It was almost lunchtime when Dr. Pike poked his head inside the lab, whistling to catch Katherine’s attention.  Startled, she looked up and he said their presence was requested in the conference room by Dr. Heath…some kind of crew meeting.  Sighing, she leaned back in her chair and rubbed the back of her neck.  “Damn, I was hoping for no interruptions today.  Very well, you go on ahead, I’ll be there shortly.”<br/><br/>He nodded and tapped his hand on the doorframe before turning around to leave.<br/><br/>Closing the files on her desk, she put the rest of her paperwork away, then set off for the meeting wondering what it could be about, and slightly worried too considering Dr. Heath’s strange behaviour earlier.  When she finally entered the conference room, she was surprised to see none of the military crew present, though all of the scientists were. Not long after, Captain Hunter arrived, smiling as he walked towards her to settle in the empty chair at her side. Katherine’s mood brightened instantly, and she smiled back at him warmly until Dr. Heath began to speak, then she turned to give her attention to the woman at the head of the table.<br/><br/><em>Oh, accolades for everyone, so far so good!</em>Feeling uncomfortable at being praised simply because she didn’t die or screw up the mission, Katherine was nonetheless pleased to see Dr. Heath take the time to focus on the positives, but why wasn’t everyone present? Not a wise decision at all, and she frowned.  However, Katherine’s ambivalence quickly gave way to shock and her mouth dropped open slightly at the doctor’s next words directed solely to Captain Hunter.  Though she didn’t believe Dr. Heath intended to provoke him, Katherine had no doubt that was precisely what would happen.  To confirm her suspicions, she glanced at the man seated beside her and winced slightly at the expression on his face.  Fury clearly simmered beneath his controlled exterior, and when he finally did speak, she wasn’t sure what was more intimidating, the rage she sensed or his deliberate calmness.  His terse reply was blunt, and rightly so in light of Dr. Heath’s lack of tact. What he said made sense, and she definitely agreed in principle, but as his voice grew louder she bristled at his tone, and then…he neatly dropped the ball right into her lap.<br/><br/>Katherine groaned inwardly but squared her shoulders, and looked at him calmly.  “Of course I agree with you that everyone should be respectful at all times, however, I do take issue with the military chain of command taking precedence while on board, but I’ll come back to this,” she said.<br/><br/>Turning her attention to Dr. Heath now, she clasped her hands on the table, and kept her demeanour cool and professional.  This entire meeting was an exercise in bad judgement and she harkened back to the good doctor’s words before this mission started, and decided now was the time to test the sincerity behind them, and the legitimacy of her position. “I have to be frank Dr. Heath that I’m very troubled by the way things are going.  When we started this project, you made it perfectly clear to me that having the crew work together as a team was your number one priority, however, after today I have serious concerns.”  She said firmly then gestured around the table. “First off, why are no other military personnel present? Certainly, this pertains to them, and they deserve to hear your praise in person, not through Captain Hunter.  Surely you can see this will only reinforce that he is their leader, not you.”<br/><br/>Dr. Heath’s eyes grew stormy and her posture stiffened.   “I think that’s quite enough Kat,” she said icily.<br/><br/>Katherine didn’t miss the thinly veiled warning carried in the woman’s voice or the intentional use of her nickname, but she pressed on, knowing she probably had only one chance to speak her mind. “No it’s not,” she said heatedly, leaning forward even more.  “The only way this is going to work is if<em>all</em>of us are treated equally, and even though we each bring a certain expertise to the table, the soldiers included, at the end of the day that means nothing as far as interpersonal relations are concerned.  We are simply individuals who have to coexist for the foreseeable future and as such, you Dr. Heath as the leader must go out of your way to treat everyone with the same consideration and level of respect.” Her voice had become stronger and she stared at Dr. Heath solemnly, hoping she would see the intent and genuine concern behind her statements.  Judging from the expression on the doctor’s face, Katherine knew she’d probably gone too far, but was worried if things continued on the way they had been, everything would start unraveling and quickly end up damaged beyond repair.  Convinced that the woman simply wasn't herself for whatever reason, she was confident Dr. Heath would appreciate the honesty upon reflection.  She braced for a response but none came, so she looked around at every person seated. “As for the rest of us, until we get to know each other better and figure out how we’re going to work together, let’s try and be vigilant about not stepping on any toes unnecessarily. Agreed?” She asked firmly.<br/><br/>Satisfied when she saw the others slowly nodding their heads, she shifted in her seat so that she faced Captain Hunter.  In a softer voice she said, “Now, about what you were saying, mutual respect is absolutely important and I agree with you, but on board, I don’t see how the military chain of command you mentioned can work, not if we have any hope of building a cohesive team.  Once we leave the ship, then yes, it can and should, but otherwise, no.”  She shook her head.  “In addition, if there is work to be done and the soldiers are not otherwise occupied, it’s highly impractical for someone to try and find you to ask your permission every time we need help with something.  The same holds true if you need help from one of the scientists, you shouldn’t have to ask Dr. Heath.  We are after all, working towards the same goals.  Wouldn’t you agree Captain?”<br/><br/>Realizing it was time to quit, she bit her lip, and watched him now to see his reaction, hopeful he would agree some compromise was necessary for the good of all concerned, and perhaps more than a little nervous she just added fuel to the fire.<br/>