Timeline: SGA: anytime, BtVS: post-Chosen.
Disclaimer: Nothing copyrighted belongs to yours truly.
Author's Note: Written for Day 16 of the 2024 August Fic-A-Day.
A/N 2: I'm so tired right now...
"Whose idea was it to let Buffy fly the Jumper?"
Buffy turned her head halfway so she could look behind her, "I did because I got into the seat first, and our fearless leader just sat down in the other seat." Lorne might also have sort of promised to let her pilot the little ship the next time they went up in one.
Major Lorne gave her a vaguely regretful look but chose to remain silent for the time being. Smart man. Instead, he kept a watchful eye out the viewscreen.
"Besides," she added. "I need practical experience and not just flying in circles around the City. It's fun. The Jumper reacts to my thoughts!" She grinned happily. The mental component was pretty amazing.
"We know, but could you try flying in a straight line, or something like it at least? This thing has inertial dampeners but the constantly moving view isn't as fun for the rest of us."
She gave a sheepish smile but didn't turn around. She did, however, set the gateship on a more even path. It wasn't as exhilarating, but she tried to stay on her team's good side. Making them nauseous wouldn't accomplish that.
They flew in silence for another ten minutes or so before a wall of flames abruptly appeared in front of them. Buffy veered sharply to the right, causing any loose object inside to topple over and fall. She took the ship through a 180-degree turn and then hoovered a safe distance away. The flames were still there, still shooting high up in the air.
"What the hell," Laura exclaimed from behind the pilot's seat. "Where did they come from," and she stood up to get a better look outside, "where's the people or whoever did that. Because there was nothing there until we came close."
"Ancient motion sensor?" Dr. David Parrish suggested from the seat beside Laura. "Or an early warning system..." He trailed off.
"It's possible." Major Lorne agreed. Then turned toward Buffy, "Can you get the ship over or around it?"
She inclined her head as she gave the flames and the immediate area a more scrutinizing inspection. "I'm not sure going over it will be smart, but let's try to go around it.
Half an hour later she had tried both going left and right of their starting point, but each time the flames shot up as she moved the Jumper, and it effectively blocked her path. Eventually, she tried going up, but that only resulted in the flames somehow bending toward and over the ship, and Lorned ordered her to retreat.
In a last-ditch effort, she flew back a few clicks and then flew the same routes just so she would intersect with it several miles north. It ended in flames as well.
"I'm calling it," Lorne said. "We're returning to Atlantis. We either need equipment and people we didn't bring or someone, and by someone I mean Colonel Sheppard, to give the order to let it be."
Both Buffy and Lt. Cadman were disappointed, but she returned to the Stargate and Atlantis. Hopefully, they would still have the lead for the follow-up mission, or at the very least get to tag along because those flames had piqued her curiosity.