Chapter 30 – The Approach

In Seeal's opinion, she was watching complete madness.

Two lone Elite going onto an advanced Hive ship that was stuffed full of Wraith, was irradiated with unidentified radiation, and was showing clear signs of serious structure failure.

It was completely crazy.

Of course she'd heard all the stories about the Elite doing this kind of crazy thing; a small group of Elite secretly slipping aboard a Wraith ship unseen to sabotage its engines, killing the Queen at its heart, and stealing Wraith tech. It was legendary, which was exactly the point; these kinds of stories weren't supposed to be accurate. And if they were, the subjects of the stories were supposed to be bizarre abnormally mad people.

Not people she now actually knew and worked with! Not a man who had only minutes ago been teasing her for her entirely understandable dislike of fish.

He had actually laughed. She hadn't heard him do that before, not proper laughter. She hadn't even known he was capable of laughing like that, and especially not with that deep, almost giggling kind of chuckle! That wasn't fair. He wasn't supposed to do that.

Looking like he did - all tough, stubborn, and grouchy - he shouldn't be allowed to have that kind of chuckle and big grin. It wasn't fair on a woman.

What had also been frustratingly annoying was that, in a fleeting moment in which she had felt threatened, she had instinctively turned to Oneakka as a source of protection.

It had all made the moment very embarrassing for her, which he, in turn, had clearly thoroughly enjoyed. It was so typical of him to react in the exact opposite way as he should.

And now, mere minutes later, he was about to walk onto a dangerous Wraith Hive. How could he go from laughing and teasing her to potentially throwing his life away without a second's thought?

Stupid, idiotic man.

"This is a crazy plan," she repeated to Oneakka as he stood next to Halling at the back of the Ancestral ship. Oneakka nodded his head vaguely at her comment, but didn't look round this time.

"I think I have found a deployment point," Inifee unhelpfully announced from the front section of the ship. "These top corner platforms appear to be set aside for fighter repairs and one platform is empty."

"Any Wraith life-signs in the immediate area?" Halling called down the ship to Inifee.

"None in the corridors leading off these platforms," Inifee reported.

"Status of the new drive?" Oneakka asked next.

Seeal turned to watch the front screen's holographic display pull out of the immediate area of the Hive and then focus in on the outlined new tech within ship. These Ancestral sensors were ridiculously impressive; the computing systems and sensitivity of the scanners was shocking.

"It is still without power," Inifee reported. "I am also reading further power failures across another sector of the Hive."

"Good," Oneakka stated. "Take us to the platform."

Inifee already was, the dark flat area disappearing under the ship's belly as he slid the Ancestral ship into the limited space above the platform and then began to turn the ship on the spot. Seeal shook her head at the unfolding madness as much as at the new display of this impressive ship's abilities. How could it turn in such a small space so easily? And even if it could, how was it not sending out all kinds of air disturbances and signals to the Wraith that someone had snuck aboard?

Slowly the rest of the fighter bay slid back into view, the ship now looking out from the repair platform.

"I'm holding two metres above the platform in case of structural weakness," Inifee announced.

"Go," Oneakka said loudly and Seeal snapped her head back round to see Halling striking the large trigger to open the back hatch of the ship.

"Seeal," Inifee called to her, "you need to stand inside this front section, in case we need to seal the inner hatch quickly."

That made sense as a protocol, so she took quick backwards steps until she was over the inner hatch's threshold, but she kept her eyes on the lowering back hatch. She realised she had one of her newly given stunners in one hand, ready in case the Wraith should discover the ship, but she couldn't remember drawing it from her holster.

Beyond the waiting Elite, the back wall of the fighter bay was revealed as the hatch lowered and the air shifted with a strange organic smell.

This was crazy.

She felt her shoulders tensing tightly. She knew the principles of a cloaking shield, but she still couldn't quite fathom how the Ancestral tech could so effectively conceal every power reading and heat signature. They were inside a Wraith Hive with the back door of the ship open and the Wraith had no clue they were here.

Well, that was surely going to change once the Elite started storming the hallways and blowing up their power systems. Not that she and Inifee would stick around to find out, as they were supposed to just head off back outside to go find the Fleet.

The back hatch, now fully open, formed an extension of the ship's floor and Seeal watched, wide-eyed, as Halling walked out along it. Her eyes slipped to the edges of the limited view around the hatch, worried that a Wraith would appear at any moment to leap into the ship.

Except no Wraith leapt in and, instead, Halling crouched down along the edge of the back hatch and was the one to leap down out of view.

Then Oneakka strode out along the hatch after him, moving quickly to where Halling had crouched.

Seeal leant forward, her free hand tight on the frame of the inner hatch around her.

Oneakka crouched swiftly, one hand full of a bulky gun and the other pale hand landing on the back hatch, ready to swing down out of view.

And possibly out of her life for good.

She had only felt the same sudden rush of panic for a male twice before in her life, and both those men had been killed; her father had been murdered by the Glisi, left dead and bloodied in the snow, and the young pit fighter who had been her first passionate affair as a teenager. He had died in the pit, dead at the hands of his own arrogance as much as at the hands of the other fighter.

The problem with Oneakka was that he had no arrogance about what he was about to do; no, he was just doing it because of who he was: a stupid, brave hero.

She realised that she hadn't properly thanked him for his intervention in her life; for being the annoyingly surprising friend who had tempted her to turn to the Elite for the new direction in her life.

He tensed his body, about to swing down onto the Hive, only he glanced up at the last moment.

She locked her eyes with his down the length of the Ancestral ship.

Then he looked away and jumped down into the darkness outside.

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Inifee had selected the perfect entry point.

Tucked into the far top corner of the fighter bay, there were no immediate eyes watching as Oneakka followed Halling as they made their way along the mezzanine pathway lining the back wall of the bay.

The lack of any Wraith was useful enough, but somewhat strange. The closest platforms were clearly being used to house damaged fighters, the burnt and missing sections of the fighters' wings and tails obvious, but none of them had been actually repaired. One fighter had its entire side removed and had been left that way. The Wraith were usually very quick and efficient in repairing their fighters so that the maximum number could be sent out on a culling to sweep up as many victims as possible. Yet, here fighters had been essentially abandoned mid-repair, with Wraith tools left scattered across the platforms without care. It wasn't normal, but then this was hardly a normal Hive.

Up ahead, Halling was nearing the oval entranceway into the first corridor they'd found off the bay. Oneakka kept close in behind Halling, his heaviest powered energy weapon in one hand and his sensor pad in the other. He'd preset the standard Hive map onto the pad and he could already see in his peripheral vision that the pad was detecting life-signs in the far distance. But first he and Halling needed to get out of any line of sight before they assessed the situation around them further.

Halling slowed, his shoulder reaching the entranceway into the corridor. Oneakka held close, keeping his gaze mostly on the bay below them. At the edge of his view, he saw Halling check his own sensor pad and then peer quickly into the corridor's entrance.

Oneakka had no idea if Inifee and Seeal had already left, since the Ancestral ship wasn't detectable on his sensor pad, but he damn well hoped they were already out of the bay and heading for help. The sooner the Fleet got here the better.

Halling's hand appeared at the edge of Oneakka's view. The quick hand signals indicated no Wraith, that the way ahead was clear of obstacles, and then Halling held up several fingers to indicate the distance to the first concealable alcove down the corridor where they could hold position. Oneakka nodded his head sharp and quick.

Halling nodded and then moved swiftly into the corridor and out of sight. Oneakka followed quick on Halling's heels, moving in a backwards angle to keep watch of the bay behind them as he slid into the corridor.

The atmosphere shifted immediately around him, becoming the more usual warm humidity of a Wraith Hive, and the lighting glowed in that dim filtered way they liked. Oneakka didn't mind the Wraith's choice of lighting as it very helpful in staying unseen. Even the uneven stretches of their walls helped when invading their ships, providing the narrow alcoves between large rib-like structures lining the corridor's walls. Slipping into one such alcove, Halling slid out of view and Oneakka moved in after him. There was plenty of room for both of them, but Oneakka stood forward, watching out into the corridor so that Halling could focus on assessing the way ahead.

"The new drive is still down," Halling whispered from his pad, "no radiation being actively emitted."

That was good news at least.

Oneakka leant a fraction out of the alcove to look down the corridor to the right, back to where the corridor opened to the bay. Still no Wraith.

Yet, something odd caught his attention. The entranceway into the bay seemed to be slightly drooping at the top and the walls around the opening had an unnatural sheen. He drew his attention back to the corridor immediately around the alcove, and, sure enough, there was the same unusual shine to the walls, almost as if the walls were slick. That wasn't normal; normally the walls were a dry fibrous webbing with a matt appearance.

He pulled back into the alcove and looked at the walls within the alcove itself. They had a slimy residue over them and strips of the webbing were hanging limp in places. This wasn't right.

"I'm detecting residual radiation levels," Halling continued his report quietly, "but it's not registering as actively harmful for us."

"Have you seen the walls?" Oneakka whispered.

"They're weeping fluid," Halling replied. "Probably radiation damage?"

"Another positive for us," Oneakka noted.

"Agreed," Halling uttered. "The target central power node is on this level, four sections of corridor off to the right," Halling reported and Oneakka held up his left hand holding his pad. Halling's fingers tapped onto the screen, setting the view and scale of the Hive map to show the way, while Oneakka kept watch.

Still no Wraith though. He was always amazed at the Wraith's arrogance; after all the success of the Elite and the Alliance, he'd have expected the Wraith to pay more attention to the possibility of enemies sneaking onboard.

"Set," Halling confirmed and Oneakka drew his pad back into view. He dropped his eyes to the display showing collections of tiny dots that indicated nearby Wraith life-signs and one outlined red square that was their target node.

"There's a cluster of them around the node," Oneakka noted. The sections of corridor were long between here and the target node, but, for now, there were no Wraith life-signs on that route.

"The node is showing fluctuating power. They're probably trying to repair it," Halling suggested.

"We can take out some of the power-lines on the way here," Oneakka suggested, tapping his pad's screen to draw up details of the usual position of Hive power-lines. There were several strategically useful points along their route.

"I agree," Halling nodded, his shoulder pressing tight to Oneakka's as they both consulted the map. "I suggest we target here and here, that should shutdown power flow outwards from the node, and then we target the central node itself."

Oneakka nodded. With the back end of the Hive completely without power, the engines dead, taking out the central node would cripple the Hive's small remaining manoeuvring engines for good. The Hive would be grounded and stay that way for the Fleet to arrive.

"Then we deal with the Queen," Oneakka added and Halling nodded. "Any sign of where she is?" He had redirected his own pad's display back to the immediate area around their alcove, but there were still no Wraith life-signs close by.

"I'm detecting a slightly warmer life-sign right in the middle of the Queen's Chamber," Halling reported. "She might be running warmer because of radiation damage."

"If she's still in there, then she'll be a fighter or a runner," Oneakka commented. In his experience, Queens usually fell into two categories; there were some who oversaw their campaigns from the Hive's equivalent of a Central Station, while other Queens stayed in their own Chamber and left the work to their underlings. This Queen seemed to be of the latter variety. Queens in that group usually either put up a desperate battle in their Chamber, or they would try to get to their personal escape pod and abandon their Hive.

"Considering this Hive's prevalence to jump away from conflict so far, I would guess she'll be a runner," Halling suggested as he pulled partly away from Oneakka's shoulder and Oneakka heard him pull out a second weapon.

"I prefer it when they fight," Oneakka muttered as he adjusted the strap of his sensor pad so that the tech now sat against the back of his hand, and then reached down to his holster to pull out his own second weapon.

"It'll be better than chasing her down to the pod," Halling muttered. "The sooner we get off this sick Hive the better."

Oneakka had to agree with that. Tightening his grip around his weapons, Oneakka glanced over his shoulder to check Halling was ready.

Halling nodded back, his complexion pale in the dim light inside the alcove. "Let's go."

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Now the Human prey had left, the prison cells were silent apart from Sheppard's slightly laboured sleeping breaths. He had been that way since they had dragged him into his cell. Deeply unconscious, his Human body was working to recover as best it could from the effects of the feeding. And Sheppard needed the recovery time if they were going to escape.

Not that Sheppard had agreed yet, but Mind Song could not foresee the Human turning down the offer, especially considering his current health.

Moving a few extra steps closer to the barred space between the two cells, Mind Song looked in on Sheppard's still form. It would do no good to wake him too soon; he needed all the rest they could allow.

So Mind Song waited...and listened.

With his hearing improved significantly by Sheppard's latest strength, Mind Song could now hear further into the labyrinth of the prey Humans and it was proving very interesting. Unlike the quiet obedience of before, there were now raised voices in the distance as the Humans argued among themselves.

Gone was the former nervous excitement they had all held before Sheppard's capture; now there was agitation. The sweet smell of Human fear ebbed through the air, even from the two silent guards stood just outside the prison entrance. They were keeping to their orders not to talk within his earshot, but Mind Song could still hear their anxiety in other ways. There was an increased shuffling of their feet against the stone floor, the extra salty scent of sweat on their skin, and their frequent impatient sighs.

Sheppard's Queen had sent fear into them, but he suspected their agitation was also due to another factor. For, in that far distance, just on the edge of his hearing, he had been able to discern one repeated word among the raised voices.

Hive.

It was a beautiful and hopeful word for Mind Song.

Perhaps, if he were so fortunate, he might be rescued before Sheppard.

Except, the chances of that were low considering that he sensed no other Wraith close by. Still, the word 'Hive' played repeatedly in the distance.

They were afraid.

Afraid of Sheppard's Queen and rescuers arriving, and afraid of his own kin.

Good, it was about time that they felt discomfort.

Plus, fear did useful things to prey; it made them flighty, causing them to make foolish mistakes in a hurried moment. So, his mind now stronger from the last feeding, and just to help pass the time a little, Mind Song disturbed the air around the Human guards' minds stood outside. The shifting of dark shadows on the edge of their vision was just enough to make them feel more nervous, but not enough for them to realise what he was doing.

All the better for them to be a little less focused the next time they unlocked these cells.

But, until that point, Mind Song would have to wait. Wait for Sheppard to wake and his strength to be enough for their joint mission.

It would be a fateful mission that would either provide them freedom or lead them to their deaths.

Either way, Mind Song would finally be free of his shackles.

So he patiently waited for Sheppard to be ready.

After all, he had gotten rather good at waiting.

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The glowing controls of the Ancestor's Portal dialling console seemed oddly cheerful as Teyla sat next to Chuck as he worked, once again, to contact the Facility.

They had tried to dial in to the Facility five times now without success. It was understandable, considering the Alliance high alert following the reappearance of the Hive within their territory, but it was still frustrating for her.

Giving up briefly, she had instead requested Atlantis dial Athos and she had been able to speak with Father and Vakalis. They had little up-to-date intel on the battle against the Hive, but Vakalis had been in repeated contact with the Facility via links. Massa had a team working exclusively on tracking the signal from John's captors within the links network.

Everyone was doing what they could, but there was nothing new yet to pursue. It was just a matter of waiting a little bit longer.

It was just whether John had that time. Though they had been granted a reprieve of two more hours to save him, it was entirely possible that John had already succumbed to the effects of the last devastating feeding.

He had looked almost like an old man in those last glimpses she had been afforded before Pranos had ended the transmission.

Even if – no, when – they saved John, it was likely that he did not have much life left to live.

But she couldn't allow herself to think about that right now; she had to focus on saving him.

Chuck pressed another dial symbol and Teyla listened to the Portal responding in the next room as she glanced off to the left where she could see Colonel Carter stood inside the glass-walled room that was her office. She was talking with Major Lorne, who had just returned from the latest mission to search the targets on the list from Father's contact.

Apparently there had been evidence of Kolya's people in almost all the buildings and bunkers listed, but no actual Genii. Some had shown signs of being very recently evacuated, possibly following the warning alert sent out from the factory. A large number of further Genii supplies had been found in those locations, presumably too heavy and difficult for Kolya's people to take with them during a swift evacuation. However, what frustrated Teyla the most was that it was very likely that Kolya himself had been in one of those locations. It was possible that Atlantis' teams had missed capturing Kolya by mere hours, perhaps less.

If they had been able to capture Kolya, then they would have had something to use to force Pranos to free John. Instead, Kolya remained elusive and John was still being held by Pranos.

She just needed good news from the Facility. She needed somewhere to go.

She lowered her eyes to the penultimate symbol in the Facility's address as Chuck touched his fingers against the glowing Ancestral symbol. He had long ago memorised the Facility's Portal address, no longer needing to consult the address displayed on the computer screen next to him.

"Sixth time the charm," he smiled at her with grim hope as the Atlantis Portal continued to dial.

She worked to return his soft smile as best she could as she listened to the Portal whirl, waiting for that same frustrating abrupt stop. Except, this time, the Portal continued and there was the bursting rush of the wormhole activating.

"We have a lock," Chuck announced loudly and with clear surprise.

Teyla shot up from her seat and moved swiftly across the short distance to the large screen, waiting for the transmission to come through.

"I have the Facility responding," Chuck informed Colonel Carter, who was quickly heading back into the Control Room.

"On the screen, Chuck," the City Lead ordered.

Teyla turned anxiously back to the screen. "Facility, this is Elite Emmagan," she stated for the audio pickup.

"We receive you, Honoured Elite," an unidentified voice replied, "I am putting your transmission through to Honoured Elite Massa now."

"Thank you," Teyla replied patiently as Colonel Carter arrived at her side. The woman held a large cup of a dark steaming drink.

The screen flickered and abruptly Massa's face filled the view.

"Emmagan," he smiled grimly. He did not look positive.

"We have been trying to reach you for some time," she told him, uncaring of pleasantries and she knew Massa would not expect them given the situation. "Vakalis told us of the most recent territory breach." She left all the unnecessary follow-up questions hanging in the air.

Massa nodded. "I have just spoken again with Vakalis," he confirmed. "I understand that Major Sheppard is still alive but the time is limited to find him."

"Yes," Teyla confirmed, working to control her expression and her emotions. "He has been extensively fed upon, but he is still alive. Do you have any news regarding the source of their transmission?"

Massa glanced down to a display in front of him, no doubt quickly updating himself on any new developments. Behind him, Teyla could see people moving back and forth, their movements hurried but efficient. He would be in the Incident Room then, and clearly the crisis was still ongoing in the Alliance.

"They have not yet located the exact links signal within the network, but they have made significant progress on deciphering the original transmission recordings you provided," Massa reported, his dark eyes lifting back up and meeting hers through the screen. In his dark orbs, she could see the heavy empathy around his professionalism.

It was an all too worrying reminder that Massa had lost his own love.

She needed to believe that she could save John.

"They've now identified the initial recording part of the transmission and the first broadcast onto the links network within it," Massa supplied. "It's definitely a planetary connection into the network and there's no evidence to suggest it was sent from a ship in orbit of a planet."

"So he is being held on a planet or moon with an established links system," Teyla translated that for Colonel Carter and the others listening.

"But the most significant part is that both those elements use Genii coding," Massa continued.

Teyla's heart lifted.

"What does that mean for us?" Colonel Carter entered into the conversation.

Massa's eyes shifted to the City Lead. "It means that the equipment used to create, and the initial links used to send the transmission to the main network were of Genii production."

"Which means that he is being held on a planet or moon within the Genii Confederation," Teyla explained.

"How many Gate addresses does that reduce it to?" Colonel Carter asked.

"About fifteen," Teyla answered her.

"Or there is the possibility that it was sent from one of their old outposts within the Alliance that still uses Genii tech," Massa added.

"Outposts?" Colonel Carter asked.

"Hidden Genii bunkers on planets that used to be outside Alliance space in the past, but are now within our territory. The Genii abandoned such outposts on the planets' inclusion in the Alliance."

"Or not," Colonel Carter understood immediately.

"It would be a clever place to hold him," Teyla considered, glancing to Massa who nodded his agreement. "Within Alliance territory, but in an abandoned hidden location and using Genii tech they sold to the new member of the Alliance. There could be a vast number of those bunkers that most don't know about except those in the Genii military."

"As Kolya was," the Colonel supplied.

Teyla nodded.

"Then that doesn't exactly narrow it down much," Dr McKay abruptly entered into the conversation while pushing in close to Teyla's right elbow.

On the screen, Massa's eyes switched to Dr McKay and his eyebrows lifted, surprised at the somewhat rude interruption.

"Massa, this is Dr McKay," Teyla quickly introduced him.

"Ah," Massa replied with clear recognition of the name. "The Atlantis expert on Ancestor technology."

Dr McKay straightened slightly, clearly pleased with that description.

"Who likes to shout at people," Massa continued, no doubt having heard the stories of Dr McKay's involvement in the recent Intergalactic Conference.

Dr McKay took a breath and scrunched up his face to object, but Colonel Carter quickly started talking. "Thank you for your help, Honoured Elite Massa," the City Lead said politely.

Massa smiled at Colonel Carter, but there was still clear strain around his eyes.

"We will be in touch the second we have anything to report," he promised. "Do you have a recording of the latest transmission from those holding Major Sheppard?"

"Yes," Teyla replied, realising she had forgotten that important part of her dialling into the Facility.

"We are sending it through now, Honoured Elite," Colonel Carter reported and she turned to look over her shoulder. "Send it through, Chuck."

"Yes, Ma'am. Sending now."

Massa's gaze lowered. "We're receiving."

It would take a few moments for the transmission to collate and confirm receipt, so Teyla took the moment. "What is the latest on the Hive?" She asked.

Massa glanced up and his worried frown deepened. "It is still in the Arkinian System."

"The Arkinian System?" Teyla repeated without recognition, except... "That is where we met that Seed Ship and the robots."

Massa nodded. "Indeed, and we found evidence perhaps further linking that system to the Hive's new tech; which is why Oneakka and Halling headed out there over an hour ago."

"They are in the Arkinian System?"

Massa nodded with a frown. "We have not heard from them."

Teyla felt a worried chill pass over her. Not more that could be lost.

"We have the closest Fleet ships headed in to engage the Hive," Massa added as he glanced down at his panel. "The nearest should be arriving there shortly."

Teyla nodded and swallowed worriedly. "Hopefully Halling and Oneakka are simply maintaining radio link silence because they are in close proximity to the Hive," she suggested, hopefully.

Massa nodded and then glanced down again. "I have the full transmission through from you now. I will pass this to the search team in hopes it can add more intel."

"Let me know the second you find something," Teyla could not help herself asking, though of course he would. Except, the battle with the Hive was surely about to start.

"If I cannot dial out from here," Massa replied, "I will go via the Honour Guard on Athos."

Teyla nodded gratefully and she did her best to show that in her smile. "Thank you, Massa."

"Yes, thank you, Honoured Elite," Colonel Carter added.

Massa nodded to the Colonel and then looked back at Teyla. "I will be in contact soon; I promise you."

Teyla nodded.

"To victory," he stated and then the screen went dark.

Teyla let out a slightly shaky breath. Oneakka and Halling were perhaps facing the Hive right now, and John was still lost...

"So we just wait?!" Dr McKay asked, clearly frustrated.

"For now," Colonel Carter answered him calmly before she turned towards Teyla. "Once we find where they're holding the Major, are we going to have a problem getting to them from the Gate if they're on a Genii controlled planet?"

Teyla met the woman's sharp eyes and understood all that she didn't have to ask. If it turned out that John was being held on one of the main Confederation planets, Cowen would likely already have orders in place not to allow Atlantis personnel onto any Genii soil without his prior approval. Any Atlantis staff arriving through the Portal would be stopped and held, and that would take up valuable time and likely become a political issue.

Then there was the likely fact that Kolya would have placed his own loyal people around the Portal on whichever planet it turned out to be. The moment they stepped through, Kolya would likely hear about it.

However, Teyla had already considered this with Si as soon as they had discovered John was held in Alliance territory. The plan was clear, though it would no doubt anger Cowen in the aftermath. For now though, it was the only way they were going to get around any Genii blockade around a Portal.

"We're going to need to use one of your cloaked Ancestral ships," she replied, knowing that the Colonel would understand much of the political risk in that considering Atlantis' new contract with the Alliance.

However, right now, Teyla didn't care about the political aftermath of such a decision, as she only cared about getting to John in time. Yes, it would likely be something that Cowen would jump on, and probably the High Council with him, but she knew, without any doubt, that the Elite would agree with her decision.

Colonel Carter nodded and a faint smile pulled at her lips. "It's already on standby."

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TBC