Black and White: Chapter five
Disclaimers as per previous chapters.
The "Control Chamber" was a hive of activity, with the half dozen Wraith moving purposefully between each of the myriad panels as they burst into life.
Carson Beckett was breathing in quick and shallow gasps. He hated the sensation of the alien power thrumming within his body; of being linked to a piece of technology whose function he did not know. He kept willing himself to breathe more slowly, to overcome the feelings of panic that were threatening to overwhelm him. He knew that he could not simply jump from the Chair and sever the connection but that did not stop a subconscious urge to push against the binding straps, even though he could feel them cutting into his skin. He had no idea of how long he had been trapped in this nightmare, whether anyone in Atlantis was aware of what had happened or where he was. The room he was in had none of the airy feel of the Atlantis base. If anything he would have thought that he was deep underground.
The Wraith leader approached the Chair, his face twisted in a vicious smile.
"It could not be better Hu-man. The weapon is coming online exactly as required and now I am going to give you a most desirable gift. You can destroy a Wraith Hive ship, as it comes into orbit above this planet, with the weapon of the Ancients. All you have to do is release the aiming circuits and fire as they lock onto the ship."
Beckett just could not be hearing this correctly; a Wraith was planning to blow a Hive ship out of the sky? Oh God, I'm strapped into a weapon! And one I'll have no bloody control over.
"My speciality is more the physical side of things you know. I think that your problem is a wee bit more on the mental side there!" he croaked through dry lips.
The Wraith snarled with anger and gripped Beckett's chin between its sharp nails.
"You seek to destroy my kind before we feast on your life-energy and yet you turn down the chance to destroy hundreds of Wraith!"
"Why?" Carson locked eyes with the creature that was drawing blood with its grip on his face. "I need ter know why."
The Wraith threw back its head and began to make a horrible sound. Beckett cringed inwardly as he recognised the sound of Wraith laughter.
"Weak, foolish creature – your enemies are in your grasp, yours to destroy – feel the weapon, it is yours to command!"
"I'm a doctor! I don't take life, I try ter save it – even a Wraith, damn you, even a Wraith." Beckett repeated in a hoarse whisper.
"That is why you are food and we are the Hive." The Wraith released his face and stepped back to confront one of the others who had come forward to the Chair platform.
"We waste time with this Prey," it hissed. "We should have spent our efforts bringing the circuits under our control – we will miss our chance and be discovered!"
"No, the hand of the Hive would be all too easily seen in the repaired circuits. This way all that will be found is traces of Human DNA linked to a weapon of the Ancients. None will suspect our involvement!"
"We are running out of time!"
"His resistance was anticipated, I have planned for it – watch."
The Wraith stepped back in front of Beckett and raised its hands to its head, its face furrowed in concentration.
Beckett felt the device in the back of his neck come to life. There was a feeling of pressure and then…another presence was in his mind. The Wraith had joined with him telepathically. The device was augmenting the Wraith's mental powers beyond mere projection so that it did not have to feed to see into his thoughts. He had seen the Wraith forge a telepathic connection with Teyla but she had suffered a complete possession, clearly unable to remember what had happened afterwards. Carson was still horribly aware of his surroundings. He could feel the alien mind churning within his…it was so alien; its thoughts were dominated by brutal, voracious hunger, a yearning for destruction and conquest. The very opposite of everything that Carson Beckett was.
The Wraith pushed at him with a mental strength that Beckett could not resist. His control of the Ancient technology was as fuzzy as ever and he felt the growing anger of the creature through their link. It pressed at him with increasing force; he found himself seeking the circuits that armed the energy weapon and then bringing the aiming mechanism to life. The fully charged weapon was soon aimed directly at a Wraith Ship, which he could somehow sense was just arriving in orbit thousands of miles above the Ancient base.
Beckett tried to wrestle back control of his mind from the Wraith. His body bucked in the restraints of the Chair, blood running where the straps cut deep into his wrists and neck, but it was no good - the weapon was ready to fire.