This is an alternate version of the episode "The Queen." The Primary and her Commander dies just like in the original episode, but John and the others never come to rescue Teyla.
Constructive criticism is welcome. If I have made any mistakes or continuity errors, you can politely point them out to me.
I do not own SGA or its character's…unfortunately.
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Ice. A frigid block of ice in the pit of her stomach.
An icy darkness that stretches to the depths of her soul.
That is how Teyla felt when she sensed the presence of the wraith. She did not know if the sordid feeling came from any actual evil from the wraith, or just her unconscious bias against them, but the feeling was horrible just the same.
It made her feel helpless. Only a handful of Athosians could empathize with her gift, so she didn't have many people to talk with about it. One person she could talk to in particular about this was Nalan. She was a childhood friend who had inherited the same gifts, albeit in a much more diminished form. Nalan was the ideal Athosian woman with her bravery and determination. She was the one Teyla would look up to, and was often the source of strength for Teyla after her father's untimely death.
"My Queen, I hope your new quarters are to your liking?"
The voice of the wraith that Sheppard had named "Todd" interrupted Teyla from her reverie. She had not noticed him coming into the room. She had been sitting on her throne with her back slightly slouched for the past couple of minutes, staring into empty space in the darkness of the warm room, waiting for her commander to return by her side. The only other companion she had was the reddish light that partially lit the room. To be frank, she was afraid to leave her throne. Outside of those webbed doors was a world foreign to her. Many wraith and drones would be walking around; carrying on with their business in their busy wraith lives. Without Todd by her side to guide her, she may end up doing something unwise. It was best to stay put and wait for his guidance. Never before had she felt so vulnerable.
"They will do, for now." Teyla had made sure to add the attitude at the end of the sentence. "Remember, show strength, not weakness. The wraith are arrogant, authoritative, and unforgiving. Have a commanding presence. Lead." She thought.
It had been only a couple of hours since "she" had killed the Primary. The events afterward were so unexpected. She was supposed to talk to the Primary and leave, not rule over the enemies of her people! After officially becoming the Queen, Todd told her that it would be best for her to stay in her rooms and near her throne to allow her new subjects to feel her presence, maybe walk around in the halls outside if she was comfortable with it, but to stay near the throne a majority of the time. It was supposed to show the crew her authority. While she did that, he would around the hive to see if his plan had fooled the majority of the wraith aboard the hive. Which it did.
"Ah, then all is well" Todd growls as he walks toward his queen, the bottom of his heavy coat flapping behind him. "I hope you understand that this may…will take a while. It is not every day that a hive acquires a new queen. There are several essential steps needed to take in order to ingrain a queen into a hive, or an alliance of hives for that matter." The knowing smirk on Todd's face made Teyla feel ill. She wanted to go home to Kanaan, to her little Torren, and to her friends on Atlantis. Never in her life could she believe that she would actually miss the whining of Rodney, of all people! But, she knew that while her soul longed to leave, she had to finish this charade for the sake of the inhabitants of her galaxy. She looked up to her commander, staring him in the eyes.
"You said that this would not take long. That I would be able to leave once the others bought this. It has been hours. I feel that that should be an approp…"
"Do not worry." Todd walked off to the side of the throne, slightly worried at Teyla's agitation. "Everything is going according to plan. You will just have to…stay for a couple of…days and,"
"DAYS!" Teyla's eyes burst wide in surprise at his statement. Her mouth dropped in shock as she struggled to draw strength to talk. How could he? "You said it would not take long. That…is a very long time. This is not what I agreed to. I don't know how long I can keep this up. I saw one of the scientists gazing at me earlier and…"
"My Queen! Remember what I told you about keeping up the morale. About keeping up appearances. If you want to live, I highly suggest that you stay. Leaving so soon will arouse suspicion of this. Besides, a mere couple of days are nothing to wraith. Time is not as sacred to us as it is to other species. Just do as I say and everything will be fine." Todd feigned shock as his words dripped with accusations of Teyla being shady by going back on the agreement.
Teyla could feel panic begin to overflow her, but she squelched it down for fear of death. She could do this. She would do this. And she would make a splendid and most wondrous queen. She would not let her people down. Besides, maybe her commander was somewhat trustful. After all, he did get her thisfar. She tried to control herself, but the fear was overwhelming. Getting up from her throne and walking towards Todd, she tilts her head to him and whispers frantically.
"Very well, commander. But that scientist! I fear he suspects! He seems to be around every corner, hiding in every crevice. He may ruin it."
"Do not worry, my queen" Todd slips out, standing tall with a proud look upon his face. "I have everything under control. Just relax."
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Two days had passed, and was Teyla was beginning to feel more confident in her abilities to fool the crew. She walked with her head up high; smirking slightly at the sight of the wraith bowing their heads and lowering their eyes when in her presence. It was their actions that fueled her confidence. It made her feel powerful and respected; someone who was to be feared and admired at the same time. Like an alpha female. These certainly could not be the same wraith that she had nightmares of during childhood!
With her absence, Colonel Sheppard had, of course, been upset with Todd about the whole ordeal. She learned of how they reacted when they heard that she would be staying for a bit longer. McKay was anxious as usual while Colonel Sheppard and Ronon threatened the second-in-command constantly. Apparently, they had decided to stay aboard Todd's original hive, just to watch and make sure there was no funny business going on. It made her feel well that her friends were so concerned for her well-being.
Wraith beds were not to her liking, at least the one that was for her. It was too soft and felt very, squishy, as if some sort of gel were inside. She had been resting on it for a couple of minutes, pondering over the events that had occurred over the past couple of days, when she felt the sudden need to return to her throne, quickly. With the limited abilities of the wraith genes in her DNA, she was able to sense the emotions and needs of the hive, especially since she had been practicing and strengthening her gift after that one incident where that queen almost killed her poor Torren. With this strength, she could function like a normal queen and sense the crew reach out to her, to feel her. They would do this every so often, gently tugging at her mind and consciousness. At first it frightened her, but soon ignored the odd feeling as her commander assured her that she would be safe and that they would not dare do anything more. She chalked it to their need to have a queen on the hive. The old one was gone and taken from them so abruptly, so they would reach out to her just to check to see if she was there. To feel as if she were real. To show her that they belonged to her.
She could now feel the pure passion of urgency. She was being called. The force pulled and ached at her mind. Heels clicking on the hard floor, she glides over to her throne and sits with confidence.
"Come"
Her commander walks into the room, this time with a fellow wraith. This one is a bit shorter than the commander, and does not bear any facial markings as Teyla can discern, but his hair is long and brushed back into a sloppy ponytail. He stops a couple of feet and bows to Teyla. Todd straightens his posture as he speaks. "My queen, this is one of the top scientists aboard this vessel. He has done extensive work on the virus created by the rogue."
Teyla frowns and suddenly feels a lump in her throat. "Oh?" The Primary had apparently ordered her scientists to find a cure for the modified Hoffan virus, or at least to find a way to give the wraith immunity against it. It didn't surprise her that there was some wraith working with it; it just shocked her that she would be dealing with the situation face-to-face. Her job here was to spread Keller's gene therapy, not to help them feed on more people. Still, she had to continue. Maybe he did not find much progress. "So, just what did you find? I hope you have had progress with counteracting this." Leaning forward she hisses at him in warning. "I really hope you have."
The startled scientist pulls up his tablet and begins scrutinizing the information it contained. Going by his actions, he must have been young.
"Ah, yes, my queen. I have had success at first, but it seems there have been many setbacks. At first the obvious solution was just to remove certain proteins and rearrange the bonds some polypeptides, but…as I said before, there is more work to be done." The scientist said before Teyla cut in.
"I am pleased. Continue your work. I want the solution to this abhorrence found." Teyla breathed out. This was very upsetting. If that scientist was close to a breakthrough, it would mess up everything! "Now, leave us." She nodded her head away from him, signifying that she wanted nothing more to do with him at the moment. She continued to watch him walk away until she was sure he was far away after he left the room. Todd had the nerve to look surprised when Teyla slowly rolled her eyes in his direction.
"You continue to lie and deceive, time and time again, I see."
Todd shrugged his shoulders. "I would never dare to deceive you, my queen. Many hives are out to do the same. Just because he has managed to gain a better understanding of the virus does not mean that he is closer to neutralizing it. I am sure Doctor Keller is more advanced in finishing her work that he is to his. Besides, I currently am in no position to rescind the agreement that I have made with the Lanteans."
His toothy grin looked sincere enough, but Teyla knew better than to trust a wraith, even if he had proved a little trustworthy in the past. "Fine" She threw one hand up, secretly wishing to smack her commander than the air. "I pray to the ancestors that I am not in a situation where he actually finds a way to undo it." I would be chased from Lantea! Or even worse, I would be disowned by my people. I would have to tell them of my involvement, then. My child will grow without knowing his mother. He would be known as the son of the Traitor. Teyla grimaced as she thought of the consequences that that action may hold.
Her commander just grinned and let out an indifferent "hm". He didn't seem to actually care about her personal issues. He probably would not care if she were to die on the spot once she stepped foot back on Atlantis. Perhaps it was just a gesture that he had learned from humans, to smile and act alert even if you are not interested in the conversation you are having with another person. He may have not been interested in her anxiousness, but he still loved to irk her.
He glanced behind him, looking towards the entrance. Teyla was about to ask him what troubled him, but he turned and left. She soon would get her answer. A female worshipper rushed in the room with her head down and kneeled at the throne.
"My Queen." The worshipper whispered as she bowed low in front of Teyla before.
Teyla resisted the urge to show surprise in front of her new guest. The woman was very young, probably in her early twenties. She wondered what could have persuaded someone like her to become a worshipper, unless she was forced into servitude.
It was quite odd having another human being wait on you and worship you as a true queen.