Stargate Atlantis: Shepherd's Hook5

"Gone? What do you mean gone?"

Richard's question hung in the air, in the total silence as all eyes were locked onto Rodney. The physicist was visibly shaken and pale. He pointed a finger at a screen. "Just what I said," he answered. "The Daedalus is gone. It's been destroyed. Completely and utterly destroyed." He swallowed and looked at another screen. "A massive energy wave blew it to pieces. There's…there's nothing left."

"All those people…" Teyla murmured softly, hugging her baby to her. At last the infant had quieted and was making little chuffing sounds.

The same horrified thought dropped on everyone. Everyone knew at least one person assigned to the Daedalus. Hundreds of people had been atomized without a single sound, without any warning except for Rodney's static-filled radio message.

It was like a sucker punch to the gut and John almost reeled from the impact. He couldn't think for a minute, his mind a blank slate as he tried to comprehend Rodney's words. He pictured the Daedalus and all those people on board, being led by Caldwell to rescue Atlantis, to help them.

Now there was no help coming from anywhere.

Richard's hand lifted to catch at his tie, but he wasn't wearing one and his fingers grasped empty air. The enormity of the loss fell heavily upon him, taking his breath away. The Ancient warship had been their last hope, and now it was gone, along with everyone on it.

He could only think of all those condolence letters he would be forced to write.

Rodney had been rendered speechless, a rare thing for the physicist. He eyed the scans and wondered if he could have prevented it somehow, if he could have given them an earlier warning. He wondered if another wave of Drones would have made a difference. He wondered if he could have done a better job with the jamming mechanism he had created.

He wondered if he could, in fact, make the Penning trap into a weapon after all.

Teyla hugged her baby to her as Kanaan slid an arm around her waist, pulling his family to him. She glanced at him, grateful. She felt overwhelmed at the immense loss of life, the sudden murder of so many people, many of them friends.

Even the Wraith did not kill so indiscriminately.

Ronon wasn't surprised, not really. He had seen two of the enemy ships up close and knew that the Daedalus wouldn't stand much of a chance against it. Not alone, not without help. He slid his arm around his wife Amelia Banks-Dex as a sob escaped her lips. She had served on the ship and knew nearly everyone on board. If not for her marriage she might have been on the vessel.

He couldn't have borne the loss of another woman he loved to a hated alien enemy.

Ann Teldy lost her breath and forced herself to breathe again. Like many marines she had friends on the Daedalus and its loss was incomprehensible. The Ancient warship had seemed indestructible, able to take on a Wraith Hive ship of all things, but the new alien vessel had proved to be too much.

She looked at John, trying to quell her flare of jealousy as the biologist was at his side.

Moira was trying not to look at the people as she was seeing Homo erectus among them, and even though she knew they weren't really there she wanted more than anything to get out of that room. But John's hold was strong and firm. He wasn't hurting her but he wasn't letting her go either. She couldn't believe the Daedalus was gone. It seemed unreal.

She could feel John's utter shock and loss and looked at him with concern.

"What's that?"

The shout drew people's attention to the balcony. As one the group moved to it, crowding round to gaze upwards at the blue sky. There was a bright light in the distance, like a new sun. People raised their hands to their eyes to gaze up at it even though the city's Shield was still in place and gave the new illumination a pinkish glow.

It was an eerie sight in the sky, as if there were two suns now blazing in the blue sky. One was high in the horizon. The other was low.

"Rodney?" John asked slowly, gazing up like the rest. His grip gentled on Moira's hand as she too was staring up at the new object on the horizon.

Rodney stepped next to his friend. "That's it. That's from the explosion of the…oh no." He hastened back into the control room as abrupt realization chilled him.

Richard followed. "What is it? The Shield will protect us from that, right?"

"Yes, but it's not that! We shouldn't be seeing this! Now, I mean, we shouldn't be seeing this for weeks!" His fingers flew over a keyboard.

"They attempted a hyperspace jump before they were hit," Radek explained, as data scrolled across his monitor. "It could only partially open and the resultant vacuum—"

"Pushed them closer to us and pulled Fugly One along with them!" Rodney finished.

"What?" Richard glanced outside as the crowd was still staring at the new bright disc in the sky.
"What exactly does that mean? How close are they?"

"Are you trying to tell me that the fuglies are on our doorstep now?" John asked, joining them. He was pulling Moira along with him, ignoring her attempts at freeing her hand.

Rodney shook his head, shook it again but the computer's trajectory did not alter. He raised his gaze to the irate military commander. "Not yet, but they will be."

"How soon? How soon?" John demanded, almost shouting. His raised voice drew everyone's attention and they filed back into the city, into the control room, crowding round.

"Two days…maybe three." Rodney wiped his brow.

"And Fugly Two will be here right after that," Radek added dourly. "We are right in the middle of a pincer move."

"With nowhere to go," Ronon added gravely.

"And with only half a complement of Drones, if that," Rodney added quietly.

"And with our power levels decreased substantially," Radek interjected.

There was a silence. Even the bubbling of the waters was quiescent, as if the city was holding its breath as well. The circumstances were dire and everyone knew it. The city was under siege, or soon would be, with weakened protection and even weaker weapons compared to what it was facing, or would be facing.

There was no help coming from anywhere. The Coalition and the Genii would be of no use. The alliance with the Wraith had seemingly dissolved, and there was no time to contact them in the event that they would render assistance.

The Daedalus was gone.

Atlantis was alone, truly alone now.

"John, what should we do?" Rodney asked, despairing. He saw no way out of this scenario.

"Colonel, what should we do?" Richard echoed. He was completely out of his element here and he knew it.

"John, what are you going to do?" Ann asked, moving towards him but she stopped, uncertain.

All eyes were on John as he stood, staring at the monitor, staring at nothing really as the burden of responsibility, the burden of the city's future not to mention the lives of everyone here fell heavily upon him. He was silent, drawn into himself, seeking answers but finding none. He had in effect led the city and its population for five years, six now, and had faced every conceivable kind of disaster, every conceivable kind of enemy. Victory had always, always been theirs and had never truly been in doubt.

Until now.

Moira's fingers moved slowly along his and she gently squeezed his hand. "John?" she said softly, so softly. "What are we going to do?"

John met her gaze. The brown depths were full of concern, all for him, only for him. The purple circle round one iris was a vivid reminder of what she had endured for him, was still enduring. He let her love wash over him, her trust and confidence and he glanced round at the people staring, staring at him.

Friends. Colleagues. Fellow travelers from Earth all waiting for his decision, his leadership.

All waiting for an answer.

At last he gave one.

"We are going to evacuate nearly everyone to Earth, leaving behind a skeleton crew that I will select."

"What? What are you going to do with a skeleton crew? You can't possibly fight off the fuglies!" Rodney exclaimed.

"I know." John glanced at his friend but his gaze moved to Moira. "We are going to sink the city."

THE END