She's brief... maybe even abrupt... with Kaspar, "I think I understand more than you might realise, Major.   Apologies are however not necessary.   We have a job to do.  I assume we're waiting for the General and then we can be off."

In reply to Sarah Morgan (msg # 280):

     "Fine." Kaspar replies with a nod, "Please feel free to call me Kaspar, then.  And, in the future, I'll know that if you address me as 'Major', then I have irked you in some way."

     "As for waiting upon the General, I'm not sure." Kaspar says with a shrug, turning to look up at the control room window.

     "I received the usual pre-Mission Briefing folder, but it contained very little--mostly just confirmation from Captain Tourmaline that the Ha'tak, still holding the Star Gate, continued to remain on planet.  As well as a brief mission statement ordering the Team to continue to analyze and investigate the Henge Transport system, while giving investigation of the Lunar Base a high priority."

     "The documents also mentioned we had authority to continue talks with the First Ones, and even establish initial relations with them--subject to approval from higher authority, of course.  And that we can pursue such talks on our own initiative."

     "I seem to recall we thought we'd seen one of the Henge Portals lead to the First One city, so getting back there will not be a problem."

     Kaspar lowers his voice and leans a little closer to Sarah,

     "I say that because there was no mention in the papers I got, concerning Captain Tourmaline's orders for after we've left the Star Gate.  She may have orders to, finally, begin the journey to bring the Ha'tak back to Earth.  And if that's the case, we'll have to then convince the First Ones to dig up their Gate and let us use it.  Even if only for the trip back home."

     Kaspar straightens, and looks to the Gate,

     "But I was a bit surprised when the order came to report straight to the gate room, rather than to the briefing room for a pre-mission meeting.  Maybe there is some urgent issue."

     With a rueful grin, Kaspar raises an eyebrow and looks aside to Sarah,

     "Or maybe General Hammond is just in a hurry to get us the Hell off of his base."

"My apologies," Freyda says as she floats into the Gate Room on her grav chair. "The delay is partly my fault as I had some questions of General Hammond."

"Also, the gate has scheduled times for activation since away teams are expected back with a certain time limit."

"The General did not feel there was a need for a mission briefing since we are merely resuming our previous mission."

"The General is still trying to work out a plan for the Ha'tak. It does not have enough fuel to return to Earth. The alternative is to land it on some world where your tech teams can study it or provide fuel for it."

"The stargate is to go with it so that Wilhelm and Vasandra will have a way back to Earth. He thinks that if you finish your mission soon, you can go with them to find such a planet or fuel."

No sooner does Freyda stop speaking than an announcement is made--"Gate activation in 90 seconds!"--is a final warming and also informs everyone that it's right on schedule.

"Outbound gate to X2U-238 for SG-X1."

Ninety seconds later, the gate sequence is dialed and, when the final symbol is locked in, the wormhole whooshes outward for a second before it settles back into the puddle of water.

Radio contact is quickly established with Vasandra, and she gives the all-clear for gate travel back to the planet.

Naseem nods and moves quickly, staff weapon up and vanishes through the wormhole. No matter how many times she's made the trip or shared memories of travel with Hecate it never gets old.

As soon as she is clear she steps to the side to allow the others through. "I'm through and all looks well," she reported over comms.

'Now let's just hope this doesn't turn into a Charlie Foxtrot like last time,' she thought to herself and Hecate.

Gavan quickly follows Naseem through the stargate, escorting Asherrra through as she was no doubt anxious to return to her world. If he was being honest, he was starting to miss Tollan a bit. The reason he chose to visit the Tau'ri in the first place was that they had a sense of adventure about them, a touch of excitement... something that the Tollani lacked in their staid advanced civilization.

The Tollani had been like the Tau'ri once upon a time. He'd have to look into when that changed when he got back.

The High Council had also wanted to find out if the Tau'ri were a threat. While they claimed to be above that sort of thing, they were clearly annoyed that the Tau'ri were the (probably) the Fifth Race. Why weren't the Tollani?

Her head was filled with so much wonder!

She'd seen so many new things, so many sights, and learned so much! And, yet, she knew there was so much more! Even as the Tau'ri were concerned about her, she was concerned about whether her people were ready for this. Could she show them all of it? All at once? Could she contain herself if she didn't?

Would the Instructor understand? Could it? It must be programmed for when the First Ones made contact with the outside... universe! Not just outside the city...

Were her people ready? If she'd been asked, she'd have said she wasn't ready. And yet, here she was! On another planet... half a galaxy away! There were tales of the Ring of Stars, but it had always been... as the Tau'ri would put it... a fairy tale. It had never quite seemed real. And then the Tau'ri came knocking on the city's doors!

She couldn't decide if she'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time... or the right place at the right time! She did know that she wouldn't take it back even if she could!

She was right beside Gavan as he walked through the Ring of Stars and arrived on the other side in the Ha'tak. Another wonder! She had never thought she'd been inside one of the Dragon Lords' ships. She'd never wanted to!

"Typical army. Let the Marines lead the way." Lucky said to Tate as he passed with a smirk, too a deep breath, and then followed Gavan and Asherra

In reply to Lucas Wheeler (msg # 287):



     Kaspar turned to the Gate, pulled his forage cap on, and smiled as the wormhole formed.

     "Semel iterumque ad astra" Kaspar whispers an old Latin motto, then heads through the gate.

'Wait for me!' Hilda huffed, hurrying back after finding and collecting her arrow. She slipped it back in her quiver, then ran up the ramp into the Well of Urðr with a splash—

Letting Kaspar's diatribe wash over her Sarah nodded where appropriate and noted Freya's arrival with some relief.

She was a little surprised the General hadn't made an appearance but with the gate opening, there really wasn't much more she could do and so after the marines had taken the lead, she followed them to the event horizon and vanished....

[To X2U-238: Shot in the Dark 2]

--->>>> From Petropolis (SG-X2)

 Lizzy came through the portal, this was her second time and it still felt weird as hell. She got her bearings and then headed to the medical area to hand over the samples carefully. She will wait for the others to arrive before doing anything else.

Kyle arrived, stumbling slightly as he transited out of the wormhole onto the metal gantry. He looked round, seeming almost surprised at his surroundings.

>>> FROM PETROPOLIS

"I wonder if I'll ever get used to that," he said as the SGC appeared around him again.

Also again, protocol dictated that they all report to medical for debriefing, then to General Hammond to report.

There were guards on duty, of course... SG-19 by the look of things. But they didn't have weapons ready, just handy in case SG-X2 turned out to be bug-eyed monsters in disguise!

Kyle had one urgent need - a bathroom. As everyone gathered themselves and trooped off towards the Infirmary, he ducked into the nearest men's room to attend to business. Then he went off to the Infirmary as was expected of him.

In short order, the rest of the team went through stargate and made it safely back to Star Gate Command. Pretty much with just a cursory once-over, SG-X2 was passed on to the Infirmary. Now, if they'd come back with a Minotaur, THAT would have caused a stir!

It takes Coleman a while to line up all his equipment, then gets it all arranged how he likes it to carry through the gate. By the time he gets to the gate room, it's getting close to time to head out.

"OK guys, let's not get complacent heading through; it looks like Gilligan's Island over there, but as the General said, something could be interfering with the MALP. Be ready. Bjorn, you're point as usual, but let's push the boat through first since it can provide cover if something is way wrong on the other side."

"No matter how many times I do this," Jason said as he entered the Gate Room again, "I never get tired of it."

He made a note of the gear that the Colonel had requested and had been already delivered to the Gate Room. He had to admit that it looked like an awful lot of stuff for such a tiny island. He couldn't help wondering if it'd even all fit!

Kyle showed up, festooned with bits of gear, and wearing a decidedly non-regulation t-shirt, a messy swirling random pattern of yellow, green, and blue with NITROGEN NARCOSIS lettered across the front. As always he was excited about going through the Stargate to visit someplace new. He nodded at Jason's words, in full agreement with the sentiment.

 Lizzy came into the gate room with all her gear ready. She was all ready for another trip through the star gate. This was so incredible traveling to new worlds through the Stargate. Lizzy waited for her turn to go through again and see what waited for them on this Island world.

Karen filed in after Lizzy. She gave Kyle's shirt a second glance and smiled. She took position just behind Bjorn and stared in wonder at the Stargate.

Since it had taken a bit more time to outfit everyone for what looked to be a simple mission but which no one expected it to be, everyone made it to the Gate Room with only about 5 minutes before the scheduled gate activation.

At the appropriate time, the alarm sounded and the gate ring began its ritual spinning. When the final chevron was locked in, the 'whoosh' accompanied the appearance of the protrusion of 'water' before settling down to the 'pool' once more.

A few minutes later, General Hammond announced that they were getting an image from the MALP and that it still showed the same tranquil beach scene.

"Remember, folks, there's no shade on that island. You can get sunburned in 20 minutes. We'll expect a report and possibly a return in 30 minutes."

"You are cleared to go!"

"Ok, move out."

Coleman dutifully waits for each of his team to step through before he heads through as well. He totally understands everyone's excitement about this. He certainly feels that excitement himself. But he also has to consider the mission and his people. Hopefully, this really will just be a day at the beach.

 Lizzy nodded and headed through the stargate after Bjorn who usually went first.

Jackie jumps in after Lizzie, screaming like it was the first time. Then regains her composure on the other side.