Chapter 23: Again with the waiting!
Have I ever mentioned that I hate waiting? Three years on Atlantis hadn't cured me of that, in fact I think I'd gotten worse because now I was expected to wait in circumstances when John was in danger or worse. So I really, really hated waiting to hear back on how John's latest meeting with Larrin was going.
"Okay, she's gone," John's thoughts came back to me, much stronger than before. He was really getting the hang of this tapping into communications thing.
"Did she ...," I began.
"Nah – didn't lay a finger on me ... yet," John reassured me. "They're checking the subspace communications so it's only a matter of time before they work out what I did. Hopefully Atlantis will send a Jumper here before they work out how to turn it off."
"So I'm still just sitting here, doing nothing?" I was frustrated that I'd spent the whole time hiding while John had been directly in the firing line.
"Not nothing!" John retorted. "The Jumper's fixed so that gives us an extra option if Atlantis doesn't get the signal."
"And how will we even know that?" I demanded.
"I don't know," John protested. "I'm making this up as I go along!"
"Well ... Han," I thought somewhat sarcastically. "Could you make up a role for me that involves some actual action?"
"Oops, Larrin's back," John thought back quickly. "And she looks pissed."
This time I felt John's pain before he disconnected from communications. That bitch had hit him ... and being John I didn't think he'd be returning the favour even though he probably could. The whole 'never hit a woman' thing really shouldn't have applied right then.
Moments later John sent me one quick blasted word of thought. "Wraith!"
I didn't need more because I knew what that meant. The Wraith had picked up the subspace SOS as well ... and decided to come check it out. The ship shook with weapons fire seconds later ... they were here and John was still trapped in a cell with an angry Larrin. And I was pacing around the Puddle Jumper feeling useless and impatient.
"Okay, I've got Larrin's agreement to work together," John thought moments later. "I'm headed for the Weapons Control Platform. Stay where you are for now."
"You're trusting her?" I asked in amazement.
"Hell no!" John retorted. "Once I've destroyed the Wraith cruiser I'm gonna take back control of the ship."
"Of course you are," I muttered under my breath. "How many hits did you let her get in? And don't pretend you tried to fight back because we both know you'd never hit a woman, even one as twisted as Larrin."
"Three," John admitted reluctantly.
"So on top of the ones you've already taken I'm guessing you're more than a little sore right now," I said grimly. "I am so gonna kick her arse when I get the chance."
The ship shook again before John could respond.
"Damn it!" John cursed angrily. "That last shot took out the chair."
"Reroute the power," I told him urgently.
"Do I know how to do that?" John grumbled.
"Yes," I thought at him impatiently. "Just tell me what you're gonna do and I'll help make sure you've got it right."
John pulled off the cover on the back of the chair and thought a description of the crystals to me ... together we worked out which ones were needed for rerouting and John got down to the business of moving as quickly as possible.
"Okay, I've got power," John announced.
The shields had been holding for the first few hits but eventually they must have fallen because the next shot rattled things big time and even from inside the Jumper I could feel that we were listing in space. And then the shots stopped abruptly, which I hoped was good news for us.
"Sabina?" John's voice rang out into the Jumper Bay.
"John?" I spoke aloud in puzzlement.
"I've activated the ships intercom," John explained. "The Wraith ship is destroyed but we took heavy damage. The Bridge is toast which means it's now two to one odds in our favour."
"Do you want me to come to you?" I asked hopefully.
"Can you just stay put for a bit longer?" John asked. "I need to see if Larrin is still onside but I'm not hanging around here to find out."
"Fine," I replied impatiently.
I'd been pacing around outside the Jumper but now I threw myself down on one of the seats in the back, closing my eyes and hoping this latest 'adventure' was close to being finished.
The familiar, slimy feeling washed over my mind suddenly.
"John," I said urgently, grabbing one of the P90's and making sure it was fully loaded. "There are Wraith on board."
"Crap!" John retorted. "They must have flown a Dart out before I destroyed their ship."
"No one came through here," I said with a puzzled frown.
"That's because there's a second flight Bay," John said grimly. "I'm in the auxiliary control room - I've got Larrin locked in at the Weapons Control Platform but she's trying to blast her way out. Let me just scan the ship for life signs." There was a pause and then John continued. "Okay I'm reading four life signs in addition to ours, one close to Larrin's position."
John left the channel open so I could hear what was happening.
"Larrin, where are you going?" John quizzed her with casual curiosity.
"To check on Silas and Nevik," Larrin replied grimly.
"They're gone," John said apologetically. "I scanned the ship and picked up four life signs – none of them on the Bridge. There are Wraith on board."
"When I catch up with you ..." Larrin threatened angrily.
"Larrin - Stop!" John ordered. "I'm picking up a life sign directly in front of you."
"Silas!" Larrin said hopefully.
"There's no way he could have gotten from the Bridge down to you," John countered. There was no reply from Larrin and I could hear the angry frustration in John's voice when he spoke to me again. "I'm gonna have to go after her, see she doesn't get herself killed."
"Be careful," I said softly, knowing there was nothing I could do to change his mind. He'd want to save anyone from the Wraith, even the vicious woman who'd kidnapped us!
oOo
Again with the waiting! I was getting royally sick of the whole thing and was just about to tell John so when he contacted me.
"Sabina," his thoughts came through like he was whispering them even inside his own head.
"You okay?" I thought back.
"Apart from being stuck in a storage cupboard with our lead kidnapper, yeah," John replied impatiently. "We're pinned down here so I need you to go to Auxiliary Control and shut down the consoles. I've got all three remaining Wraith fixed near our position so if you're quick you should be able to get there without risking running into one of them."
"On my way," I replied, jumping up and sprinting from the Jumper Bay. Auxiliary control wasn't that far from Engineering so I already knew the way. I'd taken a scanner from the Jumper as well and used it to make sure John was right that no Wraith were anywhere near where I needed to be. In short order I'd shut down the consoles ... it didn't defeat the Wraith already on board but it did ensure they couldn't run off with the ship ... and us.
"Done," I thought back to John. "Now what?"
"Larrin's got a plan," John quickly filled me in on the plan to lure the remaining three Wraith towards an exterior part of the ship so John could fire a drone there.
"That sounds a bit risky," I frowned, thinking about how to improve our odds. "I could take over the chair operation leaving you clear to cover Larrin – make sure all the Wraith are following her."
"I don't want to give away the fact that you're here," John protested.
"You won't have to," I insisted. "As far as she's concerned it'll be you in the chair."
"Okay – do it," John decided. "I'll tell you when."
"I'm in position," I reported to John once I'd made it to the Weapons Control Platform. "Nice hole in the door!"
"Larrin didn't make a very patient prisoner," John thought. "Now sit tight and wait until I tell you to fire."
"Yes Sir," I thought back with a grin.
oOo
"Now Sabina!" John ordered mentally.
I'd been tracking the life signs and knew exactly where to fire my drones. It was satisfying to hit the target dead on and watch those life signs blink out.
Except one of them didn't. I had two life signs on that position instead of the one I'd been hoping for.
"John - there's still one Wraith on board," I reported grimly.
Watching the blips on the screen I saw the two signs converge and then one weaken before a third life sign – John – arrived. All three life signs were centred in the one place, too close for me to even guess what was going on. And then one of the blips moved off down the corridor. I watched as it moved to the second flight Bay ... registering the presence of the Wraith Dart moments before it left the ship.
That just left the two life signs belonging to John and Larrin. John didn't contact me to tell me the coast was clear ... so something was still wrong. I didn't stop to consider whether I should go down there or not – my feet were moving before I'd even consciously thought about it.
I ran from the Chair room and through the ship towards them, only slowing down when I got close enough for them to potentially hear me. John and the woman were standing in the middle of the corridor talking as I crept slowly nearer. What I saw had my blood boiling within seconds ... of course Larrin was pretty - they always were! And she was decked out in leather, complete with a skin tight bustier that left little to the imagination. But what really irked was the fact that she was standing way too close to John ... clearly trying to use her attributes for no good purpose. John saw my approach but gave nothing away in his expression.
When Larrin reached behind John, presumably going for the weapon he had stashed there I decided enough was enough.
"Step away from him," I ordered grimly, quickly traversing the remaining few steps distance and putting the point of my P90 to the back of Larrin's head. She tensed up immediately, turning slowly to see the threat.
"Hi honey - what took you so long?" John quipped with a relieved smile.
"Had to make sure that Wraith really did leave," I replied like I held a P90 to someone's head every day.
"Honey?" Larrin demanded angrily.
"Oh – didn't I tell you my wife was on board?" John was taking too much delight in having pulled one over on Larrin.
"No - you didn't," Larrin retorted grimly.
"You might want to think about doing a more thorough search when you kidnap a strange ship," I told her casually. "That was pretty sloppy for a space pirate."
"I'm not a pirate!" Larrin seemed to take offence to that one.
"And yet you took us against our will and from the looks of John's face inflicted a fair amount of physical force to get what you wanted," my tone was grim and angry now too as I pressed the muzzle into her head ... forcefully.
I wasn't all that surprised when Larrin suddenly slammed a hand up into mine, sending the P90 clattering before trying to ram her elbow into my gut. John moved as if to intercept but I was having none of that.
"No!" I practically snarled at him while avoiding the attempted gut punch. "This is between me and her." Turning to face Larrin in a fight ready stance I added "and let me promise you this won't be as easy with someone who actually will hit back!"
What followed was I hoped a lesson for her in why it wasn't a good idea to get between a husband and his wife. Not that she'd known John had a wife who was actually on board but I didn't think she'd have done anything different if she had known – apart from trying to use me as well.
Larrin was very aggressive, hitting out with fast jabs and kicks. But she was also unfocused and undisciplined which made it easy for me to counter every advance. When I sensed her frustration was at its peak I quickly disabused her of the notion that I was weak in any way, taking probably too much delight in slamming my fist into her face ... more than once. When she was down and not getting up again I knelt down beside her.
"If you ever hit my husband again I won't stop there," I promised in a quiet almost pleasant voice. Standing up I looked down at her as she pulled herself slowly to her feet, visible bruises already appearing across one cheek. I shouldn't have taken delight in that ... it was petty, and yet ... I did. "You might want to reconsider using force as your first choice for contact too," I suggested helpfully.
"I told her that wasn't a good way to open relations between our people," John moved over to my side, now in possession of my discarded P90. Pointing it at Larrin he motioned for her to get moving. "Our people should be here soon so for now we're all just gonna chill out and wait for them."
"You were happy to help me because you thought your ships would get here first," Larrin commented, touching a hand to her mouth and frowning when it came away bloody. I should have known something was about to happen - Larrin was too smug for someone who'd been beaten and lost the game. "You thought wrong," she quipped.
The stun blasts hit us from behind, dropping us to the floor instantly.
oOo
We woke up in the Brig, stretched out on a bunk each.
"Her ships got here first?" I asked, rubbing my face and grimacing at the stunner headache I'd acquired.
"They must have boarded just after the Wraith left," John suggested. "Bastards snuck up behind us!"
"Not exactly polite," I agreed. "I don't suppose you have another plan by any chance?"
Larrin chose that moment to arrive, deactivating the force field and walking into our cell.
"I thought you'd be glad to know the hyperdrive repairs are almost complete," she said with a please smile.
"Well, congratulations. You got what you wanted," John replied with a bland expression.
"Yes, it's true I can fly the ship and navigate, but there are still dozens of systems I don't have access to – and if any of the controls went down, it would be a problem." Larrin explained.
"So finish the adaptor," John said impatiently. "You said you can reverse-engineer the systems I've already initialised."
"Well, yes, we can eventually, but it would go a lot faster if I keep you both on board," Larrin said with a distinct lack of guilt.
"You are a piece of work, you know that?" John said angrily.
"Look, I know you don't agree with my tactics, but I wasn't lying about why I need this ship. I'm doing this for my people," Larrin explained.
"You don't need both of us," John insisted. "Let Sabina take our ship back home."
"Nice try," Larrin smiled in amusement. "While you were unconscious we took the liberty of testing her blood as well. What a surprise to find she had the gene too. The work will go much faster with both of you helping us." She turned and left the cell. John tried to follow but the force field came back on behind her.
"Look, I know you think you're helping your people but you're wrong," John called after her.
"Excuse me?" Larrin raised an eyebrow in disbelief that he'd even comment on her people.
"You've been running and hiding for thousands of years," John said insistently. "You've survived – good for you – but now you're starting to see diminishing returns. One more ship – well, it'll buy you a little more time, but ultimately it's not gonna change anything. Your people are headed for a slow death."
"What other choice do we have?" Larrin demanded impatiently.
"In case you haven't heard – you will soon enough – but the Wraith are under attack," John shared that intel after a moment's pause.
"From who?" Larrin asked.
"It's a long story," John prevaricated, "but the point is, they're taking heavy damage and if they don't get wiped out, they're gonna be vulnerable. Now, your people have hyperdrives and advanced weapons and God knows what else. When the time is right, that kind of technology can tip the balance."
"Are you suggesting an alliance?" Larrin asked in amazement. "After all I've put you through?"
"Well, like you said, you did it for your people," John excused.
"And there are some things bigger than just us," I added simply.
"I may have misjudged you after all," Larrin said with a thoughtful frown. Without another word she turned and left us.
"Do you think that had an impact?" I asked hopefully.
"We'll find out soon enough," John replied. "Sorry this trip ended so badly."
"Not your fault," I sat down on the bunk, pulling John down beside me. "And just think of the story we can tell our grandkids now!"
oOo
A couple of hours later Larrin returned, lowering the force field and motioning us to follow her. The intervening time had been slow ... the only upside the fact that I'd taken the time to assure myself that none of the damage Larrin had inflicted on John was serious. He'd be sore for a couple of days but knowing him, that wouldn't even slow him down.
"I spoke to our governing council and they agree you're more valuable as possible allies," Larrin explained. "You're free to go."
"You don't want to formalise an alliance?" John asked curiously.
"It's not our way," Larrin replied. "We'll contact you if we need to draw on that in the future."
"Fine," John agreed. We arrived at the Jumper Bay and Larrin escorted us to our Jumper. "I won't say it's been a pleasure but ... perhaps we'll be able to help each other out again in the future."
"Perhaps," Larrin agreed.
John didn't waste any time once we were ready to head out, flying quickly from the ship and getting us a good distance away. A hyperspace window opened and the Travellers Ancient ship disappeared inside.
"What now?" I finally felt able to relax for the first time in a couple of days.
"Now we fly to the nearest space gate and back to Atlantis," John said confidently.
"Colonel Sheppard, this is Major Lorne. Is that you?"
"That's affirmative, Major. It's good to hear from you," John looked over at me with a grin.
"Likewise, sir! Seemed like we came pretty close to losing you there," Lorne replied. "I assume Sabina's with you?"
"We're both here Major," John shook his head ruefully, "and you don't know the half of it."
"We'll look forward to hearing the story once we make it back to Atlantis Sir," Lorne's voice held a genuine smile.
"Let's head home then," John ordered, pointing us towards the space gate ... five hours away.
"I'm just gonna stretch out back here," I said tiredly.
"I'll wake you when we get there," John promised.
oOo
"Do you think these Travellers will become true allies?" Teyla asked after John had finished recounting the entire story to his team and Major Lorne once we were cleared back on Atlantis and sitting around a large table in the Mess.
"To be honest no," John admitted. "They needed help with that ship and yet their first instinct was to take it rather than ask for it."
"Larrin was pretty damn ruthless about it too," I added, still feeling a twinge of resentment over her treatment of John. "When she wasn't trying to use her charms to get what she wanted of course."
"Oh don't tell me," Rodney said sickly. "She was hot wasn't she?"
"I didn't notice," John said insistently.
"She was," Rodney concluded. "Why is it that when I get captured it's always the Wraith? Why couldn't I just once get the sexy alien? You didn't even need it – you've already got a wife!"
"And you've got a girlfriend," I reminded Rodney sternly. "Evan should be the one wanting to get kidnapped by a good looking alien."
"That's not what ... I wasn't ...," Rodney stuttered.
"Give it up McKay," John advised, "before you dig yourself a bigger hole."
"You never said anything about your honeymoon," Evan ignored my comment about his single status, changing the subject and earning our grateful looks.
"It wasn't a honeymoon – it was a mission," John's lips twitched as he tried to hide a smile.
"We had a great time," I answered, not bothering to pretend I wasn't aware everyone had been calling it our honeymoon the whole time we'd been gone. "I could have done without the protracted ending of course but I did get in a few hits before Larrin's ships arrived and I called her a space pirate so it wasn't all bad."
"You're just charming your way across the galaxy aren't you?" Evan laughed when I looked faintly insulted by that.
"She started it," I said without remorse.
"And she's still out there," John reminded us.
"Well if there is a next time maybe she'll have learnt from this one," I concluded hopefully.
"I doubt it," John returned, "but we can hope."
Author's Note:
Next Up? Fortunate Journey Season 4 Chapter 24