Name:  Ekaterina Zaragevna Simonova (pronounced Sim-YO-no-va)

Military Branch:  United States Air Force

Rank:  Captain

Title:  Doctor

Country of Origin:  Russia

Age:  34

Hair:  Red

Eyes:  Grey

Height:  5'11"

Weigh:  142 lbs

Position:  Astrophysicist

Placing:  Theta Squad

Marital Status:  Single

Past Assignments:

* Joined USAF at 24 through Officer Training School

* Promoted to Second Lt. at 26

* Accepted into Astronaut Program at 28, promoted to First Lt.

* Flight Commander of the shuttle mission Athena to the International Space Station, 2001

* Recruited to Stargate Program, placed on SG-15

* Astrophysicist with SG-15;  5 years

* Relocated on special assignment, Iraq; 15 months

* Transferred to Beta site, placed on Theta squad

Special Training:

* Bachelor of Science with Honors in Physics; California Institute of Technology

* Ph.D in Astrophysics;  California Institute of Technology

* Taught Level 2 self defense;  1 year, Air Force Academy

* Fluent in Russian, some German

* Expert in Goa'uld technologies and Stargate operation

* Basic certifications in first-aid

Background:

Ekaterina Simonova (she prefers to be called "Kat") was born the only child to Kathryn O'Malley of Chicago Illinois and Sergei Simonova of Russia.  Her father was a member of the Russian Air Force before he defected because of the Cold War and her mother, a lieutenant in the United States Air Force at the time, was stationed in Moscow.  She was the intelligence officer charged with him while he was at the US Embassy after he was granted asylum and eventually the two fell in love and were married.

Kat was born and raised in Krasnoyarsk and the Simonovas did not move back to the United States until she had graduated high school.  She'd always had a gift with the sciences and attended California's Institute of Technology where she eventually gained her Ph.D in Astrophysics.  She joined the Air Force afterwards and when she was 26 made it into the astronaut program and was accepted as a mission specialist.  In 2001 she was selected as Flight Commander for the space shuttle Athena's mission to the International Space Station.  After a rather unique discovery made while in orbit, the SGC gave NASA a cover story and recruited her - they'd already had feelers out for her but never approached her because before it was learned the Russians had a Stargate of their own, she had been deemed too high a security risk.  She was placed on the unit designated SG-15, the Argonauts, and was the astrophysicist on that team for 5 years.

Early in her NASA career Simonova was drugged and assaulted by a superiour officer but because she was the minority among her peers did not speak out against him until his death a few years later and even then did so in confidence. This is not common knowledge.  Major Adam Gordon, 2IC of SG-15, found out through an experience in which he and Simonova were telepathically linked by a race called the Tenjoukai.  During her time with the Argonauts Kat and her commanding officer at the time, Colonel Jake Mackenzie, had a falling out of her doing after a mission during which he was under an alien influence and made advances that mirrored this unpleasant memory.  She took leave and went home to Krasnoyarsk and after a rather traumatic experience while in Russia (see psychological profile) she eventually told Mackenzie the reason behind her reaction to his behaviour and all ill feelings between them were resolved.  No one aside from Jake Mackenzie and Adam Gordon are aware of this part of her past.  She never speaks of it and it is not in any public personnel file.

In mid-2005 Gordon was transferred off SG-15 and sent on special assignment to Al Fao, Iraq.  2 weeks after he left the Argonauts were disbanded and she stepped away from the SGC for a while and joined him.  She stayed there for 15 months, until late 2006, before she was recalled to help the Beta site.  She returned and was placed on the squad designated Theta as their astrophysicist.

Family:

Sergei Simonova;  Father (Chicago)

Kathryn O'Malley Simonova;  Mother (Chicago)

Psychological Profile:

Simonova is a brilliant scientist.  She is quick with observations and superbly adept at improvising solutions to fit the situation.  She is very capable but her time in the service before the Stargate Program has been nothing short of a fight for survival.  Because of her mixed heritage, most especially her father's background, she has been the object of intense scrutiny and severe discrimination that only stopped when she began to outrank her oppressors.  Because of this she takes all successes and/or failures very personally.  She is highly independent and self assured but due to her experience in Russia, this confidence has been shaken - while on leave after her falling out she returned home to help a friend whom, in their teens, she had promised to help leave Russia and the clutches of the mafia leader this friend had escaped.  The two were intercepted, Simonova was tortured, and both were left hanging from trees in the back of the compound.  Her teammates, acting on a tip from her father and with the help of a joint task force assigned to bring this leader down, were the ones to find them.  From this incident forward, Simonova is somewhat self-conscious of her ability and capability as an officer; no less independent but less sure of herself and rather questioning of how she is viewed by others.  She is polite but conservative, not what one would call openly friendly.   Beneath this rather hard exterior, however, is a passion for life and a compassion for others that runs very deep.  She is extremely driven and she will fight injustices vehemently if she is witness to them.  She does not forge bonds easily or quickly but once formed they are formed for life and, as evidenced by the incident in Russia, she will fight dearly to preserve them.  She is not the easiest of human beings to get along with, but she is certainly one of the most loyal.