To boldly go where......yeah..catch phrases suck!

[Aleksandr Kamarov]

0931
Cheyenne Mountain
Stargate Complex

The persistent beeping of his alarm clock nearly drove the Russian made as he tried to get back to sleep. Yes, he knew it was after 0930, and that he was required to report for duty at 1000 hours, but what harm out another minute of sleep do?

The truth of the matter was that Alek was a little under the weather. Last night, as he seemed to be doing with increasing frequency, he and the other engineers had made their way deep into the bowels of the SGC after their shifts had finished to enjoy some of the imported Vokda Kamarov had managed to get his hands on. The gathering had gone on late into the night, and had required the bribing of a lowly security guard who had discovered their covert celebration. For all the integrity people swore to when they joined the air force, there was only so much free vodka they could refuse.

Accepting defeat, the warrant officer reached over the slapped his alarm to silence it before rolling out of bed. Taking a moment to settle his head, he quickly put himself through the shower and changed into his work uniform, deciding to skip breakfast in favour of a strong cup of coffee. He momentarily considered trying hair of the dog, but quickly changed his mind when his stomach threatened to unsettle.

It had been a couple of months since his return from the Delian Galaxy, and Alek was settling in as a senior engineer at the SGC. While people had been hesitant to have a Russian on staff initially, people way above his pay grade had decided he was to stay. Besides, he would be out of here soon, having been selected to take part in an inter-galactic expedition.

Rounding the corner he found the hallway ahead filled with high ranking officers, all them leaders in the expedition he was set to take part in. Doing his best to act as though he'd done nothing last night but sleep, he approaching Colonel Demyan and presented her with the small binder he'd been carrying with him.

"Colonel Demyan, latest engineering report on Stargate mechanism," he said in accented English. Dialling up another galaxy was compared to making a phone call using a different area code, but there was a bit more to it than that. Not that his headache would have allowed him to explain such things.

<tag colonels!>

[Will O'Malley]

0932
Cheyenne Mountain
Stargate Complex

This entire conversation simply was awkward for the BA man. It felt as if every word he spoke dug him into a deeper level of discomfort and failure – as optimistic as that sounds. No, he did not like the CO of this expedition. But, did that actually matter? He would take orders from her. He would listen to her. He would deal with her. Hell – he would fight beside her if needed. Doesn’t mean he had to like her. Most of his military career was filled with people that yelled down at him that he despised. Yet…most of the time they weren’t aware of his feelings towards them. He was a faceless drone who took orders like everyone else. This case was unique. Hopefully things wouldn’t explode too far. O’Malley was a man who didn’t like things to get in the way of simple progress with life. If the CO made their personality conflicts something that would counter that…he really wouldn’t have a choice but pucker up.

Lovely.

Relief washed over Will as the CO ordered them back to work, and a data pad was placed between his pale fingers. He glanced down at the item, scanning through he lists, as Demyan began to talk to him.

”We got word that a chief science person backed out at the last minute, someone I’m sure you are both familiar with, a Dr. Cara Coyle.”

O’Malley’s eyes shot up to Demyan with idle curiosity. Yes, it was a bit of a blow that she was coming then didn’t…but still. Maybe it was for the best. They would be awkward around each other, since their friendship/relationship/past engagement, was still a bit uncertain.

“Apparently she would rather stay behind and get married then come on the expedition.”

Her not coming was fine. Great, even. But this…this bothered Will on a deep level. O’Malley always felt slightly protective over Cara – and now some other man had his hands all over her. He was probably some rich bloke who could cater to her old lifestyle. That was up her ally. Will was simply some working-class man who liked to live modestly. Maybe it would have never worked between them. Perhaps Cara found royalty. She could if she wanted to. Married a prince somewhere. That would be nice. But still. Exes were awkward and it was never unawkward to hear about them with someone else…especially marrying someone else.

“I hope she’s happy,” O’Malley idly stated, pretending to be disinterested – staring at the electronic pad between his fingers.

“She did however recommend a replacement. This replacement has got a few medical needs, a case of asthma or something. There’s a shipment of medical supplies, extra from what was ordered for the expedition. It should arrive within the hour. Not that I wanted to add to your list of things to do, but you are the first medical personnel that I’ve come across.”

“Asthma shouldn’t be a problem,” Will stated, allowing his mind to slip from psychological freak-out mode, back to work-mode. His fingers quickly tapped through the datapad, “And extra supplies are always a good thing. It’s better to have more than less,” he nodded slightly, “I’ll get someone to load up these supplies in a moment. The others that are coming soon – just call me on the comm or find one of my staff and we’ll take care of it. I must be on my way. Nice talking to you, Blackwell, and meeting you, Demyan.”

Another man began approaching as Will made his exit. He offered the man a nod, before running off to continue his temporarily halted work.

<Exit: Will>

[Abi Ely]

0932
Cheyenne Mountain
Stargate Complex

Abi sat cross legged in her bed - clad in red panties with monkeys on them, and her favorite night shirt. She was staring intently at the wall. Why? Because she was a bit nervous. New expedition. New people. New relationships. New friends. New enemies. What if no one liked her? What if she found out a way to get herself fired? What if this expedition got shut down too? It was like going to a new school all over again. The girl might be in her thirties, but she still felt the anxieties of a teen. It was just how her brain was wired.

Taking a deep breath, she stood from her bed within the SGC - a temporary room for her stay - and allowed her mind to wander as she got ready for the day. They had even given her a uniform already. A one-piece gay-thing, that sort of felt like a bag. After putting it on, she stared into the mirror and frowned. She would definitely be hiding her civvie clothes on a regular basis. It wasn't that she cared that it was kind of...ugly, but rather it was simply a comfort issue. She liked two pieces. Hell - she wasn't even a fan of dresses.

With a sigh, the girl stared at herself in the mirror for a moment, before deciding to pull her mane of hair back in a up-bun-thing. It wasn't neat enough to be called a bun, but it was too vertical to be called a pony tail. Maybe she should make up a word for it...?

Exiting her temporary quarters, she smiled at a few random strangers - who did not smile back. Not helping. Deciding to go towards the gate and generally see where she could help, the girl began down the hallway.

It was great that she was back to working for these people again. She loved the thrill of being in another galaxy and interacting with aliens...unless they - you know - took her prisoner and made her float in goo (while naked) for months on end. Those aliens weren't so cool. But still - she was stoked. Abi hadn't heard of who else was on the mission - so of course her mind filled in a few names she's like to see return. Since Ohm Expedition ended, she had basically lost contact with everyone - except a few who sent her emails on a regular basis. Even then, their lives became overwhelmed with other things, and they stopped a few months before Zeta was announced.

Eyes on the ground, Abi silently watched her ununiform shoes move past each other. It was a bit hypnotic. It was like they were in a constant back-and-forth race that wouldn't end until she was gone. Wow, that was deep.

Raising her bright blue gaze, Abi saw a group standing by boxes. A tall woman - one she was familiar with as the Commanding Officer of the expedition - stood by the boxes. Abi had never actually interacted, but had simply witnessed people calling her such. Next to the CO was a man with black hair, who turned and left almost instantly. He was the CMO on Ohm. Cool. Someone she recognized. She didn't know him all-too-well, but it was a familiar face. Watching him leave was another familiar face - Marra. A smile tickled at her lips at the sight of her friend. Her steps even grew a bit faster. Someone else was approaching the group too...

Oh hey - that guy.

Alek!

The lovely russian she had become quite fond of. Her brain snapped back to times when they would talk in Russian just so others couldn't understand...plus Alek's English wasn't 100%...so it was just easier that way.

Approaching the group, Abi enthusiastically waved at her old friends, before setting her eyes on the CO.

"Good morning, Colonel," Abi smiled, "I'm Abi Ely - the Linguist and Cryptographer for the Zeta Expedition. Sorry I haven't talked to you sooner....it's been a bit hectic since I got here," she frowned slightly - recalling the rush-rush-rush of everything. Her South African accent sounded a bit raspy - since she had just woken up. Hopefully no one would notice.

<Tag: Demyan, Kamarov, Blackwell>