Disclaimers: The characters herein are copyrighted to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, The Sci-Fi channel
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Buffy adjusted the pack on her shoulder and looked over at Dawn. Her sister was looking at the Stargate with a huge smile on her face. Buffy rolled her eyes and nudged her sister. Dr. Weir was in the middle of speaking, telling them that the MALP would go through first and see if there was a breathable atmosphere. If there was one, they would be going through immediately. With the limited amount of power that the ZPM, the Zero Point Module, had in its store they would only have enough to make this trip once. It was up to the Atlantis team to find another source of power in order to come back. Dr. Weir was elaborating on that fact now.
"If anyone wants to back out, the time is now. No one will think any less if you do." Dr. Weir said, looking at the assembled group.
Buffy looked at Dawn and took her sisters hand. "Last chance." She said.
Dawn squeezed Buffy's hand and smiled. "I go where you go."
Dr. Weir saw that no one had shown any interest in backing out and smiled. Looking up at the window of the control booth she nodded.
General O'Neill nodded and Sgt. Davis initiated the dialing sequence.
After the gate opened, Buffy looked at Dawn, then back over her shoulder to see Willow and Tara smiling down at them from the control room. "We'll come back, Dawnie. I promise." She said.
Dawn smiled and waved at Willow and Tara. "I believe you." She said softly as she and Buffy headed for the event horizon. With a breath, she and Buffy stepped through the wormhole.
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Buffy stared out the window in wonder. It was incredible. The entire city was under water. Even in the murky depths of the ocean, she could make out spires and buildings spreading out around the city. It was amazing.
"This is so cool!" Dawn said excitedly. "I mean…this really, really beats any field trips I have ever been on…all of the field trips I have ever been on!"
Buffy only nodded.
"I mean, sure the planetarium was cool, and the museum totally rocked, but this…" Dawn continued, her arms flung wide as she spun, trying to encompass everything in her sweeping arc. "Buffy, this is amazing!"
"But does it have cable? That's the real question." The voice asked from behind Buffy and Dawn.
Buffy turned and grinned. "Like that matters. Two hundred channels and nothing decent to watch. Give me a jaunty trip to another galaxy any day."
Dawn raised an eyebrow and coughed lightly.
Buffy turned to her sister and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Dawn opened her mouth with an indignant squeak.
"Oh. Sorry. Dawn, this is Major John Sheppard. He's second in command of the military personnel for this little trip. Major, this is my sister, Dawn." Buffy introduced the two.
"Pleased to meet you." Major Sheppard smiled, shaking Dawns hand. "I hear that the President himself gave you clearance to come?"
Dawn nodded eagerly. "Yep. I guess he really wanted Buffy on this trip. I said that was the condition and he said ok, just like that." Dawn said, snapping her fingers for effect.
Major Sheppard looked at Buffy and then at Dawn. "Just like that, huh?" he asked.
Dawn smiled and nodded.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yeah. She's like a rash…maybe a fungus."
Dawn narrowed her gaze at Buffy and then shot John a glare when he tried to stifle a chuckle. "Keep laughing. You're a long way from home." She said, shaking her fist at the Major.
That was the final straw and John openly chuckled. "Yes Dawn. You are an intimidating presence." He said, his face becoming serious for a split second.
"Oh, you haven't seen her in the morning yet. She is a very scary person." Buffy grinned at Sheppard and then turned to Dawn. "You have your schedule?"
Dawn nodded. "Yep. I am going to like this a lot better than school. I have my own class with my own teachers. It's actually kinda scary that they volunteered like that."
Major Sheppard raised his eyebrow. "Class?"
Buffy nodded. "One condition on Dawn coming was that she would earn college credits while she was here. She has classes with…" Buffy looked at Dawn.
"I have Political Science with Dr. Weir, Microbiology with Dr. Beckett, Physics with Dr. McKay and then Advanced Latin again with Dr. Weir." Dawn rattled off. "And then Colonel Sumner said I could join the troops every morning for their workout and Dr. Weir said she it would count as a credit in Physical Education."
Major Sheppard nodded. "Well, that's pretty cool. And how about you, Dr Summers." He said, turning to Buffy. "Will you be joining us Offworld or will you stay tucked up in your lab?"
Buffy grinned. "I am so going to be going Offworld. I can't risk something being missed or overlooked by people who don't know what I need to look at." She shrugged. "No offense."
Sheppard smiled. "None taken. Takes the pressure off of me. I'd think I was bringing you something important and it turns out to be an alien cultures version of the TV Guide."
Buffy laughed and was about to say something when an out-of-breath Dr. McKay came skidding to a halt. "You have to come and see this…I mean…really!"
Sheppard, Buffy and Dawn followed the doctor into a secluded room where Dr. Beckett was watching what appeared to be a hologram speaking about The Ancients and how they came to the Pegasus Galaxy.
"This is my second time through." Dr. Beckett said, grinning as Dr. Weir showed up on the heels of Buffy and the group. "It's amazing. They left Earth and traveled here, but she says they left one of their own; one they 'gave the power to defend the world'. She was supposed to pass her power on to another after she ascended so Earth would always have a protector." He said excitedly.
Dawn raised an eyebrow at this and looked at Buffy who was gazing intently at the holographic Ancient.
Buffy stared wide-eyed at the hologram and stepped forward to ask a question, but then remembered that this was a message left over ten thousand years ago. That last statement, though, sounded like a lead on the creation of Slayers. Did this mean that the Ancients knew about the existence of demons? If so, why would they leave? Did ascending mean that they no longer cared about anyone else who wasn't ascended? She had a lot of questions and no one to talk to about them.
Dr. McKay was busy studying the hologram when one of the Atlantis team scientists came into the room and hurried over to Dr. McKay, whispering something in his ear. Dr. McKay went pale and turned to the hologram and then rushed over to Dr. Weir.
"We have to shut it down! Everything, hurry!" Dr. McKay said, running over and shoving Dr. Beckett off of the trigger pad. "This is Dr. Rodney McKay! All teams, all personnel, report to the Gateroom immediately. I repeat, all personnel, return to the Gateroom now!" he called into his radio.
"Dr. McKay, care to explain?" Dr. Weir asked. She wasn't mad. Dr. McKay may not be the most pleasant person to deal with, but he was also not prone to irrational panics…usually.
"I would love to explain, I will even use little words for the military, but I will have to do it in the Gateroom, which is where we should all be going right now." Dr. McKay said hurriedly, earning a narrowed gaze from Major Sheppard.
The group filed out of the hologram room and headed to the Gateroom, meeting up with a host of other teams now trickling back from exploring the immediate city. Once the last team reported in, it was Colonel Sumner's group, Dr. McKay pulled the senior staff into one of the side offices and reported what his team had told him. "The city is waking up." He said.
Dr. Weir raised an eyebrow and looked around the room. Dr. Beckett, Dr. Zelenka, Colonel Sumner and a hand full of other scientists were all looking at Dr. McKay with similar looks. "Isn't that a good thing, Dr. McKay?" she asked.
Dr. McKay shook his head. "We know from the initial exploration that the city has a central power station that is powered by three Zed PM's. We also know that two of them are depleted with the third is well on it's way to maximum entropy." Looking around the room and seeing raised eyebrows McKay rolled his eyes and continued. "They are running out of power. When we arrived, the city began using power to activate systems all over the city. This would be a good thing if we weren't under water and the shield holding the ocean back wasn't losing power due to said power being diverted to the awakening systems."
Dr. Weir nodded as she started to understand. "So, what you're saying is…"
"The shield holding the ocean back is failing. We have about twenty minutes before the ZPM is drained completely and it fails, letting the ocean in to drown and/or crush us all in a massive rush of water." Dr. McKay said.
Major Sheppard frowned then sighed. "Well…that sucks."
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Buffy stood with Dawn next to all of their things and wondered what the senior staff was talking about.
"So what's going on up there?" Dawn asked, echoing Buffy's thoughts.
"I don't know Dawnie." Buffy said softly. She had been trying to listen, but they were just to far away.
"What do you think about that hologram? Maybe it had something to do with the slayer?" Dawn asked, trying to get Buffy to talk, if only to ease her own worries.
"Maybe. If so, they heaped a lot of stuff on one girl. They could have at least left some weapons or some advanced technology for us to use." Buffy said. "Imagine what we could have done to the Mayor with a big honkin space gun." She grinned as she repeated General Jack O'Neill's fondest dream.
Dawn smiled. "You didn't do to bad. Plus…you got to blow up the high school. That's every students dream."
Buffy was about to respond when klaxons began to blare around the Gateroom. "Great…what now?" she muttered.
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Dr. McKay growled in frustration and looked at the rest of the senior staff. "The shield is failing." He said simply.
"Can't we gate Offworld?" Colonel Sumner asked.
"The ZPM doesn't have the power to light a room much less power the Stargate." Dr. McKay answered. "We're stuck here."
Dr. Zelenka quietly waved his hand while he stared at the screen in front of him.
"What about the naquadah generators we brought?" Dr. Weir asked, now grasping at straws.
Dr. Zelenka waved his hand again, looking up.
"They won't work. They put out enough power to operate most of the systems, but nowhere near the level needed to power the shield." Dr. McKay said.
Dr. Zelenka coughed and waved his hand harder.
"Can we use them to power the Stargate?" Colonel Sumner asked.
"Not without finding the power relays, isolating them and then trying to interface the technology we have with ten thousand year old Atlantian technology." Dr. McKay said, looking annoyed at Dr. Zelenka, who was now waving both arms and coughing loudly. "For god's sake, what is it?" McKay snapped.
"The shield is failing, and power is being diverted from all systems to power the clamps." Dr. Zelenka said. "They are releasing their hold."
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Buffy and Dawn stood on one of the balconies overlooking the city. As the city lost the power to keep the shield intact, the clamps holding the massive structure to the ocean floor released and the city rose to the surface of a beautiful world, as far as Buffy and Dawn could see. Dr. McKay and Dr. Weir were all fluttering about, taking readings and exploring, now that they had four naquadah generators hooked up. The city had power to run almost all of the day-to-day systems, but even with the four generators in place and running at 100%, they didn't have enough power for the shields to function, or for them to dial Earth for more than a second.
"It's pretty." Dawn said softly.
Buffy nodded mutely. The water was a very clear, deep blue and the air was really sweet and refreshing. She almost missed the smog…almost. "I wonder if we're alone?"
Dawn suddenly grinned. "Wouldn't it be cool if we found some other people? It would be like Star Trekâ, making first contact and stuff." Dawn bounced excitedly.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Dork." She smiled, hugging her sister close to her. In truth, she was also very excited. This could be what she had spent the last eight years finding out. All they had to do was find a way to power the gate to get back to Earth, which required a ZPM, which they didn't have. Dr. Weir had said that there was a computer full of gate addresses and they would start exploring, looking for a ZPM, tomorrow. Buffy could hardly wait.
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Earth-SGC
Willow looked over the mission reports that were stacked on her desk. She and Tara had been assigned to different teams, her to a scientific team and Tara to an archeological one. They both found that their respective teams weren't used unless there was a very good chance that the Goa'uld would not show up. The SGC liked things nice and safe for their non-military personnel. As a result, they had almost four years of mission reports each to catch up on, as well as personnel profiles to read concerning their team members. Willow was enthralled by everything she read and absorbed the facts like a dry sponge dropped into a bucket of water. Tara was enthused by the cultural focus of her team. She had found out that hers was a first contact team and she would have chances to work directly with SG-1's Dr. Jackson on some instances.
Glancing at her watch, Willow stretched and closed the latest file. She was astounded to learn that Earth had a space going vessel that wasn't the shuttle. The Prometheus, also known as the X-303, as well as the X-302's, the smaller fighters that were stationed on the Prometheus as well as a few squads around the globe sounded amazing.
Heading towards the cafeteria, Willow stopped at Tara's office and knocked softly. "Tara? You ready for some dinner?" she called, opening the door.
Tara glanced up from one of the files she was reading and beamed a smile at her. "Sure. Let me finish this part." She said, glancing back down.
Willow nodded and looked around the small office. It had a desk, a chair and a small couch; bookshelves lined with a few tomes from Tara's own collection as well as copies suggested by Dr. Jackson. On the wall were a few framed photos of Tara with her, of the scoobies, one of Tara and Faith who, much to Willows surprise, were very close. 'I guess it's true about opposites.' Willow mused.
"Ready?" Tara asked softly, wrapping her arms around Willow and resting her chin on the redheads shoulder.
Willow leaned back into the embrace. "Yep. Let's go choke down some military cuisine." She said softly. Neither one moved from the embrace, reveling in the comfort they shared.
Tara sighed. "We're moving now, right?"
Willow grinned. "Any second now, I'm sure."
Both of them stayed in their spot for a few more minutes before untangling, very reluctantly, and heading for the cafeteria.
Willow and Tara walked in and noticed Colonel Carter sitting at a rather large table by herself with a veritable mountain of paperwork around her. After getting their food, both grabbing chef salads over the meat-like substance drenched in the thick, brown gravy, and headed over to join the Colonel.
"Mind if we join you?" Willow asked excitedly.
Sam looked up and smiled tiredly. "Sure. If you don't mind me spending most of the time going over these readings." She said apologetically.
Willow and Tara sat and began eating. After a few minutes, Willow's curiosity got the best of her.
"What are you working on, if I'm allowed to ask?" the hacker asked, glancing at the documents.
"The computer readouts from the Atlantis expedition's gate Offworld." Sam sighed. "The ZPM still has a small charge, and it should have been drained. I've found that when the last few people went through, there was a sudden energy spike, almost like a power source outside of the ZPM was powering the gate." She sighed. "So far, I haven't been able to find out what happened."
"How much power is left in the ZPM?" Tara asked. "Can we contact Atlantis?"
Sam shook her head. "No. There's nowhere near enough to do that. We could power the Ancient weapon one last time, briefly, or power all of the homes in Colorado Springs for almost a month." She smiled. "It's all relative. The ZPM packs a huge charge, but it take a huge charge to power the Ancient's technology."
Willow nodded her understanding. "So what are we gonna do with it?" she asked.
"It was sent back to the Antarctica base, in case of another Goa'uld attack." Sam said, sighing.
"Need any help? I'm about finished with the mission reports." Willow offered.
Tara nodded. "She's really good with the sciences."
Sam smiled. "Sure. I could always use an extra hand." She smiled. "Thanks."
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Atlantis Gateroom
Buffy looked at Colonel Sumner and Major Sheppard, as well as the rest of the team. Lt. Ford was calmly checking his weapons, Dr. McKay fussed with his vest and the bag that held his laptop and the rest of the squad was busy checking each other's gear. She sighed. This was the first trip through the gate to a world in the Pegasus galaxy and she was hoping that they wouldn't give the wrong impression showing up armed to the teeth.
"Are you ready, Colonel?" Dr. Weir asked from the control room.
"Yes ma'am, we are." The Colonel answered, anxious to get the show started.
"Remember, Dr. McKay and Dr. Summers are in charge of the contact missions, with the military escort there for their protection only. If things get hostile, Colonel Sumner takes command, no arguments." Dr. Weir directed the last remark to Dr. McKay, who nodded dutifully. "Good. You have a go." She said, smiling.
The gate, which Buffy noted was very different to the gate back on Earth, dialed an address. The symbols lit up and the gate engaged much faster than the Earth gate did and soon they were on their way.
"Where are we headed again?" Buffy asked John.
John shrugged. "Offworld." He said. "We don't get to name them, as much as McKay and Ford would like to." He grinned.
Buffy nodded. "Cool. I hope we find some interesting stuff. I'd hate to have come all this way to find a TV guide." She grinned at Sheppard.
Sheppard just shook his head. "Had to open my mouth." He mumbled as they walked through the event horizon.
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Athosian Village
Buffy had jumped into the bushes as the beam passed down the road, passing her. The four villagers she ran with were not as nimble. They disappeared as the Wraith culling beam passed over them. "Summers to Colonel Sumner!" Buffy grabbed her radio and called into it.
"Sumner!" came the crackled reply.
"Sir, the villagers are disappearing fast, sir! We need to get out of here!" Buffy called, looking around. The Wraith Darts were swarming over the village and the surrounding area, searching for anyone to take.
"Fall back to the gate! If you can get any villagers to follow you, do it! We'll sort things out at Atlant…" Colonel Sumner's voice was cut off and the radio went dead.
Buffy triggered her radio. "Repeat that sir?" she called into the radio. Silence came from the radio. "Say again, I didn't hear you!" she called. Growling, Buffy stood up and darted for the gate. "Dammit!" she cursed as the Wraith Darts flew over her head and screamed for the Stargate. She saw the symbols on the DHD light up as she ran. "They're dialing the gate!" she called into her radio.
"I see them! Should I fire?" Lieutenant Ford's voice crackled over the radio, cutting Buffy off.
"Negative! They have the Colonel, burn those symbols into your brain, Ford!" Buffy heard Major Sheppard's voice cut through the line.
"Yes sir!" Ford returned as Buffy ran up on his position. They looked at each other and then sighed as the Darts flew through the event horizon in the Stargate. The wormhole collapsed and Buffy stared at the large, open Stargate.
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Atlantis Control Room
"So now can our naquadah generators supply enough power to the shield for defensive purposes?" Weir asked as McKay delivered the news about the teams lack of finding a ZPM.
McKay smiled tightly. "Not even close." He sighed.
Sheppard ran a hand through his hair and growled. "On the surface without a shield? We're target practice for those…things."
McKay nodded. "I'm acutely aware of that, Major, but thank you for reinforcing it."
Sheppard rolled his eyes. "When can we figure out what happened to Colonel Sumner and the others?"
McKay shrugged his shoulders. "Even with the six symbols Lieutenant Ford provided there are still hundreds of permutations ..."
"Seven hundred and twenty." Sheppard growled irritably.
"Yes. I knew that of course. I'm just surprised you did." McKay said, letting a little surprise in his voice.
"Look. It's simple. Try all the combinations. When you get one that locks, send a M.A.L.P" Sheppard said.
Dr. McKay opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and turned to go back to his work.
"May I have a word with you Major?" Dr. Weir said, turning on her heel and stalking out onto one of the verandas overlooking the vast ocean.
Sheppard shook his head. "Here we go…" he muttered as he followed her.
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Buffy waved her hand over the door panel and stormed into the room assigned to her and Dawn. She saw her sister trying to add a touch of home to the spartan quarters and waited for the doors to shut before turning to her sister. "Weapons?" Buffy asked tightly.
Dawn pointed to one of the large bags they brought and Buffy went over and rifled through it, pulling free a sword.
"Trouble?" Dawn asked quietly. She saw the thunder in her sisters eyes and stayed back, for once not arguing or trying to confront her sister.
Buffy closed her eyes and took deep breaths. "Isn't there always?" she said softly, tucking the sword safely into a duffel bag and setting notebooks and smaller tomes onto it, trying to hide it.
"Slayer stuff?" Dawn asked, trying to remind her sister that she wasn't the slayer anymore, that she was Dr. Buffy Summers.
Buffy nodded and zipped her bag up. "It will be." She growled dangerously as she walked out the door.
Dawn let a small grin of pride cross her face. Yes, she was scared of losing her sister. Yes, she was also scared of whatever had gotten her sister so rattled. But she was also proud and relieved that her sister was there to protect them all.
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Atlantis Hanger
Dr. Weir stared as she saw the ship shimmer into sight in front of her.
"You said you want a tactical advantage?" Major Sheppard's voice crackled over a radio.
Dr. Weir shook off some of her amazement. "Alright, so you can fly that thing. It doesn't mean you can pull off a rescue." Her voice held a large amount of respect and awe.
"Doctor, this is why you brought me here." Major Sheppard said quietly. "I fly things, this is what I do."
Dr. Weir felt a small smile slip into place and shook her head in amazement. "Major. Get a team together. You have a go in half an hour."
Major Sheppard saluted and grinned, landing the small ship.
Atlantis Control Room- ½ hour later
Dr. Weir looked at Dr. McKay. "Are we set?" she asked.
Dr, McKay shrugged. "I have no idea. This technology is so far beyond us, I haven't clue what we're dealing with. For all I know, we could ..." he stutters off at Dr. Weir's look and nods. "Yeah, ready."
"Flight. This is Puddlejumper, ready for launch." Major Sheppard's voice crackled over the radio.
"Er, this is Flight. I thought we were going with Gateship?" Dr. McKay said dejectedly into the comm.
"I don't think so, Doc." Major Sheppard said.
Dr. McKay looked as if he was about to argue but waved it off in annoyance. "You're clear…Puddlejumper." He mumbled.
The small ship lowered from the hanger bay above the Gateroom and turned, the viewport facing the control room.
Dr. Weir leaned over and talked into the radio. "I'm still not sure you should be going, Dr. Summers." She said into the microphone.
Buffy stepped into the cockpit and tapped the radio on the console. "No one on this ship has a chance of understanding any other people we come into contact with. I'm a cultural anthropologist, Doctor. And I can handle myself." She said, grinning slightly.
Dr. Weir nodded. She alone, with the exception of Dawn, knew what Buffy was capable of. That she was the Slayer. But it didn't mean she had to like sending the young woman into the jaws of the enemy. "Alright. You have a go."
Sheppard looked at Ford and nodded. The Lieutenant dialled the decided sequence on the remote keypad in the jumper and the Stargate activated. The Puddlejumper turned slowly and zipped through the gate.
"Be safe." Dr. Weir said softly.
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"Get down!" Sheppard yelled to Buffy as the Wraith guards shot more stun shots at them. Leveling his P-90 at the three advancing guards, he squeezed the trigger pumping five rounds into each target with a practiced ease. They dropped and lay on the floor for a few seconds before clambering to their feet again and continuing their advance.
"Oh come on…" Sheppard muttered. "Any luck on that door?" he called over to Buffy.
Buffy shook her head. "No. It's stuck." She growled. 'Screw it!' she thought to herself and stood, spinning and letting loose a savage kick at the hard mesh door. It exploded inwards, much to the surprise of the occupants. "Everybody out! Come on!" she yelled, herding people and directing them down the hall where Ford was waiting.
"They have taken Colonel Sumner." A woman, Teyla, Buffy recognized her from their mission to Athosia, said.
"Summers, you and Ford get them out of here. I'll go after Sumner." Sheppard said, tossing a grenade down the hall. In the explosion, he heard the spattering of flesh falling onto the floor and smiled grimly. "Bout time…" he muttered and ran off.
Buffy felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins and bolted after Teyla and the others. She felt very alive and also enraged. Something about this place, about the Wraith, was forcing the slayer to the surface, demanding to hunt and destroy them.
"That was an impressive display." Teyla said, running beside the blonde.
"Thanks. I work out." Buffy grinned and sped up to stop beside Ford. "Get them back through the gate."
"Where's the Major?" Ford asked.
"He went after Colonel Sumner." Buffy said, turning to sprint back into the ship.
Teyla caught the slayers arm and turned her around. "Major Sheppard said to get back home. I am sure he meant you as well." She said, concerned for the blonde. She was about to do something foolish; Teyla just knew it.
"I have to try to get them, I'll be back." Buffy said.
"You cannot fight the Wraith alone!" Teyla argued.
"Yes I can…it's what I do." Buffy said sadly.
As the blonde headed into the ship, she almost ran over Major Sheppard. "Whoa!" she skidded to a halt. "Where's Colonel Sumner?"
Sheppard just shook his head, his eyes now had a haunted look that Buffy knew all to well. He took the pilots chair and engaged the ships drive, taking the refugees into space why the Stargate was waiting. "Dial it up, Ford, we're going home."
The Stargate activated and the jumper flew towards the Stargate after Ford received confirmation of the Iris deactivation. Sheppard sighed as he scanned the now awakening Wraith ship. "God…what have we done." He muttered to himself and flew the ship into the event horizon.
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SGC-Earth
Willow skimmed over the report as she headed to the conference room. She had been working on the power problem they had with trying to gate to Pegasus on her spare time. She had a theory, but she needed Colonel Carter's input. Suddenly the klaxons blared announcing an unscheduled Offworld activation. Willow looked up and jumped to the side of the hallway as several Marines sped by, heading to the Gateroom.
Willow followed, ducking into the lower level of the control room and climbing the spiral staircase where she met General O'Neill.
"Receiving IDC." Sergeant Davis announced, checking the encrypted code. "It's SG-11." He said, looking up.
General O'Neill furrowed his brow. "They're not due back for three days. Open the iris."
Willow's eyes went wide. SG-11 was Tara's team.
Sergeant Davis placed his hand on the palm scanner and the Iris on the Stargate opened, the computer automatically sending confirmation to the SG team as soon as the way was clear. Three members of the archeology team ran through, the fourth stumbled through backwards, holding her hands up. It was Tara.
"Shut it down!" One of the members called up to the control room.
The gate deactivated and Tara crumpled to the deck.
"Medical team to the Gateroom!" General O'Neill called into the mic before following a now running Willow into the room.
Willow ran through the door, pushing past the lingering SF's and dropping down next to Tara. "What happened?" she yelled frantically.
General O'Neill looked at Colonel Markson, SG-11's team leader. "Colonel?"
"Goa'uld sir. They dropped right out of orbit and started landing several drop ships filled with Jaffa. We bolted for the gate and barely dialed it up when we started taking fire." Markson looked down at Tara, seemingly hesitant.
"Colonel?" O'Neill raised an eyebrow.
"Sir…uh…well, Dr. Maclay just spun as we dialed the gate and held up her hands…" Colonel Markson frowned.
Willow closed her eyes. She knew exactly what Tara had done now.
"Well, the Jaffa started firing and…the staff blasts never reached up. They hit a barrier, or a shield in front of Dr. Maclay." Colonel Markson said, staring at his fallen team member.
General O'Neill raised an eyebrow and then glanced quickly at Willow, Tara and the medics. He pulled Colonel Markson to the side and whispered quietly to him. "You think she may be Goa'uld?" he asked.
Colonel Markson shook his head vehemently. "No sir, I most assuredly do not." He snapped. "Sir." He muttered afterwards, realizing that sounded a little to disrespectful.
O'Neill nodded. "Well how do you explain it?"
Colonel Markson sighed. "I can't sir. I just know that if she hadn't done…whatever it was that she did, we wouldn't be having this discussion."
O'Neill paused and then nodded. "Alright. Debrief in half an hour." He said.
Colonel Markson nodded and ushered the rest of his team out of the Gateroom as the medics continued to work on Tara. Casting a glance at the young blonde he frowned. 'God, please let her be alright.' He silently preyed before leaving the Gateroom himself.
~BtVS~SG:A~BtVS~SG:A~BtVS~SG:A~BtVS~SG:A~BtVS~SG:A~
Gateroom-Atlantis
"What do you mean?" Dr. Weir asked, frowning slightly. This story had several very bad endings.
"I mean, she said that all of them were waking now." Major Sheppard replied.
"Our history tells us that when the Wraith awaken it is only a small portion of their number, and only to feed and then return to slumber." Teyla offered.
Dr. Weir nodded. "And how many are there?"
Teyla shook her head. "There is no record of their number."
"I see." Dr. Weir said softly.
"There were thousands on the hive ship, and presumably there were…several…hive ships." Major Sheppard said.
"Define several." Weir deadpanned.
"Hundreds. Spread throughout the galaxy." Sheppard said.
'And there's the bad ending to end all bad endings.' Dr. Weir said to herself. "Maybe…we can negotiate with them."
"I do not believe it to be possible. The Wraith live to feed and to them, we are simply a food source." Teyla said.
"But still, we can try…" Dr. Weir said before McKay cut her off.
"It's like a cow negotiating with a butcher." McKay snapped. "All they care about is that we are a tasty treat and after the long nap, they're going to have the munchies."
Dr. Weir sighed. "And you know this for sure?"
Teyla nodded grimly.
"Alright. I suppose we had better prepare." Dr. Weir said.
As the group broke up, Dr. Weir stared out over the waters surrounding Atlantis. 'How exactly do we prepare for this?' she thought to herself.