General Hammond looked up at the rap on his door. "Come."
When Janet Frasier entered, he noted that she looked exhausted. Gesturing to the seat in front of his desk, he asked succinctly, "SG4?"
Sitting with a grateful sigh, Frasier looked the general in the eye. "Corporal Ennis is in critical condition, sir. The staff blast destroyed a good part of his intestines, and most of his liver. Frankly, sir, it's only a matter of time."
Hammond's jaw tightened. Losing good men never got any easier. Knowing it was expected of him, he nodded shortly. "What about Colonel Ibrahim?"
"Well, as was obvious, his leg is broken. Other than that, scrapes and bruises only. With Dr. Lesley's help, I was able to reduce the fracture and pin it. He'll be out of action for at least eight weeks. Sgt. Watts and Dr. DeMott came through without injury, although DeMott was badly shaken."
"She did a fine job helping to get her team home," Hammond commented. The petite scientist had practically carried the much larger and heavier team leader through the gate.
"Yes, but I suspect she's had her fill of gate travel. Don't be surprised if she resigns in the next few days, sir."
The general shook his head sadly. "She's had a run of bad luck, but she's been an asset to the program. I'll offer her a research position. No gate travel until she's ready."
Frasier shrugged, looking doubtful, but kept her peace. Hammond waited a moment, knowing there was another report that the doctor had to make. He could tell from the look on her face that she was reluctant to speak, but he didn't have the luxury of time, so he asked pointedly, "What about Mr. Quinn?"
Even with prompting, the doctor hesitated. "Sir… I think we have to consider sending him home."
"What, to Kelowna? That's not an option, Doctor," Hammond stated flatly.
"It may be the only way to save his life."
"Yes, just long enough for those people to hang him."
"Sir, couldn't we trade something? Force them to leave him alone?"
Hammond shook his head. The doctor didn't have the instinct for politics that he had. In his few dealings with the government of Kelowna, he knew that they would twist any arrangement to suit their needs. Sending Jonas back to those people would be tantamount to putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger.
He cocked his head at Frasier. "What about the food SG8 procured? I thought you said it would help."
"Yes sir, I thought it would, but he's still deteriorating." The doctor shook her head in bewilderment. "We just haven't been able to get a handle on it. There is something very wrong with his digestive system. He's literally starving to death despite anything he eats. I thought it was something in the Kelownan diet, but we've had him on the kaily cake for four days now, and I'm seeing no improvement."
Hammond frowned with distaste at the thought of the subsistence food that SG8 had successfully bartered with the Kelownan military for. He had tried a bit of it and had found it had all the taste and texture of styrofoam. That one taste had given him a whole new insight into Jonas Quinn and the world he had come from.
"Well, what about that specialist? Van Huisen?"
"I sent the records, but Dr. Van Huisen was unable to make a determination. Sir… if we could just move Jonas to the Academy hospital, or maybe Bethesda…"
"That's out of the question," Hammond responded curtly. He hated to shut Frasier down like that, but the truth of the matter was, his superiors at the Pentagon had refused his request to allow the Kelownan to be moved to any other facility. With true bureaucratic shortsightedness, they had decreed Jonas Quinn a security risk.
Hammond had his suspicions about that decree. It had not escaped his notice that Senator Kinsey was still sniffing around. It would be just like the man to engineer the order simply because of Quinn's association with SG1.
Doctor Frasier grew angry. "General, you're tying my hands here. If I can't move Jonas to another facility, at least let me bring Dr. Van Huisen here. It wouldn't be the first time we brought in an outside specialist…"
"Doctor, what makes you think this Van Huisen could do any better in person?"
The woman deflated before his eyes. "I don't know, sir. I don't know, but if we don't do something, he's not going to last much longer."
Feeling hopeless, Hammond made a vague gesture. "I'll authorize Van Huisen. In the meantime, do the best you can, Doctor."