"How can they keep him for so long?" Jennifer asked, pacing by Sam's desk.
"Probably because he is arguing every point." Sam replied.
"But he didn't do anything wrong, he proved it was Milton."
"But if Milton activated it by accident Rodney will still be held accountable." Sam explained.
"So we have to hope Milton is working for the Trust and was trying to destroy Atlantis?" Jennifer asked.
"I wouldn't go that far. Look, Rodney has a skill at rubbing people up the wrong way. A lot of them will view this as pay back. These meetings are just to show everyone that the IOA is in charge." Sam tried to assure her friend as her office door opened so fast she thought it would come off the hinges.
"How'd it go?" Jennifer asked nervously as Rodney stormed into Sam's office.
"How do you think it went? It was a disaster. Their sole purpose was to make themselves feel big. The only way it could have been worse was to have Ellis on the panel. Milton nearly destroys Atlantis and they blame me for not employing proper processes, they don't even question or punish Milton. They're after blood. They're worse than the Wraith. I'm just glad it's over. I can't think of anything worse th-"
"Rodney!" Sam cut in, trying to stop the physicist undoing all the calming work Sam had implemented over the last three hours.
"What?" He snapped. Seeing her nod towards a very pale Jennifer he said. "But I'm sure you'll be fine." Turning his attention back to Sam he said. "You realise this is all your fault. If you hadn't built the Ivangorod so quickly, I wouldn't be here now."
Before anyone else could speak the door creaked open and Landry entered saying.
"Dr Keller, they're ready."
Nervously Jennifer stood and walked to the door barely acknowledging the good luck she got from Sam. As she walked the corridors of the SGC next to Landry, the General suggested.
"Try not to look so nervous. What's the worse that could happen?"
"I'm removed from my post." Jennifer said immediately.
"I seem to remember not so long ago you tried to remove yourself from your post." Landry pointed out.
"That seems a long time ago." Jennifer confessed.
"What changed?"
"Back then I ended up with the job due to Carson's death. I never even thought about being CMO until I was given the role. I could see the doubts in others over my lack of experience and I doubted myself. But now I know I can do a good job. I have done a good job. I don't want to give it."
"You don't need to convince me." Landry smiled. "I'm behind you one hundred percent. Just take that attitude in with you and you'll be fine."
Taking a deep breath Jennifer walked into the conference room to face the lions. The first thing that struck her was how many people were in the room. She had assumed there would be three or four IOA representatives, instead there were twelve, including Hamilton. Also seated at the table was General O'Neill.
Picking up on Jennifer's surprise at seeing him, the General stood and walked over to her. "Good seeing you again Dr Keller." He greeted shaking her hand. "Please take a seat next to me." As Jennifer walked over to the chair he added. "You're probably wondering why I'm here, seeing how you are not military and the fact I hate IOA meetings. The answer is you are responsible for the well being of my people so I have a vested interest in the proceedings." As Jennifer sat he leaned closer to her and whispered. "You'll be fine. I'm on your side."
When Jennifer was settled a man she didn't know looked at Jennifer and said.
"I'm Patrick Garton. I am currently the chair of the IOA. As such I am in control of these proceedings. I am aware that there were some extreme events that took place during Dr Hamilton's visit."
"That's a euphemism if ever I heard one." Jack muttered. Ignoring him Garton went on. "It was not my intention for you, or the others, to be assessed under such conditions. However, I have asked all the subject matter experts to include events that happened in their reports so we could get a rounder picture of what your role is like." He paused before passing Jennifer a very thick file.
"How many trees did that cost you?" Jack asked commenting on the size.
"That," Garton started, ignoring the General again, "Is the detailed report that Dr Hamilton prepared. I would like to thank him for being so thorough. In the interest of time I suggest that we do not go through the report now, instead we will go through the key points now and you may refer to the report at a later time. Dr Hamilton please begin." Garton finished as Jennifer's heart sunk.
"Thank you." Hamilton said. "As you are aware I was sent to appraise Dr Keller in her role as a doctor and as CMO of Atlantis. Like many of you I went with several concerns such as her lack of experience, the lack of a formal interview process she went through to get the role of CMO and the number of resources she was asking for. As such I was not only asked to appraise her, but to see if she was in fact the right person for the job, either now or at some point in the future." He paused whilst he took a sip of water. "During my first few days my concerns were realised. Dr Keller set up off world clinics in an almost haphazard way. She spent too much time pandering to the locals. As such a mission that should have taken two hours took eight."
"Hang on a minute-" Jack jumped in only for Garton to raise his hand and say.
"General please let Dr Hamilton finish. Dr Keller will have a chance to respond when Dr Hamilton is done. Until then please keep silent." Reluctantly Jack bit his tongue all the while glaring at Hamilton, who continued.
"Back on Atlantis things were not much better, the infirmary had a very relaxed command structure with no obvious chain of command. All of the staff, but Dr Keller especially, were not detached enough from the patients. Dr Keller spent too much time with the patients rather than her research. All in all after two days I was of the firm belief that Dr Keller should either not continue in her role, or only continue if a stringent framework was set up to allow her to appreciate her duties more." He paused again and sipped his water. "As you all know I have a strong background in emergency medicine and the practice of medicine in extreme environments. I therefore assumed I was an ideal person to mentor Dr Keller through all changes that needed to be made."
Hamilton then looked directly at Jennifer who had lost all hope. He then gave a half smile and said. "One of the great things of experience is to be able to be critical of others, in order to improve their performance based on your knowledge. One thing that does not become easier with experience is admitting you were wrong. Yet, that is exactly what I am about to do. During my time there the Wraith attacked. At that point the whole city turned into a warzone. Dr Keller split her staff in two. One half stayed in the infirmary, the other set up a triage clinic in the gym. She did not send her most experienced doctor to run the triage centre as I would have done, instead she kept the best with her to tend the critically injured who were coming in. The staff knew what equipment and supplies to take, without instruction, showing that they are well drilled and all equally important cogs in the machine. She worked for hours without rest in surgery, something that should normally be frowned upon, but on Atlantis is a necessity due to the lack of staff. She showed great resilience and flexibility saving me from a Wraith one moment and going back into surgery the next. Although her leadership style is informal she is fully capable of setting boundaries when needed and has done so to produce a well run infirmary."
He stopped again for a drink before finally saying. "To conclude then, it is true that I would not run the Atlantis Infirmary as Dr Keller does. But that is not to say that Dr Keller's method is incorrect. We both come from different view points and I believe we could learn a lot from each other. Whilst I would like Dr Keller to take on board some of the suggestions I make in the report, that should not be mandated. In fact the only action I would insist on is for this board to review the budget and give Dr Keller the resources she requires to do her job."
"Thank you Dr Hamilton." Garton said before looking at Jack. "General I believe you wanted to disagree with the doctor."
"Only the first half. He rescued it later on." Jack shrugged.
"Good. Dr Keller do you have anything you want to say?"
"No." Jennifer said shocked and confused by what had just happened.
"Very well." Garton said. "I'm guessing you would like to make the Daedalus flight back to Atlantis, which departs in four hours." He waited for Jennifer to nod before going on. "In which case I'll give you the highlights of our recommendations. We have agreed that you can have two more doctors and three nurses. Recommended personnel files have already been sent to you. I suggest you review them on your flight back and once you have picked let us know. " Standing he turned his focus to the rest of the room and said. "I believe we are done here. Thank you for your time." With that he left, quickly followed by the rest of the IOA.
As Jennifer continued to sit there in a state of shock and confusion Jack nudged her and said. "You know you can leave now?"
"That's it? I'm not fired?"
"No. Unless they're speaking in some sort of reverse code, but I'm pretty sure they're not." Jack said standing. "Come on, let's get you back to Carter's office where I'm pretty sure there is a hidden supply of real coffee."