"Radiation." Doctor Jackson was the first to find his voice. "You're kidding."
Jack glanced at his friend in concern. "Yeah. Uh... Daniel's kind of got a bad history with that sort of thing." And if Strong had been exposed, so had his teammate.
"They were in hazmat suits," Landry insisted. "Shouldn't that block the radiation?"
"Some of it. Not nearly all of it." The look in her eyes hadn't warmed a bit. "Can someone please explain to me how we sent nineteen people to a radioactive planet?"
"I thought the MALP checked for that," Jack said, looking to his favorite sergeant for reassurance.
He got it. "It does, sir." The little man flipped quickly through the paperwork in his hands. "If the levels had been dangerous, the mission wouldn't have been approved. I'll find them."
"Perhaps someone should check the sensors," Lam suggested acerbically. "Because they're clearly not working."
"Uh..." All eyes turned to a nervous Walter Harriman, expecting him to admit that there had been a massive screw up. Instead, nervous, he said, "Respectfully, ma'am, I disagree. As I recall, Sergeant Siler requisitioned a lot of testing equipment when the radios stopped working. If he'd found anything, he would have put out the alert. Ah – here it is."
The doctor's brows furrowed as she examined the paper he handed her. "It's clean," she admitted. "But Captain Strong isn't."
"Well, he spent most of his time-"
"Oh, let me guess! In the village," Jack interrupted.
"Yes." The word was dry as Daniel glared at his friend for cutting him off.
"So, the people who went to the work site are sick, but the people who went to the village aren't," Landry surmised, "and at least one of the people from the village has been exposed to radioactive material. Dare we assume that the radiation is actually protecting these people?"
Lam nodded. "We'll check the blood samples from the villagers to be sure. We need to get in touch with SG-8 and tell them to find the source."
"Not to be insensitive here or anything," Colonel Dixon spoke up, earning a raised eyebrow from Jack and Teal'c, "but we were in that village for a week. Do we need to be concerned? I mean, I ain't exactly done havin' kids yet, and I don't really want a little two-headed green monster."
"Were there any pregnant women in the village?" the doctor asked with feigned patience.
"Yes, ma'am," Balinsky said.
"Were there any little two-headed green monsters in the village?"
Wells's cough covered his chuckle. "Not that we saw, ma'am."
"Then shut it, Colonel." To her father, she said, "I need very specific information. Wavelength, frequency, level of daily exposure. And if that's not something we can easily replicate on Earth, we may need to find a safe way for them to transport some of it through the Gate."
The table was silent a moment before Landry said woodenly, "You want to irradiate my base."
"Just the infirmary," she said. "I hope. There are precautions that can be taken."
"This is probably a stupid question," Wells spoke up, "but wouldn't it be safer to just take the infected people to the source instead of bringing it here?"
"You haven't seen them, have you?" Jack's soft, even tone was only alarming to his teammates, who knew him well. "It's far too late for that."
"It would have to be here," the doctor confirmed.
"What about the medical personnel?" Landry asked. "I realize that multiple people on my staff have already been exposed to this, but until we know more, I think we should keep that number as low as possible."
"We'll evacuate the infirmary. We'll... set up remote monitoring and only enter as necessary, with protective gear. Let's face it," she relented, "all we can do at this point is watch, anyway."
Eyes glued to the table, the general rubbed at his forehead for a long moment. Jack understood the choice clearly – allow an unknown, dangerous substance onto the base... or allow nearly a dozen people to die – and didn't envy him making it. But one of those dozen was his, and as far as he was concerned, there was no choice at all. "Hank."
It was a plea. And more than that, a reminder: those people had family. Loved ones. Children. "I want every precaution taken," the general said.
"Of course." She sucked in a breath to say something else, but held it a second between pursed lips. "I need to warn you."
Landry's response was nearly a growl. She'd gotten his agreement before the warning? "Warn me about what?"
"Not you." No, she was looking past him – at Jack. "I need to warn you that... this may stop the progression of the damage, but it won't reverse it."
"Meaning what?" Daniel asked softly.
"Even if this works – even if the radiation kills off the organism – these people are incredibly sick. I can't guarantee you they'll all recover."
The men around the table let her somber words sink in, watching their friend and leader for a response. It took a while. "I'm sure you're doing your best. Excuse me."
The two-star's quick exit fairly well heralded the end of the meeting. Landry also got to his feet, and Dixon jumped at the chance. "We're not done with this conversation, Doc," he promised as he headed for the door.
"Oh, I'm sure we aren't."
"Uh... I swear I'll be less of an ass about it, but I would like a little more assurance than 'everyone on that planet is fine,'" Daniel said. "I'm sorry, I just... I've been down that road before. It wasn't pleasant."
"I understand." The smile she gave him was reassuring. "The information I get from SG-8 will help me determine what kind of dose everyone got. We'll go from there. It's just that – well, people who are standing on their own steam are a low priority right now."
That earned a smile in return. He didn't need to know immediately; after all, the damage was already done. "Of course. Thanks."