7 Points
By Chaoseternus

Chapter 3: MALPs And Thoughts

As the ships jumped to rejoin the fleet, a strange disturbance hit the forest where the gate was. A rumbling, grating sound which scared the birds in droves from the trees, and sent the small rodents that infested the forest diving for shelters, tunnels or just a rock to hide under, several getting crushed as the earth shook, callopsing their shelters.

The rumbling stopped, and with a kawhoosh of energy, a wall of water blasted out from the centre of the artefact, before being dragged like a liquid backdraft into the containing embrace of the ring. Rippling, the water stayed vertical, impossibly bright, backlit by some powerful energy.

Then, without fuss or fanfare, a black tracked mechanical device crawled out of the water, whirring softly as electric motors sent it scooting to the edge of the plinth, its cameras and sensors turning in every direction, frantically at first, then slowly, more deliberately.

Elsewhere…

"No sign of a DHD sir" Samantha Carter commented, looking carefully over the MALP's telemetry.

"But someone's been their recently" General Carter / Selmac commented, pointing at the fresh streams of sap visible on the close up of the trees, "clearing a path by the looks of it"

"Have the MALP circuit the gate" Hammond ordered.

"Yes Sir" Harriman replied, his years of experience evident as he skilfully manipulated the MALP's remote controls, sending the device in a rapid circuit of the gate.

"Still no sign of a DHD, and no sign of whoever was there either" Harriman reported.

Hammond checked his watch, "SG-25 are due back any time, disconnect from PD-493, as soon as SG-25 are back, redial and send a UAV through"

"Aye sir"

By the time they redialled, the MALP was gone, and a strange Scimitar shaped fighter shot down the UAV and so PD-493 was locked out of the Dialling computer.

Aboard Galactica…

Adama rubbed his forehead wearily, leaning away from the photos of the device they had found, and abandoned on the planet. It hadn't actually been particularly helpful; it had just added more questions. What was it for? What was it made off? And why was it covered with images of constellations?

Common theory was that it was a communication device, like an old style analogue phone, but if so, it was missing a dialling device, but it certainly leant credence to his theory that something important was at the 'address' off the scrolls.

But at the moment he had more important things to worry about, literally a second before the fleet jumped cylon jump signatures had been detected. The cylons would no doubt have detected their exit, even if they weren't in a position to attack them. It seemed their enemies were catching up.

And that they couldn't really afford, every time they met the cylons, at the very least they lost fighters and pilots, and on several occasions, civilian ships had been destroyed, or abandoned to the cylons 'mercies'. The fighters were actually easier to replace than the pilots with the forge ship online, finding people who had the 'knack' of piloting was getting harder and harder all the time, and for fighters they needed that 'knack'. Studious amateurs were okay on larger ships, but would die pretty quick in fighters.

If the Cylons did attack now, they would find the fleet short a warship too, Hell's Runner was in the portside bay being refitted by Tyrol's crew up to the standards of the military version of that courier ship class, that meant adding Scarab launchers, two more rail guns turrets, tying them into the guidance systems, and interestingly enough, reconnecting all the hook-ups for the 'Extender' system, a variation on the old Air to Air refuelling probe, the 'Extender' never entered large scale service because too few craft, even amongst the fuel guzzling fighters, ever supported a mid-space refuel.

Tyrol was known to be working on that problem, redesigning the Mark II's to add a receiving probe, the later marks were vastly more complicated and fewer in number, they would have to wait.

Adama sighed; it was another arrow to their bow, the ability to refuel the Mark II's in-flight, increasing their range. They needed all the advantages they could get.

Grimacing, he checked the time, then rose to his feet, swiftly straightening his clothes. He had a meeting to go to, and he wasn't looking forward to it. Every time he saw her, Roslin looked closer to deaths bed.