Thor's Slayers

by CzarZelinsky

Thor knows more about Earth's exotic wildlife than Stargate Command could have imagined. Thor decides to rectify that situation. SG-1 might be a little better if they just had some Faith. (Buffy/Angel/SG1/SG:A Characters. Story could become M in the future.) [TS has not been scrapped, only placed on the back burner while I recharge and begin WotE]

26. No Matter Where You Go, There You Are

— Thor's Slayers —

Chapter Six

No Matter Where You Go, There You Are

---

Author's Note: In the interest of keeping this top A/N section short, I'm moving my responses/answers to reviews to the end of the chapter. Writing that last chapter took a lot out of me and, judging by the reviews, wasn't my best work. That's thrown me off a bit because I've been doing lots of writes and rewrites with that criticism in mind. By including an aftermath section for last chapter and creating the build-up for Storm, I'll be having to break with my current trend of 10 chapters per part. Trying to fit it all together would just be too much to be manageable.

I'm not really that happy about this chapter, to be honest; it was a lot more than I wanted to write for what is essentially a filler chapter and doesn't really bring much to the table other than to fill in some blanks, answer some questions, and resolve some inner struggles. Unfortunately, there are likely going to be delays between the next few chapter releases because I haven't been able to write out and plan the next few chapters like I was doing before. I expect it to be several weeks until I release chapter seven, but hopefully the extra time will mean that I can release a chapter of higher quality.

---

#

January 21st, 2006
Atlantis

"Well, don't you look happy," Major Sheppard observed sarcastically, standing several feet away from the stationary brunette.

Faith sighed and ignored the annoyingly cheerful Air Force officer.

"Everyone on your team is safe, you rescued some people, you captured a Wraith," Sheppard enumerated slowly as he peered down at her. "You get the intel Kavanagh was all hot to trot about, too?"

"Stackhouse has it," Faith affirmed.

"So why do you look like someone just ran over your dog?" John asked, eyes taking in her slumped shoulders and the shadows that haunted her brown eyes. "It was my mission that went to hell, not yours."

"That'll be enough out of you, Maj. Sheppard. Can't you see the lass is wounded?" Doctor Beckett asked, slapping the man aside. "Now sit down, Faith, and don't give me that terrifying glare of yours because it won't do you a lick of good right now."

Sheppard blinked in surprise. She was covered in blood, yes, but she seemed to be moving well enough. To his further surprise, Faith did as the doctor ordered without so much as a token protest. Taking off her tac vest and her more obstructive gear, the brunette hefted herself up on a nearby crate.

"It's not bad." Faith looked to the side and added quietly, "I've had worse."

Sheppard followed Faith's gaze to where Buffy and one of Atlantis's security teams were escorting their Wraith prisoner out of the hanger.

"Christ, how did you get so much blood on you?" Beckett asked, helping Faith remove her jacket.

Faith didn't answer, just removed her shirt with a grimace of pain.

Sheppard had served in the military for years now and the sight of a woman's torso clad only in a sports bra was nothing new to him. He could appreciate, yes, but when wearing the uniform, he would be nothing but respectful and professional. So it was something of a surprise to himself when he found himself staring openly at her chest. In this case, however, it had less to do with her admittedly impressive assets and more to do with the large, still bleeding, stab wound below her left collarbone.

"Bloody hell, Faith," Beckett exclaimed.

Faith blew out a breath. "Just give me some antibiotics and a tetanus shot, wrap me up, and I'll be fine. No organs or bones hit, just a simple in and out."

"Faith?"

Sheppard, Beckett, and Faith all looked up in surprise as Buffy came back into the hanger to stand a small distance away, looking worried and unsure.

"Faith...when did this happen?" Buffy asked hesitantly. "Why didn't you say anything?"

At the sudden increase of tension in the air and each young woman's stiffer than normal posture, Sheppard had the sudden inclination to be anywhere but there. His personal drama was more than enough drama for him, he didn't need to witness anyone else's. He'd never been big on retreating however, so he kept silent and concentrated on helping Faith.

Faith glanced up the blonde and shrugged. Buffy blew out a breath and joined their small group. "Give me what she needs; I'll take care of her."

"But—"

Buffy stepped into his space with her hand extended. "Gimme," she commanded.

At his obstinate glare, she almost growled. "I'll go fishing with you again."

Beckett's face became the very picture of conflicted. "You girls are as bad as the Marines, you know that? Bad patients, the lot of you." The doctor withdrew the supplies and handed them to the blonde. "Take care of that numpty of yours, Buffy, and I'll have your hide if you make things worse."

Buffy thanked him with a kiss to the cheek, turning the man's face an interesting color of red. She draped one of Faith's arms over her and helped her stand up.

"I'm not an invalid, B. I can get up," Faith complained.

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should," Buffy retorted, the double meaning clearly not lost on either as Faith turned away.

"Sheppard, could you take care of all that stuff?" Buffy asked, waving at Faith's gear. "But bring the kris to our room or hold onto it."

"I'm not your servant, Buffy," John said in an outraged tone.

Buffy raised a brow.

"We'll take care of it, Buffy, now go take care of your lass," Beckett said.

Buffy smiled her thanks and assisted Faith in leaving the bay.

Sheppard glared at Carson Beckett who just smiled sympathetically at him.

"You're only enabling them, Dr. Beckett," John warned with a raised finger, even as he bent to collect Faith's discarded gear. "And what the hell is a numpty?"

The Scotsman just chuckled.

#

"Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?" Buffy asked, applying the gauze to Faith's wound while sitting beside her at the foot of their bed.

"There hasn't been a moment where I could," Faith answered truthfully, shivering as cool air met skin still damp from the shower.

"You could have told me in the Jumper!"

"You mean when you wouldn't even look at me?" Faith returned harshly.

Buffy looked down. "I've never seen you like that before. Not even at your worst."

"You have," Faith corrected. "Once."

Buffy furrowed her brows in thought before she began to slowly nod. "When you/me started beating the hell out of you/me?" she asked with a weak smile.

Faith hummed her agreement. "When does Sumner want to debrief us?"

"He doesn't matter, what matters is that yo—"

"B."

Buffy exhaled noisily. "He's seeing us individually tomorrow. Barring any delays, I'm scheduled at noon, you're an hour later."

Faith nodded her understanding.

"What happened Faith? We both know we could have killed that Wraith easily and you knew that you could have healed the girl, so—"

"I didn't know, B," Faith interrupted the blonde Slayer, "I didn't know if it would heal her. I tested it once on a shoulder wound, but I had no idea it'd work as well as it did. I asked to kill a human, B, and I did it believin' I'd be putting her out of her misery. I was hoping, hoping that my assumptions about the kris would be right, but that's all it was."

Buffy studied her for a moment before pressing one of her hands against Faith's cheek. "That fight when we were switched, you weren't seeing me in your body, were you? You were seeing you and trying to...hurt you."

Faith lifted a shoulder in a shrug.

"You see a little bit of yourself in the Wraith tonight? Not...physically, obviously, but I—" Buffy stopped herself. "You know what I mean?"

Faith nodded. "No..." she said slowly before she began a little more hesitantly, "it was about the Mayor. It's always about the Mayor."

Buffy didn't stiffen or withdraw as Faith had halfway expected, instead the blonde shrugged off her clothes and scooted back until she was leaning against the headboard. "C'mere," the blonde said, spreading her legs and beckoning with both hands.

Faith eyed Buffy's nude form. "No offense, B, but not really feelin' it right now."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I don't want to have sex, Faith, I just want to hold you."

Faith shifted uncomfortably but complied, taking care not to jostle the wound or bandage, slowly scooting back until she sat between Buffy's legs. There she found herself curiously reluctant to close the remaining distance between them and spent a moment trying to figure out why. She was still new to the whole intimacy without sex thing, but what Buffy wanted made her feel even more...vulnerable? Wouldn't take much of a psychologist to dissect that one into a whole bunch of hang-ups, Faith thought sourly.

The choice to close that distance was ultimately taken from her when Buffy grabbed her gently around the belly and drew her back until Faith could feel the blonde's breasts pressed against her back. Faith remained stiff and tense for a long moment before she blew out a breath, closed her eyes, and let her head fall back onto Buffy's bare shoulder when the other girl's arms stayed wrapped around her middle.

"You know, I really didn't want to have sex, but I have to admit I'm intrigued by the possibilities of this position," Buffy murmured into her ear.

Faith smiled faintly. It wasn't a come-on, she knew, just an attempt to ease her obvious discomfort. Points for effort.

"Talk to me, Faith," the blonde Slayer pleaded quietly. "Talk to me. You're not going to scare me away, not this time, not when we've come this far." Buffy kissed the side of her head and tightened her arms around Faith as if to underscore her words.

Faith felt a surge of emotion that threatened to overwhelm her, leaving her silent for a few long moments as she tried to understand what it was she was feeling. Oddly enough, she was rescued by her recollection of an 80s movie that had starred Andre the Giant, its only redeeming feature she'd thought at the time. One of the few happy and normal memories of her life in Boston had been spent, not on slaying vampires or learning about demons, but on watching movies with her Watcher, Diana.

At the time, Faith had thought the movie cheesy and lame: not enough action, no sex, corny humor, and a disgustingly optimistic portrayal of 'true love'. But if she never appreciated that movie for anything else, she'd appreciate it now for providing relief for the emotion that seemed poised to crush her beneath its intensity and for supplying the perfect response to Buffy's words. Faith raised her head slightly and kissed Buffy lightly on the lips. Letting her lips draw back from Buffy's, Faith whispered three words she'd never thought she'd say with a meaning she'd never thought she'd mean.

"As you wish."

---

January 22nd, 2006

"Sergeant Stackhouse, take a seat," Colonel Sumner ordered the younger man.

"Thank you, sir," the young brown-haired Marine replied smartly. He took a seat opposite the colonel in the conference room and folded his hands neatly on the crescent-shaped, illuminated table.

"Alright, son, go ahead and walk me through your mission on M4S-683," the colonel said, resting a pen on top of a small notepad in front of him

Louis paused and released a deep breath. "Colonel? When you first told me about adding Faith and Buffy to AR-3 and making it the team that performed special operations, I asked you why you'd included two green civilians. You told me to come talk to you about it when I figured it out."

Sumner nodded, face blank.

"Sir, it was pretty obvious that something was weird about them from the get-go, Burkle too, for that matter. But I've seen some things now, things that...aren't really explainable even by our standards. I don't know what it is and I don't care what it is, but I want you to know that I want them on my team," Louis stated emphatically. "Colonel, I watched that fucking weird knife of Faith's turn a Wraith into dust. I've seen Faith run faster than me while carrying a limp body, I've seen Buffy jump over boulders that no world-class athlete could've, and I've seen their faces when they're killing. They aren't normal and they aren't perfect, but I wouldn't trade either Buffy or Faith for anything."

Sumner leaned back for a minute and gauged the other man's words. "Alright, Sergeant, I'll keep that in mind, now go ahead and give me that report."

---

The Marine colonel was still ensconced in the conference room hours later after the three long debriefings he'd conducted. Doctor Weir had sat in on one of them for her own curiosity, but had abstained from speaking, partly for his benefit, Sumner suspected. It was an indisputable fact that Weir was the head of the expedition, but having a civilian in charge of an isolated group foraying into unknown territory while under the protection of a semi-independently operating military contingent could make things...tricky. No doubt she was as relieved as he was that they'd each made an effort to accommodate the other and had avoided stepping on each other's toes whenever possible.

His meandering thoughts regarding the former diplomat ceased when the conference door slid open to admit the remaining member of AR-3 that he'd yet to interview. Faith looked tired, which was to be expected after such an intense and physically demanding mission, but looked perfectly healthy otherwise, which was less expected after being stabbed the day before. He idly wondered if the stab wound Beckett had reported was even still visible on the rapidly healing 'Slayer'.

However upon a closer inspection, the young woman didn't just look tired, Sumner realized, Faith looked exhausted. The mischievous light in her eyes that was so Faith seemed especially dim today and he was caught off guard by how keenly he felt that loss. He sighed inwardly at his own foolishness and gave the brunette his full attention.

"Faith, please sit down," he instructed, waving at the otherwise unoccupied table. "How's the shoulder?"

The Bostonian shrugged as she sat down. "Mostly healed. Probably be 100% by tonight."

Sumner nodded, tamping down his instinctive disbelief. "Glad to hear it. Let's begin."

Faith looked exhausted, wary, but determined as well.

Good, Sumner thought, she'll need to be determined to get off my shit list. Mischievous eyes or not, she'd fucked up good. "Alright Faith," he said levelly, "let's hear about your mission, starting from your discovering of the room that held the Wraith computers."

Faith nodded and began making her report.

#

Sumner nodded as Faith came to a finish, ending at the point where she'd received treatment from Beckett in the hanger. He glanced down at his tablet, idly tapping the device with his stylus as he considered the questions he'd already prepared or had jotted down throughout her recounting. "Why did you want to bring that Wraith to Atlantis? Your team had agreed beforehand to capture one on the way out, so why the change of plan?"

Faith frowned. "He was the first Wraith who ever spoke to me," she finally said.

Sumner returned Faith's frown with one of his own. "I don't follow."

"He wasn't what I expected," Faith answered slowly. "I mean the big soldiers are all assholes, but most of the unmasked ones seem...a little sadistic, you know? They like to cause fear, they like to hurt you, at least that's what I've seen so far. Maybe it's just the circumstances of how we met, but the one we captured didn't have that smug, disdainful, "you're just livestock" look on his face that all the others had, even when surrounded by their own dead. He seemed more thoughtful? I guess is what I'm trying to say."

The colonel contemplated both the Slayer and her answer to his question for a brief time before speaking again. "I haven't heard it put quite that way, but yes, they do seem to possess something of a superiority complex. In fairness to them, they did drive the Ancients out and have held a stranglehold on this galaxy for millennia, but your point still stands. I haven't been able to observe the Wraith for myself, but being able to engage in any sort of meaningful dialog with the Wraith should prove...interesting. I hope that your observations about that particular Wraith hold true, Faith, and good work on bringing him in."

Faith nodded slightly. "Thanks Col. Sumner."

"Now, speaking of the Wraith," Sumner said slowly, "would you like to explain why you put your life, the lives of your teammates, and the success of your mission in jeopardy in order to beat that Wraith in the gully to death?" The Marine leaned forward to emphasize the depth of his displeasure. "From my understanding, your mission's goals had been met and your evac was in the air waiting for your signal, so why did you waste time with that Wraith when you could have ended it quickly?"

Faith opened her mouth to speak, but evidently the Marine wasn't quite finished with her. "That was an unfamiliar planet, Faith, one that had a confirmed Wraith presence. You had no way of knowing if there were any more Wraith converging on your position. Every moment you lingered was a moment that you could've been detected, attacked, or even followed back to Atlantis."

Seeing that the colonel had finished, Faith swallowed and set her shoulders. "Colonel...I—"

"If you were one of my soldiers, Faith, I would have you in the brig, confined to quarters, or removed from the mission roster for the foreseeable future. However, you are not under my command, you are under Dr. Weir's and she has decided that you are to be confined to Atlantis. She'll be contacting you later about what she expects from you."

"I understand," Faith murmured.

"That will remain the case until such time as I feel you can resume off-world missions without endangering the lives of others," Sumner finished by crossing his arms. "You can start by explaining yourself."

"I broke a promise," Faith said softly.

Sumner blinked.

"You know my record, Colonel, you know I've got blood on my hands," Faith said quietly. "I'm a murderer, but that's not all I am. I'm trying to be better, trying to redeem myself, and to be what I should've been all along. Most days I'm successful," she said with a faint smile. Her face abruptly darkened, "but not yesterday."

"You broke a promise?" Sumner repeated.

Faith nodded. "Redemption...it's a funny thing. Sounds all lofty and shit, but it's not, not really. It's all about drawing that line, the line that I use to decide who I'm gonna be when I have to make a hard decision. Yesterday, I was the murderer."

Sumner frowned at her words. "The Wraith?"

The brunette gave him an irritated look. "No, fuck the Wraith, I don't feel any remorse for killin' that piece of crap. I feel bad for wasting time and putting my team in danger like you said, Colonel, but not for the Wraith. It was the girl; it was about me askin' that fuckin' Wraith to let me kill the girl."

"'To put her out of her misery' is what was reported," Sumner stated. "Calling that 'murder' is a pretty big grey area even back on Earth under ordinary circumstances. And by stabbing her with the kris, you were able to save her life and heal her," Sumner pointed out.

"But I didn't know if it'd work, Colonel. We haven't exactly had a lot of Wraith to experiment on and we have no idea how the process even works. So when I asked that Wraith to let me kill the girl to show her mercy, I meant every fucking word. And I hate that," Faith said. "Grey area or not, Slayers aren't supposed to kill innocents."

Sumner put his fingers together and considered the young woman in front of him. He pursed his lips and said, almost gently, "the promise?"

"I just told you—"

"Not that," the Marine corrected, almost gently. "What promise did you break?"

Faith grimaced. "I went to Sunnydale after my guardian died because I knew Buffy was there and I figured, who else could I fuckin' rely on but another Slayer? Things were okay for a little while...but it didn't stay that way. One shitty thing after another began to put me at odds with B and everyone else. But then I killed the Deputy Mayor of Sunnydale.

"It was an accident. I was in a fight with B and the guy decides to jump in because he wanted to talk to us. B threw him toward me to get him out of the way, but I didn't realize he was human until I'd already killed him. It was an accident, but it was the moment that I made the decision that staying 'bad' would be preferable to admitting that I fucked up.

"So there I was: a murderer, at odds with Buffy, living in a shitty motel, no income, and had nothing going for myself but being a Slayer. I could only think of one person I could turn to, one person that would have me. I didn't know him for all that long, but for the time I did, he was about the closest thing to a father that I'd ever had. His name was Richard, Richard Wilkins, and he was the Mayor of Sunnydale."

Sunnydale...it always comes back to Sunnydale, the colonel mused and then blinked. "The Mayor of Sunnydale took you in?"

Faith nodded. "Sunnydale being Sunnydale, it wasn't much of a shocker when he turned out to be Evil. But black hat or no, he was good to me: he was kind, put a damn roof over my head that wasn't covered in water spots and mold, made me think I could live a happy life, even if it wasn't on the up-and-up. As a Slayer, he was the kind of person I should have been fighting against, but instead I joined him. I wanted his approval, so I did what he wanted, and he cared for me in return.""

The Marine tapped his finger against his chin for a few brief moments. "One of the things he wanted you to do was to kill that professor, the volcano expert," Sumner inferred.

"Professor Worth stumbled onto something that the Mayor wanted to keep buried," Faith explained, nodding in confirmation. "So I iced the professor and kinda went off the deep end; I wasn't much of a good person by then, but I was a Slayer and what I did was...anathema. I lost something inside of me that took a long time for me to find again, that I'm still trying to find."

"The situations between the girl and the professor aren't exactly comparable, Faith," Sumner began, but Faith interrupted him.

"I know, believe me, I know. But walking up to that smug little Wraith, staring him in the eye while I buried my knife in that girl's gut, it sure as shit felt like it. That's why I flipped out."

Sumner straightened in his seat and laid his palms flat on the table. "You need to deal with this, Faith. The type of situation you were in could easily happen again and I am not willing to send you out that Stargate knowing you could 'flip out' again."

"You want me to see a shrink?" Faith asked dubiously.

"Heightmeyer is reputed to be an excellent psychologist, but no. Faith, you need to sort your shit out and I don't care how you do it. You'll be spending the next month, minimum, here on Atlantis. Use your time here to work it out and we'll talk then," Sumner told her.

"You got it, Colonel," Faith murmured.

"You and I are to meet Drs. McKay, Weir, and Beckett in the brig when we're done here. We'd like you to be be present when we first speak to the Wraith, because you're the only one who's actually spoken with him." Sumner asked. "Weir will be assigning you duties when we're finished."

"Got it," Faith agreed.

---

Unknown Date
Genii Homeworld

"A good find, then?" Cowen asked the man at his side.

"A very good find," the Genii commander affirmed with no small amount of satisfaction, nodding towards the crates of materials being carried from the Stargate. "However, no matter how useful or promising the materials might be, Cowen, we should spend as little time as possible on that planet. We cannot risk the Wraith finding us pilfering technology from their ship."

"Commander, you're telling me nothing I don't already know," Cowen said sternly. The Genii chief opened his mouth to say something but paused and glanced at the man beside him for a long moment. "Ladon believes that, so long as our Wraith cooperates, that we could have a working prototype within two months."

"Ladon Radim is a man who is willing to imagine a great many things," the man replied, still watching the men under his command efficiently organize Stargate. "However, I do understand that his imagination is a vital component of his brilliance. He truly believes it? So soon?"

"Whatever you feel about the man, Commander, Ladon Radim is not a man to declare such a thing idly," the higher ranking officer stated lightly. "It's the Wraith that concerns me."

The man raised an eyebrow at the Genii leader. "He'll cooperate or he'll starve; everyone has a breaking point or a weakness and for the Wraith, it's their hunger. It's their hunger that drives them and it's their hunger that can break them. He will do as we say."

"You plan to tame our Wraith, Acastus?" Cowen asked with a chuckle.

"Do not forget what he is, Cowen. Don't ever forget that he is no pet, no slave to dismiss so easily."

Cowen lost his smile. "I am Genii, Commander, that is one thing I can never forget," the curly-haired man replied.

They stood together in silence, watching the last of the man's troops walk out of the Stargate with a wheeled cart full of crystals and Wraith materials and instruments.

"Ladon believes we can construct a ship with these materials?" the man asked skeptically. "A ship that can take us to Atlantis?"

"He believes it," Cowen replied. "There are many obstacles we can bypass with the parts we receive from the crashed ship. But the ship itself isn't the problem, Commander, or at least not the entirety of the problem. The difficulty also lies in the means of getting there. That is where the Wraith comes in. After that, only developing a viable strategy to take or raid Atlantis remains, but that I'll be leaving in your capable hands."

The man nodded thoughtfully. "It will not be easy and we cannot do this by brute force, Cowen. Whether we possess a ship that can reach Atlantis or not, they have access to superior technology and superior weapons; success will have to rely on surprise and subterfuge."

"That I'll leave up to you, Commander. We just need two things: time and opportunity."

---

January 22nd, 2006
Atlantis

Faith wasn't sure what she felt as she followed Col. Sumner into the closet-like transporter. She certainly harbored no ill feelings toward him or anyone else that had been party to the decision to keep her on Atlantis, but the idea of 'dealing' with her problems seemed...unpleasant. She supposed that in itself was a sign that she did need to 'deal with it' somehow. Faith continued to ponder the quandary she found herself in as she and the colonel were transported to another part of Atlantis. The colonel remained silent, leaving her alone with her thoughts until they were close to what was presumably Atlantis's brig.

It was then that the gruff colonel put a gentle, yet firm hand on her shoulder to catch her attention. The older man waited for her to meet his eyes before he asked in a quiet voice, "are you up to this?"

"Yep," she said simply, unwilling to look away from his penetrating stare.

Sumner gazed at her for a moment before he nodded sharply. He then straightened his black-accented Atlantis uniform and led the way at a brisk walk, his combat boots making a sharp tap on the floor with every step.

They quickly covered the remaining distance to the entrance of the brig, guarded by two Marines with unslung carbines. They stepped to the side and saluted the colonel, who returned the salute and gestured to the door. One of the Marines palmed it open for them and Faith followed Col. Sumner into the darkness that lay within.

There were another pair of Marines guarding the entrance from the inside, both looking alert and ready. In the middle of the room was a brightly lit cell in which the Wraith she'd captured sat quietly, eyes closed and breathing steady. His dislocated joints had been set and his other wounds healed, Faith noted, and looked to be in relatively good condition. The cell itself was...odd.

"Horizontal bars," Faith murmured, "that's new." Especially to an aficionado like myself, she added silently with a touch of embittered bemusement.

"It doesn't much matter which way they're oriented when there's an energy shield around the cell," Sumner explained.

Faith nodded.

They walked around the rectangular cell until they joined McKay, Beckett, and Weir who all stood in silence, watching the Wraith intently.

"Sup dudes," Faith greeted them in a voice that seemed unnaturally loud in the hushed confines of the room.

McKay jumped in surprise at the sudden noise. He might also have made a small "eep" sound, but it was hard to be sure. Beckett just waved her a 'hello' while Weir rolled her eyes at Faith's obvious attempts to annoy McKay.

"So what's the plan?" the brunette Slayer asked, glancing between them and the Wraith.

After casting Faith an aggrieved look, McKay grimaced in response to her question. "We've tried asking him several questions, but he's been annoyingly tight-lipped."

Weir nodded her agreement.

"I wonder if he's getting hungry," Faith commented mildly.

The Wraith's eyes opened at that.

"Heh, thought that might get your attention," Faith commented, her eyes fixed on the Wraith. "Everyone has a weakness, Dr. McKay, everyone and everything can break. For some, pain, for others it might be the fear of losin' a friend, or thirst, powerlessness; everyone can break, McKay. But for the Wraith, a species that needs to feed on life in order to live, can't you just imagine how terrifyin' it would be to feel hunger while locked inside a cage?"

The Wraith stood up and walked to the edge of the cell, staring intently at her.

Faith walked closer to the cell and stared back.

"Ah, hadn't really thought of that," McKay murmured, sounding somewhat put-off about the fact.

"Lass, sometimes I forget that in that wee frame of yours, exists a remarkable capacity for violence," Beckett stated dryly.

"Unfortunately, the moment she opens her mouth is when we're disabused of our illusions of her being a gentle spirit," McKay said, eyeing her with a raised eyebrow.

"I can be gentle and delicate and shit," Faith defended herself, still looking at the Wraith.

A chorus of snorts met her exclamation.

Faith huffed and walked closer to the cell, observing the Wraith who continued to give her the same regard.

"Any of y'all ever meet a junkie?" Faith asked suddenly, then answered her own question. "Bet the Wraith aren't really all that different. Ask a junkie what he needs, how much he's willing to give up for it, ask him what, beyond anythin' else, is needed for him to feel alive...bet it ain't all that different for the Wraith. The Wraith are just a little more upfront about the whole thing and won't steal from their mommas just to score a gram of coke."

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine," McKay snarked.

Faith shrugged and walked even closer to the Wraith until she was less than a foot away from him, separated only by the cell and the shield. He had more than half a foot on her in height but he was surprisingly slim. Pale skin, white hair and an odd tattoo that began at his eye and continued down the side of his neck and to his shoulder. He wore the odd leather-looking jerkin, tunic, and pants that most of the unmasked Wraith seemed to favor.

"Hello," she greeted him with a sweet smile, "my name is Faith."

The Wraith straightened and growled out, "Slayer."

"That too," Faith agreed. "What's your name?"

The Wraith stepped back, his face turning bland.

"If you don't tell me, I'll come up with one that's extremely irritating," she warned in a singsong voice.

"You killed my men," the Wraith snarled.

"To be fair," Faith pointed out in a reasonable tone, "they got in my way."

The Wraith narrowed his eyes. "You may be a fierce warrior, Slayer, but the Wraith are awake once again. They know Atlantis has been found by the humans and that those who occupy it are responsible for the deaths of the Keeper and many others of our kind. You may fight and even kill many of us, but all of humanity will pay the price until this city is destroyed and you yourselves are made to feed our hunger."

"Is there no alternative?" Dr. Weir asked, coming to stand beside Faith. "There must be many things our peoples can learn from one another, can't the possibility of peace exist?"

Faith winced as the Wraith barked out a laugh. "Do humans bargain with the berries they pluck? Do they negotiate with the livestock they prepare to butcher? You are kine."

"Maj. Sheppard suggested the name 'Burt'," Beckett said after a long moment of silence, "he also expressed his liking for 'Ernie'."

Faith's lips quirked.

"You know, I kinda like the sound of that," Sumner nodded, the smile evident in his eyes only. After a moment, he added in a low voice, "but if any of you tell him that, I'll make you disappear."

McKay snickered.

Weir's lips were tight as she considered their prisoner before turning to the colonel and nodding towards the exit. The Marine then motioned for Faith to accompany him. Faith obeyed, but before any of the three left, 'Burt's' voice echoed in the room

"The Wraith will come for me and when they do—"

Faith wanted to respond, but let herself be guided out of the brig until she stood with Weir and Sumner.

"Thank you for coming, Faith. You've been the only one who's managed to stir...Burt's interest so far," Weir said with a grateful smile.

"I don't expect that'll last," Sumner stated, "he won't be loose lipped, but once a prisoner starts talking, it's usually not hard to make them do it again."

"Burt says that the Wraith are awake now, all of them," Faith reminded them, looking at them both.

"That would correspond with some of Sheppard's report as well," Sumner stated and then turned to give Dr. Weir a raised eyebrow.

Weir scowled at him. "Even Teyla didn't know the truth about the Genii, Colonel, it's not Sheppard's fault!" Weir paused. "Mostly."

Sumner's lips seemed to develop an odd tic that almost looked like a grin, but it was hard to tell.

"I'm missing something," Faith said somewhat lamely.

"Ask Sheppard," Weir and Sumner said simultaneously.

"Wow," Faith said, almost stepping back at the force of their words. "What did he do this time?"

Sumner's lips were definitely inching toward a full grin.

Weir huffed. "Faith, come with me and I'll show you some of your new duties around Atlantis."

---

Faith stood in the midst of a raging tempest, body drenched and frozen from the pouring rain and the howling wind. She was nearly deafened by the boom of thunder and nearly blinded from the lightning strikes that seemed to manifest just inches away from her. Even from the central tower of Atlantis, she could see the rising waves, swells of dark water that crashed against the city in regular intervals. Far in the distance and along the horizon, she thought she could see a strange shape that seemed to be moving.

The sky was dark, as dark as the night, and filled with roiling storm clouds that held no promise of reprieve. The clouds were dark, pregnant with what was sure to be more freezing rain, and were turbulent in the way storm clouds often were, looking as though they were preparing to unleash a fresh onslaught of rain, hail, and lightning. She could hear the boom of thunder again, the peal of sound followed by the flash of light that made her flinch. Another boom, closer this time, much closer. Except...thunder doesn't come before lightning... No, it wasn't thunder, not when it sounded like it came from the inside. What was it?

She would have looked back but the movement on the horizon caught her eye again. Even facing the icy rain, the roaring, powerful winds, and the harsh strobe light-like effects of the endless lightning strikes against Atlantis's spires, she felt a desperate need to understand what it was she could only just barely see. Brushing the water from her face, Faith squinted into the distance and realized with dawning horror that the movement on the horizon was in fact the water itself. More accurately, it was a wall of water. It looked small at this distance, but that she could see it at all meant that it'd be massive, massive enough to swallow the unshielded city, perhaps.

Faith shivered, not from the frigid chill of the wind that plastered her sodden clothing to her small, freezing frame, but because of the discovery of what was approaching her and the city that was now her home. The clap of thunder rang in her ears as lightning flashed in her vision. Except...some of that thunder was rapid, regular and again...sounded like it came from the inside of the central tower. Faith's brow furrowed and she turned from the violent storm that raged outside to see what it was that raged inside.

Walking back inside, she quickly turned around the corner and almost immediately stumbled to a halt. At her feet were the bodies of two Atlantis soldiers that she'd seen but hadn't ever been introduced to. The soldiers had bullet wounds in their chests, she realized. How would they have gotten shot all the way out here and who would have shot them? She frowned at the bodies and looked up. An immediate scan of her surroundings revealed that she was far from the veranda she'd just stood upon on the west pier, but was instead in the Gate room. How had she gotten here?

She heard the boom of thunder, a loud cracking sound that sounded like it should have shattered the glass in the room. In front of her, another faceless Atlantis expedition Marine suddenly appeared, only to collapse onto the ground as a growing stain of red blossomed upon his chest. She quickly looked up, searching for the one responsible for her comrade's death. A whisper of sound caught her attention and she spun around, catching sight of a man with a harsh, lined face that was covered by a green patrol cap. The man wore an unfamiliar green uniform with brown piping and stood just a scant distance from her. A pistol, unfamiliar in its design but unmistakable in its purpose, was held inches away from her face.

The city trembled around her, at the force of the wind, the lightning battering its towers, and the waves crashing into the city's piers. Though her eyes never wavered from the man, her senses had become focused on the city around her and she could hear... She could hear the roar of the incoming wave that drew nearer and nearer. The man's eyes were fixed upon her own, eyes that held no regard for the lives he'd taken but were instead filled with an uncompromising willingness to do whatever he had to in order to accomplish his goals.

The man might have spoken to her, but the howl of the incoming storm surge that threatened to drag them down into the sea like some ancient leviathan made it impossible to understand him. Yet even as the storm raged outside and the wall of water that sought to unmake them grew ever nearer, Faith refused to look away from him. But as she gazed into those pitiless eyes of his, Faith wasn't sure if it was the storm that raged outside or the emotions writ large upon his face that chilled the air more.

#

January 30th, 2006

Faith gasped as she jerked awake, hand to her chest as she tried to understand what had just happened.

"Faith?" a sleepy feminine voice asked from beside her.

Faith continued to pant, eyes tightly closed as she desperately tried to refocus her mind and calm her frenetically beating heart.

Buffy sat up, sheets pooling to her waist as she forced Faith to look at her. "Faith? What's wrong?"

"I'm pretty sure, Buffy," Faith managed between gasps, "that I've had the first Slayer dream in this galaxy."

"Oh," Buffy murmured and then narrowed her eyes. "Did you see the cheese guy?"

"I saw the...what? Cheese guy? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Buffy said quickly, then paused. "You called me Buffy! And we weren't even having sex!"

Faith flicked the blonde's nose. "B, focus here."

Buffy yawned while she rubbed her eyes, her body obviously rebelling against its premature awakening. "You've never had a Slayer dream before, right?"

Faith shook her head. "The ones I had with you which, by the way, what the fuck? and then a couple I had when I woke up from the coma."

Buffy quirked her lips and raised an eyebrow. "I won't ask about the after-coma ones, pretty sure they won't be anything of the good. But...you do know they can be cryptic, metaphorical, and sometimes things you'll see are only possibilities or representations—"

"Outside it was freezing, raining, windy, all of which I felt, and there were storm surges, lightning, thunder, and a wave of water tall enough to flood Atlantis," Faith interrupted. "And then inside, three of our people were dead from bullet wounds while another douchebag-looking individual pointed a gun at me."

"—and sometimes not," Buffy finished. "Or maybe the storm is the bad guys with guns?"

"Except I didn't see anyone else around. Just our three people, like it was abandoned. You know, like we'd abandon it if Atlantis were about to get bent over by a nice, giant tidal wave and get fucked," Faith answered sardonically.

Buffy wrinkled her nose at Faith's colorful description but remained quiet for a moment. "So what do you want to do about it?"

"Go back to sleep," Faith answered. "Tell Sumner and check the weather forecast in the morning."

"Alright," Buffy said with a slow nod, but continued to look intently at Faith.

"What?" Faith asked as Buffy continued to stare at her.

"I'm uh...not that tired anymore," Buffy said, as if imparting some great secret, "and you're all sweaty."

Faith blinked. The brunette peered at Buffy for a moment until she noticed Buffy's eyes weren't meeting hers. They weren't meeting hers, she realized with a small smile, because Buffy was staring at her chest.

"B...I just had a crazy-ass, freaky dream and here you are ogling my tits," she accused. "I'm feeling very vulnerable right now."

Buffy snorted and laughed until she finally shrugged in admission. When she did finally meet her eyes, she did so with an expression that was all heat and sex. "Then I'll just have to make you feel better."

Faith wavered for a moment before letting out a breath and smiling back. "Well, if you insist, I suppose I—"

Faith let out an 'oomph' as she was tackled from the bed and onto the floor by a blur of golden hair and naked flesh. They kissed each other with a franticness that Faith lost herself in, rolling across the floor with Buffy as they fought to be on top. Faith, feeling too drained by the dream, eventually capitulated and found herself pinned beneath the other Slayer.

"Hold still," Buffy warned her, biting at her jawline to underscore her point.

"As you wish," Faith murmured.

But even after Buffy had spent no small amount of time 'making her feel better', Faith still struggled to forget the sensation of the lashing winds and the stinging, cold rain as they curled around one another. Fortunately, enveloped within the arms of her lover, when she eventually surrendered herself to sleep, it was to one that was dreamless.

Well, aside from a dream that included a man wearing cheese on his face, that is.

---

January 31st, 2006

"Col. Sumner?"

Sumner looked over his shoulder to see an anxious looking brunette wearing a white wife beater and the signature dark grey pants of the Atlantis expedition's uniform. He bit back the reflexive urge to demand why she wasn't in full uniform and instead asked in a neutral voice, "Faith, aren't you supposed to be working for Dr. Beckett as his candy striper this morning?"

Faith scowled at him. "I will be, just as soon as I'm done here."

Sumner's raised a brow at the brunette, only now taking note of the dark bags under her eyes and her tense posture. "Alright, Faith, whatever you need, make it quick. Drs. Weir, Zelenka, McKay, Kavanagh, and Grodin are planning on having a meeting that I'll be sitting on."

"My condolences, Colonel. But...I do need to talk to you about something."

Sumner chuckled and waved her on. "Go ahead."

"When B and I were telling you and the other two about Slayers...well you know how we kinda mentioned visions?"

Col. Sumner's lips tightened. It had been patently obvious to all who were "in the know" that he did not particularly enjoy talking or even thinking about what Faith and Buffy had revealed about their being Slayers. That they revealed only some of the details of their purpose grated on his nerves as well, which was only heightened by the realization that he wouldn't mind being kept ignorant. The idea that these two young women were chosen, as teenagers, by higher powers to become warriors against "monsters", while apparently receiving the occasional vision and prophecy, was just...wrong. Therefore, he avoided thinking about it whenever possible.

Marshall Sumner cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes. Because you're asking, I'll assume either you or Buffy have experienced such an...occurrence."

Faith nodded. "Last night, I had this dream when I fell asleep. Um, to break it down, Atlantis was mostly abandoned, there was a badass storm outside and a giant tidal wave taller than a freakin' skyscraper on its way to give us a smackdown. Inside, I saw three of your men dead with bullet wounds and a man I've never seen before pointing a pistol at me."

The colonel's eyes widened and he leaned back, giving her his undivided attention. "Are you sure this wasn't just a dream?"

Faith glared at him. "You ever have a dream where you could feel the wind and the freezing rain plastering your clothes to your body? Where the smell of blood and gunsmoke filled your senses? Where the thunder was so loud, you thought you'd go deaf? Dreams are dreams, Colonel, and we all get them. Visions...they're a little more below the belt when you get hit by them."

Sumner winced at the Slayer's bluntness. "Your...visions, do they tend to be metaphorical?"

"Sometimes," Faith admitted, "but if we're getting visions, it usually means something bad is about to go down. They may not tell us everything and sometimes they can be cryptic, but we can usually get a good bead on what's sneakin' up on us. Besides, it's a little hard to be metaphorical about pistols and bullet wounds, I think."

The colonel gazed at her for a moment before he looked down at his watch. "Alright, you gave me the summary, tell me what else I need to know."

Faith complied, speaking quickly but clearly.

"Any indication on when these events might occur?"

Faith shook her head. "The only thing I'd be able to use as a reference would be the weather. A storm like the one I saw? Ain't nothing like any storm on Earth that I've ever heard of. Maybe it wasn't natural, or maybe it was natural to this planet, I don't know."

Sumner took his tablet out and began tapping into it. "I'll ask Weir to put someone on weather forecasting." The man sighed for a moment, before he glanced back up at her. "From what I understand, this city is relatively fragile without its shield, especially when compared to other known Ancient structures, a storm like the one you're describing might be more than enough to sink Atlantis for good."

Faith nodded. "And we have no power to raise the shield."

"Or move the city," Sumner agreed, "but the unfamiliar man you referred to and seeing our own people shot, that's another matter entirely and one that complicates the first problem even more."

"What do you mean?" the brunette Slayer asked, blinking in confusion.

"I cannot recommend to Dr. Weir that we follow your vision by rote, Faith. Doing so would create the sort of tunnel vision that would limit the effective planning of contingencies. However, there are elements to what you've described that seem intrinsically connected. You described Atlantis as being abandoned, with the exception being that of the few men under my command who'd been shot. Now, if there is such a storm coming, it would be a reasonable and natural precaution to have most of our personnel evacuated. The only reason I would leave any of my men behind would be if there was still a chance to save the city. Leaving too many behind would run the risk of them being unable to escape via the Stargate, if whatever plan to save the city failed."

Faith slowly nodded her understanding. "So if we have no sure way of protecting the city from the storm, we can't afford to leave a large garrison here. If Atlantis sinks and the expedition is evacuated, it'll need your Marines to survive."

"That brings us to the unknown man and my dead soldiers," the colonel said, jaw set in a firm line. "Aside from the Wraith, we've only run into one people that would have the inclination and resources to attempt taking Atlantis."

"The Genii," Faith answered. "Not hard to guess. That whole thing was a pretty good cock up."

"The Genii," the older man affirmed. "They're proud, resourceful, and they've managed to develop a damned impressive society given the conditions of this galaxy. It'd be easy to blame Maj. Sheppard for his handling of the situation or Teyla for the bad intel and the snafu on the Wraith ship, but I doubt anybody else could've managed any better. Plus, Sheppard did get that intel about the Wraith to corroborate with what our friend Burt said."

"So, if we're evacuating Atlantis because of the storm, they come in and do...what? Kill some of our men, but for what?"

The colonel shook his head. "Likely to take Atlantis or to steal what's here, but guessing their intentions will lead us nowhere, deal with the facts. If what you saw is literal, then they will attack us when we're weak, when we're weak and unable to do anything about it."

"That would mean either they caused the storm, which is a whole bag of not good in itself, or they somehow found out about it and learned that we're evacuating," Faith pointed out. "Ounce of prevention and all that, if we figure out how they find out, we can nip this in the bud pretty quick."

"If we can, absolutely. In the meantime, however, we need to focus on three objectives. One, we need to plan for the long-term survival of this expedition if Atlantis drowns. Two, determine if there is a way to save Atlantis. Three, make sure this city stays in our control."

"Well, you know you have at least two assets to help you out on numero dos and tres," Faith said brightly.

"Hm?"

"Illyria and I. You won't find a better person, so to speak, to work with Ancient tech than Illyria, plus she's really fuckin' good at making things dead." Faith began buffing her nails on her shirt and as she spoke breezily, "and I...well, I've been known to enjoy a good fight now and again."

Sumner's lips twitched. "Not entirely sure I enjoy the idea of letting Illyria out to play, but I can't argue with your reasoning." He paused for a moment and then asked, "you didn't mention Miss Summers, is there a reason?"

Faith winced and visibly squirmed. "I'm not ruling her out, but...well, she's killed humans before, but always in the line of duty, um, you know what I mean? If we're here, knowing there are people coming, people who probably aren't really bad and are just following orders. Orders from people who probably aren't all that bad either and just want to keep their people safe... I think it could fuck with her."

Sumner gazed at her for a second and huffed out a laugh. "Seems ridiculous until I remember your usual customers are a little different than mine. Makes things a little more black and white for you, doesn't it?"

Faith nodded. "Most of the time it's a pretty clear cut line, but you'd be surprised how often humans can out-monster the monsters. B was always more careful about watching that line than I was, but she's become a lot more...practical than she used to be."

"She'd be defending her home," the Marine pointed out.

"A point I'll be sure to mention," Faith assured him.

"Well I'll think it over and bring it up to Dr. Weir, see if we can draw up some preliminary plans," Sumner declared thoughtfully. "Hopefully, none of this will even come to pass, but if it does, you might have just saved a lot of people."

Faith blushed slightly before getting distracted by the noise from outside the door.

Aforementioned door slid open, allowing the shouting and cursing that had been barely audible to blast into the small conference room.

"It makes sense Rodney, between the subsystems it's tied to and the translations... And just look at how the control matrix is structured! It is clearly—"

"It is clearly wrong, Radek! Wrong! In the history of wrong that's probably the wrongest wrong thing ever!" McKay shouted as he stomped into the room behind the Czech scientist.

"Hloupý blázne!" Dr. Zelenka growled.

"No! You don't get to do that different language thing!" McKay shouted back.

Sumner sighed.

Faith snorted and patted him on the shoulder. "Have fun."

Sumner gave her a tormented look as she left the room just as the conceited Dr. Kavanagh and extremely irritated looking Peter Grodin and Elizabeth Weir joined the two shouting doctors in the conference room.

---

Unknown Date
Genii Homeworld

"Well Ladon, what am I looking at?" the man asked the scientist beside him. As usual, the Genii commander wore his military fatigues and seemed to exude an aura of competency.

The shorter man glanced at him briefly and began to walk around the large oblong metal frame. Two short, stubby protrusions pierced the frame perpendicular to the cylinder, forming an off-centered cross like the hilt of a sword. "Right now, Commander, you're looking at very little. What this might become, however, is something that we might be able to use to travel to other worlds without the aid of a Stargate."

"Something we could use to get to Atlantis?" the man asked, running a finger along one of the metal braces as if to inspect it for dust.

Ladon Radim gave the man an annoyed look. "Perhaps, Commander Kolya, but we'd first have to learn exactly where Atlantis is and how long it would take for this ship to actually reach it. But Commander, whether reaching Atlantis is within its capability or not, just taking the time to learn more about this ship, about the integrated Wraith technology, could give our people the capability to combat the Wraith in a way we never thought possible."

"I couldn't agree more, Ladon, but those who've taken residence in Atlantis have woken the Wraith and we have far less time than either of us would like to ready ourselves. What we can learn from Atlantis is immeasurable compared to your own construction and taking it would grant the Genii the power of the Ancestors themselves. I am not belittling your work, Ladon, but as impressive as this may become, it remains only a small step in our journey. Now tell me of your project?"

The scientist grimaced and continued his slow circle. "We've faced multiple obstacles in the development of this ship, some easier than others to overcome. We're using the same general shape of the Atlantis "Puddle Jumpers", though the physical differences are obvious. We've seen that their pods are capable of automatically extending a wing-like section of the craft which contain, presumably, weapons and their main propulsion system. By simply attaching the fixed sections onto this frame, we avoid the need for that sort of advanced hydraulic system. Adding weapons would also add a level of complexity that would make construction much more difficult."

The man nodded. "It's bigger. Much bigger. It wouldn't be difficult for them to detect, even by eyesight alone."

Ladon nodded. "You're correct, Commander, but unfortunately we lack the capacity to manufacture the kind of systems at a small enough scale to construct a ship any smaller than this. Increasing the size of the ship not only makes the construction easier, but will allow you to increase the size of the force traveling inside it as well."

The man hummed in acknowledgement. "What else can you tell me?"

"There are numerous obstacles that prevent us from not only launching a ship, but also landing one. Those two problems are centered around, but not limited to, sufficient power generation, propulsion, and sustainability," Ladon stated, his demeanor becoming that of a lecturer as he continued to expound the difficulties his project faced.

The Genii commander grimaced. Ladon Radim was unquestionably brilliant, but he was also far too idealistic, tending to consider their future at the expense of the present. He was also a man who would talk endlessly about the details of his work if given the chance. Nevertheless, the man remained silent and gave Radim his attention.

"The first and foremost problem is escaping a planet's gravity well and the subsequent reentry into the atmosphere. This is something we'd likely be able to do ourselves, Commander, but it would be a flimsy construction with no hope of reuse and extremely inefficient in its use of resources," Ladon stated. "It would also be dangerous with a much higher chance of failure than of success, given that we're unable to experiment with the Wraith now actively culling again. Therefore, the simplest solution would be to find a material durable enough to survive launch, space flight, and atmospheric reentry."

The man's eyes narrowed. "The Wraith hull," he inferred, though it sounded more like a statement.

Ladon nodded. "The hulls of their ships are organic, Commander, and with the Wraith's cooperation, we can figure out how to grow a ship's hull."

The man raised an eyebrow at the claim. "But will he cooperate?" the man asked, looking over the shell of the ship in front of him.

Radim let out a breath. "He already has, to an extent. He won't say a word about the technology itself, but he's been willing to apply his knowledge."

"I find that incredibly difficult to believe," the commander said, crossing his arms as he stared at the scientist. "He would not give his aid so easily."

The shorter man shrugged. "He seemed very interested in our project when he heard one of our men murmur "Atlantis" within his hearing."

The man considered Radim for a long moment. "He will try to escape with this ship if he helps you."

"Of course he will," the scientist agreed, "but I had to spark his interest somehow."

"You are far more devious than you let on, Ladon Radim," the man said approvingly.

Ladon smiled briefly. "To be honest, he has little compunction when it comes to...programming the hull, for lack of a better word; the rub lies in the other, more complicated areas we'd require his assistance. Still, if we're able to gain his assistance in solving some of the more difficult problems, he would inadvertently supply the solution to entirely separate problems in the process. For example, with a fast enough method of travel, many of the other inherent obstacles in spaceflight become far more manageable even with our current technology."

"Faster than light," the commander said, tasting the words, "and the power to fuel it."

"Precisely," the scientist agreed. "That, unfortunately, will be more tricky and are the things we absolutely require the Wraith to work with us on. However, Commander, thanks to your men's efforts, we already possess many of the raw materials and components needed to assemble those systems." Ladon let out a breath and pointed toward a cart that contained some of the items recovered from the Wraith ship. "The Wraith use the crystals you acquired to produce energy that fuels their ships, including their FTL system. Their FTL system, Colonel, which should be able to be assembled by the other components I cataloged for your teams to locate."

"So we just need the Wraith to put it all together," the man mused. "If he cooperates, what can we expect out of this craft?"

"I'd estimate the ship will be able to carry approximately 30, but that may vary depending on the length of the journey and the allotment of space required for perishable supplies. Their drive system will also have to be adjusted to fit a ship this much smaller, but that shouldn't be too difficult. But Commander, even with the Wraith's help, a great deal of our own technology is going into this ship. I don't think it'll be able to survive more than one trip."

"It doesn't matter, Ladon. If we have Atlantis, we won't need this ship or the Wraith," the man said, stepping closer and crouching to run a hand over the dark purple, organic-looking substance that was barely visible along the metallic bones of the ship's skeleton.

Ladon huffed out a breath. "As you say, sir."

"When will it be complete?" the man asked, turning to give Ladon Radim his full attention.

"It'll partially depend on the cooperation of the Wraith," Radim replied, "but the hull will be up to specifications within two weeks at its current pace. Most of the gear, including the power source, can be assembled within that time. The power source itself, the connections to the FTL drive, and the FTL drive will be four weeks, minimum. We have a great deal of software to create and adapt to work with this technology, Commander, otherwise we'll have to rely entirely on the Wraith for the ship's operation. That's likely to take the greatest amount of time for this effort."

"How soon, Radim?" the man pressed.

"Six, Commander, six weeks bare minimum. However, I'd much prefer to double or triple that in order to continue our study of the Wraith technology and to verify the safety of this ship's operation."

"We'll call it six weeks," the man declared as he turned to leave the room. "If the Wraith refuses to cooperate, let Cowen or myself know." The man paused and turned around, "Ladon, make sure he doesn't turn this ship into a trap or an escape route or it won't just be the Wraith you'll have to worry about."

#

Ladon Radim nodded his understanding and watched as Commander Kolya left their newly repurposed hanger. He shook his head in frustration, cursing the narrow-mindedness that seemed to plague the upper echelon of the Genii military. The Genii had survived because of their patience and willingness to sacrifice for the betterment of their people, not because of some desperate grab for technology and weapons that hinged upon the intellect of a captured enemy and their own incredibly limited understanding of their technology. He possessed a great amount of self-confidence in himself, and his work, but this plan seemed folly in a way that was completely unlike the machinations of the normally shrewd Cowen and strategically inclined Acastus Kolya.

The new attitude of Cowen and his sycophants that had developed in the wake of the joint attack with the humans of Atlantis against the Wraith seemed incongruous to their normal way. Dangerous. Reckless. Pointless.

He didn't know what had happened on the Wraith ship, didn't know why Sora had developed such a rabid hatred against the other humans, but he knew that the people who hailed from Atlantis had felt just as betrayed as the Genii by the end of the day. They could have been allies, the only humans in the galaxy that possessed technology as advanced as theirs. More advanced if the reports were true and that didn't even factor in their access to the weapons of the Ancestors.

He understood the desire to possess the technology of the Ancestors and even Atlantis itself, but this plan of Cowen and Kolya's was...

Ladon Radim sighed. Dahlia would agree with him, he knew, they always agreed when it came to the things that mattered. There had to be a better way than this. He sighed and finally straightened.

He was Genii and whether he disagreed with the Commander or not, he would do his duty.

---

February 9th, 2006
Atlantis

"B? You given it anymore thought?"

Buffy looked up from her stretches on the gym floor to see Faith regarding her carefully. "What do you want me to say?"

"Tell me what you're thinking," Faith said softly.

Buffy abandoned her position and stood straight to give Faith her attention. "I'm thinking that this vision might not even come true anytime soon and... I'm thinking that if I lose you, I'll be alone again and that if I lose Atlantis, it's even more likely that I'll never see anyone back on Earth again," Buffy said. "What else is there to think about?"

"What I want to know, Buffy, is if you'll be able to look at yourself in the mirror if you shoot some kid who comes here to take Atlantis. If some kid, who has a nice mama who loves him and maybe some sweet girlie he might marry, will be someone you can kill. Can you deal with the thought of that?"

Buffy recoiled from Faith's words, and narrowed her eyes at the brunette. "Or like some old professor who just likes volcanoes?"

Faith flinched and turned away from her. "Fuck you, Buffy."

Buffy sighed and closed the distance between them. "I'm sorry," she murmured apologetically. "Faith, I've dealt with far worse things than this; just because I may not want to kill somebody doesn't mean I won't."

"So you'll stay here?" Faith asked, turning back to watch the blonde carefully.

Buffy glared at her. "I'm pretty sure it's been established that we've both grown up since we first met in Sunnydale. I may not want to go all "Death is my gifty" on other humans, but I've done it before and I'll do it again if I have to."

Faith held her gaze before she nodded. The brunette chewed her lips for a moment before she hesitantly said, "you know...even if you aren't in Atlantis, it doesn't mean you can't put yourself in a position to rescue our asses."

"What do you mean?"

"I doubt Sumner would want all his eggs in one basket," Faith shrugged. "Some will evacuate, some will stay here, but it seems like common sense to have a Jumper or two waiting to see what happens."

Buffy nodded slowly. "I'll think about it, I wouldn't mind riding to your rescue."

Faith smirked at her and waggled her eyebrows. "I'll reward you. Now go, you have a mission to go on with Lou and the boys while I have some Athosian ass to kick."

#

"You are not like...the others," Teyla panted, "I thought...you a great warrior at...first, but you...you are more." Teyla gasped and fell to the mat as Faith drove a knee into her stomach.

Faith stepped back and raised a foot off the mat, stepping over Teyla's leg sweep, and retreated a few steps back to give the other woman room to get to her feet. "What makes you say that?" Faith twirled her Bantos rod and held it pointing downwards at her right side.

"You were frustrated when you asked me to spar, but you have not lost control. I have yet to disarm you but I know that you are not even fighting with all of your strength and ability. I might take offense had I not seen you truly fight," Teyla answered, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow with her free hand.

Faith nodded. "I'm something else."

Teyla gave her a measuring look for a long moment before she said in a grave voice, "you are a warrior."

Faith quirked a smile. "So is Sheppard," she countered waggling an eyebrow.

"No," Teyla replied, smiling slightly. "Sheppard is a good man, an honorable one, one skilled in combat, but he is a soldier. You are not a soldier, Faith, you are a fighter, a warrior." She then peered closely at Faith and began to slowly nod to herself as if confirming some inner thought. "Buffy as well. Not just warriors then. You are too strong for your musculature, too skilled with too many weapons to lack any callouses. You are not entirely human...or perhaps more than just human."

Faith narrowed her eyes at the other woman's perceptiveness. "Buffy and I are as human as you are, Tey. Like you, we just got a little something extra."

Teyla blinked in surprise. "I do not understand."

"Next time you get a chance, get Beckett to give you a blood test," Faith suggested, "might be surprised at the results." Faith let the caramel-skinned woman digest that for a few seconds before taking several quick steps forward and sweeping up her rod in a blur of movement.

Teyla managed to block the rod with her own downward swipe before attempting to elbow Faith in the sternum. In response, Faith slapped Teyla's rod to the side and backhanded her lightly in the face. Teyla fell back a few steps before spinning around and recovering. The Athosian feinted a strike to her left arm with the rod and landed a kick to Faith's right side instead.

Faith grabbed the offending leg and yanked it toward her. Teyla yelped as she found herself being pulled toward her opponent until the awkward angle forced her to hop just to stay on her feet. Teyla lashed out with the rod only for it to be torn from her grasp at the force of Faith's parry. Faith allowed Teyla to free her leg but immediately attacked, landing several light hits against Teyla's stomach and chest before slapping the other woman with an open palm.

Teyla blinked at Faith's strike and let out a grunt of surprise as Faith pulled Teyla's elbow to her. Faith quickly sidled in behind the woman and hooked her arm around Teyla's and took a mule kick in the thigh for her efforts. Faith cursed, slapped at Teyla's thigh with her rod and had to lean to the side to avoid having a similar kick to her other leg.

Faith quickly slid the rod into the band of her gym pants and wrapped her arm around Teyla's other arm so that both of her arms were hooked beneath Teyla's armpits. Her hands then clamped together over the back of the Athosian's neck. Faith felt the Athosian's considerable strength as she tried to escape the full-nelson, but Faith remained implacable. She used her leg to tilt Teyla off balance so that both women collapsed onto their knees. There, Faith held Teyla, locked in a hold the woman found impossible to break free of.

After a minute of struggling, Teyla finally accepted defeat. She gasped out, "I yield."

Faith let go instantly, letting the other woman stretch her arms and neck for relief, still panting from their sparring match.

"That," the Athosian conceded, "was a very interesting move. Will you show it to me? I believe Sheppard would be easily subdued with such a move."

"Sure," Faith agreed easily, "Sheppard is a surprisingly good fighter, not as much as you, but definitely one of the better ones in Atlantis, might be tricky getting close enough to pull it off." Then Faith snorted, "then again, Sheppard does have a weakness for pretty women. I'm betting if you can get close enough, those tits and that ass of yours might make it comically unfair to the poor boy." Faith spelled out her meaning by cupping her own breasts and patting her rear.

Teyla's eyes widened and danced with merriment. "You are very...outspoken."

Faith nodded cheerfully. "Refreshing, isn't it?"

The Athosian considered it for a moment. "I believe it is," she said, smiling warmly. "I also believe, that I have succeeded in my task; you are no longer quite so frustrated."

"No, not anymore," Faith agreed. "Thank you."

Teyla nodded. "Faith..." Teyla hesitated, "the blood test. You inferred that..."

"Didn't infer, Tey. You got just a little nonhuman somethin' in you; do what you want with that information."

The other woman nodded slowly, eyes troubled. "I may ask you more later, but I feel that I should, as Sheppard says, 'take a breather' from our session."

Faith nodded and bumped her friend's shoulder. "Thanks Teyla Emmagan. Guess I gotta go ahead and bite the bullet and begin my new duty assignment as Dr. Kavanagh's lab assistant for the day."

The Athosian winced. "I can understand your anger much better now. The man is..."

"A cockbag," Faith supplied helpfully.

Teyla's eyes widened again.

Faith winked and gave the woman a cheeky grin.

"As you say, Faith Lehane," Teyla finally said, a small smile playing along her lips.

---

February 14th, 2006

"Bloody hell, what happened to you!?"

Faith looked at Dr. Beckett through bleary eyes and winced at his expression of abject horror. "That bad?" There was a small delay before she asked in a small, tired voice, "coffee?"

"Aye, one might put it that way, I've seen corpses that look as if they might have more life than you," Beckett replied, more amused than worried as he handed the brunette his own mug. "Well?"

Faith grimaced, but took the proffered cup and took a long swallow before handing it back. "It's Valentine's Day," she answered simply.

"What? What do you mean it's—oh!"

"Long night," Faith said smugly, rubbing her eyes.

Beckett blushed. "Oi, I've told you not to say that tosh in front of me!"

The Slayer reached out a hand and pinched Beckett lightly on the cheek. "But you turn this delightful color when we do!"

The Scotsman slapped her hand away. "Behave, Faith, or I'll suggest to Dr. Weir that Rodney requires your services for the day."

Faith looked at the man through narrowed eyes. "You wouldn't."

Beckett smiled at her. "Well, it's not as though we're currently overburdened with patients," the man pointed out, waving to the infirmary's empty beds. "Just so happens I was going to go fishing on the mainland, but if you'd rather—"

Faith's face fell. "Restricted to Atlantis, remember?"

Beckett blew out a breath. "I'll ask Weir about it. I was never told the full story behind your restriction, but I suppose it has something to do with your mission on...what was it—ah! M4S-683?"

Faith nodded. "If you get Weir to give me permission to go with you, I'll tell you about it."

Beckett nodded and thumbed his radio.

#

"I always figured this crap would be boring," Faith murmured beside Carson Beckett. "Turns out I was right."

"You're just not appreciating the finer aspects of the sport, Faith. Fishing? Boring? A common misconception, it is," the man said, eyes tracking his lure. He stood on a small patch of earth that overlooked a large lagoon filled with crystal blue waters. "Surprised Buffy wouldn't want to join you, it being Valentine's Day and all."

Faith shrugged. "Neither the Pegasus galaxy nor the Wraith observe the holiday, unfortunately. She and the rest of AR-3 are backing up AR-1 on M5S-22 something or other. Some weird misty planet that has some weird energy thing that could power a Stargate connection to Earth. Getting some reinforcements and supplies would be pretty bitchin'."

Beckett raised an eyebrow. "Not much fun being left behind, is it?"

The Slayer sighed and glared at the man. After a moment, Faith finally opened her mouth to reply when a sudden tug at her line made her eyes widen, almost comically so. "Oh, shit! Fuck! I got one!"

"Alright, he'll be struggling, lass, so just reel him in gently and—" Beckett stopped speaking as Faith jerked the rod upwards. The movement caused a large fish to erupt from the waters in front of them and fly above their heads until its journey ended with an abrupt meaty 'thud' as it impacted on the ground perhaps 30 feet behind them. Beckett stared at Faith for a moment and then reeled in his line and put both of their fishing rods in a secure location. He then ran with Faith toward the fish to examine her catch.

"So this was the trout thing you were talking about?" Faith asked, looking down at the very, very, dead fish.

"Bloody hell, Faith, this fish has got to be at least 75 lbs! How the hell did you manage that?! The line is pretty durable, but you shouldn't have been able to just pull that fish out all willynilly."

Faith winced. "First, let's take care of the fish and then I'll tell you all about it."

"And M4S-683 as well?" Beckett pressed.

"Yeah, that, too," Faith promised with a sigh.

"Alright, then. Let's put this into the cooler if we can; I don't feel like cleaning and gutting the beastie on the mainland if I can help it. Here, help me with this," Beckett said, putting his hands under the fish to lift it.

Faith waved him off. "I got this."

Beckett watched as Faith simply lifted the fish with one hand and put it on top of the cooler. "This is going to be way too big," Faith observed, "do we need the head?"

"You mean what's left of it after its high speed collision with the ground? No, we can do without," Beckett replied wryly. He winced as Faith whipped out a large bowie knife and neatly sliced its newly deformed lump of a head from its body before carefully packing the fish into the cooler and then tossing the head into the nearby water. When she was done, the young woman rinsed the blood from her hands and rejoined him.

"Don't think we'll be able to fit anything else in there," the Slayer said, biting her lip as she nodded to the cooler.

Beckett waved her off. "It isn't the catch that matters, Faith, though with a catch like yours I'm tempted to revise my opinion on that fact," he said with a chuckle. The Scotsman sobered then, giving her a long look. "Are you ready to talk about it now?"

Faith nodded and began to tell Beckett about M4S-683 and about the Wraith. When the doctor remained silent by the end of her story, she let out a breath and made a decision. She told him about Sunnydale and about everything else.

In the following hours, it was Beckett who became her first real confidant on Atlantis. Faith told him the things she'd generally only tell Angel or Buffy. He was an amiable man, an intelligent one, and a man who, by necessity, was willing to believe in the strange. Perhaps Col. Sumner had been right about the need to talk about it, and Beckett's willingness to listen and accept what she said, albeit with no small amount of tentativeness, it appeared as if she'd found the right person.

---

February 22nd, 2006

"Radek, tell us what you found," Elizabeth Weir prompted.

The Czech ran a hand through his disheveled, bushy hair. "I don't know what made you ask if there was any repository of Lantean weather patterns, Colonel, but it's a very good thing that you did."

Sumner grimaced. So much for metaphorical storms, it seems. He thought sourly.

McKay stepped next to Dr. Zelenka and began his technical examination of the data they'd uncovered. "In the city's database, there was a marked entry regarding extreme weather on Lantea. The entry includes a large amount of recorded data. The data, which only took a brief amount of time to extrapolate thanks to me, ind—."

Radek elbowed the Canadian in the stomach.

"—thanks to us, indicated that the oceans on Lantea become unusually warm every 20 to 30 years. Because there is so little land on this world to inhibit this sort of extreme weather, the developing storm will continue to grow and grow until it covers a massive portion of the planet. According to the data, the conditions of these Lantean storms would make the worst of Earth's hurricanes look like a light evening storm in comparison."

"How bad?" Weir asked, leaning forward.

McKay frowned and Radek pointed to the window. "For how advanced Atlantis is, without the shield the city is incredibly fragile. Storms like these..." Radek shook his head.

"They could very well destroy Atlantis," McKay finished. "The Ancients could raise the shield or submerge the city before, but without power...the wind alone could damage the integrity of the taller structures."

"Do you know when this last happened or when we might expect it to happen again?" Weir questioned again.

Radek and Rodney glanced at each other and held out hands that tipped back and forth.

"Weather forecasting is a tricky business even at the best of times, Dr. Weir, but the temperature of the waters surrounding Atlantis would indicate that we're due for such a storm anytime now," Rodney answered.

"And unfortunately, the water will only be warming up in the coming months. Dr. Weir, Col. Sumner, the next storm could be developing even as we speak," Zelenka added gravely.

"Anything else?" Sumner asked.

The two scientists shook their heads.

"Not on the storm," McKay corrected himself, "but I am working with Radek to figure out a way to generate enough power to raise the shield."

"Before you leave, Doctors, on an unrelated subject I'd like to ask how the translation and decryption of the information we took from the Wraith ship is coming along? I understand its not the priority right now, but its been a month. I was hoping to have seen something by now."

Zelenka frowned. "There was an enormous amount of data that AR-3 pulled, Colonel, it will be some time before the process is complete. Although we did find it odd, and significant, that the Wraith language seems to align closely to that of the Ancients'."

Weir raised an eyebrow. "Did Burt have anything to say about that?"

McKay groaned. "Burt has informed us that he's going on a hunger strike. He's done talking."

"Still, capturing him wasn't a waste of time," Radek stated. "If for no other reason than to be able to an observe a Wraith in a relatively non-threatening situation. Advanced as they are, what we've learned of their social structure from Burt would indicate that each hive is like a matriarchal feudal fiefdom."

Weir and Sumner glanced at one another in wordless conversation.

"Very well, continue to focus on our potential weather problem and let us know what you come up with," Weir said, nodding toward the door, "and you might try enlisting Miss Burkle's assistance on either of the two projects."

The two scientists nodded and left Sumner and Weir alone in the conference room.

"Faith was right then," Sumner said in the following silence. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the table, looking nonplussed.

"You doubted her?" Weir asked with a raised eyebrow. She eyes his relaxed posture and decided to mirror it.

The Marine chuckled as the renowned, former ambassador let her shoes rest on the illuminated table. Then he sighed and shrugged. "I hoped she might be wrong, or that we'd have more time. But Faith's...vision, I believe, would suggest this will be happening sooner as opposed to later."

"What do you have planned?" Elizabeth inquired.

"I'll have Bates return to Manaria and work out a deal for a place we can use as a residence, temporary or otherwise in the future," Sumner immediately answered. "There are several other planets that might serve the same purpose that I'll be sending AR-3 to, but because we don't know when this will be happening, it might be tricky to make some sort of agreement. I'll be keeping AR-1 here for now."

"The Genii?"

"I'm not particularly worried about them moving on us now, but I don't want all of our teams out at once. Now that we have the information confirmed, we can work more openly to prepare. AR-1 will be useful in cataloging our military supplies and determining what should be evacuated. Unfortunately, we can only do so much until we actually know when we're going to get hit."

Weir hummed her agreement and tapped a finger on the table. "Faith's month is up," Weir said suddenly. "She's apparently been talking with Dr. Beckett, though I haven't asked for the details. She's entitled to her privacy, of course, and the doctor did consider her fit for duty."

"And?" Sumner asked.

Weir shook her head. "Faith has issues. Hell, her issues have issues. Temper or no temper, her...nature makes her that much more prone to act upon it. Aside from her actions on M4S-683, she's been a model member of the expedition and an extremely useful asset."

"Careful Elizabeth, you're starting to sound like me," Sumner warned with a smile on his eyes. "Then you think I should allow her to rejoin AR-3 and resume off-world operations?" Sumner half guessed, half stated.

Weir tilted her head in thought. "It's ultimately up to you, Marshall, but I do think her forced stay on Atlantis was good for her, and more importantly, I think she'll admit that it was."

Sumner rubbed his face. "I'll consider it."

Weir nodded and enjoyed the ensuing companionable silence until eventually broaching the next topic. "What will we do about our prisoner?"

Sumner grimaced. "I won't bring him with us, that's just too great of a risk to take during an evacuation. We can't just drop him off somewhere either; not after seeing Atlantis and our current defenses. We've gotten some cultural information out of him apparently, but I don't intend to capitulate to his hunger strike." Sumner made a face. "If he's beginning to starve..."

Weir glanced sharply at him and opened her mouth before closing it with a frown. "I don't suppose you have a line of volunteers," Weir murmured.

The older man shook his head. "We don't really have much of a choice but to execute him. We can't risk Burt getting free and it would be even crueler just to let him starve or drown."

Weir's lips twisted in an expression of distaste.

"Not exactly a fan of it myself, Elizabeth, but consider this: every grown-up Wraith you see? That's dozens...maybe hundreds of humans whose lives its fed upon."

"I'm aware of that, Marshall, when will you be...taking care of it?"

"Illyria was happy to volunteer should the occasion arise," Sumner said blandly. "Tomorrow. She promised to make it quick."

Weir raised an eyebrow and, despite herself, felt a small curve appearing along the edge of her lips. "Poor Burt."

---

February 26th, 2006
Manaria

"Yes, Sergeant Bates, I quite agree. I hope everything works out, but Manaria will shelter you if the need arises," Smeadon assured the larger, dark-skinned man in Atlantis fatigues.

"Thank you, Councilor. Nothing is certain at this time and this is all precautionary. Like I told you earlier, we'll be putting up makeshift shelters either way just in case things go sour," Bates told him with a gracious nod.

"I quite understand," the Manarian councilor said with a genial smile and shook the other man's proffered hand.

Smeadon gave the man his team some space and continued to observe the humans that had come back to his world asking for shelter. As he watched, a small group of men and women were unloading several small boxes of supplies from the Ancestor-built ship. Hand tools, by their appearances, Smeadon thought.

When the process was complete, five unfamiliar soldiers, men and women, were left behind as Bates's team departed Manaria. The five immediately set forth, moving their supplies closer to the forest, drawing furrows in the dirt and driving pegs into the earth to mark future building sites. Smeadon had to admit, these people who hailed from Atlantis were resourceful, resilient, industrious, and determined.

Nevertheless, he walked back inside and made a beeline back toward the Council Chamber, his next action having been determined the moment Bates had approached him with Atlantis's request. The Manarian Councilor walked around the office until he found what he was looking for. Opening a small compartment, Smeadon removed the small device within and sat down with a sigh. He glanced out the window that provided him with a convenient view of the laboring soldiers and smiled slightly.

He flipped a switch on the small hand-sized device and brought the communicator closer to his mouth. "Relay Station Two, prepare to receive transmission."

The voice that crackled back over the radio was all business. "RS Two awaiting transmission. Over."

Smeadon's smile grew even wider. "I need you to relay a message to Cowen of the Genii. Tell him we have something to trade."

---

February 26th, 2006
Genii Homeworld

"Cowen," Commander Acastus Kolya acknowledged neutrally, taking off his patrol cap to acknowledge his superior. Dressed in his uniform, the commander stood in front of Cowen, who sat behind his desk looking annoyingly smug.

"Commander, thanks for coming. I've just received the most interesting news from one of our relay stations," Cowen announced with a smile.

The man raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

"One of our sources on Manaria informed us that Atlantis is looking for possible evacuation sites. Our source seemed to think that Atlantis might be in danger from some environmental danger of some kind. Extreme weather of some kind, he overheard one of them say," the frizzy haired man said lightly. "He seems to believe it's a matter of when as opposed to if."

At Cowen's invitation, the commander took a seat opposite the Genii chief and pondered the new information. Settling into the comfortable chair and crossing his legs, Kolya narrowed his eyes as he tried to determine how the information might be used. "How reliable is this source of yours?"

"Implicitly," Cowen answered.

"The humans who have taken Atlantis...they have foreknowledge of some impending danger and are preparing for an evacuation, but have not committed to it entirely?" the man asked. "Hm, I have no doubt that they will try to save the city of the Ancestors, but it is only natural for them to take precautions... If your source's information is correct, then I'd agree with his conclusion, with the caveat that they won't abandon Atlantis until the very end."

"That was my impression as well," the chief agreed. "The unpredictability of this...event means that, even if they are taking precautions now, they'll still be scrambling to coordinate an evacuation, salvaging their equipment, and saving the city when the time comes."

"Meaning the sooner this possible disaster occurs, the less likely it is that they'll be able to save the city and their supplies," the man fell quiet before eyeing the man intently. "Even with flawless timing, Cowen, you might be presenting me with a window of opportunity too small to take advantage of. Do not forget that even if we choose to utilize Radim's vessel and surprise this...Elizabeth Weir and her people, then we'll have to have enough warning to travel there."

"Yes," Cowen acknowledged, then straightened his chair to look him in the eye. "Trying to go through the Stargate, even if we learn the address and find out how to pass their security, seems entirely unfeasible to me. But it won't matter either way unless the ship is complete. That will—"

A knock at the door interrupted him.

"Ah, right on time," Cowen said with a smile. "Enter."

The door opened to reveal an exhausted looking Ladon Radim, clad in his Genii uniform, who gratefully took a seat next to the commander so that they both faced Cowen on the other side of his utilitarian grey desk.

"Ladon, Cowen was just asking about the ship," Kolya told the scientist. "Please, tell us how it's coming along and when you think it might be usable?"

Radim seemed to sink into his seat. "Chief...Commander, we're making great progress but it's only been four weeks. Pushing us to work even harder and faster than we are now will lead to miscalculations and mistakes. I told you six weeks, minimum."

"I...see," Cowen said in a calm, neutral voice. "Why don't you tell us what has been accomplished and what remains incomplete."

"Of course," Radim said, running a weary hand through his hair. "The hull was finished on schedule, early in fact. We ran a battery of tests to locate any flaws and found none, but I had the obvious weak points in the frame reinforced with several layers of steel. The team that's been working on interfacing the Wraith technology with our own controls is struggling and will likely set us back a week, at best."

Cowen's lips tightened. "What of the power source and the hyperdrive?"

"The Wraith will only help us to an extent and even that is conditional," Ladon responded.

"How so?" Kolya asked.

Ladon glanced over. "As you recall Commander, he flatly refused to help us until we mentioned Atlantis." At the man's nod, the scientist continued, "he's fought us every step of the way, but he's been willing to help us, for a price."

"What price?" Cowen asked, brows drawn over a disapproving frown.

"He will assemble a single subsystem for every question we answer about the strangers from Atlantis," Ladon replied, visibly frustrated at the fact. "The power source was easy, relatively speaking, to assemble. We only needed his help for a brief amount of time before we could do the rest ourselves."

Cowen's eyebrows shot up. "You were able to construct a Wraith power generator so easily?"

Ladon grimaced. "No. We already had the parts, we just had to assemble them. I wouldn't even know where to begin if we were to actually create one from scratch. The power source isn't the problem, it's the hyperspace generator."

At their unwavering regard, he sighed in resignation. "It'll be done within two weeks, Chief, Commander, somehow I'll have it done."

They both nodded in approval.

"Better get to it, Ladon, we've received news that might make your haste worthwhile," the Genii commander stated softly.

Ladon's eyes widened but he took the hint and quickly left the room to get back to work. He had two weeks to assemble an alien device that would permit FTL travel in a mostly alien ship. It can't be all that hard, right?

Ladon Radim silently swore at his superiors.

---

Author's Notes: Oh my god, long chapter. Sorry folks, but I thought I needed the aftermath from last chapter and all the filler material to help connect to the next chapter. I am aware that I haven't touched upon Illyria much in the last few chapters: have no worries gentle readers, she'll be back in all her smurf-like gloriousness.

I'm not really satisfied with how I handled Burt, but I didn't really have much of a plan for him to begin with. There's a lot of things I can do with the intelligence they captured, but Burt is sort of SOL when it comes to a long-term future. So yeah, he's going to get a silent exit. Sorry!

Okay, so you've probably noticed, and maybe became annoyed at, my use of "the man" as a way to refer to Commander Acastus Kolya for most of the chapter. I'm did that for a couple reasons. One is to keep that consistent with the section at the end of last chapter. (Note, I italicized last chapter's Kolya passage to apply a sort of "mysteriousness" and "danger" to Kolya while serving as foreshadowing. Sorry if the formatting was jarring).
I also wanted to emphasize Kolya's role in the story, in that he was one of main human antagonists that Atlantis faced. The fact that he's human when dealing with the Slayers is what makes the situation even more complex (for Buffy & Faith), hence the emphasis. Just adding a bit of gravitas is what I'm going for.

Recap on SG:A's knowledge of BtVS world: McKay/Weir/Sumner have been told a lot about Buffy/Faith/Illyria, but much of it has been general information with the details glossed over. They know Illyria is an Old One, but they don't know that she is something humans would call a demon. They might have suspicions, but they haven't been told about the supernatural world. Only Beckett knows all about it (thanks to Faith on their fishing trip).

For those speculating: "As you wish" was a reference to Princess Bride.

Czech Translation: Hloupý blázne! = Stupid fool!
Again, Google Translator, feel free to correct my usage if you know better.

#

Review Answers/Comments:

Guest: Thank you kindly for the praise and constructive criticism! Regarding your question about Faith disarming in the previous chapter: you're not wrong at all, Faith or Buffy could have, without any doubt, killed the Wraith. The reasons I had her disarm were twofold. One is that no matter how accurate or powerful they are, there's an increasingly fragile girl whose neck is in the hands of a Wraith; her survival would be in question. The second reason is that I really wanted to have Faith beat the crap out of the Wraith for the reasons stated in the end A/N (and later in this chapter).
You're also right about Buffy's overemphasized inability to navigate, I mostly added it just to inject a bit of humor to give a bit of a breather in between everything else, but I guess I really overplayed. I'll keep an eye on that in the future.
lateVMlover: Faith may not be Superman, but don't forget that she is superhuman. On the bug planet (reported in previous chapter), Faith was shot 3-4 times and was able to get up within 15 seconds. So her ability to continue fighting isn't really that inconsistent. Her stab wound wasn't really that severe; I didn't specify exactly where the wound was, but she was stabbed under the collarbone, close to the armpit (away from any lungs/bones/etc). We know Slayers get stronger with age (canon) and Faith had been a Slayer for a really short time when she first went up against Buffy. So now it's years later and she's had military training and yeah, she can be a badass.
Doubting Faith's abilities (in any context, not just this story) on the basis that she was stabbed once in the gut and went instacoma for 8 months is misleading. I'm assuming there's exaggeration there, because there was a whole knock-down, drag-out fight sequence and a multi-story dive off a building that accompany that stab in the gut. Taking one example from the show and using it as the end-all be-all is a terrible idea. For example: One Turok-Han beats the fuck out of Buffy, nearly killing her, and just a few episodes later Faith gets tackled by like half a dozen of them and comes out alright.
My handling of Buffy seems to be one of the main pieces of criticism I get. I'll be working on that.
HowlnMadHowie: I've given no reason to suggest that Illyria can read Nox and other human languages (even ancient ones) are just as iffy. Sheppard's interaction with the Genii happened exactly as it did in the show so I'm not entirely sure what you mean about Sumner giving in. I don't really have a firm reason on why I italicized the Kolya section, maybe because I wanted to emphasize the foreshadowing? Or maybe as a way of separating that new side-plot from the rest of the story.