It's 1:30 am in Atlantis and Nexus lies dying on the floor. He can't help but sink into his stella-tenux; his mental map of the minds of those around him. His own personal constellation.
A group of rogue Genii soldiers has infiltrated Atlantis and they are holding people hostage in the conference room, intent on kidnapping Dr. McKay and Nexus, but why?
Mr. Woolsey is in danger of bleeding out while Colonel Sheppard tries to find a way out of this mess. The answer may lie in an unexpected place...
Present time
01:30 hours - Nexus
Nexus tilts his head in wonder as he watches the blood slowly creeping across the floor. It's dark, resembling branding ink, like his Commander's star mark. He can see the dull reflection of the overhead lights shining on its surface. Following the trail back to its source, he is almost surprised to note that it originates from his own body.
That's right; he has been shot. He is lying on his left side, feeding hand hanging limply in the warm fluid. It's an odd time to think about it, but he suspects he will not live long enough to receive his naming mark; Nexus. He longs for his Commander to wield the blistering brand and sear his new designation into his skin. At least his blood will leave a permanent mark on the ancient stone. Atlantis will remember that he perishes here.
Nexus wonders if Mr Woolsey's blood will also leave a sign that he once lay dying on this cold floor. He cannot see where the expedition leader fell. Instead, he looks at his own blood on his fingertips. Four gunshot wounds is a great deal for a young wraith, especially one who has not fed in weeks. His hunger burns sharp and bright, nibbling at the torn flesh surrounding the bullet holes.
Voices are arguing in the background but Nexus is struggling to discern one voice from another. Closing his eyes and dropping into his stella-tenux gives him a little clarity. As he scans from one human to the next, he is hit first by their emotions before being able to connect those with what they're saying out loud. Nexus tries to speak with them, with anyone, but no one senses him at all. It's such a pity that most humans are afraid to connect this way.
The Colonel [red-anger-demand-protect]: "Let's talk this through. Just you and me."
no john. not safe.
The Scientist [orange-panic-fear-help]: "They need medical help! Come on!"
yes mckay. send for help.
The Expedition Leader [grey-hush-numb-nothing]: ….
get help! someone!
Genii Sergeant [white-take-claim-conquer]: "I'm taking the doctor. And the wraith."
no. please. help me!
He opens his eyes and witnesses everything through the cloudy haze of his hunger and pain. He needs to feed but cannot find the strength yet to move toward the lone Genii soldier standing guard in his field of vision. And he would only wind up getting shot again anyway. Even if Colonel Sheppard can get them out of this mess, there is little hope for him. Either the remaining rogue soldiers will die before he can get to them or the Lanteans will not allow him to feed on their enemies anyway. They seem to value the life of their human enemies more than their wraith allies. They are strange like that.
Despite their oddities, which are still so very alien to him, he can't help but worry for the humans in this team. His team.
Lying there next to him is the body of a female soldier. Even though she has brought this peril down upon them, he can't stop staring at her ruined face. Glassy dead eyes stare back from her body lying prone next to him. Her blood has stopped flowing, halting just shy of touching his own. A rich red stain to rest forever with his bitter black one.
He wants to ask the woman if she has crossed over; if she sees his father. But those eyes stare back at him, unblinking, and her solis has already vanished out of existence. Too late.
The arguing continues, the voices muffled. His eyes drift shut again as he mentally scans the room one last time. In the darkness of his mind stands the ghost of the conference room table and the few surrounding soli are starting to fade...
Nexus rolls onto his back and toys with the iratus clasp, free from its pocket nest. Gripping it tightly he thinks of his Commander; of his bright blue-white solis and the way he had held Nexus in his arms, as though he was something so very precious. He pictures the other half of his broken clasp nestled in the ancient wraith's palm. Eres-vitalum; He Who Commands My Life, he thinks to himself. Teneo-vitalum; He Who Holds My Life. He smiles.
As the pain and the hunger ebb away slowly, Nexus wonders if he'll be greeted by the warm embrace of his father's purple solis. The thought fills him with a sense of peace. Tribuo-vitalum; He Who Gave Me Life.
"Salus requiem in somnus aeternum," he whispers. "Father, I come."
30 minutes earlier…
01:00 hours - Chuck
It was late at night in Atlantis. Chuck had drawn the short straw and was stuck with the graveyard shift. Again. How did Amelia get out of it so often? They really needed to employ another technician or two.
Noise off to his left drew his attention to the open door of the conference room. That eager new archivist was setting up for the classified meeting. Dr. Juno… oh, what was her name? Aster... Semper... Jasper! Wait. Juno Jasper? Can't be right. Sounded like a weather girl or something.
Leaning over the table to lay out each dossier, she had to repeatedly blow wisps of hair away from her eyes. Frowning in frustration, she finally gave up. Juno managed a dextrous feat by twirling her ashy hair around a pen then jamming said writing implement back through the twist. Chuck couldn't help but watch her in fascination, glad that he had something that distracted him from his tiredness.
Chuck suspected it was her first presentation to the 'Big Three'. Geez, what a tough start. One in the morning and she had to brief Dr McKay. There wasn't enough not-coffee in the whole city to help her. A look of triumph brightened her face and she proceeded to lay out some honey-cakes from the mess hall. Nice move.
At least she didn't have to brief that new wraith. Chuck knew that he - what was his name again? - had been approved by Mr Woolsey and had heard he was some favourite of Todd's, but still. The guy gave him the creeps. Originally he thought it was the yellow eyes. And the sharp teeth. Oh, and the claws, the pale green skin, those nasal slits. But of all the things that weirded him out, it was the lack of eyebrows that did it. Reminded him of Wormtongue from Lord of the Rings...
Ever since Colonel Sheppard had alerted him to the Top-Secret-"shhhh don't tell the wraith" meeting, Chuck had spent the day avoiding the tall, green sucker and trying hard to not think about the damn meeting.
Juno must have sensed his gaze because she turned and smiled nervously, smoothing her white blouse. He realised he'd been staring intently so he smiled back way too big and gave her two thumbs up. Fortunately she went back to work before Chuck died of total embarrassment. Great going, Chuck.
Downing the dregs of a cold coffee, he surveyed the room.
The 'Big three'; Mr Woolsey, Colonel Sheppard and Dr McKay, were waiting down on the gate room floor, framed by the stargate. Richard Woolsey stood to the left, ramrod straight and impeccably dressed, even at this late hour. John Sheppard, who could apparently lean on thin air, was staring up at the ceiling. And Dr Rodney McKay ('PhD PhD,' Chuck's brain recited, much to his annoyance) was clearly agitated about something, if the flailing limbs were anything to go by.
The three men were waiting for Chief Ladon Radim to arrive with a small delegation of Genii. Not that Chuck was supposed to know about that. Apparently, the Genii wanted in on the joint mission they were planning with Todd. Not that Chuck was meant to know about that either. The 'Big Three' were wary of accepting Genii involvement. And of pissing off the wraith. Well, everyone knew about that.
The gate sprung into action. "Off-world activation!" Chuck announced. "IDC coming through... confirmed. Chief Ladon Radim, Mr Woolsey."
Mr Woolsey nodded up at him. "Thank you, Chuck. Drop the shield."
A small group of soldiers came through the gate, surveying the room, guns in the low ready position. Expecting Radim to enter behind them, Chuck had time to wonder when the Genii had changed their uniforms, and that some of their weapons looked different.
And that's when it all went to hell.
Mere moments later he found himself on the ground, looking back at the open door of the conference room. He locked eyes with Juno again, only this time she wasn't smiling. And this time his hands were grasping feebly at the agony in his gut.
He tried to tell her to run. His lips shaped the word but his brain felt all foggy and no sound would come out. She just stared back at him, frozen in the doorway. His eyes began to close on their own as the sounds of boots thumping across the floor headed directly for the conference room.
01:05 - Rodney
Holy crap. What the hell is happening? He had only just begun explaining to Sheppard why his latest minions were going to lead him to an early grave when those Genii bastards came sauntering through the gate and started firing. He was too busy trying to duck for cover to properly register the fact that they were dressed all in black, apart from one older man who wore the usual brown uniform of the Genii.
It was only when Chuck went down with a tortured cry (hell, that sound is going to haunt him for the rest of his life) that he realised Radim never came through.
Earpiece and tablet torn from his person, he was marched up the stairs and past Chuck, who was writhing soundlessly on the floor. Someone shoved the young technician unceremoniously under his own desk. Rodney's protests only earned him a split lip for his trouble.
They were marched into the empty conference room. Sheppard looked naked without his gun, right hand reaching and coming back empty. Woolsey seemed to be operating on autopilot. Rodney fought the urge to click his fingers in the man's face.
Soldiers jostled them into seats; John next to him down one long side of the table and Woolsey in his usual spot at the head. Their guards took up posts around the room as the rat-faced man in brown eased into the empty seat opposite John. Well. This must be their fearless leader then. He didn't look so intimidating. Typical Genii uniform, albeit a bit worn. The man looked middle-aged; average size and height with thinning, wiry black hair and calculating, coal-dark eyes.
Rodney blurted out, "where's Radim, hmm? Or does he just send his goons these days? You know, I thought we had an understanding. That's the only reason we agreed to this meeting in the first place."
"Chief Radim is currently… otherwise engaged," a smirk played on the man's thin lips. "You will be dealing with me".
"Oh, great," McKay snarked, hand automatically reaching out for a honey-cake.
"And you would be who now?" drawled the Colonel, slapping McKay's hand away from the food.
"Turgenev. Sergeant Turgenev," came the reply. "I represent a faction of proud Genii who-"
"Now you look here," Rodney interrupted, still glaring at Sheppard while grabbing a honey-cake. He wasn't going to stand for Genii trying to take over his city. Again. "I don't care who you think you are, but you don't just waltz into Atlantis and start shooting people! I'll have you know that I'm-"
"Dr Rodney McKay. I know exactly who you are," the leader spoke in a cold, slow voice. "In fact, you're the reason we came."
Rodney spluttered. "WHAT?!"
Sheppard's jaw clenched. "What?"
The leader straightened in his chair and placed his arms on the table, gun resting loosely in one hand. "You have the Ancient gene, do you not? You know how to enter Ancient outposts. How to activate and operate their technology. You can understand their language, their projects, their… weapons."
"Look," said the scientist, regaining his composure, "I get that you've heard of me and everything, but my Frequent Flyer Kidnap Card is maxed out, so I'll be cashing in on my 'get out of one hostage situation' bonus this time."
Sheppard muttered a warning "Rodney" at the same time that Turgenev's fist tightened around his gun.
"I mean," Rodney rolled his eyes, "If you think that I'm just going to-"
"I don't think, Dr McKay. I know," he warned. "You will provide the coordinates to the planet and then gain us access to the outpost so that we can retrieve the weapon."
"Wh-what coordinates? Planet? What planet?" Rodney could hear the waver in his voice. He'd never been any good at lying.
The leader only snickered. Turning his attention to John, he asked, "And now please tell me; where's the wraith, Colonel?"
01:10 - Sheppard
Sheppard had been listening to the leader's exchange with Rodney while attempting to keep his rage under wraps. Why hadn't he stationed Lorne's team in the gateroom? He couldn't believe he'd allowed himself to let his guard down when it came to Radim. Yes, they had worked together in the past and, yes, he seemed to be invested in establishing an alliance. But still. He's a Genii for crying out loud!
Considering Radim's absence, he was either a victim of this faction's ambush or had sent them along in his place. Plausible freakin' deniability. And to see these guys march in wearing Atlantis BDUs just rubbed salt into his self-inflicted wound. Now he realised what had happened to AR-4's missing packs. Dammit!
So these sleazebags want McKay. And Nexus. Over his dead body.
"Colonel Sheppard?" John snapped his head up to glare at the sergeant. "The wraith?"
Sheppard caught the look of confusion shared amongst the group of rogue Genii soldiers. It seemed that they too were surprised at their leader's request.
"I'm afraid the wraith can't come to the phone right now," John quipped, confusing the Pegasus native. "You'll have to call back later."
At the flick of the sergeant's cruel gaze, one of the soldiers cracked the butt of his gun across the back of John's head.
"Ah, crap!" His fingers came away from his scalp all bloody. "That's gonna mess up my hair."
A look of enjoyment crossed the otherwise sneering face of the faction leader. "Shall I offer you an incentive?"
A guard stationed by the door drew his weapon and aimed it at Rodney. This seemed to shock Woolsey out of his stupor and he blurted out, "the wraith is housed in the south pier. B-but he's guarded and you can't just run around the city unnoticed!"
John swore under his breath. No one's going to suspect these guys if they're running around in our damn uniforms. This was all getting way out of control.
"You two," barked the sergeant. "Go fetch the wraith. Be sure to dispose of his guards."
"Um… sir," mumbled one of the young soldiers. "W-what exactly do we need the wraith for? I don't wanna have to get him back through the gate."
"That is precisely what your weapon is for." The two soldiers hesitated, inspecting the unfamiliar weapons they carried. The older man threatened, "do I need to find soldiers who know their place? Have you outlived your usefulness?" The guards paled before darting out of the room.
Turning his attention back to McKay, the leader instructed, "those coordinates, doctor."
"At least give me my tablet back," Rodney demanded. "Everything's on there. It'll still take some time. We've only managed to decode part of the data and don't for a second think you can do the rest without me. This is complex stuff. Way too difficult for the likes of-"
"We have no intention of doing this without you, Dr McKay," Turgenev replied.
"Rodney. Maybe don't insult the mean man with the gun?" warned John. To his credit, the scientist cut himself off immediately. Sheppard watched as McKay as he drummed the table with nervous fingers. It took a moment but John realised the man was tapping out a rhythm, playing the table as if it was a piano.
Sensing his friend's need to calm down, John chastised himself for putting McKay in danger. He thought of Chuck lying on the floor, screaming mutely for his help. But there wasn't time for John to sink into that inviting pit of blame right now. He channeled his guilt into rage and allowed his fury to build and bear down on the enemy in front of him.
"I don't think you wanna make an enemy of Atlantis, Turgenev," he seethed at the sergeant, his whole body tense, ready to strike. "And I really don't think you wanna piss off the wraith. Todd isn't exactly fond of you guys as it is."
"Once we have the weapon, your Todd will no longer be a problem," he warned, and John felt his blood run cold when he saw the look in the Turgenev's eyes.
01:15 - Woolsey
If Richard Woolsey had learnt anything from the Attero debacle it was this; he went to pieces when facing the business end of a gun. He tried to pull himself together as the two soldiers returned, supporting Nexus between them.
The wraith seemed dazed as they dropped him into a chair at the end of the table. His head lolled as he plucked a steel projectile from his neck. Nexus turned his head slowly and peered down his nose at the faction leader.
"Genii!" he roared. The wraith growled and bared sharp teeth.
"What have you done to Nexus?" Richard asked, concerned over the ease with which the two soldiers were managing to subdue the powerful alien.
"It also has a name? How very… friendly of you," mocked the sergeant.
Nexus growled and tried to lunge at him. "What have you infected me with, human?"
"Just a little gift from some of our allies, my green friend. The effects should wear off soon." Turgenev laughed mirthlessly then added, "but make no mistake. The rest of our weapons are deadly serious."
"Yeah, I recognise a few of our P90s there along with our uniforms," sniped Sheppard, drawing Richard's attention back to the military leader of their city. "But I'm all for making new friends too, if you'd like to pass on the name of your tranq gun suppliers?"
Ignoring the Colonel, Turgenev addressed Woolsey this time, "it is in your best interest to comply with my demands. We want those coordinates and then we'll be leaving with the doctor and the wraith."
Satisfied that Nexus would recover from the tranquiliser, Richard straightened his shoulders and attempted to dissuade Turgenev from his plan. "You must be aware that we cannot confirm there's even a weapon to be found. Our intelligence is incomplete-"
"Speaking of intelligence," drawled Sheppard. "Where exactly did you get yours?"
Rodney interrupted. "No, no, no. If we're speaking of intelligence here, then-"
Turgenev slammed his fist down on the table, eliciting a yelp from the scientist. "You understand, doctor, that I do not require you to retain the ability to speak in order to carry out your work for us."
Rodney jerked back in his chair.
"So It would seem I have been deliberately excluded from a meeting pertaining to the very topic on which I am expected to advise," Nexus observed, his mask of indifference failing to conceal his agitation.
Just what we need at the moment, thought Richard. An angry wraith. "Sergeant Turgenev believes we might have intel of interest to his… faction of Genii, and has requested Dr McKay's assistance. He has yet to enlighten us as to why he requires yours, Nexus."
Turgenev took his time responding. "I have it on good authority that you Wraith have your... uses."
"That is never going to happen!" Sheppard bellowed, colour draining from his face. Richard felt himself shudder.
"Now, now, Colonel Sheppard," the sergeant taunted. "Nobody's being tortured today. That was my comrade's interest, not mine." The Colonel relaxed a fraction, while Richard breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your role is simple," Turgenev addressed Nexus. "If we want to use the Ancestor's weapon against the wraith, we'll need to get in some practise."
Nexus unleashed a terrifying roar that echoed in the large room. The two soldiers wrestled with him as he struggled to leave his chair. Every gun in the room was aimed in the wraith's direction. Any moment and one of the twitchy rogue soldiers was going to open fire on their young ally. Not today.
"That will be quite enough." Richard got to his feet. "Sergeant Turgenev. As we have already stated, we do not know if such a weapon even exists, let alone if it could be used against the wraith. Even if we did, we would never allow it to fall into your hands. You will not be getting any coordinates from us and my people will not be leaving with you."
When he spoke of his people, he looked pointedly at the wraith. Nexus stared back at him in surprise before inclining his head in thanks.
What happened next seemed to go in slow motion. Off to his left he heard Turgenev scoff at his words and call to one of the soldiers. The woman standing behind the wraith raised her gun and fired.
BANG!
Richard's left arm jerked back violently, pain bursting through his shoulder. Mouth open in shock, he stared down at the rosette of blood blossoming on his coat. He heard the Colonel yelling at him to get down but he couldn't seem to move.
He wanted to scream in protest when he saw the wraith rise up out of his chair to throw his body in the way of the shooter.
Taking a ragged, excruciating breath Richard cried out, "No Nexus!"
01:20 - Nexus
BANG! BANG!
Nexus felt the bullets ripping into his back and erupting out through his chest. He had never been shot before and the agony took his breath away. He knew that his kind could survive a great many injuries but it had never occurred to him until this very moment how much it would hurt.
As the pain magnified in its intensity, Nexus felt his humanity give way to the predator inside. He spun around and howled in the face of the female soldier who shot him, then he raked his claws down her face and tore open her chest. Blood gushed forth from her fatal wounds as her fellow soldier rounded on Nexus and opened fire.
BANG! BANG! Nexus took both rounds to the chest, lurched backwards before slamming into the ground, which knocked the very breath out of him. He snarled up at the enraged soldier who was levelling his weapon at the wraith's head. Stunned for a moment by the shock of taking another two bullets he could only lie there and wait for the final shot.
BANG!
But...? Did the soldier somehow miss? The rogue officer dropped his gun and fell to his knees. In the place of his right eye lay a gaping hole and a bloody tear. The dead man collapsed across the legs of the female.
Nexus rolled his head around to look behind him at the cruel face of the faction leader.
Turgenev muttered, "You're welcome, wraith. You'd better get working on those bullet holes. I'm not done with you yet."
Nexus could only curl his lip back and hiss at the human who chose to slay his own man to keep his prize. Next to him, the female soldier rasped one last breath and then went still. The wraith's inky blood started its pilgrimage across the floor. Nexus could hear the voice of Sheppard calling out to him, telling him to hang in there. A silly phrase.
Nexus wanted to tell the Colonel that he didn't need to worry about him. He needed to let him know that he could feel his stella-tenux descending so that his mind could drift away into the endless sleep. Sheppard did not need to be afraid for him for the great sleep would take the pain away and then he may even get to see his father. His father!
Wave after wave of intense longing for his sire crested over him. Feelings that he had locked down the day he said his final goodbye to Solaxis now came thundering back. He closed his eyes and surrendered himself to the dark void of his mind, still aware of the soli of the Colonel, the Scientist and the Expedition Leader. Somewhere, further out in the city, he could feel the Satedan and the Athosian Queen. My people.
Sheppard, he thought, and he reached for the red warmth of the Colonel's solis with a weak filum. He touched the outer realms of the man's mind, gently tugging at his awareness. He knew that Sheppard did not like this but he just had one thought to convey;
goodbye john sheppard
Nexus used his softest inner voice, and the Colonel's wall crumbled inwards, just a little. He thought thank you and team and then sent through the pale memory of Sheppard walking him down the corridor, arm wrapped protectively around Nexus' shoulder. He pulled his filum back as Sheppard's mind scrambled and tried to grab on.
Nexus then gathered some of his remaining energy to form a tight purple ball of light. He pictured his Commander's familiar star mark and his brilliant blue-white solis somewhere out in the galaxy. He thought commander and family and alva-donum and brother. He took an image of his broken iratus clasp and let his devotion wrap tightly around his words
goodbye teneo-vitalum; He Who Holds My Life
Not bothering with a filum, knowing his Commander was too far away, he simply let go of his light and cast it out into the void. With a soft sigh he closed his eyes one last time, wishing only that he could have found his stella-nix. His Juno.
01:25 - Juno
Juno sat beneath the conference room table with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Of all the people in Atlantis to get caught up in this, why did it have to be her? She wasn't a marine, not a member of a gate team. She hadn't even started her 'How to Survive in Pegasus' course yet. If that was even a real thing - she couldn't tell if Major Lorne had been teasing her or not. Anyone else would be plotting ways to save the day, not hiding under the goddamn table.
Gripped with fear she had jammed her fist into her mouth to keep from crying out when the gun first went off. Silent tears travelled down her face, unnoticed. She cried for the limp body of Mr Woolsey, slumped awkwardly in his seat. She had tried to sidle closer to him, to check if he was okay, but the sudden screech of the wraith's chair scraping backwards had her scrambling back into the centre of her hiding spot.
She looked down at the fountain pen now trapped in her white-knuckled grip. Bound in her hair, it kept tapping at the underside of the table, trying to announce her presence. It had to come out. Clutching the barrel between her thumb and fingers she rolled the pen back and forth, back and forth. Made of tinted polyresin and ebonite, the movement made the colours appear to swirl; amber, gold, ochre, onyx. Mesmerised for a moment, she thought of golden eyes and slit-shaped pupils...
Two more shots fired. Another two.
Rocking rhythmically back and forth, chin quivering, she stared at the wraith, at Nexus, now lying with his back to her. She couldn't seem to wrestle her panicked breathing back under control so she popped the cap off the pen. It had been a graduation gift from her grandfather, engraved with her initials. Somehow the gold-plated nib glinted in the shadow under the table. She pressed the pad of her thumb down hard on the tip, hissing as the sharp tines pierced her skin. A tiny bead of red welled up, a stark contrast to the wraith's stygian blood that scrawled his doom across the floor.
Move, she willed soundlessly, eyes boring into his back. Please, Nexus. Just move. Breathe.
Something. Anything.
Weren't wraith meant to be unstoppable? But Juno knew better. For the last few nights, whenever she'd close her eyes and try to fall asleep, she'd been plagued by the image of Nexus in the corridor surrounded by marines. Her mind conjured up the look of pure panic that had twisted his elegant features into a ghoulish visage, yellow eyes wide and afraid.
Just last night she had dreamed that they were back in that hallway, but she couldn't reach Nexus. More and more marines kept swarming forward, drowning the wraith as he hissed and roared and screamed. She kept forcing herself forward but never seemed to get anywhere. Juno, he had cried. Juno… Juno…
Juno. She had been pulled from that nightmare to awake breathless and sweaty, a gentle tugging telling her that he was there. Nexus? In the morning she scarcely remembered that swift pull from those dark dreams, wondering if she had dreamed that part too.
Juno's heart leapt in hope as Nexus slumped over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He seemed to be mouthing something but she couldn't hear. He smiled a little. She waited, contemplating whether she could crawl over to him without drawing attention to herself. But while she hesitated, lost in indecision, he went still. Her mind wouldn't accept the deathly figure before her, mentally replacing his lifeless mask with the euphoric expression he'd worn that night he had watched her sing. In that moment, Nexus had seemed to her to be ethereal, divine.
She squeezed her shaking fists, the metal nib digging into her thumb, eliciting a stinging encore. Her breathing went faster and faster and yet she couldn't seem to get enough air. Tiny stars began dancing in front of her vision. No! I can't black out. I can't!
nexus. More and more little lights gathered as her panic rose.
nexus! The tiny flashes threatened to overtake her.
NEXUS!
Present time
01:30 - Nexus
Drifting within the safe cocoon of his stella-tenux, Nexus feels a sense of peaceful detachment. He gazes calmly at the soli hovering just above his position on the floor. They seem even duller still. Around the conference table sit the four men. Waiting to exit this realm, Nexus lets his own soli reach out to them and brush their minds with the faintest of filum. Yet again he wishes the humans could hear him.
At the head of the table; grey Mr Woolsey. Pale, unconscious, breathing shallow and labouring.
calm. slow. in out in out. not the end. not yet, mr woolsey.
In the chair jammed next to his; orange McKay, large hand pressing firm, stifling the flow of blood.
protect and care. family. found family. family of mckay.
On opposing sides; a raging-red Colonel Sheppard and the wicked-white Sergeant Turgenev. Minds locking on one another, identical auras of hostility.
no. not the same. sheppard. guide. keeper. team.
Two remaining guards still standing; one behind John, one to the right of Turgenev. Weapons are drawn but point at the floor.
enemy. ENEMY. stop. hurt. Die.
One of the guards lets out a small whimper.
And on the floor at the foot of the table lie three bodies. Curling around a pool of black and red; a man, a woman, a wraith. In his mind are two vacant spaces bordering his own pallid lavender light. The delicate iratus clasp lies forgotten, trapped in the quagmire of tar that is clotting next to him.
Nexus loses all sense of time and space when the soli wink out completely. No tether, no form. But his sense of serene silence gives way as all order disappears. Disorientation presses in on him ever so slightly. The burn of his bullet holes flares back into existence. But why? Am I not for the endless sleep? Then what? I will only float in this nothing... reaching ever and always for my father… consigned to this oblivion...
From the depths of the hollow vacuum before him, he feels panic reach out its icy fingers and stretch toward his mind. He tries not to give in to his fear of falling forever through the vastness of an endless void.
Within the dim and almost empty stella-tenux, a dust-cloud of pale light forms - tiny pinpricks of white suspended in the nothing. Could it be? Had she come to his aid again? Memories flash by of another blank void from only a few days past, where this same delicate solis materialised to guide the wraith back to himself.
n...x...s… a whisper of a filum, too delicate to travel far...
n...x...s… another sigh, the trace of a voice…
n...x...s… still too quiet, the filum floundering, fading...
Just as the gossamer thread looks to disappear completely, his weak violet tether snakes towards the little stars. It reaches, it winds, it holds on tight.
stella-nix?
nexus
"Stella-nixxx mea?" he exhales his question, turning his head in her direction. Her mind expresses shhhhhh to calm him.
His eyes flutter open to see two pale green pools staring back at him out of the shadows. The moment they lock eyes his filum flares with her terror
fear-white-dead-white-blood-black-green-black-red
and the wraith's mind floods with her anguish. With the arrival of her fear, his pain comes roaring back and it takes every ounce of self control he has not to cry out.
The insatiable burn sharpens his senses and his vision hones in on the pointed metal shaft Juno clutches in her hand.
stella-nix mea... your dagger! His exclamation is met only with confusion.
your dagger. the golden blade... Still she does not understand.
He conjures up an image of her plunging the pointed end deep into flesh. Realisation dawns in their link, chased by growing horror.
no nexus. i can't. She shakes her head vigorously, eyes wide and pleading.
please stella-nix.
please juno. He fires his desperation down their filum.
nonononononononono A mental wall leaps up trying to block his begging.
help us, please… He unleashes his pain, surging over her wall, drowning her.
Juno pauses, crouching, body tucked up like a ball. She peers at him tenderly through a curtain of sweat-soaked hair. Nexus feels the sense of wrong emanating from her very being, carrying with it the acrid stench of terror. But he can also see the tears running freely down her cheeks. She is crying for him. His mind is battered with hurt and help and friend.
Those imploring sage-green eyes beg his dimming yellow ones for a way out. He just looks back with
im sorry, juno…
He expects Juno's immediate refusal but is overcome by her growing determination that builds and expands and culminates with
fight-run-stab-no-wait-just-wait-no-now-act-now-help-save-protect
and he grasps it in their link when she makes the choice to fight. They are her people too.
Nexus sends her hope and thanks along with a request to wait.
He tugs at the weak thread leading to Sheppard. He senses vague relief in the man's mind and shows him Juno and her tiny gold shank. He acknowledges the resounding 'NO' from the Colonel but beneath that is the awareness that there is no other way. He projects his countdown to them both:
5... Nexus struggles to slowly rise and meet Turgenev's look of shock who then-
4... aims his gun at the wraith as Sheppard rams his captor, head slamming against the wall so-
3... Turgenev and his guard turn to point their guns at Sheppard but Nexus roars and then-
2... both guns are on Nexus as his solis calls out go, juno! now! and she dashes forward right as-
1... the wraith lifts the table and tips it over as Sheppard grabs his guard's gun off the ground but-
Nexus collapses on his hands and knees, agony piercing his body and mind. He is protected by the table barrier but stella-nix is out there - his Juno is in danger and he can't see her anymore and the room is a heady spin of chaos and sweat and fear and he closes his eyes and grips his head and wishes it would all just
STOP!
And it does.
Somehow it does. Somehow with his eyes pressing tightly shut he sees in his stella-tenux that his own solis has flared out into a bright blue-purple lace net ensnaring the other soli and dragging everything to a shuddering halt.
what is this? what have i done?
In the darkness he sees not only their soli but also the ghostly phantoms of the humans.
He can see that a transparent Dr. McKay has managed to drag an ashen Mr. Woolsey behind the other end of the table, encircling them both with the protective orange satellites of his solis...
He observes the inflamed red figure of Sheppard kneeling behind the upturned table, arm resting on the edge about to fire the gun on the lone guard whose spectre is suspended in mid-flight...
And then he is strangely entranced, bewitched by his Juno and her cloud of stars. She has managed to clamber up into Turgenev's lap, left hand gripping his collar and her pen jammed mercilessly into his throat.
Through the opaque white of the sergeant's skin Nexus can see that the gold metal has struck deep and now keeps the man's life force from bleeding out of him...
juno…
nexus… how? She instinctively tries to fight her frozen position.
safe, juno... She relaxes ever so slightly.
what do i do, nexus?
pull the blade, juno…
release his blood…
nexus… nonono-i don't think i can…
please, juno…
i can't… please-no-please-no-please
Nexus is losing his grip on the tormented tableau of humans, the blue-purple web pulling back as people begin to move once again.
The Genii leader is taunting Juno, his gravelly voice straining against the gold intrusion. "You can't do it, woman. You can't take a life… but... I... can."
Calloused hands are wrapping around her slender throat and begin to squeeze. Juno emits a strangled whine but does not withdraw the metal barrel. The sound of his roar thunders around the room. Why does she still hesitate?
you must end him, juno.
but… it's wrong… how can i...
but he will take the scientist. he will take me.
he will end the colonel and the leader.
he will end you, juno...
Hauling at his strangely blue-purple soli, still spread out too thin around them all, he gathers his remaining strength. If she cannot bring herself to end this alone...
With a rattling groan Nexus ignites their connection with wild blue and purple sparks that race down the filum to Juno, building in light and intensity and surging on impact with her solis-
it is him or you, juno.
it hurts, nexus...
together, juno.
together. please?
together? yessssss…
and somehow her graceful, pale stars wrench at his solis, dragging him forward, as he feels a mental push from behind. For just one moment, one breath, Nexus sees with her eyes instead and Turgenev's fingers seem to tighten around his throat too.
The wraith does not waste time questioning this. He casts his hand down within Juno's arm, fingers reaching for the golden pen...
JUNO!
WE MUST END HIM...
NOW!
BANG!
Sheppard fires at the guard trying to run behind the leader and-
"Aaaggghhhh!" comes Juno's savage cry just as her solis screeches with the ferocity of their wrath.
Together, with one brutal yank, they rip the weapon from the man's throat. They watch as one mind when Turgenev's rage gives way to despair. Potent reactions hammer their shared solis; guilty horror (the human) and morbid satisfaction (the wraith).
A geyser of blood erupts from the faction leader's gaping wound, spattering Juno's face. The sheer force of the wraith's revulsion sends him flinging back into his own body. Mind still buzzing with their shared will, Nexus can sense Juno sliding back off the dying man's lap and hears her hitting the floor.
As he wills his limbs to drive him around the end of the table, Juno kicks out in a manic scramble to back away from the red ghoul in the chair. Her back hits the tabletop but her legs don't stop moving and she bangs her head over and over.
juno… juno, please Nexus reaches for her. Closes the distance between them.
deadd-nononono Her mind is possessed by building distress.
hush… hush, juno.
juno come, please.
let me help you.
stella-nix, shhhh.
i am with you.
i am here.
Nexus does not even know what he mutters into her mind, intent as he is only on quelling her rising mania. She was going to let that man, that enemy, choke her life away. And now she burdens herself with remorse. Why? Because she cannot bear to end the life of another, an enemy intent on ending hers? He cannot understand her distraught reaction but readily accepts his own wish to console his stella-nix.
When he's finally close enough, he gathers her up into his arms and secures her shaking form against his wounded chest. His blood soaks through the back of her shirt as his burning hunger flares up and bites at him. But all he cares about is the fragile body in his arms and her delicate solis which is beginning to curl in on itself. Her cloud of stars rushes inward until there is but one tiny glow left.
Before them, the Genii leader has finally bled out. The Colonel strides around the table and bends over the body to check for a pulse. He retrieves his comm from the dead man's pocket and jams it in his ear. He yells for a medical team, for a guard team, for anyone, for everyone.
Nexus can hear Rodney behind the table checking on Woolsey and then the expedition leader's laboured reply. Then the Colonel is crouching in front of Juno and Nexus, trying to get them to respond, but his voice is fading out.
Sheppard tries to take the dagger out of Juno's hand (no, it's a pen. It's just a pen) but she won't let it go. He tries to coax Juno from the wraith (no, she is stella-nix mea. she is mine) but Nexus cannot bear to release her. Not yet.
Nexus just clutches her in a little tighter. She smells so sweet as he nestles his nose into the crook of her neck. The pungent odors of her fear and that man's blood are cloying at his sensory pits and yet they still fail to overwhelm her comforting scent.
But as solid and present as she is in body, she is grievously absent in mind. He buries his face into her hair, eyes tight shut, mind sweeping the room over and over and over. Surely her tiny star is simply hiding. Only hiding. He will find it. He will find her. He must. He tries to conjure that powerful blue-purple lace but nothing happens.
"Stella-nix?" he pleads softly in her ear. "Juno?"
But no answer comes. Peering over her shoulder he looks into her face and gasps. Slack, expressionless, nothing. There is no light in her pale green eyes. They only stare unseeing at the fountain pen rolling back and forth between her thumb and fingers. Blood and gore cling to the nib and her fingers are stained red. The barrel catches the light; amber, gold, ochre, onyx.
And then Sheppard is there again, seizing his shoulders and yelling in his face. But Nexus cannot hear him anymore. Nexus is only hurt and afraid and tired. So tired…
The wraith's solis feels a slight tugging and the Colonel's red glow is there, plucking at their connection. He picks up an urgent command of no! no nexus! - Sheppard is afraid he will feed from Juno.
Nexus shakes his head, imploring the human to see his feeding hand tucked safely under Juno's arm. To hear his low, miserable howl and feel his torment that Sheppard could think him so selfish, so foul.
The human must accept this and responds with faint notions of question and juno and what and how...
"Juno…she is... gone," Nexus hisses.
The Colonel leans back, emotions at war on his face and in his mind; confusion and oh no and help juno and help nexus. He asks, "Gone? Whaddaya mean gone?"
Nexus can't bear to look him in the eye. The wraith's voice is barely a whisper as he asks, "my fault, Sheppard?"
Before he can hear the answer, Nexus retreats from the man's mental warmth and returns to the chilling darkness of Juno's mind.
juno? i do not understand, juno.
…
stella-nix? we did this together, yes?
…
Nexus seals his hand around hers, stilling the hypnotic movement of the pen. He closes his eyes. She had agreed. She said yes, together. They did this together. But...
did... did i do this to you, juno?
…
stella-nix mea?
…
…
...
imsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorry!imsorry!imsorry!
Endnotes:
This is the beautiful fountain pen mentioned in the story: forum/topic/225632-custom-antique-gold-fountain-pen/
Glossary:
eres-vitalum - He Who Commands My Life (wraith term for Commander but denotes a pledge/vow to serve)
filum - the connecting mental thread between two soli.
solis/soli - the mind signature of a wraith or human.
Stella-nix mea - my hidden star (the name Nexus has given Juno)
stella-tenux - Nexus creates a mental map that resembles a night sky, only the 'stars' are the soli of those around him.
"Salus requiem in somnus aeternum" - 'safe rest in the eternal sleep' (a wraith saying)
Teneo-vitalum - He Who Holds My Life (a term of endearment from Nexus to Todd)
Tribuo-vitalum - He Who Gave Me Life (a wraith term meaning 'father')