Chapter 5: Ronald Greer
Well, look at that, Greer thought. An agreement. He didn't let it register on his face as he turned away and left Wray standing in the hallway. After all, he had his duties.
He hadn't expected to run into Wray in the hallway. The universe seemed to have no intention of giving him a break. He shook off her glare as he rounded the corner away from Wray. For barely above five foot tall, she had a way of glaring that not only made her seem equal to his six foot height, but it stuck with him.
Greer was scheduled to take over for Airman Becker. Young had ordered a 24-hour watch placed on the room with the chair. He wasn't looking forward to it. He'd been the first one to secure the room and had taken the first shift guarding the door. He knew that behind that currently locked door, Dr. Franklin's dried blood remained on the neural screws. That room gave him the creeps.
Since being removed from the away mission duty roster, guard duty seemed to be all that was left open to him. Technically, Wray was in command until tomorrow morning. He was glad it wasn't longer. That bitch would do anything to punish him for mistakes made a universe away. Not that he was sorry for what he'd done. He wasn't.
The first thing Wray would do if she were in total command would probably be to lock him away permanently, just as Colonel Telford had done when he'd taken command of Destiny through the use of the communication stones and the colonel's body.
Greer was glad to know that at least the colonel would be back in charge before too long, glad the colonel had made it back from that hellhole of a planet. He could imagine life with Wray in charge, and it wasn't a pretty sight.
As it was, there would be very little to do aboard the ship until they dropped out of FTL again. Greer had spent his time working with Dr. Rush in an attempt to explore Destiny's numerous corridors. Without Dr. Rush driving them all to push the boundaries of what they knew, it was possible that the rest of Destiny's uncharted halls would remain so.
Greer wouldn't go so far as to say Dr. Rush had been a friend, but he had been a good colleague. It had been good to see someone with a sense of authority outside the military. None of the other scientists showed anything like guts the way Rush had. They were a bunch of spineless, whiny, bumps on logs. Greer had no time for them. Rush had been different, unique.
Greer didn't follow orders from people who didn't take charge. He probably wouldn't have pulled that trigger to stop Dr. Franklin from going through the gate with the remote dialer if Dr. Rush hadn't ordered it. Rush had quickly considered the situation and arrived at the conclusion that they would have to stop Dr. Franklin by force. Greer probably would have come to the same decision if it had been down to him. But he wasn't as quick-witted as Rush had been. It would have taken too long. He would have reacted too late. Thanks to Rush's judgment, quick reaction, and willingness to be in command, they hadn't been stuck on that desert planet.
Rush might not have known it, but he'd earned Greer's respect that day.
Maybe that same authority that Greer so respected is what drove the colonel so crazy. What Dr. Rush didn't like, he changed through sheer force of will. Greer had liked that about the man. He'd shared that viewpoint most of the time. And most of the time, it got him in trouble, just like it got Rush into trouble.
He hadn't liked the fact that Rush and the colonel were constantly going at it. But it wasn't his problem. His commanding officer was Young and he'd follow the colonel's commands so long as he was in charge. Sadly, that didn't seem to be as solid a case as it should have been. Greer didn't like change. He liked Wray even less. He hoped to God that he'd never have to deal with her in command again.
Things were brewing between the colonel and Wray. It was hard to miss it. He knew exactly whose side he'd be on, and it wouldn't be pretty for the civilians without guns. He was a soldier, a warrior. He'd do his duty if he was so ordered. He had no qualms about it.
It would have been interesting to see what Rush would have said about all this. He'd probably have something insulting to say about both Young and Wray. Greer smirked despite himself.
Dr. Rush had almost felt like a kindred spirit. Sure, one of them was military and the other scientific, but it seemed they'd somehow found a way to bridge the gap. They'd had an understanding. Now Greer was alone. It was going to take some getting used to.
It was normal in the life of a soldier to lose comrades from time to time. It was even more normal within the confines of the Stargate program. But Dr. Rush had seemed such an ornery creature that he wouldn't let the universe take him out of the equation if he'd had anything to say about it. Apparently, even the great Dr. Rush was no match for fate.
He saw Airman Becker standing at his post, a rifle in his hand. Greer sighed as he received Becker's rifle and took his place in front of the door that concealed the dentist chair of death.
From his post, Greer watched the comings and goings of the ship. It was quiet. He liked that. It gave him time to think. The only person he saw during his shift was Lieutenant Scott making his daily jog through Destiny's corridors. Greer nodded once, military style, as the lieutenant jogged past his post.