The people in the hallways gave him funny glances as he jogged past them toward the control room. Nearing Woolsey's office, Sheppard slowed his pace so as not to appear too eager. When he glanced over at the stargate, he saw pallets of food and other supplies being offloaded through the gate.
Woolsey noticed him approaching through the office door and watched him as he neared.
"Colonel," Woolsey said. "I was just about to call you, and I know what you're going to ask. They're still shipping in the warheads for the mission, and they'll be passed through the stargate tomorrow."
That stopped Sheppard dead in his tracks. "Are you serious?" he said. "Of all the things that could slow the military down, we don't have enough weapons?"
Woolsey typed out something on his computer. "It's a big mission with a lot of targets to hit simultaneously. We're lucky they've got the food and supplies ready."
Sheppard leaned against the wall.
"I only just got the E-mail from Keller a second before you ran in here." Woolsey said. "Are you sure that you're ready for a mission?"
"Very ready," Sheppard insisted. "I need to make sure those people are safe. Atlantis shouldn't have to worry about a new fleet of hive ships either."
"This is personal for you, isn't it?"
Exhaling through his nose, Sheppard's shoulders slumped. "It is. I need to see this through."
Woolsey nodded very slowly, almost imperceptibly while staring off to his right. "I understand." He turned back to Sheppard. "Just make sure that you don't lose sight of the objective. Don't let the wraith manipulate you into making a mistake."
"I won't," he said with confidence. "They can't get to me."
"Good," Woolsey said. "Make sure that you're well rested for the mission. Your team is tentatively scheduled to leave through the stargate tomorrow afternoon. You'll all get the formal mission briefing one hour from now."
"Thank you," Sheppard said, turning and leaving. He needed to get his team together now and brief them on the mission details.
(0)
Sheppard watched as Caldwell stood at the front of the conference room, displaying the different aspects of the mission on the projector slides which Sheppard helped put together. Everyone packed tightly into the room, since every mission leader from every team had to attend.
"Two reconnaissance teams and two marine teams are going to be in charge of safe egress of the prisoners. Colonel Sheppard's description of the tunnel systems indicate that guards are placed at the entrances to the caves, and that the only armed guards are in the watch towers. Once the watch towers are taken out, you'll…"
Sheppard's mind unfocused from Caldwell, and he began contemplating his part of the mission to commandeer a hive ship. He knew that the wraith didn't have a full complement on the planet or on the hive ships, but he began to be concerned that they would still present a challenge. Since he escaped, the wraith would be alerted to the possibility of Atlantis retaliating.
"…The stealth flyover in the jumper revealed that one hive ship on the surface is complete enough to fly, but is lightly guarded. Sheppard's team will arrive by stealth three hours in advance to take control of that ship and fly it closer to the egress site, where the refugees will be loaded on board. The timing is critical, since the Daedalus will need to engage the orbiting ship to prevent it from interfering in the egress."
Lorne raised his hand. "How will we convince everyone to get on a hive ship. They might think it's a trap."
The room looked to Sheppard. He sat forward, not having thought sufficiently about this problem. When he described this plan in his write-up, he figured that the prisoners would try anything to escape, but Lorne was actually correct, this could cause a problem if they were hesitant.
"Well," Sheppard started. "The mine has leaders for every section, each of which consists of about fifty people. You should ask for each section leader and explain the plan to them."
Lorne nodded. "That makes sense. That way we can delegate some of the organization to the prisoners themselves."
"Exactly," Sheppard said. "Add to that, the person who helped me escape the first time counted on us coming back sometime later. He might have informed the other sections about Atlantis."
"If anyone has a question, now's the time to get it out there." Caldwell said, looking to each of the team leaders situated around the table.
Surprisingly, few had any questions. Caldwell continued on through the mission presentation. Everyone there seemed to agree that it was a tightly put-together plan, and that everyone felt good about it.
(0)
Sheppard went down to the mess hall for one last meal. He always made it a point to get some protein before a mission. It helped stave off distraction by hunger, in case he couldn't eat for awhile. That happened more frequently than he would like at this point.
They scheduled the mission departure for two hours from now, but his nerves distracted him — more so than usual. His legs started bouncing every time he thought of confronting Ice again. He didn't like that he couldn't control his reactions.
As he sat there, Teyla arrived along with Aceso, then followed by Ronon and McKay.
"You guys all have the same idea as me?" Sheppard said, taking a few bites of his roasted chicken and mashed potatoes.
Aceso spoke first. "No one should go on a mission hungry," she said. Her own choice of meal kind of contradicted that, seeing as she only had some fruit stacked on her plate.
McKay on the other hand had the same meal as Sheppard, only stacked with at least thirty percent more. "I second that," he said with a full mouth.
Ronon and Teyla didn't have any food with them, but they sat down anyway, just to spend a little time together. Sheppard appreciated that about his team.
"It's a big mission," Ronon said.
"There certainly are a lot of different aspects," Teyla said, her concerned tone making it through her calm exterior.
"We can handle it," Sheppard said. "We'll be ready on time to get everyone out of there."
"You are putting a lot of pressure on yourself to save everyone John." Teyla said. "I just want you to be careful."
Sheppard smiled. "I will be, I promise." He knew that Teyla had his best interest at heart, and would always have his back.
The remaining two hours before their mission launch went fast. The meal time lasted a little longer than expected, but they had plenty enough time to get to the jumper bay to launch.
Sheppard went through the mission equipment one last time, then boarded his team onto the jumper.
The mission launch time needed to be precise. He had three hours to commandeer the hive ship, and he would launch at exactly that mark.
On board, Ronon stared off through the windscreen, Teyla closed her eyes and sat still with hands on her knees, McKay was bouncing his legs. Aceso sat unnaturally still with her eyes closed. Tension filled the little ship, everyone bending under the gravity of the task.
"Are we ready?" Sheppard asked them.
"Let's go," Ronon said.
Sheppard mentally commanded the jumper bay doors to open and descended the ship through them.
The technicians had already activated the stargate. Woolsey's voice came over the radio "Colonel Sheppard."
"Yes sir," Sheppard responded.
"The mission is a go. Good luck."
"Thank you."
Sheppard launched the jumper through the gate, and cloaked it right on the other side.
As sunlight filled the ship, the windscreen dimmed automatically in response.
Calling up the scanners, Sheppard saw the workers in the open mine as little yellow dots on the screen. Dread became his dominant emotion when he saw the mine full of those people. The memories still felt raw.
He had to keep focused. Widening the scanning field he found the nearly completed hive ship a good twenty kilometers away from the camp.
It seemed to be completely operational. The energy readings were high enough to suggest that inertial dampening was active within it.
"All right," Sheppard said. "Let's go right through this tunnel." He directed the ship through an open tunnel leading into the right side dart bay. The massive structure created the sensation of flying into a mountain rather than into a ship. The immense internal space revealed a whole compliment of darts already grown.
He found an empty platform and set the ship down, making sure it stayed active, just in case they needed to make a quick egress.
"Stealth will be key here," Sheppard said, taking multiple life signs detectors from a case and handing them to McKay, Aceso, and keeping one for himself. "We're going to go straight to the control center and take control of the ship. Once the Daedalus arrives, we'll fly it closer to the camp and land it."
"I'll do my best Colonel," Aceso said. "I feel the need to say it again; controlling a hive with such precision is very difficult. If I fail on the landing, we could cause more harm than good."
"We know that," Sheppard said. "All you need to do is move it close enough that we can get everyone out a little sooner. Just try not to get too fancy."
He paused for a second, thinking of how he was going to word this. "Aceso," he addressed tersely.
Her attention turned to him intently.
He understood feeling the need for revenge against Ice. Because of what she had done, he would gladly go after her, but that would serve only as a distraction from their bigger mission.
"Stay with the team. I know that the queen may be somewhere on or around this planet, but she's not the mission. The most powerful strike we can levy against her is by destroying the rest of these ships, and rescuing the workers."
Aceso Seemed to scowl a little, but bowed her head lightly. "I understand," she said earnestly.
He didn't want to have to single her out like that, but he felt that it needed to be said, just so everyone was clear.
"That goes for all of you," he said to the rest of his team. "Stick together — stick to the mission."
He opened the jumper bay doors, letting in the cold, damp air of the hive which did nothing to calm his nerves. Aceso had the opposite reaction, seeming to enjoy the burst of cool air with a deep breath.
"You lead the way," Sheppard directed Aceso. She nodded and gestured for the team to follow as she navigated using a life signs detector.
They moved out of the jumper cautiously, movements swift, fluid, and silent. The life signs detector confirmed what they suspected, that the ship was mostly empty, save for the occasional drone that wandered around.
It wasn't the first time they'd commandeered an empty ship, but it didn't make it feel any less creepy to be on board. Sheppard kept expecting to walk around a corner and see something horrific. His experience in wraith facilities had left him jaded to that.
Aceso stopped and gestured for the rest of them to halt. She examined the life signs detector. "Something feels different," she commented.
"Different?" McKay asked.
"What's wrong?" Ronon said.
Teyla closed her eyes. "She's right. Something is happening."
"Well, what?" Sheppard asked.
"I can't tell," Aceso said. "If feels as though there are other wraith present, but then when I try to touch their minds, nothing is there."
"I feel the same," Teyla said. "It's an odd feeling."
"Well what does that mean?" McKay asked.
Aceso shook her head. "I honestly don't know. I have never experienced that sensation before."
Sheppard knew the other shoe might drop. Both of the wraith-sensitive team members reported something unusual but couldn't pinpoint it.
"Could it have something to do with the ship?" McKay inquired.
Aceso shook her head. "The ship's telepathic connection wouldn't feel that way, unless something is wrong with it."
"I concur," Teyla said. "Still, I do not know what to make of this."
Ronon closed in on Sheppard. "What are we going to do?"
Ultimately,he needed to decide what to do next. He could decide to turn back and cancel the mission, but that may very well put the rest of the teams in jeopardy if he couldn't warn them. The mission plan didn't allow for communications at this stage.
Fortunately, their path into the interior of the ship lay clear.
"We move forward," Sheppard said. "Stay alert."
"All right," Ronon said. "Let's get moving."
They continued on for some time, the immense internal space of the ship making their progress toward the command center slow.
They came into sight distance of the main entrance into the command center. It lay just at the end of the hallway.
A bright light enveloped them.
The next sequence of events felt fuzzy. Sheppard vaguely registered being touched, poked, and prodded. He felt the rough hands of wraith drones removing his weapons and his watch. He realized with a sickening clarity that the wraith had caught him — again.
After blinking the stars out of his eyes, Sheppard understood that they had been transported somewhere else in the ship.
They dragged him, a sensation too familiar to him.
An almighty shove sent him sprawling out on the ground on his back, staring up at the ugly mask of a wraith drone.
"No!," he moaned weakly.
Next, the unpleasant visage of Clint stood over him, ordering him to be picked up. He turned his head, searching for his team, but he saw them all being wrestled off the ground and subdued by the surrounding army. A hundred drones surrounded them in this room.
Ronon jolted to consciousness, as did Aceso. Teyla was a little groggy, and McKay looked like he enjoyed the sleep.
Sheppard recognized the area as the center of the ship in what was supposed to be the queen's chamber. Somehow, the wraith had rigged a transporter above the hallway outside of the control center, which brought them to the center chamber.
They had trapped him. The queen had known his plan somehow.
With a sickening realization, he found himself being picked up roughly and shoved to his knees.
Queen Ice strode into the room, today having decided to wear a bright white fabric dress, almost reminding him of the ones the Ancients wore, however having the seams marked with bits of green.
"You are predictable Sheppard," Queen Ice said as she approached. "Your desire to help people was transmitted to me in your dreams during your time in the camp.
Thinking back to his time in the camp, Sheppard realized that his dreams provided this queen the means to predict his wants and desires. He'd dreamt at least the gist of this plan before even returning to Atlantis. Somehow, his normal dreams provided the means to gather valuable intel, even if the address to Atlantis was not among it.
Ice looked to Aceso. "I must say, I was surprised when Sheppard dreamt of you. I never expected these Atlanteans to recruit any wraith to their cause, let alone a queen."
Aceso said nothing, but glared so intensely, she could have thrown flames from her eyes.
Sheppard straightened up. "What do you want?"
Ice walked quickly to him. "I am weary of asking you the same question."
With a smile, Sheppard taunted her. "Where's Atlantis?"
"I will make it simple. You or your friends can either tell me the address to Atlantis, or you can watch all the slaves die. One by one if necessary until one of you tells me what I need to know."
His team kept silent. No one knew what she planned.
Ice turned to Aceso. "Perhaps I'll start with this embarrassment of a queen."
She strode in front of Aceso, regarding her with a fiery glint in her icy eyes. "Yes child, I remember you, and your weak-willed mother. It's a shame that she instilled such a weakness in you. You could have been a powerful ruler in your own right."
"I don't need your judgement," Aceso spat.
Ice grinned. "I savored the taste of your mother's defiance, and I will do the same with you."
"No, start with me," Ronon said. Ice gave Ronon an annoyed glare but ignored him. The outburst shocked Sheppard, who knew Ronon would only have done that for a very good friend.
Aceso fumed with anger, but what got him truly upset were the tears streaming down her face. Aceso refrained from saying anything. What could one say to such a taunt?
Aceso tried to reach queen Ice, but the drones held her down. Sheppard hoped that Aceso might try to psychically influence the drones, but it seemed that she couldn't, possibly because Ice prevented her from doing so.
Queen Ice smiled widely, showing off her sharpened teeth which she definitely never used for eating. "Mother and daughter are so alike," she said.
Ice raised her hand in a pose to feed.
"You don't want to kill her," Sheppard interjected.
Ice stopped. "She is too dangerous for me to keep alive." Her hesitation bought him time to try to stall.
"That's right," Sheppard said, racking his brain for a way to distract Ice. "She knows the location of a super-secret Lantean outpost."
Ice seemed disinterested. "Another queen can lie to me with no way for me to know, and that is of no use to me."
Aceso closed her eyes, and at the same time, Sheppard noticed that Teyla had done so as well.
Just then, the lights cut out, and the room became cloaked in darkness.