"Beyond the Gate"

It was 2007 when Catherine Anne MacGregor’s life took a turn she could never have predicted. A RAAF officer, she was living a life of steady stability after a somewhat chaotic adolescence. Her tall frame and platinum blonde hair still earned her the occasional awkward nickname, but she had long outgrown the goofy, wide-eyed teenager who had once been too tall for her own good.

Then, one night, a knock on her door would change everything.

At first, Cate assumed it was some kind of prank. She had just returned to her small house on the outskirts of Newcastle after a routine assignment, when she opened the door to find a woman in military fatigues standing before her. The woman was striking—almost as tall as Cate herself, sharp features with an intensity in her eyes that spoke of secrets kept under lock and key; and another blonde. Her twin brother would have fun with that.

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter," the woman introduced herself, her American accent was clear and authoritative. "I need to talk to you about something very important, something only a select few know about."

Cate blinked, crossing her arms. “Is this some kind of joke?”

Colonel Carter didn’t smile. "It’s not a joke, Flight Lieutenant MacGregor. I’m here to offer

you a choice. A chance to be part of something bigger than anything you’ve ever imagined."

A cold shiver of disbelief ran through Cate, but her curiosity got the better of her. She listened as Carter explained, in cryptic yet compelling detail, the existence of the Stargate Program. Cate's mind struggled to process it all—the concept of ancient alien technology, intergalactic travel, secret military operations—but when Carter mentioned the USS Daedalus, the massive starship floating somewhere in orbit, Cate’s scepticism faltered.

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Before she could even ask another question, Carter did something she couldn’t have anticipated. She gestured toward the door, and a sudden burst of light engulfed the room.

Cate felt her body lurch, as if gravity itself had vanished.

In the blink of an eye, she was standing on a massive ship in the middle of deep space, staring out of a viewing window at the stars and the blue orb of Earth below, her jaw hanging open.

“Welcome to the Daedalus,” Carter said, as if the sight should have been entirely normal. “There’s a lot for you to learn, but we’ve got time.”

Cate’s transition from a seasoned F/A18 pilot to an interstellar officer was nothing short of extraordinary. She spent years training with the best, first as part of the F-302 program—where she discovered her true calling as a fighter pilot in the defence of Earth—and later, as an integral member of SG-4, a black ops team that worked beyond the reach of most people’s imaginations.

Her mind, once full of doubts about the world beyond the stars, now raced with the unyielding purpose of a soldier who understood that the universe was full of threats. The gates were open, and the team she led was tasked with protecting Earth from them.

By 2017, Cate stood at the helm of SG-4 as its commanding officer. The black ops team was as elite as it came, a blend of strategic minds and deadly force. It was her responsibility now to lead them through the most dangerous missions, the ones that didn’t make headlines or even official reports. Every mission was a gamble, but she had come to trust her team, just as they trusted her.

Her team, a group of veterans and specialists, respected her for more than just her skills—she had earned their trust through countless life-and-death situations, each one bringing them closer together. They followed her orders without question, knowing that Cate would do whatever it took to protect them.

On a mission to P3X-817, a planet infested with Lucian Alliance sympathisers, Cate stood on the desolate surface, her team scattered around her as they prepared to enter a hidden facility. As she looked at the jagged landscape, she couldn’t help but marvel at how far she had come—from the awkward young woman in the RAAF to the hardened leader in the most secretive military program the world had ever known.

“Ready, Commander?” Major Troy asked, his voice steady as he checked his weapon.

Cate gave a tight smile. “Always. Let’s move out.”

With the familiar sound of boots hitting the dirt, SG-4 moved forward into the unknown. The Stargate, once an anomaly, had become her reality. Her destiny was no longer a matter of flight patterns and military drills—it was about protecting her world from threats that were as old as time itself. The teenager who had once struggled to find her place now stood at the forefront of a battle that would determine the future of humanity.

And as they disappeared into the darkness of the unknown, Cate MacGregor couldn’t help but think that her journey, which had started with a knock on the door, was far from over.

There were more gates to open. More worlds to explore.

And she would be there every step of the way.