Chapter 2: An ill-fated reunion
Studying the energy creatures turned out to be more difficult than we had expected. Not only they were radically different from all other know life forms but they were also very dangerous and completely unwilling to participate. After inventing a device that could trap them and several weeks of intensive work, we found something that looked like the energetic equivalent to our genetic code and began to decode it, hoping to reveal what had created this fascinating beings.
––Bioengineer Mortanius, Ascension Theory
Atlantis, Conference Room
"No way, Colonel!" Elizabeth said. "I won't allow you to go on with this suicide mission!"
"Are you kidding?" John snapped, looking as if he couldn't believe what he had heard. "Ford and Lorne will die if we don't help them!"
If the situation wasn't so dire, she would have laughed about the irony of John Sheppard asking her if she was serious. After all he was the one who wasn't – who couldn't be serious – for what he suggested was as dangerous as walking into a hive ship unarmed, hoping that the Wraith won't take notice of you. Right after receiving Kolya's 'gift' they had returned to Atlantis bringing orders to return to P3M-736 within three hours where they would meet with one of his men. The Commander had made it clear that if they didn't come alone, refused to bring a jumper or did something 'heroic', he would kill of the remaining hostage without hesitation.
Perish and the other members of Major Lorne's team had survived their capture without any permanent damage though Beckett had told her that it had been a tight fit and that remaining in the sun slightly longer would have most assuredly killed them. Even for Kolya that was an unusual cruel way to treat prisoners and she didn't want to consider what he would do to remaining hostages, if they didn't follow his orders. Nevertheless, she thought that doing what he wanted would be a grave mistake and close to suicide for she strongly suspected that he would kill both the hostages and anyone else she sent once he had what he wanted.
However, not everyone in the Conference Room – which hosted Bates, John's team and herself – seemed to share her opinion so she soon found herself in another argument with John which promised to become even uglier than the one this morning. She was quite certain that he would do whatever he wanted no matter the outcome of this discussion but she would do what she could to stop him from walking into his doom – or at least make it as difficult as possible.
"There is no mission, John," she stated matter-of-factly, "there's only Kolya and whatever he has in mind for you! Your 'plan' is to play along until he makes a mistake but what if he never does? You would be in his mercy and I'm sure you know as well as I do that he will kill you should this ever happen! No matter what we do, we can only loose. It's like flipping a coin only that you'll loose on both head and tails. Either I sent you there and offer Kolya your life on a silver platter or I'll order you to stay here and we'll loose Lorne – and Ford if the Genii really have captured him!"
"You do not believe that Kolya speaks the truth?" Teyla asked, looking surprised.
"I'm just wondering if this is trick that's supposed to give us another reason to help him," the expedition leader replied, "all we have are the dog tags which don't prove anything. Ford could have lost or sold those months ago and the Genii could have found them. I mean, even if the Lieutenant has survived and is still out there, how could Kolya capture him while we failed every time we tried?"
"He really has him," John said after a few moments, "I remember that he still wore his tags when he entered the hive ship with us."
"I don't want to sound cynical or egoistic but we're not going to go back there, are we?" Rodney asked, glancing at Sheppard nervously. "I mean, Elizabeth is right, we can't win that one."
"If you flip a coin often enough, it will eventually land on its edge," John replied calmly, as if this was the solution for their problems.
"You're joking, right?" McKay asked, "I admit it is a nice metaphor but our lives are on stake here and taking outrageous risks is no guarantor for success!"
"I think Colonel Sheppard is right," Bates said, his words followed by a stunned silence.
"You think I'm right?" John asked incredulously, obviously not having expected Bates to come to his help.
"I know that this doesn't happen a lot of times, but yes," the Sergeant responded. "Don't get me wrong, your plan is clumsy, reckless and not thought out but it's the only real alternative we have would only make it worse. We would lose two men and if Kolya really needs our help, he would simply take more hostages until we have done what he wants us to do. We still have no idea how he can find and subdue our men so easily and if we don't find out, it will be much too risky to send any teams off-world, meaning that we are stuck here. If the only way to prevent this is a desperate gamble then we should take it, simply because the alternative is much worse!"
Elizabeth thought about what Bates had said for some time and came to the conclusion that he was right. As much she hated to bring even more of her men into danger, it seemed that she had no choice. She wondered why she hadn't thought about this; after all it had been her who had told them to find out about Kolya's mysterious tactical advantage in the first place. Perhaps she had been too emotional, too afraid that John was once again entirely focused on finding Ford, to concentrate on the facts – a mistake she didn't plan to repeat anytime soon.
"Very well, you may go," she said. "Find out as much as you can but the most important thing is that both you and the hostages make it back here alive."
When she watched the others leaving, she found herself toying with a coin, without any idea where it had come from. She toyed with the idea of flipping it but managed to resist the temptation – she was too afraid that it wouldn't land on the edge.
- - - - -
Later, P3M-736
"What took you so long?" Dalamar Entreri asked. "I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't show up and that I would have to endure Kolya's bad mood for the rest of the day!"
"I didn't expect you to meet us, "John stated, not bothering to answer the Genii's question. "Is Kolya that sure that we'll play along that he sends his second-in-command into such a dangerous situation?"
His curiosity wasn't faked; he found it more than a little peculiar to meet someone as important as Entreri doing an errand both that simple and dangerous. After all, even if everything went as planned – out of Kolya's perspective – it was four against one and if not, virtually everything could happen. The Genii wasn't even armed except for his equivalent for a 9 mil and Sheppard was fairly certain that even so it would be easy enough to capture him. The only thing that troubled him was the strange crystal Entreri wore on a chain around his neck, a crystal that looked both unknown and maddening familiar. Before he could come up with an answer where he could have seen a similar stone, Ronon broke his concentration:
"Why don't we just capture him and use him to get our men back?" he asked. "Let's beat Kolya at his own game!"
"Ah, I expected you to suggest something like that, apparently you are every bit as brutish as you look," Entreri answered, not at the least impressed by Ronon's threats. "However, the flaw in your plan is that Kolya doesn't care enough about me to make this work. I'm not one of his men but a Hidden One, a member of the Genii intelligence and apparently he doesn't hold us in great esteem. Believe it or not, I'm not even sure if he would be too unhappy if you killed me."
"Pity," Ronon growled, "But we can still force all the information we need to rescue our people out of you. I'm sure you won't be as cocky anymore after I'm done with you."
John was no friend of strong-arm tactics but he had to admit that the Satedan's idea had its advantages. If Entreri knew enough about the other Genii's plans it might be worth a try. With more information the chances to free Lorne and Ford would improve greatly, for example knowing on which planet they were kept would be a good start. He wondered whether he should tell Ronon to leave the Genii alive but decided not to bother for he doubted that Entreri would if their position were swapped.
"Oh please, last time was amusing but now your empty threats are getting tiresome." Kolya's second-in-command said. "You might not be aware of it but violence is a tool better used sparingly and it won't get you anywhere in a situation like this one. Do you really think I would come here without a way to make sure I would leave here alive?"
John noticed that the Genii had chosen exactly this moment to toy with the crystal around his neck and he once again had the impression that there was something important about this stone, something he really should remember. Both Teyla and McKay also glanced at the improvised amulet nervously as if they had the same unsettling impression while Ronon seemed oblivious to the discomfort of his teammates.
"And how is a trinket supposed to help you?" he asked, clearly believing that Entreri was either bluffing or a fool.
"Why don't you ask your comrades, my brutish friend?" the Genii answered. "They seem to recognize my crystal, maybe they have already witnessed what this 'trinket' can do?"
"Quit stalling, Entreri, and just say what you want us to know," Sheppard said, tired of this little game.
"This crystal is called a voidstone and is a device that can store the life signatures of up to six human beings," Entreri explained, a sly smile on his lips. "We stole this one from the Gith and filled it with the essence of your precious Lieutenant Ford."
It took a few moments for the message to sink in but then John realized how screwed they were. If Kolya had been stupid enough to steal equipment from the Gith, it would be only a question of time until they showed up here and reclaimed what was theirs. Usually he wouldn't mind seeing two of his enemies fight each other but the prospect of facing the wrath of both Kolya and Evincar Veldrin at the same time held no appeal at all for him. All he could hope for that even the Gith would need some time to find them and that he would be safely back on Atlantis when they finally succeeded.
"Belbe must have used one of them to bring us into the City of Traitors and we must have recognized it subconsciously," McKay concluded. "That would explain how they could have captured Ford, the enzyme may render him almost immune against Wraith stunners but it can't protect him from getting dematerialized."
"Whether Ford is in there or not changes nothing," Ronon stated, "you're still in our mercy!"
"Quite the contrary, it changes everything," Dalamar said, without any trace of fear, "you might not be aware of it but voidstones can't store life signatures indefinitely. Without proper maintenance they will reset themselves after a few days and I'm afraid that Ford is in there for a few days."
"Does that mean that Aiden will die if we don't do what you say?" Teyla asked, even though she probably knew the answer.
"He wouldn't actually die but cease to exist, whether this is better than dying you'll have to decide for yourself," the Genii responded, "I'm quite sure that McKay will eventually find a way to restore his physical form but by there will be nothing left to restore. The only chance for your friend to survive is that you play along and follow me to Kolya without harming me. Once we're there I can use some of the equipment we've stolen to rematerialize Ford."
"And you would give up one of your dead pledges because you're such a nice person, right?" John asked sarcastically. "Do you think we're stupid enough to buy this?"
"What you believe or don't believe doesn't really matter because you have no choice – at least no real one," Entreri stated. "I know that you won't let Ford die which leaves you no other option than to do what I say – unless you feel lucky enough to let McKay try it. You'll just have to believe that it fits into my plan to restore the Lieutenant once we have reached out destination. I would give you my word but we both know that that won't be enough for you anyway."
"Do you think you can get Ford out of there in time, Rodney?" John inquired, not yet ready to admit you that Kolya's second-in-command had just checkmated him.
"I have no idea," McKay admitted, "but I don't think we should risk it. I may be a genius but I don't know anything about those stones and even back on Atlantis finding a way to get him out will likely take more time than Ford has."
"Yes, I feared you'd say something like this," the Colonel said, "Ok, Entreri, you have won; we'll do what you say!"
"Ah, that's much better than the constant threatening!" Dalamar said, seeming to enjoy the situation. "Here's what happens now: We'll meet with Kolya and Lorne on another planet before we move on to our destination: a godforsaken planet on the edge of the galaxy whose Stargate is in space. Once we're there the Commander will tell you what you have to do to get Lorne back and I'll free Ford of his crystalline prison."
"What's so special about this planet that you take such great efforts to get there?" John asked, "And how do you even know about it? Correct me if I'm wrong but you didn't have any spaceships the last time we met!"
"Would you be surprised when I told you how talkative Gith become when being threatened sufficiently?" Entreri asked. "They have given us the address and a reason to go there: a downed Wraith ship."
John remembered the last time he had explored a crashed Wraith ship and wondered if it was possible for his day could become any worse.
- - - - -
Meanwhile, another planet
Belbe shivered when the cold wind passed right through her cloak and once again regretted not seeking a more sheltering position that would have made waiting a lot more comfortable. Her steelsilk armor was extremely light and surprisingly resistant but it was by no means warm enough for this planet and crouching on top of a hillock with only a few scattered rocks as shelter made this task even more unpleasant.
However, there wasn't any real alternative to being here so she decided to concentrate on her mission again. About six meters beneath her was a settlement of this planet's native, who were a rather primitive folk the Gith were not at all interested in. The only thing that made a visit here worthwhile was the information she had found in a Wraith date device which told her that a hive ship would soon arrive here and start culling the planet. On other circumstances this would be a reason to stay as far away from this world as possible but in fact she had a plan to turn the destruction of this world to her advantage. It was quite risky and had almost got her killed the last time she tried it but she just couldn't afford the luxury of safety at the moment.
Veldrin had made it quite clear that his patience was at an end and that he wouldn't need her any longer should she fail to bring him what he wanted, not caring about how difficult the task was he had set her. She had been so close a few weeks ago but some 'complications' had caused her to abandon her mission and return to Shakuras with empty hands. Veldrin had been raging in his office for almost half an hour before dismissing and setting her an ultimatum of three days. As unpleasant as this experience had been, Belbe was sure that she probably wouldn't be alive anymore if she had told the Evincar the real reason for her failure instead of remaining vague and claiming that the fighting between the Wraith had gone out of hand, forcing her to retreat.
Despite herself, she actually regretted taking actions behind Veldrin's back, being unpleasantly reminded of the time she had spent in Gix's service. Out of a reason she didn't know, the former Highexecutor had become colder, more calculating and totally intolerant of failure in the last months, making working for him similar unpleasant like working for the Wraith.
The unmistakable sound of Wraith darts caused her to discard this train of thought and she took some time to check her equipment once again. She extracted a small brooch out of her cloak and pinned it to her armor before activating her most valuable possession – the amulet that turned her invisible. Safely hidden from view, she waited calmly for a dart to come close enough to her, oblivious for the suffering of the people beneath her who had played their part in this scheme. As soon as one of the darts was close enough, Belbe jumped and landed precisely were she wanted to – right in the teleporting beam which immediately dematerialized her.
- - - - -
It took much longer than expected to pick Kolya up and when he finally arrived in the orbit of their destination, John had begun to wonder if they would manage to get Ford out in time. Even though a constant countdown in his head would be quite irritating but the uncertainty if the Lieutenant could be rematerialized was far worse. He kept checking his watch to see how much time had passed even though he had no idea if Ford had seconds, minutes, hours or days left to live. He also found himself glancing at the voidstone around Entreri's neck from time to time, searching for some clue if it had reset itself yet. Despite his worries for his friend, Sheppard was turning suspicious if Dalamar was only bluffing and the whole story was just a ploy to keep them under control – and himself alive. Unfortunately, he couldn't afford these doubts for in the unlikely case that the Genii was telling the truth any hesitation could be deadly for Ford and John would be dammed if he let his former second-in-command die. Perhaps his jumpiness was one reason for the very tense atmosphere in the Jumper – which seemed to get even worse the close they came to their destination – and he didn't want to consider what would happen if Kolya or Ronon – which were most likely to do so – lost their temper.
Ronon was still convinced that working with the Genii was a poor plan and only seemed to wait for a reason to attack them even though John had given him the direct order not to do anything without his permission. True, their chances in a fight had improved slightly because – due to the limited space within a Jumper – only Kolya, Entreri and two other soldiers accompanied them but the Colonel was convinced that the Genii were aware of their vulnerability and had taken precautions. One of those apparently was to keep a gun on Lorne's temple, ready to kill the Major should the Lantean try something 'unnecessary heroic' as Entreri liked to put it. Not willing to risk the lives of two of his men, John could only play along and hope that the Genii would make the mistake he was waiting for.
Truth be told, he was beginning to fear that Elizabeth had been right, that coming here had been a mistake but it was far too late for second thoughts now. Besides, judging from what the Commander's second-in-command had told him back on P3M-736, there seemed to be no love lost between Dalamar and Kolya, and he wondered if he might use this to his advantage. Entreri, who sat next to him on the shotgun seat, interrupted his train of thought at this point:
"I admit that the view is extraordinary but I'm sure Lieutenant Ford would appreciate if you landed soon. It would make examining the ship a lot easier – and putting him back together as well!"
John stifled the angry retort that was on his mind for he didn't consider it smart to start arguing with the more mild-tempered of his captors. After all, he might need Dalamar's help should Kolya finally give in to his urge to kill him. He was not nearly naïve enough to think that the Hidden One actually cared for him as a person but he probably wouldn't have such an important mission jeopardized by the other Genii's whims – Commander or not. So he decided to that he would stay diplomatic, play along and to resist the growing urge to smash Dalamar's face – at least for now.
"Did the Gith tell you were exactly on this planet the Wraith ship crashed?" he asked Entreri
"I'm afraid they omitted this part when giving their report," the Genii stated, "but I was hoping that you could locate it with this amazing ship."
"Oh sure, and what else shall we find for you?" Rodney asked with his usual sarcasm.
"That would be all at the moment, Dr. McKay, and I would advise you to hold your tongue in check," the Hidden One replied. "I might tolerate your constant complains but not everyone here is as even-tempered as I am. But feel free to go ahead, I'm sure the Commander would enjoy disciplining you!"
"Just concentrate on finding this damn ship, Rodney," John advised, "I know you don't like helping Kolya and neither do I but being stubborn won't help. We'll give them what they want and be back on Atlantis before dinner!"
John wondered if McKay got the message between the lines which was 'at least we'll pretend to help them unless I find a way out of this mess. Play along and leave the rest to me' but he took the fact that the scientist didn't argue as a good sign. Instead, Rodney stepped to the consoles – pushing Entreri out of the way in the process much to the Genii's displeasure – and started pressing buttons so quickly that John couldn't follow. After less than thirty seconds of concentrated work, the astrophysicist stepped back and almost immediately a glowing dot appeared on the Jumper's HUD, marking a position close to the planet's equator.
"Here we go," Rodney said, "all I had to do was to recalibrate the sensors to take up even faint energy signatures. The ship must still be largely intact for otherwise we wouldn't have picked up the signal over this distance."
Entreri looked thrilled by this revelation but John wasn't sure whether this was good or bad news. After all, an intact ship meant only one thing: Whatever they were about to do, they would have to face the Wraith to do it.
- - - - -
Teyla was more than a little relieved when she had solid ground under her feet again. Not that she was troubled by flying but this journey had been one of the most unpleasant she had ever made. She had spent it silently, her thoughts getting darker every moment. It had pained her to see Major Lorne bond and badly sunburned with a pistol constantly pressed on his temple, as if the Genii waited for a reason to kill him. Kolya himself had seemed delighted by the amount of control he had about his enemies and angry at the same time but for what reason Teyla didn't know. Anyway, the result had been extremely unpleasant and she had almost envied Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay who had been in the front part of the Jumper and thus out of the Commander's reach.
However, she had had a very good reason not to try to swap with them – apart from not wanting to leave Ronon and Lorne alone with Kolya – and this reason was named Dalamar Entreri. She didn't know why but Entreri got under her skin and somehow she hated him more than she hated Kolya – even if he hadn't tried to kill her and everyone she held dear yet. Nevertheless, he enjoyed blackmailing them far too much and seemed to know everything in advance, an ability Teyla found extremely disquieting. Whenever he looked at her, a chill went through her body and she felt like his eyes would see into the darkest regions of her soul, stripping layer after layer away and laying her most precious secrets bare. The others either didn't feel the same way or hid their feelings very well and more than once this day she had wondered if the tension of the last hours had started to affect her sanity.
Voices from outside caused her to snap out of her thoughts and she realized that everyone else had already left the Jumper. Not wanting to miss anything, she quickly followed them and was quite surprised when she found herself within waving fields of grass. As far as she could see there was nothing but this strange, golden grass, waving lazily in the soft breeze. It was hot on this planet but the sunlight was not nearly as intense as on P3M-736 and the wind rendered the heat quite bearable. Her teammates and the Genii had already scattered around the Jumper, eying each other suspiciously.
"I don't see a Wraith ship here, Major Sheppard!" Kolya said, glaring at him. "Do you think I went to here to admire the landscape?"
"Personally, I think you brought us here because you're a psychotic and vengeful bastard but of course my opinion doesn't count!" McKay snapped. "Do you really think we would be stupid enough to land right next to a crashed Wraith ship?"
"Dr. McKay wants to say that both Colonel Sheppard and I considered it safer to land a few miles away from the ship," Entreri stated while rummaging through one of the supply crates they had brought with them. "After all we have no way of knowing how many Wraith have survived the crash and walking in there unprepared seemed a poor strategy indeed!"
"And I'm sure you considered this change of plan not important enough to inform me, didn't you Entreri?" the Commander asked, his eyes narrowing in anger. "You seem to forget who's in charge of this operation! I have all the information I need from you so if you give me one more reason, I'll make sure you won't leave this planet alive!"
"My demise would almost certainly enrage the Hidden One and I really doubt that you'd be stupid enough to mess with them," Dalamar responded, apparently not at all impressed. "Besides, you know as good as I do that you still need me so please spare me the empty threats! However, you should know that in order to bring Colonel Sheppard and this team here – as you commanded me to by the way – I had to promise them that I would restore Lieutenant Ford as soon as we've landed. There wasn't really much of an alternative so I guessed you would be fine with this bargain."
Judging from the look on Kolya's face, the Commander was by no means fine with this arrangement and Teyla wondered if Entreri had gone too far. The Hidden One seemed to share this impression for he stopped searching the supplies and continued talking:
"Yes, I know I should have asked you first but I needed something that would stop them from killing me and Lieutenant Ford seemed like a perfect death pledge. Remember that we wouldn't even be here without this little trick of mine! In fact, it might even come in handy to rematerialize the Lieutenant now. I'm sure that our Lantean friends would appreciate his help in this task you have for them and if he does something stupid we'll simply get rid of him and continue as planned. I promise that I'll stop undermining your authority and follow you with utter obedience as soon as our friend is out of the crystal!"
"You better accept his terms, Kolya, for we won't do anything while Ford is still stuck in this damned crystal!" Colonel Sheppard said. "I don't care if you have problems with you subordinates and I won't let a member of my team suffer because you can't bring them to follow your orders!"
Kolya gave Sheppard a look of pure loathing and seemed to consider his options before speaking again:
"Very well Entreri, get Lieutenant Ford out of your crystal! But remember that I won't tolerate any further insubordination from you side!"
"Let's hope then that none will be necessary in the close future," Dalamar replied with a smirk. "I've finally found the device I need to rematerialize him – a rather unremarkable trinket I might say. With your permission I would like to start right away."
As soon as Kolya had nodded his approval, Entreri present a roughly fist sized sphere made out of a dull, opaque metal. He removed the voidstone from the chain he wore it on and pressed it to the sphere which immediately dissolved and reformed around it. Holding the new slightly larger globe in his hand, he closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate, causing the orb to glow like a small sun. After a few moments a beam similar to those used by Wraith darts shot from the globe showering the plains into intense, silvery light. When the light faded after some seconds, Aiden lay on the ground, flat on his back and apparently unconscious. Sheppard let out a relieved sign and went to the Lieutenant's side, probably to check if he was all right.
However, not everyone seemed to share the Colonel's relief: McKay glanced at Ford nervously and back off a bit while Ronon simply glared at the Lieutenant, his displeasure obvious. Teyla could understand the Satedan's reaction, considering that Ronon hadn't known Aiden before his addiction and what had happened the last time they had met.
Herself, she had very mixed feelings about this reunion. After having experienced the effects of the enzyme herself, she had started to doubt if it was possible to wean Aiden off it without killing him. Nevertheless, she would never give up on him and mark him as a hopeless case like Colonel Caldwell did, she simply cared too much for him to do so. She remembered him comforting her when she had discovered her connection to the Wraith, the first time she had considered being more than just friends with him. However, the siege had been no time to sort out your love life so she had decided to wait for less troubled days to consider a deeper relationship with him – or anyone else on Atlantis. Now this day seemed like several lifetimes ago and everything was different now due to the enzyme's disturbing effect on the soldier.
It tormented her to see how much the enthusiastic Lieutenant with the affinity for naming things had changed during the months of his addiction – becoming paranoid, ruthless and convinced that his addiction was the best thing that had ever happened to him – and she could only hope that they would find a way to safe him.
"Ford?" she heard Sheppard say, "You there, buddy?"
The only response he got was a groan but at least Aiden stirred and started to regain consciousness. The Lieutenant opened his eyes and seemed rather confused, not instantly recognizing the beaming Colonel who knelt over him. However, recognition came swiftly and Teyla was as shocked as everyone else when Ford greeted Sheppard with a vicious uppercut that caused the other man to stagger backwards.
"Treacherous bastard!" Ford growled, getting back to his feet. "Did you think you could leave me on this dammed ship to die? Is this your way to thank me for saving your miserable life??"
"I didn't leave you behind, Ford," Sheppard said, wiping blood from his split lip. "You wanted to stay back and watch out retreat, remember?"
"That didn't mean that I'm suddenly able to get out of a flying ship without help and you knew that!" Aiden snarled. "I have tolerated your insubordination and petty intrigues long enough! Now, you'll pay for what you did to me!"
The Colonel opened his mouth to contradict but Aiden seemed done arguing and punched him into the stomach. Sheppard double over in pain but the Lieutenant didn't press his point. Instead, he grimaced in pain and had to lean onto his opponent to keep himself from falling. His anger seemed to vanish at the spot and he suddenly looked more confused than Teyla had ever seen him. Not paying Sheppard any further heed, he raised gingerly touched the back of his head, frowning in confusion when he touched the bandage that covered it. Teyla hadn't realized that he was hurt either – she had been too distracted by the fighting and hadn't had right point of view to see it – but now she noticed several other things she found odd about his appearance. All his weapons were gone as well as most of the clothing he had worn on their last mission together, leaving only his pants and the now sleeveless shirt he wore all the time.
He seemed to notice these changes too and looked both perplexed and infuriated about them.
"Where am I?" he asked, "What have you done to me?"
"Don't blame them, they are as ignorant of this mission as you are," Entreri interrupted. "I assume you know my companion, Acastus Kolya?"
"I thought you knew by now that messing with us is a really bad idea, Kolya!" Aiden stated, his eyes narrowing in contempt when they fell on the Genii Commander. "Obviously, I was wrong. What petty scheme do you have in store for us this time?"
Kolya seemed more than a little irritated by the Lieutenant's sudden cockiness while both Entreri and Colonel Sheppard struggled to suppress their smiles. Teyla didn't thought it wise to provoke the Genii like that but, on the other hand, Sheppard did it all the time and still lived to tell the tale.
"Even if you're not Sheppard's spineless lapdog anymore, you should know that it's not wise to provoke someone who outguns you and holds one of your comrades captive!" the Commander replied with a pointed look into Lorne's direction.
Aiden's expression remained completely neutral when his gaze fell on the bound Lorne and Teyla wondered if he actually cared about the Major's life. After all, he was a stranger for him and since his addiction he had shown little interest in the welfare of others. The old Aiden would never sacrifice someone to safe himself but she wasn't sure if the enzyme had obliterated this principle.
"Maybe so," the renegade soldier said, "provided you care about the person in question."
Both Sheppard and Teyla gasped at this statement and even Kolya seemed a bit disquieted about the Lieutenant's harsh point of view. Ford watched their expressions carefully and Teyla thought she saw the ghost of a smile on his lips – though she had no idea what might be amusing about the current situation.
"Don't worry, I'll play along in your little scheme," he said after some time. "After all, our position might be swapped. What exactly do you want me to do for you?"
"He's right Kolya," Sheppard agreed, "it's about time that you tell us what we have to do to get Lorne back. And I want all the facts this time, not some vague tidbits about a downed Wraith ship!"
"With your permission, Commander, I would like to enlighten our friends," Entreri volunteered, waiting respectfully for Kolya's nod before continuing. "I have already told you that we were fortunate enough to take some Gith capture which provided us with some invaluable information in exchange for their lives. After serving them for millennia, the Gith have a unique understanding of Wraith technology and informed us that there is a special data storage device on the bridge of every greater Wraith ship. These devices contain all the knowledge the respective ship has collected, including the position of the other ships in the galaxy, the strength of the different hives and, most importantly, blueprints for all major Wraith ships. I assume you know how valuable on of these could be for us."
"And we're supposed enter the ship, kill every Wraith we find and bring you on of them, right?" Sheppard asked rhetorically, "is that all or do you need something else?"
"You'll fly us back, of course," the Hidden One answered smoothly, choosing to ignore the sarcasm. "Originally, you were only supposed to bring us here but I convinced Kolya that it would be safer to let you bring us the storage device – for us that is, not for you. As soon as we're safely back on another planet with the repository, you're free to go."
"And how do we know we have the right device?" McKay asked, "there are probably dozens of these flash memories on board of the cruiser!"
"According to my sources, it looks different than the others," Entreri responded. "It's a vaguely tear-shaped, bluish crystal, easily to distinguish from the more common version in my opinion. The ship is about a mile in this direction, get moving now; you know all you need to know!"
When she turned to follow her comrades, the disturbing feeling she had felt earlier returned but this time she wasn't sure if the source of discomfort was Entreri or Aiden.
- - - - -
"I don't like the look of this!" McKay stated, looking at the remains of the Wraith ship.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Sheppard agreed. "Looks far too much like the last downed ship we explored!"
Aiden vaguely remembered the mission they talked about, though the only unpleasant memories he connected it with was the mind-boggling boredom of flying sixteen hours through space with nothing to occupy yourself. He probably had preferred fighting an ancient and surprisingly enduring Wraith to just traveling there, firing a single shot and heading back to Atlantis without actually seeing anything else than the vastness of space. However, he soon discarded this thought for there were more urgent things to think about.
One was his mysterious blackout and his even more enigmatic transport here, that had somehow stripped him of all his weapons. Judging from his raging headache, it had involved hitting him over the head with considerable strength – what was probably the reason for the blackout. Whoever had captured him had been stealthy enough to approach him undetected and strong enough to knock him out with a single strike – a rather remarkable achievement, considering the huge dose of enzyme that had been in his system. The fact that he had been brought here in a voidstone indicated that a Gith was behind it and he had been lucky to end up here instead within the City of Traitors. But if he had been dematerialized right back on the ship – provided that a Gith had managed to sneak on board – and rematerialized here, where had his clothes or weapons gone?
He knew that voidstones were able to recognize potential weapons or armors and rematerialize them separately from the rest, a security measure that had resulted into a viscous hand-to-hand combat between him and a Gith during his unintended visit on Shakuras. That time, his equipment had been stored into a nearby room but now it was nowhere to be found, what could only mean that he had been dematerialized without it. But why should a Gith disarm him before storing him in the crystal when the device did so automatically on Shakuras? Another thing that puzzled him was the bandage around his head for the Gith weren't known for their kindness and probably wouldn't treat his wounds unless they were life threatening – provided that they still needed him. It was hard to tell without a proper examination but he was certain that the wound was several days old and that the bandage wasn't made of the bluish cloth the Gith used. That meant that he had somehow escaped from the hive ship, injured his head in the process and had been awake for a few days before being captured by the Gith.
However, he had no recollection at all about these days and concentrating on it only seemed to intensify his headache, so he decide to concentrate on the present and solve this mystery later.
"The lifesign detector shows no Wraith nearby," McKay said, "unless they're hibernating, it should be safe to go inside. But we should be careful; the crash was probably not severe enough to kill the whole crew!"
"Let's hope that it didn't destroy the crystal Kolya wants," Sheppard replied, "otherwise it will be very difficult to get Lorne back."
"When are we going to strike?" Ronon asked as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"I don't know yet," the Colonel admitted, looking a bit compunctious. "They no longer outnumber us but I doubt we can overpower them without getting Lorne killed and I'm not yet desperate enough him to sacrifice him. In the worst case we'll simply play along and hope that he keeps his promise."
"Do you think he'll let us go once we've delivered the crystal?" Teyla asked doubtfully.
"Let's just hope it doesn't come to this!" Ford's former CO said and approached the shady entrance that led to the inside of the ship. The others followed him reluctantly, obviously not too eager to risk their lives to help the Genii. Aiden himself saw the upside of stumbling around in a Wraith ship – his enzyme supply had vanished together with his jacket and this would be a welcome opportunity to refill it. It might be a little bit more complicated than usual for the only weapon he had was a Wraith stunner – apparently Sheppard didn't trust him enough to give him a weapon that could cause permanent damage – but he was quite confident that he would manage.
Sheppard suspicion didn't even anger him, after all their reunion hadn't started very well and it wasn't like it wasn't justified. At the moment, he was torn between loyalty to his old team and the burning desire to make them pay for abandoning him. They had killed his men simply out of spite and left him to die after he had saved their skin! He admitted that his plan might have had some flaws but hadn't he made up for it? And shouldn't they pay for what they did to him?
However, something made him hesitate: despite everything that had happened in the last month, he still cared for his former comrades – except for Ronon, perhaps, who was just a stranger with a definitely messed-up hairstyle for him. Additionally, he knew that should he betray them now, he could probably never return to Atlantis – if he hadn't crosses that point already – which would mean that he would never see Earth again. Even after all they had done, he didn't feel reckless enough to risk this.
"Are you all right, Aiden?" Teyla asked, "you seem a little distracted!"
Her voice jerked Aiden back to the present and he realized that they were standing into a vast circular room somewhere within the Wraith ship. He had been so lost in thoughts that he hadn't even noticed that they were moving but now he suddenly became aware of a sickly sweet smell that indicated death and decay.
"I'm just feeling a bit dizzy, probably because of this," he said, indicating his injured head. "But I'll be okay, the enzyme should take care of it!"
"Look at this!" Ronon shouted from another part of the room, turning a limp body around with his foot.
The body turned out to be a man's corpse, withered and dried out, clearly the victim of a Wraith's appetite. At first Aiden thought he had been one of the poor souls that the Wraith kept as living provisions on their ship but a closer view made him rethink this theory. The man was dressed in what looked like Wraith armor with a bloodied claw decorating his torso, a symbol Ford instantly recognized and which could mean only one thing – trouble.
"A Lifestealer!" Sheppard said. "And I had hoped we'd never see one again!"
"Oh, no, now we're really screwed!" McKay said, indicating some characters on the Lifestealer's uniform. "You see that? That's High Gith, a language quite similar to the Ancient's and I think this patch tells us the name of the ship. My High Gith is a little patchy but I think it means Predator!"
Aiden allowed himself a small smile about the strange twists of fate: of all Wraith ship in this galaxy they explored Predator, the ship of Commander Gix, Belbe's former master and easily the most dangerous Wraith Aiden had ever met. He remembered fighting him in the Door to Nothingness, an experience he had barely survived and wasn't eager to relive. His comrades – except Ronon who had never been on Shakuras – seemed to share this feeling for they nervously glanced around, probably searching for traces of the Wraith Commander.
"But how is this possible?" McKay asked, no one in particular, "Didn't Veldrin use the Ray Cannon to destroy Predator during the Gith uprising? It should have been blasted into a million pieces, not lying largely intact on another planet!"
"He tried but it didn't work out as planned," Sheppard remembered, "Gix escaped but it looks like he didn't get very far. Let's find Kolya's crystal and get the hell out of here before we ran into that Wraith maniac again!"
"That might be easier said than done," Rodney stated, indicating a closed door a few meters away. "See that door? It looks different from any others I have seen and I'll have to find a way to open it before we can explore the rest of the ship! It seems like you need some kind of key to open it but I haven't found no idea what it might be. Perhaps I can deactivate the locking mechanism but that will take some time!"
"Don't bother, I know what to do," Aiden said, dropping to one knee and starting to search the Gith. "We need a certain signet to open it and I'm pretty sure that our friend here had one – got it!"
He showed the others a small, roughly-hewn onyx and completely featureless disc before laying it into a fitting recess next to the door. It slid open immediately, revealing a vast octagonal room cramped with boxes and illuminated by the disturbing blue light common on Wraith ships. Unlike the rest of the ship, this room was almost completely undamaged by the crash what was probably the reason why it had been made a storage area.
"Looks like the survivors stored everything that could be retrieved here," McKay said, "perhaps we can find the data crystal here!"
"Ok, let's split up and see if we can find it," Sheppard replied, "McKay, Ford you take that side, Teyla and me will search this one and Ronon will watch our backs! Be careful and stay together, the surviving crew must be around somewhere and I doubt they will be happy to see us!"
Aiden was just rummaging a crate that held Gith stun grenades when he noticed that McKay kept throwing nervous glances at him, a habit that he found more than a little irritating. However, he could understand the astrophysicist's nervousness, after all he had used him as a death pledge the last time they had met to put his devastating plan to destroy a hive ship into effect. Nevertheless, he just couldn't stand feeling his eyes on his back every few seconds and decided to do something against it.
"Relax, McKay," he said, "I'm not going to kill you anytime soon – at least as long as you don't shoot at me again!"
"Big surprise that I'm nervous after being held hostage by your men while you led the rest of my team onto a suicide mission!" the scientist snapped.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, the whole let's-blow-up-a-hive-ship thing didn't work out as planned," Aiden replied. "I hope Sheppard got you out before my men tried to kill you because they thought you had betrayed us."
"Actually, I had to beat the crap out of them to free myself while you were stuck in the Hive ship," McKay responded, looking both mollified and pleased with himself.
"You beat the crap out of my men?" Ford snorted, convinced that the astrophysicist was pulling his leg.
"Sure I did, I mean I had to take a vast dose of enzyme which almost killed me but that was all the help I got," Rodney replied while searching another crate.
"How vast?" Aiden asked with the distinct feeling that something was horrible wrong.
"One of the big bottles stored in this cupboard of yours," the astrophysicist said, "Why are you asking?"
A whole bottle of enzyme, a dose high enough to make even some as harmless as McKay to a dangerous enemy, a dose not even Aiden would ever take in one sweep. He was surprised that the scientist had survived the various side effects and worried about his men. With such a high dose of enzyme in his system it was possible that McKay had killed them without even knowing it, a thought that devastated him. He realized that he had assumed all the time that at least these two had survived, that they were waiting for him and that no matter how messed up things became with his former team, he had somewhere to go. But Sheppard and the others had killed every single one of them, denying him an own team, a sanctuary, a new home. Something snapped inside of him T that moment and every scruple he might have had vanished, becoming instantly replaced by intensive desire to make them pay for their betrayal.
"Ford?" McKay asked, "Is everything ok?"
Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon chose this very moment to join them, whether attracted by the scientist's voice or just out of coincidence, Aiden didn't know and didn't care – all that mattered now was his revenge. He grabbed one of the Gith stun grenades and detonated it right in his hand before anyone of them could stop him. The remaining enzyme in his blood stream prevented him from being paralyzed while his former teammates dropped unceremoniously to the ground. He calmly snatched Sheppard's tac vest and his P90 as well as the lifesign detector McKay had used earlier, knowing that it would take a few minutes before they could move again. He chuckled at the expression of utter surprise at Sheppard's face and answered his unspoken question:
"You want to know why I'm doing this, don't you?" he asked rhetorically. "This is the payback for all you did to me! You sabotaged my mission, killed all my men and left me for dead on a dammed hive ship! I thought I could forgive you but that changed when this worthless excuse for a scientist told me that he had run rampage in my hideout while we were away. What would you think if I killed everyone on Atlantis except you just out of spite or maybe to force you to follow me? I should kill you for this, but I think I'll show you the same mercy you have shown me!"
He noticed that Sheppard's hand had started to creep towards the pistol on his belt –apparently the effect of the stun grenade was starting to wear off – and quickly detonated another one. He caught Teyla's eyes and for a fleeting moment he felt something like regret but he was far beyond the point of no return now.
"I will leave you here, locked up in a Wraith ship while I'll take care of Kolya!" he continued, "the Jumper will get me off this dammed planet and you'll be stuck here! But don't worry, I'll come back to you in a month or so; if you're still alive than you may join me! Goodbye then, I'm pretty sure we'll meet again."
Without another word, Aiden turned around and used the onyx disc to lock the door behind him