Hello again! I first want to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story so far; every review brings a smile to my face and I get so excited whenever I see a new one. Generally, I like to message my reviewers personal thank yous, but for some of you (like guest reviewers or people who don't allow private messaging) I can't do that, so I still want to let you know how much they mean to me. Thank you!
I hope you enjoy this next one.
It was the smell of smoke – the kind of metallic, alkaline fumes indicative of an electrical fire – that eventually roused her. Eva tried to lift her head but the pain was too severe; it felt like it had been cracked in half and her neck was too stiff to move. Finally managing to crack open one eyelid, she took in the blurry, blue and yellow glow of the cockpit of a puddle jumper. Why the hell was she in a puddle jumper? And in the driver's seat, no less?
Using every bit of strength she possessed, she worked to raise herself off the control panel. The smoke filled her lungs and she coughed, rattling the already jostled contents of her skull. She groaned in pain and brought a hand to her forehead.
Glancing around her, she located the source of the smoke: the crystal housing in the rear compartment was black and scorched.
"Rear hatch," she muttered, trying to recall which control released the back door. She stared blankly, the control panel swimming in front of her, but had no idea which button or lever to push. Eventually she gave up trying to remember and started pressing buttons at random.
First button and the drive pods engaged with a defective groan.
Second button and the HUD crackled overhead.
Third button and nothing happened.
After trying several levers, the rear hatch finally opened.
Grateful for the clean, fresh air – even though it was pouring – Eva stumbled out of the jumper and collapsed against the trunk of a nearby tree.
"Eva?!" a familiar voice cried out from the distance. "Eva!"
She squinted through swollen eyelids to see a large figure running toward her. Too heavy to keep open, her lids fell again. With a squish of wet leaves, the man knelt in front of her and brought his warm hand to her cheek.
"You're freezing," he said as he grabbed both of her hands and pulled her to her feet. "Gimme your jacket!" he called to someone else with him.
A warm coat was draped over her shoulders and he held her to his chest as she shivered.
"The hell were you thinking?" he hissed, vigorously rubbing her back in an attempt to heat her up.
"Where am I?" she spoke into the fabric of his shirt.
There was a pause. "What?"
She looked up into the face of the person holding her. "Dad?"
"Yeah, pup. It's me." His voice softened slightly.
She looked at her surroundings from the safety of her father's embrace. "Where are we?" she asked.
"She must have hit her head," a female voice nearby said.
"We're on the mainland," Ronon explained to her. "But we're gonna get you home now."
"How did I get here?" she whispered. "Did you take me here?"
"Eva, you stole a puddle jumper and flew out here on your own," her father replied, some of the harshness returning to his voice.
"We gotta get going," the female voice urged.
Ronon held her by the forearms and looked her up and down so he could appraise her physical state. "Can you walk?"
"Yeah," she whimpered.
He braced her back and she took his arm as they walked together to another jumper.
"Thank you," Eva said.
Ronon looked down at her, eyes wide. "What?" He shook his head. "For what?"
"Thank you for getting me," she breathed.
He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "Anytime," he replied.
Captain Schmitz and Doctor Nichols took their spots in the front compartment of the puddle jumper, while Ronon directed Eva to a seat in the rear. He found the medical supply kit and quickly wrapped her in the silver thermal blanket. Kneeling at her feet, he took out the saline solution, cleaned out a gash on her forehead, and then carefully scrubbed the dried blood off from under and around her swollen nose.
"I think you broke your nose," he muttered to her.
She closed her eyes and shrugged.
He reached into the medical kit once more to grab some butterfly closures and gingerly applied them to her forehead cut.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"How can you be sorry?" he grunted, breaking a cold pack and handing it to her. "You don't even remember what you did, Eva."
She took the pack from him and brought it, surprisingly not to her nose, but to her head. He rested his hands on her knees, let out a deep sigh, and stared into her face. "You're worried," she observed as she looked down at him, "and I'm sorry."
He nodded, got to his feet, and took the seat next to her. He draped an arm over her shoulder and she leaned against him, head drooping forward.
"Hey, you gotta stay awake," he ordered. "You've just had a head injury. No sleep until we get you checked out."
Her eyes were already closed. "But I'm so tired," she protested.
"Too bad, Eva," he barked, shaking her. "You gotta stay awake."
"Jumper 7, this is control, do you read?" the voice over the jumper's radio called.
"This is Jumper 7, we copy and we've completed our mission. Eva Dex is safe with us, though a little beat up. Looks like her jumper crash landed."
"The cruiser left lunar orbit and made a run for the city. They got a few shots in before we could get the shield up. For whatever reason, it looks like our cloak is ineffective, though the shield did hold. They've changed course and are on their way to the mainland. We recommend dropping your cloak in exchange for shields. Chances are they already know where you are."
"Copy that," Captain Schmitz replied. "Switching to shields."
"My wife?" Ronon asked.
The captain nodded. "Ronon would like to know if his wife is okay," she said into the radio.
"I'm fine, Ronon," her voice spoke sharply into the radio. "But don't expect me to greet you with a smile and open arms when you return."
Ronon nodded, reluctantly accepting her reaction. She had every right to be mad at him for lying to her and for leaving her on base, but at least she was safe. He'd take angry and alive over the alternative.
"The Wraith are here?" Eva asked.
"Yes," Ronon answered.
"Max speed, heading back to Atlantis," the captain stated. "ETA 15 minutes."
"Copy that. The Hammond is finalizing the launch process. If worst comes to worst, they should be able to beam you aboard."
"Buckle in everybody. This isn't going to be a pleasant ride."
Ronon and Eva headed to the front of the jumper to take the two empty and more secure seats. The captain flew the jumper as quickly as she could through the storm swirling over the ocean. Crates in the rear compartment slid, shifted, and fell from overhead as the ship was whipped around like a windsock. With the benefit of the shield, though, the interior of the jumper was eerily quiet.
"Jumper 7, our sensors are indicating that the cruiser is advancing on your location."
"Copy that. Don't see it yet, but we'll keep our eyes – holy shit," she breathed. "Strike that. We've got eyes on the cruiser. You're sure our cloak is useless?"
"The city's cloak was completely useless. The same technology powers the jumpers' cloaks so we can only assume that they're useless, too."
"How many hits from the cruiser can our shield take?" she asked.
"Unclear," command replied.
"Awesome," Captain Schmitz sighed. "What's the status of the other jumpers?"
"They were on the cruiser's six but it launched its darts. They're all tied up in a dogfight."
"Copy that." She turned to the technician. "Nichols, you're on drones. Best defense is a good offense."
"But I've never fired one outside of simulations."
"You wanna switch?" she asked, eyes blazing with sparks. "You fly and make evasive maneuvers while I fire the drones?"
"I've got the drones," Nichols conceded.
"Here we go," she whispered. "We're gonna want to be under the ship. That's where the hull is thinnest and where they can't reach us with their own weapons." With surprisingly little resistance from the Wraith cruiser, she flew the jumper below it.
"Why didn't they shoot at us?" Ronon asked.
"No clue," Schmitz replied. "But I'm not gonna return the favor. Fire," she ordered.
Nichols released a barrage of drones into the belly of the ship.
She reached across the gap in the seats and slapped him on the arm. "Nice shot!" she complimented.
The technician blushed.
The cruiser released a beam of bright white light from underneath that just narrowly missed their jumper.
"What the hell?" the captain shouted, banking hard to the right and flying away from the Wraith ship. "Since when do cruisers have beaming technology? I thought only darts had that!"
"Cruisers don't have beaming technology," Ronon confirmed.
"Apparently this one does," she retorted. "Shit!"
"Can they pick up our whole ship?" Nichols asked to no one in particular.
"I don't wanna wait around to find out," Schmitz replied. "Nichols, I'm gonna make another pass on the port side of the cruiser. Fire as many drones as you can. Aim low again. If we can't take down the whole ship, maybe we can at least take out their beaming capabilities."
"Got it," he nodded resolutely.
"Hang on tight." She swooped the jumper past the side of the cruiser. "Now!" she yelled.
Nichols released more drones and all but one made their mark.
"Damn!" Schmitz exclaimed. "If you ever decide to change careers, Nichols, I would gladly take you as my first mate."
His face and neck flushed once more. "Thanks, Captain."
"Look, you scared 'em away," she grinned, pointing to the retreating cruiser.
The cruiser had ascended higher into the atmosphere and positioned itself directly over them.
"It's not retreating," Ronon warned.
Before Ronon had even finished his sentence, Schmitz dodged another beam from the middle of the ship.
"Fire at will," she ordered, concentrating hard on avoiding the barrage of beams as they effected their own retreat. She pulled up the HUD and tried to locate the other defense jumpers. "Jumper 5, this is Jumper 7," she spoke into the radio. "We're coming in hot toward your location and need back up. This cruiser has beaming technology and is trying to pick us up!"
"Jumper 7, this is Jumper 5. We copy. We've cleaned up most of the darts and are heading your way."
"Jumper 7, this is Dr. McKay from control. What's the status of your shield?"
"100 percent," Schmitz answered.
"Then you should be okay. Your shield protects everyone inside from being beamed up."
"Doctor, I think they're trying to beam the whole jumper aboard," Nichols responded upon realizing that Captain Schmitz was too focused on avoiding the Wraith beams to reply.
"Not possible. The Wraith beaming technology does not pick up anything non-organic," McKay informed them. "Our puddle jumpers are very clearly made from non-organic matter."
"Then why the hell are they trying?!" the captain shouted back at him.
McKay uttered a response over the radio, but was drowned out by blinding light, silence, and then finally…oblivion.
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