Confirming Carter Bk. 04 Expansion Ch. 03

"Thirty seconds...ten...you're done." She said.

"What else do you want?" She asked as she tabbed through the menu. She looked back over her shoulder when Larrin didn't answer.

"Command and control systems, engines, navigation..."

"I am not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling from that list Larrin." Tammy said as she highlighted a screen, then tapped on the panel several times.

"The station is not in a stable orbit, so we need to make course corrections." Larrin told her. "You were sloppy when you brought it here."

"Okay, we can do that when we're done here." Tammy said as she picked up a headset and put it on.

"So all the required training is in the teaching machine?" Radik asked.

"Oh god." Sam muttered, dropping her head into her hands.

"Radik, do you see this stupid helmet I have on my head?" She asked as she turned and looked at him.

"Sheppard, smack him upside the head for me." She said as she turned back to the panel.

"Ready?" She asked, glancing over at Larrin.

When she saw Larrin nod, she pressed the button on the panel.

They both stood still for over a minute, and when the process stopped, Larrin staggered as she pulled the headset off. Tammy grabbed her, putting her arms around her and holding her up.

"I've got you Larrin." She said softly. "Give it a minute, the same thing happened to me when I did some longer lessons."

Larrin nodded, and after a minute, she stepped back.

"Thank you Lady Tammy."

"I am not going to let a knight of Atlantis fall on her ass." Tammy laughed. "Unless you're drunk, then you're on your own."

"We need to make course corrections." Tammy grinned over at Sam. "Apparently Fran didn't park it right when we brought it home."

"We need to go to the control room to make the corrections." Larrin said as she started for the porter.

"How long until the orbit will start to decay?" Carter asked as she followed her.

"At least ten years." Larrin said as she stepped into the porter. "But we pass through a radiation field every six hours, and it disrupts many of the stations systems. We need to get into a different orbit to see if it helps."

"Why don't we just take it to one diameter out?" Tammy asked. "There's no need to have it in a stationary orbit."

"We aren't in a stationary orbit now, but one diameter out should put us outside the radiation field." Larrin said as the porter doors opened.

"You're driving." Tammy said as she walked over and sat at the navigator's console. She brought the main screen up, then plotted courses for a series of orbits from one quarter to one diameter out from the planet.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" Larrin asked, looking up at the screen.

"The same place you learned how to fly the fucker." Tammy laughed. "Now pick one, and let's move this thing. I wanna see how she handles."

"Do you know how to fly a jumper Tammy?" Sheppard asked.

"Not yet. Do you think I should take the training?"

"Couldn't hurt." He replied. "You know how to fly this behemoth. You'll love the way a jumper handles."

"Can you show me the radiation fields these orbits might be exposed to?" Larrin asked as she typed commands into the console.

"Are you kidding me?" Tammy asked, glaring at her. "You didn't say anything about needing sensors, so that wasn't in the training we just did."

"I'll put us into the highest orbit then." Larrin said, then looked around.

"You might want to take a seat." She said. "I do not know how she is going to respond on the maneuvering thrusters."

"Dibbs on the big chair." Carter said, grinning over at Sheppard.

Sheppard and Zelenka took seats near the door.

Tammy changed the view on the screen, and the stars came into view.

"Engage Commander Larrin." Carter said, leaning back in the captain's chair.

"Seriously? You're doing Picard?" Tammy laughed, looking back at her.

"Well yeah...I'm never gonna get another chance..."

"Thrusters engaged...half power." Larrin said, looking at the screens in front of her.

She glanced over at Tammy as she said, "Can you put the image of the orbits back up, with our position on it?"

"Yeah, I can do that." Tammy said as she tapped out a string of commands.

The image came back up with their position marked with a green dot.

Larrin made an adjustment on her console, then said, "Thrusters at full power."

"It doesn't feel like we're moving yet." Carter said after more than a minute had passed.

"We're movin' sweetie." Tammy laughed, looking down at her console. "We'll be a quarter diameter out in two minutes, and she'll need to start decelerating in five."

"I'll need jumper training now too Sheppard." Larrin said, turning in her seat to look back at him. "At one diameter, we're out of range of the rings."

"I suppose you'll want your own jumper too." He laughed.

"If it's not too much trouble." She grinned, then turned back to her console.

"You're going to have start decelerating sooner than I thought." Tammy said, looking at her console. "We're closing on the half diameter mark already."

"Cut power to the thrusters Larrin." Carter said, watching the image on the monitor.

"I'll go to half power on the thrusters." Larrin said as she worked the controls.

"No, I said cut power." Carter said. "We're going to overshoot our mark at this speed. Get ready to start decelerating."

"We'll be fine Samantha." Larrin said.

"Tammy, take over. We're going too fast, and need to start decelerating now." Carter said.

"Transferring control to my station." Tammy said. "Decelerating now."

"Why did you do that?" Larrin asked as she turned to look at her. "You don't know..."

"I do know Larrin." Carter said. "I'm a pilot, and I may not be qualified on this ship, but I can read a chart. We're going overshoot our target."

"She's right Larrin." Tammy said, looking over at her. "Coming up on one diameter. Full reverse thrust."

"How much are we going to overshoot by Tammy?" Carter asked.

"Not much, less than five percent." Tammy replied. "And I see what happened. Larrin didn't do anything wrong Sam."

"So what did happened?"

"When Larrin engaged the thrusters." Tammy said, bringing up an image of the helm control. She expanded a section of it, then drew a circle around a set of symbols. "She followed the correct procedure, but didn't notice that computer assist was enabled."

"Don't tell me she left the cruise control on." Carter grinned.

"That's exactly what she did. The computer engaged the mains to assist the thrusters based on the course I had laid in." Tammy said. She turned to Larrin and added, "There was no reason for you to expect that. If Sam hadn't had me decelerate, the computer would have shut down the mains and we would have coasted into orbit right where we should have been."

"You knew just by looking at that chart that we were out of position based on just using the thrusters?" Larrin asked, turning in her seat to look at Carter.

"No, your navigator was telling you that we were moving faster than we should have been too, but you weren't listening, or you didn't believe her." Carter said.

"We're in orbit, thrusters and engines disengaged." Tammy said, turning in her chair. "I say we leave her where she is till we see whether that radiation field is still affecting her. What do you think commander?"

"Agreed." Larrin said. "And I don't want to move her again until I review what just happened, and study that computer assist."

"Let's see if Radik wants to go back to Atlantis, or stay here." Carter said, getting to her feet. "If we're out of range for the rings, he'll be stuck here until we get some jumpers up here."

"I need to go by my quarters and get some clothes, so we can get him on the way." Larrin said as she got up and started for the porter. "Can I sleep in that bed I..."

"I'm sorry Larrin." Tammy said as she followed her. "Andi already assigned you quarters in the north tower. You're one floor down from Pharris, Bra'tac and O'Neill."

"But make sure you bring some casual clothes. We're going out tonight." She said as the porter doors closed.

"Really? Where are we going hon?" Carter asked, slipping her arms around her and pulling her back against her.

"I wanna go to a bar." Tammy laughed, leaning back and kissing her cheek.

"Cisco and Ronin aren't gonna like that." Sheppard said.

"Pfffftttt. Who cares." Tammy said as the porter doors opened. "Besides, they're going with us."

(-)

Interior-Kitchen

1700 Hours

"You're not going to take no for an answer, so I'm not going to waste my time arguing with you." Cisco said. "After that stunt this morning..."

"You realize that you're speaking to your queens, don't you Cisco?" Carter asked lightly.

"Yes." He said, smiling at her. "But like you said earlier, you're both temperamental, and you not only cause us headaches, I'm starting to think that sometimes you enjoy doing it."

"I don't know about her." Tammy laughed, jerking her thumb at Sam. "But I know I do."

"I know a place." Ronin said, glancing over at Cisco. "It's kinda rough, but the woman who runs it doesn't allow weapons inside. Her guys break up any fights pretty quick too."

"Sounds like my kinda place." Tammy said. "What kind of crowd do they get?"

"Mostly workers, but they get traders, marines..." Ronin told her. "Amelia likes the music. She gave Korra a bunch of Earth music to play."

"Easy access? We'll be able to get them out fast if we need to?" Cisco asked.

"Won't need it." Ronin said, shaking his head. "We have Daedalus and Apollo lock onto their STIDs and beam them out if it comes to that."

"Sounds like a plan." Tammy laughed getting to her feet. "So when can we go?"

"Second shift got off an hour ago, so the place should be packed. We can go anytime you want."

"Kewl. You guys go get into something casual, and we'll meet you back here in half an hour." Tammy said, reaching down and pulling Sam to her feet. She looked down the table at Larrin and said, "You can change in the guest room. We can take you over to your quarters later if you want."

(-)

"Oh god, I have missed you so much!" Tammy said as she pulled a pair of tattered jeans from a shelf on the closet and pulled them on. She giggled as she wiggled and squirmed, pulling them up and buttoning them.

She took a sleeveless red t-shirt from a drawer and pulled it on, tucking it in quickly.

"Okay, I'm ready." She said, picking up a pair of beat up cowboy boots and tossing them on the bed. "Now let's see what we can find for you."

"This...these...oh my god, you have got to let me wear these Tammy." Sam laughed as she picked up a pair of sandals with a four inch wedge heel.

"That vest will look great with those jeans, and those heels will make your ass stick out." Tammy told her. "Go ahead and get dressed, I'm gonna do my hair and stuff."

"Okay." Carter said as she pulled on the jeans, then loosened the laces on the vest and pulled it over her head.

She sat on the bed and pulled the sandals on, then stepped over in front of the mirror, buttoning the jeans and adjusting the laces on the vest.

"Come in here." Tammy called from the bathroom.

Sam walked into the bathroom and saw Tammy putting on eyeliner. Her hair was slicked back, and she was wearing red lipstick. There was a tear drop at the corner of her left eye.

"Is that a tattoo?" Sam asked, steeping closer so she could see.

"It's fake, but you're getting one too." Tammy laughed.

She picked up a water bottle as she grabbed Sam's right arm and sprayed the outside of her bicep with it, then pressed a large piece of paper to her arm.

"Hold that there for two minutes." She said as she laid a towel over it. "Then we can do mine."

"Do I get to wear make-up?" Sam asked as she watched Tammy putting on blush.

"Nope, you don't need it." Tammy said as she picked up a piece of paper and peeled a small dot off of it. "But you do get a beauty mark."

She turned Sam and pressed it to her cheek near her mouth. "One one thousand, two one thousand..."

When she got to five, she released it, nodding as she picked up a brush and started brushing Sam's hair back away from her face.

"Close your eyes." She told her as she picked up a can of hair spray and sprayed it lightly on the top and sides of her head.

"Perfect." She mumbled as she sat the hair spray down. "Let's see how that tat turned out."

Pulling Sam's hand away, she let the towel fall to the floor and carefully peeled the paper from her arm, turning her as she could see it better.

"That turned out better than I expected. It looks real." She said, turning her so she could see it in the mirror. "Take a look."

"Holy shit...what did you do?" Carter gasped as she looked at the tattoo in the mirror.

It was a large red heart with roses and leaves surrounding the bottom third, and extending down under it. The word BITCH was written in an ornate script diagonally across the heart.

"You don't like it?" Tammy asked as she picked up another piece of paper and the water bottle, then leaned down and picked up the towel.

"No...I love it." Sam laughed, leaning closer to the mirror so she could see it better.

"Good. Now you can do mine." Tammy smiled. "Spray my arm with water, you don't need alot, then lay the tat on my arm and smooth it out. Make sure you get it straight."

"What does yours say?" Sam asked as she sprayed her left arm, then lined up the paper and smoothed it out.

"I don't know." Tammy said as she laid the towel over the paper and held it down. "I had a box of them in my bag, and they all say different things. I thought I had used all the ones that said bitch, that's my favorite."

They waited for the tattoo to cure, and when they pulled the paper off, Sam laughed as she said, "Yeah, that fits you..."

The tattoo was a large red heart like Sam's but had white orchids instead of roses. In the center of the heart the words BAD ASS were stacked one above the other in a bold, ornate script.

"Okay, let's go see if everyone else is ready." Tammy said, taking Sam's hand and leading her out of the bathroom.

(-)

Interior-East Pier

1840 Hours

"Who are your friends Ronin?" A woman asked as she sat two pitchers on their table while a girl sat mugs in front of them. The girl disappeared, but the woman stood smiling at Ronin.

"This is Larrin, Cisco, Tammy and Sam, Korra." He said. "You know Amelia."

"Nice place." Tammy said, smiling up at her as she picked up a pitcher and filled a mug, sliding it over in front to Sam, then filled one for herself and passed the pitcher over to Cisco. "This is my kinda dive."

"Thank you." Korra smiled as she leaned closer, resting her hands on Sam and Tammy's shoulders.

"You won't need those shields in here." She said softly, so only they could hear her. "I don't allow weapons in here, 'ceptin' him, cuz he won't give his up." She said, nodding toward Ronin. "And from what I hear, you two can handle yerselves right and proper."

"We do okay." Sam said as she picked up her mug and took a drink from it. She shook her head as she looked in the mug, then took another drink from it.

"What the hell is that?" She laughed, looking up at Korra.

"Athosian ale." Korra told her. "It's an acquired taste. I just got a shipment in yesterday."

"Now you're talkin'." Larrin laughed, picking up a pitcher and filling her mug, then taking a long drink from it.

Tammy picked up her mug and took a drink, grinning as she tilted it up, not stopping until she drained it.

"Damn! That is good." She said, slamming her mug down on the table. "Bring us two pitchers every ten minutes until someone passes out, then bring us three."

"I like you." Korra grinned. "I can tell you're gonna be trouble."

A woman walked up to their table, and looked down at Cisco. She was tall, with flowing brown hair that fell passed her shoulders. She was wearing a skin tight black vest and leather pants that fit her like a second skin.

"Want to dance handsome?" She asked, giving him a seductive smile.

"Maybe later." Cisco smiled, filling his mug and taking a drink from it.

"How about you blondie?" She said, looking over at Sam. "I think I could have some fun with you."

"I know you could sweetie." Sam laughed, picking up her mug and draining it, then getting to her feet.

The woman came over and slipped her arm around her waist, leading her away from the table.

"I'm Kinai." They heard her say as they moved toward the back of the bar.

"I can't believe she just did that!" Amelia laughed, taking a drink from her mug. "Or that you let her!"

"We're here to have fun, and meet people." Tammy laughed as she filled her mug and took a long drink from it. "So let her have some fun. The worst that can happen is she brings that bitch home..."

"Don't say it..." Cisco muttered.

"What, would you be jealous if we did a threesome with her Cisco?" She asked him.

"No, I just..."

He stopped talking as she got to her feet, grabbing a man that was walking by their table.

"Fuck, you're beautiful." She moaned, pressing her body against him. "You wanna dance with me?"

"I'd rather get out of here." The man grinned, reaching down and grabbing her asscheeks, squeezing them in his hands.

"Maybe later...dance with me first." She laughed.

She grabbed his hand, leading him toward the back of the bar.

She grinned when she saw a large dance floor, laughing she spotted Sam and Kinai grinding against each other, kissing passionately.

Turning around, she stepped into her new friend's arms, laying hers over his shoulders.

"I really hope you can dance studly." She laughed, grinding against him in time with the music.

"What you're doing is fine." He laughed, spinning them around, then putting his hands on her hips, bumping his crotch into hers, moving it slow circles.

He took a step back as he brought one of her hands down, holding it in his as his other arm slid around her waist.

"Samba!" She laughed, throwing her head back, letting him lead as they danced across the floor.

He was spinning her when she spotted Sam again a couple of songs later. Kinai had her pinned to a wall and was kissing her hungrily, one of her hands down the front of her jeans.

Tammy grinned as she started guiding her partner over toward them. They came to a stop beside them, and Tammy looked over at Sam.

"How ya doin' sweetie?" She asked her, tilting her head as her partner started kissing her neck, his hands squeezing her breasts through her t-shirt.

"Oh god...I think I wanna go home..." Sam panted, breaking the kiss.

"With her?" Tammy laughed.

Sam nodded as Kinai turned her head back toward her, kissing her roughly.

Sam pushed her back, nodding at Tammy as she said, "And you..."

"Sorry studly, but I just got a better offer." She said, pushing him away.

"I'm not done with you yet." He growled, pushing her against the wall.

Before she could move, the man was jerked back, falling to the floor. Ronin stood over him, pointing his gun at him as he started to get up.

"Go." He said, looking over at her, then back at the man. "I've got this."

"Come on you two." She said as she grabbed Sam's hand, pulling her toward the front of the bar.

Sam grabbed Kinai's free hand, moaning as her other hand slipped from her jeans, following Tammy.

"I'll meet you outside." Tammy said, reaching down and picking the pitchers up from the table.

"You can't take those..." The man at the door said, stepping in front of her.

"Let her go Tanna. Lady Tammy can do anything she wants in her city." Korra laughed from behind her.

"Thank you...we had a great time!" Tammy grinned, turning to look at her.

"I could tell." Korra smiled. "Come again soon my queen...it's been a pleasure serving you."

"We will." Tammy smiled as she went out the door.