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A NEW BEGINNING
Date: January 12, 2002 (back-post)
Title: Moving Ahead And Starting
Over
Author: Lt Colonel Nicholas
Eden & Major Ken Andrews
"C'mon already Sierra!" Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas 'Hammer' Eden called to his best friend Major Ken 'Sierra' Andrews. He stood in the corridor pounding on the door. "I swear Andrews, the only thing that you *aren't* late for is chow!" The Marine pilot said as his friend finally emerged from his room.
Nick was shifting his weight from one foot to the other, obviously eager to get going.
"Where's the fire boy-o?" Andrews teased as he emerged from the quarters he'd been staying in over the past few weeks. They both had stayed at the SGC while the finishing touches to the Academy were completed. He had his bag packed and slung over his shoulder. "A tad anxious I take it?"
Nick grinned at Ken. "Hell yes I'm anxious! They are bringing in the new F-20's today along with one of those Teltacs. I can't wait to get my hands on that sweet thing. I'll get to put all that sim training to work finally." Eden was fairly oozing excitement.
He tempered his excitement a bit
as he looked at Ken. The wicked gleam of mischief was gone out of his friend's
hazel eyes. It seemed as if Ken had aged ten years in the past year since
he lost his wife and unborn child. Nick's heart broke for Ken. He and Christine
had been the perfect couple. They had married three years ago after a
whirlwind courtship. They were so
thrilled about the baby just a year after the wedding. But then complications
set in. Chris went into pre-term labor and ended up losing the baby.
Neither of them were daunted however. They tried again as soon as the doctor said it was safe for her to conceive again. Just weeks after finding out that she was pregnant again, she suffered another miscarriage but this time it took her life as well.
Ken was never the same after Christine died. He tried to cut himself off from the world, but Nick wouldn't let him. He got Ken back up in the air and now they were both off to instruct the next generation.
"So, you happen to see any of 17?" Andrews asked a bit hesitantly. Both men had been members of SG-17 for almost two years. Eden nodded as they stood by the elevator to take them to the level of the gate.
"Yeah, I saw Jo. She looks great."
"You saw Jo and all you have to say is that she looks great?" Ken asked as they entered the elevator. Andrews knew all about the stormy history of Nick and Josie Hunter-Wyatt, SG-17's fiery Marine combat specialist and how the relationship ended. He also knew that there was a lot more to the story than Hammer ever told him. It was one of the few secrets that he didn't know about the younger man.
"Andrews I swear if you say one word..." Nick warned.
Ken held up his hand in defence. "Not another word I swear Nick."
They strode out of the elevator and down the corridor toward the gate room. Just before they entered, Nick turned to his friend and apologized.
"I'm sorry Ken, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just being back here, seeing her again..." He trailed off and ran a hand through his short dark hair. "I still wish that it would have worked out is all."
"I know Nick. Listen, we've got some sweet birds to check out today. Lets save this for a time when we are too drunk to care shall we?"
Eden nodded about to apologize again when he glanced up and his eyes locked on an object just over Ken's shoulder. Standing in the hallway not ten feet from then stood Josie Hunter-Wyatt.
She looked at him for a long moment before giving him a small smile and nodding her head. She then turned silently and disappeared down the hall. Nick in turn smiled and returned his attention to Ken.
"You're on Bubba." Nick flashed a
grin the humor back in his deep blue eyes.
Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Eden
'Hammer'
Director of Flight Operations/Flyboy
Stargate Academy
Insanity takes it's toll... Please
have correct change.
"I don't believe in Quantum Physics
when it come to matters of the
heart." --Crash Davis from "Bull
Durham"
&
Major Kenny 'Sierra' Andrews
Flight School Instructor
Stargate Academy
"Who pressed the wrong symbols
on *your* DHD?"
Date: January 10, 2002
Title: Tightening Up Loose
Ends
Author: Aaron Danik
His apartment was almost barren now. All that was left were the bare essentials and the things Aaron Danik was thinking of throwing out. This was his ‘Move Out Day’, his day to head out to the Stargate Academy in Colorado, and the excitement was intoxicating.
Almost all of Aaron’s things were going into storage. The only things left were his tennis mementos. As he stared down at his racket, an expensive one his mother bought for him, he was startled by a voice behind him. “Aaron, wake up, Dude, I ain’t doin’ this alone.” It was Jimmy Boyd, his neighbour and friend, and slave labor for the day (the only thing Jimmy would take in payment was their lunchtime meal from the Chinese place in town).
“Sorry, Jim. Guess I was daydreaming a bit. What do you think?” He held up the racket and a silver cup. “Take or leave?”
“So when you expect to play again? I know you, man. You’re gonna be studying up a storm. So why don’t you just seal that up so I can store that one for you. If you need it, I’ll ship it to you.”
“Good point.” Aaron was just sealing the box when he felt a presence. Her presence. “Hi Mom.” He heard Jimmy turn and mutter “Oh crud” under his breath.
“So you are really doing this? Wasting your life?” He turned to see his mother entering the open door of his downtown apartment. She looked like she had just come from a day at the country club. Probably did. Silent, he turned, sealed the box, and then tossed it to Jimmy. “Yes Mom, I am. I am ruining my life by expanding my horizons and doing things not many have even dreamed of doing.” His eyes flared with pride, daring her to challenge him.
Her head drooped. “All the money we wasted, sending you to college, training you to be a doctor. You could have...” This was the pity act. Aaron was familiar with it. It used to make him her puppet when he was little. He wasn’t little anymore.
Hearing a car outside, he tossed Jimmy a set of keys, grabbed some battered luggage and started toward the door. “I could have pampered old rich people and made lots and lots of money like you wanted me to, or follow my dream and learn about new and revolutionary things! Who knows? On one of these alien worlds, I could find cures for diseases we could never dream of stopping?” He sighed “Jimmy, thanks for the help. Mom, I am off for Colorado.” He hugged her on the way out. “I do love you mother.” When he reached the car, he saw the smiling face of his childhood friend, Major Gavin Lomarin. “So, Gav. This Stargate Academy. A challenge?”
“Oh yes. Quite a challenge..”
Aaron Danik
Field Medic
Date: January 11, 2002
Title: One Giant Step Forward
Author: Jefferson O’Malley
Jefferson O'Malley stood outside the underground base, clutching his papers in one hand and his undersize pack in the other. He hoisted it over his right shoulder and drew in a deep breath as the cab that had brought him to the base in Colorado Springs drove off in a spray of gravel. The security forces guard on sentry duty studied the crumpled piece of paper the Canadian thrust at him, staring long and hard into the young man's face.
"Okay, pal... Move it," he said, handing the paperwork back at O'Malley. He took it automatically and shoved it inside his fleece lined jacket before tugging his collar higher. The sun might be bright but the winter in this neck of the woods was harsh. Nothing like BC of course, but cold enough.
"That way," he guard told him, impatiently wanting to be rid of the civilian nuisance. The soldier was sick to death of the slow stream of students that had started to pass through the SGC on their way to P2T-457. He'd be more than happy to see that little project shut down once and for all. He, like many other hardened soldiers, felt these 'kids' - as he saw them - had no right getting involved in Project Bluebook. The fact that Jefferson had not long since had his 26th birthday didn't appear to excuse him from that same general sweeping term.
"Thanks," he mumbled back, hefting his pack higher and heading across the compound towards the entrance into the base. More checks - this time a phone call - before he was allowed to proceed.
"Level 27," the slightly more approachable guard told him. "You'll be met there."
Jefferson nodded his thanks and stepped out of the sunlight and into a nearby elevator. As he descended to the specified level, his mind ran over recent events that now saw him beneath Cheyenne Mountain. He'd always been interested in languages, both ancient and modern, as well as the travel opportunities that came with his studies. When he'd heard about the Academy, he knew it was for him. Not only would he be travelling beyond his wildest imagination, he'd be faced with the challenge of new and totally alien cultures and their associated languages. It was too much to allow to pass him by.
As promised he was met by an escort and the young corporal nodded curtly to him as he exited the elevator. "This way, Sir," he said politely yet coolly. Jefferson followed him into a room that made him stop dead center in the doorway. Dull gray paint adorned clinical walls and a large window faced down from the level above. He could make out a handful of figures in there, but not much else. But it was the steel ramp that caught his attention... and drew his eyes towards the vast circular object at the far end.
"The Stargate," his escort told him. "You're to leave for P2T-457 immediately," he added, glancing up at the room above. Seconds later the ring started to turn. Sure, he'd read up all there was on the Stargate but it was way more awe-inspiring up close and in person.
"Good luck Mr O'Malley," the unnamed corporal said before leaving him to stand alone. The vortex engaged and he stepped forwards, urged by a disjointed voice across the tannoy system.
Suddenly the young Canadian felt terribly alone...
* * * * *
He almost fell on his face as he exited the far side, staggering dramatically as he fought to maintain his balance as well as his tenuous old on his stomach contents.
"You okay?" a female voice asked.
Jefferson forced himself to look at the speaker, and he swallowed hard before replying. "Ahhh... I think so," he said cautiously. "Not all that sure..."
"O'Malley... right?" Jefferson nodded as the woman spoke again. "Good to have you with us. I'm Colonel Ramsey, head of the astrophysics department. Our linguist chief isn't here right now so I'm afraid it was me or the flyboys."
"Ahh... Jefferson O'Malley," he replied, suddenly at a loss to know how to address her. 'Sir' didn't seem right. 'Ma'am' felt... weird. Maybe 'Colonel'?
But he couldn't help but smile at her comment and he followed her out of the room as she continued to speak. "I'll show you your dorm. You'll be sharing but I'm not sure who your partner will be at this stage."
He studied what was to be his new home for the next four years at least with interest, taking in the cool white walls and matte silver trimmings that made up the bulk of the academy's decor. It made for an airy and calming atmosphere and the warm sun that shone through the slightly tinted windows promised a welcome relief from the chilly earth weather.
"That's the gym," the Colonel informed him as they passed a door. "But I'll get someone to give you a proper tour as soon as you've settled in. Not..." she added with a smile as she looked at his small pack, "... that it will take you long to unpack!"
Jefferson laughed softly in appreciation of her humor and stood to one side as she pushed open a door. "Your room," she told him, handing him a key card. He stepped inside and dropped his pack onto the bed furthest from the door. He turned back to face her in a slight daze.
"I guess... I guess it's just hard to take it all in," he said. "I mean... this...?" He waved a hand around the room. "Another planet... whoa... it's... I guess you'd call it awe-inspiring."
Ramsey smiled in understanding. "Don't rush it," she told him. "Pretty soon you'll wonder what all the fuss was about." She turned to leave, glancing back at him as he stood in the middle of the room. "I know it all seems a bit much, but trust me... its not. Now, I'll send someone for you in 30 minutes." She frowned as silence met her statement. "Okay?" she added, smiling again as her last word visibly jerked his attention back to her.
"Yes... I mean... thank you, Colonel," he said feeling a total idiot. But she either didn't mind, care or notice. Whatever it was, Jefferson was eternally grateful. He sat down on his chosen bed after she'd left, dropping back down to stare up at the ceiling. A small smile drifted across his face and he knew...
.. He knew he had no regrets what
so ever.
Jefferson O'Malley
Linguist
Date: January 11, 2002
Title: Starting Out
Author: Adena Castile
She stood on the hilltop behind her family's house and tried to memorize each pink cloud in the green sky. It wasn't really possible, but Adena had this dark fear that she would never see her home again the way it was now...beautiful and peaceful. War had already claimed many of her relatives and the outer lying colonies. It was only a matter of time before the replicants managed to make their way to her home, Lomarth.
"Adena, time." Her mother chided softly from the doorway. Meaning, it was time to leave. She had been packed for two days now, since Thor had granted her the permission to attend the academy. Yet, there was an instant grip of fear that she might have forgotten something important. Not that she could. Both her parents and elder sibling had gone through her things to make sure she was adhering to the no-technology rule. She would only be allowed a few tech items that the humans have already seen. Nothing big. A picture viewer, an emergency beacon, a stone diary and her medical file and orders...written in human English and Asgard formal. Nothing else but clothing and not a lot of that either. She had been told that everything else she could possibly need would be provided. But how could they know what she would need?
Still, obeying was necessary and Adena turned back toward the house she had grown up in. Not that anyone ever treated her like a grown up. She had only seventeen years to her life, and only one to her name. Real adulthood wouldn't start for ten more years. The only reason she was being allowed to go at all was that humans believed children were easier to teach. It was a reason that Adena liked since it meant adventure.
The carrier ship took her immediately from her home to the home world. The humans had requested arrival by star gate and Adena was to travel through one for the first time. Though in the sims she had done very well, standing before the slightly vibrating arch was intimidating. Even the Asgards there to witness the event knew how she was feeling, why she was being quieter than normal. The cold rush of dematerialization and compression felt like an eternity, before she got spit out on the end. It did not help her stomach in the least that it was over.
Adena squinted into the brightness and found several people taking noticed of her arrival. Military personnel were become less tense, but seemed very capable of hurting her if she did anything wrong. She wasn't Goa’uld, but she wasn't Tau'ri...human. Quickly she took a pair of sun visors from her pocket and put them on. She was told that these things made humans more comfortable and there fore, less tense. She also grabbed her paperwork and headed toward the nearest person.
Some of her composure had returned
in the walk to the base medical facilities. The cold of star gate
travel and receded and Adena was quickly being fascinated by human speech,
which she was supposed to learn adeptly. The medical personnel were
detached and professional, though their equipment was not as high tech
as she was used too. Once they were done, they asked her to stay
where she was. Someone would be by to escort her to her quarters.
Adena Castile
Linguist
Date: January 11, 2002
Title: Rhial’s New Beginning
Author: Michelle Rhial
Michelle Rhial packed up what few
belongings she had acquired over the years in her comfortably sized bag,
which was just large enough to fit a small child. In the bag was
her life, quite literally. Her parents had nothing to leave her when they
had died, and growing up poor-- living in a car and a tent-- Michelle had
learned to not over-exceed her belongings so that she couldn't carry them
all in a bag. Besides clothing, Michelle had only a picture of her
and her parents, taking for free by a generous tourist, and was the only
picture that Michelle possessed of her parents and herself, and a picture
of her diseased fiancé, Alex Braun. The general necessities
were also included, such as a tooth brush and tooth paste, and a hair brush,
an "extra" that Michelle had always treasured as a child, and even now.
Her only possession during the "hard times" had been the hair brush, which
had gone through three generations
before her.
The wooden hair brush was certainly
worn and weathered, but the memories and experiences it held were priceless,
and most certainly could never be replaced. The hair brush had been
with Michelle's great-grandmother when she was wed, made by her great-great-grandmother
for that occasion especially. It was then passed down
to Michelle's Grandmother, for her
wedding. And the same for Michelle's mother. Michelle received
the family heirloom at the age of seven, when her mother had nothing but
it to give for her birthday. Her mother's tears had only strengthened
the importance of the brush, and Michelle never asked for anything again.
The hotel room silently watched as
Michelle took a sweeping glance before grabbing onto her bag. For
the past three days, she had lived somewhat in luxury. She had been
awarded the hotel room, which had a television and a bathtub, things that
Michelle had known little of in her life, and even had a queen sized bed
with a light
blue comforter. Everyone had
treated her cordially, and for that, she would be sure to mention to any
other potential guests. As a last thought, Michelle quickly grabbed
the key card and quickly headed for the elevator. She knew the car
awaiting her had been there for well over ten minutes, but she had been
busy watching a program on television, and it simply could not be pushed
aside. Quickly, Michelle signed out and walked out of the large hotel,
allowing the sun to absorb in her already tanned face. The sun always
felt good, whether it was serving as her friend in times of need or comforting
her when she felt alone in the world, she knew the sun wouldn't leave her,
it was something she could count on to be there. That was what she
needed in life. Michelle crawled into the 2005 Mitsubishi and gave the
driver her papers. Quickly, he read over them, verified her identity,
then started the car. Michelle sank back in the plush seat and sighed.
It was to be an hour car ride at least, and all she had to do to keep entertained
was to watch the passing scenery and marvel at
Earth's splendors for what would
be the last time in awhile. The scenery, however, provided little
for her mind to continue being active and she slowly slipped into a light
sleep.
Awakening when the car suddenly stopped, Michelle opened her eyes to see, what she assumed, was the SGC. Getting out, she quickly grabbed her bag and headed for the first security check point, which took her twenty minutes to receive approval to pass. The second, passed slightly faster, lasting only fifteen minutes. It seemed as she became further into the base, the less time it took to pass through the checkpoints. Finally, she arrived at the Stargate, the ring that would take her to the Academy, the start of her new life. The ring, at first appearance, didn't seem to possess the ability to transport anything from planet to planet, much less anywhere for that matter. Michelle stared at it, contemplating how it could do this, and inadvertently missing the countdown to Stargate activation. Suddenly, she was thrown to the ground with a thud, causing her to jump back up in surprise. She hadn't remembered reading about any exercise being performed on the base, but yet, she had expected them to test her.
Quickly, she switched into fighting mode and prepared to defend herself against her unknown assailant. Glancing down, she noticed with interest that the assailant in question was a SGC personnel member with the rank of Captain. 'Interesting,' she thought silently as she studied every move the Captain made.
"Are you crazy?" The Captain asked suddenly, startling Michelle.
'Crazy? I was crazy once, they put me in a room, a rubber room, with bats...' The old childhood saying immediately popped into Michelle's mind as she loosed up her stance, but still stood ready. "Crazy? You're the one who tackled me, as I recall."
The Captain shook his head disgusted. "Didn't you read the preliminary report? You have to stand a safe distance away from the 'gate as it is being activated or you could be decimated into nothing."
Michelle managed to let out a gasp. She HAD been standing too close to the gate, and had nearly gotten herself killed. So much for making good first impressions... "I'm sorry, I forgot."
The Captain walked off, shaking his
head and muttering something about how the SGC would 'recruit anyone for
this project.' Michelle shook it off, then listened intently as another
officer gave instructions on what to do once on the other side. After
two minutes, she was allowed to walk up the ramp with her bag. Quickly,
she said a prayer before stepping
into the ring of 'water' and 'light.' To her amazement, when she
opened her eyes, she was no longer in the SGC facility, but on another
planet, in what she assumed, was the academy. She felt cold, a little
sick, and out of breath, but other than that, she was alive. The
Stargate did really
work! Michelle listened intently
as an officer greeted her, then escorted her to what was supposed to be
her new living quarters.
Listening only about half the time,
Michelle marvelled in awe about how amazing it was and would be.
'This is most certainly going to be... interesting.' She thought as she
turned a corner, interesting indeed.
Michelle Nolina Rhial
Combat
Date: January 11, 2002
Title: What Did I Get Myself
Into?
Author: Andrew Milborne
Dreu’s last flight to Colorado Springs went as uneventful as the other two, he thought as he prepared to exit the plane. Andrew made his way to the baggage claim to gather is duffle went he noticed two USAF personnel to his right. The man that stood to the left stepped forward then spoke.
“Mr. Andrew Milborne please come with us after you have collected your things.”
After Dreu got his bag he followed the men to the car that would take him to the SGC. The trip went by slowly as Andrew’s anxiety was nearing an all time high. About an hour later the car pulled up to the gate and the men gave the guard Dreu’s paperwork. The guard looked over the papers then gave the driver the go-a-head. The car parked and the escort showed Dreu through the topside security then to the lift.
“Okay from here you will go to the lowest level then you will have another security checkpoint. Then they will guide you to the next elevators that will get you to level 28 from there an airman will guide you the rest of the way to the gate room. Good luck at the Academy, Milborne,” the Captain said as he turned and left him to get on the lift alone.
“Here I go,” Dreu said as he entered the lift.
He got through the other checkpoint without event and arrived to level 28 to meet his escort.
“Sir, please follow me,” the young woman said as she turned and walked away from the lift.
Milborne followed her as she turned through the maze of the underground base until they reached their goal.
The young woman put a keycard in the lock of the door. After it opened she indicated him to enter at gave him a “Good luck sir.” Before she turned and walked away.
“Chevron six encoded,” came blasting over the loud speaker. Dreu stood along the wall not sure exactly what he should be doing when he noticed a man walking toward him.
“Milborne?” He asked. Dreu just shook his head indicating that he was in fact Milborne.
“Your heading out next. Just make sure you exhale right before you walk into the event horizon. It makes the trip a little easier.” The man said as the loud speaker came to live again.
“Chevron seven locked.”
Dreu watched as the medal ring came to life spilling out a magnificent blue pool of water that pulled back within the ring.
“Bloody hell,” he whispered at the sight in front of him.
“Cool isn’t it? Well that’s your ride. There is going to be someone waiting for you on the other side to show you around. Good luck.” The man said as he pushed Andrew forward to the Stargate.
When Dreu got up to the gate, he let out a breath then stepped in the blue puddle. In what seemed like seconds he was standing on a different planet wanting to rid himself of the food he had consumed on the plane hours before. After a moment to compose himself, he noticed that a woman was standing right in front of him.
“Hello,” she looked down at her paper, “Mr. Milborne, Welcome to the Academy. Let me show you to your room. Then someone will give you the tour after you have settled in. My name is Colonel Ramsey I am the professor of Astrophysics.” She then led Dreu to his room.
‘What did I get myself into,’ Dreu
thought as he opened his dorm room door.
Andrew 'Dreu' Milborne
Astrophysics
Date: January 11, 2002
Title: And We’re Walking…
Author: Jefferson O’Malley
As promised, 30 minutes later Jefferson heard a light knock on the door to the dorm. He opened it and saw a friendly face smiling back at him. "Hi there. My name's Okuda. Jerry Okuda. Been here at the academy for a few months now. Colonel Ramsey asked me to show you around. If," he said, peering behind Jefferson into his room, "... you've done what needs to be done here, of course."
O'Malley took an instant liking to
the oriental guy and he grinned automatically. "Sure... and its good to
met you Jerry. My name's Jefferson O'Malley," he told him, thrusting a
hand towards the shorter guy. Jerry grabbed it enthusiastically as he pulled
him out into the corridor. "Just wait til you see some of the chicks around
this place," he said in an almost
conspiratorial whisper.
Shaking his head at his new pal's choice of words, Jefferson was led on his detailed tour of the facility.
He was shown the gym before proceeding on to the classrooms themselves. "The labs are over thataway," Jerry told him. "You can usually find me in one or other of them. I'm studying biophysics."
"That'll be the only reason I *ever* enter one of those, pal," Jefferson stated. "When I want to find you." His own line of study didn't call for laboratory work - something for which the Canadian was profoundly glad. Unless, of course, Jerry's 'chicks' were all to be found in there. Then he might just review his previous statement.
"This is your sector, Jeff," Jerry
told him, grinning as he saw how it irritated O'Malley to hear his name
shortened like that. 'All the more reason to use it,' Okuda thought to
himself with another smile. Not that he wanted to annoy his friend, but
it didn't hurt to wind him up a bit. "Linguistics," he said grandly, sweeping
an arm to his
right. Jefferson peered into the
rooms, all empty yet offering such promise. Not only filled with some high-tech
equipment, but also filled with good old-fashioned volumes.
"Sweet," he mumbled, more to himself than to Okuda.
"Want to see the flight hangars and simulators? You never know your luck... you could end up sharing your dorm with a flyboy and get a chance to try your hand in a sim..."
"Knowing my luck I'll get to share with some smart-assed little creep like you, pal," Jefferson retorted with a broad grin.
"You should be so lucky," Jerry countered.
The flight hangars were as empty as the rest of the classrooms, but then again, it wasn't actually a school day. The vast chambers held an assortment of ships - none known to Jefferson in the slightest - but the thought of a shot in one of the simulators held a certain boyish appeal. Maybe he *would* get lucky.
"Now... how about you treat me to a coffee and Danish by way of thanks for being such a wonderful tour guide?"
Jefferson looked at Jerry with a
bemused expression on his face. "Yeah... right, pal. Just don't give up
your day job, huh?" he threw at him. The pair laughed softly as they headed
for the canteen... or commissary as the military people seemed to have
labelled it. Although he felt sure he'd never *ever* get to know his way
around the vast complex.
Jefferson O'Malley
Linguist
Date: January 11, 2002
Title: Orientation…In More
Ways Than One…
Author: Deacon Brezhnev
Deacon Brezhnev realised as soon as he emerged from the Stargate that he should have listened to the voice when it had said to breathe out before stepping through. Of course, he hadn't actually thought of it in that way until after he had picked himself up off the ground. He was never a very good traveller and it seemed that travel of the interstellar kind wasn't any better.
Wincing at the brightness of the sun, the Russian/American Brezhnev peered at his surroundings. The planet looked just like Earth. Only less polluted. He swallowed to moisten his dust-dry mouth and blinked a few times to clear up the fuzzy vision the Stargate trip had given him.
"Brezhnev?" A distinctly British voice questioned.
"Yes," he replied, gathering up his bags. There wasn't all that much in there, he just wasn't good at packing things so that they were in fewer bags. Deacon's accent was mostly American, but there was a distinct Russian lilt to it. That was thanks to spending most of his teen years in St Petersburg with his mother and paternal grandparents. The twenty year old had been born in Russia, but had moved to the United States after his father's death when he was young.
"I'm Doctor Albus Borovan, Vice-Commandant
here at the Stargate Academy." He
extended his hand. Fumbling to shuffle
his bags around, Deacon shook his hand and pushed his long fringe out of
his eyes.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, sir." The 'sir' was more of a polite term for an elder to Brezhnev rather than anything military related. His tongue flickered out unsurely to moisten his dry lips. His eyes still darted around, trying to take in his new surroundings. "It looks just like..."
"Earth?" Doctor Borovan finished. "Yes, well, that was the intention. Earth-like conditions make things easier for students to conform to a regular lifestyle."
"I doubt this is going to be regular," Deacon mumbled, more to himself.
"Actually, you're quite right. Come along, we've had many first year student arrivals today, you're the lucky one who drew me as your welcoming party." His voice was dry and the dark-haired Brezhnev wasn't sure whether he was being sarcastic or not. He opted to just nod and follow the Doctor. "You'll find your way around, I'm sure," Borovan continued talking as they walked towards the dorms. "There will be someone around to lead the orientation session with some of your fellow students. Don't worry, you're not the only one who's new to this, there's plenty who have no clue what to do next."
'At least I'm not alone,' Deacon noted silently, too busy looking around to comment. He was definitely more of an observer than anything else. He remained relatively silent as Doctor Borovan showed him to his dorm room, which was currently unoccupied. He dropped off his things, then was led to where the orientation meeting was about the begin, stopping by to pick up a few students along the way. One was distinctly...not human.
Brezhnev blinked at the first sight of her silver eyes and lavender hair. For someone who hadn't seen an alien before, Deacon covered his awe quite well. The two headed towards the orientation area in silence, until he spoke up first. Pointing to himself, unsure of what to say really, he struggled with his words. "Deacon Brezhnev..." He hesitated. "That's me..." Still unsure he brushed his hair out of his eyes. "You?"
Deacon Brezhnev
Psychology/Diplomacy
Date: January 12, 2002
Title: Orientation
Author: Adena Castile
Adena was met by two men and told that they were going to orientation. Though she didn't quite follow all the words they said, the gist was clear...go with them. Adena followed quietly behind them, her eyes darting here and there as movement caught her curiosity.
"Deacon Brezhnev..." He hesitated. "That's me..." Still unsure he brushed his hair out of his eyes. "You?" The man next to her introduced himself. Adena looked him over for a moment, unsure yet if he was personnel, teacher or a student like herself. Then she realized that she hadn't answered him and stumbled over the proper way to greet him.
"I...My name is Adena Castile. Me." she paused still a little unclear. The traditions of humans was a very short class, very quickly done back home. Suddenly remembering that hands were important, Adena stuck out her hand and shook it before pulling it back. (All without the important contact of the other person's hand.) "Pleasure to greet with you." It seemed to her a silly way to acknowledge someone, but if that was their way...
"I am student." Adena said, to his
odd look. Then she corrected herself. "A student. Only
one not many. A student. Here." she described with a look around
her. "Linguistics and Diplomacy."
Adena Castile
Asgard Specialist
Modgul
Linguist/Diplomat
Date: January 12, 2002
Title: Making Friends &
Making Impressions
Author: Jefferson O’Malley
Jefferson turned around as he heard the conversation between the two people behind him, walking backwards as he looked at the man as he spoke to a woman with a most unusual hair color.
"I am student," she was telling him. "A student. Only one not many. A student. Here. Linguistics and Diplomacy."
The Canadian's interest grew as he heard her field and he smiled slightly to himself. At least there would be one other relatively normal person to talk to among all the more combat-orientated people. Hell, he'd started to feel distinctly out of place.
"I'm studying diplomacy," the man said with obvious please. "As well as psychology."
"Cool," Jefferson interrupted brightly, "and I'm taking linguistics. Good to meet you both... O'Malley. Jefferson. This is some place, huh?" he asked, gaining himself two pairs of eyes as he continued to walk backwards. "I mean, *hell*... this place is something else! And damned good weather too. What more could..."
"Stop!"
Jefferson glanced at the guy... Deacon something-or-other... as he broken into his monologue. Even the woman was watching him in something close to horror. He knew he'd been waffling on a bit - he did that when he got nervous - but surely not enough to terrify her and cause the guy to yell at him.
"Wha-?" he started to say as he still walked in reverse... only to crash heavily into a figure in the corridor ahead.
"You idiot," a harsh male voice said. "What is it with you kids? No discipline!" Jefferson staggered slightly under the impact and his two new pals grabbed an arm apiece to ensure he stayed upright. But *kids*??? "Hardly a kid," he retorted. "And maybe you should take more care. I mean standing in the middle of the corridor like a total..."
"I see you've met your professor Mr O'Malley," Colonel Ramsey interrupted. Jefferson froze in abject horror as the man turned his icy glare his way.
"My... professor...?" he repeated idiotically.
"Professor Jamieson, head of the linguistics department." She threw the Canadian a look that told him she was struggling to hold her laughter at bay. "This is Jefferson O'Malley, professor, and you two will be seeing quite a bit of each other in the future." A small laugh finally escaped as O'Malley's jaw dropped another few centimetres and she walked on towards the orientation room.
"O'Malley," Jamieson repeated. "A name I'm unlikely to forget." With a small huff the professor spun away, leaving his student-to-be to groan under his breath.
"A nice first impression," Deacon commented dryly. "My congratulations."
"Yeah..." he replied a little distantly.
"Thanks, pal..." The trio headed inside and Jefferson dropped down into
a seat still wearing an expression that could, at best, be described as
stunned. Adena took the seat alongside him and Deacon the one just past
her and O'Malley ran a hand over his face in anger at himself. He knew
he'd got off on a major wrong footing with his future professor and somehow
he felt
that boded ill for him.
Jefferson O'Malley
Linguist
Date: January 12, 2002
Title: Through The Gate
Author: David “Spider” Murphy
He'd hardly been out of the Navy for a week now. Luckily, he'd gotten that cargo flight to Whidbey NAS so he could see his folks two of three days, before he left for probably another 4 years. As usual, Dad was unhappy he didn't get into aerospace engineering and Mom showered him with affection and food. At least mom was a good reason to come home.
He arrived at the base, the same way he did to most other bases during his time, on a jeep. Grabbing his gear and tucking his paperwork under his arm, he made his way through all the security checkpoints. He watched as people of all types moved about. He really enjoyed watching the wet behind ears kids in awe with everything and the looks of disgust from some of the security personal. He'd seen the same looks when a new batch of kids came into boot camp. He noticed a few glances of disgust his way from the military people; they must not really like the students. Chuckling lightly, he just made his way to the gate level.
Stepping out of the elevator, he was following the line on the floor like he was told to do. He was too caught up in the power conduits when he heard someone yelling at him.
"Stop!!!! Hands against the wall. Don't turn around." Having been through this drill a million times on board the ships, when the Marines were doing security drills, he did as he was told. He let his bag fall to the floor and put his on the wall. All of sudden he got slammed up against the wall and the cold barrel of a gun was placed at his neck.
"Boy, you got some nerve coming here. Where is your paperwork?" Dave blinked. That voice sounded way familiar. He turned around, his eyes opened wide with shock, then he dropped the guy with the gun.
"You SOB Hank, that was not funny!!!! What the hell are you doing here?" yelled Dave.
"Spider, man calm down," Hank chuckled. "I am on loan to the Air Force for awhile. They needed some of us for some underwater work their doing. The whole team is here. Jeff, McDonald and Demon. If you hadn't chickened out, you'd be here with us."
Flashing Hank a dirty look, he said. "Looks like I was destined to be here either way. And you know damned well why I quit…"
Grabbing his bags, Hank put his arm around Dave's shoulder. "I know Spider…just yanking your chain. Come on, I'll take you to the Gate room."
Entering the gate room, a couple technicians led Dave to the ramp way and gave him a few tips about gate travel. Running over to the ramp, Hank hugged and saluted Dave. "Who knows, maybe we'll be on a team sometime…now off ya go…"
He prepared himself and stepped through
the Gate.
David “Spider” Murphy
Astrophysics
Ellie sat down in the hotel lobby, waiting for the car from the base to arrive to take her to her new home. She thought about how much her family had disapproved of her joining the academy. Her parents had signed her application form because they thought Richard would be there to watch her if she even got in. But as life would have it she got in and he didn't. It had been hard to get to Colorado Springs, without her parents help, but she did it. Ellie threw her backpack on her back and headed to the car.
"Hi, Ellie Parker," she said with a big smile. "I take it you're my ride to the base."
The uniformed man looked strangely at the young girl. "Please get in the car. We should arrive at the base in 20 minutes. From there you will be escorted down to the gate room and taken to the academy planet." The man's face held contempt for the girl.
She simply smiled at him, "Ready when you are!"
The ride to the mountain went by quickly, and when they arrived the guards took a look at Ellie's papers rolling their eyes that another `student' was arriving.
"Go on."
Ellie nearly jumped out of the car when it stopped, just taking enough time to grab her bag.
"An airman will take you through the base to the gate room," her driver yelled as she ran to the entrance of the base.
She found her escort without any problems, or with only the one problem of running straight into him, which sent the both of the on their backsides.
"Sorry. I'm kind of excited. I have been dreaming of this moment since I was 12. I still can't believe that I'm here." Ellie said as the airman helped her up.
"Not a problem ma'am. Please follow me," the airman said coldly.
Ellie didn't even notice his reaction to her; she was too busy being amazed by the place she had read so much about. He guided the awe stuck girl to the gate room and told her to remain next to the wall as they dialled the gate for the academy. She noticed that there were other students there waiting to go as well.
"Chevron seven locked." Boomed overhead just before the gate activated. The simmering blue light mystified Ellie. She had heard how amazing it looked, but to see to first hand was a truly astonishing sight. But the feeling she had going through the gate was even better.
"That was so cool!" Were the first words that came out of her mouth on the other side of the gate.
The instructor that was there to
greet the group tried to hide his grin but wasn't very affective at it,
"Welcome to the Academy. I will show you to your rooms where you can settle
in before your tour of the facility. You will have a roommate so please
don't throw your things about. You will have an hour to meet back here
for the tour.
Are there any questions?"
'Yeah, am I dreaming?' Ellie thought
as she looked at an alien sun for the first time in her life and realized
that she wasn't even in the same solar system with her family.
Ellie Parker
IT/Combat
Date: January 12, 2002
Title: Don’t Be Shy…Don’t
Be Shy…
Author: Andrew Milborne
After Dreu had set his things away, he waited for the guide to appear to give him the tour of the place. He didn’t have to wait long. The tour didn’t last too terribly long. As they ended, the second year student told him to go to the auditorium for the orientation meeting. Andrew quickly returned to his dorm room for a pen and notebook, so he could take notes, then made his way to the meeting.
As he entered the room he noticed that some of the staff and other students had already arrived. He walked down the aisle toward the front of the big room, stopping just behind the row that contained three students. He looked amazed as one of them, the girl, was obviously not human. Dreu then turned and sat down in the section just behind them.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment in thought, ‘Don’t be shy; all you have to do is say hello. That is it, just hello.’ Dreu then opened his eyes, sitting up in his seat.
“Hello there, my name is Andrew Milborne.”
Dreu said with an English accent.
Andrew 'Dreu' Milborne
Astrophysics
Date: January 12, 2002
Title: The Auditorium
Author: David “Spider” Murphy
Stepping through the Gate into the sunlight, Dave managed not to hurl at the ride. ‘Man, they weren’t joking that it was the vomit coaster,’ he thought to himself. He looked around and spotted an older woman coming towards him. ‘One of the staff,’ he thought.
"Mr. Murphy, I am Colonel Ramsey...A pleasure to have you and welcome to the Academy. We're expecting great things on you."
"Thank you, Colonel Ramsey. Here are my orders." Dave handed over his bundle then shook her hand. She led him away from the gate and towards the campus of the Academy. She opened the bundle and looked it over as they walked.
"Interesting background, Mr. Murphy, how close were you to graduating?"
"About 6 weeks. Blew my knee out then opted not to return." he replied.
"Well, you can finish up something similar to it here if you so wish. We might even have something for your knee..."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "I'd really like to focus on my studies. I am sure there are others that are more inclined than I am. But, I might practice with them."
"That's fine by me, Mr. Murphy. You might need those skills sometime. Anyway, there is another Astrophysics student already here. He should be in the auditorium. His name is Andrew Milborne. You might also want to talk to Ms Hennessey, another student. You could teach her a few things about underwater demolitions...she hasn't arrived yet as I far as I know." She tucked the paperwork back into the folder and looked at Dave. "Mr. Murphy, I'll leave you here. Down the hall is the auditorium. It's the one with the double doors. Have a good day, and welcome to the Academy."
"Thank you Colonel Ramsey." He shook her hand one last time and headed off down the hall. Going into the auditorium, he looked around and spotted a small clump of people and one person/thing that wasn't human. He decided that would be a good place to make some friends. He made his way down the aisle and plopped down to a guy about his age and size. He stuck out his hand and said,
"Dave Murphy, but everyone calls
me Spider..."
David “Spider” Murphy
Astrophysics
Date: January 12, 2002
Title: News From Home
Author: Lt Colonel Lauren
Du Lune-Ramsey
Colonel Lauren Du Lune-Ramsey sat at her desk in the office of the Astrophysics department going over the list of students that were due to arrive in less than an hour. Currently there were more students that had arrived than instructors although most of them had been in and out already setting up. They just hadn't moved over all the way yet.
Lauren however had been there for almost three weeks. This was her department and she had very specific ideas when it came to the way she wanted it run. She had the most state-of-the-art equipment in place, that included computers, telescopes, satellite linkups...the works and she was more than excited about it all.
The dark haired USAF colonel stood to answer a quiet knock on her door.
"Mail call Professor." The academy's secretary said with a bright smile.
"Great timing Anne, I was just about to check the pigeon hole for it," Lori said with a return smile.
"Well, there is something in there that I think you'll be interested in." Anne pointed to the envelope on the top of the pile.
Lori's blue eyes lit up in joy at
the name on the return address and thanked Anne as she left Ramsey alone
to read her mail. She closed the door and returned to the desk tossing
the other bits of mail in her in basket. She quickly slid her finger
under the flap and opened the letter.
Dearest
Lori,
Well, as expected this assignment
lasted a bit longer than planned but we both knew that didn't we?
I'll have this wrapped up by tomorrow at the latest and then I'm hopping
the first plane to the Springs. I have a meeting scheduled with Hammond
in two days and then, I'll be able to come see you. I have about
a week off before I'm due back in DC so we'll have to cut the visit short.
As we discussed, I've put most of our things in storage. If you need anything at all, get word back to me and I'll make sure to bring it with me. I tell ya sweetheart, it's a good thing that Jenny is a friend of yours, she told me that she wouldn't hold the place for just anyone. She has a waiting list for tenants as it stands. She even said that if we just kept up the rent, she would keep an eye on things for us. I expressed our thanks, but she said that she was ‘so proud to have renters like us who have kept the earth Goa'uld free for all these years’.
I tell ya honey, she didn't stop gushing like that until I had nothing to do with that and you were the one kicking ass. She just looked at me like I was crazy, laughed like I was joking and walked of smiling. Little does she know that was the truth!
Anyway, I have to run. I should be seeing you by Friday at the latest. I think I have one or two surprises for you when I get there. You take care sweetheart. I love you.
Yours,
Bastian
Lauren smiled happily as she read
the letter from her husband of four years. In the time that they had been
married, they'd spent maybe a total of two years together. But for
them it worked out beautifully. Both Lauren and Bastian were independent
people with demanding jobs. Lauren's alone kept her away from home
most of the
year. She had even lived off-world
as CO of a field team on the Quantum Colony for several years before meeting
her husband.
Brent Ramsey, or Bastian as he was known to his friends, lived in DC most of the time acting as the SGC's pentagon liaison Is job was so top secret that even Lauren, a Colonel in the USAF and his wife didn't know all aspects of.
The colonel closed the opened books and powered down her computer. She grabbed up the papers of the students that she was to meet and the notes to her part in the orientation and headed toward the Stargate.
Her step was light and her deep blue eyes sparkled. Only two more days and she'd get to spend a whole week with Bastian. The planet was a beautiful place for a little romantic encounter. The sunsets were spectacular and the views breath taking no matter if you were in the mountains or along the beach.
She stopped in front of the DHD just as the first of the new group arrived. The kids looked both terrified and excited.
"Welcome to Stargate Academy.
My name is Colonel Lauren Ramsey and I'm the professor of Astrophysics.
If you will follow me, we'll get you your dorm assignments so you can store
your gear and then we'll head over to the orientation."
Colonel Lauren Du Lune-Ramsey
Professor of Astrophysics
Stargate Academy
Date: January 12, 2002
Title: A Step In The Right
Direction
Author: Devon Hennessey
Devon Hennessey sat curled in the
back seat of the cab with her legs pulled up beneath her and her head resting
against the cold glass of the window. Dark sunglasses masked red eyes,
and the headphones she'd put on right after giving the driver her destination
kept her from having to put up with any idle chit-chat the man might have
otherwise bothered her with. She
wasn't all that happy with herself at the moment. At the age of 23, she
had hoped she'd grown beyond pouting, but that's exactly what she'd been
doing since she'd left her parent's home earlier that morning.
She'd thought that maybe seeing his
`baby girl' head off to the Academy would be the thing that finally got
her father's attention, finally made him proud. Instead it was more of
the same. He'd gotten on her case for being stubborn and questioned her
motives for going against his wishes when he was only trying to look out
for her
best interests. Devon's mother brought
up the superior education and unique experience she'd be getting, which
was well intentioned, but had only made the tension worse. Her brothers,
probably the smartest of the bunch when it came to the father vs. daughter
argument, just kept their mouths shut all together. Devon had decided years
ago that she'd live her life for herself, but that didn't keep her from
wanting her family, particularly her father, to approve of and support
the life she'd chosen.
By the time Cheyenne Mountain came into view, excitement was drowning out self-pity and Devon found that her spirits were lifting. She was out of the cab as soon as it stopped at the gates and had shouldered her pack before the driver's window had lowered completely. With a quick smile, she handed him enough money to cover the fare and tip, and strode towards the guards standing at the complex's entrance.
After flashing her ID and papers more times than she could count, Devon arrived at the correct floor and was now staring slack-jawed at the Stargate as its rings rotated and the chevrons slammed into place one by one. She imagined that, by now, the whole process of running a gate to other worlds had gotten to be routine for the base staff, but she found it absolutely fascinating. As the vortex flared into existence and then burst outward Devon jumped back and let out a small yelp of surprise, but quickly fell silent again as the room was cast in shimmering blue and silver light. What she'd read about the Stargate didn't even begin to capture the beauty of the real thing. She didn't know how long she just stood there staring at the rippling event horizon before a hand on her shoulder roused her from her thoughts.
"Ready to go?" the young sergeant asked.
"Yeah... oh yeah, sorry." She turned to the man and grinned. "Got a little distracted there. It's just so... just... "
The sergeant chuckled softly. "Haven't even gone through the thing yet, and already you're speechless." He nodded his head towards the waiting gate. "Have a nice ride."
Composing herself the best she could
after that whole babbling idiot thing she'd just done, Devon took a deep
breath and pushed it out in a rush as she hurried up the ramp and stepped
through the vortex without hesitating. Her last thought on earth was about
how, by walking through that wormhole, she was about to take what was
probably the most important step
of her life.
Devon Hennessey
Engineering (Demolitions)
As he sat deep in thought and mentally
kicking himself for starting off so damned badly, Jefferson heard a voice
say, "Hello there, my name is Andrew Milborne." He looked up and tried
to place the accent. He turned slowly to see man - younger than himself
maybe - his face filled with such a clear need to be accepted. Jefferson
immediately forgot his own self-induced
sorry predicament and reached out his hand while pushing his chair back
onto its back two legs by levering his boots against the chair in front
of him. An accident waiting to happen, but the other man grabbed his hand
eagerly, making it well worth the risk.
"Jefferson O'Malley," he replied. "Where are ya from, pal? Australia?"
Milborne shook his head, replying, "No... I'm from England. How about you?"
"BC born and bred," he answered,
grinning as he saw Andrew's confusion. "Canada to you. Call me Canuck and
that's fine, but shorten my name to Jeff and I'll find a combat specialist
on the campus to kill you in a way neither of us knew even existed." He
laughed when he saw the stricken look on the other man's face. "Jeez,
pal, I'm kidding," he added.
"Good to meet you," Andrew said, finally smiling a little.
Another man walked over to sit next to Milborne, reaching out a hand in friendship. "Dave Murphy, but everyone calls me Spider..." he said in introduction. Andrew grasped the hand automatically and replied back with his own name.
Jake nodded to him also, leaning back a little more in his chair as he shook hands also. Only Adena's quick grasp of his sleeve prevented the inevitable. "What are you studying, Spider?" Jake asked after throwing Adena's a grateful smile.
"Astrophysics," he replied. "You?"
Jake frowned, reminded once more of hid Professor... Jamieson. "Linguistics," he answered. "Although I'm seriously considering a course change right now." Deacon kicked his chair back into an upright position for him, mumbling something about the dear Prof himself looking his way. Jefferson sat upright and looked to the front of the auditorium and sure enough the guy was glaring up at him in obvious irritation.
"Yeah... suddenly I have this urge
to study medicine. Maybe diplomacy. Hell I'll even try my hand at combat..."
he muttered softly to himself. Adena threw him a confused look as she over
heard him and the Canadian shrugged in resignation. He knew he just had
to face the fact that he was in for an uphill struggle on the
mountainous scale.
Jefferson O'Malley
Linguist
Adena sat quietly, waiting for instructions that kept being promised but had not been delivered yet. O'Malley seemed in deep thought, or communication so she did not interrupt him. That was when she heard a voice say, "Hello there, my name is Andrew Milborne."
Before Adena could say the one sentence she had down pat...her name, Jefferson introduced himself to the new comer.
"Jefferson O'Malley," he replied. "Where are ya from, pal? Australia?"
Milborne shook his head, replying, "No... I'm from England. How about you?"
"BC born and bred," Adena listened to the exchange with more than confusion. Earth regions had been a fuzzy hour at best during her day of instruction. Big continents divided into little (or sometimes large) countries and countries divided again and again into smaller and smaller units that liked to fight over how big they were.
"Canada to you. Call me Canuck and that's fine, but shorten my name to Jeff and I'll find a combat specialist on the campus to kill you in a way neither of us knew even existed." He laughed when he saw the stricken look on the other man's face. Adena was glad he hadn't been looking in her direction. The threat of violence had her very frightened suddenly. She blinked silver eyes at the pair when they suddenly made up and it was apparently all a joke. Another fuzzy hour during her lectures had been about human humor, but since the Asgard didn't understand it either...it really hadn't made much sense to her.
Another man walked over to sit next to Milborne, reaching out a hand in friendship. "Dave Murphy, but everyone calls me Spider..." he said in introduction. Andrew grasped the hand automatically and replied back with his own name. That part of the conversation eluded her entirely. This call-me-another-name-than-my-own game they were suddenly playing was not nice, Adena decided. She had only had her name for one year and was very proud to have finally gotten it. It was her adult name, and nothing would make her change it again. Silently she watched, turned in her chair as O'Malley kept leaning back more and more to greet the new people. Only Adena's quick grasp of his sleeve prevented the inevitable. "What are you studying, Spider?" Jake asked after throwing Adena a grateful smile.
"Astrophysics," he replied. "You?"
"Linguistics," he answered. "Although I'm seriously considering a course change right now." Adena looked at him curiously, since she hadn't even known that that was possible. Once an adult decided what they wanted to do, change came very slowly for her people. But then Adena remembered that humans lived shorter lives. Suddenly, all their games didn't seem so unimportant to her. Feeling a little sorry for them, she realized that they probably had to be so rough with each other and changed constantly to get everything in before death.
"Yeah... suddenly I have this urge to study medicine. Maybe diplomacy. Hell I'll even try my hand at combat..." he muttered softly to himself. Adena threw him a confused look as she over heard him and the Canadian shrugged in resignation. She didn't think he would be a good combat person...but one never knows with a human, or so she had been told. Quickly, before any of the teachers who were assembling could begin, Adena introduced herself.
"My name is Adena Castile. Pleasure
to greet with you." she said to each of the men.
Adena Castile
Modgul
Asgard Specialist
Linguist/Diplomat
Spider grinned and shook the hands of the men around. He noticed the strange looks on Adena's face when he mentioned his name and nickname. "Hey Adena, not familiar with nicknames are you? It's a Human habit... at least I think it might be something all human groups do, I'll have to find a cultural geek and ask them. Cause it might just be a Western thing..." The look of total confusion on her face, made him stop rambling. "I'll explain that all to you some other time... Ummm, it's a more familiar way of addressing some. We give people nicknames for a trait or something they did...Don't worry, it will make sense someday. I hope..."
Looking at O'Malley, Spider just grinned as he rattled off some new career choices. "Nah, I'd stay away from Combat, Jeff... sneaking around in the night and trying to come up with new ways to kill people while they sleep, not only gets old after about 50th or so time, it takes a lot of work to be that creative time after time..." He leaned back into his chair with a dead serious look on his face. He keeps it that way for a few moments to get that look of fear, confusion, and concern on O'Malley's face, before cracking a wide toothy grin to show that he was pulling his leg.
"This little thing should be fun,
at least it'll be an adventure and the absolute worst thing that could
happen is we all die..."
David “Spider” Murphy
Astrophysics
Jefferson smiled as he heard Spider's comments knowing he himself would never really take combat to in any shape or form. It just wasn't in him.
"The name's Jefferson," he corrected
a little absently. If there was one thing he detested it was to hear his
name shortened, but he'd grown accustomed to hearing it regardless - didn't
mean he had to like it. His gaze travelled back to the front of the auditorium
as Colonel Ramsey started to talk. He only half listened as his thoughts
drifted a little and he found himself
unknowingly staring at his new Professor. Jamieson's eyes bored into his
as he looked back at him coldly.
Closing his eyes briefly and sighing, the Canadian forced himself to concentrate on Ramsey as she described the academic year in detail. But he could still feel the other man's gaze boring into him.
"You will all learn, in addition to your chosen subjects, how to handle various weapons as well as defend yourselves in unarmed combat." Jake ignored the low laugh from the row behind and knew without looking that Spider wore a broad grin. "And those will run in a linear fashion with several other aspects of general training." It all sounded pretty damned interesting, but Jefferson was keen to get started on the alien languages he knew were waiting to be tackled.
Each faculty head spoke briefly after that and Jamieson was the last to take the stage. "I expect nothing but the highest standards of work from my students," he stated, sounding full of self-importance. "Any digression from what is deemed acceptable behavior *will* be brought to my attention," he added, his eyes roaming the gathered students and seeming, to Jefferson, to linger on him more than was entirely necessary. Jake glanced down at his boots as Jamieson waffled on for what felt like an eternity before Ramsey took over once more.
"I think that's about it," she stated. "Any questions, please see your course tutor or head of that department. Failing all else, my door is always open." Minutes later they were dismissed and Jefferson pushed back his chair with a loud grating scrape that cut through the room.
"How about we explore this joint?"
he asked brightly, turning to address the rest of the immediate group.
He waited to see who was up for a roam around the campus with him - one
that would culminate in coffee in the... what had Okuda called it? The
commissary?
Jefferson O'Malley
Linguist
Date: January 14, 2002
Title: Aaron’s First Day
Author: Second Lieutenant
Aaron Danik
After the lecture, Aaron, who had been sitting in the back, both listening to the lecture and reading the paperwork he had been given. He had been assigned to group GA-1. The "egghead" group as one of the airmen had called it. It looked like he was the sole med tech. No problem, more challenges.
As he waded through the throng, he noticed the people from other countries, and apparently, other worlds as well, who were students here. This looked to be the type of position he had been looking for! He finally found someone he could identify...Col. Ramsey.
As he approached her, she was talking
to another student, smiling and welcoming him as well. Aaron stood quietly
until she was done. When the other man had left, she turned to Aaron. "Colonel
Ramsey, Aaron Danik, your field medic, GA-1. Hate to bother you Colonel,
but where do I report?"
Aaron Danik
Second Lieutenant
Field Medic
Date: January 14, 2002
Title: Reviewing The Known
Author: Michelle Rhial
Michelle listened intently to a few conversations for about ten minutes before getting bored. Everyone seemed content on introducing themselves and getting to know one another, and that just wasn't Michelle's style. Silently, she slipped over to an uninhabited corner and sat down in a chair. She retrieved her personnel file quickly and went about reading. Michelle hadn't gotten a chance to review over anything regarding the academy for awhile, and now was just as good as time as any. Apparently, she was to be the Commanding Officer of the GA-1. Reviewing over her team, she realized that she had good people to be around, something one needed when in sticky situations. Aaron Danik was her field medic. At 25, he had already accomplished two years of medical school at Cambridge University before coming here. She noticed immediately, that, like her, he was an only child. Michelle shook her head as a memory of her parents rushed through her. She had promised never to forget them... but their memory was too painful to hold on to for long moments. Quickly, she pushed her feelings aside and continued to review the basics of her team.
Travis De Winter was also in combat with Michelle, although he was involved with flight, too. At 21, he was a year older than Michelle, and certainly more accomplished. While Michelle was attending the Floredian University, preparing for her degree in Biological Engineering, he was involved in the Royal Australian Air Force. A thought of hearing something about the RAAF at the newspaper tickled her memory as she read over the rest of the basic personnel file. Deciding it must have been frivolous information, Michelle quickly disregarded it and turned to the next file.
Andrew Milborne was the Astrophysics officer. Michelle noticed with interest that their pasts were quite different. Growing up, she had always been interested in the stars, while had spent the majority of her time running with her high school's cross country team, trying to acquire the scholarship that was her only chance to attend the University.
The last file was of Adena Castile, whom was the Linguist the group. Michelle reviewed over the little information on Adena with interest. Adena was a Modgul, who were subservient to the Asgard, and with that, received Michelle's respect immediately. With what little information Michelle had seen at the newspaper, she knew that the Asgard had played a huge role in the Stargate Program.
Sighing, Michelle quickly closed
the files and placed them into her small shoulder bag. She stood up, then
walked slowly back into the crowds of people. There were several conversations
taking part, all with apparently friendly people, and yet all Michelle
could think about was being alone. The thought of hitting the gym for awhile
appealed to Michelle greatly. Quietly,
she placed her long brown hair into a pony tail, then went about to finding
where she was to be assigned to live, so that she could unpack what little
she owned. Afterwards, she promised herself a good workout, including the
ten mile run she had not been able to do for the past week, which she was
beginning to feel the effects of.
Michelle Rhial
Combat
GA-1
Date: January 14, 2002
Title: A New Challenge
Author: Travis De Winter
Standing in the depths of Cheyenne Mountain, Travis could not hide the look of amazement as his mind tried to grapple with the wonder that was the Stargate. A vertical pond of shimmering blue water, or at least it looked that way to him.
An older technician watched Travis with a wiry grin. He loved to watch the youngsters' faces as they just realize just how big the universe had gotten.
"It truly is impressive the first time," the old man said flashing a quick smile.
"You're not wrong there sir," Travis said politely.
"But once it's broken down to it key components…" and the man kept talking.
Travis wanted to tell the old man that teaching him the working of the Stargate was like to explaining the fall of communist Russia to a child. They know something was happening just not the full implications, so he let the man waffle on. He had done the hard yard, when it seemed every bad guy with an army wanted to knock earth off its little pedestal. This was his turn to be proud and who was Travis to ruin it for the old man.
The sergeant's voice brought him back to reality.
"What you waiting for De Winter, a kiss good bye?"
Travis let a soft chuckle "No sir".
"God it was good to be back in the military." He thought as he stepped into the light.
He remembered everything they had told him about Stargate travel. The nausea and disorientation where meant to be legendary. Seasoned veterans had been known to lose their lunch. It was recommended that you close you eyes for the first time. There was no way in hell Travis was going to miss the ride of a lifetime.
After two little steps Travis found himself at the other end of the known Galaxy and on his knees. "Man, what a rush!" he said with a note of awe.
"Ummm…excuse me sir, are you ok?" the Lieutenant asked a bit nervously.
"I'll be fine once my stomach comes through the gate" he said holding back the urge to throw up.
Getting up slowly he was able to regain his composure and hand his papers to the young Lieutenant, snapping a quick a salute. "That's not necessary, us students here are the same rank, unless of course you get off world, then it whole different ball game," the young man said getting a bit of eagerness in his voice.
"Come this way sir." The man said as he started his way to the jeep.
"The names Travis or Trav, not sir," he said in a friendly voice and held out his hand.
The young fellow barely 19 said, "Oh sorry. The names Jackson. I'm still getting used to all of this," Shaking Travis` hand, the men moved on.
"Say here you're a fly boy?" he said raising an eyebrow.
Travis had seen that look before. It was usually straight after they had made up their mind that he was a complete jerk. Judge, jury and executor. "Yep that be me, but don't let that fool you, I'm an ok guy," he said flashing a warm smile.
Jackson burst out laughing and Travis followed suit. "We'll see," he said in a warm way.
Both men talked as they drove to the academy. Buildings were pointed out and information was stored for later. Travis was impressed by the time he got to the dorm rooms. The place was more organized then he had been expecting. He was definitely going to like it here.
"Some one will be by in about thirty minutes to show you around," Jackson said before leaving.
Placing his bag in his room, Travis was too anxious to wait to get picked up and started to walk the halls. "It shouldn't be too hard to find anybody else," he told himself as he wondered the halls alone looking out for a friendly voice.
It did not take long until he found a group of eager young men and women talking with a degree of excitement and just followed them. If worst came to worst he was being lead to the mess hall and that was not a bad thing either. They did indeed lead him to the orientation room.
As Travis walked into the room and noticed that people had already broken into little groups and were swapping stories amongst themselves. Laying the foundations of first impressions. Stepping quietly to the side, Travis stoped and watched. In officer training, his instructor had once told him that he could learn a lot from they way people introduced themselves. So Travis was watching and watching a group that had one very unusual young lady with the most beautiful sliver eyes and lavender hair. She was definitely not human, which seem to make her that more exotic.
"And this keeps getting better and
better," he said softly to himself.
Travis De Winter
Regular pain in the butt/Combat/Flight
"How about we explore this joint?" O’Malley asked brightly, turning to address the immediate group.
Dreu turned to look at the faces of the others. He wanted to get a better look of the academy grounds. Not to mention the fact he was on a different planet than he was born on. He turned to Jefferson before any of the others had a chance to answer, “Sounds good to me. I have never been in a different solar system before. I wondering what the stars around here look like.”
“There’s only one way to find out. How about the rest of you?” Jefferson asked the remainder of the group.
“Oh come you all. This is a new world.
Aren’t you up for some new adventure?”
Andrew asked, hoping everyone would
come so he would have the chance to get to
know everyone better before the
classes started.
Andrew 'Dreu' Milborne
Astrophysics
GA-1
Date: January 14, 2002
Title: Passing Along Information
Author: Colonel Lauren Du
Lune-Ramsey
The orientation went well and the
gathered students looked like a great bunch of kids. The main auditorium
was over three-quarters full of both new students and faculty. The school
had almost 300 students enrolled on this year and the benefactors of the
school were hoping that with a successful year, they'd be at full capacity
the following year. They were all pleased that so many had enrolled this
first time.
The new buildings were so cool to Lauren. The mixture of Earth and alien architecture was truly unique and beautiful. They had some of the newest systems in place. Some of them like the vid-comms and the Naquadah enhanced power that ran all the school's systems.
Lauren was next to the last to give her welcoming speech. After it was over, she decided that this was a prime opportunity to meet with some of the students outside of the classroom. The dark haired colonel answered questions ranging anywhere from where the nearest restrooms were, to the amount of Naquadah needed to boost the power out put of the electrical systems the school used.
Lauren had just finished with one young man and turned to find another. Smiling at the dark haired young man, she asked if he needed help.
"Col. Ramsey, Aaron Danik, your field medic, GA-1. Hate to bother you Colonel, but where do I report?"
"At ease Danik." Lori said. "You've
come to the right place. All of the information you'll need has been posted
on the information screen both in your dorms and on the main board outside
the Admin. office. Classes begin on Monday. There will also be a weekly
team briefing as part of your schedule. If you need anything before classes
are in session, I'll be in my office until 4 today and all day tomorrow."
Colonel Lauren Du Lune-Ramsey
Professor of Astrophysics
Stargate Academy
"A study in the Washington Post
says that women have better verbal skills than men. I just want to say
to the authors of that study: Duh." -- Conan O'Brien
Date: January 14, 2002
Title: Like Night And Day
Author: Devon Hennessey
After the orientation meeting ended, Devon slipped out of her seat at the very edge of one of the rows of chairs, hoping she'd soon be out of the crowd. People were moving slowly and she wasn't in a huge hurry to get anywhere, so Devon trudged behind the masses rather than trying to squeeze her way through them. Like her, many of the new students had been at the academy for less than a full day, and already it looked like most of them had bunched together into small groups. Some were chatting away like old friends, while others looked to be more the quiet type. In any case, they all seemed to take comfort in being a part of a group. Devon held the file folder that one of the administrators had given to her tighter against her chest. Inside was information on her team. For now they were the most important, and the only group of people she was concerned with getting to know.
Devon made it back to her quarters after getting slightly lost. Her unintentional detour had led her by the gym though, so she was glad that she'd gotten turned around a little. Her brow creased in confusion as she opened the door to her room and a shaft of light spilled out through the crack. She was almost positive that she'd turned off the lights before leaving for the meeting. Stepping slowly into the room, Devon called out a quiet `hello' and nearly jumped out of her boots when a voice answered from the bathroom and a young girl practically bounced into the main room.
`Oh no,' Devon thought to herself. `No, no, no... this kid can't possibly be my roommate.'
Devon reached her hand out, and the
other younger woman took it and shook it enthusiastically. "Devon Hennessey,"
she said to the girl with a slightly forced smile. "And you are?"
Devon Hennessey
CO/Engineering (Demolitions)
GA-2
Date: January 14, 2002
Title: The Semi-Great Adventure?
Author: Deacon Brezhnev
Deacon wondered just what he had gotten himself into as he listened to several professors talk, as well as those around him. O'Malley (was that his name?) seemed to be the definite centre of attention. Brezhnev didn't understand how some people could just attract attention and automatically get people to like them so naturally. He himself certainly wasn't that lucky.
The orientation meeting went shorter than the Russian expected and he then found the group he'd been sitting with was already rising and heading for the nearest exit. Deacon just watched them go until he saw O'Malley look at him and gesture for him to follow with a tilt of his head. Quickly scrambling to his feet, he followed.
Once they were outside, Brezhnev again found himself with a loss of words...that, and he had no idea where to go or how to react with a bunch of people he didn't know.
"How about we explore this joint?" O’Malley asked brightly, addressing the group.
"Sounds good to me." The other dark-haired guy said. He had an accent...it sounded either British, Australian or South African. From the conversation before, Brezhnev thought he might have heard the guy saying it was British. He wasn't too sure. "I have never been in a different solar system before. I wondering what the stars around here look like."
"There’s only one way to find out. How about the rest of you?" O'Malley asked. It sounded like a pep rally.
"Oh come you all. This is a new world. Aren’t you up for some new adventure?"
The others shrugged and looked a little hesitant for the first second or two. "I'll come," Deacon said in a low voice. He was always pretty hesitant in speaking, not always sure whether he got things right or not. He knew for sure that he could speak both Russian and English fluently, but still, he felt out of place in situations with people...especially boisterous ones. That got the attention of the others. He shrugged and gave a weak, almost apologetic smile. "New neighbourhood...guess there's a lot of territory to explore?" His accent only held a trace of Russian.
"That's the spirit!" Jefferson grinned. A few of the others agreed, although some opted to stay behind and unpack.
"So, um, where are we going?" Deacon asked Jefferson, brushing his fringe out of his eyes.
"Uhh...I dunno. Any ideas?"
"We could check out the flight sims," someone said. Brezhnev noted that he really needed to get to know some names.
"I don't think we're allowed there," the Russian said and shrugged.
"All the more reason to go! C'mon, if no one knows, it's not gonna hurt anyone if we just take a peak." O'Malley grinned again. Deacon still looked unsure. Someone then clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Come on, we're not real military here," the guy said. "What's the worst they can do? Give us detention?" That got a few laughs. Deacon nodded sheepishly. They were right. Looking around wouldn't do any harm.
"Umm...okay, I guess," Brezhnev mumbled. "Or..."
All eyes turned to him again and his shoulders hunched like a cringe at the attention. "Or...?"
"Or we could...y'know, maybe skip
the flight sims and go check out the training warehouse I saw on the map.
It's not too far...?"
Deacon Brezhnev
Psychology/Diplomacy
"You wouldn't believe the things that you can make from the common simple items lying around your planet... Which reminds me, you're going to need a new microwave." [Orlin]
Date: January 15, 2002
Title: All Work & No
Play
Author: Jefferson O'Malley
"Or we could...y'know, maybe skip the flight sims and go check out the training warehouse I saw on the map. It's not too far...?"
Jefferson looked at Deacon Brezhnev in approval. "Not baaad," he said. "Now training warehouses sound one helluva lot more exciting than a simulator... waddya say?" he asked the rest of the slightly hesitant group. Not hearing a definite 'no'... or at least ignoring the one mumbled by one of them... he clapped his hands together. "Cool... now, my little Russian pal... where exactly did you see these warehouses, huh?" He draped an arm around the suddenly quiet man as he smiled at him in encouragement. Seconds later they were on their way and outside the main building.
The warehouses were located some distance away and it took the group several minutes to locate them. The series of tall buildings were quiet and seemingly deserted...
"Perfect," Jefferson murmured. "Let’s see what's behind door number one..." He pushed on the first warehouse door and it eased silently open. "C'mon," he whispered to his companions as he slid inside. The place was eerily quiet and as cold as a tomb, and their footsteps echoed loudly. "Quiet," he hissed and they all tried their best to walk softly.
He heard one of the others sneeze despite their attempt to muffle the sound and the Canadian jumped slightly as it startled him. He threw the owner of the sneeze a brief frowning, grinning back as Deacon looked at him in abject terror. "Stop worrying, pal," he whispered. "This will be fun... trust me."
The warehouse was kitted out with all kinds of assault course equipment. Boring in as much as Jefferson had hoped for something a bit more... He wasn't entirely sure *what* he'd hoped for, but maybe just not something straight from Boot Camp.
"Lets take a look next door," he
suggested, leading them back outside and into the next building. "Whoa..."
he exclaimed as they entered. "Not too shoddy at all." He walked around
in a small circle as he studied their surroundings and almost collided
with Andrew as he did the exact same thing. Now this was more like it.
Jungle
camouflage covered just about everything,
complete with netting that draped across several of the mock-up trees.
Boulders and other fake undergrowth completed the scene and the enormous
building appeared pretty realistic.
"Who's up for a game of Hide and
Go Seek?" he asked with another grin. "I'll even be 'It'," he added. "Run..."
he said as they looked at him in astonishment. "I'm counting!" He covered
his eyes and called out, "One... two... three..." chuckling to himself
as the sound of feet darting off in all directions could be heard. He knew
this was just what they needed...
a chance to relax and unwind... and get to know each other properly.
Jefferson O'Malley
Linguist
GA-2
Date: January 15, 2002
Title: Hide And Seek
Author: Adena Castile
Adena had followed along with "her" group. The men she had been talking with so far. Each seemed ready to burn off energy once the lectures had been over and, though she didn't follow every word, Adena did get most of what had been said. Afterwards, there was nothing left for her to do except follow along and learn more.
At the suggestion of adventure, she had to nod. She still hadn't really said anything but anyone who looked at her would have known her answer...she was definitely in for the ride. On her world she would have been in trouble for all of this...but it was her nature to do exactly as her friends were doing, goofing off.
They trooped through the silent building
until the group came upon the storage of all those mock trees and boulders.
When the countdown began, Adena stood there unsure of what to do while
everyone scattered into the fake brush. Being reasonably intelligent, she
figured out that she was supposed to hide, like the rest had done and that
there was a time limit. Quickly and quietly she retraced her steps
to hide on the other side of the camo netting, wrapping herself in a fold
of it instead of going where the others had ran to. She knew it would
be much harder to find her when she was not with everyone else in the fake
trees and such. What she didn't understand is why they didn't think of
that too, since they had a whole building to hide in.
Adena Castile
Modgul
Asgard Specialist
Linguist/Diplomat
Date: January 15, 2002
Title: The Roommate
Author: David “Spider” Murphy
Spider smiled at everyone as the orientation was finally over. He'd been through worse, but there was too much to see here.
He heard a "Let's go exploring!" come from O'Malley. He pondered it for a moment, and looked over at his duffel bag.
"Maybe later, I want to drop my stuff
off first... I'll catch up with ya later..." He stood up and grabbed his
duffel bag and filed out of the room with everyone else. Having memorized
most of the layout of the campus, he navigated through the halls to the
door area. He walked by a girl, clutching a folder to her chest. ‘Wow,
she's cute and
looks like a team leader. I am not
lucky enough to be in her team?’ He thought as he made his way to his dorm
room.
Opening the door, he realized his roommate had already been here. He was at the orientation then. ‘I wonder if it was one of the guys I was talking to...who knows, I'll by tonight either way.’ He threw his gear on his bed and started to unpack quickly.
When he finished, he looked around. ‘Hmmmm.’ He walked over to the roommates gear and looked for a name tag on it somewhere. Travis De Winter. He thought if that was that quiet Russian guy. He then saw an Australian flag patch. ‘Nope, it wasn't him. I wonder who he is.’ Spider headed back to his room/bed/desk/whatever to check the map to see if he could figure out where O'Malley and them might have went.
David “Spider” Murphy
Astrophysics
GA-2
Date: January 15, 2002
Title: Up, Up And Away!
Author: Lt Colonel Nicholas
Eden
Lt. Colonel Nick Eden was beyond pleased with the hanger. The main reason he'd accepted the position was the promise that he'd be setting up a `Top Gun' type instruction school using not only the traditional earth type F-20's, but also the gliders they had managed to procure.
The students that had been accepted into the flight school were the best of the best. This part of the academy's program was new. So all of the craft that now resided in the hanger were brand spanking new.
With an expert's trained eye, Eden inspected each of the half dozen F-20's and the three gliders. They were all painted with the Academy's dark blue and emblazoned with the logo. Each plane also sported the USAF's logo. He was pleased that both the Air Force and their allies were able to get them such top of the line craft for their training.
His ground crew too was the best headed by his own mechanic Sergeant Andrew Stricklund. Stricklund had been Eden's mechanic since his posting at El Torro and agreed to look after Nick's vintage WWII Corsair `The Boyington' named after Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington of the famed Black Sheep Squadron. It was Boyington's career in the South Pacific air campaigns that had inspired Nick's love of flying and to enlist in the USMC.
Nick turned to Andy who'd followed the pilot about the hanger as he went through each and every ship.
"Andy, this is all I could have hoped for. The equipment is top notch and the birds…" Eden's blue eyes sparkled in his excitement.
"Told ya sir that I'd make sure these bad boys were up to spec." The big marine sergeant grinned at his long time friend.
Eden glanced around the large hanger in pride. He'd worked his tail off getting this whole program off the ground and now that is was reality, he felt a certain amount of pride at the accomplishment.
"Got another surprise for you too." Stricklund said grinning as he led the younger man to a smaller building. He flung open the door and stood back to watch Eden's expression.
He wasn't disappointed. Nick's jaw dropped as he stared at the sight of his own Corsair resting in the small hanger.
"How'd you manage this?" Nick asked walking forward and running his hand over the glossy steel blue of the reproduction. His smile grew even wider as his fingers touched the name he'd given this bird. ‘M'lady’. He whirled to face the grinning man.
"Well son, I knew it'd be difficult to get her out here, so I called in a few favours and here she is!"
Nick was completely speechless. He thought that he'd have to keep his plane at the private hanger that he flew from. Not only would that have been expensive, but he knew that it'd be a long time before he was able to get back to earth and fly her. He had considered selling it, but it was one thing he just couldn't bring himself to do.
Having thanked Stricklund over and over, Nick took the craft up for a spin. This had been his first time for any flying around the area. He didn't go far, as he had to get back and test out the glider, but he savoured the short flight in his plane.
It was upon circling the grounds as he was coming in for a landing, that the colonel spotted a group of kids heading inside the training warehouse that was situated just behind the hangers. After setting down and returning the M'lady to her hanger, Nick pulled the burly mechanic with him.
"Looks like a few of the kids just can't wait to get started. I saw them sneaking in the training facility on approach. Shall we have a little fun with them Sarge?"
"You're on sir!" The two marines
made their way quietly into the large warehouse.
Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Eden
'Hammer'
USMC
Director of Flight Operations/Flyboy
Stargate Academy
Insanity takes its toll... Please
have correct change.
"I don't believe in Quantum Physics when it come to matters of the heart." --Crash Davis from "Bull Durham"
Date: January 15, 2002
Title: Running Thoughts
Author: Michelle Rhial
Michelle broke off from the crowd as soon as she could. She had already received the necessary information and had plenty of free time before having to report to the mess hall to eat something. Quickly, she headed for the dorms. 'This is really a lot like Earth,' Michelle mused as she began to slow her step a bit. Starting to learn to enjoy things had only been something that Michelle had acquired recently, and something she resented not having for the majority of her life. Immediately, the thought of a tent caused Michelle to tense up enough to slow her walk. Her family had lived in a tent for two years, the worst two years in Michelle's life. When she had thought the car was bad, she hadn't realized just how much comfort she was actually receiving. The car provided a shield from the wind, rain, and storms, but tents did nothing of the sort.
And the alone factor was virtually none. She had managed to sneak a few moments alone, but soon after her parents would show from work and they would begin their nightly ritual before Michelle reported to the newspaper. Michelle's mind drifted back to the somewhat simpler times...
~5 years prior, L'Aquila, Italy~
"Mom! Dad! Guess what I just read about today!" Michelle exclaimed after slowing from her five mile run. The newspaper office had been located exactly five miles from where their tent was seemingly permanently set up, just beside a lake in a calm park. The birds sang a sweet tune in the background, with words that Michelle was never quite privileged to sing along with.
Her Mom was the first to look up, stirring their small fire with a long stick that Michelle's father had found the day before. "What did you read about, sweetheart?" Michelle sat down next to her Mom and took a cup of some herbal tea, made from some wild herbs that grew around the park and sweetened with the sweet tasting petals of a flower that was native to Italy.
"A program just went public. The Startrap.... no that's not right." Michelle searched her memory for a moment, trying to recall what the name was. "Stargate. It's sounds really interesting. Apparently, they've been able to travel to different worlds and communicate with Alien species..." Michelle drifted off when she realized her mother wasn't listening to her. "Mom?"
Michelle's Mom looked up and smiled.
"Honey, you know that the newspaper receives a lot of false stories. Don't
believe everything you read. Now, go do your homework." Michelle nodded
and walked into the tent. Her parent's didn't accept anything that was
above the norm, anything that wasn't quite ordinary. Then and there was
when Michelle promised herself she
would become involved with the Stargate program someday... somehow...
~Present~
Michelle finally reached her dorm
room and threw her small shoulder bag onto her bed. The file she had been
carrying around everywhere was placed in her desk. No signs of her roommate
had been presented so far, except for a bag that was placed in the corner.
Michelle didn't want to snoop, however, and figured she'd meet her roommate
in due time. For now, she was way overdue for her ten mile run. Quickly,
she undressed into shorts and a tank top. Having her hair already pulled
away from her face, Michelle headed for the door. This Academy was actually
quite nice, she thought as she stepped outside. Out of habit, Michelle
quickly glanced at her watch, then set it for the timing mode. By the time
an hour had passed, Michelle would already be in the gym, working up a
real sweat with weights.
Michelle Rhial
Combat
Team Leader
GA-1
Date: January 15, 2002
Title: Driving You Crazy
Yet?
Author: Ellie Parker
Devon reached her hand out and Ellie shook it enthusiastically. "Devon Hennessey," she said to the girl with a slightly forced looking smile. "And you are?"
"Ellie Parker," Ellie said with a
closed smile on her face. "Devon, it appears that we're going to be roomies.
You don't have to worry. I am very neat with my things, plus I don't have
much here." Ellie sat down on her bed. "Have you had a chance to look around
yet? I just got here in time for the orientation." Ellie looked at the
other
woman for a minute.
"So what's your specialty? Mine's
IT and combat." Ellie smiled even bigger than before. "I know I don't look
the type that could fight my way out of a paper bag but I'm a lot tougher
than I appear. Had 3 older brothers that liked pushing me around when I
was there to push around." Ellie's smile decreased some. "So you have any
brothers or sisters?"
Ellie Parker
IT/Combat
GA-2
Date: January 15, 2002
Title: Holding A Long Breath
Author: Andrew Milborne
Dreu had taken off behind some of the boulders to the left of the clearing and started looking for a place to hide. He had to find a good place to hide; he didn’t want to be the first one found. He had seen some netting that was covering the back of a fake boulder so he decided to hide under the net.
“HERE I COME!” O’Malley yelled as he started to search for the others.
Andrew tried to quiet his breathing. He suddenly wondered where the girl with the silver eyes and the Russian were. ‘I really need to make a point to learn everyone’s name’ Dreu thought as he suddenly heard a rustling of some of the leaves on a near by tree.
He held his breath as he heard the foot steps grow closer. Dreu thought his heart would have given his position away but he watched as the legs of a dark figure passed him. He breathed a sigh of relief, as he was safe in his position.
Andrew 'Dreu' Milborne
Astrophysics
GA-1
Date: January 15, 2002
Title: New Player In The
Game
Author: Jefferson O’Malley
"HERE I COME!" O'Malley shouted, adding, 'Ready or not," under his breath and he headed into the 'jungle'. No way did he intend finding any of them too soon, even if he had to look the other way as he passed the 'tree' behind which he saw the dark head of Deacon Brezhnev as he sought cover. He knew another hid in some netting near a boulder, but he passed by that too. Hell, half the fun in the game was instilling a certain fear into your quarry, and he smiled slightly to himself as he prowled through the undergrowth.
"Fe, fi, fo, fum. I smell the blood
of an alien," Jefferson whispered, seeking a glimpse of lavender-hued hair
but not finding it. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," he added, adopting
what he hoped was a sinister voice. But it was hard to hold back his
laughter as he delved deeper into
the building.
The further he went, the easier it was to imagine it was actually a real jungle. Even the rocks felt cool and rough... but he felt sure he'd be able to pick one up with ease had he stopped to make the attempt.
He turned back, intending to go and
nab the two he'd spotted when a rustling sound caught his attention and
he looked over his shoulder as it sounded once more. Jefferson was torn
between grabbing the others and investigating the noise, but his curiosity
won and he
walked even deeper into the 'jungle',
certain one of them... Andrew maybe, as Deacon looked too timid and Adena
was hardly likely to play tricks on him - yet anyway - was in the undergrowth,
trying to unnerve him maybe.
"Not gonna work, pal," he mumbled softly to himself, bending low and creeping almost silently forwards. He parted the leaves of a dense bush with his hands and peered through, not seeing anyone obvious, but certain he wasn't far. "Nice one, Andrew," he said under his breath. But he'd catch him sooner or later. Movement to his right made the Canadian snap his head around and he crept towards it, frowning when all he saw was a fake figure half-hidden in the trees that bobbed slightly back and forth. It had to be powered by some kind of internal device as no power cords ran up to it. Jefferson looked at the figure and took in the dull matte-silver armor and odd shaped helmet. It was even armed with a six foot pole with a globular tip. He shrugged and moved on, leaving the still bouncing man behind him.
"I'll find you," he whispered. "Don't
you worry about that."
Jefferson O'Malley
Linguist
GA-2
Date: January 15, 2002
Title: Second Chance At A
First Impression
Author: Devon Hennessey
Devon tried to keep up with her roommate's energetic babble, doing the whole `smile and nod' thing until she realized she was being asked a question.
"So you have any brothers or sisters?" Ellie asked with a grin.
"Two brothers," Devon said as she opened the folder in her hands and began to scan over the contents. She wanted to have a look at the info on her teammates, and was getting annoyed with the kid's happy chatter. Devon raised her eyes back towards the younger woman for a moment. "Older brothers, so I relate a little better with grown-ups." With that said, Devon turned away and flopped onto her bed and began to spread her teammates' profiles out in front of her. It occurred to her, immediately after that last comment came out of her mouth, that she wasn't sounding very mature herself.
She was considering how to go about apologizing while at the same time explaining that she wasn't much for small-talk, when she turned her attention to the next page and she went from feeling bad to worse. Ellie's face smiled up at her from the small black and white photo attached to her profile. Not only had Devon been snarky to her roommate, but a teammate as well.
Scooping pages into a semi-neat pile, Devon tossed them onto the foot of the bed and walked over to where Ellie was quietly digging her belongings out of a small bag.
"Hey," Devon said in a softened tone. "I don't do first impressions very well, do I?"
"That's okay."
The young girl smiled again, and
Devon found herself doing the same. "I guess there'll be plenty of time
tonight for me to look over that stuff," Devon said, pointing to the pile
of papers on her bed. She shrugged slightly and looked towards the door.
"You said you haven't been shown around, right?" Ellie shook her head no.
"Well, I'm probably not the best tour guide, seeing as I got lost on my
way back from the orientation, but I'm not opposed to taking another look
around the place. Maybe between the two of us we can figure this maze out."
Devon Hennessey
CO/Engineering (Demolitions)
GA-2
Date: January 16, 2002
Title: Madman And Spider
Author: Travis De Winter
The room seemed to be alive with nervous energy as people were getting caught up in its wake. There was talk of adventure and sight seeing. He even heard one group say that they may visit the sims.
Yet through all the haze of excitement, Travis kept his eyes on one group in particular. The group with the lovely alien it. It seemed that one of them had already thrown himself in to the position of group organiser and was keeping the group together. Just like wrestling a bull by the horns.
As they walked past, Travis threw the group a friendly smile. They were too caught up in their own little world to notice Travis. He did not mind, actually it made it easier for him. He was going to chase after them and introduce himself, but at least now he could do what he had been itching to do since he arrived on the planet. Check out the hangar and see if he could find either Eden or Andrews, and ask them what they where thinking when they signed his acceptance letter.
Digging through all his pockets, twice, he was unable to find the one thing he needed the most - his map.
‘Come on, it’s gotta be here,’ he thought as he went through his pockets a third time, like the first two times were just a test run. He thought back to the last time he had them. In the jeep…. and where had he put them…. In the top of his duffle bag….and where was his duffle bag….back in the room…… and where was Travis….. in the Orientation room. Some days it did not pay to be Travis De Winter.
So Travis headed back to his room to retrieve the map. His mind was on death gliders and wondering what kind of thrust those suckers had. When he got to his dorm room, he noticed that it was ajar.
Raising an eyebrow, he thought, ‘I coulda sworn I closed that,’ and knocked gently.
“Avon Calling,” he said as the door opened slowly.
Scanning the room quickly he noticed two new things about the room. The first, another duffle bag in a corner of the room and the other thing, a 6’2 human being sitting at the desk looking at a map and, of all the people, it had to be one from that group he had been watching.
'My bet. A room mate,’ he thought
to himself.
Travis De Winter
Regular pain in the butt/Combat/Flight
Spider sat at his desk and tried to commit as much of the campus layout to memory. He heard someone open the door to the room. Not looking up from the map, he listened intently. It was probably the Aussie, who had a Madman on his bags.
"Avon Calling" said Madman.
"Go away, I don't want any, it makes
me break out in hives. I prefer Mary Kay, besides they have a colors that
suit my complexion." He chuckled and stood up. "Madman I presume? I am
Dave Murphy, everyone calls me Spider. Nice to meet you..." He held out
his hand for Madman.
David “Spider” Murphy
Astrophysics
Date: January 17, 2002
Title: Ever Tried A Brown
Paper Bag?
Author: Travis De Winter
"Madman I presume? I am Dave Murphy, everyone calls me Spider. Nice to meet you..." He held out his hand for Madman.
"That's me" he said as he took a step forward and firmly shook Spider’s hand. "Mind you, I haven't be called that in a while. Civvies tend to get intimidated when using nicknames such as Madmen, Hero, Viper and the like."
Looking at Spiders face, he stopped almost in horror. He tried to get a better look from the left and then the right. "I see what you mean about your complexion. I suggest a brown paper bag myself. Less mess and fuss that way," Travis said, trying to hold back the laughter and none too well.
Travis De Winter
Combat/Flight
Date: January 17, 2002
Title: Expect The Unexpected
Author: Jefferson O’Malley
The warehouse 'jungle' was silent... Jefferson felt sure he could hear his own heart as it pounded against his ribs, but he knew that *had* to be his imagination. Despite the fact that he knew this was both a mock-up *and* a game, the tension was palpable.
And then he heard the first sounds... Nothing much... Just a bird cry. Exotic. Then another, followed by a few croaky kinda noises. Jungle creatures - the sound of native wildlife that you'd expect to hear in such surroundings. He knew one of the others had to have found some kind of sound effect tape and had started it up. And if they thought it would unsettle him they could think again.
The Canadian jumped slightly as a
growl was heard not too far away to his left, and he silently berated himself
for allowing the atmosphere to get to him. But all the same, he crouched
a little lower and maintained a close watch - just in case the guys had
decided to change the rules of the game. As soon as he'd found the third
hidden
figure he'd denounce them in one
go... then they could check out the rest of the warehouses.
The entire place appeared automated,
as a rustling sound above him proved to be caused by a mechanical monkey-type
creature. But that didn't tell him *who* had started up the program. Andrew
perhaps? Maybe even Deacon... He couldn't see it being Adena as she looked
quieter than the Russian, but he knew the quiet ones were the most tricky
by far. Close on the heels of that thought he felt sure it was
the young alien woman behind this
latest set of events.
"Kudos, Adena," he murmured softly.
Jefferson jumped again, this time
barely holding back a yelp of surprise, when something dropped down out
of the tree he was currently standing beneath. And the fact that the damned
snake felt so realistic didn't help. With a grin he dropped the red and
black striped serpent to one side, but it was instantly forgotten when
he
saw the figure that dropped down
to the ground in the gloomy undergrowth.
"Gotcha," he said under his breath.
He circled around and made his way towards the figure, moving as silently
as was possibly... It still sounded like an elephant on heat to him. He
approached the figure from behind as the person peered between two bushes
and looking entirely the wrong way. Dark hair... certainly not Adena, but
he couldn't make out if it was Andrew
or Deacon.
'No mater,' he thought to himself as he prepared his 'attack'...
He landed heavily on the other man
and his weight forced the hapless guy to the ground. Jefferson sat astride
his back, pinning him down as he laughed softly. "You're mine," he whispered,
relenting a little as he heard a low mumble from his captive. He sat back
a little as the figure rolled over, still held down by the Canadian as
he gripped his hands in his and sat this time on his chest. Jefferson's
smile
vanished instantly.
"Ahhh... oops...?" he offered as
he looked down into the angry eyes of a certain Sergeant.
Jefferson O'Malley
Linguist
GA-2
Date: January 17, 2002
Title: Was There A Bar Around
Here Somewhere…?
Author: David “Spider” Murphy
He smacked Madman upside the side of his head lightly.
"The civvies will just have to deal with the nicknames. I happen to like Spider... as for my looks, you are just going to have to deal with it without the bag. And, no offense, but damn I thought Quasimodo was ugly... He ain't got nothing on you." He chuckled at the Aussie.
Spider grabbed the map off the desk
and held it up. "Know the one thing missing on here? A bar! But I bet there
is one around, wanna go see if we can find it?"
David “Spider” Murphy
Astrophysics