Forsythe

Avengers NEO

Four months ago...

3:35:51 Me:
Uwaaaaaa! I'm in!!! The paperwork just came through!

3:36:01 Fe<3:
That's so cool! But how? I thought daddy said no?

3:36:42 Me:
Yeeeess... But it says nowhere on the form that it has to be your guardian to sign you up. All you need is AN avenger...

3:36:59 Fe<3:
:D!

3:37:25 Me:
So instead, I got unca James to sign it. It looks like there aren't that many people signing up, so I guess they didn't need to do the talks in person.

3:38:15 Fe<3:
Way to abuse the system sista'. Are you grounded?

3:40:01 Me:
Nah. If anything dad seemed a bit angry with himself that he didn't think about it. So I suppose you're no longer the only one with a team! although I suppose the Champions are what is eating into the NEO's candidate pool xD

3:50:24 Fe<3:
Well, It's fun running with them and all, but I still sorta miss the days of going at it alone out of my garage. There was a bit romantic feeling to it. I'm sticking with them for now, but I'm also thinking of starting up my own lair somewhere... We'll see.

3:51:45 Me:
Well, good luck. Holler if you need help lifting heavy things :D Who knows, maybe in a few years you'll have a warmachine of your own ;P TTYL, one of them just arrived, back to being a receptionist.

Alex refocused on the person approaching the desk, "Welcome to the Avengers mansion! Here is your badge. On the back is the reception's number, feel free to call with any inquiry!" she chirped happily, handing over the card.

Now...

The last couple of months have been... interesting. Alex found it extremely amusing to continue hiding her true identity from the other initiates and most of the Avengers themselves. During the day, she worked the reception desk and ran errands for the residents of the mansion - everything from fetching someone a hot towel to driving their sick grandma to the hospital so they wouldn't have to miss training - they knew that if they called the number at the back of their ID card, it would get done one way or the other. For her part, Alex enjoyed providing the services. A simple job that allowed her plenty of processing power for whatever she was currently thinking about. She finally managed to crack the problem of her dissertation on they drive back from one such errand.

As for being part of the team, she managed to do that covertly. All cameras in the Avenger's mansion and the training equipment were accessible to her, so she observed the training sessions to learn the team dynamics (what existed of them), and she caught up on her own training during the night when unlike everyone else, she didn't need to sleep. As for socialization, she joined the team after work when their training ended. All in all, she was successful save for that one time she had to change her skin color to blend with the wall when one of the initiates dropped in for an improptu training session. She set alarms and watched the hallway cameras since then.

She wondered how many suspected something was not genuine about her. Part of her training was to learn to fit in better with human society after all.

Right now though, her own card buzzed with summons. "Kate, can you mind the desk for a while?" she asked her co-worker.

"Another errand? They're making you their personal servant. I can't fathom why you put up with it. Well, off you go I guess."

Grinning, Alex picked up her handbag and left for the meeting room. Two others were already there. Garnet and Hyper. She went through all the data she gathered on them in a couple of seconds almost on instinct, refreshing herself on observed strengths and weaknesses. "Hello!" She greeted, "Only you here? I believed this was an all out call... Everything in order?" She asked, keeping up her lackey persona.

Stargate: The lost System

"Don't discard the value of pre-constructed housing." The captain beamed, "I know our species experience emotions differently, but I guarantee you submarine disease is common. You'll be glad for half the crew leaving the ship soon, I bet you. Besides, your timeline puts the city after the Destiny launched, and prior to the Lanteans leaving Earth. It's historical value alone is worth documenting every bit of it." Black reasoned, showing a rare trait among the SGC commanders of caring for more than the technological and military sides of their exploration.

"And I'm with you on the technology mind you. If it wasn't for the Ori, we shouldn't have been given even as much as you gave us before the end. I don't want to stumble upon half finished Asgard experiments. I'll leave that to Disaster McKay. I'll settle for 'everything we have and know that is complete, tested and proven."

Somewhere in the guts of the ship...

"Is it ready?" Morrigan snapped at the Colonel as soon as she discovered him fiddling with the still. "Don't look so surprised, this place is easy to point out as the ideal hiding place for it." She sighed. "Our ship has a cancer, James, and I boost my host's natural ability to dispose of ethanol. I will keep your secret as long as you can provide proper glider fuel." The Tok'Ra offered a deal.

Falnore's cabin...

"I'm afraid I can not be of much help on the latter, doctor. My own experience with the Stargate is limited to the occasional trip to Tollana before..." He paused, looking rather sad for a second, "you have to understand, my people were very isolationist on the peak of their civilization. We did not put much stock in exploration until history proven us wrong. Suffice to say, if the gate works well, and the second generation gates that are present in Ida have worked well without maintenance for eons, you hardly feel the trip. In fact, I believe it was only the first expeditions of the SGC who suffered some discomfort until thay updated their dialing mechanism." The engineer explained to the vest of his abilities.

"As for the technologies, well. This very ship is powered in part by the same system as the seed ship, so that is one thing off the list. But as for everything else? Not a matter of if, only in what order. We shall see what state the seed ship is in, it likely lost all power over the years at the very least, so as soon as we plug a reactor in, the AI will send it towards the star to refuel unless damage to critical systems would prevent it from surviving the refuelling." The Tollan hypothesized.

"Hence why we will either have to separate examined systems before powering them, which would limit their function, create the condition that would prevent the refuelling, which would mean taking the engines or shield offline, or ride out with it wherever it goes." He took a sip of his tea.

"First order of business would be safing it's databases. The value of the sheer asytronomical and geological data on the worlds it visited is immense. It would point us where to go to establish mining operations and what planets are viable for colonization. Naturally, the stargate assembly line is of high value. If only we could learn to build supergates like the Ori did, the logistics of Atlantis and our own are drastically improved. Perhaps we could even send a 304 to assist Destiny." He dreamed.

"I've rambled long enough." He smiled, "What do you hope to find, other than the Elves that is?"

Avengers NEO

@Martian anything we can help with?

Digimon: Shattered Boundary

Tentative interest. Are spirit wielders an option here?

Stargate: The lost System

It took a while for the door to open and reveal a rather young Tollan with a mess of blond hair on top of his head. "Apologies doctor, I fell asleep in the chair. We were up all night getting her ready to go. Come in!" the engineer invited, enthusiastic despite the bags under his eyes. The Tollan's quarters were quite different form the others, furnished in the style of his home planet. Which, curiously, was the colony of Pellor, the last surviving few of their people after the Goa'Uld attack on Tollana. If anything, the furniture looked closer to Lantean style, featuring metal frames and transparent materials. From the first look, it was obvious that ergonomics were the primary focus, as Flynn would notice immediately after sitting in one of the chairs.

The cabins on the 307 were a bit more spacious than on the 304, Dr. Lawson citing the need for larger comfort on long term expeditions to improve crew morale. As such, everyone got their own cabin, and the department heads even had an office space attached to it. Out of the corner of his eye, Flynn might have noticed a hologram above Falnore's desk displaying a supergate of all things.

The engineer took a seat opposite to Flynn and offered him a bowl of what he could assume were some Pelloran dried fruits. "What can I do for you, doctor?"

The bridge...

"And yet, here we are, with your people dead, and mine alive, after a fashion. Yes, you have innovated and meddled with yourself to eradicate undesirable traits, until you genetically modified yourself to death. Really, all we ever had to do was patient and you would just go away on your own. Alas, others of my species do not share my patience, regretfully." Maorrigan snarked back at the AI.

"Enough, children." Cap rolled her eyes. "We have three weeks to spend in hyperspace before we arrive at..." she actually had to look the name of the planet up, "Ragnarok... Really?" she looked at the AI's avatar. She knew the outpost was founded in the later stages of the replicator war, but even to her such a name was far too fatalistic. "Anyway, you'll be stuck with each other for a while, so get over yourselves. Both of you are millennia old, you should know better." she scolded them.

"I liked the Langford better. It didn't talk back." Morrigan sighed. "I believe I need to go inspect the quarters and supplies. Make sure that Falnore didn't forget anything and there is no... illegal production lines... being set up. Captain." she excused herself.

Sighing, Catherine shook her head. "While on topic of Ragnarok, what exactly was happening there, Hermiod? Anything your people might have left behind that will be immediately useful?"

Stargate: The lost System

"Listen to none of this nonsense, Doctor." Morrigan chuckled dryly. "Only that about alcohol. There is a time and place for it, and that is not 'my cabin, every evening'. The captain has an uncanny instinct where to look, and the cleaning staff appreciates the additional degreaser. If the colonel here wants to drink, he will have to generate a victory worth toasting to." the XO deadpanned at the recon team leader.

"The fighters need to be flight tested and brought up in either case, Hermiod. No reason why the Captain can not enjoy herself in the process. In either case, it is just a theory. Although I am baffled that an Asgard would fail to realize that organic beings are not free form emotion and illogical behavior. How did you ever defeat us?" the XO snarked to the comms. "Falnore, three to beam."

One white flash of interrupted existence later, the XO found herself stood upon the bridge, with the two men being beamed to their cabins so they could unpack. "Falnore. Dr. Lawson. Status report, please." she said, moving to her station.

The bridge of the 307 was anything but similar to the 304. Where the Daedalus-class ships had the bridge in the command tower on the aft, the 307 had a control room tucked safely on the inside of the ship, with enough monitors and holographic projectors to create a full sphere view of the outside if necessary. In the center was a slightly dipped space with a holo table where the Captain and herself commanded the other crew from.

Said table lit up with a checklist that reported most things in the green as the lead designer and chief engineer approached. "She is ready to go. All that remains is for the captain to arrive with Viper squadron and you are ready to go. I'm going to miss it here." Dr. Lawson noted, unfortunately not allowed to join the expedition due to his worsening health.

"You've done enough, Phil." Morrigan attempted to console him, "She is beautiful and everything we asked for. I promise we will bring her back in one piece."

After that, the intercom came online. "Nyx, Viper-1. We are orbital and closing in. Don't leave without us."

Half an hour later, the crew was all on their posts, listening to the shipwide broadcast. "Nyx, this is Lorne. You are departing on what is a mission of an importance in the big league. The Abydos expedition. The Atlantis expedition. The Destiny expedition. You will be up there with them. The bar has been set high, but I have every confidence you can do it. You are on this mission, because you are the best at what you do. What you can fins in Ida can potentially catapult us to the same level as the Ancients technologically. We are all looking forward to you bringing us some cool souvenirs. Godspeed."

Taking a breath and straightening her uniform, Catherine looked upon the projection of the Earth one last time for what she assumed would be a long time. "Thank you, general. We will get this done. Homeworld command, ES Nyx requesting authorization for departure."

The voice of O'Neill came through: "Permission granted. Good hunting, captain."

"Helm, take us out." she gave the order, switching the display to show the ship's movement.

The six engines at the back of the Nyx roared to life, and the sleek frame broke free of the orbit and started accelerating to the departure point. "Last chance to jump the bus." Morrigan grinned. "Not for the World." Black grinned back. The Earth slowly shrunk and vanished, the display shutting down and being replaced by the standard data feed.

"Captain, we have reached the departure point." the helm reported from under their VR helmet.

"Take us out."

A blue tear opened in the space past the moon, and the Nyx was swallowed by hyperspace.

Stargate: The lost System

"None taken. You are not wrong. Even I have to admit to being disturbed to some degree when I learned of the Wraith. To think that with our ability to heal the host, the process might take even longer... I shudder to think." Morrigan said, visibly uncomfortable with the idea. "But I would not worry. The replicators probably did a thorough job of eliminating any civilization that was advanced enough for them to assimilate, and it is likely that we can stand up to whomever they left behind. I would be most worried about any automated Asgard defenses we might stumble upon."

"Well, fortunately during our stay on the Langford, we've had ample practice fighting against the odds and treading carefully." The captain added, "Hence why we will carry two puddle jumpers to act as recon craft. If there is a civilization that can well and truly hide even form Asgard sensors, the Lanteans are it." and if it came to slugging, she believed that the asgard shields would be able to hold out long enough for a quick jump out of range.

Turning to the colonel, the captain grinned: "The marines are trained to repel boarders on ships, so they will do nicely for ship security and for protecting whoever explores the seed ship. But I concur that once we establish ourselves and start exploring planets, gating in a few good old SG teams or fresh PBI is a good idea. No sense carrying them with us immediately though, we can carry only so many supplies. Hopefully we will be able to set up on the garden world, from what the doc said, it should be able to feed quite a few mouths. Maybe even a bunch of livestock. I would not say no to fresh cheese after a few months." she sighed. While she enjoyed her command of the Langford, the cuisine despite the best efforts of the mess staff was severely lacking in variety and flavor, and that was with considerably shorter supply lines from Earth.

"Speaking of, the Nyx should finish beaming up supplies by the end of the hour. Falnore is overseeing the preparations on board, so he should give you an echo when it's your time to beam aboard. although if you excuse me, I have to catch a plane to Edwards. I will be taking one of the 302s up, it will probably be the last chance I get to fly for quite some time." Black dismissed them, heading out.

"I believe the captain is one of the people who believe they do not survive usage of modern transportation means and are replaced by an identical clone." Morrigan observed, "I don't think I have ever seen her walk through a gate, ring or beam aboard. She flown one of your fighters aboard the Langford as well."

As she said that, their earpieces came to life. "XO, Colonel, doctor Fletcher? We are ready for you up here." the voice of the Tollan engineer said.

Stargate: The lost System

Another year, another mission. When Catherine Black received the news that she was being relieved of the command of the ES Catherine Langford, she was outraged. They have just found evidence that the man of the IOA on board was himself a Lucian Alliance spy. As a reward, she got to drive a desk for half a year. She almost went home to Germany, only O'Neill's intervention stopping her in her tracks. As it turned out, the general had some insider information regarding her future. While the IOA was not happy with her, the spoils of war she brought home greatly impresses the military people, so she got a promotion and a much more important command post out of it.

Moreover, she was allowed to bring with her a sizeable portion of the Langford's crew, and her old chief engineer was actually the person to design the Nyx, pretty much tailoring the ship to her and crews ran by her. All in all, she couldn't wait for the mission to begin, so she could get on board. And speaking of the mission...

The captain cleared her throat and took the word. "Our mission has several objectives, so there will be no shortage of things to do. This is the home galaxy of the Asgard, after all." she said, sharing a list on the projector. "The expedition has two primary objectives. Number one is to research and if possible make contact with the 'Elf' civilization. Number two is to locate, explore and, if possible, deliver the seed ship to Earth. Secondary objectives are, one, establish the Iota site in the Ida galaxy to serve as an entry point, two, establish a gate bridge between milky way and Ida, three, explore former Asgard colonies and recover anything of value." she listed, nodding over to Morrigan.

The Goa'Uld queen could at times still hardly believe her position. Now Tok'Ra in name, sitting in Stargate Command without a naquadria bomb with her. Absurd proposition, yet here she was. "From what I and the obnoxious AI could tell, the Seed ship appears to be in decent state of repair. The Destiny crew is unavailable to confirm with their records, but we believe this particular seed ship was the first launched, responsible for seeding the galaxies close to us - Milky way itself, Ida and Pegasus. It will be up to us to discover if any others are on the list. From what we know, the Ancients and the Asgard updated the gate systems of all these galaxies to the newer models later, and the seed ship is only equipped to manufacture the Destiny type gate. That may however be more to our advantage, as their construction should be simpler to understand."

Changing the display, the ship's schematic, the XO addressed the posted question: "Should we fail to accomplish the primary objectives, we will remain in Ida for the time being and focus on the secondaries. The Nyx comes equipped with it's own gate, and Ida galaxy is rich in neutronium - We should be able to build neutrino-ion generator to create intergalactic gate connection to return personnel home, as well as resources for SGC to build one on their side to allow for a return trip in the absence of a gate bridge."