The general was right: Kellie was a lot more comfortable briefing everybody in the less formal setting of the lab. "He, uh, has what looks like a virus, sir, but it's nothing that I've ever seen. Most viruses co-opt a cell's mechanism to reproduce copies of themselves, but this appears to be…rewriting the cell's DNA "

"Why?"

"For the same reason any virus takes over cell: to reproduce itself. But in this case the cell, or at least most of the infected cells, remain intact. They slowly reproduce the virus and release it to continue the process. I had an animation to show-" Kellie turned to log into her computer.

General Hammond shook his head at her. "Don't worry about it, doctor, I understand."

"Thank you, sir."

"Doctor, I know you had more to brief about the virus itself, but I need to know now: what is the danger to the SGC?"

Kellie took a deep breath and tried to picture her slides. "The virus isn't airborne, sir-"

"That's a relief."

"-but it is transmitted by bodily fluids."

Colonel O'Neill frowned. "That's not."

"However, it is destroyed by the usual things: bleach, acids, alc-"

The general suddenly looked a little worried. "Has it spread to any SGC personnel?"

Kellie gave him a short, serious nod. "I've checked the QRF team; the ones who subdued the patient. Sergeant Morrison was – is – definitely infected. He's in quarantine right now. The other members are in isolation and under constant observation. And we've taken blood from everybody else in the SGC just in case."

The general suddenly looked a lot worried. So did the rest of the audience. "How bad is the sergeant?"

"Other than feeling a bit run down he doesn't have any symptoms of anything right now, sir. We've started him on a course of antivirals, but…."

"But what?"

"They're likely to have a limited effect until we've had a chance to study the virus in more detail. Right now we're making a best guess."

"What about the medical team?"

Kellie let out a sigh of relief. "We follow standard infection prevention protocols, so it's unlikely any of us have been infected. But I've ordered blood tests every twenty-four hours until we have a better understanding of the virus. If any of us have been infected we'll know."

"But you felt confident enough to brief us?"

"Yes, sir. But it would be a good idea to keep the medical team – and anyone else who's had contact with the patient's blood - separated from as much of the SGC population as is practical."

A nod from the general. "A sensible precaution."

Kellie took a deep breath and steeled herself. "And I think the SGC should stay on lockdown for the time being."

Another nod. "I'll take that into consideration, doctor. What about our visitor?"

Kellie relaxed; the general was actually listening to her! "He's still sedated, but we can bring him out of it at your command, sir."

"Let's leave him sedated for now. Maybe we can talk to him in the morning. Speaking of which: how…human or…alien is he?"

"He responds to normal medical protocols, sir, so he's not too far off from us, but there are some differences. I'm waiting for the DNA analysis to come back, but for example, he appears to have two spleens, among other things."

"And his equipment?"

Senior Master Sergeant Ansley spoke up. "I'll field that one, sir. The medical team turned it over to us. We didn't find anything that looked out of the ordinary so we laid it out for the anthro team to examine, but secured it when the biohazard was declared. We bagged and tagged the stuff and deconned the room it was in. The gear's back with the medical team."

"Good work, master sergeant. Doctor?"

"We checked the blood on the weapons and other equipment. It's the patient's and Staff Sergeant Morrison's. Mostly. That's probably how he ended up getting infected."

"And the mirror room?"

"I had a hazmat team decon and place it off limits. We're setting up an airlock outside the room."

General Hammond nodded. "Good. Is there anything else important I need to know?"

"I…don't know, sir."

"Tell you what, doctor: e-mail me your slides and keep me posted on the patient and the sergeant. If anybody else shows signs of infection let me and Colonel O'Neill know immediately."

"Yes, sir."

"Does anybody have any questions for the doctor?"

Major Haugen (the ass) raised his hand. "Do we have any outside help on this?"

Colonel O'Neill answered before Kellie could. "Ol' Doc Frasier's been called in off leave. She'll be working downtown with the usual folks until we feel we can lift the quarantine."

"I suppose it's too early to even guess what this disease will do." Major Haugen looked directly at Kellie as he spoke.

"That's right, but we've injected a couple of mice. It might take a few days, but we'll know soon." There!

Somebody at the back of the room called out, "What about the elf?"

"Ha! I knew some-"

"Colonel! Go ahead doctor."

"We'll see about returning him home as soon as we've had a chance to interview him. He might know something about this virus, or at least know someone who does. But the final decision is up to General Hammond."

"Understood, doctor. But just so you know: I'd like to have our guest returned home ASAP. Any other questions?" Nobody spoke up, so the general continued. "Keep me posted on Sergeant Morrison and the patient. If there's no new developments the senior staff will meet at zero-seven-hundred in the morning. Get some food and some rest everybody. Dismissed!"


A/N: Okay, so I missed the equinox. But I did publish this before Thanksgiving. Give props to shameless . 0 . self . 0 . inserter . for putting a boot to my rear! But don't expect the next chapter before Boxing Day!