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Sam, who had been quite since the meeting began, chose that moment to speak. �If I may,� she said, glancing at the Generals who both nodded, giving her the floor. �The list of scientists that you want to try to bring into the program. There are some big names on your list, Doctor Weir.�
�If you say so. In this particular arena I am simply a messenger. Each department gave me names of people that they thought would be suited to the challenge of life in Pegasus,� Elizabeth said.
�I�m not sure you understand my point,� Sam said.
�I�m not sure I do either, Colonel,� Elizabeth replied.
Sam looked at General Landry who nodded, giving her his permission to continue. �Even if you get the majority of them to sign the one-year contract it is unlikely that you will be able to return to Atlantis with more than a handful of the independent scientists that Major Davis is contacting,� Sam said.
�And why is that?� Elizabeth asked.
Landry fielded that one. �Because the mass disappearance of some of the brightest minds on this planet will undoubtedly raise some eyebrows and there is only so far the governments involved will be able to temper the fallout.�
Sitting back in her seat, Elizabeth contemplated the other people in the room. She knew that General O�Neill was on her side as long as she didn�t actively attempt to get Doctor Jackson to come to Atlantis, and while she would like to have him there for both his expertise and his friendship, she would much prefer allies on Earth with the kind of pull that Jack had. It was hard for her to tell where General Landry was, though she got the impression that he was unhappy with the fact that the United States planned on putting more money and emphasis on the Atlantis expedition than on the SGC itself so Elizabeth found herself feeling wary of him. And Lieutenant Colonel Carter seemed like she was feeling particularly antagonistic toward the Lantian leader, an attitude that Elizabeth didn�t understand�they hadn�t been close when Elizabeth had run the SGC, but Carter knew that Elizabeth hadn�t sought out the position, that she hadn�t tried to take General Hammond out of his command, and that, when Vice President Kinsey had lost all influence when he�d �resigned�, Elizabeth had tried to get General Hammond to take the job back, but he had decided that being in charge of Homeworld Security was where he needed to be, which was when Elizabeth had recommended that Jack be given command because she knew that everyone at the SGC trusted him implicitly.
Since she didn�t have as many allies in the room as she would have liked Elizabeth opted for the cautious route. �The standing cover story of a scientific expedition of a classified nature should be sufficient, especially now that we have both the Daedalus making regular trips between galaxies and the ZPM to power the �Gate for regular transmissions to Earth. If anything it should be easier to bring personnel to Atlantis now than it was before since all we�re asking for is a one-year contract, rather than the uncertainty of a year ago,� Elizabeth said. �Some of the original members of the expedition are willing to return to Earth to continue their work; either to work at the SGC or Area 51, assuming that they get some time with their loved ones before they start their work here, which should help with the cover story�s integrity. Right now Atlantis is running with what amounts to a skeleton staff in most areas, and I�m sure we can get by as is for a while, but I�m sure you�ll agree that merely getting by is in no way good enough for an endeavour of this magnitude.�
When she had been in charge of the SGC, though the few months had been brief, one of Elizabeth�s favourite places to spend time was the briefing room overlooking the Gateroom. After spending so many hours in debrief there since returning to Earth, though, Elizabeth found herself wanting to be anywhere but that room.