A big thank-you to everyone for your comments and encouragement. This episode may seem somewhat different (and I doubt the original production would have stepped this way), but it will lead on to much more challenges in coming chapters that are well under way. I will introduce 3 new human characters, all female, and leave you to put a face to their discription... (although with my character "Venna", I couldn't help but think of Modern Family's Sofia Vergara to play her part)...look out for more next week.
SGU s03e05
Explorers
Prologue;
Several days had passed since the two ships had met. The Asgard and Ursini had completed the repairs, and their Medic had assisted with the operation on Dr Volker and had offered some insight about the injury to Lisa's eyes. Dr Volker was now recovering quickly with the help of the new alien equipment that the Ursini had introduced. The Medic had trained T.J, Amanda, and Varro in the use of the more surgical types of alien tech; he also trained Lt. Scott, MSgt Greer, and 2nd Lt. James in emergency battle field techniques. This was to prove invaluable to them later on, but that was something they were yet to discover.
With the assistance of the Ursini, who had now become good friends with many of the humans, they had a much better understanding of Destiny and her mission. Asgard D.J and General Young had spent many hours together and had become very trusting of each other. Young finally understood why the Asgard had limited the stargate and the countdown clock; their reasoning was solid, and he agreed that his own leaders would use Destiny as a deterrent to attack Earth. She was now indeed a powerful ship with almost unmatched capabilities.
The Jackson opened a wormhole and vanished into the universe; their work for now all done. General Everett Young had truly come to understand that this was his calling; and where he was meant to be, here and now. He contacted Earth and updated General O'Neill.
Vanessa Knocked on Camille's door.
"Come in..." Camille replied knowingly of who it was; she knew this moment would come.
Vanessa entered and closed the door. Camille was sitting on the end of her bed; the bed that they had shared several days ago. Vanessa immediately saw that Camille had been crying and sat beside her. She went to put her arm around Camille, but she was kindly pushed away; Vanessa retracted the offer.
"We need to talk..." said a sad Camille.
"I know..." replied Vanessa, feeling another heartbreak coming on.
"I'm not ready...I mean, it's not that I don't want you... I just don't know how I feel at the moment" Camille was holding back the tears. "I know we have been away for three years and even when I contacted Sharon, she had moved on; but to me it only feels like weeks, not years."
Vanessa could see her point; being in stasis stops time for you although everything else moves forward: including people. Sharon was left with nothing but time to grieve and eventually she had moved on. She still cared for Camille, but when she had visited her after coming out of stasis using the stones, Sharon had been dating someone for five months.
Suddenly Camille turned to Vanessa and put her arms around her neck. They embraced and kissed each other softly on the cheek, then the lips.
Vanessa spoke in whispers to her "I've got no one else and nowhere to go; I can wait if you need time..." as a tear began to roll down her face.
"Thank you... for understanding..." whispered back Camille
Vanessa gave her one final hug, got up and left wiping the tears from her eyes as she opened the door. She was lonely and confused too, but understood what Camille was going through. Her radio beckoned;
"Lt. James come in, this is Scott"
Collecting herself quickly she answered "James here..."
"Could you meet me in the gate room in full gear, where going to the first planet in 30 minutes"
"Copy that Scott, James out..." as she wipped the tears from her eyes.
Greer, Scott, and James all met in the gate room along with several other civilian scientists. Rush dialled the gate to the first planet; they had about 8 hours to explore before Destiny would jump again. He sent a keno through; there appeared to be some kind of alter and ruins around the stargate, with all the readings coming back safe for life.
"Air and temperature is normal Lt. Scott..." said Rush.
Scott looked at General Young for conformation "Proceed with caution Lieutenant..."
They disappeared into the stargate and come out on the other side. A stiff dry breeze met them as they walked down the ramp of the stargate watching for any movement.
"Destiny copy, this is Scott, over"
"Go ahead Scott" replied Young.
"Sir there doesn't appear to have been any signs of life in this area for a long time" conveyed Scott.
"Understood Lieutenant, keep a watch out"
"Will do Sir, Scott out"
They scouted around for a while surveying the area; it looked very similar to earth with green trees and dry brown grass. The ruins of the collapsed temple had some glyphs that were unrecognisable to them. Satisfied they were fairly safe; Scott closed the gate and gave the all clear for the science team to start testing the ground, and collecting samples of vegetation.
Greer spoke to Scott "Do you get the feeling where being watched?"
"I don't know... it all seems to perfect, doesn't it..." replied Scott.
Greer heard something from across the field in front of them. They got everyone to drop behind cover; the Airman and Marines had their weapons at the ready. The noise of something travelling through the forest got louder as it came closer; an animal appeared from the forest line. It looked similar to a cow but half the size; it had one tail that split into two at the end, and large ears that looked like they belonged to an elephant. They had an amazing grey-green blotchy camouflage pattern that blended well with the forest; another two cautiously followed the first. A smaller one followed with the largest one at the rear.
"Guessing the big one at the back is Daddy..." whispered Greer to Scott
They looked at each other with the same thought and smiled...meat!
"Can you get a shot from here?" asked Scott
"Yeah, but a tough one about 600 yards...I need to get closer" remarked Greer as he looked for a way over to them.
Scott tapped his shoulder and pointed over behind the ruins;
"Looks like the way..." whispered Scott
Greer backed away from the fallen pillar of the ruins they were behind, and carefully made his way around closer to the beasts. They had stopped to drink from a small waterhole about 350 yards from where he was now. He took aim at one of the middle size animals, finger on the trigger;
Two blasts and flashes of light ripped out of the forest to the right of the field in front of them with one of the animals falling over. Greer with his finger on the trigger watched as the other beasts took to the safety of cover; two more shots of light flashed across the field to where they entered the forest. Another beast fell.
Greer whispered in the radio to Scott "Where not alone..."
Scott whispered a reply "Stay down Sergeant... wait and see who comes out"
The team stayed deathly still as they watch three beings ride out on what humans would call unicorns; the size and shape of a horse with a definite single horn on top of their snout like a rhyno. The beings where wearing full coats with hoods making them undistinguishable against the forest. They rode over to the downed beasts and dismounted. The first rider pulled down their hood exposing their features, and then removed the coat.
Greer had the closest view; "Holy moley...what the f...!" he whispered to himself; then on the radio: "Are you seeing the same thing I am?"
"Yeah, I see it..."said Scott "this can't be real..."
"What the hell is this place...a movie set or something?" MSgt Greer was at a loss for words as he radioed Scott.
It was a woman, a tall stunning human woman with long dark hair all they down her back. She wore a tight short skirt that looked like leather and a matching ample chest plate that complimented her slightly olive skin.
"What do you think, should we make...contact with them?" asked Greer quietly to Scott with almost a laugh in his whispering voice.
"Negative Sergeant, just sit tight and wait it out" was Lt. Scott's order, still not believing what they were watching.
Without warning, Vanessa screamed in pain; a snake looking creature had attacked and bitten clean through her boot, in reflex she pointed her weapon and fired several shots killing the creature, before she appeared to pass out. The trio on horseback turned around and immediately made their way to the noise, weapons drawn.
"Greer, stay hidden we may need you later" Scott's course whisper across the radio. He stood up and ran out from cover and headed to Lt. James.
Reaching Vanessa first he lowered his weapon and knelt down next to her, feeling for her pulse. She was conscious and breathing but appeared to be paralysed; her eyes flickered and look at him, she was scared.
"Who are you...?" Demanded the woman in perfect English standing in front of Scott pointing the weapon at him:
"I am Lieutenant Matt Scott of the Ancient ship Destiny...we are not here to harm you" hoping like hell they understood.
"Then put down your weapon...Lieutenant Matt Scott" She was beautiful, but a demanding Lady.
Matt slowly removed his rifle for his shoulder and laid it on the ground. Greer had a perfect shot from his position but waited; he didn't want to start a fight. The woman now lowered her weapon, looking at the dead creature and said to Scott;
"Your friend has been bitten by a Cell-serpent; she will remain motionless for several days until the effects wear off; after that she should be fine."
The other two beings had dismounted and were standing guard. They had pulled their hoods back to reveal similar stunning features, both of them female.
"How did you get here, where is your ship?" her next questions, as Scott had expected.
"We came through the stargate" he replied.
She gave a disbelieving laugh, "That relic does not work, and it never has worked in my lifespan."
Scott asked; "Well I could show you if you like..." hoping that Greer would radio into Destiny the situation; and she would let him open it.
Scott with his hand still on Vanessa's shoulder gently pulled the keno control out of his bag.
"We can dial the gate with this, shall I show you?" He asked very carefully
"Prove it, Lieutenant Matt Scott" she replied abruptly, not believing his "lies".
Matt dialled the gate; they jumped back in surprise as it sprang to life, the blue watery wave firing out and in as the wormhole stabilised itself. Immediately Greer radio to Destiny the situation very quietly.
Matt replied "At the other end of that is our ship... will you let me take Lt. James back for treatment?"
"No. You may not leave" was her stern response.
Greer kept his hand on the radio so Destiny could hear what was going on. Back onboard, General Young organised a heavily armed team to the ready including him.
"Dr Rush, Destiny is yours until we get back" he led the assault team through the wormhole.
Fifteen heavily armed Marines, Airmen, and General Young appeared from the stargate, vastly out numbering the three women, and took defensive positions around them. The girls, staring at all the men, dropped their weapons.
General Young introduced himself "I am General Young of Stargate Command and Destiny, we are explorers and not here to harm you. All we want to do is take our injured member back."
He motioned to his men; two of them quickly got Lt. James on a stretcher, grabbed the dead creature hoping to use it to find an antidote; they headed back through the stargate carrying Vanessa's paralysed body .
The first woman finally spoke "I am Venna leader of the Artá people...we wish no fight with you"
Young told his men to stand down. "We are sorry to have disturbed you, which were not our intentions. We will leave immediately."
Everett didn't want to explore a planet at the inconvenience of its people. The scientists came out from hiding along with Greer, who stood by General Young's side. Most of them got back through the stargate before one of the other women grabbed Venna on the arm saying;
"Please Venna, they can help us, you know they can..." her words were pleading to her leader.
"Help you with what?" asked General Young
"Nothing, it is not your concern... now leave" Venna replied sternly.
"No...! Please help us, we have a plague that is killing our men, or species is dying out..." Venna cut her off with a look, but it was too late:
"What do you mean killing your men?" Asked General Young showing genuine concern;
"Ignore her, she is lying!" demanded Venna.
"Please Venna, they may have a cure!" she pleaded again: "We need help Venna, before there is no one left to breed with."
Greer raised his eyebrows and thought to himself; "This can't be real...foxy women and unicorns...I gota be dreaming..."
Finally Venna conceded defeat. She was an immensely strong woman in character and physical strength, but she knew they couldn't fix the problem on their own. Although they had reasonable technology, attempts to find a cure took too long: their race had been decimated. This disorder had nearly wiped out the male species with only a few pockets of isolated people, most of them female, now left; so she told them.
"This is Te'arly", Venna looked at the one who had pleaded with her, "And she is right, our men are dying."
General Young asked a scary question "You said it was from a plague... that only affects men...?" fearing that they may have been infected.
"It affects them before maturity, they then become unable to reproduce and die in there early mid years." Venna now had lost her demeanour and Young sensed her holding back incredible pain.
MSgt. Greer asked for clarification on something "What do you mean by mid years?"
"The years during which they would have reached maturity, after being a child..." replied Venna holding off the tears.
They all guessed that meant early teenage years. Scott, Young, and Greer were a bit struck that these women where only in what they thought to be their "Thirty's", and wondered when this plague had started. Young spoke; the obvious question:
"How long ago did this start...when did you know something was wrong?"
Te'arly answered with Venna looking on "Through our mid years boys our age started to become sick and die after a short time; it started with one or two, but within a year it was nearly all of them spreading across the planet."
General Young thought about this trying to understand their situation and then asked "What about older men, surly there must be some alive from before all this happened?"
Venna answered "Yes, there are a few left...they are old and their breeding only brings death."
Scott suggested; "General, maybe we should go with them and see what's going on..."
Te'arly put her hands up to stop them and said "No, you can't go to the village, it may be dangerous."
Venna added looking over at Scott and Greer; "She is right, you are new men...it would cause...issues for all of us" she chose her words carefully.
Scott looked at the keno control; they had been there nearly two hours, and the gate had been open for about ten minutes now.
"Sir, we have to close the stargate, soon...like now" said Lt. Scott concerned about the enormous power it was using from Destiny.
General Young's gut feeling got the better of him, knowing that somehow they were here for a reason; the Artá people really did need help. They didn't have much time before Destiny would jump back to FTL, but he knew that a cure or help would take much longer; thinking about the new alien tech they now had, he had to try something.
"We have someone that may help, but we only have six hours left before we have to leave. I can't promise you anything, but we can try." Young Said to Venna;
"Can I come with you, I may be able to help; I am a healer..." Te'arly was adamant about helping, and unknown to Young; pregnant with a boy.
Venna looked at Te'arly and nodded her approval; looking at General Young she said; "She is right, she will be able to help...please..." Venna hugged Te'arly.
"Sir...the gate; now..." Scott ordered, and with Greer went up the ramp; Te'arly walked between them and stopped at the gate, scared.
General Young behind her said "it's ok... you'll be fine." He looked at Scott: "You two stay put, watch the gate..."
"Yes Sir..." replied Lt. Scott; Greer smiled broadly at him.
General Young held Te'arly by the hand and walked her into the stargate; the flash of the blue tunnel of time and distorted space was over in seconds. The Two of them appeared in the gate room on Destiny stepping out of the blue fluid of stargate; it closed moments later.
"Welcome back General..." said Rush; "Who's your scared friend?"
Te'arly had never seen a star ship, let alone been on one before. There were stories of how they got to their planet on a star ship from a distant world, but she never thought that she would get to see one in her lifetime. She was scared standing there with her hands by her side almost shaking; still squeezing Everett's hand.
"Rush, we need Amanda...fast" said Everett
"She's pretty busy right now with Lt. James..." replied Rush with a "Don't you remember what just happened" tone of voice.
"I know... this is Te'arly and she may be able to help; I need Amanda here, now" Young was losing his patients with Rush again.
Rush called her on the com "Mandy we need you in the gate room, its urgent please."
In the infirmary, Amanda looking at T.J and Varro for conformation; Varro said "Go, we'll be fine"
She ran to the gate room expecting an emergency, only to find Everett standing with a scared but very beautiful woman beside him. She slowed up and looked at the two of them as they headed toward her, wondering what was so urgent.
"Amanda, this is Te'arly, she knows about the creature that attacked Lt. James, and she is a healer..." Everett let go of her hand.
Te'arly was silent trying to take in where she was as Amanda looked at her and spoke gently.
"I'm Amanda Perry; I am a healer too... I know this place looks scary, but I need you to come with me please." She took Te'arly by the hand and led her off in the direction of the infirmary.
Amanda, Te'arly, and Everett moved swiftly to the infirmary where T.J and Varro were working on Vanessa. Her condition was stable, but she was almost completely paralysed from the neck down, with only slight forceful movement of her shoulders and arms.
Seeing this, Te'arly walked up to her and looked in her eyes; "Don't try to struggle, it will only prolong the effects of the toxin; I know it's hard but you must try to relax and it will dissipate quicker."
T.J looked at Te'arly... "Have you been bitten before?"
"Yes, when I was very young." she replied.
Varro turned to Te'arly and T.J; "Please, what can you tell us about this creature and its effects?"
While Te'arly told them what she knew, another conversation was going on between Amanda, Everett, and Rush who had tagged along.
"So, what you're saying is that this disease affects pre-adolescent boys and then kills them a few years later in their teens." Amanda mulled this over using her masses of memory to look for an answer; and it wasn't long before she said:
"It sounds more like it has become a genetic fault; maybe it started as a virus but progressed into their DNA chains that only affects boy of a certain age. You're saying that there are only a few old men there, who cannot produce successful male offspring?" Recalled Amanda;
"That's what Venna, their leader, said; and there wasn't that many left from what we could work out." replied Everett.
Rush spoke up "If their population is small without many different streams of genetics, it is probable that this is common to all the remaining men; a genetic disposition of sorts. The only true way to fix it is to change the genetic batch..."
Amanda agreed. "General, we don't have enough time before we jump to FTL for us to fix it. We can modify the DNA chains to alleviate the problem, but not in the time we have. It could take weeks or months; even with this entire alien tech at our hands."
Everett nodded at them "I agree, we don't have the time."
Rush came up with an interesting answer "There is one thing that may work, but... it wouldn't be what you would call ethical."
Amanda caught on quickly; "No way, Nicholas, we can't."
"We can't what?" asked Everett, not sure what the answer would be.
"He is talking about...well sperm donation; change the genetic pool so to speak..."Amanda was sort of scolding Rush in her reply.
"No way, that sounds like a sick si fi film... there has to be another way." Everett looked at Nicholas with a hard intent look.
"Not in the time we have General."
Amanda, scouring through her brain came up with another Idea. "Where is the next planet we will arrive at...will it still be in range of the first stargate?"
Rush caught on, "I'll get Eli and Brody to check it out. Timing will be our main issue."
General Young agreed with the theory, but as a practicality: "I see where you're going with this, but back tracking through the gates...we don't know what will find at the next one. What if we can't get back?"
"Not us General...Te'arly. We teach her how to use a control and dial the gates; she can take herself back with the cure." replied Rush in a very practical way.
Everett thought about it for a few minutes, remembering that Scott and Greer where alone on a planet with mainly, form what they had seen, beautiful women.
Speaking to both of them Everett said; "We don't know what's ahead on the next planets, and we would need a clear run for her. If we came across a hostile planet before we had a cure; she may have no way back. It's a risk either way." Everett was trying to cover all the bases.
Amanda was sincere about it; it was going to be a risk either way. "It's not our risk General, but if we do nothing, they will all eventually die. At least they have a chance this way."
Lt. Scott and MSgt Greer had begun to talk to Venna and Matá, the third woman. She was different to the other two ladies having an athletic build with long strawberry blonde hair and pail complexion; almost albino, but just as stunning as the others. The Guys had gotten past their concerns and were talking about the animals that they were hunting, and what they were looking for on the planet. Greer asked about their weapons which looked similar to a Goa'uld staff. Venna handed it to him for close inspection with the phrase;
"Careful how you handle that" with a sly grin on her face.
They were several miles from the village and well out of earshot, so boys being boys (around pretty women); decided to show the ladies how to fire their weapons. Greer stood and fired at a tree several hundred yards in the distance, on full automatic. The girls ducked for cover at first, but then stood astounded by the noise and accuracy of the alien weapon. Greer offered the HK416 to Venna, showing her how to hold and fire it correctly. She took hold of it, following his instructions to the letter and fired; she was surprised at how lightweight and controllable it was, and had managed to hit the target 100 yards in front of her.
"Our staffs are much quieter; this would scare the prey" she replied very practically, "but, it was much fun to use... thankyou Sgt. Greer...for your trust." She handed the HK416 back to him smiling...
Back on Destiny standing, holding on to the rail in the observation deck with Everett, Te'arly looked on completely awestruck by the view; at the size of the ship and the amount of stars she could see.
"It's incredible...we don't have a word that describes what I can see..." she calmly said to Everett.
"Huh..." Everett smiled as he took in the view; "Neither do we..."
Amanda and Rush entered the observation deck and stood beside them. Looking out into the stars, Amanda said;
"I will never get tired of this view...it Just goes on forever."
Smiling, Dr Rush started to explain their plan to Te'arly about going back through the stargates to reach her own planet.
"We have mapped out the stargates along our path; they are all within "calling" distance of each other. We believe that some may be able to reach your gate directly, so we'll try to get to those gates first."
"So I will have to stay here on your ship until you find a way to help us?" she asked cautiously.
Everett put his hand on hers for comfort and said, "We are not forcing you to stay against your will, but we cannot help you any other way; our own mission is heading forward on this path through your galaxy. You would have to stay with us until we have found...the answer."
Rush looked at her and said gently: "We cannot always change our destiny, but we can all be the masters of it." He watched as a smile of understanding came across her face, then added; "That is something we say on our home planet."
"I must speak to Venna and Matá first; I will need their understanding and blessing" Te'arly had made her decision; and chosen her own destiny, come what may.
General Young, looking at the time said "We don't have long until we jump to FTL...in just over an hour. We need to go now."
They headed back to the gate room.
Greer and Scott stood up and readied their weapons as the gate started turning, just in case. The signal came through for Destiny, and they lowered their guns. Everett, Te'arly, and Amanda walked out to meet Venna and Matá. After the greetings, Te'arly explained the situation to them hoping they would understand. Although these people didn't have the same technology as Destiny did, they had access to better than current mainstream earth tech. Venna had put their numbers at less than 100,000 people, with less than 10% men. The youngest man was now about 58 earth years or a child under 10, compared to the girls whose ages were around mid thirties.
"I cannot see any other way to help us survive Venna" said Te'arly with a tear in her eye. "They have technology far beyond our own, with people capable of finding a way to help us."
"You ask this of your own fee will?" Venna believed her, but asked anyway.
"Yes, they have told me that it is our decision to make...and I have chosen to trust them." She replied with sternness in her voice.
"What of you Matá, do you wish the same?" Venna believed that the two of them may stand a better chance if something went wrong; but she had also come to understand, believing that Scott, Greer, and their race had honour.
"Yes, I will go too" replied Matá.
MSgt. Greer handed Venna a live round from his rifle "I'm sorry I don't have anything better to leave you...thank-you Venna, it has been an honour to spend time with...a true warrior."
Lt. Scott held out his hand to Venna; she moved her hand to his and curled her fingers in his. He smiled and let her go, as a lump formed in his throat.
"Te'arly, Matá; our hearts go with you, and mine" she looked at General Young "Please find a way to help us...and look after them...if we are too late, they may be the only people from our race left"
"You have my solemn promise..." smiled Everett, taking the world on his shoulders again.
The girls hugged as Amanda, Greer, and Scott walked back through the stargate leaving them behind. Venna let them go with the words; "Please...save us..."
They walked through the stargate; it closed...and they were gone.
Hearing noises from the bushes behind her, Venna spun around to see two other women standing there.
"Do you think they can help us Venna?" one asked
"I hope so...or we're all lost" she looked down at her feet...and broke down crying.