"The Adventure Begins - Orders"
==========================================
Andromeda Base, Base Commander's Office
Day One (Daybreak)
General Sandra Kovic - Base Commander
Sandra could see the sunlight starting to pour through some of the
small openings in this section of the large metal building that
temporarily held her office. Construction had already begun on the
permanent base both on the main building that would house the stargate
as well as on the living quarters. She had the blueprints sitting on
her desk. It was to include two buildings of living quarters, a
medical / science building, a recreation and mess building, and the
main stargate building. When it was completed, it would be not only a
great base of operations, but a very comfortable place to live and
work.
Sandra knew the first of the Exploration Teams were to arrive within
the day. Construction teams, support personnel, electricians, medics,
and so many other people had already arrived, fifty in all. Eight
more would be added to their ranks within the day.
She stood and pushed away from the desk. She took her hand-held tape
recorded and started for the door of the prefabricated building.
There was a nearby lake, which Sandra had enjoyed walking around. The
sunlight had just peeked its way over the nearest ridge of mountains
and was now sparkling off the blue waters of the lake. She shielded
her eyes for a moment until she reached the shade of one of the large
trees that surrounded the lake. Her botanist would be arriving in a
week. She was sure that the woman would absolutely be in heaven as
she mapped even just the surrounding area the complex. Everywhere
Sandra looked there was flora and fauna new and exotic from her
perspective.
Taking a deep breath, she raised the handheld tape recorder to her
mouth and started speaking. Mission Orders, SG Alpha. On Q48 59N, a
UAV has sent aerial footage of a village that looks like it has
recently been destroyed in a firefight. Your orders are to check out
the village for signs of how it was destroyed, who destroyed it, why
it was destroyed. The UAV did not indicate any other civilization
within a 50 km radius of the gate. You will leave 48 hours after
reporting to the Andromeda base at approximately 0800 hours. I look
forwarding to meeting each of you. General Sandra Kovic.
She clicked off the recorder and took a seat on a nearby fallen tree.
It was a dream come true - a dream she never expected to come true.
She had commanded a base before, that wasn't novel. It was the fact
that she was the commander of not just an off-world base, but a base
in another galaxy. She pocketed the tape recorder in the inside
pocket of her jacket and stuffed her hands in the outer pockets. She
could even still see her breath. She was still amazed, here she was
sitting on a tree - what species she had no idea. She was on an alien
world, watching the first of two suns rise, and she knew that a second
one would rise within the hour. Even with two suns, the temperature
would only reach into the eighties during the day. The downside to
that was the temperature would fall into the forties at night. She
surmised that it was probably only forty-five degrees or so at the
moment. Sandra could only assume that in the winters may be bitter.
"It'll be good hockey weather, though," she surmised, "and the frozen
lake will be a perfect venue."
She wished she had the time to sit there and just enjoy the day, but
she knew that responsibilities would be pressing in on her shortly.
"Still," she thought, "It had been a nice beginning to the day.
"The Adventure Begins - Lay of the Land"
======================================
Andromeda Prime, Andromeda Stargate Command
Day 1 (mid-Morning)
General Sandra Kovic - Base Commander
Colonel Sylvia Bailey - Commanding Officer SGAlpha (Karen)
2nd LT Kristen De'Gall - Combat Medic (David R)
2nd Lieutenant Donald McPherson - ANT (Mike)
2nd Lieutenant Viktor Gagarin - Science Officer SGAlpha (Rui)
2nd LT David Dunn - Weapons Specialist (Dave)
2nd LT Rianna Mathison - Communication's Officer (Joanne)
2nd Lieutenant Rose-Marie Gayle - Combat Engineer (Elaine)
Inside one of the aluminum buildings, a briefing room was set
up. Sandra sat at the head of the table, and Sylvia sat to her
left. The two were leaning in toward each other discussing something
that wouldn't have sounded so impressive if they hadn't been talking
in hushed tones.
As Kristen entered the room, followed by some of her teammates, she
could see the base leader talking to her commander about
something. She looked around the table and selected the seat next to
Colonel Bailey. This moment had felt a lifetime away for her and the
anticipation of finding out where her first official mission was to
be.
Donald shuffled into the room along with the rest of the Team, taking
a seat far enough away from the Brass not to attract attention, but,
close enough so that he could hear what was going on clearly. Standard
Infantry practice, know what you need to and volunteer for nothing.
As she watched the other members of the team ahead of her enter the
briefing room Rose thought back to how she'd have felt right now if
she hadn't spent the last six months at the SGC. For a moment she had
a feeling of butterflies in her stomach, but since then she'd
developed a much thicker skin. The only reason she could find for this
was some strange sense of feeling a need to represent a strong image,
the last thing she wanted was to seem weak in front so many
strangers. Just as she got to the briefing room door Rose
subconsciously straightened her uniform and walked into the room
confidently, with as unreadable an expression as possible and took a
seat.
Curious as to what their first mission would be like, David still felt
out-of-place. Only a few days ago he was watching others go through
the Stargate and envying them, but now he was the one going the Gate
and was nervous as he sat down waiting for the rest of the team to
settle down.
As Rhianna entered the briefing room, she saw the Colonel and the
General talking quietly and her other teams mates starting to take
their seats. She picked the seat closest to her and sat down. Her
energy was high and she was anxious to be on the first mission out of
the Milky Way galaxy. She was eager to learn about this planet, but
even more so to go and see it first hand.
As people entered, Sylvia leaned back and took note of each of her
team members. Each was wearing a different expression but had the same
excitement in their eyes.
Once everyone had entered, General Kovic stood to her feet, dimmed the
lights and focused the projector on a screen at the foot of the
table. "Our first off-world from the Andromeda galaxy, should be a
fairly simple mission. We've found some ruins on PX8-494. These ruins
have some writings on them. We haven't been able to make anything of
the language yet, but we thought it warranted a close look."
"The planet doesn't appear to be habited," the General
continued. "From what we can tell, no one's been there for quite a
long time. This should be a simple reconnaissance mission. The first
radio contact through the Stargate should be made at 1700 tonight, but
we plan on giving you 48 hours there to get any information you can."
The General nodded at Sylvia as she sat down.
Sylvia motioned for the lights to be brought back up as she
stood. "The ruins are about 2 clicks from the stargate
itself. "Mr. Dunn, you, Mr. Gagarin, and Ms. Mathison," Sylvia nodded
at each in turn, "will secure the stargate just in case. Mr. Dunn,
since that's a tactical issue, you will be in charge. Mr. Gagarin,
while you are there, you should get soil and water samples to take
back with us. Ms. Mathison, you'll keep Command apprised if we have
any problems.
"Mr. McPherson, Ms. De'Gaul and Ms. Gayle, you three will accompany me
to the ruins. We'll see what we can find."
Hearing his name, he thought about previous defenses of other
Stargates and how to achieve it with only 3 people. A triangle-styled
defense would be the best approach, though if they did come under
attack the rest of the team had better high-tail it back or his
detachment would have to withdraw, regroup with the team and re-take
the Gate. Either way, assault rifles would be needed along with extra
ammo and grenades.
"Any questions?" she said as she set a hand on the side of the table.
Despite his better judgment Donald spoke up, "So this will be a point
or area Recce Ma'am?" He shifted in his chair as he felt the eyes of
the others weigh upon him. "I'm good with either and hopefully I can
decipher the language for you."
"This will be an area recce. According to the MALP the ruins aren't
necessarily confined to a small area. They may stretch on for a
kilometer or more." Sylvia said as she nodded listening. "And as for
deciphering the language, that's my hope as well, Mr. McPherson,"
Sylvia added.
Viktor rose his hand. "Is there any sign of Goa'uld past or present
presence in the vicinity?" He hopped the other didn't mistake caution
with fear. He just liked to know what to expect for.
"We're not sure that we'll encounter the Goa'uld so far away from the
Milky way, but no. No signs of Goa'uld activity have been spotted."
Sylvia turned back to the rest. "Good questions/comments. Anything
else?"
Sylvia turned back to the General as she took her seat.
"You are set to disembark at 0900. Get any gear that you need and meet
Colonel Bailey outside the gate building at 0845. You are dismissed."
Gagarin left the briefing room to collect his gear and additional
equipment to collect the request samples.
Getting up, David took note of who would be with him in the defense of
the Gate and walked off, wondering if it was going to be as easy a
mission as the briefing indicated.
Sylvia waited for the group to head out of the room and turned to
Sandra. "I'm looking forward to this more than I imagined I would."
Sandra smiled. "I know the feeling. I almost wish I were out there
with you."
"Maybe someday I'll drag you along, but until then....I gotta make
sure these young guys know how to load a pack, " she said with a
lopsided grin, knowing full well they all did, but she wanted to see
the look on Sandra's face before a smile dawned on it realizing her
friend was joking. "I best be going. We'll keep in contact at
regular intervals. Keep the light on for us."
Sandra smiled and crossed her arms as her friend left the room.
Indeed she did wish that she were going with them. Maybe one
day...
"The Adventure Begins - Gearing Up"
======================================
Andromeda Prime; Andromeda Stargate Command
Day 1 (mid-Morning)
Colonel Sylvia Bailey - Commanding Officer SGAlpha (Karen)
2nd LT Kristen De'Gall - Medic SGAlpha (David)
2nd LT Viktor Gagarine - Science Officer SGAlpha (Rui)
2nd LT Rose-Marie Gayle - Combat Engineer SGAlpha (Elaine)
2nd LT Rianna Mathison - Communication's Officer (Joanne)
2nd Lt David Dunn - Weapons Specialist (Dave)
Sylvia followed the rest of her team to the temporary armory. She
grabbed a utility vest fitting it to her slender torso. Once she was
sure it was fit to her, she took off the vest and started packing the
equipment that she would need. She grabbed a compass, a knife, a set
of binoculars, a first aid kit, NBC mask and gloves. As she took each
item, she situated it in her vest in the spots that she had always put
her equipment. Somehow it felt vaguely similar while feeling eerily
different from all the previous times she had done it. Continuing to
pack, she grabbed three days worth of MRE's, an entrenching tool, two
grenades. In the backpack which fit to the vest, she added a thermal
blanket, flares, goggles, a poncho, cold weather hat, rope, field
cooking gear, waterproof matches, a fishing line with hooks, and her
canteen.
Busy double-checking his vest, David glanced over to see the Colonel
had gone the whole extra mile and packed for a picnic, but on second
thought he probably should throw in extra food rations and slipped a
couple of bars into an empty vest pocket. He picked his own vest that
he had already attached to the backpack and carefully put it own.
Sylvia slid her utility vest on and secured it on her. After filling
the backpack, she turned to the nearest person. It took a brief
second to recall her name. "Gagarine," Sylvia said as the name came
to her, "would you mind hooking this on for me?" She turned her back
to he could fasten the pack.
Viktor was just finishing getting into his own vest when he heard the
request from the Colonel. He dropped the knife he was trying to put
into its proper holding on the vest and hurried and to answer a direct
order in the battlefield. "Yes Ma'am. No problem." He secured the
clasps of the Colonels backpack. "There, comfortable in there?"
Sylvia adjusted the vest as it now supported the weight of her pack.
"Just fine, Mr. Gagarine. Thank you." She nodded in appreciation.
When that was done, Sylvia grabbed the final pieces of equipment. She
stowed her GDO, an M9, and a zat. When she finished all that, she
attached her MP-5 to her vest and stored all it's accoutrements in the
various slots.
After finishing that, she felt about 10 kilos heavier than when she
started. The group seemed rather quiet. She guessed it would just
take some getting used to each other before conversation flowed
freely.
"How's everyone doing?" Sylvia asked as she glanced around at
everyone. "Any problems before we head back to the gate building?"
"No Ma'am, I think I have every thing covered." Kristen said while
making some minor adjustments to her own backpack and heavy load.
It hadn't taken long for Rose to pack her vest and attaching backpack
the first time, but as she looked around the room at everyone else's
loads, particularly the colonel's she couldn't help feeling she'd
forgotten something. She was just finishing off her double checks and
re packing everything when she heard the colonel's voice. As she
fastened her pack and threw it over her shoulders Rose smiled,
confident she had everything and happily answered the colonel
"Couldn't be better sir."
Viktor had already finished packing all he needed for the upcoming
mission. It was going to be his first real action within the SG
program and he left uneasy. He was surrounded by experienced people
who knew what they were doing with their eyes closed, and he couldn't
believe they were not looking down on him with disdain. He was here
because of two things: his scientific knowledge and his
provenience. If it came down to a firefight he personally didn't know
how he would act, so he didn't censored his fellow teammates for,
eventually, having reserves about him. He cleared his throat and
answered his commanding officer. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Taking after Colonel Bailey's example, Rhianna picked up the gear and
started to pack it away. This is the part that she had been waiting
for. It was second nature to her to carry a Zat just as much as it was
for her to hook up a satellite communications relay system. She
finished packing her gear in what seemed like record time and was
jumping to get to the gate.
"The Adventure Begins - One Small Step"
=========================================
Andromeda Prime; Andromeda Stargate Command Building
Day 1 (mid-Morning)
Colonel Sylvia Bailey - Commanding Officer SGAlpha (Karen)
Sylvia finished making sure her gear was stowed. She glanced around
at everyone else and seeing most of them had their eyes on her, as if
waiting for her word, she motioned to everyone, "Let's go," she said
with a short nod.
It was only moments before they were back in the partially built
Stargate building. She lead her team to the room from which they
would disembark. Once they were all there, she glanced over her
shoulder at the control area and gave Sandra a nod. They were ready
to go.
She could make out the call of the chevrons as they engaged. She
squared herself to the stargate and smiled. She had done this for
what seemed like hundreds of missions, and yet it never got old.
Instead each one seemed to spur her on further. The more she got,
the more she wanted. It was like a drug. The stargate created a
field and flushed it out sideways before settling back in on itself as
the event horizon. "If it were a drug," she thought to herself, "This
is my fix."
She heard the voice of the General echoing somewhere in her ears.
"Stargate Andromeda one, you have a go. Good luck."
Sylvia started up the ramp after a quick glance over her shoulder at
Sandra. The feeling was exhilarating. She motioned to the others who
were a part of her team gesturing for them to move out. In a moment,
she could feel herself being pulled apart in millions of pieces and
the next thing she knew she was taking a casual stride out onto the
new planet with her arms crossed over her P-90 which was clipped to
her chest. She moved the gun into position carefully as she somewhat
squinted to look around.
Two moons glistened in the very early dawn of the planet. They would
soon sink beneath the nearby tree line. Sylvia's eyes fell from the
dimly lit sky to the solidness of the world around them. As is the
case with so many planets, the dissimilarities to earth were minimal.
Only the presents of the two moons cued her in. The trees looked like
a mixture of something akin to Ash and Birch.
As usual, the Stargate itself was raised. Sylvia made her way down
the steps, waiting for everyone else to follow.
"Mr. Dunn, take your group, secure the Stargate and carry out any
further duties you have. The rest of you, follow me. The ruins
should be about two clicks due south. Let us know at the first sign
of trouble."
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