Now the city’s remote cameras had a picture as well, a glowing light streaking like a meteor toward them from the southern horizon.
“Are they on fire?” Robinson asked quietly behind him.
“It is just reentry,” Radek replied. “It flares off the skin of the ship like that, the interaction of superheated gasses and the ablative material of the ship.” He shook his head. It was awfully bright. He supposed those Ancient ships were made to withstand reentry without energy shielding in the event of damage, but it was not pretty. Not pretty at all.
But it was slowing. “Airspeed four hundred miles per hour and slowing,” Banks said from her monitor.
Now it looked less like a meteor and more like an aircraft, though it was still glowing reddish gold in the gray sky, cutting through the last wisps of low hanging cloud.
“Too fast,” Salawi said under her breath. “Damn.”
It would be too fast for an airplane, where normal g forces acted upon the occupants, but the inertial dampeners allowed for braking thrusters at speeds that would be lethal otherwise. Too fast for a passenger plane, surely, but only about twice as fast now as a fighter jet would be coming in for a carrier landing, ready to hit the wire.
Only of course there was no wire. There was only the concrete platform of the pier. And the city.
Radek found himself tightening his fists. “Come on, Sheppard,” he breathed. He watched for the twitch, for the warship beginning to pull up, an abort to skim the pier and ditch in the water on the other side. At that speed they would sink like a stone, and the water was very deep here. Nevertheless, airtight compartments would hold underwater as well as in space, and Major Lorne could be there with the jumper to mate with the wreck in minutes.
There was no twitch. Reverse thrusters fired, bright white against the gold, seven or eight g’s absorbed by the inertial dampeners. The warship slowed, her pitted form streaked black from something burning off in atmosphere, belly down at a slight tilt, landing gear deploying, like a goose coming in for a landing on the smooth surface of a pond.
Reverse thrusters fired again, tilting like a harrier jet to the vertical, and the Ancient warship settled onto Atlantis' pier gracefully with fifty feet to spare.
The control room broke into applause, and Salawi grinned as though she were swallowing a lump in her throat.
Major Lorne, the rescue will not be needed, Radek said into his headset.
Copy that.
Below on the pier the medical team was rushing out, gurney at the ready.
Atlantis, we're down, Sheppard said. He sounded as relieved as he ought to be.
Good to hear that, Radek said, and hoped the warmth in his voice carried.
Chapter Twenty-one: Time
It seemed like the Wraith had been gone all day, but when Ronon glanced at his wristwatch, it had apparently only been a few hours. Assuming it was working properly. He looked at some with mechanisms that made sense to him when he was on Earth, but they were a lot more expensive than the plastic ones that ran on tiny computers or however they were supposed to work.
He rather have one with hands that ticked around its dial to show that it was working rather than just glowing numbers. He might be able to trade for one with the Genii; they made good clocks. The question was whether the Genii would still be speaking to them after Sheppard got done being diplomatic with them.
What? Jennifer said.
Just wondering how the other team is doing.
I'm sure they're doing fine, Jennifer said. They're dealt with the Genii a bunch of times before now.
The first couple of times didn't go so well, Ronon said. The next couple of times didn't go so well either.
They can handle it, Jennifer said. Right?
Sure, Ronon said. It couldn't be easy for her just waiting around not knowing what was happening to Rodney. We'll find McKay.
She nodded without looking at him, playing unhappily with her unlit flashlight. It's my fault, she said abruptly.
You weren't even there when they took him.
It's my fault we even came back, Jennifer said. He talked about staying. After everything the IOA put us through well, it just seemed like there were more useful things we could do on Earth without getting jerked around as much. If I hadn't changed my mind.
There is not anything more useful you could be doing on Earth, Ronon said. You knew this was going to be dangerous.
I did, Jennifer said. Believe me.
No, you have to decide whether it's worth it.
He wouldn't have thought badly of her if he's thought she was going to cry, but she was dry-eyed, her face turned up at the shadows around the roof tangle of bone. You think it's worth losing Rodney like this?
We haven't lost him yet, Ronon said. We're not going to.
But if we do, Jennifer said, her voice going flat again. He thought maybe that was her way of not letting it break.
Then he'll have died fighting the Wraith, Ronon said. Protecting Torren and Teyla's people on New Athos. You going to say that's not worth doing?
Jennifer rested her forehead on her fingers. No, she said. I just wish.
I know, Ronon said when she didn't finish the sentence.
She took a shaky breath and let it out. I know there's a lot we can do here that makes a difference.
Yeah, Ronon said. I lot of places don't have doctors.
I know humanitarian relief isn't a priority for the IOA, but you think they at least be interested in building some good will out here, Jennifer said. She glanced at him like she wasn't sure he follow that.
You mean that if we help people, they'll like us.
It's a theory, Jennifer said. And there's always the chance of finding some local pharmaceuticals that can help us back on Earth.
I thought you didn't believe in that stuff, Ronon said.
Jennifer winced. That's really not what I meant.
Okay.
I'm getting the feeling I lost some serious credit with you and Teyla there.
Teyla's over it, Ronon said. She thinks you're just weird like the rest of the people from Earth are weird.
We didn't get off to a really great start, so I think that's an improvement,Jennifer said.
That was probably true enough. She wasn't even mostly upset about you not believing her about the shrine, because she's never seen it herself. But she thinks you didn't treat her like family.
Well, she… I mean, I hate to say it, but she is not, Jennifer said. Neither is Colonel Sheppard, although from all the time he spends in the infirmary when he is not the one I'm treating.
You don't know the Athosians, Ronon said. They've been culled every generation lately, sometimes more than once. Most people don't have the family they're born with. They have whoever they have, whoever takes care of them.
I'm not asking for anybody birth certificate, Jennifer said. But I can't know who people want to be considered family members unless they tell me. I give people forms, and then they don't fill them out.
I'm telling you, Ronon said.
Have you filled out the forms I sent around?
You sent around forms?
Jennifer looked like she wanted to throw her flashlight at him, until he let the hint of a smile show. She returned it tentatively, her face seeming to waver in the dim green glow of the Wraith lantern.
It doesn't seem like the Athosians are so different from you people, Ronon said. A lot of people in Atlantis don't have any family back home. Or might as well not.
A lot of people in Atlantis don't have family, period,” Jennifer said. “I’m lucky that my dad’s still around.”
“That’s not McKay,” Ronon said. “It’s not going to be, even if he didn’t have a sister.”
“Okay,” Jennifer said. “I get that. That’s a good thing.” Now she kind of did look like she was going to cry. He didn’t think she’d like that, so he hunted for a distraction.