8 – Did They Really Blow Up Atlantis ?

(Sub-Atlantis – Cell – 12.02.2022, 0924)

While Sheppard and company were dropped in the market, Guide found himself teleported to a cell. After he had been removed from Sheppard's cell, he had been thrown in a large cell with dozens of his own people. Then he had been forced to watch as the Terrans took them to a room next door. He had looked through a window as they had fed upon them. Once they were done, their bodies had then been thrown overboard. By the time the ship had dropped out of subspace, he had been the only one left.

As for Guide, he had been found himself alone in a cell with no windows. The only light came from a gas lamp in a small alcove. Three bars made it impossible to access the lamp. The only way in or out was a heavy, wooden door. Not surprising, it was locked. Guide growled as he paced the cell. He was hungry. Suddenly, the door opened an elderly human was shoved into the cell. The shoving was done by a Human in a uniform. It was the writing on the uniforms that had told Guide that these people were Terrans. Before Guide could make a move, the door slammed shut and was locked again. Guide pounded the door and growled. Then he turned to the elderly human. It was time to eat.

(Sub-Atlantis – Street – 12.02.2022,0932)

Sheppard studied Sub-Atlantis as they made their way further from the market. The city was an odd hybrid of style. It was a shanty town, but with cave houses tent towns mixed in. Windows were rare, with the bulk of what little light there was being provided by gas lamps and torches. Like on the market, the people were thin and pale. They wore rags and Sheppard saw that most of them were barefooted. The street sloped down as it went along. Suddenly, it stopped at a heavy gate. Beyond was a stairway that vanished into darkness.

"The city is divided into nine levels," Zara said. "Passage between them is not allowed."

"Probably a way to keep the slaves from rebelling," Banks said.

"If they are worried about that, then how come we haven't seen any Terrans down here ?" Sheppard asked.

"This is the first circle. The further down you go, the stricter the security becomes," Zara said. "Before they drafted me to serve on the fleet, I lived in the fifth circle. That's how I know all this," She sniffed the air, then walked into the last house before the gate. "We can take this house," She said, while pointing to something on the floor.

Sheppard followed her finger to see the remains of a Human male on the floor. The man had been stabbed to death and stripped. All he had left was a loincloth. The Colonel sighed and they set about dealing with the body.

(Sub-Atlantis – Cell – 12.02.2022, 0935)

The old man had not had a lot of years left. Basically, they had thrown Guide a bone. The body had been removed by another two elderly humans. He was now sitting on the only piece of furniture in the room, which was a rickety old bed. That was when the gas light went out. The Terrans had closed the supply. With no light, he lay back on the bed and drifted back to the attack on Atlantis and how it had gone off the rails. It had begun with the distortion of space between the two fleets…

(Hive Ship Grand Conqueror – Command Center – 06.02.2022, 2307)

The alien vessel did not belong to any race Guide had ever seen. In fact, the design was unlike anything he had ever seen. He turned to Bonewhite to give the order fire, but then the ship tilted and he was forced to grab one of the consoles. Checking the sensors, he realized that the alien ship had fired a single shot. That shot had cut through the Hive Ship Valiant and the cruiser Silent Hunter. They had been close enough for the shockwave to hit them. They had also lost over two dozen darts that had been in the wrong place in the wrong time.

"Maneuver Seven !"

"Yes, Commander," Bonewhite said. "Maneuver…"

Atlantis was firing drones at the alien ship, but it was not enough to keep the ship from firing again. The second shot destroyed the cruisers Red Talon and Black Star. Unfortunately, the Grand Conquer also caught the tail-end of this blast. The ship rattled as the shockwave hit it. Before he could ask for a damage report, the alien vessel fired again. The Hive Ship Robber Baron was killed by this shot. While all of this had been happening, the Tau'ri fleet had been exchanging weapons fire with the remaining Wraith ships.

Suddenly, a series of bright flashed broke the black of space ahead of them. ~Now what ?~ Guide spotted a fleet of spaceships in the places where the flashes had happened. Like their first surprise visitor, it was unlike any alien ship he had ever seen before. He was about to give an order, but then the Grand Conqueror bucked and he was thrown through the room. He hit the nearest wall and the world went black. Several minutes later, the Terran teleporter snatched him.

(Sub-Atlantis – Market – 12.02.2022, 1023)

The former owner of the house had been removed. They had simply put the body in the street. Then somebody – somewhere – had rung a bell. Soon, a cart had arrived. The body had been loaded on and driven away. It would be burned in a special furnace and then the ashes would be spread in the desert. As for Sheppard and company, they were taking a closer look at the house. There was a tiny kitchen, a bedroom with a single bed and a chair, and a closet with a toilet and sink.

While Zara and Banks stayed in the house, Sheppard made his way back to the market. They would need supplies, information and friends. Fortunately, Sub-Atlantis was warm. So both Sheppard and Banks would be fine without their jackets. The bad news was that they didn't have anything else to trade.

As he entered the market, he noticed that there was a tension in the place. It didn't take long for him to see what the reason was. The platform they used to deliver the slaves to the city was moving. And it was been lowered down. Standing on this platform was a man in an elaborate robe. It was purple and gold, with several kinds of jewels stitched onto it. But the reason the slaves were tense, was because of the man's face. ~Are you kidding me ?~ The man on the platform…was him. Emperor John the First was entering Sub-Atlantis. ~Interesting timing.~ Sheppard found himself a good place to watch and waited.

The platform reached the floor and the Emperor stepped off. As soon as he did, the locals back away from him. ~They're terrified of him.~ Which was not surprising. The fact that he was down here without any security guards made that clear. He looked around the market before approaching the nearest market stall. The slave behind it trembled with fear. Suddenly, the Emperor pulled out an energy weapon. It looked like an old-fashioned Colt 1911, but it fired energy bolt instead of bullets.

The slave was vaporized in an instant. Before anybody could blink, Emperor John fired another shot at the female slave at the next stall. Three more shots followed, before John put his weapon away. Five stalls were now without owners. He turned to the crowd. ~Here we go.~

"A man arrived today," The Emperor began. "A man with my face. Where is he !?"

"I am here," Sheppard said as he stepped out of the shadows. "Leave these people alone."

"Or what ?" The Emperor pulled out his weapon and aimed it at Sheppard. "What will you do ?"

"It's not me you should worry about," Sheppard approached his counterpart. "The Empress is here as well. And you know how she can be. She'll have this whole place rebelling against you in less than a day," He was bluffing. But after what he had just seen, he figured that Banks' counterpart had to be pretty crazy to survive twenty-five years with this man. "And without Sub-Atlantis, who is going to do the dirty jobs above ?"

"Who are you ?"

"Don't you know ? Aren't you the Emperor ?"

Emperor John smiled a cruel smile. He pointed the weapon into the crowd and fired five shots. Then he turned back to Sheppard. ~I really hate this guy.~ The Emperor tossed him a salute, while grinning sadistically. That done, he walked onto the platform. ~I really, REALLY hate this guy.~

"You can have the rabble," He threw his energy weapon to Sheppard, who caught it. "You will die here, John." The platform began to rise, while the Emperor cackled. "Goodbye, fool."

Sheppard looked at the energy weapon. The grid seemed to include a scanner, which he figured meant that only the Emperor could fire it. He pointed the weapon at the ground and pulled the trigger. Much to his surprise, a bolt jumped out and created a hole in the floor. Some of the locals shrank away, but some stayed put. ~Okay, this could be an issue.~ As he put the weapon away, he realized that the Emperor had presumed that he was some kind of con-man. ~And that the weapon wouldn't fire.~ As he headed back to the house, his head drifted to the attack on Atlantis…

(Atlantis – Chair Room – 06.02.2022, 2307)

The Alpha Site had warned them, so Atlantis was ready to for the Wraith fleet. This meant that Sheppard was in the Chair Room. As part of their shadow campaign, Alexander and the crew of the Orpheus had provided them with plenty of fresh Ancient drones. So he did not have to worry about running out of ammo. Then space rippled and an Ori warship appeared. Sheppard watched as the Ori vessel opened fire on the Wraith fleet.

=/\=Colonel Sheppard,=/\= Richard Woolsey began over the radio. =/\=Open fire !=/\=

"Yes, sir."

Sheppard began firing drones at the Ori ship and the Wraith, while Screen One cut loose on the Wraith fleet as well. The Ori ship took damage from the drones, but kept going. He watched as the first shot went straight through a Wraith Hive and a cruiser, destroying both. ~Bloody…~ Sheppard had read plenty of SG-1's reports on the Ori, so he knew about their firepower. But seeing them firsthand was something very different.

The Ori vessel made swung through a turn and fired again. This killed two more cruisers. It also damaged a nearby Hive ship. Passing through the debris, the Ori ship fired on that Hive ship. The Hive ship exploded as the Ori warship turned towards Atlantis. Sheppard fired all the drones he could at the incoming warship. The ship took a beating, but kept coming. Then it fired. The shot hit the city's shields. They held, but sparks rained down from several places in the room.

=/\=Shields are down to thirty percent !=/\= McKay yelled over the radio.

Before he could reply, the Ori warship fired again. The shields collapsed and more sparks rained down. Sheppard unleashed all the drones he could. But the Ori ship returned the favor. Something exploded and a bolt of electricity arched through the room. Sheppard cursed, then fell to the floor. The last thing he saw before he passed out, was some kind of red energy.

(Sub-Atlantis – House – 12.02.2022, 1035)

Sheppard reached the house. Instead of trading the jackets, he had gained the weapon. He would wait until things calmed down. Then he would take another stab at trying to trade the clothes. Banks gave him a look as he came in. So he sat down on the bed and began explaining what had happened at the market.