[RP] Stargate: Lost Legacy (OPEN)

[Aenakume]

Hunter did not respond to the majority of Lee's questions - in fact, she gave no indication that she had heard them at all. The only question she did respond to was:

"Dr. Rourke has authority over the civilian portion of the mission, including scientific and diplomatic matters, and is responsible for the civilian members of the team and their equipment. Colonel Lockwood has authority over the military portion of the mission, and is responsible for the military members of the team, and military materiel," she explained, still speaking as if she were reciting a rehearsed speech, "If we were to come under fire, one would assume that the situation would fall under military jurisdiction. That would mean that Colonel Lockwood has command. That would include command over the civilians. If she decided to use them as military assets..." Hunter's tone gave away her disdain for the idea, "... they would be at her disposal until such time as the expedition is no longer under military jurisdiction."

Hunter cocked her head to one side, "But of course, that information is in the mission profile folder, and would be covered in the briefing."  

[Heather Samilka]

Lee sighed audibly as her question was ignored well everything was ignored except for what would be happening in the briefing and the explanation about the civilians. Well it didn't sit right with her and she felt as if Hunter didn't care either way how Lee felt and it kinda hurt a bit.

"Fine fine..." she said as she ran her hand through her long brown locks. "Just do me one favor Ma'am... Stop boring holes into me and staring at me. If you got a problem Ma'am tell me. If not then keep your eyes to yourself. I will do the same. You may report what I have said to the Colonel, but I really couldn't care less right now," she stated before turning on her heal and leaving the room. Lee didn't like how Hunter just ignored a perfectly valid question and felt as if she was under some kind of microscope. Therefore she had told Hunter to keep her eyes to herself unless it was necessary to look at one another.

((I find this a fun kind of interaction. *giggles*))  

[DeirdreTonbo]

Sonata stood by the door for a brief time, watching everyone in the room as they greeted one another in their own ways. Her fingers played with one dog-eared edge of the file folder in her hand, chewing on her lower lip thoughtfully. Finally, Captain Lee left the briefing room with Captain Hunter, and she moved.

"So, Emmy, I take it you've met Captain Hunter before?" Her eyebrows quirked slightly as she asked. She hadn't really met the woman before other than in passing. She knew her by sight alone.

--

At the head of the table, Lockwood didn't much respond to anyone, raising her head only once at Deveraux's entrance to roll her eyes, then returning her attention to the gameboy. Little of the conversation in the room escaped her, however. Her eyes were locked onto the tiny screen, giving the perfect impression of inattention but really, Mario died more than he ought to have.  

[Aenakume]

((i love playin a complete b***h ^_^))

Hunter said nothing, staying behind after Lee had left the room. Far from being cowed or shocked by Captain Lee's sudden aggressiveness, Hunter was carefully plotting out weights and probability factors in her head.

My job will be harder than I thought, she thought to herself, the scientific team will not be my only logistical challenge.

She clenched her fist tightly, cracking her knuckles as she thought, If Captain Lee is so easily psychologically rattled, entrusting her with top priority intelligence would be unwise. I will have to be careful with whom I trust mission critical strategic information. The mission was going to be difficult enough, given the situation they would be operating under, the lack of any chance of backup or relief, and the presence of a problematic non-military contingent. Now that it seemed that her military assets were also compromised, planning strategy was much, much more difficult.

Sighing, she went back to the briefing room, her expression only slightly exasperated, but mostly showing deep thought. Her face echoed the thoughts on her mind: This will be complicated....

---------------

Emmy never lifted her eyes from the mission folder... but she did not miss a moment of the exchange between Captain Lee and Captain Hunter. She thought she had detected a note of tension between the two officers when she and Sonata had entered the briefing room... but that might have just been her imagination filling in details in hindsight. In truth, her attention on entering the briefing room had been divided between five things: responding to Captain Lee's greeting, antagonizing Captain Hunter, sizing up the Colonel, and watching Sonata's a** as she led the way into the room. The last item counts twice.

But when Captain Lee asked Hunter aside, Emmy suspected at first that she was either going to ask Hunter about Emmy, or apologize to her for taking the wind out of Hunter's disdain by taking a positive interest in Emmy. She had not failed to notice the passage of Captain Lee's eyes... and she had not failed to notice that Hunter had not failed to notice either.

"We're across the hall from each other," Emmy answered, slightly distracted. She was burning with curiosity to know what the two captains were discussing. "Air Force put us up at the same hotel nearby, and it's kinda hard to miss that livin' across the hall." Emmy jerked her thumb in the direction that Hunter had gone. "'Bout the only place she wouldn't stick out would be here, I guess. In the real civilian world, she's a circus freak. Tried to strike up a conversation about the SGC, cause I found she was assigned here, and she was all like 'It is a violation of national security protocols to discuss top secret projects in an unsecured location'." Emmy imitated Hunter, mocking her inflections. Emmy rolled her eyes, "You know, if we were at the hotel or on the street, sure. But we were on the freakin' military shuttle bus to the SGC!"

Emmy chuckled and shook her head, "Like I said... circus freak. She busted up a party I was havin' in my room one night - sent all the NCO's scramblin' home, dammit. One night we almost came to blows 'cause she was furious that I had walked in on her while she was-"

Just then Lee returned with an obstinate frown... Emmy guessed that she and Hunter had just had a disagreement, and Lee had told Hunter off. That hardly surprised Emmy. Every second sentence she had used on Hunter since meeting her had been telling her off in one way or another.

On the other hand, never once had Hunter responded to Emmy's goading. Yet when Hunter walked back into the briefing, she seemed pensive and concerned.

Dissension in the ranks..., Emmy thought, carefully devoting her attention to the folder again. It didn't look like a good time to be chatty.

Well, well, well. This mission is more ******** up than I thought....  

[Heather Samilka]

((*gigglefits* I like Emmy, she's hilarious!))

Lee was also in her own thoughts as she re-entered the room and sat down. To her, Hunter seemed like a robot or at least like a replicator showing no emotion at all. Was it just her, or was Hunter some kind of spy? It would probably be up to her to make sure that Hunter was watched at all times.

"Great, just what I need... a possible spy or replicator infiltrator..." Lee really didn't like the thought of them being infiltrated. Hell she didn't know that Hunter was human and using psychological warfare. If she had known she wouldn't have been so bothered by the way Hunter had acted. However, she had not been informed nor was she expecting a fellow officer to pull such a stunt.

Once seated she looked over at Emmy and gave her a thought full look before turning back to the Colonel.

"Well Colonel... it's well past time the meeting started. At least according to my watch," she said as she pointed to her wrist watch indicating the time. Hopefully she could get the Colonel to get this underway so she could go back to her day off. Really... who scheduled meetings on a persons day off was beyond her. Plus she hadn't had a day off in the past month.  

[DeirdreTonbo]

(( Oh heather. *lol* actually, you'd have days off, they're not going to have some over-stressed out over-worked person with a gun anywhere near the stargate. ^_^;; ))

Looking up from the gameboy, Lockwood's eyes locked onto Lee across the table, wordless. One finger extended, turning off the toy as she languidly rose to her feet. At her full height, with dark green eyes remaining on Lee, she was just as intimidating as Hunter was. However, Lockwood had something that Hunter did not. There was an air experience. This was a woman that had commanded and knew what she was facing. Supreme confidence that was in every seam of her clothing and quirk of her eyebrow.

"Captain Lee. As you're so eager to get started, I hope you're done speaking in private with Captain Hunter? I'm sure you noticed that Hunter and myself are the only members of these team that managed to arrive on time and prepared. So if you are done with her we can begin."

The reprimand was all in Lockwood's tone. Lee's childish behavior was treated as such. Lockwood let her know she saw her disobedience and warned her at the same time.

Moving on, Lockwood cleared her throat and shuffled through the papers in front of her. "Now. Dr. Deveraux I'm pleased you could find the time to join us. Yes, we haven't been officially introduced in regards to this mission. As I'm sure all of you have figured out, I am Colonel Kaede Lockwood and I will be in charge of the military portion of this expedition."

A smile came to Lockwood's lips, and her eyes roved over those seated in the briefing room. "Our mission, should you choose to accept it, is to save the world. It's no rumor around the base that we are in a war the civilian populace does not know about. It is a fact. What you may not know, however, is that this is a war we are currently losing. The enemy has us outmanned and outgunned. Teams are, as we speak, out looking for the Lost City of the Ancients and new technology that can aid us in this war. Some of those technologies have had their secrets unlocked by none other than Dr. Deveraux here," a nod of her head toward Emmy, and another smile, "and her genius for, well, trouble. But she's also equipped with a brilliant mind for making things work. All of this is well and good, but it may not be enough. This mission is a step beyond that. At this point in time, the only thing most of you know about this mission is that it is dangerous, off-world, and it is unlikely any of you will come back. We have the coordinates for a planet which pre-dates the arrival of the Goa'uld on Earth. It was, according to the Tok'ra, an Area 51 for the Goa'uld. As they expanded, the planet was left behind and abandoned. I've selected each of you, by hand, for this. As you're well aware this is no simple recon. Any questions so far? Relevant ones, Dr. Deveraux."  

[Heather Samilka]

((lol))

Lee nodded as she had been reprimanded if not officially, pretty damned close at any rate. Sighing internally, she just wished someone had told her ahead of time about this meeting. Damn she hated it when people left her out of the loop and she suffered for it.

Not saying anything, she just waited for the Colonel to finish speaking while going over the mission brief in the folder. While familiarizing herself with the brief she kept her ears tuned into what her CO was saying. A small ability of hers to multi-task, which was helpful from time to time.

When Lockwood finished, Lee took a moment to ponder any questions she might have. First and foremost, she wondered who was the second in command so she knew who to report to if Lockwood was unavailable.

"I have one Colonel. Who is your second in command? I know it's not me or any of the civilians here at the table. Hunter herself said she wasn't, so I am curious who I will be reporting to when you are not available or are injured," she voiced the thought. It was a legitimate question and did not break any protocols or rules. Her tone was professional and all traces childishness was gone. Lee was making mistakes already and she had not done so in a long time. Perhaps this wasn't the best assignment for her, but she had really no choice. Military personnel never had a choice in their assignments. They did as told and did it quickly and suscinctly only questioning orders to get better clarification or when something did not seem right.  

[Rogue Storm Astarael]

Aria is silent through out all of this, quietly observing their interactions. She smiles gently, somehow knowing that the mission will bring all of them closer together, though she isn't sure if she will be accepted as one of them.
Once the Colonel finishes her speach and Lee asked her question, Aria lifts her eyes from the mission brief in front of her and examines everyone's faces and lets her eyes linger over Emmy, Sonata, and Lee's figures, observing their attractive features. She does this quickly then looks up at Lockwood and asks,
"Yes, who is second in command? Lee is correct that we should know to whom we look when you happen to be otherwise unavailable."
Her accent is somewhat thick, but melodic. She sits there waiting patiently for Lockwood to finish, Her face is impassive and smooth as a porcelin figurine. In her eyes is a calm maturity that isn't seen among the Tau'ri until their thirties.  

[Aenakume]

Emmy was uncharacteristically silent, sitting slumped over the dossier. She had torn the cover page off and was absently folding it into a paper boat, completely ignoring everything that was going on.

Hunter cleared her throat, unhappy with the direction that the briefing was moving toward. "The mission chain of command should be tailored to the needs of the mission. Before asking who gives the orders, it might be more beneficial to us all to first ask what orders we might be given. Perhaps we should hear more of the mission profile before concerning ourselves with what parts each of us will play in it."

"Personally, I have two concerns at the moment, Colonel."

"The first is the source of this intelligence. Did we receive this planet's address from the Tok'ra? Or was it acquired during interrogation of the enemy, or perhaps a raid on one of their data stores? How secure is this intelligence? How sure are we that it is not the bait for an enemy ambush?"

"The second is why the SGC felt the need to assemble a special team for the purpose of this mission, rather than sending one of their existing teams? What is it about this particular planet that makes us the right choice for this mission, and not an SG team or even the Tok'ra themselves?"

Emmy snorted bitterly, but otherwise kept silent.  

[Heather Samilka]

"I beg to differ Captain Hunter. This is the mission. Thus the chain of command should be set up now so that there will be no dissention among the ranks. Our mission is to go through the gate and to this planet to look for lost technology that the Goa'uld may have over looked or deemed useless at the time. Thus the chain of command should be set up here and now and not ignored until a later date as you have suggested," Lee spoke up. She did not like how Hunter just dismissed their concerns about the chain of command like that. Yes there were other questions that were as equally important as the ones Hunter asked, but to out right dismiss everyone elses questions in favor of her own spoke of arrogance and did not make for good team work or leadership ability.

"I do agree however that your questions have merit. Equally important to the mission as well. I believe that the information could be falsified as you have said. Or it could be a huge trap we are walking into. Yet have you stopped to consider that the reason they are not sending another SG team on this particular mission is because those teams are busy with other assignments?" she stated cooly. Lee did agree but did not like how Hunter approached things. It was too... cold and too logical, no emotion and no feeling. Seemed to make the woman just more robotic and less human.  

[DeirdreTonbo]

"Thank you, Lee, Hunter." Lockwood nodded at all three who asked questions, considering her answer carefully. "Hunter has a point, but since two of you have expressed the same concerns, I do not have a second in command just yet. That is, in part, the purpose of training together before we leave this planet. As for the source of the address, well, I'll let Dr. Rourke answer that one."

With that, Lockwood took her seat and nodded toward Sonata.

Sonata rose to her feet, looking startled and a bit disconcerted at being put in the spotlight. "Oh. Hello. Oh, wow, so... now you're all... looking at me." Most of this was said quietly to herself as she got to her feet. "Ah, I'm Sonata Rourke, an archaeologist. Hello. I shall be the lead researcher on this er, mission. The coordinates, right. The coordinates were found at a dig site in Egypt by a dig team. My... team actually. After translating most of the work it was on, I did some research into the mystery symbols and it led me into the Stargate Program." As she spoke, Sonata kept her eyes on the papers in her hands, and in pausing glanced up at those listening to her. A blush was stealing up from the neck of her sweater, coloring her cheeks as she attempted to gather her thoughts. "With some help from the Tok'ra, we understood where the coordinates led. But um... I should let Colonel Lockwood finish... I guess."

A bit abruptly, Sonata sat back down, attempting to sink behind her papers.

"Right." Lockwood attempted not to smile as she rose to her feet again. "The planet, P3X-287, was a research facility of the Goa'uld before they discovered Earth, as I said before. The Tok'ra have told us that the planet was presumed destroyed, either by Ra himself or Anubis. Our first attempt, several months ago, to establish a connection resulted in a failure. However, the position we find ourselves in lead to a second attempt to make a connection to this planet. Despite all odds, a connection was established and a MALP sent through. The MALP revealed the Stargate is entombed in rock. Sensors are unable to determine how thick or deep the rock is, or to find a location of a DHD. So our task begins with excavating a path through the rock, determine any indigenous life, recover any and all technology that can aid us, and to find a way home. A daunting task, to say the least. You all have the option to turn down this mission. It is also the reason a special team is being formed for this mission. Teams which are already formed have duties and missions of their own. And because we have a smaller chance of returning than an average Stargate Team."  

[Aenakume]

Hunter sat unresponsive to Lee's objection. If knowing who was in charge was more important to her than knowing what they would be doing, so be it. Hunter would not challenge her priorities. She got the answers she wanted, and had already started her figuring.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly, pursing her lips in thought. Given the manner in which the address was discovered, the chances of this being a Goa'uld trap are virtually nil. And assuming the SGC representatives who had contacted the Tok'ra were even remotely competent, they would not have leaked the address to the Tok'ra in general - who have been known to have been compromised by Goa'uld operatives more than once - they would have asked the one that possessed General Carter, who was certainly trustworthy. The upshot was that there was no likelihood of an ambush. That was good.

The fact that there was absolutely no current information on the planet was not good. Could there be a Goa'uld already established on the planet, with armies of Jaffa waiting for their arrival? No. Not according to Goa'uld SOP. If there had been a Goa'uld left on that planet, the gate would not have been buried. And if it had been buried, The Goa'uld would have dug it up. It was the nature of the Goa'uld - as written in their genetic memory - to expand and conquer. They would hardly have been content to be the ruler of a single world when the galaxy could have been opened to them so easily.

No Goa'uld meant no Jaffa. Assuming there were actually Jaffa on the planet at the time the gate was buried, their symbiotes would have eventually taken over someone, rather than die... and then there would be Goa'uld. And it was already established that there were no Goa'uld. Therefore, there could be no Jaffa.

That meant:

"There is no appreciable likelihood of there being any significant Goa'uld or Jaffa presence on P3X-287. There is also no appreciable likelihood of there being any kind of large-scale human presence, or advanced civilization," Hunter murmured, with her eyes still closed, "If any population exists, it will very likely be small agrarian communities with a very primitive level of technology." Her eyes snapped open and she looked at the Colonel, "Under normal circumstances, the threat assessment would be quite low. Under the special circumstances or our mission, further assessment is impossible without more intelligence. We will need on-site observations."

Emmy, still uncharacteristically quiet, had brightened up considerably when Sonata was speaking. She grinned widely through her speech, and even chuckled softly and mouthed the word "awesome" at Sonata when she say back down. Her gloom returned with a vengeance when Lockwood began speaking again.

But when Hunter spoke, Emmy's eyes opened wide and she stared at Hunter with astonishment blank on her face. After Hunter finished speaking, Emmy finally spoke.

"Whoa," she breathed, "What are you... Rain man?"  

[Heather Samilka]

Lee had her answer, and said nothing just listened to the explanation from the Colonel, Doctor Rouke and Hunter. Then came Emmy's exclamation and she didn't even get the reference. Which made her tilt her head in questioning askance before she tilted back to normal and sigh softly. At least she had nothing to contribute at the point in time. Her expertise was demolitions and languages, not gate addresses. On the other hand, research had it's fun moments, cross referencing ancient texts to translate into modern language was quite fun.

Anyways, Lee just stayed silent and raised an eyebrow in perfect imitation of what Hunter had done earlier. Just kind of wondering when training would begin and how long it would take. Plus there was the fact that there was only three military people present. She had thought there would be more, especially with a civilian contingent.  

[DeirdreTonbo]

(( from this point on, the assumption is that others have shown up. people joining at this point can be "in the background" during this scene or late to the meeting. there's no way this small a team would be given that undertaking. ))

"Hunter does have a point, Dr. Deveraux. But she's made some basic assumptions. The fact is, we have no idea what we're going to find once we break through that wall." No sense in mentioning it wasn't even a given that they would get through the earth and rock in front of the gate. "That is a portion of the trouble planning for this mission. We can assume there is no longer a Goa'uld on the planet, otherwise the gate would have been unburied long ago."

Lockwood thought for a moment, eyes roving over those in the meeting once again. "Our initial training will be as a whole unit. I'll be sure to get the memo out, but since you're all here, keep in mind we'll be meeting tomorrow in the gate room at 0800 hours. Come dressed, equipment will be provided. Once more, any relevant questions?"  

[Aenakume]

Emmy raised her hand. "Come dressed for what? Desert? Arctic? Underwater? Are we gonna be gating? Cause if we are, anything's possible."

Hunter raised her eyebrows, and Emmy noticed. "See?" she grinned, "You're not the only one who can make genius leaps in logic, Pookie." What Emmy did not say was that she knew to ask the question from her own gate travel experience.

"'Sides, what the hell are we training for?" Emmy asked, on an afterthought, "If we don't know what to expect, how the hell can we prepare? You're not gonna make us do pushups and s**t, are you?"