Chapter 148

White House

Returning to Earth shortly after his brief mission to Shambhala, Lt. Colonel Paul Davis had been whisked via jumper to Washington DC. Hectic schedules were the rule rather than the exception for members of the SGC. Since disclosure of the program to the people of Earth the officer had found the President leaning more than ever on his expertise in matters both intergalactic and terrestrial.

Weekly and sometimes twice weekly visits to the inner sanctum of American government had made Davis a frequent presence in the White House. Knowing the officer was vetted to the highest extremes, security protocols were somewhat relaxed concerning this guest the President had grown to depend upon. Whisking Davis through the security checkpoints expeditiously the Air Force officer soon found himself in the Oval Office. In attendance within the office with the President was Under Secretary of State Simon Barnes. Seeing Davis arrive the two men greeted the late arrival heartily.

"Building those frequent flier miles nicely Paul? I'm hoping Colonel Maybourne agreed to our offer" began President Hayes.

"You could say that he jumped at the offer. He may complain later about Lt. O'Neill remaining with him as his aide, but that is to be expected" answered Davis.

"Checks and balances Paul. Maybourne will come to grips with it eventually. We did give him his life back after all" quipped Hayes.

"We have a few matters unfolding on Earth that we need to brief you in on. As they effect off world activities we're briefing you in. You are authorized to disseminate this information to Star Gate Command" stated Under Secretary Barnes.

"Title twenty two, chapter thirty four of the United States Code covers the Peace Corp. Tapping into contingency funds, the House committee for Foreign Relations has authorized an eightfold increase in manpower and funding consummate with this level of manning. Something similar is being done with the International Red Cross through the American Red Cross. Moving funds into a long inactive route called the Liberty Fund began during the Second World War; we are moving a considerable amount of funds into their coffers. These two agencies are going to be the means by which we bring hope to the humans of this galaxy" stated President Hayes.

"To alleviate security concerns over returning Peace Corp and Red Cross members, the State Department after consultations with allied governments around the world has come up with a solution we can all agree on. Two weeks from today we will begin issuing a biometric secured world passport. This will only allow for entrance to Earth at first, not international travel but we're working on that" added Under Secretary Barnes.

"We will also be providing these same travel doc.u.ments to any citizens of Earth who decide to relocate to other planets" stated Hayes.

"Mr. President, obviously the Department of Defense will have their concerns about the security of any such travel doc.u.ments in an off world environment" countered Davis.

"That's understandable Colonel. I've discussed the matter with the Secretary of Defense at length, and a working group is being put together between State and Defense to work over any concerns" admitted the Under Secretary.

"Let's move on to more terrestrial matters here on Earth" suggested President Hayes.

"In the shadow of disclosure certain unexpected events have taken place. As you're well aware, the governments of Iran and China have fallen in general uprising of the population. While we expected complications from the Ark's programming, this was not one we expected within such a short time" began Barnes.

"Not that we're exactly complaining about the changes" interjected Hayes.

"The fall of the Islamic Council in Iran and its subsequent replacement with an ad hoc democracy means a change in the overall political dynamic and structure of the Gulf States. Historically, Iran has been a very insular society when it comes to differing sects of Islam. My Middle East desk and the Middle East desk over at CIA never saw this coming either. It seems that the ad hoc government knew they were in over their head. In a rather smart move, they sent an emissary to the Saudi government. The Saudi's quickly sent out feelers to the other Gulf States. Instead of fracturing, the combined Gulf States have moved to form a regional government. Yesterday morning the Saudi ambassador requested official recognition of the new Islamic Gulf States by our government, and that we back their petition to the United Nations for official recognition. They have also put out quiet feelers for admission into NATO. In the mean time they have requested a NATO peacekeeping force to be garrisoned within their borders" stated Under Secretary Barnes.

His eyes going wide in surprise, Davis whistled quietly and leaned back in his seat. Looking up at the ceiling, Colonel Davis tried to make sense of the unexpected change of events.

"Blows your mind, doesn't it" asked President Hayes.

"It is unexpected Mr. President" admitted Davis.

"This isn't the only surprise in world politics. The fall of the government of the People's Republic of China came as a matter of greater concern than the fall of Iran. As a government with access to technology procured and developed in the gate program, and as a nation with interstellar warsh.i.p.s in their ownership, the thought of that technology falling into the wrong hands or being used for nefarious purposes was the great worry. China's new government, being composed of university students mainly, simply wanted freedom but had no wish to actually govern" stated Barnes.

"You think the last one blew your mind, it gets better" hinted Hayes.

"Forty eight hours ago, one of the student organizers of the march on Beijing who is apparently an exchange student from Taiwan and is the son of a member of the Taiwanese government flew home. The purpose of his return to Taipei was to deliver a message to his father, and the receipt of that message led to a delegation being dispatched to Beijing within hours. As we all know, mainland China and Taiwan have a long history, but close cultural ties. For years we've worried about China moving to reclaim what they call their "wayward province", and our military efforts have been to defends Taiwan from such an eventuality. This is where the surprise comes in. China has requested that they be allowed to unite with Taiwan under the latter's democratic government" Barnes informed the others.

"I can't say that I ever saw that one coming" replied a shocked Lt. Colonel Davis.

"For some time now we've had a card in the deck that we held back from putting on the table. In the event that hostilities between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan looked inevitable we were prepared to push through admission of Taiwan into NATO to give the Chinese government pause. It was thought that admission into NATO would bring any tensions to a halt quickly in light of NATO coming to bear against China. Not in our wildest dreams did we ever think Taiwan and China would unify. This changes everything! Population numbers and the strength of the two economies justify solidifying the relationship between our allies and this new state, and the addition of Taiwan to the off world program means we know what needs to happen. If we are going to back the Islamic Gulf States application to NATO, it makes sense to offer the same standing to the new Taiwan" stated President Hayes clearly.

"That does make sense in several ways. The Taiwanese 304 is conducting a turnover cruise at the moment in the solar system. It makes sense Mr. President" admitted a slightly taken aback Davis.

"Good to hear you agree. Our Ambassadors in Taiwan and Saudi Arabia are conveying the message as we speak. Our envoy to NATO is delivering the news now with the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe now also. Admission of Russia is also being discussed. This could be the largest expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since its inception. This is the kind of legacy I was hoping to leave from this administrations time in office" stated President Hayes proudly.

"How are matters within the universe Colonel" asked Under Secretary Barnes.

"We'll start with the Pegasus galaxy. Operating in conjunction with the Asgard and Ori, three of our vessels launched a special operation against the Wraith stronghold on Talus. The Ori mothership acting in a gatekeeper capacity engaged two Hive sh.i.p.s and destroyed them both. While this battle unfolded an Asgard vessel entered the planets atmosphere and emplaced a time dilation device. The device was activated with no problems, trapping roughly ten thousand Wraith personnel within the dilation field" stated Davis.

"Any casualties" asked Hayes.

"No Mr. President. All personnel and equipment returned to Atlantis unharmed" replied Davis.

"Then my mission to the Alterran home galaxy is paying off nicely" Under Secretary Barnes mused.

"What's happening in our own galaxy" asked President Hayes.

"Tier one special operations units of our military operating with elements of the British Special Air Service will be conducting a deep strike mission against the Jaffa garrison on Dar Eshkalon. Their mission brief is sweep and clear. Anything of intelligence value will be brought back for examination at Area fifty one. That information will be further passed along to the friendly forces of the Free Jaffa" said Davis.

"How sure are we that they can be trusted" asked Barnes.

"Well Under Secretary, the progressive faction of the Jaffa are ones that we've had many dealings with during the war against the System Lords. They are in a hard position, and the agreement reached by General Landry further stiffens their resolve to see this through. It is the opinion of myself and intelligence officials that they can be trusted if their freedom is at stake, but other than that they are questionable at best" replied Davis.

"So then its business as usual with them is what you're saying Paul" asked Hayes.

"Correct Mr. President" Davis answered.

"Let's move on to this request the SGC forwarded to me last week about the obelisk planet" instructed Hayes.

"Yes Mr. President. The SGC feels very strongly that the obelisk planet created by the Furling that Destiny encountered along its path makes for a perfect foothold in that sector of space. Being that Destiny will be redeploying to that corner of the universe to continue its previous mission, we are hoping to establish a presence there in the form of a permanent base. Once established, this base would have the ability to provide support to the Destiny expedition, and act as an anchorage point for support vessels should they be needed. Multiple advanced races have been encountered in the galaxies surrounding this planet and the opportunity is there for exploration and potential exploitation of whatever is recovered. This facility and its supporting elements would be an asset to Destiny" stated Davis.

"How much is this going to cost the taxpayer" asked the President.

"Our matter creation technology makes construction cost free. The Furling have agreed to provide anything else we may need. All that is required is personnel, and authorization to maintain several vessels in this operating location and we're in business Mr. President" relied Davis.

"Ok, you've got me sold. Politicians never turn down something for free" replied Hayes with a smile.