Confirming Carter Bk. 01 Ch. 02

Carter nodded. "I'd like you and Jenn to take the suites on the next floor down. Assign one of the others on forty-two to Sheppard, leave the other one free. Put the first group of staff on forty-one, leave thirty-nine and forty empty for growth, and setup thirty-one as office space. I want both you and Jenn to have an office down there. That's gonna be our ingress point."

She rolled over, pushing the pillow aside and slid off the bed. "I'm thirsty, and I need to pee. Let's take this in the kitchen. I'll meet you there." She walked over and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Andi got up and went out into the central room, then into the bathroom off one of the other bedrooms. She turned on the shower, then sat down to pee. Getting into the shower, she noticed that there was no soap, so she just rinsed off, standing under the steaming spray, sighing happily as it pounded on her. After a couple of minutes, she shut the shower off, grabbed a towel, and dried herself as she went back into the central room. Picking up a gown from the back of the couch, She pulled it over her head, and went into the kitchen.

Sam wasn't there yet, so she got a couple of glasses from the cupboard, filled one with ice and sat it on the table for Sam, then got the bottle of orange juice from the fridge. She was pouring a glass when Sam walked in, running a towel over her head. She was still naked.

"You took a shower too, huh?" She laughed, coming over and wrapping her arms around Andi. "Doin' the nasty is dirty work!" She kissed her lightly, then opened the fridge and took out two cokes, and sat them on the table. She went back over to the freezer, and got a carton of ice cream, and sat down at the head of the table.

"Damn," she muttered. "I forgot..."

"To get a spoon." And said, holding one out to her. She pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at Carter. "And there's no soap in the other bathroom."

"I've got some in the pantry. And one of the suites down on thirty-one is a supply room too." Carter said as she popped the top off the ice cream and dug out a big spoonful. "I've been stealing stuff for a couple months and stashing it there. I wanted to be ready."

"You were really planning on hiding out here? Just dropping off the radar and becoming invisible?"

Carter nodded. "But this is gonna make life alot easier on me, I think. Here's what I see happening over the next few days. The IOA and the Pentagon are gonna shit a nail when they hear I've been relieved of duty. But they've both been satisfied with my performance, or so I've been told privately by sources I trust."

"But they won't wait long. The wolves will start to gather fast. So I think I have a week, ten days tops, before they start trying to replace me." She grinned at Samuels. "I want to be ready before that. We'll do whatever tests you and Jennifer want, I'll cooperate. But I'm working on the basis that you will not be able to come up with a treatment, much less a cure, in the window I have to work in. You with me so far?"

Samuels nodded.

She opened a coke and poured it into the glass, then opened the other one and took a drink from it while she waited for the foam to settle in the glass. "Tell Jennifer to do some tests on why I'm craving sugar. I usually don't use alot of it, but right now, I can't seem to get enough."

"I'm going to resign both my command and commission before they have a chance to ask for them. That puts me in a better bargaining position. I'm going to request that I be allowed to stay in Atlantis, as the permanent head of an independent department for research and exploitation. The exploitation part is really gonna grab their nads, and clinch the deal."

"What kind of exploitation?" Samuels asked. "This is a clandestine operation. How are you going to get anything out."

"Atlantis has things that people in the Pegasus galaxy want, and they've only seen a fraction of what's available on Earth. Even if we hit a road block trying to go earthside at first, we can cut the budget for this place in half just by marketing to the locals, instead of giving it away." She took a sip from her coke. "But the IAO controls the gate now. They say who and what goes through it. I'm positive that once they see the numbers, they'll be falling all over themselves to make it happen. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Earth gate moved out of Cheyenne Mountain, and into an accessible warehouse facility to handle the volume. And we have a ZPM, so shipping to Earth, is alot cheaper than shipping from there right now."

"What kind of numbers are you talking about? And what kind of products did you have in mind?"

"I don't know about the numbers, I haven't made them up yet!" Carter grinned. "But the first product I plan on offering is that...what did you call it, Thumper? That's a good name by the way. Good marketing potential." She reached out and took Andi's hand. "You have any problem with becoming a top lieutenant in a drug cartel, Andi?"

"Not at all. I use it myself, and have been for months. I have yet to see any negative side effects, and there's an antidote that brings you right down, with no hangover. Package them together, and we can put half the drug cartels on earth out of business in less than a year. The other half would limp along for a while, but go under eventually too. That's a selling point for the IOA."

"That's what I was thinking. Make sure to put that in your report. I'm going to want testing on both human and alien subjects. We're going into both galaxies with that one. The only downside I see for going earthside is that the alcohol industry is going to take a hit too. That's a powerful lobby, so we're gonna have to be careful there."

She got up and went over to the freezer and got another carton of ice cream, french vanilla this time. "We got off on a tangent."

Carter sat alternating between the ice creams. She looked at Andi. "I already have an escape plan in place." She said quietly.

"I wasn't going to ask about that. Need to know item, and I don't." Samuels said lightly. "Based on what I've read about you, and from what you've told me, I figured that you would."

"It only made sense. Elizabeth Weir gave me the idea. She was going to do the same thing." She took a bite of ice cream before she continued. "I only met her a few times, but we really hit it off. Her death hurt me deeply. But when Daniel and I came to Atlantis looking for information on the Ancients, and to setup the stargate to block the Ori supergate, we spent some time together, and she told me what she had in mind. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stay on Atlantis, but she loved the Pegasus galaxy, and there was nothing left for her on earth, her relationship had faltered, and she had no relatives..."

She smiled wryly. "Sound familiar? Anyway, I have an advantage she didn't have. I've been working with Ancient technology for over a decade, and aside from McKay, I probably have a better understanding of it than anyone else in the universe. That's another reason I think I'll get my way when I hit the IOA with my proposal." She grinned again. "He thinks he's so damned smart! And he is, but he doesn't think things through. I'll be glad to be done with him."

She leaned back and stretched, yawning as she did. "I think I'm gonna take a nap. Wanna come with? If you don't, I promise I'll be good."

Andi shook her head. "No, I want to get started on a few things. I brought my laptop up, so I can do some work. And I think I want to check this place out, maybe go down and stake out a claim on my suite."

"You'll have to wait on the suite. The doors have to be coded so you can open them." Carter said as she stood up. "I'll see you in a bit."

Interior-Jennifer Keller's Quarters, Central Tower

1525 Hours

Jennifer took the box of tablets with her, and stopped by her quarters first. The message light on her comm was flashing, but she ignored it. She went into her bedroom and started pulling clothes out of drawers and throwing them on the bed, then stopped. She thought about it for a minute as she looked at the pile, and decided that she actually preferred the Athosian gowns that Andi wore. Opening a different drawer, she pulled out all her bras and panties, and put them in a separate pile on the bed.

Going into the bathroom, she got her toothbrush, and made a mental note to get a box from the commissary. She didn't know if Sam had one in her suite or not, but having spares couldn't hurt. As she came out, she spotted her comm unit on the nightstand. She snatched it up and dropped it in her pocket, then grabbed the clothes off the bed and went out into the main room.

Picking up her backpack, she dumped it out on the couch and stuffed the clothes inside, then went over to her desk and closed her laptop, unplugged the power cord and stuffed them into her backpack next. She pawed through the stuff she had dumped, picking up a few items, putting them back in the bag, and left the rest sitting. She took a quick look around the room, then threw the backpack over her shoulder, picked up the box of tablets, and left.

Interior-Infirmary, Central Tower

1540 Hours

Her next stop was her office in the infirmary. She breezed through the door, and was relieved to see that they weren't very busy, there was only one patient being treated. The attending looked up as she came in, smiled and waved, then turned back to his patient.

Keller sat the tablets and her backpack down by the door, and went into her office, closing the door behind her. She started making lists of supplies and equipment, then connected a portable drive to her computer and started downloading the medical database onto it. She wasn't sure Sam had network access from her suite, and she wanted to be able to look at the available research without having to run back and forth.

She was finishing up the supplies list when there was a knock on the door. She looked at the clock, and was amazed to see that almost forty minutes had past. "Come in," She said lightly, smiling when she saw one of her nurses, Tammy Ford open the door. "Tammy! I was going to come looking for you. Come in, and have a seat. And close the door."

She waited till Tammy got settled, then leaned forward, clasping her hands in front of her on the desk. "We've had an incident, Tammy, and I'm going to need your help. If you're willing."

"Of course doctor," Tammy said, leaning forward of the couch. "I'd be..."

"Don't jump in until you have the big picture, Tammy. You may not want to be involved once you do." She paused, looking at her carefully. "What I'm about to tell you is classified, well above your clearance level I have to add, but I have confidence in your discretion. If you decide to accept my offer, you'll be transferred from the infirmary to a new duty station, and to new quarters as well. Unfortunately, this assignment will also mean that you will be effectively cutoff from other base personnel, until further notice."

She paused, letting what she had said sink in for a moment. "Should I continue?" She asked.

"Yes maam," Tammy answered, leaning back on the couch, and crossing her legs. "I'd like to hear more."

"Good, I thought you would. There's been an...incident...with Col. Carter. She's had an adverse reaction to an Athosian herb, called korathis, are you familiar with it?"

"Yes maam, I was involved in the study that Dr. Beckett did...not quite three years ago. I documented the human subjects and did the follow-ups on them for the next two years, I'm still documenting one subject..."

Keller sat staring at her, open mouthed, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"Doctor? Dr. Keller? Did I say something wro..."

"Yeesssss!" Jennifer yelled, rocking back in her chair, pumping her fists up and down in the air. "I finally got a break!"

"You're hired," Keller laughed. "Oh my god, Tammy! I can't believe my luck! I haven't even looked at that material, and the first person I talk to was involved in the fucking study! Damn! This is incredible!"

"Dr. Keller, I need to te..."

"You just became my resident expert on this shit. Besides helping to care for Col. Carter, you'll have to work with Dr. Samuels and me trying to figure out what caused the problem. With your background and experience, you're going to be our best resource for a while, so you're probably going to be putting in some long hours for a while."

"Dr. Keller? Can I say something?" Tammy asked, leaning forward on the couch.

"Huh? Sure. I'm sorry Tammy, but its been a really weir..."

"I'm the subject that I've been documenting. I've been taking korathis myself, on a daily basis, for over three years. I was one of the original human test subjects. I continued the research on my own, just out of curiosity."

Keller just stared at her again, then a slow smile crept across her lips. "Well aren't you just full of happy little surprises today." She said slowly. She checked the file transfer, and saw that it was done, so she disconnected the drive, then printed out the lists of supplies and equipment. She got up from behind the desk and walked to the door. "Follow me, Tammy. You just went on the clock."

"I've been on duty for three hours, doc..."

"My clock, hon. And call me Jenn, or Jennifer. You can call Dr. Samuels, Andi. I'll have to let our problem child decide what she wants you to call her." She handed Tammy two of the lists, and the portable drive. "Give those to someone and tell them to have everything on them stacked and ready near the transporter no later than 1800 hours. If they have a problem with it, have them call Col. Sheppard. Hold onto that drive. It has the medical database on it, and we're gonna need that."

"Yes maam." Tammy said, and headed for the back of the infirmary.

Jennifer walked next door to the dispensary, smiling at the clerk. "Hi, I need a few things." She said, handing him a list. "How long will it take you to put all that together?"

The clerk looked over the list, then looked up at her. "I don't see a problem with any of this. It'll take a couple of hours to get some of these quantities out of stores, but we have most of it on hand, and I can put alot of it together for you now, if you want to wait."

"Excellent. But I'll come back when you have everything. Now, do you have any toothbrushes, or do I need to go to the commissary for that?"

"I can hook you up with those. How many did you need?"

"Gimme a dozen each medium and firm. And do you have any unscented, unflavored tooth paste? If you do, just give me a box to go. And I need an ounce of Tuumpor, and an ounce of Goorm."

"You'll have to sign for those last two, they're classed as controlled substances."

"That's fine. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

He nodded and disappeared as he walked behind a set of shelves.

Jennifer went back into the infirmary, and saw Tammy coming toward her. "Any problems?" She asked.

Tammy shook her head. "Stevens bitched about giving up a portable scanner, especially when I told him I wanted the good one. But he shut up when I mentioned Col. Sheppard. We'll have to look to make sure he doesn't try to screw us when we come back to get it though."

Jennifer laughed and pulled her off to the side. "I'm gonna tell you more about what's going on once we get out of here, okay?" Tammy just nodded. "I thought we had some laminar air curtains around here somewhere. You got any idea where they might be?"

"I just saw a stack of...I don't know, fifty of them in one of the storerooms. Four footers, battery powered, good for two years."

"Goddamn! I'm on a streak! The way my luck is running, I'm probably gonna get eaten by a wraith before this day is out, but I'm gonna ride it while I'm hot."

Tammy just looked at her, not used to hearing her talk like this.

"Ok, get a cart, and have someone help you load a couple dozen of them on it, we'll be taking them with us. Try to save room for that box by the door and my backpack if you can. Okay?

Tammy nodded and Keller headed back for the dispensary again. The clerk was back, and had a small box and two bags sitting on the counter. She looked in both bags, and nodded, then picked up the clipboard and signed at the X's. The clerk took the clipboard back and sat it on a desk behind him.

"We'll have your order ready for you as quick as we can. This stuff going offworld?"

"Something like that. I'll be back around 1800 the pick up some stuff from the infirmary, I'll get it then. Just have them stack it next to the porter."

He nodded and walked away.

She put the bags on top of the box and went back into the infirmary, sitting everything down on the box of tablets. As she stood up, she saw Tammy coming toward her again. Stevens was behind her, pushing a cart full of boxes.

Damn! This girl is good, she thought. Sam's gonna love her! She laughed suddenly as she caught her own, internal, double meaning.

"Just put that box by the door and my backpack on the cart, and leave it by the porter, we'll take them from there." She told him, trying to get herself under control. "And Stevens, any equipment that doesn't have wheels on it needs to go on a cart, okay?"

He nodded, and pushed the cart out the door.

"You ready to go?" She asked Tammy as she headed for the porter.

"Yes maam. Can we swing by my quarters so I can pick up a few things?"

"No, we can do that later when we come down to get the rest of the stuff. Either me or Dr. Samuels are going to have to escort you for the first few days. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is."

"I understand doc...Jennifer. I was part of the original expedition, so I'm used to it."

Jennifer hit the pad, and the porter doors slid open. The cart from the mess hall was still sitting in it. "Damn, I forgot all about that." She muttered. "Gimme a sec," She said to Tammy, then stepped into the porter, turned the cart around, and pushed it out into the hall, parking it against the wall. She grabbed the supply cart and started pulling it into the porter. Tammy gave it a push, and followed it. The doors swooshed closed behind her.

Jennifer tapped her code into the panel, then pressed the symbol combination for Sam's suite. "Shit. I forgot to tell you what to expect. I'm sorry Tammy. But you're a smart girl, and I think you can handle what's coming. I'll try to give you more details later. I promise."

"After some of the shit I've seen in the last few years, Jenn, very little is going to surprise or offend me." Tammy laughed. "So relax, and let's go take care of our patient, shall we?"

Jennifer stepped to the side of the door, and looked at her. "You go out first. You know, in case something bad happens. My luck has been just too damn good this afternoon!"

"Gee, thanks. I can see you're gonna be even more fun to work with than usual." Tammy said with a smirk as she pushed the cart forward. The doors swooshed open, and she pushed it out into the room.

Interior-Col. Carter's Suite, Tower Fifty-Eight

1705 Hours

"Fuck me!" Tammy muttered, stopping as she took in the room she'd just stepped into.

"Did I hear another volunteer?" Sam yelled from the bedroom. She came strolling out a moment later, naked, and rubbing her eyes.

"I have gifts," Jennifer said, giving Tammy a cold stare. "And company. Where's Andi?"

"Right here," Andi said, walking out of the kitchen wearing a dark green gown. She was eating out of a carton of ice cream.

"That better not be one of mine!" Sam said, her face clouding up.

"Oh shut up! It's rocky road. You didn't show any interest in that one." She looked over at Tammy. "Who's your friend Jenn?"

"Yeah! She said she wants to fuck!" Sam laughed

Tammy walked over and stood in front of Sam, looking her up and down. She reached up, pinching one of her nipples between her fingers, then dipped her fingers between her legs, running her fingers up and down the length of her pussy slit.