Alayne

Everyone was silent as Alayne strode past them with a faraway look in her eyes. Her thoughts were filled with the sight of John's coffin as she stood over it after the attack on London. Her mind was filled with the scent of the flowers and the fresh cut grass as she, her father, her aunt, and her cousin stood over the two graves after the burial even after the rest of their family friends were off to the family home for the wake. She kept on mentally telling herself that Robb Stark wasn't her brother, but she couldn't help thinking about John – the similarities between them in looks were just eerie.

She could feel her heart racing in her chest as she stepped past more of the armoured Northerners, many of whom were staring at her as she walked past. Some of their eyes flickered behind her as they moved aside, and Alayne looked over her left shoulder towards the lit figures of Catelyn, Arya, and Robb – the latter who was still unconscious and his head now being cradled on the lap of his mother. Alayne looked back towards the front and approached her Sparrow. The Northerners nearby gave the aircraft a wide berth especially when it nearly crushed a few of them on the way to making an emergency landing.

Alayne assumed it was a shocking experience to have one of the most advanced space superiority fighters ever built make an emergency landing. She wondered how the locals had reacted, and what they thought of the flying machine resting among them.

Alayne glanced at the ones who were almost hit by the Sparrow – at least she assumed they were the ones as she was receiving glares from them, while a few of the other men spit on the grass as they stared at her.

'Some may think I'm a witch,' Alayne thought to herself while she listened to whispers highlighting that very fact among themselves. For now, though, there was no time to approach them and apologize, 'they just witnessed what could very well be the strangest thing they have ever seen. No telling how they'd act now if I apologize, maybe it's better to give everyone a few hours before trying to explain anything.' She turned her head towards the Sparrow mere inches away. She stopped, the grass underneath her boots were crushed, and then climbed the extended ladder towards the cockpit.

Taking a deep breath, Alayne climbed a few steps up the ladder before looking around at the eyes that were on her. Some eyes were on the metallic body of the plane that was illuminated by the lights on the ventral hull and the sides of the stubby 'neck' section that made up part of the cockpit. She could see the looks of fear and awe of several of the people around the ones glaring at her before she turned towards the ladder that led up to the open cockpit. She continued her climb one step at a time while adjusting the backpack just as she approached the edge of the cockpit and the seat where the bottom cushion was pulled up to reveal a dimly lit recess.

Grunting as she swung the backpack over her shoulder and into the cockpit, Alayne positioned the bag just so it could be stuffed into the recess of the chair before she reached for the raised seat bottom and then pushed it down until there was a 'click' sound. Still feeling eyes on her, Alayne then got into the cockpit and pressed a button to retract the ladder into the body of the plane. At the same time, she could hear muffled whispers around her before reaching out and dimming the lights on the hull while dampening the lights in the cockpit.

To anyone staring at Alayne from the ground, there would be an eerie glow from within the strange metallic device that reflected onto her cream coloured skin. They would watch her with suspicion as she reached forward; in reality Alane activated the sensors and extended them to their maximum range. She could now see if there were any enemy coming down to their position from the direction of the Twins, 'I'll go up into the air and keep in contact with Arya through the subspace radio. Once these guys are on the move again, I'll land somewhere and then take a quick nap before taking to the air again. If Robbie or any one from the task force gets into orbit before these guys reach this Greywater place, then I can ask him to stand-by.'

Leaning back onto the seat after she set up the sensors to detect any possible enemy movements from the Twins, Alayne glanced at the shifting outlines of the people around her. It was dark once again, darker than before since she further dimmed the lights along the hull. Alayne then reached down between her legs and picked up her helmet. She then placed the helmet on her lap before leaning back against her seat. Seeing Robb nearly die, 'well, he did die for a few seconds,' Alayne found her mind rushing back to the funeral. She remembered the standing over the casket and then later over the gravesite of her older brother with her mother buried next to him.

'I keep going back to this thought, how can Robb and Catelyn look so much like John and mom,' Alayne thought to herself before she pressed her lips together. Looking up, she could see the stars pockmarked throughout the sky and the moon was glowing between the wisps of clouds floating overhead. She wondered how far she was from the Brotherhood world which exploded before she looked back down and then sighed. Her eyes shifted up towards the view of Robb, Catelyn, Arya and the others a few meters away before she looked back down at her center console.

'Some of them are gonna be heading off to find this Greywater Watch place,' Alayne thought to herself as a warm breeze brushed past her cheeks. She sighed once again before she closed her eyes for a few seconds. She wanted to brush aside the memories of her brother and mother while reminding herself that Catelyn and Robb were not them. Alayne breathed in and out slowly before she opened her eyes once again to the sounds of groups of people moving around her.

In the dimly lit surroundings, Alayne could see many of the men dropping their weapons onto the grass before settling down while others, who Alayne believed to be sentries, were being given orders by some of the others, 'they are probably the commanders… I think I hear that GreatJon guy saying something about checking the perimeter'.

Taking a deep breath again, Alayne went back to staring at the screen in front of her before she relaxed slightly. 'They're safe,' Alayne thought to herself, 'these people are not mom and John… they're gonna be safe. Robb, Catelyn, and Arya are going to be safe.' Alayne breathed out slowly and then reached for a button on the side of her seat and pressed it down.

A message than appeared on the screen below the central display; it indicated that the emergency beacon was active. The beacon was designed to send an SOS message along with the Sparrow's location to a range of about three to five light years, 'hopefully the Aurora or the Phoenix finds me and then locates the signal. The others should have returned to the rendezvous point by now so… come on… find me.'

Alayne looked up at the night sky and whispered, "mom, John, this has been one strange day." She looked back down towards the screens in front of her and then finished setting up alarms for any intrusions through a perimeter she had already set around the encampment. Once she was done, Alayne grabbed both sides of her helmet and then put it over her head. She would keep an eye on them from the air until she was rescued by her cousin on the Aurora, or by the Phoenix which was leading the task force hunting down the Brotherhood and their bases.

Leaning forward once again, Alayne reached out to press a button that closed the cockpit canopy. The canopy closed shut with a hiss and a click while Alayne began take-off procedures. It would be a few seconds later that the engines were humming as the fighter-interceptor started to float off the ground. She heard the audible 'thud' when the landing gear was pulled up into their recesses before she heard Arya's voice in the helmet's earpiece.

"Alayne? Where are you going?"

"I'll be keeping watch from the air," Alayne replied as she brightened the lights towards Arya, Catelyn, and the others who were staring back at the Sparrow with wide eyed awe. Who would have ever expected something - with what looked to be metallic wings floating without flapping said wings – at least that was what Alayne thought Arya and the others were thinking, "this… uummm… ship of mine allows me to watch all of you… and any threats coming towards you… from the air."

"But the wings… the wings are not flapping."

"It's a long and complicated story," Alayne chuckled into her helmet microphone as she zoomed the central screen to the surprised look on Arya's face, "stay with your brother and mother. I'll keep an eye on you and your people from the air and… and if there is anything amiss, I will send you a message."

"If I fall asleep?" a worried Arya asked.

"Show your mother how to use the device I gave you," Alayne said just before Arya whispered that she misplaced it earlier and had only just found it. Alayne chuckled before saying, "keep it with you, Arya. If you need anything or you just want to talk, you can contact me."

"Alright," was the reply from the little girl as her head turned towards her mother.

Catelyn was looking in Alayne's direction, and she offered a small smile. Alayne nodded her head before saying into her microphone, "we can't stay here for long. Tell your mother that we should leave in four hours at best. We're too close to the enemy, and its dark out. If we stay here for long, then your enemies may strike sooner rather than later." She saw Arya's lips move after turning her head towards Catelyn. Alayne then saw Arya turning towards the man with the scarred face and nodding her head.

"Alayne…"

Alayne saw Arya turning her head towards the Greatjon who was walking back towards the group after talking to some of who, Alayne assumed, were going to be the sentries for the night. Arya and Catelyn nodded their heads at the large man who was staring in the Sparrow's direction with a hint of fear on his face. It was an expression Alayne could see clearly thanks to the brightness of the lights being turned up slightly. She could see the Greatjon turning back towards Catelyn, and Arya and guessed that they were speaking about something. However, Alayne was unable to hear what was being discussed. Alayne then saw another woman, 'Dacey I think her name is,' nodding her head before speaking towards the Greatjon and then to the scarred man.

"Alayne, can Robb be moved safely?" Arya asked through the radio.

"He shouldn't be moved at all, but we have no choice, we can't stay here for long," Was Alayne's reply as she thought about her dead brother once again. Trying to push that image away once again, Alayne took in a deep breath as she recalled the happier times with John before saying, "what I gave him should have started to repair his injury from the inside of his body. His bleeding has stopped so that's a good thing… four hours should hopefully be enough to…" from her monitor, which was zoomed in to Arya, Alayne could see that Arya was speaking – her lips were moving – to the others around her just as Alayne finished each sentence, "heal the part of his insides that were cut by the arrowhead. When the time comes to move out, we should be very careful in moving him. Tell them that you have to start moving away from your enemies in a few hours, and the move has to be slow and steady. I'll be above in the sky to keep an eye on you and on any enemies that could be coming after you."

"Okay," Arya said nodding her head. Alayne smiled at the image of the little girl on her central monitor. It was under the lights of her Sparrow from her current vantage point that Alayne had a thought come into her head, 'Arya kinda looks like a younger version of Aunt Karla'. Alayne chuckled at the thought of her Aunt wielding a sword as she slowly pulled back on her controls. The Sparrow started to rise higher and higher above the grass covered ground. At the same time, Alayne turned down the exterior lights before deactivating them.

"I'll be watching all of you," Alayne gently reminded Arya as the Sparrow shot up and away from the group of nearly nine hundred Northerners, "get Robb some water. He'll need it for his recovery." By the time Arya answered in the affirmative, Alayne was already on her way towards the Twins for reconnaissance.

Colonel Robert Collins, the Aurora bridge; a little over twelve hours later.

The Aurora, a Daedalus class vessel, shot out of a blue cloud emanating from a rip in space before almost immediately decelerating. It was only a few hours ago that the ship had been continuing to scan the immediate area of the destroyed Brotherhood planet from several light years away after the Sparrows returned without Alayne. However, the planet's explosion released a form of uncatalogued energy that was blocking the sensors on the Aurora and the other vessels; and it was only when this energy field dissipated several hours later that the Aurora managed to target the specific frequency used by Alayne's hyperdrive.

Robert 'Robbie' Collins had breathed a sigh of relief upon discovering Alayne hyperdrive frequency; it meant that his cousin managed to open a hyperdrive window before the planet exploded. Once the frequency was confirmed and a course plotted to follow the frequency trail through hyperspace, Robbie, the commander of the Aurora, signalled to the rest of the Task Force that they should return to Earth with all the information that was collected by the strike teams who had their escape covered by the Sparrows. Once this was agreed, he ordered the opening of a hyperspace window.

And now, the Aurora was in space searching for any sign of Alayne's Sparrow while, at the same time, travelling towards a nearby planet. The sensors had shown that Alayne would have exited hyperspace in this planet's vicinity since the trail from her Sparrow's hyperdrive abruptly ended at these coordinates.

"Anything?" Robbie asked as he stared at the holographic overlay just above the window that looked out into space. The overlay indicated two trails, coloured in red, that were heading for the nearby planet, "her emergency beacon? Any sign of Captain Collins' Sparrow?"

"None, sir," the officer on the console to the left of the command chair said as he pressed some buttons. In response, the overlay indicated that the sensors were searching for Alayne's ship; after a few seconds there was nothing to report. Even though the trails showed Alayne's Sparrow led to the planet in the distance, there was no sign of it.

"Any signals from Alayne's subcutaneous transmitter?"

"None sir."

"Any emergency beacon from the surface?"

"None, sir," Robbie was told as he stared at the holographic overlay; he was willing for it to show a sign that Alayne was on the surface via a blip… however there was none. In fact, the sensors indicated there were no life signs other than basic flora and fauna. 'The trails lead here,' Robbie thought as he leaned back on his seat and rubbed his chin while the other arm rested on the armrest, 'there are no other signs that her Sparrow's in orbit; thankfully there's no debris field.' Robbie frowned before he ordered all communications channels open while thinking to himself, 'she has to be somewhere on the planet. Maybe she's injured, or maybe she's out exploring, or…' Every thought that Robbie had were then turned back on itself when he was reminded that Alayne's subcutaneous transmitter was designed to not malfunction. It was the latest model used by everyone who was a part of the SCG and Homeworld Command.

"Channel open, sir," the fresh face female Lieutenant said from the console to the left of the command chair.

"This is Colonel Robbie Collins of the Tau'ri Defense Fleet ship Aurora. Captain Alayne Collins, do you copy?"

Robbie waited with bated breath as he stared at the planet in front of his eyes. He was waiting for something, anything. All he needed was a sign that Alayne had heard him. 'Maybe her equipment malfunctioned and that's why she overshot the rendezvous point?' That was the theory when the Aurora detected the hyperdrive trail from Alayne's Sparrow overshot the coordinated that the Sparrows were supposed to meet with the Task Force vessels.

And now, there was no sign of anything. 'At least,' Robbie thought to himself with lips pressed together, 'I know I have to keep reminding myself of this, but there are no debris in orbit and no signs of any debris in the hyperspace tunnel, and the sensors didn't even show signs of debris on the surface.'

Still there was no answer from Alayne.

'Come on, Alayne, answer,' Robbie thought as he leaned forward and sent the same message once again while getting off his seat. He walked down a step and then towards the holographic overlay while thinking about his cousin, 'Alayne, where are you? You have to be on the surface somewhere so why aren't you answering me?'

"Sir?"

Robbie turned towards the male officer manning the right console and nodded his head, signalling the young man to continue with what he was about to say.

"Sensors are indicating some sort of a disruption field around the planet, sir," the young man said before Robbie turned around and watched a holographic wireframe coloured in green wrap itself around a representation of the planet below. Robbie stepped forward with a curious look on his face while saying that any disruption field that's designed to cover a planet would require a very powerful energy source like a ZPM. However, the young man manning the console said, "there's no signs of any power source."

Robbie crossed his arms over his chest while asking, "anything from the Core room?" Like the Odyssey, and then its later sister ships, the Aurora had an operational Asgard core which worked to complement the other onboard systems. The later versions of the Asgard Core were constructed using the instructions present in the original Core installed on the Odyssey many years ago. However, the one on the Odyssey was unique due to the fact that it was the only Core that contained the living consciousness of the entire Asgard race. And for now though, the Odyssey was in Pegasus on a mission so secret that not even Robbie knew what she was doing there.

"Dr. Fitzgerald wants to talk to you, sir."

"On screen, Lt. Helman," Robbie said to the male officer before turned back towards the Holographic HUD where there was an image of a dark-haired male with thick rimmed glasses and slicked back black hair looking back at him. Robbie nodded at the man and said, "Doc, please tell me you know what's going on?"

"Once we came out of hyperspace, the Asgard Core identified a strange phenomenon, or rather a strange energy pattern, around the planet," the man said.

"A disruption field," was Robbie's response ass he nodded at the planet to the left of the scientist's head, "we got the same results through the sensors."

"According to the information from the Asgard Core," the scientist said as he fixed his glasses while there was an expression of excitement on his face, "the energy pattern making up this disruption field is similar to technology from a race we haven't encountered before, but it is one that we have heard about." At hearing that, Robbie tilted his head with a quizzical expression on his face as the man continued, "the energy pattern is similar to the trace readings from what was left of the Brotherhood world that was destroyed."

"And you're telling me this now? And wait a second, what race are you talking about?" Robbie arched an eyebrow. If the Core had given the answers to that strange energy pattern the sensors detected, then why wasn't he told about it on the way to this world. However, Robbie soon got his answer.

"We only just got the results, Colonel," the man said, his voice getting higher in excitement, "and the energy pattern of the disruption field around the planet correlates with the trace energy patterns we discovered after the Brotherhood's planet exploded. It's Furling, sir. I think we're looking at what could be the result of Furling technology."

"Wh… What?" the Colonel said in surprise as the Scientist nodded his head excitedly. Robbie had read about the Furlings… about how there were only slivers of information on them. No none knew what they looked like, or their culture, or their technology. All Robbie knew was what the others at the SGC and Homeworld Command knew… that the Furlings were part of the Alliance of Four Great Races and that they left the Milky Way many years ago. And now, according to the Asgard Core on the ship, the disruption field's energy pattern was identified as being of Furling design.

"We're still collecting more information, Colonel. But I thought you wanted to know this first… I mean I know I'd want to know about it if I was in your position."

"The disruption field seems to have somehow blocked communications to Captain Collins' ship," Robbie said, even though his mind was still reeling at the thought that the Aurora encountered something of Furling design, "any way to get a signal through the disruption field, Dr. Fitz?"

"I'll check the database now that we know what to look for," was the reply, "I'll get back to you as soon as I've got something."

Robbie nodded his head before the image of Dr Fitzerald's head vanished and all that remained was the holographic overlay.

"Come on, Alayne," he whispered with his hands on his hips, "where are you?"

TBC.