<strong><em>Dr. Heath and Dr. Rahimi<br/>During the away team’s mission<br/>Discovery Control Room</em></strong><br/><br/>Janet was ecstatic; things had progressed much faster than she could have dreamed and with minimal problems, and now she had a team exploring their first new world!  For years, she had secretly coveted a position of power in the Stargate program, and now after months of playing politics with the military with a Machiavellian brilliance, here she was in control of an Ancient star ship, unquestionably the most important discovery in human history, solely responsible for exploring the ultimate final frontier on behalf of all humankind.  Reporting to no one but herself, she was without a doubt in a unique position of power and she relished it, refusing to accept anything less than glorious success. Yes, this was both a dream come true, and the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to discover new technologies, species and worlds that would enrich her knowledge in ways she was impatient to discover.<br/><br/>A beep on the console interrupted her train of thought and she regarded the younger Aerospace Engineer standing across the room, smiling.  He was a brilliant technician, and as soon as he came on board, seemed to have an almost intuitive understanding of the Ancient’s technology, and he had already read every detail given to them by the Colonel from Destiny and committed it to memory.  It was impressive and more than she hoped for.  Since the away team would be on the surface below for some time yet, her priority right now was making sure the weapon systems and shields were fully operational and ready.<br/><br/>She cleared her throat. “Dr. Rahimi, did you finish your analysis on the shields yet?”<br/><br/>He turned around and nodded. “Yes, they are fully functional, but I think we will need to run tests at some point with the weapon system.  I’d feel better if we could estimate how much of a drain it will be depending on weapons usage.”<br/><br/>Dr. Heath smiled. “Excellent, I was thinking exactly that.  Are you ready?”<br/><br/>“Yes.” He replied, startled that she wanted to do it now.<br/><br/>“Alright, I am going to activate each weapon in five second intervals, until they are all online, and then I will fire each in sequence.  However, since this will be our control test, I don’t want to drain the shields or the power reserves more than five percent, understood?”  She said gravely.  “Then we can run a second, slightly longer test, just to make sure our first readings are correct.”<br/><br/>He nodded again, “Yes, no problem, I’ll let you know once we hit that.”  Hesitating for a moment, he asked,<br/>“One question Dr. Heath, we already know that everything is operational, so shouldn’t we wait until the team is back before doing this, just in case?”<br/><br/>Janet’s expression turned cool. “No I don’t,” she said sharply. “I am confident everything is under control, so if you would be so kind as to do as I asked, we’ll get started,” she said, glaring at the young man until he quickly turned around.  Janet smiled and without a second thought, activated the first weapon system.<br/><br/><br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/><strong><em>Dr. Randall and the Away Team, still on the planet's surface</em></strong><br/><br/>Katherine’s  fear diminished a little bit and her expression softened as she watched the Captain and Alianne say their final goodbyes.  It was evident he found the mysterious woman just as enthralling as she did, and she wondered if he felt the same inexplicable connection.  There was no question in her mind this experience would change her life forever, and she wished there had been more time to spend with these extraordinary people.  With one final wistful glance at Alianne, Katherine smiled compassionately and raised her hand slightly to say goodbye, then turned and took off behind the others.<br/><br/>The three of them jogged at a fast pace, which suited her just fine since running always helped clear her mind and that was something she desperately needed.  They remained silent until they reached the others, who looked very relieved to see them, but Walters seemed to sense something was off, though he didn’t ask questions.  Of course, Walters didn’t know why the Captain was so serious and forcing everyone to push their limits to make it back to the gate in record time, but she did.  Albrecht also seemed concerned about what happened while they were away, and as they followed the Captain back to the gate, he ran beside Katherine and asked what happened.  She didn’t look at him and kept her eyes focused in front, but said, “I’d rather talk about it when we’re back on the ship, but it was an enlightening experience.” He shrugged his shoulders and seemed to accept her refusal to elaborate, because he didn’t ask anything more.<br/><br/>By the time they reached the gate, the rain had stopped and the sun started its final descent, the cold gray sky already taking on a darker and more sinister tone.  Katherine’s heart felt heavy and she cast her eyes upward, searching, but saw nothing beyond the tumultuous clouds swirling silently.  With her face still turned towards the sky, she closed her eyes, hoping that they weren’t making a terrible mistake leaving the survivors here, and with a shuddering breath whispered ‘good luck’, before turning to step through the Stargate.<br/><br/>They made it back safely, with just under an hour before the jump and Katherine felt both enormous relief, and a lingering melancholy.  As soon as they gathered in front of the gate, there was a flurry of activity as Dr. Heath and the others welcomed them back, congratulating them on a successful first mission with delight shining in her dark brown eyes. The doctor then ushered them all into the control room, demanding a full de-briefing, and Katherine gratefully shifted her focus to that.  She stood beside Captain Hunter as they took turns explaining everything they witnessed, and what happened when they met the survivors, but when it came to the part about time travel, Michael Tsonis’ eyes snapped to hers and she smiled inwardly, knowing that he had more questions than she did.  Everyone listened with rapt attention and the only person to show no surprise at anything they said, was Dr. Heath, and that struck Katherine as unusual, but perhaps she was simply putting on an air in front of the others.  Yes, it had to be that.<br/><br/>While Dr. Heath asked Captain Hunter some specific questions about the survivors and alien species Alianne mentioned, Dr. Pike swiftly pulled Katherine aside, curiosity and concern etched on his face.  “I’m glad to see you back, I was worried.  It all happened so fast and we had no idea what was going on down there,” he said seriously.<br/><br/>Katherine shrugged.  “Yes we didn’t have much warning, but I suspect that’s how it will be in future and I suppose we better get used to it,” she said simply.<br/><br/>His gaze narrowed on her and he asked, “Why do I get the feeling there is more.” He said quietly. “Is it true the survivors you found were from the future and refused to leave?  I find that remarkable and more than a little unbelievable.” There was both wonder and disbelief in his voice as he searched her face for answers.<br/><br/>She frowned slightly and said, “Perhaps there is more, but just my own observations and feelings about it. And yes, they claimed to be from the future and refused to leave.  Had you met Alianne, you would understand why we don’t doubt the truth of everything she told us.” Katherine didn’t like brushing off the kind doctor, but she truly didn’t feel like discussing more at that moment.  What she needed was time to decompress and sort out her feelings about what had transpired on the planet’s surface.  Then she would be able to explain it all to Dr. Pike in more detail.  With that thought, she looked at Captain Hunter, wondering if he was suffering from the same niggling doubts and guilt she was over leaving people behind.<br/><br/>Thankfully, at that moment, Dr. Carole Davis interrupted them, clearly with questions of her own. “Did you get me some samples of the plants?” She asked enthusiastically.<br/><br/>Katherine’s eyes widened. “Oh no!  I’m so sorry, but I didn’t.  There simply wasn’t time.” She apologized again upon seeing the obvious disappointment on the woman’s face, and then remembered the soil sample. Smiling, she reached into her pocket. “Wait…here,” she handed the vial to the botanist, “I did manage to collect this, and it appears to have some sort of mineral compound mixed in with the sand.  Surely there will be some microbes and if we’re lucky, some seeds or pollen.”<br/><br/>Dr. Davis grinned. “Well this is better than nothing, thanks Dr. Randall.  I’ll get on it right away and let you know what I find.”<br/><br/>As soon as Dr. Davis left, Lt. Tara Peters came running in to the control room, out of breath and shouting at Captain Hunter. “Sir, there is an unknown vessel closing in fast, and another one already flanking us starboard side!”<br/><br/>Fear and dread sliced through her like an icy blade and Katherine’s gaze flew to the Captain’s and then to Dr. Heath when she ordered Dr. Rahimi to bring up the HUD, and then it seemed everyone spit in two factions.  Most of the scientists were either yelling or scrambling to reach the observation deck to see for themselves, and the soldiers were jumping to follow orders.  There was no question in her mind what those ships were, and as far as she knew, there was no way to jump until the sequence completed, but amidst the confusion and panic going on around her, she couldn’t remember how much time was left. Dammit! Turning to Dr. Pike with urgency, she said, “We have to keep everyone calm. Can you go to the observation deck and keep it under control there?  I want to stay here and help if I can.”<br/><br/>He didn’t waste any time. “Yes, I’m on it,” he said, then dashed into the corridor.<br/><br/>Her heart was pounding.  Not sure what to do next, she moved behind Dr. Heath and Captain Hunter and watched along with them as the first images of the alien craft came into focus on the HUD, alarmed by their size and what appeared to be huge cannon type weapons mounted all over the hull.  Remembering what Alianne said about this race, she shivered and looked up at Captain Hunter.  “How much time do we have before we can leave?”<br/>