Gabriel blinked, and found himself covered in a fine layer of dust and ash. He groaned softly, in exhaustion and disgust, before slowly rolling to his side, away from the mess of dead wraith. Once there, he used the moment to breathe, and then sat up, glancing at his watch. He had only been out for a few minutes, if that. His body wanted sleep desperately, but there was still too much to be done.
He glanced at the crisped corpses, a brow raising in wry humor. "I'll bet that's upsetting," he muttered.
The wraith had been purged from Atlantis – but the threat had not diminished, and the Atlantis team was still captive. When he searched through the stars, he quickly found the two hive ships waiting, orbiting the planet to doggedly follow the city through the rotation of the sea below it.
He sat for a moment, thinking. He knew the possibility was good that as he struggled to formulate a plan, people he knew – his friends – were dying. But more would die if he failed, and that was not an option. So he took his time, allowing his tired mind to revive. The plan that came to him was almost as suicidal as the one he had just implemented – but with luck, this time it would work properly.
So he pulled himself into the seat that was presently on level with his nose, ignoring the blackened husks of wraith scattered in an eerie circle around him. Finding the proper controls, he input a specific sequence – and the shield fell.
As he had thought, no sooner had the comforting hum of power faded away than wraith once more surrounded him. This time, a female was dominant out of the horde. Her pale blonde hair, almost white, fanned out behind her as she approached him. Recognition lit a fire of fury in her eyes. "You," she hissed, the anger nearly strong enough to touch.
Then she told him something that he dreaded to hear. "Your face has been burned into the minds of all my kind."
"What can I say?" he goaded her, hiding his exhaustion but unable to move from his chair. "I'm just that kind of guy."
Her fingers wrapped tightly around his throat, cutting off his words and breath simultaneously. "You murdered my people, with a fire from within. What is this power?"
Her fingers loosened enough for him to speak, but only just barely. "Sorry," he croaked. His lungs were begging for oxygen, but the rest of him was too exhausted to even gasp against her hold. Blackness swirled in his vision. "You don't have the proper security clearance."
She snarled, her face much closer to his. The other wraith, who had busied themselves with the computers rather than pay attention to the bodies of their fellows, directed their focus once more at the lone human. Still, remembering the hot fire that had ripped painfully through their minds, they kept behind the bodies of those who had already fallen.
"Your life is mine, human," she snarled, the words guttural and deep. Her hand descended then, to rest its strange sucker at the base of his throat. "I share your deaths with all my people."
And the pain began.
"Guess again," Gabriel gritted out.
Her smug certainty left no room in her for doubt. She could feel the life force under her – oh, so strong! – vibrating with shocking, delicious intensity. It resisted, as few ever had, and she grasped it all the more tightly, seeking the life he kept hidden inside.
Then Gabriel opened himself, his soul and his mind. Through the wraith that was killing him, he reached out to all the beings connected to her, on the ships circling above and a few feet away. Before she realized what he had done, he unleashed the storm within, and knew no more.
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"What the hell -" Rodney gaped in shock.
Sheppard, pacing irritably, was immediately at his side.
They had been sitting, untouched, in this cell for only an hour before anything happened.
He had been working feverishly with several of the other scientists when Sheppard had come looking for him. Mere moments later, the wraith beams had begun scanning the city, and before he knew what had happened, McKay had found himself on the wraith hive ship. Luckily, he hadn't been alone – but they had been easily overpowered, and tossed in here. They were tensely waiting for the first of the members of the Atlantis team to be marched by them on their way to death. From the few shouts they had been able to communicate with before the menace of the wraith descended upon them, demanding silence, they could account for over three-quarters of the Atlantis team. They had been beamed up in drips and drabs, placed in cells as they were kidnapped from their homes. McKay didn't know why the shield hadn't been up, but he could make a good guess.
Once Sheppard had realized that their cell was the farthest on the end, and that anyone entering or leaving this corridor had to pass by them first, he had been relieved. Then he had set a watch, keeping the scientists he was imprisoned with busy. To their credit, no one was panicking, but tempers were worn thin and the tension was high.
Moments later, his vigilance was rewarded. Wraith marched by, with an unconscious human in their midst.
"Who is it?" Sheppard hissed. He was at the opposite end of the cell, and his angle was blocked by the wraiths' bodies.
"I can't -"
"McKay?"
The scientist swallowed, crouching low and craning his neck to be sure, as the wraith passed. But Sheppard caught a flash of dusky skin, and knew. "It's Ford."
"Shit!" The major cursed lowly, not needing the scientists to become overwrought. "We need to get out of here!"
But the cell was tightly locked. The bars, weblike and alive, were strong.
After thirty minutes only, however, they had been alerted to the fact that something was wrong. Nothing was done or said, but the wraith began to scour the corridor, opening the cells and searching through the occupants. Surprisingly, no one was taken for questioning – or to die, as fodder for these insatiable parasites.
A full hour passed, and suddenly cries rang out down the corridor, as the prisoners all noticed the same thing at once. The wraith drones before their cells were glowing, a fire burning within them. A horrible smell reached McKay – the stench of burning meat; but it was like nothing he had ever smelled in his life. Gagging, he turned away, and so did not see what happened next. Sheppard was staring, and McKay kept his face turned away. An almost gentle thump caught his attention next, and he looked before he could help himself. Only a few deep breaths kept the nausea that rose at the sight under control.
The wraith was now a corpse, twisted, and blackened, the flesh almost melted beyond recognition of the body it had once been. Sheppard reached out a slow, cautious hand.
McKay's eyes widened when he saw the other's intent. "I don't think that's such a good -"
Sheppard touched the corpse carefully, and jerked back in shock as the flesh crumbled to nothing under his hand. "Son of a bitch!"
One of the scientists in the back had turned to the wall, and was throwing up.
Sheppard glanced back, but continued to test the bars of the cage. They did not yield, unchanged by whatever event had contrived to kill all the guards. A sudden thought froze McKay. "Listen," he commanded, and the others turned to him in surprise. "No," he waved his hands impatiently. "Listen!"
"What?" asked one woman softly, after a moment of almost sheer silence.
"Nothing," Sheppard answered, looking shrewdly at McKay. "No noise."
"Right," McKay continued, words coming quickly in the excitement of discovery. "No guards coming to take the place of these."
"So either the wraith telepathy isn't all it's cracked up to be, or -"
"Or whatever it was that killed these guards killed all the wraith on the hive ship," McKay finished.
"So all we have to do is get out of here and we're home free," Sheppard answered.
McKay nodded, and with that one motion a new hope sprang to life in the scientists. Within moments, there were three different, coordination actions going on. One small group of the scientists was calling out to the others trapped with them, trying to coordinate their efforts and take a rough head count. Another was going over all they knew of the wraith ships, trying to think of ways out and what they would do once they were free to get back to Atlantis. The final group was working with Sheppard and McKay, testing all the doors and walls to the cells, looking for a way out.
When the escape came, however, it arrived from a forgotten quarter. "Hold it," came one of the scientists in communication with the other prisoners. He gestured authoritatively to McKay, Sheppard and the rest. "The others are out, and making their way toward us."
"How?" Sheppard warily needed to know.
"Teyla," came the calm response. "Zelenka was with her, and had the idea of having her try to use her wraith genes to open the door. She was being blocked by the wraith from trying it before, but it's working now."
"Good. We've got to get Ford. If he's still alive," Sheppard noted bleakly.
As the Atlantis crew was being freed, they continued to follow Teyla, who gathered her people to her carefully. Weir walked at her side, and the two women, and the rest of Atlantis, came at long last to the end of the corridor.
When all the cells had been opened, Sheppard had the military immediately break into their teams and do a head count, while McKay organized the scientists, Weir took control of the civilians, Beckett saw to the medical staff and Teyla cared for the Athosians. They needed to be underway as soon as possible.
Finally, he turned to his own. "Ford is missing," he stated. "Are any other teams short?" He didn't really expecting an affirmative; he hadn't seen the wraith remove anyone aside from Ford and none of the others appeared to have been harmed. They had been very lucky. But they needed to find Ford, and get the hell out of here.
A tall, sandy-haired man stepped forward, his eyes dark with concern. "Sir," he said lowly, and several pairs of eyes turned to him in surprise. "My team is down one man. Private Venner is missing."
Sheppard frowned. The news was more disturbing than any of the listeners knew, but he kept his immediate thoughts to himself. "The wraith took him?"
"No sir," Devor responded sharply. "We were with him when the transport beam brought us to the hive ship – he wasn't taken. My team and I believe that, if he's not here, then he's still in Atlantis, sir."
Sheppard sucked in a breath. "Or he was transported somewhere else, possibly to the other hive ship." Devor's face darkened at the news, his jaw clamping tight.
"I want a count," Sheppard snapped out to the others. "Now!"
"All my staff are accounted for," Beckett answered, relief on his face.
"I'm missing one," McKay told him, face tight. "Anthony Marzak."
Sheppard's face hardened, but he nodded and turned to Weir. She shook her head. "All my staff are accounted for."
"Teyla?"
The woman smiled at him. "My people are safe," she assured him.
Sheppard nodded sharply. "Good. We're down by three men – Anthony Marzak, a tech, and Private Gabriel Venner. The wraith took Ford – I want everyone to be on alert. We've got to find him, if he's still alive in this hellhole."
Weir nodded, looking at the others. "Tell your people to be on the lookout," she instructed. Surprised, the others relayed the news that one of the Atlantis team was missing, and it came as a source of shock and anger to all those gathered in the hall of the hive ship. They had miraculously been delivered from death's door, and the thought that three of their own had not lived to see salvation made anger start in even the mildest hearts.
"We need a way out of here," Weir continued calmly, projecting over the murmurs. She easily took control of the situation. "We're not out of the woods yet. Are there any suggestions?"
"Yes," McKay spoke up immediately. "If we can find a way to reverse the transport beams on the hive ships, then I believe we can reprogram them to beam us directly down from Atlantis."
Weir nodded at him appraisingly.
"Well then," Sheppard said, relief and caution filling him in equal measure. "Let's get the hell out of here."
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Reuploaded as of 12/18/05.