The pristine gardens and immaculate walkways that surrounded the Curia building on Tollana did nothing to settle General Hammond’s spirits as he and Dr. Fraiser were led from the Stargate to their summit with the High Council and the Asgard. He knew that the news he brought would not be welcome, but he saw no other way to deal with the situation other than being completely forthright. Deceit was what had gotten them into this situation, and where he came from a man was judged by his honor and his sincerity. His father had always said that a man who couldn’t bear to hear the truth wasn’t a man worth trusting. It didn’t make the task ahead any more appealing, however. He gripped the handle of his briefcase, hoping that his alternative tactic would not be in vain.
He could sense that Janet was just as uneasy as him, but she said nothing as they were led to a large, comfortably furnished lounge area and advised that they would be summoned when the summit was due to begin. As the door closed behind the young Tollan representative, Janet let out a breath and sat down on one of the low couches.
“Thank you for agreeing to accompany me, Dr. Fraiser,” said Hammond. “I know this isn’t the best of off-world excursions.”
Janet shook her head. “I’m glad you felt you could trust me enough to brief me on what’s been happening, General. I just find it hard to believe that we’re in this situation. That some of our own people could be responsible for this. Maybe I’m just being naïve.”
Hammond sat down across from her. “In my experience, there tend to be objectionable elements at all levels of the government and military, no matter how hard we try and weed them out. I suppose I feel more than a little responsible that it happened on my watch.”
“You’re not at fault, sir. I think we all prefer to think the best of our colleagues. And personally, I can’t say I’ve been suspicious of anyone at the SGC. Either the Tollan and Asgard are wrong… or the rogue personnel are very good at their job of blending in.”
“Exactly how good is what Colonel O’Neill was supposed to find out. But now…” Hammond trailed off. But now… but what now? He had nothing else to offer on that point and, by his watch, it was a question he would have to answer in a little over ten minutes.
“You’re not so sure?”
He was about to say no, he wasn’t sure, that it was ridiculous that their allies were resting the fate of the whole planet on their trust of just one man — even if that man were Jack O’Neill. But this was neither the time nor the place. It was down to him and Dr. Fraiser to represent Earth and they had to demonstrate that they were in support of this operation if they were to salvage anything from the alliance with the Tollan and Asgard. His concerns could wait.
The door opened and their Tollan guide stepped through. The young man couldn’t have been more than twenty. “General Hammond, Dr. Fraiser, you may follow me now. The Curia is about to commence.”
“Some hospitality,” muttered Janet, as they were led from the room. “Do they use interns to greet all their interplanetary allies?”
Hammond couldn’t help but agree with her. This whole exercise felt as cold and clinical as the gleaming white corridor down which they were led to the Curia chamber. The atmosphere within the room did nothing to alleviate his anxiety.
As a newly promoted Brigadier General during the age of Perestroika and Glasnost, he’d sat in on many diplomatic meetings between US and Soviet ambassadors and military representatives. On the surface, the purpose of those meetings had been to end the mistrust and menace engendered by the Cold War, to strengthen new relationships and put aside grievances. But always, always, beneath the veneer of diplomacy lurked the ugly suspicion of old battles: handshakes above the table and loaded guns below. It was that same suspicion that permeated the Curia.
“General Hammond, Dr. Fraiser,” said High Chancellor Travell, not rising from her seat on the dais. “Thank you for agreeing to our request for a meeting.”
Resisting the urge to point out that it was less of a request and more of a summons, Hammond said, “It’s my pleasure, High Chancellor. I just hope that we can move forward in resolving the issues at hand.”
“That too is our hope, General Hammond,” said another voice. “Please know that we are most glad to see you here.”
Hammond turned to find Thor also seated behind the dais, flanked by two other Asgard representatives. For the first time since he arrived on Tollana, Hammond felt a modicum of relief. He’d worried about who the Asgard might send as their representative, but the presence of Thor, whom he considered a true friend of the SGC and of Earth, bolstered his hope that the meeting would not end in disaster after all.
He and Fraiser took their seats and the proceedings began.
“We are disappointed that Colonel O’Neill is not here with you, General. We had hoped to speak with him before the summit. I hope he is still committed to the investigation?” asked Travell.
“We have encountered a setback in that respect, High Chancellor. It’s my unfortunate task to inform you that Colonel O’Neill, along with SG-1, have been missing in action for two days. We have launched a full search and rescue but, as I’m sure you understand, this is no small task. Our enemies are many.”
There was silence. The Tollan officials exchanged looks that made Hammond’s blood boil and beside him Fraiser shifted in her seat. He glanced over at Thor, who said, “I am truly sorry to hear such news, General Hammond. Colonel O’Neill and his team are nothing if not resourceful. I am confident they will find a way back to Earth.”
“We are also most concerned to hear the news of SG-1’s disappearance, General,” said Travell. “We hope your search for them proves fruitful.”
“Thank you, High Chancellor,” replied Hammond, although he doubted their sympathies were entirely unselfish.
“Can we take it that your investigation into your people is on hold while this search continues?”
“It seems we have little choice in that regard,” said Hammond, trying to ignore the way she’d said ‘your people’, as if all of humanity had been judged by the Tollan and found wanting. “Both yourselves and the Asgard have stipulated that no one other than Colonel O’Neill may conduct the investigation,” he continued. “But, under the circumstances, I would like to request that you reconsider that condition.” He withdrew a pale blue manila folder from his briefcase; a card to be played which he hoped would at least prolong the game. He looked around the Curia, towards Thor, his best hope of gaining the agreement of the room. “There are several people under my command whom I’d like to offer for consideration–”
“Our judgment on that matter has not changed, General. No one but O’Neill will be acceptable to carry out the mission.” This came from one of the other Tollan officials, a man whose face was not familiar to Hammond. The arrogant disdain which he conveyed in just a few words, however, was entirely recognizable.
“My government is just as eager to find these criminals as you are,” he said. “But with this restriction, you’re making it very difficult.”
“Might I remind you how much is at stake for our planets, General Hammond?” said the nameless Tollan, leaning forward in his seat, his voice rising. “For many generations we took great steps to ensure that our technology was protected, yet within a short time of treating with Earth we find ourselves in the position of having that which we have defended, often at the cost of our lives, stolen from beneath our noses. And you dare to tell us that we are making this difficult?”
High Chancellor Travell turned to her fellow official and made a gesture, just a slight movement of her hand, but enough to calm him. “I’m sure General Hammond is fully aware of what is at stake, Chancellor Morrel. Let us remember that this is not a Triad and accusations have no place here.”
Hammond closed his eyes and took his own calming breath. In truth, this was becoming more like a trial by the second, except that he and Dr. Fraiser were sorely underrepresented. “I can assure you, Chancellor, that Earth comprehends the stakes entirely. If, as a result of these thefts, we are excluded from the Protected Planets Treaty…” At this he looked meaningfully at the Asgard, who remained silent. “Then we have much more to lose than a few gadgets.”
The Tollan stiffened, offended by his flippant tone.
He spread his hands in apology. “All I’m asking is that you allow someone else to investigate this crime,” he said. “Hell, I’ll do it myself if you’ll let me.”
But Morrel only shook his head. “Our word on the matter is final,” said the Chancellor, eyebrows raised to forestall further challenge.
Hammond tensed his jaw. “Then we have a problem.”
“Yes, General. We do.”
And that’s when he knew he was beaten, because those words came from the Asgard to Thor’s right — and Thor said nothing to contradict him.
Just like that his trump card was tossed on the floor, rendered useless.
Janet could feel her hackles rising the moment she entered the Curia chamber. As honored and flattered as she was to know that General Hammond considered her worthy of his trust and of handling this mission, she was a doctor, not a diplomat. Her game face extended as far as her bedside manner, and even then she knew that sometimes you had to be just a little bit ruthless to make sure the patient took his medicine. The Tollan had always struck her as a people who didn’t like being told when they needed their medicine.
The general was much better at this than her — all part of the job description, she supposed — so she’d been content to offer silent moral support and let him do the talking. She suspected that anything she had to say on the subject might end up causing an interplanetary incident.
Nevertheless, even General Hammond now seemed on the brink of losing his cool.
He jabbed a finger at the folder in front of him, pressing it down right in the middle of the SGC logo. “The people named in this file, I trust them implicitly. I would trust them with the lives of every member of Stargate Command. Hell, I would trust them with the lives of my family. If you can’t take my word on that, then I don’t see where we can go from here.”
“Your word is not the issue, General Hammond,” said the Asgard seated next to Thor. Even his serene voice had started to grate on Janet’s nerves, though she knew they were their best hope of salvaging anything from this summit. “But you must understand that our prime goal as a race is our genetic survival.”
Suddenly, Janet found she couldn’t remain silent. “Isn’t that the goal of every race? We all want to survive.”
Thor turned towards her, but his shiny black gaze gave away nothing. If he disapproved of her interruption, he gave no outward sign. “Forgive me, Dr. Fraiser, but I believe Tyr is correct. My own observations of humanity indicate that you do not fully consider the future of your species. Often, you have demonstrated that other principles take precedence over survival. Principles such as friendship, or the love one human feels for another. On Earth, these can often be given value above life itself. And, just as often, the selfish needs of the few take precedence over the good of all.”
Janet had no choice but to agree. “Yes, of course that’s true, but that doesn’t devalue our worth as a species. It doesn’t mean we can’t be trusted.”
“Of course it doesn’t,” said Tyr. “But it does mean that often personal loyalties can cloud your judgment. How can you be sure that those you believe you can trust haven’t succumbed to those selfish needs? For the Asgard, genetic survival is all. It is everything, not just of our own species, but of every species. Science guarantees survival, and so the science must be held above all else. We are facing great threats in our galaxy, Dr. Fraiser. We cannot risk our technology being compromised.”
It was hopeless. Between the cold arrogance of the Tollan and the simple mathematical logic of the Asgard, there was no way she and Hammond had a chance of convincing this counsel to let them continue the investigation without Colonel O’Neill. But there was another solution, and Hammond had clearly thought of that too.
“Then help us find SG-1. They’re out there somewhere, but our attempts to trace them have been fruitless so far. With your help —”
“That’s out of the question, General,” said the High Chancellor. “Given current relations between Tollana and Earth, any sharing of technology would contravene every statute in our Charter of Government. We are already occupying a very gray area of our law by meeting with you today.”
The general spread his hands, clearly just as exasperated as Janet, and turned to the Asgard. “Thor?”
“I am sorry, General Hammond, but as Tyr has said, we face other threats in our galaxy. We simply do not have the resources to help with a search for SG-1.”
“So you won’t help us find SG-1, but no one other than O’Neill is acceptable to you. Will you at least allow us the time to conduct a thorough search ourselves?”
Before either the Tollan or Asgard could answer, there was a knock at the door and the young guide who had brought them here entered and approached High Chancellor Travell. General Hammond turned to Janet, using the momentary distraction as a chance to regroup. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen him so somber.
“I’m afraid we’re fighting a losing battle here, doctor,” he said, glancing over to where the Tollan were deep in conversation.
“I don’t understand why they’re so being so unrelenting. Don’t they understand that we’re trying to help them?”
“The Tollan have never been the easiest of bedfellows. It’s taken years of negotiation to establish any solid kind of relationship with them, and now I’m afraid all that hard work is being unraveled by the actions of a few.” Despite his obvious frustration at the current impasse, General Hammond still seemed inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt, although Janet wasn’t sure she could be so magnanimous. “Neither the Tollan nor the Asgard need to answer for their actions,” he reminded her. “They haven’t committed any crime.”
“And neither have we, General!” Janet struggled to keep her voice down. “Travell said herself that this isn’t a Triad. So why do I feel like we’re being judged and made to defend ourselves?”
“Because whoever is responsible for this is one of us, and we are responsible for them. Until we get SG-1 back, and O’Neill can find out who is doing this, then all of Earth will be held accountable, no matter how much we might dispute that fact.”
“And the Asgard? I would have expected Thor at least to have our back.”
At that, Hammond frowned and looked over her shoulder at where Thor and his people sat. “Yes,” he murmured, “I’m concerned about that myself. This threat he and Tyr have mentioned, I wonder…”
Before he could say anymore, High Chancellor Travell called the summit to order, having apparently finished whatever business was important enough to warrant the impromptu interruption.
“High Chancellor,” said Hammond, his mask of diplomacy in place once more, “Dr. Fraiser and I have discussed your comments on the matter at hand, and we fully understand both your and the Asgard’s position. We would like to offer you our full assurances that we will commit every resource to the search and rescue of SG-1. I’m confident that Colonel O’Neill will be back and ready to continue his investigation very soon.”
Travell’s expression, if sober before was now downright severe. “I’m afraid the situation is no longer as simple as that, General Hammond. SG-1 went missing two days ago, you say?”
Hammond nodded, but his face echoed the feeling of dread that had dropped like a stone into Janet’s gut.
“Well,” continued Travell, “we have a report of yet another technology theft from a Tollan outpost on one of our nearby planets. Less than two days ago. Perhaps SG-1 is not so guiltless as you would have us believe?”