Chapter Two A Little Deal

Mess Hall

As anticipated, the SGC and the IOA were extremely interested in the naquadah discovery. The Daedalus was already on its return flight to Pegasus and was scheduled to arrive on Christmas Eve and General Landry had redirected the George Hammond from the Milky Way to Pegasus to join her. The foremost expert on naquadah was Colonel Samantha Carter who was currently the commanding officer of the Hammond and if the find was as large as it appeared, the IOA wanted her there. Gen. Landry ordered Woolsey and Sheppard to begin negotiations with the Tegerans immediately.

After that first meeting with Landry, Sheppard had broached the subject of Atlantis command; there had been a time when Woolsey would have been adamant that if he went on a rare off-world visit, that the colonel would have to remain on Atlantis. One of them, according to regulations, had to be there at all times.

Woolsey had just looked at him and sighed, "Yes, colonel, I know, not only am I beginning to break my own rules, I am beginning to break the chain of command rules for Atlantis as well. I suppose in this instance that the situation is of such importance that we are just going to have to ignore the regulations." With that, he had dismissed the colonel citing he had a lot of work to do and that the colonel should return in an hour for another scheduled meeting with the general and to bring McKay with him. Sheppard felt the reality was that Woolsey didn't want to further discuss bending the rules.

Sheppard left Woolsey's office after yet another meeting, heading to the mess hall for dinner. He and Woolsey had just finished speaking with General Landry for the third time in as many hours and he was replaying the conversation in his head when McKay caught up with him.

"Hungry?" McKay asked as he hurried to match the colonel's long stride.

"Heading to the mess now, coming along?" Sheppard glanced at Rodney who had that look that Sheppard knew far too well, he was upset about something. Sheppard was pretty sure he knew what it was.

"So, you upset that Colonel Carter is on her way to take over your territory?"

"Why do you think I would be upset?"

"Well, when we met with the IOA and the SGC on what I think was the second call today, I'm losing track, the IOA scientist made a big deal about Sam being the only one who could possibly evaluate the naquadah. I have to admit that I was pissed that jerk from the IOA was going on as if there wasn't another brilliant scientist in the SGC."

Rodney looked genuinely surprised, "Thanks, Sheppard."

Sheppard grinned, "I was talking about Zelenka."

"Yeah, sure flyboy; I knew sooner or later that you would have to admit I was brilliant." Rodney flashed a grin for a few seconds and then his face became solemn again.

They reached the mess, Sheppard noticed that Rodney did not get as much food as he normally did and was too quiet. He usually sniped at the servers, asking all kinds of questions about the food and generally making a nuisance of himself. After they sat down, Rodney continued to be unusually quiet and that always made Sheppard nervous.

"So, you never answered me, are you upset that the IOA is sending Carter here to check out the naquadah?"

"No…yes…," he sighed, sitting back in his chair, "no, I'm not upset that Sam is coming, it will be good to see her. Sam is the expert; she's done almost all of the research conducted by the SGC on naquadah; she built the first naquadah generator. Sam should be involved in this. I just don't understand why the Hammond needs to come all this way when I know as much she knows, it's not like I'm not an expert as well."

Rodney paused; Sheppard waited for him to continue, "That IOA scientist that was in the meeting ranting on about naquadah; he's the same guy who wouldn't listen to Zelenka and me about the power needed to dial the ninth chevron on Icarus. He's the also the same IOA idiot who chose Rush to do that research; there's a big mistake for you. Rush or that IOA idiot couldn't hold their own against Sam; she has the most brilliant mind in the SGC."

Sheppard flashed a crooked grin at the scientist, "Did you just admit that Colonel Samantha Carter is smarter than you?"

Rodney looked at Sheppard for a few seconds before he answered, "If I did, and you tell anyone, I'll deny I ever said it. Besides, I was only talking about the SGC on Earth; I wasn't including Atlantis."

Sheppard laughed. "Right Rodney; there's hope for you yet."

They were just finishing their meal when Woolsey called them to his office and he didn't sound happy.

Office

They had both picked up cookies from the mess hall, Rodney taking four, and they were still eating as they walked into Woolsey's office. Woolsey was leaning back in his chair, engrossed in a file he was holding; Sheppard slipped a cookie onto his desk. Woolsey turned to acknowledge their presence and spotted the brightly decorated cookie; he glanced up, frowning at the colonel who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. He was well aware that the colonel's mood was about to change.

"Colonel, Dr. McKay, please sit. I just received word from General Landry; there has been a slight change in our directive. The IOA wants us to negotiate for all rights to the naquadah with the Tegeran Assembly."

"Mr. Woolsey, what are you saying? Are you telling us that the IOA wants the rights to all of the naquadah?" Sheppard asked.

'Yes, colonel, the IOA wants us to negotiate the rights on behalf of Earth."

McKay started to speak but Sheppard beat him to it, "Let me get this straight. We are going to cut out the coalition and make a sweet deal for ourselves?" Woolsey didn't or wouldn't acknowledge that the colonel was correct. "I don't think I have to remind you that we were on Tegera representing the Pegasus coalition not the IOA. Did you remind the IOA of that?"

"Colonel, this matter is closed. There is no planet in the Pegasus galaxy that is capable of refining naquadah; it is of no use to anyone here."

With Woolsey's last comment, McKay exploded. "No use? Let me tell you something, Woolsey, we would have never survived on Atlantis if it hadn't been for the naquadah generators. Can you imagine what having a power source like this would do to help the development of these planets? As for there not being anyone in Pegasus who can refine the ore, that's a lie, Woolsey. The Genii could pull off a refinery, hell, even the Travelers could; they both already have the basic technology and they're smart people. From what we heard in the meeting, Tegera already has metallurgy, they are capable of refining the ore and there are probably more worlds we don't know of yet that could. Damn it, we can build a refinery on Tegera. This is their galaxy; they have a right to their own natural resources."

Sheppard put his hand on Rodney's arm. "Calm down, Rodney, I have the feeling there is nothing that either of us can say that will matter to the IOA. Mr. Woolsey, we've had a tenuous relationship with the coalition planets at best. A relationship, I recall, that you committed us to in order to keep my team and Atlantis from being found guilty of crimes against the people of Pegasus. If they think we have betrayed them, a trial will be the least of our worries."

"Believe me gentlemen, I understand how you feel but we have our orders and before you ask colonel, General Landry has ordered you to follow the IOA directive. If you prefer to hear that from him, I will have Amelia dial the SGC for you."

Sheppard fidgeted for a second, but then shook his head no, "That won't be necessary; I will accept the general's orders through you."

"Then, that's all for tonight; we will leave for the village at 0900 hrs. Please be in the conference room with all team leaders by 0800 for final mission briefing. Good night, gentlemen."

Lab

Sheppard knew that Rodney was about to explode and he steered the scientist out of the control room area as quickly as possible. He tapped his COM and asked Teyla and Ronon to join them in Rodney's lab. By the time, they arrived at the lab, Rodney was ranting.

"Sheppard, those people on the coalition are not going to like this, not one bit. They were going to maroon us on a planet for what they thought we did wrong before. How the hell are they going to react to this when we are supposed to be working for the good of the Pegasus coalition?"

Teyla and Ronon walked in at that moment and Teyla had heard enough to make her very uneasy. "Colonel, Rodney, why are you discussing the trial that the coalition put us through?"

Before Sheppard could explain, Rodney blurted out, "Because the IOA has decided that we are going to cut a deal for the naquadah with the Tegerans directly and leave the rest of the Pegasus galaxy out of it."

"Is this true, John? Would they really do that?"

"Not would they, Teyla, they are; the IOA has given Woolsey his instructions, negotiate with the Tegerans for the naquadah mineral rights for Earth. I have orders from Gen. Landry to follow the directive."

"Colonel, I am stunned. I do not know what to say; this goes against everything we have worked for all these years. We have the opportunity to bring the peoples of this galaxy together and to help them improve their lives with the threat of being culled gone. But we are going to betray them and take valuable resources for your world?"

"Teyla, I know, believe me I know. We are just as upset as you are." Sheppard dropped onto a stool next to the lab bench. "The problem is that the IOA has the final word. With Woolsey being IOA himself, I doubt he'll rock the boat and I have orders not to rock anything. I know Landry; he sent that order to remind me not to defy this."

"Sheppard, this sucks." Sheppard looked over at Ronon and shook his head.

"Couldn't have said it any better myself, buddy. But this is what we have to deal with first and then we'll have to deal with the consequences."

"Colonel, there will be consequences." Teyla said quietly.

"Before we get to the consequences," Sheppard replied, "we need to find out who those mysterious guys were in the assembly hall and determine if they are the reason that Woolsey and I have been summoned to Tegera. We may have more than one problem."

Rodney hadn't spoken since his initial outburst, "John, we can't let this happen. I want access to that naquadah as much as anyone but we need to find a way to make certain that all that ore doesn't go to Earth."

Sheppard rubbed his eyes and visibly seemed to shake off some of his tension. "Look, I believe that Woolsey will be fair; he's been through a lot since he came here, I don't think he believes that 'by the book' is always the best course anymore. I don't know, maybe there will be a way to negotiate a deal for Earth to get some of the ore directly and the rest go through the trade system the coalition is trying to establish. For all we know, the Tegerans may decide to withdraw their petition to join the coalition; if they do, then they can trade directly with us. Either way, the coalition is not going to be pleased about this or our hand in it."

"John, I hope you are correct about Mr. Woolsey. If Atlantis is to be what we have worked for and sacrificed so much for, we cannot afford to be seen as taking advantage of them when it suits us."

"I know, Teyla. I know." Sheppard stood up, running his hand through his unruly dark hair, "Look, it's getting late; we have to be at the mission briefing at 0800 hrs, mission commences at 0900 hrs. Bring your gear to the conference room; I have a feeling that Woolsey will want to go at 0900 hrs on the dot."

As they started to leave, Sheppard stopped them, "Wait," he paused, trying to choose his words, "I am not going to tell any of you that you shouldn't discuss the IOA's decision with Woolsey, you have every right to do so. I just think that we need to see how he is going to play this. I think we need to trust him."

Teyla smiled at Sheppard, "I believe trusting Mr. Woolsey is the right thing to do, colonel; goodnight, everyone."

As Teyla left the lab, Rodney sighed, "Why do we always seem to get into these things?"

Sheppard chuckled, "We've certainly had enough practice, haven't we?" He looked over at Ronon who nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to work out; then go to sleep. See you guys in the morning." With that, Ronon was off.

Rodney sighed again and sat down on the stool Sheppard had vacated, leaning his head in his hands. Sheppard eyed his teammate who still looked upset, "You know, Rodney, we've had worse problems. We'll get through this one, too."

"Always looking at the silver lining, aren't you? Wish I could be so confident."

Sheppard slapped Rodney on the back. "You don't get anywhere by thinking negatively, Rodney. Have to make the best of whatever hand your dealt." With those words of wisdom, Sheppard left.

Rodney stared at the door for a few minutes, "I never was good at cards."

Balcony

Sheppard had started toward his quarters but realized that he too restless to sleep just yet. He decided to head toward the control room to check-in with the Marines on night gate detail and see if anything was going on in Atlantis. He got off the transporter and headed down the corridor toward the control room, admitting to himself that he really came to see if Woolsey was around. He wanted to talk.

"Colonel, good evening; welcome to the zombie shift." Liang had just taken over from Amelia and was settling in at the gate console.

"Good evening, Liang; anything going on?"

"No sir, it's been quiet this evening. Captain Jacobs' team is the only team out and they made their scheduled call-in from P3X-734 on time. They were bedding down for the night, next call-in 0600 hrs. He reported that Dr. Beckett's med team would be done by mid-day tomorrow and they would be returning then."

"Thanks, Liang." He had noticed that Woolsey was in his office but he decided to act like he was there just checking on the security detail before he headed for his quarters.

Sheppard headed down the stairs to the gate room where he spent time talking with each of the Marines; night gate duty could get a bit boring but he knew that each one of them would be ready in a heartbeat if there was a threat to Atlantis. However, that didn't take the boredom out of a quiet night; he made of point of stopping by often hoping they would realize that their CO hadn't forgotten about them.

Heading back up the stairs to the control room, he wondered what he was going to say to Woolsey. Over the last many months, he and Woolsey had developed a mutual respect for each other. Sheppard knew that Woolsey wasn't a man of action, to make a quick decision and go was not a comfortable thing for the Atlantis director, yet he had seen Woolsey change since he came to Atlantis. The new Woolsey sometimes threw 'the book' out the window and made decisions on the run; life in the Pegasus galaxy will do that. He was hoping that Woolsey would use some of that newly found initiative on their current problem.

Woolsey wasn't in his office. Sheppard looked at Liang, about to ask him if he knew where Woolsey had gone when the gate tech pointed to the balcony; he saw Woolsey standing next to the railing. Nodding his thanks, he headed for the balcony door.

"Never gets old, does it." Sheppard had joined Woolsey on the railing.

Woolsey shook his head no, and they both stared quietly at the incredible night sky for a bit longer. The bright moonlight came from the two visible moons that surrounded New Lantia; shimmering on the relative calm of the ocean surrounding the city. The sky looked like midnight blue velvet with sparkling gems scattered across the expanse.

Woolsey spoke first, "Colonel, I suspect you have come to plead your case."

"I am not real certain why I wanted to talk to you; I don't think pleading my case is exactly what I had in mind, but now that you mentioned it."

"No need to bother, colonel, I have been pleading to myself for a while now."

Sheppard shifted his stance, trying to give himself a moment to absorb Woolsey's words.

"Rodney asked me a question just a little while ago, Mr. Woolsey; he wanted to know why we always seemed to get into these situations. I didn't have an answer for him; this is just another welcome to the Pegasus galaxy.

"I should have taken heed at that comment when you originally made it to me during the first few days I was here. Maybe I should have run for the gate at that moment."

Sheppard couldn't stifle a laugh, "The truth is none of us ran, we stayed here, we fought the galaxy's demons and a few of our own but we stayed. Not sure what that says about us but I know one thing, we have given a lot to this galaxy; we cannot afford to destroy what we've accomplished. We try to take that naquadah and we might as well pack up and head for Earth."

"You might be surprised at this, colonel, but I agree with you. Part of me is still connected to my bureaucratic roots but if this place and the people here have taught me anything, it is that circumstances do not occur by the proverbial book."

Sheppard remained quiet, waiting for Woolsey to continue.

Colonel Sheppard, I will follow the IOA's directive but I promise you this, I will not allow the pillage of naquadah from this galaxy."

"Well, you can count on one thing," Woolsey turned to look at Sheppard as the colonel replied. "We've got your back."

"I hope that is enough, colonel; this one is going to be tricky."

Conference Room

The mission briefing lasted about 45 minutes as Woolsey and Colonel Sheppard briefed the additional teams on the situation and their general plan, which was really a make-it-up as they go plan but Woolsey had nixed Sheppard calling it that. Lieutenant Isaacs spent some time going over charts of the topography of the region and the layout of the of the capital city and the buildings that his team had been inside during the first mission.

They had gathered in the gate room; everyone was finishing putting on their gear or checking their weapons. Sheppard noticed that Teyla was helping Woolsey into his TAC vest; he hadn't wanted to wear one but Sheppard had not given him a choice. In addition to Woolsey and Sheppard and Isaacs' teams, Major Lorne and Captain Waters and Lieutenant Stackhouse's teams were also going along. Sheppard wanted a team at the gate in the event they needed to make a quick exit and an extra few sets of eyes.

At precisely 0900 hrs, Sgt. Campbell dialed Tegera and the Atlantis contingent disappeared through the stargate.