"Dr. Weir?" One of the technicians ran into her office.

She stood immediately. "Yes?"

"We think we have them. We think we found the Orion!" The young woman was grinning from ear to ear.

Elizabeth felt like faulting over her desk, but calmly walked around it instead. She struggled to keep her breathing and voice under control. "Are you sure?"

"We think so, Ma'am." The technician fell in step behind her.

Zelenka turned as the pair approached the large screen in Gate operations. Relief was evident on his face, almost erasing the exhaustion. He pointed at a blip on the screen. "It's the Orion. She's in hyperspace, and she's on her way here."

"How far away are they?" She looked from the screen to Zelenka and back again.

"About ten thousand light years out." Zelenka turned to a laptop. There was graphic of the Pegasus Galaxy on the screen. Elizabeth recognized a dot of light on one of the spiral arms as Atlantis. He indicated two other dots. One was in a denser, inner area of the arm. The other was closer to Atlantis. He pointed to the farthest one first. "This is the Orion, and the nearer ship is the Daedalus."

"How long will it take for them to get back?" She watched the screen, hoping for discernable motion in the light.

At that moment, one of the other technicians handed him a datapad. Zelenka studied it, a frown forming on his face. "Well, normally, I would say eight hours or so."

"Normally?"

"Yes." Zelenka pushed his glasses up his nose. "The ship appears to be moving at rate of speed that I would not have thought possible from what we know of her capabilities."

"Well, isn't that good?" Elizabeth was sensing another 'but' coming.

"Yes and no. It is good that she may return more quickly, but what have they done to accomplish it?" He looked at the main screen for a moment.

"Atlantis, this is the Daedalus." Everyone in operations heard Col. Caldwell's voice.

Elizabeth nodded at the communications tech. "This is Atlantis. Go ahead."

"Dr. Weir, I believe we have the Orion on our scanners."

Elizabeth looked around at the smiling faces as she spoke. "Yes Colonel. We have her as well. We think she is on a heading for Atlantis."

"We agree. Daedalus will turn around and head back. We'll be there in about three hours. Caldwell out."

"Thank you, Colonel. See you in a couple of hours." Elizabeth chewed her lower lip as she watched the main screen, glancing at the laptop occasionally. "Where were they?"

Zelenka worked the curser on the laptop and zoomed the image in tighter to the area around the Orion. He pointed to a fuzzy area behind the point of light.

"This is a large, dense emission nebula." When he saw her uncertainty at the reference he elaborated. "The Lagoon, Trifid and Orion are examples of emission nebula in our own galaxy. They are made up of very hot gases. The energized hydrogen and star formation regions masked the Orion, making her virtually invisible to our scanners while she was powered down. At least it may have made her invisible to the Wraith as well."

Elizabeth searched the screens. "The Wraith? Have any of their ships been detected?"

"No, No. We at least seem to have been lucky there." Zelenka exhaled heavily.

----------

McKay watched the HUD closely, as he had done for more than two hours. Even his appetite seemed to have deserted him. He asked for food only once and that without turning. He'd demanded an energy bar and held his hand out for it, snapping his fingers when it didn't instantly appear.

"We're going much too fast. Sheppard's going to burn out the naquada generators before even we're halfway to Atlantis at this rate." McKay picked up his datapad and began entering data, looking from it to the HUD. He glanced at Johnson. "Bring up the hyperdrive stats with power consumption rates and reserves."

Johnson's eyes narrowed as he concentrated on the astrophysicist's request. He wanted to get it right the first time. The view of their course and position shrank to occupy half of the display. The other half was filled with complex tables of numbers. Everyone leaned forward to read them.

Johnson studied the display. "Everything seems to be holding, Dr. McKay. The Colonel has it under control."

McKay sat back, a puzzled look on his face. "Yeah, he does."

----------

"Rodney?" Park interrupted McKay's thoughts.

"What is it?"

"We're detecting another ship that seems to be on course for Atlantis." Park's voice was tight. The Orion was vulnerable. If she dropped out of hyperspace, she would be a sitting duck.

The astrophysicist sat up as Johnson changed the view on the HUD. "Where? What course?"

"It's running about... Wait…" Park spoke quietly to someone in his Jumper. "Thank God. Rodney, it's the Daedalus."

The HUD in Jumper One zoomed in on a blip running a near parallel course with the Orion, but much nearer Atlantis. The icon showed her to be the Daedalus. Everyone in both Jumpers breathed a sigh of relief.

----------

"Daedalus, this is Atlantis." Elizabeth stood next to the communications console. A mixture of worry and hope was evident on her face, as well as the faces of everyone in the operations area.

"This is the Daedalus." Caldwell answered quickly.

"Have you had any luck in raising the Orion?" She turned to watch the large screen. It showed the two ships on course to Atlantis. The Daedalus would arrive first by at least a couple of hours.

"Not yet. And, we're still too far away for our sensors to detect life signs. Their communications must still be down."

"Okay, it looks like they'll be here in about…" She looked to Zelenka for the ETA.

"About three hours if they maintain speed." He finished for her.

"We'll let you know if we raise them."

"Thank you, Colonel. Atlantis out." Elizabeth nodded at the tech to terminate the transmission. "Keep trying to raise the Orion, please.'

"Yes, Ma'am." The young woman nodded.

----------

They all felt a change in the motion if the ship. The Orion dropped out of hyperspace. The relief was tangible in both Jumpers. It had been almost six hours since they crowded into the two small ships. Six hours of watching the HUDs, not knowing if the ship would make it, much less how far they would get.

"I don't believe it." McKay looked around. "We're made it. We're right on the edge of Atlantis' solar system."

"Rodney?" Gilbert's voice was almost drowned out by the celebration in his Jumper.

"Yes, what is it?" McKay frowned at the rising noise in his own Jumper. "Can you keep it down, please?"

There was sudden silence in both craft.

Gilbert cleared his throat. "I haven't been able to reach Atlantis yet. Have you heard anything?"

"No, we haven't." He thought for a moment. "It could be because of the shields. They must know we're here, though. Where is the Daedalus?"

"She's in orbit around Atlantis."

"Okay." McKay looked out the window into the darkness in the bay. "The lights should be on. Why aren't the lights on?"

"We must give Col. Sheppard a moment, Rodney. He must be very tired." Teyla gently reminded him.

Yes, yes, of course." He exhaled noisily.

They waited. Five minutes crept by. The readings on the HUD began to change again. An almost imperceptible vibration caught their attention.

"Rodney?" Gilbert sounded hopeful.

"Yes, yes. I felt it." McKay responded. He peered at the HUD. "It's the sublight engines. He's got the sublight engines online."

"We took them offline." Gilbert was worried. He stared the display. "The Colonel doesn't know about the power fluctuations."

They all watched the HUD for several minutes. McKay broke the silence. "There is something there, but he's got it under control so far. We should be back in orbit in…eight-point-three minutes."

No-one took their eyes off the display until the Orion was above Atlantis again.

----------

"The Orion is back into her previous orbit." Zelenka pointed to one of the two dots on the screen then the other. "This one is the Daedalus. She's just moving to match Orion's at about a thousand yards off her port side. They're checking for life signs and damage."

"There is still no communication from the Orion?" Elizabeth was now just worried.

"Not so far, but her shields are up. If the ship's and Jumper's communications are down, their personal radios probably wouldn't get through."

"Dr. Weir? We have the two Jumpers on the scanners. They just left the Orion." One of the technicians said as the image on the large screen changed.

"Atlantis, this is McKay." The familiar, and very welcome, voice sounded over the operations area speakers. "Do you read?"

Elizabeth saw grins everywhere. "Yes, Rodney, we read you! How is everyone?"

There was a moment's silence. "Mostly okay. We have a few injuries. Uh, that can wait."

"What's wrong, Rodney?" She became suspicious.

"Sheppard's still on the Orion. He's in one of the stasis pods."

"In a stasis pod? Why?" Elizabeth looked at the glowing dots on the screen.

"It's a long story. Can the Daedalus hear us?"

"This is Caldwell. How can I help, Doctor?"

Col. Sheppard is in one of the stasis pods. Can you beam him out?"

"Stand by." There was a long pause before Caldwell had an answer. "We can't pick him up on the sensors, but that's not surprising. Why isn't he with you?"

"Sheppard had to be in the pod to…It's a long story." McKay was exasperated.

"We'll keep an eye out for him. Do you need any assistance?"

----------

McKay, Teyla and Ronon left the infirmary with Elizabeth as soon as Beckett and his staff would release them. They hurried to Gate operations. Zelenka and Caldwell were standing in front of the large screen.

"I need you to beam me, to beam us, back onto the Orion." The astrophysicist said breathlessly as they approached. His already disheveled appearance was made worse by his near frantic behavior.

"Wait a minute." Caldwell looked from McKay to the screen. "You said on the Aurora that it could be dangerous to pull him out."

"Col. Sheppard has been in that pod for more than seven hours. He should have gotten out as soon as we made orbit." McKay was becoming frantic. "I knew something was wrong when he opened the Jumper bay doors"

"Why is he in the pod to begin with?" Caldwell, who had just arrived, missed the fast debrief in the infirmary.

"We really don't have time for this." McKay started to pace up and down. "To put it simply, the crystals that allow power into the ships systems were burned out by the CME. The only way we could get back here was for Sheppard to use the pod to…connect to the ship. He had to stay in there the whole trip back. We've been in the Jumpers for close to seven hours."

"Col. Sheppard opened the bay doors. We could not leave the Jumpers to see if he is alright." Teyla was obviously worried.

"Have you been able to get a lock on him yet?" Ronon directed his question to Caldwell.

Caldwell tapped his transceiver. "Daedalus, this is Caldwell."

"Yes, Sir?"

"Any word on Col. Sheppard?"

"No, Sir, our sensors have not been able to pick up any life signs on the Orion since the Jumpers left."

"If you do get a lock on him, beam him directly to the infirmary down here."

"Yes, Sir. We'll let you know when we have him."

McKay stopped pacing. He looked back and forth at Elizabeth and the Colonel. "Something must we wrong. We have to go get him out."

Elizabeth looked around the room. "Okay. Colonel?"

Caldwell nodded and started to reach for his transceiver again.

"Wait! I need to get a few things. Radek!" McKay headed for the door and suddenly turned back. "We may need Beckett."

The two scientists rushed out, talking too fast to be understood by anyone else. They were back in minutes, carrying McKay's datapad, a case containing a laptop and cables. Beckett entered a minute later, also carrying a case, but this one was full of medical gear.

"Do you have everything?" Zelenka looked over McKay's shoulder at the screen on the datapad.

"Yes, yes." McKay looked around. "We need to…"

"Col. Caldwell?" The disembodied voice of the Daedalus' second in command broke in.

Caldwell tapped his transceiver. "This is Caldwell. What is it?"

"We have Col. Sheppard, Sir. We're beaming him down to the infirmary right now."

Beckett ran out the door. McKay pushed his gear into Zelenka's arms and quickly ran after him. Ronon and Teyla followed close behind.

"Thank you, Daedalus. Caldwell out." The Colonel said as he followed Elizabeth out of the conference room at a more dignified pace.

----------

The infirmary was nearly deserted. The crowd with patients and personnel just minutes earlier had thinned considerably as the examinations were finished and the returned personnel were allowed to leave. The more severely injured had been moved out of the exam area for treatment.

Sheppard was perched on an exam table, watching one of the nurses take his blood pressure. He twisted to look at the door as the Beckett entered.

"What took you so long?" McKay dodged around Beckett to confront Sheppard.

"Rodney! Settle down!" Beckett pushed him aside. He smiled at Sheppard. "Good to see you, lad. How are you feeling?"

"I'm good, Carson. Bit of a headache, that's all." Sheppard exhaled slowly. "How are Antonio and the others?"

"I shouldn't wonder, cooped up with Rodney on that ship for thirty-six hours. That'd be enough to give any sane man a migraine." Beckett took his stethoscope from the nurse. "Don't worry. They are being attended to. Col. Caldwell had them beamed off the Jumpers as soon as they could get a lock on them. The other injuries appear to be minor, mostly bruises."

"It is good to see you, Colonel." Teyla smiled as she and Ronon entered, with Elizabeth and Caldwell right behind them.

"Was there a problem opening the pod?" McKay, not please with the small talk, glared at the others.

"No, Rodney. It worked fine."

"Then, why did it take you so long to get out?" He persisted.

Sheppard rubbed the back of his neck. "I dozed off."

"Excuse me?" McKay, Elizabeth and Beckett reacted at the same time. McKay continued on his own. "Dozed off?"

"I was tired." The Colonel looked a little defensive. He saw they were staring at him. "What?"

"Okay, that's enough. Anyone not named John Sheppard will leave now. I need to finish this examination and it is going to take a little while." Beckett cleared his throat. No-one moved. "Now!"

Everyone filed out slowly. Caldwell promised to come back for a debriefing the next morning then radioed the Daedalus and was beamed up. McKay stopped twice, but Beckett just pointed to the door. Beckett smiled at his patient when they were finally alone.

"Right, now, that's better." Beckett pointed to another doorway. "Come with me."

A couple of minutes later, Sheppard lay flat on the body scanner table. Beckett studied the screen as the scanner slowly moved from the Colonel's head to his feet.

"How's your leg?" The Doctor slowed the scanner as it reached the bullet wound. "I saw that your cane was a convenient splint on Hughes' broken leg."

Sheppard yawned before answering. "Sore, but not that bad."

"Okay. Take it easy for a few minutes." Beckett watched the scan finish. He smiled again when he saw Sheppard's closed eyes. He walked over to the computer on the other side of the room. Before he reached the desk, the lights went out.

"Bloody hell!" Beckett exclaimed a split second after hitting the corner of the desk. A crash could be heard from the next room as a tray of instruments was knocked off a table.

"What?" Sheppard sat up as the lights came on again. "What happened?"

Beckett looked around. He tapped his transceiver as he walked back over to Sheppard, who appeared disoriented. "Dr. Weir, this is Beckett."

"Yes, Carson?" Her reply was almost drowned out by chatter in the background.

"We lost the lights for a couple of seconds. Is everything okay?"

"Stand by."

Beckett tapped his radio again. He peered closely at Sheppard. "Are you feeling alright, John?"

"Yeah. What happened?" Sheppard nodded slowly.

"The lights went out for a moment." Beckett put his hand on Sheppard's arm when he tried to swing off the table. "It's probably nothing. Elizabeth will let us know if there is a problem. You just lay back down while I look at your scan results."

Sheppard nodded and allowed himself to be pushed back. He closed his eyes and almost immediately they were plunged into darkness again.

----------

Elizabeth, McKay, Teyla and Ronon had barely arrived in Gate operations when the entire city went dark the first time. After the third blackout, a call from Beckett brought them back to the infirmary.

McKay folded his arms over his chest. "Are you sure it happened only when the Colonel fell asleep?"

"Yes, Rodney." Beckett watched his patient as he spoke, barely glancing away to answer.

"What's going on?" Elizabeth looked from Beckett to McKay to an obviously unhappy Sheppard.

"Rodney, you cannot be sure about it." Beckett tried to forestall McKay's theory.

"Look, there's nothing wrong with the City. See?" The astrophysicist wiggled his finger towards the lights then pointed at Sheppard, who was sitting on the edge of the exam table. "After what happened on the Orion, it's the only possible conclusion."

"That's a big leap, Rodney." Beckett pushed back.

"Excuse me!" Elizabeth raised her voice to be heard. "What are you talking about?"

The two men, along with Teyla and Ronon, turned to Sheppard. "It seems the Colonel here has more control over the Ancient technology than we thought possible."

Sheppard sighed. "Perfect."

----------

"I really don't remember much after opening the hyperspace window." Sheppard said. He was sitting in Elizabeth's office, talking with her and Beckett. "Everything's kind of hazy until I woke up this morning."

"I'm not surprised." The Doctor watched the Colonel closely. "I'm still a little unclear on how you did it."

"You and me, both, Doc." He frowned.

"You're feeling okay, though?" Elizabeth tried to mask her apprehension.

"Yeah. Headache's gone. And, once the lights stopped going out, I slept like a baby. I'm fine."

Beckett was exasperated at the lack of concern. "We don't know that yet, John. I have no idea what short or long term effects the use of the stasis pod will have on you."

The Colonel rolled his eyes. "I feel fine."

"Well, I have some tests I want to do. I want you back in the infirmary this afternoon." Beckett put on his sternest expression.

Sheppard leaned his head back against the wall and groaned. Beckett looked at Elizabeth, silently imploring her for support.

"Carson's right, John. We need to make sure there is nothing...that you're…okay."

McKay rushed into Elizabeth's office, a look of triumph on his face. He laid a case full of Ancient crystals on her desk. His appearance was much better than the day before. She heard that he set his team of technicians to the task of finding the right crystals when Beckett ordered him to bed. They worked the entire twenty-four hours since the Orion's return.

"Well, we found the last one. These are exact duplicates of the damaged control crystals." He paused for a second. "This whole thing was astonishingly bad timing, really. We would have had these in the Orion by next week."

"It's frightening to think an Ancient, or any, ship can be completely disabled by damaging just a handful of crystals." Elizabeth picked up one of the crystals and turned it over. "Are you sure these will work?"

"Absolutely!" McKay stopped her protest with a raised hand. He smiled merrily. "Admittedly, there are a huge number of variations in the crystals in Atlantis and on the Orion. But, they also use the same crystals in many systems."

"So, you're going back up to the Orion to replace them?" Elizabeth looked from McKay to Sheppard. She knew they needed the Colonel to help activate the ship's systems again.

"Are you going right now?" Beckett was suspicious.

"Well, yes, of course!" McKay was surprised at the question. "The Daedalus is ready to beam us over."

"The Orion's just drifting right now. We need to get her powered up and able to maneuver as soon as we can." Sheppard was serious. "We'll be back in a couple of hours, in time for dinner."

Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "That's what you said last time."

"Well, this time, we don't have a CME coming at us." McKay offered.

Sheppard stood up. "And, I'll be in the pod again. Okay?"

"I want you in the infirmary as soon as you get back." Beckett sighed. He knew Sheppard was right. The ship was too valuable. He nodded at Elizabeth, who, in turn, nodded at the Colonel.

McKay and Sheppard left.

After sitting in silence for a few moments, Beckett stood up to leave. He glanced at the door then looked at Elizabeth. He spoke thoughtfully. "I wonder if the Ancients knew they could do that."

"I wonder if they able to do it." She replied, just as thoughtfully.

----------

As they gathered on the Gate Room floor an hour later, McKay saw a Marine standing at ease near a group of technicians waiting to be beamed to the Orion. Once power and systems were back online, more technicians would fly up in the Jumpers to continue repairs to the ship. McKay's pace slowed considerably when he recognized the man.

Sheppard smiled as he stopped in front of the Marine. "Sgt. Mahoney! Rodney, you know the Sergeant, don't you? He's joining us this afternoon."

The End