Stargate Command…
"Captain Kazanski! Welcome to the SGC!"
"It's a pleasure to be here, General," Tom said after he saluted George Hammond, and then he took the flag officer's hand in his own. The new captain of Arizona was in his service dress blues, while Jack had got on his own service dress for the occasion. "From what Colonel O'Neill tells me, you run a pretty tight ship here."
"The colonel is kind, although I personally think he's bucking for a well-deserved promotion for his first star," George said as he waved the two junior officers to sit down. "I assume the CNO has briefed you on everything we do here."
Tom nodded. "Yes, sir, he did. You people've been pretty busy these last few years. Hope we can take some of the heat off you people."
"Actually, I think with Arizona and Wing 72 now added to our capabilities, the level of work will increase and get spread around," George stated. "We just got the full briefing of Arizona's air wing capabilities. It appears Mister Ki is a big fan of aircraft carriers and how they're used." He pulled out one of the iPad-like devices that were used by the members of the Earth Defence Force, and then handed it over. "That contains all the information you need on Arizona, Captain."
Tom took it, and then tapped the screen. Instantly the ship's crest of USS Arizona then appeared. "'The Stars Provide,'" he read the ship's motto, which was based on the motto of the State of Arizona, Ditat Deus or "God Provides." "Fitting." He tapped the CONTINUE function to bring up a general schematic of the ship. "Damn!" he breathed out as he focused on the scale. "Over a thousand metres long…?"
"Standard crew for such a vessel is estimated at 1400, excluding the air wing. With the air wing, you're looking at about 3000," George said. "However, Mister Ki and Miss Hakaru realised that personnel problems would be rather large at the beginning, so the ships are practically fully automated."
"They can be run with a chimpanzee and two trainees," Jack said with a smirk.
"Well, I hope it doesn't come to that," Tom said. "What about the bioroids?"
"At this time, they're considered refugees from an alien religious dictatorship," George stated. "Those currently aboard Arizona are seen as potential citizens of the United States of America." A sigh. "While they do possess a strong loyalty to Miss Moroboshi given that she helped give them life and purpose after they were rescued from their old 'owner' and allowed to finally awaken a week or so ago, they all understand that their first duty is to the defence of their adopted homeworld." He sat back in his chair. "As of this time, the ladies currently aboard Arizona will be seen as civilian advisors to the crew. They're to be treated with respect and dignity; from what we've heard about how the Niphentaxians normally treat these people, that's just simple humanity on our part. If any of them desire to pursue a career in any of the uniformed services, such will be allowed once they swear the oath of citizenship."
"But that might not happen for a while yet," Jack added.
Tom gazed at him. "Why's that?"
A sigh. "Hiromi wants to do something to better build up their souls," Jack replied. "Now, granted, that sounds weird, but given where Hiromi comes from, it's pretty much par for the course, Tom. She hasn't said when it'll happen, but it will happen."
"What does that mean?"
Jack took a deep breath…
Later…
"Captain Kazanski?!"
Tom perked on hearing that voice, and then he turned before he smiled. "You must be Major Carter," he said as he accepted Sam Carter's salute with his own. "Jack's told me a lot about you. C'mon in and sit down." As the major did so, the captain took his own seat; he had been given an office of his own to use while he was on Earth.
"I hope they were all good things," Sam said with a smile. "I hope I'm not intruding on you, sir. I realise that being given command of Arizona is quite a daunting thing to face, but General Hammond wanted me to help brief you on what's been happening in SGC so that we can better fit Arizona and her air wing into what we hope will be an expanded mission for the Command as a whole."
A smirk. "I've been briefed on the general operational situation in SGC, Major. I'll ask for all the horror stories at another time." A chuckle. "I'm still trying to absorb in all the details concerning who's currently aboard that ship now."
"The Avalonians?"
A nod. "Yes. Not to mention who their leader currently is and how she came to be."
Sam smiled. "A word of advice, sir: Get used to it at the double-quick. That sort of thing is pretty much par for the course here at SGC."
"So I've heard." Tom then gave her a curious look. "Something you want to ask?"
Sam blinked, and then she sighed. "It's somewhat personal, sir."
"What is it?"
"Were you briefed on our mission to Altair four years ago, sir?"
Tom closed his eyes for a moment, and then he nodded. "That was where android doubles of you and your teammates were created by the last survivor of that race. They died sometime last year helping you deal with the Goa'uld named Cronus. What about it?"
A sigh. "Well, when I first met my 'sister,' so to speak…" Sam then blinked as her eyes watered. "It was a wonderful thing, sir. I can guess that my feelings for her rather run parallel to Ataru Moroboshi's feelings for his own sisters. Especially Tariko, who was, in fact, created from his own very soul instead of being a separate entity like Negako and Hiromi always were." She then nodded. "While I realised then that I had no right to dictate what was to happen to her after we met (so to speak), I was hurt deep down when we were separated. And when she died saving our lives…"
"I'm sorry that happened," he said. "I understand there's a section of SGC that is actually exploring the idea of building androids to be part of the field teams."
A nod. "I'm aware of that, sir. I've actually been asked to help give advice for that group." Sam then paused before she sighed. "When I found out about the Avalonians and how they could replicate people so easily with just a blood sample, well…it got me thinking. I asked Kyōko — that's Kyōko Ikusawa; she's the person currently in charge of the bioroids aboard Arizona — about the possibility of finding some way of reactivating my sister." A smile crossed her face. "She said it was possible to do that and transfer her soul into an Avalonian body!" A laugh then escaped her. "I was really taken aback by that, sir! I couldn't believe it."
"What about the doubles of your teammates?" he asked. "If this could be done for your 'sister,' what about Jack's brother or Professor Jackson's brother or Mister Teal'c's?"
"Well, unfortunately, the colonel's brother was buried on Juna, as was Teal'c's. As for Daniel's brother, his power cell was allowed to overload and kill several of the Jaffa we were fighting, along with several Goa'uld." A shrug. "They offered to help me bury my sister, but I held off for the time being so I could study her."
"As a way of trying to restore her to life?"
A sheepish nod. "Yes, sir."
Tom then nodded. "I guess I can understand that. You're an only child?"
"Actually, I have an older brother. But I always wanted to have a sister. And given how estranged I was from both my brother and my father after my mother died…"
A nod. "So will you do it?"
Sam smiled. "I'm seriously contemplating it, sir. As a matter of fact, when we first went aboard and I talked to her about this, Kyōko took a blood sample from me to begin the process whenever I felt ready to do it." A deep sigh. "It would not only be of personal emotional benefit to myself and considerable benefit to Stargate Command, but it would also better help us understand what makes the Avalonians the way they are. The metaphysical questions ALONE — What is a person's soul? What makes the soul what it is? How is it possible to shift a person's soul from one person to another? — would be quite revealing to a lot of groups, I believe." She sighed. "There are the dangers, of course, but I believe that despite these powers they have, the Avalonians also have a powerful set of ethics governing them."
He chuckled. "My God," he breathed out. As she gave the captain a curious look, he then smiled at her. "You know, before I actually came here to meet everyone and get briefed on everything here, I thought commanding something like Arizona would just be another shipborne assignment, like being the captain of a carrier or an air wing or a station." He shook his head. "Never thought it would lead me into entering a deep debate on the basic meaning of Life. Isn't that what chaplains are for?" A knock then echoed from the door. "Come!" Tom called out.
The door opened to reveal an Air Force security airman. "Sorry to disturb you, Captain, Major," he said with a salute, which Tom immediately returned. "But Miss Kyōko Ikusawa from Arizona is here to see Major Carter."
"Send her in," Tom ordered.
Kyōko walked inside, and then she bowed. "Captain Kazanski," she said with a polite smile before she gazed at Sam. "Major Carter. We are ready to proceed."
Silence.
"Um, proceed with what?!" Sam asked.
Kyōko did not look the least bit alarmed by the major's confusion. "The programming of your sister's replacement body, of course."
More silence.
"WHAT?!" Sam cried out.
"You've already prepared the body?!" Tom asked.
"Affirmative, Captain," Kyōko replied.
"I thought you said it would take forty-eight hours to prepare a body!" Sam protested. "And I didn't say anything about doing it right NOW…!"
"You DID provide the DNA sample, Major, so it was only logical to proceed."
Sam gaped. "But what about the time to do it?!"
"Fortunately, one of the engineers we just acquired is an expert in DNA templation," Kyōko reported. "She was able to hasten the process. Your sister's replacement body is fully prepared and ready to absorb her mei'na when you are ready to proceed."
Still more silence.
"Her mei'na?" Sam asked.
"Her soul."
Sam blinked, and then she sighed. "Be careful what you wish for…" she whispered to herself before she sensed Tom gazing intently at her. "Um, sorry about this, sir. I didn't expect that Kyôko and her friends would be so eager to do this."
"Quite alright, Major," Tom said. "Miss Ikusawa, where is the replacement…?"
"CARTER!"
Everyone jolted on hearing Jack's incensed voice, and then Sam turned back to Kyōko. "Um, where exactly IS my sister's new body?"
"In the Stargate Room," Kyōko helpfully answered.
Sam moaned just as Jack marched into the room. "There you are!" the commander of SG-1 said as he gave her an annoyed look. "Would you care to explain to me what's going on here, Major?!" the colonel demanded as he crossed his arms. "Rather shocked the hell out of ALL of us when Kyōko and Sayuri beam down from Arizona with a clone of YOURSELF!"
Sam looked sheepish. "It's a long story, sir."
Jack's face didn't change. "I'm listening."
The major sighed…
Sometime later…
"Is this really possible?!" George asked.
"Quite possible, General," Kyōko replied. Everyone was now in the medical station, where the unmoving body of Samantha Carter's android replica was currently being attached to several power conduits to stimulate her core mind enough to allow the bioroid body (currently on a nearby gurney, being watched over by one of Kyōko's fellow plank-owners from Arizona, Fujiki Sayuri) to begin the soul-transfer process. "An android's soul, just like an organic's, is physically based upon the interactions of electric pulses within the specific media of one's brain. Regardless of the actual physical nature of the medium, it has been proven — or so Cricket actually heard once a year ago while she was serving with the Navy — that an Avalonian bioroid could absorb the mind and soul of an android and function as that android did function before. Without the restraints of behavioural control programming, of course."
"I'm sure the people of Altair would have welcomed that sort of thing," Daniel Jackson noted as he gazed down at the sleeping bioroid. "Why the difference of physical looks?" he then asked. "She looks like the major did when she was in university."
Kyōko shook her head. "I cannot answer that, Professor. None the less, when the templation was complete, the monitoring unit did report that the unit's DNA is fully stable and she can now survive without need of any support mechanism."
"So why do it now?" Jack wondered. "Carter wanted to wait."
The blue-haired bioroid blinked. "Why wait? The facilities were present, the capability was available to be used and Major Carter desired strongly to see her sister restored to life. To procrastinate would be quite cruel to her."
Silence.
"I think I understand where Miss Ikusawa is coming from."
Eyes locked on Tom. "Care to explain it to me, Captain?" George asked.
"Sir, one of the things I have learned about Miss Ikusawa's and Miss Fujiki's race is this whole question about them being considered 'human,'" the captain of Arizona then said. "Their former 'masters,' of course, see them as machines. Miss Moroboshi and her allies are fighting to have them recognised as human beings."
"As sentient beings," Daniel amended.
Tom smirked. "If that's the way they should be seen as."
"Professor?" George asked as he turned to SG-1's resident archaeologist.
Daniel sighed. "Sir, look at Kyōko. Actually, why don't everybody take a look at her," he then said to the others in the room. "What do you see?"
Silence fell as people gazed on the lightly smiling Kyōko. "I perceive someone who is seeking her place in this universe," Teal'c then said.
"I see a person with enormous potential that's only recently been given the chance to start exploring that potential," Sam added.
"I see an innocent child that was rescued from slavery," Jack then stated. "A child that's been forced to grow up way before she should have to."
"I see someone that wants to help anyone that needs it," Tom mused.
"As do I," George said. "What's your point, Professor?"
Daniel smiled. "Kyōko, look at her." He waved to the unmoving android on the gurney. "What do you see in her?" he then asked.
Kyōko stared at her, and then she gazed on him. "I see Major Carter's sister, who suffered grievous wounds and now is in a mental stasis that could be seen as death. While I personally am not knowledgeable in the repairs of a non-organic artificial life form, I do currently sense through the emotions of Major Carter, Captain Bragg and Chief Master Sergeant Evans that they have tried many ways of restoring the major's sister to full life and function, but have not succeeded."
The two who had wheeled in Sam's replica, Captain John Bragg and Chief Master Sergeant Brittany Evans, both blushed on hearing Kyōko's words. "So do you wish to help us?" the chief master sergeant then asked as she stared intently at the bioroid.
"Of course," Kyōko said as she smiled at them. "Regardless of how she came into being, the major's sister is a sentient being that currently requires aide. If your approach to restoring her to life has been so far unsuccessful, Chief Master Sergeant, allowing you the opportunity to use our technology is the proper and logical action to take."
"And by cloning the major's DNA in one of your sisters, do you see that as a way of restoring the major's sister back to life and good health?" Daniel asked.
"Yes."
A nod. "Would you do that to any sentient, regardless of race, regardless if they were natural-born or artificial intelligence, in a similar situation?"
"If the facilities are there to support such an action, yes."
Silence fell as people took that in, and then George sighed. "Well, obviously, your intentions were honourable, Miss Ikusawa. But please, would you WARN us before you do this next time. We would prefer to not have a surprise like this dropped on us again."
"If it is under normal circumstances, General, we will comply," Kyōko promised him. "But I cannot guarantee such can happen in emergency situations."
Jack nodded. "Sounds reasonable," he said. "So how do we do this?"
"The major's sister must have her mind stimulated electronically so that the mei'na can be sensed by the bioroid's mind and drawn into her own body through tre'cha," Sayuri explained. "Captain, Chief Master Sergeant, we await your assistance."
"Let's finish hooking her up, Chief!" John ordered.
"Yes, sir!" Brittany said with a smile.
More electrical diodes were then produced and gently inserted into the exposed parts of the android's inner mechanisms. Once they were in place, the captain then reached over to the control panel of the portable generator they had brought with Sam's replica. "Okay, let's give her a little juice," he said as he tapped a control.
The generator came on line as muffled sparks echoed through the medical station. The android's closed eyes instantly fluttered as energy flooded the still-intact conduits inside her body, and then they slowly opened. Immediately, Sam came up to gaze deep into her replica's eyes as they focused on her. "Hey! How are you?" she asked.
The android seemed to think about it for a moment, and then her lips twitched into a smile. "You reactivated me…" she whispered. "Thank you…"
"But we can't keep you this way for long," Sam warned. "We found another way to help restore you. Would you be willing to try it?"
Silence fell as the android considered that, and then she nodded. "S-sure…"
"Now, Sayuri," Kyōko said.
The android blinked at the strange voice, and then she saw a hand come over her eyes from her right, and then it descended to block out her vision…
…as a sudden feeling of physically rushing down a gorge overcame her.
"What happened?!"
Everyone jolted on hearing that emanate from the bioroid that had been brought to Stargate Command by Kyōko and Sayuri, and then they turned as said bioroid blinked before sitting up, her hand coming towards her face as she felt her forehead. "What on Earth just…?!" she demanded before she looked left…
…and then froze as her eyes went wide on seeing what was on the gurney next to her. "…happened to me?" she then finished in a very meek voice.
"Your sister's love saw you properly restored to life."
The bioroid blinked, and then she turned right to gaze into Sayuri's face. After a minute of mutual staring, the bioroid replica of Sam Carter then felt her cheeks heat as her heart began to thunder in her ears. "Um, please don't think of this as being in any way…" A gulp. "Um, I'm not really saying this right! What I mean to say is…!" Another gulp as she moved to feel her forehead. "Oh, my God! I'm malfunctioning! Someone…!"
"Samantha, calm yourself," Kyōko said as she walked over to stand to the bioroid's left. "Sayuri is a most attractive woman and you are currently awakening to your current body's bisexual nature. There is no need to feel embarrassment."
Samantha looked at her, and then blinked before her cheeks reddened even further. "Easy for you to say!" she protested as she tried not to feel herself sink deep into Kyōko's pretty royal blue eyes, and then she tried to look anywhere BUT her sister Avalonians. "Um, what exactly just happened to me?!" she then asked.
"That, I'm afraid, Miss Carter, we will need to spend some time investigating," George then said as the others in the room grinned and Sam walked over to place a supportive hand on her sister's shoulder. "But I will say it's a pleasure to be able to thank you personally for your help in rescuing my people from Cronus."
"I did what was right, General." Samantha then sighed. "But sir, don't expect me to stick my hands through force-fields anytime in the near future."
"Wouldn't think of it," the general assured her.
As people then laughed in relief, we now…
(Posted Wed, 09 Jun 2010 03:37)
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