Rescue Comes:

Turning Around:

The queen didn't need much more convincing. Though Quarin had not gotten the quadrants from me as to where she could meet the Earth war ship the Daedalus, she knew exactly where Atlantis was and turned her hive around, telling Quarin to keep an eye out for me and that it was probably best if he moved the cruiser somewhere the race could not find it. She had been intrigued when Quarin had told her that I had communicated my escape with the animals on the planet. What was even more disturbing was that Quarin had had to hide while the men took Cora away. It was the only way the men would believe that Cora had acted alone and not with someone, let alone a wraith.

The queen had been able to show Cora the sign meaning friends were on the way. She would be able to show the captured wraith that their friends were on the way if she was ever taken to him. Once the ship was turned around and headed for the new home of Atlantis, Quarin got busy trying to hide the cruiser and keep track of two transmitters now that he could distinguish one from the other.

The queen was headed to Atlantis and as she went, she told her crew that it didn't matter that they were helping this human. She had trusted them with vital information and she had promised to help one of their own escape captivity. Now the queen only hoped that the Atlantean's saw it the same way.

Atlantis:

Dr. Rodney McKay was in the Control Tower when the Long Range Sensors started going off. The Daedalus and Apollo were docked on the South and East Piers as the crews were busy repairing some damage sustained in the last battle with the wraith. Colonel Ellis and Caldwell along with Colonel Sheppard's team were all summoned to the Control Tower the second the sensors picked up the wraith activity.

"Where are they headed McKay?" Colonel Caldwell asked.

"We've been keeping an eye on this particular hive ship. According to Todd, the hive was headed for a planet, looking for one of its own wraith which was captured. Now, at first, we thought it was only a coincidence that the same planet they were headed to was the same planet Lt. Kolwezi disappeared on, but now we're not so sure."

"That doesn't answer our question, McKay. Where is the hive headed now?" Colonel Ellis asked.

"They've turned around and they are headed straight for us. They should be here within the next few hours. They are going a lot faster than normal which makes me think they came upon something interesting."

"You think they ran into Lt. Kolwezi? We haven't heard anything about her in the six months she's been gone. And the fact that we've moved the rest of the people from the surrounding planets in that system to Atlantis means they aren't taking anyone else. They have to be getting their captives from somewhere." Colonel Sheppard finished.

"It would be the only reasonable course of action. Wraith queens just don't turn their ships around and head away from a planet they want to cull unless it was for some reason. They are headed here for some reason and we need to find out why."

"McKay, I don't like what you're insinuating."

"Mr. Woolsey, if the queen wants to come to Atlantis, we need to find out why she turned her hive around and if it has something to do with Lt. Kolwezi, shouldn't we know?"

"He's right Woolsey. As much as I hate the wraith being on Atlantis, we haven't been able to locate any new leads on our missing soldier and maybe the queen has some information that can help us." Ronon said.

"Why do I get the feeling that you all are about to gang up on me?"

"Because we're all about to gang up on you. If this is the lead we have been looking for, then we need to take it. We need to bring Lt. Kolwezi home, like tomorrow. Six months is way too long to be out there in god knows what kind of trouble." Dr. Keller finished.

"Fine, fine, but only the queen and one escort and that is final."

"Got it."

Forging A Truce:

Two hours later, with the hive in orbit, a cruiser was escorted down to the North Pier and the queen and one escort were walked to the Control Tower and into the conference room. And the real reason as to why they were there became known.

"As you by now know, we were on our way to a planet we believed one of our own to be held captive there. We have a scout on the ground, keeping watch over what is going on. He is to communicate back to me with any developments."

"Developments, like what exactly?"

"We made a copy of the video footage from our wraith on the planet. It is best that you see this yourself. Do not worry; there is no virus on it."

"What kind of video is it?"

"Lt. Kolwezi asked us to come get you."

"She's alive? But how? I mean, we've been looking all over for her. Her transmitter hasn't shown up anywhere." Dr. Keller asked.

"You'll see in the video."

The queen handed over the video chip and McKay plugged it into his computer. Turning the computer around, he and everyone else watched. And as explained by Cora, the transmitters didn't work underground in the passages and rooms built by the race.

"Alright, so what do we do now? And I see that this wraith she named Quarin didn't do anything to help as she was dragged away." Ronon said.

"It was better that he didn't try to help. He would have been captured as well. This way, they think she stumbled upon the cruiser by herself and called out to me and my hive on her own. They won't be looking for another wraith in the area and I had Quarin move his cruiser somewhere they wouldn't be able to locate it again. My guess is that they had been tracking her transmitter just like Quarin had; only Quarin got to her first, which in my opinion was the better move."

"Yea, I'd say so too. Though trusting the wraith isn't my first option." Colonel Caldwell said.

"And trusting humans that are known to kill wraith wasn't my first option either. But you are not the only one that wants to free her now. According to Quarin the only reason she was able to escape the first time was with the help of the animals living on the planet. She has a way of communicating with the animals on the planet. I get the feeling that she didn't tell him much else about her. He did tell me that he has her dog tags, weapons and vest though. He found them while searching for a member of our own."

"I noticed that sign you showed her at the end of the video. What did it mean?" Teyla asked.

"She asked me for a sign that would show our fellow wraith that friends were on the way. As she was being dragged away I showed her the sign. She believes that he is being kept in the same place she was being kept and that he is being fed with the humans that this race goes out and takes from the local planets nearby. Though she said something about them not leaving in the last few months. And that they had gotten very aggressive towards her and the others that were being held."

"I think it's about time we left, now, don't you. We need to get to her as soon as possible. If we leave now, we can get there roughly about the same time, if neither of us stops. We both want our people back, no matter what the cost. And if you are willing to work alongside humans to get your comrade back then we are as well." Mr. Woolsey finished.

"I am willing."

Freeing The Slaves:

The Daedalus, the Apollo and the wraith hive came out of hyperspace at the exact same time, nearly two days later. The queen radioed down to Quarin for any news and he radioed back saying that there was none. If this was going to be a rescue attempt, they needed the perfect bait, young women. Dr. Keller, Major Johansen and Teyla all volunteered. They knew that there tracking devices might not work underground, but that didn't mean getting to Cora and the others wasn't going to happen. If the people who had Cora and the other girls as well as the wraith captive were living above ground and keeping their captives underground, then there was a possibility of being able to cull the people above ground before going after the ones underground.

So the plan was set in motion. Cloaked Jumpers would go down to the planet's surface and see if there were any people living above ground. If there were, they were to radio back to the queen and she would send darts to pick up anyone above ground. They would cull the people above ground but leave the animals alone. The animals had helped Lt. Kolwezi escape the first time, that meant they could possibly help her escape a second time if the timing was right.

More to come in next chapter…

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