SG1-25 Hostile Ground(23)
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.”