His enthusiasm surprised her, but she couldn’t help grinning at the display of excitement because he articulated her feelings exactly...lack of language filter notwithstanding.  His mask of control returned just as quickly, replacing the boyish charm she found utterly intriguing, and so she didn’t say anything. Rather she shook his hand and watched as he grabbed his files and left the office, thinking they would indeed be seeing a lot of each other from now on.  She smiled.  Taking one last glance around what had been her second home for the past year, she pondered the path she was about to take and switched off the light, heading back to her room to try and get some rest.<br/><br/><br/>It turned out sleep was impossible, and she woke after only a few hours of tossing and turning, too hyped up to stay in bed any longer.  Dressing quickly in jeans, a black sweater and hiking boots, she grabbed the small bag of belongings she was allowed to take, and went to join the others.  Everyone was milling about the conference room, the excitement and anticipation was palpable and it wasn’t long before the General and two other officers came to lead them to a room she’d never seen before, with the Stargate looming at the far end of it.  Little was said, and she watched as two technicians set the sequence that would open the wormhole.<br/><br/>As the last chevron clicked into place there was a blinding flash and it opened.  Once it stabilized, the event horizon rippled like a pool of shimmering water; it’s brilliant glow filling the room.  Her heart began pounding, and she saw Captain Hunter make his way to stand in front, his troops following closely behind.  Like a true leader, there was absolutely no fear or hesitation as he stepped through it, and as she watched him disappear, she let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.  Once the troops were through, it was their turn.  Standing beside Dr. Heath, she turned and saw nothing but excitement on the older woman’s face, in sharp contrast to the anxiety she herself felt.  The General waived them forward, and she approached slowly, until there was only one step left between the world she knew and what awaited them on the other side.  Stamping down her fear, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and stepped forward.<br/><br/>It was the oddest sensation, like walking through a silken force field of some kind, and as a cold wind brushed past her, she inhaled sharply.  Opening her eyes to see what it looked like, she instead found herself on a foreign world, light years away.  They had made it to Icarus Base in an instant.  Feeling slightly disoriented, there wasn’t time to look around as several soldiers came to escort them deep inside the underground installation.  She jumped when Dr. Heath grabbed her hand and said, “That wasn’t so bad was it?  Oh Kat isn’t this exciting?  Just wait until we get to our ship...I can’t wait to show you everything!”<br/><br/>There wasn’t time to say more because they were ushered into a briefing room, and instructed to find a seat.  The lights dimmed and a giant glass screen flickered to life.  Over the next hour, they were given a detailed presentation on everything that had been happening with the Destiny’s crew.  When it was over, Katherine sat in stunned silence along with everyone else, and the air felt thick with a sense of foreboding.  She had no idea how perilous the situation was, and now felt more than a little apprehension about their own mission.  Would they face the same dire, unpredictable circumstances at the outset?  Leaning towards Dr. Heath seated at her side, she whispered. “Did you know about all of this?  I understood that our ship was fully functional, but now it seems that nobody can possibly know that!”<br/><br/>Dr. Heath patted Katherine’s hand and whispered back. “I’m under orders not to discuss the particulars, but trust me when I say that it will be ok.  We wouldn’t be going if there was any doubt that our ship was operational.”<br/><br/>Katherine frowned, a million questions forming in her mind screaming for answers.  However, when the lights came back on, it appeared the General’s promise yesterday of a question period was not going to materialize.  Instead, it seemed Captain Hunter and his team were required elsewhere and Dr. Heath rose to address the remaining group.  “Welcome to Icarus Base.”  She was beaming. “We will be leaving for our ship in a few hours, just as soon as Captain Hunter receives the clearance.  Until then, we’ll spend our time going over some of the technology you’ll soon be dealing with.”  She began passing out folders and seemed oblivious to the puzzled and unhappy expressions on the faces of the people still seated, but Katherine’s frown deepened; she was concerned.  This was not a good way to start things off...not at all.<br/><br/><br/><br/>