“Incoming wormhole,” announced Staff Sergeant Thomas Crow as the klaxon pierced the silence of the morning at Stargate Command. The Stargate kawooshed behind the iris as defense teams scrambled to their posts in the gate room. Captain Lucy Roncalli came into the control room and stood next to the sergeant.

  “Report, Sergeant,” she said.

  “Receiving SG-16's IDC, for their scheduled return, ma’am.”

  “Open the iris.” While Sergeant Crow worked the palm scanner to open the iris, Captain Roncalli went down to the Gate Room. She welcomed the team back home and let them know that their debriefing with General Carter would be in an hour. Once SG-16 was on their way, Captain Roncalli went back to the control room as Sergeant Crow was packing up to finish his shift.

  “Sergeant, I want to review our report to General Carter. I would like to present her today after SG-16’s debriefing. Meet me at the commissary in fifteen minutes. We'll discuss this over breakfast.”

  “Sounds like a plan, ma'am,” said Sergeant Crow. Ever since Sergeant Crow’s first night at the SGC when the Stargate activated and deactivated for a few seconds with nothing coming in, the same event occurred two separate times on different days and at different times. Both Captain Roncalli and Sergeant Crow had been on duty all three times, though they believed their presence was a mere coincidence. They had both requested a day shift to make sure whatever was causing the gate to activate wasn't solely happening on the night shift. Though the two made detailed reports of what had happened, they felt that it was time to inform General Carter of the situation.

  The two sat and had breakfast while they worked to hash out what they were going to say. Captain Roncalli had a bowl of oatmeal in some sausage while Sergeant Crow had a stack of pancakes and bacon. They both had a new blend of chamomile tea that Captain Roncalli had shared with all the personnel on the night shift. It was a gift from her sister from a monastery in North Dakota. When Captain Roncalli first tasted it, she was blown away as she had felt it had been made for someone in the military by someone who had been in the military.

  “Did you include the capacitor logs?” Sergeant Crow nodded.

  “Yes, thank you for reminding me. I forgot about the Anubis incident.”

  “I thought you had read everything, Sergeant.”

  “Well, not everything,” Sergeant Crowd admitted.

  “Shame on you,” Captain Roncalli teased. The two worked until they were ready. Once they finished breakfast they went down to General Carter’s office. They sat in an adjoining conference room until General Carter had concluded her debriefing with SG-16. A few minutes after the debriefing, Sergeant Abel, General Carter’s secretary, came to them.

  “Captain Roncalli, Sergeant Crow, the General will see you now,” she said.

  “Thank you, Sergeant,” said Captain Roncalli. The two stood and made their way to General Carter's office door. Captain Roncalli noticed some uneasiness from just Sargeant Crow.

  “Nervous Sergeant,” she asked.

  “A little,” he admitted.

  “Deep breaths, Sergeant. Deep breaths. I'll do most of the talking. You can chime in where you think it's necessary.” Sergeant Crow nodded. “Ready? Let's go in.” Captain Roncalli knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” said Lieutenant General Samantha Carter. She stood as Captain Roncalli and Sergeant Crow came in. They stood at attention and saluted.

  “Captain Lucy Roncalli and Sergeant Thomas Crow reporting ma’am,” said Captain Roncalli. General Carter returned the salute.

  “At ease. Be seated.” The three sat down. “My secretary says you had some concerns involving the Stargate?”

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  “Yes ma'am. We had several instances where there would be an unscheduled offworld activation. No IDC is transmitted but after a short period of time, the Gate shuts off. It happened on Sergeant Crow’s first night here, then it happened a couple of days after during the afternoon, then the third one happened several weeks later. Each time the gate would activate for less than thirty seconds. It’s long enough for defense teams to scramble, but by the time they get to the gate room the gate shuts off. But Sergeant Crow and I have made extensive reports each time it happened.”

  “Yes. I’ve read your notes in the logs. May I see your findings?” Asked General Carter.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” replied Captain Roncalli as she gave a file folder to General Carter. She opened it and read it as Captain Roncalli continued. “We run high level diagnostics on the gate and they came back negative.” General Carter nodded.

  “Did you check the capacitors and make sure they had discharged after the stargate shut off?”

  “Yes ma'am. We're aware of the incident with Anubis and we checked that the capacitors had cleared each time the gated deactivated,” Sergeant Crow said plucking up a bit of courage. General Carter nodded and Captain Roncalli gave him a nod and quick smile.

  “I see. Were there any transmissions being sent?”

  “We didn't check the first instance, but we did on subsequent ones. We found a signal on an Ancient frequency being sent. It was a very short transmission,” Captain Roncalli said.

  “Did you get its destination or source?” General Carter asked.

  “Unfortunately, no. The Stargate was only active for a few seconds.” General Carter nodded.

  “Make sure you do if it happens again.”

  “We will, ma'am,” said Captain Roncalli.

  “Well,” said General Carter, “there isn't much we can do. We don't even know who or where these transmissions are coming from since there has not been an IDC or the signature for from a Sagan Box.”

  “General wouldn’t it be a good thing if we knew where incoming wormholes came from?” Asked Sergeant Crow

  “It would be,” replied General Carter. “If we knew who was dialing us, we would have been better prepared; like when Apophis first attacked us and abducted Airman Weterings, or when Anubus used the ancient weapon that caused the Stargate to explode.” General Carter paused for a moment and said, “Keep me apprised of the situation. Dismissed.” The three stood, saluted and Captain Roncalli and Sergeant Crow left. As General Carter sat down in her chair to read their report, Sergeant Abel buzzed on the intercom.

  “General Carter, Lieutenant Colonel Marcus Larkin to see you,” said Sergeant Abel.

  “Send him in,” said General Carter. Colonel Larkin entered General Carter's office, stood at attention and saluted,

  “Lieutenant Colonel Marcus Larkin reporting as order, General.” General Carter returned the salute. “At ease, Colonel Larkin. Please be seated.” Colonel Larkin sat down. “How goes your search for your fourth member of SG-24?”

  “Not well, ma'am. I'm still trying to find the right person. The candidates you gave me all good people with good backgrounds. I've narrowed my search to four people: Oberlutant Johann Bernhofner the Austrian Bundesheer, Doctor Maria Fernandez, Doctor Fiona McCarthy, and Flying Officer Stephen Hughes of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.” General Carter scrutinized the personnel reports on her tablet.

  “Colonel, you have three days to finalize your team.” She said without looking up from her tablet. “We need SG-24 ready for missions.”

  “I understand that General.” Colonel Larkin paused. He took a deep breath and chose his words carefully. “I can narrow it down to two candidates: Bernhofner and Hughes. Both of them have the Ancient Technology Gene at suitable levels.”

  General Carter met his gaze, her eyes steely. “And your decision?”

  “Both have a medium level of the gene. Bernhofner has extensive collateral knowledge while Hughes has medical training. Both would be an invaluable asset to my team, but I need more time.” Colonel Larkin replied.

  Carter sighed, putting down her tablet. “You know as well as I do that time is a luxury we don't have. Both Fairbairn and Bjornson are capable, but the fourth member of the team is crucial.”

  “I understand,” said Colonel Larkin. “But given the unique challenges we may face I want to be certain. I would really like for the fourth member of my team to have a high level of the ATA gene like that of General O'Neill, General Sheppard, or Doctor Beckett.

  “I'll give you three days,” said General Carter, her tone leaving no room for negotiations. “After that, I shall make the decision for you. Understand?”

  “Fully, ma'am,” say Colonel Larkin.

  “Good. Dismissed.” Colonel Larkin and general Carter stood, saluted and Colonel Larkin left General Carter's office.

  He went back to his office as he entered his office and sat down. Colonel Larkin felt the weight of the deadline settle on his shoulders. He had three days to choose the right member or risk the general's intervention. He selected Bernhofner’s and Hughe’s personnel files on two tablets, and set them on his desk. Putting on a selection of Mozart he began to read. He looked at his notes in his notebook; the profiles were staring back at him, both offering potential and peril and equal measure. Who would he choose? Or was there a third option he hadn't considered? “Three days,” he said to himself. “I must find the answer.”