The latest batch of hybrid creations stood at attention and waited for their master to arrive to inspect them. They had been carefully trained by Michael's lieutenant to obey simple commands but much more than that was a wasted effort because the creatures lacked higher mental function that would allow it. She tried not to be nervous as she waited, but she could feel a trickle of sweat slide down her spine that was not from the sweltering heat in the building. As she limped along in front of the ranks of the creatures she tried to compose herself for the supposed demonstration as she heard the whirring engines of the shuttle descend through the atmosphere. She swiped a trembling hand through her short spiky hair and felt her excitement as well as her relief grow.
Several minutes later she heard the bleating alarm of the door announce his arrival and she straightened her long leather jacket in an attempt to not only calm herself but to hide her nervousness. She had her back turned to him, pretending to check some things on her tablet when he arrived followed by the stomping footsteps of his guards. "Raya, these look good. Show me what they can do."
When she turned to him with a wicked smile she could feel the tension flowing down her back as she released it so she could play the part that had come to be her life. "Michael, it is good to see you so soon. I am sure that you will be quite pleased with the results. This group tests out well for the standards you've given me."
The former Wraith strode across the room to her and slung his arm around her shoulder, "You have done much to please me in a very short time Raya. I have a good feeling about this."
"So do I," she said with a smile. They walked along slowly as he inspected her squadron of hybrids and she described the various attempts at what he'd outlined to her. She instructed the hybrids to turn and present their attributes for inspection, which they did with lumbering movements.
It wasn't long before she heard the sound she'd been longing to hear for months when the explosions started. Alarms blared throughout the building as the assault forces blew holes in the walls to gain entrance. Chaos erupted in the massive room as the hybrids started to do what they were designed to do and they moved to protect Michael and his research. The hulking beasts were slow, but very hard to kill, so the assault teams would need all the help they could get. Ducking to one side and reaching for a weapon to join the fight she triggered the hidden command code that would start the timers on the explosives she'd hidden around the compound. Hopefully the explosions wouldn't catch one of the assault teams, but she couldn't risk not taking the chance to destroy as much of the experiments as she could.
The first of the Marines struggled into the room as she spotted Michael bolting for the back entrance and freedom. She plowed through the bulky bodies of the hybrids that were engaging with the Marines as she dodged and weaved destroyed lab equipment to get to their maker. She tried not to allow the pain in her mangled knee joint distract her from her goal but it ached and burned as she exerted it. Finally she found him, struggling with the pile of debris in front of the door that she'd moved there earlier in the day. He was nearly though the obstacles so she took a shot at him hoping to disable him long enough for her to get close enough to kill him. The bullet from her small gun tore through his leg and he went crashing to the ground.
When the hybrids saw her attack their maker they did as they'd been programmed and they turned on her. The giant creature nearest her spun on its heels and roared at her as it crashed along, strewing more equipment in its wake. She dodged it and tried to circle around to get to it's small undefended vulnerability but another of the creatures grabbed her. She tried to slip out of its grasp but it just squeezed harder and she felt the crushing press on her ribs. It let go a moment later and spun to face the annoying hail of bullets that slammed into its thick hide. She glanced to the side where the bullets had come from and found the scared expression on Rodney McKay's face as he pumped more bullets into the creature that was now trudging towards him.
The creature was closing in on him so she dodged around it and shouted at Rodney, "Gun!" When he let off the trigger of his P-90 long enough to pull his sidearm, the hybrid had the opportunity it needed to advance and the terror in Rodney's eyes grew. But he did as she asked and tossed the pistol in her direction before he fired more bullets at the towering beast. His aim had been bad and the pistol went clattering to the floor, sliding across the concrete towards her. She scooped it up and fired three quick rounds at the hybrid's vulnerable spot at the back of it's neck before spinning and firing at the creature beside it. Both of the downed hybrids crashed to the ground in death and she dodged one of the carcasses as she continued towards where Michael was struggling back to his feet.
As she reached him she could hear Rodney shouting behind her, "Sheppard! Back of the neck!"
Knowing that the hybrids would be in for a fight now, she turned her full attention back to Michael who was grunting in pain as he fought his way upright despite the gaping wound in his leg. Blood poured down his thigh and left a trail on the floor behind him. He hopped along towards the next closest exit, having found no luck getting out of the one he was at, clutching his torn thigh with his hand as he struggled. She chased after him in her own lurching gait; her knee throbbing painfully as she over exerted it. Blinding flashes of light erupted to her right from the beginnings of the explosions she herself had unleashed on the back areas of the labs. When she'd set the charges she had timed them to take out the back half of the building first, hoping that no one would be trapped there.
Other flashes from the muzzles of various guns caught her attention briefly as well and she saw some of the assault forces grappling with the hybrids, trying to get to the vulnerable spot she'd shown Rodney. She thought she saw a flash of whipping dreadlocks behind one of the creatures and her heart leapt to her throat, but she couldn't be sure because she needed to pay attention to Michael. He was nothing if not wily, and if she didn't pay attention to him he would slip away and vanish again making her infiltration of his operation completely useless.
She pushed herself faster and hauled her aching body around the corner he'd just ducked around to find him waiting for her. The look of sheer anger on his face was nearly enough to make her stop and rethink her assault but the painful flashes of what he'd put her through edged forward in her mind and she felt her own lip curl in hatred. "You can't escape."
Michael lunged for her and grabbed her around the waist knocking her to the floor where he hit at her as they rolled back and forth, each trying to gain the upper hand. Her determination to see him stopped allowed her to fight harder than she normally would and rage dominated her thoughts until everything around her narrowed to oblivion. She punched and kicked at him with every ounce of strength she had until she finally scored a direct hit on the leg wound she'd created causing him to rear back, screaming in pain. She dug her fingers into the wound and squeezed at the muscles and flesh inside driving him down to the floor in agony. Then she put all of her weight on his chest and pinned his arms with her knees while she looked down at him with utter hatred.
"Why? You were loyal to me," he panted as she held him.
She reached into her jacket and pulled out the syringe she'd put there while she glared at him with such hatred, "I am only loyal to one man in this life and you are not him!" She growled out the response and punctuated the 'not' by slamming the syringe down into his chest and injecting him with the poison that she used to put down the failed hybrids. As the poison streamed through his body, carried along by his rapidly beating pulse, the toxin began to work and his muscles jerked and twitched in crazy spasms. She rose up from where she had him pinned and watched as the poison destroyed his internal organs. Michael flailed and flopped on the floor like a fish tossed on a river bank and she sighed loudly, letting the relief wash over her.
She staggered back against the wall and gulped air into her lungs. Not completely trusting either the poison or Michael himself, she pulled a sharp knife from her boot and knelt once more next to his thrashing body before she dragged the blade across his throat slicing as far through as she could. His eyes went wide at the new pain and he reached up for her before a fresh wave of spasms overtook him and she pushed back away from him and staggered a short way down the hall.
Sounds came roaring back to her and the melee in the main room swam back into focus with several explosions and the horrible cries of pain from the hybrids as the assault force decimated them. She bent down to pick up the handgun she'd dropped as she staggered forward to join her friends in the fight before her knee collapsed and she fell heavily to the ground in pain. She wanted to catch her breath but another explosion rumbled through the building announcing the larger charges she'd planted had begun. She only had a few more minutes before the entire building would be a pile of rubble so she tried to get to her feet to warn the others.
When she looked up towards the main room she saw Ronon stumbling towards her and relief flooded her body at the same time that his shout of warning reached her, "Ash!"
She spun around to where his eyes looked as he pulled his gun from its holster. Instinct took over and she pulled up her own gun and they fired at the same time at Michael's looming form behind her. Their rounds hit him at the same time and his body fell once and for all to the ground, a gaping hole in his forehead from a bullet. Ronon slid to a halt next to her and pulled her to her feet, "Get out…building," she gasped as she tried to get enough air into her lungs to survive. "Gonna blow!"
He didn't hesitate before taking her hand and dragging her the rest of the way down the hall. Along the way he tapped at his radio and shouted over the explosions for everyone to clear the building. Eventually they made it out into the sunlight and clear air as the building crumbled to the ground amidst a rolling cloud of dust and debris. He dumped her on a clear spot of ground near one of the jumpers and ran back into the remnants of the building to help others. A quick headcount determined that all but two of their team had made it out; some more injured than others but everyone that was able to move on their own was doing just that.
Sheppard scanned the remaining team members for any injuries that would require more immediate attention and had them transported up to the Apollo for treatment. Once that matter was handled and he'd gotten a report from Colonel Ellis that the Wraith ship had been destroyed he searched the crowd for the members of his team. He found Rodney clutching his computer tablet checking the readout on it for any more signs of trouble. The scientist held up his thumb and rolled to his feet to walk along beside his commander. They worked their way through the assembled men in the group until Rodney spotted Ronon standing near the edge of the rubble dispatching one of the last of the hybrid monsters that had made it out of the building.
Ronon pumped three more shots into the neck of the creature before it stopped thrashing around and then he raised his eyes to Sheppard and Rodney. "Last one."
Sheppard stared down at the beast on the ground and shook his head, "Should be in a comic book." The creatures looked like Michael had crossed gorillas with rhinoceros and come up with an upright armored ogre that had some small amount of human DNA thrown in to boot. "Any sign of Michael?"
Ronon nodded grimly, "Dead." He turned away from them and started walking to where he'd dumped Ashara after pulling her out of the building.
"You're sure?" Sheppard prodded. He really didn't want to think about how difficult it would be to get a hold of Michael again if this had failed. "You saw a body and you know without a doubt?"
Ronon paused long enough to look at his commander and nod, "I saw him die." His lip curled in a faint smile and he turned back to his path.
"I'm not saying you're not sure here buddy, but you know this for a fact? Did you kill him yourself?" Sheppard wouldn't chance leaving this place until Michael was well and truly dead.
"No," Ronon growled over his shoulder. He'd really wanted to be the one that would finally kill Michael but the way it had turned out was pretty satisfying too. He'd gotten to the end of the hallway in time to see Michael tackle Ashara and slam her to the floor. He had started down to help her out but the violence that exploded out of her made him stop and let her have her moment. When she'd growled out the part about Michael not being the man she was loyal to, a sense of pride and hope swelled in his chest. Then when she slit his throat he felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders as all the tension from knowing that she was in danger all this time left his body. "But Ash killed him, three times over."
Sheppard and Rodney paused in his wake and blinked in surprise at the statement. Neither of them said anything as Ronon rushed to Ashara's side and pulled her to her feet. He looked down at her for a moment and then pulled her close to him and kissed her deeply and passionately for a long time.
"Wow," Sheppard said in awe at the Satedan man's show of emotions.
Rodney blinked in surprise and wondered if a kiss like that could be taught. If he could lay a kiss like that on Jennifer she'd be putty in his hands. "Well, I guess that answers that question huh?"