Chapter 8: The Siege
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"It won't work!"
"It is the only viable solution that we have, Rodney. If it does not work then we should be able to put the shields back into their default frequencies. We have to try at the very least and we have a just under four hours before the Wraith arrive"
"Don't you think I don't know that? Obviously that didn't work the last time!"
"And I suppose you have a better solution?!"
The bite in the Lanteans voice was enough to make both Elizabeth and John recoil in shock and even Rodney was rendered speechless. It seems that even the immutable patience of the Ancients will be worn down by Rodney.
"Loros?" John called out in concern.
"Yes, John? Elizabeth" he said after a small sigh.
"Is everything okay?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes" Loros said at the exact same time as Rodney said 'no' and she turned to Loros for his explanation with a nod. "I am recommending that we have the shields on a rotating frequency. They will still work only the closer the frequency, the more of the energy is absorbed"
"However the further away the frequency the more damage we take"
"Yes, but it will allow us to isolate the range in which the required frequency is. At which point we can activate the shields at that frequency" Loros said, sounding exasperated.
"What about you Rodney?" John asked.
"I haven't got a solution that will work" he said and Elizabeth turned to look back at Loros.
"Are you sure that this is the only viable solution you can think off?"
"I do have an idea as to where the frequency is. It is in the higher range so I have isolated those. All we need to do is wait for automated systems to detect the best possible match and then we recalibrate them to compensate" Loros explained and they nodded.
"Very well. How long do you need?" Elizabeth asked.
"I will need two hours" he said and once more they nodded, much to Rodney's exasperation and they left, Rodney heading to the shield generators.
"Hey" John called before he left.
"Yes, John?"
"Come with me. Give the instructions to someone else, you need a break" he said.
"No, John..."
"You're taking a break. I've never seen you snap at anyone in your time here with us, including McKay so that's an indicator that you're stressed" John said and the other one sighed before noting down the instructions and passing it to a waiting scientist.
"Fine"
(Sheppard's Quarters)
The two of them walked in when the fatigue and stress seem to become too much for the Lantean and he soon collapsed on the bed with a very large sigh. Sheppard used his gene to dim the lights and he sat beside him, rubbing his back slowly.
"You need to take it easy" John said.
"How can I, John? The Wraith are once more preparing to lay siege to the city and the Helios is not at it's complete strength" Loros said, sounding tired.
"You're not a miracle worker. You can't take all of this on" John said.
"We are all fighting here" Teyla said, the door having been opened, making the two jump.
"When will you stop making us jump?" John asked and she offered up a smile before sitting on the other side of the Lantean. "Teyla's right, we're all fighting. We all share the stress" John said and the other sat up, a small smile on his face.
"Thank you, John, Teyla" he said.
"It's no problem" John said.
"Loros, Major Sheppard, Dr. Weir, please report to the Control Room immediately"
(Control Room)
Loros and John met Elizabeth by the screen that was connected to the long range sensors and their faces dropped upon seeing that there were three more dots joining the remaining two. Not only that but they had brought their cruiser escorts with them.
"We're screwed" McKay said, breaking the silence.
"Without the Daedalus here to help we'll be hard pressed to fight them" Elizabeth added.
"The chair should be able to take them out right?" John asked and Loros nodded. "In that case, we'll switch. I'll take the Helios and you use the chair" Sheppard suggested and the Lantean gave a small nod in agreement.
"My gene should be able to handle the amount of drones been used at once" he said.
"Very well then. Just in case, I'm going to evacuate all non-essential personnel back to Earth" Elizabeth said.
They headed in different directions, with Loros, McKay and Sheppard heading for the landing pad where the Helios was located and Elizabeth heading into her office to begin making decisions on who stays and who goes.
(Helios)
More scientists were pulled away from their projects to get the Ancient vessel back to it's former glory, and it was coming along a lot quicker. They had managed to bolster the ships shields without the use of their frequencies, and also managed to successfully reinstall the pulse guns in the manner that they are supposed to be in.
"Helios, how goes it on your end?" Elizabeth asks.
"We've got full shield functionality and the pulse guns are in full working order" Loros reported.
"Getting this done in a few hours was a miracle" Rodney chips in.
"How will it do?" Elizabeth asked.
"It should be able to hold out against the Hives, maybe even destroy them" Loros said. "Have the Hives made any recent movement?" he asked.
"They're on full approach for the planet. They should be here within a few hours"
"In that case, we'd better get ready" John said.
Loros left the ship to head for the Chair Room with McKay, who decided to record data on the chairs use whilst Sheppard decided to take the ship out. He was going to place it out of sensor range to allow the Hives to get comfortable before he jumped to position to fire on them.
Loros sat down on the chair, which lit up and reclined as soon as it sensed the strong presence of his gene and information began to flow freely through his mind. He activated the shields from there and he soon found himself waiting.
(Space, not far from Lantea)
The Helios was positioned a fair distance away from the planet, just out of the Wraith sensor range, but they were still close enough that they could see the fleet when it eventually dropped out of hyperspace. John was sat on the commanders chair whilst the other ten worked on different consoles.
"Loros, can you hear me?" John asked.
"Yes I can, John. Are you in position?" he asked, eyes closed, but a smile on his face.
"We're out of their sensor range. They haven't arrived yet" John reported.
"They will get here soon enough. Just remember what I told you, if you merely think about what ship you want destroyed then the drones will do their best to get there" Loros reminded and the other gave a simple acknowledgment. "And John?" he paused. "Good luck" he added.
"You too" John said warmly.
John looked out of the large windows of the Bridge, seeing only the vastness of space and the planet that they have come to call home in the short year that they had lived there. Suddenly a hyperspace window opened and the first Hive and three Cruisers dropped, followed by another, until the whole fleet was present.
"They're here" he said simply.
"I know. The city can sense them scanning for you" Loros said.
It was a tense few minutes that passed with the Wraith just remaining where they were, before the ships began to get into a formation around the planet. The five Hives were positioned in a semi-circle, three cruisers filling in each gap.
In the Control Room, the few that remained were tense. Elizabeth was on the balcony with the others, looking into the night sky. It was quiet, many of the towers were dark, the only real light coming from the gentle light blue glow of the city shield surrounding them. Suddenly an alarm went off and blue energy bolts began to rain down on the shield, casting the city in an orange glow that would have looked beautiful if the circumstances weren't as grim as this. Elizabeth reached up and tapped her radio, her gaze not taken off of the shield.
"Firing might be a good idea" she said.
They all looked down to see one of the three weapon platforms open, many drones heading up into the sky, dodging the occasional shot that almost hit them. They could then hear the tell tale signs of the Darts, no doubt sent to intercept the incoming drones and to add additional weapons fire on the shield.
John watched with amazement as a stream of yellow drones split into four smaller streams, three for the Cruisers and one for the Hive Ship. Four massive fireballs erupted then and there, one fifth of the fleet already defeated, and before long, he decided to help out.
"Jump into position" he ordered.
The Helios came out of hyperspace and began to fire it's pulse guns on the Darts that passed them by and a salvo of drones was released. Despite John's slightly weaker gene, he manages to destroy a second Hive and two of the three escorts, the rest been intercepted by the Darts.
"Two down three to go" Sheppard said.
"Make that two" Loros chipped in.
True to his word, another brilliant stream of yellow came up from the planet and split into five this time round, the fifth stream heading to the remaining Cruiser from Johns destroyed Hive. The third ship and it's escorts are destroyed with relative ease.
On the balcony, the orange glow has dimmed as the amount of weapons fire pounding against the shield has diminished and Elizabeth stands anxiously. She admires the beauty of the drones as a few more are released to mop up a few Darts that had made it to the planet.
One of the Hives and three Cruisers break off their attack on the city and turn their attention towards the Ancient vessel firing on them. They are relentless as the open fire, their shots impacting the newly strengthened shields.
"Shields are holding" one of the scientists said.
"We have a wave of Darts inbound" another reported.
Using his gene, John instructs the guns to fire on the nearest fighter, taking out a great many before they can get too close. One of the Darts is clipped by the weapons fire and crashes into the shield, causing one panel to spark out on the Bridge but the shields stabilize quickly.
Loros takes another deep breath and fires more drones, this time allowing some of them to break off to strike down any darts they come across. However, what he didn't anticipate was a near wall of Darts protecting the target Hive and most of the drones are intercepted, only a few hitting the larger vessel and causing moderate damage.
"They are changing their strategy. It would seem they have made a wall of Darts" Loros said.
"Wall of Darts?" John asked.
He opened his eyes and looked to see that hundreds of Darts have gathered to form a protective barrier around the Hive they were engaging. He grins at the challenge and closes his eyes, moving one step ahead and firing a salvo of drones that are twice as large. Half of them obliterate the Darts with ease and the other half begin to pepper Hive and it's escort with hull breaches, before it erupts in a fiery explosion.
By now, Elizabeth and the remaining Control Room staff had returned to watch the screens, and hope sparkles in her eyes when she sees that two Hives and six Cruisers remain. She then notices a group of smaller dots gathering and then speeding down towards the planet.
"Major Sheppard, Wraith fighters are heading toward the planet" she said.
"What could they be doing?" Loros asked, confused.
"Looks like it's a kamikaze run. They're all the remaining Darts from the destroyed ships, equaling two hundred plus" Sheppard said and Loros furrowed his brow, before he figured out what it was.
"They no longer have a queen to follow" he said and at Sheppard's urging he continued. "Each individual Hive is governed by a single queen. She is the one that can create more Wraith, the one who can even make repairs to the ship. Without them, they have nothing left to fight for. They fear not having a leader" Loros explained.
"Can they do much damage?" Elizabeth asked.
"Their impact velocities will be the equivalent of their weapons so no" he said.
The large group of fighters suddenly rain from the sky into the shield, each one exploding on impact but draining virtually no power from the ZPM.
At the exact same time, Loros and Sheppard launch one massive salvo of drones each, their streams meeting and then combining as one, before branching out to the remaining fleet. Eight large explosions later and the attacking fleet is no more with the remaining Darts been taken out with several drones.
"We did it" Sheppard said quietly.
"We did" was the simple reply.
"Major Sheppard, bring the Helios in to land and meet with me in the Conference Room. Loros, you as well" Elizabeth said, although, oddly enough, it held no joy. The two of them gave a small sigh of relief they did as requested.
(Conference Room)
"More ships?" Sheppard asked in astonishment.
"That's right. We were monitoring their signals and we were able to detect a single transmission that we haven't translated, but we think it has something to do with them" she said and she switched on a screen showing twelve large red dots and they promptly blanched.
"The Helios can't hope to handle that many" Loros said.
"Atlantis can hold them, however, even if we defeat these ships, there will most likely be more. We are in the same position that my people were in ten thousand years ago" Loros pointed out and Elizabeth sighed.
"So what are our options?" she asks.
"Very few" Loros said grimly.
"Even with the assistance of the Daedalus, we can't win against a fleet like that" John said.
"Not to mention they'll beat the Daedalus here. By the time they get here they'll have most likely cut our power levels in half" McKay said. "We can't win this" he added, already losing hope.
"We have two weeks before the Wraith get here. Come up with some sort of a plan" Elizabeth ordered and the others looked at one another as she left the room. What could they do?
(Four Days Later)
Loros was in the Control Room, working on one of the consoles that provided power management to the city. He was also monitoring the sensors that solely focused on the planet from a laptop that rested on a clear spot on the console. He heard a beeping coming from it and he turned to look, finding a single ship, he tapped his headset.
"Elizabeth, could you please come here?" he asked and she came right in.
"What is it?" she asked, looking over his shoulder at his screen.
"I see a single ship, but it's smaller than a Hive" he said and she raised a brow. "It's broadcasting what you know as IFF" he said.
"Atlantis, this is Colonel Steven Caldwell, commander of the Daedalus. I believe you requested our assistance" they breathed a sigh of relief at his voice. "However it would appear that you've dealt with them" he said, no doubt seeing the wreckage.
"Land the Daedalus near the Helios, we'll brief you, but how are you here?" Elizabeth asked.
"We found another ZPM that was ordered for use on the Daedalus exclusively to give us an edge in the fight" Caldwell explained before abruptly cutting the comm link, much to Elizabeth's amazement and slight outrage.
(Back in the Conference Room)
Caldwell was sat at the table, looking at the screen showing the twelve ships been tracked through hyperspace. He then turns to them, shaking his head as he does, making the others a little more concerned.
"Even with your ship, we can't fight these guys off" he says.
"We know. We've spent time refilling our drone supplies to max, but we can't keep relying on Loros to keep the supply at max" just as she said it, the Ancient walked in, looking a little sluggish and tired much to the concern of those gathered in the Conference Room. "Are you sure you should be awake and walking?" she asked and he nodded.
"I am not as tired as last time. The moment I need to, I promise I will rest" he reassured and she gave him an unsure nod.
"I'm getting sick of this!" John pipes up.
"Pardon?" Elizabeth said, astounded by the outburst.
"If we don't send a clear message and continue to sit around, it won't be long before we look like we're going to drop. We have two ships, both of which have powerful technology. The Daedalus with it's own shields, plenty of nukes and an Asgard transporter and then the Helios with plenty of Drones and some of the strongest shields known to man"
"What are you suggesting?" Caldwell asked.
"I'm suggesting that we take the fight to them" John said and Loros perked up a little.
"Whilst we may possess those technological advantages we will surely be overwhelmed. Our shields are finite in strength, the Daedalus' even more so than the Helios" and then his gray eyes lit up with an idea. "Unless I implement some Ancient coding into the shields. With the permission of the Asgard on board, of course" he said and Caldwell nodded.
"How long will it take?"
"One hour"
"Okay" he said and then he tapped his headset. "Hermiod, please beam up Loros to your workstation"
The Ancient stood and the light of the transporter enveloped him, taking him out of the room and face to face with the little alien who regarded him with slightly narrowed eyes. A woman who looked rather nervous gave a small smile.
"You must be Hermiod and Lindsay Novak" he said with a small smile.
"Yes. It is to my understanding that you may be able to assist us?" Hermiod asked and the other nodded.
"I may be able to strengthen your shields with some of my peoples coding in preparation for an ambush on the Wraith fleet" he explained and the Asgard had slight shock in his eyes. "And it is an honour to meet a member of one of the Four Great Races" he said and the other nodded in kind.
They spent the next half hour finding a way to implement the Ancient codes into the Asgard shields, the process hampered because the Ancient could just about understand their language. Eventually he got the gist of it and they began to speed up. Despite Dr. Novak's hiccups and nerves, she did prove helpful in translating for him, for she worked closely with the Asgard she'd likely call her friend.
"That should considerably bolster the shield strength, at least for a little longer"
"What else were you assigned to do?" Lindsay asked rather timidly.
"Colonel Caldwell wanted me to ask you to disable all failsafes with the transporter for use in delivering nuclear weapons into the ships" as soon as he finished Lindsay hiccuped several times in quick succession.
"No, no, no. The Asgard would prefer their technology to not be used as a weapon. Defensive and -hic- transportation of humans only" Lindsay explained and the narrowed eyes of the Asgard were enough to tell him that Hermiod disapproved.
"I will do it" Hermiod said and Lindsay hiccuped once more in shock.
"I thought you would've disapproved" she said.
"I do. However the humans still need to be protected and your weapons are only good for dealing with their smaller craft and their cruisers"
"Thank you, Hermiod. Could you send me back down to Atlantis?" he asked.
(Hours Later)
Loros, after arguing his case with Elizabeth and John over his current tiredness, was on board the Helios. He couldn't believe that he had to pull rank on them, stating that despite the fact he worked for them, the ship was still under his command. Sheppard had been giving him the silent treatment since and chose to board the Daedalus to witness the battle.
"Dr. Zelenka has transmitted the coordinates" Caldwell reported and the other nodded.
"Thank you, Colonel. Jumping now"
Both ships jumped into individual hyperspace windows and Loros allowed himself to relax in his seat, clearing all thoughts of John out of his mind. The last thing he needed was to be distracted in the heat of the battle that was to come. However, he flashed back to that moment involuntarily.
(Flashback)
"Absolutely not!" John protested the moment the Lantean suggested that he go in the Helios.
"John, whilst I do appreciate both yours and Elizabeth's concern, this is my fight just as much as it is yours. The Wraith forced my people to leave, killed millions, maybe even billions over the course of ten millennia, a mistake that was caused by us" Loros said.
"It was not your fault! It was out of your hands!"
"And yet our overconfidence and arrogance cost this galaxy dearly"
"You are not going out there. I'll take the ship, you just need to rest. Don't make me call Beckett" he threatened and the others grey eyes started to become stormy. Elizabeth had only listened.
"Dr. Beckett may be the Chief Medical Officer of this city, but I am the Captain of that ship. He will not keep from performing a duty that is long overdue. Do not try to stop me on this John" he said, voice cold. The major went to raise his hand to his radio but a whir could be heard and static followed on the radio.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Performing my duty. I may work for you, but I am 'pulling rank' as you would say. That ship falls to me. I am going out there and I am going to do my best to prevent the Wraith from forcing us out of this galaxy. The communication scrambler I just used is temporary" he said before walking out of the office before turning back. "I am not a child John" he said, sounding hurt. "I know how to take care of myself yet you seem to think otherwise. Maybe this will prove it"
(End of Flashback)
He stood with a sigh, a member of the crew volunteering to take his place whilst he walked up to the large domed window, looking out. He'd pulled rank, used the city to generate a temporary EM shield that scrambled communications in the Control Tower and then commanded the ship against the wishes of both the military commander and the leader. If he'd been on Earth and in the military, he would have been detained.
"When we get back, we're having a talk" John's voice came over the radio.
"Very well" he replied coldly.
In the next few hours, they dropped out near where the Wraith were meant to be dropping out for a small break and the Ancient retook his place on the control chair. He raised his shields and readied all of the pulse guns whilst he waited. Suddenly a beeping could be heard and the crew reported a window opening.
The twelve Hives and thirty-six cruisers came out of the window, the fleet looking every bit as intimidating as they had feared. Suddenly one of the Hives erupted in an explosion, obviously caused by one of the nukes, and then a second one followed shortly after. He fired a rather large salvo of Drones to destroy the left over Cruisers and take out another Hive in the process, the weapons dodging the Darts with ease. A third Hive was lost to the Drones and a fourth was destroyed with a nuke.
"The enemy has engaged countermeasures that are preventing our ability to transport" Hermiod reported.
"Sensors indicate that the Wraith are generating a specialized EM shield that prevents us from getting an accurate lock on for transport" Loros explained, ordering the weapons to fire as the large Wraith fleet turned their attention on the two allied vessels.
Another look showed that many Darts had placed themselves in front of the Hives as one massive barrier, more than what the Drones could handle. He switched to pulse guns and fired shot after shot at the approaching ships, doing very little damage compared to the Drones.
An alarm went off as the weapons fire slowly became a little bit much for the shields to handle and the panels in the bridge began to spark out. Warnings flashed inside his mind as the shields continued to weaken. He was aware that someone on the Daedalus reported their own shields weren't faring any better than theirs. They could not win this fight.
"Colonel Caldwell, I recommend we retreat. This fight can not be won" Loros said.
"Shield status is just over 40%!" one of the technicians reported.
"Agreed. This fight is over!"
Both ships stopped firing their weapons and then quickly fled away from the ships, shields still taking hits but as soon as they were clear, they entered the safety of hyperspace. Caldwell made his report on the status of the Daedalus whilst Loros checked over his own systems.
"Status of the Helios?" Elizabeth had asked.
"Shields halfway depleted and minor system damage. Now that they know a warship of the Ancients is in the fight, they'll send more just like they did for the first wave" he said and he could hear the sigh from Elizabeth.
"We'll leave the porch light on for you" she said simply and he sighed.
(Atlantis Control Room)
A proximity alarm was going off in the Control Room when they arrived and the Lantean headed out on to the balcony in time to see hundreds of blue energy weapons rain down on the shield. The glow that was given off was so right, he had to look away for a moment. It was like deja vu. He headed back in.
"The shield's holding under the bombardment but it's under incredible strain" McKay explained.
"How long will it hold?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well if they stopped firing it would last almost indefinitely"
"Are we talking months, weeks?"
"Days. At this rate the ZPM would be depleted within days"
(Conference Room)
"The ZPM has been ordered for the Daedalus only and even then that was just for this fight. When we return, it would be used to power the Control Chair in Antarctica" Caldwell explained and the others were more than a little miffed at that. Loros especially, but he understood that if the Wraith were able to find out the location of Earth then they would need some form of weapon.
"And the weapons fire on the shield is creating a massive interference so the targeting systems for the Drone will be off. And it would put more pressure on our already taxed power" Loros added.
"Not to mention the would send more after that. Especially now that they are aware of the Helios" John chipped in.
"Back to square one?" Rodney asked the Ancient who nodded with a rueful smile.
"As long as the Wraith now we're here, they're just going to keep coming" Zelenka said and John perked up beside the Lantean.
"As long as they know we're here" he said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.
"Zelenka just said that as long as they know we're here they're just going to keep coming"
"Yes, he said that" Rodney said, sounding confused.
"Well what if they thought we were gone?" John asked.
"Then there would be no reason for them to stay" Teyla chipped in.
"Exactly!" John exclaimed and Loros raised a brow.
"John, please explain to those who can not read minds" the Lantean said with a small smile.
"We disappear!"
"Destroy the city, you mean?" Caldwell asked.
"No we just make it look like we did" he said and that piqued everyone's interest. And judging by both Rodney and Radek's expressions, they were already thinking about how they were going to pull it off, as hairbrained as it was.
"How?" Elizabeth asked.
"We cloak it!" Rodney exclaimed.
"Yes. Yes! The Puddle Jumpers are equipped with cloaking technology which renders them invisible to the naked eye, and to Wraith scans. If we just simply remove one of the cloak generators from the Puddle Jumper..." Radek began saying.
"I wouldn't say simply, but yes by interfacing a Jumper's stealth cloak generator with the city's shield, we should be able to render the city invisible" Rodney added on to his explanation.
"That's all very well and good but of the city were to suddenly disappear they'd put one and one together" Caldwell said and he had a point.
"We could fake a self-destruct. Use the Daedalus to transport a nuke just above the city. While the sensors are blinded we activate the cloak and when the smoke clears there will be nothing but ocean. Hard radiation will not be an that much of an issue and I am sure that Rodney and Radek can deal with the displacement issues" he said and Rodney looked like he had been upstaged.
"What about the hard part?" Radek asked.
"Hard part?" both John and Loros asked in unison.
"Well for all intents and purposes, the cloak will replace the shield we'll be completely unprotected once the cloak is activated" Rodney explained.
"We'll be completely exposed?"
"I'll be in the chair to switch from cloak to shield in an instant" Loros said and the others nodded.
"Get working on it in that case. I want to go through a few other details with the others.
Radek, Rodney and Loros left the room quickly to begin their work. With the Lantean assisting them, it didn't take them long to interface the cloak with the shield and he had quickly left for the Chair Room if he needed to switch back.
As he passed through, he noticed that the bombardment had stopped, meaning that Teyla had connected to them and sent their message. He had to hurry, he didn't want to be near a window when that warhead went off, he quite liked his sight. When the explosion went off, he stood by the chair, pacing a little bit as the tension slowly built. His radio was tuned into the Daedalus channel so he could listen to their report.
"This is Daedalus, our sensors indicate that the Wraith fleet is breaking orbit"
Relief flooded him. For the first time in ten thousand years, they had won, granted it was by subterfuge, but it allowed the to continue to make a difference. They just had to be more careful now.
(Loros' Quarters)
He was lying down with his back propped up against the headboard of his bed, a book in his hands that he had borrowed from one of the members. His motion sensor beeped, and he stood, opening the door to see John stood there looking a little nervous.
"Is all well?" he asked and the other nodded.
"I'm going back to Earth with all the other department heads to select more personnel. By the way, you are in charge until we get back" he said rather quickly and the other nodded. "I'm sorry" he blurted out and Loros' features softened.
"I should be sorry. You were only concerned"
"But I-" he was cut off with a hand.
"No buts. We were both under a lot of pressure and we'll leave it at that" he said with a smile.
The two of them went in and sat down on the bed in a comfortable silence, the events of their little spat now totally forgotten. Loros placed his book on a bedside table and he came around so he was stood in front of John, a warm smile on his face.
"Thank you" he said and the other raised a brow.
"For what?"
"For giving me an opportunity to do this"
Before John could ask what, a pair of soft lips covered his own and the military commander remained speechless before returning it. DADT could go ahead and take a short walk off of a very high cliff. As long as only Elizabeth and Teyla knew, they would be fine.
"You're very welcome" John replied with a lopsided grin when the broke apart for air.
That night had to be one of the best nights sleep they ever had. Whether it was because they were that drained from the Siege, or just happy to be in each other's arms or a combination of both. Either way, they were going to be split for a few weeks whilst they are debriefed, promoted in John's case and then their choices in personnel. They were going to savour every moment.