What an intriguing start (and a bit too close to home for comfort, in your portrayal of a worst-case outcome of the sort of economic crisis the world's been experiencing recently). Am I correct in assuming that this takes place in the Stargate universe that was fundamentally altered in "Far Beyond Normal" to allow the Slayer to exist, and that therefore everything in the SG1 timeline went AU a while BEFORE the SGC could acquire Asgard propulsion technology to allow for interstellar travel without the Stargates? (Or did the progressive change in the properties of naquadah also leave the existing SGC hyper-drives nonfunctional, since they were naquadah-dependent?)

Looking forward to seeing what parts of the Star Trek 'verse you'll be using (I thought for a moment, midway through the chapter, that we might be heading for the kind of dystopic separation of rich and poor seen in the excellent DS9 "Past Tense" two-parter, for instance), and how Buffy will be brought back . . . not to mention, what happened to the urn, and was that daylight-tolerant vampire from the future perhaps a Reman as seen in ST: Nemesis?

Intrigued, hope to read more.

Interesting start.

I didn't really like the ending of 'Return to Normal' I will admit. I just don't like the tragic ending, but I thought it was a very complete ending. That it ended the series.

So imagine my surprise when I see a new story, a sequel to 'Return to Normal and one that is supposed to take place in the ST universe.

Now having read the prologue I am still wary. Trying to tie the SG and ST universes not just together but making the one part of the history of the other is quite tricky. Combined with a story that was chockfull of Star Trek but noticably lacking in Buffy and I can't give it more than an eight because it is well written.

I hope this story will be to your usual standards but has a happier ending.

As always, another well thought out, well written, engrossing story from JakL. The only reason I gave it a 9 out of 10 and not a 10...is because I hate waiting to find out all the answers to the questions you raised! :o)

I understand it will be a fic in progress, but I will be waiting impatiently for each and every update, and perhaps try to bribe you with cookies!

Sianna Silver

Oh, this makes my day like you wouldn't even believe.

Pandora's Box, indeed! Makes me wonder if a certain wee blonde one's remains ended up in there, or if it's containing something rather less benevolent.

Awesome. Glad to see you back!

Excellent description of what time travelers might look like to an outside time-bound observer.

Was that the Master, or a Turok-han that appeared? I'm sure you'll tell us in time. :)

A minor quibble, though. This is set in the normal-verse, well after the existence of another universe that contained vampires became public knowledge. So it seems a bit weird that Dr. Elbone's thoughts about the vampire are solely about the fictional versions, rather than the stories Buffy had related about her 'verse.

A few tyops and other things:

cache of ceramic amphora's holding the
cache of ceramic amphoras holding the

> when a line of laser-light seemed to hit him
Shot from where?

"Dammit professor, give us
"Dammit, professor, give us

*** Ponder

Thank you for the suggested changes. The shot came from the person who had first appeared, who had disappeared when the two others showed up, but reappeared just when they were trying to disappear again. In the stories Buffy would have told, vampires can't come out in direct sunlight.

Brilliant start. I can't wait for more of yet another masterpiece of the Normalverse.

Great stuff (as ever).
I can't wait to see how you mix the ST 'verse with the "Return" one.

PS: I know Real Life is a Bi**H but have mercy of us hungry readers. ;-)

I always did like your writing. And I much enjoyed reading this prologue, even if I was confused as hell. I swear I could really emphasize with the poor doctor. Nevertheless I'm very curious to what is going to happen next.

My goodness, can this be a sequel to 'Return to Normal'???!?!?! YAY!!!!!

I have some thoughts on this prologue but I find that Dr. Elbone said it all for me:

>>>>>>>>>>>>
What the hell just happened?!? ... Who were those people? Where had they come from? It was obvious they had wanted the vase, but why? And if they were time travellers, why hadn't they just gone back in time and taken it before he came along? None of it made any sense!!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Is this going to feature 'our' Buffy, the one from 'Return to Normal' ... whom I think died a year or two, in the SG1 universe, after the big battle with the First? Rather sad that the stargate is no longer operational. I'm a bit angry that Daniel Jackson is apparently again mocked and ridiculed by her peers. :-( And about the Star Trek connection ... do we need to know much about the 'Enterprise' canon? I'm afraid I didn't persevere with that television series. :-(

I don't want to give away too much plot, but the story takes place a hundred years before the timeframe of Enterprise, at about the same time as Picard's Enterprise came back to in Star Trek: First Contact. That event will not occur in this timeline. In fact, none of the Enterprise's from any series show up, nor the usual Kirk/Picard/Archer appearances. The main canonical Star Trek-verse character is Micah Brack. The 'little bad' is Colonel Green. I'm not saying who the Big Bad will be just yet. Daniel Jackson does appear, but he is the only SG-1-verse character still alive at the time this is set.

This made me so happy, I feel like a dork.
Thank you, waiting for the updates.

Looking forward to another masterpiece. Thank you