A/N: The first of 2 short updates for you. This one deals with events from January 2002 up to SG1 meeting the Terran Commonwealth during the events of "Failsafe".

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2002 – January

Surprising many people across the world, the various European governments that both run their own space programs as well as funding the European Space Agency, as well as the European Union as a whole, announce plans to fully merge their respective programs and the European Space Agency together, creating a new European Space Agency, with almost double the funding of the original, combining the resources, personnel, technology, majority of the budgets and facilities of the original, individual space agencies.

This is announced both as a sensible course of action in the evolution of the European Space Agency and (in several countries, but especially the United Kingdom, France and Germany) as a money saving decision, with approximately half of the individual space agency's budgets being transferred to the European Space Agency and the rest being transferred back into the individual country's infrastructure and medical budgets.

Although there are numerous protests within the affected countries with the initial announcement, the majority of them are short lived and die down rapidly once the budget information is announced, although several groups still stage protests based on the space agencies affected being a matter of "National Pride" for the individual countries and should not have been transferred to the control of a "bunch of foreigners".

Also in this month, the 2nd Cobra squadron is completed and begins space trials. Meanwhile, several squadron's worth of pilots begin to train on 1st Cobra squadron's fighters, both to provide a pool of ready-trained personnel for future squadrons but also to provide back-up pilots in case of loss, either through accidents or an attack.

2002 – February

For the Terran Commonwealth, February is very quiet, with no major events or developments occurring that affect it. The only events of significance are: the completion of Valkyrie 02 and the beginning of its space trials; the deployment to active service of the 2nd Cobra squadron following the conclusion of its space trials and the start of construction of the 3rd Cobra squadron.

2002 – March

Early and mid March is again very quiet for the Terran Commonwealth, with Valkyrie 02 completing its space trials and being assigned to conduct surveys of Uranus and Neptune as well as the surrounding space, studying the planets and their moons with the aim of furthering the Terran Commonwealth's knowledge of the Terran Solar System.

However, in late March, Valkyrie 02 detects a rogue asteroid while en-route to its survey position in orbit of Uranus. Due to a lack of knowledge regarding rogue asteroids, the crew of Valkyrie 02 decide to keep monitoring the asteroid with the ship's sensors during the few hours that it will remain within sensor range.

However, less than an hour after first detecting the asteroid, the sensors alert the crew to the projected course of the asteroid, a course that would bring the asteroid very close to the Earth, possibly even impacting it.

When this information is communicated to the Terran Commonwealth Council it causes a panic across the entire organisation, and the member governments. Initially Valkyrie 02 is assigned to monitor the asteroid, providing up-to-date information on its course and a detailed composition of the asteroid. Meanwhile the Council begins urgent discussions over how to solve the problem of the asteroid, as due to its size, the Terran Commonwealth cannot hope to destroy it sufficiently, using the weapons it has available, to ensure that it poses no threat to Earth.

One of the best plans proposed is to use the Cobra Squadron's, in conjunction with the larger ships of the Terran Commonwealth, the Heracles, and possibly the Atlas Class Cargo/Transport Vessel, in an attempt to divert the asteroid away from Earth. This plan is decided upon and planning is ordered immediately once the Council learns that almost half of the asteroid's mass is composed of Naquadah, with the vast majority of the asteroid's core being composed of almost pure Naquadah.

With this information, the Council orders all available Cobra's, including the 4 training Cobra's, and all 4 Heracles Class Mining Vessels to be fitted with anchoring cables strong enough to hold them to the asteroid at full burn. At the same time, the council orders the incomplete Atlas Class Cargo/Transport Vessel to also be fitted with the anchoring cables and for construction on it to be rushed as much as possible in order to get it spaceworthy and capable of assisting in the operation. The Council also orders Valkyrie 02 to not only continue to monitor the asteroid, but to also help determine the best possible locations for the ships and fighters to attach themselves to the asteroid, and orders the Seran Scout Vessel to return to the Terran Solar System to act as protection for the ships involved in case this is an attack.

2002 – April 1st to 6th

The modifications to the fighters and ships are completed by the 2nd of April, approximately 7 days after the asteroid was first detected and 4 days before the asteroid is anticipated to be too close to the Earth for the attempt to succeed (roughly 24hrs before the asteroid hits Earth).

By the 5th of April, the asteroid has been diverted from its original course sufficiently to prevent it from impacting on Earth, although its new course still brings it too close to Earth for comfort and as such, the decision is made to continue to alter its course further away from Earth.

On the 6th April a hyperspace window is detected by the TCS Sera in the vicinity of the asteroid's original projected location, if it hadn't been detected and diverted by the Terran Commonwealth. The operational commander immediately orders the TCS Sera to intercept the Tel'tak detected exiting hyperspace, and, having determined the asteroid is sufficiently far enough away from Earth, orders the fighters and ships to sever their connections to the asteroid and to form up in case the Tel'tak is a scout in advance of an attack.

The Terran Commonwealth Council, having been alerted to the arrival of the Tel'tak, contacts the TCS Sera and gives a series of orders to its commanding officer regarding what he is to do about the ship. As the ship is the same type of ship that has helped the American's out on at least 1 occasion, TCS Sera is ordered to make contact with the Tel'tak and determine the intentions of its crew. If the ship is hostile, they are ordered to destroy it, if it doesn't respond, they are ordered to fire a warning shot and force them away from Earth, and if the ship is friendly, TCS Sera is ordered to open initial diplomatic relations with them. If, in the unlikely (but still possible) event that the ship is crewed by American's, TCS Sera's crew are authorised to inform them that several Terran Commonwealth representatives will be contacting their President within the next few days to begin talks.

Meanwhile, on board the Tel'tak, SG1 is astounded to find that the asteroid, which they had expected to find to be within a few minutes flight from the location of their hyperspace emergence, was instead almost half-an-hour's journey away at their damaged Tel'tak's top sublight speed, and on a completely different trajectory than it had been 10 days ago when they had left Revanna and last had contact with the SGC.

Before SG1 can get over their surprise, they are shocked to be receiving a signal, as they weren't expecting the SGC to be able to detect at the distance they are from Earth. They are even more shocked when the sensors reveal that the source of the signal is an unidentified ship closing on their position from the direction of the asteroid.

"Unidentified Tel'tak, this is the TCS Sera. You are trespassing in Terran Commonwealth Territory. Identify yourself and your purpose here immediately or you will be considered hostile and fired upon. You have 1 minute to respond."

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