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The Cheyenne Mountain Irregulars: A Stargate Story Hour. Updated 7/20
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<blockquote data-quote="Ladybird" data-source="post: 2818146" data-attributes="member: 10689"><p><strong>Episode 2: Don't Drink the Water. Part 3 - New World</strong></p><p></p><p>December 23, 2010</p><p></p><p>A rush of sound and a tunnel of shimmering light burst forth from the Stargate on P2X-435. It was nighttime, and chilly enough that Kathleen was briefly grateful for the heavy fabric of their standard combat fatigues. Boots crunched on sand, sounding oddly loud in the still, eerie quiet of another world. The moon – if this planet even had one – was dark, revealing countless stars, scattered in unfamiliar patterns across the deep black of the sky.</p><p></p><p>Ked’rec flipped his staff weapon up, holding it deftly in one hand as he flicked on his flashlight with the other. “The immediate area appears to be deserted.” The thin bright beam illuminated a clearing surrounded by scraggly bushes planted in sandy soil, and scrubby evergreen trees just at the edge of the flashlight’s range.</p><p></p><p>Kathleen squinted along the beam of the light, and nodded. “That’s good, at least.” She reached down for her radio and flicked it on, tuning to the standard SG team communication frequency. “SG-14?” she said into it. “SG-14, this is SG-17. Do you copy?” The only response was the faint crackling of static, and one of Joe’s universal snorts. “It was worth a try,” Kathleen said mildly. “All right. The last known location for SG-14 was that stream that they said was near the gate.”</p><p></p><p>“I believe that I can navigate towards the nearest source of water,” Ked’rec declared, at the same time that Joe muttered, “Gotta be some tracks around here…” as he trained his flashlight beam on the ground.</p><p></p><p>“Go ahead, then,” Kathleen nodded.</p><p></p><p>“I’ll take point,” said Joe, already moving off to take the lead. </p><p></p><p>Ked’rec glanced back at Kathleen, faint confusion registering on his stoic face. “No, Mr. Healy,” Kathleen said. “Ked’rec should go first. You’ll be second, and Reinhart, you bring up the rear.” There was a brief grumbling from Joe, but after a moment, he fell into line behind Ked’rec.</p><p></p><p>The Jaffa led the way down a slight incline, away from the gate and into the loose forest of scrubby trees. “Like evergreens,” Reinhart murmured, running his hand along a slender branch. “Except with thin leaves instead of needles.”</p><p></p><p>“Could that be what’s turning the water brown?” Kathleen suggested. “Pine needles do that sometimes.”</p><p></p><p>“Guess so,” Joe shrugged. </p><p></p><p>Ked’rec halted the group with a silent, upraised hand, then pointed down another small hill. “There is the source of water.” He shone his flashlight down, illuminating a rippling stream that appeared oddly dark, even in the direct light. “And it appears to be brown, in the manner that SG-14 described.”</p><p></p><p>“Good,” said Kathleen. “Ked’rec, can you get a sample? I want the SGC to test it to see what’s going on with it.”</p><p></p><p>“And don’t drink it!” Reinhart added. </p><p></p><p>Joe snorted again, but Kathleen gave him a <em>look</em>. “Yes, Dr. Haas said it was all right to drink, but we don’t know if it <em>stayed</em> all right. It could have some effect that didn’t kick in for a while. Reinhart’s right. Nobody drinks it until the SGC has said it’s safe.”</p><p></p><p>“Indeed.” The Jaffa picked his way nimbly down the bank towards the streambed, and although he wobbled slightly on the edge, he was able to scoop up a vial of the dark water with very little problem.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: DarkOrange"><em>There are the tracks!</em> </span>Orieth thought. Joe had the disconcerting sensation of his eyes being focused for him. He spoke up quickly, shaking his head to get rid of the feeling. “There. They milled around here for a while. Then they went upstream.”</p><p></p><p>“All right. Ked’rec, do you have that sample?” The Jaffa nodded in response to Kathleen’s question. “Good. Let’s get that back to the SGC. Ked’rec, Mr. Healy, you can run that back to the gate – you’ll have the best chance of navigating back here. Reinhart, you stay here with me.”</p><p></p><p>“Right,” Joe grunted. “Go to IR,” he advised Ked’rec, and turned off his flashlight, flipping down his infrared goggles instead.</p><p></p><p>The forest went silent as the Jaffa and Tok’ra moved back up the hill, leaving Kathleen and Reinhart alone in the dark. Kathleen tried her radio once more, but all she got was Joe’s grunted, “Nobody here but us” in response. She sighed, but kept her radio on, hearing the strange double echoes of Ked’rec and Joe’s footsteps, and an occasional snort from Joe.</p><p></p><p><em>Stop messing with those!</em> he thought at Orieth as they trudged up the path, scrunching his eyes in a futile attempt to push the symbiote’s presence away from him.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: DarkOrange"><em>But infrared technology is fascinating!</em></span> Orieth briefly took control again, turning Joe’s head from side to side in an intrigued test of his IR goggles. <span style="color: DarkOrange"><em>It operates on such a simple principle, yet it is very effective for what it does. Truly, this is an area in which the Tau’ri could advise others. Such simplicity could be very instructive indeed.</em></span></p><p></p><p><em>Yeah, yeah,</em> Joe thought back. <em>You never used them before? They’re not that special.</em></p><p></p><p>Back at the stream, there was a sudden rustling in the trees on the opposite bank. “Kill the flashlight!” Kathleen hissed, immediately following her own order. </p><p></p><p>“But don’t you want to see what that is?” Reinhart sounded slightly disappointed, although he managed to hold his tone back from petulance. “It just sounds like a deer or something, and we haven’t seen any wildlife…”</p><p></p><p>“And if it’s <em>not</em> a deer, we don’t want it to see <em>us</em>,” Kathleen replied firmly. “Lights out.”</p><p></p><p>Reinhart’s flashlight beam winked out. The light, careful footsteps on the other side of the stream rustled around for a few more minutes, and then the sound diminished, fading off into the distance, leaving only silence and darkness in its wake.</p><p></p><p>A few minutes later, there was another set of footsteps – two of them, heavier and quicker, as the Jaffa and Tok’ra returned from the gate.</p><p></p><p>“Sent the sample through,” Joe grunted.</p><p></p><p>Ked’rec inclined his head once in a serene nod. “And the Stargate Command has offered the use of a surveillance aircraft, if we so desire. Once it is light, of course.” </p><p></p><p>“Good,” Kathleen nodded. “Good job. We’ll stay here for now, then – it’s only a few hours till sunrise, probably, and we don’t want to wander off in the dark and not be able to find our way back to the gate. Then when it’s light out, we can get our UAV and see what’s around here.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ladybird, post: 2818146, member: 10689"] [b]Episode 2: Don't Drink the Water. Part 3 - New World[/b] December 23, 2010 A rush of sound and a tunnel of shimmering light burst forth from the Stargate on P2X-435. It was nighttime, and chilly enough that Kathleen was briefly grateful for the heavy fabric of their standard combat fatigues. Boots crunched on sand, sounding oddly loud in the still, eerie quiet of another world. The moon – if this planet even had one – was dark, revealing countless stars, scattered in unfamiliar patterns across the deep black of the sky. Ked’rec flipped his staff weapon up, holding it deftly in one hand as he flicked on his flashlight with the other. “The immediate area appears to be deserted.” The thin bright beam illuminated a clearing surrounded by scraggly bushes planted in sandy soil, and scrubby evergreen trees just at the edge of the flashlight’s range. Kathleen squinted along the beam of the light, and nodded. “That’s good, at least.” She reached down for her radio and flicked it on, tuning to the standard SG team communication frequency. “SG-14?” she said into it. “SG-14, this is SG-17. Do you copy?” The only response was the faint crackling of static, and one of Joe’s universal snorts. “It was worth a try,” Kathleen said mildly. “All right. The last known location for SG-14 was that stream that they said was near the gate.” “I believe that I can navigate towards the nearest source of water,” Ked’rec declared, at the same time that Joe muttered, “Gotta be some tracks around here…” as he trained his flashlight beam on the ground. “Go ahead, then,” Kathleen nodded. “I’ll take point,” said Joe, already moving off to take the lead. Ked’rec glanced back at Kathleen, faint confusion registering on his stoic face. “No, Mr. Healy,” Kathleen said. “Ked’rec should go first. You’ll be second, and Reinhart, you bring up the rear.” There was a brief grumbling from Joe, but after a moment, he fell into line behind Ked’rec. The Jaffa led the way down a slight incline, away from the gate and into the loose forest of scrubby trees. “Like evergreens,” Reinhart murmured, running his hand along a slender branch. “Except with thin leaves instead of needles.” “Could that be what’s turning the water brown?” Kathleen suggested. “Pine needles do that sometimes.” “Guess so,” Joe shrugged. Ked’rec halted the group with a silent, upraised hand, then pointed down another small hill. “There is the source of water.” He shone his flashlight down, illuminating a rippling stream that appeared oddly dark, even in the direct light. “And it appears to be brown, in the manner that SG-14 described.” “Good,” said Kathleen. “Ked’rec, can you get a sample? I want the SGC to test it to see what’s going on with it.” “And don’t drink it!” Reinhart added. Joe snorted again, but Kathleen gave him a [I]look[/I]. “Yes, Dr. Haas said it was all right to drink, but we don’t know if it [I]stayed[/I] all right. It could have some effect that didn’t kick in for a while. Reinhart’s right. Nobody drinks it until the SGC has said it’s safe.” “Indeed.” The Jaffa picked his way nimbly down the bank towards the streambed, and although he wobbled slightly on the edge, he was able to scoop up a vial of the dark water with very little problem. [COLOR=DarkOrange][I]There are the tracks![/I] [/COLOR]Orieth thought. Joe had the disconcerting sensation of his eyes being focused for him. He spoke up quickly, shaking his head to get rid of the feeling. “There. They milled around here for a while. Then they went upstream.” “All right. Ked’rec, do you have that sample?” The Jaffa nodded in response to Kathleen’s question. “Good. Let’s get that back to the SGC. Ked’rec, Mr. Healy, you can run that back to the gate – you’ll have the best chance of navigating back here. Reinhart, you stay here with me.” “Right,” Joe grunted. “Go to IR,” he advised Ked’rec, and turned off his flashlight, flipping down his infrared goggles instead. The forest went silent as the Jaffa and Tok’ra moved back up the hill, leaving Kathleen and Reinhart alone in the dark. Kathleen tried her radio once more, but all she got was Joe’s grunted, “Nobody here but us” in response. She sighed, but kept her radio on, hearing the strange double echoes of Ked’rec and Joe’s footsteps, and an occasional snort from Joe. [I]Stop messing with those![/I] he thought at Orieth as they trudged up the path, scrunching his eyes in a futile attempt to push the symbiote’s presence away from him. [COLOR=DarkOrange][I]But infrared technology is fascinating![/I][/COLOR] Orieth briefly took control again, turning Joe’s head from side to side in an intrigued test of his IR goggles. [COLOR=DarkOrange][I]It operates on such a simple principle, yet it is very effective for what it does. Truly, this is an area in which the Tau’ri could advise others. Such simplicity could be very instructive indeed.[/I][/COLOR] [I]Yeah, yeah,[/I] Joe thought back. [I]You never used them before? They’re not that special.[/I] Back at the stream, there was a sudden rustling in the trees on the opposite bank. “Kill the flashlight!” Kathleen hissed, immediately following her own order. “But don’t you want to see what that is?” Reinhart sounded slightly disappointed, although he managed to hold his tone back from petulance. “It just sounds like a deer or something, and we haven’t seen any wildlife…” “And if it’s [I]not[/I] a deer, we don’t want it to see [I]us[/I],” Kathleen replied firmly. “Lights out.” Reinhart’s flashlight beam winked out. The light, careful footsteps on the other side of the stream rustled around for a few more minutes, and then the sound diminished, fading off into the distance, leaving only silence and darkness in its wake. A few minutes later, there was another set of footsteps – two of them, heavier and quicker, as the Jaffa and Tok’ra returned from the gate. “Sent the sample through,” Joe grunted. Ked’rec inclined his head once in a serene nod. “And the Stargate Command has offered the use of a surveillance aircraft, if we so desire. Once it is light, of course.” “Good,” Kathleen nodded. “Good job. We’ll stay here for now, then – it’s only a few hours till sunrise, probably, and we don’t want to wander off in the dark and not be able to find our way back to the gate. Then when it’s light out, we can get our UAV and see what’s around here.” [/QUOTE]
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