In 1928 an object of unknown origin was recovered from beneath the shifting sands of Giza.
Seven decades later, this device would become the nucleus of the single largest classified
operation in human history.
This program would push the boundaries of human knowledge and technology forward by
centuries and reshape the very foundations of humanity’s place in the universe.
While its time on the galactic stage has been comparatively brief, there has been no greater
challenge to the ancient alien tyrants of the galaxy than the forces of Stargate Command.
A top-secret component service operating within the United States Air Force, Stargate Command
is headquartered deep underground within the Cheyenne Mountain Complex; an immense, nearly
self-sufficient facility.
The site houses the eponymous Stargate, part of a vast intergalactic network of such devices
that allows for near instantaneous travel between two points in space.
As Earth’s primary means of accessing this network and the inherent risk of alien incursions
or other hazards associated with gate travel, Cheyenne Mountain is one of the most heavily
guarded sites on the planet and the Stargate itself is shielded by a metallic iris when
not in use.
In addition to its facilities on Earth, the SGC also operates an ever expanding network
of bases across the galaxy.
Such sites are responsible for a variety of scientific and military operations.
These include providing quarantine centers to prevent Earth from being exposed to technological,
biological or chemical hazards, as well as advanced research centers where prototype
technologies can be developed in secret.
During times of extended conflict, such sites might also be used to stockpile equipment
for use offworld, or to train and coordinate allied forces.
The most important offworld base is designated an “Alpha Site” and expected to act as
a contingency headquarters for the SGC if the Cheyenne Mountain Complex was compromised.
In the event of a direct attack on Earth, the Alpha Site would also serve as an evacuation
point for key personnel and a command post for any organized resistance.
Command over the SGC and its facilities has traditionally fallen to a Major General within
the U.S.A.F. but as the Stargate Program has expanded and become increasingly reliant on
outside funding, the United Nations has pushed for heightened oversight via the International
Oversight Advisory or I.O.A.
The IOA is often at odds with the SGC leading to inconsistent leadership and at times, conflicting
goals.
Nevertheless the core of the Stargate Program has remained relatively unchanged since its
inception, focusing on missions of exploration intended to procure advanced technology and
establish offworld alliances.
To achieve this, Stargate Command relies extensively on SG-Teams, small elite units who are routinely
deployed across the galaxy.
The majority of these teams consist of members drawn from the US Armed Forces, namely the
Air Force, although other nations of Earth such as the Russian Federation have begun
to operate their own units.
In rare instances, members of alien races have been granted membership into SG-Teams,
often acting as local guides or experts.
Often the sole point of contact between Stargate Command and new worlds and races, SG-Teams
are expected to be proficient in a variety of fields and are often entrusted with the
authority to execute far-reaching decisions with only limited or nonexistent support.
Several specialized SG-Teams also exist, focused around search and rescue, medical, diplomatic,
scientific, or combat operations.
SG-Teams are supplemented by sizeable garrison forces located on most SGC bases and installations.
While these units lack the scientific and diplomatic expertise of the SG-Teams, they
are better suited to take part in sustained combat and often make use of heavier weaponry
or surface emplacements.
In space, the SGC operates a growing fleet of warships centered around the BC-304, a
battlecruiser-carrier hybrid which fields a sizeable airwing of F-302 hyperspace interceptors.
The BC-304 represents the culmination of the Stargate Program’s efforts to develop a
means of protecting the Earth from attack and incorporates a wide range of both domestic
and alien technologies.
Perhaps most importantly, the BC-304 extends the operational range of the SGC to include
planets which have been cut off from, or never included within, the Stargate Network.
Earth’s Stargate had been the focus of various programs to determine its purpose and potential
since its discovery in 1928, but it was only in 1996 that the first true expedition through
an activated gate was undertaken.
This was in large part due to the efforts of Dr. Daniel Jackson who was able to decipher
the Stargate’s unique dialing system and through it, activate a stable wormhole.
Dr. Jackson, together with a team of special forces under the command of Colonel Jack O’Neil
quickly came into contact with Ra, an alien being of immense power who lorded over a population
of displaced humans that believed Ra to be their god.
After destroying Ra aboard his ship with a nuclear device, the fledgling Stargate Program
was disbanded and the gate mothballed.
Only a year later however, it was discovered that Ra had been the Supreme System Lord of
the vast Goa'uld Empire and in the vacuum created by his death, rival System Lords now
vied for power.
Seeking to protect Earth from this threat, the Stargate Program was reactivated under
the authority of the newly minted Stargate Command.
The Goa’uld possessed a formidable technological advantage, but having rarely encountered organized
and sophisticated resistance, utilized weapons and tactics based on ceremony and intimidation
rather than combat effectiveness.
When confronted with the highly advanced military industrial complex of the United States of
America, the Goa’uld were able to achieve only sporadic and short lived victories.
Amidst their conflict with the System Lords, Stargate Command had been rapidly exploring the
galaxy utilizing an original roster of 9 SG units led by the flagship Team SG-1.
In addition to Dr. Jackson and Colonel O’Neil, SG-1 now included astrophysicist Samantha
Carter and the renegade Jaffa Teal'c, former First Prime to the System Lord Apophis.
Through the efforts of SG-1 and its associate teams, Stargate Command would acquire and
make use of powerful new technologies and encounter receptive allies, most notably the
hyper-advanced Asgard.
Able to compete effectively with the Goa’uld both on the ground and in space, Stargate
Command was able to defeat a number of successive System Lords while simultaneously encouraging
a mass revolt among their slave armies.
With the collapse of much of the Goa’uld Empire, Stargate Command would be forced to
contend with a variety of new threats including a race of-self replicating machines which
had nearly rendered the Asgard extinct as well as annihilating several of the remaining
System Lords.
Despite these new threats, the SGC would continue to expand, contributing to the Atlantis Expedition
in the Pegasus Galaxy and even inadvertently sending a small contingent onboard the Destiny
- a spaceship originally constructed by the so-called “Ancients” .
In the Milky Way, the arrival of the extragalactic Ori would present Stargate Command with possibly
its greatest threat since the defeat of the Goa’uld.
The Ori, as part of a great crusade, swept away much of the Milky Way’s local resistance
including the forces of the SGC, Asgard, Free Jaffa Nation, and the last remnants of the
Goa’uld Empire.
Stargate Command would eventually gain the technology required to fight the Ori on equal
footing but only at the cost of the Asgard, whose genetic degradation necessitated they
pass down their collective knowledge before their race became extinct.
Even with the Asgard’s almost unfathomable scientific knowledge, only by activating the
Ark of Truth was the Ori’s crusade finally shattered.
In the galaxy’s last great golden age, centuries before mankind ever dreamed of reaching the
stars, an alliance of Four Great Races safeguarded thousands of worlds with wisdom and compassion.
While the age of this alliance has passed and the four races along with it, the extraordinary
efforts of Stargate Command has proven
to the galaxy that humanity earned the title of the Fifth Race.
The Templin Institute investigates nations, organizations, and factions from
alternate worlds and realities.
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