Disclaimer: The characters used within this are mostly the property of others. I have a few originals, but the vast majority are not original. Everything here is fiction. This is for entertainment only and not for profit.
-=oOo=-
Araiansu - Chapter 36
-=oOo=-
General Hammond sat behind his desk at Atlantis. Before him sat Deanna, Worf, and Selar.
He said, "First, I would like to thank you for your help in our recent mission."
"Thanks are not necessary." said Worf.
Lieutenant Selar and Deanna nodded their agreement.
"I'll be frank with you. If you want to do something in particular we can probably find you that position, or something close to it. If you just want to learn, then we can accommodate that. If you want to join the EDF we can also accommodate that. This means you follow orders or you resign, and resigning is not an option if there is an active situation. People in your positions, however, I can likely give command positions. You would still have orders, but you would also have a lot of freedom in day to day operations."
Deanna asked, "Is there any particular time you need a decision?"
"No. Oh, I could use your help today, but the choice needs to be yours. I suggest you use this time to learn. We will teach you what you want to learn as for as life adept skills go. We do have some trainers, though never enough. Hopefully things will settle down a little and some of our experts like Ranma and Nafrayu can teach more, but I can make no promises. You can also request to be returned to your universe. Our only demand is you not hand out technology. I recall reading you had a rule that covered that."
Deanna said, "The Prime Directive is mostly about warp capable species, which you are technically not, though I suppose it meant anyone with equivalent skills which you certainly have. Still, we get the point and we would be in huge trouble when we return if we did any such thing."
Lieutenant Selar asked, "Is there really a need for a captain to lead what I would presume would be a medical ship?"
"Yes. Our ships are nearing ready. The hulls are not as strong as we would like. That was a compromise for time. The shields make up for that mostly. They are decent ships. We are probably going to field about a dozen or so and then stop and focus on better materials. I regret to say that the alloy you used on your Enterprise may end up getting the selection."
"Tritanium?" asked Selar.
"We actually call it Trinium, and we knew about it well before Nozomi scanned your hull. We didn't know that particular alloy of it, but the scientists tell me they think they can make it and it is still far easier than the exotic Asgard or Alteran alloys."
Deanna asked, "Why would you be upset?"
"Because we are technically stealing someone else's hard work, which we prefer not to do. If you are adamantly against it, we do know of others."
Worf said, "I would far rather know the hull is solid than worry about such details."
Selar said, "I have no objection. It would not be logical to not used the best material available. I presume even the next batch of ships are not going to be your final design?"
"Unlikely."
Selar asked, "Are there any other details about these ships that are immediately important?"
"They use a neural interface system to link the pilot to the ship during combat. Some people are fine at even extreme levels. Most take some form of brain damage at those levels. We are working to secure a single Asgard bio bed for each ship to make sure that can be healed, but that will take time. They are immensely complex pieces of hardware that only the Asgard can make. The Asgard are currently quite busy rebuilding a lot of things, so short term we will probably pull beds from other places and ships to meet that goal."
Selar asked, "Why do they cause brain damage?"
"I can send you right to the people who are experts. Maybe you can figure it out? Ranma's son thought his tendency to question everything rather than just trust the system increased the stress on his brain. That is our leading theory."
"I believe I would like to pursue this issue."
Hammond said, "Talia, is Avon available?"
Avon said, "I'm here. What is up?"
"Can you beam here and show Lieutenant Selar to the doctors working on mitigating the damage the neural link system causes."
"I'm currently supervising simulator runs. She could beam here and I could show her afterward?"
Worf asked, "Is this a simulator for the new ships?"
George nodded.
"Then I would also like to go."
"I as well," added Deanna.
George said, "I do know that none of you three are human. That doesn't mean you can't use the technology, but I'll want medical, including Doctor Selar to approve you before you try it. You will need Avon's sign off as well, since he is lead engineer on the project, though I can't see him objecting unless there is actually a very good reason."
"Of course," Doctor Selar agreed. "It would be quite foolish to cause brain damage when you lack sufficient knowledge of our species to repair it."
George nodded. "If you three are ready to go?"
They nodded.
"Talia, please beam these three to the flight simulation area."
They vanished in a flash of light and he got back to work.
-=oOo=-
Troi, Selar, and Worf picked and apartment together. Given how few places were left in Atlantis it was the only way they were going to be able to stay as a group.
Troi and Selar worked late into the night on the neural link problems using the computer built into their apartment.
During the work, Troi said, "There is so much good information here that I would love to bring back."
Selar said, "I have noted that they appear to be releasing some information to Earth with Asgard approval. Most likely, if a case can be made, they would approve at least some of what you wish. Certainly, I think it safe to assume restrictions would be less for a group already with a known safe and stable high technology base."
Worf said, "I was surprised that only Deanna could use the new interface."
Deanna said, "Betazoids are similar to humans and I'm half. I am, apparently, closer to the first evolution of humanity here, so they had enough information to program a baseline, though I obviously haven't tried it yet."
Selar said, "I think we can help them adapt the interface for Klingon and Vulcan. It may take some weeks, but I already have some possible changes. This is delicate work, and more work to figure out the programming updates for their bio beds. Those are remarkable. I can barely comprehend the effort that must have been done to make those work as well as they do. It is fortunate that I brought a small Vulkan database with me, as well as a copy of the Enterprise's medical database. Without it, I'm uncertain if we could complete this work."
Deanna asked, "Worf, what do you think of the new ships?"
"They are far more maneuverable than anything the Federation has and probably more effective in combat."
Selar said, "I would say these are not primarily intended for exploration, but rather for defense."
Deanna added, "I'm sure you are both correct. I don't think they are deliberately ignoring the rest, but are just moving as fast as possible to make sure their primary defensive needs are met."
Doctor Selar said, "They have families living in Atlantis. If you remember the safety briefing they clearly value them very highly."
Deanna said, "Agreed. They may not have a great ship of exploration like the Enterprise, with families and all the rest, and it is possible they won't for some time. Simply put, they need is less. They are not limited by the speed of warp drive. Whole families can move from world to world easily be this gate system they have. They are at the beginning, but I could see a day when they eclipse the Federation in size."
Worf said, "If the ships they produce today could as I suspect win a battle with the Enterprise then it is important that we are here. Hopefully they all remains as allies, but this cannot be ignored."
"True," Selar added.
Deanna also nodded.
-=oOo=-
It was a packed United Nations. Almost a third of the permanent members were introducing a resolution to put extreme sanctions on the EDF for killing their allies. It would go nowhere, since there were others that would block it. No one had been brave enough to declare war, but a lot were saying they should declare war, in defense of their allies.
There seemed no end to the lies. You could predict them in a sad sort of way. Just figure out what lie might be most effective, and it was probably out there somewhere. All information that conflicted with the one party's world view was rejected as manufactured and fake news. It all worked, in that it turned a large, yet diminishing percentage of the population against them. It wasn't simply lies about issues. The most common lies were to make their very names of their enemies cursed, which inevitably lead to death threats that had to be managed. This of course had the secondary effect of making fewer good people want to serve in government. Fortunately many of those were finding a home in the EDF.
One other topic of conversation was what the new massive space station that was being rapidly built by several of the known EDF allies in space.
It was in a powered orbit, moving over almost all of the populated world in the span of a single day. The bottom of the station facing the planet appeared to be made of some clear material. From time to time high powered telescopes could see people up there.
In a curious move, China who would normally go along with most of the insanity was remaining silent and silently working with the EDF. They didn't advertise it, but neither did they deny it. Other nations made up the difference, but then most of those were led by people so deep in the EDFs ban books as to never likely get out of them.
Lindy Harlaown beamed down behind the podium. Instantly guns were turned on her, but the guards, guns and all vanished in more flashes.
She was visibly older now. You could not see the nearly twenty years they spent preparing to help save the planet, though you could see that she was visibly at least a few years older. She was still a remarkably beautiful woman, particularly in her formal TSAB uniform.
She walked up to the microphone and then turned it off.
She said, "Hello." Her voice was heard clearly by everyone, as if she was right in front of them, and everyone needing to understand instantly got a real time translation.
"I'm sure you are all wondering who I am and why I am here, but this is neither the time or the place for such a discussion. That will come soon, if you wish it." She looked over the assembled masses.
"If anyone has no wish to even pretend to be a part of the defense of Earth and the greater galactic community, well, you don't have to do anything. For those that do, we offer an opportunity to take a step forward, but before you choose, consider carefully. If your purpose is to use politics and lies for power please save everyone time and stay here. You would be returned soon enough in any event."
Cries of outrage were heard. People yelling that they had rights. It became impossible to hear, as those that wanted to disrupt, did so. With the guards gone there was no one to stop them.
"Sandry."
"Yes Mistress."
"Setup direct to formal armor."
"Standby Ready. Setup."
One light show later and she looked like a Valkyrie of legend as she stood on a magical circle above them. Everyone instantly got quiet.
She asked softly, "I was key in holding back forces that could have led to a dimensional collapse. Did you really think loud voices would intimidate me? Are you really that naive or did someone con you into believing that too was a lie?"
Yelling and complaints were again heard as they found their bravado.
"Sandry Silence."
The silver tinted light spread throughout the room and everywhere it touched people stopped making noise, even though their mouths were still moving.
"Nabiki, have you got a count of everyone that was being excessively disruptive?"
"Of course." they heard. "What would you like to do?"
"Please return them to their countries of origin. They seem to have no interest in doing their job, which is unfortunate. Perhaps in time that may change."
Nabiki asked, "What about their support staff that remained quiet?"
"Keep them."
Everyone who had been yelling vanished in a wave of light.
She said softly, yet clearly to everyone there. "The new space station is for the new United Nations. Those who remain that wish may be transported there to talk. In time we will limit that number further to those who are willing to work together and with the greater galaxy as a whole."
She paused and smiled. It was a very confident smile.
"For the particularly brave, I intend to stretch my wings and head to the new space station on my own power. I suppose I could bring a half dozen or so with me. What say you? Is anyone brave?"
She was unsurprised when it was members of the support staff from Japan, China, the United States, Australia, Great Britain, and even one from Russia who walked up to her first instead of the representatives. There were many others, but all the actual representatives were far back in the line.
She laughed softly. Some of them started to turn around. "Please don't. I do not laugh at you. I made no distinction, and I intend no distinction, yet I find it interesting that it was not the official representatives that stood first, but the ones who do so much of the actual work. The rest can simply raise their hands and be transported."
She picked the first six that walked up to her, including the one Russian. She said to them, "Please gather round and join hands. This will take a little time, but please don't worry there is no doubt a transporter lock on us all."
They rose to the sky and then seemed to fade as they passed through the top of the building before rapidly shooting up into the sky.
The other members of the EDF were there to greet the arriving UN members and hand out a copy of the alliance treaty. The requirements to use this place and to join this new UN were for the member nations to agree to a subset of the alliance requirements.
Those that agreed could use this station. They would be given preferential treatment by the EDF, and on the day when two thirds of the populations ratified membership in the full alliance Earth would become a part. Some thought it meant they would get all the EDFs technology. They were quickly informed that they would not, but that there were many other benefits.
They were also informed that members would get access to a set of rings to transport up and down from the station as well as offices and living space. Some suggested using it for space research. Sam responded to that one. "If you sign on the dotted line you can use your rooms, within reason, how you want. To keep the space requires your population to also vote for it within two years."
It was quickly decided that no scientists got a room from the governments due to the limited space, though the idea apparently appealed to someone, since the size of the station was rapidly expanded, with each member nation quickly gaining the space and facilities to host a half dozen scientists or engineers each, with strict requirements to make sure they were used for scientists or engineers.
They were encouraged to work together but not demanded, and if the EDF occasionally had engineers stop by the ones that were working together and help out, that was presented as a total coincidence. The addition of a lecture hall which was automatically had its proceedings broadcast to every country in the world in every language further increased the scientists popularity.
One action which had perhaps the greatest impact was when the EDF would randomly drop by places when someone was debating the climate. One such incident occurred in the United States Senate. One side once again brought a snow ball in as proof that global warming was a hoax.
Heimdall, Sam, and Avon beamed right behind him.
"What are you doing here?" the snowball guy asked.
Avon said dryly, "We thought maybe you were having an aneurysm and needed medical help."
Heimdal said just as dryly, "That would be a more logical explanation, but sadly it is wrong. I already scanned him with the ship sensors. He is actually healthy."
Snowball said, "You have no right here. Guards!"
The guards vanished in a burst of light.
Sam asked, "Really? It is not as if we need defended, but really, you thought that would work?"
Someone on the other side commented, "Well it was about as logical as trying to dismiss climate change because it snowed."
Snowball guy said, "If all this wacky crap is real it is because you did it!"
Avon asked, "And your proof of this erudite statement is?"
"Everyone knows it to be true."
Avon said, "Talia are you online?"
"For you sir always."
"Who is programming you to act like Jarvis again?"
"I can't say, because I don't know."
"Villa probably. Just delete any personality programming since the last time I gave this command."
"Party Pooper. Program updated."
Sam hid a small smile that her son didn't see.
Avon said, "Setup a new sim. Parameters are to simulate the impact of climate change under several criteria."
"Waiting for simulation parameters."
"All simulations are to start at the time the EDF was established and run for one thousand years. The following parameters are to be simulated. Life expectancy. Quality of Life. Education. Political Stability. Crime."
"Confirmed. Common scenario parameters are loaded. Ready for scenarios."
"For the first scenarios assume the EDF never existed, but somehow Earth avoided any attention. Scenario one. Assume Mr. Snowball here's side got everything they say they want. Scenario two. Assume the other side got everything they wanted. Scenario three, assume lying ended in politics and people actually worked together on solutions. Repeat the previous by including the existence of the EDF."
"Simulation requirements are in conflict. The odds of the EDF ignoring that level of propaganda and just letting everything go is essentially zero."
"Ignore conflict and assume we are that stupid. Simulate and report."
"How would you like the data?"
"Project it on all the displays here please."
"Confirmed."
"Simulation one shows all of the data plotted on one chart. Note the multiple Y axis for each. Life expectancy begins to drop noticeably within five years of simulation one starting. This accelerates as more complex toxins are put into the environment and the effects of massive amounts of fossil fuels being burned take their toll on the climate. In the first fifty years approximately one hundred and four million people have lost their lives from the direct or indirect effects. An additional two point four billion are in poverty. Quality of life takes a nose dive as scares resources become more scarce. Wars start. The use of tactical nuclear weapons becomes common place. The final estimated population of earth at one thousand years is four point one million."
"That is ridiculous," Snowball guy said.
"I will send you the detailed simulation later today. Now continue, but just the highlights."
"Simulation two is better. General quality of life is improved across the board. The worst effects of climate change are avoided. Still, resources are scarce and you do end up with over one billion in poverty and thirty million lose their lives in direct or indirect effects. Three improves this by cutting the losses in about half."
"And the simulations with the EDF?"
"Simulation four is the one that had the very large conflict in requirements. Largely the EDF mitigates all the issues and continues to support the development in key areas to mitigate the insanity of the politics. Pure power allows them to control key markets and force good outcomes. Quality of life remains down in many countries as ever more draconian policies are implemented to try to indoctrinate people in the hopes that the EDF will just give up. Several successful thefts of key technologies are managed, forcing the EDF to kill hundreds to secure the critical technology. There is a high likelihood that the EDF will eventually fail in securing dangerous technology resulting in an event where millions or possibly billions die. The continual ignoring of actual threats by the EDF by radical extremists has a thirty two percent chance of the death of everyone on Earth by the thousand year timeline."
"See," Snowball said, "It is all your fault!"
Avon said dryly, "And if I didn't add the ridiculous parameter which assumed we were lobotomized and stupid?
"Oh, in that case everything turns out fine. Mankind spreads to the stars. The quality of life shoots way up. Average education shoots up across the board and in approximately one hundred and four years the Earth joins the Alliance."
"And the next two?"
"The only key difference is the rate of change. The snowball led regimes delay improvements by about twenty years. Regimes where only half the population cooperates, but still one side actually leads delays it about four years. Actual cooperation removes the delay."
"It's all lies and fake news! That computer thing could be told to say whatever it needed to!"
Avon said. "I could have done that, but I didn't. It will take some time to simplify that simulation so it can be run on regular computers, but there are many former government scientists in the EDF. We can easily go over it with them and they can brief you if you don't believe me."
"It is all nonsense. We know how you are changing the environment on Mars to suit you."
Heimdall blinked.
He said patiently, as if talking to a particularly stupid child, "So your argument is because we know how to adapt a planet to suit life, means we are somehow destroying this planet? That may actually be the stupidest thing I ever heard."
"See you admitted it!"
Avon asked dryly, "Your nuclear weapons have had the ability to lay waste to the planet for decades, and we eliminated about half of those in what a few hours when one particularly stupid leader launched their entire arsenal at us. If we wanted you dead, we could have just, you know, moved out of the way."
"Or stood still. There is no way such primitive technology would have penetrated Asgard shields," Heimdall added dryly.
"Point," Avon conceded.
Sam asked, "So you agree that we actually do fully understand climate science?"
"I never said that."
"You just accused us of both modifying Mars environment to suit our needs, and of modifying the Earth's environment to hurt our home. Now the first is true and the second is false, but either way, both of your allegations at least assume we know what we are talking about."
"Maybe you do, but that doesn't prove your not lying."
"What would?" Sam asked.
"Maybe if the Lord comes from on high and tells me I'll believe, but not until."
Avon said, "This is a waste of time. Let's proceed with the plan."
"Agreed," added Sam and Heimdall.
A second later a large obelisk appeared in the middle of the chamber. It was etched with runes of many languages.
Sam said, "We debated who would present this part. We actually hoped it wouldn't come to this. The obelisk here is a mix of technology from all alliance races. It is quite harmless and has one and only one effect. You can't lie in the presence of it."
Avon said, "Go ahead, tell us about your theories on how climate change is a hoax."
He tried to speak, but no words came out.
"I don't have to put up with this!" He stormed out.
Sam said, "This is going to work anywhere in the capital. If you move where you are debating, we will just make more or move it. It is harmless. We aren't going to remove it."
One person asked, "So it just mutes you if you are lying, but doesn't compel truth?"
Avon said, "It will also mute if you intend to present something that is technically true in a way that gives a deliberately false impression."
Sam asked, "So Avon, what do you really think of all the attempts to prank you by modifying your personal assistants interface?"
"I assume you know I'm not remotely stupid enough to answer that question next to that object."
Sam laughed.
Another asked, "Does it know the difference when a person believes something but it is false?"
Sam said, "We did the best we could. We believe we covered all possible bases, and if needed we will update the device. We realize that some will accuse us of forcing lies with the device as soon as they are out of its range, which we can, of course, increase. We do what we can."
"What about reverse engineering? Aren't you worried about that?"
Avon said dryly, "Good luck. The device is very well protected."
Sam said, "I think it is time to go."
They nodded and vanished in a flash of light.
"I believe I was next to speak," someone spoke up.
The moderator said, "You are correct. Shall we continue?"
Another yelled, "We can't continue! They've made it impossible to debate."
The moderator replied, "How so?"
"They are interfering with the Speech and Debate clause."
"They say they are preventing lying. Why don't we test that?"
The person that tried to reply was suddenly not heard.
"Well it's doing something. I suppose you could write your words down."
The senator angrily stalked off.
The moderator turned back to the one who was to speak. "You have five minutes. Begin."
-=oOo=-
Sam, Heimdall, and Avon beamed back to the Atlantis conference room. Ranma, Lya, Ayiana, Daniel, Troi, Lindy, and General Hammond were there.
Daniel said, "Well it looks like it worked."
Avon said, "That was not success. That was managing failure."
Ayiana added, "Avon is correct. Now they will become reliant on parents keeping them from squabbling. It may have been the least bad choice, but it was still bad. We usually avoided dealing with any civilization in such a state."
Heimdall agreed. "It was most unfortunate, but I also agree."
Deanna said, "I'm not so sure. Sure your points are correct, but maybe this is a way of, I believe the expression is priming the pump. The requirement of being truthful will perhaps lead to progress and more truth."
Jack said, "We hope your right. We doubt it, but we hope you are right."
Deanna nodded sadly.
Daniel asked, "When do you think we will be able to remove it?"
General Hammond said, "I doubt it is within, well, at least my lifetime."
Lya said, "You are probably correct, though you do have at least enough potential to slow aging if you practiced the skills of a life adept."
"I might try just to clear my head and focus better. There are too many problems, and the last thing I wanted was to see internal nonsense wreck the world."
Lya said, "You should come to our home. Bring your nieces and their family. Rest for a time."
"I've been in the military a long time. I've gotten a lot of people killed and ordered more dead, usually for what I thought was the right reasons at the time, but not always. I have no place interfering with the sanctity of your world."
Lya frowned. "You misunderstand. I would not offer if there was not a place. You are ready and able to learn now and find peace now, so the offer is now."
Sam encouraged. "You should go. I don't recall when your last vacation was, but you have earned one and probably many. Heck if not that, then go somewhere else. There are many worlds. The work will still be here when you get back and we will keep at it."
"I think I'll do that. I'm sorry if I was bitter or... It is just so disappointing."
"We understand sir," Sam said.
"I know."
Canal Volfield appeared between Ranma and Sam. She was partially transparent. "You really should go. You deserve a vacation."
"And what about you?" asked the General.
Lya added, "We know you are causing Ranma and Sam no real harm, particularly like that, but you also end up dragged along with them and can't interact normally without drawing more energy from them."
Canal said, "I don't really want to be a ship again. Now that I've taught Nabiki and Rommie the trick to directly mix regular and life energy, they can do most of what I could do. I'm also not like them. I could fly well and fight well from practice, as can they, but their awareness was expanded to encompass their much larger bodies and beyond. I relied on complex systems. Cain flew the ship."
She continued, "The merging Nabiki and Rommie do, is, to be honest, not something I want to learn. It seems too personal. Too many people died onboard Swordbreaker. Psi code final was used far too often. Once is too often. I don't regret the parts of them that survive in me. I regret the death. I know this isn't that, but I just don't like the idea. I would always fear I would accidentally harm them."
Rommie appeared in another chair. She was wearing her formal EDF uniform.
She said, "First, I really don't believe you could harm them. You would have to consciously choose to do so, and you are not the type."
"Thank you," Canal said softly.
Rommie added cheerfully, "They should make you a body."
"Do you really think I am needed so much?"
Nabiki appeared standing wearing a business suit. "I agree about your doubts of harming people being foolish, but certainly don't begrudge you your choices. Either way, Rommie didn't mean a new ship."
"Not a new ship?" asked Canal dumbly.
Rommie said, "No, she didn't mean a new ship. We made our choices, but you are different. Your consciousness wasn't expanded to be able to handle all the complex operations a ship requires directly, particularly in combat. They might be able to make you a regular body. If they could, you could do whatever you wanted."
Canal suddenly looked hopeful.
Lya said, "What you ask is not impossible, but it is difficult. Nabiki isn't quite correct, though her reasoning is solid. Am I right that you were born from others sacrificing themselves, likely to have something that could fight against the others, something that could understand energy on an instinctive level and manipulate it in dangerous ways."
"Your right. We had no clue about the path Rommie and Nabiki took at the time. I was born through the willing sacrifice of seven young women, as a weapon to fight the darkness."
Nabiki said softly, "So you never knew a human body."
"No, though I never minded my own either, but one gets tired of fighting."
Lya said, "Either way, you are still potentially stronger than several normal people."
"Then it is not possible then?" Canal asked.
Lya added, "No, it is merely difficult. I would normally not consent to attempting to create a body that is excessively strong, and if you do consent, there would be a cost to you."
"What kind of cost?" asked Canal warily.
"We would attempt to subtract from your potential without affecting your memories or personality. At the same time it would be at least a year of work to build you a new body that could safely contain what remains. It would be difficult work, but nothing we haven't done before."
Heimdall said, "If the Asgard can help..."
Lya said, "Unfortunately, no. There is a reason people like myself, Ranma, Sam, and others cannot be revived in a Sarcophagus. It builds only the physical shell, which is fine before a soul has gained a mastery of life energy or magic. Once that is done, it isn't enough. They can repair your body, but not everything else."
Ranma asked, "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Why yes," Lya smiled.
"Wait a minute," Ranma said warily.
"More seriously, I'm not entirely kidding. You Ranma in female form or maybe one of the mages would be the best choice, with our help. Given that Canal does not have any magic, well, you are probably the best bet."
Ranma half tried, "Surely you are stronger?"
"Perhaps, but I am not human, and I am not linked to Canal."
Sam said, "I could do it."
"Again, not ideal. Your body is not as strong and it has been magically de-aged. I would not add this kind of task on top of that if it could be avoided."
Ranma turned to Canal and said, "If your willing, then so am I."
She looked uncertain. "You would be what my mother? Father?"
Ranma shrugged.
Sam said, "I thought the de-aging thing was stable and fine?"
Lya said, "It basically is, and will only become more so, but we would have to give Ranma additional energy to keep Canal stable and make sure the pregnancy goes well and the baby can mature in a reasonable time."
She continued, "Canal won't be entirely safe until her body reaches about eighteen or so years of age, which even accelerated is going to take about a year. This can only be rushed so much."
Canal asked, "Are you sure this is safe for everyone? I'd really like to have my own body, but why would you do all this?"
Lya said, "The Nox would help anyone who needed it, even a Jaffa. We would not help a Goa'uld survive, at least not one who had imprisoned his or her own host in their body for any length of time. We would, however, do our best to save the host."
She paused to focus directly on Canal. "For someone like you who has a lifetime of dedicated service to all, who did not even hesitate to do what was necessary, we would do much more. Yes, you would be diminished, but that is not as punishment, but simple necessity."
"Would I still need to remain bonded to Ranma and Samantha? They are nice, but I was thinking of being a teacher."
"For at least the first year or so yes. Things would be too delicate. Their bond to you would stabilize you, particularly as we release the protections we would give you and let your body and soul live on its own. Once that is stable we could sever the bond. It would be unpleasant for all, but we can do it and help everyone through it."
Sam said, "And it is not as if our bond doesn't allow freedom of movement. A few hours doesn't cause any big issues, at least on the same planet."
Ayiana said, "I've gone up to about six when Lya is on the other side of the planet. It is unpleasant."
Canal said, "That sounds similar to what I remember with Kain. It became actually painful at about a day, but if we were within a few miles it never became a problem."
Lya said, "You would be stronger together, but that would have to be your choice."
Sam said, "Well we could certainly make that choice together. I can't say we won't get called off planet, but we would do what we could."
Ranma nodded.
Heimdall asked, "Do you have something with your original donors genetic code?"
"No."
Rommie offered, "If you think it justified we could go get a sample."
Heimdall said, "It is not. Even the time travel used by this universe's Asgard was questionable, if perhaps necessary. To travel for one person instead of an entire race and to go potentially even further back in time and dimensions. I cannot support that, particularly when there is no real need."
Lindy said, "I will donate genetic material, or even an egg for this. My hair is a little darker, and I am a little taller, but genetically I'm guessing I'm a decent match for what Lya has in mind. I am also willing to carry the child, if need be, though I am getting older and I will be taking office in the next couple months."
Lya said, "A child between you and Ranma's female form is near ideal, if he is willing to be locked as female for a month or so. He has the largest ki reserve of a near stock human."
"Near human?" asked Ranma in confusion.
Lya said, "The young woman who created the pool with your curse clearly had a high percentage of Alteren ancestry. You see part of it in your male form as a reflection, but the core is with your female form. You were fortunate indeed to fall in that pool."
Ayiana looked over at Ranma in surprise.
"It is news to me," Ranma said. "I certainly didn't fall in deliberately, though if I had to do it over again, I think I would. Wait, are those pools okay to leave as they are?"
"Probably not," Lya admitted. "We should go there and investigate. While it is not your fault for being affected by something possibly tied to murder, we nevertheless do need to go there and see if we can free any lingering souls still tethered there. From what I sense her soul left a large impression on you. To be able to bless while being trapped in a construct is truly remarkable."
Canal said, "This must be first. If souls remain trapped, I can wait."
"Agreed," was heard around the table.
Nabiki offered, "Well it is technically my universe, and I have a shiny new dimensional drive, that Loki assures me is the good stuff."
Rommie sighed. "It is a pity. There is no need for me as well."
Heimdall asked, "When did you leave the planet for Al-Hazard? We cannot arrive before then."
"According to my records, we have been gone from my Earth for over a week at this point," Nabiki said.
Lya asked, "Why ever did you attempt to find that cursed place?"
"Loki suggested it would be better if we didn't stay around Earth, since it would make future trips impossible, and if anyone forgot, risky."
"And I," Lindy said, "Released top secret information on the likely location of Al Hazard in dimensional space. Various people are not happy finding out I did that."
Heimdall said, "Apologies. Thor didn't know the information was on a need to know basis."
Lindy said, "If there is fault, it is mine. I should have mentioned it, but Loki was always moaning about getting in trouble and no one trusting him, that I didn't want to add that burden to his shoulders, and it fit. A place that no one could reach where Nabiki had time to learn what she needed to know. It also gave him time to figure out a new temporal and dimensional drive. We didn't really think it would take him that long, but Al-Hazard's location was apparently shielding us from changes in the timeline, so it really was perfect and I think we really needed the time to grow and develop."
Heimdall said, "It is hard for us to trust him, given what he did, but he earned a lot back with his actions. We would, however, appreciate any guidance you can give him."
Nabiki said softly, "I think that once he is alone for too long he starts making bad decisions. As far as I'm concerned he has a place in my crew for as long as he wants it. Shampoo and Ling-ling also agree."
"It is good that he found the purpose with your group that he didn't find before. I shall remain behind."
Nabiki said, "You think he might believe we trust him less if you are there to supervise?"
"Perhaps, but in truth I have a lot of work to do here and I am simply not needed. If you find that is not the case, I can go, but I will readily admit I am out of my depth when dealing with things of magic."
Lya nodded, conceding the point. She added, "I would like to have our engineers stop by sometime to just touch base and see if there are areas we can cooperate on. While the Nox are better in this area, you remain the best in the areas of pure science."
"Of course. Have them stop by anytime."
Rommie hesitated, then after a moment said, "I hate to keep asking and I know we now have enough ZPMs for a long time, but I've been thinking about Loki's solution with the neutrino ion generators."
Heimdall asked, "We started to add one before, but never got to it. Shall we finish that task?"
"Please. One will eat up nearly half of my cargo space, but I'll take it. Knowing I always had enough energy to at least get home, even if I wasted all the rest doing something incredibly crazy, well.."
"Consider it done," Heimdall said. "I will find time to optimize one that provides at least that while preserving what cargo space is possible to preserve."
Nabiki said, "Well, I was going to offer one of mine, but heck if you could spin up two rather than one, then maybe these could be reused? I know Loki was planning on upgrading them, but it seems a lot of work done twice for nothing."
"That seems reasonable. I shall try to have a design ready by the time you return for Loki to review, as for reusing the reactors, we will never run out of things that need energy. I presume we will transfer them to Mars."
"Works for me."
"Then shall we go?" Lindy asked.
Ranma said, "Just a moment. From everything I know the pools of sorrow are labeled as cursed for a reason. We go there, there is a high likelihood of us getting cursed, or me getting cursed again. I know the curses mix and I do not want that and I doubt most of you really want a curse, particularly since you could become a small animal or something really weird."
"What would you suggest?" Heimdall asked.
"Do you have any suits that are basically indestructible, water tight, with an air supply, and can't be physically opened anywhere near the place?"
Lya hid a smile.
Sam asked her, "Why are you smiling?"
"Pardon, it was an amusing thought, though I quite agree. Precautions are required. We also need a magical expert, unless Lindy?"
"No, I am not that person, but we do have them. I can request one to head this way, or more likely we can go pick them up. It would certainly save the time and wear on a ship, which is always appreciated."
"Satori is ready to go," Nabiki chirped.
General Hammond said, "Who is officially in charge of the truth pillars? They are bound to act against them."
Heimdall said, "I do not believe they will be able to do anything, and all actions that are considered notable will be forwarded to Othalla via the communications array in Atlantis, as well as of course being reported locally."
Sam asked, "That works. How about Jack, just in case?"
"Good enough for me. I'll go with you guys for a change," Hammond said.
Daniel said, "I can just see Jack when he finds out. He will probably say, 'I didn't get the memo. Why didn't I get a memo?'"
Sam agreed. "Yep, and he will have fun annoying politicians if it comes to that. We may not like this path, but it should get us where we need to be. This nonsense where people just move from one outrageous lie to the next has to end. The real problem is people buy the crap, when a tiny amount of effort on their part and they could see through it." She paused for several seconds then said, "I'm sorry. I'm wasting time."
George said, "Trust us, we understand."
Daniel added, "We really do. The level of effort that is required for people to just twist everything into tribal conformance is insane. It is certainly not just the US. This is world wide. It is also well, lets just say it really makes me understand why so many advanced races don't just share technology."
"Indeed," Heimdall chipped in.
Troi said, "It is also why we developed the prime directive, though it always struck me as lazy. We don't do anything because it might lead to bad things. Why not just be really really careful and if you make a mess, clean it up? Of course, if a world is developing just fine without you, then I completely agree to just leave it alone as much as possible. Either way, if there is space, I'd like to go."
Sam said, "Agreed, and it is fine with me." The others nodded.
George Hammond said, "There is another matter. Shampoo, you know your people are still on Mars. From their perspective they haven't been there that long. You may want to talk to them. I believe Colonel Siler is already having some luck integrating them into his security forces, as another of his endless backup plans, but they could also go to another world."
Shampoo asked, confused, "Why would they leave if they are wanted there?"
Daniel said, "Maybe to keep their own culture or ?" He trailed off.
"Keeping their own culture almost got them killed. I'll not help with that, and I can't see any reason they should go back. We are very lucky you came when you did."
Daniel said, "So you approve them integrating on Mars?"
"Yes, a hard life should not stop an Amazon. It will make them stronger, and they need to be a part of the modern world, not run from it."
Nabiki asked, "So everyone ready to go? Except Heimdall and Rommie of course. I'm fully stocked."
They agreed and seconds later they were all aboard. Ling-ling and Shampoo were already waiting.
Shampoo asked, "Your turn I think?" Ling-ling smiled and nodded.
Shampoo encouraged Canal to come over to her seat near the front. She whispered to Canal, "Watch their faces and expressions as they merge."
"It comforts them," Canal said softly.
"It does. I'm not trying to get you to change your mind, merely to show you that this isn't so scary. Yes, there is the potential we die. That isn't really different, but it is our choice, just as it was their choice right?"
"It was. Always. I just…"
"No," Shampoo snapped. "In my tribe we celebrate and thank those who died for us and we work harder so that it doesn't happen so often in the future, but we do not keep blaming ourselves. Celebrate their memory. They believed in the cause. They believed in you. Your scars do not detract from your beauty. They enhance it. Have pride in those who have battled by your side and work hard every day to do your part in their memory."
"I know. It is just hard."
"I know it is hard. Believe me I know."
Ranko popped into the bridge and asked, "Where are we going?"
Ling-ling and Nabiki said, "Back to our world. Lya and others want to investigate and possibly dismantle Jusenkyo, but first to Mid Childa."
"Is there any chance I could get a cool device?"
Lindy heard their conversation and came over. "That really depends..."
"On what?" asked Ranko.
"Are you willing to stay there and help them develop one?"
Ranko was hesitant. She looked around at her parents.
The merged pair nodded at Shampoo who said, "You are certainly old enough. Where would she stay though?"
"Megumi is staying at my house and still babysitting Vivio for Nanoha and Fate. There is space there, provided she doesn't mind minding Megumi, Nanoha, and Fate."
Shampoo said, "I'm sure she won't, and I'm sure she will behave better for Megumi and the others than she does for us at times."
Ranko gulped and then nodded.
"Good," Shampoo said sweetly.
"I promise, I'll be on my best behavior."
The merged pair said, "Sounds good."
Ranko grinned and ran back off again.
Sam walked over and asked, "So is Shampoo the bad cop?"
Nabiki and Ling-ling said, "We can communicate to an extent without touching. We pick at random. Keeps her on her toes. Usually, If I'm merged with Ling-ling we are the good cop, but not always."
Canal asked, "Isn't that weird? You are two people together."
"Yes and no," the merged pair said. "When we are together we are together, but one can come more forward than the other. It just depends. It is only when a task takes all of our combined focus that this is impossible."
"Don't you worry about private thoughts and such?" Canal asked.
Shampoo said, "Some can be hidden. Some you get over."
Shampoo's grin turned into a smirk, "And some you settle in the bedroom later."
"Which," the merged pair added, "Can be quite entertaining."
"Perverts," Canal added, but blushed all the same.
-=oOo=-
Author's Note: More Kudos?
On another note, I ended up rewriting an entire arc at the end of what is down as a draft, so starting at chapter 45. I blame having free time over Thanksgiving break. I actually like the new work better, though it is a bit different.
