LOSE NEBULIUM IN THE SGC

~ λ ∑ ψ ω √ ∞ ≈  ⊇ ⋑  ∧ ~

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"Walter's got a question for me. I will, but first I want you to. You'll see. I'm sending Bowkervale up with the draft on the last minutes.. ..the lockdown meeting. I know that Carter. Let Lee push on and you read the notes. Get back to me with the answer. Well you'll see for yourself what it is. Okay."

~ λ ∑ ψ ω √ ∞ ≈  ⊇ ⋑  ∧ ~

"Come in. That was quick. Have you read through it?"

"If its what I'm thinking, Sir we all know what it is."

"Well we all know what it is, but we don't seem to know well enough to get it right in our records, serious breach Carter."

"Sir?"

"Serious."

"I agree in one way Sir, but it wouldn't happen. In this case it couldn't happen, different co-ordinates. And we do always send a M.A.L.P. first. Plus SG-16 are there at this very minute."

"Not the point, really not the point."

"I am sorry about this Sir."

"I'm sorry as well Carter, we both got it wrong."

"We didn't exactly get it wrong Sir. We know what we're talking about."

"Okay lets err, just hold on a minute.. ..come in Sergeant."

"Sir. Colonel."

"Walter did you have a question regarding the draft minutes?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Do you need an answer?"

"No ma'am."

"Good work Sergeant. And well spotted."

"Thank you Colonel. Just semantics."

"Walter you distribute copies to the others now. You know who was there. And Walter, can you call them down."

"All of them Sir."

"Yeah. In ten."

"Will do Sir."

"How long?"

"Well Sir, research have set a ceiling of three hours. They're moulding breathing apparatus for both the nose and mouth, air tight et cetera. Three hours on that. On ours, we're on the right track without a doubt. Sir basically its just a matter of hitting on the right.."

"How long?"

"Anything up to twenty.. ..twenty four hours."

"Okay Carter. You know we can't wait."

"I know that Sir. I'm sorry about this, we could arrive at the correct mixture at any moment, but to be realistic and allow for adequate testing.."

"Don't worry about that. As long as you come up with something.. ..until then we're just going to have to do what we can. Right then, lets go through this err.. ..Dialling process again. The route via.. ..Othalla."

"You see General it doesn't make sense unless you say it. I mean according to Asgard tradition, Nifla, the planet SG-16 are on, no longer exists. It will now become Othalla, Ot Halla, old Halla."

"Carter wasn't you only just saying that nanonuts can make a huge difference?"

"Yes Sir, semantics, appreciated. It won't happen again. Technically though you we're right, we we're both right to call it Othalla, its just that I suppose officially the Asgard haven't announced it yet. From time immemorial theres always been an Othalla. Made possible purely by a process of renaming. The present location of Othalla will now, due to the replicators, become scrambled, cease exist.

And the desolate planet Nifla, the one Daniel and Teal'c discovered from their translation of the Runic inscription on the pyramid, because of its precise location in the Ida system based on the StarGate address we've recovered - Nine Chevron address - now becomes the new Halla. Which in terms of Asgard practices means Nifla is now Ot Halla. Because the previous Othalla is no more."

"Well that's true Carter. That's absolutely true. And be that as it may, in our line of business we can't go round making up the names of planets ourselves. That's actually the reason why we have the alphanumeric designations. Its their galaxy so lets just wait for them to rename the planet."

"Understood Sir.. ..and appreciated."

"You and me both Carter."

"Sir did Walter amend that to Nifla instead of Othalla?"

"Safe in that respect. Gate related, he was on it like a rockwieler. Hes also put in an addendum to say that it will be updated some time in the foreseeable future.. ..yes, to the new Othalla. Hes already entered the drift calculations on the Celestial co-ordinates for Nifla, so yeah you're right, we're all in key. I was just picking Carter."

"Really not a picker Sir, unless.."

"Take a wild wild guess."

"Sir, em, the Beta Sites not ready?"

"Ready and waiting. Nowhere near wild enough."

"Em.."

"Come on Carter. Nefarious. Insidious. Dastardly. Doom, diabolo.."

General O'Neill was waving his arms around in the air looking for some other appropriate hint.

"..Deranged.."

"Sir, nefarious, insidious, dastardly. Ou, ahhh."

"Yes ou, oh and ahhh."

"Oh dear, Sir are they here?"

"No but they're sniffing, sniffing around."

"What do they want?"

"No idea but George is on it."

"Can't be good Sir."

"Tell me about it. Just watch those blades in between your shoulders okay. Watch your back Carter.. ..and err, watch mine as well."

"Straight to the bank on that Sir."

"Okay. We're getting the transfer underway so stitch the route up with me again."

"Yes Sir. As soon as the others get here I'll quickly slip up to research and reassess the timing on the solution."

~ λ ∑ ψ ω √ ∞ ≈  ⊇ ⋑  ∧ ~

"Yah. Teal'c's been on with Colin. A few moments ago. Good to go. No Griff's in the Gate Room, hes checking the itinerary on the Special Stores for Bud. Its being sent through this very minute. Yeah, you on your way down now, very good. Ciao.

Okay they're making progress with the Griff Suit.. ..hat, hood, em helmet, she reckons twenty hours. You all know the urgency with which we need to get them off Base, we're gonna have to go without it. Which is a sheer shame because I was really hoping to slow these minkies down, if they try to make a move."

"O'Neill oxygen."

"Not for the helmet?"

"No not for the Griff device. Nurse Kensington told me that Nicolas Ballard's slight recovery has been due in part to the highly oxygenated environment in which he has been contained."

"Oh his oxygen tent. Teal'c his oxygen tent?"

"Yes."

"Oh, she didn't say that to me."

"Daniel Jackson, I specifically requested the information."

"Oh okay."

"You thinkin' it could slow them down?"

"Yes. O'Neill. I can see but one advantage of the Nebulium living in an out of phase environment. In that environment they have the ability to control the atmosphere. Why else would they continue to be confined to one small spot in such a vast universe?

We have heard nothing of them, or from them, because their movements have been intensely restricted for such a long period of time. Were they able to exist in environments outside of the artificial one they have created, then at least they would by now have surfaced and perhaps moved to a more suitable location."

"Gad damn. It almost flew right over me. Damn and double drat."

"Jack whats that?"

"Daniel, okay, like Carter said, the Ancients had to learn to fly, and while they were doing that learning they incorporated an additional Chevron, the Ninth, just in case there was any kind of mid flight crisis shall we call it."

"Go on Jack I'm following you."

"Yes O'Neill I understand."

"Right well we know for a fact that they've now mastered this err ability, this phasing ability. And we've actually seen them, your friends Daniel, travelling through a Seven Chevron wormhole."

"Yeahhh."

"Right, well the Nebulium, we don't know how old they are but they've obviously been around for quite some time. I mean we've tied them up to the Goa'uld, how old was that skeleton T?"

"Three thousand years old O'Neill."

"That's a long time. Em, we've tied them up to the Asgard and g_d knows how far they go back."

"Yeah, go on Jack.. ..ah, yeah, got ya, yeah, so you've saying the that Nebulium can travel through a Seven Chevron wormhole just like the em, the Ancients?"

"Yah."

"Indeed O'Neill. That proves the point."

"Yeah. There you go. So oxygen.. ..nice one T."

"Em, yeah right.. ..so can you just explain it to me."

"Really Daniel?"

"No, I'm joking, but explain it anyway just in case."

"Ha hahh.. ..right. If they can travel in a Seven Chevron wormhole what the hell are they doing turning up in our men through a Nine Chevroned wormhole?"

"Oh yeah, em go on, just let me think a minute."

"In fact Teal'c, tell him."

"Daniel Jackson, there is but one purpose of the Nebulium possessing a human shell and traversing a Nine Chevroned wormhole."

"Err yeah?"

"The reason is so that they can then retain possession of the shell at the destination and use that same shell to process the contents of the atmosphere in which they find themselves. What would ordinarily be harmful to them in their Seven Chevron travelling raw state, would instead be cleverly processed and filtered through the organic system of a shell, human being."

"Good grief. So basically they can travel through a Seven Chevron wormhole but they don't because if they did, when they got here they wouldn't be able to breathe the air."

"Yes."

"Oafff. Wow. Okay, oxygen, same page."

"Nice to see you Daniel."

"Jack. So Teal'c, are you saying we sort of dump loads of oxygen into the holding rooms?"

"Yes. We provide sufficient quantities of oxygen with which to saturate the circulatory system of the members of SG-14. As their bodies begin to be saturated with the high oxygen content, the possessing entities will at the same time become poisoned by the presence of the unprocessed excess oxygen."

"Right so not all the oxygen would be processed. But wouldn't the men also be subject to the excess oxygen in their system?"

"Perhaps. Yes they would. The atmosphere here on Earth consists of an air mixture containing approximately twenty one percent of oxygen. A significant increase in one element and an equally significant reduction of all other elements would create an alien atmosphere."

"Daniel the fact of the matter is that if we can get these Nebulium out of them they stand little chance of recovery. Nevertheless we'll give it a damn good shot. But we also can not risk any other personnel becoming infected. Given that, if flooding the Level with oxygen will greatly reduce the chances of anyone else being infected.. ..its gotta be done."

"With you all the way on this Jack."

"Oxygen it is. T can you see to that. Tell them to synchronise with us for on the half past hour."

"O'Neill I will attend to this immediately."

"Okay, as soon as Carter and Griff get here we'll lay out the Ops lines."

~ λ ∑ ψ ω √ ∞ ≈  ⊇ ⋑  ∧ ~

"Are we on?"

"Indeed O'Neill we have synchronised for eight.. ..eighteen thirty.. .. hours hundred."

"Six thirty T?"

"Correct O'Neill."

"Good one. Okay em, excellent. Carter hows it gonna affect us."

"Well Sir obviously we're going to be subjected to the same breathable air as SG-14 and Nick. Teal'c informs me that the pumped load is at 100 percent pure oxygen, Teal'c?"

"It is Colonel Carter. I did specify that the spread of the gas be localised to the Isolation unit and the parts of the corridor immediately accessible from the holding cells on Level thirty-one A."

"Good. The distribution will begin three minutes before my Team go in to sedate the men. Extended exposure to this degree of purity can cause chest pains, dizziness, nausea, pulmonary edema, atelectasis and an overall decrease in vital capacity. Its all dependant upon two factors, length of exposure and the pressure of the delivered load."

There was a lot of worried looking faces in the Briefing Room. General O'Neill frowned and leaned forward. He took in a quiet deep breath. Colonel Carter registered.

"However I'm assured they'll be pumping out at around seven hundred and sixty torr."

"Yes indeed Colonel Carter. One atmosphere. Normal air pressure."

"So with that and the fact that our exposure will probably not even go beyond half an hour in total, we will be completely unaffected. It does actually take hours and hours of exposure for any real effects to set in. Watch it though because there is an outside chance that you could feel a little high, heightened awareness.. ..or light headed. If that happens don't alter your breathing pattern, carry on as normal and shake it off, you'll be okay."

"Great. Everyones got their positions?"

"Yes Sir!!"

"Colonel Carter."

"Thank you Sir. We have Colonel Reynolds and his team on point with Teal'c and Daniel. They'll be going in with zats and nine mils. SG-3 will be monitoring the men as Daniel and Teal'c go in to administer the sedation. On Colonel Reynolds immediate six we have Major Griff and his Team, they'll move in for instant back up at Colonel Reynolds request. Sir I understand Sergeant Siler and Lieutenant Hibbert are down there right now installing a few extra surveillance units."

"General what areas will they be covering because I thought there were no blind spots down there?"

"You're right Major. I understand these units are specifically set a couple of meters apart and at right angles to the ground, purely for us to get an accurate determination on the speed of these things if they get loose."

"Yeah got ya on that General."

"Okay people, lines! Colonel if you will."

"Yes Sir. Starting on Level thirty-one A. The south and west access points to Isolation are covered by units 5 and 18. On their immediate six's and fanning out towards the utility shaft, west access and the Special Stores service access south side, we have units 8 and 17. Units 22 and 23 are covering the elevator bay south and east access points.

We have the Gate Room defence units covering both the Gate Room and level twenty-eight access to the Control Room.

Units 10 and 14 are covering elevator and utility shaft access points on Levels twenty eight.

Units 12 and 13 are standing elevator access to Level thirteen and fourteen respectively.

Lower Base and Upper Base Security on Levels thirty and sixteen are covering the Lockdown perimeter access points.

Both General O'Neill and myself will be in roaming capacity, grounded at the east access point to the elevator bay on Level thirty-one A.

The operation will be on open broadcast and the code word is LOSE. We have green for go at O eighteen thirty hours with engagement at eighteen thirty three.

Teal'c, Daniel and SG-3 will enter the holding cell of Major Lyons. Teal'c and Daniel will attempt to sedated Major Lyons with a rapid acting intravenous heavy sedation, which will incapacitate Lyons within a matter of seconds. No more than six.

They will then move on to sedate Philips, Louis and lastly Balinsky. Once sedated, each man will then be handcuffed by Colonel Reynolds's men at which point Major Griff's Team along with Colonel Reynolds's Team and escorted by SGs-5 and 18, will carry the sedated men up to Level twenty-eight.

Sergeant Harriman, on order, will pre-Dial the Nine Chevron wormhole to the planet Nifla. The Men will be literally shovelled through the StarGate and greeted at the destination, Nifla, by SG-16, SG-24 and SG-25.

Sergeant Harriman will re-Dial Nifla on it's Eight Chevron address. SGs-2 and 3 will follow through. Once on Nifla Colonel Reynolds will Dial the Nine Chevron address for the Beta Site and again shovel the men through. They will then be greeted at the Beta Site by Colonel Brewster and Major Eagan.

SG-14 will then be taken into the quarantine unit in the western sector of the outer compound on the Beta Site.

The Teams on Nifla will take the Eight Chevron route to the Beta Site. Once there all personnel will report to quarantine for full Post Mission Medicals. After clearance all Units will Gate home to The SGC. Any questions?"

No questions. The tension over the last few days had risen to such a level in The SGC, everybody just wanted to get the men, their men, off the Base and into safe quarters. Everyone was hopeful they would be able to recover each member of SG-14.

"Thank you Colonel. Weapons check! Okay ladies and Gentlemen. Keep safe. We are synchronised. Positions please. Lets go!!"

~ λ ∑ ψ ω √ ∞ ≈  ⊇ ⋑  ∧ ~

It went well. It went very well. Lyons went down painless and fast. Whilst he was still on the cot, Colonel Reynolds and Sergeant Jaspers quickly wrapped a piece of slim black flexible corrugated reinforced plastic around his wrists, binding them tightly together.

Philips went down just as easy, as did Louis. Balinsky had questions which went unanswered, he too went down within six seconds. Everything was smooth. Two of the members of SG-3 were feeling slightly oxygenated. A little high if you will. The extra oxygen was hitting their systems.

Griff and Reynolds's Teams picked up the sedated men, two to one. They began to ferry them out of Iso, southwards, the shortest route towards the elevator bay. It all turned absolutely nasty. Shocking and nasty. Suddenly without word or warning, a milky white hairless ghost like creature thing, expanding like a balloon, growing into the size of a man, began to squeeze, pour and slither out of the right eye socket of Major Lyons. It happen very very quickly and it was an absolute sick horror of a sight to see, true abomination.

Lyons crumpled to the floor, all in one piece but exceedingly weak and listless. The thing, the Nebulium, had taken full raw form. It looked identical to the holographic image that had been shown to SG-1 on their Mission to P7X 377. But this was an altogether smaller version. Man size version. Humanoid version. It opened its mouth wide, there be a set of dank brown sharp pointed teeth. Vicious! It was barking and hissing at SGs 3 and 2 but no sound came out. Jeez!

Its eyes where black and small and pasty with a milky cloud like vale drawn across them. Its body was covered with a fine abrasive texture, its skin, which appeared to be barely solid. Eeeksome.

Lose Nebulium loose and on the lamb in Level thirty-one A of The SGC.

It had rapid movement, almost as if unrestricted by our strength of gravity. It was leaping, springing up and down the south wing of Level thirty-one A's narrow corridor. It was throwing itself against the walls, searching for a place to escape the atmosphere. It marked Daniel in its sixty-sixty vision and galloped back down the corridor towards him.

Colonel Reynolds and Teal'c let loose with the zat guns. To no avail. The Nebulium seemed to absorb the energy of the blasts. There was no discernible impact on the thing at all. Perhaps as Colonel Carter suggested the energy waves from the Zat'ni'ka'tels were actually feeding the creature, giving it strength.

Sergeant Louis began spasmically jerking. He too crumpled to the floor as a dangerous milky white, misty eyed, pointed toothed Nebulium spat itself out of Sergeant Louis's right ocular cavity. Expanding and inflating as it fed out. Doubtless should the Sergeant have been conscious he would have been experiencing a devastating amount of pain. Thankfully he'd been sedated.

The SG Teams we're in scattered array. They had to exercise extreme caution in their tactics. The corridors were narrow, and full of friendlies. Any shots fired had the risk of ricochet. Two raw Nebulium loose on Level thirty-one A. Unaffected by zat fire. And as a fast moving target, difficult to hit with a gun. Teal'c and Daniel and SG-2 gave chase.

In the corridor closer to the holding cells and still in the hands of SG-3, unbelievably Lieutenant Philips and Doctor Balinsky snapped out of their heavy sedation and black plastic handcuffs, knocking their guards to the ground and making a break for it, eastwards.

General O'Neill and Colonel Carter who had now taken up position on the far east side of the holding cells, rushed to intercept Philips and Balinsky. Lieutenant Philips practically fell into them as he curved the corner at speed. Colonel Carter immediately let rip a round off her Zat'ni'ka'tel. Philips was lifted off the floor and surged violently against the wall, cracking his head in the process.

To both the Colonel's and the General's great surprise he didn't stay down. He sprang back up again, seemingly untroubled by the forceful winding and cracked skull. Philips carried on running at them. Colonel Carted fired the lethal second shot off her zat gun. Again the blast had the unusual reaction of sweeping him off his feet and slamming him against the wall, with another gawd almighty crack to the skull.

That took him down alright. Philips was injured, severely. His eyes rolled up showing the whites. He flopped back against the wall and slowly slid to the floor. There was a thick broad smeared stripe of red liquid bleeding down the wall where his skull had landed. His head was jerking and tottering, rolling from side to side, like a drunken clown. His eyes shot open and he began opening and closing his mouth. It was awful, no sound was emanating, and the loud noise from his teeth banging together was extremely disturbing to hear.

His body started to rise up. It was as if he was being wrenched up by invisible strings. Colonel Carter looked agast. Philips was aiming for the Colonel. Possibly, very possibly, for her right ocular cavity.

"Again Carter, its not working, hes still moving, do it again."

"Sir, its Philips?"

"Shoot him. Shooot him! Carter shhhooot hhhim!!"

The General was armed only with a nine mil repeater, and he'd already spent a full clip on Philips. You could see the hole marks, but no blood, and little effect.

"Give me! Give me quick!!"

Colonel Carter threw her Zat'ni'ka'tel five meters and into General O'Neill's hand. He aimed at Lieutenant Philips, turned away and whispered to himself. 'Forgive me Philips'. He blasted. You could hear high energy lighting rippling all over Philips. If you turned to look you could see fine threads of blue electricity lashing and splashing, running all up and down his body, becoming obscured by the sheet of steam, or was it smoke, that was enveloping him. The General knew what was happening and he didn't look back.

"Sir?"

"I know Carter, I can't."

No, he really couldn't. He couldn't bear to look back and see what he'd done.. ..more accurately, not see what he'd done. It was the first time he'd ever let off a third hit from a Zat'ni'ka'tel on the same target. It was a hollow feeling.

The third shot from the zat gun annihilated, vaporised the threat in the east access corridor on Level thirty-one A. Even an organic human cloak, a shell, couldn't provide shielding from that. The Nebulium, and Lieutenant Phillips housing it, were disappeared, gone, completely.

"Come on, Balinsky, this way, we almost have him."

"Sir?"

The General brought his forefinger up to his lips for silence and then made a sign to cover the Comms set.

"Sir, Sir I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I understand."

"Sir, I hesitated."

"Colonel, Carter, Sam, I truly understand. I do. Its nothing like blowing up a sun is it?"

"No Sir, thank you."

"Like you said Colonel, Vorash was unoccupied."

You could hear lots of commotion, firing and blasting. Shouting and screaming. General O'Neill was running and ordering on the air. He knew the precise location of all his people, and the Nebulium, all but Balinsky, who he was tracking down at that very minute.

Colonel Carter was co-ordinating with her own Team and with the other Team leaders. It all sounded very chaotic, but everything was tightly under control.

The General and the Colonel were racing down the corridor, the infected Balinsky was not far ahead. At the junction they separated, General O'Neill going straight ahead, driving on towards the elevator bay.

The Colonel took the right turn. As she ran down the corridor, passed one of the ceiling support beams, Doctor Balinsky, more the Nebulium inside, who had been wedged up at the top of the wall, palms pressed flat again the wall and legs spread out, feet levered, one against the wall and one against the support beam, threw himself down on top of her. Luckily missing her, by inches.

She jumped back startled, dropping her zat. She didn't have time to unholster her nine mil. Without a moments thought she laid into Doctor Balinsky. kicking him repetitively. Once on the shin, that made him curtsy. Then twice in the stomach, real kung fu. She then side swiped him with the top of her foot.. ..boot. It must have been the side with the extra rib because although she hadn't smashed him that high up, you could hear an ugly snap. It was his rib bones, one or two of them at any rate.

Balinsky went down, and from the sound of his landing that must have hurt as well. He was grabbing and clutching at his side. He flung himself back onto the green and red stripes running the length of the corridor floor. Rocking from side to side, gasping. Trying to get more air into his lungs. Lung technically, because more than likely Colonel Carter had just punctured one of them.

Eerily he didn't make a single sound. He looked like Doctor Cameron Balinsky in all respects, but he was behaving verily inhuman. Eerie.

"Sir hes down!"

"Stand away. I'm coming up behind you."

"Griff General. We've got a raw one down here, hes jost it."

"Griff stand a few guards on the body. Keep on it everyone. Stay sharp!"

"Jack we're at the elevator bay, south side. Its the one out of Lyons. We've got him cornered. The oxygens working Jack, hes in a lot of difficulty here."

"Is he attacking?"

"He doesn't have the strength. He can hardly move."

"Don't zat it!! And don't let it near any of you! If it goes at anyone shot to kill. P90s. Rip roar."

He, it, was dead by the time General O'Neill and Colonel Carter got back to the elevator bay. But they hadn't shot it. Daniel was right. It was the oxygen. It worked.

Four Nebulium and two good men. All down. All clear.. ..ish.

~ λ ∑ ψ ω √ ∞ ≈  ⊇ ⋑  ∧ ~

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© Richard Dean Anderson all rights reserved June 2006