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Ender's comment about pink die was enough to clue Hunter in to the conversation that had gone on before she had arrived, taking into account what she knew about Lockwood.

"May I?" Hunter said, and she popped a round out of the magazine to inspect, "I had heard of these, but never seen one before now." ((Points out to the room, including all non-green horned cadets that it is now late 2003. ^_- The Canadian Forces *may* have had simunition at that time, but the US military did not start using it until early 2006.)) "I wouldn't worry about the Jaffa, Gunnery Sergeant," Hunter spoke distractedly while she examined the round, "Their battle armour is tougher than standard kevlar plating, and with their helmets on, they are armoured everywhere but the palms of their hands. Those who still carry symbiotes have regenerative capabilities are far beyond normal humans, but even those on tretonin are pretty hardy."

She handed the round back to the marine. "Aside from the Colonel's diplomatic concern about our relationship with the Free Jaffa, I cannot imagine one of these will do anything more than surprise the hell out of a Jaffa. I might have been concerned if we were going to be shooting at each other, but that's not on the cards today."

Aria stands a little bit behind and to the left of the To'kra womans as she bows to Dr. Rourke. when she's done Aria walks forward and gives Rourke a bow which on her homeworld is a sign of respect and trust. She then stands to one side of the group of scientists. Her expression still slightly pouty and angry, though curiosity is sneaking in as she observes the To'kra woman. She never actually met the To'kra, though she's met many Jaffa.

Sandry grinned at the colonel, and shrugged. She would have objected to live ammunition, but the paint was nothing to worry about. If they did manage to hit any Jaffa warriors, well that just showed that her people needed more training. The Tau'ri were extremely resourceful, whereas her people got by on brute strength and numbers. The Jaffa could learn a thing or two from these people. "As long as no harm needlessly befalls either parties, then I remain content. Besides, we've become too comfortable, too sure that we're safe from anything. This will be an excellent chance to find the weak points in their defense and help them strengthen it."

The female Jaffa couldn't wait to leave. The sooner they finished this training mission, the sooner they could get to the real thing. Looking at the faces of her new team, she started to match names to faces. It would be beneficial to know them all by name at least.

"If I may add a secondary objective," Hunter spoke up, nodding at the Colonel to request permission, then addressing Lee, Sandry and Ender, "The more information I have about the combat capabilities of each of the members of the scientific detail, the better use I can make of them as tactical assets should the need arise. What I would like each of you to do is observe the scientist you have been paired with. After the training exercise, I will be asking each of you for your impressions of the scientist as a combat asset... whether they seem comfortable with their weapon, if they understand the concepts of cover and covering fire, and how they react under fire."

"What that means is that I would like you to allow them room to fail," Hunter continued, "Protect them as per your primary mission objectives, but whenever that objective is not in jeopardy, do not baby them. Make them feel what it is like to be a soldier in a combat situation as much as possible... and watch them to see how well they handle it. As for the specific information that I am interested in...."

"Captain," she said, addressing Lee, "You have the wild card. Devereaux is the only one of the scientific detachment with any relevant military experience. In her case, I am not too concerned with her ability to act like a soldier. I am more concerned with whether or not she will take orders from you, and work properly as a team. That is what I would like you to keep an eye out for, if possible."

"Gunnery Sergeant," she addressed Ender, "You have the most front line combat experience of all of us, with the possible exception of the Colonel. Your partner likely has some military training, but not on our terms. You will probably find that you have to acquaint her with our way of doing things, which I suspect you know better than most of us. What I want to know from you afterwards is how well she can work within our SOP, and how well she adapts. Any information, even your opinions, would be helpful"

"Miss Toren, you are mostly off the hook. If it's not too much trouble, I would like some information on how Aria performs... but you will probably want to keep your attention focussed on the Colonel, and gain familiarity with our way of doing things. Whatever you can manage to observe will help, but please, focus on the primary objectives rather than worrying about my requests."

"That's all, ladies," Hunter said, looking around once more, "Once again, these are secondary objectives... and they are not orders, they are a special request. If you can manage it, it would be helpful, but do not sacrifice your primary objectives to accomplish them. That's all for me. Colonel?"

Aria looks towards the military group and wonders what they're saying. If she needed to, se would wear these clothes and she would prove herself an asset to the team, and not a helpless little scientist.

When Sonata speaks again, Aria returns her gaze to the head-scientist.


--((i've fixed it, sorry i took so long, i had a hell of a time getting myself to do dishes [to get on, we have to do dishes the night before]. Also i might have long interals where i don't get on, though i'll try get on every thursday atleast))

(( awkward pause as I was trying to give astarael a chance to fix her post. I'm just going to back anna on this, you did post that you'd walked to join the scientists, and Hunter was pitching her voice low enough that she wouldn't be heard across the noisy gateroom. therefore I am moving along as though it didn't happen ))

Lockwood's mouth twisted just a tiny bit. She wasn't sure that was the sort of secondary objective she wanted, but Hunter did have a point. It would be better to find out which of the scientists they could count on now, rather than when they were on the actual mission. Now, they could be replaced or reassigned. Once they were through the gate, there was no going back.

She did chuckle slightly as the Jaffa was instructed to keep her eyes on Lockwood herself just as much as Aria. "I don't know if I'm the best example, but I'll certainly make an attempt to be on my best behavior. As for a mission objective," Kaede nodded toward Lee as she continued. "There are three zones set up for you. Not only will you have to find one of them, you will have to keep yourself and your team-mate out of Jaffa traps. On the other side of the gate, there are maps which will aid you. They were drawn by the Jaffa who are already familiar with the terrain to help one another find the locations of the safe zones. You will have two hours. If the two hour mark passes, you fail this mission."

Meanwhile, Sonata mentally searched for something motivational to say to the many pairs of eyes looking her direction. Swallowing down her panic, she finally spoke. "Oh, right. Hello again. Um, I don't think any of you met uh... Kyrin here. She's going to be coming with us. Okay. Er..."

What were they doing again? "Oh! Right. Well, your mission, should you choose to accept it," she began again with a small, breathless chuckle at her bad joke, "Is to not die. Since this is er, just an excersize, that shouldn't be too hard, right? I don't know if the plan is to let us make asses of ourselves or to actually protect us like they're supposed to. But I don't know about you, I'd rather find that out now when friendlies are shooting blanks at us than if someone actually might come after us." As she got warmed up, Sonata stumbled over her words less and less, her back straightening by fractions until she was no longer trying to hide within herself. "Lockwood mentioned something to me once before about splitting us into pairs. It is your jobs, therefore, to observe the behaviors and habits of your partner. If possible, keep your observations unobtrusive and record them when we return to Earth." She liked the sound of that. Return to Earth. "I would like to see each report. And uh... good luck?"

I doubt we get to choose, its probably going to be depending on our possible abilities. So the more training you have the miltary person your with will have to be able to back you up, or put up with you. Aria doesn't partiularly care who she's partnered with, she probably won't be of very high interest in this mission, atleast to the military faction. She was the younest of this expedition, so they probably think of her as a child still.

(( Er, I'm going to mentally replace the "Sonata" in your post with "Emmy" since it was Emmy that was having an outburst, heather ^_^;

AND! sorry I've been less than perfection on my posting times, school is keeping me very busy this quarter. ))

"Well then, since none of you seem to have any questions, let's get this party started. And, if my watch is correct, we're just about on schedule now." A bit of a smile from Lockwood as she glanced down at the wristwatch, then toward the control room where they were being observed. A nod toward those up there, and she strode to the grouping of scientists. "Ladies. All flights across the galaxy are boarding..."

Behind Lockwood, the Stargate spun into life, chevrons lighting up in a certain order. As the final, seventh symbol locked into place, Lockwood turned toward the gate and, with a smile, said, "Now. Please leave your trays in the upright position. Let's move. Captain Hunter, take point!"

Lockwood moved as well, walking toward the gate and scooping up the intar P-90 (>.> only weapon I vaguely know, cause it's the sg-1 weapon of choice XD) and looping it over one shoulder. She would be through the gate last this time, making sure none of the team hesitated too long before stepping through the wormhole.