[IC] Stargate - Alliances

[Sep]

"It has a few advantages over the Prometheus. The more advanced alien technologies were integrated into the original design rather than tacked on after the fact."
—Samantha Carter commenting on the design of the BC-304.

Adam sat in his office going over files of the different personnel who they were enlisting. Most of them seemed pretty standard for personnel enlisted into this program, and frankly he didn't care for a lot of people in the Stargate program. A lot of them broke the rules as they seemed to see themselves as above them on a daily basis. He sighed as he flipped through the reports he had on Ylva Falk whom he was particularly interested in, genetic and viral expert not to mention in the employ of the military. However there was a bit of a strange aspect about her and it was more than simply the no-medical history aspect however he would check into that, if she didn't want to take a blood test then she wouldn't get to be part of the program and it was that simple. He didn't care about anything else but he didn't like not knowing especially with what everything is going on.

He looked a the file footage and flicked through what little files he had of her parents. Father military, mother was also a doctor and that apparently was how they met there wasn't that much more on either of them. Probably due to the legality issues of working on viral weapons in the current worldwide society. He wrote down a note on the report that would go to the medical doctor to ensure that he could get some kind of test done even if it included calling in her family doctor and sitting in on the meeting because he wanted a full report on her. There were other interesting characters, the ex-Army ex-CIA sniper would be one to keep an eye on, as would be the Captain and the Tok'ra characters. He really had no idea how these people had managed to stay in the forces so long let alone be assigned to a top secret project. A lot of them seemed anything but stable however he would manage, he would have to. He pressed the intercom button on his desk. "Miss Hart, send in the next person for their interview when they're ready."

---

Rea'c

He stood at the gate in his armor, covered in robes and without the old helmet which was a sign of the old ways. He held his staff weapon crossed against his chest as the other four Jaffa stood behind him, quietly. He stepped forward and began pressing the Glyphs in the DHD for the Tok'ra homeworld where they would rendezvous with the Tok'ra before proceeding to the Earth base where they would board the new vessel they had been allowed to go aboard. He didn't know why they could not simply go straight to the vessel however he was doing as instructed as by the councils ruling he was to follow the orders of the ships captain to the letter for the period of his time on the Tauri vessel. He may not agree with it however he would do as he was told, as who knew what secrets the Tauri could uncover off the Ancients on this journey.

[Ciphra]

Cody had just returned to the states a couple months ago and had been relaxing waiting for his next assignment. When he finally got word he was glad. Too much down time was just not good for him. He was the type that felt more comfortable in the field doing his job then waiting. He had arrived at Mr. Williams office about an hour ago. He always arrived early. This of course was partially due to his training, and the waiting didn't bother him at all. He went hours upon hours just waiting for a single moment to end a life. Siting in this dull room didn't faze him at all. Finally the secretary called him and he stood up slowly. He was wearing olive green cargo pants and black combat boots, but only a black t-shirt to match the outfit. He nodded and thanked the secretary and walked in.

When he walked in he saw the man sitting behind the desk. He was aged, probably early seventies and was enjoying some files on his desk it appeared. Cody tried not to look, with his sniper vision it wouldn't be hard to read them from where he stood. Instead he looked into the mans eyes to try and read into him. "First Lieutenant Brown reporting as ordered." He stood at a loose parade arrest wondering what kind of man this Mr. Williams would turn out to be. And what sort of mission he would be on this time, though he wasn't all that excited. Government types that gave orders were normally self centered pricks these days and he wouldn't be surprised to find out it was the same in this case.

[Sundered Echo]

Tok'ra Homeworld, by the Stargate.

Ariadne stood leaning against the DHD of the Stargate on the Tok'ra homeworld, impatient for the arrival of the Jaffa. She'd packed her belongings and come down to wait nearly an hour ago, the box next to her holding all that she owned. The wait had not been a pleasant one. While Ariadne was fairly indifferent to most Jaffa, her host, Idalia, hated them with passion and it was taking quite a lot of her self control to stop the feelings from bleeding over. The memories of Jaffa butchering people in Idalia's village were not so easy to push away though. She understood that this was an efficient method and meant less gate activations for the Tau'ri, but where normally that would have impressed her, right now it irritated her. Mere Jaffa had no right to come to this place.

She had to resist tensing up when the Chappa'ai finally began to activate, the symbols for the Jaffa homeworld lighting up. They were allies, and people she'd have to live with for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately. The unstable vortex formed with its characteristic whooshing sound before settling into the watery appearance of a stable wormhole. She resisted the temptation to draw her Zat and aim preemptively at the gate, despite Idalia's urging not to trust the Jaffa. The Tok'ra had hidden sentinels that would already be aiming weapons at the gate anyway, raising her own weapon would just alert the Jaffa to the fact that they could be killed at the first sign of treachery.

Five robed Jaffa stepped through the Chappa'ai carrying staff weapons before the gate deactivated. Ariadne, still leaning against the DHD, fixed her gaze on the lead Jaffa, a tall man bearing the mark of Apophis. Idalia's prejudice became too strong to completely hold out as Jaffa stood before her for the first time in nearly nine years. She flashed her eyes and spoke in a scathing, hollow voice "Finally, you arrived." She knew full well that they were on time, but she couldn't find anything else to fault them for on such notice. Despite their apparent peaceful intentions her hand still twitched towards her Zat, her body tensing to leap into action at the slightest wrong turn from the Jaffa.

[Queen Raidne]

Dr. Penelope Kate signed the next form, turned the page, and kept right on signing. It was some monstrous combination non-disclosure, release of liability, complicated legal sheaf of paper that seemed to never end. She'd already been on the ship, how did it make sense for her to sign yet more forms now? All she could do was roll her eyes at the inefficency of it all and sign on the dotted lines as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, she was free to think about other things.

For once, her mind wasn't contemplating the latest neurological scans of pre-ascended beings (one Dr. Rodney McKay, a fellow Canadian, from over seven years ago), the useful screw ups of a mid-level Decision Maker in Homeworld Command (photos of his mistress were currently hidden on a flashdrive in her bag), or careful analysis of the people around her, should they suddenly need to become urgently useful. Instead, she thought about the first thing that she'd noticed when she entered the base cafeteria: the wall. Who the hell decided to color it pink with a yellow stripe? It was nauseating.

It was still a little odd to be back on a base with mixed civilian/military crew. The shakedown cruise was, with few exceptions (including herself) all military, while the base had civilians - mostly scientists - who would ship out with the crew on board the Langford. She hadn't really gotten to know anybody too well on the shakedown cruise, and those that she did know weren't more than acquaintences. People tended to treat her differently when they learned that she created neutron bombs for a living (and those were probably the most tame thing she'd designed). It was always so annoying. Just when she'd start to get to know someone and how they worked, just when she would learn which buttons to press when to get the desired result, they'd figure out what she did and suddenly she had to start all over again. As a result, she tended to avoid getting too attached, opting for getting to know just enough about people.

So it didn't surprise her that all she knew about the person who sat down across from her was their name.

[Cayden Black]

"You should not allow such prejudice to cloak your judgement Calum. What we do now strengthens the alliance between all of us. The Tok'ra, the Tau'ri and the Jaffa." The young man speaking to Calum as they walked through the temple grounds was carrying a small data pad as he spoke. He was one of the many scientists in the city, working on ways to expand the energy network and not strain their resources too greatly.
"Do not fear Homet. I am not so foolish as to betray my emotions to grunts." Ahmos was the one speaking now, Calum had obviously grown tired of the debate over why they would need Jaffa at all aboard a Tau'ri vessel. Tok'ra and Tau'ri had worked well enough together without their assistance. In his experience their beliefs and superstitious ways left them easily manipulated.
Homet stopped his friend with a friendly gesture of his hand over Calum's shoulder. "And that is precisely what I mean. Jaffa are a proud people. Speaking to them as if they are lower then you will only give them cause to resent you."
Ahmos sighed and turned away to look into the distance before bringing his gaze back to his friend. "You are right as always my friend. Be safe while I am gone, and look after my plants..." Ahmos gave a smile and bowed his head, Calum being permitted to return and give Homet an endearing hug before taking what he chose as necessity items and began walking to the gate.

Necessity to Calum and Ahmos meant the zat by their side, a fresh set of clothes, a communications device and a datapad to work with. They had seen Tau'ri computers only once before, and so preferred their own technology over such devices. Still, that would not stop him from working with such machines. The two were anything if not resourceful. The sand had krept into the temple entrance again. This was one of the minor problems with living on a desert world, the sand got everywhere. He could see the gate had already activated from a distance and fixed his clothing to look presentable before marching over to Ariadne who was already at the DHD looking entirely uncomfortable. "I see our guests have arrived..." Calum said, one hand behind his back with the other around his small bag of belongings. He looked over the Jaffa, their ornate armour that iconic silver and gold. The symbol of their leaders head was of the Serpent god, False God, Apophis. He had fought them many times in the past. It would certainly be intriguing to see how the faired under his instructions. That is, of course, under the belief the Jaffa would not be given command over his actions. Such a thought was impossible to accept.

Calum just gazed at them, cold emotionless eyes only flickering when the occasional breeze kicked up dust and made him blink. For now he would simply be silent and follow Ariadne's lead. He had come to trust her judgement of late, even if he had never spoken with her before.

[Ellri]

Forsythe & Ellri | Ylva Falk, Vanja & Catherine Black

Snaps echoed through the room as captain Black stretched her fingers. In the past years she was trained for a lot of things, but dealing with red tape was not one of them. But Mr.Williams insisted all personnel was interviewed. As if sitting in a room answering questions could tell her anything about how they will perform under pressure. The fact the room setup itself was about as inviting as a waterboarding session didn't help at all. The room was plain and uncomfortable, with miserable lighting and a microphone in the middle. Lovely for interrogations, not so much for interviews. As uncomfortable as she might have thought it was for the candidates, she didn't doubt the one worst off was her.

Not only did she have to wear the miserable dress uniform that buckled up below the arms. She also had to go through all of her staff, which was not only the more numerous part of the Langford's crew, but she also wouldn't get to have a talk with those she wanted to get to know the most: All the aliens. She respected the Tok'ra for having years of experience she hoped to learn at least a few bits from. That didn't mean she trusted them further than she could throw them. From what she was told, they are suffering from an inborn superiority complex and prefer to fight dirty and from the shadows. And the Jaffa? The usual Jaffa tactics and general mindset made her question why were they invited to participate. They nearly turned on Earth when the Ori invaded, and if all they could do when the battle seemed lost was to do a suicide run, well...

Catherine sighed and shrugged her self pity off as she tossed a file on the "rejected" pile. The last candidate was a particularly gung-ho marine sergeant who almost managed to give her a headache with his sheer existence. She needed people with calm minds, not the would be dead heroes. Reaching over to the other pile, she dragged a few more files that would make the next round of interviews. Briefly wondering if she should get lunch first, the thought was cast aside as she held one file in particular. On the outside there was nothing different about it, except it was the thinnest one yet. Her decision made, she told the person at the door to go tell the next batch that they are up. Making herself as comfortable as the plastic chair allowed, she waited for captain Falk to arrive.

Ylva stepped out of the elevator, following the airman to the interview room. As far underground as this facility was, all the lighting had to be artificial. Combined with the untreated concrete walls, the fluorescent lights made for a harsh appearance to the corridors. But that was in no way unusual, for she had worked in similar surroundings many times before. The military, no matter what nation they belonged to, tended towards certain styles. Not that she minded either way. Being military was a part of her life. Somewhere further below, she could, with the aid of her symbiote, Vanja, vaguely sense the large accumulation of naquadah that had to be the Stargate.

The airman interrupted her musing thoughts, stating that they were there. He said something to one of the airmen standing beside the door. He nodded, and pulled out an access card, drawing it through the reader beside the door. It clicked open, and she entered. The room was sparse. It looked like it served just as much for interrogations as for interviews. The only person in the room was seated on the other side of the utilitarian table at the center of the room. She looked to be slightly taller than her. Her rank was a bit unfamiliar, but after a few moments of thinking, she recognized it as the equivalent of NATO group captain. “Captain.” she said, saluting the seated woman.

"At ease, captain. Please, have a seat." Black said, standing up and returning the salute. She was a bit surprised at the appearance of this one. Captain Falk didn't look past 24 to her, yet the file said she was 27. Even so, achieving such rank at that age caused a few alarms to ring in her mind, suggesting this person probably advanced through the rank without having that much in-field experience. Then again, that was hardly the reason she was to be stationed on her ship. “I am captain Catherine Black, CO of the Langford. Please excuse our surroundings, I have to work with what i’m given. Shall we?” she said as she seated herself and turned the recorder on.

“Starting Interview of Captain Ylva Falk. Date: March 28th, 2014. Let me just notify you that you have already been approved for the crew, this interview is purely a formality.” she said, glad all they were recording was audio, as the bureaucrat that would have been reviewing this would notice the large smirk on her face. Sometimes the IOA needed not-so-subtle reminder that all these procedures were unnecessary. Falk probably had higher security clearance than herself. “I am interested in your work. The file says you specialize in biological weapons, yet instead of researching in a lab you joined military. Is there a reason for this?” she started, having a suspicion captain Falk didn’t quite know what she wanted to do with her life.

“There is.” Ylva replied succinctly. “I joined the military to honor my ancestors. When you work in my field, having a military connection is fairly relevant. Though most of that is classified, so I cannot speak of it. You probably know the way things are.” She might have said more, but Vanja urged her not to say more. Ever since blending all those years ago, Vanja had been much like an older sibling to her. She had taught her so much about, well, everything.

However, as much as Vanja knew about the galaxy, Ylva had personally never been into space, let alone on any other planet. She had been cleared for the stargate program some three months ago, but even then, her access to information had been limited. Thus, their knowledge of the galactic status quo was lacking to put it lightly. She knew next to nothing about the other Tok’ra, and she had no means of contacting them for a reliable update not filtered through countless Tau’ri systems and bureaucrats. On the other hand, she was pretty sure that if a solution to their lack of a queen had been found, word of it would have gotten out. Thus, she would, using the sciences available, see if there would be any way to solve it. The survival of their species was a prime objective for Vanja.

“Understandable. What I’m asking is whether I leave you to your own devices in a lab, or whether you are capable of working with the ground teams. If you worked at SGc you might have the luxury of splitting time between your two professions but i’ll need you to make a decision.” Black said, looking further down the file. “Your speciality are biological weapons and destruction thereof. I need to know how far are you willing to go. Can I trust you to invent and deploy something that can potentially kill thousands of enemy ground troops? Because there will be no time to talk about the lack of humanity in such decision.”

“I’m a military scientist, not a pacifist. If they want to kill me and mine, I do not hold back. There’s a reason I don’t often go on field missions. There are few survivors when I do.” Vanja did not let any expression show on their face. “But if you’re asking if I’ll take up a weapon if it comes to such fighting, then the answer is yes. Whether it is with a gun or a bioweapon, I will fight for what I believe in and what I am ordered to do.”

“So long as it does not prevent me from working on my research projects, I will be available as a captain, which as you well know, is my rank.” She thought for a moment before speaking again. “However, I have never been off this planet, so I am not sure if I am ready to fight aliens.”

“Very well, I will try not to impede your work, but do remember Langford is a military vessel and that we are currently at war with the Lucian alliance.” A small smile crept on Captain’s face. Nonconflicting, yet standing her ground. It was the last sentence that caught her attention. She heard it wearily too often during these interviews. “It’s all right, no one really was. I would have said ‘let me put your mind at ease’, but i’m not sure that applies.” she said, not explicitly putting on record that she thought composing the crew of personnel with little experience was a really bad call. “And as long as you do not pick a fight with the aliens we’ll be having on the ship, you’ll be fine. Speaking of which, how do you feel about them?”

“To be honest, I am not sure. Figuring out how to kill them is easy. Getting along with them, not so easy.” On the outside, she tried not to show any reaction other than calm acceptance tinged with curiosity, but on the inside, the reaction was anything but calm. ‘aliens? here?’ Ylva thought. ‘will that be safe?’ the gears of Vanja’s mind were already spinning rapidly. ’This was not the plan. We need to make something to hide my existence from them. Unfortunately, the only thing I know of involves regular injections.’ She tried to phrase it carefully, knowing Ylva’s feelings on the subject. ‘Needles?!? Keep those things away from me!’ In their shared mind, Vanja could feel the palpable dread Ylva felt whenever even the thought of needles rose up. She had tried to help her overcome it, but it had been of no use. ’We’ll find something, I’m sure. There’s got to be something we can mix together in the lab.’ she thought reassuringly. ‘yes, that should be possible.’

“Sorry, got caught up in my own thoughts. I just had not expected any aliens to be present. If they don’t interfere with my work, I won’t interfere with theirs. So long as it doesn’t conflict my interests or those of our people.” She smiled softly, then spoke again. “Going offworld… What can I expect?”

Captain’s eyebrow rose a bit. “I am surprised you weren’t briefed on that.” she said, giving a death glare to the microphone that symbolized the IOA, her voice full of venom. How did these politicians expected them to work when they weren’t informed of anything? “There will indeed be two groups present: Two representatives of the Tok’ra and a fire team of Jaffa. Seven aliens in total. I am certain you can avoid them well enough if you don’t see eye to eye, and from what I was told the Jaffa are not talkative types in the first place. As far as going offworld goes, the planets we will be tasked for visiting are those that couldn’t be dialled. Your guess is as good as mine.” Catherine smiled, nodding for herself. This one she liked so far. “Very well, captain, I look forward to working with you.” With that, she shut down the recorder. Free of the government ears, she visibly relaxed. “Now, is there something you want to ask me?”

“Not really, no,” she answered. She did not have anything to ask or share. If the folder was her records, then it was obvious that the captain did not have the clearance to see much of hers. Which probably was just as well. The less people knew, the better. Getting back to her feet, she saluted, then left the room, heading back to her lab, one of several located on level 21. An airman escorted her up, taking up position outside the room. She did not care, for her thoughts were already churning on the designs for an oral naquadah dampener. It was too bad she had no means yet of designing a virus-based one that could be administered just once. She had no doubt it would take no more than a few hours to whip up something reliable. Till then, she would simply have to stay out of the way.

[Fallenreaper]

Joseph

Joseph’s fingers flickered over keyboard. Each movement clicked and clanked lightly on the keys, the words formed upon the screen which was inputting some last minute medical data from his last patient. The man, Valentine McKee, was in his late twenties, Caucasian and would be part of the security personnel soon to be onboard the ship Catherine Langford. For the last past several weeks, at a month by his count, Joseph had been doing these routine medical checks up until the official launch date. Though he was slightly irritated he wasn’t able to see his family, especially his sixteen year old son Connor, there was little he could’ve done short of quit the program. That was pointless gesture as he had gone through this much work and the fact he couldn’t stomach a job only partly finished.

Due to the paperwork being his current task, a monotone drone which had his mind crossed between automatic and memories. In the background was a light, wordless melody played softly in the background while he worked. It was one of Connor’s burnt CDs, the violinist seemed to had put his heart and soul into the stringed item at his fingertips while it seemed to ease Joseph’s longing slightly. He knew this would’ve been difficult from the start yet the full weight hadn’t hit him until now.

He was going into space. It was a place no man had gone and to make things worse, it was going to be within a subtle death trap made from steel, wiring, and a load of other shit he didn’t want to consider would be the only barrier between him and the vacuum of space. And a very terrible death. The only assurance he had was there was a means to get back to Earth, if the occasion called for emergency evacuation. His mind wandered to what the ground crew would likely encounter. There could any number of diseases and biological organisms foreign to their health on other world, some possibly incurable. That thought made Joseph pause in his work, despite its unlikelihood to happen. In the back of his mind he knew he sounded like some fictional character from one of those sci fi movies which had him mentally chuckling then pushed the worries away for now.

His work needed his focus more, noting he could always worry about it later and deal with it when the time came.

His typing was interrupted when the office door opened. His head jerked up from the flickering screen, his hand moved the mouse across to close the file, and turned to see the Department’s head approach him. Dr. William Niven was a thin, well into his seventies man who ran the Stargate offices and would later organize the medical staff onboard the Langford. His shoes tapped in his path towards Joseph before he promptly had set the note down on the simple desk’s edge. The man seemed to be always smiling, even when he addressed Joseph about what the note had contained for one of his future patients.

“You’ll love this one Joseph!” William stated shortly beside him, Joseph noted the man’s arms were crossed over and seemed eagerly awaiting his reaction.

Pushing himself from the desk, Joseph scooted over to the table and took hold of the note. His free hand reached for his reading glasses then began to read the hastily scribbles. After reading it, Joseph’s lips turned up into a frown, his eyes peered at William with scorn as if this was some sort of ridiculous case brought before him.

“You’ve got to be kidding me?” He said sarcastically, his voice slightly dripping with anger at having to go the extra mile. “Do I need her father’s permission as well?”

He watched his fellow doctor held up his hands defensive as he expected Joseph to attack, yet his face merely seemed to enjoy the slight irked expression this recent development had caused. “No, but her medical file is seriously loaded down with red tap-“

“And she’s part of this program, what are they thinking?” Joseph said not believing what he had just heard. “Are we just picking up strays?”

Dr. Niven just shrugged. It was clear to Joseph, unlike himself, he didn’t care or want to know how the patient, a Ms. Ylva Falk, had gotten pass the program’s flagging and strict protocols. Merely that here she was and now she was Joseph’s problem. The younger doctor leaned back into his chair while it squeaked in protest, his hand raised to rub his temple, easing the tension headache following the sticky. Perfect… he bitterly thought, not liking the fact he was restricted to the treatment he was allowed. His hand released his head then straightened up; his eyes noted his colleague leaving.

“Next time,” Joseph began, a hope to catch his departing back, “Don’t bring such ‘cheerful’ news with you.”

Once the door clicked close, his hand reached for the landline phone and began to arrangements for Ms. Falk’s doctor. After that, he checked the clock to note one of his patients had been waiting far too long. He made his way to the examination office where he left his mind focus on the next task and slowly forget the messy red tape he would have to work on getting cut later on.

[GravityFlux]

Lieutenant Colonel Harry Blaze, former Canadian SG team member and UN Peacekeeper, sat in a chair free of any decoration, staring at the paperwork in front of him. He had his left hand at his forehead in frustration and exhaustion, with a Batman pen between his fingers tapping at his head, and his right hand over the paper stack. His glasses lay discarded at his side, unused. A bottle of contacts cleaner lay at his side as well, with a small contacts container next to it.

Harry's eyes were red with exhaustion, and seemingly looked like they'd been dropped in bleach. His breathing was just barely noticeable, and the only noise he emitted that was in anyway hearable was the tapping of his boot-clad foot.

"Oh my god, I cannot do this." he said, as he got up to his feet in a flurry, sending paper flying everywhere, and knocking his glasses off the table. "Ah, fuck this duck." he said, reaching for his glasses, while also doing his best to show disrespect to the paperwork, and its writer. He absolutely detested paperwork. And this even more so, because it was requisition stuff.

He wore his glasses, and looked around him. The walls seemed weirdly claustrophobic, so he decided that he'd turn the paperwork in, unfinished and crumpled up. He was also tempted to flip off The Man, but decided against it when he remembered that he was military personnel, and would just get court martialed, therefore leaving him without a job, and without a way to pay that huge tab he had in Joe's Bar that he had running. One day, he'd pay that off. But that day, or year, was not this time.

He slowly picked up all of the papers on the ground, grunting as he bent his knee slightly in the wrong direction. 2011, Kandahar, Afghanistan. That was the date of the injury, and although it didn't affect him much ever, it wouldn't be nice if he broke that knee.

But that was of no concern to him currently. He walked out of his temporary ship based office, after grabbing whatever things he had and stuffing them in his pockets. He stretched himself, and made for the elevator, with the intention of getting to the armory to turn in the sheets. Although they weren't exactly done, all they needed was two more signed pages, which he wasn't going to do, because, as stated before "Fuck that duck.".

The bulkhead steel doors to the elevator opened with a hiss, like snake. Snakes were another thing he hated, and he'd encountered plenty in his desert ops,and even in Sierra Leone. There had been a 15 foot snake on one of the planets he'd been to, though, and he'd killed it on sight. Hagrid IV was the name of that horrifying jungle planet. He shook his head in disgust, as he pressed the deck level Armory button, as memories of the wildlife of the planet came back. 'Oh god the mosquito equivelants', thought his brain.

The doors hissed once more, and the deck indicator dinged, informing that the elevator had finally reached its destination. He stepped out of the elevator, his quiet steps echoing around the particularly lonely part of the ship in which he was currently in.

He walked up to the desk of the Quarter Master in the armory, and dropped the papers on it. The QM wasn't around, at this particular time. But as he turned around, he had second thoughts.

He turned around once more, and grabbed the papers, then flipped to the last two page. Four more signatures, so he might as well do them. He removed the Batman pen from his breast pocket, and signed in the blue ink, first writing "Lt. Colonel Harry Blaze" in ornate writing thrice on the second to last page, and his callsign on the last page. He smirked as he wrote it, appreciating his own smartness in choosing such an appropriate callsign. "Deicide", he wrote down. He'd try and make sure that the callsign truly fit him, if they encountered any rogue Goa'uld, or the representatives onboard decided to do something not so smart.

Finally, with his work for the requisitioning for the Strike Team, an official duty for him as a leader, done, he could finally get out of his office, and uniform, to get some well deserved sleep.

[Sep]

Rea'c

Rea'c bowed a the two Tok';ra before him. He did not approve of the Tok'ra anymore than the Goa'uld. They proved fruitless in the uprising against the Goa'uld as they barely did anything other than sit, plot and plan. Everytime they were ready to move or had a major peace of technology they lost it or something else happened. Not to mention they developed the Goa'uld neurotoxin that killed Jaffa as much as it did Goa'uld and then slaughter millions of Jaffa who could have joined the cause and been used to overthrow the tyranny of the Goa'uld. Not to mention the fact that it had also been used against several Free Jaffa worlds that had killed some of their entire armies and only delayed the inevitable. Despite this he was willing to... work with these people. "Greetings from myself and the High Council. I am Rea'c."

---

Adam Williams

Adams indicated to the seat on front of the desk as he closed up the files on the man who he was now face to face with. "Take a seat Cody. Lets keep this brief." He slid over a PDA. "On this there are several videos that will fill you in on on the program you are now into and the hostiles that we are currently in a state of war with, the Lucian Alliance. All the required information is in the video tutorials and this is why I hired you specifically. I need you to do a job for me." He took out a small device out his desk and pressed it and a flash of light illuminated the room. "Just making sure that my office isn't bugged, you can never be too careful." He put the device back into the desk. "You weren't the most obvious choice for someone to be stationed on this vessel, hell I don't even know what the Strike Team leader thinks about you let alone the Captain but in the end this is technically my ship. You have CIA experience and they can account for your entire career even your stint as a prisoner. You have anti-torture training, and basically have become a bit of a spy or as people like to call them a spook. I need you to keep an eye out for... suspicious characters be they our alien allies or our own crew."

Adams leaned back in his seat. "Simply put the Goa'uld whose technology the Lucian Alliance have inherited have the capability to brain wash our own people to serve them, even the most loyal of our people. Either those who seem oddly suspicious who are new to the program-" He pushed forward a dossier of Ylva Falk, "-Those who have done... strange and remarkable things on offworld missions-" this time the dossier of Harry Blaze "-Or our offworld allies, and I do not have a dossier for them so you will have to form your own. Consider your paygrade and security clearance both increased and know, that you answer to me now. I won't tolerate traitors, and it is your job to route them out. Tell no-one else off this mission not even the Captain and if you have any suspicions on someone bring it straight to me unless you feel they are an immediate threat in which case you have my authority to take action, any questions?"

---

Dr.Phil Lawson

Phil had been working on the new cloak generator for their own vessels especially for his R-302 however the Pentagon was very interested in the idea of having a fleet of battlecruisers that could cloak and get the jump on any Lucian Alliance forces. It hadn't been going... extraordinarily well so far. The R-302 was almost ready and it was likely to be tested on the flight of the Langford but the cloak... it just wouldn't remain stable. He sat down opposite Dr.Kate in one of the only other free chairs in the cafeteria that he didn't get glared at for attempting to sit in with a pile of lemon chicken and rice on his plate as well as some green jelly, his favorite. He spoke between bites. "Dr.Kate right? How was the shakedown cruise? I bet she worked like a dream. I'm sorry for missing it but I was busy with the R-302 the Pentagon are pushing for the prototype and at the same time they're throwing Al'kesh and Cargo ships at me so I can try and work on a cloak. Suppose with Bill Lee leading up R&D, Carter in charge of the Hammond and McKay back in Pegasus they need all hands on deck..." it wasn't lost to him that he had rambled, he just hoped she would pick up on the original question.

[Sundered Echo]

Ariadne watched the Jaffa bow before the two Tok’ra, trying to decide if she was being mocked or not. Idalia felt they were insincere in their actions, but Ariadne gave them the benefit of the doubt, knowing the Jaffa far better than Idalia did. The initial surge of hate when the Jaffa had arrived was getting easier for her to suppress now and when she spoke it was merely terse and a little impatient rather than outright hateful. “Ariadne, of Shayet. My host is Idalia.” She left the other Tok’ra to introduce himself. She didn’t really know him, she just knew that Ahmos had had his current host only five years or so more than her, and that he himself was a tenth her age - barely more than a child in her eyes. “The High Council of Tok’ra sends its regards. I take it you are ready to travel to Earth.”

She wasn’t asking them, rather stating that this was not a social call for them. Both she and Idalia shared in joy at the prospect of leaving and they did not want to wait around for Jaffa. They wanted to be off-world and exploring. She bent and picked up the small black remote she’d been given to allow her through the Tau’ri iris and held it ready, glancing at Ahmos to indicate he should dial the Tau’ri homeworld when he was ready.

[Cayden Black]

Calum and Ahmos waited for the pleasantries to end, allowing Idalia and Ariadne to begin the greeting before they also introduced themselves. He listened, reading their reactions as they spoke. It would seem the distrust and hate between the two groups would be equal. At least they all knew where they stood now. "...and I am Calum..." Calum paused again to allow Ahmos to speak, as he so often preferred to be known as his own mind as much as any other would. His eyes flashed at the exchange of control and he tilted his head in acknowledgement of their presence. "...I am Ahmos, I trust your journey was no trouble." Ahmos always carried a mocking tone when speaking to someone he did not like. Though the words may have been sincere in choice, they were empty of care. He would probably have stood and watched them all die if he could, Jaffa were so arrogant in their ways. Alas, they would have to work together for now, and these old servants to false Gods had their uses.

He listened to the two groups exchange the last of their words. Upon sighting Ariadne's subtle gesture he turned to walk around the DHD, leaning over the dark marble coloured device and pressing the symbols in their respective sequences. The gate began to humming as each of the lights began to glow as he entered the address.

[Ciphra]

Cody sat down and listened to the man not missing a word. When he recieved the PDA he briefly looked at it and put it in his cargo pocket on his right leg and then continued listening. Aliens...Who would've thought he'd go into space? Or that he would be answering to a...well someone of his nature...It's not like he hadn't before, but last time it wasn't nearly as long as this assignment would probably last. When he slid over the dossiers he was a little surprised. The dossier on Harry Blaze was a decent size, but the one of Ylva Falk wasn't nearly at the same depth. As he continued listening to Williams he skimmed over the woman's file.

When Williams finished he slowly stood up holding the dossiers. "Just three sir. Will I be able to bring my custom rifle sir? And if they're an immediate threat are you authorizing the use of lethal action? And this Ylva Falk what's with the missing medical?" Three simple questions. Of course some of his medical was missing as well due to the sensitive nature of where and what he was doing when he received the injury, but to have nearly no medical on file, that was a big red flag. And now that aliens were involved he would have to learn about them. As soon as he left this office he would have to go somewhere secure and go over these files and then burn them. The PDA he would keep with him in case he needed a refresher. After Williams answered his questions he would nod and leave. He had some prepping to do.

[Fallenreaper]

Kayle

Kayle Zaken, the second Lieutenant and current linguist and alien culture reference within the Catherine Langford’s crew that she knew of, eyes scanned over her data pad. The words were simple print and in English, a complex language despite the four years she had to grow accustomed to it, as she scanned the information over the Tok’ra. She knew the information by heart yet now it was to gleam any details she might’ve missed and most importantly, pleasure reading. Her eyes swept over the section dictated to the symbiote when she paused in her task to do a last time check over her things. Every once in a while her mind switched back to the pad in her hand as she had already done a full recall at least thrice during that day.

She started with her bag. It was a simple, large tote which held a few different things required for her stay onboard. The first that crossed her attention were the Stargate program’s Israel uniform, a light green with the Israel flag on the shoulder along with rank in the proper area, then came the strike team one which was a deep bluish black following the same pattern, and finally her plain grey tanks and camouflage cargo pants. Her hand shifted them in her counting to ensure they all were there and in proper order. Next was the hard case, black and bumpy on the surface, which contained equipment to clean her guns as well as maintain her standards knives. A separate, smaller knife for a similar purpose was stationed beside it. Unlike the other case, its contents were more suited to creation then maintenance because she liked to be prepared in the worst case scenario should she lose any of her knives. Likelihood was high it was going to happen on this mission a few times and better to have the assurance then ended up needing it.

Her mind shifted to enjoy the section about Tok’ra once again, for only a moment, while the rest of her check was done by touch. Towards the end, her hand shifted to the inside of the bag itself and seemed to stroke the interior until she felt something out of place in the norm. Her fingers rested on a small, almost invisible bump where a pocket had been added on to the original bag, within it was a very thin knife strapped in. It was crudely made and one of her first because only a bunch of wound cord made the handle in order to weight it down and provide a grip. On bottom of the bag was a similar pouch firm attached for easy reach with yet another knife. Her superiors, Mossad and the Star Gate program, knew she tended to carry a certain undisclosed knife number but the exact amount was never determined publicly. Everything she was asked among prying ears, she answered bluntly with one word. Enough which satisfied most people.

Now done with her equipment for the trip, Kay placed down her pad, the screen still viewable and bright, to give herself a rough pat down. The woman’s hands firstly went to her belt where her Mossad issued gun, a second cartilage of ammo, a knife and several other needed items were mandatorily fixed in their assigned positions. She double checked the straps and safety’s, including the holsters which held them securely. Then she checked the locations of her knives. Mainly the ones she had to be sure numbered three: one within her right boot and bound tightly to the inside, another placed against her foreleg hidden under her pants, and finally in her sleeve where it caused the least hindrance in her movements.

Once her fingers had skimmed the sleeve cuff then pulled out, she bent for the pad again. That’s when Kayle’s stomach growled in protest. She stalled in mid action. Her head dipped down to realize the last time she had eaten was dinner yesterday, her needs forgotten in her excitement and now clamored to be satisfied. Kay just made a soft, amusing chuckle at her luck. She set her bag across her bunk before she headed out the door and towards the cafeteria. Naturally she was still fixed to the pad, her fingers flipped the pages, as she ducked, dodged and navigated her way through the personnel in the hallways. Never once she pulled her eyes away when she arrived. Wasting little time, Kayle’s hands snatched up a cheap plastic tray, set down her pad near the end of it and then began to fill it up with her food. Even when her focus was split, she ensured she didn’t grab anything containing pork. Finishing up, her tray was rather full with a plate of rice and salad, topped heavily, a small bowl of matbucha dish (made from cooked tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic and onions), few cuts of pita bread, and lastly grilled chicken.

Kayle reached the end of the line where she looked up from her pad, a first since she entered it. She soon realized there weren’t many places to sit. On the normal occasion she would’ve sat alone and continued to read while she ate but it seemed there were little places meeting her need. Not to mention those close had groups and to join one, namely one that was enjoying themselves, unasked seemed rather rude when she was on her own free time. The aromas played near her nose, farther irritated her stomach to stop stalling in her search for a seat.

Sighing, Kay moved towards the closest table in defeat. It was currently the least occupied with only two people sitting at it. The first to catch her attention was a pale, thin woman. She looked like she had been born, bred, and lived inside buildings all her life. A man, her companion, was animatedly chatting away during his meal, his lemon chicken untouched mostly, and seemed to be only a little younger than Kay’s own father. His hair all white and face filled with some dignified wrinkles. Absorbing his image, Kay found herself drifted a bit over fonder memories which made her don a friendly smile. The two weren’t military so likely they might not like the idea of a stranger joining them, even if it was only long enough to eat her meal.

“Ahem, excuse me?” Kay began in her Israel accent, her voice pleasant and cheerful. She managed to balanced her tray in her hands, wary about her pad, as her head motioned to the empty seat beside the man. “Mind if I sit here? If not, I can find another spot. Though can I ask you a favor before you answer, could you skim your finger across the pad screen for me? I’ve got my hands full right now sadly or I would do it myself.”

Depending on the two’s answer, she would either be sitting in the middle of their conservation, reading, or seeking another spot. Either way, she would still lower her tray for the man to shift the page because she was rather eager to read the next part, even if she had read it before several times.

[Sep]

Phil Lawson

Lawson just finished eating some more of his chicken when woman came up to him, strangely armed while not appearing to be a member of the security personnel which was odd. However things going on recently weren't exactly normal within the complex with everyone preparing to go to the Langford. He wiped his hands down before reaching over and pressing the next page button on the screen of her PDA before returning to his chicken. "I don't mind at all, feel free to take a seat. I was just asking our kind Dr.Kate here how the Langford worked on her shakedown cruise. I had to miss it due to a bit of a research glitch in the R-302s cloaking system."

---

Rea'c

"There is no need to be so arrogant Tok'ra-" He virtually spat the word. "-If your kind had been of any use in defeating the Goa'uld or freeing the Jaffa we would likely be even be living in Unity. The Jaffa with the Tauri only began fighting the Goa'uld less than twenty years ago and we succeeded and our rebellion started with one Jaffa. Your Queen and her entire line rebelled against the Goa'uld however you did not succeed." He turned towards the gate as he heard the IDC beep indicating that the iris was open and stood through the gate immediately feeling the cooler environment of the Tauris base. He and the other Jaffa all appeared on the ramp and moved to the center before bowing.

He looked at through the glass to the control room. "General Landry, I request leave to enter your facility."

---

Adam Williams

"I'll allow your rifle to be put in the ships armory however I will have little control over your armament on ground team missions. I don't exactly want to put too much time into you and raise suspicion by any possible spies. However kill as a last resort, they may not be themselves and under mind control.-" He reached under the desk and pulled out a zat gun. Technically he shouldn't have one but he requisitioned it for the man sitting opposite him now and pulled a few strings in the right direction. "This is what the Goa'uld call a Zat'nik'atel. We just call it a Zat, it will stun anyone you hit with one shot and put them on the ground. Two shots will kill. Some more resistant people won't go down on a single shot and if that is the case you are authorized to kill but I'd rather keep them alive for even if they are a plant and not simply under mind control they could possess valuable information." He waited a moment for this to sink in.

"I also have someone specific I want you to check up on." He slid over the records of Kayle Zaken. "This is an Israeli agent. Two years in the IDF, studied culture, linguistics, archaeology and mythology before being picked up by the Mossad for Israels Stargate program. She's not quite an American operative but if you find that she is clean and can be trusted I want you to bring her in on this. Anyway, if you have nothing else. I'm sure you have work to do."

[GravityFlux]

Harry waltzed right out of the armory with style, prepared to go back to his office and get out of uniform. He really, really wanted to be asleep when they took off. Of course, the nagging Captain that he expected Captain Black to be would probably not allow it. He'd argue about how he had spent six hours in an office doing paperwork and signing req sheets, alone on the ship, while everyone else ate food and had general fun.

He wasn't quite looking forward to that, but he'd enjoy whatever sleep he could get. Perhaps he could get drunk? Maybe. The Cap wouldn't like that, even if technically, he wasn't on duty.

But only then, that thought process was interrupted by the sound of his PDA beeping. Taking the slightly small titanium cased PDA out of his back pants pocket, he realized that the sound was of his daily calendar. "Ship patrol, official duty". Immediately, he groaned. Just as he thought he was done.

At least it was physical work, unlike the six hours he'd spent on paperwork just before. Once again, he stretched himself, and reached for the holster on his thigh, making sure it was still there. It was holding a standard issue SG Zat, an incredibly new to use firearm by his standards, and also ridiculously alien for his tastes. He didn't quite like it, and one of the requisition papers he had filled was for a better sidearm. Like a Browning!

He went right into the elevator, accepting his life of constant work, and pressed the button to deck one. He'd start his patrol there.

[Fallenreaper]

Kayle Zaken and Cody Brown: Fallenreaper & Ciphra

Kayle smiled when the man touched the pad and switched the page to the next, her eyes broke contact with it. “Thank you and I’m sorry for interrupting you, I thought I would get a quick bite before I’m due at the gate.”

She shifted to the side seat, then proceeded to sit down while she moved the pad where it wouldn’t risk getting messy. The woman had began to unfold her napkin while her other hand grabbed a pita only to stop when her radio buzzed. She recognized the voice instantly as Sgt. Harriman, mentally realizing this meant she would have to put her meal on hold. Her hand placed down the fork then pressed the button to hear the voice come over her radio.

“Lieutenant Zaken, this is Sergeant Harriman. The Tok’ra and Jaffa envoys have just arrived through the gate and are now in the gateroom. General Landry requests that you come and escort them to their quarters until they are ready to be briefed.”

Kay sighed then replied. “Copy, I’ll be there shortly. Over and out.”

When the radio went silent, she then placed her spoon back to it’s original spot. Looks like eating was out of the question now, the woman thought bitterly and reached to shut off her datapad before she placed it into her belt. She picked up the tray to dispose of it on her way out.

“Sorry looks like I’m going to have to run, duty calls and maybe I’ll see you two on the ship.”

Then Kay left.

Cody looked upon the Zat weapon. The number of times he could’ve used one of these in North Korea...or a number of his missions. Why can’t they just semi disclose this stuff so at least the CIA can have some of the fun toys? The missions would become so effortless with some of the technology the Star Gate program has uncovered over the years, but what could he do about it? Besides...He wouldn’t have a job if that were the case.

He took the Zat and placed it into his other cargo pocket on his left leg, then looked up again towards Mr. Williams. “I’ll go find her immediately.” He turned and walked out the door. He was a pretty direct and to the point kind of guy when it came to his work, though his social life you might not be able to guess that all the time.

He used the elevator to get to the base quarters to try and find her, but then the alarm went off and it turned out to be the alien group set to arrive. So instead that is where he would head. Perhaps he would grab some Jello from the lunch room first though...Hm...Only if it was the blue Jello this time though, or perhaps the red. He was about to enter when he saw Kayle putting her tray up and he chuckled mentally to himself. This day just got easier and that was a nice change from the normal pace of his missions.As she left he walked up to her and just walked beside her. “So...Where you headed, misss…?” He was trying to get her name out of her, but of course he already knew it. Of course that was an advantage she did not possess over him, but it was but a small advantage for him.

“Second Lieutenant Zaken, and currently reporting to the Star Gate. Our guests have arrived and I’m heading there now. So if you will excuse me.” Kay said in a polite voice as she shifted to move past him, her mind more on her task at the moment. That’s when he moved again, once more blocked her way. It slightly irked her to have to deal with this now. Namely since he kept her from both task and filling her curiosity, a serious offense in Kay’s mind.

At the third time, her face turned into his and then spoke. “Unless you intend to stop me from following my orders, I advise you to let me through. What is it that you want so badly?”

Cody gave a delighted smile. “Well since you asked, some friendly conversation would be a nice start. Since you’re headed to the gate room how about we take a stroll together miss Zaken?” He made a 180 on the spot side stepped and waited to walk with her. He wanted to test her patience, and perhaps a little more if the opportunity presented itself. She was definitely an interesting individual, and then there was the fact that she was Israeli, and definitely had the accent to prove it. Oh that accent brought back some good memories. While he had a fake smile on his face for the lady he had a genuine one on the inside at the memories.

“Fine, if it will at least allow me to get to where I’m going.” She said trying to keep her tone under control. Her patience won’t have been worn so badly if something she enjoyed and the chance to see what she had been studying and understanding wasn’t just waiting at the Gate for her. She placed her hands behind her back in habit while she stepped forward and headed into the direction of the Star Gate. Her pace was fast set but steady, allowing the man to keep up easily unless he slacked. Then he would be left in her dust.

“Since you’re the one that approached me, start us off.” Her smile never reached her face, unlike within the cafeteria.

Cody walked beside her with ease and made a random noise while thinking for a moment. “So. Israeli accent, Jewish necklace. What part are you from though? It’s been a year and a half since I was in Israel last. Of course I had to leave only a few days after I got there...but the trip before that two years ago was a lot longer! I even got a nice tan while I was there, and a few scars, but overall it was nice.” He wondered a lot about her. He’d worked with a few Mossad operatives before, so was she like them? Of course that wouldn’t be a bad thing...especially if she was like the other girl he worked with, but who knew. Maybe she was one of those dull ones that lose their soul to the job. Only time would tell.

“Ba’ar Sheva, near the ruins was where I grew up. It’s been four years since I’ve been home and I hope, after I’ve done my duty onboard the Langford and seen most of the Gates reconnected, I can return home. Though I doubt that will satisfy my longing to learn about the many races which roam the several worlds out there.” Kay answered truthfully for she wasn’t completely sure herself. Her body shifted easily to avoid some of the personnel shifting to their stations, either to go about daily tasks or because of their new arrivals.

Her mind lingered on the fact he was now asking about her homeland, but that couldn’t have been a strong enough reason to stop her. Few people would’ve went through the hassle or point to continue blocking her, risking her retaliation, when they knew she had a task to attend to. “What is the real reason you kept blocking me, Mr…?”

Cody found it interesting that her interest seemed genuine. Someone in their line of work that could still have such interest in something else so...peaceful, without being completely paranoid about the situation. “Hm...Well technically I guess I’m back to being First Lieutenant Brown...Though last couple years it was just Cody.” He shrugged. “I suppose I have to get used to that again...But anyway I just thought I should make some friends you know?” This of course was only a partial truth.

Now Kay felt like a dog’s...or was it a mule’s ass, Kay found herself unable to remember the correct word as she didn’t often use that particular slang in normal cases. Either way she now had too late realized her mistake at speaking so casually at the man beside her and fact she could’ve been in deep trouble for sassing a superior officer. Inwardly she cursed in Arabic before she finally calmed herself down, at least enough to answer the man.

“My apologies Lieutenant Brown, I should’ve recognized you as my superior. It will not happen again.” Kay replied in earnestly as she continued steadily down the hallway, each step brought her closer to the Gate and likely to the end of this horrible moment. Cody as he called himself, seemed to treat the demotion, at least she assumed it was that, as something rather inconvenient for him. She found that odd and wondered if there was reason behind it but knew better then make her curiosity known.
“I find making friends helpful in most cases, though usually my nose is stick in my pad over data I’ve been reading several times over in the last few months.” She added.

Cody chuckled. “You have nothing to apologize for Lieutenant. I try and avoid the formalities as much as possible. Perhaps we could talk some more after we greet our guests?” He asked as they rounded the last corner and an airmen slid his card to open the door to the gate room for them. He liked this girl. Some what anyway. He definitely wouldn’t mind working with her, and would like to get to know her better. Maybe this voyage wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“Very well, Sir, but you know protocols are there for something other than looks.” Kay made her point while they arrived at their destination. Before they completely went through she then returned the kind gesture when he gave her his name. “Call me Kay, off duty is preferable.”

Finally they moved through the doorway just moments before their guests arrived.

[Sundered Echo]

As the gate opened once more, Ariadne raised the IDC device and tapped in the code that would allow them safe passage to the Tau’ri world. Before the Jaffa stepped through the open gate, the leader turned and decided to respond to the Tok’ra in kind. Ironically enough, the statements he made hardly registered with her at all. She was Tok’ra now, but that had not been the case for long. At this point she was largely indifferent towards the downfall of the Goa’uld. On some of her bad days she even thought of it as a good thing. Her people had been selfish despots fighting over the most petty of things after all. The Tok’ra were only different in that less people died for their struggles.

Her downward spiraling train of thought was cut short as Idalia urged her to focus. Her Host hated it when Ariadne let such feelings get out of control as the emotion was transferred to Idalia too, and Idalia did not entirely share the same opinions or feelings. Ariadne could not be sure that Ahmos would be as able to ignore the Jaffa’s taunts as she had however. She fixed him with a firm stare as the Jaffa finished his insults and went through the gate. Once the Jaffa were through the event horizon and no-longer able to hear them she spoke, eager to ensure Ahmos would keep control of himself once they reached the other side of the gate. “Ignore the Jaffa. They are not worth our time.” She kept it short but spoke firmly. No surly Jaffa would keep her from the chance to meet the Tau’ri and explore the galaxy yet more. With that she picked up the wood and metal box containing her few possessions and stepped through the gate herself.

The Tau’ri base was…. disappointing. It was an enclosed structure filled with blocky, drab architecture that seemed to do its very best to fall into the background. She hadn’t known what she was expecting to be fair, but it wasn’t this. The Tau’ri leader known as General Landry had come down to the gate room to greet them in person it seemed.

“Permission granted. Welcome to Earth. You’ll be staying here for a short time while we get the Langford ready.”

Ariadne took charge then, before the Jaffa could reply. “Thank you General Landry. May I ask how long we will be staying on Earth?” She stepped past the Jaffa, careful not to touch them as she went.

“You may. The Langford is scheduled to pick up its remaining crew in forty-eight hours. Until then, we’ve set aside the VIP quarters for you. Second-Lieutenant Zaken here will take you to your quarters. She’ll be the linguist and cultural specialist on the Langford. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some vital paperwork that needs doing.”

Ariadne could tell he obviously didn’t want to do whatever he was being called away for, but it seemed even he had inescapable responsibilities. Ariadne smiled knowingly after the general as he retreated back to his office. Then she turned expectantly to the woman he’d indicated would guide her to her quarters. She was surprised to see that this ‘Zaken’ woman looked not too dissimilar from the average human stock seeded across the many Goa’uld worlds. A hundred years ago, she might’ve even considered her a good potential host. She quickly pushed that thought aside though - that was not who she was now.

[Cayden Black]

Ahmos was calm in his place beside the DHD, even amused at the Jaffa who saw himself as such a superior warrior. Clearly he had brute strength, but no power over the mind. Calum had other thoughts, his hatred for their proud ways of thinking themselves the honourable warriors that would save the galaxy made him feel physically sick. He knew what they really were, he had seen what they were willing to do blindly for their masters. They were the same, only now their masters were not Goa'uld but Jaffa with their own ambitions. It was fortunate that Ahmos was the one in control at this moment, keeping those despised feelings from surfacing as he focused Calum's mind on the greater picture.

He checked his satchel and the data pad he held under his arm, pausing as Ariadne spoke to him. "Do not worry Ariadne. I am quite capable of restraining myself. My host seems to prefer it if I speak while around them. Their presence....disturbs him greatly." Ahmos may have joined the tok'ra but he still had that air of superiority that all Goa'uld had. That way of speaking down to you even when they did not mean to. Many Tok'ra did the same when speaking of Jaffa, another fact he had noted over the years. The alliance was still in its infancy and much time would need to pass before they were able to trust one another.

He followed Ariadne closely through the gate, as any officer would shadow their leader. Indeed, Ariadne would certainly be his commander in his eyes, Jaffa would never be his masters again.
The cold sensation of the gate brushing against his skin as he was transported from one world to the next always made Ahmos and Calum crick their neck after the journey. Still following Ariadne down the ramp. He simply remained silent and took in his surroundings. A dull grey of a place, obviously designed to be a bunker. Ahmos had memories from his queen that shared the memories of her own times in such places. Worlds destroyed and such bunkers failing to withstand their forces. The memories were useful ones at times, though not always necessary. It was still an ugly looking rock room, no interesting furnishings of any kind.

He followed still only a meter behind Ariadne as they walked down the ramp, turning to stare at the Jaffa with eyes that portrayed a feeling of superiority to these warrior grunts. Two days wait before they were to be collected? At least he would have ample time to work on his own personal research into historical locations. It was something he had begun to focus more on as his subversive skills became less and less required. Without a true enemy to fight as they once had, Ahmos and Calum were finding more and more time either given patrols or simply with nothing to do. They had both agreed studying ancient cultures may lead to findings much like those discovered by the Tau'ri. It had proven fruitless, though still interesting.
"This feels far too...informal." Ahmos whispered at Ariadne. He had never met the Tau'ri but after what he had been told, they were clearly made to be something they appeared not to be. He examined their rifles. None of them were as advanced as his own. Yet they had defeated the combined force of Anubis and the Replicators. He found that all too intriguing...

[Fallenreaper]

Kayle

Kay approached just after she spotted one Tok’ra whisper to the female, the one who had addressed Landry before. It seemed there was some uneasiness about their greeting and that wasn’t good with impression. She knew it was her job to aid in settling the mood and hopefully make the base’s guests feel less unnerved, which was a good time to practice out her Goa’uld learning. Thankfully the races the program interacted with most were on the top of her need to know list, namely Goa’uld for Tok’ra and Jaffa allies.

“Tal ma'te.Tal mal'tiak mal we'ia.” Kay said in heavily accented but passable Goa’uld.

The woman smiled at the greeting and replied in English. ”The honour is all mine.”

Kayle’s face warmed at the Tok’ra’s usage of English, even if the language itself wasn’t her first, as she fought down her excitement. It was likely easily spotted but she continued to keep it in check in order to maintain a professional outlook for the base and its inhabitants. That was one of her main duties. Pleasure and selfish desires took second place after all.

“Very kind of you to say.” She answered the Tok’ra, being polite, then turned to where the male Tok’ra was looking at. It wasn’t hard, even if she wasn’t a Mossad agent and part of her training, to try to figure out his line of thinking. In a less formal tone, Kay then added a neutral comment. “It takes some getting use.”

Her attention shifted when she realized something very terrible. She doubted she would be able to escort both groups together and there wasn’t a way to complete both tasks at once. It was regrettably beyond her limits, much to her bitterness, while she turned to Lieutenant Brown for aid.

"Sir, General Landry asked me to escort the Tok’ra to their quarters. The Jaffa contingent needs an escort still, and I don't think General Landry wanted them left alone,” Kay tried to keep herself from displaying the wince tearing at her failure at meeting her goals and retain a steady voice, “They might see it as…rude. Would you be willing to see them to their quarters for me, sir?"

Once Lieutenant Brown started to lead the Jaffa towards their room, Kayle waited until they were a few steps ahead, ensuring there was some reasonable distance between them before she started to walk. Afterwards, she aimed to swing by her quarters just to drop off her weapons and maybe try eating again. After hearing about the programs luck when it came to foreign races and some of the prior events, even though they might’ve been rumors, she didn’t like taking risks. It would only be a matter of time before a single scheduled arrival became a false one, in her mind at least, and seemed like a plausible reason to request permission wearing her weapons as a precaution.

“I hope you two will be comfortable while waiting for the ship and perhaps- once you’re settle in- you might like a small tour of the base?” Kay asked, her focus on a friendly conversation might aid her in knowing them a bit better or at least provide a friendly face here.

While she led her group towards their quarters, the Second Lieutenant didn’t comment on the difficulty both races were likely having or in fact mentioned the Jaffa at all. It was a miracle-in her opinion-they hadn’t attempted to hurt each other in this close proximity yet. Like in some human groups, or Tau’ri as they were commonly called by the two groups, there was a slight bitterness towards each other. Something she noted right off the bat when the woman stepped forward and avoided touching the Jaffa during her greeting. Instead she tried to keep her focus fixed on her current charges, ignoring that flutter of disappointment in herself because she couldn’t escort both groups.

[Forsythe]

"Next!" roared from the interview room, as one particularly young, inexperienced and unlucky airman just had his dream of joining a 304 crushed. Unfortunately for them, Black's crew was almost complete and she could afford to be picky. Only captain Falk passed from the last batch so far, and Catherine was ready to drop her requirements somewhat just to be done with this quickly. She can always gate them back and get replacements later should they prove below par. With her stomach growling, she called the last candidate in.

Fortunately for her, this one was a 304 pilot that was not only competent, but also had previous experience flying a 302 against Anubis in Antarctica. With the interviews done, she packed the recorder and unplugged the flash drive from it to deliver to Mr. Williams. For his sake, Catherine hoped colonel Blaze was having better luck with his share of paperwork. Hers took so long that she even missed the Tok'Ra and Jaffa arriving, although she would prefer to meet them when she had some time to spare rather than for a quick greeting in the gate room.

On her way to the cafeteria she happened to stumble upon a bunch of marine that were to join her ship training weapon assembly in one of the free briefing rooms. Hungry and exhausted by the interviews, her mood was generally evil, and the idea of inspecting their progress was born. Walking into the room without so much as a knock, the marines quickly gave her a salute. "Back to work, you''re on time!" she scowled and watched with inward amusement as they hastily resumed assembling the guns. When the alarm clock rang, she noticed one unlucky soul and approached. "Are you ready for combat, soldier?" she asked, her gaze burrowing into his eyes. When receiving a positive answer, she loaded the gun, pressed it against his thigh and pulled the trigger. The soldier winced, but nothing happened. Bowing down, Black picked up a missing piece of the firing mechanism that fell on the ground while the man was saluting her and laid it on the table in front of him. "Again!" she barked and left.

Her lust for blood somewhat satisfied, Catherine grabbed a quick bite and headed to Williams' office. She didn't know the man nearly as much as she would have preferred given he was technically her boss, but with his time being spent mostly in his office or quarters, he was a bit hard to reach with her own busy schedule. Walking to the secretary (If she could only have one), she tapped her table to gain her attention: "Captain Black. I have the personnel reviews Mr. Williams wanted."