A/N:
First, you might want to read the previous chapter if you haven't already, as this plays off of a few things at the start of that. It's not completely necessary, but you won't be scratching your head if you do it, either.
Second, I did bump the rating up to T, because some of the language started flying a little bit this chapter, and I just wanted to play it safe on that score. I do so hate it when there is no warning about that (rating change, not the language itself).
Third, I am opening up my inbox to suggestions of future "moments" to include. As big as my imagination is, I know I can't possibly come up with all the possible moments we didn't see on screen that we wanted to. Message me if you think of anything!
And fourth, thank you for all of the review so far – they're wonderful. Keep 'em coming, please? Thank you!
"Now, please worry a little bit more about their lives, and less about your own ass." – Weir
Today is a bad day that just cannot stop getting worse, as far as Kavanagh is concerned.
Granted, the start was good.
McKay gone a mission? Less annoyance all around.
But then Dr. Beckett had to come and interrupt simulations for a stupid shot.
Yes, in hindsight, it had been a mistake to put his name on the list of volunteers for the gene therapy that might give him the ability to use all the Ancient tech lying around.
Kavanagh blames it now on a moment of lunacy -
Caving in to peer pressure.
He can't lie, though, that the thought of how potentially convenient it would be to have it did make the cave happen in the first place.
That would be why Kavanagh is now in the middle of the conference room with an ache in his leg and an ache in his head from the alarm that won't shut off-
Except it is literally shut off now and has been for a while now, and is now just an endless loop in his brain.
Not exactly helpful when you're trying to work with a group of scientists squabbling over the best way to retract a drive pod and get the jumper stuck in the Stargate home again.
Also not helpful is the tiny twinge of resentment Kavanagh has towards McKay right now -
Because McKay would be the one to get himself into a situation like this, with everything set up for him to be the last minute hero of the day.
It might not be a pattern yet, but Kavanagh can see it emerging anyway.
Two for two?
Someday it will be a three for three, then a four for four…
The idea just doesn't sit well in his stomach.
And the Czech diva, Dr. Zalenka?
Oh, well that is the icing on top of the heaping pile of shit that is this day.
He's too good to come to the conference room… he has to go straight to the jumper bay with his research team at his heels.
Like fiddling around with a jumper is going to be the key.
There's just no time for that.
All of that together makes it nearly impossible for Kavanagh to think positively about anything right now.
The one bright spot is that if something happens to McKay, at least someone slightly less obnoxious will lead the science team.
Thank god for potential small favors.
Maybe it's because of all the negativity in the air that Kavanagh sees the potential problem first.
Damage to the jumper is, of course, how the drive pod failed to retract properly.
How much time have they spent as part of the SGC putting pieces of Ancient tech it receives here and there under the microscope and through its paces?
Every moment they aren't working on how to save the galaxy from one emergency or another.
Ancient tech has some redundancies (what system doesn't?), but unless there's damage, it's absolutely unnecessary to tweak it.
In a perfect state, it is the perfect operating system.
Interrupt it, though…
An interruption is where they're at now, too, because the front half of the jumper is inside the event horizon.
Cockpit controllers are interrupted…
His fingers stray along a schematic from the cockpit to the main drive as his mind starts running the calculations.
Oh, shit.
Oh, shit…
Explosion.
He has to say something. NOW.