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Take 99: Planning the future
Category for this take: General / Romance
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"This is great."
"I told ya!"
"I can't believe we didn't do this years ago."
"Yes, well, let's not dwell."
"Didn't that tape say there were no fish in your pond?"
"Close enough."
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"Sir, I was curious. Who is replacing you at the SGC?"
"Major General Hank Landry. I've served with him before. He's a good man. He's good at tactics, and he's managed a base before."
"Not someone from inside the program, though."
"No. There weren't a lot of choices from those in the know. Most had cushy jobs in DC and don't want to be back on the front line."
"Like your new job, Sir."
"Sure, rub it in. Frankly, I think some of those stuffed shirts at the Pentagon like politics. Anyway, Landry was the top choice from those outside the program. Don't worry. I already let him know exactly how important you are to the program. You'll get the royal treatment when you visit the SGC."
"Thank you, Sir, but that was unnecessary."
"Maybe, but everything I said was true. There's something I probably shouldn't tell you, but I'm going to anyway."
"What is that?"
"You were on the short list."
"The short list for what?"
"Command of the SGC."
"Yeah, right. Really funny, Sir."
"I'm serious."
"I'm only a Lieutenant Colonel. I thought it is supposed to be a two star billet."
"They made an exception for me. They seriously considered making an exception for you."
"Now I'm really worried about our leaders. I'm not even the highest ranking SG team leader. Colonel Reynolds has more experience being in charge of the base when you or Hammond were off duty."
"Reynolds was on the short list, too. He's not as experienced in negotiations and is still needed on SG-3 as the premier recon, rescue, and reinforcement team. He's a guy you want guarding your back, not as a leader of a whole base. You directly saved the world more as a Captain than he has in his entire career. You do have a similar issue to Reynolds. You're needed in the lab. But with a good XO, you would have less paperwork and would still have time for your science thing. You'd still get your fun time."
"Maybe so, but a Lieutenant Colonel can't order Colonels around."
"As if you didn't already do that off world. The leader of SG-1 was always in charge of the mission, even if Reynolds, Ronson, or Pendergast was around. After eight years, everyone at the SGC respected you enough to follow your directions, even when you couldn't technically order them around. I almost always did, and by his last year, Hammond did, too. The only time I had to give you orders was to clear your conscious or make you stop working."
"Why are you telling me all of this, Sir?"
"I'm telling you this, Colonel, because someday you are going to be in charge of the SGC. Landry is closer to retirement than I am, although if everything goes according to my plan, we might retire around the same time. The President and Joint Chiefs really like you. They asked me to start grooming you to replace him."
"Grooming me? Do they know...about us... about what we want... eventually?"
"Carter, everyone knows. However, we both know that neither one of us is retiring until we are certain it is safe to do so."
"I know. It's hard to enjoy the white picket fence when the world that has that white picket fence could be destroyed."
"I only trust the world's safety to three people: Hammond, you, and me. Nobody else really gets it. Or if they get it, they wouldn't know how to fix it. With Hammond retiring, that leaves us. It also means I can't retire until you are someplace where you have some authority to prevent the idiots from destroying the world."
"No pressure. I see some problems with your plan. The first is I'm at least eight years from making two stars."
"Five years. They'll make a one star exception for you, just like me. Heck, they considered making a no star exception. It's not like Weir had any stars. However, in five years, you're likely to make Brigadier. If it weren't for Simmons' witch hunt and the Orlin fiasco, you would have received your last promotion a year sooner. Assuming the President wins reelection in a couple years, he'll still be in office. I know his short list would have a General Carter at the top of it."
"You mentioned grooming..."
"Right. Your tactical and negotiation skills are not a problem. You understand the science better than anyone else ever would, and you have a firm grasp of the politics. There are only three areas your resume needs some work. The first is administrative experience. Your SG-1 paperwork was excellent, but head of R&D at Area 51 looks a lot better. The second area is leadership and command experience. SG teams are small, so you don't have experience wrangling a squadron. Also, it's not like you had to order Teal'c or Daniel to do anything other than work less. I was thinking you should see about a tour on the Prometheus as XO. The current XO will be on paternity leave in about three months. The XO position would balance well with the SG-1 team lead on your résumé. The last area is a marquee stepping stone position. Head of R&D is good, but you won't be in charge of a base. SG-1 team lead worked for me, but might not hold as much weight five years from now. I was thinking off-world base commander, although currently many of those positions are for lower ranks. Maybe a replacement will be needed at Atlantis. Or maybe if enough 304s are built after Russia and China get theirs, there would be one with your name on it."
"Wow, you really have my whole career planned out. What if I decided I want something else more?"
"Sam, we're going to have that too. If we take it slow, don't flaunt it, and don't make it official until I retire, they are going to let it slide. I've already stated that as your 'mentor' I won't be writing any more of your evals."
"My 'mentor'?"
"They understood it was code for boyfriend."
"Ok. I guess we've waited eight years. I can wait five more."
"We won't be completely waiting."
"I get it Jack. Just nothing legal... for now."
"The long distance thing might be hard, Sam."
"But if we can sort of be together, even in some complicated way, and if we can be completely together at the end of this journey while still keeping the world safe-"
"It'll be worth it."
"Definitely."