General George Hammond sat reviewing SG team mission reports, his mind decidedly not entirely on the task at hand. The last few weeks had been stressful to put it mildly. Now that Major Carter was on the road to recovery, the brass was eager for him to debrief her. George had been very forceful when he had indicated it would be preliminary only as the Major was still heavily medicated. Doctor Frasier had also been adamant that the meeting should wait till Carter had more recovery time.
The Air Force however had other ideas; specifically the President's office was particularly interested in Carter's version of events.
So the General sat in his office, dreading going to the infirmary.
As a fellow solider, Hammond sympathized and agreed with what the Major did to rescue her teammates. As the leader of the SGC, he was in the unfortunate position to tell her she made the wrong call.
A decision he knew that Sam was expecting.
A decision he knew she would probably make again under the same circumstances. Something the Air force brass, Woolsey and the President's office didn't understand. The dollar amount was the bottom line and someone to blame.
A knock at his office door drew him from his thoughts, George taking a moment to refocus. "Enter."
Colonel Jack O'Neill entered into his office, closing the door and turning to face the General.
"Colonel, what can I do for you?" Hammond indicated to the chair opposite his desk. Jack looked to the chair, hesitating a moment before sitting uncomfortably. George knew that Jack hated sitting still.
"Well Sir, I was hoping to talk about Carter," Jack sat still for a moment before his leg began bouncing in an attempt to remain sitting before finally rising and walking before the General's desk.
"What about the Major, Colonel?" Hammond asked, knowing exactly where this conversation was going. He had been expecting and waiting for Jack to make this play on Carter's behalf. Until now, Jack had been too busy at the Major's bedside.
"Sir, no disrespect but I know those stupid pencil pushers are going to want Carter's butt for disobeying orders now that she is going to live," Jack's voice waivered ever so slightly on the last word, Hammond knowing all too well just how close the Major had been to death.
Sighing, the General rested his hands on the desk and looked to the man before him. They were both more than familiar with this process; they had both been in the military a long time as had the Major.
"Jack, I still have to take the Major's account of what happened. I haven't submitted any reports at this time." Jack's eyes narrowed slightly at him, as he listened to the General and processed what he was saying. "Once I have spoken to the Major and have her preliminary account of the mission then I can send it off."
"General, if that report goes to the bigwigs Carter could be up on charges for disobeying orders."
"Colonel, I am more than aware of the consequences of such an action. And I will be doing everything in my power to help prevent any negative consequences."
Hammond shared a knowing look with Jack, causing the Colonel to nod his head. "Oh." Jack stated simply. "So we are on the same page then?"
"Yes Colonel. In my opinion, the Major should be given a commendation for the work she did to bring the SGC's flagship team home safely."
Jack nodded, looking to the floor. He then shared an intense stare with Hammond. "Sir, you know Carter never wanted to directly disobey your orders. She has the utmost respect for you Sir, as do I."
Hammond smiled slightly, appreciative of the Colonel's words. "Yes, thank you Colonel. Now if you excuse me, I have to go speak with Major Carter."
A knock to the General's office door interrupted any further conversation. "Enter," Hammond acknowledged as Colonel Reynold's entered into the room.
"Sorry Sir, I didn't realize you were in a meeting," the Colonel stated apologetically.
"Its alright, Colonel O'Neill was just leaving," Hammond indicated as Jack sent him a nod and headed for the exit.
"Actually Sir, the Colonel could be interested in what I have to say as well."
Jack shared a look with Hammond, the General indicating for him to stay. So O'Neill closed the door and looked expectantly to Reynold's.
"Well Colonel, what is it?" Hammond asked, after Reynold's was not immediately forth coming with his reason for the meeting.
"Well Sir, I believe I left an important piece of information out of my mission report."
General Hammond worked through his brain, trying to remember any recent mission reports from SG-3 that he would have deemed incomplete.
"For what mission son?"
"When SG-3 accompanied Major Carter to find Bra'tac Sir," Reynold's expression was stone faced as he stood before Hammond.
"And what exactly was this information Colonel?" George had a good idea where this impromptu meeting was heading. Reynold's gaze held a look of pure conviction as he made eye contact with the General.
"We were having communication issues with the Major Sir. Bra'tac met us at the rendezvous point and we remained at the gate, waiting for the Major's return. A Jaffa patrol began scouting in our proximity, so we had to take cover."
"As your report already stated Colonel."
"I tried to make Major Carter aware of the situation but there appeared to be some sort of interference field affecting our communication Sir. We were unable to make any further contact with the Major. I believe she had no choice but to leave with Master Bra'tac Sir. The stargate was inaccessible and it would not have been prudent to attempt to activate it because we were unable to achieve radio contact."
A silence settled on the room, as George held the gaze of Reynold's. Obviously feeling the General was not buying his story, the Colonel continued.
"I don't believe I emphasized that point enough in my initial report Sir. Something I only recently realized."
"Son, I appreciate the effort but I think the Air force brass will find this addition to your report a little convenient."
"Sir, I stand my mission reports and I want them to be as thorough as possible. I will testify to my report before the brass if need be. "
Jack looked to the General, sending him a silent nod. It was an angle for sure, whether it would help Sam or not time would only tell. George didn't want to think that Reynold's was covering for Major Carter; he would not condone such an act.
He could not condone such an act.
In the end, Major Carter had to be responsible for her own actions.
"Thank you son for giving me this information. If you two will excuse me, I need to go speak to the Major now."
The General nodded to the two Colonel's before leaving his office.
Jack looked to the SG-3 leader and offered his hand. "Thanks for trying to help," Jack shook his hand, Reynold's shaking his head.
"I don't know how much good it's going to do but any one of us will stand up for the Major Jack," he explained. "God knows she has saved our asses too many times to count."
"All of our asses. Let's hope the Air-force realizes that," Jack watched as Reynold's left the General's office, leaving him alone. In reality, Jack knew that the Air-force was rarely forgiving especially when it came to the Stargate program. There was way too much money involved.
As he turned and left the General's office he hoped that George had an ace up his sleeve.
Sam was dozing under the veil of medication when the distinct feeling she was being watched niggled her senses. Eyes opening slowly, Sam's blue eyes quickly made contact with General Hammond who stood at the entrance to the infirmary talking to Janet. His gaze strayed in her direction, making contact before he returned his attention to an obviously upset Chief Medical Officer.
Sam was immediately awake, all the tendrils of sleep dissipated because she knew exactly why the General was here.
Debriefing.
Janet had stated earlier in the day that the General, or rather the Air-force, wanted a preliminary report of what happened off world.
It had led to Janet rhyming off many reasons she thought it was ridiculous and had planned to express her concerns to General Hammond later in the day.
It wasn't going well by the looks of Janet, as she stalked off from the General to her office.
Hammond then started through the infirmary to her bed.
Sam swallowed thickly, not looking forward to this conversation.
"Major, nice to see you alert and looking much better than last I saw you," George greeted, a genuine smile adorning his feature and the twinkle in his eye betraying his joy at her recovery.
"Thank you Sir," Sam replied weakly, her voice not her normal robust tone. She felt sweat beginning to permeate her palms, suddenly feeling very hot. Her breathing quickening and the heart rate monitor beginning to beep more quickly betraying her anxiety over their meeting.
"Major, I just wanted to get a preliminary report of your events off world and leading to the rescue of SG-1. This is informal and if you begin to feel unwell, we can do this another time. I don't want to stress you further. Understood?"
"Yes Sir," Sam watched as the General entered the space beside her bed, coming to sit in the chair closest to her. The chair Jack had been pretty much living in according to Janet.
"Well Major, why don't you start with what happened after you met up with Bra'tac?"
Sam nodded, gratefully drawing in the oxygen flowing through the tubing in her nose because she felt lightheaded.
"I just wanted to say Sir, that I wanted you to know I deeply regret that I was forced to disobey your orders. I felt that if I had not proceeded with Bra'tac that…,"
"Yes, Colonel Reynold's informed me that he was having communication issues with you in his report. Some sort of interference?"
Sam sent the General a confused look. "Sir?"
"The Colonel said that due to the Jaffa situated around the gate and SG-3 being cut off, that your only option was to leave with Bra'tac."
Silence fell between them, Sam unsure what to say.
She knew damn well that Colonel Reynold's was covering for her. Yes there was interference and yes, there was Jaffa. Those things did not however excuse her reasoning for ditching SG-3 and leaving with Bra'tac to free the rest of her team.
"I just need to confirm the main points for the brass, we can go over the details when you are feeling more up to par," George explained as he sent the Major a pointed look. "So after you left with Bra'tac, what was the chain of events?"
Sam was unsure what to say.
"Major?" The General prompted, his eye brow raised in anticipation of her report.
"Ah…right. Yes Sir. Well, we used the rings to infiltrate the base. We disguised ourselves as Jaffa guards and were able to free the rest of SG-1. We fought our way back to the ring platform and returned to the cargo ship. Bra'tac and Teal'c were flying the ship. The rest you know Sir."
"And when did you sustain the injury to your leg Major?"
"During the fire-fight to activate the rings and return to the ship."
The General nodded and stood from the chair. He sent Sam another genuine smile. "Well Major, I am pleased that you were able to return in one peace, along with the rest of SG-1."
"Thank you Sir," Sam replied with a smile. The General then made to leave, Sam still unsure how the General felt about her disobeying his order. "General?"
George turned at the end of her bed, giving the Major a questioning look. Sam withered under his gaze, her foggy brain unsure how to say what she wanted. Hesitantly, she swallowed and pushed her anxiety at bay for the moment.
"Sir, I hope you know I never meant to disappoint you. I have the utmost respect for you and your orders."
The General simply smiled, "On the contrary Major, I could not be more proud. Get some rest Major. That's an order."
"Yes Sir," Sam replied, more obliging I'm sure than he envisioned. The General then disappeared from the infirmary and she let out a long breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.
That wasn't so bad, Sam thought as she closed her eyes tiredly. That had been both mentally and physically exhausting. Janet wasn't kidding when she said napping was her new pastime.