Todd, however, didn't stay with Jennifer for long. It wasn't surprising—despite his brain and his obvious talents, he also had a ship to run.
And, if things hadn't changed from Teyla's last stage, it was a queenless hive to boot, and Teyla had hinted more than once the dangers of a hive without a queen.
She estimated that about half an hour after he'd shown her about the laboratory, he'd suddenly straightened and walked out without another word. Whatever the complication was, he didn't say, though he also hadn't seemed particularly concerned, either.
But, true enough to his word, he'd left another Wraith with her. A Wraith who, as far as she could tell, was everything that Todd was not. His hair hung in silky strands, the top half of which was pulled and tied neatly at the back. He also lacked a mustache or beard—if what the Wraith called facial hair could even be considered a beard—let alone any sort of facial tattoos. His clothing, too, was simple, fluid, and black, without any decorations or designs that would suggest its use as armor.
It didn't take long for his silent stare to get to her.
"What do I call you?" she finally asked.
He didn't answer.
"Surely you have a name," she pressed, but she wasn't surprised at his continued silence. Todd, likewise, had refused to ever share his name, and if Teyla had ever picked it from his mind, she'd never shared. "I'm not going to make one up for you like the colonel does."
The Wraith indicated the science equipment with a wave of his hand.
"Alright, alright." She sighed as she made her way over to one of the computer screens. "I just hope you don't keep quiet when I need you to read something in Wraith," she grumbled to herself.
.
Guide quelled the resentment at the issue at hand, which pulled him away from something far more important: the future of his race.
There wasn't much he hadn't done to ensure the survival of his own race. He had discovered critical knowledge that had led to the downfall of the Ancients, but before that he had also been the one to lead his people from their former captivity at the hands of those who had created them. He had helped crack the coding of the Ancients' nanos, all to prevent further devastation from a race that had not known when to cease.
Those were achievements his own people recognized, and celebrated.
But his work had continued even into the shadows of their civilization. He had killed queens and destroyed hives, and he had formed a tenuous alliance with humans who thought themselves advanced because they dwelled within an ancient city. To his people, he was as much a phantom as he was a hero, because they never quite saw the same picture.
And now, he had brought a human to his own hive to form a bond that would ensure his kind would change once again for their future. This time, however, he feared how those changes would affect his people as a whole, and it was that fear that made him strive to make the change as seamless and changeless as possible.
His lips curled as he stared at the screen in front of him. He'd been tempted to ignore John Sheppard, but he had no desire to make their alliance any more unstable than he already had. If the doctor was indeed correct, it was very possible he might require Atlantis' aid in the near future, and for that reason alone he was entertaining the colonel's temper.
"Sheppard," he greeted as soon as the colonel's face came on the screen.
The screen flickered, and he realized whatever trick Sheppard had used hadn't been perfect, to say the least.
"Dammit, McKay." The colonel's connected fizzled out for a moment, and then popped back. " . . . do anything right?"
Guide wasn't surprised to hear McKay's comment a moment later.
"Oh, like you could do better!" he snapped, and the connection again winked out. " . . . try bouncing a signal from three locations!"
The signal faded again, and Guide found himself hoping it wouldn't restore itself, allowing him plausible deniability for future communication.
"Where's Jennifer?" Sheppard snapped a moment later.
He resisted the all-too human urge to sigh. "She is well," he drawled.
"Well forgive me if I don't take your word for it." The colonel glared at the screen, but it faded abruptly out before Guide could appreciate the effect. " . . . where are you?"
"Safe." Guide didn't so much as blink. "The doctor can do her work here without interruption. Once the cure is discovered, she will be returned safely."
And before the communication could freeze again, Guide ended it himself.
He turned to his second and glared. Do not interrupt me for this again.
He walked out with the knowledge that his message was received and understood, and headed back towards the laboratory where he'd left Jennifer. There was no guarantee of what time he'd have before his next interruption, and he intended to make use of every second assisting the doctor to ensure that a cure was found before his hive finished its circuit of the abandoned solar systems he'd directed it through.
If the hive came across any other ships, queenless or not, there would be a battle, and he had no desire to waste his time on meaningless conflict when there was a far bigger prize in store.
