Confirming Carter2
Daedalus08
Interior-Kitchen
0705 Hours
“Where’s Geraan?” Carter asked as she came into the kitchen. She went
over to the coffee pot and poured a cup. “Refill?” She asked.
Tammy held out her cup, and Sam topped it off for her. “He went and
crawled in with Pharris in the middle of the night.” She said. “I have no idea
how he knew that she was here. I checked on him, and he was already snuggled in
and sound asleep. I don’t think she even woke up when her climbed in with her.”
“I did.” Pharris said as she came through the door. “But I’m used to
Phinnar joining me, so it was a comfort.” She looked around the room. “What is
that wonderful aroma? I think that’s what woke me up.”
“Coffee. It’s a stimulant, and the most widely abused drug on Earth.”
Carter laughed, getting a cup from the tree and pouring some for her. She sat
it on the table. “This is bitter as it is, you can add cream and sugar to make
it more to your liking.”
“Be careful, Pharris.” Tammy laughed. “You may not want to go home if
you keep finding things you like about us.”
“We’ll need an emissary from your people, to ensure our dealings run
smoothly, and your people are treated well.” Carter said, looking at Pharris. “Andi
can find someone on her staff to send to your people.”
“You’ll want this too.” Tammy smiled, sliding the cream across the
table. “It adds body and taste.”
“Am I that obvious?” Pharris smiled, imitating Carter, and heaping sugar
into her coffee.
“Yes, but we’ve already made a connection, and while our foreign
minister may be willing to deal with just anyone, we are not.” Carter said as
she sipped her coffee.
She looked over at Tammy. “I’m hungry. Will you call down and order us
something? Or would you make me biscuits and gravy?”
“And eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, toast...the woman is a slave driver!”
Tammy said to Pharris as she got up and went to the fridge. “Do this, do that.”
She turned and looked at Pharris with a soft smile. “And do you know that she
didn’t even ask me before she ‘elevated’ me, to use Andi’s word.”
Pharris watched as she took items from the fridge, sat them on the
counter, then started pulling out pans.
“Pay no attention to the hired help, Pharris.” Carter laughed as she got
up and went over to Tammy. She turned her around and kissed her lightly,
smiling at her. “Thank you for making me breakfast. You know how much I like
your cooking.”
“I’m not making you breakfast.” Tammy laughed. “I’m making Pharris
breakfast. To further entice her to stay with us. As the emissary of her people
of course.”
“You have servants, yet you prefer to do for yourselves. I have had
dealings with leaders of many worlds, and most try to impress us with the
grandeur of their houses. You welcome me into your home, and treat me as an
honored guest.”
“Only friends and family sit at our table.” Carter said seriously. “If
you were a guest, we’d be in the dining room or the mess hall. And we’re not
going to be able to do this much longer, I think, if Andi has her way.”
Sam had just taken her seat again as Geraan came in, rubbing his eyes.
He came over and buried his face in her lap.
“Good morning, little one. Did you sleep well?” Sam asked him, lifting
him into her lap.
Geraan nodded, laying his head on her shoulder. “Ceweaul?” He said
softly.
“Cer-REE-uhl. Say your r’s.” Sam said, holding him up so he could see
her mouth moving. “And Tammy is making breakfast. Can you wait a few minutes?”
“Cer-ree-uhl.” He repeated. “Hassbrown?”
“Yes, she’s making hashbrowns.” Carter laughed. “Go get your tablet, and
play a game while she’s cooking. Go.” She said as she sat him on the floor,
then watched him run out the door.
He was back a moment later, and started crawling up on her, but she waved
him off, and pointed to the chair on the other side of Pharris. Geraan went
over and climbed up, turned on the tablet, and was immediately engaged in a
math puzzle.
“Tammy found some ancient children’s games in the database, so we’re
letting him learn naturally.” Carter told her. “We could put him on a teaching
machine and give him the knowledge, but then it wouldn’t mean anything to him.
We’ll train adults on them as needed, but children will still go to school, so
they appreciate the art of learning. It’s a skill in itself that has to be
learned.”
“Our scouts reported that there were Wraith ships in the area your ships
were in.” Pharris said. “We may not have been the only ones that saw you.”
“Larrin told Sheppard that last night. We knew that there was a risk of
detection.” Tammy said as she added flour, then milk to a pan. She stirred it,
then lowered the heat and put another pan on a burner and started laying strips
of bacon in it. “We felt that it was better to have the Wraith focus on us, and
perhaps take their attention off some of the worlds they’ve been culling
recently.”
“We’ve taken in groups of refugees recently that are telling us that the
last round of cullings are different than those in the past.” Carter told her.
“Now, they’re not just taking people, but destroying everything as they leave,
so survivors have nothing to live on.”
“We have seen this too.” Pharris said as she watched Geraan work through
a maze on his tablet. “None of our colonies has been culled, because they are
on remote worlds, and located far from the stargates.” She looked at Carter.
“These are the people we would wish to bring to your cities first.”
“When you’re ready, we’ll send a ship, or send jumpers through the gates
with medical teams.” Carter told her. “We can test your people for the ancient
gene, and give them the treatment. We think you should move those that respond
to the therapy to ships first where they’ll do you the most good, we can take
our time on manning up the cities.”
“We want to concentrate on
“How soon could we begin moving people to this
“
“We’ll have to check with Andi’s people, but I’d say we can be ready
within the week, two at the most.” Tammy said as she took the tray of biscuits
from the oven and turned it off. “But the more people we get in there, the
faster we can get it up and running.”
“Are you cooking again?” Andi asked as she came into the kitchen. “Good
morning. It smells delicious. Are you going to have enough for me?” She noticed
Pharris at the table, and her eyebrows went up. “Good morning, Pharris. I
didn’t know you had stayed. Are they treating you well?”
“We have plenty, but you know the rules.” Tammy said as she started
sitting food on the table. “You can start by putting out plates and utensils.”
“I have been made to feel welcome, and am being treated very well,
minister.” Pharris said as she started to stand. “Can I hel...”
“No.” Andi laughed, waving her back down. “I’ll get it. But you can help
with dishes after. House rules. If you don’t cook, you wash dishes. And that’s
the real reason I got you a staff, Tammy. I hate doing dishes.”
Tammy got glasses and bottles of juice from the fridge, then picked Geraan
up and brought him over to sit by her. She filled a plate for him, then grinned
at him. “Knock yourself out kid, you’re on your own this morning.”
“We were speaking of your city
“Our population problems are most pressing.” She told Andi as she sat
down next to her. “We fear for our planet bound people. Not just from the
Wraith, but the Genii, and others as well.”
“We told her that we had to check with you, but that we should be able
to start moving people into
“We can take a thousand as soon as you can get them there. We’d need a
week to get them trained so they can train others, then we can take another ten
thousand immediately.” Samuels said. “We have food and supplies to support that
many for several months on hand already, and if they don’t mind sharing
apartments, and are willing to work, we can add five thousand a week, up to
sixty thousand, or until we reach production capacity.”
Pharris choked on a mouthful of food, then turned to stare at Samuels.
Tears filled her eyes as she tried to speak.
“Perhaps we should save our talks until after we eat.” Andi said gently.
“I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No. It’s just that you speak so calmly of such large numbers of
people.” Pharris said as she got herself under control.
Samuels colored slightly. “I’m sorry, we look at this from different
perspectives.” She said. “I see numbers I need to fill certain goals, while you
see the people themselves. I’m meeting our new citizens as we bring them in,
but I still see...I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. I too look down and see what needs
to be moved here or there. It must be done.” Pharris said. “I was just not
expecting to be able to begin so quickly. You had said that you had only
recently acquired
“Yes. Five days ago.” Samuels told her. “But the parts of the city we’ll
be working and living in have been untouched for centuries, and are in almost
pristine condition. We need workers to go into the areas that the former
inhabitants had converted, or allowed to fall into disrepair. A few will go to
the production areas, so we can start ramping up food production.”
Sam turned and looked at Tammy. “How do you think Ronin would feel about
a field trip?”
“He’ll want to send an advance team, but as long as we stick close, and
don’t wander off, I don’t think he’ll object.” Tammy grinned. She looked down
at Geraan. “We may have to put this one on a leash though.”
Carter turned to Pharris. “I’d like you to go home, and invite your
fellow council members to come tour
“Thank you. I will have to resign my seat on the council, but that is not
a hardship.” Pharris said with a smile. “Walleen had mentioned several
excellent choices as emissaries, but they would do equally well as my
replacement.”
“We’ll speak to them when we tour
“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to finish my breakfast before we go
traipsing off to
Interior-Council Chambers, Traveler Ship Qintoo
0920 Hours
“Why did you stay, Pharris?” Arrin asked, glaring at her across the
table.
“I was invited.” Pharris replied. “It would have both unwise, and rude
to decline.”
“They would not harm her, Arrin.” Walleen said. “I think perhaps, that
they thought to sway her.”
“They did not, and even if they had, it would not have taken much to do
so.” Pharris said lightly. “We spoke of my grandson, Phinnar. And I watched
them with the child Geraan. You saw them at dinner last night. Good words for
everyone, and their patience with the boy...”
“An act to get us to...” Arrin began.
“No, I ate with them this morning, and the boy climbed into bed with me
in the middle of the night. Lady Tammy checked on him, but when she saw he was
safe, and that I did not object, returned to bed.” Pharris smiled at the
memory. “This morning, Lady Tammy cooked, at Samantha’s request. The foods they
eat! By the stars, if only to share their table, I desire their friendship.”
“The Earth foods were delicious.” Walleen said. “The meats with the
thick yell...”
“They call that ‘bacon cheeseburgers’. It seems that everyone in two
galaxies is enamored of them.” Pharris laughed. “Yet they take it as just
another in a host of choices available to them.”
“Did you hear Andi talking to Teyla about Earth?” She asked them. “There
are six billion people on their world. Six billion! And we struggle to maintain
two million.”
“Not all live as well as the people in Atlantis, Pharris.” Arrin said.
“Many live in poverty, and they war amongst themselves. Sheppard and Caldwell
were officers in the military of the dominant nation. They spoke freely of
their experiences, and the ways of their world.”
“Theirs is but one of several powerful nations, and they fear for their
homeworld.” Walleen said, glancing at Arrin.
“The fact that these people speak so freely about the problems on their
homeworld,” Larrin said as she came in, “Speaks volumes about them. They want
us to know that they are not without fault, and are willing to learn.” She
shook her head. “Sheppard forced a Wraith to give me my life back, and would
have killed it without a thought. I actually wish he had, but he was moved to
tears last night by that simple ceremony with those women.”
“The power they have over their people is impressive.” Arrin admitted.
“Even I could see that it was given to them freely. These people want these
women to lead them. How is that possible?”
“They wish us to join them to tour their city
“We are moving too quickly.” Arrin said. “They are powerful, but few in
numbers. There are just over a thousand of them in Atlantis.” He looked around,
and met empty stares. “You wish to proceed on this course then? Even you
Larrin?”
“Yes. What do we have to lose? Our way of life?” She asked, laughing
harshly. “Even if they betray us, the people they take in will have a better
life as their slaves than they do now. But the Athosians trust them. We all
know Teyla Emmagan. She is not one that is easily fooled. She has been allied
with them for almost five years, and has been our intermediary to them.”
“She intends to marry the bald one, Caldwell. They are betrothed, he was
saying that he was going to seek the consent of her people to wed.” Walleen
said. “And the old man, Bra’tac, of the
“I wish to see this
“I will go.” Walleen said
“Me too.” Larrin said. “I want to see this city, and find out just why
they are so eager to have us come live there.”
“Finally! A voice of reason.” Arrin said.
“They don’t say that they do not stand to gain, Arrin.” Larrin said.
“Their offer was to share what our people produce. I think we have met the
first trading partner that will deal fairly with us, because they need us. They
spoke of a partnership, which means a voice in how things are done. And we have
seen their partnerships in action, when we joined with them to fight the
replicators.”
“We lost three ships in that battle, Larrin.” Arrin said. “My son was on
one of them.”
“We all lost friends and loved ones that day. But the humans went into the
fire, Arrin.” Larrin said, shaking her head in amazement. “They went down onto
that planet, set their trap, and we all saw what happened. The Replicators are
no more. If only for that, we should listen closely when they speak.”
“And they kill the Wraith. They do not just speak of it, they seek them
out, and destroy their ships, and planet based operations.” Walleen said. “Did
you see the man that announced the queens last night? Do you know who that
was?” He asked Arrin. Arrin shook his head, and Walleen smiled. “Ronin Dex, of
Sateda. The runner. He is one of their knights. The Lady Tammy called him
guardian of the realm, and her protector in all things.”
“He looked near tears as well last night.” Larrin said. “I didn’t think
that was possible.” She turned to Pharris. “Contact them. Tell them the three
of us will be pleased to join them, and make the arrangements.”
“I will go.” Arrin said. “If they have won you all over...”
“We only go to look, Arrin.” Walleen said. “We have not committed to
anything yet.”
Interior-Kitchen
1045 Hours
“Col. Carter, we have a message from the Travelers. They say they will
be pleased to join you, and ask for details.” The Ops tech said when she
answered her comm.
“Thank you. Tell them that we can meet them here, send a jumper to take
them to
“Response is, Atlantis in one hour.”
“Advise them to radio before they go through the gate, so we can lower the
shield.” she told him. “We don’t want any accidents.”
Interior-Gateroom
1200 Hours
“Incoming wormhole.” The Ops tech said. “We’re getting a radio signal.
It’s the Travelers. They say five visitors.”
“Five?” Sheppard said as he brought the jumper down and parked it in
front of the gate.
“It’s okay, John.” Carter laughed when she saw that he had parked the
jumper right in front of the gate. “Now, would you back that thing up, and give
them a little room to come through?”
“Go ahead and lower the shield, Ops. Then tell them to proceed.”
She stepped up next to the jumper as Sheppard moved it back, then waved
for him to keep going. Tammy and Geraan joined her, while Ronin moved to the
front. Ronin looked back over his shoulder.
“Shields on?” He asked, looking at the pendants on their vests.
The travelers stepped through the gate, stopping short when they saw the
jumper. Carter went over to them and knelt in front of the boy they had brought
with them.
“You must be Phinnar.” She said, holding out her hand. “Your grandmother
has told us much about you.” She looked over her shoulder, and Tammy brought
Geraan over. “This is Geraan, of the Free Jaffa Nation.”
Geraan stepped up and looked at the other boy. “I am a great and mighty
warrior.” He said. “I am here to protect the warrior queen.”
Phinnar stepped forward, standing inches from Geraan. “I will be the
greatest pilot among the greatest pilots in the universe.” He replied.
“He’ll do.” Ronin said as he picked both boys up by the back of the
shirt and carried them around, then into jumper.
The adults laughed, and Carter motioned everyone around to the back of
the jumper.
“The gate at
Larrin had moved to the front, and taken the right hand seat. Carter
waved the others forward, and lowered jump seats for herself and Pharris.
“Any time you’re ready, John.” She said lightly.
Interior-Anchorage
1200 Hours
Sheppard raised the jumper, then dialed the gate. After the vortex
receded, he spoke quietly on his radio. The jumper dropped, then moved forward
into the wormhole. A moment later, they exited through the other gate, and he
climbed to treetop level, moving slowly toward the tower in the distance. As
the tower grew larger, he steered to the right, then turned sharply to the left
when they reached an opening in the trees.
“Much of the city is buried, or covered by forests.” Carter told them.
“We’re still doing structural inspections. We know that
“The stardrive still works?” Larrin asked, turning in her seat.
“Yes. It’s been powered up twice by us. Once two years ago, then again
the day we took possession.”
Sheppard guided the jumper down a long sloping tunnel of trees, then
they passed underground. They could see an open bay door ahead of them, and
moment later, they were inside it. Bringing the jumper to a stop, he lowered
the rear door, and motioned for Larrin to step out ahead of him.
When they exited, Carter saw that both boys were wearing harnesses, with
a leash attached to the back. Another shorter leash, joined them together.
“No! You didn’t!” She laughed, looking up at Ronin.
“Her idea.” He said, nodding at Tammy as he handed her the reins.
“I am not chasing these two all over this city.” She said as she shook
the reins. “Giddyup...go!”
“A practical solution to an age old problem.” Arrin laughed. “I wish I
had thought of it when my children were young.”
She grinned at him. “Andi will be with us in a moment. She had to make a
stop on the way down. Oh, here she comes now.”
“Good morning, and welcome to
She led them through a doorway and down a short hallway to a porter. She
tapped on a series of symbols as the doors closed, and then opened almost
immediately.
“We’re on the other side of the pier now, about ten levels up.” She said
as they stepped out into a long, high ceilinged room. The aisle they stood in
was lined on both sides with rows of shiny machines and equipment for a hundred
meters in every direction. “Feel free to look around, and let me know if you have
any questions. Samantha, Tammy, or John can tell you what the various machines
are. Everything is labeled. I don’t have the ATA gene, so I don’t read
ancient.”
“Really, this treatment you mentioned didn’t work for you?” Arrin asked.
“No, and I tried twice.” Samuels told him. “It’s effective in about
eighty percent of the people that test positive for the gene, and there is a
small chance, slightly under one percent, that the treatment can have an
adverse, or negative reaction. We can review the data with your doctors, so
they’ll know who might be at risk.”
“What are these machines for?” Pharris asked. “What did they do?”
“This side of the aisle, from here, all the way to the far corner, are
food processors. Raw materials drop down these chutes in the ceiling, is
sterilized, then fed into the machine, which can make any number of foodstuffs,
either packaged, or loose, which drop through another chute, here, at the base
of the machine, into another processing room for further packaging or routing
for shipment.”
She turned around and pointed in the other direction. “On the other end
of this side. The machines are setup to make a wide range of devices and
components out of metal and plastic. The same thing for the other side of the
aisle.” She blushed and grinned as she shrugged and pointed toward the last
section. “I have no idea what any of those over there do.”
“I’m sorry we don’t have anyone to show you how to operate one, but we
had to send people back to Atlantis for an ongoing project. We should have them
back next week.”
“What kind of project?” Arrin asked, walking over and squatting next to
a machine.
Samuels looked over at Carter, and she nodded.
“We needed them for drone production, to replenish the cities defenses.”
She told him. “
“The next ten floors in this section of the pier are all production,
manufacturing, and storage areas.” She went on, telling them about the area
they were in. “The adjacent sections have shops for servicing equipment,
vehicles and vessels, up to a small transport. The problem is, the access ports
are buried, and are really meant to be used in space for the larger stuff.”
“You can repair ships here?” Larrin and Pharris said at the same time.
“Yes, the city is equipped to do it. But we don’t have personnel trained
for that yet.” Samuels said as she turned toward the doors. “We can move that
up on the schedule, but until we get these lower levels raised above ground,
there really isn’t any point.”
“Can you do it in Atlantis?” Larrin asked.
“We have the same shops in Atlantis, but because the city sits in the
water, those bays are not easily accessible. To use them right, we’d have to
take the city into space, so vessels could be moved right in from orbit.”
“Depending on how pressing the problem is, that’s something that we can
talk about.” Carter said. “Keep in mind, that there is a limit on the size of
ships that these shops can handle. From what I’ve seen of them, it looks like
they can take something up to about five times the size of our jumpers, maybe a
little bigger.”
“We’ve been doing database searches for other ancient cities and
outposts, and we have records of several space docks that would handle vessels
up to an
“Unless there are other questions, we can go up to the workers
quarters.” Samuels said. “So if you’ll follow me.”
She stepped back out into the hallway and led them back to the porter.
Keying in another set of symbols as the doors closed.
“If you don’t read ancient, how do you know what symbols to press on
that panel.” Walleen asked as the door opened again.
“Cheat sheet.” She grinned, holding up a small piece of paper with
strings of symbols, then english written under them. She turned and looked out
the door. “Oh...Sometimes my staff plays little jokes on me. Sorry.”
They were looking out over the landscape from a long, wide balcony near
the top of the central tower. Andi turned around and entered another set of
symbols on the panel. When the doors opened, she sighed and stepped out.
“This is where we’re supposed to be.” She said as she led them down a
hallway. “We’re on the ground floor of a residential building. There are eight
suites, or apartments on each floor. This building has sixty-five floors. The
top ten floors have fewer suites, but each is larger. Some of those will be
converted for recreation areas and meeting rooms, others will be apartments for
managers.”
She palmed the panel next to a door and it slid open. “I think this one
has three bedrooms, with a bathroom off of each, and one in the central hall,
this main room, a kitchen, and something else. You can look around, every suite
is different.”
“How many people would you put in this space?” Arrin asked as he went
over and sat on a couch.
“Three. One in each bedroom.” Samuels said. “The main room and the
kitchen would be shared.”
All four of the Travelers burst out laughing, then went from room to
room, their laughter continuing as they went.
“You waste so much space!” Larrin gasped as she fell onto a couch beside
Arrin a few minutes later. “Our people will never return to us if you treat
them this way!”
“With the number of apartments in this building, we can put at least
thirteen hundred people in it, and that doesn’t include the top ten floors.
There are eighty buildings of this type in the city. That’s over a hundred
thousand people. There are sixty taller buildings, so that puts us over two
hundred and fifty thousand.” Samuels looked at Carter and Tammy. “I don’t see
what the problem is.”
“They’re saying that we’re giving them too much space, Andi.” Sam turned
and looked at the
Travelers. “We understand that you live in cramped quarters, but you
need to understand our ways too. For the ancients that built this city, this
would be the home of a family of three, possibly four. We can tell that some of
these dwellings were occupied by a single resident.”
“Were you to make the choice, how many people would you put in this
space?” She asked them.
“We would put fifteen per room, twenty or more in here. The kitchen and
small room would be common areas.” Arrin said. “One of the bedrooms is larger,
so we could put twenty in there as well.”
“That’s more than twenty thousand people in just this building.” Carter
said as she sat across from him. “What and how would you feed them? That alone
would be a struggle. Would all of them work? I think not. So you’d just be
warehousing bodies. You could cut those numbers in half, and still fit your
entire population in this city. “
She stretched out on the couch, putting her hands behind her head. “The
three people that I would put in here would each work the same shift to give them
a chance to share their lives. They’ll be productive and happy, and the goods
they produce will be worth having, or using.”
“But we are so many...” Walleen said.
“I understand, and I’m offering to help you with up to a hundred and
fifty thousand of your people. Should we find more ancient cities, we would
make more welcome.” She smiled at Arrin. “Should you find more ancient cities,
we will help you restore them, and you can do as you damn well please with
them.”
“She’s right, our problems are not theirs.” Larrin said. “We sound like
we would abuse their generosity.”
“There are other options for you people, especially here, less so in
Atlantis.” She looked at Samuels. “Can we go back up to that balcony? I’d like
to show them something.”
She stood up and waved for the Travelers to follow her. “Tammy, would
you keep the boys here? Let them run wild, go jump on the beds or something.”
She grinned. She followed Andi down the hall to the porter.
When the porter doors opened on the balcony again, she stepped out.
“Andi, hold the door. I don’t want to get stuck up here.” She laughed as she
leaned over the rail.
“Look down there.” she said, pointing at the forests below them.
“There’s two million acres of timber down there, billions of square feet of
lumber. That mountain range to the west, that’s iron, copper, zinc, and
granite. The plains to the south and east, excellent farm land. We’ll have to
do a survey to see what other resources there are on the rest of the planet. We
really need to find petroleum reserves. We’ll need those for lubricants and
plastics.”
She turned to face them. “I can only put eighty thousand of your people
in this city. But I can put another quarter, to half a million in a twenty five
mile radius around it, working the land to produce raw materials for the
factories.” She smiled as she stepped back into the porter. “I’ve just taken at
least one fifth to almost a third of your population. Does that help?”
“What about the Wraith?” Walleen asked. “Should they attack, those
people on the plains would have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The people in
the mountains could hide in mines, but...”
“This planet hasn’t been attacked by the Wraith for centuries. They
haven’t come back here because they knew that the city had drones to use
against them. If they return, we’ll remind them of that. The people that ran
the city before us used the cities defenses to protect the planet. They also
used them to abuse the people outside the city, which is why they no longer
occupy this city.”
She led them back to the suite and took her seat on the couch again. “In
addition to protection from the city, we would offer shield generators for each
settlement, providing even greater protection to the people living there.
There’s already a shield on the gate like we have in Atlantis.
The options I can provide here are much greater than I can provide in
Atlantis, and have the benefit to both of us that it reduces costs of importing
raw materials for the cities factories.”
“So you can control who can get to this world, and defend against those
that you do not want on this world. Is that what you are saying?” Pharris
asked.
“Yes. We control who comes into Atlantis with a shield.” Carter said.
“We control the skies around the city with the drones from the chair weapons
platform. We’ll do the same thing here.”
“The other security measure we have here, is we’re the only ones that
know about this world.” She told them. “We have no reason to tell anyone about
this city. The Travelers are the only people we have told of it. Since you
stand to benefit, we see no reason for you to share that information.”
“You’ve shown us an ancient city, and offered to let our people live and
work here, but you haven’t told us anything else.” Larrin smiled. “We don’t
know the gate address, or the cities coordinates, so we can’t tell anyone if we
wanted to.”
“We’re still just talking, and haven’t agreed to anything yet.” Carter
told her. “There’s no need to tell you that yet.”
“So they don’t trust us.” Arrin said to Larrin, smiling slyly.
“I don’t trust you, why should they?” Larrin laughed. “Have we told them
our secrets, revealed the locations of the worlds we have settlements on? No.”
She turned back to Carter. “I’m sorry, Samantha. We have been rude, and
ungrateful to every offer you have made since we met. You must think of us as
some kind of animals. But I want to change that.”
“Larrin, you know we act as a one on the council...” Arrin said quickly,
glaring at her.
“If I may.” Carter said. “We recently had the same conversation with our
homeworld. And even though you do not officially have a world that I am aware
of, you do have a central government.” She paused, looking between the four of
them. “We cannot deal with separate factions within the Travelers. Perhaps it
would be best if we tabled our discussions on this for the time being. We have
time, we can let things progress slowly, and get to know each other better
first.”
“I agree, we have things to work between ourselves, before we can work
anything out with you.” Walleen said. “I would, however, ask that we still
formalize relations, even as we put other plans on hold. We wish you to know
that...”
Carter leaned forward on the couch, looking at Arrin. “What is it about
us that you don’t like?”
“I do not unde...”
“Yes, you do. You’ve been hostile since you set foot in our city.” She
said lightly. “We opened our home to you, have been as honest as we can be with
you, made no threat against you, yet you seem to grow more hostile the more we
offer to benefit your people. Will you tell me why?”
Arrin stared at her for a moment, then glanced at his fellow Travelers.
“I’m afraid of you.” He said softly. “You will bring an end to a hundred
generations of my people. The Travelers will cease to exist if we follow your
course.”
“Now that I can understand and believe.” Carter said as she sat back on
the couch. “Let me be just as honest. I have no interest in ending the
Travelers, because I need them, as they are, for my plans to succeed. I’ll
admit, there is the possibility that if I offer your people too many safe
havens, many may want to leave for a different way of life. I have no control
over that, but it is not my intent.”
“Why do you need the Travelers, Samantha?” Pharris asked. “What do we
have to offer that you could want?”
“Many things. Your name, the Travelers are known throughout the galaxy.
You have ships, which I need for trade. You have people, that I can put to work
producing goods to improve the quality of life for other people in the galaxy,
and at some point, help in building roads, hospitals, power plants, more things
to help the peoples of Pegasus. And you fight. You stood with us against the
Replicators, and give us intel to fight the Wraith. It’s in my best interest
for the Travelers to exist.”
“You speak of your needs, and of doing for others, but you do not say
what you get out of this for yourself. Perhaps if we understood that, it might
be easier for Arrin to accept.” Walleen said.
“I have what I need. Well, not at the moment, she seems to have gone off
somewhere. But...”
“We’re in here.” Tammy called from a bedroom. “Be with you in a minute!”
Carter smiled as she looked at the Travelers. “I have my city, and now
this one, and I want to make them come alive again. I want to find other
ancient cities and outposts, and make them come alive too. This I want for me,
to give me a sense of accomplishment.”
“I spent more than ten years with the SGC in the Milky Way, first as an
explorer, then fighting an evil that infected that galaxy. We stumbled on it,
we went out into the galaxy not knowing what to expect. We did the same thing
here. At first, the Goa’uld seemed to be unbeatable. Yet in the end, with the
help of friends, and alot of luck, we prevailed. At the same time, my friend
Daniel and I learned what we could about, and studied everything we could find
on the ancients.”
“Master Bra’tac spoke of this, he was a servant of these false gods, and
he said you and O’Neill freed him, and his friend Tilk, then fought beside
them.” Walleen said.
“Teal’c. There’s an apostrophe cee...nevermind. When I came to Pegasus,
it was to live and work in Atlantis, the city of the ancients. I wanted to
study and learn about them, but was interrupted again by war. A war of our own
making. Not intentionally, part of it was ignorance, part of it was arrogance,
part of it was just plain bad luck.”
She paused. “I’m a scientist, that’s what I chose to do with my life. I
wanted to know how the universe came to be, and how it works. On Earth, I’m one
of the foremost authorities on the subject. But fate led me onto a different
course, after my people discovered the stargate.”
She looked at Pharris, smiling warmly. “I wouldn’t give up a minute of
the experiences I’ve had working in the stargate program, but now, I’m so tired
of war, and death, and pointless destruction. And now I’m in a position where I
can make a difference. I want to make something, I want to help people have a
better quality of life, to not live in fear. I know that’s too much to ask.”
She laughed, tears running down her cheeks. “But I want to do it anyway.”
“We would join you in that. That is worthy of the risk to our people.”
Arrin said, “But you are right, many of our people would seek the life you
offer, but I think many others would wish to preserve the Traveler way of life,
as I do.”
Tammy came in with
Geraan and Phinnar, and sat down beside her. “Are you okay, Sam? Do we
need to go?”
“No, I’m fine. It’s the damn korathis. It makes me so emotional.” She
looked at the Travelers. “I had a bad reaction to the Athosian herb, korathis.
It affected my DNA, and my brain.”
Samuels came into the room and saw what was happening. She came over and
sat next to Carter. She looked over at the Travelers. “Sam’s reaction to
korathis has enhanced her, physically, and mentally. We’re still studying the
long term effects.”
“Thank you, Andi. You just scared the shit out of them, and erased all
the goodwill we had built up with that little tidbit of information.” Carter
said with a laugh.
“No harm has come to the goodwill we are building.” Arrin said. “The
fact that you shared your true goals, not only swayed me, but helps me
understand the power you have over people. I can see now why they follow you so
willingly.
“
He turned to Samuels. “We’ve been talking of dreams, Dr. Samuels. Samantha
has told us of her history, and what she hopes to accomplish here in our
galaxy.”
“Then you’ve changed your mind? You wish to proceed with allowing our
people to live and work in the ancient cities?” Walleen asked him.
“As part of helping to build the galaxy, to make it safer, and find a
better life for our people? Yes.” Arrin said, looking at Carter. “But you know
that we will need more allies. The Athosians are too few, and too scattered. We
can help bring in the ally we must have.”
Carter nodded. “We’ve reached out to the major races, and as word
spreads about what we’re doing, some will join us. We’re already asking people
on worlds with small populations to join us in Atlantis and here, which is why
we can’t take more of your people. Your people can protect yourselves, we need
to look at taking in those that can’t.”
“As far as the Genii are concerned, I would prefer that we build and
grow before we approach them.” Carter said, leaning back and taking Tammy’s
hand. “I think if we already have our cities producing, and are distributing
goods throughout the galaxy, they will see the benefits others are enjoying,
and come to us on their own.”
“We can
show you what we have in mind, and provide details if you’d like.”
Samuels said. “Producing goods is only the first step. As we progress...”
“We’re passed that, Andi.” Carter said. She turned and looked at Arrin.
“And we’re making progress.”
He nodded, signaling for her to continue.
“Having some of your people settled, gives you room for growth, but also
frees up space on your ships for cargo, and frees up your warships to fight
alongside ours.”
“Then you will continue to fight the Wraith?” Pharris asked.
“It has to be done.” Carter sighed. “We’ll equip other planets gates
with shields as we can, but the threat from space has to be dealt with. It
doesn’t do any good to build something when it is easily destroyed.”
“We need help with the warships.” Larrin said. “If Sheppard had...”
“Larrin!” Carter laughed. “You kidnapped him and held him
hostage...don’t act surprised that he wasn’t eager to help you!” She glanced at
Tammy and smiled. “But we can help you with them if you like. The
She looked over at Arrin. “This is how I show my trust, Arrin. I’m
offering to help you power, man, and arm one of the most powerful weapons
platforms ever made. What your people do with it is up to you.”
Tammy stood up and grabbed the reins on Geraan and Phinnar’s harnesses.
“All this is well and good, and we can continue if you like, but I need to find
these two something to eat.” She looked over at Samuels. “Do we have to go home
to get something to eat, Andi, or can we...”
“The mess is open, we can eat there. I had actually planned on this tour
taking right at two hours, then going back to Atlantis for lunch.” Samuels
said.
“That sounds like an excellent idea. We can see more later, and details
can be worked out over time.” Arrin said as he stood up. “There was a dish last
night, there were meats with a thick...”
Carter, Tammy, Pharris and Walleen burst out laughing, and Arrin looked
at them.
“Yes, we can have bacon cheeseburgers, Arrin.” Carter laughed. “Andi,
call ahead, but let’s do this at home. The dining room is fine, but I want to
be able to relax while we talk more.”
Interior-Kitchen
1430 Hours
“Pharris said that you cooked this morning.” Arrin said to Tammy as she
came into the kitchen.
“Yes, just a basic breakfast. Bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, biscuits and
gravy.” She said as she got a glass and filled it with water. “We prefer to do
for ourselves when we can. There’s a staff to take care of the house, and we
can order food if we want, but we both like doing for ourselves.” She reached
over and took Sam’s hand. “Or maybe I should say, she likes me to take care of
her.”
“It is your job.” Sam said. “what did you do with the boys?”
“I parked them in the small bedroom with a video. Ronin is with them.”
Tammy laughed. “I think he likes Bugs Bunny!”
“The foods you have are amazing.” Arrin said as he picked up his
sandwich. “Not just the quantity, but the variety.”
“Yes, what we had last night was a only tiny sample of the foods of
Earth.” Tammy said. “Once we get things worked out with them, I want to begin
importing foodstuffs from there. Not just premade items, but cattle for beef,
that’s what the burgers are made out of, pigs for pork, that’s the bacon, but
both offer other cuts of meat as well. Then there are grains, like wheat and
rice, that will grow on many of the worlds here.”
“So in addition to what you want to do with the ancient cities, you have
other plans for this galaxy?” Walleen asked.
“Yes.” Tammy said, picking up a fry. “Getting people fed is the first,
most important goal. Half the mainland on this planet is tillable soil. I plan
on setting up farms with Earth grains and livestock. Mainly because I prefer
them, but for export as well. Some of them will produce almost immediately, but
some crops, like oranges, apples, and rice will take a few years before we get
our first harvests. The livestock will take several years to build up usable
herds as well.”
“In the long term, we want to improve the infrastructure on many
worlds.” Carter said as she leaned back in her chair. “That means building
roads, sewers for waste disposal, power plants, and with the ancients
technology, that will be cheaper and cleaner than what they use on Earth.”
“Your people have electricity and plumbing, but both are actually fairly
rare in Pegasus. That’s mainly due to the cullings that keep civilizations from
developing, but we’re going to address that problem as we need to.”
“Our people on the worlds we’ve been forced to settle do not.” Walleen
told her. “We can work the technology on our ships, but our planet bound people
live as many others in the galaxy do.”
“Andi, would you have Zelenka bring over a naquadah generator, and one
of the ancient power boxes?” Carter said, looking down the table at her. She
turned to Walleen. “We have a small power source that is safe, can be set up
quickly, and will run a small city indefinitely. We brought them from the Milky
Way, but we can make them here. They’re Goa’uld technology. Then there’s an
ancient device that we can operate, but we’re still trying to figure out how it
works. We’ll distribute both as we get geared up, and have the manpower to
support the network. There are other technologies we can put in place as well,
but the details still need to be worked out on them.”
“So no matter what our people do, you will progress with these other
plans?” Pharris asked.
“Yes. Not to make light of your importance, because you are a big part
of what we want to accomplish, but it’s a big galaxy, and there’s a lot to do.”
Carter replied.
“But there are so few of you. How do you hope to accomplish everything
you speak of?” Walleen asked. “It seems an impossible task.”
“Difficult, but not impossible.” Carter told him. “And we know that it’s
going to take years, but we’re willing to wait to see progress. We’re talking
to you, we’ve brought people in from half a dozen worlds already, and when we
get things worked out with Earth, we’ll bring in people from there.”
She paused when she saw Arrin frown. Walleen had a look of concern on
his face as well.
“I’m not talking huge numbers, I won’t allow that. There’s room in the
Milky Way if humanity wants to expand off of Earth.” She told them. “But there
are skills that we need that we can’t get anywhere else right now. We need
doctors, engineers to layout and design the infrastructures, skilled workers
like electricians and plumbers to train others on how to build and support
those infrastructures.”
“You assume that everyone will want these things you wish to do.”
Pharris said.
“Most will. And be honest, if given a choice between using candles, or
an electric light, an outhouse, or a toilet in a warm, clean room inside your
house, which would you choose?”
“She has a point.” Arrin said, looking at Pharris. “I do not wish to
live as our planet bound brothers do. I am too accustomed to the comforts that
we enjoy, even take for granted. I want these things for our people, so to deny
others...”
“As we have with you, we’d only offer to assist.” Tammy said. “We don’t
have the right to tell people how to live, but we do have the responsibility to
help those that want change. The only time we would impose our will on anyone
is to prevent them from doing harm to others.”
“And you believe that you have the right to do that?” Larrin asked her.
“Yes.” Tammy said, looking at her. “You agree that we should stop the
Wraith from culling, and feeding on the worlds in Pegasus. How is it different
allowing other races, you for instance, or the Genii, from preying on their
neighbors because they are less advanced, or have something that they desire?”
“There is a difference, but I see your point.” Larrin nodded. “But while
we’re talking about the Wraith, what are your plans for them?”
“We really don’t have any.” Carter told her. She looked around the
table. “An opportunity presented itself that we were in a position to take
advantage of, so we did.” She sighed as she looked at Tammy, then back at
Larrin. “And you were right, Larrin, we got lucky. We could have lost both
those ships, or any number of things could have gone wrong. Sheppard and
Caldwell have some ideas, but for right now, we’re going to wait and see what
the Wraith do. We really can’t do anything else.”
“I think that’s a mistake.” Larrin said. “They have to be reeling. The
time to hit them is now.”
“With what Larrin?” Carter asked. “We have two ships, and a hundred
fighters. What can you bring to the fight? If we started today, it would take
weeks to train enough people and get your warships ready for battle.” She
paused, then asked, “Do you know where the Wraith are? The last I heard, they
were spread across the galaxy.”
“We’re not going to sit idly by forever, Larrin. But we do need to see
what the reaction to this assault is going to be. Like I said, my people have
ideas, and we’ll put them into action when the time is right.”
“You keep making sense, and I have to keep agreeing with you.” Larrin
smiled. “I don’t have to like it though.”
“I have an idea that may make it easier to track the Wraith, or at least
know where they are from time to time.” Sheppard said from the doorway.
“John, I didn’t know you were here.” Carter said.
“I’ve been in with the boys and Ronin. I have a soft spot for Looney
Tunes. Elmer Fudd is my hero.” He laughed. “But a couple of years ago, McKay
and I got in trouble playing with an ancient simulation, we thought it was a
game. It turned out that the system communicated with the local inhabitants,
and we were giving them instructions, and affecting their development.”
“I remember that.” Tammy said. “Dr. Weir was pissed about it. You guys
almost started a war on that planet.”
Sheppard nodded. “Not one of the high points of my stay here in
Atlantis. But the system is satellite based, and there are hundreds of them
scattered around the galaxy. We could use them to monitor when those planets
are being culled. If we have too, we could probably move some, or place new
ones.”
“How would that help with the Wraith problem?” Walleen asked. “Just
knowing which worlds are being culled does you no good, does it?”
“It can.” Sheppard said. “A culling can go on for several hours, we’ve
heard of hives staying for days over the same world. With a monitoring system
in place, we could send a ship, and see what we could do to help. If we came in
cloaked, we could blow them out of the sky before they knew what hit them.”
“What good does destroying one hive at a time do?” Larrin asked.
“Quite a bit actually.” Samuels said, leaning forward on the couch.
“They may not notice immediately, but they will eventually. Then the
psychological effects begin to work for us. The Wraith are already having
trouble feeding because of the distribution of the Hoffen drug. Thousands died
because of that, but it made the survivors deadly to the Wraith. We have to
wait and see if their children will carry the effect. If they do, they should
be encouraged to breed freely across the galaxy.”
“But when we add in the sudden, mysterious disappearance of hives
culling seemingly defenseless worlds, they could begin to fear to feed even
more. Not knowing which worlds have been poisoned by the Hoffen drug, or which
may result in the loss of their ships will have a tremendous impact on them.”
“What could we expect them to do, Andi?” Carter asked.
“There’s too many variables, and I just don’t have enough information about
the Wraith themselves to give you a good answer.” Samuels said. “My guess would
be that their initial reaction would be to lash out, probably at us, as the
most likely suspects. That’s one of the best case scenarios. Or they could
begin fighting among themselves, another best case scenario.”
She paused and looked around the room. “Other possibilities aren’t as
pleasant. They could lash out everywhere, going on a rampage, taking what they
can, destroying what they can’t.
My nightmare scenario, is they do mass cullings, taking entire
populations that they know to be clean of the Hoffen drug. Then they go to
ground, starting farms of humans to feed on.”
“Jezzus, Andi.” Tammy whispered. “How do you sleep at night, with shit
like that running through your head?”
“That situation is salvageable, if you’re willing to do what it would
take.” Samuels said.
“What’s that?” Walleen asked.
“Destroy their hives on the ground, knowing that there are innocent
humans onboard.” Pharris said quietly. She looked over at Tammy. “I will not
sleep tonight, Lady Tammy.”
“Many of us won’t.” Carter said, standing up. “We need a break. Too many
ideas, too much information. It starts to get overwhelming after a while.”
She turned to the Travelers. “Walleen, you, Arrin and Larrin can stay if
you like. We can have someone show you around the city, or you can return home,
and come back another day. There will be many opportunities in the days to
come. But I’d like Pharris to stay. We’d like her to be your emissary to our
city.”
“Sam, I don’t think we shou...”
“That is acceptable, Samantha.” Arrin said. “We have faith in Pharris to
represent our peoples interests, as she has so well through the years. Sadly,
none of the emissaries I would choose are available, so we will trust Dr. Samuels
judgment.”
“Thank you Arrin. As our partner, Pharris will be involved in everything
we do, and will be free to share with you. How you deal with our emissary will
be up to you.” Tammy said, stepping up beside Sam.
“As much as I would like to see more of your city, I should return
home.” Walleen said. “My wife will be worried, and I have work I have been
putting off.”
“Me too.” Larrin said. She turned to Sheppard. “We’ll be in touch. We
need to talk about our warships. I may even let you fly one, if you’re nice.”
“If I remember, I was nice the first time we met.” Sheppard laughed.
“You on the other hand...”
“Pharris, come home when you are ready.” Arrin said, stepping over and
embracing her. “We can arrange to have the personal items you wish to have with
you sent to you here, and have your quarters sealed, for when you return to
us.”
“Thank you, Arrin. And thank you for listening.” Pharris said, returning
his embrace. “We are doing what is right for our people.”
“I agree. But I also agree with Walleen. My wife will be worried. And
she is not as forgiving his.” Arrin laughed. “Now walk with us to the gate, we
really should be going.”
“We’ll walk with you.” Carter said as she led them toward the door.
“John would you tell Ronin that we’re going to the gateroom? Tell him to stay
with the boys, we’ll pick up a team when we get downstairs. Ask him to call
ahead.”
Interior-Living Room
1545 Hours
“That was interesting.” Carter said as she stretched out on the couch,
laying her head in Tammy’s lap.
“I had a good time too.” Tammy said, brushing the hair away from Sam’s
face. “That production room was kewl! I wonder what it’s like in there when
it’s running. We’ll probably need to get people ear plugs.”
“I said it was interesting, not fun.” Sam laughed, looking up at Tammy.
She smiled over at Pharris. “I was really surprised when Arrin turned so
suddenly. One moment, he was dead set against dealing with us, the next, he’s
all in. Is it real? Is he normally like that?”
“No, he’s not, and I was more surprised than you.” Pharris said,
stretching out on the couch across from them. “But you can take his word, he
won’t go back on it. You made an impression, on all of us. We’re not used to
people being so open with us. That’s going to take some getting used to.”
“It’s a newly acquired habit, and I like it.” Sam told her. “I spent
years with the SGC, not being able to tell anyone what I did for a living. We
even had a cover story about what kind of work I did.” She laughed, stretching
her arms over her head. “I like this. I can tell people what I’m thinking, what
I want to do, and if they believe me, and want to help, great. If they don’t, I
just go to the next person in line.”
“You still have secrets, sweetie. Don’t pretend you’re Polly Pureheart.”
Tammy said. She looked over at Pharris. “There are lots of things we haven’t
told you. Some because they haven’t come up, others because you don’t need to
know.”
“Everyone has secrets.” Pharris told her. “What surprised me, is how
little you asked about us. You offered this and that, but asked very little
about what we wanted.”
“I was getting that from your answers and reactions.” Carter told her.
“We also spent several hours with Teyla, so we know quite a bit about your
people, your needs, and what you want to do. I decided that the best way to
approach you was to lay out what I want to do as plainly as possible, and see
if you wanted to come along for the ride.”
“It proved to be effective.” Pharris said.
Ronin came into the room with a boy under each arm, and turned down the
hall toward the kitchen. “We’re going up to the gym. Phinnar wants to learn how
to fight.” He said.
“I’m sorry we dumped them on you, Ronin. This just came up so suddenly.”
Tammy laughed.
“It’s good practice for when I have sons.” He said with a smile. “You
haven’t worked out today either.”
“We’ll do it later.” Carter said. “But thanks for reminding us.”
He nodded and disappeared down the hall.
“I didn’t know he wanted kids.” Sam said, looking up at Tammy.
“I think he may have found someone that changed his mind.” Tammy said.
“Let’s hope so.”
“He likes them, and Phinnar likes him.” Pharris said. “He would not
allow anyone but a friend to treat him so.”
“Actually, I wouldn’t mind a swim, or maybe a quick workout.” Tammy
said. “Do you exercise, Pharris? We workout, or spar everyday. After all the
talking, it helps to clear the head, and relieve some of the frustration.”
“I do, but not daily.” She said. “Every other day or so usually, or
whatever my schedule permits. We have been busy of late. We recently setup two
new colonies, and twenty hour days are not uncommon.”
Carter sat up, then stood. “You’re about our size. We workout in a tank
tops or a sports bra and panties. Come on, we can get changed and go upstairs.
You’ll like our gym.”
Interior-Gym
1710 Hours
O’Neill and Bra’tac came into the gym, O’Neill in a sweat suit, Bra’tac
in a pair of loose pants with a towel around his neck. They walked over and
stood next to Carter, watching Tammy spar with Pharris.
“Whoa!” O’Neill said as Pharris dropped to her back, swept Tammy’s feet
out from under her, and slammed a backfist punch into the back of her head,
driving her face into the mat. Tammy rolled away, but Pharris grabbed a leg,
slid up on top of her and got an arm lock around her throat. Tammy pounded the
mat, and Pharris rolled off and got to her feet, holding her hand out to help
Tammy up.
“Most impressive.” Bra’tac said. “She shows no mercy, but goes for the
kill.”
“Don’t go getting all excited.” O’Neill said, giving him a look. “She’s
probably married.”
Pharris smiled as she held out her hand for Bra’tac’s towel. She let her
eyes move over him, then looked at his face as she ran the towel over her
chest.
“I find it difficult to believe that you are over a hundred years old,
much less, a hundred and forty as you claim.” She nodded at the ‘X’ shaped
opening on his stomach. “What is that wound, and why has it not healed?”
Tammy came over and picked up a bottle of water, then handed one to
Pharris. “Your bracelet is in the bag O’Neill.” She looked over at Bra’tac.
“Sparring today, Master?” She asked.
“If Ronin will indulge me.” He smiled. He turned back to Pharris as he
ran his fingers over his stomach. “This was my symbiote pouch. All
“That’s where he kept his pet snake, when he still had one.” O’Neill
said. He noticed that Tammy was looking at him and grinned. “I know, I’m
going.” He said as he went over and took a velcro bracelet out of her gym bag
and strapped it to his wrist. He went over and got on one of the bikes and
started pedaling.
“Ten at ten today, then add ten to your other sets.” Tammy said as she
watched him. “And you better not loaf today, or we spar again.”
“Lady Tammy would strike fear into the heart of the strongest
“If I may, I would like to watch.” Pharris said, falling in behind him.
“Perhaps I can learn something.”
Sam and Tammy looked at each other and grinned. “It’s gotta be something
in the air.” Tammy laughed.
“Yeah, go showoff, you old coot.” O’Neill panted as he pedaled on the
exercise bike. “See if I care.”
* * * * *
“Enough!” Bra’tac shouted, slapping at Ronin’s arm. Ronin had him in a
cross arm bar, bending his arm back up behind him as his leg locked Bra’tac
body in place, preventing him from escaping.
Ronin let him go, slapping him on the back as he stepped away.
“Were I forty years younger...” Bra’tac said.
“I would be dead.” Ronin finished for him, laughing. “You don’t fool me
old man, you were loafing today. Now show me that spinning kick again, I want
to try that on Amelia.”
“It will do you no good my friend.” Bra’tac smiled “It was she that
taught it to me. I merely refined it to fit my style.”
“I think you should take a break. You’ve been going at each other for
almost an hour.” Tammy said, tossing them both a bottle of water. “Ronin, tell
Amelia to teach me and Sam that move. If it takes you down, I want it in my bag
of tricks.”
“Does Phinnar swim?” she asked Pharris, looking across the gym. Phinnar
and Geraan were standing next to the pool, talking.
“Yes, all Traveler children are born in water, it is less traumatic for
them.” Pharris replied. “They can swim before they can walk. It is an old
tradition, our people were originally from a water planet, much like this one.”
“Really? That’s interesting. My parents did that with me, and my mother
said the same thing.” She looked at the boys again. “They look like they want
to get wet. I think I’ll join them.” She whistled, and the boys turned toward
her. “Strip down, and get in, I’ll be right there.”
She started to pull up her sports bra, then looked at Pharris. “We swim
nude, I should have asked.” She said.
“As do I.” Pharris said, stripping off her own top, walking toward the
pool.
Tammy grinned and pulled off her bra, walking behind her. “You get in
some kind of decent shape Jack, and we’ll see about getting you laid. Hell, I
might even give you a ride.” She said as she went by him, pushing her panties
down over her hips.
“I believe I shall swim today as well.” Bra’tac said, looking after
Pharris. He was untying the belt on his pants as he walked away.
“How about you?” Sam asked Ronin. “Swim, or you want to go a few rounds?”
“Rest.” Ronin said quietly. “Don’t tell him, but that old man wore me
out.”
“There is no need, Sir Ronin.” Bra’tac laughed. “The
Ronin glared at him and shook his head. Carter patted him on the
shoulder, then turned to follow Bra’tac.
Interior-Kitchen
1900 Hours
They’d found casual clothes in their closets for the adults after
everyone had showered. Sam had had to call down and ask the staff to find
something for the boys, who seemed happy enough running around naked.
Tammy had ordered a selection of Earth foods for them. Chicken for
Bra’tac, small hamburgers with a selection of toppings for Pharris, pizza and
tacos for the boys. She’d had to call down for more when Sheppard and Caldwell
came in with Jennifer and Teyla. Before long, they were having a party, and
Carter called Andi, and asked her to join them.
“Are all
Pharris looked around the table as they all tried to compose themselves.
“I think that may mean something else where we come from, Pharris.” Andi
said lightly.
“Oh, I see.” She said. “I meant that his physique is impressive.” She
looked across the table at Bra’tac. “His member, I must admit, is quite
impressive as well.” She added with a smile.
Bra’tac nodded, smiling back at her.
“Well now! You’re not the least bit shy, are you, Pharris?” Sam laughed.
“A woman my age...”
“Should revel in her beauty.” Bra’tac finished for her.
“Cannot afford to waste time on idle chatter, I was going to say. But
thank you, kind sir.” She said with another bright smile.
“There’s something in the air in this place.” Tammy laughed. “If we
could bottle it, we’d make a fortune!”
“Love does seem to find it’s way around here.” Sheppard said, reaching
over and squeezing Jennifer’s hand.
She looked at him, wide eyed. “Love?”
“I thought so.” He said, looking at her closely. “If I was...”
“No!” Keller said quickly. “I just wasn’t sure. You...we...I.”
“We too have found love here.” Teyla said, laying her head on
“No, thank you.” O’Neill said quickly. “I prefer to do my own shopping,
if you don’t mind.”
“There are many women among my people that would be pleased with such a
strong, mature man as yourself, general. Most pleased, I can assure you.” Teyla
said with a smile.
“Okay, pick your feet up folks, the bullshit’s gettin’ deep!” Carter
said, leaning over to kiss Tammy. I love you, she mouthed. Tammy smiled and
kissed her back.
Interior-Living Room
2130 Hours
The excitement of visiting
“We got a...” Sheppard said.
“Send us a report. This has been too pleasant an evening to ruin it
talking business.” Tammy said. “You are officially off duty, John. If that’s
not good enough, I’ll fire you, and rehire you in the morning.”
“Oh, don’t do that, I can’t sleep wi...shit!” Keller said. “Did I really
just say that?” She laughed.
“It’s not like we all didn’t know anyway.” Sam laughed. “I could hear
you screaming the other morning. And it wasn’t from pain. We had to go over to
the north tower to...”
“You did not! We’ve only done it twi...”
“She’s so easy.” Tammy laughed. “Only twice? Me and Sam do it every
night. A couple times during the day too when we can.”
“Yeah, but you keep him so busy, by the...”
Sheppard reached over and put his hand over her mouth. “She was going to
say, that by the time I get home, she’s dead asleep, and is impossible to wake
up.”
“Steven wakes me in the most pleasant manner, in the mornings, or if he
returns home late.” Teyla said. “Perhaps he could instruct you, he is a most
talented lover. He does things with his tong...”
“I will not be silenced as a child, even by you Steven.” She said. “I
will expect an apology later. And you needn’t try biting me in return, you know
how much I enjoy that.”
“Maybe you should talk to him.” Jennifer said to Sheppard. “Then again,
that little dagger of yours usu...”
Sheppard leaned over and kissed her this time. “Are you saying that
you’d like to go home so I can perform the duties I appear to have been
neglecting?”
“Well, duh...it took you...” She squealed when he picked her up and
threw her over his shoulder, smacking her on the ass as they headed for the
elevator.
Teyla looked at
“I do not wish to be carried, Steven.” She said as she took his hand. He
looked at her as she pulled him toward the elevator.
Tammy stood up and turned her back to Sam.
“Steven?” Sam called, then swatted Tammy’s bottom.
“Pharris, have you seen the view of the city from the guest room?” Teyla
asked, stopping just before they went into the hall.
“Yes, I slept in there last night. It is most beautiful.” Pharris said.
“Then perhaps Master Bra’tac would like you to share the sights with
him. The view is most romantic.” She smiled and pulled
Bra’tac stood and held out his hand to Pharris. “I would be pleased to
behold any sights you would share with me.” He said as she took his hand and
stood.
“I have seen the city lights at night before.” They heard him say as
they crossed the room. “It would please me to see you lit by them.”
“Smoooooth.” Tammy said softly. “The old coot still has his groove on.”
Ends