— Thor's Slayers —
Chapter Eleven
And Shepherds We Shall Be
Author's Notes: I have separated this story into three individual parts. This is something I probably should have done from the get-go, but I feel that the general theme/story of each part is different enough that they warrant their own stories. To ensure that followers are informed that the story has finally concluded, the third part will remain in this story and the first and second parts will be separated.
Since I last updated this story, I was promoted to a salaried position that didn't leave me the sort of free time that would allow me to write when at work. That, other life events, and a recent move to a new apartment kept me busy. Once I felt I had enough time to write, my greatest obstacle was that it had been so long I'd lost sight on how I wanted the story to end and much of my knowledge of Stargate: Atlantis had gone fuzzy. If at any time you encounter information that is inconsistent with previous chapters, please let me know so that I can edit this story accordingly.
Well folks, it may have taken far, far longer than anyone would have liked, but at long last, I do present to you the conclusion to Thor's Slayers. I made a promise that I would complete this story before moving on to the next chapter of The Will of the Force and I am a man of my word. It's been lovely writing the story and the lot of you have been a source for inspiration for my writing and ways I can improve future stories. However you feel about my story, however I feel about my story, Thor's Slayers represents a significant shift in my writing from a technical standpoint. I've learned a lot throughout my writing of this story, about my own preferences in my writing and about how others respond to it. While this story was nothing remotely close to perfect, I can state quite honestly that I've had a fun time writing it. I hope all of you are satisfied with the end of this saga and look forward to hearing your thoughts, should you care to share them.
On a more technical note, after reviewing the source material, I've come to realize that I was remiss in presenting the total Wraith strength being brought against Atlantis. It wasn't just the three Hive ships, but also the 9 Wraith cruisers that accompanied them and the second wave of 12 Hive ships and 36 Cruisers. I decided to omit the first 9 Wraith Cruisers from the first wave and the entirety of the second wave to maintain story continuity and keep things simple. Really, I've sort of combined those last few episodes of the first season into one chapter, so I hope that doesn't cause any undue confusion.
#
April 20th, 2006
Atlantis
There was protracted hush as the various viewscreens and sensors registered and relayed the massive explosion incurred by the Wraith's counterattack on the defense satellite. The stream of energy bolts had disintegrated the satellite within seconds and the resulting destruction had been utterly complete. Watching the events taking place, those in the control room waited to find out what the outcome was.
"Lieutenant Miller, Dr. McKay, do you copy?" Sergeant Chuck barked into the communications channel.
Static.
"Dr. Grodin, Miss Burkle?" the Canadian tried again.
Static.
"Lieutenant Miller, Dr. Mc—"
"Copy, Atlantis. Puddle Jumper's on its way home now, ETA 30 minutes." Lieutenant Miller's voice broke over the comm channel like a tidal wave, crashing through the silence and drowning the control room in cheers.
Dr. Weir strode quickly to Chuck's side and activated the channel. "Lt. Miller, is everyone alright?"
There was a lengthy pause. "No ma'am, Miss Burkle didn't make it. She saved Dr. Grodin and stayed on the defense satellite to fire the second blast."
Buffy and Faith grabbed each other's hands, a grasp so tight that any mundane human would have suffered a broken hand. The Slayers glanced at one another, unsure of how to react to the news of Illyria's proclaimed fate. There was the immediate expected sense of loss at the news of their friends' death, followed by wariness.
Whether Illyria had survived intact or her shell had been destroyed, it was unlikely that Illyria was capable of being obliterated in the manner that she'd been attacked and either possibility of survival presented its own set of complications.
Faith suddenly longed for the days where dead was dead, not "reanimated demon" or "nebulous energy waiting to turn back into a god." Given that those days in Boston had been horrific for entirely different reasons, she thought it said a lot about the world—or galaxy she found herself living in that they might be preferable. Still, she couldn't help but hope that Blue would be back. Not Illyria the Merciless, of course, but the Illyria whose rare displays of humanity had made her bearable and though she'd never say it aloud, amusing. If they lived through the next week, she promised herself that she'd take a Jumper up there and take a look around for her, just in case.
Boyd put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed sympathetically.
Sheppard looked grimly satisfied and when he noticed Faith staring at him, began looking everywhere but at her.
The others who'd known of her true identity looked troubled, obviously unsure how to feel about the subject as well.
Colonel Sumner suddenly cleared his throat and asked, "Sensors still haven't cleared up, Lieutenant, what's the status of the Wraith fleet?"
"One Hive ship destroyed in the first energy discharge, Colonel. The second shot looks like it crippled another ship, but didn't destroy it. It's definitely leaking atmosphere; looks like the beam caught the ship directly in its ventral sublight engines and exited through one of the Dart hangers. Just missed the command and control area of the ship."
Another lull in the conversation passed before McKay's voice echoed through the audio receiver, "At its present speed, the damaged ship won't reach Lantean orbit for 72 hours. The undamaged ship has decelerated to match the damaged ship's speed, presumably to provide cover. However, depending on how efficiently the repair system operates on that damaged Hive ship, the time frame could change."
"What's your estimate for the Hive ships' arrival then?" Sumner asked.
"I just said it's dependent on their repair systems—"
"Guess," the Colonel quickly cut in.
There was a huff of indignation before McKay ground out, "Since the engines took a direct hit, no less than 48 hours. I can't be provide a more exact time without additional data."
"Understood," Sumner stated, "Dr. Zelenka, we have a lot of fight coming our way, but we've been given a reprieve; is the weapons chair ready for use?"
"Almost, Colonel. Once Dr. McKay arrives, the process won't take more than an hour if he's free to assist in setting the connection between the chair and the new Naquadah reactors in sync. Then it'll all be up to our esteemed Dr. Beckett."
Sumner grimaced as he looked at the plot. "Alright Doctor, do what you can to help Dr. Kavanaugh with the self-destruct system until Dr. McKay arrives."
There was a series of barely audible curse words before Dr. Zelenka replied, "Samozřejmě!"
Sumner let go of the hand radio and turned to Weir. "I don't think we have much of a choice, Elizabeth, we're going to have to test those space mines."
"The moment those mines detonate, Colonel, those long-range sensors will be blinded by the radiation," Weir warned. "If something else jumps in system, we won't know about it until it's too late to do anything about it."
"So, I've been told," Sumner growled. "Sergeant Chuck, contact Lieutenant Miller and inform him that he's to take a cloaked Jumper and lay down the proximity mines."
"Yes sir!" the Canadian Air Force officer acknowledged.
Turning around, the colonel then faced the small knot of Marines and Air Force officers that had gathered in the Gate room. "Major Sheppard, you're charged with the defense of central tower: the Gate room, the hanger and the infirmary. All other teams are to retreat toward the central tower if you're forced to fall back. Captain Radner, you and your team will be charged with the defense of the chair control room and to establish a cordon with Lieutenant Ford. Ford, you'll be leading one of our mobile security units to reinforce any trouble spots."
"Yes sir," Sheppard, Ford, and Radner all snapped off.
"Teyla, I want you to take Faith, Buffy and one of the Marine fireteams to operate in a similar capacity as Lt. Ford."
"Major Boyd, you're position will be to coordinate the active defenses provided by the military. Railgun positions, resupply and the like," the Colonel continued, issuing orders in his typically gruff demeanor, "I want you to assign the predesignated fireteams to each of the various groups accordingly."
"Yes, Colonel!"
Boyd and the rest of SG-10 cast a quick look at Faith before they nodded a wordless 'farewell' and jogged to begin preparations for the imminent attack.
"Dr. Grodin, I want you to be operating from the control room, here. Keep an eye on our positions and direct the mobile teams where they're needed. Make sure that any transport systems located in contested or occupied areas are locked out of the system, got it?"
Peter just nodded.
"Miller stated that he'll be back in Atlantis with Dr. Grodin and McKay in about an hour and that he'll need a hand or two in order to get them in the Jumper and to position them in vacuum," Chuck informed Sumner.
"Good. Inform Sergeant Bates that his journey to the Alpha site has been delayed and that he's to assist Miller before completing the evacuation," the older man ordered.
Without waiting for a response, he turned to the cluster of people surrounding him. "We've been given a reprieve," he declared loudly. "You're each permitted to have a four hour rest period sometime during the next 24 hours. Aside from that period, I expect each and every one of you to do what you can to prepare Atlantis for an attack. I don't care if you're filling ammo clips, filling sandbags on the mainland, helping Dr. Becket put together first aid packets, just make sure you're doing something. You get me?"
A chorus of "Yes, sirs!" and "yes, Colonel!" filled the room the moment his orders were relayed.
The older Marine looked around and growled, "If this were an ideal universe, these preparations wouldn't be necessary and we could trust that the mines we laid out will finish the mission that Miss Burkle sacrificed her life for. However, this isn't an ideal universe and we'll be extremely lucky if we're able to catch both Hive ships by surprise so make sure you understand what it means for you if one of those Hive ships begins its invasion. Now, hop to it!"
April 23rd, 2006
Atlantis
Faith looked out over the veranda, cataloging the numerous railgun and heavy machine gun emplacements that had been assembled throughout the city. Even in the dark, still lightening sky, she could see the sandbags that had been stacked around the emplacements and other key choke points around the city and central tower. Fireteams patrolled the entire inner city, augmented by Athosian volunteers. The control chair, finally operable as a result of Dr. Zelenka and his team, would also be able to provide firepower in the form of Atlantis's drones. If this defensive grid had been on Earth facing a conventional opponent and if they'd had a little more manpower, she would've considered the city all but impregnable.
But they weren't facing a conventional opponent, they didn't have more manpower and their enemy had exponentially greater numbers with far superior weaponry. The second Hive ship that Illyria had fired upon still showed signs of damage, but their engines had finally been repaired and had quickly accelerated towards Lantea. The Hive ships would be arriving in 12 hours and waves of Darts were expected to arrive at any moment, all the while the hoped for reinforcements supplied by the Daedalus wasn't expected for 24 hours.
Sheppard had trained several of the recent arrivals in the use of the Puddle Jumpers and, against Dr. McKay's advice, had deployed a number of space mines equipped with Naquadah-enhanced warheads that were supposed to be their last line of defense before the Wraith reached orbit. Unfortunately, those mines had been spent when the Wraith sent a number of asteroids their way. The resulting explosions had cost them their long range sensors leaving them blind to the Wraith's movements.
It was quiet, the sort of quiet that promises imminent violence and a whirlwind of noise, fire and death.
Faith, gazing up as sunrise began turning the dark of night into varying degrees of purple and red, resisted the urge to check her gear for the ninth time and instead returned to her room, to Buffy, for what was guaranteed to be several more sleepless hours.
#
Dr. Weir leaned down, bracing herself against her desk, contemplating their next move. Across from her, Col. Sumner, Maj. Boyd and Maj. Sheppard wore similar grim expressions.
"Gentlemen, any suggestions would be most welcome."
"Our people are well equipped and well trained and, on the ground, I would bet on them against the Wraith anytime," Sumner began slowly, "but this battle will ultimately be won in space."
"And without any more nukes," Boyd began, "there's nothing on this world capable of bringing down one, let alone two Hive ships."
Elizabeth Weir tapped her stylus against her pursed lips, before she sighed deeply. "No, not on this world, but on another."
Boyd's eyebrows rose. "You have an idea, Doctor?"
"The Genii," Weir, Sumner and Sheppard replied in unison.
"I'll go," Weir declared, already on her way out of the room.
"Ma'am, you need to stay here," Colonel Sumner stated, Sheppard and Boyd both nodding their agreement beside him.
"Under normal circumstances, I'd agree, however given our past dealings with the Genii and our limited time frame, I think it's best that I speak with them directly. That's my final decision and in the meantime, I need you three to work out the best method to deliver them to the Wraith."
Sumner sighed and agreed with a simple weary, "Ma'am."
#
Eight hours later
"Offworld activation! Receiving Dr. Weir's code," a voice announced over the com.
With no small amount of relief, Sheppard watched as an intact uninjured Dr. Weir exited the gate followed by a pair of Genii soldiers, each pushing a cart forward. Success, he thought in satisfaction.
After a few paces forward, he heard her contact Dr. McKay and Zelenka, giving them yet another critical task to complete as soon as possible.
Falling into step with her, they made their way to the office, followed shortly thereafter by Sumner and Boyd.
"McKay estimates that it'll take between six and ten hours for them to complete the nukes," Weir announced tiredly, "what's the plan for using them?"
"Our best bet at this point is to use the Puddle Jumpers to deliver the weapons directly to the Hive ships. Cloaked, we can fly them into the Hive ships with the control chair and detonate them remotely," Sumner replied.
"So that's the plan then?" Sheppard asked skeptically, "wait for the geeks to complete a half assembled nuclear bomb while holding off two Hive ships, countless Darts and Wraith?"
"Is that a problem?" Sumner asked in response.
"Nope," Sheppard said cheerily, "just making sure."
#
Four hours later
Though everyone had been expecting them and were already in position, the warning klaxons still took Faith by surprise.
"Game time," she announced unnecessarily.
She and Buffy both adjusted the swords sheathed behind their backs. Those swords, gifted to them by Thor, were very much appreciated and both Slayers were looking forward to introducing them to Wraith flesh.
On her other side, she smiled inwardly as Louis Stackhouse obviously resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead checked his gear yet again. Their team numbered at five now, augmented by Roger Watts and Jessica McLeod, and had been assigned to the central tower, on one of the higher levels facing inwards. Their team had been been assigned the task of observing and reporting enemy movements and, for the Slayers specifically, to provide support to other nearby positions as needed.
There was a bright flash in the dark sky and their fireteam instinctively crouched closer to the sandbags they'd been given that offered only a modicum of protection. Moments later, there was the sound of thunder and the sky began flashing as tracer rounds from heavy machine guns and railgun fire began streaming toward the Darts that were falling upon them. Three or four Darts were immediately caught in the fire, splintering apart in the atmosphere, however it seemed like a dozen more replaced each one that fell. Drones began launching toward the hostile craft, controlled by Beckett who she knew to be operating the control chair.
Darts that made it through the drones and railgun fire began flying between the towers of Atlantis, firing at exposed positions or using culling beams to deploy Wraith soldiers.
Faith tensed as she felt the tower shudder as a Dart strafed it with a smattering of energy rounds.
"This is Sentry Post C5," Stackhouse said into his mic, "there are Wraith soldiers on the ground level advancing toward the central tower, over."
"Copy that, C5," a voice replied, "fireteams are en route to intercept."
Another Dart flew by, firing and destroying a nearby railgun emplacement.
Jessica McLeod huffed out a breath, "Hope you ladies are still up to snuff, I have a feeling you'll be real busy soon."
"Crap," Buffy murmured, "Sunnydale seems a lot safer now by comparison."
Faith nodded, watching another dozen Wraith appear on an adjacent building.
Moments later, the sound of rapid gunfire joined the cacophony of sound as Marines began firing at Wraith soldiers.
#
"Ford, you have at least a dozen Wraith on your six," Stackhouse called in.
Watching through binoculars, they saw Ford order his men forward only to encounter a dozen Wraith suddenly manifesting in the wake of a culling beam. Ford's group backed up only to encounter the dozen Wraith they'd been warned about.
"Fuck," Faith swore, "they're trapped."
"Can you get there in time?" Stackhouse asked, "Ford's team needs to man the railgun position on the East side of that tower. They were caught in a culling beam a few minutes ago."
"There's no frigging way they can get there in time," Roger objected.
"We'll get there in time," Faith acknowledged, standing up with Buffy at her side.
"They're 300 meters away and on a different tower, how?" Buffy asked.
Faith pointed at a small dot in the sky in the opposite direction that was slowly getting bigger. "With style."
Watts groaned, "If I don't watch, then I can't be too upset."
Ignoring Roger and seeing that Buffy caught her meaning, she unsheathed her sword and ran forward, jumping over the balcony railing. She ignored Stackhouse's shouts of dismay and instead brought her sword down into the hull of the Wraith Dart that was zooming past. A yelp was ripped from her lungs as she found herself attached to the Dart traveling faster than she'd care to thing about. Desperately, both she and Buffy hung on to their swords embedded in the Wraith Dart, struggling as the Wraith pilot attempted to shake them off.
"Let go in five seconds," Faith screamed over the wind, "next tower on the left. Leave the swords."
Having faith that Buffy would follow suite, Faith pushed herself off the Dart toward the tower, bracing herself as inertia flung her toward the tower. A few heartbeats later, she slammed against the face of the tower, feeling something inside of her left shoulder shift painfully. She heard as much as felt Buffy do the same, and they both scrabbled for a handhold as gravity began pulling them down. After a second, the face of the tower suddenly receded inwards and fear properly took hold. She glanced down and breathed out in relief, reaching out and catching the railing of one of the many balconies on the tower.
"Wait a sec," Faith gasped, and roughly pushed her shoulder against the wall. A 'pop' confirmed that her left shoulder was now properly in its socket. "Let's not do that again."
Buffy nodded her agreement. "Ready? Ford is on the causeway connecting this tower to the one on its western side, three stories below us."
By way of an answer, Faith let herself fall down to the next level.
#
Lt. Aiden Ford unleashed an entire clip from his P90 into the Wraith detachment ahead of him. Two of the Wraith soldiers fell down, but the rest continued to advance. Behind him, he could hear the other Marines firing but he knew that they were outgunned, outnumbered and outmaneuvered.
When a Marine beside him collapsed after being hit by an energy blast, he pulled out his pistol and emptied it into the face of the nearest Wraith. Hearing another one of his teammates collapse from enemy fire, he charged forward, taking the Wraith by surprise. He kicked him hard in the chest, pushing him back into several other Wraith and trying to buy himself enough time to reload his P90.
He'd underestimated the Wraith, however, and they recovered and had advanced upon him before he'd finished. The leading Wraith took aim at him and Ford froze, knowing he'd run out of time. A sudden commotion from behind made him glance behind, watching as the two lithe figures of their resident Slayers drop down onto their level from the terrace above advancing toward the Wraith soldiers that had entrapped them from behind.
Unable to shoot the Wraith without risking friendly fire to his team, he stared as Faith brandished her weird ass knife and hand Summers the crazy ass sword that assembled itself before his eyes. The Wraith now faced with a new foe, his men were given a moment of relief and one of the Marines quickly turned and unloaded his rifle into the Wraith that had Ford in his sights.
"Fuck yeah!" he crowed with renewed ferocity, "get some!"
Crouched on one knee, he raised the P90 and began firing short bursts at the Wraith soldiers in front him.
#
Faith kicked at the knee of the closest Wraith, shattering it and forcing the soldier to drop onto the other. She quickly fired a burst into the kneeling Wraith's head before hearing the P90 issue a 'click' click' as the magazine ran dry. She glanced over to see another one of Ford's team fall to the ground, wrestling with one of the Wraith. Before she could get to him, the Wraith snapped his neck and turns his attention elsewhere.
Faith's attention, however, was on the grenade that fell from the Marine's lifeless hand, one with its pin already removed.
She twisted to avoid a Wrath energy blast and then threw her P90 at the grenade, knocking it off the causeway. A few seconds later, the grenade exploded without causing any damage to the causeway. Grinning, Faith leaped toward the nearest Wraith and shoved her kris into its skull.
#
Four hours later
Marshall Sumner walked into the Atlantis Gateroom and caught Dr. Weir's attention.
"Colonel, how are our defenses holding up?" she asked.
"Well, for now," he replied curtly, "but I've already lost 30 troops and a third of our railguns. The Drones are picking up the slack for now, but the power source to that control chair isn't infinite."
"30 of the Marines I brought are also confirmed KIA," Boyd added.
Weir grimaced and tapped her ear, "McKay, please tell me we're about to have a couple of nuclear warheads ready for action?"
After a brief pause, McKay's voice replied, "We'll have one ready and waiting in a Puddle Jumper in approximately 30 minutes. The second one will take at least another hour."
The room suddenly shuddered and the lights flickered.
"What the hell was that?" Sumner asked.
The radio squawked. "This is Sentry Post C5, Wraith Darts are being flown directly into Atlantis. Looks like they're sending kamikaze attacks against some of our defensive emplacements and other important locations."
Weir met Sumner's eyes, "Better work faster on those Genii nukes, McKay."
#
35 minutes later
Sheppard, having taken Beckett's spot, concentrated in the command chair.
Dr. Zelenka, stationed in the Jumper bay, reported, "Rodney, nothing is happening."
McKay swore inwardly and stared at the display, "The Mark II generator is dead, it's not supplying any more energy. There's gotta be a way to—"
Sheppard suddenly stood up and ran out of the room.
"Major!" McKay called after him.
#
"Sir, more Wraith are being transported onto Atlantis. Positions in all but the most central towers have either been overrun or have pulled back. Sentry Post C5 is withdrawing to the main tower to resume surveillance."
"Copy, Sgt. Stackhouse," Sumner replied, giving Major Boyd and Dr. Weir a grim look.
Quietly, he said, "We'll need to prepare the self-destruct and get ready to evacuate the rest of our personnel to the Alpha site. We won't be able to hold the Wraith off for much longer."
"Col. Sumner, Dr. Weir," Sheppard called out, looking breathless. "The chair isn't receiving enough power, I'll be taking the Puddle Jumper with the completed nuke up. Hopefully destroying one of the Hive ships will make the other back off."
"John, you can't!"
Col. Sumner met Sheppard's eyes and gave him a nod.
With his acceptance, the Major dashed toward the Jumper bay even as Dr. Weir's furious eyes turned to him.
"Colonel, there could be another way!"
"Perhaps," Sumner stated, "but we don't have enough time to thoroughly explore our options."
Weir looked at him angrily before turning away to address a tech officer's question.
#
Puddle Jumper
Sheppard had engaged the cloak of the Puddle Jumper before he'd even left the bay and let out a small breath once he was in the air.
He had to focus, struggling to avoid the Wraith Darts and railgun fire that continued to fill the sky. Slowly, he brought the Puddle Jumper up, on course to the unseen pair of Hive ships that continued to send Darts and squads of Wraith soldiers to attack his home in the Pegasus galaxy. He thought of Dr. Weir, Rodney, Teyla, Col. Sumner, and even the two Slayers and braced himself for the task at hand.
"Major Sheppard..."
Weir's voice broke the silence, trailing off as the looming Hive ship continued to draw closer and closer.
"Godspeed," the doctor finished.
Only a few minutes passed before the blue sky darkened to pitch black as he finally exited Lantea's atmosphere. He glanced at the Puddle Jumper's sensors and altered his course to approach the Hive ship closest to Lantea and found an open hanger bay that would suit his needs. He stood up from the controls and approached the warhead that had been assembled and quickly found the timer that would detonate the device. Glancing back to the pilot's console to check their ETA, he set the timer for two minutes before settling back into his seat.
#
Lantean Orbit
Puddle Jumper en route to Hive ship
Sheppard made minute corrections to their course as the Puddle Jumper flew toward the open hanger of the Hive ship, glancing back at the timer he'd set to ensure that there wouldn't be any wasted time once he was inside the ship.
10...9...
"Perfect timing," he mumbled to himself.
8...7...6...5...
Just a few hundred meters and the Puddle Jumper would be inside the Hive ship and the nuke would be in an optimal location to go 'boom'.
A voice suddenly blared out over the communications channel. "Major Sheppard, decloak your Jumper immediately."
"What? Who the hell is this?" Sheppard asked, confused.
"Authentication Delta Charlie One, decloak now."
2...1...
With an inward shrug, John tapped the key to uncloak and then felt a strange feeling engulf his body.
#
Lantean Orbit
USS Daedalus
Caldwell watched with grim satisfaction as Sheppard's now unoccupied Puddle Jumper exploded in a flash of blinding light, the Wraith ship it'd been entering disintegrating in the blast.
"All batteries," Colonel Stephen Caldwell ordered, "open fire and take down that last Hive ship."
Railgun batteries immediately began spitting out rounds at the Hive ship and the Darts already advancing toward his fleet. The fleet comprised of the USS Daedalus and a pair of Asgard O'Neil-class cruisers. Mere seconds after the railguns began firing, plasma beams lanced out from the Daedalus and the accompanying Asgard ships.
Darts quickly disappeared from their sensors, vaporized as electromagnetically accelerated slugs fired from the Daedalus's railguns smashed into them. The same type of projectiles also impacted against the Hive ship, without significant impact but still providing a visually impressive display as the small pockmarks of flame and debris began to dot the surface. While the Daedalus's railguns may have had less effect, the Hive ship visibly shuddered as multiple plasma beams scored deep wounds into the hull. Even greater was the destructive power wrought by the O'Neill-class ships that Thor had assigned to the task force.
No more than half a minute later and the hull of the remaining Hive ship began to visibly buckle and lose its integrity. A heartbeat later and the ship blinked out of existence in another flash of blinding light.
"Well done, everyone," Caldwell congratulated his crew. Turning his chair, he glanced at Major Sheppard who'd been escorted onto the bridge. "Major Sheppard, looks like we got here just in time. I suppose the folks down below would like to hear from you."
Looking dazed, Sheppard nodded, "Yes sir, and if you don't mind my saying so, that was some impressive timing on your part."
#
Atlantis
"Sir, incoming transmission!" Sgt. Chuck barked out.
"Atlantis, this is the USS Daedalus. Sorry for dropping in so unceremoniously, but we heard you could use some help."
The Gateroom erupted into cheers.
Undaunted, Caldwell's voice continued, "And another thing, we were able to transport Major Sheppard above, so I'm afraid you're going to have to continue putting up with him."
Somehow, the cheers grew even louder.
Twelve hours later
Atlantis
"Thor!" Faith exclaimed happily. "You came in the nick of time."
In one of the larger conference rooms, the Atlantis command staff, Colonel Caldwell, Major Boyd, Thor, and several of the various scientists were now sitting around a round table.
"Our timing was fortuitous," Thor agreed, his voice somehow both toneless and pleased at the same time.
"I apologize, and not that I'm ungrateful," Major Shephard began, "but I'm a bit confused. I thought your people were all busy with your own crises?"
"Willow Rosenberg and General O'Neil were extremely...convincing," Thor replied.
Buffy smiled victoriously, "Wills comes through again."
"Indeed," the Asgard agreed without inflection, "her willingness to apply her own unique skillset to the cellular degeneration afflicting the Asgard was a compelling reason for our intervention."
Dr. Weir opened her mouth but closed it again when Thor raised a hand. "A solution has yet to present itself but we are, in so much as we can be, hopeful."
"That's good, buddy," Faith smiled.
"Agreed," Thor nodded gravely. "In our agreement with Willow Rosenberg and General O'Neil, we equipped the Daedalus with Asgard offensive weaponry and have agreed to send an O'Neill-class cruiser to assist in resupplying Atlantis and to patrol the surrounding systems every 30 planetary cycles."
An audible collective sigh of relief was heard from those who planned on remaining on Atlantis.
The relief was short lived as Thor continued, "However, now that the Wraith know that you are here, it would be our recommendation that Atlantis relocates. This is an endeavor that will require a power supply greater than that which you possess. While we do not have the technology to duplicate an Ancient ZPM, our technology should suffice for a brief period of time. The Wraith know that you are here, they will be looking for you and the Asgard do not have the numbers and capability of defeating them entirely."
"Well, if they know we're here, what if we make them think we're dead, too?" Sheppard asked before continuing, "none of their ships escaped the battle and we still have one of the Genii nukes left. In addition to relocating, let's detonate it and make any Wraith reinforcements think that we've killed each other."
Thor cocked his head, "A plan that would be effective only so long as your people don't attract you attention."
"Yes," Weir acknowledged, "but even a little more time would give us some breathing space when we're establishing ourselves on a brand new planet. Dr. Grodin, I want you to locate a suitable home for Atlantis. Borrow anyone you need to get this done."
Peter Grodin, standing by one of the many cluttered workstations, nodded his understanding.
"Meanwhie," Caldwell interjected, "I'm offering the service of the Daedalus to ferry personnel back to Earth for healing and R&R."
"Feel like hitching a ride back and spending a week getting plastered in Tijuana with the team?" Boyd murmured to Faith, "And Jessica and Roger have been aching something fierce to have another paintball game."
Before she could respond, Sgt. Chuck cleared his throat. "Ma'am? We're receiving a transmission from the Daedaus."
Caldwell raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Weir nodded toward the Sergeant. "This is Atlantis control, is there something wrong aboard the Daedalus?"
A man's voice, dry enough that it could've caught fire, rang out through the C&C room. "This is Lt. Colonel Bishop, I apologize ma'am, but it looks we'll be staying in orbit for a little bit longer while we recover a certain item that Miss Summers suggested might be located in the wreckage of the defense satellite. Hermiod didn't seem very pleased to have...it...on board, so we'll be sending it—her? back to you straightaway."
Faith's grin was downright feline, "Guess the three musketeers are getting back together. The Slayers and the Old One...reunited and it feels so good."
As Buffy's smile matched hers, Faith took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. To Boyd, she said, "Maybe we will hitch a ride back for some R&R, but I think Atlantis is our home now."
~ The End ~
Author's Notes: Well, after more than three years, there you have it. This wasn't my best work and I realized pretty early on when I resumed working on this that it was nigh impossible to make Faith and Buffy focal points when this part in Atlantis's story can't really focus on any single person. Additionally, this chapter was and is supposed to be almost all action and it was extremely difficult trying to determine how to incorporate that action while advancing the plot. Again, I don't think this chapter was great, but I do believe it provides a satisfactory ending to the story.
Thank you, everyone, for your support and for reading my story. I hope everyone enjoyed Thor's Slayers and that y'all will check out my other stories, particularly The Will of the Force which is still in progress.
And since I'm unable to resist the shout-out, if you haven't seen it already, get Disney+ and watch The Mandalorian immediately. It is, in my opinion, the best thing to happen to Star Wars since the original trilogy.