Rogue Element2
Trees burned. Buildings burned. The village was a horror of fire and rock. Bodies were strewn across the rubble. Some moving. Some not. A single figure was sprawled near the smashed remains of the pedestal. P90 still grasped in one hand.
"There. Hone in on that signal, and that signal only. Leave the rest." Aiden Ford zoomed in on the prone figure. Smiled. "You are one tough son of a bitch to bring down, sir, but I have you now. And you'll see the only way is to join me."
"What of our men?" asked a voice in the background.
Aiden shrugged. "Scoop them up too. But Sheppard first. We can't risk losing him."
"Incoming, sir! A Jumper, heading for the village! Shall we engage?"
"No." Aiden considered, absently stroking his re-attached arm. Feeling the scaly growth that was replacing his human skin. "One down is enough. Let them be. By the time they'll be in range we'll be long gone." He briefly wondered who had been on the ship they had shot down. Wondered if it had been anyone he had known in that other life. In Atlantis. Before he had become a pariah, an outcast on the run. Before he had evolved into something so much more.
He glanced around the Wraith ship. At his men. His most trusted comrades were here. The ones still fully human, only addicted to the enzyme but otherwise untouched by any experimentation or accident. His fingers stilled on his arm. A momentary regret came and went. A moment where part of him still hoped to sway his former commanding officer to his purpose, his duty. But he quickly killed that remnant of who he had been, and strode to wait for his prisoner.
He smiled. Watching as his former friend was dragged along the corridor. Dumped onto the floor. "Wait!" Aiden neared, neared. Squatted and stared at the unconscious man. "Who's in charge now? Huh? Who outwitted you, huh? You see? You see, sir, I am more than capable of running rings around you! Around the both of you!"
John was oblivious to the boasting, taunting words. Unconscious.
Aiden sighed. Suppressed the urge to kick the prone man. He stood. "Secure him. Doubly." He eyed the mutated men around him as they hauled John to his feet, dragged him to a holding cell. "And no feeding off him! Not yet! Not until we get what we need."
Men. Strange. Humanoid or Wraith-like creatures looming in doorways. Shadows. Grunts that could have been language. Spoken words that were English, but disjointed. A low thrumming sound. A slight vibration John could feel in his feet, in his ears. Otherwise he was engulfed in a heavy silence.
John opened his eyes, swore softly. Recognizing the confines of a holding cell. It's organic walls and darkness were all too familiar. As were the organic bonds holding him to the wall. For a moment blind panic assaulted him, recalling the last time he had been bound. That hideous hybrid creature that had grown from Moira's foot. But that thing was dead. He remembered killing it.
He relaxed slightly. Realized he was on a Wraith cruiser. Wondered how Ford had managed to steal one. He forced a calm he did not feel. Arms pinned to his sides he nevertheless wriggled his fingers to slide into his pocket. To barely touch the lacy, satiny coolness of Moira's panties bunched there. A quick smile. Calm. Moira was safe on Atlantis. He kept the thought over and over in his mind, then cleared his thoughts. Freed her panties.
He looked around, wondering about his men. Their fate. He seemed to be the only prisoner. He frowned, trying to remember their last transmissions before the stunner had taken him out. Men were pinned down. Lorne was flying a Jumper, so was Torres...but something had happened. He tried to remember.
He shifted, but the cocoon's sticky folds held him tight. "Hey! Hello! If you still want to talk I'm listening!" he called. "I'm all yours now! Hello! Hey! Don't you think a cocoon in a holding cell is a little overkill? Believe me, I'm flattered, but come on!" He waited. Waited. "Oh, nice ship, by the way! Buy it used?" He cursed, struggled. "Hey! Cocoon in a holding cell is way, way over the top!"
"No. Not for you, Sheppard."
John's brow furrowed, recognizing the voice. He looked round, but beyond the cell the corridors were dim, dark. Sporadic pools of blue light did little but illuminate the floor. "Ford. Okay, you've got my attention now. So talk."
"You know, I figured you wouldn't hold up your end of the bargain. Not exactly, but he will, now. You are always the same, Sheppard."
"Yeah, okay," John said, having no idea what Ford was talking about. Not yet, anyway. "About time you showed up, lieutenant. Oh, the message. Very nice. Subtle, yet clear. Cryptic, yet to the point."
"Wasn't supposed to be," Aiden Ford complained. "He had to change the plan. Got cold feet. But I knew he'd find a way. Couldn't resist another chance. And I have to admit his plan was better. You always have a plan, don't you, Sheppard?"
"Yeah, that's me. Man with a plan. Why don't you show yourself, Ford? We can talk. Catch up. Relive old times. And introduce me to your new friend. You know, the one who is apparently smarter than you."
Aiden laughed, a bark of sound as he stepped to the cell. The blue light gleamed on his one jet black eye. His hair was longer. Clothes tattier. Another scar marred his brown skin along his cheek. John noted he had two arms. Two functioning arms, one with a shading of Wraith blue scales that reminded him of his own appearance when he was infected with the retro-virus. "You would say that. But I can think rings around both of you. You'll see. He'll see. You'll both see! And when I have her...you'll both do as I say!"
John was puzzling over the words, watching Aiden as he opened the cell. Strolled over to him. John glanced past him to see the strange men. Not human, not Wraith but something in between. He looked back at Aiden. "What are those? New recruits? Have you allied yourself with the Wraith now? Sleeping with the enemy?"
Aiden punched John's jaw. "Shut up! We are going to eliminate the Wraith once and for all! We have a plan, and you, Sheppard, are going to join us!"
John worked his sore jaw. "No," he said mildly.
Aiden hit him again. "You will! You will help us achieve this at all costs! Willingly...or not. He said you'd be like this. But then, he should know." He laughed again.
John worked his jaw, spit out some blood. "Yeah, I guess he would. Know me and all. Who?" he demanded harshly.
"Sheppard, we all want the same thing, don't we?" Aiden asked, tone reasonable. He tilted his head, eying his former commander as if he were a recalcitrant child. "Elimination of the Wraith.
You have the resources we need. And the experience. Although we have a much more experienced man now. Funny that. He still has the same weaknesses as you, though. Funny."
"Yes, extremely," John snarkily commented. A suspicion was forming, but he chased it away. Unwilling to believe it, accept it. "What exactly do you want?" he snapped.
"Atlantis."
John stared. Then laughed. Loudly. A long laugh which made Aiden tense. Fill with fury, although a tinge of uncertainty haunted him. John smiled. "Oh. That's all? Okay. Atlantis is yours. Have fun."
Aiden whirled, stepped out of the cell. "Bring him! We'll break him one way or another!" He turned, watched as the creatures shuffled into the cell. Ripped the bonds apart and hauled John out of them. "You left me for dead, Sheppard! You left me!"
"As I recall, lieutenant, you were trying to kill me," John reminded.
"Bring him! You will see reason eventually. If not we'll replace you. And when I get her you will do whatever I say, won't you? Like him!"
John was dragged down the corridor. He was thinking furiously, knew Ford had to be referring to Moira. Leverage. And this other ally, the one tracking her, stalking her, laying a trap, the dog tags, skilled like him, so like him. John swore inwardly realizing whom it must be. Wondered how and why. "Ford! You idiot! You don't want Atlantis! He does!" John was thrown onto the floor but he sprang to his feet. Fought. Fists flying, swinging, landing punches and kicks. He whirled, dove, fingers snatching a weapon but froze as one was placed at his temple.
"Drop it!"
John dropped the weapon. Doubled over as he was viciously punched in the gut. Hauled up and strapped to a slab that passed for a bed. Arms and legs bound fast.
Aiden smiled. Pulled out a large knife. "I want Atlantis, Sheppard. You figured it out, didn't you? He's a means to our ends, nothing more."
"How the hell did he get here? And how the hell did he meet you?" John asked, cursing to himself as his suspicion was confirmed. A wash of dread chilled him, but he knew that Moira was safe in Atlantis. Repeated it silently to himself.
"I don't know." Aiden pulled up a chair, chatting congenially now. Now that John was securely bound once more. "At first I thought it was you...after a really, really bad day." He barked a laugh. "I almost shot you, I mean him, on sight. But he explained how he wasn't you. How he comes from a very different Atlantis. A fallen Atlantis now. Hey, did you know we all exist over there. Well, we did, that is. Strange, huh? I'm sure Rodney could explain it better. This stuff is right up his alley, isn't it?"
"So how did he find you?" John asked, trying to both simultaneously keep Aiden talking and steer him back to the colonel.
"He just showed up at one of our bases! Shocked the hell out of us! Had a weird tracking device keyed to my genetic code, of all things. He had one for Moira too. He put it in the tracking device you put on me. Anyway, he explained his needs, I explained mine, and we came to an agreement. You know, colonel, he's a lot easier to get along with than you."
"I bet," John muttered, mind racing over what those exact needs could be.
"A lot more reasonable and understands the mission and its objectives. Unlike you. Funny that."
"Yeah, hilarious," John agreed, trying to move but the straps held him fast.
"You see, sir, you need to join me. With Atlantis and its firepower and his advanced tech we can eliminate the Wraith from this galaxy. He thinks he's getting Atlantis since his is gone. Yes, he lost his Atlantis. Lost the war. To the Wraith. He thinks he's getting Moira too. But I need her scientific skills. And you...you wouldn't want her to fall into his hands, now would you?"
John struggled. "You son of a bitch! If anything happens to her I will kill you!"
"Cooperate and nothing will. Give me the city and its power, its weaponry, and we can rid the galaxy of these parasites. First, though, I need to cut out your subcutaneous tracking device. Then, well, we have a Wraith psychic probe which will tell me all I need. Every one of your codes."
"No. You won't learn a fucking thing," John grimaced as the knife sliced into his upper arm. Cutting skin, flesh. Blood flowed.
"I will. Weird, how his codes are different from yours, or so he said. We'll see. He could replace you in Atlantis, Sheppard. No one would know. Not even Moira. Tell me, would she notice the difference in her bed?" He laughed as he sawed through sinew, digging now to locate the tiny device embedded in John's tissue. "I assume you've fucked her by now. Probably several times. Really, sir? A scientist?" he asked, as if genuinely shocked. Disappointed.
John groaned. Ignoring the taunts, the pain as Aiden cut deeper. Probing the muscle. He found the device at last and removed it. "There. Device."
John turned his head as a creature tightly bound his wound. Bluish hands wrapping a bandage after wiping the blood. Sneaking a taste as it lifted bloody fingers to its mouth. John cringed inwardly, seeing the distorted tongue lapping his blood. The creature quickly lowered its hand and finished binding John's arm.
"Charming help you have here, Ford. What have you done to them?"
"Experiments. In order to understand the enemy you have to become the enemy. Or at least see the world through their eyes, through their minds. I've learned quite a lot out here, sir. More than you could ever learn in your precious Atlantis."
"Like what, exactly? How to turn men into monsters?" he mocked.
"No! How to become the enemy's enemy. Exploit their weaknesses and destroy their strengths. The same as you. Atlantis has it's own experiments, doesn't it, sir?"
John turned his head, met Aiden's cold, cold gaze. The one black eye boring into him. "Does it?" he asked, but swore inwardly.
Aiden smiled. "Oh yes. So I've heard. Haven't encountered yet but word is you've done some very questionable things, haven't you? Or rather your scientists have. Maybe even your precious Moira has. I'll learn soon enough."
John turned his head to see another mutant carrying a strange looking piece of equipment that oddly resembled a crown made of wires and crystals. It was placed on his head. Two pieces snapped into his temples, causing him to swear and groan. He winced at the pressure. Stared as a bluish hand adjusted it, then injected it with some fluid. "What is that? Ford? You won't learn a damn thing! I've been trained to resist this sort of thing, and even your fancy toy won't break me! Hey, I like your plan. Let's talk."
"You think I'd fall for that again? Forget it! Scan him! But don't destroy his brain just yet. We still can use him." Aiden leaned close, smiled. "Reveal the codes and the pain will go away. You don't even have to say them. Just think them. That's the beauty of this device. It reads your thought patterns. Oh, sorry about that Jumper we shot down. I wanted to test the weapons on this ship...and well...you're one Jumper down now, plus the four men on board."
John glowered. Fury and guilt cascading. "You son of a bitch! You son of a–"
Aiden lashed out, swinging his clawed hand across John's face. Blood spurted from a cut near his lip. "I said I was sorry, sir. Now relax and give me those codes! Do it!" he ordered.
John braced himself, but more importantly he closed his mind. Forced a calming, repetitive sentence. A mantra. Even as the pain began. Even as the fluid began to burn his muscles, make his eyes water. Made him feel heavy, pliable. Even as the pain increased. He closed his eyes, silently mouthing the phrase over and over. And over. To resist. To survive.
To not reveal a single thing.