Tuvok watched as Ensign Kim and Commander Chakotay scanned the object with their tricorders. Having done his initial survey, he chose to remain on watch. Having witnessed the operation of the 'Stargate' earlier, he was as curious as his ship mates. However, logic told him that he must remain watchful, for the slightest indication....
"Commander!" Tuvok called out, as the inner ring began to spin.
"I see it! Harry, back away from there!"
Moving to stand next to the control pedestal Thor had used, the ex-Maquis decided to be front and center when their new friends arrived. Moving behind the commander, Harry continued to scan the gate.
"Amazing, Commander. This device is made up mostly of a material I've never seen before. There are crystals all throughout, that are almost like dilithium in some ways, but they have other properties, as well. The same mineral is used as part of the metal alloy of the structure, and it's acting like some kind of super conducting, focusing the energy the crystals are putting out!"
"Where's the energy coming from?"
"Well, when Thor first activated the gate, it seemed to be coming from that pedestal. Now, though, I don't know. The crystals are generating it from...."
And with a roar, the ensign was interrupted as the gate connected. Moments later, Thor emerged from the gate, followed soon by four others, who appeared human.
Teal’c, having the fastest reflexes, saw three beings standing holding strange devices towards his comrades. He then observed the strange marking on the face of the one in the red uniform, and his warriors mind kicked into high gear.
"O'Neill! He bears a Goa'uld mark I have not seen before!" And with that, he lowered his staff, being careful to keep it where he could cover the three unknown beings with ease.
Picking up on his friend's distress, Jack altered his hold on his P-90. "Howdy, folks. New to these parts?"
The Vulcan security officer, seeing the heightened alertness of the new visitors, transferred his tricorder to his other hand, allowing for easier access to his phaser, should the need arise. Chakotay, seeing the same thing, realized part of the reason for it right away.
"I'm sorry, these are just scanning devices. We were trying to figure out this device. We mean you no harm."
Moving deliberately, he folded up his tricorder, and nodded at Harry and Tuvok to do likewise. Seeing this, SG-1 relaxed somewhat.
"Ah. Okay. Well. In that case, let's start again." He relaxed his stance somewhat. Grinning a little, he said, "Howdy, folks. New to these parts?"
Stepping forward, Thor interceded. "Allow me to introduce you. Commander Chakotay, this is Colonel O'Neill, commander of SG-1. Major Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c."
Stepping forward, the commander addressed Jack. "A pleasure to meet you. This is Lieutenant Tuvok, our chief of security, and Ensign Kim, one of our operations staff."
Nodding at each in turn, Jack then turned back to Tuvok. "Um....Tuvok....right? Pardon me for asking, but....about the ears? And the....brows...."
Raising one of the afore mentioned brows, the Vulcan replied, "My species bodies developed for living on a desert planet, sir. These features allow for better hearing and sight, and protection from the desert conditions."
"Ah. Ummm.....Okay then. Well..."
Stepping forward, Thor interrupted: "Pardon me, O'Neill. I must return to my ship now. I am overdue as it is on our home world."
Turning to the voyager crew, he spoke again. "I give you my word, the members of Stargate Command, and SG-1 in particular, are true allies of the Asgard. I have no doubt that they will be able to assist you in your voyage home. I wish you well."
"We thank you, Supreme Commander. Safe travels."
Nodding, Thor disappeared in a flash of light.
Sotto voice, Jack mumbled, "Never get tired of that." On hearing this, he was rewarded with yet another Tuvok eyebrow.
"So, Commander. How can the United States Air Force be of assistance?"
"United States Air Force?"
Leaning towards his superior, Harry whispered, "Temporal displacement."
Overhearing the Asian man's comment, Sam's eyes grew big. "Uh oh...."
Glancing sideways, Jack asked, "Yes, Major?"
"Temporal displacement, sir. Time travel."
"Oh. Oh yeah. Oh crap. Oh.....kay, kids, now we have a problem."
"Yes, sir." Turning to the ensign, Sam asked, "Forward or backward? And how far?"
Looking a little sidetracked, Harry replied, "Um...backward. A few hundred years. Or so."
Looking even more worried, Sam turned back to her CO. "Sir, it's worse than I thought. The most we've ever been able to figure, is that even by using the stargate's path across a solar flare, we'd never get more than about fifty or so years. I'm not sure what brought them here, but it's new to us."
"Yeah, Carter, I got that much." Turning back to the Starfleet officers, Jack asked, "So, what now?"
"Well," answered Chakotay, "For now, I propose we return to our ship. There we can all try to figure this out. Quite frankly, I'm not sure what procedures to follow at this point, since not only are we in a different time, but a different dimension. Starfleet's rules on both of those issues are explicit, but very different."
"Yeah, ditto. So you folks have some experience with these kinds of problems? Time travel often?"
"Not really, not us per se. But Starfleet in general has had some rather serious brushes with both, and none of them turned out very pleasant. I take it you have?"
"Yeah, enough to know it gives me a headache. Space Monkey here," and Jack nodded toward Daniel, "has taken the dimensional ride a time or two, and all of us have done the 'Back to the Future' thing."
Sensing an inside joke, Voyager's second in command understood the gist. "Very well. In that case, may we invite you all aboard? I'm sure the captain would love to get in on this conversation."
"By all means, as long as we're back here within a few hours, gotta phone home and check in."
"That shouldn't be a problem." Tapping his comm badge, Chakotay called out, "Voyager, seven to beam aboard."
----
As he waited for the transporter effect to take him, several thoughts ran through Tuvok's mind. First, he was very glad for the security protocols in place for the transporters, several of which he had programmed himself. The weapons used by the other team would be rendered inert, allowing him some peace of mind. The second was that it seemed logical that once discovered, this fact was likely to make SG-1 very unhappy. On that note, he understood, for he would very much not like to have no means of protection aboard a strange ship. Still, it wasn't a strange ship, it was Voyager. And his oath to protect his crew mates took a higher place than his understanding of their probable anger.
His final thought as the sound of the ship's transporters filled the clearing was that he probably should have mentioned it, but that to do so would cause the already delicate situation to possibly break down. Therefore, it was better from both a diplomatic and a tactical standpoint to keep quiet.
It probably would have distressed the Vulcan to no end that he had just used logic to justify a human expression: "Better to ask forgiveness, than permission." But then, humans had all kinds of phrases best left unsaid, in his opinion.