Beta site - Colonel Eric Hanes, Commanding

[Gen Blue]

Our fall-back for when the Alpha site (Gaia) can't be reached.
Please be very clear at the beginning of each post where you are at the Beta site. IE: Gateroom, Infirmary, Colonel's Office, Guest quarters

Colonel Eric Hanes, Commanding

[TheXym]

(OOC - due to the hiatus of the SG6/SG7 mission, and the gaiaquake, for purposes of getting back into it, and possibly helping to work help for the alpha site, consider this to be happening about 5 hours after the gate went down, unless Blue or Sharp want otherwise, in which case I'll be more than happy to edit)

GATE ROOM

Hutchinson and Marshall came through the gate carrying Tallon on the stretcher, South followed right behind them, visibly in pain from his wounds.

The med teams took South and Tallon to the infirmary to treat their wounds, and attempted to take Larry, but he refused them. "They're hurt more, I need to brief Col. Hanes with Marshall. Don't worry I'll be down soon enough, the cortisone won't last forever." The medtech glared at him, then saw his name patch. "Hutchinson.... I remember you. Sorry your return to beta site isn't under better circumstances."

Marshall nodded to Larry. "Thanks for stepping up back there... you weren't out of line at all. I'm sorry about Jim... and the rest of SG-7. It's not easy to leave anyone behind, but there was no way we could help them. Don't worry... I'll help you find them. York's there too. You brief Col. Hanes. They know you here already, that'll help things. Plus, Tallon was Sg-6, so he's really my responsibility now. Thanks for helping to get him." He nodded then turned to head to the infirmary.

Larry slumped against the wall, tired as all hell, and frustrated over the capture of his teammates. A tall figure approached. Larry felt, rather than saw the shadow cover him. He forced himself to stand and salute. "Col. Hanes, Captain Hutchinson, SG-7 reporting". Hanes returned the salute then smiled. "Larry... it's good to see you again, but I wish it was a happier reunion. I wish I could give you an explanation of why the Alpha Site gate isn't working, but I can't. It's been several hours. Go clean yourself up then head to the infirmary to get the leg taken care of. I'll debrief you there."

Larry nodded. "Yes sir. And... sir... if you send a ship to check things out, please let me go along with them." He saluted and limped to the showers, cleaned himself off, letting the hot water relax his muscles and then dressed and headed to the infirmary.

[[to beta site infirmary]]

[Gen Blue]

(( Good show on the close-down posts. ))
(( I don't know that they have a ship. Maybe some F-302's. They're smaller than the Alpha-site. ))

[TheXym]

INFIRMARY

Larry limped in, the cortisone shot was wearing off and starting to hurt, though he did feel better for having the long shower. An orderly saw him and recognized him. "Hutchinson.... I thought you were at the Alpha Site."

Larry half-smiled. "No, sorry to disappoint you Calhoun, but I came in the the wounded guys with the SG-6 patches. I'm SG-7 from Alpha Site.... or at least what's left of it." His features darkened. "The rest of our teams got ambushed by about 100 jaffa, no way the four of us could have done anything, especially in our conditions. Hey, you must remember how I like the coffee... got any around here?"

Calhoun just chuckled. "You're STILL addicted to the caffeine? I was sure they'd have gotten on you about it at the Alpha Site. Sorry though.... no can do until the docs check you out. Here, you can use the bed in bay six."

Larry slumped into the cot and waited as the doc who recognized but couldn't remember her name checked his wound and general health. "Hutchinson, that leg is gonna need some therapy, but it actually isn't broken, just some nerve and muscle damage. That splint helped. I wish we had a go'a'uld healing device here, but unless we can get you to the Alpha Site, it's going to be a leg brace and physical therapy for you." She looked at him. "I heard about what happened from the others who came in. There was nothing you could do. And good job getting Tallon out of there... Captain Marshall said you pretty much forced that, but it was still a good thing. I know you want to go get Jim back, but you're not going to be combat ready for a few weeks, unless we get you to a healing device."

Larry just raised an eyebrow. "If there's a rescue op I'm going. Period. They can court martial me later." The doc laughed. "You're still stubborn, Larry. Just for that outburst, no coffee for 48 hours." Smiling once she saw Larry's eyes widen she relented. "Just kidding... but I got you good, didn't I? The colonel will be here shortly to debrief you, since you're not going to be getting out of that rack for a couple of hours."

Larry sighed. "Fine doc, your infirmary, you're the boss." He started to zone out, as the mission replayed in his mind. He concentrated, trying to recall all of the pertinent details, plus any information that might help a rescue team. He didn't even notice when Col. Hanes approached.

"Hutchinson. Hutchinson. HUTCHINSON!!!"

Larry's mind snapped into a state of clear consciousness upon the slightly raised volume of hearing his name the third time. He looked up at the Col. and saluted. "Sir. Sorry, sir, I was trying to organize my thoughts for the debrief, I figure every little detail I can give will help with the rescue op." His pulse raced a little bit, almost like a caffeine rush after some of Airman Lindbergh's coffee back at the Alpha Site. His speech quickened slightly, as if the information in his head was ready to just burst out like a tidal wave, but not so much as to be unintelligible. ((**to save time and retyping since my posts are verbose anyway, refer to the sg7 missions thread, absolutely anything from Hutchinson's viewpoint and knowledge is told to the Col. at this point**)) As his recounting of the mission came to a close, he looked into Col. Hane's eyes. "Sir, I have two serious questions. First, how is Tallon doing? I didn't see him they just shipped me into this bay. Second, when is the rescue op, and how am I going to help?" A very slight pause, not quite long enough for the Col to begin his answer. "Sorry sir, third question. What's up with the Alpha Site gate? Any news?"

He smiled wryly and apologized "Sorry for the rambling... I'll shut up and listen sir."

[Gen Blue]

Infirmary

"Well, I can answer the last one first." Hanes made a face, "We don't know. We went to dial in for the daily report and couldn't connect. Col. Kelea at Gamma had the same problem. We've contacted two of our allies with people on Gaia. One of them was preparing some farming equipment for a new settlement but, the ship won't be ready to go for a couple of weeks."
He pointed over to Tallon, "He's holding his own. Doc won't say anything more."
Eric rubbed his hand over his hair, leaving it sticking up like a steel-gray porcupine. "Rescue. Once you get a report written up, I'll pass it on to Kelea. We'll have to draw from both commands if we're going to do this."

Colonel Eric Hanes

[TheXym]

INFIRMARY

"I'm glad to hear Tallon's holding his own, sir. I'm no medtech, but it seems like York and Fuller did a bang-up job of stabilizing him. It seems like the problem with the gate is on the Alpha Site's end, so there was nothing we could have done back there." Larry's jaw tightened as his thoughts turned to Jim and the others. 'Jim... I hope you can forgive me for getting out and trying to get help. I know you ordered us to, but I can't help but feel like I should have been there with you, that I might have been able to make a difference.... ' "So it's going to be a couple weeks until we have contact with the site barring their getting their gate working again?"

He looked into Col. Hane's eyes, and tried to read what he saw there, but to no avail. He'd always had a hard time trying to read him, even on his previous stint on the Beta site. "Sir... for a rescue op, time would be of the essence, wouldn't it? Jim pulled off the open radio trick, but who knows how long that'll work. If the jaffa are in the tok'ra stronghold we were supposed to check out, it may be shielded so that we won't be able to pick up their locators. Or worse, what if they take them offworld? Do we even have the firepower to bust them out between the Beta and Gamma sites? Or the personnel for a proper assault? I'm..."

He sighed as the doc came back over and interrupted him. "Hutchinson, Tallon's going to make it, though he's not going to be up for a chat anytime soon due to the anesthesia. It'll be rough, but he should be fine. I heard you speaking to the Colonel about the timeliness of a rescue op, and unless you've changed drastically from the last time you were here, I'll put it bluntly... NO. You will NOT have medical clearance to go, barring access to the go'a'uld healing device on gaia. It's not open to deabte." The doctor looked at the Colonel. "Sir, we both KNOW what he was going to ask next, and how 'stubborn' he can be when his mind starts churning." Her gaze fixed on Larry again, and she softened things with a slight smile. "Captain... believe me, I understand how you want to go back and help the others... but you're not physically able to, you'd be a liability on the ground and if you're honest with yourself, you'll realize it. You've always had a.... 'creative' mind, and a pretty good tactical sense. Give the Colonel all the intel you can, and go from there. And.... don't even think about skipping any physical therapy for that leg." She turned back to the Colonel. "I've got other patients to tend to... if he gets too rammy..." she looked at Larry with that same slight smile then looked back to the Colonel "... let an orderly know and they'll put him under for a bit." Then the doc turned and headed to another part of the infirmary.

Larry sighed. "Well sir, she's right. I WAS going to ask that. I do understand my medical situation, I really do. However, even with that, I can do more from the gate onsite to help coordinate instead of over the com from here. Still, I'll get that report finished asap, as soon as you leave I'll have an orderly fetch a laptop and finish the report within the hour."

[Colonel Sharp]

(( Good show on the close-down posts. ))
(( I don't know that they have a ship. Maybe some F-302's. They're smaller than the Alpha-site. ))

(Er, dont have time to read the posts, got to sleep, but as for the ships give it..er.. 1/2 f-302s.. I mean, since Gaia was the Beta site in s sense, this would be the gamma site... 3rd priority.. so its not really a huge base.)

[Gen Blue]

Hanes beckoned over an orderly as he said to Larry, "Do your report then get some rest, Captain. You won't be any da*n good to anyone with bad wheels. When we decide what we're doing, I'll let you know."
When the airman arrived, the Colonel pointed to Hutchinson. "You're his until he dismisses you."

Colonel Eric Hanes

(( Sorry. For some reason I thought Hanes was done. ))

[TheXym]

((no problem ))

"You're his until he dismisses you." Larry couldn't help but smile at the colonel's comment. Larry nodded. "Thank you for keeping in the loop, sir. I'll get the report finished ASAP." He turned to the orderly as the colonel headed off to take care of other business.

"Airman..." Larry craned his neck to read his nametag. "Jennings. I don't remember you from my last stint on Beta Site, but then again I managed to stay out of the infirmary back then. I need you to fetch me a laptop - one of the GOOD ones so I can compile my report for the Colonel, as well as collate any relevant tactical data for the rescue op." His voice lowered so the doc wouldn't hear. "And... swing by the mess and get a LARGE carafe of coffee with two mugs for us. Talk to Chief Guarnere, tell him Captain Hutchinson is back on base, and really needs it. He'll give you the good stuff, none of that watered down swill they normally serve."

He laid back in the bunk to organize his thoughts as the airman departed. A few short minutes later, the airman returned with the requested items. 'That was quick', Larry thought. Taking the laptop from the airman, he spoke quietly. "Pour us each a cup as I bang this out. Feel free to proofread. And most importantly, DON'T let the doc see the coffee."

Larry began to type rapidly, describing in as much detail as he could recall, interjecting footnotes of tactical situations and how they could impact a potential rescue op where appropriate. ((for space and time sake, consider everything Larry could have known/seen/heard on the radio from the SG7 Mission thread to be included.)) He frowned as the obvious conclusion based upon what Jim was able to relay back to the gate team stared back at him, glowing from the screen, punctuated by the blinking cursor. 'Tactical Assessment: Rescue Mission Not Feasible without heavy reinforcement from Alpha Site and Gamma Site personnel.' 'D**n it. I can't just leave Jim, Rich, Jacen, and York there. But if there's a way to spring them it eludes me, and I'm good with tactical planning. Too many jaffa, and no intel on the base. Unless the Colonel comes up with anything, it's going to have to wait. And it's my fault....' He hit the save command, closed the laptop, and gave it to the Airman. "Take this to the Colonel ASAP. Then you're free. Thanks for your help... and the coffee."

He slumped back into the bunk and dozed off as he waited for the Colonel's response.

[Gen Blue]

<< INFIRMARY >>

"How long has he been asleep?" Hanes tried to keep him voice low.
"A few hours, sir." The nurses voice was just as soft. "Do you need to speak to him?"
"It can wait. Give me a call when he wakes up." The colonel turned away. "C'mon Lea. Let's grab some coffee."

Colonel Eric Hanes

[TheXym]

Larry awoke with a start, his sleep wasn't restful due to a dream he couldn't remember. He called over an orderly. "How long have I been out?" The orderly responded, "About four hours sir. The Colonel stopped by while you were out, but he didn't want to wake you. I'll let him know you're awake."

Larry sat up in the bed as he tried to think of ways around the problems for a potential rescue op for Jim and the others while he waited for the colonel to return.

[Gen Blue]

<< INFIRMARY >>

Colonel Hanes let the woman with him enter the Infirmary first. They walked over to Larry's bed.
"Captain Larry Hutchinson, I'd like to introduce Colonel Leilani Kelea. She commands the Gamma-site on Helumoa."
The short, stocky but exotic looking woman held out her hand, "Pleased to meet you, Captain."

After the exchange of greetings, Colonel Hanes delivered the news. "We've looked over all the information that you could give us. Sorry to say, we don't have the personel to mount a rescue operation. Not against the force that's there."
He held up a hand to stop objections, "I'm not saying that there won't eventually be a rescue but, we're going to send a surveillance team first. Neither Beta nor Gamma have an abundance of combat-ready troops and, not knowing what's happened to Gaia, we can't risk those we have."
Kelea spoke up, "I have a team of researchers who specialize in observing wildlife, " she grinned, "Who better to watch hostile Jaffa?"

[TheXym]

Larry saw the visitors come in... first a woman he hadn't seen before, then Col. Hanes. He straightened up and went to salute once he saw the matching eagles on the woman's shoulderboards, but couldn't help smiling when she offered her hand before he could salute.

His heart sank when he was told there would be no rescue op. He visibly deflated. 'D**mit.... I'm sorry Jim, this is my fault. When the Col. raised his hand to stop his objections, he had a hard time holding it in, but he did so. Once the news of the surveillance team was announced, he brightened quite a bit. Unfortunately his leg still wasn't up to letting him go. He laughed out loud at Col. Kai's joke, his mood was improving, since their plan was the only sound tactical decision that could be made. It wouldn't help Jim and the others to send an undermanned rescue team in, and Larry was sure they didn't want company in their prison cells or wherever the Jaffa were holding them that badly.

"Thank you sir, ma'am." Nodding at each of the colonels in turn. "Please let me know how I can help, either with the surveillance mission/intel gathering or with reestabilishing contact with the Alpha Site. I'm not combat ready, but with a leg brace I'll be able to get around the base somewhat. I need to do SOMETHING, staying in the infirmary will drive me crazy." He smiled at the Colonel's half smile and slightly raised eyebrow. "Ok, crazier, Col. Hanes, I'll admit it." He smiled his best disarming grin and awaited a response.

[Gen Blue]

Colonel Kelea nudged Hanes with her elbow, "Send him. Parking his keister in an F-302 won't hurt his leg."
Hanes stared up at the ceiling for a moment in thought. "As long as Doc gives the go ahead. That's a long ride."

[TheXym]

Larry's eyes brightened at the possibility of getting back to the Alpha Site. However, he couldn't... WOULDN'T allow himself to forget his comrades caught in the hands of the jaffa. "That would be great, sirs! But PLEASE promise me you'll keep me appraised on the progress of the recon and rescue ops for SG-6 and 7."

Hanes spoke. "As long as Doc gives the go ahead. That's a long ride." The doc apparently heard as well, as she came over. "It's fine with me... he's gonna drive me crazy if you make him stay here. Move him out."

As Larry started to get out of the bunk, Col Kelea smiled and spoke "Col. Hanes, given Capt. Hutchinson's leg injury and temperament, I think Major McKinnon would be the perfect choice to pilot him back." After seeing Hanes nod, she went to the intercom and paged the order down.

Larry smiled at that. McKinnon had been his "partner-in-crime" for numerous practical jokes during his earlier stint on the beta site, and was a bit crazier than even he was.

He made his way to the door, turned to salute both the Colonels and thanked them. Kelea returned the salute. "Once we reestablish communications to the Alpha Site, we'll appraise you of any development with SG-6 and 7."

"Thanks again, sirs!" Larry turned and headed out to the hangar area.

[[to outdoor docking area]]