Confirming Carter Bk. 02 Daedalus Ch. 05

Atlantis issues a Declaration of Independence, and gets a call from Eath about it. Teyla reveals information about a Wraith gathering in a remote part of the galaxy...

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Confirming Carter Book Two Daedalus

Chapter Five

Two days later

Interior-Bedroom

0725 Hours

"I, Col. Samantha Carter, duly elected Queen of Atlantis, do hereby declare and decree the City of Atlantis to be an independent state, free of ties and entanglements put forth by others in our city's name."

"From this day forward, the people of Atlantis neither bow to, nor serve any other master besides our fair city, and as Queen, I answer to them in its name. We reach out to our neighbors, welcoming them to join us in friendship, with the hope of peace, goodwill, and trade between us."

"We have no history of oppression or mistreatment, but vow to aid others that find themselves oppressed or mistreated. We take this action because others have failed to, and we will no longer stand by as our neighbors and brothers suffer without relief. We will come to their assistance, and bring down furious vengeance upon those that bring them harm."

"Like the Ancients that built this city, and her sisters throughout the universe, we will make it a haven, a center of learning and trade for all to benefit from. We ask only that others join us freely to assist, or refrain from impeding our efforts to improve the lives of those left behind as..."

"This isn't working." Carter said as she threw the tablet across the room, watching it bounce across the carpet. "I like the opening, but that's about all."

She looked over at Tammy. "I know you're not asleep, so quit faking. Why did she give this to me? She's the brain mechanic, she knows all the buttons to push...just look what she's done so far!"

"She gave it to you because she wants to know what you want to say, and how you want to say it." Tammy said, not turning over. "She'll clean it up and make it pretty. So quit worrying about it. No one expects you to be Thomas Jefferson. And he did like what, twenty drafts over a couple of months? You've been working on yours for twenty minutes."

"Why are you being like thi..."

"Excuse me, ladies." Samuels said as she walked into the room. She went directly to the tablet lying on the floor by the window, picked it up, and walked out, stopping at the door to bow, and say, "Thank you."

"What the hell?" Carter said. She looked over at Tammy, who was now looking back at her.

"Andi! You get your ass back in here! NOW!" She shouted.

"Yes, ma'am?" Samuels said as she stepped back into the room. She no longer had the tablet with her.

"Don't you ma'am, me! You know damn well why I called you back in here." Carter said, getting up on her knees on the bed. "Are you watching us? Is that how you knew what I..."

"Yes, Sam. I watch you all the time. You both know that." Samuels said calmly as she sat on the side of the bed. She looked around the room, then back at Carter. "I'd like to put a desk for each of you in here, and maybe a few chairs. With the view from these windows..."

"Don't change the subject, Andi." Carter said. "Why are you watching us?"

Samuels looked surprised at the question. "That was rule number one, on the second day, Sam. You have no private life. Someone is with you, or watching you at all times."

"Tammy is with me! Why do you feel the need to watch me as well?"

"No one said we wouldn't, or couldn't, do both. And now we need to watch Tammy too." Samuels said.

She looked at Tammy.

"Isn't that right Tammy? The cameras were your idea, you're the only one with access to the software, so I'm assuming that since it hasn't been modified, neither of you had any objection to being monitored. And you both know that you should be, given what you've been up to behind Jennifer and my backs."

"How dar...don't try to blame Tammy for this, Andi." Carter said, her face coloring as she got angrier.

"Sam, I'm not blaming anyone. I watch you because I need to, and because you and Tammy are such fascinating subjects." Samuels said. "I have to watch what you're doing, because you don't tell us. I hope you've noticed that I haven't interfered with any of your plans."

Tammy took Carter's hand as she sat up on the bed. She looked over at her, then let her eyes fall to the bed. "I knew she was watching us, Sam. She's mentioned it several times when we've talked about things. She hasn't tried to hide it." She looked over at her again. "I didn't modify the software because only the four of us have access to it. And I don't think about the cameras being there."

"Do you watch us...making love?" Carter asked, glancing over at Tammy.

"Yes." Samuels said, meeting her eyes. "And most of the time I'm jealous. The love the two of you have for each other, and the way you share it so freely, is so beautiful. I want you to know that no one else has, or will ever see any of those recordings. Most of them have already been recorded over."

"But why, Andi?" Carter asked her. "There's more to this than you're telling me. It's true that we haven't told you and Jennifer things, but why do you need to watch us make love? Or just be together?"

"I review your whole day, every day, Sam. I document the important moments, preserving the video, and make notes on my observations of the rest." Samuels said, turning on the bed and bringing her legs up under her so she was facing them both.

"In addition to being your foreign minister, and in-house plotter slash tactician, I'm a psychiatrist and cultural anthropologist." She paused, looking at her. "Do you have any idea how valuable being able to observe you as you progress down the path you're on is? Not to mention the historical record we're creating. I promise that none of what I document will be made available until after both your deaths, but what I'm doing is important in so many ways I can't even begin to list them all."

"Wow. I can't believe what I'm hearing." Carter said, shaking her head.

"Why not, Sam? I haven't hidden anything from you, Tammy, or Jennifer." Samuels said. "Granted, I haven't volunteered information, but if asked, I tell you what I'm doing, or what plans are in the pipe. You knew that I've been documenting your case, as has Jennifer. Are you surprised at the level its being taken to? Is that the problem?"

"I don't know Andi. You just hit me upside the head with a two-by-four, and you're telling me that I knew you were doing it and why, neither of which makes it hurt any less."

Samuels got up and went into the next room, and came back with the tablet. She brought up a screen and opened the file Sam had been working on. She made a change, then saved the file and handed her the tablet.

"I came in here earlier to get that tablet, and just made a small change in what you had written. I took that 'as' off the end of the last paragraph. You're finished. Our declaration is complete as far as I'm concerned, and I was terrified that you would delete it and start over. Which would have been a shame."

She turned to Tammy. "I might have suggested some changes, but this declaration had to come from Sam. We need it to reflect what she believes, and what she feels in her heart."

She looked back at the tablet in her hand, then back up at Carter. "You said, in plain, heart felt language, what we're doing, why we're doing it, and what we hope to accomplish. Jefferson's got nothing on you. He just wanted to start a country. You're trying to reshape two galaxies. People will read this, or hear it, and feel the hope you want to share with them."

"That last paragraph just kind of ends, and doesn't really say anything." Tammy said.

"Now she's a critic." Carter muttered. "I was gonna drop it, but didn't think it would be long enough without it."

"Lincoln only used two hundred and seventy-two words in the Gettysburg Address. That speech stirred a nation, and inspired people around the world. It still does. We don't need quantity, we want quality, and that's what we have."

She looked over at Tammy. "We can talk about the last paragraph later. We make it 'those previously left behind, and we'll be fine."

"You're upset. So instead of dwelling in it, why don't you go up to the gym and workout. " Samuels said. "Get warmed up, and I'll send Amelia and Ronin up, and you can vent a little."

"Why don't you come up Andi?" Carter asked her, a wry smile on her face. "You could spar with me. I guarantee, that would do me a lot more good."

"'Fraid not, love." Samuels laughed as she took the tablet and got up off the bed. "I'm a voyeur, not a fighter. Just pretend that Ronin is me. And try not to hurt him too bad, okay?"

Interior-Kitchen

0900 Hours

Carter skipped her workout, and summoned Sheppard, Caldwell, and Samuels after she'd showered and dressed. They sat along one side of the table, waiting for her to speak.

"Tammy is in my office, she's got a marine down in the power room swapping out the ZPM's for her." She said lightly. "She's worse than I am, she's got him putting them in the receptacle, and won't start the cycle till he leaves the room."

"They've already got more than enough for what I want to do." She said. "We're going to take Anchorage today. I don't see any point in waiting any longer."

"John, I want a hundred marines, armed with zats and stunners loaded on the Daedalus. Steven, its in the early morning hours there. I want you to use your beaming trick to take everyone out of the city, and replace them with the marines. They'll do a sweep of the city, and as soon as they tell us it's secure, we'll start gating people over to start working on it."

"What do you want us to do with them once we beam them out of the city?" Caldwell asked.

"Separate the constables and the hangers on. John can talk to the leader of the former ruling family, and give them the option of working with us, or going with the other group." She said. "The constables are thugs, so dump them on an uninhabited world on the way back, or better yet, on the mainland here, so we can keep an eye on them. Leave them shelters and food, and we'll check on them from time to time."

"If the family with the gene agrees to work with us, we'll see what they know about the cities systems, if anything. They might be useful. Bring them back here. To the city, not here." She said, looking at Andi. "I'll meet with the leader and explain the situation. Tomorrow."

"What do you want to do about the declaration?" Samuels asked.

"I'll leave that to you. If you're happy with it, send it as it is. If not, make any changes you see fit, I'll trust your judgment. Send it to Teal'c on Chulak first. Ask him if the Free Jaffa Nation will recognize us. And let me know as soon as you have an answer. Send it to Earth at noon our time. Then send it to all the races we have radio contact with at thirteen hundred. Include an offer to open diplomatic relations to everyone we send it to. Tomorrow, we start sending out emissaries to every other world we know of that has a sizable population. We're just going to invite any world with under a thousand living there to move into Anchorage, or Atlantis. We're going to need them to run the cities."

She turned back to Sheppard and Caldwell. "I want this done before sun up local time. I doubt if any of the nobles get up before then. Take supplies to give to the local villagers, we'll have the work teams distribute them and tell them what's happening once they get the ZPM's installed, and get the shields up."

Both officers stood and headed for the door. "Is there anything else colonel? It's going to be a few hours before we get back." Sheppard said.

"Have you heard anything about the group we brought in last night? How are they doing?" She asked.

"Jenn has her medical teams in with them, they started around oh seven hundred. She should be checking in with Andi soon." He said. "I don't have anything else."

"That's fine, we'll reach out to her. There is one thing I'd like to do, and it's not a rush item." She said looking at Caldwell. "I want a search of every database we can access. I want records of all Ancient ships, regardless of class. I want to know what their last missions were, their status, and a search of their last location if they are not confirmed destroyed. I'm not going to wait for the Traveler's to offer us ships for Steven's navy. I want to go looking for them. Add cities and outposts to that list, we might as well find those too."

Caldwell glanced at Sheppard, then stepped over and knelt beside her chair. "You are a wise, just, and generous queen." He said, his head bowed to hide his smile.

"Oh get up!" Carter laughed. "Go, both of you, you have work to do."

Caldwell followed Sheppard out the door, and as the elevator doors closed, they heard Sheppard say, "Kiss ass."

Interior-Kitchen

1130 Hours

"It's not as bad as it looked at first glance." Keller was saying. "The marines got them cleaned up, and got some food in them last night, and after a second meal this morning, they looked alot better. Some of the adults hadn't eaten in days. John's marines were a godsend, they all spent the night with a family, and by the time we started this morning, the children were calm, and well behaved. The adults were more hesitant than the kids were about the tests. Unfortunately, we don't have many treatments for diseases native to Pegasus, so we just inoculated them for what we could pass along."

"So they're going to live? We're not going to lose any?" Samuels asked.

"No, three died overnight. All older, but I don't know what counts as old in Pegasus. All three from complications related to starvation. There are five others that are in danger, but we moved them to the Infirmary, and are doing what we can for them."

Ronin stepped into the room, and Carter looked at him. "Yes, Ronin?

"Sheppard's on comms, he says mission completed. They're on their way back." He said. He held out a headset, and she stood up and took it, slipping her arm through his and walking into the living room with him.

"John?" She said as she put the comm unit behind her ear. "Any problems?"

"No, ma'am. We took them all sleeping, even the constables, only two guards were awake." He reported. "I've spoken to the leader of the family and explained the situation, and she's agreeable to your terms. She tells me that there are only fourteen members of the family that actually have the gene left, and doesn't seems too concerned about what happens to the rest."

"She sounds like the kind of girl I want to keep at arms length." Carter said, glancing up at Ronin. "Have all of them tested anyway. The family might have missed something. Anyone that doesn't have the gene goes to the mainland. Do you have enough shelters and food to supply them for a month? It's going to be that long before we can get back to them."

"We can leave them three months worth. They'll get used to MRE's. I brought some of their weapons with us. Once we get them situated, we'll beam them down. There's some nasty critters running around on the mainland. So they'll need something to defend themselves."

"That's fine. How long do you need?"

"Call it three hours before we can dock. I'm going to throw up a basic stockade and put the shelters up before we beam them down. It would take them weeks to do what we can do in a couple of hours. Nothing fancy, just something to keep the big stuff out."

"Whatever you think is best, John. Be careful. Carter out."

"You met these people, are they worth the bother?" She asked Ronin as she handed him the headset.

"No, but you're not me. Neither is Sheppard." He said. "Sometimes you have to give an enemy a chance to become a friend."

She nodded. "Well put." She looked up at him as she took his hand. "You know that you're not a messenger, or here to run errands. You have a job to do. If you need to speak to me, don't wait like you just did. Get my attention, and speak. Okay?"

He nodded.

"I heard that Amelia wants to let some of the special forces that came in on the Daedalus try out for the household guard. What do you think of that?"

"I want them to go out on some ops first." He said. "We don't know them. They may be good fighters, but they don't have any reason to be loyal to you, so I don't trust them."

"That's what I was thinking. I'll talk to Sheppard about them. Keep your guards to people you know. I'll feel better if you pick them." She turned to go back in the kitchen, then stopped and came back, taking his hands in hers. "And keep me honest. I'm going to do things you don't like, and we can get away with it for now. But you're going to have to put both me and Tammy on a leash at some point. Are you up to that?"

"Yes." He said, trying not to smile. "I talked to Tammy. I'm glad you said something first."

"Good, I have to get back. We have alot going on today."

Interior-SGC, Earth

1200 Hours

"Unauthorized gate activation. Incoming wormhole." Sgt Harriman announced over the PA. He picked up the phone and dialed Woolsey's office.

"Yes, Walter." Woolsey said, putting him on speaker. "What is it?"

"We have an incoming wormhole sir. Wait one...I'm getting Atlantis' IDC, sir." Harriman said.

"Do not open the iris, Walter. I'll be right out."

"The wormhole has closed, sir. But we received a databurst."

"Send it to my office, Walter. Let's see what she has to say." Woolsey said.

He turned to his terminal and brought up the list of databursts in the database, and clicked one. The file opened, and an ornately scripted document opened on the screen.

"Oh my, I didn't expect that at all." He said.

He picked up the red phone and pressed the center button.

"This is Richard Woolsey of the IOA. I need to speak to the President please."

Interior-Gateroom

1310 Hours

"Maj. Lorne, this is the Ops Center."

"Go on Lorne."

"Sir, I have an incoming wormhole, and am receiving the SGC's IDC. They're requesting a video conference with Col. Carter at fourteen hundred hours sir. What should I tell them."

"Tell them that she'll be there. Lorne out."

"Lorne to Dr. Keller or Dr Samuels, come in please."

"Yes major, this is Dr. Keller. What can I do for you?"

"I need to speak to Col Carter, ma'am. Is she with you?

"Yes, wait one."

There was a pause, and Carter came on. "Yes Evan, what do you need?"

"We just received a message from the SGC, ma'am. They're requesting a video conference with you at fourteen hundred. They didn't offer any details." Lorne told her. "I had Ops tell them you'd be there."

"Good, that means we don't have to dial them back and ask what they want." She said, grinning at Keller and Samuels. "I'll be there. Would you contact the Daedalus and tell Col. Sheppard to get in a jumper, and gets his ass back here? Caldwell can finish what they're doing."

"Yes ma'am." Lorne said, grinning broadly. "I'll get right on it."

Interior-Conference Room

1400 Hours

Carter sat at the far end of the table, with Tammy, and Sheppard flanking her. Ronin stood by the door, and five marines stood on each side of the door on the outside.

"Incoming wormhole, colonel." Chuck said. "We're getting a video signal, ma'am."

"Send it in here Chuck."

The large monitor mounted on the wall came to life, and Gen. Landry looked down at them.

"Gen. Landry! It's good to see you sir. We had heard that you were under arrest." Carter said, smiling at him.

"Thank you colonel. Or, I'm sorry, do you have an official title? I wouldn't want to get our talks off on the wrong foot." He said, trying not to laugh.

"No, sir. Colonel, Sam or Samantha is fine. My advisors say I earned the rank, so I should wear it."

"I wish I had people that smart working for me." Landry said. "Come to think of it, I used to. But most of them got a better offer."