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Letters From Pegasus

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John was jolted out of the few hours of sleep he had managed to steal by something that sounded like thunder. He jerked up, his hand moving instinctually for the gun on his nightstand. His eyes caught the angry red glow of the alarm clock. It was 4:45 in the morning. Only one person had ever dared wake him up this early, and it usually meant Rodney hadn't been to bed.

The thunderous knocking came again and he groaned. He had been asleep less than three hours. He threw his covers off and shuffled to the door. He passed his hand over the controls.

"McKay I don't-" he was in the middle of saying when the doors hissed open. It wasn't McKay.

"Zian," he said in surprise.

Kai looked up from her tablet and her eyes widened. The Major was standing in front of her in nothing but a pair of athletic shorts. His hair was mussed from sleep. She quickly schooled her expression into the emotionless mask she had mastered over the decades. She forced herself not to notice his wide bare chest and instead locked her eyes on his face.

"Major," she said briskly.

Sheppard quickly crossed his arms over his chest. He had no idea why he suddenly felt so self-conscious. He had never been self-conscious a day in his life. But Kai was literally the last person he expected to be pounding down his door in the middle of the night.

"Zian, what are you doing here?" He asked after a moment. Once the initial shock wore off he realized she was still wearing the same clothes she had been the day before and there were circles under her eyes. She obviously hadn't slept.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," she said quickly. "But It's important. Zelenka and I finished going over the data from the deep space sensors."

"And this couldn't wait until the briefing with Weir in..." he uncrossed his arms so he could look dramatically at his watch. "Two and a half hours?" he asked sardonically.

"No," Kai said simply. "We need your help."

The grim expression on Kai's face had all the humor falling from John's face. "What did you find?" He asked seriously.

Kai pressed her lips together. She hated being the bearer of bad news, but Zelenka needed to keep working on the calculations. Every second counted. "It's what we didn't find Major."

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"They don't seem threatening as dots on a screen do they?" Weir observed cocking her head as she stared at the sensor's imaging of the three Wraith hive ships.

Zelenka crossed his arms over his chest. "We've been working all night collecting data from the sensors, but..." he shook his head gravely.

"It isn't enough," Kai spoke up from behind him. Weir's eyes lifted to hers and Kai pressed her lips together. She was strangely nervous bringing her idea to Weir. Her plan was dangerous and she knew she had given the leader of Atlantis plenty of reasons not to trust her.

John caught Kai's eye. It was strange for her to seem so uncertain and he quickly spoke up. "Which is why we need to do recon and see what we're up against first hand."

Weir looked over the group of them, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. It felt a little like they had already formed a plan and were just bringing her in at the end. "How?" Weir asked crossing her arms over her chest.

Zelenka turned back to this laptop. He hit a few buttons and the screen changed to show the Hive's projected trajectory to Atlantis. "Kai and I have been tracking their progress. The Wraith ships go in and out of hyperspace periodically," he shrugged. "We have speculated it is either because their hyperdrive technology is limited, or-"

"Or, they're stopping to feed along the way," John filled in grimly.

Weir glanced over her shoulder at Sheppard. She was used to the scientists stepping all over each other, but she couldn't help feeling like this wasn't the first time the Major had received the information. In fact, for maybe the first time he had beaten her to the briefing that morning. She didn't appreciate feeling managed.

Zelenka nodded. "Exactly. The point is, the pattern is predictable. I can guess with some certainty that they will be making stops here," he said leaning towards the screen. "Here, and here," he pointed out.

Weir narrowed her eyes. "Even so those ships are light years away. How do you expect to reach them by puddle jumper?" she asked looking back and forth between Kai and the Major. The plan was creative, but also risky. Her instincts told her this was their plan, even if they hadn't fessed up to it.

"We fly to a stargate on the route that Zelenka thinks they're going to drop out of hyperspace and we watch them pass by," John said with a casual shrug.

"That's good."

Sheppard smirked. "Well I have my moments," he said smuggly.

"It was Kai's idea," Zelenka filled in quickly. Behind him Kai shifted uncomfortably at the praise.

Weir snorted and nodded, not surprised.

John continued gesturing to the screen. "Well, we just need to decide which planet we should go to."

Teyla rose from her seat. She studied the options carefully before she pointed to the middle one. "I am familiar with the people of this world. Their stargate is in the open and thus accessible by ship."

"It will also give us another run at them if something goes wrong," John agreed nodding. It felt good to have something to do. He didn't sit still well, and the prospect of just sitting and waiting for the Wraith to arrive was unbearable.

"And you think you can remain undetected by the wraith as they go by your position?" Weir asked unconvinced.

John nodded determinedly. "Stealth mode, we activate it before they arrive. We sit tight, run the scans as they go past. They won't even know we're there."

Zelenka stepped forward. "The sensors in the jumpers are already fairly advanced but I've developed a more thorough program to detect all we can in a short burst. The sensors themselves should remain undetected to their own scans."

"Knowledge is power," Weir filled in.

Zelenka nodded. "Exactly. Kai can make the necessary changes, adapting the jumpers systems while they are en route, and run the program," Zelenka said confidently.

Weir's eyes cut to Kai who was standing behind Zelenka. The Mortii had her hands clasped behind her back, her face was grim and her posture rigid. It was the first time Kai had ever looked like a soldier to Elizabeth. She had seen the video of her sparring against Teyla. She had even seen her against the Genii, but somehow Elizabeth still had trouble reconciling that person with the quiet mechanic she had grown to like.

"You're comfortable going?" she asked her.

Kai nodded once briskly.

"Okay," Elizabeth agreed. This was a military situation and if John thought it was necessary that would have been enough. Having the support of Zelenka and Kia however made it absolute in her mind. "Go, get whatever intel you can and get back before Rodney sends his message. I need you here," she told John.

Sheppard nodded. "We won't even stop at the Duty Free," he promised with a tense attempt at humor. He spun around. "Teyla, Zian," he said meeting both their gazes. "Gear up. Meet in the Jumper bay."

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The Major was already in the pilots seat when Kai came aboard. She took the seat beside him and started connecting her laptop to the controls. She had felt uncomfortable around him since waking him up that morning and asking for his help. It seemed foolish for something like that to bother her, but she couldn't shake it. Asking for help was not something her people did. It was a sign of weakness to them, and Kai wanted very much to prove that she was strong enough to earn her place on Atlantis.

"How we looking Zian?" He asked after a long moment of silence.

Kai startled a little and looked up briefly before going back to her laptop. "Good."

John nodded. "Well that's good." He couldn't quite place it, but something was off with Kai. It had been since she pounded down his door. At first he thought it was just because she was tired, but now he was wondering if something else was on her mind. She seemed uncertain of herself. It wasn't a side he was used to seeing.

Kai cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Thank you for backing me up on this with Doctor Weir," Kai said in a low voice without turning to face the Major.

John spun his chair around in surprise. "It was the right call."

Kai nodded but kept typing. "I just," she started and stopped. "I know that Doctor Weir respects you. I realize it was ultimately her decision but you being willing to-"

"Zian," John said a little sharply, cutting her off.

Kai turned to face him reluctantly.

"Elizabeth trusts you," he explained unnecessarily. "She would have listened to you even if you hadn't woken me up at the crack of dawn," he added with a wry grin.

Kai pressed her lips together and nodded once, but she didn't look convinced. "I'm sorry about that," she said quickly.

John could sense how uncomfortable she was and he turned back to begin running pre-flight. "Did you get any sleep last night Zian?" he asked.

Kai didn't look up from her laptop. "I don't believe my sleep requirements are the same as your's Major," she said simply. "I volunteered to stay up and help Zelenka process that data."

He grunted. "Course you did," and went back to his work.

Teyla joined them a few moments later. "Are we ready?" she asked, looking back and forth between the Major and Kai.

She spent a great deal of time with both of them and she always found it interesting to see the two of them interact. There were times when they behaved as though they were old friends, joking comfortably together, but it always seemed to catch them off guard. Then they would go back to behaving as they were now, stiff and uncomfortable, like two soldiers working together only for the greater good. They confused her.

Once Teyla was seated John closed the rear hatch and lifted off. He lowered the jumper into the gate room. As they were rotating towards the gate Weir's voice came over the radio.

She stood at the balcony with her arms crossed over her chest. "On the off chance you get the idea to take the Wraith ships on yourself, Major, I am hereby ordering you not to."

"Believe me," John said with a snort. "You don't have to."

"Still..." Elizabeth pressed.

His response was sarcastic. "Don't take on an alien armada single-handedly. Understood."

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Kai activated the HUD as soon as they came through the gate. "I'm picking up a fairly large settlement just south of the gate," she reported. "Several hundred lifeforms are being detected."

"Yes," Teyla said leaning forward eagerly. "That is the village."

Sheppard set the jumper down a short walking distance from the village. The three of them stepped out of the jumper. They had a couple hours before the Wraith were due to drop out of hyperspace and Teyla had convinced The Major to stop and warm the people of the possible attack.

"Keep your eyes open," he said lifting his P-90 into his hands.

"I assure you Major," Teyla said resolutely. "These people are friends."

Sheppard cut his eyes over to Kai who nodded once briskly despite Teyla's word. They encountered children as they stepped out of the jumper. They ran up to Teyla laughing and calling out greetings. Despite the warm reception Kai kept her eyes on the trees. Thick forests surrounded the village offering the opportunity for a lot of cover. The Major had his P-90 in hand as he scanned the area as well.

Both Kai and John were tense and wanted to get on to the mission, but Teyla seemed perfectly content to laugh with the children as they led the way towards the village. The kids hung off of Teyla's arms, eager to see her. One young boy ran ahead. "Father!" Kai heard him exclaim. "Teyla's here."

An older man waved enthusiastically as they came over the rise of the hill. "Teyla!" he greeted warmly.

"Orin," she said with a welcoming smile. "It has been many days."

"Too many," Orin agreed as the two pressed their foreheads against one another. "Look at you, you're so different," he said taking in her uniform.

Teyla nodded in agreement but smiled reassuringly to her old friend. "Much has changed since my last visit."

The old man cast a knowing look at the Major, taking in their matching clothes. John shifted uncomfortably but didn't say anything.

Teyla was quick to introduce them. "This is Major John Shepppard," she said, and then she stepped aside so Kai was visible. "And this is Kai Zian," she said. "Kai, Major, this is Orin."

Orin laid a hand over his heart and bowed as John was about to offer to shake his hand. John pulled his hand back at the last minute so he wouldn't cause some kind of offense. Orin turned to Kai and repeated the gesture. When he straightened Kai returned it and Orin's smile was radiant. "It is wonderful to meet friends of Teyla's."Orin turned back to Teyla. "The harvest is still months away."

Teyla's eyes were troubled. She sincerely hoped her fathers old friend believed her. She had not considered the possibility of him not doing so until that very moment. "Yes, I know. We have not come to trade. But to deliver a warning. We have reason to believe the Wraith are on their way."

Orin and the others shifted in shock.

"We don't know that for a fact," Sheppard said quickly, trying to put the people at their ease. "We're about to go and find out."

"Yes," Orin agreed nodding. "It seems they are awakening everywhere."

Teyla reached out and took Orin's hand. "You should tell your people to take precautions in case they do come," she advised.

"I will," Orin agreed. "But you know as well as I do Teyla that the Wraith will track us down wherever we go. There will be no escape."

"What about through the stargate?" Teyla asked.

"The cullings are taking place on many worlds," Orin argued. "None are safe. Even we have taken in refuges," he said resting a comforting hand on the shoulder of one of the small children.

Kai stepped forward. "But not all at once," she said impatiently. "If you have refuges than you know of worlds that have already been culled. You could hide until the threat has past."

"Return to what? What would be left?" Orin challenged. His kindly eyes narrowing.

"Your lives," Kai pointed out.

Orin bristled. "And who are you?" he asked suspiciously. He was staring at the scarf that was wrapped around her head.

John moved as though he were going to put himself between them, but Teyla beat him to it. "A friend," she said firmly as she stepped between them. "If they do come, stay far from the stargate. Take your family to the far treeline and wait for us," she said with authority.

John frozen and swung back around to face her. Teyla-" He said sharply. They were here for a reason. They couldn't risk not getting the information back to Atlantis.

Teyla turned to face the Major. "One family John, that is all I ask," she implored, her wide brown eyes pleading.

The gathered group turned to John expectantly. Kai gritted her teeth. It was unfair of Teyla to put this type of pressure on the Major in front of so many people.

Despite the pressure Sheppard stood his ground and shook his head. "I'm sorry Orin, I can't make that promise."

"It will be the very least we could do," Teyla quickly pushed, turning her back on the Major.

Orin's eyes flickered between the two of them and he settled on Sheppard, waiting for his answer.

John sighed. "If there's time," he finally hedged.

Teyla smiled warmly. "Then we must hurry." She turned to touch her forehead to Orin's and when she turned back Sheppard and Kai had already started walking back towards the jumper.

John was stalking away with long angry strides. He was painfully quiet and Kai could practically feel the tension in the air. Kai had to trot to keep up with his long legs. She understood his anger. It was unfair of Teyla to lay that on him in front of so many people. They had a mission to complete and the lives of everyone on Atlantis hung in the balance.

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I hope you enjoyed the update! Thank you again for all the support! You guys are amazing!