"General Landry, come in. General Landry, do you read me? Landry"
"I'm reading you, Major Klein."
"General, reporting as part of the weekly update from the Theta Site. Things are…exciting."
"Clearly. Do tell."
"Well, just yesterday Deacon dropped a book on his foot."
"A book? Well, hopefully Doctor Myra patched that up. You never know what a book to the toe could do."
"General, with all due respect, what are we still doing here? Between this planet's gravity and its lack of atmosphere, this isn't a good off-world base. And I know the eggheads say there should be an Asgard ruin here or something, we haven't found jack shit in over a month."
"I feel your pain. But with the stargate public, we only have a little bit of time before the UN starts imposing all sorts of controls. The Millennium Expedition's done all it can in response to what the Director did. Now it's our turn. We want to get as much as possible before they do. Just think of it as a paid vacation."
"I have an X-box in my vacation house, sir."
"Give it another two weeks. We need to rotate the crew anyways."
"Yes, sir."
"Keep us posted."
Klein watched the gate shut off and he groaned. Two more weeks. People tend to have an exaggerated view of what being in the military meant. Doubly so when it came to the SGC since they deal with aliens and saving the world and whatnot. But people always underestimate the level of boredom that often comes with the job. Going to a planet to babysit a team of scientists as they take readings of flora and fauna that are only alien on a microscopic level but pretty much the same as Earth in every other aspect? And if not an Earth-like planet, it's a dead rock like this? Klein envied the Atlantis and Millennium expeditions. The latter especially had more strange alien encounters.
He looked up at the white dome around him, a contained environment that held the gate. Came with its own DHD too. Normally computers that would monitor the gate and receive transmissions would be located in a shed nearby. Here? This dome was the shed.
Klein went over to the door, his EVA suit clunking and clanking on the tiled floor. He spun the wheel to unlock the door before stepping into the airlock. The airtight seal on the door meant it did not want to open or close. The moment the edge of the door touched the door frame, it resisted moving any further. So, Klein had to give it a little extra umph to open and close it.
Once it was closed, he turned the wheel to lock it. He took the helmet off the wall and put it on.
"We can build spaceship, but we still use the same shitty space suits," Klein muttered, sealing the helmet tight. He looked at the door on the other side of the room, pushing the button right next to the frame. The monitor right above the button displayed 'adjusting environment'.
Klein stiffened his body as he felt his weight increase. In moments it felt like he put on another thirty pounds. He could hear the hiss of air being sucked out of the chamber as well. And after a bit, the hiss died into silence.
Stuck in this suit, Klein could hear his own breathing like he was breathing in his own ear. He stepped forward and turned the wheel to the door. Once unlocked, he pushed the door open, the seal resisting at first but finally opening.
This planet had some atmosphere. It was just paper thin. Practically nothing. He could just barely hear the whistle of wind outside his suit. The wind speeds were technically so strong that it would be like a hurricane. But the air was so thin you'd sooner be blown away by a ceiling fan. He hobbled forward, the gravity still pulling at him.
The world outside was bright not only from the sun but from the light reflecting off the orange sand. This barren orange desert stretched as far as the eye could see with rolling dunes and cliffs of rock. The sky was a solid yellow from all the particles in the air. This place was barren. No surprise with how thin the atmosphere was.
He had no idea what the SGC was thinking. There was a reason off-world bases were all built on planets with atmosphere.
Sitting in the sand next to the gate house was a truck. A blocky white truck sat on a pair of thick treads. The main body of the truck looked like the blocky version of a space shuttle. And the treads were what anyone would expect from tank treads.
The Team Off-World Cargo and Transport vehicle. Klein felt bad for whoever tried to name the thing. It was obvious they wanted to create the acronym TOW-CAT. But everyone just called it the Brick because of how it looked. It looked like a brick on treads.
Klein pushed the button at the back, the ramp lowering. The ramp was made of a series of small metal panels which all raised to form a staircase. Klein climbed the ramp and into the air lock.
No anti-grav plates this time so he was going to have to put up with the increased gravity until he gets back to the Theta Site. That gravity made walking up the stairs that much more annoying.
He pushed the button inside the airlock and the ramp raised, a hiss as the door sealed. He then opened the interior door, stepping into the passenger area. A line of three chairs sat on one side, the other side holding cabinets and drawers for weapons and medical supplies. They had a few P90's lined up.
When were they going to finish research into the X699? Oxidizers in the powder meant it would go off even in a vacuum, but he still rather have something better.
Klein sat in the chair and started the engines. He reached up and flipped a few switches on the ceiling before turning the key and starting the ignition.
"Major Robert Klein, returning to base," he reported through the radio.
Klein felt the Brick rumble to life as it began rolling across the planet's surface. Between the planet's gravity and how fast the Brick was moving, Klein didn't get any pleasant flies across the dunes. Rather the moment he was over a dune the vehicle would take a sharp drop.
"So, Klein, what's the word from home?" a voice asked in response.
"Same as always, Bridger," Klein sighed. "Landry says give it another week."
"Hey, you're the only unhappy one," Bridger remarked. "Me, Myra, and Deacon are all happy with how things are now."
"Yeah, the egg heads have plenty to study," Klein sighed.
"And as the one in charge of the Theta Site team, you're the Head Egg Head."
Klein just grumbled. Dumb title aside, he was not happy with his position. They each had a long list of tasks and duties involving the advancement and betterment of Earth. He gets paperwork.
"You know when I was told about this, I was excited," Klein said. "I heard that this facility, whatever it is, would have clues regarding the formation of the Alliance."
"That's the hope. There's supposed to be a data storage facility. One that dates back to when the Alliance was first formed. Everyone knows about the Alliance of Four Great Races, but their history is still blurred. The four most advanced races in the known universe and we still don't know its origins."
Klein veered around the next bend. He had to be careful driving around a high gravity world like this. A flip was much worse than it would be on Earth.
"Wasn't this data encrypted or something?" Klein asked.
"According to the techs, this data was buried deep in the Asgard core," Bridger explained. "Only one copy too."
"Not sure I follow why that's a big deal."
"Whenever something happens, copies of the data are made. You want to know about the Industrial Revolution? You have hundreds of history books, different files on the internet, different files on hard drives, and different takes on it. Heart surgery? Medical books, medical journals…"
"Ok, what of it?" Klein asked impatiently.
"The Asgard and Ancients were very much the same. Their entire history, every event comes with over a hundred takes on it, hundreds of different copies. Everything from the first replicator encounter to when they first discovered their genetic degradation to the battles against the wraith. Multiple takes and multiple copies of the same file. But for some reason, there is nothing, NOTHING, regarding the formation of the Alliance. That entire section of history is blank. Everything, except this outpost which was built around the time of the formation of the Alliance. And even references to this base were practically wiped out."
"What, you think the Asgard and Ancients were trying to hide how the Alliance was formed or something?"
"Hard to say. All I know is that nothing in regards to that period of time exists in the Asgard data core or Atlantis."
"I just hope this lead pans out. It's turning into something as boring as this drive."
"I can play some elevator music for your drive back."
"Maybe next time. I can see Theta from here."
"LAME. Fine. Got some grub waiting for you"
"What's on the menu today?"
"Beans, mashed potato, and a side of macaroni."
"No pizza this time?"
"Tomorrow, chief."
"Alright, I'll meet you guys inside."
Klein could see Theta Site. Since this planet was uninhabitable, they couldn't just slap down a bunch of buildings. They had created an entire contained base. The research dome was at the center, a hallway circling the entire dome that led off into all the other rooms. A greenhouse, storage, kitchen, cafeteria, sleeping area, this base had everything.
Everything except a recreation center. Damn this place was boring. Even the structure. The domes looked like oversized golf balls and the hallways, even if reinforced, looked like the interior of a bouncy castle.
It certainly wasn't as large as their other bases. Alpha Site. Beta Site. Delta Site. Gamma Site. Epsilon Site. All of them were built on habitable planets. Not all were Earth-like but habitable. And they were made to house several hundred personnel.
Theta Site? Built on an uninhabitable rock. Atmosphere so thin there might as well be none. When it faced the sun, the place cooked hotter than a volcano. At night the place froze. And it was only made to house about a dozen personnel.
Klein pulled the Brick next to the storage shed, stopping the vehicle. He turned the key and shut off the Brick. He reached up and began flipping off the switches, making sure the thing was powered down.
Exiting the Brick was practically standard procedure. He's done it so many times his body was on autopilot.
Klein hobbled down the ramp. He parked right next to the airlock so it wouldn't be a far walk. Once he was out, he pushed the button to raise the ramp before heading toward the airlock. After he stepped in and closed the door behind him, he pushed the button to recompress.
'Adjusting environment' flashed on the screen as air was let in and the anti-grav plates powered up, letting him breathe a sigh of relief as he felt normal Earth gravity. He unlocked the interior door and stepped into the well-lit hall. The outside may have been reinforced with metal, but the inside had more in common with a kid's bouncy castle. All the walls were inflated and very obviously so. The floors were a dark cement with arrows and labels helping guide the crew to where was necessary.
Klein marched himself to the locker room. It took a bit, but he finally got the space suit off of him.
He took off his helmet and put it up on the rack before he got to work taking his suit off. Took a bit but soon he was back in his green flight suit, Maj. Robert Klein proudly displayed at the front.
He stepped back into the silent hall. The hall made a giant loop so it didn't matter which direction he walked. He just picked a direction and started walking. Finally he made it to the mess hall. It seemed like everyone was there.
Bridger, Myra, and Deacon all sat around the table, chowing down on the food off their trays.
"Our fearless leader returns," Bridger mocked as Klein stepped in. "We have enemy paperwork at the gates."
"Ah, shut it, Edgar," Klein sighed, picking up a tray and going over to the counter. Tins of macaroni, beans, and potato sat on racks above burners to keep them warm. He shoveled some food onto a tray and went to the table to join his team. "At least you guys have shit to do. I'm just waiting for…something."
"Science can't be rushed," Myra, a lovely young blonde said.
"No offense, but I'm pretty sure I can finish your botany report for you. How well can plants grow on PBX-369? They don't!" Klein looked over at Deacon. "You can't be happy. What's an archaeologist without any ruins?"
"I'm cross referencing with the Asgard core," Deacon explained. "According to the database, we should be right on top of the outpost."
"An outpost which they might have tried to get rid of and erase all reference to," Bridger pointed. "I'm all for us testing out the new equipment but couldn't we use it on something a little less risky?"
"What risk could there be?" Deacon asked.
"Watch a scifi, any scifi."
"I'm not sure if we should rely on science fiction to determine what is happening in reality."
"Dude, look around us," Klein said, his mouth still full of mashed potatoes. "We're living a scifi."
"I don't think there is much concern," Myra said. "If there's a biological threat, there's a good chance it's long dead."
"And if it was that dangerous, they would try to add warnings and no-go signs, not erase it to be rediscovered," Deacon added.
"Eh, that's debatable," Bridger shrugged. "I mean if you tell someone to stay out, someone is going to challenge it. Or they'll go back to see if the reason is still legitimate. Erase it, with how big space is and how many places the stargate can go, no one might ever find it."
Before more could be said, Deacon practically sprang from his seat. Everyone looked at him like he had lost his mind as he began fumbling at his pocket, finally pulling out his PDA. The thing was small enough to pass off as a cellphone. But it was linked to al of Deacon's computers.
He looked at the screen wide eyed, a smile spreading across his face.
"Doctor?" Klein asked, swallowing his food.
"We found it…" Deacon breathed.
"We found it?" Myra and Bridger asked.
"We found it!" Deacon repeated.
Immediately everyone bolted up from their seats, all eager to finally get going but knowing they needed Klein's approval.
"Alright, gear up!" Klein ordered, his spirits lifted. Finally, something happening. More than something. It was THE THING that was happening. They were here to discover the origin of the Alliance of Four Great Races. And now they finally found something.
The rest of the crew bolted for the locker rooms while Klein calmly stood up. He did get one more scoop of macaroni into his mouth before he left.
In the locker rooms they all began putting on their gear. This was perhaps the fastest they've ever put on their EVA suits.
"Comms check," Klein said once his helmet was sealed.
"Sergeant Bridger, reporting."
"Doctor Myra, here."
"Doctor Deacon, ready."
All was set. They were all in their EVA suits. All of them looked like white inflated balloons. They all marched to the airlock, squeezing into the tight space. Klein pressed the button, the anti-grav plates shutting off and the air being sucked out of the room. Once it was done, Klein opened the door and stepped back out.
The paper-thin atmosphere had picked up a gentle wind that blew sand across the landscape. Klein led them to the TOW-CAT. Klein took the driver seat. Bridger took the front passenger seat. Myra and Deacon took the two back seats.
The drive was short. The outpost was built right next to the excavator. Even from the base, they could see the drill. The giant building had a pump at its center. And they could see the tip of the pump pulsing up and down. It was a giant white dome with several enormous metal columns at its center. It was built on a rock plateau to properly accomplish its task. At the base of the plateau was a massive pile of dirt and sand. It was about fifty thousand square feet of dirt now scattered across the ground after being sucked out. It should be wet since they used water to help excavate the land. But the environment prevented that from happening. At night it was so cold that it would turn to ice the moment it was outside. And so hot in the day the ice would instantly vaporize in the sun. A metal set of stairs went up the slope of the plateau and to the drill. After getting out of the Brick, the team started going up the stairs. The thunks of their metal boots on the stairs were muffled because of how thing the atmosphere was.
There was no point keeping an atmosphere inside the dome since the deeper the hole went, the harder the life support would have to work. So, there was no air lock. They just stepped inside the building. The dome was massive, computer equipment lining the wall. At the center was a massive hole in the ground, fifty feet across with metal railing surrounding it. There was a computer terminal in front of the hole meant to monitor the drilling.
Tubes and pipes ran into the hole. Klein could see water flowing down some of the pipes and dirt and sand being sucked out some of the other ones.
"Deacon, check it out," Klein ordered. "I want to make sure this is actually what we've been looking for and not just bedrock."
Deacon went over to the terminal, typing a few commands into the console.
"Take a look what the ISIS came up with," Deacon said.
ISIS. Not that ISIS. Integrated Seismic Imaging Scan. It was how they could scan a planet and get a read on exactly what was down there. Normally it would be used to determine what rock could be found. And in a way it was doing that. It was going to report if it found any trinium, naquadah, or any other alien minerals. Combine that with their holographic mapping technology, if they found a buried alien ruin they could get a general layout of what it looked like.
Klein walked over to the terminal, looking at an image that had been pulled up. It was a three-dimensional model of what the ISIS had found. From the numbers he could see that it was a trinium-iridium composite.
"Looks like we got it, people!" Klein announced, clapping his hands. Myra and Bridger clapped and cheered. Finally, something was found. Klein turned back around to see Deacon was already typing new commands into the computer.
"Hey, what're you doing?" Klein asked Deacon.
"Getting a lift ready."
"Negative, Doctor. We report this back to the SGC and get a proper team back at the SGC to explore this place."
"Major, that will take too long," Deacon protested. "Theta is only made to handle a team of twelve at most."
"It's too dangerous, Doctor."
"Why?" Deacon scoffed. "This planet has next to no atmosphere, and we can use decontamination to take care any bacteria or viruses."
Klein gritted his teeth and looked at the computer. Deacon was right. There was no conceivable danger. But it was the inconceivable dangers that worried him.
"Fine," he conceded. "We go down, fifteen minutes, we go back up."
"Fifteen? That's barely enough time to take pictures."
"This isn't a democracy. Fifteen minutes, or we can just wait for a bigger team."
According to the scans, the structure was stable. Without any real atmosphere, it was safe in theory. Most life would die. And the smaller forms of life that could survive would be taken care of by their decontamination process.
Still, the SGC has encountered more than a few surprises on occasion. Energy life forms. Alien technology that can affect the mind. Maybe it was only a matter of time before they find a creature that can survive in a vacuum.
"Fine," Deacon conceded. It was obvious the Doctor didn't like it, but Klein wasn't budging. And as the military leader here, he gets the final word.
"Bridger, I want a life signs scan and a motion scan of the bottom of the pit. I'm getting us P90's."
"Sir," Bridger said. He went to another computer terminal to conduct the scans. Klein went over to the wall and opened a locker. There were plenty of guns inside. He picked up four and went back.
Standard protocol. Always have a gun. They might as well be in a vacuum but the oxidizers in the powder meant guns would still work. They weren't as well armed as any of their other off-world bases, a handful of P90's and zats, but they still had it just in case.
"Status, Sergeant?" Klein ordered.
"Scans complete," Bridger reported. "No movement. No life signs."
"Not taking chances," Klein said, handing out the weapons. "Deacon, prep the lift. Remember, fifteen minutes. Helmet cams on at all times. We stick together. Bridger, I want constant scans of everything. If we catch so much as something breathing, we go back up the lift."
"Major…" Deacon began to speak.
"Deacon, I still have half a mind to just call this off."
Deacon immediately shut up. Frankly, Klein was just as desperate to get down there. He was bored out of his skull. But he still had to be careful.
"And for the love of god," Klein added. "If you see a strange alien creature, back away."
It took ten minutes for the tubes and pumps to be brought up. It took another five minutes for the crane and winch to maneuver the lift into place. It was a cage attached to a pully via a thick steel cable. Though it did come with a solid steel plate floor.
The crane placed the lift on the floor, letting the crew on. Something with this much metal and feeling this heavy, Klein was not used to the complete silence as he stepped on. He knew consciously there wouldn't be any noise. But it still was strange stomping onto metal and not hearing any clanging.
In the corner of the lift was another computer terminal. At it, Klein guided the lift off the floor and over the hole. He gripped the bars as the lift swung over the hole. As if the gravity was bad, a fall this deep meant a guaranteed death.
"Going down," Klein announced, pressing the final button. The normally loud whirring was little more than a gentle drone in the face of such thin atmosphere. Sounds that could wake the dead were nothing more than whispers. The breathing inside his helmet was louder. The light of the room died as they descended into the hole, shadows slowly overtaking them until the surface was nothing more than a shiny circle above their heads. The only lights now came from the lights on the lift ceiling.
The world around them was pitch black. It was as if they were encased in a sphere of darkness.
"Major Klein," Deacon spoke up. "I don't want this to sound like I'm complaining, but all these precautions are unnecessary. Even if there was something down there, we've probably already seen it before. We've been kicking around the Milky Way for over a decade now. And we have experiences in three other galaxies."
"You mean you think we've seen every single type of alien and technology in existence?"
"Well place your bets. New alien race, alien animal, alien organism, or bacteria, maybe ascended energy being, take your pick. I mean, even if we aren't perfectly equipped, we have the gist of things. I mean, fifth race and all."
"Hate to break it to you but the fifth race is still vulnerable to falling rocks."
Another five minutes and the elevator finally reached the floor, the cage being placed gingerly on the ground. The team turned on their flashlights, using it to scan the area. Finally, they penetrated the sphere of darkness. They could scan the stone floor. But when Klein aimed the flashlight upward, he could see the walls. Following it with his flashlight, he could see they were in a massive chamber of stone.
"There it is!" Deacon cheered, aiming his flashlight ahead. It was still half covered in rock but they could see the unmistakable Asgard structure. It looked like a massive ship that was buried. Sleek black obsidian with bronze support stuck out from the rigid brown stone.
"Bridger, take another scan," Klein said carefully, his gun readied. Bridger took out a PDA strapped to his leg and raised it, carefully moving it.
"No life signs," he said. "No movement."
Klein took that in. All the instruments were telling him it was safe, but his gut was saying otherwise.
"Alright, help Deacon with the door."
"Yes, sir."
Bridger went on ahead to join Deacon while Myra walked over to Klein.
"Bob, what is it?" she asked.
"Something's off about this, Klance," Klein admitted. "Look around you. What do you see?"
Myra obliged and looked around her with her flashlight. Just at the edge of her light was the edges of the stone dome.
"Um…a cave, I guess. No, this looks more like a dome. Maybe it's from shields or something."
"If it was from shields, it would cover the whole building, not just the front door. This screams to me someone other than the Asgard made this. Someone who only wanted access to the front door."
"Bob…"
"I know I'm probably just being paranoid. But, I just need to make sure-"
"Bob," Myra said more forcefully. This time Klein paid attention. He looked over to her, finally realizing she was looking at something. He aimed his flashlight in the direction she was looking, revealing a humanoid figure laying on the ground. It wore some sort of mechanical suit covered in dust but it was definitely humanoid.
The figure was already laying on its back so Klein got a good look at the head. The head looked human-ish, but it was clearly mummified. Its flesh looked deflated, its skin was black and smooth. Its hands were on its stomach, clutching something against its chest.
"I know what you're thinking," Klein said. "The answer's no."
"You're worried that there's something dangerous down here. Examining the body will determine exactly that."
"Or we could bring a parasite-infested corpse back to base," Klein said.
"We'll use an iso-pod," Myra suggested. "If you are afraid, then examining the body is paramount to making sure all is safe."
"She has a point, Major," Bridger said through the radio. "If there's something down here then we might've already been infected. And if that's the case, then bringing it back will confirm these findings. If we haven't been, then as long as we follow safety procedures, we'll know what we could be up against and be able to rule it out."
Klein hated this. The easiest thing to do was to just wait for a bigger crew. But that crew would do the same thing. Put the corpse into an isolation pod. Then examine the corpse in an isolation chamber. But what happens if there was something? They could get an entire team infected or worse.
"Alright, iso-pod," Klein conceded. "But I want level three containment all around. In the meantime, let's see what's in these buildings."
Klein knew what was supposed to be in these buildings. Supposedly this thing was built near the dawn of the Alliance of Four Great Races. It was everyone's hopes that something regarding the Alliance's formation would be in there.
Klein and Myra caught up with the other two. They had already gotten the door open and were peeking inside. Klein had ordered them to stick together. So, they were going in together.
The hall was pitch black. Klein took out a flare and ignited it. Oxidizing chemicals was what let it light in such low atmosphere. He dropped the flare, letting it bathe the area in red light. With it they could see the wide hallways. The hallways led to interconnected rooms with large doors and windows connecting them.
But what really caught their attention were the bodies.
"What the hell…" Klein said flatly. From his vantage point alone he could see three more bodies. Like the one outside, they were mummified.
"Asgard?" Deacon asked, clearing the building room by room.
"They don't look Asgard," Klein commented.
"This outpost was built near the beginning of the Alliance. The Asgard looked different back then."
"I don't think these guys are Asgard," Bridger said, pointing at some tripods left scattered around the room. Unlike the room, which seemed pristine abet covered in dust, these tripods looked like a plastic-steel combination. But they looked degraded. It looked like it had been both rusting and melting. At the top of the tripod was a crystal orb.
Klein shined the light at the tri pods before shining it at the bodies. The metal material of the tripod was clearly the same white material that made up the mechanical suit. And the technology was clearly not Asgard.
"Cause of death, Myra?" Klein asked. Myra was walking around the room, kneeling down and analyzing each body while trying to disturb it as little as possible.
"Blunt trauma around the temple," Myra reported, shining a light on what looked like a metal pipe laying next to another corpse. She walked over to that body and began analyzing it. "Stab wounds to the face and punctures in the suit. It looked like these people killed each other."
"Found another one!" Deacon reported further in the building.
"Another one over here!" Bridger said. "Doc, you better take a look at this." Myra obliged. She and Klein went over to see what Bridger was looking at. There it was: another mummified corpse in a white mechanical suit. But Klein did notice the knife tight in this corpse's hand, as well as the gaping hole and tears in its throat.
"He did this to himself," Myra concluded.
"Alright, I've heard enough," Klein said. "We're getting out of here."
"Major!" Deacon protested.
"That's an order!" Klein barked. "You can pick up some things to take back but we're not sticking around. We'll wait for a larger and perhaps more heavily armed team to help."
"We should grab the body outside," Myra suggested. "Bridger can look at their suit."
The four of them exited the building, Klein with his gun raised and ready to shoot anything. Bridger was at the back, doing the same. Myra and Deacon went to the body outside. Myra took the shoulders while Deacon took the legs. With a grunt, they lifted the body. And they made their way back to the lift, setting the body down on it. Klein got the lift running and they headed back up.
-.-
As per Klein's orders, they kept a level three containment. Once they were at the top, they put the body into an isolation pod. They then put everything on the Brick and drove back. When they got back, the first place they all went was decontamination, including the pod. That way nothing could have been carried back even on the pod. They were in decontamination for a lot longer than normal. But, finally, it was over.
While the rest of the team were eager to dive into the body like frenzied piranhas, Klein had to report back to the SGC. He took the Brick back to the gate dome.
"Major Klein," Landry greeted after receiving the IDC. "I didn't expect to hear you report in so soon. Boredom must work fast."
"Well, boredom might finally be over," Klein reported. "We found the Asgard outpost."
"That's excellent news, Major. I'll muster up additional resources and send them your way."
"We've also conducted a preliminary survey of the area. It seems we aren't the first ones down there. There are bodies down there general. And we don't think they're Asgard."
"What make you say that?"
"Their suits. The technology of their suits seems way too primitive for the Asgard. Also, their biology seems wrong."
"Keep in mind the database says this outpost was built around when the Alliance was formed. A lot will have changed."
"Understood, sir. But from the looks of it, I'd say these guys were the same as us: explorers trying to study the Asgard. Place looks like the leftovers of an excavation team."
"Whatever they are, caution is advised."
"Yes, sir. That's why I had a body brought up for study. From what we've seen, it doesn't look like these guys died of natural causes."
"Cause of death?"
"Well, Doctor Myra thinks they killed each other. I've brought back one for examination under level three containment. Get our men and supplies ready but hold off on sending them until we can confirm that nothing here is dangerous. We don't want to send our boys into a death trap."
"Agreed. Maintain regular weekly contact. Landry out."
-.-
The team wasn't happy that they had to wait twenty four hours before they can touch anything. So they had another day and a half to go about their usual business. Once night fell they all hit the bunk, knowing it would only be a few more hours before they could finally dig into the new find.
The next morning, Klein got up early. He was eager to finally do something, but he had to make sure the body didn't just get up in the middle of the night.
Klein walked to the research room, the dome at the center of Theta Site. It was a room divided into five wedges. In one of the wedges was a curved room against the wall. That was the isolation room, a solid white air-tight container. There was a single large rectangular window for anyone to observe and a thick reinforced door. The entire room was trinium-reinforced in case something decides to try to get out. The windows even had metal shutters which were down for some reason.
"Odd…" Klein muttered. He looked at the computer terminal in front of the iso-room. The thermal sensors registered the room as cold…really cold. But the motion sensors weren't picking up anything.
Klein pressed the button to open the shutters, and the metal shutters raised.
Klein froze when he saw that the iso-pod was empty. Instead, the mummified corpse was standing in front of the window. Klein felt something get caught in his throat as his eyes fell upon the desiccated body. It stared at him through the window. It was then Klein noticed something else. There was something black making its way up its body, going up its neck and threatening to engulf its head. Upon further inspection, Klein realized that the flesh was rotting. It was turning black and rotted. And in moments the body's head had also become a bulb or rotted flesh.
Finally, the corpse moved. It turned to look at the door of the iso-chamber.
"Crap!" Klein muttered. The door of the iso-chamber had a lock but it wasn't locked at that moment. They were worried about alien bacteria, alien parasites, maybe an alien animal. They didn't think they'd have to worry about a living corpse.
Klein made it just as the thing had begun to open the door. He threw himself against the door, hoping the force of his body would slam the door closed. But it didn't. The thing inside managed to keep the door open, the corpse howling and shrieking through its rotted vocals.
Klein pushed against the door as hard as he could, but a long rotted arm reached out.
And another.
And another.
Darkness seeped out of the room. This wasn't like smoke or smog. It was as if darkness, the absence of light, had become a gas and was seeping out of the chamber. Black tendrils were flailing out like black cables. The howling and screaming were growing into a cacophonous crescendo like a thousand other voices had joined in.
"HELP!" Klein screamed. Where was everyone? Why wasn't anybody else up? They should be up by this point. Even if they weren't, the ruckus should've awoken them. "SOMEBODY HELP!"
Klein looked back at the door out of research lab. He couldn't hold this door closed. He had to do something.
He let go of the door and bolted. It was only fifty feet to the door but it felt likes fifty miles as he sprinted across the room. He only glimpsed back once but he could see a flood of rotting corpses spilling out of the iso-chamber, carried by a wave of liquid darkness. The corpses reached out as if they were trying to escape the wave merely to be overtaken by the flood.
There was something about them.
They weren't all human.
Klein tore open the door and slammed it closed. He was going to hold the bolt closed but something outside caught his attention. He ran to the window, looking outside to see a massive figure. Though even the term 'massive' downplayed how huge this humanoid figure was. He could make out a head and shoulders but no neck. But just from what he could see this thing would have to be hundreds of miles in the distance. But there was something about this figure. He could not help but feel that it was even bigger than the planet itself.
He didn't have time to gawk. He looked behind him in time to see a flood of rotted corpses carried by darkness rush down the hall. Klein didn't even pause to let it sink in. He ran the other direction. He had to get away. He dove into the first room he could find. It was an act of panic and desperation. But he found himself in the base bathroom, a tiny compartment with a toilet, sink, and mirror. He heard the flood slam against the door, the light at the top of the room flickering.
Klein ran his fingers through his hair. What could he do? He was trapped.
He looked at the mirror, laying eyes on his reflection for the first time. But something was wrong. It was him, and yet it wasn't. And he realized why: his face was rotting. He watched as black necrotic flesh spread across his head, his scalp, his body. His teeth turned yellow. His eyes sank into his skull.
Klein looked at his own hands. They were normal. They weren't the black rotting hands in the mirror. But when he looked back up, he could tell something else was wrong. That thing in the mirror wasn't the reflection.
He was the reflection.
The thing in the mirror moved and he had to do the same. It acted, he reacted. It wasn't even that he was forced to mimic the mirror. He just did it like the laws of the universe were written for him. He couldn't figure out what was happening.
But the thing in the mirror reached into its pocket. Klein reached into his pocket.
The thing in the mirror pulled out a gun. Klein pulled out…nothing. There was nothing in his hand. But it was exact same grip like he was holding a gun.
The thing in the mirror pressed the gun against its own head, forcing Klein to do the same.
BANG.
Klein groaned as he held the back of his head.
"Damn," he groaned.
"Hey, boss!" Bridger called from outside his quarters. "You ok!"
"I'm fine!" Klein called back. "Fell out of bed."
He was curled up on the floor after falling out of this bunk. And not being conscious, he couldn't control how he fell. So, he couldn't stop his head from hitting the ground first.
Klein got back up. He was about to go to the sink in his room but froze. He remembered the dream like he lived it. He remembered moments away from dying thanks to his own reflection.
Finally mustering his courage, he marched to the mirror, quickly jumping back in case his face was still rotting. But no. His face was fine. His skin was smooth. And his teeth were still white.
He let out a sigh. Just a dream.
Alright, time to check on the body.
He went to the dresser and got dressed in his green flight suit. There was barely enough room for him to change. The bedrooms were about the size of as a jail cell. The dresser and bookshelves were on one side of the narrow room and the bed, desk with computer, and sink were on the other.
Once he got his boots on, he stepped pressed a button and opened the shades. To his shock, it was midday. The sun was high in the sky and the shining on the orange landscape.
"What the…" Klein stuttered. It was WAY later than it should be. He looked over at the clock. Yeah, his alarm didn't go off for some reason and he had overslept over five hours.
Muttering to himself angrily he opened the door to see Bridger outside.
"Bad night's sleep, sir?" he asked.
"Unfortunately."
"Well, if it makes you feel better, everyone else won't think any less of you. They're happy about it."
"Did they at least obey my orders about isolation?" he groaned, rubbing his face. That nightmare had put him on edge. He was even thinking if he wanted to extend the quarantine period.
"Made sure they did," Bridger said as they went into the hall. "Isolation period ended while you were still in bed."
"Alright, I guess I'll see what they're digging into," Klein said.
"Actually, you should see what I have first," Bridger suggested. They went over to Bridger's lab. Though the name 'Bridger's Lab' wasn't really accurate. All the labs were situated in the same one-roomed building. fThe domed room was divided by walls which split it into three labs... Computers on the side were all on standby. and on the table was a single black orb.
Just looking at it, Klein's eyes began to water. It was like staring at a bright sunny sky. He wasn't staring at the sun but his eyes still hurt like he was staring at a bright light. Which was strange because that thing was clearly not glowing. If anything, it was doing the opposite, sucking in the surrounding light instead of giving off light.
"According to the scan, this thing is a perfect sphere," Bridger explained. But Klein was less than impressed that the scans simply told him this was the ultimate ball.
"Yeah, so?" he asked.
"We can use Asgard technology to map objects down to the atomic scale. And normally there is something out of place, some atom too much. Most round objects vary in texture by a few millimeters and a curvature variance of a few meters. Even the roundest thing we've ever made had a variance of nanometers. But this thing, I am detecting zero variance in texture or curvature. It is perfectly round and smooth."
"So, it's an alien pinball…That's all I'm getting from this."
"Ok, I guess this has no military applications, but this is a huge discovery, something with this precision. And it's interaction with light is strange. I'm going to run a more detailed analysis."
"Right, I'm going to check in on the others," Klein said, walking away.
"Oh, one more thing," Bridger called out, shuffling his chair over to a computer and turning the monitor. A few clicks later, Klein watched Bridger bring up some sort of graph.
"This morning, I picked up this…energy reading. There's some sort of energy reading coming from space that we can pick up here."
"Anything we need to worry about?"
"Doesn't look like it. It's just a bit odd. Even starships shouldn't be giving off readings like this."
"Well, pass it along to the SGC. They can investigate."
Klein walked off. Unless they found something, he wasn't really interested. He wanted to see what everyone else found
It was as he suspected. Now that the quarantine period was over, Myra and Deacon were diving into everything. Myra got the body to study while Deacon was trying to figure out the culture of this alien race.
They were each in their own corner of the lab, busy examining their new toys.
"Myra," Klein greeted as he walked up to her. "Got something."
Myra had the mummified corpse on the table, a mask over her face as she carefully cut it open. Klein could only watch this from outside the room since she kept it isolated in case there were any diseases inside.
"Well it's not Asgard," she said. "It's not human either. From what I can gather, this thing's been down there for maybe a thousand years."
"Thousand years and it's not a pile of bones?" Klein remarked skeptically.
"There's no atmosphere on this planet," Myra pointed out. "No bacteria either. So, it won't decompose."
"So, what happened to them? They really kill themselves."
"It looks that way. Bridger picked up what he thinks are guns. It begs the question why they chose to stab each other to death rather than shoot each other?"
Klein looked down at the desiccated body. Looking down at it, it felt almost looking at a portal through time. This body had a story to tell. So much mystery. What happened to it? What were its final moments like?
Obviously, they came here to study the Alliance. So what went wrong? And who were they exactly?
"If these guys aren't Asgard, can you tell what race they are?" Klein asked.
"I can tell you what race they're not. I don't think we've actually encountered these guys before. I'm still digging through their biology. I can let you know if I find anything."
"Sounds good, Myra," Klein said.
A new alien race. Might be one that is now extinct. Might still be out there somewhere, hiding from the Goa'uld. Sure, the goa'uld are gone now but many races are still hiding despite that. They had bombed countless galactic superpowers back to the stone age and those who survived hid for tens of thousands of years. This might've been another one.
Deacon was next. He went over to his desk to see the man leaning into a microscope, probably to examine whatever material the suits were made of to see if there was any cultural correlation or something.
"Deacon…" Klein said. But Deacon seemed completely immersed in his work. "Deacon," Klein called out again. "Jackson!"
Deacon jumped this time, whipping around.
"Uh…Major Klein," he stuttered. Klein looked at Deacon in confusion.
"You ok?" Klein asked suspiciously. His behavior was suspicious enough, but the bags under his eyes were very apparent.
"Yeah, yeah," Deacon said dismissively. "Just…didn't get a good night's sleep."
"I know how you feel," Klein remarked. He thought back to that nightmare he had. It felt disturbingly real. Real enough he had half a mind to tell his crew to put that artifact back where they found it.
"Anyways," Klein said, shrugging off the feeling. "We didn't find any writings or anything. You actually have anything to study?"
"Oh, we did find something," Deacon explained. "On the corpse we brought back we emptied his pockets. Found what looks like a Goa'uld tablet."
"Goa'uld tablet?" Klein repeated. "Myra says these guys aren't any race we've encountered before. So what're they doing with a Goa'uld tablet?"
"Maybe they stole it from the Goa'uld. Or maybe they're the original race the Goa'uld stole it from. No way to know. Unfortunately, what's written on it isn't in Goa'uld. Or any language we've encountered."
"So…you got nothing?"
"I didn't say that. For some reason, these aliens didn't just write their message in one language. They wrote it in twenty."
"Twenty? You sure?"
There was a lot of attitude in the way Deacon scoffed and raised his eyebrows.
"One for each page," the doctor said.
"Maybe it's a different message all together."
But Deacon shook his head.
"The symbols and their structure are completely different. And the length of the messages are roughly the same. Having two paragraphs of the same length is one thing. But twenty is another thing all together."
"Any of those languages one we know?"
"Just one," Deacon said rolling over to his computer. Klein could tell something was wrong. Deacon didn't just look tired. Even the way he slid his chair took more effort than it should.
Maybe Deacon just overexerted himself after such a crazy find. He'll let it go. For now, he wanted to know what language they could understand. But what Deacon pulled up was a diagram of atoms.
Everyone at the SGC knew the Universal Language. A language that can apply to any race as it was a language written in atomic and subatomic particles. Elementary particles every race should know about.
"So, we know what it says?"
"Sort of."
"Sort of? Doc, we've known about the Universal Language for, what, twenty years now? And we still don't know how to decipher it?"
"The Universal Language is something we've had absolutely no reference for translating until we got the Asgard core. Even on Earth, there are dead languages we've known for decades that we still can't translate. And even then we at least had copies of that language. The original texts written in the universal language were lost with Heliopolis."
"And with the core? Can we find out what it says?"
"We've made progress but we spend more time translating the Asgard teaching us the language than we do the language itself."
"So, do we or do we not know what it's saying?"
Deacon sighed as if he didn't know how to answer. Almost like he didn't want to answer at all.
"It looks like a journal. Apparently, these guys were doing the same thing we are. Looking for the Source."
Finally, Klein was learning something new. Sort of at least. But one word in his statement stood out.
"Source?" Klein repeated.
"It's the best word I can get for it. Translations are rarely ever one for one. But they wanted to learn more about the origin of the Alliance. Just like us."
Klein wasn't an idiot. He knew that just meant Deacon made up a name for it.
"So we're right. These guys were here to study the Asgard."
"Yeah, these guys were archaeologists who wanted the same thing we want. To know just how the Alliance was formed. Before the Alliance was formed, five powerful races sought something they called The Source."
"Five?" Klein repeated. "Miscount or something?"
Klein did hear the Alliance had gone to other galaxies in search of others to join them, but it was only ever four.
"I don't know if it's true but these guys keep referring to a fifth race that later quit the alliance," Deacon explained. "I can't even say that. The Alliance hadn't even formed yet and this fifth race stepped out before it could."
Formerly five races. But then becoming four.
"No mention on what The Source is?" Klein asked. But Deacon could only shake his head.
"I only know that it is something that helped bring all four races together. Maybe it's an artifact or some location in myth. But, I don't know."
"Well, keep at it," Klein said, patting Deacon on the back and walking away.
That was all of them. All that was left was the report to the SGC that they found something. And since this was a major find, he didn't have to wait for the end of the week to deliver the news. He just needed to write up the paperwork then drive back to the gate.
Klein prepared to leave the lab. But before he did, he stopped to turn around. It wasn't something he saw or heard. It was something he felt.
He felt eyes on the back of his head.
It felt like he was being watched.
-.-
%#%&%
##$ #$$%_(*)
#$etter th*&
Learn ^I*&^
How did dust/nothing? How did lesser/speck grow/cheat? &^%*&%$^%*#
Must study/dissect. $%)# Must acquire/take. Must devour. )(*$$%^^ Must know. Others/superiors/lesser come. They too wish to acquire/take.
How?
Must explain.
()*#%^ (*&
Others come.
They are coming.
We are Exiled.
We are curious.
We are coming.
Klein gasped as he woke up in his bed.
That was an odd experience.
It wasn't a nightmare like before. But it still wasn't pleasant. Just what exactly was that?
A message?
Not quite.
When a person speaks, they hear audio. That audio is sent to the brain as signals. The brain then translates that signal into memories, emotions, and concepts. It was like someone or something had skipped the audio part and put concepts straight into his brain.
The thing about concepts, it's that they are often abstract. One word can have multiple meanings. And multiple words can have the same meaning. One sentence can be restructured and told in countless ways. Likewise, multiple types of sentences can all convey the same idea.
But it didn't answer his question.
Just what the hell was that?
-.-
The next few days were far more exciting. Even if he wasn't involved, the knowledge that they had even found something meant Klein had something to do. He filed his paperwork with the SGC who immediately started making plans to send them more people. And Klein started reviewing everything they knew to make sure the hole in the ground was safe. After a meaningful day's work, he joined the rest of his team for dinner.
He had walked into the cafeteria and gotten his share of the rations. But when he went to join his team at the table, he stopped.
What was that noise?
Klein turned around, swearing he heard skittering. Like a thousand fingers strumming the metal
The cafeteria was another domed building, a spiderweb of metal struts holding up the white ceiling. Looking up at the struts , Klein would swear he saw something hide behind one of the strut.
"Major!" Bridger called from the table, making Klein look away. "What are you waiting for? C'mon!"
Klein looked back up at the struts . Still, he saw nothing.
Must've been his imagination. Probably just the excitement of it all.
Klein shrugged it off and joined his team. A nice lunch then they get back to work.
"Oh, they finally released the DVD's to that one horror movie," Bridger said as he dug in. "Insomniac."
"Didn't that come out in 2013?" Klein asked.
"Not the 2013 one. The new one."
Instantly Myra rolled her eyes at that name.
"Something tells me you aren't a fan of that movie," Klein observed.
"It botches basic human biology," Myra huffed.
"Hey, you're one to talk," Bridger pushed back. "You like crime drama shows. If I ever have to suffer through 'zoom and enhance' ever again, I'll throw myself off a cliff."
"Oh, that is nowhere as bad as saying sleep is some sort of alien conspiracy! Oh, sorry Major, we're spoiling."
But Klein wasn't the least bit bothered. If anything, he was intrigued. He didn't intend on watching the movie before but he was curious.
"Go on ahead," Klein said, leaning forward. "You don't mind, do you Deacon?"
The three of them looked at Deacon, who seemed to be pushing his food around.
"Deacon," Myra called out, finally catching his attention.
"Oh…um…go ahead," Deacon said absentmindedly.
Curious. Why was Deacon like that? Klein will let it go for now, it could've just been a stressful day, but he would have to check later.
"So, the movie is about this doctor who theorized that sleep isn't actually a necessity for day-to-day life. That it was more of an action taken to pacify something within us. And that the reason we feel so tired from lack of sleep is something akin to withdrawal. That we don't need to sleep to survive."
"So stupid premise," Myra remarked.
"I mean, the side effects of long term sleep deprivation include visual and auditory hallucinations. He discovers those aren't hallucinations at all but things around us that we can't see. And sleep is what makes us unable to see them."
Once again, Myra rolled her eyes.
"The physical effects of lack of sleep have been heavily documented," she sighed. "And there is no unlocking any third eye or anything like that. This makes about as much sense as Breatharianism."
"Yeah, but isn't the concept cool?" Bridger asked. "That there's stuff all around you that you can't see. Or rather you can see but you do something so you don't. Like imagine that . If there was something in the room with you now that you don't know about."
Klein opened his mouth to speak but he stopped when he heard the scraping of a chair across the ground.
"Doc?" Klein asked, watching Deacon stand up. "You ok?"
"Just not feeling good," Deacon said dismissively. That didn't make Klein feel better. They were on an alien planet and they just unburied an alien outpost. Not feeling good could be the first signs of an alien disease or parasite.
"Myra?" Klein asked.
"Deacon, maybe I should take a look at you," she suggested.
"I'm fine, Myra," Deacon shrugged. "Just not been sleeping well."
"This is an order, Doc," Klein said.
"If it makes you feel better," Deacon sighed.
Klein watched as Myra escorted Deacon from the room. It wasn't anything yet. But Klein could not help but feel something was…off.
And he felt like he was being watched again.
"Major?" Bridger asked, concerned.
"It's nothing," Klein shrugged off, returning to the table. "I'll check on Deacon later."
It would take time for Myra to do her examination. For now, he was going to just enjoy his meal.
"Oh, Bridger," Klein said. "I heard back from Landry. He's approved your request. At about 01400 today, they'll dial in with Major Hailey to help you run your analysis."
Bridger didn't say anything, but Klein could see his excitement. Hailey was the SGC's top scientist second only to Carter. Unfortunately, Hailey had her own expedition to return to another galaxy. Which meant if Bridger wanted her expertise, he had to do it while she was still here. A rogue goa'uld had revealed the truth about the stargate to the public but she still had her duties in another galaxy to return to.
The two of them finished up their meals. Just in time too. It was nearly time for Hailey to check in. And Klein had to check in on Myra and Deacon.
Klein made his way to the infirmary, where Myra was busy at her desk. And Deacon was nowhere to be seen. That was a good sign. If Myra had found something, he'd be in a bed or an iso-chamber.
"Doc!" Klein called out, walking over to Myra. "Looks like your patient was discharged."
Myra turned around in her swivel chair.
"Yeah, I ran every check I knew of," Myra said. "Couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Really does look like sleep deprivation."
Klein noticed Myra's computer and the report she was typing up. He leaned sideways to get a look at it but she quickly minimized the screen. And a quick glare from her was enough to let him know to back off.
"Just trying to be thorough," Klein said. "Deacon hasn't been like this the entire time we were here. He only started after we visited that hole. It could be coincidence but I'm not taking chances."
It seemed Myra understood this. He technically didn't need to explain his actions but he always found subordinates to be better when they were informed.
"Look, I can't tell you 100% that there's nothing wrong with him," Myra said. "We're exploring the galaxy. Half the things we discovered after digging up the stargate defies our traditional understanding of science. All I can say for sure is that I can't find anything."
Klein knew from experience that was the best answer he was ever going to get. He's been with the SGC for a while and he's heard plenty of times Doctors report nothing was wrong merely to have something reveal itself later. Something they couldn't detect.
"I need to touch base with Landry," Klein said. "I'll tell him to told off the next team for one more day."
One more day. He can't sit there and do nothing. But he has to make sure this was safe and they wouldn't bring something back to Earth.
Klein made his rounds again. Just checking on the different parts of the base. Finally, he made it back to the lab.
Klein would go to the gate dome if he wanted to dial out. But there was nothing to stop the SGC from dialing in. And that's what they did.
He could hear Bridger talking with someone over the radio. From the sound of it, the person was Jennifer Hailey.
"These readings…these readings don't make sense," Bridger said. "You sure the settings are right?"
"Doctor, I assure you," Hailey said. "I made this machine myself. I know my controls."
Klein could hear the two talking. But he had no idea what they were talking about. He walked up to them, looking at what could best be described as an oversized black flashlight be pointed at the sphere. A black cylinder with a glass end pointing at the sphere.
"Doctor," Klein greeted. "Major. Mind giving me a run down?"
"Major Hailey and I have been trying to determine the exact composition of the sphere," Bridger explained.
"With a flashlight?"
"This is a portable particle accelerator made by Hailey."
"I use this to determine the mass, structure, and composition of an object," Hailey explained. "You can't 'see' a subatomic particle. What we can do is observe their effects on the particles around them. This bombards an object with other particles and measure the reaction."
Klein was just going to pretend he understood what was being said.
"So I'm guessing Bridger doesn't get playing with the new toy?"
"It's not a toy," Hailey said flatly. "And the readings he's getting back do not make any sense. The particles are not behaving like anything we have on record. So either Bridger did not set up the accelerator correctly…"
"I did," Bridger groaned, a response that simply made Hailey roll her eyes..
"If he did then then entirety of this sphere is made up of subatomic particles we have never seen before."
"Yeah, I'm banking on Bridger making a mistake," Klein remarked.
"This thing clearly isn't natural," Bridger said. "So is it that far a stretch to say it's made entirely of different subatomic particles?"
"You can turn iron to steel or to rust but that doesn't change the fact it's made of protons, electrons, and neutrons," Hailey said flatly. "Look, I guess in theory that whoever built this could've discovered some subatomic particles we've never seen before and learned how to make stuff with them. I just find it really unlikely."
Klein put his hand to his chin and contemplated. He didn't need to be a scientist to know the implications.
"Let's say Bridger is right," Klein said. "Let's say it's not made of any subatomic particle we've seen before, what does that mean?"
"Even after we discovered the stargate, discovery of subatomic particles was rather limited," Bridger explained. "There's the keron particle but that's it. The Alliance simply made more use of the known subatomic particles."
"Meaning if this sphere is made completely of unidentified subatomic particles, how did they find or make them?" Hailey finished.
"Make?" Bridger scoffed. "Now you're the one sounding crazy."
"It's not within the means of our current technology, but it is conceptually possible."
"Even the Alliance didn't make use of femtotechnology. Nanotechnology out the ass, sure. But not femto. You're talking about machines the size of an electron. Which means whoever built this…"
"Could be more advanced than the even Alliance," Klein finished for him.
-.-
Later that night, Klein found himself unable to sleep. Not because of any fear nor nightmare.
No, he couldn't sleep because there was something he had to do.
He sat on his bed, setting up a camera to face him. Finally, he was ready. He hit record and sat down on the bed.
"Hey, Dani," Klein said softly. "Guess there's no way around it anymore. The stargate's public knowledge now. So now you know what I've been up to these past ten years. Look…I know it's no excuse for the way I treated you…or rather how I couldn't treat you. I'm not going to bother telling you about the details of my missions. Or whether or not I was among those who save the world. Because it doesn't matter. Nothing I did before or say right now will change that I was never there for you or for Charlie or Anri. Just…I hope…"
Klein wanted to say more, but his radio suddenly crackled to life. He was in the middle of something.
Nonetheless, he had to make sure this was not urgent. So he stopped his recording and answered.
"Klein here," he said. "What's up?"
"Major," Bridger through the radio. "I'm in the power room. I think you should get down here."
Bridger's tone was grave. Far graver than it should've been. This had to be important.
"On my way," Klein said, quickly gearing up.
Normally, the power room was in a shed outside. That would be the case if this was a habitable planet. If they did that here, then you'd need to suit up every time you need to check the power.
The naquadah generator was in the basement, under the central dome. Klein took the stairs down to the basement. The place was a lot dimmer than the rest of the base since it was the least used location in the whole base. The hall interiors were cold concrete and there were only a handful of small lights on the ceiling to illuminate.
Naquadah generators could take refined naquadah the size of mechanical pencil lead and generate hundreds of megatons of energy. And their generator was on a pedestal in the center of a cylindrical room. Bridger was at the only computer terminal connected to the generator, looking at several glowing graphs.
"Bridger, what do we got?"
"Well, I thought it was just a power fluctuation. But, it looks like the absorption port and the redundancies were all tampered with."
"Bridger, what on my face make you think I understand what you're saying?"
"The generator was set to overload, sir. Give it an hour and it would've exploded."
Klein felt his blood chill. That meant something on base had tried to kill them. There was something out there on this rock that had managed to break into the power station and rig the naquadah generator.
"So we're not alone here after all," Klein sighed. "I'm gonna contact the SGC and request additional guards. Zats and P90's."
"Major, nothing can survive out there," Bridger pointed out. "The atmosphere might as well be nonexistent."
"An energy lifeform then. Or maybe single celled."
"None of those things could set the naquadah generator to overload. I mean, a being from a higher plane could. But if they could do that without incurring the wrath of the Ancients then they could do a lot more."
Klein had to admit Bridger had a point. An ascended being could will them out of existence. It didn't need to set a generator to explode.
"Bridger, I don't like what you're insinuating."
"It's the only explanation, sir. One of us sabotaged the generator and set it to blow."
Klein put his hand to his temple. This was bad. Still, there was a silver lining. Klein was feigning ignorance but he had noticed the zat on Bridger's side. They had an armory but they didn't carry around weapons.
Bridger could've been the saboteur. But then why tell him? It might've been to throw off suspicion but then why the zat? He suspected Bridger was probing him, ready to zat him if he got aggressive.
"We're jumping to conclusions," Klein said. "What about a cloaked alien with some sort of suit. Like us." Bridger eased up a bit, clearly considering that answer. Though, Klein was not put at ease. He didn't know which would be worse. They didn't have TER's. But was one of them being a saboteur any better?
Still, couldn't be too careful…
"We can check the security office," Klein said. "The generator room has a camera pointed at the door."
Bridger didn't bothered at all. If anything, he seemed to get excited.
Out of the four of them there, only Bridger would know how to doctor the security footage. And that's assuming the saboteur even bothered since the intent was to destroy the whole place and leave no trace. With any luck, the security footage will reveal who the saboteur was.
It was a short walk to the security office. Because of how small the base was, it was not a room full of screen and monitors and more of a closet with a single laptop in it. Bridger jumped on while Klein watched his actions from the back.
"I guess I can relax then," Bridger said as he typed. "If you were the saboteur you probably wouldn't want to check the footage."
"That's assuming there even is a saboteur," Klein said. "We could be dealing with an alien."
"One way to find out."
Bridger clicked and brought up the footage from the camera watching the generator. Bridger dragged the playhead back and then ran it at three times the speed. Considering the room wasn't used most of the time, they expected a whole lot of nothing.
"There," Bridger said. Klein saw it too. Someone going into the room, messing with the generator, the walking out. At that speed they couldn't tell anything about the person except they were humanoid.
"Wait, keep going," Klein said. So they knew one person went into the generator room. That didn't mean another person did. There shouldn't be but he wanted to check.
Low and behold, no one else went into the room. Which meant that person was the only one who had access to the generator.
Klein glanced down at Bridger. He didn't make a grab for the zat so Klein was growing increasingly confident Bridger wasn't the person on camera.
And Klein was right. When Bridger rewound the footage, Klein was stunned by who he saw.
-.-
Klein stood in front of the window, staring at Deacon. Klein could only shake his head in disappointment. This place was meant for a small crew of specially chosen individuals. There wasn't supposed to be a need for a brig. So this isolation chamber was the best they could do, made in case they ever encountered alien creatures that needed to be contained.
Deacon sat in the corner, his head between his knees.
"I read your profile, Deacon," Klein said. "You've been with the SGC years before the stargate went public so that can't be the reason. The Trust is gone. Even if it wasn't, you don't have a snake in your head and I can't imagine why you'd want to work for them. So…who are you with? The Stargate Council? Another country that wants the gate for themselves? They teach you how the generator works? Cuz you shouldn't have known how to sabotage it."
Deacon was still silent. And so still that he could've been dead and Klein wouldn't know.
"Is there something to this, Deacon?" Klein asked. "You've been behaving funny these past few days. They holding your family hostage or something? The SGC can help."
Once again, no answer. Klein didn't know if Deacon really was that out of it or intentionally ignoring him.
"I'll be contacting the SGC later," Klein said. "They'll deal with you."
Klein prepared to leave. But, suddenly, Deacon sat up.
"Finally," Klein said. "A reaction out of you."
Though, the reaction was not what Klein expected. Deacon was trembling, his eyes wide with fear.
"No," Deacon said. "Don't contact the SGC."
Interesting. This was not the reaction Klein expected.
"If you're hoping for mercy from the higher ups, you probably should've thought of that before you tried to detonate our generator," Klein said coldly. But Deacon shook his head.
"You don't get it!" he cried out shakily. "You CAN'T contact Earth! I won't let you."
"What do you mean 'you won't'? You're stuck in an iso-chamber."
Klein stared at Deacon, trying to get a read on the scientist. But that's when it struck him.
"You removed the DHD control crystal."
Deacon nodded.
"I didn't have a choice," Deacon said. "I couldn't risk you contacting Earth."
"Hate to break it to you doc, but our weekly check in is coming up so they're calling us soon," Klein said. That look of fear in Deacon's eyes, it sent shiver's done Klein's spine.
"Listen to me, Klein," Deacon said, walking over to the window and putting his head against it. "The SGC can't have access to those ruins. No matter what happens, they can't be allowed to go down there. We've set events into motion. Events that can't be stopped. There is way more to the universe than we realized. We've got the attention of things we can't possibly hope to even scratch the surface of. Stop digging. There's no hope for me. But they might spare you. Stop digging. And if they let you go, the SGC will contact you eventually. They'll send the Odyssey to pick you up. But you CAN'T let them know. Destroy everything here. Bury the hole! YOU CAN'T LET THEM KNOW!"
"KNOW WHAT?!"
Klein stared at Deacon. But it seemed the scientist returned to his normal dodgy status. His patience had run out. He gave Deacon a chance and nothing. Klein stormed over to the door, stopping to glance back at Deacon.
"I tried," Klein sighed.
-.-
A/N: Trying something different. No, I'm not abandoning Nova and Wolf Pack but this is one adventure that they can be a part of as well as an expansion of the universe that I could not feasibly get them to experience. So this is just another SG team in the Milky Way trying to discover just how the Alliance of Four Great Races formed. In terms of the timeline, I tried to drop hints as to when this takes place. I made reference of a Goa'uld making the stargate public. And I made mention of Hailey preparing to return to another galaxy. If you haven't pieced it together, it takes place during Way of Shadows, after The Director revealed the stargate to the public and before the Millennium expedition returns to Caldwell 70.
I did want to try to use some new elements like more uninhabitable planets. Stargate had a few too many Earth-likes for my taste. But, that was due to budget, something I do not suffer from. It also lets me introduce some other elements like off-world vehicles. And yes,
