Confirming Carter Day6
By RibaldWriter
Interior-Conference Room,
1120 Hours
Jennifer Keller sat at the end of the table in the conference room off
the
“I know you’ve all been curious about Col. Carter’s absence over the
past week,” she said slowly. “And she’s asked me to thank you for your concern.
She’s also asked me to explain why she’s been absent.”
She paused, looking at each of the men around the table. “Five days ago,
Col. Carter was exposed to an herb commonly consumed by Athosian women. The
exposure was voluntary, and was taken under the advice and supervision of a
consulting psychiatrist, Dr. Andi Samuels.” She hesitated, then continued. “The
herb has been confirmed to have aphrodisiac properties, which appear to have an
effect that is considerably stronger on Terran females, than on the local
Athosian females.”
“I’m sorry, Dr. Keller. But could you get to the point? And where is
Col. Carter?” Gen Landry said, sounding irritated.
“No,” Keller said, looking at his monitor. “This is difficult enough as
it is, and I’ve been asked to give a full explanation of events.” She paused
again. “Col. Carter is in Atlantis, but has been moved into new quarters that
we prefer remain private at this time.” She glanced over at Sheppard, and he
gave her the barest of nods.
“That doesn’t sound promising.” Woolsey muttered.
“What’s wrong with her?” O’Neill asked quietly, his face ashen.
“The herb had an unexpected side effect, which has resulted in ongoing
personality changes, physical modifications, enhancements would be a more
accurate description, and most startling, a reduction in her metabolism.”
“Yes, yes...But what does all that mean, Doctor? What’s the bottom line
here?” Landry asked, the irritation obvious in his voice now.
Keller glanced at the monitors at the foot of the table. Landry was
staring at her red faced with anger, Woolsey stared back at her blandly,
waiting for the hammer to fall, and O’Neill had his face in his hands, shaking
his head slowly.
“From the personality perspective, she has become sexual addict, where she
had little, or no interest before. She is currently engaging in active sex,
mainly masturbation, approximately thirty times a day, and the rate appears to
be increasing. She has also had three cardiac events as a direct result of
sexual stimulation.” She said bluntly, then waited as they absorbed this. “She
is also exhibiting strong exhibitionist tendencies, which is why she has
withdrawn from contact with base personnel.”
“Excuse me. Doctor. Would you define a ‘cardiac event’ please.” Woolsey
asked. He didn’t do it, but Jennifer could hear the finger quotes in his voice.
“It means just what it sounds like, Mr. Woolsey. Her heart stopped, and
she had to be revived with artificial measures.”
“Jezzus!” Landry gasped. “How much of this stuff did she take, and how
long has she been on it?”
“The exposure was approximately one tenth of a milligram. Call it ten
micrograms. That’s about one fifth of a standard grain of salt, to give you
some perspective. She has consumed the herb on only one occasion. As I said before,
this was done under the advice and supervision of a physician.”
“And the rest of it?” Woolsey asked quietly.
“Physical modifications, or enhancements include, but are not limited
to, increased vitality, strength, range of motion and kinesthetic awareness, or
knowledge of her body’s position in space. In regards to her senses, she is
currently able to hear a whisper at over one hundred meters, as well as
accurately identify smells at the same distance. Her vision does not appear to
be affected, she is still 20/10 in both eyes. Her sense of touch also appears
to be unaffected. With the exception of her response to sexual stimulus.”
She paused again before moving on to the next item on her list. No one
said anything, so she continued.
“She is also showing signs of...not a reduction in age, but a reduction
in aging. Which brings me to the next point.” She paused again, taking several
deep breaths before continuing.
“We’ve been monitoring her cellular decay over the last few days, and
we’ll have to continue monitoring her before we can give you a definitive
answer on this. But as of this morning, she appears to be aging at roughly one
half of one percent of the rate you would expect of a normal human female.”
“Wow.” Sheppard said softly.
“Jennifer smiled, and looked over at him. “That’s what I said when I saw
the results.”
“This isn’t funny Doctor.” Landry said. “Have you begun try...”
“I’m not finished yet, General.” She said, cutting him off. “In
consultation with the CDC, Currie Labs in Paris, the Beijing Medical Standards
Institute, and more than a dozen of the top independent diagnostic practioners
on Earth as a blind study of a fictional test subject, we’ve determined that
her condition is contagious. Col. Carter will not be able to return to Earth.
If she does, she’ll have to be kept under permanent quarantine for the rest of
her life. Which may be a very long time.”
She continued before any of them could say anything. “Dr. Samuels has
already been tested, and at the moment, appears to be unaffected, as have the
other members of the expedition staff who have been caring for her. But we plan
on continuing to test them all into the foreseeable future. I am currently
awaiting results of my own tests as we speak.”
“How is the contagion transmitted?” McKay asked, looking at her with a
stone faced glare.
“Through bodily fluids.” She said, looking right at him. “Specifically,
vaginal secretions.”
McKay gasped, and Sheppard grinned, turning his face away from the
cameras until he got himself under control.
“So much for don’t ask, don’t tell,” Landry said lightly. “I guess all
those rumors were true after all.”
“Actually, no General, they weren’t. Col. Carter had her first lesbian
experience the day she ingested the Athosian herb.” She looked at the monitors
again. “And I think that’s a heartless thing to say about someone under your
command. Someone I’m sad I have to remind you, has pulled your, my, and Earth’s
ass out of the fire more times than any of us care to remember. You should be
ashamed of yourself!”
“You’re right, Doctor,” Landry said. “I’m sorry. And please pass my
apologies along to Col. Carter.”
“You...when di...” McKay sputtered.
“Shut up, Rodney,” Jennifer said curtly, giving him a withering glare.
“It’s none of your damned business!”
McKay shrank down in his chair, looking down at the table.
Keller glanced at the monitors again, and saw O’Neill walking toward the
door of his office. “Please stay general, there’s more.” She waited for O’Neill
to sit back down, then pressed a button on her laptop, and took several sheets
of paper from the folder in front of her, sliding sets over to Sheppard and
McKay.
“I’m transmitting Col. Carter’s resignation as commander of the Atlantis
expedition, and her resignation of her Air Force Commission. She’d would like
both to go into effect immediately.”
She gave everyone a few moments to look over the documents, then
continued. “Colonel, no...Sam has asked that she be allowed to remain in
Atlantis. She feels that she can still make a contribution to the mission, and
thinks that her knowledge and experience would warrant a position as head of a
separate, independent department for a variety of different research and
exploitation efforts.”
She paused, then added, “Sam understands that she will have to isolate
herself from any personnel that may be affected by her condition, which at this
point, is only Terran females. We’ll have to do more testing to determine if
any males might be affected based on their DNA make up, but I’m pretty sure
we’ll be able to come up with some kind of test to determine who might be at
risk.”
“I don’t have a problem with that,” Woolsey said cheerfully, “Apparently
this situation isn’t as grave as you originally led us to believe, Dr. Keller.
If
“Jezzus, what an asshole.” Sheppard muttered under his breath.
“I agree with you Colonel. And it’s still Col. Carter, Mr. Woolsey. I’ll
have to take this to the Pentagon. But there’s no way we can force her to stay
in the Air Force, even if we wanted to.” He paused, looking down at his laptop.
“She really covered all the bases didn’t she? I suppose she already has
transportation and a safe haven set up in case we say no?”
“I sorry, General. I have no knowledge of any such plans or
arrangements.” Keller said lightly.
“I’ll take that as a yes, Doctor.” Landry smiled. “If I know our girl,
she had everything set up before she outlined how she wanted this meeting to go
with you. Col. Sheppard, would you turn Dr. Keller’s laptop around please?”
Sheppard reached over and spun the laptop toward a camera before
Jennifer could get to it.
“Just as I thought,” Landry said when he saw the IM window on the
screen. “She’s been watching and listening this whole time, feeding you lines
when things looked like they might get tight.”
Landry leaned back in his chair, looking relieved. “Okay, Sam.” He said.
“We’ll try it your way. I’m sorry this has happened to you, but if you think
you can make this a win/win, I back you on it.”
Sheppard’s eyes widened suddenly, and he reached out and pressed a key
on the keyboard.
“Thank you, General.” Carter said as she paced back and forth in front
of the window wall of her apartment. “And it’s Dr. Carter, not Ms, Mr. Woolsey.
I’d appreciate it if you would have a representative contact me as soon as
possible, to work out the details of my contract and compensation package. I’ll
transmit an outline of what I have in mind for my new department by close of
business today.”
“Excellent, Dr. Carter. I look forward to seeing it.” Woolsey said,
completely nonplussed to hear her join the meeting. “Would you include your
salary, personal, or other requirements along with that outline? I prefer not
to go into negotiations blind, if you don’t mind.”
“Are you going to be okay, Sam?” O’Neill said quietly, looking into the
camera.
“Beats the fuck outta me, Jack.” She laughed. “But on a scale of one to
ten, I’d say this is a solid forty. I feel better than I have in years, I have
no responsibilities except to myself at the moment, and I’ve dumped alot of
excess baggage.” She paused. “You want the truth, I think I’m sitting on that
win/win Gen. Landry was talking about.”
“I’d like to see you.”
Sheppard reached out and pressed another key on the laptop, and she
appeared on the overhead monitor above the door.
“Like I said, Jack. I’ve dumped alot of baggage.” She laughed and
turned, pacing back and forth, naked in front of them as the camera panned out.
She faced the camera again, did a quick pirouette, followed by a back flip
ending in a vertical split. She rolled out of the split with a scissor kick
that brought her back to her feet, then continued. “That train you’re looking
for pulled outta the station a long time ago, and neither of us got on. Oh
well, shit happens.”
O’Neill’s monitor went dark, and Sam laughed. “Fuck him if he can’t take
a joke.”
“This would be an example of the exhibitionist tendencies, personality
changes, and enhanced physical abilities you mentioned, Dr. Keller?” Landry
said wryly.
“Yes sir,” Jennifer smiled. “It’s been diff...Sam do you mind? They
really should know.”
“Nah, go fer it, hon.” Carter said as she did a handstand, spreading her
legs out in a planche, and started doing press-ups.
All four men’s eyes went wide at the display. None of them said
anything.
“It’s been difficult, if not impossible to get her to wear clothes. She
finds them too restrictive. I have to warn you, that when you interact with
her, she will probably be as naked as she is now. And you can expect her to
wander off unexpectedly to masturbate, that’s if she doesn’t do it right in
front of you.” Keller paused, looking around the room. All four men were
watching Sam on the monitor. “Her mind has not been affected negatively as near
as we can tell, she still has full command of her faculties, and we have
observed no loss of memory. But her attention span for anything other than sex
is...well, limited. She does, however, function at a high level, even in a
state of extreme sexual arousal. We’ve had her doing advanced computational
equations in her head while subjected to electro-stimulation of the clitoris
and Grafenberg, or G-spot, and masturbated vaginally.”
“Mmmmmm, that was fun! I wanna do that again!” Sam purred as she lifted
one hand from the floor, moving it between her legs, beginning to rub her clit.
She continued doing press-ups on one hand as she began masturbating, showing no
obvious sign of strain.
“Oh my god!” Rodney gushed, his face turning cherry red.
“I rest my case,” Jennifer laughed, spinning the laptop back toward her,
and turning off the feed from Sam’s camera. “As you can see, almost anything
takes her off on a sexual tangent. Any mention of sexual activity is guaranteed
to result in a prolonged masturbation session.”
“Don’t I have a pretty pussy, Rodney? Too bad you’ll
Jennifer turned off the audio from Sam’s apartment, and looked up at the
table, trying not to smile.
“I think we’re done with Dr. Carter’s part of this meeting.” She said
lightly. “Mr. Woolsey, I’ll ensure that you have that package by close of
business, local time. Gen Landry, if you’d contact me when you have
confirmation of the pentagon’s response, please? You can both consider me Dr.
Carter’s official liaison until she decides to replace me. I will be staying on
as Chief Medical Officer of Atlantis, until such a time as the IOA sees fit to
replace me. At which point, I will transfer into the employment of Dr. Carter
as her personal physician. Either way, I’m staying in Atlantis for the
foreseeable future.”
Both men nodded, and their monitors went dark. Jennifer closed her
laptop, put the folder on top of it, and stood up. “Then I think we’re finished
here. John, would you wait a moment?”
“What?” Rodney sputtered. “I’m the head of Research and Technology on
this base, and I should be cons...”
“I’m pretty sure Sam is going to get her own, independent department, Rodney,
sooner, rather than later. And I would suggest that you not push it. Like she
once told me, her contacts go alot higher than yours. You could find yourself
out of a job, or even worse, working for her again.”
Rodney blanched at the prospect.
“That’s what she thought you’d say.” Jennifer laughed.
She held her hand out to Sheppard. “Come with me John, we need to talk.”
She reached in her pocket and pulled out her comm unit, tapping it
lightly and waiting for the beep. “Sam?” she said softly.
“Go ahead, Jenn.”
“They bought it. Didn’t even ask for copies of anything. They’ll do that
later though. Woolsey’s one smart sonofabich, and he’s gonna be a problem if
we’re not careful.”
“I can handle him,” Carter laughed. “How’d my show go over?”
“Perfect! You even had me fooled. We’re on our way, I’ll see you in
little bit.”
“She wants to see you.” Jennifer said softly, glancing at Sheppard as
they stepped out onto the balcony. She led him down the stairs, stopping just
short of the transporter.
She turned so she was facing him. “She’s not the woman we knew John, I
hope you understand that. If you don’t, you need to get your head around it
fast. She’s mostly under control, but she has lapses. What you just heard in
there about what she does was mostly bullshit, but it has a basis in fact. If
she doesn’t get...well, we can go into that later.”
“What does she want from me?” Sheppard asked quietly.
“You’re her friend John, you’ve stood by her, cared for her and about
her, she knows she can depend on you, and she doesn’t want to lose that. Or
you.” Jennifer looked around, seeing several people approaching. She led him
into the porter and pressed several symbols on the pad, a moment later, the
doors opened behind them.
Interior-Keller’s Ingress Office
1205 Hours
“We’re in her building, but she’s several floors above us. You’re not
ready to see her yet. Come on, one of my suites is just down the hall.”
“One of your suites?”
Jennifer grinned at him, holding up her free hand, rubbing her thumb and
first two fingers together in a universal gesture. “Perks, baby, perks. We’re
going to be taking over this building, and probably most of the southwest pier
eventually. She has lots of plans she never thought she’d get through the IOA.
We’re gonna make Atlantis a money making operation in two galaxies if she has
her way.”
She stopped and held her hand to a pad on the wall, and the door
swooshed open. She led him into the suite, letting go of his hand and twirling
in circles like a little girl. “Isn’t this great? It was already decorated like
this. I’m going to make this my office when I go to work for Sam.” Walking over
to the windows, she looked out over the city. “She found this building the
first week she was in Atlantis, on what she calls one of her walking tours. She
fell in love with the suite up on one forty-four, that’s her place. She been
living there part time for several months.”
“I knew she disappeared into the city sometimes. You know I have her
STID programmed in my jumper so I can find her if I need to. So I knew she came
here. I just didn’t know why.” He paused, then added. “Are you trying to hide
here? If you are, you need to try to mask it better. One of the Ops techs
mentioned power usage over here the other night. I bet it got logged.”
“I know you have her tagged, she was pissed when you came snooping
around the other day. And it doesn’t matter now if they know we’re here. This
building is going to be the headquarters of her operations.” She stepped over
behind the bar, holding up a bottle. “You want something to drink? I’m gonna
make a gin and grapefruit juice.”
“I’ll take a beer if you got one handy.”
“Got a preference?” She asked, as she started pulling different beers
from a cooler behind the bar. “Say when.”
“When.” He laughed, grabbing a Foster’s off the bar.
Keller made pitcher of drinks for herself, pouring half a bottle of gin
in with a large container of juice. She filled a large glass with ice then
topped it off from the pitcher.
“You’re not planning on drinking that whole pitcher are you?” Sheppard
asked as they moved over and sat on a long, low couch.
“No, but it comes out right almost every time if I do it that way. It
takes three or four tries if I just try to make a glassful. So I end up using
about the same amounts. I’ll just put the rest in the fridge.”
“I want to see her.” He said softly.
“We’ll go up in a little bit, but we nee...”
“No! I want to see her. Now!” he said as he stood up and started for the
door.
“John, stop.” Keller said. “I’ll take you up. What I was going to say was,
you have to shower and change first. We want to keep her apartment as clean an
environment as we can. She’s extremely sensitive to odors, and you have to be
clean, and in fresh clothes when we go up. There’s a shower just down the hall,
and I’ll get you something to wear. Come on.”
She led him down a short hallway. “The shower is right here, just leave
your clothes on the floor, we’ll have someone get them later.” She said as they
came to an open door. “Make sure you lather up at least twice, and use the
brushes and scrub tools, they’ll help loosen dead skin. I’ll leave the clothes
in the room across the hall. I’m gonna go shower too, so I’ll see you in a few
minutes.”
He just nodded at her, stepping into the bathroom, leaving the door open
behind him. Stripping down quickly, he turned the shower on full blast, and
stepped under the spray. The water was already hot, so he turned slowly under
the spray, wetting himself, then stepped back and started soaping up with the
goo from the dispenser. Pulling a hand brush off the shelf, he slipped it on
and put more soap on it, then spent the next couple of minutes scrubbing
himself thoroughly. He rinsed, then repeated the process, then washed his hair
twice.
Shutting the water off, he grabbed a towel off the rack and started
drying himself. Jennifer stuck her head in the door, grinning at him. Her hair
was wet, and she was wearing a short robe. “Take a couple towels into the other
room with you, and dry yourself well before you start to dress. And make sure
you get between your toes. Toe jam really sets her off.”
He took a couple more towels off the shelf and walked across the hall. A
set of clothes was folded neatly on the bed, with a pair of cloth slippers
sitting on top. He tossed the wet towel to the side, dropped one on the bed,
and started drying his upper body with the other. He bent his knees and ran the
towel under his balls, cupping them in his hand through the towel and squeezing
lightly. Turning, he put one foot up on the bed and dug into the crack of his
ass, looking at the towel when he was finished, self-consciously checking for a
skidmark.
Dropping the towel on the floor, he grabbed the last one and ran it down
one leg, then the other, then sat on the bed. Raising one leg, he rested his
foot on his knee, and carefully ran the edge of the towel between his toes. He
repeated the process quickly on the other foot, then stood up and pushed the
shoes out of the way. Picking up the pants, he shook them out, then lifted the
shirt, shaking it out as well. He frowned, and stepped out into the hall.
“Hey, there’s no underwear!” he yelled.
“So go commando,” She yelled back. “The rest of us do!”
Sheppard grinned and went back over to the bed. He picked up the pants
and stepped into them, tying the drawstring loosely. Scooping up the shirt, he
saw that it had an open front, so he drew it on over his shoulders, and came to
a screeching halt.
“How do you close this shirt?” he yelled again, sitting down on the bed
and pulling on one of the shoes. It looked a couple sizes too big. “And the
shoes are too...wait, nevermind.” The shoe was shrinking around his foot, and
the sole seemed to be thickening at the same time. He was pulling on the other
shoe when Keller stepped into the room.
“Do you always whine this much? No underwear, can’t figure out the
shirt, shoes are the wrong size. The only thing you haven’t whined about yet is
the pants!”
“Oh, I like them. And these shoes are kewl! They shrunk to fit my feet!
That is way kewl!”
“Okay, come’re. Lemme fix that shirt for you.” She waited as he stood
up, then took one of the straps hanging from one side and slid it around his
waist, feeding it through a hole in the back. She pulled the other strap around
the other way, pulled gently on the one sticking out the back, and tied them in
a loose knot. “There, all done.” She said brightly, stepping back and looking
him up and down. “Not bad, John. You could pass for an Atlantian, no problem.”
Sheppard was running his eyes up and down over her at the same time. She
was wearing a soft white wraparound dress with a delicate flower print on it.
He could see quite clearly that she was naked underneath. She had a pair of
dark blue, open toed flats on, and her hair was pulled to one side of her head.
He had never seen her look lovelier.
“Wow Doc, You look...”
“Now he notices!” Keller laughed. “Too late bub. Shoulda thought of that
before we got all gussied up. But if you’re nice later, I just might be nice
back.” She laughed again, and took his hand. “But right now, we’re off to see
the Wizard. Or whatever the hell it is she’s turning into.”
She led him out into the hall, and out of the suite. Sheppard looked
both ways down the corridor in confusion. “Hey, wasn’t the porter we came in on
the other way?”
“Yeah, we don’t use them to go between floors.” Keller said as she led
him around a corner. She pressed a pad on the wall, and a panel slid aside,
revealing a standard elevator. “This is one of the few buildings in the city
that has these. We’re on one thirty-one right now. This elevator won’t go below
this floor, some of the others will though, for safety reasons. There are some
other one of a kind features too, but we can go into that later.” She led him
inside, and the door closed behind them. “This building has a hundred and
forty-five floors, but you need a code to get to anything above one thirty. Our
girl has been busy over the last few months. I don’t know what she was
expecting, but if you pull this building up in the city database, it only shows
one hundred and thirty floors.”
She entered a code sequence in a panel on the wall, and the doors
opened.
Interior-Carter’s Suite
1240 Hours
They were obviously on another floor. She took his hand and led him down
a short hallway, across a large, well appointed living area, and through an
arched doorway.
Suddenly, he was in the room with the window walls.
He froze, his hand clenching unconsciously on Jennifer’s.
“It’s going to be okay, John.”
“No, that’s not it. Deja vu, but not.” He let go of her hand, and walked
over to the windows. Walking down the wall, he stopped when he felt he was in
the right place. He turned and looked at Keller. “More like deja vu on acid.
I’ve been here, right here. Well, six inches on the other side of right here. I
just didn’t know that she lived here.” He turned and looked at the huge bed,
half again as long and wide as the biggest human bed he’d ever seen. He was
turning to say something else to Keller when he saw her.
She was standing quietly to one side of the bed, her hands folded in
front of her. She was wearing a long grey gown, and her hair was brushed back
away from her face. She smiled when she saw that he’d seen her.
“Hello, John.” She said softly, her voice carrying easily across the
room.
He didn’t answer, but moved toward her. She met him halfway, holding her
hands out to him.
Taking her hands in his, he smiled. “That color suits you. Much better
than OD Green.”
Her smile faltered, and her chin quivered as tears welled up in her
eyes.
“Come here.” he said, pulling her toward him. Her arms went around his
waist as she buried her face in his shoulder. He put his arms around her,
holding her gently as her emotions overwhelmed her.
“Oh, John! I’m so sorry!” She whispered huskily as a flood of tears
poured from her.
Sheppard had no idea what to say, so he didn’t say anything, for fear of
saying the wrong thing. He just held her as they stood in her window room,
letting her cry herself out. She went on for several minutes, and he felt like
a lifetime of pent-up emotion was pouring from her.
When he felt her starting to slow down, he leaned close, his lips
brushing her ear. “Condition?” He asked softly.
She shuddered, and another paroxysm of tears soaked his shirt. He let
her get it out, then pressed his lips to her ear again. “Condition? Respond.”
She hugged him tighter, and moved her face over into the center of his
chest. “No...nominal.” She said softly, then looked up at him, smiling softly.
She stepped back, looking at him steadily, “Oh god, I must look
terrible! I always do when I cry.”
“You look wonderful! I’ve only seen you look better one other time.”
He took her hand and walked over to the window with her.
“When was that?” She asked him.
“The day you took command here. Rodney and I were talking to you on
video conference before you actually came to Atlantis. He thought he was going
to get the job. You were wearing a black long sleeved T-shirt tucked into skin
tight fatigues. Your hair was longer, and fluffier, well outside AFR-3510, by
the way.”
“My hair has always been outside regulations. Why didn’t you report me?”
“To who? I reported to you. What was I supposed to say? Col. Carter, my
bosses hair is non-regulation length. Oh, nevermind. That’s you!”
Carter slid one arm around his waist, hugging him to her. A moment
later, she punched him the ribs. “You still could have said something.”
“You fixed it. And then you saved us. You were just what we needed, when
we needed it.” He paused, smiling down at her. “I don’t know who fucked up and
did that, but I’d like to thank them someday.”
Reaching down, she took his hand. “Come on. There’s some people I want
you to meet.” She led him out into the living room, then down the short hallway
to the kitchen.
“Have a seat.” She said as she let go of his hand and moved to a seat at
the head of the table.
“Sit here, John.” Jennifer said as she stood up and pulled out the chair
at the other end of the table. She moved into the chair next to his on the long
side. “Can I get you something to drink? Another beer? We’re well stocked.”
“I’m fine.” He said.
“You know Jennifer already,” Sam said. “This is Andi Samuels, my
resident brain mechanic,” She said waving toward an older woman. “And this is
Tammy Ford, my chief nurse.”
“Girlfriend.” Tammy grinned at him. “She’s in denial.”
“Ignore her,” Sam said, smiling warmly at her.
Sheppard noticed that they were holding hands, and they kept glancing at
each other.
“This is my senior staff, John.” Carter said lightly. “Susan Arbann, my other
nurse is off right now, You can meet her later.” She paused and looked at him.
“I’d like you to join this group, John. I trust your counsel, and your
knowledge of Atlantis, the IOA, and Stargate Command are going to be invaluable
in the coming months as we get operations up and running.”
She paused, giving him a moment to digest what she’d said. “I don’t know
who the IOA will put in command of Atlantis, but it won’t be a military
officer. I’m betting it will be Woolsey.”
Sheppard nodded. “I think you’re right. Now that the IOA has direct
control of the gate, they won’t risk putting the military in charge here again.
It definitely won’t be me even if they did, I’m too much of a loose cannon.” He
paused. “Leaving the Air Force won’t be a hardship. What kind of position did
you have in mind for me?”
“I don’t want you to leave the Air Force, John. Not for a while at
least. As a matter of fact, it’s much better if you stay where you are. They
won’t replace you, at least not for the first three months or so. They’ll need
the continuity.”
Andi stood up, looking around the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to
go do a few things downstairs. Give me a call if you need anything.” She held
out her hand to Sheppard. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, John. I look forward
to working with you.”
Sheppard stood and shook her hand, then watched her leave the room
before he sat back down.
“Andi’s going to be director of marketing once we get things going.
She’ll be resigning and going on my payroll once we have my package worked
out.” Carter said. “I want you to stay in place for now because I’m going to
request, insist if I have to, that you be my liaison with the IAO. I’m looking
at setting up an independent operation, under the jurisdiction of the IOA, to
use Woolsey’s words, but not under their direct control. They’ll balk at first,
but once they hear what I have in mind, they’ll fall in line. My other
bargaining chip is that they won’t want to lose access to one of the foremost
authorities on Atlantis and ancient technology. The foremost authority
actually, but they don’t know that yet.”
“It sounds like you have them by the short and curlies. It also sounds
like you’ve thought this through.” He said. “Can you give me an overview of
what you’re planning? It sounds like you’re going into business for yourself.”
“I am. We both know that running this place costs a fortune. Our budget
last year was a little over three billion dollars. What I’m going to propose is
that we begin commercial exploitation of Atlantis, in both the Pegasus, and
Milky Way galaxies. We’ll meet some resistance trying to take Pegasus products
to Earth at first, but they’ll leap at the chance to sell, rather than give
away supplies like we’ve been doing for the last three years. That one change
cuts over a billion dollars off the budget, costs are offset by any revenues we
take in, reducing the budget.”
Jennifer slid a laptop over in front of him. He glanced at it, there was
a spreadsheet open on the screen. He went over the numbers quickly, then looked
up at Carter again.
“You’re right, they’ll jump on this in a New York minute. I’m not sure
about showing a profit in the third year, it might be closer to five.” He
paused, glancing at the spreadsheet again. “And these numbers are really
optimistic. It looks like they’re based on direct gate transport from Earth.”
“They are. But before I can say anything else, I need to know if you’re
onboard.” She said.
Sheppard noticed that she squeezed Tammy’s hand, making her fingers go
white. He grinned and looked away, looking directly at Carter.
“I wouldn’t still be sitting here if I wasn’t. But you already knew
that. But if you need to hear me say it, yes, I want to stay on your team.
Satisfied?
“Almost.”
Jennifer opened a folder, took out several sheets of paper and slid them
over in front of him. She sat a pen on top.
Sheppard looked at them. Both were confidentiality agreements, one
printed on IOA letterhead, the other on something called ‘Pegasus Enterprises’
letterhead. He read them quickly, then picked up the pen, signed the first one,
and slid it back over to Jennifer.
“Don’t date the second one, we’ll have to post date that.” She said as
she laid the first form in her folder. She took the second one, closed the
folder, and stood up. “I’ll go copy and file these.” She glanced at Carter.
“Will you need me to come back?”
Carter shook her head, and Jennifer smiled at Sheppard, and patted him
on the shoulder as she went behind him.
“I’m down on forty-two if you want to drop by before you leave, John.”
She said as she went out.
“Is that offer for something to drink still open?” He asked as he stood
up. “Just point, I can get it.”
Tammy got up and went over to a cabinet, and took down some glasses. She
handed one to him as he came over, then opened a panel and filled one of the
others with ice, and sat it in front of Sam. She pulled the refrigerator door
open. “Take your pick. There’s beer and alcohol in the other fridge, right next
to you.” She took out two cokes and sat them in front of Sam, then filled her
own glass from the tap.
Sheppard filled his glass with ice, grabbed a couple cokes, and sat down
across from Tammy. “So what’s the deal with you two?” He said as he opened a
coke. “Until she got up to show me where everything is, you haven’t let go of
her hand.”
“She...” Carter glanced at Tammy, then looked down at her lap.
“I help keep her...stable.” Tammy said, looking at him. “And she finds
my presence comforting. I also stimulate her as she needs it. We’ve discovered
that Sam needs to be masturbated to ejaculation several times a day. The
process releases hormones and endorphins into her system that allows her to
maintain a semblance of control.”
“She’s my girlfriend,” Sam said, looking up at Sheppard. She glanced at
Tammy, squeezing her hand gently. “I can’t live without her.”
Tammy grinned. “Tease.” But she squeezed her hand back.
“Thank you.” He said, looking at Tammy. She nodded and smiled at him.
“Tell him the rest. We might as well get it out of the way.” Carter
said.
“What Jennifer said in the briefing was accurate to a point. But we
intentionally misled them to ensure that they wouldn’t try to get at her and
see if they could treat her on Earth. There is no threat of contagion, we fed
the consulting groups false information that will stand up when the IOA goes
digging into it.”
She took a sip of water, and looked at Carter.
“Are you okay, Sam? You look a little pale.”
“I’m fine.” She said as she stood up and got a spoon from a drawer, then
took a carton of ice cream from the freezer. “I was crying earlier, and I think
my blood sugar is down a little. Let’s see what this does, okay?” She sat down
and opened the ice cream, digging out a spoonful.
“Okay, but you tell me if you don’t feel better.”
Carter nodded.
Tammy turned back to Sheppard. “All the rest about the exposure to
korathis, the effect it’s had on her, that’s all true. The fact that we’ve
managed to discover ways to manage it for her so quickly is a miracle. But this
is a permanent condition, it has affected her DNA and her brain, and there is
no possibility of a cure.” She paused, giving him a moment. “Do you have any
questions before I go on?
“No, you give a good briefing.” He took a sip from his drink. “Is there
more, or can we talk about what’s coming at us?”
“He said us...told you he would.” Carter grinned at Tammy. “But can we
take this downstairs? I want to show John his new suite. Or let him pick one.”
“Suite? That sounds interesting.” He said. “But I want to hear more.
About everything.”
“You will, but we’ve been sitting for a while now, and my butt is
getting numb.”
They got up, taking their drinks. Tammy carried Sam’s, she was carrying
her ice cream.
They went down to forty-three, and Sam configured the pad and had him
put his hand on it. When the door opened, they stepped inside.
“Jennifer passed on this one, she took a eurotrash suite down on
forty-two. I think this one is nicer. There’s another one open on forty-two if
you don’t like this.” Tammy said.
“This is fine,” Sheppard said as he walked over and sat on a long, low
couch. “Is this one of the perks of working for you?”
Carter took a seat opposite him on another couch. Tammy stretched out on
the couch, laying her side, her head in Sam’s lap.
“Yeah.” Sam said. “We’ll work out a compensation package when you
transition over, but I’m going to want access to you while you fill the liaison
spot.”
“This is going to take some getting used too. I haven’t had it this
cushy since I moved out of my father’s house.” He said, then stretched out,
laying his head on the armrest. “You know, you two look good together.
Natural.” He looked over at Tammy. “You want to continue your briefing?”
Tammy smiled at him. “If we don’t stimulate her periodically, and the
frequency varies, depending on hormone and endorphin levels, she lapses into a
childlike state. Her sexual aggressiveness ramps up, and she will hit on anyone
available. She also either wanders off to masturbate, or just does it wherever
she happens to be. When in that condition, she has no control over herself.
She’s masturbated herself to the point of cardiac arrest once. We embellished a
little for the meeting.”
She looked up at Carter, then back at Sheppard and continued. “Hormones
appear to have the most significant effect. She just had her period, and we only
had to give her a fix once a day while that lasted. I haven’t figured out what
part the endorphins play yet, but she needs a minimum amount in her
bloodstream.”
“There’s also a physical effect if both levels drop below a certain
threshold, but I haven’t figured out what that threshold is yet, because I
didn’t get a blood sample following the first event, and it’s only happened
once since, shortly after her period ended. We got sloppy, and let our guard
down.”
She looked up at Carter. “We’re not going to let that happen again. I
promise.”
“I know,” Sam said, stroking her hair. She looked over at Sheppard. “My
girl has masters degrees in Organic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from
Harvard, and a PhD in Pharmacology from Johns Hopkins. She figured most of this
out by herself. She’s also a highly qualified nurse.”
“When the levels drop below the threshold, she starts to go into shock.”
Tammy went on. “The first time it happened we thought it was just her blood
sugar, but quickly determined that it was something else. We did a quick review
of the days events, and saw that there appeared to be a time constraint, she
had to experience orgasm within a narrow window. That’s when we discovered that
stimulating her to the point of ejaculation brought her hormone and endorphin
levels high enough where she could function almost normally. And the higher the
levels, the longer she can go between sessions.”
She looked up at Carter again. “That about does it for me. I have to
pee, I’ll be right back.” She got up and walked across the room, disappearing
through an arched doorway.
“Do you have any questions, John?” Sam asked, laying out on the couch,
then pulling her knees up, hugging them to her chest.
“Are you two a...serious thing?”
She nodded. “Yes, we just see...”
He held up his hand, stopping her. “I don’t care. She looks like she’s
good for you. And it’s about time you settled down with someone that has a
chance of making you happy. You should give her that chance.” He sat up and
took a sip from his drink. “I’ve seen how unhappy you’ve been, but I didn’t
think it was my place to say anything. I wish I had now.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I just didn’t know what to do. I’m actually glad
this happened, it makes this easier. I’m going to get to stay in Atlantis, and
still be productive.”
“So you were planning on doing the same thing
Her eyes went wide with surprise. “How did you...”
“We talked about it, and I helped her set up her escape plan. The IOA
was breathing down her neck, and she wasn’t going to be able to hold them off
much longer.” He sighed, and ran his hand over his face. “If she hadn’t been
injured, then captured and killed by the Replicators, we were going to fake her
death, and relocate her to another planet.”
“Oh my god! She never said...We talked about it, when I came to Atlantis
that first time, with
“So were you planning on relocating, or hunkering down in this building
and hiding out? From what Jennifer said, you’ve already made some modifications
to the buildings systems, and to the cities database.” He took another sip of
his drink. “You missed taking it off the power grid. When I came back the other
night, one of the Ops techs mentioned seeing power usage over here.”
She nodded. “Actually, I didn’t miss it, not completely. I had it set up
so this floor didn’t show any usage, but I had started moving Andi, Jenn and
Tammy into the lower floors. Bet it freaked them out, seeing power usage, and
not being able to nail it down. They probably passed it off as a phantom, since
the database shows this building as only being a hundred and thirty floors.”
Tammy came strolling back, and sat on the floor next to Sam. She reached
back and grabbed her hand, pulling it down and holding it in both of hers. She
smiled at Sheppard. “You’re handling this very well. Me-n-her, I mean.”
“I just told her I thought it was a good thing. You two look good
together.” He said, smiling back. “I hope you can make it work. She deserves to
be happy.”
He looked up at Carter. “I’d like to hear more about how you plan on
getting around the shipping problems from Earth. They’re not going to want to
use the ZPM just to ship materials to Pegasus for sale, and going by ship is
almost three weeks each way. Prohibitively expensive.” He paused, then added.
“I guess we could set up another Midway station, the gate bridge is still
basically in place, it just needs the joining gates.”
“I was planning on doing just that. Rebuilding the intergalactic gate
bridge, I mean. But only as a backup. I have an easier solution.”
“What’s that?”
“Just recharge the ZPM’s.”
“Do WHAT?” He said, sitting bolt upright, staring at her wide eyed.
“Yup, I’ve been playing with Rodney’s
“Why would you keep something like that to you...” He began, then
stopped. His face clouded up with anger. “You were gonna use it as what, a
bargaining chip?”
She nodded. “Yeah, something like that. And I’m not going to give them
the research either, or tell them how I do it.”
“But we could have used that to defend ourselves against the Wraith!” He
shouted. “And they could use a fresh ZPM to power the chair in
“I wasn’t being heartless, John. I was being practical.” She said
evenly. “Like I said, I figured it out a little over a month ago. You know what
would have happened if I had said anything. McKay would have hemmed and hawed,
and insisted that he have time to go over the research, then the IOA would have
demanded that they be allowed to review the material as well. Then they would
have drug their heels because of what happened the last time. So they’d still
be fucking around, and you’d be exactly where you are now, while I’m ready to
do a live test right now if I want.”
She grinned at him as she added, “And do I have to remind you that
Rodney almost killed you, and destroyed three quarters of a solar system
playing with that vacuum point energy device, because he just knew he was
smarter than everyone else? He depleted the ZPM last time he played with his
STM bridge, instead of charging it. The man is the
smartest idiot I know.”
She took her hand back from Tammy. “Do you have any ice cream down
here?” She asked her.
Tammy shook her head. “I took it all upstairs, sorry”
“Stock up, chocolate ripple and french vanilla. Get some hot fudge and
whipped cream too. You know, more sundae stuff.” She said as she stood up. “I
need some upstairs too. I think I went through close to a gallon today day.”
She started walking for the door. “Come on, let’s go back upstairs. If I
don’t have any up there, one of you is going to have to go down to the mess or
commissary and get me some.”
They caught up to her as she was stepping into the elevator.
No one spoke on the short ride up, and Sam went right to the freezer.
“Shit! I took the last one.” She turned to Tammy. “Would you go get some for
me? John can stay with me, or you can call Jenn or Andi.”
Tammy glanced at John. “I’ll call Jenn, and wait till she gets here.”
She glanced at Sheppard. “It’s not that I don’t tru...”
“I understand, it’s not a problem. Really.”
“...trust you, but its not fair to you, and I won’t put her jeopardy
again.”
She stepped into the next room, and was back a moment later. “She’ll be
here in a minute.” She said. She turned to Carter. “Will you show me some of
that stuff you were talking about? I’ve heard about some of it, and it sounds
like fun. I’d like to learn more about it. We talked about it the other day,
but didn’t really get in to it.”
“Probably not a bad idea anyway.” Carter said, nodding. “We teach each
other our disciplines, then we’ll each know what the other is talking about!”
They both laughed, and Sheppard looked back and forth between them, a
look of confusion on his face.
“Anybody home?” Jennifer called from the hall.
“We’re in the kitchen, Jenn.” Tammy said.
“I found this in my freezer,” She said as she stepped into the kitchen,
holding up a quart of ice cream. She was still wearing her white print dress.
“I forgot that I got it earlier. I was getting cravings watching Sam eat it
earlier, so I got a couple quarts for me.”
“Gimme, gimme, gimme.” Carter said, stepping over and grabbing it out of
her hand. She ripped the lid off and dropped it on the floor, and stuck her
face in it, licking at it as she walked over to the table. She picked up a
spoon as she sat down. Wiping her mouth off on her sleeve, she stuck her spoon
in, dug out a big spoonful, and shoveled it into her mouth.
“Oh no, girlfriend! You are NOT doing that shit!” Tammy said, bending
down and picking up the lid of the container and sitting it on the table. She went over and took the ice cream out of
her hand, and slid it down the table out of her reach. “Get up! You have to
change your gown! And you just put that on.” She pulled Sam to her feet and
pulled her out of the kitchen.
Sheppard and Keller could hear Tammy berating her all the way down the
hall.
“Hi.” Jennifer said, and she gave John a small wave.
He grinned at here. “Is it like that alot around here?”
“Not usually. But she can get pretty feisty when her levels drop. We
have to keep an eye on her blood sugar too, she gets bitchy if...”
“I do not!” Carter yelled from the bedroom.
Keller stepped over to the door. “Tammy!” She yelled. “Make her put her
ear plugs in! And why isn’t she wearing them anyway?”
“Sorry about that.” Jennifer grinned at John.
“She could really hear you from her bedroom? How far is that?”
“A hundred and fifty-three feet.” Carter yelled.
Jennifer sat down and typed something on the laptop, then turned it so
Sheppard could see.
He grinned and nodded, then walked over to the fridge, got another coke
and returned to his seat. He opened it, took a sip, and turned to her.
“We went down to the next floor, and picked out a suite for me. Tammy
said you passed on it. Why? It’s a nice place.”
“It was a little too masculine for me. I really didn’t like any of the
ones I saw on either of the next two floors down. There’s two suites on each of
those. Then it goes to four, then six each as you go
down. You saw my little one on thirty-one. My other one is three times that
size. I’ll show it to you later if you like.”
“Jezzus! The one you brought me up to is five times the size of my
quarters! And the one I was just in is even bigger?” A shit eating grin slid
across his face. “Too kewl. I think I’m going like working here!”
“You didn’t look around?”
“No. I liked the room I walked into, and told them that it was fine.”
“Damn. Not as picky about real estate as you are about clothes, are
you?” She laughed. “Mine has ten rooms, and I think Andi’s has twelve. This
place takes up the whole floor. There’s only seven rooms, but they’re all
huge.”
They spent the next few minutes talking about the suites in the
building. Jennifer did most of the talking. Sheppard didn’t really mind, it
gave him time to review and digest what he’s already heard.
Carter and Tammy came back into the room about twenty minutes later. Sam
was wearing a dark green gown now. She stepped over in front of Sheppard. “I’m
sorry, John. What I did was extremely rude. I didn’t realize that I was going
into my crazy time. I’ll be better now, we’ve taken care of the problem.”
“I got blood samples,” Tammy said to Keller. “That’s what took us so
long. She went all whiney on me when I tried to get the before samples, and I
had to get physical with her.” She remembered Sheppard, and colored slightly as
she glanced at him. “I’ll process everything later, and send you the results.”
She continued as she walked around the table. She sat down and clasped her
hands in front of her on the table.
“You said that you could do a live test any time you want.” Sheppard
said. “What does that mean?”
“Yeah, I’d like to know too.” Tammy said.
“Well, I’d have to get one, but I could try charging up a ZPM right now
if I wanted to. I didn’t see any reason to hurry. I wanted to run more
simulations. Then this came up. But I have a couple of hundred sims running right now, and I’ve already had this building
running off the power output from the bridge. It’s running off of it right now.
So it might actually be a good idea to go live on the ZPM’s in the next day or
so.”
“Where would you do something like that?” Sheppard asked. “Rodney had
the containment chamber tied into three floors of equipment and computers in
the central tower, and all that was tied into the ZPM.”
“And where would you get a ZPM?” Tammy asked. “I know it runs the city,
but I don’t really know what it is. Don’t you have to plug it in somewhere?”
“It’s a Zero Point Module, or a vacuum energy device. It’s really just a
fancy battery. I’ve got one in my office, bottom desk drawer, it’s depleted at
the moment. There’s another one in my foot locker in my quarters. I have access
to others. And there’s a receptacle for them in subbasement three.” Carter
said. She looked at Sheppard. “I’d appreciate it if you waited to say anything
to anyone. We’ve only explored, what, fifteen, maybe twenty percent of
Atlantis?”
“That sounds about right.” He said. “With everything else that’s been
going on, first with the Wraith, then the Replicators, exploring the city was a
low priority item.” He paused, then looked up at her. “Wait a minute. Where did
you get ZPM’s, depleted or otherwise?”
“From you.” She grinned.
“From me? I don’t remem...”
“Apparently no one else did either. I don’t recall the specific mission
details, but your team discovered a cache of ancient equipment and materials
the first year you were here. Among them, were thirty depleted Zero Point
Modules. When I found the receptacle downstairs, I went looking for them. They
were buried under a pile of junk in a storeroom near Zelenka’s lab. So I took
them. I figured that after three years, no one was going to miss them.”
“As far as how, like I said, I’ve been going over the research, and I
just refined it a little bit. My
“So that’s what you’ve been doing here.” Sheppard said quietly
“Yeah.” She turned to Jennifer. “As soon as we get things settled with
the IOA, I’m going to want my STID disabled or removed. In the meantime, I’ve
already setup a blocking field. You know where to find me John, but no one else
needs to be able to right now.”
“You know, if you give the IAO a fully charged ZPM, and tell them that you
can get them more, or charge the ones they have...” Jennifer said slowly.
“They’ll tear this city apart looking for them. And you.”
“Already thought about that, and I’ll get to it in a minute.” She said.
“Like we were talking about John, we’ve explored very little of the city,
mostly the central tower and the area around it. This is the main building for
this pier, it’s central tower if you will. I haven’t checked, but I’m betting
that the main buildings on the other two piers are set up with a receptacle for
a ZPM too. It just makes sense. Redundancy. Why put all your power in one
place, you want to have a backup somewhere. Right?”
Sheppard nodded.
“So I’m thinking, with a ZPM on all three outer piers,
that takes the strain off the mains in the central tower, especially
when you’re using the stardrive. Make sense so far?”
They all nodded.
“Now, back to your last question Jennifer. Let them come. They won’t be
able to get at me. I’m gonna have a shield.”
She sat back, smiling smugly while all three of them threw questions at
her. She let them burn themselves out, then continued.
“I have control of the systems in this building. This suite belonged to
either an administrator, or a senior engineer, somebody big in city operations.
I have direct access into all the systems on the southwest pier, and one of
them is a shield.” She looked around the table. “I’m thinking that in flight,
the three subsidiary shields interlocked, and provided protection for the
entire city. The main shield could be run at reduced power to cover just the
central section if needed, and tie into the other three, or ramped up and
extended if it looked like one of the outer shields might fail. I may be wrong,
but that’s how I’d do it.”
“Sonofabich. You might just be able to get away with it.” Sheppard said
softly.
“Even if I can’t put charge in a ZPM, if I pulled the shield in to the
base of the tower like you did when you moved the city here, I could hold them
off forever on the power I’m pulling in through the STM bridge.”
“But I’m getting way ahead of myself. Jenn already told you that this
building, and eventually the southwest pier, is going to be the headquarters of
my operations. What I’m going to get out of this is being able to stay here in
Atlantis, and living comfortably here in my tower. Throw in the satisfaction of
doing what I love, figuring out how shit works, and I’ll be one happy camper.”
“I’m not going to need money as long as I stay here, except to pay
senior staff and buy supplies. I’m going to make the IOA provide transportation,
logistics and manual labor. And somewhere along the line, some whiz kid is
going to ask themselves, ‘if we’re doing the leg work, what do we need her
for?’”
She grinned again. “That’s where the research arm comes in. I’m going to
suck every bit of research out of Atlantis that I can and get it under my
direct control, keeping the really fun stuff for myself and a select team. So
when they try to take the exploitation division away from me, I’ll cut off the
flow of information, along with the related functions, and make them come
begging. That’ll only work once or twice, but by then, I’ll have come up with
some other way to hold them off.”
Sheppard got up and came around the table. He stopped beside her chair,
dropping to one knee. “My queen,” he said, bowing his head, “I offer my sword
and my fealty in your service.”
Carter laughed, reaching down and tapping him lightly with her spoon on
either shoulder. She lifted his chin and smiled at him. “I’m going to hold you
to that, Sir John.”
He nodded as he stood up, taking her hand. He reached over and took
Tammy’s hand, and drew them together. “A queen needs her consort.” He said
quietly, holding them together until their fingers began twining together on
their own. He released them and walked over to the door.
“I have to get back, people are probably looking for me.” He smiled down
at Jennifer. “Can you show me how to get out of here? I’ll call you later. I’d
like to come back and talk more.”
He followed her out into the hall, and Sam heard the elevator door open
and close.
“I wonder which one of us he wants to talk to.” She said, smiling at
Tammy.
“I’m wondering if she’s going to let him get out of here without
doinking her.” Tammy grinned.
Interior-Dr. Keller’s Suite
1400 Hours
“I left my uniform in your bathroom.” Sheppard said as they walked down
the hall. “I should go change, I can’t go back to work dressed like this.”
Jennifer nodded, and led him into the elevator. “I brought your clothes
up to my place, and cleaned them. We can stop by and get them, and I can show
you around if you want.”
The doors opened, and she led him down the hall, and palmed the pad to
open the door.
“Nice,” He said as he looked around. “This suits you. And you were
right, that other place was too masculine for you.”
“Your clothes are in the bedroom, you can change in there.” She said as
she led him down the hall. “Did Sam and Tammy fill you in, or did you want to,
I don’t know, maybe pump me for information?”
Sheppard laughed, taking her hand and pulling her to him. His arms slid
around her waist and he held her to him as he smiled down at her.
“I don’t think that’s the kind of pumping you have in mind, Jennifer.”
He said as his hands moved lightly over her back. “And you don’t have to be so
unsubtle. I’m interested. If you want, I can come back later and pump and probe
you till you give me all your secrets.”
“You’d have to probe me for quite a while to get all of my secrets.” She
said, pressing her body against him. “Maybe even, I don’t know, two or three
times? You’ll definitely have to put everything you have into it.”
She glanced down, then grinned up at him. “And it feels like you have
quite a bit to put into it.”
“You are so bad!” He laughed, stepping back and walking toward her
bedroom. “You’re going to send me back to work like...”
“You don’t have to go right back.”
“Actually I do.” He said, reaching behind his back and untying the knot
holding his shirt closed. “I left right after the meeting, without telling
anyone where I was going, and I can guarantee that Landry is screaming for me.”
He slipped the shirt off, then kicked off his shoes. He hesitated before
untying the drawstring on his pants.
“And I like to take a girl to dinner, maybe a little dancing, before we
get intimate.” He said as he stepped back over to her. He leaned down and
kissed her lightly.
Jennifer nodded. “That sounds nice. Would you like to have dinner here
later? We could dance and...”
“And I can probe you for that information you’re so eager to give me?
I’d like that. I’ll have to call you and let you know when, it may be late,
depending on how hot tempers are running.”
He let her go and spun her around, and swatted her on the bottom as he
pushed her toward the door. “But right now, I have to get dressed, and I’d like
to keep a few secrets of my own for just a little while longer if you don’t
mind.”
“Okay,” She laughed. “You win. I’ll take you to the porter when you’re
ready.”
Interior-Kitchen
1500 Hours
“Andi! Just the girl I want to see.” Keller said as she walked into the kitchen.
She had changed into scrubs, but was glowing as she sat down at the table.
“Did you get laid?” Tammy asked. “You look like it, and you changed your
clothes.”
“Not yet, he wants to, but we have to go on a date first. I put on the
scrubs because I have to go over to the Infirmary in a little while.”
“I could have told you that about him.” Carter said. “And they say
chivalry is dead. Sir John is a true knight every respect.”
“Yeah. Well, I just hope he knows how to handle his sword.” Jennifer
laughed, then turned to Samuels. “I need a favor. Can you whip me a nice little
dinner for two, something I can heat up easy? Nothing heavy, just something
light and romantic?”
“I don’t know Jenn.” Samuels said, standing up and going over to the
fridge. She got a coke out, and closed the door. “You guys have been pretty
hard on me this week, and I already cooked you dinner once.”
“Aw, come on Andi, please?” Keller whined. “You cook alot better than I
do! And you know that if I get a little lovin’, I’ll be alot easier to get
along with.”
“She’s got a point there.” Tammy said. “Maybe if she gets a little,
she’ll leave us alone.”
“No she won’t.” Andi laughed as she got a glass and filled it with ice.
“We’ll just have to listen to her crowing about how much she’s getting.” She
said as she sat down and opened her coke. “No, I want to know what’s in it for
me.”
“I...”
“A signing bonus.” Sam said. “Dinner gets her laid, you get a signing
bonus.”
“Deal. I’ll cook her dinner, but she’s gonna have to get herself laid.”
Andi laughed. She turned to Keller. “What are you going to wear?”
“He liked what I had on this morning.” Jennifer told her. “And I have
another dress like that, a blue one. I figured I’d do my hair the same way.”
She shook her head. “You should have seen the way he looked at me earlier.
That’s why I went ahead and said something to him when we went to get his
clothes. He’s never looked at me like that before.”
“Yeah he has, he just thought you were interested in someone else, so he
didn’t say anything.” Tammy told her. “He checks you out all the time.”
“Really?” Jennifer asked, her eyes lighting up.
“Well, now that we have Jennifer’s booty call taken care of, I’d like
you all to take a look at what I worked up for the department, and the
compensation package.” Carter said as Tammy slid a folder in front of each of
them. “The first page is a brief outline of the how I envision the department
being organized, staffed and run. I’m suggesting that it be setup as a wholly
owned subsidiary of the IOA, with this building as its headquarters, and the
southwest pier its base of operations.”
“I thought you wanted this building to be part of your compensation
package.” Andi said as she looked over the outline. “You seemed so excited
about living here. You love this place.”
“I do, Andi. I really do.” Carter said lightly. “But as I got to
thinking about it, I realized that they might not go for that. I think I’m just
going to let them put me up in the lifestyle I’m becoming accustomed to. As
long as I perform, of course. They’re just more likely to go for option two.”
“That doesn’t leave you, or us,” Andi said, looking around the table.
“That sense of security we talked about before. You’re giving them control, and
that means power over us. I’m not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling here.”
“Andi, it will take at least two years to get things cranked up to a
level where anyone at the IOA would even begin to think about kicking us out,
and taking over themselves.” Tammy said. “Even if someone brings up the idea
before that, cooler heads will tell them to sit back, and let us finish the
heavy lifting. Sam and I have talked about this, and we’re pretty sure that we
have between three and five years before we have to worry about being booted
out on our asses. And by that time, you’ll be a millionaire, if not a
billionaire, several times over. You can retire to Earth and live comfortably
for the rest of your life if you want.”
“And what if I want to stay with my friends? What do I do then Tammy?”
“Then you come with us, and help us run the business.”
“There’s other decent real estate in the Pegasus galaxy, Andi.” Sam
said. She turned and looked at Tammy. “You said it the other morning. Family
doesn’t have to ask.”
Tammy nodded, and Sam looked back at Andi and Jennifer.
“We won’t always be staying in Atlantis, which is why I’m willing to
give up control of the company. There are other ancient outposts and cities out
there. I know of at least one city that can be had, and I’m sure that the local
population would welcome us. They already feel indebted to Atlantis, well, to
some expedition members actually. And if we offered them a chance to be part of
something, I think they’d jump at the chance.”
“I haven’t been there, but I know the city you’re talking about.” Keller
said. “John and Rodney talk about it all the time. It has a feudal society, and
there was a family that was bred for the ancient gene, and they ruled over the
locals.” She looked over at Sam. “We need to get started on that now though,
The last report I saw said that since their ZPM was depleted, the ruling family
was losing control. If we wait too long, things may fall apart completely.”
“I didn’t know about that. I must have missed those reports, or else I
would have arranged for aid of some kind.” Sam said as she sat back in her chair.
“That puts a different light on things.”
“It will be early next week before the IOA puts anyone in charge.” Andi
said. “So that means Sheppard is in command until they do. And as commander, he
has some discretionary power. You’re already talking to him about being your
liaison with the IOA, and bringing him in as what, head of security, or head of
the military arm?” She looked across the table at Sam. “You’ve thought about
that, even if you haven’t mentioned it to anyone else yet. And you know you’re
going to need one when you try to split off from the IOA.”
Carter glanced at Tammy and Jennifer, then nodded at Andi, signaling her
to continue.
“So we get him to send them humanitarian aid, but not through the ruling
family. We establish relations with the local villagers, that’s going to be our
workforce, so those are the hearts and minds we’ll need to win.”
“We’ll need a presence there. Someone to negotiate for us.” Carter said,
beginning to smile.
“Yes, we will. And you need Tammy and Jennifer here more than you need
me. And to be honest, I’m more qualified to do this than either of them is.
This is my stock in trade.”
“Are you volunteering to be our emissary to these people, Andi?”
“Your emissary, Sam.” Andi said. “I know we’re casual about it, but
you’re in charge here. Sheppard offered you his sword and his fealty earlier,
allow me to do the same, in my own fashion. I hope you’ll excuse me if I don’t
kneel.” She grinned and looked around the table. “So now you have a knight, a
consort, a jester, and an ambassador at large. Not a bad start on a court if I
say so myself.”
They all laughed, until Jennifer stopped suddenly.
“Hey
!” She said looking at Andi. “Are you saying I’m...”
“Yes, she is Jennifer, and I couldn’t think of a better one. Except
maybe McKay.” Tammy grinned.
“I decree here and now, that that name shall not be mentioned in my
presence. He will henceforth be known as the fool. Is that clear?” Sam said
sternly, then smiled as she looked around the table. “I mean, what’s the point
of being a queen of you can’t have your own way, right?”
She looked back at the folder in front of her. “We need to go over the
compensation package. Or should I say, packages, because I took the liberty of
outlining salary and benefits for the senior staff. I thought it might be a
good idea, since none of you officially work for me yet.”
“The upfront pay doesn’t really mean anything, that’s going to be
walking around money. Look down at paragraph four, where it talks about patent
and distribution rights.” She looked over at Samuels. “There’s your power right
there, Andi. Every idea, discovery, or invention that came out of me over the
last fifteen years went to the
“But look over the numbers, and tell me if they look comparable to
something that someone in the civilian market would make. I know the fool makes
three hundred kay, and Zelenka makes just over two, so I put the numbers in
that ballpark. Senior positions get six weeks vacation regardless of time of
service, as well as medical, lodging and meals. Do you see anything else we
need to add?”
“I don’t, it looks like you covered everything. You have items listed
that I never would have thought of.” Keller said.
“The numbers are fine with me. I’m getting a raise.” Andi said
offhandedly. “And when you add in the benefit package, we’re way past the
comparable government pogue. It looks good to me.”
“Tammy?” Sam asked.
“I don’t care about the money.” She said softly. “I’m going to resign as
soon as you get your deal. If that’s okay with you.”
“You should rea...” Andi began.
Tammy looked at Sam, rubbing her thumb lightly across the back of her
fingers.
“Are you going to love me, stay with me, take care of me, and let me do
the same for you?”
“Yes, always.”
“I now pronounce you...” Jennifer said solemnly. She looked at them for
a moment. “Well, don’t just sit there! Kiss her for god’s sake!”
“We really gotta get her laid.” Tammy said as she leaned toward Carter.
“Shut up.” Sam said as their lips met.
Interior-Subbasement Three
1720 Hours
Carter fit the ZPM into the receptacle, pushing down on it gently. A
moment later, it started dropping by itself, and at the last second, turned and
sank below the lip of the receptacle with an audible click.
Tammy, Andi and Jennifer were standing back out of her way as she moved
around. She had announced that she wanted to do a live test after they had finalized
the department outline, and the compensation package. She’d had Jennifer type
it up, reviewed it to ensure everything they had discussed was included, then
told her to send it off.
“I don’t know if it’s supposed to do that. The ones over in the
She glanced at her laptop, then paused for a moment, glancing back and
forth between the laptop, the console, and the ZPM. She made an adjustment on
the console, looked at her laptop, then stepped over and looked down at the
ZPM.
She was grinning as she looked up at them. The ZPM was beginning to
glow.
“Sonofabich!” Jennifer breathed. “You did it. You really fucking did
it.”
“Not yet, I haven’t.” Carter said as she stepped back over to the
console. She looked at her laptop, nodding as she scrolled through the data on
the screen. She moved the laptop off to one side, and checked several panels on
the console. She made an adjustment on one of them. “It looks likes it’s going
to take about three hours at this rate. Don’t ask me why, I thought it would be
faster than that.”
“Sam?” Tammy said as she stepped closer. “It’s glowing brighter now, and
I think it’s starting to hum.” She reached out toward the ZPM. “Can I touch
it?”
“That’s probably not a good idea, Tammy.” Carter said as she glanced at
the console. “But it’s charging faster now. It’s at eleven percent.”
“Is anyone else getting warm?” Andi said, looking around the room. “I
feel like I’m burning up.”
“Um, I’m getting hot, but I don’t think heat has anything to do with
it.” Jennifer said as she untied the drawstring on her scrubs and jammed her
hand down the front. “Shit! I’m sopping wet! I’m surprised that I haven’t
soaked through my pants!”
Tammy looked at Sam, raising her eyebrows. Sam shook her head and
shrugged her shoulders.
“I feel fine.” Carter said, looking back down at her laptop.
“I’m sorry,” Jennifer said as she headed for the door. “But I have to
get out of here. I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”
“Forty percent.”
Tammy looked over at Andi. Andi grinned at her and shook her head.
“I feel warm, like a hot flash. Is my skin flushed?” She asked.
“No, you look fine, Andi. Your cheeks are a little pink, but that’s
all.” Tammy said as she looked at her. “Do you want to sit down?”
“Fifty-eight percent.”
“Sam, you still not feeling anything?” Tammy asked.
“Good to go. We’re almost there.” Carter said, intent on her
instruments.
The hum was noticeable now, and the ZPM was bathing the room in an eerie
orange glow. They watched it grow steadily brighter.
“Eighty.”
A moment later, the hum began to die down, and the glow from the ZPM
began to fade. Suddenly, it rotated in the receptacle, and popped up, so the
top third was poking out.
“Sequence complete. What was that, six, maybe seven minutes?” Carter
said as she came around the console and pulled the ZPM from the receptacle.
“Closer to ten I think. It sat for almost four minutes before anything
happened.” Tammy said.
“Still not bad. I was worried when it just sat, but then when it started
to glow...” Carter said. “It worked. But now I don’t have anywhere to test it.
This console says its full, but I’d really like to put it in another receptacle
to see if that one reads it the same way.”
“Like switching a battery between two flashlights?” Andi asked
“Yeah, something like that.”
“So why don’t we just go over to one of the towers on another pier and
try it there?” Tammy said. “Kill two birds with one stone. Verify the charge,
and confirm your theory at the same time.”
Carter and Samuels looked at each other, then at Tammy.
“Pick one. North, or East?
Tammy picked up the bag they’d brought the ZPM down in and held it open.
“East.” She said. “I know the porter symbols for that side of the city.”
“Don’t you just love her?” Carter grinned. “She just full of all kinds
of pleasant little surprises!”
Interior-Dr. Keller’s Suite
1755 Hours
“Keller to Sheppard.”
“Go ahead, Jenn.”
“Um, are you going to be able to get free...soon?”
“I was going to call you in a few minutes. I’d like to go by my quarters
and change, and then I was going to call you to come get me.” He said.
“I’ve got clothes you can wear, and you can shower here if you want.”
She said breathlessly.
“Okay,” He laughed. “I’m in my office. Do you want to come over?”
“How about if I meet you at the porter in two minutes?”
“Two minutes. I’ll be there.” He grinned as he closed the channel.
He left his office and walked through the
“I’m going to be tied up for most of the evening.” He told the tech.
“Would you call Maj. Lorne, and let him know that he needs to cover for me?
I’ll be on comms, but I’d prefer not to get any calls unless it can’t be
helped, okay?”
“Yessir, I’ll pass it along right now.” The tech told him. “Have a nice
night, Colonel.”
“Thanks, I think I’m going to.” Sheppard grinned as he jogged down the
stairs.
The porter door opened as he reached the bottom step, but no one came
out. A moment later, he saw Jennifer stick her head out and pull it right back
in.
As he got closer to the porter, he could see her fingers holding the
doors open, and he leaned around, sticking his head inside.
“Hi.” He grinned.
Jennifer jumped, then grinned sheepishly at him as he stepped into the
porter. Her hair was wet, and she was wearing a short, sheer robe that stuck to
her skin where she hadn’t dried completely. “Hi. Oh god, I am soooooo glad it’s
you.” She said in a rush. “I was scared to death that someone else would walk
in first!” She turned around and tapped in the symbols for Carter’s building.
When the doors opened, they were on Keller’s floor.
Taking his hand, she led him quickly down the hall and into her suite.
As soon as the doors closed, she stepped into his arms, turning her face up for
a kiss. He met her halfway, and gasped as she slipped her tongue into his
mouth, kissing him hungrily.
She ground her body against his as they kissed, then pulled away, taking
a step back.
“Do...do you mind if we eat...after?” She said huskily, her hands toying
with the belt on her robe. “Someth...I need you John. Please?”
“Open it.” He said softly, his eyes running up and down over her.
She smiled, and pulled the ties loose slowly, letting them fall to the
sides. She robe parted, and he could see the inner slopes of her small, pert breasts,
the gentle swell of her stomach, and the close cropped bush of her pubes.
Sheppard felt himself hardening immediately, but he stood still, waiting
to see what she would do.
Jennifer stepped closer, taking his hand and guiding it between her legs.
John groaned as he felt her warm wetness, and his arm slid around her as he
spun her around and pressed her against the wall. He pressed his lips hungrily
to hers as his fingers slipped back and forth between the fur fringed lips of
her pussy, his other hand pushing the robe aside, then cupping her breast, his
fingers stroking across the rigid nipple.
He broke the kiss, and moved his mouth down, nuzzling and nipping at her
neck. He pushed the robe off her shoulders as he dropped further down, bringing
both his hands up to cup her breasts, making her whine at the loss of his
fingers between her legs.
Jennifer wrapped her fingers in his hair as his lips closed around one
stiff nipple, and she threw her head back, banging it against the wall. He
looked up at her, and dropped to his knees in front of her, his tongue dragging
across her soft skin.
She whimpered as he brushed his lips back and forth over her pubes, then
gasped as he lifted one leg, draping it over his shoulder as he pressed his
mouth against her mons.
“Oh god, yes!” She moaned as she felt his tongue slip between the fleshy
folds of her pussy, and begin to lick eagerly. His tongue flashed all around,
darting up inside her one moment, flicking over her clit the next, then
dragging up the length of her slit, lapping up the spicy juices dripping from
her. He settled his lips around her clit, sucking on it gently as his tongue
slapped at it teasingly.
Jennifer moaned as she started to cum, and held his face tight against
her, humping her pussy frantically against his mouth. She shook and shivered as
her orgasm swelled over her, then went limp against the wall. She pulled his
face from between her legs and smiled down at him.
“Please. I ne...need you in me.” She panted.
He nodded. “Bed?” he asked.
“Oh god yes.” She groaned, leaning on him as he stood up.
“Where is the bed, I meant.” He laughed.
“Do...down the hall.”
John scooped her up in his arms and moved quickly down the hall. He
turned his back and pushed the door open. He spun around and took a step toward
the bed, then tossed her onto it, making her squeal. Kneeling, he unlaced one
boot and pulled it off, then quickly did the other. He stood up and pulled his
blouse out of his pants, then pulled it over his head and dropped it on the
floor.
Jennifer had rolled over and was up on her elbows, watching him as he
opened his belt and unbuttoned the fly of his pants.
“Come closer.” She whispered. “I want to see.”
He took a step forward, then another, stopping when he was just inches
from the end of the bed. Jennifer’s eyes were glazed over as she looked up at
him.
“I want to feel you in me so bad, John. I’ve wanted it for so long...”
He pushed his pants and shorts down, kicking them off over his feet. His
cock sprang up, bouncing in front of her face.
“Ohhhhhh, it’s so big.” She moaned as she reached out and wrapped her
fingers around it. “I...I’ve never seen one this...”
Sheppard pushed her hand aside and climbed up on the bed, grabbing her
leg and pulling her around, guiding her up so she was straddling him.
“Get on top, it’ll be easier for you.” He grunted. He reached down,
holding his stiff prick upright, and pulled on her asscheek with the other,
urging her to mount him.
Jennifer reached between her legs and wrapped her fingers around the
thick shaft, then rubbed the swollen knob slowly up and down her sopping wet
pussy slit. She settled the tip against the tight opening, and pressed down
slowly, throwing her head back as she felt it bull it’s way inside her.
Leaning forward, she planted her hands on his chest as she started
working her hips up and down, taking in more of him, until finally, she felt
the crisp hairs at the base of his cock brushing the insides of her thighs. She
could feel the head of his cock throbbing deep inside her as she laid out on
top of him, resting her head on his shoulder.
“So good,” She purred as she wiggled her hips slowly, just letting the
thick shaft press against a different part of her every time she moved.
There was a soft beep, followed by a series of three soft beeps. There
was a pause, then the pattern repeated itself.
“Is that you?” he asked.
She nodded, but just looked at the comm unit on the nightstand. The unit
beeped again.
“I’m sorry.” she said as she reached over and picked it up.
She tapped the button, and said, “I’m busy.”
“She did it. She got one of the ZPM’s charged. We’re going over to the
east pier to check it.” Tammy said.
“That’s wonderful. I’m happy for you. Can I call you back?”
“Is he any good?”
“Mmmm hmmmm.”
“How big is it?”
“Ummmm.”
“Tiny, huh?”
“No.”
“Bigger than a babies arm?”
“A little.”
“Oooooh, I’m jealous. Leave your mike on. I wanna listen.”
“I can’t do tha...” She stopped, looked up at Sheppard and smiled.
“Okay. I’ll call you later.”
She pulled the headset off and tossed it onto the headboard. She smiled
at him as she slid her arms under him, then rolled to the side, so he was on
top of her.
“Fuck me, John. I need it so bad. Please?”
He smiled down at her as he started moving his hips slowly.
Exterior-East Pier
1820 Hours
Tammy waved Sam over as she was talking to Jennifer.
“..sten.” she was saying, then Tammy leaned close, and pressed her ear
to hers, and she heard Jennifer say, “I can’t do tha...Okay. I’ll call you
later.” There was a rustling noise, then, “Fuck me, John. I need it so bad.
Please?” She heard a man grunting, and a woman gasping and groaning.
Carter pulled her head away, reached up, and plucked the comm from
Tammy’s ear.
“Hey!”
“Let her have her fun. She can tell you all about it later.” She smiled.
“Okay.” Tammy grinned. She looked at the building they were standing in
front of. “We’re gonna need a flashlight. Even if we go in during the day,
we’re going to need a light. There’s no power in this building.”
They went into the building and crossed the lobby. Normally, lights
would have come on as they entered. They turned and went back out, standing on
the patio.
“You’re right. Let’s go home and come back tomorrow.” Carter said.
“We’ll bring a light, and...”
“Someone’s coming.” Andi said as she pulled them into the shadows.
They watched as three marines went by, no more than twenty feet away.
The marines were shining flashlights about at random, and one of the beams
brushed right over them, but the marines didn’t stop. They stood quietly until
the marines were out of sight, then made their way quickly to the building they
had ported into.
Tammy held the door open as Andi and Sam came in behind her, and was
tapping the symbols on the panel when a voice shouted, “Halt, Don’t move.” The porter
doors closed, then opened almost immediately.
Tammy grabbed Sam’s hand and pulled her from the porter. They ran out of
the building, and went into the adjoining one. They went into the porter, and
Tammy tapped in some symbols. When the doors opened, she waved them out, then
tapped on the panel again, and jumped out before the doors closed.
She ran out the doors on the side of the building onto a narrow lane.
Samuels looked up, and saw tower fifty-eight looming over them. In less than a
minute, they were through the doors, and getting onto an elevator. The elevator
stopped on thirty-one, and they got out. Sam stopped and looked at Tammy.
“Why did we run?” She asked. “We didn’t do anything.”
Tammy looked at Andi before she answered. “You resigned today, and
you’re supposedly under quarantine, because you have like, have this contagious
disease. And in case you forgot, we’ve got a ZPM we’re not supposed to have
with us.”
“Oh yeah,” Sam said. “Forgot about that.”
Tammy handed Andi the bag and pushed Sam up against the wall.
“Look at me, Sam. Right here,” She said pointing at the tip of her nose.
“What?” Carter said, trying to focus, but not able to.
“She’s toast, and she's fading fast. We need to get home.” Tammy said to
Andi as she pulled Sam’s arm around her neck, then bent down and slipped her
arm under her knees, picking her up easily.
She ran down the hall and turned as she stepped passed the elevator.
Andi came up behind her, hit the pad, and the doors swished open. They stepped
in, and Andi tapped in her code. As the doors closed, Tammy said, “Check her
eyes.”
Andi opened Sam’s eyes, turning her head to face her. “Glassy and
dilated. What do you think it is? And what tipped you off?”
The elevator doors opened and Tammy stepped off, heading for small bedroom.
“Call Jennifer, if she doesn’t answer in thirty seconds, hit the alarm.”
Interior-Bedroom
1845 Hours
Sheppard was laying on top of Jennifer, his weight resting on his
forearms to keep it off of her when the alarm went off.
“Get off me...Please, John.” She said as she struggled to get out from
under him. She looked over at the nightstand, then remembered that she had
thrown her comm up onto the headboard. She reached up and felt for it, but
couldn’t find it.
Sheppard rolled off and got up on his knees on the bed. Jennifer was
already on her feet moving toward the door. She stopped and threw him his
clothes. “Follow me.” She said over her shoulder as she ran down the hall into
the living room.
“I’m on.” She said as she hit the comm unit.
“Sam’s down. We were over on the east pier, we just missed getting
caught by some marines patrolling over there.” Andi said. “We got into the
building, and Sam was out of it. Wait one. What?” Then silence.
“Tammy say she wants the ancient scanner. She says you’ll know which one
it is.” Andi said. “It’s the thing Sam scanned her hand with.”
“I know the one.” Jennifer said. “We’re on the way.”
“Come on.” She said to Sheppard. She noticed that he had his pants on
and buttoned, but was barefoot and carrying his shirt. She ran toward the door
and he followed as she went to the elevator and tapped out the code for
thirty-one. Sheppard was digging his comm out of his pocket as the doors
opened, and she put her hand in his chest. “Wait here, and hold the door.”
She was back moments later, pushing a machine with a large articulated
arm on it. He stepped back as she pushed it into the elevator, and tapped in
her code.
“Did I hear that woman say they were over on the east pier?” Sheppard
asked her.
“Andi,” She said. “Yeah, they wanted to look at something.”
He tapped his comm. “Lorne, this is Sheppard. Stand down your alert.
Copy?”
He listened for a moment. “I’ve got it covered Lorne. Log it as a drill,
and stand down. I’ll explain later. In person. In private.”
Interior-Bedroom
1850 Hours
The elevator doors opened as he closed the channel, and Jennifer pushed
the machine out, then stepped to the side. “In there.” She pointed.
He threw his shirt over the machine and pushed it into the room she
pointed at. Jennifer stepped over to the couch, grabbed a gown and pulled it
over her head, and followed as she was getting her arms in the sleeves.
Tammy looked up at her as she came in the room. “Sorry.” She said as she
moved the machine next to the bed, tossing Sheppard’s shirt on the floor. She
extended the arm, positioning it over Carter’s head, then stepped around and
started tapping on the control panel.
“You know how to operate that thing?” Sheppard asked.
“No.” Tammy said as she ran her finger over the panel, then scrolled
through several screens, and ran her finger over the screen again. She pressed
a button next to the panel, and a new screen came up. She started tapping on
symbols on the new screen, then pushed another button, and slid her finger up
over a pad on the side.
A shape appeared in the center of the machine, hovering just above it.
It was a head and shoulders, but the image was almost ghost like. Tammy pressed
the button next to the panel, then tapped on it several times, scrolling
through several screens, then stopped and looked over at Andi.
“I need a pen and a pad of paper.” She said, then went back to tapping
through the screens.
“You can read ancient.” Sheppard said, moving closer to her.
“Yes. Back up, or move to the side. You’re in the way there.” She said.
“Are you reading the manual?”
“No, the help files. We haven’t found the manual yet.” She looked back
at him over her shoulder. “You can ask questions. I’ll tell you if you need to
stop.”
“When did you learn it.”
“Yesterday.”
Andi came back in and held out a pad and a pen, and Tammy took them. She
started scratching out symbols on it. She scrolled back through the screens,
jotting down new sets of symbols, then sat held the pad out to John.
“Hold this where I can see it. Over there.” She said, pointing at the
end of the machine.
He moved where she wanted, and held the pad up in front of her. She
tapped on a series of symbols, glanced up, then went through several screens,
and entered another string of symbols. She pressed a button above the panel,
then ran her finger slowly over the pad again.
The shape on the machine solidified, wavered, then the firmed up. She
left the settings as they were, and held her hand out for the tablet.
“Anybody got her vitals?” She asked as she took the pad and started
going through the help screens again.
“Blood pressure is up, one sixty-eight over ninety, heart and
respiration are fine, and steady.” Jennifer said. “You getting close?”
Tammy looked up at her and shook her head. “I...I need lessons, Jenn.”
“No! You’re not do...”
“Andi, it might save her life.” Jennifer said quietly. She looked over
at Tammy. “Do it.”
Tammy sat the pad down and walked out of the room. Jennifer and Andi
went to the other end of the room and appeared to be in a heated discussion.
Sheppard stepped over to the doorway and looked into the living room.
Tammy was standing next to another ancient machine, her hands moving
quickly over the controls. She stopped, touched several buttons, then moved
both hands over the panel and pressed another button. She reached over and
picked up a headset off of a hanger, and got it settled on her head. She
pressed another button, stood still for a few moments, then took the headset
off and came back into the bedroom.
She went right to the scanner and started tapping out commands on the
screen, and as she did, the shape on the machine became clear, and layers
started disappearing as she went through each command.
“Jennifer.” John said, waving her over when she looked at him.
Keller and Samuels stepped over as Tammy cleared the controls, and
entered a new string of commands. The head and shoulders disappeared, and were
replaced by a three dimensional brain and spinal cord. Tammy zoomed in on the
brain, and rotated it slowly.
“Everyone look. Speak up if you see anything.” She said as the image
rotated slowly in front of them. “No exterior damage. Anyone?”
“Show me what’s happening in there. Come on...” Tammy muttered as she
worked the controls.
She entered a new set of commands, and the image wavered, and solidified
again. This time, they were looking at an interior view, almost a wireframe.
Tammy started rotating it slowly, and it had gone less than a quarter turn when
Sheppard said, “Stop! Rotate back to the left slowly. Stop! What’s that?” He
asked pointing into the image. His finger went through it, making it waver, but
he pulled it back, pointing into the split between the hemispheres. “That black
line, is that suppose to be there”
Tammy zoomed in where he had pointed, and made an adjustment.
“He’s right. There’s new tissue in the median plane, right above the
corpus callosum.” Tammy said. She zoomed in again, rotating the image, but the
view they were looking at didn’t tell them anything. Tammy adjusted the
controls, and the brain changed, the two hemispheres turning a transparent
green, and the corpus callosum under them a pale blue.
“Oh shit.” Andi said softly as Tammy rotated the image.
Tammy stepped away from the machine and knelt next to Carter. She took
her hand and leaned close. “Can you hear me Sam? Squeeze my hand if you can.”
She smiled as she saw Carter’s fingers move, and felt them grip hers. “Good
girl. you’re still with me, and I’m not going to let you go anywhere, okay?”
Carter squeezed her fingers again.
“You’re reconfiguring again, Sam. I don’t know why, but I know where. I
don’t know how long it’s going to take, but I’m going to stay with you.”
Sheppard moved around to the other side of the bed and knelt beside it,
he took her other hand in both of his. He looked up at her face, and saw a
small smile on her lips.
“Tammy.” He said quietly, nodding at her head. “She’s smiling.” He said
softly.
He reached down and ran his hand lightly over her foot, then wrapped his
hand around it and squeezed it lightly. He looked back at her face, and saw her
eyelids fluttering.
“Is anyone watching this?” He asked.
“Yeah, keep it up.” Tammy said as she reached down and massaged Sam’s
other foot.
Carter’s eyelids fluttered again as they massaged her hands and feet.
“Tammy, get back on your machine.” Sheppard said softly. “Jennifer, come
take her place.”
Tammy started to object, but he smiled and nodded at her, and she stood
up, letting Jennifer kneel beside the bed. Tammy went over to the machine and
looked at the image.
“Now what?” She asked.
“Jennifer, get up on the bed with her, and press your body against her.
Make sure your feet touch hers. Stretch if you have too. I’ll do the same over
here.”
They climbed up the bed and pressed themselves against her from either
side.
“You caused a ruckus over on the East pier tonight.” He whispered in her
ear. He thought he saw her eyes move under her eyelids. He looked over at
Jennifer and mouthed, ‘you too’, and moved his lips next to her ear again.
“Lorne threw a fit when I told him to stand down and log it as an exercise.
That’s gonna cost you a bottle of very expensive bourbon.”
“John made love to me tonight, Sam. But you don’t have to give Andi that
bonus. We never got to her dinner.”
“Andi?” Tammy said. “Come look. You two keep doing whatever it is you’re
doing.”
Sam made a noise, her lips barely moving. “g...ggddd.”
“Was he good? Oh god yes!” Jennifer laughed. “And he...” She leaned
closer, whispering directly into Carter’s ear.
“John?” Andi said, and he looked up at her. She made a motion with her
thumb and four fingers, mimicking a mouth, and nodded her head toward Sam.
“You had half the base on full alert you know.” He said lightly. “But I
didn’t know it because Jennifer...” He leaned close to her other ear and spoke
just as softly as Jennifer was.
Tammy and Andi were looking at the display as John and Jennifer talked
to Sam.
“What’s that?” Andi asked, pointing at an area in the center of the
growth.
Tammy zoomed in, and rotated the image toward them.
“It looks like a hole.”
“Wu...die.” Sam said.
John kept whispering to her, and Tammy could see that he was smiling as
he whispered to her. She glanced down, then started laughing, but got herself
under control quickly. John looked up at her and shook his head, then went back
to whispering to her.
“It’s getting bigger.”
“No, look at the ends, they’re changing too.” Tammy said. “I...I don’t
think they’re merging, Andi. It looks like they’re exchanging, or transferring
tissue.” She looked at Andi. “Would you go into the...no, I’ll do it.”
Tammy stepped back and ran out of the room, and was back a few moments
later. She opened a door on the side of the machine and plugged in a small
module, then tapped out a series of commands on the panel. A blue light came
on, and Tammy looked at the module, and saw a yellow band growing on the end of
it.
“Memory card. I’m recording this so we can examine it later.”
“Someone ask her if she understands what you’re saying.”
“Yzzzz.”
“Nevermind. Keep talking to her.” Andi said.
“Yzzzz.”
It took two hours for the growth to subside, but Sam was able to open
her eyes and begin to speak before that. Tammy replayed part of the recording,
pointing out to Andi that Sam began responding clearly when the tissue from
either side stopped touching the other.
Tammy came over to the bed and tapped Jennifer on the shoulder. She
looked back and saw her, and turned back to Sam. She kissed her lightly on the
cheek, then sat up and moved out of Tammy’s way.
Tammy slid in beside her. “We’re going to sleep in here tonight. You
rest, and you should be fine in the morning.”
Carter shook her head. “Please.” She said slowly, with an obvious
effort.
Tammy sat up, then got to her feet. “I need to move her.”
“That’s not a good idea, Tammy.” Jennifer said
“I know, but she won’t sleep if we leave her in here.” She took her
hand. “You want your pillows, don’t you?” Tammy smiled as she squeezed her
fingers. “Okay, you hold on to me now.”
Tammy lifted her arm and laid it around her neck. Then she got her hand
under her back, and slipped her other arm under her legs, lifting her easily
from the bed. She carried her across the living room, into her room and laid
her on the bed. Jennifer climbed up on the bed with her, and together they
moved her over into the middle of it. Tammy pulled one of the long pillows down
and laid it next to her. Sam rolled over, throwing her arm and leg across it,
then pulled it in against her, smiling as she hugged it.
Tammy leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, but Carter was already
asleep, breathing deeply and evenly.
Interior-Kitchen
2220 Hours
The four of them sat at the kitchen table, each lost in their own
thoughts. Tammy had Carter’s bracelet telemetry up on one side of her tablet,
the bedroom cameras split on the other side.
Tammy stood up and stepped over behind Sheppard, laying her hand gently
on his shoulder. “Can I speak to you?” she said lightly as he looked up at her.
He nodded and stood up, following her out of the kitchen,
She led him to Sam’s office, and closed the door behind them. “There’s no
audio in here, so Jenn can see, but she can’t hear what we’re saying, and it
will drive her nuts.” she said with a smile. “Keep your head down, or put your
hand over your mouth when you talk. I don’t know if she reads lips.”
Sheppard smiled and nodded.
She stepped over and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him hard
against her. He felt her fighting back tears, and he slipped his hands around
her back, running them slowly up and down.
“Go ahead, you don’t have to be strong all the time. It’s okay, and she’s
going to be okay. You know that.”
Tammy surrendered to her tears, crying onto his shoulder as he held her.
It took her almost five minutes to get it all out, but when she stepped back,
she smiled at him, and kissed him lightly.
“Thank you.” She said, her arms still draped around his neck. “I don’t
know if you saved her life, but you made a huge difference tonight. If you
hadn’t noticed her responding to stimulus from both sides, she might still be
lying in there, for god only knows how long.”
“You would have caught it. And we’d be where we are now, waiting for her
to get better.”
“You’re probably right, but I want you to know, that you made a big
difference.” She said. She looked at him for a moment. “Come with me, I need
you to do me a favor.” She said as she led him out into the living room. “Your
shirt is in there, I think, why don’t you go get it.”
“Jennifer.” She called, and when Keller stuck her head out the kitchen
door, she waved her over.
Tammy held her arms open as Keller approached her, and they embraced,
then Tammy stepped back as she saw Sheppard come out of the bedroom, pulling
his shirt over his head. She smiled, and turned Jennifer in her arms so they
were both facing him. She slid her hands down over her, and gathered the
material of her gown in her fingers.
“Tammy.” Keller said.
“Shhhhhh.”
“John, I said I need you to do me a favor.” She said as she looked over
Jennifer’s shoulder at him.
He nodded, looking at them.
“Well,” she said as she slowly drew Keller’s gown up over her legs, pulling
it up higher, over her waist, then slipping it slowly over her shoulders and
off. “Would you take this woman downstairs, and make love to her? She deserves
it...And believe me,” She laughed. “She needs it!”
He laughed, smiling as he nodded at her.
“I asked if you would,” She said as she glanced down at the front of his
pants and smiled. “I see that you can, and want to.” She pushed Jennifer toward
him. “Come join us for breakfast. Both of you.”
Interior-Bedroom
2300 Hours
Tammy slid into bed, moving over and laying out beside Sam. She laid her
arm across her, resting her hand on the pillow she was hugging. She laid her
head on her back, and lay thinking about the events of the evening, and the
last several days.
“Hi,” Carter said softly. “I did it again.”
“That’s okay.” Tammy told her. “You keep finding ways to scare the shit
out of us, and we’ll keep finding ways to fix you. Or tell you what happened,
we’re not doing much fixing.”
“You used the teacher again.”
“I had to. I didn’t have any other choice.”
Carter nodded into her pillow.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, now go back to sleep. And be my Sam in the morning.”