Disclaimer: I do not own the wraith or the characters of Stargate Atlantis. This is my attempt at a tribute to them.

Chapter 2 – Remnants

Reknar sat at the console of the hive ship, drumming his fingers impatiently against the controls. Since the awakening of all his kind there had not been enough nourishment to go around and he, like many others of his kind, was irritable, and as a scientist, he was driven to look for alternatives. He sighed, thinking of the events that had happened. Some nitwit human had been responsible for the awakening, and with the awakening, a promise of a rich source of nourishment. But, it seemed less and less likely that these humans would give away the location of their far-away home world. They weren't like their ancestors. Less advanced, but more resilient.

He continued to strum the control panel with his fingers, earning him an irritated glance from one of the other commanders. He returned the glance, and hissed. As ranking commander on this ship, if he wanted to tap the control panel….

He almost laughed, catching his thoughts, and wished, not for the first time in the many thousands of years since he had last seen Lyirin, that she was there to share his humor. He hadn't given up looking for her. There was now the even nastier thought that she might have fallen at the hands of these new, resilient, yet technologically inferior Lanteans, but part of him felt sure that he would know if this were indeed the case. He sighed. If anyone could have helped in the current situation, Lyirin could have. He had never known another scientist like her. He kicked the console irritably. There was no denying it, the wraith were in trouble, and an alternate food source was needed. And the one scientist who had wanted to make that happen had vanished into an unknown area of space, away from contact, away from any wraith colony, and as the hive's leading scientist in her absence, Reknar grew more and more frustrated in trying to come up with a solution for the circumstances himself. He forced his thoughts away and instead to the journey.

The hive was heading to a culling; their current queen, Cirza, had received word from one of the other queens to participate in a joint culling. Cirza had been reluctant to trust her, and Reknar, still second in command, hadn't trusted her either. So, they were on their way to the planet much earlier than the agreed time.

He stood up, and started pacing the corridor in his irritation, and ran his fingers through his long, white hair. He couldn't shake the feeling that they wouldn't be alone when they arrived at the planet of culling. He considered going to Cirza, but instead kicked the wall, finally earning an irritated exclamation from the male standing to his right.

'Do you have something to say, Lergath?' Reknar hissed at the other, his hand clenching into a fist.

The other wraith rolled his eyes.

'Commander, I feel concern too.' The other wraith grunted. 'Such concerns are best expressed to our Queen, rather than the console and the wall, hmm?' The male said, keeping a carefully neutral expression.

Reknar, to his own surprise, grinned.

'I just don't trust them.' He said, absent-mindedly tapping at the console.

The other made a gesture of agreement.

'They have long been after our territory. I can't believe they'd put that all aside, especially now.' He mused, looking out the window at hyperspace streaking by.

Reknar inclined his head in agreement.

'This is what the queen thinks, and I..' He began, but then felt the tug of mental contact. 'Speaking of the queen, I'm summoned. Keep me updated.' He instructed Lergath, who gave a curt nod and returned his gaze to the route screen.

0000000000000

Reknar carefully entered the queen's chamber, moving past the guards. He looked around quickly. The dark-blue walled chamber was moderately lit, soft lighting even for a wraith, and the hive queen, Cirza, was sitting on her chair, tapping her fingers on the armrests in a similar fashion to what he'd done with the console. He approached the chair, and inclined his head in greeting.

Cirza stood up to face him. Her long white hair was rather more tangled than usual, indicating to Reknar that the queen had been taking out her frustration on it. He almost laughed, although he knew better than to do so. Privately, he compared every queen the hive had chosen since Lyirin, and none, in his mind, had quite measured up. This opinion was shared by many in the hive; and although the opinion of some wraith was that Lyirin was a renegade, every wraith in the hive knew better than to call her thus in front of Reknar.

Reknar was not unhappy with the current leadership, for the most part, Cirza had proved a good leader.

Finding himself caught in his thoughts, Reknar turned his attention back to the queen. She was wearing a long white gown, and was picking and the material restlessly. She looked up and stared at him full in the face, her green eyes narrowing.

'You feel it too, Commander.' She said, finally.

He inclined his head in agreement.

'I do, my queen.' He replied. 'Even leaving as early as we have, it feels as though there has been a trap set for us.' He hissed. 'I think we should turn back.'

'We cannot.' Cirza replied, with an annoyed wave of her hand. 'We are too close and we need to feed, Reknar.' Her look became thoughtful.

Suddenly an alarm blared, and both wraith felt the pull at their minds from the control room. Cirza's expression changed into worry, then anger.

'An ambush!' Her eyes widened in anger as they were shown, through the telepathic link, what the long range sensors had picked up in the control room.

Reknar beheld the images in dismay. There was not one, but three hive ships waiting for them on the planet, most likely with short range fighter craft at the ready.

They were very, very outnumbered.

'We can't turn back.' Cirza was pacing near her chair. 'What other systems are nearby?'

Reknar relayed the question to Lergath in the control room, and waited to be shown an image.

'There is the X'Krath system quite near us, my Queen.' Reknar stated thoughtfully, after viewing the images through his link to Lergath. 'We could conceal ourselves there, but our earlier scans of the planet show that what human life there is, is scattered, and extremely primitive and savage. Could be hard to find.' He said thoughtfully.

Cirza hissed.

'I hate to run like a coward.' She growled. 'But this is a situation that cannot be won. Make the alteration, Commander, and we'll be on our way there.' She finished, a tone of disgust in her voice. 'Then when we are in a more secured position, I shall tell that queen what I think of her offer of alliance!' She reached out and struck a wall in annoyance.

Reknar made a motion of agreement once more.

'As you will it. There will be other opportunities for alliance, my queen.' He replied.

However, on that last thought, Reknar had his doubts. They were… different to other wraith. More unified. They fed only when absolutely necessary. They generally kept to themselves, and stayed out of the way of others. Were they feared? Hated? Looked down upon? They didn't particularly care. But, the fact remained, they were a little different. Reknar paced the room awkwardly, wanting to return to the control room. Cirza suddenly laughed.

'You remind me of a confused zubar, pacing like that. Take your leave, Reknar. I'll call you if I require your assistance again.' Cirza said, not unkindly.

Reknar inclined his head in a gesture of respect, and with more than a little relief, made his way back to the control room.

00000000000000

'Well, it seems you were right about this planet,' Lergath remarked, as they stood on the world's surface, looking around. 'I don't think there are any humans anywhere near us, and the temperature isn't exactly ideal.' He lowered his voice in order to be able to mutter his true opinion of this particular planet without being reprimanded by his commander.

Reknar made a gesture of annoyance. Yes, it was bad. But it wasn't that bad. Scans had picked up humans in the vicinity, but not the immediate vicinity. Everyone on the hive ship was tired, hungry, and tempers were flaring. It was for this reason that Reknar had volunteered to lead the advance party that would search and secure the area. It was a much better choice than remaining on the ship with the company of irritable, hungry wraith and an irate Cirza. On top of her hunger, the queen was seething over the ambush, the lack of honor shown by the other hive. Their hive had always valued honor. Reknar thought again of Lyirin. When she had been queen, she had abided by a strict code of honor, which the hive had followed, and still did. Their hive had always valued honor ever since Reknar could remember, but Lyirin was…..well, she was different. She was like no other queen before or since her time. He found himself wondering whether she had made any progress on her other project, the one she had dared tell no one about except for him. If anything, an alternate food source didn't seem like a very bad idea at the moment.

'Reknar!'

Reknar was jolted back to awareness by a kick from Lergath.

'Wake up! We have an area to secure, remember?' Lergath said, annoyed, then smiled slyly. 'You can daydream later. I'd much rather my skin intact, and if we don't report back to the queen…'

'Alright!' Reknar swatted a hand at Lergath, who dodged aside and smirked.

……………..

As they walked, Reknar surveyed the area intently. According to their scanners, the humans were nearby, possibly hiding in caves. The foliage in the area was thick, full of tall, large-leaved trees as well as dense, prickly shrubs. He found himself intensely disliking the latter as they pushed through it. In the sky, three moons floated overhead. Reknar made a note to mention the idea of using one of the moons for concealment to Cirza.

As he walked, Reknar found himself once more pulled into thoughts of the past, and concern for the future. And so would it have remained for the next few minutes had an arrow not suddenly lodged itself into his shoulder! First with a bellow of rage, then a grin, he pulled out his stunner, eager for the hunt to begin.

The hunting party of five eagerly followed the humans, who, as was mentioned in earlier reports, were exceptionally primitive. They wore nothing save animal hides covering only their more private areas and carried crude weapons, what the humans called bows and arrows, clubs, and spears. Reknar threw himself into the fight eagerly, after pulling the arrow from his shoulder. The humans had launched themselves at the five wraith, screaming at them, shooting arrows, and hurling spears. There were more of them, too, that had emerged from hidden positions to surround and outnumber the wraith. Reknar saw as Lergath, cursing, dislodged a spear from his arm and stunned the human who had thrown it. He stunned two humans who had been trying to sneak up on him from behind and reached out mentally to the wraith who were waiting in the fighter craft by the hive ship.

After a few brief minutes of fighting, during which, surprisingly, one of their party had been quite badly injured, the familiar sound of the fighter craft was suddenly overhead, and it was with relief that Reknar watched the culling beams sweep up the humans. It was just as well, he thought, that they had attacked in quite a large number, at least now they'd have something on which to feed, and to placate Cirza.

'You go on back to the ship.' Reknar told Lergath. 'I'll stay and make sure there aren't more of them.'

Lergath nodded and walked back in the direction of the ship.

Reknar walked closer to the rock walls nearby. He'd thought that perhaps humans were hiding in a cave network but he'd also sensed something here, something not quite right. He hadn't, however, wanted to mention it in front of the others.

He got closer to the rock face and trailed fingers along it, absent-mindedly. Yes, something was definitely different here! In fact…

Reknar cursed aloud as suddenly he found himself pitching forward into a dark hole. As he hit the ground, the lights, as if choosing that moment to sense him, flickered on. He stood up, ruefully adjusting his clothes from where he had fallen. His eyes widened. This was a softly lit chamber of wraith design! On the stone walls, various equipment still resided, and an examining table. He went closer, to examine the find, remembering again his time spent with Lyirin before she had disappeared. Could it be..?

He looked around the lab, discovering empty vials and medical applicators (wraith version of a syringe). There was another piece of equipment the purpose of which he couldn't begin to guess. And there, in the corner, a very crude sleeping area. He moved over to this. Whoever had worked here, had also lived here. He felt excitement building in his chest, which he tried to suppress. After all this time, it couldn't be….

He bent over the sleeping platform. The occupant had taken near everything of value, but had left something behind, unnoticed.

There, on the sleeping platform, lay a crumpled upper garment. On it were several long, ebony hairs.

His first thought was that she was alive. Alive! She had to be, though the lab was clearly abandoned.

Reknar smiled. It could be false hope, but part of him felt sure, certain, that Lyirin was alive, and this lab was one step closer to finding her. He debated whether or not to tell Cirza, whether she would allow him to take his temporary leave of the hive to search for her.

He decided, however, that for the moment, there were more urgent things to worry about. The ones who had tried to trick them were not so far away. For the moment, protecting his hive came first. Later, he'd tell the queen and maybe, after all these years, continue the search for Lyirin. Now, more than ever, her skills were needed.

He left the lab, and watched as the entrance sealed behind him. No doubt coded to wraith DNA. Taking one last note of the surroundings, so as to be able to find the area again, he finally turned around and hurried back in the direction of the hive ship.

…………………….

Stumbling through stubborn undergrowth, Lyirin cursed as her robe snagged on a branch. She was closer to her lab, and she wanted to get there before those humans started looking for her. From what she had gathered, it was only a matter of time. And her work was too important. Ironic, really, if they knew about her work, maybe they'd leave her be. Maybe even be grateful. But, from her experience, humans mostly attacked first and asked questions later when it came to the wraith. Even if they met her in human form, they'd be suspicious.

She hissed in rage as a small animal leaped into her path, startling her. She was tense, her every nerve was afire, after what she had picked up from the humans.

She was, after so many years of going unnoticed, attracting attention to herself, at the worst possible time no less. She thought of Reknar, and wished heartily that she had an assistant once more.

Lyirin cursed aloud; as she had been walking along daydreaming, one of the wretched shrubs had finally done what it almost seemed that they existed to do, tripped her over and she landed flat. As she picked herself up, she thought again of the four travelers. There had been something strange about one of them, the woman. Something….different. She made a note to think more about it later. Finally, she arrived at the blank face of rock that concealed her lab. Moving forward, she placed her hand on the rock, and the wall vanished. She moved inside and the wall reappeared. She was very happy with her door, it was set to her DNA and hers only. No one else, human or wraith, could get inside. She'd taken that particular precaution after a near-miss on another world with one of her previous labs. It had been coded to wraith DNA in general, and, unfortunately, had been discovered by a wraith hunting party. After an interesting encounter which had involved stunning them, dumping them outside the lab, sweeping them up with a culling beam, and only reintegrating them on another planet after she had packed up the lab to relocate once again, she'd decided on additional security from then on.

She moved inside and towards the room towards the back. The lab was brightly lit in all areas except for the area in which she slept. The walls, as with most of her labs, were stone. She had her equipment set up as neatly as possible, although due to having to move frequently, some of it was set up haphazardly. The metal examining table took up space in the middle of the room, and around it were shelves in which she kept vials of liquid, and her applicators. On one side of the room were terminals on which electronic data was stored, and in one corner, a device she was working on. It was unremarkable, it looked merely like a large, glowing, ugly box. But if it worked…

Towards the back were two areas, one her sleeping area, separate from the rest of the lab. Like in her other labs, it contained a small sleeping platform with animal pelts. Uncomfortable, practical. And the third area, well….that was where she kept her subjects.

As she moved into the back area which contained the subjects, the lights flickered on. Brightly lit by wraith standards. Before moving right into the area, she crouched, and her form rippled. She smiled. Once more, she appeared human. She approached the end wall, and was soon staring straight into a pair of terrified eyes. She smiled in a way she hoped was reassuring and reached to remove the human from the cocoon.

'Please!' The middle-aged human male begged. 'No more..'

Lyirin sighed, as she pressed the applicator to his arm and injected the sedative.

'One day, you'll thank me.' She muttered.

From the look on the face of the human before he fell unconscious, it seemed to Lyirin that the only thing that he would be thankful for would be her sudden, painful death.

She suppressed a wry smile.

So many years, and so little had changed.

T.B.C

I'm not sure what I think of this chapter, lol. It's a little different than my original plans for it. Oh, well!