10 comments/ 2788 views/ 0 favorites Confirming Carter Bk. 04 Expansion Ch. 01 By: RibaldWriter The Apollo makes a discovery, Tammy has an encounter with ancients, and when things are revealed to the Travelers, they have a decision to make... (-) Confirming Carter Book Four, Expansion Chapter One Two months Later Interior-Apollo Bridge, Sector 522R7 0535 Hours "Exiting hyperspace in thirty seconds, sir." Wilkins said, his hands working over the controls on his console. "Confirm." Lorne muttered, his eyes scanning the panel next to him. "Let's hope we find some...Jesus! What the hell was that? Anybody get a look at it?" He asked as Wilkins turned the ship hard to port, barely missing a large object directly in their path. "I only got a quick look at it while I was trying not to hit it, Major." Wilkins said, looking back over his shoulder. "But it looked man made, maybe a space station. Whatever the hell it is, it's freaking huge!" "Not exactly military parlance there Wilkins, but that sucker was pretty big." Lorne laughed. "Bring us around, and let's get a better look at it." "Aye sir, coming about." A moment later, the object came into view in the bridge windows. "Holy shit." Lorne muttered as he watched the huge structure fill the bridge windows. "Back us off, Wilkins. Let's get a better look at whatever this is." He glanced over at the weapons officer. "Start scanning that thing, Parker. Record all telemetry." "Already scanning, sir." Parker said, not looking up from his console. "The object is over eight kilometers long, and almost three across. No life signs, but I am reading weak power output, it appears that there are multiple active ZPM's on it." "Does it have shields?" Lorne asked. "Affirmative sir, but just barely. We should be able to punch through with Asgard beams, no problem." Parker told him. "Right now, it looks like they're just strong enough to keep out small stuff, space debris, small asteroids, that kind of thing. We would have done some damage if we had hit it." "Yeah, to both of us." Lorne replied. "Keep scanning, and prepare a MALP, I may want to send one over if we can find a control room." He brought up the telemetry on his panel, and started scrolling through it. "Bring us around, and let's do a slow orbit, Wilkins. I want to see more of this thing before we start thinking about checking out what's inside." "Aye sir, coming about. I..." Wilkins began, stopping in mid-sentence. "I see them." Lorne said quietly, getting up from his chair and walking over to the windows. "And I don't believe it, three Aurora class cruisers." He looked back over his shoulder, grinning at Wilkins and Parker. "So, you think we should call the boss now, or keep poking around and see what other kind of goodies they got laying around here?" He asked them. "We're going to need help out here, sir." Parker said quietly. He looked up at Lorne, his face pale. "I'm reading lifesigns on two of those cruisers." "You're sure about that? How many, and where?" Lorne asked as he came around and stood behind him, looking over his shoulder. "More than nine hundred all together, sir. They're faint, and stationary." Parker said, looking over his shoulder at him. "I think they might be in stasis pods sir." "You may be right, Parker." Lorne said, going back over to his chair. "I think it's time to call home, and give them the news. In the meantime, let's keep looking around. I want a complete scan and a better look at that station." Interior-Col. Sheppard's Suite 0605 Hours Jennifer Keller grunted and rolled over, pulling the sheet up over her as the comm chirped on the nightstand. She listened as it chirped again, then smacked Sheppard on the shoulder, shaking him gently. "That's you, answer it." She whispered as she pulled the covers around her and snuggled in. "I get to sleep till the alarm goes off." "Ungh, okay." Sheppard grunted as he sat up, snatching his comm off the nightstand. He put it on as he walked to the bathroom. "Go on Sheppard." He muttered as he tapped the comm. He stopped in front of the toilet, his pajamas falling around his feet as he began peeing, and he let out a long soft sigh. "We have inbound from Apollo, colonel." The Ops tech said. "Voice and telemetry." "Put him through." He said, shaking the last drops of urine off, then stepping out of his pants and kicking them aside as he walked out of the bathroom. "Wait one." The Ops tech said. "Colonel, this is Lorne. We hit the jackpot sir." "Yeah? And just how did you do that, Lorne?" Sheppard asked as he walked out of the bedroom, heading for the kitchen. "Two weeks of wild goose chases and now you think you got something good, huh?" "Well sir, if you don't think a space station and five Aurora class cruisers are worth getting excited about, I'd appreciate it you'd tell me what is." Lorne laughed. Sheppard froze, dropping the coffee pot he'd just picked up to the floor with a crash. "You wanna repeat that, Lorne?" He said slowly. "I don't think I heard you right the first time." "Oh, you heard me right, colonel." Lorne laughed. "We found a space station, eight klicks long, and five Aurora class cruisers. Three of them are in parking orbits around the station, two are docked inside it. And colonel, we have faint lifesigns on two of them." Sheppard leaned back against the fridge, then slid slowly down the front of it, coming to rest sitting on the floor. "Gimme a minute, Evan." He said quietly. "I just woke up, and this is..." "What the hell are you doing out he..." Keller said as she stormed into the room. She stopped when she saw Sheppard sitting on the floor, his head in his hands. "John? What's wrong? Did something happen to..." "Huh? No, nothing bad, babe." He said, looking up at her. "It's good news if you want the god's honest truth. I'm just having trouble getting my head around it." "Evan." He said to Lorne. "Give me an hour to get everyone together. I'm not going to tell them what you found, I think you should do that. We'll contact you when we're ready. In the meantime, you keep looking around, maybe you'll find something else." "Copy that sir. We just found the control room for the station, and I'd like to send a MALP over." Lorne told him. "I thought it would be best to hold off sending anyone over till we get science teams in here." "Yeah, let's wait on sending boarding parties, but go ahead and send the MALP." Sheppard said, getting to his feet. He picked up the coffee pot and walked over to the counter. "Sheppard out." "What's going on, John?" Jennifer said as she came over and took the coffee pot from him. "When I saw you sitting there..." "Lorne found something...something big." He said, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Can you make coffee while I get dressed? I need to start waking people up. This is gonna keep us busy for a while." Interior-Col. Carter's Suite, Kitchen 0625 Hours "I get it!" Gerran said as the comm on the wall chirped. He dragged a chair over and climbed up on it, then carefully pressed the speaker button. "Hello?" "Gerran?" Sheppard laughed. "Is Tammy there, or the colonel?" "We're here, John." Sam said, coming over behind Gerran. She lifted him off the chair and put him on the floor, motioning for him to move the chair back out of the way. "We were just about to order breakfast." "Well, we heard from Apollo a little while ago. Lorne found something you're going to want to know about. We're meeting in the conference center. I already have Caldwell, Samuels, McKay and the rest of the senior staff heading over there." Sheppard told her. "And I ordered food sent over, since we're meeting so early." "We can do that I guess." She said, smiling as she watched Geraan push the chair back under the table. "So what did he find?" "I told him I'd let him tell you, I didn't want to steal his thunder." Sheppard laughed. "I'm headed over there now, so I'll see you in a few minutes." "Okay, John." She laughed. "Tammy's still in the shower, so give us fifteen or twenty minutes. Carter out." "Let's go get Tammy and Phinnar, Geraan. It sounds like we're going to have a busy morning." "Okay. I get her." Geraan grinned, yelling as he ran out of the room. "Tammy! Colonel Sam wants you!" "I should hope so." Tammy laughed as she came out of the bedroom. She had Phinnar over her shoulder, and was tickling him as she walked. "Sheppard just called." Sam said, following Geraan over. She watched as he wrapped his arms around Tammy's leg, hugging her, then leaned close and lifted Phinnar from her shoulder and sat him on the floor. Taking Tammy in her arms, she kissed her lightly, then leaned back, smiling at her. "Shepphard heard from Apollo, and he says Lorne thinks they found something. We're meeting in the conference room to find out what it is. Sheppard said he ordered breakfast." "He didn't tell you what they found?" Tammy asked. "Nope, he said he didn't want to steal Lorne's thunder, so I'm thinking it's something good." "Well, these two are dressed and ready to go, so let's go on over there, before they start whining about being hungry." Interior-Conference room, North Tower 0645 Hours The senior staff was already seated around the conference table when they came in, and Tammy waved for them to stay seated as they started to rise. "Finish your breakfast, everyone." She said as she led Geraan and Phinnar over to the buffet. "I need a minute to get these two something to eat, then I'll be right with you." "So what have you got, John?" Sam asked as she followed Tammy over to the buffet. She picked up a plate and started loading it with food as she looked over at him. "Apollo is in Sector 522R7, colonel." Sheppard told her, bringing up a graphic of the area on the monitors around the room. "The system they're in has six planets, three of them class "M", so they're habitable. There are also almost a hundred moons in the system, so we might be able to mine some of them for resources." "Are there any ancient outposts on any of the planets?" Sam asked, coming over and taking her seat at the table. "I don't think they've looked at the planets yet." Sheppard grinned. "But I'll let Lorne tell you what's going on." Sheppard tapped at his laptop, and a moment later, Lorne appeared on the monitors around the room. He was looking down at the panel on his armrest, and was turning to say something when he noticed that the comm had gone live. "Oh, good morning everyone." He grinned. "If you'll excuse me, we're in the middle of something, and I need a minute." He got up and went over to stand behind the weapons control officer, leaning over his shoulder as he spoke quietly to him. Sam watched as he reached over and pressed several buttons, then flicked a series of switches. She glanced over at Sheppard, but he was watching what was happening on the monitors. Lorne straightened up and went back over to his chair, then looked up and grinned at the monitor. "Sorry about that, colonel. But we just got the second MALP positioned, and I wanted to make sure it was active." He said. "That's fine, Evan." Sam said lightly. "So what have you got out there, and why are you sending out MALP's?" "You have to see it to believe it, colonel." He laughed as he switched the comm over to the ships exterior cameras. "And if you want the truth, I still don't believe it myself. But allow me to present the ancient space station, 'Creonimus'." Lorne was replaced on the monitors with an image of the space station, and he did a voice over as the camera slowly panned in. "As near as we can tell, the station is eight kilometers long, three kilometers wide, and just over a one kilometer high. By volume, this station is several times larger than Atlantis. There are thirty-nine docking bays on each side, and a drydock that takes up almost a quarter of what I'm calling the aft end. We found the control room in the forward section a little while ago." The view changed as the Apollo moved slowly around the station, and two of the Aurora class cruisers came into view in the drydock. "These are the 'Anophinus' and the 'Crelopelion'." Lorne said as the camera zoomed in for a better view of the two ships. "Both are space worthy, and were in for minor repairs and resupply." As the Apollo continued around the station, the other cruisers came into view. "The other three ships, the 'Merassipal', 'Rorceliea', and 'Konasinil', have all been refitted and resupplied, and with the exception of needing ZPM's, are ready for service." "You were right, Evan." Sam said, staring at the screens. "I wouldn't have believed it if you had just told us about them. But those names aren't going to work. We'll have to come up with something easier to pronounce." "What I want to know," Caldwell said, "Is how the hell do you know so much about the station and those ships. Have you boarded them already?" "No sir," Lorne answered. "We beamed a MALP over into the stations control room, and accessed the logs remotely. Being able to read and speak ancient really came in handy for that. We've got almost a third of the logs downloaded so far, that's what we were doing when you contacted us, swapping out memory modules on the MALP." "The MALP's are configured to work with ancient equipment now? Who did that?" McKay asked. "No, Dr. McKay, we can set the MALP to receive a high speed data burst, then just go through it later." Lorne told him. "The problem we're having is the memory modules on the MALP's, they can't hold as much as the ancient equivalent, so we're having to swap them out." He paused, then spoke to Sam. "I don't know if Col. Sheppard told you, colonel, but we have life signs on two of the cruisers orbiting the station." He said. "Col. Sheppard and Dr. McKay handled that last time, and to be honest, I'm not sure just how to go about contacting them, or breaking the news that they've been in status for god only knows how long." "When we found the Aurora, the crew had been in stasis for almost ten thousand years, and their bodies were virtually moribund." McKay said. "If they've been in stasis for the same amount of time..." "I doubt if reviving them is going to be an option." Sheppard finished for him, looking down the table at Carter. "Even so, these people are still alive." Samuels began. "Do we have the right to..." "We don't know anything right now, Andi." Sam said, glancing over at Tammy. "From what I read, the crew of the Aurora was in a virtual reality of some kind, and Rodney and John were able to communicate with them. If these people have the same kind of setup..." "We're going to have to do something soon, colonel." Lorne said. "From the readings we're getting from those two ships, the ZPM's are nearly depleted, and some of the pods on one of them have already failed. It's amazing that they've lasted this long." "We'll take ZPM's with us when we go out there. All the ships, and the station are going to need them if we're going to bring them back here." Tammy said, looking around the table. "We can check to see if the crew has this virtual reality thing you were talking about, and if they do, we'll worry about what to do then." "You said we, Tammy." Andi said. "Are you planning on going out there?" "Yeah, it just makes sense." Tammy replied, looking down the table at Andi, then turning to look at Sam. "I'm more likely to have the training on how to pilot the ships and the station take than anyone else. I was thinking that we move those ships into the drydock with the other two, then bring the whole kit-n-kaboodle back here, where it will do us some good." "I really don't like the idea of you going out there." Sam said slowly. "But I think you might be right. And if we do have to try to communicate with these people, I can't think of anyone that could break it to them better than you can." "It's going to take a couple hours to put together science teams, and get the Daedalus loaded up, so we have time to think about what we're going to do." Sheppard said. "Can we slow down, and think about this for a second?" Caldwell asked. He turned and looked over at one of the monitors. "Lorne, scan those planets and see if there's a gate on any of them. We may be able to go another route if there is. We can just have jumpers ferry people over if there's a gate in that system." "Yes sir." Lorne answered. "That sounds like a good idea. If we can get science teams and ZPM's in here by jumper, the Daedalus doesn't need to make the trip. We'll break off our scans on the station and check the planets for gates. The MALP still needs another half hour on the current download." "That's what I'm thinking too." Caldwell said. "I don't like the idea of leaving Atlantis without cover unless we have too." He turned back and looked around the table. "And if we go with Tammy's idea, we don't need to send science teams. We just load those cruisers into the drydock, and bring everything back here. It will be alot easier, and alot safer doing it that way." "Which brings up another question." Andi said, looking over at Tammy. "Do we really want to be sending one of the queens out to do this? The Travelers already have people trained to pilot their Aurora class cruisers, training one of them on how to pilot the station shouldn't be that hard." "No, Andi." Tammy said. "I want that station and those cruisers for us. We need them for our navy. If we bring the Travelers in on this, they may want a piece of the action. So we're going to bring them back here, check them out, then tell them what we found." "I don't know how much this is going to help." Lorne said. "But there are more than sixty smaller vessels docked with the station right now, and I believe that there may be other ships in the drydock. I haven't gotten to that part of the log yet. If you decide to cut the travelers in, you're going to have lots to offer." "That's good to know Evan." Sam said. She paused, looking around the room. "Let's let Evan do his scans for a gate in that system. In the meantime, we'll get Tammy started on training to pilot that station, get ZPM's together, and start assembling science teams just in case we need to send them out." "That sounds like a plan." Sheppard said as he stood up. He looked over at Caldwell. "Stephen, let's meet in my office in twenty minutes. Zelenka, you and McKay come too. You'll be going with Tammy, Rodney. You can tell her about what happened last time, and you need to be onsite to plug her in anyway." Interior-Col. Carter's Suite, Office 0750 Hours "Can you look at the scans the Apollo did on the station and those cruisers?" Tammy asked. She was sitting at her terminal, going through the database looking for training on the stations and the ships. "We can rotate a ZPM between the ships as we move them into the dock, but I need to know how many we're going to need to power that station up." "McKay and Larrin told me that the Aurora class uses two ZPM's, but I can look at the scans of the station and see what they show. We may have to go into the database and pull up a schematic." Sam told her. "I want to send two for each cruiser, we might as well have them powered up, it's not like we don't have any lying around or anything." "And we're going to be bringing some back." Tammy answered, reaching down and pulling a memory module out of her terminal. She stood up and stretched as she looked down at Sam. "I have the schematics on the station already if you want to look them over. I'm gonna go down and have Susan put me through the training I'm going to need. I just finished downloading all of it." "Okay, I'm looking at the scans of the station now." Sam said, leaning back in her chair. "Going over the original schematics might be faster though. From what I can tell, there's two ZPM's active on it, but there's minimal output from them." Confirming Carter Bk. 04 Expansion Ch. 01 "You do that. I should be back in a little while. I doubt if the training will take more than an hour." Tammy said as she looked back through the door. "Let me know if you hear anything from Sheppard or Lorne." Interior-Col. Sheppard's Office, North Tower 0810 Hours "Look doc, we don't know what we're going to do yet, but McKay knows more about the systems on those ancient ships." Sheppard said as he moved around behind his desk and sat down. "It's bad enough I have to let Tammy go. I'm not sending the royal wizard out there unless I have to. You can wait till we get that station back here, then you can play with it all you want." "Wait a minute!" McKay said, turning to look over at Zelenka. "He gets to be a wizard? I'm a..." "Be quiet, Rodney!" Zelenka said as he stepped over in front of Sheppard's desk. He looked down at Sheppard as he said, "Then why are you sending Rodney? You can wait to contact those people until we get the station moved back here. And I know as much about the ancients technology as he does. I..." "He looks the part, Dr. McKay, you don't." Caldwell said. "But Zelenka's got a point, John. I think we should keep this operation as small as possible, and keep the risk to a minimum. If Tammy can get those ships moved into the station, then jump it back here, there's no need to send anyone else." "I agree." Sheppard said. "We can wait on the science teams, but I still want Mc..." He paused and reached up, tapping his comm. "Go on Sheppard." He listened for a moment, then said, "Confirm. Advise Apollo we'll be sending jumpers within the hour. Sheppard out." He grinned as he looked up at Zelenka, then over at Caldwell. "They found a gate, and Ops says they have the address for it in the database." He said. "Apollo is holding station, and will wait for the jumpers." "Stephen, let's go talk to the boss, and let her know." He said as he stood up and came around the desk. "Rodney, get your gear together, just in case we decide we want you to go with them." Interior-Col. Carter's Suite, Office 0835 Hours "I don't think we need to send McKay." Tammy said as she scrolled through screen after screen on her terminal, then looking down to check the memory module. "I don't even have to go on the ships, there's a tractor beam we can use to move them into the station, and I've already plotted a course back here. All I'm going to have to do is upload it, get the ZPM's swapped out, and press a few buttons." "I was thinking more about Fran, than McKay." Caldwell said after a moment. "I know the teaching machine won't work on her, but can't we upload the information she'd need to her? Then we might not have to send Tammy or McKay." "That's a good idea, Stephen." Tammy said, turning in her chair to look at him. She glanced over at Sam before she continued. "She should be able to directly interface with the stations systems, and load everything up, no problem. But even if we go that route, I still need to go. She's going need someone to help her make the connections. And we'll need someone who knows how to pilot that station in case she can't do it." "McKay's not going to let us send her without him." Sheppard said. "But I thought that she had some kind of glitch. Wasn't there a problem with her programming?" "One of the elements in her personality profile caused a problem with the bonding protocol." Sam told him. "But we've been monitoring her, and we haven't seen anything out of the ordinary since we did the reload on her." "We think that one element is faulty, and we're not going to use it anymore." Tammy said as she stood up and stretched. "And Fran told us about a simulation we can use on the personality profiles to check them for faults. We've been running it on different configurations for Boris and Angelo, and we think we're about ready to load them, and see what happens." She turned and smiled at Sam, then looked over at Sheppard. "Call McKay, and tell him to bring Fran over to my lab." She told him. "I should have everything together by the time they get there, and it will only take a few minutes to upload it to her." Interior-Apollo Bridge, Sector 522R7 0940 Hours "Atlantis One just docked in the port bay, sir." The weapons officer said. "Lady Tammy says they'll be with us in a few minutes." "Confirm. Wilkins..." Lorne said, then looked over at the weapons station. "Wait a minute. Why Atlantis One, Parker? I thought they were in jumper three. You know something I don't?" "Well, there's a queen onboard sir." Parker said, grinning back over his shoulder at Lorne. "You know, like Air Force One. The call sign for any aircraft the president is on changes to Air Force One. I just thought our queens deserve the same distinction." "Remind me to tell Col. Sheppard about that." Lorne laughed. He turned and tapped out a series of commands on his panel as he said, "Take us back to the station Wilkins, we don't want to keep the lady waiting any longer than we have to." Interior-Control Room, Space Station Creonimus, Sector 522R7 1015 Hours Fran sat in the chair in front of the helmsman's console while Rodney lay on the floor moving crystals on the underside of it. Fran's shirt was open, and one of her breasts had been removed so a thick data cable could be plugged in. It trailed across her legs and onto the floor, the other end already connected to a port in the side of the console. "Okay, what are you getting now, Fran?" Rodney asked as he flipped a crystal over and reseated it in its slot. "That's much better, Rodney." Fran said, staring straight ahead. "I am now able to access the station's systems. I will attempt to access our memory module, and load the course Tammy plotted." "Okay." Rodney said as he slid out from under the console and stood up. He tapped his comm, waiting a moment for it to beep. "Tammy, we've got Fran connected, and she's trying to access the memory module. How's your end coming?" "We just got to the power room, so we should have the ZPM's swapped out in a few minutes." She replied. "Uh, Sam said that you need to leave the power room before they start swapping the ZPM's out. Well, what she actually said, was that you're not even supposed to go into the power room." McKay said softly. "She made me promise to remind you." "I didn't go in the power room, Rodney. I'm down the hall from it." She laughed. "The marines we brought with us know what to do. Private Lewis has worked with me before when we were charging them, so you don't need to mother me. I get enough of that from Sam." "I'm just saying." McKay said. "She said that you guys have had problems, and that radiation can cause you to start reconfiguring or something like that. She said it's happened to both of you." "I'm reading increased power levels, Rodney." Fran said, not moving in her chair. "I believe they have replace one of the ZPM's." "Tammy, Fran says that she's getting increased power readings, so it looks like they got one of the ZPM's in." Rodney said. "Copy that, Rodney. I told them to swap the depleted one first, then do the other two." Tammy said. "They should be done any time now, so we'll be with you in a few minutes. In the mean time, have Fran see if she has enough power to bring the ships into the bay with the tractor beams. That'll save us some time." * * * * * "Am I the only one that thinks that this has been too easy?" Tammy said, grinning at McKay as she walked into the control room, followed by three marines. "It's always like this." He answered, leaning over and checking one of the readouts on the console. "Then something goes horribly, horribly wrong, and we end up captured by the Wraith, or stuck out in the middle of no..." "Relax Rodney." She laughed, moving over to sit in the command chair. "We got Fran hooked up and the ZPM's swapped out, it's all down hill from here." "How are you doing moving those cruisers, Fran? Are you having any luck?" "Luck does not enter into the equation, Tammy." Fran replied. "I am currently moving the Rorceliea, and will have it positioned in approximately two minutes. I am also accessing the systems on the Merassipal and the Konasinil, and can confirm that the crews are indeed in stasis pods." She paused for a moment before she went on. "Two hundred and eighty-two of the pods are active on the Konasinil, the rest have failed, and the ZPM is currently at two percent capacity. The ZPM on the Merassipal is at nine percent capacity, and six hundred and twenty-eight of the pods are active. There have however, been seven failures due to mechanical problems." "Can you confirm if they're in a virtual environment like the crew of the Aurora was?" Tammy asked. "And can you tell what kind of shape they're in? Are their bodies going to be able to..." "Sadly, no. It is as Rodney feared. Their bodies are virtually moribund, and they will not be able to live outside the pods." Fran said. "There is a virtual environment active on the Merassipal." "Okay, keep me updated as you get them situated." Tammy said, reaching up to tap her comm. "Major Lorne, this is Tammy, come in please." "Go on Lorne." The response came a moment later. "Evan, we're moving the cruisers into the station, and should have that done in the next half hour or so." She said. "I was wondering if you wanted to bring the Apollo in and jump with us, or would you rather follow us, just in case?" "I'd prefer to follow, if it's all the same to you, ma'am." Lorne replied. "I doubt if anything is going to go wrong, but we might be able to do something if it does. Worst case scenario, we beam you out of there, and take you home in the Apollo." "I can think of worst case scenarios alot worse than that." McKay muttered as he sat down at the console next to Fran. "We could expl..." "I agree Evan, but I wanted to give you the option." Tammy laughed, grinning over at McKay. "Dr. McKay thinks...well, I think you know how..." "Yes ma'am. I know how he is." Lorne laughed. "I've been updating Atlantis as you update me, and I'll let them know what's going on. Colonel Carter asked me to remind you..." "Oh for god's sake!" Tammy laughed. "Next time you talk to them, tell that overbearing bitch to quit mothering me! I never got within fifty feet of the power room. I know that I can't go near it." She paused, looking over at the marines seated near the door. "Lewis, when we get back, you're going to tell her that I stayed by the fucking elevator, and never got close to that damned power room." She said, smiling broadly. "She's still going to have Jenn test me for god only know how long..." "Uhhh, Lady Tammy." Lorne said. "I agree with her. Just being on that station could put you at risk, and we don't have any idea what a hyperspace jump could do to yo..." "Evan, if you say anything about that to anyone else, you'll be doing every shit job I can think of for the rest of your life." She said quietly. "I'm here, nothing is going to go wrong, so let's just finish what we're doing and go home, okay?" "Yes ma'am." Lorne answered. "I just think we..." "What a minute." She interrupted him. "We already did a hyperspace jump. We did one to get here from the planet, so whatever damage there might be is already done." "The first ship has been positioned, and I am moving the second ship now." Fran said. "The ZPM on the Konasinil has dropped to less than one percent capacity. I believe I may have affected it by accessing the ships systems." "Shit. Back out of those systems, Fran." Tammy said, getting up and moving over to stand behind her. "Have any of the pods failed as a result?" "Negative, and I am already out of the systems on both ships." Fran told her. "Rorceliea is already connected to internal power, and I will connect the other two ships as they are positioned. This will not charge the ZPM's, but will relieve the drain on them." "Well that's good to hear." Tammy said, resting her hands on Fran's shoulders, gently massaging them absentmindedly. "Mmmmmm, that feels delightful." Fran purred as a shiver ran through her body. She glanced down at Tammy's hand, then up at her face. "But it is distracting. So if you would be so kind..." "Oh, sorry Fran." Tammy said as she moved her hands and stepped back. "I didn't mean to...I was just..." "It is quite alright, Tammy." Fran said lightly. "If you would like to continue when we get home..." She paused, then added, "The second ship is positioned and is connected to internal power. The drain on the ZPM has stopped, and no pods have failed. Moving the third ship now." "Very good Fran." Tammy said, then leaned close and whispered in her ear. "But were you just hitting on me? I could have sworn that..." "Yes." Fran said, not moving from her position in front of the console. "Three minutes on the third ship." "Hmmmmm, interesting thought." Tammy said to herself as she went back over and sat in the command chair. "I'll have to talk to Sam about that." * * * * * "Evan, tell Atlantis that we have all three ships positioned and secured." Tammy said, leaning back in the command chair and looking around the control room. "Fran has our course loaded, and we're ready to go any time you are." "Copy ready to jump Atlantis One." Lorne replied. "Standby, we'll update command and advise. Apollo out." "Did he say Atlantis One?" Tammy asked. "I think he was being facetious." McKay said, looking at her as he stood next to Fran's chair. "The Americans change the name of any aircraft the president is on to Air Force One. Except the marines, they call theirs Marine One. I guess they have to be diff..." "I like that. It makes me feel all special!" Tammy laughed. She looked over at Fran and Rodney and smiled. "But let's do one last check on everything, okay people? Just to make sure we're not going to jump into a black hole or anything." "Ohhhhh, did you have to say that?" Rodney muttered, leaning over and whispering in Fran's ear. She nodded, and a low pitched whine began to fill the room. * * * * * "Lorne says they're ready to jump." Sheppard said, leaning back in his chair and looking over at Sam and Caldwell. "And he's calling that station Atlantis One, since Tammy is on board." "They do that for the president." Caldwell said. "And our queens are heads of state too. But do we want to get into the habit of advertising when the queens are on board a vessel?" "You don't think our comms are secure, Stephen?" Sam asked, smiling at him. "If you don't, you better do something about it." She turned and looked over at Sheppard. "Tell Lorne to ask Atlantis One to jump as soon as they can. And have Jennifer get the medbay ready, I want Tammy scanned as soon as she gets back." She said. "Just beam her right to the medbay. I don't want to have to listen to her whine about it." Interior-Corridor 18C, Deck 19, Ancient Cruiser Merassipal 1255 Hours The jump to Atlantis had been uneventful, and Tammy had not resisted Keller's scans of her. She'd actually thought it was funny that Sam had had her beamed right to the medbay. She was standing next to an empty stasis pod, watching as Zelenka and McKay connected their equipment to it. "This should only take a couple of minutes." McKay said, glancing over at her. "Zelenka and I have gone through the database, and we know alot more about these things than the first time we ran across them. There should be almost no risk to you." Zelenka turned and knelt next to a panel on the wall, tapping out commands as he paged through the screens. A moment later, the pod opened, and a long tray extended from the wall. He stood up and came around, holding out his hand to her. "If I may." He said, then helped her climb up and get settled on it. "Thank you, Radik." She smiled up at him. She relaxed and waited as they attached electrodes to her temples, then her neck, wrists and ankles. "So are you attaching their stuff, or ours?" She asked. "Both actually." McKay answered. "We're connecting you to the virtual reality, but we're also going to be monitoring you with our equipment, just to be safe." He paused, making an adjustment on his laptop, then looked over at Zelenka. "I'm ready. You?" He asked. "Ready." Zelenka said. He took Tammy's hand as he looked down at her. "You just have to close your eyes and think about leaving, and you'll come out. If we see that you are in distress, we'll bring you out. Do you understand?" "Yes, thank you, Radik." She said, then closed her eyes. "Let's do it." Interior-Virtual Reality, Ancient Cruiser Merassipal 1240 Hours 'Oh wow, this is freaky.' Tammy thought as she appeared in a corridor of the ancient ship. She looked around, then turned and strode down the corridor. She walked quickly, turning randomly, but didn't see any of the crew. Stopping at a door, she palmed it open, smiling as she saw several people working at stations around the room. "Excuse me." She said as she stepped through the door. "Could you take me to the captain please?" * * * * * "Who are you, and how did you get onboard this ship?" First Officer Meria asked as she stopped just outside the cell in the detention center. She stared at Tammy through the bars. "I am Lady Tammy Ford, a queen of Atlantis." Tammy smiled. "And before you say it, I know that your Atlantis was ruled by a council, not a queen. Well, in our case, queens." She looked down, and an envelope appeared in her hand. She held it out to Meria. "Would you give this to the captain please, and tell him that I'll see him in his quarters in ten minutes?" She said as she laid the envelope on the thick metal bars. She smiled at Meria, then closed her eyes, thinking about exiting the virtual environment. Meria stared into the empty cell, unable to believe that she had just seen the women inside it disappear in front of her eyes. After a moment, she picked up the envelope and hurried toward the bridge. * * * * * "Okay. I made contact with the first officer, and gave her a message for the captain." Tammy said as she sat up, looking back and forth between Zelenka and McKay. "I said I'd see him in his quarters in ten minutes, so we have a little time. What are you seeing from this end?" "You're looking good." McKay said, holding up his laptop so she could see the telemetry. "You didn't have any problems, didn't feel disoriented?" "No, I was fine." Tammy smiled. "It looks a little weird in there, everything is, I don't know...everything is sharp, and well defined, but there's a difference. I..." "I know what you mean." McKay said, nodding in agreement. "I saw the same thing when I went in there on the Aurora. It's not the lighting, but everything is whiter, and cleaner, if that makes any sense." "That's a good description, Rodney. It does look almost sterile in there." She said as she laid back down. "Gimme a minute, then put me back in. It's almost time." * * * * * The first officer was sitting in a chair watching the captain pace back and forth in front of his desk when Tammy appeared just inside the door. He stopped, his eyes going wide as he saw her, and the note he was holding slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor. "I see you got my message, captain." Tammy said lightly, walking over and holding out her hand. "I'm Tammy Ford. I'm sorry, but I didn't get your name." "Kerus Mar, Captain of the Merassipal." He replied, staring at her as he took her hand. "I...I don't know what to make of this. How did you get onboard my ship, and how did you get in here? There are guards at the door." Tammy smiled as she leaned down, picking up the note and handing it to him. "Didn't you read my note, or didn't you believe it?" She asked, looking around the room. She stepped over and sat on a couch, patting the seat beside her. "Come sit with me, we have a lot to talk about." Confirming Carter Bk. 04 Expansion Ch. 01 Meria turned her chair, moving it closer as Kerus went over and sat next to Tammy. "One of our ships recently found the space station Creonimus, along with the Merassipal, and her sister ships, the Anophinus, Crelopelion, Rorceliea and Konasinil. They were in what we call Sector 522R7." Tammy said, pausing as a pad and a pen appeared in her hands. She jotted down several strings of ancient symbols, tore off the sheet and handed it to him. "These are the coordinates we found you at." Kerus took the sheet and glanced at it, then handed it to his first officer. "That is our current position in the Relleia system. We just completed a refit on the Creonimus. But you're mistaken, there are no other ships in the area." Tammy shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving his. "I'm sorry captain, but there's more that I haven't told you." She said. "You and your crew are in stasis pods aboard your ship, and are existing in an artificial, or virtual environment." "What you say isn't possible." Kerus said, glancing at his first officer. "If we were in the stasis pods, we would be aware of it. The virtual reality system would update us on the ships status." "That may have been how it was designed, captain, but that's not what's happening." She paused, taking his hand before she continued. "The truth is, almost ten thousand years have passed, your fellow Atlantian's have abandoned Atlantis, and fled the Pegasus galaxy. They were losing the war with the Wraith, and saw no other choice if they were to survive." Meria leapt to her feet, glaring at Tammy. She looked over at Kerus as she spoke. "She's lying captain!" She said harshly. "We've only been here for a few weeks. Our scans of the system show no other vessels besides the Creonimus. We should have orders soon to..." "Is she, Meria?" Kerus said slowly, not taking his eyes off Tammy. "Explain how she got on this ship undetected, dressed as she is. You said yourself that she disappeared right in front of your eyes..." "I can show you." Tammy said, glancing over at Meria, then back at Kerus. "I have people outside, on the real Merassipal. We could revive you, so you can see for yourself." She paused, her hand closing over his. "But I have to tell you that there is a risk to doing this. Your bodies are nearly moribund, and you will not be able to live long outside the pods. Just reviving you may kill you. I'm sorry, but you have to know the truth." Kerus nodded. "I believe you, but I have to see for myself." He said, releasing her hand and getting to his feet. He turned and looked at Tammy. "Show me." She nodded, closing her eyes. * * * * * When she opened them, McKay was looking down at her. "Are you okay?" He asked, helping her sit up. "What happened?" "I told the captain and the first officer what's going on." She said as she swung her feet over the side and hopped off the platform. "She didn't believe me, the first officer, but the captain did." She walked down the row of pods, stopping next to one. She looked over at Zelenka and McKay. "He wants to see for himself, and I told him that we could revive him, but only for a short time." She said as she looked over the controls. "I told him that he couldn't live long outside the pod, and that just bringing him out could kill him, but he wants to see." "I don't think that's a goo..." McKay began. "I don't care, Rodney." She said, glancing over at him. "I'd want to see too, if I were in his place. So are you going to help me do this, or do I have to do it myself?" * * * * * "Don't move, Kerus." Tammy said as he groaned, then took several gasping breaths. "We need to make sure the life support system is still running. Just relax, and keep your eyes closed." Kerus nodded, not moving on the platform as he listened to them working around him. He could feel his body, and knew before he even opened his eyes that what she had said was true. Tammy held her hand over his eyes, leaning close to speak softly in his ear. "Open your eyes slowly, Kerus. Let them get used to the light. Take your time, we don't have to hurry." Blurry images appeared as he opened his eyes, and he squeezed them shut as the glare burned his retinas. He grimaced and blinked several times, then tried again. "Slowly Kerus. Let your eyes get used to the light." Tammy said softly, moving her hand away from his face. "It's been a while since you've used them." Kerus turned his head, following the sound of her voice. His vision cleared slowly, and the area near the pods gradually came into focus. "I'm right here, Kerus." Tammy said, stepping back from his pod. "Can you see me?" "Yes." He croaked, his vocal cords straining over that single word. McKay came up beside her, showing her his laptop. "We have to put him back in, he's not going to last long like this." He said quietly. "We may have taken years off his life as it is." Tammy nodded, stepping up to the pod. Tears ran down her cheeks as she looked down at him. "I'm sorry, Kerus. But we have to put you back in." She said gently. "If we don't, you may not survive." Kerus closed his eyes, his head moving as he tried to nod. He felt the tray he was laying on moving, and a moment later, his quarters appeared around him. * * * * * He turned, and as he looked, Tammy appeared beside him, and reached out, taking his hands in her's. "I...I felt your tears on my face." He said. He looked over at Meria, then walked over and stood in front of her. "She speaks the truth, Meria." He said quietly. "I could feel my body, and it is old, terribly old. We cannot leave this place. If we do, we will die." "Then what will become of us captain?" Meria asked, her face going pale. Her legs felt weak, so she stepped back, dropping heavily into a chair. "And what will we tell the crew?" "If I may?" Tammy said, coming over to join them. "I'd suggest not saying anything to the crew just yet. We may have some options that will make it possible for you to live on as you are, and still make a contribution." She nodded toward the couch, then went over and sat down, waiting for Kerus to join her. "Before I go into what we might be able do for you, let me tell you what's happened over the last ten thousand years, how we came to Atlantis, what we've been doing, and how we found you." Interior-Col. Carter's Suite, Kitchen 1400 Hours "Can we have the room?" Tammy said as she walked into the kitchen. She went over and stepped into Sam's arms, burying her face in her shoulder as she hugged her tightly. "Are you okay, baby?" Sam asked her, running her hands gently over her back. Tammy just shook her head, and Sam looked over at Cisco. "Clear the floor, Cisco." She said quietly. "We'll call you when we need you." He nodded, waiting as people filed passed him, then followed them out. "Do you want to lie down?" Sam asked her as Tammy cried quietly into her shoulder. "Do you want something to drink? I can get you..." "A drink sounds good." Tammy whispered as she raised her head off Sam's shoulder, looking her in the eyes. "I think I'm going to need a few." "What happened? Did they..." Sam asked as Tammy released her. She went over and got glasses out of the cabinet, then pulled several bottles from the fridge. "They were amazing, Sam." Tammy said as she took a bottle from her. She twisted off the top and upended it, taking several long gulps from it. When she pulled it away, she sat it on the table and looked at it, her breath coming in soft pants. "Wow, I've never seen you drink like that." Sam said as she came around the table and started to sit next to her. "No, don't do that. Sit where you usually do." Tammy said, reaching for the bottle again. "I need normal right now." "Okay." Sam said, sliding a glass over to her as she slid into her seat. "But use a glass this time. That's normal." They say quietly, not speaking for several minutes, then Tammy looked over at Sam "The captain's name is Kerus Mar, and his first officer is named Meria." She said, filling her glass, then holding the bottle out to Sam. When Sam shook her head, she sat the bottle on the table and continued. "I told them about what had happened to their people and Atlantis over the last ten thousand years, how we came to Atlantis, and how we stumbled across them." "How did they take it?" Sam asked, picking up the bottle and filling her own glass. She screwed the top back on the bottle and sat it off to the side as she looked over at Tammy. "He took it pretty well. I don't know if Meria is going to make it though." Tammy answered. "She was devastated. By the time I was finished, she was in tears, and there was no consoling her. Everyone she knew and loved is either dead or ascended, and what's worse, she thinks they let their people down, by not being there for them." "It wasn't their fault." Sam said. "They..." "I tried to tell her that, but she wouldn't listen." Tammy said. "Kerus finally had his chief medical officer sedate her. I think he's afraid of what she might do." "What did he think about your plan, to have them join us, if we can make it work?" "He was all for it. The good thing there is, his crew thinks they've only been in that system for a few weeks, so when we tell them that we're bringing them into the new Atlantian navy, to serve actively with their sister ships..." "What about the other ship, the Konasinil? Did you tell him..." Sam asked. Fresh tears sprang from Tammy's eyes, and she buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed, but before Sam could get up and go to her, she threw her head back, wiping her eyes as she took a deep breath. "They're dead. Kerus said that once the VR failed, their consciousness was gone. All that's left is an empty husk." She said haltingly, still trying to catch her breath. "The kindest thing we can do for them is to shut the pods down, and let them rest in peace." "Oh god, Tammy. I'm so sorry." Sam said, getting up and coming around the table. She got Tammy to her feet and led her out of the kitchen. When they got to the bedroom, Sam guided Tammy down onto the bed, then slid up next to her, cradling her in her arms, rocking her, and making soothing noises. "You did a good thing today, sweetie." She whispered. "I know it hurts. But it's going to be okay. Go ahead and let it out...that's right, just let it go." * * * * * Interior-Conference room, North Tower 1500 Hours "We spoke to Pharris, and told her about the station. She was talking to her people when we left." Carter told the group as she paced back and forth behind her chair. "So they should be here shortly. What I want to talk about before they get here, is do we tell them about the cruisers? Thoughts? Anyone?" "No. There's no need to advertise." Caldwell said quickly. "It's bad enough that you told them about the station before we've had a chance to go through it. We know that there are other ships docked, but we don't know what kind yet." "I agree." Shepphard said. "Give them some of the ships that are docked, but don't say anything about the cruisers. That should be need to know." "They're going to find out." Sandi put in. "If we tell them now, it shows that we're dealing honestly with them. If we try to hide it, it may jeopardize other plans." "Andi? You want to weigh in on this?" She asked Samuels. "Both arguments are valid." Samuels said slowly. She paused, as if considering what she was going to say next very carefully. "But I have to agree with John and Steven. This should be need to know. We can always tell them about the cruisers later, they don't need to know when we found them." "Ronin?" "Tell them. They're our partners, either we trust them or we don't. If we don't, why are we working with them?" "Teyla?" "Your relationship with the Travelers is built on trust, and mutual respect. They will understand if you do not offer them any of these cruisers. They will not understand if you try to hide this from them." "Spoils of war...and our finding these cruisers is a result of the Ancients war with the Wraith." Tammy said, looking around the table. "It also falls under the law of finders keepers. Waleen, Arrin and Pharris are going to understand that. Larrin, on the other hand, is going to pitch a bitch when she finds out." Cisco stepped into the room and spoke quietly to Carter. She nodded and turned to face the group. "They're coming through the gate, so we have about two minutes to decide. Let's go around the tab..." "No...these are our ships, your's and mine. We own them." Tammy said, looking over at Sam. "So tell me, my queen, what do you want to do?" "I want to keep our ships in our navy, that's what I want to do. My queen." Sam said, bowing towards her. "Then that's what we're going to do. We tell them everything, but those ships stay in our navy, no one else's." Ronin stood up, and Sam glanced over her shoulder, thinking the Travelers had arrived. She looked back at him when he started clapping. "I serve at the pleasure of the queens." He said as he dropped to one knee. "And I." Cisco said from the doorway, dropping to his knee, clapping his hands in time with Ronin. Shepphard and Caldwell looked at each other, then slid from their seats, each taking a knee, picking up the clap. Sandi looked around the room, then started to get to her feet. Sam smiled and waved her down, then looked around the room. "Enough. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you." She said, walking over to stand in front of Ronin. She held out her hand and pulled him to his feet when he took it. "You are indeed our protector in all things." She said softly. "Thank you." He nodded, giving her a small smile as he squeezed her hand, * * * * * "The least you can do is feed us." Larrin said as she slouched in her chair. "I've gotten used to being fed everytime I come over here. Not to mention that I'm missing breakfast." Sheppard got up and walked out of the room, but was back a moment later. "Here, eat those." He grinned as he tossed her a bag of potato chips. "Thanks." She said as she tore the bag open and took out a chip. She popped it into her mouth and chewed, then grinned at him. "Tasty. Got anything I can wash them down with. My mouth is going to get dry." "A blessing in disguise." Waleen said, then turned to Sam and Tammy. "Pharris tells us that you've made another discovery." He said. "A space station of some kind." "Yes, we have a video if you'd like to see it." Sam said. "Or we can just tell you about it." "We can watch the video later." Arrin said. "I'd like to hear more about what you found." "Evan, this was your discovery, would you be kind enough to tell our friends more about it?" Sam said, looking down the table at him. "Yes ma'am." Lorne said, getting to his feet. He touched a control on the table top, and a still image filled the large monitor at the end of the room. "This is the space station 'Creonimus', which the Apollo found in Sector 522R7 this morning. The station is eight kilometers long, three kilometers wide, and just over one kilometer high. Based on those measurements, it has a total volume more than four times that of Atlantis and Anchorage combined." "And this station is still where you found it?" Pharris asked. "No ma'am. The station has been moved, and is in orbit above us as we speak." Lorne told her. "You brought it here? Why?" Arrin asked. "Because this is where we can use it." Tammy said. "But what's even more important, this is where we can protect it." "Your next question is going to be from who." Sam said, smiling over at the Travelers. "The answer to that is, everyone. Any space travelling species out there, the Wraith, you, and anybody we don't know about. We found this station, and we're going to keep it. You're welcome to use it, and we'll want your help manning it, but it is a part of our domain." She looked down the table at Lorne. "I don't think you're finished, are you Evan?" "No ma'am." He said, trying not to smile. "We've gone through some of the logs, and along with a visual inspection, we've confirmed that there are seventy-eight docking ports, thirty-nine on each side, and a dry dock that takes up almost a third of the aft section." Lorne touched another control on the table, and the picture changed to a close-up of several of the docking ports. "As you can see, there are ships in some of the docking ports. We counted sixty-four altogether. We don't have a complete count of the ships in the dry dock at the moment." Arrin opened his mouth to speak, but Tammy spoke before he could. "We'd like to offer you twenty of the ships in the docking ports, you can pick the ones you want." She said, then turned back to Lorne. "Show them the prize, Evan." "There's a prize?" Larrin laughed, leaning forward in her chair. "It can't get any better than this!" "It does for us." Tammy said, looking down the table at Lorne. "Evan?" The image on the screen changed to a close up of the dry dock. The five Aurora class cruisers were clearly visible inside it. "These are the ancient cruisers, 'Anophinus', 'Crelopelion', 'Rorceliea', 'Merassipal' and 'Konasinil'. We detected life signs on the 'Merassipal' and 'Konasinil', and Lady Tammy entered the virtual environment they're existing in, and contacted the captain of the 'Merassipal', which has six hundred and twenty-eight active pods, or survivors. 'Konasinil' has almost three hundred active pods, but the virtual environment they were living in has failed, resulting in their consciousness being lost. They are, unfortunately, effectively dead." Tammy was watching Larrin, and when she turned toward her, she shook her head. "None." She said clearly. "We're keeping all five for our navy." Sam glanced over at the other three Travelers, but they all stared back at her with stone faced expressions. "This seems like an abundance of wealth, and it is." Sam said slowly. "We plan on sharing this bounty with you, our partners. Use of the station to repair and refurbish your ships, more ships to add to your existing fleet. Those five cruisers, however, belong to Atlantis, and will become the backbone of our navy." Pharris and Arrin nodded, but Waleen scowled as he glared down at the table. Larrin leapt to her feet, knocking her chair over behind her. "Are you going to allow this?" She shouted at her fellow council members. "Is this what partnership means, to be left out when the bounty is richest?" "You have two Aurora class cruisers in your fleet, is that correct, Larrin?" Tammy asked her. "Yes, they protec..." "How many did you offer me when I had none?" Tammy said slowly, not letting her finish. She got to her feet, and walked over in front of Larrin. "Where did you get the drones, and ZPM's for them, Larrin? Who gave you the gene therapy, trained your people on the teaching machines, offered your people safe havens, and a share of what they produce?" When Larrin didn't answer, she continued. "I did these things, Larrin. My sister queen and I, and the people of Atlantis did these things. For you. And you have the nerve to come into my home, and complain that I want to keep a few baubles for myself? How dare you!" "Baubles! You call the most pow..." "Yes." Tammy said calmly. "On the scale that Sam and I look at things, these ships are playthings, but they will serve a purpose. There's a galaxy of riches out there that the ancients left behind. We're finding pieces a little at a time. A city here, an outpost there, a few ships. But they mean nothing unless we bring them together, teach people how to use them, and build more." "I do not understand, Lady Tammy." Waleen said, looking back and forth between her and Sam. "What are you..." Confirming Carter Bk. 04 Expansion Ch. 01 "She's saying that our partnership is at an end." Pharris said softly. "What?" Waleen said, leaping to his feet. "After all the work we've put into this? You cannot do this!" "They're not ending our relationship, Waleen." Arrin said slowly. "I believe we're being asked to grow up, and join the family business." "Well put." Sam said, leaning back in her chair. "We'll need time to discuss this in..." "There is no need for talk." Larrin said looking at Tammy. "I know when banquets are being laid at my feet, even if the choicest morsels appear out of my reach." "You do not have my blood, but I would gladly call you sister." She said softly, holding her arms open. Tammy smiled as she took her face in her hands, then leaned forward, kissing her gently. She let her arms slip around Larrin's waist, pulling her closer. "And I you." * * * * * Interior-Kitchen 1740 Hours After the Travelers had left, Sam invited everyone to back to the residence with them for dinner. Pharris had accompanied the Travelers to the fleet. Andi called down and ordered food, and while they waited for it, they passed bottles around the table. "Let's pretend that I'm dense." Sandi said, looking around the table. "Would someone please explain what just happened to me?" "Don't look at me, I'm just as lost as you are." Keller said. "Did you plan that?" Andi asked, pouring a shot of bourbon. "No." Sam said lightly. "But I could tell that Tammy had something up her sleeve, so I just followed her lead." "No plan, just an idea that needed to be nudged in the right direction." Tammy said. "And you all played your parts perfectly." "Lady Tammy." Caldwell said softly. "We didn't do anything." Tammy just smiled at him. "Steven, what is your role in council?" Sheppard asked him. "To advise and report." "Who decides what action will be taken?" Samuels asked softly. "Tammy and the colonel." "So, did anyone else just feel a tremendous weight just lift off their shoulders?" Keller asked as she tossed back a shot, then refilled her glass. Smiles and laughter greeted her remark. Sandi shook her head, looking down the table at Tammy. "I still don't get it, and I'd really like to know what just happened in there." She said. "We just accepted control of the Travelers, the name will go on, but for all intents and purposes, they are now our subjects." Tammy told her. "You mean citizens of Atlantis, don't you?" Caldwell asked. "No Steven, she means that they are being taken in as subjects of our domain." Sam said, looking around the table, finally letting her gaze come to rest on Caldwell. "That means Tammy and I. We are Atlantis." He stared at her for a moment, then nodded, looking at the table. "That's not as sinister as it sounds." Samuels said lightly. "Does anyone not understand what's going on, and what we're doing here?" Tammy asked, cutting her off. She looked around the table, meeting all of their eyes. "I serve at the pleasure of the queens." Cisco and Ronin said in unison. "I figured out pretty quick, where this boat was headed." Sheppard said, looking across the table at Caldwell. "I'm in for the long haul." "I serve my queens at their pleasure." Keller said softly. "I want to see you govern, not rule." Caldwell said looking down the table at them. "We do each as required, Steven. If that's not enough, I release you from your oath, and give you back your ship." Sam said gently. "But understand, you cannot dictate the terms of your loyalty to us, it has to be all or nothing." Caldwell nodded, and looked at Teyla sitting next to him. She smiled softly, and he nodded again, then got up and moved to the end of the table. He knelt between Sam and Tammy, his head bowed. "My life, fortune, and sacred honor in your name." He said softly. "Speak, and see it done." "Protect our people to the best of your ability, love your family, and raise your children well. These things we would see you do." Sam said, laying her hand on his shoulder. "Share your wisdom and patience, and speak your mind without fear, so we may lead our people wisely." Tammy said, laying her hand on his other shoulder. Caldwell nodded as he looked between them, then stood up, bowed, and returned to his seat. * * * * * Interior-Council Chambers, Traveler Ship Qintoo 1820 Hours "Why Larrin?" Waleen barked as she came into the room. "Why would you take it upon yourself to speak for us, for our people? You had no right!" "I have every right! I am a Traveler, and a member of this council!" She said evenly, coming over to stand in front of him. She glanced over at Arrin and Pharris, who nodded for her to continue. "We knew this would come, that we would have to..." She began, but Waleen cut her off. "We cannot submit to an ultimatum! They will not resp..." "There was no ultimatum, Waleen." Arrin said as he got to his feet. "There was no show of force, no threats that I could discern. The queens merely stated that they would be keeping ships that they found, while offering to share others with us." "But they ended our alliance! The partnership! What will become of our people in their cities? How will we feed the people of the fleet without the supplies we get from Anchorage?" Waleen asked. "We are already dependent on those supplies! We..." "The queens ended nothing." Pharris said softly. "Lady Tammy's words were meant to make us think, to remind us that we need them, much more than they need us, Waleen." She looked around the room, meeting Arrin and Larrin's eyes briefly. "Arrin spoke correctly, we are being asked to grow up, and move past alliances, and partnerships. We cannot accomplish our goals, nor they their's, unless we join them, become part of them." "Had these ships not been found, I doubt if this situation would have arisen, at least not for a while." Arrin said. "The queens saw an opportunity to offer us a choice...which we now have before us." "I've made my choice." Larrin said, looking steadily at Waleen. "I will join them. And I'll take any that will follow with me." "You can't do that, Larrin! You would split the fleet, leave us defenseless!" Waleen whispered, his face ashen. "My people in Anchorage are already subject to their protection and generosity." Pharris said. "I believe they would welcome becoming full citizens of the Atlantian's domain." "But this mean an end to us, do you not understand that?" Waleen pleaded. "Arrin, you expressed that yourself to Samantha! You told her that you feared that they would bring an end to the Travelers should we follow their course!" "And she told me that she needed us, as we are, for their plans to succeed." Arrin replied. "That has not changed, Waleen. What is changing is our status. Will we be apart from them, or a part of them. That is the question before us." "No, I cannot be a part of this." Waleen said. "I respect and admire the queens, but I cannot submit our people to their will. I must resign my seat on this council." "Why do you fear them, Waleen?" Larrin asked, coming over and taking his hands. "They have been open and honest with us at every turn, their generosity knows no bounds. These people...no, these women...have a vision for this galaxy, and for the one they come from, that would reshape both, for the good of all." "I do not fear them, I fear what they would do with us, to us." Waleen said softly, not meeting her eyes. "I share Arrin's fear, that our way of life will come to an end." "Our way of life is already at an end." Pharris said. "If not now, then one, perhaps two generations at most. We were already leaving our brothers and sisters planet bound, because we could not provide for them, before we partnered with the Atlantian's. That step relieved the strain on our resources, so now we are able to provide for the people of the fleet. But our ships are dying, Waleen. You know this as well as I. The lifeblood of the Travelers spills from every leaking pipe, broken conduit, and jury rigged connection." "We cannot go on as we are." Arrin said, coming over to stand beside Larrin. "The queens would honor their agreements were we to continue down the path we are on. But joining them gives us a chance to become something greater than ourselves, and makes it possible for the Travelers to prosper and grow, not wither and die." "So you all wish to do this." Waleen said softly, looking at each of them. The other three council members nodded as he looked at them. "Then may our people forgive us for what we do today." He said. "Our people with thank us, Waleen. I promise." Arrin said. He turned and looked at Pharris. "This is best done quickly. Will you make the arrangements?" Pharris nodded, reaching over to key the comm. Interior-Living room 1850 Hours Andi came over and joined Sam and Tammy as they stood talking to Teyla and Jennifer. "I need a moment." She said, smiling at them. "Would you excuse us ladies?" Teyla and Jennifer nodded and moved over to stand with John and Steven. Teyla slipped her arm through Caldwell's as she stood beside him. "What can we do for you, Andi?" Sam asked. "I just heard from Pharris, the council wants to talk to you, as soon as possible." Samuels said softly. "We would be pleased to have them join us, Andi." Sam said. "Ask them to join us here, as soon as they can." "As you sure, Sam?" Andi asked. "Wouldn't the confer..." "If we're going to welcome them to the family, we'd prefer to do it in our home." Sam replied. "It just seems more fitting." Samuels just looked at her for a moment, then nodded and bowed slightly before she moved away. "Ronin." Tammy said, looking across the room at him. Ronin stepped over, bowing as he stood front of them, then waited for her to speak. "The Traveler council is coming back. You and Cisco meet them at the gate, and bring them here." She told him. Ronin nodded, motioning for Cisco to join him as he headed for the porter. "They're on the way." Samuels said a moment later. "If you'll excuse me, I'll go meet them at the gate." "Ronin and Cisco are meeting them at the gate." Tammy told her. She reached out and took her hand, drawing her closer, so she was standing beside her. "Tell us what Pharris had to say when you talked." "She said the council wanted to talk, as soon as possible. She didn't go into details." Tammy nodded, and squeezed her hand, a small smile on her face. * * * * * Ronin and Cisco stepped from the porter, taking up positions on either side of it. The Travelers stepped out, standing in front of the porter as the doors closed behind them. "The Traveler council requests an audience with the queens." Ronin said. "Will you receive them?" "We are always happy to receive our friends the Travelers." Sam said as they walked over, stopping in front of them. "We wish to be more than friends." Larrin said, stepping forward. "We wish to be part of what you are building, subject to your domain, and your will." "As the ruling council, you speak for the Travelers, but is this truly what all of your people wish?" Tammy asked, looking at Larrin, then the other councilors. "Yes." Pharris said, stepping forward. "Our people know what you have done for us. Our people in Anchorage are already subject to your protection and generosity, and they will welcome being under your leadership." "When we took Atlantis, we gave our people a choice." Sam told them. "Stay with us, and help make this city great again, and help us improve the lives of the peoples of this galaxy, and our home galaxy. Many left, and returned home to Earth. But more stayed, and you see what they have done." "The same choice is given to every new citizen we invite to our cities." Tammy said, reaching out to take Larrin and Pharris' hands. "We ask that you offer your people that choice. Let them join us of their own free will, or go their own way, as each decides for themselves." "You wish us to put this to a vote among our people?" Waleen asked, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Many will not want to join you. What you ask will splinter the fleet, and spread our people across the stars." "Yes, that may very well be true, Waleen." Sam said, looking at him steadily. "But understand, we do not want your people as servants, or serfs. We want them as useful, productive citizens. And that requires that they decide for themselves." "This is wisdom beyond what I could have hoped for." Arrin said softly. "But what you ask will take time. The fleet is spread across the galaxy." "What of the people that do not wish to join us?" Larrin asked. "These are our brothers and sisters, we cannot simply abandon them." "Any that decide not to join us will be given ships. They can have all the ships docked on our new station." Tammy said. "If they need more, you will give them the best of what you have, we will find, or build you others to replace them." "We ask that you speak to your people as soon as you can, and give us their answer in seven days." Sam said, looking at each of them. "We will welcome any that wish to join us with joy in our hearts, and assist any that wish to seek their own path in any way we can." "I have decided, and the people I lead will follow me." Larrin said. "They will be given a choice as you ask, but they will follow me, I swear it." "Yes, sister, I believe what you speak is true." Tammy said, taking her hand and leading her across the room into an open space. "But I have another task for you, if you will accept it." "You have but to ask...my queen." Larrin said softly. Tammy nodded and smiled, then looked over at Sam, holding her hand out to her. "Knights of Atlantis, stand forward!" She said as Sam joined her. The four knights present stepped closer, standing at attention behind Larrin. "Gentlemen, do you believe this woman to be worthy of the honor we wish to bestow on her this day?" Tammy said. "Speak!" "The Lady Larrin stood with us against the replicators, leading her people's ships with skill and honor." Caldwell said. "She's a skilled fighter." Ronin said. "She has been an honorable ally." Cisco said. "Sir John? You have not spoken." Sam said after a moment. "The Lady Larrin is all the things my brothers say, and more." Sheppard said quietly. "I would be proud to have her standing at my side in your service." "Well said, Sir John." Tammy smiled, then turned to Larrin. "Larrin of the Travelers, we ask that you honor us by joining our service." She said. "We understand that you may require the consent of your council, should you wish to seek it." "I need no ones consent. I will do this thing you ask." She said. "In recognition of your service your people, and the city of Atlantis, we wish to reward you with honors befitting your loyalty and your deeds. Do you accept this honor, and pledge to serve us faithfully and well?" "I do, my queens." Larrin said, her head bowed. "Please kneel." Larrin dropped to one knee, her head bowed. Tammy reached out with her spoon, and laid it gently on each of her shoulders. She handed the spoon to Sam, and watched as she repeated the process. "Rise, Lady Larrin." Tammy said, reaching down to help her to her feet. "Welcome to the Knighthood of Atlantis. May we serve each other well." The knights behind her began applauding as they stepped forward, gathering around her. The applause was picked up quickly by the others in the room, as they came over to congratulate Larrin. Sam waited a few minutes, giving everyone time to speak to Larrin, then took Tammy's hand, and stepped away from the group. She smiled as she looked over at Pharris. "Pharris of the Travelers, would you stand forward please?" She said. Pharris looked at her, a puzzled expression on her face as she stepped closer. "Samantha, I am too old, and no..." "Your efforts on our behalf have not gone unnoticed, and should not go unrewarded." Sam said. "Your management and stewardship of our city Anchorage, and the lands surrounding it, have made it possible to settle three hundred thousand of your people on the plains, working the land, and another twenty thousand, building and working the mines in the southern mountains." "Another thirty thousand live in Anchorage itself, running the cities factories, to produce foodstuffs for us all, and making repairs, so that in the very near future, she will once again be able to go into space, as she was meant to." Tammy added. "We would name you Duchess of Anchorage, Lord of that city, and all the lands surrounding it." Sam said. "And we beg you to continue to care for our city, and shephard the people that live there. Will you accept this terrible burden, and do this thing for us?" Stunned silence greeted her remarks, and Pharris stared at her with a look of disbelief on her face. "Sama...my queens, please, this is too much! I..." She said quietly when she was finally able to speak. "The reward fits the achievement, and we ask you to accept." Sam said softly, taking her hands. "There is no one else we trust more to care for our city and our people, and this is how we would show you that." Pharris nodded, and Sam drew her closer, putting her arms around her. "Lady Larrin, about that task I mentioned earlier." Tammy said, reaching out and grabbing her hand. "I would speak more of it now, if you would humor me." "I thought that..." "No, knighting you was a formality, but a pleasant one. The Knighthood had become a boys club, and I just fixed that." Tammy laughed. "No, I have something different in mind, I'm going to put your ass to work." "What would you have me do my queen?" Larrin asked, trying not to smile. "I want you to take command of our new space station." Caldwell, barely managed to turn his head so he could avoid spitting his drink all over Teyla. When he recovered, he turned toward Tammy. "Can you think of anyone better qualified for the job, Steven?" She looked around the room. "John? Teyla, Arrin or Waleen, can any of you name even one person more qualified to run that station, and get it up to speed so we can use it?" "When you put it that way, no, I can't." Caldwell said grudgingly. "Steven, you are our Lord of the Admiralty, and commander of the navy, because you're the best man for the job. John commands the royal forces, because that's what he does best." She said, smiling gently at him. "Ronin is Head of the Household Guard, and Cisco his Captain of the Guard, because we trust them to protect our lives, and our dignity." "In this endeavor we call Atlantis, only the best are going to get the job done, so that is what we require." Sam said, coming over to stand next to Tammy. "Even with the best people giving us their best efforts, it still may not be enough. But we ask you to be patient with us, we know what we want to do, and where we want to go." "So what do you say, Larrin? Are you up to the task we're asking of you?" Tammy asked, turning back to Larrin' A slow smile spread across Larrin's face. She nodded as she said, "I'll have a status report for you tomorrow, my queen." * * * * * "Steven." Sam said quietly as she stepped up beside him. "Would you join Tammy and I in the office for a moment." "Of course my queen." He said, glancing over at Teyla before he followed her across the room. "Have a seat, Steven." Tammy said as she closed the door and sat in the chair closest to it. "My queens." He said as he turned to face them. "I..." "Relax, Steven. We know we've been blindsiding you all day, and you've just been reacting as you should." Sam said, smiling at him. "You have our complete faith in your loyalty. Now please, have a seat, we have some things we need to discuss with our Lord of the Admiralty, and commander of the navy." Confirming Carter Bk. 04 Expansion Ch. 01 Caldwell nodded and sat down, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs. "Those five cruisers are manned by a crew of over seven hundred each. That's more than thirty-five hundred bodies." Tammy said. "If we can get the Merrisapal crew online, running live with our people, we can bring that number down to thirty-two hundred." "That means, you're either going to have to go into the labor pool, or the Traveler fleet for manpower." Sam said. "Would you agree with that?" "Yes ma'am, I already did a database search for matching skills. Dr. Zelenka pulled the schematics for them, and we were going to go through and find the required training over the next few days." "Good." Sam said, nodding. "Next item. Get one of your people, and I mean someone from your department that you trust, to go through those station logs. They've already been downloaded to memory modules, and one will be on your desk in the morning. We want to know what was done to every ship on that station, especially the Aurora class, with an emphasis on anything that's going to cause us a problem." "Now the part you're not going to like." Tammy said. "We want to give Earth some ships. Not tomorrow, but sometime in the near future. Once we see what the Travelers are going to do, and what we're going to have to give them, we'll want to know what else we can give up." "We'd like you to tell us which you'd prefer to give up, the Apollo and an Aurora class, or the Daedalus and Apollo." Sam said, watching him closely. "That's easy." Caldwell laughed. "The Apollo and an Aurora. There's no way I'm giving up Daedalus, you're going to have to scrape my corpse out of that chair." "Even if I offered you an Aurora class for yourself?" Sam grinned. "Daedalus is the flagship of the Atlantian fleet. The fleet commander sails on the flagship, whether they're in command or not." "But before we start giving away ships." He went on. "We need to get with Zelenka, and see if we can outfit the Aurora's with the Asgard beam technology. We should do the same thing with any ancient, or Traveler ships we can get our hands on. The transport beams are more efficient than the ring systems the ancient ships use, and the beam weapons would be a good addition to any vessel." "Talk to Zelenka about that first thing in the morning, and get him started on it. You can bring McKay in if you want, but Zelenka takes the lead." Sam said. "Get with Sheppard when you need to see who you're going to have to pull from his guys. We're going to want our people in command and control positions on these new ships, at least until we get the crews shaken out, and see who's really on our side." "That's all I've got." She said, looking over at Tammy. "You got anything else, hon?" "Yeah, get with Larrin as soon as you can to arrange transport. We're going to want that station staffed, I'd say a thousand to start, then five thousand a week like we did with Anchorage." Tammy said. "It might just be easier to bring them in by ship and ring them over. If you want the truth, I really don't want all those people traipsing through my gateroom." * * * * * Interior-Conference Room, North Tower 2100 Hours "We're sorry for asking you to join us so late, but many of you weren't involved in most of what went on today." Sam said as she looked around the room. Every seat at the table was filled, and people sat in chairs around the outside of the room. "Jack, you and Bra'Tac had the boys all day, and we can't tell you how much we appreciate that. Daniel, I don't have a good reason why I didn't include you and Vala. To be honest, I could have used input from both of you several times today." "That's okay, Sam." O'Neill laughed, leaning back in his chair. "From what I heard, you expanded your navy, and added a couple million new citizens." "I guess you didn't hear that they added a knight, and made Pharris a Duchess." Daniel said lightly. "Lord of Anchorage, and all the lands surrounding it. I'm curious though, what does all that really mean? Are you going by the traditional definition, or do you have one of your own?" "Yes, we knighted Larrin, for her actions in the fight with the replicators, and her ongoing support in our recent efforts." Sam said casually, leaning back in her chair. "Pharris was rewarded with the title of Duchess for her management of Anchorage. As to what that entails, it means that she is lord and master of those lands, to manage in our name. The city and the lands surrounding them remain part of our domain." "That sounds like an empty title, Sam." Daniel said, trying not to smile. "Yes and no, Daniel." Tammy told him. "It is an empty title at the moment, like all the others we've bestowed. But as we grow, and begin selling our goods across the galaxy, you will all share in the proceeds. The only title we've offered with a perk attached was to Chuck. We told him that if he could get Anchorage space worthy in less than a year, we would make him an earl, and give him the next ancient outpost we found. Subject to our domain, and the laws of Atlantis, of course." "We're on schedule to complete repairs in ten months." Chuck said, grinning broadly. "I need to bring another thousand workers online this month, and I'm going to need metals, some of the upper levels have really been abused. I..." "No one cares, Chuck." Andi said, getting her a laugh from around the table. "I thought it was a bad idea when I heard it, and I think it's a worse one now, you polygamist moron." "Uh, why are Fran and I here?" Rodney asked, holding his hand in the air. "This looks like a council meeting. All the senior advisors are here, and..." "I was wondering that myself." Sandi said. "You're here because we value Fran's opinion." Tammy laughed. "And you might come in handy with a couple projects we have in the works." "So, does anyone have any other questions about why I love her?" Sam laughed, reaching over to take her hand. "I thought it was because she was good in bed." Keller muttered, then blushed furiously. "Oh my god, did I just say that out loud? I am so sorry...really, I didn't mean..." "Don't worry about it, Jenn." Tammy laughed. "I am that good in bed." "Can we talk about what happened with the Travelers?" Sheppard asked. "One minute, Tammy is bitch slapping Larrin, the next minute, they're talking about ending our partnership and joining the family business. An hour later, they're back, asking to become part your domain, and you're knighting Larrin and handing out titles." He grinned suddenly, leaning forward. "And when you start handing out more titles, I want to be a duke, or at least a count, whichever is higher." He said. "Duke, earl, count, and marquis, in that order, are the major titles used in most of Europe, at least in the countries that still recognize royalty." Daniel told him, "I'll send you a list." "I'd like to know more about how you pulled that off too." Andi said. "Their reaction is not something that could be accurately predicted by any modeling method that I'm aware of." "Don't look at me. This was all her." Sam said, jerking her thumb toward Tammy. "I just followed her lead." "And you did such a good job!" Tammy laughed, reaching over and pinching her cheek. "Seriously, Tammy." Andi said. "How did you know what they would do, or how did you get them to do what you wanted." Tammy grinned as she looked down the table at Bra'Tac. "I may have had some small part in this affair." Bra'Tac said, looking over at Andi. "No, Master Bra'tac, you were instrumental in what we brought about today." Tammy said. "Without your insights, I would never have attempted what I did today." "You ratted on your girlfriend?" O'Neill asked Bra'Tac, turning to look at him. "No confidences were betrayed. Pharris was aware that I spoke to the queens of our ongoing plans." Bra'Tac told him, then turned, looking back down the table at Tammy. "She also shared information about the dealings on the council, that she wished to reach the queens ears. My visits with Gerran, my trenkalmah, or grandchild, provided opportunities to share information as it was acquired." "So you knew that there was what, discontent in the council?" Caldwell asked. "Is that why you targeted Larrin like you did?" "Oh god no!" Tammy laughed. "After Pharris, Larrin is our staunchest ally in the council. It was Waleen I needed to work on. I needed him to believe that we were cutting them loose." "I've spoken to Arrin privately several times, and he expressed a desire to bypass the partnership, and join us, as citizens. He also told me that Waleen was having second thoughts about what they were doing. He never expected this to progress so rapidly, or succeed as well as it has, He's been trying to gum up the works, but the others have managed to work around him." "But Waleen seemed to be the most interested when we took them to Anchorage that first time." Andi said. "What happened?" "He saw his authority being undermined." Sam told her. "When Pharris didn't resign from the council, not because she didn't want to, but because they never seriously looked for a replacement, the power in the council shifted to her. Arrin and Larrin followed her lead, since she was getting results." "So Pharris and Arrin were in on your little drama?" Sheppard. "What about Larrin? Was she in on it?" "Pharris and Arrin were working off a script that Bra'Tac and Pharris had worked out for this eventuality." Sam said. "That's why we talked to her, and told her about the station." "Larrin, bless her heart." Tammy laughed. "Oh my god, she played her part perfectly, even though she had no idea what was happening. We told Pharris not to bring her in, we needed her to react normally, and she did exactly as expected." "Except that bit at the end." Sam said, looking over at Tammy "I didn't expect the 'You do not have my blood, but I would gladly call you sister.' routine. And did you have to kiss her like that?" "No, I just wanted to." Tammy laughed. "I mean really, Sam! The girl is seriously hot!" "Yeah, I wouldn't mind getting a piece of that myself." Sam whispered, leaning close so only Tammy could hear her. "Anyway, now that you know the how, and the why is pretty obvious, we need to talk about what's next." Tammy said "The first question is, what are we going to do with, and about our million and a half new citizens." "Excuse me, Tammy." Teyla said. "But even with the people they already have settled around Anchorage, there are still more than two million Travelers, spread across more than ten thousand ships." "Well, my numbers are based on what we saw when we gave people a choice to go back to Earth, or stay here with us." Tammy told her. "We lost almost twenty-five percent on that first day." "I do not believe your numbers are correct." Teyla answered. "The circumstances are different. Your people were scientists and military personnel, who came from Earth, to live and work in Atlantis. The Travelers are families, many of whom have inter-married over thousands of years. These people will not only be asked if they wish to leave the Traveler fleet, but to leave their families, and the only homes they have ever known. The heads of families will make this decision for all, and they will follow." "What would you estimate our losses will be, can you give us a number?" Sam asked. "No more than ten percent." Teyla said. "But probably much lower. Family loyalty is strong among the Travelers. They value it above all else." "So we're looking at losing fewer than two hundred thousand from those remaining in the fleet." Tammy said softly. "Which leaves us more that one point eight million people spread across ten thousand ships, which are spread willy nilly across the Pegasus galaxy, most of them probably in need of some kind of repair." "Badly in need of repair." Teyla said. "The newest ships in the Traveler fleet are hundreds of years old, most are many thousands." Tammy turned and looked at Sam, giving her a wry smile. "I'm sorry, Sam, but I think I just bought us a pig in a poke." She said, frowning slightly. "No, I think we just found a bag off uncut diamonds, mixed in with a shit load of quartz." Sam laughed. "The hard part is going to be trying to figure out which ones are gems worth polishing, and which ones are just rocks." "Even quartz has it's value." Zelenka said from the end of the table. "Not now, Mr. Wizard." McKay said snidely, glaring across the room at Zelenka. "We're trying to..." "No, I'd like to hear what he has to say." Tammy said. "Go on Radik." "Diamonds and quartz are very similar in outward appearance, as the colonel says." He said, leaning forward as he warmed to his subject. "It takes someone trained in gemology to tell them apart at a glance. We, or I should say, the Travelers have people trained in the diagnostics of ships. But we have yet another resource, our new station. Based on what I've seen in the schematics, the docking ports have automatic diagnostic and repair systems. The ship is connected to the port with an umbilical, which reads the ships logs to determine what repairs are needed." "And you said that this process is automated?" Caldwell asked. "Both the diagnostics and repair?" "Yes, a complete refit on a vessel the size of the Daedalus would take less than ten days." "Provided you had the materials on hand to make the repairs." Sheppard said. "We have the materials. Based on information in the logs, the holds are full." Zelenka told him. "If the logs are correct, there is enough material onboard to build a hundred Aurora class cruisers, or repair several thousand smaller ships." "We can build the Aurora class in that station?" Caldwell asked. "Yes, but that process is done in the drydock, and takes almost a year for each ship." "Could you build a Daedalus class vessel?" "Yes, if we had the plans in a format that could be fed into the stations computers, a ship that size could be built in less then a month." "Let's get back to repairs for a minute." Tammy said, looking down the table at Teyla. "You're more familiar that any of us with the Traveler fleet." She said slowly. "How much bigger than a Daedalus class would you say the average ship in the fleet is? I understand that they have the Aurora's, and..." "I would say that most, more than half, if not two-thirds, are not much larger than the Daedalus." Teyla replied quickly. "Those are the backbone of the fleet, and house much of their population. The larger ships are transports and warships, which I believe are kept in much better repair." "So conservatively, even if we doubled the estimate on the repair time, we're still talking about being able to repair or refit fourteen hundred ships a year." Tammy said as she did some quick calculations. "And let's say that there's six thousand of that size ship, we're looking at being able to refurbish the living area of the Traveler fleet in a little over five years." "While we'll still have to repair most, if not all of those ships eventually, we have sixty new ships that can be used." Caldwell said slowly. He glanced over at McKay, then at Carter. "But there's a resource we haven't considered. Dr. McKay has finished the Wraith tech interface, and it's being tested on both a cruiser and a hive." He said, looking around the table. "Yes, that interface is finished and is being tested." McKay said quickly. "But to be honest, it's severely limited in just what it can do in terms of controlling those ships. We still have..." "Can the ships be controlled well enough to be piloted from point A to point B, Dr. McKay?" Caldwell asked. "More importantly, will your interface device allow users to control the environmental and life support systems?" "Yes, the interface will allow that level of control." McKay answered. "The life support system would require a separate interface. But you need to understand, you're not going to being doing any fancy maneuvers in these ships. Right now, going from point A to point B is all you're going to get." "That's good enough for now." Caldwell said, looking down the table at Carter. "We have almost twenty hives, and fifty cruisers tagged, and if we fit them with those control interfaces, they can be used to temporarily replace the ships that are being repaired." "That's a good idea, Steven." Sheppard said from the end of the table. "But keep in mind, that station still needs to be manned, and judging from what Lorne said about the volume of it, we may be able house to up to half a million people on it, if push comes to shove." "The station requires a crew of just over one hundred thirty thousand." Zelenka put in. "I haven't looked at what spaces there are on the station, but Col. Sheppard may be correct. We may be able to house a considerable number of people on it if we need to." "I think we're getting ahead of ourselves." Tammy said, looking around the table. "But I like that you're thinking ahead. Let's wait till we see how many new citizens we're actually going to be bringing in. In the mean time, we can get with Pharris and Arrin, and have them start scheduling ships to come in for refit and repair." "We gave them a week to get an answer from the fleet, so we can use that time to study the station, see what training is needed for its systems, and start getting ready to crew it up." Carter said. "John and Steven, get with Larrin in the morning and work out how we're going to do that. I want our people in command and control positions, but the rest of the crew is going to have to come from the travelers and the labor pool here in Atlantis." She looked around the table, smiling as she saw people talking to each other and making notes. "I think this would be a good time to call it a night." She said as she got to her feet. "Don't spend too much time on this tonight unless you really want to. I'd like reports from department heads tomorrow afternoon, and an action plan sometime in the next forty-eight hours." "Feel free to stay and socialize. or come over to the residence for a nightcap." Tammy added. She glanced over at the two androids sitting in a corner at the end of the table. "Boris and Angelo, get a move on. I'd like to spend some time with Jacob before we put him down for the night." "Yes mistress." Boris said, lifting Jacob and getting his settled in his babypack. "Right behind you, doll. I'd follow that sweet little ass of yours anywhere." Angelo grinned. "I guess that's better than 'you got it boss'." Sam muttered as she took Tammy's hand. "You're just jealous." Tammy laughed. "But he's right, I do have a sweet little ass..." Interior-Col. Carter's Suite, Bedroom 2340 Hours "Enough." Sam grunted, pushing Boris away as she sprawled on the bed, then rolled over onto her back. She ran her hand lazily up and down over his hairless chest as he stretched out beside her, then leaned over and kissed him gently. "Mmmmmm, you made mama feel so good tonight, baby." She said softly. "You're such a good boy." "Thank you mistress." Boris said, staring at her blandly. "Are you going to let him stay in here again?" Tammy asked as she slid over and snuggled against her. "Yeah, I like having him here, he makes me feel safe." Sam said, rolling over and putting her arms around her. "Besides, Jacob likes sleeping on him, so I get to have both of them with me." "Our little princeling does seem to prefer Boris to Angelo." Tammy laughed. "He'll let Angelo feed him, or change his diaper, but he starts to cry every time he tries to hold him." "That's because he knows Angelo is an asshole." Sam laughed. "And he doesn't hold him the same way Boris does. Boris cradles and snuggles with him, Angelo holds him like he's just a bundle of meat. You're going to have to do something about that, or your daughter is going to do the same thing."