor was in the army, yes she had served her country... But it was always literal, she served the army... Food. That was all she was good at and all she did, the girl was in way over her head and she knew that now more than ever. 

By the time the firing stopped, Ellenor had finally calmed herself enough to walk from her safe corner in the kitchens out into the hallway. "Hello...Anyone?" Her voice was shaken and riddled with weakness as she forced her feet to move. She couldnt be alone, the city was being attacked, there were hundreds of personal on this base, she'd have to find someone sooner or later. Most likely later as the firing once again started, this time much heavier then before. The noise loud like thunder, the ancient walls shaking, it seemed like the shields were holding but for how long? Once again Ellenor found herself pressed to the wall in the corridor, hands balled tightly gripping now just the radio and pressed almost painfully to her forehead, in an attempt to drown out the sound of gun fire. What had possessed her to take this job? What had possessed them to offer it? She was not cut out for this, she was going to get herself killed. 

<Tag: Open> 

[Sakanoue Yoko]

1447
Hallway
Meropis

    Yoko was walking down the hall way. She was wearing one of her kimonos and playing with a fan, an old habit she had obtained from Tamamo-no-Mae. Though it seemed to help her calm down a think a bit more clearly. She was a bit upset at herself that today of all days she had forgotten her radio back at her room. She never really like they way it felt and thought she could go on a small walk without it, which she now know was a mistake. She could feel the structure shake around her as the shields where fired upon. She continued to walk down the hall towards the Gate Room hoping she could get more information there. Though she could tell that the shield were getting weaker by each hit upon them. Her mind keep wondering if anything what the commanders next action maybe with the shields in such condition. Most likely he would start evacuating the city, encase the worst case scenario where to happen.

    As she crossed in intersection something had caught her attention. As she turned to get a better look at what it was she saw a woman against the wall, shrouded in fear. 'one of the cooks' came to mind, she had seen her a few times in the mess hall but never had any real conversation with her. She then started walking towards the girl, for just leaving her here was unacceptable to her. As she took a few steps closer to the woman the hall started to shake more violently then before, surprised her causing her to lose her balance. She was able to catch herself at the last moment. "That's not good" she said out loud as she brushed a loose hair from in front face. She walked about closer, giving the girl a reassuring smile before saying "Have a little faith in the Commander and the rest of the Personal here." Though she hoped this to be true she didn't really know the people stationed here, but the people of earth had shown their worth in many situations. "Now come on, and it would bad if you spread your fear to the others ok" she adds holding out her hand as one would do to a child.

<Tag All / Ellenor Clark>