Author's Note: Apologies for my delay in posting this new chapter. Life has kept me rather busy. If anyone spots errors in this story, especially to do with the RCAF or the Canadian Forces in general, please let me know. There's an embarrasing lack of information on a fair amount of the more routine things to do with my nation's military. As usual, any errors are mine as this is unbeta'd.
The Word Goes Out
An hour and a half later, Rob, James, Andrea, Carter, Mitchell and Daniel were seated around one of the tables above the mess that was the Learning Commons, digesting the informal debriefing they'd given each other. They had left the rest of Delta team to guard the Stargate with Teal'c while the survivors of Alpha, Beta and Gamma swept the rest of the campus, checking for any holdouts from the recent battle and slowly bringing the dead to the waiting ambulances.
As dirty and tired as they were, the two USAF officers immediately understood the importance of how the new Stargate had appeared on Earth, Carter more so than Mitchell. After all, she'd seen a Stargate beamed straight out of Cheyenne Mountain once before. A quick phone call using a very cryptic phrasing had alerted the SGC to the possible presence of an Ori vessel in orbit.
The orbital threat taken care of, Mitchell looked at Rob, silently wondering how someone still in college could end up being stuck with commanding the defense of such a strategically important site. Rather than voicing it as such, he instead spoke up with a different, but no less relevant question. "What's the RCAF going to do with that thing?"
Sighing, Rob leaned back in his chair, wishing he had some way to communicate with his superiors. However, because of the rather unsecured nature of the radios, phones, and cell phones available, none of the military personnel felt it safe. "At the moment, we're going to secure it here and maintain a defensive posture with the assistance of Durham Regional Police and the ad hoc First Durham Volunteers." He grimaced slightly at the quick name he'd given the six people who'd fought at his side earlier that day for sheer lack of anything else to call them. "Once I've managed to get in contact with my superiors, the force allocation will change, as well as possibly our posture towards the gate."
Mitchell nodded. "Alright. You'll have the full support of SG-1 and the SGC until such time as an adequate force from the Canadian Forces arrive to relieve us."
With a slightly unhappy look, Rob nodded. "I appreciate that, Colonel." Hesitating slightly, Rob forged ahead with the only solution he could think of to the communication dilemma. "I'd also appreciate it if you would assume command of the defenses here. I need to inform my superiors immediately of what's been going on here. Mister McCallister would act as operational commander of the First Durham Volunteers in my place."
Without hesitation, Carter, Mitchell and James nodded. "Agreed," Mitchell finalized. "Why don't you take Carter and Jackson with you? They're the foremost experts on the gate and it's history on Earth, as well as what's out there." A vague gesture towards the sky accompanied the last few words.
Standing without another word, Rob grabbed his UMP from where it was sitting against the wall, handing James, Mitchell, Carter and Daniel their P90s. Everyone already had their pistols and zats holstered and vests on, so they walked out, heading for where Teal'c was waiting among the guards at the Stargate.
As the small group went to head out the doors, Rob gestured towards the older officer who'd lead Alpha in the attack and interrogated him earlier in the day. With a rueful smile, Rob realized that he'd forgotten the man's name – again. So rather than directly ask the man his name again, he leaned over towards James. "What's the cop's name again?"
Amused, James leaned in just as conspiratorially. "Lieutenant Damien Redburn. Odd of you to forget the name of someone you nearly slugged."
Nodding, Rob broke off and walked over to Redburn. "Hey, Lieutenant. Need to ask a favour of you." Fully aware that Rob had never remembered his name without help, Redburn simply made a "let's hear it" gesture towards the younger man. "I need to borrow one of your unmarked SUVs."
It didn't take the experienced officer more than a moment to reason out why the younger man was asking for the vehicle. With his own vehicle abused by doing things it was never designed for, Rob had to make a trip he didn't feel confident taking the minivan on – especially with the plasma burns creasing the sides. Rather than talk any further, he simply tossed the younger man the keys to his assigned vehicle, pointed towards the campus pub, and started settling Alpha into defensive positions.
Gesturing for Carter and Jackson to follow him, Rob left for where Redburn had left his rather nice Jeep Grand Cherokee.
While Rob, Carter and Jackson were heading for CFB Trenton, Mitchell was quickly beginning the chore of trying to properly report in to the SGC. After a few failed attempts to use the radio they deployed with, he was lucky enough to have his signal caught by the Odyssey, recently launched to investigate a radar shadow they'd found in orbit almost directly over Durham College.
When Colonel Paul Emmerson, Odyssey's commander, answered him, Mitchell could have sworn he'd faint from relief. "Colonel, it's good to hear your voice. We've got a situation down here. Somehow, a force I suspect to be the Ori have managed to drop a gate directly into the middle of a college in Ontario, Canada."
Even though the signal was slightly scratchy, Mitchell could hear the "oh, shit" tone in Emmerson's voice. "You're telling me that you believe the Ori managed to drop a Stargate onto Earth without being detected?"
Even though the other officer couldn't see him, Mitchell shrugged as he walked out to join the rest of the personnel left behind to secure the gate. "I don't know about the undetected part, but I'm staring at the gate right now." As if to demonstrate his point, Mitchell began walking towards the gate.
"That's just wonderful. Is it secure?"
Mitchell had to wince slightly at the question. "It's secure, sir, but it's currently under join control of the RCAF and Durham Regional Police. We've only got twenty men or so to defend it at this moment, and lack an iris device to seal it off."
Mitchell could almost hear the gears turning in orbit. "Understood, Colonel. Is there anything Odyssey can do to assist you at this time?"
It only took Mitchell a moment to observe the weapons mix at the defender's disposal. "If you've got a couple of squads of marines with a few M60s and M249s and a bunch of claymores and C4 you can beam down, it would go a long way to keeping this end secure."
The reply from orbit was instantaneous. "You've got it, Mitchell. Anything else before I patch you through to Landry?"
"Nope, that's about it for now, Colonel. Thanks for your help." Ignoring Emmerson signing off, Mitchell began inspecting the base of the Stargate, wondering if it was possible for them to blow the base and bury the gate enough that it couldn't be dialed.
His thoughts were interrupted when a new voice came through his headset, this time belonging to General Hank Landry, the commanding officer of the SGC. "Colonel Mitchell, what's the situation where you are?"
Grimacing, Mitchell quickly gave a short run-down on what he knew had happened. When he'd finished, Landry was silent for a moment before replying. "Understood, Colonel. I'm going to contact the Pentagon and the President, get the ball rolling on informing the Canadians about things since I take it that whomever the on-scene commander from the RCAF wasn't able to use secure communications to do so."
With a sour look and tone, Mitchell gave Landry what he felt made things even worse. "It's worse than that, sir. The 'on-scene' commander from the RCAF was a shave-tail reserve lieutenant who couldn't have been more than twenty-five. At the moment, he's on the road for his base to start the ball rolling. I sent Carter and Jackson with him to offer their knowledge of the gate and whatnot."
Mitchell could clearly hear the disdain in his commander's voice throughout his next transmission. "What the hell kind of operation are they running there?"
"General, this place was a college a few hours ago." Mitchell sighed. "Sir, most of the force used to retake the facility was comprised of cops. There were only three Canadian Forces reservists and one cadet."
The silence on the other end of the line lasted long enough that Mitchell began to wonder if the signal had been lost, but eventually Landry came back. "I'll contact you later for a full report. Odyssey will transport down your reinforcements shortly, along with a proper secure radio. We'll talk more then."
Mentally grumbling when he saw the clock on the Jeep's radio click over to 1800 hours, Rob doggedly fought his way through rush hour traffic on the 401, wishing again that he hadn't been forced to divert from CFB Trenton, his usual base. The moment he'd started to speak to his commanding officer, the man had handed him orders to proceed directly to CFB Kingston and report to a Brigadier General North.
En route, Rob had been forced to make a stop to speak with the Commandant of RMCC to explain why Andrea would not be available to attend classes for the foreseeable future. The man in question, a brigadier general, had been justifiably upset at the flimsy amount of information Rob was able to offer. Privately, the young reservist suspected part of the Commandant's pique was that he had brazenly walked into the school wearing the police issue tactical gear with two pistols and not even the suggestion of a proper uniform underneath.
On arrival at CFB Kingston, the trio had met with the general, and subsequently been ordered to report to CFB Ottawa to meet with the Armed Forces Council. Above all else, this had him concerned. Of course, it didn't help that he was still in combat gear over civilian clothes, with the only concession to a long drive being that he'd removed his helmet and UMP, placing them in the back of the SUV.
Growing even more frustrated as a compact import suddenly cut him off, Rob took what pleasure he could from viciously pulling the holster for his Beretta off his belt, tossing the holstered gun firmly into the little hold-all slot between himself and Carter. Wiggling slightly, he settled back, somehow calmed greatly by the removal of the sharp jabbing from his spine.
Amused, Carter looked over at him, having taken the time to make sure her gear wouldn't do the same thing to her on the three hour trip to Ottawa. "I'm surprised that thing stayed put as long as it did. Holsters at the small of your back are notoriously uncomfortable when sitting for long periods of time."
Grunting, Rob slammed the brakes for a moment before swerving to the left to clear away from an overly aggressive transport that hadn't judged his distances properly. Swearing softly, he settled down to the slow drive, occasionally playing with the radio, trying to keep something worth listening to on.
Finally, he broke down and pulled out his cell phone to give his parents a short heads-up that he wouldn't be home anytime soon.
As the trio came up to the gate for CFB Ottawa at 2100 hours, all three occupants of the Jeep were getting ready to scream if they ended up delayed much longer. While Rob was no stranger to the drive, he had never been forced to make it in rush hour traffic with as many stops before, especially in a vehicle that wasn't his.
Pulling out his ID card folder from it's home in his back pocket, he showed it to the army sergeant manning the gate. The man quickly looked it over, then visibly jumped as he saw that both of the front seats were occupied by armed individuals, one of whom had a P90 resting on her leg. "Uh, sir, I'm going to have to see some papers for those weapons."
Rolling his eyes, Rob held up his ID a little higher. "That should be all you need, Sergeant. I'm under orders to take Colonel Carter and Captain Jackson," he fibbed a bit to avoid having to explain why a civilian was carrying military issue guns, "of the USAF to a highly classified meeting with the AFC."
Not overly impressed, the sergeant stood his ground. "I'm sorry, sir, but I can't allow you to pass with those weapons."
Trying not to vent his frustrations with life on a guard who was only doing his duty, Rob took a three-count to breathe before attempting to argue again. That three-count was enough for another soldier to walk up and pull the guard aside. The brief chat lasted less than a minute, but Rob heard no less than three "yes, sir"s out of the guard.
Conversation over with, the guard raised the barrier, waving the Jeep and the Chrysler sedan that had pulled behind it to the base proper. Checking sign posts and guides, he carefully drove to the main command post, parking in the visitors area.
Climbing out, he stuffed the Beretta back onto his belt and waved at Jackson and Carter. "Leave the P90s in back with my UMP. We're not going to need that kind of firepower in here. Pistols are fine." Thankfully, Carter had possessed the foresight to trade her zat for Mitchell's Beretta before leaving Durham.
Shrugging, they both cleared their P90s and placed them loaded and safetied with clear chambers with his UMP and settled in, following the Canadian officer as he went up to a guard to be escorted to the meeting room. The non-standard issue gear all three wore garnered a few strange looks, but nothing was made of it beyond simple curiosity.
When they walked into the briefing room, Carter and Jackson seated themselves to either side of the one end of the table, where the end chair was removed to allow for easier viewing of the screen used during briefings and presentations like this one. Only one other seat remained open. It was the one placed at the head of the table, a spot where Rob never dreamed of sitting as it was reserved for the Chief of Defense Staff.
A moment later, an older man in a perfectly fitting army dress uniform arrived, four maple leaves adorning his collar boards. Eyes widening slightly, Rob snapped to attention and saluted when the man turned to him. Crisply returning the young lieutenant's salute, the general gave him a once over. "You're out of uniform, son."
Feeling like he'd been called onto the carpet at school, Rob swallowed quickly. "Sir, yes sir. The demands of the situation never afforded me the time to return home and take my uniforms out of storage, sir."
Nodding with a gentle smile, the chief of defense staff decided to overlook the rather minor transgression. "Once you're finished your section of the brief, head over to the quartermasters and draw a dress uniform as well as a set of fatigues and boots."
"Aye, sir." With that, the general left to take his seat. Once he'd settled in, a raised hand and a slight twitch of his fingers were enough to let Rob know when to begin.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Lieutenant Robert Samuels, RCAF Reserve. With me is Lieutenant Colonel Doctor Samantha Carter, United States Air Force, and Doctor Daniel Jackson, a civilian consultant to the USAF. The following briefing has been classified Top Secret.
"Allow me to introduce to you the event that has placed Canada firmly alongside the United States in a war that most of the planet doesn't know existed."
Four hours later, freshly showered, shaved and beard trimmed, Rob stood in dress uniform with his expert marksman medals on left breast, gold wings across the top. Unseen at the small of his back was the Beretta he'd been given earlier that day. His body armour and USP had been stashed in the Jeep with the rest of the group's weapons.
The emergency briefing had just broken up. Rob had been ordered to take Colonel Carter and Doctor Jackson to the BOQ, where they would be issued two rooms – one for the colonel, the other for Daniel and Rob. Before he could finish carrying out that order, the CDS gestured for him to come over. Nodding to his two companions, Rob took the few steps over to the general's side, standing at attention.
"Lieutenant, I didn't want to put you on the spot in front of the rest of the AFC, but I think you deserve to know that we were all impressed with your handling of the situation earlier today." Giving the younger man the moment to modestly handle the complement, he continued. "The biggest question I have is what do we do with your volunteer force."
Fidgeting slightly, Rob tried to think of a proper response. "Well, sir, that would depend on what we're going to do with the Stargate and the war we've been thrust into."
Nodding, the general gestured for Rob to sit down in the chair beside him. Doing his best to sit at attention, Rob patiently waited for his superior to continue. "At the moment, we are going to be welding a permanent iris device over the gate to prevent any more surprises. After that, it will either be stored at a secure base here in Canada or more likely turned over to the US Air Force.
"More relevant, however, is the offer to have a Canadian Forces team or three attached to the American SGC. Interested, Lieutenant?"
Wondering where a hidden catch might be, Rob nodded once. "Yes, sir."
"I'm glad to hear that, son, because we're about to offer direct commissions to your entire volunteer force – reservist, cadet, or civilian – then assign them to the SGC as SG-21."
Unable to properly hide his shock, Rob's eyes went wide again. "I must confess, sir, I like the idea, and I suspect that most of the others will as well."
Smiling, the senior man slid a piece of paper across to his junior. "That's the proposed makeup of
SG-21 at this time, based on the research we were able to accomplish during your trip up here.. Do you see any reason to change the ranks and tentative specialties listed?"
Rob took the sheet and gave it a quick skim, then a further, closer look.
Personnel Roster – Canadian Forces Special Detachment 21
Capt. Robert Samuels RCAFCommanding Officer
Lt. James McCallister RCAFSecond in Command/Demolitions
1st Lt. Jennifer Hailey USAFScience Advisor/USAF Liaison
Lt. Paul Janson RCAAssault Specialist
2Lt. Luke Mallard RCASniper/Spotter
2Lt. Andrea Grace RCASniper/Scout
2Lt. Hannah KennedyRCAScout
2Lt. Johnathan LoranRCAFLinguist/Diplomatic Relations Officer
Looking up, Rob gave the general a questioning look. "The only thing I can see that's obviously incorrect is my rank, sir."
Shaking his head, the general slid a second piece of paper over to the younger man. "Effective two years ago, you were detached and honourably discharged from the reserves for the purpose of commissioning as a Lieutenant, Royal Canadian Air Force. Assuming that everyone on the list agrees, their commissions at Second Lieutenant will be effective at the same time. Effective two weeks ago, you were promoted to Captain, RCAF, while McCallister and Janson were promoted to Lieutenant."
A little shocked, and very much running on adrenaline, Rob nodded again, barely managing to form a coherent response. "Understood, sir." Frowning, he looked at the third name in the list, it's presence finally forcing it's way through his tired mind. "If you don't mind my asking, sir, why is there a USAF lieutenant in a Canadian Forces detachment?"
"Colonel Carter can explain her qualifications to you in more detail later. Sufficed to say Lieutenant Hailey is a highly capable officer already well acquainted with the SGC."
With a nod, Rob asked the next question in his mind. "Sir, may I ask how this was decided?"
"While you were on your way up here, some very high-level talks went on. Our governments decided that this was the answer to the issue at hand. The AFC decided just before your briefing that rather than spreading this information around farther than we have to, we should not only use the experience you and your team already possess, but provide greater security by lowering the need to know."
"Yes, sir." Rob stood up, feeling drained. "By your leave, sir?"
Rising as well, the general extended his hand to the younger man. "Of course, Captain. Report to me at HQ no later than 0930 tomorrow. Ask Colonel Carter and Doctor Jackson to join you for our meeting."
Shaking the General's hand, he snapped to attention, executed a smart about face, and walked back to where Carter and Daniel stood with the trio's guard/guide. "Let's get you a few things from the quartermasters and head to the BOQ."
Along the way, he drew out his cell phone and dialed home, trying to figure out how to explain everything to his parents without giving away classified information.
A fifteen minute long conversation saw Rob finally walking into the quartermasters again after having explained to his parents about the "suspected terrorist"attack he'd been caught in. He went on to further explain that because of some classified information divulged by the attackers, he had been called to active duty and was being deployed to join a team working on the project mentioned.
Grabbing some essentials – shampoo, soap, a towel, clean socks and boxers, toothbrush and paste, etc – he gestured for one of the noncoms to come over. "I need a female Air Force officer's uniform, rank of Lieutenant Colonel, with medals as specified by the colonel here. If you can quickly get your hands on a US one, that would be preferred, however a Canadian one with equivalent medals will suffice if you can't."
Nodding quickly, the noncom produced a notepad and quickly took down the list of awards Carter was due. When finished, she turned back to Rob and Daniel. "Anything else, sir?"
"Yeah. I need an Air Force dress uniform for Doctor Jackson here, no rank, no medals, no special insignia." He paused, then sheepishly withdrew his promotion order. "I'm also going to need a new dress uniform jacket and rank bar for fatigues."
Nodding, the noncom – a master corporal, Rob belatedly noticed – took the three over to a rack of dress uniforms. Looking over the two men with a critical eye, she quickly grabbed two jackets, handing each man one before turning to the stacks of shirts, grabbing one for each. They quickly tried the jackets on, finding that they fit nicely. Neither man bothered to question her on the shirts as Rob handed Daniel a tie.
By the time Rob had finished finding the proper shoulder boards for his shirt, Carter was standing with her new uniform in a dry cleaning bag. Pointing towards the counter, she aimed Daniel towards the men's clothing while Rob signed for the garments and toiletries.
They walked outside to find their guard/guide waiting for them, an Iltis jeep beside him. Coming to attention, he gestured towards the vehicle. "Sirs, Ma'am, if you'll climb in, I'll take you to Transient Officers' Quarters."
Shaking his head, Rob walked over to the SUV he'd borrowed from Redburn. "I'll follow you, Corporal."
Shrugging at the slightly bewildered soldier, Daniel quickly followed Rob, Carter only a moment behind him. Once all three were fully seated, Rob gestured for the soldier in the Iltis to proceed.
After calling to check up on his little volunteer force and sleeping for five hours, Rob felt refreshed enough to be facing the Chief of Defense Staff again. Freshly dressed in his brand new captain's uniform, coffee cup in hand, he lead Carter and Daniel into RCAF headquarters. Behind him, he knew Daniel was nursing his even larger cup of coffee, where Carter had ditched her cup before walking in.
Glancing back at her as she saw how many of the personnel around had cups of coffee from what must have seemed Canada's answer to Starbucks, Rob guessed that she must have been annoyed with herself for not taking the time to enjoy it. Standing before the door they'd been guided to, he checked his tie with one hand before draining his coffee and tossing the paper cup in the nearby garbage can. Rapping twice on the door jam, he was waved in by the CDS's aide.
Standing loosely at attention, Rob addressed the man. "Captain Samuels escorting Lieutenant Colonel Carter and Doctor Jackson to see the general."
Smiling slightly, the other captain looked him over once before giving Carter a slower and far more interested look as he pressed the page button on the intercom. "Send them in, Captain." blared out before the man could even tell his commanding officer who was there. Waving, he sent them on in.
This time, Carter lead the trio. Standing directly in front of the general's desk, she snapped to attention, waiting for a brief moment to let Rob do the same to her right. To her left, Daniel stood respectfully straight, not bothered by the formalities of military protocol.
Standing from where he'd been reading over a report, the general smiled. "At ease, Colonel, Captain. Thank you for coming. Doctor Jackson, a pleasure to see you again."
The three seated themselves after uttering their own greetings. "Business first, I'm afraid. After a nearly all-night session in discussion with the Prime Minister, the Defense Minister, Governor-General, the AFC, the US Joint Chiefs and General O'Neill of the US Department of Homeworld Security, it has been decided to permanently iris the Stargate at Durham College and ship it to Colorado to remain under the supervision of Stargate Command.
"On the same thread, Colonel Mitchell has reported that the advance elements of the Royal Canadian Dragoons "A" Squadron have arrived and relieved Durham Regional Police and First Durham Volunteers from guard duties. As well, they've brought in secure comm gear which has allowed Colonel Mitchell to report in to Stargate Command. Two of your SG teams have been deployed with our troops to provide extra firepower and stability in case of another Stargate incursion. A message from General Landry reported that the Odyssey will be retaking stationary orbit shortly to provide extra support.
"At the moment, Colonel Mitchell is still in operational command of the joint forces present. Once Colonel Gardner arrives with the bulk of the RCD, he'll take command until the Stargate is removed. Upon his arrival, the Odyssey will... 'beam' SG-1 back to Cheyenne Mountain."
Reaching back to a folder on his desk, the general handed Rob a file. "That's the current roster of troops that will be deployed to the SGC with Special Detachment 21. Look it over, and if you think we're missing anything, let me know."
Flipping open the cover, Rob scanned the list of names until he found the changes. Looking closely, he saw:
Personnel Roster – Canadian Forces Special Detachment 21
Front Line Personnel
Capt. Robert Samuels RCAFCommanding Officer
Lt. James McCallister RCAFSecond in Command/Demolitions
1st Lt. Jennifer Hailey USAFScience Advisor/USAF Liaison
Lt. Paul Janson RCAAssault Specialist
2Lt. Luke Mallard RCASniper/Spotter
2Lt. Andrea Grace RCASniper/Scout
2Lt. Hannah KennedyRCASpotter/Scout
2Lt. Johnathan LoranRCAFLinguist/Diplomatic Relations Officer
Support Personnel
Capt. Stephanie HendersonRCAFHeadquarters Liaison
Capt. Jason FitzgeraldRCAFDoctor
Lt. Matilda FranklynRCANurse
Lt. Elizabeth JenkinsRCANurse
MWO Arthur RitterRCAMaster Armourer
PO 1 Josephine MayhewRCNCommunications Specialist
WO Matthew Van Der VerdeRCAFQuartermaster
MCpl Jerald GoldmanRCACombat Medic
MCpl Linda HuRCACombat Medic
Cpl Amanda WilliamsRCAFYeoman/Aide
Closing the folder slightly, Rob looked up at the expectant general. "Nothing comes to mind right now, sir." Opening it again, he flipped past the personnel list. The next piece of paper was a table of equipment. Again, it merited a moment's close examination.
Looking up again, Rob had to suppress the urge to whistle. "That's a lot of ordinance to send us with, General. Almost looks like James handed you a shopping list of toys."
Chuckling slightly, the general nodded. "That list was made in conjunction with your troops last night and this morning. They've all accepted already, by the way. After looking it over, I'm inclined to approve every weapon requested to allow you full versatility in missions and mission postures to suit the situation. It will also let you each customize your own loads to suit your abilities and fighting styles."
After having looked over the weapons, Rob gave the other gear a fast once-over. He saw the normal armour vests, helmets, NVGs, field kits, etc. – the usual kind of things that Canadian troops being deployed in the field would carry. "Understood, sir. Pending consultation with the rest of SG-21, I can't think of anything else we'll need."
Shuffling papers on his desk, the general brought up a small stack of forms and handed it and a pen to the freshly promoted captain. "One last bit of official paperwork. You need to sign for back pay and the enlistment forms. You will be paid as if you've been on active duty since you enlistment date, but have used your leave. Make sure that there aren't any mistakes, just in case we didn't transfer everything from your reserve records properly."
"Yes, sir." Lifting the first form slightly, Rob had to suppress a whistle at the large pay cheque he'd be receiving in a day's time. Looking over the deposit information, he verified it was accurate and signed to acknowledge the transfer. Once that was out of the way, he began going through all the the new enlistment forms.
As he read each section and signed or initialled as appropriate, he noted that the general had engaged Jackson and Carter in a discussion about off-world allies. By the time Jackson had finished describing the various encounters with the Free Jaffa Nation, Rob had finished signing his life away. Handing the papers back to the general, he sat back and shifted slightly, changing the angle of the Beretta at the small of his back.
"Alright, Captain. That clears that up." The general typed a short string into his computer before looking back at the three in front of him. "Now for something of a slightly more enjoyable nature." At that moment, the office door opened again and two Air Force lieutenant generals walked in. Coming to attention briefly, they greeted the CDS.
The only one of the two wearing wings pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and cleared his throat. "Attention on deck!" Out of ingrained Pavlovian reflex, Carter and Rob snapped to attention, facing the slightly more junior general. "Captain Robert Samuels, front and centre."
With a firmly schooled poker face, Rob took four perfectly measured steps to place him the proper pace away from the general. Once the junior officer had stopped, the lieutenant general continued. "Captain Samuels, for your heroism and valour in commanding 1 Durham Volunteer Platoon on 13 September 2006 defending Canada and this planet against the invasion of a force known as the Ori, you are hereby awarded the Star of Military Valour."
Opening the box that Rob had never noticed him carrying, the silent Lieutenant General held it so that the one who'd spoken could take the the medal and it's short ribbon out. Walking over with measured steps, the senior man carefully pinned the medal to the left breast of Rob's uniform before taking the official citation and medal box and handing them to him with his left hand. Instinctively, Rob took the proffered items with his left hand while meeting the general's extended right hand with his own. A firm shake later and they both took one step back, standing at attention before the senior man turned and nodded towards the CDS.
"Thank you, General. Captain, congratulations. That and the medals for your platoon were rushed through early this morning, along with the official commissioning and decommissioning of your platoon." Taking one final piece of paper off his desk, the CDS handed it to the now thoroughly stunned captain. "You and your detachment have two weeks to report to CFB Petawawa for a six week intensive weapons and physical training course to refresh skills and bring you all back into top shape. On arrival, you are to report to Lieutenant Colonel Reginald Anderson. He's going to oversee the process. Master Warrant Officer Ritter will be making sure you're all highly skilled at not only firing your weapons, but maintaining them as well. Enjoy."