Rush was shuttled into a conference room in another wing of SGC's Pentagon offices after going through security. He was alone. The conference room was larger—and more nicely appointed than the usual meeting room that occasionally doubled as his work space when he was in DC.
"Dr. Rush." A kind voice, soft. It startled Rush as so many things seemed to these past few days. He shook it off as sleep deprivation. "I'm so sorry to hear about your wife." There it was—the pity. He was barely holding together as it was; his emotions were on a thin enough tether that threatened to snap at any moment—something that would not happen by sheer force of will. "Thank you Mrs. Croft. I appreciate that."
"I brought you a coffee. I just brewed a pot. Sumatra. Milk. No sugar." Rush smiled wanly. Pity did have its benefits, on the other hand. She set it down gently in front of him, taking his hand in both of hers. Felicia Croft was a grandmother 12 times over, and knew the part well. "You will let me know if there's anything you need?"
"Yes. I will." Terse reply. Rush looked into his coffee, clearing his throat hoarsely as she left.
"Felicia harassing you, Nicholas?" Daniel strode into the room accompanied by General O'Neill and two others he'd never met.
"Nah," he replied, drawing out the sound. "Her coffee is better than Starbucks. If that's harassment…" There was almost too much cheer in his voice; he knew it didn't ring true, and that Daniel would notice.
"Dr. Nicholas Rush, Camille Wray and Colonel David Telford. They are detailed to the new project we'd wanted to tell you about. General O'Neill you already know, so…"
Rush rose, taking O'Neill's hand first. "General…"
"Dr. Rush. I was sorry to hear about your wife. Sorrier still that we'd kept you from her bedside at the end. I don't know what to say. If there's anything we can do to help you through this time, consider it done. Our resources are at your disposal at SGC. I mean that."
"Thank you General; that won't' be necessary, I'm…"
"Still." He gestured for everyone to sit. Camille is IOA, detailed to SGC to head up human resources for the project, and David is the military liaison. "Daniel…"
"Dr. Rush, we know this is a difficult time for you right now, but please consider what I'm about to ask as an honor both for you and for us. Take your time before you respond; go back home, talk to your family, friends, deal with whatever you need to deal with at UC and personally. Let it sit for a week or a month…"
"Get on with it Daniel." Telford was the only one not seated; he paced the room with an intensity that bled through the atmosphere of the conference room, enshrouding them all.
"We'd like to offer you the post of lead scientist on Project Icarus. Funding came through this morning, in no small part thanks to your work back at Berkeley and your very persuasive arguments last week before the Technology and Space subcommittee in the Senate. Senator Armstrong's office called yesterday, and you were the first person on the list to call."
"Your knowledge of Ancient technology and language are crucial to unlocking the ninth and final chevron, and continuing our work in understanding what the Ancients were trying to do," O'Neill drawled.
Wray continued. "You would need to be based here at SGC for now, until such time as a base can be built on the Niquadria-rich planet we've identified—again with your help. We believe that will be about six months to a year until it's completely operational. At that time, you would relocate to Icarus Base to complete the work. You would have funds and high-level civilian and military scientists to staff to work on the Ninth Chevron decryption algorithm, as well as other projects under your direction. There are several of those—some to do with the Stargate and others to do with other Ancient technology, including FTL drive and weapons systems. If you accept our offer, you will be briefed on those once you've signed on. We've already spoken to your department chair at the University of California, and although she was not completely willing to let you go, was quite happy to know that because we were requesting only that you be granted an extended leave. Any work you do for SGC will carry UC Berkeley's name on it along with yours and SGC's."
Rush was immediately uneasy with the idea that SGC had gone ahead, before he'd agreed, to secure UC's blessing, but he swallowed it. This was the Holy Grail, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Of course they knew he'd never turn it down.
"I'm flattered by your offer, but…"
"No need to give us your answer now, son. Take whatever time you need; let us know next week." O'Neill got up, signaling an end to the meeting. "David, can we go over those numbers you have for me? Dr. Rush, take care—and remember what I said. Daniel and Camille can take it from here." Telford and O'Neill left the room, heads together.
"Dr. Rush, a real pleasure meeting you. I've certainly heard enough about you at the IOA, and I hope you'll agree to join the Icarus Project as our lead scientist. Daniel assures me that you are tops in your field and we couldn't be in better hands." Camille extended her hand, her beautiful smile softening her sharply angled face. "I am sorry about your wife; I know you two were very close. It must be difficult to even be sitting here with all of us; your mind must, in some ways at least, be a million miles removed from this room. At any rate, I hope your answer will be a 'yes.'"
Daniel blew out a breath as Nicholas watched Wray exit the room. "We did it Nick. Armstrong came through. Unbelievable, isn't it?"
"Yes, it's all a bit…surreal." Rush fought the sense of elation his mind was telling him to feel, his natural reserve a easy hiding place for the chaos of emotions at play.
"You will say 'yes?'" It was a question. "You have to you know. Icarus is your baby—even as consultant—it's yours."
"Well, we'll see, then." It was too much all at once: the exhaustion, the grief, then this, and he felt catapulted to the teetering edge of a roller coaster, waiting for the next crash to come careering 'round the corner to thrust him into the abyss he knew was just below, unseen. But he felt it. "We'll see," he whispered, more to himself than to Jackson.
"Oh, Nick. There's someone who wants to meet you—a real fan."
"Really, I'm not…"
"I promised her. A huge fan."
"And who might this astrophysics groupie be, Daniel?" Rush sounded more annoyed than he intended.
"Her name is Dr. Amanda Perry. MIT PhD in Quantum Engineering. Her speciality is Ancient drive systems. Said you were the reason she went into studying Ancient technology."
