Sheppard broke cover, the Street Sweeper aimed right over the heads of his friends. It was a long shot — literally — and the ship was moving fast, but John Sheppard had always had a good eye. He opened up the weapon and kept it open, shells falling all around. Something hit home. Thank God, something hit home. The ship shuddered and banked, and the beam winked out.
Breathless, Ford scrambled back to his feet, pulling Teyla after him. "Thank you, sir!"
Lowering the weapon, arms almost numb from the recoil, Sheppard was already moving. "Let's not make a habit of this!" he called over his shoulder.
Ford just grinned his answer as he and Teyla fell in behind Sheppard and they sprinted back to the clearing. Sheppard's lungs were on fire by the time they made it to the ship, Ford was breathing hard, but Teyla looked like she'd just taken a walk in the park as she slowed, staring at the Jumper in astonishment. He wondered what she'd make of a Black Hawk.
"This is one of the Ancestors' ships," she breathed softly. "I've seen them in the drawings." She turned to him, eyes wide. "Does that mean…?"
"No," he answered shortly. "We're just like you." Only we're in way over our heads, way over our heads…
"Incoming!" Stackhouse yelled. A Wraith dart was bearing down on them, making an attack run.
"Get into the ship!" Sheppard yelled, all-but pushing Teyla ahead of him. They needed to be in the air. Now! He pushed past the frightened passengers and flung himself into the pilot's seat. "Okay," he growled at the controls. "Now what am I thinking?"
Stealth mode. Stealth mode. Stealth mode…
He saw the flicker over the window as he brought the ship into the air and watched the Wraith dart zip past, bank and turn for another pass. It had lost them. For the first time in forever, Sheppard allowed himself a moment of relief. "Everybody alright?" he called, glancing over his shoulder.
They were packed in tight, but thankful to be alive. He could see it in their faces, the mixture of astonishment, shock and gratitude. Only Teyla seemed composed, and she nodded her thanks at him. "We are well enough."
He gave her a smile, impressed. She was an impressive woman.
She might have smiled back, but Ford pushed past to reach the co-pilot's seat and broke the moment. Sheppard made a mental note to talk to him about that later, but for now he was pretty happy to have someone up front with him. The kid sank into the chair and let out a deep breath. "I hope that was the hard part."
Which sounded distinctly like famous last words. He'd have to talk to him about that too. Later, once they were all safely back home. Well, back to Atlantis which, he guessed, was the same thing now.
By the time the Jumper punched out of the atmosphere and into the darkness of space Sheppard's breathing had returned to normal, and he'd almost let himself relax. Almost. Then he saw the Stargate. It was beautiful, hanging like a magical ring above the planet below, the sunlight glinting against its surface.
Would have looked even better without the dozen Wraith darts that sat like hissing cobras right in front of it, blocking their escape. Crap. He flung Ford a dry look.
"I don't think we've got to the hard part yet."
Chapter Ten
The burden of command. It was a cliche, Weir reflected, but one she should have thought about in more depth before agreeing to take this post. The burden of command… Right now, as she sat in her makeshift ready room with this amazing — astonishing — city coming to life around her, all she could think about was Major Sheppard and the five men she'd sent out after the Wraith.
If they died, the responsibility would rest on her shoulders. And they wouldn't be the last. Every man, woman — and now, child — in the city was her responsibility. Their lives, their welfare, everything rested with her. These were her people, a bizarre little autocracy of which she had been appointed leader. She wasn't entirely sure this was what she'd signed up for, or, if it was, that she'd actually thought it through. What if they were here for ten years? Twenty years? What if they never got home? She couldn't act as a de facto government, unelected and unaccountable. That wasn't in the job description, that wasn't-
"We're starting to get reports from all over the city." McKay's voice, bursting with restrained excitement, startled her. She hadn't even heard him approach. "There's some pretty interesting stuff. We can only provide power to certain sections, but-"
"I should never have let them go." Her people, whom she'd placed in harm's way. She should have kept them safe, kept them where she could see them.
McKay was silent for a moment, readjusting his derailed thoughts. "For what it's worth," he said at last, "you made the right decision." His gaze followed hers to the inactive gate. "Give them time."
Sure. Why not? She had nothing else to give them, after all.
As blockades went, it was pretty damn effective. A dozen Wraith ships right in front of the Stargate; there was no way they were getting through that without a fight. And John Sheppard wasn't sure he liked the odds.
From the back of the Jumper he heard movement, and turned to see Teyla come to stand behind the pilot's seat. She seemed unfazed by the whole adventure, and he found himself pretty struck by her. She'd had a bad day, but you'd never know it to look at her calm and collected features.
"What can we do?" Teyla asked quietly, gazing out at the Stargate. The Wraith darts looked like sharp teeth, or daggers.
Ford shifted nervously. "We're safe as long as they can't see us."
"They don't have to," Sheppard pointed out. He hated to be the voice of doom, but facts were facts. "There's only one way for us to go. The moment we activate the Stargate they can start firing blind, and blow us away on our approach."
"Then how are we going to-?"
"We'll have to draw them away from the gate," Sheppard decided. With barely a touch on the controls the ship began to respond, instinctive as a lover. "We'll draw them away from the gate, then double back."
He felt it and saw it at the same time, the subtle flutter that told him the cloak had deactivated. The Wraith saw it at exactly the same moment, all but two breaking formation to come after them as Sheppard punched the controls and banked hard, away from the Stargate.
"Stand by to dial the gate on my command!" The whole plan rested on speed; if the Jumper was faster than the Wraith darts then they were home free. If not… A volley of weapons fire streaked past, coming from behind; a couple hit home and the Jumper bucked hard, the jolt almost knocking Teyla off her feet. Someone was on their tail. Damn it. "D'you see anything like a weapons console?"
No need to ask. God, he loved this ship! Even as he thought it, a single drone — just like the one that had almost blown him out of the sky over Antarctica — flared out of the Jumper and locked onto the Wraith.
"That did it!" Ford yelled in glee as the drone hit home. The Wraith ship exploded in a huge fireball; those things packed one hell of a punch. One down, too many to go.
Sheppard turned the ship back toward the gate, the entire pack on his tail now. Time to disappear! Only they didn't. Two direct hits and the Jumper lurched hard to the side. Cloak! Go invisible! Stealth mode! Nothing. Crap. He could feel the shields weakening, each impact shaking the Jumper until his teeth rattled. Another hit, and he was almost flung out of his seat. Cursing, he grabbed onto the console. Damn Ancients could invent Stargates, but not seatbelts?
Ford was yelling, bracing himself with one hand against the bulkhead. "Try to go invisible again!"