Chapter 8 - Musings

'What the hell is this …thing doing here?'

I could already hear the disgust in this exclamation outside Engineering and wondered what had happened to make someone call out like that. I knew that there was still a lot of chaos there, because as long as the construction of the Daedalus was still in progress, there was no need to tidy up. That didn't explain, though, what was disgusting enough to make someone complain like that.

I entered the room and looked around, only finding two Airmen there. One of them was working at a computer, highly concentrated, while the other was just standing there, staring at our Asgard co-worker as though he was some kind of nasty cockroach. The Asgard glared right back at him, no less disgusted.

'May I ask what's the problem here, Airman?' I asked indignantly, fully aware of what was going on but unwilling to accept it.

The young man spun around in surprise and seemed to shrink under my glare of doom.

'I didn't know we're working with aliens!' He growled, pointing at Hermiod accusatorily.

'He's an Asgard, Airman Billings.' I let him know, my voice dangerously low. 'His name is Hermiod, and I expect you to handle him with respect. Even more so as he's got more brains than you. Also, we need him to set up and run the new hyperdrive that we even wouldn't have if the Asgard weren't kind enough to give it to us. Oh, and pointing with fingers at people is considered highly impolite.'

The young man looked at me in surprise, swallowed hard and lowered his hand. 'So you're approving of this?' He asked, still in disgust.

'What exactly is it about him that I shouldn't approve?' I asked, trying best to hold back my anger. 'Has he done anything to disturb you in one or another way?'

'First of all.' He made an unintelligible gesture. 'Does he have to be naked like that?'

I couldn't help but laugh about such a stupid comment.

'Have you ever thought about us being the weird ones with our constant need to cover our bodies?' I challenged him, watching Hermiod in the corner of my eye who did his best to ignore this useless argument. 'They are the advanced ones, Billings. We're only children compared to their experience and intellect.'

Billings looked at me, somewhat offended, but didn't utter any further word as he came to realize that perhaps he was the mistaken one and that he wouldn't win an argument against me.

'However.' I continued. 'Don't you have any work to do? If so, get it on. If not, I recommend you to leave my engine room better now than later, because I'm not going to tolerate any kind of hate against Hermiod. Either you accept his presence here or you just disappear and get yourself an earthbound job where you don't have to spend time with extra-terrestrials.'

My determined glare seemed to unsettle him greatly, because now he took his toolbox and left Engineering in a hurry, but not without throwing one last indignant look at Hermiod. I didn't even turn to watch him leave.

'I'm sorry.' I apologized to the Asgard. 'Humans are stupid sometimes.'

'I've been told to beware of xenophobic individuals.' Hermiod objected, not looking up from his computer. 'I don't waste time on them.'

I felt that he was hurt, although he did his best not to show it. I was sure that, despite the fact he always appeared cool and level-headed, the Asgard was at least annoyed by the incident. It was hard to read his body language, but something about him told me he didn't just shrug off what just had happened.

Still, I nodded approvingly and left him to his work, because he obviously wasn't willing to talk about the scene Billings had set up.

Instead I went over to the other Airman to discuss some technical matters with him, still glancing at Hermiod from time to time. I had no understanding for people who enrolled for a job on a spaceship and at the same time didn't want to meet extra-terrestrial beings. The logic in humans was indeed questionable in so many ways. No wonder that Hermiod hardly ever talked to us.

###

I woke up to the odd feeling of the Beliskner slipping into hyperspace. Many people don't even notice when it happens, but some are more sensitive, just like me. I always got a bit nauseous, but it lasted only a second to get back to normal. But it was enough to make me wake up this morning. I lifted my head to get a view out of the luxurious window to confirm the sensation and saw what I had expected.

Hyperspace is beautiful, yet a tad frightening. The mere fact to know we were travelling faster than light through space that was totally unlike our own space, had been quite disconcerting when I had first heard of it, because to just imagine that the laws of regular physics didn't apply to hyperspace, could cause nightmares or at least a quite unsettling feeling. Although the Asgard had perfected the technology of their hyperdrives, I still didn't trust the whole matter completely, especially not since the Daedalus, equipped with an Asgard hyperdrive, had smacked right into a planet. But I fully trusted the Asgard, because they didn't have any Wraith worshipers among them. I suppose the Asgard didn't worship anything at all, they were way too level-headed for such nonsense.

When I looked to the side, I got aware of my Hermiod who was just lying there, resting on the soft blanket and watching me intently.

Did I really already refer to him as 'my' Hermiod? How could it be that something that felt like a paradigm shift to me could happen that fast? It was so totally not like me, but I couldn't help it in any way. I just looked at him and my heart said 'My Hermiod'. It happened without even thinking about it.

And now all I could do was smile when I thought of last night, of all the wonderful revelations that we both had experienced. I was relieved that he was still there and hadn't left while I had been asleep. He was obviously serious about us.

'Good morning.' I murmured, my voice a bit hoarse, as always after waking up.

'Good morning.' Hermiod replied. 'Did you sleep well? Has my blanket been sufficient for you?'

I couldn't help but smile, while I carefully caressed his cheek. 'I've rarely slept that well.' I reassured him. 'But last night I didn't even find time to ask you how the Asgard prefer to sleep.'

'Our beds lack the comfort of human beds.' He explained. 'But I enjoyed sleeping at your side very much.'

'So did I, dear, so did I.' I assured him tenderly. 'Though… I wonder if there's coffee on an Asgard ship.'

'Unfortunately, we don't have any human food supplies aboard the Beliskner yet.' Hermiod informed me. I noticed that he concluded the sentence with a 'yet' and wondered what he planned.

'I can provide you with Asgard food, though, if you'd like to have breakfast already.' He then offered. 'Also, we'll be arriving at the Daedalus within the next hour. I'm positive they have coffee there.'

'In an hour already?' I wondered. 'I've never realized the Daedalus is that close. The Jumpers always seem to take half an eternity.'

'Let's put it that way.' Hermiod began, seemingly a tad uncomfortable. 'The Beliskner's hyperdrive is by far more powerful than the Daedalus's.'

'Hey, that's nothing to be uncomfortable about.' I reassured him with an encouraging smile. 'I would have wondered, if the Asgard had given us their latest technologies. We're thankful for what we've got, really. I know the treaties. I've read that you normally don't give any of your technologies away to people who wouldn't be able to accomplish these inventions themselves. Thor only made an exception because our people helped yours to fight off the Replicators. The eradication of these nasty bugs was in both our interests, after all, and it's great we could contribute. So this is all perfectly OK with me.'

'I'm glad about your understanding, Aegeti.' He said, relieved. 'It's just that many humans never get enough.'

'Don't worry.' I noticed that I was still smiling and must have looked like a retard. 'I'm easily to please, but I suppose there's going to be something that I won't get enough of anytime soon.'

Hermiod gave me the most adorable puzzled look I've ever seen on him, but I decided to keep this particular thought to myself. Instead I shifted in a position that allowed me to pull him in a warm embrace. He seemingly hadn't expected it.

'How are you?' I whispered softly and kissed his neck. 'Did you sleep well?'

'I did.' He confirmed, flinching slightly because of the kiss. 'It was a most uncommon place for me to sleep, though.'

'Because of the surroundings or because you were with someone?' I wanted to know.

'Both.' He admitted. 'But I could easily get used to this.'

'You've showed me so much wonderment and beauty last night.' I held him even closer. 'Now it's my turn to show you something. Tonight we'll be in Atlantis.'

He nodded slightly. 'Wherever you'd like to be, Aegeti.'

How could a single sentence make me feel so completely happy? Everything that happened to me recently made me feel like I had never felt before and never thought I'd ever feel. I was literally walking on clouds.

'But first there's still some work to do on the Daedalus in order to bring her home to Atlantis.' I went on. 'I could absolutely imagine way better things to spend the day with, but duty is duty.'

'Indeed.' Hermiod replied. 'Duty is duty.'

###

As everyone already knew their respective tasks, there was not much to discuss when we finally arrived at Hoth. Hermiod went back to the bridge, while Dellingur and I continued our work at Engineering. Colin and Mike had also shown up again to continue their task of installing our own computer systems. I really loved it when things ran smoothly.

Right now we had a really nice working environment, because I've got comfortable with having the two technicians around who never seemed to grow tired of making jokes and filling the atmosphere with positive vibes.

Dellingur had observed Hermiod and me very interestedly when we had entered the room, probably looking for any signs as to how our last night's date had worked out, but he didn't show any emotion or hint about his thoughts. One of the few things I was really good at was keeping professional distance and not blatantly showing anything of what was stirring my mind. Of course, Hermiod and I didn't want to make a secret of the relationship we were building, but that didn't mean we wanted to spend the whole day showing it around. We were no teenagers, after all, we were able to handle this like grown-ups.

After Hermiod had left for the bridge, Dellingur and I worked on the hyperdrive modules silently until Dellingur's curiosity finally won over the distance every Asgard kept towards humans. I had already wondered when he'd come to the point where he just couldn't keep it any longer.

'May I ask a question, Dr Talvi?' He looked at me cautiously, trying to read every change in expression on my face. I'm sure there was a lot to read, I just didn't know how much of it was understandable to an Asgard who hadn't spent much times with humans yet.

'Yes, of course.' I said distractedly, busily reading a data sheet on my tablet computer. Configuring a hyperdrive, a piece of extremely advanced technology, is a huge challenge, actually, at least for those who don't have a lifetime of experience with it.

'Has Hermiod been successful at his task last night?' Dellingur managed to ask the question as innocently as only an Asgard could do and almost made me laugh. Instead of laughing, though, I blushed heavily. I don't even know why I blushed, because there was nothing embarrassing about the truth, but maybe this was simply a normal reaction on a question so delicate and private.

'What task are you talking about exactly?' I tried to wriggle out of the upcoming interrogation hopelessly, my eyes still transfixed on the tablet.

'He had invited you last night.' Dellingur reminded me. He appeared to think about humans forgetting even the most important events. Of course, he couldn't know that we tend not to talk about private stuff that openly.

'You can be assured everything went quite well.' I replied anyway, blushing even more. 'But I don't think that's a topic to be discussed in public.'

Dellingur nodded in a way as though he knew exactly what that meant. I had a hard time not to facepalm about whatever he was thinking. I mean, he didn't know anything about humans and their dating rituals, but still he looked like he was an expert, fully able to draw the right conclusions out of the fact that I was blushing and unwilling to go into detail.

And just as though the Asgard's curiosity wasn't embarrassing enough already, the two technicians looked my way, too, no less interestedly. What is it about people that they always are that interested in other people's private lives? One should think there are much more interesting subjects out there!

I just grumbled, totally ignoring Mike and Colin. Instead I turned back to Dellingur. 'I've just looked through the config files I had set up yesterday, and it seems that I've miscalculated some of the hyperdrive parameters.'

'How could that happen?' Dellingur asked in surprise. 'By now your calculations have always been correct.'

'Yeah, I know.' I replied contritely. 'I must have been a little …distracted yesterday.'

'You were thinking a bit too much about Hermiod and a bit too little about the hyperdrive, as it seems.' The Asgard told me matter-of-factly. Why the hell did they always have to be that blunt when pointing out a mistake?

'Yeah, maybe.' I grumbled, a bit irritated by both myself and Dellingur. 'I think we should adjust those parameters immediately.'

'Indeed.' Dellingur acknowledged, looking at his readouts thoughtfully. 'If we don't fix that…'

'…the hyperdrive will blow us straight into oblivion as soon as we use it.' I confirmed.

I spent some time working on the hyperdrive configuration silently, trying to concentrate best I could, while my thoughts kept roaming nevertheless. Mentally, I was already planning the evening with Hermiod. I wanted to show him Atlantis's best parts and also didn't want to lack romance.

'Dellingur.' I suddenly came up with a thought. 'May I ask you something Asgard related?'

'Yes, of course.' He replied, looking up from the data crystals he was placing into the control panel carefully.

'What do Asgard actually eat?' I wanted to know. 'I've never seen Hermiod eat something! But, I mean, you must consume any kind of food, right?'

'Our food supplies are much richer in content than human nourishment.' He explained. 'That's why we don't have to eat as often as humans do. A meal once a day is fully sufficient.'

'Lucky you.' I confirmed. 'So you're not able to digest anything else than your own stuff?'

'That's correct.' Dellingur acknowledged. 'Our bodies are too weak to handle anything else than our own food supplies.'

I found it very sad, actually, that they weren't able to go on a lazy Sunday barbeque, but on the other hand, I didn't even think they'd be interested in anything that was mentioned in the same sentence with 'lazy'.

'And how is it about humans digesting your stuff?' I wanted to know.

'It would actually be much healthier for your kind to live on our food supplies instead of the unhealthy food you prefer to eat.' Dellingur let me know, sounding a bit pretentious.

'Well, I'd actually give that a try.' I retorted. 'Can't be worse than the Air Force MREs.'

Dellingur looked at me thoughtfully. 'If you want to be with Hermiod, I suppose you'd better get used to Asgard nourishment.' He told me blatantly.

Have I already mentioned how I was annoyed by the Asgard being that blunt all the time? Somehow, they all were like that with Hermiod being the only exception who seemed to try to be a bit more considerate, at least when he was with me.

In the corner of my eye, I saw Mike grinning at me widely. I took one of my screw drivers to throw it after him. Of course, it missed its target. Instead, it was caught by Colin who threw it right back at me. I've never been good at catching stuff, that's why the screw driver passed my ear and almost hit Dellingur.

'What are you doing?' He wanted to know in surprise about the attack.

'Foolish human behaviour.' I murmured, glared at Colin who just shrugged, and turned to my tablet again.

Sometimes I really felt like I had been thrown into an expedition that consisted of madmen alone, but on the other hand this was the exact surrounding that I could feel comfortable with.

Still, I had received some very important information from Dellingur. Now I only had to ask him a favour concerning my evening with Hermiod.

I was happy, all in all, and I was most certain that no other person aboard the Daedalus could be happier than me. After I had gone through hell just a few days ago, I was now heading in the completely opposite direction.

###

The rest of the day I didn't even try to pretend being less happy than I was, because I perfectly knew that I wouldn't have been able to hide it anyway. I've never been good at hiding my feelings, so there was no point in even giving it a try. I didn't care about the people who looked at me in confusion, wondering what was actually wrong with me.

On the other hand, people aboard the Daedalus and in Atlantis knew me as a very serious and mostly extremely sarcastic person who didn't take crap from others and always kept a good distance towards anyone. Now that I was overflowing with sheer happiness, everyone looked at the smile that I wore most of the time in wonderment. I supposed they suspected me to either be on drugs or to have had too much coffee (which surely would have led to the exact same effect).

Concerning coffee.

After the conversation with Dellingur and the confirmation all parameters of the hyperdrive were correct now, I went for the cafeteria. Although there were still tons of more critical systems to get running, someone had been of the opinion that without a well working coffee maker nobody would be able to do proper work. I don't know who had managed to talk Colonel Caldwell into this, but I was more than thankful towards that person.

I was really happy to finally get my morning coffee. Although waking up next to Hermiod was way better than any coffee in the world, I was sure about the fact that, if I spent more time aboard the Beliskner, I had to find a way to connect a standard coffee maker to their systems. Leaving Aegeti Talvi without coffee was no good idea at all.

I took a seat near the window to look out at the huge mountain range the Daedalus had come down on. Hoth was a peaceful place, generally speaking, because it didn't hold any life more advanced than a few small, leafless, and obviously frozen trees. The temperatures went far below zero at night, so if there had ever been any life, it had already been frozen long ago. It was a beautiful place, indeed, but no place to live in.

While sitting there, my thoughts drifted back to the morning aboard the Beliskner and to the 'yet' Hermiod had provided me with when I had asked for coffee. That little word told me more than anything else that the Asgard was serious about what was developing between us. He wanted to create a place for the both of us to live. It was fascinating how much one little word was able to warm my heart. Now that I sat here, I honestly missed Hermiod and wondered where he was right now.

For the first time in my entire life, I was in a serious relationship now, one of the kind that inspires you to make plans for the future and where to spend this future at. In our case, of course, this life would always take place somewhere among the stars, because that's where we both belonged, but it would also be a life of compromises and hardship, given the fact of Hermiod and me being representatives of two completely different cultures. I had been serious when I had told Hermiod last night that this wasn't meant to be easy, that's why I already sensed a lot of fighting and trouble ahead. What I definitely knew, though, was that I'd go through everything with him, because I felt it was worth it.

He was worth it.

The mere thought of his big black eyes watching my every move intently, of holding his fragile body close, of hearing his quiet heart beat next to mine, made me feel warm and comfortable. I hadn't felt at home like that anymore since I had spent the last winter at my grandparents' house in the middle of nowhere on Iceland. Only this time the warmth I felt didn't come from a fireplace but from love. A love which I was more certain of than anything else in my life.

But I've also been thinking a lot about the Asgard in general recently, that's why I had remembered something that Thor had said a few days ago when he had told Elisabeth he was going to stay around as long as the Daedalus wasn't ready to fly again. He had mentioned something about the Asgard having their own problems to deal with back at their home world, and that there were by far more dangerous challenges for them out there than the Replicators or the Wraith. Those words made me worry, to say the least, but I didn't dare to ask Hermiod about what Thor had actually meant. I knew he was going to tell me when the right time for it came, I just hoped it wouldn't be too late then. I just hoped it didn't take him away from me, because although we were just at the beginning of our relationship, I already knew that I wouldn't survive losing him.

'May I take a seat?' My train of thought was suddenly thrown off its tracks. 'If you don't mind?'

I looked up from my mug right into John Sheppard's face. I had been so lost in thought that I hadn't noticed him entering the cafeteria, pouring himself a cup and walking over to me.

'Yeah, sure.' I managed distractedly, gesturing him to sit down.

'Thanks! How's things in Engineering?' He asked while plopping on the empty chair and leaning over to face me.

'Getting there.' I informed him shortly. 'The hyperdrive should be running latest tomorrow evening.'

'Ah, that's great news!' He cheered, smiling at me. 'It's really time to move away from this ice cube. I've got enough from the cold.'

One of the things that I liked about Sheppard was that he really did care for both people and everything else. He was the guy who could easily be called a best friend, at least by someone who wasn't as wary towards people as me. But although he often was pretty flirty, he also knew when to be serious.

'The Asgard seem to be doing a good job.' He continued. 'I'm really glad, you know, that they've decided to help us out despite their usual politics of not getting involved.'

He leaned back comfortably and took a sip from his mug, obviously enjoying its warmth.

'Thor's a good person.' I discerned, taking another sip of my coffee, too, before I continued. 'I also suppose General O'Neill had some influence on his decision. As far as I know, Thor owes him more than one.'

Everyone at Stargate Command knew of the special friendship of General O'Neill and Supreme Commander Thor. They had fought alongside not only once and had learnt to respect and rely on each other. It was one of those friendships that are meant to keep the universe in one piece.

Sheppard nodded thoughtfully. 'Yeah, right. It's indeed good to know we have Asgard motherships orbiting both Lantea and Hoth. The Wraith seem a bit less of a threat ever since.'

'Maybe.' I said vaguely. 'But the Asgard won't babysit us forever. Have there been any Wraith activities recently since Thor had shown up?'

Sheppard shook his head. 'No, not even one tiny hive ship has made its way to Atlantis, yet. They're either busy fighting each other or they have great respect towards Asgard weaponry. I prefer both options equally.'

'We shouldn't get too sincere about that, though.' I admitted. 'They'll come up with new plans anytime soon, so we shouldn't rely on the Asgard too much. Especially because I suppose they'll leave as soon as the Daedalus has been brought to Lantea and all the Asgard engines are running smoothly. I've heard Thor say they have other problems to deal with back on Othala.'

Only now did I realize what was about to happen in just mere days. The Beliskner, the Mjolnir and the other two Asgard ships would be heading home anytime soon, and there was no guarantee for Hermiod to stay with us. I decided to talk to him about this unsettling matter tonight. The mere thought of him going home and leaving me behind was frightening.

'Aegeti, are you alright?' I suddenly heard Sheppard's voice. I'm sure I had made some really stupid face while my thoughts were drifting without control.

But before I could answer to him, I first needed to back away from the hand he was waving around in front of my face.

'I am.' I murmured, raising my hand apologetically. 'I was just thinking about something. I'm sorry that I got lost in thought while talking to you. I'm terrible at social skills.'

Sheppard nodded slowly, giving me an encouraging smile. He didn't seem to be quite sure about what he wanted to say next. At some point, though, he plucked up the necessary courage.

'Honestly, Aegeti, I'm not only here for small talk… I just wanted to know, how are you?' He asked carefully.

I gave him a puzzled look. 'I'm fine, Sheppard, really.'

'OK, listen.' He managed awkwardly. 'I've spent time on a hive ship, too, not only once, and I know how traumatizing it is, so if you need someone to talk to, I just want you to know, I'm here.'

'Thank you.' I said with a smile, being definitely thankful for the offer. 'But I'm honest when I say I'm fine. I have someone to talk about it already.'

'Hermiod?' He asked, more interested than just curious.

I nodded. 'We've been through this together, so we're going to deal with this together.'

'I've heard you've been dating.' He said, winking at me.

'Rumours are spreading like wildfires, don't they?' I retorted, still smiling. 'But yeah, we've had something like a date, but he's an Asgard, so dating him is not at all like dating humans.'

'I approve of that.' Sheppard let me know. 'I'm always in for love among the stars.'

We both couldn't help but laugh about the absurdity of the situation. It was great to have people around who were always open for a joke and a serious conversation at the same time. That's why people make friends, after all.

Then I emptied my mug and got up, because with a glance at the clock, I realized that I had already spent half an hour away from work.

'Thanks for everything, Sheppard.' I confirmed. 'I really appreciate it.'

'Anytime, Aegeti.' He replied with an honest smile.

I left the room in a hurry, because I had spent way too much time hanging around at the cafeteria lazily, and I didn't want to get late with my work. There was still an evening to plan, after all.

Of course, I knew that rather soon than later the severity of the Wraith incident would catch up with my present perception of it, but until then I wanted my mind to be free of it. Of course, I had some scars, both on my skin and my soul, but I wanted to give them a chance to heal, before I poisoned my mind unnecessarily. The Wraith, after all, had gotten what they deserved, and for the moment that was all that counted.

###

I spent the rest of the day with some other engineers to make sure the Daedalus would be able to get into hyperspace without falling apart. Dellingur and Hermiod had made great progress with setting up the hyperdrive and the transporter system, but there was still a lot of tasks to be accomplished. A whole army of workers had spent the last days repairing all the damage that had been done to the hull, because without an intact hull it would be completely impossible to get anywhere, especially into space. That's why it was so important to check everything twice before confirming it would work properly.

In the early evening Colonel Caldwell, Colonel Sheppard, Dr McKay, Dellingur, Thor, Hermiod and I met up in Engineering to discuss our further progress.

'We were able to connect the new hyperdrive to your propulsion system.' Dellingur reported. 'There's still some, as Dr Talvi calls it, fine tuning to do, but we'll be able to move the Daedalus into space as soon as the general system checks are finished.'

'The Asgard computer system is also connected to the Daedalus's computer. We've maintained a number of system checks that all ran smoothly. We now have full control over the ship's systems.' Hermiod added.

'Yeah.' I threw in sarcastically. 'The Beliskner's crew would be able to remote control us in any way they want.'

'Unfortunately, we need this connection to tow the Daedalus back to Lantea.' Dellingur explained, completely unimpressed by my sarcasm.

'That wasn't meant as a reproach.' I raised my hands apologetically. 'Did that sound like a reproach?'

Dellingur and Hermiod looked at me impassively, while Sheppard had a hard time stifling a snort. I should have known that sarcasm didn't work with Asgards. Luckily, I got a reassuring look from Sheppard and Caldwell, while McKay just raised a brow.

'I'd like to know how this is going to work.' Caldwell said eagerly. 'Is there anything for us to prepare?'

'No.' Hermiod told him matter-of-factly. 'Dellingur is going to supervise the process aboard the Beliskner, while Dr Talvi and I are adjusting the synchronization of the Daedalus's hyperdrive with the Beliskner's.'

'There's a lot of adjustment to be done, actually.' I remarked. 'Although both systems are Asgard, they're, well… different release generations, so to say.'

'So… is it even possible to synchronize them at all?' McKay now wanted to know, looking quite sceptical.

'It is.' Dellingur confirmed. 'But it takes plenty of expertise and perception. It's not a task for a standard scientist.'

Now it was on me to stifle a snort, because I knew the exact background to this snide remark. McKay had spent some time disturbing Dellingur's work earlier that day by asking countless questions and had finally been cut off by him with the remark that the hyperdrive was a device that only experts should put their hands on. That, of course, got totally against McKay's well-known huge ego, and they had gotten into an argument.

McKay glared at Dellingur in annoyance, but the Asgard ignored him completely. 'The hardest part will be to move the Daedalus out of the planet's gravity.' He went on explaining. 'Although the standard propulsion system is going to run smoothly, we're not entirely certain about the hull's integrity. It's impossible to check every plate and bulkhead in such a short time. Also, slipping into hyperspace will be a real challenge. The calculations will have to be absolutely exact, otherwise there would not only be damage taken on the Daedalus but on the Beliskner as well.'

'Sounds a bit more difficult than just throwing out a rope and tie it to the Daedalus, eh?' Sheppard remarked with a grin.

'If that was a possibility, we would have counted it in.' Hermiod said coolly.

We all looked at each other, and while we humans couldn't help but laugh, the Asgards glared at us in total obliviousness. It was one of those moments that showed me clearly how different our cultures actually were. The Asgard never had any use in things like humour, especially not the sarcastic kind. There was a lot for me to teach when it came to Hermiod, but I knew that I'd learn just as much from him. This mutual learning process was one of the things I liked most about the challenge of being in a relationship with Hermiod.

'The Beliskner will be ready and standing by tomorrow at sunrise.' Thor informed us. 'Until then the calculations will be done and uploaded to both computers. I expect everyone to be at their respective workstations at this time, because we won't have any time to lose.'

'I have a question.' McKay pointed out. 'Have you ever done something like this?'

Thor looked at him pensively. 'Dr McKay, you can be assured that the Beliskner's crew as well as your engineers will succeed in this task. Everything is planned carefully, including all probabilities.'

'Alright.' McKay grumbled. 'I just want to be sure that we won't have to deal with two wrecks floating through space somewhere.'

'Let that be the least of your concerns.' Thor confirmed. 'We have experience.'

I trusted the Asgard completely, because there was absolutely no reason not to. Dellingur and Hermiod had taught me everything I needed to know to accomplish the mission and I definitely wasn't going to fail. I was honestly proud they put so much trust in me. It was both a challenge and a gift, and I gladly took both.

But there was still some time left until sunrise - there was a whole night to be spent properly.