Snow Day

Posted on Sat Mar 9th, 2019 @ 8:01pm by Brigadier General Nathan Wolf & Major Jacob Asher & Staff Sergeant Rhiannon O'Connor & Captain Kevin Hawkins & Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Corvus & Civillian Shae & Civillian Dr. Jessica Andrews & Civillian Ravi Azad PhD & Civillian Selyna Braeden

Mission: Aftermath
Location: Lethuan
Timeline: Current

Jake and Shae waited at the gate for the others to arrive. Together they had decided that it would be better for Shae's leg to make the walk to the gate before they started playing in the snow rather than after. They were dressed warmly, but it wasn't as cold as the night before. It was cold, but not too uncomfortable, and clear and bright with the sun shining down on them.

They'd called through the gate and Jake spoke with Nathan and Nathan decided to make it an order for most of the team, including the new members, as well as Doctor Azad and, surprisingly, the General himself! Hassan and Mantelli would have been ordered to come, too, but they were off base. Ree was around and she jumped to obey the order, clearly, because she and the General were the first two through the gate after it opened.

Before the General could speak, Ree ran right up to Shae and gave her a hug! "Hey! It's great to see you up and about!"

Shae froze, utterly confused with what was happening. "Thank you?" Shae said uneasily, the cast a glance to Asher that practically screamed 'help, what do I do now?'

Asher chuckled. "It's called a hug, Shae. It means Ree is really happy to see you."

Ree disengaged from Shae. "He's right, Ma'am!" Ree said. "You're currently the only 'warrior woman' type on the base other than me and you're my age, so...I was hoping we could hang out some time. That's why I was so thrilled to get the order to come here."

"'Hang out'?" Shae asked, then her eyes lit up with comprehension. "This is a form of socialization, yes?" she asked, just to be sure. "I don't know what importance age has on socializing, I don't even know how old I am, but I am willing to socialize with you. I don't know much about your customs yet, but I am learning, so you will have to show how to do this 'hang out'."

Ree laughed. "Sure thing! Wow! It's really pretty here! Oh, I think Jeremy wants to speak with you. I think the Major may have chewed his ass a little...wait...that probably sounded awful. When a superior chastises you, that's sometimes referred to as getting your ass chewed. Anyway, I think the Major may have taken exception to Crow giving you the impression the Major would abandon the dumbass here if he did something stupid. I think he's right behind me."

"Thank you for letting me know," Shae said with a meek, if uneasy, smile.

These were some of the strangest orders Jeremy was ever given. Go to another planet - go to another planet - for a 'snow day'? No training manuevers? No miles upon miles of rucking? (though, seeing how things could go, he did bring his medical pack with him). No safety brief? Just a day of getting together with his team and some of those in charge for nothing more than a snow day? On another planet!

And all Jeremy had to do was live up to his training and the expectations they had of him based on his previous service and he gets to go to another planet for a play day! Oh, yeah, and keep his mouth shut about all this. Jeremy still hadn't figured out what he was going to tell his parents about his new assignment but he had to come up with something soon. Cause, no, he wasn't leaving this command anytime soon!

Another planet!

Jeremy sighed as he came through the gate, the first briskly cold wavefront of air hitting him. He put on his glasses to cut down the sunlight from all this snow. "Oh, yeah," Jeremy said, stepping away from the gate and looking around. "I'm on another freaking planet!" The wonder of it filling his chest and threatening to burst free. He felt good enough that he might even burst out into a Disney moment, complete with choreographed song and dance.

Then he saw Shae and remembered the Major's admonishment.

"Shae, ma'am," Jeremy said, crunching his way over to her. "May I speak to you for a moment?"

"Oh, um, okay," Shae said, still uneasy from the hug Ree had given her. She put few more steps between her and Asher so she and Corvus could have some semblance of privacy. "What is it?" she asked.

"I, uh, I need...no, I want to apologize to you for passing on things that weren't true. I was told banishment was the punishment but, I guess that was supposed to be a joke I didn't get. Thank you for sticking up for me, though." Jeremy waited, keeping his distance in case she decided to change into something unnatural and attack him. Or worse, follow through on her promise to pee on him.

"You really did scare me," Shae said softly. "Since a young age, I have been abandoned or even turned over the Goa'uld for rewards, simply for being what I am. Those attempts to align myself with a culture for safety ended poorly and it's made it hard for me to trust. When Jess managed to get me to work with the Tau'ri, I was wary of being treated badly again, and when I heard that I could possibly be banished, especially for killing because I've had to kill to survive, and I wanted nothing more than to run back through the Chappa'ai and never deal with the Tau'ri again, but I had seen enough good to give you all a chance to do something different, and I've seen more than enough to know that your kind are different. Asher has explained many things to me over the night, one of which is that your world is full of many cultures and peoples and not all of them are good, but I believe the people of your SGC are worth the risk. He also explained that what transpired between us was just a misunderstanding, so I accept your apology. Just please stop trying to draw your weapon around me, that really isn't going to make me like you any faster."

Jeremy didn't realize he had his hand on his weapon and immediately removed it. "I'm working on that. Sometimes, some of my people, get really scared by things that are different than what they know. I guess I'm one of those people, but I'm trying. Give me some time, please?"

"I see that you are trying," Shae acknowledged with a nod. "I will be around, so there is plenty of time."

"Thank you," he said, quiet for a moment as he looked around. This is where she lived, he considered. Here, in the peace and quiet of the trees. It was full of deep snow now, but what was it like in Spring, summer? In the Fall? Could anyone blame her for wanting to return here? He certainly couldn't. He was distracted by the activation of the Gate and when he turned back, the others had moved on. He did what he had to do, now it was just time.

Stepping through the Stargate for the first time, Captain Hawkins felt the tips of his nerve endings numb but not on the verge of being on fire. He shivered ever so slightly in his light gear and took in the deep breath causing his longues to be filled with the brisk fresh air. He was so surprised but at the same time, excitement came through him as he took in the sight of the frozen planet before him. He was truly not on Earth anymore. It wasn't a new aircraft he was testing but this sure something that made his day.

While he could not order her, General Wolf had asked Selyna to go, and she had agreed. It was not because she liked snow; she didn't... really didn't. No, she had agreed for the chance to see a new planet, a chance to meet and interact with her team, and of course the chance to experience the Stargate in a setting that was not immediately fraught with danger, let herself begin to get accustomed to it. Unfortunately for her, she understood how it worked.

As she cleared the event horizon of the wormhole on the new planet, Selyna shivered and wobbled just a bit. The cold of the snow-bound location was only part of the reason for the shiver as travel through the wormhole also had a chilling effect. She moved off to the side of the gate and sat for a moment on the ground to find her physical stability once more. That would definitely take getting used to, but she was sure she was giving someone on the team a good chuckle -- watch the newbie squirm -- but she didn't care all that much. Let them snicker.

Nathan went over to Selyna. "You okay, Doctor?" he asked.

Selyna looked up and smiled, shaking the last of the residual effect. "Yeah, fine. Sorry. I knew it would do that, but feeling it is different from simply knowing it." she said with a sheepish smile. "Thanks though."

"My pleasure," Nathan said. He offered his hand. "Here, let me help you up."

Nathan was doing a very good job at hiding the fact that he'd been pretty disoriented when he came through, as well. If he hadn't spent most of his career jumping out of perfectly functioning aircraft on a regular basis, he might have had to sit down himself.

Selyna smiled slightly and took the offered hand. "Thanks. I knew what to expect intellectually, but knowing it and feeling it are very different." she admitted as she stood with his assistance. "Am I correct to guess that you get used to it eventually?" she asked, noting that he hadn't seemed as affected by it as she had.

Nathan grinned. "I'll let you know when I find out. This is my first trip through the gate!"

Selyna frowned at him, brows furrowing as she studied him more closely. "Then how is it you're not affected by it?" she asked, curious and maybe just slightly challenging, though not intentionally so.

Nathan laughed. "I've spent most of my career jumping out of perfectly functioning aircraft at high altitudes and hoping my government issue parachute was actually going to open before I went splat. If I got disoriented easily, I wouldn't be here for you to look daggers at!"

Selyna hesitated for a moment before saying anything. She had never understood hows anyone could enjoy jumping out of perfectly good aircraft, even though she understood the military usefulness and benefit of those people doing it. Her expression shifted, becoming something between confusion and curiosity. "Do you enjoy it or just do it because it's your job?" she asked, now standing with him, though trying surreptitiously to keep him between her and the snowball fight.

Nathan laughed again. "Well, Doctor, I enjoyed it a whole lot better twenty years ago than I enjoyed it the last time I did it. A leader sometimes has to lead from the front. Before I came here, I was commander of the 24th Special Operations Wing and before that I commanded the 24th Special Tactics Squadron. It wasn't my job anymore to take teams out in the field, but I didn't want to be accused of being a REMF. Your dad was military, so I'm sure you know that stands for Rear Echelon Motherfucker. So I PT'd with my airmen nearly every morning, participated in other training with them now and then, and yes, jumped out of aircraft with them, mostly to prove to them and myself that I still could. Falling through the sky has pretty much remained the same over the years, but landing hurts more and more every year!"

Selyna had to chuckle at the term; she did indeed remember her dad using it. Generally, when he had, it had not been in any semblance of complimentary fashion, rather the contrary, so she could see how the General would not have wanted to be perceived in that light. "Understood." she said with a chuckle. "In my dad's way of thinking, that makes you better than so many out there. He wasn't fond of those REMFs." She chuckled again. "as to landing, I imagine the technique hasn't changed all that much; just you have, hm??" she teased lightly. She was finding that she liked him; he was easy to talk to, at least so far, and not afraid to mix with anyone on his base, be they military beneath him or scientist like her. Okay, it didn't hurt that he was good looking, but that wasn't the top reason she was still standing here talking to him; it was just icing on the cake.

"Definitely me," Nathan replied. "But I do my best to stay in shape so I can keep up with the young kids. Not that I'm old, exactly. I'm just not young. Though, sometimes I look at the people I met when they were just starting out and I think about how young they were then compared to how much more adult and mature they seem now, I do feel just a tad bit elderly. Take Jake Asher for example. I've know him since he was a lieutenant. Then he was under my command at 24th STS, and, more distantly, when I commanded 24th SOW. Then he was here when I got here. Actually, in that way he's kind of like something I stepped in while on a mission and now can't get the smell off of my boots." Nathan grinned to show he was kidding. "Anyway, I've seen him grow up from a wet behind the ears lieutenant to a mature, very competent major. Sometimes I look at him and I think 'where did the time go?' But then I get my head back on straight, remind myself that my life didn't end on my fortieth birthday, that I have colleagues and friends who depend on me. I remind myself that I still have Jazz concerts to take in and new and old music that I haven't had a chance to listen to, books that I want to read, plays that I want to see, even music to learn to play. I putter around on the upright bass and bass guitar. In-person lessons when I can, but the internet is a wonderful thing and I can take lessons online these days. Do you like Jazz, Doctor?"

As she listened to him talk, Selyna fully processed the age difference between his 47 and her 33. Granted, it was only 14 years, but a lot could happen in 14 years. Hell, a lot had changed just in her own lifetime. She could imagine how the life he had led could also lead to such thinking, and the feeling of physical age. After all, he was putting his body through several kinds of hell on a regular basis; that was bound to take its toll. But that only accentuated his appearance for her as he didn't look as old as he seemed to feel. His joke about Asher made her chuckle though. "He might not like that comparison." she said with a soft chuckle.

The question made her pause and take on a thoughtful expression. "It depends really." she admitted. :I've heard good and bad, and by that I mean the performance of it, not its composition. Also, aren't there several sub-genres of jazz? I couldn't even begin to tell you which of those I prefer, though." She chuckled again. "And as far as age, if it helps, you don't look as old as all that." she complimented.

"Thank you, Doctor," Nathan said, a smile in his voice. "I appreciate the compliment. And yes there are. If you're a rock music fan, Jazz Fusion might interest you. Weather Report, Return to Forever, Stanley Clarke, Billy Cobham. Hell, I even heard a brass band do a cover of a Led Zeppelin song."

Nathan actually really appreciated the compliment. It made him less over the hill. Being the commanding officer of Project New Dawn made it hard for him to socialize, but he tried where he could.

She smiled back. "You're welcome, but you don't have to thank me for telling the truth." Her tone was jovial. "Maybe you could introduce me to some of your favorites?" she asked in regards to the part of their conversation about jazz musicians. "My tastes are fairly eclectic, though I do have favorites." Her expression became curious as she asked, "Do you like violin music or flute?" Fair was fair, after all.

"Both, and both jazz and classical," Nathan said. "And of course I listened to Jethro Tull as a kid." Nathan grinned. It was entirely possible that Selyna had no idea that Jethro Tull was a rock band with a flute player. The band had been considered Classic Rock when Nathan was a kid. "I just signed the lease on a place in Colorado Springs. Maybe you could come by for dinner some time?"

Selyna grinned, pleased to find another person who seemed to like some of the same music she did. "I'd like that, really!" she said with a bit of enthusiasm. "It's rare that I got a chance to sit down and really talk with people who shared my interests. Do you want me to bring anything?" Like maybe her flute or some wine or something. Wasn't that the thing someone did when going to another's home, after all?

"Hmmm...do you play an instrument?" Nathan asked. "I don't get many opportunities to play with other musicians. Perhaps we could play together? I'll wine you and dine you and you'll be content and just fuzzy headed enough not to notice all of the mistakes I make."

Selyna chuckled. "I do play the flute, but I'm certainly not professional grade." she confessed. "But I haven't had the chance to play with another musician in far too long."

"Great," Nathan said. "When I get back to my office, I'll look over my calendar and we'll find a time. Yes, technically I have access to it on my phone, but I'm offline here and who knows what's being added to it while I'm away. But soon, Doctor. There's an off-world mission coming up, but sometime shortly after that we'll have dinner and a little jam session."

Selyna actually grinned. "I am already looking forward to it!" Aside from her science, music was her second love. Any time she got the chance to interact with other musicians was a wonderful bonus!

Jess arrived wearing a more festive winter coat. Just the thing for fun in a winter wonderland.

Oh, holy grail, she even looks good in the cold, which suits her. "Major," Jeremy called, "does this count as a mission?" he asked, nodding meaningfully toward Jessica.

"Sergeant," Jake said. "Just play in the snow, breathe in the very, very clean air, and have a good time. Let whatever else is going to happen, happen naturally. Stop trying to force it."

On that word, Jake suddenly had a snowball impact him from behind. With a smiling Jessica Andrews playing innocent with the tell tale signs of snow on her hands.

"Okay," Jake said with a grin. Jake scooped up some snow, balled it up, and threw it at Jessica, then stooped and did it again, and then again, three times in rapid succession.

Meanwhile, Ree showed Shae how to make a snowball, then made one for herself. "Okay, I get to throw things at officers. Best day ever! Come on! Let's get the Major!" Ree wound up and let her snowball fly and pegged Jake in the shoulder. She turned to Shae. "Your turn! Quick! Before he gets his hands on some ammo!"

Shae was dumbfounded when Jess struck Asher, and even more surprised when he returned fire. This was a snow fight? Now Ree was showing her how to make a snowball, and Shae wanted to get in on this fun! She packed a handful of snow together and let it fly, but the ball fell apart without even reaching Jake. That was okay, she knew how to improvise! She ran towards him, even bounding on all fours for a moment to cover more distance, then she popped up and shoved a handful of snow down the back of Jake's jacket.

"Yikes!" Jake yelled when Shae dumped snow down the back of his jacket, but he managed to get hold of her and take her over his shoulder and then into the soft snow without hurting her or her leg. Then he scooped up snow in both hands and was about to dump it in Shae's face when Ree hit him amidships and bowled him over so he landed in a pile of snow. "Hey!" Jake got a hold of Ree and tossed her into the snow herself, then got to his feet and started walking towards Shae.

Nathan watched the group, laughing periodically. The group needed to let off some steam, and this was a perfect way to do it.

Which is probably why he was pelted center of mass with the first snowball, with several more coming in rapid succession. Jeremy went to get more snow, quickly packing it into ammo. O'Connor had called out the teams - NCO vs Officer and, well, the General was an officer wasn't he? And, along the lines of officer, there was also Andrews. Who needed to be knocked off her pedestal, as soon as he had four good snowballs, he turned and aimed at her.

Wolf started moving and returning fire. His aim was pretty good and he nailed Jeremiah twice and Jessica twice as well.

Jessica took cover behind several trees. "So this is the way you guys want it. Let's see if you can find me when I use Tok'Ra stealth training." She began to move silently through the forest from tree to tree. Hoping to pick her opponents off.

Oh my, with the stare on Jake's face, Shae knew she was in trouble now!

"EEEEE!" Shae squealed with delight as she tried to scamper away, again on all fours, only to suddenly sink really deep into the snow with a soft 'oof!' When her head popped back up, she now had her vulpine ears showing and standing tall, and she leaped out of the snowy sinkhole with her powerful paws (with her now unneeded boots in hand). She had a bit of a tough landing with her sore leg, but thankfully the snow was soft and she recovered quickly to try to escape once more, her fluffy tail waving wildly behind her with excitement.

Asher grinned when he saw Shae make the partial change. Jake quickly scooped up snowballs and started winging them at the fox girl as he made his way to her, scooped her up, spun her around, and gently tossed the giggling shapeshifter into bank of soft snow...and then got hit in the face when Ree threw a snowball at him, then another. Jake started scooping up snow and throwing quickly packed snowballs at Ree.

"Hey foxy lady!" Ree yelled as she tried to exchange snowballs with Jake. He was faster and could throw harder and she was getting driven back. "A little help?"

Shae was so full laughter! Snowballs were flying all over, and she was having so much fun trying to evade them all! She never knew running could be so much fun! Hearing Ree call for help, Shae popped up from her snowbank and started grabbing snow and just throwing it, not even balling it up, just throwing it wildly so that Ree could escape, and once her fellow female was free, Shae once again bolted.

Snow was flying, and Selyna was glad she hadn't stood up. She had never been all that fond of snow to begin with, and she had learned very quickly around other kids that if they couldn't see you or simply didn't, you were much safer. Besides, she was admiring the similarities and differences between this world and Earth. Around them were what looked like pine trees, but could they really be? The light from the sun seemed almost the same, but that made sense. Wolf had said that the Gua'uld had seeded these worlds with humans which meant that they would have a great deal of ecological similarity to Earth. It was still fascinating though. She looked over as she heard the Gate 'flush' again to see who might be joining them. Who was left? She tried to remember all the dossiers, but she really didn't know which one was whom just yet, so she had to wait and see.

A couple hundred yards away, laying flat on his back in the snow, just staring at the sky was Ravi. He was on an alien world! A real, honest to goodness alien world! The trip here had turned out to be less exciting than he'd hoped, but none of that mattered. He was on another bloody planet! He took a deep breath through his nose and caught a relatively strong scent of ozone- like it was about to rain, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. And speaking of the sky, it was ever so slightly lavender, like sunset was imminent. Quietly, he began to laugh to himself. He wished he could tell his brothers and sisters about this. Perhaps one day....

Shae didn't immediately see Ravi laying in the snow as she fled from Jake's snowy revenge, and she tripped over the innocent Engineer and landed right on him, a giggling figure both woman and fox.

"I am so sorry!" Shae said with a hint of embarrassment, but then there came Jake and Shae scrambled off of Ravi to start running again.

Ravi blinked and propped himself up on his elbows, glancing after the odd fox-girl. He didn't really know what had just happened, but it didn't really matter. He was giddy at the thought of being on a completely different planet.

Jake saw Ravi and kept right on charging, jumping over the engineer in a single bound. After he landed he scooped a snowball started to wind up to wing it at Shae or Ree, whichever on he could get a bead on, then looked back and saw the confused engineer. "Hey, Doc!" he called out, and when Ravi looked his direction, he hit the engineer in the face with the snowball. "Don't be shy!"

"H-hey!" Ravi spluttered, brushing snow out of his face as he sat up fully. "What was that for?"

"Lucky!" Ree was saying to Shae, in between laughing with the fox girl as they ran around. "I wouldn't mind falling on him! Or the other way around, either!"

And of course, Ravi overheard. He blinked, even more confused. Why would falling on people be desirable? He shook his head. He'd been in the States for more than half his life and there were still things he did not understand.

Jake was hit with yet another snowball, but it seemed like it came from nowhere. Jessica had eaten some snow to keep her breath from giving her away, It was a snipers tactic. "You're all making this too easy for me!"

Until the rapid fire barrage hit her from behind, mostly in the back, but a couple in the back of the head. "Maybe if your coat wasn't so loud you could hear the big guy sneaking up on you!" Jeremy yelled from behind his own tree yards away. "What good is Tok'Ra stealth training when it says to dress like a clown on the battlefield?"

Jake fired off a few snowballs and Jessica while taking hits from Ree who was pelting him while Shae giggled and laughed and smiled that fantastic smile. Then Jake saw one of the new people, the new pilot of SG-1...Hawkins was his name. Jake grinned. "Hey, Hawkins!" Jake yelled. When Hawkins looked his way, Jake hit him in the chin with a snowball. "Don't miss out on the fun!"

Ree looked from Jake to Hawk, then grinned evilly. "Sorry, Captain!" she yelled. "Everyone is fair game!" And then the PJ started throwing snowballs at Hawkins, too.

"NCO POWER!" Jeremy yelled as he also joined the barrage against the flyboy.

Completely confused at what the outcome of what would be his first off world 'mission', Hawkins took in the way people responded to one another and completely ducked at the first volley of snow balls that came towards him, but missed the one from the side. He was completely off guard for all this and yet wasn't the type to shy away from messing around in the snow. He didn't personally enjoy snow as much, as it caused a lot of stalled missions in the past,but when allowed for flight crew to screw around and have snowball fights. Despite the fact that they were on an alien planet, this was no different.

"Alrighty, but no surprise ice balls, otherwise its on!" the pilot warned as he took cover and started for a pile of snow of his own, before taking the offensive.

Jessica turned towards the General. She said as she whethered the onslaught. "General, how long are you going to let us do this?"

"I think I'll let you all play in the snow a bit longer," Nathan said. "Everyone seems to be having fun."

Jeremy waited just long enough for the General to stop speaking before he swept Jessica over his shoulder, ran as best he could through the deep snow and then tossed the scientist into a soft snowdrift. "Don't ever try to stop the fun!" he said, standing over her. Oh, hoolies, he thought, looking down at her and taking a deep, steadying breath. Then, without saying another word he turned and hoped the deep snow hid his funny walk as he moved away. Still, he felt the silk of her hair sliding across his cheek as he dumped her into the snowdrift, the solid warm feel of her across his shoulder. The look of her lying among the snow. Suddenly too warm, he divested himself of his watch cap, gloves then jacket.

Jessica Grabbed a big wad of snow as he picked her up and began to stuff it down his shirt when he began carrying her. "Word of advise, never open yourself up to a fatal blow, Sergeant."

Jeremy shivered as he removed his shirt but...it wasn't because he was cold. Or even for the melting snow down his back. For all that he still felt too...warm...no, too damned hot. He stopped to undo his boots, taking them and his socks off. Still that didn't feel quite like it would do it. He removed his pants, put his clothing in a bundle then fell into the snowdrift, letting it cover him. Hide him. Let it work on quenching the burning he felt all through him.

Well, now that Ravi was sitting up, he saw little point in laying back down. Instead, he decided to put his engineering skills to good use and build a fort. He experimentally tried to pack some snow together and found that it was a bit less sticky than it should be. Breathing on it made it pack well enough. It was going to take a bit longer, but in the end, he would have a strong fort. He gathered another handful of snow and breathed on it carefully before sticking it atop the little mound he had already formed.

As much fun as Shae was having being chased around, when she saw Ravi start building she immediately stopped running to help. She was no engineer, but she had built her own mud house, and while snow was not mud, she had a pretty good idea how to pack the snow down to make it sturdy, and she quickly shared what she had learned on her mud house to help improve this little fortification!

Ree ran over to join Shae and Ravi. "Hiya!" she said to Ravi. "I'm Staff Sergeant Rhiannon O'Connor, but you can me Ree!"

"Good to meet you, Ree" replied Ravi. "I am Ravi Azad. Call me whatever you like as long as it is polite," he added with a grin.

Ree grinned mischievously. "Sure, Ravi Azad, I'll call you polite names in public! But when we're alone, no promises!" she said. Ree winked at Ravi and went back to helping build the fort.

Blink. Blink. To be perfectly honest, Ravi had no idea how to take that. "I- I- well!" he stammered. "I s-suppose that... well!"

And while Ravi was distracted wondering what to make of Ree, he missed an incoming snowball from Nathan and got pegged in the head.

"Hey!" Ree yelled. "No hitting the non-combatants, Boss! Especially not the cute ones!" Ree returned fire. Nathan zigged where he should have zagged and got hit in the face. "Ha! Serves you right, sir!"

Nathan laughed as he brushed snow off of his face. "Nice shot, Sergeant, nice shot. Okay, I'll leave Doctor Azad alone. Just try not to scare him away. We kinda need people like him around here!" Nathan ducked as Ree stuck her tongue out at him and threw more snowballs at him.

Cute ones? What did that mean? Was that a good thing? It definitely was when talking about children, but was cute good for adults as well? Or did she mean he was cute like a child? Would that be good? These were the questions wandering around Ravi's mind as he bushed snow out of his hair and went back to the wall on which he was working.

Ree laughed. "Sure thing, Your Generalnessness!" Ree turned to Shae and grinned. "Boys. So silly sometimes!"

Shae wasn't sure what just happened either, but Ree seemed so amused that Shae just laughed anyway as she kept packing in the snow on the snow fort.

Meanwhile Jake was still exchanging snowballs with Hawk, when he suddenly turn and threw one at Nathan and hit him in the face startling him. "Sorry, sir!" Jake called. "I wasn't trying to hit you! I was just throwing in your General direction!"

Nathan laughed out loud. "Kiss my ass, Jake! That was awful!"

Jessica decided she was going to slip away for a moment towards a little hideout and supply depot she established on lethuan back when she was travelling the galaxy. She opened its hidden door and pulled out a small heater and decided to hold out until the boys were done having fun.

"I don't get it," Shae said, not used to puns, at least not in English. Although she was curious if Jake would kiss the General's backside as ordered.

Ree laughed. "Wolf's rank is Brigadier General. Jake said he wasn't aiming at Wolf, that he was only throwing the snowball in Wolf's general direction. Get it?"

"Oh, because 'general' also means- I get it, it is words game!" Shae declared, then laughed only to quickly grow serious. "But does General-sama really want Asher to kiss his backside?"

Ree laughed so hard she almost fell over. "Oh, wow! You are totally AWESOME! No, sweetie, he doesn't want Jake to kiss his backside. Wow. Okay. Telling someone to kiss your ass is an insult, but sometimes people use insults like that to make fun of each other."

"Ohhhh," Shae said with a not, not really understanding, but she was trying.

Jess had used the small stove in her little hideaway to make some nice warm tea. "I think I'll stay in here until the boys are done with their toys." She chuckled.

Nathan looked around and couldn't find Jessica. He looked over and saw Jake had noticed the same thing. Nathan waved everyone over.

"Did anyone see where Jessica went?" Nathan asked. Jake was already gearing up to go find her while Nathan was speaking. Jake brought Hawkins, Ree, and Corvus their weapons and gear. "Anyone?"

Quickly tucking his baselayer into his pants before tightening his boots, Corvus sighed as he put his shirt back on. Why the hell did that woman have to do whatever she could to put him in these situations? "What's going on?" he asked, trying to make it all seem normal, like people tried to swim through snow all the time. But...thank the heavens he didn't wear cotton undies...they were already soaked and that would just chafe.

Jessica's voice came from a camouflaged cave entrance. "You know, I'm watching you guys, and you're not even close. Time for a game of Warmer and Colder." She chuckled. "I'm in here, having a warm cup of Alvean Tea."

"We're in an area with snow knee deep to a PJ and you really think we can't follow your tracks?" Jeremy asked, wondering why it was the smartest people that always seemed to be the most dense.

"Hai!" Shae said in agreement, then hopped out of the snow fort she was helping Ravi build. A quick sniff at the snow where she had last seen Jess to confirm her scent among the chaos of tracks crossing over each other, and Shae was able to easily find the tracks leading away from the gate and toward a bear cave. As soon as she saw the tracks disappearing behind some brush obscuring the cave's opening, Shae stopped cold; even through all this snow, she could smell bear everywhere! "Jess, the bears, please get out!" Shae called out as quietly as she could so she didn't wake the bears.

There was a reason Shae smelled bear everywhere, and it wasn't because of bears in the cave. There had been a bear in the area...only now it was downwind, which is why Shae didn't notice it lumbering up behind the group until they all heard a snort and then a roar!

Jake should have been startled by seeing the biggest Goddamn bear he could have ever seen. And he was, but like a good leader, he couldn't let that throw him. He was about to order everyone to hold still, when Nathan had the same idea.

"Everyone stop right where you are," Nathan said, calmly. "Everyone remain calm. When I tell you, we are going to slowly walk away. Don't even reach for that cruiser, Jake," Nathan said, referring to the Mossberg 590 Cruisers he was now thankful he'd ordered as breaching and back up weapons for team members. Jake had slung his M4A1 and reached for his. Loaded with slugs, they might actually hurt one of these bears...or they might just piss it off. Better not to chance it. "Okay, we're going to slowly start moving away. Jess, we're going to cover line of sight to you. I don't think this is the bear's cave, but this big bitch might be looking to claim it. Try to sneak out behind us---" The bear roared again.

"Shit!" Jake said, disobeying Nathan's order and pulling out his Mossberg while trying not to give into the urge to shoot the damn thing.

"Jake, Goddammit!" Nathan said.

"Copy that, General," Jake replied. "Only if I have to. In which case I'll draw it away and you guys can make a run for the gate."

Nathan was about to object, but he knew Jake was right. "Only if you have to, and not a moment sooner."

Jeremy froze for a moment as he saw the lumbering beast coming out of the thick trees and toward the Gate clearing. It was a throwback to the first day and seeing a little woman transform into a fox-like creature. Fortunately, he would consider later, there was plenty of activity between his normal duties and the fun they were having in the snow, otherwise he might have to describe the creature as "pants crappingly big" later, especially to the laundry.

But Shae had indicated Jessica was inside the cave and...bears liked caves didn't they? Even Major thought so as he was calling out. They were told to move slowly and Jeremy did. But toward the entrance of the cave. Slowly he removed his sidearm and put it behind his thigh. He didn't think the paltry weapon was enough to take out an Earth bear, much less this monstrosity. But, it would be loud and distracting and, while it might not stop the beast, it could piss it off. "Doctor," he tried to say without yelling or causing too much attention grabbing noise. "I'm covering the door, come out behind me and move away. If it goes for you, I'll distract it. Move slowly."

Shae moved away slowly, but she was out in the open and within the Bear's field of view. If necessary, she could lead it away, but with her injured leg, there was a chance that the Bear could catch and so she didn't want to risk it unless there were no other options. So far, it seemed uninterested in her, so she continued to creep back, hoping against hope that her new friends could deal with this beast. But why was Jess out here to begin with?!

Being concerned with nothing other than everyone else’s safety, Ravi had slowly and carefully placed himself between everyone else and the gigantic bear. He honestly had no idea what he would do if the bear decided to charge, but the protection instinct was strong. He would not let any of the others get hurt. And hopefully this bear was like earth bears and would simply lose interest if he just laid on the ground and didn’t move.

Jess spoke. "Relax, No sudden movements. They're not like Earth Bears, and this is probably the first time he's ever seen anyone other than me and Shae. Come in here." She showed the group the cache. "Over the years, I've scouted out several locations for hidden refuges containing food, medicine, and other supplies. I kept these on hand in case I needed to conceal my presence on multiple worlds from our common foe."

Relax?! "I don't know what Earth bears are like, but I've been living among these creatures for a while now, and I would rather not get backed into the cave when he decides he wants it," Shae remarked.

"Jess," Nathan said. "Get the fuck out of the Goddamn cave, or we'll make for the gate without you, and you can get all warm and cuddly with Mister Snuggles out here after we leave. Now, Doctor, I mean it. That is an order."

Jess sighed and nodded. "Mr. Snuggles..." She shook her head.

When Jessica was out of the cave, Nathan had the group very carefully move away from the cave. The bear roared at them a few more times but ultimately ignored them once they were out of its way. Sure enough, when they were gone, as Nathan predicted, the mammoth bear went right into the cave.

When they were back, Jake ordered Ree to phone home, and the officers covered the civilians until everyone was through the gate. Nathan and Jake were the last ones through.

"Nice neighbors Shae has," Nathan said. "A little pushy, though."

"Well," Jake said. "Could be worse. They could be werebears."

Nathan laughed. "Fuck you, Jake. Let's get the Hell out of here." And then he stepped through the gate.

Jake grinned and followed his mentor back home.