Talonopolis

John Sheppard had always considered himself a hell of a pilot. He'd never found a craft he couldn't fly, and had never had to dump a plane due to pilot error. He'd always looked for that next plane – that next craft that would be the fastest, deadliest and most maneuverable ship to fly – and he was pretty sure that the dart was it. Even as he bumped the right wall of the lava tube – it wasn't easy to fly in such a small space, after all, especially with so many turns – he was reminded once again just how great it was to fly the dart. He was even half-tempted to ask to be allowed to keep it when this whole Wraith thing was done – although he knew that scores of scientists would want to check them out and learn what they could from them. Of course, first he had to actually survive what they were doing. Then he could worry about the future.

What would have taken 30 minutes to walk only took a few minutes to fly, and the sensors that were blind in the tube suddenly roared to life as he entered the giant cavern. He didn't take notice of it, though. He already had his assignment, and the Jaffa were right on time. Even as he triggered the escape device, he slapped his hand down on the toggle that started the beaming mechanism, and only then did he look down at his sensors. He couldn't read Wraith, but Daniel and Weir had both drilled the pilots in the symbols that would tell them the device was working – and when it was done. The moment he was certain he had all 'his' Jaffa aboard his data base, Sheppard aimed for the now activated ring of odd metal that Colonel Mitchell had welded together to make the frame of the escape device.

"I hope you and your snake know what you're doing…" he murmured, closing his eyes and thrusting the dart into the glowing gate.

OOOOOOOOOO

Atlantis

"There!"

Daniel's voice cracked through the tension in the room like a gunshot, his hand pointing at the screen. In the middle of the screen there was a sudden flash of light, and an instant later the barely visible form of a Wraith dart coming out of that already fading flash of light.

It was going impossibly fast, and seemed to be aiming straight for the water, where it'd be smashed to bits, even if there were shields. Nothing could go that fast and remain in one piece.

"Pull up, John…" Weir said, her eyes glued to the screen just like everyone else's. They all knew the order the pilots were supposed to be coming through the device, and the first arrival told them that the plan was in action – although they wouldn't know until the explosion – and return of all those involved – just how well things went.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Shiiiiiiiit!"

He'd never been going so fast in all his life. Nothing he'd ever flown – nothing he'd ever even heard of – could go this fast. The device shot him out over the water – and the city – at speeds that he couldn't even comprehend. Speeds that carried G-forces that he'd never have survived if not for the inertia dampeners in the dart.

He needed to pull up, but he couldn't do it too quickly. Not going that fast. To pull up that fast, he'd just flip over and end up in a tail over teakettle and would probably rip the ship to shit when it hit the water. Which would be bad, hmmm? Instead, he used his own skills as a pilot, and carefully – gently, so freaking gently – pulled on the stick, bringing the nose up just a tad. And then another tad… and then another. That was all it took. He shot upwards at a dizzying speed, but the gravity of the planet and the lack of actual thrust from the dart engines finally started to slow him down, and he was able to bring the ship under control. Real control, now. Once he was certain he had that control, he tilted the nose down again, and headed for the landing pad that had been set up for the darts. And took a deep breath, even as his sensors indicated a flash of light above him – a flash that was another dart, going just as impossibly fast as he was.

As John moved out of the way – just in case – he took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. His part was done. Now he could only hope that the others had fared just as well.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Talonopolis

Our turn soon

I know.

Tao's dart had just vanished from the sensors, heading down the lava tube, and Mitchell looked at her watch, making sure she gave her First Prime plenty of time to get ahead of her while still making sure she didn't leave her Jaffa waiting too long. She'd wanted to take a quick peek outside the tube, to check on Jack, but she didn't dare.

For one thing, it would give away their position (and possibly their plan) to the Wraith. For another, it would throw their timing off, and for still another, it would throw Jack off to have her out of synch. None of them were acceptable.

She'd just have to wait for Jack's signal – and hope that things were going well.

OOOOOOOO

"I gotta be out of my mind…"

Jack looked down at the triggering device strapped to his leg, and then checked the sensors on the dart once more. The planet down below was literally teeming with Wraith – darts and foot patrols – and on the sensor they looked like ants swarming a dead carcass. Which wasn't the nicest of analogies but it was rather apt. The space above the planet was just as full. Hive ships were everywhere – he'd been told by Grodin that they suspected there were at least 60 – and there were so many of them that Jack couldn't imagine how many Wraith might be on them. Millions…

He looked at his watch, and knew that Tao should be going through the escape device at that moment. That left him and Melony (and Melony's Jaffa group) as the only living things – besides trees and plants and stuff – on the planet. In the entire system for that matter.

A timer beeped, drawing his attention to the triggering device, and he slapped his hand down on the trigger, knowing that as he did so he was dropping the shields on his own ship as well as all those around him. Of course, out of all those who just lost their shields, he was the only one who was expecting it, and he touched the green device that was pressed against his chest, activating his own personal Ancient shield.

Alarms went off as the shields on his dart dropped, and Jack headed back for the planet surface, and for the lava tubes – with a handful of darts right behind him, although he wasn't certain they were really following him or they were just heading the same direction. Either way, it didn't matter. He was going to be gone in a few minutes, and they were going to be blown to hell – even if they did follow him into the tunnel.

He pushed a button on his watch – the watch Talon had made for him when he and Melony had first bended and he'd taken her away from the SGC. This sent a signal to Mitchell telling her that shields were down, since her own shielding would be fine – because of the blocking walls of the lava flows. And then he headed for the relative safety of those very same walls.

OOOOOOOOOO

"There it is!"

Melony didn't wait for Talon's reply – she hadn't really expected one. Instead, she thumbed the thrusters of the dart, heading into the tunnel even faster than Tao and those who had gone before her had. She had Talon, after all. With his reflexes added to her own flying abilities, she could risk moving much faster than the others – and she did, knowing that Jack was going to be right behind her, and preferring not to have him fly up her proverbial tailpipe.

The Jaffa were exactly where they were supposed to be – which didn't surprise her at all – and Mitchell swiftly beamed them into her computer the moment she was able to get a lock on them, and jerked to the side of the cavern, waiting for Jack. She couldn't blow the planet until she was certain he was on his way.

OOOOOOOOO

Atlantis

The screen was filled with blips on one side, and scattered with flashes of light on the other. Four flashes of light in the dark night sky – although they had no idea which dart was piloted by whom.

"Come on…"

Sam was so tense that her knuckles were white where she was holding the edge of the table she was standing by. Her eyes were on the screen, flickering from one view to the other, watching the Wraith and then watching the skies above Atlantis, waiting for the fifth and sixth flashes of light that would tell her all the darts were home safe.

Suddenly there was a shudder than seemed to run through the very foundations of the city and a muffled explosion. All eyes turned to the right side of the screen, and they could see a fireball of light that was a Wraith dart. A Wraith dart that was horribly damaged from suddenly crashing into one of the top spires of the city. Impossible to see in the dark, and apparently not as out of the way as Mitchell had hoped when she'd made the exit point.

There was a collective groan from those watching – and gasps of fear and dismay.

"Who is it?" Weir asked, looking at Grodin, who couldn't answer. He didn't know.

There was a bustle of activity from the edge of the room, and when Sam looked over, Carson was already gone, heading for the elevator at a dead run. He had to know.