"I need every ship we have to the Pegasus galaxy immediately," Sheppard said to the image of General Mitchell back in the SGC.

"No can do. The Odyssey's in for some pretty hefty repairs and the Chekov isn't even finished yet. Daedalus is already halfway back to Earth."

"So turn it around." Sheppard gripped the desk for balance as the city rocked against the sea. "The city's falling apart and we have seven hive ships approaching."

Mitchell shook his head sympathetically. "I'll send every ship I can, but I can't promise they'll all be here in time."

Sheppard pursed his lips. "How long?"

"Three days at least, and that's with a ZPM on each ship."

"What if some of them had two?"

Mitchell shook his head. "No. No way, I see where you're going with this. Without ZPMs we'll have no way to contact each other."

He gritted his teeth. "I know."

The two fell silent. "How do we know these aren't just more ships sent by the Priors?"

"They're dropping out of hyperspace for communication – we can't just disable these. We're in for one hell of a fight."

Mitchell sighed, grabbing the phone from across the desk. "Fine. I'll have the ZPMs sent over to the ships and tell Area 51 to step it up with the repairs."

"Thank you, sir."

"Good luck, Sheppard." The video screen flicked off, leaving Sheppard alone in the empty office.

A tall man with dark, ruddy skin knelt at the center of a wraith chamber. His long hair was tied in hundreds of thin braids; small iridescent circles were tattooed above his brow and between his left thumb and forefinger. In his hands he clutched a jagged sword. "I speak on behalf of the Jawailans, conquerors of Syluk and Sahar."

A Prior stood frowning down at him. "Do you pledge to serve the Ori faithfully so that you may be granted a higher future?"

The Jawailan man bowed and ran his sword across his palm, making a thin line of blood bubble up and trickle to the ground. "I pledge."

The conference room was solemn, packed to the brim. "Well," said Sheppard, "it looks like we're fighting a war on two fronts."

"The city has already drifted almost a mile west," Rodney said as he brought up a three-dimensional holographic image of the planet. A shimmering blue representation of the city inched across the surface. "By the time the bulk of the hive ships arrive, we'll have already crashed into the mainland. The impact will take out several major systems, but Lee and I are working on moving physical control centers to other piers as much as possible."

"Good. How are we on contact with allies?"

"I've already sent word to the Tok'ra," Carter offered, "but they have problems on their end."

Teyla added, "Our civilization is small, but the Athosians will contribute what we can."

Sheppard said, "Dr. Jackson, why don't you and Stackhouse work on coordinating with any other friendlies we can get to?"

"Will do. I've already prepared a list."

"At this point, we're not quite sure what it is the Priors want. But my guess is that they wouldn't mind getting their hands on Atlantis technology, so destroying the city might not be their primary target. But they definitely won't have any interest in keeping us alive. Reynolds, why don't you run us through our preliminary plan."

Colonel Reynolds, at Sheppard's right, stood up and nodded to McKay, who enlarged the visual representation of Atlantis. "Essentially we have three attack points: ships, drones, and foot soldiers. We're hoping to have as many of our ships as possible in the area by the time the battle begins. Ships will attack the hives as they arrive, hopefully doing a good bit of damage on their own. Once the Odyssey arrives with a fresh supply of drones, Major Lorne will begin the barrage. Now, our friend Todd placed an operative aboard one of the enemy ships, who informed us that the hives will most likely be dropping melee soldiers from an allied race to breach the city once it hits the mainland. They expect us to be unprepared." Pointing out key areas on the 3-D map before him, Reynolds continued, "Teyla and myself will rally our forces at a safe distance, clear the debris after impact, and try to keep the soldiers on the mainland from entering the city. We don't know much about them other than their name, the Jawailans, but I don't expect their technology will be extremely advanced considering they're subordinate to the Priors."

Sheppard nodded, glanced around the room, and stood up. "All military personnel not required on the Hammond will be fighting on the mainland under Reynolds' supervision once the hives arrive. I'm also requisitioning more troops to assist. Anyone with questions needs to see me as soon as possible. You're all dismissed."

The balconies of Atlantis were eerily quiet. Rail guns were manned, foot soldiers staged inside the gate room, and a small group of lights in the sky were drawing steadily closer. Colonel Sheppard stood alone at the railing. "Hive ships are ahead of schedule," he said quietly as footsteps approached.

Vala joined him, looking out over the city. "Daniel's just got back from the Genii homeworld trying to mope them in for some assistance."

"Rope."

"What?"

"The term is 'rope them in.'"

"Oh. Sorry."

"I doubt they'll respond, especially after all this time. Radim might not even be in power any more."

Vala nodded, staring at the crystal water and the line of grassland creep across the horizon. "Do we have a time frame for impact?"

"30 minutes. Let everyone know, will you?"

"Of course." She watched his apprehensive expression warily, then took a step back and disappeared into Atlantis.

Sheppard muttered anxiously at the sky, "Any day now," and tapped his radio. "Rodney, is the shield functional?"

"Almost," Rodney responded. He and Carter were settled on the floor of his lab, tinkering with control crystals and generators and anything they thought could help. Rodney said pensively, "He doesn't think we can win this." At her lack of response, he added quickly, "You think we can win this, right?"

"Rodney," she shook her head. "We're going up against the combined forces of the wraith and the Ori."

"Yeah, but both of them are pretty weak. I mean, the wraith have been crumbling ever since we left, and there can't be more than fifteen Priors in the entire galaxy –"

"And this new civilization, whoever made the sphere that's shifting the gravity. That's insanely advanced technology. We have no idea what we're up against."

"But our ships will be here with drones and soldiers and…"

Carter shook her head. "I didn't say we couldn't win. But it won't be easy." Smiling sadly, she stood up. "I'd better head to the control room. I'll need to beam up to the Hammond soon. And…" She stopped midsentence, patting his shoulder awkwardly. "See you on the other side."

He nodded but didn't speak.

"Sheppard!" Todd walked briskly to his side, bearing a tabled computer with a wraith data burst displayed. "I'm receiving a transmission from the hive ships. It says –"

"I don't care what it says," Sheppard snapped, then shouted to the soldiers lining the balconies. "Man the rail guns!"

The soldiers stepped forward, readied their weapons – rifles, rail guns, and rocket launchers – and for a moment everything was calm.

"They are attacking," said Todd.

One blue burst zoomed down and, after an infinitesimal moment of silence, struck a tall grey tower.

"Fire at will!"

A barrage of energy bursts rocketed into the sky, striking the four attacking vessels and triggering a reciprocating assault. Tall towers and fractured pieces of the city fell into the sea, the din of clashing weapons ringing through the balconies as soldiers fell over the sides, their weapons clattering to the ground.

"Rodney, any time now!" Sheppard shouted, watching the city's defenses shrink.

"I'm working on it!" Rodney yelped defensively.

"Sir," Major Marks said, "Sensors indicate that four of the hive ships have already reached the city."

"How close are we?" Colonel Caldwell asked.

"Still several light years out."

"Radio the Apollo. Tell them to be ready to attack as soon as we exit hyperspace."

"Yes, sir."

...

"Rail guns," Sheppard ordered, "Third bogey from the left, lock and fire! Let's take this one ship at a time."

Each weapon was turned and fired on one of the hive ships. Bursts of energy exchanged wreaked destruction on both parties. As a soldier was gunned down and fell over the railing, Sheppard ran to take over his position at the rail gun. A voice sounded in his ear. "Twenty minutes to impact, Colonel."

"Copy that."

The Lanteans were slowly gaining – the targeted hive ship exploded – but a wave of darts was quickly sent from the hives to bombard the city in retaliation.

"Divert to darts!" Sheppard cried. He and the other soldiers on the balcony aimed at the smaller ships which swarmed through the air, beaming up or shooting soldiers as they went. Sheppard glanced to his side where Ronon stood, picking off darts with his customary weapon. "Just in time for the party, I see."

Ronon grinned but kept his dark eyes trained fiercely on his targets.

Many of the darts had been felled when a shimmering aura rose up from the sea, enclosing the city in an ill-defined blue bubble. "Colonel! I got it!" Rodney cried.

"Nice work, Rodney," Sheppard answered through the radio. The darts trapped outside exploded on impact with the shield; the ones trapped inside were quickly picked off. "How long will it last?"

"I don't know," Rodney admitted. "Not long enough."

"At least it's something," Sheppard muttered, glancing hopefully up at the sky.

"There is little time left," said Teyla quietly, standing beside Colonel Reynolds on the balcony and watching the impending mainland loom closer. "Your men are prepared?"

Reynolds nodded curtly, his easy smile and infectious laughter now replaced with a gritted jaw and stern gaze. "Standing by at a safe distance. When impact time comes, we'll want to join them. Charges have been set to clear an exit point after the collision."

Teyla nodded to a line of soldiers appearing across the stretch of sea. "Their numbers are increasing."

"We can handle traditional combat," Reynolds shrugged. "At least they're dropping them on the mainland, not into the city." He glanced down at her fists clenched on her weapon. "How many did you manage to bring?"

"Fifty strong men and women. I would have liked to bring more, but –"

"We're more than grateful," Reynolds cut her off.

Teyla smiled up at him. "It is we who should be grateful to you. You have aided our people many times."

"I tell you what," Reynolds offered, clapping a hand on her back. "You get us through this and we'll call it even."

Teyla nodded with slight smile. "Very well."

The Atlantis alarm sounded suddenly, cutting off their conversation. "Unauthorized off-world activation!" Chuck announced over the loudspeaker.

Exchanging worried glances, Teyla and Reynolds ran back inside to the gate room. "Who is it?" Reynolds called over the noise as he entered.

"I'm receiving an Agoran IDC," Chuck said, fingers flying over the keys.

"Let them through," Reynolds ordered. When Chuck hesitated, he called again, "I said let them through!"

The shield on the active stargate dissipated, and a large group of men dressed in traditional Agoran garb entered, led by Lena, the village leader.

"What's this?" Sheppard demanded as he jogged in.

Lena strode confidently towards Sheppard, removing her sword from its strap behind her back. "The trust and confidence your Daniel Jackson has placed in our people has left us a stronger civilization than we have ever been before. If you need us, we will join the fight."

A grin slowly grew on Sheppard's face. "Excellent."

As he ordered Teyla and Reynolds to brief them on the battle plan and station them along with the other soldiers, Rodney said in Sheppard's ear, "Colonel, we have less than two minutes to impact."

Sheppard was silent, briskly returning to the balcony outside and cringing painfully as burst after burst struck Atlantis' shield.

"Colonel, what do you want me to do? The shield is at 15%. If I'm going to fix it permanently I have to take if offline."

"Are you kidding? You can't shut it down now!" He gripped the railing uneasily. "We need the shield to minimize damage from impact."

"But if I don't shut it down before it hits the mainland, the ZPM will burn out and I won't have anything to work with. The only way I can fix the shield permanently is to try and repair my recharging system –"

"Which failed catastrophically last time."

"I know that," Rodney snapped. The shield flickered dangerously in the momentary silence. "Colonel?" Receiving no answer, he snapped again, "Colonel!"

"Just do it, Rodney," Sheppard spat through gritted teeth.

"Right. Shutting down in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… mark."

The gold dome around the city dissolved; Sheppard grabbed back onto the railing and shouted, "Brace for impact!"

Reynolds echoed the order to the soldiers standing by.

The city let out a great groan as the northeast pier was crushed and mangled against the tough earth of the mainland shore. Soldiers and scientists lost their balance and crashed into each other, grasping at railings and equipment for balance. Bits of metal and great chunks of the city were strewn onto land and tossed out into the sea.

"Fire in the hole!" shouted Colonel Reynolds from the pier overlooking the wreckage from the impact, holding up a remote detonator and plugging an ear with his free hand. He pressed the button, and a store of C4 blocks molded against the wall nearest to the damage ignited, thrusting debris away and clearing a path for the soldiers to exit. "All forces, assemble!" He cried, and foot soldiers from Earth, Agora, and New Athos flooded from the gap in the city's walls.

"Halt!" Teyla cried suddenly, holding a fist in the air as they reached solid ground. The soldiers assembled behind her, a great clump of men and women with weapons of various caliber at the ready. "Colonel," she called, beckoning Reynolds forward and gesturing to the line of enemy soldiers several hundred feet away.

The bulk of the army was made up of a people bearing circular symbols on their chests and tattooed on their faces above the eyebrow. Hovering near them were perfect silver spheres, and there were small piles of bronze spheres on the ground beside them. They carried barbed swords or bows and arrows. Dotted amongst them were the distinctive white robes of Priors.

"There will be more Priors aboard the other hives," Teyla said quietly to Reynolds.

"Daedalus will be here within the hour with Prior suppression devices."

"Do you recognize this civilization?"

Reynolds shook his head.

"And the spheres? This must be the civilization that sent the sphere above the city. Do you think they are explosives?"

"They may be similar to Goa'uld shock grenades. In any case, it's safe to assume the technology is deadly."

"Indeed," Teyla nodded gravely. "Ronon will be here?"

"Yes. Colonel Sheppard's aboard the Hammond preparing the F302 strike. I imagine he got a bit restless calling the shots from the balcony," he said with a slight grin. "Lorne is ready in the drone chair, Castleman is overseeing the rail guns, Todd is planning out strike points in the Hammond, we're here… Looks like everything's ready."

Teyla nodded, eyes still trained on the enemy. "They are waiting for us. They will not break the lines just yet."

"Typical Ori, playing on our arrogance," he finished for her. "They want us to run into battle thinking we can win."

"We can," Teyla said forcefully. She slung her P90 around to grip it firmly in her small hands. Taking a deep breath and glancing back at the soldiers behind her, she smiled serenely. "Shall we?"

Reynolds threw her a jaunty smile, nodding her forward.

"People of Earth, of Agora, and of Athos," Teyla cried. "Today, we are all people of Atlantis." She smiled as she saw Ronon weave his way through the crowd to stand at Colonel Reynolds' side. "Today we fight for this great city, that she may live to see another dawn." Pacing down the length of the mass of soldiers, she saw them dance on their feet, antsy for battle. The enemy lines remained still, waiting for their attack. "Many of these enemies are new to us, but the Priors and the wraith we have encountered many times. We know their weaknesses, and we can defeat them. Let us keep our strength and our faith, and let us fight!" Ronon grunted in agreement and led the soldiers in a great cheer that echoed across the flat grassland to the enemy.

Reynolds glanced up at the sky and crossed himself.

Ronon, bouncing up and down on his feet, grinned eagerly, slinging his sword around in the air. "Let's do this."

Teyla nodded in acknowledgement, the steady smile still on her face. She turned to the enemy and led the charge to meet them. "For Atlantis!"