Disclaimer: Don't own the series or its characters, just G
Author's note: Ok, so you guys might just get to see a certain wraith in this chapter :P Fave and Review if you have time or are enjoying, it's really encouraging. Uni is hectic already, but I'm doing my best to fit this in with the amount of study. This chapter is in two parts and I have written both so I'll post the next one in a day or two to space them out a bit better.
Warning thingy: this chapter may contain somewhat trigger material, I'm not sure whether it really would be or not, but would rather warn you all just in case. There is no rape or real abuse, just suggestive material (no, not with Todd lol)
Gunshots rang through the quiet forest and G perked up, alarmed and on guard immediately. The shots sounded metallic, most likely meaning that it was not wraith as their weapons were much more advanced. Quickly packing up her equipment and putting back on her bullet proof vest, she began to make her way towards the sound, making sure to stay low and out of sight as much as she possibly could in the forests undergrowth.
"Get back to the gate!" she heard Sheppard's voice ring out. Pausing quickly, G watched as a pair of men wearing what appeared to be WW2 clothing run past her hiding place with old fashioned looking guns. She could hear her team mates crying out as they ran to the gate and slowly she crept towards a clearing in the foilage so that she had at least an obscured view of the portal back to Atlantis. She knew right now she wouldn't be able to get back herself, she would have to double back later, so instead she stayed in her spot and watched as the team ran through the lapis surface of the gate. The last were Ronan and Sheppard. She watched as Ronan got through the gate and looked on in horror as John Sheppard was shot with some kind of harpoon and jerked back away from the gate as it closed. Unintentionally she let out a strangled cry, giving away her position. Knowing that it was only a matter of time until she too would be caught, G ran back into the forest as fast as she could.
The Genii followed quickly behind her, she could hear them gaining on her position and quickly skid down the side of an embankment, twisting her body as she fell so that she rolled down on her side, landing in the foliage with shrubs for cover. She heard the soldiers stop above the embankment and discuss how they would search for her.
"She can't of gone far, you three, go to the west and see if you can smoke her out," one of the soldiers spoke in a commanding voice. "You two go East, I'll go back and report to the Commander. Do not shoot, he'll want her alive for questioning."
After waiting for approximately 23 minutes and 47 seconds, G couldn't stay still any longer and moved tentatively away from her hiding spot, regretting it almost instantly as she was grabbed from behind by rough hands.
"So the little rabbit finally left her burrow," said a gruff voice, foul breath brushing against her ear and a stubbled chin caught in the hair behind her ear. "You know, we skin rabbits around here, girl." As his slimy voice skittered across her skin he put one of his hands below the collar of her jacket, forcing the zip open a little and placing a strain on the buckles of her bullet proof vest. Feeling her face turn red in a mixture of shame, embarrassment and outrage fell over her. Grabbing his arm, G used the mans weight to twist him around and flip him over her shoulder, crouching down ready to go, she was just about to run when the same man grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall. G felt the hard ground connecting with her head and groaned as she tried to tear her grip away from the man.
"You shouldn't have done that you filthy outsider!" the man was crawling over her now, and G had to admit that she was terrified. She could fight when she was prepared, but she was in shock and her head was reeling with pain after the heavy contact she'd made with the ground moments before. The man started to tear at her vest and managed to break the zip on her jacket. Pushing with all her might G managed to push the man back enough the land a hit on the side of his face, cutting his lip in the process. He growled and reeled back towards her, his fist raised ready to lay into her own face, but just as he was beginning to pull back in preparation for the hit, another soldiers voice broke him from his rage.
"Captain we have circled round, but there's no sign of the… Oh, is this the one?" The soldier looked at her in confusion seeing that she was in such a compromising position and back to his Captain.
"This one put up quite the fight, more trouble than she's worth," he said as if in answer to his soldier's confusion. He looked back at her and smirked. "Lucky this time girl."
With that he unleashed his fist upon her temple and she felt her consciousness fade to black.
"Put her in the cell with the creature. We'll see if she's still so tough after being in the same cell as him for a few hours," G woke to hear the captain's sneering voice and the creaking of a metallic door being opened. Jarring from her cloudy consciousness, G groaned as she was thrown onto concrete. "If you're lucky girl, you'll make a quick meal for that thing. If not, well maybe the Commander will let me find some use for you." G shuddered and threw him as defiant a look as she could manage from her place on the floor. The soldiers chuckled at their captain's suggestive threat and G allowed herself to let out the breath she had been holding as she heard their footsteps become fainter. She heard shuffling in nearby and began to sit up, frustrated that her body was not responding the way it should be. The nanites within her were obviously trying to repair any injuries and she assumed the release of adrenalin had hindered their effort. Turning slightly she noticed a few things at once: there was a window in her cell which separated her from a very concerned and shocked looking Lt Colonel Sheppard, harsh concrete walls and iron bars locking her inside, and in the corner of the confined space, was a shadow of a being which exuded both defiant strength and resigned defeat. G assumed almost immediately that it must be a wraith or else the Genii would not have referred to him with such disgust.
"G, are you ok? Hey, you, you don't go near her do you hear me?" the shadow in the corner did not stir. G slowly rose, wincing at the pain in her head and at the state of her clothing.
"I'm alright John, everything's fine," she spoke softly, whilst she had no issue with the Wraith hearing her, she did not wish to disturb him if he had no wish to be spoken to.
"Are you sure?" Sheppard said apprehensively, taking in her torn and dishevelled clothing and pointedly looking at the spot where her zipper had been torn and her vest broken.
"I'm fine John, really, one of the men attacked me, but his men found us before he could do anything serious. I have a slight head injury but I'm sure I can manage it." She turned towards the shadow and tilted her head. "I'm sorry if the smell of blood upsets your kind or makes you hungry…" There was a quiet hiss in response.
"G, why are you here? You should have gone back to the gate with the others," Sheppard scolded her, worried that not only was she in a cell with a Wraith, but that she could be the next one he fed upon.
"I turned the radio off, it was interfering with my… John you don't look so good…" G whispered, noting that her superior looked haggard and slightly pained.
"That would be my doing," said a multi-toned voice from the shadows. G jumped slightly, never having heard a Wraith speak before, she was not prepared for just how, well, alien they would sound. G looked sharply at him. "I was forced to feed on him."
"Yes." G said shortly. "Forced." Turning her attention away from the somewhat stunned Wraith she grabbed the bars between her and John to keep her balance a little better. "What does Kolya want? Surely we have nothing he desires."
"He wants Ladan Radim." Sheppard started by way of explanation, his voice sounded frustrated. "Thinks getting him to have a snack on me every few hours is gonna make them give him over."
"He could just feed on me," G said as though that option was obvious. Sheppard took a sharp intake of breath and gave her a very disapproving look, whilst the Wraith finally chose to move away from the shadows, allowing G to see him for the first time. "Well it wouldn't have a lasting effect like it does on you, and they can't just let him starve," she concluded gesturing towards the alien.
"You are not disgusted by our means of taking in nutrients?" the creature asked slowly, stepping towards her so that G could finally see her first ever Wraith in person. She gasped softly at his appearance; it wasn't at all what she was expecting. His hair, whilst matted and dishevelled, consisted of long, white strands, his eyes seemed golden with pupils like a feline. She took in the angular shape of his face and the lack of eyebrows. She admitted to herself that these creatures were not as hideous as Sheppard had described, this one was almost attractive in a very alien way. His pale skin was set off by green and grey veins that showed through to the surface, his lips, which looked human enough to G, were hiding translucent, pointed teeth and there were two holes on either side of his lightly odd nose, which she assumed must be to heighten his sense of smell or movement. "You do not fear the Wraith?" The alien questioned again, stepping closer again. That was when G noticed that his feeding hand was trapped in an iron clasp, which was then chained to his waist.
"Not in your current condition, no," she said gently, gesturing towards his imprisoned hand. "And whilst I do not particularly like what you feed on, I understand that all beings need to eat to live. You are being tortured just as much as he is if they are keeping you down here indefinitely without food." The alien gave Sheppard a pointed look at this statement and let out a low hiss.
"Is this what you meant by your friends, Sheppard?" The Wraith said wearily, and G noticed that his movements seemed laboured as he came to stand beside her and peer through the barred window into his cell.
"No, but they'll be here." He replied matter of factly, thought G noticed with concern that his voice was weak and reflecting the years which the wraith had obviously thus far taken.
"You still believe that?" The alien continued to press, sounding doubtful.
"Yeah I do, they just need more time," he responded, although G noticed with a heavy heart that he sounded less confident then he had. The Wraith looked up wistfully at the room around him.
"It is as I said before, no one has ever left this place alive," G could just about physically feel the anguish that those words carried. How long had he been trapped here she wondered.
"Yeah? Well I'm going to, and I'm taking her with me," Sheppard stated, his passion and determination returning little by little into his voice. The Wraith scoffed.
"Kolya will kill you both before your friends have time to reach these cells," he said, his voice filled with venom. G realised looking at him now, that he must have been someone that once held great pride and importance. She felt a lingering pity for him, surely the Wraith thought of themselves as higher beings, so then to be captured and tortured by humans and used as little more than a torture device must be painful in more ways than just a burning starvation. There was a brief silence between the cells before Sheppard spoke again.
"How well do you know the lay out of this place?" he addressed the Wraith as though a plan was formulating in his head.
"Well enough to know what they would be up against," he replied wistfully.
"What about us? Do you know enough about this place to get us out?" Sheppard asked quietly, his face pressed against the bars. G leaned closer, causing the alien beside her to stiffen slightly.
"You, the female and me?" the Wraith questioned doubtfully, for the first time he looked beside him to the female in question. He couldn't help but find her appearance and her scent somewhat unique for a human, if that was truly what she was. Her hair and eyes seemed to both reflect a colour of silver and violet, shades, which were not natural in her species. She did not appear to have the stance of a fighter, so he pondered briefly what her purpose was and why she too had been captured.
"Why? You think they're gonna just let you go after we're dead?" Sheppard pushed.
"No," the alien whispered, sounding resigned to his fate.
"Well then what have you got to lose?" Sheppard pried, trying to spur on the creature.
"My life," replied the alien and G could tell from that answer that this was possibly the only thing of value he deemed that he had left.
"Oh yeah you gotta great one down here," Sheppard observed sarcastically, causing the Wraith to snarl, baring his teeth and making a hissing sound. G watched the interaction with curiosity, his species were proud, she gathered, not used to being mocked. "Listen to me for a minute," Sheppard continued. "It makes sense. We have a common goal."
"As I said before, there is no escape." With that the Wraith turned and headed back towards the shadows, leaving G and Sheppard to stand together at the cell window. G noticed that the alien had hesitated before deciding upon that answer, and had looked as though he was seriously considering John's proposal. His golden feline eyes had shown something that G hadn't expected: fear.
"John, do you really think we could escape, just the three of us? I mean if there were technological controls I could break through them in an instant, but this culture clearly relies on steam power and gun powder," G said almost scornfully. "And I don't think we can do it without full team participation." She gestured towards the Wraith in the corner with a jerk of her still sore head.
"See if you can get anything useful outta him," Sheppard replied. "I'll think of something." G nodded, slowly turning and moving to the middle of the room before sitting before the Wraith.
"If it wont disturb you, I need to run a few tests," she spoke quietly to the Wraith before her. His head perked in what she assumed was curiosity or possibly disdain. To be really honest, G wasn't sure she knew how to tell what his facial expressions meant aside from angry and not angry thus far.
"What tests do you have to perform, human?" ah, curiosity it was then. G smiled, looking up at him, before opening her palm upwards as though she were going to meditate, but instead a faint glow emanated from her hand. The Wraith looked both curious and wary.
"My body has been infused with nanites," the alien shot her a disdainful look. "Not Asuran, these were created by humans and Asguardians in order to save my life. We have a symbiotic relationship, but something is wrong, they are not healing my head like they ought to be. It's like something is emitting low frequency electromagnetic pulses so that whilst they are not disturbing my general functions, they are impeding the healing abilities of the nanites." She realised that her scientific jargon may not make sense and was working on a way to back track and apologise when the wraith spoke.
"Kolya and his men do use a device which blocks what I believe they call radio waves, perhaps this is disrupting the sensors of your nanites?" G's mouth hung open slightly at his understanding of her condition. She had expected more scorn, but the Wraith in front of her clearly was more curious than he was disturbed.
"So, you're a scientist then?" she asked him, noticing the tuft of white hair on his chin, his broad shoulders and his long slender legs… She was losing her mind and thought that her first priority from this part onwards, apart from escape, should be to stop ogling the enemy. He nodded.
"How long have you been here for?" she whispered, a new respect formed for this creature knowing that he possessed intelligence far exceeding her expectations of his people.
"Too long to count," he replied, looking at her with resigned eyes. G leant forward and touched his cloth covered arm.
"Then isn't it about time you broke out?" she simply smiled as he looked down at her hand on his arm. He was experiencing the strangest sensation where her skin seemed to burn him through the leather of his thick coat. Her eyes seemed to captivate him if only for a moment and he grimaced, baring his teeth at her. Surprised when she did not flinch away, he was somewhat disappointed when she moved back to stand at the centre of the cell. "They are coming back,"
It was as she had said and both Wraith and human stood ready in the two cells as the sound of boots marching down the hall became clearer.
Soldiers appeared at the doors to both cells, and G was immediately concerned, as one of the men was the captain who had captured her before. The doors to both cells opened and the soldiers bore arms at the ready.
"Move." Ordered one of the soldiers as two entered to drag the Wraith out of the cell.
"Well, well, the rabbit is still alive, how surprising." The captain sneered, grabbing her chin between his thumb and forefinger. The Wraith hissed as the man touched the human female, knowing from his time here that the man could not be trusted with such prisoners. "Ah, do you have a defender in this beast, do you?" the Captain questioned, forcing her face to look at the alien as he nodded for one of the men to punch him. The Wraith snarled in a misture of fury and pain and G felt tears sting her eyes as an innocent creature was punished for an association to her. The Captain forced her to lock eyes with him once more and licked his lips. "Lucky the Commander wants to see you, or I'd have taken care of you myself." G cringed, but thanked her luck when she was pushed towards Sheppard and marched towards their destination. She spared a look back at the Wraith and caught him watching her intently.
They were marched to a filming studio where two chairs stood with ropes at the ready. Sheppard and G were both tied into them, G was fastened furthest from the Wraith whilst Sheppard was the closest, his mouth gagged so that he couldn't speak. G watched as Kolya began to film himself demanding Ladan from Atlantis.
"He still has years left you know, Dr Weir, and this little one has her whole life ahead of her," he said, moving aside so that the camera had a view of G. G heard her sister gasp. "Perhaps allowing the Wraith to feed on her will change your mind? But first, Sheppard as promised. My offer still stands."
"And so does my answer," answered Elizabeth, her voice tight with what G knew was fear.
"I wonder what Ladan has told you to make you choose him over your own people." Spoke Kolya, attempting to manipulate those who were watching the feed.
"That I took the position as leader of our people from you, taking what you believed was rightfully yours to further the development of our people." Replied a voice that G had not heard before.
"The truth then?" Kolya seemed taken aback by this.
"Kolya, release them now and I will offer you a full pardon for what you've done. You can return to our people," Ladan offered.
"You and I both know there are things that cannot be undone," was Kolya's stubborn reply.
"That's not true," beseeched Elizabeth. "You have the power to end this."
"How funny," mocked Kolya. "I was just about to say the same thing." He nodded to his soldiers to allow the Wraith to feed. Before he could lower his now free feeding hand onto the human G looked at the Commander with a strong and resound defiance, which the Wraith begrudgingly respected.
"Let him feed from me," she said in a stern voice. "I am Elizabeth Weir's sister, I will have more of an affect on her decision, and you will have both of our lives as leverage a little longer." Kolya regarded her with sadistic amusement, but nodded his head at the soldiers controlling the alien.
"Very well, girl. Let's see if you fare any better."
The Wraith stood before the girl, his arm outstretched, but he did not lower his feeding hand. He was looking into her eyes with a mixture of anger and confusion. Why had she not let him feed on Sheppard as he was about to? Why had she offered herself? Why would she allow him to cause her pain? The Wraith found himself pondering for the first time in his long existence whether or not it wouldn't simply be better to go hungry. The woman smiled up and him, nodding ever so slightly. She knew what was coming, but she was going to allow it? "It's alright," she spoke softly so that only he could hear her. "Everyone has to eat sometime." With that the soldier controlling his feeding arm grew tired of waiting and forced his hand upon the girls chest. The Wraith's eyes widened as he began to feed and G noticed his pupils dilate and he made some sort of multi-toned growl of satisfaction. She grimaced slightly at the pain of him feeding off her and felt her nanites swell up to meet his feeding hand. She was hoping the creature would not be so angry that this feeding meant the transferal of some of her nanites.
The Wraith was startled and confused that instead of aging the woman before him did nothing. The only noticeable change in her physical form was a soft glow that emitted from the place where his feeding hand and her skin met. After what felt like only moments his hand was taken from her chest by his own free will, and Kolya was looking at her with growing suspicion.
"Take them back to the cells," he snapped. Then, turning back to the camera he spoke threateningly and with growing impatience. "Now you have 2 hours."