Day Six
Interior-Andi Samuel's Bedroom
0342 Hours
Tammy threw the dart up, watching it carefully. She grinned when it stuck in the high ceiling on the first try. Tugging gently on the line coming down from it, she satisfied herself that it was secure.
She let the thin line out, stopping when she saw that it was level with Andi's cheek, and tied it off. She picked up the shaving cream, and shook it, then slowly sprayed it into Andi's hand, cupping her other hand around it to reduce the noise. She stopped when she had her hand covered with foam from fingertips to wrist in a pile three inches deep.
She stood up, pulled the thread back, and released it so the feather tied to the end brushed Andi's face lightly, then she backed away until she was just outside the doorway.
She watched as Andi stirred in her sleep, turning her head, her face directly under the feather. She heard her grunt, and started moving toward the door. There was a muffled splat, followed by a sputterering sound, and Tammy held in her laughter as she darted out the door, and ran down the hall.
She burst out laughing as the elevator doors closed in front of her.
Interior-Bedroom
0401 Hours
"Where have you been?" Sam asked as Tammy slipped into bed beside her.
"I went and got a glass of water. Go back to sleep."
"Uh huh." Carter grinned to herself as she moved closer, throwing one leg over Tammy's. She knew she'd hear about it from someone in the morning.
Interior-Conference Room, Central Tower
1120 Hours
Jennifer Keller sat at the end of the table in the conference room off the Ops Center. Col. Sheppard and Dr. McKay sat on either side, just down from her, while Gen. Landry, Gen. O'Niell, and Richard Woolsey of the IOA, appeared on video conference, each on their own monitor at the foot of the table.
"I know you've all been curious about Col. Carter's absence over the past week." She said slowly. "And she's asked me to thank you for your concern. She's also asked me to explain why she's been absent."
She paused, looking at each of the men around the table. "Five days ago, Col. Carter was exposed to an herb commonly consumed by Athosian women. The exposure was voluntary, and was taken under the advice and supervision of a consulting psychiatrist, Dr. Andi Samuels." She hesitated, then continued. "The herb has been confirmed to have aphrodisiac properties, which appear to have an effect that is considerably stronger on Terran females, than on the local Athosian females."
"I'm sorry, Dr. Keller. But could you get to the point? And where is Col. Carter?" Gen Landry said, sounding irritated.
"No," Keller said, looking at his monitor. "This is difficult enough as it is, and I've been asked to give a full explanation of events." She paused again. "Col. Carter is in Atlantis, but has been moved into new quarters that we prefer remain private at this time." She glanced over at Sheppard, and he gave her the barest of nods.
"That doesn't sound promising." Woolsey muttered.
"What's wrong with her?" O'Neill asked quietly, his face ashen.
"The herb had an unexpected side effect, which has resulted in ongoing personality changes, physical modifications, enhancements would be a more accurate description, and most startling, a reduction in her metabolism. We're not sure if this is a reaction to the herb itself, or if its reacting to something that she was previously exposed to in her service with the SGC."
"Yes, yes...But what does all that mean, Doctor? What's the bottom line here?" Landry asked, the irritation obvious in his voice now.
Keller glanced at the monitors at the foot of the table. Landry was staring at her red faced with anger, Woolsey stared back at her blandly, waiting for the hammer to fall, and O'Neill had his face in his hands, shaking his head slowly.
"From the personality perspective, she has become sexual addict, where she had little, or no interest before. She is currently engaging in active sex, mainly masturbation, approximately thirty times a day, and the rate appears to be increasing. She has also had three cardiac events as a direct result of sexual stimulation." She said bluntly, then waited as they absorbed this. "She is also exhibiting strong exhibitionist tendencies, which is why she has withdrawn from contact with base personnel."
"Excuse me. Doctor. Would you define a 'cardiac event' please." Woolsey asked. He didn't do it, but Jennifer could hear the finger quotes in his voice.
"It means just what it sounds like, Mr. Woolsey. Her heart stopped, and she had to be revived with artificial measures."
"Jezzus!" Landry gasped. "How much of this stuff did she take, and how long has she been on it?"
"The exposure was approximately one tenth of a milligram. Call it ten micrograms. That's about one fifth of a standard grain of salt, to give you some perspective. She has consumed the herb on only one occasion. As I said before, this was done under the advice and supervision of a physician."
"And the rest of it?" Woolsey asked quietly.
"Physical modifications, or enhancements include, but are not limited to, increased vitality, strength, range of motion and kinesthetic awareness, or knowledge of her body's position in space. In regards to her senses, she is currently able to hear a whisper at over one hundred feet, as well as accurately identify smells at the same distance. Her vision does not appear to be affected, she is still 20/10 in both eyes. Her sense of touch also appears to be unaffected. With the exception of her response to sexual stimulus."
She paused again before moving on to the next item on her list. No one said anything, so she continued.
"She is also showing signs of...not a reduction in age, but a reduction in aging. Which brings me to the next point." She paused again, taking several deep breaths before continuing.
"We've been monitoring her cellular decay over the last few days, and we'll have to continue monitoring her before we can give you a definitive answer on this. But as of this morning, she appears to be aging at roughly one half of one percent of the rate you would expect of a normal human female."
"Wow." Sheppard said softly.
Jennifer smiled, and looked over at him. "That's what I said when I saw the results."
"This isn't funny Doctor." Landry said. "Have you begun try..."
"I'm not finished yet, General." She said, cutting him off. "In consultation with the CDC, Currie Labs in Paris, the Beijing Medical Standards Institute, and more than a dozen of the top independent diagnostic practioners on Earth as a blind study of a fictional test subject, we've determined that her condition is contagious. Col. Carter will not be able to return to Earth. If she does, she'll have to be kept under permanent quarantine for the rest of her life. Which may be a very, very long time."
She continued before any of them could say anything. "Dr. Samuels has already been tested, and at the moment, appears to be unaffected, as have the other members of the expedition staff who have been caring for her. But we plan on continuing to test them all into the foreseeable future. I am currently awaiting results of my own tests as we speak."
"How is the contagion transmitted?" McKay asked, looking at her with a stone faced glare.
"Through bodily fluids." She said, looking right at him. "Specifically, vaginal secretions."
McKay gasped, and Sheppard grinned, turning his face away from the cameras until he got himself under control.
"So much for don't ask, don't tell," Landry said lightly. "I guess all those rumors were true after all."
"Actually, no General, they weren't. Col. Carter had her first lesbian experience the day she ingested the Athosian herb." She looked at the monitors again. "And I think that's a heartless thing to say about someone under your command. Someone I'm sad I have to remind you, has pulled your, my, and Earth's ass out of the fire more times than any of us care to remember. You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"You're right, Doctor," Landry said. "I'm sorry. And please pass my apologies along to Col. Carter."
"You...when di..." McKay sputtered.
"Shut up, Rodney," Jennifer said curtly, giving him a withering glare. "It's none of your damned business!"
McKay shrank down in his chair, looking down at the table.
Keller glanced at the monitors again, and saw O'Neill walking toward the door of his office. "Please stay general, there's more." She waited for O'Neill to sit back down, then pressed a button on her laptop, and took several sheets of paper from the folder in front of her, sliding sets over to Sheppard and McKay.
"I'm transmitting Col. Carter's resignation as commander of the Atlantis expedition, and her resignation of her Air Force Commission. She would like both to go into effect immediately."
She gave everyone a few moments to look over the documents, then continued. "Colonel, no...Sam has asked that she be allowed to remain in Atlantis. She feels that she can still make a contribution to the mission, and thinks that her knowledge and experience would warrant a position as head of a separate, independent department for a variety of different research and exploitation efforts."
