God I wish someone would give me a map of this place - you know? They could position a lovely little booth just outside the entrance and make a fantastic profit selling tour guides.

I know, I know. This is not the sort of place they particularly want publicising, and trust me - that's an understatement - but it would sure make my life easier.

OUCH !

Oops, walking into doors isn't a fantastic way to start the day. Oh I wish old Mrs McCleery could see me now, laughing her head off, I bet, still telling me I'll never go anywhere.

I can just hear her now at the back of my mind, a fantastically irritating voice saying : "Biologists don't make a living by staring at the stars my dear."

Staring at the stars ? Staring my foot ! I'll have you know I could name at least ten constellations and the stories behind them. So there you old boot !

It took me a minute to realize I'd been walking with my head in the clouds, a sure enough way to walk into another door. And there sure are a lot of doors here I could walk into, they all must lead somewhere, but hell, this place is so big you could just about fit my ex-boyfriend's grandmother in here.

I enter another mindboggling corridor with at least ten more doors leading off it and I'm beginning to think I'd jumped to the future and any moment now I expected a Vulcan to pop out and welcome me to the starship Enterprise.

"You know, if your looking for the commisary you sure took the long route," a deep voice calls from behind me.

"We're at the commisary ? Gee, I would never have guessed," I answer, annoyed as I see a set of double doors and the tell tale stench of cafeteria coffee assaults my sense of smell and assimilates it.

I turn round to give some jerk exactly what opinion I have of this place and I almost drop my briefcase in surprise.

It's the guy who interviewed me, also a superior, also meaning I've blown it. Immediatly I straighten my back, legs together, head held high and I give him my best salute I could possible pull out of this situation and address the second in command of this so called base.

"Colonel O'Neill sir, I apologise, I was just attempting to find my way to......," I pause to look down at the slip of paper clutched tightly in my left hand, "..to....."

".....My office," he finishes, then smiles warmly at me, pointing a finger in the direction he begins walking in, "Welcome to the SGC lieutenant."

"Right." I grab my discarded briefcase and follow him almost at a run.

Now...I'm small, I only have short legs - which is a pain - but I've learnt that brains come before size in my profession, so I put up with it, but this guy is tall, and I mean really tall, and I don't have a cat in hells chance of keeping up with him, so in a slightly unprofessional way I run.

*****

So we enter his (I'm sure he won't mind me saying) slightly untidy office, and he offers me coffee, but with the earlier smell still quite strong in my head I decline and sit back with interest to hear what he has to say.

"Sara often said you would join the Air Force."

WOAH! Where did that one come from?

"I'm not sure what you mean sir." I answer respectfully.

"You don't remember Sara do you?"

"Err..no, should I?"

"Maybe."

This guy is so persistent and my mind toys with the information, processing it but still coming up empty.

"I'm sorry, I think you must be mistaken."

"You're John Michaels' daughter, right?" He asks, staring right at me with chocolatey brown eyes.

"My Dad's been dead for......"

"Eight years - I know, I was there when he died. I knew him, and his family, you were just a kid, still are, just with a bit more of a brain, and an attitude." The Colonel answers, and suddenly I understand what he was getting at.

"Oh, military buddy...sir, I'm sorry, I don't remember." I answer truthfully.

"How 'bout Charlie?"

Oh god, I remember now, how could I have forgotten - Charlie's dad. Is he really, he looks much older - then again, so do I.

He must have seen some understanding as the curtain is lifted from my face.

"Yeah, I remember Charlie. My brothers used to play with him, I always got stuck with the job of babysitting three loud and annoying young boys as they played with their toy guns." I answer with a slight smile that immediatly turns to a frown as I see a cloud descend over the Colonel.

"What?" I ask with slight dread.

"Charlie..shot himself with my gun a little over three years ago now, I'm sorry I had to bring it up, but I only ever told your mother, I didn't want to upset you when you," he answers, looking sadly into my eyes.

Charlie, one heck of a sweet kid. Dead? I don't believe it, and if anyone else had told me I probably would have taken it as a very bad joke. But no, the kid's fathers sitting right in fromt of me telling me just that.

"I...I'm sorry." I splutter, feeling tears brimming at the back of my eyes.

"No, it's okay, it was a while ago now, nothing to do with why you came here, so I'll get down to it. We were looking for a replacement for one of our biologists who had to leave recently and suddenly, as far as I know, your the best person for the job." He smiles as he picks up my record and flicks through it.

"Me. Why?" I'm slightly puzzled.

"Because, Alex, you are a fully qualified biologist and you like looking at the stars."

Now that's different, everyone else I've met has taken my stargazing as a bad thing, a distracting hobby from my science.

"How would you like to get a little closer to those stars?" He smiles again, this time more quizzical and mysterious and I find myself intrigued.

A short, sharp knock on the door pulls my imagination back into line and the Colonel calls the usual "Come in" and they do.

It's one verrrrrryyy pretty lady, and a scientist, I'd recognise the signs a mile off. The eager speech, the boundless curiosity.

"Colonel, we're due to ship out in half an hour, the General requests that you bring your friend and come up to the briefing room," she reports, very military, very precise.

"Thank you Carter....oh, Major, this is Lieutenant Alex Michaels, daughter of an old friend and new biologist for SG-4," he answers, giving me a small, sideways grin as he addresses the lady.

"Hi," I answer, great start, fantastic, is that all I can think of to say?

"Alex, this is Major Samantha Carter, my second. Also an astrophysicist, you may have heard of her?" the Colonel introduces her.

Heard of her? Have I ever? She is one of the most inspirational scientists I know, sometimes I swear that if I hadn't become a biologist, I'd be studying space.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She extends a hand, and in awe, I shake it.

"Likewise," I say.

"If you'll follow me to the briefing room."

"Lead the way.....Jonathon !" I answer cheekily, which earns me a shocked gaze from the major and slightly abashed expression from the Colonel, I can tell no-one's called him that in while.

*****

"So...why become a biologist?" Major Carter asks me kindly as we are walking down a very long corridor and I'm beginning to feel a tad claustrophobic.

"Well, I like science, and I like people," I answer, giving her my best, patented, award winning smile, at which she looks quite pleased at and announces that she's sure I'll fit in here and together - with Colonel O'Neill only seconds behind us, we entered what they inventively call - the briefing room.

Well..it's, it's...kinda big, and nicely decorated. Ha ! If that's all the enthusiasm I could manage to muster. But my mind began wondering as I thought what a nice lab it would make.

Oops, I think I was caught staring. There's a bald guy staring at me with one heck of a commanding gaze. Immediatly stand to attention, again. Feeling my spine straighten so much you could probably hear it crack, head up high, shoulders back. All the while I'm cursing my drill instructors back at USAF academy for scaring the hell out of me when faced with a General.

"Lieutenant Alex Michaels reporting for duty, General Hammond, sir." All the while giving what even those drill instructors would call - a text book salute.

Out the corner of one eye I can see Colonel O'Neill giving the General one of those annoying, smug grins of his, and the General looks happy enough, so I continue.

"At ease, lieutenant, and welcome." A General was welcoming me? That was a new one. I must have done something right.

"Thank you sir, and if you don't mind me saying so, what the heck am I doing here?" I relax as my stiff stance immediatly vanishes. Still as confused as ever, but a bit more at ease.

Oops. I think I went a bit too far, the General's not looking like a happy camper, and I brace myself for a dressing down.

Then the General's startled look turns to one of long-suffering amusement and he turns to give O'Neill a slight knowing smile.

"You knew Jack when you were a kid, didn't you?" he asks.

I can see Jack react with mock indignance. I have to smother a grin at his expression, he's still my superior after all.

"Yes sir, he taught me quite a lot about the air force," I reply politely.

I hear the General mutter something about that not being everything he taught me.

"Glad your here, now, to answer your earlier question, Alex." Oooh, he called me Alex! He is the General after all. This base is obviously very different to any others I have been on before, the atmosphere is different and more friendly - like a close knit community. Apart from the overwhelming size of the place, and the boringly normal grey walls, the personnel more than made up for any standard, boring military normality.

"You're here to take up the position of biologist for one of our off-world teams - SG-4." The General speaks directly to me, never breaking eye contact, I immediately like him, which is also a good thing as he is my new boss. It's kinda corny actually, make friends with the boss and have an easy time.

It's only after I've thought about this that the unfamiliar and slightly unusual words creep in from his last sentence - off world? What the hell does that mean?

He must have noticed my very confused and befuddled expression as he proceedes to tell me all about a huge doughnut called a Stargate, and how it takes you to different planets and WOAH! 'The Outer Limits' here I come!

Suddenly, I'm more than suspicious, I've seen it happen to other people before, the unending terror of it, the constant reminders, the relentless bullying - I've been set up!

That has to be it. There must be freak out back with a camcorder filming my everymove, and security cameras - they would have captured everything, oh! The embarrasment!

Colonel O'Neill still looks vaguely amused, probably looking for my reaction in this one, he can see me look very suspiciously over my shoulder as I look for the culprit.

"Lieutenant?" The General has probably noticed by now that my attention is no longer on him.

I decide to voice my concerns. I always do, mouth first, the best way in my opinion, then I could stop this charade before it goes any further.

"Jack, was this your doing? I mean are you trying to ruin me professionally? What? Thought it was really funny, and getting a two star General to join in the act, where's the cameraman, where's the security cameras hidden? I'm not buying it anymore guys." I dearly hope I'm right about this, or I just earned myself a court-martial.

"I don't know what you mean Lieutenant," Jack smiled at me, his face a picture of innocence.

The General is quick to reassure me I'm wrong, he looks like he's seen this reaction before. What's worst is he looks completely innocent, uh-oh, this is it - the end of my career, I've blown it.

I can feel the flush of embarrasment rise to my face and I know I must be the most fantastic shade of red as Hammond proceeds to fill me in about the Abydos mission, finally the last nail in the coffin is whacked into place as the General orders the terrified looking Airman to pull back the curtains on the briefing room and turns to me with a wolfish grin on his face.

I can see Jack staring towards the windows with what only could be described as an expression of respect and amusement on his face.

I turn and face the windows and......

"HOLY HANNAH, it's a.....it's a....."

I blink in surprise as a bright flash turns my attention from the large, metal doughnut, to Jack standing their with a hidden polaroid camera with a silly grin on his face, unfortunately capturing my amazed expression at the site of the magnificent Stargate.

Jack hands me the picture and I cringe in embarrassment, it looks awful, but eventually I join in the loud laughter.

"It's not a setup Alex," Jack tries unsuccessfully to hide a grin and fails, "we call that the welcoming procedure!"

The End

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