Disclaimer: The characters used within this are mostly the property of others. I have a few originals, but the vast majority are not original. A few well known names may be used, but everything here is fiction. This is for entertainment only and not for profit.
Author's Note: This is minimally edited. After this chapter this story will most likely be moving to AO3 with it and other stories moving there. To those that have genuinely been supportive and helpful, my thanks. If anyone can think of a reason to stay here, well state it, but the site has pretty much become crap, with the ads in the middle of chapters and all the captchas and checking your browser nonsense.
Reviewers that feel they have the right to tell me how or what to write, well you do not have my thanks. There was a clear warning on this about politics that for some reason people felt they could ignore, and then spend various reviews complaining about it.
-oOo-
Araiansu – Chapter 6
Jack looked on at the eerie silence as neither Ranma or Sam appeared to breath.
Cally came up to them.
He asked, "Are you sure they are alive in those tubes?"
"We are fine," said Sam and Ranma's voices from seemingly everywhere.
Cally added, "They really are. It takes some time to get used to the stillness. No one is going to expect you to do so anytime soon, and I'd assume if you complained enough, perhaps not ever, but Mom is right. If you can accept this mode it can heal you much faster, or free up a bed sooner, so as to be able to heal the next person faster."
Twenty minutes later Ranma and Sam were released from their tubes.
Ranma had fallen into true sleep. Sam shook him awake.
"You fell asleep?" asked Siler.
Sam said, "The cute lump can fall asleep anywhere, and unless he is trying to figure out a martial arts trick, usually can't stay awake with pure mental activity."
"Hey, I Just get rest when I can. Not all of us try to solve complex engineering problems without even a computer."
Sam blushed..
Teal'c said, "I think I would like to try it this way."
"You sure Teal'c? It is pretty unsettling, though it is likely that your symbiont already has your body in pretty good shape and it won't take long. The longest I've seen it take with just an injury is just over four hours. Something systemic can of course take longer."
Jack asked, "Will we be able to ask for release from inside?"
Ranma said, "If you are in the mode where you can move and are awake yes. If not, then no, not unless you have better control over your internal energies than you appear to so as to be able to interface directly with the tubes interface. Everyone should probably just use the normal mode for now. That way you can communicate."
"Agreed," added Sam. Then she turned to Teal'c. "It is not that I think you won't get there. I think you will get there before anyone else here, but not this quickly."
Teal'c nodded his head slightly to acknowledge her words.
They all got in. The first thing they heard and saw was Jack complaining, "This sucks. It is cold, clammy and… Well that is weird. It is doing something to my legs."
Sam touched a floating display above his tube. She said, "It has analyzed much of your bodies damage and is repairing it. I'm sorry Jack, but unless you honestly can't take it anymore I'm going to recommend you let this go to completion. It won't work as well if you interrupt it."
"How long is that going to take for crying out loud?"
"The estimate is twenty hours and four minutes."
"I thought you said four hours."
"For a single injury, not a lifetime of accumulated issues."
Daniel asked, "Is mine similar?"
Cally checked several settings on his display. She said, "Seven and a half hours is the estimate."
"And me?" asked Teal'c.
"One point seven hours."
Siler said, "And me?"
Cally checked his station. "Unfortunately you have some significant lung damage, including some significant quantities of heavy medals in your body. I am estimating just over seventeen hours."
"Great," he said. "That is what smoking plus way too much welding without a respirator gets you I guess."
Cally said, "Some of the lung tissue was pre-cancerous. We are correcting it of course."
Sam said, "We can bring your family here if you wish? They will have to return unless they sign up of course, but they can stay in this area or the nearby kitchen for now."
"No, don't do that. If people know that they are involved they might get targeted. If you can make sure they are safe..."
"We will add them to those monitored for safety once we get that going. You can call them if you want. When you get time, I suggest you contact Avon. I was hoping you and he could work together on a project."
"What kind of project?" asked Siler's disembodied voice.
"We were hoping we could get diesel submarines that are in good enough shape to convert to emergency bunkers on Mars. We would need solar panels and other things as well. The details would be up to you, but think about what you would need if something were to go wrong and Liberator was gone for a few weeks. Even if we are destroyed the Asgard should be able to help before then, but it is best to be prepared."
"That I can do. You may want to think about your own source of money. If you can deliver an asteroid from the asteroid belt…"
"That is genius," said Sam.
"My legs still feel funny," complained Jack's disembodied voice.
"They will be fine sir. Regenerating tissue takes time. Try to remain still."
"Could I just sleep?"
"If you wish."
"Do it Carter."
"Zen activate sleep inducer for Jack's pod and continue treatment."
"Confirmed. Time estimate for full healing is now fourteen hours three minutes."
Siler said, "Can you do the same for me after I call my family?"
"You can do that much yourself. Simply ask."
"What about you Daniel?" asked Sam.
"I'm not really tired. I don't suppose I could start learning Asgard or something?"
"Once again Daniel just ask Zen. He is not truly intelligent. We have rules against that, but there are language tutorials."
"Cally will you remain here in case they need anything?"
"I will mom."
-oOo-
Sam and Ranma returned to their quarters. "Zen setup a teleconference with the available representation of the major countries of the world in fifteen minutes. Tell them that we are going to discuss delivering material from the asteroid belt in exchange for money."
"Confirmed."
They laid down on the bed. Sam almost nodded off in her husbands arms when Zen said, "The conference will be ready in one minute."
"Thank you Zen," said Sam tiredly.
She got up, made sure she was presentable while Ranma did the same.
The Chinese ambassador was the first to appear. He asked, "What is this all about? Your delivering asteroids?" His English was impeccable.
The Japanese ambassador was next. Then the American and Canadian. The United Kingdom and France followed. Australia followed that. The onlygovernment head there was the prime minister of Great Britain. The rest were lower level.
Sam said, "It has been suggested that one way to raise capital to help us defend Earth is to deliver material from the asteroid belt. I'm not saying we will do this forever, but for now we can do it, if it makes economic sense."
The Australian representative said, "You can pick and choose correct, so if we said bring us a pile of gold or platinum, gems, or whatever, then you can just get that?"
"We could possibly teleport sections containing the most valuable minerals, though the simplest is to take a whole asteroid, or a fraction of one in tether fields."
The US representative said, "I know this would make you less money, but why not focus on rare earths, lithium, and other materials needed for solar cells and such? We need that more than we need precious gems, particularly if we are to avoid the worst effects of global warming."
Sam looked at Ranma who gave a small nod. "Agreed. We will go collect what we can. Once we are back and have data on what we have we will make it available for bidding."
The Chinese representative said, "Could we not send representatives with you?"
Sam said, "You can form lists of people to join us defending the planet. They have to renounce any loyalty and agree to focus on our mission and not betray us. If we find anyone who plans otherwise we will take appropriate actions."
"What does that mean?" asked the Chinese representative.
Ranma said, "It means, you will find out what it means if you betray us. We are not interested in the games. We have to focus on defending the planet."
The Chinese representative said, "We have known about your trips through the Stargate for some time. You have endangered the planet many times."
Sam said, "We have also defended it, but if our wisdom is your concern then send someone wiser. When push comes to shove they have to take orders, but we will listen to advice as well. You have our word on it. We are not in this for the good of the United States, but instead for the good of the Earth and the galaxy as a whole."
"Will they be allowed to command?"
Ranma said, "Some will no doubt raise to positions of command, but there will be no vessels populated from people of all one country."
"And English will be the language?"
Sam said, "You are surprisingly well prepared with questions. I have no objection to learning a common language, but I'd prefer not to invent a new one, or favor one country over others. We could all learn the language of the Asgard. Those we entrust with sensitive technologies will need to know it anyway."
The Chinese ambassador nodded. "China will be well represented in this new endeavor."
"We have a lot to do first. A new member of our team is going to be working on a plan to re-purpose diesel submarines for emergency shelters on Mars. We will likely bury them except for the exits. On top will be solar panels. We are also going to need to setup communication back to Earth, so I suppose we are going to need a couple geostationary satellites for communications and a spare. Entertainment is also a requirement, so somebody figure out the equivalent of Netflix. Work together. It will make everyone's life easier."
The British Prime Minister said, "We will do our best. I'm fairly sure we can find the diesel subs. Perhaps one from each country or an equivalent donation?"
The others nodded.
Sam said, "I would ask that you make some inquires to find at least a couple people that can maintain the subs systems. We will probably not use the subs long term for day to day stuff, but the idea here is to make sure we have places where people can safely shelter until help can arrive, so that means maintaining them. Oh, before I forget we have no interest in the diesel engines, fuel, or tanks. We can remove it, or others can."
Ranma said, "Exercise equipment will also be needed. Mars has low gravity."
"Good point Ranma. We will have gravity plating later, but that will be in the normal accommodations. These are supposed to be shelters so should not rely on any advanced technologies. We want simple and reliable."
The Japanese representative said, "We will get it done. The biggest priority I see is food. Tell me, can you terraform Mars?"
Ranma said, "I've actually studied this. There are specific greenhouse gasses, that would be horrible to produce on Earth that would help warm Mars. We can build machines to do this, though it will take time. That would be the first step though."
The Chinese ambassador asked, "Can you give us any improved designs for solar panels or anything that will reduce our problems on Earth?"
Sam replied, "We do have an improved design for a solar panel, but unfortunately it requires a manufacturing base you do not have, and the technology to create such a manufacturing base is one of the items we can't share. We are still working on trying to make a design that you can build with your existing manufacturing base. For now we plan to setup a factory on Mars and ship panels in mass to Earth through a portal."
The Chinese ambassador asked, "When do you believe you will have such a design?"
Sam said, "I wish I knew. Photovoltaics is a little out of my normal work."
"Do you require scientific assistance?" the Japanese representive said.
Sam replied, "Sure, but same terms. They have to be EDF members and commit to keeping unapproved tech secure if they want access."
"Then," the Canadian ambassador said, "These people wouldn't necessary have to go to war or fight, just help solve problems."
Ranma added, "It is true that not all roles will see combat, though in a combat situation any member of the EDF is expected to do what they reasonably can, and may not be replaced until the situation is stabilized. Even then, we are looking for long term people, not someone that will come in, solve one problem, and leave."
The US president's chief of staff took the ambassadors place. "Sorry that the president can't be here, but well he is still being played on live stream and we thought it best to keep this meeting private. I have been listening to this. Now what kind of portal. Do you mean another Stargate?"
"No," Sam said. "We can establish a portal big enough to move large shipping containers between Earth and Mars, but it needs almost as much power as a Stargate and you can only have one. That is not us. That is physics."
The Japanese Prime Minister said, "Japan volunteers to host such a device."
Sam shrugged. "I agree it doesn't make sense for the US to have both the Stargate and this. I have no objection to Japan. Perhaps Japan with United Nations troops alongside Japan's own self defense force to guard it?"
"I will have to consult others, but China is provisionally content with this choice, provided it is near a coastline."
The chief of staff of the United States said, "We would have liked to have it here, but can certainly understand your point of view."
The Australian representative said, "Japan is also a reasonable distance to us."
Sam said, "I know we have mentioned the environment. While we are all on the call. Can you please do something about the dirty fuel and emissions used to ship cargo oversees? I'm willing to prioritize producing solar panels for the ships if they will be used on the ships. You will need to design something where they snap over existing containers and produce high efficiency electric motors. The design I know about is about 85% efficient, so the combination should work, though you will have to run the numbers."
France asked, "Could we get a sample of this solar panel to study?"
Sam said, "We can replicate a few yes, but mass production is not possible and won't be for some time. I can also ask the Asgard to release the actual composition. I can't tell you how to produce it in bulk, since that is clearly restricted data. Assuming I produce three, and the data, can we get a promise for everyone to work together and share results?"
"The Chinese government would first like to thank you for stopping the nuclear missiles. Many of them would have hit Chinese soil, had you failed. Beyond that we offer to work with Japan and everyone else on this."
"Thank you and agreed."
"Great Britain, the United States, and France..." The French representative nodded. "and Canada" The Candidate representative nodded. " would like to work together, but we will also share information."
"Australia will of course do all we can. Japan is closer, but we will work with everyone."
The Japanese Prime minister said, "That is fine."
Sam said, "So, one panel to the US and one to Japan and a third you can destroy to study, but you have to all work together there. I will also request the approval from the Asgard for what I said, but remember they can say no, so I suggest not wasting this. Actually, I'm going to delay that. Study these samples. Prepare a report. If it is a good report and it shows evidence of everyone working together, well ultimately that was their and my greatest concern."
The Japanese Prime minister asked, "Can we expect any other world leaders to be so monitored?"
"Only if it is necessary, and will do some good. We are not asking everyone become a democracy, but we need to come together. That means the lying must come to an end. Those countries that put in place leaders that lie their way to power or do not treat their citizens well will not be helped."
The Canadian representative asked, "What if one our of citizens joins your group and finds some technology some country really needs."
Ranma said, "We aren't going to say no just to tell you no. We will consider it, but ultimately the Asgard gave us certain guidelines we have to follow."
"But it does mean if we find people that can review the technology they can find stuff that can be approved."
Ranma looked to Sam.
She said, "That makes sense, but we are going to need everyone to cooperate and then try to keep the number of requests down. First the less we give away the less likely the Asgard are to object. Second we are really busy and will remain so. Basically, we will teach them to find things we are likely to be able to approve and then give them to everyone who is acting in good faith. If I haven't made this clear if anyone starts a war they are automatically not acting in good faith."
The chief of staff asked, "What about countries like North Korea and such?"
Ranma said, "I would think you first have to fix your own politics. You know the causes, but you have to get there. As for North Korea, well I studied Earth History with the Asgard. The only idea I can think of is to spend a lot of effort to make sure that every television or radio in North Korea speaks anything but the truth, though we would probably have to phase that in over time."
The Chinese ambassador act, "How is that not propaganda?"
Sam said, "It is not propaganda. You will be able to check it yourself easily enough. I'm not saying it is great, but how do you undo propaganda without enforcing truth? If anyone has a better idea let us know. Again, we would prefer not to have to interfere at all, and we would ask that you think twice before lying to your populous. Navigating our way into the future is not going to be easy as is. Everyone needs to be a part of it."
"There will be bloodshed, and a lot of it."
"There already is. Worse, multiple generations of people have had their potential cut short.
"We could provide guidance in what to say."
Sam and Ranma looked at him with a frown.
"Not lying, or even truly being deceptive. Just laying the foundation for a slower less bloody change."
Sam sighed. "I'm not a politician, but many of these people are. Get their agreement and we will likely help."
He nodded.
The Japanese Prime Minister said, "Would it be possible for one of us to take a trip with you to mine the asteroid field? Me perhaps?"
Ranma laughed. He said, "Kishida-san, I was a citizen of Japan on my world. I have no objection, provided your willing to give oath not to make an attempt to steal technology."
"Of course."
Suddenly everyone else was clamoring to come along. Sam suggested that they would consider having different representatives rotate one at a time. All would be required to swear the same oath. Her discussion was interrupted when they were notified of another call. "Yes, what is it?" she asked.
Cally said, "General Hammond is aware of your current teleconference, and asks to join it."
"By all means add him."
"Sam, it is good to see you."
"General, I confess I'm curious as to why you are calling?"
"I have a problem and an opportunity for you, and as it could be considered favoritism if I approached you privately with this, I was hoping now would be a good time to approach you publicly. Is now a good time?"
"As good as any. What is happening?"
"As you know, the air force academy keeps an eye out for me for possible candidates that would be an asset to the SGC. They have one that is, and is not."
"Explain."
"She is brilliant. Her SAT scores even exceeded your own, and you had the record. Unfortunately she knows she is brilliant and is currently not considered Air Force material. She has a chip on her shoulder. I can't tell her about the Stargate. That remains secret, at least for now. You do not."
"You want me to what?" asked Sam.
"Sam, she is the kind of brilliance we don't see often. To be honest, I've heard a lot of hell over the years for letting you go through the wormhole. Now your life is your own, but both the academy and myself think it would be a shame if her talent was wasted. Do you think you could try to help her? Sam, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, but there are very few who she might respect. I thought about sending Rodney, but …"
She smiled. "I understand sir."
"She is currently pending punishment from getting into a fight with a cadet. Sam, if your opinion is negative she will be expelled. We are, of course, also fine with her working with you."
"I understand. Does anyone else wish to discuss this?"
"China insists on having equal representation."
Sam said, "If you have someone willing to be loyal first to the EDF and keep our technology protected, then by all means make a list. I'm not going to make an exception for this cadet, no matter how smart she is. I'm willing to take her along, provided she can see beyond herself, as for others, by all means make a short list, but it will be for later."
"Sam, I'm sorry for making things more complicated for you."
"That is alright sir. Now, if there is nothing else, I will plan to beam the Japanese Prime minister up in one hour."
"I will be ready."
