Ah, the fifties. A world where Sam Carter met Einstein once in person, and they maintained a correspondence for years afterwards. A world where Jack O'Neill fought in the second great war, not that anything was all that great about it in his opinion. A world where Daniel Jackson was snapped up rather quickly for the link his theories had with a currently-active black project. A world where Teal'c is a fresh-faced 51-year-old Jaffa in service to his god, and whose secret sentiments have only barely coalesced into a sense that something is subtly wrong about the galactic order as it stands.
I say this with not an ounce of shame or embarrassment. I love my grandchildren, and I'm not averse to taking a short day to see them. "General, sir! Have a good evening."
I turn my head to give a curt nod to the guard outside my office. Nobody in this place would begrudge me calling it an early night. After the first few months expecting reprisal from Ra, it was beginning to become obvious none was forthcoming, and the Colonel's report was accurate. Attempts to redial Abydos had all failed. The connection was dead.
I'm only halfway out the office door when the base alarm blares, and my stomach sinks. This command is not supposed to go on general alert. I race to the control room, ignoring the aching pains in my knees from the strain, only to duck an instant later as a God-damned glowing ball of fire strikes the viewing glass and causes it to explode in a shower of glittering shards, some of them white hot! I catch a glimpse of a good number of stripes as I hit the deck. "Sergeant, report!"
The officer turns to me from his position behind the cover of the concrete lip, eyes wide. "Aliens! Aliens came through the gate! They took out everyone on gate duty with... with... Lasers, or something!" There is a slight pause as his training catches up to his panic. "Sir!"
I think I'll forgive that little breach of etiquette under the circumstances. Down below, I hear shouting, in an unfamiliar language. Immediately I pick out a few favorites - Jaffa and Kree, in particular - if only because the sound of those words immediately leads to the shooting petering out. Without the strange din of their weapons fire, I can hear a woman calling out for help. Sam Carter? Damn, a civilian was in the room when everything went to hell...
"Chappa'ai Ako'na! Jaffa, kree!" At what must have been the commander's order, the aliens began muttering confused sounds. They were just loitering around the gate room... The dialing device! The Abydos report mentioned a device that was paired to the gate! Sensing opportunity, I gestured for the sergeant to start up the control room radio and pass me the speaker. "All units, this is General Hammond. We have a breach, I repeat, we have a breach! Lieutenant Bergman, I want your men on the west gate room blast door, make it a firing range! Lieutenant Henderson, I need you and your men in Control to lay down fire on the gate room, ASAP! We're gonna box these alien bastards in before they realize they need the ring clamps to dial the gate!"
93
Notably Successful tactics! Was there ever any doubt? (AN: you get this one as a freebie, the rolls are real from here on in)
I remain in the control room, fully committed to leading from the front, and thankfully we had the good sense to put the main quarters area close to the gate, because it only takes a minute for Henderson to show up with his cavalry. Although, it's a tense minute, as the aliens have already figured out the clamps and started turning. The researcher acquits herself well enough, and I have to hold back a chuckle despite the serious situation when I hear pained groaning from a deep voice. "Get your hands off me! Dammit, would somebody get in here and help me?!" Hell of a mouth on that woman. Can't help but approve.
Her request is answered as Henderson's men pop out of cover and fire at will into the mass of invaders. The men mutter between themselves as they confirm the count of hostiles. Twenty. Twenty aliens in a shooting gallery, and from the looks of their return fire we've barely taken any of them out at all... I have the sergeant turn the radio back on. "Bergman, this is Hammond, have the blast doors opened as soon as you've secured your positions. We've riled them up, now lets knock them down."
The exchange of fire continues, and I make sure to have the men focus fire on any alien that gets within ten feet of the gate, to get them panicking. It seems to work like a dream, as before long the disciplined shouting I'd heard before has given way to increasingly desperate orders and rank disobedience, despite the difficulty of inflicting casualties through the apparently-thick body armor they wear. The grinding of gears signals the opening of the west blast door, and more than a few of the aliens break ranks and try to flee through, only to get caught in the prepared killing grounds set up by Bergman and his platoon on the other side. The enemy commander can barely order his remaining men to finish dialing, and somewhere in the madness of the fray, the scientist manages to grab one of their weapons and fires it at them with impunity. By this point I have to see for myself, damn precaution, and the sight I see fills me with enough relief and a side of humor to make me feel more than safe for the time being.
Watching a skinny little thing like Dr. Carter fire blazing hot bolts of death, while scream obscenities at the remaining few aliens as they retreat through the freshly dialed gate, is a heartening and hilarious sight I will never forget as long as I live.
---Later, in Debriefing---
I feel more and more dread as this debriefing continues. "You say you saw them dial a different address into the ring, Doctor?"
Samantha Carter is surprisingly calm considering she was just in a fight for her life. "Yes, General. As soon as I saw them engage a completely different first symbol I made sure to memorize the address they used. They didn't come from Earnest's Castle or Abydos."
"But, they looked virtually identical to the descriptions of Ra's soldiers given by Colonel O'Niell, how can that be possible?"
The doctor grimaced. "About that. I've seen the report as well, and... Ra's soldiers had an eagle motif. These were snakes, General."
Of course, this was the moment Henderson felt the need to pipe up. "Ah! Ah ah ah, sir! I know this one! I learned about Egyptian theme the aliens went for, and so I decided to do a little independent study to brush up. The Egyptian god of chaos appears as a giant serpent! Apep, I think!"
I can't help but suck in a sharp breath. "There's more than one?"
Doctor Carter chimes in, rather unhelpfully. "It seems so, General."
I've had enough. Where's my damned aide? "Davis, get me Colonel O'Niell!"
"He's retired, General."
"I don't care if he's dead and buried! I want him in my office yesterday!"
---Mission Planning---
With a quick call in to the President, I've been officially promised 'every man in every division of the armed forces, if need be'. Colonel O'Neill assures me this will not be the case.
I am extremely, sorely tempted to shove the Colonel's assurances up his ass when the gate opens again, and this time a message floats through asking for help and offering crucial information about the gate, signed Doctor Daniel Jackson. The Colonel requests to be sent to pick him up. I firmly decline and send Bergman instead, and within two hours I have a dead man sitting in my debriefing room in robes that'd be fit on the stage of a biblical play, made all the more ridiculous by the small pile of tissue he's accumulated next to him. "So as it turns out there's an entire galaxy of gate addresses out there. Your men strong-armed me back through the gate before I had a chance to tell them, but there's an entire wall that's basically dedicated to listing addresses, as dialed from the Abydos gate."
I tune out the argument between the PhD's in the room as they go on about stellar drift or somesuch, but I do catch the part about our complete inability to compensate for it. "If that's the case, how come the aliens could dial out so easily?"
Doctor Carter speaks up with her answer instantly. "I've theorized that, ever since we received Doctor Littlefield's notes and returned samples from the castle he found himself in during the '47 dialing incident, that the dialing device, and holographic image display, were a kind of incredibly advanced computer. One that advanced beyond punch cards and vacuum tubes, towards a more fundamental way of recording instructions and controls. The gates likely have an internal computer built in that allows them to record one or two key addresses as well as the most recent address dialed, and stores location data that compensates for-"
I am ashamed to say I completely lose track of the doctor's explanation at that point. O'Neill lacks the tact to let her finish. "So, what you're saying is, we can't even fight back against these guys, because Daniel here decided to dial our gate." He looks at the aforementioned archaeologist. "Nice going, four-eyes."
Carter pauses, then smirks like the cat that ate the canary. "Not... necessarily, Colonel O'Neill. Before the president ordered the project scrubbed and buried, my team was tasked with trying to create a simple computer that could handle inputting coordinates and triggering an automatic rotation dialing sequence. We've been detecting small electrical pulses when running tests with the power coupling, and we think it's some kind of signal that's sending data out. We think we can send data in the same way!"
Daniel scoffs. "You have no idea that will work! Without a basis to work from, you can't understand those signals, or send signals the gate will understand back to it!"
Carter stands up, confrontation in her posture. "We've been studying these pulses for almost as long as you've been on Abydos, Doctor Jackson! We're certain we've got the gist of the encoding scheme understood!"
It looks like it falls to me to decide...
There's a crisis at hand, General. The gate only appears to store a limited number of addresses on it's own without a Dialing Device, and the one at Earnest's Castle is irreparably damaged. You cannot conduct operations without an interface device, as the only thing you can do is retaliate against attackers.
[] "We can't afford to be without one of these Dialing Devices. Lieutenant Bergman, ready an away team to confiscate the Abydos device..." (Very bad for Reputation, upsets some interesting people, gives Power, Knowledge, and negates the Useless Gate situation)
-[] "We'll just have to make sure they're protected and get regular dial-in's from our gate to ensure their safety." (Negates most of the Reputation penalty and upset issue, but costs Steam on regular missions that you can't guarantee in the long run)
-[] "They'll have to do without until we can find some other solution." (The default choice)
-[] "We'll just have to bury their gate with explosives so nothing else can come after them." (Negates some of the Reputation penalty, and raises Pressure a little)
[] "Doctor Carter, I've seen the progress reports for your project. You have permission to attempt to hook this... computer, up to the gate." (Pay 2 Knowledge to negate the Useless Gate situation, refunds the cost if it doesn't work and might generate a little more. You get to experience the joys of a no-diagnostic gate computer)
[] "We'll need to establish a permanent presence of Abydos. That... Kartush, is invaluable, and we can stage all of our future expeditions from that site instead, protecting Earth from attack." (Good for Reputation, constant drain on Steam due to the off-world manpower requirements. You get to experience interplanetary military command)
-[] "Bergman, you'll be handling command on-site." (Bergman takes control of his Platoon at Abydos Base)
-[] "Henderson, don't spend too much time with the locals." (Henderson takes control of his Platoon at Abydos Base)
[] "We can't afford to risk damaging the gate, or the chance that the dialing device doesn't work on a different gate, since they all have unique origin symbols. Keep working on this, Carter, I want assurances your project will be ready for us as soon as possible." (Researches existing power in the form of broken DHD samples to increase Knowledge, giving a better chance of success next month. This choice ends the current crisis, but lowers Steam)
YOU CAN ONLY SUPPOSE AT THE PRESSURE EFFECTS OF A GIVEN CHOICE, BASED ON YOUR ORDERS, MANDATE, AND ANY LEGISLATION OR OVERSIGHT THAT APPLIES TO YOU! Keep this in mind for all future votes; you might be able to reasonably suppose that your CO and CIC would support a given course of action, but you can never be certain how they'd respond.
-[] "We'll just have to make sure they're protected and get regular dial-in's from our gate to ensure their safety." (Negates most of the Reputation penalty and upset issue, but costs Steam on regular missions that you can't guarantee in the long run)
[] "We'll need to establish a permanent presence of Abydos. That... Kartush, is invaluable, and we can stage all of our future expeditions from that site instead, protecting Earth from attack." (Good for Reputation, constant drain on Steam due to the off-world manpower requirements. You get to experience interplanetary military command)
[] "We can't afford to risk damaging the gate, or the chance that the dialing device doesn't work on a different gate, since they all have unique origin symbols. Keep working on this, Carter, I want assurances your project will be ready for us as soon as possible." (Researches existing power in the form of broken DHD samples to increase Knowledge, giving a better chance of success next month. This choice ends the current crisis, but lowers Steam)
I am thinking these, note Shure how many we can pick
[X] "Doctor Carter, I've seen the progress reports for your project. You have permission to attempt to hook this... computer, up to the gate." (Pay 2 Knowledge to negate the Useless Gate situation, refunds the cost if it doesn't work and might generate a little more. You get to experience the joys of a no-diagnostic gate computer)
[X] "We'll need to establish a permanent presence of Abydos. That... Kartush, is invaluable, and we can stage all of our future expeditions from that site instead, protecting Earth from attack." (Good for Reputation, constant drain on Steam due to the off-world manpower requirements. You get to experience interplanetary military command)
[X] "Henderson, don't spend too much time with the locals." (Henderson takes control of his Platoon at Abydos Base)
[x] "We can't afford to risk damaging the gate, or the chance that the dialing device doesn't work on a different gate, since they all have unique origin symbols. Keep working on this, Carter, I want assurances your project will be ready for us as soon as possible." (Researches existing power in the form of broken DHD samples to increase Knowledge, giving a better chance of success next month. This choice ends the current crisis, but lowers Steam)
[X] "We'll need to establish a permanent presence of Abydos. That... Kartush, is invaluable, and we can stage all of our future expeditions from that site instead, protecting Earth from attack." (Good for Reputation, constant drain on Steam due to the off-world manpower requirements. You get to experience interplanetary military command)
[X] "Henderson, don't spend too much time with the locals." (Henderson takes control of his Platoon at Abydos Base)
[x] "We'll need to establish a permanent presence of Abydos. That... Kartush, is invaluable, and we can stage all of our future expeditions from that site instead, protecting Earth from attack." (Good for Reputation, constant drain on Steam due to the off-world manpower requirements. You get to experience interplanetary military command)
-[x] "Henderson, don't spend too much time with the locals." (Henderson takes control of his Platoon at Abydos Base)
[x] "We can't afford to risk damaging the gate, or the chance that the dialing device doesn't work on a different gate, since they all have unique origin symbols. Keep working on this, Carter, I want assurances your project will be ready for us as soon as possible." (Researches existing power in the form of broken DHD samples to increase Knowledge, giving a better chance of success next month. This choice ends the current crisis, but lowers Steam)
Also I wonder if we can borrow an aa gun or something similar to have pointed at all the gates we control to shred stuff that comes through considering I doubt we have the tech to make an iris
[x] "We'll need to establish a permanent presence of Abydos. That... Kartush, is invaluable, and we can stage all of our future expeditions from that site instead, protecting Earth from attack." (Good for Reputation, constant drain on Steam due to the off-world manpower requirements. You get to experience interplanetary military command)
-[x] "Henderson, don't spend too much time with the locals." (Henderson takes control of his Platoon at Abydos Base)
[x] "We can't afford to risk damaging the gate, or the chance that the dialing device doesn't work on a different gate, since they all have unique origin symbols. Keep working on this, Carter, I want assurances your project will be ready for us as soon as possible." (Researches existing power in the form of broken DHD samples to increase Knowledge, giving a better chance of success next month. This choice ends the current crisis, but lowers Steam)
[X] "We'll need to establish a permanent presence of Abydos. That... Kartush, is invaluable, and we can stage all of our future expeditions from that site instead, protecting Earth from attack." (Good for Reputation, constant drain on Steam due to the off-world manpower requirements. You get to experience interplanetary military command)
-[X] "Henderson, don't spend too much time with the locals." (Henderson takes control of his Platoon at Abydos Base)
We're gunna start digging into our allies manpower if were actually garrisoning other planets
[X] "We'll need to establish a permanent presence of Abydos. That... Kartush, is invaluable, and we can stage all of our future expeditions from that site instead, protecting Earth from attack." (Good for Reputation, constant drain on Steam due to the off-world manpower requirements. You get to experience interplanetary military command)
-[X] "Henderson, don't spend too much time with the locals." (Henderson takes control of his Platoon at Abydos Base)
[X] "We can't afford to risk damaging the gate, or the chance that the dialing device doesn't work on a different gate, since they all have unique origin symbols. Keep working on this, Carter, I want assurances your project will be ready for us as soon as possible." (Researches existing power in the form of broken DHD samples to increase Knowledge, giving a better chance of success next month. This choice ends the current crisis, but lowers Steam)
[X] "We'll need to establish a permanent presence of Abydos. That... Kartush, is invaluable, and we can stage all of our future expeditions from that site instead, protecting Earth from attack." (Good for Reputation, constant drain on Steam due to the off-world manpower requirements. You get to experience interplanetary military command)
-[X] "Henderson, don't spend too much time with the locals." (Henderson takes control of his Platoon at Abydos Base)
[X] "We can't afford to risk damaging the gate, or the chance that the dialing device doesn't work on a different gate, since they all have unique origin symbols. Keep working on this, Carter, I want assurances your project will be ready for us as soon as possible." (Researches existing power in the form of broken DHD samples to increase Knowledge, giving a better chance of success next month. This choice ends the current crisis, but lowers Steam)
Because I'm suspicious I've said it wrongly, the two things you can pick are approval votes. You're not doing a choose and execute top two. In case you're worried about it, yes, you can still later attempt to use Doctor Carter's Dialing Computer technology with any other choice, and at that time you'll have a choice to revert to the earth gate if you want. But this is a critical emergency in the eyes of Hammond. He is facing an unknown enemy, with only an extremely spotty ability to perform recon against them, and what amounts to a transport plane that he can only fly back into enemy territory if they deign to fly it into his base, first. He's grasping at straws for an answer, and when the crisis dies down, he can take controlled steps towards fixing the issue in more palatable and permanent ways.
The two favorites basically amount to 'ignore the problem, instead trigger an emergency research scramble to try to ensure success in October' and 'Set up a base on Abydos, then IMMEDIATELY prepare for intelligence-gathering against the enemy', albeit with some command lag since you would need to use Abydos as a communication relay site (you cannot afford to casually abandon your command just for a slightly easier communication chain). The second option, prepping for the recon, continues the RED ALERT turns as they are, and will trigger the Chulak mission right away, while waiting to safely hook up the computer WILL delay Chulak until October, possibly later if the attempt still fails.
Scheduled vote count started by Powerofmind on Feb 1, 2021 at 4:19 AM, finished with 12 posts and 9 votes.
[X] "We'll need to establish a permanent presence of Abydos. That... Kartush, is invaluable, and we can stage all of our future expeditions from that site instead, protecting Earth from attack." (Good for Reputation, constant drain on Steam due to the off-world manpower requirements. You get to experience interplanetary military command)
-[x] "Henderson, don't spend too much time with the locals." (Henderson takes control of his Platoon at Abydos Base)
[x] "We can't afford to risk damaging the gate, or the chance that the dialing device doesn't work on a different gate, since they all have unique origin symbols. Keep working on this, Carter, I want assurances your project will be ready for us as soon as possible." (Researches existing power in the form of broken DHD samples to increase Knowledge, giving a better chance of success next month. This choice ends the current crisis, but lowers Steam)
[X] "We'll need to establish a permanent presence of Abydos. That... Kartush, is invaluable, and we can stage all of our future expeditions from that site instead, protecting Earth from attack." (Good for Reputation, constant drain on Steam due to the off-world manpower requirements. You get to experience interplanetary military command)
[X] "Doctor Carter, I've seen the progress reports for your project. You have permission to attempt to hook this... computer, up to the gate." (Pay 2 Knowledge to negate the Useless Gate situation, refunds the cost if it doesn't work and might generate a little more. You get to experience the joys of a no-diagnostic gate computer)
Because I'm suspicious I've said it wrongly, the two things you can pick are approval votes. You're not doing a choose and execute top two. In case you're worried about it, yes, you can still later attempt to use Doctor Carter's Dialing Computer technology with any other choice, and at that time you'll have a choice to revert to the earth gate if you want. But this is a critical emergency in the eyes of Hammond. He is facing an unknown enemy, with only an extremely spotty ability to perform recon against them, and what amounts to a transport plane that he can only fly back into enemy territory if they deign to fly it into his base, first. He's grasping at straws for an answer, and when the crisis dies down, he can take controlled steps towards fixing the issue in more palatable and permanent ways.
The two favorites basically amount to 'ignore the problem, instead trigger an emergency research scramble to try to ensure success in October' and 'Set up a base on Abydos, then IMMEDIATELY prepare for intelligence-gathering against the enemy', albeit with some command lag since you would need to use Abydos as a communication relay site (you cannot afford to casually abandon your command just for a slightly easier communication chain). The second option, prepping for the recon, continues the RED ALERT turns as they are, and will trigger the Chulak mission right away, while waiting to safely hook up the computer WILL delay Chulak until October, possibly later if the attempt still fails.
Oh look, my work's network is dead and I cannot do job things.
[] "We'll need to establish a permanent presence of Abydos. That... Kartush, is invaluable, and we can stage all of our future expeditions from that site instead, protecting Earth from attack." (Good for Reputation, constant drain on Steam due to the off-world manpower requirements. You get to experience interplanetary military command)
-[] "Henderson, don't spend too much time with the locals." (Henderson takes control of his Platoon at Abydos Base)
Henderson looks too happy with this. I hope I haven't made a mistake, here. "Sir, it'll be my pleasure, sir!"
"And, as for you, Lieutenant Bergman, you and your platoon-"
"Ah, General?"
I can't believe this man. I simply can't. "What is it, Doctor Jackson?"
For a scientist he's not bad at looking confident. "I'm going with them. That's... the other thing I was talking about. They came to Abydos, too, after I unburied the gate, and took my wife."
I resist the urge to sympathize, when I see the look in his eye. "Absolutely not, Doctor! You-"
"-are the only person who can read the alien language at all, and we're likely to need that on a planet developed enough for them to send a raid from."
I can almost respect the defiant look in his eye as he stares down a man who can have him vanished on a whim. As it is, I choose not to, but I still have to concede his point. "Very well, doctor. I'll allow you to assist as a necessary member of the reconnaissance party."
"Best send me along, too, General! I know their tactics, how they fight." That insubordinate, cocky little-
"If the Colonel's going, I'm going, too. I'm the most familiar with the key stars that make up the gate's constellation symbols and should be able to work out what combination leads to Earth on short notice."
Two scientists and a retiree. I might as well phone the president and tell him the planet is doomed now, get it over with.
Still... They're all right. Jackson has lived with similar aliens that likely use a similar language for two years. O'Neill is the only military man to survive the Giza expedition. Carter is my foremost expert on the gate and how it functions. Am I really considering this? "... Fine. Bergman, get them outfitted immediately." I can see him tensing up already. "I know, I know, you don't want to bring civvies along. But their points are valid, you're going to need them to gather any intelligence from the locals, and to get out of there without random guessing. As for the Colonel... I suppose if you want to put on your uniform again and take control of the operation, I could give it to you... but you're not leaving my command as long as I live, do you understand?"
I have no idea how a military man can manage to look so damned cheeky without being outright disrespectful. "Wouldn't have it any other way, General!"
---Mission Report---
"Upon reaching Abydos, I ordered Henderson and his men to take up posts inside the gate chamber, and organize fallback points leading out to the desert. Daniel ran off to say hi to his in-laws and swore up and down that they wouldn't be a threat. I still made sure to add two men to keep an eye on the horizon and not the gate to the regular watch schedule."
"Once Henderson and his boys were settled, I dragged Daniel back for the recon and got the gate crossing sorted with Bergman. Real stickler, that guy."
"While we were hashing that out, Carter and Daniel figured out which address would lead to the enemy world from the Abydos end. Carter started babbling about the 'benefits of multiple references in making calculations easier'. Bottom line, she was pretty sure we'd be able to hop right on back to Abydos with only a few hours' charting time instead of a few days."
"I ordered we get going. The trip over was-"
ROLL - Gate Watch: 13
ROLL - Gate-In Assault: 66
ROLL - Beachhead Casualties: 71
"-interesting. We walked into defensive emplacements as soon as we hit the ground, big honking plasma guns, and plenty of aliens, Jaffa, apparently. Bergman and his boys really tore into them, though. Guessing they were caught completely off-guard."
"My initial assessment of the planet is Mediterranean wilderness, lots of hills and trees, mild temperatures, that sort of thing. The gate was in an open field with small standing stones for cover, and a few big versions of the alien staff guns. I had Bergman keep most of the platoon on defense, taking Daniel, Cpl. Felger, and Cpl. Peters with me to do recon of the area for landmarks and locations of interest. We started by following a footpath-"
ROLL - Recon: 40
ROLL - Enemy Detection: 38
ROLL - Recon: 84
ROLL - Enemy Detection: 99
"-and you can see the town in my attached field map. Daniel convinced me we could get more info from the locals, and at first everything seemed fine. From what Daniel said, Apophis, the guy who ordered the raid, is a lot like Ra was; arrogant, thinks he's a god, got all the locals to believe it, too. He also learned that this snake uses some kind of special people called Jaffa as his soldiers. Blessed with strength and vitality, or something like that. We were gonna get more, but some of those Jaffa barged into the house we were visiting because they lost contact with the gate guards, and my little squad ended up getting detained."
"This gets fucked up, sir. Apparently Ra wasn't really an alien at all, despite the glowy eyes and weird voice. He was some kind of parasite, infecting a human kid's brain. Apophis is another one. And the prison we were in was apparently so the damn snakes could pick 'good human stock' like cattle in a pen, for their new bodies. Daniel found his wife, but one of the snakes took a liking to her and now she's gone. Scara's gone, too."
I... I think I need a moment. Damn, but that's a fresh wound. I feel sorry for you, Colonel. And I truly sympathize with you, Doctor.
"With the snakes happy, the Jaffa were ordered to kill off the rest of us. I gave a pretty good speech, and one of the Jaffa turned on the rest, helped us break out. That'd be Teal'c, the guy in isolation right now, so if you wouldn't mind going easy?"
"Supposedly, there's a couple of disloyal Jaffa in most of the Goa'uld's ranks, no more than a handful in each, but they don't buy into the godly master bullshit like the rest, and they try to keep each other alive so they can keep the movement going. Teal'c says his master was one of them, and he trained a few others in Apophis' ranks. At the end of the day he only defected publicly because he's put good odds on us tearing these Goa'uld a new one, with the way the former second-in-command to Apophis was begging and making excuses after getting pushed off Earth so easily."
"Our escape was-"
ROLL - Escape: 67
ROLL - Retaliation (gate attack): 70
ROLL - Tactical Withdrawal Casualties: 81
"-pretty close. We got held up by CAS for a while before Bergman's people could give AA with the alien fixed guns, and things got dicey dialing out, but apparently something wacky happens when you go from one gate to another with a dialing device on both ends. Carter says it's a form of assistive recall but if you ask me it's damn creepy; apparently the gate symbols automatically appear in the shapes the user's most familiar with, and they get a little extra help working out which address is home. I don't like having stuff mess with my head, sir. If you could get the Earth gate up with a computer that doesn't do that I'd really appreciate it."
"I have the following casualties to report: Cpl. Peters, Sgt. Morris, ..."
Red Alert Managed - Mission Statistics
Final Casualties: 8 (Second Alien Operations Platoon), 2 (First Alien Operations Platoon
Power Gain: 2 (Recovered alien bodies, armor, staff devices, and one fixed gun)
Reputation Gain: 1 (Fortified Abydos, poked a god)
Knowledge Gain: 1 ("Unknown Element" passive research progress)
Steam Change: +1 (Casualties, successful counter-attack, Presidential Promises)
---October Facility Plan---
"I can't believe this, George! You can't just establish a permanent U.S. presence on another planet without at least running it by me first!"
"I understand that, sir, but the situation-"
"I don't care what the situation is, George! You put American soldiers on another planet without my say-so, and General Vandenberg agrees with me. You fucked up, George."
"With all due respect, Mr. President, I couldn't very well let the attack go unanswered. And we discovered invaluable information in the process."
The line is blissfully silent. You can almost see Truman's pensive look. "...Yes. I did read the report you compiled for me... With constant, easy access to other worlds' resources and advanced technology that can be spun to the public, I could finally get some decent legislation passed in this country."
I bit my tongue. I didn't mind most of his Fair Deal, but some of it was so damn expensive... "I wouldn't presume to guess how difficult that would be, sir. But I assume my orders have changed?"
"I'll leave that talk to General Vandenberg. He still wants to take a bite out of you, himself."
"Understood, Mr. President."
Pressure +2
You need to sort out your monthly plan, General. Your mission statement has changed, and so has your understanding of your command. You might need to reorganize things a little...
Command Approach:
[] [CA] Harsh - Lose steam, take up to four offworld missions, gain bonus to Fireteam effectiveness
[] [CA] Normal - Regular operation conditions with three offworld missions
[] [CA] Relaxed - Gain steam, take two offworld missions, Fireteams may not arrive on time for support requests
Company Orders: Abydos Base - You have command of a single company, which is tasked by it's captain to man the Abydos base full-time, with rotating leave. This occurs automatically, without voting.
Platoon Orders: Cartouche Missions - The platoon on this duty will take recon missions to the addresses on the Abydos Cartouche.
Fireteam Support - The platoon on this duty will be stationed at Abydos to act as a support team on missions that radio in for additional firepower.
Establish Offworld Outpost on [planet] - The platoon on this duty will take a medium-term mission to a previously explored planet that has an Opportunity on it to study, mine, or otherwise manage it.
Assault [planet] - The platoon on this duty will be sent to raid a known enemy world.
Squad Orders:
Cartouche Missions [address] - The squad will take recon missions to the addresses on the Abydos Cartouche.
Deep Recon [planet] - This squad will take a deep recon mission on a previously explored planet.
Study Site on [planet] - This squad will provide protection for a short term scientific study of a previously explored planet with an Interest on it.
Diplomatic Engagement on [planet] - This squad will act as delegates or ambassadors with known neutral or friendly aliens on their planets.
Infiltration on [planet] - This squad will gain intel on enemy operations on known enemy worlds.
Assault [planet] - Squads can't do this unless assigned together with other squads, or platoons. More flexible on the offense.
Scientific Focus:
Establish Offworld Outpost on [planet] - The lead scientist believes this site may have vast opportunities for research. Necessary to exploit a Knowledge-oriented Opportunity.
Study Site on [planet] - The lead scientist believes this site may be useful for research purposes. Have to provide squad escort.
Present Theoretical Papers - This division's studies have produced papers that can viably be disseminated to the public, with some obfuscation of the source. Costs 2 Knowledge, improves Earth technological level, might increase U.S. Stability.
Present Practical Advancements - This division's studies have produced tangible new advances that can be disseminated to the public. Improves U.S. Power, might increase U.S. Stability, might increase Steam. Costs 1 Power and 3 Knowledge (theoretically behind penalty).
Develop SGC Assets - This division's focus on project advancement has borne fruit. Currently gives Primitive Earth Gate Computer. Costs all knowledge, more equates to greater success chance. Failures refund the cost and may give more knowledge. Success will also likely result in improved Earth tech and U.S. Power/Stability.
Study Alien Technology - This division focuses on captured alien devices in an attempt to determine the theory behind their function, or at least the practical use of it. Needs unstudied Power (currently 2), generates Knowledge, lessens the chance that captured alien devices backfire if used.
Reverse-Engineer Technology - Ambitiously attempt to determine the theory behind alien technology with destructive research. Needs alien Power (currently 2), very likely to generate more Knowledge than study, might explode (or worse), might immediately result in Steam, loss of Pressure, or a significant increase in U.S. Power.
Hammond's Desk:
Request funding [Steam X] - Ask the President for more money. He'll expect more from you, too. Grants a chunk of Steam immediately, increases Pressure gain for a while.
Request manpower [Companies X/Platoons X/Squads X] - Ask the President for more men. Easier to part with, harder to maintain security. Grants more teams in your command, but may trigger oversight, or information leaks, if you overuse it.
Request additional nuclear devices - Ask the President for more bombs. Grants a boost to Power, increases Pressure a lot if you have more than one of these at a time.
Have more experts read in [Steam/Pressure] - Ask the President for permission to headhunt more people for science divisions. Get a science division, either by squeezing your men a bit to fit them on payroll, or in conjunction with a funding request.
You can request each item multiple times, but additional manpower and science divisions quickly run up against diminishing returns due to the strict needs for secrecy during the Cold War.
You use Companies to man permanent offworld sites or organize large invasions. Platoons are used to project a lot of power in one place or do significant mapping expeditions, but they're not very friendly looking, and are unwieldy with gate travel. Squads don't have a ton of firepower, but are pretty hard to pin down, and make good diplomats and recon teams.
Science divisions should rarely, if ever, have no active project. If you have inactive teams, you don't need more.
Please format votes in the following way:
[] Monthly Plan: Title
-[] [CA] your approach
-[] Platoon/Squad/Science Division nickname : Assignment
-[] Platoon/Squad/Science Division nickname : Assignment
-[] Platoon/Squad/Science Division nickname : Assignment
...
-[] Hammond's Desk options
-[] Hammond's Desk options
...
If anybody notices something I missed or should include, don't forget to tell me.
Fun fact: The new gate address system I use works on an actual random generator of my design using base 36 (the number of symbols on the gate not including the origin point symbol). I also run each purely random cartouche world's address through a simple program that creates a narrative for me to work with based on the address. Hooray for automation!
abit confused . But i suggest going with the normal option . Probably recruit manpower and science . And try reverse engineering ? Dont bother with the gate computer yet and just keep using abydos . Mainly the confusion is about the platoon/ squad part of things . And how many options can we choose in general ?
You can run 2, 3, or 4 offworld missions, depending on your command approach. Squads and Platoons have different strengths; you use squads to look friendly, and avoid trouble more easily. Platoons are, comparatively, bulkier and more menacing, but they're much less likely to get into a scrape they won't win.
For perspective, you will probably squadwipe repeatedly. Unless you really fuck up or get ridiculously unlucky, you should never wipe a platoon. Squads are effective. Platoons are safe. Excepting SG-1, these traits generally do not overlap.
