Dr. Heath’s voice rang out over the radio, loud and clear. “Understood. I’m on my way Captain and will meet you there.  Please have all available troops report to Dr. Pike in the infirmary for hazmat suits,” she said calmly, then signed off.<br/><br/><em>Well at least she said please.</em>Katherine thought wryly, still uncertain about the woman's leadership skills, especially during this crisis.<br/><br/>The radio went silent and Garber did as the Captain instructed; gently lifting Dr. Rahimi, then with a curt nod, he turned and quickly made his way down the corridor.  Katherine watched them go with a heavy heart; she liked Hassan Rahimi and his easygoing personality, so it was difficult to accept the reality that he may not make it.  With that thought she looked at Captain Hunter sympathetically, certain the tragic turn of events couldn’t be easy for him either, since two of his troops fought the same battle, but she said nothing. There is often little value in stating the obvious, and on those occasions it is therefore best to keep silent; this was one of those moments.<br/><br/>After bending down to pick up the Kino remote that Hassan had been clutching, she followed the Captain while glancing at the images playing back on the small screen, but wasn't sure what she was looking at.  Once inside the control deck they immediately saw not only had they dropped out of F.T.L., there was a planet in range of the ship, and if the images on the Kino were current, then the ship had already dialed it with the Stargate; Katherine's gaze flew to the jump clock, and she swallowed hard.  The countdown had indeed started…23 hours remaining.<br/><br/>Curious, she thought, once the initial surprise wore off.<em>Could the ship have chosen this planet for a reason?</em>Though familiar with the accounts from Destiny theorizing that these Ancient ships were equipped with an AI system that could sense problems and route the crew to planets for the necessary supplies, it was still somewhat unbelievable to think it was actually happening that way, and that a mechanical object could be capable of that kind of sentience.  It wasn’t important however; the only thing that mattered was finding something that could help save the others, and if luck were with them, then this planet would hold the answer.<br/><br/>“Wait,” she reached out and grabbed Captain Hunter’s arm to urge him closer, “look at this.” She moved the remote between them and tried to expand the image by working the controls, just as Dr. Heath came rushing in, causing Katherine to look over her shoulder abruptly.<br/><br/>“Over here,” she inclined her head at the remote and looked down again, “there is a planet in range, and it appears Dr. Rahimi already sent a Kino through the Stargate,” she said hurriedly while pointing at the screen.<br/><br/>Images from a strange world appeared in the viewer, one that seemed to be completely barren.  No matter which direction the Kino moved, all they could see was a vast wasteland of swirling red sand and craggy red brown rocks jutting skyward.  Katherine frowned. “There’s nothing there.”  She looked up confused, and then addressed Captain Hunter. “How can there possibly be anything among those rocks that will help us?”<br/><br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/><br/><strong>In the Infirmary...</strong><br/><br/>A disheartening pall hung over the room where two crew members fought for their lives from the illness, and news just arrived that another scientist was likely infected and waiting for help in the Hydroponics lab.  The only sound in the room came from the low murmuring voices of Janet Heath and Carole Davis as they donned the protective suits Dr. Pike had given out moments ago.  Adjusting the gloves on his suit, he looked at the women, wondering what they had been talking about for so long, but he couldn’t be bothered to ask, especially since there were more important things to worry about.<br/><br/>Satisfied they were finished dressing, he said, “Carole?  Excuse me but can you help me over here please?”  He waived his colleague over, interrupting her conversation with Dr. Heath. “I need you to take the vital signs of our two patients if you don’t mind, and then compare them to the last entries,” he instructed, then handed her a clipboard with a medical log sheet, already partially filled out.<br/><br/>“Me?  But I’m not a medical doctor,” Carole said, her doe like brown eyes widening with surprise. A flicker of apprehension flashed through them as she became squeamish at the thought of touching infected patients; the request made her heart beat faster.<br/><br/>Nicholas recognized the fear, but didn’t have time to deal with such silly behaviour, nor the patience to coddle the woman. “Yes, yes, however, since I have to examine the latest blood samples and cannot be in two places at once, consider yourself promoted,” he said it impatiently, then added, “You do realize that the suit you’re wearing means that, unlike our unfortunate colleagues here, you will not become infected if you are not already?”  His tone of voice was mildly scornful and conveyed his irritation, but he quickly turned his back, abruptly ending the discussion.<br/><br/>Carole looked away; she couldn’t explain why she protested, and felt ashamed of the fear that had plagued her since Lt. Peters first appeared showing symptoms.  “You are right, I’m sorry Nicholas.” Squaring her shoulders, and shaking it off, she set off to do as he asked, determined to care for these people to the best of her ability.<br/><br/>Janet followed, but stopped when she stood between the two beds where Lt. Peters and Sgt. Walters lay and gazed down at them with a pained expression on her face.  Despite what some of the others assumed, she cared about their welfare and was not cold or callous.  Neither was she ignorant, knowing full well what they thought of her demeanour.  The Captain in particular, she knew did not approve of her style, which was disappointing because he was the only one she truly felt was a leadership equal.  Despite so many of the problems they faced being beyond her control, the truth was she felt the full weight of her responsibility and this failure acutely. No question it was ultimately her job to keep the crew safe and the mission on track, and she meant to do so by any means at her disposal.  Dammit! Couldn’t they see that? Hadn’t she made the mission and crew safety a priority from day one?  The opinions of the crew were unfortunate, but she was ill equipped to change their perceptions.  It was simply not in her nature to be nurturing or demonstrative because she believed that showed weakness, and it was more important in her eyes to remain unemotional and give the impression of strength and authority.  Feeling out of control in any capacity did not sit well with her either, and if the crew did feel discontent and harbour misgivings or misperceptions, then perhaps Katherine was partly to blame.  After all, wasn’t it her job to serve as liaison and prevent these situations from happening? Yes, she’d have to speak with Dr. Randall at the first opportunity.  Dr. Pike’s loud voice interrupted her musings, and her attention shifted to the older man standing behind a large microscope.<br/><br/>“Now,<em>this</em>is fascinating,” Nicholas said aloud, breaking the silence and startling the two women.  He looked up from the microscope he’d been studying.  “The viral pathogen has a fatal flaw requiring a very specific PH range of 5.5-6.0.”  He rubbed his hands and smiled.  “It is also confirmed that both patients are positive for the bacteria but negative for the virus…yes, this is a very interesting development indeed!”  He was excited, but seemed to be talking more to himself than anyone else.<br/><br/>Janet walked over and stood beside him. “Ok, you lost me.  What does it mean?” She asked intently, bending down to look into the eyepiece, recognizing human red blood cells and a strange looking particle, presumably the virus.<br/><br/>“Well, since the virus requires a slightly acid environment to survive and the PH of human blood is usually slightly alkaline, around 7.3, it means we are incompatible hosts, and the virus cannot infect us.  In other words, we don’t have to worry about it, and can focus our efforts on finding an effective anti-biotic to fight the bacteria,” he replied, grinning.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, there was no time to enjoy the welcome discovery. The report from Captain Hunter was not good news, and all three scientists fell silent.  Janet inhaled sharply before replying with her orders, and then wasted no time running for the control deck.<br/><br/>“Hurry,” Nicholas said to Carole as he threw open one of the storage containers, “help me get the other suits ready!”<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>