Stargate Atlantis: S7—Do Not Go Gentle2
"I don't believe this." Rodney could only stare, dumbfounded. John was sitting on a sumptuous bed in a sumptuous chamber. He was surrounded by beautiful, young women who were fawning over him, hands fluttering over his brow and along his arms. One was soothing his brow with a damp cloth. Another was gently massaging his arm. A third was moving her hands along his leg in a rather sensual manner.
If one had been peeling John a grape Rodney would not have been that surprised.
John blinked. He stared. He could have sworn that Rodney and then Ronon were standing in the chamber's doorway, staring at him. He wasn't sure if this was yet another hallucination induced by the queen so he hesitated. "Rodney? Are you real?"
"This is your imprisonment? This?" The irate physicist gestured round the room. "I don't know why we even bothered, Ronon," he commented to the Satedan. "If this is the torture then sign me up right away, please!"
Ronon grinned for a moment.
"It's not funny!" John flared. He staggered to his feet, trying to head for them but the floor swayed under him and he nearly fell. The women clung to him, trying to pull him back to the bed but he shook them off angrily. They were cloying, like weeds and he hated them.
He was half tempted to punch them, but he would never hit a woman.
"Sheppard. Are you all right?" Ronon asked, all mirth gone as he saw the state of his friend. John's face was bloodied and bruised. Purple puffiness underlined each eye. His shirt hung in tatters to his battered form. He appeared to be drained and dirty but if years had been taken from him they had been restored. It was still an exacting process as Ronon remembered, and quite a strain.
"I'll survive." John croaked. "Let's just get the hell out of here. Rodney, I knew you would realize…" John's words faltered for a moment. Emotion overwhelmed. The doubt had been replaced by gratitude. Words tangled on his tongue and he opted for silence.
"Of course, John," Rodney assured. "Let's go. We haven't much time." He glanced at the women again as they fell back. Consternation lined their lovely faces. Their hands fluttered in gestures and their red lips moved in soft protests. "Um, are they—"
"Wraith worshipers. Leave them," Ronon said harshly. There was nothing worse in his book than any human who would willingly collude with the Wraith.
"What do you mean?" John asked as he was helped by the two men out of the room. He could hear the women pleading for him to stay. He ignored their soft voices and fearful tones. "Wait…it wasn't locked? It was locked before! I could have just…I…"
"Not in your condition," Ronon soothed.
"And why would you want to leave this heaven anyway? All right, all right," Rodney conceded to John's glare. "Even his imprisonment is peopled with hot alien chicks," he grumbled.
"Why don't we have time?" John repeated. It felt almost surreal to have his friends here, but they were here and real enough. At times he had had a tenuous hold on reality. Now, however, he knew for certain what was real and what was not. It reassured him.
"This place is set to blow in ten minutes, well, seven now. We've got to make it to the Jumper and get outta here!"
"The queen. She'll know and—"
"Not yet. Moira's distracting her and then Teyla will take control but it won't last. Let's go!"
John yanked free, glaring. "What? Moira? Moira's here?"
"Yes." Rodney blanched under John's irate glare. "She insisted. She's buying us time to get you to safety so let's not waste it, all right? She'll join us and—"
"We need to move, Sheppard!" Ronon tried to pull his friend but the military commander would not budge.
"Fuck no! I am not leaving without her!"
"You're in no condition to argue!"
"John, we need to get you to the Jumper and then we can retrieve Moira. In fact she might already be on her way to—"
Alarms broke into Rodney's words, refuting them.
"Shit. We've got to move now!" Ronon tried to pull John again but the military commander wrenched free.
"I won't leave her to the mercies of that queen! You two go! I'll follow with Moira!"
"That's not the plan!"
"I don't give a fuck! GO!" John whirled but he fell suddenly as the floor canted beneath him.
XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX
Moira grimaced and softly swore as she shoved to her knees. The Wraith's long nails were digging into her shoulder as he held her there. Moira was staring at the darkness of the queen's chamber, at the darkness of the queen's robes as she neared. Moira stared up at the darkness of the queen. The resemblance to Elizabeth Weir was startling and horrendous.
"You...you are alive," the queen hissed. Anger radiated from her. Moira could almost feel the heat of it on her skin. She could feel the tendrils of power reaching into her brain, into her memories. Moira shut them all down, imagining a blank wall. She was skilled now in blocking off thoughts and emotions from invasive forces.
At least something good had come out of being temporarily insane after having been inflicted with that Fugly neural implant.
"I have something of value for you, but you must let John go."
The queen laughed. It was a grating sound, like nails on chalkboard. "What could you possibly have that I might find of value? I will drain you dry in front of John. Then I will savor his torment and guilt all the more."
Moira glared at the Wraith queen. "Even then he won't tell you where Atlantis is."
"And you will?"
"No. I have something much more valuable than that."
"What could be more valuable than the location of Atlantis?"
"I discovered something in the old archives of the lost Ancient base. The one you destroyed. Only half the records remain. The rest must be on Atlantis, so if you destroy the city you will destroy the only chance you will have to find it."
"To find what?" she asked, fingers flexing dangerously near Moira's face.
Moira swallowed. "The genesis of others like you."
XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX
Teyla Emmagan sat cross-legged on the bridge of the Tria. She closed her eyes. It was an odd place to concentrate but nevertheless she calmed herself. She slowed her breathing and rested her arms on her legs, hands up and open. She blocked out all the extraneous sounds and voices. She blocked out all the concern around her. She knew Carson Beckett was nearby, anxiously waiting. She blocked him out too and opened herself.
She concentrated on the Hive ship not far from the Tria. She swallowed the worry for her friends and let her mind play across the Wraith vessel. She imagined herself wandering its hallways. She imagined herself feeling the ship's power. She imagined herself being worshiped by the Wraith on board. They would follow her orders without question.
At last she imagined the queen. She shunted aside the similarity to Elizabeth Weir and concentrated on the Wraith herself, that strange concoction of human and Iratus bug that had evolved into a terrifying and strangely beautiful creature.
She opened her eyes.
She was in the queen's chambers, sharp nails running along a human's pale face. A female human. Moira. Teyla steadied herself, pushing the queen aside and taking control of the body and then the voice and then the mind of the alien to control all three.
To get her friends time to get to safety.