Title: Pandora
Author: Me
Rating: eh...kids wouldn't like it anyway
Category: AU
Spoilers: Uhh...Hot Zone? Sort of
Warning: AU. Very. :-p

"Pandora"
by M.
--------
They were all looking at him for an answer and the kicker was...he wasn't sure himself. Looking at the little dot moving determinedly toward them, Daniel clenched his jaw and gripped the edge of the console tightly. In the back of his mind he could hear two voices warring. Jack's sarcasm-laden tones pointing out that no matter what the infection couldn't be allowed to spread. Daniel knew what he had to do. Janet's voice, bittersweet to hear, stridently agreed the infection could not spread but no matter what, Daniel couldn't do that.

If he'd ever wondered just precisely what it was like to be General Hammond, Daniel was getting his lesson now. He knew better than anyone what would happen if Peterson reached them or another inhabited area. The infection would spread like wildfire and no matter what McKay or Beckett did, the losses would be catastrophic. Heaven help them if it ever reached the mainland... He knew there was no way he could let that happen but on the other hand.

Options whirled through his mind at rapid fire pace and he was vaguely aware of the eyes of the personnel around him, all watching intently. They were waiting for him to live up to the reputation. Waiting for that infamous SG1 luck to kick in and for him to lunge forward with one of those brilliant bursts of insight he was supposedly renowned for. Pity for them the reputation was more glamour than substance. The only option that really lay before him was not the one he wanted to use but on the other hand...

He couldn't hesitate. Not for a minute. The safety of the mission rested on his decision and he knew the standing protocols better than anyone in Atlantis. He'd been there in the SGC when they'd first been written. He remembered why they'd been written. But they'd never been intended for a situation like this. Atlantis...

He sucked in a breath. "Major."

"Yeah, Doc?" The drawled tone barely masked the bite of impatience and even in the tenseness of the moment, Daniel couldn't help but grin wryly. He liked John Sheppard. He did. But it was times like this the man's inexperience was hard to miss. He got a bigger charge out of the adrenaline than Ford did.

Ford. Who was down with the others...might already be infected. The sharp reminder brought Daniel's focus back with crystal clarity and grimly, the archaeologist uttered words he'd never expected to say. "Get to the hazmat gear then apprehend Peterson. He cannot be allowed to reach infected areas." Closing his eyes, he added in a strained voice, "Lethal force is authorized if necessary. Understood?"

The words had precisely the effect Daniel had expected they would. Everyone stopped and stared at him in shock. The silence was truly deafening, roaring in Daniel's ears like a lion lunging after prey.

When the silence draggged on too long, he clenched his teeth again and repeated through them, "Understood?"

That hadn't been the order Sheppard was expecting to recieve and it showed when his numb response came back, "Understood, Sir."

Sir.

Sitting down, Daniel passed a hand over his face and exhaled heavily. It'd be a change, he'd said. A nice break, he'd said. He could do so much in Atlantis. There was so much he could learn. Learn how to condemn a man to death simply for trying to save himself. Potentially condemn another man to death in order to carry out that sentence. He hadn't come to the Pegasus galaxy for this. Start yet another war with another alien race, introduce a new threat to Earth...

He turned in the chair and looked down at the Stargate.

Catherine had called it 'his' once. He wondered what she would think of this. Of what he'd done. Of finding the city, exploring the surrounding planets, awakening the Wraith...endangering Earth from a monster that the Ancients couldn't win against.

"Pandora's box." He muttered to himself, rubbing his forehead.

Behind him, Grodin stopped working and looked up. "Beg pardon?"

"Hmm?" Daniel looked over his shoulder, blinking a little. "What?"

"You said something." The Englishman pointed out politely.

"Oh yeah, I, uh, did, didn't I?" He got up and walked a few steps away, staring now at the display again. Two new dots had appeared and were now moving toward the red one. Closing in on it. He forced himself to see only the dots. Not to think about the man desperately trying to escape. To find a safe haven. He couldn't think about that now. There were too many lives at stake for him to waver now. He couldn't go back on his word. The decision was made. The order was given.

Daniel smiled wryly again as the analogy again came to mind. He'd closed the box.

He only hoped he'd done so in time to keep hope inside.

finis