Elizabeth Weir stood and drew herself up to her full height, which was still well short of Byrd's six feet-plus. "Doctor," she said, her voice positively glacial, "your recommendation is duly noted. However, as I'm sure you're aware, you have no authority over the civilians in Atlantis. Carson was my first choice for CMO when we began this expedition, and he remains my first choice. If and when his fitness to fulfill that office comes into question, I will be the one to make that decision. Is that understood?" Byrd's jaw tightened, but he dipped his head in a sharp, short nod. Elizabeth turned her freezing gaze to Caldwell, who raised his hands palms-out.
"No argument from me," he said mildly. "Colonel, can Dr. Beckett be safely moved to Atlantis' infirmary?"
Looking vaguely like he'd just bitten into a lemon, Byrd nodded again. "With the proper precautions, yes."
"I'll call Dr. Ruiz, Carson's second in command, and have her come aboard with a team," Elizabeth said. "You can brief her on his condition before the move. Now, we'd like to see our friend, so if you don't mind, we'll wait for our people in sickbay." She looked at the military doctor expectantly. Behind her, Rodney wanted to cheer but contented himself with an especially obnoxious grin.
Caldwell nodded and made a small motion with his hand. Byrd snapped his heels together and stalked from the room. Shooting Rodney a secret amused smirk, Weir fell in behind the lieutenant colonel, keeping her steps confident but leisurely. Byrd was forced to slow down, then stop and wait for them to catch up. Rodney reminded himself, not for the first time, to stay on Elizabeth's good side.
SGA
The large, nearly empty room echoed with the sound of metal on metal. Carolyn Biro stood at a metal table, a white sheet puddled around her feet. Now and then she straightened from the body before her, dropping instruments black with blood on a nearby tray.
As he drew nearer, padding silently on sneakered feet, he noticed she was singing under her breath, the same three off-key words. "Good day, sunshine. Good day, sunshine." She picked up a scalpel and started to lean forward, only to pause when she noticed him approaching. "Ah, Carson," she said cheerily, slicing Perna's torso open from throat to navel. "Come to see the fruits of your labor?"
He took a step back only to bump up against another table. He spun around and was faced with a still, sheet-draped form. Almost against his will, his hand reached out and pulled back the cover. Elia's blue-scaled face gazed sightlessly up at him with its slit-pupil eyes.
Where there had been empty space only moments before, there were now hundreds, thousands of stainless steel tables, each burdened with a sheet-covered form. He pivoted, his mouth hanging open in horror and shock. The bodies stretched out as far as he could see – his victims, gathered there in silent condemnation.
Doctor Biro was still singing "Good Day, Sunshine" and wielding her scalpel. Perna's organs splattered wetly as they were dropped on the floor. "You sure keep me busy, boss," she grinned. "You know, I've always thought 'first, do no harm' was a crock anyway."
He squeezed his eyes shut, as sickened by his handiwork as he was by her cheerful butchery. When he next opened his eyes, Biro was standing before him in bloodstained scrubs, holding her scalpel in one gloved hand.
Except it wasn't Biro.
"I'm very disappointed in you, dear," his mother said. She slashed at him viciously with the scalpel.
His vision filled with red.