Fic: The Pacific Rim, Chapter 6

[melyanna]

Morning brought with it the first of what was likely to be a long series of meetings with Generals Hammond and Alexander. Not wanting to wander around a hotel packed with tourists from a wide variety of countries while in conspicuous dress uniform, John waited in the room for Elizabeth to be ready to go down. Somehow, her confidence made him less awkward about this whole trip.

She appeared in the sitting room dressed in a conservative black suit, with a silky red blouse under the jacket. For the first time in his memory, she was putting on earrings. “John,” she said, “could you get my shoes? They’re next to my suitcase.”

He nodded, setting his cap down and entering her room to retrieve her shoes. As he picked them up, he wondered when they’d turned into a weird version of his parents. There were a lot of things that were just wrong about that. Not that he had anything against Elizabeth, or his parents, for that matter. No, Elizabeth was quite attractive, but she was also in a position of power over him, and that just wasn’t working for him. Except. . .

No. He was not going to start thinking about her that way. That way lay madness.

John grabbed the shoes and came back into the sitting room, where Elizabeth waited barefoot. “Thank you,” she said, taking them and dropping them to the floor. They made her a good two inches taller, which was a little unsettling for John, used to finding her eyes at a certain angle from his.

“Ready?” she asked.

He picked up his hat. “You’re the boss.”

She took a deep breath and smiled. Clearly, she was a little nervous about this. Attempting to put her at ease, he smiled back and opened the door for her. As they walked to the elevator, the only sound was the clicking of her heels.

They stood waiting for the lift when John decided he couldn’t take the silence any longer. “What’s with the briefcase?” he asked.

“Mission reports,” she said. “Files on the city. Anything I thought might be useful.”

“Worried?”

“I’ve met with General Hammond before,” she replied, “but I’m expecting a rather vigorous cross-examination today.”

“You sound like a lawyer.”

“That shouldn’t be surprising,” she said, “since I am a lawyer.”

The elevator doors opened, and John frowned at her as they stepped inside. “I’m not sure I can be friends with you anymore.”

“It’s not like I’ve ever been a trial lawyer, John.” Elizabeth looked highly amused. “I’m a diplomat, and that usually requires some understanding of international law.”

“Where’d you go, Harvard?”

“Yale. For law school, at least.”

The elevator descended, and Elizabeth clasped her hands behind her back. “What’s with the hat?” she asked.

“Part of the uniform,” he said. “Not allowed to wear it inside, but I am required to have it with me.”

“Seems a little silly.”

“Hey, I don’t make the rules.”

“You don’t often follow them, either.”

“Hey!” He gave her his best look of mock indignance. “I’m getting better.”

“Marginally.” They arrived at the first floor and exited the elevator car. “Let’s find the conference room, shall we?”

“After you.”

It took ten minutes and a trip to the information desk (at her insistence) to find the place, but eventually they did. John opened the door for Elizabeth, and they headed in. The two generals and Colonel Carter were already inside. “Doctor Weir,” said General Hammond, “it’s good of you to join us. Major Sheppard, come on in.”

Elizabeth walked forward and shook his hand. “It’s good to see you, sir,” she replied.

“I don’t think you know General Alexander, do you?”

“No, I haven’t had the pleasure.”

“Then allow me,” said Hammond. “Doctor, this is General Nicholas Alexander. General, Doctor Elizabeth Weir.”

“Yes, I think I’d recognize the good doctor just about anywhere,” said the Army general. “Anyone who’s paid attention to international politics in the last few years knows that face.”

Elizabeth smiled as she shook Alexander’s hand, and John was momentarily amazed at this side of her. He’d seen her order men to defend a city no matter the cost, but somehow it had never occurred to him that she could be charming and politically graceful with these two men. She pulled him into the circle soon enough, however, and they all took their seats around the table.

“Well, ladies and gentlemen,” said Alexander, “let’s get started.”

Somewhere in the middle of his breakfast, that blonde woman ran up to Rodney and told him that the President had requested that he join the group going across the street to the Australian National Maritime Museum. Ordinarily, he would have escaped to a lab, but one didn’t turn down a Presidential request. And to be perfectly honest, one didn’t turn down a pretty blonde like Donna Moss.

So there he was, wearing a light jacket in the high winter sun on the deck of the H. M. A. S. Vampire, docked at the wharf of the museum. Teyla stood over by the railing, staring out at Darling Harbour while Donna was talking with her. She was pretty uncommunicative, but Donna didn’t seem to mind.

“So what’s it like being a nomadic trader?” Donna was asking.

“It is very different from the lives you and your friends lead,” Teyla replied.

“Do you meet interesting men?”

Rodney didn’t want to listen to the rest, so it was just as well that a complete stranger walked up to him and introduced himself.

“Sam Seaborn,” said the stranger.

“Rodney McKay,” he replied, shaking the offered hand.

“Ah, doctorate of astrophysics.”

“How did you know that?”

Seaborn blinked. “Doesn’t matter. You’re with the Air Force research team?”

“How did you know that?”

“I read a lot.”

“Oh.”

They stood in silence for a minute, and Rodney wondered just how much longer he was going to be expected to stay on the deck of the ship. “So you must know Colonel Carter pretty well,” Seaborn suddenly said.

It took Rodney all of three seconds to figure out what Seaborn was after, which was impressive speed for a man of his limited social skills. “Colonel Carter?” he said. “Oh yeah. She and I, uh, we go way back.”

“You’re a smart guy,” Sam continued. “I’ll cut to the chase. Do you think a guy like me might have a chance with her?”

Rodney opened his mouth to mention either General O’Neill or that weirdo he’d heard rumors about, but what came out of his mouth was: “Well, under other circumstances. . .”

Sheppard really was a diabolical influence.

“So you’re saying,” Seaborn began.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

The man started laughing nervously as he spoke. “Well, I’m not really one to judge,” he said, “but man, I never would have figured she’d go for a guy like you.”

“I’m a scientist, she’s a scientist,” Rodney continued. “It’s a very intellectual relationship.”

“I’ll bet.”

Oh yes. Samantha Carter was going to kill him.

An awkward silence passed, and Seaborn said, “Well, the President actually sent me to find you because he wants to know something about nuclear submarines.”

“Nuclear submarines?” Rodney repeated. “That’s not exactly my area.”

“You know, I think he knows that.”

The room was getting hot and stuffy, or maybe it was just that John despised wearing ties. Elizabeth didn’t seem too uncomfortable, but that suit didn’t look nearly as warm as his uniform was.

Across the table from where John was trying not to squirm, General Hammond closed a file. “Let’s move on to what kinds of personnel and supplies the two of you feel the expedition needs now,” he said.

“Well, I’m sure you can both come to the conclusion that we’re in need of medical supplies,” Elizabeth began. “But Doctor Beckett did intimate to me that he could use more people on the medical staff. Specifically, he’d like some medics to handle the light stuff and triage so he can have his doctors and nurses free to take care of the big things.”

General Alexander nodded. “I’m sure we can arrange that,” he said. “We do have plans to expand the expedition’s roster considerably, and we’ll be taking your suggestions into consideration when the new military personnel are selected.”

“Well, I make it a point never to argue with someone named after half the Russian tsars, so that’s good news.” Elizabeth smiled at Alexander and turned to John. “Major, I believe you had some thoughts.”

He leaned forward, looking at her a moment longer. “We could use some more pilots,” he said. “We’ve got people who have the ATA gene flying puddle jumpers, but I know I’d feel more comfortable if more of the people flying them had flown other things before. They’re not magic machines, and I get the feeling sometimes that the people who aren’t pilots think they are.”

“I’m glad you suggested that,” Hammond replied. “We have quite a few F-302 pilots who’d like to join the expedition.”

“That’s good to hear,” said John. “Doctor, did you bring Beckett’s notes on gene compatibility?”

“Yes, and I believe both the generals have it,” she said. “We can’t do the gene therapy on Earth because of FDA regulations, but now that we know how to screen for people who can get it effectively, that should enable us to be a little more selective about which pilots are chosen to come.”

“You know,” John added, “I think just about everyone back in Atlantis would kill for a few good sump pumps. There’s nothing more annoying than having to wait for water to drain out of the city when it floods.”

Elizabeth smiled. “I was getting to that, John.”

“We understand that there has been some significant structural damage to the city in the various incidents over the last few months,” Alexander replied. “We’ve got a couple structural engineers at Stargate Command who are eager to tackle Atlantis.”

“Well, that’s good to hear,” said John. “Maybe they can fix that leak in your room, Elizabeth.”

An odd look passed between the two generals, but they said nothing. Elizabeth looked briefly at her notes. “Generals, I’d like to take this opportunity to extend the thanks of each and every member of my team for the care and consideration you’re taking at this time to lighten our load.”

“At this point, I’d say it’s the least we can do for you and your people, Doctor,” Hammond said.

“However,” Alexander interjected, “there have been concerns.”

“Concerns?” Elizabeth repeated. “Of what nature?”

“We’ve had reports about your leadership,” the Chairman continued, “from a scientist under your command by the name of Kavanaugh.”

John sat back in his chair and made a sound of disgust. Elizabeth took it much more calmly. “Sirs, I would like to direct you to the report-”

“Why don’t you let us do the directing now, Doctor?” Alexander said. John looked at Hammond. He didn’t look very happy.

Elizabeth let out a slow breath. “Certainly, General.”

It was lunchtime before C. J. felt like she had time to breathe. While the President had been off on his nerd expedition, she had been tracking down all kinds of research for Doctor Weir. It turned out that catching up on a year’s worth of world events was more difficult than imagined, and she had imagined quite a lot. It didn’t help that Weir had requested newspapers that weren’t in English.

So she was waiting in the lobby with a rather heavy box at her feet when the President returned to the hotel for lunch before attending the first closed session of the conference. “Mr. President,” she said, “did you have a nice time?”

“I did, C. J.,” he replied. “There was a fascinating exhibit on aboriginal maritime cultures. You should have come.”

“Well, I’m sorry I missed out.” She didn’t follow Bartlet, as would have been customary, but waited to grab Donna out of the line. “Donna,” she said, “I have to get with the President, as I’m sure he wants to tell me all about the museum.”

“Uh huh.”

“So I need you to take this stuff up to Doctor Weir’s room.” She pointed at the box.

“What is it?”

“There’s a laptop, along with several non-English newspapers. She wants it to prep for the panel she’s sitting on.”

“Okay.” Donna picked the box up with a grunt. “Jeez, could this be any heavier?”

“Oh, I forgot.” C. J. tossed a folder on top, and Donna staggered a little. “There you go.”

“Thanks.”

C. J. headed off to catch up with the President’s entourage. They were in the dining room already, and Bartlet waved her over. “C. J., hurry up,” he called. “You don’t want to miss the quiche.”

She came to the table and sat next to Zoey. “So how was the museum?”

“Dad enjoyed it,” said the young woman. C. J. smiled, fairly certain she knew what that was code for.

“Wish you could have been there,” Abbey commented. “Why didn’t you come?”

“Doctor Weir wanted me to track down some information for her,” C. J. replied. “She didn’t have time to do her own research for this panel, not with her meetings with Hammond and Alexander today.”

“You still think it’s a bad idea,” the President said.

“It’s going to be a tight squeeze.”

Debbie walked up to the table then, and Abbey said, “Debbie, won’t you join us?”

“No, thank you, ma’am,” the secretary replied. “Sir, Prime Minister Wright has invited you to join him and his wife at the opera tonight.”

“What’s the opera?”

“Turandot,” said Debbie.

“Excellent! I haven’t seen that one in years.” He finally started into his soup. “Did I have anything scheduled tonight?”

“You had asked me to invite Doctor Weir in so you could beat her at chess.”

“Nah, I can do that some other time.”

“I’ll let her know.”

“Thanks, Debbie.”

Debbie nodded and walked off. The President turned his attention back to C. J. “Let me tell you all about what you missed,” he said.

“You don’t think you should be talking about the subject for the session this afternoon?”

“I can talk about economic development any day of the week, C. J.,” he replied. “Right now I want to talk about ancient mariners, so eat your soup and let me talk.”

“Yes, sir.”

Elizabeth let out a long breath once Alexander had finished reading a transcript of Kavanaugh’s message to Earth. She was keeping her composure remarkably well, John thought, though he noticed that she was tapping her heel on the floor, something she did when she was losing her patience with him.

“I’m not sure where to start with this, Doctor,” General Alexander said. “Disregard of the Geneva Convention, perhaps?”

“Hang on,” John started.

Elizabeth touched the table in front of him. “John-”

“No, hang on,” he said. “She didn’t disregard the Geneva Convention. When the suggestion was brought to her, that was her first concern.”

“A concern that evidently didn’t last long.”

“I don’t think you fully understand the situation, General,” she said calmly. “Eventually that Wraith was going to starve to death. It’s not as though we could feed him.”

“So you authorized medical tests on it.”

“You haven’t seen how desperate things have been,” she replied, meeting his gaze evenly. “We are faced with an enemy almost impossible to kill by conventional means. We had an opportunity to help a civilization develop an innoculation that would prevent the Wraith from feeding on humans. You can’t tell me the United States military has never developed and tested weapons as unscrupulous, and you’ve never confronted an enemy like this.”

She glanced at John. “Do you think I made that decision lightly, or made it alone?” she asked. “The Geneva Convention is how we as a world decided who we are and what we stand for. My humanity is not something I would discard were this threat not as powerful and as imminent as it is.”

Hammond turned to the fifth person in the room, who had said nothing so far in the meeting. “Colonel Carter,” he said, “you’ve been unusually quiet.”

“There’s not much I can comment on with any fluency, General,” she replied. “I’ve read the reports, but Doctor Weir and Major Sheppard are really the ones who know the situation.”

“Do you have an opinion?” General Alexander asked.

Carter looked down at the notes she’d been taking. “I think they did the right thing, sir,” she replied. “From what I understand, these Wraith can’t live without feeding on humans. I don’t think that rules we developed here on Earth for dealing with each other can apply.”

The Chairman leaned forward. “You once had Apophis himself in the SGC,” he said. “He asked for sanctuary and you gave it to him. How is this situation any different?”

“In that case there was a human host to consider, who was no more than an innocent bystander.” Carter looked up at Elizabeth. “Doctor Weir did the right thing.”

Alexander didn’t reply to that, but instead turned his attention back to Kavanaugh’s report. “Sir,” John said, “may I say something?”

“What is it, son?” Hammond asked.

“Kavanaugh’s not exactly a reliable source,” he replied. “He thought he’d been embarrassed in front of people who were working under him, and he’s been a pain in the-” He stopped suddenly when Elizabeth cleared her throat. “He’s been unpleasant ever since. He’s got an ax to grind. That doesn’t usually make someone credible, does it?”

“Major,” said Alexander, “I’m not sure you have a leg to stand on when it comes to credibility, not with your record.”

“Sir,” Carter interrupted, “I worked with Kavanaugh when he was at the SGC. He’s an arrogant SOB, which doesn’t make him much different than a lot of scientists, but Major Sheppard is right. He’s vindictive.”

“Still, it’s only because of Kavanaugh that we know of Sheppard’s latest insubordination,” General Alexander continued. “I noticed that Doctor Weir failed to mention it in her report following the virus outbreak a few months ago.”

John looked at her sharply. He’d had no idea that Elizabeth hadn’t reported that. To her credit, she kept her gaze firmly on the Army general. “With all due respect, General, I felt that issue could be better resolved between ourselves instead of dragging in a military tribunal,” she said.

“Whether that’s true or not,” said Alexander, “you left something out of a report, and that leads us to wonder if there are other things you’ve left out.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I think what General Alexander is getting at is that there’s concern you’ve gotten too close with these people,” Hammond said. “I don’t mean any one person specifically, but that this situation has led you to get too attached.”

Elizabeth almost smiled. “How is that a bad thing?” she asked. “How is it a bad thing to like the people you’re fighting to protect?”

“We come from different backgrounds, Doctor,” Alexander replied. “In the military we have regulations about fraternization. You have to be able to make decisions for the good of the whole, and most people can’t make those decisions if they’re attached to the people who might be hurt by them.”

John watched her grow a little paler, and he knew what she was thinking. There were so many good men who would never grow old now, and so many more who had nearly been in that number. Including himself, on more than one occasion. “General,” he said quietly, “I can assure you that that hasn’t been a problem.”

There was a long silence, in which John locked his gaze on General Alexander. The older man seemed no more likely to back down than he. Finally, Hammond intervened. “Ladies, gentlemen,” he said, “we’ve been at this a long time. If General Alexander will agree to it, I’d like to resume this in the morning. General?”

Alexander nodded, and the two generals left the room without another word. Carter stood and gathered her notes, and Elizabeth folded her hands on the tabletop. “Colonel Carter,” she said, “I thought you didn’t like me.”

The blonde woman stopped what she was doing for a moment and looked at Elizabeth. “I don’t,” she said. “I spent a few years in Washington, working with lobbyists and politicians. I never met one who didn’t have an agenda.”

“Would you believe me if I said I don’t?”

“Not particularly.” Carter walked around the table. “I don’t like you, Doctor, and I don’t trust you. But I have to respect that you’ve done the best job anyone could do under impossible circumstances.”

The officer headed toward the door, and Elizabeth stood. “We’re not that different, Colonel,” she said. Carter stopped, and Elizabeth looked over her shoulder. “We both want what’s best for the people of this world. We’re both fiercely devoted to those we serve with.”

Carter smiled and shook her head. “That doesn’t mean I have to like you.”

“No,” said Elizabeth, “I suppose it doesn’t.”

Carter left, and Elizabeth looked back at John. “Thank you, by the way.”

“For what?” he asked, getting to his feet.

“Coming to my rescue there.” She had a wry hint of a smile on her face.

“Well, it was the least I could do.” He grinned, and she shook her head.

They stepped out into the hallway, where it was blissfully cool in comparison with the conference room. “Help me study for the panel in three days and you’ll have done more than the bare minimum,” she suggested.

“Elizabeth!” he whispered. “You’re ruining my image as an underachiever.”

“Like anyone believes that anymore.”

“Can I take my tie off?” He gave her his best pleading look.

“I’ll just have to put it back on you if you do.”

John started loosening the tie anyway as he saw a woman appear at the end of the hallway and head toward them. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s when you start fixing me that that old boyfriend of yours starts showing up.”

The woman was nearing them as Elizabeth took the tie away from him. “I guess I’ll have to fill in for Danny today,” the stranger said. “Doctor Weir, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Debbie Fiderer, the President’s executive secretary.”

“Hello,” Elizabeth replied, changing the tie to her left hand and shaking Debbie’s. “This is Major Sheppard.”

“Hello, Major,” said Debbie. “The President asked me to tell you that Prime Minister Wright invited him and the First Lady to attend the opera tonight. There are a few empty seats, and he thought he’d offer them to you and your team before he starts punishing staff members and making them go.”

“What’s the opera?”

“Turandot.”

“Elizabeth,” John put in, “didn’t you say you had studying to do?”

“You’re going to help me this afternoon,” she said, “so we can go with the President tonight.”

“Can’t you get Rodney to go? Or Teyla?”

“They spent all morning in a maritime museum with the President, John,” she said. “I think you can sit through Puccini for a little while tonight.”

“I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“No, not really.” She smiled at the secretary. “Please, tell the President that we’d be delighted.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As Debbie walked off, Elizabeth said, “Come on. We’ll order room service and read newspapers for a while. Then you can be glad that I don’t suggest to the President that you sit with him.”

As she led him toward the elevators, he mumbled, “Why didn’t I leave you in Pegasus?”

Chapter Five | Chapter Seven