Part: 40/43
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Chapter 40 – The Stars
John could barely contain the urge to smack Kolya in his disgustingly smug mouth.
Teyla's hand touched lightly against his arm, asking him to follow her and Sumner back to the Jumper, but he couldn't just leave.
He couldn't let Kolya win!
He'd used John like a pawn in his political dance so he could become King of the Genii. And he'd used a damn Wraith to do it!
John couldn't just walk away.
Teyla's hand dropped from his elbow, but he could feel her still stood close by, waiting for him.
Then a large warm hand settled on John's shoulder, which was definitely not Teyla's.
"Sheppard," Si' deep voice said gently from behind John's shoulder. John understood what Si was saying, his warning, understanding, and the obvious suggestion that it really was time to leave.
To walk away.
John's fists hurt he was clenching them so tightly at his sides.
Just one punch into Kolya's smug, evil face...
Kolya smiled back.
All that pain of the feedings, it was all for nothing because Kolya had won.
If it hadn't been for Todd, John knew he would never have made it out of that bunker. Even with the Honour Guard turning up, if he and Todd hadn't worked together, hadn't gotten up to the top level to be rescued...
It hit John then that, in that at least, Kolya hadn't won. He'd meant for John to die in that bunker, alone and his body probably never found. But John had made it out and was even back to his usual self again.
Kolya couldn't have planned for that.
John smiled at Kolya, that small victory suddenly really important.
Kolya frowned faintly at the change of expression.
It was another little win.
"I'll be seeing you around," John told him and turned away quickly, Si' hand falling from his shoulder and the big Elite shifted out of his way as John headed quickly towards the Jumper.
John didn't look back as he strode to the back hatch and headed up it quickly before he changed his mind and did something that would look real bad on the Alliance media reports.
Teyla and Si were presumably following him, but he didn't look back as he moved up into the Jumper and through the waiting slot between Cadman and Ford, the two of them at the edge of the crowded Jumper, watching over him.
He felt Cadman's hand touch the back of his shoulder in sympathy and support, and he nodded to her as he moved further into the ship, aware of Teyla and Si moving in behind him.
His teeth were hurting he was clenching them together so hard as he stopped inside the cool shade of the Jumper, and steadfastly kept his back to the watching Kolya outside.
"Get us out of here, Matthews," Sumner ordered over the sounds of the hatch closing behind him.
John just focused on controlling the urge to smack his fist into something.
"Yes, Sir!" Matthews called back from the front of the ship with clear pleasure in the order. "Taking us to the Genii Gate."
John looked up and forward, but he found himself meeting Rodney's eyes. Rodney was stood ahead of him among a tight press of Marines, his eyes wide and round, full of worry for him. John didn't want to have to admit that he really kind of needed that sympathy right now.
He smiled at his friend as best he could and McKay smiled back in that slightly awkward way of his.
John let out a breath, his head pounding with frustration as he watched the view out the far front of the Jumper shifting as Matthews took them up and away from Kolya, and John forced himself to finally open his fists. He looked down at his hands, seeing the deep marks of his fingernails embedded in his palms.
"So Kolya just gets away with it?!" Ford said towards the back.
"No Lieutenant Ford," Teyla was the one to answer him. "The Elite will not let this pass. Nor will my Father."
John's legs were feeling weak, not from exhaustion but because he could feel the anger and adrenaline starting to seep out of him. He needed to sit down.
He turned towards the bench on the left and found that the only space available was night next to Todd, so he sat down next to the Wraith with a heavy sigh.
Todd shifted slightly and John looked round to see Todd nod at him. John wasn't sure what the nod meant, but, oddly, it seemed to help. He sort of smiled back and then lowered his eyes to floor as he rubbed his aching forehead.
He'd had a lot of adrenaline in his system today, and he couldn't believe that Kolya had bloody won!
"...right, we have no evidence it was him," a discussion was going on at the back of the Jumper. "We will have to use other methods," Si was saying.
"Like a bullet you mean?" A Marine asked quietly, but it was loud enough in the Jumper to be heard.
Someone scoffed.
"The Elite cannot assassinate a planetary leader," Si replied sternly. "Then we would be no better than Kolya."
"If he was the one who killed Cowen," Ford protested, "there has to be evidence proving it."
"He will have concealed it," Teyla replied, her voice moving closer.
John looked up to see her move through the semi-circle of Marines watching over Todd.
She stopped in front of Todd and the Wraith looked up at her calmly.
"Did you recognise that man out there?" Teyla asked Todd.
"Oh yes," Todd replied in his amused and strangely weird Wraith voice. "I have seen him many times."
"In the bunker you and Major Sheppard were held in?" Teyla asked.
"No, not in that prison," Todd clarified, "but in all the others."
"Somehow I don't think anyone's going to accept Wraith testimony against Kolya," Rodney put in and John had to agree with him.
"Kolya is one of the most dangerous Humans I have ever met," Todd continued. "Present company excluded," he added to Teyla.
John saw Teyla's surprise at Todd's humour and the odd kind of respect he'd just shown her. She frowned and glanced at John. He met her eyes, her dark beautiful eyes that he'd never thought he'd see again.
"I told you, he's kind of different," John smiled up at her.
"Kolya is a particularly intelligent and cruel Human," Todd continued. "He killed many of my kind, but also many Humans as well."
John looked round at Todd. "Prisoners like me?" he asked.
Todd nodded back. "I believe he was conducting experiments on my kind's feeding and also obtaining information from his Human captives for his own means."
"He used you as a method of torture to extract information from people?" Teyla asked.
"Yes," Todd replied with feeling.
"Information about what?" Sumner asked from the circle of watching faces.
Todd shrugged his shoulders. "Many things," he said offhandedly.
"Such as?" Teyla pushed.
"I do not recall it all, it was mostly about Human endeavours," Todd replied.
Teyla moved closer to Todd, standing right up near his knees.
John tensed at seeing her so close to Todd, which was stupid because he was sitting just as close to the Wraith.
"If you are looking to be freed as my Honoured Husband has requested," Teyla said in a low and somewhat scary tone, "then I suggest that you make yourself more useful to us."
Todd lifted his head a little, his white hair falling away from his closest cheek, exposing the starburst tattoo around his left eye. John found himself looking across at Teyla's line of tattoos running down her throat.
"The information was about his own people, I believe," Todd replied, "and about those from Atlantis."
"What information did he want about Atlantis?" Teyla pressed.
"Planets Atlantis has visited, their trading outside the Armoured Herd's territory," Todd replied.
"He means the Alliance," John translated that for everyone.
"Did he get any information about the city itself?" Sumner asked, pushing in closer to Teyla. "Our defences?"
"Not that I recall," Todd shook his head. "My impression was that it was all intended to find the moment to capture Major Sheppard while he was away from your city." Todd looked round at John again. "They had been planning your capture for some time."
"How long?" John asked.
"I do not know how long I was held captive, but," Todd considered with a light frown, "it must have been years at least."
"Probably since they failed to take the city," Cadman suggested.
"Many of the bunkers we've already searched on that list of Kolya's known locations had cells in them," someone reported from behind Teyla. "Metal bars, chains."
"Sounds familiar," John muttered.
"Then we may have already recovered some useful intel from their computers there," Teyla considered.
"Kolya won't have left anything behind that was useful," John suggested. "He's been too clever for that."
"Can you provide the Portal addresses for the planets you were held on?" Teyla asked Todd.
"I was stunned unconscious for each move to a new prison," Todd answered her. "I have no idea where I was held."
Teyla frowned suspiciously.
"He had no idea we were on the Genii homeworld," John supplied.
Teyla's eyes moved back to him. She believed him even if she didn't believe a word Todd was saying. John felt weirdly like he was acting as Todd's defence attorney here.
Teyla looked back to Todd. "What other information can you provide to us?" She asked.
Todd considered her in a silent beat. "You are intending to hold me prisoner for this information?" He asked her.
John shifted his gaze from Todd to Teyla and back again.
It occurred to John that an Elite would probably be the last person to ever let a Wraith go free.
But he'd promised Todd that he would.
"We promised to take you off the Genii homeworld safely," Teyla supplied, the rest left unsaid.
She wasn't going to let him go.
It was probably the right choice, but John felt instantly bad about it.
"I could be far more valuable to you free," Todd replied.
All eyes shifted back to the Wraith. The semi-circle of Marines, Sumner and Si, all watching intently, as if watching some gripping daytime tv show.
"How so?" Teyla asked doubtfully.
"We're coming up to the Gate, Colonel," Matthews supplied from the front.
"Hold position near it," Sumner replied, his eyes staying on Todd.
"Yes, Sir," Matthews replied.
"Before my capture," Todd replied, "I held considerable status among my kind. Though it will take me some time to rebuild my position, once I regain it, I would perhaps be inclined to direct our focus away from Atlantis and the Armoured Herd."
"Where you will continue to feed on other innocent Humans trapped in your held territory," Teyla pointed out, clearly not approving of that plan.
"I would be more than happy to promise only to feed upon my own kind if that would help," Todd suggested. John glanced at him unsure if that had been a joke or if Todd was honesty trying to negotiate his release with that comment.
"There are far fewer Queens left among the stars due to your kind," Todd continued to Teyla. "It takes many years for a newly birthed Queen to mature, so in their place, high status Hive Primaries, such as I was for a very long time, are the ones who are commanding battles and overseeing cullings."
John saw Teyla's interest focus in on that.
"They have the same status as a Queen in leading the Hives?" Teyla asked.
"Not quite," Todd replied. "Such a Primary position must be held through respect and leadership."
"You were alive during the days of the Ancestors," Teyla told Todd rather than asked him.
"Yes," Todd nodded slowly. "I have lived to see many things. Though I have not seen your kind reach the level of advancement you currently hold."
"Times change," Teyla replied.
"Indeed they do, but, for Wraith, things do not change so quickly," Todd replied.
"What if they could?" Rodney's voice cut in.
John looked round as Rodney pushed himself into the semi-circle of Marines. "What if there was a way that we could help your kind stop needing to feed on people?" He asked Todd, his voice a little shaky while talking to a Wraith.
Todd angled his head round towards Rodney.
"Dr McKay," Sumner's deep growl warned Rodney, not that Rodney would listen to him.
"Not feed?" Todd asked McKay, clearly thrown by the suggestion.
"Colonel Sumner," Matthew's voice interrupted the conversation. "The Genii Gate guards are asking why we aren't leaving."
"Has the General and Mr Woolsey's team gone through yet?" Sumner called back.
"No, Sir," Matthews replied.
Sumner tapped his radio. "General O'Neill, I suggest you and your team go back to the city. We'll follow you through, or maybe make a little side trip on the way home."
"Sightseeing?" General O'Neill's voice replied from the Jumper's speakers.
"We're in negotiations with the Wraith we captured," Sumner replied. "It may be willing to supply us with information in return for its release."
"Then bring it back to the city and we'll sort it out there."
"I will not assist you if I am your prisoner as I was to Kolya," Todd stated, playing his one and only card.
"We'll have this done in five, General," Sumner replied. "But, I suggest you go through now, and take some time about it so we have the time we need here."
"Understood," O'Neill replied. "But don't hang around. I want you back in Atlantis within the hour, understood?"
"Yes, Sir," Sumner replied.
"That's only another twenty minutes, Colonel," the General continued.
"Understood, General. We'll see you back in the city in twenty." Sumner tapped his radio off and looked down the Jumper. "Matthews, tell me when they've gone through."
"Yes, Sir."
Rodney had pushed through the semi-circle round Todd now, but was keeping to John's left. "We have a possible treatment we're working on," Rodney told Todd. "Something that could mean that you wouldn't need to feed on Humans anymore."
Todd frowned up at Rodney. "You have this weapon?"
"No, it's not ready," Rodney confessed, and John saw Sumner glare at the scientist angrily. "And it's not a weapon. Look, our research suggests that you're not all that different from us, genetically speaking." Todd let out a faint hissing sigh like he'd been insulted. "We know that when your Queens are young they eat food like us, and you have all the necessary working digestive system."
"Such consumption does not sustain us," Todd replied.
"But what if it could?" Rodney pushed, talking quickly as if he expected Sumner to shut him down at any second. "What if you didn't need to kill people to survive? What if the Hives didn't have to compete with each other over territories?"
John watched Todd take in the idea, his forehead creasing in a way John didn't know Wraith could frown. The idea of the retrovirus was clearly unexpected and weird to him.
"It could be the only way there's ever gonna be peace between our people," John supplied.
Todd glanced at him. "And then what?" He asked.
John didn't know quite what to say to that.
"All bets are off?" Todd suggested, the unexpected humour returning in his voice.
John looked into Todd's strange alien eyes, realising that he was already kind of getting used to them now.
Todd looked back up to Teyla. "If you release me, and once I have regained my standing among the Hives, I will consider this treatment."
"Just like that?" Sumner put in doubtfully.
"Releasing him is a significant risk," Si added.
Teyla looked towards Si and then to Colonel Sumner, the two looking at each other.
"He's just one Wraith," John found himself putting in, and couldn't quite believe he was saying it.
Teyla looked round at him and John could see the conflict in her face. This probably went against every fibre of her being and he felt kind of bad that he was asking this of her, especially considering all they'd been through of late. But, he'd given Todd his word and he honestly thought it was worth the risk releasing a possible future ally.
"Or we just kill him now," Sumner put in bluntly.
"And lose the opportunity to have a Hive Primary inclined towards peaceful discussions with both Atlantis and the Elite?" Todd interjected, not sounding the least bit nervous.
"You've been living in a hole for years," Sumner replied.
"True," Todd conceded. "But I worked alongside some of the most ancient and strongest Queens of our kind. It will not take me long to regain my footing."
"You're so certain of that?" Teyla asked him.
"Yes," Todd replied confidently. "With so much war and fewer Queens, it is in my own interests that I do not become a focus of your killing spree into our territory. And in the future, when I can meet you with more influence on my side, perhaps we can find a way to use your treatment research to find peace between our kinds."
Teyla stared at Todd, clearly not convinced.
A faint crease formed over her nose as she stared wide-eyed at Todd, which John suspected meant that she was up to something he couldn't see; using her Seeker power probably. If Todd was fooling them all, then she'd pick up on it.
She let out a soft breath and the crease above her nose disappeared. "He appears to be honest in his thinking," she supplied to everyone listening. "But then his desire to live is far stronger."
"I can sympathise with that," John put in.
Teyla looked at him again and he saw a play of emotions quickly cross her beautiful face. He smiled gratefully up at her; for coming here and helping save him, for hopefully agreeing to his probably crazy promise to a Wraith.
Teyla sighed lightly as she looked Si. "It is just one Wraith. It may, indeed, be worth the risk," she reiterated John's points and he felt a desperate burst of relief that she understood.
Si nodded his dark head, not saying anything, but apparently agreeing.
"If you agree, Colonel Sumner," Teyla added to the Colonel, and abruptly all eyes in the circle now turned to Sumner.
"I think it's worth the risk," John put in his opinion again, Sumner glancing down at him. "Like he said, it's in his own interests not to piss us off."
Todd chuckled at that.
Sumner looked at Si and then Teyla. "We can drop him off on a nearby Wraith held planet."
John was actually pretty surprised at the Colonel's decision, but wasn't about to question it. No doubt he'd question it plenty in the weeks ahead though, but, right now, he still felt he owed this to Todd. If it hadn't been for Todd, Kolya really would have won everything and John wouldn't be going home again.
Teyla looked back at Todd. "Alright, Wraith. We will honour my Husband's agreement with you."
Todd nodded as he smiled.
"But," Teyla added as she moved right up to Todd and leaned in over him, seeming suddenly twice her size as her shadow covered the tall seated Wraith, "if I see you on the battlefield harming any Humans, I will not stay my hand." Each word had been slowly and precisely delivered. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes," Todd replied simply.
Teyla kept her glare on Todd, unmoving.
John watched in shocked admiration of the presence and forcefulness of her as she stared down the Wraith.
He'd seen her fighting the Wraith, he'd seen her standing up to Iketani and plenty of bad guys, but he'd never seen her like this.
She was fearless and powerful, and he had to work hard not to gape up at her.
Seeming to finally accept Todd's agreement, she slowly straightened up, but she took her time doing in, her eyes still fixed on Todd, and John caught a few impressed glances passing between the Marines around her.
His wife, the Wraith threatener.
And suddenly, even though Kolya had gotten what he wanted, all the relief and gratitude John had felt when he'd been rescued all came flooding back.
He was safe and he'd made it out of that bunker alive and well.
He looked down the Jumper to see both Ford and Cadman look back at him, both smiling back as he grinned at them. He looked back the other way, where Rodney was still stood just to his left.
He was back with his team and Teyla with them.
It had been the worst of days, but, actually, it had turned out okay in the end.
Because he had the best people watching his back and they'd come for him, just like he'd known they would.
0000
Sheppard's Queen was impressive, her mind and presence formidable as she watched Mind Song. As it had turned out, she was not only a member of the Queen Killer warriors, but she had the genetic access to the network as well.
He was aware of his own instinctive reaction to her mind as it moved against his, and his natural urge of acquiescence to her female commanding tone and threats.
Were she not Human, she would make a fine Wraith Queen.
He had been well aware that there were some limited numbers of Humans that had been inadvertently given mental access to the network, and had started to use that tool as a significant weapon among the Armoured Herd, but he had not encountered an example of it before.
Clearly the stories and rumours of such Humans had not been exaggerated. And in the mind of a female like Sheppard's Queen, he could feel how well she controlled that genetic gift.
It was yet another example to him of the reality of the Human threat.
They were no longer the simple herd creatures, there to be feed upon and left to breed in their simple huts during hibernations.
These Humans were very different. They held their own fearful instincts in check, watched him carefully, and used advanced technology easily.
He had always known that the Human herd was far more intelligent than some of his kin believed, but he could see now that the Armoured Herd were not going to be so easily removed as a threat.
The Old Lantean days had been different. Those Ancient ones had limited their technology to their famous city and their warships. These Humans, and those in the vast Human city he'd seen outside the ship, had embraced their advancements. They would not be returned to their huts and held underfoot very easily.
He had naively assumed that, if he was freed, that he would be able to help his kind return to full domination again.
But, as the Human Queen had said, things had changed, and even more so during his imprisonment.
How many more Queens had been killed by her number?
How many Hives destroyed?
Were his own kind now those threatened with extinction via their own culling?
However, there had been a further surprise from these Humans; a suggestion of altering the feeding process in order to bring peace.
He could not conceive of such a thing. Wraith no longer feeding?
What would that make them?
Would it even be possible?
Still, it was clearly a motivation for those from Atlantis, which meant that perhaps he could use it to his advantage.
He had already gained some significant insight from being held by Humans for so long and now in having met two network linked Human Queen Killers. In Sheppard's Queen her skills were particularly noteworthy in the way she had easily slipped into his mind before he could attempt to limit her. In battle, such a weapon must be deadly.
Yes, things had changed.
So, he would have to change with them.
And the Wraith too. Even if they did not know it yet.
Change was going to be the only way forward now. But how that would look, and how he would help navigate it, was something he was going to have to consider carefully.
Once he was free.
There was that obstacle to address first.
They appeared to be willing to release him, but Humans could be fickle creatures and could act out emotionally in an instant of fear.
So he watched them carefully as they watched him in turn.
The Lantean ship appeared fully powered and easily used by these Humans, clearly unaffected by its long housing in Atlantis. Or had these Humans brought Lantean technology to this galaxy with them?
He wondered how many of those watchful Human warriors eyes looking back at him were also carriers of the Lantean genetic ancestry. Those within the Armoured Herd were a threat, but clearly so were these.
Sheppard's people.
Mind Song looked round at Sheppard who had elected to sit next to him in an absurd display of companionship that Mind Song had found very amusing. Sheppard had even defended him in the discussion with the Queen.
Sheppard looked back at him, directly holding his gaze though there was still a healthy edge of caution in the Human.
The rush of Portal travel abruptly caught at Mind Song, confirming that they had finally departed Kolya's world.
Then new sensations.
He lifted his head, sensing the distant yet unmistakeable presence of his kind.
So Sheppard's people had brought him to a Wraith held world after all, not to one of their prisons.
Another surprising fact.
"Bringing us down in an open patch of ground, Sir," a Human reported from the front of the ship.
Mind Song shifted his attention back up to Sheppard's Queen, she was moving back and she indicated for him to stand.
Mind Song stood up slowly, ensuring he did nothing to provoke the many Human weapons pointed at him.
Sheppard's Queen's neck was decorated with a long line of altered markings that spoke of how many of Queens she had killed. He should hate her for that fact, but, regrettably, he only admired her more for her skill.
His wrists were bound with a tight thin strip of a material he had not felt before, but he suspected he could break it, especially as well fed as he was now. But, of course, it would be unwise to give Sheppard's Queen any reason to use what looked like a long blade attached to her back.
She indicated him to move through the press of Humans towards the opening back of the Lantean ship.
Sheppard's people pulled well away from him, allowing him a clear path out towards the slowly revealed patch of flat green ground outside.
Except one tall dark Human held his ground close by.
The other network linked Queen Killer.
Mind Song considered the male as he reached level with him, the Human's mind a shifting presence testing against his thoughts. The male's eyes held Mind Song's with no sign of fear at all and, like with Sheppard's Queen, that gaze said that the male would not hold back from killing Mind Song if required.
Mind Song passed the male and headed down the open back of the ship, his wrists still bound and held against his middle. His back to the Humans, he was in a significantly vulnerable position, but then he had been that way for a very long time now.
At the bottom of the ship's ramp, he stepped forward onto the soft ground of the new planet.
He sighed at the sensation. It was living, warm, and the air was fresh against his skin. It was night here, and he looked up to the wondrous sight of the sparkling stars high over head.
He drew in a deep breath.
Freedom.
"You wanted to see the stars again," Sheppard's voice arrived from just behind him.
Mind Song turned to find that it was just Sheppard who had accompanied him out of the ship. Behind Sheppard, the Lantean ship was entirely invisible. To any looking on, it would appear that he was alone here with a single vulnerable Human. Of course that was wrong, though unseen, there were many Human weapons no doubt pointed directly at him, waiting for him to make a threatening move towards Sheppard.
Any of those Humans could change their mind about releasing him and shoot him and he could do nothing.
A distant buzzing of a fighter caught at his ears. He had not heard that familiar sound in so long.
"Here," Sheppard moved forward, holding up a small knife that Mind Song had not noticed him holding before. But, Sheppard was indicating the binding around Mind Song's wrists.
Mind Song extended his arms towards Sheppard and, with one quick motion, Sheppard cut the binding.
Mind Song let out a long sigh as he circled his freed hands.
Sheppard had stepped back a pace, the knife still in one hand and the cut binding in the other. "Try not to kill anyone, okay?" Sheppard asked, clearly conflicted.
Mind Song chuckled. "I am sure there are plenty of enemy Hives full of other Wraith for me to feed myself," he suggested. "But should I see Pranos or Kolya one day, I will make sure to feed upon them for you."
Sheppard pulled another conflicted expression. "Uh, thanks."
Silence filled the dark air.
"You gonna be okay here?" Sheppard asked looking around the empty grasses and dark nearby forest.
Mind Song looked off into the distance, reaching out into the network. Not so many touched there as before, but through it he could sense a vast number of other Wraith somewhere in the far distance.
Then, far more distant from them, another mind - bright, alive, and reaching out to him.
"Yes," Mind Song smiled.
"Once you get yourself up through the Wraith ranks again," Sheppard drew his attention again. "The offer about working on the feeding therapy will still be on the table."
Mind Song nodded, but giving no assurances that such an endeavour could be certain. Though, Sheppard's expression suggested that he thought the same.
"It really could be a way for our people to find peace," Sheppard added.
"Maybe," Mind Song conceded. "If your Queen does not kill me first."
Sheppard's expression shifted at that, seeming shocked for some reason.
Another passing buzzing sensation caught Mind Song's attention. A fighter was approaching, most likely having detected the Portal's activation and seeking if some lost Humans had wandered through.
It would be wise for Sheppard to depart, so he looked back to the Human, except he had vanished. Back inside the invisible the Lantean ship.
Mind Song chuckled at the dramatic disappearance as he felt the air stirring around him as the Lantean ship lifted away, and the Portal abruptly came to life across the grass.
He stayed in place as the air whipped around him, trying to locate where the ship was, but it was useless. The Lantean's technology continued to hold its secrets all these long millennia.
The dust and mud flying up around him, he lifted his arm to cover his face, and the air started to still.
Across the short distance, he saw the glowing surface of the Portal displace as the ship went through it and then the Portal shutdown.
He was free.
Sheppard had kept his word.
Mind Song looked up from the empty ring of the Portal to the sparkling stars above.
He was finally free.
0000
TBC