Note: Thank you so much for the rush of such kind reviews to the last two chapters. I will hopefully get the next chapter after this posted quickly too, as its going to be my birthday on Wednesday, so I want to get these two out for certain before I get 'distracted' with fun birthday stuff.
So here is chapter 39, which may hold yet another tiny cliff hanger or two...maybe.
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Chapter 39 – The Supreme Leader
Seeal gripped the side of the metal stretcher, helping the four person medical team lift it over the latest gap in the Hive's corridor floor. Alliance soldiers, escorting the way, reached in to help each time, lifting the heavy stretcher with its flashing medical boxes and screens set up around Oneakka's head.
It had taken an age for the medical team to reach her and Halling sat beside Oneakka's unconscious form.
She had sat through that endless waiting in complete silence, listening to Halling's tears and whispered pleas for Oneakka to stay with them, and watching each of Oneakka's breaths.
In the space at the base of his neck where the neckline of his armour allowed her to set her fingertips against his chest, she had lived through each in breath as Oneakka's chest rose and then each out breath as his chest relaxed.
Then through the excruciating pauses between each breath when she had held anxiously still, waiting to see if he would breathe in again.
And when his chest had lifted each time, the pattern had started over - the rise, the fall, and another aching pause.
The time had passed only by those individual cycles of his breaths; each one possibly the last.
Through that, she'd somehow lost all awareness or fear of the fact that she was sitting on the floor of a Hive and she had just witnessed each breath and listened to Halling's tearful whispers.
And then the medical team had smashed into that intimate space, quickly pushing her and Halling aside as they started working on Oneakka with rapid efficiency. Knelt close by, she'd watched them fit an oxygen mask over his face, inject him with several things, and then lift him up onto this stretcher.
Then the mad rush back through the hallways had begun.
Escorted on all sides by Alliance Military soldiers, the way was safe and the path cleared of dead Wraith, but the damage on the Hive had slowed things. There were holes in the floors, partially collapsed sections of wall, and the never-ending sense of time slipping away.
All she had been able to do was focus on helping push the stretcher, running along at the back of the thing, her attention shifting constantly between the structure of the corridor and Oneakka's pale, unmoving face. The monitors set around him meant nothing to her, but none of their displays had changed significantly, and there was still a fine mist inside the oxygen mask that reassured her that he was still breathing.
Occasionally a medic would reach in and press something to the side of Oneakka's throat only to then withdraw it again; the result presumably reassuring.
Nothing felt reassuring to Seeal.
It felt like it was taking a lifetime.
Perhaps Oneakka's lifetime.
The latest gap in the floor traversed, she adjusted her grip on the back railing of the stretcher and fixed her eyes back on Oneakka as the mad rush forward resumed.
He was still breathing.
But he was as pale as the coldest morning snow.
Then, beyond his unmoving face, she spied a dark doorway at the far end of the corridor ahead. And getting closer, she could see the desperately welcome sight of the Wraith fighter bay through it.
They were almost there.
He just needed to hold on.
She locked her eyes on the fast approaching doorway, seeing more of the bay revealed with each passing hurried second.
And then they were through it, bursting out into the cooler air of the bay.
There were more soldiers here, and off to the right the opalescent shape of an Alliance medic pod.
She'd heard about these specialist ships, seen schematics even, but she'd never seen one in the flesh. Small emergency medical response ships, they were essentially mobile medical bays, whose outer hull could be altered to be either pure black for flying through space, or this opalescent shade for atmosphere descent. Though only big enough to fit no more than ten people, the ships were just the right size to fly through a Portal.
As Oneakka's stretcher was turned around a sharp right turn, following the narrow walkway along the wall of the bay, she saw the back of the medic pod opening up. Inside the pod everything was the same strange pinkish white colour as the outside, the walls dotted with monitors and there were various tubes and unidentifiable things hanging from the ceiling ready for use.
Rising up from the floor of the pod there were two cradles, one of which held an empty stretcher and the other cradle stood ready to receive this one.
In a rushing fast push, she helped shove the stretcher up into the back of the pod and into the waiting cradle.
As soon as the stretcher locked loudly into place, the atmosphere shifted instantly into fast medical efficiency. Medical words were flowing back and forth as the medics stood on either side of Oneakka, the four of them working together. One was hooking him up to various new tubes, another was pulling down several of the hanging lines above and she watched another inject Oneakka's closest arm.
Keeping out the way as they worked, Seeal kept close to Halling's side, trusting him to know where best to stand. Her backside met the empty stretcher behind her and she looked round to the left to see the back of the pod was almost closed. The Alliance soldiers were still outside, presumably getting off the Hive some other way, and she heard Inifee discussing something with someone in her ear piece.
She just ignored all the noise though, instead she watched the medics' hands flowing over Oneakka.
They had already pulled his body armour off his chest, the brown breastplate set down on the floor without further interest. She looked down at his favourite armour, the crack in the base of it obvious and the entire thing was coated in his dried blood.
"Wound goes right through," one medic's voice rose a little higher over the others, drawing her attention back to the work. "Sterilising now."
"I've got elevated breath sounds and rapid pulse," another reported. It wasn't clear if any one of the four person team was the lead of the treatment.
The pod shifted under Seeal's boots and she reached out to steady herself at the abrupt movement. Her hand gripped a tight hold of Halling's warm arm next to her and she pressed her backside against the empty stretcher behind her.
"The pod will dock in a Fleet ship," Halling was suddenly telling her, "which will jump us to the nearest Portal and the pod will go through it back to the Training Facility."
Seeal snapped her eyes up at him. "They can't treat him on the Fleet ship?" Surely the Alliance Military Fleet could treat injured soldiers!
"The Facility has the very best of surgical healers," Halling replied, his eyes noticeably red. "And they'll have his saved blood stock ready."
Blood stock.
Seeal looked back round at Oneakka's deathly white face and chest. They were going to need a lot of blood for him.
"Holding position outside Hive," a disembodied voice announced loudly from above. It was presumably the pod's pilot sat in a small compartment separated at the front of the ship. "Awaiting decontamination."
One of the medics jabbed her elbow against something by the stretcher. "Patient prepared. Decontam proceeding." Then she looked round. "You both need to stand apart, arms out."
Halling pulled his arm from Seeal's hand and she looked round, seeing him show her how to stand, arms held out from her body. She moved away from the stretcher behind her, held her arms out like him, and saw that all the medics were doing the same.
"Decontam proceeding," the medic announced with another tap of her elbow and abruptly the light changed. A strange iliac coloured light blazed inside the pod, leaving weird greenish shadows across Seeal's vision, and then the air temperature started abruptly dropping, falling so cold that even she felt the urge to shiver. Her breath created large iliac coloured clouds in front of her face and she could see the medics and Halling visibly shivering. It was presumably all intended to kill Wraith cells or spores that might have gotten onboard with them, but she hadn't realised that the Alliance used cold rather than intense heat as part of the process.
And then, fortunately, the iliac light died away and she felt a burst of warm air around her, the clouds of her breaths dissipating.
"Decontam complete," the medic shouted this time. "Go! Go!"
The pod shuddered under Seeal's boots again as she blinked her eyes rapidly into the normal coloured light and focused back on Oneakka. They had rolled him onto his side now and the true extent of his shocking wound, gaping just below and to the right of his bellybutton, was horrifically obvious. A medic sprayed a last jet of water over the wound, the blood chasing away, and he began smearing a clear gel over the wound while another medic started placing small metal discs around the site.
A sharp bleep echoed suddenly through the air and all the medics snapped their attention to one monitor.
"Elevated heart reading," one explained.
"Breath sounds fading," another responded.
"Blood in?"
"One stock in, yes."
"Let's turn him."
Seeal watched as the four medics shifted Oneakka quickly over onto his back again with ridiculous ease considering how large a male he was.
"Hypovolemic shock," one stated. "I need more fluids."
"Pressure is still dropping."
The urgency in their fast exchanged words told her more than any of the new bleeps and flashing lights around Oneakka.
"Give him another dose of the 7-20," one ordered and a tube was pulled down from the ceiling and pressed against Oneakka's arm.
"Increasing oxygen mix."
"Give him the 6-20."
A larger tube was pulled down from the ceiling and this time it was pressed right into his chest, right by his Ugun glyph.
She felt Halling shifting next to her, his anxiety spiking through her as his arm brushed hers.
"Pressure dropping, I'm losing-"
A loud continuous bleep sounded.
"Another 6-20. Get shock ready."
Seeal watched in dazed deafness as they moved rapidly around him, medical hands pressing hard on his chest, trying to restart his heart.
She had never prayed; to who or what would she pray to?
But she found herself whispering one word over and over again as she watched.
Halling's word.
Stay.
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The new uniform felt crisp and immaculate under Kolya's hands as he smoothed it down. It smelt clean and fresh, newly tailored for him for this very day.
He drew in the scent of it, along with that ecstatic scent of the homeworld in the air around him, despite being several floors underground.
Though, like all his people, he had been born in an underground city, he had regularly worked on the surface and on missions off-world, so he could appreciate the scent of the homeworld's air more than most. The scent of freedom.
One which he'd missed so much that he had almost misted up within the hood of the thick coat he had worn when he'd snuck back here through the Portal only hours ago. Assisted by those most loyal, he'd had no difficulty returning in the end, despite everything that had happened and the years away. But, he'd had no time to draw in the experience any further.
Now though, he drank it in.
The scent of home, of victory, and his crisp new uniform – was there any headier experience?
He brushed his hands down the new sleeves, smoothing out the creases, and then tugged on the end of the cuffs, settling the fabric into place. It was far from the well worn comfort of the three threadbare uniforms he'd worn these past years, but it would not do for him to be seen by his people as anything less than a Supreme Leader.
Though, clearly Cowen's tastes had shifted into the far more extravagant over the last years while Kolya had been away. The mirror in which he checked the fit of his new uniform was a large oval and ornate thing, and, to the right, Cowen's large desk was gilded in gold. The carpet under Kolya's feet was indecently thick to the point of disgust, and the walls had elaborately nonsensical designs painted across them in further gold detailing.
How much of his people's wealth had been discarded to such luxuries? It was not the Genii way.
General Maloo appeared in the reflection, standing at taunt and tall attention. "Leader Kolya," he began.
"Yes, General?" Kolya replied as he tugged down the lower hem of the new jacket.
"Pranos has reported in again," Maloo stated. "Sheppard has been rescued."
Kolya lowered his hands from his uniform and let out an amused sigh. The man had an uncanny ability to avoid his own end.
Since Pranos' initial report that Sheppard had managed to escape his prison cell - having apparently chosen to work with the Wraith to do so - Kolya had suspected this outcome.
Once again Sheppard had displayed his ability to be unpredictable.
The Wraith's decision though was far more surprising.
He had not predicted that.
Maloo held still in the reflection, the unemotional expression and unmoving attention always present with the latest of those who had joined Kolya's mission.
"Who rescued him?" Kolya asked, curious at the detail.
"We have reports of a possible Ancestral ship landing outside the bunker," Maloo replied. "It is currently unaccounted for," he frowned, his first display of displeasure.
Or was that displeasure because Sheppard had been escaped? Kolya turned from his reflection and considered the General. The man had lost considerable face when he had lost the Political Marriage to Sheppard's last minute counter-offer, but Maloo had never admitted as much. He had already been persuaded to join Kolya's secret plans prior to that defeat, invited by Maloo's old friend, and former Ambassador, Hulte. However, Maloo had not agreed with Hulte's turn of loyalties and had willingly reported them to Kolya.
"Any update on Hulte's whereabouts?" Kolya asked, watching Maloo with casual curiosity.
"No further reports. We believe he is still on Athos," Maloo replied without flinch or frown.
Kolya nodded. "He'll no doubt request asylum from Torren."
"Should that be dealt with?" Maloo asked.
"No," Kolya ordered him quickly. "Killing Hulte under Leader Torren's nose would only serve to incriminate us." He turned back to the mirror. "And draw further wrath from Elite Emmagan. I assume she was present for the rescue?"
"Yes," Maloo replied, his tone still not betraying any hint of annoyance or resentment towards his almost-wife. "And another Elite warrior with her."
Kolya nodded as he ran his hands down his jacket, smoothing out the crisp new fabric again. He took a breath. "And what of Dahlia, Sora, and Tyrus?"
"We have found no sign of them," Maloo reported the regretful conclusion. "Dahlia apparently left her lab in the company of Sora ostensibly for a meal together, but neither have been seen since.
Kolya nodded. Ladon had admirably seen to his sister's safety before he had come here.
Though, Kolya could admit to himself that he had been somewhat relieved that Sora had not been here as well. He had regretted the moment he had learnt how close she had grown to Ladon, the fact having sealed her fate along with Ladon's betrayal. That she had not been here at least meant that Kolya had not had to kill her. Yet.
He did not look forward to the day when he would have to remove one of his own protégés. It was likely that she would correctly guess what had truly happened to Ladon, but that would have to be dealt with at a later point.
For now, he had won his victory. After all these many years of planning, even from before his excommunication, it had all been worth this moment.
"What of Pranos?" Maloo asked out of the reflection. "He sent his apologies for failing you."
Kolya switched his attention back to Maloo in the mirror. "Are they headed down to the underground city as planned?"
"Yes, they are headed to our first base, as agreed."
"Good," Kolya nodded.
"Sheppard and those from Atlantis have seen Pranos' face," Maloo noted. "Should we deal with that problem?"
Kolya turned back round at Maloo's blunt and almost amusing suggestion to the problem.
"No, General. Pranos and the others in his team knew that they will have to spend the rest of their days living underground away from sight of any off-worlders. It is the risk they accepted when they volunteered for the mission. They have served me, and our people, well and there has been enough Genii blood spilt today."
His eyes moved to the two large bloodstains across the excessively dense carpet.
"And what of the Ancestral ship?" Maloo asked as movement registered just outside the open doors of the office. Kolya watched Pendrick stride in and stop at straight-backed attention.
"Let those from Atlantis depart as they need to," Kolya ordered as he smiled at Pendrick, his most loyal of defenders and good friend.
"Supreme Leader," Pendrick began with relish. "Commander General Reed has begun speaking with the people gathering outside."
"Good," Kolya nodded and glanced back at his reflection. He did not normally put much faith or preoccupation in his appearance, but today was a momentous day and there were cameras outside recording events for prosperity and transmission throughout the Alliance.
He turned from the reflection and padded across the disgusting carpet towards the door. "Pendrick, see that this carpet is pulled up as soon as possible."
"It will be done within moments, Supreme Leader," Pendrick promised as Kolya headed into the hallway outside the office.
The hallway walls were lined with his new personal guard. He knew all their names, as he had served alongside some of them and had helped train the rest. Any of the personal guard who had not been loyal, or would have been unhappy with Cowen's ousting, had been quietly and carefully reassigned over the last year by Commander General Reed.
As Kolya moved down the hallway, Pendrick and Maloo following behind him, he exchanged nods with all of the guard.
Two further stretches of corridor led to a sharp right turn towards a grand two storey flight of marble stairs.
There was much that Kolya disagreed with regarding Cowen's mindset, tactics, and cowardliness, but he had respected Cowen for building the powerful statement that was The Palace and for having lived below it. It was wise for the Supreme Leader to be concealed below ground in Kolya's opinion, it was just that Cowen had lied about that fact to the people that he found reprehensible. Cowen had lied to the Genii people about many things, but that would end after today.
For today though, certain lies were necessary to facilitate a peaceful change of power.
As he started up the broad and echoing steps, Pendrick moved in a little closer behind his right shoulder. "Did the General tell you that we suspect an Ancestral Ship from Atlantis is in the air somewhere over First City?" Pendrick asked with clear concern on the matter.
"Yes, he did," Kolya replied to his new Security Lead. "I suspect they will either leave quietly or be on their way here now."
"How should we deal with such an event?" Pendrick asked as, behind them, the personal guard were quietly following them up the wide steps.
"We will deal with it calmly," Kolya told him, "and in full view of the watching crowd."
"Understood," Pendrick replied with a clear smile in his voice.
"The Elite are with them," Maloo put in from behind Kolya's other shoulder.
"The Elite are toothless in the arena of politics," Kolya replied as the top of the steps started to appear.
The Supreme Leader's battalion were waiting up there for him, lining The Palace's entrance lobby and watching over Commander General Reed's announcement outside. Already Kolya could hear Reed's voice drifting in from outside through the open doorway out of The Palace.
"Major Sheppard could be a significant threat to you," Maloo put in.
"He can say what he wants, but he is a political player now as well," Kolya replied as he climbed up the last steps. "We simply keep to the agreed story. It was unfortunate to anger Elite Emmagan, but there is little she can do as long as we do not in any way touch her husband again."
With Sheppard's survival, Elite Emmagan would know for certain that he had been behind the kidnapping of the Major, but Kolya had made very certain that there was no other physical evidence anywhere of his involvement. It would be Sheppard's word against his, and in the political arena of the Alliance, that was a verbal war that most would not be interested in for very long. The Elite would no doubt make loud and angry sounds, but they had more than enough to focus on following the reports of a new type of Hive terrorising the Alliance. His political position would soon be forgotten as an unimportant issue for them.
"Just ensure that, if they do come here, that they land outside for all to see them," Kolya instructed as he stopped in the bright clean marble lobby. It was a tall and wide space, the front of which was entirely windows. He took in the beautiful sight of the blue Genii sky shining in through the top windows, the tall elegant stone buildings taking up the middle windows, and the lowest showed the backs of some of the battalion lining the windows outside and Commander General Reed's back at the podium as he spoke to their people.
The crowd outside had been seeded thickly with loyalists from within First City and many more in from Second City, but news of Cowen's end had already drawn a larger crowd. Cowen's excessive hand of late had truly made him an enemy of the people.
They needed someone to believe in.
To be the leader they wanted.
He was happy to be that person.
And he had made sure that the idea of him as an alternative to Cowen had been seeded into minds for some time now. His people needed to believe in themselves again, and he would represent that for them.
"...those responsible have unfortunately fled," Reed's voice drifted into the lobby. "But they will all be brought to justice and pay for their cruel and evil actions this day."
The crowd applauded.
Kolya smiled towards the Reed's back, the highest General of the homeworld. He suspected that there were few who had known that Cowen's apparently most loyal and highly decorated Commander General had actually been secretly helping Kolya plot the man's end.
It had been the Commander General who had been the one to initially warn Kolya of Cowen's intentions to kill him following the failure in capturing Atlantis. If it had not been for Reed, Kolya might not have escaped into his excommunication. Reed had also helped plant the idea of Cowen's lies about his death into the ears of the most powerful in the military ranks. It had been through Reed that Kolya had been able to persuade and enable his complete takeover of the military ranks, and then the people's growing dissatisfaction had been an easier second task. Though it had taken time to find the right way to defeat Cowen, and the plan had gone through various incarnations along the way, the day was finally here.
He was home and he was victorious.
"Once they are captured," Reed continued to the crowd outside, "we will also be charging them with the illegal incarceration of Commander Kolya. I am pleased to report that, despite his long incarceration by Cowen, the Commander is in excellent health and was honoured by the Generals' request that he assume the duties of Supreme Leader immediately."
A cheer went up at that, the sound growing louder as the applause and reaction spread among the crowd. Those seeded in the large assembly would ensure the right responses were accelerated through the crowds for the cameras to see and hear.
For this transmission was already being sent out across the news links to all the worlds of the Alliance. It was important that he be seen as accepted by his people before any political reactions from elsewhere in the Alliance arrived.
He shifted his gaze back up to the higher windows, seeking through the blue sky for any hint of an Ancestral ship approaching. Of course the ships used by Atlantis had cloaking shields, but he suspected the ship would be visible when it arrived. For now though, he saw no hint in the beautiful afternoon sky.
"I am pleased to present to you," Reed's voice rose, drawing Kolya's attention back to him, "our lost brother, now returned to us, Supreme Leader Kolya."
The crowd applauded.
Kolya tugged down the hem of his new uniform jacket once more and strode forward, moving through the open Palace entrance and out into full view of his people.
The roar of cheers rose higher as he lifted one hand and moved up towards the podium. The large military courtyard set a few feet below the podium was fit to bursting with people and, from the buildings surrounding the courtyard, he could see people hanging out of every window and looking down from the rooftops.
Hands waved, people cheered and clapped, and he smiled widely for all to see.
As he stepped up to the podium, Reed turned to him and held out his arm. Kolya clasped Reed's forearm in his hand and leant into a half embrace. It was important for everyone to see that the military had truly accepted him, but it was also a truly felt moment as well.
He pulled back and exchanged a smile with Reed. Reed squeezed his forearm before releasing him and then indicated the podium for him as the Commander General stepped back.
Kolya moved up to the audio pickup and looked out across the sea of faces, all staring up at him, and he waited for the noise to subside a little.
"As you can no doubt tell," he told them, his voice electronically echoing louder across the courtyard, "reports of my demise were greatly exaggerated."
The crowd laughed.
"It is good to be free again," he said. "To walk among you all again, even if this day is shrouded by the horrendous act of an assassination on our home soil." The noise across the courtyard lowered a little, everyone all too interested in the macabre details of Cowen's end.
"These past two years have been dark days for us all," he continued soberly. "However, Cowen's rule, that was both aggressive and weak in equal parts, is now at an end. Though I know that we all regret the actions of one of Cowen's own in the assassination, that act has enabled all of us new freedom. Though one man acted, it was from a rebellion that you all started in your protests and questions of Cowen's excessive authority. For we are Genii, and we do not surrender to force and we do not bow to ancient gods or monsters."
Cheers roared up at the old well-known phrase, told to all Genii children.
"We are one of the founder worlds of the Alliance," he continued louder. "We are a vital force within the defiance we helped lead against the oppression of the Wraith. And today, we are freed again from the oppression of one man and his domination."
More cheers rose into the air.
"When I was freed, I was led into this grand palace behind me, which is a most victorious example of Genii strength and skill, but I have seen the extravagance and wealth that Cowen used to decorate his own living quarters hidden underneath this towering stone Palace."
Some booed that revelation and it rippled out across the crowd.
"While you lived in the light, facing the old fears of the Wraith, he lived underground in the dark, surrounded by gold and wasted wealth," Kolya continued. "I promise you that all that wealth will be removed from the Palace and be used for the good of all of us."
The crowd roared in heady delight.
"We will ensure that every Genii, whether living underground or on the surface, are equally protected from the Wraith and from any who would try to enforce their will upon us."
The cheers and applause rose even higher now, the elation spreading among the crowd to a constant pitch of celebration.
Kolya smiled out over the cheering people, making sure not to look straight into the cameras recording the speech, he was instead watching his people. But a little needed to be added to ensure he was not seen as a threat to others.
"We are committed to our founding and active participation in the Alliance," he added, lifting his voice higher over the cheering. "In the High Council, in the Military Council, in the Military Fleet, and in all the other ways we fight in the battle against the Wraith. In the ore we provide for the metals that are forged into battleships, and the harvests that help fill the bellies of Alliance warriors. We will once again celebrate that we are a beating heart of the Alliance."
As the roars rose again, Reed shifted up to his side.
Kolya leant away from the audio pick up on the podium.
"The Atlantis ship is inbound, uncloaked," Reed reported quietly.
Kolya nodded calmly, so all would see that nothing was wrong. "Direct them to land over there," he indicated the raised platform to one side of the Palace's entrance. It was designed for military ships to land in an emergency, but it would work well as a platform to meet Sheppard and the Elite in full view of the crowd and the cameras.
Reed nodded and moved away. Kolya turned back to his people and lifted both his hands requesting silence.
The cheering dropped quickly, all eyes and ears curious at the whispered discussion.
"I am allowed now to report to you that, unfortunately, I was not the only captive held by Cowen. We have learnt that, in recent days, Cowen had the audacity to capture the Lantean soldier, Major Sheppard, husband to one of the greatest Elite warriors."
The crowd reacted in predicted surprise. There were loud boos and shouts.
"However, I can confirm that Atlantis, along with our Honoured Elite, have successfully freed Major Sheppard."
The crowd cheered, while, in the far distance, Kolya could now see the approaching dark dot of the Atlantis Ancestral ship.
"Commander General Reed has just informed me that Atlantis and the Elite are inbound here now," Kolya pointed up to the sky where the Ancestral ship was fast taking shape.
The entire vast crowd looked up and round.
Kolya stepped away from the podium, Reed and Pendrick falling in beside him as he headed towards the raised platform. The personal guard had already moved ahead, encircling the platform and one soldier was waving in the Ancestral ship.
"If things do not go to plan?" Reed asked as they walked, both of them keeping their expressions calm, even pleased.
"They will not risk doing anything publically," Kolya replied.
Most of the Genii hadn't seen an Ancestral ship before, so all eyes were fixed up on the ship with unhidden awe as it paused in the sky, turned round to face the other way and then began lowering in an impressive vertical descent to the platform.
The air stirred wild and rough around Kolya as the ship landed, its back hatch starting to open.
Kolya moved forward, Reed and Pendrick with him as he headed up the small number of steps onto the platform.
The ship's hatch was just touching the platform as Kolya turned into view of the back of the Ancestral ship, to see a very crowded group of faces looking out at him from inside the packed craft.
They were all noticeably armed with their dangerous Earth weapons, but Kolya's attention was drawn instantly to Sheppard, stood at the front of them all.
Sheppard's eyes locked onto Kolya as he strode out and down the back hatch of the ship.
Sheppard was has he had used to be – unaffected by the Wraith feedings.
Kolya controlled his shocked reaction and instead looked out to his right, where his people were watching with wide fascinated eyes. He indicated the approaching Major, and then, a pace behind the Major, Elite Emmagan appeared and the crowd cheered even louder.
From what Kolya had seen of the news links and intel reports recently, Sheppard and Elite Emmagan had become the subject of much attention within the Alliance. An Alliance crowd could always be trusted to be fascinated and excited at the sight of an Elite warrior, especially one as famous as Emmagan, but clearly his people were especially delighted to see the two of them together in the flesh.
However, clearly Emmagan was not interested in the appreciative crowd, for her glare was fixed on him with near murderous intent.
He bowed his head respectfully to her as she approached him.
Behind her, two other men had followed, one a large Elite warrior and the other was dressed in the uniform of Atlantis. Kolya couldn't recall the Elite warrior's name, but recalled that he was also Athosian.
Kolya switched his attention back to Sheppard who was headed directly towards him, the man's expression almost as fierce as his wife's deadly glare.
Reed shifted his shoulder a little into Sheppard's path as the Lantean man arrived in front of Kolya, stopping only a short threatening distance away.
"Kolya," Sheppard practically growled.
"Major Sheppard," Kolya greeted him loudly and with a smile. "It is good to see that you too survived Cowen's imprisonment."
Sheppard frowned at that, his face twisted into a picture of complete disbelief. "Cowen?! That's the story you're going with here?"
"I was just explaining to those watching, and those watching through the recording devices, that you too were also a victim of Cowen's lust for power."
Sheppard glanced towards the watching audience, as if only just realising they were there, and the crowd cheered instantly at his attention. Sheppard's face pulled into a slightly awkward smile.
A group of younger female Genii stood near the front were clearly audible in their screaming pleasure at seeing him.
Sheppard looked away from the audience with a frown.
"Perhaps we should discuss this inside," Elite Emmagan stated from Sheppard's side.
Kolya turned his attention to her. "No, I think out here is just fine."
The other Lantean male moved up to Sheppard's other side, crowding in closer than necessary and his glare hard. Kolya turned his gaze on the man, recognising him now from surveillance images. Colonel Sumner, the military Lead of Atlantis.
Kolya had not met the man before, since the Colonel had not been in Atlantis when the great storm had hit the city when Kolya had led his strike team into the city. Kolya had always wondered how the military man had taken that.
He considered the man in the flesh now, impressed by the clear military intensity and strong fierce determination in his level angry gaze.
"I was just telling my people how I have also been a captive of Cowen, having just been released after his assassination," Kolya supplied them with the official story they were going to have to accept.
"Your lies will not work on us," Elite Emmagan was the one to reply as she stepped further forward, her dark eyes drilling into him as she moved into his personal space.
He was aware of Pendrick and Reed tensing slightly, shifting into defensiveness.
Kolya simply smiled, after all it was important that this discussion appear friendly for those watching, and, besides, there was nothing Atlantis or the Elite could do now.
"You think you can take my husband, declare war on Atlantis, and not insult the Elite with this act?" Emmagan demanded.
Kolya lowered his head a fraction, appearing slightly subservient to the Elite warrior. "That is quite an accusation you are making, Honoured Elite," he replied gently. "Do you have any evidence to prove such charges?"
She glared at him. "My husband saw you," she stated, but he could already see that she knew she had no physical evidence. He had made sure as much.
"From what I understand from my Generals here," Kolya replied, shifting his gaze to Sheppard who was stood that little bit too close, his breathing hard, "Major Sheppard has been through a horrific ordeal, so it is entirely understandable that it has left him a little confused."
"Confused?!" Sheppard objected instantly.
"Incarceration and torture can do awful things to a mind," Kolya replied to Sheppard. "I have been through the same myself as a prisoner of Cowen for this last year, held under this very building."
"That's bullshit," Sheppard accused angrily, jabbing a pointed finger at him.
"We know that you have not been under this Palace for the last year, Kolya," Emmagan stated.
Kolya turned his gaze back to her. "Again I have to ask, Honoured Elite, what evidence do you have of that exactly?"
"We know you worked with Iketani on Dreamstation," Emmagan replied.
"I am afraid you are mistaken," Kolya replied calmly. "I did pass through Dreamstation when I was initially forced to flee from my people by Cowen's threat on my life. Perhaps the Elite woman was on Dreamstation at the same time I was there. I was able to survive outside the border for almost a year before Cowen's strike team captured me and brought me back here. In fact," he pretended to consider a thought, "now I think of it, I seem to recall seeing the Elite traitor here with Cowen during my imprisonment. She must have been working with Cowen."
"We have images of you on Dreamstation far more recent than that," Emmagan replied.
"Really?" Kolya asked, surprised despite himself. "I am not sure who provided those to you, but I can assure you they are clearly from before my incarceration."
He had not known that the Elite had used surveillance in Dreamstation; as far as he was aware, they hadn't taken any interest in the station until after Iketani' unfortunate choice to try and assassinate Torren and his family. After that, Kolya had made sure never to return to the station.
"I would be very interested to see those doctored images and help you find those lying to you about their origin," Kolya continued to Emmagan. "I am sure that an Alliance Court of Law would also help us find those responsible."
Emmagan narrowed her eyes at him.
It was risky to push her, since there was the possibility that she wasn't going to pay any mind to the political and legal ramifications of bringing such public criminal charges against him. For anything the Elite had on Dreamstation would, if made public, only result in interesting questions about why they had been allowing known criminals to continue their work there in the first place. Why had the Elite, hunters of Wraith, been spending their time and resources spying on a Human station outside Alliance space? And how widespread was the knowledge within the Alliance that there even been an Elite traitor? He suspected that was something they would not be eager to make public. These were the kinds of questions that were clearly going through Emmagan's mind as she stared at him.
Along with an assessment of the ramifications on her if she decided to kill him here and now.
He simply watched her, waiting for her to reach her own inevitable conclusion.
She was far more petite than he had realised, but her presence was far bigger. He could see Torren clearly in her features and in the fast working of her mind as she considered the political implications of any action. She was her father's daughter far more than Kolya had expected.
But, unlike the overtly peaceful and calm Torren, a clear edge of violence hung around her.
Reed shifted in his place, not moving close to her, but reminding her of his presence.
Kolya held her gaze.
She would not risk attacking him, especially not in full view of all to see.
She had nothing to use again him.
He saw her reach that ultimate conclusion too. She took a deep breath and let it out, her cheeks flexing as she clenched her jaw.
She took a fraction of a step backwards, the threat of aggression sliding away with that simple move. Her eyes stayed on him though, and he knew, without doubt, that she would be watching him closely for the rest of his days.
Though, considering the usual lifespan of an Elite warrior, it was more than likely that he would far outlive her.
"I will not forget this," she stated. "And the Elite will not let this pass without consequences, Kolya."
"Supreme Leader Kolya," Reed corrected from her side.
Emmagan snapped her deathly glare round at the Commander General.
"And I am addressed as 'Honoured Elite'," she retaliated.
Reed nodded his head a fraction, his eyes lowering, but his point had been bravely made.
"I understand your anger, Honoured Elite," Kolya told her calmly, her dark eyes returning to him. "But, rest assured, Cowen is dead so there is no longer any threat to your Honoured Husband."
She narrowed her eyes at him again, clearly having under stood his point. He did not need to retaliate against Sheppard any further anyway; the Major had fulfilled his usefulness. This victory over the man alone made up for the bullet wound that still faintly ached when the weather was damp. Though, being back here on the homeworld, that would hopefully be a rarity now.
Kolya slid his gaze to Sheppard's glare.
Sheppard was staring almost as aggressively as his wife, his fists clearly tight at his sides, but if he had intended to do something, he would have done it by now. He was simply raging against the reality that he had lost.
Kolya suspected that Iketani would have loved this moment of victory over Emmagan and her alien husband.
"You have not heard the last of this, Kolya," Emmagan threatened, clearly choosing not to use his new title.
He looked back at her. "I would have thought you would be pleased to have your husband returned to you so clearly unharmed, so you can return to your good work defending the Alliance from the Wraith. I am sure the Elite do not need to concern themselves with the simple changes of planetary governments." Her nostrils flared at the subtle insult. "Or have the Elite entered into politics while I have been imprisoned?" He added, tilting his head towards her.
Sheppard shifted, one of his hands lifting, his mouth opening to deliver some choice angry words, but Colonel Sumner moved forward instead, partly blocking the Major as the mature man leaned into Kolya's space.
Kolya met the Colonel's eyes, easily seeing the wealth of experience and determination in them.
"Supreme Leader," Sumner started politely but the tone was like granite. "You can have your political conversations here in the Alliance about what you've done today all you like. But I don't give a crap about Alliance politics," Sumner stated.
"Colonel Sumner, I presume?" Kolya interrupted the threat.
The Colonel didn't answer though, which only confirmed a great deal about him. He instead leaned a little further forward, well into Kolya's personal space.
Kolya lifted his chin, but refused to step back. It did him no harm for those looking on to see someone from Atlantis behaving threatening; in fact it could be useful politically. However, in this current moment, the Colonel clearly really didn't care about such things, and that could be a real threat.
"You took one of my people," Sumner stated simply. "You declared war on Atlantis with that move and we won't forget that. We may not be able to do anything against you today, but I swear, if you, or any of your lackeys, touch one of my people again – or if Major Sheppard even gets so much as a nasty cold while he's in Alliance territory – I will kill you."
Kolya held the man's glare, believing every word of the threat.
This wasn't a man of politics and arguments. He was a man of action and Kolya respected that
"Do we understand each other?" Colonel Sumner asked.
Kolya smiled back at him and his frank honesty. "Indeed we do, Colonel Sumner, and I suggest that it is time that you take your people back to Atlantis and off Genii soil. And if you bring a cloaked ship into any Genii territory again, there will be significant retaliation."
Sumner's threatening eyes hardened, but the message was clearly received. The lines had been drawn.
Sumner held the staring match a beat longer and then abruptly turned away. "Major," he commanded Sheppard as he marched back towards the Ancestral ship. "We're leaving this shithole."
Kolya ignored the insult and turned his attention back to Sheppard and his obvious fury.
Sheppard didn't look like he was anywhere near ready to retreat with his superior.
He didn't want to admit his clear defeat.
Kolya held Sheppard's gaze, the man's face flushed with impotent rage.
On Sheppard's other side, Emmagan turned to follow Colonel Sumner. "We must leave," she told her husband.
Kolya smiled at Sheppard. "Thank you for visiting me on my first day as Supreme Leader," he said loudly for those watching to hear. "I am so very pleased to see that you too have survived Cowen's heavy hand."
Sheppard's eyes narrowed. "This isn't over," he threatened.
He had lost.
Kolya smiled at him. "I would be disappointed if it were."
00000
TBC