Sure you're ready for a solo?

"What? You think I'm going to crash and burn?"

I'd really rather you didn't

Melony grinned; she knew he wasn't worried she was going to crash the Jumper. She was a better pilot than that – even with only a few hour's instruction. Besides, the Jumper was practically capable of flying itself; she was just there to tell it where to go.

"Ready?"

As I'll ever be

She touched the mike on the radio headset that was in her ear, activating it.

"Um..."

What do you suppose they're calling their mission control?

Atlantis base

"Atlantis base, this is Jumper One, do you read me?"

Weir's voice came over the radio a moment later.

"Roger, Jumper One, this is Atlantis base, we read you loud and clear. Are you ready to depart?"

"Atlantis base, do me a favor and scan my ship and give me a count on life forms, please."

"What?"

Standing in the command center of the city, Weir looked over at the others, wondering if Mitchell was asking for something else and just wasn't using the right words. Halling, who was standing near at hand with his hand firmly on a disgruntled looking Jinto understood the request immediately, and his respect for Colonel Mitchell increased. She wasn't taking any chances on his son doing something stupid, and she wanted confirmation.

"Atlantis base," Came Mitchell's calm voice once more. "Please do a scan of my ship and tell me how many people are on board – count Talon and myself as one."

Weir looked over at Grodin and shrugged, then nodded, and Peter pushed a couple of buttons, running a quick scan of the Jumper that Mitchell was in.

"I only see her," he informed Weir.

"Jumper One, we only see one life form."

"Thank you." There was a pause as Mitchell started toggling controls, bringing the ship's systems online. "Jumper One is ready to depart."

"Roger. We're ready as well, Colonel. Good luck, and come back safely."

"I intend to."

There was another pause, and then the Stargate started dialing out as Mitchell entered in the address to the gate that orbited the Wraith planet that Sumner had died on. A moment later, the ceiling opened and the Jumper came into view, slowly descending until it was level with the now active gate. A moment later, it was gone.

Weir turned to the others, noticing that they all looked just as worried as she felt, and she wondered if their stomachs were clenched like hers was.

Sheppard gave her as confident a look as he could.

"She'll be fine..."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

This really isn't the most brilliant of plans...

"I'm open to suggestions."

Oh, I don't have one, I'm just telling you we probably could have come up with something better...

"You don't believe that, though."

No

She didn't, either. This was the best way for them to get some intel, and they both knew it.

She looked at the planet below them – gating into space like this was something new, but it was a clever idea, really. She wondered why the Ancients would have built a gate near a planet that was filled with such dangerous creatures.

Maybe they built it before they met them?

"Maybe."

She orbited the planet a couple times – she really wasn't in that big of a hurry, after all, and used the scanners on the Puddle Jumper to find a likely spot to land, and then set the small ship down easily.

"So... shall we go see if we can find one of these Boogeymen?" She asked, rhetorically, getting out of the pilot's seat and reaching for the mechanism that would open the rear hatch.

Yup

Picking up her P-90, she carried it in a relaxed grip in her left hand as she exited the ship, and then double-checked to make sure the strap that held it to her belt was secure. She needed to be able to drop the machine gun but still keep it close, and that little strap had been the answer. It would hang down no further than her knife did, and would leave her hands free for other things.

Then she stepped away from the relative safety of the Puddle Jumper, and headed for a wooded area she'd seen on the way in for her landing.

You know, if we stay out of the trees, we'd see them coming easier...

But they're probably hiding in the trees...

They're not monkeys, Melony. Just stay out of the trees for now. Hang out somewhere near the ship and see if Teyla was right about them being drawn to you because of me

She shrugged, and did what he told her; he was a lot older than she was, after all, and she was willing to concede that he was usually right about strategies like this – even though she was sure she'd find a Wraith in a tree. She found herself a comfortable looking rock, and sat down on it, bringing one booted foot up so she could rest her forearm on her knee, and keep her hands out in the open so she'd be free and clear when something showed up. If something showed up.

Something will show up

The first thing that showed up were little bugs, which decided that they liked the taste of Colonels. These weren't dangerous, Talon told her when they started biting. There was no poison in the insect's bite that he had to deal with, and nothing that her own immune system couldn't handle without his help. They were just annoying. And she could live with that.

The next things that showed up were small woodland animals. Rabbit-like creatures, and other small mammals came by on their way from here to there, not paying any attention to the person sitting on the rock, but also not coming close to her. She didn't pay much attention to them, either, once she judged that they weren't meat-eaters and wouldn't be interested in her.

"I wonder if the Wraith can feed off the little critters..." She said aloud, more to keep her mind on what was going on than to hear herself speaking.

"No."

Mitchell looked up and saw a creature standing less than twenty feet from her. A creature that had managed to come that close without her or Talon either one seeing it or hearing it.

It was a Wraith.

Holy shit...