Lightning Strikes 27
Part 27
John was in the middle of a beautiful dream when he was abruptly awakened.
*“My son, there is trouble.”* He was instantly awake. Those words worked better than ice water.
*“What’s wrong, Lantis?”*
*“My long range sensors have detected a swarm of meteors. They are on trajectory to begin impacting this location in approximately eight hours.”*Along with the description, she sent him the image from the sensors.
He shook Teyla awake before jumping out of bed to head for the bathroom.
“John, what is wrong?”
“Lantis woke me. There’s a big meteor swarm headed this way.”
“Would not the shield protect us?” He could hear the frown in her voice.
*“It would, but by my calculations, the meteor storm will last for four days. Impacts on the surface will deposit large quantities of debris into the atmosphere. The debris plus the falling meteors will render takeoff extremely hazardous even with the shield. It will also pose a hazard to the other vessels.”*
John started stripping as he left the bathroom. He dressed quickly. “Lantis says the shield will protect us, but it would make moving the city dangerous. We need to go in the next few hours.”
John had just put his radio in his ear when it went off. “Sheppard.”
“Colonel, sorry to wake you, but the long-range...”
John interrupted. “I know about the meteors. I’m on my way.” Covering the mike, he turned to Teyla. “Are you going to take Torren to Aleeah or bring him with us?”
“I shall bring him with us. There is an extra playpen in the storage closet next to the conference room.”
John rubbed his neck with his other hand. “I forgot about that one. Okay, you get him while I finish getting ready.” Uncovering the mike, he returned his attention to Liang while he fastened his holster. “Liang, have McKay, Zelenka, O’Neill, Carter, Caldwell, Keller and Beckett been notified?”
The Chinese Gate tech replied after only a moment. “They have. Colonel Carter and General O’Neill are here with Mr. Woolsey. Colonel Caldwell is still aboard Daedalus and is connected via video link. Doctors Beckett, McKay and Zelenka are on their way. Doctor Keller is readying the infirmary.”
John nodded even though Liang couldn’t see him. “Good. Teyla and I will be there shortly. When you call the mess hall for refreshments, let them know Torren is with us.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks, Sheppard out.” He stepped into the hall. “Teyla?”
“Here, John.” She had her arms full with a sleepy Torren and a pack of his things. He took Torren, cradling the toddler on his shoulder as they headed out. Tapping his radio, he continued organizing their mobilization. “Sheppard to Lorne.”
After a moment a sleepy voice answered him. “Lorne here.”
“We have a situation. There is a meteor storm headed this way. Get the troops up and ready.”
“Yessir. Lorne out.”
Ronon joined them as they exited the transporter.
John glanced over at him as they entered the corridor. “I didn’t expect to see you.”
Ronon shrugged, falling into step with John and Teyla. “I was coming back from Amelia’s, saw Carter and O’Neill head for the Control Room so figuring something was going on I decided to meet you.”
“Yeah, something’s going on - we have a crapload of meteors headed this way. Lantis recommends we leave before it gets here, and from the image she showed me, I support that option.”
When they arrived at the Conference Room, Ronon grabbed the playpen from the storage closet. Teyla gently took Torren from John and placed the sleeping toddler in it.
“Ah, Colonel, right on time. We were just discussing options.” Woolsey pushed his glasses up as he greeted John.
John took his seat. Rodney slid a cup of coffee to him. With a nod, he picked up the steaming mug and took a few sips, grateful for the caffeine boost to overcome his sleep deficit.
“Lantis showed me the image from the sensors. Her recommendation is that we leave in the next few hours and I concur.”
Woolsey looked skeptical. “I thought the shields could handle this kind of impact.”
Rodney replied before John could. “They can. The problem is with the debris that would be kicked up by the impacts. That much material could also affect the planet’s magnetic field. We also run the risk of the city’s systems sustaining damage from the charged particles.”
“The Daedalus and the Hammond are also at risk,” Sam said.
John looked up at the view screen where Caldwell’s image shared space with the sensor return. “Colonel Caldwell, you’ll be under our shields and better protected if you land the Daedalus on the West Pier.”
Caldwell nodded. “Thank you, Colonel Sheppard.”
“As a precaution, Lorne and I have ordered everyone to move to the main tower. Right now there are teams sweeping the rooms and assisting everyone to the tower.” His brow furrowed in memory. “We don’t want a repeat of the first time.”
Around the table, heads bowed as they remembered the tragedies of that first, frantic flight to escape the Replicator’s satellite weapon.
Woolsey turned to the three doctors, and made the next inquiries.
“Dr. McKay, are the labs ready?”
“Yes, yes. The last experiments were shut down yesterday. All the equipment is secured.”
“Dr. Zelenka, how are the repairs?”
Radek pushed his glasses up. “Repairs to the Star Drive were completed two weeks ago. Repairs to superstructure are still ongoing, but outer hull repairs are complete.”
They were interrupted by the mess hall staff bringing in food. They had hot breakfast dishes, pastries, fruit and some wrapped foods for later. Everyone filled their plates. Once they were all reseated, the discussion resumed.
John relaxed a bit in his chair as he ate. It looked like this was going to go smoothly, but he lightly knocked on the underside of Woolsey’s big mahogany table for insurance.
Woolsey turned to Carson. “Dr. Beckett?”
Carson straightened in his chair. “The infirmary is ready, Director and Doctor Robinson has been notified an’ has assured me she’ll be ready.”
“Colonel, when can we be ready to lift-off?”
John turned to Woolsey, glancing at his watch. It was 0300. “Let’s set lift off for 0430. That gives us time to finish eating and get ready.
Woolsey stood, heading for the doors. “Excellent. I shall announce it to the city.”
Once everyone finished, people headed off to their respective position. Soon, just John, Teyla and Ronon were left with Torren still asleep in the corner.
Facing her betrothed, Teyla took a deep breath. “John, I would like to accompany you.”
John turned his chair. “Why? It’s gonna be boring just watching me sit in the Chair.”
She shook her head. “It does not matter how boring it may be. We are partners. It does not matter what you are doing, my place is beside you, supporting you in any way I am able.”
John leaned towards her, their foreheads touching. *“I worry about you and Torren and don’t want either of you hurt.”*
*“John, the Chair Room is the safest place in the city.”* Teyla pulled away slightly, reaching up to cup his face with both hands. “Torren and I shall be fine. We will be with you and that is all that matters.”
John sighed. “Okay, you win, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He reached up and scrubbed a hand through his hair as a small smile appeared. “I had a feeling you'd say that, so I put some things in my old quarters for us, including a bigger bed.”
Teyla just smiled at him.
Moving to the corner, John gently lifted Torren from its depths while Teyla grabbed the pack; Ronon collapsing the playpen as John waited. With everyone ready to go, they headed for the nearest transporter and the Chair Room.
Entering the transporter, John shifted Torren slightly on his shoulder. “Y’know, Rodney’s gonna go ballistic about this.”
Ronon snorted. “Let him.”
Teyla nodded. “I agree. I am not going to be separated from you or our son just to please him. He shall have to cope with it.”
Exiting the transporter, John slowed to let Ronon get a bit ahead then turned to Teyla, a glimmer of hope shining in his eyes. “Did you mean that when you called Torren our son?”
Teyla smiled. “I did. You are the person he sees as his father, so that makes him your son as much as mine.”
John stopped and Teyla stopped with him. Leaning down, he brought his lips to hers in a gentle kiss, his free hand slipping to cradle the back of her head. “Thank you.”
“John, I have something I wish to tell you.”
He turned, his head slightly tilted in curiosity.
Teyla slipped her left hand into her pocket, determined to proceed. “Do you remember, years ago, when you found my necklace and replaced it around my neck?”
John nodded. “I do, and I remember that electric tingle that flowed through my fingers when I touched your skin.”
“It is in remembrance of that that I obtained something from you. I know that, among the people of Earth, that the man gives the woman a token when they become engaged. Among the Athosians, however, both parties exchange tokens.” She withdrew her hand, a small pouch in her fingers. Tugging the strings open, she shook a leather cord out. Untangling the strings, she held the object up.
John looked at it, cupping the pendant in his hand. It was a stone ring, carved from a piece of blue-black stone. The surface of the stone was carved with intertwined vines.
“Teyla, I … it’s beautiful. How … ?”
She reached up and fastened it around his neck. “When I told them of our engagement and showed them my ring, Jinto brought this out and gave it to me. He and Halling agreed that it symbolized our union quite well.”
John looked down at her, love in his eyes. “I love it, thank you. And thank Jinto and Halling as well.”
Teyla smiled up at him. “I already thanked them, but I shall do so again.”
In the Chair Room, John noticed that someone had improved the Chair. It now sported a set of memory foam cushions. Someone had also brought a cooler and a box of sandwiches and snacks. Ronon had the playpen ready so John lowered the still sleeping toddler into it and covered him with a blanket. Teyla dropped Torren’s bag and went to retrieve a folding cot that Rodney kept stored nearby.
Without turning from the screens before him, Rodney yelled, “It’s about time you got here! Did you stop to call your fan club? We leave in an hour and you know I can’t do the pre-flight checks.”
John shook his head as he settled in the chair. The cushions were a nice touch. “No, I finished my breakfast.” He shifted minutely. “Besides, the checklist only takes thirty minutes when you let me do it properly.”
“I can’t help it if I keep finding things that I think should be checked!”
John smiled serenely at Rodney. “You’re like that lieutenant from McHale’s Navy - y’ know, the one that’s easily distracted by shiny things? All I have to do is show you a new Ancient toy and you’re lost for hours.”
Closing his eyes, John activated the Chair. As the Chair shifted, the cushions moved with him. A feeling of peace and serenity flowed over him as he connected with Atlantis.
*“Welcome, my son. Are you ready?”*
*“Ready. Let’s get this party started.”*
With Atlantis’ assistance, John completed the long pre-flight checklist while Rodney monitored with markedly few complaints. Then, he sent a sub-sonic wave through the city to break the ice off. While beautiful, it was mighty heavy. The technicians in the Control Room had kept ice from forming along the water line, but there had been some build-up on the structures above surface. After the ice was gone, he raised the shields and initiated the inertial dampeners while the Star Drive warmed up.
John mentally prepared himself for the journey ahead. Being immersed in Atlantis’s system was like nothing else. Everything in the city lay at his fingertips, literally only a thought away. Allowing his focus to drift, he could see every inch of the city through the internal sensors and feel where each of her inhabitants was at that moment. A discordant note brushing his mind pulled his focus to his office in time to see Lorne, with Corporals Rodriguez and Brenner escort a scientist towards the brig. Brenner was carrying a duffel bag that was the source of the discord.
John shunted the feed to one of Rodney’s computers. He felt Rodney’s ire flare up, bright and hot, when he realized what he was seeing. He knew Rodney would take care of it, but he did set the security system to record the ensuing conversation so he could enjoy it later.
Further expanding his focus, John felt the potency of the ZPMs in their housing, the strength of the shield and the weight of the two battlecruisers currently adorning the East and West Piers. As he checked the ships, one of the city’s previously unused systems came online. The new system controlled a localized docking field, similar to the city shield, used to ensure that ships did not shift during bad weather or flight.
Satisfied that everything was secure, John further opened his mind to Atlantis. The area around him faded into the background as his awareness swept outwards. In his mind’s eye he could see the magnetic fields of the ice planet as they fluctuated in resonance with the approaching meteor storm. Watching the flux of the fields, he carefully pushed the throttle forward on the city’s engines. He felt the pings as the last of the ice fell away from the city’s hull. Using every trick he had picked up during a lifetime of skiing, surfing and flying, John used the gravity waves to help lift the Ancient city.
John released a deep breath as Atlantis cleared the outer reaches of the atmosphere. He distantly heard Rodney congratulate him on a smooth take-off. John focused on moving away from Hoth. The name had officially stuck and everyone agreed that it was definitely appropriate. Once away from the ice planet’s gravity well, he moved the majestic city through the system until they were far enough away to open the hyperspace window. Reaching out, he engaged the hyperdrive and Atlantis shot inside the tunnel, on course for her new home.