Disclaimer : The characters and genre used belong to the appropriate owners I hold no right or ownership to their work.
Author's note: This is my first attempt in a long time at writing a fanfic , I welcome any pointers in reviews and will try to improve my work as the story develops. I will not take abuse if you don't like my story don't read it, leaving abusive reviews just to be spiteful helps no one .
As he walked into the jumper bay the following morning the scene before him could only be described as organized chaos . With scientist's and marines running to and throw loading equipment into the jumpers under the direction of major Lorne only to be contradicted by Miko barking her own orders of were everything needed to go . Choosing to stand back and watch the amusing sight of the small Asian women run roughshod over his 2IC John was content to stand and wait to be noticed enjoying the mornings entertainment.
Finally Lorne looked over and spotted the colonel standing there grinning at him . " Good morning colonel , we're all on schedule for the salvage mission and will be ready to depart within the hour " Lorne greeted suppressing the flush in embarrassment from the colonels knowing grin.
"Unfortunately that is not the case major Lorne " Miko interrupted . " In reviewing the ships logs I have learned that upon abandoning ship captain Helia placed the Tria on full lockdown . From what I can gather this ship will have minimal life support and the systems will not respond until the lockdown is removed".
Sighing in frustration that even from the grave years later Helia was still being a pain in the ass . John sent a mental query to Atlantis asking for a solution .
" I'm sorry John I did not realise Helia had gone to such lengths to secure the Tria. Normally to remove a full lockdown a senior officer or a council member is required to go aboard in person and reactivate the systems . Fortunately now that you have fully embraced your role you can now override the lockdown yourself . You will have to board the Tria alone and make your way to the bridge and sit In the control chair , from that interface you can enact your own override and undo the lockdown, your security level now supersedes that of the senior councillors."
" Its not your fault Atlantis , I wouldn't be surprised if Helia did it intentionally to stop us from taking the ship for ourselves . At least we know and can do something about it, and hey it's pretty cool I now outrank all those old councillors " he commented with good humour.
" right Atlantis has explained what needs to be done " turning to face his 2IC he continued. " Lorne prep a jumper for me , I need to go aboard myself first and lift the lockdown before any one else can board . I'm going to get my gear then I will head out , it shouldn't take more the 30 minutes your in charge till I get back . Miko as soon as I give the all clear come on through and get your people started ".
" Umm colonel are you sure that's wise ? Shouldn't we at least send a team through first just to make sure it's secure and no surprises waiting for us ". Cautioned Lorne
" I appreciate the concern major but due to the nature of the lockdown only a ranking member of the Alteran people can even get on board . I will be perfectly safe , but if I don't check in within 40 minutes you can come get me ". With that John made his way to locker room to grab his gear.
The void between galaxies
Coming out of the space gate straight away John spotted the Tria parked a short distance from the gate . As he flew closer he noticed the ship looked totally derelict with no lighting or movement. Making his way to the jumper bay at the base of the ship he was met with sealed bay doors. Knowing this was the first hurdle he had to the pass he sent the command Atlantis told hIm to use .
Auctor ingressum custos imperium
Just as he began to think it didnt work the bay doors began to open . Eerily like the gaping maw of a lion he slowly entered and landed in the pitch black bay. Hearing the bay doors seal behind him locking him in, the ship began to pressurize allowing him to leave the safety of the jumper . Once he left the jumper minimal lighting came on providing a sinister glow guiding him to the bridge .
As he walked the dark halls the only noise to be heard was the sound of his footsteps and breathing . John couldn't help but remember a similar journey when they first discovered the Aurora walking through those darkened halls surrounded by the bodies of the crew in stasis , thinking back to how creeped out he was at the time .
" they never hear you scream in space " he muttered to himself . " Great John talking to yourself , your quite literally the only person here for miles ". Stopping suddenly as that thought properly processed , he was standing aboard an abandoned ship in the dark , drifting in the void between 2 galaxies without a single soul in billions of miles .
" Nope ,not doing this " suppressing the chill creeping down his neck he picked up the pace heading towards the bridge .
Five minutes later he was standing on the dark bridge , the only light coming from the control chair like a beacon . Quickly removing his P90 and setting it on the floor he made his way to the chair and sat down , placing his hand on the interface he sent the override command .
Custos imperio auctor tollere cincinno
As soon as he sent the command he felt the whole ship come online , squinting as all the lights came on and all the consoles lit up he registered the individual systems activating . One in particular was signalling for attention , focusing on it he saw that the Tria sensed the proximity to a space gate and was querying whether he wanted to start docking procedures and bring the gate on board . Realising the benefits of having the gate on board as opposed constantly having to leave the ship he sent the confirmation command to begin the docking .
Once it was safely on board and locked in place an new command became available , the option of dialling the gate . Again following the command he dialled the gate and opened the connection to Atlantis .
" Sheppard to Atlantis are you receiving me ? " in reply to his question the HUD showed the control room with Lorne and McKay in front of the camera .
" loud and clear colonel , I take it you succeeded sir ? "
" All clear on my end major ,the lockdown has been lifted and access to all systems has been restored. I've also secured the gate on board so we can now directly dial into the ship and dial out when traveling to the Sun Tzu. "
" that's great news sir , I will start sending through the salvage teams once you've disconnected, is there anything you want done in the meantime or will you handle it ok when you come back ? ".
John took a moment to think and make sure he hadn't forgotten anything before replying .
" Tell major Teldy she is to take charge of the salvage teams and make sure they stay safe while they retrieve both ships , and that she is responsible until they get back to the city. Also i want you to arrange for yourself ,Drs Beckett and Robinson to meet with me at 1300 hours , I have a side project for us all to work on. "
Although confused by the second order lorne nodded in confirmation and set off to find major Teldy.
Leaving just sheppard and McKay, Rodney broke the silence .
" So Sam is going to be here tomorrow ? " Rodney trailed of . A weighted look passed between the two of them convening more than words could.
" yeah assuming they're on time the Odyssey should arrive sometime tomorrow evening ... Should prove to be a fun debrief... Well I better cut the connection before Miko loses her Patience , meet for dinner later ? " .
Receiving a nod and a smirk from Rodney he cut the connection and prepared for the salvage teams arrival.
In the end it took the salvage team an hour and half to arrive with all the necessary equipment and personnel including the newly made hyper drive fresh out of the construction lab. Taking a moment to look around at all the people gathered John couldn't help but be proud of those under his command . No matter the task assigned they always rise to the challenge with calm confidence , even now on ship floating in the middle of nowhere there was no panic or unease , just willing eagerness for the task at hand.
" Right boys and girls if I could have your attention please - pausing so everyone could quite down and focus on him he continued - I just wanted to say thank you for how quickly and professionally you have come together for this mission. " . Taking a moment John met the eyes of everyone there conveying his trust in them.
" while your on this mission you will be under the protection and authority of major Teldy and her support teams , they will handle accommodation , food , medical and all other day to day needs as well as seeing to your safety .Any concerns you bring them to her . All other issues and concerns will be taken to Dr Kusanagi, she is in charge of the repairs , at the end of each day you will report to her on your progress . We're all part of the same team and I trust you to work together as one. ". Towards the end his voice carried the ring of command and let everyone there know he wouldn't be happy if he heard otherwise .
" Now as your all already aware we have brought the Stargate on board ,so If there are any issues or you need extra supplies or support Atlantis is a quick gate trip away. You may be in the middle of nowhere but your definitely not alone out here ". With those words he could see what little unease they had leave them as they trusted in his support fully.
Turning his attention to Dr Kusanagi he began to ask about the repair schedule.
" so doc once your all settled do you know where you begin ? . "
" yes colonel , we will take the rest of the day to get properly set up and once you have gated back to Atlantis I will set a course to the Sun Tzu . The sublight engines are fast enough with the modifications that we can begin closing the distance , but not so fast that we would be subject to relativity as they are not powered by a ZPM. As we travel the first priority will be the removal and the installation of the new hyperdrive . Once in place we can jump to the Sun Tzu then begin out journey home effecting repairs along the way. ".
" okay Dr sounds like a plan, how long do you think it will take to fix the hyperdrive ? " . John asked.
" based on our best estimates it should take 2 days to completely strip out the old hyperdrive , 2 days to place the new one and then a few days to properly calibrate and test it out . Assuming all goes well we should have it up and running in a week . Which means it's repair the collection of the Sun Tzu and the return to the city should hopefully take about 2 weeks . " she explained not feeling the need to elaborate the sometimes things go wrong and slow a job down .
After listening to the plan for the coming days and also having reviewed the ships status report major Teldy decided to speak up on a concern of hers.
" Dr I read in the briefing report that the ships shields are only at 22% efficiency and you wouldn't recommend straining then unnecessarily. Now I know we don't expect to meet anyone else out here but I would feel a bit more comfortable if we could get that number up a bit just in case ".
it was a sign of how good a person Miko was that she didn't just dismiss the matter straight away , rather she considered it properly before commenting.
" I understand your concern major, I see no reason why I can't assign a few people each day to work on the shield emitters , we wouldn't all be working on the hyperdrive at the same time anyway. I will say though with the work needed the shields won't be up to 100% before we reach Atlantis at most we might be able to get it up to 40% which should hold long enough under any fire for us to make a retreat ".
" thanks Dr I don't expect a miracle I'm happy with whatever extra you can give". Affirmed Teldy
" right then major ,Dr I'll leave you all be and head back to the city , I expect daily dial ins with status updates on your progress , call if you need me ".
With that he turned towards the gate , deciding to show off a bit he sent a mental command for the gate to dial itself and stepped through enjoying the startled looks of those behind him.
Authors note: hello all who are still reading thanks for sticking to my story. Sorry for the long delay in updates my muse left me and I got into a funk of no writing and just reading instead . I have just gotten back into Stargate fanfics so hopefully I will feel compelled to keep writing .
As always any advice and reviews are most welcome .hopefully I will post again so so please stay tuned for the next update .