Stargate Atlantis: S7—Do Not Go Gentle4
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John was dreaming. At least he thought he was dreaming. He was slouched in the pilot's seat of the Puddle Jumper. Now that he wasn't moving his exhaustion had claimed him. He had only meant to close his eyes for a brief second, maybe two. His eyes were burning with tiredness and his muscles ached. The cuts on his face stung and his chest felt tight.
He closed his eyes and was almost instantly asleep. It was an old soldier's trick: to be able to fall asleep whenever the opportunity arose, even in the middle of a battle. Or an escape in this case. He only needed a few seconds to regain his composure and resolve.
Moira was safe. Moira. She was here with him. She had risked her life to save him. He was both angry and relieved and that kiss lingered on his lips. He wanted more. He wanted so much more but right now that wasn't going to happen. He snorted in amusement at the thought.
"John!"
He blearily opened his eyes to see Rodney glaring at him, shaking his shoulder. "Wha…"
"Fine time for a nap! Initialize the systems, damn it! Am I working on this for nothing? Ah, you don't want to leave your girlfriends behind, is that it?"
"What girlfriends?" Moira asked over her shoulder.
"Nothing! Shut up, Rodney. Here…here…" John hunched over the console and grabbed the controls. A modicum of power came and went. "Crap."
"We're dead in the water here. Hang on! Keep trying! I won't be able to get weapons online or the cloak but I can at least get us sublight power and life support."
"That'd be a good start," John noted. He held onto the controls, trying to urge the ship to respond. The interface was sluggish and he frowned. It felt like trying to walk in quicksand. He stood and moved to Moira. He touched her shoulder, startling her. "I've got to check on Ronon. Go sit in the pilot's chair and help Rodney."
"What? I'm not a pilot!"
"No you're not but you do have the ATA gene and that's all he needs right now. Back in a flash, sweetheart." John took a P-90 from the rack and sprinted out of the ship.
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Ronon fired and fired, ducked and dove to avoid being hit. There were several more Wraith Drones and now a few of the more evolved Wraith were joining the fight. The fog was thick with laser fire and snarling shouts. Truth be told Ronon was having the time of his life, killing Wraith after Wraith and buying time for his friends to get to safety.
He wondered what was taking so long.
Another rapid burst of firepower and he whirled, changing direction and taking cover behind one of the elongated pillars of the ship. He caught his breath, glancing towards the vulnerable Jumper. It was dark, unmoving. It was unsettling. It was their only way to safety and if the ship couldn't be started they would all die.
The timer on the bomb was ticking down rapidly.
Hearing a noise behind him he whirled, drawing his sword at the same time. He almost decapitated John.
"Whoa, buddy!" John swerved backwards as the blade sliced the air where his head had been only seconds earlier.
"Sorry." Ronon smirked and turned to view the Wraith. "The smarter ones are here now. I think they are trying to cut us off."
"Ha ha. Oh, yeah, I can see that." John watched them warily. "If they get near the ship then it is game over."
"What's wrong with the ship anyway?"
"No power. Or very little power. Let's see if we can mow them down and clear the way to buy McKay more time."
"We are running out of time!"
"Then we better be quick about it!"
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Rodney swore as his fingertips burned but the wires sparked, the lights flared and the ship finally hummed with power. "There! Initialize the systems! John! John!" He glanced forward to see Moira grasping the controls. The ship shakily rose, like a dog awakening from a long nap.
"Rodney! What do I do? No, come here! You've flown a Jumper! You flew us here!"
Rodney shut the panel and moved to her. "Yes, but not like this! Where's John?"
"I'll get him! Here, take the controls to maintain the power! Keep her running and then we can get out of here!"
"Right! Hurry!" Rodney took hold and slid into the pilot's chair. The ship wobbled. "Hurry!" he needlessly repeated. "I can't get the cloak up and we have no weapons!"
"John! John!" Moira shouted as she ran to the open hatch. The ship was a few inches above the floor now, canting to the right. Moira jumped and headed into the foggy expanse. All she could see were figures and shadows. "John! John, you need to come back to—" She cried out as a laser flew from the air and zipped along her arm. She staggered backwards as the weapon stung her arm. Bright drops of blood flew in the air.
"Moira! Moira!" John's voice was lost in the darkness.
Abruptly a cacophony of weaponry erupted. Laser fire vied with bullets to create a miasma of death and violence. Moira stood, holding the 9mm unsteadily. She ducked as another laser flew past her and hit the ship. The Jumper shuddered.
"John! Ronon! Let's go now!" she shouted. She could make out more figures now in the fog. The Wraith were advancing, surrounding them.
"Go go GO!" Suddenly John burst from the shadows, waving his P-90. Moira did not hesitate. She ran back to the ship, only to find it a few feet off the ground.
"Rodney! Wait!"
"Jump! I can't stabilize her and I can't stop her!" the physicist shouted over his shoulder.
"John!" Moira called, unwilling to leave him behind. She turned back and forth, uncertain. She clutched at her stomach as it twisted with anxiety and dread. For a second Moira thought she felt the cold tendrils of the queen power reaching out for her.
John rushed to her. He tossed the P-90 into the ship as it began to wobble again. "Okay, okay, we got this, baby. On three, all right. We go on three when it lowers this way again. Get ready. Are you all right?"
"Fine. We have to go now!" Moira insisted.
John drew her back a few steps. The ship was shaking from side to side. "Ronon!"
"Go!" Ronon shouted. He was heading backwards towards them, firing his gun. He glanced over to see John gesturing and Moira hunching over, trying to pull John and keep her own balance at the same time.
John clasped Moira's hand in his. "Here we go. I am so going to kill Rodney when this is over. One. Two. Three!"
John and Moira ran and leapt as the open hatch dipped down towards them. Their feet hit the edge and they nearly fell backwards, but the ship canted again and spilled them onto the floor. Moira scrambled and grabbed the netting. John pushed her further into the ship and slid back to the open hatch. "Get her down, Rodney!"
"I can't! We're losing the inertial dampeners! Hold on!"
"We only need a few minutes more! Down!" John ducked, rolling over Moira as a laser blast flew into the ship. Rodney yelped and ducked as the laser hit a wall. Sparks flew.
"Shit! That was too close!"
"Then get us out of here!" John rolled and scooted to the edge of the hatch, grabbing his P-90 on the way. "Ronon! Ronon!"
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Ronon threw his gun away in disgust. It was completely drained. He drew his sword, grabbed a knife and gave a feral grin as the Wraith were advancing. They were lowering their weapons, seeing him apparently defenseless.
He chanced a glance behind him and saw the Jumper was abruptly lowering, canting wildly. John was at the open hatch, gun at the read, appearing to be falling out of the vehicle. It hit the floor with a thud and alarms shrieked.
"Come on!" John shouted. He moved to his knees and began to fire his gun. Bullets sprayed all around Ronon, slowing the Wraith but not stopping them. Abruptly John cursed and dropped his gun as a pain thudded in his head.
"John!" Moira slid to him and grabbed his arm before he fell out of the ship. She looked up to see more Wraith advancing, surrounding an approaching figure. "Oh no," she whispered as the queen became visible.
John lifted his head to see the parody of Elizabeth Weir. He grunted and grasped his gun. To his horror the ship lifted shakily again. He almost fell but Moira's grasp on his arm was tight. "Ronon!"
"We're out of time, John!" Rodney shouted. He was fighting the controls and monitoring the timer and things did not look very good at all.
"Go! Get them to safety!" Ronon yelled, glancing over his shoulder again. The ship was tantalizingly near. So were the Wraith.
"Ronon…how nice of you to visit me," the queen said with a smile.
"Ronon!" John lifted his gun and fired at the queen. She lifted a hand and deflected the bullets as if they were toys. The gun was wrenched out of John's hands. He almost fell out of the ship with it but Moira grabbed him around the waist and hauled him backwards.
"John! It's either now or never!" Rodney warned.
"John! John!" Moira was hanging onto him with all of her strength as the ship canted forward again, threatening to spill both of them out of it and right into the midst of the Wraith.
"Go! Save them!" Ronon ordered.
John swallowed. For a second he hesitated. A mere second as all the options were weighed.
He shut the hatch.
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