Confirming Carter Bk. 02 Daedalus Ch. 09

Chuck looked at her, then glanced over at Tammy.

"Don't make me order you, Chuck." Carter said lightly, reaching down and taking his hand. She lifted it and held it over the pad. "Go ahead, we want you to."

Chuck pressed his hand to the pad, jerking slightly as it started to vibrate. He waited till the lights flashed, the removed his hand.

"Thank you, ma'am." He said quietly as he stepped back from the console. He watched as it sank slowly back down into the floor.

"From what I read, we're just set up for the lockout right now." Tammy said as she stepped over next to Sam and took her hand. "When can you go through and make up a list of systems we need to get configured, and in what order?"

"I'm already doing that, maam. I have a list of about forty different systems we need to look at. I hadn't thought about a sequence." Chuck replied, looking slightly startled by her question. "Do you really think it would make a difference?"

"It might make a big difference. We want damage control at the top of the list, self destruct is a priority too. Then we need to look at those areas you said had separate shields. I'd like to know why some areas of the cities have their own shields, and just what the hell they were doing in them that would justify it."

"She has a point, Chuck." Carter said. "We still need to go through what you sent us, or at least I do. But in the meantime, why don't you take a look at what Tammy mentioned so far, then we can talk about others after dinner."

"I can do that. There's a couple hundred individual systems we can configure, but only forty or so are really major, so I'll concentrate on those first."

"That's fine. Bring your laptop, or whatever you keep your notes on with you." Tammy said as she turned, pulling Carter along behind her. "We're going to be quizzing you on what you know about our city, so be ready."

"Yes maam. I'd like that." Chuck grinned. "It'll be nice to talk to someone that wants to hear about it!"

Interior-Daniel Jackson's Suite, North tower

1630 Hours

"I swear Daniel, With everything that's happened in the last few days, it feels like my head is going to explode sometimes." Carter laughed as she leaned back against the couch. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor between Tammy's legs, idly running her fingers across the top of her foot.

"I almost made her head explode earlier." Tammy whispered, leaning closer to Vala. "She had already passed out, if Andi and Jenn hadn't come in and made me stop, I think I could have done it."

"Well, you took advantage of a situation that presented itself, and it paid off better than you could have expected." Jackson replied lightly. "We would have loved to have done the same thing to the Goa'uld, and not given it a second thought, at least I wouldn't have, and I doubt if Jack or Teal'c would have minded."

"I know Daniel, but I gave the orders. I made this happen." Carter said softly. "I may have brought about the end of a race of sentient beings."

"I've tried to tell her that she's not at fault, Daniel." Tammy said, reaching down to massage Carter's shoulders. "It was a joint decision, the whole court was in agreement that we should do it. I think what's bothering her is just how successful we were. Personally, I think we did a good thing."

"I agree. I've read the reports on the engagement Sam, and I don't see what you're beating yourself up about. Your people engaged and destroyed a hostile force, the fact that they used surprise and stealth shouldn't enter into it. You used the same tactics on the Wraith that they have been using on the rest of this galaxy for millennia."

"I guess it's just going to take me a while to get used to being the warrior queen that Bra'tac says I need to be." Carter sighed. She glanced up at Tammy, then looked back over at Daniel. "What we came over to talk to you about is to ask you if you and Vala would take a look at how we're setup, the government operations that is. And before either of you object, I think you're both qualified, or else I wouldn't have asked."

"I wasn't going to object." Vala said, laying out on the couch, resting her head in Tammy's lap and kicking her feet up onto the armrest. "I've been talking to Andi quite a bit over the last few days. She's been trying to pump me for information without seeming too. She'll say something innocuous, then let me talk about anything I want. I think I could get to like her."

"She told us that." Tammy laughed. "She said that she really liked you too, and that she hoped you could be friends."

"Well, from the department outlines and reports she let me see, I can see where you already have people doing the same work in several places. And I don't mean similar work, I mean gathering the same information, it's just being routed to a different department heads."

"That's exactly the kind of thing we're looking for." Carter said, shaking her head slowly. "We've noticed the same thing, but wanted to get you to go through and take a look for us. We want to streamline the government operations, keep the bureaucracy to a minimum as long as we can, and get something done while we have a chance."

She looked back over her shoulder at Vala. She grinned when she saw that she was laid out with her head in Tammy's lap. "We really haven't looked at how we want the government set up, the individual departments that is. Andi gave us an overview of what she had in mind, but I don't think she really had any formal plans for the individual departments. That's what I want you to look at."

"As near as I can tell, you really don't have a government yet." Daniel said. "Andi is your government right now. She's giving orders and directing traffic, but as it stands, you really don't have a government per se."

"We've talked to her about that, and the three of us have sketched out a rough outline of what we think we need." Carter told him. "The original idea was to model ours after the grand Duchy of Monaco, but I figured out pretty quick that that was just for the show and tell part of it, not actually governing. We sat down after that and started talking about how to actually do that."

"Well, besides the military, most of what government you have flows through her." Jackson said. "It's not a problem at the moment, and realistically, with the population we have here in Atlantis, it won't be a problem for at least six months, if not closer to a year. But getting something mapped out now, before you need it, and taking the time to set it up will let you make adjustments easier when the population starts to grow."

"We'll look at the areas under Andi's control first." Vala said, looking up at Tammy. "She should keep diplomacy under her, which includes intelligence services, but everything else should be split off, and given to other people. I think the military should be split as well. Make the navy a separate department under Caldwell, but leave Sheppard with overall control."

"Why would you do that?" Tammy asked her, brushing Vala's hair away from her face.

"Caldwell's navy will have different duties than Sheppard's ground and jumper based forces. If you make them separate entities, that lets you define their roles more clearly." Vala said, making kissy faces up at her. "It will give them someone to compete against too, which should make them work harder."

Tammy smiled down at Vala and shook her head slowly. Vala pouted, then rolled over on her side.

"Vala has a good point about the military, both in defining individual roles, and the need for esprit de corps. I think Jack and Bra'tac will be more help there though." Jackson said. "I have some ideas, but I'd like to get some research materials. Unfortunately, those are going to have to come from Earth. Do you think they'll send us that if I request it?"

"I can go through Landry to get whatever you need, Daniel." Carter chuckled. "Give me a list of what you want, or just send it yourself. I'm pretty sure he'll be glad to help."

She scooted away from the couch and got to her feet, twisting and stretching. She looked over at Tammy, grinning when she saw the pout on Vala's face.

"I really should go work out, or spend some time with the boys, but what I really want to do is take a nap." She laughed. "I don't know how good an idea that is, because I invited our new city manager to dinner at eighteen hundred. And we still have to call the kitchen about that."

"You'll want to come Daniel." Tammy added. "Chuck is one of the Ops techs, and he knows more about how the city works than anyone we have right now. We might need you to sit in, because I'm sure we're going to miss something."

"That sounds like it might be interesting." Daniel said as he stood up. He went over to the couch and held out his hand to Vala.

Vala brushed his hand away and rolled off the couch. She shook her hair out as she stomped across the room, disappearing into the bedroom.

"What was that about?" Daniel asked, staring after her.

"I'll take care of it." Tammy said lightly as she got up and followed her.

Vala wasn't in the bedroom when she walked in, so she went over to the bathroom and stuck her head in the door. Vala was standing at the vanity, examining her face in the mirror. She saw that Tammy had come in, but ignored her.

"You don't really want me, you know." Tammy said as she came up behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Your bored, and you just want to do something to stir up a little trouble. Isn't that right?"

"A little I guess." Valla said grudgingly as she picked up a brush and started running it through her hair. "But if you didn't flirt with me all the time, maybe I wouldn't..."

"Liar liar, pants on fire!" Tammy laughed, bringing her hands up and squeezing Vala's tits lightly, making her gasp. "You love it when I flirt with you! And you do it right back. Why can't we just have fun, and not worry about anything else? We both know that we're going to play together eventually. Don't be in such a hurry."

She stepped back and took Vala's hand, turning her around and leading her out of the bathroom. They went back into the living room where Sam and Daniel were waiting by the porter.

"Is everything okay?" Daniel asked, looking at Vala. "You didn't do..."

"Everything is fine Daniel." Vala said lightly. "And no, I didn't cause any trouble."

"It's a game they play Daniel." Sam laughed. "Don't think anything of it. But I'm going to steal her for a little while if you don't mind. Dinner is at eighteen hundred, don't be late."

She grabbed Vala's hand and pulled her into the porter, turning to look at Tammy as she stood next to Daniel.

"You coming, Tammy?" She grinned.

Interior-Kitchen

1720 Hours

"Do you remember that night in Dakara, Daniel was looking for that ancient weapon, and you crawled into my sleeping bag?" Carter asked Vala as the porter doors closed behind Tammy.

She tapped out the symbols for her suite. When the doors opened, she led her down the hall to the kitchen. Tammy followed behind them with a quizzical expression on her face.

"I remember, Samantha." Vala said, not sure what was going on. "I also remember that you made it very clear that you weren't interested."

"I think what I told you, in my own terribly shy, more than a little terrified from what I was feeling way, was that I wasn't ready. I'm sorry that you thought I wasn't interested." Sam said with a soft smile as she got a bottle of tequila from the freezer. "You remember that I didn't make you leave, and that you spent the rest of the night holding me. And copping more than a few cheap feels."

"I remember Mitchell giving us a funny look when we both climbed out of that sleeping bag in our underwear." Vala laughed. "But what's going on, Samantha? I'm only playing when I..."

"I don't care if you flirt with Tammy, Vala." Carter said as she got glasses from the cabinet. "I actually kind of like it. The two of you put on a great show when you get going. No, what I wanted to tell you was, I'm ready now if you're ever interested. Unless me having a girlfriend is a problem."

She looked at Tammy as she sat down and poured shots into their glasses.

"What are you saying Sam?" Tammy asked as she came around the table and sat down. She picked up one of the glasses and tossed it back, then slid it over to Sam for a refill. "You looking to step out on me?"

"Never, love." Carter grinned as she took her hand, pouring her another shot at the same time. "And I thought I was very clear just now. I know that you'd like to make it with Vala, and I just want both of you to know that I not only don't mind, but I want a piece of the action. Or ass, however you want to put it."

"Samantha! I don't know what's gotten into you, but I like it." Vala laughed. She was more serious when she said, "But I'm with Daniel now, and it would hurt him terribly if he ever found out that I had been unfaithful to him, especially with one of his closest friends."

"That's fine, I wasn't suggesting that we go jump in bed for a threesome, I was just telling you that the door is open, if you ever want to drop by." Sam said.

"This is because of earlier, isn't it?" Tammy laughed.

She looked over at Vala. "She's can be more sexually aggressive after she's cum really good. The korathis reacts with her hormones and endorphins, and it sends her into overdrive sometimes."

"That's part of it I guess." Sam said. "But I really do like watching you two teasing each other, and I wanted you both to know that if you want to stop just teasing, it's okay with me."

"Daniel likes watching me with her too you know." Vala said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Sometimes, after I've done something particularly outrageous, we don't even get home before he's all over me. He's a fantastic lover as it is, but if I give him something to think about...mmm, it's just that much better."

"I feel so used." Tammy pouted "You've just been leading me on to get your boyfriend excited."

"Like you haven't been doing the same thing." Sam laughed. She looked at Vala. "But Daniel? Really?"

Vala nodded her head vigorously. "From the first time, and it was his idea. We were at one of those awful dig sites he loves so much on some barren little planet, and he asked me to go for a walk with him. When we were away from the SG team, he turned around and kissed me, and before I knew it, we were doing it. We did it three times that night."

"You gotta be careful of those bookworms and nerds. They'll get you every time." Tammy said, nodding her head sagely. "Lots better in bed than jocks too."

Interior-Office

1940 Hours

After dinner, they had adjourned to the living room. Sam and Tammy had been asking Chuck questions about the cities systems, and they had gotten to the point where Tammy wanted to see, not just hear about what they could do.

Chuck was sitting behind Sam's desk, and Sam, Tammy, Pharris and Daniel were relaxing in chairs around the room watching on the big wall monitor as he scrolled through screen after screen.

"These are the areas with independent shields I was telling you about." He said as he brought up yet another diagram of the city. A dozen areas were highlighted on the map. "Most of these are labs of some kind, one is the detention center, but there are three in the north pier and one on the east pier that aren't marked. The survey teams couldn't get into them either."

"So there's still parts of the city that we don't know what they are?" Sam asked.

"Almost a third of the city is still unmapped, at least by our people." Chuck told her.

"Why couldn't our people get into these areas?" Tammy asked.

"The doors are secured, so they bypassed them. They're on the list for another try. This one," He said, highlighting one on the north pier, "Is still shielded. We shut it down occasionally, but it comes back up after a few hours."

"Why haven't you said anything about this before now, Chuck." Sam asked.

"We told Dr. McKay about it three years ago, and he had us disable the alarm, and told us not to worry about it."

"I thought you said that you had just found these." Tammy said.

"No ma'am, we knew that some areas, like detention and some of the bio labs had their own shield systems, we just didn't know about all of them. Since this one is on an outer pier, it never got investigated."

"What about the sublevels, have we looked there yet." Daniels asked

"Those areas are clearly marked on the city maps. We've had crews go through the shops, especially the ship and vehicle repair areas, but more that half of that still has to be gone through, room by room. We don't have a complete inventory of what's down there right now."

"We also need to get people down there because there's been water damage over the years, and we may need to look at structural integrity. There's twelve decks below the waterline, and we know that at least four of them have been flooded at some point."

"Andi knows about this?" Carter asked.

"Yes, ma'am. She checks in with me daily, and I send her updates whenever we make changes to the map."

"Start copying the four of us on those updates." She said. "But schedule some crews to go look at those decks. Don't worry about an inventory, I'm more interested in what kind of shape they're in. Send those reports to me and Tammy."

(-)

That's all for Chapter Nine. Please read Chapter Ten for more of this story.

I hope you liked this episode. Please post a comment so I know if I'm the right track with this...