Chapter 4: The Hyperion
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He had to hand it to Rodney and his team when it came to navigating the many corridors which led to the underground hangar bay for the ship. If it weren't for Rodney escorting him now, he would likely have gotten lost.
"We've managed to get most of the work done" the scientist began explaining.
"So can it be used yet?" Terrence asked.
"You've got to be kidding right?" he asked in shock.
"Rodney, after finding that Wraith facility I am in no position to be kidding. We still have months before the Interceptor is sent to us and I want this up and running before the Wraith find us" the Brit stressed.
"We still have no idea how it functions. This ship is older than anything else in the Ancient fleet by millions of years. We don't even know if it has enough power in it to get it off of the ground and we don't know the power source. Not to mention we need to find the control which activates the hangar doors for it to get out" the Canadian said as they approached the main hangar doors.
"Well in that case, let me help with the research" Terrence said.
"Do you even know how to access it?" Rodney asked.
"If it's been refitted with consoles which are the same as the ones in the city then I should have no problem in accessing a manual on the ship" he said and the scientist gave a sigh before waving his hand over the panel.
"Fine, but watch out for the small repair robot wandering around. It's busy reinforcing the hull with new material" Rodney huffed.
"Thank you" the Brit said.
"The database is located in what's known as the Control Interface Room. A sort of back-up if both of the main bridges in the pyramid-like structure are destroyed or disabled" he explained and the other nodded, following him along the access bridge to the ship.
"Any idea as to what it's name is?" he asked, looking at the new corridors which resembled those on an Aurora-class ship.
"No. But can you take a look? That way we know if it needs to be re-named" Rodney said.
"Why? So you can re-name it before Sheppard?" Terrence asked with a grin.
"I never said that. Might have crossed my mind..." the scientist said before walking off.
"Don't worry, you'll be the first to know!" he called to him.
"Thank you!" was the reply.
The Brit began walking to the room, finding it with relative ease. He saw the old consoles that were been pulled from the ship and the difference could be seen instantly. He the began tapping on the laptop which had been interfaced with the consoles, though from time to time he was pressing panels to access some other things.
"Anything of interest yet?" he heard Rodney ask over his earpiece.
"Got the name. It was renamed from the Fate to the Hyperion" he said with a smile.
"We're keeping the name" the Canadian said.
"I agree" Terrence said. He found the necessary file and he sat down on chair that had been placed at the console. He read the file with interest, although he scanned through most of it, trying to find the ships power source, although he did find out the ship didn't use to require the gene. His eyes shot up as he found it and a triumphant grin formed on his voice. "Rodney, we have a result" he said over the radio.
"Go on" the scientist huffed.
"The ship is run on solar energy. It dives into the corona of a star and with specially built collectors on each wing, it scoops up the required amount of material needed to completely power the ship. I also found out that the shields are able to resist the extreme heat, so the crew, should it ever be on the ship wouldn't feel a single thing" he read off of the file.
"Is the star in our system strong enough?" the Canadian asked.
"Plenty strong enough. You need to access the power levels for the ship" Rodney said.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because it would be advisable to refuel. It's theorised that the matter with which the repair robots are able to make physical repairs is gathered in the process" Terrence said.
"Okay, I'm on it. I'll check back with you in an hour" the Canadian said.
Terrence spent the hour looking through more of the ships own database, finding out about all of it's intricate systems as well as the systems that were in place prior to refitting it. He reasoned that it would be a good idea that he looked at all of the details if he were to command it when necessary.
"Rodney, how's it going?"
"Power has been relatively untouched. It was recharged last year and the power is perfectly preserved. It doesn't say how" the Canadian explained.
"Well that's good" the Brit said.
"That's more than good" Rodney huffed.
"I'm guessing then, we're almost done here?" he asked.
"A few more diagnostics and test simulations of the new systems and then we can shut down and call it finished" Rodney said. "I want to be present for a test flight just to see how the new systems are adapting to the older model and see if we need to make any more repairs..." he then began to ramble as usual.
"Rodney!" he exclaimed with amusement. "I'll let you know when the Hyperion will be used on it's first try" Terrence reassured with a grin.
"Thank you. Not that it's that important" he huffed.
"Of course not Rodney. Be sure to send the results of the diagnostics to me" he said.
"Yes, yes fine" he huffed, back to his impatient self.
With a roll of the eyes, he grabbed a nearby tablet and loaded up a schematic of the underground bay before tapping in more commands for his destination, in this case a transporter. He decided that should he need to take a long walk, he would come down here.
"Terrence, come in" he heard Sheppard say and he tapped his earpiece.
"Go ahead" he responded as he reached the transporter.
"The team returned from the Genii homeworld. There's a small problem" the Colonel said and he jogged the rest of the way.
"What do you mean by problem?" he asked in concern.
"The Wraith are attacking the planet. They can't Gate out of there due to ground forces blocking their way so they've sealed themselves in their bunker" John explained when he arrived in the Gateroom. It was clear that a few were injured.
"Get them to the Infirmary. How large is the force?" he asked.
"Two cruisers with a complement of one hundred darts. Ground forces number at a total of fifty in the old village and ten near the Gate"
"Looks like the Hyperion will be launched early" he said and tapped his radio.
"Yes, what? What is it?" Rodney asked impatiently.
"Rodney, I want a small crew assembled, the Genii have come under attack" he reported.
"You mean to tell me that you want to help the very people that tried to string us up, steal the city, try to bury us underground, took us hostage and tried to get us thrown in prison?" Rodney asked, obviously angry.
"We need to build relations with them. Doing this may help" the Brit protested.
"What are you intending to do?" he asked after a sigh.
"Fight the Wraith and evacuate them" Terrence stated confidently.
"All of them in one go?!" he exclaimed.
"Obviously not. Ancient hyperdrives are quite fast. We'll just make several trips to and from the world and I'll even fill up the shuttles and Jumpers to ensure the most people are on board. Whilst we're on there, I want you to search for any planets with known bunkers like the one of the Genii homeworld" he said and cut the communication to say he wasn't arguing. "Carson come in" he said.
"What can I do for you, lad?" the Scot asked.
"I need a large medical team on board the Hyperion to treat wounded Genii. There's been an attack" he explained.
"We'll be ready lad" he affirmed before it cut.
"Sheppard, I want you to lead the Jumper squadron to clear out the ground forces" Terrence said and the grin that made him melt told him he'd do it. "Okay, we don't know how long we have until the Wraith break through, let's get going" the Brit said and both him and the Colonel jogged back the way Terrence came, resolve in their eyes.
(Hyperspace)
"All of the diagnostics and test simulations came back positive. The systems have successfully integrated as though it were an Aurora-class warship" Rodney reported from his control panel behind the commanders chair.
"Good" he replied, before tapping a panel. "Carson, is the Infirmary set up?" Terrence asked.
"We're all set and ready to go down here, Terrence" the Scot replied.
"Jumper squadron?" the Brit asked.
"Cloaks are active and ready to go" Sheppard reported quickly.
"Systems status?" he asked Rodney behind him.
"Drone interface is ready to go as well as the pulse guns. Main weapon beneath is charged and all set to go and the shields are at maximum. Jumper bay will be opened as soon as we drop out and quarters are prepared for our untrustworthy friends" he replied, the last bit spoken with sarcasm.
"What about the planet search? Is there one near us?" the Brit asked.
"Yeah, approximately twenty light years from Agnos" the Canadian reported.
"Well done, Rodney" the Brit said with a small smile. The three crew members operating the three consoles directly in front of him worked to prepare the systems. "How long until with drop out?" he asked.
"Thirty seconds" Rodney said.
"Jumper squadron, on my mark you leave the bay. Good luck" he said and he received thanks and acknowledgements from them.
The ship drops out of hyperspace in front of the three cruisers and to him it looked as though they were almost pissed at their arrival. They started to shift towards the Hyperion which remained motionless for a minute.
"Go!" he ordered.
On the sensor screen, five white dots sped down towards the planet surface and the darts which were in the atmosphere began to speed up towards them.
"Wraith darts are regrouping" Rodney reported.
"Ready pulse weapons. We don't demonstrate our power on cruisers" he ordered.
On the hull, four triple-barrelled weapons raised up from a stand-by position and small domes that contained smaller double-barrelled guns opened up. One of the cruisers fired a shot at the ship, a test shot of sorts, which impacted against a yellow energy shield.
"Focus most of your fire on the darts" Rodney recommended and Terrence seconded it.
A volley of yellow energy shots headed towards the approaching fighter group, some dodging but others erupting into fireballs where they failed. The cruisers then opened up a full volley, weapons fire easily been absorbed by the Ancient shields.
"Weapons are having almost no effect on the shields" one of the technicians responded.
"Dart group is under control, sir" another reported.
"Jumper squadron has cleared the area around the Stargate" a third reported.
"Gateroom, come in" he said into the communications.
"This is Gateroom" a technician responded.
"Once the Gate is dialled, start funnelling the wounded to the Infirmary and get those not wounded settled into living quarters. Make sure every spot is filled. Once the quarters are filled, start moving them into the remaining Jumpers and the three shuttles, we need as many as we can get on board" he relayed his previous orders.
"Understood" was the simple reply.
"Sir, a hyperspace window just opened. Two more cruisers on approach" the technician managing the sensors said.
"Ready the main weapon" Terrence ordered simply.
Underneath the hull, a large energy cannon lowered. The two cruisers that were approaching began to launch the few darts that it did carry which sped down towards the planet, obviously sensing the Puddle Jumpers. The original fighter group began to speed towards the ship, weapons firing in earnest.
"Jumper squadron, fighters in bound" a technician reported to Sheppard.
"Understood. Mopping up the village before intercepting fighter units" one of the other pilots said.
The entire right side of the ship was lit up yellow from the shield, which continued to absorb most of the weapons fire effortlessly. The cannon began to glow yellow as it was powered up with some powerful shots.
"First target acquired, sir" a weapons technician said.
"Fire at your discretion" he advised.
Four shots launched from the cannon and approached the closest Wraith cruiser, each one impacting important areas of the ship, namely two in the middle and the others close to the engine unit. The weapons stopped firing as the initial fireballs dissipated before secondary explosions caused it to erupt in a massive ball of flame.
"One cruiser down, another three to go" Terrence said with a grin. A panel to his left exploded in a shower of sparks. "What the hell?!" he asked Rodney.
"The shield emitter protecting the pyramid and by extension the bridge is under a lot stress" Rodney explained.
"Reposition the ship to take stress from the emitter. Full rotate" he ordered.
The ship began to move then, circling so that it faced opposite to what it was initially and the shield dissipated on the right side. The cannon rotated to acquire it's next target.
"Second cruiser in sight" Rodney reported.
"Fire" he ordered the weapons technician.
Again, like before the quadruple-barrelled gun fired off four powerful shot and sought out the ships most sensitive points, causing it to erupt like it's comrade.
"Jumper squadron, what's your status?" Terrence asked.
"Send in ground troops to secure the Stargate, the Genii are on their way" Sheppard reported and he relayed the order to the soldiers on standby. Ten soldiers took the place of the Wraith that were taken down, setting up a defensive perimeter.
"Stackhouse, dial in when the Genii arrive" he ordered before receiving a short acknowledgement.
The last of the darts were destroyed and the pulse guns focused on one of the cruisers, firing shot after shot, causing major damage to the forward section of the ship. The minimal stress on the shield had been reduced considerably by the destruction of the two cruisers and the other ones began to turn.
"They're falling back" Terrence noted when the weapons stopped firing and the two surviving cruisers disappeared.
"Yeah, most likely to call for reinforcements" Rodney huffed.
"Then we had best hurry" Terrence said.
"This is Sheppard. All darts are destroyed and all Wraith are gone" he reported.
"Start loading Genii onto your Jumpers and get them back here. We need to get as many on board as we can. We have to load up every single sitting spot and room" he said cutting communications.
"Well that was interesting" Rodney said.
"How is that for a maiden voyage?" Terrence asked with a grin.
"Pretty damn good" Rodney replied with a relieved sigh. Terrence had a thought and he hit the panel which corresponded with communication to the Gateroom.
"Once all spots have been filled on the Jumpers and shuttles, send them to the large dome" he said.
(An hour later)
"Sensor status?" Terrence asked.
"Deep space sensors aren't picking up any contacts for now. We're in the clear" Rodney reported. "We're at maximum passengers. Any more and life support will struggle" he explained irritably due to the fact that their untrustworthy allies were on board.
"Stop sending them through" he ordered simply.
"We'll be at the planet in half an hour" Rodney said.
"Great. The Genii know that we'll be coming back for them right?" Terrence asked.
"Ladon has assured the remaining Genii that we will be returning to pick them up. He's staying to prove that we'll return, oh and he sends his thanks but no champagne" Rodney said with a rueful grin.
"Right then, take us there" the Brit said.
"On it" was the simple reply.
(Several hours later)
It took them a while, but after the first group were sent there they gave the address to the Genii and they finished the rest of the evacuation. They had managed to salvage what few supplies they could from the now partially collapsed underground facility.
"Well, Ladon is grateful for our help. Immensely so" Sheppard reported in his office.
"That's a step to improving relations" Cameron said.
"Quite. Anything happen whilst I was gone?" the Brit asked and Cameron shook his head.
"Nothing. There's been no activity from the Wraith, no dial-in from Earth. About the only thing we did pick up was the Wraith firing on the Genii planet" Mitchell reported.
"There scorching the planet bare for the rebellion. They did the same to Athos" Terrence said and he sighed.
"Hey, relax. We did good today" Cameron said.
"Yeah, you really need to stop frowning. A smile suits you even more" Sheppard said and the other gave a small smile. "There it is!" he replied with a grin.
"Quit giving me small compliments. It makes my teeth itch" he said, pink dusting his cheeks.
"You're a weird person, Terrence" Cameron said, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Would I be me if I weren't?" the other asked rhetorically.
"Nah, you wouldn't" Sheppard said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder casually and the Brit struggled to control the blush threatening to make it's mark on his cheeks. The fight continued when Cameron's arm joined John's.
"Where would I be without you two?" he asked sincerely.
"Bored, undoubtedly and mind numbingly bored" Sheppard answered.
With a smile, he escaped their one armed embrace and returned to his office from the Control Room and he leant against the desk which held his personal laptop. The others joined him and he looked at the both of them.
"You two stick to me like glue" he said with a laugh.
"Well we like you" Sheppard replied easily.
"I like you both as well" he stated with a warm smile. He frowned when he noticed a cut on John's forehead. "What happened?" he asked, looking at the wound.
"It was only a bump" he shrugged it off.
"Actually it looks like a little bit more" Cameron said.
"One of the nurses have already seen to it" Sheppard protested again. He then pinched his nose and sighed, sounding a little bit pained.
"Headache? And furrowing your brow may open those poorly done stitches" Terrence said, his medical training coming back to mind. As if to prove his point, the cut reopened and blood began to run.
"He told you" Cameron said.
"I keep a small medical kit beneath my desk" he said, sounding amused.
Cameron went beneath the desk and pulled out the small green bag which Terrence unzipped, pulling out antiseptic, thread and a needle. He took a small cotton bud and dabbed in antiseptic before applying it to the cut, causing the Colonel to hiss.
"Sorry" he said softly.
"It's alright" the other replied. He gently tilted his head to get the wound in better light, soft fingers brushing against stubble and the other seemed to relax at the touch.
"What happened?" Cameron asked, watching the gentle touches.
"Took a shot from a dart, jolted the ship and I wasn't ready. Whacked my head against the side of the ship" he explained, trying not to sigh from the touches.
"I'll pull the old thread out and be as gentle as I can" he said, pulling on the old thread, causing him to wince.
"Ouch, easy doc" he said, using his old nickname which he reserved for Carson as well.
"It'll hurt either way" he said with a soft chuckle.
"You always this gentle?" Cameron asked.
"You know, not all doctors are out to hurt you even more. Carson can be just as gentle providing the wound was caused by something genuine and not self-inflicted" Terrence explained with a grin, remembering several cases when his bedside manners suck.
"And you?" the former SG-1 commander asked.
"I am much the same, however if it's a training related wound, I remain gentle as it's to be expected" he explained and both chuckled.
"I'll be coming to you" Cameron said.
"What do you think I used to do?" Sheppard asked with a grin.
He finished patching him up, placing the old thread and needle into a biowaste bag for disposal later and putting the kit away. Sheppard looked at him with a smile and an unknown emotion in his eyes, which had the Brit confused, not that he showed it. He merely smiled back, before ordering them back to work.
If you haven't guessed the type of vessel yet, it is a vessel which is like Destiny in shape but modernized on the inside. Anyhoo, rate and review :)