"And have they cleared it?" Jen asked, flipping through the pages of the report.
"Yes." Richard leaned forward, threading his fingers together and placing his forearms on the desk. "Major Whalen's team confirms there are no… creatures… and no sign of Michael."
"So it's basically an empty lab." Jen surmised, quickly scanning the details of the lab's layout, noting the descriptions of the usual computer type console, and empty pods that seemed to signify one of Michael's abandoned labs. They'd found no explosives, and had basically cleared the small bunker of everything but the computer system.
"Yes." Richard nodded. "By all accounts it appears to have been abandoned. However…" He hesitated. "We do not know if Michael left anything useful behind."
"I need to know what's on that computer." Jen looked up, her eyes locking onto the base commanders. "If he's left behind any research, it could prove to be key to preventing him from making any more hybrids."
"As I've said before, Dr. Keller, I don't believe our time is well spent chasing Michael around the galaxy."
"I'm not talking about chasing Michael." Jen closed the folder and set it back on his desk. "I'm taking about saving potentially millions of lives. If there's any chance that Michael has left some of his research, then I need to get my hands on it. He didn't complete his task with the Hoffan drug, and his attempt to keep Torren for god-knows-what evil, failed. He's hiding somewhere waiting for the next opportunity to come after us. And when he does, we need to be ready. That research could be the key to saving us all."
Richard sighed. "I had a feeling you were going to say that."
"I would like to take a team and collect what I can before it's destroyed."
"You… want to take a team?"
Jen sighed. Why was it everyone was always so shocked when she wanted to go off world these days?
"Yes, me." She exclaimed. "Besides Carson, who's currently busy on 289, I'm the best person suited for the job. No one else knows Michael's research better than I do. If we're going to get anything out of it, I need to be there."
Richard stared at her for a brief moment, searching for answers in her expression.
She stared back.
"Very well." He finally nodded. "I will have Colonel Sheppard-"
"No!" Jen exclaimed, instantly regretting the volume with which it came out.
Woolsey blinked.
"I mean… no." She quickly corrected the volume down to a normal level, and fought to smile over her horror at the thought of having to go off-world with both Rodney and Ronon. "I… um… not Colonel Sheppard."
"Is there a problem?" He asked, leaning forward.
"No." She shook her head quickly, taking a deep breath to make sure her mouth said what she needed to say and not some nervous babble. "There's just… um… no need to bother the Colonel with… with this. They… uh… they just came back from 119. They deserve a rest. One of the other teams would be… would be… acceptable."
"But wouldn't Dr. McKay be better suited to deal with any potential mishaps regarding the database? It seems likely that Michael wouldn't take too kindly to someone trying to extract information from his system. There would be fail-safes, I'm sure."
"No." She shook her head quickly, and cleared her throat. "You said yourself that SGA-5 already cleared the facility, and Dr. McKay has kindly shown me how to bypass Michael's firewall. No need to bother him with something so mundane. He has… they all have… better things to do I'm… um… I'm sure."
Jen tried very hard not to squirm under the directness of Richard's gaze. He could see right through her, she was sure of it.
"And… Major Lorne?" Woolsey suggested, most likely expecting her to come up with some excuse why she didn't want Evan's team either.
She smiled with relief, and straightened her shoulders. "That would be fine. Yes. Thank you."
Richard angled his head, taking a few moments to ponder his decision, making her tense with the trials of not squirming. "Very well, Dr. Keller." He finally nodded. "I will arrange for Major Lorne and his team to escort you. Tomorrow morning, oh-eight-hundred?"
"Great." Jen nodded and quickly stood up, turning towards the glass doors of his office. They slid open silently and she moved out onto the balcony.
"Dr. Keller?" Richard called her back.
She turned towards him, facing him through the open doorway. He pulled his glasses off, and inspected them briefly before returning them to his face. She briefly wondered if he was going to change his mind and insist she go with the Colonel's team.
Instead he simply nodded. "Do be careful."
"Careful is my middle name." She joked, relief flooding her body.
Richard Woolsey didn't appear to be amused.
Jen rubbed her nose, trying to get at the telltale tickle. With the addition of the dryness in the back of her throat, she easily confirmed the beginnings of the cold the Daedalus crew brought back with them when they arrived two days ago.
She hated being sick… but in her current state of mind, hiding in her room with the sniffles for a couple of days seemed a worthy trade. If it held true, by tomorrow morning she'd be a full blown snot factory, and by tomorrow night she'd be well ensconced in Nyquil-medicated dreams. She'd have to borrow a couple of books from Laura to tide her over. Maybe even a few DVD's.
"Doc." Evan called, interrupting her wishful thinking. Leading his team across the floor of the gate room he stopped beside her.
Jen smiled and nodded. "Major. Glad you could join me." She nodded quickly around at Lieutenants Williams and Edison, and Captain Sanchez. "Gentlemen."
Evan eyed the knapsack Jen was slinging over her shoulders. "That all you're brining?"
Jen shrugged and adjusted the straps. "Computer and standard medical supplies. Why? Is there something I'm forgetting?"
"No." Evan laughed. "Just used to Rodney's instance on bringing… well… everything."
"Ah. Well I'm hoping I'm only going to need the computer, today."
"With your luck?" Evan teased.
"Oh, hush." Jen frowned, then laughed. She waved to Chuck. "Dial the gate, please?"
With a nod, Chuck triggered the dialing sequence. As they waited for the wormhole to stabilize, Jen sneezed twice against her shoulder.
Evan grinned. "Getting a cold, Doc?"
Jen rolled her eyes. "Half the crew of the Daedalus is out with it. The other half is just getting over it. It's already making the rounds here."
"Do doctors really make the worst patients?"
"Absolutely." Jen grinned.
"Good to know." Evan stepped back, making Jen laugh.
The wormhole solidified and Evan nodded towards Williams, who moved in front with Edison to take the point. Sanchez fell in behind, leaving Evan beside Jennifer. With a nod to the control room they crossed the event horizon and disappeared.
"Colonel Sheppard." Richard greeted, standing up from behind his desk and waving John into the room. "Please, have a seat."
John frowned as Richard moved to close the door. He hadn't realized there was need for any kind of private conversation, but with Woolsey, you never knew what was expected. The impromptu meeting request first thing this morning had taken him by surprise. Woolsey rarely did anything without booking it into his schedule first. This was either something bad… or… something bad.
John flopped into the chair and waited for Woolsey to return to the other side of his desk. Richard sat stiffly, pulled off his glasses, wiped them quickly, then returned them to his face. He nodded at John. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."
"What'd they do this time?" John muttered, slouching down in the chair.
"Who?" Richard frowned, shaking his head.
"Whoever did whatever to have you calling me in for a private meeting?"
"Ah." Richard nodded. "Well. I'm not entirely sure anyone's done anything. That's why you're here."
John nodded, then shook his head, completely confused.
Richard cleared his throat. "Colonel. I am not usually one to meddle in the personal matters of my staff. However, on certain occasions, personal matters can bleed into professional ones, as I'm sure you understand."
John waited, wondering where the hell this was going.
Woolsey took his silence as agreement and continued. "Something has come to my attention that requires your… insight."
"My insight." John repeated.
Richard nodded. "The subject may be delicate but as I said, when personal lines cross professional ones, it is my duty as base commander to-"
"Just… tell me which Marine did what to which scientist, or vice versa, and I'll go kick the appropriate ass." John frowned.
Richard leaned forward in his chair and looked pointedly at John. "Is there… any reason I should know about which would have Doctor Keller purposely avoiding your team?"
"Is there… what?" John frowned and sat forward. "No. What do you mean… avoid?"
"I mean… avoid. Not want to be with. Purposely ignoring."
"I'm aware of what the word means." John interrupted. "What I want to know is what you mean."
John's spine straightened as he listened to Woolsey's explanation of his conversation with Jenifer the day before. She'd demanded to go to the planet herself, and had then specifically requested a team other than his. And it wasn't for any known medical problem. Sure, he'd skimmed the request she'd submitted and Woolsey had signed, for Evan's team to escort 'a medical officer' to MX3-246 to download the data drive from Michael's abandoned lab. But what he hadn't known was that the medical officer was their CMO. And what he hadn't known was that she'd turned him down.
Or more appropriately, she'd turned his team down.
For no apparent reason.
It wasn't like her to do anything without speaking to him first. If there was a problem, she should have come to him. She always had before. So why not now? What changed?
"Colonel?" Woolsey interrupted John's reflection.
John stood up and turned towards the door. "I have no idea." The door hissed open in front of him. "But I'm going to find out."
"Colonel?" Woolsey called after him.
John hesitated and stopped, shoving down the anger at having to deal with all the corporate pomp that Woolsey thrived on. He probably forgot to bow before he left. With a sigh he turned around to face Richard, who'd moved to stand in his doorway.
"See to it you deal with this matter quickly." Richard requested. "We have enough… external conflict to deal with on a daily basis. We don't need internal friction as well."
With a nod John turned on his heel and crossed the balcony, his hand moving to his com.
Time to get some answers.