Daniel frowned as he walked into the briefing room and sat down beside Jack. He wondered why they had been called here by General Hammond. They weren't able to go on any missions due to Teal'c being off world at the moment, visiting with Ry'ac. Maybe an ally had called for their help or, even better, to offer some. He looked at Sam as she walked in and sat down. She looked confused as well.
"Anyone know why we are here?" Jack asked and the other two shrugged. Okay, so nobody knew what was going on. Interesting. General Hammond decided to enter the room at that point and the two officers stood at attention.
"At ease." Hammond commanded and Jack and Sam sat back down. He sat down and laced his fingers together in front of him, looking far too serious. "We have received news that someone new is coming to work at the SGC. They will have full disclosure and will have to approve of any requests for gear, technology, weapons, and pretty much anything else that goes through Stargate Command. All requests for equipment, supplies, or new personnel must be approved by this person before the request can go to me."
"What? Who thought of this?" Jack asked, nonplussed.
"Well, the action was approved by the president, but…after a lot of digging around, I was tipped off that it was Senator Kinsey's idea. The person will be chosen by him, too."
"So, a spy." Sam guessed and Hammond nodded
"That is my guess. Ostensibly, they are supposed to rework our budgets for each individual department and the program as a whole so that we run more 'efficiently'. But, of course, they no doubt have other motives. If this person can show 'proof' that we are wasting money, it will be easier for Kinsey to shut us down." The General said.
"And the President approved this idea?" Daniel asked, surprised.
"Yes, unfortunately."
"Great…" Jack sighed. "When is this guy supposed to arrive?"
"Tomorrow morning. They will be given a short tour of the facility, and then will be brought here for a briefing with me. I would like you all to be here, also. I have a feeling Kinsey will order this person to keep a very close eye on you all in particular." Hammond replied and the team nodded. "Good. I have ordered someone to clean out an office on the fourth floor, A23, for them."
"Fourth floor? But that floor is nothing but storage rooms for paper and staples and stuff." Daniel said and the General grinned.
"I know. Just because I have been ordered to allow this person here does not mean that I have to be over-accommodating to that person." He said and the others grinned with him.
"Nice, sir. Very nice. What time, tomorrow?" Jack asked.
"They are supposed to arrive around 0800, so I think 1100 should be fine. That will give us plenty of time to give the tour and let them have a little time in their office."
"Sounds good, sir. Teal'c should be here, too. He is supposed to get back about 1000 tomorrow."
"Excellent. See you all then. Dismissed." He ordered and they departed.
The next day, SG1, including Teal'c, met in the briefing room. General Hammond was already sitting in his chair, so they sat down, too.
"Our person is just heading this way. She should be here in just a few minutes." He said.
"She?" Daniel asked.
"Yes. Her name is Doctor Christin Artanis. She has worked at several military bases and apparently has an excellent track record. No complaints that I could dig up."
"Did you really think you would be able to, sir?" Jack asked.
"Officially, no, but I spoke to several colleagues and they all gave her some pretty high praise. They said that she was able to get most of Washington off of their backs about their budget and the commander over Area 51, where she was before being assigned here, said they even came in under budget last year because of her help. She received many recommendations, actually."
"Huh. Wonder why she is letting Kinsey run her, then." Sam said.
"Because, as much as I dislike the man, he pays really well." came a voice from the doorway and they all turned to see their new "coworker". She was younger than any of them expected; in her late twenties, they suspected. She had long, straight, raven black hair, and her eyes were a surprisingly bright blue- almost electric. She dressed comfortably but professionally, in a pair of soft brown slacks and a powder blue cashmere sweater that set off her eyes nicely. Daniel also caught himself noting her figure, which was slim, but not too slim. The woman had some curves. He shook his head and watched as she walked in. She had a nice smile, at least. She sat a few seats down the table from them, obviously noticing their coolness towards her.
"Dr. Artanis, my name is General Hammond. I am commander of this facility." Hammond said stiffly by way of introduction and she nodded.
"Hello, sir. And I guess this is SG1. I recognize you all from your profiles." She said politely.
"Dr. Artanis, what exactly is it that you are going to do while here at the SGC?" Jack asked, bluntly.
"My job is to cut back cost where possible, and make sure that none of the money that is going into this program is being wasted." She replied.
"And why do you think that we are wasting money?"
"Because everyone does. I have been to 23 bases since taking on this career and every one of them was using far more than necessary."
"And who are you to directly report to during your hopefully short time here?" Jack asked and she smiled knowingly.
"Obviously, the cat is out of the bag about Senator Kinsey being the person who selected me and that is who I am ordered to report to. He will receive weekly reports from me." She answered.
"And these reports would consist of…?"
"Well, any major budget changes, mostly. Of course, Kinsey also wants weekly reports of any…goings-on around the base."
"So, he wants you to be a spy for him." Daniel said bluntly. He really didn't like the sound of this.
"Well, in a way, yes." Dr. Artanis replied just as bluntly. "Of course, I will only report the truth. Basically, if there is nothing that you are doing that is wrong, then you have nothing to worry about." She explained with an assuring look.
"Of course, right and wrong is all a matter of perspective." Daniel countered and she smiled slightly.
"Touché."
"Will we be allowed access to these reports?" Sam asked.
"Well…the Senator has 'requested' that I keep them private, but if you would like to see what is in them that pertains directly to you, I think I could arrange that on the sly. I won't be able to allow you full access to the full reports, however." She said and everyone looked at her skeptically. "Look, I know your history with the 'good Senator Kinsey'." She said, a slight sarcasm in her voice at the senator's name. "I know that he has given you guys hell over the past year or so. And, I know that the last thing you want to do is trust me because he is the one who signs my paychecks. But, I want you to know that I do not intended to dig for dirt about you or the program just to satisfy his ridiculous obsession over getting this place shut down. I will report what I see, honestly and truthfully, and I will do my job to the best of my abilities. Believe me or don't, it doesn't matter." With that, she stood up. "Thank you for your time. I will hopefully see you around. If anyone would like to talk, please feel free to come by my office. It's on the fourth floor, the second broom closet on the right from the elevators." And then she was out the door, leaving SG1 and General Hammond looking at each other in surprise.
"What do you think?" Hammond asked.
"I think she is a damn fine actor, sir."
"I don't know, Colonel. She seemed to be on the level." Sam said.
"You really think Kinsey would send someone who was on the level?" Jack argued and Sam had to give him that point.
"I believe we should keep close surveillance on Christin Artanis until we find out her true intentions." Teal'c said and Daniel had to agree with him.
"Well, there is nothing we can other than that right now, anyway. She is here to stay whether we like it or not. Remember, if there is something that needs to be approved, it must go through Dr. Artanis first. It must have her signature on it before I can approve or deny." Hammond said and they all nodded with a sigh. "Dismissed."