Confirming Carter Bk. 04 Expansion Ch. 01

Caldwell nodded and sat down, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs.

"Those five cruisers are manned by a crew of over seven hundred each. That's more than thirty-five hundred bodies." Tammy said. "If we can get the Merrisapal crew online, running live with our people, we can bring that number down to thirty-two hundred."

"That means, you're either going to have to go into the labor pool, or the Traveler fleet for manpower." Sam said. "Would you agree with that?"

"Yes ma'am, I already did a database search for matching skills. Dr. Zelenka pulled the schematics for them, and we were going to go through and find the required training over the next few days."

"Good." Sam said, nodding. "Next item. Get one of your people, and I mean someone from your department that you trust, to go through those station logs. They've already been downloaded to memory modules, and one will be on your desk in the morning. We want to know what was done to every ship on that station, especially the Aurora class, with an emphasis on anything that's going to cause us a problem."

"Now the part you're not going to like." Tammy said. "We want to give Earth some ships. Not tomorrow, but sometime in the near future. Once we see what the Travelers are going to do, and what we're going to have to give them, we'll want to know what else we can give up."

"We'd like you to tell us which you'd prefer to give up, the Apollo and an Aurora class, or the Daedalus and Apollo." Sam said, watching him closely.

"That's easy." Caldwell laughed. "The Apollo and an Aurora. There's no way I'm giving up Daedalus, you're going to have to scrape my corpse out of that chair."

"Even if I offered you an Aurora class for yourself?" Sam grinned.

"Daedalus is the flagship of the Atlantian fleet. The fleet commander sails on the flagship, whether they're in command or not."

"But before we start giving away ships." He went on. "We need to get with Zelenka, and see if we can outfit the Aurora's with the Asgard beam technology. We should do the same thing with any ancient, or Traveler ships we can get our hands on. The transport beams are more efficient than the ring systems the ancient ships use, and the beam weapons would be a good addition to any vessel."

"Talk to Zelenka about that first thing in the morning, and get him started on it. You can bring McKay in if you want, but Zelenka takes the lead." Sam said. "Get with Sheppard when you need to see who you're going to have to pull from his guys. We're going to want our people in command and control positions on these new ships, at least until we get the crews shaken out, and see who's really on our side."

"That's all I've got." She said, looking over at Tammy. "You got anything else, hon?"

"Yeah, get with Larrin as soon as you can to arrange transport. We're going to want that station staffed, I'd say a thousand to start, then five thousand a week like we did with Anchorage." Tammy said. "It might just be easier to bring them in by ship and ring them over. If you want the truth, I really don't want all those people traipsing through my gateroom."

* * * * *

Interior-Conference Room, North Tower

2100 Hours

"We're sorry for asking you to join us so late, but many of you weren't involved in most of what went on today." Sam said as she looked around the room.

Every seat at the table was filled, and people sat in chairs around the outside of the room.

"Jack, you and Bra'Tac had the boys all day, and we can't tell you how much we appreciate that. Daniel, I don't have a good reason why I didn't include you and Vala. To be honest, I could have used input from both of you several times today."

"That's okay, Sam." O'Neill laughed, leaning back in his chair. "From what I heard, you expanded your navy, and added a couple million new citizens."

"I guess you didn't hear that they added a knight, and made Pharris a Duchess." Daniel said lightly. "Lord of Anchorage, and all the lands surrounding it. I'm curious though, what does all that really mean? Are you going by the traditional definition, or do you have one of your own?"

"Yes, we knighted Larrin, for her actions in the fight with the replicators, and her ongoing support in our recent efforts." Sam said casually, leaning back in her chair. "Pharris was rewarded with the title of Duchess for her management of Anchorage. As to what that entails, it means that she is lord and master of those lands, to manage in our name. The city and the lands surrounding them remain part of our domain."

"That sounds like an empty title, Sam." Daniel said, trying not to smile.

"Yes and no, Daniel." Tammy told him. "It is an empty title at the moment, like all the others we've bestowed. But as we grow, and begin selling our goods across the galaxy, you will all share in the proceeds. The only title we've offered with a perk attached was to Chuck. We told him that if he could get Anchorage space worthy in less than a year, we would make him an earl, and give him the next ancient outpost we found. Subject to our domain, and the laws of Atlantis, of course."

"We're on schedule to complete repairs in ten months." Chuck said, grinning broadly. "I need to bring another thousand workers online this month, and I'm going to need metals, some of the upper levels have really been abused. I..."

"No one cares, Chuck." Andi said, getting her a laugh from around the table. "I thought it was a bad idea when I heard it, and I think it's a worse one now, you polygamist moron."

"Uh, why are Fran and I here?" Rodney asked, holding his hand in the air. "This looks like a council meeting. All the senior advisors are here, and..."

"I was wondering that myself." Sandi said.

"You're here because we value Fran's opinion." Tammy laughed. "And you might come in handy with a couple projects we have in the works."

"So, does anyone have any other questions about why I love her?" Sam laughed, reaching over to take her hand.

"I thought it was because she was good in bed." Keller muttered, then blushed furiously. "Oh my god, did I just say that out loud? I am so sorry...really, I didn't mean..."

"Don't worry about it, Jenn." Tammy laughed. "I am that good in bed."

"Can we talk about what happened with the Travelers?" Sheppard asked. "One minute, Tammy is bitch slapping Larrin, the next minute, they're talking about ending our partnership and joining the family business. An hour later, they're back, asking to become part your domain, and you're knighting Larrin and handing out titles."

He grinned suddenly, leaning forward.

"And when you start handing out more titles, I want to be a duke, or at least a count, whichever is higher." He said.

"Duke, earl, count, and marquis, in that order, are the major titles used in most of Europe, at least in the countries that still recognize royalty." Daniel told him, "I'll send you a list."

"I'd like to know more about how you pulled that off too." Andi said. "Their reaction is not something that could be accurately predicted by any modeling method that I'm aware of."

"Don't look at me. This was all her." Sam said, jerking her thumb toward Tammy. "I just followed her lead."

"And you did such a good job!" Tammy laughed, reaching over and pinching her cheek.

"Seriously, Tammy." Andi said. "How did you know what they would do, or how did you get them to do what you wanted."

Tammy grinned as she looked down the table at Bra'Tac.

"I may have had some small part in this affair." Bra'Tac said, looking over at Andi.

"No, Master Bra'tac, you were instrumental in what we brought about today." Tammy said. "Without your insights, I would never have attempted what I did today."

"You ratted on your girlfriend?" O'Neill asked Bra'Tac, turning to look at him.

"No confidences were betrayed. Pharris was aware that I spoke to the queens of our ongoing plans." Bra'Tac told him, then turned, looking back down the table at Tammy. "She also shared information about the dealings on the council, that she wished to reach the queens ears. My visits with Gerran, my trenkalmah, or grandchild, provided opportunities to share information as it was acquired."

"So you knew that there was what, discontent in the council?" Caldwell asked. "Is that why you targeted Larrin like you did?"

"Oh god no!" Tammy laughed. "After Pharris, Larrin is our staunchest ally in the council. It was Waleen I needed to work on. I needed him to believe that we were cutting them loose."

"I've spoken to Arrin privately several times, and he expressed a desire to bypass the partnership, and join us, as citizens. He also told me that Waleen was having second thoughts about what they were doing. He never expected this to progress so rapidly, or succeed as well as it has, He's been trying to gum up the works, but the others have managed to work around him."

"But Waleen seemed to be the most interested when we took them to Anchorage that first time." Andi said. "What happened?"

"He saw his authority being undermined." Sam told her. "When Pharris didn't resign from the council, not because she didn't want to, but because they never seriously looked for a replacement, the power in the council shifted to her. Arrin and Larrin followed her lead, since she was getting results."

"So Pharris and Arrin were in on your little drama?" Sheppard. "What about Larrin? Was she in on it?"

"Pharris and Arrin were working off a script that Bra'Tac and Pharris had worked out for this eventuality." Sam said. "That's why we talked to her, and told her about the station."

"Larrin, bless her heart." Tammy laughed. "Oh my god, she played her part perfectly, even though she had no idea what was happening. We told Pharris not to bring her in, we needed her to react normally, and she did exactly as expected."

"Except that bit at the end." Sam said, looking over at Tammy "I didn't expect the 'You do not have my blood, but I would gladly call you sister.' routine. And did you have to kiss her like that?"

"No, I just wanted to." Tammy laughed. "I mean really, Sam! The girl is seriously hot!"

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind getting a piece of that myself." Sam whispered, leaning close so only Tammy could hear her.

"Anyway, now that you know the how, and the why is pretty obvious, we need to talk about what's next." Tammy said "The first question is, what are we going to do with, and about our million and a half new citizens."

"Excuse me, Tammy." Teyla said. "But even with the people they already have settled around Anchorage, there are still more than two million Travelers, spread across more than ten thousand ships."

"Well, my numbers are based on what we saw when we gave people a choice to go back to Earth, or stay here with us." Tammy told her. "We lost almost twenty-five percent on that first day."

"I do not believe your numbers are correct." Teyla answered. "The circumstances are different. Your people were scientists and military personnel, who came from Earth, to live and work in Atlantis. The Travelers are families, many of whom have inter-married over thousands of years. These people will not only be asked if they wish to leave the Traveler fleet, but to leave their families, and the only homes they have ever known. The heads of families will make this decision for all, and they will follow."

"What would you estimate our losses will be, can you give us a number?" Sam asked.

"No more than ten percent." Teyla said. "But probably much lower. Family loyalty is strong among the Travelers. They value it above all else."

"So we're looking at losing fewer than two hundred thousand from those remaining in the fleet." Tammy said softly. "Which leaves us more that one point eight million people spread across ten thousand ships, which are spread willy nilly across the Pegasus galaxy, most of them probably in need of some kind of repair."

"Badly in need of repair." Teyla said. "The newest ships in the Traveler fleet are hundreds of years old, most are many thousands."

Tammy turned and looked at Sam, giving her a wry smile.

"I'm sorry, Sam, but I think I just bought us a pig in a poke." She said, frowning slightly.

"No, I think we just found a bag off uncut diamonds, mixed in with a shit load of quartz." Sam laughed. "The hard part is going to be trying to figure out which ones are gems worth polishing, and which ones are just rocks."

"Even quartz has it's value." Zelenka said from the end of the table.

"Not now, Mr. Wizard." McKay said snidely, glaring across the room at Zelenka. "We're trying to..."

"No, I'd like to hear what he has to say." Tammy said. "Go on Radik."

"Diamonds and quartz are very similar in outward appearance, as the colonel says." He said, leaning forward as he warmed to his subject. "It takes someone trained in gemology to tell them apart at a glance. We, or I should say, the Travelers have people trained in the diagnostics of ships. But we have yet another resource, our new station. Based on what I've seen in the schematics, the docking ports have automatic diagnostic and repair systems. The ship is connected to the port with an umbilical, which reads the ships logs to determine what repairs are needed."

"And you said that this process is automated?" Caldwell asked. "Both the diagnostics and repair?"

"Yes, a complete refit on a vessel the size of the Daedalus would take less than ten days."

"Provided you had the materials on hand to make the repairs." Sheppard said.

"We have the materials. Based on information in the logs, the holds are full." Zelenka told him. "If the logs are correct, there is enough material onboard to build a hundred Aurora class cruisers, or repair several thousand smaller ships."

"We can build the Aurora class in that station?" Caldwell asked.

"Yes, but that process is done in the drydock, and takes almost a year for each ship."

"Could you build a Daedalus class vessel?"

"Yes, if we had the plans in a format that could be fed into the stations computers, a ship that size could be built in less then a month."

"Let's get back to repairs for a minute." Tammy said, looking down the table at Teyla.

"You're more familiar that any of us with the Traveler fleet." She said slowly. "How much bigger than a Daedalus class would you say the average ship in the fleet is? I understand that they have the Aurora's, and..."

"I would say that most, more than half, if not two-thirds, are not much larger than the Daedalus." Teyla replied quickly. "Those are the backbone of the fleet, and house much of their population. The larger ships are transports and warships, which I believe are kept in much better repair."

"So conservatively, even if we doubled the estimate on the repair time, we're still talking about being able to repair or refit fourteen hundred ships a year." Tammy said as she did some quick calculations. "And let's say that there's six thousand of that size ship, we're looking at being able to refurbish the living area of the Traveler fleet in a little over five years."

"While we'll still have to repair most, if not all of those ships eventually, we have sixty new ships that can be used." Caldwell said slowly.

He glanced over at McKay, then at Carter.

"But there's a resource we haven't considered. Dr. McKay has finished the Wraith tech interface, and it's being tested on both a cruiser and a hive." He said, looking around the table.

"Yes, that interface is finished and is being tested." McKay said quickly. "But to be honest, it's severely limited in just what it can do in terms of controlling those ships. We still have..."

"Can the ships be controlled well enough to be piloted from point A to point B, Dr. McKay?" Caldwell asked. "More importantly, will your interface device allow users to control the environmental and life support systems?"

"Yes, the interface will allow that level of control." McKay answered. "The life support system would require a separate interface. But you need to understand, you're not going to being doing any fancy maneuvers in these ships. Right now, going from point A to point B is all you're going to get."

"That's good enough for now." Caldwell said, looking down the table at Carter. "We have almost twenty hives, and fifty cruisers tagged, and if we fit them with those control interfaces, they can be used to temporarily replace the ships that are being repaired."

"That's a good idea, Steven." Sheppard said from the end of the table. "But keep in mind, that station still needs to be manned, and judging from what Lorne said about the volume of it, we may be able house to up to half a million people on it, if push comes to shove."

"The station requires a crew of just over one hundred thirty thousand." Zelenka put in. "I haven't looked at what spaces there are on the station, but Col. Sheppard may be correct. We may be able to house a considerable number of people on it if we need to."

"I think we're getting ahead of ourselves." Tammy said, looking around the table. "But I like that you're thinking ahead. Let's wait till we see how many new citizens we're actually going to be bringing in. In the mean time, we can get with Pharris and Arrin, and have them start scheduling ships to come in for refit and repair."

"We gave them a week to get an answer from the fleet, so we can use that time to study the station, see what training is needed for its systems, and start getting ready to crew it up." Carter said. "John and Steven, get with Larrin in the morning and work out how we're going to do that. I want our people in command and control positions, but the rest of the crew is going to have to come from the travelers and the labor pool here in Atlantis."

She looked around the table, smiling as she saw people talking to each other and making notes.

"I think this would be a good time to call it a night." She said as she got to her feet. "Don't spend too much time on this tonight unless you really want to. I'd like reports from department heads tomorrow afternoon, and an action plan sometime in the next forty-eight hours."

"Feel free to stay and socialize. or come over to the residence for a nightcap." Tammy added. She glanced over at the two androids sitting in a corner at the end of the table. "Boris and Angelo, get a move on. I'd like to spend some time with Jacob before we put him down for the night."

"Yes mistress." Boris said, lifting Jacob and getting his settled in his babypack.

"Right behind you, doll. I'd follow that sweet little ass of yours anywhere." Angelo grinned.

"I guess that's better than 'you got it boss'." Sam muttered as she took Tammy's hand.

"You're just jealous." Tammy laughed. "But he's right, I do have a sweet little ass..."

Interior-Col. Carter's Suite, Bedroom

2340 Hours

"Enough." Sam grunted, pushing Boris away as she sprawled on the bed, then rolled over onto her back. She ran her hand lazily up and down over his hairless chest as he stretched out beside her, then leaned over and kissed him gently.

"Mmmmmm, you made mama feel so good tonight, baby." She said softly. "You're such a good boy."

"Thank you mistress." Boris said, staring at her blandly.

"Are you going to let him stay in here again?" Tammy asked as she slid over and snuggled against her.

"Yeah, I like having him here, he makes me feel safe." Sam said, rolling over and putting her arms around her. "Besides, Jacob likes sleeping on him, so I get to have both of them with me."

"Our little princeling does seem to prefer Boris to Angelo." Tammy laughed. "He'll let Angelo feed him, or change his diaper, but he starts to cry every time he tries to hold him."

"That's because he knows Angelo is an asshole." Sam laughed. "And he doesn't hold him the same way Boris does. Boris cradles and snuggles with him, Angelo holds him like he's just a bundle of meat. You're going to have to do something about that, or your daughter is going to do the same thing."