A/N: These first chapters are just the preview of what's to come. Call it the prelude, whatever. I wanted to put what kind of strain SG-1 is under and the consequences of it before I got to the camp, er, fun part. I know it isn't, yet, but it will be. I promise.
In response to a review, SG-1 had just come back from their 21st mission with no breaks for downtime. Also, this is an AU, so things are bound to be different. Read on...
Chapter 3
After a relaxing 45 minutes of showering for SG-1, and an intense hour of speaking with the President for Hammond, they were all gathered in the briefing room on Level 27. At least SG-1 and Fraiser were. Hammond was still in his office gathering his notes for the briefing. He'd had a difficult time talking to the President and it showed in features. Now to tell SG-1 of his feelings and conversation with the President. He knew this was going to be unpleasant, but orders were orders.
Hammond moved to the briefing room, where Fraiser and SG-1 waited patiently. Well, Daniel, Teal'c, and Sam were waiting patiently. Jack looked like he was about to bounce off the walls with his pacing of the room. Hammond noticed it immediately and called the briefing to order, effectively sitting him down.
"I know you've been worked to exhaustion," Hammond started.
At this, Jack went, "You think?" Ah, yes. The classic Jack O'Neill wit to answer the obvious.
"Colonel," Hammond admonished, half-heartedly. He knew Jack would do this and couldn't help the chuckle as he said it. "Let me get this out of the way. I've been even more frustrated than you about this. A fact that I let Hayes know about because I've been busier than you. Oh, I may not have field duty like you do, but running the base for eight months straight is just as exhausting as 21 missions in a row." Hammond said.
"20 and a half, sir." O'Neill said. "My knees gave out."
"Doctor?" Hammond asked, perplexed.
"Well, sir, everyone checked out in moderate health. With the exception of Teal'c, who has Junior to help with his recovery, SG-1 is borderline hypertensive. Jack has, aside from the knees, a strained shoulder, sore ribs, a tender groin, and not enough sleep. Daniel has a strained wrist, a sprained knee, a sore elbow, mild concussion, carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands, and sleep deprivation. Sam has a strained shoulder, medium concussion, extreme sleep deprivation from being intravenously fed with caffeine to keep up with this schedule, and other minor ailments." Fraiser reported.
"The President is aware of the more extreme conditions. I'll wait for the recommendations, because the President has his own. And, despite your authority to to overrule my decisions, his decisions are final." Hammond said.
"But, sir!" Fraiser objected.
"Although you have the authority to override my decisions, you do not have the authority to overrule the President's, Dr. Fraiser. The only one who does is his personal chief medical officer. He also has the authority to override the Pentagon's orders, but he had good reason to not do so." Hammond said.
"Oh?" Jack asked, interested to know why the President had screwed up his team's life for eight months.
"His strings have been pulled, Jack. I finally was able to talk to him for the first time since he took office." Hammond said.
"I thought Hayes took office eight months ago. What gives?" O'Neill asked. Then a light bulb went off, and he hung his head in disbelief. "Don't tell me that slimebag Kinsey pulled the wool over him?"
"He did, Jack. Kinsey had the full support of the Pentagon, minus the Joint Chiefs, and the Senate." Hammond started. "His knowledge of the program gave him free reign of how we operated. He was able to put his trusted companions in key positions to ensure that we would not have any say in how the program was run. Once he had the Senate in his pocket, the House had no choice but to comply," he finished.
"What changed?" O'Neill asked.
"You remember my removal from the SGC and the events surrounding it?" Hammond asked.
"As if we could forget that, General. Bauer split my team up!" O'Neill exclaimed. "Wait, the disk that Maybourne got..."
"It finally got into Hayes's possession two days ago. As soon as he saw it, he went into action. Kinsey and his supporters were arrested early this morning by constitutional order and Hayes just took the oath of office two hours ago. I caught him as he was calling us to explain the reason why we've been on high alert for the past eight months." Hammond said.
"And Kinsey?" O'Neill asked.
"He'll be rotting in the maximum security wing of Fort Leavenworth for 50 life sentences. We won't need to worry about him ever again." Hammond answered, a great weight lifted off his shoulders.
"What about the SGC?" O'Neill asked.
"The President has given us all at least a 2 week vacation in shifts, Jack. Except for me. I'll have a week off, then I report back here with a promotion to Lieutenant General." Hammond started.
"Well, you deserve it." O'Neill and Carter said.
"Thank you. The President will have a full list of promotions available when you and your team get back from your month long vacation, Jack. Where you're going has already been determined since you don't use your down time off base as much as I would like." Hammond said.
As SG-1 gasped at the prospects of a month long vacation, the last part of the statement didn't hit them until Jack noticed Hammond still looking at them. "We don't get to choose where our downtime takes place?", he asked, realization dawning on him. "Why not?", he asked as the statement floored him.
"Jack, the President realizes that you've been working virtually nonstop. He said, and I quote, 'thanks, in no part, to that low-ball, authority-driven, holier-than-thou, God-loving ass hole that is Robert Kinsey'." Hammond stopped for few seconds while SG-1 in general and O'Neill in particular laughed at the President's use of language.