Retaliation of the Wraith
Chapter 3
Author: Lorrie Ellis
Email: lorrieannhotmail
Summary : This story takes place after the team returns from Jordonia and a confrontation with the Wraith. (Sequel to The Jordonian Ritual)
Disclaimer: The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Stargate: Atlantis". The characters belong to MGM, The Sci-Fi channel, etc. but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is intended.)
Author's notes: I've taken some liberties with this chapter and actually given names to a few of the Wraith, including "Steve".
There should be more Shepherd in the next chapter.
Hope you enjoy and please remember to review!
Thanks!
"Major, if ya won't be still on your own, I'll have two orderlies strap you down to the bed, do ya understand me?" Carson bellowed as he tried to calm John.
"I have to get out of here Carson. I'm a threat to the security of the whole damn planet . . . and Earth." John replied solemnly.
Carson continued to try to calm his patient as he inserted his IV. "I'll hear no more of that. Before you were brought in, Dr. McKay and myself were going over your bloodwork . . ."
"And?" John asked.
"Ya do have an odd marker in your blood and yes, I do believe it was left there by the Wraith that attacked you, but we may be able to counter it."
"How?" John asked as the drugs Carson had injected began to kick in, calming him somewhat.
"You just let me and Rodney worry about that. You concentrate on getting some rest."
When the Major finally fell asleep, Carson finished re-stitching his cheek and then joined Rodney in the lab.
"How is he?" Rodney asked.
Carson shook his head. "I told him about our findings. He didn't take it too well. He still insists that he's a security risk to Atlantis and to Earth and wants to leave."
"He's right, you know." Rodney replied without looking away from his work.
"He may be right, but he's a human being and a friend. We don't just feed our friends to the Wraith." Carson exclaimed and moved his work to the far end of the lab, not wanting to be near Rodney at the moment.
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Elizabeth had called an emergency meeting of all military personnel and explained their current situation. "I'm open to any suggestions." She stated after tabling the issue.
"We have to send the Major out of Atlantis. It's not just ourselves we have to think of . . . what about the Athosians?" Sgt. Bates stated.
"The Athosians . . ." Teyla began to speak. ". . . prefer to allow Dr. Beckett and Dr. McKay time to find a way to counter the tracking device that has been released into Major Shepherd's blood."
"What about Earth?" Sgt. Stackhouse asked. "If the Wraith capture Major Shepherd, they will certainly torture him into talking and possibly revealing the location of Earth. Our best bet is to protect him from capture."
"So you're saying that we should just allow him to stay here while we try to fight the Wraith. We don't have anything strong enough to fight them with and the shields aren't strong enough to withstand an attack, not even a small one." Bates countered.
"No, I'm saying that we find a neutral location, one that the Wraith aren't aware of. There are such places, aren't there Teyla?" Sgt. Stackhouse asked.
Teyla nodded slightly. "There are a few, but most of them are not inhabitable. Am I to understand that you wish to cut Major Shepherd off from Atlantis completely?"
"Yes!" Sgt. Bates replied.
"No!" Sgt. Stackhouse said at the same time.
"Enough!" Elizabeth shouted as she stood. "We will not send him away! How many times has Major Shepherd gone to bat for us? How many times has he stepped through that gate to face an unknown enemy just to make certain that we were all safe?"
The room turned deafly silent.
"I dare you, any of you, to suggest that we ostracize him from this community. Without Major John Shepherd, I would venture to say that none of us would have survived the hurricane that pounded this city last month. Without Major John Shepherd, I seriously doubt that we would have survived our two encounters with the Genii and without Major John Shepherd, we would still be waiting to access the majority of the technology of this Ancient city that we've come to know as home.
Whether you like him or not," she focused her attention on Sgt. Bates. "Major John Shepherd is a vital part of this expedition and we will not be sending him away like some leper." She stormed out of the room.
The crowd began to disperse. Sgt. Bates stood, staring at the gate. "There has to be a way." He mumbled.
"What was that Bates?" Sgt. Stackhouse asked, overhearing the haughty Sergeant.
Bates turned and faced Stackhouse. "I won't stand here and pretend that I'm not relieved that something like this has finally happened, that we can once and for all rid ourselves of the Major's reckless behavior. But even now when he is a vital threat to the security of this world, he's being defended by you, his team and even Dr. Weir."
"He has something Sergeant that you'll never have." Stackhouse replied.
"What's that?" Bates asked.
"Our respect." Stackhouse scoffed and left the room, leaving Sgt. Bates to contemplate his statement.
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The Wraith Mothership slowly made its way across the galaxy. "Is the tracker still working?" The female Wraith asked as she joined the two male Wraith at the console, fresh blood dripping from the corners of her mouth.
"Where have you been?" One of the male Wraith demanded.
"Feeding." She answered, giving him a harsh look. "I asked a question."
"Yes, the tracker is still working." The other male Wraith hissed. "Do you fear that these humans will find a way to turn it off?"
"I put nothing past these humans. This John Shepherd of Earth is personally responsible for the deaths of two of my sisters and we suspect that Viton is dead now as well since his capture."
The more outspoken of the two Wraith males stood and faced her. "Do you still mourn Viton?"
The female Wraith looked away. "Viton was special to me, yes, but he is gone now. I have little hope that he is alive." She turned and faced the male Wraith. "That is why it is most important that I be the one to punish and then devour this John Shepherd of Earth."
"Vexnos, are you certain that just the Wraith aboard this ship will be enough to conquer the humans we will encounter? As you have said, they have already killed two of your sisters and Viton."
Vexnos turned to the console and watched the steady blip of the tracker. "We will be enough. John Shepherd should be immobile or at the very least half out of his mind by now from the pain inflicted by my sister."
"There are others with his weapons."
"Yes. Prepare your men. We should be upon the tracker in two days time." Vexnos ordered.
The outspoken Wraith left the room.
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Rodney studied a reaction under the microscope as he placed a small drop of liquid onto John's blood sample. The reaction proved to be positive with one small draw back. "I've got it! Carson, I've got it!"
Carson Beckett meandered across the room, still not to pleased with Rodney's earlier comments concerning the Major, even though they were true. "What have ya got?" He asked.
"A chemical reaction that seems to render the transmission inactive." He replied.
Carson looked at the sample. It was true, the markers in the blood sample were popping like bubbles. "But what will this do to the Major as the trackers pop? And what of the infection caused by the wound?"
Rodney shrugged. "You're the Medical doctor. I was hoping that you'd know."
Carson looked at the sample again. "It won't work." He said firmly as he lifted his head from the microscope.
"What do you mean it won't work? It's taking out the markers, it . . . it . . . it's illuminating the problem."
"It'll kill the Major too." Carson replied and then looked at the sample again. "Unless . . ."
"Unless what?" Rodney asked eagerly.
"Let's see what kind of reaction we get in the hyperbaric chamber."
Quickly the two doctors set up their experiment in the hyperbaric chamber. Carson was thankful that he had requested two be included with the medical supplies, although this was the first time either had been used.
"We need to simulate a body's flowing blood under the same conditions as a living human body." Carson said as he set up the medical end of the experiment.
After waiting for the tedious conditions to be put in place, Rodney looked at Carson. "Ready?"
"Wait. We need to run 100 O2 through the 'patient'. That's what I'll be doin' to John."
"OK." Rodney said as he watched Carson turn the Oxygen tank on to 'full'. "Now?"
Carson nodded. "Yes." He replied as Rodney gave him a syringe with the chemical he had concocted. Carson lightly pushed the plunger; administer the chemical very slowly into the test subject.
To their dismay, the rat that they were using as the test subject began to convulse. "Back to the drawing board." Rodney said, seemingly dejected.
"No, wait!" Carson said excitedly as the rat's convulsions subsided. "I think it's OK."
"Really?" Rodney asked. "When will you know for certain?"
"I'll want to give it at least 24 to 48 hours before we mention this to John." Carson replied. "Speaking of which, I had better go check in on him."
When he entered the infirmary, Dr. Beckett was a bit concerned to see that John was awake. Wide awake, in fact and pulling at his IV.
"Now, now, we'll have none of that Major." He said, grabbing at John's wrists at the same time calling out for assistance.
"Yes doctor." A nurse answered.
John pushed at the doctor's arms. There was certainly nothing wrong with his muscle control, Carson thought. "Restraints!" He yelled.
Two orderlies promptly appeared and held John down while placing his wrists and ankles in restraints. "Don't do this Beckett." John yelled. "Don't you understand, I have to get out of here!"
"That's exactly why I'm doing it lad. Dr. McKay and myself may be onto something. You need to calm down and I can't risk you injuring yourself or one of my staff." He gave John a mild sedative to calm him.
As the drug took effect, John looked at Carson again. "You don't really have to keep me tied to the bed, do you?"
"It's your choice Major, but first you have to prove to me that you're not a danger to anyone, including yourself."
"I'm not . . . danger . . . except to Atlantis." He mumbled as his head fell back against the pillow. His breathing evened out and Dr. Beckett smiled slightly as he realized that his patient was asleep.
"What's going on?" Elizabeth asked as she entered John's cubicle and saw him restrained to the bed.
"He went a little wonky on me." Carson replied.
Dr. Weir raised her eyebrow. "Wonky?"
"He woke up and tried to leave the infirmary. He pulled out his IV. I had to restrain him and then sedate him."
Dr. Weir nodded as she looked at John and then at Carson compassion for both men showing in her eyes. "Are you and Rodney making progress?"
He nodded. "I think so, maybe. Would you like to see?"
"Yes." She followed him back to the lab. There they entered the transition room just outside of the hyperbaric chamber. "Why are we going in here?"
"Rodney came up with a concoction that disables the tracker in John's blood, but it actually pops the markers, releasing air into his bloodstream. We've done a test on a living subject and are waiting to see how it reacts."
Dr. Weir stared at the barely mobile rat. "How long ago was this treatment administered?"
"Twenty minutes, and thirty-seconds ago." Rodney replied, looking at his watch.
"And?" Dr. Weir asked.
"The test subject seems to be doing pretty well, considering."
"So, you injected John's blood into the rat and then this chemical that you came up with?" She asked.
Rodney shook his head and began to explain in a slightly condescending attitude. "No. We didn't inject the rat with John's blood. We separated the marker from the blood and injected the marker only into the rat."
Dr. Weir nodded. "So, the rat has had no adverse reactions?"
Carson cleared his throat. "It had a convulsive episode immediately after the injection."
"A convulsive episode? And you're willing to put the same drug into John?" She asked. "I can't allow that."
"I don't like it any better than you do, but it may be the only way." Carson replied.
Dr. Weir sighed. "Can you control the convulsions?"
"The rat only had the one episode." Rodney said as he looked at the rat which was beginning to move around. "It seems well enough now."
"That's a rat, not a human being." She paused. "Not John."
"We'll observe the rat for another 24 hours and see what happens. If all goes well, can we give the Major the choice?" Carson asked of Dr. Weir.
She contemplated for a moment, her finger tapping against her lip as she cupped her chin. "You have to present all of the evidence to him, not just the up side. You have to tell him about the convulsive episode and that you don't know for certain how the chemical will react in his blood and all of this ONLY if the rat is doing well in 24 hours."
"Understood, Dr. Weir." Rodney said eagerly.
"Understood." Carson replied.
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The following day, aboard the Wraith Mother ship, Vexnos stared at the console, the blinking dot still visible. "Only one day to go and then we shall feast as though we have never feasted before." She hissed.
"Yes Vexnos. You're plan and that of your sister's is working well, better than expected actually, but if these maps are correct, we are heading for the city of Atlantis." The pilot stated.
"Atlantis." Vexnos hissed angrily. "Have our people not been to Atlantis since the great period of destruction?" She questioned.
"That is correct." He answered.
"Do you know the story of the great period of destruction?" Vexnos asked.
"Not entirely. I am certain that is in our archives if you care to read it?"
"Yes, in my quarters." She replied.
"Very well. I will locate the records and them on your screen by the time you get there."
Vexnos hurried from the room to her quarters. "This cannot be!" She bellowed as she entered her quarters. "We have come so close, my sisters. We will not be defeated now!" She sat in front of the screen in her room, deep in thought. "How is it that John Shepherd of Earth and the others have come to occupy the City of Atlantis and have they discovered her secrets yet?"
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Carson entered the hyperbaric chamber. "So, how is our little patient?"
Dr. McKay was sitting at the small desk, opposite the rat, his head resting in his palms. "It's dead."
"Dead?" Dr. Beckett exclaimed. "No, surely not!" He stepped towards the rat's cage and began to examine the rodent. "What happened?"
"I . . . I don't know what happened!" Rodney said angrily. "If I knew what happened, I'd fix it or at least try to fix it. At this point, the chemical is useless to Major Shepherd and he will most likely die."
"Rodney, get a hold of yourself!" Carson cautioned. "We'll find something else." He carefully examined the rat's eyes. "Maybe the chemical wouldn't react the same way in John's system."
"Yeah, it might just kill him instantly, sparing him the suffering that the rat went through about ten minutes ago."
"What happened?" Carson asked as he took a seat beside of McKay.
McKay looked into Carson's eyes, almost silently pleading for him to come up with a solution. "It started to cough and convulse, then it spit up some blood and appeared to be having trouble breathing. Then blood spurted out of both of its ears and nose."
"The pressure in the chamber isn't right then." Carson stated.
"What?"
"I don't think that it's your chemical at all. I think that we may have a leak in this hyperbaric chamber."
Knowing that he couldn't light a match with 100 oxygen in the room, he took a small concentration of powder and blew it towards one corner of the room. Nothing happened. He repeated the procedure in each corner, receiving the same reaction until he reached the corner nearest the door. When he blew the powder into the air, it was drawn to the corner. "There!" He exclaimed. "We have a leak."
"A leak?" Rodney asked.
Carson nodded. "Yes, we don't have an airtight vacuum. The pressure is what killed the rat. It popped both of its eardrums and damaged the sinus cavity before crushing its head and chest."
"So what do we do now?" McKay asked. "This chamber is filled with 100 O2. How long would it take to sweep it clean so a team could repair the structure damage?"
Carson shook his head. "It would take too long. We need to pull out the second chamber and inspect it before we talk to the Major about your chemical."
The two scientists quickly found the second hyperbaric chamber and began to inspect it. Once they were satisfied that it was safe, Rodney looked at Carson. "Should we update Dr. Weir?"
Carson nodded. "Aye. She'll want to be there when we speak with the Major anyway."
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Vexnos busied herself reading through the achieves, scowling after reading each page. "Special shields, self-firing weapons, what else are you hiding Atlantis and how are these Earthlings able to activate you?"
She continued reading, her eyes frozen on one page. After finishing it and re-reading it once more, she bellowed out an angry roar. "Argh-h-h-h-h-h!"
Two Wraith guards approached her room upon hearing the cry. "Vexnos, are you injured?"
"Get out of my sight!" She hissed, the guards leaving the room immediately. Vexnos stood and punched the computer screen in front of her, leaving it in shambles. "So, Atlantis was able to send ten select groups of her people to another galaxy. This John Shepherd must be of their line, that would be the only explanation."
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. "What?" She bellowed.
The outspoken Wraith who had challenged her plans entered the room. "I was told that two guards heard a scream and came to assist you, but you turned them away. What's wrong?"
"Nothing! Just go away Tramock." Vexnos shouted.
"No!" Tramock pulled Vexnos to him. "I know that you are still mourning Viton. He was my brother. I too mourn his loss, but I will not have you sitting in here brooding over him."
Vexnos pushed Viton away. "I do not wish for your protection or affection at this time Tramock! You mistake my anger for weakness."
"Why are you angry?" Tramock asked.
Vexnos told him the story of Atlantis as was told in the Wraith archives. "If these Earthlings are descendants of the Ancients, how are we going to fight them? How will I be able to avenge the death of my sisters and that of Viton?"
"If they are, in fact, descendants of the Ancients, we should call off this quest of yours, at least until the other ships have time to join us and we are greater in number."
"No!" Vexnos shouted. "I will not let John Shepherd of Earth slip through my fingers, not when I am this close."
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"Absolutely not!" Dr. Weir shouted as Rodney and Carson explained the death of the rat to her.
"But we're pretty certain that the rat died because of a malfunction in the hyperbaric chamber, not the chemical itself." Rodney explained.
"You're pretty sure?" Dr. Weir asked.
"Well, we can't be 100 sure," Carson started. ". . . not without an autopsy and . . ."
Dr. Weir's eyebrows were raised and her head was slightly cocked to the side.
"An autopsy? On a rat? Come now, Dr. Weir, be reasonable." Carson questioned.
"I'll not agree for you to even mention this to John unless you can convince me, without a doubt, that it was a malfunction of the chamber and not the chemical." She stated.
"Major Shepherd may not have that kind of time." Rodney stated.
"I will not give you permission to kill him, Rodney." She replied.
"I'm not asking for permission to kill him. I'm asking for permission to save him."
"Get busy with the autopsy and let me know what you find." Dr. Weir replied, looking at Carson directly.
"Yes ma'am." He replied.
To be continued . . . .