Ace In The Hole
Chapter 15
The USS Odyssey was physically no different to any other of the Earth built battle cruisers, and although the Asgard had installed and upgraded many of her systems they had also made sure that the technology could be replicated and installed easy enough across the fleet. Sheppard had always thought it strange that many in the nations involved in the fledgling Earth fleet including the Russians, Chinese and British alike had accepted the Odyssey as their official flagship and had let her often take the lead, so he had to smile to himself inwardly each time the ship made it home safely.
"Exiting hyperspace in ten seconds sir" Marks states calmly
"Soon as we land I want you to make sure the ship and crew get plenty R&R…. I have a feeling we may be heading back there soon"
The ship drops effortlessly into normal space high above Eden and immediately receives an urgent hail from the city.
"Colonel Sheppard…. We have a problem…. I think you need to get down here ASAP…." Woolsey sighs
"What the hells going on?"
"The Yun Zhou and Ark Royal were attacked"
"Marks…. Beam me and Dr McKaye to the control room immediately" Sheppard sighs
"Sir…. The control room looks a little crowded….. closest I can put you down is Mr Woolsey's office" Marks offers to the confused looking Sheppard and McKaye.
"What the hells going on down there?" McKaye asks looking as equally unsure.
"Only one way to find out" With a nod from Sheppard they both disappear in a shower of light.
The Atlantis control room is a scene of organised chaos. People are littered around many bleeding and some lying barely conscious the gate is clearly open and more injured are pouring through with dozens of medical staff flitting back and forth prioritising the wounded. At first glance Sheppard thinks that they a refuges but he feels a chill go down his spine as he realises they are crew from the two attacked Earth vessels.
"What the hell's happened?" Sheppard asks a solemn looking Woolsey.
"The Ark Royal has reported 7 dead 29 injured 4 of which are critical the Yun Zhou as 1 dead 7 injured thankfully none critical seems the Ark Royal put herself in front of the Yun Zhou and took the brunt of the Attack" Woolsey offers grimly.
"What attack?... what the hells happened?... have the ships been destroyed?" Sheppard's head is spinning the last few weeks everything had been going their way and suddenly their luck was returning back to normal….bad.
"Dr McKaye…. Dr Cairns is going over the data from both ships in the conference room I'm sure he could use your assistance" Woolsey nods as Rodney hurries off "Both ships were returning from their scheduled Sentinel placement missions…. It seems that the Ark Royal was having a problem with their sensors so they met up at M884-239 so Dr Chen-lu could transport across to them and make the adjustments enroot rather than waste time back here"
"They were attacked at 239?"
"No" Woolsey offers bluntly
"What do you mean No?"
"Both ships set course for Atlantis… and as they were passing P56-990 on their way back here….Both!... ships suffered a failure of their hyperdrives at exactly the same time" Woolsey is clearly unnerved "Four hives and their escorts were there culling the planet and our ships immediately went on the offensive…. Reports are sketchy but both our ships barely made it out…. they had so many wounded that they thought it best to gate them back from closest planet with a gate…. The ships will limp home best they can"
"We need to do better…. Two of our 304's should have taken them down without breaking a sweat" Sheppard sighs but notices the look in Woolsey's eyes, there is something he's missed.
"We didn't take them down Colonel" Woolsey offers to a slightly shocked Sheppard "Our ships managed to severely damage two of the hives but after less than two minutes of battle…. both our ships were running for their lives…. that's all I know so far" Sheppard feels as though someone has sucked all the air from the room he looks around at the Dozens of injured personnel as medical staff frantically flit from patient to patient and a feeling of hopelessness settles in his stomach for the first time in a long time.
"Sir"
"Sir!" Sheppard instantly snaps out of his daze and stares into Lorne's questioning eyes
"Lorne?"
"McKaye wants to see you and Mr Woolsey in the conference room…. I think they have an idea what happened" Lorne can see Sheppard is shaken, hell most of the city as been shaken by the news that has filtered through so far, they hurriedly make their way up to the main conference room and Sheppard has to let a small smile reach his face at what he sees.
Rodney and Dr Cairns are both sat side by side tapping furiously at their laptops with Alex leaning over their shoulders trying to sneak a peek at what they are doing.
"Guys…. I need answers" Sheppard sighs as he Lorne and Woolsey take their seats
"They knocked our ships out of hyperspace and then collapsed their shields before pummelling them…. Simple enough or do you want diagrams" Rodney offers sarcastically
"What?"
"Both vessels passed through an area of extreme subspace interference that caused their hyperdrives to cut out" Dr Cairn adds trying to ignore Rodney's bluntness
"This interference…. Was being put out by the hives…. If the sensor readings are accurate it destabilised hyperspace for almost half a light year in every direction" Rodney explains reigning in his panic best he could
"So they managed to knock our ships out of hyperspace…. How in the hell did they manage to do so much damage?"
"The Cruisers hit them with some sort of weapon that caused their shields to fail" Dr Cairns answers solemnly turning to Rodney to continue.
"Unlike Atlantis that channels energy directly from the ZPM's to the shields….our ships rely on a capacitor system that constantly draws power but it means they need time to build up a charg…"
"I think we all know how the 304's shield's function Rodney" Sheppard barks at his friend, who in turn grimaces a little "What went wrong?"
"The weapons the cruisers hit us with caused the capacitor to loose its charge instantly…. And both ships have thus far been unable to fix the problem" Rodney offers
"Power is there but the capacitor will no longer hold a charge…. It's completely dead" Dr Cairns adds
"As of right now….unless we figure out how and what exactly they did…. the only shield capable of sustaining an attack is Atlantis's" Rodney finishes with a sigh.
When the two stricken Earth vessels finally land the damage is obvious and clear to see both ships have gouges and scorch marks along the whole length of the ships but the Ark Royal has a hole blown though its Starboard landing bay entering the side of the bay near the front and exiting the top near the back of the bay, the ship has taken severe damage all along the starboard side and almost all its side plating is gone exposing whole sections to space.
"Jesus Christ….. It's a wonder the whole ship didn't go up" Sheppard grimaces
"Colonel Richard's beamed most the crew over to the Yun Zhou then used her ship as a shield protecting them from the heaviest weapons fire…. If she hadn't I think both ships and crews would have been lost….. Colonel Liow has already informed me as of now all his crew are calling her Bái Hǔ Richard's" Woolsey offers a smile to the confused looking Colonel "Bái Hǔ is the White Tiger…. Guardian of the west…. apparently" Sheppard nods with a slight smile "Seems they feel indebted to her for saving their lives"
"You know I was so hoping that this time it was gonna be easier…. Power…. Weapons…. Ships…. Should have realised…." Woolsey looks to Sheppard waiting for him to finish the sentence with a questioning frown "This is Pegasus….If the last few years have taught me one thing…. You only get so much good luck before something else turns around to bite us in the ass!"
"OK anyone?" Rodney rubs his hand over the back of his neck "There has to be something we are missing?"
"Dr McKaye…. Could this?"
"No!"
"Sir could it be?"
"No!... Do you even have a degree?" He barks at the young scientist who sheepishly backs away
"Dr McKaye…. When you have finished berating the rest of the science team….I think…. I have something" Dr Cairns offers barely looking up from his laptop to notice the annoyance in the rest of the assembled group "Here…. Notice the power reading here…here…. And there"
"That can't be right…. That waveform is close to what the Attero device put out on M6H-987…. But the Wraith never got chance to study it…. How could they replicate it?" Rodney offers
"They couldn't but they weren't the ones using the device were they?" Cairns replies and watches Rodney's eyes go wide with realisation.
"The Asgard are helping the Wraith…. It's the only answer…. They would know how to replicate the Attero devices capabilities and how to get past our shields…. The little butt naked bastards…. O'Neill will flip"
"Why the hell would the Asgard help the Wraith?" Sheppard asks stunned.
"Maybe they are being forced?" Teyla adds softly trying to calm Sheppard down slightly
"The Pegasus Asgard see the continued survival of their race as their sole mission…. They could have struck a deal…. Technological help for safety and survival" Woolsey interjects
"The Wraith are hardly known for their diplomacy…. Or for being trust worthy…. The Asgard have to be getting something more"
"Me" Alex offers from the back of the room
"You?" Woolsey looks at him confused before it dawns on him suddenly "Atlantis…. The Wraith want Earth not Atlantis"
"That has to be it…. The information and knowledge in the cities database plus the ability to leave Pegasus the city affords them…. could have pushed the Pegasus Asgard into an alliance with the Wraith" McKaye offers grimly "The Wraith get Earth the Asgard get Atlantis and both go merrily on their way"
"When they find out where we are…. they will blockade the system and no ship will make it in or out without running the gauntlet" Alex sighs at the obvious parallels from ten thousand years ago.
"We're so screwed" Rodney whimpers.
An hour later Lorne and his team are sitting in the Mess hall although busy almost everyone is eating in silence.
"Guessing the dial-in to the SGC was longer than usual" Reed grins as his team look at him in surprise.
"You think what's happened is funny?" Lorne asks frowning slightly
"No Sir…. I just meant that so much as gone down in such a short time…. And well…. Yeh…. I do kinda think the way everyone's acting is funny" Reed explains "You and everyone else…. has been here long enough to know that if anyone can get this fuck up sorted…. Its McKaye and Colonel Sheppard" Coughlin and Alex grin at Jake's statement as Lorne just sighs.
"You don't agree with Jake sir?" Coughlin smiles "Looks like Lexy here agrees" Lorne has to smile as he watches Alex frown at his team-mates
"They just want the city…. Maybe they could be swung round to our side if we gave them access to the database" says Reed
"They are not getting this city!" Alex states bluntly receiving a sharp glare from his commander.
"That's kinda up to the guys up top Lexy" Tim chuckles
"No…. if they have betrayed humanity to the wraith they will not be welcome within these walls I assure you!" Jake notices the look his CO is giving the young lieutenant.
"OK Sir…. What is it?... Since he joined the team something weird has been going on between you two…. Are you two screwing?" Lorne almost chokes at Reed's suggestion "I thought you had a thing for the Colonel sir?... Or are we still calling him Sol?"
"I'm so gonna kill Doc McKaye when I see her" Lorne blushes "No I am not screwing the lieutenant and…. My thing for the Colonel is private" Lorne grins "And Sol is so last week so drop it… that's an order" All four men chuckle releasing built up tension, faces around the room look up solemnly before quietly turning back and continuing to eat their meals quietly.
"So what is it?... Jake is right…. You pair are hiding something from us…. We are supposed to be able to trust each other implicitly Sir" Lorne looks to Alex and offers a shrug.
"Lieutenant …. Give us 10 minutes alone…. Please?" Alex sighs and goes outside to stand on the balcony.
"What do you guys think of him?... honestly?" Lorne asks hesitantly knowing full well the cities sensors are probably listening in and therefore so is Alex.
"Honestly Sir?" Jake Reed grins and Lorne winces inwardly but nods "At first we thought…. Shit…. The SGC has saddled us with the air force poster boy…. You know fit, brave, smart, but a bit dumb"
"And now you know him?"
"The kid's cool…. Good in a fight…. he's taken Ronon down more than once but is never cocky about it" says Reed
"He's smart to…. I've watched him work things out faster than he lets on…. and McKaye is always after his help" Coughlin adds
"He knows when to listen and when to speak up…. Sometimes I find it hard to believe he's only 25…. He comes across as so much older" Jake frowns thinking "Is he a clone…. Is he duplicate O'Neill?" They had all heard the rumours, Lorne had to grin as he could clearly see Alex's shoulders shaking with laughter out on the balcony.
"No…. he's not O'Neill…. Secrecy is paramount though guys Ok?" Both Jake and Tim nod in agreement "Easiest way to convince you…. Alex turn out the lights for 5 seconds please" the lights in the mess hall switch off much to the annoyance of the others eating, after five seconds the lights come back on and Lorne grins at the frowns off his team mates
"He's listening on the radio?" Tim asks confused
"Nope"
"But he's outside on the balcony…. I can see him" Tim adds confusion mounting.
"Part of him is outside that is true" Lorne offers
"Part of him…. What the hells that supposed to mean Sir?" Reed asks also looking confused "Where is the other part of him then?"
"You're kinda sitting in him" Lorne grins as Alex sits down next to him facing his two confused team mates with a smile.
"Guy's…. there's never an easy way…. Blunt is often best I have found…. Sir" Alex frowns at Lorne he knows he's toying with them.
"OK….blunt…. guys say hi to Atlantis"
"What?"