Time Immemorial
Chapter 21: A Game of High Stakes
July 17th
0309 Hours
The scraping of the wooden chair legs on the floor of the cafeteria was the only sound to pierce the tense silence. The eyes of everyone in the room were fixed on the new development unfolding before them. The scene of the trio entering the mess hall conjured up images of an old gladiatorial epic: the first character strode in like Caesar himself, the conquering hero entering the arena; the second, the obedient lieutenant, dragged their war prize behind him; the third sat battered and bruised, unmoving in the trailing chair.
Straton parked the chair in the center of the room and stood at ease to the left and behind. The Lacedami commander stalked around confidently, surveying the mix of scientists and marines huddled against the perimeter walls of the cafeteria, the vanquishing emperor evaluating his spoils. John sat facing one small segment of the circle of expedition members - he couldn't tell who with his head spinning as it was.
The ceiling lights remained on, for the time being. The midnight storm still loosed its wrath outside, with blowing rain pelting the window panes and the crack of thunder sending tremors down the walls. The dance of lightning bolts in the black sky above cast eerie, evanescent shadows onto the mess hall floor.
Even through the haze John attempted to keep watch on Antigonos, but a rough pull at his collar stole his attention. Before he knew it, his shirt was being sliced open at his neckline by Straton. He felt a hand restrain his head, while another pressed a knife sharply into his shoulder. He stifled a scream of pain. He could feel the trace of the blade carving the letter lambda into his skin.
Meanwhile, Antigonos surveyed the cafeteria, the vaulted ceilings, the iconic mosaic window. "This place," he assessed, "so pretentious, even in its construction. It sickens me. But it is mine now."
"Good people of Atlantis," Antigonos boomed, theatrically spreading his arms wide. His voice reverberated louder than the thunder overhead. Several people jumped.
"I do not suppose you are deserving of such a title, though," the commander continued, pacing around the room, "fraudulent, and soon to be former, tenants that you are. You are like mollusks, occupying the home of another only after it has been abandoned, feeding off the scraps of garbage the rightful owners have discarded. So, my dear bottom feeding mollusks, I thought it time to address you with an update."
He had the full attention of his audience. They stood or sat paralyzed with fear, eyes fixed solely on their speaker, afraid to so much as twitch lest they receive punishment from one of the two dozen armed sentries patrolling their line. Antigonos savored it.
"This is how the situation stands. Your leader, Dr. Weir, is dead." At the mention of this, those few who had not yet surmised the news gasped in dismay. "Her toad, Major Sheppard, despite his best, outrageously ill-conceived efforts, has been captured."
John felt the all the eyes in the cafeteria collectively turn and fix upon him. He was surrounded. He suddenly forgot about his bleeding shoulder and shied away as if blinded by a spotlight. They were all looking at him, staring, pleading silently with him for answers. He had no plan to offer them.
"Five of your comrades have fallen, this City is now decidedly under my control, and your lives hang by the Fates' thread."
John watched the theatrics unfold and prayed that whatever Antigonos schemed to offer or threaten the expedition with next they would steel themselves against. He looked to his marines, faces hardened, to set the example... the ones that still stood.
"Now I will share with you a most provocative turn of events," the commander continued. "I seek a code to unlock this City's self-destruct mechanism. If I do not get this code, I will kill one of you, then another, until I have run out of bodies. Major Sheppard knows this. He can give this code to me. He has elected not to."
With that, a murmuring arose from some of the civilians.
"Yes, your intrepid major, who swore to protect you, is about to feed you to the wolves! He would have you all killed, would sacrifice your lives for his! But I am a gaming man. I wager that at least one more of you knows this code. So I propose this deal." Antigonos stopped pacing and drew his hands together, allowing the tension to build.
Here it comes, John thought. He eyed the commander warily from under a furrowed brow.
Antigonos drew himself up straight and smiled wickedly. He spoke slowly, letting the words sink in. "If any person divulges the self-destruct code to me, I will spare the lives of all of the expedition members... save that of Major Sheppard."
For emphasis, or perhaps to dissuade him from any verbal influence, a distinctive snick-snick sound heralded a gun being cocked. Out of the corner of his eye John saw Straton level the pistol at the side of his head.
In the corner of the room, Kyros watched the reactions play out on everyone's faces. Most registered fear and shock. It was a cruel game his commander was playing. It was wrong.
"His life for all of yours," Antigonos explained, pointing at the seated Sheppard. "A fair trade, I should think, considering he was about to deliver you the same fate - unbeknownst to you, of course."
Once again, a wave of murmuring spread through the crowd. Civilians and military alike whispered contemplatively amongst their immediate neighbors.
Antigonos just smirked like the Cheshire Cat.
John sat straighter in his chair, leery of the discussions around him. He made eye contact with his team and silently willed them not to do anything stupid, trying to pour every ounce of conviction into his gaze. They'd better not take that deal, he thought to himself, not because he wouldn't trade his life for theirs in a heartbeat, but because with the code released to Antigonos, the Lacedami would have full control over the City. The Atlantis team would lose their one and only edge, for which Elizabeth had fought so gallantly.
Though the amount of discussion occurring around him was making him more than a little nervous, John reminded himself that the only other people who held the authority to disarm the self-destruct - Rodney and Ford - weren't going to capitulate. But it was no secret that Rodney and Ford had their own disarm codes, given their positions within the team. If another team member decided to share this information with Antigonos...
"Well?" asked the Lacedami commander. "What say you all?"
The crowd grew silent immediately.
"What guarantee do we have that you won't kill us anyway?" shouted a voice from near one of the windows. It wasn't a challenge, but instead a legitimate inquiry, as if the owner of the voice was truly considering the offer.
The throng parted, revealing Dr. Kavanagh. He suddenly looked decidedly more uncomfortable now that nothing stood between him and Antigonos.
"Shut your mouth, Kavanagh-" one of the nearby marines started to mutter before the butt of a Lacedami rifle to his jaw sent him sprawling backwards.
"So sorry for that interruption," Antigonos said, voiced dripping with derision. He stood several paces in front of Kavanagh. "Judging from your peculiar choice of clothing and otherwise disheveled appearance, I am going to venture that you are of this base's science contingent, yes?"
Kavanagh merely gulped and nodded.
"Very well, Doctor Kavanagh. I give you my word that I will not harm you nor any of your colleagues. Now, can you tell me the self-destruct code?"
Holding his breath, John willed the scientist to remain silent. Christ, it had to be Kavanagh. Don't buy it, Kavanagh, his word is meaningless. Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it...
Kavanagh looked to Ford and McKay, before nervously meeting the eyes of Sheppard. As if jolted back into reality, he suddenly returned his gaze back to Antigonos. Kavanagh shook his head timidly, all thoughts of striking a deal scared away.
Good boy, John thought, breathing a sigh of relief. Now sit.
Kavanagh did just that, stumbling backward into the group and sitting stupefied against the wall.
"I see," Antigonos said dejectedly. John couldn't tell if emotion was genuine. The commander began to pace his stage once more. "Would anyone else like to try their hand?"
Quietness was his only reply. In the coming minutes, every time someone cleared his throat, Sheppard feared either Ford or McKay were about to be outed. But silence reigned. It was so still he could hear his pulse pounding in his head. John guessed he would have heard his breathing, too, had he been able to exhale. As the minutes dragged on he was certain someone was going to divulge something simply to escape the suffocating silence.
Yet no one spoke.
"Major," Antigonos hunched over and admitted, "I am impressed. Apparently their loyalty to the expedition is as robust as yours, and still more potent than any dubiety of your leadership. Thus far. Let us see if that continues to hold, shall we? Or is it you, not them, that will break first?
"Straton," the commander called, getting the attention of his large lieutenant. He nodded toward three civilians and watched Straton pluck them from the crowd. The Atlantean team cried out in distress.
Then, loudly and to the rest of the room, "Perhaps everyone simply needs some inspiration to jog their memories."
John watched in horror as the three scientists were shoved to their knees in a line before him. The first was Dr. Kavanagh, having obviously rubbed Antigonos the wrong way during their brief exchange. The second was Dr. Michael Inouye, a botanist Sheppard scarcely knew.
The third was McKay.
John looked on helplessly as three guards leveled sidearms at the back of each man's head.
"Here is how this will transpire," Antigonos explained. "Being that we are all civilized people we will each take turns. Major Sheppard will have the opportunity to provide me with the self-destruct code. Each of these three men will also have the chance to provide me the code, or provide me with the name of one who can. For refusing to cooperate, the punishment for any of the scientists is death. The punishment for a wrong answer from you, Major, shall be watching them die. The dead will be replaced with someone new until there is no one left in this room. Any questions?"
Suddenly fully alert, the major sat rigidly in his restraints. This was bad. If Antigonos got the code, it was over. He would only then need the ascension device to complete his mission - a device that, in the wrong hands, could unleash havoc on whosoever the user pleased. Pegasus, Earth, it didn't matter. Zelenka, I really hope you hid that device somewhere good, he thought.
"No questions?" the Lacedami leader asked. "Very well, let us begin. Since you have made it abundantly clear your stance on this matter, Major, you forfeit your first turn."
John opened his mouth to object but Straton nudged the gun barrel into his head, a subtle dissuasion from interfering.
"Drs. McKay and Kavanagh, seeing as how we have already been acquainted, I will save your turns for later. However, Doctor...?"
The botanist looked around timidly before realizing it was he whom was being addressed. He nearly jumped out of his skin. "Dr. M-Michael Inouye," the scientist stammered.
"Dr. Michael Inouye," Antigonos cooed. "I am very much eager to hear what you have to say."
While Kavanagh and Rodney kept their eyes averted to the floor, Dr. Inouye squeezed his shut.
"I'm j-just a b-... botanist," he whispered, terrified, as his body shook with fright.
Antigonos tutted disapprovingly. "You are not starting off well, Doctor."
"He doesn't know anything," McKay defended. The uncharacteristic display of bravery earned him a pistol whip across the back of his head. The Canadian touched the back of his skull. His fingers came back slicked with blood, trembling.
"You will get your chance, Dr. McKay," admonished Antigonos. "Dr. Inyoue, however, I am afraid this is your last. Either tell me the code or tell me who else on this base knows it."
Inyoue was now shaking his head emphatically, tears pouring down his face. "P-please... I have a w-wife and t-two boys-"'
Antigonos was not pleased with the answer. He nodded to the guard behind Inouye and the solider took aim at the back of the scientist's head.
John tried to squeeze his eyes shut, but it was too late. The trigger was pulled, and in less than a second he watched Inouye's body slump over to the floor.
Screams erupted across the mess hall. Several civilians instinctively tried to scramble away, only to be reigned in by their more lucid coworkers. Lacedami rifles ensured no one tried anything unwise. Unmerciful shouts for order only further compounded the chaos.
Through the mayhem, John stared wide-eyed at the lifeless body of Dr. Michael Inouye, facedown on the cafeteria floor. A ragged hole was centered on the back of his head. Pieces of flesh and brain matter were plastered in places they should not have been. A dark pool of blood slowly expanded outward along the tile.
Dear Lord, what have I done? John thought to himself.
Most of the civilians had never heard gunfire before that day. The horror of an execution right before their eyes put most of them over the edge. Half of the population wailed in agony while the other half tried to assuage them. The ruckus died down quickly, save for the occasional soft sob for fear of what was next. All eyes remained nervously glued to Antigonos.
A Lacedami solider unceremoniously dragged Inouye's body away, leaving a streak of crimson in his wake. Another grabbed a replacement hostage from the crowd. John saw the old man try to shrug out of his captor's grasp, more out of irritation than any attempt at escape.
No, no, no... not Nicolas, John thought. He recalled Elizabeth's affinity for the scholar and began to think that the Lacedami's selections were not random. Antigonos had been observant.
Dr. Perrot was forced to his knees in the spot where Dr. Inouye had knelt, between Kavanagh and McKay. The action was not an easy one for the old man. He winced with pain.
"If you think you can break this old Frenchman," he informed his captor, "you can think again. Casse toi, fils de pute!"
The guard ignored him and reassumed his position.
"Ladies and gentlemen, that is how the game is played," Antigonos announced, as if a play-by-play sportscaster calling a professional basketball tournament. "Major, I believe it is your turn."
Sheppard remained silent, refusing to partake.
"You have not uttered a word since you were brought in here."
"I have nothing to say to you," John muttered.
"You could tell me your code," Antigonos offered simply. "Since I somehow just know you will not forsake any of your friends who might also know the code, I do think this is your best option."
"You must also know I won't play your sadistic game."
"I thought you might say so. May I ask why?"
"Because it's sick!" the major yelled, his parched throat causing his voice to crack. His cry echoed throughout the otherwise silent room. He dropped his voice to a terse whisper. "It's wrong, it's cruel, and it's completely fucked up. You are completely fucked up. Do you get off on murdering a bunch of unarmed scientists? Killing innocent civilians, killing women must really make you feel like a big man, huh? Do you like watching a husband and father of two beg for his life, then slaughter him anyway?" John shook his head in repugnance. "The only thing I have to say to you, you goddamned bastard, are these two words: fuck you."
John felt the blow to the side of his head that he had all but expected. The force of the impact sent the busted chair, and him in it, toppling to the floor. As he fell, he spotted Straton sidestepping in surprise. It was Antigonos, then, riled by the verbal attack, who had dealt the punch.
The major's head bounced off the floor, dimming his vision for several seconds. It returned in time to see the Lacedami commander's fist cocked back for another shot. The second hurt far less than the first on account of the major's numbed senses.
"You think that because I can see down to your core that you, too, can pretend to know me?" Antigonos screamed. His eyes were bloodshot. The veins in his neck and forehead pulsed with rage. "You really believe you understand why I am the way I am? You cannot! You cannot!"
Through the fog, John realized he was finally seeing the fully unhinged side of Antigonos. Throughout the course of the day, he had caught glimpses of a repressed rage buried within the commander, the source of which was anyone's guess. It had at last surfaced in full.
A kick to the gut sent John gasping for air. He lay on his side, tied still to the chair in a seated position. The pain forced him instinctively to a fetal position, but his motion was limited by his bonds. He faced the line of three captives.
"Stop!" McKay begged. "You think that by killing Elizabeth you've earned his cooperation? That he'll actually listen to anything you have to say?"
Once more, the scientist earned a thwack on the head for his noble efforts. He cried out in pain.
Kyros watched in disgust. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet.
"Your turn is over, Major," Antigonos informed John, his voice low. He turned toward the three kneeling men. "Now you get to watch... Dr. McKay die."
The physicist's eyes widened. "What? No - wait, wait, wait," he protested. He heard the distinctive sound of a Lacedami pistol being cocked from over his shoulder.
"Wait for what?" Antigonos asked, voice devoid of amusement. He was done playing around. "Are you going to tell me what it is I wish to know, Doctor?"
Rodney swallowed nervously. His eyes darted in every direction.
"Give me the code or give me a name," Antigonos snapped. "And do not pretend you do not know. As you so reminded us earlier, you know everything."
Rodney looked trapped in thought. He knew the code, knew it, but he couldn't betray his team.
Suddenly Antigonos tuned back to Sheppard. "What do you think?" he asked loudly, all for show. "Do you think McKay will surrender the code to me? I, for one, hope he does not. I would take so much more pleasure in making you watch him die."
John looked at his friend before him. The scene was tilted ninety degrees from his position on the floor. He saw flecks of blood - Inouye's blood - caked on the right side of the Canadian's face. His skin was pale, no doubt shell-shocked from recent events. His hands quivered. Still, he could practically see the gears turning in his head. Despite his friend's outward cowardice, he wouldn't give in. No, he was searching for an alternate solution, of this much John was certain.
Only there weren't any. Not this time.
"Come," Antigonos beckoned to Sheppard, "surely you would not repeat the same mistake you made with Dr. Weir, not when you have the power to stop it. You can save your teammate. You can prevent Dr. McKay's death. Could you really live with yet another friend's blood on your hands?"
Feeling his breathing quicken, Major Sheppard steeled himself for what he knew was about to come. He could not relent.
"First Elizabeth Weir, then Dr. Inouye, dying for you. Not to mention the others who have been victims of your decisions this day. How many more will it take, Major?"
I've just sentenced Rodney to death. John squeezed his eyes shut against the eventuality.
Antigonos frowned at the non-answer and turned back to the scientist. "I will not ask again, Dr. McKay."
Silence greeted him. Rodney opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but he couldn't find his voice.
"Very well." The commander grabbed the handgun off a nearby soldier and leveled it at McKay's forehead, feeling the need to do the job himself. He would enjoy this one. He squeezed the trigger-
"91328745."
Antigonos' finger released pressure from the trigger. The words had been faint, barely audible. They had not come from McKay, but rather from behind. His head turned slowly round, realizing the owner of the voice. He sauntered over to Sheppard, laying unmoving on the cold tile.
"What was that?" Antigonos prompted. His eyes were fiery with ambition.
John couldn't meet his interrogator's gaze. He was too mortified at his own decision, at how fragile he was in defeat. He coughed up blood and fought to catch his breath. "91328745," he rasped out weakly. "My access code."
"Ah," Antigonos said with one of his hideous genuine smiles. "So I was proven right. Your affinity for them is the weak link in this expedition's armor." He grabbed a handful of John's hair and pulled his head off the ground. "Much appreciated, Major," he whispered sinisterly in his ear before dropping his head back to the floor. The commander stood to leave.
Staring blankly ahead of him, John pondered Antigonos' words. He was weak. His concern for his teammates had proven to be their undoing. He looked sullenly at his team. I can't let any more of them die for me. Not Rodney, not Nicolas, not Kavanagh. I'm sorry.
Rodney studied Sheppard's toppled form. Though he couldn't imagine what he was going through, he could practically feel his friend's agony. He tried to catch his eye, to convey to him... something. His own guilt, he supposed. He had put the major in a difficult position. And like a true friend, the officer had saved his life. McKay cursed himself. If Sheppard hadn't, the Lacedami wouldn't currently have Atlantis in their pocket.
"Straton," Antigonos ordered, "input the major's code and return control of the City to me. There is much-"
"Commander!" one of the Lacedami shouted in excitement. He entered the mess hall via the main door with several others in trail. "Commander, you must see this!"
The Lacedami leader spun to see what could have possibly stirred his highly disciplined men.
John, still positioned on the floor and apparently forgotten, craned his neck to see as well. His heart sank at the sight. Oh, no. Radek...
Flanked by two guards, the Czech scientist was led into the cafeteria. He sported a shiner around his left eye and a bewildered expression. His glasses were perched cockeyed on his nose. He quickly took in the scene before him and mouthed a silent prayer.
"Who is this?" Antigonos demanded, striding up to the newcomer. He was eager to execute the subsequent phase of his plan, not waste time on some cowardly scientist who had managed to stay hidden all this time.
"His name is of no consequence, sir," the first soldier explained. "But we found something in his possession you will find most valuable."
Feeling his heart thud within his chest, John didn't need to lay eyes on what they had found to know. No...
Accepting the bundle of cloth from his subordinate, Antigonos unraveled the heavy object with intrigue. With the final layer unfolded, an expression of reverence materialized on his countenance. He held the object out before him to admire its intricacies. It was more beautiful than he ever could have imagined. Its delicate lattice of metal and multicolored glass created a faceted framework that hid its true power within.
"This," the commander said aloud, his voice hushed with wonder, "this is why we are here." He cleared his throat. "Well done, men. Well done."
Antigonos then frowned as he plucked a single strand of multicolored braided wire from the device. It was completely out of place against its elegant features, clearly not part of the original design. A small pack labeled "C4 explosive" fell out of the cloth bundle, not yet rigged to anything.
Suddenly the implication was clear. Tutting, Antigonos looked from Zelenka to Sheppard. "Come now, Major," he boasted. "Would you really rather have had this magnificent treasure destroyed than see it fall into my wretched hands? How adolescent. I suppose it was lucky my men found it when they did."
It's over, John realized. He had lost - everything. They have everything they came here for. They have Rodney's device. They have my code. They can unlock Atlantis' star drive and fly to Earth... and everyone in this room is now as good as dead.
"What about him?" the guard asked of Zelenka, still standing with his hands bound.
Antigonos didn't give it so much as a second thought. "Kill him. And everyone else. We have no need for any of them any longer."
Cries and pained pleas erupted from the captives. The major simply shut his eyes, let his head rest on the floor, and waited for the end.
"Commander, stop," a new voice protested.
Surprise forced John's eyes back open. He saw Kyros stride boldly toward his commanding officer. The young man was only seventeen but in that moment he exuded the confidence of a seasoned officer.
"Lieutenant," Antigonos replied acridly. "Is there a problem?"
Kyros's confidence faltered - but only for a moment. He stood straighter. "Yes, sir. These people have done nothing wrong. Killing them will serve no purpose."
"These people are the descendants of our people's ancient enemy, Lieutenant. They occupy their former capital, share their ideals, forge on where they left off. They must be destroyed, as our own Lacedami ancestors would have done thousands of ages ago."
"Thousands of ages ago," Kyros echoed with a scoff. "That was their war, not ours. Much can change in that amount of time."
To John's dismay, Antigonos's own confidence seemed to teeter as he appeared to contemplate his subordinate's words.
"These people are not the Ancients," Kyros reasoned. "Spare their lives and I will ask nothing of you ever again."
Antigonos cleared his throat and gave the briefest of nods. "Very well, Lieutenant, your wish is granted."
Kyros broke out into a bright grin. John felt himself breathe a sigh of relief. The young soldier had saved them yet again. When this is all over, I need to buy the kiddo a beer, Sheppard thought. Not that he's even old enough to drink.
"Proceed to the Control Room," Antigonos directed his subordinate. "I have work for you that needs to be done."
Pleased with himself, Kyros turned on his heel and marched proudly toward the exit.
John watched the intrepid lieutenant take his first few steps. Then, to his horror, he saw Antigonos calmly raise his handgun and take aim at the back of his own soldier's head.
"No!" John screamed in warning. But it was futile. The gun erupted with a piercing crackle of electricity. The thump of Kyros' body hitting the floor followed.
Kyros, shot at point blank range, was dead.
Wide-eyed with disgust, Sheppard felt the bile rise in his throat. By the laws of gravity, Kyros' body had fallen such that it faced Sheppard. The Lacedami's cheek pressed against the cold floor; his eyes, mirroring the major's own shock, stared back lifelessly into his.
"No!" John roared at the top of his lungs, this time in anger. Perhaps it was Elizabeth's fondness for the young man, perhaps it was his courage, or it simply may have been the purity and innocence of his character, but it was the death of Kyros out of all the atrocities yet committed that finally sent the major over the edge.
"You son of a bitch!" John yelled at Antigonos.
Antigonos, still teetering on the edge of instability, rounded on the major. "You really must think me a fool, Major. I am not blind! He was a traitor to his own people! Plain as the gods' might was his treachery. His loyalties lied with you, that trull Dr. Weir, and his precious Ancients, not the Lacedami nation!"
John just shook his head, benumbed, and blinked back blistering tears of outrage. "You murdered him."
"No, Major, you did."
"He was just a kid-"
"He was my son!"
John felt his breath catch. His head swam; his brow pinched in confusion. "I... I don't understand," he heard himself confessing.
Antigonos paused long enough to safety his weapon. "The lieutenant, as ashamed as I am to admit, was my son."
The major tried to keep his already saturated brain from exploding. He did the mental math and realized the revelation made sense. Kyros and Antigonos' shared antipathy toward one another had apparently stemmed from more than mere professional dissension. It also explained how such a young man held a relatively elevated position within Antigonos' command.
"When we were young and foolish," the Lacedami went on, seemingly lost in another time, "my wife and I had a child. Like the rest of his people, he was strong and swift from an early age. He showed great promise." Antigonos' tone turned to one of disdain. "But soon the child began to question everything. He did not follow orders from his father. He grew curious and disobedient. Unlike the other children his age, he protested against his combat training and was mocked for it. Though he was strong of body, he was weak of mind. Kyros never was a true Lacedami.
"His mother and I were of course disappointed. And so we decided to have another child, to remedy our mistake. We prayed to the gods to deliver us healthy boy, one who would be all that the first was not: an exemplary soldier and the future Lacedami commander. Our prayers were answered. Almost through her term, her belly being ferociously kicked by the little warrior within, my wife was visited by a vision from the gods. She knew then we were indeed to have a boy."
"Only days later, the Wraith came. Our village was decimated. My people fought valiantly, as trained. Few were culled. Most of the remaining survived. The only casualties were the very old, those weakened by injury or sickness... and those who were too encumbered to defend themselves when attacked."
Antigonos simply stopped speaking. John could guess what was coming. A full minute passed before the commander forged on.
"Burdened by her swollen belly, my wife was too slow to escape the Wraith sentry that had forced itself into our home. She... was fed upon." Antigonos paused once more but maintained his detached stoicism. "Her life had been taken almost completely. The creature had left only enough life for me to see her die. I arrived back to find her body a withered husk, yet all her concern centered around the life of our son that she still carried within her womb. Her final moments were spent listening to me tell her that it would be alright, though I knew it was hopeless. She died there on the floor that night. The unborn baby, his own diminutive life force sapped through his mother, died with her."
The cause of Antigonos' madness, the root of his rage, John realized. He tried to imagine the horror of losing a child. Losing the woman he cared for - that he didn't have to imagine.
"Try as he might in the coming years to be the soldier he knew I had been robbed of, Kyros never did live up to my expectations. Mission after mission he failed me, questioning the need for bloodshed, ingratiating himself with the defeated cultures, distracting himself from the objective with useless studies - disobeying me. His underhanded tactics with you, Major, was his final transgression."
"And so you killed him, your only son," John spat.
"He needed to die."
"You really are a bastard."
"I will not tolerate someone whose heart and mind are not loyal to the Lacedami cause! He ceased to be a Lacedami long ago, and at that moment ceased to be my son. If Kyros fancied himself as one of you, I made certain he died as one of you."
Antigonos straightened, signaling that their conversation would soon end. "Perhaps it was only fitting that he was one of the first of you vermin to die. Now everyone in this room will join him... and you will show them the way."
The commander leveled his handgun at John's forehead and smiled. "I have enjoyed your company, but how I have longed for this moment since we first met. Give my regards to the Boatman."
Antigonos removed the safety on his gun. "Goodbye, Major."
Lying on the floor, like some pitiful wounded animal, John awaited the bullet that would put him out of his misery. He lacked the capacity to care any longer. His body was tired, his mind a jumbled mess, his heart ached, and his spirit was broken. He welcomed the end. His eyes fixed on the pistol that would deliver it. He watched as the owner slowly squeezed the trigger, relishing the moment.
Then, suddenly, the weapon was gone. Antigonos was gone. In fact, everything had disappeared, replaced by blackness.
In that instant, John Sheppard knew he was dead.
TBC