Mess Hall / Commissary

[Tracy Jane]

Rowena walked into the commissary and over to the counter. She was getting funny looks from people at her mother's oversized shorts and t-shirt, but she didn't exactly have much of a choice, seeing that all her things were back in her mom's quarters. She was not risking going back there for anything.

She stretched, slightly cat-like in the way she arched her back and splayed her fingers as she extended her arms upwards. She let her arms drop, ruffling her short tufts of hair on the way down.

Looking at the food, Rowena sighed. "Soup again?"

The cook raised an eyebrow. "Well, Cadet. I can knock up a seven course gourmet meal four you, if you insiste," he said sarcastically. "We have steak and fries. By steak, I mean Ghak steak. By fries, I mean chopped and fried Rnosh plant." He paused, regarding the girl's dubious expression. "But you'll hardly know the difference.

Rowena sighed and accepted a plate, anything was better than soup or stew. It seemed they were the key staples of the base diet. She picked up a piece of curious looking blue fruit, and a glass of juice, what juice, she had no idea, and moved to sit at a table.

[captainpash]

Charles looked at the sergeant, "Well, son if you don't have anything else I am going to go see if I can find the General."

<<General's office>>

[The Shadow]

Jen gestured to a chair across from her. "Sit down. Since you're taking on a sometimes dangerous, sometimes downright silly, job, I give you permission to ask me anything. Whatever you need to know to trust me as a commander." Jen swallowed a spoonful of soup.

"Well....I'm not really good at asking questions..." Kari grinned, "Especially to my CO. Shouldn't it be you asking me the questions? I am new at this, and you would need to know if you can trust me with your team's life. I mean, after all, you are experienced at this, and if the team trusts you with their lives, then I would too. AND you did heal me in the infirmary...so, I owe you alot, that's enough for me to trust you."

[DragonGate]

Jen sipped her juice. "All right then, how about we talk about your service history. How long have you been a flyer?"

[The Shadow]

"About 8 to 9 years at least. Graduated at 17 and was a flyer in my sophomore year at the Academy, I was asked to do a flying demonstration to this General who heard that I was pretty good at flying. Then after that I was designated as alternate back-up flyer in the case of emergencies."

Kari took a spoonfull of chicken soup, "But I still got some time to fly every once in a while even though there weren't a lot of times when they needed me. And I still have to juggle classes in between it all. Still, I had a lot of fun, know my parents' would have wanted me to do this...." At that point, Kari looked down at her food, she always had trouble when it comes to talking about her parents....and the nightmares still hasn't leave yet.

[DragonGate]

Jen was debating whether or not to push. "I flew for a few years, before an enemy hostile took me down, around the time the 302 squadron was assembled. Never got to fight with one, heard it's a really good bird, no G's." Jen paused and decided to push. "Something you want to talk about? I've got parent problems too, Sarge hated both of my major life decisions."

[The Shadow]

"Well.......um....." Kari fidgeted her spoon, "My biological parents died when I was 4, in an armed robbery incident. I saw it...with my own eyes....there was nothing I could do...my little brother Davy was 3 and all I can think was keeping him safe." Tears swelled into Kari's eyes.

"My last name is Lubener, but after we were adopted into the Crescents, we changed our names." kari put down her spoon, her appetite was gone, "I went through school just like any other kid, gained 3 more siblings after the adoption. Mom and Dad loved us like we were their own, always supported us in everything we want to do. That's why I went into the Air Force, to protect people, to make sure that the bad guys don't win. I wanted my real mom and dad to be proud of what I do! Then Earth was destroyed, and mom, dad,, Davy, Keith, Kavan, and Lara all died. I had no one with me anymore, no one that I loved...." By this point, Kari was in tears.

She looked up at Stevens, "You probably wondered why I almost collapsed down stairs right? I used to have nightmares of my parents' death when I was little, mom and dad took me to see a psychiatrist, telling me that he would make me better. But it only got worse." Kari wiped the tears off her face, "I haven't had a nightmare like the one today since I graduated highschool. I didn't want to go to the infirmary because no doctor can help me. I have to go through it myself. I have to beat it. I'm afraid that if this happens off-world, I'll get everyone killed and I don't want that to happen! I'd understand if you take me off the team.....I don't want anyone to get hurt because I let the nightmares get the best of me." Kari looked down at her hands, waiting for the worst.

[DragonGate]

Jen leaned slightly forward. "You're not the only person that's had some bad stuff stirred up by all this. Almost everyone lost someone. Mckay and I both lost spouses. MacDoreign lost her cousin. There's several very stressed and confused people around here, but they're still in their jobs."

Jen laid her hands flat on the table. "You don't just remove somebody with issues, you try to work out what's going on in their head. Admittedly, psychs aren't a big help, never been for me at least. The key to surviving tragedy is friends, people to help you adapt to what's happened. And you're joined up with a group who's gotten past very traumatic experiences."

She glanced between Kari, the food, and the spoon before looking back at Kari. "You should finish that."

[The Shadow]

"You're right." Kari repiled with a grin, "I guess I just never really had a group of teammates this close before." She swallowed a spoonfull of soup, "My adopted mom told me once,"This isn't easy, but you learn to deal with it, you learn to move on, and you let your real friends be there for you."" Kari looked up from her soup and said, "Thanks a lot Major, this is exactly what I need. I guess I owe you again for pulling me out of my misery. You kind of remind me of my adopted little sister Lara, she was always the best at cheering me up and telling me what I need to do." Kari smiled, maybe this isn't going to be that bad after all.

[DragonGate]

Jen was tearing the sandwich into fourths. 'She definitely looks better.' "Anything you're wondering about off-world ops? I'll tell you here and now, you step through the gate and anything can happen. I left the word 'impossible' behind when I saw a plant try to eat an animal. Out there can be a very weird place."

[The Shadow]

"Yeah..I pretty much figured that out....." Kari chuckled, "Same in the air, weird things happen when you're fighting alien vessels..."

Kari cut up the apple pie, "The fight over Antarctica qualified as weird....my first flight against an alien armarda....didn't expect half the things they did.."

[DragonGate]

Jen stopped her sandwich mid-air. "You were in Antarctica? It's been forever since I was in the middle of a good dogfight. Well, two years and some, but you know how it is, you get addicted to speed and high G maneuvers." Jen took a bite of her sandwich. "I used to be good, probably get blown out of sky in seconds now."

[The Shadow]

"I wouldn't be so sure about that....." Kari smiled at Stevens, "They wouldn't put you in command of an SG team if you weren't good at what you do." Kari bit down on her cake, "I'm just glad I survived Antarctica without getting shot down...heard about Cameron...shot down and having to go through all that physical therapy...saw him a few times at the hospital when he was recovering and once again when he joined SG-1."

Kari swallowed more cake, "Cam's a pretty good pilot...too bad what happened.....but we were good friends, I'm glad to know him."

[Tracy Jane]

>>>from locker room

Kate walked into the commissary with a huge cheesy smile on her face and saw Rowena sat on her own. She bounced over to the Cadet and rested her hands on the girl's shoulders, giving them a quick squeeze.

"Come on, cheerful," she quipped, perching beside her. "What's wrong?"

Rowena raised her eyebrows and looked at the major, shaking her head slightly. "Well... someone's cheerful," she said, sighing as she picked up her empty tray and stood up. "Just wish I knew whether it was Anderson or Hutchinson who caused it."

Kate swatted her lightly. "Cheeky mare!"

As the younger woman left, Kate made her way over to Swanson, smiling broadly, a slight spring in her step.

"And what can I do for you today, Major?" he asked cheerfully. Kate never understood why Jen complained about his stand-offish behaviour, he was never less than friendly to her.

Kate beamed at him. "I know it's mid afternoon and all...but... you don't think you could rustle something up nice and... breakfast-ish, do you?"

"Breakfast in bed?" smiled Swanson with a knowing wink. At Kate's shocked expression, he continued, "I wasn't born yesterday. How about a full English?"

"Full English?!" asked Kate, astonished. "Bu...."

Swanson shrugged. "Ok, full Gaian. But it's essentially the same, and the colours seem pretty normal too."

Kate nodded cheerily, and picked up a piece of blue fruit to munch while she waited, watching the people in the commissary. She saw Jen talking to her young blonde team member and smiled to herself as she finished eating.

"Here you go," said Swanson, making her jump.

Kate swung round and saw the chef stood with a large tray with several covered plates, two cups of orange juice, two mugs and a pot of tea.

"I think I love you," gasped Kate, taking the heavily laden tray from him.

He winked. "Don't let Anderson hear you saying that."

Kate flushed pink as she turned and left the commissary, heading back to her quarters.

>> to quarters.

[DragonGate]

"I wouldn't be so sure about that....." Kari smiled at Stevens, "They wouldn't put you in command of an SG team if you weren't good at what you do." Kari bit down on her cake, "I'm just glad I survived Antarctica without getting shot down...heard about Cameron...shot down and having to go through all that physical therapy...saw him a few times at the hospital when he was recovering and once again when he joined SG-1."

Kari swallowed more cake, "Cam's a pretty good pilot...too bad what happened.....but we were good friends, I'm glad to know him."

"I never knew SG-1 that well, only encounter was the problems my escaped biology projects gave the generals, and the pig that broke into the astrophysics lab. I tended to stick with my own team. It's a shame you'll never get to go to the 'Annual Stevens' Family Christmas, Colleagues Welcome.' " Jen ate another fourth of sandwich.