Desiderata

Chapter One (Set in late Season 2)

            "At ease," General Hammond said as he walked into the Briefing Room and SG1 relaxed, sitting back down as he took his place at the head of the table. "I just got off the phone with the President and we have a situation. It seems Senator Kinsey has been at it again."

"Doesn't that guy ever take a break?" Jack groaned and Hammond nodded his agreement with the sentiment.

"He has been in Washington, complaining about how expensive the SGC is," Hammond continued, then sighed. "And, unfortunately, the President is, at least in part, agreeing with him this time."

"Wait, I thought the President was on our side?" Daniel said and the General leaned back in his chair.

"He is, but this year is an election year and he wants the national budget looking as good as possible, and having 7.4 billion dollars unaccounted for doesn't exactly help him, much," Hammond explained. "So, he has created a new position here at the base, sort of a "Financial Advisor."

"No doubt, handpicked by Kinsey," Jack muttered.

"That is safe to assume, I believe," Hammond replied darkly. "And I believe it is also safe to assume that slashing our budget isn't her only responsibilities here."

"You think she is a spy for Kinsey," Sam said and the General nodded. "It would make sense. If they are going through our budget, why not get whatever information they can to Kinsey regarding everything else that is going on here."

"Sir, you said 'her.' Do you already know who this person is?" Daniel asked and Hammond passed him a dossier. There was no picture, but there was nearly everything else about the woman that they could possibly need to know. "Christin Domani." He said, reading the name at the top.

"That is her basic information, but I would like you to dig around further and find out more. Call around, whatever you have to do. I want to know everything we can about this woman before she steps foot on my base." Hammond said.

"What's the big deal, General? So she looks at our numbers, sees there is no room for improvement and goes away." Jack shrugged but Hammond shook his head.

"I'm afraid it isn't that easy, Colonel. According to the President, she is to be given full access to every Department's budget...and from now on, she is the person to which all requisition forms will go to. Anything at all that is to be asked for, she has to sign off on it."

"That's ridiculous," Jack said, but then a slow smile appeared on his face. "Wait... did you say 'anything at all?'" he asked and Hammond nodded. "So... if I wanted, let's say, a new shirt... there is nothing that says I can't ask for it one button at a time..."

"Or some new printing paper, one page at a time..." Sam added, catching on.

"I don't understand. How would that tactic accomplish anything?" Teal'c asked and Sam turned to him.

"We inundate her with requisitions for the dumbest, tiniest stuff. She will be so busy that she won't be able to snoop around for information to give to Kinsey." She explained.

"For the record, I would never allow that kind of waste of time..." Hammond said, then leaned closer to his flagship team. "Off the record, let's get rid of this woman however we can, and as fast as we can."

"Yes, sir." Jack grinned and they left.

"What have you found out, Major?" Hammond asked later that day as he walked into Sam's office, where she and Daniel sat.

"I must admit, Sir, her work is impressive." She replied, showing him her computer screen. "She has worked at numerous, high-level corporations and a few military facilities, including Y12, NAS, and Peterson, not to mention her time in Washington with the Budget Committee."

"And what, exactly, does she do there?" Hammond asked but Sam shook her head.

"I tried to make a few calls, but I haven't been able to find out exactly what it is she does. The only people that recalled the name seemed fairly positive about her, but couldn't give me much more than that."

"According to her file, she has several Masters degrees in everything from Finance to Literature, along with a handful of Bachelor degrees and Associates," Daniel said, jumping in. "Her studies are varied but impressive. She got her first Masters at age 19, and began working for Microsoft two years later after she finished two more degrees."

"What did she do there?" Sam asked but, like her, he shook his head.

"Not sure. Her title was "Financial Associate,' and she was only there for about 3 months before moving on to Apple, Toyota, and JPMorgan. She never seems to stay in the same place for more than 5 or 6 months before going somewhere else." He replied.

"Alright, keep trying. She is supposed to be here tomorrow morning. Also, since you two are both heads of departments, I want you to go through your budgets and make sure everything is in order. We don't want to give her any fodder for Kinsey to use against us because we missed something."

"Yes, sir," Sam said and Daniel nodded beside her. "Don't worry, I bet she will be gone within the month."

"From what Jack is planning, I will be surprised if she lasts the week," Daniel said.