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    (More of "Nod," see previous two posts for beginning and next post for conclusion.)

    Spoiler:
    Back on the surface, Chloe, Scott, and Wray are collecting berries when they hear a loud hummmm from behind them. They turn just in time to see the beam discharge through the clouds, and Scott immediately orders them to make a run for the shuttle and wait inside. The two women scramble to collect their buckets and then dash back toward the landing zone. Instead of joining them, Scott readies his rifle and starts sprinting in the direction of the obelisk, trying and failing to raise either Destiny or Lt. James on the radio. He sets his teeth worriedly, silently praying that nothing’s gone horribly wrong when they have so few hands available to deal with a crisis.

    In orbit, Rush clicks off his flashlight as he enters the bridge, asking Young and a newly-arrived Greer what happened. The Sergeant shrugs uselessly, pointing out that he’s not the one with the doctorate. Then Rush sees the arcs spreading all over the hull, and asks Col. Young what’s going on. Unfortunately, the answer is no real answer at all; a beam just like the one they observed on Eden, and presumably emanating from the obelisk, shot past and then slammed into Destiny. They immediately lost power and have been slowly floating through the energy conduit ever since, unable to make radio contact on or off the ship. Even the countdown clock has gone dead. That’s really all they know, and it’s impossible to tell what damage they may have sustained or what the status of the away team is until the main systems are restored and the interference subsides.

    For the time being, all they can do is try and figure out their situation when they have the chance. Control consoles continually switch on and off, and strange code runs across their screens intermittently. Rush folds his arms and says that the only way to ascertain a proper damage report would be to tap into the sensors, but they can’t do that if whatever terminal he’s working at will just reset every few minutes. Worse still, some subroutines look to be locked out from them entirely. Starting the same job at different workstations over and over again won’t get them anywhere, but Young maintains that he needs an update ASAP. Sighing, Rush picks up a laptop and says he can modify the mainframe to transfer whatever’s being done on a terminal to the next closest active one whenever it resets. It may be tricky to get it uploaded, but it shouldn’t be too hard. It may even be possible to use the patch as a means to restore their access to blocked systems. Then he can switch between active bridge consoles without any need to begin again each time the system reboots.

    Young thinks it’s a good idea and tells him to go ahead, then turns to Greer. As much as he regrets having to wake Eli from some much-deserved sleep, they need another set of eyes and another brilliant mind going over this problem. He asks Ron to go get him from his quarters, then to swing by the stasis room to see if Brody’s still there checking the pods. The three of them need to be working together, and it won’t matter what shape the stasis chambers are in if they end up losing power completely and they all switch off. Greer shoulders his weapon and says he’ll stay alert for any signs of trouble or intrusion, then heads off to go as he’s ordered. Young waits for him to get out of earshot, then asks Rush if he can do anything to help. He knows that sitting in the command chair barking orders won’t do them any good, but he’s not sure he can contribute anything in this situation. The scientist looks surprised to hear him so humble, then quickly recovers and tells him to grab another two laptops from the closest lab for Eli and Brody to work off of in case he’s not finished when they get back. Nodding, Young claps him on the shoulder and does as he’s asked.

    Meanwhile, James and Volker are still outside the obelisk trying to figure out what’s just happened. The beam’s still pulsing into the sky, and the lieutenant has her rifle up and scanning the immediate vicinity for danger. When she’s satisfied that nothing’s going to leap out and attack them, she motions for Volker to approach and investigate. Dale resists at first, giving her a frightened look, but he finally agrees and inches closer until he can peer inside the entryway. All he can see is the blinding glow of a swirling blue energy vortex, however. But the fact that he can see anything at all is a significant change from the last monolith they encountered. The one on the other planet had what they speculated was a doorway, but it was sealed the entire time they were there. Even when it began shooting up light, it remained closed. This one, on the other hand, is wide open for them to examine. What he can’t figure out is why they would be different if this whole planet otherwise appears to be a carbon-copy of Eden.

    Running out of the woods behind them, Scott shouts to ask if they know what’s happening. James falls back to his position and replies that they’re just as in the dark as he is, having been a few meters from the obelisk when it suddenly went active. She goes for her radio, intending to contact Destiny for orders, but Scott tells her not to bother. For now, at least, both they and the group on the ship are on their own. Volker recommends they try and use the shuttle’s sensors to get a reading on the beam, since it’ll have to be more effective than them standing around dumbfounded. Scott thinks it’s worth looking into, and the three of them slowly back away from the obelisk and make for the landing zone.

    In orbit, Destiny herself is now about a third of the way past the beam, still slowly gliding along. If the sublight engines had been active when the obelisk activated, chances are the ship would already be in the clear. But because it was simply drifting and almost perfectly matching the rotation speed of the planet, it will probably take another few hours before the beam moves off the hull. In fact, that’s exactly what Brody has to tell the others when he does the math for them on the bridge. Rubbing his eyes, Young looks over the graphs on the laptop and asks someone to give him a possible solution in plain English. The beam’s disabled the engines and a host of other systems, but nothing has been outright powered down. Instead, everything has gone haywire or refused to operate entirely. Rush sets down his computer and switches to a console next to him, telling the others that he’s finished his modification and is about to apply it to the mainframe. In addition to transferring any of their work to close by active terminals if theirs were to fail, it may be able to rectify some of the existing instability. He connects his laptop to a nearby port and waits for a beep to indicate the workaround is working as intended.

    Eli gratefully switches to a console and opens up the external sensors, reporting with disappointment that there’s far too much interference to get a read on any potential damage. Their best bet now would be to send a kino out one of the airlocks and send the feed back, but even that has issues. The remotes in his quarters are shorting out just like everything else. That means that they could get a kino out into space just for their ability to direct it to fail. Still, it’s better than nothing, and Volker offers to grab the material and take care of it while Rush and Eli pursue alternatives. Once he’s gone, Rush finishes opening a systemwide diagnostic and takes a look over some of the preliminary results. What he finds is startling; within seconds of contact with the beam, the entire contents of the ship’s database was copied and downloaded offsite. Half a second later, their navigational information was likewise replicated and stored, as was the Novan archive and their own data ported over from Earth. Alert and worried, Young demands to know who took it and where it was sent, but Rush responds that there’s no way for them to find out. If it weren’t for the event log, he would never have believed someone infiltrated their system. There’s not a single marker or trace of outside intrusion or download, something that simply shouldn’t be possible no matter how skilled the hack.

    What’s more concerning to Eli, though, is how quickly the theft took place. When they were attempting to upload the Testament on Novus ("Epilogue"), they determined that it would take them days to copy over. Someone just stole hundreds of times more data before any of them had even blinked, and all without leaving any evidence that they had done it. Whoever or whatever they’re dealing with must be incredibly advanced, far more than the drones or Followers or anyone else. Eli jokes that it’s possible they’ve run into V’Ger or some other hyper-advanced entity, but his laughter halts suddenly when he reads that the beam bypassed every firewall, safeguard, and password protection in every file registry in the database. It literally got into every crevice, even ones the crew couldn’t access themselves, and something about that terrifies the young man. He scrambles from his seat and yells that he needs to check something for himself, then bolts from the bridge. Young goes to ask Rush what he’s talking about, not understanding, but the scientist doesn’t appear to be listening. He furrows his brow for a moment, thinking, then realizes what Eli meant and runs after him without another word.

    Paying no heed to the man chasing after him or their dire situation, Eli barrels down the empty halls with a singular and blinding purpose. He ignores the flickering lights, static-filled terminal screens, and eerie blue glow through the windows while descending three decks and making his way to an auxiliary control room. Opening the door, it’s clear that this is the chamber that Rush and Dr. Adam Brody escaped to during the Lucian Alliance invasion of the ship almost a year before ("Incursion, Part 2"). Eli powers up one of the consoles inside and waits for the system to stabilize, slamming his fists down in frustration when it takes longer than a few seconds. But eventually the interference clears enough for him to check the terminal’s local memory. The readout takes only a fraction of a second to load, and he scans it quickly in complete silence. The color drains from his face, and then he begins to shake angrily. Rush appears in the doorway and immediately recognizes his colleague’s pain, but he has to ask the question all the same. This console is where Ginn and Dr. Amanda Perry’s data was quarantined ("Hope"), but if every system--even the locked out ones--were penetrated by the scan, what does that mean?

    When Eli doesn’t respond, Rush forces himself to look at the display for an answer, praying that the server was somehow spared. But the local event log confirms that all information on the console’s drive was copied and downloaded like everything else, meaning that somewhere out there, duplicates of their consciousnesses exist. Nicholas looks up with deadened eyes and whispers that he’s not sure what this is even supposed to suggest. He doesn’t understand what purpose someone or something could have this, nor does he think he even wants to. Eli doesn’t have any answers for him, but he eventually raises his head to look over at him and says only that whatever’s going on, it just got personal.

    While they try to come to terms with the data theft, Scott decides to be proactive down on the surface. The shuttle’s sensors can’t penetrate the atmosphere; it’s suddenly become hyper-charged with interference, but they need to do something. Telling Chloe and Wray to stay put and watch for any activity on the display, he grabs James and Volker and leads them back toward the obelisk. Once there, Vanessa says that they should at least try to determine what the purpose of the vortex inside is.
    Last edited by s09119; 21 October 2011, 09:03 PM.
    Click the banner or episode links to visit the virtual continuations of Stargate!
    Previous Episode: 11x03 "Shore Leave" | Previous Episode: 6x04 "Nightfall" | Now Airing: 3x06 "Eldest"

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      (Conclusion of "Nod," see previous three posts for beginning.)

      Spoiler:
      Pulling out a spare bucket he had been using to gather foodstuffs, Scott agrees that it’s worth a shot and tells James and Volker to stand back while he steps closer to the structure’s opening. He takes a deep breath, then hurls the pail into the entryway and directly into the swirling blue energy vortex that occupies the space within. The maelstrom flashes white for an instant, then returns to its gentle pulsing with no apparent change. The bucket is nowhere to be seen, and James mutters that she didn’t think a plastic container would have much effect on an alien monolith. Scott glares at her, asking if she has any better ideas, before Volker steps between them and tells them both to shut up. He points at the vortex and says that something’s happening, and the others look up to see that he’s right.

      The maelstrom glows even brighter, so bright that the three humans are forced to look away. Scott shouts that they should retreat to the treeline, and they begin pulling away from the obelisk. Then the vortex sends out a massive pulse that arcs out of the entryway, narrowly avoids hitting the away team, and slams into the ground several meters away. The ground is dug up and pushed aside by the impact, and a miniature crater crackles with blue energy for a moment before subsiding. Having ducked down behind a fallen tree trunk, Scott, James, and Volker peer over at the depression warily. They’re not entirely sure what to do next.

      A ways away inside the shuttle, Chloe snaps her head up when she hears the crack of the energy discharge. Wray joins her in observation, wondering if they should investigate and see if anyone was hurt, but Chloe thinks they should stay put. After all, Scott told them to stay in the shuttle for good reason, and they still need to decipher why they've found a second one of these planets. Then they ran into this one immediately after turning around and heading back the way they came, and there can be no doubt that the two are connected. She overheard Rush mention that this system was literally right in front of them; had Destiny flown straight at it, it would have ended up in the exact center of the star. That can’t be a coincidence when one of these impossible planets is involved. Chloe doesn’t know what the encounter symbolizes, but she agrees that it can’t be random chance. Nor can it be ignored that they came across another one just as they were turning around from Destiny’s intended course. But what she would really like to know is why the planet is suddenly being consumed by ice and snow, turning it from an untouched paradise into an utter wasteland. Looking back out the window, she just hopes they haven’t stumbled across something they can’t handle.

      Onboard Destiny, Brody has taken over diagnostics on the bridge when Rush and Eli finally return. Young asks where they ran off to and what they were doing, but the latter man uncharacteristically snaps back that he’ll explain later. The Colonel drops the questions for the time being, instead looking to Brody and requesting an update on their status. Pulling up another screen, the scientist answers that the stasis pods seem unaffected by the power fluctuations and malfunctions. He didn’t note any anomalies while he was checking them earlier, and it’s almost as if the interference is purposely being made to avoid that entire wing of the ship. The rest of their mainframe, however, hasn’t fared as well. There’s no damage as far as he can tell, something they should all be thankful for, but he sees no way to bring any of the primary or even secondary systems online. For the time being, they’re essentially prisoners on their own vessel. Watching while Rush and Eli resume their work, Young sighs and asks for a reassessment of how long it’ll be until the ship slides out of the beam. They still have a little over an hour to go.

      Checking her watch on the planet, James notes that it’s been three hours since the obelisk became active. In all that time, they haven’t heard anything from Col. Young, something that’s worrying her more and more by the second. Taking the initiative, Scott vaults the tree trunk they were hiding behind and approaches the crater with his gun at the ready. He and James are nearly to the lip of the pushed up ground when they hear a low moan directly ahead, freezing them in their tracks. They glance at one another, nod, and sprint to the front of the depression shouting for anything inside to freeze. But neither of them were prepared to see two human women, one younger and red-haired and the other a slender brunette, lying naked in the dirt and opening their eyes to look at them. Confused, Ginn asks where she is and how she got there while Amanda Perry comes to. Not knowing what else to do, Scott tells James to go back to the shuttle and try to find some extra clothes. If she can’t find any, she, Wray, and Chloe can at least give up their jackets or an undershirt. He has no idea what’s going on anymore, but he’s beginning to think that the Colonel was right to question the wisdom in coming down to the surface. None of them notice that, back at the obelisk chamber, a second pulse has sent T.J. stumbling from within, looking around in confusion as the stone door slams closed behind her. Slamming her fists on it in anguish, she finally relents and moves to join the others, looking back at the obelisk with tears in her eyes.

      Shortly after, Ginn and Perry are seated in the back of the shuttle in parts of the others’ outfits while Chloe and Volker give them some water from their rations. Draping her jacket over Amanda’s shoulders, Wray steps away and joins Scott outside, trying to figure out how any of this is possible. Laughing, Matt says that he’s officially given up on that. They’re standing on a planet that shouldn’t exist, watching an ice storm approach that shouldn’t be able to sustain itself, and now taking care of two deceased persons stored in Destiny’s memory. Speaking of which, he turns to a still-shaken Tamara and asks if she thinks there’s any sort of medical complication they might need to watch for. But T.J. just shakes her head absently, muttering that it’s just as strange for her, too. Concerned, Scott pulls her outside the shuttle entrance to make sure she’s OK, but she insists that it’s nothing that needs be discussed now.

      Watching them, the others sit in an awkward silence for a long moment before Perry clears her throat. Saying that they might as well get this discussion out of the way, she asks why no one is telling she and Ginn what’s happening. They had assumed the crew found a way to transfer them into new bodies, but they’re now in perfect recreations of their original selves. Any ailments they had before are gone, including Amanda’s debilitating condition that confined her to a wheelchair and breathing tube, and she can’t understand how. Wray, Chloe, and James all look at one another uselessly, but Volker decides to throw an idea out there. The obelisk here is identical to the one on Eden, and it, like the other one, has shot a mysterious blue beam into space. Destiny had been doing a scan of their area from orbit, and it’s possible that the ship was hit when the ray went off; that would explain their inability to contact anyone else. And seeing as Ginn and Perry were ejected from said obelisk, it stands to reason that it’s responsible for their sudden appearance. If the beam really did hit the ship, it could have seen them quarantined in the database and, somehow, for some reason, reanimated them.

      It may be the only explanation that really fits all the parameters, but James can’t see why the planet builders, assuming they’re the ones behind everything, would go through all this trouble just to bring Ginn and Perry to life. Furthermore, Chloe wonders why they would create another planet like this just to begin destroying it. None of it makes sense and none of it adds up. Everything about the last such world came together in a coherent, if mysterious, way. This time around it’s almost as if there are multiple forces at work and they’re just caught in the middle. Whatever the case, Ginn says she’s just glad that it happened. Stretching out a hand and looking it over, she whispers that it’s an amazing thing, to die and be reborn. Regardless of the circumstances or reasons, she won’t be one to complain.

      In orbit, Destiny at last passes through the beam, its stern sliding past and letting it continue off into the depths of space. Young looks relieved when the lights and terminals finally stop flickering on the bridge, asking Rush if they have control again. Eli answers for him, confirming that systems stabilized and unlocked the moment they were clear of the ray. And now that the sensors are working properly, they can see the shuttle still parked on the surface. The interference is still blocking radio signals, but they should be able to use the ship and shuttle’s internal communications system to talk to the away team. Thanking him for the update, Young brings up the comm. array and hails the surface, asking if everyone down there is alright.

      Returning from his talk with T.J., Scott slides into the pilot’s seat and toggles on his own array to reply. He says that none of them are harmed, but he has quite a revelation for Young--and Rush and Eli--when they’ve docked. The first thing the Colonel thinks to ask if whether or not Tamara is still with them, and he looks relieved when she replies that she’s there with the others. Letting her go to the planet was a risk from the beginning, given her belief in the one on Eden, and he’s glad nothing went wrong . Not that he has time to mull it over, since it’s just then that Rush notices the countdown clock has come back on. With the ice storm encroaching on the landing zone, he suggests the away team return now rather than risk getting caught down there. And he’d personally prefer they all get away from that obelisk as soon as possible. Without any objections, the craft lifts off and makes for orbit.

      A day goes by while the crew comes to terms with what’s happened. Rush and Eli stand at the airlock and are stunned when it opens to allow Ginn and Amanda Perry to step into the corridor. Brody and Volker prepare to bring their shipmates out of stasis, knowing that they’ll need more than a skeleton crew as they head back toward Novus. And Young stands alone on the observation deck staring out at the swirling colors of the faster-than-light tunnel, only looking up when Tamara enters to speak with him. All this while the impossible planet is swallowed by ice and snow, blanketing everything in sight until, at last, it chokes off the obelisk and severs the beam.

      Clearing her throat, T.J. says that there’s something she needs to tell Young, something about what she saw down on the planet. She’s been thinking it over, and she’s afraid that she was responsible for the beam’s activation, as she couldn’t resist going to the obelisk in the hope that it would prove their daughter was still alive. Young begins to reprimand her, unable to believe she would put the crew in such danger, but she interrupts. While she was inside the chamber, she found herself trapped, unable to leave the energy vortex but still able to see out the entrance. Only it wasn’t the second planet she was seeing, it was something else. A clearing with wooden huts, and a crowd of curious onlookers. Human onlookers, among them a beautiful baby girl.

      She saw their lost crewmembers... and their daughter. She saw Eden.
      Last edited by s09119; 21 October 2011, 10:24 PM.
      Click the banner or episode links to visit the virtual continuations of Stargate!
      Previous Episode: 11x03 "Shore Leave" | Previous Episode: 6x04 "Nightfall" | Now Airing: 3x06 "Eldest"

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        It was very good, i liked it. Good job and keep it up.

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          Hmm so it looks like the forum's new software has really messed with the quotations and apostrophes and whatnot, so I've gone through and I'm trying to fix them one post at a time. There doesn't seem to be any other way to do it, so I apologize if anyone's reading some of the ones that have yet to be fixed and there's all this nonsense text wherever there should be a symbol.
          Click the banner or episode links to visit the virtual continuations of Stargate!
          Previous Episode: 11x03 "Shore Leave" | Previous Episode: 6x04 "Nightfall" | Now Airing: 3x06 "Eldest"

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            Originally posted by s09119 View Post
            Hmm so it looks like the forum's new software has really messed with the quotations and apostrophes and whatnot, so I've gone through and I'm trying to fix them one post at a time. There doesn't seem to be any other way to do it, so I apologize if anyone's reading some of the ones that have yet to be fixed and there's all this nonsense text wherever there should be a symbol.
            I got my girlfriend into the show and got her to start reading your stuff. That was probably her number one issue since it affected your reposts of Season 11 stuff. Glad to know it's getting fixed, and that you're back.

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              Nod is very much worth the wait.

              liked it much.

              Comment


                agreed i liked nod as well
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                http://www.fanfiction.net/~ussthor

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                  Man, is this a sight for sore eyes.
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                  The New GateWorld Virtual Fleet Database

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                    Mcoy is it possible to see your pictures of the gateworld virtual fleet? They look amazing
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                    http://www.fanfiction.net/~ussthor

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                      Originally posted by thekillman View Post
                      Nod is very much worth the wait.

                      liked it much.
                      I spent literally an hour explaining the concept of calling something "Nod" to my suitemate earlier. He just could not grasp the word as the name of a Biblical location versus a verb xD

                      Originally posted by Lt. Col. Mcoy View Post
                      Man, is this a sight for sore eyes.
                      Glad you think so. You know what was really rewarding after posting, though? This.
                      Click the banner or episode links to visit the virtual continuations of Stargate!
                      Previous Episode: 11x03 "Shore Leave" | Previous Episode: 6x04 "Nightfall" | Now Airing: 3x06 "Eldest"

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                        Hallejuia, praise the Ascended, etc. Welcome back, man. I love this new episode!

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                          Originally posted by USS Thor View Post
                          Mcoy is it possible to see your pictures of the gateworld virtual fleet? They look amazing
                          See them how? Do you mean bigger versions?

                          And thanks.
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                          The New GateWorld Virtual Fleet Database

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                            s09... glad your back. And awesome episode. And i wanna know the repercusion on all the data that was copied. I hope this planet builder story is long from kaput.
                            Last edited by Steelbox; 25 October 2011, 10:47 AM.
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                            - SteamID user since 2005 -- you can add me - visit steam translation server brazil @ Steelbox

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                              Originally posted by s09119 View Post
                              Glad you think so. You know what was really rewarding after posting, though? This.
                              And now imagine you arching your fingers and throwing your head back in an evil laugh.

                              Awesome work with Nod. Although...[Episode Spoilers >> >>]

                              Spoiler:
                              Young might be a little pissed. He has two extra mouths to feed, but with zilch food.

                              Ginn: "Oh, and we're really, really hungry. Have you got any food?"
                              Young: "Eat Rush."

                              [''... I laugh at your reality..''][ STARGATE FAN COMIC: 'Hallowed Turf' ] [-DeviantArt-] [ ".... and a seagull."]

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                              Comment


                                yes bigger images is what i meant
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                                http://www.fanfiction.net/~ussthor

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