Mess Hall / Commissary

[Ryn]

Spoiler:

Jen considered what Doctor Williams had just told her. He'd given her a little more information than she'd asked, and not quite what she'd asked."I was more interested if the autumnal equinox had passed this year yet or not, but that's neither here not there."

Medically unfit? She knew it was possible, depending on what had felled him. But the human body could recover from a lot, and hers wasn't a combat or search-and-rescue. They were general first contact, primarily withdrawing from open hostility. "If you don't me asking, Doctor, tell me it's none of my business if you want, but what was your illness?"

"And I was trying to tell you that yes, it had. In fact, it's getting to be winter now. Not too sure, but I think the seasons are shorter here, than they were on Earth. I wouldn't be surprised if it started to snow, tomorrow, or sometime this week..." David said, sipping again from the now cold tea. He made a disgusted face upon that discovery, but finished the cup anyway. Never waste good food.

Her question made him pause and think it over. Well. If she *was* going to be his CO, she had a right to know. And it wasn't that embarrassing, either, all things considered. Still, he didn't look at her as he slowly described what had happened. He looked down at his empty plate, and told the sorry tale.
"Okay. Well, I will tell you, confidentially. Uh. I collapsed back home. At first I thought it was simply sleep deprivation, but it turned out to be worse. They've caught it in time. It wasn't life-threatening yet. You see, I had an aneurysm in my brain. It hadn't ruptured, thankfully, and they managed with drugs to stop it. So now I am fine again. But not too sure about fitness, Dr Carrie will need to see to that. So if you are willing to wait - I would be more than happy to join your team, Major. If you will still have me after this."




((scroll down a bit on that Foreston page, there is a diagnosis by NG's Dr Carrie,
had to dig a little for that link ))

[Northern Girl]

"Major Aaronson, please sit down. This place is indeed rather noisy this morning." Jennifer said with rather neutral voice. She nodded her head, pointing towards unoccupied chair by her table.

“Thank you.” Gus smiled as he sat down across the Captain, ‘Major, uh?’ but let it slid off him without any comments, though he admitted that he rarely thought of himself as ’Major Aaronson’. No he was a doctor first and then if necessary, a major.

“Yes, I thought I’d be one of the first here, enjoying my breakfast in tranquillity. No such luck though.”
He took some sips of his tea and gave Jennifer’s plate suspicious look, “Steak? At this time of the day? Now don’t misunderstand me, I’m more then happy to see that you have an appetite and actually eat... but steak?”

[Teal'auc]

Jennifer chewed the steak, ocassionaly glancing at Gus. It seems that he wasn't too fond of such noise so early in the morning either. Red-headed captain nearly smiled, but then, she returned to her usual indifferent expression. Raising an eyebrow, she swallowed the bit of meat she had in her mouth, before responding.

"Don't get me wrong, Major, it's just, I always had somewhat.... different eating habits."

Jennifer allowed a small smirk to appear on her face, giving Gus strong stare, her eyes being locked directly into his. With this, she grabbed the fruit cup, pulling it closer to her, fiddling with the spoon inside it, before actually grabbing some fruits and eating them. She seemed to be dramatically slow with it, while still staring at the doctor.

"Ted bude urcite prednaska o tom, jak je to nezdrave,"* she mumbled in her native language, which sounded more like a grumble than actual speech. Jennifer resisted her need to roll her eyes.

"The steak is good, sir, really." She said, aloud again, pointing at the empty platter.

---
* [translation] - "Now, probably a speech about how unhealthy this is will follow."

[Northern Girl]

Slowly, Gus put is cup down and met Jennifer’s gaze with an even face, waiting for her to stop whatever game she thought she was playing.
“You know,” he said in low, calm voice when she stopped staring him down, “I consider it rather rude to mutter under ones breath like you just did, especially if it’s in a language your company doesn’t understand. So either you translate it and speak up or keep your comments to yourself, is that clear captain?”
He grabbed one of his bread rolls and took a bite, not leaving her face with is eyes as he chewed. Amazing how much she resembled Ryn at this moment, was it something that had to do with the hair color or what?
How the steak tasted, was not really important at this point.

[Teal'auc]

Jennifer resisted urge to return a smirk to Gus. She was once again staring directly into his face. She desperately tried to read his facial expression, to determine what exactly had this man on his mind. Unfortunatelly, she wasn't able to tell, which made her slightly frustrated, yet, her face revealed nothing, what could indicate any form of emotions.

'Just what I need right now,' she thought. 'I was rude, wasn't I?'

"I will keep such comments to myself then, Major." She answered, with plain, stern voice. There was a hint of apologetic tone, but one had to be a good observer to actually recognize that.

"I didn't mean to offend you, sir." Jennifer continued, keeping up the courtesy she was supposed to, towards superior officer.

[Northern Girl]

Gus nodded and let go of her gaze to have some more tea, then looked back at her with a softer expression on his face and a hint of a smile, “Apology accepted, no worries Jennifer.”
He took a deeper breath before continuing, this conversation didn’t exactly take the route he wanted, but what the heck, “Look, I’m not going to say that I *know how you feel, because I don’t, but I see where all this is coming from, so if you feel the need to talk… Just say so, okay? ‘Cause no matter what you think; you don’t have to go through this on your own…”
God, there were some times that he really wished there were something more he could
do, ‘If we'd only had more resources, like we had back on Earth… If only’

[Teal'auc]

Jennifer glanced back at Gus. Swallowing hardly the bit of fruit, she nodded her head. She did feel bad for how she treated Gus. He wasn't the one who could be blamed for what happened. Jennifer rubbed her eyes. She admitted to herself how tired she was, as these last few nights were rather sleepless for her. And when she managed to fall asleep, it was for just couple of hours, to wake up in sweat again.

'Damnit', She thought, her face revealing a bit of worries she had on mind. Jennifer leaned towards the doctor, speaking in low voice. A voice, which was barely more than a whisper.

"I appreciate that, sir. But please understand that I was about to ask to be re-assigned to a field team. And this whole thing... "

She didn't finish her sentence.

'Who knows how long I have till...last days.' She thought, burrying her head in her hands for a moment, to hide her worried face.

[Gen Blue]

{Blue} {Janus}

Blue could hear the rising hum of conversation as the mess hall filled up for the morning meal. He got to eat there so rarely that he'd forgotten how alive it was.
The man was suddenly infused with a feeling of well-being and contentment, putting a smile on his face and a bounce in his step.
Thanks.
~Not me,~ Janus answered, ~You just need to be with people more often. Life isn't all work.~

The general picked up a tray and silverware and took his place at the end of the food line. One of the servers started to come out to take his order but, Nick shook his head and shooed him back to work. He was content to soak up the genial atmosphere along with the scents of food.

(( Bloody T-storm moving in. Of course, Nick finally woke up and started speaking to me again. ))

[DragonGate]

He noted a familiar red head in the back of the room and frowned, the composure clearly saying “Stay away” but he chose to ignore it this time and walked over to stand in front of the captain, “Good morning Jennifer, mind if I sit down here in the quiet corner with you?”

Jen was momentarily distracted by the rare usage of her despised, hated, very much not liked full first name. Did someone not know she hated it? When Dr. Aaronson started talking to a woman about her age, she looked back to Dr. Williams.

Spoiler:

"And I was trying to tell you that yes, it had. In fact, it's getting to be winter now. Not too sure, but I think the seasons are shorter here, than they were on Earth. I wouldn't be surprised if it started to snow, tomorrow, or sometime this week..." David said, sipping again from the now cold tea. He made a disgusted face upon that discovery, but finished the cup anyway. Never waste good food.

Her question made him pause and think it over. Well. If she *was* going to be his CO, she had a right to know. And it wasn't that embarrassing, either, all things considered. Still, he didn't look at her as he slowly described what had happened. He looked down at his empty plate, and told the sorry tale.
"Okay. Well, I will tell you, confidentially. Uh. I collapsed back home. At first I thought it was simply sleep deprivation, but it turned out to be worse. They've caught it in time. It wasn't life-threatening yet. You see, I had an aneurysm in my brain. It hadn't ruptured, thankfully, and they managed with drugs to stop it. So now I am fine again. But not too sure about fitness, Dr Carrie will need to see to that. So if you are willing to wait - I would be more than happy to join your team, Major. If you will still have me after this."

Jen nodded. So the equinox had passed, they were headed for a solstice. She could still get autumn readings though. "There'll be a couple days before I make any serious changes. I told my team to vanish for two days to work on whatever got put off by the field exercise. My XO is archaeologist-lite, one weapons expert, one soldier who's new if he wants the job. I won't lie that you'd be the first civilian to be on SG-5 in a while, Doctor. There might be a little bit of an adjustment period on both sides."

[The Prof]

Sharp looked up as he finished swallowing the delicious french toast. 'Henry sure went all out this morning!'

He didn't immediately recognize the face of the man, nor his name; which was odd for Sharp. 'Thompson, Thompson, Thompson...jesus, where did I hear that name?'

Sharp smiled kindly, making no indication that he couldn't exactly remember the man.

"Sorry Leiutenant, we're expecting to have General Blue down in a little bit, we just," He tried to think of the correct phrase, "Have a couple of things to discuss."

Now he remembered! 'Thompson- I got a memo about that! Used to be stationed in Riverton.'

He shrugged and grinned. "But where are my manners! Lieutenant Thompson, meet Commander Thor, Commander, meet Leiutenant Michael Thompson."

"Pleased to meet you, lieutenant."

"As you am I" Michael said elated to be making his own personal first contact, but instantly realizing he jumbled his words. " I mean As I am you, in reference to being pleased to meet you, of course, but then again you probably knew what I was talking about." Michael paused and collected himself. Usually his calm demeanor kept him from rambling but an occasion as momentous as this seemed to overload his better judgment among other mental controls. "Okay, well it was nice to meet you. I am sure you and the Colonel have very important galactic issues to discuss so I will leave you to it. "

Michael awkwardly turned slowly away from the table and towards the farthest table possible, slightly embarrassed by his close encounter.

"So Thor was your first?"

Michael turned to the left to see a young woman sitting at a table alone swirling her oatmeal around with a spoon. She was a bit taller than most women but in fairy good shape. Her short red hair was flared out in a whispy design and her long white coat revealed that she was definitely not military. "Excuse me?"

"Oh I am sorry, I just remember that same look on my face the first time I met an Asgard, it's something you never forget" She said playfully motioning him have a seat.

Michael has a seat across from the woman placing his tray on the table."And you would be?"

Dropping her spoon in the oatmeal she held out her hand " Dr. Angelica Latierre, Astrophysicist."

Michael shook her hand with a smile " 1st Lieutenant Michael Thompson U.S. Coast Guard, and yes, it was my first Asgard. Even after learning about the Stargate and all that other cool stuff it still feels weird coming across something so different from us. "

"I know what you mean, I have been with the program for a few years now and stil get that feeling from time to time." Angelica said bringing a spoonful of oatmeal to her mouth.

" I was only assigned a month before Earth's destruction so I have a feeling there is a lot more for me to learn. I have only been on base for a few days and thought I knew, or at least have seen most of the personnel but today I come to breakfast and see an alien and I meet you"

" Well Thor's new and they like to keep us scientist locked in our lab's unlocking the secrets of the universe and what not." She said jokingly.

Michael let a smile creep across his face, this was the first real discussion he had had on base that wasn't work related, it was nice to have a friend. "So what exactly do they have you working on?"

"Subspace propulsion mostly, I have been reviewing scans of the Alarius and and other space faring technologies we have come across and picking apart the best attributes of each and trying to combine them into an uber-fast engine." She said geeking out on the prospect of completing her goal.

Michael in all honesty was not that into her description of her job but played along. "Interesting, but if I may ask what applications will it yield? We really don't have the resources to launch a fleet of ships at the moment."

Angelica became a bit upset when Michael questioned the applications of her work. " That's a very typical military response, I should have expected you to say that." she said wiping oatmeal from her face. "Your right, my work will never probably be installed in a ship, but that's not why I do it anymore. These hyperspace technologies are so much more advanced than anything even postulated on earth. The calculations and principles that go into creating these technologies are changing the very way we think about our universe. I do not do this to just yield tangible results, I do it because it is pure science, it is the one truth in this universe. It is the one thing that keeps me going in this God forsaken hell hole. It's the one thing I have left. " Upset, Angelica takes her tray and stands up. "Now if you will excuse me, I think I just realized why you don't see many scientists roaming the hallways among you military types"

As Angelica stormed away Michael tried to brush the event off as a odd interaction. As he went to eat a piece of toast though he threw it back onto the plate, having lost his appetite. Letting his conscious get to him, he turned to see Angelica leaving the Mess Hall. Looking down at his plate, at the wasted 'good bacon' he got up and exited the mess in pursuit of the upset astrophysicist.

[Ryn]

Spoiler:

Jen nodded. So the equinox had passed, they were headed for a solstice. She could still get autumn readings though. "There'll be a couple days before I make any serious changes. I told my team to vanish for two days to work on whatever got put off by the field exercise. My XO is archaeologist-lite, one weapons expert, one soldier who's new if he wants the job. I won't lie that you'd be the first civilian to be on SG-5 in a while, Doctor. There might be a little bit of an adjustment period on both sides."

"Okay." David nodded, thinking a bit. "That sounds good. You know where to find me if you need me, I'll assume. I would like to go to my house in Foreston for a bit though, to check on things and well, just to breathe in the open air again. So, just to let you know. ... Um. Incidentally, I am curious. Why did you want to know about the equinox ?" At first glance, it didn't seem to have anything to do with biology, but she had said botany was another interest, this could have to do with that particular hobby/specialisation, David thought.

Just then, General Blue sauntered in, seemingly in a good mood, since there was some kind of goofy expression on the man's face there. David raised an eyebrow, but did not comment, everyone had their 'off'-days.
And oh! What ... He had now finally spotted the Asgard, the same one of the other day, he had to assume. Williams doubted there would be a platoon of them around, and, well, the face of the alien seemed the same.

"Oh my... I think that's Commander Thor..." He muttered, the eyebrow had by now been joined by the other one.

"I wonder why there's a public appearance, I saw them go to the briefing room earlier...". He'd also noted Colonel Sharp in attendance. "The plot thickens, it would seem ....". He gave Jen a smile and a wink, and continued the discrete observation of the alien and the humans.

[Ryn]

"Stormtrooper...." Ryn repeated slowly, not recognizing the word. Was this another cultural, reality difference ? Either way, she understood now what he'd meant. "OK. Yeah, I get it now, it's funny. A bit."

The next bit was somewhat of a revelation. "A live one?! Gee. What were you guys doin' that needed blowin' up ?"

((pokes O a bit ))

Getting no immediate response from the officer, Ryn shrugged and looked around, focusing back on her food meanwhile. She nearly dropped the fork spotting Blue. When had he come in ? She had to resist the urge to stand up and salute, she would most definitely make a fool of herself. That's what constantly reading that god-awful rules book did to a person, she thought. You just didn't know what was what anymore. Moreover, she found herself confused about the bomb. Live bombs. Not-live bombs. Intars worked just the same as a live one, only it didn't kill. Right ? Gah. I guess I need a crash refresher course if I'm going to make it through that mission. She nodded to herself, today would be spent exclusively in the Armory.

Still, the man opposite her deserved an explanation. "Okay. I'm a little confused, sir, I must admit, did you use intars ? 'Cause where I'm from, it's all just a .... *little* different. I guess this is just one of those things ... sorry to babble." She smiled and hoped to get a cohesive answer.

[DragonGate]

Spoiler:

"Okay." David nodded, thinking a bit. "That sounds good. You know where to find me if you need me, I'll assume. I would like to go to my house in Foreston for a bit though, to check on things and well, just to breathe in the open air again. So, just to let you know. ... Um. Incidentally, I am curious. Why did you want to know about the equinox ?" At first glance, it didn't seem to have anything to do with biology, but she had said botany was another interest, this could have to do with that particular hobby/specialisation, David thought.

Just then, General Blue sauntered in, seemingly in a good mood, since there was some kind of goofy expression on the man's face there. David raised an eyebrow, but did not comment, everyone had their 'off'-days.
And oh! What ... He had now finally spotted the Asgard, the same one of the other day, he had to assume. Williams doubted there would be a platoon of them around, and, well, the face of the alien seemed the same.

"Oh my... I think that's Commander Thor..." He muttered, the eyebrow had by now been joined by the other one.

"I wonder why there's a public appearance, I saw them go to the briefing room earlier...". He'd also noted Colonel Sharp in attendance. "The plot thickens, it would seem ....". He gave Jen a smile and a wink, and continued the discrete observation of the alien and the humans.

"You have a place in Foreston? Never been into town, actually. Nice place?" Jen was watching the Asgard with Colonel Sharp after Dr. Williams had pointed him out. She was somewhat less awed by the aliens, having been one. Telling the scientist about that little incident could wait for another time. He'd probably expect she'd be fluent in Goa'uld or something, or have a lot of questions about Olympian society.

"Meh, a group of Gould scientists who could shelve their egos long enough to work together and combine their knowledge could probably match the Asgard level of technology. Megalomania is a killer that way. As for the equinox, I'm planning on getting some environmental data this morning. I was hoping we were pre-equinox so I could have early autumn for comparison to later in the season and to winter later on."

[Northern Girl]

Spoiler:

Jennifer glanced back at Gus. Swallowing hardly the bit of fruit, she nodded her head. She did feel bad for how she treated Gus. He wasn't the one who could be blamed for what happened. Jennifer rubbed her eyes. She admitted to herself how tired she was, as these last few nights were rather sleepless for her. And when she managed to fall asleep, it was for just couple of hours, to wake up in sweat again.

'Damnit', She thought, her face revealing a bit of worries she had on mind. Jennifer leaned towards the doctor, speaking in low voice. A voice, which was barely more than a whisper.

"I appreciate that, sir. But please understand that I was about to ask to be re-assigned to a field team. And this whole thing... "

She didn't finish her sentence.

'Who knows how long I have till...last days.' She thought, burrying her head in her hands for a moment, to hide her worried face.

“…just took it all away…” he finished for her and nodded, “I know.”
Gus slipped a sigh and looked around towards the nearby tables; luckily no one seemed to notice their conversation. Everybody just ate and went on with their business, so he looked back at the young woman in front of him.
“There are plenty of people around here that you could talk to if you want to. First there’s our base psychiatrist, Amanda Blake and then there’s, and please don’t misunderstand me now Jennifer, there’s Josh McGregor, the Chaplain and I promise, he’s a very good listener even if you don’t want to talk about religious matters,” and then after a second added with a small grin, "... and then of course my colleagues and I down in the Infirmary..."

He took another bite of his bread roll and sipped of his tea; yeah, this sure wasn’t exactly the breakfast he’d wanted or expected, but then again, if he could do or say anything to comfort the captain, he would.

[Teal'auc]

Another few moments of silence. Jennifer was trying to sort out her own thoughts. She didn't want to give up, but she realized that her chances were rather slim - and she didn't need to be a doctor to know that. She knew there was very little the doctors could do, with the limited resources available for them. Taking small amount of fruit from the cup, she swallowed it slowly.

"Sir, with all due respect, I do not wish to be a liability. If these are to be my last days, or whatever, I'd like these days of being worth of something." She said, looking back into eyes of the doctor, who was sitting across her. Her words were silent, but there was a hint of determination, mixed with hint of bitterness as well.

"I'm not giving up on life, and if there's even slim chance of me getting over this, then it's fine. But, there must be something I could do."

Jennifer grabbed the coffee and took rather long sip, before returning her attention to Gus.