Confirming Carter Bk. 04 Expansion Ch. 04

"Thank you colonel." Caldwell said, looking at the crew. "After reviewing logs and reports, we will also be promoting Captain Paul Wilkes to major, and Lieutenant James Parker to captain. Both of these officers demonstrate the skills and proficiency we need and expect from officers in the fleet."

"But now, it's time to eat." Samuels said as she came into the room. Servers pushed wheeled tables into the room, and started taking covers off of dishes. "So please, dig in, there's more where this came from."

(-)

Interior-Kitchen

1340

"Col. Carter, this is OPs. We've detected a subspace signal."

"Who's it from?" Carter asked, tapping her comm.

"The signal is outbound." The OPs tech replied. "It's coming from your residence."

"We're on our way." She said as she got to her feet. "Raise the shields, and block the signal if you can. Have Cisco and Ronin meet us there."

"OPs detected an outbound subspace signal coming from the residence." She told Tammy as they stepped into the porter.

"It's gotta be Kinai." Tammy said as she tapped the symbols for the residence into the pad.

They saw Cisco getting off the elevator as the porter doors opened. They also saw Kinai sitting naked on a couch, with Larrin sitting across from her.

"They have just arrived." Kinai said when she saw them. She leaned forward and tapped on a small device on the table. "You may ask them yourselves."

"Who are you talking to Kinai?" Carter asked, then looked down at Larrin. "Why didn't you stop her Larrin?"

"I am speaking to my peers." Kinai said as she got up and walked over to stand in front of them. "Larrin would not have been able to stop me even if she had wanted to."

"You're not just the lead systems engineer with Durrim Samar, you're the boss, aren't you?" Tammy asked, her eyes running up and down over her body.

"Not alone, but I am one of the founding members." Kinai smiled, turning to face her. "My partners are on the comm link."

"Cisco, get her something to wear. We should have something that will fit her in the guest room closet." Carter said as she walked over and picked up the comm device. "Tammy, Larrin, come with me."

They followed her into the kitchen.

"No cokes?" Tammy asked when she saw her take a bottle of tequila from the fridge.

"No, I'm going to need something stronger." Sam laughed.

"Okay." Tammy said as she filled her glass from the tap. "Get the vodka for me, I can't handle tequila right now."

"Col. Carter." A voice from the comm device said. "We wish..."

"Stop. We're not talking about anything until Kinai is here." Carter said as she took her seat and sat the device on the table. She smiled as she saw Kinai coming down the hall wearing a t-shirt that barely came down to her hips.

"Seriously Cisco?" She grinned as he stepped into the room behind her.

"It's what she wanted, and she looks good in it." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Get me a beer before you sit down Cisco." Larrin said.

Cisco got two beers from the fridge, handing one to her as he walked around and sat down next to Tammy.

"Now." Carter said as she looked a Kinai. "I'd like to know what you've discussed with your people so far."

"Today, or to date?" Kinai asked. "And may I have some more of that sweet brown drink..."

"Cisco..." Sam said, then looked back at Kinai. "Start with today, then give us a review of previous discussions."

"We've discussed nothing today, as Larrin can confirm. The only thing I had told them was that I had met the queens." Kinai told her. "Our previous discussions began shortly after we were informed that you had taken control of Atlantis, and declared an independent state."

"Kinai believed from the beginning that joining you would be in both our best interests." A voice said from the comm device. "She has been even more vocal as information from our agents has come in about how rapidly you are proceeding with your plans."

Carter looked over at Kinai, nodding toward the device.

"My brother Simeon." Kinai smiled.

"You said you were one of the founding members of Durrim Samar." Larrin said. "That group was established over a hundred years ago."

"Yes."

"We know what you told our people during the ingress process was a lie." Tammy said. "The profile they put together says you're twenty-eight years old, how old are you really?"

"My sister and I are will be two hundred and seven of your years in a few months." Simeon said.

"Most of the people that go through your ingress process give an approximate age, since their worlds do not keep time as yours does." Kinai said. "But yes, most of the information I provided at that time was false. It seemed to be the wisest course of action since it could not be verified."

"And you still want us to believe that meeting us like you did was what, a happy accident?" Tammy asked, looking over at Sam.

"Yes. The information we had was that the queens did not venture out into the city." Kinai replied. "Our agents in your guard detail confirmed as much. And to be honest, I did not expect to meet the queens in a tavern."

"I'll need names." Cisco said, shaking his head as he sat a glass in front of her.

"You need not remove them, they both feel affection for the queens." Kinai told him. "But I will provide the information you request."

She looked across the table at Tammy as she went on.

"I was genuinely surprised when he addressed you as my queen last night." She said, smiling at her. "Had the circumstances been different when your identities were revealed, I would have left. But I was unable to resist your charms, either of you...and allowed myself to be seduced."

"You allowed yourself to be seduced..." Tammy laughed. "From what I saw, you had already seduced my sister queen before we even came back here."

"This is true." Kinai grinned. "Perhaps I should have said, allowed myself to be taken, since you were not going to take no for an answer."

"Let's get back to why you want to join us." Sam said. "You're an independent group of research scientists with access to and a working knowledge of ancient technology. What possible use could we be to you?"

"The answers to that are numerous and obvious." Simeon said over the comm link. "You can provide protection and access to even more ancient technology. You occupy two ancient cities, and recently acquired a space station and five Aurora class cruisers along with other smaller ships..."

"And what's in it for us?" Carter asked

"Access to our research teams would be enough for most of the peoples we deal with." Kinai said. "But in your case, I believe we would need to sweeten the deal."

"And how would you do that?" Sam asked.

"She knows where there's another ancient city." Tammy said, watching Kinai closely.

"Not a city." Simeon said over the comm link. "A number outposts that the Asurans abandoned when they consolidated their population into one central location, which has since been destroyed."

"They abandoned them." Tammy said slowly, turning and smiling at Sam. She looked over at Kinai as she said, "They took the ZPM's with them, didn't they? And you don't have any way to power them yourselves."

"That is correct. The outposts are useless to us as they are."

"My people will wish access to these outposts if you acquire them." Larrin said.

"Many that join us will be needed to bring them on line." Carter said. "But I want to make sure that it's understood, if we allow Durrim Samar to join us, you will be submitting to our will as subjects of our domain. We are Atlantis, Tammy and I, and we govern as we see fit."

"There only five of us." Simeon said. "The rest are employees, and will do as they are told."

"No Simeon, that is not the way the queens do business." Kinai said, looking back and forth between Sam and Tammy. "All of Durrim Samar must be given their choice, or they will not welcome us."

Carter started to speak, but Kinai held up her hand and she stopped.

She waited, looking at the comm device.

"Some will not wish to join the Atlantians." Simeon said after a moment. "The four of us stand with you, and will submit to the will of the queens, if you think this is how we should proceed."

"Will you come to Atlantis and meet with us in person Simeon?" Carter asked. "You and your partners?"

"I will come." Simeon said. "Dorja is here with me, and will come as well."

"Norjon?" Kinai asked.

"I too will come."

"You need not ask Kinai." A woman's voice said. "I am eager to meet these women who have you so enthralled."

"Thank you Matrei." Kinai laughed. "But you must promise to behave yourself."

"Never."

"When can you come?" Carter smiled.

"Two days at least." Simeon said. "None of us are on worlds with stargates, so we must travel by ship."

"We can send a ship for you if you'd like." Tammy said.

"Your thoughts Kinai?" Simeon asked.

"We will reveal the locations of our facilities should they welcome us." Kinai said. "What does it matter if they know the locations of a few beforehand?"

"True. Provide them the coordinates." Simeon said. "We will await their ships."

"Tomorrow." Tammy said. "I want to send my most trusted ship, but the crew is off duty until morning."

"Tomorrow is better for me." Matrei said.

"Me as well." Norjon said.

"Tomorrow then..." Carter said.

"Dorja, bring me some comfortable clothes." Kinai laughed. "And steal Norba's blue dress, you know the one I mean. I want to see how Lady Tammy looks in it."

(-)

Interior-Conference Center, North Tower

1510 Hours

The senior staff was seated around the table when Carter and Tammy walked in, followed by Cisco, Kinai, Boris and Angelo. Baby Jacob was asleep in a baby pack on Boris's chest.

Tammy pointed to chairs in the corner, and Boris and Angelo started for them.

Kinai grabbed Angelo's wrist and said, "No, sit with me."

"Don't even think about it." Tammy told her, then looked at Angelo.

"As you will pretty." He said, then blew Kinai a kiss.

"He's mine." She whispered, leaning closer. "So keep your hands to yourself."

"You let him pleasure me this morning." Kinai laughed. "And I only wanted his company."

"That was different." Tammy said. "I was there."

"Will you provide me with one?" Kinai asked.

Tammy's mouth dropped open and she grabbed Kinai's wrist, pulling her to her feet and leading her toward the door.

"Where are you two going?" Sam asked.

"Back in a minute Sam." Tammy said, not breaking stride. "We just need to talk."

"How did you know?" Tammy asked in a harsh whisper, pushing Kinai against a wall.

"It was obvious." Kinai told her. "No living male could perform as Boris and Angelo do. Also, while they simulate breathing very well, they have no heartbeat. I was surprised when I laid my head on Angelo's chest while he was laying under me, and neither felt, nor heard a heartbeat."

"What else?" Tammy asked.

"They both increased and decreased the speed, as well as the motion of their movements to maximize my responses." Kinai said. "Also, one of Boris's nipples is larger than the other, and he nurses the baby with it."

"Well just damn." Tammy muttered, then released her. "Wait here."

She stepped into the doorway and looked at Sam, motioning her over.

"We'll be with you in a moment." Carter said, then walked over to the door.

"She knows about Boris and Angelo." Tammy told her.

"How the hell did she find out?" Carter asked, following her as she walked over to Kinai.

"She figured it out." Tammy said. "No heartbeat, Boris's nursing nipple..."

"There were many small signs that together indicated that they are both androids." Kinai said. "They appear to be class seven, a series that was in common use by the ancients, mainly for domestic use."

"Yeah, we got that out of the database, about how they were used I mean." Sam said. She looked at Kinai for a moment before she went on.

"We only have three of them online right now, and we're going to keep the number small when we do make more." She went on.

"And you would like me to withhold this from my partners."

"For now." Carter nodded.

"I understand. Confidences must be kept." Kinai said. "But tell me, does Larrin know, and will she keep it from her fellow Travellers?

"She knows, and she's agreed to keep this to herself."

"I will do as you ask as well." Kinai said. "But we can assist you with them. Boris appears stunted..."

"That's my fault." Carter said, shaking her head. "I didn't discover the bonding protocol until it was too late. I would have had to back out and..."

"The problem can be corrected..." Kinai began.

"I actually kind of like Boris the way he is." Tammy said.

"So do I." Carter smiled. "I'm comfortable around him. He just makes me feel good."

(-)

"We've been approached by the research group Durrim Samar to join us as citizens of Atlantis, subject to our will and domain." Carter said as they stepped back into the room. "This is Kinai, one of the founding members of the group. Tammy and I just finished talking to her partners, and they are in agreement."

"So she's gone from spy to an official representative overnight?" Caldwell asked.

"You were here this morning when we spoke to her Stephen." Tammy said. "Would you agree that she appeared forthcoming, freely disclosing information when she didn't have to?"

"Yes, but the operative word there is appeared." Caldwell said. "She..."

"If I may?" Kinai said to Carter.

Carter nodded, and Kinai turned toward Caldwell.

"May I call you Stephen?" She asked, then smiled as he nodded.

"While the information I provided during the ingress scan was not accurate, my reason for coming here was not to spy, at least not in the classic sense." She said as she looked around the room. "My primary goal was to observe the people that have been taken into the city, to see how they are being treated, and how they feel about living here."

"But you were working in a jumper assembly plant, where you had full access to the ancient database." Sheppard said. "That's one of our most sensitive facilities."

"I did not request the assignment, I was placed there, based on the skills assessment from your training machine."

"That's true enough." Samuels said. "I also checked the plants logs, and there is no record of her accessing the database."

"She could have used someone else's ID to access the database." Sandy said.

"Yes, but she couldn't have used someone else's DNA." Samuels told her. "I had Chuck do a scan of the system, and the only terminal she accessed is the one she was assigned to, which does not have access to the database."

She looked over at Kinai and said, "I'd like to hear your thoughts on what our people are thinking. I'd also like to know why you felt the need to come here yourself, when you say you have more than thirty agents in the city."

"I'd like to answer your second question first, Dr. Samuels." Kinai said. "I came here myself because the best way to understand a situation, is to experience it yourself. Plus, the Wraith made it possible for me to enter the city as a refugee, an opportunity that was too tempting to resist."

"As to what your people are thinking." She said, turning to look at Sam and Tammy. "Most feel a sense of safety and well being that many of them are unaccustomed to. They enjoy having food readily available for them and their families, and those with children appreciate that their children can go to your schools, but have reservations about what they are being taught."

"What kind of reservations?" Daniel asked. "We tried to keep the curriculum as neutral as possible, math, basic science, English as the common language..."

"Yes, but nothing of history, music, the arts." Kinai said. "Some feel you have no interest in their children knowing who they are, where they came from, or how to express themselves."

"We've taken in people from more than eighty worlds." Samuels said. "We can't be expected to teach the history of every one of..."

"I agree Dr. Samuels." Kinai said. "I am not passing judgment, only reporting what I have been told."

"What I was brought here to talk about, is why my people, Durrim Samar, wish to join with you." She said, looking around the room. "And the answers are completely self serving, as are all human interactions."

"You have access to shield technology, more importantly, you are able to produce, install, and maintain those shields as you have done in the settlements near Anchorage." She said. "Our facilities on planets with stargates need shields on those gates, and shields on the facilities themselves. The ones on planets without stargates also need shields, even if the need is not as pressing."

"We also need food, parts, and other materials that you can produce in the cities factories and production facilities. We have six thousand people working in eighteen facilities spread across the galaxy. In that way, we are like the Travellers. Your alliance with the Travellers is what made my partners see my point of view in joining with you."

"You're going to have to explain that Kinai." Tammy said. "I don't see how our alliance with the Travellers could have affected..."

"Dr. Samuels, would you put an image of the Pegasus galaxy on your screen please." Kinai asked.

When the image appeared on the screen, she walked over and stood off to one side.

"Atlantis is here, on the side closest to Your Milky Way galaxy." She said, pointing at the screen. "This is not a secret, every starfaring people knows where Atlantis is."

"But you were correct Stephen, I do know where Anchorage is. It is here." She said, pointing at a spot on the image.

"But because of your alliance with the Travellers, and more importantly, the three hundred thousand people from Pharris' clan that were moved to Anchorage, keeping in mind that these people were the crews of almost a thousand ships, they have shifted the bulk of the fleet from here." She said, moving her hands down in an arch over the center of the image, holding her hands more than a foot apart so a wide band was highlighted. "To here." She made the same motion with her hands, but moved them closer to Atlantis and Anchorage, and brought them much closer together as she did.

"Our main facilities are still in the belt they service, but almost half of the others are here." She said, moving her hand over the far side of the image. "And they are now so far from where the Travellers have moved, it has become cost prohibitive to bring in parts and supplies, if we can even get them to agree to make the runs for us."

"Is what she's saying true Larrin?" Carter asked.

"Yes, but I would say that the area being serviced is even narrower than she described." Larrin replied.

"But why, Anchorage is barely even producing yet." Carter said. "They won't have their first crops for months..."

"Supplies are being brought in by ship and through the stargate, and they are producing nearly thirty tons of foodstuffs a day." Larrin told her. "Some of it is used to feed the people in the settlements, but most of it is being sent out to the fleet."

"What happened to the thousand ships she mentioned?" Sheppard asked.

"Roughly one third were scheduled for repair, but that may have been put on hold with the discovery of the space station, and the news that you may be able to do better repairs faster." Larrin said. "People were shifted around within Pharris' clan to crew the rest, making room for more cargo on all."

"Which is being used to take raw materials to Anchorage, and foodstuffs back to the fleet." Carter said.

She looked down the table at Samuels and asked, "Were you aware this was going on Andi?"

"Yes, I knew Pharris was bringing in raw materials and shipping out foodstuffs." Samuels said. "I wasn't aware of the scale it is being done on, or that the entire fleet had been moved."