Granted, when all was said and done, flying a Puddlejumper armed with a semi-functioning nuke into a Wraith Hiveship may not have been the best idea he ever had. But he believed it was necessary.
When John Sheppard had stumbled into an expedition to the famed Lost City of Atlantis, inadvertently saving a General's life in the process, he honestly hadn't known if he should accept Dr. Weir's invitation. Even the gentle nudging from General O'Neill (the General he'd saved earlier that day; strange guy) wasn't doing much to make up his mind. Aliens, spaceships, intergalactic gates, it all seemed too much. So he decided to fall back on his old coin, the one he would always use when faced with impossible decisions. It had never failed him before. Except that one time when he had just joined the Air Force. And that one time in Afghanistan. And that time in Antarctica, when he almost got court marshaled.
Come to think of it, maybe he should replace the thing.
Anyway, the trusty coin had been inconclusive the first time (slipping out of his hand and falling edge-firls into a crack in the ground) he flipped it again. And again just to be sure. When it landed heads again, he quickly packed what little things he was allowed to take with him and set off to Colorado. In hindsight, perhaps trusting his future to an inanimate object wasn't the smartest thing to do.
When he'd first laid eyes on Colonel Marshall Sumner he just knew the Atlantis Military Leader would be trouble. And, of course, the man disliked him from their first conversation. For a moment he thought about bringing up Ferris Wheels, or maybe college football, but decided against it. Best not to play the fool just yet.
Luckily for him Dr. Weir, the actual head of the Expedition, had taken somewhat of a liking for him. He'd like to think it was his natural charm and good looks, but he was pretty sure it had more to do with making the chair-thing in Antarctica all glowy.
When he stepped into the wormhole-like standing pond, which one of the younger Lieutenant had told him would hurt (it didn't, it was just very cold) and arrived at the city of Atlantis. Which was several hundred feet below the surface and was quickly losing power to the shield which held all the soggy wetness back. And, to make matters worse, the first planet in the other Galaxy they had went to had his Sheppard luck kick in true to form: get captured by a few space . Gothic space vampires. Just fantastic.
After killing space-Dracula's bride and waking up her entire species, managing to (sort of) lose Col. Sumner in the process, he had assumed command of the military contingent of the expedition and went to try to right his wrongs. Granted Dr. Weir, cool as she was, was still a civilian, so he had to teach her a few things about not leaving people behind. But they got over that quickly enough.
But the city itself was amazing. At times he felt like it would read his mind, since the doors and lights would always do what he wanted them before he would even know he did. And the Puddlejumper handled like a thought, with a thought. There was definitely something about the place. At times it was almost like a presence at the back of his mind, comforting and guiding him.
The other Galaxy's races (Pegasus, he would remind himself) were strange, and strangely human. Maybe it was something about the frame, but everything there was on two legs and trying to kill them. From the Hoffans (what kind of a name was that, anyway), with their science to the Genii, with actual pipe-like weapons. He had somehow even managed to make a few lifelong personal enemies (Kolya of the Genii came to mind), and even getting a few random flings with space-babes (who could blame them, he was quite irresistible; and Rodney was just jealous, whatever he may say).
Wait… was his life flashing before his eyes? He groaned, hoping he wouldn't see those moments again. He didn't enjoy it enough the first time around.
So that was where he was now. Two massive Wraith Hiveships bearing down on a mostly-defenseless Atlantis. The brand-new military commander sent by Earth, a Col. Everett (Sumner's old friend, who kinda hated him for the whole 'shooting him' thing), accompanied by useful weapons and poorly though out strategies, was somewhere down there, probably fighting many of the Wraith in the city. His friends looking up at him for salvation (he could even swear Elizabeth had a tear in her eye) and him flying an untested and poorly-constructed (according to Rodney) nuclear bomb into one ship. Even if he did destroy the thing someone else would have to fly another Jumper up to the second Hive. Provided, of course, the Wraith do not wise up to their plans.
Well, I guess this is it. He thought grimly, sending one last longing glance at the city, feeling an echo of sadness at the back of his mind. Goodbye cruel world. At least I'm going out with a bang.
"Major Sheppard, de-cloak your jumper."
Then again, maybe not.
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I like Stargate Atlantis, and Sheppard is my favorite character. That being said, I really don't get the whole 'whump' thing. I mean, I know what it is, but I don't get the appeal of torturing your favorite character.
Since this first chapter is kinds short, and just the retelling of the first season, I'll be posting the second one immediately.
In my not so humble opinion there is something special with Johns ATA-gene, so there will be a lot of that in this story.
And as the first SGA and second non-Naruto story overall, I'd like to know what you think.
