SG Nova Roma, Chapter 3.26

26 – Getting Back to Work

(H3X-107 – Desert – Year 2, Day 3, 0930)

Lieutenant Vanessa James was the first person through the Gate. The test dial to Freedom Prime had gone off without a hitch, so she was not surprised that the Stargate worked just fine. But she had been surprised when Colonel Young had told her  that she would be leading a team to this planet. Chaser had launched with plenty of supplies, so they had not been send here for food or water. It turned out that they were looking for intelligence instead.

Besides James, there were four other people on the team. Ronald Greer and Corporal Reynolds were the muscle of the team, while Camille Wray was the closest thing they had to an ambassador and Chloe Armstrong – having studied Daniel Jackson’s work – was here to serve as team archeologist. The intelligence the Valli’son and their allies had provided on the Order of Other had revealed that H3X-107 was one of the few worlds in this region that was habitual, but had not been settled. The Valli’son believed that this was because the Order used it to test their terraforming technology.

Young figured that the Order would want to monitor the outcome of said experiments. And to do that, they would need an outpost on said planet. His suspicion had been confirmed by the MALP. Because all of their Kino’s had been left behind on Destiny, they had needed replacements. So the Primians had build twelve MALPs to fill the hole. The MALP had also shown that the outpost was currently empty, which would make the mission a little easier. As would the fact that they had arrived in middle of the night. James readied her weapon and told her team to head out.

(Chaser – Gate Room - Year 2, Day 3, 0933)

Doctor Dale Volker was manning the Gate Room. The team was headed for the Order Outpost, while Volker was using the MALP to take a closer look at the rest of the planet. He was moving the MALP further away from the Gate and running scans. While the Gate and the outpost were located in the desert, the Stargate was not far from the edge of said desert. Beyond the edge, there was what appeared to be a grassland with some trees that looked a lot like palms. There was also a small lake in that area. The MALP had just reached the grass when Colonel Young walked into the Gate Room.

“How are things going on the planet ?”

“The team is heading towards the outpost. I’m moving the MALP to an oversight position, but I’m taking the scenic route to gather some more information on the planet,” Volker said.

“What do you have so far ?”

“Plants,” Volker worked the controls. “Lots and lots of plants.”

“Well, they have to start somewhere.”

Volker worked the controls and the MALP steered out of the grasslands again. He worked the MALP to the top of the highest dune and pointed the unit in the direction of the outpost and dialed the zoom up to maximum. Young joined him at the console. The Outpost was a small black dome, which the night vision of the MALP revealed to be metallic. A single set of doors appeared to be the only entrance. Young wondered what kind of surprises were beyond those doors.

(H3X-107 – Desert – Year 2, Day 3, 0940)

Camille Wray couldn’t believe she was doing this. Sneaking through the desert in the middle of the night, wearing a military uniform and night vision goggles. Colonel Young had not liked the idea of them going to this planet unarmed, so she was also carrying a Taser. Following Lieutenant James, they had reached the Order Outpost. The place had a set of wooden doors at its entrance, but there was no sign of locks or a security system. James signaled to Greer and Reynolds, who took up position. She took grabbed one of doors and yanked it open.

“Clear !” Greer yelled, before leading the entry into the building.

The dome was one large space. There were several consoles and what appeared to be scientific equipment. James and Greer led the way, while Camille and Chloe covered the middle and Reynolds took up the rear. When they reached the consoles, James turned to Wray and Armstrong.

“Do your thing.”

“Okay,” Chloe said, while taking off a backpack full of equipment. “Let’s see what we can find out.”

They began examining the outpost. Amongst the equipment were a Polaroid camera – well, the Freedom Prime version of one – and a Geiger counter. While Chloe took photos, Camille swept the counter’s detector over all the place. There was no sign of radiation anywhere. ~Well, that doesn’t tell us much.~ After that was done, they activated one of the consoles. It was in an alien language that appeared to be a mix of Nakai, Ursini and Xivolo. Chloe took out a notebook, which was full of notes on alien languages.

As Chloe set to translating what the console was saying, Camille went to take a closer look at the rest of the dome. She found a switch, which was connected to several lights. After she flicked the switch, she took her goggles off. The lights were not enough to light the entire outpost, but it was enough for her to make due with a flashlight. That was when she spotted a hatch in the floor.

“Lieutenant, you should see this.”

James joined her at the hatch. Like the front door, there were no signs of an alarm or a lock. She opened the hatch and stuck her weapon into the gap. There was a ladder underneath the hatch and circuits in the walls. Camille grabbed the Geiger counter and checked the radiation levels, which were safe. James went down the ladder first, while Camille grabbed several instruments and then followed. The ladder ended in a maintenance tunnel. As soon as they entered, several lights came on.

“So, glad to be back in the field ?”

“Yeah. Living on Freedom Prime was not bad,” James began. “The food was good, the people were nice and it never rained. But I’m glad to be back to doing what I’ve been trained to do. What about you ? How have you been spending your time ?”

“Besides dealing with Rush and his depression ?” Camille said with a smile. “There wasn’t much for to do back home,” She paused and swallowed. “Sharon has moved on. She got involved with a violinist from Toronto.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Camille said. “And I told her to stop waiting for me. So, I don’t blame her either,” She paused. “Still, it took me some time get used to the idea.”

They reached the end of the corridor. It ended in a round chamber with several control consoles. The room reminded Camille of the Control Interface Room aboard Destiny. Each of these consoles came with a stool. Camille sat down on one of the stools and activated one of the consoles. Oddly enough, this console was not in the same language as the ones above. Instead, this console was in Jynacko. ~Well, they were the Engineers of the Xivolo Empire.~

She took out a translation unit. The problem with these units was that these translators had their limitations. They could translate Xivolo, English, Nakai, Jynacko and Ursini. But if you started mixing languages, they tended to throw a fit. Which was why Chloe was using the notebook instead. As she worked the translator and the console, her mind wandered to Sharon. Losing her had been very, very hard. So oddly enough, she had been actually grateful for Rush and his depression. It had given her a much needed distraction.

And there had been Tamara’s ALS as well. The thought that her friend would be dying slowly, becoming trapped in her body….it made her stomach turn. ~She’s a good person, and what’s going to happen to her stinks.~ She knew that the Primians were doing their best, but there were no guarantees. And there was also losing Destiny. When she had arrived back in 2009, the Ancient vessel had been last place she had wanted to be. But in the year before they had gone into stasis, the ship had become home. So part of her missed the old rust bucket.

“Camille ?” James said. “Are you okay ?”

It was then that she realized that she had been staring in the distance. She nodded and got back to studying the console. It appeared that the Outpost was powered by a combination of advanced solar panel mounted on top of the dome and a geo-thermal convertor below. She took a couple of photos of the display and then the two of them headed back to the surface to see what Chloe had found.