Daniel waited until the others left before he started on what he was calling “Operation Stop Getting Stepped On” and the chief stepper was going to be the biggest obstacle. “Did you read my email?”
“I’m ignoring it.” Jack organized his papers into a number of file folders.
“Jack, think about this logically.”
“Daniel.” Jack’s tone promised pain if Daniel didn’t drop the subject. He threw in a glare for good measure before he dropped his paperwork into his briefcase.
Daniel planted himself in front of Jack before he could leave. “Plenty of civilian leaders have military experience. What about John Sims or Robert Vincent?”
“Viscount Sims? Do you have any idea of how damn old he is? And I’m pretty sure Richard Vincent is older. Either would have been a great choice twenty years ago, but do you really think either is ready to lead an expedition to another galaxy?”
“Fine. What about-”
Jack made a loud inarticulate noise before holding up a finger to stop Daniel. “If a Russian name comes out of your mouth, I’m dropping you off a cliff and I might forget to pack the parachute.”
When Daniel spoke, he had to rein in his temper. “Richard Harkens.”
“He’s retired military.”
“He retired twenty years ago. If the President wants a civilian leader, he qualifies, and he has the military experience to handle leading an expedition in hostile territory.”
Jack put his briefcase on the table and considered Daniel for some time before saying, “That’s why I’m sending Marshall Sumner.”
“But he’s not in charge. It would be like putting me in charge of that first Abydos mission.”
Jack snorted. “The way I remember it, you acted like you were.”
“Jack!”
Jack threw up his hands. “What do you want, Daniel? Why are you so against Elizabeth Weir? I thought you liked her.”
“I do. I think she’s an amazing woman when she’s here on Earth with other strong personalities to argue with her. Is Sumner going to argue or follow her orders?”
“Are you questioning the abilities of one of my officers?” Jack’s tone had taken on a decidedly chilly edge.
“His ability to think independently? Yes. And if something happens to Sumner, you have Sheppard next in command. You don’t know much about him.”
“I know he won’t take orders blindly. That’s actually one of my favorite things about him.” Jack gave Daniel one of his grins, one designed to make him look goofy and harmless. It was the one he usually used right before shooting someone.
Now Daniel knew he was lying. Jack hated people who didn’t jump the second he told them to, but it meant that he was worried about the Sumner and Weir leadership duo, and if he had concerns, Daniel had a chance. “I’m just saying that you should make sure Weir is going to listen to the military before you send them.”
“She’ll make all the right noises whether she plans to play nice or not, and she’s the President’s favorite.” Jack frowned and the lines deepened on his face. He was truly worried about this.
Now Daniel just had to sound like he was on Jack’s side. And if Jack bought that after vetoing Daniel’s inclusion with the translation or archeological staff, then he deserved to get played. “Suggest that Sumner and Weir do a few war game simulations. You know what sort of situations we’ve run into,” Daniel said.
“And so does she.” Jack leaned against the edge of the table. “She’s read all the mission reports, so we aren’t going to catch her out.”
“Really? What if there is a hostile civilization based in the ocean like Nem? What if there are flying predators or what if they run into werewolves or vampires or zombies?”
“Zombies?” Jack’s disdain dripped from his words.
Daniel crossed his arms. “All mythology has a basis in fact, and even if one discounts the possibility of tetradotoxin in voodoo powders being used to corrode a person’s free will as Wade Davis suggests, you still can’t ignore the damage done to the brain by diseases such as sleeping sickness and rabies. These cause zombie-like behavior. And then there’s leprosy, which can present with rotting and decaying body parts. What’s to say the expedition won’t run into some plague or enemy that was the basis for some piece of mythology?”
“Not this lecture again.”
If Jack ever listened to reason, Daniel wouldn’t have to repeat himself. “Hey, look at it this way, you can spend lots of time creating war games with alien viruses that mimic vampire attacks.”
Jack looked tempted.
“And you can tell the President that you want to test different officers to see how they work with Weir. Have Colonel Barnes and Colonel Davis run simulations with her.”
“And what am I supposed to tell Sumner?” Jack asked, which meant he was moving onto the logistics of making this happen.
“That you’re trying to get the President to see that Weir has no experience with frontline tactics no matter who she’s with, and point out that Dixon has a wife that he wouldn’t leave. You can honestly tell him that you don’t plan to replace him.”
When Jack sighed, Daniel knew he had won. Now he just had to make sure Jack’s stubborn streak didn’t lead the lug to back himself into a corner.
“Just think about it,” Daniel said before he walked away. If he knew Jack, and he did, Jack would wait an hour before he called the President with his concerns.
And in two hours, Daniel would call the President and ask to participate in those tests. If Weir was acceptable as a civilian leader, then Daniel should get a shot at the job. She might know Earth politics, but Daniel had negotiated more treaties than anyone else in the SGC. So it was time for Daniel to forget playing nice with Jack and take what he wanted.
DANG, that boy is clever! Getting Jack to convince the President to agree to testing Weir, & then planning to get the President to overrule Jack's determination to keep Daniel off Atlantis-brilliant tactics. <3 <3
Oh yeah. If Daniel really sets his mind to it there is no way they could defeat him. He knows all the tricks of the SGC political games and he knows how to handle Jack. Interesting to see him argue for the military mindset so strongly.
“I’m ignoring it.” Jack organized his papers into a number of file folders.
“Jack, think about this logically.”
“Daniel.” Jack’s tone promised pain if Daniel didn’t drop the subject. He threw in a glare for good measure before he dropped his paperwork into his briefcase.
Daniel planted himself in front of Jack before he could leave. “Plenty of civilian leaders have military experience. What about John Sims or Robert Vincent?”
“Viscount Sims? Do you have any idea of how damn old he is? And I’m pretty sure Richard Vincent is older. Either would have been a great choice twenty years ago, but do you really think either is ready to lead an expedition to another galaxy?”
“Fine. What about-”
Jack made a loud inarticulate noise before holding up a finger to stop Daniel. “If a Russian name comes out of your mouth, I’m dropping you off a cliff and I might forget to pack the parachute.”
When Daniel spoke, he had to rein in his temper. “Richard Harkens.”
“He’s retired military.”
“He retired twenty years ago. If the President wants a civilian leader, he qualifies, and he has the military experience to handle leading an expedition in hostile territory.”
Jack put his briefcase on the table and considered Daniel for some time before saying, “That’s why I’m sending Marshall Sumner.”
“But he’s not in charge. It would be like putting me in charge of that first Abydos mission.”
Jack snorted. “The way I remember it, you acted like you were.”
“Jack!”
Jack threw up his hands. “What do you want, Daniel? Why are you so against Elizabeth Weir? I thought you liked her.”
“I do. I think she’s an amazing woman when she’s here on Earth with other strong personalities to argue with her. Is Sumner going to argue or follow her orders?”
“Are you questioning the abilities of one of my officers?” Jack’s tone had taken on a decidedly chilly edge.
“His ability to think independently? Yes. And if something happens to Sumner, you have Sheppard next in command. You don’t know much about him.”
“I know he won’t take orders blindly. That’s actually one of my favorite things about him.” Jack gave Daniel one of his grins, one designed to make him look goofy and harmless. It was the one he usually used right before shooting someone.
Now Daniel knew he was lying. Jack hated people who didn’t jump the second he told them to, but it meant that he was worried about the Sumner and Weir leadership duo, and if he had concerns, Daniel had a chance. “I’m just saying that you should make sure Weir is going to listen to the military before you send them.”
“She’ll make all the right noises whether she plans to play nice or not, and she’s the President’s favorite.” Jack frowned and the lines deepened on his face. He was truly worried about this.
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“And so does she.” Jack leaned against the edge of the table. “She’s read all the mission reports, so we aren’t going to catch her out.”
“Really? What if there is a hostile civilization based in the ocean like Nem? What if there are flying predators or what if they run into werewolves or vampires or zombies?”
“Zombies?” Jack’s disdain dripped from his words.
Daniel crossed his arms. “All mythology has a basis in fact, and even if one discounts the possibility of tetradotoxin in voodoo powders being used to corrode a person’s free will as Wade Davis suggests, you still can’t ignore the damage done to the brain by diseases such as sleeping sickness and rabies. These cause zombie-like behavior. And then there’s leprosy, which can present with rotting and decaying body parts. What’s to say the expedition won’t run into some plague or enemy that was the basis for some piece of mythology?”
“Not this lecture again.”
If Jack ever listened to reason, Daniel wouldn’t have to repeat himself. “Hey, look at it this way, you can spend lots of time creating war games with alien viruses that mimic vampire attacks.”
Jack looked tempted.
“And you can tell the President that you want to test different officers to see how they work with Weir. Have Colonel Barnes and Colonel Davis run simulations with her.”
“And what am I supposed to tell Sumner?” Jack asked, which meant he was moving onto the logistics of making this happen.
“That you’re trying to get the President to see that Weir has no experience with frontline tactics no matter who she’s with, and point out that Dixon has a wife that he wouldn’t leave. You can honestly tell him that you don’t plan to replace him.”
When Jack sighed, Daniel knew he had won. Now he just had to make sure Jack’s stubborn streak didn’t lead the lug to back himself into a corner.
“Just think about it,” Daniel said before he walked away. If he knew Jack, and he did, Jack would wait an hour before he called the President with his concerns.
And in two hours, Daniel would call the President and ask to participate in those tests. If Weir was acceptable as a civilian leader, then Daniel should get a shot at the job. She might know Earth politics, but Daniel had negotiated more treaties than anyone else in the SGC. So it was time for Daniel to forget playing nice with Jack and take what he wanted.
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Oh you so rock! Thank you! Now my imagination is running all around envisioning scenarios and what could happen next.
Thank you thank you.
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Sneaky Daniel is awesome!
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