Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Talking with your Fists

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan nodded. If she didn't feel comfortable talking about it he wouldn't press her.

"No worries Olivia. Being angry's okay. It's one of the emotions that let us know we're human. I mean you have to still care in order to get angry, same as lots of other ones."

He smiles, deciding to try another topic. "I've heard it said that you can actually listen in on raido transmissions unaided. What's that like? I mean is it as clear as if they were talking next to you, is there alot of distortion?"

His tone showed no guile, but the genuine curiosity of someone that couldn't do the same.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Well, it sounds like over a radio," Olivia said, gratefully dropping the subject. "Only it's right in your head, as if you're imagining the sounds in there. So it's got that odd 'hollow' noise you hear in your own head. And you just need to exert a bit of effort to get it done." She smiled. "You don't even have to talk aloud. It's pretty much completely awesome."

[Ryan Hawke]

"Sounds like it. I don't really do anything special. With me it's all super enhanced strength, and toughness." He shrugs. "Works for me though."

He takes a few more bites. "So what do you do for fun around here?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia laughed. "You're asking the wrong girl," she chuckled. "I read SGC mission reports in my free time, and I find them the height of fun." She glanced down at the last kiwi before she started to cut it, adding with a touch of self-deprecation, "I'm kinda boring, actually, if you hadn't guessed."

[Ryan Hawke]

"More boring than someone who does nothing but train, read, train and everntually sleep?" He smiles.

"Seriusly. Don't be hard on yourself. Some people just don't like going out. I did before we all ended up here, but since coming here and suffering confinement, All I have is reading the reports and training, either myself or with my team, or with you."

"What I'd give to go fishing, or just go somewhere that isn't a mission or on base."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Wait, why are you confined to base?" Olivia asked suddenly, tilting her head and frowning a bit. "You weren't even at Kiki Nass, which is why I was confined to base. So what's up with you?"

She wasn't sure how to say that she didn't feel safe going out; while he might understand, she didn't want to bring it up again. Instead, she just let him think she was a homebody, which she was by choice if not inclination, now.

[Ryan Hawke]

"Because I was personnally recruited by someone high up in the NID command for their expiriments." His voice dropped to a near whisper.

"The General was my friend and former commanding officer for almost a Decade. He was one of the people who I truly looked up to." There's a look of bitter sadness on his face, It wasn't something he liked to think about.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia stared at him for a moment. "Oh," she said awkwardly. What in hell is he doing leading a SG team now? "So you were one of their own, and they still subjected you to an experiment that might have killed you? The NID are pretty awful people... no offense."

She frowned again. "I'm sorry about your friend. Was he captured... in the raid?"

[Ryan Hawke]

"I don't know what happened to him. When I was brought here I was told how the NID had turned, and I followed my own path. I swore to protect this country from all enemies, foreing and domestic. Right now the best way for me to do that is to learn as much as I can about what was done to me and what I can now do. SGC saved me from the compound, In repayment of that, I lead my team and submit to SGC chain of command."

In his own mind it sounded like he was the turncoat, but the NID troops attacking him with assault wapons had made up his mind. They were not his allies. SGC had saved him, so he was repaying a debt. "Besides I like the people here. It's a unique experience to say the very least."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"There are some good people here," Olivia admitted, smiling as she thought about the good people on her team. She smiled widely at him and added, "You're one of them, you know. You did the right thing, once you knew the truth."

She clasped her hands and leaned forward, then asked in a near-whisper, "If you could go back and not have been... elevated, would you go back and undo it? Do you prefer being this way?"

[Ryan Hawke]

"I can protect my team better now than I could before."

He looks at her. "Though I admit, I was happy with my life as a Marine Officer before I was elevated. I was keeping a family tradition alive."

"It's been my policy to not regret decisions I've made. I can't alter the past, so worrying about things I can't change seems pointless. The whole Dorming thing Omar mentioned sounds interesting, but now that I'm like this I've gotten somewhat used to it."

"What about you? Would you go back to being ordinary?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Maybe," Olivia admitted, "I don't know. My life hasn't changed much, beyond being more stressful. So I still have the same job, only now I'm going on dangerous missions - which, I don't enjoy, but still I like going through the StarGate and exploring - and I can touch the Artifacts here again."

She looked down and then back up. "But I've enjoyed meeting the people. That's been the best part."

[Rorx]

Gwyn entered the cafeteria, head buried in a report, annd hearing the voices steered over to the table with Ryan and Livy.

"Sir, Doc, mind if I join you?"

[Ryan Hawke]

"Wish I could have met more people, mostly it's just been my team." When Gywn speaks Ryan looks up and nodded. "Not at all, grab some chow and take a seat." He smiled as Gwyn joined them. "So how are things going for you today?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia's nod to Ryan morphed into her nod to Gwyn. "Siddown, teamie," she said with a smile.

"You know," she added quickly to Ryan, "you should come to the next party. There's bound to be one, sometime. It's a good way to meet people."

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan smiles. "Just let me know and I'll be there." He goes back to eating, though with a slight smile on his face.

[Rorx]

"I'm fine Sir, just reading up on Naquada, or however you're meant to pronounce it."

Leaving his small pile of reports on the table he heads off in search of coffee and danish, "Yeah, you should come along, or if you just want a change of face give me a call. As long as it's not an arranged team training session my time is pretty flexible."

Returning he sits and nods at Olivia with a sad smile, "I'm afraid I freak Livy here out a bit. I suppose it's partly the powers I've got are some of the most obviously strange ones being flight and changing my density, but perhaps more telling is the not sleeping any more, not needing to eat like the rest of you and things like that. Any way if she can put up with me and Sergeant Perault you'll get along fine with us."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Wow, I must be Captain Obvious, Olivia mused to herself, fighting the urge to blush at Gwyn truthful statement. His absolutely super-human abilities were creepy. She thought she'd hidden it better than that, though. "Dec's just a big teddy bear," she said, grinning at how ludicrous the statement was. "Ok, sometimes, he's like the teddy bear in Akira. But still. And Gwyn is a perfect gentleman with a sexy accent." He looked at her and she shrugged. "You do."

She smiled at Ryan. "You'll fit right in."

[Rorx]

Gwyn laughs breifly, "So I've got the accent, you've got the exotic looks, Dec has the moves, and the Major has the perfect skills. I guess someone will eventually get everything all at once with this crew of Specialists. Actually moving on from accents to langauges, I was wondering if you wanted to join me in pestering Dr Jackson and/or Tealc into giving classes in G'ould. It would certainly help my understanding and use of their technology. Would you have someone on your team who would be inclined to join something like that Sir?"

[Ryan Hawke]

"I'll see, if any of the others do, but I'm interested." He smiles. "It's always best to be able to know what the other guy is saying."

[Rorx]

"True, although I was more interested in being able to read it, to help in using the technology and any records we come across. From what I've gleaned so far the Arabic I already know will be of some help in picking it up. Did you learn any langauges with you previous unit Major?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I know Goa'uld, or rather, I know Ancient Egyptian, which is Goa'uld, essentially," Olivia said, smiling. "I didn't realize you wanted to learn it." She put her fruit down and said, "I'm willing to teach anyone who wants to learn. The more who know, the better."

[Rorx]

"Thanks Doc, I guess you mean the heiroglyphs and stuff, but the Major has a good point, we should also learn how it is spoken.

Can you do that as well, or is it close enough to Arabic that i could get by?" He shrugs, "Otherwise my point stands, we'll have to get Daniel or Tealc to teach us the rest."

[Ryan Hawke]

"All I've learned over the years was Spanish.." He looks to Olivia. "That would be great. "I honestly didn't know you knew it."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I meant spoken," Olivia said to Gwyn. "When Daniel Jackson went to Abydos on the very first trip through the StarGate - well, the second... anyway. He worked with the natives to learn what syntax shifts had occurred in the language since Ra left Earth. Also, Ancient Egyptian is pretty much dead here on Earth; the academic community has its own ideas about how the pronunciation works, which they are pretty much dead wrong about.

"I don't know how close to Arabic it is," Olivia confessed. "What little Arabic I learned for my thesis I pretty much forgot completely once I was done. Honestly, I wasn't that excited by my research, but I couldn't present Daniel's, which was my real interest, not and pass my dissertation defense. I learned Ancient Egyptian for following Daniel's research, and when I got to Area 51, they had a pronunciation guide. It's like Chinese and Japanese - based on the same alphabet, but different in execution.

"I'm a woman of many talents, Ryan," Olivia chuckled. "It's no big deal. Honestly, half the research staff here know it." She grinned, her expression a little teasing. "Maybe the grunts should talk to the eggheads more often. We know all kinds of fun things."

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan takes the jibe smiling. "Fair enough."

"Your team is the smart one isn't it? My team's the one they call as an assault force, or a rescue one."

"To be fair to my team though, we all have our own little areas we excel besides combat though. Omar's been a Font of knowledge on how our abilities work."

[Rorx]

Gwyn is surprised, "Sorry doc, you'd mentioned you knew the heiroglyphs when we were talking about stuff weeks ago, but you never mentioned that you know how to speak Goa'uld. Mind you I don't know where you could fit teaching Goa'uld into your schedule, so perhaps I should talk to one of the others anyway?"

He turns to address Ryan, "Yeah, we all have our fields as well, although Major Caine is pretty good and most things. I'm working on the alien science and technology angle and the doc is obviously our cultural and linguistic expert."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"You could," Olivia said, nodding. "I do have a busy schedule. I'd be willing to make the time for you, regardless." The busier the better.

"We're working on some overlap, too," Olivia said. "It'd be bad for something to happen to me and no one is able to understand the necessary cultural clues that would save the team. So my goal is to turn them all into closet bookworms." She gave Gwyn a quick wink.

[Rorx]

Gwyn laughed at that, "Ha! More like trying to get me out of the bookworm closet! I spend more time reading or learning academic and scientific subjects everyday than I do in the gym or on the range."

More seriously he continues, "Our team schedule already covers most of the day. No Doc, you need to keep your evening's free, but since I don't sleep I can relax and bum around in the middle of the night if I feel like it. I wouldn't want to get in the way of your get togethers with Ari and Kyria for example. Anyway it sounds like maybe my arabic might be of some use, if only as a related lanaguage like bits of romance langauges turning up in Latin that they derived from. Given the spare time I have to practise in perhaps it won't take me too long to pick it up."

[Ryan Hawke]

"I wouldn't mind lessons if you have the time. I know that my team doesn't have anyone that speaks or can read the language, and that's something that should be remedied, even if I'm the one who has to do it." He smiles, the tell that it wouldn't be an unpleasant experience for him.

"Caine is your commander, it's generally expected of commanders to be very well-rounded. While a commander shouldn't know everything his suubordinates do in their specialized fields, he should be able to understand when being given a lecture on them. That's what I was taught at least."

[Rorx]

Gwyn turns to Ryan, "Yeah, I've heard of that theory about commanders, but Major Caine's is more than that, it is something to do with the artifact. He has mentioned suddenly acquiring skills like medicine at the same standard as a qualified doctor and others that he didn't possess at all before he touched the device."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I'll make the time," Olivia said cheerfully. Time better spent than burning myself with Taint anyway. "If you can find several people who want to learn, I can teach them, as well, all together. That gives you guys someone to study with outside of class. You should use it regularly to gain fluency in it." The image of airmen mingling to talk to each other in Goa'uld in the hallways of SGC brought a smile to her face.

She glanced at Gwyn. "Do you think that Major Caine would mind if others joined us in our afternoon lectures? I'd be willing for others, especially... especially the team leaders to sit in. Given how valuable it has been to our team, it be helpful for others." She tried to imagine Vinny sitting in a class and couldn't. Given his expertise, she doubted he'd be interested anyway, which made her feel better about the idea.

[Rorx]

Gwyn puts his open hands together and gives Livy a seated bow, "If you are willing to take the time to teach Sensei, I would be honoured to learn." Coming up with a big grin, and half expecting her to slap him, or try at least.

He then continues more seriously as he addresses he question, "As to others joining the lectures. I don't know for sure, I think he might not like the intrusion into 'team time', but it would help the command as a whole and so he would almost certainly go for it. Given our schedule you wouldn't have time to duplicate it for others at a different time."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia, smirking widely, assumed an expression of mock vainglory and said, "Sensei, I think I like that. But this teacher doesn't take apples, but kiwis, if you want to be a teacher's pet." She wondered if Vinny would think of that, but she also tried not to care. As long as she cared, he could hurt her.

"I wouldn't mind more students. Knowledge is power. We need to spread our knowledge..." She trailed off, thinking about personal knowledge versus professional, and if the same rules applied of each.

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan nods. "I'll speak to Caine, see if we can't work something out."

He looks to Olivia. "Kiwis eh? That's fairly unique."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia grinned. "Yep, but not in my family. It's practically required; my mother used to blend them up with applesauce and strawberries when I was a baby. I grew up on them." Her smile was still there, but it was tinged with a bit of nostalgia, too. She looked between the two men. "Have either of you ever tried one?"

[Rorx]

Gwyn smiled, "Oh yeah, kiwi's, star fruit, paw paw, mango, pineapple, pharsis, ugly fruit, pomegranete, I've tried the lot. Although I never really saw the point of pomegranetes. Kiwi's I've usually eaten like a boiled egg, cut the top off and scoop out the inside with a teaspoon."

[Ryan Hawke]

"Can't say that I have, Always prepared Satsuma oranges. Easy to peel and taste great, what could be better?"

[Rorx]

Gwyn nods sagely before reply to the Major, "Bananas, although they do bruise easier. Great source of fibre and phosphourus I believe."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia held up a finger with an eager smile and fetched another kiwi from the commissary. Coming back to the table, she sliced it into sections, then halved those so that they were half moons. She bit into one and peeled back the fuzzy, brown skin. "Here," she said, offering it on a small plate to Ryan.