"What happened to that kinder, gentler Rodney McKay?" Sheppard asks with a grin.
"He died of heat exhaustion about an hour ago," Rodney mutters, wiping his brow and taking a seat in the shade cast off one of the rusty colored rock formations jutting from the sand like a spike.
"The Wraith facility is underground and probably much cooler. I think you can manage a little longer," Jennifer says with a sympathetic smile, squeezing Rodney's shoulder lightly.
"I think I'll die of heat stroke before we get there if I don't take a break."
"It's just over that dune, Rodney." John says as he points at the peak of the indicated dune.
"Fine," he groans and stands. "Why didn't you tell me the facility was on the horrible side of the planet?"
"To save Jennifer from listening to you complain before our departure," John quips.
"Don't you think Ronon would have been a better choice?" Rodney grumbles, lagging behind Jennifer and John as he trudged up the slope.
"It's his day off."
"When did he start taking days off from potentially being able to kill a Wraith?"
"Since he started having dinner dates."
"Oh. Right. Forgot about that."
The facility soon came into view as they crested the dune, a small black stain in the canyon wall.
"Its weird seeing them actually try to conceal their presence. They usually have the whole alien overlord thing going, must be something pretty damn important in there," John says, squinting past the sun to check for any movement.
As they closed in, it was Jennifer to take notice of the frantic array of foot prints near the entrance. "It looks like something bad happened."
"We aren't going in now, are we?"
"Yes Rodney, we are. We have guns and plenty bullets to take down enough Wraith to get us out of there if things go sideways."
"Things usually go sideways for us."
"Todd isn't here, we should be fine."
"You know…" Rodney says as they reach the entrance of the facility, "I wouldn't be surprised if Todd had something to do with this."
"I wouldn't either. He's the damned Kevin Bacon of Wraith."
The door slid open and the dark hallway greeted them with a rush of air that smelled heavily of decay and something akin to wet dog. Jennifer covers her nose with her hand as she followed Rodney and John into the inky black.
"Jesus," John whispers, shining his flashlight over the blood smeared floor.
"What could have done this?" Jennifer murmurs through her hand, trying her best not to step in the streaks of blood.
"Maybe the people were tired of being culled." John replies and stops in front of an open door. Shining his light inside, his dry retch drew Rodney and Jennifer's attention.
"Oh my god," Jennifer gasps as she looks for herself.
The beam of light showed a floor scattered with the partially eaten remains of children. Jennifer takes her own light when John turns away to get a better look. "They're all female," she says, stepping inside and squatting down next to the most intact of the corpses.
The little body had been stripped of clothing and gutted. Many of her organs were missing along with the meat of her right thigh. Reaching down, Jennifer turns her head so she could see her face. "Who could do this to a child?"
"It was a Wraith, Jennifer," Rodney says from the hall, refusing to look inside the room.
"And what does her being a Wraith have to do with it?" she snaps back.
Gingerly she places her fingers on the corners of the distinct bite mark on the child's upper arm. She estimated the width to be roughly five and a half inches. The size of the child's arm made it impossible to guess the length of the mouth, but the width was enough for her to assume that whatever it was had been of formidable size.
"Do you have the life sign detector with you?" she asks, turning to look at John.
"What? Oh, yeah," he says and reaches into his vest. Pulling out the device, he activates the screen and frowns. "There's seven life signs down the hall. One is off by itself and the rest are clustered a few rooms away."
"Let's take the one first. I like the odds better," he says when Jennifer joins them in the hall, the knees of her trousers wet and black with blood.
It was difficult to not notice the thick bloodied drag marks leading down the hall. The size of them meant adult Wraith had been around. At least two of them, since the trail split into twin tracks, each going into a different room.
Each open door was the same. One or two dead children were strewn across the floor and the abdomen cleaned of meat and organs, in particular the liver Jennifer noted. The stench grew stronger as they ventured deeper into the facility.
"This is it," John says at the locked door which was decorated in a fine fan of blood spatter.
"See if you can get it open," he says to Rodney and holds his weapon at the ready. Jennifer stood behind him, just to his right; her own hand gun was un-holstered. She flipped the safety off as Rodney began working with the panel hidden in the outer vein.
The unlocking was a simple task. Rodney soon uttered "got it," and the door slid open.
The air within was thick and humid. "It smells like cinnamon toast," Rodney says as they step inside.
"Yeah, it kinda does," John replies, sweeping the room with his light.
The room appeared empty. Unlike the others within the facility, it was free of blood. The bed's covers were rumpled as if someone had been sleeping recently.
"It could have been a glitch. I don't see anyone," Jennifer whispers, staying close to Rodney as he walked around the perimeter of the room.
"Over here," John whispers loudly, waving them to the far corner.
Squeezed into the wall was a Wraith, an adult or nearly so. Her body was compressed awkwardly against two of the veins, preventing her from getting free. Her eyes were heavily lidded and unfocused.
Jennifer reaches past Rodney to gently grasp the Wraith's wrist. Once she found a pulse, and when she knew the Wraith wouldn't move, she began trying to free her.
"A little help," she says to John and Rodney over her shoulder as she tugs at the slender arm.
"Why do we have to help them?" Rodney groans as he grabs a handful of the robe covering her shoulders and helps peeling her from her hiding place.
"She may know what happened," Jennifer finally replies once the Wraith is lowered to the floor.
Her skin was stained with what looked very similar to tar and just as sticky. Her lids fluttered.
Reaching into her pack, Jennifer retrieves a small flashlight. Squatting next to the Wraith she holds open one of her lids and shines the light close to her eye. The pupil constricts to a near invisible sliver. "Her sclera are blue," Jennifer says, leaning down to get a better look. "I've only heard of that in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta and Marfan's."
"Osteo what?" John asks, keeping his gun trained on the heavily robed Wraith.
"Osteogenesis imperfecta," Jennifer corrects him, "Its brittle bone disorder."
"You could have just said that and what about the other one?"
"Marfan's is…"
Jennifer is nearly thrown back as the Wraith sits up with a startled screech.
"Whoa, whoa!" John shouts, aiming at the Wraith as she rises to a defensive crouch. "You can settle the fuck down."
Her eyes were wide to the point of nearly bulging from their sockets. She backs up until her rump touches the wall. "Have any of you been bitten?" She asks.
"By what?" Rodney asks with a snarking undertone.
"Those things."
"Great description there," John mutters and lowers his gun. "We haven't seen anything living since we left the stargate, so no, we haven't been bitten by anything."
The Wraith visibly relaxes and sits up on her haunches. "You have found nothing living in the facility?"
"Not yet," John replies.
Jennifer frowns as the Wraith's face becomes a mask of utter despair. "I told them I'd always keep them safe," she whispers and rocks back onto her heels.
"We picked up some more life signs," Jennifer says hopefully, "Maybe some of them found a safe place."
The Wraith glances up and frowns. Her consciousness searched the facility, but all she was met with was a confusion of white noise and her own panic pulsing wildly. Unsteadily she stands and looks at the three humans. "I will not feed on you."
"What's the catch?" John asks, wearily watching her as she steps closer.
"I would like to be escorted off this planet. I have never been outside the perimeter fence."
"Fair enough. Lets check the rest of the place then we'll head out and find you a greener planet for you to wait to be picked up."
"This is it." John whispers, nodding to the door.
The Wraith looks at it and frowns.
"Can you tell if anyone is in there?" Rodney asks.
"No," she replies, her brows knitting together, "Our web is in such disarray."
"Web?"
"You can ask her all the questions you want after we get out of here, Rodney," John looks at the Wraith and indicates to the door. "Can you get it open?"
She hesitates and takes a shuddering inhale. "I hope your weapons will be sufficient if they are behind this door," she murmurs to the door as she opens it with a simple thought command.
John turns on the small light atop his gun and sweeps it across the room. The blackness consumed the beam, only allowing them to see a few paces inside. He pauses in mid sweep and his brows rise in surprise.
"Wraith eye shine is blue, right?" he asks, taking a step back.
"Yeah," Jennifer says. "Why?"
"Close the door, please."
The Wraith looks at him and tilts her head.
"Fucking close it now!" he shouts.
She lifts her brows in surprise and faces the door just as six yellow pin points of light bob in the darkness. With a gasp, she closes the door quickly. Steeling herself, she remains put, despite the strong urge to flee, as a bodily thump hits the closed door; once, twice, and at last silence.
"Its time to go," John says, backing even further from the door.
"I think that's a good idea," Jennifer says with a quivering voice.