Confirming Carter Day7
By RibaldWriter
Interior-Kitchen
0750 Hours
There were five of them around the table now, Carter was at her usual
place at the head of the table, Tammy in her place beside her. Andi was across from
her, while Sheppard was at the foot of the table, with Jennifer just down from
him.
They had eaten breakfast, and were reviewing the events of the night
before.
Tammy raised her head suddenly, her eyes wide. She gripped Sam’s hand so
tightly that she cried out.
“Oowwww! Tammy, wha...” Carter said, trying to pull her hand away.
“Tammy? Are you al...” Jennifer asked as she stood up, moving toward
her.
Samuels was on her feet too, but Tammy looked around, then shook her
head.
“The bridge. It’s radiation or some kind of energy leaking from the
fucking bridge!”
“What are you talking about, Tammy?” Andi asked.
“Turn around, Tammy. Let me look at you.” Keller said, turning her head
and raising an eyelid with her fingers.
Tammy pushed her away, and looked around at them.
“Something from her bridge is affecting her. Both times she’s had a
major incident, when her brain started to reconfigure, she had been playing
with that fucking bridge.”
She looked at Carter. “Think about it. The first time, when you lost
your speech and grew new brain cells, we had been down there the night before.
Then last night, we were in the power room, just down the hall, Andi and Jenn
were affected while the ZPM was charging.”
“That does sound like the most likely cause.” Andi said. “I just got
flushed, like I was having a hot flash, but Jennifer got arou...She reacted
too. Just differently.”
Sheppard looked at Keller, and she grinned sheepishly, shrugging her
shoulders.
“Um, can you do that again?” He said, then reached in his pocket and
pulled out his comm. He put it on as he stood up, “Go on Sheppard.” He said as
he stepped out into the hall.
Jennifer blushed furiously, looking to see if Sheppard could hear, then
burst out laughing. “Oh my god!” She giggled. “I almost raped him when we got
back to my place.” She turned to Andi, laying her hand over hers. “We ate a
late dinner, but it was delicious. Thank you.”
“How many times?” Tammy asked.
“Once, before we came up here,” Jennifer said, blushing as she looked
down at the table. “Then four more times after we ate. It just wouldn’t go
down!”
“Wow, I’m impressed.” Tammy said with a smile. She looked over at Andi,
but she was tapping at her tablet, and didn’t look up.
“You might be right.” Carter said. “I was feeling lightheaded, and my
fingers and toes were going numb while it charged up. I...”
“Andi, Jennifer, can I have the room please?” Tammy said in an even
voice, looking at Sam.
She waited till they had stepped from the room before she spoke. She
just looked at Carter for a moment. Sam refused to meet her eyes.
“You lied to me. I asked you twice, and you said you were fine both
times.” She said slowly.
Carter didn’t answer, but slid her hand over toward her.
“I’m sorry.” she said softly after a moment. “I didn’t think it was anything,
and we had to...”
“No, That’s not what we’re talking about. I would have let you finish, I
know that it was important to do that test.” Tammy said. She took her hand and
squeezed her fingers gently.
“You can’t do that, Sam. You have to be honest with me. I know that I’m
going to have to let you do things that will put you...us, in danger. I can
accept that.” She paused, her eyes filling with tears as she looked at her.
“But I have to know what’s going on, everything, no matter how small, so we can
be ready in case something happens later. Do you understand that?”
Carter nodded, and she looked up a Tammy. “I won’t do it again. I
promise.” She said, her voice barely a whisper. Her eyes dropped back to the
table, and flicked over toward their joined hands. “Do...do you sti...”
“Of course I do.” Tammy smiled, squeezing her had again. “Do we need a
minute, or can I call Jenn and Andi back?”
“Let’s talk to them. They need to know too.” She said. “I’m really
sorry, Tammy.”
“It’s okay. We’re good.” Tammy looked toward the door. “Andi, Jenn? You
want to come back in?” she called.
They came back in and sat down, and they started to pick up where they
had left off.
Sheppard stepped back into the room and looked at Carter. “I have to go
over to my office. A coded databurst came in for me. I’ll be back as soon as I
can.” He looked over at Keller. “Walk me out?” He said, holding his hand out to
her.
They walked to the porter, and he stopped in front of the doors. “I had
a great time.” He said as he took her in his arms. “I’d like to come back,
maybe take the rest of the weekend off. Once you’re sure she’s going to be
okay, I mean.”
“I’d like that.” Jennifer whispered, laying her head on his chest.
He tipped her head up, and kissed her again, then stepped back, into the
porter. The doors closed in front of him.
Jennifer walked back into the kitchen, and saw Carter grinning at her.
“So he wants to spend the weekend, huh?”
Jennifer nodded, grinning back at her.
Interior-SGC, Earth
0800 Hours
“I have a databurst to send to Atlantis, Walter.” Landry said lightly.
He pulled out a chair and sat down next to Sgt. Harriman. “Dial the gate
please.”
“Yessir.” Harriman said as he started typing at his keyboard. “We have a
scheduled dial up at sixteen hundred, sir.”
“It’s critical that they get this as soon as possible, Walter.” Landry
said. He looked up as the vortex burst from the gate, and the event horizon
established.
“Is the databurst in the system, sir?” Harriman asked, turning to his
laptop and bringing up the message screen.
“No, it’s on this.” Landry said as he plugged a flash drive into the
laptop. “Send it from there.”
“If I send it from that flash drive sir, there won’t be any record of it
in the database.” Harriman said, glancing at the general out of the corner of his
eye. “I’m not supposed to do that.”
“This is classified, Walter. Do it on my authority.” Landry said
casually. He watched as Harriman opened a message window, typed in ‘priority
databurst’ in the subject, then ‘see attached’ in the message box. He found the
file on the drive, and added it, then hit send.
A moment later Harriman said, “Atlantis confirms they received the
databurst sir.”
Landry pulled the flash drive from the slot and stood up.
“Thank you Walter.” Landry said as he walked to the door. He stopped and
looked back. “Walter?”
“Yessir?” Harriman asked as he turned around.
“Why didn’t you say chevron locked as they did it?” Landry asked him.
“It was just you and me sir...”
“I like it when you do that, Walter.” Landry grinned. “So keep it up.”
“Yessir.” Harriman said, trying not to smile.
Landry went back to his office. He had already disconnected the network
cable from his laptop, so he felt safe enough to do what he did next. He
plugged the drive into his laptop, and formatted it. Then he copied pictures of
his daughter and his dog onto it. He repeated the process several times, then
copied the pictures onto the drive again, and took it out of the slot. Opening
his desk drawer, he put it in the tray next to the three identical ones he had
there.
0815 Hours
“Send that databurst to my terminal.” Sheppard said as walked toward his
office.
“Yessir.” The duty tech replied as he leaned over his console and began
typing.
Sheppard went into his office, brought up his terminal and opened the
databurst. He took a code book from his desk drawer, checked the calendar, and
ran his finger down the list of codes. He typed one into his keyboard, and a
video window opened.
“Col Sheppard, I wanted to thank you for your help yesterday arranging
the meeting with Col. Carter.” Gen Landry began. “As we discussed, you will be
in command of the expedition until the IOA appoints a new commander. They
haven’t given me any indication of who that might be, and I don’t want to
speculate.”
Sheppard stopped the recording and started it over. Landry was doing
something with his hands, and Sheppard wanted to get a second look in case he
was missing something. He muted the audio, and just watched for a moment, then
restarted it again as he picked up a pen. He started writing down numbers and
letters as he watched Landry move his hands around on the desk. When Landry
closed his fist and laid the other hand over it, he closed the video window,
opened the databurst again, and input the code he had written down.
A new window opened, showing Landry again, standing in front of a
camera, this time in his quarters.
“They’re gonna fuck her John. I’ve been given orders to reroute a ship
to Atlantis. I’m sending the Daedalus, it will be there in nine days. When it
arrives,
He paused, looking down, then back up at the camera. “This is wrong,
John. Never in all my years of service have I been ordered to kidnap a member
of my own command. One that we should be supporting at that. Carter is still
one of us, and by god, we can’t let this happen.” Landry paused again, then
continued. “I can’t give you the orders, John. but you know what needs to be
done, and you’re in the best position to do it. We’ll help as best we can from
this end. I’m attaching a list of personnel you for you to review, you probably
have a few to add to it.”
Landry smiled and reached toward the camera. “Good luck, John. And give
Sam my regards.”
The video ended.
Sheppard pulled up the attached file, glanced at the list, then printed
three copies. He deleted the file, then copied the databurst onto a flash
drive, and deleted it from his terminal.
He tapped his comm. “Jennifer? I need a ride.” He said.
“I’ll be right there.” She said.
He closed the channel, then went out to the Ops center. He told the duty
tech to call Maj. Lorne and tell him to cover things until he contacted him,
then jogged down the steps to the porter.
Interior-Kitchen
0840 Hours
They were watching the video for the second time. Sheppard was standing
behind Keller, his hands resting on her shoulders. He looked over at Carter as
the video ended.
“None of my officers or NCO’s are on that list. And I trust Landry. He
took a big risk sending us that message.” Sheppard said. “There’s a couple
names I’m surprised to see on his list, and I added a couple already.”
“I can’t believe they’d actually do something like that.” Jennifer said
quietly. “To one of their own.”
“I’m not surprised.” Carter said, looking around the table, then grinned
at them. “I just didn’t think they’d have the balls.” She looked over at Keller.
“And I’m not one of their own, Jenn. I...we, are the tools they use as they
stumble along, fighting with each other for the biggest piece of the pie.”
“So what are we going to do?” Tammy asked.
Carter glanced over at Sheppard, and he nodded.
“We don’t have any choice.” he said, squeezing Jennifer’s shoulders
gently. “We have to take the city, or at least try to. I’ll need to read Lorne
in, we can’t do it without him. I don’t need to worry about the junior officers
or NCO’s. If they see us working together, they’ll follow.” He looked back at
Carter. “This is going to put you back in command. Are you up to that?”
Carter looked at Tammy, and she nodded.
“You’re going to have problems, but we’ll deal with them as they arise.”
Jennifer said as Carter looked over at her.
She looked over at Samuels.
“We all know that you’re up for the job. The question is, do you want to
do it?” She said lightly. “This is all you, Sam. If you don’t, we can load this
place up with supplies, throw the shield up, and laugh at them.”
Carter looked at her, then nodded. “I’ve been asked to do things I knew
were wrong, for reasons I knew were wrong, and I did them, because I believed
it served the greater good.” She paused, looking around the table. “What
they’ve been doing with this city is stupid, and what they’re about to do is
wrong, so we have to stand up, and say enough.”
“I wasn’t going to screw them, everyone was going to benefit.” She said
as she shook her head, then looked around the table again. “I’ll do my best by
you, and everyone else under the influence of this city. Let’s get to work.”
0930 Hours
“Colonel?” Lorne said as he knocked lightly on Sheppard’s door.
“Come in, Lorne. Close the door.” Sheppard said.
Lorne closed the door behind him and stepped over in front of the desk.
“If this is about last night, sir.” Lorne said, “You don’t have to
explain, really.”
Sheppard shook his head, looking up at Lorne.
“Evan,” Sheppard said softly as he opened his desk drawer and took out
his Glock, sitting it on the desk between them. “When I get done, you’re either
going to slide that back over to me, or use it on me.” He leaned back and
looked up at Lorne.
“Then I think I’m going to need to sit down for this, sir.” Lorne said,
pulling a chair over.
Sheppard nodded, and Lorne sat down, waiting patiently for him to begin.
“You know Col. Carter resigned her command and her commission
yesterday.” He began.
“Yes sir. I was sorry to hear that.” Lorne said.
“It was because of a medical problem, one which I’m happy to say, was
exaggerated for the IOA’s benefit.” Sheppard continued. “I’ve spoken to the
colonel, I just came from there as a matter of fact, and she’s fine. Better
than she was actually.”
He paused, gathering his thoughts. “She proposed that she be given her
own department, independent of Atlantis, for research and exploitation, and let
me tell you, she has some good ideas. She wants to do things that we could
never do the way things are setup now.”
“I knew there were projects she wanted to start, but could never seem to
get off the ground.” Lorne said.
“Well, they gave her the impression that they were going to agree to her
proposal, but I got a private message
from Gen. Landry this morning.” Sheppard told him. “They’re going to say no,
but string her along, and then they’re going to try to come get her.”
He turned the monitor so Lorne could see it, and played the video.
“Those bastards! What are we going...” Lorne said, his face reddening
with anger.
Sheppard held his hand up and leaned forward. “I’m going to stop them,
Evan. But I need your help. The only way we can do it, is to take the city, and
lock it down so they can’t get at her.” He looked at Lorne, then down at the
gun. “It’s time to make a choice, Evan.”
“Put the gun away colonel.” Lorne said, a slow smile spreading across
his face. “Just tell me what you want me to do.”
Sheppard slid a sheet of paper across the desk. “We’ll talk more in a
little while, and I’ll fill you in completely then. But I have to go back over
and talk to Col. Carter first. For now, I want these people assembled in the
gateroom at fourteen hundred. Save McKay for last. Don’t move on anyone until
thirteen-thirty, and just bring them, no equipment, no personal items.”
“Yessir. We’ll be ready.” Lorne said as he stood up and turned for the
door.
“Evan.” Sheppard said, holding out his hand as Lorne looked at him. “You
understand what we’re doing don’t you?” He said as Lorne took his hand.
“Yessir. We’re doing the right thing.” Lorne said.
Sheppard nodded. “I think so too.”
Interior-Bedroom
1010 Hours
“Shut up and lay down.” Carter said as she pushed Tammy down on the bed.
“You’re the only one that didn’t react to that damn machine last night, and I
want to A, make sure you’re all right, and B, to see if we can figure out why.”
She looked over at Keller. “Tie her down, knock her out, I don’t care. I
want her scanned from head to toe, and checked against current scans.” She
looked down at her. “I’m not sending her back in there unless I know she’s
going to be okay. Do both of you understand that?”
“Yes maam.” Keller said as she moved the scanner into position over
Tammy.
“If you maam me again, I’m going to find a dungeon and put you in it.”
Carter muttered as she walked out of the room.
“She’s scared.” Tammy said as she stretched out on the bed, closing her
eyes and trying to relax.
Keller shook her head. “No, she’s psyching herself up. She does that
when she knows an op is going to be tough.” She touched the controls on the
scanner, then stepped back and watched it travel slowly down its track. “When
we get into it, everyone will be looking to her, and she’ll be directing
traffic and talking to people like she was at Sunday tea.”
“You haven’t spent as much time with her as I have, Tammy. There’s a lot
to Samantha Carter you haven’t seen yet.” Jennifer said as she adjusted a
control. “She’s dependent on us right now, that’s a big part of what’s scaring
her, she’s not used to needing on other people like she has to right now. But when
we need her, she’ll be there, standing tall, ready to take on all comers.”
“I know, I was in the control room when we landed the city here, before
she took over.” Tammy said. “Lots of people were scared, and she was talking to
Sheppard on comms. The two of them sounded like they were talking about a round
of golf.”
She looked up at Keller. “I think An...”
“I know, I tested it. Viagra.” Keller said. “I’m gonna have to talk to
her about that.”
“Don’t forget to thank her. Four times?” Tammy grinned.
“Five...if you include the first one. And let me tell you, he really
knows how to swing his sword. He’s got a little dagger he’s pretty good with
too!”
“Bigger than a babies arm...lucky you.”
“Not really.” Jennifer said, leaning closer. “I’m was sore this morning,
but after we got going, it was better.”
“This morning too? What is he, part goat?”
“Must be...Okay, you’re done. Let me move the scanner out of the way
before you sit up.”
Tammy sat up, and they went over and sat at the bank of laptops. Jennifer
pulled up the scan data on her laptop, and hit a control key. The image popped
up on all three machines, and Keller centered the head on her screen.
“Nothing out of the ordinary, a little more activity in the parietal and
temporal lobes than could be called normal, but I’m betting that’s from the
teaching machine. There’s no new growth, or change in cell density. You’re just
using what you have more efficiently.”
“Hormone levels are up, are you due to start your period soon?” Keller
asked.
“Probably tomorrow.” Tammy nodded
“Well, I don’t see anything on this scan to be worried about. You’re
well within the norms, You look like the picture of health, Tammy.
“Okay, let’s go tell her.”
They walked into Carter’s office, and she looked up at them from behind
the desk.
“I heard.” She said, letting them see the earplug hanging from her ear.
“Let me see your headset.” She added, holding out her hand.
Jennifer took the headset off and handed it too her. Carter looked up at
her as she put it on.
“Six times in twelve hours?” She asked Keller, waggling her eyebrows.
She tapped the comm, and looked back at her keyboard.
“Carter to Sheppard” She said.
“Go on Sheppard.”
“How are we looking, John?”
“Lorne’s onboard, I’m filling him in now. I think you found your man at
arms. We have teams set to round everyone up and have them in the gateroom just
before fourteen hundred.” He said.
“Good. I need you to go over to the mainland for me, John, and pick up a
few things. Ready to copy?”
“Go ahead.”
She gave him a list of coordinates, general descriptions of the areas,
and told him how to find what he would be looking for.
“Next item. Access code, you need one. Yours is sirjohnsirjohn.” She
paused. “That’s right, just put in sirjohn twice, and it will get you where you
want to go.”
“He got me where I wanted to go the first time he put it in.” Keller
muttered, making Tammy giggle.
“Call Jennifer when you get back, and she can give you the symbol combo
for the building. Good. See you then.” She tapped the comm off, and tossed the
headset back to Keller.
“You are a bad, bad girl, Jennifer Keller.” Carter grinned. She glanced
over at Tammy. “Andi was right, but it’s not as bad as having her hounding us.”
Interior-Kitchen
1050 Hours
They found Samuels sitting in the kitchen, a laptop open in front of her
as she tapped notes into her tablet.
“Has anyone seen her in the last few days when she wasn’t typing
something into that thing?” Carter asked as she opened the fridge and took out
a couple cokes.
“Not me,” Tammy said as she walked behind her, then went over and got
three glasses out of the cabinet. She filled one with ice and handed it to
Carter, sat one on the counter for Keller, and filled hers from the tap.
Jennifer walked up behind Samuels and laid her chin on her shoulder. “Thanks,
Andi.” She said. Then her hands came up and squeezed her tits, making her jump.
“Don’t do it again.”
“What are you working on, Andi?” Carter asked as she opened a coke,
pouring it down the side of the glass.
“What are you doing?” Tammy asked her.
“Huh? I’m pouring a coke, why?”
“You never do it like that.”
“Well, Sheppard does it like this, and it doesn’t fizz up as much. I
thought I’d try it.”
“If you two are done.” She said, looking up at them. “I’m working on a
diplomacy list.”
“Really. Who have you got so far?”
“P348439 is first on the list, but we really need to get someone to ask
them what they call themselves. Then I’ve got the Athosians, Travelers, Genii,
and the Wraith, in that order. I figured I’d hit the majors first.”
“Add the
“I figured we’d start with the Athosians and P348439. Teyla and her
people have contact with most of the planets in the local sector, so they can
help us with marketing, and recruiting manpower, which we’re going to need a
lot of.”
“I think we still need to look at trying to get that second city, no
matter what happens here.” She looked at Carter. “And I think we need to do
that sooner, rather than later. We need to get someone in there to check the
place out, and see what works, and what needs to be repaired.”
“I agree.” Carter said. “But tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Production, manufacturing, and worst case scenario, refuge.” Samuels
said as she glanced down at her tablet. “I can’t remember who was talking about
it, but someone mentioned that less than twenty percent of Atlantis has been
explored, and most of that was in the central section.”
“That was me and Sheppard.” Carter said. “You’ve been reviewing the
videos from in here.”
Samuels nodded, glanced down at her tablet and changed screens, then
continued.
“So we need to get people out looking at the buildings on the other
piers. There’s probably production facilities, workshops, storage areas. The
Atlantian’s didn’t import everything, they couldn’t. They had to produce some
basic consumables on site. And if it’s here on Atlantis, it’s probably going to
be in the other city too. And I think we should call it
When no one said anything, she looked up and saw them all staring at
her.
“What? You don’t like the name? Or did you think all this stuff just
popped out of thin air?” She laughed. “They made all these gadgets, gizmos and
doohickeys somewhere. And they didn’t do it in the labs, at least, not on a
mass production basis.”
“So we might not need to import stuff from Earth.” Tammy said. “We can
scan, copy, or reverse engineer whatever we want.”
Andi nodded.
“We’re having a meeting in the auditorium at sixteen hundred. I’m going
to tell everyone what’s happening, and offer those that want to leave a chance
to.” Carter said. “Once we know what we have left, you get with the department
heads, and have them assign teams to go out into the city, starting tomorrow
morning. Everything not directly related to defense or operating the city
stops. This just jumped to the top of the get it done list.”
She looked back and forth between Andi and Tammy. “You two block out
some time in the next few days, don’t plan on it being before Monday, but I
want you to sit down, and put your heads together, and bring me a list of
ideas. Get drunk, thumped up, whatever it takes. But you work well together,
you feed each other ideas. I want them in front of me.”
She turned and looked at Keller. “Jenn, what do I need to worry about
from your department? You’re three nurses down, you can have one back now. If
things get hairy, you can pull the other one. Tammy stays with me. Where are
you on supplies, patients, anything pressing?”
“Two patients this morning, no one that needs to be evacuated. A broken
arm and a recovering appendicitis. We just took in fresh supplies two days ago,
so we’re good on blood and medicines.” Keller told her. She looked down at her
tablet, scrolled through several screens and looked up. “I’ve got a physicians
assistant due to rotate out in two weeks, so we can probably count him as being
gone.”
“If you’re talking about Art, he wanted to stay.” Tammy said. “He tried
to re-up, but the IAO told him that they preferred to get another MD in here to
replace him. He showed me the letter.”
“He didn’t tell me that.” Keller said. “He just told me that his
contract was up, and that he was going to be going home in a few weeks. Now that
I think about it, he didn’t seem real thrilled with the prospect, like most
people are.”
“That’s because he’s afraid of you. He sees you as this little dynamo
that works miracles. I think he has a crush on you too. And he doesn’t have any
family on Earth, so there’s not much to go back too.”
“One of you can talk to him after the meeting. Just feel him out, don’t
try to talk him out of it if he wants to go.” Carter said.
She stood up and stretched. “I think I’m going to go lay down for a little
while.” She looked around at them as they looked up at her. “I feel fine, but I
think this is probably going to be a long day, and I just want to make sure I’m
rested up for it.”
She smiled as she looked down at Tammy. “I don’t think it would hurt to
charge my batteries a little either. You wanna come play?”
Interior-Office
1250 Hours
“There’s a ZPM in place in the
“Well, you said you can work the controls, and monitor the receptacle
from here as we charge them, so that means we don’t have to put you at risk.”
Tammy said as she looked up from her terminal. “We only need four more, and I
can load them, make sure they start to charge, then step out of the room till
you tell me it’s safe. That should take less than an hour, all told.”
“But what if something goes wrong?” Carter asked. “What if one of them
overloads, and I can’t stop it?”
“Then you tell me, and I go in and shut it down from the console, or
disable the receptacle.” Tammy said as she stood up and stepped over to the
desk. She put her hands on the desk, and leaned toward her. “Don’t do this,
Sam. Don’t start making up reasons not to do what you know needs to done,
because you’re afraid someone might get hurt.”
“I’m afraid it’s you that’s going to get hurt.”
“Hurt worse than having them take you from me, then not knowing where
you are, and not being able to find you?” Tammy shook her head. “No, That’s a
nightmare I won’t live through when I can prevent it. I wasn’t affected last
night, you saw the scan. So I’m the best choice to do this.”
“I’ve studied the controls for the console, so I’ll know what to do if
something does go wrong. Which it won’t.” She moved around the side of the desk
and held her arms out. “Now give me a kiss, I have to get going if we’re going
to be ready.”
Sam stood up, stepping into Tammy’s arms, wrapping hers around her. “You
come back to me.” She whispered, then pulled back, looking into her eyes. “I
love you.” She said as she kissed.
“I love you.” Tammy said as she kissed her again. “We’re going to be
fine, Sam. You’ll see.”
Interior-Subbasement Three
1340 Hours
“We’re done, Sam.” Tammy said as the ZPM popped up in the receptacle.
“That’s the last one.”
“Good. Push it back down, gently, don’t force it. It should drop on it’s
own once you get it seated.”
“It’s in.” Tammy told her. “I’m heading for the east pier. I hope they’re
all on the same floors, or we may not make fourteen hundred.”
“Go to the north first.” Carter said as she scrolled through the cities
power screens. “There’s a squad of marines over there, and they already found
the receptacle. They’ll escort you down to it. We should know where the one on
the east side is before you’re done.”
“Copy that. I’m on my way.” Tammy said, scooping up her bag and jogging
down the hall toward the porter.
Interior-McKay’s Lab
1355 Hours
“Dr. McKay?” Lorne said as he stepped into the room.
“Yes, what is it?” McKay said, not looking up from his laptop.
“You’re needed in the gateroom.”
“What?” McKay asked, turning around on his stool. “Why didn’t they cal...”
He stopped when he saw Lorne, and the four marines standing behind him. “What
is this? Does Sheppard know...” He tapped his comm, but before he could speak,
Lorne stepped over and plucked it off his ear.
“My orders are you escort you to the gateroom, sir.” Lorne said evenly.
He motioned to toward the door. “After you.”
McKay looked at the marines, back at Lorne, then back at the marines. He
started to say something, but apparently thought better of it, and accompanied
them out into the hall, then down to the porter.
Interior-Gateroom, Atlantis
1405 Hours
“Sheppard!” McKay called when he saw him standing at the foot of the
stairs leading to the
“I know, Rodney.” Sheppard said. “We got an emergency message from the
SGC with instructions to send people back to Earth. The others have already
gone through, you’re the last one.”
“What? No, no, no, no, no. I can’t go back to Earth.” McKay said,
backing away, and looking around. “I have to figure out what’s going on, where
these power readings are coming from. And when are we coming back, I have to
pack. I can’t just to go Earth like this. What abou...”
“Lorne.” Sheppard said quietly.
At Maj. Lorne’s signal, two marine’s stepped forward and grabbed McKay’s
arms, leading him toward the gate. He started to struggle, but they tightened
their grip, and he gave up, realizing that fighting them was useless. He let
them lead him to the gate.
“Rodney.” Sheppard called, not moving from his place at the foot of the
stairs.
The marines stopped, just short of the event horizon, and McKay turned
to look at him.
“Tell Gen. Landry, message received, operation completed. Next contact
eighteen hundred hours..” He nodded at the marines, turned, and walked away.
“What?” McKay asked as one of the marines spun him around, and pushing
him into the event horizon.
Interior-Gateroom, SGC Earth
1405 Hours
“Dr. McKay, welcome back to Earth.” Landry said as he stepped up the
ramp toward him.
“What’s going on, general? Sheppard said that they had been told to
return people to earth, and said to tell you, ‘message received, operation
completed. Next contact eighteen hundred hours’, and...”
“Take Dr. McKay and put him with the others.” Landry said as he turned
and walked back down the ramp. “Keep them together. No one talks to them until
I know more about what’s going on.” He walked through the blast doors, and
disappeared down the corridor.
Interior-Kitchen
1420 Hours
“We need to do this in three groups. I’ve been working on a script...”
Andi said, looking around the table. She slid a small stack of papers into the center
of the table. “We need to do the military first, but in two groups. Officers
and NCO’s, then the enlisted.”
She looked over at Sheppard. “You need to impress on the officers and
NCO’s, that once they join us, they are becoming mercenaries. Then tell them
that they will be the command group for the Atlantis Defense Force that will be
established once we know that we’ve been successful in seceding from the IOA.
And use the word seceding. Let them know that we’re establishing an independent
state here.”
“Mercenaries? They’re not going to like that. We’ll lose half of them,
if not more.” He said, shaking his head.
“No, they’ll recognize that you’re being honest with them, and that will
make them more likely to stay. You know these men, John. But I know men as a
group.” Samuels said. “Most of them plan on being career military. That kind of
man wants to serve, to be part of something bigger than himself, that he can
make a contribution to.”
“Why the Atlantis Defense Force?” Carter asked “You picked that name for
a reason.”
“Busted again. I gave it alot of thought before I settle on that. I
chose it because it makes us sound like the little guy, defending our home
against the big bad IOA.
Carter nodded. “Go on.”
“I made up a video presentation to show at all three meetings, made up
of excerpts of Jennifer’s meeting with the IOA. I included clips of Jennifer
outlining Sam’s request for an independent department, Woolsey saying he didn’t
see a problem with it, then Sam’s exchange with him on details on the department
and a compensation package. Both of his responses clearly indicate a
willingness on the part of the IOA to agree to what sounds like a reasonable
request.”
She played the video she had made up on her laptop.
“The fact that Woolsey comes across as a weaselly snake oil salesman
works to our advantage.” She said as she stopped it.
There was laughter and heads nodding around the table
“Then we play Landry’s message to John.”
She hit play, and let Landry’s message play through, watching their
reactions. She hit stop when it finished.
“All of you knew what was coming. But each of you showed anger again by
the end of Landry’s message. We can expect a similar, if not greater reaction
from each group we show it to when they see it cold.”
“What was Maj. Lorne’s reaction when you showed him Landry’s message?”
She asked John.
“He was angry, and asked what we were going to do.”
“We. No hesitation? The first thing he asked is what are WE going to
do?”
Sheppard nodded.
“And when you asked him to join our mutiny?”
“I didn’t put it that way. I gave him the list of people to round up,
and as he was leaving, I asked him if he understood what we were doing. He
said, ‘The right thing’.”
“The right thing. Again, we can expect the same reaction from most of
the people that see this video.” She stopped and looked around the table.
“Before anyone says it. Yes, we’re manipulating peoples emotions. It can’t be
helped. But we’re going to offset that by giving them accurate information.
We’ll make the full video and transcript of Jennifer’s meeting available, and
tell them upfront that we lied to the IOA about Sam’s condition. But for the
moment, we have to let this video do our work for us.”
“Would it not be better to simply proceed as normal, as though nothing
out of the ordinary has occurred?” Teyla asked. “Among my people, all are
expected to follow as our leaders decide. They are after all, wiser. This is
why they lead.”
“I’ll take this Andi.” Carter said. “Your people are working for the
common good, or against a common enemy, Teyla. Would you say the same thing if
your people were talking about uprising against your leaders?”
Teyla shook her head.
“That’s what we’re doing. I thought you understood that.”
“Yes, but you are much loved among the people of Atlantis, as is Col.
Sheppard and Dr. Weir before you. Your people speak fondly of you, and it has
hurt them deeply to hear that you have fallen ill, and will no longer lead
them. Many have feelings of distrust for the IOA, and fear that their new
leader will not care for them as well as you.”
“That’s why we’re going to talk to them Teyla.” Andi said. “We want them
to know that Sam is alright, and that she will be resuming her command.
Continuing to lead them as she has before.”
Teyla nodded.
“But we’re asking them to rise up against the IOA, which means that
those that decide to stay, may never be able to return home, or see their
families again. We’re placing a terrible burden on them, and we have to give
them a choice, to return home, or stay and help make Atlantis what we all think
it can be.”
“Jennifer has told me of your plans, and I appreciate what you wish to
do for the people of this galaxy.” She turned and looked at Carter. “You know
that you will always have my support, and the support of my people. We will stand
with you, and bring in others to stand as well. You need not fear, we will
prevail.”
Carter nodded, unable to speak for a moment.
“Sam?” Tammy said quietly.
Carter waved her off. “Thank you Teyla. The support of your people was
never in doubt. And the love I feel for you...We’re going to make Atlantis
something we can all be proud of, and want to call home. We just need to give
our people a chance to make their own choices.”
She looked over at Samuels. “Anything else Andi?”
“I just need approval on the script, then you need to rehearse it few
times.” She held up her hand as Carter started to speak. “No Sam, not just read
it, rehearse it. It only takes about twenty minutes, so you’ll have time to run
through it at least twice.”
She looked over at Tammy. “I want her in a gown, light grey, pale green
or blue, cream would be perfect. Not white. I want her looking saintly and
pure, not angelic. Brush her hair back from her face, no make-up. No shoes
either, but I doubt if anyone will notice that.”
She turned to Sheppard, sliding a sheet of paper across the table too
him. “Read through that. Stick as close to it as you can. Walk through it at
least once before you go in and talk to your men. This has to sound like it’s
coming from you. You can improvise, but only to substitute your own language.”
“I’m not much of an actor, doc.” Sheppard said.
“Bullshit, you do it all the time. You’re just using someone else’s
words this time.” She wrote something quickly on the bottom of a pad, tore it
off and folded it several times, then slid it over to him. “Put that in your
pocket. Don’t look at it till you’re done.”
She looked at her watch. “Your first meeting is in thirteen minutes. You
need to be done with both, and with us at the auditorium by thirteen-fifty.
Fifty-five at the latest. You need to get going.”
“Jennifer, walk him out will you?”
Sheppard and Keller stood up and left the room. Carter looked at Andi
for a moment, a puzzled expression on her face.
“Why did you do that?” She asked.
There was a long silence before she answered.
“He has to know that his woman has faith in him, that she believes in
what he’s doing.” Samuels said, looking down at the table. For the first time
since they had begun the meeting, they were seeing her look uncomfortable. “I
didn’t like doing that. But I didn’t have any choice.” She said quietly.
She looked up, glancing around the table. “He already knows that his
leader and his peers support and believe in him. But she’s key in this. Three
days ago, it wouldn’t have mattered. Now, she gives us an edge.”
She put her head in her hands. “God, I hate myself sometimes.” She
muttered.
1520 Hours
“Attention all Atlantis personnel. Please assemble in the auditorium at
fourteen hundred hours. All Atlantis personnel. Assemble in the auditorium at
fourteen hundred hours.”
The announcement was repeated every ten minutes for the next half hour.
Interior-Corridor,
1550 Hours
“Ronin!” Carter said as she stepped from the porter. She stepped over
too him and hugged him, making him stiffen at the unexpected greeting. He put
his arms around her awkwardly, patting her lightly on the back, looking around,
a look of discomfort on his face.
Carter released him, stepping back and looking up at him. She turned and
looked at Tammy.
“Don’t you think he’d look better with short hair?” She said, turning
him slightly so she could see his back. “Those dreadlocks just make him look
so...wild. I guess some women like it, but...”
“I know Amelia would like to see him lose them. That scraggly beard
too.” She looked up at him. “She thinks he’s hot, but the hair turns her off.”
She smiled up at him. “Hi, I’m Tammy Ford.” She said, holding out her hand.
“I know,” he grunted. “You’re a nurse. You stitched me up a couple
times.” He paused. “Who’s Amelia?”
Tammy looked around, then turned him and pointed at a young woman
standing just outside the auditorium doors. “That’s her.” She said. As she did,
Amelia glanced over, then looked away quickly, moving into the auditorium. “See
what I mean?”
“She thinks I’m hot?” He asked, looking after her.
“Mmmm hmmm. You clean up your act a little bit, and I think you might
have a chance with her.” Tammy said. “She’s your kind of girl too. I bet she
could kick your ass, or come close.”
“Really.” He said slowly.
“If we’re through giving Ronin dating tips, I think we should get
started.” Sheppard said as he walked up. He turned and looked at Ronin. “I like
your hair. Makes you look scary.”
He turned to Carter. “Two officers, both lieutenants, one NCO, eleven
enlisted. One of the lieutenants wants some more time to think about it, and
may change his mind.” He said quietly. He pulled a piece of paper from his
pocket and handed it to her. “Samuels prediction. That woman scares me.”
She nodded, opened the note and looked at it. Two lieutenants, one NCO,
thirteen enlisted, was written on it. She wadded it up and handed him back to
him. “Me too, I’m glad she’s on our side.”
Ronin looked over at Tammy, and gave her a small smile when she made a
scissors motion with her fingers.
“Let’s go.” Carter said, moving toward the auditorium. “It’s showtime
folks!”
Interior-Auditorium
1600 Hours
Carter made her way down they aisle to the front of the room. A table
had been setup, with a single chair behind it. Samuels was standing behind the
table, and clipped a microphone to the collar of her gown, then took her hand
and steadied her as she stepped up onto it, then onto the table.
She stood looking out over the room. Every civilian member of the
expedition was present, and the room was crowded, people lined the rear and
side walls, and some were seated on the floor in front.
She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, people around the
room began to stand and applaud. In seconds, everyone was on their feet, clapping,
shouting and cheering, filling the room with a deafening din.
Carter looked down at Samuels, who made a palms down gesture, signaling
her to let them continue. She stood quietly, looking around, smiling as she
picked out people in the crowd.
They went on for several minutes, then Samuels stepped out into the
center aisle, her hands raised in the air. “Ladies and gentlemen! Please, take
your seats.” She had to repeat it several times as she moved up and down the
aisle. They sat again, settling down as they waited for her to speak.
“Thank you.” Carter said, her voice coming from speakers around the
room. “I honestly wasn’t expecting that.” Another round of applause and a wave
of laughter filled the room. She continued when it died down. “I hope you feel the
same way when I’m finished.”
“You’ve been told that I resigned my command, and my commission because
of a health condition that rendered me unfit for duty. This was true as far as
it went.” She began, then launched into a brief review of what had happened.
“My medical team has determined, that while my current condition is not
treatable, it is manageable, making it possible for me to function normally.
And resume my duties if I choose to.”
“Yesterday, Dr. Keller represented me in a meeting with the SGC and the
IOA, where she reviewed my condition with them. She also tendered my
resignations.” She paused, then continued. “I have to tell you, that Dr. Keller
misrepresented the severity of my condition to the IOA at my request. By the
time she met with them, we knew that my condition is manageable, and that I
could competently perform my duties as expedition commander.”
The assembled crowd began whispering among themselves, and she
continued, speaking over them.
“We presented a proposal to establish a new department here in Atlantis,
to be headed by me, independent of, but under the jurisdiction of the IOA. The
purpose of this new department was to be research and exploitation,
specifically, on methods to improve the quality of life for the people of the Pegasus
galaxy, and to establish trade between the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies.
Neither of which has been possible under the IOA to date.”
She turned, and a screen dropped from the ceiling. A moment later,
Samuels video began playing on it.
“As you can see, The IOA was receptive to my proposal, even after they
had been given an exaggerated worst case scenario of my current status.
Granted, they didn’t have complete details on what I had in mind.”
“We did, however, forward a detailed outline for the department, along
with a summary of salary and benefits requirements for senior staff. They must
not have liked what they read. Because earlier this morning, Col. Sheppard
received this.”
She turned toward the screen again, and the Landry message began to
play.
There were gasps, then angry shouts as it played.
She stood looking at the screen after it ended, then turned and looked
out over the crowd.
“As you can see. The IOA has decided that I am a threat to them. I’m
going to call that a self fulfilling prophecy. Col. Sheppard and I, working in
conjunction with a small group of senior staff, have decided to take Gen.
Landry’s advice. Effective immediately, I am returning to duty as commander of
the Atlantis expedition.”
A cheer went up, and she had to wait a moment before she could continue.
“I’m not finished. I’m not only taking command, I intend to take full
control of Atlantis, no longer bowing to the whims of the IOA. Atlantis will be
run as an independent state, with me as it’s titular head for the foreseeable
future.”
There was a stunned silence, then the noise of people talking and
whispering grew again.
“Col. Sheppard has already spoken to the military. With a few
exceptions, they have decided to join us, so we will be able to defend
Atlantis, and our away teams as we continue to send them out. I have also taken
steps toward that goal, by placing ZPM’s in all six of the cities power
modules.”
“I thought the city only used three ZPM’s. The ones in the central
tower.” A voice near the front said.
Carter looked at Samuels. Andi shook her head, and shrugged her
shoulders.
“That’s what we thought initially, because most of the city has never
been explored. I recently discovered another power room in one of the towers on
an outlying pier. We have since verified that there are power centers in the
main tower of each of the other two piers. And each of those uses a single
ZPM.”
She paused, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Those main towers
also control the systems of the outlying piers. Including their shields, which
I activated before I came down for this meeting.”
“As I said, I plan on running Atlantis as an independent state. To do
that, I need your help, so I am inviting those of you that wish to remain with
us, to go to your quarters when we’re finished, and remain there until we call
for you.”
She paused looking around the room. “Please consider your decisions
carefully. Those of you that decide to leave, will not be able to return. We
would welcome you home if you did, but we doubt if the IOA will allow it. This
is going to be a one way trip for you.”
“You have until eighteen hundred hours to make your decisions and
assemble in the gateroom with your possessions. I’m sorry, but you will only be
able to take what you can carry.”
“Those of you that decide to stay with us need to know that success is
by no means a foregone conclusion. And I have nothing to offer you but more
hard work, a place to live, and the sense of accomplishment we’ll get as we work
toward our goals, just as we have in the past. This time though, we’re going to
make a difference. We have allies among the peoples of the Pegasus galaxy, who
will support us, and work with us. So we won’t be alone. But we have enemies
too, some that we eventually hope to make our friends, some that will never be.
And now we’re looking at making one of our own people.”
“Once we know how many of our expedition will be returning home, and
have departed for Earth, The rest of us will meet again, here, in the
auditorium. At that time, I will review the current status of the city, our
short term needs and goals, and assign teams for each.”
“Thank you all for your hard work and support while I’ve been here. I
will remember you all fondly. No matter what you decide, I wish you the best,
and hope you find the happiness you deserve.”
She jumped down from the table, and moved into the crowd, shaking hands
and hugging people as they came up to her. It took them almost ten minutes to
get her out of the auditorium, because she wanted to talk to everyone that
approached her. They finally cleared a space around her, and Ronin led the way
toward the door.
“You went off script, but it worked. Good job.” Samuels said
“You did that, the applause, didn’t you?” Carter asked Samuels as they
exited the auditorium.
“No, my plants were in the back, and along the west wall. Those people
did that on their own.” Samuels said. “Teyla had it nailed. You are much loved
among your people. My queen.”
“Stop that. We’re not turning this into a monarchy.”
“We’ll see.”
Interior-Kitchen
1640 Hours
Tammy sat Sam’s drink down in front of her as she sat down.
“Drink that, you look a little pale, and I want you to lay down for a
few minutes, just to relax.”
“Yes mother.”
“Good girl.” Tammy said as she sat down next to her.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ronin asked. “You look fine.”
“Andi turned her into a sex fiend.” Jennifer said lightly.
“Really.” He said, his eyes narrowing.
“Back off, big guy.” Tammy said. “This ones mine.”
“I thought so.” He nodded. “You look good together.”
He stood up and walked over to the door. “How do I get out of here?”
“Where are you going?” Carter asked.
“I need to unpack and get cleaned up. You don’t need me here. But I’ll
be ready when you do.”
“Thank you, Ronin.” She said, smiling at him.
Ronin looked at Tammy, then turned and walked out the door.
“I’ll be right back.” Tammy said, as she stood up and followed him.
“Ronin.” Tammy said as she caught up with him. She led him over to the
porter, and stood in the door as he tapped in the symbols for the porter
closest to his quarters. “Don’t cut your hair. Come back tomorrow, Sheppard can
bring you over. I’ll help you with it if you want.”
He nodded. “I like her too.” She heard him say as the doors closed.
“How many are we going to lose?” Sam asked Andi as Tammy came back into
the room and took her seat again.
“At least two hundred. Mostly the ones with families and kids on Earth.
More than half of the department heads, not because they have families but
because they’ll feel threatened. Of the rest, the younger ones will stay, so
will most of the over fifties.”
She tapped on her tablet, scrolling down through her notes.
“Kiss most of the PhD’s goodbye, you lost them when you went off script
and said you had nothing to offer them but hard work, they didn’t hear anything
beyond that. The unskilled labor will stay because they like it here. The work
is easy, and they have a better quality of life than they can afford anywhere
on earth.”
“Most of my nurses will stay. I’ll probably lose one doctor, but the PA
we were going to lose will probably stay, so we break even there.” Jennifer
said.
“The PhD’s are no big loss, present company excluded.” She said, smiling
at Tammy. “The mid-level people are the ones that actually get the work done.
We lost at least five good people in the first group we sent out. Too bad they
were moles and spies.”
“Two hundred out of six hundred and thirty. And we won’t know what
skills we need to replace for two hours.” Carter said. “Or where we’re going to
get them.”
“It’s going to be more than two hundred. And I think we need to make the
offer again in a few days. That will be another twenty or thirty.”
“Why do it again?” Sheppard asked.
“People are going to change their minds, regret that they stayed. We
don’t want them.” Samuels said. “Better to be rid of them before they can stir
up unrest.”
“And I have an answer to where you’re going to get your skills.” She
said, looking at Tammy.
“You want to use the teaching machine. I thought you didn’t think that
was safe?” Tammy said.
“I said I wanted to wait until we knew more about it, and saw that you
weren’t negatively affected.” Andi said. “You appear to be fine. Your scan results
show no abnormal activity, or modification to your brain chemistry or tissue.
I’m starting to think that its safe to use.” She paused, looking down at her
tablet. “On anyone with the ancient gene.”
“And on other people?”
“We don’t know. So we’ll have to test it. I do...”
“No.” Carter said. “I’m sorry Andi, but I need you. I can’t afford to
have your brains scrambled if it doesn’t work. We can ask for a volunteer
later, or talk to Teyla, and get one of her people. Not her, at least to
start.”
“You were willing to risk Tammy’s life, but no...”
“The machines were designed to work on the ancients. That means the
ancient gene. She has it. The risk was minimal, and given that she had already
been accidentally scanned by a different machine, with no ill effects, I saw
the risk as acceptable.”
“Okay, I’ll buy that.” Andi said. “We won’t need the man power for a
little while since we’re going to scale back operations and do an inspection of
the city. I’d like to add a mapping operation to that. We might as well mark
where everything is while we’re out looking around.”
“But I still want to use the teaching machine. The more people we have
that understand ancient, the better off we’ll be. That would make it easier to
identify and tag equipment, plus keep people from getting hurt as they move
around in those buildings. Make it voluntary, and offer it to the people that
have the ancient gene.”
“That’s the kind of idea I can use.” Carter said. She looked over at
Sheppard. “Did you get that list of names from who I told you to get it from?”
She asked.
“He’s gone, colonel.” Sheppard laughed. “Can we just use his name when
we have too? But yes, I have the names. Thirty-seven people never got the gene
therapy.”
“Let’s hope most of them stay, and we can offer them that too.” Andi
said. “Wait a minute.” She said looking over at Sheppard. “Have your guys been
tested for the gene?”
He nodded. “All of them have it. That’s one of the selection criteria
for assignment to Atlantis.”
“How many do you have left? How close were my numbers?” Samuels asked.
“You were off by two, on the high side. We’re losing eleven enlisted.”
He looked down at his tablet, did a quick tally and looked up at her. “Nine
officers, twenty-six NCO’s, and four hundred thirty-four enlisted. That’s four
hundred and seventy all told.”
He looked back at his tablet, tapped on the screen a few times, and
looked up again. “I just mailed you and the colonel a skills list. More than
half my guys have some kind of degree, all of them have at least a year of
college. There’s probably fifty masters degrees in this group.”
“So we just replaced alot of the skills we’re losing without leaving
this table.”
“John could be a member of Mensa if he wanted. He passed the test.”
Jennifer said, looking at him. “Teyla told me.”
“Where is Teyla? She came over with us.” Carter said. “Where did she
go?”
“She’s out on the couch in the living room. I think she fell asleep”
Tammy said as she stood up. She moved behind Sam and pulled her chair away from
the table. “Come on, you. I want you to lay down for a few minutes before we go
down to the gateroom to say goodbye, then do that second meeting.”
“You’re going to say goodbye to them?” Samuels asked.
“Of course, they’re friends, and they’re just doing what they think is
best for themselves. We can’t fault them for that.” Carter said. “It’s just the
decent thing to do.”
Interior-Gateroom, Atlantis
1745 Hours
She moved among them, shaking hands, saying a few words, or getting a
hug. Tammy and Jennifer stood off to the side watching. Several people gathered
up their belongings, and went back to their quarters, but she didn’t say
anything.
“Colonel Carter?” The Ops tech called down from the balcony. “It’s
time.”
“Thank you, Chuck.” She said, moving back to stand next to Tammy and
Jennifer. She slipped her arm around Tammy’s waist, and laid her head on her
shoulder.
She could hear the tech talking to Sheppard, then the gate started to
dial. Moments later, the vortex burst forth, then receded.
“The iris is open on the other end. It’s safe to proceed.” Chuck called
down from his station.
People began moving forward, and Carter waved at the ones that looked
back. It took almost two minutes for them all to go through.
Exterior-North Pier
1800 Hours
“The gate is open, colonel. Channel open, now!” The Ops tech said.
Sheppard pointed at Lorne and nodded.
“Stargate Command! This is Lorne! We are under attack, open the iris for
emergency evacuation of wounded!” He yelled as he fired his P-90 into the air.
“Understood, Atlantis. We are opening the iris.” There was a pause.
“Iris is open, Atlantis.”
Sheppard, Teyla and Ronin were spread out around Lorne firing various
weapons, and throwing small charges of C4 into the air.
“Start sending them through.” Sheppard said as he pulled off a burst
with a P-90, then popped off half a dozen rounds with his Glock.
Several minutes later, the Ops tech came on. “They’re all through
colonel.”
“Shut it down.” Sheppard said, moving his hand in a slashing motion in
front of his throat, signaling the others to cease fire.
“Col. Sheppard? We got a databurst from the SGC while we were moving
people through. It’s a big one sir.”
“Copy.” Sheppard said. “Put it on a flash drive, or a tablet. I’ll come
get it in a little while.
“Yessir.”
1815 Hours
“Attention all Atlantis personnel. Please assemble in the auditorium
immediately. All Atlantis personnel. Assemble in the auditorium immediately.”
Interior-Auditorium
1830 Hours
“Thank you for coming.” She said, then paused, looking around the room
with a bright smile on her face. “And thank you for staying.” She had a
microphone on again, and spoke to them in a comforting voice.
There was a brief round of applause, and people looked around, smiling
at their friends.
“I need the military to move to the front of the room, we already have
your numbers. Everyone else, please form up by departments. If the department
head is missing, I need the next senior member to take attendance. There are
pads and pens on tables around the room. Please make a list of all remaining
personnel, and bring it forward when you’re done.”
They got the first sheets in a couple of minutes, and had them all in
less than ten.
Samuels tallied them up quickly, and looked up at Carter.
“I count four hundred sixty-two civilians, so we only lost a hundred and
seventy-seven. Three department heads out of eight are missing.” Andi said. “We
did better than I expected.”
“We have our numbers. Feel free to move around.” She turned to the
soldiers and marines behind her. “You too guys, feel free to mix. I’m going to
end the segregation between the military and civilians, and we’ll be
integrating everyone into different types of units.”
“We have four hundred and seventy military, four hundred sixty-two
civilians, plus me and my gang of ne’er-do-wells.”
That brought a laugh from the crowd.
“That’s the last time you’ll be referred to like that. From now on,
we’re Atlantian’s. And there are nine hundred and thirty-eight of us.”
A marine started clapping as he walked by her, then a med tech in scrubs
picked it up, and in moments, they were all applauding, smiling and slapping
each other on the back.
She took her microphone off and moved through the crowd. stopping to
talk to small groups, then moving on. Tammy stood off to the side, watching her
progress, but staying out of the way.
“She really knows how to work a room.” Samuels said to Sheppard. “She’s
got them right in the palm of her hand.”
“Give it a rest, doc.” Sheppard said. “She’s happy to see these people,
and she wants them to know it. This is real. Let her enjoy it.”
She was smiling broadly as she stepped away from a group of marines. She
saw Tammy and waved her over. She had put her microphone back on, and she took
Tammy’s hand as she turned toward the crowd.
“We’re going to put a hold on all but critical research until further
notice. I’ll get with department heads later, and they’ll let you know who is
affected. Beginning tomorrow morning we’ll be dispatching teams to go out into
the city, beginning with the outer piers, to inspect and map the areas we
haven’t explored yet.”
“We’re looking for something specific, so I’m going to let Andi Samuels
tell you what that is, and how you’re going to find it.”
She took off her microphone and handed it Andi as she walked over. She
led Tammy over to a chair and sat down.
“I feel good. I think we might just pull this off.” She said
“You look like you’re having a good time. That’s nice to see.” Tammy
said, squeezing her hand.
“What we’re going to be looking for, is production, manufacturing, and
storage facilities on the outer piers. I wish I could tell you what the
equipment is going to look like, but I don’t have a clue about that. But we do
have a way to make it easier for you to identify them. Guys?”
Two marines wheeled a pair of ancient machines up behind her. She
stepped to the side so everyone could get a look at them. She picked up a
headset from one of them and held it in her hand as she spoke.
“These are ancient teaching machines. Tammy Ford, Col. Carter’s nurse,
has used one of them several times. Once to learn ancient language, another
time to learn how to use another ancient machine.”
She paused, looking around to see what kind of reaction that got. People
were looking at Tammy, but no one appeared surprised or upset by the news.
“In order to make identifying the ancient equipment easier, we’re asking
for volun...”
She stepped back, as a rush of people surged toward her, crowding around
the machines.
Carter laughed and stood up, and went over, plucking the microphone off
of Andi’s collar. She put it back on her own, and waved them back.
“Back it up people, back it up...we’ll get to everyone.” She said
grinning broadly. “My, my. No one volunteers that fast when Dr. McKay asks for
test subjects!”
The crowd burst out laughing, and a voice from the back of the room
shouted, “Yeah, but she looks like she knows what’s she’s doing!” Which brought
another wave of laughter.
“Okay, you got me on that one,” She smiled. “We need to limit this to
people that have the ancient gene. We haven’t tested it on anyone else, and I’m
not going to risk any of you until I have more time to study this thing, and
see if it’s safe to use on people without the gene.”
She held out her hand, and Andi gave her the headset. She held it over
her head. “The machine uses this headset to transmit energy into your brain
that excites the neurons, making them receptive to new information, which it
then transmits in another waveform. For the ancient language, the process takes
about forty seconds.”
A man stood up near the middle of the room. “I’m Dave Brewster, maam,
astrobiology. How do you know all that? Have you used the machine?”
She looked at him for a moment, then grinned. “Good questions, Dave. No,
I haven’t had the machine used on me, my staff won’t let me. But I have
operated it. I learned ancient the hard way. I used a book that Daniel Jackson
gave me, and I’ve been with the SGC for eleven years. You pick up alot along
the way.”
She looked over and waved for Tammy to join her.
“To answer the other part of your question. I read the manual. I know
that’s a strange concept for you guys, but us girls like to do that!”
Every woman in the room laughed, whooping and hollering as they
applauded. Carter took off the mike and gave it to Tammy.
“Like Sa...like the colonel said, the process takes about forty
seconds.” She said as she clipped the mike to her collar. “There is very little
physical sensation. I noticed a slight tingling and warming on my scalp, and
after about ten seconds, saw flashes of color from the corners of my eyes. That
lasted, maybe tens seconds or so. Following that, I began to see images, but
not visually. These were mental images, like you get when you think of a
favorite place, or the face of a friend. I wasn’t able to get any one of them
clearly in my mind before the process ended.”
“When Col. Carter said the process was completed, I turned and spoke in
ancient to her and Dr. Keller. Since neither of them speak ancient, I wrote it
on a pad and showed it to the colonel. She translated for Dr. Keller.”
“What did you say?” a voice called out.
“She said I have a big ass!” Carter said as she walked over and took the
mike from her.
“We can do three people at a time on each machine, so we’ll do you in
groups of six. As you get done, say something to Tammy. Keep it brief,
pleasant, and clean please.”
She looked over at Sheppard. “John, we’ll do your guys on my machine,
department heads, send me one of yours at a time over here to Tammy’s machine.
I want to keep this leveled out across the current structure.”
Sheppard stood up and walked over to a group of soldiers. “Show me
hands.” He said. Every hand in the group went up. He grinned and nodded, then
walked down the line tapping on the first eight shoulders he came to. “Line up.”
He went over and took his place at the head of the line. Carter looked
up at him. “You sure?”
He nodded. “Can’t ask them to do it if I won’t.” He said.
“Don’t even ask.” Tammy told her, putting the headsets on the first
three people in her line.
Carter handed him and two soldiers the headsets. “Put these on.” She
said as she started working the controls. “Ready?” She asked. All three nodded.
She started the machine, counted down, then held out her hand for the headsets.
“Did you really say she had a big ass?” Sheppard asked Tammy in ancient.
“No.” Tammy laughed.
“Sorry, maam.” the soldier behind him said in ancient. “He asked my
question.”
“John, Stay up here, you can do the testing over there.” Tammy said.
“We’ll get more done that way.
They went through almost a hundred people in a little over an hour.
There had been six people that machine had failed to work on. Carter called a
break, and waved for everyone to sit. She looked around the room.
“I’m getting hungry.” She said. “I’m sorry we disrupted everyone’s
dinner plans, but Col. Sheppard was kind enough to break into stores and
brought us all MRE’s. Soft drinks and water are in the coolers by the doors.
Let’s have our first meal together as a group. How does that sound?”
At Sheppard’s signal, sheets were pulled from tables along the outside
of the room, and coolers were wheeled in from outside. As people headed for the
tables, she spoke again.
“Would my cooks stand up please?” She said, looking around the room.
Several men stood up near the middle of the room. “Louie! You stayed! Thank
god!” She said, getting a laugh. “Tammy here is a great cook, but I really miss
your SOS...I’m sorry, creamed chipped beef on toast. Will you make it for me
tomorrow? I promise I’ll come down.”
“You got it, boss.” Louie yelled, getting a cheer of his own.
“Good. Now everyone dig in, find someone to sit with, and get to know
each other.” she said as she went over and sat down next to Jennifer.
“We’re off to a good start, Jenn.” She said. “I need this day to end
well. It just has to.”
Interior-Kitchen
2210 Hours
“Thoughts?” Carter asked, as she looked around the table. “How did we
do? Anyone not satisfied with what we got done today?”
She looked over at Samuels.
“What?” Samuels said. “I’m walking on air right now. The only thing that
could make this day better would be getting laid!”
“You have my permission to entertain guests. Feel free, when we’re done
here of course.” Carter said. She looked down the table at Sheppard.
“You have something. Good or bad?” She asked.
“It can wait till morning. If we start on it, we’ll be up all night.” he
said. “It’s a mixed bag.”
“Teyla?”
She just shook her head.
“Would you like to stay over Teyla? We have room, there’s another bed in
the...”
“Thank you, no. Jennifer has asked me to spend the night with her and
John, and I have already accepted.” She smiled at Sam. “And I believe that
Tammy wishes to be alone with you.” She stood up and looked around the table.
“Andi, I believe Sgt. Wilkins would be most pleased to hear from you...”
“Can’t you keep your mouth shut about anything?” Andi laughed, shaking
her finger at Jennifer.
“I’m doing breakfast in the mess hall in the morning. Sleep in, and be
here at eight.” Carter told them as she kissed them all good night at the
porter.
Interior-Bedroom
2230 Hours
“I’m going to take a shower.”
Tammy pulled her gown off over her head and laid it on the bed. She
pulled Sam over to her, and skinned the gown up off her, and tossed it on top
of her own.
“Come join me. Then we can come back, and make love all night long.”
“What if I don’t want to wait?” Sam asked as they walked toward the
bathroom. “And I want to do it in the shower?”
“Then I guess I’ll just have to let you, won’t I?”
Interior-Bedroom
0140 Hours
“I want you to come with me.” Sam said. Her head was resting against
Tammy’s back as they lay together in their bed.
“Where?” Tammy asked.
“On...on my...journey.”
“I will, I promise.”
“No...I want you to come with me. I want to share it with you.”
“What are you thinking?”
“We have the same blood type.”
Tammy was silent for several minutes. “We’ll do it in the morning,
before anyone comes in.”
“Do you think it will work?”
“I hope so.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Now go to sleep, we’ll need to get up early.”
Sam kissed her shoulder blade, then snuggled in, and a few moments
later, was breathing deeply as she fell asleep.
“Thank you.” Tammy whispered, pulling Sam’s arm tighter around her. She
closed her eyes, smiling as she drifted off into sleep.