Story Name: Grace Like Rain
Summary: Returning from a humanitarian aide mission, the Daedalus is lured into a trap by a fake distress call. After a battle, Major Lorne discover the crew is missing and must figure out where everyone is and save the day before it's too late.
Spoilers: None, Mentions events of "Travelers"
Disclaimer: Don't own anything. No clue about the title but I kinda wanted this to be a "Grace-like" story (i.e. Grace and Grace Under Pressure). And before you ask, no I'm not giving up on my other story. The Atlantis/Torchwood idea is still a work in progress. I've been REALLY busy with work and haven't had time to work on the next chapter yet. The only reason I've got this up is because this idea has been eating away at me for a while and I felt like I needed to hurry up and start it. So for the time being I'm going to try doing two stories at once so it may take awhile for updates to come. Please let me know what you think and don't be afraid to point out any mistakes that I've made. Enjoy and hopefully more to come soon!
While traveling through hyperspace, there wasn't much to do to pass the time. Major Evan Lorne knew this fact all too well. Sitting in the commissary, all Evan could do was just gaze out the window as the Daedalus glided silently through subspace. As he sat there drinking his coffee, Evan reflected on the events that had taken place over the past day and a half. He was so deep in thought that he didn't even seen Dr. Jennifer Keller come stand at the table where he was sitting.
"Major?" Drawing Evan from his thoughts, he turned to Jennifer as she smiled at him. "Mind if I join you?"
"No not at all." He replied. As Jennifer placed the tray of food she was carrying down on the table, Evan stood to pull the chair out for her then sat back down in his own seat.
"So, how are you?" Jennifer asked as she began to eat.
"I'm good." He told her as he took another sip of his coffee. "Why do you ask?"
"Ever since we left M4H-904, you've seemed kinda distant. Is everything okay?"
"It's just weird, you know." Evan began as he leaned back in his chair. "I've seen the aftermath of Wraith cullings; the destruction, the despair, the pain. But nothing can really prepare you for the results of a natural disaster. And for a people who always have to keep a watchful eye to the sky, a meteor shower must have really scared the hell out them."
"I guess you're right." She said as she took a moment to let what Evan had just said sink in. "In med school, you have to try and prepare yourself for the worst. You know that your next patient could be in worse shape than the last but you can never know what to expect until the moment happens."
"Those people lost so much but there is only so much we can do to help." He said as he leaned forward to prop himself up on the table.
"Not to mention that their only means of trade was destroyed."
"Yeah. From the stories we heard, the Stargate was hit right after the shower started. We wouldn't have even known anything about it if we hadn't tried to dial the gate. When the wormhole didn't connect, Colonel Carter knew something was up."
"How are they supposed to get by without a gate? Our supplies medicine can only take them so far. And we can't keep making trips on the Daedalus. It's a two-day journey from Atlantis to Elysia."
"From what I've heard," Evan started, "we're looking around for a gate that isn't being used by anyone. Once one is located, it'll be transplanted to Elysia and hopefully they'll be able to get back on track."
"That'll be great." Jennifer said, taking a bite out of her sandwich. "On the bright side, at least we didn't have to worry about hearing McKay complain about the entire situation." Evan couldn't help but laugh at this.
"Good ol' Rodney. He probably would have gotten a splinter and thought he would have to get his hand amputated." As Jennifer laughed at Evan, he took another sip of coffee. Making a face as he put his cup down, he leaned close to Jennifer. "I'll be glad when we get back home. Between you and me, this is a poor excuse for coffee and I really need a good pick me up."
"You military types and your caffeine addictions." She joked. "Don't worry, we'll be home soon." Smiling, Evan turned to once again stare out of the window. No sooner had Evan's thoughts began to merge with the hyperspace 'aurora' outside, the intercom suddenly blared to life.
"Major Lorne, Doctor Keller. Please report to the bridge."
"Looks like lunch got cut short today." Jennifer said to him as they both stood to make their way to the bridge.
Within minutes the two were on the bridge of the Daedalus, standing beside Colonel John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, and Ronon Dex. It didn't take long for Evan to realize something was up, something that wasn't scheduled.
"What's going on?" Jennifer asked as she watched John move next to Colonel Steven Caldwell.
"We're picking up a distress signal about three light years away from our current position." Colonel Caldwell explained.
"Can we hear it?" Evan asked, his senses going into high alert.
"We've only been able to receive parts of the message, sir." Captain Dave Kleinman told them as he worked with the display in front of him. "Patching it through now." As the speaker began to play, everyone flinched as a high pitch squeal pierced room, followed by static, then the garbled message.
"..to anyone… assistance. We've …. attacked. Dozens wounded. Please help."
"Is there any chance at all we can offer assistance?" Teyla asked, now concerned with the fact that lives were in danger.
"Doctor, can your staff handle a medical emergency at the moment?" Caldwell asked, turning his chair to face Jennifer.
"We don't really have enough personnel to handle a situation like this but if lives are at stake we'll do the best we can."
"If there's a chance we can help these people, we need to." Ronon said, crossing his arms.
"Agreed." Caldwell said before turning back to face the front. "Set a course."
"Yes sir. ETA, ten minutes." Kleinman said as he entered the coordinates in the navigational system. As the ship altered direction, Jennifer hurried off toward the infirmary to gather the supplies and help she would need for the soon to be incoming casualties.
The ten-minute trip seemed to be instantaneous under the stress of the situation. As the Daedalus dropped out of hyperspace, the scene before the bridge crew made everyone's heart skip a beat. Surrounded by asteroids, the source of the distress signal was in sight. The medium size ship drifted directly in front of them, a gaping hole torn in the side.
"Wait a minute." John said, stepping forward. "I recognize that ship."
"From where?" Caldwell asked.
"It's a similar design to the type of ships that Larrin uses."
"Larrin?" Ronon asked. "Isn't that the chick that abducted and beat the crap out of you a while back?"
"Thank you for reminding me about that but yes, that's her. And it was just a simple misunderstanding. But there is something different about this ship than the rest of the ones she commanded."
"Captain, can you get any readings?" Caldwell asked Kleinman.
"Not at this range, sir. We need to get closer."
"Do it." Caldwell ordered before pressing the intercom button on his chair. "Doctor Keller, stand by."
As the Daedalus inched closer to the disabled vessel, Kleinman's console began to beep rapidly.
"Sir, I'm reading an energy build up within the ship." The captain reported frantically. "They're powering their engines… and weapons."
"What?! Get the shields up NOW!" Caldwell barked. However, it was too late as the ship was immediately rocked with blasts coming from the other ship. "Open a channel. Let them know that we are here to help them."
"No response, sir." Kleinman said, after a minute of trying to communicate. At that moment, a console near the rear of the bridge exploded in a shower of sparks, sending the crewman at that station flying to the floor.
"Sir, the energy readings from those weapons have a wraith signature to them." The tactical officer told him.
"Wraith? But…" before Caldwell could finish his sentence, another explosion rocked the bridge.
"Shields down to thirty percent." The tactical officer told him.
"Prepare to jump to hyperspace." Caldwell ordered.
"Sir, hyperdrive is offline." Kleinman ordered.
"Damn it!" Contemplating the next move, Caldwell glanced out and saw his next option. "Take us closer to the asteroids. Maybe they can help buy us some time to get out of here."
"Colonel!" John spoke up. "Let Lorne and me take the jumpers. The Daedalus is an easy target due to its size but maybe we can give them a run for their money with something smaller."
"Do it!"
Explosion after explosion made it difficult for the two men to make it to the hanger bay steadily. Once there, each made their way into one of the two Puddle Jumpers that they had brought along. Once through the hanger doors, John's voice came over the radio in Evan's jumper.
"Major, you take port. I'll handle starboard."
"Understood." As both jumpers dodged the asteroids that had began to fill the path between Daedalus and the enemy ship, each opened the weapons pods and fired drones at the ship. However, the drones didn't hit the ship as planned. Instead, they impacted upon a shield that protected the hull, which glowed a pale blue as the drones detonated. No sooner had the drones hit the shield, a second weapon turret targeted the two jumpers. Moving to dodge the blasts, Evan noticed the primary weapon still impacting the Daedalus' shields. A moment later, the entire shield grid flashed as smoke began to pour from the rear of the ship.
"That last hit took out the shields and engines. I'm heading back towards the Daedalus to see how much damage I can do." John radioed.
"Sir, the enemy ship is moving directly above the Daedalus." As Evan finished reporting, a widespread, white beam emanated from the attacking ship and began to move from the stern of the Daedalus, heading towards the bow. "What the hell is that?"
"I don't know but I don't like it. I'm going to see if I can take out that beam. Cover me."
"Yes sir." As Evan followed suite in dodging the energy blasts, John began to unload his entire arsenal of drones on the enemy's shields. Flying in between the two ships, John fired one more volley into the shields just as the beam reached the front of the Daedalus. As the shields faded, another turret opened fire at John.
"Colonel, watch out!" Evan tried to warn, but it was too late. The blast struck a segment of the Daedalus, sending debris flying into John's way. As he tried to avoid, John inadvertently flew directly into the white beam, his jumper slowing as it passed through. As the smaller ship floundered, Evan increased his speed heading, towards the ships rear as the energy wave dissipated. Firing the last of his drones, Evan ripped a hole in the starboard engine, causing secondary explosions along the outer ventral hull. As he attempted to gain distance, the enemy fired in Evan's direction. The blast missed Evan's jumper, but struck an asteroid directly beside him, causing the debris to impact one of the drive pods. As the rocks disabled the engine, Evan's jumper began to spin rapidly out of control from the lack of equal thrust. As the jumper tumbled through space, the last thing Evan remembered seeing before blacking out was the enemy ship moving farther away from him.
Sorry it's so short. This was a last minute thing and didn't want it to get too long. Enjoy!