Manifestation of Liberation

"Are we in range?"

"Not yet sir." Chuck checked the telemetry again but there was no getting around it. They just could not safely go any faster.

"Come on come on!"

"She'll fly apart."

McKay did not hesitate. His friends were in trouble and he could help.

"Fly her apart then!"

Daedalus

The officer shook his head and Caldwell cursed silently.

The ship shuddered after another barrage from the Hive ship; at least the remaining active Hive ship. The others were now wreckage or dead in space. One was even beginning to skim the atmosphere. Its hull was breaking apart in smoking pieces as the planet's ionosphere tore at it like a jagged razor.

They had been extremely lucky. Hitting all the hive ships while their shields were down was a better result than they could have hoped for. The mission specs had been put together on the assumption that they would be able to disable half the fleet and take them one by one. Once Caldwell recognised the opportunity he had ordered the Apollo to finish off the other ships while the Daedalus and the Artemis alternated attacking the central hive ship and shielding the surface troops from bombardment.

He knew with a few more well placed shots they could take out the remaining Hive. The problem was Sheppard's teams were still on board. They had been unable to beam directly to Lorne's location and were fighting their way through. Time was not on their side. The central hive ship was bigger and had more weapons than all three Earth ships combined. The only thing saving them was that the ship was already heavily damaged and was operating on only half its systems.

If the Wraith managed to repair them however…Caldwell knew the choice he would have to make before that happened.

"Sheppard." Once more there was just static. Whatever part of the ship they were on was just too heavily shielded. Only the teams' beacons let Caldwell know they were still alive.

Wraith Hive Ship

The Colonel inserted another clip and immediately emptied it into the unit of Wraith approaching. A satisfying amount of Wraith went down instantly amid screams and shouts of fury. The phosphorus rounds were not just extra deadly to Wraith but extremely painful as they continued to burn into the flesh.

As the second team finished off the Wraith the Colonel checked the pad on his wrist. The flashing dot that was Lorne was still one hundred meters away. Sheppard knew that Caldwell could not hold back for too much longer. He had faced similar situations many times before. So near and yet so far – but experience did not make this any easier.

Time was simply running out and as he inserted another clip Sheppard realised that Lorne's time was running out too.

Wraith Control Centre

His vision blurred as his oxygen starved brain started shutting down. Lorne struggled against the Queen's grip but it was useless. She was too strong and he was too weak. He could not even stand unassisted let alone shrug off an angry alien Queen. Just as his consciousness started to slip away she loosened her hold and spun him around. On his knees Lorne watched as she raised her hand in preparation to feed. This time he knew it would not be just part of the torture. This would be the final strike.

"No." The voice was neither loud nor angry. Just firm as the Wraith guard grabbed the Queen's arm and muttered again, "No."

"You dare to touch me," hissed the Queen and tried to rip her hand away but he latched on and she screamed in frustration.

Twisting her arm around she flipped the Wraith guard over and he fell heavily on Lorne. The two crashed down and the Wraith leaned in with his face almost touching Lorne's.

"War of annihilation serves no-one," whispered the Wraith, loud enough for only Lorne to hear. "Another way must be found."

The Wraith rose up and in his hand was a weapon. Instead of aiming it at the Queen however he swung it around towards a console and fired. A shower of sparks and some dull explosions hid the gasp of the Wraith as the Queen sliced first one way and then the other. Her blade cut him open across his chest and the guard once more slumped down. In that precious moment Lorne grabbed the guard's wrist and turned it towards the Queen. His own fingers could never have operated the gun as they were bent and broken. Luckily he did not have to as the guard still had his own finger on the trigger and Lorne only had to tighten his grip.

He did not hesitate. The gun fired three times and two shots caught the Queen square in the chest, the other going wild as she flipped back.

This had all happened in a matter of moments and only now had the rest of the Wraith started to respond. They stared in shock at what was before them. Their Queen killed by a human and a Wraith. Shock did not last as several weapons were pointed at Lorne.

Several things then happened at once.

A bright white light flashed in the corner of the room.

Another hyperspace window opened right next to the Wraith Hive ship.

Lorne started laughing hysterically.

"It is Atlantis!" shouted one Wraith and Lorne turned towards the window. The view that greeted him was beautiful. The city emerged from hyperspace in all its glory. Atlantis was fully lit. The multiple spires glowed white, blue and green with shields already flickering as shrapnel and energy weapons hit them.

His laughter died as a barrel was pressed against his temple. Lorne sighed regretfully. Here he was, he had killed the Queen and Atlantis was here. The Wraith fleet was destroyed and victory was theirs. But not his.

Movement to the side made Lorne look and he smiled in appreciation. His phantom friends had come to say goodbye. There stood Sheppard, Cadmen, Ronon, Teyla and of course David. Strangely they had weapons. They had never had weapons before!

The Wraith holding the gun at his head followed Lorne's gaze and shouted an alarm. The entire room erupted in shouts, screams and gunfire – human and Wraith.

Instinctively Lorne dived down and found himself lying down next to the fallen Wraith guard. As the firing stopped and he heard Cadmen yell clear Lorne noticed that there was still life in the Wraith's eyes.

He put his hands to its chest in an attempt to plug the knife wounds. The Wraith gave a half grin at his efforts, feeble as they were with crooked fingers and one arm still fractured. The Wraith easily brushed his hands away.

Holding both of Lorne's hands in just one of his own the Wraith managed to speak. "Find another way human."

The grip loosened and the Wraith's head fell back.

"No," croaked Lorne. He knew it was crazy. He knew that this thing in front of him had been one of his tormentors. It was the enemy and did not deserve such emotions. Yet the major mourned him anyway and gulped back tears.

"Evan." It was Parrish as he placed a hand lightly on Lorne's shoulder; as if afraid he might break him. "It's time to go home."

Atlantis

"We need to fire sir. The Daedalus' shields are failing."

Muttering about time and overly brave colonel's McKay checked his panel. "One more moment, they need just a little more time."

Chuck turned around excitedly. "Daedalus reports that the teams have been recovered."

An evil grin spread across McKay's face. "Now witness the firepower of this fully operational battle station."

Had the situation not been so serious Chuck would have groaned. Instead he did his job without sarcastic comment. "Naquada warheads are armed."

Hesitating for only a second to admire the majesty of the ship he was about to obliterate McKay gave the order. "Destroy them."

Two clusters of missiles streaked out from Atlantis. The first struck the Wraith hive ship and shorted out the remaining shields in seconds. The second cluster split up and hit the ship at stern, mid-ships and bow. For several seconds there was no obvious damage but then suddenly the entire ship split and shattered before being incinerated in three giant blasts.

As the blast wave dissipated the remnants of the battle could be seen. Two hive ships lay dead in space, one was venting atmosphere and the other had split neatly in half. The others had been destroyed and only a few Wraith darts skimmed around trying to avoid being picked off by the Apollo and the Artemis.

The massive screen they had installed in command showed the devastation in full detail, almost as if you could reach out and touch it. No-one in command said anything. McKay slumped down in his chair and allowed a breath of relief to escape. Maybe they should have been celebrating but the scale of the destruction was affecting everyone. No matter which way you looked at it a lot of life had been lost today. That most of those dead were Wraith did not seem to help. McKay was already thinking ahead and realising that they had just upped the anti in their war with the Wraith.

Atlantis Infirmary

"Thank you sir. The last minute beam in got us there just in time."

The image of Caldwell on the screen was sombre and obviously the man was tired. The mop up operation continued however. Another reason Sheppard was glad he had turned down the command. The main reason of course was in the next room being treated by the doctor.

"Luckily the shields in that section dropped Colonel. I don't have to tell you how close it was."

"No sir."

"How is he?"

The Colonel hesitated. The truth was Lorne was not in any immediate danger. His injuries were extensive but not life threatening. He was not however, the same man Sheppard had once known. His whole appearance had changed from the repeated beatings and breaks on his body. The doctor was confident that with ancient technology they could repair most of the damage. Repair but not restore. There was simply no chance that Lorne would have a normal life after having so many bones broken and then badly set. All of his fingers were crooked. His right leg would have to be reset and an elbow and knee replaced. The burns would leave life-long scars that were visible across his arms, torso, neck and left ear.

Then there was the neurological damage. The amount of toxins in his blood, combined with the sustained abuse and captivity had left a man who at first sight was a shell of the air-force major he had once been. A blabbering mad-man who alternatively laughed then cried and continuously referred to Sheppard and to just about everyone else as phantoms. Of course Caldwell did not want to hear that.

"He'll be fine sir."

Caldwell grinned for the first time. "I think I'm going to enjoy being a general if it gets you to be so civil Colonel."

"Atlantis is still mine sir." Sheppard tried to say it with humour but failed. The General just nodded diplomatically and cut the connection.

Turning back to the room Sheppard could see Parish sitting by Lorne's side. For once the Major seemed calm as Parrish held his hand and they talked quietly. Although he could not hear them Sheppard had an idea of what was being discussed. For some reason Parrish said he had to leave. This was not a reunion but a goodbye.

Tbc…

notes: I have used quotes from movies unashamedly, but I have tried to make it obvious. One more chapter to go for this fic. Sequals are always possible.