Act 2
Lieutenant Anston ducked his head back around behind the rocks sheltering his team from the Wraith's weapons and quickly reloaded his P90. Colonel Carter's orders to fall back to the Jumpers had lasted all of ten minutes. Once it became evident that the Wraith were not planning on letting them fall back easily – not to mention their advance toward the engineers working at the compound, she had issued a counter order for an all out assault. It was an assault that was not going well and the scream of another one of his men made him cringe, as moments later the marine fell at his feet.
"Keep your heads down!" he ordered, while he threw himself back into the fight, firing his weapon even as he yelled, "They don't seem too worried about overcooking their food!"
He ducked his head back behind the rocks and glanced at his fallen soldier. The man's eyes were open and staring, his chest still, locked in the pain of his death. The Wraith were definitely not interested in taking prisoners.
"Lieutenant Anston, what's your status?"
A burst of gunfire from the radio told him that his was not the only position to have been compromised. Wherever Colonel Carter was, she also was under fire from the Wraith.
"There were just too many of them, Ma'am," he yelled to be heard over the sounds of battle, intensifying as the Wraith drew closer. He ducked again for cover as they continued their push against his team. "We had to fall back, take a defensive position." He had to break off as another of the marines under his command fell to deadly fire from the Wraith.
"What's the status of the Gate?" Carter's voice in his ear sounded desperate.
"Sorry Colonel, we lost the gate." Turning quickly, as if in vengeance against the Wraith for having to report failure to his superior officer, he unleashed another barrage of P90 fire against a group of Wraith warriors who advanced too far to be able to return to cover before he took them down. "They just keep coming… foot soldiers, Darts… at least a half dozen. We're holding them – just – from this position, but…"
**
"…it's tough, Ma'am, I'm losing good men to their fire!"
Sheppard struggled to sit up. The frown deepened on his face as he listened to the frantic back and forth exchange of bad news between Carter and the other team leaders. Finding his feet he lurched toward the radio headset on the other nearby bench, and leaned against the side of the Jumper as he tried, one handed, to put it into place.
"Colonel!" Doctor Keller broke away from a patient she was treating at the bottom of the ramp into the rear compartment. The area had been covered with a makeshift tent, and Zelenka had somehow – and John didn't understand, or really care, how – managed to extend the Jumper's cloaking field to give their temporary hospital the benefit of its protection.
"Doctor," Sheppard countered dangerously, knowing she was about to object to his being on his feet. "I'm fine. I'm needed."
"You're no good to them if you—"
"Jennifer," he pressed his good hand, still holding the earpiece he hadn't had time to put into place, against her shoulder and leaned down to look her in the eye, "men are dying out there, and they're all that stand between you, your patients and the Wraith."
He didn't wait for her to argue, he just let go and thrust the earpiece mostly into place, hitting the transmit button at the same time. Nor did he respond to her irritated sigh as she began to walk away from him. He focussed his attention on doing what he could to help save their forces on the ground.
"Anston, this is Sheppard," he said.
"Colonel," the marine answered through the sudden burst of static. "Good to hear your voice, sir."
Sheppard winced as the whine of a Wraith Dart cut across Anston's voice, followed by the roar of an explosion.
"Anston, what's going on?" Carter was the first to breech the ensuing interference. When the Lieutenant didn't immediately respond, Sheppard, swearing, began to move out of the Jumper, grabbing what equipment he could.
"Anston, respond!"
"Sheppard, what are you doing?" Ronon's hands lifted the body armour he was struggling to put on out of his hands and the big Satedan stepped up closer to him. Behind Ronon, Doctor Keller looked on, a worried expression creasing her face.
"I'm doing my job," he snapped, "and trying to find a way to save my men and give Carter time to get to the rest of our people."
"You're in no fit state for this, John," Ronon tossed the armour back onto the bench where Sheppard had found it.
"That's just fine coming from you!" Sheppard pushed against Ronon, but he didn't move. "You'd be the last person to let a few injuries come between you and what you know you gotta do."
"That's different. It's—"
"Look," he sighed and looked up to fix his friend with an imploring expression. He understood that both Ronon and Keller had his best interests in their minds and hearts when they tried to stop him, but this was much bigger than he was. Much more was at stake. "I'm on my feet. I feel fine. Those men out there need all the help they can get."
"So help them," Keller said as she appealed from behind the immovable object that was Ronon, "and give yourself time to heal. You can't help them like this."
Sighing, he looked between the doctor and the former Runner. Finally acquiescing, for the moment at least, to doing what he could from the infirmary. "All right… All right," he said, and he took a few steps toward a nearby cot, where he sat down. "I'll stay put – for now – do what I can from here. Is that good enough?"
After a moment, Ronon uncrossed his arms and nodded. "Good enough," he agreed.
**
Carter, Captain Vega and her team pushed forward again, if only slightly, keeping the small contingent of Wraith from advancing any further toward the rubble of the compound, setting up small outposts to halt their ingress. It was little enough, and Sam knew it wouldn't hold them for long – not if any greater numbers came against them than the handful they now fought. She clapped Vega on the shoulder, and keeping low, sprinted from one such defensive position to another, to check on the sergeant heading up the four man team.
"Carter, what's your status?" John Sheppard's voice sounded in her ear as she pressed herself flat against the broken wall behind which the team sheltered.
"I'm with Captain Vega's team," she said, "We're on the far outskirts of the grounds, holding back a small group of Wraith ground troops… trying to protect our engineers."
"And the engineers?" Sheppard asked the obvious question.
"They're working to try and clear a pathway into an area where we discovered survivors," she paused, hesitant of telling him the identity of those they were desperately trying to rescue. Finally she added, "John… it's Rodney."
When he didn't answer she started to worry that telling him had been the wrong decision and she called out for his response not once, but twice over.
"All teams, this is Sheppard…" Her breath exploded from her chest as she finally heard him, and realised that his silence had probably been while he formulated some kind of plan. "Concentrate your fire, move to flanking positions where possible, and draw the Wraith away from the main compound. I repeat, do everything in your power to draw the Wraith away from approaching the main compound."
"It's a good plan, John," she told him, nodded to the sergeant to follow the orders he'd been given, and began to make her own retreat. She meant to return to the engineers and see what she could do to lend a hand.
"Just get him out of there, Samantha," Sheppard responded solemnly in her ear.
**
Signing both her orders and her intentions to the seven men in her squad Alicia Vega moved herself closer to the edge of the brickwork that hid them from the side of the Wraith they were stalking. The Wraith were pinned down by the defensive outposts put in place by Colonel Carter, and it now fell to her to draw them away from the compound. She did not intend to fail.
Since her arrival on Atlantis, several weeks before the events that led to the capture of the Athosian woman, Teyla, by what she understood was some kind of creature – part Wraith, part Human, accidentally created by Doctor Becket after some kind experiment went terribly awry – she felt her skills as a soldier had been largely underused. She and her team had been mostly confined to domestic security, guarding the city of Atlantis from unrest from within, when she longed for nothing more than to be allowed to travel off world; to take part in expeditions and to join in the fight for the defence of the Pegasus galaxy.
She wasn't afraid, and meant to prove her usefulness to Colonels Carter and Sheppard, so that when all of this was over and Teyla was rescued… when these Wraith were neutralised and the creature that caused such consternation among the senior Atlantis personnel had been destroyed, she would be allowed to fulfil her wishes.
The man opposite her, on the other side of the break in the wall, nodded that he was secure in his position. She raised her hand, three fingers showing a countdown to the rest of the team, then two, then one… before her curled fist pumped the air, and pushing with her legs she led the flanking assault against the Wraith.
Leading with a burst of gunfire, she moved to an exposed position, half way between the wall and the Wraith, knowing that three of the seven men in her squad followed hard on her heels. From there, once they had their attention, they would roll aside to a nearby gully, covered by the other four men, and would continue the assault from there, drawing the Wraith to follow them while the others put themselves between the Wraith and the compound, herding them on and driving them away. From everything she knew of the Wraith, it was a good plan. Ever hungry and blinded by their inherent aggression they would be hard pressed to resist.
She'd never really seen more than an image of a Wraith in the Atlantis database, so when the first turned her way, his bone-covered, faceless visage still somehow managing to sneer in her direction, Alicia felt her heart and her stomach changing places. When neither he, nor his companion soldiers, responded to the several burst of gunfire from the three men, or from her own P90, her lurching stomach began to freefall to somewhere that was much lower than her boots.
She and her men were committed however, and gathering her wits quickly she rolled aside as the Wraith raised their blasters and began answering the assault with gunfire of their own. She reached the gully and all but fell into it as the covering P90 fire burst the air around both the protagonists and their Wraith targets, then almost at once raised her head, and her weapon above the lip of the gully to begin firing. She had to give the second strike team cover to reach their assigned positions from where they would drive back the Wraith. Instead she watched in horror as the first of the four men fell – his face and neck smoking and blackened from the impact of energy from a Wraith blaster – as the Wraith showed no signs of being in the slightest way manipulated by her double pronged attack. It was not going to work.
"Fall back!" she ordered desperately into her radio. "Randall, Westlay… Fall back and assume defensive positions!"
**
Listening to the alternating gunfire and screams of dying marines, Sheppard trust himself closer to the edge of the cot and keyed his radio mic as his feet touched the ground.
"Vega, this is Sheppard. Report," he ordered.
"It's no good, sir," he heard the tone in her voice, the alarm and the disillusionment crushed together with the suddenly realised fear. "They're not falling for it. None of it. Burrows is down, I think dead. They simply turned aside and pushed on forward as if we weren't there."
"Relax, Captain," he tried to sound reassuring, but the response, and the single minded determination on the part of the Wraith to reach the compound no matter what, had him spooked as well. "You did all you could. Try and circle around to reach the defensive outposts. We can at least try to stop them if we can't draw them off."
"Colonel Sheppard," Carter joined the radio communication. "I have similar reports from what's left of Anston's team by the gate, and Sergeant Robinson reports they're under relentless fire from Wraith teams the Darts are beaming in. They're using deadly force."
Sheppard's mind was racing. "They didn't expect us to be here," he said, beginning to put the pieces together. "This is Michael's compound. They expected him, his forces…"
"Then why didn't they just turn around and leave when they discovered they're not here?" Vega asked.
"That's a very good question." Sheppard got to his feet, nodding, though he knew the others couldn't see that.
"They must be after something they think is here… something Michael left behind," Carter surmised, sending his mind racing down a dozen other pathways at once.
How were the Wraith able to find this place; to even know of its existence? Now that they did, what of Michael's could they possibly want?
"Todd," he breathed, answering his own questions, "the data."
"One of our people… Teyla… was taken by a dart today," McKay said.
Without blinking, Todd answered, "Then I suppose she's already made some lucky Wraith a very tasty meal."
"This was no culling. She was targeted. Someone set a trap."
"And you suspect this…" Todd jerked his gaze, insect-like back to regard Sheppard, "…what do you call him… Michael?"
"Well if not the timing's a hell of a coincidence," Sheppard said without taking his eyes off the Wraith in front of him. Todd let out an audible sigh that could have been one of agreement or understanding. "We need you to tap your intel sources, find something useful."
Rodney reached behind him and pulled the tablet he was carrying from its place in his backpack. He held it out to Todd, who came slowly forward to take it from his hands.
"This tablet has the address of an off world relay station. If you leave a message for us we'll get it. It also has our research on the Hoffan drug."
"Ah," Todd seemed delighted and at once began to access the data on the tablet.
"Just enough to whet your appetite. You find something we can use, we'll give you the rest." Sheppard added, trying to cap the Wraith's obvious pleasure. He did not, after all, want Todd to think that he had won even a single round of negotiations.
"Well, I'll see what I can do," Todd hissed.
Obviously he had… and had been able to do a great deal.
"What are you talking about?" Carter asked in frustration.
"When we were trying to find where Michael might have brought Teyla, we asked Todd to find us intel, remember, in exchange for some of our research into the Hoffan protein?" Sheppard answered Carter, his mind still whirling along the many possibilities for the Wraith's arrival on this planet.
"I remember," Carter said, "But what does that have to do with data?"
"Just before the explosions went off, Rodney said he'd found some kind of… computer terminal," he said, "Something that contained all of Michael's data, his research, the location of his bases… everything… I told you."
"You think maybe something of this data survived the explosion?" Carter said, sounding as horrified as he was beginning to be, to think that this information might fall into the hands of the Wraith.
"It's possible," he admitted, "even if it is a long shot. I imagine Michael set these charges to prevent the information falling into enemy hands, ours or theirs."
"But a long shot is better than no shot at all, right?" Carter said.
"And it seems that our friend Todd thinks so as well." He confirmed, beginning to make his way over to where Ronon had tossed the body armour. This time he was not about to be sidelined. It was imperative that they reach Rodney – and hopefully the information – before the Wraith. He figured that Colonel Carter must have come to the same conclusion, because in the next moment her orders went out over general broadcast.
"All teams, this is Colonel Carter. Protect the compound – I repeat, all teams, protect the compound." She barely took a breath before concluding, "We have to stop the Wraith at all costs."
That was all the excuse he needed. Pulling off the sling that supported his arm, and ignoring the pain as he moved his badly injured shoulder, he began to struggle his way into the body armour, turning his back on the approaching Satedan, even as he watched the big man move away from Doctor Keller's side.
"I know what you're going to say, Ronon, so save it!"
"You can barely move," Ronon argued, taking no notice. "How do you think you're going to be able to fire a weapon?"
"I won't sit here while I could be out there helping to keep the Wraith away from Rodney and that data." He turned and looked up at Ronon's frowning face. "So you can either help me, or stay the hell out of my way!"
**
Sound in the auxiliary control room echoed from the many nooks and folds on the ship's hull and Teyla wrapped her arms around herself, unnerved by the nearness to open space. The control room opened into the launch bay where the many Darts held by Michael's cruiser, and his own personal scout ship, lay dormant until they were needed.
Her lip trembled slightly, and she shivered, almost reaching out with one of her hands to take hold of the console, until a solid presence moved slightly beside her, protective, halting just within her personal space.
…Michael…
She turned her head and glanced upward, watching his almost impassive face as his hands moved over the console and yet beneath that, she felt his concern, the calm urgency of purpose with which he moved. He closed his eyes, little more than a long, slow blink and breathed out.
"The launch bay is quite safe," he said quietly. "I wouldn't have brought you here if it were not."
"I chose to come with you," she countered, refusing to allow herself to believe she was in any way subject to his will.
He turned his head then to look down at her, his golden eyes bore into hers, unblinking.
"Make no mistake, Teyla," he said after a moment or two, "I will keep you and the child safe and protected… but I will allow nothing and no one to get in the way of my plans."
-don't fight me- -don't fight me- -don't fight me-
As he often did, abruptly he snapped his gaze away from hers and half turned to signal to the waiting hybrid that he was to speak, leaving her to pull herself away from the mental contact he had so easily initiated.
"Chatter from the planet's surface indicates the Lanteans believe the Wraith are here to capture your data, your research," the hybrid informed him. "The attacks against the Humans have been deadly in nature."
"They are holding?" he asked, turning his attention back to the console, and making adjustments to several lines of Wraith text he had already entered.
Teyla blinked rapidly, trying to take everything in; trying to understand and feel, from Michael, his intentions. The Wraith on the planet were there to intercept his data… he must have known that would be their intention. It must have been why he did not have them leave immediately he knew the compound was destroyed. He was using her friends… letting them do his work for him until he had to intercede – if at all.
"For now," the hybrid answered.
Michael nodded. "Prepare my ship for immediate launch, should it become necessary," he ordered, "In the meantime, continue to monitor the situation."
The hybrid soldier turned and went with a number of his companions to follow Michael's instructions, leaving Teyla alone with Michael and but one of his men.
"What would make it necessary, Michael?" she began. She had to persuade him to help her friends against the Wraith.
A sudden, overwhelming cold… a darkness that was almost painful this time prevented her from saying more, and curtailed any answer Michael may have given as he turned to take her by the arm and guide her to one of the benches at the side of the room.
"The Hives have just left hyperspace," he told her, and added with an almost soft urgency, "breathe."
-breathe- -breathe- -breathe-
Teyla had not even realised she was holding her breath until Michael's guidance brought her to the bench, to sit, as he too sat. The urgency she felt from him increased momentarily as the sensation of being enfolded in his mind, enshrouded by him, pressed against her and she took a shuddering breath as though she had been starved of oxygen for minutes not mere seconds.
"Two Wraith Hive ships have just emerged from hyperspace." The hybrid soldier's voice, announcing what she and Michael already knew, was vague, distant to her. It, and the ship, had faded again into the distance until she had only an awareness of Michael.
"Look at me," he told her sharply.
-look at me- -at me- -me-
A sensation of warmth moved down over her arms, past her wrists to enfold her hands, as she slowly turned her head upward, finding his eyes with hers.
"She is actively seeking," he said, "It will pass."
-It will pass- -will pass- -pass-
"Michael," she whispered, "cold… anger…"
…cold…
"Focus only on my mind."
-Only my mind- -my mind- -mind-
The pressure that was Michael increased as some flash of instinct took over from her rational mind. A need for control, for trust, enveloped her and in giving up that one small moment of herself, slowly the painful darkness pushing at her began to fade, and the ship… and everything around her began to come once more into her awareness.
She blinked as Michael stood, and began to walk away from her, back to the console. Her hands felt suddenly cold, and she could not help but look down at them where they were clasped together in her lap.
"What was that?" she looked over to Michael, to the stiffness in his posture, and she began to try and rise.
"I told you," he said without turning and with just a hint of anger in his voice, "The Queen was actively searching for me." Then, as though his voice were a whip, he added, "Stay where you are. You will need to rest."
"I am fine," she said through gritted teeth as she still struggled to find her feet, swiftly irritated that he continued to give her orders. She fully expected to have to fight his mental instruction and when it did not follow, she was momentarily disarmed, and thought once more about the presence of the Queen. "Michael, she is dangerous," she said, and of themselves, her hands came to rest protectively against her belly.
"They have launched several Darts," the hybrid announced. "They're heading for the planet."
"Even with the moon keeping us shielded from their sensors, we will not remain hidden for long." Michael said, though whether it was in agreement with her, or whether he was talking to his soldier, she could not be sure.
"Then do not hide," Teyla said, letting her anger at being suddenly so afraid give her the strength she needed to finally push herself to her feet.
"Prepare the Darts to cover our retreat," Michael ordered his hybrid. The soldier turned from his console and went to join the others in the launch bay.
She felt any chance of helping her friends, any thought of rescue, begin to slip away from her. She had to act, and she had to act now. She lurched across the space between herself and Michael, meaning to slip between him and the console; to make him look at her, but he half turned, halting her momentum, and the spark of anger in his eyes made her take a step backwards, before she stopped altogether.
"And do not run," she implored him. "We have surprise on our side. If we fight we can destroy them."
"No," he raised his voice only slightly, but took a step toward her, until they stood with barely any distance between them, "do not continue to endanger yourself, Teyla." He all but hissed the words at her. "You must rest or I will confine you again."
"But the Wraith—" she began, her heart was straining in her chest and she could not make sense of the sensations and emotions that coursed suddenly though her, a need, a hunger and a terrible fear all as one.
"—will be destroyed," he interrupted her words, his eyes burning with fury, "But now is not the time."
-not the time--not time- -time-
**
She tried hard to ignore the radio chatter and the continuing sounds of explosions from the teams defending her position with the engineers and try to concentrate on getting to Rodney, but it was hard. Every whine of the Wraith Dart engines, every scream of a fallen solder, only served to remind her just how desperate their position had become, and made very clear to her just how deadly the escalating war between Michael and the Wraith truly was.
She needed to get Rodney out and stop the Wraith from getting to that data, but then… if she did that, wasn't that protecting Michael? Siding with him against the Wraith? Then again, if she didn't, wouldn't it mean that they were siding with the Wraith against Michael?
Her mind went around and around in circles as she tried to reconcile, for herself at least, which would be the lesser of the two evils. In the end she just came to the conclusion that they were dangerously playing both sides against one another.
She shook her head and moved forward to help steady a large section of rubble that looked like a piece of wall that the engineers were lifting away with their winches and pulleys.
"Steady…" the lead engineer crooned to the rest of the team. "Slowly… we can't afford to let this slip. If we lose this it'll take down all this side and we'll be right back to where we started."
"We can't afford to let that happen," she told him softly, "not with the Wraith practically on top of us."
"We're almost through," he answered, "Once we get this piece free, we can start taking away the loose rubble from the top and the sides. It should allow us to expose enough of the room to get us in."
"Or to get our people out," another engineer added, tugging on the pulley he was controlling and starting to swing the wall section out of the way.
A high pitched whine was the only warning they got before the beam of energy slammed against the side of the mound. Debris exploded in all directions and the engineer who had been guiding the swing of the wall away from the excavated section of the rubble screamed, and went tumbling backwards. The pulley shifted and slipped, sending the large wall section falling right toward him over the rubble.
"Keep working!" Carter yelled, snatching up her weapon and skittering down the loose side of the rubble toward a group of Wraith warriors who had materialised in the wake of the Dart's surprise attack. "I'll cover you!"
"Carter, this is Vega, I'm falling back to assist." The voice in her ear was calm now, as though the woman had reconciled her earlier fears. "Just hold on."
"This is Ronon," a second voice came, hard on the heels of Vega's. "I'm right behind you, Captain."
Sam couldn't help smiling as she swung her weapon up and began firing. She ducked aside as the first of the Wraith took a shot at her, and then answered him with a dozen bullets that shattered his bone covered face. She knew she needed to find cover, but there was a flush of satisfaction that came over her as she watched the Wraith fall to his knees, and then face down into the rubble-strewn dirt.
A burst of gunfire away to the side, and the urgent call of her name snapped her out of her momentary stupor. She sprinted toward the sound just as the ground where she had been standing exploded in into dust from the impact of a Wraith blaster's energy fire. She turned and ran sideways the last part of the way, letting out a stream of bullets from her weapon, before she ducked behind the same twisted metal frame that shielded the Captain.
"Thanks," she said breathlessly, nodding to Vega. The woman nodded back, albeit briefly, before she rolled herself around the opposite edge of the frame and started firing again toward the Wraith.
Sam took a moment to close her eyes, take in a deep breath, and hope like hell that the blast from the Dart's weapons has not undone the day's hard work. She opened her eyes again and tried to peer through the gun smoke and dust to where she'd left the engineers. She could see nothing but dim shapes moving like ants over the mound.
The sound of a welcome and familiar energy weapon joined the percussive chant of P90 fire and Sam turned her head again to watch as Ronon threw himself into the fight against the Wraith. He was as relentless as they were – and just as fearless it seemed, as he barely used the cover provided by the fallen structures as he made his way toward them, firing with each step, until he could engage them at close quarters, hand to hand.
A section of rubble exploding close by was the only reminder that Carter needed that she too should join the battle. Raising her weapon again, she turned and left the cover of the metal behind which she was sheltering, and joined her companions, firing round after round into the dwindling number of Wraith warriors. It did not take long before each one of the small group of enemy soldiers lay dead, the last of them slipping from Ronon's hands, his neck broken.
"They probably won't be the last dropped in by Dart," Carter said, nodding to Ronon as she finally reached his side.
"How much more time do you need?" he asked nodding toward the engineers, who were beginning to emerge from the settling clouds of dust.
"That will depend on how much damage the Dart caused. It fired on the engineers' position after it swept these bastards in." Frustrated, she kicked out at the nearest fallen Wraith, then turned to glare at Ronon as she chuckled. "What?"
"You've been around Sheppard too long," he told her, but then the mirth suddenly left his eyes.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"He left the field hospital," he said, the words a mere growl in his throat.
"Stupid ass—" she keyed the mic, "Sheppard, this is Carter, come in."
"Tried that…" Ronon said, a warning tone in his voice.
"I'll tell you what I told Ronon," Sheppard's voice came back and even over the radio his pain was more than obvious. "I won't sit around and let other men take the fall when I could be out here doing something."
"You were doing something, John," she tried, glancing at Ronon who was shaking his head. "You were coordinating the men on the ground from a safe, command position."
"Not good enough," he said without skipping a beat. He must have expected her to say that.
"Damn it, Colonel, it will have to be good enough. Get back to medical, and that's an order."
"Sorry, Ma'am, no can do."
"Sheppard, so help me I—" The whine of incoming Darts cut off the tirade she had been about to make concerning busting several delicate parts of his anatomy, not to mention his rank down to something of a more manageable size. She watched them drop into view as if from nowhere. "Damn it," she hissed.
"Colonel Carter?" John Sheppard may have been insubordinate, but he was nothing if not concerned.
"Several more Darts just dropped into the atmosphere from orbit," she told him. "It looks like the Hive is here."
**
He moved with confidence past the two guards at the entrance and approached to within a few paces of the centre of the chamber. There he stopped and waited, knowing that to overstep his bounds at such a time, and with such a report to give, would likely mean his death at the hands of this Queen his Hive had allied with. He had seen such things before, and it was not at all a pleasant memory.
Curious, he slowly raised his eyes to gaze on her, where she sat, being ministered to by the two scantly clad human females, who were her body servants – at least until they managed to bore her, and were fed upon – as he knew often happened.
She was beautiful, exquisite to behold. Tall and lithe with unblemished, pale green skin, enhanced by wondrously complex Wraith characters that formed an almost delicate string from her collar bone, over her chest and disappeared beneath the tight bodice of her otherwise flowing, blood red gown. The fingers that caressed the naked shoulder of the slave kneeling at her side were each tipped with sparkling but deadly blades and her long white hair hung in hundreds of tight, slim braids, weighted by the jewelled knuckle bones of the human females' fingers that had soothed and served her over the many millennia of her life… for she was ancient… perhaps the oldest of all of the Wraith Queens.
As he looked on, he could not help but adore her.
A slight growling hiss came from her throat and past her slightly parted lips and she slowly opened her eyes, tilting her head to one side, and fixing him with her gaze. He knew he was to approach.
He inclined his head in a slight bow, before taking the last several steps that brought him to the centre of her chamber. There he halted, waiting again as she gripped the shoulders of her servants, drawing blood, and accepted their hands upon her arms to assist her to rise.
"Leave us," she hissed, and the two women backed away to the sides of the chamber and skittered along the walls until they could pass the two guards and exit the room. Only then did she begin to descend the steps toward him, stalking, catlike, and almost delicately tasting the essence of her servants left by their blood on her fingers as she came.
When she reached him, she began to circle him slowly, running the tips of her blades over him as she did, though barely touching at all. He knew better than to move, and it was not the nearness or the sharpness of the blades that kept him in place. He felt the push of her mind against his, and opened himself to her touch.
She stopped behind him, and almost sensually laid her head next to his.
He held his breath. His heart became a wild flutter. Never had he been so close to a Queen such as this one, so favoured as an outsider of her own Hive… but then perhaps, as ancient as she was, she considered all to be her own. Her exhalation came against his cheek, as she swayed behind him, hissing out a second breath and probing more deeply for the information she had summoned him here to collect from him… the data from the compound and the planet they now orbited.
He took a shuddering breath of his own, lightheaded from the lack of it. He knew they had been unable to find any traces of the data core… but life signs had been detected where the core should have been and he knew from his dealings with them before, that the life signs were those of the people from Atlantis.
The wild heat of her anger flooded from her mind to his, overwhelming. Her hand flashed up to grasp his collar, spinning him to face her and at once forcing him to his knees with the press of her mind. Logically he knew that he had not failed her – that what had happened on the planet was beyond his control; beyond hers – and yet as her right hand came back, mantling in preparation for taking from him the consequences of her disappointment, he tilted his head back and to the right, to allow her greater access to his skin.
Her hand descended to his neck slowly then… and the fire of her anger cooled with puzzlement as she took her price from him slowly. He relished the pain, curled his hands into fists at his side to allow his own razor tipped finger to pierce his own palm. He knew that Colonel Sheppard and his Lantean companions had tripped some kind of failsafe that the tainted creature had left behind to protect what was his. Perhaps one of them had seen some little part of the data, and could provide them with the information they required, if only they were captured for interrogation.
The Queen tilted her head quickly to the opposite side, her eyes narrowing as she regarded him… and then the pain stopped… instead an almost ecstatic warmth began to flow from where she curled the blade tipped fingers against his neck. Pleasure and pain together… until she took a step back, hissing sharply.
He felt bereft, but knew he was to rise; to leave her; return to his own Hive. He had preparations to make for when the Dart arrived that would bring the Lantean prisoners to him; for him to find the answers and to make them speak. Slowly he struggled, weakened to his feet. His blood boiled and his belly churned in the sickness of need – of hunger that was not all his own – already she had moved past him… he had been dismissed and knew that delay would only anger her again.
Quickly he started toward the door, and almost stumbled when the grasp of her mind tightened around his again, turning him back to her even as she turned to face him.
"What of the other?" she hissed slowly, her eyes again narrowing in barely contained fury.
Slowly he shook his head. There was no sign of the one of whom she spoke, not here, or even nearby. And there was no sign of the Tainted One or his forces either… only the Lanteans.
With another irritated hiss, she sent him once more on his way.
His long strides and rapid steps took him quickly across the threshold of the Queen's chamber, and to the relative safety of the corridor beyond. He paused and turned to one of the women waiting patiently to be summoned again. Obedient to her Wraith betters, she lowered her eyes. He reached out to cup her chin in his hand and raise her face to his again.
"Your Queen hungers," he told her softly. "Go to her."
Barely a moment after she slipped from his grasp and entered the Queen's chamber again, the sick, churning feeling, and the prickling heat that coursed through his veins slowed, though it did not fade entirely. Still, he let out a growling sigh of satisfaction.
**
"You hear that?" Rodney didn't even care too much this time that his voice was shrill and, as his sister would say, shrieking like a girl. All he knew was that something out there had taken a shot at his burial mound, and now the remaining debris was shifting around and moaning like some long dead pharaoh, about to fall on him and finish what Michael had started.
Slowly, he straightened up a little from where he'd thrown himself protectively over the still immobile, unconscious figure of the major. Dust and debris cascaded from his back like water.
"Of course you didn't hear that," he answered himself waspishly, "You're unconscious, and medical science," he made quotation marks in the air with his fingers, "has yet to offer sufficient proof that the human brain can process or comprehend anything in such a state, let alone hear the sounds of someone trying to BLAST THE BUILDING DOWN AROUND MY EARS!"
"Rodney…" the female voice shouting his name from somewhere not too far above him startled all the fear-born anger out of him. "Rodney, it's me, Sam…"
"Sam..?" he said vaguely as if he didn't recognise the name at first, and then more confidently he squeaked out "Sam," and laughed before he called her name again.
"Yes," she said.
"Sam," he couldn't help but keep laughing with relief as he saw a sliver of daylight behind a dark shadow that must have been her head. "What's going on?"
"Listen to me," she said quickly, and she sounded uncommonly urgent to him, speaking almost as quickly as he did, "we're working as fast as we can to shift this rubble and get you out, but there's something very important I need you to do. I need you to find the data core—"
"What?" he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Wasn't she supposed to be telling him that everything was going to be all right; that they would have him out of there in a minute and not to worry?
"The data core," she repeated firmly, "The memory unit of Michael's computer – where all his files are st—"
"Yes, yes," he cut in irritably now, "thank you, I know what a data core is. What I don't know is how you expect me to find it in all of this. I can barely move around on my hands and knees. I—"
"Please, Rodney, this is important. We're not the only ones after that thing, we're fighting Wraith from every quarter and I don't need to tell you what will happen if they get their hands on it. I need you to find it."
"Great!" he protested loudly, but he was already starting to move around on his hands and knees, pushing through the rubble towards where he thought the computer terminal should be. "Just another one of those three impossible things I'm supposed to do before breakfast."
"We'll have you out of there soon," she said, completely ignoring his witty reference to The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. The thought of breakfast suddenly reminded him of how long it had been since he'd eaten. He turned and looked up at the sliver of sky.
"You… wouldn't have a power bar or something to share?" he said pitifully.
"What?" Sam asked.
"Food, you know," he answered, "It's been hours and… and I don't—"
He stopped at the light slap of something hitting his shoulder, and suddenly not just hungry, but ravenous, he tore open the wrapper of the bar and bit off a huge chunk. Second later he almost choked as a sudden burst of gunfire from above dragged him back to reality.
"Sam?" he managed around the half chewed mouthful. "What's going on?"
"Find it, Rodney!" she yelled, and then the shadow was gone, leaving a small shaft of light illuminating the swirls of dust in the air.
**
Ronon came running in, seemingly out of nowhere, letting out a challenging cry as he did and firing on the Wraith that had John Sheppard pinned with what was left of the team he'd joined.
"Sheppard, get the hell out of here!" Ronon yelled at him, grabbing the business end of a Wraith blaster that was pointed at him, and smashing the Wraith across the face with his forearm. Sheppard had to admit, he was relieved to see the Satedan.
"Good to see you too," he quipped, trying to hide the exhaustion in his voice.
"We told you that you weren't ready for this," Ronon answered, firing point blank into another of the Wraith that were trying to surround him. "You need to get back to the field hospital."
Suddenly angry, Sheppard advanced on the group of Wraith around his persistent friend, firing, albeit awkwardly, the P90 he was using in his off hand. "And I told you that I wasn't about to sit around and just—"
The ground around them suddenly exploded in flying debris as two Wraith Darts made a low strafing run… around them, the Wraith warriors on the ground began to pull back, and the buzzing whine of the Darts in the air intensified.
"This is new," Sheppard said sarcastically, watching as Ronon all but chased the retreating Wraith. He was about to say more, and to join Ronon in pursuit of the Wraith, but as he opened his mouth the ground under him lurched and he stumbled unsteadily to his knees. His ears ached with the ring of a massive explosion some way up ahead. Pushing himself upright again, he peered into the smoke-filled distance.
"Teams, this is Carter. What's going on?" Sam beat him to asking for a report as he felt Ronon's hand press against his chest in support.
"Colonel," Zelenka's harried voice shook over the radio link, "We just lost one of the Jumpers. Wraith Darts came out of nowhere and started firing blind."
"Damn it!" Sheppard pulled a face. If they kept it up, it wouldn't be long before they'd lose another of the Puddle Jumpers. "These guys are something else." He shook his head and keyed his own mic to say, "Colonel, the Wraith started pulling back, they may circle around and be heading your way." When Ronon threw a look at him he half shrugged, grimacing with the pain as he forgot his injured shoulder. "It's what I'd do."
"John… get back to the Jumpers, get the wounded aboard and get them in the air. They're sitting targets with the Wraith searching for them like that." He was about to protest when she continued, "When everyone is out of there take one of the Jumpers into orbit. We need Intel. I need to know what we're up against. You can't do any more on the ground."
"The hell I can't," he said under his breath, but to Sam he said, "Understood."
He reached out and caught Ronon's arm as the Satedan turned, ready to go with him; to follow Colonel Carter's orders. He shook his head.
"Take Burry's team," he said, "Get after those Wraith and then head on around to give Carter and the engineers more ground support."
"But she said—" Ronon started to argue.
"I know what she said, but I can handle the evac." He sighed and then looked up at Ronon. "Carter's outnumbered over there and we gotta stop the Wraith. We can't let 'em get to McKay."
Ronon looked at him seriously for a second, and then his face split into a wide, almost maniacal grin, before he turned and, at the head of Burry's team, raced off in the direction of the Wraith.
**
Carter scrambled back up to the top of the now much lower mound of debris to look down into the opening they'd managed to enlarge. It was still not big enough for them to safely get McKay and Lorne out, especially not considering Lorne's apparent injuries, but they were working on it.
"How's it going, Rodney?" she called down.
"Slowly!" She watched him turn his head to look up at her from on his hands and knees where he still searched for the data core of Michael's computer. His voice held that familiar tone of irritated sarcasm he so often used. "And it's not helping you looking over my shoulder every few seconds."
He turned back to his search without waiting for her to answer him, so she closed her mouth again, and scrambled back down to join the engineers who were frantically working on one side of the mound.
"How much longer?" she asked.
"Hard to tell," one of them answered, "though actually, the Dart that tried to blast us to hell actually did us a favour."
"Oh?"
"Yeah," he nodded to the side they were digging out. "There's a lot of debris that was loosened, that we would otherwise never have gotten out."
"Good," she said, nodding with an expression of smug satisfaction on her face.
"So long as we can keep this chain going," he nodded toward where engineers and marines alike were passing chunks of concrete, broken bricks, and other remnants of the building from person to person, and tossing them aside, "we should have them out in fifteen, maybe twenty more minutes."
"And you don't need the braces?" she asked, frowning.
"Nothing left to brace, thanks to the Wraith."
She nodded and clapped the engineer on the shoulder, and for a moment dared to feel a rush of optimism. In a little under half an hour they'd have their people out of there and in the hands of the medics. All that remained then would be to clear a way to the gate, and get everyone home.
As if to remind her that might not be too easy the whoosh of a Wraith blaster, and a fresh explosion of debris close by her head sent both her, and the engineers scrambling for cover. She, as the marines, rolled aside, bringing their weapons to bear and started to return fire.
"Keep working!" she yelled to the engineers, before leading the marines in an assault against the incoming Wraith.
There was little cover to be had, and what there was would not last long under the almost constant barrage of fire from the Wraith. Once again, they found themselves fighting to maintain what little progress they'd been able to make. She paused in firing to signal to Vega to take her men and flank the Wraith. Perhaps if they were taking fire from two directions it would slow them down.
The melodic whistle of Ronon's gun buoyed her spirits, as the Wraith half turned to face his incoming, growling assault, punctuated by the P90 fire of the accompanying marines. As she continued her own defence against the Wraith, she saw Vega take the opportunity to move to flank and for a little while at least, they had the Wraith on the defensive; their attack halted, and Carter, Ronon and Vega had the chance to regroup in a more defensible position.
It was to be only another momentary respite as, before long, Wraith reinforcements came streaming from the surrounding areas like ants from a nest, or were beamed in by Darts to join the fight.
"Colonel Carter…" She jumped as one of the engineers slid into position beside her. "We're almost ready, but you've got to keep those Wraith pinned down if we're going to have any chance of going in there to get Doctor McKay and the Major out. We go up as it is they'll pick us off one by one."
"We'll do what we can," she told him and then looked over at the others, "Ronon?"
He peeked around the low wall they sheltered behind, taking a few shots as he did before ducking back behind the bricks.
"Not a chance," he said, then looking over her shoulder, his eyes widened, and speaking quickly added, "Besides which I think we've got bigger problems – move!"
Barely had he grabbed her and virtually dragged her away from the wall, than it exploded into shards of flying brickwork as the Wraith Dart fired on their position, and with their defences destroyed, they had little choice but to mount the assault against the Wraith that Ronon had said stood no chance of success.
As soon as she dared Carter straightened up, and all but firing from the hip, turned to face the Wraith before any of them could aim through the settling dust. At her side, Ronon raised his gun, and with dreadlocks flying behind him, led the marines on a charge against the Wraith.
**
Rodney scrambled first one way, and then the other across the uneven surface, heedless of the bruises he was giving himself as he heard the sound of gunfire coming closer. What had been a narrow hole above his head was now a wide gash that opened across much of what had been the low ceiling, and almost reached down to the same level as the ground.
Not normally a coward, so he liked to think, McKay gave serious consideration to just forgetting about the data core, and climbing up to the opening; cutting his losses and getting out while he could, but every time he turned in that direction the sight of the Major, sprawled immobile against the broken pile of rubble, sent him scuttling back to reach around fallen pieces of organic machinery amid the bricks and concrete, to find the data and keep it safe from the Wraith who, from the sound and proximity of the gunfire, were all but knocking on his makeshift door.
**
What had begun as a charge was ending as a defensive retreat. Using what cover among the rubble they could, Carter, Ronon and the others were being pushed back toward the where the engineers still worked to make it safe for them to get McKay and Lorne out.
"Make for the mound – higher ground!" Carter yelled at Vega, nodding toward where it looked as though someone had taken a bite out of the side of the building's rubble, but which still stood higher than ground level. She leaned up to rest her P90 against a chunk of concrete and fired a stream of bullets at the advancing Wraith to give Vega cover to make the move. "Pick them off from up there. Tell the engineers to get them out now – we'll just have to risk it!"
From the shelter of a nearby, tumbledown stack of heavy barrels, Ronon growled and let off a string of rapid shots against their assailants, slowly picking them off one by one. At least now they weren't being replaced as soon as they could be rid of them, even if they were still outnumbered.
"Where's the cavalry when you need them?" Carter called to him breathlessly as she paused in firing.
"I think this time the cavalry is on their side."
The look of resignation on his face made her turn her head to look in the direction he was looking and her blood thickened to a standstill in her veins. Two Darts were closing in on their position, and closing fast.
"No!" Suddenly furious, and heedless of the Wraith still firing on her, now from behind as she turned to watch the incoming Darts, Carter got to her feet and began running toward the what was left of the building. "I won't let them do this!"
Scrambling up the side of the mound of rubble beside the Captain, she raised her P90 and aimed at the lead dart, trying to take it down. Behind her, she heard that Ronon was giving her what cover he could. She wasn't even sure that she cared whether it was enough any more.
As it got closer, the lead Dart activated its culling beam, depositing a group of angry looking Wraith at the foot of the mound. Beside her Captain Vega turned her gun their way and started firing. It should have been the end.
Without a warning the mound of rubble lurched beneath her, jumping sideways and throwing both her and Carter to the ground below like fleas off a dog. The second incoming Dart fired on the mound, blackening the air with more debris. The bite-like gash opened wider in the side of the fallen building and the battlefield was stunned to silence by the shockwave of the explosion.
From inside the now open building, as the smoke and dust began to clear, came the sound of Rodney's near hysterical laughter.
"I found it! I got it... I got it!"
Still laughing, Rodney climbed to his feet and started stumbling over everything in his way to get out, and show it to her; bring it to her.
"Incoming!"
Ronon's warning shout and the whine that began to cut through the partial deafness left by the explosion made her turn again. From behind the rising cloud of smoke over the compound a Dart was coming, flying low on a path that would bring it into striking range within seconds.
"Rodney, no!" Sam tried to call a warning to him; to stop him. "Get down!"
"What?" he looked at her, puzzled, as if he couldn't quite understand what she was saying. "But I've got it, I—"
"Down!" she screamed at him, staring to rise, meaning to run to him and throw him out of harm's way, but Vega was faster. She was already on her feet and sprinting toward the doctor. She launched herself at him through the air as the whine of the Dart's engine became unbearable, but the Dart did not open fire.
Sam watched, in horror as the culling beam swept beneath its path right into the exposed heart of the building. It was barely a second before the beam disengaged and the Dart powered away, but it left her staring at the space they had fought so hard to reach where McKay, Vega and Lorne were no longer.
Barely a second more, and the sound of Ronon's blaster startled her out of her horrified paralysis, reminding her that the battle was far from over.
