Chapter 10: It's too early for this...
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Note: Ancient is similar to Latin so when Latin is spoken, it is the Ancient language.
It was late evening on Lantea and the inhabitants of the Ancient city were fast asleep, save those on the night shift. Loros was snuggled into Johns chest and resting comfortably when his earpiece had begun to chirp. Someone was trying to reach him and the voice of one Rodney McKay was that one person. With a groan, he shifted, causing John to stir and crack open a sleepy hazel eye.
"Go back to sleep, it's Rodney" he said softly, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.
"The man never sleeps" John grumbled, but pressed a second kiss before settling down.
"Dr. McKay, as much as I am a patient and benevolent being, that patience has a limit" he said once he looped the radio in his ear, rubbing at the sleep that was in his eyes. He wanted to get back to his cuddle session for Merlin's sake.
"Well you're going to want to see this. Wake up your boyfriend and get to the Control Room" the man huffed. Loros sighed and turned to a peacefully sleeping John. He really didn't want to wake him.
"John. Something is going on and Rodney wants the both of us up in the Control Room" he said and the Colonel buried his head in the pillow, muttering 'five more minutes' as he did so. "Come on, if we do not, then I am sure that we will never hear the end of it, and we only have a limited patience. We can sleep in a little while, I promise" he said sweetly, pressing a kiss to his temple and the man turned over to face him.
"Do the Ancient's rules of benevolence mean anything to you?" John asked.
"Some of the strictest in place. No John, I will not fire a drone from either Atlantis or the Helios at a Puddle Jumper with Rodney still inside of it" he said and the American grinned tiredly.
"You know me too well" he said.
"Yes I do. Now let us be off" he said.
"Can't you just tell me later?" the other man asked and he considered it for a moment.
"Okay. Rest well dilectione mea" he said and John seemed to thrum as those words rumbled from his chest with warmth.
"Was that Ancient?" he asked.
"Yes it was. Reliqua" he said soothingly and as though he knew the word, he slipped off into a quiet and blissful sleep. With a final smile he swiped his hand over the motion sensor and still in his pyjamas, he left the room, feet padding along the floor.
"He woke you too, huh?" a gruff voice spoke and he turned to see Ronon.
"I assume he woke your team?"
"Teyla radioed me" was the answer he supplied. "No Sheppard?" he asked.
"I decided to let him sleep. I prefer it when he isn't necessarily unapproachable in the morning. And he looked so peaceful I couldn't wake him" he said and for a moment he thought he sounded totally love sick but Ronon's amused smile was somewhat reassuring to him.
"You care for him a lot" he made the observation.
"When I woke from stasis, he was the one who guided me the most in the ways of his people" he said and Ronon nodded in agreement. "I just hope this is important, or I may have to make use of your weapon. And my aim has been improving quite recently thanks to both you and John teaching everyone how to use weapons" Loros said with a smile.
"Set it to stun?" the Satedan asked, but the small glint in those grey eyes gave his answer.
They made it to the Control Room to see Teyla and Elizabeth in their pyjamas and Rodney in full uniform and looking quite awake. Looks like he managed to have his 'fair share' of coffee and was wide awake. He'd likely crash later on.
"Where's Sheppard?" he asked.
"I left him to sleep, Rodney" Loros said.
"He needs to hear this" Rodney protested.
"And he shall when he has slept a little longer. The last thing we need is for him to be irate" Loros said and the others sans Rodney agreed. An angry Sheppard was a scary Sheppard on most days. Add in the craziness of the Pegasus Galaxy and sleep-deprivation and you will wish you were one with the walls whenever he passed.
"Rodney, do you know what time it is?" Elizabeth asked tiredly, stifling a yawn.
"About one" he said.
"How observant. Try one in the morning" Loros protested.
"Well this couldn't wait" he said, tapping some commands on a laptop and an image of space with a flashing white dot was brought up. "Sensors picked this up. It's a Lantean distress beacon that has been broadcasting for a while now from an Aurora-Class warship. We pushed the sensors even more and saw that it was on the move and been relentlessly pursued by these little suckers" he said and tapped some more keys when three dots showed up in red.
"Wraith cruisers?" Elizabeth asked.
"The ship is managing to hold a stable distance for now, but for some reason, whomever is in their hasn't jumped to hyperspace" Rodney explained further.
"It may have suffered damage in battle" Teyla suggested.
"Have you tried contacting them?" Loros asked, not taking his eyes off of the screen.
"They are just out of subspace range. By the time they reach it, the Wraith will have likely called for back up in the form of a Hive and because it's broadcasting a distress signal..."
"They have likely been attacked and heavily damaged" Loros finished, looking to Elizabeth. "I do not know how it is possible but if there is even the slightest possibility that my people survived..." he let it hang.
Whilst he has no doubt that the Atlantis Expedition is his family and he had found love in one of it's people, he still misses the company of his people. The thought that he is the last of his kind was a rather depressing thought, one that he had spoken about to John many a time. Elizabeth gave him a small smile and a nod and he gave a grateful one in return.
"Anything to meet more of your people" she said.
"Thank you, Elizabeth" he said, tapping his radio. "All Helios crew members, please report to the ship for immediate dispatch. I repeat, please report to the ship for immediate dispatch" he said and when Elizabeth promised to wake them if they didn't turn up, he practically jogged to the ship in his pyjamas.
Meanwhile, the Lantean ship continues to limp home, still intact. A blue energy weapon impacts the yellow energy shield, though the barrier is faint. Inside, panels sparked out, throwing the crew from their seats as the explosions force them backwards. The commander is sat back in the seat, eyes shut in intense concentration and his fingers combing through the gel pads desperately.
"Commander, shields are down to ten percent!" one crew member informed.
"Several weapon turrets are now inactive! There are far too many Darts!" another spoke up.
"We have lost power in multiple sections of the ship. Multiple secondary explosions!"
The chair lurched forward and the commander looked especially tired. He and his crew members were covered in soot, sweat and minor burns from the sparking panels. The ship shudders violently and the shield is seen sweeping over the ship as it deactivates.
"Can we still not reach Atlantis?" he asked.
"I am sorry commander" the one of them replied grimly. A beeping attracts their attention.
"Another ship has just dropped out of Hyperspace" he said.
The three cruisers and Darts opened fire and the second ship, revealed to be a Lantean ship and it intercepted the fire, the shields holding strong and true. Pulse guns begin to mop up the Darts, a few firing on the now shieldless ship, causing severe hull damage, though the ships few pulse guns hold them off, barely.
"This is Captain Loros of the Lantean ship, Helios. Identify yourselves" a voice said over their communications.
"This is Captain Aita of the Adea. I know that voice" the commander replied.
"Aita?! You are alive?!" Loros said in surprise.
"By the Ascended! Captain Loros! How is this possible?!" Aita replies in similar surprise. A panel then sparks out and it can be heard over the comms.
"We will speak later. What is your status?" Loros asked.
"Shields are depleted as are our drone weapons. Five of our twenty pulse guns remain active and we have suffered extensive damage to the hull" the other ship captain reports. "Our hyperdrive is down and our sublight can barely move us away"
"We will distract them as much as we can. Move away from this area. And it is good to hear your voice, Aita" Loros said warmly.
"And yours, old friend"
Two of the six engine units on the back of the Adea fire up and the ship begins to limp away as the Helios repositions to provide full cover. A salvo of drones clears up the remaining darts and several destroy one of the cruisers. A small shimmer envelops the area around the Lantean vessel and the two Cruisers.
"EM field activated" one of the crew members reported.
"More Darts incoming!"
The small vessels fired their weapons rapidly, shots dissolving as soon as they hit the shields. More drones pour from the ship towards all remaining vessels and destroys them in an instant. Meanwhile the engines on the Adea finally burn out and it starts to slow considerably.
"We have lost sublight capability" Aita reported.
"Can you deploy your docking mechanism?" Loros asked.
"With ease"
"Good. Aita, tell your crew that they are returning home" Loros informed with a smile.
The Helios lined up with the Adea and latched on to the docking mechanism. The shield appears and begins to envelop the damaged ship as well to protect it whilst they were in hyperspace. A window opens and both ships dived in, bound for the haven that was Atlantis.
"Loros. You must explain. Have our people returned?"
"First I would like to hear of you" he said with a small smile as he spoke over comms.
"We first heard about the evacuation order when we were out on patrol. You know of the Home Guard, we were always the ones that were the furthest away from home. When the evacuation had begun, we were ambushed by two Hives and suffered damage. We returned fire but more arrived, and in an effort to protect the city, we drew them away by jumping away from Atlantis" he began to explain. "We were able to dispatch the Hives when we next dropped out, but our shields had faltered slightly and the hyperdrive was destroyed. After that, we began a journey home, limping on sublight. We had managed to increase the efficiency of our stasis pods and have experienced limited ageing and we programmed them to awaken us when we were close to Atlantis"
"However, you were attacked" Loros said.
"Yes. The last of our drones was used to destroy the Hive Ship that accompanied the three cruisers that you destroyed. Our pulse weapons were not able to deal much damage to them and so we began a retreat. Our subspace transmitter was damaged in the fight, and we had limited range, so instead, we hoped that our people had returned and that they would send help the minute we began to send out that signal" Aita told them, before sighing. "But what about you?" he asked.
"I am the sole Lantean of Atlantis. Our people did not return as they had originally intended. I and someone from Earth in the future put ourselves in stasis, ready to wake when the new inhabitants of the city arrived. They are now our descendants, as it were" he explained.
"So we are the few that remain?" Aita asked, downtrodden.
"I am afraid so, Aita" he replied, equally as saddened.
"These humans, what are they like?" the Adea captain asked and the crew turned to him with small amused smiles.
"Spirited. They never give up, even when in doubt. Some of them even have our gene. They have helped the people of this galaxy more than we ever could. But now it is time for us to right some of our wrongs" he said.
"I agree with you wholeheartedly" the other replied.
"So what will you do when we return?" Loros asked as the crew got back to work.
"We will repair the ship and then we shall retake one of our colonies. The city no longer belongs to us, and you are their guiding hand. We will always be allies with you, however, so should you ever need us, or Merlin forbid, lose the city, you will have a home with us" Aita said warmly.
"Thank you, amicus"
Needless to say, the faces on everyone when they returned with five hundred Lanteans in tow, were absolutely priceless. John walked into the control room, happy to have had the sleep, and as soon as he saw them and the smile on Loros' face, he turned around, entered the transporter and headed for the tower where he resided. He cited that he was still tired and imagining things.
"They won't stay?" Elizabeth asked Loros who was with the rest of AR-1.
"I am afraid not. They believe they can help neighbouring planets to the outpost, known as the Sanctuárium. Once the Adea has been repaired, they intend to leave" Loros said, though the smile was on his face.
"Will you not go with them?" Teyla asked.
"My home is here. As is my family" he said fondly.
"But they are your people" Elizabeth protested.
"And I made a promise, both to Janus and to you before I went into that pod. I swore that I would protect this city and it's inhabitants, and I can not do that from an outpost that is a fair distance from this planet" he said with a small smile.
"You're sacrificing so much" Elizabeth said and his grin became a soft smile.
"Yet protecting so much" he said, grabbing her hand in his across the table.
Time passed quickly. The Adea was fully repaired and back to it's former glory with full shields, full drones, all guns active and a full compliment of Puddle Jumpers. Loros watched from the control room balcony as the Helios' sister ship soared into the sky, bound for the Sanctuárium, with a small smile on his face. There was hope once more for Pegasus and it's few remaining people.
"Hey" he hears Johns voice and he turns with a small smile.
"I had a small feeling that you would come here" Loros said, turning back to look up.
"I'm shocked you didn't go with 'em. Weren't you close?" he asked.
"Aita and I were close friends prior to becoming captains in the Home Guard. The Adea and Helios were the two ships that were sent out if ever a Wraith fleet came close to a colony so we fought together many a time. I did not know he had put himself into stasis. I merely assumed that he had evacuated with the rest of my people" Loros said.
"What I don't get is that they didn't stay, or kick my people out" John said and Loros chuckled.
"You are the tutores of this city now, John. And I am here to guide you"
"What has you speaking Ancient all of a sudden?" John said, suppressing a shudder at the way the words sound in that soft silky voice.
"Because I know of the effect that it has on you" he said, giving a small smile that appeared a little bit sultry. "It is rather... endearing" he adds on, voice almost a rumble and once more the Colonel's body thrums, as he didn't know that someone who looked innocent, sounded innocent and was of a race who was mostly innocent could sound like that.
"I have no idea what you are talking about" John tries to lie.
"Non utique" he said.
"What you said this morning, what does it mean?" John asked, trying to hide the fact that he almost shuddered again, and that sultry smile turns into a sweet one.
"You shall know in time. I promise you, John" he said before sighing. "Well I suppose we had best go. I can tell you about everything that you missed" he said and the two of them headed back in, content that today's craziness had passed.
So here are the translations:
Dilectione mea: My love
Reliqua: Rest
Amicus: Friend
Sanctuárium: Sanctuary
Tutores: Guardians
Non utique: Of course not