Disclaimer: We own nothing, but we wish we did.
A/N Tinuviel Undomiel: Sorry for the loooong wait, hopefully this loooooong chapter will make up for it. Over 7,000 words, that's a record for me. Not a whole lot of Teyla/Ronon in this chap, but there are some good Shweir moments. Especially at the end. Oh, and I'm very proud of the big Caldwell scene in this one please don't hate me for the ending.
A/N Nerwen Aldarion: Hey guys, as she said not too much Teyla/Ronon but what's there is signifigant. Next chappie Rodney figures out what 'mistake' Lizzie didn't want Teyla to make. hehehe.
Chapter 5: Crossing the Line
The sun was sinking into the ocean, leaving a spectacular sight for the people of Atlantis. Many gazed out their windows to be marveled by it, other's paid no attention to the display outside.
"That's wrong!"
"No it's not!"
"Yes it is," Rodney said, jerking the pen out of Radek Zalenka's hand, "See, you carry this here, and then multiply this by this, and voila the correct answer."
Radek looked at the equation on the page, and grumbled bitterly, "Well not all of us are perfect like you."
"I'm not perfect, I'm just always right."
"Oh really?" Zalenka challenged, "You weren't right about Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Weir."
"Hey, she asc...died," Rodney said, quickly correcting his mistake, "I'm certain that in time they would have cultivated a relationship." It bugged Rodney that he couldn't tell anyone. Caldwell was the only one outside of his team that knew that Elizabeth was still alive. Still, even Caldwell was skeptical.
"Yes, well, all the girl's betting polls stopped circulating," Rodek said, "I was talking to Dr. Biro the other day, and she mentioned how upset everyone still is over that."
"Oh give them time, they'll start betting over Teyla and Ronon," Rodney said casually, peeking into his microscope.
Radek was taken back, "What?"
Rodney looked up, "You haven't noticed?"
"I haven't seen anything to suggest an attraction."
"Oh please, they are all over each other," Rodney said, "I wouldn't be surprised if they were in a storage room going at it right now."
"I never realized you had a perverse mind, Rodney," Zelenka replied.
"Nah, just a romantic at heart."
"Oh sure, right," Radek said dryly.
"I am," Rodney defended himself, "And I know that they like each other."
"What proof do you have?"
"When we were on M3P-794, John and I found them curled up together, in each other's arms," Rodney said with a smile.
"Was it cold that night?"
"Well...yes."
"Then they were just trying to keep warm," Zalenka replied, gathering up his stuff.
"No that's not true!" Rodney protested, "Well it could be true, but they definatley enjoyed it way to much!"
"Sure, Rodney," Zalenk said, heading towards the door.
"Look," Rodney said, "I seriously think that something is going on between Teyla and Ronon, I just can't prove it," The door slammed closed, "yet," he finished.
John opened the door to his quarters, and shrugged off his jacket. He tossed it onto the bed, and moved over to his dresser. It was getting late, so he figured he'd take a shower, read a page or two of War and Peace, and then go to bed. He was opening his drawer when somone called his name.
"John."
John put a hand to his headset, although he was certain it hadn't come from there.
"John," The voice called again, more urgent this time.
He turned around, and was startled to see Elizabeth standing by his bed.
"Geeze, you scared the living daylights out of me," John said, "What are you doing in my room? If you're gonna keeping popping in and out like this, you've gotta find a way to warn me."
"I had to talk to you."
John didn't listen to the question,"I mean what if I had been coming out of the shower or something?"
"Then I would have gotten a rather interesting show," Elizabeth replied, a playful laughter in her eyes.
John smiled at her. Oh how he had missed that special smile she only gave to him. Then he remembered the urgency in her voice before, "So what are you doing here?"
A serious expression appeared on her face, "I've come to warn you. The Caridians are going to attack Atlantis."
John nodded, "Shouldn't be too bad, with the shield we'll have a defense."
"It's more serious than that, John," Elizabeth said, "They have something, I'm not sure what, but I don't think this is going to be easy."
"Alright," John said,"I'll inform Caldwell, if you find out anything else drop by and let me know."
Elizabeth shook her head, "I don't think I can do that, John."
John frowned, "Why not."
"Look, I've always walked a fine line," Elizabeth explained, "now I've crossed it."
"I don't understand, why can't you tell us more?"
"Because I'm not supposed to be here," Elizabeth explained, "by warning you about the Caridian's plan, I've broken the rules. They will come for me, and I will be punished."
John took a deep breath, he didn't like the sound of that, "So how long have you got?"
"I'm not sure."
"You shouldn't..."
"No, John," Elizabeth said, "I had to. I don't regret doing this, you needed to be warned."
The snap in her voice was the same. It meant, 'Don't even bother trying to change my mind, I know I'm right'. John just nodded, "I'm going to talk to Caldwell now, do you wanna come?"
She nodded, "I'll stay with you as long as I can."
Steven Caldwell had always been a patient man. No matter how long it took, he never showed any signs of anticpation. He simply calmly waited until he got what he wanted, and he always did. Originally, he hadn't wanted a position on Atlantis. When the expedition first began, the threat of never returning tarnished the idea of the adventure. Why would he want to risk his neck if he never got the chance of seeing Earth again? But when the SGC was able to establish contact with Atlantis, and a ZPM could now be used to power the shield, the thought of being Miliatry Commander of the Ancient City was very attractive. Only one thing stood in the way of the position, and her name was Elizabeth Weir.
Caldwell never forgot about that meeting. General Landry had liked the idea of Caldwell taking over the position, and Caldwell had been certain that he would get it. After all, who could trust a Major with a black spot on his record? She could. When Landry told Weir about their canidate she had looked angered by the idea.
"Atlantis has a military commander."
Landry and Caldwell had argued about it, but you can't fight the big guns, and she knew exactly when to pull them out. The President was on her side, and no one could forget that. He had been sent back to the Daedelus like pitiful child, while John Sheppard was promoted to Lt. Colonel. Caldwell had been furious and humiliated.
Dr. Weir had seen that of course, and she did try to establish a better relationship between them. They would play chess every now and then, and he would be rather charming at these times as he tried to get on her good side. He was really using these games to find her weaknesses, and discover any ways to gain the position he so dearly wanted. It shouldn't have been hard, after all she was only a woman. Oh but she was a smart woman, and he always found her two steps ahead of him.
He did share a small moment of victory when Sheppard had been infected by a retro-virus, and Weir had asked him to watch over Sheppard's position. Caldwell had believed that he had achieved in what he wanted yet again, but he was wrong. She had barraged him on the fact that he had placed a few security protocols, and she hadn't even thought that they were wrong. She accused him of usurping Sheppard's position, even when it appeared that the Lt. Colonel wouldn't be so lucky this time. She had seen his intentions, and he was cut off from his temporary position the minute Sheppard began to make a recovery. But she wasn't the only one who had seen things.
While Sheppard was infected, her barriers came down. He had found her weakness, John Sheppard. He had casually mentioned to her before how close she was to the Lt. Colonel, and she had acted cool to Caldwell after that. Now he saw how close she really was to Sheppard. When he returned to Earth he had dropped a few hints to Landry that perhaps the Civilian Commander and the Military Commander were more than just a little friendly. Really, Caldwell knew that there was no relationship, but the General didn't have to know that. Landry, however, had dismissed the idea. Even if there was something, there were no regulations stating that a civilian and a miliatry personnel couldn't have a relationship. Once again, Caldwell had lost. For the first time in his life, he was starting to lose patience.
Then a miracle happened. Word was sent to the SGC that Dr. Weir was terminated by a virus delivered from a new enemy. Landry and the President didn't have the time to look for a new leader, and had to send a replacement immediatley. Caldwell was quickly assigned to the job. It was a wonderous thing to achieve something higher than you expected. Not only was he above Sheppard, but he was also in charge of the entire city. Even though his position was only temporary, he figured that in time he would be given the job permanatley, and this time no diplomat with a crush could get in his way.
"Colonel Caldwell?" Sheppard came in over his headset, "Are you busy, sir?"
Caldwell thought about saying yes. He could tell Sheppard that being commander was a lot of responsiblity and he was very busy, just to rub it into his face. But he was also curious, it wasn't often that John Sheppard asked something of his hated commander, "No, what is it, Colonel?"
"I have something to discuss with you and my team."
Now Caldwell was very interested, "Very well then, I'll meet you in the conference room in five minutes."
A sick feeling of dread came over Caldwell as he left his office, the same office of the late Dr. Weir. Even though Sheppard had told him about her having ascended, Caldwell refused to accept that. It was impossible, she had to have died. He looked around the City, his command. A small kernal of fear settled in his stomach. The fear that he would lose all that he had patiently waited for.
If somone looked into the Conference Room they would think that John was sitting in there alone, but of course he knew otherwise. John glanced back every few minutes to be sure that she was still standing behind him, in all of her ascended glory. Eventually this began to annoy her.
"Stop that, John," She ordered after the twentieth time, "I'm still here."
"I know, but you can't blame me for..."
"I know," She said, "To tell you the truth, I'm surprised I'm still here. The Others should have come for me by now."
"Really?"
"Really what?" Rodney asked as he walked into the room, Teyla and Ronon followed him.
"Oh it's just that..." John was about to mention Elizabeth when Caldwell appeared as well.
"Colonel Sheppard," Caldwell siad as he too a seat, "You said you had something to discuss."
"Uh, yes," John said. He glanced back at Elizabeth one last time, "I have reason to believe that the Caridians are on their way to Atlantis."
Caldwell frowned, "What drew you to that assumption?"
"I recieved a warning from a friend."
"Oh a friend," Caldwell responded dryly, "And you trust this 'friend'."
John's jaw tightened, "I'd trust her with my life, sir."
"She?" Caldwell questioned, "This is getting better and better. So some off-world girlfriend of yours tells you that the Caridians are planning an attack? Do you know how much information she could have given away?"
"She's not...!"
"Colonel Caldwell, if I may say something," Teyla interuppted the arguement before it got any worse, "I do not believe Colonel Sheppard has associated with any of the women off-world overly much."
"I'm with Teyla," Rodney said, "I mean, you haven't acted like Captain Kirk since Elizabeth...uh, died, I guess, so I don't really understand about this friend."
"I was going to get to that," John said through gritted teeth.
"John, just tell them," Elizabeth said from behind him, "You don't have to protect me. It had to come out eventually."
John nodded, and then looked back at Caldwell, "It's Elizabeth. She came and warned me."
All of his team members perked up while Caldwell frowned. "Elizabeth?" Rodney said, "Hey, why can't I see her?"
"That's a good question," John said, looking behind him again, "Why can't he see you?"
Before she could answer, Caldwell interuppted, "I've had enough! I want all of you reporting to Heightmeyer immediatley! And I want no more about this Ascension crap, Dr. Weir is dead, adjust to that fact."
"She's not dead!" All four memders of the team said at the same time. Teyla and Ronon more of stated it, while John and Rodney protested.
"Colonel you have to believe us," Rodney said, he looked to the spot John had spoken to, "Elizabeth?" He asked, feeling kind of dumb talking to a wall. "Can't you uh...hit him or something."
The sweet sound of laughter filled the room, but none of the occupents had made a sound. Behind John, Elizabeth appeared into view with a smile gracing her lips, "No Rodney," She said, "That would have been very amusing, but I don't think I would like to be called a poltergeist."
Teyla and Ronon smiled at their old commander, while at the head of the table, Caldwell visibly paled. He wobbled in his seat a little, as if he was going to fall out of it. Impossible, He thought, She died. I'm where I'm at now because she died.
I know
His eyes bugged out when he heard her voice in his head. Her eyes glared at him coldly, and he knew that she was aware of all the things he had done. Everthing he had tried to get Sheppard and herself out of the way. All of the rumours and lies he had started hoping to ruin her reputation, or completely destroy Sheppard's.
You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you? She gave him one last glare before turning her attention back to the four team members. "The Caridians are at most a day away, we will have to begin immediatley to start a defense."
Now Caldwell got over his shock. He was angered at the sight of her authority. It didn't matter that she was alive, he was in charge. "Really?" He questioned, "And why didn't the deep space sensors alert us?" Suspicion dripped from his words.
"They have cloaking devices," She explained, "similar to the ones on the jumpers. However, the close range sensors are strong enough to alert us, and you will pick them up."
"Should we believe that?" Caldwell inquired her.
"Sir!" John was outraged by Caldwell's suspicions.
"Quiet, Colonel," Caldwell barked. He turned his attention back to Weir, "You are no longer in commander here, and according to the SGC, not all of those ascended turned out to be as kind as we thought."
"If I were one of the Ori, I would be impersonating myself as a god," Elizabeth said, "Not trying to save your ass, so either listen to me or deal with this alone. And you don't want to do that."
The fire in her voice convinced Caldwell not to mess with her. He knew she would be very powerful in her state, and didn't want to taste her wrath now.
"I think we should do what we did before," John said, "Evacuate the mainland and our personell. We'll put up the sheild when they arrive, but until then we should conserve the power in the ZPM."
"I agree," Elizabeth said, before looking at Caldwell, "And you?"
Caldwell didn't respond at first, but then he nodded, "It's the only plan we have for now."
"Then let's get to it," John said, leaving his chair, "And Elizabeth," He turned to her with a smile, "No more hiding, it's time everyone knew you are alive."
Two years ago people were busy worrying and preparing from the threat of a seige, now they were doing that same thing again. Back then Elizabeth Weir was leading them, and once again she was. When Colonel Caldwell announced over the city wide radio that Dr. Weir was not killed by the Caridians but had ascended and had been in contact with Colonel Sheppards team, the personell's first reaction was 'Is this some kind of sick joke?' It wasn't until she spoke herself that people truly believed that their beloved leader had returned. Only Kavenaugh complained.
Dealing with evacuating the Athosians fell on Teyla's shoulders, and she was having some of the same problems as last time. Many of her people didn't believe that Atlantis was in danger, they didn't want to leave their homes. Teyla was having to conjole her people and explain to them why they had to leave, and it was all very frustrating.
Watching and helping her people walk through the stargate to another world, having to sooth over last minute fears and listen to her people grumble about leaving. She rubbed her hands against her temples and sighed, tired and frustrated and knowing there was still so much more to prepare for."
"You alright?" A voice said from behind her. Teyla turned around to see Ronon watching her, a slight worried expression on his face. Against her will her heart quickned slightly, why did that always happen around him?
"I'm fine," She told him, "I'm just tired. I still have so much left to do, I have to make sure my people are settling in fine on the Alpha site, and I still have to prepare for the siege and..." Each list of what she had to do sounded even more frantic and she would have said more if Ronon hadn't put his hands on her shoulders to silence her.
"Slow down," He told her, "Nobody expects you to do everything."
She shook her head, not believeing him, "Ronon you don't understand..."
"No you don't understand," He said his hands now holding her head so she would look at him, unknowingly his thumbs gently carressing her cheeks, "You have your duty and your doing fine at it, but if you don't stop worrying your only going to hurt yourself."
She smiled at him, her heart beating so loudly she was afraid he would hear it. He gave her a small smile his hands still cradling her face, the only thing she could think of was, I hope he kisses me. She even closed her eyes anticipating it.
But he didn't, he dropped his hands and started to walk away but he turned to call out to her, "Remember, you aren't in this alone." She smiled, much meeker this time due to disappointment. She watched his retreating figure while a feeling of hoplessness came over her. Would she ever get what she wanted?
Elizabeth smiled at Teyla and Ronon, and shook her head. I guess she didn't listen to me, she thought, and he didn't do anything either. Those idiots. Particuarly Ronon, he says he doesn't want to ascend because he loves Teyla, and I help him out and he doesn't do anything! What's he afraid of, that she doesn't like him? He's the one that said there is always a chance.
Always a chance.
Those words lingered on her mind. I have to know.
Carson was going over the medicinal inventory when smoky tendrils appeared in front of him. "Gah!" He cried, dropping his clip board. Elizabeth laughed as she fully appeared. "Oh, love, don't give the doctor a heart attack," Carson said, as he picked up his clipboard.
"Sorry, Carson," She apologized, "I didn't know you'd be standing right there."
"It's alright," He said, "In fact, it's good seeing you again. Last time was under rather melancholic circumstances."
Elizabeth looked away, "I know."
"But don't be sad, love," Carson said when he saw the look on her face, "We missed you, but now we know you're alive. That's all that matters."
"Carson, I need you to do something for me," Elizabeth said.
"Anything."
"I need to see my medical file."
I did not hear her right, Carson thought.
"Yes you did."
The Scots man displayed a comical expression when she said that, "I'm not sure if I want to know how you did that, but I would like to know why you want your file."
"I need to know something," Elizabeth told him earnistly, "I have to know if there was a chance that I could have lived."
"But you did live."
"I ascended," Elizabeth explained, "I gave up. I need to know if I had a chance."
Carson sighed and walked into his office, and over to his file cabinet. He rummaged around until he found a thin mannila folder. Elizabeth followed him into the office and stood next to him as he scanned the file.
"As it says here," He gestured to the folder, "The Caridians injected you with a virus that infected your immune system, and prevented your body from attacking it. I gave you a number of antibiotics, but they didn't do any good. You died, or we thought you died, three weeks later."
"And that's it?" Elizabeth asked.
"Mostly," Carson said, "I did make the discovery of antibodies in your system. In fact I was planning on telling you when I...found you dead."
Elizabeth took a shaky breath, "So I was fighting back."
"I only found a few," Carson explained, "It wouldn't have done much good, maybe slow the virus down a bit."
"Could I have survived?" she finally asked the question that she had been yearning to know.
"It was just a few..."
"Carson," She cut in forcefully, "Just tell me."
Carson sighed, he knew exactly what she was fishing for, "It is possible, yes. The virus could have been decreased enought to either buy me enough time to find a cure, or for you to fight it off on your own." He caught the look of saddness in her face, "You did the right thing. There was only a slim chance, more than likely you would have died if you hadn't ascended."
"But there was a chance," Elizabeth told him, "A chance. I could have survived, I could still be in command instead of Caldwell, I could have told John that I..." She snapped her mouth shut when she realized what she was going to say.
Carson raised his brows, "Tell him what?"
"That I...uh... think he...uh..." She stammered on her mind completely blank of excuses. Thankfully, John appearered in the door behind her.
"Hey, I was looking for you," John said when he saw her, putting on a smile Carson hadn't seen in months, "Caldwell wants to see you, I didn't think you'd want to face the lion alone."
Inwardly, she sighed of relief, "Yes, thank you, John," She said as she walked out of Carson's office.
The scottish doctor watched his former commander leave, Does she...? It's possible, but doesn't she know about what happened?
Elizabeth decided to follow John to the Control Room instead of transporting herself there. She stopped at one point, and gently laid a hand on the wall of the corridor. John stopped when he realized she wasn't following him.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Nothing," She said, "It's just...this city. I can feel the life in within it. I feel the power it has. I can hear the the ocean from here. I can feel the wind as it brushes by the city," She looked around the the corridors and smiled at the city, "I never thought I'd be back. I wanted to, I always did, but I never..."
John reached over like he wanted to touch her, but remembered he couldn't. "Do you think...you could just...stay?" He half asked, half begged.
She gave him a sad smile, "I wish I could, John, but I can't. They wouldn't let me, especially not now."
"Maybe I could talk to them," John suggested with a grin, "You know, put in a good word."
Elizabeth laughed a little,"I'm not sure if it would work, but thanks."
John smiled back, but grew serious again, "Do you know what they'll do?"
"No," She replied.
"What if...you can't come back?" John was afraid to think about that.
Elizabeth knew that it was more than likely that she would never see any of them ever again, but she couldn't tell him that. She didn't want to admit it herself, but she too was afraid of the thought.She put on a small smile, and placed a hand against his cheek. If she willed herself hard enough, it was like she could touch him again. It felt as wispy as a butterfly's wings, but John actually felt the slight pressure of her hand on his cheek.
"I'll always be with you, John," She whispered.
There was so much he wanted to say to her right then, but the crackle of his headset interruppted that tender moment, "Colonel Sheppard?"
"Yes, sir?" John asked Caldwell, while Elizabeth pulled her hand away.
"I did ask you to find Dr. Weir didn't I?"
"Yes, and we're on our way now."
"I'll be waiting, again."
John rolled his eyes, and then gave Elizabeth a smile, "Let's go, he's not very happy right now."
She smiled back, and continued to follow him to the Control Room.
Caldwell was sitting at his desk in his office waiting for them. Elizabeth felt strange in her old office, but not being able to recognize it. Her trinkets, including the Athosian jar John had given her, were no longer on the desk. The office was empty except for a few plaques and documents on display. Nothing reminded her of the time she worked here.
"You wanted to speak with me?" She asked Caldwell.
"Yes, " Caldwell said, "I'm beginning to wonder if we should trust you after all," He knew that this wasn't true. He wanted to make his personnell lose trust in her. She was a threat again, "It's been a day," He continued, "Yet we have seen no sign of the Caridians."
"The Cardians should be picked up by your sensors," Elizabeth paused for a second, "Now."
The alarms in the city rang out as a threat in space was detected.
Major Lorne came running into the office, "Colonel we've detected enemy ships."
Elizabeth gave the colonel a smug smile, "Do you trust me now?"
None of the occupents wasted anytime in rushing to the Control Room. "Put the sheild on," Caldwell ordered as soon as he entered. Immediatley a technician actiavted the shield,a nd a blue dome formed over the city.
"How many are there?" Caldwell asked as he walked over to the radar.
"Five, sir," The technician remarked, "One seems a bit larger than the others, and is holding back from the planet more."
"Why?" John asked.
No one answered his question, instead Zalenka fiddled with a few Ancient crystals, "We're recieving a transmission."
"From who?" John asked, maybe this question wouldn't get ignored. He looked at Elizabeth and read the look on her face. He knew who it was before the voice spoke over the radio.
"This is the High Chancillor of the Caridians," the man who John had dreamed a thousand deaths spoke, "Surrender to us the City of the Ancestors and all of you will be allowed to go through the Circle to any destination you choose."
Caldwell pushed a button, "This is Colonel Caldwell."
"Caldwell? I'm not familiar with you," Grael said.
"I took over after the death of Dr. Weir," Caldwell looked right at Elizabeth when he said.
"Of course," Grael said, "Well Colonel, do you accept our terms?"
By now John had become agitated enough that only brute force could have stopped him from pushing Caldwell out of the way and punching the botton on the com, and he did just that. "Grael," He said with mock charm, "Good to hear you again, how's the limp."
Caldwell was glaring daggers at John, while Rodney groaned, and Elizabeth could only shake her head.
"Colonel Sheppard, a pleasure once again," Grael replied with as much sarcasm as John, "Do you like my entourage?"
"Yeah, it'll be a shame to blow them outta the sky."
Grael laughed over the radio, "We shall see, however I don't believe that Dr. Weir can negotiate your way out of this one." Grael let his words sink in a little before going on, "That reminds me, I've been longing to tell you. I've run some more tests on the virus, I was quite pleased by the results. How long did she last? Two, three weeks? That must have been agonizing."
"You son of a bitch!" John roared back at Grael.
"Colonel that's enough!" Caldwell barked at him.
John was so furious that his hands were shaking, Grael's cruel laugh rang throughout the Control Room, and echoed in his mind. His heart was racing, and his jaw was tightly set. His rage surpassed the time when Kolya told him that he had killed Elizabeth. He was well beyond fury.
"John?" Her soft voice came through the storm of his mind, "John?" His eyes sought hers and his jaw loosened a bit. Her eyes pleaded with him to be calm, and he couldn't disobey her.
"I'm sorry," He said to her, "I'm alright."
Caldwell shook his head in disgust and displeasure as he pushed the com again, "We are willing to negotiate..."
"Our terms are non negotiable."
"I'm afraid that we cannot give you Atlantis," Caldwell said.
"You are blashphemers!"Grael shouted, "You are tainting the great City of the Ancestors! If you will not agree to our generous terms then we will take Atlantis by force!"
"We know the city," Caldwell said, "We have weapons and technology that far surpasses yours. If you engage a war upon us, we will defend ourselves."
"Atlantis was meant for us!" Grael replied to that, "If you will not leave, then we will destroy it."
Elizabeth sighed as Caldwell depressed the com, "It's begun," She said, "We are under seige."
"Alright," Caldwell turned to Elizabeth, "What do we do?"
She arched an eyebrow, "I thought you were the commander?"
"And I'm asking the ascended being, who has generously offered her aid, for help," Caldwell replied.
"I'm not all-knowing," Elizabeth said, "And I can't use my powers, all I can do is offer my advice."
"And what is that?"
"If they want a fight, give it to them," Elizabeth said, "Put Jumpers in the air. Attack their ships head on."
"That's suicide!" Caldwell cried.
"Is it?" She questioned, "The Caridians worship the Ancients. For generations they have colonizing worlds, and obtaining technology so they would one day find the City of the Ancestors and claim it as their own."
"But the City wasn't meant for them," Rodney said.
"You're right, but they don't belive that," Elizabeth explained, "They see us as blasphemers living in their inheritance. They want this city. Destroying it would be a last resort.
John looked at Caldwell and at Lorne, "I'm sold, how about you?"
"I'm in," Lorne said.
Caldwell sighed, but nodded. It didn't matter who the SGC said was the commander, Elizabeth Weir was still in control.
Only five Jumpers could be sent out for the attack. Even though the odds didn't look too good with five Puddle Jumpers against five Caridian Battle Cruisers, Elizabeth had been certain that they could at least rid themselves of one or two warships before they could send out their small snubfighters.
"How many times do I have to say it?" Carson asked as a Lorne pushed him into the Jumperbay, "I'm a doctor not bloody Maverick or whoever that guy was in that bloody movie."
"We know, Beckett, you've said that ten times already," John, who was already in the bay, replied.
"Easy for you to say, you've got training and a guardian angel watching out for you," Carson said pointing to Elizabeth standing about twenty feet away.
"The 'angel' is staying on Atlantis, or at least I hope she is," John informed the ruffled scotsman, "Can't exactly pin someone down when you can't touch them."
"Aye true enough," Carson siad, Lorne had left them to check up on the other pilots. Carson leaned in closer to John so that only they could hear, "I don't think she knows about what you told me, after she...died. Maybe you should..."
"Let's not talk about that now," John suggested, "We're under seige after all."
Carson nodded, "Aye you're right. And I'll probably bloody kill myself before this day is out."
All of the men were prepped and assigned to their ships. John was absetn a co-pilot, but was fine with that. It's better this way. In case I decide to attack Grael himself and kill myself in the process, then I don't kill anyone else.
As he cleared the bay and sailed towards the planet's surface, familiar wisps of white rays appeared behind him. He glanced back at Elizabeth, slightly annoyed by her inviting herself onboard, "Shouldn't you be back on Atlantis?"
"Shouldn't you worry about your own skin rather than mine?" She fired back as she took up the co-pilot's chair.
John tilted his head bit, "Point taken."
The Jumper broke atmosphere, and the black sky with diamond like stars flooded the window in front of them. Four other jumpers were fanned out behind them as they moved into to positiion in search of the Cardians. The five ships came into view within mintutes, with four spread out closer the the planet, and the larger farther away.
"Grael's flagship," Elizabeth eplained as she saw it, "He's on there."
John's eyes were rivoted to the ship she had named. So close, the enemy he had longed to kill was only a short trip away. However, she saw his perusual, "John do you remember what I said when you and Teyla were on that planet before the Wraith attacked?"
"Yeah, you told me not to attack a Wraith armada by myself."
"John, I'm ordering you not to attack Grael's flagsip by yourself."
"I'm not by myself," John pinte dout, "You're with me."
"John," She replied in a warning tone.
"Alright, I won't," John said with dissappointment. He believed that if he killed Grael now that there would be no seige, but he couldn't do it with her here. Not when he had others to think of rather than himself.
"Okay, Lorne, and Miller, you take the first one, " John said through the radio, "Carson, Marco take the next one, I'll handle number three."
"Roger sir," Maco said through the transmitter.
"Miller and I are heading out," Lorne replied.
"Carson?" John asked.
Nothing came in reply, except John thought he could hear heavy panting.
"Carson?" John said with a little more urgency.
Still nothing.
"Carson!" John shouted.
"Alright I'm ready," The nervouse doctor said.
"Thank you doc," John replied, "Alright let's move in."
The five jumpers flew toward thier destinations. John singled in on his target, and told the jumper to release it's drones. One pf the squid like torpedoes left it's berth and sailed toward the ship. It exploded on the surface of the ship, deflected harmlessly by a blue sheild.
"Crap," John muttered under his breath,
"Colonel, we've got a problem," Lorne came in on the radio.
"Yeah, caught it too," John replied.
Elizabeth leaned forward in her chair and pointed to three large oval containers attached to the bottome of the ship near the engines, "Those are the fuel cells. Aim for them."
John gave her a nod, "All of you aim for the fuel tanks, they're at the bottom of the ship can't miss em."
John had a second drone repleased, and it struck the middle cell. The tank exploded with a burst of light and the other two followed. The ship started the break apart due to the massive hole in it's hull.
John flashed Elizabeth a brilliant smile, "Thanks." She smiled back.
A second Battle Crusier met the same fate, and John and Elizabeth watched as the jumper who did the deed sort of wobbled away.
"Hey it worked," Carson said through the transmitter with excitement, "I blew up the ship!"
"That's good, Carson, you're mother would be proud," John teased.
"Don't make fun of my..."
"Colonel, I'm picking up enemy bandits,"Marco informed him.
A quick look at his radar revealed the same thing, "We'll try to hold them off," John said, "Sheilds up."
About ten Caridian snubfighters flew in from each of the remaining two ships. Small burts of laser shot towards the five jumpers and bounced off of their sheilds. The jumpers responded by release more drones. The figthers also had sheilds, but the drones were too powerful against them.
"Hopefully we can take them all out before we run out of drones," John told the woman beside them.
"I'm not so sure about that," Elizabeth told him. She knew that those lasers weren't all that those ships held.
As if in response, a snub near marco repleased a sort of missle, much more powerful than the lasers. The missle hit the jumper with great force that the jumper stumbled a little in it's smooth flight.
"Marco, you alright?" John asked.
"Sir I'm losing sheild power," Marco replied.
"Just hang..." John never got to finish his sentence as another missle was fired and hit Marco's jumper. This time the ship burst into a flame, proving Elizabeth's statement true.
John swore when he saw the Jumper explode, but the mourning would have to wait, "They'll just fire this missles until we're all dead," John said, "All of you cloak the Jumpers, we're heading back to Atlantis."
The other three Jumpers obeyed immediatley. The snubfighters flew around in confusion when their enemy completley vanished. Without a target in sight, they couldn't destroy them. The Jumpers secretly flew back to Atlantis with two points for them. However, they needed a new plan to defeat the Caridians now.
Caldwell was glaring coldly at Elizabeth when she and John entered the command center, "I thought you said a head on attack was the best defense?"
"I didn't say that it would completely destroy them," Elizabeth pointed out, "I said that we might be able to destroy one or two. I was hoping that the rest would back down."
"Obviously that's not the case," Cadlwell shot back, "Aand now I've lost a Jumper and one of my men!"
"He was my man too!" Elizabeth shouted back.
"Colonel, we're picking up something from the flagship," a technician interrupted the arguement.
"A transmission?" Caldwell asked.
"No, sir, It looks like the are firing something."
"Shouldn't be a problem," Rodney said, smiling a little, "The shield should deflect the torpedoe."
A large blur, what every one assumed was the torpedoe, raced down towards the city. Rodney's smiled faded as the torpedoe flashed through the sheild and one of the southern piers was annihiliated.
"We're dead," The scientist stated in complete horror as everyone looked on in shock.
"How is that possible!" Caldwell shouted at the scientist.
"I...I don't know," Rodney replied. The expression Caldwell gave him informed him that he had given him the wrong answer, "Either they matched the frequency of the shield somehow, or the torpedoe moved fast enought to pass through. I...I can't...be sure."
"You knew about this!" he pointed an accusing finger at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth and John both glared at him, "I knew they had something, but I wasn't sure what. I did warn you about that," Elizabeth replied angrily.
"Well your warning didn't do much good did it?" Caldwell replied.
Before Elizabeth could say anything, Grael's voice came in from the transmitter, "Colonel Sheppard did you enjoy our surprise?"
Since he was the one Grael had addressed to, John pushed the button to respond, "How the hell did you do that?"
Grael laughed, "My people had long ago discovered records about your sheild, It took out scientists decades to develope a weapon to penetrate it. We never had a chance to test it out, until we found you." He paused a moment before continuing, "Will you accept our terms now?"
"Go to hell, Grael!"
He laughed again "After you, Colonel."
"What do we do now?" Rodney asked, "We're all going to die!"
"Start the self-destruct," Caldwell said, "We can't let them have the city."
"So we just give up?" John responded.
"We have no choice!"
"That's what they want," John said, "They want us to give up."
"Do you have any..."
All the while Elizabeth had left the control room and was now walking down the stairs towards the gateroom. This is the only way,She thought.
John noticed her absence right them, "Elizabeth?" He, Rodney and Caldwell started to run after her.
Elizaebth was standing in the middle of the Gateroom. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and raised her hands over her head. John and the others stopped in their tracks as her hands began to glow white, "What in the world?" Rodney breathed as she began to float off of the ground.
"What are you doing?" John asked, but she didn't listen. Her entire focus was on the ships floating above the planet. A crack of energy rang in everybody's ears,and a blinding light flashed throughout the city, and the planet itself.
Far above them, in his command chair, Grael had his hands pressed to his ears. The buzzing in them ached badly and he shut his eyes from the flash. Kernan, and his men were doing the same thing. For a brief second he opened his eyes, and he thought he saw something he couldn't have seen. Dr. Weir standing before him, dressed in a floor length gown, her hands raised above her head and glowing with a fearsome power.
Fearfully, he shut them tight again. I must be losing my mind, I must be losing my mind, He repeated over and over again in his head.
The flash ended, and Kernan's voice drew Grael out of his thoughts, "Chancellor?"
"Yes, Kernan," Grael replied as he timidly opened his eyes, "What happened?"
"The Blashphemers had a self-destruct and destroyed the city. They launched two weapons before they destroyed themselves, and annihilated out remaining two curisers."
"Did you...?" Grael was about to asked about the apperition of Dr. Weir, but thought better of it. It will only make you sound mad, "Never mind, General, let's return home. Atlantis is lost, but it is no longer in the hands of the Blasphemers."
As the ship changed it's course, and uneasy feeling settled in Grael's stomach. He couldn't forget the image he had seen. The impossible image that filled him with fear.
John slowly opened his eyes as he recovered from the strange flash. Rodney groaned and rubbed his head where a dull headache had settled due to the blinding light, but other than that everyone seemed fine.
"What was that?" John asked.
"That was my power," Elizabeth replied. She was still in the Gateroom, but was no longer floating in thin air, "I was left with no choice, but to use it."
"What'd you do?"
"I destroyed the two Battle Cruisers, and implanted a false memory in the minds of everyone onboard the flagship," Elizabeth explained as John and the others came down the stairs, "They all believe that you destroyed Atlantis and sent two drones to destroy those two ships."
"Well that's cool," John said with a grin.
"Cool!" Rodney cried, "That's way more than cool! I mean what else can you do? You have to have much more power than that? You have to tell us everything."
An uneasy look appeared on Elizabeth's face, "What is it?' John asked.
"The Other's are coming," She said, "I can hear them now."
"Can you talk to them? Convince them to..."
"No, John, especially after what I just did," Fear was creeping inter her voice now. He has to know. "John, I shouldn't have ascended," She began to explain, "I could have lived."
"You did the right thing," John said.
"No, I made a mistake, and it cost me a lifetime with you." So loud, their calling was so loud.
John looked confused, "What are you saying?"
No time, she was out of time. She found the strength to resist enough to say what she had been longing to say, "I love you, John."
John froze where he was, not even blinking. His mind slowly acceptig what she had said. Against her will, she transformed into smoky tendrils and began to rise away from the Gateroom.
"No!" John cried and he tried to raise towards the mass of curly wisps, but it was too late. She was already far above them. She cleared the city within seconds, and was gone.
Gone.
For the second time in his life, John felt utterly alone.
TBC
A/N: Please don't hate us for ending it like that, next chapter soon, but tell us what you think of this one.