Chapter 10 - Departure

Waking up in the arms of Hermiod was one of the things I could definitely get used to. He looked so peaceful and cute as he was resting there, his head on my upper arm, his hand placed on my belly, that I could have watched him sleeping forever. It was simply amazing to experience how much he trusted me, how secure he felt in my embrace, how he enjoyed my kisses. Considering the fact that I've always thought the Asgard were cold and uncomfortable with being touched, this was a little miracle indeed. I made a silent promise to him to never hurt him, to never disappoint him and to never fail him.

My heart was so full of love like never before in my life. He had conquered all of me and I could only stop and stare in wonderment how this had happened so fast. Within just a few days, he had become the center of my life. He was my constant, my brightest shining star, and I was an unruly planet revolving around him, sometimes tumbling, sometimes dancing joyously through my own personal Pleiades. It was wonderful and it was more than I'd ever have expected. I was perfectly aware of the fact that I hadn't fallen for him just a few days ago. I had always felt this silent longing inside whenever I had talked to him at work, whenever I had felt his eyes on me.

Yes, I could get used to waking up with him every morning and falling asleep with him every night. I could even get used to being almost naked in the moment of waking up or falling asleep as long as I knew he was there, because I felt completely safe with him. It made me feel so perfectly right to sense his naked skin on mine when he snuggled up to me. Being with someone who needed warmth, hugs and kisses just as much as I did without ever having interest in, as Hermiod used to call it, sexual intercourse, was liberating. I saw a whole new world being created right in front of me, and I was ready to conquer it with Hermiod at my side.

I finally was with a person who respected me in every way possible and didn't have expectations of which I knew I couldn't meet. Although we came from two entirely different galaxies, we were the perfect match. If there had ever been a good example for the saying 'Opposites attract', it was us.

But this was, of course, just one of the countless things that I loved about Hermiod, and I was sure that in the near future I was going to discover even more.

It was very early still, the sun hadn't risen yet, but there was already a silver lining to be seen on the horizon. A silver lining that was ringing in the first day of the best years of my life.

I could have stayed like this for many more hours, but we had to get up early and leave for Hoth within the next hour, because today was one of the most anticipated days the Daedalus crew had ever experienced.

Today we were going to find out whether it was possible to synchronise the Daedalus's hyperdrive with the Beliskner's without damaging either of the ships. I was eagerly anticipating the show, but there was also this little nagging voice of hesitation that kept reminding me of the various things that could go wrong, because it wasn't only the hyperdrive that had to be gotten in tune, but also the shields and the computer connection. It would be the most complicated manoeuvre the Daedalus ever had to fly.

But instead of further brooding, I got my head together, pushed all the negative thoughts aside for the moment and decided it was time to get up.

Hermiod woke up when I shifted, although I was as careful as possible. He looked at me with sleepy eyes and a very consent look on his face. I loved that look, to be honest. It was so full of trust, warmth and understanding.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes slowly, seemingly tired. I wondered how much sleep he normally needed and whether just five hours were enough for the Asgard organism to recreate. When I saw him cowering there, all tired and not really able to get up, I got a nagging bad consciousness.

'Good morning, sunshine.' I greeted him tenderly and reached out a hand for him to help him get up. When he finally found the strength to move, I pulled him in my embrace and held him close.

'The sun hasn't risen yet.' He pointed out, being completely right with this obvious statement.

I loved the fact that he approached literally everything with his imperturbable logic. For him the world seemed to be like mathematics, calculable and always making sense.

He buried his face at my shoulder and inhaled the fragrance of my body. His long arms were clasped around my body as though he wanted to show me that he'd never ever let me go, and I was totally consent with it.

'I don't need the sun to give me light and warmth.' I said with an honest smile and returned his firm embrace to show him that I felt like him, that I didn't want to let him go either, come hell or high water.

'I have to go to the bathroom now.' I told him after a few minutes, keeping in mind that we had an appointment to meet. 'Will you be OK?'

He lifted his head to meet my glance. 'If you come back anytime soon, I will be fine.'

I placed a tender kiss on his forehead and let him go. He took a few steps backwards, looking at me approvingly. 'Good morning, sunshine.' He repeated my morning greeting.

I blew him a kiss and disappeared into the bathroom, taking a soothing shower. I still felt Hermiod's hands everywhere on my body and realized how enjoyable this sensation actually was. Dreaming of his beautiful alien features, I let the hot water run all over me.

When I came back to the living room, now wide awake and at the best of my moods, Hermiod was still standing at the same spot, eyeing me interestedly, as though he wanted to imprint every tiny detail of me in his brain. I did the same with him.

Now I wore my standard overall again and had pinned my hair up in my usual ponytail, because it was time to get back to business. On the Daedalus I could hardly walk around dressed in Asgard style. The mere thought made me smile.

'What are you thinking of?' He asked curiously, noticing my smug smile.

'About Asgard dress code on the Daedalus.' I couldn't help but giggle.

'I assume this to be impossible to establish.' He said seriously, looking at me in confusion when I burst into laughter.

'That was a joke, love.' I sad tenderly after I had calmed down again.

When he gave me a most confused glance, I hugged him passionately. 'Don't take all of the stuff serious that I'm saying all the time. I'm famous for my sarcasm and weird humour.'

'I suppose I can get used to it, but it will take some time to learn.' He murmured, returning the hug.

We held on to each other for some more minutes, simply enjoying each other's presence.

'Do you want to go to the bathroom, too, or…?' I finally broke the spell.

I admit that I was totally uncertain about Asgard morning rituals. My imagination presented me a picture of Hermiod under the shower which was most likely a very pleasant view.

Hermiod just tilted his head in confirmation and went for the bathroom. I could hear water running, but I didn't dare to go and have a look at what he was doing. Although the Asgard were quite casual about privacy, I decided to keep up my human standards for the time being.

I spent the time waiting for Hermiod to gather all the stuff I'd need on the Daedalus today. It wasn't much, though, because most of it was already over there. I hadn't seen any use in bringing any of my equipment back to Atlantis, because I needed none of it here anyway, except for my tablet computer that was my constant companion whenever I was at work.

Luckily, Hermiod didn't make me wait long. He reappeared only minutes later. Now he looked just as wide awake as I did. I could see the eagerness and the thrill of anticipation on his face. For him today's experiment was seemingly just as interesting as it was for me.

Of course, I was still wondering what an Asgard actually did in the bathroom, but I decided to postpone the question to another day, because we were already late. I was sure that Thor wouldn't appreciate us not being on time.

I looked at Hermiod's soft expression thoughtfully and smiled at him. It's hard to describe how much love I felt when I looked at him, and it was hard to believe that we were officially together for only two days now. It felt like forever, like I had just come home to the place where I had always belonged to.

'Ready?' He asked, taking my hand in his tenderly.

'Ready.' I approved, squeezing his fingers.

Just a second later we were beamed aboard the Beliskner. I had no idea how Hermiod had communicated with his people to tell them we were ready. They must have gotten any kind of signal from him, obviously, because I was sure that Thor hadn't just challenged his good luck. On the other hand, with Thor you never knew.

There were so many questions that I wanted to ask about the Asgard, and I hoped with all my heart that I'd get the chance to receive all the answers. For Hermiod I wanted to become an expert on everything Asgard. He had studied humans for more than two years, mostly because of me, now it was time for me to return the favour. I made a promise to myself to start my research as soon as we'd have brought the Daedalus to Lantea. Fortunately, I had a private tutor for my lessons.

Oh, and concerning Thor…

The Supreme Commander looked at us in utter interest. Only now did I realize that I was still holding Hermiod's hand. I let it go and cleared my throat awkwardly, hoping Thor wouldn't ask any embarrassing questions. I could see on his face that he was brimming with curiosity about the circumstances that made Hermiod hold my hand.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't ashamed of being with Hermiod in any way, but just like everyone else, I didn't want people to come to conclusions without giving me the chance to explain.

'Good morning.' Thor just said casually without commenting his observation any further.

'Good morning.' Hermiod replied shortly, obviously not willing to make a statement either.

I swallowed my slight embarrassment and nodded at Thor approvingly, before I followed the two Asgards down one of the Beliskner's long corridors.

'As the two of you and Colonel Caldwell are our only passengers today, we're going to leave immediately.' Thor informed us. 'It will be a busy day.'

I didn't miss Thor's annoyed undertone. I supposed it was because he didn't like and slowly grew tired of the fact that he had been degraded to some kind of shuttle bus driver for the Atlantis expedition, while he actually wanted to be back on Othala to attend to whatever problem was awaiting him there.

'Wait.' I interrupted him nevertheless. 'What do you mean, only Caldwell and us? What about all the other crewmen, technicians, engineers and whatnot?'

That was really a tad spooky, actually, because I had planned with a whole team of people doing their respective jobs. It was almost impossible for a single person to keep tabs on all the computer displays.

'In accordance to the high risk of the endeavour we've decided to reduce the Daedalus's crew to those who are essentially necessary for the ship to get into space and be manoeuvred to Lantea.' Thor explained patiently. 'We would only have needed the two of you, actually, but considering Colonel Caldwell's affinity towards his ship, we agreed with bringing him along. He might be useful at the helm while Hermiod and you are controlling the engines.'

'OK, I'd indeed be thankful about every helping hand.' I quirked a worried brow. 'But why for crying out loud is the task so risky all of a sudden? Yesterday you said there's no problem. Dellingur, too, said there's no problem.'

'There will be no problem.' Thor reassured me. 'But there's always a residual risk in every space flight and I am not willing to take more risks than necessary.'

Imperturbable Asgard logic again. Even if I had wanted, I wouldn't have been able to object, because he was right with every word he said. Still, the weird feeling remained. That's why I couldn't leave the subject alone just yet.

'I didn't even think it's possible to fly the Daedalus with just three people.' I therefore remarked. 'I'm kind of aware of it because I know every existing manual by heart, but I also know it's very difficult. This ship was designed for a big crew, it's not intended to fly with just a handful of people.'

Thor gave me a very disconcerting glance, as though he wanted to tell me that he wouldn't explain me his reasons any further, because a mere human like me was too stupid to understand him anyway. I wasn't mad at him, though, because I knew that's just how the Asgard were. They were smarter than anyone in the universe, after all, and his considerations were surely good and reasonable. Though, the weird feeling of foreboding not only remained but even got stronger.

Thor looked at Hermiod and me for quite a while, before he seemed to change his general opinion. I could read the realisation in his expression and knew that he perfectly knew about the situation concerning our relationship. To me, it felt like a blessing, when he finally gave us a slow approving nod. Then, as a sign of his approval, he decided to share his considerations with us eventually.

'After interconnecting and synchronising our systems, there won't be much work to be done on the Daedalus anymore.' He explained factually. 'Navigation and other crucial responsibilities will be taken care of by my crew. We mostly need you to supervise our activities and to make possible adjustments.'

I grimly thought about the prospect of being completely remote controlled, but didn't utter a word. After all, those people normally knew what they did and I trusted them unconditionally. If there was ever a people in the universe whom I'd trust with my life, it was the Asgard.

Thor gave us a last reassuring glance, then left us to our own devices. We were standing at a window from where we could watch the Beliskner slipping into hyperspace. Although I had watched that phenomenon a few times already, it still fascinated me. The beauty of all those swirling shades of blue alone was mesmerizing and always worth watching.

When I had been younger and a big science-fiction fan, I had always wondered how traveling faster than light would actually work, but I'd never have expected that things like hyperspace or subspace really existed. It's always enlightening when fiction is overtaken by reality.

'What are you thinking about?' Hermiod wanted to know, observing me thoroughly.

'About the wonders of the universe in general.' I explained pensively. 'And about the fact that I'd never have dreamt I'd ever travel through hyperspace. It still mesmerises me, and I'm sure it'll always be that special for me. I'm so thankful for all the wonders of the universe, I can't get enough of seeing them.'

I gave him a tender smile and put my arms around him carefully. 'I'm thankful that things like hyperspace exist and that your people are advanced enough to travel from one galaxy to another in no time.'

'Me too.' He answered, exactly understanding what I was telling him between the lines.

There are no words to describe how happy and relieved I was that Hermiod was such an incredibly fast learner. Of course, he had studied me for more than two years already, but still there was a lot about me that he had learned only in the last few days. He seemed to be capable to read me like an open book, and I was willing to give him as much to read as possible.

'I have a feeling this whole endeavour will be more difficult than Thor wants to make me believe.' I sighed, hoping I was mistaken.

'It is difficult, indeed.' Hermiod confirmed. 'But that doesn't mean it's impossible. As long as the machinery doesn't let us down, we won't encounter any problems.'

I experienced his confidence as something really comforting and soothing. When he spoke, even the most complicated matters seemed to become simple.

'True.' I therefore murmured. We were relying on Asgard technology, after all, that's why I decided not to agonize any longer and instead think of how we'd spent the evening after we'd have brought the Daedalus to Lantea.

###

We arrived at Hoth when the sun was just rising over the mountain range where the Daedalus was waiting for us. At least the weather would be fine today and we wouldn't have to endure another blizzard while getting ready to start. The whole scenery seemed inviting today, as though the planet wanted to tell us a friendly goodbye. Though, Hoth could take any effort it wanted, I'd never feel anything friendly for it.

Seeing the Daedalus through the Beliskner's windows while we approached the planet was still breath-taking. I had spent so much time aboard the ship that I had found something like a second home there over the months.

Of course, she lacked the beautiful elegance of the Beliskner. The Asgard, after all, were space travellers for about 30,000 years already, while we were still at the beginning of our space age. They had had enough time to integrate their advanced technology into spaceship design that suited their own aesthetic standards. And as I knew more about Asgard design and standards now, it was clear to me that their ships only resembled their breath taking architecture. Our ships, though, were only built for functionality, but still the Daedalus looked beautiful in her very own way, because there was indeed beauty in practical functional design, at least if you have an eye for it.

Even now that she was resting on that steep snow-covered mountain, still surrounded by lots of her own shatters, she emanated pride. After all, she was the greatest piece of technology the people of planet Earth had built so far, and maybe it was my own pride that I saw when I looked at the ship. It was the pride of a person who had taken part in the whole construction process.

I remembered the day very well when I had seen the first sketches of her. For me said sketches had already been enough reason to take the assignment of joining the construction team. It had been a great honour and a thrilling challenge. I would have been a fool if I had declined.

The last few days a lot of people had been working to get her suitable for space flight again, but as that was the main goal for the moment, all the other damage hadn't been attended to yet. The decision to take the Daedalus back to Lantea was the only logical approach, even though it wasn't without any risk. Nobody wanted to spend more time in this freezing hell any longer than necessary, and the meteorologists who had researched and calculated the planet's climate had given out a warning that the weather might get even worse any day now.

That's why it was finally time to take the Daedalus home.

We beamed down directly into the engine room where everything was already prepared for the much anticipated take-off. It was an enlightening moment, indeed, to finally dare what seemed almost impossible to me. In my opinion the Daedalus was not in a much better condition than a wreck, but she was, at least, a wreck with a well working hyperdrive. Hopefully.

I settled behind my array of computer screens and began to prepare all systems for take-off. Hermiod did the same with his Asgard devices. We were calm and focused, ready to take on the world.

It was a funny feeling, indeed. When I looked at Hermiod who was composed and highly concentrated, everything inside of me calmed down. Being in his presence made me feel at ease in a way I had never experienced before. I gave him a thankful smile, but he was so enthralled by his task that he didn't see it.

That's why I decided to get my head together and follow his example. We were experts, after all, so I was going to live up to that reputation.

'Bridge, this is Engineering.' I voiced after I had put on and activated my headset.

'Caldwell here.' Came the expected curt answer.

'We're maintaining our final system checks right now.' I reported. 'Are you ready as well?'

'Affirmative!' Caldwell sounded eager enough to be contagious. I could only approve of this, because that was the right spirit for what we were about to do. 'As soon as you give me steering control, I'm ready to go.' He added.

'Understood.' I replied just as curtly.

It was good to know that Caldwell was with us, because I was a good engineer but I definitely wasn't able to steer a spaceship out of atmosphere's grasp, especially not a spaceship as huge and damaged as the Daedalus.

'Beliskner, this is Daedalus.' I spoke in my best business voice. 'Our final system checks are finished. Everything's running smoothly, and we're ready for take-off.'

'Confirmed.' I heard Dellingur's voice on the speakers. 'We have you on screen and will be ready as soon as you've left the planet's atmosphere.'

'Alright. I'll keep the channel open.' I acknowledged and turned to Hermiod who was standing by at his terminal, patiently waiting for my affirmation.

'Ready?' I asked him with a smile.

'As ready as can be.' He tilted his head slightly and raised his brows. It was his version of an encouraging smile.

Taking a look at all my screens, I felt the same kind of eagerness that I had heard in Caldwell's voice before. My heart was beating fast, my nerves were on high alert, but generally speaking I was fine, because challenges like these were the spice to an engineer's life.

'Fine.' I acknowledged, turning back to my computers. 'Starting main engines now.' My fingers were literally flying over the keyboard while I kept an eye on six computer screens, all at the same time. I could feel in my stomach how the engines started to burn fuel. It was one of the best feelings ever, because it sparked the traveller's passion in me.

'Colonel, the helm is yours.' I reported to Caldwell. 'Manoeuvring thrusters are at your disposal. You can get us out of here whenever you're ready.'

'Acknowledged.' I heard him on my headset. 'Keep your eyes on the scanners, just in case.'

'Ready and standing by.' I confirmed.

Now we were about to experience the first and maybe most important part of the whole endeavour. All the hours of configuring and checking the hyperdrive parameters over and over again would be worth nothing, if we didn't even manage to move the Daedalus from the planet's surface.

The first attempt at take-off was neither smooth nor elegant. I heard far too much screeching metal, as though the Daedalus was protesting against getting brought away before she was actually ready for it. Though, Colonel Caldwell knew no mercy when he tried to force the ship to leave the planet.

There was a lot of shaking and clattering, so loud that I almost couldn't hear my own thoughts anymore. But Hermiod who was standing at the Asgard computer terminal at the far wall was totally calm, as though the take-off was boring routine to him. Well, maybe it was. I'm sure he'd been through many more take-offs than me.

'Talvi!' I could barely hear Caldwell through all the noise. 'I need a tad more power. She doesn't want to move an inch.'

'I know.' I replied curtly, typing frantically. 'I can give you two of the additional thrusters. Just don't ruin them right away. We might need them later.'

'I won't.' He promised, while the noise around me was getting even louder. 'Don't worry, I won't cause any damage.'

And then I felt it more than I heard it, when two more thrusters came online and gave us that necessary tad of power Caldwell had called for.

'Alright.' He told me enthusiastically. 'Ready to go.'

With a deep frown I kept a close eye on all of my monitors. The Daedalus was rearing up against all the powers of physics that tore at her. I could only grit my teeth and get a hold on my console not to risk to be thrown from my chair.

Then, finally, I noticed we were actually taking-off. The noise remained, but the shaking decreased a tiny bit. While the ship was gaining height, I leaned back and kept watching the computer readouts that counted the miles. Everything looked fine, but I wasn't relieved yet, because although we were very likely to leave Hoth's atmosphere soon, we still hadn't slipped into hyperspace, and in my mind a premonition was forming that the fun had only just begun.

'Engineering.' I heard Caldwell after a while. 'We're leaving the atmosphere any second now. I can already see the Beliskner. I suppose it's time to give back control to you.'

'Acknowledged.' I let him know, typing commands on my keyboard like a maniac. Normally there were dozens of people on the Daedalus who had their respective tasks to keep an eye on readings, to maintain and check systems and whatnot. Now all of that had to be done by one person alone. Unfortunately, that person was me.

'OK, Hermiod, we're out of Hoth's grasp. Data looks good.' I reported to my favourite Asgard. 'Though, I have a nagging perception of the Daedalus being not far from falling apart.'

'Indeed.' He confirmed to my great dismay. 'I have fluctuating atmosphere data from several parts of the ship, but there are only minor rooms and corridors involved. I will close the safety hatches in question, so we don't get in trouble because of losing atmosphere.'

'Do you think it's even safe to dare a hyperspace jump?' I couldn't help but frown worriedly.

'There's a possibility of losing some outer bulkheads and parts of the hull, but as I said, they're of minor importance. All of the repairs can be finished on Lantea.'

'Fine.' I nodded, trusting him completely. 'Let's go.'

'Beliskner, this is Hermiod.' I watched him pushing stones around on the hyperdrive control panel, completely focused on his task.

'Confirmed. This is Dellingur.' I heard the Asgard engineer's voice on the speakers. 'According to our data we're ready to synchronize with your hyperdrive.'

'Acknowledged.' Hermiod said, his voice in a pure business tone. 'Our calculations are done. Sending data now.'

'Received.' Dellingur confirmed. 'Synchronising frequencies, synchronizing hyperdrive parameters, synchronising shields…'

'I have strange data on the shield parameters.' Hermiod interrupted him, working at his terminal even more frantically. 'Corrected.'

'Are you sure about the shield data?' I wanted to know, having the same readings on my screen. 'Without the shield…'

'I know.' Hermiod confirmed. 'If we lose shield synchronisation, we will risk to fall out of hyperspace too early. But the data looks good now. I just had to adjust a few parameters.'

'Receiving data.' I heard Dellingur again. 'Changing parameters. Shield frequencies synchronized.'

I felt sweat running down my back while every single nerve of mine was on edge. Both shields and hyperdrive were extremely delicate devices. It took only one parameter set wrongly and the whole ship would literally blow up in our faces. I tried to breathe slower to calm myself down, trying to find comfort in the Asgards' confidence. I kept my eyes on the monitors all the time, didn't even dare to blink.

'Computer connection initialized.' Hermiod said. 'You should have access to our screens now. Transferring computer control to you.'

'Affirmative.' Dellingur confirmed calmly.

I really admired the Asgard for always being on total business tone without the slightest bit of commotion in their voices. I was literally on the edge already, taking care that not the slightest bit of data could slip my attention.

'Colonel Caldwell, this is Hermiod.' He raised his head slightly to look in my direction, giving me an encouraging glance. I drank in the confidence in his eyes.

'Caldwell here.' He sounded still eager but also a bit stressed. 'That was some bumpy ride… Hope we won't go on like that while in hyperspace.'

'That is very unlikely.' Hermiod either ignored or was simply oblivious of Caldwell's ironic remark. 'The Beliskner is ready for hyperspace transfer. Do you approve?'

'Sure, let's get this on.' Caldwell confirmed.

Hermiod closed the connection and keyed some more data into his computer. He was working so fast that I had a hard time following his steps, so I could only watch and hope for the best.

'Beliskner, we're ready.' He finally confirmed. 'Our hyperdrive is connected to yours.'

'Transfer now.' Dellingur approved.

As always, it was just a bit of a second, but the sensation was unmistakable. Hermiod and Dellingur had managed to make the impossible happen. We really had slipped into hyperspace and the Daedalus didn't seem like falling apart. Everything seemed to run smoothly, there was no shaking, no clattering. It was as though the Daedalus was flying on her own accord. If I hadn't seen the computer readouts, I'd never have known that we were carried along by the Beliskner.

I slumped down on my chair, exhaled in relief and rubbed my temples. The slight headache I had felt throughout the whole starting sequence was finally ebbing away, fortunately.

'Well done, Hermiod.' I murmured. 'That was good work.'

'Agreed.' I heard Caldwell on my headset. 'Both of you have done a good job. And as there's nothing more to do on the bridge until we'll arrive at Lantea, how about me getting us some coffee?'

'Sounds like a good plan.' I confirmed. 'See you in Engineering?'

'Confirmed.' I could almost hear the big smile on his face. 'I'll be there in ten minutes.'

###

Just two or three minutes after that last contact with the Colonel, we immediately knew that the coffee would have to wait, because suddenly the shaking and clattering returned. I was on high alert in an instant.

'What's going on?' I shouted in Hermiod's direction.

'We're losing the connection to the Beliskner's shields.' Hermiod informed me. 'I'm trying to compensate.'

He didn't have time for compensating anymore, because just a second later the lights went out and the noise died down. All of a sudden there was pitch black darkness all around us until a few seconds later the emergency lights went on.

'Crap!' I cursed, uselessly trying to get any of the monitors working again. 'Crap, crap, crap! What the hell happened!?'

'We've lost the synchronisation with the Beliskner's shields.' Hermiod reported. 'Unfortunately, it came to a chain reaction that made us also lose computer connection and the hyperdrive. We were flying through hyperspace in a completely different direction than the Beliskner before the hyperdrive failed. We've lost contact about ten seconds ago. I'm sure Dellingur tried to compensate, too, but it happened too fast. Unfortunately, this is the last data I got before the computers failed as well.'

'So you want to tell me we've dropped out of hyperspace in the middle of nowhere?' I asked carefully. 'Somewhere deep in Wraith territory? And nobody out there knows where we are?'

'That sums it up very well.' He confirmed.

'Crap!' I cursed, kicking my chair and gritting my teeth because of my now hurting toe.

'Crap, indeed.' Hermiod said. When it was about cursing, I seemingly was a really bad influence on him.

I could only see his silhouette in the gloomy shimmer of the emergency lights, but I was sure that there was a very worried look on his face that spoke of the disaster we were in. I had no idea how or why we had lost contact with the Beliskner, but I was also sure that without our computers and scanners, we weren't able to find out, just as we weren't able to notice any Wraith activities before they literally knocked at the door.

As I didn't want to be useless any longer, I tapped my headset. 'Colonel Caldwell?'

'The communication system is offline.' Hermiod let me know calmly, stating the obvious.

'I just noticed that.' I replied grimly, throwing my headset on my terminal.

I began pacing the room frantically, wracking my brain, trying to find a solution, but obviously there was nothing I could do at this very moment. We couldn't even find out where we were, because the navigation system was just as offline as every other system on this ship.

'Is there any system still available?' I asked hopefully.

'None.' Hermiod ruined my hopes. 'Except life support.'

'Yeah, that makes sense.' I mused. 'It runs on separate batteries that are not connected to the main systems. As long as there's still enough oxygen in our tanks, we're at least not going to die from suffocation. Though, there are still a million other ways to die out here.'

Hermiod came over to me, stopping me from my pointless pacing. 'Aegeti, we'll find a way…'

'Oh, sure we will! There are enough Wraith hiveships out there. I'm sure one of them will be so nice to give us a lift to Lantea!' I began a sarcastic rant. 'Why the hell is this happening, Hermiod!? I mean, haven't we been through enough crap lately? It's enough now, you know! Smashing into a planet, getting abducted by Wraith, and now, to make things perfect, we got lost in space! I'm so done with it!'

'Please, Aegeti, calm down.' He begged me. 'We will find a way out of this. At the moment there's no reason yet to be agitated.'

'Agitated?' I repeated. 'Well, 'agitated' doesn't cover it at all, you know. I'm at the verge of losing it! I have hoped to get some time to recover from the Wraith incident and all the crap that came with it, just to find myself elsewhere on a ship that's dead as can be. Give me one good reason for not freaking out on the spot!'

'You're not alone.' Hermiod reminded me quietly. 'I'm with you, and Colonel Caldwell is there, too. We just need to find him.'

I breathed deeply, trying to get myself under control, because there was indeed no point in freaking out. I was shaking all over and fought upcoming nausea. Hermiod stood right in front of me and now put his cool hands on my cheeks tenderly.

'Calm down, Aegeti.' He said, his voice so full of love that it almost broke my heart. 'We'll get out of this misfortunate situation. The Beliskner has very advanced scanners. They will find us.'

I realized that his words were really calming. I just didn't know whether he was right about the Beliskner finding us anytime soon. After all, they didn't even know where to start looking in the first place. I decided to keep those thoughts private, though, because I didn't want to bother Hermiod even more. I already was embarrassed enough for making such a pointless scene.

I slumped down on my chair, because I couldn't rely on my wobbly knees to hold me up any longer. Then I pulled Hermiod into a warm embrace. He was completely right with his statement that I wasn't alone in this situation. I was in the arms of one of the Asgards' best tech wizards who also happened to be the one I loved. Also, there was Colonel Caldwell somewhere who was famous for pragmatic ideas. I was sure that with those two around I could go through hell and back. I just had to keep a clear mind and start to work the problem.