The hive emerged from hyperspace to join several other ships, including a handful of cruisers, orbiting a large planet. The Wraith was again standing beside the portal looking out into the vastness of space. This had been his favourite place of reflection since he'd joined his first hive and stood here watching his home world fade until it was nothing more than a tiny speck of light. The sight of so many hives gathered was rare now but it had been common before the civil war when alliances had met regularly to share research and information. It gave the Wraith a sense of satisfaction that in turn had a calming effect on his mind. His inner energies were in disarray and, while he was now more practised at drawing on the hive's latent energy to help restore his balance, any additional influence was welcome.

He had not communicated with any since his audience with the queen. None had approached him and he had been content to keep his own counsel. He had things to consider and knew no others on this hive could even begin to understand his position. He suspected that his supporters, including his old escort, who saw their own futures tied to his were annoyed that he had acted alone. But their feelings were not his concern. He welcomed their support but if they could not trust his judgement they would be of little use to him in the future.

The queen had been quite right of course. He had pushed the commander further than he'd intended. He'd gone to find out why he was not involved in the research to get this virus working again. The decision to go on into more dangerous territory, to challenge the commander's fitness to lead and demean his character, had been prompted by a sudden awareness of her presence combined with the sure knowledge that anger made his opponent blind to her approach. But even then he had taken a huge risk – she could have simply allowed the commander to feed and his life would have been forfeit. But he had succeeded and it was not in his nature to waste time thinking about failures that might have happened.

He sensed the approach of the chief scientist and found himself welcoming the presence of one so unskilled in politics. But he sensed another accompanying the scientist – the young escort who had been his first contact on the hive. Their paths had not crossed since then and the Wraith wondered why he was here now.

The scientist stopped and looked at his young companion. "He is here on the queen's orders – he has no experience with others from outside this hive. He may be useful." He believed this youngster had potential which needed to be tested before his abilities were dismissed completely.

The scientist joined the Wraith at the portal – the young male stayed back in the shadows. "I have always been fascinated that something as large as a hive ship can fly so elegantly."

The Wraith nodded and grunted amiably, sharing the scientist's appreciation of the technology but not wanting to get into a conversation about aerodynamics. "Are you both ready to leave? The sooner we are gone from this ship the better."

"I agree you should not linger here." The scientist betrayed a sense of nervousness that ignited a spark of anger in his companion.

"I do not fear this commander and nor should you." The Wraith hissed but his anger quickly turned to scorn. "He is weak and he is angry – not because of what I have done but because he cannot predict the consequences of my words and so fears for his future. He has lost control of his queen, although he does not fully understand this yet, and he feels his power over the rest slipping away."

"I do not understand the finesse of politics but should you not seek to stay on this hive and take advantage of this situation you have brought about?"

"No. My cause is best served by finding a way to redeploy this virus and nullify our enemy. I have the queen's trust so my position here is safe. The commander has feared what I could do since I joined this ship and he is now starting to understand the folly of allowing me onto his hive. I have just become a much larger shadow for him to fear – one that has a far greater store of experience and power upon which to draw. No, I have sown the seeds of his downfall and, fed by his own insecurities, they will continue to grow even in my absence."

"If he feared you, why did he allow you to live?"

"Because I used his own fears to make him believe it would be in his best interests to keep me alive and because I then showed respect for the opportunity he gave me." The Wraith turned his attention to them both. "Success is achieved by following different paths, many of which are hidden to others until it is too late and they are powerless to do anything but stand-by and watch the consequences of your actions." He turned his head to gaze back on the void outside the hive. "You will both do well to remember this if you wish to serve a commander with more talent and ambition than the one you serve now."

He set off briskly towards the dart bay. "I merely meant the sooner we are off this ship the sooner we can begin our work." The scientist took one last look at the gathered hives and moved to follow – the young escort followed silently.

oOo-

There was silence as they flew down to the research facility in one of the hive's transporters. The Wraith sensed that the pilot's loyalty lay with the commander so he had no desire to engage with the scientist and reveal anything that could be reported back. He just ignored the young escort.

The scientist was less attuned to the tensions that surrounded him. He spent some short time wondering if the youngster sitting next to him would have the intelligence to make the most of this opportunity but, as with most Wraith, his thoughts quickly turned to his own situation. He thought how working with other scientists would improve his own position and opportunities. Yes, he was chief scientist on a hive but it was not one of the outstanding hives in the galaxy – it followed rather than led. He would never forget that he held this position because of the defection of the hive's more experienced and, he had to admit, cleverer scientists. He would never know the success of this one he had chosen to follow but as he thought over the advice about taking different paths to achieve an end, he could see a path ahead that would enhance his prospects.

The Wraith looked out of the small portal and watched the verdant greens and vibrant yellows and browns of the planet come into focus and transform into endless forests of huge, spreading trees. The sun was rising over the horizon casting an array of dancing pink and golden threads through the sky and the landscape. There were some high mountains away on the horizon, mountains that were continually shrouded with cloud so the sun did not shine and the atmosphere was damp and clinging. It was amongst these mountains that the research facility lay – hidden to all but those who knew its exact location.

He had been to this world before during his long life – several times in fact. It once had human inhabitants but they were long gone – one of the populations stolen away to safety by the Lanteans in those tense times before the war began in earnest. He had been involved in culls on this planet – indeed some of the first humans he had fed upon were natives of this world. Strangely, he found himself thinking of them as he looked down on their lost heritage – not with any particular feelings about their fate but rather with a sense of how situations can change and how success for any species was linked to their ability adapt to such change.

This was also the world where he'd worked with others to develop the virus. He wondered how many of them were back in this research facility. Indeed, it had been a long, long time – he wondered how many of them still lived.

oOo-

The transporter landed smoothly on the small landing bay attached to the facility. The pilot did not linger and the Wraith knew his instincts had been correct – he would never gain this one's loyalty. Still he did not seem a particularly gifted pilot – he could be classified as expendable.

The facility was not large – certainly not of the scale of the old cloning facility where he had also worked. They walked briskly to the facility's main entrance in order to find shelter before the frosty chill of the early morning air cooled their bodies too much. Inside, the entrance was guarded by three warriors who stood aside without questioning the identity of these strangers.

Once inside all three immediately fell into tune with the rhythms of the facility. Ground facilities were made of the same organic material as hives and cruisers but had some subtle differences. In basic appearance they were similar although the colours and textures of the walls carried the deeper, more intense colour seen in a hive's laboratories. They lacked some of the healing essences that abounded on hives – these facilities never went into battle so did not need to regenerate and repair themselves. Instead the essence here focused on nurturing creativity and innovation, again mirroring the labs on a hive but with far more intensity. They were grown for one specific purpose and were left in a state similar to stasis once that purpose had been served or the work terminated. This facility and the others that had been built for work on this computer virus were slightly different. They had been kept on-line but with minimal power generation – just enough to maintain the energy fields that surrounded the test specimen even though that creature's functions had been neutralised.

The main laboratory was just as he remembered it – several terminals and monitors and over in one corner, suspended in the strong force field, was the specimen that had been the key to their success before. It was inactive so at this point the force field was not necessary.

Only two others were working in the room. One was a youngster who, like theirs, appeared to not have much experience beyond the most basic tasks.

But the other was very different. The Wraith knew there were few of their race older than he and he was standing before one of them now. Here was an old scientist who had been his earliest teacher and mentor on his first hive. They had then worked together on the original virus but their paths had not crossed since. Both bowed their heads slightly as a mark of respect towards the other. The Wraith might be younger but the teacher knew that his former pupil had achieved far more power and glory than he would ever see so was prepared to take a secondary role in this relationship.

So it was the Wraith who opened their communication. "It has been a long time – I did not expect to work with you again on such a problem. Are there others who will join us?"

"No. We have done this before so will work alone." The old scientist had never been one for long explanations. "I had heard you'd come back from the dead. If any could do such a thing it would be you."

The Wraith nodded thoughtfully. "I have had some ... setbacks but nothing that I cannot reverse." He walked over to one of the terminals. "You say we are the only ones who will work here and yet there are several hives orbiting this world. Why?"

"There were others. I sent them away. The hives may choose to remain, I neither know nor care." The old scientist walked over and stood before one of the other terminals. "Work is being done at one other facility but I do not expect them to succeed. If we cannot solve this problem, it cannot be solved."

-oOo-

The long days and nights of this world passed quickly as the three scientists focused solely on their task. The two young Wraith shared responsibility for maintaining the program that held the specimen within its force field and other trivial work when necessary. The Wraith was surprised at the level of understanding his youngster showed for the work and began to understand what led the chief scientist to believe this one had potential to be a good scientist.

Initially their work followed a similar pattern to the work done all those centuries ago. They tested the specimen and found that its base code was different to the code that the virus had been designed to infiltrate. So even though it had been off-line for so long, it was now programmed to attack Wraith.

But the job became more difficult as they had setback after setback. They attempted to upload the virus again without success; they tested and retested multiple permutations of the virus again without success. Finally they tried changing the Replicator base code but still they were unable to effect the change needed to neutralise the creatures again. The problem lay in the fact that they were unable to decipher the exact changes that had been made to the base code. They had been made by someone who intended them to remain hidden – someone who clearly had much to gain by the Replicators winning this war. The Wraith now had no doubt that the 'new' Lanteans were behind these events and it was time to share his belief with the other two scientists.

"We are going round in circles. I detect the hand of others in this problem and I believe it is the hand of the humans who now occupy the city of the Lanteans."

"How that can be? They are under attack from these creatures too."

"Are they? How many reports have there been of attacks against them since this enemy turned its eyes to us?"

The old scientist grunted and nodded in agreement "None." But he would not let go of his doubts that easily. "They are strangers to this galaxy. They know nothing of the virus we used to stop this enemy before."

"You underestimated their capabilities. Consider this situation. They occupy the city of the Lanteans, they use their technology, they have access to the very laboratories where these creatures were created and, like the Lanteans, they would like nothing better than to see our race destroyed but lack the capabilities to do it on their own."

"I believe what you say to be true." The chief scientist was convinced by this argument even thought the old scientist still seemed sceptical. "I do not believe these creatures have made these changes themselves otherwise they would have done so long before now. The question is how to get the information we need from these humans."

"There is one human scientist whose name is known to the worshippers on our hive. He is called McKay and I believe that he is the one to be blamed for this interference. He is the one we need."

The old scientist laughed aloud. "And how do you propose to get him."

"We are speaking of humans. They believe themselves to be our equals but they have weaknesses and emotions that can be used against them. All we need do is find the right weakness and our job will be half done."

-oOo-

It took time and communication with the other facility and beyond to finally come up with a plan. Satedans were the key – Satedans who had served together but whose lives had taken very different directions when their home world was destroyed. One was a former runner who now moved through the galaxy with a group of the 'new' Lanteans. The others were now worshippers who would be used to feed the former runner and his new companions with the information that work was being done to again switch off the Replicator attack code. This would be the lure to bring the human scientist to the research facility to try to stop their work. Instead he would be captured and persuaded to work on repairing the base code using the test specimen. It was decided to use the other research facility – it was not as well hidden as this one in the mountains which meant that revealing its location to humans would be less of a loss to Wraith research capabilities.

The plan seemed simple enough and the Wraith had no doubt it could work. The young male took the opportunity to expand his base of knowledge. "I have not come across a Satedan – how would I recognise one?"

The Wraith was about to dismiss this question but decided this was the type of question he would have asked when young so humoured it. "They are usually large and loud with a strong hatred for our race. We destroyed their home world when they refused to acknowledge us as their masters. That is the sort of behaviour that cannot be allowed to go unchecked. They brought about their own end and yet blame us for merely responding to their pathetic efforts to defy us. They are not particularly astute and tend to respond to any situation with hostility and aggression. You will do well to avoid them as they will kill you as soon as look at you.

"Will this plan work?"

"You can never be sure any plan will work until it is brought to a successful conclusion. Even then it may not be the conclusion you originally wanted but it can still be considered a success." The youngster looked confused but the Wraith had not yet finished. "This plan seems simple enough but still there is scope for failure. What are your thoughts about it?"

He did not hear the youngster's response as word arrive that the plan had indeed been successful. The humans had been lured to the facility, captured and McKay put to work on reversing the effects of his tampering.

But success was destined to be short-lived. The Satedans had not been strong enough to contain the runner and he had escaped back to the 'new' Lanteans. The Wraith had seen the doggedness of these humans first hand with their rescue of Sheppard and knew the plan would not produce the results they needed. Sure enough the episode ended with the humans being rescued before McKay could finish his work while two of the Satedans were killed by their former friend.

So the plan did not achieve what they had hoped but from the small amount of work McKay had done it was obvious that these creatures had learnt how to change their own programming. It seemed victory over these Replicators would be much harder than even the Wraith had first thought.

Spirits were lifted when they started to win some battles. Replicator ships were almost identical to the old Lantean warships so were subject to the same few weaknesses. By taking advantage of these weaknesses, a number of Replicator ships were destroyed in ambushes with relatively few hives and cruisers lost in the process. But these were only short term gains. Those who had served in the Lantean war knew that in the longer term the tide of war would eventually turn against them. Wraith were already weakened by the civil war and the enemy's technology allowed them to build replacement ships at a much faster rate. Hive ships took months to grow and their ability to crew new ships was similarly depleted by the civil war. They could recommission the cloning facility but that would mean capturing enough Replicator ships to provide the enormous power needs.

No, the answer still lay in reintroducing some type of stand down code into the Replicators' programming. The other research facility had been compromised so all scientists were now working at this facility hidden away high in the mountains. But as luck would have it, when spirits were unusually low for a race that prided itself on its superiority over the galaxy, the key to winning the war came from an entirely unexpected source – the Replicators themselves.

-oOo-

The Wraith had returned to the hive, ostensibly to report to the queen on their progress but in reality he wanted to make sure that his plans were proceeding in his absence and do all he could to continue his opponent's downfall. He was in a private audience with the queen, something usually reserved for the ship's commander, when this particular ship's commander came in unannounced but obviously agitated.

He bowed to the queen and glared at the Wraith.

"My queen." The commander placed special emphasis on 'my'. "I have..."

He got no further. "I am meeting with my most senior adviser and you think yourself important enough to enter my presence unannounced." The queen's voice barely rose above a quiet, dangerous hiss.

The Wraith stood back to watch, hardly able to control his smile of self-satisfaction. She had called him 'her most senior adviser' a title he obviously felt fitted but he was experienced enough to realise that there was more going on here. He had landed in the middle of a battle – one that his actions before leaving the hive had precipitated, one that had obviously been gathering momentum during in his absence and one that was clearly moving to a climax. Things had obviously progressed in his absence far better than he had ever anticipated.

Seeing an opportunity to further heighten the tension, the Wraith moved to stand at the left hand of the queen – the position reserved for the commander of a hive. "My queen, I believe this one might have something of importance to tell you otherwise he would not have risked so much to enter your presence when he knew you were ... occupied with matters of importance to the welfare of the hive." The pair locked eyes and the Wraith saw more unbridled hatred that he had ever encountered from another of his kind. But he had stood his ground against opponents with far more power than this one and, inevitably, it was the commander who averted his eyes first.

The queen had remained silent as this skirmish played out but now spoke with a word of warning for both these males standing before her. "Very well, speak but take care you do not waste my time."

The commander bowed his head in respect to the queen and pointedly ignored the Wraith.

"One of the hives we have been travelling with left recently to cull one of its nearby feeding grounds. They arrived to find the human settlements completely destroyed and the lifeless bodies of the entire population left rotting in the rubble. The hive's commander knows this was not the work of another hive – none would wreak such wanton violence on humans."

"What does he propose to do about this attack?"

"He is seeking a meeting of all hives in the immediate area madam. This is something that has never..."

Again the commander's words were silenced by the queen impatience. "I am well aware this has never happened before. You will make arrangements for us to travel to this meeting."

The commander bowed and turned to leave but the queen was not yet finished. "You may also attend if you feel you would have anything of value to contribute. Now leave us."

The commander did not respond but the Wraith noticed the slight dropping of his shoulders as the queen delivered her final words. A gesture that showed this young commander had finally recognised that his bid to control this hive was all but over. And there was absolutely nothing he could do to turn the tide that was now pushing him relentlessly back to oblivion for which he had come.

-oOo-

The Wraith walked back to his quarters so deep in his own thoughts that he was unaware the attitudes of others had changed towards him. Males stood aside to let him pass and heads were bowed slightly before him. He had just about reached his destination when he became aware of the change – he drew a series of deep, satisfied breaths and smiled as he entered the quarters he knew would not be his home for too much longer.

He was surprised to find his worshipper waiting for him. He had grown used to her absence during his time at the research facility and found her uninvited presence annoying. But she was clearly pleased to see him and after the avalanche of animosity from the commander he found this a welcome boost to his ego.

"I have missed you master."

The Wraith nodded and looked her up and down. "You have been well occupied while I have been gone."

"Yes master." He detected a slight note of hesitation in her response.

"Tell me what has happened."

She lowered her eyes. "There have been some with whom I once shared friendship who now shun my company because they serve those who you have chosen to challenge."

"Well, I am back and you need have nothing to fear from any other. Now I need time to myself."

If she was disappointed with this abrupt dismissal she knew better than to show it. She knew that he had used her to gain information to further his own cause. She also knew that her place among the worshippers was well and truly linked to his fortunes and when he achieved success there were several that she would take great pleasure to put in their place.

Once alone, the Wraith turned his mind to the job that lay ahead. He knew that Sheppard and his scientist McKay were still needed to win this battle but they would not allow themselves to be taken again so easily. There was no need now for deception though. This attack on a human world could only have been carried out by these Replicators – this was the hook he needed to get the 'new' Lantean's help with the war against their common enemy. All he had to do was convince them that it would be in their interest to share the secret of how McKay had manipulated the Replicator code.

But first he had to explain the plan to his queen and persuade her it would be in the hive's interests convince the rest of the queens and hive commanders that collaboration with humans was the best way to win this war. It would not be easy - he knew that many would be unable to understand how humans could provide help. The only time he would have to talk to the queen was in the transporter on their way to meet with the others. Queens did not like surprises nor did they like to be made to look like fools so he must present her with a well devised plan – this was not the time to be making things up as he went along.

-oOo-

The contingent of ships orbiting the plant had now doubled in size. The meeting was held on the hive of the most senior queen of the group. He walked quickly towards the transporter bay knowing he must be there before the queen – she would not tolerate having to wait for any who served her. His old escort was waiting next to the ramp onto the transporter and bowed his head when the Wraith approached.

"Well, it seems we will soon be calling you commander again after all."

Despite the trust that had developed between them the Wraith still looked at this male with caution. "What do you mean?"

"The commander has decided not to join you and the queen on this journey. You will stand beside our queen as her protector and adviser."

He was still considering these words when the queen arrived and boarded the transporter without communicating. The Wraith followed her on board and they were soon crossing the short distance to the other hive.

He did not have much time to explain his proposal. "My queen, I have a plan that I believe would help us overcome the problems we are facing redeploying this virus." He stopped but then took the queen's silence as a cue to continue. "We need to know what changes were made by the human scientist who now inhabits the city of the Lanteans. These 'new' Lanteans are known to provide help to other humans after their worlds have been culled. I believe they may be prepared to work with us now that this enemy has turned their attention to destroying whole human worlds."

Still the queen did not communicate but she did not interrupt either.

"After being captured at the research facility the humans will be on guard and not fall into the same trap again. But I propose we contact them directly and seek their assistance."

That stirred the queen's interest. "That will be a dangerous job – are you volunteering to do it?"

The Wraith smiled – finally he had to admit knowing these humans but revealing this knowledge held none of the concerns it had when he joined the hive. "Before I came to this hive I spent some time travelling around the galaxy surviving as best I could but occasionally running into difficulties. It was during one of these difficulties that I had cause to work with one of the leader's of these 'new' Lanteans on an issue of ... mutual benefit. I believe he would be open to my proposal. My queen, how I know these humans is not important – we need to find a solution that will let us deal with this enemy before they destroy us. And you must understand they are single-minded in their determination to achieve that goal."

Again the queen was silent but this time he knew it was because she was considering his proposal.

She did not speak until they arrived at the hive and she stood to leave the transporter. She stopped in front of him and looked directly into his eyes. He felt her power as she ran the back of her hand across his cheek. "I am taking a huge risk favouring you over the one who brought me to my hive. Do not fail me."

"Madam, I want only to see you prosper."

-oOo-

The Wraith stood behind his queen while she explained his proposal to the gathering. He was impressed by the confidence with which she spoke given that she was the most junior of the queens present. There was silence when she had finished and the Wraith sensed that most viewed her proposal with favour. But there was one doubter.

"How can you be certain these humans will agree to this plan?"

The Wraith waited for his queen's approval before he spoke. "Nothing is certain about this plan – least of all that the humans will help." He moved to assume the centre of attention. "Indeed, the only thing that is certain here is that these artificial creatures have the will and the capability to destroy our race. This is what they are programmed to do and they will not stop until every single Wraith is dead. My queen is offering a proposal that could stop that from happening. Do you have something better to suggest?" He moved over to stand directly before the commander who asked the question. "Are you prepared to accept the consequences of not at least trying this option?"

The questioner looked away and no others spoke.

The Wraith stood and looked around at the gathered queens and commanders. After arriving on a strange hive with nothing but his wits he now stood before these leaders and started to taste the power he had known so long ago. He had the agreement of twelve other hives to approach Sheppard and his humans to obtain the information needed to neutralise their common enemy.

His little smile of self-satisfaction turned the corners of his mouth. If any could make this plan succeed, it was him. Life had not been so sweet for a very long time.