STARGATE: DISCORDIA II

CHAPTER 19


Carter watched as the first group from Atlantis arrived, led by Colonel Sheppard. He lowered his sunglasses as he looked around at the Ubar control room.

"Guess I won't be needing these after all," he said, indicating his shades. Sam chortled.

"Not really. This planet is orbiting a black hole. What are you doing here? I thought you were confined to the infirmary."

"I was, until I heard you'd found a new lost city on a nice hot desert world. Seeing as I almost froze to death, Beckett thought the warmer climate would be good for me. McKay–"

Rodney tripped over one of the equipment crates that had been brought through the gate.

"–watch where you're going," he finished. Rodney continued to gape in amazement at his surroundings.

"Oh this ... this is incredible," he breathed, grinning like a kid in a candy store. Sheppard glanced about.

"Reminds me of the time I was sent forty-eight thousand years into the future."

Sam checked her watch. "Yeah, well we have a little under three days before the first wave of Hiveships reaches Atlantis, and something tells me we're not going to get any help from time travellers, so..." She gestured towards the steps that led up to the control area. Rodney straightened up and pointed.

"Right. Main computer."

Sheppard smiled and nodded. "Have fun. I'll start organising the search teams."

Carter followed McKay to the upper levels, and found him standing beside an Ori control chair with a deeply annoyed look on his face. At least, more annoyed than was usual for him.

"Just like their ships. Great." He sighed heavily and removed the data tablet from the Velcro patch on the back of his vest. "I'll get started on bypassing this."

"Actually, that might not be necessary." Sam turned and waved to Cinder, who saw and started over, much to Rodney's dismay.

"Oh great, a Wraith Prior? Just when I thought the Wraith couldn't get any more terrifying..."

"Will you relax? She's a child, McKay," Sam murmured under her breath.

"So was Princess Harmony, and she was a monster."

"Yes, humans?" said Cinder when she reached them. Sam pasted a smile onto her face.

"We're trying to access the city mainframe, but the systems are locked, and are keyed to be operated by a Prior. We could run a bypass, but it would be much quicker and easier if you'd be willing to help us out."

Cinder considered the matter.

"Very well," she said finally. "What must I do?"

Sam looked to McKay to answer. He glowered back at her, before forcing a smile of his own.

"Start by sitting down in the chair and concentrating on powering up the system."

She did so, her staff flaring brightly. All around them various display screens lit up, and lines of Ori text scrolled by. Cinder opened her eyes.

"How was that?"

McKay plugged his tablet into the nearest console and checked the data readout. "Let's see ... aaand I'm in!" He lowered the tablet and glanced back at Cinder. "Good ... good work. Very good. Thank you."

"You can stop smiling," she said, "I can read your thoughts. I know you hate me."

He screwed up his face in response to her remark. "Oh, that ... that is so not fair! How would you like it if I started rooting around inside your head?"

"You're welcome to. Here, let me help."

McKay recoiled in alarm as Cinder projected a Wraith phantom into his vision. He quickly recovered himself and then glared furiously at her.

"That was completely uncalled for! I bet you think you're so cool, just because you have all these super powers. For your information I had them too, at one point."

"I know," she said. "But your puny human brain couldn't handle it, so you had to revert back to your current limited state."

"Hey! Watch who you're calling puny, okay?"

Carter backed away from the pair and gestured vaguely over her shoulder. "I'm just going to check in with Elizabeth, you two keep working on accessing the primary systems."

McKay extended his arms in exasperation as he watched her leave. "Oh, okay, by all means, run off and leave me with the annoying Wraith Princess."

"Queen," Cinder corrected.

"Whatever," McKay snapped, returning to his tablet. "How about accessing main power."

"How about you try asking nicely."

He rolled his eyes. "Please. How about accessing main power, please."

She closed her eyes briefly, and the power distribution screen flashed up on the nearest display.

"Done."

"Thank you."

"Look at that, the human is capable of humility after all. Incidentally I can still read your thoughts. You're chanting 'I hate kids, I hate kids,' over and over in your mind."

"You don't have to be a mind reader to figure that one out," McKay muttered, tapping away at his tablet.


The humans had brought every available person over from Atlantis to help search Ubar. Time was short, and they hadn't even finished searching all of Atlantis despite living there for the past five years. They had slightly less than than five years now to find something with which to defeat the Wraith, in a city easily as large as Atlantis was. Needle in a haystack was an expression she had heard thrown around lately.

Eris doubted she would be able to help much with searching the city, and so decided to take some time off before things inevitably became hectic again. She went looking for Todd, using her Wraith psychic senses to guide her, and found him on a balcony near the top of the main control tower. He was gazing out across the vast stretch of desert that surrounded Ubar, and did not turn when he heard her approach.

"There you are," she said, moving to join him. "I wondered where you'd wandered off to."

"I needed some time to think," he said.

"What about?"

He glanced her way. "I am surprised you even need to ask. Can you not simply read my thoughts now?"

Eris winced slightly. "Probably? But that's not something I'd care to try. I grew my own host in a lab because I didn't want to hear someone else's thoughts in my mind. Just being connected to the Wraith hive mind is a little unnerving." She hoisted herself up and perched on the edge of the balcony. "So what are you thinking about?"

He was silent for a time, and Eris didn't press him. She already had a sneaking suspicion what was troubling him.

"I never believed," he said finally. "The stories. The myths and legends that claimed the Wraith were created by a god. I am a scientist. I was certain our species had evolved by accident. But it is not so. We were ... manufactured. Here, in this city. Created by the Ori to be weapons in their war against the Lanteans. Now ... I do not know what to believe any more."

Eris tried to picture what he must be feeling, without simply looking into his mind to find out.

"Some people would find the truth of that to be comforting," she said. "To know that they were created with a purpose in mind, rather than simply being an accident of evolution."

"Perhaps," he conceded. "But as an accident, we would be free to choose our own path. To forge our own destiny. As a creation of the Ori, our purpose has been chosen for us. Our path decided by another. We are choiceless."

She frowned. "That's not true at all. Nothing says you have to obey your creator. The Ori are not invincible. They've been beaten before. They can be again."

"Even if that is true, it does not change the fact that we were created for a purpose, and we fulfilled that purpose exactly as intended. With or without Lilith, we still act precisely according to how she designed us to act. We did not win the war against the Lanteans because we were cunning, resourceful, or ruthless. We won because we were made to win. We are weapons. Nothing more, nothing less. Our victories, our accomplishments, are meaningless. Our choices were never our own."

Eris shook her head. "You're confusing DNA with destiny. It's true you've acted according to your nature, and your nature was determined artificially by another. But it doesn't always have to be that way. Just look at me; the Goa'uld pass on their knowledge and memories genetically. Every generation of Goa'uld has the full weight of our parents and ancestors pressing down on us, pushing us to conquer and enslave. I never did, though. I became a scientist instead, like you. I've been helping the Tok'ra to rebuild rather than trying to recreate the Goa'uld dynasty. It's hard, but I've been fighting my Goa'uld nature every step of the way, and I like to think I've been winning."

Todd chuckled ominously. "Have you? As I understand it, the Goa'uld ruled through religion, posing as gods. And here you stand, Doci of the Ori, the most powerful religious leader of the new faith that has been forced upon all Wraith by our creator. You look every ounce a model Goa'uld to me."

Shocked, Eris slid off the edge of the balcony and leaned towards him, her next words incredulous. "Are you serious? Do you really think I plan on playing the part of the Wraith Doci?"

"Don't you?"

"Of course not!" She almost stamped her foot in angry indignation. "I just lived through an Ori crusade in my home galaxy! I've seen first hand what they're like! They're worse than the Goa'uld, and I've always hated what the Goa'uld were like!" She crossed her arms and leaned back against the balcony railing, her gaze glowering at the floor. "No. I may look like the Doci, and have the powers of one, but I have no intention of actually being the Doci. No matter what happens, I swear I will never lead the Wraith down the path of Origin."

Todd seemed doubtful. "Are you certain of that? It's everything your kind ever wanted."

She turned to face him. "I may have been born a Goa'uld, but I choose to be a Wraith. And not the kind of Wraith Lilith would have us be. I'm going to be the kind of Wraith I want to be. And that doesn't involve destroying Atlantis or waging war." Her expression softened somewhat. "I know my being your daughter was just part of my cover, but I genuinely would like for it to be true. I want to be your Queen, not your Doci."

He regarded her for a long moment, then bowed his head.

"Very well ... my Queen. I thank you. Your choice alone proves to me that what you say is true. If you can turn your back on being a Goa'uld, then perhaps there is hope for our people after all."

As Todd left, Eris was surprised to find that Ashflower was leaning against the doorway, evidently having been listening to the entire exchange. Todd passed her without a word. She watched him go, then turned her attention to Eris.

"You're a strange one," she said.

Eris smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment. Especially coming from you."

Ashflower frowned, puzzled by her words. "What do you mean by that?"

"Just that you're living proof of everything I've said. You're the Orici. The will of the Ori made flesh. Every fibre of your being was tailored by Lilith to be loyal to her, to further her goals." Eris extended her hands. "But you turned against her. That's even more impressive than me. Really. And how did the Wraith Orici come to turn against her creator?"

She shook her head sadly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me. I might surprise you some more."

Ashflower chuckled lightly, pushing away from the doorway. "It is silly, really. Such a small thing. I'd like to say it was the light from the Ark of Truth, or wise words from an ascended Ancient, but it wasn't anything like that at all."

Eris folded her arms and moved closer. "Well now I'm really curious."

She sighed and closed her strange, orange eyes. "I ... fell in love. It was not the will of the Ori that I do so. It was not part of any grand design. It simply happened. And then Lilith killed them. That was when I realised it was all a lie, and that I had no wish to be a part of it any longer."

Eris immediately thought of Cinder, and understood. She stopped in her tracks.

"I'm ... sorry."

Ashflower opened her eyes and peered at her. "You are, aren't you? Thank you. For your condolences, and for turning your back on the false promises of the Ori."