Episode Twelve: White Flag

[Robert "Jackal" Walker]

1336
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Crew Lounge

Taking a sip of his coffee, Colonel Robert Walker sat deep in thought in the Icarus's combination lounge and mess hall. His first time out with SD-3 since returning from the Ida Galaxy, the Marine was yet again stuck on a ship instead of traveling by gate. The team was on a support mission on their way to Atlantis as part of a new joint service program, kind of an exchange of personnel. Major Evan Lorne and his team had arrived at the Delta Site just prior to SD-3's departure. It was supposed to foster better understanding for the various different missions SGC personnel are involved in.

His team make-up was now different yet again, which he had expected upon returning. His long-time XO was somewhere on the ship, having been spending a lot of time alone as of late. The two have been seeing each other for some time now, unbeknownst to most of the bases's personnel. Now-Major Katrina Logan had evolved from a nervous, faint young woman to a strong, determined medical professional who would do anything for her team mates.

Walking in the door just then came two other team members. The younger one was Marcus Garret, an Air Force Technical Sergeant who served in Intelligence and as a SERE instructor prior to his assigment to Delta, and a long-time SD-3 member. The other man was Ethan DeVoss, a Navy SEAL commando whose explosives expertise was surpassed only by his tactical knowledge. Having been on SD-3 in the past, the Force Reconnaissance Colonel knew DeVoss's work well.

Waving them over, the full-bird called, "I won't kill you yet fellas ... Have a seat." Walker also wondered where Katrina was, as well as the new member of the team, Erin Stuit. The latter was a bit of a wildcard; Robert had never worked with or heard of the Australian until General Kepler had assigned her to him. The base commander's reasoning was that the team needed a technical and communications expert, and since Robert 'would shoot NID team members without hesitation', the Petty Officer was placed as such. Walker was, however, impressed with her record he was currently reviewing over his coffee.

<Tag SD-3>

[devoss]

1336
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Crew Lounge

"...And I said, 'So what are you doing with a grenade?' The whole team started laughing their asses off. I'm cracking up, so drunk about to fall over," DeVoss paused to spit into the black plastic canteen he carried in his hand. He and Garret entered the lounging area in mid story joke when Colonel Walker waved them over, "I won't kill you yet fellas ... Have a seat."
"Aye, Colonel." DeVoss responded immediately.

Before sitting with the Jackal, DeVoss finished the story joke he was telling Garret, "And Lake turns around and says, 'It's my baby egg!'" While laughing, DeVoss pulled up a seat with Walker, "What's the word?"

<Walker, Garret, SD-3>

[Paul Chapman]

1336
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Bridge

From his command chair, Paul watched and wondered at the lights of hyperspace. He was accustomed to traveling fast; he was a career fighter pilot for the USAF, and had spend most of his career flying cutting edge technology, such as the F-117 stealth bomber. After wetting his boots with the SGC as an off-world team leader he'd transferred to Area 51, and worked with the X-301 and F-302 design teams. But non of this compared to the beauty and awe inspiring sight of an Earth built battle cruiser gliding through a hyperspace window. And besides, the chair was much more comfortable than any strategic bomber he'd ever flown.

The Icarus was en route to Atlantis, on the third day of their two week voyage. SD-3 was required on a transfer program of sorts, to see how things were ran in the Pegasus galaxy, and the Icarus' presence would allow the Daedalus to stand down for much needed down time for her crew. Paul was looking forward to working with Colonel Caldwell, and showing off the new and improved 303B cruiser.

Jumps were one of the more mundane tasks aboard the cruiser, and the bridge crew was down to a skeleton staff. Always liking to think of himself as quite the party host, Paul rose from his chair. "Major, you have the bridge," he said to his helm officer, and made his way toward the commissary to see how SD-3 was enjoying their voyage.

< Tag SD-3 >

[Erin Stuit]

1336
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Crew Lounge

Erin trailed the bunch into the Lounge, her height making her invisible behind the other two team members, she still didn't know how to feel about the reassignment but being back on a ship made her feel more comfortable then ever, Even if her last on-board experience hadn't exactly been the best. At the same time she felt a tinge of guilt at the new number patch on her shoulder, SD-5 was probably going through the same motions of their own and she couldn't help but miss Farley and the other members of her old team. Still she had gone where she was to be sent, and word on the grapevine hinted that this trip was going to be a long trip. Erin smiled to herself, at the end of the last mission she had expected to be sent home instead she was back on the ship getting set for yet another adventure.
Following the two men through the door she immediately noticed that Logan was missing, it was silly but she still felt a tinge of nervousness about being the only woman in the room, and especially with the scrutiny of a new CO. 'It can't be worse then the last mission' she thought, remembering how Farley had teased her as she slowly potted around the workshop for days while the bruises healed, That had been the least of her problems. Trying not to think about it Erin sat down in a seat next to the others and waited for the briefing to commence.

<Tag SD-3>

[Katrina Logan]

1336
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Crew Lounge

A few days before this mission was announced, the Major was still recuperating from the run in she had with a replicator disguised as her commanding officer and the father of her child. The force of the throw of her body up against the wall caused severe damage and eventually the miscarriage of the pregnancy. She insisted on being released early and return to her duties. Losing the baby could be seen as both a blessing in disguise and a horrible nightmare. Katrina was finally getting use to the idea of having something to take care of and it being something from the man she loved with all her heart. But that was gone now, taken away from the same man even if he was just a machine.

When the real Colonel Walker had returned, she was in the infirmary recovering. The loss of the baby drew her mind distant from everyone, making her change inside. However, the reunion of the two wasn’t as expected, wasn’t how she wanted. He learned of her confrontation, but the major never revealed the pregnancy keeping it bottled up inside to stir like a ticking time bomb. Only a few others knew of the pregnancy and were not even part of the new team. It won’t leak out, secret is safe, until she loses control. How could she tell the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with that she failed to keep herself safe from harm and lose this child? She was a medic for god’s sake and couldn’t hold on to it, the most precious gift a couple could have. The young woman, who had grown so strong and so determined, was beginning to unravel and feel like a failure. Maybe this mission was exactly what she needed.

Because of all the emotional stress, somehow the medic found herself wondering alone or being alone only too afraid to spend time with Robert because she’d only tell him what happened. She’d lose him and then be forced to ask for a transfer.

Her head snapped back to the present as she stared at the mirror in her quarters. ”I’m late!” she scolded to herself arising from the mattress and making sure her uniform was in check and hair and everything else. She appeared normal on the outside, but on the inside she was screaming for release of this entire burden. Walking a little fast through the halls, the other personnel simply moved out of her way until she reached the lounge. Taking in a deep breath and the mask of control set in place, the Major walked into the lounge. Grabbing a bottled water, she made her way over to where the Colonel and others were. Pulling out a chair, she simply sat nodding with a warm smile to each person before sitting.

<Tag: Anyone>

[Admon Halevi]

1336
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Crew Lounge

Yet again, Admon was one of the odd men out. He didn't particularly know any of the people he was having to work with this time around, although that had never stopped him in the past. The biggest problem he had been having thus far was the thought that he was going to be cramped on a ship for a long period of time while they made the journey to Atlantis. He had heard stories of Atlantis, mostly from the few people around the delta site that he talked too. Some claimed to have been there before, saying what a beautiful place it was. Others were simply glad they hadn't been stationed there, saying that the problems far outweighed the beauty of the city itself. He had yet to make a judgment, although he was sure that before they took the journey home he would have made up his mind.

Stepping out of the quarters that he had been assigned for the trip to their new base, Admon made his way toward the mess hall. He was somewhat hungry, having not eaten yet today, and something about the mess hall just sounded appealing. Within minutes he was there, and as he stepped through the door he instantly recognized his team sitting at a table. It seemed as if the whole gang were there, including Colonel Walker, recently returned from his trip to Ida. Entering the mess hall, Admon made his way first to the counter to get what something to eat, only to find that they didn't seem to have anything out. He had always hated bases that forced you to wait for mealtimes before even having the slightest bit to eat, although there was no sense in complaining about it now. Heading to the table where SD-3 sat, Admon pulled up a chair and took a seat at the table, nodding to the Colonel as he did so.

"Colonel. Team."

Admon had never been particularly friendly (he had actually been trained not to be), although he had heard alto about Colonel Walker, and had developed a bit of respect for him. The fact that he had spoken upon first meeting the team was amazing in itself, and if he could only continue on that path, perhaps Admon would be a social person yet.

<Tag SD-3>

[Marcus Garret]

1336
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Crew Lounge

Marcus chuckled quietly in response to the story that DeVoss had finished telling, and nodded to Colonel Walker as he took his seat. He was still getting used to the latest shift in the team makeup, though the familiar faces that remained helped substantially.

“Well, I’ll tell y’all how I got my callsign a little later. Granted, the story’s not quite as funny as that one.”

Marcus watches as the rest of the team filters in, nodding to each of them as they enter. He quirks his head slightly to one side when he sees Captain Logan, wondering, not for the first time, what it was that had changed about her over the last several missions. He wasn’t a psychologist, and definitely didn’t want that job, though he didn’t like to see those he considered friends to be in distress, either. He’d seen enough, shoot, he’d even caused enough emotional distress while he was an instructor to know when someone had defenses up. The problem was, the lounge wasn’t the place to ask her about it, especially not with the rest of the team around.

He dismisses that minor issue for the time being. There wasn’t anything he could do about it right then, so why worry? With that, he moves on to the next issue on his mind: Erin. He gently bumps her shoulder with his own, and whispers conspiratorially to her loud enough for the whole table to hear.

“What’s painted up in camo and hits airmen all day?”

He waits a moment, then continues… “A SERE instructor that got tired of beating up officers.” He smiles slightly. He knew it was corny, but he was just trying to get everyone to lighten up a little. He wasn’t that good at telling jokes, and he knew it, but he wasn’t about to just let everyone stay as tense as some of them were.

All the thinking sets off a bit of pressure in his head, and he grimaces slightly as he reaches in his pocket for the bottle of ibuprofen the medics had given him after he’d been discharged from the infirmary. He swallows the tablet along with a swig of water, waiting for the medicine to kick in. The doctors had told him the headaches would take a while to go away, but he'd been hoping that he'd be done with them by now.

He shakes his head with a smile after a moment.

“Military SOP: no matter what the patient’s condition, they get vitamin M.”

<Tag SD-3>

[devoss]

1337
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Crew Lounge

Kitch spit again into his canteen. Oh what Ethan would have to do without his Red Man Long Cut Straight smokeless tobacco. Kitch had more than a year supply, with variety, in his quarters. But he was also able to restock about every year somehow, either by some sent through the stargate, or from the semi-yearly trips back to Earth for restocks of food, supplies, ammunition, weapons, other necesseties, & mail.

DeVoss noticed Garret take a pill and heard, “Military SOP: no matter what the patient’s condition, they get vitamin M.”
Ethan quieted his chuckling as he recalled every trip to sick call, "If you could fill out this form, Senior, have a seat and we'll be with you shortly," Kitch laughed with Garret about the idiodicy of reporting to sick call, "After at least half an hour goes by, Senior Chief DeVoss. What seems to be the problem? And it never matters what the issue is, I'm putting you on 200mG Ibuprofen for a week. Take as needed, don't take with alcohol, and come back in a week. NEXT!" DeVoss stiffled his laugh.

<Garret, Walker, SD-3>

[Robert "Jackal" Walker]

1337
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Crew Lounge

Seeing all of SD-3 in the room again was a relief, especially Katrina. Robert had not wanted her returned to duty so soon after the attack from the Replicator posing as the Colonel. While her physical injuries had recovered enough for Will to have to let her go, Walker was concerned more for her mental state; she had not been the same since the incident, and she wouldn't say what was bothering her.

Thinking back to the group, Robert smiled slightly and said, "You SERE punks were some rough bastards. Everyone has the thought cross their mind, even at least fleeting, at one time or another of giving up ... at least anyone who's been through the 'high risk' course."

1338
At that moment, the ship's new Commanding Officer walked into the lounge, and the Marine addressed him, "Afternoon Colonel. Fine day to see you in here." Chapman had succeeded Lieutenant Colonel Harrison as CO of the Icarus less than a week ago, just after the thwarting of the Olympian battle group's attack on the Delta Site. With little time to even stop, all the members of the Ida Task Force were sent aboard Icarus back to Earth, where they conducted their debrief at the SGC in front of the IOA. Naturally, there were members of the IOA who questioned the actions of some of the crew, but Brigadier General Jax connolly, the Task Force Leader, stuck by his people throughout the whole meeting. After three days, the task force members were dismissed after giving their official reports. A brief session with General Landry gave Walker the news that a few changes were being made in personnel. The first was the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Chapman to command the Icarus, with Lieutenant Colonel Harrison assuming the command chair of the Iliad officially. General Connolly was reassigned from the Delta Site to the position of Deputy Director of Homeworld Security, where he would serve as a liaison between the Department and the SGC, Area 51, the Pegasus and Delian Expeditions, and the military outside the Stargate Program.

<Tag SD-3 and Chapman>

[Katrina Logan]

1338
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Crew Lounge

Kat just sat there really not focusing on any individual in particular. Her mind wanted to travel back to the incident. She kept replaying the day over and over in her head trying to find a way to change it, make it not what it was. It was probably a blessing in disguise for the pregnancy to be terminated, but right now, the only thing the Major saw was failure. Even the report indicated that the replicator escaped unharmed which meant he was still roaming around out there. Heck, that could be him sitting in front of her right now and she wouldn’t know. They know how to adapt to their environment and now that it knew something was going on between the two, it could easily transform its personality to fit.

But his concerned look only told her it was the true man she loved. However, she ignored it or else she’d snap. With a weakened smile on her lips only for his eyes, she took a sip of bottled water as the Lieutenant Colonel had entered the lounge. This would be a new face for her to encounter and hopefully take her mind off of things.

<Tag: Anyone>

[Marcus Garret]

1339
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Crew Lounge

Marcus shrugged in response to the Colonel’s comment on the program.

“All we did was give everyone that went through a taste of what they could potentially be up against, and help them get an idea of their breaking point. If it’s any consolation, we have to go through the exact same thing. Also, there’s the fact that not everyone has the makeup to stay instructors for long.”

His eyes get a distant look as he thinks about the time he spent at Fairchild as an instructor, and he eventually speaks again, though somewhat quieter.

“That’s why I asked to go out to an operations support squadron to keep aircrew current on their training. I ain’t got the kind of personality you need to be in that kind of role. I care too much.”

Seeing the ships CO enter, Marcus turns to him, though he continues to be somewhat distracted by his thoughts. He knew that he’d made the right decision to leave Fairchild as soon as he’d started work at his next duty station, where he did his best to keep the aircrew members current with their training. If he hadn’t made that decision, he wouldn’t have been deployed when someone he knew had gone down. He wouldn’t have pulled strings to join the recovery op, and he wouldn’t have gone on the mission where his actions got him noticed by the SGC.

He was glad to be out here with a team of folks he could trust, where he could do his best to make sure everyone made it back from every mission. He’d still been an intel troop when he’d gotten sick of sitting behind a desk somewhere reading reports of how other people were getting hurt, killed, and captured. Now he had a chance to actually do something about it, and he wasn’t about to waste it.

<Tag anyone>

[Paul Chapman]

1339
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Crew Lounge

Paul entered the crew lounge, and was greeted by SD-3's commanding officer. "Afternoon Colonel. Fine day to see you in here." Colonel Walker inquired. Chappy had yet to work with Robert or his team prior to this cruise, having only taken the reigns of the Icarus a week ago. Her former CO had moved onto bigger and better things, with Paul having only just transfered in from the position of Vice Wing Commander, 1st Space Fighter Wing, back on Earth. "Likewise Colonel," Paul replied. "Is your team finding our little cruise enjoyable?"

< Tag Robert >

Listening in on their discussion of SERE, Paul relived his own experiences. He'd gone through back in '88, initially with the C level. Back then he'd been flying A-10's, laying down CAS for the boots on the ground. With his upward movement to the controls of the F-117 stealth bombers, he'd gone through the D level. It has been a two-week long nightmare. With no food, water or supplies, he and his RIO has been cast out into the wilderness. They'd survived four days before thermal imagining had spotted them from the air. Following their captured, they were beaten, blackmailed, had threats against their loved ones, watch each other being beaten and abused, placed in freezing cold and boiling hot cells, fed lies, water boarded, the whole deal. One thing had got them through; their training, and the inevitable guilt they know they'd feel if they failed each other.

Keeping this in mind, Paul often wondered when an SGC-sponsored SERE program would be introduced. Being beaten and hosed down was one thing, but being mind probed or kill and brought back to life dozens of times was another deal all together. He'd have to speak to Technical Sergeant Garret about it when he got a chance...

A sharp jolt rocked the ships, slipping the drink in Paul's hand and almost throwing him from the seat. Initially he had no idea what was going on, but one thing quickly caught his eye - the window of the crew lounge. Where once there had been the star fields of hyperspace, now he could see real space. He'd dropped out of hyperspace.

Checking his watch, Paul immediately sensed trouble. They were a good 18 hours from their next scheduled drop out - something must be wrong. To confirm his suspicions, alarms began to sound through the ship. Jumping to his feet, Paul made for the door, with SD-3 in two.

< Tag SD-3 >

[Robert "Jackal" Walker]

1340
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Crew Lounge

Turning back to the group after greeting the ship's commander, Walker was about to add to the conversation with the team when the ship shuddered and he had to steady himself against the table. "What the hell was that?" he inquired. Shooting a glance to the window, he saw the stars outside were still, not moving as they should be in hyperspace. "Bridge!" the Marine Colonel shouted as he ran out o the room on Chapman's heels.

1341
Bridge

Reaching the bridge, Walker stepped onto it and went up to Chapman's chair, where the Lieutenant Colonel was now seated. "What happened?" he asked the commander.

<Tag Chapman and SD-3>

[Erin Stuit]

1337
BC-303B Battle Cruiser Icarus
Crew Lounge

“What’s painted up in camo and hits airmen all day? A SERE instructor that got tired of beating up officers.”

Garret said and Erin just looked at him with confusion "SERE?" she asked, unfamiliar with the acronym. She felt silly for not knowing it, everyone else seemed to be familiar with the expression. For the first time she realized that almost the entire team was American. It was a little off-putting to be the only Australian on the team.


1341


Erin felt the ship shudder as the briefing was about to commence, immediately she thought topido. Erin followed the rest of the team ducking and weaving between the crew members running to their posts. Any other time she would have been doing the same, but now she was in-flux, she had been expecting a few weeks of catching up on her reading and reports, but it seemed that someone had other plans. As she entered the bridge Erin turned to the techs watching the scanner output with interest hoping to discern some hint of what had happened to the ship.

<Tag Any>

[Katrina Logan]

1341
Bridge

The jolt of the vessel made the major nearly fly out of her seat and spill the bottled water all over her cleaned uniform. That would top off the wonderful week she was having so far. The concerned commander flew to the bridge as Kat followed wondering just what in the world had hit them, if that was the case. Standing next to Walker, she watched him look out to the stars and followed his eyes only to see that they were in fact out of hyperspace.

Closing her eyes, she just wished that this was something quite simple, a malfunction or something other than a death defying act of saving the entire ship from its inevitable destruction. All she could do was await the status from the other crew members while mumbling softly.

"Not again."

<Tag: Anyone>