Unscheduled Excursion by slybrarian
Title: Unscheduled Excursion (Flight or Flight Challenge)
Author: slybrarian
Rating: PG
Words: 1289
Spoilers: None
Notes: Beta by archae_ology. Cross over with Battlestar Galactica, because apparently I can't get enough crossovers. *shrug*
Four weeks after John's career ended, so did the world.
"Latest on the wireless, sir," Chuck said, handing John a printout. He scanned it quickly then crumpled it in a ball and tossed it aside. The news was even worse than he'd expected. Thirty more battlestars, every major fleet anchorage and yard, and dozens of cities on every colony, all wiped out. Not a word from Commander Sumner or Admiral O'Neill, either, and given they'd been scheduled to be at Fleet Headquarters for a few more days, chances were he was on his own.
John looked at the other three gathered around the command table. Lorne was the ship's second officer, while Weir and McKay were the lead civilians from the mystery project down in the troop decks. He'd been aboard for a week and still didn't have a clue why they were there or even who they were, only that the one named McKay was loud, annoying, and a miracle-working genius. "Okay, what are our options?"
"Captain Novak says she'll have the FTL back online within twenty minutes," Lorne said. He pointed at one of the charts spread on the table. "It looks like there's a major fleet engagement shaping up here, near Virgon, but..." He trailed off with a helpless shrug, and McKay was quick to take over.
"Are you insane? I barely managed to restart to computers the first time. If we go charging into battle before I can figure out how they did their little trick, we'll be dead in minutes."
"How long will it take to fix it?" John asked.
"Well, I've got a few ideas already, so call it an hour, maybe two to actually implement them."
John grimaced. At the rate things were going, the Fleet would need every ship it had if there was going to be any chance of repulsing the attack, and even one hour out of action could be critical. Still, there was no way he could take the ship into battle if the Cylons could just turn it off again. McKay had kept key systems running the first time, but a nuke had still gotten through the defense grid and hit the ship. John had no desire to repeat the experience.
"Okay, then. We go to ground while you do that, try to effect repairs at the same time." John considered the charts, then said, "We could find one of the smaller anchorages."
"Ragnar, maybe," Lorne suggested. "Good place to hide."
"Be a pain in the ass trying to dock with the damage, though," John replied. "Athos might be a better choice, although I'm reluctant to dock at a civilian station right now."
"There's another option." For the first time, Doctor Weir spoke up. John looked at her with a silent question, and she explained, "We leave the colonies entirely. We have the supplies and equipment to last a long time on our own."
"All that junk out the port flight pod." John nodded slowly, thinking about it. A lot of the ship's normal fighter complement had been removed, their hangars taken up by extra manufacturing tools, scientific instruments, even mining equipment. It was certainly enough to keep the ship running nearly indefinitely. "Where would we go, though?"
"That's why we're here, actually." We, John guessed, being the hundreds of civilians that filled the lower decks. "Commander Sumner was supposed to brief you when he returned, but..." She took a deep breath. "We were planning a long-distance expedition, far outside explored space, searching out a planet we believe is connected to the exodus from Kobol."
It was all John could do to stop from laughing. "Please tell me we weren't going to run off searching for Earth."
"Don't be stupid, Colonel," McKay said with a snort. "Earth is a myth, whatever Daniel Jackson tries to tell you. Where we're going is real."
Weir shot McKay an annoyed look, and said, "The city of Atlantis."
John's heart stopped for a moment, then he repeated back, "Atlantis. City of the gods. Sounds like another legend to me."
"It's not," McKay snapped.
"Six months ago, an archaeological team lead by Dr. Jackson found a small installation buried in the glaciers of Caprica's southern icecap. It predates the arrival of man by several thousand years," Weir explained.
"You would not believe the kind of technology we found there," McKay said, a smile growing on his face despite the circumstances. "We think it was the control center for some sort of terraforming system, but we'd barely even started to scratch the surface of what's there. One thing we did find were a set of coordinates and references to the city as the ancestral home of the Lords of Kobol."
"The president agreed to send an expedition. A single ship, in absolute secrecy." Weir's mouth quirked upwards. "No need to alarm the Gemonese, after all. Our official cover was a long-term scouting mission to the edge of Cylon space, with the best and brightest the Colonies had to offer on hand to analyze what we saw."
"It still sounds like a wild goose chase to me." John rubbed his head and sighed internally. If the Colonies had been infiltrated somehow, and he'd wager his life they had been, it was possible the Cylons already knew what they were planning. It would make sense to head any direction except the one Weir proposed, and yet...Atlantis.. Not that he was thrilled with the idea of leaving in the first place. "We'd be abandoning our duty to defend the Colonies. We have an obligation to stay here."
"Colonel Sheppard, at this point, there are no Colonies to defend," McKay pointed out, "and this ship can't take on entire Cylon fleets anyways."
"I hate to say it, sir, but he's right," Lorne said after a long silence. "A single light battlestar isn't going to make a difference at this point."
"So that's what you all think we should do, then? Leave everyone behind to die?"
"They're already dead, Colonel, and if we stay we'll be dead, too," Weir said, and for a brief moment John saw grief break through her controlled mask. "Our duty at this point has to be to the men and women on this ship. And if we do find Atlantis, then maybe, just maybe we could find some way to come back and help."
Atlantis can help.
John closed his eyes as he weighed their options. As much as he despised the thought of running, he knew rationally that it was their best hope. He wasn't ready for making these decisions, damn it. The disaster on Pegasus had shown that clear enough. Trying to think of what people he respected would suggest wasn't much help, either. His father would berate him for even considering abandoning people he was sworn to protect. Admiral Cain would do her best to hurt the Cylons as bad as possible before they could take her out. His mother...
"There's going to come a time when you'll face hard decisions and can't see the path you should take," she'd told him when he'd graduated. "Listen to your heart and do what it says is right. You're a good man, John. Trust yourself, and the gods will show you the way."
His mind was torn between the cold calculations of what was possible and the desire to seek vengeance. His heart was telling him to save those he could and head for home Atlantis and a chance at finding sanctuary.
"Chuck, order Captain Emmagen land her squadron. Major Lorne, secure the ship for jump," John finally said, opening his eyes and looking at Weir. "Doctor, we'll need those coordinates you mentioned. We're leaving."
Author: slybrarian
Rating: PG
Words: 1289
Spoilers: None
Notes: Beta by archae_ology. Cross over with Battlestar Galactica, because apparently I can't get enough crossovers. *shrug*
Four weeks after John's career ended, so did the world.
"Latest on the wireless, sir," Chuck said, handing John a printout. He scanned it quickly then crumpled it in a ball and tossed it aside. The news was even worse than he'd expected. Thirty more battlestars, every major fleet anchorage and yard, and dozens of cities on every colony, all wiped out. Not a word from Commander Sumner or Admiral O'Neill, either, and given they'd been scheduled to be at Fleet Headquarters for a few more days, chances were he was on his own.
John looked at the other three gathered around the command table. Lorne was the ship's second officer, while Weir and McKay were the lead civilians from the mystery project down in the troop decks. He'd been aboard for a week and still didn't have a clue why they were there or even who they were, only that the one named McKay was loud, annoying, and a miracle-working genius. "Okay, what are our options?"
"Captain Novak says she'll have the FTL back online within twenty minutes," Lorne said. He pointed at one of the charts spread on the table. "It looks like there's a major fleet engagement shaping up here, near Virgon, but..." He trailed off with a helpless shrug, and McKay was quick to take over.
"Are you insane? I barely managed to restart to computers the first time. If we go charging into battle before I can figure out how they did their little trick, we'll be dead in minutes."
"How long will it take to fix it?" John asked.
"Well, I've got a few ideas already, so call it an hour, maybe two to actually implement them."
John grimaced. At the rate things were going, the Fleet would need every ship it had if there was going to be any chance of repulsing the attack, and even one hour out of action could be critical. Still, there was no way he could take the ship into battle if the Cylons could just turn it off again. McKay had kept key systems running the first time, but a nuke had still gotten through the defense grid and hit the ship. John had no desire to repeat the experience.
"Okay, then. We go to ground while you do that, try to effect repairs at the same time." John considered the charts, then said, "We could find one of the smaller anchorages."
"Ragnar, maybe," Lorne suggested. "Good place to hide."
"Be a pain in the ass trying to dock with the damage, though," John replied. "Athos might be a better choice, although I'm reluctant to dock at a civilian station right now."
"There's another option." For the first time, Doctor Weir spoke up. John looked at her with a silent question, and she explained, "We leave the colonies entirely. We have the supplies and equipment to last a long time on our own."
"All that junk out the port flight pod." John nodded slowly, thinking about it. A lot of the ship's normal fighter complement had been removed, their hangars taken up by extra manufacturing tools, scientific instruments, even mining equipment. It was certainly enough to keep the ship running nearly indefinitely. "Where would we go, though?"
"That's why we're here, actually." We, John guessed, being the hundreds of civilians that filled the lower decks. "Commander Sumner was supposed to brief you when he returned, but..." She took a deep breath. "We were planning a long-distance expedition, far outside explored space, searching out a planet we believe is connected to the exodus from Kobol."
It was all John could do to stop from laughing. "Please tell me we weren't going to run off searching for Earth."
"Don't be stupid, Colonel," McKay said with a snort. "Earth is a myth, whatever Daniel Jackson tries to tell you. Where we're going is real."
Weir shot McKay an annoyed look, and said, "The city of Atlantis."
John's heart stopped for a moment, then he repeated back, "Atlantis. City of the gods. Sounds like another legend to me."
"It's not," McKay snapped.
"Six months ago, an archaeological team lead by Dr. Jackson found a small installation buried in the glaciers of Caprica's southern icecap. It predates the arrival of man by several thousand years," Weir explained.
"You would not believe the kind of technology we found there," McKay said, a smile growing on his face despite the circumstances. "We think it was the control center for some sort of terraforming system, but we'd barely even started to scratch the surface of what's there. One thing we did find were a set of coordinates and references to the city as the ancestral home of the Lords of Kobol."
"The president agreed to send an expedition. A single ship, in absolute secrecy." Weir's mouth quirked upwards. "No need to alarm the Gemonese, after all. Our official cover was a long-term scouting mission to the edge of Cylon space, with the best and brightest the Colonies had to offer on hand to analyze what we saw."
"It still sounds like a wild goose chase to me." John rubbed his head and sighed internally. If the Colonies had been infiltrated somehow, and he'd wager his life they had been, it was possible the Cylons already knew what they were planning. It would make sense to head any direction except the one Weir proposed, and yet...Atlantis.. Not that he was thrilled with the idea of leaving in the first place. "We'd be abandoning our duty to defend the Colonies. We have an obligation to stay here."
"Colonel Sheppard, at this point, there are no Colonies to defend," McKay pointed out, "and this ship can't take on entire Cylon fleets anyways."
"I hate to say it, sir, but he's right," Lorne said after a long silence. "A single light battlestar isn't going to make a difference at this point."
"So that's what you all think we should do, then? Leave everyone behind to die?"
"They're already dead, Colonel, and if we stay we'll be dead, too," Weir said, and for a brief moment John saw grief break through her controlled mask. "Our duty at this point has to be to the men and women on this ship. And if we do find Atlantis, then maybe, just maybe we could find some way to come back and help."
Atlantis can help.
John closed his eyes as he weighed their options. As much as he despised the thought of running, he knew rationally that it was their best hope. He wasn't ready for making these decisions, damn it. The disaster on Pegasus had shown that clear enough. Trying to think of what people he respected would suggest wasn't much help, either. His father would berate him for even considering abandoning people he was sworn to protect. Admiral Cain would do her best to hurt the Cylons as bad as possible before they could take her out. His mother...
"There's going to come a time when you'll face hard decisions and can't see the path you should take," she'd told him when he'd graduated. "Listen to your heart and do what it says is right. You're a good man, John. Trust yourself, and the gods will show you the way."
His mind was torn between the cold calculations of what was possible and the desire to seek vengeance. His heart was telling him to save those he could and head for home Atlantis and a chance at finding sanctuary.
"Chuck, order Captain Emmagen land her squadron. Major Lorne, secure the ship for jump," John finally said, opening his eyes and looking at Weir. "Doctor, we'll need those coordinates you mentioned. We're leaving."