Timeline: BtVS: Post-Chosen & Stargate Atlantis: S01/S02 - The Siege.
Disclaimer: Anything copyrighted belongs to its legal owners.
Author's Note: Written for Day 29 of the 2023 August Fic-A-Day.
A/N: That's the end of this story.
The shockwave had knocked out everyone in Central Control, aside from Buffy. She had never had to use it before, but as Atlantus, the City's A.I., had explained, it was harmless and merely made anyone but the person activating it unconscious for up to three minutes. It had been invented as a safe way to stop unwanted people from getting very far.
The Atlantis personnel began stirring as she threw the last of Everett's people through the active Astria Porta and back to Earth. Terra's civilian Expedition Leader, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, sat up from where she had landed on the floor, and at the same time, the gate snapped off causing her eyes to instinctively move over to the large structure.
"What?" She mumbled confused before she located Buffy down on the gateroom floor where she was standing in the middle of several small stacks of weapons. Colonel Everett was suspiciously missing, as were several other Marines.
The brunette got to her feet, "Miss Summers, would you care to explain what just happened? Where's Colonel Everett?"
"The new action figure tried to have me detained after he failed to threaten me into compliance. I went through with my warning to send him back to Earth if he refused to behave. As several of his men attempted to foolishly follow that order, I sent them back with him."
"Oh my God," Dr. Weir stared at her for a moment before she composed herself. "Are you intending to send anyone else back to Earth?"
"That depends entirely on how people choose to handle this situation. Particularly since the immediate problem with the Wraith still hasn't been resolved."
Buffy could see the other woman running scenarios through her mind, trying to find the best solution possible. It was telegraphed clearly across her face when she came to a conclusion.
"Very well, we will discuss this, along with all the other things we have planned to discuss when the current Wraith issue has concluded. In the meantime, will you be going off-world again to look for the factory or will you stay here?"
Everett's insistence in arguing with her had cut down the time she had available, but she could still get to a couple of planets if she used her enhanced Slayer speed to travel between the Gate and the outposts. "I'll try and see if I can find the elusive factory. Because Everett was right about one thing, Atlantis needs those drones."
She looked at all the people in the room who were in various stages of getting back into a vertical position. Raising her voice a little, she told them, "I'm sorry for knocking all of you out, but since Everett insisted on behaving like a soiled toddler, it was unfortunately necessary. The shockwave isn't dangerous, but you should still go and get checked out by the medical team, just in case."
Dr. Weir backed her suggestion, and as soon as other people came to take over their duties they left to go to the medical bay. After a look from Buffy, Weir went as well.
The next thing she did was send a command to her bracer and it dialed a random planet, soon after she was through the puddle-like substance and on another planet. Unlike most worlds, it was a desert landscape with an incredibly hot pair of suns shining down on her. Remaining there for any length of time was exceptionally unwise unless you had either Slayer healing or protective gear.
As soon as she had cleared the 'splash' zone she sent a new command to the bracer. She repeated this another two times before she arrived on the planet she was actually intending to go to. It had a rocky terrain, but also the expected trees and bushes. The outpost turned out to be a pretty small structure without any obvious function, at least not that Buffy could ascertain.
After being as thorough as she was able to be in the short time she had, she silently declared it a bust and continued to the next planet where she immediately walked straight into trouble. It took eight hours to detangle herself from that mess and get back to Atlantis, and by that time it was all over.
"Miss Summers," Dr. Weir greeted her when she came through the Astria Porta. "We expected you back within two hours. What happened?"
Grimacing a little, she replied, "Turns out one of the planets wasn't nearly as advanced as I'd hoped, and they were in the middle of what I guess was an exorcism or something because they seemed to believe that I was the Pegasus version of the Devil. Extracting myself proved to be a little more difficult than I anticipated."
Sheppard was standing beside the Civilian Commander, "I take it you didn't find the factory, or do we need to go and negotiate with some angry people to get drones?"
"That's a negatori," Buffy sighed. "I was able to get a look at the Alterran outpost on that planet, but it had obviously been bombed and then looted for anything and everything a long time ago."
In the middle of talking, she noticed another man she hadn't seen before who lacked most of his hair, and she promptly frowned. "Who's that?"
The stranger walked down the steps and joined Dr. Weir and Major Sheppard. "Colonel Steven Caldwell, Commander of the Daedalus."
Buffy gave both him and Sheppard a closer inspection. "You two look unharmed and no one seems to be upset, so I take it the space fight with the Wraith went well?"
"It did. We destroyed six Hive Ships, half their fleet before they tried a kamikaze move and we had to flee into Hyperspace."
She'd be lying if she claimed to not be surprised by that, "That's better than I expected." And she gave all of them a happy, genuine smile.
Then added another question, "Did they come to Lantea afterward, do they know Atlantis is still here?"
"They stopped by and scanned the surface of the planet, didn't sense us since we're at the bottom of the ocean, and left soon after." Sheppard grinned, "We're good."
That was excellent news, unlike her own less-than-helpful excursion. Why couldn't Janus have just told her where the drone factory was located, or at least given her a much shorter list of worlds to work with? At this rate, it was going to take forever. Then another thought popped into her head, Janus had been a mischievous man, and while he was incredibly helpful could there be another reason why the list had been as long as it was? Was there something else he wanted her to find?
Dr. Weir smiled as well, "How about er raise Atlantis to the surface again?"
"Let's give it another couple of days, just in case. The last thing we need is for them to discover that we're still here, and then have to do something drastic. Especially since we're pretty much powerless aside from the shield."
None of the Expedition members were happy about it, but just as Sheppard was about to comment Dr. McKay came over with a lopsided grin and one of the hand-held computers in one hand. "Zelenka and I have come up with a solution to that!" While waving the small computer, the small Czech scientist caught up with him.
"Yes, we have found a way to convert the shield into a cloak. That way we can be on surface without the Wraith knowing, and we can get fresh air." He continued explaining with McKay talking over him in their usual manner. It was endearing in a way, but she would not want to be insulted like that by anyone. Especially not a friend.
"HEY!" Buffy interjected for the second time before she finally got their attention. "How long will it take to do this?"
"We've already done it while waiting for you to return," Dr. Zelenka replied. "We only need City on the surface to test it."
A few hours later the Lost City of Atlantis was once again floating gently on the ocean and they were all enjoying the fresh Lantean air. The shield had easily been replaced by the cloak, and there were no problems switching between the two. It would make it much easier the next time the space vampires decided to come sniffing around. Especially since it took a lot of energy to sink and raise Atlantis. As McKay had told Caldwell, the City was not a jo-jo.
There was no doubt an unpleasant conversation ahead with the people in charge of the Expedition, and then they had to head back to Earth to explain themselves about, well, everything that had happened since arriving in Pegasus. When they returned there would no doubt be renegotiating courtesy of whatever Earth wanted out of Atlantis, Pegasus, and her.
Caldwell and Weir had both tried to convince her to go to Earth with them, but there was absolutely no chance of that happening. Especially once she realized Stargate Command was located in an old silo, far underground. Been there, and almost got killed there by the military before. Not that she told any of them that. Though it would be nice to know if anyone she had known in her own reality existed in this one, and if they could help her get home.
With any luck, the angry man she had spoken to when she kicked Everett back was not one of the people in charge. If he was, there would be some huge problems. The Expedition was going to leave through the Astria Porta, but they would be returning on the Daedalus, and that was a six-week journey through Hyperspace. Something she did not envy them at all.
Major Sheppard came out on the balcony where she was enjoying the view a few days later. "Time to face the music, Summers. The much-postponed talk about ZPMs, drones, and how you fit into it all is about to start. Can't do it without the guest of honor though."
"Right," she was so not looking forward to this. "Once more into the political breach!" And she began walking toward the door.
Beside her, Sheppard looked amused. "You created this situation, now you have to deal with the fallout." He smirked, "Unless you've changed your mind and want to hand over the address to the ZPM factory, and that list Janus gave you?"
"Not a chance," Buffy replied at once. "Besides, even if I did, I would still have to explain myself. This time without leverage."
Sheppard inclined his head, "Good point. Can't escape politics no matter how hard you try, and believe me, I've tried."
He extended his arm in an 'after you' motion, and they headed for the conference room.