Chapter 5 – Incursion
Moments after Officer Jep's death….
Trask was going to impersonate the young Tigan they had just slaughtered by using a chimera device. He and the Wraith Commander had found several of these fascinating creations at the small Eloran outpost they'd discovered on the planet Daros. Trask had been drawn to that world by a green crystal hologram he had purchased from an old man selling trinkets on Kalassia. Its message that he could find the mysterious people known as Eloran was too enticing to ignore. But before Trask and his men could get to Daros, they had been culled. Thank the ancestors that he'd had the crystal as a bargaining chip. It had allowed him to form the Genii's unholy alliance with the Wraith and get out alive. Their first stop after escaping the Hive was Daros.
Trask took the chimera device and placed it in the middle of the dead man's forehead. He wished the Wraith hadn't been so quick to kill Officer Jep. It was always better when he had a live subject to work with. Their 'experiments' on Daros had proven that. Now it would be a little harder to capture the Tigan's image and essence. But it could still be done if he acted fast; the unique neurological imprint lingered in the brain for up to several minutes. Trask watched as the device, which resembled a large gold coin, began to glow. Its light waxed and waned until finally it dimmed completely. Trask then took the object and carefully stowed it away in his pocket. Since it looked like a coin, most likely no one would given it a second glance. Tomorrow morning, before he headed into town, he would place it on his own forehead for barely a minute. He would then appear to all who looked at him – friend or foe, Wraith or human – like Selak Jep, who in actuality lay quite dead and quite beheaded at Trask's feet. He would also have all of the knowledge and memories that Jep had possessed in life. When he no longer needed to hide behind this visage, Trask would again place the device on his forehead and in moments would look like himself again. The only disadvantage to the technology was that after 20 - 30 hours at most, the image would disappear, fading forever unless the user acquired it again from its owner. But, as Selak Jep was now dead, Trask would have no second chances. If he didn't accomplish everything he needed to do as the young officer within little more than a day, then he would need to find a new person to 'copy,' or risk having his true identity exposed. Trask, however, had other means of hiding himself. A certain Colonel came to mind…
The same day, in the Eloran complex…
"Colonel Sheppard certainly made a mess in here, didn't he?" complained Dr. Lin, the anthropologist.
"Hey, be fair. You would've blown up a rare life-form, too, if it was about to eat you," said her colleague.
"Yeah, OK, but he could've…"
"Dr. Lin! Dr. Lin," interrupted the astrobiologist who had been dissembling the creatures' five nests. As the doctor walked over, he showed her a fistful of shiny, green objects.
"What are?…they look like the same material as those large crystals Zelenka's people have been finding," she said, "but these look like jewelry, like rings."
"Uh, guys?" broke in another scientist, "what on earth is that!?"
Everyone turned to look where she was pointing. The giant stalactite, the one that John's grenade had sent crashing down, was glowing faint green. So were a few others, high up on the cavern ceiling.
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"I am of the Eloran. Journey through the Ring of the Ancestors and find us. Do not succumb to the Wraith. Come to us and we will teach you to survive using your mind as your only weapon. You are more powerful than you know. By being drawn to this crystal, you have made the first step."
The words echoed throughout the cave chamber, the message repeating over and over until Elizabeth touched the holographic crystal and stopped it.
"This set-up, those rings, whatever's in the rocks, this has to be what that cryptic message is referring to," said McKay excitedly. He, Sheppard, Elizabeth and Commander Zovel were meeting in the cave after the latest discovery. "They were recruiting people here so they could learn how to fight the Wraith, right? 'Use your mind as your only weapon;' this has to be what the Eloran are talking about. Sheppard, do you remember anything unusual when you were in here? Were these stalactites glowing, were they moving or making any noises?"
Sheppard was leaning tiredly against an outcrop of rocks. His ankle hurt and his arm was itching like mad. "Rodney," he said as if he were speaking to a kid, "I don't remember much beyond stabbing that mutant in the eye and kicking him in the balls so he wouldn't rip my throat out. So, no, I don't remember any glowing, talking, Wraith-killing, fake stalagmites-"
"No, no, they're called stalacTITES; they form on the cave ceiling; stalagMITES form on the ground because of…"
"McKay, just skip the geology lesson and tell me what you're finding out up there?" asked John. 'Up there' was about 19 feet up on the cave ceiling, which contained a collection of stalactites, some real, some artificial like the one that had crashed down and killed the animals. Atlantis engineers had sent through a portable platform-and-crane contraption which allowed workers to be elevated high enough to study the mysterious Eloran technology.
"Ok, well, it looks like there's a cluster of six fake stalactites mounted at the pinnacle of the ceiling. The one you knocked down was the seventh one. Each 'rock' contains several thin veins of that green crystal we keep finding everywhere. We still don't know what it is, but it must have some amazing conductive properties. And, you can't see it from down here, but there's a narrow shaft that runs all the way to the surface, and it's lined with the green crystal."
"Do you have any idea how it works? How those rings fit in?" asked Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth, I think I know exactly what's going on. When Doctor what's-his-name over there touched the rings, he made them and the fake rock glow at the same time. It's the same physical/mental connection we've seen all over this place between people and that green crystal. Now, what's it all for? The Wraith would attack from the air, right? I think that the shaft containing the crystal focuses some kind of an energy beam, some sort of-"
"Death ray?" interrupted John. "That would be cool."
McKay gave him a look. "Do you know any other adjectives besides 'cool'?"
"So," said Sheppard, ignoring him, "we have to wear the rings and think, what "KILL WRAITH?"
"I don't think it's that simple, Sheppard. For one thing, where's our target? I don't see any Wraith hanging out around here, do you? Or do you wanna go find some so you can practice?"
John thought for a second. "Maybe we can crank it up to, uh, half-strength, something not too powerful? We can get some of your people on the surface; get some Jumpers in the air to observe what happens."
"Hmm, that's actually not a bad idea, Sheppard. Elizabeth?" McKay asked, looking at her for permission.
Elizabeth paused before she spoke. The unease she had been feeling about the complex was growing, and it was getting worse the longer she remained in the cave chamber. She tried to stall. "I think we need Commander Zovel's opinion, Rodney; it's his world, his people that we could be putting at risk."
"I trust your scientists' expertise, Dr. Weir," said Zovel. "And, if this is some kind of incredible defense against the Wraith that has been hidden on Tigan all of these years, then it is the responsibility of my people to study it as well."
Oh, well. So much for trying to pass the buck. "Alright, then," said Elizabeth, "Dr. McKay, Colonel Sheppard, let's get to work solving this mystery. Will a couple of hours be enough to get your teams in place?"
Later in the day…
"Well, I've got my ring," said John, limping over to the specimen tray and taking one from among the 22 that had been found embedded in the nests. "Elizabeth, Rodney, Commander?" They had decided that the four of them would assume the risk of testing the equipment for the first time.
"OK. Now what?" asked McKay once all four of them were wearing rings.
"Maybe we need to, um, hold hands or something," suggested Elizabeth.
"Uhh," said John, frowning.
"The Eloran devices seem to rely on physical contact with anything made out of the crystal. I think holding hands is a good idea, John, don't you?" Elizabeth made a point of staring at him as she said that. She hoped he'd take it as a 'it's my idea, I'm your boss, and you're going to like it' look, and not as a 'I don't think I can touch you without wanting to unzip your pants, but I'm going to try' look.
John hoped his 'eww' face would cover up his desire to just take Elizabeth over to one of the dusty bedrooms and rip her clothes off, broken arm be damned. He'd had his own erotic 'virtual' encounter, too, courtesy of the Eloran tech. Neither knew what the other had experienced, though, and that they were really trying to act like it had never happened.
"Yeah, great idea." John quickly offered his good hand to McKay in reply. Another narrow escape, he thought, smiling to himself.
Rodney asked everyone to form a circle directly under the collection of stalactites, close their eyes and think, uh, 'kill Wraith.' Cameras on the surface would record everything that happened and transmit the images to monitors set up in the cave.
At first nothing happened. John cracked open one eye, feeling awkward. Then, he felt it; they all did. Everyone opened their eyes. The rings on their fingers were growing warm and shimmered with a soft, emerald glow. From the circle they stood in arose a faint column of green light. As it neared the ceiling and its cluster of artificial stones, the column narrowed and the light grew stronger. The six stalactites were brilliant green and began giving off a slight hum. Voices suddenly crackled from the video monitors: "We're detecting a massive energy surge emanating from your position. There's a projection of green light reaching at least into the stratosphere." Another voice broke in: "We're detecting micro-tremors on the surface; we suggest powering down the weapon due to risk of possible cave-in or other damage."
Underground, John was getting nervous. The low hum was becoming a loud, irritating whine, and the light seemed dangerously intense. "Break it off, everybody, shut it down, shut it down!" he ordered.
But Elizabeth didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes were wide open and unblinking, and she was holding Zovel and Rodney's hands in a death grip. Suddenly she let go, stumbled backwards out of the circle and fell.
Despite his injuries, John reached her first. "What's wrong? Are you alright, are you hurt!?" Elizabeth got up off the ground slowly and looked around at her friends, dazed.
"I saw it, I saw them." She started to pace.
"What, you mean the light? We all saw that," said McKay.
"No, I saw…the Eloran…and the last time they were in this room, using this weapon."
John grasped her arm to steady her; he was surprised to feel how much she was trembling. "What, Elizabeth, what are you talking about?"
"Rodney," she asked frantically, as if John hadn't spoken to her, "all of the rings, were they found in this cave?"
"Most of them, not all, were found in here. Dr. Lin figures the animals used them like building materials, 'cause they make their nests out of mud and twigs and rocks and stuff. But we've also found some in other parts of the facility."
"But the majority of them were found here, in this chamber?"
"Yeah, 22 here, and another 10 so far in the other areas. But, Elizabeth, why is that important? What are you getting at?!" said McKay.
"Dr. Weir, what is going on, please tell us," asked Zovel gently.
Elizabeth stopped moving and turned to face John directly. She looked like she was about to cry. "I saw them here, clear as day. I don't know how, I don't know why, but I saw the Eloran powering the weapon and fighting the Wraith. It…it was their last fight, John."
"What, the Wraith took them? They got Culled?"
"No." Elizabeth's voice grew soft. "The Eloran destroyed the Wraith, they'd done it before. But this time…there were so many Hives. The weapon consumed the Wraith…and took the Eloran, too."
"Took…?" asked John.
Elizabeth didn't answer. She was tracing the point of her shoe in the fine, fine dust, the dust that lay like a powder on the cave chamber's floor, and on the computers and monitors, the desks and chairs, on the beds and nightstands and 'TV' screens throughout the many rooms.
"Oh, no," moaned Zovel.
"What, what is it…I don't…oh, god, that's why we found so many in this one place…" McKay wanted to be sick, but he would have been throwing up on…
"Well, uh, now we know that the weapon works, and, uh, what happened to the Eloran," said John somberly.
"How could they have been killed by their own weapon?" asked Zovel.
Elizabeth, not McKay, answered him. "It took so much power this time. They had done it before, destroyed the Wraith." She stopped for a minute and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I don't know how I know all of this; it's so overwhelming." Elizabeth had to sit down before she could continue. "Sometimes they didn't need to destroy them. They had the power to make the Wraith forget why they had travelled to this part of the galaxy, or to make them misread their scans and not realize this planet was even here. That's why they were able to survive when so many other worlds perished. They had such power, such an incredibly unique ability, their minds working together as one, all amplified by the green crystal. But this one last time…I can't tell what went wrong. The Wraith mounted a barrage against the Eloran unlike anything these people had faced before. But once again, they managed to repel the Wraith, destroy them, and protect this place, but…the energy they produced…it overwhelmed their minds and bodies." Suddenly, Elizabeth began to cry. "I can see it. They…they disintegrated into clouds of dust. Oh, God, I can see the rings falling down, falling out of mid-air! That's the only part of them that survived."
Her words echoed across the chamber. No one spoke or moved.
After a moment or two, Elizabeth broke the silence. "I haven't told anyone this, John, but, um, I've been feeling uneasy about this mission since the day your team went through the Gate to hunt for the Genii. God, I've felt uncomfortable every second I've been in this place. Maybe, maybe I have some special ability, some psychic sensitivity to what happened here…god, I just can't understand this."
"Elizabeth, uh, what can we do to help you? Should I, should I bring Teyla here, she's been working with Lorne and Ronon…" John didn't know what to do, seeing Elizabeth so distressed.
Elizabeth knew. "We can get this place running again, John. Protect the Eloran's legacy."
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"Uh, oh," said Trask, as he peered through the binoculars. He was following the column of brilliant green light as it ascended high into the clouds and beyond. Officer Jep needed to make an appearance sooner than expected.
"If that means, 'we must move ahead more quickly with our plans,' then I agree, Trask. I will accompany you to the facility. And we will go tonight, not tomorrow."
"Uh, Commander, I agree we need to speed things up, but we would only be drawing attention to ourselves if we arrived, impersonating Tigan security, in the evening, in mid-shift. We can go in tomorrow, first thing. Find a Tigan officer for you to kill…"
"One of a higher rank than yours, Trask…" He was ceding much too much control of this operation to that annoying human.
"Of course, Commander."
The next morning…
Since their plan no longer called for Officer Jep's remains to be discovered by his people, Trask made certain that the entire body was fed to the monsters underground. At first light, he and the Wraith made their way into town. Just before they arrived, Trask applied the chimera device to his forehead and assumed his new identity.
At Tigan security headquarters…
"Officer Jep reporting for duty, Sir," said Trask-Jep briskly.
The commanding officer of the day stared at him. "Jep, we've been concerned about you. You were due to report back a few hours ago. Can you explain yourself?"
"Yes, Sir, I apologize, Sir. I was tracking the Genii fugitive, but as evening came on I lost his trail. Given the activity of the creatures lately, I felt it safer to make camp in the foothills rather than traverse the wastelands at night."
"That was a wise decision, Officer, but next time, keep us better informed of your location."
"Sir, after being out in the field for so long…I would like to request working on the detail at the Eloran base, if that is acceptable?" asked Trask-Jep.
His commanding officer thought for a moment and then said, "That's acceptable to me, Jep. I think your efforts should be rewarded with a less arduous assignment. You have my approval."
Trask-Jep had never doubted he'd get it. He saluted smartly, turned on his heel, and went to meet the Wraith.
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Armed with his own chimera 'coin,' the Wraith had ambushed an officer already assigned to the Eloran complex who was a 'Chief;' it was a rank elevated enough to sooth his huge ego. Together, he and Trask-Jep slipped with laughable ease past unsuspecting security guards and deep into the facility they hoped to make their own.
It didn't take long for Trask and the Wraith to learn the layout of the place and the identities of the people who were primarily in charge – Zovel, Elizabeth, Sheppard and McKay. They decided that as soon as possible, the Wraith would assume Dr. Weir's identity and that at some point later on Trask would assume Sheppard's.
The man whose life the Wraith had taken was named Coro. Wraith-Coro wasted no time in tracking down Elizabeth Weir. He had to learn as much as possible, and as quickly as possible. Unless something went wrong, no one would be suspicious of him, in his guise as the female, moving all over the facility – after all, it was her responsibility to do so.
Wraith-Chief Coro waited until Elizabeth was off by herself before he addressed her.
"Ma'am?"
"Yes?" said Elizabeth, absorbed in her paperwork.
"Chief Coro, Dr. Weir. Commander Zovel sent me, he wishes to speak with you about something."
"Oh, why didn't he contact me using the internal comm system?"
Wraith-Coro quickly covered his error. "I believe it is something…highly confidential, Doctor. May I escort you to him?"
"Well, alright, thank you very much."
Elizabeth realized much too late, as they were entering an unfamiliar corridor, that something was wrong. The same unease she felt about the facility, she felt towards Chief Coro. She reached up to touch her earpiece, but the Wraith had anticipated her move. Before Elizabeth could cry out he clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her into an empty room. With his other hand he stabbed what looked like an Earth epinephrine pen into Elizabeth's neck. Trask had wisely suggested that they use drugs, rather than Wraith stunners or other weapons, to subdue their targets. That way, they could control how long their victims were unconscious, and administer more sedatives as needed – at least, until they no longer needed Sheppard and Weir alive.
Wraith-Coro dropped Elizabeth roughly to the floor. He made certain to take her earpiece and destroy it. Then, as he had done earlier to Chief Coro, he collected her image and thoughts using the chimera technology. It took him only a few minutes to shed his identity as 'Coro' and assume the façade of 'Elizabeth Weir.' Wraith-Elizabeth quickly left the room, secure in the knowledge that, for at least the next several hours, no one would find the heavily sedated woman, stuffed inside a locked cabinet, inside a locked room, in a distant part of the complex.
Now, onto his next objective…
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Wraith-Elizabeth saw Sheppard heading down a hallway, chatting with a technician. He tapped into the woman's memories and emotions and soon realized the importance of neutralizing the male – while keeping him alive – and how easy it would be to do it.
"Colonel Sheppard, uh, John, do you have a minute?" Wraith-Elizabeth caught up with him as he walked, which wasn't difficult to do; Sheppard didn't look very well.
Wraith-Elizabeth knew how important it was for him to interact appropriately with Sheppard; the human female was falling in love with him but John didn't know it yet.
"John, what's wrong?" he asked, feigning concern.
"Now, don't you dare tell Beckett this, but I think I should have stayed in the Infirmary another day or two."
"I thought you had been cleared to go back on semi-active duty."
"Well, I thought I was feeling OK, but I can't shake this headache, my ankle is killing me, and I have got to get a coat hanger or something down into this cast, it's so itchy...God, when did I become such a wimp!"
Wraith-Elizabeth saw an opportunity to get the male out of the way. Humans could be so fun to manipulate. He smiled at John. "After what you went through a few days ago, I think you can wallow – just a little. If it helps any, I need to talk to you about something, and you need to rest, so why don't we find somewhere to do both, OK?"
"Sounds great to me, Elizabeth."
Wraith-Elizabeth and John made their way through the complex, eventually reaching the Eloran sleeping quarters. Virtually no one was working in this part of the facility; it didn't offer very much that was of interest to the scientists.
Wraith-Elizabeth opened the door to one of the rooms. "This looks like a good place to…rest," he said, pausing provocatively. John hesitated at the doorway, looking quizzically at his friend. "Uh, I just need to put my leg up; I don't need a nap or anything."
Wraith-Elizabeth moved his body so that Sheppard had no choice but to step all the way into the room. He followed him inside and closed the door, then turned and stared at John in a way that made his intentions completely clear.
"Uh, Elizabeth, what are you, um…?" John started to say, a hint of a smile crossing his lips. Wraith-Elizabeth closed the distance between them in one step, and pressed his body against John's. Blue Wraith fingers, disguised as Elizabeth's delicate, attractive ones, entwined themselves in John's hair.
"Uh, yeah, Elizabeth…" All of a sudden John's leg didn't hurt so much anymore; his, uh, attention was being drawn elsewhere on his body.
"I used the special crystal in one of those rooms, John, like you suggested. It showed me..." Wraith-Elizabeth paused for a second, letting his words do their work. He knew he had his complete attention. "You used the equipment, too, John, right?" Wraith-Elizabeth drew the male's face close to his own. He was guessing that Sheppard desired this female, desired her very much. "You did see us together, didn't you, John? You must want the same thing I want…I know you do…" Wraith-Elizabeth pressed the black lips which covered hideous teeth upon the lips of the oblivious John Sheppard.
Sheppard kissed back, tentatively, then with increasing passion. He cursed the cast on his left arm as he tried to use his good arm to pull Elizabeth's beautiful body as tight against his own as possible. The Wraith used Sheppard's lust-fueled distractedness to his advantage. He suddenly broke the kiss and struck Sheppard hard across the face, sending him to the floor. Before John could react, the Wraith picked him up and held him in front of him, his arm around John's neck in a stranglehold. He maneuvered the struggling human in front of a mirror.
"Elizabeth, what, what are…!?" croaked John, speaking to the incongruously violent woman he saw reflected in the mirror.
Easily holding the injured man with one arm, the Wraith pulled the chimera 'coin' from his pocket. He pressed the device to his forehead and watched in sick glee as Sheppard saw Elizabeth's lovely face morph into that of his most vile enemy.
"No, what the hell's going on, what have you…?!" John tore at the arm that was choking him, and tried in vain to kick at his captor's legs. The Wraith grew tired of the human's attempts to escape. He increased his pressure on John's throat, just enough for him to pass out. He couldn't afford to kill him, at least not yet. As Sheppard collapsed at his feet, the Wraith removed yet another blank chimera device from his coat. Within moments he possessed Sheppard's image, which he would later give to Trask; combining that resource with Dr. Weir's countenance, the two of them could easily navigate not just the Eloran complex but also Atlantis – if they had time. The Wraith and Trask had to remember the limitations imposed by the devices. Each 'mirage' could exist for 20 – 30 hours, at most.
The Wraith injected Sheppard with the sedative. He also tore bed-linens into strips and quickly bound and gagged him. The drug would render him senseless for hours, but if he woke up too soon...He shoved John into a closet and jammed a chair against it for good measure. After reapplying the image of Elizabeth to himself, he shut off the lights, left the room, and locked the door.
To be continued… Please read and review, I would appreciate your feedback very much.