Epilogue

One Year Later

At the core drilling site in the hills south of Kelowna City, engineers and technicians made their final preparations connecting the gate to the planet's naquadriah core, while the expedition waited to embark. Among those waiting was Katniss Everdeen, whose family had come to see her off.

"You're sure I can't talk you out of this?" pleaded Prim, one last time.

"Don't you worry, little duck," consoled Katniss. "We're talking two extra sets of communication stones. You can come see me whenever you want."

"It's not the same," said Prim.

"I know," said Katniss, embracing her not-so-little-anymore sister.

Marian Everdeen looked at her daughter and smiled.

"Your father would've been so proud," she beamed, with a certain sadness in her eyes.

"I wish he could've lived to see this," lamented Katniss.

"So do I," empathized Marian.

"Oh good, you haven't left yet," interrupted a short-of-breath Peeta Mellark as he jogged into the room.

"I was starting to worry," said Katniss, accepting his embrace as Peeta threw his arms around her.

"I thought for sure Gale would be here," observed Marian.

"No time for that," said Peeta. "Cray's riding him extra hard in F-302 training. Who'd have thought he'd be a natural-born pilot?"

"I could've guessed," said Katniss. "So, you and Madge, huh?"

Peeta blushed. "Yeah, me and Madge. I guess being a presidential aide is a lot more impressive than being a baker's apprentice."

"It helps when the girl's father is the President," noted Katniss.

"Yeah," agreed Peeta, "I guess so."

"Your attention please," came the official announcement. "We will be dialing the gate in five minutes. Transit will begin immediately upon establishment of a stable wormhole. All expedition personnel, prepare to embark."

"I guess this is it," said Katniss, prompting her family and friend to embrace her all at once. "I love you all."

Katniss waved forlornly as she took her place a safe distance in front of the gate.

"Chevron one encoded," announced a tech. "Chevron one locked. Chevron two encoded..."

"Do you think she'll be alright out there?" asked Marian.

"Oh, yeah," replied Peeta with a smile. "I think she'll be just fine."

"Chevron eight encoded," announced the tech, the moment of truth approaching. "Chevron eight locked. Chevron nine encoded...chevron nine...is locked."

The vortex emerged from the gate, and settled back into the event horizon, and for only third time in all mortal memory, a wormhole bridged the unfathomable distance between the Milky Way and Destiny.

"Thirty-eight minutes, people!" ordered Katniss. "Let's move out!"

"Incoming wormhole," reported Eli.

"Defense teams in position," ordered Lieutenant Scott, preparing his soldiers in the event that these proved to be unwelcome visitors.

The gate activated, and the crew of Destiny had to wait only a moment for their first new arrival. Recognizing the goofy smiling face standing behind one of the consoles at the far end of the room, Katniss immediately ran up to Eli and threw her arms around him. So excited to see her was Eli that he effortlessly picked her up, gear and all, and spun her around.

"I didn't even know you were coming!" beamed Eli.

"I asked Colonel Young to keep a lid on it so it could be a surprise," explained Katniss.

"Save the happy reunion for later," admonished Scott, turning his attention to the rest of the expedition. "We've got a lot of gear coming in. Let's keep it moving."

After about twenty minutes, the first wave had come through. Eli then directed Katniss back over to the console.

"Watch this," he invited, queuing up a command and pressing the execute button. With that, the active gate retracted into the slot in the floor, then reemerged. When it had finished, the large hatch behind the gate rumbled as it slid down into the floor, revealing another large room with another large hatch in the ceiling.

"We wondered for the longest time what that was," narrated Eli. "Until we finally got it working. So are you going to tell me what we needed the bay for?"

Katniss smiled diabolically. "You'll see."

At that time, a small, cylindrical craft flew through the gate, followed shortly thereafter by another.

"Puddle jumpers!" cried Eli. "This day keeps getting better and better!"

A third jumper flew awkwardly through the gate, gently colliding with the other two.

"Watch it, watch it, watch it!" chanted Eli as the craft backed up dangerously close to the Stargate. Finally, the pilot got the hang of it, and brought the vessel safely to a stop in its designated parking spot, drawing a sigh of relief from Eli.

"Sorry," came a familiar voice over the comm. "My bad!"

"Effie?" Eli asked incredulously.

"She may not be good for much," said Katniss. "But apparently, she's got an unusually-strong expression of the ATA gene."

Eli reversed the gate once again. The last few stragglers came through before the gate shut down, and the cooling jets activated.

"So that's it for another year," noted Eli.

Katniss nodded. "Necessary to maintain core stability. But the good news is, we've got medical equipment and doctors, weapons and troops – Langaran, Jaffa, and Tau'ri, tools, hardware and engineers to make repairs, and schematics and hardware to build an Asgard transporter."

"And of course, you," added Eli, putting his arm around Katniss as he escorted her out of the room. "Come on, let's go open our presents."

Dr. Dale Volker donned the new uniform, a black jumpsuit with subtle charcoal-gray trim, designed by none other than Cinna himself.

"I look ridiculous," complained Volker.

"You look great," assured Katniss.

"Are you sure a civilian should be wearing this?"

"Has to be to switch with the General," explained Colonel Young. "It wouldn't look right for one of our own people to be giving himself orders."

The entire crew assembled in the gate room, with the military personnel lined up in the front, clad in their new uniforms. On the balcony atop the dual staircases appeared Colonel Young.

"Tench-hut!" called Scott, causing the soldiers to stand at attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen," introduced Young. "General Ian Kalis."

Young took his place among his officers, yielding the podium, as it were, to Kalis.

"Crew of the starship Destiny," began Kalis. "It is my privilege to announce that the combined military forces of Langara and the Tau'ri Federation will henceforth be known as Sky Force. Our ongoing mission is to explore, and to uphold peace and freedom throughout our sphere of influence. Colonel Cray has assumed command of the Odyssey, and will seek out others – be they human, Jaffa, Tok'ra, or non-human – to join us in our cause.

"It is also my honor to recognize the crew of Destiny, and to present those in leadership with the ranks appropriate to their level of service on this special mission.

Kalis turned his attention to military personnel, presenting each with his or her new rank, and having them line up along the balcony to his sides, the civilians applauding as he did so.

"Second Lieutenant Katniss Everdeen...Captain Ronald Greer...Major Vanessa James...Major Tamara Johansen...Colonel Matthew Scott...and Brigadier General Everett Young."

"In addition," continued Kalis, "On behalf of the President of the Tau'ri Federation, I am pleased to confer upon Camille Wray the title and position of Ambassador at Large to the Civilizations Beyond the Local Cluster. Congratulations to you all, and godspeed."

Kalis finished his speech to the sound of thunderous applause. As the crowd dispersed, Eli sought out Katniss.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant," he said with a smile.

Katniss laughed. "Thanks. It's a shame they didn't have anything for you."

"Ah, who am I?" Eli dismissed modestly. "Just the guy who holds this bucket together."

Katniss put her arms around his neck. "Well, I think that's worthy of something."

Eli smiled, then dove in for his first face-to-face, in-galaxy kiss with Katniss Everdeen.

Several troops lined the cargo bay of a Tel'tak as they brought in the prisoner.

"Coriolanus Snow, sometime President of the Federation of Panem" said Minister Peeta Mellark. "You have been found Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity by a special tribunal of the Tau'ri Federation. We are here today to carry out the sentence of Death. Do you have anything to say?"

"You believe you've won a great victory," filibustered Snow. "But I promise you, your revelry will be short-lived. Throughout history, any and all attempts by the people to rule themselves have failed miserably. In time...perhaps in a year, perhaps in ten, perhaps in a hundred...chaos will ensue, and the people will yearn for the leadership I once provided. And I will be smiling down upon you, knowing I was always right."

"Very eloquent, sir," granted Peeta. "But your words ring hollow. Your actions have been motivated not by care nor concern for your people, but by your own lust for power, and for blood. And now you must bear the consequences of your actions. Carry out the sentence, please."

"Jaffa," called the Jaffa commander. "Kree!"

A Jaffa placed a stone with a plaque within the rings. When Snow refused to move, the butt of a staff weapon forced him into the rings. The rings activated, and carried the condemned tyrant to his doom.

When the rings retracted, Snow stood in a dry, dusty place. As the air left his lungs, he fell to his knees, then collapsed on his side. With the sun glowing just below the horizon, he could see the remains of a landing module, and ancient Stars and Stripes, flying the same as they had eight centuries ago. It was the last thing he saw as he faded from his mortal existence.

Beside his remains, in that place once known as the Ocean of Storms, lay a plague of naquadah and trinium alloy, bearing these words:

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

-Thomas Jefferson, 1787

The End

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