Borealis (Stargate Atlantis FF)

Chapter 14 Picking up the pieces

John practically run down the stairs to the control room to find out everything he could. Lutthan followed closely behind him down the stairs.

"Sam!" John shouted when he finally saw her. "How are we?"

"Actually, quite good, if you don't consider Caldwell who is missing and two wrecks floating in the space above us whose altitude is decreasing." Sam said. "And we've got a lot of guests." Sam motioned to the Ancients gathered in the gateroom.

John seemed to look over them without a special interest until he caught a glimpse of a suspiciously familiar face.

"Chaya?" He asked and hurried down the wide stairs to meet the woman. "Chaya, is that you?"

"John?"

Sheppard was speechless when he saw the familiar woman turn towards him. Then his eyes stopped on the child she was carrying in her arms. Before he could speak something more Lutthan pushed him aside and gathered the woman in his arms.

"Are you alright?" He asked looking into her eyes and then at the kid. "Is Mercury alright?"

"We're both okay, Lu." She answered.

"He didn't let me call him that!" Whined John to Sam.

"Where is Maya?" Asked Lutthan.

"She isn't here, Lu." Answered Chaya with a sour expression. "She ordered me to get Merc and prepare for beaming down. Last I saw her she was on the bridge, with Janus." She looked at his expression. "Lu?"

"The bridge was destroyed. It's mostly gone." Lutthan answered with an immediately whitening face.

"What do you mean?" Asked John.

"Lu!" Exclaimed a young girl throwing herself into said man's arms. "I was so worried."

"Lanis," Chaya spoke to the girl, "Maya and Janus were in the destroyed part of the ship. The bridge must have been hit just before we were all beamed down here."

"What about the shield?" The girl asked.

"It appeared intact." Lutthan answered immediately. "We flew by on our way down and it seemed on full power and intact. It didn't really make much sense to me with all the bridge shattered to pieces."

John looked at the girl and thought she looked somewhat familiar. Then he remembered that Larrin spoke of her sister and it hit him. It must have been the fifteen year old officer she spoke about. It looked like the CAG of Borealis deferred to her in technical matters. She in turn looked like she knew just about everything about the ship.

"The Daedalus!" Lanis whispered suddenly. "The shields were extended to encompass the Daedalus!"

"Continue." Said Lutthan seeming much more calm than Chaya who was clutching the child tightly by now.

"We needed to extend the shield but it was not calibrated to do just that. It must have changed from shell like to something more like a protective cloak..." Lanis started to do something strange with her hands by now. John guessed that it was her unique tick. "When the blast hit it must have lost it's designed shape for a moment. It might have impacted the front window itself. If the front was shattered..."

"They may both still be alive." Decided Lutthan. "We need to get there immediately."

"What about the life support on your bridge?" Sam asked. "Is it functioning?"

"It should be" answered Lanis. "With the shield still on the shattered front panel doesn't mean decompression. But we can't get there. Out beams were compromised, just like our recall devices."