Transferring from the Pentagon (G)
I see that if I try to wait until I have all my short bingo ficlets written before posting them all at once, they'll never get posted at all. So instead, I'll be posting the S1 ficlets one at a time this week, and try to stay ahead of things. We'll see how it goes. :)
This is for the Women in Canon square: Captain Sam Carter, transferring from the Pentagon in COTG. 320 words, rated G.
Transferring from the Pentagon
When she wears her utilitarian, deliberately shapeless BDUs, Samantha Carter is just another soldier, defined more by rank and competence than her gender. She blends in with everyone else when a stranger walks into the room. Her hairstyle, her alto voice, and her slightly smaller frame are rapid giveaways, true; but that initial impression is the one that lingers, and she always values it. If nothing else, the observed shift in reaction when realization does come is something that speaks volumes and enables her to adjust her own attitude accordingly.
Dress blues (with the emphasis on dress) rob her of that momentary anonymity. She becomes woman first, Air Force officer second. A few blessed commanders like General Hammond don't bat an eye, but the little she's been permitted to see of Colonel Jack O'Neill's dossier - years of brutal fighting long before women have been officially allowed anywhere near combat units, not to mention the dismissive tone in his reports of the scientists who worked on the Stargate before it first opened - suggest that he's going to be an all-too-familiar story. He won't see a captain of the Air Force; he'll see a woman, learn she's a scientist, and dismiss all her hard work and qualifications.
Never mind O'Neill's attitude, Sam tells herself as she marches toward the briefing room, her posture rigid in her formal dress blues and her eyes focused straight ahead. The important thing is that you're finally here, with the right to work on the Stargate and walk through it.
She pauses for a last deep breath in the doorway.
"I'd prefer to put together my own team, sir."
That would be the colonel. Not a promising sign.
"Not on this mission, sorry." Hammond's voice is brisk. "Carter's our expert on the Stargate."
"Where's he transferring from?" O'Neill asks, sounding unenthusiastic.
It's her cue.
"She is transferring from the Pentagon," Sam declares firmly, and strides forward.
This is for the Women in Canon square: Captain Sam Carter, transferring from the Pentagon in COTG. 320 words, rated G.
Transferring from the Pentagon
When she wears her utilitarian, deliberately shapeless BDUs, Samantha Carter is just another soldier, defined more by rank and competence than her gender. She blends in with everyone else when a stranger walks into the room. Her hairstyle, her alto voice, and her slightly smaller frame are rapid giveaways, true; but that initial impression is the one that lingers, and she always values it. If nothing else, the observed shift in reaction when realization does come is something that speaks volumes and enables her to adjust her own attitude accordingly.
Dress blues (with the emphasis on dress) rob her of that momentary anonymity. She becomes woman first, Air Force officer second. A few blessed commanders like General Hammond don't bat an eye, but the little she's been permitted to see of Colonel Jack O'Neill's dossier - years of brutal fighting long before women have been officially allowed anywhere near combat units, not to mention the dismissive tone in his reports of the scientists who worked on the Stargate before it first opened - suggest that he's going to be an all-too-familiar story. He won't see a captain of the Air Force; he'll see a woman, learn she's a scientist, and dismiss all her hard work and qualifications.
Never mind O'Neill's attitude, Sam tells herself as she marches toward the briefing room, her posture rigid in her formal dress blues and her eyes focused straight ahead. The important thing is that you're finally here, with the right to work on the Stargate and walk through it.
She pauses for a last deep breath in the doorway.
"I'd prefer to put together my own team, sir."
That would be the colonel. Not a promising sign.
"Not on this mission, sorry." Hammond's voice is brisk. "Carter's our expert on the Stargate."
"Where's he transferring from?" O'Neill asks, sounding unenthusiastic.
It's her cue.
"She is transferring from the Pentagon," Sam declares firmly, and strides forward.