Stargate Command

Context

The action-adventure/sci-fi Stargate franchise began with the titular 1994 movie.

It featured a US military expedition using an alien portal found among Egyptian ruins to travel to the planet Abydos. The team finds a settlement of ancient Egyptians enslaved by an alien posing as the god Ra. It then leads a rebellion that ends with “Ra”’s death.

The subsequent series, Stargate SG-1, expanded on the movie. It revealed that the stargates between Earth and Abydos were just two destinations within a large network of such devices. Furthermore, Ra was just one of a number of Goa’uld System Lords.

The Goa’uld were parasitic serpentine aliens who used humans as hosts and slave labor. The System Lords used specially bred humans called Jaffa as soldiers and incubators for larval Goa’uld.

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SG-1 was the first of many expeditionary units sent from Earth by Stargate Command. Their mission was to gather intelligence and make allies against the Goa’uld. Earth and its allies defeated the Goa’uld only to engage a new threat called the Ori in later seasons. The end of the conflict with the Ori was featured in the post-series movie The Ark of Truth.

The franchise subsequently spawned two spin-off series.

• Stargate: Atlantis followed the exploits of a Stargate Command expeditionary force battling an alien menace known as the Wraith in the Pegasus Galaxy.
• Stargate: Destiny featured a group of Stargate personnel stranded on an ancient alien vessel operating under its own mysterious initiatives.

The various Stargate TV series became well-known for having a healthy sense of tongue-in-cheek and often metatextual sense of humor. But this was downplayed in Destiny due to its overall darker, more serious atmosphere.

This profile has S P O I L E R S for the Stargate movie and early seasons of Stargate: SG-1.

Organization

Full Name :
Stargate Command.

Purpose :
Build up Earth’s defenses against alien threat via the acquisition of intelligence and technology, establish friendly relations with off-world species, discover new medical and energy technologies, chart new worlds for colonization.

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Modus operandi :
Mapping and referencing new worlds accessible via the stargate network, and sending highly trained teams to explore those worlds.

Extent of operations :
SGC has theoretically access to the entire stargate network, although worlds strongly defended by Goa’uld lords are usually off-limit. SGC knows of two extra-galactic stargate addresses.

Relationship to conventional authorities :
SGC is a top-secret project, classified by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It reports directly to the president of the USA.

Bases of operations :
The Cheyenne mountain Air Force Station, Colorado – in the same complex as NORAD . Also the Alpha Site, a base camp on another world, used as a fall-back position and to house refugees who cannot be relocated on any other world. The stargate address of the Alpha Site is highly classified.

Former bases of operations :
None.

Major funding :
Yearly covert budget through the Senate Appropriation Committee.

Known enemies :
Most Goa’uld System lords are hostile towards the Tauri (humans). These include Ra, Anubis, Apophis, Ba’al, Cronus, Hathor, Heru-Ur, Marduk, Morrigan, Nirrti, Osiris, Pelops, Ra, Seth, Sokar. The SGC has also fought the galactic plague of the Replicators.

Known allies :
The SGC’s key alliance is with a race of benevolent aliens known as the Asgard. It is also allied with renegade Goa’uld, the Tok’ra, but that alliance is now defunct.
The SGC was also allied with a renegade faction of Jaffa warriors (who have broken from their Goa’uld masters) let by Master Bra’tac – an alliance which, like the one with the Tok’ra, ended when the second Alpha Site was attacked.

Membership

Number of active members :
Roughly a hundred field operatives, and three times that number in support personnel.

Number of reserve members :
None.

Organizational structure :
The SGC is a military command, following the standard chain of command. It is indeed by a Commander, who is aided by a Duty Officer (this post if filled on a rotation by officers on the base).
Field teams are under the direct command of the SGC Commander. All field teams have a Team Commander, who makes all operational and command decisions when in the field. Team Commanders are responsible for their unit’s readiness, discipline and training.
The SGC does include a number of civilian specialists, although military personnel from the Air Force and US Marines Corps are preferred.

Known current commander :
Dr. Elizabeth Weir.

Former commanders :

• General West (retired).
• Major-General George Hammond (promoted).

Known current team commanders :

• Colonel O’Neill (SG-1, exploration).
• Major Griff (SG-2, exploration).
• Unnamed (formerly Colonel Makepeace) (SG-3, combat).
• Major Howe (SG-4, exploration).
• Major Castleman (SG-5, combat).
• Lt-Colonel Holmes (SG-6, search and rescue).
• Major Long (SG-7, scientific).
• Captain Strong (SG-8, medical).
• Major Kovacek (SG-9, diplomatic).
• Captain Moore (SG-10, exploration).
• Colonel Winters (SG-11, engineering).
• Major Barrett (SG-12, medical).
• Major Waterhouse (SG-13, covert ops).
• Major Glassner (SG-14, exploration).
• Major Pierce (SG-15, exploration).
• Colonel Reynolds (SG-16, scientific).
• Major Thomas (SG-17, exploration).
• Lt-Colonel Reeves (SG-18, combat).
• Major Brown (SG-19, covert ops).
• Colonel Chekov (SG-20, Russian joint project team).

Other known officers :
Civilian specialist Dr. Daniel Jackson

Known former members :

• Major Janet Fraiser (chief medical officer – deceased).
• Major Kawalky (former SG-2 commander, deceased).
• Various KIA and MIA members.

Membership requirements :
Potential members must pass a particularly stringent security check and accept to sign on a Top Secret project without any knowledge about it. Most of the recruitment is done in the Air Force, some in the USMC, and some in major universities.

History

Founder :
General West (retired).

Other leaders :
General Hammond.

Previous purpose and goals :
To explore the lands beyond the stargate (then thought to only allow travel between Earth and Abydos), gather intelligence – and destroy the stargate in case of discovery of a significant threat to mankind.

Major campaigns or accomplishments :
The accomplishments of the SG-1 team (commander : Colonel O’Neill) are the best known, and are particularly impressive. They include the repeated defeat of Goa’uld System Lords attempts at invading or destroying Earth via stargate or space ; defeated System Lords include Ra (deceased), Hathor (deceased), Seth (deceased), Sokar (deceased), Apophis (deceased), Cronus (deceased), Marduk (deceased), Nirrti (deceased), Anubis (deceased).
The SGC has also prevented the destruction of Earth by the Replicators – mechanical pests of great power.
Further victories include the forging of an alliance with several extraterrestrial powers, such as the Asgard and (at one point) the Tok’ra, as well as several non-interventionist extraterrestrial human civilizations.

Major setbacks :

• Invasion of the Stargate Command by Goa’uld forces in 1997.
• Penetration of the Alpha Site by an out-of-phase Goa’uld assassin (subsequently terminated).
• Penetration of a new Alpha Site which was established after the first one by Anubis’ drones (which led to an end to the alliance with the Tok’ra and the renegade Jaffas).
• Loss of various allies and loved ones.
• Significant losses in field personnel (including SG-10 and SG-11 who have been wiped out in unrelated incidents, and have since been recreated).

Bibliography

First appearance :
Stargate (1994 movie).

Origin issue :
Stargate (1994 movie) ; further details during the Stargate SG-1 television series (1997-present).

Personnel and equipment

Marine Combat units : The six-person teams SG-3, SG-5 and SG-18 make up the muscle of Stargate Command, and are sent in when heavy combat is expected. Most members of those teams are officers, and are trained to exacting standard for rough missions without support or heavy weapons.

Typical Stargate Command marine

Skills:
Medicine (first aid): 03, Military science: 05, Weaponry (USMC small arms): 05

Advantages:
Rank (usually Lieutenant), Credentials (SGC, Low).

Equipment:

• M16A4 [BODY 04, Projectile weapons: 06, Ammo: 08, R#02, Bonus : Autofire].
• M9 pistol [BODY 04, Projectile weapon: 04, Ammo: 15, R#02].
• BODY ARMOUR [BODY 06, Skin armour: 02, limitation : Skin armour only vs bladed weapons and bullets ; Skin armour is Partial (long coat level when wearing helmet and everything)].
• Grenades (x4) [BODY 02, EV 07 (Area of effect), grenade drawback], etc..

Notable operatives :
See separate writeups for :

• Colonel O’Neill.
• Major Carter.
• Doctor Jackson.
• Sergeant Teal’c.
• Scientist Quinn.

Resources :
20.

Gear:
SGC teams are equipped with small arms, military kit and equipment pertaining to their roles (exploration, scientific, engineering, diplomatic, covert ops, search and rescue).

• Common weapons among exploration teams include :
  • The FN P-90 Personal Defense Weapon [BODY 04, Projectile weapons: 06, Sharpness (projectile weapons): 01, Ammo: 12, R#02, Advantage : Autofire, Limitation : Can only use SLAP ammunition (already factored in)].
  • The M9 pistol [BODY 04, Projectile weapons: 04, Ammo: 15, R#02].
  • And the H&K MP5 sub-machinegun [BODY 04, Projectile weapons: 05, Ammo: 07, R#02, Advantage : Autofire].
  • As well as US Army utility/combat knives [BODY 04, Enhance (EV): 01 (Cap is 06), Descriptor: Piercing, Slashing]..
• Common radio equipment includes
  • Tactical radios (earphones connected to walkie-talkies) [BODY 02, Radio communications (scrambled): 07].
  • And GDO emitters [BODY 02, Radio communications (scrambled): 00, Limitation : Can only send an unlocking code to the iris on the SGC stargate – the current code is never stored in the GDO and must be typed by memory, Note : GDO stands for Garage Door Opener].
• Common drones include
  • FRED DRONES [STR 06 BODY 05, Running: 02, Note : can be loaded with 07 APs of weight, which reduces Running to 01 ; remote controlled ; Field Remote Expeditionary Device] with control stick [BODY 02, Radio communication: 04, Limitation : Radio coms only to remote control the FRED drone].
  • MALP DRONES [STR 04 BODY 05, Detect (various sensors): 05, Eye of the cat: 02, Radio communications: 08, Running: 03, Limitation : Eye of the cat can only be used ON the MALP with the proper equipment ; Eye of the cat has no Range but is carried by Radio coms ; Note : can be programmed or remote controlled, includes a DEX 00 STR 01 mechanical arm, will provide an analysis of temperature, gravity, atmospheric composition, pressure, radiations, and others, enough batteries for 18 APs of time, Mobile Analytic Laboratory Probe].
  • And UAV DRONES [STR 01 BODY 03, Bomb: 06, Flight: 07, Military science (cartography): 08, Radio communications: 07, Telescopic vision: 04, Weaponry (heavy weapons): 04, Limitation : Bomb is a self-destruct charge ; Weaponry (heavy weapons) only to paint a target with a laser designator ; the drone can only fly for 10 APs of time before being discharged and having to be recovered, Note : Unmanned Airborne Vehicle].

By Sébastien Andrivet.

Source of Character: Stargate movie and TV series.

Helper(s): Stargate RPG by AEG, Eric Langendorff, Roy Cowan.