Title: Reunion

Author: lindaljc

fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Summary: A reunion of the unpleasant kind. I never liked the black mark on Sheppard's record.

Warning: O'Neill being a jerk, but he kind of makes up for it.

Characters: J. Sheppard, R. McKay, Woolsey, General O'Neill, OC, Teyla, Ronon

Category: Team, Angst, Drama, Gen, Future Fic

Disclaimer: The characters and settings of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis belong to Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Film Corporation. All other publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis or any other media franchise including Disney, who owns the Star Wars franchise. Or any entity who owns the rights of any movie, television show, or novels mentioned. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

This story was written by with the love of the show in mind.

...

Prologue

O'Neill was bored. He could sneak away and go to his office and get some coffee. Or... he might make it to the mess and get coffee and pie. Pie decided it for him. So at the next corner he let the group of visitors disappear and he did an about face and walked casually, because he was a General, and he could go for pie and coffee if he wanted to as long as there wasn't an imminent alien foothold situation or a freaking black hole trying to suck Colorado through the Gate. After he rounded another corner he ran into a Marine Sergeant.

"General O'Neill, sir. I have a message for you."

O'Neill sighed the sigh of defeat. "Of course you do, Sergeant. Let me have it."

"Colonel Foxworth from up in NORAD has some visitors from the United States military on tour. He said that a Colonel Jensen asked if you were available to meet."

"Jensen! I haven't seen that old... uh, that old buddy of mine for three years. Thanks for the message Sergeant."

"The tour was heading for the mess for a break. I think you could catch up with him there, Sir."

"Excellent, Sergeant. Two birds with one stone."

"Sir?"

"I was heading for coffee anyway."

The Sergeant grinned. "Yes, Sir. Since he's a friend of yours you should suggest some pie. I know from experience that the mess hall bakery does a good job."

"Pie. What a great suggestion! Thank you Sergeant."

…

The tour group that Jensen was in was actually a group that was rotating into assignment for Stargate Command. They were getting their feet wet, so to speak, starting gently with the somewhat known element that was Cheyenne Mountain's NORAD installation. Security clearances were being facilitated in an unprecedented rate in an effort to mobilize strategic efforts toward declassification.

It was too bad that just getting to the SGC was a much longer elevator ride that sometimes had grown men counting floors like their life depended on it. Bouts of claustrophobia were not unknown even among the long-term denizens of the Mountain's lowest of the low levels.

O'Neill managed to corral Jensen in the mess for a short talk and a promise to get together after full orientation. That would be fun. Maybe he could help out with that, or just get there for the fun part: the big reveal. He always liked seeing the looks on people's faces when the realization hit that it was really real.

You never knew how it would hit some of them or how that would shake up their personality afterwards. But it was always enlightening, and sometimes not in a good way. There were always medical personnel nearby for the odd freak out. O'Neill paused to reconsider. Seeing Jensen later, after the man's digestion settled, might be the safer choice.

When he was introduced to the men at the same table as Jensen something seemed to click in his mind. One name sounded familiar and it wasn't someone he'd met before. It didn't take long for Major Branston Jellison to answer a couple of questions to jog his memory. This... could be interesting. Oh, this could be very interesting.

O'Neill's mind was taking a devilishly evil turn. He knew there was a group heading out to Atlantis, just bureaucrats that Woolsey could easily handle, but what if... There could be hell to pay, but Sheppard was a Colonel now, and Jellison, to no one's great surprise was still a Major. If a Colonel couldn't handle a Major, well...

O'Neill didn't waste time just in case he had a change of heart. He arranged for Jellison to get the grand tour, the advanced tour, with the bureaucrats. As soon as basic orientation was over he walked up, shook the man's hand, and told him if he hurried he could get him to the most forward installation they had: Atlantis. He could go through with some bureaucratic types, but O'Neill was sure he'd enjoy this unusual opportunity of a lifetime. He'd spend a little time with Mr. Woolsey who would give him the bureaucratic tour, and then he'd be on hand for a grand reception when the military contingent that was currently going through full orientation would accompany O'Neill to Atlantis that evening.

Jellison, of course, was eager to accept this lucky break. It was about time something like this came his way. He felt his career had stalled, through no reason of his own. He'd always stood by the rules and followed the letter of the law. No one had ever called him on it, but he believed it might have adversely affected his advancement and he never really understood it. But maybe this offer showed that his luck was changing.

...

Woolsey greeted the visitors that waited for him on the Gateroom floor. He was mildly surprised that there was an extra man, and military at that. He soon learned that Jellison was here at the invitation of General O'Neill, and that the Major had no background with the SGC beyond the basic orientation. O'Neill had sent a short note, "treat him like a bureaucrat. The military will take care of the rest". He must be important to be included at the last moment like this.

This whole series of events with bureaucrats that arrived today, and political members of various IOA governments that had arrived the day before, as well as a major military contingent to arrive later with General O'Neill was unprecedented. Of course, with major appropriations bills coming up to be ratified by the major IOA countries, the U.S. included, plus rumors of the beginnings of declassification and the dissemination of information to more of the major key leaders in their military organizations, too, all the present chaos was to be expected, or at least endured. And Mr. Woolsey had learned a long time ago to just endure anything that he couldn't change.

So Woolsey began with what the military side of Atlantis called "the paper pusher tour". They would be polite but not interact with these men except on a superficial level. This was fine with Woolsey. Strange things can happen when people didn't follow the so-called "script" for these events. Sometimes the most diplomatic thing he could do was keep a poker face at cringe-worthy comments. He almost smiled when he thought of the military based tours he'd accompanied. He definitely stayed in the background during those and kept his comments basic in nature. The bureaucratic types were bad enough with their questions but the military members were not afraid to ask very pointed, and aggressive questions. He didn't mind passing on those at all.

Mr. Woolsey used to lead their usually rare visiting groups on a tour after a lecture, and a conference where visitors could ask questions, but that had changed quickly. Visitors didn't want to listen. They didn't want to sit. They wanted to see, whether they were bureaucrats or military. And Woolsey felt he should have known that from his own first time. So now he started with a brief tour that hit the high points but kept them close to the main tower. Questions came during the tour but also later after they'd had a chance to take in the alienness of their surroundings.

Woolsey set out with the visitors on the tour. He knew what they needed to see, and he knew what they needed to understand. He'd changed his usual itinerary today to include the hangar deck because he felt it was something the Major would be interested in. He still wondered about O'Neill including Jellison in the bureaucratic tour. The Air Force Major had no background in the SGC so he was more ignorant of their situation than these bureaucrats were and had a totally different background and interests. He supposed it didn't really matter. The man had to start learning somewhere, and this tour was pretty basic.

They entered the vast hangar and even the Major stopped in his tracks. It was obviously old – as in Ancient, it was hard to see the other side it was so big, and it was so alien that it made everyone that saw it for the first time forget to breathe, even the bureaucrats. Maybe Woolsey would add this hangar deck to the regular tour. It had certainly impressed everyone, and if someone wanted to see alien, then this certainly fit the bill.

Dimly, the group could hear voices and the metallic clangs of men at work.

Woolsey cleared his throat. "This area is the hub of our manufacturing of military hardware. Everything here is Ancient-technology-based. We have over two dozen Marines and scientists working at all times on the repair of materiel for the city. It's a painstaking process as you might assume. Our people have to integrate our own processes and materials with Ancient equipment, the computer database, and several different power sources.

"The small Ancient Gateships... uh, Puddle Jumpers, or Jumpers, for short, are very durable and invaluable. We have several Jumpers over on the right, where most of the Marines are working right now. We had an emergency extraction a week ago and damage needs to be repaired as soon as possible. They'll be out of here and back in use by tomorrow, I'm told."

Major Jellison was beginning to look around with more discernment than during his introduction to the space. He saw movement near the Jumpers and turned to observe them. Some of the men were moving a large piece of equipment toward one of the Jumpers. One man was facing away from Jellison but he seemed to be directing the men. He was not impressed with the man's attire. He wasn't in full uniform for one thing. For another, he was filthy. It's true that he was working but still, the man should have more pride than that, if he was Air Force. But he couldn't fault his actions. All the Marines around him were very focused. They followed his directions closely. Then the man in the filthy work-suit strolled forward to roll under the partially disassembled equipment. It had started to send sparks from an electronic component. No one seemed to be worried about it though. But that man was somehow familiar. The way he moved. And that shock of unruly hair.

The Major was distracted from his observations by someone yelling off to his left.

Woolsey heard the yelling, too, and wondered what had happened. If it turned out to be dangerous he'd have to direct the visitors out of the area quickly.

"Gentlemen, that is Dr. Rodney McKay that you hear. He's the Chief Scientist for the Expedition. Let's take a moment to make sure everything is safe, shall we?"

Rodney yelled at the dozen Marines and scientists near the Jumper. "Get over here, Sheppard, and fix this," gesturing at a scrolling console screen covered in equations.

Sheppard rolled out from under the sparking electronics he was trying to tame. He didn't even bother to look back at it. "Bolton, disengage the power source. I'll be right back" He walked over to stand with McKay at the console. "Sure thing, McKay." He stared at it a moment.

"Come on Sheppard. Tell it to work."

John grinned and laid his hand on the screen and it stopped scrolling and blinked clear. "Okay? Fast enough, McKay?"

Rodney threw his hands up. "Now why wouldn't it do that for me? All you have to do is lay your hands on it and think happy thoughts."

"Because it likes me better? And sometimes, you know, I don't even have to touch it."

Jellison snapped angrily, "Sheppard... I should have known as soon as I saw the hair. But hearing your wise-ass attitude... well it's clear enough now, isn't it?"

Sheppard turned slowly, and pulled a filthy rag from a back pocket. "Ah, Major Jellison. Well, you found me."

"Sounds like you found your perfect hideout, Sheppard. Not just a far away base, but a whole different galaxy. What could be more perfect?" Major Jellison snapped. "Mr. Woolsey, I never thought I'd find this misfit in a place like Atlantis. I thought this might be a place we can make our own, and fight the good fight, but with an airman like Sheppard running loose I'll have to revise that assumption."

Woolsey was startled at this unprovoked attack and took a moment to try to understand the Major's rant. When he started to speak, all the men and women, both visitors and Atlantis personnel had already stopped to listen. "Major Jellison, if there is a problem we can discuss this in conference after the tour. Perhaps I've been derelict in not introducing the other leaders of this Expedition. As I said when you came through the Gate, I am the Administrator for Atlantis but we also have a military and a civilian science leader. I already spoke of Dr. McKay, and this is our military leader..."

The Major looked incredulous. "You can't mean Sheppard! This, coward? This man failed to follow orders in Afghanistan and men died, and this is his reward?"

No one had ever heard McKay's voice so hard, and he'd cut many of them to the quick with his words more than once. "So you must be Jellison. I wondered about the rumors that you spread about Sheppard, and tracked down the full report. They died because they were left to die. Your orders were to leave them."

The Major stiffened his shoulders in anger. "I'll have you know those orders were approved by a military tribunal, after the fact. You don't know what you're talking about, mister, and I think you'd better keep yourself out of military business." He turned his glare on Sheppard. "Or is that how things are run here?"

John didn't say anything to Rodney, just made a discreet hand sign that they'd often used off world. McKay glanced at him and forced himself to bite back anything else he was going to say, and just nodded at John.

That confused the Major a little. McKay was obviously a blow-hard yet Sheppard kept him under control with barely a glance. The man obviously had too much authority here.

Sheppard stated coldly, "Major, I knew we were having visitors today through the Gate but I don't remember your name being on the list."

Woolsey turned to John. "General O'Neill sent a message that the Major was visiting NORAD and had been through the basic orientation for the SGC. O'Neill suggested to him that he might like to visit another project out of the mountain before finishing the full briefing."

John's eyebrows had flicked up at O'Neill's name. That son-of-a...

"I'll have to thank the General for that, won't I?"

Woolsey didn't like to be played, and this was a situation that had turned ugly. To think that O'Neill had sent Jellison, perhaps as a joke, infuriated the blazes out of him. "I think I'd like to be there when you do. There's a meeting scheduled in an hour in the conference room for all of the visitors here, and there'll be a reception for everyone when the others arrive later with General O'Neill. Will you have time to be there?"

John grinned laconically. "Mr. Woolsey. I wouldn't miss it."

Major Jellison's anger was still high. "If you're ordered to be there, then you'll be there." At that he performed a perfect about-face and left the area.

Woolsey looked embarrassed. He glanced around at all the people in the area and they got the hint and went back to their duties. "I'm sorry for bringing him here, Colonel. He's a very opinionated man, it seems. I think I understand now O'Neill's advice, in the message, that he should be handled separately from the others."

John shook his head. "O'Neill didn't give you any background on him or how our military duties had once coincided, did he?" Woolsey indicated that he didn't. "Then you didn't know. I'll take care of it."

"But he 'ordered' you to be there. You outrank him."

John grinned widely. "Yeah. How about that?"

...

John walked up behind Major Jellison, who was arguing heatedly with Major Lorne who obviously was holding his temper with difficulty.

"But you can't let him stay here. He's probably wormed his way in with half the people here. Even after what I said in the hangar in front of all the military people there, they said nothing. And that pompous ass, McKay, butted in when he knows nothing about the real situation. Sheppard is dangerous. He should have been cashiered years ago. When I get back I'm going to JAG and get him hauled back to Earth. Being Air Force yourself you have to see the right of it."

John had heard enough. "On what charges, Major?"

The Major was practically snarling when he whirled around. "I'll find something. I'm sure your actions here are not above reproach." At that point he stopped and stared. "You're a … full Colonel? That's outrageous!" He whirled back to the Lorne. "You see? He's already corrupted their thinking!"

John snapped out an order. "Attention, Major Jellison."

The Major turned back to Sheppard in shock. "What did you say?"

"I said, attention." John waited, patiently, he thought. The Major was slow to fight through his shock but he finally stood in the right form. "I think your attitude towards me has made you reckless, Major. I think you need to calm down." He nodded to Lorne, and he nodded back and left them alone.

"Major, you're only damaging your own career. Your hatred of me is misplaced. It always has been, and I've always wondered... well, if it's misplaced guilt. I knew that those men were probably going to die before I got there. But I had to try. They would have come for me if our positions were reversed. Your orders were by-the-book and I knew I'd be court-martial-ed when I got back, because I knew you well enough to know you wouldn't stand for any insubordination no matter the extenuating circumstances.

"But somehow I made it out of there and to McMurdo. And my life changed forever. I'm grateful for that. But you need to let this go. Maybe it's time to retire." John could read the shock on the man's face. "I'm not saying you have to. I'm not making it an order, but you should seriously consider it, because I will report this. You've made enough of an impact that I can't ignore it. I may be Air Force, but my men, my Marines, are loyal. This place has made us close. I think you'd have a very difficult time getting anyone to agree with you. But you could probably get some to at least doubt. Every situation I've been involved in out here is reported and dissected, and I'm sure there are some that disagree with my handling of different situations, but I'm still here."

"So you think you're safe, Mister. Well, maybe you've turned everybody to your way of thinking but that doesn't mean I won't try. Like you said, there must be someone who disagrees with you besides me."

John was done. He knew he wasn't going to win a war of words with Jellison. The only thing that really comforted him was that he outranked him, which was beyond stupid, because if Jellison went on a vendetta, he could very well lose to him. "Major Jellison. Dismissed."

Jellison barely kept his anger in check. He saluted and headed straight to Woolsey. "Mr. Woolsey, I believe there's to be a meeting?"

Woolsey glanced at Sheppard. Well, this was embarrassing. "Yes, of course, Major. The other visitors that arrived with you will be gathering in the conference room within the hour. The other attendees from the IOA will arrive later, near the time that General O'Neill's group comes through the Gate."

"Good. Maybe I need to talk to someone at the top. The General must have sent me here for a reason." After he glared back at Sheppard he added, "Maybe he has some of those doubts you mentioned, Sheppard."

...

The reception that was scheduled for later followed a quick tour for the newly arrived and fully briefed military visitors as well as the bureaucrats, and politicos, since mingling of visitors was expected and no one non-military would ever allow the military to get one step ahead of them.

General O'Neill greeted Woolsey as warmly as politics required, but it was genuine. Woolsey had earned a level of respect over the years, even from O'Neill. Greetings were offered and received by all three groups and introductions were made to various department heads and military attaches stationed on Atlantis. There was a lot of the usual meet and greet perfunctory comments, but it was normal and expected by all. Making contacts was important for all segments of visitors.

When O'Neill saw Jellison's florid complexion he worried for a moment about the man's health, and then wondered just how big an apology he owed to Sheppard. He even cringed a little when he glanced at Woolsey and the man turned firmly away. He'd known there might be fireworks but nothing a Major and a Colonel shouldn't have been able to handle, but now he wondered. Hatred can dig a hole in a man's gut that nothing will fill except revenge, and that hadn't been the point of this at all.

O'Neill knew Sheppard. He knew the man's record and the black mark on it. And he knew Jellison's part in it. It was unfortunate that the Major hadn't learned much since that time. Not even that it was his own career that had suffered for his approved after-the-fact actions. No one wanted to serve under someone that would leave behind good men without an attempt at rescue. It wasn't even his own life that would have been at risk, so not only was he a fool, but a coward with no honor, to everyone's way of thinking. O'Neill picked up a drink from a server at this function and downed it in one. Then he picked up a second, just in case of future need.

Jellison nearly ran to General O'Neill hardly hesitating to take a breath before opening his mouth to speak but didn't even get that far.

O'Neill's voice was brusque and definitely had an ominous tone. "Jellison... I don't want to hear it. If you have something to report then you put it in a report and send it to my office. This is more a political gathering than military. I expect you to keep your cool and act the part of a grown-up Major in the Air Force. Understood?"

Jellison made O'Neill lean away from the spittle that flew from the man's sudden verbal assault. "You knew he was here. You approved that bastard's..."

O'Neill snapped with prejudice, "Enough. No foul language. That's behavior unbecoming for an officer of any rank or length of service, besides just being undignified, Major, and not worthy of a grownup or an Air Force officer which was behavior I already warned you that I expected from you. You are right about one thing though. Sheppard is here because I put him here. He's the right man for the job. He's earned it ten times over and nothing you say, or do, or threaten, will change his record. He's a hero, Major. Both to his people here and to the SGC. Even the President has pinned medals on that man so you're out of luck.

"I thought, wrongly it seems now, that you'd finally get to see the man as he really is. The fact that you can't let it go, that you can't learn, is not doing you any favors. I can see that the SGC isn't the right posting for you after all. I can guarantee that you'll never be posted here, or anywhere off planet. I think you can pretty much guess that there won't be any further advancement in your career. You can choose to stagnate in some desk job where you won't be able to screw up another man's life or reputation... or you can retire. It's entirely up to you."

Jellison was, for once, shocked to silence as he realized just how far his future personal plans, but also for vengeance, had evaporated.

It was only moments later that there was a small commotion as Sheppard and his team entered the room. Teyla was always a beautiful, graceful, and regal presence. She really did deserve the nickname Atlantians had give her of Warrior Princess even though she always looked exasperated when she heard it.

Sheppard tried to hide his smirk because if he wanted to divert attention, Teyla, and sometimes Ronon, depending on the audience, could do the job admirably. If it was confusion and razzle dazzle that was needed, then McKay at full volume and rapid discourse was the main attraction. But today he just wanted a chance to see the visitors and evaluate them before they really took notice of him.

McKay was in a black suit and blue tie today. He was always eager to stay with his team although he had handled many meet and greets both on Earth and on various planets in Pegasus. Maybe that's why he stayed close until he knew what was really going on. And with Jellison close by his choice was to stay very close.

Then there was the third member, Ronon Dex, towering above and looking as imposing as always, the man could almost out-impose Teal'c. He'd cleaned up nice for the occasion, but he had a smile that could scare off even the most foolhardy blowhard, and it was a little surprising that somehow that didn't include McKay. But O'Neill just had eyes on that blaster Dex never went anywhere without.

And there with his team around him, was Sheppard himself. The man wasn't exactly to spit-and-polish standards with that hair, but that chest full of medals had even made Jellison take notice. Thank God for small miracles.

O'Neill took a small fortifying sip of his second drink. "That's Sheppard's team. AR-1."

Jellison had a frown that seemed frozen in place. But at least his voice was more subdued. "I, I've met McKay. He's a pompous ass. But the other two..."

"Oh, they're aliens. Sworn their lives and fealty, etc. to follow Sheppard, or some such thing. Like I said, he's won his people's loyalty out here. The hard way, too. Hey, you see those three big-ass medals at the bottom center? One was for surviving a suicide run at a Wraith hive ship with a nuke. And the next one there, that was for surviving being taken hostage... with a Wraith... and escaping after being tortured. And the third... well, Earth would not be a place you would recognize if Sheppard hadn't gone above and beyond. You really need to think through a few things, Jellison."

O'Neill was glad that Jellison had nothing else to say to him that night. But it irked him that the man skirted the edges of the crowd always keeping Sheppard's team in sight. The team was on to him though and never left Sheppard completely alone.

O'Neill sighed as the end of the festivities finally came around. It was probably safe for him to finally finish off that second drink.

...

The next day the IOA delegates and the bureaucrats had shipped off through the Gate to Woolsey's great relief.

That left the military contingent to jockey for their proposal to visit the Alpha site. It was considered a safe enough option that O'Neill was seriously considering it. He could see Sheppard twitch about the whole idea though, and he tried not to smirk. Both men had too many strange and dangerous encounters on seemingly friendly worlds to not be able to envision truly catastrophic scenarios. There were more than a few that O'Neill could remember that he'd truly like to forget.

Jellison, unfortunately hadn't disappeared with the bureaucrats. Plus, he made the mistake of trying to force his way into the conversation about the Alpha site visit. He continually insisted on being included in the outing although he was the only military visitor that hadn't been fully briefed on the operation of the SGC. He didn't seem to understand that because of that he had much less clout about attending that outing than he thought he had.

But Sheppard finally entered the conversation himself when O'Neill didn't outright oppose Jellison's request. He categorically denied Jellison's accompanying them on any mission, not here, and not on Earth either, if he had any say in it. And in Pegasus, this was his decision.

Jellison only continued to push as O'Neill was afraid he would. "You may be a Colonel, Sheppard, but General O'Neill has every right to allow me to accompany a visit to your Alpha site."

O'Neill hesitated only a moment, and only to try to find a diplomatic way of turning the man down. He took a moment too long.

Sheppard didn't try for diplomatic. "General O'Neill, I refuse to take the Major off world for any reason. I have served under this man, and good men died. He does not have the same moral... compass as my personnel. I have no reason to trust him to bring everyone back."

Jellison turned white as a sheet. He was so shocked that he had no reply. To say that the other officers present were also shocked would not be a lie. Rumors had been running rampant since O'Neill's party had arrived last night, but rumors often beat out truth, and they were waiting for the truth to come to light.

General O'Neill was wishing for one of those drinks from last night, but that unfortunately was out of the question. So, taking the lead with this situation, and hoping to divert the whole previous confrontation, he announced that the visit was a good idea. "Let's get everyone out to the Alpha site. If I remember correctly it has a few moons and lots of trees, so it'll be at least mildly interesting. Gentlemen, we'll assemble in the Gate Room in half an hour. Dress for rough terrain, as it isn't as nice as Atlantis. But I'm assured the weather is fair, and the timing is around mid-day so we can have a good look around."

He turned purposely toward Jellison. The military visitors had started to disperse but halted when they sensed a further confrontation coming. Maybe the rumors would be sorted out now. "Major Jellison, I believe we had a very frank discussion last night. The SGC will not accept your transfer, and that is final. Colonel Sheppard has very valid reasons for his decision earlier, and I have no reason to countermand it. You will remain here, and ready yourself for transfer back to Earth later this evening after this group returns to Atlantis."

Jellison could be seen to stomp away like a very irritated child. No one, especially the military personnel whose questions had at least partially been answered, paid him much attention, which probably irritated him even more.

Since General O'Neill had approved the Alpha site visit, several teams of Marines had been directed by the Colonel to gather to accompany the mission. Sheppard decided that if Jellison was staying then he'd better stay, too, so that put Major Lorne in charge of the mission. He would never trust Jellison with any of his men, and definitely not with Atlantis.

But Sheppard, and of course Jellison, were there to see the group off through the Gate. Teyla and Ronon had stayed close to Sheppard ever since the reception last night. As soon as they understood the background of the man who was so disrespectful of Sheppard they had never left his side. They stood proudly with Sheppard, as did Rodney McKay.

Mr. Woolsey, finally free from his charges, also came to see the military contingent off. When Jellison stepped to his side, Woolsey deftly stepped back and turned away from the Air Force Major to stand on the other side of Colonel Sheppard. Jellison's glare was totally ignored by everyone.

The men that had gathered to accompany the mission had been standing at parade rest until Air Force Major Lorne snapped out his order. "Marines of Atlantis. Atten-hut!" The Marines snapped to attention in perfect order.

Jellison screamed out, "He's Air Force. Sheppard's Air Force. He has no authority over you!"

No one paid him the least bit of attention.

Major Evan Lorne requested calmly, "Colonel Sheppard, your orders, sir?"

"Well, it's seems we have a well briefed group that will be visiting the Alpha site today, after all. They'll need an escort and you're just the meanest, toughest, most qualified Marines we have for the job. Your specific orders for the day are what they are every day... to bring them all home if humanly possible."

"Sir, yes, Sir."

End