Fanfiction: The Atlantis Trilogy - Part I

[rachel500]

Fandom: Stargate SG1 / Stargate Atlantis
Series: Aftershocks
Prequel to Episode: S8 Zero Hour / Missing scenes for SGA S1 Rising
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Sam/Jack UST. Mention of Sam/Pete. Team friendship.  Bonus Aftershock dealing with the Atlantis expedition.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. Written for entertainment purposes only.

The Atlantis Trilogy

Part 1: Under the Ice

'You seem unusually cheerful today, Doctor Weir.'

Elizabeth smiled at Carson Beckett as he slid into his seat at the table in the make-shift conference room. They'd situated it at the back of the dome that had been erected over the Ancient Antarctica outpost. The end wall ballooned outward in a graceful arc; the right and left walls were plasterboard painted a pale green, the smell fresh and lingering. It did nothing to relieve the cold of the room. The final wall had a door which led back out to the rest of the dome; storage areas off to the right, mess off to the left, and the main security entrance and elevator shaft directly ahead.

She was about to reply to Carson when Rodney barrelled in juggling a travel thermos mug of coffee, his laptop and a stack of folders. 'Sorry, sorry. Important work.'

'You haven't missed much, Rodney.' Elizabeth assured him.

'I was just telling Doctor Weir she looked cheery.' Carson explained, the Scots lilt in his accent making Elizabeth smile more.

'Cheery? Is that a word?' Rodney's eyes narrowed on her suspiciously. 'Why are you cheery? Did they approve sending me more of the equipment that I requisitioned because…'

'Rodney.' Elizabeth interrupted. 'Can we focus before Colonel Dixon joins us?'

Carson smiled at her sympathetically as Rodney harrumphed and opened his laptop.

'So what does have you in such a buoyant mood this fine day? If you don't mind my asking?' Carson said. 'Have you talked with your young man recently?'

With anyone else, Elizabeth might have objected to the prying but in the short time since Carson had joined the project, Elizabeth had come to appreciate that he was genuinely interested in people and had no hidden agenda. She felt a twinge of guilt because she hadn't actually talked to her fiancé for days. She'd call Simon soon, Elizabeth promised herself. She smiled at Carson to cover for her pause in replying. 'As it happens I talked with the President last night. He's approved a temporary assignment of SG1 to our project and…'

'Wait!' Rodney looked up from his laptop sharply. 'Sam's coming here?'

'Yes.' Elizabeth said letting some of her irritation at his interruption bleed through. 'As you requested, Rodney. I believe you've wanted to consult with her on the database issue since you ran into difficulties.'

It had led to a heated exchange between her and O'Neill because Sam's appointment as SG1 leader wouldn't be formalised until she'd performed an off-world mission and that had been delayed with Elizabeth's request being granted by the President.

Rodney flushed and reached for his coffee with one hand, the other jabbing through the space beside him. 'Yes, yes, I requested her assistance and once she's here, I'm confident that together we'll be able to come up with some brilliant plan to solve the firewall problem and…'

Elizabeth simply stared him down.

Rodney's voice trailed away but his expression took on a speculative gleam. 'You're just pleased because Jackson's coming here.'

She thanked God for all of her diplomatic experience which had long ago schooled the automatic urge to blush out of her system. 'You're right,' she said instead, taking a moment to enjoy seeing Rodney startled because of her agreement, 'I am pleased Doctor Jackson will be joining us. His archaeological and Ancient knowledge is vital to translating and understanding what we find here.'

She'd requested Daniel almost from the moment the project had been approved. It hadn't been a surprise that Jack O'Neill had turned down her initial request but she'd been surprised that he'd continued to block her, claiming with Anubis resurfacing that Daniel was needed where he was. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate that viewpoint or that SG1 as a team had contributed significantly to keeping the world safe but SG1 had already been altered with the various promotions of its two military members; surely he had to see that her project required Daniel's skills as a priority.

What hadn't surprised her was the way the old boys' club that was the American military closed ranks around their newest General. Neither Hammond nor Maynard had disagreed with Jack, leaving Elizabeth on the outside. No matter how much respect she'd built for Jack personally, and those who served in the Stargate programme more widely, it reminded Elizabeth of everything she'd ever hated about the military.

It hadn't helped that Colonel Edwards who had led the engineering team had also been obstructive. She had clashed with him a few times on priorities and in trying to convince him that Rodney's engineering designs were better than those Edwards was working with. Dave Dixon who had been assigned to head up the military support and protection detail for the project had ended up running interference. She'd been relieved to see Edwards go once the Ancient structure had been made safe, the elevator built and the protective dome constructed on the surface. Dixon was more than capable of overseeing the erection of the other outbuildings.

She actually got along OK with Dixon. He had a good sense of humour and a very down to Earth attitude that she appreciated. But they had also had moments when they'd knocked heads and butted up against each other – usually over matters of military protocol. Dixon had issues with Elizabeth treating the military guys as fully part of the project but Elizabeth was keen not to have a 'them-and-us' division. As far as she was concerned the military personnel were as much a part of her team as the civilian scientists.

But they'd sat down and talked about it and she did allow his point that if Dixon gave one order and she contradicted it, it would confuse their staff. She'd appreciated less that Dixon had compared their relationship to being Mom and Dad to a bunch of kids to make his case. She repressed a sigh and wondered where Dixon was; the Colonel was usually very prompt. She glanced at her watch.

'You did say that SG1 are only here temporarily right?' Rodney settled back in his chair, his hands wrapped around his thermos mug. He looked smug.

Elizabeth shot him another annoyed look because she knew that he knew that she wanted Daniel for a lot longer than a temporary assignment. 'I'm certain that once Doctor Jackson is here, he'll see the benefit of staying with us in the long term.'

The temporary assignment the President had forced on Jack would give Elizabeth time to convince Daniel to agree to a more permanent position, and she was determined not to waste a moment of it. Daniel's current contract was with the Air Force but she could offer him a better deal under the banner of the International Oversight Committee which governed the Antarctica project. Most of the civilian scientists brought on board had contracted with the international body rather than with the United States Air Force or the equivalent of their own country's Stargate program.

Rodney shook his head. 'I think if you think they're ever going to let him agree to leave SG1, you're delusional.'

'Well, I'm looking forward to meeting them all.' Carson said brightly. 'I've heard a lot about SG1 since I joined the project.'

Rodney rolled his eyes. 'They're people, well, not Teal'c who's, you know, Jaffa, but people! I don't know why everyone gets so star struck around them.'

Elizabeth exchanged a knowing look with Carson.

'I'm sure they're grateful that you've never given any sign of being star struck, Rodney.'

'Exactly! Wait. What?' Rodney began heatedly.

She was thankful when the door opened and Dixon entered. 'Colonel.'

'Apologies.' Dixon tossed his folders onto the table and sat down at the opposite end from Elizabeth. 'I've been held up finalising travel arrangements for SG1 and General O'Neill.'

'General O'Neill?' Her lips tightened as though to prevent more words escaping her but Elizabeth was already disappointed that she'd been surprised into talking.

Dixon nodded. 'President ordered a visit apparently. He'll be arriving in four weeks for two days to coincide with the end of SG1's assignment. He'll do his normal meetings with you face to face and also spend time with the troops to boost morale.'

'And he's going to sit in the chair, right?' Rodney said before Elizabeth could respond.

'I'm sure the General will spare the time.' Elizabeth assured him.

'Actually, that's not on the table right now.' Dixon said, pulling the lid of his pen and sitting forward.

'You do realise that O'Neill has the strongest gene we've been able to find to date and is the only person probably capable of accessing all the data in the system?' Rodney's voice rose with every word.

Dixon glared at him. 'I realise, Doctor McKay, that Colonel Carter has rightly raised the issue of whether it's safe for the General to sit in the chair as there is uncertainty over whether the Asgard removed or repressed the Ancient knowledge that was downloaded into his head.'

'I see,' Elizabeth murmured, 'the Colonel's worried that the knowledge will start to overwrite the General's mind again?'

'There's absolutely no evidence that…' Rodney began furiously.

'Yes.' Dixon stated cutting in.

'That's just…'

'A valid concern, Rodney.' Elizabeth asserted forcefully. Rodney sometimes missed the human element in his thinking. 'We can't ask the General to take part in experiments with Ancient technology if it isn't safe for him.'

Rodney scowled at her.

'Colonel Carter has contacted the Asgard requesting verification that it's safe.' Dixon said mildly. 'We should hopefully have a response by the time the General gets here.'

'Why didn't you say so before?' Rodney demanded.

Dixon looked at Rodney, didn't say a word and looked back at Elizabeth expectantly.

'Let's move on, shall we?' She suggested. 'As we're talking about SG1's visit, perhaps we should just cover that now?'

'Sure,' Dixon said, 'they'll be arriving in McMurdo tomorrow night at twenty-two hundred. I've arranged accommodation for them in the officers' quarters…'

'Why not the project accommodation?' Elizabeth interrupted, trying not to feel like the military was trying to make SG1's visit as difficult as possible already.

'Apart from the fact that they usually stay in officers' quarters,' Dixon said dryly, 'the project accommodation at McMurdo is in a block not exclusive to us. Teal'c is Jaffa and would raise questions with civilians not associated with the project. Knowing SG1 I suspect that they'll make use of the overnight barracks here anyway once they're completed.'

'I don't agree on the matter of Teal'c and civilian accommodation,' Elizabeth argued calmly, 'I understand that he has been given permission to live off base now and I think we should extend the same privilege to him here.'

'Even if that is the case,' Dixon rejoined, 'Colonel Carter is not a civilian, and as team leader she has requested for SG1 to be housed together.' He held up a hand when he realised she was going to argue. 'I suggest you raise the matter with her when she arrives.'

Elizabeth made a note to do just that.

'I propose SG1 will meet with you at breakfast and fly in with you the morning after they arrive?' Dixon finished.

'That's acceptable to me.' Elizabeth frowned. 'Obviously Colonel Carter's work assignment and Doctor Jackson's are evident but what about Teal'c?'

Dixon shrugged. 'You should discuss it with Carter. If she and Jackson can spare him, I'd appreciate his input into the security arrangements.'

'If she and Jackson can spare him? It's not like he understands advanced physics.' Rodney said scathingly.

'Teal'c has an extensive knowledge of the Ancient language that he developed in a time loop.' Dixon bit out. 'And besides that…'

'Gentlemen.' Elizabeth placed her hands down flat on the table. 'Perhaps we should move on?'

They discussed other agenda items for another hour before Elizabeth finally turned to Carson. 'I believe you have an update for us on the gene therapy?'

'I do but I'm afraid it's not good news.' Carson said. 'The formula is unstable.' He paused. 'I need a stronger genome to act as the base for the treatment.'

'Huh.' Rodney tapped his screen apparently reading Carson's last report. 'You used your own as the base the last time?'

'Yes,' Carson said, 'the only people with genes equal to or stronger than mine according to our last results was,' he checked his own notes although Elizabeth was sure he didn't need them, 'a Major Lorne and General O'Neill himself.'

'Why aren't we using O'Neill's again?' Rodney asked, frowning.

'The Asgard placed a marker on his genome to prevent tampering. It's entirely possible that it will make any gene therapy unviable.' Carson explained.

'But we don't know that for certain?' Rodney pressed. 'We should have tried with the strongest genome first.'

'Aye but if the Asgard have…'

'If, buts, maybes,' Rodney waved away Carson's concern, 'all I'm saying is we should try.'

'And all I'm saying, Rodney, is that if the therapy fails with General O'Neill's genome I have no way of telling whether it would be down to the Asgard marker or the strength of his genome.' Carson said firmly.

'Oh.' Rodney wagged a finger at him. 'That's actually a good point.'

'So why don't we try next with Major Lorne?' Elizabeth suggested, stepping in.

Carson sighed and nodded. 'It can't hurt to give it a go.'

'I'll have Lorne's CO make the request.' Dixon said, making a note on the pad of paper in front of him.

'Can't you just, I don't know, order him to do it?' Rodney protested.

Dixon didn't bother looking up from his pad of paper. 'No.'

'Rodney,' Elizabeth stepped in before he could say anything, 'Major Lorne has to formally give his permission for his genetic material to be used in such a way especially given the international nature of this project. Let's move on.' She turned to Dixon. 'I've requested Major Lorne be transferred to the project to provide support. Where are we on that transfer?'

Dixon finished his note and met her gaze. 'It's been declined.'

She sat back. 'For what reason?'

'A moronic one no doubt.' Rodney sniffed.

'Lorne is currently heading up our 302 squad. We have a shortage of 302 pilots.' Dixon stated briskly. 'They and the Prometheus are our first line of defence. The President has agreed with Generals Hammond, O'Neill and Vidrine that there should be no transfers until we have the 302 reserve pilots trained.'

Elizabeth tried to ignore the tension that had settled into her shoulders. 'I see.' She folded her hands on top of the table and took a calming breath. 'What about the gene testing?'

'We've completed testing on all permanent Stargate personnel, military and civilian.' Dixon confirmed. 'Less than 1% of our current staff have been identified with the genome. In total twenty-one military personnel including General O'Neill and Major Lorne. Five are already assigned to you. In regards to the others, three could be reassigned as support to the project and their transfers are in progress, five have no transferable skills. There were nineteen civilians identified including Doctor Beckett. Five are already on staff; the rest have been previously dismissed as applicants to the project staff for various reasons by yourself and Doctor McKay.'

'I'd like to review those decisions.' Elizabeth said, ignoring Rodney's look of horror. 'I'd also like all the military names and skill sets.'

'The information will be emailed to you later today.' Dixon promised. 'You should also know that we've received permission to begin testing wider than the programme. The Marine Corp is up first as they are being assigned as the protection detail for the Atlantis expedition. We also have a small group of people who are TDA with us but who haven't been tested; we're securing agreement with their various COCs now.'

Elizabeth swallowed down hard on the admission that she hadn't realised that decision had been made. She nodded crisply instead. 'I'll also chase the rest of the IOC members for their testing results.'

The meeting wound up soon after that and when Dixon quietly asked her to remain behind, Elizabeth agreed swiftly, waving Carson and Rodney out of the room before settling back to regard Dixon inquisitively.

'I wanted to make you aware that I've received new orders.' Dixon said without preamble. 'I'll be shipping out when SG1 and the General return to the SGC. My replacement is Colonel Sumner and we'll begin the transition period ASAP.' He paused. 'Colonel Sumner is a highly decorated Marine. He's also confirmed as the military leader for any potential Atlantis expedition.'

'I see.' Elizabeth felt the bite of frustration that she hadn't been included in the discussion again; she had hoped that she would have been given a lot of input into the assignment as she would have to work with the military CO closely.

Dixon nodded, a hint of a smirk playing about his lips. 'General O'Neill thought you might appreciate seeing Sumner's record. Sergeant Harriman should have emailed it to you now.'

Elizabeth's lips twitched. Maybe she and Jack didn't see eye to eye on everything – Daniel – but at least on some matters he could be remarkably accommodating. 'I don't think I met Colonel Sumner when I was at the SGC. Do you know him?'

'Yeah,' Dixon gathered his folders, 'my advice for what it's worth? Marshall's a good soldier but he can't play poker for a hill of beans.' He gave her a half-salute and left before she could question him further.

She should get back to her office and read the file, Elizabeth determined, rubbing at her forehead and the beginnings of the headache that had begun to throb. She had a feeling the record she was about to read would be her worst nightmare.

She squared her shoulders and got to her feet. It wouldn't be the first time she'd had to prove herself and it wouldn't be the last; but she had the ear of the President and the support of the IOC. If the military wanted to challenge her; fine. She could handle it.

o-O-o

Sam hated Antarctica. Loathed it. She still had the memory of climbing to the top of an icy crevasse and staring out at the unremitting white with horror, knowing it spelled certain death for her and the then Colonel. Of course, the Stargate programme being the Stargate programme certain death wasn't all that certain and they'd been rescued. But then there had been the incident with Aiyana and almost dying again, and the latest escapade which had seen them leaving Jack O'Neill frozen under the ice.

Who the hell liked Antarctica?

'I like it here.' Rodney McKay said, digging into his food.

Sam paused, fork almost to her mouth and glared at him over the table in the make-shift mess. It was too cramped and sterile. Dozens of tables rammed into a miniscule space with no décor except unremitting white walls and the dome wall. It felt cold.

'Uh, sorry? You realised you asked that question out loud, right?' Rodney waved his knife at her, an almost guileless look on his face.

Sam contemplated stabbing him for a moment with her fork before she took the high road and stuffed it in her mouth. The food was terrible and she almost gagged.

'I know,' Rodney said unsympathetically, 'that curry should come with a warning.'

Sam chewed, took a long gulp of water and chewed some more before she swallowed. She contemplated the rest of her meal with a sense of foreboding.

'I'll swap with you, Colonel Carter.' Lieutenant Aiden Ford offered from his seat beside Rodney.

'Thank you, Lieutenant. But I'm fine.' Sam said with a smile.

Rodney shot the young Lieutenant a dirty look although Sam couldn't work out whether it was for offering to swap lunches or just for existing. Sam knew Ford a little from the SGC and she vaguely remembered that he'd been reassigned because he was one of the few Marines at the SGC with cold weather training. He was a young guy; handsome with a milk chocolate skin-tone that reminded her of Teal'c's son. They'd all ended up sitting at the same table because it was the only one free.

'So what about you, Lieutenant?' Sam asked, scooping up some more food tentatively. 'Do you like it here?'

Ford grinned at her. 'Yes, ma'am, I'm afraid I do.'

'Huh.' Rodney shot Ford another look. 'You might not be a complete waste of space since you agree with me.'

'McKay.' Sam remonstrated. She rolled her eyes sympathetically at Ford who continued to grin.

'Don't worry, Colonel,' Ford said brightly, 'we're all kind of used to him now.'

It was Rodney's turn to roll his eyes. 'As I was saying, the only way around the security wall is going to be the chair. We've tried everything else.'

Sam winced around another mouthful of tough beef. She sighed and poked at her meal. She needed the calories. She felt cold despite the thermal underwear and layers of uniform she wore.

'And we need someone with a better gene than Doctor Scared-to-sit-in-the-chair here.' Rodney gestured with his knife at Doctor Beckett, the other person at the table.

The dark haired Scot glowered at him. 'Thanks very much, Rodney. I do have better things to do than play light switch for you all the time.'

'Yes, yes, important genetics, blah blah blah.' Rodney dismissed the other man's work with another sweep of his knife. 'The fact is that we could find the answer to your genetics therapy in the database only it won't give up any more information because you refuse to sit in the chair…'

'It's not his fault, McKay.' Sam said firmly. 'And I'm not sure even the General is going to be able to convince the chair to give up the firewall around the rest of the database.'

'Thanks, lass.' Beckett smiled at her warmly.

Truthfully, she was impressed that the Ancients had managed to protect the core of the database so well although since it was also the core that held access to the weapons systems it was a big issue, and ostensibly the reason why she'd been assigned to the Antarctica project along with the rest of her team.

She glowered at her meal. Her team wasn't so much a team right at that moment, Sam thought despondently. Teal'c had lasted a week before he'd come to her apologetic but determined to return to the SGC. She couldn't blame him because the Jaffa didn't really have anything to do in Antarctica; her own work was tied up too extensively with McKay's, and the Ancient language ability required for translation surpassed Teal'c's understanding so he couldn't help Daniel. In the end she had acquiesced to Teal'c's request to leave despite her selfish wish for him to stay. At least he had asked, Sam mused grimly.

Daniel had all but disappeared on her. She hadn't wanted to ask him for a report because it seemed too formal but when Sam had tried to track him down a couple of times just to see how it was going he had been distracted and not all that forthcoming. It was just Daniel, Sam reminded herself briskly. Daniel, who got distracted by wondrous finds all the time and who could get buried in his work and ignore the rest of the world for days. He had done it all the time to the Colonel; she shouldn't take it personally.

But she did.

She wasn't unaware that Doctor Weir had requested Daniel's permanent assignment to the project, (and despite former permission to call her Elizabeth, Sam was determined to think of her as Doctor Weir while she tried to steal Daniel). The President had stepped in and decided SG1 as a team would spend time on the project temporarily. Jack had been apologetic when he'd told Sam about the assignment as it delayed her formal evaluation and appointment as SG1 leader. It smarted that she'd had no choice in the matter, more than it should after spending her adult life in the Air Force and being subject to the whims of her command.

It wasn't the orders, Sam thought defensively. It was the situation with Daniel and she probably wouldn't be so bothered if she didn't know Daniel was as eager to participate in the project as Weir was to snaffle him. She also wasn't unaware that if they did discover the location of Atlantis, the lost city that they had in many ways sacrificed Abydos for, Daniel would want to join the expedition. Sam believed the only way to stop Daniel outright leaving SG1 for the expedition was to go along with it.

Maybe that wouldn't be so bad, Sam considered. She liked the idea of exploring an Ancient city, was excited even, but…and there was a big but, she couldn't see Atlantis being somewhere easily accessible. The city was lost and it was lost for a reason. Presumably it was hidden in some remote part of the galaxy since no-one had stumbled over it already. Which meant it was going to be a long mission – months away from home, away from Cassie. Janet Fraiser's death was too raw for Sam to contemplate taking that kind of assignment and leaving Cassie alone regardless that Cassie was ostensibly in college and independent. Sam resented being away in Antarctica despite being able to remain mostly in contact through the odd call and email, and knowing Jack was checking on Cassie.

There was also the fact that Rodney would hold the position of Chief Scientist on the expedition. Sam didn't begrudge Rodney it – she even agreed that with his skills and experience he had more than earned the position – but it would mean that her own scientific work if she and SG1 were assigned would be subject to his scrutiny. As much as their working relationship had improved leaps and bounds from the first time they'd been forced to work together, she wasn't sure she'd be able to stomach ostensibly reporting to him.

The past few weeks had been bad enough and she was technically there as his equal at his request. Weir's leadership style was hands-off it seemed in regards to the science department; Rodney was left to run it and reported to Weir through daily meetings. Sam herself had agreed with his view that as the database project was one of many he reported on, it made more sense for Sam to continue working the problem than being tied up in their meetings. But it did leave Sam feeling out of the loop.

Then there was the whole complicated situation with Weir and Daniel. It irked Sam that Weir didn't feel the need to let Sam know what Daniel was working on; as his team leader Sam felt elbowed out of the way and disregarded. But it wasn't all Weir's fault, Sam thought, determined to be fair. Daniel was equally to blame because he didn't seem to feel the need to let her know as his team leader what he was doing either.

All in all events were conspiring to unsettle Sam in her new role as SG1 leader. When she'd first been given the position, Jack had responded to a few things as though he was still leading the team and he'd seemed so reluctant to put them on mission rotation that she'd wondered if Jack doubted her leadership abilities despite promoting her. She'd just wrestled that out of her head when they'd been sent to Antarctica and the last few weeks had eroded her confidence. What SG1 needed, Sam mused, was a couple of off-world missions just her, Daniel and Teal'c; it would get them all used to the new dynamic including Jack.

'…and you're not listening to me at all!' Rodney snapped, startling Sam out of her thoughts.

Sam took in his annoyance; his red cheeks and thin lips, blue eyes glaring at her across the table and shook her head. 'Sorry. What were you saying?'

'Lots of very important things…' Rodney began.

Beckett gave a quiet snort of contradiction which had Ford grinning again.

Rodney glowered at them both before he turned back and scowled at her. 'I asked you when the General was arriving?'

'He's scheduled to come out next week.' Sam replied, bemused to realise she'd managed to eat half the curry while she'd been busy wool-gathering.

'Good,' Rodney scraped the last of his meal off the tray, 'we can get him to sit in the chair then and…'

'No.' Sam snapped the word out without thinking. She flushed as the men at the table all looked at her with varying shock and concern.

'What do you mean no?' Rodney shot back, leaning forward across the table.

'I mean no, McKay.' Sam said evenly. She put her fork down. Her stomach churned uneasily. 'You know we're waiting on the Asgard to confirm that he can sit in the chair without reactivating the Ancient knowledge.'

'I don't see why you're so concerned,' Rodney began brusquely, 'if the chair activates the knowledge that's a good thing. He can take down the firewall and get us all the access we need!'

Sam stared at him. 'You do get that the knowledge overwrites his brain and kills him?'

'So?' Rodney protested, gesturing at her impatiently as though she was the one who didn't get it. 'If it does, we throw him back into the stasis pod and deep freeze him until the Asgard can do whatever they do again.'

Sam stood up abruptly, hands already curled into fists, anger bubbling through her. She took a deep breath; she couldn't hit Rodney; she couldn't. Well, she could but she was better than that. She stepped away from the table.

'Hey, are you finished? Can I have your jello?' Rodney called after her.

Sam ignored him. She could hear Beckett's quiet 'Rodney' and Ford's awestruck 'wow, you're lucky not to be wearing that jello,' before she got enough distance for their voices not to carry. She hurried out. She needed to get some air, Sam decided briskly.

Sam headed for the entrance to the dome and the small room to the side which housed an oversize cloakroom; she pulled on her overcoat and gloves. The guard cautioned her not to wander too far from the front door as she left and she nodded briefly in acknowledgement. She walked a circuit around the dome before coming to a halt.

It was eerily beautiful, Sam conceded, taking in the endless shades of white and sharp angular landscapes. The sky was bright blue and there was barely a cloud. But it was bitterly cold and it felt like she couldn't get warm.

She really hated Antarctica.

Sam tilted her head as she heard an incoming helicopter and turned to watch its approach. She admired the pilot's competence and skill; it evidently wasn't one of the regular pilots because she had flown with them all and she'd had to stop herself from wanting to reach out and grab the controls every time despite not being qualified to fly helicopters. Whoever the pilot was, he was very good because he set the helicopter down as though it was a feather. Sam wondered if she could request him. She loved to fly with someone who knew what they were doing.

The passenger door opened and a familiar figure jumped out, ducking low out of the range of the rotors before slamming the door shut and hustling over to Sam's position by the wall next to the entrance.

'Colonel Carter!' Dixon beamed at her broadly.

'Colonel.' Sam smiled back at him, some of her tension draining away. She pointed a gloved hand toward the departing chopper. 'Who's the pilot?'

Dixon's smile widened if that was possible. 'John Sheppard. He's with us TDA from the McMurdo squad.'

Sheppard. The name sounded familiar. Sam searched her memory banks and recalled that most of the records for helicopter quals were held by a Sheppard. If it was the same guy…she wondered briefly what he'd done to annoy someone enough to get assigned to McMurdo. Presumably reassignment wouldn't be an issue.

Dixon nodded as though he could read her mind. 'I was thinking 302 programme for him.'

'We need more pilots.' Sam agreed. They'd lost so many during the battle with Anubis.

'I think he might make a good squadron leader since Mitchell isn't going to return and Lorne's needed back at the SGC.' Dixon said. 'It's a good thing you're doing giving Mitchell a goal but I can't believe that kid thinks he's going to recover enough to join you in SG1.'

'Cam's more stubborn than people give him credit, Colonel.' Sam shrugged. Dixon's words reminded her that she hadn't been the one to initially agree to it; that had been Jack. She couldn't deny Cam the opportunity – he was her friend as well as someone who had saved her life – but she had her doubts about how two Lieutenant Colonels were going to operate in the field.

'Should fit right in then.' Dixon grinned. He motioned at her with his own gloved hand. 'So, I'm guessing McKay or Weir; which one is it?'

She stiffened a little at his words. 'Sorry?'

'When I have to get some air it's usually because one of them's pissed me off.' Dixon explained cheerfully. 'So, which of them was it for you?'

Sam blew out a breath in an almost laugh. She knew the guard wasn't close enough to hear them but she still felt awkward responding, as though she was telling tales out of class. 'It's OK, Colonel. I was just…' she struggled to explain herself.

'Uh-huh.' Dixon shifted, leaning up against the wall beside her. 'Elizabeth's a great lady; very good at her job, and I give her props for how much she's achieved here and with the wider preparations for an expedition in the time she's had. But she's a civilian when all is said and done, and I've noticed occasionally she doesn't understand the concept of chain of command.'

Sam looked at him curiously.

'I mean, she understands the theory of it but I figure she just doesn't think it applies here because it's her project.' Dixon opened his arms expansively to take in the base. 'She thinks anyone assigned to her is assigned to her and she's in charge. So when I turn up and find one of my guys moving stuff for the scientists rather than taking inventory like I ordered, I've learned to take a deep breath, remind myself she's not military and she doesn't mean to undermine me. And when that fails to keep me from being pissed, I take a walk.'

It was distinctly comforting to discover that Weir wasn't purposefully disrespecting Sam's position as Daniel's team leader if she did the same kind of things with Dixon.

'And I don't think I have to explain McKay.' Dixon said with such an aggrieved tone that Sam laughed. 'I don't know how you work with the guy.'

Sam thought about Rodney's words at lunch and made a hum of agreement. 'Neither do I sometimes.'

'So it's him?' Dixon's gaze sharpened.

'Yes. No.' Sam sighed; her nose wrinkling at her own apparent indecision. She moved back and forth, trying to get warm. 'Rodney was just being Rodney.'

It was the truth. Rodney wasn't a team player and his social skills were horrifyingly absent most of the time; he didn't get the bonds that developed in a team and why Sam would be upset at his suggestion.

'I probably should have taken a walk before he suggested we could freeze the General again if the chair triggers the downloaded Ancient knowledge.' She shook her head trying to dislodge the memory that flashed up of Jack's frozen face.

'I'd suggest sending McKay to Antarctica except…' he made another gesture at the surrounding ice.

Sam laughed again. She guessed there was always Siberia again.

'So if you needed to take a walk before McKay stuck his foot in his mouth it was probably because Weir's totally bogarting Jackson,' surmised Dixon, 'right?'

Sam bit her lip and nodded. 'You've noticed? It's not just me being weirdly territorial?'

'Not just you,' Dixon assured her, 'and honestly? You should see me when Alex does the same thing with Balinsky.'

Another laugh bubbled up because Alex was Balinsky's partner; they'd been together for years.

Dixon nudged her shoulder with his. 'You OK now?'

'Yes, sir.' And she was. She felt lighter for Dixon all but forcing her to share her worries.

'Hey, it's Dave when it's just the two of us.' Dixon said lightly. 'We SG team leaders have to stick together so anytime you need a friendly ear…'

Sam felt a tug of gratitude at his recognition of her status. 'Thank you. I appreciate that.' She shivered. 'I think it doesn't help with everything else that I hate being here.' She confessed sheepishly.

'Who can blame you, kid?' Dixon said briskly. 'If I'd died almost as many times as you and Jack have on this ice, I wouldn't step a foot on it, I tell you.' He motioned towards the entrance. 'Well, I should probably get down there. I have a meeting to discuss how my handover with Sumner is going with Weir.' He sounded gleeful and Sam couldn't blame him for enjoying the knowledge that he was going home soon.

'I think I'll stay out here a little longer.' Sam said. Dixon gave her an understanding smile and ambled off leaving wide footprints in the snow.

Sam rubbed at her cold nose. It was time to track down Daniel and have a conversation where she asked him if he could please update her occasionally and pretend she was his team leader. It was the responsible team leader-y thing to do.

But it could wait five minutes more.

Continued in Part II.