Trials of Faith – Chapter 20
A good plan, or a Sheppard plan?
John tore into the infirmary and saw Carson leaning over Lieutenant Holland who had a severe injury in his left arm. Seeing the Colonel and being in a lot of pain he shot up and started yelling at him, gripping Carson's arm. 'What in the hell is going on Colonel?! We go to a planet on a mission of peace and the Wraith show up and start taking people! Major Lorne is gone!' He paused, growling at the pain. 'And all we know is they're looking for someone! Someone who wasn't even on the damn planet in the first place!'
'Take it easy, son!' Carson pleaded. 'Let's get him into surgery!'
'Hold on Carson!' John shouted. 'Tell me everything.' He said to Holland.
'Colonel, this man has a bone sticking out of his arm! I need to get him into surgery; you can ask these two for details!' He indicated at two other soldiers standing by Holland, both filthy and bloody.
'Where's Lorne Colonel? Do you know? Does she know?' Holland roared as Carson and two Nurses wheeled his bed into another room.
The two Privates glared at the Colonel but said nothing. Private Grant was five foot tall and the most menacing female marine any alien could meet, Private Jose was tall and burly, and also not a big conversationalist.
'Well, what happened?' The Colonel folded his arms, not in the mood for any attitude.
Private Grant spoke. 'We were talking to the people on the planet about trade negotiations when the Wraith showed up. Two darts and a dozen Wraith on the ground. They started roundin' up people, pushing them to the middle of the village. Only fed on some, they just wanted to scare 'em to get 'em moving.' She glanced at Jose. 'We took down maybe half a dozen when a villager demanded to know why the Wraith had targeted their planet. Seemed to think that we would know seeing as apparently word spread on their handy little underground that the "strangely dressed" travellers were getting around to planets that were under attack. A Wraith broke his neck before taking Major Lorne by the throat and tossed him to the crowd to be taken by the darts. In an attempt to save the Major, Lieutenant Holland went after him; the Wraith threw him into a wall, then walked off to cause a little more mayhem.'
'We took off with the Lieutenant in tow, taking as many people as possible, sir.' Jose contributed.
'If those people describe what we look like to the Wraith - what am I saying, the Wraith knew it was us as soon as they saw the Major.' Rodney explained. 'They know where she is.'
Elizabeth looked to the floor for a moment.
'Ma'am, why do the Wraith want Miss Astra so bad?' Grant asked, looking at Astra standing at the back.
'Thank you Private, get checked out by some of the medical staff.' The Colonel said firmly.
'Yes sir.' She said slowly, fixing him with a look that meant she would love nothing more than to toss him to the sharks.
John turned, everyone looking worried. 'Okay, so they've taken him for interrogation, right? So that means he could still be alive, maybe they haven't gotten to him yet.'
'Are you suggesting a rescue?' Elizabeth asked incredulously.
'Infiltrate a Wraith Hive ship, search through thousands of people for a single man without getting caught by the Wraith…yes, that sounds like a plan that Sheppard would conjure.' Rodney glared at him with a "let's be serious, shall we?" look.
'Lorne knows about Astra, I told him about the things she was capable of.' John said firmly. Elizabeth looked at him.
'After I had instructed you to tell no one?' She stated, looking unimpressed.
'I owed him for saving our asses on Medda, and like everyone else on the base, he wanted to know what was happening.' He narrowed his eyes.
'And now he does, and very soon, so will the Wraith.' She glared.
'Ma'am, Major Lorne wouldn't give anything up, and the villagers don't know jack about Astra.' Jose said.
'Sounds familiar.' Grant mumbled. Sheppard threw her a look and she was silent.
'I know Lorne wouldn't give it up willingly, but the Wraith can extract the information by force. I've seen them do it before.' He said, remembering Colonel Maypiece.
'They will come to Atlantis.' Teyla stated.
'Then I must leave.' Astra sighed.
John gave her a dirty look worthy of an award. 'Of course! Save your own ass and everyone else be damned!'
'Colonel!' Elizabeth warned, the last thing she needed was for them to have another fight.
'I would not leave you to such a fate; I can take care of myself now. I understand more. I can draw them away.' She offered, folding her arms.
'To another planet where there are lots of people who can die, and there is every possibility of you being captured. Again, sounds like a Sheppard plan.' Rodney folded his arms.
'It is my choice and it is what I must do.' She told them, a determination dawning on her face. Ronan stepped forward.
'It's not your choice.' He stated. She spun on him, frowning. 'Everyone here has put their lives at risk; everyone everywhere else has died to protect you. Since we are the ones dieing, the ones you are supposed to be protecting, we have to decide what to do.' He looked at her with his brown eyes. He was in Hate-Wraith mode now, and she knew that he cared for her, and that he would die for her. She also knew that a lot of people would die if she listened to him.
'And as your protector, I will leave.'
'I won't let you.' Ronan stepped forward.
'Try and stop me.' She whispered to him. She didn't want to, but she was prepared to hurt him.
'You think I won't?' He raised an eyebrow as he advanced.
'I think that you will try.'
He stopped in front of her.
'Okay, how about we come up with a plan that is actually going to happen because it is a good plan?' Rodney suggested.
'What you got Mckay?' John asked. Rodney went blank.
'Nothing. I was just saying that that's what we should do.'
John rolled his eyes.
'Alright, let's think about this. What do we know?' Elizabeth rallied them.
'The Wraith know Astra is a threat and they will stop at nothing to find her, they may have figured out that she's here, they may think that she's moved on, there are too many possibilities.' Rodney explained.
'They are interrogating the prisoners, so it is possible that Major Lorne is still alive, but we do not know where he is.' Teyla added.
'Well, let's work with what we do know. Or who we know.' John reasoned. He turned to Teyla. 'The Tolasians have an underground right? Apparently one that extends to P4X 778. The Tolasians figured out that the Wraith were coming for them three days before they actually arrived.'
'I will speak with Councilman Jardus and try to find these connections.' Teyla glanced at Elizabeth, who nodded.
'Take Ronan, and Teyla? Be fast.'
Teyla nodded and left. Ronan paused, watching Astra. He turned and followed.
'In the meantime, we have the shield in case the Wraith does show up.' Rodney informed them.
'That doesn't make me feel all warm inside, Rodney.' Elizabeth frowned at him.
'Well what else am I supposed to say? That the Wraith will just give up and go home? Not likely.' He huffed.
John had paused, deep in thought.
'We know what they want.' He said. 'So let's give it to them.' He smiled.
Elizabeth and Rodney stared.
Meanwhile, Astra had taken to sneaking to the control room, watching Teyla and Ronan jog through the Gate to Tolas. She watched him go; wishing him the best of luck, and hoping that she would one day get a chance to apologise to him for her harsh words. The Gate shut down.
There were only two men in the control room. She sauntered in and smiled at them kindly.
'Good evening.' She greeted them. The military soldier nodded stiffly. Zalenka smiled.
'Astra! How are you? Have you seen Major Holland?' He asked, concern in his voice.
'I have, he is a brave man and he will heal under Beckett's skilled hands.' She comforted. 'I am sorry Radik, you have been most kind. I do hope that you will understand.' Radik frowned.
Astra extended her arm to his face stroking his cheek. His eyes closed and he fell to the floor as though exhaustion had taken him. The soldier stepped forward raising his weapon. Astra kicked it to the side and then pulled his arm in to hit his face with her elbow. He crumpled to the floor also.
She dialled the Gate for Medda.
Ronan and Teyla had been gone two hours when they stepped back through the Gate, John was waiting.
'We know where the Wraith vessel is, according to Tolasian sources, it is indeed heading to Atlantis.' Teyla breathed heavily. They had been running.
'It'll pass a planet in two hours with a Gate in orbit; we can get to them then.' Ronan added.
'Ronan.' Sheppard said slowly, watching him carefully. The Satedan could be highly unpredictable.
Ronan frowned. Teyla frowned.
'Astra took off when we were talking about what we could do, she took down Zalenka and Pierce, dialled the Gate.' He informed.
The world slowed, anger rose, worry and regret took hold. Ronan watched the Colonel. 'Where?' He growled.
'We're not sure.' He said.
Ronan could see it in his face; the man couldn't lie to him. 'Sheppard!' He shouted. 'Where!'
John gritted his teeth. 'Pierce is pretty sure that she's gone to Medda, he saw the first four symbols, and then fell into unconsciousness.' Sheppard informed him quickly, his friend was angry and he would do something stupid. Sheppard would stop him.
'Medda? Medda was destroyed, obliterated by the Wraith.' Teyla commented. 'Why would she venture there?'
'The same reason you went to Tolas, to get intel.' Sheppard stated. 'She wants to find Lorne and give herself up, she thinks it'll make them stop destroying worlds, which it would, but there is another way.' John was about to launch into his masterful plan when Ronan snarled something else.
'How can she reach the Wraith ship? It'll be in orbit of the planet.'
Teyla turned to him. 'They will cull the people on the planet and take them to the Hive; I believe that Astra will wait to be taken.'
'Straight to the Wraith.' John echoed.
Ronan stormed up the stairs. 'We can still head her off; the Wraith won't be there for a little while. I can find her.' He went to the DHD interface and began pushing the coordinates of the planet Astra had travelled to.
'Ronan stop!' Elizabeth ran into the control room with Rodney in tow.
Ronan looked up at her and frowned. 'If the Wraith get their hands on her, that's it!' He yelled.
'I know.' She said softly. 'Just wait a second.'
'Why?' he snarled. He had to go now, he had to find her.
'Because you need to hear my brilliant plan which will make everything all shiny and good again.' Rodney beamed.
Ronan narrowed his eyes, but listened.
Astra sat in the small Tavern, people milling about eating various things, some drinking mead even though it was only morning on this planet. She had asked for a cup of her own mead and sat in the corner, with no intention of paying. The Wraith would come and the people would flee.
She should tell them, she knew. She wanted to warn them, so that they would run. This was the last world that would suffer. She would be taken by the Wraith, get Lorne to safety and finish this massacre once and for all. The plan was very simple.
She thought of Ronan, thought of the others, and silently thanked them for their kindness. She would miss them. Ronan was like no other she had met, and he could never be replaced.
She took a sip from her mug as she heard screams outside. A shadow descended on the village. People in the Tavern ran outside to see what the commotion was, and they ran, screaming to their homes to leave. Astra watched them for a few minutes. Dressed in black trousers and a black tank top with no weapons, she stood slowly, draining the cup. She heard the darts over head, and stepped out side.
'This is risky.' Zalenka said, nursing a headache. What ever she had done to him, it had been nicer than what she had done to Pierce who was in the infirmary with a broken nose.
'It's a good plan.' Rodney insisted, tweaking a few things.
'I did not say that it was not a good plan, I said it was risky.' Radik glanced at the scientist, both of them hard at work.
'Yeah, well, most of my plans are.' Rodney mumbled. 'Let's pick up the pace, time is of the essence.' He said gruffly. Radik rolled his eyes and continued working.
Astra saw the dart over head, saw the people running from the beam. They crashed into her as they were all swept up, and the world went black. The next thing she knew, she was in a huge room, massive. She had seen nothing like it on any world. It held thousands of people, all from different planets. There must have been other rooms like this, unless they were interrogating them all extremely quickly. It is possible that there was more than one Hive ship – which would make things more difficult, but not impossible.
Many people from the planet below had been taken; she saw two other types of people, all of them standing out from their outfits. Some were dressed in rags while others in a nicer red garment. The ones with the red she knew were from P4X 778 from what Grant and Jose had said. They were in this room, which meant Lorne would be in here too. Unless the Wraith had taken him to be questioned first.
She remembered his young and determined face, a handsome face with the same strength that the Colonel possessed. This man had saved her from the Wraith on Medda; it was only fitting that she return the favour.
She walked through the crowd of people sitting and standing, some so terrified they screamed as she walked past. Others were bleeding and gravely wounded. Some would never move again. She saw a man out of the corner of her eye, a man she had seen before. A Tolasian.
Astra pushed her way to him. 'You are from Tolas?' She stated. He blinked at her and nodded.
'I am Astra.' She stopped. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn't save all of these people as much as she wanted to. The Wraith couldn't be bargained with and they couldn't be destroyed. She had to focus. 'Have you seen a man who wears clothing like mine? He will talk strangely, confidently, and he will be wearing unusual objects.'
The man shook his head.
'I have.' Astra turned to see a young woman.
Astra advanced. 'Where?'
'Who are you?' The girl asked wearily. 'What planet?'
Astra did not have time for this.
'I am Astra; my planet was destroyed long ago. Where is the man I seek?' She pushed.
'You must follow me.' She looked to the floor sadly before moving off into the crowd, Astra close behind. She approached a wall where Lorne sat looking filthy, tired and wounded.
Astra swooped down on him.
'Major!' She whispered.
His eyes flew open at the use of his rank; he saw her and shook his head.
'You can't be here, they can't find you.' He groaned.
'I have come to free you.' She took his arm and hoisted him up.
'I appreciate that ma'am, but we're on a Wraith Hive ship, I don't see a lot of exits.' He smiled weakly.
'You forget Major, that I am not the average human being.' She whispered. He looked at her sideways, her eyes shining mischievously.
'This is something the entire base knew.' He gave her an eyebrow. Astra could see the hand shaped bruise on his neck. 'This isn't necessary, I'm just tired.' He took his hand from over her shoulders. 'You have a plan, right? With the Colonel standing by?' He asked hopefully, she did not answer. 'Oh great.' He moaned, covering his face with his hand.
'Why have the Wraith not yet taken you?' She asked.
He paused. 'A lot of people in here, there's two doors on either end, only a handful of Wraith come and take about ten people at a time, they don't come back.' He informed her. 'Listen, what's the plan?'
Astra looked at him. 'I am to commandeer a Wraith dart once I have removed the guards from our path.'
Lorne raised his eyebrows. 'I like simple, it's just impossible I don't do.'
'Trust me.' She began to walk when he stopped her.
'Can we take some people with us?' He asked quietly. She turned on him.
'I cannot free these people.' She said low.
'Can you free seven?' He asked gently. She frowned. He glanced back at the girl which had brought Astra to him and saw her huddled with a group.
'Who are they?' Astra asked. Lorne turned to her.
'The last of the Athosians.'
Astra looked at him in surprise. How could she not save them? But it would be far more difficult. They could die on the way to freedom. But if they stayed, they would most certainly die. She gritted her teeth. It was the least she could for Teyla.
'Bring them, and be swift.'
Lorne jogged over to them and whispered in the girl's ear. Her eyes widened in fear and she shook her head. He put a hand on her arm and said something which made her look to the people she was with. Three of which were children. She turned to Astra and nodded. The girl rounded them up and they followed her, all of them looking pale.
'My name is Lara.' The girl said to Astra. 'I will trust you because we have nowhere else to go, and I know that if we stay, we will die.' She said bravely.
Astra nodded and headed for the closest door. People had made a wide horse shoe around it, avoiding it as much as they could. Astra strode into the empty space and stopped, watching the door and waiting.
She glanced back at them, burning their faces into her mind so as not to lose them. The three children and Lara, there was an old woman, a middle aged man and a teenage girl, all looking afraid, but defiant. The Athosian spirit she greatly admired.
Astra's head snapped back to the door. She could hear whispers in her ear that no one else could hear, could see colours bleed into blues and greys, and could feel a burning coldness on her skin. The Wraith approached.
Major Lorne had seen her stiffen and stepped forward. 'What?'
'Five Wraith. Bring them closer.' She ordered quietly, that way, they would all be chosen.
Sure enough, Lorne saw five Wraith making their way toward their position out side of the webbed door. He hurried to the Athosians and brought them forward. He watched Astra carefully, not asking how she knew.
People screamed and stumbled back as the Wraith glided into the room, four masked lead by – the scientist. The Wraith she had seen once before with the purple coat. He had told the red haired Wraith who she was, that was when Borus had freed Astra and taken her away. Astra readied herself; she would have to wait for the opportune moment.
The scientist surveyed the crowd, seeing the group in front. There were usually volunteers who were so weak and afraid that they gave up and allowed themselves to be taken. He smiled.
Astra stepped forward and the Wraith stopped smiling, recognising her immediately. His eyes opened wide in menace and all four masked Wraith surged forward. They surrounded her, pulled her down. She allowed them to do so. Major Lorne stood back frowning, he didn't like the plan. He wasn't even sure that this was part of the plan. Astra looked up at the Wraith with blue eyes burning in loathing.
'I have come to offer myself in return for the freedom of these people, in return for the Wraith to cease their endless attacks in search of me.'
The Wraith cocked his head.
'You were wise to come.' It rasped.