Reintroductions At a Weird place?

I'm looking for advice and or reassurance that I"m doing the right thing. 

The first time we introduced our new cat Vega to the resident cat Dora things went pretty well at first, and then slowly deteriorated.  At a certain point the Dora would not come out of the basement/office area.  So we decided to keep them separated for a few weeks and slowly reintroduce them. 

As Dora's gotten more comfortable we have swapped her and Vega out of the office space for a few hours a day, and recently Dora had seemed eager to leave the room.  So three or four days ago I started feeding them together.  That went well initially, they'd eat next to each other and then I would separate them again.

After a while I noticed occasional glances and sniffs exchanged, and sometimes Dora would run back into her safe area.  But now she wont come out at all again. 

Vega is very eager to check things out and will run back there occasionally. So they have exchanged a couple of hisses, but nothing too dramatic. Dora is just out as soon as Vega is around.

 (I know before we reintroduced them she was jumping on her out of the blue, which I THINK was an attempt to initiate play, but it's hard to tell. Vega is VERY playful and we're working on redirecting her energy to appropriate targets like the laser pointer and not my hand/elbow/foot.)

I'm not sure what to do now, I want them to have a chance to interact in positive ways, because otherwise the only time they see each other is when I fail at cat wrangling, and everyone is all stressed.

I was thinking of trying to get a pet gate, and feeding them on either side of it so they could be near each other but not get into spats? 

We ARE using the feliway multi cat plug in, and it's plugged in near the entrance to the office. 

Dora is 11, but a very vocal active cat. She's very passive and sweet, but likes to be around her humans and enjoys chasing ribbons.

Vega is somewhere between 1 and 2? She's extremely active, and still frightened by loud noises. (SNEEZING IS NO OK YOU GUYS) She is full of energy and if she were a dog I would describe her as food motivated. She is worse than our siberian husky was when it comes to sneaking food off of human plates. She has shown some some signs of settling down a bit recently, but I realize they may just not get along until she grows up a bit more.

Anyway if anyone had any thoughts or other strategies to try? We'll probably go back a step for a little longer and then try the gate.

A gate is a great idea - I'd suggest either stacked baby gates or a screen door. You need to be sure that Dora and Vega can't jump the gate to get to each other.

I'd suggest sticking to site and scent swapping and feedings either side of a covered gate (to remove all or most of the visual stimulation) for the time being. As they relax around each other, you can gradually raise the cover until they have an unobstructed view of each other. Only when they are comfortable eating right up close to the gate without any cover do you move onto face to face meetings.

I would also suggest that both cats get a good play session to wear them out before each joint feeding/meeting. That way they'll have less energy to argue! Interactive playtime is an invaluable tool during introductions, and in keeping the peace when you have two cats with very different energy levels/play drives.

Feliway is great, but one diffuser really isn't enough for the whole house. Check the pack - it gives the maximum square footage one diffuser can cover. You may need three or more to successfully cover the whole house. You may be surprised at the difference it makes. Spirit Essences could be helpful too, or even Composure, if interactive play alone isn't enough to help Vega chill out.

You WILL get there with them - it'll just take time. Stay patient, and let the cats dictate the pace.
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