Under New Management
SUMMARY: How Season 8 might have unfolded if, when Dr. Weir left the SGC for Atlantis, the Pentagon had picked Daniel to run the SGC instead of Jack.
CATEGORY: AU
TIME: Season 8
SPOILERS: Season 8
RATING: PG
COMPLETED: November 2005
Damn. If General Hammond wasn’t coming back to run the SGC… Jack eyed Dr. Weir warily. “Any idea who we’re gonna be stuck with?”
She returned his gaze calmly. “The Pentagon has convinced the President that there is one man who could run the SGC and make it politically viable from an international perspective, despite the fact that he is part of the American military establishment.”
The Pentagon? This couldn’t be good. “Do we know this … shrub?”
Weir smiled slightly. “Well, you know him rather well: Dr. Daniel Jackson.”
Jack stared at her. That just couldn’t be right. “Daniel?”
“Yeah,” she said, smiling more broadly now.
“The Pentagon wants Daniel running the SGC?”
“Think about it.” She leaned forward, palms on her desk. “He has the respect of our alien allies as well as a number of Earth allies. He understands military endeavors and, more specifically, this installation. Yet he retains the sensibilities of a civilian - one who wants to protect this planet, but not at the expense of its integrity.”
“Yeah, it’s that last bit that doesn’t sound like the Pentagon to me,” Jack remarked snidely. “Have you talked to him about this?”
“Not yet,” she said slowly. “I was kind of hoping you would.”
“Who did I piss off?” Daniel asked with a bit of a chuckle, clearly not believing him.
“This isn’t a joke, Daniel,” Jack said. “They want you.”
The expression on his face changed slowly to one of panic. “You can’t be serious! That makes, like… no sense.”
“They wanted Dr. Weir,” Carter pointed out with a shrug. “You have most of her qualifications and then some.”
Daniel stared at her.
Jack shrugged. “The bottom line is, people trust you. We’re going to be under a lot of scrutiny from all the governments that know about the gate since Anubis’ little visit.”
Daniel gaped at him, his mouth doing that fish-thing.
“You’ll be inheriting a pretty big can of worms with the state of affairs out there,” Carter remarked.
“If Ba’al truly is on the verge of dominance of the System Lords,” Teal’c put in, “we face a formidable challenge ahead.”
“Plus,” Carter added, “who knows where and when Fifth and the other Replicators will turn up.”
Daniel stood up, looking about half-ready to bolt from his own office. “And the Pentagon thinks I’m the person to handle those things? No, there’s something more going on here.”
“Like what?” Jack asked.
“Like, they think I’ll be easy to control,” he suggested.
Now it was Jack’s turn to gape. “Daniel, trust me: no one who’s read your file could possibly think that in a million years.”
Daniel shook his head. “What do I know about running a military installation? I’m an archeologist. I mean, aside from the fact that it’s underground, this place has precisely nothing to do with my area of expertise.”
“Daniel, I think you’re selling yourself short,” Carter said. “For the past couple of weeks, you practically ran the base while Dr. Weir was getting up to speed. And besides, if you don’t take the job, we could end up with someone much worse.”
Jack shot her a glare.
“Okay,” she cringed, “that didn’t come out right.”
“I, for one,” Teal’c said, “will miss you accompanying us on our missions, Daniel Jackson.”
Daniel’s eyes widened, and he turned back to Jack. “I don’t want to give up SG-1.”
“Well, I’m sure there’ll be situations in which you can accompany us in the field,” Carter pointed out.
“You’ll be in charge,” Jack backed her up. “You can do whatever you want.”
Daniel glared disbelief at him.
“Within reason,” Jack amended hastily.
CATEGORY: AU
TIME: Season 8
SPOILERS: Season 8
RATING: PG
COMPLETED: November 2005
Damn. If General Hammond wasn’t coming back to run the SGC… Jack eyed Dr. Weir warily. “Any idea who we’re gonna be stuck with?”
She returned his gaze calmly. “The Pentagon has convinced the President that there is one man who could run the SGC and make it politically viable from an international perspective, despite the fact that he is part of the American military establishment.”
The Pentagon? This couldn’t be good. “Do we know this … shrub?”
Weir smiled slightly. “Well, you know him rather well: Dr. Daniel Jackson.”
Jack stared at her. That just couldn’t be right. “Daniel?”
“Yeah,” she said, smiling more broadly now.
“The Pentagon wants Daniel running the SGC?”
“Think about it.” She leaned forward, palms on her desk. “He has the respect of our alien allies as well as a number of Earth allies. He understands military endeavors and, more specifically, this installation. Yet he retains the sensibilities of a civilian - one who wants to protect this planet, but not at the expense of its integrity.”
“Yeah, it’s that last bit that doesn’t sound like the Pentagon to me,” Jack remarked snidely. “Have you talked to him about this?”
“Not yet,” she said slowly. “I was kind of hoping you would.”
“Who did I piss off?” Daniel asked with a bit of a chuckle, clearly not believing him.
“This isn’t a joke, Daniel,” Jack said. “They want you.”
The expression on his face changed slowly to one of panic. “You can’t be serious! That makes, like… no sense.”
“They wanted Dr. Weir,” Carter pointed out with a shrug. “You have most of her qualifications and then some.”
Daniel stared at her.
Jack shrugged. “The bottom line is, people trust you. We’re going to be under a lot of scrutiny from all the governments that know about the gate since Anubis’ little visit.”
Daniel gaped at him, his mouth doing that fish-thing.
“You’ll be inheriting a pretty big can of worms with the state of affairs out there,” Carter remarked.
“If Ba’al truly is on the verge of dominance of the System Lords,” Teal’c put in, “we face a formidable challenge ahead.”
“Plus,” Carter added, “who knows where and when Fifth and the other Replicators will turn up.”
Daniel stood up, looking about half-ready to bolt from his own office. “And the Pentagon thinks I’m the person to handle those things? No, there’s something more going on here.”
“Like what?” Jack asked.
“Like, they think I’ll be easy to control,” he suggested.
Now it was Jack’s turn to gape. “Daniel, trust me: no one who’s read your file could possibly think that in a million years.”
Daniel shook his head. “What do I know about running a military installation? I’m an archeologist. I mean, aside from the fact that it’s underground, this place has precisely nothing to do with my area of expertise.”
“Daniel, I think you’re selling yourself short,” Carter said. “For the past couple of weeks, you practically ran the base while Dr. Weir was getting up to speed. And besides, if you don’t take the job, we could end up with someone much worse.”
Jack shot her a glare.
“Okay,” she cringed, “that didn’t come out right.”
“I, for one,” Teal’c said, “will miss you accompanying us on our missions, Daniel Jackson.”
Daniel’s eyes widened, and he turned back to Jack. “I don’t want to give up SG-1.”
“Well, I’m sure there’ll be situations in which you can accompany us in the field,” Carter pointed out.
“You’ll be in charge,” Jack backed her up. “You can do whatever you want.”
Daniel glared disbelief at him.
“Within reason,” Jack amended hastily.