Reporting In
Posted on Tue Oct 21st, 2025 @ 5:01pm by Pilot Officer Aisling Quinn & Commander Aaron Wander
Mission:
Echoes of the Fallen
Location: Commander Aaron Wander’s Office, SGC McMurdo
Timeline: 2025 — Joining Stage
1535 words - 3.1 OF Standard Post Measure
The corridor outside the office ran quiet, just the hush of air and the low thrum of the base. Aisling paused at the nameplate, checked the time, and smoothed the line of her blues jacket with a quick, tidy motion. Hair coiled and pinned, boots shined, collar set—nothing left to fuss.
She’d been given a short route in—left at the framed mission patch, right at the window that pretended Antarctica was friendly—and now here she was, taking one steady breath and counting to four the way her sister insisted helped before exams. It did.
Inside the office, lights pooled warm across the desk and the wall maps, turning the place into a small island against the cold. She took it in quickly: neat, functional, the kind of space that belonged to someone who used it. Aisling straightened a fraction more, found her voice, and knocked twice on the open doorframe.
“Aisling Quinn, reporting in,” she said, Irish lilt soft but clear.
She stepped to the threshold and came to attention, meeting his eye. No extra kit, no pockets bulging, just the clean lines of someone who’d taken first impressions seriously. Breath steady, shoulders relaxed, she let the silence be comfortable rather than rushed.
“If this is a bad time,” she added, gentler now, “I can come back.”
Commander Aaron Wander sat behind his desk, slowly making the 'to be read' pile of folders smaller. He was able to make quick work of them as some he'd seen before in redacted form. At least now he'd have a more full picture of what was going on.
As something caught his attention, he moved it to a third even smaller pile. He'd have questions or comments about those when the time came. The latest was one of his own reports but with a newly added annex regarding further developments since being turned over to Area 51.
The knock brought him out of his reading and Aaron made note of where he was so he could pick up later.
"Not at all Quinn," Aaron said as he looked up from the pile of folders stacked in front of him. "I needed a break before I went cross eyed."
The Commander stood up from his seat before motioning to a chair on the other side of the desk. "You can have a seat if you like."
Aisling stepped fully into the office, the tension between formality and relief easing just a fraction at the commander’s tone.
“Thank you, sir.” She crossed to the chair he’d indicated, sitting neatly, back straight but not stiff. For all her effort in making herself immaculate before the knock, there was no hiding the faint trace of nerves—new base, new team, and a leader she’d only heard by reputation.
“I appreciate you making the time,” she added, voice carrying the soft lilt of home. “I’ve been told I’m joining SG-2, and I wanted to present myself properly. Best to get first impressions done in person rather than leave a name on a roster.”
She managed a small, wry smile, a flicker of her dry humour breaking through the formal edges. “And it gives me a chance to prove I can actually follow directions and find the right office on the first go.”
"Yes, you'll be working on my team. There's a lot of things out there that can interfere with our deployments. I want someone who can think on their feet and punch through the interference to keep our teams safe."
Aaron closed the folder he'd been looking at and ran his finger down the small pile until he pulled out a beige folder that looked like all the others. "Your breadcrumb tech is top of the line for our tech but if I just wanted a user or an expert I'd have settled for any other comms officer. What I need is someone who will push themselves and not rest of their success. I think you're that person."
He slid the folder across the desk toward Aisling. It would be familiar, it was her own creation. The notes would be new; theories on range and behaviour in different environments and conditions not all relating to earth.
Ash leaned forward, fingertips brushing the beige folder before she drew it closer. She knew the cover by heart; the creased edge was hers, the pages inside born of late nights in Galway labs and cold mornings testing kit in fields that still smelled of peat.
The additions, though, were new. Theories of signal behaviour under alien skies, ideas for conditions she’d never stepped into. Reading them, she felt both a jolt of pride and a weight settle on her shoulders.
She looked up, meeting his eyes. “I don’t plan on resting on anything, sir. The way I see it, if this work can save lives, then it’s only as good as the last time it actually did. I’ll keep pushing it forward.”
Her voice softened a notch, sincerity in it now. “You’ll have me at my best. Whatever’s waiting out there, I’ll do my part to make sure we come back together.”
She closed the folder gently, hands resting on top of it, and allowed a faint, earnest smile. “And if I do start getting comfortable, I expect you’ll let me know before I get too far.”
There was a short pause, enough for her to draw a quiet breath before adding, a little cautiously, “If it’s not out of line… what made you choose the Stargate program? Plenty of paths a man in your position could’ve taken.”
Her tone carried curiosity rather than challenge, a small step toward understanding the leader she’d be serving under.
"Maybe on paper," Aaron shrugged. "But that's not who I am. I'm a problem solver Quinn. There's a problem and if I think I can fix it I will. I'm sure you know what I mean there."
"As comms officer I'm putting my faith in you that we'll be able to give and get the latest information as soon as it's available. That doesn't mean you're on your own, you're also going to make sure the whole team can operate and do simple fixes. Myself included."
"And as an officer under my command I need you to not be afraid to speak up. Not that I see that being a problem. If you see something wrong, you speak up. Rank or protocol doesn't matter as much as safety and making it through. Anyone outside this room has a problem with that and they'll deal with me."
Aisling listened closely, hands still resting on the folder in front of her. His words landed with the kind of weight that didn’t need to be dressed up—it was clear he meant every one of them.
“Yes, sir,” she said quietly at first, then added with a touch more confidence, “I do know what you mean. My dad used to say something similar—that if you can fix a thing, you’ve a duty to. Guess I took that a bit too literally.” A small smile flickered across her face, quick and self-aware. “And coming from a big Irish family, I learned early that if you want to be heard, you’d better speak up before the noise drowns you out.”
Her gaze dropped briefly to the folder, then lifted again. “I’ll make sure the team can handle the basics, and I’ll keep you in the loop before any small problem turns into a big one. I’d rather speak up and be wrong than stay quiet and be too late.”
She rose, smoothing her jacket automatically, the motion neat and practiced. “If there’s nothing else, sir, I’ll get started setting up my station. I’d like the comms room ready before the next mission brief lands.”
"Sounds good Quinn." Aaron said as he stood up from his desk. "And before you leave there's one last thing. I plan on keeping you sharp, and I expect you to do the same for myself and the rest of the team. If you see anyone, myself included, not living up to their potential you have my permission to be as frank as needed to get them up to snuff. Is that a deal Quinn?"
Aisling stood a little taller at that, the corners of her mouth tipping into a genuine smile. “That’s a deal, sir,” she said, the answer quick and certain. “And fair warning—I was raised in a house where no one was shy about saying their piece. I can be frank when it’s needed.”
The humour in her tone softened the edge, but there was an undercurrent of sincerity beneath it. “I’ll keep everyone sharp, and if I ever slip, I expect the same honesty back.”
She gave a crisp nod, professionalism back in full. “Thank you for the welcome, sir. I won’t let you down.”
With that, she stepped back toward the door, ready to start proving it.
Aaron Wander, Commander
SG-2 Leader, SGC
Aisling Quinn, Flying Officer
SG-2 Member
