Confirming Carter Bk. 04 Expansion Ch. 01

Meria turned her chair, moving it closer as Kerus went over and sat next to Tammy.

"One of our ships recently found the space station Creonimus, along with the Merassipal, and her sister ships, the Anophinus, Crelopelion, Rorceliea and Konasinil. They were in what we call Sector 522R7." Tammy said, pausing as a pad and a pen appeared in her hands. She jotted down several strings of ancient symbols, tore off the sheet and handed it to him. "These are the coordinates we found you at."

Kerus took the sheet and glanced at it, then handed it to his first officer. "That is our current position in the Relleia system. We just completed a refit on the Creonimus. But you're mistaken, there are no other ships in the area."

Tammy shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving his.

"I'm sorry captain, but there's more that I haven't told you." She said. "You and your crew are in stasis pods aboard your ship, and are existing in an artificial, or virtual environment."

"What you say isn't possible." Kerus said, glancing at his first officer. "If we were in the stasis pods, we would be aware of it. The virtual reality system would update us on the ships status."

"That may have been how it was designed, captain, but that's not what's happening." She paused, taking his hand before she continued. "The truth is, almost ten thousand years have passed, your fellow Atlantian's have abandoned Atlantis, and fled the Pegasus galaxy. They were losing the war with the Wraith, and saw no other choice if they were to survive."

Meria leapt to her feet, glaring at Tammy. She looked over at Kerus as she spoke.

"She's lying captain!" She said harshly. "We've only been here for a few weeks. Our scans of the system show no other vessels besides the Creonimus. We should have orders soon to..."

"Is she, Meria?" Kerus said slowly, not taking his eyes off Tammy. "Explain how she got on this ship undetected, dressed as she is. You said yourself that she disappeared right in front of your eyes..."

"I can show you." Tammy said, glancing over at Meria, then back at Kerus. "I have people outside, on the real Merassipal. We could revive you, so you can see for yourself."

She paused, her hand closing over his. "But I have to tell you that there is a risk to doing this. Your bodies are nearly moribund, and you will not be able to live long outside the pods. Just reviving you may kill you. I'm sorry, but you have to know the truth."

Kerus nodded.

"I believe you, but I have to see for myself." He said, releasing her hand and getting to his feet. He turned and looked at Tammy. "Show me."

She nodded, closing her eyes.

* * * * *

When she opened them, McKay was looking down at her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, helping her sit up. "What happened?"

"I told the captain and the first officer what's going on." She said as she swung her feet over the side and hopped off the platform. "She didn't believe me, the first officer, but the captain did."

She walked down the row of pods, stopping next to one. She looked over at Zelenka and McKay.

"He wants to see for himself, and I told him that we could revive him, but only for a short time." She said as she looked over the controls. "I told him that he couldn't live long outside the pod, and that just bringing him out could kill him, but he wants to see."

"I don't think that's a goo..." McKay began.

"I don't care, Rodney." She said, glancing over at him. "I'd want to see too, if I were in his place. So are you going to help me do this, or do I have to do it myself?"

* * * * *

"Don't move, Kerus." Tammy said as he groaned, then took several gasping breaths. "We need to make sure the life support system is still running. Just relax, and keep your eyes closed."

Kerus nodded, not moving on the platform as he listened to them working around him. He could feel his body, and knew before he even opened his eyes that what she had said was true.

Tammy held her hand over his eyes, leaning close to speak softly in his ear.

"Open your eyes slowly, Kerus. Let them get used to the light. Take your time, we don't have to hurry."

Blurry images appeared as he opened his eyes, and he squeezed them shut as the glare burned his retinas. He grimaced and blinked several times, then tried again.

"Slowly Kerus. Let your eyes get used to the light." Tammy said softly, moving her hand away from his face. "It's been a while since you've used them."

Kerus turned his head, following the sound of her voice. His vision cleared slowly, and the area near the pods gradually came into focus.

"I'm right here, Kerus." Tammy said, stepping back from his pod. "Can you see me?"

"Yes." He croaked, his vocal cords straining over that single word.

McKay came up beside her, showing her his laptop.

"We have to put him back in, he's not going to last long like this." He said quietly. "We may have taken years off his life as it is."

Tammy nodded, stepping up to the pod. Tears ran down her cheeks as she looked down at him.

"I'm sorry, Kerus. But we have to put you back in." She said gently. "If we don't, you may not survive."

Kerus closed his eyes, his head moving as he tried to nod. He felt the tray he was laying on moving, and a moment later, his quarters appeared around him.

* * * * *

He turned, and as he looked, Tammy appeared beside him, and reached out, taking his hands in her's.

"I...I felt your tears on my face." He said.

He looked over at Meria, then walked over and stood in front of her.

"She speaks the truth, Meria." He said quietly. "I could feel my body, and it is old, terribly old. We cannot leave this place. If we do, we will die."

"Then what will become of us captain?" Meria asked, her face going pale. Her legs felt weak, so she stepped back, dropping heavily into a chair. "And what will we tell the crew?"

"If I may?" Tammy said, coming over to join them. "I'd suggest not saying anything to the crew just yet. We may have some options that will make it possible for you to live on as you are, and still make a contribution."

She nodded toward the couch, then went over and sat down, waiting for Kerus to join her.

"Before I go into what we might be able do for you, let me tell you what's happened over the last ten thousand years, how we came to Atlantis, what we've been doing, and how we found you."

Interior-Col. Carter's Suite, Kitchen

1400 Hours

"Can we have the room?" Tammy said as she walked into the kitchen. She went over and stepped into Sam's arms, burying her face in her shoulder as she hugged her tightly.

"Are you okay, baby?" Sam asked her, running her hands gently over her back.

Tammy just shook her head, and Sam looked over at Cisco.

"Clear the floor, Cisco." She said quietly. "We'll call you when we need you."

He nodded, waiting as people filed passed him, then followed them out.

"Do you want to lie down?" Sam asked her as Tammy cried quietly into her shoulder. "Do you want something to drink? I can get you..."

"A drink sounds good." Tammy whispered as she raised her head off Sam's shoulder, looking her in the eyes. "I think I'm going to need a few."

"What happened? Did they..." Sam asked as Tammy released her. She went over and got glasses out of the cabinet, then pulled several bottles from the fridge.

"They were amazing, Sam." Tammy said as she took a bottle from her. She twisted off the top and upended it, taking several long gulps from it. When she pulled it away, she sat it on the table and looked at it, her breath coming in soft pants.

"Wow, I've never seen you drink like that." Sam said as she came around the table and started to sit next to her.

"No, don't do that. Sit where you usually do." Tammy said, reaching for the bottle again. "I need normal right now."

"Okay." Sam said, sliding a glass over to her as she slid into her seat. "But use a glass this time. That's normal."

They say quietly, not speaking for several minutes, then Tammy looked over at Sam

"The captain's name is Kerus Mar, and his first officer is named Meria." She said, filling her glass, then holding the bottle out to Sam. When Sam shook her head, she sat the bottle on the table and continued. "I told them about what had happened to their people and Atlantis over the last ten thousand years, how we came to Atlantis, and how we stumbled across them."

"How did they take it?" Sam asked, picking up the bottle and filling her own glass. She screwed the top back on the bottle and sat it off to the side as she looked over at Tammy.

"He took it pretty well. I don't know if Meria is going to make it though." Tammy answered. "She was devastated. By the time I was finished, she was in tears, and there was no consoling her. Everyone she knew and loved is either dead or ascended, and what's worse, she thinks they let their people down, by not being there for them."

"It wasn't their fault." Sam said. "They..."

"I tried to tell her that, but she wouldn't listen." Tammy said. "Kerus finally had his chief medical officer sedate her. I think he's afraid of what she might do."

"What did he think about your plan, to have them join us, if we can make it work?"

"He was all for it. The good thing there is, his crew thinks they've only been in that system for a few weeks, so when we tell them that we're bringing them into the new Atlantian navy, to serve actively with their sister ships..."

"What about the other ship, the Konasinil? Did you tell him..." Sam asked.

Fresh tears sprang from Tammy's eyes, and she buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed, but before Sam could get up and go to her, she threw her head back, wiping her eyes as she took a deep breath.

"They're dead. Kerus said that once the VR failed, their consciousness was gone. All that's left is an empty husk." She said haltingly, still trying to catch her breath. "The kindest thing we can do for them is to shut the pods down, and let them rest in peace."

"Oh god, Tammy. I'm so sorry." Sam said, getting up and coming around the table. She got Tammy to her feet and led her out of the kitchen.

When they got to the bedroom, Sam guided Tammy down onto the bed, then slid up next to her, cradling her in her arms, rocking her, and making soothing noises.

"You did a good thing today, sweetie." She whispered. "I know it hurts. But it's going to be okay. Go ahead and let it out...that's right, just let it go."

* * * * *

Interior-Conference room, North Tower

1500 Hours

"We spoke to Pharris, and told her about the station. She was talking to her people when we left." Carter told the group as she paced back and forth behind her chair. "So they should be here shortly. What I want to talk about before they get here, is do we tell them about the cruisers? Thoughts? Anyone?"

"No. There's no need to advertise." Caldwell said quickly. "It's bad enough that you told them about the station before we've had a chance to go through it. We know that there are other ships docked, but we don't know what kind yet."

"I agree." Shepphard said. "Give them some of the ships that are docked, but don't say anything about the cruisers. That should be need to know."

"They're going to find out." Sandi put in. "If we tell them now, it shows that we're dealing honestly with them. If we try to hide it, it may jeopardize other plans."

"Andi? You want to weigh in on this?" She asked Samuels.

"Both arguments are valid." Samuels said slowly. She paused, as if considering what she was going to say next very carefully. "But I have to agree with John and Steven. This should be need to know. We can always tell them about the cruisers later, they don't need to know when we found them."

"Ronin?"

"Tell them. They're our partners, either we trust them or we don't. If we don't, why are we working with them?"

"Teyla?"

"Your relationship with the Travelers is built on trust, and mutual respect. They will understand if you do not offer them any of these cruisers. They will not understand if you try to hide this from them."

"Spoils of war...and our finding these cruisers is a result of the Ancients war with the Wraith." Tammy said, looking around the table. "It also falls under the law of finders keepers. Waleen, Arrin and Pharris are going to understand that. Larrin, on the other hand, is going to pitch a bitch when she finds out."

Cisco stepped into the room and spoke quietly to Carter. She nodded and turned to face the group.

"They're coming through the gate, so we have about two minutes to decide. Let's go around the tab..."

"No...these are our ships, your's and mine. We own them." Tammy said, looking over at Sam. "So tell me, my queen, what do you want to do?"

"I want to keep our ships in our navy, that's what I want to do. My queen." Sam said, bowing towards her.

"Then that's what we're going to do. We tell them everything, but those ships stay in our navy, no one else's."

Ronin stood up, and Sam glanced over her shoulder, thinking the Travelers had arrived. She looked back at him when he started clapping.

"I serve at the pleasure of the queens." He said as he dropped to one knee.

"And I." Cisco said from the doorway, dropping to his knee, clapping his hands in time with Ronin.

Shepphard and Caldwell looked at each other, then slid from their seats, each taking a knee, picking up the clap.

Sandi looked around the room, then started to get to her feet. Sam smiled and waved her down, then looked around the room.

"Enough. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you." She said, walking over to stand in front of Ronin. She held out her hand and pulled him to his feet when he took it. "You are indeed our protector in all things." She said softly. "Thank you."

He nodded, giving her a small smile as he squeezed her hand,

* * * * *

"The least you can do is feed us." Larrin said as she slouched in her chair. "I've gotten used to being fed everytime I come over here. Not to mention that I'm missing breakfast."

Sheppard got up and walked out of the room, but was back a moment later.

"Here, eat those." He grinned as he tossed her a bag of potato chips.

"Thanks." She said as she tore the bag open and took out a chip. She popped it into her mouth and chewed, then grinned at him. "Tasty. Got anything I can wash them down with. My mouth is going to get dry."

"A blessing in disguise." Waleen said, then turned to Sam and Tammy.

"Pharris tells us that you've made another discovery." He said. "A space station of some kind."

"Yes, we have a video if you'd like to see it." Sam said. "Or we can just tell you about it."

"We can watch the video later." Arrin said. "I'd like to hear more about what you found."

"Evan, this was your discovery, would you be kind enough to tell our friends more about it?" Sam said, looking down the table at him.

"Yes ma'am." Lorne said, getting to his feet. He touched a control on the table top, and a still image filled the large monitor at the end of the room.

"This is the space station 'Creonimus', which the Apollo found in Sector 522R7 this morning. The station is eight kilometers long, three kilometers wide, and just over one kilometer high. Based on those measurements, it has a total volume more than four times that of Atlantis and Anchorage combined."

"And this station is still where you found it?" Pharris asked.

"No ma'am. The station has been moved, and is in orbit above us as we speak." Lorne told her.

"You brought it here? Why?" Arrin asked.

"Because this is where we can use it." Tammy said. "But what's even more important, this is where we can protect it."

"Your next question is going to be from who." Sam said, smiling over at the Travelers. "The answer to that is, everyone. Any space travelling species out there, the Wraith, you, and anybody we don't know about. We found this station, and we're going to keep it. You're welcome to use it, and we'll want your help manning it, but it is a part of our domain." She looked down the table at Lorne. "I don't think you're finished, are you Evan?"

"No ma'am." He said, trying not to smile. "We've gone through some of the logs, and along with a visual inspection, we've confirmed that there are seventy-eight docking ports, thirty-nine on each side, and a dry dock that takes up almost a third of the aft section."

Lorne touched another control on the table, and the picture changed to a close-up of several of the docking ports.

"As you can see, there are ships in some of the docking ports. We counted sixty-four altogether. We don't have a complete count of the ships in the dry dock at the moment."

Arrin opened his mouth to speak, but Tammy spoke before he could.

"We'd like to offer you twenty of the ships in the docking ports, you can pick the ones you want." She said, then turned back to Lorne. "Show them the prize, Evan."

"There's a prize?" Larrin laughed, leaning forward in her chair. "It can't get any better than this!"

"It does for us." Tammy said, looking down the table at Lorne. "Evan?"

The image on the screen changed to a close up of the dry dock. The five Aurora class cruisers were clearly visible inside it.

"These are the ancient cruisers, 'Anophinus', 'Crelopelion', 'Rorceliea', 'Merassipal' and 'Konasinil'. We detected life signs on the 'Merassipal' and 'Konasinil', and Lady Tammy entered the virtual environment they're existing in, and contacted the captain of the 'Merassipal', which has six hundred and twenty-eight active pods, or survivors. 'Konasinil' has almost three hundred active pods, but the virtual environment they were living in has failed, resulting in their consciousness being lost. They are, unfortunately, effectively dead."

Tammy was watching Larrin, and when she turned toward her, she shook her head.

"None." She said clearly. "We're keeping all five for our navy."

Sam glanced over at the other three Travelers, but they all stared back at her with stone faced expressions.

"This seems like an abundance of wealth, and it is." Sam said slowly. "We plan on sharing this bounty with you, our partners. Use of the station to repair and refurbish your ships, more ships to add to your existing fleet. Those five cruisers, however, belong to Atlantis, and will become the backbone of our navy."

Pharris and Arrin nodded, but Waleen scowled as he glared down at the table. Larrin leapt to her feet, knocking her chair over behind her.

"Are you going to allow this?" She shouted at her fellow council members. "Is this what partnership means, to be left out when the bounty is richest?"

"You have two Aurora class cruisers in your fleet, is that correct, Larrin?" Tammy asked her.

"Yes, they protec..."

"How many did you offer me when I had none?" Tammy said slowly, not letting her finish.

She got to her feet, and walked over in front of Larrin.

"Where did you get the drones, and ZPM's for them, Larrin? Who gave you the gene therapy, trained your people on the teaching machines, offered your people safe havens, and a share of what they produce?"

When Larrin didn't answer, she continued.

"I did these things, Larrin. My sister queen and I, and the people of Atlantis did these things. For you. And you have the nerve to come into my home, and complain that I want to keep a few baubles for myself? How dare you!"

"Baubles! You call the most pow..."

"Yes." Tammy said calmly. "On the scale that Sam and I look at things, these ships are playthings, but they will serve a purpose. There's a galaxy of riches out there that the ancients left behind. We're finding pieces a little at a time. A city here, an outpost there, a few ships. But they mean nothing unless we bring them together, teach people how to use them, and build more."

"I do not understand, Lady Tammy." Waleen said, looking back and forth between her and Sam. "What are you..."